> Dueling Around Canterlot
>  by Darthvalgaav
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Shuffle the decks and get ready
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the city of Canterlot, as the moon slowly began to rise over the horizon, a lone figure crept from house to house. Dressed in a dark purple sweatshirt and ripped jeans, this figure managed to avoid being seen by keeping low to the ground. With every window it saw, it would crawl under them. Whenever there was a bush or large tree, the figure would use it for whatever camouflage it could provide. At the sound of an opening door, the figure would halt suddenly in its tracks so that movement would not be caught by the eyes of those around. The figure had been doing this for some time now, probably longer than was needed. In fact, had the figure only started doing this a block or so away from its destination it would have been a much shorter trip!


Eventually the figure saw its target across the street. With eyes hidden under its hood, the figure saw that a few lights were on in the dark purple house. One was in something like a spire on the floor above the doorway with the dark silhouette of a girl with a long ponytail dancing about like a moron. The other two were on the main floor with the lights glow crossing the yard. The figure focused on trying to detect the sounds of a dog barking nearby, but all of those sounds were far off in the distance.


The figure shook its head as it crossed the street in a mad dash with its eyes glued towards the garage. The information provided by its benefactor told that Twilight Sparkle kept all of her science equipment there. Her parents had banned her from doing any research or experiments inside the house. Something about an explosion that caused an odor…or something like that. The figure had zoned out doing that part. All that mattered to them was that all of her information on magic would be there. Ripe for the taking!


As she neared the door, the figure came to a complete stop. On the door was a hand scanner! How the hell did a high school girl get her hands on something like that? Why would a high school girl need something like that? Why hadn’t anybody told the figure about this? The figure had wasted so much time already!


Letting out an annoyed sigh, the figure slowly approached the door in the hopes that it was a fake. Something to scare off would be thieves.  But, just as the figure was about to touch the door, the sounds of muffled voices could be heard. People were in there. Two in fact. One was the voice of Twilight Sparkle while the other was Sunset Shimmer. Clenching both fists at the thought of the girl, the figure turned and ran away.


-x-


“I can’t believe this!” stated Twilight Sparkle, her back turned to Sunset who sat on a counter. “Your cards are acting up as well! And they spoke to you? This is amazing!”


“Well it’s only happened once,” replied Sunset as she watched her friend work. Twilight was in her lab coat, several scorch marks and black soot stains dotting various spots on it. Her hair was tied into a bun so it would not accidently obstruct her vision yet there were several stray stands. Both of her hands were concealed by thick black rubber gloves as she worked on one of her latest projects. What it was, Sunset could see it and Twilight wasn’t talking. Apparently it was a secret of some kind. Yet the number of sparks that were flying about made Sunset all the more curious.


“Back at Camp Everfree after we dueled Cinch and Well-To-Do,” Sunset continued as she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “Prominence just appeared in front of me right after you left. He said something about more battles were coming and that he wanted me to help them get stronger so that they can help. Then he was gone.” At that point, Sunset had put her hand on her forehead. “I didn’t tell you girls about it back then because, well, I thought I was just seeing things. That maybe I wanted to have my cards act like yours so much and after such an intense duel my mind just sort of showed me what I wanted to see. But lately I’ve been having these dreams…”


“Dreams?” asked Twilight before setting down her tools. Sunset sat upright again just in time to see Twilight turning around. Her friend was wearing thick, black goggles that were supposed to help protect her eyes. They did that, but they also gave her the appearance of some sort of big eyed bug that was somewhat distracting. What wasn’t distracting, however, was the clear look of concern that the rest of her face showed.


Sunset nodded. “I’ve…been dreaming about the end of the world,” she admitted. “The ground crumbling away under our feet as trees sort of float overhead. Tentacle vines gripping everything in sight. Mass destruction everywhere you look. And there are several people there, I don’t know who they are but they’re at the center of it all. With all that going on, you’d think I’d be afraid but I’m not. We’re all there. Me, you, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Sonata. We’re running towards this head on while riding our monsters like mounts and battling beside them.”


For a moment there was complete silence in the room. Sunset watched as Twilight brought a hand to rest under her chin so that she took on a thinking pose. Seeing that, Sunset looked away as she began to wonder what her friend was thinking about her. Not that Sunset didn’t have plenty of good guesses herself. To be honest, Sunset feared that she might be starting to crack given everything that had been going on with them this school year. They had gone from a relatively quiet school into the center of magical chaos in a short time. Her turning into a she-demon before being zapped by magic, the Sirens, the Friendship Games, both times at Camp Everfree. The list just seemed to go on. Their lives had been turned upside down ever since she had brought magic into a world that had none. Maybe all of this was just finally getting to her.


“It couldn’t be,” muttered Twilight, snapping Sunset out of her own thoughts.


“What?” she asked.


“I’ve been having similar dreams,” said Twilight as she looked up. As Sunset’s jaw dropped at this new information, Twilight lifted her goggles off of her face and set them on the desk behind her. “I’ve had them a few times over the last couple of nights, but since it looked so similar to the damage I caused when I became Midnight Sparkle I dismissed them as lingering guilt. I remember riding on the back of Axel several times while you flew on the back of-”


“Lavalval Dragun!” finished Sunset as she hopped off the counter, both girls now wide eyed. “We’re both having the same dream!”


“The odds of that happening are very unlikely,” began Twilight as she looked over to a corner where Spike was somehow still snoozing in a little doggy bed. “But, as I once told a good friend, stranger things have happened. Now we just need to figure out why.”


“Back when I was living in Equestria, dream magic wasn’t a very well studied field,” admitted Sunset. “Part of the reason was because of the legend of Nightmare Moon. For so long, nopony wanted to look into the field because of her. Those that did study it could never provide any real results or were just inconsistent. But back when I was her student Princess Celestia mentioned that there are rare times when a dream can show images of a possible future. Sort of a prophecy given to very few ponies.”


“So,” said Twilight as she pulled out her locket and held it up. “You think because we have magic that we were able to see this?”


Now it was Sunset’s turn to place a hand under her chin. “Maybe,” she said. “This only happened after I connected with my cards. We still don’t fully understand what is going on with them. Perhaps that’s the key to figuring out what is going on. They could be the ones showing us this.” She then let out a sigh followed by a half smile. “As if we don’t have enough to worry about. Cinch is still out there trying to steal magic. Never a dull moment.”


“I know,” said Twilight ruefully while shaking her head. “She’s only able to do that because of the technology I left behind at Crystal Prep.”


“Oh, right,” said Sunset as she looked around sheepishly. While Twilight hadn’t said anything, Sunset knew that her purple skinned friend still was taking this pretty hard. It had been her device that had stolen both Applejack and Rainbow’s magic for a short time, preventing them from getting help back at Camp Everfree. While it had been resorted thanks to hers and Twilight’s efforts, Sunset guessed that Twilight was thinking that none of it would have happened had she never made the machine in the first place. Much like how she blamed herself from time to time whenever magic hurt her friends.


“Well, I’m not going to let her get away with that,” stated Twilight more firmly. As she picked up her goggles, the scientist gave her friend a smile before putting them on with a snap that made the former unicorn wince. “The only reason Cinch is able to locate and steal magic is because of the technology I created. Meaning I know how it works far better than her. Ever since we got back, I’ve been working on a way to protect our magic as well as locate magic on a larger scale.”


Sunset tilted her head at that. “Why would you need to locate magic?” she asked.


“Because we knew Cinch is looking for it,” replied Twilight simply. “Using my old device, she was able to locate and steal magic from something or someone we didn’t know about. This might mean that more Equestrian magic is flowing into our world. Or perhaps there is magic in this world that we were never aware of before. Beyond Cinch, we know how magic can sometimes corrupt those it comes into contact with. I’m hoping that with this we can remain one step ahead of Cinch while also preventing magical disasters before they get out of control.”


Sunset let out a hum as she closed her eyes. What Twilight was saying made a great deal of sense to her. The last thing they wanted was for someone like Cinch to use magic to hurt people again. Just thinking about their duel with her, how she used the magic to make her attacks real, was something that she could never forget. Her first victims, the siblings who ran Camp Everfree, were still in the hospital. As for herself, Sunset could forget the deafening sounds of the cannons that fired on her as she was flung up into the air followed by a fall which she landed on her back. The fear she had felt as she believed that she might actually die in that duel.


Then there were all the other crazy things people could do with magic if given the chance. Commanding an entire forest to do their will. Stealing away memories at a whim. Sucking people into mirrors. Transporting people into a white room while creating holographic versions of those people. Even if they couldn’t tell who had the magic, just knowing it was around so that they could be on the lookout a bit better would probably help them avoid a lot of their past mistakes. Maybe even being able to help those people who had already come into contact with it before they transformed into demons.


“Good point,” said Sunset after a moment. “So, how’s the work going?” In response, Twilight hung her head down low before jerking a thumb towards a corner. The former unicorn turned her head…and then winced. In a darkened corner of the room was a pile of burnt out machines the size of Principal Celestia, stacked on top of each other ungracefully. Some of them were still giving off tendrils of smoke that slowly lifted towards the ceiling.


“…It’s a work in progress,” said Twilight nervously.


-x-


Elsewhere, the figure moved through a small wooded area on the outside of Canterlot close to where Crystal Prep stood. The area had a mix of dried leaves on the ground as well as various trash that had been dumped there over the years. The figure passed by trees as well as piles of steel drums, the stench of rotting junk mixed with the air that should have been at its freshest. There were probably a bunch of kids out there, doing things the figure really didn’t a shit about. All she cared for was that they did not disturb them.


After a good ten minute walk, the figure saw her destination in sight. It was an old Victorian style house standing in the middle of a clearing. On its paint-chipped walls were various graffiti tags going all the way up to the third story. Shingles were clearly missing on the roof, visible even with the current lack of light. As for the windows, well, they were all boarded up so that it was impossible for anyone to see the inside. All in all, it looked like an abandoned house just left to sit in the middle of nowhere until it finally collapsed.


Pulling an old key out of her pocket, the figure approached the door and opened it. Now entering the family or sitting room (whichever someone wanted to call it) were filing cabinets and boxes. All of them left there to collect dust until the end of time itself. The floors creaked with every step the figure walked along a trail that had not a speck of dust leading all the way towards something that shouldn’t be in an old house like this: an elevator. Pressing the button to go down, Aria took off her hood before the door opened and walked inside.


Less than thirty seconds later the doors opened again to reveal something far different than what had been upstairs. The walls of this place were made of cold, uncaring metal that looked nicely polished. Several computer terminals looked like they had been built into the walls with fancy chairs in front of them bearing the logo of Crystal Prep. In the middle of the room were several workstations that looked like they belonged in a lab with all sorts of tools that Aria had no clue what they were. Nor did she care. She just walked forward towards the two figures sitting in two of the nice chair, neither one looking like they have moved from their spots since she had left.


“Ah, good,” said Cinch as she turned her chair to face Aria in a villainous manner. “I take it you were able to sneak into Miss Sparkle’s lab?”


“Ah, try no,” said Aria as she crossed her arms while Cinch frowned. “The purple brain child was in there along with Sunset. I had no of knowing when they’d be finally be done talking about their hair or whatever it was they were talking about. And the longer I stayed there the more likely I’d be caught. Plus, you never said she had a palm reader lock on her door.”


At that, Cinch frowned more deeply. “When Shining Armor first mentioned her lab to me, he left that detail out,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Well, there is nothing to be done. We’ll have to keep monitoring her lab for the time being until we have a way of getting in. They we can uncover all of the information she has already gathered about magic in this world. Perhaps even looking at a few of her other creations. I’m sure some will prove to be very helpful.”


“I don’t know why you’re bothering with her,” said Adagio as she leaned back in her chain. “If you have any questions about magic, you could just ask us.”


“It’s important to know what our enemies know,” said Cinch stiffly, causing the other two girls to roll their eyes. Cinch seemed to ignore this as she gestured to Adagio. “Thanks to the information you have provided, there are two possibilities for the disaster at Camp Everfree. One is very simple: I captured too much magic at once. All that power overloaded the systems and failsafe protocols I installed. This is a simple matter to fix. Work is already being made on a special containment unit to store all the magic that we capture. We’ll just have to be careful how much magic we steal at once. As for the other possibility, the magic hadn’t submitted to me.”


“Ah, what?” asked Aria as she raised an eyebrow to that.


Adagio groaned. “Don’t you remember anything?” she said while folding her arms across her chest. A look of superiority that Aria hated so much crossed the speaker’s face as she continued to talk. “Back before those dumb ponies created Equestria, unicorns were always trying to increase their magical power even to the point where they were willing to steal the magic from other. As I recall, the magic they stole often didn’t obey they properly. Even I don’t know how it happened, but eventually they figured out a spell to help them. After the spell was cast two unicorns would challenge each other in magical duels and the loser would have his now somewhat weakened magic drained. Sure the spell to do that was banned when they made their sickening country and the knowledge to do it has probably been lost to time, but it does make some sense. That magic is running around, wild in free like some stupid animal. All we have to do is beat it into submission so it will see us as its new owner.”


“But this is still all simply conjecture at this point,” said Cinch as she stood up, arms behind her back as she moved towards one of the work stations. “We will proceed as if both are true until we have all the information. I have already been in contact with one of my former pupils who works for Kaiba Corp. He has agreed to make the new capture disks based on the designs. Once they are finished, we can duel those bothersome girls and steal their magic. Them and anyone else who has even an inkling of power that we find.”


“That sounds risky,” said Aria with a frown as she gestured to Cinch. “You are a wanted woman. What’s to stop him from turning you over to the police?”


Cinch gave her a cold smile. “Let’s just say I have some dirt on him. Something so destructive that it would eliminate his chances on taking down the new CEO of Kaiba Corp and taking the position for his own. In exchange for his help I will turn over all the evidence for his foul play.” Cinch then shook her head slightly. “Besides, we don’t really have much of a choice now do we? I may be skilled in the sciences, but the amount of work needed to be done is a bit outside my reach and I can’t really be seen ordering too much online. This location will make for a perfect hiding place. Its technically owned by Crystal Prep and was used as an off campus storage location that not many people know about. You can be sure I never told that traitorous witch Cadence about this so the odds of Miss Sparkle finding me will be low.”


“Well then, since we have some free time, I think we’d better add to our numbers,” said Adagio as she too stood. “The more fools we have helping us, the faster we can gather magic. People with skill and hatred of those goodie goodies will make excellent minions.”


“Great, surrounded by even more people I can’t stand,” said Aria with a shrug.


“Hey, if it means we can get our gems and powers back to full while getting some payback it’ll be worth it,” said Adagio as she gave her sister Siren a cold look. “And as a bonus, we get to stay here rent free while Cinch here pays for your smartphone plan. So drop the attitude.”


Aria clenched her fists tightly. She knew the situation they were in. Without their stupid jobs they could neither eat or pay rent. The last thing she wanted for herself was to end up on the streets like they left Sonata, homeless beggars without any even the comfort of their smartphones to give them joy. However, this seemed like more trouble than it was worth to the ancient teenager. While they had the remains of their gems, there was no guarantee this would work.


The moody girl then looked at Cinch, a woman she did not trust at all. When Cinch had first approached them, Aria thought her a complete idiot. She had seen and met plenty of people in the past who had done exactly what she was doing right now: breaking all sorts of laws in order to get petty revenge. For a woman who had supposed to have run a school for a number of years, Aria would have thought she should have at least heard at least a few of the more famous cases and learned something: it never ended well. However, Cinch had bigger plans beyond that. Once she got her revenge and was able to harness magic she would begin selling it the highest bidders as a new source of power. She could make a fortune turning it into a fuel source consumed by the masses all the way to weapons for the military. Cinch was even toying with the idea of ripping open portals to Equestria, something she had seen her former student doing at some stupid event called the Friendship Games. A world where human rights did not apply to that she could strip bare of its natural resources as well as its magic. All she needed to do was find a way to keep people from turning into those colorful freaks. With that kind of power behind her, she could buy her way out of the law.


If everything worked out well, they would all profit. Both she and Adagio could do whatever they wanted. They could be back on the stage as a singing duo, living forever again and having a real meal again. Or they could become partners with Cinch, destroying the world that had kicked them out and left them to rot in this dump. Aria was all in it. But Adagio, the risks seemed too big. If they messed up they could all go to jail for a long time and she didn’t really feel like wasting whatever time she had left in this world by sitting in a cell. Or being on the run, stuck with this morons who kept thinking about how to get revenge.


On the other hand, she was just so hungry for a real meal. Just one more like at the Battle of the Bands. Just one more bite.


“Whatever,” said Aria as she turned around and began to head to her room. She would need a long rest to prepare for what was about to happen.
> Dueling for a Room
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you really sure this is alright Mrs. Velvet?” asked Sonata, paintbrush in hand as she stood on a tarp. Beside her was a paint tray that was nearly depleted of the light blue paint that the two of them had been using.


“It’s not a problem at all,” replied Twilight Velvet, taking a moment to wipe a bit of sweat off her brow. She then turned to look at the blue skinned girl revealing that she had accidentally smeared some paint onto her own white skin. “A nice girl like you shouldn’t be living by herself on the street. Besides, no one has really used this room since Shining Armor moved out.”


“No, I mean the redecorating,” said Sonata as she looked around the room. When she had first arrived the room had been much different. The walls had been a very uncheerful dark purple broken only by the various posters of different sports teams and golden trophies. The floor was hardwood and a tad dusty from having been unoccupied for so long. The lighting in the room was very old-fashioned, looking like human arms holding candlesticks with light bulbs instead of flames.


Now, things were very different. Dirty tarps laid over the bed and dressers to protect them from the work the two were doing. The walls were now a light bluish color except for the bottom where it had a more sandy color with red corals painted here and there. On some of the already dried areas, Twilight Velvet had painted in various sea life including manta rays, eels, humpback whales, and sea horses just to name a few. Seashells and starfish had been easily acquired, placed in a steel bucket in the room until they were finished painting. They had also gotten her some throw rugs that would placed next to the bed so that her feet wouldn’t be cold when she woke up in the morning. In short, everything was being done to make Sonata feel more comfortable within their home.


All of this was very touching, but it also made the girl feel a bit guilty. She could have been given the room as it was and it would have been more than she deserved. After all, Sonata remembered just how mean she had been back when she had first started school. How she and her sisters had brainwashed everyone there and tried to take over the world. Not to mention all the times they had caused people to fight with each other for over a thousand years. Sonata knew that she wasn’t the smartest person on the block, but even someone like her knew that being given all of this was far more than someone like her deserved.


Yet, despite this, Twilight’s family had welcomed her into their home after they had found out she was now homeless. Every day, Mrs. Velvet made sure Sonata had three square meals even going to the trouble of packing her a lunch when she went to work. Somehow, those home cooked meals she ate with them at the table tasted better than anything she could remember for the longest time. Then there was Twilight who helped her with her homework as well as helping quiz her on the procedures a manager at Taco Loco must know. Even when Sonata made a really big mistake, the purple skinned girl never yelled at her or threatened to beat her up. She sometimes looked annoyed, but she never gave up on her. As for Mr. Night Light, he spent most of the day at work so she didn’t get to see him very often. But he was nice to talk to when he got home. The man told her that if there was anything bothering her to let him know right away. Even Spike wanted to make her feel welcome by letting her be a part of his web show.


How long had it been since Sonata had felt like this? For as long as she could remember, she had been with her sisters. Never once did they have this level of…family. Sure they sat down at the table together, but that had always been more for show since they didn’t really need to eat anything. They could survive on the negative emotions they stole from those around them. They weren’t together because they were family, but because they needed each other. If one member of the group was missing their powers didn’t work. It was sad to think about it, but the only reason they were sisters was because of need rather than want. Maybe that’s way Adagio was always so mean and Aria was always so annoyed.


Looking back at Twilight Velvet, she was that the middle aged woman was smiling. “Sonata, this is going to be your home until you are able to stand on your own feet,” she said. “So I think it’s only fair that we make sure you’re as comfortable as possible while you live here.”


“But-” began Sonata only to be silence as Mrs. Velvet held up a single finger to silence her. A gesture she had seen Adagio use plenty of time before. Normally she would have flinched at the sight, but she did not. Perhaps it was because Mrs. Velvet was looking at her so kindly instead of the annoyed glare her sisters would always give her.


“Twilight told me a little bit about you,” she began as she slowly lowered her hand. “That you hung around with a bad crowd and did some bad things. But eventually you wanted to change, that you wouldn’t hurt people anymore. If that’s what you want to do then me and my family are more than willing to help. And the first step is making you know how much you are welcome here, in our home.”


Sonata sniffed as she felt some warmth around her eyes. “It still feels like so much,” she said softly with a small smile.


“Well, if that’s the way you feel about it you could think of it as helping me out,” laughed Velvet as she turned back to her work. “Do you have any idea how bored I’ve been lately? Me and my husband haven’t gone on any trips for so long. All he wants to do these days is play bingo! Searching the beaches and going to rummage sales is like a mini treasure hunt! Plus, I get to practice on my painting skills.” At that, Sonata looked over at what Mrs. Velvet had been painting. While a bit crud, Sonata could make out two people in scuba gear within a metal cage. Circling around the cage were two hammerhead sharks. “Ah, our second honeymoon.”


“Being trapped in a cage surrounded by sharks?” asked Sonata as she tilted her head. Seemed weird to the girl to be in a cage where you couldn’t pet the sharks. Then again, humans could be weird sometimes.


“Well, that’s one of the things we did while we were in the islands,” said Velvet as she placed a free hand to cup her cheek while a dreamy expression appeared on her. “We also went paragliding, zip lining through the jungle, got stranded in the middle of the jungle with only a single pocket knife, and were chased by angry natives because Nighty refused to drink their wine. Such a wonderful trip. I really wish we could do it again. But for some reason Night Light seems to refuse.”


Before she could comment on this, Sonata’s flip phone began to beep loudly. “Is it that time already?” asked the blue haired girl as she pulled it out of her pocket. She opened it up and saw that it was her alarm, set to go off an hour before she had to leave for work. Sighing, she closed it before turning to look at the other woman with a half smile. “I’m sorry but I got to get ready to go.”


“It’s fine,” replied Velvet as she got up. Raising both her arms up, she let out a low groan as she stretched so hard her back cracked. “Tomorrow is Sunday so maybe we can finish up then. I’m sure if the rest of the girls helped out this would be done in no time.” Velvet then looked thoughtful as she lowered her arms. “Speaking of the girls, do you have any idea where Twilight went to? I didn’t see her at breakfast.”


“Oh, I saw her earlier,” said Sonata with a bit of an embarrassed blush. “She said she was going to this pawn shop she gets a lot of materials and stuff from. Ah, she mentioned seeing this desktop computer there that might still be good for me so she’s checking it out. Maybe she even got the others to help her?”


“Well, that’s sweet of them,” said Velvet as she began walking out of the room. “Just let me know when you’re ready to go and I’ll give you a lift to work.”


After the door shut, Sonata spun so that she faced the closet where she kept her manager’s uniform. Not wanting to keep Mrs. Velvet waiting too long, the blue skinned teen raced over to it. In her rush, however, Sonata tripped over her own feet. She cried out as she fell while her arms flailed about trying to grab anything in order to stop herself. Luckily, she managed to grab a hold of one of the odd lighting fixtures in the wall. For a moment she hung there, sighing in relief.


Then, she sank a bit lower as a clank was heard.


-x-


Shining Armor drove down the streets of Canterlot on this fine Saturday morning with the windows down. The wind swept through his hair while the scent of spring filled his nose. Glancing towards the sidewalks he saw that plenty of other people were taking advantage of the nice weather. Whether it be riding their bikes, walking their dogs, or just going for a jog it was nice to see so many people out and about. Heck, he had even seen that new pink haired friend of his sister’s. What she was doing floating above the sidewalk with several balloons tied to her waist while wearing a blinking hat was beyond him. Perhaps it would be better if he didn’t think about it too hard.


Slowing down a bit, Shining made a left hand turn into his parent’s driveway. Parking next to his mother’s Hummer, Shining popped the trunk before getting out. Humming a tune that his sister’s band did for that music video he got out of the car. For a moment he stood there, looking up at the house he had grown up in while using a hand to block out some of the sun’s rays. It felt good to be home. As he went to the trunk to grab his bags Shining wondered if his family would be surprised to see him. It had been a while since he had spoken to them after all.


With bags in hand, Shining walked towards the front door and let himself in. After all, there had never been any need to knock before. Plus with his mother’s car in the driveway along with the door being unlocked meant that at least one person was home.


As he set down his bags to close the door Shining saw his mother enter the hallway. “Shining,” she gasped, a hand going straight to her chest. “I thought that was Twilight at the door.”


“Naw, just me Mom,” replied Shining as he walked over to the older woman to give her both a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Surprise!”


“Shining,” said Velvet as she looked over his shoulder, most likely noticing his bags. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but has something happened?”


Shining pulled back a bit, scratching the back of his head as he did while also looking away. “Well, sort of,” he said. “There was a problem with apartment complex’s pumping and, well, not going into too much detail a lot of the pipes need to be replaced. The manager said it might take a month or two to fix everything. So I thought I’d crash here until the repairs are done.”


Velvet shook her head. “I told you not to rent there,” she said in her ‘I told you so voice’. The voice that everybody fears hearing from their parents. That, as well as having her fold her arms across her chest which she did. This caused Shining to sweat a tad while giving her a forced smile.


“Hey, it was cheap,” he said as if this explained everything. Which, in his mind, it did. His apartment wasn’t some dank or dingy place and it offered everything a guy like him could want at a third of the price as normal apartments. It was on the smallish size, meaning his living room also doubled as his bedroom. But it provided all of his basic needs while also allowing him to save money for the future. A good trade off in his opinion. Besides, he had been there for years and this was the first major issue he had with the place. Plus, the twin brothers who ran the place were just so friendly!


“So,” he said as he noticed she was still giving him that look. “I thought, since I was going to be without a place to stay for a while, why not come back home. You know, spend time with my favorite mom in the world.”


“I’m your only mom,” retorted Velvet with a frown.


“Maybe help out around the house while I stay in my old room,” continued Shining, causing his mother’s eyes to widen and her arms to drop to her sides. He took a step back. “Look, if it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll also start looking for another apartment or something. After I take my bags upstairs.” Velvet opened her mouth, but Shining spoke up before she could say anything.  “If it will make you feel any better, you can give me your opinion.”


Before Velvet could say or do anything, Shining had already turned and taken hold of his bags. Quickly he strode up the stairs as his mother began to call out his name, telling him to wait for some reason. Still Shining pressed on forwards as he reached the top of the stairs, stopped in front of his room, and opened the closed door.


What he saw was not what most people expect to see in their room. Well, most people do have fantasies about see a cute girl standing by their bed. Yet those types of fantasies usually hinted at something else rather than what Shining was seeing right now. First of all, she was not sitting or lying on his bed waiting for him but instead was standing next to it. Then there was the fact that she was not dressed like a cheerleader or simply in her underwear. Instead she was just tucking in her uniform for that semi-ok taco place he sometimes went to. Perhaps most glaring of all was, in those fantasies, a person would usually have some idea who that girl was. Be it a girl whose pictures or videos you had seen online, someone you worked with, or even went to school with. This girl, however, was none of those for he was sure he had never seen her before.


“Oh, hi,” said the girl in a cheerful tone, grinning as she began fusing with her hair. “Haven’t seen you around here. Could you tell Mrs. Velvet I’m almost ready to go?”


Shining didn’t answer, only closing the door as his brain began to process what he had just seen. There was a girl he didn’t know in his room…HIS ROOM! It looked like someone had vomited the ocean on the walls! And where was all of his stuff that he had left behind? The stuff his parents had promised to hold on to! Did they find his secret-


“Shining Armor!” said Velvet as she reached the top of the stairs, a frown on her face again.


“Mom, what happened to my room?” demanded Shining Armor as he pointed at the now closed door.


Velvet frowned a bit deeper now. “This is what happens when you don’t call ahead and tell us when you’re coming home,” she said as she shook her head. “Or, when you don’t listen to someone downstairs when their trying to tell you something.”


Shining Armor blushed sheepishly. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”


“Well, surprise,” said Velvet with a sigh before she glanced at the door. “That girl in there is Sonata Dusk. Poor girl was living off the streets with no one to turn to. So we invited her to stay with us.”


“Ok,” said Shining Armor slowly. “But why is she in my room instead of the guest bedroom?”


Velvet did not look amused by this. “Because the guest bedroom is for guests,” she said in a matter of fact voice. “Sonata is going to be living with us so she is not a guest. And since you don’t live here anymore I thought she should have it.”


“But…But that’s MY room,” insisted Shining Armor. “With my stuff in it! What happened to all of it?”


“First of all, that is not your room,” said Velvet in a voice that said she had had enough of this. “This house belongs to me and your father. Therefore that room belongs to us and we can give it to whoever we want. As for your stuff that we were holding for you, we put it in the basement for the time being. Perhaps if you had called ahead like a normal person, I would have been able to tell you all of this before you got here.” There was a slight pause as her face softened a tad. “You can still stay here, of course, until you are ready to move back into your apartment. Or until you find another, better one that can hold more than three people. The guest room is yours for as long as you need it.”


Shining Armor couldn’t help but cringe when he heard that. The guest room?!? The room with the extra hard mattress? The room that has the low window facing east, making it impossible to sleep in because the sun is shining in your eyes? The room with the ugly carpet? He gets that room while this stranger gets his room?


Grumbling to himself about this unfair treatment, Shining Armor picked up his things. As he righted himself, a horrifying thought crossed his mind. “Ah, mom,” he said trying his best to sound normal…and failing. “You didn’t find anything in my room, did you?”


“Find anything?” repeated Velvet as she raised an eyebrow. “You mean something other than your posters and trophies? No.” As Shining Armor let out a very visible sigh of relief, his mother leaned forwards a bit. “Why? What were you hiding in there?”


Shining Armor began to panic slightly as sweat began to form on his face. While he was happy they hadn’t found his secret, there was no way he could tell her what it was! That’s why it was called a secret! Only he and his closest friends knew what he had painstakingly hidden within the walls of that room. If anybody ever found out it would be the end of him. People would never be able to look at him the same. They would be disgusted by his mere existence, never able to show his face in public again! Cadence would never go on another date with him for as long as he breathed. The news channels and web sites would have a field day. He would be exiled to the farthest corner of the galaxy!


At that moment, the door opened. “Ah, sorry to interrupt,” said Sonata. “This sounds super important, so if you need me to walk to work I can.”


“Oh no,” said Velvet as she looked at Sonata. “I completely forgot. Don’t worry; we’ll get going right away.” She then turned to look at Shining. “And when I get back, we’ll talk about this some more.”


-x-


Later that night, Shining Armor found himself staring up at the ceiling as he laid on the very hard mattress. His bag laid piled up on the floor. There was only a single dresser in the room, not nearly enough space for everything he had brought. So he thought he might as well not unpack them in here. He heard the clock on the wall tick away as the night grew later, yet was unable to sleep with everything that had gone on.


After his mom and Sonata had left, Shining had gone into his room to check and make sure the important stuff was still there. Thankfully, none of the unnecessary remodeling had hindered his process. To his delight, none of it looked like it had been touched. The relief as well as the time it took his mom to get back helped him come up with what he felt was a convincing cover story for his behavior. He had told his mom that there had been several sports magazines that had some value to them. He had even gone down to the basement to collect a few of them and told her he had found what he was looking for. His mother had given him a questioning look, but didn’t press the issue. More than likely, she would give the room a once over to see if he was hiding anything else but if she hadn’t found it by now it was doubtful that she ever would.


Despite this relief, Shining knew he couldn’t let things stay like this. That Sonata girl was in his room and the longer she stayed in there the sooner it would be before she stumbled onto his secret. If it were possible, he would have it removed and be done with it but he didn’t know how to without drawing suspicion. It was all he could think about when he met up with Twily and his father. With every bite of dinner he chewed, he thought of all the possible ways he could remove it without anyone growing all the wiser. Heck, it was a miracle he was even able to get it in there without people noticing the first time! Sadly, nothing came to him. In fact, his mind kept showing him how much worse it could get. If he got caught then he would be in trouble even if he was just seen in his room alone. People might think of him as some sort of freak, going through a teenage girls stuff. His mother might even kick him out of the house in his time of need!


Then, things took a turn for the worse. Shining had decided to ask his father a bit more about Sonata in the hopes of getting to know a bit more of the freeloader who had taken over his room. What he heard was not comforting. All his father had been willing to tell him was that Sonata had hung with a bad crowd for a long time and had done some bad things that eventually got her expelled. It was only recently that she was allowed to go back and she was trying to turn over a new leaf. That sounded an awful lot like she had been part of a gang for a while. She might even have a criminal record! Who was to say that she had even turned over a new leaf? This could all be some sort of long term plan of hers. Getting a family to take her in, earn their trust, get them to buy her a bunch of extra stuff before BAAM it’s all stolen right out from under them.


Judging by the way he spoke about her, Shining was sure that his father had been completely suckered in by her act just like his mother. He couldn’t even talk to Twily about this since she was the one who asked their parents if this freeloading thief could stay with them. If he were to talk to them he was sure that they would think he was just upset about his room. But that was only part of his concern! He was also worried about them!


As the seconds ticked by, Shining Armor knew it was up to him to safe the castle that was his parent’s home. If not for their sakes, than for Twily’s. That and ensure she couldn’t stumble onto his secret. But mostly for his family of course. And he knew the perfect way to do this.


-x-


“Hey Sonata, I’m heading out for a while. Do you want to come along?” Sonata looked up from the back of the cereal box, her finger trying to get out of the maze printed on its back, to see Twilight standing by the door. Her new, kinda sort of, nerdy sister/ housemate was standing by the door dressed in her white and blue striped top with a purple skirt. Hanging on her shoulder was a bag with her star symbol on it.


“Where’re you going?” asked Sonata as she tilted her head.


“Oh, just to the card shop to meet up with the girls,” replied Twilight in an easy-going tone. “Sunset wants our opinions on some new extra deck monsters and a few other cards to help make her deck stronger. I’ve been thinking of adding some new cards myself like Armory Arm to improve the power of my Genex Allies.”


Sonata hummed for a moment, lifting her other hand to put it next to her head so she could think. Not paying attention to the fact that she had been in the middle of eating her cereal and thus was still holding the spoon. “Thanks but I’m going to have to pass,” she said with a groan as she felt the milk drip down her face. “I’ve got this super long essay that needs to be done on Monday and I have even started it yet.”


Twilight frowned. “That’s for English, right?” Sonata nodded. “It’s not that long. Just four pages minimum double spaced.”


“Sooo long,” replied Sonata as she sank into her seat, her finger still on the back of the cereal box. “Normally I wouldn’t care, but I don’t want to make your mom upset. After breakfast I’ll get to work on it until she and your dad get back from the store.”


Twilight smiled at that. “Ok then,” she said. “Well, if you need help I’m there for you. Bye.” With that, Twilight left walked out the door.


As Sonata sat there, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand: the maze! For something labeled for children ages 3-8, this was super hard! She had spent the last thirty minutes on it, constantly bumping into dead ends. Well, that was soon going to change! Right now she was near the bottom, closer than she had ever been before. Nothing was going to spot her-


“Sonata Dusk, I challenge you to a duel!” shouted Shining Armor as he suddenly appeared at the end of the stairway, causing her to jump in her seat. In that moment, the most horrible thing Sonata could image at that moment happen: she lost her place!


“Look what you made me do you jerk!” shouted Sonata as she stood up to look at Twilight’s brother. He was standing there, duel disk on his arm while the other hand was pointing at her. He was giving her a look much like the one that her sisters used to give her when they were super duper annoyed at her. Come to think of it, ever since she returned home from work last night, Shining Armor had been giving her odd looks that made her feel a little uncomfortable.


“Here are the terms,” continued Shining Armor as he walked towards her, still pointing at her. “If I win, you leave this house tonight and never speak to my family ever again!”


“But…But I don’t want to leave,” said Sonata as she took a step back. “Why would I ever agree to that?”


“Because I know who you really are,” said Shining Armor as his glare grew stronger. “What you’ve done and what you plan on doing! You may have the rest of my family under your little spell, but not me! If you refuse this duel then I will do everything in my power to get enough evidence about you so that they will have no choice but to see you for what you really are!”


“I don’t have anyone under a spell anymore,” said Sonata as her heart race increased. “I haven’t been able to do that since I lost my gem.” A smirk appeared on Shining Armor’s face, causing the former Siren to panic even more. How could he have found out about what she really was? Twilight had given her word that no one in her family would ever find out that she was from Equestria or that she had been a mind controlling creature. She knew deep down that Twilight would never of told him, so how did he find out?


Sonata held herself to keep her body from shaking. If she didn’t accept this duel then Mrs. Velvet would know the truth about her. If that ever happened then Mrs. Velvet would be super hurt and sad. Maybe she might even get mad at Twilight for suggesting that she be allowed to stay with them. She didn’t want to get Twilight in trouble too! Not after everything she had done for her. But how could she stop him? If she refused the duel then he would tell on her. Even if he couldn’t do it right now he probably could do so later. If she accepted the duel and lost, then at least they wouldn’t know. Only, she would be all alone again and living off the streets.


“Fine, then,” said Sonata as she clenched her fist. “I’ll duel you. But if I win, then you keep your big mean mouth shut!”


Still smirking, Shining Armor moved his free hand to his chin and began to rub it as if he were mockingly considering it. “I figured you say something like that,” he said in an amused tone. “That’s fine I guess since there’s no way you can beat me.” He then turned so his back was facing her. “Meet me in the backyard in five minutes.” With that said, he walked out the front door.


Not waiting to clean off the table, Sonata ran upstairs to her room to retrieve her duel disk. This went by quickly seeing as it was set next to the computer Twilight had gotten for her. As she donned her dueling device, Sonata kept her eyes on the machine. The one her friend had set up just for her without asking anything in return. The one she had de-wormed, something that still freaked Sonata out a lot since she never knew a computer could have slimy worms in them. With a nod, Sonata vowed she would win this duel so she could stay with her friend and the rest of this nice family before heading out the door…only to walk back in because she forgot her deck.


By the time she got to the backyard, she saw that Shining Armor was standing on one foot, a stick in one hand as he tried to scrape something off his shoe. “Twily, would it kill you to pick up after Spike more often?” he muttered to himself. Hearing this, Sonata moved carefully across the backyard so she was on the opposite side so that she didn’t step on any doggy landmines. It was slow going and by the time Sonata was in place, Shining Armor had tossed the stick to the side. Both of them looked at the other while they raised their duel disks.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Sonata while the other was Shining Armor. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster until finally it stopped on Shining Armor.


“Looks like it's my lucky day,” he said as they both drew their starting hands, their life points showing they both had 8000 to start off with. “I draw!” There was a pause as Shining drew his sixth card and added it to his hand. “Looks like I’m off to a great start! I summon Noble Knight Medraut in attack position!” Light particles began to gather together, forming a human as he walked onto the field. Medraunt was about the same size as Shining Armor with short blond hair and blue piercing eyes. He wore clothing that, to Sonata, looked very poofy in the arms and legs department which made her very glad that fashion trend died out many years ago. He wore armor on his shoulders, upper chest, feet, and hands while carrying a long broadsword. His attack was 1700.


“Medraunt has a special ability,” said Shining Armor proudly. “Until he is equipped with a equip spell card he is treated like a normal monster. But if I were to, say, equip him with the Noble Arms of Destiny card I have in my hand then he gains a very powerful effect.” Shining slide the spell card into the slot on his duel disk, causing the sword Medraunt was holding to turn into an older and thinner blade. “I will now activate his effect. First his level raises and his attribute become dark. But that’s nothing compared to his true power: if I have no other monsters on my field then I can special summon one monster from my deck in defense position and then destroy my equip card. So I special summon Noble Knight Borz.” Light gathered together again, this time creating another human in knight armor. This time the human had brown hair and wore a mostly blue suit of armor with silver trimming as well as a long flowing red cape. He knelt down on a single knee holding not a sword but instead a glowing golden cup. His defense points were 600 while his attack was 1700.


“I feel like I’ve seen these guys before,” said Sonata to herself. Something about them was eerily familiar. Had she and her sisters sung for them before? She couldn’t remember when they had sung to trading cards before.


“I now equip Borz with the equip card Noble Arms – Gallatin!” said Shining Armor as his monster gained a sword. “Now I activate his effect: I select three of my Noble Arms equip cards from my deck and you get to pick one at random. The one you choose is added to my hand while the rest go to my graveyard.” A holographic screen appeared before Shining Armor. While Sonata couldn’t see what he was looking at, she knew that those were all the equip card in his deck. The rude brother of Twilight scrolled down the list pressing random images until he had selected three. When that happened, the screen before his vanished only to be instantly replaced by three cards with their backs facing Sonata. “Choose wisely.”


Sonata hummed as she looked at the three card, eyeing each one of them. There was no way to tell what they were or what they did. But she was sure that no matter what she picked, one of them would help Shining. Perhaps something to equip again to Medraunt. “I’ll go with the middle one,” Sonata said at last, pointing at the one she had picked.


“You have chosen…poorly,” said Shining Armor as his duel disk ejected three cards. The man looked at them briefly before putting two of them into his graveyard and flipping the last one over to show Sonata what she had picked. “This card is Noble Arms – Excaliburn. The equipped monster cannot be targeted by a monsters effect. So I’m going to equip it to my Noble Knight Medraunt.” Once again, Medraunt’s sword changed. This time it took on the appearance of something more high tech. the double edged sword he now held had lines of energy running along the surface, on one side red while on the other side blue. “Since Borz also become a level 5 monster when equipped as well as a Dark attribute monster, I can create the Overlay Network!” At that moment, the ground began to swirl with dark comic like energy which sucked in both of Shining Armor’s monsters while their owner began his chant. “The swords clang loudly as the war rages on. Noble king, rise from your throne to bring righteous victory! Xyz summon. Rank 5 Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus!” Now appearing on the field was a man taller than the previous two with a bulkier form. He stood there with two swords, one in each hand as his red cape blew in the wind. He wore silver armor with bluish energy patterns on it that seemed to give off a mist that rose off of him before fading away. Below his brown hair was a circlet band. The monsters attack and defense points were the same at 2200.


“Wait a minute,” gasped Sonata as she stared at Shining Armor’s monster. “I know who that is!”


“I should hope so,” said Shining Armor as he puffed out his chest. “Many stories and legends have been told of this noble-”


“He’s that creepy pervert!” shouted Sonata suddenly, causing Shining Armor to do a double take. But Sonata kept staring at the monster, her eyes narrowing in dislike.


-Flashback-


“Hurry up Sonata, we don’t have all day,” shouted Adagio as she stood by the lakeside tapping her foot impatiently. Her eyes were focused on her blue skinned sister who was standing in water so deep that it went up to her hips. Soaked from head to toe, Sonata’s clothing clung to her body so that every curve was easily seen. In one had was a sword while in the other was a rag.


“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Sonata as she ran the rag over the wet blade as she tried her best to remove the blood stains.


“Are you questioning my brilliant ideas?” huffed Adagio. “A used weapons stand is perfect with all these wars going on. All we need to do is collect them from the battle fields before someone else comes along, clean them up, and we make a nice easy profit to live off of while we suck in all this negative energy in the air. It’s a foolproof plan that even an idiot like you can see the genius in.”


“Actually, I was talking about just me doing all the cleaning,” said Sonata as she sank a bit deeper into the water. “Wouldn’t this go a bit faster is you two helped me?”


“The people with brains don’t do manual labor!” roared Adagio, her skin turning red as she shouted. “Now shut up and get back to work while me and gloomy girl secure us a spot in the towns market. And you’d better have all those swords shiny by the time we get back!” With that, Adagio stormed off nearly slipping in the mud as she did so.


Letting out a groan, Sonata looked down through the crystal clear water. Near her feet were over a dozen swords soaking in the river water just waiting for her to pick them up. All of these were the best blades the three of them could find, ones without chips or dents that could easily be seen. But the stains were just a nightmare to get off of them. Really she could use some help, but it was unlikely that no matter how many times she asked Adagio would never consent. Aria was pretty much the same.


After Adagio had been gone for several minutes, Sonata heard a noise coming from the reeds near her. At first she ignored this, thinking it just to be another animal looking for a drink. It was only when she heard a very human gasp did she turn to look in its direction finding a young human male staring at her with gaping eyes. Embarrassment flushed over her as she felt him eyeing her.


“Get out of here you pervert!” shouted Sonata as she flung the sword she had been polishing into the reeds. There was the unmistakable sound of a sword hitting mud followed slowly by the boy getting up. And, to Sonata’s horror, in his hands was the sword.


“The Lady of the Lake gave me a sword!” the boy shouted as he ran off.


“Wait, I wasn’t finished polishing that!” shouted Sonata. “Plus you haven’t paid for that. It’s only thirty silver coins, a bargain!” But the boy did not turn around. Instead he kept running until he was out of sight. In the end, Sonata shrugged before she dived into the water to get the next sword. She had a lot of work to do and now she had one less blade to clean.


-End Flashback-


“Ok, I’m just going to ignore that crazy,” said Shining Armor slowly. “The sooner I finish this turn the closer I am to removing you from this house! Since my Noble Knight was successfully summoned, I can now pull three Noble Arm cards from my graveyard and equip them to him. I choose Noble Arms – Clarent, Excaliburn, and Gallatin!” In front of King Artorigus, three sword shot out of the ground with the hilts facing the sky. Artorigus looked at them for a moment before sheathing the swords in his hands. The sword Gallatin he also sheathed while Clarent and Excaliburn were held in his hands. “Now for their effects: Clarent will allow my King to attack you directly at the cost of 500 life points, Excaliburn makes it so you can’t target the monster equipped, and Gallatin raises my monsters attack points by 1000 but he loses 200 attack points during each of my standby phases. I end my turn.”


“Okie dokie then,” said Sonata as she drew her sixth card. “First off, I’ll send Gishki Vision from my hand to the graveyard to add one Gishki ritual monster from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be adding Gishki Zielgigas. Then, I’ll play my ritual spell card Gishki Aquamirror to summon him. Normally, I would have to send cards to my graveyard equal to the level of the monster I want to summon. Lucky for me, I have Gishki Shadow in my hand who has this super ability to cover the whole cost of the summon!” Smiling, Sonata slid the ritual spell card into the spell/trap card slot of her duel disk creating a massive mirror behind her with golden trimming. As she discarded Shadow, a mist like image of the monster appeared floating in front of the mirror. The creature was a blue creature that sort of looked like an eel that had sprouted arms and legs. On the top of its head was a fin and had four eyes. Shadow wore a black robe with a high golden collar and in its right hand held a staff with a glowing orb dangling off a hook. After hovering there for a moment, Shadow was surrounded by a golden orb that shot into the mirror with its glassy surface rippling like water.


While the surface of the glass continued to ripple, the mirror no longer reflected the scene in front of it. Instead it showed a barren, watery depth with small fishes swimming by. It looked like Shadow was about to join them with a massive hand grabbed the sacrifice and crushed it. “He who was once enemy of all now reborn to help the Gishki tribe,” chanted Sonata as something large and massive it filled the entire mirror. “One with the voice so powerful it can be heard from the deepest of the Ocean’s depths. I call upon you to lend me your power in this fight! Ritual summon! Gishki Zielgigas!” At that moment the pounding on the mirror grew more intense until it finally shatter. Four blue hands came out to take hold of the remains of the golden mirror and stretch it out so the massive creature within could make its way onto dry land. Sonata watched as Shining Armor took a step back out of instinct. Zielgigas was massive creature, towering over all so that the houses in the surrounding area looked puny compared to it. This monster had four muscular arms with visible veins as well as two large spikes on its shoulders that started blue but gradually turned red. Oddly, the monster had a set of wings and two horns, one on the two of its head and one on its back, that curved towards each other like a Hercules beetle. Zielgigas wore silvery armor on its torso with the symbol of the Gishki in the center of its chest. Its attack 3200!


“Ok, so you have a big monster,” said Shining Armor. “But it’s attack is the same as my Knight right now. They’ll just destroy each other!”


“No they won’t because I activate my monster’s special ability,” said Sonata with a grin. “By paying a thousand of my life points, I get to draw one card. If the card I drew was a Gishki monster then I can shuffle one card on the field into the deck.” Sonata body began to glow while her life points dropped to 7000. This glow only vanished after she had drawn a card from her deck which she then flipped so that Shining Armor could see that it was Gishki Gustkraken, a ritual monster. “Looks like your King is about to be all washed up.”


Shining Armor gritted his teeth. “Are you forgetting my equip card?” he demanded. “Thanks to Excaliburn, you can’t target my monster.”


“Well, funny thing about that,” replied Sonata as she twirled the back of her ponytail with a finger. “See, nowhere in my cards text says ‘target’. So that means that its effect can bypass your equip cards protection!” Sonata watched as Shining Armor’s eyes widened in shock while Zielgigas roared so loudly you could see the sound waves. Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus suddenly looked terrified before running away, dropping all his swords which shattered as soon as they hit the ground. The scared king then turned into light shooting into Shining Armor’s extra deck.


“Now that he’s out of the way,” continued Sonata as she held up another card. “I think I’ll now summon my Gishki Beast in attack position.” Appearing on the field was a creature with green skin that almost looked human. However its teeth were more canine-like, both his hands and feet were webbed, he had two large yellow horns coming out of his darker green hair, and he had a tail. It’s attack points were 1500. “Now I use his effect to bring to the field my Gishki Shadow. Since I now have two level four monsters, I can do a Xyz summon as well!” Just like with Shining Armor, a spiraling galaxy like vortex appeared on the field which sucked up both of Sonata’s non-ritual monsters. “The oceans turn wildly, but that will not affect you. Swim through the storm like no other! Xyz summon rank 4. Evigishki Merrowgeist!” The dark vortex suddenly turned into water and from its center came a mermaid. Her upper body was that of a woman in her twenties while her lower body was a fin, red like the color of her long flowing hair. On her back were fin like wings similar to those of a flying fish, starting out green but as they moved away from the body turned blue. Adoring her body was a green cloth like robe that ended at her red tail and on her head was a green finned helmet. In one of her hands, Merrowgeist held a wooden staff with a large bluish white diamond in the middle. Her attack points were 2100.


“Now, attack him directly!” commanded Sonata. Zielgigas opened his mouth again and roared, sending waves of sonic energy at Shining Armor so intense that it caused him to drop to his knees. As Shining Armor’s hands flew to cover his hears his life points dropped to 4800. When Zielgigas finally closed its mouth, Merrowgeist raised her staff to created rings of water that flew towards her enemy. This time Shining Armor was knocked onto his back as his life points dropped to 2700. “I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”


“Looks like you’re going to be tougher than I thought,” grumbled Shining Armor as he drew a card, making the number of cards in his hand four.


“I’m not leaving without a fight,” said Sonata firmly.


“Well don’t worry because I’m going to give you a fight,” replied Shining Armor. “I play the spell card Heritage of the Chalice. This card lets me add one Noble Knight monster or Noble Arms card from either my deck or graveyard to my hand. So I choose Noble Knight Drystan. And then I’ll summon him!” Appearing on the field was another human knight in silver armor. He had long flowing brown hair and, rather than a sword, he carried with him a harp. This monster’s attack points were 1800. “Next, I’ll play the quick play spell card Glory of the Noble Knights which will allow me to equip Drystan with one equip spell card from my deck. So I choose Caliburn.” The harp vanished from Drystan’s hand and was replaced with a blade with two thin lines of blue energy running through it. “This card will raise my monsters attack point by 500 and once per turn I can also gain 500 life points. So I’ll do that right now.” Drystan turned and pointed his new weapon at Shining Armor, creating a golden light around him. Smiling, Shining Armor’s life points rose to 3200.


“Now for the effect of Drystan,” continued Shining Armor as he pointed at Zielgigas. “When a Noble Arms spell is equipped to this card I can destroy one face up card on the field. So say goodbye to your best monster!” Drystan pointed his weapon at Zielgigas, sending a wave of blue energy at him this time. The energy hit Sonata’s monster square in the chest, piercing its armor and going right through it. As it began to fall it exploded into thousands of tiny golden lights.


“Now Noble Knight Drystan, destroy her wicked Merrowgeist!” commanded Shining Armor. Drystan readied his sword and with a loud bellow leapt into the air with the sword raised high above his head. As he fell down right in front of Merrowgiest, he swung the sword down with all his might to cut Sonata’s monster in half. As her monster exploded Sonata’s life points went down to 6800. “I guess now I’ll play a face down before ending my turn.”


“Ok then, I draw,” said Sonata as she drew a card. She added it to her hand before looking at the three cards she had at her disposal. “First off, I’ll activate the effect of my Gishki Aquamirror. By sending one ritual monster in my graveyard back into my deck I can add my ritual spell card back to my hand. So I’ll choose my Zielgigas.” Two cards shot out of her graveyard. After putting the monster on the top of her deck, Sonata added the spell card to her hand while the auto-shuffler went to work. “Next I’ll play the spell card Salvage. This lets me target two water monsters in my graveyard with 1500 attack points or less and add them to my hand. So I’ll choose my Gishki Shadow and Vision.” Two more cards slide out of her graveyard which Sonata then added to her hand, bringing the total number of cards she held to five.


“Now I’ll play my Gishki Aquamirror again,” continued Sonata as the giant mirror appeared behind her again. “This time I’ll send the Evigishki Mind Augus from my hand to the graveyard for cost to ritual summon Gishki Gustkraken.” The card in Sonata’s hand now became a light that flew into the mirror and, like before, swam through an ocean before being devoured by something else. “Great sorceress of the Gishki, hear my voice now. Though this form is not of your choosing use its might to break their will to fight. Ritual summon. Gishki Gustkraken!” From the mirror came a monster similar to a mermaid in that the upper part of it body was human while the lower was aquatic in nature. The upper part was that of a woman again with long flowing red hair, black robes, and a hat. At the hip downwards was an octopus like creature with black and gold skin. The lower body had four large green eyes and a large beaked mouth, ready to gobble up anyone who came too close to its tentacles. Its attack points were 2400.


“When this creature is ritual summoned I can look at two cards in your hand and then send one of them back into your deck,” explained Sonata as a smile crossed her face. “But since you only have one, I think we both know what I’ll pick.” Shining Armor said nothing, frowning as he sent the card into his deck to be shuffled with the rest of the cards there. “Next, I activate the effect of my Aquamirror again to send my Evigishki Mind Augus back into my deck so I can add my ritual card back to my hand. Then I’ll discard my Gishki Vision to get back my Mind Augus and then summon him.” Now Gustkraken was sucked into the mirror to become food for Sonata’s next monster which needed several bites in order to fully consume it.


“Splendid rider of the Gishki, hear my call,” chanted Sonata. “Swim through the portal to aid your ally! Bring victory with a mighty splash! Ritual Summon, Evigishki Mind Augus!”At that exact moment, Evigishki Mind Augus shot out of the mirror and flew/swam around the field. The best way to describe this monster was a giant flying fish with somebody riding on top of it. The fish part had six eyes as well as six claws on its underbelly that looked like they belonged to an insect. But despite those features, as well as its sharp teeth, there was a beauty to this creature. Perhaps it was the wings, which started out red before ending in a brilliant blue. As for the rider, he had long blue hair and wore something that looked like a wizards hat while holding a staff in one hand. This ritual monster had 2500 attack points.


“Now that Mind Augus has been ritual summoned, I can activate his effect to send up to five cards from either graveyard back into the deck,” continued Sonata as a holographic panel appeared in front of Sonata. On it were the pictures of cards in both player’s graveyards, split in half to show who had which card. Scrolling down Shining Armor’s side of the screen, she began to tap his equip cards. “Since that Xyz monster of yours can get those poky swords back easily, I think I’ll pick them.” With that, the cards Sonata picked ejected themselves out of Shining Armor’s graveyard. The blue skinned girl watched as her opponent frowned even deeper as he put them back into his main deck.


“Now, before I attack, I’m going to use the effect of my ritual spell card once again,” said Sonata as she added her Aquamirror back into her hand. “Mind Augus, attack his monster!” Evigishki Mind Augus opened its mouth allowing thousands of small flying fish made of light blue energy to fly out of it and crash into Drystan. Yet…


“I activate my trap card,” announced Shining Armor. “Defense Draw! With this card I take no damage for this battle and I get to draw one card! Also, the effect of Heritage of the Chalice activates. Since a Noble Knight monster that was equipped with an equip spell card was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can return this spell card to my hand.”


“Well, I’ve got nothing else to do,” admitted Sonata. “I end my turn.”


“Very well, I draw!” yelled Shining Armor as he drew. “I’ll play Last Chapter of the Noble Knights! Here’s how this card works: if you control at least one monster while I have none, I can select one Noble Arms card and an appropriate Noble Knight card in my grave. I then can special summon that Noble Knight and equip the Noble Arms to him. So let's welcome back Noble Knight Medraunt and I’ll equip the only Noble Arms spell card I have; Noble Arm – Caliburn!” From out of the ground came Medraunt with sword in hand looking like he had been buried alive and had just had to dig himself up. “Since he’s the only monster on my side of the field I can special summon another Noble Knight from my deck at the cost of destroying the equipped spell card. So I’ll bring out Noble Knight Bedwyr.” Light gathered once more as a knight in silver armor with gold trimming walked onto the field while his red cloak blew behind him. The man had a much sterner face than the other with short pure white hair. His attack points were 1600.


“When Noble Knight Bedwyr is normal or special summoned I can send one Noble Arms card to the graveyard,” explained Shining Armor. “So I’ll choose Noble Arms – Gallatin. Next I’ll play Heritage of the Chalice to add one Noble Knight to my hand. I’ll pick Noble Knight Gawayn. His special effect is that if I have a normal light monster I can special summon this monster in my hand to the field in defense position. Which I’ll do right now.” Appearing on the field was a human knight in bronze armor with a blue cape flowing in the wind along with his blond hair. The knight was on one knee and his defense points were only 500.


“Now for the final card in my hand,” said Shining Armor. “I normal summon Lady of the Lake in attack mode.” Appearing now on the field was a woman with long glowing blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a blue silken shirt, white pants, and silver boots. Hugged within her arms was the blade Excaliburn. “Now my field is all set for my final move. I tune my level one tuner Lady of the Lake with the level four Noble Knight Gawayn.” At that moment, both monster rose into the sky with Lady of the Lake turning into a golden circle while Gawayn turned into four golden star that went through the circle. “Dishonored, shrouded in darkness. Lift your swords to the heavens to protect this land still. Synchro summon level five. Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn!” There was a flash of light and when it faded, a knight appeared with 2100 attack points. Unlike the other knights Shining Armor had summoned, this one had black armor with glowing red energy markings on it. His long black hair covered most of his face, but Sonata could still see an evil smile on it that would make Adagio proud. In his hands were two blades, ready to slice into her. “Now that I have synchro summoned this monster, I can equip one Noble Arms card to him straight from my deck. And the card I choose is Noble Arms of Destiny.”


As the blade appeared in the Ignoble Knight’s hand, Shining Armor gestured to his other two monsters. “Next I will build the overlay network to create a rank four monster.” Once again, the vortex of darkness and stars appeared on the field, sucking up both of Shining Armor’s monsters. [“Battles rage upon this land so dear. Hark, here comes the one to untie all with divine right. Xyz summon. Rank 4. Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights!” Now on the field was a warrior knight that looked just like the Scared Noble Knight that had been summoned on Shining Armor’s first turn. Only this one held a single broad sword. It’s attack points were 2000.


“Ah, I think you made a mistake,” said Sonata. “I’m pretty sure that neither monster can take down my monster.”


Shining Armor smirked. “Congratulations, you are correct. Too bad I don’t have any gold stars to give.”


“Ahh, I always wanted a gold star,” replied Sonata causing Shining Armor to roll his eyes.


“Neither monster right now can take you down,” continued Shining Armor. “But, that’s why he also has the effect to grab up to three Noble Arms spell cards in my graveyard. So I’ll equip him with Gallatin and Caliburn!” Both swords rose from the ground and Artorigus picked them up at the same time to wield them with both hands. As he did, his attack points rose all the way to 3500. “I will say that your monsters have been annoying. I would have used the effect of Excaliburn to bring back my Sacred Noble King this turn had you not returned it to my deck. Pity, I would have dumped it into my graveyard this turn had it not been for its restrictions. Oh well this will do.” Shining Armor then pointed to Sonata’s face down card. “I’m not going to waste any of my monster’s overlay material on that card. If it had the power to negate a monster’s effect, you would have used it to save your best monster. Or, if it offered some sort of battle protection like Mirror Force, you would have used it last turn. I’m not going to be fooled by a bluff card. Artorigus, dispose of that demon from the deep!” Grunting, Shining Armor’s monster charged at Mind Augus with both arms extended as far as it could. Then, when the knight was close enough, it slashed at the water monster in an X formation. With the monster destroyed Sonata’s life points dropped to 5800.


“Now my Ignoble Knight will attack and you’ll be one step closer to being out of this house,” said Shining Armor.


“WHAT?!?” screamed a voice. Both duelists turned to see, standing off to the side, was Twilight and the rest of her friends. All but Twilight had their mouths open agape with shock. Twilight, on the other hand, was looking at her brother with rage. “Shining Armor, what is going on here?!”


“Stay out of this Twily,” said Shining as he did his best not to cringe at the death glare his sister was giving him.


“Oh, don’t you ‘Twily’ me mister,” seethed Twilight as she clenched her fists. “What’s this about kicking Sonata out of the house? And why would Sonata even agree to this?”


“I’m sorry Twilight,” mumbled Sonata as she shrank a bit. “He said if I didn’t duel him he would tell your parents the truth about me. Then there would be no way they would ever want me to stay around here.”


“What are you even doing here anyways?” said Shining. “I was hoping to finish this duel before you girls got back. It hasn’t been going on that long.”


“Oh, that’s easy,” said Pinkie, who was the first to recover for what they had all heard. “We all met up a couple of blocks from here when we saw this HUGE Gishki monster. Well, Sonata is the only person we knew who uses Gishki so we figured she was dueling someone.” Pinkie then went to stand next to Twilight. “Then Twilight here said that Sonata promised she was going to work on her essay.” She then went over to Rainbow. “Then Rainbow said that she forgot to do her homework as well.” Pinkie then bounced over to Sunset. “So Sunset then suggested that we look at the cards another day and help get both girls back on track. Besides, we can always look at the cards online. Then we came back here just in time to hear you say that you were going to kick Sonata out of the house.”


Shining Armor shook his head before looking at Twilight. “Twily, I’m doing this for the family. People like her, they don’t change. Sooner or later she’ll hurt this family. Is that what you want? To see mom and dad’s hearts broken when she stabs you all in the back?”


“You’re wrong!” shouted Sonata, getting the man’s attention back. “There is no way I can ever go back to who I was. And even if I was offered the chance, I wouldn’t take it. Not anymore! Not when I have someone like Twilight who actually talks to me instead of bossing me around. How nice and welcoming everyone here is. For the first time in so long, I feel like I’m someplace good. I don’t ever want to walk away from that. That’s why I’m going to win this duel.”


Sonata watched as Shining Armor’s eyes widened as she spoke, his body swaggering a bit as if someone had smacked him upside the head. Something that Sonata would know about given all the times Adagio had done that to her. Perhaps she had gotten through to him! Not bad for her first friendship speech!


Suddenly, Shining Armor’s eyes narrowed as his fists clenched. “I don’t believe you!” he shouted. “Ignoble Knight Laundsallyn, attack her directly!” Grinning madly, the Ignoble Knight lunged towards Sonata with his blade pointed right at her heart. But, just before it could pierce her, a wall of water erupted from the ground as Sonata pressed a button on her duel disk. “W-What’s going on?”


“You were also wrong about my face down,” said Sonata as she gestured to the card. “It’s not that it was a fake, I just couldn’t activate it. Drowning Mirror Force can only be activated when you declare a direct attack on me. It wouldn’t destroy all of your monsters, just sending them back into your deck.” As Sonata’s friends cheered, the wall of water fell down upon the field and carried away both of Shining Armor’s knight. As for Twilight’s brother, he fell to his knees as he watched his big move get washed away.


“No,” he whispered. “If they had been destroyed I could have used their effects to summon more knights. But now…I have nothing.”


“My draw,” announced Sonata, her card leaving behind it a neon blue arc as she drew it. The former Siren looked at the card and smiled. “I normal summon my Gishki Abyss in attack mode!” A monster with 800 attack points appeared on Sonata’s field, a nightmarish creature that had the body of a man but his head was that of an entire shark. It grinned, showing off its razor sharp teeth. “Now, when this monster is summoned to my side of the field, I can go through my deck and add one Gishki monster with 1000 or less defense points. So I’ll be adding back my Gishki Zielgigas! Next I’ll summon him with my Gishki Aquamirror using the Gishki Shadow in my hand as the cost.”


Once again, Sonata chanted the words to bring out her Gishki Zielgigas. It towered over the field as it stared down at her opponent with its 3200 attack point might. Sonata looked at her opponent, who kept his head down. With 3200 life points left, no cards in his hand or on the field, she knew that he knew that he had lost. There was no saving his life points from going to zero. So, Sonata gave the order and Gishki Zielgigas sent out his attack to end this duel.


-x-


“A ROOM!” yelled Twilight, her purple skin turning red as she shouted at him. “You tried to kick Sonata out of the house because of a room?!” Shining Armor winced as he sat on his bed. Or at least his former bed. Now it belonged to Sonata.


It was a short time after the duel and, needless to say, everybody wanted answers. After Shining Armor had explained himself for his actions the girls had gone into the story of who Sonata really was. With Pinkie Pie even supplying puppets…somehow. At first Shining was less than believing. After all, who would believe that the girl who had beaten him in a duel came from a world of talking ponies and she had been in this world for a thousand years or more. Plus, his sister was talking about magic! She was a teenage girl who believed in science, not that fake hocus pocus stuff in the story books. It became even nuttier when Sunset claimed to be from the same world.


As any sane and rational person would, Shining Armor didn’t believe them. His mind began to consider that Sonata was really a cult member sent to brainwash people or something like that. Well, until the girls decided to show him proof. Twilight levitated him off the ground followed by Applejack lifting the bed with one hand with him still on it. Pinkie Pie tossed some sprinkles she had in her hair into the air which exploded. Rarity created a barrier of diamonds around her. Just as he was about to say he believed they had magic, Sunset touched him and…read his mind.


“Well to be fair he was really worried about everyone,” said Sunset sheepishly. Not that it seemed to do much as Twilight continued to stare at Shining Armor. Personally, Shining Armor wished they had told him about all of this sooner. Maybe then he wouldn’t have angered the group of magically powerful teenage girls over something so petty. But then again…


“I want to know what are you hiding in this room!” demanded Twilight. “What is in here that is worth kicking Sonata to the curb?”


“Ah,” began Shining as he looked around for some help. Anyone who might be willing to calm Twilight down. However, what he saw was not promising. Pinkie Pie looked like she was off in her own little world. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack were giving him dirty looks that showed that he would get no pity from them. Even the kindest looking of the group, Fluttershy be believed she was called, didn’t seem to be willing to met his gaze. As for Sunset, she just shrugged. Apparently she was either unwilling to tell everyone what she knew from reading his mind or she hadn’t gotten that far and was letting things play out.


“Hmm, could it be this?” said Sonata. Shining turned his head to look at the blue skinned girl…and his heart nearly stopped. She was walking over to the light fixture that revealed everything!


“NO!” screamed Shining. But it was too late. Sonata had pulled down on the secret lever he had had installed so long ago. As he curled up into a ball on the bed, the room began to change. Parts of the wall began to spin around where his old sports and band posters used to be, revealing fantasy and sci-fi movie posters in their place along with a few O&O ones as well. Another part of the wall spun around, revealing a mini fridge that he knew was full of snacks. Just how fresh they were was a matter for another day. Finally, from the ceiling, a large circular table was lowered by a chain in the middle. On the table were plastic figures of warriors and dragons as well as plenty of dice. There were also dusty character sheets on it as well.


Thus, Shining Armor’s secret was revealed. He was not the amazing jock he let everyone think he was. He was a nerd of the highest order pretending to be something he wasn’t.


“How is this possible?” asked Twilight as she looked around.


“That’s…a very good question actually,” said Sunset as she and the other girls looked around. “I mean, how could he do all this without anyone knowing. And isn’t the opposite side of the wall connected to the outside? How could no one notice a mini fridge there? And how come no one noticed the table?” The flame haired girl then placed a hand to her head as she suddenly looked dizzy. “So many questions.”


“It wasn’t easy,” said Shining Armor as he got up. Slowly he walked towards the table and picked up a paladin figure which he began to twirl in his fingers. “My friends helped install this. This was meant to be our hang out, so we could play the games we loved without being judged. Twily, you know how much image meant to the reputation of Crystal Prep. If anyone found out we liked this sort of thing we would have been harassed.”


“Ah, you do know that you’re not in Crystal Prep anymore, right?” asked Rainbow Dash. “And that a lot more people play these games nowadays?”


Shining Armor sighed. “I guess the fear never really left me, even after I left that place.” He then turned around and looked at Sonata. “I’m sorry for what I put you through. If my family believes you deserve a second chance then I shouldn’t have doubted them.”


“Its ok,” said Sonata. “The duel wasn’t that hard. And I guess I can understand how you feel. If I went back home to the ocean and found someone else living my grotto I think I might have done the same thing. Oh, wait a moment.” Sonata then turned around towards the bed and got on her hands and knees. Before anyone could ask what she was doing, she reached under it and pulled out a vanilla folder and handed it to Shining Armor. “I also found this under your bed when I first moved in. It sure was nice of that girl to pose like that!”


Shining Armor’s eyes widened as he held the folder, feeling the eyes of all the other girls boring into him while Sonata looked at him with blissful ignorance. This one, he really should have brought with him when he left home.
> Dueling Magic (Trixie vs. Eye Candy)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world around the young Trixie Lulamoon was one of a thousand bright colors, sights, and smells. Walking with her parents, the young girl saw clowns moving about as they juggled or crammed themselves into a car that was ten times too small to hold one let alone seven of them. A few people were swallowing balls of fire before breathing out the flames causing those near to gasp and laugh in surprise. Zebras and elephants and so many other animals were there to ride or being ridden on by the performers.


To most children in this day and age, the circus was nothing special. But to Trixie, on that day, it was something magical. How could it not be when she had seen the Great and Powerful Morboba as he stood in the center doubling as the ring leader? She had gasped as he swallowed a sword as long as himself before burping out a hawk that then circled around the tent once before landing back on his head. She had seen manipulate flames with his hands, circling around him as they changed color. So many tricks, each one of them so impressive that she was out of her seat. She stood there watching in amazement, wanting to see what this impressive magician would do next until he was sadly finished.


Now the show was over and Trixie, along with her family, were heading out to the parking lot to head home. As her parents talked with each other, she pulled away slightly without them noticing. There, standing off to the side of the tent with a few other kids, was Morboba! He was just standing there in his white shirt, red vest, and signature long mustache while signing autographs.


Before Trixie even knew what was happening, her feet were moving towards the man as the last child walked away. Seeing this caused her movements to quicken for she did not want him to leave. It wasn’t just the autograph she wanted, but also there was a question she wanted to ask him. One that had been burning in her head since she had seen his first amazing feat of magic. She had planned to ask her parents about it, but seeing him here made her realize that he was the one to ask about this.


“Well hello there,” said Morboba as Trixie came to a stop. As Trixie paused to catch her breath, she looked at his kind smile but there was also a bit of concern in his eyes. “I take it you want an autograph too. But, where are your parents?”


“Ah,” began Trixie as she looked behind her. To her shock, she didn’t see them in the crowd! Had they continued to move on without noticing that she wasn’t there? As tears threatened to appear in her eyes, Morboba moved to her side and gently took her hand.


“How about I help you find them?” he said in a soft, gentle voice. Feeling her cheeks beginning to redden, it was all Trixie could do to simply nod. And like that, they were off heading in the direction Trixie had come from. As they walked, Trixie noticed Morboba pulling out a phone and pressing a few buttons.


“Ah, Mr. Great and Powerful,” began Trixie shyly. “I wanted to ask you something.”


Morboba laughed as he pocketed his phone. “Just Morboba will do,” he said still chuckling. “Sure, you can ask me whatever you like.”


“I was wondering how I can be as great and powerful as you,” Trixie asked, her words almost causing the man to stumble a bit. “Do I have to buy something super expensive? I have a little bit saved up in my piggy bank back home?”


For a while, Morboba said nothing as they just stood there. She could hear his phone buzzing now but the man made no motion to reach for it. Her tiny hands clutched together while the pounding of her heart filled her ears. Had she said something wrong? Was there some super, secret place that she had to buy this stuff from that he wouldn’t tell her? Or would he tell her she couldn’t because she was a girl? Some of the boys at school were always telling her that there was a ton of stuff she couldn’t do for that same reason. Then, slowly Morboba bent down so that they were eye to eye.


“Well my dear, becoming great and powerful is no easy task,” he began, his eyes locked onto Trixie’s. “It’s not something that can be bought in a store. Otherwise, nobody would be great and powerful. It takes time and, above all, creativity to creature your own tricks. People like have spent years of our lives working hard to make our tricks, so we are not willing to just sell them.”


Trixie stared back at him. “So…if I want to be like you, I have to do it myself?” she asked.


A slight smile appeared on Morboba’s face. “Oh, I am sure there are plenty of books out there that can help get you started,” he said as he patted her on the head. “I think they might still sell those basic magic trick kits. But, those will never make you great or powerful. The only things that can do that are this.” He lightly tapped her head. “This.” He once again lightly tapped her, this time on her heart. “And hard work.”


Trixie stared at him for a moment as understanding filled her. Slowly her blank expression filled with wide eyed understanding. “I’ll do it!” she declared. “I’ll become the Great and Powerful Trixie!”


“I’m sure you will,” said the older man as he started to get up. However, he paused very suddenly while his eyes went wide as he looked down at his vest. Trixie noticed something as well. In the space between his vest and shirt came a glowing light. Morboba reached in with the young girl expecting another amazing trick of some kind. But to her surprise, what he pulled out wasn’t something amazing. Instead, it was a duel monsters card that seemed to be giving off the light until it was fully out in the open. Then, very suddenly, the light faded.


“I believe this will help you on your journey,” said Morboba as he handed the card to Trixie. “He may not be the greatest of all magicians, but he has been my partner for many years now. Now it seems he wishes to help you.” Slowly, Trixie took the card and looked at it.


-x-


“Trixie!” came a loud voice. At once, the Great and Powerful Trixie opened her eyes to see that her head was resting on her arms. Which, by the way, were now covered with drool. Jerking up from her resting place from behind a large crate, Trixie saw that it was Snips who had called out her name as he carried a large box in his hands. Next to him was his eternal partner Snails who was also carrying a large box.


“About time you two showed up,” Trixie said as she stood up and quickly brushed herself off. “The Great and Powerful Trixie had been waiting so long she fell asleep! All Trixie needed was for the two of you to grab a few things from Trixie’s house.”


“But these things are heavy,” whined Snips, causing Trixie to roll her eyes in annoyance. Without saying anything, she began to lead them past the main stage of the Canterlot Theater for the main event tomorrow.


The Canterlot Theater was a well known establishment within the area for some time. For almost a hundred years, this location had stood providing the surrounding areas for a place to hold indoor concerts, professional comedians, and all sorts of productions. It was also the home to the annual amateur magician contest. One night a year, ten slots would be open to showcase up and coming talent in the field of the optical illusions, hypnotism, and other such arts to showcase wonder and amazement. There was no cash prize, but there was a chance that a talent scout could be in the audience. More importantly, it was a chance just to show off one's skills and get an idea of how the audience would react..


For the last three years, Trixie had tried to secure one of those slots but had failed each and every time. She could clearly remember the first time she tried, never even being able to show off what she could do. The manager had told her she was simply too young to try something like this. That he wasn’t running a babysitting operation and that people were paying good money to see some talent. It was only last year when she was given a chance to do a mini performance to try and gain one of the slots. Sadly, everything seemed to go wrong for her. All of her props had either malfunctioned or had been forgotten back at home. Being the gifted person that she was, Trixie had done her best to role with the punches, to pretend this was all going according to plan. But even she could tell by the frown the manager had as he watched her that she had failed. Thankfully this year was different. For the first time, she was going to be on a real stage to show the world (or at least the people in attendance) that she was the Great and Powerful Trixie!


-x-


Yet little did she know that the seats were not empty. Watching from the nosebleed section were two figures that she knew very well.


“Still nothing,” muttered Adagio as she held in her hands the magical detection device Cinch had provided.


“Gee, I wonder why?” complained Aria as she looked up from her phone to face the stage. “It’s a magic show, remember? Humans have been pretending to do magic for centuries. Real magic by these morons has been lost for who knows how long.”


“I know that!” snapped Adagio as she turned her head to glare at her sister. “But there is a chance that someone down there might have some skill or some Equestrian magic that they believe will help liven up their act. Like, I don’t know, a mirror or something that can suck people into a different dimension. Or magic that gives life to the lifeless. You know how humans think. Once they see a short-cut they’ll use it to claim easy fame. So it makes sense that they might try something as simple minded as this.”


“Sounds like that minor plot point in that lazy movie,” mumbled Aria. “You know, the one that was based on that mouse and was full of clichés? I think it was called-” Aria found the words had died in her throat as she noticed something. Leaning forward in her chair a bit, she stared at the blue skinned girl she and her sisters had manipulated prior. Or rather, what was behind her. It was only there for a moment, but Aria was sure she saw something directly behind. A ghostly, humanish figure.


“What? Have a brain crash or something?” asked Adagio with a slight sneer.


“Did the device go off?” asked Aria as she ignoring her sister’s words. Adagio blinked in surprise before looking down at the device. Nothing had happened. Nothing that the machine could detect at least.


“Nothing,” said Adagio, her voice growing more serious now. “Did you see something? There is a chance that it was so minor that the machine didn’t pick it up.”


Aria stared at the stage for a moment longer before her face relaxed a bit and she leaned back in her seat. “Maybe. Or maybe it was just my imagination. We’ve been sitting on our asses so long that it's no wonder I’m getting bored. I think this scouting mission has been a complete bust.”


Adagio let out a growl of annoyance. “Only I say when something is a bust,” she said. “We’ll continue to wait a bit longer. Until I’m sure.”


-x-


“Here we are,” announced Trixie as she undid a lock on a gate. Before them, lining up on one side of the building, was a long fenced in area with numerous gates which were properly numbered one through ten. Each gate lead into a further fenced in area with this one holding Trixie’s equipment for the big night. Several rows of long, black boxes laid on the floors as well as regular cardboard ones as well. As she walked in, she could see the more colorful red wooden crates that belong to a rather balding magician who would also be performing.


Trixie stood there, savoring this moment as she pulled out a large locket. Flipping it open, she stared at its two contents. On one side was a picture that meant the world to her while of the other was her favorite card. The one she got on the day she started on this journey to show the world she was Great and Powerful. The one that the magician who had inspired her had given her. The image stared back at her, but not without life that Trixie could feel.


Then the moment was ruined with a sudden slamming noise from behind her that caused her to jump. As she closed the locket, she turned around to see that Snips and Snails had dropped her boxes on the ground without any ceremony at all! The nerve of them! Gritting her teeth, she moved towards the boxes.


“You complete idiots!” she snarled as she opened the top of one of the boxes. Heart pounding, she began to quickly search through it while quickly inspecting each one. Sweat began to form on her face. They all looked fine, but she would need to test each and every one of them to make sure that were not damaged in any way.


“Sorry,” mumbled Snails slowly as Trixie pulled out a black ball at least twice the size of a baseball. Without answering him, she closed her eyes and began to juggle it.


“If anything broke we could spare some money to replace it…maybe,” added in Snips with a nervous shrug.


“You can’t buy these anywhere,” said Trixie without looking at them. “Trixie had to work for years, saving up the money needed to build these with Trixie’s own hands.” She then suddenly stopped her juggling with the orb in both hands. She then pressed on it from both sides, surprisingly flattening it into something the size and shape of an old vinyl record before tossing it into the air. When it came down, Trixie caught it with one hand as it suddenly transformed into a top hat which she then put onto of her head. Both boys awed at this, clapping their hands excitedly as she removed it revealing that she had a pair of bunny ears on her head.


“Still not perfect,” Trixie said with a sigh. “But Trixie supposes it will do for an opening act. If only Trixie could have found a way to put a real rabbit in here without it getting injured.”


As Trixie began the slightly complicated method of turning the hat back into a ball, a door was heard slamming open nearby. Turning her head to look at a small office just somewhat obscured by the fence, Trixie saw that it was the theater manager’s office door that had opened. But the one coming out was not the gruff man that she knew. Instead it was a plump, bald headed man with a long drooping nose who fell backwards. Dressed in a suit and tie that barely fit him, he fell on his back while the sound of clothing ripping filled the air.


“Please, just give me another chance,” he said as he held out his hand to the door. Trixie couldn’t help but cringe at his voice. It was a mixture of nasally and whiny that would give most people the creeps. She wasn’t the only one to think this for Trixie saw several of the other people hard at work getting ready for tomorrow stop what they were doing and cringed a tad when he spoke.


As he looked upwards a woman in a skimpy dress stormed out of the office. She wore a one piece outfit that had a flame motif that started right at her bosom and ended right below her ass so that if she bent the wrong way she would give the audience a flash of panties. Her hair was curled and scarlet with streaks of orange, with a lovely shade of pinkish skin. Trixie had seen her plenty of times before, usually with a fake smile on that was absent today. Instead there was a fury to her face directed at the man.


“I told you Windbag,” said the gruff voice of the manager as he stood in the doorway now. A short, but muscular man with a receding grey hairline and light grey skin that showed no signs of weakness. As always he had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and an unlit cigar in his mouth. “You’re done here! The last ten years you’ve been doing the exact same failed routine! Last time you were the last act of the night and what happened? The place emptied out before you even got on stage. No one wants to see your sorry act anymore.”


“But I paid to have all of my stuff brought here,” whined Windbag as he got on all fours, looking up at the manager in a pathetic way. “It’s not fair. Please give me another chance.”


“WELL THAT’S YOUR FAULT!” screamed the manager as he ripped the cigar out of his mouth. “I told you last year that you were done, to not even bother showing up for a try out. I even called you just to remind you. But here you are!” The manager then threw his cigar down on the ground and stomped on it, his cheeks reddening as he did so. He then pointed a finger at Windbag, but before he had a chance to say anything the woman had grabbed the man and lifted him up roughly.


“You knew about this for a year?!” she screamed. “I wasted another year taking care of your useless hide when I could have been doing anything else! If it wasn’t for those promises I would have left your sorry hide to rot!”


“Please Miss Eye Candy,” whimper Windbag. But Eye Candy didn’t listen to him at all, instead throwing him to the ground in a fit of rage. She then averted her eyes probably doing her best not to look at him. In that moment, for the briefest of moment, her eyes locked onto Trixie’s. Trixie just had enough time to register this before Eye Candy turned around so that her back was facing Windbag.


Sadly, Windbag didn’t take the hint. “Please don’t leave me too,” he moaned as he reach out with his pudgy hands and grabbed her leg. Trixie shared a shiver with the girl as Windbag then pressed his face against the girl’s leg and began to rub against it. Eye Candy let out a shriek of rage as she kicked him lose and then stormed off, people moving out of the way as she did.


Once the girl was out of sight, Trixie turned to look back at the manager who was now shaking his head as he pulled out another cigar from his pocket. “Windbag, leave now before I call the cops,” he said as he put it in his mouth. Slowly he turned around and was about to walk back into his office when Windbag grabbed his leg. Seeing this, Trixie place a hand over her eyes at the sight of something so pathetic.


“Please, you have to give me another chance,” whined the crawling man. “My stuff is better than everyone else’s. I-”


“You’re ‘stuff’ was never the issue,” interrupted the manager who had not even turned around to look at the man. “If after ten years you still haven’t figured that out then you never will.” With that, he shook off Windbag’s hold on him before closing his door.


As soon as it clicked shut, the place was alive with movement again. The backstage workers were hard at work double and triple checking everything to make sure there wouldn’t be a problem. All of the magicians and illusionists went back to checking their props, no longer paying any attention to the man who was still on all fours. Even Trixie took him out of her mind as she returned to rummaging through her things.


Of course, she didn’t bother asking the two idiots she had brought along to help her. Not just because they had dropped them. Well, that was a big part of it. But another reason was because what little brains they had were no longer in the room. Both of them were staring at where Ms. Eye Candy had stormed out, mouths still hanging open as they openly drooled. Eventually the two began to talk to each other with Trixie tuning them out, instead focusing on the work that needed to be done. So focused in fact that she never even noticed that they had left.


-x-


The next night, Trixie stood at the back entrance of the theater with her heart pounding. She was dressed in her purple witch’s hat and cloak, silver stars decorating them both. Underneath she wore a one-piece blue dress with its long-sleeves rolled up. To cover her arms she had on long fingerless gloves that went almost to her elbows. While her skirt was a bit on the short side (still nowhere as short as that woman she had seen yesterday) her shapely legs were covered by thigh high boots of a darker blue material. Hidden within her cloak were several magical surprises, including smoke pellets that had been set to drop when she made a particular motion with her cape.


As her hand touched the door handle, Trixie paused to take a deep breath to calm her quickly beating heart. She could feel the excitement coursing through her like electricity. When she had found out that she would be getting one of the spots for tonight, Trixie had set up posters all throughout the school advertising her performance tonight. She knew for a fact that several of her fellow students, like Sunset Shimmer, would be in attendance. Knowing that there would be people like that out there ready to support her along with her parents brought on a wave of happiness. Soon she would be able to show all of them the results of all her hard work.


When she did open the door the world was that of panic. People were running around in a crazed panic, almost to the point where they were toppling over each other. Slowly and carefully, Trixie did her best to avoid the stampede of people as she made her way towards where her props where stored.


“Trixie!” shouted the voice of the manager over the crowd. As she looked around, she spotted him standing by his office with the other magicians around him. There was a grim look on his face, one that was echoed by those that surrounded him. Seeing this made her feel nervous, even more so when he motioned her to approach. Gulping, Trixie walked over to them while ringing her hands.


With each step she took, a thousand questions seemed to run through Trixie’s head. Had something happened? Had she been booted out for some reason? Trixie hadn’t done anything wrong nor had she lied about anything so she couldn’t see something like that happening. Was someone hurt? All the other magicians were there as far as she could see so that couldn’t be it.


“There’s a problem,” said the manager as he pulled the cigar out of his mouth when Trixie was close enough. “There was a break in. Right now my crew is looking over everything to make sure nothing else is missing or has been tampered with.”


“O-Ok,” began Trixie as she felt her heart beating faster. There was no way she couldn’t have picked up what he said: something had been stolen. Fear began to worm its way into her being, not helped by the way he was looking directly at her.


The manager then let out a long sigh. “There is no easy way to say this,” he said slowly. “But right now it looks like only your props were taken.” Trixie’s eyes widened when she heard that. Turning her head quickly, she looked in the direction of where her locker gate was locked. In was empty, the fence cut open and its metal pieces lying on the ground. The girl tried to take a step forward, but her legs gave out. She would have hit the ground had it not been for the other performers that night quickly gathering around her and grabbing her in the nick of time.


Trixie could hear them offering words of comfort as warm tears began to roll down her face. Looking around herself, she saw that most of them were looking just as hurt as herself. Trixie knew that they knew what she was going through. Any magician worth their salt would know. Their secrets and their props were their life blood. To have them stolen was simply a heart wrenching thing.


“In all my years here, nothing like this has ever happened before,” said the manager. Trixie turned to look at him, seeing that the manager was now shaking his head slowly while his face looked disgusted. “Naturally, I’m going to take full responsibility.”


“You should!” said one of the night’s performers who was holding Trixie. “If this happened to her, how can any of us expect our secrets to remain safe under your care? Why should any of us come back here?!?”


“I know, I know,” said the manager. “I thought our security was good enough, but clearly it wasn’t. I’ll see what I can do about putting more cameras’ in the back and better storage for you guys before next year rolls around. As for Trixie, if she wants she’ll be guaranteed a spot for next year. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I can do right now.”


“So she’s not performing?” came a voice. “Meaning there’s an opening?” Looking up, Trixie saw through blurry eyes that it was that woman from yesterday: Ms Eye Candy. Instead of her skimpy attire, she was now wearing a blouse with red and white stripes along with a white skirt. Trixie could feel the people around her stiffen as they looked at her.


“And here come the sharks,” whispered one of the female magicians.


“Ms. Eye Candy, I have no idea how you got back here,” said the manager slowly through gritted teeth. “But if that oaf Windbag thinks he can take advantage of this, he’s got another thing coming!”


“No, no,” said Eye Candy as she waved both of her hands in the air, slowly approaching the group. “I meant myself.”


“You?!” gasped the manager. “You’re just an assistant.”


“Was an assistant,” said Eye Candy in a corrective manner. “The only reason I stuck around with Windbag for so long was that he promised to help me launch my own career one day once he hit it big. But you can see how well that turned out. I have a few things with me right now. I know it might not be the best compared to everyone else but I think I can still put on a good show.”


“Forget it,” said the manager instantly as he waved her off, Eye Candy gasping as he did. “Do you really think I’m just going to hand over something like that right now? Just like that?”


“What do you have to lose?” asked Eye Candy as she took a step forward while placing a hand on her chest. “The show has to go on. You promised the people in the crowd ten acts tonight and here I am ready to perform.”


Trixie stared at the manager as a finger traced the unlit cigar. She could see his eyes moving between Eye Candy to her, thinking it over. Then, after what felt like forever, he pulled out the cigar. “Fine,” he said.


“What?!?” shouted one of the magicians close to Trixie as he stood up. “Sir, how can you even think about doing something like that?”


“Ms. Eye Candy has a point,” said the manager gruffly. “The show must go on. I told the cops what was stolen so there is a small chance that they might find it before the last act. If they do, Trixie will still go on stage even if there’s a small delay. If they don’t, Ms. Eye Candy will close us out.” He then put the cigar back in his mouth. “But regardless, my promise to Trixie still stands for next year.”


“But,” whispered Trixie, however the rest of her words seemed to die in her throat.


“Then I’ll start getting ready,” said Eye Candy. The manager said nothing, just turning around to head back into his office slamming the door behind him as he did so. After that, Eye Candy turned around and walked away.


Slowly, everyone began to drift away from Trixie. A few lingered longer than others, offering to get her a drink or anything like that. One even offered her a real handkerchief to blow her nose instead of one his trick ones. But soon she was left all alone. Not that Trixie blamed any of them for she knew that they had their own acts to get ready. It was nice that they had tried to comfort her.


Now as she sat on an old wooden crate backstage as the first show began, giving her the best seat in the house, all Trixie could think about was wanting to wake up from this nightmare. The single worst thing that could ever happen to her had happened! Sure, the manager had tried to be nice and promised her a slot for next year but that didn’t change the fact that her stuff was gone. She had saved up for years to make that stuff while studying every book of magic she could get her hands on. How was she supposed to replace it? She could probably remake it if someone else didn’t use it first. How was she suppose to go to everyone who came and-


With a gasp, Trixie suddenly stood up with her eyes wide. Why had someone broken in to steal magician props? There were only two answers she could think of. One was someone really wanted to learn how she did it and post it online. The problem with that was that she was still a mostly unknown save for the people at her school. And none of them had even seen any of the tricks she had brought with her tonight! The other reason was someone wanted to use them for their own gain. Wasn’t it odd that Ms. Eye Candy just so happen to be here right after she had been robbed? That she just happened to have brought with her equipment for her own act?


Trixie felt her heart race as she walked over to the manager’s office, ready to tell him that she knew who had robbed her. Yet she only managed to take three hurried steps before stopping. All she had was a theory, a good one she thought, but a theory nonetheless. The manager might think she was being hysterical or something like that and ask her to leave. She needed proof before anything else.


Groaning to herself, Trixie thought about what she could do. The smartest thing she could do was sit in the crowd, wait to see Ms. Eye Candy’s show, and see if she used any of her tricks. The problem with that was no one might believe her even then. There might be those who think she was trying to steal someone else’s hard work. Besides, she would also miss her chance for tonight! Well then, time to do it the Rainbow Dash way: recklessly endanger herself in a crazy manner!


Quickly Trixie moved backstage towards the doors outside. Carefully she opened it, slipped out into the night, and closed the door behind her. Once outside, it didn’t take her long to find Eye Candy as she was standing next to a large white van whose back doors were open. She wasn’t alone either for Trixie’s eyes narrowed when she saw who were helping her unload.


“Snips! Snails!” she shouted causing all three figures to turn and look at her. At once the two boys dropped what they were holding and made a mad dash for it, screaming as they did so. As they left, Trixie began to see how this happened. Eye Candy has seen her and probably noticed those two idiots with her. She must of asked them about her act and then gotten those two doofs to help her steal them.


“Trixie, what is the meaning of this?” demanded Eye Candy as she back up a bit against the open door of the van.


“Eye Candy, Trixie wants to see what you have in that van!” demanded Trixie. “Because I have a feeling it doesn’t belong to you.”


“Th-That’s insane,” stammered Eye Candy as she gripped the door behind her, Trixie’s eyes narrowing in the process. “Besides, you’re not the cops. You have no right! What’s in this van is mine.”


Trixie gritted her teeth as she stared harder at the girl. Despite how much she wanted to take the items back by force, the woman before her was older and taller. Trixie had no idea how she would fair in a fight. Nor did she want anything in that ran ruined in the process. If she went back for help or was seen calling for help then Eye Candy might decide to make a break for it. Perhaps doing it the Rainbow Dash way wasn’t the smartest idea. There was, however, another way.


“Fine then,” Trixie said as she draped her cape over her arm. When she pulled it back her duel disk was nicely secured to her arm, surprising Eye Candy. “The Great and Powerful Trixie challenges you to a duel. If Trixie wins, then you’ll let Trixie look in your van to see if anything there belongs to Trixie. If not, then Trixie will not bother you any further.”


Eye Candy looked at Trixie with narrowed eyes. “I have to get ready for my big debut,” she said as she reached behind her. Trixie didn’t tense up at all, watching the woman as she pulled out a familiar looking sphere. “But since I’m the last act, I have plenty of time to humor you.” She then threw the orb down with all her might, creating a large cloud of smoke. When it cleared, not only was she wearing her duel disk but also in that skimpy, fiery outfit from before.


“Good,” said Trixie as she reached for her locket, quickly pulling out her card and putting it in her deck.


“Let’s duel!” they said in unison.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Trixie while the other was Eye Candy. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Eye Candy.


“I draw,” said Eye Candy as she draw her six cards, Trixie taking five from her deck. “I’ll start by summoning my Skilled Dark Magician in attack position.” Appearing on Eye Candy’s side of the field was a tall man in dark robes. His face was hidden by a headdress that looked like it was made more from metal as was his shoulder pads. On both shoulders were gems as well as a single one in the middle of his chest. He carried no sword or staff, only a small metallic wand. His attack points were 1900.


“A Dark Magician deck?” questioned Trixie. “A bit cliché and overdone. But then again, Trixie is using a spellcaster deck as well.”


“Front row hecklers,” groaned Eye Candy. “Always the worst to deal with since it’s harder to drown them out. Thankfully, unlike when I’m on stage, I can blast you away.” Eye Candy then plucked two cards from her hand. “I now play the spell cards Magician’s Right Hand!” Trixie could not hide her surprise as a clawed hand appeared above Eye Candy. With several gemmed rings on its long, slender fingers the hand seemed to emit a powerful aura. “I see that got a reaction from you. As long as I control a spellcaster, this spell card will negate and destroy the first spell card you play each turn. Not only does it give me some added protection, but it will also help unlock the power of my Skilled Dark Magician. Whenever a spell card is played, he gets a counter. When he gets a total of three, that’s when the real magic happens!


“But you won’t have to wait long because now I’ll play Shards of Greed! Each time I draw a card during my draw phase, I can add a greed counter to it. When it reaches two, I can send this card to the graveyard in order to draw two more cards. Next it’s time for the spell card Dark Magic Veil! By giving up a total of 1000 of my life points, I can special summon one dark spellcaster from my deck or graveyard. So with no further ado, lets welcome the master of magicians: Dark Magician!” As Eye Candy’s life point’s dropped to 7000, a magical circle appeared on the field. It glowed brightly as a figure rose from it, but it was the classic purple version. No, this one was dressed in red with long white hair as he grinned sinisterly across the field. Its attack points were 2500.


“Now that I’ve played Dark Magic Veil my Skilled Dark Magician gains his third counter,” continued Eye Candy. “So now I can activate his effect, sending him to the graveyard to special summon another Dark Magician from my deck!” Skilled Dark Magician held up his wand as all three of the gems on his robes glowed brightly in the darkness. Around him, a pillar of light sprang up to engulf him with a force so mighty that Trixie had to hold up her arms to shield herself. When it faded, there stood the original purple Dark Magician with a frown on his face.


“With that, the opening act of this performance is over,” said Eye Candy with a small bow. “If you wish to give up, there is no shame in doing so. You are at a serious disadvantage. Two monsters with 2500 attack points each plus the negation of your first spell. It would take a miracle for you to overcome these odds.”


Trixie stood there wide eyed for a moment as she took in everything before her. Then, with a smile she ran a hand through her long hair in a gesture of defiance. “Who needs a miracle when Trixie has magic? I draw,” said Trixie as she drew her sixth card. She then looked at it and smiled. “Just the card Trixie needed.” She then looked up at Eye Candy with complete confidence. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you what it means to be a real magician on the stage. First, Trixie will discard one card from Trixie’s hand in order to special summon Trixie’s favorite monster: The Tricky!” As Trixie discarded her card, a monster with 2000 attack points appeared on her side of the field. It looked more like a jester in its yellow and black outfit, bright blue cape, and red question marks on its masked face and chest. Once on the field, The Tricky turned to look in the direction of Trixie before bowing before her with one of his arms stretched outward while holding on to the tip of his cape.


Eye Candy snorted into her hand. “Oh, this is rich,” she laughed as The Tricky righted itself. “You summoned a clown to help in a battle of magicians! Oh that is so rich!”


“Laugh now while you can,” replied Trixie. “Because this ‘clown’ as you call him, is Trixie’s favorite card. And he will take down both of your Dark Magicians!”


The older woman smirked at Trixie. “With what? My Magician’s Hand is on the field, limiting what you can do.”


“That is why this move will fully showcase the Great and Powerful Trixie’s talents!” declared Trixie. “Because now Trixie will summon Performage Flame Eater in attack mode.” A large, purple orb with eyes, one larger than the other, appeared on Trixie’s side of the field. Somehow it wore a cape and had on a wizard’s hat. Flame Eater opened its mouth, revealing its jagged jaw as a small bit of flames escaped. Its attack points were 1200. “When this card in summoned, we both lose 500 life points.” As she said this, small flames appeared on Trixie’s and Eye Candy’s bodies as their life points lower to 7500 and 6500 respectively.


“Now that Trixie has two spellcasters on the field, Trixie is allowed to special summon Performage Hat Tricker to the field.” As Trixie said this, a new monster appeared next to The Tricky. Hat Tricker was a small monster with only 1100 attack points. It had on something like a pink wizard’s hat with three points on it. A pair of glasses, gloves, and a cape seemed to float below it as if something invisible were wearing them.


“The stage is set,” said Trixie with a grin, holding out her hand. “With my two level four spellcasters, I build the overlay network.” A spiraling vortex now appeared on the field, her two Performage monsters turning into streams of energy as they were sucked into it. “The eater of flames and trick of the hat combine their magic,” chanted Trixie as she kept her eyes on Eye Candy. “Their acts were just to warm up the crowd. The world is now his stage! Xyz summon Rank 4! Performage Trapeze Magician!” The center of the vortex suddenly exploded as a monster with 2500 attack points jumped out. This monster wore mostly white with pink fluff around the bottom of his shirt and black, curled shoes. On the top of his head he wore another wizard’s hat with yellow stars on it and in his hand was a wand containing yellow orbs on both ends, its length long enough for him to grip with both hands. Orbiting around Trapeze Magician were two orbs of light.


“Now, Trixie will use her Trapeze Magician’s effect,” announced Trixie. “By removing one of his overlay units, he can grant one monster on the field the power to attack twice this turn. Well other than himself. That leaves Trixie with The Trick!” One of Trapeze’s orbs was suddenly sucked into its wand right before the magician pointed it at The Tricky. A beam of yellow lit hit the weaker spellcaster.


“He won’t even survive the first attack!” shouted Eye Candy.


“Lets see about that,” said Trixie with a grin so powerful that it caused Eye Candy to take a step back. “I attack your first Dark Magician with The Tricky!” At Trixie’s command, The Tricky wrapped himself in his cape before vanishing from the field only to reappear right behind the red Dark Magician. This, however, did not go unnoticed by the Dark Magician as he gripped his staff tightly and prepared to swing it around to fend off his attacker. “Now, Trixie activates the effect of a monster in Trixie’s hand! Come on out Juragedo!” Trixie slapped a card onto her duel disk, stopping the attack as a new creature appeared on her side of the field. Juragedo was not a spellcaster in the slightest, it was a monster. Purple skinned and horned, it floated without any legs only a top like bottom below its torso. The things eyes seemed to attached to tentacles on the side of its head.


“W-Why bring out something like that?” demanded Eye Candy.


“For its effects,” said Trixie. “See, when it is special summoned this way Trixie gains 1000 life points.” Trixie paused for a moment as her life points went up to 8500. “But that’s not all. Trixie can also tribute it now in order to raise the attack point of one of her monsters by 1000 until the end of this turn. So Trixie will do that right now in order to help The Tricky.” Juragedo suddenly exploded; sending a burst of sparkling energy towards The Tricky whose attack points went up to 3000. “Now let’s get back to the battle. Tricky, take down both of those magicians!” The Tricky wrapped itself in its cape once more and vanished from Trixie’s side of the field. Before either of them could react, a question mark shaped hole appeared in their chests as red energy flowed from them. Both Dark Magicians fell to their knees before exploding while Eye Candy’s life points dropped to 5500.


“Now Performage Trapeze Magician, attack her directly!” shouted Trixie. Eye Candy, shocked by this sudden turn of events, looked up and saw energy beams coming out of Trapeze’s wand as he tossed it into the air. The wand then hung there like a trapeze wire as the magician jumped up to grab a hold of it. Back and forth he swung until finally he let go, his feet making contact with the center of Eye Candy’s stomach. As she fell to her knees her life points fell as well stopping at 3000. “Now I leave the stage to you to try and top that performance.”


“Oh trust me, I will,” growled Eye Candy as she drew a card making the total in her hand two while her Shards of Greed card gained a counter. “I can’t afford to lose this match, not now!”


-Flashback-


“Man, I wish I had your looks,” said a student next to Eye Candy as she looked at herself in the mirror. Everything looked perfect, just like always. Without looking, Eye Candy knew the other girl was looking at her with envy all over her face. It wasn’t hard to predict since she had always done that. Just as much as she had wished to look this good naturally in fact.


“Totally,” said another girl nearby. “With looks like that, I’m sure you’ll have the easy life. Marry some rich hottie who will take care of you for the rest of your life. Meanwhile, the rest of us will have to get jobs.” As the two girls laughed, Eye Candy stared at the mirror as if she had noticed a large pimple growing faster than a water balloon and just as large. Was that all there was to her? Was that all her friends thought she could do with her life? Sure, she wasn’t the most talented in school with barely passable grades, but she was sure she could do better if she tried.


Putting her mirror away, Eye Candy scrambled to pick up her text book. There was still a few minutes left till the class began but perhaps it would be better if she studied during this time.


-


It was late at night, rain pounding against the apartment windows as she herself cried while her face was planted on the surface of the kitchen table. In front of her were the results of her most recent exam, a C+. She had worked so hard, gone to tutoring sessions and had rarely gone out for fun. All semester she had been doing this, trying harder and harder as she tried all sorts of study methods. This was the result, only going up from a C- to a C+. Was this all she was good for? Was this really her best?


But that wasn’t what had hurt her the most. No, that had been her father trying what she believed to be his best attempt to comfort her. He had stood there; look awkward for the longest time as she tried to make sense over her failure.


“Honey, I’m sure there is more that you could do with your life,” he said in a feeble tone. “Maybe, I don’t know, a weather girl job or something? You have the right looks for it and…” His words trailed off as she began to cry, eventually leaving her alone. Not even her own family believed she was anything beyond looking good. The test had proved it.


-


Eye Candy sat in a dinner, a cool cup of coffee laying in front of her untouched. Today had been another failed audition. Much like so many before.


After Eye Candy had come to realize that she would never be book smart, never get into a good college or anything like that, she had decided to try a different path. She didn’t want to be a simple model or anything like that. Instead, she turned her attention towards the stage in the hopes she could become an actress or perhaps a singer. However, auto-tuning could only take her so far as she could barely hold a tune even after spending so much to practice. She thought she was a decent actress, but there were so many out there who were better than she could ever hope to be. Time after time, failure after failure was starting to get to her.


Honestly, she didn’t know how much longer she could keep trying. Even after graduating she was still living with her father as he tried to provide for both of them and she could tell it was starting to get to him. Sooner or later he could tell her to get a real job or kick her out. The few job interviews she had had thus far had ended as soon as she admitted she had no prior experience. How the hell was she supposed to gain any experience if no one out there was willing to teach her?


“Excuse me,” came a slightly nasally voice above her. “Are you Ms. Eye Candy?” The woman looked up to see a slender man with a slightly plump nose standing next to her table dressed in high end fashion. Or at least what she assumed from the magazines she peaked at in shopping marts.


“…Yes,” she said slowly, wondering who this man was.


The man grinned, quickly taking a seat across the table. “Good to meet you,” he said quickly. “Your talent agent said that you sometimes come down here after, er, well he said you are a regular here and let’s leave it at that. I’ve come to offer you a job.”


At the sound of a job, as well as the mention of her agent, Eye Candy straighten up. “A-Are you sure?” she asked, a smile appearing on her face. Quickly she looked around to see if there were any cameras, briefly thinking that this might be one of those reality shows where they prank you. Just to be on the safe side.


“After seeing that smile, I’m more that sure,” said the man as he tried, and failed, to flip a card from his sleeve. “I’m looking for a magician’s assistant. Someone to…captivate the audience while I do my thing. If you take the job then I’ll give you 35% of whatever I make. I think that sounds good.”


Eye Candy’s smile faded as she sank a bit in her seat. Yes, she knew she needed the job desperately. But was she willing to give up after everything she had done over the years? Just survive solely based on her looks? Even if she wanted to do that there were better jobs out there for her. If this guy was a magician then he couldn’t be a very good one if what she had seen was any indication.


“Now I know what you’re thinking,” said the man quickly, clearly reading her face. “I know I’m not the best out there. Heck, I’m just getting started. But get this, my family is loaded. So much so that I was able to sink thousands on some of the best equipment money can buy. I’m sure that once I figure it out we’ll be headlining some of the best casinos in the country. Maybe even get a TV special or something. Look, if this helps sweeten the deal, how about I throw in room and board?”


Eye Candy’s expression didn’t change while the wheels turned in her head. Free room and board did help sweeten the deal. It would at least make her father happy to know she was moving on. Still, she wasn’t sure how far she could go this with man. Was just having the best stuff really all you needed?


Then, an idea struck her. Magicians were kind of like actors, weren’t they? Some even had followings and the like…maybe. Her limited acting might be of use to her. Perhaps she could get something more out of this, even if it did mean carrying this annoying guy for a bit. “How about this,” said Eye Candy as a smile reappeared on her face. “I’ll take 20% in exchange for you teaching me how to use your equipment and helping me set up my own act when you make it big.”


-


With that, the deal was made. At first, things weren’t so bad. The two of them worked together, her picking up how to work all the tricks Windbag, her boss, had bought faster than he did. Soon they were working minor gigs. A club one night then a few nights later a state of the company thing. Mostly birthday parties for unimpressed kids. The few theater jobs they got were always a mess with Windbag messing up the act in some way causing Eye Candy to cover up for him as quickly as she could. People looked at her rather than the bumbling fool she called her boss and that kept them getting jobs. And Eye Candy kept taking the humiliation hoping that soon they would make it at least somewhat big so she could collect on her promise.


That day never came. Eventually the audiences caught on and the jobs became fewer and far more in-between. Windbag began to gain more and more weight, trying hard to keep the secret from her that his family had cut him off. It was only when she suggested that they get some new material that he finally told her. She would have left him right then and there but the only thing that kept her there was that promise. She couldn’t let this go, not after all the work she had put into this. Not again. She needed this and she was willing to do whatever it took.


-End Flashback-


“I’ve given up too much to let it end here!” snarled Eye Candy. “Bet you’re nothing but a spoiled rich girl. Well I won’t lose to you! I place one card face down in defense mode and end my turn.”


Trixie’s eye narrowed as she drew her card, equaling two in her hand. “Spoiled rich girl,” Trixie repeated with a snarl. “Hardly. The Great and Powerful Trixie has worked hard to get where she is. Trixie refuses to allow someone else to steal her moment!” She then pointed at her face down card. “Tricky, attack her monster right now.” Her monster held up his hand as a red question mark began to glow on its palm. It grew brighter quickly before suddenly firing at Eye Candy’s card, creating a dust cloud. But when the dust had settled, the card was still there. Flipped face up, what looked like a wad of chewed gum with eyes was staring back at her.


“Thank you,” replied Eye Candy. “You attacked my Marshmallon. This card can’t be destroyed in battle and when you attack when it was face down, you lose 1000 life points.”


“Trixie was careless,” said the blue magician as her life points dropped to 7500. “Trixie will set two cards face down before ending Trixie’s turn.”


“I figured,” said Eye Candy as she drew her card. “Now, thanks to my Shards of Greed spell card, I can send it to the graveyard to draw two more cards.” As her card vanished from the field, Eye Candy drew her cards so that she now had a total of four in her hand. “Next I tribute my Marshmallow in order to summon my Dark Magician Girl.” Instantly the pile of goo vanished from Eye Candy’s side of the field to be replaced with a well know blond haired girl with 2000 attack points. “I think you know about her effect. For every Dark Magician and Magician of Dark Chaos in the grave she gains 300 attack points. That gives her a total for 2600, more than enough to take down your monsters.


“But I’m not done just yet,” continued Eye Candy as she held up another card. “Because next I’ll play my Sage’s Stone spell card. Since I have a Dark Magician Girl on my field, I can now special summon one Dark Magician from either my hand or deck! And I just so happen to have one more in my deck.” With that, a card was ejected from her deck and with a flourish Eye Candy slapped it onto her duel disk causing the monster to appear once again.


“Now that I have made my Dark Magician appear on stage once again, lets make all of your monsters disappear,” said Eye Candy as she slid another card into her spell/trap slot. “Behold, my greatest spell: Dark Burning Magic! When I have both a Dark Magician and a Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field, I can destroy all cards on your side of the field! Say goodbye to your clowns Trixie!”


“Trixie doesn’t think so!” yelled Trixie as she held out a hand while Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl raised their staff/ wand together. “Trixie activates her trap card: Interdimensional Matter Transporter. With this card I can save The Tricky by sending him to a different dimension until the end phase.”


Eye Candy gapped at that. “You’d waste a card like that to save The Tricky? It’s worthless!”


As The Tricky seemed to slump at that remark, Trixie shook her head. “It’s hardly a waste,” replied Trixie as she looked at her yellow monster. Said monster turned to look back at her. “The Tricky is a card that is important to me. It reminds me of the person who helped Trixie realize how she can become Great and Powerful. He was the one who helped Trixie find her way. With this card, Trixie knows he is always near me. Besides, we’ve been together all this time.”


-Flashback-



A young Trixie walked into her room, her face smeared with the remains of cake frosting. The party had been…less than enjoyable. The blue girl had tried to perform a brand new trick involving her smoke bombs. She had next anticipated that it would cause a massive food fight, not helped by the fact that her trick failed. In the end she had somehow become the target of the children’s aim.



Still, she had gotten paid for her troubles. As she walked over to put the money in her piggy Trixie also took out the card Morboba had given her so long ago from her pocket. Somehow bits of cake and ketchup had gotten on the protective cover that she had placed on it. While she was sure no lasting damage had been done to her prized card, she quickly wiped it off before putting the card on a special stand she had for it.



“Well that trick didn’t work out as well as Trixie hoped,” said Trixie to the card. “But don’t you worry. Trixie has a hundred, no, a thousand ways in order to fix this and make it better. Then they will all see how amazing Trixie is.”


-End Flashback-


Coming out of her thoughts, Trixie saw that The Tricky was staring at her with tears coming through his mask life twin rivers. He raised a hand to wipe away the tears as the wave of magic from her opponents side washed over the field, The Tricky vanishing before he could be hit. Her Topeze Magician however, could not be saved as it and her other face down card were destroyed leaving her wide open. However…


“My Trapeze Magician’s effect activates,” announced Trixie. “When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, Trixie can special summon one Performage monster from the deck. So Trixie chooses to summon her Performage Stilts Launcher in defense mode!” Appearing on Trixie’s side of the field was a monster with 0 defense points. It wore mostly purple on its thin, lengthy body as well as a long red cape.


“Some people just don’t know when their act is over,” said Eye Candy. “Dark Magician, please help that embarrassment exit stage right.” The Dark Magician silently pointed its staff at Trixie’s monster, creating an orb of dark magical power that flew from it and destroyed Stilts Launcher. “Now with that out of the way, its time Trixie got a taste of real power! Dark Magician Girl do your thing!” Dark Magician Girl twirled around a bit before blasting Trixie with another dark orb of magic, bringing her life points down to 4900.


“I end my turn,” said Eye Candy confidently as The Tricky reappeared on the field.


“My draw then,” said Trixie as she drew her card to her empty hand, wincing as she looked at it. “I switch The Tricky to defense mode. That’s all. I’m sorry Tricky.” Trixie’s monster looked at her for a moment, nodding his head in understanding as he took a knee in front of the girl.


“Then I draw,” said Eye Candy as she drew making the total she had two. “Now I think it’s time we ended this. So of us do have a performance tonight after all. I activate the Eye of Timaeus and target my Dark Magician to special summon the Amulet Dragon.” A wild wind swept over the field as a large, blue dragon erupted from the ground. The Dark Magician leapt onto the beast, seemingly unbothered by the wind created as the dragon beat its massive wings. As soon as the spellcaster landed on the creatures back, magical symbols began to crisscross all over the creature’s body while glowing with powerful energy. “Normally, this monster’s attack power is only 2900. But thanks to its effect it can become so much more. I’ll remove my Shards of Greed, Dark Magic Veil, Sage’s Stone, Dark Burning Magic, and the Eye of Timaeus from my graveyard in order to raise its attack points by 100 for each card. That makes its total 3400. Also, since we’re talking about monsters attack points rising, Dark Magician Girl’s goes up to 2900 since there is another Dark Magician in my graveyard.”


“It’ll take more than that to stop Trixie,” said the blue girl while The Tricky nodded.


“It’s a little late in the game to try and act tough,” said Eye Candy. “You put on a good show, but it’s doubtful you’ll be making a comeback performance. With two powerful monsters on my side of the field and the ability to block your first spell card, things are looking just as bad for you as they did when this duel first began. And with only one card in your hand your words lack any real bite to them. Now Dark Magician Girl, be a dear and make that yellow eye sore disappear.” With a quick twirl, Dark Magician Girl sent the attack at The Tricky which destroyed him, bits of his cape remaining as they burned away in the air. Leaving Trixie defenseless.


“Now it’s time for my Amulet Dragon to take a large chunk of your life points!” shouted Eye Candy. Her dragon opened its mouth as energy began to accumulate within its throat. Without any hint of a warning, it suddenly unleashed a stream of sparkling blue energy that would make the Blue Eyes White Dragon jealous and covering up Trixie’s side of the field in a large dust cloud.


“You’re right about one thing Ms. Eye Candy,” said Trixie as the dust slowly began to settle. “I do put on a good show. And I intend to keep on doing so by keeping the audience on the edges of their seats.”


“What do you-” began Eye Candy, but was cut off when she noticed something. Trixie’s life points hadn’t dropped at all. “I…I don’t understand. You should have lost nearly all of your life points with that one attack!”


“True,” said Trixie as the dust now fully cleared. But she wasn’t alone. Standing next to her was creature that looked like an upside-down bowling pin with a face. One of its eyes was a star, its tongue sticking out at Eye Candy as it juggled several balls. “But thanks to the effect of my Performage Damage Juggler, all I had to do was discard it to turn the damage I would have taken to zero.” As she spoke, Damage Juggler vanished from sight leaving Trixie alone while she crossed her arms.


“Fine, so you live for another turn,” snarled Eye Candy. “It makes no difference. When your turn begins you’ll have one card in your hand. What can that do against my deck? Against my magic?”


“You mean your straight forward, brute force tactics?” asked Trixie. “Not much wonder or excitement there I’m afraid.”


“Shut up and go,” Eye Candy spat.


“Very well then. Trixie draws!” An arc for light followed Trixie’s arms. As she drew, she could feel two hands with her. One was the gloved hand of The Tricky while the other was the hand of Morboba. Together, lending their strength to help Trixie in this duel. But it was only for that moment before they faded away. Taking a breath, the blue skinned magician looked at the card she drew and knew what to do with it.


“First off, the Great and Powerful Trixie will activate the effect of her Damage Juggler in the graveyard. By banishing it, Trixie can add one Performage monster from her deck to her hand. Other than Damage Juggler of course. So Trixie chooses another copy of Performage Flame Eater which she will then summon to the field.” Like before, Trixie’s balloon like spellcaster appeared on the field spitting fire as he did. “Now, due to his effect we both take 500 points of damage. But let us spice up this performance with something extra for my adoring opponent. Since you are taking effect damage, Trixie can remove Stilts Launcher from the graveyard as well to deal an additional 2000!”


“WHAT?!?” screamed Eye Candy as Trixie removed her card from the graveyard. As her life points dropped to 2500, the ghostly image of Performage Stilts Launcher appeared in front of her before suddenly exploding like a balloon that had been filled with too much air. Eye Candy was knocked down to the ground while her life points dropped to 500. “I’m still in the game! I’ll destroy that puny fire eater next turn and ship him back to the insane clown posse where he belongs!”


“Trixie doubts that will happen,” said the blue skinned girl as she held up her last card. “Since Trixie controls a spellcaster type monster on her side of the field, she can now special summon her Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness to the field.” Just like that, a small mouse like monster appeared on her side of the field brandishing an attack point total of 1500. Well, if mice had horns and bat wings. And were munching on the horned skulls of their victims.


“Now that Trixie has two level four monsters, she can build the overlay network one more time!” declared Trixie as she raised both hands into the air. At once another spiraling galaxy-like tunnel appeared in the middle of the field to suck up both monsters. “The eater of flames adds his might to the eater of evil. Together they become the best sideshow attraction. Every circus needs a gunman! Xyz summon Rank 4! Gagaga Cowboy in defense mode.” When Trixie had finished her chant, a cloaked cowboy did a back-flip from out of the vortex. He landed on one knee before instantly pointing both green guns at Eye Candy.


“Now Trixie will end this duel,” she said firmly. “By detaching one of Cowboy’s overlay units, you will lose 800 life points.”


“What?!? That’s not fair I-” began Eye Candy but stopped as Cowboy’s gun fired a magical bullet that struck her right in the chest, brining her life points to zero as her body was flung backwards. The impact caused Eye Candy to hit the truck behind her and, as she slid down, all of the holograms vanished.


As her duel disk began to deactivate, Trixie marched towards the van ready to see if indeed her props were there. She only barely noticed Eye Candy who just sat there looking down at the ground with a defeated look on her face. But before Trixie could make it half way there, the sound of clapping was heard startling both women. Together they turned to look in the direction the nose was coming from and found the manager standing there in the shadows along with two police officers.


“That was a fine duel,” he said as he began to walk towards the van.


“I don’t understand,” said Eye Candy weakly as the manager and the police officers reached the van. Once he was close enough, the manager opened one of the crates wordlessly.


“Please give me some credit,” said the manager as he motioned Trixie to approach. “One of my performers for tonight just happens to get robbed and you show up announcing that you can take her spot? That you just so happen to have brought your own stuff? Even if the stars aligned themselves perfectly for all that to happen it would still be suspicious. I decided to play along for the moment to keep you here while I called the police and apprise them of the situation. After that, I went out to keep an eye on you and discovered that Trixie here was thinking along the same lines as me and wanted to duel you to get evidence. Thought it might be an enjoyable way of passing the time.” He then turned to look at Trixie who was now standing next to him looking into the box. “Ms. Lulamoon, are these yours?”


“They are,” said Trixie as she pulled out one of the items which had her label on it. She then showed it to the police who nodded.


“Then that’s that,” said the manager with a sigh. He then turned to look at Eye Candy who was staring at the ground, her limbs looking limp as she did. His eyes held no pity for her as the two officers approached her and stood by her sides. “I have no idea what prompted you to do this nor do I really care. Even if you sing some sob story to a jury or judge to get out of this mess, I never want to see your face around here ever again.”


Trixie watched as the manager turned around, not bothering to look at Eye Candy as she was forced onto her feet. Her body seemed barely able to stand, her head hanging limply as if she were no longer really alive. Trixie even doubted that she could hear the officers as they read her right or felt anything as she was cuffed. She didn’t even try to fight them as she was lead away into the shadows where the police car presumably was. Eye Candy just seemed like she had given up, that all the fire and passion she had during their duel had died. Trixie would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t fell at least a little bit sorry for her.


“Well,” said the manager as a hand clapped her shoulder. “We better start getting all this inside. The show needs its ending act after all.” Trixie nodded. Before she did anything however, the blue skinned magician lifted her duel disk and removed The Tricky from the graveyard. With it in one hand her other went to fetch the locket from around her neck, opening it at once. Staring back at her from the occupied section was a small group picture showing her younger self, her relieved looking parents, and the man who gave her this card. With a smile, Trixie slide her treasured card into the appropriate slot before closing it. Now she was ready to meet her destiny.
> Dueling Fates (Luna/Nightmare Moon vs Sombra) part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final bell of the day had rung only minutes ago, its siren song telling the students of Canterlot High that their day was done. All throughout the hallways, students were heading to the lockers to drop off what books they no longer needed and to get what was stored there before heading out. Some would head off home or else meet up with friends before that. Others would stay behind to practice with their sports teams, attend after school clubs, or any other after-school activity.


While all this was going on, one lone figure sat by himself in an isolated room. Here, the only light that shined came from the laptop he used, as all of the windows had been covered up by old posters of a single attractive sixteen year old girl wearing armor. Briefly, the figure would glance at these pictures with a small smile on his face before returning to his work. Old videos streamed across the screen before him as other programs went to work. Programs working on voice recognition, profiles, and other such similar things that the teen had bought online.


Soon he would be the one to find her.


-x-


Elsewhere in the school, Sunset Shimmer moved along with the crowd towards the exit. Her head was down, finger scrolling down her phone’s screen as her eyes roomed over the article on display. On any other given day, Sunset would most likely be reading a review on some up-and-coming game or checking for leaks on the newest Duel Monster’s cards coming soon. But today was a bit different. The article she was reading came from a website that tracked strange sightings of the unexplained all over the country. From ghost to alien sightings, updates come in on a somewhat regular basis. Normally, most of this stuff could easily be explained by Sunset as humans allowing their imagination to run away with them. Or perhaps even making stuff up just to get a little attention.


Yet the article she was currently reading was different. According to it, in a town called Sire’s Hollow, several people were reported to become possessed. These people, two teachers and several students at the local high school, were spotted shuffling aimlessly out of the school grounds after classes had ended. They moved with no real purpose, bumping into walls and almost into incoming traffic all while wearing large unnatural smiles on their faces. When called out, the victims did not respond in the slightest or showed any signs that they were aware of the world around them. Eventually, the people seemed to snap out of it seemingly all on their own without any memories of what had happened.


While normally Sunset would have written something like this off as an attention grabbing story, something about it felt…familiar. Perhaps it was the actions of people, having read about it in a text book or something. Or maybe it was because it happened at a school and all of those there had been wearing their duel disks. Or maybe it was something else. Whatever the case, there was a chance this might be a case of Equestrian magic. Cinch had been able to find magic beyond the borders of Canterlot and used it against them. If she was right, then the magic might have found someone to use it and, if that was the case, had become a target for Cinch to drain. More than that, the magic could have overtaken its host by this point. She had to do something.


Scrolling down the article again, she saw that it was a week old. Nothing else had been reported about the incident. Not another incident similar to that nor anything else from the town. Could this have been a one-time event? There was the chance that, whoever had used the magic, had become fearful of it and was resisting the urge to use it again. There was also the chance that Cinch had already gotten there and stolen the magic for herself. Or, perhaps the most frightening of all, that person had learned how to control the magic so well that no one was noticing. If that were the case, whoever had this magic was extremely dangerous.


“Sunset Shimmer!” came a familiar shout up ahead. Looking up from her phone, Sunset saw Pinkie Pie waving at her normal hyper pace while surrounded by the rest of her friends. smiling Sunset pocketed her phone before grabbing both straps of her backpack with her hands. As she picked up her pace a bit to get to her friends faster, Sunset decided that she should ask them what they thought about this. Maybe convince a few of them into going on a road trip with her to this Sire’s Hollow. That is if Twilight had managed to make the new magic tracker and the-


“Sunset,” came a familiar voice behind her, breaking Sunset’s thoughts. The flame haired girl turned around to see Wallflower Blush standing there, looking slightly uneasy as she stood there.


“What’s up?” asked Sunset, noting that Wallflower had in one hand a pair of thick gloves that she used in her gardening. Most likely she was heading to her gardening club behind the school before she had called out to her.


“There’s, ah, sort of been a formal complaint about the yearbook,” said Wallflower as she looked ever more uneasy. She then let out a sigh. “A club is claiming that they weren’t represented. At all.”


At this, Sunset was taken aback. Both she and Wallflower had worked hard to make sure that everything from the school year was in the yearbook. Every student got at least one picture and every club was properly listed as well as having pictures in the book. Even Wallflower’s club was in there along with its new members. How could they have both missed one? Plus a formal complaint? That meant whoever this was went straight to Principal Celestia with their problem!


“Which club?” asked Sunset, eager to find out who they had missed.


Wallflower shook her head. “Pip’s club,” was all she said. And nothing more needed to be said as Sunset’s expression changed from worry to annoyance. This wasn’t the first time Pip’s club had come up on her yearbook radar. It also now made so much more sense why the complaint went the Principal Celestia instead of coming to them. Seriously, how many times did they have to go through this?


“Principal Celestia flagged me down in the hallway not too long ago,” continued Wallflower as Sunset placed a hand on her head. “She didn’t know about the issue we’ve been having with him so I had to explain it. She understands why we didn’t include Pip’s club in the yearbook, but wants us to talk to him one more time. Good news is that if he complains to us again we can send him to Principal Celestia’s office and she’ll take care of it.” Wallflower then paused, peeking around Sunset’s shoulder for a moment. Sunset turned her head as well to see that her friends were all staring at the two. None of them were saying anything, not ever to each other, as they watched the two girls.


“I was going ask you if you wanted to handle this,” continued Wallflower as she tried to hide her gloves behind her back. “But it looks like you’re busy. Don’t worry, I can handle it.”


Sunset shook her head, stopping Wallflower before she could turn and walk away. “I got this,” she said to her green skinned friend. “All part of the job I signed up for. Besides, all I was going to be doing tonight was hanging out. Nothing I can’t put off for a bit. I can always catch up with my friends later.”


“A-Are you sure?” asked Wallflower.


“You just go on to your gardening club,” said Sunset in a confident tone. “I’m sure there are plenty of people waiting for you.” Wallflower smiled, nodding at Sunset before dashing off in the opposite direction. As she quickly vanished from sight, Sunset let out a sigh. “Good thing is, this’ll be the last time I have to deal with the Nightmare Moon Fan Club.”


-x-


Several minutes later, Sunset found herself standing in front of one of the study rooms of the library. There were several of these rooms running alongside one of the walls of the library, roomed off by glass walls. Each room was bare to help avoid distractions with a table inside large enough to seat about six people without the room feeling too cramped. The glass walls also served a few different purposes. Firstly, it allowed students and the librarian to more easily see if a room was available without needing to knock on the door. It also helped show if students were fooling around instead of working on a project in a group or studying together. The glass also helped dampen the noise inside so that no one there could disturb the rest of the library.


Only one of these rooms was any different from the others…and it wasn’t because it was special or the like. Whoever was inside right now had clearly covered with interior with posters, the backs of which being the only things to be seen. There was also a sign on the door, made from a single sheet of white paper and decorated with marker drawings of stars as well as the moon. The only words on it were: Nightmare Moon Fan Club. Why the librarian hadn’t kicked Pip out for doing all of this, Sunset had no idea. All Sunset really cared about was dealing with this mess one last time before heading out to catch up with her friends.


So without knocking on the door, Sunset entered the room.


“GAH!” came a cry from the table from surprise. Sitting at the middle of the table was Pip, the smallest boy in the school. At a height several inches smaller than Sweetie Belle, he wore jeans along with a white shirt and brown sweater vest. His complexion was a mix of white and brown while his brown hair was combed over. Before him was his laptop along with several other papers sprawled across the table. Sighing, Sunset leaned against the open door as she waited for him to adjust to the sudden surprise and calm down.


While she waited, Sunset’s gaze turned to look around the room at all of the old posters Pip had placed on the glass walls. They showed a girl no older than she was with, strangely, more clothing on than most posters that guys collected. Instead of wearing a skimpy swimsuit or something skintight that left nothing to the imagination, she wore full-body silver armor that conformed perfectly to her figure with a matching helmet along with a black cloak. Attached to one of her gauntlets was a duel disk that shined as brightly as the rest of her armor. While most of her face was hidden, Sunset could see the she had confident eyes that matched her stance. Each poster had her in a different pose, but all of them said the same thing: “The Stars Shall Aid Me in This Duel!”


“Pip, we need to talk,” said Sunset as she shifted her gaze back to Pip.


“I’ll say,” said Pip as he stood up, rubbing his eyes as he did. “Have you ever heard of knocking? I’m working on club activities right now and-”


“Pip, you don’t have a club,” interrupted Sunset with clear annoyance in her voice. “That’s the reason you can’t be in the yearbook.” Pip slowly lowered his hands from his eyes, causing Sunset to wince a bit. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t willing to accept this.


“Of course I have a club,” stated Pip, shaking his head as he did. “Didn’t you see the sign outside?”


“But you don’t have any members!” snapped Sunset as she gestured to the empty room. “A club has to have at least three members to be featured in the yearbook. Or has to do something on a regular basis. Sitting in the dark by yourself doesn’t make it a club.” Sunset then took a breath to try and get herself more in control. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. But we’ve been over this plenty of times. If you want this club to be in the yearbook then you should put a bit more effort into finding more members. Not going to complain to Principal Celestia!”


“I tried that though,” said Pip while throwing up his hands. “Everybody is either on the dueling team or in the Sombra Fan Club. Nobody even wants to listen when I talk about one of the greatest duelists who ever lived!”


“Couldn’t have been that good,” said Sunset as she looked around the room. “Never even heard of her.”


“She was that good! Back when she was dueling, she was one of the most popular duelists trying to get into the pros,” said Pip as he gestured to a picture of Nightmare Moon. “She was famous for making a spectacle with her duels, lots of gestures and playing up to the crowd. Plus there was the mystery of who she really was. No one knew anything about her except for her alias Nightmare Moon. There were even a few VHS tapes of her best duels which sadly never made it to DVD or Blu-ray. I managed to track all of them down and she has this…energy to her that just compelled you to watch her. Others felt the same way because she her duels almost always sold out.”


As Pip spoke, Sunset couldn’t help but feel curious about this girl. Looking at the picture again, she could tell that the teen there did have a whole lot of energy just by the way she held herself. That she was putting her whole heart and soul into it. Sunset couldn’t help but muse that if Pip tried explaining his passion like this then maybe he could get more people interested long enough to hear him out. Still…


“So what happened to her?” asked Sunset as she turned to look back at Pip. “If she was so great then why hasn’t anybody heard about her? Why isn’t she in the pros making tons of money?”


“That’s the thing: no one knows!” said Pip excitedly as he moved back to his chair. As he spoke, Pips fingers raced across the keys as he typed away. “I learned about Nightmare Moon back when I was in the Sombra Fan Club. Apparently, she was his biggest rival back then as they competed for the very top. While they never officially dueled their personalities were completely different! Sombra, even back then, was the more serious duelist compared to how Nightmare Moon was. Well, when it was announced that the two of them would be dueling to see who got to enter the pros it caused a stir. Fans of both duelists traveled for miles to see them finally throw down with everything on the line. People were speculating, putting up bets, and so much more from everything I’ve been able to dig up. I even talked to a few people who were there at the stadium that night who said it was a crazy time. But when the time came, Sombra was there but not Nightmare Moon.” Pip paused to look up from his screen. “They waited an hour for her to show up and, when they checked the locker room, all they found was her helmet on the floor.


“Naturally, people suspected that Sombra might have had a hand in her disappearance. He had a lot to lose if he failed and the pressure was high. But after several months of police investigation, they came to the conclusion that he had nothing to do with her vanishing. The pro league declared him the winner of the match and he was allowed to advance up. Well, they may have declared him innocent but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. His entire early career is full of people accusing him of foul play with nothing ever proven.”


Sunset hummed as she thought of Sombra. It was impossible for any duelist to have not heard of Sombra since he was one of the highest ranking duelists in the world. Not only was he skilled, but he also had an extremely rare archetype that allowed him to dominate most of his duels. While there were those who complained that it wasn’t fair to use such cards, Sunset had always shaken her head at that. Sombra had worked to track down each and every card he had while also building the rest of the deck. Plus, as was proven from time to time, just having a rare archetype didn’t always guarantee victory. Beyond his dueling career, he had used the money gained from that to make a killing in the stock market. By all accounts, he was the man who seemed to have it all.


Still, as she thought of the few times she had seen him dueling, Sunset could see him doing something like that. He just always seemed…angry despite having everything he could ever want. He always looked at people with that glare like he was about to punch them, even while attending a fundraiser or something like that. There was just something dark about him that gave her the shivers.


“Since then, people have been trying to find her,” continued Pip. “There are websites were her still loyal fans are trying to see if she’s still out there while others continue to talk theory of what happened that night. That’s part of what the Nightmare Moon Fan Club is all about, trying to find her. And I think I might have finally done that!”


“But you’re still not a club,” said Sunset firmly. “This all sounds interesting, but if you can’t get at least two more people to join you in talking about a duelist who hasn’t been seen in years then I can’t put you in the yearbook. And just having your name added there won’t help with your lack of members. I’m sorry.”


“But,” began Pip in a desperate tone. Sunset raised a hand to get his attention, ready to tell him that if he continued to bring with up he’d have to have a very different talk with Principal Celestia. But before the words could leave her lips, a window popped up on Pips laptop followed by a computerized voice saying ‘Voice match confirmed’.


The room was silent except for the computerized voice repeating the message over and over again. Slowly, Pip turned to look at the screen with his eyes wide with disbelief. As he stared forward at the open file his expression shifted into pure joy. He let out a sudden sheer as he hopped onto his feet which startled Sunset. But Pip paid her no mind. In fact he seemed to have forgotten all about her as he raced towards one of the walls, quickly took down one of the posters, and ran out the door.


“I knew it! I knew her voice sounded familiar!” the boy shouted as he sprinted into the library, leaving Sunset alone in the room looking very confused.


-x-


At the same time, Vice-Principal Luna was sitting behind her desk in the dark filling out one of the many forms on it when a knock was heard at the door. Lifting her head, she saw that the door opened before she could give permission to enter revealing her sister.


“I was about to head out,” said Celestia as she ran a hand through her hair. “But I was wondering if you had any plans for next weekend.”


Luna fought hard not to roll her eyes. “Nothing as usual,” she said while putting her pen down. “Not unless we get some weekend detentions for me to supervise. If not, they it’s just me and the PlayStable 4 for the weekend. Same as usual.”


“Well, would you like to do something different?” asked Celestia as she moved into the room and closed the door behind her. Luna then watched as Celestia pressed her back to the door, as if making sure no one else would enter unannounced. There was barely restrained excitement in the older woman’s voice, clear enough to peak Luna’s interest as she leaned back into her chair.


“What did you have in mind?” asked Luna calmly.


“There is going to be a reunion of ‘Rainbow House’,” said Celestia causing a pit to instantly grow in Luna’s stomach. ‘Rainbow House’ had been a somewhat popular family sitcom that had lasted four seasons on primetime where Celestia had been a child actor on. For four years, Celestia had played the lead’s daughter and had loved every moment of it. After the show had been canceled, Celestia had tried to find other work but had never been able to secure anything beyond minor roles here and there. While she had moved on with her life, Celestia still kept in touch with her the other actors on the show and was (from time to time) asked to make guest appearances on other shows.


Something that Luna had never gotten the chance to do. Not for a lack of wanting. Not for a lack of trying!


“It’s just the cast and a few people from the network that still remember us,” continued Celestia with a smile on her face. “Nothing too special. There might be a camera crew there to do a ‘where are they now’ segment, but I’m not too sure. I’ve also heard that the studio is thinking of restarting the show like with a few other shows are doing right now.” Celestia then shrugged. “Personally, I’m not planning on accepting if that is true. But you could come along and I could help you make a few contacts. It might lead to something.”


Luna sat there as she looked at her sister, doing her best to keep her breathing steady. She’s just trying to be nice, thought Luna as she pushed away painful memories. She’s not trying to rub her former fame in your face. She’s not reminding you of how she was famous like she used to do. You’ve both moved past that point. All she wants to do is help you and spend time with you. That’s all.


“It’s a nice offer,” said Luna after a moment. Slowly she leaned forward in her chair and picked up her pen again. “But I’ve had enough rejections to last me a lifetime. It’s your night and you should enjoy it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get this work done before I leave.”


Celestia, however, did not leave. Instead she slowly approached her sister’s desk. “Luna, you could still come to spend some time with me out of work,” said Celestia. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”


“I’m not so sure,” said Luna as she focused on the paper in front of her. Without looking up, she took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Then, when she spoke next, she did so in her most final tone she could muster. The same tone that she used when there were to be no more arguments with students and parents. “I understand that you are trying to be nice, sister. But going there might not be the best thing for me. Starswirl was right that I shouldn’t set my sights any higher than they are now. This is the only place I belong. Doing anything else will just end in failure.”


“Luna,” said Celestia in a shaky voice while taking a step back. “We’re adults now. If this is something that you want, you should try without worrying what he thinks. He can’t make your decisions for you anymore.”


“He was right! Everything I ever tried to do on my own failed!” shouted Luna as she slammed her pen on the desk. Looking up, she saw that her sister had taken a few more steps back. A look of shock and fear was on the older woman’s face, causing Luna’s own frustration at all of this to soften. While taking another deep breath, Luna took hold of the papers in front of them before tapping them on her desk. “I’m sorry about that, but my mind is made up. Just…have fun and don’t worry about me.”


“Luna,” began Celestia before a sudden, rapid series of knocks on the door was heard. Before either woman could respond the door burst open and in came a student they knew as Pipsqueak. In one of his hands was a large, rolled up piece of paper or something like it. Perhaps something from the art class?


“Vice-Principal Luna, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked between heavy pants, as if he had raced to her room.


“Of course you can,” said Luna as she shot a look at her sister. “Me and Principal Celestia just finished and she was leaving. Right?”


For a moment, Celestia stood there with her arms crossed as she looked at Luna. It was clear from the look on her face that she wanted to counter what Luna said. To say they were not finished and continue where they left off. To get Luna to go with her no matter what happened, even if it ended with them screaming at each other and digging up old wounds. Honestly, Luna didn’t know why this mattered so much to Celestia. It was just better to let go and move on. It hurt so much less that way.


Thankfully, Celestia didn’t press the issue. Without saying a word to either of them, she walked out of the room while gently closing the door behind her. Hopefully she would also realize that Luna was not interested in pursuing old dreams that would never be.


“Now, what can I do for you today Pip?” asked Luna as she addressed the small student before her.


Pip rushed to the desk with a wild smile on his face. “I have so many questions for you,” he said as he began to unroll the paper onto her desk. “Firstly, could you sign this?” Luna’s eyes widened as she saw what was on her desk, the image it held. Without realizing what she was doing the Vice-Principal had leapt from her seat as if Pip had dropped a rattlesnake there. Quickly, she pressed herself against the wall behind her.


“Where…Where did you get that?” she demanded, her eyes never leaving the image of Nightmare Moon. Tears threatened to appear in her eyes as memories began to surface from her past. Painful ones that she had hoped would never surface again, made all the worse by the conversation she had just finished with her sister.


“I knew it was you,” said Pip excitedly. So excited, it seemed, that he was unaware of the state Luna was in. “I heard your voice in the hallways so many times and it always sounded similar to the one in your old videos. So I recorded it and then got this program that compared them. It was a match! I can’t believe Nightmare Moon is my Vice-Principal! I-I have so many questions like what happened to you and-”


“Does anyone else know?” demanded Luna interrupting Pip. At that, Pip seemed to lose some of his stride and excitement. His shoulders slumped a bit causing Luna’s heavy breathing to lessen.


“No,” he said in a dejected tone. “No one to tell really.” Then, suddenly, he brightened. “At least here. I’m on all of your fan sites. I can’t wait to tell them that you’re-” Luna never let him finish. As he spoke, the blue skinned woman quickly moved around her desk before grabbing his shoulder in a vice like grip that instantly silenced him.


“You will do no such thing,” she hissed as she began to push Pip towards the door with her shaking hand. “Now, I want you to forget about all of this. I am not Nightmare Moon nor have been her. Don’t ever bring this up with me again! Is that clear?!?”


“But I don’t understand,” stammered Pip as the door opened. Luna looked into his eyes, seeing the confusion and hurt in them. For a moment, Luna felt for the small child before her. He had looked so excited not too long ago and now she was dashing whatever expectations he might have had upon meeting her. She thought that, instead, she could sit him down and explain herself. Maybe get him to understand. But that would mean reliving those old memories, the old hurts that she had suffered through. Something she wasn’t strong enough to do.


“I am not Nightmare Moon,” Luna repeated as she forced him out of her office. Then without saying another word Luna closed the door, almost slamming it, before falling to her knees with her head pressed against the door.


-x-


Pip strode back to the area he had marked as his clubroom as if in a daze, finding it to be empty. No one had taken the posters off the walls nor had anyone tampered with his stuff. It was all there, still running like normal. He should have been glad for that. So many times he had left it here only to find someone had messed with his laptop or taken down all of his posters. One time he had even come back to see everything had been taken down and left outside the room so that another group of students using the area he had claimed. It should have been nice to know all his stuff was ok.


Then again, it should have felt great to finally meet THE Nightmare Moon. To finally get to meet her, talk to the girl he admired, perhaps even get some tips on his own dueling. To get an autograph from her. Only none of that happened. Could he have been wrong? The software he used had been the cheapest he could find so that was possible.


Shaking his head, Pip went to his laptop. He needed a second or third opinion on this matter. And he knew just where to go for help.


-x-


“What else is on the agenda for this week?” growled Sombra as he walked down the halls of the office building he owned. He was a grey skinned man with a long flowing black hair that shined while being neatly tied in the back. While not being past thirty years old, he was hunched over slightly with both his hands behind his back. The man wore a black, pinstripe suit with a bright red tie that looked like it was on a bit too tight while the three men behind him wore standard black suits with matching black ties.


“Well sir,” began Boot Licker, his personal aid, as he walked while scrolling down a hand held device. “Mayfield Hospital was wondering if you could make an appearance to their children’s ward in attrition the donation you made.”


Sombra grunted at this, his gaze lingering for a moment to the nearby window they passed seeing the starry sky beyond it. “You told them no, right?” He was eager to call this a day and go home. While there was no one who wasn’t anyone there waiting for him, the grey skinned man wanted to be there more than anything. Just sit there at his table, eat a hot meal, and be alone for a while. And the sooner he got to the elevator the sooner he could leave these useless fools behind.


“Actually, I said you’d think about it,” replied Boot Licker in a nervous tone. “It’s good PR to been seen like that. Plus, plenty of those kids are fans and would love to-”


“They can have either my money or my time,” grunted Sombra as he moved a little bit faster down the halls. “Not both. Never both. I have explained that to you plenty of times. If I have to say it again, it will be the last time we ever speak. Is that clear?”


Boot Licker gulped. “Ah, yes sir,” he said quickly. “I understand sir.”


“Anything else?!” barked Sombra as they stopped in front of an elevator. “Is my limo here?”


“It’s been waiting for you for the last three minutes according to my watch,” said Boot Licker quickly. “Ah, there is a request from the charity-”


“No,” growled Sombra as he tapped his foot. “I’ve given away plenty of money already this year. If they want another free handout then they can go somewhere else! Anything else?”


“Ah, well,” began Boot Licker as the doors opened in front of them. Instantly Sombra stepped in and turned to look at them, annoyance clear in his expression. “We did get a request for an interview. An author named Quick Quills is doing a book on dueling controversy and would like to dedicate a chapter to you. I could put him down for the end of the week if you’d like.”


As the door began to close, Sombra closed his eyes while at the same time pressing the button to keep them open. Always the same thing, no matter how many years passed. “Have him call me in the morning,” said Sombra as he opened his eyes to glare at Boot Licker. “I want to ask him some questions about the book before we do anything.”


“Yes sir,” said Boot Licker as he tapped on his device. Feeling like they were done, Sombra released the button holding the door open. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sweet sound of doors shutting on annoying fools he had to put up with. At least now he was finally getting a break so he could-


“One more thing,” said Boot Locker quickly. “It’s about your pet project!” Eyes opening quickly, Sombra shot a hand out to stop the door from closing. Without waiting for the door to fully open he slid back into the hall where he looked at Boot Licker with blazing eyes.


“You found her?” he asked.


“Possibly,” replied Boot Licker as he handed Sombra his device. “One of the websites we created got a new post. A young boy claims he might have proof that Nightmare Moon is living there.” As he spoke, Sombra stared at the device which had been opened to a web site. There, at the top, were two pictures side by side. One was of Nightmare Moon and next to it was an attractive blue skinned woman. The person who posted this was asking others to look at the evidence he had collected and wanted their opinions.


“Have you checked her out?” asked Sombra as he stared at the woman’s picture as if to commit it to memory.


“In the process right now,” replied Boot Licker. “But the boy’s evidence is promising and the woman is in the right age group along with the right skin color.”


Sombra licked his lips as he continued to stare at the device. “Cancel all my plans tomorrow,” he said with a slight smile.


-x-


“SUNSET!” shouted a voice behind the flame-haired girl. She stopped in her tracks, turning her head while at the same time raising a hand (the one not holding her coffee) to block the morning light from shining into her eyes. Squinting, she could just make out Twilight and Sonata as the pair rushed to Sunset.


“Morning girls,” said Sunset as they moved to her sides. Sonata took the spot on her left, eating a breakfast burrito as she walked with a content expression on her face. On her left was Twilight, a to-go cup held in her own hand. “So, Twilight, did you go over that article I sent you?”


“I did,” said Twilight after taking a sip of her drink as she looked thoughtful. “Not completely sold on the idea that Equestrian magic is involved. For all we know, it could be someone out there trying to get their ten seconds of attention. Maybe if there had been some pictures or something.” She then looked at Sunset and gave her a nudge. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t check it out.”


Sonata quickly gobbled up the rest of her food, swallowing it loudly. “Yeah, please, Twilight can try out the new magic finding thingy she’s been working on!” she said excitedly.


“It’s only a test model,” said Twilight as she ran a free hand through her hair. “I decided against putting a containment unit on it like I did the first one so it’ll only help us find whoever has the magic. If there is any. But the problem with this new model is that its range isn’t that great and it seems to only be able to detect magic when it's being used.”


Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You tested it?” she asked curiously.


“On myself,” said Twilight as she pointed to her pendent. “When I first activated it, it just sat there doing nothing. However, when I started to levitate things using my Equestrian magic the device went off. So I decided to do a few more tests. Like seeing if the signal would be stronger if I used more magic and things like that.”


“I got to fly a few blocks away thanks to Twilight,” said Sonata in a chipper tone while pumping a fist into the air. “I even got to punch that seagull that stole my food a few days ago. At least, I think it was the right seagull. They all look the same to me.”


“While we were doing that, Spike was back in my lab watching the device,” continued Twilight. “I gave him a walkie talkie and told him to…”


“Twilight are you ok?” asked Sunset as she stared at her friend. She was standing perfectly still now, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. Something that worried Sunset. She knew Twilight, or at least this Twilight, well enough to know that whenever she got on one of her scientific talks very little could get her to stop until she finished.


Turning her head to look in front of her, Sunset saw that they were several yards away from the school entrance. To her shock, camera crews were stationed there while students milled around them. Several people with cameras were all about the place, one of them even standing on top of where the horse statue used to be. There were also students who seemed transfixed by all of this, watching everything that was happening as they stood there.


Without needing to say another to each other, the three girls hurried forward to see what was going on. In her mind, Sunset worried about what this could mean. Had some scientist figured out about the portal leading to Equestria? Had some creature from Equestria appeared in this world, unchanged for some reason? Whatever was going on was certainly big enough to catch this much attention.


As the three rounded the corner, they saw someone they never expected to be there: Sombra! He stood there hunched over with his hands behind his back while staring at the entrance to the school. Students were being kept back by men in black suits, making sure he had an unobstructed view of the front entrance. Looking around, Sunset saw that there were several vans with large cameras on them and filming everything that happened.


It was at that moment, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna came walking through the main entrance. Judging by their frowns as well as the way they stormed in, neither had authorized this and had just been told what was going on. However, Sunset couldn’t help but notice something odd with the Vice-Principal. Luna’s anger expression morphed rapidly to confusion followed by wide eyed shock or fear as soon as she saw who was outside. She also seemed to move behind her older sister a little as if to put Celestia front and center of this confrontation.


“What is going on here?” demanded Principal Celestia as she crossed her arms, scowling at Sombra as she remained at the top of the steps.


Sombra, Sunset noticed, wasn’t paying attention to her in the slightest. Instead, his focus was on Luna. “I finally found you,” he said with a slight smile. “After all these years, this is where you’ve been hiding. I must say, it is nice to finally see the woman behind the armor with my own eyes. You’re even more attractive than I thought you would be Luna. Or, would you prefer it if I called you…Nightmare Moon?”


“I am not Nightmare Moon!” shouted Luna, her face burning red and clearly flustered as she stepped forward an inch or so pushing into Celestia. “This is school property and you must leave this instant!” At that, all of the students gather began to whisper to each other. Who was Nightmare Moon? What was going on?


Sombra chuckled. “I will not be doing that,” he said. “You see, I have waited a very long time for our match. The one you ran away from. And I refuse to leave until we have our duel.”


Sunset looked back at Luna…and almost took a step back which would have knocked Twilight to the ground. Luna suddenly looked livid. More so than anything she had ever seen before during her time at this school. She stepped forward, shoving her sister aside without a second thought. Speaking of Celestia, she looked both alarmed and confused at the same time. Clearly, Celestia had never seen her sister this angry before either.


“Ran away?!?” she roared. “Oh, you have some nerve to say that. After what you did, don’t pretend like it was anything like that. I was forced out because of you! To think you would stoop that low just to ensure you would win!”


“I…have no idea what you are talking about,” said Sombra. And, in all honesty, Sunset believed him when he said that. There was clear confusion in his voice and his expression matched his tone perfectly. Either he had hidden acting skills or he was telling the truth.


“Of course you would say that,” growled Luna as she crossed her arms and looked away. “Not like you would admit anything with all these people and cameras around.”


“In any event,” continued Sombra as he snapped his fingers. At one, a man carrying a briefcase approached him. Once he was close enough, the man opened the case which Sombra reached in to pull out a black duel disk and deck. “I have come all this way to have our fated duel. The school board and the mayor of this charming town have already been contacted. If you agree to duel me and win, I will donate to this school a top of the line dueling stadium for the dueling team as well as all new equipment for your sports teams. Naturally, they have accepted these terms. All we are needing is your participation.”


This had an instantaneous effect on all the students gathered there. No longer whispering in confusion, many of the began to talk loudly and excitedly. Some even began to cheer loudly. From what Sunset could make out, no one really expected Luna to win so they could get any of the promised stuff from Sombra. After all, he was a pro duelist so you’d have a better chance getting a natural tan in the middle of winter than defeating someone like him. Yet the chance to watch him duel here, without paying a cent, was just too exciting for those who were gathered.


Luna gritted her teeth. “You really want to rub the salt in my wounds that badly, don’t you?” she asked as she clenched her fists. Sunset watched, noticing as blood began to drip from both hands. “Since the school board already agreed, I guess I have no choice. Just promise me you’ll stay out of my life when this is finished.”
> Dueling Fates (Luna/Nightmare Moon vs Sombra) part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was about an hour and half later before Luna’s car entered the faculty parking lot, coming to a screeching halt as it did so. Normally, the blue skinned woman was more of a stickler for the rules of the road having never been pulled over once in her life. Today, however, she didn’t care if she broke every rule there was out there. Opening her door with a fury, she quickly got out and slammed it behind with enough force to almost break the window. Muttering random curses under her breath, Luna moved to the back of the car where she quickly popped the truck. Looking down, she saw her old unused duel disk laying there along with her old deck. It, of course, wasn’t the duel disk she had used when she was younger for that wouldn’t fit her anymore. Instead this was her first ever duel disk which had an adjustable arm holder so that she could use it even to this day.


When she saw it, she reached out to take a hold of it before suddenly pulling her hand back. With quickening breath her head began to move back and forth as if expecting someone to jump out from behind one of the dozens of parked cars there. But that didn’t happen. No one was there expect for her.


“Get a hold of yourself Luna,” the woman said to herself as she picked up the duel disk. “Starswirl isn’t here. He’s in Florida enjoying his retirement. He’s not here.” For several long seconds, Luna stood there holding her duel disk as she did her best to get her heart rate under control. Not that it was easy for she could hear his voice in her heard. That she wasn’t good enough to succeed on her own. That she would never be as talented as Celestia and to accept it. That her dreams were childish and she shouldn’t even bother. Why waste your time doing something when you know you’re going to fail? Only he knew what was right for someone like her. As these voices echoed in her head, Luna did her best to take long drawn out breathes. Slowly her heart rate began to return to something closer to normal while the voices began to fade.


She shut her trunk one-handed before making her way to the front entrance. More students had gathered to watch, forgetting their classes for the day just to watch. Many were standing in the courtyard while others had taken to bringing chairs and desks from inside the school. Those who had not left the building, she couldn’t help but note, were crowding the windows or were up on the roof somehow. Then there were the teachers who were going along with their students rather than keeping them under control. It was utter madness. When this duel was over she would have a talk with her sister about a suitable punishment for all of these rule breakers.


Students parted as she made her way to where the duel was to happen, cameras following her as she did so. Sombra had not moved from his spot, hunched in front of where the school’s statue once was. As she took the spot several feet from the stairs, Luna noticed that Sunset Shimmer and her friends were all there as well. They stood in front of the crowd almost directly in between where Luna and Sombra were. Luna also noticed another familiar face in the crowd: Pip. He was standing close to her with excitement in his eyes, ready to watch her duel in person. The blue skinned woman’s eyes hardened a bit when she saw him, promising herself that when this was over he would have detention for the rest of his life if she could manage it. Or see if she could get him expelled for the invasion of her privacy.


It was, however, odd that she didn’t see her sister anywhere in the crowd. She should have been easy to spot, standing taller than most students. Perhaps she was trying to call the school board to get them to call this off or something.


“Are you ready,” asked Sombra, getting Luna’s attention. Rather than respond to him and risk saying something she might regret Luna simply equipped the duel disk to her arm in front of him. “I see. Very well then. I’ll make this as fair as possible and allow you to decide who goes first.”


Luna looked down at her duel disk as she bit her lower lip. Back in the day she would have wanted to go first no matter what. Now, she was no longer that girl. She’d play this smart. She knew what his deck could do to her if she went first and she had to avoid that. Meaning…


“You’ll go first,” said Luna, hearing a gasp from Pip nearby. She did not look at the boy, instead keeping her eyes fixed on Sombra. The man’s eyes had narrowed considerably before tightening up his red tie. How that man could breathe like that she had no idea.


“Very well,” said Sombra as he inserted his deck. Luna mirrored his actions causing their life points to appear as 8000. Five cards were ejected from their deck slots with both duelists taking them. Looking down at her hand she saw that she had a good balance of monsters, spell cards, and a trap. Enough for her to make plenty of moves.


“Draw!” said the hunched man as he drew his sixth card. He glanced at it before putting it back into his hand before taking another card and placing it into one of his duel disk’s spell slots. “If your plan was to slow me down it didn’t work. I play the spell card El Shaddoll Fusion to fuse together the Shaddoll Hedgehog and Shaddoll Beast from my hand to create El Shaddoll Winda!” With a frown on his face, Sombra showed Luna the two cards in his hand before sending them to the graveyard. As he did this, a swirling mass of dark clouds appeared above his side of the field.  “The dark strings of fate empowered by the shadows. Corrupted champions come to my aid! Fusion Summon: El Shaddoll Winda!” From the clouds came a woman riding on the back of a purple dragon with 2200 attack point. Or perhaps, giving the purple threads attached to the two, they were simply marionettes being lowered to the ground. When they got closer to the ground, Luna thought it might be the latter given the joints and the wooden look of the two. The woman was wearing a mostly purple attire with a staff in her hand. The dragon reminded the blue skinned woman of an Asian dragon, except with a large beak like mouth and overly large yellow eyes.


“El Shaddoll Winda prevents either of us from special summoning more than one monster per turn once she is on the field,” said Sombra as he gestured to his monstrosity. “So that means I can still special summon one more monster this turn which I shall do. Since my Shaddoll Hedgehog was sent to the grave due to an effect I get to add one Shaddoll monster to my hand. For that I will choose my Shaddoll Falco. As for the Beast I sent to the grave, his effect allows me to draw one card.” Sombra’s duel disk shot out a card from the middle which he revealed to be Falco as the cards were shuffled. Once it was done, Sombra drew another card. “Now, I will normal summon my Thunder King Rai-Oh in attack mode.” Appearing now on Sombra’s side of the field was a blue humanoid looking machine with his arms held in a Y position. Thunder King was made of mostly blue metal while his silver ‘arms’ were like electrical coils that sent electricity flying through the air to a disk on both sides of it before the energy went to its feet. Its attack points were 1900.


That’s strange, thought Luna as she looked at the field in front of her. Sombra had everything he needed to create his best fusion monster El Shaddoll Construct. But he didn’t do it. Why?


“With that I end my turn,” said Sombra as he brought his hands behind his back.


“Very well,” said Luna. “I draw.” The Vice-Principal looked at the card she just drew before adding it with the other five. “First I’ll play the spell card Constellar Star Chart. This continuous spell card will allow me to draw a card once per turn each time I Xyz summon a Constellar monster. Next I’ll summon my Constellar Pollux in attack mode.” As Luna placed the card on her duel disk, a star began to twinkle above her before a light crashed down on the ground in front of her. When the smoke cleared there stood a man in silver and gold armor along with a white cape. He wore a helmet which kept his face hidden and on the right leg were large spikes. Held with both hands was a sword with two separate blades that shined in the light of the day. His attack points were 1700.


“My monster has a powerful effect which allows me to normal summon another monster this turn,” said Luna. “So now I summon Constellar Kaus to the field as well.” Another twinkle of light above their heads followed by an explosion brought Kaus to the field. This time Luna’s monster was a centaur wearing silver armor along with a matching cape. He too wore a helmet which hid his face and not even his eyes could be seen through the eye visor like eye hole. In his grasp he held a bow made of gold whose bow string seemed to be made out of energy. This monster’s attack points were 1800.


“Since I have two level four monsters on the field I can Xyz summon a monster,” announced Luna as spiral vortex appeared on the ground in front of her. Barely noticing Sombra’s frown, both of Luna’s monsters were turned into lights that were sucked in. “Steel and circuits built by the stars themselves, bring down a mighty fist like no other. Xyz Summon Rank 4. Constellar Praesepe.” Exploding upwards from the vortex appeared a monster of white metal and golden trimming. Looking like a space aged knight, Praesepe was equipped with twin golden cannons on his back as well as a cape that was gold on the back but red on the inside. One of his hands was a golden pincer that hummed with red energy inside of it while the other was a hand with a claw built into its backhand. Larger than either of Luna’s previous two monsters, he stood there sporting a decent 2400 attack points along with two golden orbs orbiting around him.


“Since I successfully Xyz summoned him I can now-”


“I’m afraid not,” interrupted Sombra as he brought his arms in front of him again. “I activate the effect of my Thunder King. By sending it to the graveyard I can negate the special summoning of your monster and destroy it.” Luna’s eyes widened in shock as Sombra removed his monster from his disk. At once a powerful current flew from his monster and hit hers, destroying it in a large explosion which she needed to raised both arms to defend herself. As the dust settled, Sombra brought his arms back behind him once again. “Since your monster was not successfully summoned, you will not be able to draw a card. Is there anything else you’d like to do?”


“I,” began Luna but stopped herself as she looked down at her hand. Her eyes fell upon her trap card before looking downcast. What was the point? He’d probably destroy that as well before she could activate it. “I end my turn.”


“Hmp,” grunted Sombra as he drew his fifth card. After adding it to his hand, the man paused to tighten up his tie. “I summon my Mathematician in attack mode.” Appearing before him was a wizard with a long white beard and a graduation hat on her head with 1500 attack points. “When this card is summoned to the field, I can send one card in my deck to the graveyard. So I will be sending my Eclipse Wyvern to the grave when his effect will activate. Now I can banish one dark dragon monster that is level seven or higher from the game. Then if my Eclipse Wyvern is removed from the graveyard I can add that monster to my hand. Now, the monster I will be banishing will be my Dark Armed Dragon.


“Now for my attack,” said Sombra after he had sent his monster to the grave and removed another. “Both monsters attack you directly!” El Shaddoll Winda went first, opening the dragon’s mouth to unleash a stream of purple smoke towards Luna. The blue skinned woman inhaled some of it before quickly bringing a hand to her mouth as she began to cough wildly. As her life points dropped to 5800, the Mathematician raised his wand. From it came a beam of pink energy with purple numbers and mathematical signs in them that stuck Luna. Knocked onto the ground her life points fell even more only to stop when they reached 4300.


“Nightmare Moon!” shouted Pip as Luna hit the ground. As for the rest of the student, she could hear their muttering. Words that she had heard before. That she was no good. That she should just give up. Slowly, Luna got back to her feet albeit on shaky legs.


“I end my turn,” said Sombra, his voice a growl of irritation as he put his hands behind his back.


“I draw then,” said Luna as she added another card to her hand, giving her a total of four cards. “I summon Constellar Algiedi in attack mode.” Appearing on Luna’s side of the field in another explosion was woman in whitish silver armor and a blue cape. In one hand was a mace which she held on one side. Her attack points were 1600. “Now I will destroy your Mathematician!” On her command, Algiedi leapt into the air with her mace raised above her. Sombra’s spellcaster looked up just in time to see Algiedi’s mace slam down on his head before being destroyed.


“When Mathematician is destroyed I can draw a card,” said Sombra as his life points dropped to 7900.


“Now that that’s done,” began Luna as she looked at her hand again. “I, uh, end my turn.”


“I…see,” said Sombra, irritation and boredom in his voice. After adding his fifth card to his hand he tightened up his tie yet again. “So very disappointing. I will remove my Eclipse Wyvern from my graveyard in order to special summon my Black Dragon Collapserpent to the field in attack mode.” As Sombra removed the card from his graveyard, a large winged reptile like creature appeared next to him. Its scales were grayish black except her its under bellow which had an orange tint to it. The dragon lacked any arms or legs, only large webbed wings with white spikes on both. After being there for a moment, its chest seemed to open up revealing a black sphere like a black hole. Its attack points were 1800.


“Since I removed my Wyvern, I can now take the banished Black Armed Dragon and add it back to my hand,” continued Sombra as he did just that. People around were clapping and cheering for him, but Sombra seemed to ignore it. He just continued to look dully at Luna. “Now, I will attack with El Shaddoll Winda and destroy that pitiful excuse of a monster.” Winda’s dragon opened its mouth again to unleash the purple smoke. Algiedi tried to wave it off with her mace only to have it melt before her eyes. Once her weapon was gone, the smoke began to eat away and melt Algiedi whole until there was nothing left while Luna’s life points dropped to 3700. “Now I attack you directly with my Collapserpent.” Luna suddenly felt like a thousand pounds had been added to her body, causing her to call to her hands and knees. She cried while her life points fell even more only to stop when they hit 1900.


“You’re not Nightmare Moon,” said Sombra coldly as Luna panted, trying to get up. “You might be the right age. You might use similar cards as her. But you lack both her spirit and her skill.” As he placed his hands behind his back, Sombra spat on the field in-between both of them. “I finally thought I had found her after all these years, only to have this happen. What a disappointment.”


Luna’s eyes widened at that before narrowing dangerously. As her hands clenched into fists, her bare fingers rubbing against the pavement, she looked at Sombra with all the hate she could muster. “You’re not the only one who’s been disappointed,” said Luna as several nearby students backed away. “You were always so uptight, but I never thought in a million years you’d ever stoop to that level.”


-Flashback-


Sixteen year old Luna stood in front of a mirror in the changing room she had been, making sure her costume was in order. Normally, duelists would be given sitting rooms where they could relax in comfy chairs with dividers separating them from the others. There were, however, a few exceptions to this. People like Luna who wanted to change into something special when they dueled could request a locker. Of course it wasn’t all that big. By her side there were only ten small lockers lining the walls of the small room she was in along with a bench dividing the room in half. She had heard that some pros get their own private rooms, but that was only for the truly elite.


As Luna stood there admiring herself she couldn’t help but think back to how her look had evolved. Back when she had first took to the stage as Nightmare Moon, she had worn a cheap plastic knight costume that she had gotten on discount from a Halloween store. Now black spandex hugged her body from her neckline to her feet with the faux metal on top of it. It shined brightly in the light coming from the ceiling and her cape looked perfect. Under one arm was her helmet while the other held on it her specially commission duel disk with her deck already in it. Once she put on her helmet and walked out that door, she would be Nightmare Moon ready for the match of her life.


Despite her heart pounding like mad from excitement, she found herself smiling brightly. She had gone farther than anyone might of expected. Now, with just one duel left before officially making it into the pros, she was going to put it all on the line. If she lost, she would know that she had done her best.


The rustling of the door behind caught her attention as normally the staff here would knock before entering. Before Luna could turn around the door swung open with Luna seeing her intruder in the reflection. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment, the helmet in her grasp falling to the floor and rolling around as she saw Starswirl looking at her with disgust. Her legal guardian after the death of hers and Celestia parents deaths; he was an elderly man with a long white beard and bluish grey skin. As usual he wore his signature blue suit which was dotted by small white and yellow stars. Yet his cold, indifferent eyes were not there this night. Instead they seemed to blaze with a furry Luna had seen only a few times in her life.


“So it’s true,” whispered Starswirl angrily as Luna turned around. As she pressed her back to the mirror Starswirl closed the gap between them, grabbing her arm once he was close enough. “When I received that letter I didn’t think it was possible. I never thought you’d do something this foolish. But here you are.” Roughly, Starswirl pulled on Luna’s arm forcing her towards the open door. “We are leaving this place right now.”


“No!” shouted Luna as she tried to hold her ground. However, her strength was no match for his as Luna’s feet dragged across the floor. “Please, I’m so close. This is my big match, my big night. You can’t take this away from me.”


“I am sparing you from your own inevitable failure,” said Starswirl as he continued to pull her move and move out of the room. “I will not let you waste your time any more on something so foolish that will result in nothing!”


“But I’m good at this!” insisted Luna as she pulled back with all her might. As she did, she felt her hand slip out of his grasp. However, her freedom lasted only a moment as he quickly took her by the arm again with a much tighter grip.


“You’ve been lucky,” he said as he pulled her out the door. “But sooner or later you will fail just like you always do. Haven’t I told you time and time again that I know what you are capable of? What your limits are? I’m sparing you from yourself.” With that, Luna was pulled down the empty hallways while fighting the entire way. She struggled to get out of his grip, using her free hand to try and pry herself free. Sadly, nothing seemed to work. Soon they were in his car which was parked in the back. Then they were gone leaving behind her helmet…and her big match.


-End Flashback-


Back in the present, Luna slammed her fist on the cement. “I don’t know how you found out, but you had to be the one to send that letter!” accused the Vice-Principal as she remained on the ground. “You were the only one to benefit from that! You ruined my life!”


“Benefit?” echoed Sombra in a growl as he stood there, casting a dirty look at Luna. “That night was what almost ruined me! My integrity was called into question, people assuming the worst of me. Even after they found no evidence that I was involved with Nightmare Moon’s disappearance, do you really think anyone trusted me? Every time I defeated someone I was accused of tampering with their deck. Whenever a match had to be postponed, duelists wondered if I had hired some goon to try and eliminate my opponent. Even to this day I have to bare that. I have been forever branded a criminal.


“But that’s not what hurts the most,” said Sombra as he pointed a finger at Luna. “No, what’s worse is not knowing if I could have beaten you back then. Back then, you were the only one I ever considered my equal. The one duelist I respected more than any other. Finding out you were to be my opponent to see if I would be able to enter the pros was a dream come true. A true test of my skills. Defeating you was the only way I could be worthy of becoming a pro. For days I would lie awake in my bed as I wondered how the match would go. And what happened? I won by default?!? That wasn’t how it was suppose to happen! I may be a high ranking duelist, but was that supposed to happen? Am I only in the position I am in now because of luck? There is not a day that goes by where I do no wonder such things.


“That is why I have tried to find Nightmare Moon. I want that duel I was denied if only I could gain some piece of mind. But it seems fate is denying me once again. I’m going home.”


As Sombra began to turn his back to her, Luna felt her heart beginning to beat faster. Around her, she could see students beginning to disperse as the duel was pretty much finished. She had lost, failed like so many other times. Perhaps Starswirl had been right all along. That she was-


“No, Nightmare Moon can still win this!” screamed Pip, causing Luna to look up and Sombra to pause. The older man turned again to look at the smaller boy who was not standing out from the crowd with both hand clenched tightly. Those who had been around were beginning to distance themselves from him, leaving the boy to stand on his own. “She’s been put in tighter situations before. I’ve watched them myself. She never gives up!”


Sombra looked at Pip for a moment, studying him for a moment. “That she did,” he admitted before shaking his head. Calmly he tightened up his tie even more. “But that woman is no longer here. The person we both admired is dead. Perhaps it is time to simply move on.”


I’m pathetic, thought Luna as Sombra began to turn around again, almost in slow motion. I don’t want to be though. But what can I do? That person I was, she was so much stronger than me. I couldn’t even stop Starswirl from destroying everything I worked for! Why can’t I be strong like she was?


Have you forgotten? Luna’s eyes widened as she heard another voice echoing all around her. While she could not recall who the voice belonged to, it was familiar as if she had heard him somewhere before. Like a friend from long ago. Nightmare Moon and you are the same person, the same soul. You lost confidence in yourself through your stumbles in life. That man’s words filled you with fear and doubt. But now the chance to reclaim it all that you lost is right before you. Remember, even during the cloudiest of nights the stars shall still be shining waiting to be seen. We are waiting for you to seize it again! Now stand and fight with us AGAIN!


As the words echoed in Luna’s head and heart, the woman stood up. “Where are you going Serious Sombra?” she asked as she held her duel disk at the ready. Sombra almost stumbled at the sound of her voice. When he turned his head around again it was more cautious than anything else as if he were afraid to get his hopes up. A hand rose up to his tie but barely touched it this time, tracing it as he stared back at Luna’s smiling face. “You came here for a duel. It would be a shame for you to leave before either of our life points hit zero.”


Sombra didn’t say anything at first, but the students who remained certainly were. All of them whispering how their Vice-Principal had lost her mind. She had only 1900 life points left with no monsters. El Shaddoll Winda was on the field meaning she could only special summon one monster per turn while also having nearly full life points. Not to mention he had Dark Armed Dragon waiting in the wings ready to crush her at any time. She had to have lost it to believe she could win under these conditions.


“It…seems rather pointless,” said Sombra who sounded puzzled by Luna’s sudden change.


In response, Luna brought her heels together clicking them loudly before pointing at Sombra. “Come now Serious Sombra? Let's let this next turn play out. After all, you think your victory is assured. Or are afraid I might turn it around?”


At that moment, something odd happened with Sombra. His free hand suddenly shot under his suit jacket to where his heart was located. Those around could tell he was clenching at the fabric of his shirt as he continued to stare at Luna’s smiling face. Then there were his eyes. No longer looking dull, they held within them the look of someone who had seen a ghost. Yet just as quickly as this happened Sombra seemed to compose himself. His hand returned from under his suit jacket to tighten his tie once more before returning to where he had been standing.


“Very well, I’ll humor you,” said Sombra as he brought his hands behind his back. “It’s your turn I believe.”


“It is! I draw!” declared Luna as she drew her card is a wide arch. As she did, she briefly noticed Twilight and Sunset staring at in shock while at the same time she felt a hand resting on her shoulder. Energy she had not felt from her youth coursed through her. This match would be an uphill battle. The best kind!


She then looked at her forth card and smiled. “The stars will aid me in my victory!” she shouted causing Pip to jump into the air, pumping his fist. “This is where the real duel begins Serious Sombra! I’ll summon Constellar Sombre in attack mode!” Appearing in another light that shot down in front of Luna appeared a monster with 1550 attack points. It worn the same silver armor with gold trimming as well as a helmet which concealed her face. On her helmet were two golden horns that curved backwards and she had wings like that of a butterfly floating a few inches from her back. Around her, floating separate from her body was a mint green ribbon with symbols for Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, and several others that moved around like on a electronic dashboard.


“This monster is very special,” continued Luna. “By removing one of my Constellar monsters in my graveyard, I can add one other Constellar monster from my grave to my hand. So I’ll remove my Praesepe to add Kaus to my hand. Now the other effect of Sombre activates allowing me to normal summon again! So please, lets welcome back Constellar Kaus!” Another explosion on Luna’s side of the field and Kaus was there. “Now I activate the effect of Kaus. Up to twice per turn I can either raise the level of a Constellar monster by one or lower it by one.”


“So, you’re going to raise their levels by one to bring out a rank five monster,” said Sombra.


“No,” replied Luna causing Sombra to take a step back. “I’m going to lower both of their levels by one so I can bring out a rank three!” Everyone there looked confused as both of Luna’s level four monsters had their levels dropped to three. “Now everything is set for me to build the Overlay Network! Heed me beast-warrior of the stars! Cut through the darkness with mighty blade forged by the heavens themselves! Xyz Summon Rank Three: Constellar Hyades!” From out of the vortex created when Luna began her chant came a humanoid warrior wearing black armor with the white armor with golden trimming on top of it. Hyades had golden horns on his head which pointed directly in front of him, looking sharp enough to be used as weapons themselves. Lines of red energy seemed to glow on the cracks in his breastplate and along its arms leading all the way to its twin swords which the monster held upside down. As the twin material orbs orbited around the monster everyone could see that it had 1900 attack points.


“That monster…do you plan on destroying my dragon?” asked a confused Sombra.


“No,” answered Luna with a smirk. “I’m planning on destroying your Winda. But that will have to wait a moment. First, since I successfully summoned a Constellar xyz monster my spell card allows me to draw a card.” With that she took a step forward while drawing her card, looked at it, and smiled as it was added to her hand. “Now I will use the effect of my Hyades. By detaching one of its materials, I can force all your monsters into defense mode.” One of the material orbs orbiting Hyades suddenly flew into its blade causing it to glow brightly. The monster then slammed it into the ground, sending a shock wave to Sombra’s side of the field. It was then that El Shaddoll Winda crossed her arms while the dragon she rode upon curled around itself. As for Collapserpent, it brought its wings in close while the black hole in its chest was concealed again.


“Now to be rid of Winda,” said Luna as she trusted out her hand at the El Shaddoll Winda. “Constellar Hyades, attack it with Piercing Shooting Star!” Hyades turned to look at Luna, nod, and then charge at Winda with the force of a charging bull. Once he was directly in front of Winda, Hyades leapt into the air high above it before bringing down both blades. Sombra’s fusion monster exploded as Hyades leapt back to Luna.


“When El Shaddoll Winda is destroyed I can return one Shaddoll spell or trap card from my graveyard back to my hand,” informed Sombra as he took back his El Shaddoll Fusion. He then looked at Luna curiously. “Now that Winda is in the graveyard I now have all I need to summon Dark Armed Dragon. Not only that, we can both special summon more monsters pre turn. On my next turn I will be able to completely destroy you. But you knew that. So…why? Are you giving up and just wanted to go down swinging?”


“No,” replied Luna as she placed a hand on her hip, face full of confidence. “I want you to bring out your dragon and everything else you’ve got. Show me your best Sombra so I can take them all down.” Luna then held up two cards. “I’ll let you get to that after placing these two cards face down and ending my turn.”


Sombra watched as the two cards materialized on Luna’s field. “So that’s it,” he said softly. “A trap nicely set up with your monster as the cheese. Or…is it a bluff to buy yourself more time.” Sombra then raised a hand to his tie only for it to pause there seeming to tremble as he looked at Luna’s expression. His eyes scanned the field before looking at his hand, as if he were considering his options. Trying his best to determine if it was worth the risk. Then he lowered his hand to his deal disk to draw his card.


“I will do as you asked and end this duel,” said Sombra as he held seventh cards. “Since I now have a total of three, and only three, dark monsters in my graveyard I can special summon Dark Armed Dragon from my hand in attack mode.” As Sombra placed his card on the duel disk a loud roar was heard echoing across the campus as his monster rose from the ground. Unlike the regular Armed Dragon, this monster had green scaly skin instead of red under its black armor. Long spikes and blades decorated said armor as well has having a drill at the end of its tail. Its attack points were an impressive 2800. “Now I will use his effect. But removing one dark monster from my graveyard I can target one monster you control and destroy it. I will remove my Hedgehog to destroy Hyades. So say goodbye to your only monster.”


As the drill on Dark Armed Dragon’s tail began to spin, Luna threw out her hand. “Not so fast,” she yelled as the dragon’s drill shot towards Hyades. “I activate my trap card: Xyz Veil!” Dark Armed Dragon’s effect was suddenly halted as a barrier appeared around Hyades, causing the dragon to retract its tail. “This effect card prevents my Xyz monsters from being targeted by effects as long as I have material attached to them. Meaning you just wasted your monster’s effect!”


“A minor inconvenience, I assure you,” replied Sombra as he held up another card. “If you thought that was the only dragon in my hand then allow me to correct that misconception. I remove my Shaddoll Beast, El Shaddoll Winda, and Thunder King Rai-Oh to special summon Chaos Dragon Levianeer in attack mode.” A portal appeared over the field, allowing a massive white dragon that cast a shadow over the entire school to appear above their heads. It floated there, with mint green energy growing in the middle of its wings, in stomach, and its unicorn like horn. Everything about seemed so jagged, from its wings to the ‘hair’ on its head as well as its beak like mouth. Above it, between the dragon’s wings, was a small black orb no bigger than a baseball. Its attack points were 3000. “Sadly, this monster can’t attack the turn it was summoned. But it is interesting in that it has three effects. One if I remove all dark monsters to summon it. One if I use all light monsters. But the one you used be worried about is if I use any combination of both which allows me to destroy any two cards on the field. So I’ll be getting rid of your Veil and face down.”


As Luna’s cards were destroyed via a laser beam from Levianeer’s head, Sombra held up another card. “Now, since you have a monster from your extra deck on the field, I can play Shaddoll Fusion to its full effect: allowing me to fuse monsters in my deck. So I’ll send another Shaddoll Beast and Mathematician to the grave in order to fusion summon another one of my El Shaddoll monsters.” As Sombra played his card, clouds began to swirl above the two duelists. “Four pillars binding you with your own power. Yet the shadows will never truly vanish. Fusion summon El Shaddoll Shekhinaga!” From the clouds came four curved pillars, two white with black criss-cross markings while the other two were the opposite. Like the two giant dragons, they towered over the field in frightening scale. Then, a figure of a marionette woman appeared in the middle of the four with half of her body white while the other half was purplish. On her back on the white side was an angelic looking wing while on the other side was bat like one. Shortly after she appeared, purple threads began to shoot out from the pillars to bind the woman leaving her captured within. Her attack points were 2600.


“With this, my victory is assured,” announced Sombra as his three giant monsters loamed over Luna. “My El Shaddoll Shekhinaga has the power to negate the activation of any of your special summoned monsters and destroy them simply by discarding a Shaddoll card from my hand. Not only that, because I sent my Beast to the graveyard I am allowed to draw another card to my hand.” Sombra then drew a card, giving him a total of five. “Finally, I will change my Collapserpent to attack mode.”


“Then go ahead,” said Luna as she gestured to Sombra to come to her. “End this duel…if you can.” Sombra at once began to raise his hand to point at her, mouth open ready to give the verbal command…but he stopped himself. His eyes scanned the field once again as if looking for something. Anything to explain why Luna wasn’t scared. Then he shook her head, several stray hairs standing up in the process.


“Dark Armed Dragon, finish what you started earlier and end that monster!” shouted Sombra. Dark Armed Dragon responded by raising both clawed hands as black energy began to collect into spheres in both. Without any mercy it flung them at Hyades, creating a massive explosion that shook the field. “Now with that you-” Sombra stopped as light suddenly cut through the explosion, illuminating Hyades for all to see. He was there, whole and undamaged, with angelic wings of gold on his back. What’s more his attack points had risen to 4700! “What trick is this?”


“No trick,” responded Luna with a grin while holding up a card. “You were so focused on my field, you never realized that the real trap was in my hand: Honest! By discarding this card, I can target one of my light monsters and it will gain attack points equal to the monster attacking it until the end of the turn. And you know what that means.” Sombra gulped right before Hyades took off into the air thanks to its new set of wings. He then landed on the chest of Dark Armed Dragon who started to swat off the Constellar monster but stopped when Hyades jammed both blades into the dragon. Armed Dragon screamed in pain before exploding into light, knocking back Sombra a bit as his life points dropped to 6000.


“Care to continue attack me?” asked Luna as she crossed her arms.


Sombra only responded by staggering forward a bit only to catch himself on his knees. There he stayed for a moment, panting hard for some reason while more of his hair could be seen standing up. Dust had now settled on his suit coat, giving him a dirtier appearance than anyone had ever seen. As he remained there, students were whispering to each other. From what Luna could hear, they were all surprised by this sudden turn. No one had expected her to survive such an overkill like move. Well, all but one.


“She did it!” cheered Pip as he bounced up and down. “I knew she was Nightmare Moon and this proves it! She’s got to be the real deal!”


“She is,” said Sombra as he began to laugh. “She really is Nightmare Moon!” With that, Sombra began to laugh even harder as he straightened himself up. His eyes were now ablaze with life and energy, almost looking maniac as he smiled broadly. His free hand went to his red tie only to loosen it while taking a step forward. “I fell right into that trap. Yes! This is the feeling I was expecting! This is the excitement I was denied all those years ago!” Still smiling madly, Sombra separated two cards from his hand before holding them up. “I’ll you everything I’ve got Nightmare. Starting with these two face downs as I end my turn!”


“And I’ll show you everything I’ve got!” declared Luna as she too was smiling. “I draw!”


-x-


“Sunset, what’s going on?” asked Twilight causing Sunset to blink. For a moment, she wondered what her purple friend was talking about until she noticed who Twilight was looking at. Herself. Or, rather, she was looking at the pendent around her neck which now seemed to be glowing. Taking her own eyes off the duel, Sunset looked down and touched her pendent to find it warm as well as radiating magical energy like nothing she had ever seen before. Light from the pendent began to glow brighter and brighter until it blinded the three.


When they opened their eyes the three saw that everything around them had changed. They were no longer in the school yard but instead a professional dueling arena, sitting in the stands. Sunset looked around to see if the other people around her were her fellow students, perhaps sharing in that…whatever it was. However, few lights seemed situated in the stand making everything appear darker and harder to see. The lights seemed focused in front of her where the duel was happening. Standing there were Luna and Sombra, but not the way they were looking a moment ago. Sombra looked younger, about their age now with his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. Luna was her younger self as well; dressed up in her Nightmare Moon armor with her eyes clearly visible.


“What’s going on?” asked Sonata.


Sunset didn’t answer right away, instead looking at her pendent which continued to glow in her hand. She knew what her power was: mind reading. The ability to hear people’s thoughts and sometimes see their memories. One time she was even able to see how trippy the world appeared for Pinkie Pie. Perhaps this was something like that. Both Vice-Principal Luna and Sombra were getting really into this duel, a duel for which she knew they were supposed to have back when they were younger. Was this how they were seeing this moment, their feelings so intense that her pendent reacted to it? It was possible. The girls still didn’t know everything about how their magic worked.


“I’ll now play the spell card I just drew,” declared Luna as she held up one of her two cards. Or, rather, Nightmare Moon at this moment as she held up a card. “It’s another Constellar Star Chart. Meaning that whenever I Xyz summon a monster I can draw another card. So why don’t I do that now with an advanced Xyz summon?” In front of her, the overlay vortex appeared to suck up Hyades. “The coldness of steel and space combine themselves to forge a new weapon. Roar, mighty dragon, with a might to shake worlds apart. Xyz Summon Rank 6. Constellar Ptolemy M7!” Coming up from the vortex was a dragon like monster made of metal as large as Sombra’s own monsters. It stood there on its hind legs, white and gold plated armor protecting it. The monster’s wings were not on its back, but on its head as if there were ears showing not skin or anything like that but instead the cosmos. At the end of its tail was an edge of golden light that hummed with power. Around it were two material orbs orbiting around the dragon’s body. Its attack points were 2700.


“This monster can be Xyz summoned by using any Constellar Xyz monster I control and the monster used as well as all the material on it becomes Ptolemys,” explained Nightmare Moon. “Now, since I Xyz summoned a monster I can now draw two cards thanks to my spell cards. Then I will summon one of the monster’s I drew: Constellar Leonis!” Another star or beam of light hit the ground causing the crowd to go wild. Leaping out of the dust cloud was a figure who looked a bit different from the others used before. Its armor was white with hits of grey here and there. There were also blue spikes of energy on its shoulder and on the sides of its ankles while that same energy was slicked back on its helmet to create the appearance of a lion’s mane. As this 1000 attack point monster stood there, it swiped at the air around it producing blue energy blades from its fingers. “I hope you are enjoying this star shower Serious Sombra because it isn’t ending anytime soon! Now that Leonis is on the field I can normal summon once more. So please, lets welcome to the field Constellar Algiedi once again!”


“You may have gotten two more monsters on the field, but they won’t do you any good,” said Sombra as Algiedi appeared on the field. “Leonis is level three and Algiedi is level four. There is no way you can use them for another of your Xyz summons!”


“Oh, poor Serious Sombra,” said Nightmare Moon in mock concern while holding up a card. “Always so quick to judge. You are right, as they are now I can’t Xyz summon anything. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a way to change that. I play the spell card Constellar Twinkle which allows me target one of my Constellar monsters and raise its level by one or two. I choose to raise Leonis up by one level so that it matches Algiedi. Then I build the overlay network to create another Constellar Praesepe.” Sombra pulled down on his tie more as Luna’s monster appeared on the field. “Now, Ptolemy M7, destroy El Shaddoll Shekhinaga!” Ptolemy let out a roar before opening its mouth wide to fire out thousand if not millions of tiny golden star-like objects into Sombra’s monster.


“When my monster is destroyed I get one of my Shaddoll spell or trap cards back,” said Sombra as his life points dropped to 5900. “So I’ll add Shaddoll Fusion to my hand.”


“Too bad the rest of your monsters can’t do that for you,” announced Nightmare Moon as she pointed to Collapserpent. “Praesepe, take down the tiny dragon!” From the cannons on Praesepe’s back shot two red orbs of light that clashed into Collapserpent, causing it to cry out before being destroyed.


“I may not get a card from my graveyard, but my Collapserpent doesn’t leave without giving me a parting gift,” said Sombra as his life points dropped to 5300. “When he leaves the field I can add one White Dragon Wyverbuster from my deck to my hand. You’ll have to do better than that if you wish to defeat me.”


“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Nightmare Moon in a smug tone. “But for now I’ll end my turn.”


“Then I draw!” shouted Sombra as he drew his card. He then added it to his hand before looking at his five cards carefully. “I will remove my Dark Armed Dragon from my graveyard in order to summon my White Dragon Wyverbuster in defense mode.” With that a new dragon appeared on Sombra’s side of the field, one with blue skin with white scales on parts of his body like the back of its neck and chest which functioned like armor. With 1800 defense points it sat there with its wings covering its chest in order to better protect itself. “Then I will normal summon one monster in face down defense mode before I attack Ptolemy M7 with my Chaos Dragon Levianeer!” The horn of Levianeer’s head began to glow brighter and brighter, forcing Sunset to cover her eyes with her hands. Then it fired a beam much like how a unicorn would with the force of Tirek behind it.


“That won’t work,” shouted Nightmare Moon as she shot a hand into the air, her cape billowing behind her. “I activate Praesepe’s effect: when a Constellar monster I control is attacking or being attacked I can detach one of the material on him to raise that monsters attack points by 1000. More than enough to take down your dragon!” One of the material orbs flew into Praesepe’s pincer, red lightning sparkling around it as the monster turned to look at its ally. It then fired the orb at Ptolemy causing its attack points to raise to 3700. More than enough to survive and counter attack with its own power, dropping Sombra’s life points to 4600.


“Then it looks like I have no other choice but to end my turn,” said Sombra with a smirk.


“Then I draw,” said Nightmare Moon. She then looked at the only card she had for a moment before looking up at Sombra. “I’ll save this for later. For now, Praesepe will attack your Wyverbuster and Ptolemy M7 will attack your face down!” As Nightmare Moon pointed at her opponent, both monsters charged their attacks. Praesepe’s cannons fired first to destroy the white dragon. As for Ptolemy, his attack caused Sombra’s face down to be revealed as a small purple puppet of a bird that was easily destroyed.


“Thank you for that,” said Sombra. “You activated both of my monster’s effects. First, my Wyverbuster allows me to add another Collapserpent to my hand. As for the monster you destroyed, it was my Shaddoll Falco. Its flip effect allows me to set one of my Shaddoll monsters in my graveyard onto the field in face down defense mode. So I’ll set El Shaddoll Shekhinaga.”


“I thought that’s what you were planning,” said Nightmare Moon as she reached for her duel disk. “That’s why I saved something just in case I was right! I activate the effect of my Ptolemy M7: once per turn I can detach one of its material in order to send one monster on the field or graveyard back to the owner's hand. Or, if it was an extra deck monster, back to the extra deck. So I’ll detach the material to send your face down card back to the extra deck where it came from!” Instantly one of the material orbs hit Ptolemy in the chest, causing the wing-ears to grow larger. Once they stopped growing, the arena became something like a wind tunnel as papers, popcorn bags, and other such things went flying around. Sombra was bracing himself as he watched his face down card get sucked into the void within the wings of the metal dragon. Once gone, the wind vanished while the ears-wings returned to normal. “That ends my turn.”


“And begins mine!” shouted Sombra as he drew his card. He then looked at the five cards in his hand and grinned broadly. “I now have everything I need to turn this duel around. First I will remove my Chaos Dragon Levianeer and my White Dragon Wyverbuster from my graveyard in order to special summon Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning in attack mode!” In a flash there appeared a warrior with 3000 attack points wearing blue armor with gold trimming. He held in one hand a large curved sword while the other held a shield.


“I activate my monster’s special ability,” announced Nightmare Moon as she held up a hand. “By removing the last material on my Constellar Ptolemy M7, I can send your Black Luster Soldier back to your hand!” Once more one of Sombra’s monster’s was sucked into the void and brought back to his hand.


“A worthy, but futile attempt. Next I’ll play my Shaddoll Fusion,” continued Sombra proudly as he held up the card. “I will send my Shaddoll Dragon and my other Thunder King Rai-Oh to the grave in order to summon the headliner of my deck.” Two cards were slipped out of Sombra’s deck as the fusion vortex above their heads. “Threads of fear and fate, bind yourselves to this champions body, mind, and soul. Create the ultimate weapon like nothing ever seen before. Fusion Summon: EL SHADDOLL CONSTRUCT!” From the vortex, another marionette descended to the ground that was so huge that Sunset pushed herself back in her seat to try and get farther away from it. This monster was mostly purple with a mournful white face. It’s attire looked like a dress with the bottom part floating a few dozen feet away from the main body while the ends of its sleeves looked more like the ends of blades. Thousands upon thousands of purple threads were extending out from its body and moving out into the crowd. It’s attack points were 2800. “Now the effect of my Shaddoll Dragon activates, destroying one of your Star Charts!” With that, the shadowy image of a purple dragon puppet appeared on the field right before flying towards Nightmare’s side. It then collided with one of her spell cards, destroying it on the spot.


“Now, I remove my Shaddoll Dragon and my Thunder King in order to bring back the Black Luster Soldier you sent back to my hand,” announced Sombra as his monster returned. “Now I will use his effect to banish your Ptolemy M7 from the game.” Black Luster Soldier tightened his grip on its weapon as a chaotic rainbow of colors began to merge around it. Screaming out something completely unrecognizable, the warrior swung its weapon at Ptolemy sending the energy straight to it. When the energy touched the Constellar monster, it did not explode but rather seemed to vanish as the wave passed through it.


“Seems odd he did that,” said Twilight as she looked onto the field.


“Yeah,” agreed Sonata, bouncing her hair around as she nodded. “Even I know that that monster can’t attack when he uses that ability. But he also has another ability which lets him attack again when he destroys a monster. With Vice-Principal Luna’s life points as low as they care, he could have won if he did an all out attack!”


Sunset hummed to herself as she placed a hand on her chin. Sonata…was right! Leaning forward a bit in her chair, she could easily see how it would all play just like her blue skinned friend said. Vice-Principal Luna had no traps on her side of the field and her only spell card left was for drawing power. So why-


“Her hand,” said Sunset suddenly causing her friend to look at her. “Earlier in the duel, she used Honest to start her big comeback. If he attacked with Black Luster Soldier and she had another copy of that card in her hand, she would have destroyed it while also dealing massive damage to his life points. It's just not worth the risk. So he’s playing it safe.”


“My Construct also has another ability when she is summoned,” continued Sombra, gaining back the girls attention. “I can now send one of my Shaddoll cards to the grave. So I choose another Hedgehog whose effect allows me to add one Shaddoll monster to my hand. And the one I want is Shaddoll Squamata which I will now summon!” Appearing on the field was a puppet of a lizard-like creature, purple threads of energy attached to its limbs and head. Its main body was purple with golden segments separating each body part. As purple mist began to escape it and hiss as it melted the ground its attack points were revealed to be 1800.


“Now for the battle phase,” announced Sombra as the crowd cheered. “I attack your Praesepe with Construct!” Sombra’s marionette took a step forward, the ground shaking as it moved while the creaking of its joints deafening. It then held out both arms as threads moved out to wrap themselves around Nightmare Moon’s monster. Then, Construct lowered its arms to pull on the strings causing Praesepe to be sliced into pieces that exploded when they hit the ground. “Since it was destroyed by effect you naturally don’t take any damage. But the same can’t be said with this next attack.” Squamata didn’t need to be told twice, hissing right before it sent a stream of purple fluid onto Nightmare Moon. The now teenage girl took hold of her cape, holding it in front of her as a barrier to keep her safe. While it looked like her cape got drenched, her life points were reduced to 100.


“That is all for now,” said Sombra, barely holding back his giddiness. “You have put up an excellent fight up till now. But next turn, it will be my victory.”


“Think again Serious Sombra,” said Nightmare Moon as she drew her card. She didn’t look at it, instead holding out her hand in a way that looked like she was pointing the card at him. “Me and my stars will continue to shine on until victory is ours.” She then brought back her arm and held the two cards in her hand. “Now, I will play the spell card: Constellar Star Cradle! This card lets me bring back two of my Constellar monsters in my graveyard back to my hand. The only cost is that I can’t attack this turn. I’ll bring back my noble Constellar Sombre and Kaus to my hand. Then I will summon Sombre and use her effect: removing my Praesepe in my graveyard in order to add another card from my graveyard to my hand. I will choose Constellar Pollux. Now, Sombre allows me to special summon again so I’ll summon my Kaus before bringing both their levels up by one.” Nightmare Moon paused for a moment as she spread her arms out and looked up towards the ceiling. “The stage is now set to build the overlay network and summon my most loyal of stars! Brilliantly shining, giving light in the darkness of space. Shoot through the heavens to here, my heart and soul! Xyz Summon Rank 5: Constellar Pleiades!” Everyone became deathly silent as the overlay network was created again. When Nightmare Moon’s monster emerged it was a knight that seemed to give off its own glow. Like monsters before it Pleiades had its white armor with gold trimmings, but with golden spiked shoulder pads. In one had in held a sword with a large golden knuckle guard upside-down. Its cape, from what Sunset could see, seemed to show the cosmos slowly moving through it. His attack points were 2500.


As Nightmare Moon drew a card thanks to her remaining Star Chart, Pleiades did something unexpected. He turned so that he was now facing his summoner, looking down at her. For several long moments they remained like this before he suddenly, without warming, slammed his blade into the ground before taking a knee. Nightmare Moon placed a hand over her heart as the monster dipped his head down in a sign of respect.


“It…has been so long my queen,” said Pleiades.


Nightmare Moon remained silent for a moment before moving closer. While Pleiades was bowed before her, she still struggled a bit to place her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for making you wait so long,” she said. “I shall never let this happen again. Let us finish this.”


Pleiades stood up straight, quickly spinning around with his cape flowing around him. “Yes, my queen!” he declared as he took hold of his sword.


Nightmare Moon nodded, wiping away a tear under her helmet before focusing back on Sombra. “I activate the effect of Pleiades. This might seem familiar to you: by detaching one material from my monster I can send a card you control back to your hand. So say goodbye to your Soldier again.” Pleiades stood his ground as his cape began to grow, sucking in everything like before. Black Luster Soldier tried to hold his ground but it was no use. All too quickly he was pulled into the space within Pleiades cape and returned to Sombra’s hand. “And with no more light monsters in your graveyard you won’t be able to summon him. Now I’ll play one card face down and end my turn.”


“I still have Construct,” said Sombra as he drew.


“Not for long,” replied Nightmare Moon as she detached the other material from her monster. “I now use my monsters effect to send that doll right back to your hand. Or, rather, back to the extra deck where you will have to resummon it. And since it wasn’t destroyed, you don’t get your spell card back!”


“But I have other spell cards, or don’t you remember?” asked Sombra after Construct was suck away. “I activate my face downs El Shaddoll Fusion and Shaddoll Core. Shaddoll Core becomes a monster when activated which I can use for any of my fusions. As for El Shaddoll Fusion, well, it’s a quick play fusion card. So I’ll fuse my Core and Squamata to resummon El Shaddoll Construct!” Just like that, Sombra’s monster was back on the field as if it had never left. “I use her ability to send my last Beast to the graveyard, allowing me to draw a card. Also when Shaddoll Core is sent to the graveyard due to an effect, I can add one Shaddoll spell/trap card to my hand from the graveyard. It won’t really matter so I’ll take my Shaddoll Fusion back. Then I will play the spell card: Dark Magic Veil! By giving up a thousand life points I can special summon any dark spellcaster I want from my hand or graveyard. So I’ll use its power to summon Shaddoll Beast to the field.” Instantly dark flames appeared on the field, moving about on their own until they created a magical circle. As Sombra’s life points dropped to 3600, a puppet looking like a purple saber tooth tiger with 2200 attack points appeared on the field.


“This is the most fitting way I could end you at this moment,” said Sombra. “I could have brought out my Falco since your life points are so low, but you deserve better than to be pecked into defeat. El Shaddoll Construct, destroy her monster!” Once more, El Shaddoll Construct took a step forward shaking the ground as she did. Raising her arms dark threads of energy shot out and wrapped themselves around Pleiades who raised his blade to keep the attack from wrapping around his neck. Pleiades struggled for as long as he could but eventually the cords cut through his weapon before cutting through his body.


At the sight of this, Sombra reached for his tie and pulled it completely off. More hair began to rise up as he stared at the now defenseless Nightmare Moon with glee. “Now for the moment I have longed for! Shaddoll Beast, END THIS DUEL NOW!”


“I don’t think so,” said Nightmare as Shaddoll Beast leapt into the air. “I activate my trap card: Xyz Reborn! This trap card allows me to select one Xyz monster in my graveyard and summon it to the field. And, as an added bonus, this trap card becomes a material for my monster. So let's let this star shine once again: Constellar Pleiades!” With that, Nightmare Moon’s monster rose from the ground in a golden light while she also was able to draw another card thanks to her spell card.


“STOP THE ATTACK!” shouted Sombra. Luckily he was just in time, Beast landing on the ground in front of Pleiades before turning back to its master. Sombra looked at Nightmare Moon with a grin. “That move…I had forgotten you had that card. But I’m not done. Not by a long shot. I’ll end my turn and defeat you on the next one.”


“I draw,” said Nightmare Moon as she took her forth card. She looked at it for a moment before putting with the rest of her hand. “Pleiades, please send Construct back to his hand once more.” Just like that, Pleiades used his power so that Shaddoll Beast was the last card on Sombra’s side of the field. “Now for a star shower! I summon my Constellar Pollux to the field who will allow me an additional normal summon. So now I summon Constellar Algiedi whose effect allows me to special summon a level four monster from my hand when she is summoned. So let's give a warm welcome to Constellar Sombre!” Multiple lights crashed down unto the field, filling up most of Nightmare Moon’s field. All of her monsters held their weapons at the ready.


“Pleiades, destroy Beast!” commanded Nightmare Moon as she point at Sombra’s monster. Pleiades held his sword up, the knuckle guard glowing brightly as he did so before a ball of that same golden energy flew up into the sky. Above their heads the orb arced and fell down upon Beast, destroying it as well as lowering Sombra’s life points to 4300. “Now all together, attack his life points directly!” At once the three monsters attacked Sombra. As Sombre’s chest piece began to glow, Pollux ran in front of the teenage boy to slash him and bring his life points down to 2600. As Sombra held the side where the blade had hit him Algiedi fell down from the sky to strike his head with her mace to further lower his life points to 1000. Staggering, Sombra managed to stand up just in time to see a beam of whitish blue light coming out of Sombre to hit him square on. Knocked on his ass, his life points hit zero.


The crowd around them went wild as electronic boards showed a picture of Nightmare Moon with the word winner next to it before the world began to fade. Soon, Sunset found herself back at Canterlot High along with her friends. Students around them were cheering not only for Vice Principal Luna but also for the great match they had just seen. But none seemed to cheer more loudly than Pip who seemed to be in his own world of never ending joy.


Back with the adults, Luna was panting as the holograms faded away. Sombra had his back to the base of the statue as he looked up at the sky with a smile on his face. Then, for some reason, he began to laugh. Sunset was surprised by this and even more so when Luna joined him. Both were laughing hard holding their sides as tears fell down their faces.


-x-


“Sorry we don’t have anything better,” said Luna as she approached Sombra with a paper plate in each hand. Sombra, who was laying on the grass under the shade of a tree, looked up at her and smiled in thanks as she handed him a hot dog with chips on the side.


It was sometime after the duel between the two had ended. Perhaps a hour and a half or so. The students were back in the building, hopefully trying to catch up what they had missed thanks to Sombra’s stunt. It might have gone faster if she had found Celestia who was still nowhere to be seen. Of all the times for her sister to be elsewhere, this was one of the worst.


“I remember eating this crap when I was in school,” laughed Sombra as he took a bite. “Hmm, I’ve missed this.”


“Yeah, lucky me getting to eat it everyday for lunch,” laughed Luna as she picked up a chip.


Sombra chuckled at that, seeming to have lost much of her seriousness and anger. His face looked brighter, happier even. It reminded Luna of how he used to be back before he was in the pros. Back before that day…


“So,” began Sombra as some ketchup fell on his jacket. With a shrug, he took it off and laid it next to him. “Do you have any idea who could have sent the letter?”


“For years I thought you did,” replied Luna with a sigh. “We lost so much because of that.”


“You could have returned,” pointed Sombra. “At anytime.”


Luna shook her head. “I didn’t have the strength to,” she admitted. She then sat down her plate and looked up at the branches of the tree above then that blocked out the sun. “Before I was a duelist, I wanted to be an actress like my sister. But nobody wanted me. I wasn’t pretty enough or I couldn’t sing or I could do this or that. It was always the same. Eventually, Starswirl stopped taking me to auditions saying it was a waste of time for me to try anymore. Then when we were home he would always compare my grades with Celestia’s. No matter how hard I tried my best was never good enough for him. That her grades were better than mine both at the time and back when she was my age. That I would never have the potential she had. Then, when I found I had a talent for dueling, he dismissed it as meaningless dibble. That it served no real function and so many people fail at it that it wasn’t worth me getting into it. Still, I snuck out of the house to duel whenever I could. When I decided to try for the pros I was worried that he might find out so I made a disguise. Well, you know how well that worked out.


“After that, well, life became more hellish for me. Starswirl cracked down on me more than ever. I tried to do other things but nothing ever seemed to work out for me. It always ended in failure. The only thing I ever got out to the public after my dueling days as a video I’m not too proud of.”


“A video,” hummed Sombra as he scratched his chin. Before he knew it, Luna had playfully punched his shoulder.


“Sorry, but not that type of video,” she said. She then let out a sigh before continuing. “I guess, after a while I just gave in. Let Starswirl tell me what I could and couldn’t do. Didn’t even make a fuss when he choose my major in college. Whenever I went to do something I wanted I would always hear him in the back of my mind.” Luna then shook her head. “Anyways, enough about that. How’s Hope these days?”


“I…don’t know,” said Sombra as some of his good humor vanished on the spot. “We, well, broke up shortly after you vanished. She didn’t believe at first that I was capable of doing anything illegal to win. At least, at first. But after a couple of years of non-stop controversy we just split. Same with a lot of my friends from back then. They only came back when I was making the real money but I didn’t want anything to do with them.”


Luna shook her head sadly. “Looks like that day messed with both of our lives,” she said.


“Things would have been different,” agreed Sombra as he stood up straight, tossing his jacket over his shoulder. “But this is the hand we have been dealt and we have to live with it. Make the most of it. I’m just glad I finally got that second chance.”


“Same here,” agreed Luna.


“You know, I could help get you into the pros,” said Sombra seriously as he looked at her. “With the right backing and a few good words, you would be there in about a year. Maybe less if you duel the way you did today.” Luna smiled at him as she stood up. Without saying a work she walked over to the grey man to kiss his cheek.


“Thank you for the offer,” she said softly as she pulled away. “But, right now, I can’t give you an answer. I need to think about things.”


Sombra nodded. “I understand,” he said. “If you find out if it is what you want please don’t hesitate to call. Or, well, just call if you ever want to catch up or something.” With that said, Sombra waved as he began to walk back to his car with neither person realizing that they were being watched by a woman on the roof.


-x-


“Sir, you don’t have to worry about a thing,” said Boot Licker as Sombra entered his limo, closing the door behind him. “We were planning on downloading it to the web later during prime time. Obviously with your loss we won’t do that. It might hurt your image to be defeated by a nobody and-”


“Download it,” said Sombra in a calm tone. “It happened. I would be doing her a huge disservice by pretending it didn’t. Also make sure that the school gets everything I promised and the very finest at that.”


“B-But your image,” stammered Boot Licker as he looked at Sombra as if he had lost his mind. Sombra, however, just seemed to shrug it off with a laugh.


“Yes, my image,” he said. “Then it looks like I’ll be doing more hospital visits for a while. Make sure all those kids have their decks so I can give them some pointers.” The limo became dead silent for several long moments. Sombra noticed that Boot wasn’t even blinking as he stared at him with mouth left hanging open. His skin also seemed to pale a bit.


“Sir,” said Boot after they turned a corner. “Are…you dying?”


At that, Sombra through back his head and laughed causing his assistant to look even more worried than before. “No Boot,” he said after a moment. “In fact, I feel better than I have in a long, long time.”


-x-


“You wanted to see me Vice-Principal Luna,” said Pip after he opened the door to the woman’s office. It was dark in there, barely any light to stream through the windows giving it a darker impression than any other room. Even with the students behind him on the move to head home of the day it felt eerily quiet.


“Yes,” said Vice-Principal Luna without looking up from writing something on her deck. She then pointed to the spot directly in front of her on the opposite side of the desk. “Shut the door and stand there. This will only take a moment.”


Feeling his palms begin to sweat a bit, Pip did as instructed. After shutting the surprisingly silent door Pip moved across the room while wondering what was going on. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, maybe posting his conclusions online. But hadn’t he made up for that by cheering loudly for her? For believing in her to be THE Nightmare Moon?


“Pipsqueak,” said Luna as soon as he was where she wanted him, setting down her pen before folding his fingers together. “I find it hard to believe that it is just a coniciende that Sombra just happened to show up the day after we spoke. So, I want you to tell me honestly, did you tell anyone I was Nightmare Moon?”


Pip felt his throat go dry at this moment. She was mad at him. But could she prove it for sure? She was asking him right now so there was a chance this was just a hunch. He could lie and maybe get out of trouble. That was certainly something he could do. But, he knew it was the wrong choice. If he lied and she found out, he would only get into more trouble later. Then she would probably be mad at him forever. Something he didn’t want.


“I did,” he said.


Vice-Principal Luna nodded. “Thank you for being honest,” she said before picking up a piece of paper and an envelope. “You will report to detention this weekend at 8 a.m. until noon. This will continue for the next two months. That note is to inform your parents of what you did.”


“Yes ma’am,” said Pip as he lowered his head. Under any other situation, the idea of being alone with Nightmare Moon for several hours would have been a dream come true. However, this wasn’t one of them. There would be no talking meaning he wouldn’t be allowed to ask her all the questions he wanted. It would be just him sitting there with his angry hero. Plus, he was sure that when his parents saw this note, he would be grounded as well.


As he turned around to leave, Pip realized that the envelope felt odd. Whatever was in it, it felt hard and rectangular. Deciding to open it up, Pip’s eyes widened at what Luna had given him. It was a card: Starleige Paladynamo! It was encased in a hard plastic sleeve in order to better protect it. What’s more Luna had written on the sleeve in non smearing marker. ‘To my biggest fan, Thank You. Nightmare Moon.’ Pip looked up at the Vice-Principal to see her smiling at him.


“One more thing before you go,” she said. “If you want, you can bring your duel disk along so after detention we can see how good you are.”
> The Other Sunset
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer walked down an old abandoned mine shaft, a futuristic handgun in each hand. It was dark with blinking red lights in various spaces with an energy chamber right below the barrel that went down past the end of the handle. Her attire was a black leather trench coat with three metal spikes on each shoulder. Her hands were covered with black fingerless gloves while her legs were covered in ripped jeans and her shirt was had a campfire coloration. Covering one of her eyes was a device similar to that one anime with overpowered characters that was used to measure power levels. Only this one helped her detect motion in the near complete darkness.


As she moved, Sunset nearly tripped on a large rock that was in her path. Shocked, she made a sound that echoed along the walls. Sunset quickly caught herself before she could fall and used the motion of her fall to move to the nearby wall where she pressed her back against it. For several minutes she remained like this, looking back and forth to see if she could see anything coming her way. Her ears also listened intently for the rustling sound her enemies would be making. Thankfully there was nothing. Good. She still had the element of surprise on her side.


Surprise was something she was going to need right now. Sunset had entered this mine shaft with the rest of her team, a total of seven armed and skilled gunmen. The owner of the mine had contacted them on a mission to eliminate an infestation of very large bugs that had taken several of his workers and forced him to close down the mine. The mission seemed simple enough at the time, a standard low level mission as far as she had been concerned. That is until they got deeper into the mines searching for the damned things. One by one they became separated from the others, falling through hidden holes in the ground or simply vanishing without a trace until only the fire haired girl remained.


The smart thing to do would be to head back, restock her supplies, get heavier weaponry, and return to save her allies. And she would have done it if it weren’t for the fact that she was undeniably lost. Every attempt to backtrack was met with the same results of wandering aimlessly. It was as if the mine itself had become her enemy.


After Sunset started moving again, she noticed something in the air. Something that wasn’t there before. Sunset paused to sniff the familiar odor…and smiled. The girl broke into a light and careful trot down the passageway with the scent growing stronger until she saw a dimly glowing object. It was the orange glow of a barely lit cigarette whose owner pointed a sniper rifle at her as she approached.


“Doc, it’s me,” said Sunset as she quickly held up her hands. Doc said nothing as he lowered his weapon. The skinny man’s white coat looked a mess, with spots of dirt and blood all over it. There were more bandages on his head while his glasses were cracked pretty bad. Looking down, Sunset saw that one of his legs was bandaged using whatever he could find which were now blood soaked.


“Sorry, a bit jumpy right now,” muttered Doc before crouching. As he did, Sunset got on a knee as she searched her pockets for her emergency medical supplies in the hope that it would help her ally. “Damn things got the jump on me. Managed to get away, but not before they got a couple nips in. Seems they like what they tasted because they keep on coming.”


“I thought you said you were going to quit,” said Sunset as she came up empty on anything that might help heal him. Only a few painkillers. All she could do was keep him awake and alert for the time being while hoping to find the others. One of them might have some extra supplies on them that could help.


“I did,” said Doc as he pulled out his cigarette before looking at it. “But I kept one so it would be the last thing I did before I died.”


“Well then you should have waited because you’re not going to die here,” stated Sunset as she got up. “We just need to find the others and then we can get you-”


“Kid, it’s over,” said Doc as he placed the cancer stick back into his mouth. “You’re the first member of our group that I’ve seen in hours. The rest have probably been taken to-” Doc stopped talking instantly, taking hold of his weapon and then quickly taking aim at something behind Sunset. The flame haired girl turned around as well with her own weapons raised with fingers on the triggers. She could feel her heart pounding a mile a second as she waited, her scanned telling her that the enemy was approaching.


And approach they did. Sunset gulped as they came into view, filling the tunnel behind them with an army of monstrosities. Several of them looked like dragonflies that now stood on two legs with the rest of their legs acting like clawed hands. On the ceiling were beetles whose pinchers were now equipped with blades like that on a chainsaw. Others looked like mosquitoes holding spears, ready to pierce Sunset and Doc. In the middle of them, was something that looked like a tall woman at first. But the closer she got revealed how utterly inhuman she really was. Her skin was like green armor and had butterfly like wings extending out of her back. She had pinkish, purple eyes that never blinked and a row of razor sharp teeth that grinned at her without mercy.


Knowing that both she and Doc could not take out all of them with their standard equipment, as well as not knowing what was behind them, Sunset made a split second decision to activate a trap. However, when she did so everything stopped. From the energy bullet that Doc had fired to the enemy horde before them, everything seemed frozen in time. Even her own body seemed to suffer the same fate as the world around them began to pixelate widely and glitch about. Sighing to herself, Sunset used the emergency disconnect function to leave the game world behind.


With a bright flash, Sunset Shimmer was no longer in the empty mine shaft but instead in the middle bustling lab full of people in white lab coats. Quickly removing the VR helmet from her head, which looked very much like a biker’s helmet with wires sticking out of the back and into the ‘immersion chair’. The immersion chair was shaped like a recliner chair and just as comfortable with the main computer being found just underneath the cushions. Since this was just the test model, there were no colors or patterns to give it any flare that she would normally prefer, leaving it a sterile white. Still dressed in the attire she was in the game, the President and CEO of Kaiba Corp stood upright while a slot opened up in one of the chair's arms to reveal her deck.


“How did it go Ms. Shimmer?” asked one of the scientists as they swarmed around her. Sunset ignored them at first, rolling her eyes as she picked up her deck and put it in a deck case on her belt.


Sunset then turned to look at them with a hardened glare that caused them all to take a step back. “How did it go? There was another glitch in the software! The whole thing froze when I tried to use my effect to use a trap when being attack! Something which you all claimed to have fixed!” Her eyes then turned to look at the immersion chair, the latest in gaming technology which had been in development hell for years now. The original idea for the game had come from Seto Kaiba, a virtual reality game with Dual Monsters. However, unlike the former president of Kaiba Corp, was not doing it like a straight up fantasy game but instead planned on making it the greatest MMORPG game ever. A game where you could actually play with monsters from your deck instead of just summoning them, going on mission together, and teaming up or facing off against other playing in actual battles. A place with varied interactive landscapes ranging from forests to hellish infernos to the frozen tundra. There was even going to be places in the game for those people who wanted to raise monsters like a petting zoo and crap like that!


Sadly, a variety of complications soon arose for this technology. The first being an incident back when Seto Kaiba was still head of the company. A few years after his second time being stuck in VR, some moron trapped thousands of people in his own VR game for no reason. Then, after the survivors of that game had been freed, another moron tried to use VR technology to try and rule the world! What the hell?! After that, governments cracked down on the technology ending it for years. It was only recently that the bans had been lifted as long as strict government protocols were observed. So now the issue was making the game everything Sunset wanted it to be. Needless to say that wasn’t going so well.


“W-We could have sworn we f-fixed the issue,” stammered one of the scientists as he took a step back from the angry teen. “We thought the reason for the glitch was because we programmed the game starts the only way to set traps was to place them on the ground and that the programming was getting confused by your effect. We even called in some other programmers from other departments to help with the issue. It should be working now.”


In response, Sunset walked up to the one who had said this and jammed her finger into his chest. “But it isn’t!” shouted Sunset savagely, jabbing him again with each word. “This system needs to be able to handle any deck before it can launch. Something that has been pushed back six times already!” Before any of the scientists around her could say anything in their defense or make excuses, Sunset had spun around and began to head towards the door. “I’ll be back next week to check on your progress. If you haven’t fixed it by then you’re all fired!”


As Sunset stormed out the doors to the lab, a woman in a white business suit was waiting for her. The woman, Ember, had light blue skin and darker blue hair that was cut short with white streaks on the sides near her ears. Holding a personal assistant in her hands Ember walked next to Sunset while tapping on the pad.


“Have you decided to scrub the project yet?” asked Ember as she moved behind Sunset, keeping her distance but not being too far away. “We’ve already gone triple the allotted amount agreed upon for this new gaming system. Plus we are already getting negative feedback online. There are comments starting to appear on our company’s MyStable page talking about demanding a refund on their pre-orders since the gaming system looks like it will never be finished.”


Without stopping, Sunset’s hands reached up to rub her temples. “I would if I could,” she stated as she fought off the oncoming headache. “But Arcane Illusions put out yesterday that they are working on the same thing as the immersion chair with a similar game. If we don’t get this up and running soon this company might be dead in the water before I turn 20.”


“We still hold the market on duel disks,” stated Ember. “Arcane’s model is still twice as heavy and eats up more power than ours. Not to mention our customization lab is getting plenty of orders daily.”


Sunset stopped where she was. Without a care she spun around and placed her back against the wall. “Ember, do you really think that we can keep selling the same product forever? Sooner or later someone else is going to come up with a better idea than the duel disk. I’ve already got four teams working on new models and ideas, but what if the bad press with the immersion chair keeps people from buying them? What if Arcane manages to get the chair working faster than us and then claims to be making a better duel disk than us? People will lose faith in us! They’ll try their product in a heartbeat! Then everyone here loses their jobs!”


Sunset looked at Ember just in time to see the blue skinned woman roll her eyes before she joined the fire-haired girl on the wall as well. “I think you need to have a bit more faith in this company,” said Ember. “You have some of the best minds in the world working on this project. If they can’t figure it out then the clowns working at Arcane won’t be able to either. Trust me; this company is tougher than you give it credit.” As cheesy as that sounded, and let’s be honest it really is cheesy, Sunset couldn’t help but be glad for having Ember as both her bodyguard and personal assistant. She was the only one who would tell her something like this, question her choices, and so forth. Everyone else here was like a snake hiding in the grass ready to strike at the first moment of weakness. Thus Ember was the only one she could let her guard drop even slightly while knowing it was safe. The only one she trusted to make her feel better.


Shaking her head, Sunset pushed herself off the wall and took a breath. “Let’s make sure everything else is in order. Do I have any more meetings?”


Ember said nothing at first, simply holding up her personal assistant and scrolling down the screen. “None of the other labs has a demonstration scheduled. Nor are there any meetings. However, there are a number of complaints from labs 2, 8, and 15 having some of their staff pulled to work for Garble. It’s putting them behind.”


Sunset placed two fingers on her forehead as she closed her eyes. Great, she had to deal with him again.


-x-


It took twenty minutes for Sunset to reach the Duel Disk Customization Department. All around her machines were at work putting together the Duel Disks while skilled workers were busy making the personal modifications that their customers wanted. Some barely required any work at all, a simple paint job that they charged $25 to $50 dollars for based on how detailed the colorations were. Others were willing to spend top dollar to modify the monster card zone slots to have a specific theme. For example, one pro player wanted those slots to look like the bed sheet ghosts one made in elementary school. To do this would require figuring out how best to modify the device so that it the tray folded neatly and lightly for easy use. Also meaning they were super expensive! The most expensive one this department had ever made was one that used gold as the metal with real gems embedded into it.


That one had gotten stolen a week after they delivered it.


Sunset didn’t have to look long for the person in charge of this department. She could easily spot the red skinned man who had just come out of his teens. He was tall with a buzz cut hairstyle that reminded Sunset of someone who had been in the military. However, Garble was the last person she would ever want defending this nation even as a meat shield. He stood there hovering over a table were several people were working, his high end suit looking spotless as those around him looked like they had been pulling several all nighters.


“Garble!” shouted Sunset. Her target jerked back a bit at the sound of his name before turning around to look at her. At first, he looked both annoyed and angry but his expression quickly shifted to shock when he saw his boss was storming towards him.


“Miss President,” he said with false pleasantry. “How good to see you. I wasn’t aware that we would be graced with your presence.”


“You should have expected it to happen sooner or later,” said Sunset as she stopped in front of him, arms crossed as she did. “You’ve been pulling several of my techs working on other projects. That’s putting them behind.” She then glanced at the table where several duel disks were being made. All of them were black thus far with a twelve bladed leaf shutter in the middle. She also noticed several other components that she didn’t recognize with blueprints that did not have the Kaiba Corp stamp on them.


“Please, those are dead end projects,” said Garble as he waved it off like it was no big deal. “I mean: hard light technology? That’s just idiotic. And combining motorcycles with duel disks? Who would want that? No, we need to focus on what has made this company the big buck. Normal duel disks. We’re wasting time and money with all that extra crap.”


“I miss working on the candy dispensing duel disks,” said one of the people working at the table. “We were so close to keeping the candy at the right temperature so it didn’t melt while dueling.” Garble turned his head to look at the one who had spoken out, giving him a quick glare. The worker cringed enough for Sunset to notice causing her own eyes to narrow even more at what it might imply.


“Actually there is a potential market for those,” stated Ember as she moved beside Sunset, briefly glancing at what was on the table as well for a moment before turning to look at Garble. “People are asking for more ways to make the duels more exciting, more action packed. Ms. Shimmer believes that hard light technology will allow duelist to interact with the field more while D-Runners will add a level of danger as well as skill.”


At once, Garble’s fake pleasant demeanor shifted as he glared at Ember. “Was I talking to you? No because you’re nothing more than a secretary! Why don’t you put that public school education to use and get me a coffee!” At once, everybody in the room within ear shot stopped working to stare at Garble. Then, very slowly, they turned their heads to look at Sunset whose face remained impassive as she looked back at Garble.


Then, much to the shock of Garble, Sunset smiled. “Ember, would you do me a favor and find out what Garble is working on?” As Garble gurked in surprise, Ember nodded.


“Now wait a minute,” said Garble as he took a step forward while Ember scrolled down the screen on her hand held device. Sunset, however, stepped in between them while keeping her eyes on Garble.


“I have a right to know what is so important that you are working on right now,” stated Sunset.


“Hmm,” said the blue skinned woman as she looked back at the table. “I can’t seem to find anything on the top priority list or the anything matching the description of what he is working on. I might have missed it. Perhaps telling me order number will help track it down.”


“I…I can’t be expected to remember something like that,” said Garble as he stomped his foot on the ground. “I’m a busy person who-”


“Who is taking people away from projects I gave the green on,” said Sunset loudly, interrupting Garble. She had never like this man boy ever since the day he arrived. The only reason she had given him this position was that he came highly recommended by his predecessor. It soon became clear that, while he could do the job, he thought too highly of himself. He looked down at those who didn’t have the higher level education he had been afforded and often made remarks behind her back that he should be in charge of this company. That they should just keep making duel disks without expanding their business. In the past, Sunset was willing to overlook much of his asshole behavior since not many people were willing to file a complaint and he did his job. But now, he had crossed two lines.


“Garble, you may not think those projects you are indirectly sabotaging are important. That we are wasting time. It is unfortunate then that our opinion is not the one that matter. Rather, it is mine.” Sunset then turned to look at all the techs who were watching them. “You may all take the rest of the day off to get some rest. When you come back in tomorrow please return to your normal lab unless I say otherwise.” The workers didn’t need to be told twice, quickly moving towards the door to escape this room. As Sunset turned to look at Garble she was pleased to see that his skin had turned a deeper shade of red. Personally she hoped Garble would let his anger make his decision for him and strike her. It would be worth the momentary pain to see Ember take him down and toss his ass out of this building.


Sadly, that didn’t happen. “You can’t…” began Garble as he pointed a shaking finger in Sunset’s face. However, further words seemed to fail him as he could not for the life of him figure out anything to support why she couldn’t do this.


“I can,” said Sunset in a smug tone. “Now, I want to know who ordered those duel disks to be made by the end of the business day tomorrow or else you will be put on suspension while we find out ourselves. And if I find out this is some sort of under the table job then it will cost you your job.” With that Sunset turned to leave, her jacket billowing behind her with Ember in tow.


-x-


“I believe it is time for us to get down to business,” said Cinch from her chair, fingers pressed against each other in a Mr. Burns-like manner as the large display screen behind her glowed a brilliant blue. Adagio was off to the side, leaning against the wall while she supposedly checked her nails. However the older woman knew that she was giving her full attention during this meeting as her eyes would briefly flicker to either her or the blank scene. Her ‘indifference’ was no more than an act. Aria, on the other hand, was sitting down on an old couch she had brought down with her attention focused on the smartphone in her hands.


“What business?” asked Aria without bothering to look up. “We’ve been running around the city trying to find some loser who has any magic. If we had found someone, we would have told you. Since we haven’t, you can tell how well it’s been going.”


“As for finding new minions to add to our ranks, I think I might have found a few,” said Adagio as she looked up. Aria shook her head and could be seen rolling her eyes, both neither of the other two in the room paid her any mind. “I had thought about approaching this one moron named Trixie. We had used the dummy before back when we still had our powers. However, word through the grapevine is that she’s on better terms with Sunset Shimmer and her gang. Unless we make her a more tempting offer I don’t think she would join us.”


Cinch let out a sigh as she leaned back into her chair. “A pity then. How about your former sister, Sonata? Is it possible we could use her as an undercover agent?”


Aria let out a dry laugh as she finally looked up from her phone. There was a cold smile on her face. “That idiot wouldn’t even know how to spell undercover much less act like a spy for us. If we did somehow manage to get her to come back she’d blow her cover within the first hour.”


“And there’s no way we’re welcoming her back,” stated Adagio firmly as she crossed her arms. Cinch couldn’t help but notice that the teen’s face seemed to tint red. “I refuse to grovel before the brain dead fool in order to get her to work with us. She’d rather be a goodie-goodie so we should just forget about her.” Adagio then took a breath, her face returning to normal. “Besides, we don’t need her. I’ve heard about at least two girls who might be willing to join us if it means getting some payback to the Rainbooms. There might be a couple of other options here and there, but I’d rather not work with them.”


“Sadly we can’t afford to be too picky right now,” said Cinch as she folded her hands together. “Anyone we can use right now would be a boon for us regardless of how useful them might seem at first. With the right direction and motivation any living being can be molded to serve our purposes. It is also a shame about your sister. We could have used her.” Cinch then turned around to type a few things on the control panel before her. As she did, images appeared on the scene showing them a picture of Twilight Sparkle’s house, garage, the gems belonging to the Rainbooms, and Spike.


“Until we can finish making a more powerful and accurate magical detector, there are only a few beings with magic we are aware of,” continued Cinch without turning to look at the two girls. “The first being the seven gems which grant the Rainbooms their magic who are no doubt on high alert since our encounter at Camp Everfree. Trying to take their magic by force is not something we can do right now. The other is that miserable creature that Miss Sparkle keeps in her company: Spike. We might have better chances at obtaining him but for personal reasons I would rather not. At least not until we run out of other options.”


“Not like we have other options,” groaned Aria.


“That isn’t entirely accurate,” said Cinch. Pressing a few more buttons, the image of Twilight’s garage/lab expanded until it filled the scene entirely. “Right here is where we will find a gold mine of information. Knowing how my former student thinks, she has no doubt categorized all encounters with magic like any good researcher would do. Locations where she has found something magical or people who have been gifted with Equestrian magic. She might even have some theories as to where we might find some that she had not yet confirmed. This is why I thought reaching out to Sonata would be a good idea. With her working for us she could slip in unnoticed and deliver the information without anyone noticing.” Cinch then turned around and look at Adagio. “But since neither of you believe it would work or refuse to work with her again, we will have to try another method.”


“Let me guess, breaking in the old fashioned way and stealing everything by force,” said Adagio.


“Sort of,” said Cinch as she pulled out a small USB drive from her pocket. Holding it between her bony fingers she held it up for both to see. “Once we break in, the alarm will sound alerting both Twilight Sparkle as well as the local police. Meaning we won’t have a lot of time to go looking around her files to find everything we are looking for. Nor can we just steal her desktop. None of us have a car and I am sure that the police will be able to catch up with any of us running down the streets carrying something like that. Thankfully the modern age has provided us with an easy solution. Inside of this drive is a virus of my own creation. All we have to do is turn on one of her computers, insert it into a port, and the virus will be instantly uploaded into the computer where it will copy all of the data before emailing it to me. Once it has done that, it will remove all traces of its actions before going dormant until the computer is turned on again where it will send me another email of all new information. If we do this right, Twilight Sparkle and her friends will think it was just a minor break in with nothing stolen leaving us to continue operating in the shadows.”


Aria rolled her eyes. “That sounds good, but what if she keeps all that information on a USB drive as well? Or if she keeps it on her computer in her own room?”


Cinch paused for a minute to consider this. “I believe that the computer in her lab is our best bet,” she said as she turned around to place the USB drive on the counter behind her. “Since that is where she does all of her experiments, it would easier for her to keep the information there for easy access. Knowing Twilight Sparkle, I am sure she has the information on several separate USB drives just to make sure she never loses the information. But the main body of data will be on her hard drive.” Despite saying this, Cinch had some newfound doubts. After doing something like this, Twilight was sure to up her security measures. That or her parents might do that just to keep them safe. If they did this and came up with nothing it would make their next break in even more difficult if not impossible.


However, this was a chance they needed to take. Cinch knew her own skills with science were far less than those possessed by Ms. Sparkle. Even with two girls who once belonged to a world of magic they did not know everything. Any information they got would be helpful in obtaining their goals. What’s more, if they knew what the Rainbooms were doing in advance there was a chance that they could sabotage them or beat them to their goal. There was simply too much riding on this not to do this when there was a good chance at success.


“I think it's worth it,” said Adagio, speaking up again. Cinch could hear Aria groan while probably rolling her eyes. “It shouldn’t be too hard. We can just break in while those idiots are at school and their parents are at work.”


“Actually, after school might be better,” said Cinch as she looked up at the screen to look at Twilight’s house. “The local police might mistake you for a couple of girls skipping school and try to get in touch with your parents. The last thing we need right now is them thinking your runaways. Also, if any of the neighbors see you there before four o’clock they might grow suspicious and call the police before you can even break in giving us less time. If you go after school lets out then it will not seem as unusual for girls heading to her home.”


“Guess that makes sense,” said Adagio. “Only problem is that we don’t know when they have band practice or any of those other stupid things they do. Plus if Twilight is close to the rainbow haired loser she might super speed to us and there goes that plan.”


Cinch hummed as she thought about this. The girl made a good point. If they were going to do this, they needed to be sure what those girls were going to be doing that day. Perhaps even distracting them enough so that they wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else. That or ensure that they were far enough away that the super speed wouldn’t factor in. Before Cinch could turn around to face her accomplices again, her phone began to ring almost causing the older woman to jump in her seat. It was rare for anyone to call this number since very few knew it belonged to her, two of which were in the room with her. After pulling out her phone Cinch looked at the caller ID and her eyes widened. Without anymore hesitation she answered it.


“Have you finished yet?” she asked without bothering with any formalities.


“No,” snapped Garble’s voice, clearly upset about something.


“Then I suggest you don’t call me again until they are finished,” replied Cinch sharply as she glared in the direction of the phone.


“Well they're not going to get done unless I get some help,” said Cinch’s former student in a cold tone. There was then a crash on the other line causing the older woman to think that Garble had thrown something against a nearby wall. “That bitch of a boss of mine has found out about what I’m working on for you because I needed to get extra help! I need to create a fake order into the system and soon or else I get the can. Then it becomes a problem because you don’t get what you want! So you’d better come up with a plan of distracting her while I fix this mess you put me in!”


Cinch frowned deeply, bringing her free hand to rub the top of her head. This was a problem indeed. She needed that red skinned idiot to make the proper magical capture duel disks. Without him then she would be stuck cobbling together the parts like she did last time at Camp Everfree. Given how well that worked it was not something she was eager to try again. Plus knowing Garble he would no doubt sell them out if things ever got traced back to her. Meaning she needed to help him out.


“I’ll see what I can do,” she said in a strained voice. “What’s your boss’s name?”


“Sunset Shimmer,” said Garble. Upon hearing that name, Cinch suddenly stood upright causing her chair to roll behind her. As Garble continued to go on calling his boss plenty of foul names, Cinch’s mind began to work into overtime. Sunset Shimmer was the name of the girl who competed against her school in the Friendship Games. The girl who was Twilight Sparkle’s tag team partner! According to the information obtained by both herself and the Sirens, the Sunset Shimmer at Canterlot High was in fact from another world. Meaning that Garble’s boss had to be the Sunset Shimmer of this world!


As Garble continued to ramble on, Cinch’s mind was putting the pieces into place. Sunset Shimmer of the Rainbooms was Twilight Sparkle’s friend. She came from another world. If anything were to happen to her the Rainbooms would no doubt drop everything to help her. A grin then appeared on her face. She could see the solution to their problems. And all she had to do was create a simple blog post.


-x-


“WHAT THE HELL!” yelled Sunset as she stared at the computer screen within her office. She stared at it, the main source of light in the room besides the glow of the full moon coming through the large windows behind her. On it was a blog post written by an Anon-a-miss II called ‘The Dual Life of Sunset Shimmer’. Mouth hanging open, she gazed at a girl who looked just like her attending school at someplace called Canterlot High. She had not gleamed the full post, only bits and pieces so far about how she was going off to have fun as a ‘normal’ schoolgirl before coming back to deal with the life as a CEO. That it was because of this divided attention that her company was falling behind on things like the immersion chair. So caught up in what she was seeing that Sunset failed to notice that the doors had been busted open and Ember was standing next to her.


“I heard you scream,” said Ember quickly. “Is everything…all…what is this?” It took Sunset a moment to realize what Ember was saying. That she was looking at the screen with equal amazement and confusion.


Sunset said nothing at first, just looking back at the screen. The girl on the screen couldn’t be her. She wanted to believe that this was all photo-shopped done by one of her competitors, but there was a video of her singing in a band with several other girls! Could someone have done all that?


“Ember,” said Sunset as she narrowed her eyes. “Find out if there is a girl at this Canterlot High who has the same name and looks like me. If there isn’t we will ask the staff there to confirm if the general public or our investors ever catch wind of this. The last thing we need right now is for them to think I’m some sort of Disney TV sitcom star.”


“I’ll have it done by morning,” said Ember as she was about to leave. However, she paused and looked back at her boss. “And, if there is such a girl?”


“Then we find out what her game is and deal with it. Permanently.”
> Stealing Sunset (Rainbow vs. Ember)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset raised her hand above her eyes to shield them from the light of day as she walked out the doors of Canterlot High along with hundreds of other students. The sun was shining without the obstruction of clouds giving the students clear blue skies as far as the eyes could see. There was a gentle wind blowing but that only served to keep them cool on this slightly warmer than usual day. It seemed like this was a perfect day to take one’s time to walk home.


Or to go on a road trip.


“SUNSET SHIMMER!” screamed Pinkie Pie who was jumping up and down to get her attention. Not that it was hard as several people around the hyper pink girl had crouched down a bit while also covering their ears. But Pinkie paid them no mind as she continued to grin madly while waving her arms wildly for Sunset to notice. Calmly, (and apologizing to everyone within earshot) Sunset moved through the crowd to reach said friend to see that she wasn’t alone. Standing alongside Pinkie was Rainbow Dash, Sonata Dusk, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack. All of them standing there with their backpacks looking heavier than normal.


“Hey girls,” said Sunset as she stopped in front of them. “Are we waiting for anyone else?”


“Nah,” said Rainbow with a wave of her hand as they all began to walk out towards the street. “Fluttershy couldn’t make it because of some type of emergency at the animal shelter. Something about a chinchilla invasion and they needed all hands on deck.”


“Rares was going to come back had to cancel at the last minute,” said Applejack as she walked besides Sunset as they all headed in the direction of the Apple Family Farm. “Seems that her folks roped her into takin’ Sweetie to the dentist at the last minute.”


“Ah man,” sighed Pinkie Pie looking dejected. “They’re going to miss all the fun games I had planned for on the road. Plus I found so many fun places in Sire’s Hollow we can visit if there’s no freaky magic.”


“NO!” shouted Rainbow as she threw up her arms before bringing them down to grab Pinkie by the shoulder. “Don’t you dare say that! There has to be some action there. Some wild, dark Equestrian magic running amuck or something. ANYTHING!” As Rainbow said this, Pinkie just sort of stood there was an odd forced smile on her face as she looked around for help.


“Well,” said Sunset as she placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, causing her to avert her attention from Pinkie to Sunset. “It is just a hunch right now. But we do know there has been Equestrian magic flying around the place so there is a good chance. All we need to do is be patient while we look for it. Besides, without everyone here we might not be able to stop the magic if there is any. For right now it might be better to think of this as a recon mission.”


“And I brought something to help with that,” said Twilight gaining the groups attention. With an excited grin, Twilight pulled off her backpack and set it on the ground. The group watched as their friend unzipped it, reached in, and pulled out a device no larger than a pocket watch. Except, it looked shockingly familiar. The device was round with a black surface that had purple lines going through the middle. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of it while taking a step back except for Sonata.


“Ah, Twi,” began Applejack with a gulp. “Is that doohickey that ya was using back at the Friendship games? The same one that stole all our magic and turned ya inta a demon gal?”


“Oh,” cried Sonata as she looked at the device. “I thought it was a new digital watch. You know, the meaning of life and all that. Also, it’ll turn you into a demon? What kind? Is it the one where you lose your legs and instead get a snake's tail? Because I meet those jerks back in Grease and none of you would like them! They leave their old skin lying around the place where someone can trip!” Sonata stopped as she noticed that everyone was staring at her. “What?”


“Ah, as fascinating as that is I think we better get back to it later.” Twilight then pulled out a pad of paper and made a quick note. “Note to self, research the possibilities of other half human creatures there are in the world as well as how old Sonata is.”


“Hey, it's rude to ask a girl her age!” snapped Sonata as Twilight sheepishly put away her notepad.


Thankfully, Pinkie Pie was on the scene as she quickly swung her arm around Sonata’s neck. “Ahhh, don’t take it too personally. We just want to make sure we have enough candles to put on your birthday cake!”


Sonata’s eyes lit up at that. “I get a birthday cake?”


“Let’s put a pin in that for now,” said Rainbow Dash quickly, causing the pink and blue girls to moan. Rainbow however ignored them as she instead focused on the device Twilight still had out. “Listen Twi, I don’t feel very comfortable with you having that thing. The last time you had it you couldn’t control it when it was sucking the magic out of us at random! I do NOT want to go through that again.”


Twilight, it seemed, didn’t seem to take Rainbow’s objection too seriously as she waved it off with a hand gesture. “There’s no need to worry. When I made this model I made sure not to include any containment units. What I did do was scan the magical frequencies of our geodes and program this device to exclude them while doing its scans of the area which I can control with the simple press of a button. Not only that, its hooked up to the world clock and has a gps locator in it!” As Twilight spoke, the excitement in her voice continued to rise and as did it reflected in her eyes. Yet when she was done talking she seemed to notice all the blank stares she was getting. Sighing, she came down from her excitement high to continue. “Basically, this one can’t steal any magic, it only detects magic that isn’t ours, and it will always give us the correct time.”


“Oohh,” went everyone except for Sunset as she suppressed a chuckle. As Twilight looked dejected as she put her device away, Sunset felt more confident than ever about today. Once they got to AJ’s place where the band's bus was parked, they would head off to Sire's Hollow in search of the incident that Sunset had read about only a few days before. At first she thought that they would have to go around asking people there about what had happened, meaning it might take a long time, Twilight’s device would allow them to cover far more ground as they drove. Then, once they found whoever had the magic, they would just need to determine if the magic had fully possessed someone and then deal with it once everyone was free. Easy.


Just then, several black cars with black tinted windows came to a screeching halt on the side of the road next to the girls causing them to stop in surprise. As they blinked in surprise, several of the doors opened revealing men and women in black suits along with a blue skinned woman a few years older than them in white. As these people exited their vehicles, Sunset noticed that they were surrounding them so that they couldn’t make a run for it. As the woman in white began to approach them, Sunset quickly grabbed both Applejack and Rainbow’s arms to hold them back. Both girls looked at her with questioning looks but a simple jerk of Sunset’s head led them to see what she had seen: that several of these people in black were pulling out guns and tasers.


“Is your name Sunset Shimmer?” asked the blue skinned woman as she stopped in front of the flame haired girl. Not knowing what was going on, Sunset merely nodded. Seeing this the woman in white gestured to a couple of the people surrounding them. “Then we have confirmation. Take her away.”


“What?!” shouted Sunset right before she was grabbed by two men. As she resisted, she saw that her friends were getting ready to fight. But at that moment, the unmistakable sound of guns begins cocked was heard. All around them, the weapons were being pointed at the girls while Sunset was forced into one of the cars with the blue skinned girl getting in behind her. Then, a moment later after all of the others had gotten back into the cars, they all speed off.


-x-


“What was that about?” shouted Rainbow as she watched the cars speed away. Fists clenched, she looked in the direction they had been heading while berating herself. She should have taken the chance to super speed and steal their guns. If one of them had fired, she was at least 90% confident that she could have pulled her friends out of harm’s way.


“I-I don’t know,” stammered Twilight.


“Could be some secret government organization,” suggested Sonata as Twilight pulled out her weird gizmo again and opened it up. “Like a super secret group that goes around collecting magical artifacts that maintains its cover by claiming they are really IRS agents or something. They might think that Sunset has one of these artifacts that allow all of you to become magical girls.”


Rainbow shook her head, trying to blot out the ramblings of the Siren turned friend as she kept her eyes on the road. She had to do something NOW! She could feel the energy moving into her legs, screaming to go off chasing after them. But could she do it by herself? Could she save Sunset from a group of armed men? Well of course she could! She was Rainbow Dash, awesomeness made flesh! Not only was she fast enough to chase after them and knock all their guns out of their hands but she had also read every single Daring Do book out there. This was a classic abduction scenario so she should be fine.


Still…


“I’m going after them,” Rainbow said quickly. “The rest of you try to follow!”


“Wait,” said Twilight as she looked up from her gadget. However that was all Rainbow heard before zooming off in the direction of the cars.


-x-


Ember sat by the door, her eyes flickering between the window and the girl they had just abducted. As of now, they had no flashing lights of the police just grass and trees scattered about along the roadside. Not surprising seeing that the Kaiba Corp holographic technology had been implemented on their license plates to disguise who they were. Even if those girls had managed to make out a partial and called the police it would have been a wild goose chase. To help matters, the other cars were going off in different directions all over town with only them staying on route. So far everything was going according to play.


Still, it was strange. Looking at the girl next to her that resembled her boss/friend, it was odd to see her looking so nervous. Even the men who were in the car with her looked more than a little confused as the girl looked around confused. Still they kept their guns on her, filled with training round bullets. They wouldn’t kill her just cause her some minor bruises for the time being.


“Look,” said the Sunset Shimmer look-a-like. “Ah, I think there has been some sort of misunderstanding. If you just let me go we can forget all about this.”


“That’s not for me to decide,” said Ember as she turned to look out the window again, barely registering a ringing now up by the driver. “Orders came from above. But, even if it were up to me, I still wouldn’t let you go just like that. We need to know who you’re working for and what you plan on achieving with this charade.”


“Charade?” echoed their captive.


“Madam, we might have trouble,” called the driver causing all of the Kaiba Corp personal to tense up. “One of the cars was stopped.”


“What?” cried Ember as she sat up a bit straighter. “How did that happen?”


“They, uh,” stumbled the driver, his ear pressed against his phone. “They said that it was that multi-color haired girl. She…ran up to them? They’re not making a lot of sense.” Ember frowned at that. It was unlikely that someone could run fast enough to keep up with a moving car going 45 to 50 miles per hour. Even less likely that someone could catch up to a car on foot when the car had a head start. Well, unless she knew a short cut and headed off in that direction. But that would imply that she knew where that car was going. Not likely since she had just put this team together to grab the fake Sunset Shimmer.


As Ember puzzled over this, the driver caught her attention again as he dropped his phone. Looking at his reflection in the rear view mirror, Ember could see his expression. His eyes were more alert now with a look of disbelief. Still not hearing any sirens, Ember turned her head to look around…and was taken aback by what she saw. The rainbow haired girl was running at them on foot. What’s more she was quickly gaining on them with a smirk on her face! This shouldn’t be possible. No normal human could do something like that!


“Ma’am, what should we do?” asked one of the men as the girl caught up with them, now running alongside the car. They all tensed up as their pursuer began to tug on the door handle, trying to open it as she kept running.


“We do our job,” said Ember as she reached down to grab her modified duel disk from underneath the seat. It was shaped like the head of a bronze dragon with fins on both sides and a life point counter running along the top from its snout to the back of the head. “I’ll take care of her. The rest of you make sure that the package gets to where it needs to go.” Without saying another word, Ember turned to the door to see the rainbow haired girl was still there trying to open the door. Calmly, she undid the lock allowing the door to open. The teenage speedster zoomed around it with a cocky grin that faded when Ember launched herself forward, slamming into her.


-x-


The world seemed to roll around Rainbow Dash as her mind tried to catch up with what was happening. She knew that she had managed to stop two of the black cars as they moved across the city. One had freaked when they saw her and had run off the road. The other had stopped, the driver apparently freaking out that there was a real life superhero or something like that. Neither one had Sunset. The third one might have had her. However, Rainbow never got the chance to see for something had opened the door to the moving vehicle and slammed into her. Now she was barely aware of anything as she rolled down the side of this hill.


Eventually she stopped, landing on her stomach. As she looked up Rainbow saw the woman in white had rolled down the hill as well, but much more controlled than her so that she stopped in a crouching position. As the other woman stood, the teenager knew that this was just a minor setback. She knew what a broken leg or arm felt like (having had it happen to her more than once in her sporting career) so she knew nothing was broken or even sprained. All she had to do was super speed out of her and get back to the car.


“Later,” said Rainbow with a smirk, getting up as fast as she could. But it wasn’t as fast as she did when she super speeded. She tried to run but the other woman managed to block her path and push her down. As she fell on her back, Rainbow’s mind was trying everything it could to figure out what was going on? What happened to her speed? Where was her magic? Had it been stolen? Rolling over, Rainbow reached to take hold of her pendent in the hopes that it was all she needed to do to recharge it or whatever. Only…it wasn’t there. Now beginning to panic, the sports star of Canterlot High began to check the ground around her with her eyes as well as her palms only to find nothing. It didn’t take her long to realize that her pendent was probably on that hill somewhere. And the only way to get to it and save Sunset would be to get past that woman.


“Not so fast now,” said the woman with a smirk as Rainbow stood up.


“Get out of the way,” growled Rainbow as she pointed a finger at the woman.


“Not going to happen missy,” came the reply. “The only way you’re going to get past me is when I receive a phone call from my boss. That or you defeat me in a duel.” As she said this, the woman held up her wicked looking duel disk. Suddenly it opened its mouth to reveal a deck inside while at the same time the outer fin began to extend outward to create a sort of card tray.


At first, Rainbow didn’t reply as she was confused. Why take a chance at a duel when she was here, seemingly at this woman’s mercy. Was she that confident in her own skills that she could defeat Rainbow? Or maybe it was a way to distract her. Rainbow remembered reading in one of her Daring Do books where a one shot minor villain posed a challenge to Daring in order by his henchmen more time to search the ruins and make a break with the loot. Perhaps that was what was going on right now. This woman was trying to buy time for the car to get to where it was going and then Rainbow would never be able to find it! She could refuse and try to get her pendent, but could she get past this woman and find the pendent? No doubt whoever this was wouldn’t be standing idly by while she looked.


“Guess I have no choice,” said Rainbow as she took off her backpack. Setting it on the ground, Rainbow opened it and quickly pulled out her duel disk before tossing it out of the way. She then pulled out her own deck and inserted it into her duel disk to activate it. “I’ll be sure to make this quick!”


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Rainbow Dash while the other was the woman in white whose name appeared below her portrait: Ember. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Rainbow Dash.


“That was what I was hoping for,” said Ember as she took the top five cards from her deck and added them to her hand. As she did this both of their life points became visible at 8000.


“Don’t be too sure about that,” said Rainbow as she too had five cards. “I draw!” With that, Rainbow had six cards in her hand. Quickly she scanned what she had, thinking about her first move before placing a card face down on her duel disk. “For right now I’ll set this monster in defense mode and end my turn.”


“That’s all?” asked Ember as she drew her sixth card quickly. “Well then this’ll be easier than I thought. I’ll start by special summoning Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit in attack mode.” As Ember slapped her monster card onto her duel disk, a large golden egg descended from the heavens on her side of the field. As it lowered, parts of the egg began to break apart to form some sort of armor made for a slender frame that was then quickly filled up by a dragon like being made of white light. It floated there with an impressive 2100 attack points with its hind legs barely touching the ground with its feather like wings flapped gently.


“Wait a minute,” said Rainbow as she checked her disk. “You can’t bring out that monster. It’s level is too high!”


“Tsk, tsk,” went Ember before gesturing towards her dragon. “Don’t tell me you don’t know about special effects. While it is true that this monster is level six, I am allowed to special summon it from my hand if you control monsters and I don’t. It just can’t attack this turn. But that won’t matter soon because now I’ll be tributing him to special summon my Hieratic Dragon of Su in attack mode.” In a flash of light, Ember’s monster vanished as another egg descended downwards. Once more it broke apart, becoming armor for another dragon of light. This time its attack points were 2200. It also blue with a more defined form. Rainbow could make out it’s glowing red eyes, sharp white teeth, and the three energy horns on its head. But she also noticed something else: another egg was descending from above. One with zero attack and defense points. “When Tefnuit is used as a tribute, I am allowed to special summon one normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard to the field but its attack and defense are reduced to zero. So, from my deck I’ll summon Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King in attack mode!” Another golden egg descended from the sky, lowering itself next to Su. Only it did not open up. It just seemed to float there content in its form.


“Seal of the Dragon King is a Gemini monster, so while it does have an effect its still treated like a normal monster until it is normal summoned for a second time,” explained Ember. “Now that I have two level six monsters on the field I can build the overlay network!” A dark vortex appeared in the middle of the field with golden star like lights twinkling as they were sucked inside. “Mighty king with the fierce roar, blast through the heavens to tear them asunder! Xyz summon Rank 6: Hieratic Dragon King of Atum!” Rising from the vortex was another egg, but larger that the first. It opened up to form more elaborate armor that might fit an angel. But that was not what filled it. Instead, dark blue energy began to fill it to form a humanoid dragon with mighty wings. It stood upright on the ground, its clawed arms kept in a pose ready to attack with its 2400 attack point body while twin orbs orbited it. “Now I’ll use his effect: by detaching one of its xyz materials I can special summon one dragon type monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard but its attack is changed to zero. So from my deck I’ll be summoning my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!” As Ember said this, Atum grabbed one of the material orbs in one of his clawed hands before chucking it to the ground. There it formed a portal to allow a well known monster to rise up. Like her other dragons, its body seemed to be made of energy which in this case was a light blue color. It also had something like armor that was containing its form which was a much darker blue with a red trident at the back of its tail. While Galaxy-Eyes had been declawed (figuratively since it still had very sharp claws ready to tear into Rainbow) the monster still towered over the teenage girl as it roared.


“Since all I’ve been doing is special summoning I am still allowed one normal summons,” continued Ember as she held up a card. “So normal summon Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb in attack mode.” Another egg descended from above, only it was less golden colored and more orangish red with silver colored lines. The egg opened up to form more basic armor as another humanoid looking dragon made of gold energy appeared on the field. Gebeb slammed onto the ground in a traditional superhero landing causing rocks and dirt to fly up while its fists were raised to attack. Its attack points were 1800.


“Now let's begin the attack!” shouted Ember as she pointed to Rainbow’s face down. “Gebeb, let's see what she’s hiding!” Gebeb crouched down a bit before launching himself across the field with enough force that more dirt and rocks were kicked into the air. The dragon pulled back a fist before punching the face down card once it was close enough; revealing that the monster Rainbow had hid was large blue plane…with whisker marks on the front it seemed. Gebeb’s fist was implanted into its side, quickly pulling out as a projector at the end of each of its wings activated to create two more blue planes.


“You just activated the effect of my Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat,” declared Rainbow with a fist pump. “When it gets flipped, it special summons two level three Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens to my side of the field which I’ll play in defense mode.”


“I suppose you think that will protect you from me,” said Ember with a smirk. “Well it just so happens that you’re not the only one to get more monsters on the field. When Gebeb destroys one of your monsters and sends it to the graveyard I get to summon another normal dragon monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard. Then it’s attack and defense points are dropped to zero. So I’ll be bringing out my Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon in defense mode!” Appearing on behind Ember was an egg that was the size of a small mountain, towering over Rainbow so much she took a step back. “Now that that’s done, I’ll attack one of your tokens with Galaxy-Eyes.”


As Galaxy-Eyes threw back his head, Rainbow’s hands balled into fists as she raised them to chest level. “But what’s the point? They both have zero attack points and my token is in defense mode. Nothing’ll happen!”


“That’s why I’m activating his effect,” said Ember with a snap of her fingers. “I can banish both him and the monster he was battling from the field until the end of the battle phase.” With that, both one of Rainbow’s tokens and Galaxy-Eyes vanished from sight. “Now for my last attack! Atum, destroy her last token.” Atum growled as a ball of energy appeared in its clawed hand. The dragon then thrust it in the direction of the token sending a beam of energy at it, destroying Rainbow’s token. “With that, I end the battle and my turn.” At that moment, both Rainbow’s token and Galaxy-Eyes returned to the field. Only Galaxy-Eyes was no longer at zero attack but instead 3000!


That’s why she attacked with it, thought Rainbow as she drew her sixth card. Once it was banished, the effect of Atum was canceled out. But something here doesn’t add up. Gebeb allowed her to get another level eight monster onto the field. She could have Xyz summoned up a badass rank eight monster at the end of her turn. Instead, she left me an easy target. Is that a distraction or is she planning on making something bigger next turn? Not going to happen!


“Alright then,” said Rainbow as she held up a card. “First I’ll normal summon my Mecha Phantom Beast Raiten to the field in attack mode.” From above them, the sound of a propeller was heard. Both looked up to see a brown plane that looked like it had come from either WWI or WWII. As it looped it the air both duelists could see its 1500 attack and defense points. However, what was strange was its level. When it first appeared on the field it was a simple level four monster. But then it went up to level seven.


Rainbow chuckled a bit at her opponent’s confusion to this. “Think of my tokens as my air support, helping out my monsters in different ways. Take Raiten, by discarding a card from my hand, I can summon another token like so.” Smirking calmly, Rainbow discarded a card from her hand while a mechanical arm appeared at the tail end of her aircraft. From there, another projector appeared creating another token out of thin air. With two tokens on the field Rainbow’s plane went up to level ten. “The card I sent to my graveyard was Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion. By banishing this card from my graveyard I’m allowed another normal summon. So I’ll bring out my Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor in attack mode!” Shooting from the clouds at an incredible speed came a greenish jet fighter that resembled a pterodactyl. The nose of the fighter had a visible jaw with equally visible teeth as well as cold yellow eyes. It had four extra jet boosters along its upper body and talons instead of wheel that looked ready to grab prey. At first its level was four but quickly rose to ten as it shot across the field so fast that it nearly knocked Ember down.


“Now to activate Megaraptor’s effect,” declared Rainbow. “By tributing one of my tokens, I can add one Mecha Phantom Beast monster from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be adding Harrliard to my hand.” As a card shot out from Rainbow’s deck, one of the tokens on her side of the field flew away into the sky. At the same time, the level of both her level four monsters dropped down to level seven.


“Now time for my attack!” shouted Rainbow. “Megaraptor, attack Gebeb with Sidewinder Assault!” Megaraptor seemed to let out a cry as it shot into the air high above the field before several missiles were fired at the dragon. Gebeb cried out as the world around it exploded, with flames everywhere, while Ember’s life points dropped to 7900. “Now Raiten, crack that golden egg!” As Megaraptor returned to Rainbow’s side of the field Raiten took off, firing a barrage of bullets at the giant egg. As it got closer, Raiten lifted upwards so it could both skim the surface of its target while also continuing to fire. Once it reached the top, Rainbow’s old plane looped itself while the egg exploded.


“You think that matters?” asked Ember. “All you did was take out my weaker monsters. Next turn, you’ll be sorry you did that!”


“Maybe,” said Rainbow with a shrug. “But it’ll be difficult with what I’m about to do. With my battle phase ended, I’m going to build the overlay network!” With that, the overlay vortex portal reappeared on the field and sucked up both of Rainbow’s monsters. “The engines turn allowing metal wings to take to the sky! Mankind’s dream becomes a reality moving faster and faster! Xyz summon Rank Seven! Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack!” Flying up out of the portal came a white plane with 2600 attack points and two spheres orbiting around it. With three engines on each wing, this mammoth plane took the sky with ease as it suddenly began to transform slightly. Its tail began to grow longer, thinner as it swished back and forth. Its front opened up to allow a mechanical head to emerge that resembled a snakes or perhaps a dragons while two tiny arms grew out from its under belly. There was also a small green rocket ship on its back.


“Pretty neat, don’t ya think?” said Rainbow as the shadow of her own monster was cast over her.


“I suppose,” said Ember while giving it a passing glance. “But it’s nowhere near as impressive as my Galaxy-Eyes.” At that, Rainbow’s Mecha Phantom Beast gave a loud roar.


“Ah, you’re hurting my big guy’s feelings,” chuckled Rainbow. “Now watch this: by detaching one of my monster’s materials, I can summon two more Mecha Phantom Beast tokens to the field. Which I’ll do right now and summon them in defense position.” Another projector appeared at the end of Dracossack’s tail to create the tokens giving Rainbow a total of three. “Now as long as I have at least one token, this bad boy can’t be destroyed by battle or card effects.”


“I think I get what you’re doing,” said Ember as she lowered her head slightly to give herself a more dangerous appearance. “Trying to make it so that I’ll have to waste three attacks before I can destroy that plane of yours. Nice idea in theory but like the Spruce Goose it won’t be flying for very long. All I gave to do is attack with my Galaxy-Eyes and it will be banished, not destroyed, until the end of this turn. And when Galaxy-Eyes comes back he’ll be stronger than ever! It’ll be easy to deal damage to you while taking out those dumb tokens!”


“Then it’s a good thing that my monster has another effect,” declared Rainbow causing Ember’s eyes to widen. “By tributing one of my tokens, I can destroy one of your cards. The only downside is that I can’t attack with Dracossack this turn. But I can live with that if it means taking down Galaxy-Eyes!” Ember let out a gasp as one of the tokens flew towards the small green rocket ship on Dracossack’s back and merged with it. In the blink of an eye the craft shot forward at incredible speeds, creating a cone around its nose before slamming into Galaxy-Eyes and destroying it. “Then I’ll throw down two face downs and tell air traffic control that you are a go!”


“Then I draw,” said Ember as she drew her forth card. Quickly she picked one card from her hand to hold up so Rainbow could see it. “I activate the spell card Trade In! This card lets me discard one level eight monster in my hand to the grave in order to draw two cards. So I’ll send my Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon to the grave to draw twice.” Quickly Ember drew her cards, looked at them, and then held up one. “Next I play my Hieratic Seal of Convocation which lets me add one Hieratic monster from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be adding another Su.” Ember paused as a card was ejected from her deck. After taking her card, the auto-shuffle function of her duel disk activated. “Now, I will normal summon Hieratic Dragon of Eset in attack mode!” As Ember set her card on the tray, another egg descended from the sky. Like before, it opened up to create armor for a dragon made on pure energy. This time that dragon was purple with claw-like hands on both of its wings like a bat would have. A stream of energy also seemed to be pouring out of its head, the helmet on said head having silver fins attached to the side.


“Normally, I would need a tribute to summon this level five monster,” said Ember calmly. “But I am allowed to special summon him by decreasing his attack points to 1000.” At that moment, Eset’s attack points dropped from 1900 to 1000. “Next I’ll use Atum’s effect to special summon one dragon from my hand, deck, or graveyard. So from the grave I’ll bring back my Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon!” Atum grabbed one of the sphere’s circling around him and proceeded to fling it towards the ground, summoning up the egg once again. “Now for Eset’s other effect; he can target one other Hieratic monster on my side of the field and, until the end of my turn, all monsters on my side of the field become the targeted monster’s level. So I’ll target my Seal of the Sun Dragon! That gives me the two level eight monsters I need to create the overlay network!”


As the portal appeared on the ground once again, Ember gave her opponent a cold smile as she began to chant. “Great dragon granted with the burning force of the sun. Let your light leave my foes in ashes. Xyz summon Rank eight: Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis!” From the portal came flames not unlike a solar flare, so bright and powerful that Rainbow was forced to shield her eyes. When the light finally began to dim, Rainbow beheld a dragon so massive that she had to crane her head upwards just to see its chest. What she could see was that it wore golden armor and that it’s ‘body’ flickered about like flames of red and orange hues. It’s large hands ended in claws that could easily destroy dams if is so desired. To cap it all off this monster had 3000 attack points.


“Now I’ll show you the price for flying too close to the sun,” commented Ember. “To start with, I’ll activate my monster’s special ability: by detaching one of its materials, I can tribute any number of monsters in my hand in order to destroy an equal number of cards on your side of the field. So I’ll tribute my Su and Nuit to destroy those two tokens you believe will protect you.”


As the Overlord Dragon absorbed one of its materials and Ember sent the two monsters from her hand to the grave, Rainbow braced herself. “I don’t think so! I activate my face down: Scramble!! Scramble!! I can activate this quick play spell card when you outnumber my non-token monsters. Now I can tribute any number of my Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens to special summon an equal number of Mecha Phantom Beast monsters from my deck. However, there is a catch. Since they had to speed to my field they have to return and refuel at the end of this turn. So I’m calling in Mecha Phantom Beasts Coltwing and Turtleracer in defense mode!” At once, both remaining tokens on the field flew off into the air and out of sight while two new crafts appeared in the distance. One of them looking like a giant white plane with two large propellers, one on each wing, with its front looking like a horse’s head. As this monster began to fly to Dracossack, showing off its 1500 defense points, its propellers shifted vertically to look like twin helicopter blades so it could hover. Turtleracer looked like a plane with a turtle-like shell on its back as well as having a very turtle-like front piece. This monsters defense points were 2000 and took position on Dracossack’s left.


“So you stopped my effect,” said Ember unimpressed. “Well you’re not the only one who gets to special summon a monster. Since Su was tributed for Overlord’s effect, I get to special summon another normal monster again. So I’ll take another Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King.”


“Not bad,” replied Rainbow as Ember’s monster appeared on her side of the field in defense mode. “But I can still do you one better. When Coltwing is special summoned while I control another Mecha Phantom Beast then he can give me two more Mecha Phantom Beast tokens!” In the air appeared the twin tokens formed from a projection device on Coltwing.


“Grr, fine then,” growled Ember looking very much annoyed at this point. “I’ll attack with Atum first and destroy one of those tokens.” Atum wasted no time in firing a beam blast at one of the tokens on the far left side, seemingly just as eager as its owner to get rid of them tokens. However, before the beam hit Turtleracer flew forward and turned in a way so that its ‘shell’ intersected the attack. When it was all said and done, both Rainbow’s monster as well as the token were still on the field.


“Sorry, but Turtleracer has an effect of its own,” said Rainbow, grinning broadly. “See, he looks after his little buddies so that the first one that would be destroyed each turn isn’t.”


“So you’ll still have at least one token when this is over,” grumbled Ember. “Then I might as well take the time to do whatever damage I can. Overlord Dragon, attack Dracossack!” Ember’s dragon let out a roar before flames were fired down the sky, washing down upon Rainbow’s largest plane. When the flames died off, the only effect it seemed to have was stream rolling off the metal beast as well as Rainbow’s life points dropping to 7600. “I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”


As Rainbow’s Turtleracer and Coltwing took off into the sky, Rainbow drew another card making the total number she had in her hand three. “Yeah know, if you hadn’t kidnapped my friend I would be able to enjoy myself more.”


Ember smiled ruefully at that. “I must agree. While your cards are annoying I am enjoying the challenge. However, I must do this for the sake of my friend.”


“What?” asked Rainbow as she stomped a foot on the ground. “How could kidnapping Sunset help your friend unless he was some sort of weirdo who needs help?”


“Because the person you know as Sunset Shimmer isn’t the real Sunset Shimmer,” stated Ember in a dead serious tone. Rainbow looked at the girl in shock, taking a step back as she continued to speak “This may come as a surprise to you but we did a thorough background check on her and confirmed that she infiltrated your school some time ago using this false identity. You may think of her as your friend and bandmate, but that is a lie. My boss and best friend, the real Sunset Shimmer, wants to know why she stole her identity and possibly who she is working for.”


“Ok,” said Rainbow as she waved both hands in the air. “Ok, I think I get it but this is all a really big misunderstanding.”


“Oh?” asked Ember.


“Yeah. You see she is Sunset Shimmer but not the Sunset Shimmer of this world. She comes from this magical world of talking ponies where she used to be the student of this powerful pony who could move the sun and I just realized now how crazy this must all sound right now.”


“…Did the school put something in the water or are you big on happy brownies?” asked Ember as she gave Rainbow a deadpanned look. “Because those are the only polite explanations I can think of right now for why someone would believe such an insane story.”


“…Let's just get back to the duel,” said Rainbow as her shoulder hung slightly. She then muttered to herself, “Couldn’t have been a very good background check. How the heck did they miss all the crazy magic happening? Or me flying about with tiny blue wings?”


“Are you going?” shouted Ember.


“I am,” said Rainbow as she held up a card from her hand. “And I’ll start with this card called Pot of Duality. With this I get to pick up the top three cards in my deck, pick one to add to my hand, and the rest get shuffled back into my deck.” Rainbow paused to draw said cards, looking at them briefly before keeping the middle one and putting the rest back into her deck. “Next I’ll summon the monster I got during my last turn: Mecha Phantom Beast Harrliard!”A brown jet fighter came soaring through the sky with a front end that looked like that of a lion and what looked like missiles that ended in claws. Its attack points were 1800. “Now I activate his effect. I can tribute of my tokens to special summon one monster from my hand. So I’m flagging down my Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf!” As one of Rainbow’s tokens flew off into the sky, the sound of a helicopter could be heard getting closer. As it appeared in the sky above the multi-color haired girl, both duelists could see elements of a wolf in this black vehicle. It’s attack points were 1700.


“I’m a little worried about that face down card you got so I’ll play my face down card: Aerial Recharge!” exclaimed Rainbow as her face down was flipped up. “This card gives me a token once per turn. But during both of our end phases I have to give up a token.”


“Crap!” swore Ember as she activated her card. “I’ll use the power of my Hieratic Seal of Reflection to tribute my Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King to negate and destroy your trap.”


A smirk appeared on Rainbow’s face as her card was destroyed. She had a feeling that Ember had wanted to save that card to use against her Dracossack in order to save her Overlord Dragon. If Rainbow had used its effect, then she would have been out of tokens and leaving monsters vulnerable to attack and without their effects. Ember knew by now that as long as Rainbow could get more tokens then her plan wouldn’t have worked anyways.


“I activate the effect of my Dracossack!” announced Rainbow as she thrusted her hand forward. “I’ll give up one of my tokens to destroy your Overlord Dragon!” The last of Rainbow’s tokens flew up to merge with the green rocket ship on top of her planes back. Like before it shot forward at nearly the speed of sound, crashing into the chest of Ember’s monster and destroying it. “With that done I now remove its last overlay unit to get two more tokens! Now it's time for my attack!”


“With what?” demanded Ember as she looked at Rainbow’s airborne monsters. “Dracossack is the only one on your side of the field that has enough attack to destroy my Atum and he can’t attack this turn!”


“Oh, you’ll see,” said Rainbow with a grin. “Tetherwolf, attack her Atum with Howling Blitzer!” At her command, Tetherwolf began to prep several missiles. With the sound of a pack of howls howling in unison they fired at the dragon who looked like her was about to swat them away with one of his claws. “Now, during the damage step, I can activate my monster’s effect. By tributing a token I can raise my monsters attack by 800 until the end of the damage step.” Still grinning, Rainbow watched as one of her tokens jetted forwards so fast that it caught up with the missiles. Before their eyes the token seemed to merge with the attack, creating an energy glow around them to give them more attack power as well as increasing their speed. Atum couldn’t react in time as the attack flew past his claws to strike him dead in the chest. As he exploded Ember’s life points dropped to 7800.


“Don’t forget I have another attack,” said Rainbow as she gestured to her Harrliard which flew towards Ember without haste. Instead of firing the entire missile, only the claw like nails attached to them were fired causing Ember’s life points to drop down all the way to 6000. “And with that I’ll turn it over to you.”


“Then I draw!” yelled Ember. She looked at the only card in her hand…and scowled. “I place one card face down and end my turn.”


“Bad luck, huh,” commented Rainbow as she drew making the total number of cards in her hand two. “Then I guess I’ll finish this right here and now. Dracossack, you’re up first. Take a bite out of her life points!” Dracossack let out a primal roar as all of its weapons fired. Missiles and bullets flew the air towards their target.


“Not so fast,” declared Ember. “I activate my face down, the quick play spell Silver’s Cry. This allows me to special summon one normal dragon type monster in my graveyard. So I’ll bring back my Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King in defense mode!”


Rainbow shrugged as the egg reappeared on her side of the field. “Ok then, I’ll continue the attack and smash that egg.” Without mercy, Dracossack’s attack laid waste to Ember’s monster and destroyed it without any difficulty. “Well that was a waste of good ammo. Thankfully I have two more monsters to attack you with!” With that, Harrliard and Tetherwolf launched their own attacks, causing the ground around Ember to explode wildly. The blue skinned woman held up her arms to defend herself but still went flying backwards as her life points dropped to 2500. “Guess I’ll call it a turn here.”


“Then I draw!” shouted Ember as she drew her card. She looked at it for only a moment before playing it. “I activate the spell card Pot of Desires! With this, I banish the top ten cards in my deck face down and then can draw two cards.” Rainbow said nothing as Ember proceeded to do this risky move, one that she would never have done. While drawing cards was good, the chance was great that you would banish your best cards. Plus they would be face down meaning you would be unable to target them with any effects. However, as Ember looked at her two cards, it seemed like she had gotten very lucky. “First I play Monster Reborn and I’ll use its effect to summon back my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Then I’ll special summon another Hieratic Dragon of Eset to the field.” At once two very familiar looking dragons reappeared onto the field. “Now I will use the effect of Eset, targeting my Galaxy-Eyes so that all Hieratic dragons on my side of the field become level eight. Now I can use my two level 8 monsters to create the Overlay Network once again!”


Rainbow braced herself as the vortex return, sucking up both dragons as Ember began her chant. “The shattered stars sing as the night ends. The cry of the dragon echoes through the entirety of space. Combine now to form a new might. Xyz summon Rank Eight: Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon!” Coming out of the vortex was a dragon with 4000 attack points. Like Galaxy-Eyes and so many of Ember’s monsters it looked like a creature of energy whose form was trying to be contained by its arms. Most of its chest was visible as were the underside of its arms and parts of its legs. The armor on its wings reminded her of large open pincers as energy shot out of the opening. “I’m not done yet. I’ll advance overlay this monster to bring out something better!”


“What?!?” shouted Rainbow as she vortex returned. It didn’t seem possible. That Galaxy-Eyes monster looked pretty tough making seem unlikely that Ember could bring out anything tougher.


Ember’s chant seemed to prove her wrong. “Ready to rage war across the cosmos, with rage and stars in your eyes. Arm yourself now my instrument of ultimate destruction! Xyz Summon Rank 9: Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon!”Emerging from the vortex was a much more normal looked Galaxy-Eyes Dragon compared to the one he had been summoned from. His armor covered much more of his body including the tips of his claws while also being the deepest shade of black Rainbow had ever seen. His attack points were the same as Prime Photon Dragon but had three materials orbiting around him instead of two.


“This still isn’t the best card in my extra deck,” commented Ember in a would be casual tone. “But it is a close second. I activate my monster’s effect: by removing one of his materials I can destroy one face up card on your side of the field. So I’ll target your last token.” As one of the sphere’s around Galaxy-Eyes vanished, the dragon made a palm thrust motion towards the token. While no energy came from the palm, Rainbow quickly felt the air pressure created by that motion which nearly knocked her back. Her token was not so lucky as it exploded in the air. “Now with that taken care of, I can now begin to dismantle your air support. Galaxy-Eyes, destroy her Dracossack.” Ember’s monster wasted no time reaching Rainbow’s plane, seemingly disappearing and reappearing right in front of it. Both claws grabbed Dracossack’s wings before snapping them off like they were twigs while at the same time sending a kick to its underbelly. The craft exploded in the air causing wreckage to fall across the battlefield and Rainbow’s life points to drop to 6200. “With that there is nothing more I can do. Your move.”


“Gladly,” said Rainbow as she drew her card. Briefly she looked at the three cards in her hand before looking back at the field. Ok this went from good to bad in like ten seconds flat. That monster of hers can destroy any card I got and then attack with a really big body. I need to hope my next draw will give me something good or else I’ll lose for sure and then they’ll do who knows what to Sunset.


“I’ll place this monster in face down defense mode and then switch the rest of my monsters to defense as well,” said Rainbow as a face down card appeared on her side of the field in front of her. At the same time her other two monsters landed on the ground to show they were in defense as well. “That’ll be it.”


“Looks like the tables have turned,” commented Ember as she drew her card. “I’ll play the card I just drew which should look familiar to you: Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb!” Rainbow gritted her teeth as the muscular dragon reappeared on Ember’s side of the field. While far smaller than Galaxy-Eye’s it would still pack a huge wallop if it attacked her. Not only that, it would help reinforce Ember’s side of the field when it destroyed a monster. And there was nothing Rainbow could do to stop it.


“I’ll activate my Galaxy-Eyes effect once again,” declared Ember with a grin. “This time I’ll destroy your Harrliard!” As another material vanished, Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon made another palm thrust to generate enough air pressure to destroy Rainbow’s plane. “Now I will attack your Tetherwolf with Galaxy-Eyes and avenge Atum!” Galaxy-Eyes moved at speeds faster than the eyes could see across the field and stomped on Rainbow’s helicopter. As it exploded, Rainbow brought up both arms in order to better protect herself from the flames and light.


“Now Gebeb, take out her last line of defense!” Gebeb launched himself off the ground with his fist pulled back so as it destroy his target with all of its might. However, as he neared Rainbow’s card flipped over to reveal a plane that looked like a mix between a stealth fighter and a manta ray. Its wings were folded up-ward and around over itself with a long thin tail running behind it. There were also to red lights on it that could have been mistaken for eyes. What’s more, its defense points were 2100. Since its defense points were greater than Gebeb’s 1800 attack points, Ember lost 300 life points which brought her down to 2200.


“Sorry there,” said Rainbow as she lowered her arms to reveal a grin. “You just attacked my Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray. And since he dealt damage to you, I get a token!” As Rainbow said this, the thin tail of Stealthray moved to point next to it and began to project light from its end. Moments later another token appeared on her side of the field.


“It won’t last,” said Ember as Gebeb returned to her side of the field. “Next turn, both it and your token will be destroyed. Not like it matters anymore. By this time, the fake Sunset Shimmer will be at her destination so we can find out what sort of game she’s playing at.”


“I’m telling you, she is Sunset Shimmer!” yelled Rainbow as she stomped her foot on the ground in frustration. She then brought her hand to her deck, ready to draw. “And if what you say is true then I have no more time to lose! I draw!” As Rainbow drew her card, an arc of rainbow colored light followed her card. She looked at it for only a moment before grinning.


“You might not have shown me your best, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show you mine!” declared Rainbow. “I summon Mecha Phantom Beast Aerosguin!” Appearing in the sky above them came a zeppelin…that looked like a penguin. It was an odd sight to be sure as both duelist could make out the line in the penguin shaped balloon. Its attack points were 1600. “This little fella has the ability to remove one Mecha Phantom Beast from my graveyard in order to give me one of my tokens. So I’ll remove Dracossack to do just that.” As Rainbow removed the card from her graveyard, a ramp opened up on Aerosguin before a token came flying out onto the field.


“Now everything is all set,” said Rainbow. “See Aerosguin and Stealthray are like most of my monsters, their levels increase by the levels of all the tokens on the field. Since I have two tokens, my two level three monsters are now level nine. That allows me to create the overlay network!” Ember’s eyes widened as the vortex appeared on the field, both of Rainbow’s monsters flying into it. “High above our heads, above the clouds is where you fly. Free to move as you please, free to assist in battle. Come forth now mighty fortress of the Mecha Phantom Beasts! Xyz Summon Rank Nine: Phantom Fortress Enterblathnir!” A light shot out of the vortex and into the air. Moments later, the enter sky as far as either woman could see was filled with mechanical parts. Only Rainbow knew that above this massive flying ship was an entire aerial runway as well as enough ammo to justify its 2900 attack points.


“S-So what if it's big?” shouted Ember as she gazed at the fortress above her. “It might be able to take out my Gebeb, but Galaxy-Eyes-”


“Won’t be around to see it,” interrupted Rainbow. “See, what makes this carrier 20% cooler than the rest of my monsters is that it has four different effects that I can choose from. So I’m going to use one of them right now: by detaching one of my materials I can banish one card you control. And I choose Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon!” A beam of green, yellow, and red light washed over Ember’s mighty dragon from above to pull it up and away from the field. The monster tried to fight it, kicking and screaming as it was then pulled it a portal that appeared in the air.


“Next I’ll play the spell card I drew last turn and end this so I can help my friend!” shouted Rainbow as she played the card. When she did, the size of her Phantom Fortress began to grow more in size (if that were possible) while the noise from its engines increase. While all this was going on the Phantom Fortress Enterblathnir’s attack points rose to 5800! “Limiter Removal will double the attack of all my machine type monsters until the end of this turn and then they’ll be destroyed! More than enough to end this duel! Now attack with All Out Assault!” As Rainbow pointed to Gebeb, planes began to fly off the aerial runway as did many other types of aircrafts. As they flew down, firing their weapons along the way, the fortress itself began to fire laser beams as well as bullets and missiles. It seemed like this truly was an all out attack that dropped Ember’s life points to zero.


As the holograms began to fade, Rainbow sprinted off across the field to reach the hill. Ember stood where she was as Rainbow passed her, keeping her promise. Yet there was no way for her to know that while she began to look for her pendant Sunset Shimmer was being led down a hallway at gunpoint where her double sat waiting.
> Dueling Sunsets (Sunset vs Sunset)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh come on,” growled Rainbow Dash as she looked through the grass on the hillside, pushing it aside in a desperate attempt to find her pendant. Without the source of her magic, the rainbow-haired girl knew there was no way to catch up with the creeps that took her buddy from another world. It also didn’t help that every second that went by without her finding it Sunset was getting farther and farther away.


The only good news she had at this moment was that Ember, the girl who had jumped out of a moving car to stop her and then dueled her, had kept to the promise they had. After the duel had ended, Ember had allowed her to pass in order to search for her pendent before going off to find Sunset. Shortly after the duel, Rainbow heard Ember walking off away from the scene of their duel. Where she was going Rainbow didn’t have a clue. True, she could follow her and hope that she led her to Sunset, but the chances were that she might not head to where they were taking Sunset. Chances of her managing to save Sunset without her magic were equally unlikely. Rainbow wasn’t so arrogant to think that she could save her friend from people with guns without super speed.


So, Rainbow continued to search for what seemed like forever growing more and more desperate with each passing minute. Every so often she would grab a chunk of grass, pulling it out of the ground and tossing it behind her in a fit of rage. Her magic had to be somewhere around here. It had to be!


The sound of a van stopping above her almost missed her attention. Looking up for a moment, Rainbow saw the band van driven by Granny Smith just above her with AJ and Twilight jumping out. Twilight had out her new science watch thing, holding it in her hand as her gaze shifted from it to Rainbow.


“Land sakes,” cried Applejack as she approached Rainbow while Twilight walked in a different direction. “Ya just couldn’t wait for the rest of us, could ya? Had ta just run off on ya own like that!”


“There was no time,” Rainbow shot back. “How did you guys find me anyways?”


Applejack opened her mouth, but Twilight beat her to the punch. “I modified the tracker,” Twilight said as she walked around the hill side with her head down, taking very slow steps. “When I made it, I had to tune into the magical frequencies of our geodes before creating a program that would exclude so they wouldn’t interfere with our detection. But I figured there might come a time when one of us gets lost or gets abducted by magical forces. So there is another program in here that allows me to track those specific frequencies since they are stored in the device’s memory. All I needed was a few minutes to make the adjustments and the detector becomes,” Twilight paused for a moment as she suddenly reached down to pick up Rainbow’s missing pendent, “a tracker.”


“It also took us a little while ta get the bus going,” added Applejack as Twilight approached and gave Rainbow back her pendent. “Thing needed gas.”


“So this thing will let us find Sunset?” asked Rainbow as she eyed the device. Twilight nodded, holding up the device to show Rainbow’s multi-colored lightning bolt in the center while Sunset’s was north. Instantly Rainbow reached out to grab the device from the purple nerd’s hand. After all, she was the fastest of them all. She could just super speed there and grab Sunset before anyone knew what happened. However, it seemed Applejack had grabbed the back on Rainbow’s shirt before she could do so. “Hey, what gives?”


“This time, how about we stick together?” she suggested in a stern tone.


-x-


Sunset let out a grunt as she was pushed into a large office room, nearly falling on her face as she did. Looking back at the door, she saw two of the men who had kidnapped her with their guns still pointed at her. Neither had said a word since they had taken her off the street only pushing her to move her in the direction they wanted. Shades covered their eyes in an attempt to keep her from knowing who they might be as well as to make them look more intimidating. That or they just came back from a sale at the Sunglass Hut.


As much as Sunset racked her brain, she had no idea who these people were or what they wanted. She knew she was in a large building but they had entered through an underground parking lot. From there they had used a key card to enter an elevator that straight up passed numerous levels before stopping. It was like they were doing everything in the power minus putting a blindfold over her to keep her from knowing where she was. But whoever these goons worked for had to have some serious cash behind them. Yet who could it be? Well-To-Do? No, last she had heard he was still court for his actions at Camp Everfree while his company was now having lawsuit after lawsuit filed against them for his previous misdeeds. It was doubtful that anyone working for him would have the money or power to try and get revenge like this. Same went for Cinch since she was a wanted woman with most of her assets frozen. So who could it be?


Whoever they were, she just needed to stay calm as she waited for help from her friends. She knew Rainbow Dash had tried to save her and it was more than likely that the rest of them weren’t too far behind. She was sure that somehow they would find a way to find her and then rescue her. Too bad none of them had the power to see the future or magically locate people.


Looking around the office, she got an odd feeling about it. There were decorations about that were things she found appealing. The sort of things she would probably have in an office if she ever had one. Then, when she looked at the other end, Sunset quickly figured out why. Standing there with her mouth slightly hanging open was another her! It had to be the Sunset Shimmer of this world.


It was weird to say the least. Almost as weird as when she first came to this world and found she was no longer a unicorn. It was true that she had, from time to time, wondered what her other self was like. More so when she had met the Twilight of this world and befriended her. She wondered: what was she like? Had the Sunset of this world gone through similar things as she had? Just looking around this office told Sunset a bit of her double’s life. In Equestria, she had been a student of Princess Celestia herself. She had a chance to achieve great things had not her greed and impatience gotten the best of her. She could have been a princess, perhaps even becoming the Element of Magic had she listened to what her mentor had said back then. Perhaps this Sunset hadn’t made that same mistake.


“I,” whispered the other Sunset before pausing to cough into a fist. When she spoke next, her toe was more forceful and controlled. A tone much like the one Sunset used back when she was nothing more than a bully with delusions of grandeur. “I knew that you looked like me, but seeing it in person is something completely different. The likeness is remarkable.”


“Ah yeah,” said Sunset as she scratched the back of her head. “Weird coincidence.” She then gave a slightly forced laugh as her mind raced to think of some excuse. However, before she could think of anything that might be believable the other Sunset turned a computer screen on her deck around towards her. On it was Sunset’s MyStable page, complete with her name and pictures of her with her friends.


“I don’t know what is going on here,” said the other Sunset as she moved around her desk. Her eyes were fixed on Sunset with a cold glare full of hatred. “But I can assure you that I will find out. If you are some sort of ploy from another company to ruin my image or even from someone from my own company trying to seize power but-”


“Whoa, hold on there,” said Sunset as she raised her hands in a non-threatening manner. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I mean, we could just have the same name and look alike. Ah, you know: Occam’s razor? The simplest answer is usually more likely?”


The other Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she frowned. “You would have me think that this is just some sort of weird coincidence that we have the same name, look exactly alike, and even sound alike? Do you also think I would have had you brought here if I hadn’t already made sure that that wasn’t the case?”


“Well, when you put it like that…maybe?” Sunset tried to smile, knowing just how weak and feeble her lie was. But what could she do?


Sunset number two’s eye twitched at that before she folded her arms and leaned back against the deck. “According to my own investigation, you appeared seemingly out of nowhere a few years ago. You managed to talk your way into getting an apartment without parental consent after heading to the Secretary of State’s office to get a social security number. Namely mine! Following that you enrolled in Canterlot High where you proceeded to bully those around you until something happened to make you turn over a new leaf. Now, you could be some runaway who looks and sounds just like me and decided to assume my identity. If that is the case then we are going to have some problems. More likely, you are an agent sent out to that school to ruin my name and make it look like I’m goofing around instead of focusing on my work. Perhaps in an effort to hurt my stock or just make me look publicly bad or SOMETHING!” At that point, the other Sunset unfolded her arms to slam a fist on the desk behind her. “If that is the case, then we are going to have a much bigger problem.”


“Trust me, it's not either of those,” said Sunset quickly as she raised her hands in the air. Fear was already starting to pound away in her heart. She was face to face with the Sunset of this world, one who didn’t know about other worlds and had ever right to be angry at her. All she had to do was call the police and she’d more than likely be put in jail for identity theft or being an illegal alien or something like that!


“I have no reason to trust you,” replied the other Sunset. “But I’m sure I’ll find out the truth in due time. If you are just a runaway then-”


“Look, I am Sunset Shimmer,” said Sunset as she placed her hands on her chest while gaining an irritated look from her double. “And so are you. I came from a parallel world. I’m you from another world that’s similar to this one.”


The other Sunset gave her an exasperated as a hand went to touch her forehead. “Ok, out of all the lies I expected, I never thought you’d use the plot from Sliders. Well, I guess I have to give you an A for creativity. Not sure how many people remember that old show.”


“Yeah, it was great until the fourth season,” said Sunset. Then her eyes widened as she realized that what she had just said was almost like admitting that she had gotten the idea from that show! She knew she had to fix this and fast! “Look, I can prove it to you if you give me a chance!”


“Not happening,” replied the other Sunset as she walked back around her desk and sat down in her chair. “I went to all the trouble having you brought to me and there is no way I’m letting you go. You are staying right here until I get some answers.”


“But I can show you the answers right now!” cried Sunset. “Look, how about this. We duel and if you win then I stay wherever you want me to until you figure this out. I’ll go along with any tests you want. But if I win, all I want is the chance to prove to you what I’m saying is true.” The other Sunset brought a hand to her chin, looking like she was mulling over what Sunset was saying. Seeing this, the girl from another world continued to talk. “You can stay by my side the entire time and even bring along those thugs with guns. As many as you want! And if you aren’t completely convinced then I’ll admit to whatever you think I am. No matter what you get what you want!”


The other Sunset tapped her desk several times with her free hand. “This could be a ploy so you could try to make an insanity defense,” she muttered. “Or maybe a trap so you could try to replace me. Besides I already have you here now so why should I even agree to this?”


Sunset wanted to grab her own hair and pull on it as hard as she could. She couldn’t believe this version of her was so suspicious! What had happened to her to make her so distrustful? Was this part of the differences on growing up in a different world like with the Twilight’s? Then again, the old Sunset wasn’t really that much better. She had, in her time, made plenty of schemes, stolen from royalty, kidnapped a dog/dragon, and had just been an awful person in general. Even if this Sunset just knew the stuff she did before she reformed then it would make sense not to trust her.


Then, much to Sunset’s surprise, her other self pulled out what looked like that arm cannon from that one transformer from old cartoon. The one who turned into a gun or tank or was it a T-Rex? She couldn’t remember but right now that didn’t matter because her other was putting it on. Gulping in fear, Sunset took a step back as the other Sunset stood up and pointed at her while grinning evilly. Sunset would have thought that this was it when the weapon beeped and split in two to form an odd-looking duel disk. One-half of the split weapon looked like the spell/trap card zone on those old mats while the other half looked like the monster card zone. The other Sunset then reached for her belt before pulling out her deck.


“Then again, that’ll only happen if I lose,” she said, putting her deck into the cannon. “And I could really use a little stress relief right now. So I’ll take you up on your offer.”


-x-


At the same time, Aria stood across the street looking at the home of the purple nerd and Sonata. Around them there were only a few people out walking their dogs, jogging, or any number of stupid human things that kept them on the move. Thankfully none of them paid any attention to either her or Adagio. Maybe it was because Adagio was on the phone right now talking to Cinch about this stupid plan. Perhaps they thought that they were calling to get a lift or something. Whatever the case was, Aria was just glad she didn’t have to bother lying to those idiots several times until she wanted to pull her hair out.


Aria let out a sigh as she fought the urge to tap her foot. In all honestly she hated waiting around like this and would rather be doing anything else. If only she could do anything else or could be anywhere else. But she knew she couldn’t. The two sirens were now scraping at the bottom of the barrel for options in the hopes that things would get better. Until then they couldn’t do anything else really since they had little money to their name nor any real future to speak of. Glancing up at one of the windows in the house across the street, Aria felt something she never thought she would: jealousy for Sonata. Honestly, the very idea that she would ever want something that braindead twit had was enough to make her sick to her stomach. But…she had something. She was going places even if it was just a management position at a shitty Mexican restaurant. Sonata had a roof over her head that she didn’t need to sneak into. She had money to pay for her smartphone plan. Aria cringed at the thought that she’d might (keep in mind the MIGHT part) be willing to trade places with Sonata. Oh God, how bad was her life to even consider something like that.


“Ok,” said Adagio as turned off her phone. “The morons out of the way. We can move in.” As Adagio began to move towards the building, a thought came across Aria’s mind. One that might get them out of this dumb plan. Quickly she grabbed Adagio’s arms causing the other siren to turn and look at her in annoyance. “What the hell is with you Aria? We have to get going!”


“Are we sure the place is empty?” asked Aria. “That girl’s parents could be inside right now! If we break down the door to the garage and they hear the alarm there will be no way we can get anything!” Adagio didn’t say anything at first, just looking at Aria with contempt before pulling her arm away.


“I’m not an idiot,” hissed the other siren. “They’re already out of the house. Cinch cloned some idiot named Cadence’s phone to send her parents a text. Something about their daughter having an accident. She just confirmed that they are all heading towards a hospital on the other side of town. We’re in the clear.” With that, Adagio turned and began running towards the house with Aria reluctantly following her.


-x-


Sunset stood on the roof of the building, the version of herself from the human world standing across from her with a confident sneer on her face. As for herself, Sunset could feel her heart racing wildly. The stakes were high this time. If she lost it would more than likely mean jail time for herself. Also it didn’t help that she was on top of a very large building with the wind blowing powerfully around her. But all she could do was play this through as she lifted her arm with her duel disk on it while her other did the same.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only this time it was a little harder to tell the difference between them. Instead of going by their faces, Sunset had to make out parts of their clothing in order to tell the difference. Thankfully the other her in the portrait had those large spikes on her shoulders. Eventually, the image paused on her own.


“I take the first move,” said Sunset as they both drew five cards while their life points appeared at 8000. “I draw!” As Sunset looked at the six cards in her hand, she knew she had to take every advantage she could. Thankfully, she had just the cards to help with that. “I’ll start this off with a bang by summoning Laval Magma Cannoneer in attack mode!” As Sunset placed her card on her duel disk, the ground before her began to crack and break before lava began to appear. It rose, taking the form of a man before hardening. Quickly, her monster’s rocky body turned mostly purple with a red visor covering its eyes. On the shoulders of its bulky form were two cannons that had tubes running into the monster's back. It’s attack points were 1700.


“Cannoneer has a powerful effect,” continued Sunset as her other self looked unimpressed. “Up to twice per turn I can discard one fire monster from my hand to deal 500 damage. So I’ll discard Laval Lancelord from my hand to do just that!” As Sunset slid her card into her graveyard slot, the tube connecting to Cannoneer’s right cannon began to bulge as a lump moved upwards. When it reached the cannon it fired at the other Sunset, causing the ground next to her to explode while her life points dropped to 7500. “But I’m not done just yet! Because now I’ll discard my Laval Handmaiden to do it all over again!” Another blast was fired at the other Sunset who continued to stand there while the ground next to her exploded and her life points dropped to 7000. “Now I activate the effect of Handmaiden: since I have a Laval monster of a different name in my grave I can send one Laval monster from my deck to the grave. So why not send another Laval Handmaiden so I can send my last Handmaiden to the grave as well! Then, using my last Handmaiden’s affect, I’ll send Laval Forest Sprite to the grave. When he is sent there all Laval monster’s on my side of the field gain a nice little boost of 200 attack points.” At this point, Cannoneer’s attack rose to 1900. “Finally, I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”


“Well that was…something,” said the other Sunset as she drew. She looked at the six cards in her hand for a moment before holding one up. “I think I’ll start by summoning something a bit more useful: Magical Musketeer Starfire in attack mode!” Appearing in front of the other Sunset was a woman with long black hair and veil covering most of her face. She wore something that resembled something of a belly dancer’s outfit with its bare midriff, exposed shoulders and arms, as well as a long greenish skirt with bangles around the hips. Yet the skirt was short enough for Sunset to see the leather pants and boots underneath along with several holsters on them holding a single-shot gun on each. There was also a red, bat-like wing coming out of Starfire’s arm. Her attack points were 1300.


“Next, I’ll play the spell card Double Summon,” continued the other Sunset as she placed her card in the row behind Starfire. “This card allows me to perform one more additional normal summon this turn. In addition, since I activated this card in the same column as Starfire her effect allows me to special summon one level four or lower Magical Musketeer to my side of the field in defense mode. So please give a warm welcome to Magical Musketeer Caspar!” A dark portal opened up next to Starfire at the same time a powerful wind blew across the field. Out of that portal stepped a man with long, wild blond hair and mostly red attire. He wore something like a cloak while also having a red bat wing on one of his arms while holding his demonic looking gun in his bluish hand. After appearing on the field he took a knee displaying his 2000 defense points. “Now I will use the additional normal summon to sacrifice Starfire to summon Magical Musketeer Mastermind Zakiel!” Starfire vanished in a flash of light as a new monster took its place. Zakiel looked like a demon dressed for steampunk. In both of its bluish grey hands he held weapons of bronze she could see being carried in a convention hall. He was dressed in something like a Victorian tailcoat or maybe a western trench coat that was purplish in color with matching clothing underneath. Red horns curled back along his head and large red wings that glowed brightly were on his back. Sunset had to brace herself when she saw that its attack points were 2500!


“Let’s see, what else,” said the other Sunset in an almost mocking tone. She then grinned as she held up a card for Sunset to see. “I guess I’ll play a new card called Pot of Extravagance. All I have to do is banish three or six cards in my extra deck face down and then I can draw a card for every three cards I banished. So I’ll banish six to draw two cards.” With a grin, the other Sunset removed her cards without even looking at them. Like they were there to be nothing more than fodder for this card. “Now, Pot of Extravagance also states that I can’t draw anymore cards for the rest of this turn. But adding them to my hand is a completely different story. Since I activated this card in the same column as Caspar I can now add one Magical Musketeer card from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be taking my Magical Musketeer – Desperado!” The card slid out of the other Sunset’s deck which the girl took before the auto shuffler activated.


With five cards in her hand, the other Sunset gestured at Cannoneer. “Now it's time to attack!” she announced. “Zakiel, turn that monster into a pile of rubble!” Grinning Zakiel lifted both of his weapons while his eyes began to glow. Dark energy began to surround his weapons before they began to fire rapidly.


“I activate my trap card: Molten Whirlwind Wall!” yelled Sunset as her face down flipped face up. “This continuous trap card boosts the attack points of all Laval monsters on the field by 100 for each Laval monster in the graveyard. Right now I have five making Laval Cannoneer’s attack 2400. Might not beat your monster outright but it will lessen the blow.”


“Yeah, not happening,” said other Sunset as she picked out a card from her hand. “From my hand I activate the trap card Magical Musketeer – Last Stand! If while I control a Magical Musketeer when you activate a spell or trap card then it is negated and destroyed!”


“But you can’t!” shouted Sunset as missiles and gunfire exploded from the other hers card, flying about the place. “That’s a trap card meaning you have to set it first and wait-” Sunset was interrupted as the effects of the trap card hit her own, destroying it with enough force that she was forced back a few steps. As she did her life points dropped to 7400.


“In most cases that would be correct,” said the other Sunset as she put her hands on her hips. “However, one of the effects of my Magical Musketeers is that when their on the field I can activate their spell and trap card from my hand during either player's turn. So go ahead, it's your turn now.”


“Then I draw,” announced Sunset, taking her card before looking at the three in her hand. Ok, time to think. That other me is holding all the cards right now. She can use any Magical Musketeer card trap she wants whenever she wants without having to set them on the field. That means Lakeside Lady is useless unless she decides to set a monster. The only good news is that she can only do this with specific trap and spell cards while hoping she has the one she needs in her hand. I’m sure she has plenty in her deck, but there is a chance that she’ll draw multiple copies of one she doesn’t need. However, things aren’t looking too good for me right now. Nothing I have in my hand can help give me an edge in this duel. At least, not now. I’ll just have to have some faith in my deck and hope it comes through for me. At that moment, Sunset felt a hand resting on her shoulder. It lasted for only a moment, but there was weight to it as well as an unnatural amount of heat that most hands didn’t have.


“I play one card face down,” announced Sunset as a monster card appeared on her side of the field. “As well as setting that last two cards in my hand. That’ll do.”


“Sad, I’d hope you’d try just a little harder since you are so desperate to prove that story of yours,” said the other Sunset as she drew her card. With six cards in her hand, the other version of Sunset was in a strong position. “I summon Magical Musketeer Calamity in attack mode!” Appearing on her side of the field was a woman with 1500 attack points. Her red hair was cut short and she wore leather attire that allowed her midriff to be bare with a red cape with veins on it. Resting on her shoulder was a cannon of sorts, one that hummed with great power as its lights glowed whitish blue.


“I activate my spell card: Searing Fire Wall!” shouted Sunset as her card flipped right up. At the same time the ground in front of her began to crack and tear open allowing molten hot rock to appear. From the lava came wisps of flames that danced about as they slowly took on the forms of small, somewhat human-like creatures made solely of flames. “This card allows me to remove Laval monsters from my graveyard in order to special summon Laval Tokens, each level one with zero attack and defense, for each monster I banish. So I’ll remove all my Handmaidens and my Forest Sprite in order to gain four tokens in defense mode!”


“Bet you think that’ll help you,” replied the other Sunset as she looked over to Calamity. “But all you did was help me out since you activated a card in the same column as Calamity. Meaning I can use her effect!”


“Wait!” shouted Sunset in shock. “You mean it happens on either side of the field?”


“That’s right,” replied her other self. “Now Calamity has the effect to bring back one monster in my graveyard in defense mode! Welcome back Starfire!” A portal appeared at the far side of the other Sunset’s field as Starfire appeared in a kneeling position.


“Well I’m not done,” said Sunset as her other face down was revealed. “I activate my Pot of Acquisitiveness. With this card I target my three banished Handmaidens, shuffle them back into my deck, and then draw a card.” Sunset waited as she stared Zakiel, the monster directly across from where she had set her spell card to see what he would do. However, he just stood there and her alternate self didn’t do anything.


“Not bad I guess,” said the other Sunset after a moment. “Got back some of those banished cards and got a new card in your hand. Not that it will help you, but still not too bad. Me, I’m going to play my spell card Toon Table of Contents which allows me to add any toon card I want from my deck to my hand. So I’ll choose another Toon Table of Contents.”


“I think I get it,” said Sunset as she watched the spell card appear behind Starfire. “You can use that card to activate the effect of one of your monsters while searching for another copy of itself so you can do it all over again.”


“Of course,” replied the other Sunset as she got her card from her deck. “So now I can use Starfire’s effect to bring out Magical Musketeer Doc to the field in defense mode.” Appearing on the field was a man wearing a white lab coat with the same red cape that Calamity was wearing. In his hands were a long sniper rifle which he held with the greatest of care while taking a knee. His defense points were 1200.


Seeing this new monster caused Sunset to blink. “Hey, aren’t these monsters similar to the characters in Western Base?” Sunset had a feeling that she had seen these characters before, but it wasn’t until she saw Doc that things began to click. While their appearances were greatly different, and the one in the game looking far less demonic, there did seem to be a similar theme. Like Calamity reminded her of the Demolisher while Starfire could be the Fem Fatale. Doc seemed to be a mix of the Sniper and the Medic. Heck, Caspar could be the soldier or maybe a scout or something.


“Noticed it too?” asked the other Sunset, her voice softening a bit as she looked at her monsters. “I used to love playing that game, pretending the people who were giving me stress were the people I was shooting at.”


“I hear that,” said Sunset with a bit of a smile. “I prefer playing the heavy myself when I’ve had a rough day. Just screaming out while I mow down everything in sight.”


“That is the best,” agreed the other Sunset with an eager nod. There was something in her eyes that Sunset could see. It was like she was letting something out that she had been unable to take about, getting excited for the first time in a long time. “But sometimes I like to play the Fem Fatale so I can stab those bastards in the back. I just wish I could play again. Haven’t been able to since…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Sunset, eye hardening back. “Nice try. I switch my Caspar to attack mode before I attack. Zakiel, destroy her face down monster!” With a wicked smile and an evil glint in his eyes, Zakiel raised both of his weapons before firing a volley of bullets. As they flew across the field, Sunset’s card was revealed to be a creature made of stone that shattered when it was hit.


“You destroyed my Laval Miller,” announced Sunset as she reached for her deck. “When it’s sent to the graveyard due to battle, I can send two Laval monsters from my deck to the graveyard. First I’ll send my Lakeside Lady followed by a Handmaiden. Then, well, you should know how it goes. I’ll use Handmaiden to send a second and then a third before sending another Forest Sprite.”


The other Sunset rolled her eyes. “It won’t matter. Caspar! Calamity! Destroy her tokens!” Caspar fired first, holding his gun out like something out of an old western before firing it. A red bullet with lightning dancing around it flew across the field to destroy one of the tokens. As for Calamity, she was a bit more showy in her attack. Leaping up high into the air as her weapon began to hum loudly, Calamity fired a massive beam that destroyed another token. “With that I end my turn.”


“Then I draw!” announced Sunset as she drew her next card. With two cards in her hand she began to think about what she could do when the other her held up a card.


“I activate Magical Musketeer – Dancing Needles,” she said with a grin. “With this card, I can target three cards in either player’s graveyard and banish them. So I choose the three Handmaidens you put in there. I’m sure you have some way of returning them like before, but I doubt you have something like that on you right now.”


“Great,” muttered Sunset as she removed the three cards from her graveyard. She then reached for one of her cards and set it on the field. “I summon Flamevell Firedog in attack mode!” Leaping out of the ground was a dog like creature with 1900 attack points. Baring its fangs, this monster looked all the more menacing with its rock-like body with lava moving between its cracks. “When this monster destroys a monster in battle, I can special summon one fire monster from my deck with 200 or less defense points.”


“Too bad I won’t let you,” replied the other Sunset as she held up another trap card. “Remember Magical Musketeer – Desperado? This card targets one face up card on your side of the field and destroys it!” An energy blast from up above suddenly struck Firedog, destroying it as the monster cried out in pain.


“I…end my turn,” said Sunset as she looked at the only card in her hand. It might have helped her a little bit, but to make the most use out of it she knew she had to wait for the right moment. Right now, she wasn’t ready to do something like that.


“Then the effect of Zakiel activates,” said the other Sunset as her boss monster began to glow. “For every Magical Musketeer spell or trap card I used during this turn, I can draw an equal number of cards. So that means I get two cards. Then I enter my own draw phase.” With that, the other Sunset had six cards in her hand. “Now I switch all of my monsters to attack mode and then begin my battle phase. Caspar and Starfire: destroy her remaining tokens!” Caspar fired his weapon to destroy a token while Starfire twirled around, pulling guns out from under her skirt before firing a flurry of bullets at the remaining toke. Now Sunset stood there defenseless with nothing to protect her.


“Doc, attack her directly!” The other Sunset’s monster raised his sniper rifle as lightning began to dance around the barrel. When it fired, Sunset could see the air distort around it as if it were moving at supersonic speeds to break the sound barrier. The attack hit her straight in the chest causing the girl from another world to stumble backwards. Then…


Sunset found herself behind a desk. Before her were several adults in suits, yelling at her and shaking their fists in the air. She fought to keep her face neutral and calm, but inside she was frightened beyond believe. She wanted to lash out at them, to scream at them just as they were doing to her.


“Ms. Shimmer,” she heard one of them shouting. “How can you sit there and tell us to be patient?!? Two of the projects this company promised are behind schedule! Your best scientists are-”


“Are working on the project as we speak,” interrupted Sunset, her voice firm as it did its best not to let the fear and doubt inside her show. “They have assured me that progress is being made.”


“And we’re losing money!” cried another as they all began to yell.
 

It happened in what seemed like a flash, quickly fading as Sunset stumbled backwards while her life points dropped to 6000. In her confusion, a hand went to her chest where the bullet had struck, feeling some warmth there that was slowly fading away. What was that? It was like a memory or something, but Sunset had never been in anything like that. Could it be-


“Calamity, you’re up!” The sound of her voice from the other Sunset’s mouth caused Sunset to look up just in time. Calamity was in the air, her cannon charging up and ready to fire. Sunset only had time to raise an arm to shield herself when the blast hit her, surrounding her with light as her life points continued to drop to 4500. Then…


“What do you mean it’s still not done!” yelled Sunset as she stood in a dark office behind her desk. Outside the moon was shining brightly. The girl could feel her eyes beginning to droop while sleep fought to take hold. Without thinking she reached for the cup of coffee on her desk, drinking the now cold liquid as quickly as she could. “You told me yesterday that you were almost finished!”


“We don’t understand,” said the shaky voice on the other line. “There are bugs in the program that weren’t there yesterday! Bugs we fixed with the programming just keep returning no matter what we do! We’re doing the best we can to figure out what is happening.” Sunset growled as she threw her mug across her office, watching as it crashed against the wall. As it shattered, Sunset felt her fingers massaging her forehead. Her shoulders ached and her legs were beginning to give out. Slowly she sank into her hair as her scientists continued to talk.


She had no idea why this was happening. Things were going so well when it began. So well that she was considering hiring 20% more people to begin production! She had some of the best minds from all over the world working on this. So why was it that they were constantly being stalled on every front?


Sunset gasped as the light around her faded, the bright glow from her gem fading as well. Almost dropping her card, she reached down to take hold of it and bring it up to her eye level. It was clear that her magic was at work, but the question was why. Normally she had to touch someone or at least be close enough for her magic to work. So why was she seeing those memories, feeling the same way this other Sunset felt when she took direct damage?


“Zakiel, time to go to work and attack her directly!” shouted the other Sunset. The girl from another world watched as Zakiel raised his weapons and fired at her. As her life points dropped to 2000 her pendent began to glow once again.


Sunset stood within a dark void this time. Before her was the other her, on her hands and knees with tears running down her face as four large featureless faces floated around her. This clearly wasn’t a memory for Sunset knew none of this could be real. Perhaps this was like that one time she touched Pinkie and got a glimpse into her crazy mind. So sort of abstract construct of what was going on inside her head. A compilation of her thoughts and feelings rolled into one.


“They’re all counting on me,” said the other Sunset. “This company was entrusted to me. If I fail then everyone here suffers. I’m doing the best I can.”


“I lost my job because of you,” shouted one of the heads in what sounded like thousands of voices speaking at once. “I had a wife and children.”


“How could you bring this company to ruin?” asked another in the same multi-voice. “It was entrusted to you alone.”


“This isn’t your best and you know it,” said the third in the same tone as the other two. “You should be giving this all you can.”


“Or perhaps you want it to fail,” said the last one. “So someone else can take away this burden from you. That you know you’re not worthy enough to take control of this company.”
 

“I end my turn,” said the other Sunset as she folded her arms while Sunset herself gasped from shock. She looked across the field at the face that was so much like her own, feeling like she understood more where this version of her was coming from. How this happened was a question for another time, when her freedom wasn’t on the line. Because no matter how much she understood her opponent, Sunset knew she had to win this duel. She had to help her friends in this crisis with cards games and continue to go to school with them. Plus she didn’t want to go to jail for no reason.


“Then it’s my turn! Draw!” shouted Sunset as she drew, the wind whipping around her hard. She looked at the card she drew and her eyes widened. “I play the spell card Monster Reborn to bring back a monster in my graveyard.”


As she placed the card in the same column as Zakiel, the other Sunset chuckled. “A nice try. I play the trap card Magical Musketeer – Last Stand! You remember this one. It negates and destroys the spell or trap you were about to activate. Meaning you’ve lost your only hope at a comeback.”


“Oh I wouldn’t say that,” said Sunset as she place another spell card in the same column where Monster Reborn had been. “Because now I play Rekindling! This card is like Monster Reborn but better. I can now special summon as many fire monsters as I want from my graveyard as long as they have 200 defense points. Only catch is that they are removed from play during my end phase. So let's welcome Flamevell Firedog, Laval Magma Cannoneer, Laval Lancelord, Laval Lakeside Lady, and lastly my Laval Forest Sprite.” Flames rose in front of Sunset, becoming a wall that blocked her vision from the rest of the field for a moment before her monsters emerged from the flames. The first two she saw were Cannoneer and Firedog, quickly taking to the field in attack mode. Then there was Laval Lakeside Lady, a woman in a bluish dress covering her rock-like skin as her hair made of literal flames ran down her back. Forest Sprite was a young boy with the same skin and hair as Lakeside Lady, but with a brown hood wrapped around his head while his arms and legs looked super heated as if they were about to melt. As for Lancelord, he was a large giant of a man with the same rocky skin as the rest of them. He wore a mask that crossed over his face to cover both his mouth as well as his left eye and in his left hand was his namesake: a lance made of lava.


“You’ve been looking down at my cards since this duel began,” continued Sunset as flames licked the forms of her monsters. “But now I’ll show you their real power. I tune my level three Lakeside Lady with my level four Magma Cannoneer!” Both of Sunset’s monsters rose up into the air with Magma Cannon turning into four rings while Lakeside Lady become three stars that passed through them. As Sunset began her chat, the color of both the rings and stars changed from green to a mix of red and orange. “Erupting from the world like blood from a wound. The cannons roar with the sound of battle. Take your stand in this war with a weapon that will never leave your side! Synchro summon Level 7: Laval Stennon!” At the end of her chant, a pillar appeared on the field instead of the greenish beam of light that normally occurred during this summoning. From the middle of the pillar a figure was seen leaping out of it, black flipping onto the field before his massive feet slammed onto the ground. Laval Stennon was a massive, hulking blue skinned man with thick veins covering his rock-like skin with a small head. Parts of his body were covered in a silvery metal that shined brightly and coming out of his chest was a massive three pronged pyramid. Golden rings looped around his shoulder blades as well as around his waist like a belt. His weapon was a his arm which had been replaced with a massive cannon giving him his 2700 attack points.


As he stood there, both Sunset’s watched as Stennon lifted his hand and looked down at it. Slowly he began to flex his fingers as if he were testing them out. Once he had done that, Stennon lowered his arm before rolling his shoulder around causing them to pop and crack loudly. The figure chuckled to himself in a gritty fashion before turning to look directly at its summoner.


“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked as steam came out of his mouth. “We’ve been itching for a good fight for a while now.” Sunset’s eyes widened at this, her pupils becoming tiny dots before expanding rapidly in glee. Her cards! They were acting in the same manner as Twilight’s!


“Right!” shouted Sunset. “Next I’ll-”


“Watch your monster as he gets destroyed!” interrupted the other Sunset, causing Stennon to turn and look at her. “I activate another copy of Magical Musketeer – Desperado! And I’ll use it to destroy that monster!” As a beam of energy fired down from the sky, Stennon folded his arms as he looked up at it with a grin while the golden rings around him began to glow. Meanwhile, Sunset removed Lakeside Lady from her graveyard. The beam then seemed to stop a few feet from Stennon as if an invisible barrier protected him. “What? But how? My trap card should have destroyed your monster!”


“Stennon has the equipment needed to protect himself,” replied the former unicorn while Stennon cracked his neck loudly. “By removing one Laval monster from my graveyard, I can negate the activation of any effect that targets him and then destroy it.” The other Sunset’s eyes widened at the realization of her words. She then looked at the cards in her cards, her eyes darting back and forth frantically. No doubt trying to see if there was anything she could do in this situation.


“Now, as I was saying,” continued Sunset. “I’m not done bringing monsters out. I tune my level two Laval Forest Sprite with my level four Flamevell Firedog!” Once more, Sunset’s monsters transformed into stars and rings. Only this time they started out as reddish orange instead of green before a pillar of flames was formed while Sunset began her chant. “Sear flesh and bone with your mighty flames. Walk through the battle without fear. Rise now proud warrior of the Laval tribe. Synchro Summon Level 6: Laval the Greater!” As Sunset finished her chant, a rock like had emerged from the flames and, with a sweeping motion, dispelled them. Standing there was a tall, slender rock like man with 2400 attack points. While his form started off as grey, his arms and legs began to glow a ghostly blue as similarly colored flames flickered around limbs. He eyed the field with his red eyes, bringing bother arms behind his back as he did so.


“So, this was what I was called to deal with?” he asked in a gritty yet bored tone as he tilted his head. Like with Stennon, steam emerged from his mouth as he spoke.


“Because Laval Forest Sprite was sent to the graveyard, all of my Laval monsters gain 200 extra attack points while they’re on the field,” continued Sunset, ignoring the Greater. As she said this Laval the Greater’s attack points rose to 2600 while Stennon’s went to 2900. As for Laval Lancelord his attack rose to 2300. “Now it’s time for my attack! Laval Stennon, let's show Zakiel who has the bigger guns!”


“Gladly,” replied Stennon with a grin. He raised his cannon arm up, its insides beginning to glow while Zakiel raised his own weapons. Zakiel fired first, his bullets flying towards Stennon with the intent to kill. But that changed when Stennon fired his own weapon, sending a blob of lava across the field. Zakiel’s bullet vanished in the flames without slowing down at all before he himself was consumed by the superheated liquid rock and destroyed. The other Sunset’s eyes widened in shock and horror at this while her life points dropped to 6600.


“Now to stop you from searching!” exclaimed Sunset as she pointed to Caspar. “Laval the greater, destroy that gunman.” Laval the Greater didn’t say anything, only shrugging as he brought one of his arms forward until it was level with Caspar. Magical Musketeer Caspar readied his own weapon but it was too late as flames shot out of Laval the Greater’s hand with such force that both Sunset’s had to cover their ears due to the sound it created. When the flames died down, all that was left of Caspar was a pair of smoking boots that soon exploded as the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 5200.


“Lancelord, stop her from reviving anymore of her monsters! Destroy Calamity!” At Sunset’s command, Lancelord threw his weapon like a javelin across the field. Calamity raised her weapon in an attempt to blow it out of the sky only to get skewered while waiting for her weapon to charge. As Calamity burst into flames and vanished the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 4400. “With that I end my turn and Laval Lancelord is banished due to the effects of Rekindling.”


“Then it’s my turn,” said the other Sunset, drawing her fifth card after Lancelord vanished from the field. “Don’t think that that lucky move means I’m beaten. I still have more cards to play! Sooner or later I’ll get around those monsters and finish this duel so you are out of the way! I have too many people counting on me to keep this company running.”


“Sunset,” said the former pony girl as she thought about her own past. About how she felt when she had been given the duty of being in charge of the year book. About the time when she needed to figure out how magic was appearing during the Friendship Games. About her time with Princess Celestia. “I know what you’re going through. All this stress you’re under, all the expectations you feel you need to meet. Believe me, I’ve been there myself and it's caused me to lash out more than once. If I had known I’d cause you more stress then-”


“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” screamed the other Sunset, shocking the former unicorn as well as her two monsters. “From the day I was adopted, I was raised to one day take over this company. To keep it as the number one gaming company in the world. If I fail, then it’s not just me who suffers but everyone who works here! They might all lose their jobs including my only friend! I won’t let that happen so I’ll do whatever it take, even if people start thinking I’m a jerk. Besides, a boss isn’t supposed to be everybody’s friend. They need to be the boss!


“Enough of this! I summon Magical Musketeer Wild in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a monster that fit the description of a heavy. Wild was a large man with no shirt, tattoos covering his bare chest with some of them being obscured by his long hair. On both of his arms were insanely large, trident shaped guns that no sane man would ever use outside of some generic 90’s comic with two sets of missile launchers on both shoulders. Despite all of this weaponry his attack was only 1700. “Now I’ll play the copy of Toon Table of Contents in the same column as his. With this, I get another copy of Toon Table while Wild’s effect activates. I select three Magical Musketeer cards in my graveyard, shuffle them into my deck, and then draw one card. So I’ll be selecting Calamity, Zakiel, and Caspar.” The other Sunset paused for a moment to take said cards out of her graveyard slot and place them on the top of her deck. The auto-shuffler engaged, mixing up her deck before spitting out a card for her. The other Sunset looked at it…and grinned.


“Perfect!” she announced as she slide the card right behind Doc. “I activate Magical Musketeer – Steady Hands! This spell card allows me to select one Magical Musketeer on my field and double its attack and defense points. So I choose Magical Musketeer Wild!” Wild threw back his head to roar as his size doubled while his attack points rose to 3400! “Also, since I activated my card in the same column as Doc, I can add one Magical Musketeer card in my graveyard to my hand. I think Magical Musketeer – Desperado would be a good choice. Now, time to show Stennon what real fire power is all about! Magical Musketeer Wild, destroy him!” Laval Stennon threw out his arms in a ‘bring it on fashion’ while beginning to laugh wildly as Wild fired all of his weapons. Missiles, bullets, and even grenades flew across the field exploding on the laughing hulk. Sunset watched as Stennon just kept laughing without fear as his body was reduced to dust and was blown away leaving Sunset with 1500 life points.


“Next I’ll activate my trap card: Magical Musketeer – Desperado!” yelled the other Sunset as she held up the card. “Now I can destroy your last line of defense before the rest of my monsters finish you off!” Above their heads appeared another beam of energy shooting down towards Laval the Greater. Said Laval monster simply looked up at it, with his hands folded behind his back.


Before the beam could hit, the door to the roof was flung open. Both Sunsets turned in time to watch as two men in black suits were tossed through the open doorway followed by rolling on the ground as they landed. Shortly after that, a rainbow colored blur shoot through with the rest of Sunset’s friends who had witnessed her kidnapping this afternoon. “Sunset!” they shouted I unison.


“I’m ok,” she shouted back before returning to the duel. “I activate Laval the Greater’s effect. If this monster would be destroyed by a card effect, I can banish one Laval monster instead. So I’ll banish Laval Stennon in order to save Laval the Greater.” As Sunset removed the monster, the blue flames around Laval the Greater grew quickly as they surrounded him. The beam hit the flames and was stopped by the scorching heat. With her monster safe, Sunset turned to looked at her friends again. “How did you girls manage to find me?”


“And how did you manage to get past all my security?” demanded the other Sunset.


“That’s easy,” replied Rainbow with a wave of her hand. “Twilight here used her super science gizmo to find you. As for the guys in the black suits, well…”


-x-


Below, dozens of men in black suits littered the floors of the building. All of them large, muscular men with either shaved heads or having pointed hairstyles. Some of them still had on their sunglasses, but the majority of them had been removed or laid shattered on their faces. Their suits were ripped in various places and looked disheveled. Only a few were still awake, but too sore to move.


“Hey Joey,” one man moaned.


“Yeah Tristan,” said a man with his back to the wall.


“Did we just get our asses kicked by several girls using magical powers?” asked Tristan.


“I believe they were teenagers,” replied Joey.


“Does that make it any better?”


“…If anyone asks, we fought an army of very angry gorillas.”


-x-


“Don’t ya go an worry about them,” said Applejack as she cracked her knuckles. “We’ll get ya out of here all lickity split.”


“And then we’ll celebrate with banana splits,” added Pinkie Pie.


“Thanks,” said Sunset as she looked at her double. “But I need to finish this. I need to prove to her who I am and help her understand. If I don’t, if I just leave here, she’ll just come back again and again because she’s like me. She won’t give up. Not until she’s confronted with the truth. Go on, finish your move.” The other Sunset’s head jerked at this, surprised by Sunset’s declaration of her intent. She then eyed the other girls for a moment before looking back at Sunset.


“Are you sure?” she asked.


Sunset nodded. “I’m willing to honor our agreement. If I lose, I’ll still remain here while you do whatever you feel is necessary to find out who I am. Because I owe you that much.”


The other Sunset didn’t respond at first. Instead, her head bowed down to stare at her duel disk as both hair and shadows covered the other Sunset’s features. Sunset could only guess what was going through her double’s mind. That this might be a trick or something like that. Maybe fear of trusting her or that Sunset was telling the truth. Then, slowly, the other Sunset raised her head again and took a breath.


“I switch my remaining monsters into defense mode and end my turn,” she said firmly.


“Then it’s my draw,” said Sunset as she drew a card. She looked at it, the only card in her hand, and smiled. “Looks like my deck is coming through for me. I summon Laval Cannon in attack mode!” At once the ground cracked in front of Sunset, lava pouring out from the opening to form a humanoid monster with skin that looked like it was made out of blue stone. This 1600 attack point monster looked a lot like Stennon, only with a far less bulky frame and almost no armor save for the stones that wrapped around his body and the eye patch he wore. “When he is summoned to the field, I can also target and special summon one of my banished Laval monsters to the field! So I’m bringing back my Stennon!” The ground cracked open, lava pooling out as Stennon’s had reached out to grab at the solid rock.


“Oh no, don’t help me,” said Stennon sarcastically after his head popped out, glaring at Laval the Greater as he attempted to get onto the field. “I’ve got this. Just keep standing there pretending that you’re imposing.”


Laval the Greater looked over at Stennon with half lidded eyes. An impressive feat considering he had no visible eyelids. “You seem to be managing just fine. But perhaps if you put more effort into moving your body instead of your mouth, you might actually get out.”


“Hey guys,” interrupted Sunset, getting the two monsters attention. “Why don’t you save your fighting for your opponent instead of each other?” At that Stennon chuckled darkly as he got onto the field while lines of steam rose from his body. Laval the Greater simply nodded before looking forward again. “Good, because now it’s time to battle! Laval Cannon, destroy Doc. Laval the Greater, take out Starfire! Laval Stennon, attack her Wild!” Sunset’s monsters went to work instantly with Cannon firing a blob of lava similar to Stennon but much smaller. Doc tried to block the attack with his weapon, holding it up like a shield only for the weapon to melt in his hands as the lava then hit him in the chest. Needless to say he was destroyed on the spot. Starfire tried to fight back as well but the flames of Laval the Greater were too fast and too powerful leaving not even ask behind. With those two down, Wild tried to fire at Stennon but Sunset’s hulking monster had already closed the distance between them. Stennon’s massive hand grabbed Wild by the back while his cannon arms was pressed right into Wild’s stomach. A moment later there was a hole in the Magical Musketeer’s chest, causing him to fall to his knees while the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 3400.


“With that, I end my turn,” said Sunset.


“Th-Then I draw,” stammered the other Sunset, not that the former pony blamed her. Her position was not good. From what Sunset had seen, her Magical Musketeer’s were not strong but instead relied on traps from the hand to gain their advantage. The strongest monster she had used was Zakiel and he couldn’t overpower either of her Synchro monsters. She would need to get a card strong enough onto the field and then use something like that Steady Hand card again. That was possibility Sunset could see at this moment.


The other Sunset drew her card, looked at it, and then almost sank to her knees. Clearly, this wasn’t a card she was hoping for.


“I place one monster face down and end my turn,” said the other Sunset.


“Then I draw,” said Sunset as she drew from her deck. “I activate the effect of the Lakeside Lady sleeping in my grave. By banishing both her and another Laval monster, I can destroy one of your face down cards. So I remove her and Forest Sprite to destroy your face down monster.” The other Sunset took a step backwards as the ground broke near her, lava pooling out again before Lakeside Lady appeared in the same fashion as a swimmer breaking through the water. The laval monster then turned and placed a hand on the card which burned with her touch before sinking back into the lava. Now the field was clear, with no monsters and no potential traps to protect her from the three monsters on Sunset’s side of the field. “I believe this is game.”


With a nod of her head, the other Sunset lowered her duel disk.


-x-


Later that day, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were standing in front of the statue at Canterlot High. The sun had set some time ago leaving the grounds empty and deserted as they just sat there, waiting. What they were waiting would be unknown to anybody who was just passing by. Unless, of course, they had the expert timing to see twin Sunset Shimmers coming out of the base of the statue. While one looked remarkably calm the other looked like she was about to have a panic attack.


“All my things were horse things!” she shouted while on her hands and knees.


“Actually, they were pony things,” said Sunset Shimmer as she reached out with her hand to help her twin up. The other girl looked at it for a moment before accepting it, quickly being brought to her feet. “Unicorn things to be exact.”


“This…how can it be real?” asked the other Sunset as she turned to look at the statue.


“Believe me sugarcube, we’ve known about it for a while an sometimes ah still can’t believe it,” commented Applejack.


The other Sunset turned to the version of herself that was a student at the school. “You came from a world with no pollution, magic, and ponies?!? My eight year old self would have killed to live there!”


“And don’t forget that she used to be tutored by an actual pony princess!” added Pinkie Pie in a chipper tone. Sunset moved to cover her friend’s mouth to keep her from blabbing anything else out, but the damage was done. The other Sunset Shimmer’s jaw had dropped as she stared at her with wide eyes.


“Look, if things were that good, I would have stayed or just gone back,” said Sunset as she let go of Pinkie’s mouth. “I guess this is my fault in a way. When I realized that there were copies of ponies I knew in this world, I should have realized that I might have one as well. That something like this would have happened sooner or later. You know, the whole meeting my double and her being freaked out. But back when I first came here I was more focused on my own plan and after that I figured you probably were in a different town or something since I hadn’t seen you.”


The other Sunset let out a sigh. “I guess I can’t blame you,” she said while shaking her head. “If you had come to my office or home, I would have thought this was a scam or that you were a crazy person. And if I had never gotten that email then I never would have known. Just wish I had acted better for our first meeting.”


“Yeah,” said Sunset as she scratched the back of her head, sparing a glance at her friends real quick. “I can relate.” She paused for a moment. “So, what happens next?”


“Well,” began the other Sunset as she coughed into a fist. “First of all, I need to take action before the press finds out about you. I still have to keep my investors and the board from thinking I’m acting like a character in Disney show. By morning a cover story will be made saying you’re my long lost twin sister or something like that. I’ll make sure you get a social security number and falsify a few other documents to create a paper trail so that no one will suspect anything. That way you’ll be able to live out the rest of your life in peace without having to worry about people finding out you’re technically an illegal alien.”


“You can do that?” asked Sunset Shimmer in disbelief. “Just like that?”


“Wouldn’t be…Yes, yes I can,” replied the other Sunset as she nervously looked around for a moment. “I mean, I have the money and the resources so it shouldn’t be a problem. All I ask is that in a couple of days we make a point of ‘finding’ each other. Bits will be leaked to the press and, if it’s a slow news day, they might run it for a minute or two. As long as it's out there and I’m not trying to hide it they most likely won’t care. So that’ll be one less thing I have to worry about.”


“Thank you,” said Sunset with a small smile. “I don’t know how I can say thank you.”


The other Sunset shrugged. “Well, I am doing this for myself and to say sorry for the whole ‘bringing you in at gunpoint’ thing. So I guess there’s no need to for thanks.” She then looked a little nervous. “But, if you don’t mind, perhaps sometime you would help me unwind with a shooter game?”


“Deal,” replied Sunset instantly, smiling as she extended her hand. The other Sunset seemed surprised by the suddenness of the action but only for a moment.


“You have no idea what this means to me,” she said as she embraced her pony counterparts hand, shaking it while looking around. “Ah, what happened to your others friends? They were here when we left for ponyland.”


“Oh,” said Applejack as she stood up. “Twi had ta run home and Rainbow went with her. So varmint broke in and ransacked the place. Thankfully no one was home.”


-x-


A loud clang from behind her caused Cinch to turn her seat around. Standing there was her two young helpers, Adagio looked pleased with herself and Aria looking as grumpy as ever. Between the two was a pillow case that looked half full of something. Cinch eyed the bag, quickly putting together what had happened.


“Decided to do a little shopping at the Sparkle’s residence?” she asked while leaning back in her chair.


“Figured it would look more like a robbery,” said Adagio as she bent down and opened the bag. The girl reached in and then pulled out a handful of jewelry. Necklaces, rings, and a watch threatened to fall from her grasp as she held them up so Cinch could properly see them. “While Aria was putting in the virus, I decided to help myself to some of the family’s expensive crap. I figure there might come a time when we need a little extra cash so we’ll hold onto it for now.” Aria let out a huff before rolling her eyes at this.


“Well, I suppose that is good forward thinking,” said Cinch as she brought her hands together. “I have already received the email containing all of my former student’s plans. With this we will be one step closer to achieving our goals.”


“What about the moron at Kaiba Corp?” asked Aria in a bored tone.


“He sent me a text message saying everything went well on his end,” said Cinch with a nod. “As long as no one looks too deep at his forgery, we should be getting our capture disks soon.”
> Diamond Skin and Silver Steel (Diamond/Silver vs. Snips/Snails) part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diamond Tiara stood there, her hands full of cards as she looked across the field. Before her was a village of strangelooking rocky huts with odd, disgusting creatures walking around wearing Speedos in the background. Staring at her from across the field were two monsters, one looking like a giant egg man with eyestalks coming out of his head while the other was a knight with similar eyestalks…with a red Speedo on the outside of his armor! Who would do something like that? As for herself, Diamond had nothing. No monsters to protect herself from the attack. No trap cards to surprise her foe. Just an empty field and a hand full of cards that she could have used if she had only gotten the chance.


“Now for the, ah, attack,” said Snails slowly in his normal goofy tone. “Ojama Knight, attack her directly!”


“At once my lord,” said the monster in an annoyingly high pitched voice that grated on every single nerve Diamond had. Diamond Tiara braced herself as Ojama Knight then raced across the field, sword in hand, before slashing her across the chest. As she fell to one knee her life points dropped as well, stopping at 1000.


As the dust began to clear away, Diamond looked up at her opponent who still had that dim witted expression on his face. Slightly sloughed over with his tongue sticking out, you could put his picture in the dictionary next to the word stupid and no one would complain. Not even him! Next to Snails was his best friend and slightly smarter stooge Snips who looked like he was about to wet himself with delight. Chubby and short, the boy seemed to be having the time of his life watching as Diamond even though he wasn’t the one dueling her. A wave of revolution swept over her as she realized what was about to happen. She was going to lose this duel. TO SNAILS! How could she? She had a Blue-Eyes deck as well as access to some of the best support cards money could buy. She was smarter than her opponent in almost every way she could think of. But somehow, in a single turn, Snails had prevented her from doing anything.


“Ojama King, you do, ah, the same,” said Snails. The egg man spread his arms before leaping into the air only to do a belly flop on top of Diamond, bringing her life points to zero.


As the holograms began to fade around her, Diamond saw that there were more people around her. Faceless people in the crowds, light shooting out of their eyes and mouths as they grinned sadistically at her. The rich girl tried to stand up but her arms and legs had been chained up as if by magic of some kind. She then noticed that on her designer shirt there was the word ‘SLAVE’ written in large bold letters. Frantically, Diamond raised her arms to her clothing and tried desperately to rub them out while the sound of the crowd laughing at her as well as the rattling of her chain filled the air around her. But it was no use. The words refused to come out! Looking up, Diamond saw both Snips and Snails towering over her with the same bizarre smiles on their face. Together they reached down… 


Diamond shot up from her bed, panting as she sat up while sweat rolled down her skin. The room was pitch black save for the light coming from her electric alarm clock. She didn’t bother to look at it, just lying back down as she fought to keep her breathing under control. Despite the warmth of the house the girl shivered while pulling the blankets closer to herself.


Things were not good for her, not good at all. She could remember how this whole ordeal started. She and Silver Spoon had been walking home several weeks ago, talking to each other, when Snails suddenly approached them and challenged her to a duel. Not only that but he had also made an odd challenge: if he won then she would have to feed him during their shared lunch period! Frankly the idea was sickening as well as degrading for a person of her stature. It was enough to make her want to reject it the moment she heard it. But she didn’t for two reasons. The first had to do with her mother. Spoiled Rich had always told her that she should never show weakness nor should she ever lose to those of lower standings. That it would affect her in the eyes of high society. While Diamond was sure she could have played it off like it was beneath her or that the demand was so outrageous that she wouldn’t even consider it, rumors would more than likely spread that she was scared of dueling him. That she was scared. That she was weak. If her mother ever found about it then Diamond would never hear the end of it. She might even order her to duel Snails, demanding to know how the duel went as soon as she got home.


The other reason was, well, that she was confident that she could, in fact, win. Diamond Tiara was not some rich little girl with a deck of cards, bragging about their worth and having no idea how to play. No, she knew the game well. She always tested her decks with online simulators and with her best friend. She dueled with other members at the country club full of the rich and influential families in the area so it wouldn’t matter much in the eyes of her mother if she lost. And most of the people she dueled there really, really good! So despite Silver Spoons warning about the duel, she agreed on the condition that Snails not bother her again when she won.


Sadly, things had not played out well for Diamond. Not in the slightest. She had lost in a truly humiliating fashion the likes of which she had never experienced before in her life. Snails had gone first and, in one turn, prevented Diamond from summoning anything and none of the cards in her hand could help her. She was helpless, watching as his disgusting monsters attacked her over and over again until her life points were gone. She had to keep her word, even though she groaned about it every day on her way to school.


Turing onto her side, Diamond thought that it should be behind her. But it wasn’t. Snails had challenged her again and again with the stakes growing more and more revolting. If he won she would have to feed him during lunch and rub his shoulders. If he won she would have to feed him, rub his shoulders, and rub his feet. Clean his locker and so on. Each time Diamond had lost. When she went first she managed to get a powerful field set up only to be completely destroyed by those gremlins he called monsters while Snips watched gleefully from the sidelines. When he went first she was prevented from doing anything. It made no sense. How could somebody as stupid as Snails be able to do all of this?


She knew it wasn’t just her. Diamond had seen Snails dueling Micro Chip once in passing, witnessing the loss as well as Snips reminding the nerd of their deal. That if Snails had won then Micro would have to do their homework for a week. Then there was the rumor that they had dueled Granny Smith in order to get more food for their lunch. Diamond had heard a grand total of five rumors with five different people being the victims, all of them sharing similar details to her own duels against the Snails.


Diamond closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today was to be the last day of her recent deal. No doubt he was going to challenge her again, upping the stakes. Hopefully this time she would win.


-x-


Breakfast was a silent affair as normal within the Rich household. Diamond sat there, nervously eating her breakfast while glancing around to see if her parents would be joining her. Her father, Filthy Rich, normally ate breakfast with her so they could spend what little time they had together before going off. Sometimes he would help her pop some last minute questions before a test, like how he would ask her to spell various words that would be on a spelling test as she ate. Lately, however, he had been very busy as he was in a hostile takeover of the business of somebody named Well-To-Do. Something about him being caught in a major crime, his stocks being low, and he could do…something. Most of his business talk went over her head. And it was clearly leaving him very stressed. She had seen it in the few times when she had seen in these last few weeks, looking tired and worn before putting up a good front for her. Spoiled Rich was a different story. Most morning’s she was nowhere to be seen, having breakfast in a fancy yet public place to better show off her status. With the new money that her father hoped would be coming in she was busy making plans on what to do with it. Sadly, this wasn’t most mornings.


“I tell you the way these schools are being run,” Spoiled muttered as she entered the large dining room, her heels clicking with each step she took. In one hand she held a tablet from which she read while in the other was a smoothie. The elder woman was wearing her normal condescending frown as she sat down. “Just what is Celestia thinking? Subpar standards for hiring teachers. Just letting any riffraff attend. Honestly, that place shouldn’t even allow those low class peons to attend. It’s no wonder that test scores are so low these days.”


Diamond bit her lower lip as she put her spoon down. She wanted to remind her mother that it was a public school system. While she was the head of the school board, that did not give her the right or the power to make such changes. She knew enough that all they did was establish policies and the like, but she doubted they had enough power to reject students based on their family’s income. She didn’t, however, since she would rather not get into anything with her mother first thing in the morning.


“Then there is that sister of hers,” Spoiled continued, not seeming to notice that Diamond was still there. “Always thought it was wrong to hire family. Conflict of interests while graining another voice within the school to agree with her. Perhaps I need to show them who’s in charge over there. Get Celestia to stop fighting me on some of these issues.”


Having heard enough, Diamond stood up and picked up her bowl. She was about to bring it to the kitchen when her mother suddenly looked up. “Diamond Tiara, just what do you think you are doing?” she snapped, setting down her tablet. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the girl as she gulped.


“I just thought I’d,” began Diamond.


“Putting dishes away is servants work!” snapped Spoiled again in a harsh tone. “It is not fitting for someone of our class to clean up after themselves. That’s what their paid for.”


“I was just trying to be nice,” said Diamond. However, despite this she set the bowl down on the table. As soon as she did, one of the maids rushed into the room as if sensing work that needed to be done. Quickly it was removed and the area polished before the maid vanished from sight, never saying a word.


“We are rich, Diamond,” said Spoiled as she stood up. She then walked over to her daughter, looking as imposing as she could. “We don’t have to be nice. We pay people to do the job for us and we expect it to be done accordingly with their heads lowered. That is there place. Your place is above them. You are not equals in any way.” Spoiled sighed as she shook her head. “This is exactly the thing I have been telling that Principal of yours. All this talk of friendship and equality is simply utter nonsense. People do not just help each other out just because they like each other. If anyone out there is willing to help, they expect something in return. Like, say, access to our money. Do you understand?”


Diamond merely nodded, not wanting to say anything that might get her mother really going. Hopefully she would end it here and Diamond would be able to leave for school. No such luck.


“While I have your attention there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about,” continued Spoiled as she moved back to her seat. As she sat down Spoiled began to move her finger around the rim of her glass slowly as she gave Diamond a piercing look. “Certain rumors have been coming to my attention that you have been seen with two boys. That you are acting like some love stricken girl, desperate to gain their attention. I am sure these are just rumors. However, given the fact that my source is normally very reliable I thought I’d double check.”


“T-There’s no one at school that I like,” said Diamond quickly, her blood turning to ice as she said this. “At least not like that.” Her heart began to race, fearing what might be coming.


“That’s good,” replied her mother coldly. “I would hate to think that a daughter of mine isn’t living to her full potential. But, if I find out you are lying to me, then I will send you to St. Misery’s All Girls School for the Elite like I wanted to. And believe me when I say I will find out sooner or later.” Spoiled then tapped her finger on the table several times, watching as Diamond’s eyes widened in fear. “Your father probably thought it would be more cost effective to send you to public school despite my own objections. But if I find out that you haven’t been holding yourself to the expectations I have set out then I will simply have to put my designer heels down. St. Misery will set you straight making you a proper lady of high society.”


-x-


“What kind of a name is St. Misery?” asked Silver Spoon as the two walked to school. This was one of the little pleasures of ‘commoner life’ that Diamond had managed to get past her mother. She had explained it as a chance to cheaply burn calories without needing a gym membership so she could look her best while also getting some window shopping done. It made sense to her mother since on the way from their mansion to the school was littered with plenty of trendy shops…or at least the bare minimum of what her mother considered acceptable for her to look at. It also helped free up the limo without having her daughter resort to using public transportation. In reality, it gave her more time to talk to her best friend. For both of them to vent their frustrations going on in their daily lives without worrying that someone might overhear them. Someone like a limo driver who might overhear them talking about something his employer asked him to listen for and reporting back.


“I don’t know,” said Diamond as she lowered her head to sigh. As she did, that new blue haired student ran past them with a breakfast burrito in her mouth. “All I know is that it made my mom ‘the proper lady of high society that she is today’. In other words it will make me into a proper bitch.”


“Yeah, like totally,” agreed Silver with a half laugh. Diamond could only smile weakly as she looked at her friend. “So, what are you going to do?”


Diamond sighed. “I guess I have to win this time when Snails challenges me,” she replied.


Silver made a face, slowing down a bit as she did while placing a hand on Diamond’s arm. “Or, and I’m just throwing this out there, you could just say no,” replied her friend. “Diamond, no one is forcing you to do this. All you have to do is say no and no one will think any less of you.”


“My mom will,” muttered Diamond as she lowered her head. “You remember that time I lost that election for class president back in the third grade? She like completely flipped out! The only reason she stopped berating me was because Daddy came home early. And that was back when I had an ‘excuse’ as she put it! Now I don’t know what will make her explode more. The fact that I lost several duels to Snails or if I refused to duel him to prove I’m better. She might send me away to St. Misery just for that!”


“Well, like, maybe you could talk to your dad?” suggested Silver. As she did, the trio of girls who called themselves the CMC (she wasn’t sure what it stood for) shot past them. One of them was riding a scooter while the other two were on bikes. “You could totally ask him to get that witch off your back. Or at least for some advice. You know he would totally help you out if you asked.”


Diamond sighed, shaking her head as she did so. “Look, can we like just drop it for now?” she asked. “I just want to-” As the two turned a corner to see two familiar faces waiting to greet them, the sight of which stopped Diamond in mid-sentence. Snips was wearing his normal black shirt with a large silver scissors on it, his back pressed against the wall with his arms crossed. If she had to guess he was trying his best to look threatening or at least tough. Snails, on the other hand, just sort of stood there in his green sweater vest looking at them with a dopey smile on his face. As Snails raised his hand to greet them, Snips moved over to him so as to quickly punch the idiot on the shoulder before returning to his spot on the wall.


“Hey, why did you,” began Snails as he began to rub his shoulder before his eyes suddenly widened. Like he had remembered something very important. Then he too crossed his arms, wincing slightly as he did so, and giving both girls a similar look as his buddy. “Hey there Diamond Tiara. You ready to duel again today?”


“Yeah,” said Snips with a grin. “You never know. Today might be your lucky day.”


Diamond stood there, feeling utterly trapped as she did so. She knew the right thing to do was to refuse. To tell him to take a flying leap and make her way to school as fast as she could. But she was afraid to. Her mother had just told her that she had some source at school that told her about what she was doing for this guy. If she refused and rumors started to spread would she hear that as well? But if she did agree to duel and lose again she would almost certainly find out! The only way out of this was looking like she would have to duel him and win. But could she after all of this time?


“Hey, haven’t you two dummies pushed this far enough?” snapped Silver Spoon, moving forward so quickly that two boys flinched. With hands on her hips Silver focused all of her attention at the pair. “You beat her in a duel. Several in fact. There. Now how about you find someone else to bully for a while?”


“Well actually,” began Snails as he raised a hand. Only he was stopped as Snips raced over to him and placed a hand squarely over the taller boy’s mouth, standing on his tiptoes to do so.


“What’s the matter?” asked Snips, a touch of nervousness in his voice as he spoke. Slowly he released his friend who began to rub his mouth slowly. “It’s not like Snails here is forcing her to do anything she didn’t agree to. Or dueling her for her lunch money or like that. No, just making my friend a bit more comfortable during lunch. How is that so wrong?”


“Well right now I’d rather just pay you to stop,” grumbled Diamond.


Snails brightened at that. “Oh alright,” he said. “How about-” Once again he was silenced by Snips who almost tackled the boy to the ground.


“What my friend meant to say is how about one more duel,” he said while giving Snails a meaningful look. “But this time for all the marbles.” Snails mumbled something that could have been ‘but I don’t have any marbles’. “If you win, not only will we leave you alone for good but we’ll both owe you one favor. No matter what you want we’ll do. But if Snails here wins again then you will become our slave for the rest of the year!”


Diamond felt her blood running cold when he said that. There was no telling what those two would have her do! Plus, knowing them, they might just call her during any time of the day demanding that they do the most annoying things for them. Like maybe brushing their teeth or doing their chores. What’s worse was that it would no doubt make it harder to hide something like this from her mother! How would she explain herself vanishing at any time of the day? Even if it contained to at school, whoever was spying on her would surely see it.


“Fine then,” shouted Silver Spoon, shocking the other three with her sudden outburst. Her normally grey cheeks had turned bright red as she looked at both the boys in angry. Her fists were clenched tightly. “If this is for all the marbles then let’s do it right! Tag team duel. Boys vs. girls. If we lose then we will both be your slaves for the rest of the year. But if we win then you both will leave us alone unless one of us needs a favor!”


“Silver,” whispered Diamond, grabbing the other girl’s sleeve as she did so.  While Snails had his normal oblivious reaction to all of this, Snips grin made her feel even more uneasy. It was the kind of smile where Diamond would expect his to start rubbing his hands together before laughing evilly or something like that. Well, if he wasn’t still holding Snail’s mouth shut that is.


“Deal,” said Snips as he let go of his friend. “We’ll do this during lunch period. Just don’t try to back out when you lose.” With that, Snips began to walk away while Snails stood there looking confused. A half a second later Snips returned to grab Snails and dragged him away. Now the two girls stood alone as first period drew ever closer. But neither of them were thinking about that. At least, not Diamond Tiara for she had spun around on her friend and grabbed her by the shoulders.


“Why did you do that?” she demanded as she tightened her grip with trembling hands. “This is my problem.”


Silver rolled her eyes. “Because you, like, need help,” she said as she took a step back and crossed her arms. “I get why you’re not asking your mom for help, but just going along with all this is totally insane! And if you won’t ask your dad for help then its up to me. At least this way we can watch each other’s backs and help each other.” Diamond opened her mouth to say something. That she didn’t want Silver to be in the same position as her. That it wasn’t worth it. But Silver stopped her from saying a word simply by raising a finger. “I am not going to lose you because you refuse to ask for help. Now let's get going to school.”


-x-


Elsewhere, Snips and Snails were sitting in an old deserted alleyway close to the school. As alleyways went, this had to be one of the cleaner ones in the city, having only a few puddles in various places of who knew what as well as a couple of blue dumpsters which they were sitting next to on the ground. Thanks to these large blue bins of steel, a person could look down and not spot either of them. The ringing of the first period bell was another thing they could be thankful for as it meant there would be fewer people on the streets right now. Fewer people to take such a short cut to school. At least, that’s what those two believed.


There, Snips went to work on his friend’s duel disk. In one hand he had a small black device with a number pad on it, with wires sticking out of it that ran into Snail’s duel disk. With his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he worked, Snails began to tap in the code that he had been given. On the ground next to him was a piece of paper with the written codes that he needed.


“Ah, Snips,” said Snails suddenly. “Don’t you think we might be going a bit far with this?”


“Relax,” replied Snips as he looked up at his best buddy. “We got this one in the bag. No one has been able to figure out what we’ve been doing. As long as we have this,” he paused for a moment to point to the paper, “there’s no way we can lose.”


That piece of paper had changed their lives in more ways than one. Snips had been on the net, totally not looking at sites he shouldn’t, when he stumbled upon something amazing! It was common knowledge that duel disks had certain features that made cheating nearly impossible. For example, if anyone had tried to tamper with the auto-shuffler the duel would not engage or announce tampering for all to see. The program to decide who went first was randomized. According to this one site, however, there was a way around all that with these codes. It only worked on certain older models and required a special device, but it would work.


So the boys decided to try it out. After inputting the codes into Snails’ duel disk and stacking his deck in a certain way, they started a duel to see what would happen. Their duel disks connected and, like they had programmed, Snails went first. Not only that, the auto-shuffler appeared to move his cards around but when Snails drew they were in the same order he had put them in!


At first it had been just some harmless fun. Just them stacking cards so they could get their best combos out faster when playing against each other. Well, maybe they did play against some of their other friends just for fun. No big deal, right? That was until they had been challenged to a duel with another kid from their school demanding that they use the ante rule. With the codes still in their duel disk and their decks stacked in just the right way, they had won easily while collected some very nice cards. Cards that sold for $50 each online! It was then that an idea had sparked inside Snips’ head. They could use this to become more than just other people’s lackeys. With this, they could earn some much needed respect and get other people to do stuff for them for a change!


What had helped expedite this was Trixie’s dismissal of them. Prior to that point, they had only gone after Diamond since she had been one of the major people who looked down at them. But when they had been caught helping that pretty Eye Candy lady, Trixie said she never wanted to have anything to do with them again. Alone without anyone to command them any longer, Snips and Snails decided it was time for them to become their own bosses! No longer would they be at the whim of others. Now others would be at their wins through these wagers. What could go wrong?


“Just thinking we might be going overboard with this slave thing,” said Snails in his dopey voice. “She was willing to pay us just to stop.”


“Right, right,” said Snips with a grin. “But that was just to get us to stop. Just think how much she’ll pay us to set her and her friend free after we win? We could ask for anything and she’ll do anything to pay it.”


“Ohh,” went Snails as he stared blankly ahead. “But won’t we get in trouble somehow?”


“Please,” replied Snips as he waved off the concern, going back to entering the codes. “So far the school’s done nothing to stop us. And as long as no one figures out that we’re cheating then everything is good. Don’t worry about it.” With that, Snips returned to his task. He still had a few more codes to put in before Snails could start stacking his deck to best suit the duel. Then he would have to do the same for himself. It would take a long amount of time, probably causing them to miss their first period classes. Maybe even second. But right now this was far more important for them.
> Diamond Skin and Silver Steel (Diamond/Silver vs. Snips/Snails) part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In what seemed like no time at all for Diamond Tiara, the lunch bell finally rang. It was an odd feeling for her since, normally, the day seemed to drag its feet getting to this point only for it to be over in a heartbeat. Then the day would go back to dragging as they attended class after class until they were finally free. It seemed like those around her felt like she usually did as her classmates jumped to their feet and raced out the door towards either their lockers or straight to the lunch room. People were talking, wanting to get in as much conversation time as they could until the period ended.


But for Diamond, the day had been a blur leading up to this point. The rich girl seemed to drag her feet as she headed towards the courtyard where her tag team duel was to take place. All day long she had tried to get a word in with Silver Spoon to tell her to just stay out of this. To just leave her be and she’d somehow fix this mess even if she had to give those two every penny she owned. However she never got the chance. Every time she tried to whisper to her during class a teacher seemed to turn his or her head in that direction, almost catching her in the act. Or they would be patrolling the rows, looking for whispers or note passers when they were being given time to do their school work. It was as if there was some great force at work keeping her from protecting her friend.


Now, Diamond knew she wasn’t what most people would call…nice. Sure she was rude to many of the students here from time to time and liked to brag about her wealth. But what she had been forced to do for Snails was so humiliating that she wouldn’t wish it on anybody else. Not even the losers in the CMC! Yeah, it was that bad. So of course she wouldn’t want that to happen to her best friend!


In what seemed like mere moments, Diamond was walking out the doors and into the courtyard. There several other students were eating their lunches, enjoying the nice weather as they ate. Diamond also noted that there were some people doing more than just eating their lunches as they talked to their friends. Underneath a tree she spotted a pair playing a game of chess while a few others were kicking a ball around to blow off some steam. Plenty of people had their phones out, most likely checking MyStable and the like. Some were even having duels of their own, eating protein bars or something similar to not waste time. She also noticed a few members of the staff like Miss Cheerilee and Vice-Principal Luna were out enjoying the day as well.


It didn’t take Diamond long to find where she would be dueling. Snips and Snails had made a big deal out of the event, encouraging more people to witness this than ever before. The pair stood in the middle of a cluster of students looking proud of themselves while Silver watched them with a look of utter loathing. All three of them had their duel disks on, waiting for her to arrive so they could begin. Slowly, Diamond walked over to them while pulling her duel out. Now she knew there was no way she could talk her way out of this, not with this large of a group that had shown up. Not to mention Silver standing there waiting.


“Silver,” said Diamond as she approached. “You-”


“I’m helping you and that’s final,” said Silver in a serious tone while Diamond put on her duel disk. “So don’t try talking me out of this.”


“But you don’t have to do this,” hissed Diamond. “Look, I can like totally-”


“Let’s get this show on the road,” shouted Snips, earning a great deal of cheering from the crowd. Looking around, Diamond could recognize a few of the faces watching. Rumble, Truffle, Twist, those three CMC members, and Pip. Along with them were people like Trixie who was glaring at Snips and Snails with loathing that Diamond agreed with wholeheartedly. Nodding, Diamond raised her duel disk and accepted.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice. “Tag Team settings accepted. Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared portraits of all those participating in the duel with a number in each one's upper right hand corner to indicate the order. Much to Diamond’s disappointment Snails was going first followed by herself. Then Snips would take his turn with Silver finishing up. The good news was that their side would get the chance to attack first, however if those two managed to set up a good field…


“Ah, I draw,” said Snails slowly as he drew his card. With six cards in his hand he looked at them amazingly quick for someone like him before holding out a card. “I play the Enchanting Fitting Room. I, ah, pay 800 life points and then I get to look at the top four cards on my deck. If any of those cards are level three or lower normal monster then I can special summon them. The rest get shuffled back into my deck.” As Snips and Snails life points dropped to 7200, he slowly picked his four cards. Once in his hand Snails barely looking at them before setting all four onto the field. “I special summon Ojama Yellow, two Ojama Greens, and Ojama Black!” Once again, Diamond’s disgusting nightmare returned in the form of those four monsters in Speedos. Ojama Yellow was a yellow (duh) humanoid creature with eye stalks and large red lips. Ojama Green was more muscular looking with a single eye. As for Ojama Black, he had a bit of a potbelly and a larger than normal nose. All four monsters had zero attack points and 1000 defense points.


“Next I play my field spell Ojama Country,” said Snails as he continued his turn. At once the field around them changed so that behind the two boys appeared a rocky hillside with stone mushroom like buildings all over the place. “As long as I control an Ojama monster, the attack and defense of all monsters on the field get ditched.”


“Switched,” corrected Snips.


Snails blinked. “Isn’t that what I said?” he asked. The boy then slowly shrugged before holding up a familiar looking card. “I play Polymerization to fuse together Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black into Ojama King!” One of each colored Ojama was then pulled up into the sky, grinning and laughing as they did so. “Oh great and wise King of all the Ojamas. With great form and mind, bless this field with your greatness. Fusion summon Ojama King!” And there he was, another Speedo wearing freak as far as Diamond was concerned. His body was shaped like an egg with large lips, eyes stalks, and a large nose. His arms and legs looked tiny on his massive frame making anyone who looked at it wonder how it could even move around. While his original attack was zero it instantly switched with his 3000 defense points. “Now my King has a decree: three of your card zones can not be used as long as he’s o the field.” Appearing on three of her monster card zones were large X’s, just like Diamond knew there would be.


“Ok, ah…lets see,” continued Snails as he looked at his hand. “Oh right! Now I play Fusion Recovery to get back my Polymerization card and one monster used in a fusion. I choose Ojama Yellow. Then I will use Polymerization to fuse Ojama Yellow with the Ojama Green on the field.” Once again the two monsters rose up into the sky, spinning and laughing as they did so. Out of the corner of her eye, Diamond noticed a new face in the crowd: Vice-Principal Luna. She was watching this all with something like interest as Snails did his second chant. “Two Ojamas weak on their own combine your might. Together you may take up a blade to serve your lord. Fusion summon Ojama Knight!” Appearing next to King was what looked like Ojama Yellow in a full suit of armor. His original attack of zero was changed with his 2500 defense points. “Now his effect goes off, blocking two more card zones.” Knight pointed his sword at Diamond’s field, a beam of light shooting out of it and breaking off so it hit her remaining monster card zones. Now it was impossible for her to summon a monster.


“Finally, I’ll play two more spell cards,” said Snails while Snips grinned broadly. “Two copies of Ground Collapse. These spell cards do the same thing as Ojama Knight: sealing two card zones a piece. So I’ll take your four of your spell card zones.” More X’s appeared on Diamond’s field, leaving her with only one spell/trap card zone in the middle. Looking up, she noticed that Snips looked like he was having a panic attack. He was making gestures to Snails which the skinny teen failed to notice. “I, ah, end.”


“Great,” said Diamond as she drew a card, making the total in her hand six. While looking over her hand, she briefly considered how those two losers were going to play. Obviously they were afraid of her dragons which was why they had sealed off her monster card zone. However, why didn’t Snails used those Ground Collapses on Silver? Part of the tag team rulings stated that if one team member had no monsters then the opposing team could attack them directly. Of course, Silver could use her monsters to help protect them if such a thing were to happen. And that’s sort of what wasn’t make much sense to Diamond right now. Snails had been able to seal away most of her plays, but he could have hurt them much more by uses those spell cards to block all but one of Silver’s monster card zones. It would have prevented so many plays and hampered them so much. Was it because Snails was just so used blocking just Diamond or had it been because he didn’t understand the rules of a tag team?


Looking down at her hand, she had the right cards to make some excellent moves…if she could put any of her monsters on the field! Still at least she had a step up card.


“I play the spell card Dragon Shrine,” announced Diamond as she played her card. “This lets me send one dragon card in my deck to my graveyard and the card I choose is my Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And since that was a normal monster I can then send another dragon type monster to my grave from my deck. This time I choose Dragon Spirit of White. Then I end my turn.”


“Ahh, too bad,” mocked Snips as he drew. With six cards in his hand, he grinned as he looked them over before pulling one of them out. “I’ll start by activating the effect of my Cyberdark Cannon. By discarding this monster, I can add one Cyberdark machine to my hand. So why not Cyberdark Edge?” A card slide out of her deck, allowing Snips to take it with a slight flourish. “Now I’ll summon Cyberdark Edge in attack mode!” Appearing on his side of the field was a machine with 800 attack and defense points, making Ojama Country pointless for him. The machine looked like a mechanical bird whose feathers had been replaced with scythe like blades and insect like pinchers near its mouth as well as its tail.


“Now for his effect,” continued Snips proudly. “I can now equip one dragon type monster in my graveyard as long as it’s a level three. Then it gains the attack of the equipped monster making Edge really, really strong! So I equip Cyberdark Edge with Cyberdark Cannon!” What happened next made Diamond glad she hadn’t eaten yet. Coming out of the ground was a disgusting, worm/maggot like creature that didn’t look a thing like a dragon! Sure it had wing-like horns on its head, but it also had several tendrils coming out near its mouth. This purple and yellow thing was then lifted up so that the pinchers on Edge could clamp onto it, increasing its attack to 2400.


“Don’t think I’m done just yet,” said Snips gleefully as he pulled out another card from his hand. “I activate the effect of Cyberdark Claw. By discarding this card I can add one Cyberdark spell/trap card from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be taking my Cyberdark Impact! Next I’ll play Double Summon which allows me to normal summon again this turn! So I play Cyberdark Horn in attack mode!” Cyberdark Horn was another monster with 800 attack and defense, living up to its name with four large horns like spikes coming out of its skull. This machine had a thin body, with edgy blade like wings and several claw like spikes coming out of its underbelly. There were also a number of wires coming out of its sides and from its large open jaw came a single green light.


“Just like with Edge, Horn lets me equip it with a level three dragon type monster from my graveyard. And I just so happen to have another one there,” said Snips as another monster came out of the ground. Cyberdark Claw was like a perfect match for Horn. Its body was yellow with dozens of green glowing oval on it, and six legs that ended not in feet but instead large curved talons. It almost reminded her of the claw in one of those claw games at the arcade. Cyberdark Horn’s underbelly spikes clamped into the back of Claw, its attack rising all the way to 2400.


As Snips looked proud of himself, Diamond noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was Vice-Principal Luna. A hand was resting on her chin with a suspicious look in her eyes. Like maybe she didn’t believe what she was seeing or something. But those two couldn’t be cheating. Duel disks these days had a number of safety features that prevented people from cheating.


“With that I place a face down and end my turn,” said Snips loudly as he crossed his arms, head raised high.


“Then I draw,” announced Silver as she drew this time. With her had full, she looked at her hand to see what she could do. “First off, I’ll like summon my Valkyrie Sechste in attack position!” Appearing from the sky came a young girl with short brown hair riding a tiny pony. She was dressed in a steel battle skirt with black leggings and a matching top that exposed her shoulders all the way down to her hands. In one hand she had a small shield while in the other was a tiny sword. Her attack was 0 and defense 2000 until they were flipped around due to the field spell in play.


“Wow,” whispered Snails as he looked at her monster. “She’s really cute. Maybe cuter than Trixie.”


“Hey!” shouted the blue skinned girl in the crowd, her cheeks turning red. “The Great and Lovely Trixie will not stand to let a comment like that go unpunished!”


“If you think she's cute now, well, wait till you see what she can really do,” said Silver with a grin. “During my main phase, her effect allows me to send the top two cards from the top of one of your decks to the grave. Snails, you know what to do.” Snails blinked for a moment as he stared at the monster who just winked at him. Dumbly, he nodded and deposited the two cards into the grave. “Next I’ll play the spell Book of Moon. This card lets me target one monster on your side of the field and flip it face down. And the monster I choose is Ojama King!”


“Ah, I always knew books were bad,” moaned Snails as he flipped his fusion monster face down. As he did, Diamond’s side of the field began to free up giving her three monster spaces. She looked over at Silver who gave her the thumbs up.


“Now for the big finish: I play the continuous spell card: Goddess Urd’s Verdict,” continued Silver Spoon as she played her card. Appearing beside her was a woman in a pink dress and short blond hair holding a staff with a large blue stone in it. “Now one of Urd’s effects is that you can’t target or destroy any of my Valkyrie monsters with card effects. But you don’t, like, have to worry about that right now. Instead worry about its other effect. Once per turn I can declare a card name and then target a face down monster. If my guess is right then it get banished. If I guess wrong then one of my cards gets banished. So I believe that Snails’ face down card is Ojama King.”


“Wow!” cried Snails in surprise as he removed his card. “How did you know?” Everyone there except for Snails facepalmed. Hard.


“Sadly that's all I can do this turn,” said Silver as she lowered her arms. “Make your move Snails.”


“Oh, ok,” replied Snails before drawing. He looked at the one card in his hand for a second or three before acting. “I activate the effect of Ojama Country. So I, ah, discard an Ojama card from my hand to special summon one Ojama monster in my grave. Now I bring back King.” Everyone around began looking at each other as Snails looked down at his graveyard slot, waiting for the card to come out. It seemed that he had forgotten something very important, making Diamond feel all the more pathetic that she kept losing to him.


“You can’t bring back King,” said Snips finally, looking like he was losing his cool a bit. “He wasn’t sent to the grave, remember? He was banished!”


Snails’ eyes lit up. “Oh, right,” he said. “Then I’ll just bring back Ojama Green in attack mode.” In a flash of golden light, Ojama Green returned. “And since I discard Ojamagic, I can now add one of each normal Ojama monster to my hand. Then I attack Diamond directly!” Ojama Knight readied his sword and made a forward lunging slash at Diamond.


“I don’t think so!” shouted Silver Spoon. “Valkyrie Sechste, protect Diamond!”


“Uhhh,” went Snails as his monster’s blade was intercepted by Valkyrie Sechste’s tiny shield. However it wasn’t enough as Ojama Knight’s sword cut cleanly through hers. Valkyrie Sechste cried out as she got diced in to before vanishing before their eyes. While their life points dropped to 7500, it could have been a lot worse. “I guess I end my turn.”


“Then I draw,” said Diamond as she looked over at Silver. She gave her friend a nod of thanks for everything she had done thus far. If it hadn’t been for her, then she would still be stuck with no moves and would have lost a great deal of life points. And now, with six cards in her hand and four free card zones, she was ready to help out. “Ok, first I play the spell card Trade In. So, like, I can discard one level eight monster to my graveyard in order to draw two cards. So I drop another Blue-Eyes White Dragon into the graveyard.” Taking a breath, she dropped her dragon into the grave in order to make her draw hoping for something good. When she saw what she had, her eyes widened. “Now I think it’s time me and Snails played a different type of game.”


Snails blinked slowly at this. “Like musical chairs?” he asked. “I used to love playing that game.”


“More like bingo,” clarified Diamond as she played a spell card. On her field, a bingo ball machine appeared with dozens of moving balls within it. What made this machine special was that the balls were captured by one of the three heads of Blue-Eyes Ultimate White Dragon. The other two heads were outside the glass ball, clearly where the balls were dumped. As Diamond saw the confused look by her opponent, a display screen appeared before her and she selected three cards. With each card she selected, a ball flew into the mouth of the middle Blue-Eyes head and came out of one of the other two with a picture of the card Diamond had chosen. “This is Bingo Machine, Go!! I reveal three cards that are either Blue-Eyes monsters or spell/trap cards that list a Blue-Eyes in the text. Then you get to choose one of them and it gets added to my hand. The other two get shuffled back into my deck.”


Snails hummed as he looked at the cards. Diamond knew any of the three would help her out greatly. The first was a normal Blue-Eyes while the second was Alternative Blue-Eyes. Both monsters she could use in her hand right about now. The last one was Burst Stream of Destruction. With this card, if she controlled a Blue-Eyes, she could destroy all the cards on either opponents field.


“I choose the original Blue-Eyes,” said Snails at last. When he said this, the ball containing the picture of the original Blue-Eyes began to glow before flying into Diamond’s hand. The other two lit up and went into her deck before being shuffled.


“Alright then,” replied Diamond as she held up another spell card. “I now play Return of the Dragon Lords! Think of it like a Monster Reborn for dragons levels seven and eight like Dragon Spirit of White!” Appearing on Diamond’s field now was a large pale white dragon that looked a lot like a Blue-Eyes. Its attack was 2500. “When this monster is special summoned, I can target and banish one spell card you control! So say goodbye to Ojama Country!” Spirit of White began to glow, the field seeming to dissolve as it did returning them back to the school courtyard. With the field spell gone, both of the Ojama monsters looked diminished in size and strength as their attacks went back to 0. The only one who wasn’t affected was Snips who didn’t look too worried.


“Next I play another spell card: Silver’s Cry!” shouted Diamond as she grinned. “This card lets me revive a normal dragon in my graveyard. Like Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Everyone heard an ear piercing cry before the ground in front of Diamond erupted revealing the classic boss monster of the game in all of its 3000 attack point glory.


“Now it’s time for some payback!” shouted Diamond as she pointed at Ojama Blue. “Dragon Spirit of White, take down that blue turd with Spiritual White Lightning!” Diamond’s monster began to inhale, streaks of white energy moving towards its mouth and collecting into an orb. The dragon then closed its mouth and, when it opened, unleashed dozens of thin laser beams at Ojama Blue. The beams sliced through the Ojama with the ease of a knife cutting through warm butter, leaving behind an ugly mess before it was destroyed.


“When Ojama Blue is destroyed I can add two Ojama cards to my hand,” replied Snails as their team’s life points dropped to 4700. “I choose Ojama Red and Ojama Delta Hurricane!!”


“I’m not done yet!” shouted Diamond as she glared at Ojama Knight. “Since you both still control monsters, I can activate Dragon Spirit of White’s quick effect to tribute it in order to special summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that YOU put in my hand!” Spirit of the White let out a cry before vanishing in brilliant light which, when it faded, revealed a second Blue-Eyes on the field. “Blue-Eyes, show that knight what happens when you challenge a real dragon! White Lightning!” Diamond’s dragon roared loudly as its jaw began to filled with dancing bolts of electricity. It then fired a large stream of it at Ojama Knight with enough force that Snails was knocked onto his ass. As Snails began to get up, both his and Snips’ life points dropped to 1700.


“I’ve got one more attack,” said Diamond as she glared over at the last Ojama on the field. “Now my second Blue-Eyes will destroy Ojama Green!” Another compressed lightning beam fired from Blue-Eyes mouth, hurtling towards Snails’ last monster to finish this duel. Everyone around watched with baited breath before letting out a shocked cry as a light see through green barrier appeared on the field.


“I activate my trap card: Draining Shield,” said Snips as his team’s life points rose to 4700. “Not only does it negate that attack but we also gain life points equal to the attacking monster.”


“I end my turn,” said Diamond as she tried to hide the worry from her voice. She had known that destroying Ojama Blue would help Snails get the card he needed for his big comeback combo. He had them all right there, in his hand waiting for his next turn. That was why Diamond pressed the attack the way she had, wanting to finish it before he could do so. Her father would have called it a huge risk/reward and she had failed. Not only were they prepared to clear out one of their fields but regained a large amount of their life points back.


“Then my draw,” cried Snips as he drew, four cards now in his hand. “First I’ll play the spell card Foolish Burial which allows me to send one of my monsters to the grave. So I’ll be dropping my Rainbow Dark Dragon.” Grinning, Snips took the extended card from his deck before placing it in the graveyard. “Next I activate my own Polymerization to fuse the two Cyberdark monsters on my field and Cyberdark Keel in my hand to create Cyberdark Dragon!” All three of Snips’ monsters rose high into the air, Keel looking more like a mechanical eel, as Snips started his chant. “Puny dragons should flee in fear as three great machines combine. Together they use the might of the beast against them! Fusion summon Cyberdark Dragon!” As the chant went on, the three monsters seemed to combine. Horn became the head connected to Edge’s body while Keel became the tail. It’s size also tripled creating this huge machine chimera monster. However, despite all of that its attack was only 1000.


“First off, the two monsters that were equipped to my Cyberdark monsters get their effects,” said Snips smugly. “When an equipped Cannon is sent to the graveyard I get to draw a card. As for my equipped Claw, I get to add one Cyberdark monster in my grave and add it to my hand. So I choose Edge.” Snips then paused for a moment, adding the two cards to his hand. “Now as for my Cyberdark Dragon, its effect activates allowing me to equip a dragon of any level to it so it can gain its attack points. So I choose Rainbow Dark Dragon!” Cords from Cyberdark Dragon shot into the ground as Snips began to dance about, pulling up a large grey scaled serpent like dragon with black feathered wings. The clawed underbelly of the Cyberdark monster began to latch onto the dragon, raising its attack points to 5000! “Oh and get this: Cyberdark Dragon gets even more attack points! That’s right; 100 for each card in my graveyard. And since me and Snails are sharing the same grave well…” His words trailed off as a dark green aura surrounded his monstrosity, growing more in size as its attack was raised to 6800!


“O-Ok, so you got a big monster with big numbers,” said Diamond as she fought to keep from taking a step back.


“Well that’s not all I’m going to do,” commented Snips in a sly tone. “Now I will summon my Cyberdark Edge again and equip him with Cyberdark Claw!” Once more Snips summoned his scythe bird creature and combined it with Claw to create a 2400 attack point blades monstrosity. At the same time, Cyberdark Dragon’s attack dipped to 6700.


“Now it's time to attack!” announced Snips, pointing a finger in the air in a dramatic fashion. “Cyberdark Dragon, destroy one of their Blue-Eyes!” Cyberdark Dragon obeyed the command instantly, letting out a roar so powerful that the people around could see the shockwaves it created. Diamond brought her own hands up to protect her face as she was forced back by the attack. But still…


“I activate my Return of the Dragon Lords sleeping in my graveyard!” she screamed over the noise. “By removing this card from the grave, I can negate the destruction of one of my dragons. However, I will still take the damage.” As removed the card from the grave, a light blue glow surrounded her monster to protect it while her side’s life points dropped to 3800. “Guess that’s all you can do. Your other monster isn’t strong enough to take down either of my dragons or Silver’s monster!” Silver Spoon nodded at this as she watched Snips.


“Oh, there is still more I can do,” snickered Snips, surprising both girls. “See, Cyberdark Edge can attack directly by cutting his attack points in half.” Diamond felt her eyes widen as Cyberdark Edge’s attack dropped to 1200 before its wings began to glow. They then began to move making a horrible screeching noise as they did before the glow flew from the them and into both Diamond and Silver. Both of them bent down slightly, the crowd wincing as their life points dropped to 2600. “Now, since Cyberdark Edge was equipped with Claw the equipped monster’s effect goes off. See when a monster Claw is equipped to does damage I can send one monster in the extra deck to the graveyard. So Shooting Quasar Dragon goes to the grave, giving my Cyberdark Dragon another 100 attack points.” True to his word, Snips’ monster grew in strength to 6800. “Now that my attack in done, I can show you all what else I can do! I play the spell Cyberdark Impact! By send Edge, Keel and Horn back into my deck from my hand, field, or graveyard I can then summon another Cyberdark Dragon!” Snips removed the two machines from his grave, adding them back to his deck along with the one on his field before sending two more cards into the grave. Now a second large monster identical to the first appeared on his side of the field. “Just like before I can equip one of the dragons in my graveyard to this monster. Cyberdark Dragon, gain strength from Shooting Quasar Dragon!” Both rich girls watched as the cords shot into the ground, pulling out a large thin white dragon before latching onto it like a parasite. When it was over Snips had two monsters before him with 6700 attack points, making her own dragons look like light weights.


Diamond felt her legs begin to shake, almost threatening to give out on her. She honestly didn’t know how they were going to win! Once Snails started his turn, he would destroy everything one of them had! And who knew what else Snips’ had?


“Snails,” began a smirking Snips. “Be sure you use your combo to clear as much of the field as you can. I’ll finish this off on my next turn.”


“Right,” replied the other boy with a nod while Snips did that annoying laugh he did at times. The one that sounded more like a cough he was trying to keep under his breath.


“Then I guess I’ll draw,” declared Silver as she drew, four cards now in her had. However, rather than looking at her hand, she turned to look at Diamond. “I’ll take care of Snails’ hand. You worry about Snips’ monster.”


“But how-” began Diamond in confusion.


“Trust me,” interrupted Silver. Diamond didn’t know what else to do other than trust in her friend. So she nodded before Silver looked back at her hand and picked up the card she just drew. “First I’ll set this card face down. Then I’ll play the spell card: Card Destruction. With this we all have to empty our hands and then draw an equal number of cards.” She then smirked at Snails. “So, you know, that combo you both were counting on goes, like, up in smoke!”


Snails looked worried by this fact as everyone ditched their hands. However, Snips did his best to remain positive. “So you managed to stop Snails,” he bolstered. “Big deal. All you did was make my dragons stronger.” Indeed, both Cyberdark Dragons did grow more powerful, their attack rising up to 7300.


“Silver,” began Diamond after she had drawn a new hand. “Thanks for that.”


“Don’t get all sappy about it,” replied Silver as she took her own cards. “Its, like, what friends do. Right? You need help and I’m there for you. Same as if things were reversed.” She then turned to look at the pair in front of her. “Now, back to the duel! I activate my face down card Monster Reborn to bring back a card from any graveyard. So welcome back Valkyrie Sechste in defense mode!” Once again, Silver Spoon's young monster appeared on the field, hiding behind her pony. “Now her effect activates which allows me to special summon one Valkyrie monster from my deck. Storm onto the field Valkyrie Brunhilde!”


Above everyone’s heads came the sound of a horse neighing followed by the clopping of hooves as they galloped closer. Those around turned their heads to the skies above to see a woman on horseback flying towards the field. As she got closer, they could all see that she was wearing sexy movie style armor that showed off her midriff, shoulder, and arms. Her skirt was made of metal and her top offered little to no protection. Her hair was green and long, almost touching the back of the horse with a winged helmet on her head. In one hand she held a large sword and in the other a powerful looking shield. Brunhilde’s attack was 1800.


“Brunhilde gains 500 attack points for each card my opponent controls,” explained Silver Spoon. “So with three monsters on both your fields her attack rises by 1500!” Brunhilde’s steed whinnied as it reared on its hind legs, the monster’s attack becoming 3300. “Next I’ll summon my Valkyrie Dritte in attack mode!” Galloping from the sky came another young female warrior on horseback, her attack being 1000. She was dressed in a similar fashion as Brunhilde, except that her helmet was red. “When Dritte is normal or special summoned I can add any Valkyrie card from my deck to my hand. So like I choose Valkyrie’s Embrace!”


“So what? None of them are powerful enough to take down my dragons!” Snips pointed out.


“Totally true,” said Silver. “But Brunhilde won’t have any problems with Ojama Green…” Snips blinked as Silver’s words trailed off, looking at her in confusion. Slowly he looked over to Snails’ side of the field and, to his horror, saw the little green abomination standing here in attack mode while picking his nose. What’s more was that Snails’ didn’t have any face down card to dissuade Silver from attacking! Diamond smiled as she watched Brunhilde charge forward, slicing off the head of Ojama Green as she did and dropping their life points to 1400.


“I’ll be sure to blast her with my dragons when my turn comes up!” shouted Snips.


“Ah, like, no you won’t,” said Silver as she flipped over her Valkyrie’s Embrace card for them to see. “Because this card will totally stop you from doing that. See, first it lets me target one of my Valkyrie monsters and one of yours. My monster, let's say Dritte, changes to defense mode while your monster, like the Cyberdragon with Rainbow Dark Dragon equipped to it, gets banished!”


“NO!” screamed Snips as Dritte’s steed turned to its side, his own monster vanishing from the field in a glow much like the northern lights. The pudgy teen then looked back. “Fine, destroy one! But I still have another and because Rainbow Dark Dragon is back in the grave my remaining Cyberdark Dragon get another 100 attack points.”


“That’s fine,” she said. “I end my turn.”


“I draw,” announced Snails as he drew, his hand total being six. He looked at the card he had drawn and blinked. “Hey, wasn’t I supposed to draw my-”


“Snails!” screamed Snips in a panic, moving a hand across his throat quickly as sweat began to form on his forehead.


“Ooohhh, right,” said Snails slowly, confusing everyone there. “Hmmm. I’ll summon Ojama Blue in defense mode and then place two cards face down.” Again Ojama Blue appeared on Snails’ field, taking a knee and crossing its arms across its chest as it did so. At the same time two face down cards appeared behind it. “I end my turn.”


“Ok,” said Diamond as she drew her card. But as soon as she did, Snails thrust out a hand causing both of his face down cards to flip face up.


“I activate Ojama Trio and Ojama Dou!” he announced. “Together, these card place a total of…what’s 3+2?”


“How is he…” began Vice-Principal Luna from the sidelines, her eye twitching as she looked at one of her students.


“It’s five mate,” yelled Pip who was standing close to the VP.


“Oh, right,” said Snails dumbly. “Anyways, I get to put tokens all over your monster card zones. Three for Diamond and two of Silver.” Diamond took a step back as Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black appeared on her side of the field, either snoozing or picking their noses as they took up space. On Silver’s side of the field, Ojama Blue and Red appeared with Red looking like a round headed imp with blood shot eyes. “Whenever they are destroyed you lose 300 life points.”


As Snips began to laugh, Diamond began to look over the cards in her hand with a great deal of worry. Sure, both of those idiots believed that Diamond couldn’t summon anymore dragons…which was only half true. She was limited to two spots right now but she had a spell card that could help her bring out her best monster. The only issue with that was that it still wasn’t stronger than Snips! All of their hard work for nothing because all Snips had to do was attack then…they lost. Then everything would be over. Her mother would either find out she lost a duel or find out that she was waiting on Snips and Snails every whim! She would be forced to leave all of her friends behind. Maybe…Maybe she could just pay them to forget about this and hope her mother never found out.


“You can do it Diamond,” yelled Silver. But Diamond shook her head. Maybe if she had Shrink or something like that in her hand… which she didn’t! None of her cards could help her out. Maybe Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, but thanks to Snails she didn’t have the space to summon it unless she wanted to tribute both of her Blue-Eyes. But she didn’t have that card.


Slowly, Diamond looked down at the card she had drawn…and her eyes widened in surprise! She read the text on the card three times just to make sure she was reading it right before smiling. She then looked up at Snips who was still grinning, thinking he had this match won. Oh how wrong he was right now.


“I tribute both of my monsters in order to normal summon my Blue-Eyes Solid Dragon!” announced Diamond as both her monsters vanished into golden lights, replaced by another dragon that looked a lot like the normal Blue-Eyes. The difference was in the wings that looks like multi-colored stained glass windows that shone brightly as the dragon roared loudly. Unlike the normal Blue-Eyes, this monster had only 2500 attack points causing Snips to snicker.


“What can you do with that weakling?” he asked, laughing into his hand as he did.


“Well, for starters, when Solid Dragon is summoned I can target one face up monster on the field and negate its effects,” said Diamond. The laughter died instantly as Solid let out another roar as it rose into the air, light from the sun shining down upon Cyberdark causing its attack to drop to 1000. “And I’m not done! I play Dragon’s Mirror. This spell card lets me remove monsters on either my field or graveyard that are listed on a dragon fusion type monster and then I can fusion summon that monster. So I remove all three of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons to summon NEO BLUE-EYES ULTIMATE WHITE DRAGON!” Exploding from the ground came all three of Diamond’s Blue-Eyes as they shot towards the sky. They twisted and turned around each other, almost as if they were dancing in the sky with one another before merging into one creature.


“The mightiest of all dragons roars with its three heads,” chanted Diamond as her monster took form. “Reborn from old, with triple the fury it proves its might! Fusion Summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate White Dragon!” On her only open space remaining was a classic monster with 4500 attack points, three heads looking down at Snips as he fell onto his ass. The sight was satisfying to the rich girl. Sure she could have ended this all with just her Solid Dragon, but after all the times she lost to Snails she needed to let out all of her frustration with the only attack that best symbolized it. Her only regret was that she couldn’t attack Snails instead to win the game. “Now, FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!” Snips’ monster never stood a chance as all three heads of Neo Ultimate fired at the same time. The force of the attack caused Snips to roll backwards as his monster shattered into thousands of tiny pieces and his life points dropping to zero.


“No,” muttered Snips as he slowly got on his hands and knees while the holograms around them began to disappear.


“Guess maybe we should have stacked our decks better,” said Snails as he lifted up his duel disk to look at it. Diamond looked at him with her jaw open wide while Snips looked like he was about to have a heart attack. As the chubby boy ran over to his friend and then quickly placing a hand over his mouth Diamond took notice of the crowd around her. Snails words and Snips reactions said it all for the lot of them. Many were looking either shocked or appalled that they would do something like this while others had their fists clenched and shaking with anger. The angriest among them being the people that they had made wagers recently. She too found that both her hands had become fists, nearly destroying the cards she held.


“That…That’s,” began Snips as he stood up, a hand held out. But before he could say anything else, the crowd charged.


“GET THEM!” screamed someone in the crowd, drowning out VP Luna who seemed like she was trying to maintain order of some kind. But no one there was paying her any mind as they all wanted to get their hands on the pair of cheaters, to either confirm what the idiot had said or just to make them pay for everything they had been doing recently. The pair of boys ran, knocking several others out of the way in an effort to break free. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye they escaped and were running down the street without looking back.


-x-


“Daddy?” Diamond Tiara had walked into the dining room later than she normally did to find her father sitting there. His suit coat was off, hanging from the back of the chair he was sitting on with his shirt partly off. He sat there, slightly slouched, with a glass of whiskey in front of him, the ice slowly melting in it as he looked at it.


At the sound of her voice, the older man turned to look at her. “Hey there pumpkin,” he said, trying his best to hide how tired he looked. Not like that was possible. There were dark rings around his eyes which looked like he was having trouble keeping them open right now. Still, he turned to pull out a chair next to him before gesturing her to sit down. “How was school?”


“It was,” began Diamond as she sat down, pausing as she tried to decide what to tell him. Perhaps nothing. After the duel, things at school were not looking so good for the two idiots. Both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna had gotten involved, finding out about the wagers the pair had been making. Because of that (along with a combination of their recent tardies, poor grades, them running out of school, and the cheating) Principal Celestia had decided to expel the two. As for the victims they had all gotten off with a warning never to do that on school property again or else they would be facing either detention or suspension. The whole school had also been told that if things like this continued then they would ban dueling at the school except for the after school activities.


For Diamond, it meant that her nightmare was over for good. At least with dueling and the twin dummies. As long as no more rumors floated around the school about her having to do things for Snails she was likely to stay here. And if her mom had been spying on her that day then she should be proud of the victory Diamond had scored. At least she should be.


“It was good,” Diamond eventually finished. Perhaps she had taken too long to say this because her father was giving her an odd look at the moment. One that made her feel like he was trying to see something inside of her. After a moment or two he sighed before turning in his seat to look at her, his arms crossing in front of his chest as he did so.


“What appeared?” he asked in a voice that told her not to lie.


“I,” began Diamond, wondering if she even could lie before sighing. No, it was time to tell her father what had been going on. Or, at least some of it. “I was having some trouble with this boy. I kept losing to him and didn’t want to play against him but I had to show him I was his better and-”


“Ok, ok I get it,” interrupted Filthy Rich with a wave of his hand. He then ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he did. “I swear, Spoiled we are going to have a serious talk about this later.” There was a pause before looking down at Diamond. “Sweetie, I don’t know everything that happened but you don’t have to always prove that you’re better at everything. Sometimes it's best to know when to bow out gracefully.”


“But Mom keeps saying that I need to-”


“Never lose to anyone? Especially those who are lower class? Well I disagree with that,” interrupted Filthy firmly. “Princess, there are plenty of times when I have to admit that I failed. Why, back when your granddad was around I made a serious bad investment. One that, if I hadn’t backed away when I did, I would have lost everything including your granddad’s faith in me to run the family business. See…in the end, everybody loses from time to time. What sets us apart from most other people is that we have more to lose when we fail completely. So it’s better to know when to cut our losses than to continue on out of pride. Or to know when to ask for advice or help.”


Diamond nodded, thinking about what she could have lost today if Silver Spoon hadn’t helped out. She would need to say thank you in a big way.


“So, any reason you didn’t ask me for help?” asked Filthy as he picked up his glass, taking a sip.


“I knew you were busy Daddy,” replied Diamond instantly.


“Well, that was very considerate of you,” said her father as he set down his glass. “But just so you know, I am never too busy to help you out when your in trouble. Especially if some boy is giving you trouble. Just say the word and I will bury him so deep he will never be found.”


-x-


At the same time, both Snips and Snails shivered for some reason as they walked down a dark street. All around them all they could see were boarded up buildings with graffiti on them in all shapes and colors. One even had a picture of some sort of mixture of animals with weird eyes that Snips could have sworn had moved a few times.


“Why aren't we heading home?” asked Snails lazily. “My feet are starting to hurt.”


“Because our homes will be the first place those people look!” shouted Snips as he threw up his arms. “You saw them back there! They’ll tear us to teeny tiny pieces the first chance they get. Or…Or they might string us up when we get to school!” He then let out a sigh. “Guess we weren’t ready to fly solo.”


“Maybe we could, ah, say we’re sorry?” suggested Snails.


“Doubt that will work,” grumbled Snips. “But I guess there’s nothing else we can do. No one will ever take us seriously or respect us now. We’re finished.”


“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” said a voice as fine as silk coming from behind them. The two boys turned around to see two hot girls standing there. One had twin-tails with a frown on her face. The other girl had a massive hairdo and forehead, standing there smiling at them. “I believe we could help you find everything you’re looking for.”
> Big Bro Battle (Big Mac vs OC)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was on a warm, pleasant Thursday afternoon as an old rickety pickup truck made its way onto Sweet Apple Acres. Leaves fell gently from the trees, riding on the winds until they landed in the back of the truck to coat the various tools it contained. Items like large hammers, a small anvil, and many more items that looked very heavy yet rested on a tool belt. Eventually the truck made its way to a spot close to the barn where it then parked, allowing its driver to exit.


The driver was a teenage boy, dressed in a heavy (and very filthy) long sleeved shirt and overalls. His light grey body was a bit thicker with muscle than the average person his age, demonstrated by him effortlessly lifting his tool belt and putting it on after retrieving it from the back of his truck. A single leaf fell onto his hair which had a similar flame-like appearance to that of Sunset Shimmer, but was cut shorter and slicked back in order to keep it out of his eyes. As he grabbed his hammer, the boy heard the familiar sound of boots against the gravel behind him. He took a deep breath in order to keep his heart rate steady, then turned to see if it was who he thought it was.


“Howdy Forge,” said Applejack. Forge, or Coal Forge on his driver’s license, did his best not to make a fool out of himself as he saw her. But it was hard as, when he saw her, the world seemed to slow down a bit more each time. Heart shaped leaves that defied reality suddenly began to fall and cheesy love songs began to play in the background. Thankfully for him this only lasted a moment or two and he was able to recover quick enough so as to not make this awkward.


“Hey AJ,” said Forge as he straightened his belt. “You said the axle broke again.”


“Yep,” said the farmer girl as she gestured to him to follow. Together, they walked into the barn where her brother Big Mac was already hard at work baling hay next to an old fashioned horse drawn wagon. As soon as he came in, Forge could clearly see that the metal axle under the wagon had snapped cleanly in two. He watched as Applejack walked towards it, crossing her arms as she did with a frown on her face. “Broke last night when Apple Bloom an her friends were off having a bit of a joy ride on it. Think ya can fix it?”


Forge didn’t answer right away, instead moving closer to it in order to get a better look. Once he was on hands and knees, Forge looked at the area that had snapped before gently tracing a finger over the area. He performed a few other tests which didn’t require any fancy gadgets or anything like it, needing only his hands as he had been trained to do. As he did this, Forge became aware that someone was watching him. Without looking he knew it was Mac for his bailing had become slower. That and the simple fact that Mac did this every time he came over to help.


“I wouldn’t recommend fixing this,” said Forge after he stood up, not bothering to dust himself off. “I can tell that the area that snapped wasn’t properly hardened the right way. Too many quenches making the metal too brittle. There might even be more fractures along the spine. My personal opinion is that you should get it replaced.”


Applejack briefly bit her lower lip. “Oh,” she said. “Ya…Ya sure?”


Forge nodded. “I could weld it back together, but it’ll be like putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm. It’ll hold for awhile, but sooner or later it’ll just break again.” Applejack slowly nodded and Forge had been helping the Apple Family for as long as he could remember as their go-to blacksmith. At first it had been more for practice, welding together things that had busted before moving on to making horse shoes and other such things around the farm. Nowadays he was skilled enough not to need the practice, but still came when AJ or Granny Smith called asking for help. Because of this he knew what was going on in her head. She was thinking about how much it would cost to get a replacement. Judging by her expression money was tighter right about now. Asking him to weld it together would give them time to save up for a brand new one. But that would run the chance that, if it broke again before they had time to save up they would be in trouble. Or someone might get hurt. It was a bind.


Thankfully, Forge had already thought about that on his way here. “Listen, Applejack,” he said gently while Mac’s work became slower still. “I just got done with a bunch of my work for the medieval festival and there was some left over material. More than enough to make a new axle for the wagon. I’ll make you a new one for the same price as fixing this one.”


Applejack’s eyes widened. “Woah, now hold on there partner,” she said as she pointed a finger right into his chest. “Ah can’t accept something like that!”


“Its no problem,” said Forge as he took her finger and lowered it with his hand. “It was already bought and paid for, so it’s not like its costing me anything. Besides it was just going to sit there until I wanted to work a project sooner or later so this works out well for me. So I figure I can kill two birds with one stone: work on a project and help a friend.”


For a moment, the two stood there very close. So close that he could easily count every cute freckle on her face as well as smell what she had for breakfast. He was still holding her hand in his which had relaxed a bit. Now he wondered what she was thinking or if this was the best time to pop a question he had been meaning to ask. A part of his brain told him to go for it! But another part warned him that this might come off as a string attached and that she would only go along with it because she owed him one. Something Forge didn’t want at all.


It was then that Mac cleared his throat, causing both teens to separate quickly. Turning his head to glance over at AJ’s older brother, he saw that his work had completely halted. He was standing there, gripping his pitch fork so tightly that the metal wielder was surprised it hadn’t shattered. Then there was the look that he was giving Forge. It wasn’t threatening…just yet. More like a very, very, very stern warning that Forge got loud and clear.


“Well, if ya insist,” said Applejack as she smiled in an awkward manner. Forge, for his part, mirrored it as she moved backward. “Ah guess Ah’ll get back ta work. Thanks again partner.” With that, AJ turned to walk out of the barn.


As she did, Forge took a moment to admire her figure. If anyone ever asked him, he would say that he thought that Applejack was definitely hotter than Rarity or Fluttershy. The fact that her hands weren’t soft but a bit slightly rougher than a normal girl's, her more muscular body from working on a farm, those lovely green eyes and long blonde hair that smelled of straw. Yeah, he found all of that really attractive. But her looks weren’t the only reason he liked her. Both of them were old fashioned, preferring to do things with their own hands. Heck, Forge refused to save up and buy a power hammer for his work even though it would save him a great deal of time while AJ would do any construction job on her farm herself and still do her own chores.


Slowly his hand reached for his back pocket were a pair of tickets rested. He wanted to take this moment to ask her out, just to see if they were right for each other. After all, just because you have a lot in common with each other doesn’t always mean you are meant for each other. The best way to do that was to spend time with each other. However, the sound of Mac clearing his throat again caused Forge to pause long enough for Applejack to be out the door.


-x-


“Let me guess, you choked again,” came a laughing voice from Forge’s phone. It was about an hour later and Forge was back on the road. He had spent his time in the mostly silent barn taking measurements of the axle so he could recreate it perfectly, jotting everything down onto a notepad before saying his goodbyes and driving off.


“Yes Jester, I choked,” grumbled Forge to his friend as he made a turn. If he hadn’t been driving, Forge would have pounded his head against the wheel.


“I just don’t get it,” said Jester with his voice still full of humor. “You’re not afraid of flames shooting out of a barrel of oil and into your face, power tools really close to your hands, swinging that hammer over and over again that could crush your hands if you’re not careful, but a cough from Big Mac causes you to lose your nerve. Dude, it's not hard. Just ask her out and if that guy tries to pull the overly protective big brother card just say its Applejack’s choice! There, problem solved. Or just ask her out when you know he’s not around. Like when she’s at work or something. Oh look, I solved the problem…AGAIN!”


As Jester laughed some more, Forge let out a sound of annoyance. “You do know how important family is to Applejack, right?” he asked.


“Well, yeah. Dude, everybody knows that. I just don’t see how…oh.” At that moment, Jester’s voice became more serious as understanding filled him. “I get ya now. You don’t want to cause a rift between them.”


“That’s the last thing I want to do,” said Forge as he came to a stop light. “Think about it, I ask her out in front of him and he objects then they’ll have a fight right in front of me. Even if she still agrees I’ll never know if she accepted it because she likes me or to spite her brother. Then she’ll spend the whole day being miserable or something like that. Might be better if I ask her out when he’s not around, but I’m afraid of what he’ll say to her when she comes back home.”


“Or what he’ll do to you,” added Jester as the light changed from red to green. “I heard a rumor that, back in Jr. High this one guy asked her out without asking Mac first if it was ok. Don’t know what Mac did to the kid but he didn’t show up to school for three weeks! People thought he was dead!”


“Great,” groaned Forge as he turned onto his street. Within moments he pulled into his family’s driveway and parked the truck. “So, any idea what I should do?”


“Well~” began Jester in a sing song voice. “If the rumors are true and Mac is operating under the outdated belief that you need to ask his permission to date his sister then that’s what you do. Just walk up to him when he’s alone and say ‘I want to take your sister out’. If he says yes, they you get the gold. If he says no, then you need to show him that you’re willing to fight for her.”


Forge’s eyes widened at that. “Ok, hold on right there. I can’t fight Big Mac! There’s no way she would ever go out with me if I did that.”


“Don’t be so literal,” sighed Jester. “Just challenge him to a duel or something. And if he says no, show you won’t give up and ask her out anyways. But…don’t do anything too reckless, ok? We really need you this weekend in one piece.”


-x-


The next day found Forge driving up into his usual parking spot at Sweet Apple Acres. While he had started on the axle, it was far from ready. Right now it was in a shed that was his forging area along with all of his tools. Today all he had with him was a duffel bag which he kept close to him as he exited the vehicle. After closing the door, he looked over at the barn where he hoped Mac would be with a look of focused determination. Today was going to be the day, now or never.


Calmly he made his way to the barn and, sure enough, there was Big Mac. Today he was stacking large bales of hay on top of each other. Despite it being much warmer than the previous day, Mac didn’t look like he was sweating or struggling any. He just kept working until he turned around and noticed Forge moving towards.


“Done already?” Mac asked, not stopping in his work.


“Not yet,” replied Forge. “I just wanted to ask you something about Applejack.” As he said this, Forge noticed Mac slow down. The older man looked over at the teen blacksmith with a frown on his face. “I was planning on asking her out this weekend. Just wanted to see if you were cool with it.”


Mac gave him a nod, something that took some of the weight off Forge’s chest. “Thank ya for asking me. It means a lot.” Mac then paused before his eyes hardened a bit. “No. Ah don’t want ya askin’ her out. Just leave her be.” Then, as if nothing had happened, Mac went back to his work. “Now, ah believe ya promised mah sister ya would fix that axle. Better get to it. We need the wagon up and going soon.”


“Wait!” Forge shouted. “That’s it? No? Not even a reason why?”


“If ya really knew mah sister, then ya would know why,” Mac said without turning to look at him.


“But I-”


“No,” interrupted Mac, putting down a bale of hay harder than he normally would have. “Nothing ya can say that would change my mind.”


“Well I’m not giving up,” said Forge as he thought of Applejack and the tickets he had in his back pocket. Mac turned to look at him with a frown while Forge dropped his duffle bag. Before Mac could say or do anything, the younger man had bent down to open the bag before pulling out his duel disk. As he stood up, Forge looked at Mac who had a look of surprise. “I challenge you to a duel. If you win then I’ll walk away from this…for now and get back to work on that axle. But if I win, then you let me ask her out on a date. It’ll be her choice and I’ll respect whatever she says. Deal?”


At first Mac said nothing, just looking at the Forge before changing his focus to the device on the blacksmith’s arm. As the seconds passed, Forge began to wonder what he was going to do if Mac said no. That his word was final and not going to change no matter who won. Or that he didn’t have a deck so that they would have to do something else. Did Mac even know how to duel? In all the time he had spent here he had never seen the guy with so much as a single card. He just worked all day. Then, much to Forge’s surprise, Mac nodded.


“We’ll duel,” said Mac as he turned and began to walk to a side of the barn. Forge followed the path Mac would take, easily spotting an old work bench on it. When Mac got there, he bent down and reached down underneath it and pulled out an old dented up tool box which he gently set on the workbench. “Only one small change. If ya really want ta date mah sister, then ya got ta be willing ta put it all of the line. All or nothing, ya hear? So if ya lose, then ya give up the right to ever ask mah sister out on a date.” As he said this, Mac opened up the tool box and pulled out a duel disk with the deck already inside. Quickly he strapped it on and activated it, pumping his fist in Forge’s direction. “Deal?”


Forge didn’t need a moment to think, activating his own duel disk. Yes, it was crazy to risk everything like this. Not when he could walk away and try something else later. But Forge knew in his heart that Applejack was worth the risk. He also had faith in his skills and his deck. So, as their duel disks connected, he moved to the opposite side of the barn across from Big Mac.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Forge while the other was Big Mac. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Forge.


“I’ll start,” announced Forge as his life point count appeared on his duel disk: 8000. “I draw.” With that, Forge drew before looking at the six cards in his hand. He then selected one of the cards and placed it on his duel disk. “I’ll start by placing one monster in face down defense position. Then I’ll set two cards face down and end my turn.” As Forge said this, the cards materialized in front of him.


“Ah draw,” said Mac as he drew his sixth card. He looked at it…and grinned. “Mighty good hand. Ah’ll start by summoning my Silent Paladin in attack mode!” As Big Mac slapped the card onto his duel disk, a woman appeared before him with 500 attack points. She was a beauty to be sure, with long golden hair that was tied up in a pony tail held up by a winged hair piece. Her bangs covered one of her piercing blue eyes as looked sternly over the field. In one hand she held a spectral blue sword while in the other was a shield of blue and silver. Her purplish armor looked light and she had a flowing white cape. “When this noble lady is summoned Ah can search mah deck an add one Silent Swordsman LVL 3 or one Silent Magician LVL 4 ta mah hand. So Ah’ll be chosen Silent Magician LVL 4.” With that, a card spat out of Mac’s deck which he took. Once the card had been pulled out the deck began to shuffle itself about.


“Next Ah’ll play the spell card Photon Lead which lets me special summon one level four or lower light monster in my hand to the field in attack position. So Ah summon Silent Magician LVL 4 to the field!” Appearing there on the field was a small child wearing a large pointed white hat, white robes, and carrying a wand. “But mah magician won’t be staying here for long. I tribute it to special summon Silent Magician to the field!” A bright blue pentagram circle appeared on the ground with Silent Magician LVL 4 standing in the middle. The child began to glow bright blue, then white, before being replaced with someone else. It was a woman in her late teen or mid-twenties wearing blue form fitting robes with a white line in the middle. Forge noticed that there were slits running down the sides of her robes in order to show off her slender legs. Her hat was like a mix of a ten gallon cowboy hat and that of a wizard’s. She had long flowing white hair and instead of a wand she had a short staff with a glowing blue stone at the end. Her attack was 1000.


“Silent Magician here is a special lady,” said Big Mac as he held up his hand. “For starters, she gains 500 attack for each card in mah hand. Right now ah’m holdin’ four which means she gains a total of 2000 attack points.” Forge winced as he watched Silent Magician begin to glow while her attack point changed from 1000 to 3000. “She also has another handy trick up her sleeve: the first spell card ya activate each turn gets negated. Now, ah attack with mah Silent Magician. Silent Burning Nova!” Silent Magician held out her short staff before making a sweeping motion with it, the path she created leaving a line of white light. It then began to grow larger and larger until it touched the ground, then flying across the field towards Forge’s face down monster which flipped over. Said monster looked like an anthropomorphic rhino wearing thick silver armor and a circle of six pointed shield above his head. While the monster had a very impressive defense of 2100, it didn’t stand a chance against this attack.


Well, not without some help.


“I activate my face down,” Forge called out as one of his face down cards revealed itself. “Defense Tactics! I can only activate this card if I control a Gladiator Beast monster. This turn, my monsters aren’t destroyed and I receive no battle damage. Then, this card goes to the bottom of my deck!”


“Fine,” grunted Big Mac as he looked at his hand. “Ah guess Ah can’t attack with Paladin so mah battle phase ends. So-”


“Wait right there Mac,” interrupted Forge. “During the end of the battle phase, the effect of my Gladiator Beast Hoplomus activates. If it attacked or was attacked and survived, then I can send it back into the deck and special summon another Gladiator Beast. So I’m tagging in Gladiator Beast Murmillo!” Hoplomus vanished from sight only to be quickly replaced with a weird looking fish man that had 800 attack points. There was pink webbing between his fingers as well as in-between his arms and torso. On his back rested two large sea shells. “Now, when Murmillo is special summoned I can destroy one face up monster on the field. I’ll also activate my other face down card: Double Tag Team. This trap card lets me special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from either my hand or deck when one is special summoned onto my field. So I’ll be bringing to the field Gladiator Beast Bestiari!” As jets of water fired from the seashells onto Silent Magician, destroying her, another half human half animal creature appeared on Forge’s side of the field. It was a large, thin green bird with darker green armor on. The feathers on the back of its head were read and had dart guns on each arm. Its attack was 1500.


“Not bad,” admitted Mac. “But when mah Silent Magician is destroyed by battle or your card effects, she lets me special summon any Silent Magician monster in mah deck while ignoring the summoning conditions. So ah bring out Silent Magician LVL 8!” In a brilliant flash of light appeared Silent Magician once again, only her attack points were 3500 and her robes had a lot more white and showed off less of her form. “Ah place one card face down an end mah turn.”


“Then I draw!” shouted Forge as he drew. He looked down at the four cards in his hand and nodded. “Ok, now it's time for some contract fusion! I fuse my Bestiari and my Murmillo together to create Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” As Forge removed his monsters from his monster tray, both flew into the air in preparation of his chant. “The wing beat of the bird is missed in the sound of battle. Striking with power to make the bravest tremble in fear! Leave nothing in your path! Fusion summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” When the chant ended, a large creature landed onto the field in a superhero landing pose. Even before it stood up, everyone there could see it looked very much like Bestiari, but with heavier armor that had several large red gems in it. Its attack was 2400. “When Gyzarus is special summoned I can destroy two cards on the field so I’m clearing the field of both your monsters!” Mac said nothing in response as Gyzarus opened his wings and flew up into the air. Once he reached the rafters, long golden spears appeared in both of his hands which the bird man flung at the two women below. Both Silent monsters were impaled in the middle of their chests before they were destroyed.


“When Silent Paladin is destroyed, ah can return one Light LVL monster in mah grave an add it to mah hand,” said Big Mac calmly. “So Ah’ll take back mah Silent Magician LVL 4.”


“Alright then, I attack you directly!” shouted Forge as his monster flew across the field, creating another light spear in his hands as he prepared to thrust it into Mac’s chest. However, the attack didn’t connect as a sword of light appeared in-between them and blocked the attack. “Wait, what?”


“My trap card: Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light,” explained Mac as his trap card flipped face up. “With this here continuous trap card, I can pay 1000 life points each attack to negate it.” As Mac said this, his life points dropped to 7000.


“I end my turn,” said Forge as his monster returned to his side, arms now crossed and looking menacing. However, Forge knew it was a front. With the attack negated he couldn’t send his monster back into the extra deck and summon two more Gladiator Beasts and he could only use Gyzarus’ effect when it was special summoned.


“My draw,” announced Big Mac who now had five cards in his hand. “First Ah play Reinforcements of the Army ta add mah Silent Swordsman LVL 3 ta mah hand. Then Ah summon him ta the field in attack mode!” Appearing in front of Mac was a small boy in a blue trench coat with a sword on his shoulder that looked more like something a cartoon character would carry…and not one from Japan. His blond hair seemed to keep falling onto his light green face. His attack was 1000. “Next Ah activate the spell card: Level Up! This lets me send one LVL monster on mah side of the field to the grave and then special summon from either mah hand or deck that is listed in the sent card’s text while ignoring the summoning conditions. Meaning Silent Swordsman LVL 3 becomes Silent Swordsman LVL 5!” Mist began to surround Silent Swordsmen LVL 3, causing him to grow rapidly into an adult. When he stopped, he looked far more impressive than his previous form. For starters, his sword was as long as his body and weighed probably three times that much yet he carried it with ease. Silent Swordsman LVL 5’s body was slender and muscular at the same time, showing off his 2300 attack points.


“Now for the kicker,” said Mac as he played a card. “Ah activate the spell card: Silent Sword Slash which gives my monster 1500 more attack and defense points and makes him unaffected by your card effects until the end of this turn. Now, attack!” Silent Swordsman  LVL 5 bent his knees a bit while his attack points rose to 3800 before launching himself across the field in such a way that one might have thought he had stepped on a landmine. With a single slash of his sword he cut Gyzarus in half, knocking Forge down to the ground and lowering his life points to 6600.


“That will end mah turn,” said Big Mac as his monster hefted his blade back onto his shoulder.


“I draw,” said Forge. With six cards in his hand he looked at what he had and thought for a moment. He needed something strong enough to get over that body and then take back control of this duel. The only problem was right now he didn’t have the means to do that. But there was a chance he could get what he needed. “I activate the spell card: Gladiator Beast’s Respite. With this card I can return two of my Gladiator Beasts to my deck, shuffle it, and then draw three cards.” Forge then place two cards on the top of his deck and watched as it began to auto-shuffle. When it stopped, he drew three times and looked at them. “I…end my turn.”


“Hmm, bad luck,” said Mac as he drew his card. With three cards in his hand he looked at them and smiled. “Well things aren’t looking any better for ya because Ah summon Silent Magician LVL 4 in attack mode.” Once again, his young magician appeared on the field holding her wand. “Next Ah play the spell card Level Modulation. Ya get ta draw two cards and then Ah can special summon one LVL monster in mah grave while ignoring the summoning conditions. Only problem is it can’t attack or use its effect this turn. But it’s a small price ta pay for bringing back Silent Magician LVL 8!” As Forge drew his cards, the familiar sight of Silent Magician LVL 8 appeared next to her younger counterpart. But, not only did Mac get back his most powerful monster but LVL 4 also gained 500 attack points bringing it to 1500. “See ya noticed. Each time ya draw a card or cards, mah Silent Magician LVL 4 gets a counter and with each one she gains attack points. When she gets five, well, Ah can trade her in for another LVL 8!”


Mac paused to chuckle. “But Ah don’t think ya’ll be around long enough ta see that. Silent Swordsman LVL 5, attack him directly!” Once again, Silent Swordsman bent his knees before exploding forwards ready to slash at Forge. As he brought down his blade, however, a pair of claws blocked it. The swordsman blinked in surprise as a leopard or cheetah man appeared in front of Forge wearing metal clawed gauntlets with blue flames coming out of it. “Where did he come from!?”


“My hand,” replied Forge as he wiped away some sweat from his brow. “Gladiator Beast Noxious can be special summoned from my hand to the field if you declare a direct attack. Then not only does he redirect the attack to himself but he can’t be destroyed in battle. And since I special summoned him in defense mode, my life points are safe.”


“Fine,” said Big Mac with a scoff. “Ah end my turn.”


“Then I draw,” exclaimed Forge who now had a total of eight cards in his hand. At the same time, however, the attack of Silent Magician LVL 4 went up to 2000 since he had drawn a card. “I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari in attack mode.” Appearing on the field was a tiger man with bits of red armor across his body. Around his waist hovered several small rockets that connected themselves to each other to form a ring of fire. His attack was 1800. “Now, since I control a Gladiator Beast monster I can special summon my Test Tiger from my hand!” In an instant, a small tiger kitten appeared on the field wearing bits of armor. “By releasing my Test Tiger I can send Laquari back into my deck and special summon a different Gladiator Beast and this is treated as the effect of a Gladiator Beast. Now I’ll special summon from my deck Gladiator Beast Augustus in attack mode!” Appearing behind Forge was a creature that looked more like a beaked dragon in armor. Its armor was light, protecting mainly its vital areas over its purple scaly skin. Augustus had leathery wings like a bat, with clawed hands in the middle that were separate from his normal arms, one of which held a short sword. Its attack was 2600.


“When Augustus is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, I can special summon one Gladiator Beast from my hand in defense mode,” continued Forge. “Come on out Gladiator Beast Darius!” Stomping onto the field was a horse man wearing light orange armor with 300 defense points. In one hand Darius held a whip that crackled with electrical power. “When Darius is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, his effect lets me bring back one Gladiator Beast sleeping in my graveyard with its effect negated. Rise again Gyzarus!” Darius cracked his whip to the ground next to him, creating a tear in time and space in which Forge’s fallen monster returned to the field.


Mac now looked worried, taking a step back as he surveyed the field before him. “Ok, ya got some good monster’s on the field,” he admitted. “But none of them can take down mah Silent Magician LVL 8 or Silent Swordsman LVL 5.”


“Right now, you’re right,” admitted Forge. “But whoever said I was done? I return Gyzarus and Noxious back to the deck in order to do a contact fusion!” Forge watched as his monsters vanished, returning to the decks were he could use them again at their fullest. “From the wilderness of the savanna to the endless skies above. Only one has it in him to teach and mold all of the Gladiator Beasts. Make way for him now! Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor!”Appearing on the field in attack mode was a 2400 attack point moose human hybrid wearing red mage armor. His antlers were gold and more seemed to be growing out of his back. In his hand he carried a staff with a glowing green orb that floated above it. “When he is special summoned, his effect lets me special summon any of my Gladiator Beast fusion monsters in my extra deck ignoring the summoning conditions. So come on back Gyzarus!” Editor trusted his staff forwards and proceeded to make a circular motion with it. A portal quickly appeared in which Gyzarus soon stepped out of before taking to the air above them again. “And you remember what he does when he is special summoned, right Mac?”


Mac gritted his teeth, but did not answer. Instead he watched helplessly as Gyzarus created two more spears of light and launched them at Silent Magician LVL 8 and Silent Swordsman LVL 5. Neither monster could do anything to save themselves as they were both pierced there the chests before being destroyed, leaving only Silent Magician LVL 4 on the field.


“Now I send Augustus, Darius, and Gyzarus back to the deck to perform another fusion summoning,” continued Forge, much to the evident shock of Big Mac. “Ancient battles that never cease. Weakened and tired, he will call out for help when needed. Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Andabata!” Appearing now on the field was a creature that looked like a human pterodactyl minus the wings. In their place was something that could have been high tech cannons. His armor looked more high tech than the previous Gladiator Beasts but still used a shield and sword to do battle. His attack was 1000. “Like Editor, this guy can bring out a fusion Gladiator Beast while ignoring the summoning condtions. However he is limited to level 7 and below. Good thing I have just the guy for the job. My green bird of destruction: Gyzarus!”


“Not again!” yelled Mac as Gyzarus appeared on the field again. Forge watched as Mac trembled a bit while Gyzarus took to the air before destroying Silent Magician LVL 4 and his trap card. When he was finished, Gyzarus landed on the ground with a thud.


“Now I attack,” said Forge as he stared at Mac. Mac stood there, looking at his hand to see if there was anything he could use at this moment to protect him. But clearly there was nothing he could do. Andabata attacked first, slashing his sword across Mac’s chest to drop him to 6000. Then flew in Gyzarus, golden spear of light in hand which was quickly trusted into Mac’s chest. The older man yelled out as he was pushed back against the workbench, the old tool box falling to the ground as his life points dropped to 3600. Last came Editor, whose staff smacked Mac across the cheek and dropped his life points to 1200. By the time it was over, Mac had fallen to his knees and was panting heavily.


“Now that my battle phase is done, I have the option of sending my fusion monsters back to my deck in order to special summon Gladiator Beasts from my deck,” continued Forge. “I return Andabata to special summon two Gladiator Beasts. I choose Laquari and Retiari!” Once again the tiger man appeared on the field in attack mode along with a lizard man holding a trident whose attack points were 1200. “When Retiari is special summoned due to the effect of a Gladiator Beast I can banish one monster in your graveyard. So say goodbye to Silent Magician LVL 8.” Big Mac gritted his teeth as his card was ejected from the graveyard slot before being placed in his back pocket.


“Ya done yet?” asked Mac, soreness in his voice.


“No, I have one more move,” replied Forge as he removed Laquari, Retiari, and Gyzarus from his monster tray. “One more fusion summon. He who has mastered all weapons in the Coliseum. He who can withstand any challenger. Step into the arena and face your challenger! Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!” Falling to the ground and landing on one knee was a lion man with more armor than any other monster Forge had summoned so far. With 3000 attack points he seemed to have thicker armor than most Gladiator Beasts. On his back was a pair of glowing green wings and he held a heavy axe in one hand while in the other was a shield that looked like a turtle’s shell with blasters attached to it. “I end my turn.”


“Ah draw,” announced Mac. He looked at the card he had just drawn, smiled, and quickly placed it in his spell and trap card zone. “Ah activate the card Dark Hole to destroy everything on the field! Ah’m taking back this here duel right now!”


“No, you’re not,” said Forge simply as he discarded a card from his hand. “The effect of Heraklinos lets me discard a card from my hand to negate the activation of a spell or trap card and then destroy it.”


“No,” whispered Mac. He then looked at his hand for a moment and then, with a heavy heart, placed a hand over his deck signaling his surrender.


“Well now, wasn’t that a sight,” came a voice off to the side causing both men to jump slightly. Then turned to see Applejack standing at the doorway with a smile on her face. “Good ta see ya both getting’ along finally. Beginning ta think something was wrong with the two of ya given the way ya look at each other. Nothing like a good old duel to help patch the gap.”


“Y-Yeah,” said Forge as he looked over at Mac. The older man said nothing, only sighing before giving him a nod. Seeing this, Forge approached Applejack while he pulled out the tickets. “Ah, Applejack, I wanted to give you these yesterday but…well…if you want them.”


“What the?” began Applejack as she took them in her hand. “Group tickets to the medieval fair this weekend?”


“Y-Yeah,” stammered Forge as he watched her examine them. “I’m working there this weekend selling some of the sword I made and doing a couple of demonstrations. Each one is good for four people so you could bring your friends. And maybe, while you’re there, we could spend some time together. Maybe just the…two of us?” As he said this, Forge knew his cheeks were burning red. As where AJ’s as her eyes widened in realization at what he was asking. Slowly a smile crept onto her face as the redness of her cheeks darkened.


“Ah’d love ta sugarcube,” she said, her smile slightly awekard but no less genuine. “Never knew ya had…well…”


“I did,” said Forge quickly. “I mean, I have and still do. I mean…”


Mac let out a loud sigh. “Applejack, ya sure this is a good idea?” Forge’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Mac. What was he doing? He had won the duel. He had been allowed to ask Applejack out fair and square. So what was he doing now? But just as soon as those thoughts entered his head, he realized the truth. He had only been allowed to ask her out. He had never added the condition that Mac couldn’t talk her out of it. Drat.


“Why’s that?” asked Applejack, a frown appearing on her face as she stepped past Forge. “Ya saying Ah’m not allowed ta date or anything like that? Well?”


“Not that,” said Mac as AJ placed her hands on her hips, giving her brother the stink eye as she did so. “It’s just…Ah’m just worried about ya, that’s all. Ya do so much already. Ya go ta school, work at the mall, work here, ya play in a band, and still do things ta help out those friends of yours. Ah…Ah’m just afraid that ya might trying pushin’ yourself to throw dating into the mix and might be more than ya can handle. Just sayin’ ya should rest up a bit.”


“Oh,” replied AJ as both she and Forge were taken aback by this. “Well maybe these dates will let me have a break. If it goes anywhere, ya know.”


“And maybe I can help out,” said Forge. “Like help you out from time to time or just meeting up at a concert or something.”


“An if its too much for me,” continued AJ as she looked at Forge. “We could take a small break. No hard feelings?”


“None at all,” he replied, stealing a brief glance at Big Mac who gave a short and silent nod.
> Bad Smile (Pinkie vs. Limestone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pie Family Countertops,” said Limestone Pie as she sat behind the desk of her family’s business with the phone pressed against her ear. Briefly she shifted a tad so that she could rest the phone against her ear, secretly wishing her parents would authorize funds to get a freaking Bluetooth so she could more easily use the PC. You know multitasking? Sadly her parents, who technically still owned the business, were on the slow track to modernizing. It took a whole year of Limestone doing everything in her power to convince them to get a website! “This is Limestone Pie speaking. How may I help you?”


“Hello, I’m, ah, you see my mother’s birthday is coming up,” began the voice on the other end, causing Limestone to roll her eyes. This was one of the things she hated about running the business from this end. She could deal with the gruff looking men who delivered the sheets of stone to their lot which she and her sisters would cut up before installing for the customers. She could manage her irritation as people came in to ‘just browse’ as they went up and down the showroom where she now sat, looking at all the samples of the materials they used before going home. Ok, it got on her nerves a little bit when people complained about the prices and tried to get a better deal. But this? She didn’t care about the why someone was buying from them or their life story! If you wanted to buy something from them all Limestone cared about was if they could pay!


“Well, my daddy and me thought she might like some custom made countertops,” continued the voice on the other line as Limestone checked out the family’s website. She could see that several people had sent left messages for her, but they were all ‘do you do installations’. Seriously, was there anyone who read the site? It wasn’t like they didn’t say it at the top of the page! “We were thinking marble if you had any.”


Ok, that got Limestone’s attention. “Yes, we do,” she said while dollar bill signs appeared in her eyes for a hot second. “As the city’s number one supplier, we offer a wide variety of colors and patterns to match just about any kitchen or bathroom. And with our new payment plan it will be easier on your wallet. All I need to do is check your credit history and-”


“Actually, I was thinking we’d just pay in cash,” interrupted the person on the other line causing Limestone to pause. Oh, cold hard cash. So much better than credit.


“That’s fine,” said Limestone. “If that’s the case, why don’t you and your father come down to the shop. Here you can see all the samples we have to offer as well as see how they feel to the touch. Then we can go over costs. The only thing you’ll need is the measurements for the counter space.”


“Oh,” said the voice on the other line. “Would we really need to do that?”


Limestone frowned again, taking a hand off the keyboard to rub her forehead. “Yes, you would,” she said trying her best not to sound as annoyed as she felt right now. “Once you picked out the marble, we’re going to need to know the size and dimensions of the final product so it will fit nicely into your home. If you really don’t want to come down, then you would have to use the website in which case we would accept credit or digital check.”


“Well, daddy was hoping you would come to us,” explained the voice, sounding a little worried. “He wants to see the samples in the kitchen so we can get a better idea what will look good and what won’t. Plus we don’t have anything to measure with.” Getting more annoyed with this call, Limestone was about to tell her that they didn’t do home calls. To just take her smart phone into the kitchen or whatever, pull up the website, and get an idea like that. There was no need for her to waste her time heading out like that! But all those thoughts were silenced by what the caller said next. “Of course we’ll pay extra for the inconvenience as well as any travel costs. Would an extra thousand cover it?”


“Of course!” said an excited Limestone as she quickly pulled out a pen and spare piece of paper. “Just give me the address and I’ll be right down.”


About a minute later, Limestone was locking up the store and putting up a ‘Stepped out for a bit’ sign. She had also changed outfit at a remarkable speed. Before she had worn torn jeans and a blouse, stuff that she didn’t think anyone would mind seeing either on the floor or at the local club scene. Now was a different matter as she wore her best steel grey suit with matching jacket, minus a tie. On her shoulder was a strap attached to a binder full of color samples, with the word Marble written on the outside. She had thought about bringing a few other sample cases, but carrying just one of these was enough to put some strain on her back. Plus these samples were expensive, the stuff in the book accumulating into at least three thousand dollars. It was one of the reasons why the binder was kept on the premises at all times. Limestone, however, felt that this was more than a good enough reason to break said rule.


While dimming the light and locking up, she wished that there was someone else who could watch things around here for her. However, since this was a family owned and operated business, her choices were very few. Both her parents were out speaking with suppliers, leaving her to run things until they returned. As for Maud, she didn’t really work at the family business anymore. Ever since she got her fancy degree she had become busy with her work at the museum, talking to little kids about fossils and the like. Or something like that.


That left her with two choices and both were out of the question. Marble Pie was not the most social person in the world. She would only work in the back, cutting up the material rather than dealing with other people. In a way, she was the lucky one since she didn’t have to deal with other people…at all. She worked by herself and only ever talked to members of the family. While it seemed nice, Limestone knew that she had to deal with things she didn’t want to if she was going to truly take over the family business when her parents retired. As for Marble, she had been in charge of the floor and phone once. To say it didn’t go so well was an understatement.


Then there was Pinkie…


Speaking of the Discord, Limestone saw Pinkie as she exited the side door and locking it behind her. The bright pink pie sister was sitting on the porch (their house being directly next to the shop) dressed in her diner shop blue dress and apron, strapping on her roller blades with that ‘without a care’ smile of hers. If Marble was too antisocial for the job than Pinkie Pie was too excitable and friendly for the job. True she helped out the family plenty of times planning tent parties to attract potential new clients and the like. But trying to have her fill out forms or sitting still long enough for someone to fill out the paperwork was like asking for a miracle.


“Hey sis,” said Pinkie when she noticed Limestone. Waving excitedly, Pinkie leapt to her feet before rolling over to Limestone with her hands behind her back. “What’cha doing? Heading out for some coffee or something? If you want I can get you some. I’ve got some time before I head off to work.”


“No,” said Limestone quickly. She had had too many experiences of Pinkie getting them coffee. Most of the time it was 50% coffee and 50% percent sugar. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. Meeting with a client whose going to be paying cash.”


“Cash?” echoed Pinkie, tilting her head and looking utterly confused.


“Yep,” said Limestone as she pulled out the keys to her car with rested in the parking lot. With the push of a button, she started up her lime green car allowing for the AC to begin blasting. Sure it wasn’t the warmest day ever, but she preferred to ride cooled. “I’m heading over there right now. They’re paying me an extra thousand dollars just to meet them at their home! I cash! In fact, they’re paying it all in cash.” As Limestone reached for the car door, Pinkie swiftly snatched the address from her hand. “Hey, give that back!”


Pinkie said nothing, she just stared at the paper with a worried look that irritated Limestone to no end! Gritting her teeth, she reached out to try and grab the paper but Pinkie, using physics known only to her, managed to roll out of the way with seeming to move any part of her body. Limestone reached for it again with the same result, Pinkie moving just out of her reach without looking up from the paper.


“Limestone, are you sure you got the right address?” asked Pinkie. “I’m pretty sure I did a ‘Sorry You’re Leaving the Neighborhood Party’ for the family that used to live there last week. I think it was the Pickle Family. They had this dog named after a piece of meat. I think his name was-”


“Your point?” growled Limestone as she reached for the paper again, this time managing to get it out of her sister’s hold.


“Well, I haven’t thrown a ‘Welcome to the Neighborhood Party’ for that house yet,” explained Pinkie. “As far as I know, no one has bought it yet.”


“Again, your point?” growled Limestone.


“I just think it’s weird,” said Pinkie, a worried look coming over her face. “I mean, countertops are expensive. And they’re paying it all in cash? Plus getting you to come to them alone? This just smells bad. Worse than that time I left a couple of large tuna out in the sun to soak with garlic and compost.” Limestone remembered that time all too well. so well in fact that a hand flew up to cover her mouth, even though the scent had long since passed. No one knew what had compelled Pinkie to do that, even to this day.


As Limestone gulped, doing her best to push back the horrid memory from her mind, a small voice inside her agreed with the insane pink one. Yes, this did feel odd. In fact, it felt very odd. As long as Limestone had been helping run the family business, she had never once met a person who was willing to pay in cash. She had heard her parents talk about it before, but had never seen it. Nor had she met someone so willing to get her to come over to their house. Willing to pay a thousand dollars just so they didn’t have to leave the house? Well that did throw up some red flags.


However, Limestone dug in her heels. “It’ll be fine,” she said as she made her way to the car. Pinkie tried to grab a hold of her, yet because of her skates Limestone was able to just push her away. With Pinkie rolling backwards, the more aggressive sister was able to get in the car and out of the driveway, tires screeching as she did so. For several long moments, Limestone was able to see Pinkie keeping up in the rearview mirror. That is until she put more pressure on the pedal. Then Pinkie was nothing more than a pink dot in the background and nothing at all.


For several long minutes, Limestone drove well above the speed limit all to make sure that her sister wasn’t following her. ‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ thought Limestone as she drew closer to her destination. The houses she began to pass changed from your average, well to do homes to the ‘we’re stinking rich and we want everyone to know it’ type of homes. Many of them with three stories, large lawns that would take a day to mow without a riding mower, and just looked like you would have to sell both your soul and your first born child’s just to rent a single room for an hour. To add to it, many of these homes had those very expensive cars parked in their driveways as if to show them off to any passerby. Yeah, it was that kind of neighborhood.


‘Nothing to worry about,’ thought Limestone as she began to relax a bit, slowing down her speed to avoid getting a ticket. ‘Probably meeting with some rich jerk whose just used to people coming to him. Or maybe some guy who won the lottery, cashed it all, and is trying to upgrade. Who knows?’ Shrugging to herself, Limestone let out a sigh. ‘Yeah, Pinkie is just jumping at shadows. With all that ‘magic’ or whatever going on with her life and dealing with who knows what has made her paranoid. There can’t be a threat hidden behind every door or whatever.’


For a while, Limestone was able to enjoy the car ride in almost complete silence. But when she arrived at her destination, some of that dread began to return with renewed force. The house was in good shape, a three story building with a large arch-like entryway and painted bright white. But the lawn looked like it hadn’t been touched in some time, with bits of trash scattered about it. As Limestone pulled into the driveway, she could see through the large windows that there was nothing inside. No couches, no chandler, no anything. Just white walls and ceiling from what she could tell. What’s more the ‘For Sale’ sign was still firmly planted in the group.


After parking her car, Limestone pulled out the directions to make sure she had gotten them right. She had, leading her to two possibilities and both were very likely. One was that someone had really, really recently bought the house. Perhaps they were super excited to get started making it their own or they were going to fix it up more before putting it back on the market. Yet offering to pay with cash? The other option was that this was all some sort of prank. A joke that she fell for hook, line, and sinker.


“Well, gone this far,” muttered Limestone with a frown, unbuckling her safety belt as she did so. “Might as well knock on the door. I swear, if this is a prank…” She let the threat hang as she opened the door; not wanting any passerby hearing what she would crush if given the chance.


Calmly she got out of the car, doing her best to keep her expression soft despite the anger and embarrassment she felt inside her, and approached the door. A door that seemed to open by itself as she drew nearer.


-x-


Pinkie Pie let out a sigh as she rested her head on the counter of the restaurant, her normally poofy hair laying flat. Through half lidded eyes she watched as her co-workers skated about the place, taking orders with friendly expressions or delivering their orders. The place was full enough to the point where they weren’t dead but not full enough to make her feel bad about not helping. Nor was she hearing anyone complaining about it. There seemed to be a silent agreement between them that Pinkie was allowed to wait on the sidelines until her smile came back.


But for the last hour and a half, nothing had changed. All she could do was think about Limestone.


The bell over the door rang again, signaling that someone had either entered or left. There was a brief flash of purple and the colors of bacon causing her head to rise just as two of her friends sat down in front of her. Sunset was looking extra, super duper happy right now. So much so that her pupils had turned into large stars and her cheeks had puffed up. Weird, she thought she was the only one who could do that.


“Hey Pinkie,” said Twilight as she sat down. As she did, Twilight reached out a hand to grab Sunset by the arm and guided her to the chair next to her.


“Ah, what happened to Sunset?” asked Pinkie as she lifted her head off the counter.


“The ban list just updated,” said Twilight while at the same time Sunset let out a squeal of joy.


“It finally happened,” exclaimed Sunset as she brought both her arms in front of her chest and began to wiggle. “Finally, after so long Rekindling is back to three! I have been waiting for this day for like forever. At last my deck can use its powers to its full advantage!”


Twilight rolled her eyes as she placed her elbow on the counter and then propping her head on top of an open palm. “Yeah, and meanwhile Genex still don’t have any new support. I swear they’re not reading my emails at all.” She then let out a sigh. “Well, anyways, I thought we could come here to celebrate and check in on you. We just heard about Applejack’s date and…” Pinkie watched as Twilight did a double take, her eyes widening as she did so. Her gaze was fixed on Pinkie who, upon nothing this, did her best to force herself to smile. However, that smile was the fakest of all fakes. She knew it and more than likely Twilight knew it.


“Pinkie, is everything ok?” asked Twilight. The worried tone she used seemed to reach Sunset because at that moment, she seemed to come back to earth from whatever realm of happiness she had been in.


“Oh of course I’m fine,” said Pinkie as she waved it off. For a moment, they all remained where they were staring at each other before the pink one sighed. “Not buying it huh.”


“Not really,” said Twilight.


“Not a chance,” agreed Sunset.


Pinkie let out another sigh. “It’s Limestone,” she explained. “She got this call from someone who lives in a house that hasn’t been sold yet, telling her to they want to buy counters with cash and that they wanted her to come to them for extra thousand dollars. It just feels…off.”


“WHAT!?!” shouted both of Pinkie’s friends, causing said pink girl to jump in surprise.


“That has to be the most obvious trap I’ve ever heard in my life!” shouted Sunset. “I can remember back when I was living in Equestria Princess Celestia had me read this book about the ways Diamond Dogs kidnapped ponies. Or at least tried to. They would leave a trail of diamonds and gems towards a spooky, dark where they would ambush them. Only they rarely got anyone because nopony was that stupid to fall for such an obvious trap!”


“Anyone with common sense would think that this was suspicious,” agreed Twilight. “Please tell me you did something Pinkie.”


“Yeah, I did,” said Pinkie as she slumped back onto the counter. “I called my parents and they told me not to worry. That they were going to call her and if she didn’t answer they would call the police. I also called Maud to see what she thinks. She agrees with our parents.”


“Well, I’m going to call Shining Armor just to be on the safe side,” said Twilight as she pulled out her phone. “If something is going on then every second co-” Twilight was cut off as something began to beep in her pocket. For a moment she sat there, as if frozen by the noise while her pupils contracted. She looked…scared. And her fear seemed to infect the other two without knowing why.


Slowly, Twilight reached into her pocket with a shaky hand to pull out what was making the noise. When Pinkie saw it she became confused. It was Twilight’s magic detecting thingy. But why would that cause her to be scared? All it did was detect when other people were using magic and…oh. Now she understood.


Slowly Twilight opened it and her eyes widened. “Pinkie,” Twilight said in little more than a whisper. “I think we better get to your place. Right now.”


-x-


The door to the Pie family business was wide open when Pinkie, Sunset, and Twilight arrived. That alone was odd since Pinkie’s parents had drilled it into the heads of all four sisters to keep the doors closed at all times. But to make matters worse, there was no alarm going off nor had her phone alerted her to a break in.


“Limestone,” called out Pinkie. With a doughnut in hand, ready to infuse it with magic in case she needed to blast some creepy person, she walked in through. All around her were displays of various counters that they made, as well as designer sinks and the like, with their prices on display. In the back of the room was a desk were Limestone normally sat, doing sales. Near it was a door that lead into their parents office which had been left ajar. Even though the lights were off and it was dark inside, all three girls could make out movement.


“Limestone,” called out Pinkie again, a tremble in her voice now. She quickly glanced behind her to see her friend. Sunset was holding Twilight’s device which was beeping at them rapidly. Whatever the magic was, it was close. As for Twilight, she was focusing on her own geode in case her own brand of magic was needed.


A rustle was then heard in front. Looking forward, Pinkie saw Limestone standing in the doorway in a way that made Pinkie drop her doughnut. Her sister stood there with her suit looking disheveled, as if she had been in some sort of fight or something. In one hand was a small sack, like the one her parents kept in the safe in the office. She knew that they always kept a large sum of money in there for emergencies or in case someone did pay in cash. It was always kept there until the end of the week before all the extra proceeds went to the bank. No doubt Limestone had taken it from the safe.


But that wasn’t the reason that caused Pinkie such alarm. No, it was the fact that Limestone was smiling. With eyes wider than anything that Pinkie had ever seen her sister have before, she smiled a big fake toothed smile at them. Like she was being forced to do that or something. As a person who loved to see people happy and smiling, she could tell that Limestone’s heart wasn’t in it. Probably because of the thing on Limestone’s neck. It was a large mass of pinkish purple and a few other spots of color on it, with tentacles wiggling around. Pinkie could see that in the area around Limestone’s neck where it was attached there were heavy veins visible under the skin.


“Are you girls seeing this?” gasped Twilight.


Sunset placed a hand over her mouth. “I wish I wasn’t.”


“Hello sister,” said Limestone as she walked forward. Her smile never wavered even as she dropped the bag next to her. “You’re home early.”


“W-What happened to you?!” demanded Pinkie. “What’s that thing on your neck?”


“Oh, you can see it?” asked Limestone, a bit of surprise in her voice. “Funny, nobody else could see it. Isn’t it nice?” Calmly, she petted the thing as if it were some sort of cat or dog. In response the…thing made a gurgling noise that caused all the other girls to cringe. “My new friend gave me this and now everything is wonderful. I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. There’s no anger, uncertainty, or anything else that might trouble me. I now know my place in the world. Just doing what I’m told to do. Soon everyone will be like this. No more fighting or hating each other. We’ll all be the same, united in friendship. Isn’t that nice?”


“Ah noooooo,” said Pinkie as she stepped forward. “That isn’t friendship at all. That’s, like, slavery. Who in their right mind would think that’s a good idea? It’s like saying killing half of all life everywhere would save the universe or something.”


“You think that way now,” said Limestone as the thing on her neck began to pulse rapidly. “But don’t worry. As your sister, I’ll help you and your friends to understand. Just let me transfer all of our families funds to an offshore account. My friend needs it to help her start the new world order.”


“Again: NO!” yelled Pinkie. “You’ve wanted your whole life to take over the family business for mom and dad. I can’t let you throw away all of your hard work because some big meanie is controlling you.”


Limestone was silent for a moment…but the thing on her neck wasn’t. It began to pulsate vulgarly and oozing some sort of slime from the ends of its tentacles. Pinkie could hear Sunset falling to her knees while making a gagging sound. As for Twilight, she had pulled out another device from her pocket which she shoved into Pinkie’s hand. Looking down, it looked like a smart phone…but with a deck and graveyard slot? There was also another space sort of like an indent as if she were supposed to put something in there.


“Put your geode right here,” said Twilight quickly. Pinkie looked at her for a moment before shrugging and doing what she was told. As soon as the gem was in the slot, a dome of cotton candy pink energy surrounded the magical stone while the rest of the device came to life. It soared from her hands and attached itself to her wrist. Once attached, five balloons made of energy appeared on one side of it starting with yellow then blue and then back to yellow.


As Pinkie stared at it, the thing on Limestone’s neck divided. While the mass still on Limestone’s neck began to replenish itself, the part that had split off launched itself away from her and towards Pinkie. On instinct, Pinkie raised her arms to shield herself. But the thing never touched her. All of the girls watched as a pink bubble of energy suddenly appeared in the air while Pinkie’s geode glowed brighter. As the mass vanished, so too did the bubble.


“Twilight, what is this?” asked Pinkie as she moved her arm around, surprised that it made a noise like a lightsaber.


“This is the new magical duel disk I’ve been working on since we last ran into Cinch,” said Twilight with a hint of pride in her voice. “Model 275 is powered by our geodes and will protect our magic whenever someone like Cinch tries to steal it. My theory was that the magic of our gems would be filtered into the holograms giving us both protection from other sources of Equestrian magic as well as the ability to fight them. So far, the theory seems to be holding up. On another positive side, using the gems to power the hard light technology has made the device far lighter.”


Pinkie Pie blinked at her friend. “And you just happened to have this on you right now?” she asked.


Twilight blushed. “Actually I was hoping to get some real world field tests in soon,” she said. “So I’ve been carrying it around with me since I finished it. Right now I’m just glad it hasn’t exploded.”


“Works for me,” said Pinkie in a chipper tone as she slid her deck into the slot. At once the auto-shuffler activated, shuffling the cards in her deck while the screen showed off her life points. “So all I have to do is duel my sister, beat her, and she’ll be free of that mean old nasty thing controlling her. Right?”


“Well, I hope so,” Twilight admitted. “Like I said, it hasn’t gone through any testing since I haven’t been able to find a suitable subject afflicted my Equestrian magic. But it should work in theory.”


“Alright then,” said Pinkie as she took a stance, determination in her eyes. “Limestone, get your game on!” Everyone, including Limestone and the creature on her neck, made a groaning sound.


“Very well then,” said Limestone as she pulled out her own duel disk. “I’ll defeat you so I can continue helping out my friend. Then, maybe we can all become friends. Wouldn’t that be nice?”


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the room appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, one side showing a happy and smiling Pinkie Pie while the other showing a snarling Limestone. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portrait stopped spinning, ending on Pinkie.


“Don’t worry Limestone,” said Pinkie as she drew a full hand of six cards. “I’ll save you and put a real smile on your face. And it looks like I’ve got the perfect card to start: Toon Table of Contents. This spell card lets me add any Toon card from my deck to my hand.” As Pinkie inserted the spell card into her new duel disk, a large cartoonish book appeared in front of her. At once the tome opened out, creating a cloud of dust that flew up into the air. Yet Pinkie didn’t seem to mind it at all. Instead she ran a finger down the wording. “Personally, I think this card should be renamed Toon TV Guide or something like that. Oh well.” She then suddenly pulled a card which glowed a golden hue out of the book. Once it was in the air the book slammed shut while the text of the card could now be seen.


“The card I picked will take us to the happiest place in the world: Toon Kingdom!” exclaimed Pinkie happily as she played the card. When she did, the floor beneath them transformed into a book which suddenly opened up and propelled them into the air for a brief moment. As all four girls fell down onto paper, a large pop up castle appeared behind Pinkie with balloons and confetti flying about the place. “But to activate it, I sadly have to say goodbye to the top three cards in my deck, banishing them face down. It’s sad. Three smiles we’ll never get to see. The upside is that this card counts as Toon World while on the field.


“Next I special summon Toon Mermaid in attack mode,” continued Pinkie as she placed one of her cards on top of one of the balloons. On the field appeared a giant white clam with cartoonish eyeballs on top of it. The shell opened up to reveal a giggling mermaid with green hair along with a bow and arrow. It had an attack of 1400. “But she won’t be alone because I’ll also be normal summoning Toon Masked Sorcerer.” Bouncing onto the field was a figure in a red robe with extra long fingers. Unlike the fleshy fingers, the monster looked like its face was made out of metal or was wearing an iron mask. A mask that did not prevent him from showing off his own toothy smile as well as the extra large eyes. His attack points were 900.


“Since I can’t attack, I’ll set one teensy weensy card face down and end my turn,” finished Pinkie Pie. Her final card appeared on the field, leaving her with just two cards in her hand.


“I draw then,” said Limestone who grinned the entire time. She briefly looked at the six cards in her hand before setting two in her spell and trap card zone. “First I’ll set these two cards and then summon Alpha the Electromagnetic Warrior in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a slender figure whose body looked like it was made out of grey minerals. Horseshoe-shaped magnets decorated the monster’s body including on top of its head. In one hand it hand a shield while in the other it carried a staff or spear with coils wrapped around it. As sparks flew across its body, all three girls could see it had 1700 attack points. More than enough to deal with either of Pinkie’s monsters.


“When this monster is normal or special summoned, I can add one level eight Magna Warrior from my deck to my hand,” explained Limestone as she began to search her deck. “So I choose Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.” Limestone then paused for a moment as the thing on her neck began to make louder squishing noises. Then she looked up at Pinkie, her smile growing wider. “Now I will attack! Alpha, destroy her Masked Sorcerer!” The current of electrical power in Alpha’s weapon increased right before it leapt into the air. Once it was overhead, it appeared to the three Rainbooms that lightning was striking the weapons.


“Oh no you don’t,” said Pinkie as she removed the top card from her deck. “Toon Kingdom has the power to prevent one of my adorable toons from being destroyed by battle or card effect. All I have to do is remove the top card from my deck from play.”


“I know,” said Limestone. “But you’ll still take the damage.” With that, Alpha’s weapon landed on Pinkie’s toon. The Masked Sorcerer jerked about, its body being surrounded by yellow light with only its skeleton being visible. When the attack ended, its body looked a little charred but still there. As the toon took out a brush to dust itself off, Pinkie’s life points dropped to 7200. “I end my turn.”


“And I begin mine,” said Pinkie as she drew. As she looked at the three cards in her hand Limestone pressed a button on her duel disk.


“I activate the trap card Rock Bombardment,” she said her card flipped face up. “This card lets me send one rock monster in my deck to the grave to inflict 500 points of damage. So I’ll send the original Alpha the Magnet Warrior to the grave. Sorry sis, but those who stand in the way of true friendship will get hurt.” Coming out of the trap card was a single large boulder that shot across the field. Both of Pinkie’s monsters moved in an effort to try and block it only to be flattened as a result. In impacted Pinkie, knocking the air out of her lungs as she fell on her back while her life points dropped to 6700.


“Pinkie,” cried Sunset and Twilight together as they rushed to their friends side. As they knelt beside her both girls could see tiny cuts in her clothing as well as a bit of blood coming out of her mouth.


“It’s just like with Cinch,” exclaimed Sunset in a worried tone. “Whatever Equestrian magic is controlling Limestone is also making the damage real.”


“Pinkie, please,” said Twilight as she checked her friends pulse. Thankfully, Pinkie opened her eyes while coughing loudly.


“Does it hurt?” asked Limestone. Both Sunset and Twilight turned to look at her while Pinkie slowly sat up. While Limestone’s smile remained fixed, there were small traces of tears coming out of her eyes. “It hurt me as well. But I deserved it because I fought back like how you are now. I was too stubborn to see the truth, how all of the world could unite in eternal friendship. But soon you will learn and then you’ll be like me.”


“Pinkie this is dangerous,” said Sunset. Pinkie did not say anything, only getting back onto her feet which looked at little shaky at the moment. “We can go back and get the others. We can pony up and-”


“No,” said Pinkie as she looked intently at her sister. “I’m not that hurt right now. It just caught me off guard. I’ll be fine.”


“But-” began Sunset yet fell silent when Pinkie shook her head.


“I don’t like seeing my sister like this,” she continued. “With that fake smile and that thing controlling her body like that. I bet deep down she’s suffering, being forced to be like that. If I run away right now she’ll have to spend more time like that! So I Pinkie Promise right here and now that no matter how much pain I go through I’ll save her.”


“Are you going to continue or forfeit?” asked Limestone.


Sunset opened her mouth to say something only to have Twilight grab her wrist. “It’s too late to do anything now,” said the purple girl as she pointed to the thing on Limestone’s neck. “If this is anything like the duel we had at Camp Everfree, then I don’t think Pinkie’s life is in danger. But that thing. It already tried launching itself at her once. It might try it again if Pinkie loses or gives up. We have to let her try and stop this.”


“Ok, I tribute my Toon Mermaid in order to special summon Toon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!” announced Pinkie as her Mermaid vanished in a puff of pink smoke. In its place was the iconic blonde spellcaster, only smaller and more cartoony. It sat upon a floating book with an attack of 2000 attack points. “Sadly, I can’t attack with her on the turn it was special summoned. But what I can do is attack you with Toon Masked Sorcerer. And since you don’t control any Toon monsters he can attack you directly!”


“Before you do that, I activate the quick effect of Alpha the Electromagnetic Warrior,” said Limestone as Pinkie’s Masked Sorcerer pulled out a rather large wand from its robes. “By tributing it, I can special summon any Magnet Warrior in my deck to the field. So I’ll special summon Gamma the Electromagnetic Warrior in defense mode!” Electrical energy began to surround Alpha until it became so bright it was nearly blinding. Several moments later when the light began to dim all the girls saw that a new monster with 2000 defense points was standing on the field. It was a bulky, heavy looking monster with a horseshoe magnet around its neck, magnet bars on its rounded arms, and coils around its circular shoulders. It had no mouth but gazed forward with its yellow eyes.


Pinkie didn’t respond to this, simply allowing her Masked Sorcerer to unleash its attack. The masked toon twirled its wand in his oversized hands sending out stars that looked more like pillows past the Gamma and hitting Limestone. The direct attack looked like it did very little when compared to what Limestone had done to Pinkie, pushing her back a bit while Limestone’s life points fell to 7100.


“Thanks to my Masked Sorcerer’s effect, when he inflicts damage then I get to draw a card,” said Pinkie as she drew. Pinkie then looked at the new card and jumped into the air happily. “All right! I just drew my Toon Dark Magician. And since I haven’t normal summoned yet I’ll tribute both of my toons on the field in order to bring him out so he can play!” Both of Pinkie’s toons puffed out of existence in clouds of smoke and pink bubbles. When the smoke cleared, a small version of the Dark Magician was there, sitting on a floating tome. It’s attack was the same as its original: 2500.


“Pretty neat right,” said Pinkie Pie happily. “Not only is this card super duper cute, but he also has a trick that the original doesn’t have. By discarding a toon card or a Manga Ryu-Ran from my hand I can either special summon any toon from my deck or add any toon spell/trap card from my deck to my hand. So I’ll discard my Toon Defense in order to call up Toon Dark Magician’s BFF: Red Eyes Toon Dragon!” As Pinkie Pie said this last part, she jumped into the air once more and upon landing discarded her card for cost. In response, Toon Dark Magician got to his feet so he was now standing on the book and began to run, the pages flipping instead of tearing as he did so. When he finally stopped, he reached into the book, searched around for a moment as various odd noises were heard (like car crashes and screeching cats) before pulling out a smaller toon version of Red Eyes.


“Oh Pinkie, don’t you know this is all pointless?” asked Limestone as her head jerked to the side. “I’ve dueled you plenty of times before. I know what your desks weakness is. All I have to do is get rid of Toon Kingdom and you’re finished.”


“That’s true~,” replied Pinkie in a sing-song tone. “But I also know what you’re trying to do as well. So right now we’re playing a game to see who stops who first. So I’ll pass it to you for right now.”


“Yes,” said Limestone as she drew a card, making a total of five cards in her hand. “And it looks like you’re too late to stop me because the card I just drew is Beta The Electromagnetic Warrior!” Quickly Limestone slapped the card onto the duel disk causing a light-ish red monster to appear on the field with 1500 attack points. Its limbs were thing, with coils wrapped around them connecting them to the more bulky parts of the body. Horseshoe shaped magnets made up its four digit clawed hands as well as acting like horns on the top of its head. “Now that he’s on the field, I can use his effect to add one Magnet Warrior to my hand. Well, as long as it’s level four or below. So I’ll add my Delta the Magnet Warrior.” Calmly Limestone added the card, her grin never wavering. But her head looked like it was trying to shake ‘no’.


“Now the field is all set,” continued Limestone. “Since I have Alpha, Beta, and Gamma on both my field and graveyard I can remove them from play in order to special summon Berserkion The Electromagnetic Warrior!” Instantly, both of the Electromagnetic Warriors on the field began to break apart while pieces of Alpha shot out of the pages of Pinkie’s book. The parts began to circle and connect around Alpha. Beta began to reinforce its legs while Gamma reinforced its upper body. Alpha’s weapon transformed as well, becoming more sword like with still retaining its magnetic appearance. When it landed, it was a 3000 attack point giant.


“Looks like I win this match,” said Limestone. “Berserkion has the power to banish one level four or lower Magnet Warrior in my graveyard in order to destroy one card you control. And I just so happen to have one. Pity, I was saving Alpha for later but I can’t allow to attack me directly with either of those dumb looking things you call monsters.” At Limestone’s works, both toons began to cry large crocodile tears. Toon Dark Magician even blew his nose on his robes. “Now Berserkion, destroy Toon Kingdom!” Berserkion instantly took a hold of its sword with both hands and plunged it into the pages it was stepping on. While it did, electricity around its body began to grow to the point were the pages caught fire.


“Now destroy Toon Dark Magician,” said Limestone.


“I don’t think so,” said Pinkie as Berserkion raised his sword and looked like it was getting ready to do a running charge. With a press of a button, Pinkie activated her face down trap. Then, something odd happened. Everything and everyone began to float as if gravity had been turned off. Berserkion flew past both Toon Dark Magician and Red Eyes Toon Dragon, both of whom were playing patty cake. As for the girls, Limestone found herself upside down while Pinkie, Twilight, and Sunset were doing their best to keep their skirt up. “Meet my Zero Gravity trap card. The closest thing to being in a bouncy house I could find! Isn’t it the funniest thing ever!”


“Well it is interesting,” said Twilight as she jerked herself to the side. “Seems like the magic isn’t just making the damage feel real, but also some of the effects of the cards. This needs to be studied!”


“I feel sick again,” moaned Sunset right before her cheeks began to bulge.


“Don’t worry, it doesn’t last forever,” said Pinkie. “When it does end, all monsters switch their positions!” As soon as Pinkie said that, gravity returned to normal. Thankfully for the humans they weren’t up that high so no one was hurt…badly. Most of the girls landed on their heads, with Pinkie’s hair acting like a spring to propel her to her feet. Only Twilight landed on her feet naturally. But on the field, all of the monsters there were now in defense mode.


“Fine then,” said Limestone as she managed to get to her feet. “I end my turn there. You go. But know that next turn will be your last!”


“Then I draw,” said Pinkie. As she looked at the card in her hand, her eyes widened. She then looked at the only other card she had…and grinned happily. “Sorry but I have some sweet moves for you. First, I’ll discard my Manga Ryu-Ran in my hand to have Toon Dark Magician search out another copy of Toon Kingdom and add it to my hand! Then I activate it again!” Once more, Pinkie removed the needed cards from on top of her deck from play to bring back goofy pop-up book setting. “Now with this card up, I have everything I need. Except for a card that makes cupcakes. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”


“I see, you plan on attacking me directly now that you have your field spell back,” stated Limestone. “But I’ll still be in the game. Neither of your monsters have enough attack points to finish this. And even if you do special summon another monster, I know for a fact that none of them can attack the turn you summon them.”


“Well that’s true,” admitted Pinkie. “But there is another way to get another monster on the field. Like, oh I don’t know, using a spell card.” Pinkie then placed her card in the proper slot while a giant hand reached out from the castle to grab hold of Berserkion. Limestone’s smile vanished as her monster was dragged back into the castle, kicking and trashing the entire way. Once it was hidden behind the paper walls, construction sounds could be heard along with a cloud of smoke.


“W-What is that?” asked Limestone. “What did you do to my monster?”


“Oh, just a little equip card called Comic Hand,” explained Pinkie. “I can equip it to one of your monsters, take control of it, and it then becomes, wait for it…” At that moment, the drawbridge to the castle came down revealing Berserkion. Only now it was smaller, with large white eyes with pupils and carrying a balloon sword. “A Toon!”


“No,” whispered Limestone as the thing on her neck began to shake wildly. “I still have a trap card. You wouldn’t dare try to attack me. It could wipe out your board!”


“Ah not really,” said Pinkie. “See, I’ve dueled Limestone plenty of times to know that she likes to dump her normal Magnet Warriors into the grave with stuff like Rock Bombardment, Foolish Burial, Delta, and so on. Then she uses her trap: Backup Soldier. Thing is, it can’t be used unless you have at least five monsters in the graveyard. I’m guessing that’s what that card is there. And since you haven’t been able to use it, it just proves that Limestone is fighting you.”


“What are you talking about?” asked Limestone. “I am Limestone. A better Limestone thanks to friendship.”


“Nope,” replied Pinkie simply. “That might be my sister’s body, but I know you’re not her. The real Limestone has been fighting you this entire time. If you were my real sister then you would have been able to use that trap card by now or would have brought out the fusion monster in your extra deck. Plus there’s the fact that I can see it all over her face. She might be trapped behind that fake smile but she’s fighting you with everything she has! Now I’ll set her free with an all out attack!” As Pinkie said this, she pointed at Limestone. Red Eyes Toon Dragon was the first to do so, pulling out a bubble blower and creating tiny red energy bubbles that floated across the field to explode on target; dropping her life points to 4700. Then came Toon Dark Magician, holding his staff out before him and spinning around before falling onto his butt as an energy blast was fired. The attack hit Limestone right in the chest, knocking her down this time while lowering her life points to 2200. Before Limestone could get up, Berserkion had already pounced. The transformed toon thrusted his balloon sword downward, impaling the thing on her neck as her life points dropped to 0.


-x-


“Well the good news is that you don’t die when you lose a duel,” said Twilight. It had been about an hour since Pinkie had finished the duel and now Limestone sat in her chair as Twilight examined her with one of the many devices she was now carrying with her at all times. It was her magical signature device, the one she had used the first time she appeared at Canterlot High to examine the statue. Sure it looked like something straight out of Ghostbusters…because she was a fan of the movie and thought why not. Besides, it wasn’t like its shape interfered with its function. “Or lose your soul or anything like that.”


“Wait,” groaned Limestone as she tried to sit up, Twilight device beeping loudly as she did so. “There was a chance of that happening?!”


“Well I was 99% sure that nobody here would die if they lost the duel,” explained Twilight as she pocketed her device. “I mean, we had run into something like this before and we came out fine. But there was the chance it might have been different. As for the soul thing, the odds of that happening were very, very remote.”


“But you still brought it up,” groaned Limestone.


Twilight coughed into her hand as she looked away for a brief moment. “Let’s not dwell on what might have been or my little slip of the tongue,” she said as she looked back at Limestone. “Do you remember anything at all that happened before you got taken over?”


Limestone leaned back into her seat. “Bit and pieces,” she admitted. “I remember walking into the house, but everything after that is…broken. I can remember words, commands, and watching Pinkie getting hurt. Those were the moments that were the strongest.” She then closed her eyes. “Oh God, I could have really hurt her. Damn it! Why was I so stupid for walking into a trap like that? I should have known better.”


“We all make mistakes,” said Sunset, speaking up for the first time. “Trust me on this.” Twilight turned to look at her, seeing that she hadn’t moved from the spot where Limestone had stood during the duel. She was on her knees, examining the spot with a magnifying glass with the magical journey laid out next to her. New words had been written in, detailing to Princess Twilight what they had experienced and asking if there was any magical items from Equestria that could have done this. Hopefully the Princess would be able to help.


“And we’ll help you get back on your feet,” said Pinkie as she came into the room, carrying a cup of coffee. “I already put the money back into the safe so, hopefully, mom and dad won’t know anything went wrong.” With a smile, Pinkie set the mug down on the counter. “And don’t worry, well find out who did this to you and make sure they don’t do it ever again.”


Limestone gave a small smile at that. “Well, as long as you don’t do it alone…and punch whoever did this in the gut once for me. Promise? Because nobody, and I mean nobody, makes me smile like that and gets away with it. My cheeks are still sore!”


“Pinkie Promise,” said Pinkie.


-x-


Elsewhere, a girl walked down a cold and lonely street all by herself. The sun was beginning to set while the street lamps began to glow. The wind blew, creating a soft chill that the girl ignored.


Things did not go according to plan. The target had been a bust. She had thought it would be easy. That if she went after a larger company, there would be more safeguards in place to keep company money from just flowing out into her account. Not to mention the retribution that would follow her even if the person she befriended was caught. A smaller company wouldn’t have the same resources and shouldn’t be able to do anything to her with all their funds gone. But it hadn’t worked. Something, somehow had stopped the power she had learned to master. Perhaps there was someone in this town with powers similar to her own.


That thought caused her to freeze on the spot. Other people like her? That might change things, but what should she do? She could run away from them before she was found out. There she could work on the new world order of friendship without having to deal with obstacles like that. Or there might be many more out there who could oppose her. No, that won’t do. She needed to nip this in the bud so that perfect unity and friendship could spread across the world. A world where everything was equal.


Whether people wanted it or not.
> Nightmare at the Animal Shelter (Fluttershy vs. ?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the upper west side of Canterlot, a figure paced across the room of one of the most high end apartment buildings one could get. With a doorman who stood outside in all sorts of weather to greet residents, modern art in the hallways that changed every year as the art world changed, employees to help the residents to bring their bags to their penthouse apartments, and so forth it was seen as the envy of anyone who didn’t own a mansion. That same modern charm carried into this figure’s room, filled with modern day furniture that looked expensive (and not at all comfortable) to sit on. On the walls were pictures of the figure, standing alone while blowing kisses at the camera. The ‘hip’ lamps were all turned off despite the hour of the night, allowing only the weak moonlight to guide the figures steps as well as the light of her phone. Said phone sat on the glass coffee table by a stack of letters that read ‘Final Notice’ in big red letters with the icons of various banks and credit cards on them.


Yet the figure was not focused on these important looking letters. Instead it was the phone that commanded all of the attention much like how a hawk eyes a mouse. Or rather, what was on the phone’s screen. It was MyStable. That figure’s account displayed. And it didn’t look good. Pictures and comments were getting very few likes now, only slightly above the number of views they were receiving. The number of followers having shrunken drastically over the course of a few months all because of one group.


The figure stopped for a moment, staring into the darkness as visions of their demise flashed about. All of them reduced to nothing, out on the streets and having to wear garbage. Seeing all of them behind bars for some reason. Death? Well, wouldn’t have been the first time the figure thought about the end to another existence without caring too much about it. The figure had even stated it didn’t matter to one of the Rainbooms.


A ding caught the figures attention, causing the daydreams to end in a flash. There was a message! A direct message after so long! Moving quickly, the figure moved to pick up the phone to see that it was from GloomySiren. Whoever he or she was, the figure didn’t care, opening up the private message with a single well trained finger. The message was…interesting to say the least. Scanning the words quickly, it promised the figure a second chance. A chance to return to the top of the social media scene while getting some payback. The where and how were all neatly detailed, going after the weakest of the Rainbooms.


-x-


A few days later found Fluttershy hard at work within the Canterlot Animal Shelter. While the day was bright and sunny, a perfect day to spend with her friends, the things needed to be done at the shelter were far more pressing to her. Since arriving at the wee hours of the morning she had already cleaned all of their cages, fed all the animals, refilled their water, checked to see if any of them were sick and taking care of the ones who were feeling a little under the weather, cleaning up their droppings in the backyard, mopping the floors, cleaning the counters, and doing all of this by herself. Well, that wasn’t entirely truthful. Ever since she got her magic, she had been able to ask some of the animals around the shelter for their help. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she did this without any human help. The only other person she usually saw was not the old man who ran the place but rather it was the local vet who stopped by once a day to check up on old Teddy, a boxer hound who needed more attention than Fluttershy was legally able to give. Beyond that, she was here all alone.


Which was fine with her. While Fluttershy did love spending time with her friends, there were times when they became too hectic for her tastes. Like when Pinkie Pie would go all out with her parties and noise making or Rainbow Dash trying to turn everything into a contest. Not to mention when they went out to crowded places that caused her to feel a little nervous. And all that was before the magical incidents became an almost weekly thing! Now even Duel Monsters was becoming magical, with its own set of dangers. She still got shivers just thinking about the duel at Camp Everfree where Twilight and Sunset got hurt, receiving actual injuries from it! As for what happened to Pinkie Pie just last week, that caused her to cry most of the night. So it was no wonder Fluttershy wanted to spend time at her happy place. With just her, her animal friends, and songs that escaped from her lips with no one else around. Here she could sing as much as she wanted, by herself, without anyone watching her. Or judging her. Or watching her and silently judging her.


At once, the peaceful world of the shelter vanished around her. Now Fluttershy stood upon a stage with a mic in her hands. She looked at it in confusion before turning to see that she was alone. Her friends were not there to back her up or to distract everyone from her presence. Turning her head forward now, the young teen saw that there was a crowd unlike any she had seen before. It wasn’t the reasonable size of the school but instead millions upon millions of people staring at her. Trembling, Fluttershy began to back up as they all seemed ready to boo while their eyes began to glow.


A soft bark brought her back to reality, pulling her away from the nightmare and back towards the creatures that needed her help. “Ok Fluttershy,” she breathed as she headed toward the back room were all the dogs were kept.


This room was one of the larger ones on the facility, with large gated off areas for the big dogs as well as a series of smaller cages for the medium to small dogs. All of them sat obediently, wagging their tails at the sight of their favorite caregiver, knowing what was in store for them. As Fluttershy walked towards them, she took extra special care to slow down by the drain in the middle of the room. The other day she had been a little too excited to let her friends out for their daily exercise time and had slipped on a puddle near the drain. The result was her falling on her behind which became soaked in something that required a new blouse being delivered to her from her friends. Needless to say, she was taking extra special care not to allow it to happen again.


Within the span of five minutes, Fluttershy had moved all over the room letting the dogs out one by one until she had a mass of furry love bouncing around her. A few jumped into the air, trying to lick their caregiver as she walked to the door in the very back. When the door opened, they sprang out into the well kept yard to run around and play with the chew toys Fluttershy herself had purchased for them out of her own paycheck. For a moment, she stood there at the door, leaning against the frame as she took in the sight. Everything seemed like paradise to her. The only thing that could make this moment even more perfect was if her boyfriend were here, arm draped around her shoulder. Perhaps that might happen one day in the future but for right now she needed to-


Fluttershy froze with her hand on the handle, noticing something for the first time that day. It was a series of small, but clear scratches on the doorknob. After bending her knees to get a better look she noted how deep and thin they were, ruling out one of the dogs. What’s more was the fact that many of these scratches seemed connected to the keyhole. Did…Did someone try to break in?


“Oh dear,” whispered Fluttershy as she got to her feet while looking around nervously. She, of course, would have noticed if any of the animals had gone missing or had been hurt. But maybe she should do a double check just to make sure. If some mean person did break in and steal one of the innocent creatures under care and she failed to notice then she knew she would never forgive herself.


For the next half an hour, Fluttershy went down the checklist of all the creatures at the shelter. She started with the cats and kittens, checking each and everyone before letting them into the cat play room. Following that Fluttershy headed towards the area that held the smaller animals. Mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, and so on were examined with the greatest of care while Fluttershy asked them if any had gone missing. One baby mouse was missing from its family, but the little one was quickly found in a corner nibbling on some food. The reptiles were next followed by the birds, all of whom were there and accounted for. Once that was finished, Fluttershy let in the dogs while making sure she had every single one of them.


With that done, Fluttershy moved to check their limited medical supplies. While they didn’t have anything that could be considered too powerful or dangerous, what they did have was always kept under lock and key. Before opening the medicine cabinet the caregiver did check to see if the lock had been tampered with. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she proceeded to check with a calmer heart. Every bottle was checked, Fluttershy examining the pills just in case they had been switched. Once she was satisfied all of the liquid medicine was put to the side so she could ask the vet to check on them when he next came over.


“That’s strange,” Fluttershy said to herself as she closed the cabinet. “Nothing seems to be out of place or taken. Maybe whoever tried to break in failed and gave up.” That did make sense to her, however she could not stop feeling like something was wrong.


As Fluttershy moved to return to her work, she heard the ring of her phone. “Fluttershy,” came Rainbow’s voice as soon as she answered, her impatient friend not waiting for a ‘hello’. “This is an emergency!”


“Oh dear, what happened?” asked Fluttershy, wishing there was a cord attached to the phone she could nervously twirl her finger around. “Is Tank not feeling well? You weren’t feeding him pies again, were you?”


“NO!” shouted Rainbow. “It’s much, much worse! I’m sending you a link right now. I’m just glad I found out about this before you found it on your own.”


A moment later, the link appeared in her text box. Feeling nervous about all this, Fluttershy touched the screen which took her to the YouTube section right away. As the screen began to load, she noticed the title which read: Messy Falls. Why would Rainbow Dash want her to watch something like this? Sure, Rainbow liked to watch people making a fool of themselves on camera or watching videos people took of ‘funny’ accidents however Fluttershy had told her numerous times that she didn’t find them funny at all. Most of the time when Rainbow was showing everyone a new clip she had found Fluttershy would be turning her head to the side or politely excusing herself. So why send her this?


When the video finished loading Fluttershy’s answer was handed to her. At once, Fluttershy’s eyes widened upon seeing herself within this very shelter slip and fall on the urine. Whoever had made this video had added some splash sound effects as well as a laugh track. The camera, to her horror, then zoomed in on her bottom as she stood up causing Fluttershy’s face to turn a bright glowing red. Then Fluttershy’s eyes noticed the number of views and her heart stopped. Over two million people had watched this.


“I just found out about this from a friend,” Rainbow was saying. “There are a few other clips of you from this user, but this is the one with the most views. I’m so sorry Fluttershy, but I thought you should hear this from a friend before finding out from some stranger. Fluttershy? Y-You there?”


Fluttershy didn’t answer. Instead she began to check the other videos this user had posted while sinking to her knees, tears running down her face. Rainbow was right, there were other videos about her. One had her accidently sticking her elbow in some dog poop while she was cleaning a cage. Another had her on all fours, playing with the animals with her voice being replaced with pig sounds. Then there was one that was just a compilation of her sniffing things. The only way this could have gotten any worse was if whoever posted these also posted videos of her getting changed!


This was beyond mortifying. She felt completely violated. To know someone had recorded her doing all these things and editing them like this before putting them on the web without permission. Oh, how was she going to tell her parents? They would be mortified! And how would she be able to attend school ever again with everyone most likely seeing it, laughing behind her back! She felt sure that once the manger of the shelter found out she would never be allowed back in!


As Fluttershy stared at her phone without really looking at it, she began to think of the Anon-A-Miss incident. She all too well remembered how that MyStable user had posted secrets of her and her friends. It had started small with an embarrassing nickname of Applejack’s, something she had told Sunset the night before it got posted. Then pictures that Sunset had taken of them dressed in outlandish clothing (something that had been just goofy fun between friends) got posted by the same user. Sadly they had all blamed Sunset for it, even when the post kept appearing with more and more dirt after they were ignoring their friend. In the end it turned out to be Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Even though they had apologized and taken down the account, everything that had been posted was not completely gone. Some people had saved some of their favorite posts, keeping it up to ensure these secrets would never be buried. Thankfully the number of people who cared had dwindled and not many people brought it up.


This, however, was much worse. She didn’t believe that those three would do something like this again. So that meant some stranger did this to her. People across the web saw it and were watching her right now, laughing their heads off! Or doing something worse which she really, really didn’t want to think about.


As a teary Fluttershy went to turn off her phone, she noticed something. All of the shots had been taken within the shelter! Though she didn’t want to, she watched all the videos again just to confirm. Yes, everyone of these videos had been a high angle shot from within the shelter. Was it the manager? Could he have done something so cruel to her for no reason? Fluttershy shook her head. No, he used black and white security cameras which were all old and out of date while all the videos she had seen were in color. She doubted that he would have installed new cameras just to make a fool out of her.


Wiping away her tears, Fluttershy stood up and began to look around. She started in the back with the dogs since that was the scene of the first video she had seen. The dogs barked happily for a moment when they saw her but stopped within moments of seeing the state she was in. Many of them began to whine and cry, scratching at the boundaries of their confinements in an effort to get closer to her. To comfort her. As much as Fluttershy would appreciate a hug from all of them, she knew she needed to focus.


Fluttershy knew there was only one camera in this room. It was hard to miss the brick shaped device sticking out of the ceiling. So she started from that point, making it her marker where she would finish. She guessed that whoever had put up the camera did so in a high enough place where nothing would get in the way. Slowly she looked about for anything that looked out of the ordinary, quickly finding something. It was a small black dot up in a corner of the room. Staring at it, she also noted that the color of the wall looked a little off.


Frowning, Fluttershy left the room only to come back a moment later with a large parrot on her shoulder. “Ok, Mr. Crackers,” she said as her gem began to glow. “Would you please do me a favor and retrieve that for me?” As she said this, she pointed at the dot. The parrot agreed, squawking loudly before opening its wings and flying up into the air. Fluttershy wanted as it flapped its wings vigorously in order to stay in the air as it grabbed the spot with its beak.


When it returned to her, Mr. Crackers dropped a wad of a clay like substance in the palm of her hand. After giving the bird a quick treat as well as her thanks, Fluttershy began to peel apart the clay to reveal a small device. It was black, shaped like a gumdrop but smaller with the lens on top. Clearly it was some sort of hidden camera used for spying. She recalled that once or twice Twilight mentioning things like these during their shared lunch breaks at the mall. Twilight worked at an electronic store that sold and repaired all sorts of high end gadgets. According to her, cams like these were normally used by parents to spy on their children, babysitters they hired, and nannies. At the time Fluttershy had voiced how wrong it was to do something like that and this experience had not changed her mind one bit.


“But who put it there?” asked Fluttershy held up the device, her thumb on the lens to make sure it couldn’t record her while Mr. Crackers flew onto her shoulder. As she looked at it, she knew there had to be more. After all, the videos showed her in various parts of the shelter. Should she take them down herself? If she did that then whoever broke in and placed them there might just do it again. She couldn’t work here anymore if she was constantly checking to make sure no one was recording her in secret. Should she call the police about this? She shivered at the thought of having all those people there, watching her and questioning her. It might be too much for her to handle. On the other hand they might be able to track down whoever did this. At the very least they’ll be able to find all the devices.


“Maybe I should call Twilight,” said Fluttershy as she pulled out her phone again. “Her brother is a policeman so she might know what to do.” Mr. Crackers squawked in agreement.


-x-


“I can’t believe this is happening,” cried the manager of the shelter, his hand trembling as it rested on Fluttershy’s shoulder. It had been three hours since Fluttershy had made the call to Twilight, one of many she had done today. After explaining what had been going on to her friend, Twilight had told her to sit tight as she called up her brother. Once she had gotten back, she said that Shining Armor was on his way.


“I tried to ask him if he could come alone to make you feel more comfortable,” Twilight had explained over the phone. “However, since this is an official complaint his partner has to tag along with him. The good news is that it’ll be just them and not an entire police squad. They may want to talk to your boss so you might also want to call him up as well.”


Fluttershy had agreed with her friend and, after hanging up, quickly called up her manager who arrived at the building before she ended their call. The manager was a small, balding man who rushed over to Fluttershy and quickly brought her into his office, believing that it was the most secure room in the building. There he had sat her down and by the time he handed her a cup of tea, the police had arrived. While Fluttershy had met Shining Armor before, it felt somehow different with him in uniform with his heavy black shades on. He just looked more ‘official’ and intimidating. This was not helped by his frowning partner who introduced herself as Officer Silver Shield. She was a slender woman with light orange skin and pink hair tied up in a tight bun.


“I’ll have a look around,” Shining had said before approaching Fluttershy. When he got close enough, he took off the shades before giving her a comforting smile and placing a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll find out what’s going on. Just answer all of Silver Shield’s questions.” As Fluttershy nodded Silver Shield folded her arms.


Once Shining had left the questions began. If Fluttershy was being honest, she got the impression that Silver Shield thought this was a waste of time. She began simply by asking if the manager had set that camera up. After receiving a no, she asked Fluttershy to walk her through her day, how she found out about the camera, how she found the first one, and so on. All of it done in a dull and uninterested tone. Then things became uncomfortable. Silver asked if Fluttershy had bought the cameras. Why she thought this, Fluttershy had no idea and she quickly said no. Before Silver could ask anything else, Shining Armor had returned with an armful of equipment.


Which brought them all to the present.


“I checked the door and there are signs of tampering,” said Shining as he laid his spoils on the desk. Each of the cameras were in individual plastic baggies along with small, cylinder like objects that were just as small. “Someone must really have it in for you Fluttershy. I counted at least fifteen of these cameras that must connect to the WiFi. I suggest you change the password immediately.”


“We,” began the manager who paused to gulp loudly. “We don’t have a password on the WiFi. It’s free.”


Shining let out a sigh before taking off his hat to scratch his head. “Well then that might have to change,” he said. He then picked up one of the cylinders and held it up. “These things here are a different matter. I found them under counters, besides cages, and all sorts of places. If you look at the tips they resemble microphones. I’m guessing that it’s some sort of separate recording device. And a cheaper one at that.” As he said this, Silver picked up one of the baggies containing the recorder to examine it.


“You might be right,” she said as the bag turned in her grasp. “Guess whoever bought these pieces of crap blew all their money on the mini cameras. You can see the spot where you stick them into the usb port.”


“So what does that mean?” asked the manager, his hands trembling.


“It means that someone wasn’t just recording everything that happened but also everything that was said,” stated Shining Armor as he began to gather everything on the table. “The good news is that since whoever placed them around here needs to come back to find out what was recorded. I would highly suggest that the locks get changed.”


“Of course, of course,” said the manager. “They’ll be replaced before the end of the day. But what about those recorders? What about the videos online?”


“We can’t do anything about the videos,” stated Silver in a firm tone, her head jerking to look at Fluttershy. “You can issue a complaint to the site and hope they get taken down, but more than likely they’ll be back up by some other user. That is, of course, if Miss Fluttershy wasn’t the one who-”


“As for these these things here,” interrupted Shining Armor, stepping in front of his partner as he did so. “We can track down who sold them and go from there. Might take a couple of days tops. I’ll let you know if we find anything.” With that, Shining Armor turned around, frowning at his partner as he did so and headed out the door.


-x-


“I don’t think she liked me very much,” said Fluttershy several hours later into the phone. She was still at the animal shelter, watching as two men installed a brand new lock into the door. While the manager had suggested that she take the rest of the day off, Fluttershy had insisted on staying to both take care of the animals as well as to see for herself that the new security to her sanctuary was in place. Then she could come back the next day feeling safe.


“Well technically it’s not that she hates you,” said Twilight slowly on the other line. “It’s more that she just doesn’t trust people all that much. I know, Shiny has complained about her plenty of times before.”


“Why? What happened to her?” asked Fluttershy. There was a pause, one that Fluttershy knew all too well. It was the pause someone did when they were debating to themselves how much they wanted to tell. Or if they should say anything at all. Fluttershy knew that feeling for it was one she had far too often.


“She’s…had a few too many false cases,” said Twilight after a moment. “People claiming something was stolen just so they could collect the insurance money. Cases where someone pretended they were in trouble for the attention and-”


“Wait,” said Fluttershy suddenly. “Are you trying to say that she thinks I did this to myself? But why?”


Twilight let out a sigh. “Fluttershy, I don’t think you did that and nor does Shiny. He’s right now putting in overtime trying to find out who did this to you. But Silver, she stuck out her neck for people she thought were victims too many times and ended up getting burned. Right now she’s trying to tell Shiny that you probably did all this yourself to fame or something like that. But that when you got second thoughts after see the comments you made up the whole thing.”


“Well I didn’t!” stated Fluttershy, her tone becoming far more firm than before. Her eyes hardened a tad as she looked at the door. How could anyone think that anybody would enjoy that sort of embarrassment?


“I know Fluttershy, I know,” repeated Twilight. “Just don’t worry about her.”


However, Fluttershy couldn’t as a new fear began to race through her body. If stuff like that had happened to her, how long would it be before they believed that Fluttershy was lying to them? How long would it be before Shining Armor’s boss told him to drop it? Or worse, began looking at her? She knew she didn’t do anything wrong, but the thought of having the police looking at her like that was not a very comforting thought.


With her grip on the phone tightening slightly, Fluttershy knew what she had to do: catch whoever did this as soon as possible.


-x-


Late at night, when the moon was high in the night sky, a figure crept towards the animal shelter under the cover of darkness. This figure knew that the placed spy cams had been found. That the police had been called. It was hard to miss when a blue haired man had been removing them, cutting out the signal. So, normally, it would be a considerable idiotic idea to head back to the scene of the crime. However, the figure didn’t know if the voice recording devices had been found. The figure needed those for without them, none of this would have been worth it!


Sitting by the door and noticing the new lock, the figure’s head shook before taking a knee. Quickly pulling a phone out, the figure opened up the YouTube video ‘Lock Picking for Newbies’ and played it. As it played, the figure went to work on the door pausing every once in a while in case something was missed. Eventually the door made a clicking noise signaling that it was now unlocked.


Smirking the figure stood up before opening the door. At once dogs began to bark wildly, causing the figure to frown. What’s more the light turned on to reveal Fluttershy standing at the other side of the room with a look of surprise on her face.


“Vignette Valencia?” she gasped.


“Oh great,” said Vignette as she glared at Fluttershy, eyes darting around to see if anyone else was around. To see if anyone else would be jumping out of the shadows to grab her. Seeing no movement, she relaxed a bit. For a moment, she considered trying to tell a lie…but it felt sort of mute at this point. Who in the world would believe she broke into a building by accident? Maybe the hyper pink idiot but that’s about it.


“I can’t believe you would do something like this to me,” said Fluttershy as she took a step forward.


“Well, believe it darling,” snapped Vignette as she went over her options. There was only Fluttershy there. Last time they had been alone like this, Vignette had been able to send her away with just a press of a button to some other place. She should be easy to take out…if she still had her magic that is. Without it, they might be on even ground. Plus she didn’t want to step inside and get caught on camera. But she needed to get past her to get her prize! Damn it, why had she gone all out on the cameras and not enough on the recorders? Or why hadn’t she waited until after she had everything to put that stuff online? Then she wouldn’t be in this mess!


Fluttershy sighed, getting Vignette’s attention. As she looked upon her, Fluttershy looked away while holding up one of the voice recorders. “I believe you’re looking for this,” she said. “I found it after the police left.”


Clenching her fists, Vignette snarled at Fluttershy. “Give it to me!” Of course, there was a part of her that chided herself. Of course Fluttershy wouldn’t give it to her. Not after everything she had done to her! Now that she thought about it, it would have been smarter just to arrive at the shelter and pretend to be looking for some stupid animal as she grabbed the recorder.


“I will,” replied Fluttershy, much to Vignette’s surprise. “But only if you beat me in a duel.” As Fluttershy said this, she pulled out a duel disk from behind her back with deck already in place. “If you win, then I’ll give you this recorder device and allow you to look around for any more. I won’t even tell the police I spotted you breaking in again.”


“Well, aren’t you generous,” said Vignette as she place her palms on her hips. “And what may I ask will happen if you win?”


“Simple, you tell the police everything that you did,” said Fluttershy.


Vignette fought to keep herself from grinning. The poor little pushover was trying to be tough. Didn’t Fluttershy know that Vignette was a skilled duelist, more than capable of taking down some trembling animal girl? And even if she did lose, Fluttershy might just take her for her word giving Vignette time to get out of town. That or she could just tell Fluttershy that she still didn’t have any friends or something like that, get her to feel sorry for her, and then just let her go again. Honestly it was too easy to manipulate these girls! But she would save that for after she lost so she would appear at her weakest.


“Very well,” said Vignette as she pulled out her own duel disk. “Let’s do this.”
> Nightmare at the Animal Shelter part 2 (Fluttershy vs. Vignette)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon enough, both Fluttershy and Vignette were outside in the open area where the dogs were allowed to run about freely. This suited Vignette perfectly since here there would be none of the brick sized security cameras to watch them. Fluttershy had turned on the outside light, illuminating the backyard space as they stood across from each other so they could better see the cards in their hands.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Fluttershy looking timid and nervous while the other was Vignette as her portrait was seen blowing a kiss. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Fluttershy.


“It looks like it’s my turn,” said Fluttershy softly as she drew a card. As she looked at the six cards in her hand, she glanced up at Vignette for a moment before nodding to herself. “First I’ll play the continuous spell card Soul Absorption. Now, whenever a monster is removed from the game I gain 500 life points. Then I’ll summon my Ritual Beast Tamer Elder in attack mode!” Appearing in front of Fluttershy was an elderly looking man with long white hair that was tied in a ponytail along with a mustache and beard. He wore a simplistic brown shirt, green pants, and a green scarf that was wrapped around his neck before flowing behind him like a cloak. In one hand this 200 attack point monster carrier a staff while in the other he held an old tome.


“That’s your move?” laughed Vignette as she brought the back of her hand to her mouth. “A withered, pathetic old man? This’ll be easier than I thought it would be.”


“No,” replied Fluttershy as Elder opened up his book, a bright golden light shining out of it. “Tamer Elder has an effect that allows me to normal summon one Ritual Beast monster from my hand during my main phase. So I’ll bring out Spiritual Beast Cannahawk!” Above both girls’ heads, lightning shot through the sky while thunder deafened their ears. In a flash, a large black bird with 1400 attack point appeared on the field. Its talons were covered with bright yellow currents of electricity, buzzing loudly as streaks of the same yellow power zigzagged along its wings and its white belly.


“Wait, you said that that old guy let you normal summon a Ritual Beast, not a Spiritual Beast,” shouted Vignette as she pointed to the large bird.


“But the word Ritual is in Spiritual,” replied Fluttershy calmly as her bird let out an ear piercing cry of agreement. “So it counts. And now that this sweet birdie is on the field, I can activate its effect to banish one Ritual Beast from my deck. Then, during my second standby phase, I can add that card to my hand. So I’ll choose my Spiritual Beast Rampengu.” As Fluttershy removed the card from her deck, a ghostly penguin rose out from her deck. It seemed to ‘swim’ around her, laughing as it did so, before gently floating into Fluttershy’s chest. The animal lover brought both her hands to the spot where the penguin had entered, feeling a warm glow around herself while her life points rose to 8500.


“Gag me,” spat Vignette sourly as she tapped her high end fashion shoe into the grass. “Could you hurry up and finish your turn already?”


“Ok then,” said Fluttershy. “Since I have both a Tamer and a Spiritual Beast on my side of the field, I can fuse them together without using a Polymerization spell card. All I have to do is banish them from play instead.” With that, Fluttershy raised a hand to the sky as both her monsters became ghostly images of themselves. They both floated gently around their master for a moment before entering her body and raising her life points to 9000. Once they were gone, Fluttershy opened up her eyes. “The thunder ripples through the air and lightning dances about. But don’t be afraid little ones for the rider will not harm you this night. Go, ride upon the winds! Fusion Summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk!” Cannahawk reappeared on the field, much larger than before with a rider on its back. It was Tamer Elder holding the reins of this giant bird with 1400 attack points.


“Now my friend here can use his effect to send two of my banished Ritual Beast cards to the graveyard so I can move one Ritual Beast card from my deck to my hand,” explained Fluttershy. “So I’ll send Cannahawk and Ritual Beast Tamer Elder to the graveyard so I can add Ritual Beast Steeds to my hand. At the same time, I’ll activate my monster quick effect allowing me to defuse it and bring back to the field one banished Spiritual Beast and one Beast Tamer in defense mode. And the two I choose for that are Beast Tamer Elder and Spiritual Beast Rampengu.” There was another flash of lightning, this time striking Ulti-Cannahawk before forking off to hit the ground. In a flash the Ulti monster was gone leaving two monsters in its place. One was tamer and the other was Rampengu, a green penguin with red feather running down the middle of its head like a Mohawk. This monster had 400 defense.


“Now that Rampengu is on the field, I can activate his effect,” announced Fluttershy. “By sending one of my extra deck monsters to the graveyard, I can banish Ritual Beast monster with the same attribute from my deck. I’ll say goodbye for now to my Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio and then banish my Spiritual Beast Apelio.” As Fluttershy opened her extra deck section of her duel disk, the red ghostly figure of a small red tiger emerged from her duel disk. It circled around Fluttershy once before pouncing into her chest, Fluttershy smiling while her life points rose to 9500.


“With that done, I can perform one last fusion summon this turn,” said Fluttershy as she removed her two monsters from play. As both the ghostly forms of her monster’s floated into Fluttershy’s body her life points rose to 10500. “Great swimmers through the ocean’s glory, peaceful defender of all. Protect us all in these troubled times. Fusion Summon! Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin in defense mode!” A portal opened up next to Fluttershy and out of it came a small girl with blond hair riding a pink dolphin. The girl looked to be a few years younger than Fluttershy, dressed for a day at the beach while her mount had on greenish armor on its head and dorsal fin. Its defense points were 2800. “Now I’ll play two cards face down and end my turn!” 


“Finally,” sighed Vignette as she drew her card giving her a total of six. “Now time to get rid of that fashion zero with this card: Assault Beast! By discarding this card from my hand to the graveyard, I get to add one Assault Mode Activate from my deck to my hand.” Smiling, Vignette slid her card into the graveyard while her deck began to shuffle about. When it finished, a single card slid out from the top which Vignette took. “Next I summon Psi-Reflector in attack mode.” Appearing on the field was a monster that looked almost as if he were wearing a hoodie, except that its entire body was made of white armor. There were patches of green on its body, especially on top of the hood where those spots seemed to dome outwards, as well as lines of glowing blue energy around its arms and thighs. Circles of green energy were being emitted from its hands, its face hidden under the hood. Its attack was 400. “I know, he doesn’t look like much. But he can help me out fabulously by adding another copy of Assault Mode Activate to my hand.” Once again, her deck shuffled before a single card stuck out for her to take. “Now I can use his other effect: by revealing one Assault Mode Activate in my hand I can revive a monster in my graveyard as long as it lists ‘Assault Mode Activate’ in its text. Not only that, but I can increase Psi-Reflector level to up to four. Or, in other words, this tuner can be anywhere from level one to level five. So let’s welcome back Assault Beast!” Psi-Reflector shot a beam of green light from his hand to the ground as a figure began to appear in block form bit by bit. When it finished, color returned to the creature revealing it to be a white coated wolf man clad in bronze armor. With shield and sword in hand, it proved to be a powerful monster with 1900 attack points.


“Now let me show you my real monsters,” said Vignette. “I now tune my level four tuner Psi-Reflector with my level four Assault Warrior to Synchro Summon level eight Colossal Fighter!” Both of her monsters leapt into the air, Psi-Reflector turning into four green rings as Assault Warrior transformed into four stars. The stars moved into the rings as they began to grow brighter and brighter. “Together with great power your might combines! Technology and muscle to make you better than ever before. Stand up to fight in my name! Synchro Summon Level Eight: Colossal Fighter!” There was a sudden flash of light that shot towards the ground followed by the silhouette of a mammoth sized man landing on the ground in a superhero like pose. When the light faded, Fluttershy found herself staring at a man whose body was decked out in white armor, a blue visor covering his eyes and sporting a powerful 2800 attack point body.


“Since attacking that pathetic monster would just be a waste of my time, I’m just going to set three cards before passing it onto you,” finished Vignette with a grin as three cards appeared behind her lone monster.


“Ok then, I draw,” declared Fluttershy, now holding three cards in her hand. “First off, I’ll return Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin to the extra deck in order to bring back the two friends who helped create her in defense mode. Return Ritual Beast Tamer Elder and Spiritual Beast Apelio!” As Fluttershy returned her fusion monster to her extra deck slot, the old man along with a large red lion with a mane that seemed to be on fire. It’s attack points were 1800. “Now I’ll summon Ritual Beast Tamer Lara from my hand in attack mode.” Appearing on the field was a young girl with long blonde hair which was braided while resting gently on her shoulder. Lara wore a green skirt and blouse while in her hand was a wooden staff that curled in upon itself at the very top. Her attack was 100. “This Tamer cares about animal life like I do. So much so that she can’t bare to let them sleep in the graveyard. Because of those feelings she can, when normal summoned, return one Ritual Beast from the graveyard to the field. Now return to the sky Cannahawk!” In a flash of light, Fluttershy’s electric bird returned to the field. “Next I’ll use Cannahawk’s ability once again to banish one Ritual Beast card from my deck. I choose Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda who will go to my hand two standby phases from now.”


“I doubt you’ll last that long at this rate,” sneered Vignette. But Fluttershy shook her head and continued on.


“I activate my face down card: Ritual Beast Steeds!” announced Fluttershy as her card was flipped straight up. “I can only activate this card when I control at least one Ritual Beast monster. Now I can destroy cards on your side of the field equal to the number of Ritual Beast monsters that I control. So with four monsters on my side of the field, that means that four of your cards get destroyed!” As Fluttershy said this, her monsters began to glow brightly. Apelio a bright red. Lara an earthy brown. Cannahawk a shocking yellow. Elder had a low grassy green. Once they were all shining brightly, the light separated from their bodies to create ghostly energy like forms that shot towards Vignette’s cards.


“I don’t think so! Reveal: Starlight Road!” shouted Vignette as her own face down was flipper straight up. A pair of pure white wings appeared on the field, blocking the path of Fluttershy’s monsters before their energy dispersed. “I can activate this trap when you try to destroy two or more of my cards. Not only will this trap negate and destroy that card, but it’ll also allow me to special summon Stardust Dragon to my side of the field!” As Fluttershy’s trap shattered, a large white dragon appeared on Vignette’s side of the field. It looked down at the four cowering monsters that were to be its opponents with its yellow eyes and harpooned nose before letting out a roar to show off its 2500 attack point body.


“Now I activate my other two trap cards: Assault Mode Activate!” Vignette said as she shouted the name of the cards as they revealed themselves. “You know my motto: Be Yourself But Better. And that’s what this card does, it makes my monsters better versions of themselves by summoning their Assault Mode versions from my deck!” From Vignette’s traps cards came a slew of armor that flew around the two monsters. Around Colossal Fighter appeared thick blue arm guards that attached to him along with similar leg guards. A blue chest plate was then attached to its body before a large jet engine was fused to its back. The last bit was a blue helmet with a green visor attaching itself to the new Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode who had 3300 attack points. Fluttershy found herself frozen as Stardust Dragon was armored as well, gained white and blue armor on its upper arms and legs while also gaining a mostly blue chest guard. The new Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode let out another roar as its attack points were now 3000.


“Now that my monsters are on the field, I can activate the effect of my Colossal Fighter,” continued Vignette as she pulled out her deck. Calmly she looked through it before taking out two copies of Marauding Captain and holding them up. “When my newer, better Colossal Fighter is on the field I can send two warrior type monsters from my deck to the grave. And as long as he’s on the field all of your monsters lose 100 attack points for each warrior in the grave. At my count, that’s 300.” A dark aura surrounded all of Fluttershy’s monsters as they looked like gravity was increasing around them. Apelio let out a cry as his attack was dropped to 1500 while Cannahawk’s dropped to 1100. Both Elder and Lara were now at 0.


“We’ll see about that,” said Fluttershy as she fought hard not to hide her own face with her hair. “I remove both Lara and Cannahawk in order to bring back my Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk!” As Fluttershy removed the cards from the field their ghost forms flew into her body once again, raising her life points to 11500. After repeating the chant her winged rider reappeared on the field. “Now I can activate his effect once again. I’ll send Cannahawk and Lara to my graveyard in order to add another copy of Ritual Beast Steeds to my hand.”


“I don’t think so!” yelled Vignette as her Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode began to shimmer. “Whenever you activate a spell, trap, or monster effect I can tribute my dragon to negate and destroy it!” Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror as the dragon flew over to grab her Ulti-Cannahawk by the wings. Ulti-Cannahawk squaked and screeched out for help as Fluttershy’s other monster watched on as Stardust Dragon began to vanish from the field. “But unlike your monster, mine will return during the end phase.”


“You may have negated that effect, but Ulti-Cannahawk has a quick effect I can activate,” said Fluttershy quickly. “I return him to my extra deck to bring out Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda and Spiritual Beast Rampengu.” As Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode vanished, Fluttershy’s monster transformed into lightning which easily slipped from the dragon’s hold. That bolt of lightning forked before it hit the ground, revealing two more monsters for Fluttershy’s side. Along with Rampengu, there was a green hair woman in her early twenties kneeling beside the penguin. This figure wore a light brown cloak and carried with her a silver staff with a green gem in the middle. Most of her attire was a form fitting black skin-tight outfit that ended at her thighs, revealing her slender legs and she had on brown skin-tight elbow length gloves. On her belt she had a stuffed bunny. Her defense points were 1800.


“So you managed to save that worthless monster to use later,” said Vignette as she waved it off. “Not that it matters in the least. My next turn will bring back my Stardust Dragon/Assault mode so I can do all of this again. All you have are useless animals that I can easily crush with the snap of my fingers.”


Fluttershy didn’t answer, instead she nervously looked over at her cards. ‘O-Ok, she stopped that move for now. I could summon my best monster…but with Colossal Fighter on the field weakening my monsters he’ll just be destroyed. I couldn’t bear it if that happened to such a sweet thing. At least I still have my face down.’ Fluttershy paused in her thought to glance briefly at her face down card, hoping that her opponent didn’t notice. ‘There is something I can use to get rid of them, but I’ll have to wait till my next turn to use it!’


“I activate the effect of my Rampengu,” announced Fluttershy as she pulled out her extra deck. “This time I’ll send my Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin to the grave to banish Spiritual Beast Pettlephin from my deck.” Once more another ghostly image of a monster flew out from Fluttershy’s deck, this time a dolphin. Like before it flew into Fluttershy before her life points rose to 12000. “With that I end my turn.” With those words, Stardust Dragon Assault Mode returned to Vignette’s side of the field. 


“About time,” said Vignette as she drew making the total number of cards in her hand four. “I think you have too many life points there. So let’s take care of that! To start off, I’ll summon Assault Sentinel in attack mode!” As Vignette placed the card on her duel disk, an anthropomorphic cat man appeared on the field. With white armor and a tattered blue cape covering his body, this 1600 attack point monster carried with him a futuristic rifle as he stared at Fluttershy with glowing red eyes. “Now I tribute this monster to activate his effect allowing me to special summon one monster who has text that includes Assault Mode Activate in its text. So, like naturally, I have to go with Psi-Reflector again.” Fluttershy watched helplessly as Sentinel vanished to be replaced with the powerful tuner monster. “Now I can add Assault Mode Zero to my hand since it lists Assault Mode Activate in its text. Lucky me, right? Now I’ll reveal it special summon Assault Sentinel back and change my level one Psi-Reflector to level five.”


Fluttershy’s eyes widened at this. “T-That means you can Synchro summon a l-level nine monster!”


“So good to see that you’re paying attention,” Vignette said with a sneer. “But before that can happen, I need to use the other effect of my Sentinel. His effect allows me to target one monster on my side of the field and then reveal one monster from my extra deck. That monster become the same type and attribute as the monster I revealed. So I’ll target my Sentinel and reveal this monster.” Vignette paused for a moment as she opened up her extra deck to reveal another of her Synchro monsters. “Hyper Psychic Blaster. That turns my Sentinel into a psychic monster, just what I need to summon out the very monster I just showed you.” With that said, Vignette’s monster rose to the sky as she began her chant. “The future unfolds with a world of weapons. Mighty guns shot their rays, defending the wielding and granting longer life. Now use those weapons in my service! Synchro Summon Level 9: Hyper Psychic Blaster!” 


When the light faded from the summoning, a figure descended from the sky slowly as if he were slowly being lowered there by some invisible force. Blaster was a tall figure with a slender trim wearing white armor with plenty of gold trim. His metallic collar was raised with plenty of wires and cables coming out of the metal device straight into his neck. On the monster back were a set of slender, mechanical white wings that had a light blue glowing light in their middle. Then there was his weapons. In one hand he carried a black gun with a blue glowing light coming out of the muzzle shaped like an X. The other was a white gun with a blue glowing O for its muzzle. It stood there with 3000 attack points.


“Now I play the spell card: Assault Mode Zero!” announced Vignette as she showed off her spell card. “With this card, I can tribute my Hyper Psychic Blaster to summon its better version in my hand.” When Vignette finished speaking, armor began to fly out of the spell card she was holding. The wings on Hyper Blaster opened up allowing glowing blue feather-like blades to be revealed. At the same time a metal circle was attached to the monsters back as most of its white armor changed to black while in addition a green dome covered its head. Cables shot out of the armor and into its weapons, which increased in size, while its attack points rose all the way up to 3500.


Fluttershy cringed slightly at the sight before her. Three monsters stood before her, each with 3000 attack points or more. All of them ready to attack her weakened monsters. Her only comfort right now was that her little friends were in defense mode.


“Now, lets get those eyesores off the field,” said Vignette as she played a card in her spell/trap card zone. “Raigeki! A spell card that destroys all monsters you control! Meaning this is going to hurt a lot!” Fluttershy only had a moment to look up before a large bolt of lightning struck her side of the field. The blast threw her back, crying out at all of her monsters were covered in yellow electricity before they vanished in a huge explosion. “There we go, no more defenses…left?” Vignette blinked in confusion as the dust began to settle, revealing that there was still a monster on Fluttershy’s side of the field. It was Winda, still kneeling but with her staff held out in front of her in a defensive position. “NO! How the hell is that card still on your side of the field?!? It should have been destroyed like all the others!”


“Winda was destroyed,” said Fluttershy as she slowly got to her feet, wobbling a little as she did. She then brought her duel disk back up to her chest as she stared at Vignette. “Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda is a very special companion of mine. When she is destroyed, I can special summon one Ritual Beast monster from my deck or extra deck. So I just summoned another copy of her.”


Vignette looked at Fluttershy for a moment, the clenched fists she had had during her rage just moments ago relaxing. “I see, a stall tactic,” she murmured. “Pathetic, especially when facing me. Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode, destroy her now!” Blaster raised both guns, firing blue beams of X’s and O’s at Winda who screamed before she was destroyed. Those beams continued to fire, hitting Fluttershy in the chest and causing her to stumble back several feet while her life points dropped to 10200. “I forgot to mention this, but when Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode battles one of your monsters you take damage equal to its defense points. Not only that, but I gain life points equal to the destroyed monsters attack points.” As she said this, a blue glow covered Vignette’s body while her life points rose to 9600.


“I can use Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda’s effect once again,” said Fluttershy. “I summon another Elder to the field in defense mode!”


“He won’t be there for long,” said Vignette as the old man reappeared on Fluttershy’s side of the field. “Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode, get rid of him!” Stardust Dragon let out a roar before using its breath attack, obliterating Fluttershy’s monster easily. “Now Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode, attack her life point directly!” Fluttershy gasped, her knees shaking as Colossal Fight ran towards her with such force that it felt like the earth was shaking. When it was almost right in front of her the monster’s jet pack activated, launching it high into the air while raising its fists high into the air. When it came down those same fists smashed at the ground to knock Fluttershy off her feet, her body rolling backwards several feet as her life points dropped to 6900.


“And with that, the game is mine,” said Vignette as she ran her fingers through her hair. “You honestly don’t stand a chance against me. I won’t let you do those annoying fusions. My Stardust will die for me to make sure that anything you summon will be for nothing. Then it will be a simple matter of destroying you.”


“But,” stammered Fluttershy as she got to her feet, slowly raising her duel disk in the process. “But why are you doing this? What do you get from doing all this mean things to me?”


“Why?” repeated Vignette, her eyes hardening as she looked at Fluttershy. “Because you and your friends ruined my life! I had it all, fame and influence that allowed me so much. But after I tried to take over your band and people heard me sing, well they quickly dropped me. Maybe if I could have made all the people in that crowd vanish with my magic, then none of that would have happened! Maybe then, people wouldn’t have posted what happened after our little magical battle!” Vignette then clenched her free hand into a fist, looking down at the ground as she spoke. “After that, my followers began to dwindle. I got fewer and fewer job offers because of that until they eventually stopped coming all together. No one cares about my opinion anymore. I might…have to get a real job now.


“Then, help came in a surprising message,” said Vignette as she looked up at Fluttershy again, her lips curling into a smile as she did. “A way to regain everything I had lost and get payback. To gain new followers under a different handle, showing them humiliating videos of other people. It is human nature to laugh at other people’s misfortune after all.”


“B-But why-”


“Because you’re the weakest,” interrupted Vignette as she stomped her foot on the ground. “While I would have loved to go after Rarity for her betrayal, her place just has too high of security. That and her ability to create those diamond barriers. Plus I doubt there would have been many instances of her making an utter fool of herself. Maybe whining, but I doubt those videos would have been as much as a hit. In comparison, this place is so easy to break in. It was so easy to set up those cameras that it was a joke. Not to mention that out of all of your little tryhard group, your magic is easily the most laughable of all.” She then paused for a moment to smile. “Well, there was another reason that you were targeted. My informant told me that you like to sing when you’re here all alone. Songs that you might not have yet written down for your group. It just seemed too perfect. Once I record everything you sang, I can just edit it to sound more like my own voice. Then I can post my own videos, claiming I got voice lessons or something. Then I’ll be the old me again, but better! At least, my followers will think so.”


“That’s,” began Fluttershy but stopping to shake her head. It seemed so pointless to tell her what she was doing was wrong. Vignette clearly knew this and didn’t seem to care. All she cared about was getting her followers back by any means necessary. Instead, Fluttershy drew a card making the total number in her hand three.


“I summon another Ritual Beast Tamer Lara to my side of the field,” announced Fluttershy as a familiar looking girl appeared on her side of the field. “And I’ll use her special ability to bring back Rampengu.”


“Hmm, no you won’t,” said Vignette as her Stardust Dragon flew across the field, grabbing Lara tightly in its claw as it did so. “I tribute my Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode to negate the effect of your lame monster and send it to the graveyard. But don’t worry, during the end phase my monster will be coming back!” While Stardust vanished from the field, Vignette looked at Fluttershy before being taken suddenly by surprise at the look the shy girl was giving her.


“I was waiting for you to do that,” said Fluttershy as she placed a card in her spell/trap card zone. Appearing above her was a woman with long hair, her body being made of the northern lights along with the twinkling of stars. “Soul Release. It’s a card that lets me banish five cards from either players’ graveyard. So I’ll banish Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode, Colossal Fighter, Hyper Psychic Blaster, Ritual Beast Apelio, and Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda!”


“NO!” screamed Vignette as, from her graveyard, three ghostly figures zoomed out. Fluttershy held out her arms in a welcoming manner as the spirits of the monsters she had released entered her body, strengthening her life points to the tune of 9400. “With Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode removed from play he can’t come back. It can’t even float into its original! None of my monsters can!” Vignette let out a cry of annoyance as she stomped her foot into the ground. Over and over she stomped her foot, her breathing becoming ragged until she seemed to tire herself out. “It doesn’t matter. She managed to get rid of one of my better monsters, but I still have two left. None of her pathetic monsters can stop me.”


“We’ll see,” said Fluttershy, getting Vignette’s attention. “I activate the trap card: Ritual Beast Ambush. This card can bring back one of my Beast Tamer monsters and one Spiritual Beast monsters from either the banished zone or from the graveyard. And from the graveyard, I call out my friend Winda and the adorable Cannahawk!” Fluttershy watched as Vignette gritted her teeth as both of Fluttershy’s monsters returned to the field in defense mode. “Now I use Cannahawk’s ability once again to remove a Ritual Beast Tamer Elder from my deck before I fuse them together to create Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk!” Once again, Fluttershy brought her fusion monster back onto the field while her life points rose to 10400. “With him in play, I activate his ability to add my Ritual Beast Steeds to my hand at the cost of sending Elder and Cannahawk to the grave. But I will also use his quick effect, returning him to the extra deck and summoning a Spiritual Beast and Beast Tamer from my banished zone. For that I choose Elder and Pettlephin.”


Appearing on Fluttershy’s side of the field along with Elder was a dolphin with 2000 defense points. Unlike normal dolphin’s this one was bright pink with light blue armor on its head, flippers, and dorsal fin.


“I activate the effect of Ritual Beast Pettlephin,” announced Fluttershy as she held out an arm. “By banishing one Ritual Beast card from my hand, I can target one card you control and send it back to your hand. So I’ll banish the copy of Cannahawk I have in my hand to send Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode back to your hand!”


“No, no, no, no,” cried Vignette as Fluttershy’s life points rose to 10900. Pettlephin ‘swam’ across the field as quickly and gracefully as if it were in the middle of the ocean. Blaster tried to swat at it as it drew closer, but Fluttershy’s monster was far too nimble for that. At full speed Pettlephin charged, hitting Blaster right in the middle of the stomach and sending it flying through the air before it vanished from sight.


“Lastly, I’ll set one card face down before fusing my monsters together to summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin in defense mode,” said Fluttershy as her fusion monster returned to the field and her life points going up to 11900. 


“This isn’t over,” shouted Vignette as she drew, three cards now in her hand. “Colossal Fighter, show her why your better than anything she has in her deck! Squash that dolphin.”


“I won’t let you!” shouted Fluttershy as Colossal Fighter started to charge at her. “I activate my trap card: Ritual Beast Steeds! This time its effect will work and destroy your monster!” At that, Ulti-Pettlephin began to glow as the girl jumped onto the back of her pink dolphin and charged at the armored warrior. A moment later there was a large, gaping hole in the middle of Colossal Fighter’s chest. As the monster sank to its knees, Ulti-Pettlephin ‘swam’ back to its side of the field as Colossal Fighter exploded.


“I,” began Vignette as she looked over her hand. Her head shook back and forth, eyes fixed on the print as she realized that there was nothing she could do right now. “I end my turn. Go ahead and make your play.”


“I will,” said Fluttershy as she drew. As she did, a trail of pink light arced with it. When she looked at what she had drawn, her eyes widened before a smile appeared on her face. “I summon Ritual Beast Tamer Wen in attack mode!” Wen, a small blonde haired girl with 1500 attack points, wore a purple blouse and skirt along with light brown shoulder pads. In one hand she carried with her a silver staff with a large blue stone at its top end. She smiled at Vignette with her eyes seeming to never open. “When Wen is normal summoned, I can special summon one of my banished Ritual Beast monsters to the field. So let’s welcome back Cannahawk!” Wen raised her staff as it began to give off a faint blue light, creating a portal which brought Cannahawk back to the field.


“Now I return Ulti-Pettlephin back to my extra deck to special summon Elder and Apelio to the field in defense mode!” Now four monsters stood on Fluttershy’s side of the field, two tamers and two beasts. With more fusions still to come. “I banish my friends Wen and Cannahawk in order to bring out a new monster! The unity of Tamer and Beast combine to make their way through the forests, blazing paws to defend their home. Let out a mighty roar as you protect your friends! Fusion Summon: Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio!” As Fluttershy’s life points rose even higher to 12900, a large lion landed on her side of the field. Its paws and mane were a living crimson inferno that licked the plant themed armor around its face and front legs. It’s hind legs were more conventional armor looking like it was made of steel as its rider, Lara, held the reins of the lion in one hand with her staff in the other. Its attack points were 2600.


“Before I fuse my other two monsters, I’m going to use Apelio’s effect,” said Fluttershy. “By banishing one Ritual Beast card from my graveyard to raise the attack and defense of all my Ritual Beast monsters by 500. So I’ll be banishing my Beast Tamer Lara. Then, I’ll fuse Elder and Apelio to fusion summon another Ulti-Apelio!” After another chant Fluttershy had two fiery lions on her side of the field, the first now having 3100 attack points while the newer one had 2600. What’s more her life points had gone up even more stopping at 14400.


With both monsters on the field, Fluttershy said a single word: “Attack”. At her command, both tamers pressed their heels into the sides of their mounts as the flames on said mounts raged. The two loins broke into a run right out of the gate as if they had suddenly seen a very tasty prize. As Vignette raised an arm to protect herself, the two Lara’s staves burst into flames as they swung them at her from opposite sides. The force of such a blow knocked Vignette on her back where she laid for longer than normal, as if she had been dazed by that attack, her life points falling to 3900.


“Before I end my turn I will return one of my Ulti-Apelios to the extra deck to bring back Wen and Rampengu,” said Fluttershy as one of her two riders spit. “Sadly, my friends can’t stay like this for long because I banish them to bring back Ulti-Cannahawk.” Vignette didn’t say anything as Fluttershy’s fusion monster returned to the field. Nor did she say anything as Fluttershy’s life points went up to 13900. “I activate his effect to add a Ritual Beast card from my deck to my hand. I choose a copy of my Pettlephin and in return I send the Pettlephin and Wen I banished to the graveyard. But I also chain it with his quick effect, returning Ulti-Cannahawk to the extra deck to summon my banished Lara and Pettlephin.”


As Fluttershy’s two monsters returned to the field, Fluttershy opened up her extra deck once again. “Now everything is set,” she said as she scooped up the three cards on her duel disk. “I banish Ulti-Apelio, Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, and Beast Tamer Lara to summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio in attack mode!” All three monster flowed into Fluttershy, her life points rising up to 15400, while the ground behind her exploded. “The world’s protector takes on form, tamed only by the chosen. There is nothing that the kind hearted have to fear. Fusion Summon Ulti-Gaiapelio!” As Fluttershy finished her chant, the ground exploded behind her sending up chunks of rock and soil into the air as a giant lion appeared behind her. It’s body was covered in plants with a huge tree growing out of its back. It mane was fire, burning brightly in the night while Lara rode it. Then monster’s attack points were 3200.


“I end my turn,” finished Fluttershy as her opponent began to stir. The normally timid girl watched Vignette roll over onto her belly, biting her lower lip a wave of pity washed over her. “We can stop now, if you want. I mean, if you apologize for everything you did I’m sure that-”


“No!” roared Vignette as she slowly got to her feet with her back facing Fluttershy. “You don’t get it, do you? I had everything I ever wanted and I lost it all. I even lost the magic that would have helped me keep it, taking people and creating better versions of them!”


“But they were never real,” insisted Fluttershy. “They were all fake.”


“Who cares?” snapped Vignette as she turned around to face Fluttershy, the anger clearly visible. “If I give up now, that life will never come back. That would mean going backwards! I would be myself but less, not better! I draw!” With gritted teeth, Vignette drew her card with such force that she might as well have ripped it out. “I play the spell card Assault Teleport! This card lets me send the Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode you sent back to my hand into the deck to draw twice.” After her deck was shuffled, Vignette drew two more cards and, after looking at them, calmed down. “I play the spell card: Monster Reborn! With this cards power I’ll bring back the original Stardust Dragon in my graveyard.”


“No, you won’t,” said Fluttershy as she banished a card in her hand. “My Ulti-Gaiapelio cares too much for the world to let something like that happen under his watch. By banishing a Ritual Beast card from my hand, he can negate and destroy any spell, trap, or monster effect.” Again, Fluttershy’s life points rose, stopping at 14400. Her monster let out a roar so powerful that it seemed to move the clouds in the sky, knocking Vignette down again while her card was destroyed.


“I don’t understand!” yelled Vignette from where she sat, looking up at Fluttershy’s monster. “You’re supposed to be weak, a kind-hearted coward!”


“Just because I’m kind doesn’t make me weak,” said Fluttershy, Gaiapelio seeming to nod in agreement as she did so. “I do know how to stand up for myself.”


“It doesn’t matter,” said Vignette as she grabbed a fistful of grass. “Screw this duel! I’ll just-” Her voice cut out as Fluttershy reached in front of her duel disk to pull something off of it. The shy girl then held it up so that Vignette could see exactly what it was in the light. “A hidden camera?”


Fluttershy gave her a sad nod. “I contacted my boyfriend after I talked to the police. He suggested that you might come here and that I could use this duel to get you to confess. So I bought one like the ones you placed around the building, only I spend a bit more for a model that can also pick up sound. That’s why I didn’t use my Ritual Beast Steeds after you set all those cards. I wanted you to feel confident that you were winning so that you’d feel more comfortable confessing like you did. Everything we’ve said and done has been sent via the WiFi to him. And if something were to happen to me he’d call the police without any hesitation.”


The look on Vignette’s face said it all as she climbed up to her feet. Dumbfounded and totally at a loss as to what she should do next. Lazily her arms rose but quickly fell back to her side as a wind blew behind Fluttershy. Then, finally, she turned tail and ran away leaving their duel officially unfinished.


-x-


“What you did was unnecessary,” said Shining Armor as he fought back a yawn. It was an hour later as he stood within the animal shelter, with the first hints of circles around his eyes as well as the scent of coffee on his breath. All around them, animals were snuggled up in their cages fast asleep. “She could have seriously hurt you.”


“I know,” replied Fluttershy, looking down as she spoke. “I was just afraid that if this dragged on, you might be told to drop it. Or you might be convinced that I did this to myself.”


Shining Armor didn’t say anything at first. He just gave Fluttershy an odd look before scratching his head. Whatever he was thinking Fluttershy had no idea because he suddenly approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Well, in any case, you saved me some work. Just don’t make a habit of pulling dangerous stunts like this again.”


Fluttershy nodded, her own drowsiness starting to set in. “So, what will happen to Vignette?”


“That’s not really my department,” said Shining. “Depending on the judge and her lawyer, she might get a couple of years tops. At best, she’ll get a couple of months along with some community service. I don’t know about your parents but they might want to sue her for what she did to you. I have a feeling the shelter might be on board with that idea as well.”


“Oh,” said Fluttershy as she suddenly felt uncomfortable again. Going in front of a judge to relive everything that had happened just seemed so…scary. Not to mention all of the people who would be watching her, judging her as well. She was about to voice this concern when her phone began to ring.


“Well, I’m going to be heading out,” said Shining Armor as he headed towards the door, Fluttershy pulling out her phone as he did. Upon seeing who was calling her, a dreamy expression filled her face. “Do you need a lift?”


“I’ll be ok,” said Fluttershy. Shining Armor shrugged before heading out the door. Once the door was closed, Fluttershy sat down on one of the chairs as she answered the phone. “Hello Discord.”


-x-


Vignette ran through the streets of Canterlot blindly, not knowing where she was heading in the slightest. The direction was truly meaningless since she had nowhere to go. She knew she couldn’t head home for fear that the police would be waiting there. A fear fueled by the sounds of sirens in the distance that caused her to pause more than once. She had no friends or associates she could stay with. Not even her own family. Knowing her father, once he heard that she was in trouble he’d be more likely to drag her to the police department himself! Her money was nearly completely gone, barely enough for a kids menu at a fast food place. Not nearly enough for a room at a dingy motel.


Is this really where I am now, thought Vignette as the realization of her situation dawned on her. I’ve lost everything that made me better and barely a penny to my name. There’s no escaping it. I’m going to jail and losing everything I worked for. Vignette tripped on something, landing face first onto the concrete. She could feel the sting of gashes on her face. Her knee stunk for a moment before it began to feel moist, indicating that she was bleeding. Slowly she placed her hands on the ground to lift herself up, but stopped. Her eyes became half lidded as she looked at the ground so close to her face. Was there any point anymore?


Rolling onto her back, she saw the twinkling stars shining brightly above her even through all the light pollution city life provided. Stars like how she used to be. Now she was here, on the earth. The better version of herself was gone. There would be no more twinkling brightly, just doing her best to get through life. At this realization, a pain unlike anything she ever felt stabbed her in the heart as tears began to well up in her eyes.


“It’s not fair,” she whispered to no one. “If I still had my magic, I could have made all my problems disappear. Everything would be going my way.”


“Join the club sister,” came an annoyed voice. Moving her head slightly, Vignette caught a glimpse of a bored looking girl with twin tails standing off to her side. Standing next to him was a dimwitted looking boy, appearing to be off in his own world at the moment.


“Who? What?” began Vignette, only to stop when the other girl sighed and rolled her eyes.


“I take it you failed to humiliate that Fluttershy girl,” said the girl, her bored expression never wavering.


“Who are-” began Vignette before the truth hit her like a hammer. Scrambling to get to her feet, she grabbed the girl by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall. “It was you! You were the one who sent me that message! You ruined me!” The boy seemed to snap out of his daydream or whatever, backing away a bit as he looked around nervously. But the girl, Vignette was somewhat startled by her reaction. Namely, she didn’t have one. She just kept staring at Vignette as if this was more of an inconvenience to her.


“Did I put a gun to your head to make you do anything?” asked the girl, pushing Vignette back. Seeing that his partner was back in control, the boy quickly moved to her side looking as dopey as ever. “I only sent you that message because we have similar enemies. As well as similar losses.”


Vignette narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”


Once again the girl rolled her eyes. “Magic,” she said as she crossed her arms. “The Rainbooms took away mine and my sisters’ magic as well. Its gone along with everything we used to have as well.” She paused to shake her head. “Well, our lives were pretty crummy anyways but they have gotten notably worse. Anyways, we thought we’d reach out to you. And since you failed the others thought you might like a third chance at getting everything back.”


Vignette backed away, placing a hand under her chin as she eyed the girl. Ok, right now she didn’t have a lot of options. It was either listen to her or go home and wait for the police. It couldn’t get any worse…right?


“What exactly would I get if I went with you?”


“Well, for one thing, a place to hide out,” said the boy. “It’s where I’ve been staying.”


“Yeah, there’s that,” said the girl as she moved closer to Vignette. “But, our overall goal, is to reclaim what we lost. To get our magic back. That and get some payback towards the Rainbooms for everything they’ve done to us.” Suddenly the girl turned and began walking towards an alleyway. “That’s all you get for free. If your interested in hearing more, you need to sign up with us. So what’s it going to be? Follow me for one last chance? Or stay here and feel sorry for yourself before the police grab you?”


As the boy followed the girl, Vignette stood there for a moment with her hand hanging limply at her sides. Then her hands balled up into fists as a more determined look appeared on her face. Then she marched after the pair, eager to find out more.
> The Good, The Bad, and The Duelists part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a quiet afternoon in the town of Rancho Bronco, but not because it was a small town where nothing ever happened. While it seemed to be nothing more than a dusty relic of the past, with plenty of log cabins and wooden structures, that appearance was very deceiving. For one thing, the town had some of the best grazing land for miles around. Many of the farmers there raised cattle as well as bison in mass and sold all across the state. A few of the farmers here were even able to sell their meat across the country due to their tenderness. Rodeos and country concerts were common occurrences here with many of the biggest in the business getting their start here. Folks from all over the country would swarm here for their annual events. And then there were the chili fields owned by Chili Pepper, the oldest resident of the town. His Windigo Pepper fields seemed to go on for miles in every direction with his three story mansion in the middle along with housing for all of his farm hands.


Yet this afternoon held none of the pride and joy that normally blanketed the town. Instead the streets looked deserted with not even a tumble weed to roll past when the wind blew. Lights had faded from inside all the stores, the glass looking dirty as if no one had washed them in forever. Cars that had been driving down the streets just a week ago were left to rust in the middle of the streets, their windows shattered completely and their insides picked apart. Street signs were spray painted over with black lightning bolts and other signs. Then there were-


“Somebody please help me!” screamed a voice of some unlucky soul. Those close enough to hear peeked through their closed curtains or past their boarded up windows, ignoring the trashed states of their yards to see a horrible sight. The old mailman, Mr. Stamp, was being thrown backwards. The letter bag he was carrying spilled white envelopes everywhere as he was flung while Duel Monster cards from his hand fluttered about the place. What made the scene so horrible was that, as he was flung, he began to change. His skin began to wrinkle while liver spots appeared. Muscle mass decreased to give him a frailer appearance, clinging to his body as if he had suddenly been mummified. His hair lost what remaining color he had while it became longer, several teeth falling out of his mouth. By the time he hit the ground, he was no longer a man in his upper sixties but instead a man pushing a hundred or more!


“Ha, ha, ha,” came a deep pitched laugh from his opponent as he stepped towards the fallen man. He was a blue skinned teen with black hair that turned upwards like bull horns. His face was almost flat and blocky, with a large golden ring pierced into his nose while a green glowing gem hung around his neck. As he walked towards his opponent, this teen lowered his duel disk while his muscles began to ripple underneath his clothes before suddenly growing larger. His white shirt and ripped jeans became strained before ripping in several spots. Even his shoes seemed to burst from this sudden increase in mass as he walked off of the outsole. Only his leather biker’s vest, which had the image of a lightning bolt on the back, remained undamaged.


“Please,” begged Mr. Stamp as he raised a shaky hand to the sky, his eyes turning milk white. However, his plea went unheeded as his opponent kicked the arm away. A loud snap was heard followed by the arm bending in a way it shouldn’t, Mr. Stamp screaming as loud as his now feeble voice could.


“That’s what you get when trash like you forgets to pay me and the boss the proper respect,” sneered the teen. He then looked around, and when he spoke again, he made sure his voice could be heard by all. “And don’t any of you forget who’s in charge here or what we can do to you all! We have the power in this town!” With that said, the fiend threw back his head as he laughed loudly while the people inside their homes shuddered in fear.


-x-


“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” asked Pinkie Pie as she bounced about on her seat, looking out the train window excitedly. Not that there was much to see right now. The train had long since departed the cityscape and had taken them out into the country land. Now all that could been seen were acres of fields with the occasional cluster of cows grazing.


“No Pinkie,” replied Applejack as she fought to keep the irritation out of her voice. She did, however, place a hand on her head as her eyes rolled. She had been dealing with the same question since they first got on the train. Literally since the moment they sat down, the sugar powered teen had been asking if they were there yet. It had been fine at first, but several hours of this had caused Applejack to wonder how in the world the Pie family was able to keep their sanity. Just imagining Pinkie getting into a car with them, bouncing in the seats for however long, probably did a number on them.


Much like how it was doing a number on all the other folks on the train. There weren’t that many mind you, but those who were, well, were not doing too well. Most of them were showing signs of stress and irritation, giving the pink girl dirty looks while not caring if they were seen. A few others managed to get different seats in a different compartment.


Thankfully, Applejack wasn’t alone with dealing with Pinkie. Sitting across from her were Twilight and Sonata. Thankfully Sonata wasn’t following Pinkie’s example, but instead was working on her homework with the help of Twilight.


“Stupid triangles,” muttered Sonata as she erased something for the umpteenth time, looking flustered as she did so. “Don’t know why anybody need to know trigonometry. Evil subject!”


“Now that ain’t fair,” said Applejack with a small smile. “Why, whenever me and mah family need ta work on any project, figerin’ out them angles is mighty important. An Forge, well, he needs to know how to figure them out when lookin’ at blueprints an stuff.”


“Speaking of Forge,” began Twilight as she gave Applejack a look that screamed both curious as well as sly. And the tone in her voice, it was as if Twilight were channeling her inner Rarity. A scary thought indeed. “How did that date with Forge go?”


“Well, it was…ah,” began Applejack as she felt her face beginning to burn. Honestly, her first ever real date had been a lot of fun. Looking at all sorts of handmade knick-knacks, old fashioned equipment, watching a falconer, and seeing one of them fancy sword fighting shows. It was the sort of thing that she had never tried before, but seemed right up her alley. Heck, there were even some outdoor dances that Applejack would have like to do…if she knew any of them fancy dance moves that all the other Renaissance goers seemed to know. That and the fact that she had on her gem meaning she might have crushed Forge without meaning to.


Shaking her head slightly, Applejack decided to change the subject. “Thanks again for coming with me to check on mah great granduncle Chili Pepper.”


Twilight frowned a little at this before returning back to her normal self, giving her a ‘don’t worry about it’ type smile. None of the others seemed to care about the subject change, since Pinkie had been looking out the window the entire time and Sonata was looking stressed about her homework. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I just hope he’s ok.”


“Ah hope so as well,” replied Applejack as she leaned forward to take out a letter that was in her back pocket. She didn’t unfold it, but stared at the crumpled piece of paper with a worried frown. It had only been a day and a half since the farmer girl had received it and, in that time, had reread the letter so many times that she was now able to recite it from memory. Not that it was very long or anything. The message had come from the office of the Rancho Bronco’s Sheriff’s office, explaining that her Great Uncle Chili Pepper had been missing for over a week at the time the letter had been sent out. As such, they were reaching out to his next of kin to both inform her as well as asking that she come down to help settle some legal matters.


It was surprising that she would be the one to be asked. Applejack could count the number of times she had met her Great Uncle on one hand and have some digits to spare. He had always seemed more like a fool with no real common sense, off in his own little world while eating chili peppers like they were candy. And why they would reach out to her of all people instead of Granny Smith or Big Mac was also a mystery. But she supposed that she would find out when they got there.


A sudden arm was wrapped around AJ’s neck followed by a cheek being pressed against her own. “Don’t worry silly,” said Pinkie Pie, her breath smelling of frosting. “I’m sure everything will be fine and dandy. And if something is wrong we’ll be there to take care of it! After all, we might be related which means he’s a member of my family as well! And there’s no way I’d ever let anything bad happen to a family member!”


“Much appreciate it,” said Applejack as she felt herself relax a bit, grateful to have friends who would have her back in all this. She knew Pinkie Pie would go to the ends of the earth just to make someone smile, so of course she would have come along even if she knew they weren’t related. She only wished the rest of her family could make it, minus Apple Bloom. The last thing she needed was her going off on her own and getting into trouble.


As for her friends, well, she had only asked the ones she knew were free this weekend. It would have sucked if Chili Pepper had just gone out of town for a week without telling anyone and they had come all this way for nothing! Rainbow Dash had a big soccer game upstate, a few hours in the opposite direction that they were heading towards. Scouts were going to be present, meaning that there might be a chance that Rainbow could be considered for a scholarship. The last thing Applejack wanted was for her to have to choose between her future and a problem a friend was going through. Rarity had some big plans for a shindig where a few of her dresses were going to be worn. Then there was Fluttershy who had been taking some time off from school following the break in at the animal shelter. She was fine, but said she needed some time to herself to recharge. The only two Applejack knew she was talking to was Tree Hugger, who was helping Fluttershy to ‘get her energies centered’ or something like that, and her boyfriend. As for Sunset, she was keeping a promise.


-x-


“HEADSHOT!” yelled President Shimmer, pumping a fist into the air as she watched the futuristic soldier on the scene fall down to the floor. Both she and the identical girl next to her grinned as their fingers moved over the controllers, taking down legions of enemies in the games two player mode.


“Watch out,” said Sunset, grinning with the rush of excitement on her face. “Mass of enemies on your six!” Her hands hurt from playing this same game for the last ten hours straight…but she didn’t want to stop. She couldn’t stop. Neither of them could stop after making it all the way to the fifteenth level in one day on epic mode!


“Oh no you don’t!” growled President Shimmer as she stood up, nearly slamming a foot on top of the table in front of them while a flame blazed in her eyes. With the press of a button, President Shimmer’s character switched weapons from a large chaingun to a flame thrower. “You accounting bastards! Trying to tell me we’re over budget when you’re slipping funds into your personal accounts! Setting me back months! DIE! DIE! DIE!”


-x-


So that left Twilight and Sonata, besides Pinkie, of course. For some time now, Twilight had been spending a good chunk of her free time working on some big fancy project in case Cinch ever showed her face around these parts again. Recently Twilight had made massive progress with the help of Pinkie, so now she was taking a much needed break to clear her head. As for Sonata, the fast food chain she worked for had given her the weekend off. And if Twilight was going, the former Siren had to come along as well since Twilight was also her tutor. That and she wanted to try the chilies.


“I will destroy this math problem,” growled Sonata as she erased what she written again. As she did, Applejack saw Twilight lean over to her housemate’s paper to get a better look at it. She then pointed to one spot and whispered in Sonata’s ear causing the blue skinned girl’s eyes to widen. “Oh, I think I get it now.”


“It’s no AAAHHHH!” screamed Twilight as the train came to a sudden and unexpected stop. She wasn’t the only one to do so. All around them, folks flew out of one seat and into the one across. Sonata flew head first into Pinkie, her homework getting shredded in the process causing the ritual summoner to scream all the louder. Thankfully, Applejack was able to catch Twilight thanks to her own strength, knocking away several large bags that flew in their direction as well.


“Sorry about that everyone,” came the voice on the loudspeaker. “There seems to be some trouble on the tracks. Please be patient as we sort this out as quickly as possible.”


“What do you think it is?” asked Twilight as she got up.


“Who cares?” cried Sonata as she held up the remains of her homework. “Now I have to start all over again. All. Over. Again. It’s not fair!” As Sonata cried loudly, Applejack moved to the window to take a peek to see if she could spot anything. At first, the only thing she noticed was all of the conductors getting out of the train and heading towards the front. For some reason, a wave of dread began to wash over her, chilling the teen to the bone. Each second, the pounding of her heart seemed to grow larger and larger until it was the only thing she could hear.


Then after several minutes, something was pushed into her view. It was a car so old that it had to be a classic or something. An old white convertible if she had to guess, it was hard to tell due to all the dust. But, if she wasn’t mistaken, that was Chili Pepper’s car. His pride and joy when he was her age! Worse was that it was decorated with the skulls of dead animals spelling the warning: keep out.


-x-


An hour and a half later found the girls at their destination. The rest of the trip had been taken in almost complete silence except for the sound of pencil against paper as Sonata continued to do her homework. Not even Pinkie tried to take their mind off what they had seen after Applejack had shared what it was. She too was shaken by what it was and what it could very well mean. Now, with them being the only four to get off the train, looking around made that sense of dread feel all the worse. There was just nobody around. No one was waiting for the train to arrive, not travels or even station attendants. The wind blew trash and dust all over the place with graffiti all over the walls. If AJ hadn’t known any better, she would have thought that this place was no longer in service.


“Are you sure we have the right place?” asked Sonata as she tugged a little on her backpack’s strap, glancing behind her at the train which had not departed yet.


Rather than answer her verbally, Applejack raised a hand and pointed to a hanging sign. The words ‘Rancho Bronco’ could just barely be seen beneath the paint and pigeon droppings that coated it. No one said anything to this, all of the girls shrugging in defeat as they walked away from the train and their main means of escape from this place.


Outside the train station, things weren’t any better. Nothing more than what appeared to be a deserted town. Yet, as the girls passed by building after building on their way to the sheriff’s office, they couldn’t help but feel they were being watched. That didn’t bother Applejack none as she followed her phone’s GPS to their destination, but even she noticed people watching them from inside the buildings out of the corners of her eyes.


Questions began to go through Applejack’s mind. The biggest one was: how could this have happened without word getting out? One would think something like this would have sparked the media’s attention. Them news vultures should have been here in mass, covering everything and everyone they could while politicians tried to blame the other party for what happened. If there was some sort of trouble, shouldn’t the state police be investigating this? Or if this was the start of the zombie plague wouldn’t the CDC have roped the area off? Heck, maybe even a few MyStable posts should have been posted.


For several minutes the girls walked through the desolate town, wishing to see a car pass them by just to see somebody out on the streets other than themselves. As they drew near the local hospital, a large seven or eight story building, a loud beeping sound broke the silence and nearly caused Applejack to jump from surprise. Turning around, she saw that Pinkie and Sonata were also looking at Twilight who had worried look on her face as she pulled out her magical detection device from her pocket.


However, before she could open it, a man was flung through the glass doors of the hospital emergency entrance. The man landed in front of them, his silver skin looking heavily bruised with white hair a mess and glasses cracked. Judging from the fact that he was wearing a lab coat and had been flung from the hospital the Applejack assumed he was a doctor. Slowly he made gasping noises as he stared up at the sky before his body seemed to age rapidly right before their eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw her friends looks of shock and Pinkie even covered her mouth in horror at what they were seeing.


Then came the laughter. As the doctor took on the appearance of a living mummified man, the girls turned to look at the person walking calmly out of the hospital. It was a hulking teenage boy who looked close to their age with grey skin and brown hair which had been styled in a way to make it look like he had horns. The teen didn’t wear a shirt, just an open leather vest to show off his chiseled body along with ripped jeans. Then there was the gem around his neck, a green emerald like rock that seemed to have steel unicorn’s head melted into its center. It glowed an eerie green color as the teens muscles began to ripple and grow, making him look more powerful. Definitely signs of Equestrian magic in Applejack’s book. At least he hadn’t turned into some sort of monster…yet.


“Well, well,” said the teenager as the doctor moaned for help. “Look at what we have here. A couple of girls who decided to go out for some fresh air.”


“What in Sam Hill is going on here?!” demanded Applejack as she moved in front of the fallen doctor.


“What rock have you been sleeping under?” asked the teen with a laugh. “You should know by now that this is our town and, by our rules, the only people allowed outside when the sun is up are members of the Stampede Gang.” He then gave them a nasty grin. “That guy behind you, he stupidly went to help another fool who went outside so he got what was coming to him. And, unless you all want to end up like that, then you’d better making it worth my while or else duel me!”


“Fine then,” said Twilight as she stepped forward. After taking hold of her gem, the doctor was gently levitated away and place on the street not too far away from them. The teenage boy looked surprised by this, jaw dropping as he stood there looking confused. The man looked slightly panicked at the noise, but didn’t say anything else. All eyes were on Twilight as she pulled out another device and put her gem into it after attaching it to her wrist. In a heartbeat, a row of purple stars, five in total, appeared in front of it. “I’ll duel you.”


“You…You have magic too!” shouted the teen, eyes bugging out a bit. “And its different from what we all have. Amazing.” The teen quickly raised his hands out in a calm down gesture as a grin appeared on his face. “Well this changes everything. Listen, there’s no need for us to do this. The name’s Bull Ring and the Stampede Gang would love to have you join our ranks. Heck, all of you if you have the power to pull your own weight. Plus it would be a bonus to us having girls who are actual hotties instead of the one we do have.”


“Not a chance,” replied Twilight while inserting her deck. “There’s no way I’d join a gang.”


“Ah, but aren’t you sort of in a gang already?” asked Pinkie Pie, raising her hand up into the air as if she were in case. “I mean, there are eight of us who hang out and we do nearly everything together and we sometimes call ourselves-”


“That’s not what I meant Pinkie,” shouted Twilight. “I mean a criminal gang, not a gang of friends!”


Bull, meanwhile, shook his head as he lowered his hands. “Well that ain’t the smartest move I’ve ever seen,” he said as he raised his dueling arm up. “You’ve seen what our magic can do. It drains the life out of whoever loses a duel to us and then transfers that life to us. We become stronger and healthier with each person we defeat. Perhaps when it happens to you, your friends will make a smarter decision.”


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Twilight while the other was a mugshot of Bull Ring. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Bull Ring.


“Ha! Well ain’t that lucky!” cried Bull Ring as both he and Twilight drew cards from their decks. Once he had six cards in his hand, Bull looked them over with savage superiority. “I’ll start by playing the field spell: Geartown!” Instantly the area around the two began to change as buildings made of metal and gears began to spring out from the ground. Both Pinkie and Sonata let out cries of surprise, grabbing hold of Applejack from either side as she herself looked on the rising smokestacks that let out their vile pollution into the sky. “Like it? With this card in play I can normal summon my Ancient Gear monsters with one less tribute. But then again, while it’s a nice place to visit I wouldn’t want to live here. So I’ll play the spell card Ancient Gear Catapult! When I have no monsters on my side of the field I can use this card to destroy one card on my side of the field and then special summon one Ancient Gear monster from my deck ignoring the summoning conditions. So say goodbye to Geartown and hello to Ancient Gear Golem!”


“Hello,” Pinkie and Sonata said together as they let go of Applejack. At the same time, the city of gears that surrounded them began to rust, crumble, and fall apart. As it did, a large figure rose from the rubble. A towering humanoid machine that looked like it had seen better days. Despite having 3000 attack points, the machine looked like it needed new armor plating to protect its exposed gears and had a single glowing red eye.


“But that’s not all that I’m summoning!” continued Bull Ring as the destroyed city began to shake. “When Geartown is destroyed I can special summon another Ancient Gear monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard. However, this card doesn’t allow me to ignore the monster’s summoning requirements. Now rise up Ancient Gear Wyvern!” Rising up from the rubble before it vanished was a light teal machine shaped like a dragon with a large gear coming out of its body in between its wings. With 1700 attack points it rose into the sky as it flapped its metal wings.


“Now that my Wyvern is on the field, its effect activates,” said Bull as his duel disk beeped. “I can add to my hand any Ancient Gear card from my deck. Like say Ancient Gear Hunting Hound which I will then summon to the field in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a dark green machine that somewhat resembled a dog with large fangs on its underjaw and a large yellow gear on its underbelly. Its attack point were 1000. “When normal summoned, this monster burns you for 600 points of damage! Literally!” Ancient Gear Hunting Hound opened its jaw revealing a flamethrower inside. Before Applejack could tell Twilight to look out, a large stream of flame shot out towards the purple skinned duelist. Twilight’s body was covered by the flames, her screams echoing across the empty streets as her life points dropped to 7400.


“Feels real, don’t it?” commented Bull as the flames continued. “That’s because our magic makes all the damage you take real! So tremble as I-” Bull looked shocked for, at that moment, the flames died down and there stood Twilight looking singed but otherwise fine. “Wait, why aren’t you scared? Everybody I’ve done that to becomes a nervous wreck!”


“This isn’t the first time this has happened to me,” replied Twilight.


Bull swore loudly, causing Pinkie to cover her ears with cotton candy. “Well that changes things then. Thankfully my Hunting Hound has another trick he can use. Once per turn, this card lets me fusion summon one of my Ancient Gear monsters using monsters from my hand or field. So I’ll fuse my Hunting Hound with my Wyvern!” Applejack watched as Twilight’s free hand tightened into a fist as a vortex appeared above their heads, pulling the two mechanical monsters towards the sky. Like she was bracing herself for what was to come. “Gears of the dog and dragon turn as the clock ticks by. Rusted, but not forgotten, combine to bring war to this modern era. Fusion Summon Ancient Gear Howitzer!” Landing on two legs next to Ancient Gear Golem, and just as large, a mechanized dragon slammed into the earth. Most of its plating was missing, showing off multiple spots where its gears were sticking out as they turned rapidly. It had no claws or hands, but three massive cannons sticking out of its arms. Its attack points were 1000.


“Now I active this machine’s effect!” shouted Bull as he stomped his foot on the ground. “If 600 points of burn damage didn’t bother you then maybe 1000 points will!” The cannons on Howitzer moved ever so slowly until they pointed at Twilight. With an ear splitting boom they fired at her one by one, hitting the ground so hard that the pavement erupted around her and sent Twilight flying backwards. Applejack and the other winced as their friend landed on her back and continued to skid for a few yards before finally stopping.


As her life points dropped to 6400, Twilight struggled to stand up. The damage wasn’t pretty. The right lens of her glasses had cracked and there were several cuts on her face, probably due to the last explosion. Her blouse was ripped in the back, revealing parts of her bare skin as well as blood. Not a lot thankfully but enough to be noticed.


“You’re not looking too hot,” commented Bull as Twilight stumbled to return to her former position. “Tell you what, since I’m such a nice guy, we can end this duel right here and call it a draw. All you have to do is promise to work with us. Sounds like a good deal, right?”


Applejack watched as Twilight took several deep breaths before answering. “Is it my turn yet?”


That got a small chuckle out of Bull. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he said.


“Good,” said Twilight as she drew, now holding six cards in her hand. “I’ll start by summoning Genex Ally Duradark in attack mode!” After placing the card on her duel disk, a beam of pixels shot down from the sky and ‘flipped’ before striking the ground to reveal Duradark. An android made of mostly black material with blue circuitry glowing all over its metallic body and a red visor with computer code running across it. It appeared on the field with its arms crossed as if to give itself a look of utter confidence. Its attack points were 1800.


“Next I’ll play the spell card: One for one,” continued Twilight with a smile as she inserted the card. At the same time, Duradark turned its head to look at Twilight and gave her a solid nod of approval. “By discarding a card in my hand, I can search my deck for a level one monster and special summon it to the field. Genex Ally Changer will be discarded so that I can special summon Genex Recycled to the field.” Another pixelated beam appeared on Twilight’s side of the field, ‘flipping’ to reveal a monster that was less impressive than Duradark. It was a small monster, barely going past Twilight’s knee with a large square head. Recycled had exposed wires wrapped around its arms and coming out of its legs as it sat there, staring up towards the sky with a dead look in its unblinking eyes.


“Ha!” laughed Bull as he pointed to Recycled. “What can that puny thing do?”


“Something really special,” replied Twilight, taking Bull by surprise. “Recycled is a monster who remembers those Genex monsters who rest in the graveyard. To honor them and continue the fight, he’ll take on their names. Like right now he’ll take on the name Genex Ally Changer!” If something amazing was to happen, Applejack didn’t see it. All she saw were Recycled’s eyes blinking for a bit. “It might not seem amazing on its own, but when I use this effect with Machine Duplication I can summon to the field two more Genex Ally Changers!” A large holographic version of Twilight’s spell card appeared on the field right before several large mechanical arms began to come out of it. Many of these arms ended with things like welding torches and cutting saws with others carried in their claw like hands metal and wires. Together they worked assembling two more monsters to Twilight’s side.


“No way,” growled Bull as he checked his duel disk. “There’s no way you can do that. Machine Duplication only works on monsters with 500 or less attack points! Genex Ally Changer has 1200 attack points!”


“Actually there are ways around that restriction,” said Twilight as her two new monsters were finished being assembled. Both were mostly white androids with green bits on their arms and legs. In addition, it also had a yellow visor in place of a face. “See, the monster that is targeted needs to have 500 or less attack points. Meaning if you can adjust its attack points or change the name of a monster with the desired attack points, you can then pull out higher attack point monsters from your deck.”


Bull Ring frowned at that but said nothing, eyeing Twilight’s four monsters in an unimpressed fashion. And, if she were being honest, Applejack couldn’t blame him. None of those monsters had the power to take down either Bull’s giant machines. Not to mention Twilight had just three more cards in her hand. Perhaps one of them might be able to help.


“With both of my Changers on the field, I’ll activate their effect allowing me to change the attribute of one monster on the field,” explained Twilight before pointing towards one of them. “Changer number one will turn itself into a fire attribute and Changer number two will turn Duradark into an earth.” Applejack watched as Twilight’s monsters went to work. The first one pressed a few buttons on its arm before a bubble or field formed around it that was shaded red. The second one did the same only it pointed a hand at Duradark before a beam shot out of it, surrounding their fellow machine with a more earthy toned field.


“With that set, I am ready to Synchro Summon!” announced Twilight as she pointed to the sky. “I tune my level one tuner Genex Recycled with my two level three Genex Ally Changers to Synchro Summon Genex Ally Triforce!” At that moment, Recycled managed to jump into the air and became a single green ring which both Changers jumped into. Once inside of the rings the Changers turned into six stars before a bright light engulfed them. “Circuits connect opening new pathways to victory. The addition of fire will bring about blazing glory. Synchro Summon Level 7: Genex Ally Triforce!” As the light faded, a metallic white figure landed on the ground in the classic superhero knee fashion. It was large, standing much taller than Twilight with a red visor covering its face. Most of its body looked smooth and well rounded except for its chest which stuck out a bit. One of its hands was not a hand, but instead a blaster with three muzzles with different colors (red, brown, and black) in a triangular design. The gun arm spun around, stopping with a loud click as the red muzzle was seated at the top. After standing, it turned to look at Twilight before giving a thumbs up as its 2500 attack points were proudly displayed.


“With that set, I play the spell card Iron Draw!” continued Twilight. “This spell card allows me to draw two more cards as long as I have exactly two machine effect monsters and nothing else. Also for the rest of this turn I can only special summon one more time.” With that, the number of cards in Twilight’s hand rose to four. However, Applejack noted that Twilight didn’t look too pleased by what she saw. Like she had been hoping to get something else but didn’t get it.


“Time to take out your monsters starting with Ancient Gear Golem,” said Twilight as she focused on the problem before her. “I activate Duradark’s special ability which allows him to destroy one monster on your side of the field with the same attribute as his own. And since he’s an earth type right now…” Twilight let her words hang as Duradark raised a hand towards Ancient Gear Golem. Applejack watched as a hole opened up in its hand and began to suck up everything within the area. Trash and rubble were sucked inside while Ancient Gear Golem’s feet were dragged across the street damaging the pavement as it went. But the closer it got, the faster it seemed to be pulled in until it too was sucked up.


“No! My Golem!” shouted Bull.


“It’s your turn now Triforce!” shouted Twilight as she pointed at Ancient Gear Howitzer. “Time for battle. Take out his Howitzer!” Holding his weapon in front of him, Genex Ally Triforce’s weapon began to spin as a large black orb appeared in front of it before launching at Bull’s remaining monster. Bull cried out as his machine broke apart right before his eyes in the blast while his life points dropped to 6500. Applejack watched him open his mouth to say something, probably to voice how glad he was that it was in defense mode and that he wouldn’t be taking any damage, when Triforce appeared with its weapon pointed directly in his face. “Now Triforce’s effect activates. Since I used a fire attribute monster to Synchro Summon him, he deals damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack points.” Flames shot out of Triforce’s weapon, burning Bull until his life points dropped to 5500. When it was over, Triforce bent its knees before leaping into the air and landing in front of Twilight.


“That…hurt,” grunted Bull as he placed a hand over his heart. Parts of his body looked singed, smoke rising up as he breathed deeply. “I’ll show you! I activate the effect of my Howitzer! When its destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard I get to special summon one Ancient Gear monster from my deck while ignoring the summoning conditions. So guess who’s coming back?!” From the fallen debris rose another Ancient Gear Golem.


Twilight frown. “I’ll end my turn,” she said. “And at this time, the effect of Changer ends allowing Duradark to return to his original attribute.”


“Goodie, my turn,” laughed Bull. With five cards in hand, he looked down at them for a second before pulling three of them out. “Time I took this a bit more seriously. I use the spell card Polymerization to fuse the Ancient Gear Golem on my field with the Ancient Gear Gadget and Ancient Gear Box in my hand to create one of the most powerful cards in the game!” Bull threw back his head and laughed as his monster rose up into the sky followed by the shadowy images of his other two monsters. “Cower before the metal giant, with might unmatched by any other! The combined might of three machines, built on the foundation of the Golem, makes it possible! Fusion Summon: Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!” What crashed down from the sky landed with enough force to shatter every window down the street, glass raining down as far as Applejack could see. Standing above Bull was Ancient Gear Golem with a serious upgrade. For one thing his body now resembled that of a centaur. His size had either doubled or tripled while one of his hands had been replaced with a weapon like Triforce’s. Only it was more medieval in Applejack’s opinion compared to the high tech blaster Triforce used. It was a bulky, three clawed hand with two gears coming out of it. And judging by its 4400 attack points, it would hurt a lot.


“He looks familiar,” muttered Sonata as she looked up at Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem with a deadpan expression. “Sort of reminds me of this jerk Aria dated for a while when we were all living in Equestria. Can’t really remember the name, but he had a cute brother.”


“Beg for mercy little girl!” shouted Bull. “Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, destroy that puny monster!” Everyone watched as Bull’s monster pulled back its weaponized hand before thrusting it at Duradark who stood ready to take it. When the attack hit, Applejack expected Twilight’s monster to be destroyed instantly. Only, it didn’t. It grabbed hold of two of the three claws and held on for dear life while darkly colored sparks ran up and down its legs. As the seconds ticked by, Duradark seemed to take on more damage. The dark sparks began to cover its entire body while its visor cracked. At the same time the gears on Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem’s weapon began to spin faster until smoke began to come out of it. Eventually Duradark’s body gave out, losing its grip moments before it got smashed. As Duradark exploded with its limbs and body parts flying in every direction right before they exploded as well, Applejack saw Triforce holding Twilight as he put his back towards the explosive to protect her from the flying rubble. Shielding her.


“Now you see how powerless you are against me,” said Bull with a grin as Twilight’s life points dropped to 3800. “Not only does this monster have high attack points, but it has some powerful effects as well! Putting your monsters in defense mode will not protect you because this thing does piercing damage so there is no point in stalling! But, even if you do somehow manage to destroy it, I can just summon an Ancient Gear Golem from my grave to replace it. So no matter how you slice it, nothing in your deck can save you!”


“You’re wrong,” said Twilight as Triforce released her, taking a step back and standing beside her. “I believe in the deck I built and the monsters within it. There is a way to take down your monster.” Triforce folded his arms as Twilight said this before nodding in agreement.


“Whatever, just take your turn,” said a dismissive Bull. “But just to let you know, I have never lost after summoning this bad boy.”


Twilight said nothing as she drew her card and began to look at the five cards in her hand. With each passing moment, Applejack’s heart began to beat a little faster and harder in her chest.


“Ok, Twilight is still in this,” whispered Pinkie. “But it’s a pity she took out her old Scrap Iron Scarecrow. If Twilight still had that card in her deck then, and had drawn it last turn, she wouldn’t be in this situation.”


“That wouldn’t have worked,” said Applejack as she shook her head. “Granny Smith also plays that deck an I can tell ya’ll a thing or two about it. That there monster, when it attacks Twi ain’t allowed to activate traps. Meaning it’s free ta swing away without worry.” Applejack then clenched her fists. “Dang it Twi, why did ya have ta duel him like this when the stakes are so high. If ya lose then you’ll be-” Applejack was interrupted by a hand being placed on her shoulder. Looking over she saw that it was Sonata who was keeping her eyes on Twilight.


“Don’t worry, she knows what she’s doing,” said the former Siren. “Twilight has been working on that deck and practicing with it nearly every day since I started living with her. Plus she’s super duper smart. Even if she had only one life point left, I still think she would be able to turn this around somehow.”


Applejack frowned. “It’s not like ah don’t have any faith in her,” she muttered. “But with things the way they are-”


“Got it,” said Twilight loudly, causing Applejack to turn her attention back to the duel. Twilight was now looking at Bull with utter confidence. “I’ve never had the chance to pull off this combo before, but it will take you down this turn.”


“Ha,” laughed Bull as he crossed his arms. “Go ahead and try!”


“I play the spell card Iron Call,” announced Twilight. “When I control a machine type monster on the field, I’m allowed to special summon a level four or lower machine type monster in my graveyard. However, its effects are negated and its destroyed at the end of the turn. Come on back Genex Recycled!” Sprouting up from the ground as if he had dug himself out of a shallow grave was Recycled. The machine looked around a bit before its unblinking eyes turned towards Twilight, stumbling over to her before hugging the teenage girl’s leg.


“There, there,” said Twilight gently as she patted her Genex monster’s head. “It’ll be ok.” She then looked up at Triforce who was looking back at her. For a moment the two just stared at each other before Triforce nodded, as if he understood what she was planning. “Now I’ll tune my level one tuner Genex Recycled with my level seven Genex Ally Triforce!” A smile appeared on the girl’s face as her two monsters rose up the sky to become a familiar pillar of light. “Circuits charged with more power than ever before. The final upgrade to the Genex line races down the road to place victory in my hands! Synchro Summon Level Eight: Genex Ally Axel!” Landing on the field was another one of Twilight androids, only this one had wheels where its feet should have been which it used to zoom around the field as if it were skating at ninety miles per hour. When it returned to its summoner, Axel shot one of its legs forwards while the other bent low so it could twirl around in place before standing with a fist pump toward the sky. Everyone there looked at the now still robot with its white steel coat, purple visor, odd looking hoop attached to its back, and what looked like a card launcher attached to one of its arms. Its attack points were 2600.


“HA!” laughed Bull as Axel moved besides Twilight, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Is that the best you got? A monster with only one hundred attack points more than what you had?”


“No,” said Twilight as she sent a card from her hand to the graveyard. “I’ve got something a bit better in mind. I activate Axel’s effect which allows me to special summon one Genex monster from the graveyard as long as its level four or below. Return to the field Genex Recycled!” A card shot out of Axel’s card launcher which he caught and held up in front of him. The hoop attached to his back began to fill with a golden light before there was a sudden flash and, when it cleared, Recycled returned to the field. “Now I’ll tune him with my level eight Axel!”


“And what good will that do you?” laughed Bull. “A monster with 2700 attack points?”


Twilight didn’t respond as the pillar of light appeared on her side of the field, instead beginning her chant. “Massive power is built up from within, traveling through time and space. Connect and upgrade once again so that all may see the light! Synchro Summon Level Nine: Locomotion R-Genex!” As Twilight finished her chant the pillar of light faded while heavy clouds filled the sky above them. Music could be heard coming out from the sky along with the sound of a train whistle. As the music soared in triumphant harmony, Locomotion came out of the clouds causing the sky to instantly clear up. Locomotion R-Genex was a machine with 2500 attack points, looking very much like an old fashioned black train but in a humanoid form. It had no hands or feet, just arms and legs that ended in cannons. In its chest was a circular white light that shined brightly as the whistle blew once more from behind its tiny head.


“HA! All that work for a weaker monster!” laughed Bull. As he laughed, he failed to notice the light coming from Locomotion’s chest hitting his fusion monster. Streams of data code began to move across the field through that light and, when it was finished, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem began to move across the field. With each step it took the earth trembled under its mighty weight, gaining the attention of Bull. “Wh-What’s going on here?”


“Locomotion R-Genex has a powerful effect,” said Twilight as the fusion monster stood behind her. “When its synchro summoned, he takes control of the monster on your side of the field with the highest level. With this you’re field is wide open! Both monsters attack him directly!”


“I was careless!” screamed Bull as Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem’s clawed hand came barreling towards him. The teen screamed louder as he was crushed against the ground, eyes bulging while his life points dropped to 1100. Slowly he began to get into a sitting position right as Locomotion fired double beam cannons at him, the force of which slid his body against the payment and broken glass until his life points hit zero.


As the duel finished, Bull’s gem exploded into thousands of green shards. Everyone there watched as the teenager began to scream, his body convulsing wildly before it began to deflate. The muscle mass he had began to lessen until he was barely better than a stick figure while his skin took on an unhealthy gloss. In fact, everything about him looked sickly! At the same time the doctor that they had rescued began to look more like he did before, his body returning to the state it had been in before. By the time it was done it was like nothing had happened.


However the same could not be said for Twilight. As the holograms vanished, the wounds she had taken during the duel took their toll on her as she collapsed onto the ground.


-x-


“Thanks for taking a look at Twi Doc,” said Applejack.


“Not a problem,” replied the Doctor without looking up from his work. “It’s the least I can do for her.” Twilight was lying on her back, wincing in pain as the doctor cleaned her cuts and removed whatever stray glass was still lodged in her skin. Bandages were wrapped around her arms which had already been treated.


It had been twenty minutes since the duel had ended and she had been brought into the hospital. Entering the emergency entrance was something of a surprise for the girls who had expected it to look just as run down as the rest of the town. That was not the case as it seemed to be well kept and sterile looking. They could all smell the bleach used to wash the floors and the plain white walls looked completely clean of anything. But what was odd was that the waiting room had been completely cleared out and the chairs that would normally be there for waiting patients were replaced with cots. Many of those cots were filled by people who had resembled what the doctor had been, people who looked like they had turned a hundred and just moaned while they stared at the ceiling. Yet there were a few people who had jumped for joy when they came in, dancing around in their hospital gowns as if a miracle had just happened. Applejack supposed that maybe they too had been cured, like the Doc had.


As Pinkie Pie began handing out slices of cake to all those who had been healed (where she got those slices Applejack didn’t want to know), Applejack glanced over three cots from where they stood. Bull laid in that cot, his arms and legs strapped to it while four nurse carrying brooms and mops watched him. All of them looked on edge, flinching every time the teen twitched. While she could blame them after seeing what she had seen, he didn’t look in any shape to be causing any trouble.


“Is he going to be ok?” asked Sonata. Apparently she had followed the apple farmer’s gaze.


“No clue,” muttered the doctor, his tone harsh. “If it weren’t for the oath I took, I would have gladly left him to rot out there like him and his friends have done to so many.”


“What the Sam Hill happened here?” demanded Applejack, earning a brief glance from the doctor. “Ah mean, Ah get this letter from the sheriff telling me ta come down an that mah great uncle is missing but he failed ta mention the town had been taken over like this! Shouldn’t he have called the state police or something?”


“Must of sent the letter before things got really bad,” whispered the doctor as he pulled out another piece of glass from Twilight’s back. “To be honest, we’re still in the dark of exactly what’s going on here as well. Most of what I believe happened is nothing more than guesswork, patched together from rumors and what I saw with my own eyes. Some of it I still have a hard time believing. Don’t know how they’re doing all of this.”


Before he continued, the doctor shot another look at Bull while his eyes narrowed. “That punk and his friends, they came to town about a year or so ago as part of a work release program. That fool Chili Pepper was the one who brought them in thinking he could turn their lives around. Heh, fat lot of good it did since he was the only one they seemed to listen to. Probably because they knew if they ever got him angry enough he’d ship them back to their cells so they could finish out their sentences like they should have been! But to everyone else, all they ever did was give lip and cause trouble.”


“Doctor,” came a firm tone behind the girls causing they to jump. They turned around to see a nurse carrying a shirt that looked like it came from the gift shop as well as a lab coat and replacement glasses for Twilight. There was a frown on her face as she glared at the doctor before setting the small bundle down next to Twilight’s cot. “You know Chili Pepper was only doing what he thought was right. There’s no need to be bad mouthing him, not at a time like this.”


“If he hadn’t brought those punks here then we wouldn’t be in this mess,” replied the doctor stubbornly as he finished patching up Twilight. He then turned around to allow Twilight to get changed properly, without having her feel nervous with him watching.


“Ok,” said Applejack as she got in between the two. “So mah Great Granduncle brought them here. How in the heck did they get magical powers?”


The doctor shook his head. “That we don’t know. A week ago those work release brats started dueling people in the middle of the streets. We all saw our friends and neighbors have this happen to them as those thugs seem to get stronger! Don’t know how they got they got this power, but if I had to guess it might come from the green gems they wore around their necks.”


“Haven’t ya’ll tried fighting back?” asked Applejack as Pinkie bounced back towards the group.


The doctor responded by towards one of the mummified people in the far back. “That there was Sheriff Tumble Weed. Tried getting some outside help, but they treated it like a joke and I don’t blame them for thinking so. If someone had called me up and told me what was going on here I’d think they had one too many to drink. When that didn’t work he tried to get as many of our best duelists together to try and stop them. You can see how well that went. So the town’s mostly just given up. Anybody they see walking about the town during the day, they duel them. Before the sun rises, we have to lay out tributes in front of our homes or else they break down the doors and force us to duel them. Heck, if they don’t have a deck they give whoever it is they’re challenging a starter deck just so they can duel!”


“Well, the good news is that we know how to turn people back,” said Twilight, getting the attention of everyone. She now wore a pink blouse with a teddy bear hugging a red heart on it which she quickly covered up with her lab coat. The glasses were also a size or three too large for her, but it seemed she could see just fine with them. “And we have dealt with this kind of thing before. It has to be ancient Equestrian magic that was brought here via the portal. Let me just call up Sunset so she can ask the Princess about what it might be. The more information we have the better.” As the doctor and nurse looked at each other in confusion, Applejack watched as Twilight pulled out her phone before pressing a button on it with Sunset’s picture.


“I wonder what it is this time,” said Pinkie as she leaned against the opposite wall. “I bet whatever magical thingy these guys are using was used by some super big bad guy back in Equestria. Maybe something that allowed him to steal the strength of other ponies so he could become the biggest and baddest one around.”


“Well it’s not like it’s a unique power,” said Sonata. “Remember that guy I mentioned before, the one that dated my sister? He had this power that let him gobble up magic like it was Taco Tuesday so he could get all buff. That and it turned him into a bigger jerk since he stomped all over my seashell collection. Never apologized, just laughed like a crazy horse-thing. There were also stories I heard about a bell that this goat or ram or maybe-”


“Wait, WHAT?!?” shouted Twilight so loudly that it made Applejack jump three feet in the air. She, along with the others, turned to look at their purple friend to find her holding the phone with both hands while her mouth hung open. After a minute or two of silence she pulled the phone away and pressed a button. “Ok, I’ve got you on speaker. Could you repeat what you just told me?”


“Gems with steel unicorns melted on top that suck out a person’s strength? Twilight, I hate to say this but this time it isn’t ancient Equestrian magic,” said Sunset’s voice from the other side of the phone. “Well, it is Equestrian magic. That much is obvious. But those gems were created back when I was a little filly.” All of the girls looked at each other in equal confusion.


“What?” asked Pinkie, the first to break the silence.


Sunset let out a sigh. “Ok, this goes back to when I first became Princess Celestia’s student. At the time, there had been a small breakout causing some of the upper crust of the capital to get a little worried. Everypony knew it was possible for the magical dampening rings to be removed or that the chains holding down pegasi and earth ponies could break if the magic infused in them wasn’t regularly recharged. I guess this one breakout really shook them up since it was the first one that happened in the last couple hundred years. Kind of blew it out of proportion if you ask me.


“Anyways, this group of unicorns began to experiment with a better way of keeping prisoners in check. The idea was to suck out all the magic and physical strength of the convicts so that they would be unable to ever break free with it all returned after their sentence was finished. They called it the Gem of Dominance. Really should have gotten a better marketing pony on it because it sounds like something a villain would create.”


“Wow, Princess Celestia really went to the dark side if she oked this,” commented Sonata.


“She didn’t,” said Sunset quickly. “I was there when it was pitched to her and, well, she hated the idea. The whole idea of having an object with a unicorn on it with that sort of name didn’t sit well with her at all. Neither did the fact that the gem didn’t contain what was stolen, but instead transferred it to the wielder. If it were ever used, even if it was just for its intended purpose, it would tell the ponies of Equestria that unicorns were the dominant tribe rather than one of three equals. Then she had to consider it being used as, well, a tool of domination against other ponies. Rather than just telling them no, Princess Celestia ordered all of their research confiscated and forbade them to ever work on the gems again. As for the gems that were made she said she would dispose of them in a place where nopony would ever find them. Guess she must of used the portal.”


As Sunset said this, Applejack could feel her eye beginning to twitch. She could somewhat picture how it all happened. In her mind, Principal Celestia (she had no idea what the pony version of her looked like and it was just easier to imagine her like this) was carrying a bunch of gems to a magical portal thingy before tossing them in and walking away, brushing off her hands as she went. Looking around, it seemed like Twilight, Sonata, and Pinkie Pie were having the same reaction.


“Well, she was tutored by Star Swirl,” muttered Sonata with a deadpan look. “Guess she took up his habit of ‘making it somepony else’s problem’.”


“Haha,” laughed Sunset nervously when nobody voiced any disagreement to that. “Well to be fair, all Princess Celestia knew was that there wasn’t any magic on this side of the portal. I think she hoped that they would just be inert or something.”


Applejack let out a sigh. “Well, at least we know we can fight them and return everything that was stolen by beating them in a duel. Say Twi, how many of them new duel disks did’ja bring?”


“Only the one,” replied Twilight as a light blush of embarrassment appeared on her cheeks. “And this is the prototype that I let Pinkie Pie use that one time. The final models are right now being finished back in my lab.”


“Well then ya best be letting us handle the rest of the dueling,” said Applejack. “Now let's go get them varmints!”


-x-


At the same time, a lone figure stood in the middle of the main road leading into town. His name was Raging Bull, a short teenage boy with brown skin and black hair that was cut so short it might as well have been a buzz cut. Sweat ran down his white shirt and legs, staining his jeans slightly as he squinted outwards in what seemed to be miles of nothing. Well, mostly nothing. The boss and his girl had sent him out because one of the cameras that had been set up by the former sheriff had picked up somebody coming this way. And it was his job to make sure they were never heard from again.


Spitting on the ground, Raging wondered why they were staying in this dumpster of a town. With the power they had at their fingertips, they could be out there doing so much more! They could go to one of the bigger cities and take over the criminal underworld. They could live like those criminals he read about in the comics and saw in the movies. The good, easy life. And maybe they would have if Long Horn hadn’t taken a liking to that girl who arrived with them.


The sound of an engine roaring off in the distance caught Raging’s attention as something came into view. It was a motorcycle with one of those passenger compartments attached to it. As it got closer, the teenager could make out a teenage girl looking like she had stepped out of the 80’s driving it without a helmet. Next to her was a chubby, bucktoothed boy who was holding on for dear life. As they came barreling down at high speeds, Raging began to wonder if standing in the middle of the road was a good idea. It didn’t look like she was going to slow down anytime soon and, if she didn’t want to run him down, she could very easily go around him. Heck, how was he supposed to stop her anyways? Sure the strength he had stolen gave him incredible strength, but none of them had tested their defense.


As Raging considered leaping to the side and telling Long Horn he had tried, the bike skidded to a halt. Eventually it stopped several yards in front of him while the girl leapt off her seat, her back leaning against the bike. On her wrist was a black duel disk that looked like it was custom built. The life point read out display was smaller and shoved all the way into the top to make way for a twelve pointed leaf shutter thingy.


“Howdy there partner,” she said as her eyes became hungry. Hungry for what, he had no idea but it gave him the shivers “Just heard that there’s some magic to be had in these here parts. Mind showing a girl just how much you boys have?” Raging blinked, keeping his eyes on the girl as her partner tried to get out of the passenger compartment only to fall flat on his face. How did this girl find out about the magic? And why was she making him feel so…uncomfortable?


“Sorry,” replied Raging as he activated his duel disk. “But the magic here is taken. And I can’t let you leave knowing what you know.” To his surprise, the girl’s smile grew.


“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said as she activated her own duel disk.
> The Good, The Bad, and The Duelists part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What did you say?” demanded Raging as their duel disks connected. Above their heads, a dual sided portrait of the pair began to spin around and around. At the same time the chubby, buck toothed teen snickered as he moved off to the side. There was something in that sound that Raging didn’t like, beyond sounding annoying as all hell. Nor did he like the confidence of the girl who was to be his opponent.


But perhaps that was to be expected. Ever since he had gained this magical power, people blanched at the thought of dueling his gang. So many times he had heard people beg for mercy or simply ran away leaving others to the fate that awaited the loser. This cocky girl, however, was different. She didn’t know that when she lost all of her life points she would be turned into a living mummy with him gaining more strength and vitality! Probably didn’t know that all damage felt would be turned real as well. That would be her mistake: coming here without knowing everything


“You heard me,” said the girl as their portraits stopped spinning. Looking up, Raging saw that he was up first. He also noted the girls name: Adagio Dazzle. Returning his gaze to his opponent, Raging saw Adagio standing there with her arms crossed and a smug expression on her face. “Seems like you get to go first. Goodie. That means I get the first chance to take a bite out of your life points.”


“I’ll make this quick so I can shut you up for good,” Raging snarled through gritted teeth as he drew his opening hand. Perhaps a bit too tightly as the bottom of his cards began to bend. Not that that really mattered. As his life points rose to 8000, the only thing he cared about really was shutting this girl up.


“First off, I’ll play the spell card: Feast of the Wilds LV5!” shouted Raging as he placed one of the six cards in his hand in his spell/trap card slot. “With this, I can special summon two LV 5 Warrior type monsters from my hand or graveyard. Come on out: Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard!” With a sweeping arm motion, Raging slapped two more cards onto his duel disk while at the same time two giants fell to the ground on his side of the field. Both monsters looked like giant cavemen, mostly nude with fur covering their private areas, wrists, and back. The two hunched figures also had horns on their heads as they bellowed to the sky while waving wooden clubs in the air. They also shared the same attack points at 1550. The only difference between them was that one had green skin while the other had red. “Normally, their effects would power the other up. However the effects of my spell card negates that as well as preventing them from attacking this turn.”


“Oh, I’m sooo frightened,” mocked Adagio in a baby-like voice, a hand being placed on top of her massive forehead. Like she was pretending to faint or something. Then, just as quickly as it happened, the girl burst out laughing. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want any chance of betting me. There are level three monsters out there with more attack than those two even with their special abilities!”


“Good thing I’m not done yet!” yelled Raging, air shooting out of his nose as he snorted. “Because now I normal summon Valkyrian Knight in attack mode!” With another sweep of his hand, Raging slapped down another monster card whose form appeared between the two brutes. However, this 1900 attack point monster was far nobler in appearance. It was a woman with long flowing blonde hair dressed in red armor. Golden wings extended from her helmet while another set of silver ones adorned her waist. As she drew one of the two swords from the scabbards attached to her hip, her blue cape flickered in the wind. “Now if you want to attack my Battleguards you have to go through her first! Then I place one card face down and end my turn.”


“Really, that’s it?” asked Adagio as she drew her card. Briefly she looked over the six in her hand, looking over them as a snake looks at a fat mouse who had gotten too close for its own good. Slowly, she licked her lips before returning her attention back to Raging. “I had hoped you’d be smart enough to at least overlay those two level five monsters. But it seems I was giving you far too much credit. Now, I’ll show you the folly of such a misplay. And to do that, I’ll start with the spell card Reasoning. Here’s how it works: you call out a level and I keep drawing until I get a card that can be normal summoned or set. If you guess correctly then that monster goes to the graveyard. Guess wrong and I get to special summon it. As for everything else they get flushed down to the grave. Simple.”


Raging hummed as he thought about this for a moment. “I pick level four,” he said. It was the safest bet since nearly every deck out there used them.


“Well, lets see if you were right,” said Adagio as she drew. Then she drew again. She then drew for a third time. It was on the fourth that she stopped and held up her card. “I drew Big Jaws, a level three monster. Looks like you lose.” As Adagio said this, she placed her card on her dark duel disk to summon her monster. The ground in front of her began to crack before quickly exploding as a giant shark shot upwards, water splashing behind it as if they were dueling on a thick sheet of ice. Big Jaws lived up to its name for this 1800 attack point monster’s jaw took up at least half of its body with metal covering its jaw and the fin on its back looking razor sharp.


“Since a fish type monster was special summoned to my side of the field, I’m now allowed to special summon Shark Stickers to the field in attack mode,” continued Adagio as another shark like monster erupted from the ground. This time the shark was purple with what looked like an oval plate on its head with rows of orange circles on it. This shark, however, had far less bite than Big Jaws for its attack was only 200. “Now for my normal summon! Come on out Spear Shark!” Once again the ground cracked and erupted as another one of Adagio’s sharks appeared on the field. This time it was a red shark with glowing green eyes and 1600 attack. Attached to the nose of this creature was a metal mount holding a yellow spear made for stabbing.


“When Spear Shark is normal summoned its effect kicks in,” said Adagio confidently. “Now all of my level three fish type monsters get their level raised by one. Which means I have three level four monsters to build the overlay network!”  Raging watched as Adagio raised her hand high into the air as a dark, spiraling portal appeared in the middle of the field. The girl’s monsters transformed into different colored lights before being sucked into the void which lights then erupted out of. “Great beast of the depths, the perfect hunter within the ocean. Merge your might with that of the dragon so that you shall have no equal! XYZ Summon Rank 4 Number 32: Shark Drake!” What came out of the portal was one of the stranger monsters Raging had ever seen. This red skinned giant stood on two legs but had four fins that might have been wings. They just looked so odd. The monster was bent forward with a long neck that stretched outward but ended with a small head. Floating around it were three orbs of yellow light and its attack points were 2800.


“Time for you to learn just how wrong it is to get on my bad side,” continued Adagio. “Shark Drake, that Valkyrian Knight is standing in the way. Show it terror like never before and destroy it!” Raging watched as Shark Drake leapt off its feet before launching itself towards Valkyrian Knight who stood with her weapon at the ready.


“I activate my trap card!” yelled Raging as Shark Drake opened its mouth. “Covering Fire. This card lets me target one of my other monsters and then add that monster’s attack to the monster that you’re attacking. Lava Battleguard, give Valkyrian Knight a boost!”


“Wait, WHAT?!?” screamed Adagio as Lava Battlegaurd moved in close to Valkyrian Knight, holding his club with both hands. Together they swung at Shark Drake with an attack of 3450, cutting off its head before smashing it to the ground. As its body vanished, Adagio’s life points fell to 7350.


“Looks like all that work to get that big monster was all for nothing,” said Raging smugly as Adagio began to grit her teeth.


“That was one of my best monsters,” she growled, eyes narrowing. “You’ll pay for that!”


“Yes, I’m sure I will,” replied Raging as he loosened his grip on his cards slightly. “So, do you have anything else you want to do or can I draw?” Looking ready to kill, Adagio looked at her hand. As she did, Raging pressed a button on his duel disk to see what cards she had lost when she had used Reasoning. There were three non-monster cards waiting for him. One was Moray of Greed; a spell card that let her send two water monsters back into her deck in order to draw three new cards. The second was Salvage which would have let her return two water monsters from her grave back to her hand with 1500 or less attack points. Something that might have helped her down the line. Finally the trap card Solemn Judgment, at the cost of half her life point she could have negated anything he did and destroyed that card. Very powerful.


“Just go,” the girl snapped.


“Gladly,” replied Raging as he drew. Examining the two cards in his hand, Raging saw that he could not advance his field very well. One card was utterly useless right now, he would need a specific card that went with it if he was going to make the most of it. The other card would help him during the next turn. “I’ll set one card face down before launching an all out attack!” Thrusting his hand forward, pointing at Adagio as he did so, Raging’s call was instantly answered by his monsters. Valkyrian Knight leapt into the air, both hands gripping the hilt of her blade, as the two Battleguards trampled the ground below. His knight struck first with her blade slashing downward on Adagio, cutting her top along the side and drawing blood. He felt no pity the afro haired girl as she struggled to remain standing, arm hanging almost limply by her side as her life points dropped to 5450. After all, why should he? He had done this to so many others before her. Men, women, and even children. Like them, she would suffer the same fate. A fate that inched closer as Lava Battleguard’s club hit her in the gut, eyes bulging wide while decreasing her life points to 3900. The force of the blow sent her flying towards Swamp Battleguard who stood several feet away and clubbed her down into the ground.


“Oh my god!” screamed the chubby teen that had come with Adagio as the girl bounced off the concrete road. When she finally laid there flat, her life points fell even more ending at 2350.


“Look at you,” said Raging crossing his arms as his monsters filed up before him. “You came here acting so smug, so self assured. Just like all those other stuck ups who always flaunted their money around me. Thinking they were better than me because they were born to riches while family could barely scrape by! Rubbing it my face day in and day out. Now you’re just like them, lying on the ground after the beating I gave them. Just be glad I didn’t break your jaw in three places.”


Adagio groaned as she placed her hands on the ground. “I don’t give a damn about your back story,” she gasped while pushing herself up. Slowly she got to her feet, stumbling a little as she did. Her legs trembled to keep herself up right, her knees scraped with blood coming out. Her face was dirty and one of her eyes was closed. But, what was most shocking was that this girl was smiling. “That magic of yours, on the other hand, is something else. It’s been too long since I felt power like it. When I win this duel it’ll be all mine.”


“Dream on,” growled Raging.


“Don’t need to because now it's my turn!” cried Adagio as she drew. Confidently she looked at the four cards in her hand before nodding. “Perfect draw. First off I’ll play the spell card Different Dimension Deepsea Trench. This lets me banish one water monster from my hand, deck or graveyard. From my deck, I’ll drop Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth into the deepest depths of the ocean!” A crack in the street appeared in front of Adagio as she said this with icy blue light coming out from it. As she removed a card from her deck, the image of a giant fish appeared for a moment before falling into the void.


“Now I summon my Double Fin Shark to the field in attack mode!” As Adagio said this, a purple shark shot out of the ground, baring its monstrous fangs. Its attack was only 1000 but Raging had a feeling it wouldn’t be attacking him. “When this guppy is summoned I can bring back one of my fallen fish as long as its level four or three. Problem is that it comes back in defense mode and its effects are negated. Oh well, come on back Spear Shark. I still have a use for you.” Raging watched as Spear Shark returned to the field, showing its side to the three warriors instead of its bladed head. “Now things are perfect. I can now build the overlay network anew! In the deepest parts of the ocean, where no light can reach it dwells. Will you find relief or shall you be caught in its web? XYZ summon Rank 4! Number 37: Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark!” From the overlay portal created by Adagio came a loud cry right before a massive white creature swam up and into the sky. Unlike her last monster, this one looked far more menacing. Its main body was divided into two segment like a spider, with four purple gems glowing within the head section and five glowing red orbs on the back. It had two bulky arms that ended in bladed claws that looked like they could slash through a school bus with ease as well as six fins behind them. It swam using a long purple tail that came out of its back while two orbs moved around it. This monster’s attack was 2600.


“With this monster on the field I believe I call it a turn,” finished Adagio, earning a raised eyebrow from Raging.


“That’s it?” he demanded as he looked at Adagio curiously.


“I’m not going to run blindly and fall into another trap,” replied Adagio simply, wincing in pain as she did.


“Alright then,” he said while drawing a card. Briefly he looked at it, happy to see it was what he needed. “I’ll start by equipping my Valkyrian Knight with Broken Bamboo Sword.”


“What does that card do?” yelled Adagio, looking alarmed. At first anyway, for confusion quickly took over as the sword held by Raging’s knight changed into a broken stick of a weapon.


“Nothing,” replied Raging simply. “It raises my monsters attack by 0. It offers up no protection or any other effects. Just something to be equipped.”


Adagio looked even more confused. “They why play such a useless card?” she demanded.


“Because of this: Golden Bamboo Sword!” declared Raging. “When I have a Bamboo equip spell on the field I get to draw two more cards!” Grinning at the look on Adagio’s face, Raging drew his cards. “And would you look at that. Another Golden Bamboo Sword!” Still grinning, Raging drew two more cards. Only this time he did not draw his third copy of the card. But it was fine for now.


“I now activate my face down card, the one you were right to fear: Battleguard Rage!” said Raging as his face down card flipped up for all to see. “When I activate this card, I pick one of my warriors and it gains 1000 additional attack! Not only that, but from now on whenever that monster destroys one of yours it goes back into the hand instead of going to the grave. And the warrior who will receive this great power will be my Valkyrian Knight!” A red aura began to surround Valkyrian Knight as her attack rose to 2900. Her eyes became bloodshot and veins could be seen sprouting on her exposed skin. As her grip tightened on her crappy sword, she looked beyond pissed off.


“This is bad,” said the fat teen on the side in a pointless fashion. Raging could see him quickly moving his legs as if to do the ‘I’ve got to pee dance’. Pathetic.


“Now, Valkyrian Knight, cut that shark up,” order Raging as he pointed to Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark. “I’ve heard that shark fin soup is tasty.” Valkyrian Knight bent her legs before leaping forward with enough force that it cracked the street. His monster let out a warrior’s cry as she prepared to strike with her twig of a weapon.


“Sorry, but I’m going to have cancel your order,” replied Adagio smugly as she removed one of her monsters overlay units. “Because you’ve fallen into my trap! When either of us declares an attack the effect of my Number 37 activates. For the tiny cost of removing an overlay unit, its power reduces the attack of all your monsters by 1000! And you know what that means.” Raging said nothing, only grunting in acknowledgement as one of the Hope Woven’s orbs flew into the creature’s mouth. Before Valkyrian Knight could strike a web of light blue light was launched from her targets mouth, covering all of Raging monsters. Both of his Battleguards bellowed in pain as the webbing seemed to burn their skin while lowering their attack down to 550. But for Valkyrian Knight it was far worse. The webbing had wrapped around her as well, binding her arms and legs together so that she could not strike her target. Instead she bounced off of it like a ball before landing to the ground with a thud right before the Spider Shark raised one of its claws and impaled her.


“Aahh,” cried Raging as a wind swept over him, his trap card exploding as his monster was destroyed and his life points fell to 7300. “You little…I’ll set one monster in defense mode and end my turn!”


“As your turn ends, so too does the effect of my monster,” said Adagio as the webbing fell off Raging’s monsters. At the same time the girl drew her card giving her a total of three. “Since I control a water monster I can summon this card from my hand without a tribute! Come on out: Cyber Shark!” Bursting from the ground came another shark monster, this one about half the size as Adagio’s Number 37. This 2100 attack point fish monster had a white underbelly while its upper half was blue with lighter blue spots. The tips of its fins were coated in gold as well as a sort of mask over its skinless face.


“Now Number 37, attack and take out the ugly green monster,” shouted Adagio. With a roar the Dragon Spider Shark swam over to Swamp Battleguard who raised his club in defense. But it did no good as Adagio activated her monster’s effect once more, covering both him and Lava Battleguard in webbing. Both their clubs dissolved while their attacks were lowered to 550 again. Once they were at their weakest, Adagio’s monster rammed its claw into the Swamp’s gut to destroy him. Upon its destruction Raging was thrown backwards by the force, yelling out in pain while his life points dropped to 5250.


“I’m not done yet!” continued Adagio as Raging tried to get back on his feet. “Cyber Shark, drag Lava Battleguard to the bottom of the ocean so he can cool off.” As Adagio threw her head back to laugh, Cyber Shark flew through the air until it was about Lava Battleguard. It then did a nose dive towards the last warrior standing, crashing through the street as the ocean predator took Lava with him. By the time Raging got back onto his feet, Cyber Shark was back on Adagio’s side of the field with a muscular red arm in its jaw and nothing else. When the arm vanished Raging’s life points fell to 3700.


“That was amazing!” cheered the fatty on the side.


“I suppose,” said Adagio as she glanced over to her cheering section, a slight smile upon her lips as she did. “But, then again, what would you expect when a duelist of my caliber goes up against a third rate duelist.”


“I’ll shut that mouth of yours!” roared Raging as he drew. Once the card was in his hand he pointed it at Adagio. “Don’t think that just because you got in one lucky move means your better than me. I’ve defeated plenty of people here in this town and-”


“So you beat some backwater hicks,” laughed Adagio. “I bet for someone like you that’s a major accomplishment. But now you’re dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing!” Red began to fill Raging’s vision as he pulled back his hand while Adagio’s laughter filled the air once again. Just who did she think she was?! If she was so hot, so good then why did she have the lesser life points? Ok, she had two big bad monsters on her side of the field but he could take them down. Then, after he used his magic to drain her he’d leave her shriveled body in a ditch nearby along with her fat friend, slowly drinking water while she begged for mercy!


Snorting loudly, Raging looked at the three cards in his hand before making his move. “First, I’ll flip my Dust Knight into attack mode,” he announced as his face down card was replaced with a man in silver armor and a red scarf around his neck. “When flipped face up, I can send one earth monster from my deck to the graveyard. So I’ll send Battleguard King.”


“Is that supposed to scare me or something?” asked Adagio as she waved her hand dismissively. “I mean, another Battleguard monster? What makes it the king? Does it have 1700 attack points?”


As Adagio snickered, Raging allowed himself to grin. “You’ll find out soon enough.” This caused the girl to stop in mid-laugh, eyeing him cautiously while he continued his play. “Now I activate the effect of my Valkyrian Knight in the grave. By removing herself as well as one other warrior monster in my grave allows me to special summon one level five or higher warrior that is also in my grave. So I’ll be banishing her and my Swamp Battleguard in order to bring out Battleguard King!” Erupting from the ground came a massive beast standing three times the size of a normal man with 3000 attack points. Unlike the last two Battleguard monsters, this one wore black armor with a gem in the middle of its chest as well as a battle kilt. It’s horns were thinner than the other two, raising above its eyes like two massive eyebrows. The King of the Battleguards also carried a club weapon, but this one was clearly better made. This club was thick and well rounded, having been professionally smoothed while also having a metal ring around it.


“Time to show you his true power!” continued Raging as Adagio looked upon his monster, clearly not impressed. “By tributing warriors on my side of the field, Battleguard King gains an additional attack for each. So I tribute Dust Knight so that he can attack a total of two times!” Adagio frowned as Battleguard King grabbed Dust Knight’s head before crushing it, the destroyed monsters light entering the remaining one’s body who roared loudly. “Since Number 37 doesn’t have any overlay units, I can attack without worry. Battleguard King, SMASH!” Battleguard King spat as he roared again, charging towards Adagio’s XYZ monster with so much force that chunks of the street flew backwards and hit Raging in the face. The teen, however, didn’t even flinch. Instead he kept his gaze on Battleguard King whom swung his club right into the side of Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark’s head, creating a loud cracking noise before the target flew off. As the monster vanished, Adagio’s life points fell to 1950.


“When Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark is destroyed, he leaves behind a parting gift,” said Adagio. “I can target one monster in my graveyard and special summon it. So I’ll bring back my Number 32: Shark Drake in defense mode.” Just like that, Shark Drake had returned to defend Adagio with 2100 defense points.


“Without an overlay unit, that monster is worthless,” sneered Raging. “Battleguard King, you still have one more attack. Destroy Cyber Shark!” Battleguard King swung his club towards his second target, crushing the head once more. As the monster exploded and Battleguard King returned to his side of the field, Adagio’s life points dropped to 1050. “Now that that’s done, I’ll set one card face down and end my turn.”


‘Whatever she has planned, she can’t win,’ thought Raging as his face down card appeared on the field. 'She could try to overlay her monster again, but I know for a fact that that monster’s chaos form requires her to have less than a thousand points in order to activate. So I’m safe from that. Heck, even if she did try to attack or targets my King with a monster effect Battleguard Howling will activate. It’ll send her monster packing back to her hand while burning her with her own monsters attack. All I got to do is wait for her to attack and I win!’


Meanwhile, Adagio hummed as she drew and examined the three cards in her hand. “I’ll play my own draw card: Moray of Greed. To activate this card, I have to send two water monsters back into my deck. Then I get to draw three!” Raging watched as Adagio took a breath, sending the remainder of her hand back into her deck, allowing the auto-shuffle function to finish before drawing three cards. “Just what I needed! I play the spell card Twin Twister! By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy two spell/trap cards on the field. So I’ll take away that face down of yours as well as my own Different Dimension Deepsea Trench!”


“Crap!” swore Raging as a tornado appeared from the card Adagio held in her hand. Bracing himself from the powerful winds, as well as noticing the fat kid getting knocked down by said winds from out of the corner of his eye, Raging watched as the tornado split into two. The first funnel destroyed Adagio’s card while the other destroyed his trap.


“When Different Dimension Deepsea Trench is destroyed, the monster I banished with it appears on my side of the field,” announced Adagio with a laugh. “So rise up from the depths of the ocean: Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth!” Appearing above Adagio’s head was a large fish the size of a whale with massive fangs to match its size. On its head was a crown and it swam using thick fins on its sides that looked like they could have been used for legs. It’s attack points were 2800. “Now I activate my monster’s effect. By discarding one card from my hand, I can special summon as many level four or lower monsters from my deck with their effects negated. Not like I’ll really need them. So come on out Hammer Shark and Double Shark!” Appearing on Adagio’s side of the field appeared two more sharks. Hammer Shark looked like it literally had a hammer for a head with 1700 attack points. Double Shark had 1200 attack points and looked like there was a bar in its mouth to keep it from closing all the way.


“This isn’t good,” whispered Raging.


“For you, no. It isn’t,” said Adagio. “Because I now overlay level four Hammer Shark and Double Shark to build the overlay network one last time! In the darkness where there is no light, it stalks its prey. Feel your heart race as its hot breath brushes against the back of your neck! XYZ Summon Rank 4: Abyss Dweller!” Now on Adagio’s side of the field was a serpent-like creature with black, scaled skin. Its head was like that of a dragon, with yellow eyes that never blinked as well as a forked tongue. On its upper body were several spikes which glowed blue as if meant to attract prey while its two overlay units orbited around it. Thankfully, it only had 1700 attack points.


At least, it did at first. The spikes on Abyss Dweller began to glow brightly as its attack rose to 2200. At the same time, the other monsters on Adagio’s side of the field began to gain more attack as well. Both Shark Drake and Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth seemed to grow in size while their attack increased to 3300!


“N-No,” gasped Raging as he backed up a little.


“Oh yes,” said Adagio as grinned evilly. “When my Abyss Dweller has water monsters as overlay units, all of my water monsters gain 500 extra attack points. More than enough to destroy that brute of yours and end this duel. I believe I started with my Shark Drake which you destroyed with that annoying trap. Time for him to get his revenge.” Just like that, Shark Drake was upon his monster. With jaws open wide, it grabbed Battleguard King by the neck before flying upward and chomping down hard. Bits of the King fell several feet before vanishing in a sparkle of light that did nothing to ease its departure as Raging’s life points were lowered to 3400. “Now Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth, it's your turn.” Raging only had time to look up as Coelacanth opened its jaws to allow a torrent of water to come shooting out with enough force that he was knocked on his back. He laid there, water pouring onto his body in all directions with enough force to keep him from moving. The teenager could feel his ribs being pressed down causing him to try and scream in pain. However, no sound came out that he could hear. The sound of rushing water was deafening to his ears and his mouth quickly became filled with water causing his lungs to burn with a lack of air. Several times he felt his body being cut, perhaps by shards of the rocky street rushing past him or something. He didn’t know but blood was certainly in the water.


When it finally ended, all Raging could do was stare upwards at the sky while gasping for air. The thought of his life points being 100 was now something far and away, the only thing that mattered to him was filling his lungs while his body ached with pain. That was until the serpent form of Abyss Dweller appeared above him. Raging never heard the attack as he screamed out as loud as he could. Abyss Dweller, in return, sent a high pressured stream of water to his gut which knocked the wind out of him and dropping his life points to zero.


Now declared the loser, Raging watched as his body began to convulse. All of his muscle mass began to shrink while the pain he was feeling became more intense. As the process continued, he noted through teary eyes a green stream of energy was rising from his gem which he followed. To his shock, it flew towards Adagio’s duel disk whose shuttered section had opened up. The energy entered it like something from the original Ghostbusters movies. And as his vision faded, the last thing he saw was the eyes of Adagio glowing green as she grinned with glee.


-x-


“Ok, I think I might know where the magic is being isolated,” said Twilight. Applejack stood across from her within the hospital’s cafeteria with Sonata on her right and Pinkie on her left. The place was large but not in any real use right now. Fresh food was getting harder to find and most of the people who had been brought to this place were no longer able to eat solid foods. At least, that was what Applejack had been told by the doctors and the nurses. So, rather than use the room to cook a decent meal, the healthy folk here use the microwaves to whip up some instant meals they managed to scrounge up and eat on the go while a special formula was given to the afflicted. Yet even after all the time that this place hadn’t been in use, the scent of bad hospital food still lingered in the air. But it was a quiet, isolated place where the four of them could work out a plan without being bothered too much. The four of them stood around a map of the town that they had managed to find with Twilight’s magic finding doohickey on top of it like a paperweight.


“I set the range of my scanner as far as it can go,” continued Twilight as she placed a hand on the map. “While I can’t get an exact location right now, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that they are in this area.” Applejack and the other girls watched as Twilight’s finger moved upwards towards the end of the town before circling. If the map was to be believed, there were several large buildings these varmints could be hiding in as well as a few farm houses. Including the one owned by her great uncle Chili Pepper.


“Really?” asked Pinkie Pie as she picked up the doohickey. “Can’t you press a button to zoom out or something like in that one anime where people scream a lot and they don’t power up by turning into pony people but going blond instead?”


“No,” said Twilight as she quickly took back the thing. Applejack watched as Twilight took a calming breath before continuing. “The device can’t do that at this range. All it can do right now is point up in the general direction. Thankfully once we get closer I’ll be able to better pinpoint where the magic is so we don’t have to go searching through buildings.” She then let out a sigh, suddenly looked a tad depressed. “And that’s all the good news I have for all of us.”


“Well what’s the bad news?” asked Applejack.


Again, Twilight sighed. Only this time she winced a little before touching her wounds. “We have the power to fight them and take away their magic,” began Twilight as she sat down. “But the thing is that we only have one duel disk that can do that right now. I’ll be sure to make some more when we get home, but for right now we have to share. Something that might become a problem if they surround us.”


“Ohh, yeah,” winced Sonata.


“Not ta mention the toll it takes on ya,” commented Applejack as she looked at Twilight in a serious fashion. “There’s only three of us who have them fancy gems and no idea how many of them there are. Even if we each win once, we might be down for the count before all this here is done. Twi, ya think ya can handle another duel like that?”


“Probably…not,” said Twilight slowly, her hands checking her wounds again and wincing as a result. “I can keep up and do maintenance on the duel disk as needed, but I don’t think I’ll be able to duel like that again anytime soon. Maybe in a pinch I could.”


“I can help!” said Sonata loudly as she bounced on her feet. “I can just borrow Twilight’s gem and use the duel disk. Plus I am a good duelist too.”


“That’s true, you are a good duelist,” admitted Twilight. But the tone in her voice clearly held a ‘but’ in there. Heck, even Sonata could see it coming. “But, from the research I’ve done, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to use the duel disk I created.” She then paused before pulling out her gem and holding it in the palm of her hand. “I’ve been doing tests with Sunset with our geodes. Nothing too fancy, just seeing how they would react if someone else held them. In all eighty-nine tests, not once have they reacted to anyone else but their owner. It’s interesting, since Gloriosa was able to use them back at Camp Everfree, but I believe I have few theories that might explain this. The first, and most likely, is that the geodes where in a state of flux before we got them at which point they bonded with us. Following that, it could be that there are people out there that can inherently use whatever magic they find. But these are talks for another day. The main point I’m get at is since the geode is what powers the duel disk, there is a high chance that it wouldn’t work for you.”


“Oh,” was all Sonata could say as she lowered her head. Applejack noted that Sonata looked disappointed which didn’t sit so well for her. Given how close Sonata had become to Twilight, Applejack wanted to believe that she wanted to help her. But she also couldn’t forget that for the longest time Sonata had been a Siren, using Equestrian magic to get people to fight and bicker with each other in order to gain strength. How she and her sisters had used gems as well as the instrument of their magic. Perhaps she was being a tad paranoid, but the speed in which she wanted the gem and how she was acting right now made AJ wonder if she really just wanted magic back in her life. Like she was falling back on some sort of temptation or something.


“Don’t worry about it,” said Twilight, snapping Applejack out of her thoughts. She watched as Twilight placed a hand on Sonata’s shoulder before giving her a reassuring smile. “Even without magic, I’m sure there will be plenty of ways you can help.” Sonata smiled back at Twilight, giving her a nod.


All Applejack could do was bite her lower lip as she watched this before averting her eyes. She didn’t like thinking like this about somebody who was trying to better herself. A person trying for that second chance. They had helped give one to Sunset and to Twilight. She could see that Sonata was trying to better herself. Heck, Sunset had even used her magic to see what was going on in Sonata’s heart. So why was she now thinking like this? Maybe it was because she was afraid Twilight might get hurt after sticking her neck out so much for her. Or maybe it-


Quickly, Applejack shook her head. When they got home she would talk to Sunset about this, just the two of them. That way, if it was just paranoia or something fancy like that, no one else would know about it and no feelings would be hurt if she were wrong. But for right now, the four of them had to get out there. There were varmints to wrangle and a great uncle to find. That, right now, was what was most important.


-x-


At the same time, on the opposite side of town, Long Horn sat comfortably on Chili Pepper’s porch looking out at all that lay before him. He was seated in one of the couched arm chairs, old fashioned looking but very comfortable. Several others like it had been thrown onto the front yard along with other items they had trashed or burned in celebration. Some of them were still smoking. Other crap they had found in the house had been tossed into the fields, partly to test their newfound strength but mostly just for the hell of it. It was just more old stuff so it didn’t really matter in the end. All of the buildings around the area had all been marked, spray painted with their symbol so that everyone around would know who was here.


As Long Horn leaned back in his chair, his notice fell upon one of the few members of his gang on the property. This teen, Free Range, was busy with what he considered ‘work’. This ‘work’ began shortly after they had discovered the gems and what they could do. Some punk had thrown a glass bottle at Long Horn’s head with enough force that it shattered on impact. The strange thing was, it didn’t leave any mark on him. Heck, he barely felt it. Normally he would have shrugged it off to him being tough, but Free Range wasn’t convinced. The next morning found Free at the ballpark, standing in front of one of those automatic pitchers as balls were chucked into his gut. He said it was to see just how durable their bodies had become. Personally, Long Horn thought he was just a masochist.


Still, this ‘work’ had paid off. Free Range had discovered that with the more people they sucked the life from the tougher their bodies became. After dueling two people after the baseball test Free had returned and found that the baseballs no longer hurt him. Then he had tried cutting his skin with a knife only for the blade to become dull in the process. After that, well, the guy had found a shotgun. That had hurt him, leaving massive bruises but nothing else. According to Free Range, if they drain enough people not even tank fire will be able to phase them!


A grin appeared on Long Horn’s face. He had been content to have better looks and the strength to move a semi-truck. But throw in immunity to gun fire? Heck yeah! Soon him and his gang would be a pack of Supermen ready to take whatever they wanted and no one could stop them! Just image what would happen if they drained the entire town!


The sound of an engine pulled Long Horn from his thoughts. It was strange. Raging wasn’t supposed to be back yet and Bull had gone out on foot. So who could it be? Another group of dumbass townies who thought they could stop him if they all worked together? If that was the case they saved him the trouble of hunting them down.


What happened next occurred so fast it was like a blur. A motorcycle came barreling down carrying three people, a driver and two people in a side compartment. It moved quickly, turning at the last possible second in front of the porch and coming to a complete stop. As Long Horn sat there in complete shock a fat, buck toothed teenage boy dumped a withered body onto the ground as he and the female driver got out of the bike. Glancing down, Long Horn saw that it was Raging looking like all the townsfolk they had defeated in duels. Nothing more than a shell of his former self.


“Boss,” wheezed the broken teen as he reached out a bony arm towards Long Horn. “Be careful…They knew about magic…Took mine…”


“We thought we’d bring him back as a courtesy,” said the female driver, causing Long Horn’s head to snap back up and look at the two. The woman stood there with a smirk on her face, arms crossed right below her breasts while her partner cracked his knuckles. As he looked at her, Long Horn felt a small bit of nervousness sprout within him. Despite looking like she had been in a fight, no doubt a duel against Raging, she displayed a look of predatory glee. And while the short teenager besides her tried (and failed utterly) to display confidence, the girl seemed to ooze it. Long Horn had seen people like this back in the slammer, dangerous people who would prey upon him if they spotted the smallest hint of weakness. So he did his best to keep his face neutral.


“How thoughtful,” said Long Horn as he walked past Raging, shooting a brief glance at the whimpering mass below him as he did. In that brief moment, Long Horn noticed that the pendent around Raging’s neck had lost all its color. As if it had been drained. “I guess the neighborly thing for me to do is invite you both inside for a glass of lemonade or something.”


“Really?” asked the chubby one, all traces of ‘menace’ vanishing on the spot and instead looking hopeful. “That would be great! It’s so hot out here!” He took a step forward, never noticing the glare his partner was giving him. Or any care as to the danger he was in.


That was corrected very quickly as Long Horn grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him easily with one hand. The boy let out a series of noises as he kicked his feet wildly, his hands doing everything in their power to break his hold. It would have been so very easy for Long Horn and his new found strength to throw this worm far into the fields without any real effort. Yet he held the boy by his shirt while glancing over at the girl. Her look told him it would have been a waste of time. The she had smirk was now gone, looking more annoyed than anything else as her gaze shot to the buck toothed teen before returning to Long Horn. It was clear to him that this hostage meant nothing to her. He was just an underling to her, something to be used and then disposed of. Still, he had displayed his power in the situation while instilling a healthy dose of fear into this boy.


“You attacked one of my boys,” growled Long Horn as he glared at the woman. “Don’t know what you were expecting by coming here, but I’ll make sure you regret it.”


“And you’ll end up regretting not listening to what I have to say,” said the girl firmly.


“What do you have to say?” came a familiar voice from behind Long Horn as well as the sound of heavy boots against the wooden floor. Without needing to turn around, Long Horn could see his second in command stepping through the doorway. Dressed in ripped jeans, a white shirt covered her dark orchid skin as well as a worn leather jacket as she looked down at the girl by the bike with those opal colored eyes. No doubt the girl was noticing his partner’s scarred eye.


“Tell this guy to drop my…,” the girl paused as she placed her hand under her chin, as if debating something in her head. But only for a moment. “…acquaintance, and I’ll tell you both everything. Like how I found out you people have magic. How I was able to steal it from the worm before you. And, this is the most important, what I can offer you.”


Long Horn continued to look at the girl for a moment in stunned silence before throwing his head back to laugh. “What you can offer us?!” he laughed. It was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. She comes in here, looking all beat up and with a loser, thinking that she had anything to offer them?


“Well this has piqued my interest,” said his partner as she moved beside him. Long Horn looked down at the smaller, slender figure beside him who eyed the orange-haired girl.


“Come on Tempest,” he said with a half laugh. “You can’t really be serious.”


“She certainly knew how to find us,” replied Tempest, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the other girl. “Maybe she found out that we were holed up here from Raging, but out of all the towns in the state she knew to come here. Meaning either she has a way to detect this power we found or there’s a leak somewhere.”


“Right,” said Long Horn slowly. That did make some sense. If someone did manage to get word out, most people would think it to be a joke or something. Especially if only one person was doing the talking. Get a whole bunch telling the same story, well, that just might be a different story. So, without another word, Long Horn tossed the chubby kid over to the girl.


“Thanks boss,” coughed the fat kid as he got on all fours.


“Hm, boss. I like the sound of that,” said the girl as she took a step forward. “Well then, let us start off with a little introduction. My name is Adagio Dazzle and I am representing a group of losers who are looking for magical powers.”


“Let me guess, there are others out there like us?” asked Long Horn, a small smile on his lips.


“Similar in the fact that they have magic,” said Adagio in a smug, matter of fact voice. “But most of them have more impressive powers. From what I can see, you all have the basic transfer of life force shtick that my sister’s old boy toy used. Not very original nor subtle enough for my tastes.” Long Horn snorted in annoyance as Adagio paused, still looking superior.


“So what powers do you have?” asked Tempest, whipping away that look from Adagio’s face. “I mean, if our powers are so inferior, surely you must have some amazing ability of your own.” The look on Adagio’s face was priceless to Long Horn. She stood there, hands clenched tightly as she bared her teeth. It almost reminded Long Horn of this dog he knew back when he was a kid, a helpless creature who could only bark at those who came too close and hid its missing rear leg.


“I…used to be able to bring out the worst in people,” admitted Adagio slowly. “I would then gather up their negative emotional energy before controlling them. I could make them do whatever I wanted them to do. Mainly worship me. But my magic was taken away like the rest of our group.”


Long Horn threw back his head and laughed. “That’s so pathetic,” he said as he stepped forward. The little toady scrambled to get behind Adagio as he moved closer, stopping only when he was towering over her. “You come here acting all high and mighty, yet you don’t have any magic to call your own. In fact, none of you do. So why should we bother joining up with a bunch of losers?”


“I hate to say it, but Long Horn has a point,” said Tempest, slightly irritating the teen.


“We’re not the only group of people looking for magic wielding people,” snapped Adagio. “There’s this group called the Rainbooms, bunch of goodie goodies who have magic as well. They’re the reason I lost mine as well as all of the others in our group.”


“Expect for me and Snails,” said the fat teen.


Adagio rolled her eyes before placing a hand on her forehead. “Yes, except for you two.” She then paused for a quick breath. “Sooner or later, the Rainbooms will hear about what’s going on in this town. They will come for you and they have a large arsenal of powers to tap in to as well as numbers. Believe me, when they come here they will take away your magic. Me, I would prefer that that didn’t happen. See, my group is right now collecting magic to benefit us over the long term. Regain what we have lost as well as strengthening ourselves for the future. But in order to do that we need to study magic properly to find other ways to use it. Something that requires samples. Now, while I don’t mind taking it outright, it would be easier if you donated it of your own free will. So here’s our offer: agree to help us by joining our ranks and allowing us to study those pendants and in return we will provide you shelter from the Rainbooms, access to some of our technology which allowed us to find you, and a place in our future.”


Long Horn chuckled again. “Sounds to me like you all need us more than we need you. As far as I can see, we’re doing pretty good right now.”


“If you can call this good,” Adagio shot back. Turning around, she began to walk around all the thrown about furniture in the yard while also avoiding any trash left behind by his gang. “Holed up in some out of the way town, waiting for the state to find out what’s going on.”


Long Horn shrugged. “I know what I am,” he replied as he crossed his arms. “Being in a gang, leading it, has been my life. I’m not so stupid to get drunk on power and think about ruling the world or whatever shit you people are thinking about. Right now, we’re just having fun and getting some payback for all the townies who treated us with disrespect. Once we get bored we’ll just go somewhere else. Like one of the big cities and make a name for ourselves. Maybe we could even take over something like a mafia or some shit like that.”


As he spoke, Long Horn watched Adagio closely. She stood there, eyeing the two carefully as if to size them up. Perhaps to steal their magic and do what she did to Raging. Or maybe to find another way to convince them to join. Pointless really. Even before he got this power, Long Horn had never listened to anyone. Not his parents, teachers, or anybody. Working for her or anybody from that group of hers was not an option he would take even if his life depended upon it. And no one in his gang would consider it. Not after everything he had done for them. It seemed Adagio realized this as well as she let out a sigh of defeat.


-x-


“Are you sure it’s really a good idea to leave like this?” shouted Snips from his passenger cart, looking up at Adagio as she watched him out of the corner of her eyes. Together they speed down the rows of chili peppers, having just left that idiot Long Horn, as they moved closer towards the town. She noticed Snips opening his mouth to no doubt say something stupid but she was spared as he swallowed a bug, a round of hacking beginning.


“We got what we came here for,” she shouted, loud enough to hear. “Our mission was to test out the capture disk to see if it worked. Getting them as additional goons was nothing more than an added bonus. Not getting them to join won’t hurt us too much in the long run. Especially with that idiot they call a boss.”


Snips hacked for a bit longer, finally spitting to the side before talking again. “So, ah, what are we going to do about them? We can’t just leave all that magic behind?”


“No, we can’t,” admitted Adagio. “That’s why we’re driving to the next town and contacting Cinch. She’ll want to know how everything went. Then, if she’s smart, she’ll send Aria down here with some extra capture disks so we can duel them together. And while we wait I can heal up.”


“Great idea bos-,” began Snips before another bug flew down his throat.


-x-


“Think it was a good idea to let them go?” asked Tempest as she leaned against the open door frame, her eyes focused on Long Horn. The more muscular teen was sitting in his chair, staring off at the cloud of dust kicked up by Adagio’s motorcycle. “If she’s telling the truth about her group, they could come back here with greater numbers.”


“If I didn’t, and she was telling the truth, they would have sent people back anyways,” said Long Horn with a sigh. “It would have happened sooner or later. At least this way, the odds are they’ll send people sooner. Then we can take care of them before we leave this dump.”


“Really?” asked Tempest. “After what they did to Raging? We don’t even know how they took his magic!”


“That’s true,” said Long Horn as he leaned forward, cupping his hands together as he did. “Very true. But, we do have Free Range.”


Tempest cocked an eyebrow at this. “What? Do you think he’s smart enough to figure out how they did that all on his own?”


“Not really,” admitted Long Horn. “But, he’d be the perfect bait. Let him duel them and, if he wins we can grill the idiots to find out everything that they know. If he loses, well then we get to see exactly how they steal magic without having to waste time beating it out of them. Then we give the power back to Free Range. No harm, no foul.”


“I disagree about Free Range,” commented Tempest causing Long Horn to look at her with a frown on his face.


“Don’t tell me that you’re soft on the guy,” he accused. “I thought I knew you better than that.”


A smile appeared on Tempest’s face as her hands slid into her pockets. “That’s hardly the case. He’s simply more reliable than Bull or Raging. Nothing more and nothing less. We might lose him if he ever found out we willingly put him in harm’s way. And we’d lose him for sure if we were unable to restore him. Better to use someone who’s more disposable. Since Raging is in no condition to duel anymore, best to use Bull.” As Tempest said this, she glanced over to the far corner of the porch where Raging now lay. A dirt blanket now covered his withered body like a funeral shroud. What they were going to do with him was still up in the air.


Long Horn chuckled at that. “Makes sense,” he said as he turned to look at Tempest, a smile appearing on his face. “That’s why I like you so much. Always there to help me see there’s a better way.”


Tempest didn’t respond right away, instead standing up straight before turning towards the house. “Now that that’s out of the way, I’d better go and make sure our ace in the hole is doing fine.” Without waiting for a response, Tempest walked into the building. What had once been an old fashioned yet well kept house now lay in ruins, trashed without any real thought about tomorrow. Holes were punched in the old wooden walls, wallpaper either torn up or spray painted upon. Here and there were piles of glass from the old picture frames that had been thrown across the room as well as anything else breakable they could find. Old vases, figurines, and so on all now lay shattered on the old wooden floor as well as an old style TV set that looked like it had once been from the 1950’s.


Taking a brief detour towards the kitchen, Tempest maneuvered around the moldy or rotten food to grab a bowl of chili peppers before heading upstairs. As she walked up the creaking steps, she examined the food for any spots or blemishes and tossing the one bad one over her shoulder.


Once at the top of the landing, Tempest turned right and headed down the hallway leading towards a door at the far end. A door locked with a padlock from the outside. The sight of it caused Tempest to grip the bowl a little tighter. That lasted only until she got to the door where she paused to pull the key out of her pocket.


“Hey Grandpa,” said Tempest in a somewhat more gentle and earnest voice. “I brought a snack for you.”
> The Good, The Bad, and The Duelists part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chili Pepper sat in an old armchair in the corner of a room, blanket draped over his lap as he looked out of the window at his fields. The walls of the room were covered by ancient wallpaper, a white one with thin, fading stripes of red and blue that were spread about. There was no carpet, just a stained wooden floor that creaked lightly as she walked across. Not even a rug should the morning be chilly. Perhaps Chili Pepper himself was used to such things or he had a higher tolerance for the cold.
 

Beyond that, the room looked much like how the house had looked before the gang had taken over. Two ancient dressers that looked like they had been kept in prime condition were placed against the walls while a bed with a metal frame painted red took up the opposite corner. Tempest had been in here so often that she knew without looking that there was a closet door near where she had entered. The entire place gave off an odor that brought up memories of her past. Of when her grandparents would visit her or when she would visit them. The scent of better, happier days.


How long had it been since she had last seen them? Were they even still alive? A slight frown appeared on Tempest’s face. She was thinking like that again. Thinking like Little Dizzy Fizzy, the girl she used to be. A girl she thought was long gone.
 

“My, that looks good,” said Chili Pepper as he turned to look at Tempest, a small smile appearing on his face. The old man looked ancient in a way. His light red skin hung loosely on his body, his bald head had a few spots on it, and his arms shook slightly as he reached up to take the bowl. This gave the impression that, at one point, he had been a man of once great physical ability. But now he just sat there in overalls that looked three sizes too big for him, unable to get around without the walker they had taken from him.
 

“Would you like one, my dear?” asked Chili Pepper as he held a pepper up between his fingers. His tone was calm, as if they were back when he would invite her to have dinner within the house or just to chat politely with her. It didn’t seem at all like someone who was being held against his will.
 

“I’m good,” replied Tempest as she sat down on the bed, the old springs making plenty of noise as she did. All forms of toughness were slowly slipping away beyond her control. Her body relaxed all on its own, her guard dropping like a stone in a lake. There was no need for her to be the big, tough girl she had to be in prison or when surrounded by the guys. She could just… be someone else for a while.
 

Honestly, she had no idea why this was or how it started. When she arrived here along with a few of the other ‘work release’ teens, she had hated every second she was here. To her, it was just another prison where people told her when to get up, when to eat, and where she could not go. The only difference was that there were no walls of stone with guards patrolling or barbed wire fences. Instead there were miles of endless desert around them, to dissuade the smart ones from running away. The only real way out was on the train and you had to go through town to get to it and the sheriff would spot you before it ever showed up.
 

Then, well, things just became different. Maybe it was because Chili Pepper was the first adult she had been with who didn’t sneer at her with the power he held over her. That he invited her to have dinner in the main house more than once. That he…
 

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug, before popping one of the peppers into his mouth like a piece of candy. Tempest watched with surprise and wondered how he could do something like that. Ever since she had first arrived here no one, not even herself, could eat more than a bite of those things without bursting into tears and demanding water. They were just so hot and spicy!
 

“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Tempest as she watched him swallow. “Perhaps get you a book or something?”
 

“Nah, it’s fine, my dear,” said Chili as he took another pepper. “But I wouldn’t mind you chatting with me some more like before. In fact, I dare say I would enjoy that very much.”
 

Tempest took a breath before scratching her cheek. “I…wouldn’t mind doing that for a while.” Slowly she leaned forward. “Actually, I used to talk to my grandpa for hours whenever he came around. So it’s kind of…nice being able to do it again.”
 

“Oh,” said the old man with a raised eyebrow. “What was he like? If you don’t mind me asking?”
 

“He was very kind,” said Tempest instantly as a vision of the man appeared in her head. “He always had this old pipe on him, even when Grandma and Mom told him to stop smoking. I would always sit on his lap while he read me stories, taking in the scent of tobacco. Other times he would just take me to the park with his beagle named Tootsie.” As Tempest finished saying this, her mouth opened to continue but no sounds came out. Slight panic came over her as the image of the man she had known so well now became a bit more blurry, the details fading away. “That’s really all I can remember now. It’s been so long since I last…” Her voice began to crack a little at that point and Tempest mentally scolded herself. She was becoming too weak too quickly.
 

“Right, I understand,” said Chili gently as he laid the bowl on his lap, looking at the girl. “You haven’t seen your family since, well, a very long time to say the least. I probably shouldn’t have brought it up.”
 

Tempest shook her head before wiping away her watery eyes. “No, I should have said something,” she said with a loud sniff.  
 

“Well then,” said Chili kindly. “How are you and your friends enjoying this new found freedom?”
 

At that, Tempest frowned. “I don’t have any friends,” she said in a tone harsher than she meant to while a surge of phantom pain ran through her scar. Just like it did every time she heard the word ‘friend’. It always took her back to that day when she was little, when the world around her was bright and cheerful. Before she was asked to meet them up one night at a local convenience store, watching as her friends pocketed this and that right before her eyes. How they were caught and chased, with her hopping over a fence that led to a very nasty dog that nearly took her eye out. She could still remember seeing her friends pausing just long enough to see her like that, crying for help, before they ran away from the sounds of sirens. How bitter the word ‘friend’ had become.
 

And just like that, a scared girl was sent to prison all by herself. It was supposed to be only a year in a correctional institute. That she would be home in time for Christmas and that her family would be waiting for her. But that place was nothing more than a living nightmare. She was bullied nearly everyday while the guards and councilors just sat back and watched. More than once she had to crawl back to her cot with a bloody lip and her good eye swollen. The year came and went, only for her to find that somehow her sentence had been extended for her misbehavior. What utter bullshit! No one came to see her. No one called her. No one sent her letters. She was all alone. So she did the only thing she could: made survival her number one concern.
 

Slowly, her hand went to clench the gem around her neck, still unused to this point. Yes, she had survived and had become stronger. The biggest, baddest bitch in prison. But not to regain what she had lost: friends, love of family, and other childish things like that. No, if her experiences had taught her anything it was that those things never really existed. Her eyes were open to the truth that the only one she could depend on was herself. The only thing she wanted now was simple revenge. Revenge on her friends for the way they left her. Revenge on Warden Storm King who made her life hell in prison. And revenge on the family who just left her there.
 

Briefly she glanced at Chili Pepper who sat there, watching her. Nothing was going to stand in her way. Not when she finally got the power to take everything away from those she hated! Not even Chili Pepper.
 

-x-


“We’ve got a problem,” said Long Horn as Tempest came down the stairs about an hour later, the rest of her conversation with Chili Pepper being both pleasant and mundane.
 

“If we’re out of toilet paper again because you guys wanted to-,” began Tempest with an eye roll, but was cut off as Long Horn stomped his foot into the flooring. The force he used was enough to shake the room while a large hole appeared around his foot.
 

“It’s serious this time,” he said as Tempest continued to walk down the stairs, keeping an eye on him. “It’s Bull. I tried calling him after you went up to feed the old timer. Wanted to get his ass over here in case Adagio and her group showed up like we planned. But he’s not answering!”
 

Hearing that nearly caused Tempest to trip on the last stair. “Are you sure you’re not overreacting?” she asked as she righted herself. “I mean, he could have forgotten to charge his phone. That or he used up all the power while playing that dumb game he loves so much.” As she spoke, Tempest did her best to stay calm. After all, Bull had forgotten to charge his phone a few times before. And it wouldn’t be at all surprising to find him getting hooked on one of those app games. Yet while that was the most likely possibility, Tempest couldn’t rule out the idea that something bad happened. Raging had just been defeated by Adagio and that girl had driven out to town. So there was a chance that she had run into the idiot and he challenged her to a duel.
 

“Thought about that,” growled Long Horn. “Which is why I tried to connect with his duel disk to send him a message. As long as he’s near someplace with free wifi he should have gotten the message. But I’ve heard nothing from him. Hopefully he’s just too far out of range or just ignoring me.” He then took a breath. “I just sent Free Range out to find him and bring him back. He took one of those four wheelers that were in the barn so it shouldn’t be too long. But if something is wrong then he’ll call me.”
 

Tempest nodded. “In case Adagio’s friends were closer than we thought,” she said before placing a hand on her chin. “That or those Rainbooms she was telling us about.”
 

“I don’t care who they are,” growled Long Horn, spit running down his cheek as he did so. “We need to be ready for anything. With the two of us working together, we can send them all straight to hell!”
 

“Perhaps,” said Tempest, a hand reaching for her deck box and lightly touching it. She was sure of her skill, but on the other hand… “But we don’t know who or how many we’re up against. I think it might be smarter to have a back-up plan just to be safe.”
 

“You mean turn tail and run?” barked Long Horn as he turned on Tempest. Pulling back his, he prepared to launch a powerful blow to her midsection. Something that Tempest saw coming a mile away. Having had to deal with stronger, bigger opponents all her life she knew how to turn their own power against them. As such, she ducked just in time so that his fist went zooming over her head while at the same time delivering a powerful kick to his leg to mess up his footing. Now off balance, Long Horn began to fall forward with the result being his arm creating a new hole in the floor.
 

This, however, didn’t stop him. Tempest knew that his strength and defense had greatly increased thanks to his magic. So it was no surprise that he was able to quickly get up like nothing happened. Long Horn spun around to deliver another blow aimed for her side. Yet avoided that as well while also grappling his arm in the process. Before Long Horn could realize what was going on, Tempest had used his own inertia to spin him around and into a wall.
 

“If it means surviving then yes, we turn tail and run,” said Tempest as she approached him. Slowly, Long Horn began to turn around so that his back was against the wall. With his head resting in the indent created by Tempest’s counter, she placed a boot against his shoulder while looking down at him. “We have to think of the big picture here if we want to survive. Right now we know we lost Raging and Bull is an unknown. That leaves at least three of us in an area we are failing to secure.” Tempest then slowly lifted her foot and moved away from Long Horn who continued to watch her. “You’re smarter than this Long Horn. If there is a large group of them out there with the same powers as us, or even similar powers, then the three of us might not be able to handle them. Keeping an escape route open is for the best if we don’t want to lose our powers. Or worse, going back to jail. I know you know I’m right.”
 

“Yeah, yeah,” grunted a calmer Long Horn as he rubbed his head. “Although, I think you’re nuts for thinking that joining back to jail is worse than losing our powers.”
 

Tempest didn’t say anything at first, only folding her arms as she walked over to the nearby window. With her reflection somewhat visible, she could see the worry in her eyes. Looking past it she could see the endless fields of chili peppers and the blue sky up above.
 

“If we lose our powers and end up like Raging, well, yeah it’ll suck hard,” admitted Tempest. “But there is a chance that we’ll just be sent to a hospital for the rest of our lives seeing as we’ll no longer be a threat. Useless body sure, but the food will be better, we’ll get outdoor time that feels like we’re really outdoors, and possibly a TV in our room.” She then shot Long Horn a look. “Now imagine having a body like that and being in prison.”
 

Tempest wasn’t at all surprised to see Long Horn look blankly at her before having a full body shudder. Yeah, being helpless in a place run by Storm King was not something any of them wanted.
 

“Even if we don’t lose our powers, being sent to jail will be the end of us,” continued Tempest. “We’ll probably get life for everything we’ve done here and put in the strongest cell they can make. Probably even having our arms and legs shackled 24/7. No outdoor time or a chance at the ball court. And I highly doubt that the government would be so unbelievably stupid to give us a chance to work for them in return for favors.”
 

“Well, you never know,” said Long Horn as he stood up. “Knowing how things are with them right now, they might do something that dumb. But I get what you’re saying. Better to plan for an escape just in case the worst happens.” He then began to brush off splinters of wood as well as pieces of plaster on his shirt and pants. “Think we can use the old man upstairs for this? You know like in those hostage situations? That was the reason we kept the old fart all this time or else he’d be like all the others we dueled.”
 

Tempest managed to hold back a flinch as she turned back to the window, mulling over her words carefully. “That was the plan when we thought the police would be the ones to come and stop us. But, if it's not the police and instead one of the groups looking out for magic, I doubt they’ll care too much about him. If we have to make a run for it he’d just be dead weight. I say just leave him here.”
 

At that, Long Horn grinned. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he said as he moved to the window. Out of the corner of her eye, Tempest watched the larger figure as he stood there looking out along with her. “See, I decided to do a little research. Didn’t think I’d get much of anything but I did a simple search for the name ‘Rainboom’. But low and behold, they have a few fan sites. And get this, one of their members is named Applejack. She’s the old man’s great grandniece or something.”
 

“I see,” said Tempest as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. She had heard of this Applejack girl from Chili Pepper before during their talks. He had mentioned that she was one of the strongest girls he knew along with hearing that she was in a band through letters sent by someone named Granny Apple. However, he had failed to mention that she knew magic! Then again, he didn’t know about the gems that had been buried out in his fields or what they could do. So it was to be expected.
 

“Don’t know if those Rainbooms or even if this Applejack girl is with them,” continued Long Horn. “But if it is them, then we have a nice ace in the hole.”
 

“Right,” said Tempest with a trace of numbness in her voice, her chest tightening slightly before she cleared her throat. She then turned to look at Long Horn. “All the same, we should still prepare for a quick getaway. The old pick-up truck in the back barn is only ‘slightly’ smashed up thanks to you guys. Far better than all the classic cars you totaled to scare people away. I’ll see if I can’t get it patched up and ready for a drive.”
 

“Right,” said Long Horn as Tempest turned. But before she could walk away, Long Horn grabbed her by the shoulder. “Just remember to come back here when it’s finished. I promised to help you find all the people who screwed you over in the past so you could get…closure, revenge, or whatever you want to call it. But, if you even think of betraying me, I’ll make sure you regret.”
 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” lied Tempest as she took a step away from Long Horn and heading towards the open door.
 

-x-
 

“They’re monsters!” screamed Pinkie Pie loudly. “MONSTERS!” With this cry that echoed around the city, Pinkie fell to her hands and knees as tears started to pour down her eyes. Before her stood the remains of the local candy shop, an old ma and pa type store that had all of its windows broken. Now all the chocolate had either melted or gone bad with the rest of the sugary treats scattered on the ground.
 

Quickly Sonata moved towards her crying friend. “There, there,” she said. “It’ll be ok.” Pinkie looked up from the ground, her face covered with tears, as she turned her attention to Sonata.
 

“Will it?” she asked while reaching out to tug on Sonata’s shift. “How can the horror of this moment ever be forgotten? All of the super sweet treats that all lay on the floor, forgotten by all except for the animals who have dined on them. The joyful memories that would have been created by friends eating them together will never come to pass. Slipping away like the melted chocolate slipping through your fingers. The wreck of this building will haunt the memories of all who have seen it.”
 

Sonata blinked at this. “Wow, you really have been paying attention in theater class,” she said. “That or watching too many cheesy soap operas.”
 

“A little of both actually,” said Pinkie as she literally bounced back to normal. “Don’t tell anyone but Limestone really likes those shows for some reason. She and my mom watch them nearly everyday!” She then dusted off her skirt. “And I guess you’re right. Insurance should take care of this place so it’ll be back to its old, delicious glory in no time!”
 

Behind them, Applejack let out a sigh that reminded Sonata a bit of Adagio’s for some reason. Applejack stood there, duel disk on one arm while strapped to her other shoulder was one of those light lunch boxes that kept everything cool inside that they had picked up from the hospital’s gift shop. Inside was all the food and water the people hiding there could spare. Standing next to Applejack was Twilight, still looking worn out as she held the magical tracker with both hands.
 

In fact, all of them looked worn out. It had been some time since they had left the hospital, walking under the blazing through the town. The few breaks they had were when either Pinkie or Sonata would see something ruined and wanted to check it out. The last time was when they had passed some fast food restaurant that Sonata had never heard of before. Bell something or other. When they had gotten close, Sonata had wanted to see if there was anything to eat there and to use the restroom.
 

“Can we please stop dawdling an’ get a move on?” she asked in annoyance. “At this rate, it’ll take us all night ta get ta them baddies.”
 

As Sonata and Pinkie dejectedly walked back to their two friends, Twilight placed a hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “Applejack, it’s still going to be a while,” said Twilight, wincing a little as she did.  As Sonata drew closer, she noticed that Twilight was sweating more than the rest of them were. Normally Sonata would have assumed that it was because Twilight was one of those brainy kids. However, she had been looking worn out even before they left the hospital. If fact, her purple skin was looking noticeably lighter and she had been moving slower than the rest.
 

“Twi, we need to keep go-” but that was all Applejack could say before Twilight’s gizmo began to beep loudly. All of the girls quickly gathered around it, seeing a dot zip around the screen.
 

“Someone with magic is coming,” gasped Twilight, her eyes wide and looking a little pale. “And fast.” Without a word being said, all four girls raced over to the abandoned chocolate shop with Twilight taking the rear. Once inside, they got down on their hands and knees by the large bay windows, careful not to cut themselves on the broken glass, and peaked out to see what was coming.
 

Well, almost all of them. Sonata divided her attention from the street before them to Twilight. Right now she looked so tired with thin dark lines appearing below her eyes. She was also breathing harder than she normally did when Spike wanted to play more intense games in the park. A hand was placed on her chest like she was trying her best to catch her breath as quickly as possible.
 

Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of a motor. Within seconds, a two-seater four-wheeler came barreling down the road. Its driver was a grey-skinned boy with bulging muscles that seemed to almost burst out of his blue shirt and brown vest. On his head was a Stetson hat like Applejack’s firmly planted on his head. Then, of course, was the duel disk attached to his arm. This baddie flew down the street, briefly glancing from side to side as he passed them by.
 

“This is it,” whispered Applejack as she lowered herself onto all fours, motioning the other to do the same. Sonata could see a look of triumph in the farmer’s girl’s face. Much like the joy she felt when finishing the Super-Mega Volcano Burrito without water, earning her a three dollar discount on her next meal. Or finding a toy in a cereal box. Seriously, they really need to do that more often. It was getting harder and harder to find good cereal that still does that.
 

“What is it?” asked Pinkie. She then gasped while a look of hope appeared in her eyes. “Are we going to help re-open this chocolate store? Or maybe open up a toy store next door?”
 

“No,” replied a deadpanned Applejack before sighing. “We have a way of getting to them varmints faster. All we have to do is get that there four wheeler and then we can get to where their hidin’ all quick like.”
 

“Oh,” said Pinkie before her head tilted to the side. “And how are we going to take the four wheeler?”


“Well that…” began Applejack before a questioning look appeared on her face. “Well, ok, ah haven’t thought that far ahead. Maybe I could use mah super strength to throw something at it. Or knock him off! Yeah!”
 

“But if you hit the four wheeler isn’t there a chance you might damage it?” asked Pinkie, tilting her head a bit more. “I mean, we’ve all seen you effortlessly move super, duper sized rocks and stuff. You might put a teensy, weensy too much oomph into your throw and break it. Also, are you sure knocking him off will get us the four wheeler? I’ve never ridden on one before so it might stop if he falls off. Or it might continue to drive in a straight line down the street or crash into a building.”
 

“It, ah,” stammered Applejack as she rubbed the back of her neck.
 

“No to mention what will happen if you miss,” added Twilight as she turned into a sitting position, resting her back against the wall as she did. Slowly she closed her eyes but continued to speak. “If that happened, he might notice the force of your throw is stronger than a normal humans and run back to his friends. No telling what they’ll do then.”
 

“Also, I don’t think that all four of us can fit on that,” added Pinkie. As she spoke, Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her magic tracker. Her eyes seemed to follow the blinking dot carefully.
 

“Well at least ah’m trying to figure something out!” snapped Applejack, causing both Sonata and Pinkie to flinch. “For all we know, those bad guys have holed up in mah Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s house! What if they dueled him and turned him into a husk like all them folks at the hospital? We need to get a move on and fast!”
 

“There is a way,” whispered Twilight as she continued to watch her device. As all eyes turned on her she gave a dry gulp. “According to my tracker, that guy is beginning to circle back. If one of us is out there and challenges him to a duel, that will allow at least two of us to get on his four wheeler.”
 

“You mean split up?” asked Sonata in disbelief. “Twilight, haven’t you watched horror movies before? People get killed easier in those movies when they split up! And in case you haven’t noticed, magical powers that turn people into living mummies is usually the kind of thing that counts as horror!”
 

“Twi,” began Applejack, but stopped when Twilight shook her head.
 

“Look, I know it's not the best plan in the world but it’s the only one I can think of right now in the time we have,” breathed Twilight. “We don’t know if he’s going to circle around here again. If we want to get to wherever it is they’re hiding faster then we need to take this chance. If he spots a large group of us he’ll be more likely to keep his guard up. He might not even stop, just head back to get more people to duel us. The way I see it right now, putting one person out there has a higher chance of getting him to stop. Whoever it is will challenge him to a duel and, while he’s distracted, two of us will take the duel disk I made and the tracker to their hide out.”
 

“Now hold on there Twi,” said Applejack firmly as she grabbed Twilight’s shoulder. “We can’t let whoever it is duel here without that there duel disk. It’s the only thing we got to help us fight back. Without it, it’ll be like going into a fist fight with both hands tied behind your back!”
 

“I…know,” breathed Twilight. “That’s why I’ll be the one to duel him.” Sonata’s eyes became pin pricks as her hands flew to her mouth. She couldn’t believe that Twilight would ever suggest something like that. She sounded like a wounded soldier on the battlefield, ready to give up her life for a chance so the others could survive. And Sonata saw that she wasn’t alone in thinking like this. Pinkie’s hair looked like it had deflated a little while Applejack looked at her with her mouth hanging open.
 

“Ya can’t mean that Twi,” said Applejack as she looked over their friend. There was a slight tremble in her voice while her body shook a little. It was as if she had just noticed that Twilight wasn’t in the best of conditions.
 

“It’s my plan so I can’t really ask anyone else to do this,” replied Twilight with a small smile. “Plus, I’m not in the best shape to go storming a house or whatever they got. The doctor said…I shouldn’t push myself for the next couple of days. Seems like I did. But don’t worry too much. There is a chance that my magic will help protect me. And I know I can count on my deck to help me out. It…always comes through for me.” Twilight then turned her head to look at Applejack and Pinkie. “As for who should steal the four wheeler, I think it should be the two of you. You both have magic so you can operate the duel disk. That way you can watch each other’s backs. It just…makes sense.”
 

As Twilight spoke, Sonata felt her eyes beginning to burn. It just didn’t seem right to her. Twilight was something so special to her. Ever since she had moved into her home, she had been surrounded by the love of her family. Even that jerk Shining had been warming up to her after their duel! Twilight had always been kind to her, inviting her to join her on all these fun things and never yelling at her when she said something stupid. It was sort of like being in one of those old fashioned family sitcoms, but better since she was a part of it! They were the best thing that had ever happened to her ever since she was forced into this world.
 

Slowly, she thought about what would happen if Twilight lost. About how devastated Mrs. Velvet would be if Sonata came back carrying a withered version of Twilight in her arms. The looks of pain, the tears running down their faces as they howled out like a few other people Sonata had met during her very long time in this world. In the past, such things never bothered her or were just things in passing. But now it just hurt her heart to think of things like that. That’s why Twilight shouldn’t be the one to do it. It had to be someone who wouldn’t hurt them as much.
 

“No, it doesn’t,” said Sonata, causing everyone there to look at her. As Sonata clenched her shirt, a look of determination appeared in her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense for you to duel him. It should be me. I’ll do it.”
 

“What?!?” yelled all three girls at once.
 

“Now hold on there Sonata,” began Applejack. “It’s bad enough that Twi here wants to do something like that givin’ her condition. But ya don’t even have magic anymore.”
 

“That’s why it should be me,” said Sonata as she stood up. As she put on her duel disk she continued to talk without looking at them. “If I duel them and lose, that’s all they’ll get from me. And maybe my Taco Loco gift card. But if they defeat Twilight, those jerks might take her magic away while turning her into a mummy girl.” She then looked at Twilight, smiling slightly before walking out into the open to wait for the guy on the four wheeler. The last thing she saw was Twilight trying to get up, but Applejack holding her down while shaking her head. Perhaps Applejack knew Sonata was right about this.
 

As she waited there in the middle of the street, waiting for the bad guy, she realized that there was another reason she had to do this. For so very long, even back when she was in Equestria, she had hurt others. She had drained them in order to feed her magic and hadn’t cared about what was left behind. It had been just her and her sisters doing whatever they wanted. Looking back on it now, it wasn’t as fun as she thought it was. Nothing ever really gave her fulfillment like what Adagio always claimed they would find with more power. Not even when they had the entire school under their control had she felt as great as she thought she would be. It only happened when she started living with Twilight’s family, going to school, and actually earned a promotion all on her own. They had given her a second chance at life, even though so many people would say that she didn’t deserve one. So now she needed to show everyone, including herself, that this chance wasn’t wasted.
 

“Ok,” whispered Sonata as she heard the sound of a motor in the distance, growing louder. She then looked down at her deck within her duel disk. “Ah, Twilight says that having a bond with your cards is important and trusting them is super important as well. And I know we haven’t talked all that much since I made you mainly because you’ve always given me the silent treatment.” Lightly she touched the top cards, her finger making a small circle in the middle. “But even though we don’t talk all that often, I know you’ve rarely ever let me down. I think we can do this…for our real friends.” As Sonata lifted her finger, she thought about how silly this was. Perhaps she had only said all of this because she was scared and nervous. Yet at that moment, she heard a loud drip that echoed all around her that she could not explain where it came from.
 

Before she could ponder what she had heard, the four wheeler approached her. It speed along the road, dodging most of the just that was in the poorly maintained streets. Sonata could tell that he noticed her for he nodded before slamming on the brakes and coming to a complete stop several dozen yards away from her. While the engine noise began to die down, the teen didn’t get out of the seat but rather leaned forward as he stared at her.
 

“Well now,” he said slowly, eyeing her duel disk. “I haven’t seen you before. You wouldn’t happen to be one of those people Long Horn told me about? The people trying to recruit us?”
 

Sonata frowned at this. Who in their right mind would consider recruiting these jerks? “Nope. Just passing by. You know how it goes.”
 

“I see,” said the teen, still eyeing her duel disk. “Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind answering a different question. I’m looking for a friend of mine. Have you seen him around? He’s usually very hard to miss.”
 

“Big guy named Bull?” asked Sonata. The other teen nodded. “Yeah, I saw him. I also dueled him. Went down pretty easy.” As she said this, she did her best to sound tough while also doing her best not to glance over at the store where her friends were. She didn’t like claiming credit for what Twilight had done, but if he was to think that she was the only one out here right now then she had to do it.
 

“And where is he now?” asked the other teen, his eyes narrowing a bit.
 

“Where I left him,” said Sonata as she held up her duel disk. “I’ll be happy to tell you more if you can beat me in a simple duel. How about it?”
 

The teen frowned at that, pulling out a phone from his pocket. For a moment, Sonata felt her heart beat faster. Was he going to call for backup or something? Was he going to tell his friends they found a stranger in the town? Or was he going to order pizza? Ok, that last one was more her being slightly hungry.
 

As his fingers went to press the pad, they paused while he stared at the screen. “I suppose I might as well,” he said before putting the phone away. He then got off his ride and moved a little closer to her. “We might be having some more troublesome company soon. Might as well get whatever extra strength that I can get. Oh, and avenging Bull as a bonus I guess.”
 

“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks as they connected. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, one side being Sonata while the other being her opponent whose name was apparently Free Range. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Sonata.
 

“Ok, I’ll make the first move. I draw!” cried Sonata as she drew until she had six cards in her hand. Briefly she looked at what she had…and it wasn’t much. Just enough to protect herself for this turn. Hopefully that would be enough. “I’ll set one monster in face down defense mode and end my turn.”
 

“Really? I draw,” said Free Range as he looked at Sonata curiously. “I’ll start by playing the spell card: Unexpected Dai! When I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can use this spell card to special summon any normal monster from my deck.” As he spoke, the air beside him began to shimmer before sparks started to appear. Eventually the sparks turned into a large sphere, creating a loud noise that almost made Sonata cover her ears. “Now rip her to shreds: Gene-Warped Warwolf!” As the sphere exploded, a creature that stood like a man with four arms appeared in the center. Its body was covered in mostly white fur but there were also streaks of black in it somewhat like a tiger’s but that looked more like tattoos. At the end of each of its arms was a furless black hand that ended in red-tipped fingers. Scales or something else covered most of its upper face and shoulders while long black hair ran down its back. Its attack points were 2000.
 

“Next I will normal summon my Rescue Rabbit,” continued Free Range as a bunny wearing a hard hat appeared next to the Warwolf. The stronger monster snarled at the bunny who cringed in fear, looking like it wanted to run as far away as it could. “Now that it’s on the field, I banish it to activate its effect: special summoning two normal monsters that are level four or lower. So lets welcome the rest of the Warwolf pack!” The rabbit vanished in a golden light, quickly replaced by the other two 2000 attack point monsters.
 

“Time to tear into your defenses,” said Free Range as a small grin appeared on his face. “Gene-Warped Warwolf number one: destroy her face down monster!” The Warwolf let out a howl, throwing its head back as the noise rang through the streets right before lunging at Sonata’s face down monster. As it got closer a young, blue haired girl wearing black robes while holding a silver staff that was topped with a mirror appeared where the image of the face down card had been. However this girl wasn’t there for long as she was slashed by the many claws of the Warwolf.
 

“You activated my monster’s flip affect,” announced Sonata. “When Gishki Ariel is flipped, she allows me to add one Gishki monster from my deck to my hand. So I’ll go ahead and choose Evigishki Levianima.”
 

“Go ahead, it won’t help you,” said Free Range as Sonata added her card to hand. “At least, not before my two Warwolves take out a good chunk of your life points!” What happened next was brutal, far more than anything Sonata could ever imagine. The second Warwolf ran up to her, tackling her while also sinking its teeth into her shoulder. Sonata screamed in pain, feeling the teeth as if they were real while her life points dropped to 6000. It then let go and, for a moment, Sonata was allowed a moment to breath before the next one appeared in her vision. This one swiped at her side, its claws digging into her hips and causing her to bleed more while she rolled several feet away. When she stopped Sonata found herself on her belly with only 4000 life point remaining.
 

“You defeated Bull?” laughed Free Range as he took several steps closer to her. “Somehow I doubt that. Guess I’ll have to force the truth out of you once you’re completely helpless. And believe me, I’ve gotten good at it.” Sonata gritted her teeth as she placed her free hand on the ground, doing her best to fight through the pain. After all, hadn’t Sunset and Twilight been in this exact situation before when they were at Camp Everfree? If they could do it and win then so could she!
 

Slowly, Sonata staggered to her feet. “I’m not…done yet,” panted Sonata as she wobbled a little. As she moved this way and that, it seemed like she lost her footing a bit. She managed to catch herself, but in the process moved backwards several steps.
 

“Fine, fine,” sighed Free Range as he moved forward. “Since the battle phase is over, I’ll go ahead and XYZ summon using the two Gene-Warped Warwolves I summoned using Rescue Rabbit to build the overlay network!” A dark portal appeared on the field between them, sucking up the two monsters as they howled. “Howl into the night sky, you whose fur rivals that of the stars above! Bear your mighty fang to rip into the heavens! XYZ Summon Rank 4: Diamond Dire Wolf!” Now on the field was a large wolf-like creature that towered over Free Range. Instead of a coat of fur, its entire body seemed to be made of diamond with armor on all four legs. Its attack was 2000.
 

“I guess that’ll do for now,” said Free Range.
 

“Yeah, that’ll do,” said a voice behind Free Range. Sonata looked up slowly with a smile on her face just in time to see what was going on. Free Range looked behind him, clearly shocked, as Applejack and Pinkie hopped onto the four wheeler. While taking all that damage wasn’t what Sonata had planned, it had helped in moving him away from the vehicle so her friends could sneak around them without being noticed.
 

“We’ll come back for you Sugarcube,” said Applejack as she drove away, looking at Sonata in a meaningful way. On the seat behind her was Pinkie, a large bag of sprinkles under each arm. If Sonata had to guess she had gotten it from the back room of the candy store.
 

“No,” growled Free Range as he watched them speed off. “No, no, no! Now I have to walk back! Geez!” He then let out a sigh, seeming to calm down before looking at Sonata. “I’m willing to guess you’re sacrificing yourself so that your friends can get out of here. That is admirable. I did the same thing to help my gang escape the police four years ago. Pity for them, they’re heading straight to my boss and his girl.”
 

“I know,” said Sonata as she clenched her teeth. The pain was bad, but at least she wasn’t feeling numb or light headed. Yet. “That was the plan. Those two will take down your mean boss so that we can all go home.”
 

“Yeah right,” laughed Free Range. “The boss is the strongest out of all of us. He’ll turn them into withered husks before I’m finished with this duel.”
 

“We’ll see about that. It’s my draw,” said Sonata as she drew, seven cards in her hand. Her eyes widened a little as she saw what she had just drawn. “First off I’ll play the continuous spell card Ascending Soul. Next I’ll play the ritual spell card Gishki Aquamirror which lets me ritual summon any of my Gishki monsters as long as I pay the cost. But thanks to my buddy Gishki Vision, he pays for the entire cost.” As the giant mirror appeared behind her like all the other times she had used this card, Sonata seemed to stumble forward while also slipping her monster into the graveyard. A golden image of Vision flew from her graveyard and into the mirror which rippled like the surface was made of water. Now the mirror no longer showed a reflection of the two duelists, but of a vast underwater world with only a few small fishes swimming about as Vision sunk deeper and deeper into the depths.
 

“Noble swordsman of the Gishki tribe, embrace the might of the ocean,” chanted Sonata as a shadowy image appeared within the mirror. “Feel its power flow through you as your form changes to become the ultimate version of yourself! Ritual Summon: Evigishki Levianima!” From the mirror flew a dragon-like creature carrying a sword in its scaly blue webbed hands. A sword that had bladed guards, had a thin V shape to it, and had blue energy pulsing in the middle. Flapping on its webbed wings, the creature flew across the field revealing that it was wearing the tattered remains of clothing as well as a few pouches on its sides, as if it had changed much like how Bruce Banner would change into the Hulk. Its attack points were 2700.
 

As Free Range looked at the monster, a golden light began to shine on Sonata. “Now the effect of my Ascending Soul activates,” she said as a card materialized in her hand. “This card helps me out by giving me back one of the cards used as a tribute for the ritual. At least once per turn. So my Gishki Vision returns to my hand.”
 

“Now I’ll attack your Warwolf,” said Sonata, before stumbling again. She managed to keep herself from falling down by taking a sharp step forward while also placing a hand on her side. At the same time her monster turned its long scaly neck to look at her. “And…And when my Evigishki Levianima attacks, I get to draw a card. If it happens to be a Gishki monster, I can look at one card in your hand.” Breathing a little hard, Sonata drew. “I drew a trap so I don’t get to see anything. But my attack still goes through!” At that moment, Levianima flew across the field as small rings of water appeared on its blade. With a single thrust it speared the Warwolf who howled alone in pain before exploding.


“A descent attack,” said Free Range calmly as his life points dropped to 7400. “A pity you can’t push for more.”
 

“Maybe, but I can set two more face downs and end my turn,” gasped Sonata, her legs almost giving out as the two holographic cards appeared on the field next to her Ascending Souls.
 

“I’ll make this quick then,” said Free Range as he drew his card. After adding it to the rest, he glanced over the five cards in his hand before taking one of them and slapping it onto his duel disk. “I summon to the field Phantom Beast Cross-Wing!” Appearing next to his Diamond Dire Wolf was a large golden bird with six wings. One set was where they should be while another set had replaced its legs. The last set was on the birds head for some reason. It’s attack points were 1300. “But that’s not all I’m going to be doing because now I play the spell card: Double Summon! It’s effect should be obvious, but in case the name didn’t clue you in, it allows me to normal summon again this turn. So I’ll bring out my Phantom Beast Wild-Horn!” A wind swept the field as a moose man with 1700 attack points appeared on the field. This new beast warrior had brown fur with red markings on it like tattoos along with odd red cloth as clothing. In one hand it carried an oddly curved sword that reminded Sonata of one of those tools people used to use to punch holes in cans or open soda bottles.
 

“Not a bad line up,” gasped Sonata, sweat appearing to roll down her face. “But none of them have enough attack power to take down my monster!”
 

“Well I could just stall out until you pass out,” commented Free Range. “Then I would be the victor by default.” At that, Sonata’s eyes widened. Could it be that she would be drained if she passed out? If she suddenly became unable to play, it would technically be a forfeit so there was that case. Thankfully, her opponent continued by saying, “However, I respect what you did too much to let you suffer for that long.”
 

Free Range then pointed to his Diamond Dire Wolf. “To do that, I’ll activate the effect of my XYZ monster. Once per turn, I can detach one of his materials in order to target one Beast, Winged Beast, or Beast Warrior I control and one card you control. Then they are both destroyed. So I’ll detach one of the materials to destroy my Cross-Wing and your ritual monster.” Before Sonata could say anything, Diamond Dire Wolf bit into one of the floating orbs orbiting it right before its skin began to shine. As the light grew brighter and brighter, both Cross-Wing and Evigishki Levianima exploded. Then, much to Sonata’s surprise, Wild-Horn’s attack began to rise all the way to 2000.
 

“Your monster,” gasped Sonata as the light began to fade, sinking a little lower as she spoke. “Its attack…How?”
 

“When Cross-Wing is sent to the graveyard, all of my Phantom Beast monsters gain a permanent attack boost of 300,” explained Free Range. “This gives me just the right amount of a boost to take you down this turn.”
 

“…Then at least tell me why you’re doing all this?” asked Sonata, still breathing hard. Perhaps it was silly, but she wanted to buy as much time as she could for her friends. And if those old Saturday morning cartoons had taught her anything was that villains couldn’t resist a good monologue.
 

“I want to go home,” was Free Range’s answer. Sonata looked at him with surprise, nearly forgetting all about the pain she was in. Slowly, Free Range looked down at the ground while his arms relaxed. “Four years ago, I was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison with a chance of an early parole. Only the board kept adding time to my sentence for ‘behavioral issues’. What a load. I did my time and then some only to get this: a crappy work release in the middle of nowhere! Every night I dreamed of escaping so I could go back to where I belong! But I know that there’s a difference between reality and dreams. Even if I did manage to escape, without power or money they’ll catch me again in no time. I’ll be back in a cell. Then we found this magic. Long Horn and the others see this as their chance to make it big or whatever. To me, it’s my chance to just go home. I don’t care how many people I have to suck dry to become strong, I’m not going back to that hole ever again!”
 

Sonata stared at him for what felt like forever, her pain slowly returning to her senses. She could still remember herself telling Sunset something very similar not too long ago. That she had been imprisoned against her will within this world and that all she wanted was to go home. That she had paid for her crimes against Equestria. So she understood the desire within Free Range. But…
 

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” said Sonata as she pressed a button on her duel disk, creating a geyser of water to come shooting out of the ground. “I totally get where you’re coming from because I’ve been there myself. But, when I thought I had nothing left, friends opened up their doors to me. And I suddenly found myself a new home. So I’ll put my life on the line to show them all how much it means to me and how much I’ve changed!”
 

“W-What are you talking about?!” demanded Free Range. “And what’s with all this water?”
 

“This is from my trap card,” answered Sonata. “It’s called Torrential Reborn! When one or more of my water monsters are destroyed by battle or card effect, this card lets me bring them back to the field. Not only that, but you take 500 points of damage for each monster brought back!” From out of the geyser came Evigishki Levianima, swinging his sword while a jet of water hit Free Range in the chest.
 

“Wasn’t expecting that,” said Free Range as his attack points fell to 6900. He then let out a sigh. “But even if you stop this one move, it still doesn’t change the outcome. You’re going to lose, either by me defeating you in this duel or by forfeit when your body gives out.”
 

“No,” whisper Sonata as she felt more of her strength give way. “I’m not…going to give up. I’m going to win…or at the very least hold you here for as long as possible. That way my friends…can take care of your boss.”
 

“I see,” said Free Range, a frown appearing on his face. “It’s sad in a way. Had we met some other way then perhaps…” The teen then shook his head. “I guess I’ll have to settle for making the most out of this duel. Never dueled a ritual deck before so at least this is keeping me on my toes a little. I end my turn. Show me what you have left.”
 

“I draw,” said Sonata. With three cards in her hand she stared down at Free Range with tired eyes. “I attack your Diamond Dire Wolf with my Evigishki Levianima!” As the attack began, Sonata drew her card. “A spell card this time. Too bad for me.” With that, the attack hit Free Range’s monster like before. The XYZ monster let out a howl of pain before it shatter while also lowering Free Range’s life points to 6200.
 

“That’s…all I can do this turn,” gasped Sonata, her vision beginning to blur a little.
 

“It’s impressive that you’re still standing,” said Free Range as he drew his card, three of them now in his hand. “But we’ll see how much longer you can remain so! I tribute my Wild-Horn to bring out my deck’s star: Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard!” Wild-Horn threw back its head, letting out a loud roar before vanishing to be replaced with a large oval shaped rock. As Sonata wiped away the sweat appearing on her forehead, cracks began to appear on the surface of the rock. Just as suddenly as those cracks appeared, four legs sprouted out of its sides as well as a torso from the front. Quickly turning into some rock centaur, Rock-Lizard’s flesh was a red, almost goo like substance. Rock seemed to cover parts of the monster’s torso as well as its arms which looked like turtle shells with long spikes coming out of the back. The monster’s attack was 2200.
 

“Next I’ll equip my monster with one of the best equip cards in the game: Moon Mirror Shield,” continued Free Range. “With this, Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard will always be 100 attack points stronger than anything its fighting! Now attack her ritual monster!”
 

“Levianima,” whispered Sonata as Rock Lizard began to gallop towards her. “I can’t stop this. I’m sorry.” Perhaps it was because she had lost so much blood, but for a moment she thought she saw Levianima turn its head to look at her. As she looked back Rock-Lizard punched her monster right through, knocking her back while lowering her attack points to 4900.
 

“Now the effect of my monster kicks in,” continued Free Range as he held out a hand. “When it destroys one of your monsters in battle, it deals you an additional 500 points of damage.” With that said, Rock-Lizard decked Sonata in the face, knocking her to the ground as her life points fell to 4400. “There is no shame in giving up now. Thanks to this magic, it's how we are able to win and inspire so much fear. With each blow you will become more injured, more panicked to escape the pain while we remain in control. Without any means of fighting back you have no chance of winning.”
 

Sonata’s breathing quickened as she laid, his words echoing in her head. The pain was not going away and now she could feel one of her eyes swelling shut. But rather than give up, Sonata fought with all her might to push herself back up. Even with her vision this back she could see the look of surprise in her opponents face.
 

“Won’t give up,” she gasped. “I said I would…keep you here for as long as I could.” As she spoke, Sonata stumbled forward a little, almost falling face first into the street. Thankfully, she managed to avoid that. “So…that’s what I’m going to do. From my friends. And my sort of almost sister. All the faith they put in me to change, I’m going to put in this deck!”
 

Free Range said nothing as he stared back at Sonata before slowly closing his eyes. “That has to be the most foolish, idiotic thing I have ever heard,” he said before opening them again. “But if that is the way you feel then I will respect that. I won’t insult you by telling you to give up again. I end my turn.”
 

“Then…Then I draw,” gasped Sonata as she drew. As she did, she felt herself beginning to fall forward as her legs began to give out. Tears began to form in her good eye for reasons other than pain. This wasn’t how she wanted it to go. She still had strength in her to continue to duel. She could still give it more! But the fall…who knew what another one of those could do to her. Who knew what would happen if she could no longer remain standing for this duel.
 

Arms wrapped around her while at the same time a purple glow surrounded her, both keeping her upright. Quickly, she glanced over at the old candy store where she saw Twilight standing in the doorway with her gem glowing brightly. She still looked pale but had a determined expression on her face not to let Sonata fall again. Despite how she felt, Sonata managed to smile a little at this before looking down. Around her were ghostly figures that were already beginning to fade. Figures that resembled her monsters like Ariel, Gishki Beast, and Gishki Vision.
 

“We believe in you mistress,” Ariel whispered before vanishing completely.
 

“What…What is going on?” demanded Free Range as he looked around from Sonata to Twilight.
 

“I’ll tell you,” said Sonata as she looked at her five cards. “It’s the beginning of the end for you! And it begins by activating my face down card: Metal Reflect Slime!” As her face down card was flipped face up, a spiky orb made of silver slime appeared on the field in the monster zone. Anyone checking their duel disk could see that it had become a level ten monster with 3000 defense points. “Next, I’ll discard my Gishki Vision to add one ritual monster from my deck to my hand.”
 

“Wait a minute!” shouted Free Range, but Sonata ignored him as she quickly went through her deck.
 

“I pick my friend: Gishki Zielgigas,” she announced as she held the card up. “Next I’ll use the copy of Gishki Aquamirror I just drew and tribute my Metal Reflect Slime to bring out my very best!” Once again, as Sonata played her ritual card, the giant mirror appeared behind her followed by her Metal Reflect Slime being sucked into it. For a moment, it seemed just to float there as small fishes passed it by. That is until the image of a large, power hand reached up from the depths to crush it within its grasp as Sonata began to chant. “He who was once enemy of all now reborn to help the Gishki tribe. One with the voice so powerful it can be heard from the deepest of the Ocean’s depths. I call upon you to lend me your power in this fight! Ritual summon! Gishki Zielgigas!” As she chanted, a massive shadow began to fill the mirror, followed quickly by a pounding that caused all but Sonata to flinch. Over and over the figure pounded at the mirror creating a number of cracks until one finally shattered the glass. Four blue hands came out to take hold of the remains of the golden mirror and stretch it out so the massive creature within could make its way onto dry land. Zielgigas was a massive creature, towering over all so that the houses in the surrounding area looked puny compared to it. This monster had four muscular arms with visible veins as well as two large spikes on its shoulders that started blue but gradually turned red. Oddly, the monster had a set of wings and two horns, one on the two of its head and one on its back, that curved towards each other like a Hercules beetle. Zielgigas wore silvery armor on its torso with the symbol of the Gishki in the center of its chest. Its attack was 3200!
 

“I WILL END YOU!” roared Zielgigas as he looked down at Free Range. As he spoke, Zielgigas created a wind so powerful that his enemy had to cover his face to shield himself.
 

“Just wait a little longer Zielgigas,” gasped Sonata. “Lets first use your effect. I give up 1000 life points to draw a card. And, if it’s a Gishki Monster, then I can shuffle one of your monsters back into your deck.”
 

“I-I don’t know what’s going on here,” said Free Range sounding shaken. Perhaps from seeing Twilight using magic or hearing Zielgigas speak. Or perhaps a bit of both. “But, given how you’ve been drawing so far, the odds that you’ll get what you need are-”
 

“I draw,” announced Sonata as her life points fell to 3400. She looked at it briefly before holding it up so Free Range could see it. “I just drew Gishki Beast! So your Rock-Lizard will return to the deck!”Once Sonata finished talking, Zielgigas let out a powerful roar that echoed through the empty streets causing Rock-Lizard to cower. It ran away, tail tucked between its legs, before becoming a beam of golden light which returned to the deck.
 

“I’m not done yet,” continued Sonata. “I activate the effect of my Gishki Aquamirror in my grave, returning it to the deck to add one Gishki ritual monster back to the hand. Since there’s only one, I pick Evigishki Levianima.” As Sonata began to move her cards around, the pain began to fade. But not in a good way. Her body was beginning to feel numb, yet she carried on with her move. “Next I’ll play the spell card: Moray of Greed. With this card I can shuffle back my Gishki Beast and Evigishki Levianima into my deck to then draw three cards.”
 

“Now I’ll summon out my Gishki Abyss,” said Sonata after she got her three new cards. Appearing on the field was a creature best described as a blue skinned human with a shark for a head. Not a shark’s head, but an entire shark! It stood there grinning wickedly with those razor sharp teeth, arms crossed. Its attack points were 800. “When Abyss is summoned, he dives into my deck to fish out a Gishki monster with 1000 or less defense points and adds it to my hand. Which is just perfect since Gishki Shadow fits that bill.” A card appeared in Sonata’s hand, glowing blue until she held it out revealing it to be Gishki Shadow. “But it's not going to be in my hand for long because I’m discarding it to add my Gishki Aquamirror to my hand!”
 

“You can’t seriously expect me to believe that you have all you need for another ritual summon!” yelled Free Range as Sonata added her card to her hand.
 

“Right now I don’t,” said Sonata, the numbness spreading. “But with this card I can do it. I play Salvage which lets me return two water monsters to my hand. Namely Gishki Shadow and Gishki Vision. Then I discard Vision again to add another ritual monster to my hand: Evigishki Soul Ogre. Now I have…everything I…need.” Darkness was beginning to creep along Sonata’s vision, but she could see Twilight moving towards her with a worried expression on her face. Words were becoming harder to hear, almost like they were being said from far away. But Sonata continued her move placing her ritual spell card in the spell/trap card slot to create the giant mirror behind her. “Oh great guardians of the depths, hear my call. Rise to the surface so that you may wash away those who stand against us. Ritual Summon: Evigishki Soul Ogre!”
 

From the mirror came another large monster, one that stood as tall as one of the ancient dinosaurs. Its skin was scaly with white along its belly and blue everywhere else. Its hands were webbed while its feet were yellow and chicken-like. Soul Ogre had a long tail that resembled that of a fish’s along with a long fin running down its back. Finally, on its chest, was a mirror to act like some sort of armor. Its attack was 2800.


With it out and Free Range having nothing left on his side of the field, Sonata uttered a single word, “Attack.” Zielgigas was first, screaming so loudly that the sound waves could be seen, crashing into Free Range. As his life points dropped to 3000 even, Soul Ogre set a blast of water from his mouth to further lower his life points to 200. Finally, Gishki Abyss lunged at him to deal the final blow.
 

“I just wanted to go home,” cried Free Range as the magic began to affect him.
 

“I know,” said Sonata as she watched her opponent transform into a living mummy while the world began dark. The last thing she felt was Twilight’s hands holding her while a stream of green energy flowed towards her. Then everything went dark.
> The Good, The Bad, and The Duelists part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long Horn paced in the dirty, junk-infested yard with his face looking down at the ground. His lips were clenched tightly while his face was turning slightly red with frustration. Something was wrong, so very wrong. Free Range should have been back by now. Seriously, how long would it take to find Bull? Or find out if someone had taken that idiot out? If that happened, Free should have contacted Long Horn ASAP! Then there was Tempest. She was also running late with the truck, something that made Long Horn all the more worried. Was the truck in such bad shape that she needed to repair it? If so, then why didn’t she call him to get some help or come up with a backup plan?
 

Visibly frowning now, Long Horn looked over to where Tempest had headed, off in the distance to the shed where the truck was kept. The doors were open, but that was it. He hadn’t seen her or anything really heading out. Was she…betraying him? After everything he had done for her? Oh, she better not. He had taken her under his protection, listened to her and even made her his second in command. He was going to help her take whatever petty revenge she desired! If she did betray him after all this then…
 

Eyes widening, Long Horn quickly shook his head. No, he shouldn’t think like that. Tempest was too smart to think she could just leave now and nothing would happen to her. They were in this, all of this together. If one was caught then it would only be a matter of time before they were all caught. Unless they stuck together, pooled the magic and power they had amassed.
 

Sighing, Long Horn turned his gaze towards the town. Perhaps the reason he was thinking like this because he was panicking. Things looked like they were falling apart, losing everything they had acquired. Their members dropping one by one. At least, that’s how it felt. Honestly, it felt like a blast from the past. How he, back as a young, snot-nosed kid, panicked when he and his brothers were robbing a store. How he had tripped, knocked junk down, and ran out the back door right into the waiting police. Long Horn had years to think about his screw up, years to muscle up and become strong enough so that something like that would never happen again. And for so long it had worked. Perhaps it was because magic was involved, something that was so far beyond what he understood.
 

The sound of a motor in the distance caught Long Horn’s attention. Turning his head slightly, the teen felt his shoulders relax as he saw the four wheeler heading towards the house. Finally some good news that he…Wait a second! Where was Free Range? All he saw were two teen girls on it! And why did one of them have a giant bag of sprinkles? What possible reason could she have to bring something like that?
 

Long Horn got his answer sooner than he realized. As he took a step forward, the blond girl driving the four wheeler drove it towards him at full speed before hitting the brakes and turning so that it stopped right in front of him. At that very moment, the giant bag of sprinkles began to glow brightly before it was thrown at him. As the bag made impact it suddenly EXPLODED, sending him flying backwards with enough force that he was knocked through a wall of the main house.
 

-x-
 

“Well, Ah wanted us ta start using magic more often ta solve our problems,” said Applejack as she turned off the four wheeler. Slowly, she leapt off her ride, her boots hitting the rocky soil with Pinkie bouncing right behind her.
 

“Yeah, might be a little too violent for children’s television,” said Pinkie as she approached the goon they had taken down. But AJ just stood where she was, staring at the destruction around her while her heart felt like it was being pricked by thousands of tiny needles all at once. After seeing the town in such a state, Applejack knew that the same could have happened to her Great Uncle’s farm. Trash of all sorts was everywhere and the walls of the house had been defiled. The fields she had passed looked like no one had worked on them for sometime and were in need of some care. She should have been prepared to see it transformed into a dumpster of a mess. Not to mention the fact that she had barely ever visited the place.
 

Yet, seeing it now brought the full weight of the situation onto her shoulders all at once. Great Uncle Chili Pepper might not have had the most sense within her kin, but he was still family. He had helped make this entire community and tried his best to help those who were in need. So to see his home in a state of ruin like this was heartbreaking. Briefly, she wondered if any of it could be salvaged. Sure walls and stuff like that could always be repaired, but all of his possessions that he had kept for so long could never be replaced even with a fortune behind him. Those memories might be gone forever.
 

Hopefully, Great Uncle Chili Pepper would still be around. That he wasn’t lost. If they had done to him what they did to the townsfolk, he might not have survived. And if that happened…
 

As AJ clenched her fists in anger, there was a sudden burst of movement near Pinkie. The farmer girl turned just in time to see the thug Pinkie had thrown a full bag of sprinkles at erupt from the ruins of the wall, bits of broken boards flying all around him. In a flash of speed he grabbed Pinkie by the wrist before holding her above the ground. Applejack could see her friend using her free hand to try and pry his grip off her whilst kicking her feet at his chest which, while the shirt had been destroyed, was unblemished from the attack.
 

“Using sprinkles as a weapon?” muttered the thug as he stared at Pinkie. “Odd, but perhaps useful magic to have. I might be able to make use of it once I rip it out of you!”
 

“Like fudge you will!” shouted Pinkie as the speed of her kicks increased. But her captor just chuckled as he raised his other hand and brought it close to her mouth.
 

Having stood still long enough, Applejack rushed over to him while activating her own magic. The thug saw this and swung his arm in order to slap her away with the back of his hand. Too bad for him though that AJ saw this, catching his arm with both of hers before twisting around in order to toss him. The thug’s eyes widened, dropping Pinkie as he was tossed away from the house and into the chili pepper fields. As a flock of crows rose into the air, crying out in surprise as they left those very same fields, Applejack turned to look at her friend.
 

“Ya ok there sugarcube?” she asked as she helped Pinkie stand.
 

“I’m ok,” groaned Pinkie as she dusted herself off. “Guess I should have used cupcakes or marshmallows against him instead. Kind of scary he was able to take it though.”
 

“Yeah,” agreed AJ as she turned to look over at the fields. “An something tells me he ain’t licked yet.”
 

“But,” began Pinkie yet was interrupted as the thug got back onto his feet and charged at the two like a rampaging bull. With arms raised high above his head, the teen lunged at the two girls. Applejack put her back into it and caught his hands with her own, surprised to see that she was being pushed back effortlessly, the soles of her boots making small trenches in the soil in the process. Soon enough her back was literally against the wall, it cracking behind her as her enemy tried to push her through it. Sweat began to form on her brow as she summoned all the magic power she had, yet somehow he seemed to be able to match her power with his own.
 

“Oh, I see now,” grunted the thug. “You must be Applejack.”
 

“How…How do ya know mah name?” demanded Applejack with a grunt of her own, her voice mixed with the crack of wood behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pinkie pulling various things out of her puffy hair. Her toy Gummy, an empty gumball machine, nail chippers and so on in what was no doubt a search for more sweets.
 

“Got a nice little tip that the Rainbooms might show up,” said the thug with a grin. “Decided to look them up and imagine my surprise when I found out that you were one of them. That old coot’s great niece. Now ain’t that a twist.”


For a second, AJ saw red. “Where is he?!” she demanded, gritting her teeth and pushing back. The thug looked a little surprised as he was pushed back, Applejack’s back no longer pressed against the wood.
 

That look of surprise didn’t last very long as soon the thug began to frown. He suddenly let go of Applejack before quickly backing away as the farmer girl almost tumbled head first into the ground. She managed to right herself quickly enough to see that the only male teen was watching her carefully now. His lower lip moved while his eyes darted this way and that. It looked like he was doing some thinking, going over things in his head. Finally, he reached behind his back to pull out a duel disk.
 

“Since we seem to be equal in strength, why don’t we fight it out with our decks,” said the thug with a smug grin. “You win and I’ll tell you where the old man is. But if you lose, well, that loon will be the least of your worries.” He then glanced over at Pinkie Pie who was now surrounded by candy wrappers and other odd items that she kept in her hair. “Or we could try and fight it out. Don’t make much difference to me. Of course, one or two people might get hurt in the process if you get my meaning.”
 

As Pinkie paused while pulling out a rubber ducky from her hair, Applejack knew that she had caught on to the implied threat. If the two of them continued to match strength in a prolonged fight, she would more than likely get pulled into it. Applejack felt she might be able to handle him one on one, but she couldn’t protect Pinkie at the same time. Without her sugar filled treats her pink skinned friend would just be in the way. But there was more to it than that. Somewhere around these parts was Great Uncle Chili Pepper. If the fight moved into the house then the whole thing might come tumbling down!
 

It was downright dirty, trying to make her fight on his terms. If he won, then she would end up like them townsfolk for sure. Might even lose her magic, but that was the least of her worries. Then, he would have no reason to duel Pinkie Pie when he could just overpower her with his physical strength. But, if she won then…
 

“Alright,” said Applejack as she pulled out the duel disk Twilight had made, walking to the side so that her back was now against an empty field. If this duel did make things real then the last thing she wanted was to put anyone in the house in harm’s way. Like how Twilight had done before, AJ attached it to her wrist while also putting her gem in the appropriate slot. The machine sprang to life instantly creating a row of five red apples in front of it to act as her card tray. “Let’s duel.”
 

“But Applejack,” began Pinkie; however, she was stopped by a glance from AJ.
 

“Listen up Pinkie,” began Applejack. “I’ll keep him distracted while you search the house for Great Uncle Chili Pepper. We need to at least get him out of here.”
 

“Like you’ll last long enough,” laughed the thug as he inserted his deck. “This duel will be over long before she finds him.”
 

“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Applejack while the other was a mugshot of the thug with the name Long Horn under it. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Long Horn.
 

“Well, this won’t last very long,” said Long Horn after drawing his opening hand, looking at all six cards. “I’ll start off by summoning Gearfried the Iron Knight!” Leaping out of a portal in the ground was a warrior clad in heavy black armor. A silver blade was attached to one arm while a shield was melded into the other. It stared lifelessly at Applejack as its 1800 attack points were displayed.
 

“But he won’t be here for long because I play the spell card: Release Restraint!” continued Long Horn with a wicked grin. “With this I can tribute my monster to bring out his unleashed form: Gearfried the Legendary Swordsman!” Applejack watched as Gearfried leapt into the air, bringing his arms and legs close to his body before quickly extending them back out. When he did this there was a flash of light as the armor went flying off his body. When the light faded and the monster touched the ground, he looked much different. He was taller now and sporting a more elfish barbarian look to him. He had bronze colored skin with barely anything covering it to show off his powerful muscles as well as long black hair that flowed down to cover his back. His attack was 2600.
 

“Bringing out the big guns a little early,” remarked Applejack as she stared at the swordsman.
 

“Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet,” commented Long Horn. “Since I can’t attack you and break you down right now, I’ll just place one card face down and end my turn.”
 

“Alright then,” cried Applejack as she drew. With six cards in her hands, she looked them over before pulling one out from the rest. “I summon Kozmo Farmgirl in attack mode!” Falling onto the field was a red headed girl, her hair tied in two sets of braids running down her shoulders. She wore a green skirt and blouse with a belt that had numerous pouches on it as well as a tanned cloak. The girl also had on boots and stockings that went all the way up to her knees. Once she was on the field, one hand went to her hip while the other reached for a futuristic blaster on her belt as her 1500 attack points were proudly displaced.
 

“Wait a moment,” shouted Long Horn as he looked at the monster in surprise. “I thought your family used plant type decks! You’re uncle had a Jerry Beans Man deck and…and…shouldn’t all farmers use plant decks?!?”
 

“Now hold on there a second,” replied Applejack with a frown. “That right there is a nasty stereotype. Won’t deny or shame those that do, like mah cousin Apple Crisp. She’s really old school using one of them Fairy King Truesdale decks. Or mah little sister who uses a Naturia deck. But the rest of us, we use whatever deck we like just like everybody else. Ones that speak to us. Heck, mah big brother uses a Silent deck.”
 

Long Horn snorted. “I don’t see how that puny girl speaks to you. What is it? A reject from Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz? Maybe an Amazoness deck or something like that I could see, but this?”
 

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, can’t possibly see how Ah could relate to this deck. How could Ah possible relate ta characters who grew up on farms before being thrown into some big magic shindig where they had to fight great evil who what to destroy everything good? Characters who make new, lifelong friends along the way? Characters who discover something magical about themselves? Nope, can’t see it at all.”
 

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” grunted Long Horn as AJ’s eyes looked up for a moment. Then he grinned before pressing a button on his duel disk. “Too bad for your monster that her story is going to be cut short! I activate my trap card: Armory Call! This trap lets me search through my deck to add one equip card to my hand. Then, and this is the best part, I can equip it to my monster! I think Fusion Sword Murasame Blade will do the trick!” A portal appeared behind Gearfried who turned to reach inside. When his hand left, it was covered with what looked like a metallic slime holding a long sword. His attack then rose to 3400. “Oh, and my monster also has a nice little effect. Every time he gets a new weapon, he gets to test it out and destroys one of your monsters. So this is the end for Farmgirl!”
 

As Gearfried raised his sword high into the air, Applejack held out a hand. “Ah don’t think so because Ah activate mah monster’s special effect,” she declared as Gearfried swung his sword down onto the ground. A shockwave-like blast ran across the ground, kicking up dirt and trash as it headed towards Farmgirl. Then, to Long Horn’s surprise, the girl jumped into the air as a red space jet with four laser cannons on it appeared above them casting a shadow over the field.
 

“H-How?” stammered Long Horn as he looked at the jet set in defense mode which had only 800 defense points.
 

“Mah monsters are quick on their feet,” replied AJ with a grin. “They have to be in order ta fight evil forces. Mah low level monsters banish themselves during either players’ turn in order to bring out the higher level monsters in mah hand. An that ain’t all! This here ship is called Kozmo Sliprider, a ship always ready for a good brawl. When it enters the fray, it destroys one spell or trap card ya got. Since ya have only one…” As AJ’s words trailed off, Sliprider fired twin green beam of energy. With pinpoint accuracy they flew across the field towards the sword in Gearfied’s hand. However, with a wave of his arm, the warrior managed to deflect the blast with ease. “W-What?”
 

“Sorry, but my equip card is special,” answered Long Horn. “Those who wield it become one with the card. So, in addition to giving my monster a huge attack boost, it also becomes immune to destruction effects.”
 

“Fine,” said AJ with a huff. “Ah end mah turn.”
 

“Oh don’t feel too bad,” said Long Horn as he drew, four cards in his hand now. “It’ll all be over soon. I’ll play the spell card Double Summon which will let me normal summon twice this turn. That way I can bring to the field my Brushfire Knight and Command Knight in attack mode!” With a quick motion, Long Horn slapped both cards onto his card tray as a column of fire appeared on either side of Gearfried. When the flames died down, two more human warriors stood with their heads only reaching Gearfied’s shoulders. Brushfire Knight was a male knight with 1400 attack points. He was dressed in silver armor, a tattered red cloak, and a black cloth covering his eyes. In one hand he carried a long, thin blade which had fire dancing around it. As for Command Knight, she was dressed in reddish armor with four golden wings coming out of her helm while a purple cloak fluttered slightly behind her. While her weapon was larger than Brushfire’s, her attack was 1200.
 

“Something you should know about Command Knight,” continued Long Horn as he pointed at his monster. “While she’s on the field, all warriors gain an extra 400 attack points. And don’t think you can attack her while other monsters are on my side of the field. If you want to get to the commander then you have to defeat the troops first!” Applejack gritted her teeth as she watched her opponent’s monsters growing stronger. Gearfried, already the strongest on the field, became a 3800 attack point monstrosity. The flames on Brushfire Knight’s sword became more intense as his attack changed to 1800. Then there was Command Knight as her attack became 1600.
 

“Now time to destroy you!” yelled Long Horn. “Command Knight, take down that piece of space trash!” Leaping into the air, the red clad female warrior flew toward Applejack’s space fighter. It landed on top, right behind the fighter cockpit where she proceeded to thrust her sword into it. At once there was a fiery explosion as Command Knight leapt off. Chunks of red metal landed all over Applejack’s side of the field, not vanishing just yet while being alit with flames.
 

“Mah Sliprider has another effect ya might like ta hear,” yelled AJ as she removed her card from the magical tray. “When this here card is destroyed and sent ta the graveyard, it removes itself to send out a distress signal ta all his pals. So Ah’ll do just that ta bring out Kozmoll Wickedwitch in a defense mode!” Walking onto the field from behind one of the larger pieces of metal was a green skinned woman dressed mostly in a black cloak and hood. The only other visible piece of clothing she had on was silver boots with leggings that went all the way up to her thighs. In one hand she held a wand that quickly sprouted red glowing energy blades from the top and bottom. Her defense was 300.
 

“Like that will do you any good,” sneered Long Horn as he pointed to Wickedwitch. “Brushfire, cut her down!” Brushfire Knight ran as fast as he could to cross the field, his weapon burning even stronger than before. As he brought his weapon down, Witchedwitch raised her weapon to defend herself.
 

“No dice there sugarcube,” said AJ. “Because Ah activate mah Wickedwitch’s effect: giving up a 1000 life points in order fer her to not be destroyed by battle or card effects for the rest of the turn.” Applejack’s monster used one hand to continue blocking while the other reached out towards the farmer girl. A moment later, lightning was coming out of the green skinned woman’s fingertips hitting AJ and filling her with pain. Despite her own strength, the farmer girl cried out in utter pain while sinking to her knees. When it was finally over, a panting AJ looked up to see that her monster was safe as Brushfire Knight was retreating to his side of the field. As for herself, Applejack now had 7000 life points.
 

As she struggled to get to her feet, Applejack wondered if this was what Twilight and Sonata had felt during their own duels. Perhaps…Perhaps it had been worse for Sonata since she didn’t have a gem or magic to protect her with. A wave of guilt washed over the farmer girl as she remembered her prior suspicions on the former Siren. Maybe they had been warranted, but the girl had stayed behind willingly and faced this sort of pain just to help them out. For facing something like this, Applejack knew that she deserved the benefit of the doubt as well as an apology.
 

“Guess it would be pointless to attack you again,” grumbled Long Horn as he looked at the last card in his hand. “I suppose then I’ll just set this card and end my turn.”
 

-x-
 

At the same time, Pinkie was quickly searching the house. Or, at least, as quickly as she could given the state it was in. Trash and holes littered the floors making it difficult for her to safely run through. More than once she had nearly slipped or tripped on something on the ground. And she could feel herself stepping on things that squished in a way that sent shivers down her spine. In her humble opinion, this place was going to need to be seriously disinfected when this was all over.
 

Still, she didn’t let this stop her. She ran throughout the entire first floor, searching for where they might be holding her possible Great (lots of Greats) Uncle Chili Pepper. He wasn’t in the living room, the kitchen, or even the dining room. She found a flight of steps leading down the basement, reminding her of a movie where a bunch of kids kidnapped their parents and locked them down there. Thinking these baddies had done the same, she looked down there but only found bottled chili pepper sauce and plenty of spider webs.
 

As she did all this, Pinkie was constantly pulling things out of her hair in search for more candy that she could use as an explosive. But, sadly, she seemed to have eaten the majority of her stash on the train ride here and had not stocked up at the abandoned candy store to refill her supplies. Still, she searched, hoping that there was something deep inside her mass of hair that she could use.
 

It was when she was moving back up the stairs that she found something. An old sugar cookie that was slightly stale. Perhaps this would do.
 

Holding the cookie like a lost treasure, she made her way through the main floor towards the stairs that lead up to the second floor. She bounced over the holes, nearly falling flat on her face in the process as she made her way up. Once at the top, she looked about before spotting a door at the end of the hallway that looked more secure than the others. Narrowing her eyes, she raced towards it.
 

“Hello?” yelled Pinkie Pie as she knocked loudly on the door, pocketing her cookie at the same time. “Great Uncle Chili Pepper? This is your possible great niece Pinkie Pie. Are you in there? And if you are and you're really another bad guy could you please pretend you didn’t hear this?”
 

“A great niece I haven’t heard of before?” came a shouted voice before Pinkie could pull her head away from the door. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
 

“The DNA test results have been a bit unreliable,” replied Pinkie as she reached for the door knob and turned it. However, the door didn’t open. She tried several more times, grunting and shaking the door with all her might before pausing to pant. When she finally let go, she realized that it was one of two options. One was that the door was locked. The second was that the door was stuck. Either way, she was going to need to try something and soon.
 

“Ok, stay back from the door,” shouted Pinkie as she pulled out her cookie again. “I’m going to try something.” Pinkie began to crumble the slightly stale cookie, rubbing it between her hands until it was nothing more than a powder. Once it was as fine it was going to be, she rubbed some of it around the keyhole before infusing it with her magic, hoping that it would work. After all, she had done this with sprinkles and marshmallows before but never anything like that. Thankfully there was enough sugar in it to get that glow that showed it was about to explode. Grinning, the pink skinned girl backed away just in time to watch it make a small ‘poof’. With a smile still on her face, she walked back over to the door and turned the knob…only to find it was still locked.
 

“Ah nuts,” she groaned as her shoulders slumped, hair going flat. Looking back at her hand, she saw that there was still plenty of cookie powder left. So with a shrug, she backed up before throwing all of it against the door. This time the explosion was much larger, shattering the door completely. Now with a grin on her face, she raced through the door to find Great Uncle Chili Pepper sitting in an old chair with an empty bowl on his lap.
 

“Well, what’s one more door?” he said as he looked at Pinkie. “So, tell me a little about yourself.”
 

-x- 
 

“Than Ah’ll draw!” shouted Applejack as she drew her card. Now with five cards in her hand, she looked over her options while glancing up at the field. The main problem was Gearfried. If Long Horn managed to draw another equip card, then AJ would be forced to give up another 1000 life points in order to protect her monster. And, sadly, right now she had nothing in her hand that she could trade in for that could destroy that muscled brute. But, that didn’t mean that she didn’t have other options.
 

“First off, Ah’ll be switching mah Wickedwitch into attack mode,” announced AJ loudly as she held up a card in her hand. “You’re not the only one who has an equip card. So Ah’ll equip Wickedwitch with Kozmo Lightsword which gives her 500 extra attack an defense points, lets her attack twice, and inflicts piercing damage!” Witckedwitch’s blade began to glow brighter as small amounts of lightning danced around its twin blades. At the same time, her attack rose from 1900 to 2400.
 

Long Horn, however, didn’t seem bothered by this at all. “Really? Is that the best you got little girl?” he laughed. “No spaceships to try and blast me?”
 

“Trust me, ya ain’t seen nothing yet,” said Applejack. “Because Ah play my Kozmo Goodwitch in attack mode!” Appearing next to Wickedwitch was a woman with long, wavy brown hair with elf ears and fairy wings. She was as tall as Applejack and dressed in a pink skirt and blouse along with a red vest. In one hand she carried a magical wand with a green energy blade coming out of the top; her attack was 1800. “Ah know this might not look as impressive as one of those fancy extra deck summons, but this here gal’s got a trick for ya. By paying 500 of mah life points, she can force one of your monsters to flip into face down defense mode. So Gearfried, time ta hide!”
 

“What?!? NO!” yelled Long Horn as Applejack’s life points drained to 6500. Not as painful this time, but she did have to grip her shoulder to stay upright. At the same time, Gearfried became nothing more than a facedown with his equip card being destroyed.
 

“Now time ta attack,” shouted Applejack. “Wickedwitch, attack Brushfire Knight!” Wickedwitch moved towards her target, twirling and jumping the whole way as if to build momentum for the final strike. When the attack came she sliced Brushfire in two, cutting both him and his weapon in half with ease.
 

“AHHH!” yelled Long Horn as his life points fell to 7400. “You just activated Brushfire Knight’s effect, letting me send a fire type monster in my deck to the grave. So I’ll be ditching my Phoenix Gearfried.”
 

“Alright then,” said Applejack as she looked over at Goodwitch. “Time ta take out Command Knight. Goodwitch, she’s all yours.” Goodwitch seemed to nod before flying across the field on her wings, leaving behind a trail of pink bubbles as she did. Like with Wickedwitch, Goodwitch sliced Command Knight in two causing Long Horn’s life points to drop to 7200. “Wickedwitch, time for your second attack! Take down that facedown!” Wickedwitch didn’t need to be told twice as she leapt into the air, bringing the back blade of her weapon down on the center of the facedown card. A moment later, both duelists saw Gearfried on his knees with a energy blade impaled in his chest looking horrified. A moment later he exploded while Long Horn’s life points dropped to 7000.
 

“Alright partner, ah’m done with mah turn,” said Applejack.


 “Fine!” yelled Long Horn as he drew his card, now the only card in his hand. “I summon The Fiend Megacyber in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a warrior with 2200 attack points, dressed in electric yellow armor. On the monster's shoulder there were large, silver blades shaped like claws and a third one under his chin. “This monster can be special summoned when my opponent has at least two more monsters than me. Now go and destroy Goodwitch!” The Fiend Megacyber changed forward while pulling back a fist in order to punch his enemy. When he got close enough, the proceeding blow was powerful enough to shatter Goodwitch and lower Applejack’s life points to 6100.
 

“That’s all I can do,” said Long Horn before quickly glancing at his deck. A look that seemed to be trying to willing a certain card to the top of his deck.
 

“Then Ah draw,” announced Applejack as she drew. Now with four cards in her hand, she was feeling very confident. Especially with what she had just drawn. “Ah play mah field spell Kozmotown!” The area around the two duelist quickly changed, morphing into a futuristic city with metal skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Above their heads were flying cars and spaceships moving in lines this way and that. “Now I activate one of its effects. I can return one of mah banished Kozmo monsters back ta mah hand and then take damage equal ta that monsters level times 100. Guess mah level three Kozmo Farmgirl is a good place to start.” Taking a breath, Applejack returned her Famrgirl back to her hand as a glow surrounded her body. The pain wasn’t as bad as the previous two times and quickly ended when her life points hit 5800.
 

“Now Ah activate the other effect of mah field spell,” continued Applejack as she held up three cards. “Ah can reveal as many Kozmo monsters as ah want an then shuffle them back into mah deck in order ta draw the same number of cards. Thing is ah can only do it once per turn. So Ah’ll be sending back mah Farmgirl, Strawman, and Scaredy Lion in order ta draw three cards.” Taking a breath, Applejack placed her three cards on the top of her deck. At once the auto-shuffler went into effect mixing up her cards at an amazing speed. When it finished, the top three cards slid out halfway for Applejack to pull out.
 

“Perfect,” said Applejack with a grin, as she looked at what she had. “Ah’ll summon mah Kozmo Tincan to the field in attack mode!” Appearing next to Wickedwitch was a creature that looked like a metal trash can on wheels. The top of this metallic hunk of junk looked like a tea kettle with steam coming out and long arms on its sides which touched the ground like a gorilla. Its attack was 0.
 

“Time for battle once again,” said Applejack with confidence. “Wickedwitch, slay Fiend Megacyber!” Once again, Wickedwitch twirled about before slicing the yellow warrior in half and causing Long Horn’s life points to drop to 6800. “Now one more attack. But this time make it direct one!” Wickedwitch, who had not returned to her side of the field yet, spun around so that her back was facing Long Horn while at that same time lifting her weapon so that the back end pierced his chest. As his life points dropped to 4400, Long Horn threw back his head as he screamed in pain. Wickedwitch said nothing as the thug fell to his knees, clutching his chest as he continued to cry out.
 

“Damn it, damn it,” he scream. “I shouldn’t be feeling pain. This isn’t right! This isn’t fair!”
 

“A lot more fair than this being one sided,” snapped Applejack, her smile vanishing on the spot. She stared at Long Horn, her eyes almost baring through him in a display of disgust. After everything he had done, how dare he whine about what’s fair and what isn’t!
 

Long Horn just breathed deeply as he stood up, sweat running down his face as he did. “Shut and finish your turn,” he growled.
 

“Fine,” replied Applejack as she reached towards her Tincan. “Ah end mah turn an in doing so activate mah monster effect. By paying 500 life points, ah get to pick three Kozmo cards with different names and then ya pick one at random.” Once again, Applejack’s life point dropped as a glow surrounded her which only stopped when it fell to 5300. As this was going on, the apple farmer looked at a screen which displayed all of her targets. With a shaky hand and a shortness of breath she looked over each one of them, thinking about what she needed to end this duel before pressing them. When she had chosen her third, three holographic cards appeared in front of Applejack with their backs facing Long Horn. “Alright partner, pick one.”
 

“This is,” began Long Horn. “Fine, I pick the one on the left.”
 

“Alright then,” said Applejack as she added the card to her hand. “Now Ah get ta keep this here card and the rest go ta mah graveyard.”
 

“Then I draw,” snarled Long Horn. He looked at his only card for a second before holding it up so Applejack could see it. “I play the spell card Pot of Desires. By banishing the top ten cards in my deck face down, I’m allowed to draw two more cards.” Quickly, Long Horn removed the cards and pocketing them before drawing his two. He looked them over and grinned excitedly. “Now you’re in for it little girl. I play the spell card: Swing of Memories. This card allows me to summon to the field one normal monster in my graveyard but it gets destroyed at the end of the turn. So now meet your doom with Phoenix Gearfried!”
 

Flames shot out of the ground with such force and brightness that Applejack was forced to cover her eyes. She could feel the heat on her skin as well as the moisture in the air lessen. When it ended, a lone figure stood on Long Horn’s side of the field. He was tall, taller than Long Horn and dressed in mostly white armor that had bits of red here and there which covered his entire body. On his back was a cloak as well as flames that rose up to almost form wings. In one hand this warrior held a long, white shield that looked like it could have been used as a weapon. The other held a massive white sword that had a gem near the tip which was also on fire. It’s attack points were 2800.
 

“Wait a second,” said Applejack as she looked at her duel disk. “That ain’t no normal monster.”
 

“It is and it isn’t,” replied Long Horn with a grin. “Phoenix Gearfried is a type of monster known as a Gemini monster. When he is in my graveyard or on my field he’s treated like a normal monster until I normal summon him again. Which I’ll do right now!” At once, the flames on Phoenix Gearfried began to rise, burning brighter and hotter than before. “Now he won’t be affected by Swing of Memories. Then I’ll equip him with Salamandra, giving him 700 more attack points!” At that moment, a dragon made of flames appeared around the blade of Phoenix Gearfried while his attack rose to 3500.
 

“But that’s not all, I activate my trap card Metalmorph!” roared Long Horn as his trap card flipped up. Once the card was revealed, a metallic liquid began to pour out of the card and flowed towards Phoenix Gearfried. Slowly it rose up his body, covering him and removing all color from his except of a metallic silver. At the same time his attack rose even more, stopping at 3800.
 

“Now I attack Tincan!” he roared, Phoenix Gearfried taking up his sword to attack the smaller monster.
 

“Not so fast,” cried Applejack. “Ah activate his effect ta banish him in order to special summon one of mah other Kozmo monsters in mah hand. An it just happens ta be the one ya put there. Kozmo Dark Eclipser!” Kozmo Tincan vanished from the field and, at the same time, a massive shadow appeared overhead. Applejack watched as Long Horn looked up to see her 3000 attack point battleship, shaped like a massive black blade with thin red lines here and there.
 

“Well, it's strong, but not strong enough,” laughed Long Horn. “I continue the attack, but this time my new target is Dark Eclipser! And when my monster battles one of yours, half of your monsters attack gets added to Phoenix Gearfried!” Applejack’s eyes widened as Phoenix Gearfried leapt high into the air, his attack rising all the way to 4300! Somehow he managed to reach the underbelly of Applejack’s star ship and impaled his sword into it. The warrior then flew across it, cutting into it while its sword fed flames into the Eclipser until it finally exploded.
 

“Now then, that should have done…” began Long Horn as Phoenix Gearfried landed next to him, but stopped when he realized something was wrong. As the pieces of Dark Eclipser fell all around them, she wasn’t losing life points. No, instead a green glow surrounded her body as her life points went up to 6600! “That…That isn’t right! You should have lost life points, not gained them! You have to be cheating!”
 

“Sorry partner, but ah don’t cheat,” replied Applejack. “This was all fair and square thanks ta ya.”
 

“What? How did I do this?!?” demanded Long Horn as he stomped his foot on the ground hard enough to cause massive cracks in the surface.
 

“Remember those cards ya sent ta the graveyard when Ah used Tincan?” asked Applejack as she held up a card. “One of them was this here trap card: Kozmomourning. It has this nifty effect that lets me banish it from the graveyard so that when ah take battle damage with a Kozmo monster this turn, ah instead gain that much instead. But that ain’t all. Mah Kozmo Dark Eclipser has another effect that lets me banish him when it's destroyed to have a lower level Kozmo monster join mah hand. So ah think Ah’ll take Kozmo Dark Destroyer.”
 

“FINE!” shouted Long Horn again, his eyes looking bloodshot as he snorted loudly. Steam seemed to be coming out of his nostrils as he glared at Applejack with the utmost hate. “It doesn’t matter what you do because nothing can take down my monster. Not with his sheer attack power!”
 

“Partner, Ah don’t need high numbers ta take him down,” replied Applejack as she drew her card. She looked at it for a moment before placing it on her card tray. “I summon mah Farmgirl once again. But she won’t be there for long because she’s taking flight in Kozmo Dark Destroyer!” Farmgirl was only on the field for a moment before jumping high into the air where a beam of light caught her. It raised her high into the sky as another space ship appeared, once again having 3000 attack points. However, there was very little that was ‘dark’ about this one as this single-engine starship was mostly silver. It was a smooth, well rounded ship with twin ‘wings’ on its side that ended in ever visible blasters.
 

“Hmp, not much better than the last one,” grunted Long Horn.
 

“Well, that’s because I haven’t activated its effect,” replied Applejack. “When Dark Destroyer is summoned, ah can target one of your cards and destroy it.” Before Long Horn could shout or do anything, a massive bullet of energy was fired from Dark Destroy. It flew down towards the ground, hitting Phoenix Gearfried and destroying him on the spot. Now, there was nothing for Long Horn to do.
 

“No,” gasped Long Horn, eyes wide now as he looked at his empty field. “It can’t end like this! I was going to take over! This magic was my ticket to the big leagues!”
 

“The only thing happening now is me stopping ya from hurting good folk,” declared Applejack. “Finish him!” Dark Destroyer fired first, twin lasers firing from its sides towards Long Horn. While they didn’t hit him directly, the force of the blast sent him flying backwards and rolling throw the trash he and his gang had left. Chunks of garbage smeared his body while small rocks and gravel cut at his skin. When he finally stopped rolling, he looked like his body had been dragged through the dump with his hair a mess and clothing stained with blood and other things. he laid there, staring at the sky as his life points dropped down to 1400.
 

“This isn’t right,” said Long Horn as he reached for the sky while Wickedwitch slowly moved over him, holding her wand sword with both hands while the bottom blade was pointed at his chest. But the thug wasn’t looking at the monster as far as AJ could. “I had such a big dream. I was supposed to go into the big time. Be a big crime boss. So why did this-” Long Horn’s words were cut out as Witchedwitch suddenly brought her blade down causing the teen to scream in utter pain. He thrashed about as Pinkie and Great Uncle Chili Pepper walked out of the house, Pinkie holding the older man to help keep him upright. They both watched as a green glow began to surround the teenage thug before his body began to shrivel up, turning him into a mummified version of himself that needed to gasp for air.
 

As his gem shattered, there was a loud cracking noise from out in the distance. The next thing Applejack knew Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s old pick-up truck was barreling through the fields towards them. Or at least, that’s how it looked. The girl who was driving it turned, slowing down as she did so and looked at the elder for a brief moment. AJ barely had time to realize this, let alone figure out what kind of look it was because the driver sped off leaving behind Long Horn to his fate.
 

-x-
 

It was several days later as Applejack wandered through the hospital on her way to see her Great Uncle. The place was back to normal, with nurses walking this way and that and doctors on their way to see patients. Thankfully, the only mummified patients they had were the members of the gang. The rest were the normal cases of broken bones and illnesses. As for her Great Uncle, the doctors just wanted to check to make sure he was in good health after being held captive for the last several days.
 

Outside these walls, the town had been working hard to get everything fixed up with the help of the government. Buildings were being patched up and businesses were being reopened so that a sense of normalcy could return. This was helped in part that there had been no deaths caused by the gang and their use of magic. The local government was also doing what they could to help, but were curious as to what had happened. Right now, Sheriff Tumbleweed had made something up about drugs or something along those lines. She didn’t know the full story that he had told them, but whatever he made up would be better believed than the truth. And, for now, they seemed to be buying it
 

“Hey Applejack!” came a loud voice from behind Applejack. The farmer girl turned to see that it was Sonata with several of the medical professionals giving her only slightly annoyed looks. Probably because they owed her so much for helping the town get back to normal.
 

“Hey there sugarcube,” said Applejack as Sonata bounced right in front of her, a gem much like the ones that the gang had been using around her neck. “How ya feeling? Any changes?”
 

“Nope!” replied Sonata as she twirled around, arms spread out to show that there were no visible bandages. Something that Applejack found hard to believe when she heard the story of what the former Siren went through from Twilight. How badly she had gotten hurt just to give them all the time she could. How she barely had a pulse when the duel had ended. She had no reason to believe that Twilight was lying, she just found it hard to believe that anything good could have come from those gems.
 

Speaking of the gems, the one around Sonata’s neck hadn’t just healed it. It had changed slightly. The unicorn markings on it had vanished and its shape had transformed more into a teardrop. Its color had also transformed. While it was still green, it was more like an ocean green color with less of a foreboding presence to it. When they had all learned this, Twilight began spinning theories out until the poor girl became dizzy with excitement. One theory was that ownership of the gem switched when its owner had lost, transferring ownership and health over to Sonata. The others, well, kind of flew over Applejack’s head as Twilight was spitting them out faster than AJ could understand them. In the end, all that mattered was that Sonata was healthy and alive.
 

“What’cha doing down here?” asked Applejack. “Ah thought you’d be helpin’ Twi with the checklist ta head home.”
 

“Oh, we got that done last night and went over it again this morning,” replied Sonata. “I just thought I just wanted to talk to Free Range.” As a sad smile appeared on Sonata’s face, making AJ feel slightly worried about her, the blue skinned girl walked past her heading in the same direction that Applejack had been going.
 

Slowly, Applejack followed her friend while rubbing her left arm with her right hand while looking nervous. That was until they turned down a hallway where several rooms were being guarded by the local deputies, each one glancing at the door as if afraid that those in the room would attack them from behind. Calmly, Sonata walked down towards the middle room and was allowed inside without any trouble. Slightly curious, AJ walked ahead a bit so that she could look into the room.
 

Inside was a plain, white room with a single bed and chair. Sonata was pushing the chair closer to the bed where its lone occupant laid, handcuffed to the side as breathing devices and heart monitors were hooked up to him. This man, if he could still be called that in the state he was in, was named Free Range. The person who had hurt Sonata during their duel.
 

“Hey, how are you doing today?” asked Sonata gently.
 

“Better than yesterday,” the mostly toothless Free Range managed to gasp as he turned his head to look at Sonata. “Managed to get some medicine into town that is…somewhat making this more bearable.”
 

“I,” began Sonata before gulping loudly. “I heard the adults talking about what to do with you. One of the doctors said that you might never get better. That he doubted even with all the new resources that they’re getting and access to super smart specialists. Even Twilight doesn’t know if you’ll get better and she’s like the super smartest of them all.”
 

“I…deserve this,” wheezed Free Range, surprising AJ. “I should have known from the start that there might be a cost to this power, but I ignored it. Even when I heard about what happened to Raging, I thought that would never happen to me.” Even from where she stood, AJ could see tears rolling down Free’s face. “I guess, I just wanted to go home so badly that I ignored all the warning signs. Now, I’m more a prisoner than I ever thought possible. I can’t even get up from this bed. The handcuffs, they’re more for show than anything. I’m so weak and helpless.
 

“It just doesn’t seem fair. I made one mistake, a big one but one all the same. So many people out there make mistakes on a daily basis, so why did I have to pay for it over and over again? Why was I trapped in that hellhole for so long, alone and forgotten? Why didn’t anyone do anything to help me? Why?”
 

“Don’t worry,” said Sonata with a sniff as she reached out to place a hand on his. “I don’t think you’re going back there. I heard some of the adults talking about that mean Warden. I guess he wants all of you back really badly. But Twilight looked online at their facilities and told a judge that they don’t have the right equipment to take care of any of you. That it would be a death sentence. So they're looking into other places that can take care of you.”
 

Free Range was crying more freely now as he turned his head to the ceiling. “Thank God,” he gasped. “Thank God.”
 

“Those boys sure had it rough,” came another voice that caused Applejack to jump. Turning to look at her side, she saw Great Uncle Chili Pepper standing beside her using a cane to help him walk.
 

“Uncle Chili Pepper, are ya sure ya should be up an about?” asked AJ quickly in a hushed voice. “Ah could take ya back ta your room an-”
 

“Pish posh, Ah’m fine,” replied Chili Pepper as he waved off the concern. “Been cooped up for too long and those fields aren’t going to tend to themselves. Plus there’s a house that needs fixing.”
 

“Yeah,” agreed Applejack with a sigh. “Ah wish we could stay a bit longer but-”
 

“Ya’all have been here long enough,” interrupted the old man once more. “You’re school work is far more important than helping an old man like myself. Granny Smith would have mah head if ah kept ya’ll here any longer!” He then let out a sigh as he turned to look into the room Sonata was in. “But, maybe ya could do me a slight favor.”
 

“Of course,” said Applejack.
 

“It’s about Fizzy or, as she prefers to be called, Tempest,” began Chili Pepper as he looked into the room with a sad expression. “I heard that they found my old truck several miles out of town, abandoned in a ditch. That they don’t know where she is.”
 

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Ah’m sure the police will find her,” said Applejack in a comforting tone. The last thing she wanted was for her great uncle to worry that one of them might come back for him. But, to her great surprise, her great uncle just shook his head.
 

“That poor girl is driven,” he said. “She’s spent so long hating, trying to survive. But there’s a sweet girl under all of that that ah saw plenty of times while she was with me. Ah tried hard ta help her an the rest of them. But, it was hard. Many of them thought that their families had abandoned them.” Applejack noticed that Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s hand began to tighten his grip on his cane.” When she and the others first came under mah care, Warden Storm told me not ta allow them any contact with their families. Told me there would be consequences if ah did. Now Ah wish Ah had done just that an damn it all.”
 

“What-” began Applejack, but Chili Pepper just shook his head.
 

“Did what Ah could ta help them, Ah really did,” he said. “But some Ah guess were too far gone. Let the rot reach their core. But, Ah ain’t giving up on all of them. No sir. They might call me a fool all they want, but Ah’m goin’ keep tryin’. So, if ya ever happen ta run into that there Tempest, tell her there will always be a room waiting for her at my place. That she can come in for a spell whenever she wants. In good times or bad times, mah door will aways be open ta her while Ah live and breath.” And before Applejack could say anything else, Chili Pepper walked into the room towards Free Range.
> Vile Intentions Part 1 (Celestia vs Spoiled Rich)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna stood within the newly built dueling stadium, arms crossed with an impressed smile on her face. On the outside, it looked like a rounded building with a covered roof which sat next to their sports fields. It was only when you got inside that a person could feel the grandness of it all. The main floor was large enough so that ten duels could be carried out at the same time, with markings that showed where the duelists were to position themselves. But, if they wanted to change it they could for with the simple push of a button the floor would automatically change to one of several different options. Holo-emiters were also positioned along the walls to increase the amount of detail with the holograms as well as giving it a bit more ‘feel’ as it were. Then there were the stands. According to the blueprints, this place could hold double the amount of students they actually had at this school. All in all, it was a fine building that would be the envy of any pure dueling school in the country.
 

But none of that was what was making Luna smile at the moment. It was Pip. The small boy was standing at the other end of the dueling field they were currently on with all the members of the dueling team and the dueling fan clubs watching from the sidelines. Just by glancing over, Luna could make out the faces of several prominent students like Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Gabby, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and many others. Pip was on one knee at the moment, breathing hard after finishing a rather difficult duel.
 

“An impressive display,” remarked Luna as she approached her young protégé. “You managed to use the card I gave you effectively.”
 

Pip looked up at her, a small smile of his face from the praise as well as a blush. “T-Thanks,” he managed to say when Luna stopped in front of him. Slowly, he rose up with the look of an utter fan boy who was meeting his idol. “But I was no match for your signature Star Rush combo! That was just amazing! And the way you took down my best monster with Honest…I never saw that coming!”
 

For her part, Luna chuckled before reaching out and messing up his hair. “Thanks for the compliment,” she said as the boy blushed even harder. “But, rather than admiring my moves, I want to talk about yours. Do you know where you went wrong?”
 

“Well,” began Pip as he brought his hand to his chin, thinking hard. Luna could tell he was replaying the duel in his head, thinking about every move he made. “I think I might have pressed my advantage too much. Is that it?”
 

“Yes,” said Luna with a proud nod. “You managed to get your best monster onto the field, but in doing so you used up nearly your entire hand. Without any cards in your hand for a discard, you couldn’t activate his effect leaving it nothing more than a big beatstick for me to take down. What’s more, you jumped the gun a bit with that trap card. Had you waited a little bit longer you could have made better use of it.” Pip nodded, eagerly taking in the advice she was giving.
 

“Now then,” continued Luna as she turned to the other students, all of them looking excited at being addressed. Some were even moving their hands to their deck boxes hanging from their belts, ready to pull them out to either duel the Vice-Principal or to ask her to look over their decks. “Who wants to go next?”
 

“I do!” shouted one boy. He was a gray skinned lad with slicked back hair. If memory served her right, he was the younger brother of Thunderlane. Rumble she thought. However, her smile quickly turned into a frown as this boy shoved one of the other students needlessly as he raced onto the field. Her eyes then narrowed as he almost ran Pip over, who managed to move out of the way at the last moment so that Rumble was now standing in his place. Rumble didn’t seem to notice this sudden change in mood as he took his deck out, slammed it into his duel disk, and activated it in a showy style. “I’ve been waiting for this all day! Let’s duel!”
 

“Rumble,” began Luna with an edge in her voice that everyone could clearly hear. But before she could go any further, there was a cough behind. Turning around, she saw that it was Cheerilee holding up her arm and pointing to her watch.
 

“Is it really that time?” asked Luna to which Cheerilee nodded before heading out the door. With a sigh, Luna turned back to the students. “I’m sorry everyone, but I have another engagement that I need to get to.” At that everyone let out a groan. “But don’t worry. I’ll set aside some time next week to spend more time with all of you. Rumble, I want to see you in my office tomorrow before the first bell. There is something that we need to discuss.”
 

With that said, Luna walked out of the stadium, waving goodbye to her students, all of whom waved back. Well, every student except Rumble who was not looking too pleased at the moment. He was standing there, glancing at her with narrowed eyes and his hands tightened into fists. The last thing she saw of the boy was him quickly turning and moving away from everyone else. Yes, she would need to talk to him about this. This sort of behavior was not going to be accepted here at this school and she was going to make sure he understood that. Hopefully, in the morning, he would calm down and they could discuss this.
 

Once outside, she felt the cool air hit her. The sun’s light was fading over the horizon so that the sky was awash with a golden hue. But she did not pause to stare at this sight, instead hurrying to the faculty parking lot where her car awaited her. As she moved, she checked her own watch to make sure of the time. Hopefully she could make it back to her place, get changed, and then be at her final destination without being late.
 

“Luna, there you are,” said Celestia. As the younger of the two sisters entered the parking lot, she saw her sister standing by her own car. “I was beginning to worry. You were later than normal. Now, hurry up or we’ll be late.”
 

Seeing her sister and hearing what she said caused Luna to stop and curse, briefly glad for the fact that there were no students around to hear her. “Oh, I’m sorry sister,” said Luna as she smiled awkwardly. “I, ah, sort of made other plans for tonight.”
 

Celestia, who had turned to open her car door, paused for a moment before slowly turning around to look at her. Even from where she stood, Luna could see the subtle movements around Celestia’s mouth despite the appearance of calm.
 

“Luna…we always have dinner together tonight,” she said, her tone sounding slightly hurt. “We haven’t missed this since our college days. Not even when you got sick! I came to your room with your usual order and-”
 

“Yes, I know,” said Luna as she moved to her own car. “This was, well, sort of last minute thing.”
 

Celestia frowned visibly now. “Does that have anything to do with you canceling our Tuesday and Thursday night plans? That super secret thing you’re not telling me about?”
 

Luna shook her head as she pulled out her keys, unlocking the car with the push of a button. Or, at least she tried to. Even though she was pushing down with all her might she could not hear the sound of the doors unlocking nor did she see her rear lights blinking to show that it was working. Great, just great. Her car had been doing this more and more lately. So of course at the one time when she needed to make a getaway it was doing this! Sighing, Luna continued to press the button while turning to look at Celestia.
 

“Sister, I’m trying to sort some things in my life out. Ok?” she began with a pleading expression. Another sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head. “And this is very important to me. I’ll tell you everything once I see how things are shaping out.”
 

“But sister,” began Celestia, but her voice was drowned out by Luna’s car alarm. The young sister had given up on the button and had, instead decided to do things the old fashioned way. Only problem was that this make’s alarm system activated whenever someone tried that!
 

Shaking her head even more, Luna put her keys into the ignition and turned on the car to stop the alarm. “Celestia, I am honestly sorry about this. I was just so excited and I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just…think of this like taking a break from babysitting your little sister. Go out and have some fun on the town for a change. Maybe go to the indoor rock climbing place or something.” With that, Luna entered her car before driving off. Leaving her big sister still standing there.
 

-x-
 

Sometime later, Sombra was seated within one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Despite the late hour, the room was a wash of light thanks to the large crystal chandeliers overhead as well as the candles sat on every table. The tables were covered by cloths made of nothing less than the finest materials with crystal glasses resting on top, along with a wide array of silverware. The floor was made of white marble, still looking clean enough to reflect everything despite being walked on all night. With this place being such a high class location, only a few of the dozen or so tables were occupied by some of the most elite members of society. One waiter was bringing a large silver tray of food to a table belonging to a man that Sombra knew owned several hospitals whose company was a woman that was not his wife. At another table was a man named Filthy Rich, looking proudly at his daughter while his wife looked like she smelled something rotten.
 

As for Sombra, his table had yet to be filled with food. Something that was uncommon for him since, whenever he visited this location, he had a standing order waiting for him. He would have eaten, paid for his meal, and then left without a word to anyone. Perhaps a glare to scare any of the staff. But now, well, he was seated alone as he fidgeted slightly whenever someone passed him by. His gaze moved from scanning the room before moving towards the empty plate across the table from him. More than once he had picked up his spoon to check his reflection, not caring how it looked, as well as breathing into his hand to check his breath.
 

“Sir,” came the voice of one of the waiters as he approached him. “Are we ready to order?”
 

Sombra glanced over at the other plate yet again, his hand twitching slightly before returning to look at the waiter. “It seems my guest has yet to arrive,” he said in a polite tone that he had been using more and more recently. “Would you please come back in a few minutes?”
 

“Most certainly sir,” replied the waiter as he bowed, still holding the tray with an impressive amount of skill.
 

“Ah, one more thing,” said Sombra quickly as the waiter was about to turn around. A hand went to his slightly loosened tie which he then began to fiddle with. “I was just wondering…Do I…That is to say I’m not saying…I mean…How does…”
 

“I can assure you, sir, you look smashing this evening,” replied the waiter with a smile. As he left, Sombra looked down at what he was wearing this evening. It was one of his more casual suites with the jacket left unbuttoned along with a red tie. He already knew it fit him and everything matched, which for the longest time was all that mattered. So why was he now caring if it looked good on him or not?
 

As he sighed, he heard the sound of heals on the marble floor coming towards him. Looking up again, he saw that it was Luna. Tonight she was dressed in a matching white top and pants that looked professional yet fashionable at the same time. Nothing really spectacular, most likely the best that she could get with her salary. For a moment, Sombra bit his lower lip as he wondered if it was a good idea asking her to meet him here.
 

“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she sat down across from him, placing her palms on the table while giving him an apologetic smile. “Wasn’t sure what I was supposed to wear at a place like this. I’m sure a certain student of mine could have helped, but I was short on time.”
 

“It’s ok,” said Sombra as he waved it off. “Besides, you look great.”
 

Luna's smile turned into a smirk. “You don’t look half bad yourself, Serious Sombra.” It took a great deal of effort for Sombra not to snort loudly at the sound of her old nickname for him. It really took him back. At the same time Sombra felt his shoulder relax while the knot of tension he had been feeling begin to unwind into nothingness. He then smiled at Luna gently, allowing her playfulness to set the mood for tonight. Right now, they were just two old friends meeting up after so long.
 

Not long after Luna had sat down the waiter arrived at their table with two glasses of sparkling water and ready to take their orders. As Luna opened up her menu real quick, Sombra felt someone’s gaze bearing down upon them. Doing his best not to turn his head, he managed to spot Filthy’s wife glaring at them. The grey man could practically see the hate emanating off her body while she bit her lower lip. It was strange though, since she hadn’t done anything like this since he had arrived. Could it have been Luna? That was a possibility, but why would this woman have such a problem with her?
 

Thankfully he wasn’t the only one who noticed this sudden change as well. Both her husband and daughter could see it as well. While the young lady at the table leaned away from her and more towards her father, Filthy looked extremely unhappy about this. As Luna was ordering her meal, Filthy stood up and began to usher his family out while paying for their half eaten meals. His wife did not fight this, only loudly exclaiming that they would most certainly not be dining here again if they were going to allow ‘common trash’ to be allowed in. As she snottily walked out, Filthy merely slipped his waiter a hundred dollar bill as a tip before leaving, apologizing for his wife’s behavior.
 

“So, how have you been?” asked Luna after they had ordered. As she spoke, she rested both of her hands on the table with one on top of the other. if she had been bothered by that scene she didn’t show it in the least. Perhaps she was doing her best to make sure the rest of the evening was as pleasant as possible.
 

“To be honest, better than I have in a while,” admitted Sombra as he took a quick sip of his drink. “It’s weird, but I never thought that going to hospitals to see my fans would have this sort of affect on me. Every time I visit them, I get a call from one of the nurses telling me that the kids’ spirits are much higher as well as their health. I’ve also spotted a few who have some hidden potential. A few years of training and they could give you or me a run for our money.”
 

At that, Luna smiled and nodded. “I can relate,” she said. “There is one student I’ve taken under my wing. He’s got talent, no doubt about that. But he’s not the only one I’m working with. Recently I’ve also been spending time with many of our school’s duelists, working with all of them and helping them to become the best they can be. They all seem to love dueling in that stadium you built them.”
 

“It was a small price to pay for peace of mind,” said Sombra, slowly closing his eyes and then opening them again. Then a smile appeared on his lips. “Well, I shouldn’t say that. It was expensive so I should say it was worth every penny.” He then paused for a moment averting his gaze for a moment before looking at her again. “Other than working with your students, how have you been? Has anyone from the old days contacted you yet?”
 

Luna appeared taken aback by that for a moment yet it only lasted for a moment before she regained her composure. “So far only one. Celaeno called me the morning after our duel. She hasn’t changed a bit. She was talking so fast that I wondered when she had time to breath.” Luna then sighed as she looked down at her side. “When she said how worried she was, that she thought I had been murdered or something, I felt guilty for not contacting her sooner. The thing was she only knew me as Nightmare Moon and Starswirl was keeping a closer eye on me…It’s not an excuse I’m proud of. I’m sure that there was something I could have done to let her know I was ok. Maybe…Maybe I was subconsciously afraid to do it because it reminded me of what I was missing out on.”
 

“Celaeno,” said Sombra with a small laugh, bringing Luna’s gaze back to him. Her expression was that of shock, but Sombra quickly waved a hand while he continued to chuckle. “I’m sorry, but I was just remembering the two of you back in the day. You dressed in that knightly armor and her in pirate get-up. Did you know she still wears it?”
 

“Yeah,” said Luna as her expression softened. “I’ve caught a couple of her duels over the years.”
 

“So, what happened after she called?” urged Sombra.
 

“Well, besides wanting to know everything that I’ve been doing since my disappearance, she wants us to get together for a night out the next time she’s in town,” explained Luna. “Hopefully I’ll be available when she does.”
 

“Why wouldn’t you?” asked Sombra. “I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but surely you can take a night off work when a friend comes to see you. Maybe that sister of yours could help?”
 

“It's not about,” began Luna, suddenly nervous. At that moment, the waiter returned with their food. The two sat there in silence as he sat their dishes on the table before walking away. After a moment or two of silence, Luna let out a sigh before picking up her fork and toying with her food. “Sombra, if I tell you this, can you promise not to tell anyone? I mean it, you can’t tell a soul about this.”
 

“Of course,” said Sombra. As he did, he began to mentally prepare himself for anything she might throw at him. That she had some large amount of gambling debt that she was working to pay off. That she had some other sort of addiction and was seeking help. That she was dating someone else. Anything!
 

Luna let out another sigh before taking a bite out of her food. She ate slowly, building the tension that Sombra was feeling, before continuing to talk. “I…I’ve been taking online college courses ever since we dueled,” she said
 

Sombra raised an eyebrow at this. “That…wasn’t what I was expecting to hear,” he said. As her gaze hardened a little, Sombra quickly added. “You know it’s not that big of a deal. Plenty of people are taking advantage of online classes these days to better themselves. So I guess I don’t understand why it’s a secret.”
 

Luna’s face softened before looking down at her plate. “You have a point,” she admitted. “Truthfully I hate hiding this from my sister like I’m doing something wrong. I guess, if I had to pick a reason, it would be that I’m afraid Starswirl would find out. Every time I log in I find myself half expecting him to come bursting through the door.” As soon as she said that, everything clicked into place for Sombra. It made sense. From everything that Luna had told him about the old geezer, he had impacted her life in the worst possible way. Always comparing her to her sister while telling her that she would never be good enough. Dictating how she was to live her life. And then, just when she was about to make her mark in history, Starswirl took it all away without a care in the world. Yeah, being in the shadow of a man like that would have an affect on Luna.
 

“I understand,” said Sombra as he closed his eyes. “You have my word that I won’t speak about this to anyone. But, you know sooner or later you’ll have to face him about this. He can’t control your life anymore.”
 

“You have a point,” replied Luna, as Sombra opened his eyes. She seemed to have brightened up considerably, eating her food with gusto. “I’ll tell Celestia about what I’m doing after I finish these courses. Then I’ll tell her that I’m planning on going back to school for real.”
 

“Well, if you ever need the money you know you can make some big cash by dueling again,” said Sombra calmly. “And I’ll do my best to help you re-enter. By the way, what classes are you taking? If you don’t mind me asking.”
 

“A couple reintroductory courses into psychology,” replied Luna. “Back when I was studying to become a teacher, my college professors said I had a knack for the subject. Some even talked to me, urging me to consider entering their more advanced classes. To be honest, I did like the subject and thought I’d be happier doing that than teaching. Maybe even specializing in children. Starswirl…Well, Starswirl certainly didn’t agree when I brought it up and I didn’t have it in me at the time to fight back.” Luna then shook her head. “But enough about me. What else have you been up to since we last saw each other?”
 

“Something important. For both of us,” said Sombra in a serious tone. “After our duel, I redirected all of my resources that had been tasked with finding you to my newest subject: finding the person who sent that letter.”
 

At first, Luna said nothing. Merely finished chewing on her food before taking a sip of water. It was surprising for him. He had expected her to be more excited about this. Or, at the very least curious as to the identity of the person who ruined their lives. So why did she seem so…indifferent.
 

“Sombra,” began Luna as she set down her glass. “Do you really expect to solve such an old mystery? I mean, do you even have any clues to work from?”
 

Sombra let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. “To be honest, I thought I did,” he said. “I’ve managed to obtain security footage from around the locker room that you normally used, personally watching it myself to see if there was anyone who could have found your identity back then. So far I’ve found nothing.” He then let out a sigh. “I’ve also been looking at all the people who would have benefitted by your disappearance other than myself. Most of the duelists from back then eventually quit and moved on with their lives. Nearly all of them are living basic lives with nine to five jobs. Heck, Storm King has even started up his own business. But there are a few who are not doing so well for themselves. Bitter Pill is in heavy debt right now. When I brought up your disappearance, he said that if he knew anything about it he would have sold the story to anyone willing to pay.”
 

Sombra paused for a moment to take a bite out of his meal. He did not mention that he was thinking of looking into Hope. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she did have a motive. Hope had known how important that duel was for him since it was his next step into getting into the pros. The working theory was that she found out who Nightmare Moon was and, thinking she was helping him, sent Starswirl that damned letter. The idea made sense and had the potential to put a new spin on why they broke up. Guilt over causing him so much pain. However, he wasn’t ready to confront her on this before he found proof.
 

“So, nothing so far,” said Luna. There was something in her tone that made his eyes twitch. He was about to remind her that he was doing this for the both of them. So that they could have closure. But he stopped when he saw her face. She looked worried. Slowly she reached across the table and gently placed her hand on top of his. “Sombra, I don’t want this to become an obsession with you. It happened so long ago that we both might have to accept that the identity of who did this will never be found. I can accept this and move on with my life, but can you?”
 

Sombra looked at Luna as he felt the warmth of her hand on his own. As he did, he understood what she was telling him. She didn’t want him to waste years of his life perusing this, chasing a ghost that he might never find. Not when he had so many good things right in front of him. A thriving business. A great dueling career. Having dinner with a beautiful woman. All things considered, he did have it made despite what happened in the past. And yet…
 

Slowly, Sombra nodded. “I understand,” he said as he watched her worried face relax. “But I still need to at least try. I’ll keep looking but once all my leads have dried up then it's over.”
 

Luna let out a sigh at this, leaning back into her seat as she did. “Well, if you insist. Just know that I will smack you if you become too obsessive.”
 

“Deal,” said Sombra with a smile which Luna slowly returned.
 

-x-
 

Spoiled Rich let out a scream from within her private office as she flung a stack of papers against the wall. The room was elegant with furniture made out of wood that had come directly from the rain forests, all polished on a daily basis. Her desk sat on one corner, devoid of any meaningless personal items like pictures or knick-knacks. Only files and her computer were allowed on it. On one side of the room was a couch meant for her to lie down in peace when she needed as well as an old grandfather clock. Small meaningless plants were found here and there, but other than that the room gave off a refined yet sterile appearance for whoever came to her home to talk business. This place was her sanctuary, an isolated place from the rest of the house where she could do her work in peace.
 

Yet despite being here, Spoiled could only seethe in rage at the remembrance of Luna. Not that she didn’t hate Celestia either. Celestia was far too soft for the position that she held, trying to make school a more friendly place rather than ensuring that the school was raised to the level of that of Crystal Prep. Well, a Crystal Prep before that pink skinned ninny was put in charge. In her mind, that was the direction that schools should be heading! Hiring only the best, most refined teachers while also allowing only the best (and wealthiest) students to attend. Yet as of now, that second part could not happen. But Spoiled had spoken to Celestia many times in the past about her hiring choices. Like hiring that Cranky Doodle character who only got his teaching degree from a community college. How could she even consider someone so lowly as that?! Or that sister of hers.
 

Luna. Just thinking about that woman caused her blood to boil. She was a nobody, a nothing. The only reason she was hired and moved to the position that she was in was because she was related to Celestia. Several times she brought up the motion of having Luna removed to the rest of the school board only to be shot down. Sadly she understood their reasoning: she needed to have a reason for doing so or else they might find themselves facing a lawsuit.
 

Spoiled had spent so long looking for that reason until one finally fell in her lap. When Sombra had approached them, offering up so much if Luna won the duel that Spoiled knew she had to take it. it seemed like the perfect way of getting rid of her. Luna would lose the duel (and of course she was going to lose, being forced to duel against a professional), allowing Spoiled to point to the board that she cost them a brand new stadium. There was even a chance that she could convince them that Luna hadn’t tried hard enough or even lost on purpose. From there, she would force Luna out of the school and replace her with one of her associates: a high class gentleman named Neighsay. Bit by bit, the two would work to undermine Celestia and replace the staff to reflect their own ideal until finally forcing Celestia out. Then Neighsay would be the Principal thus allowing them to move forward and making Canterlot High a model of what all schools should be like. From there, it would only be a matter of time before she rose up, perhaps becoming something like the Secretary of Education.
 

It seemed so perfect…so how in the hell did it fail. How was Luna able to snatch up a win?!? For some time, Spoiled had pondered that question while Luna’s reputation seemed to grow. From what she had heard the students were warming up to her even more while the board's opinion of her grew vastly. Only she seemed to see Luna for what she was: a nothing.
 

Now tonight she had her answer. Sombra had thrown the match on purpose! That he and Luna were in this together! Yes, it was the only explanation that made any sense. They were working together, hatching this scheme to make Spoiled look bad while making Luna seem like a star.
 

“Madam,” came a voice from the other side of the door along with a knock. It was the family’s butler, what’s his name. “I am sorry to disturb you, but a package just arrived.”
 

A package? At this hour? Spoiled thought hard to see if she had ordered anything recently, but came up empty. Perhaps it was a gift?
 

“Come in and set it down at my desk,” said Spoiled coldly. As the door opened, she turned so that she wouldn’t have to look at the help. To her, doing so was unthinkable. They were naturally lower beings in every sense so that to look upon them was to look at something truly ugly. So, there she waited, staring at nothing until the door closed again.
 

Once closed, Spoiled turned to her desk to see a small package wrapped in brown paper. After walking over to it, she also spotted a note taped to the top with only her name on it. Nothing to tell who sent it. Not even a stamp or postmark meaning whoever delivered it to her did so in person. For a moment, Spoiled considered destroying the ‘gift’ on the spot without ever opening it. For some reason she had gotten hate mail and packages full of trash from various people. No doubt jealous of how rich she was. Frowning she tapped the package to find it hard, making a tapping noise.
 

Curious, she removed the note to at least see what it said. As she opened it, her internal alarms began to sound for this was not a handwritten note or one typed on a computer. No, it was like the ones a kidnapper would send to the family of its victim with the letters cut from a dozen or so magazines. Shocked by this, she nearly tossed it aside until something about the wording caught her attention.
 

“A Gift,” it read. “Use it as you see fit.”
 

Frowning, Spoiled took the note with both hands and crumbled it. She had no idea what game this person was playing, but whatever it was she wanted no part in it. Who in their right mind would trust something given to them by a stranger along with such an ominous note? The whole thing just came off as silly and half baked.
 

After crumpling the note and throwing it in the trash, Spoiled reached for the package but paused when she noticed that a piece of the brown wrapping had torn off. Probably when she had taken the note off. Looking down, she saw that it was an old VHS tape along with part of the title. A professional looking one at that. For a while, Spoiled stood there as she stared at the tape wondering what she should do. This certainly wasn’t what she had been expecting. Slowly she reached down to undo more of the wrapping. Really, there was no harm in just seeing the whole thing. Then, when the full title was on display, Spoiled’s eyes widened before a devious smile appeared on her face.
 

-x-
 

“What do you mean Vice-Principal Luna is fired?” demanded Celestia from behind her desk within her office. Sitting directly across from her was Spoiled Rich, a smug look on her face as she looked back at Celestia. On her right sat a man who was the Assistant Chairman of the School Board; a man by the man Documented Procedure. He was a slightly plump man with a far kinder face than his superior, looking like he did not enjoy this any more than Celestia. Finally, standing in the corner with her cheeks burning, was Luna.
 

“Just as I said,” replied Spoiled, her voice full of triumph. “The School Board has decided that your sister will no longer be working at this school. Nor any other school in this district.”
 

“Yes, I heard that part,” stated Celestia, a clear edge in her voice as she looked back at the woman. “But what I fail to understand is why. What cause do you have for firing the Vice Principal of my school? After everything that she has done for this school? You can’t just dismiss her without reason!”
 

“Believe me Principal Celestia, the majority of the School Board doesn’t want that either,” said Documented before Spoiled could say anything, earning a venomous look from her. “However, our hands are tied. Last night, a video came into our possession. One that, according to Spoiled Rich, contains images of your sister in a rather questionable state.”
 

“Y-You really found a copy?” asked a stunned Luna. When Spoiled nodded, Luna’s only reaction was to cover her face with her hands.
 

Shocked, Celestia turned to look at Documented. “Is it really that bad?” she asked.
 

“Well…I haven’t watched it myself,” he admitted. “Only Spoiled Rich has.” He then glanced over at Luna, letting out a little sigh before returning to look at Celestia. “Now, the members of the School Board wish to make it clear that they in no way desire to shame the Vice-Principal for any, ah, mistakes she might have made in her youth. We’ve all made our fair share of mistakes. However, we feel that if word ever came out about this it might cause an uproar with the parents. Not to mention how the students will see your sister.”
 

Despite the calm tone of Documented, as well as his kind wording, Celestia glared at Spoiled Rich. “Seems unfair to fire my sister without having the Board actually watch the video,” stated Celestia.
 

“Oh? You don’t think that my word is trustworthy?” asked Spoiled with a smirk. Rather than waiting for Celestia to reply, she turned to look at Luna whose hands were still covering her face. “Former Vice-Principal Luna, would it be fair to say that in that video you are shown in either skin tight attire or showing off large amounts of skin while also sweating while your rear is in the air?” Luna, whose voice had failed her, could only nod yes. “There, you see.”
 

“Even if that were true, what are the chances that anyone else will ever find the video?” pressed Celestia. “I mean, she’s been working here for years and no one has even heard of this video before.”
 

“You do have a point,” said Documented slowly. “And given the fact that she has done much for the school recently, perhaps we could-”
 

“No,” said Spoiled Rich flatly as she stood up. “As the Chairwoman of the School Board and as a mother of one of the students attending Canterlot High, I refuse to allow someone like Luna to have any position of authority here. The School Board has already made its vote so there is no more discussion. Ms. Luna, kindly remove yourself from these premises as soon as possible.”
 

With that, Spoiled turned and began walking out the door with Documented looking torn. Like he wanted to see if they could come to an understanding but knew that the conversation was over. As for Luna, she seemed frozen in place.
 

“I will fight to keep my sister at this school,” said Celestia firmly, causing Spoiled to stop in place. Slowly she looked at Celestia with an amused look on her face.
 

“You’re welcome to fight this in the courts,” replied Spoiled. “However, this expense will have to come out of your own pocket.”
 

“Why do it that way when we can settle this with a duel?” countered Celestia as she reached into her desk and pulled out her deck. She watched as Spoiled eyed the cards with a look of apprehension. “We’ll keep this simple. If I win, then my sister stays and I’ll be the one to deal with the consequences if anyone ever finds out. But if you win, then we both go.”
 

“Now now,” stammered Documented as he stood up. “There’s no need to-”
 

“An interesting offer,” interrupted Spoiled with a wicked grin on her face. “Very well, I accept your terms. Meet me in your new stadium in one hour along with the rest of the students. I want them to watch as I kick both sisters out of this school once and for all.”
> Vile Intentions Part 2 (Celestia vs Spoiled Rich)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” asked Sunset as she moved through the hallways along with the rest of the students of Canterlot High. Around her were her friends, all looking confused as they walked with the flow heading towards the stadium. Well, most of them looked confused. Twilight looked like a stranger had just kicked Spike onto the freeway while Rainbow looked like Christmas had come early.
 

“No more than the rest of ya’ll,” said Applejack with a shrug.
 

“Who cares?” asked an excited Rainbow Dash. “Whatever is going on just got me out of a biology test. I could seriously use some more time to study.”
 

“I was prepared,” mumbled Twilight as her head hung low, both Sonata and Fluttershy patting her on the back. “I had all my pencils in a neat row, memorized all my cue cards, theorized all of the extra credit problems. Now the test is probably going to change.” Twilight then gasped as her head lifted. There was now a sparkle in her eyes while a joyous smile appeared on her face. “Maybe the test will be harder! Something to challenge us!”


At that, Rainbow shuddered. “Let’s hope not,” she said, giving Twilight a dirty look.
 

“I just think that it’s weird to suddenly call the entire school into the stadium like this,” pressed Sunset, doing her best to keep them all on topic. “Even the teachers looked confused.”


“Oh, I’m sure it's nothing,” commented Rarity with a wave of her hand. “Probably just Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna wanting to make sure we appreciate being given such a marvelous place to duel, rather than having to do it outside. They’ll likely be going over rules, telling us how to schedule fields during lunch, and so on. Hmm, they could have invited Mr. Sombra over to say a few words.
 

“I guess that makes sense,” said Sunset as they left the hallways of the school and into the open air outside. There the students moved across the walkway towards the open double doors of the stadium ahead. Yet despite what Rarity had just said, she couldn’t help but think that something more was happening. Something that might just end up affecting all of them.
 

-x-
 

“Please Mrs. Rich, don’t you think you have taken this too far?” asked Documented. Both he and Spoiled Rich were in one of the locker rooms of the stadium, a large room with the walls lined with rows of small lockers meant to hold a backpack. A few feet from the walls were long wooden benches which were probably designed so that students could set things down without having to bend down. There were no sinks or bathrooms in this room as the public bathrooms were just down the hall, leaving only a single door in and out of this place.
 

Beyond that door, Documented could hear the students as they filled the stadium. It was impossible not to as their steps pounded above their heads while several voices were heard moving just outside their door. Sweat began to form around his face as he looked at Spoiled. She sat there on one of the benches, duel disk on one arm looking very calm.
 

“Hardly,” replied Spoiled in a smooth tone. “This was Celestia’s idea after all. If she really wants to protect her sister’s job than I’m more than willing to play her game. Of course I will honor the agreement she made; if she loses both of the sisters will be removed from this school.”
 

“But-” began Documented, but was silenced as Spoiled stood up. She looked at him like she always had: like an annoying fly to stick her nose up into the air at. That was something that all the members of the School Board hated about her. The way she looked down at people who had to work hard to make it to where they were while she had been born with a large amount of wealth before wedding a man whose wealth far surpassed her own.
 

“Both parties have agreed,” said Spoiled. Her tone was near patronizing, as if she thought she were speaking to a child. It was also meant to say the matter was settled. And, sadly, Documented knew that it was. Her mind was set.


-x-
 

“Sister, please. You don’t have to do this,” begged Luna. The darker sister was sitting in their own locker room, identical to the one being used by Spoiled on the opposite side of the stadium, watching as her sister inspected her deck. Both women could hear the sounds of the students moving through the building, their ears alert for the announcement that the duel would begin.
 

Guilt was building up within Luna. How could this have happened? That damned video was from so long ago and it barely sold mainly because advertisement of it could only be found on late night television. Specifically between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. According to what she was told only sixteen tapes were sold while the rest went to distribution centers. Once or twice since then she had tried looking up her old videos finding herself pleased to know that her searches came up with everything but that video. Heck, the producers never even had a web page. So she had felt confident that it was an embarrassing chapter of her life that was over. So how did this happen?
 

“Luna, you’re my sister,” said Celestia, her back facing Luna as she continued to go over her cards. “I’m not going to let that woman push you around like that.”
 

“But if you lose then the school loses you as well,” insisted Luna. “Think about it. If the both of us are forced to leave then that witch can put whoever she wants in our places. But with you here at least she can’t do whatever she wants!”
 

“You have a point,” admitted Celestia without pausing from examining her deck. “But we have been running this school together for years now. I trust you more than anyone else in this building. And there is no one else I would rather have at my side.”
 

At that, Lune let out a sigh. It was probably pointless right to argue any further. “Now I feel even worse for not telling you about why I’ve been so busy lately,” she said. At that, Celestia paused in her examination. Slowly, she turned to look at Luna before her gaze was averted.
 

“Yeah, about that,” began Celestia slowly. “I have been wondering why you’ve canceled so many of our sister times. If you don’t want to spend time with me I understand.”
 

At that Luna couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Sister, it isn’t about you,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve been taking online college courses at night.”
 

Celestia’s reaction to that was surprising, if not alarming. The first thing that happened was her head jerking upright, almost in alarm before she spun around so quickly that Luna was taken aback. Her eyes held the appearance of shock and her body seemed to tremble slightly. Was she…afraid?
 

“That’s what you’ve been doing?” asked Celestia, her body slowly trying to calm down. Now she looked nervous.
 

“…Yes,” replied Luna slowly after a pause. “Well, every night except last night. An old friend wanted to get together for dinner.” Luna then let out another sigh. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know if I would be continuing it. The plan was to wait until the end of the classes to see how I did. Then, if I was doing well I would tell you.”
 

“So you’re going to be leaving anyways?” asked Celestia looking like she had calmed down but with her shoulders hung. Luna stared at her sister for a moment before answering, realizing what she was going through. She was fighting to keep her sister’s job when Luna was planning on moving on anyways. A part of Luna blamed Spoiled yet knew, deep down, that this was on her. Yes, Spoiled created the situation but Luna should have told Celestia her plans earlier. Then, maybe, Celestia wouldn’t have made that challenge.
 

What’s more, it wasn’t like Luna didn’t have options if she lost her job. Sombra had made it clear that he would be willing to help her get into the pro-dueling league. There, she could make a nice sum of cash while trying to take her courses. Even if she didn’t do that, she could always get another job at another school. All she needed was a letter of recommendation from Celestia and a few of the other teachers. Heck, she might even be able to get one from Documented! Perhaps in the heat of the moment Celestia forgot to consider those things.
 

“Well, if you win, it won’t be for a while,” she said, trying her best to encourage her sister. That and to not make her think that she was doing this for nothing.
 

Her words seemed to do the trick as Celestia nodded, smiling at her before placing her deck in her duel disk. “Then I’ll be sure to win. If you do decide to go back to school, you’ll need all the financial help you can get.”
 

-x-
 

For several minutes, the entire school sat in their seats either talking to each other or looking down at the field below. Many had noticed that there was only one duel field present at the moment, one that encompassed nearly the entire floor. Those who saw this speculated on just what was going to happen. One popular rumor was that they were going to have Sombra dueling Vice-Principal Luna once again to celebrate the construction of the stadium. Others thought that maybe it was another dueling celebrity wanting to show off their skills to the students. A few even joked that a couple teachers got into a fight and were going to duel each other. Those who either didn’t notice this or didn’t care, just chatted with their friends.
 

“Attention students,” came a male voice over the P.A. system within the stadium, silencing everyone within. “You have all been pulled from your classes to observe the duel between Principal Celestia and the Chairwoman of the School Board, Spoiled Rich.”
 

As the voice on the P.A. system finished speaking, multiple things began to happen at once. On the ground, Spoiled Rich walked onto the field from one end while Celestia and her sister appeared on the opposite. At the same time, students were looking at each other in confusion as to why this was happening. Diamond Tiara, on the other hand, for a moment tried to hide by covering her head with her hands while also curling her body into a ball in her seat. This was short lived for Silver Spoon nudged her friend until she righted herself before pulling out her phone and sending a message. In another part of the stands was Pip, who was moving quickly along the stairways to get as close to the Vice-Principal as he could who was leaning against the wall to watch this.
 

“I hope you’re ready for this Celestia,” said Spoiled, her voice being easily carried throughout the stadium as she pointed at her opponent. “Because I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Once you lose, both you and your sister will be out of here!”
 

“I’m well aware,” replied Celestia calmly, closing her eyes and taking a breath as the crowd above her began to talk even more rapidly. Plenty of students loudly voiced their confusion, some even swearing aloud. Thanks to the size and the volume, these specific dirty mouthed student’s identities were left unknown.
 

Both elder women raised their dueling arms to show they were ready. “Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, massive when compared to the normal one. As it spun around, one side showing a sweetly smiling Celestia while the other was Spoiled with her nose in the air, the students began to settle down as they waited to see who would be going first. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, the crowd cheering as the image landed on Celestia.
 

“Looks like I’ll be going first,” announced Celestia as she drew her opening hand. Spoiled said nothing, merely drawing her own cards and briefly glancing at them with a superior smile on her face. The sight of Spoiled being so calm, hardly even looking at what she had drawn did not bode well for those who saw it.
 

“I draw!” yelled Celestia. With six cards in her hands, the crowd watched as she looked them over to quickly formulate her plan. “First, I’ll discard Hecatrice so that I can use its effect to add Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen from my deck to my hand. Then I’ll play it!” Appearing behind Celestia were several marble pillars as well as red silk curtains. Following that a stairway rose from the ground leading to a marble throne of some kind. “Since I control no monsters I am allowed to activate its effect: once per turn I can special summon one Fairy from my hand. Now show your respect to the Goddess of Wisdom herself: Athena!”
 

As Celestia placed her monster on her duel disk, a woman appeared on the steps behind her. Each step she took was followed by a clang caused by the silver spear/trident she carried in one hand while the other held a white shield that had golden rims. This woman was dressed in a white, Greek styled dress that seemed to emit a soft glow around her as well as a silver-bladed helm that covered her long white hair. Soon she took her place in front of her summoner, slamming her weapon into the ground with a clang as loud as thunder as her attack points were displayed at 2600.
 

“But there’s more because now I activate the spell card Celestial Transformation,” Celestia continued as Athena smiled. “This spell card allows me to special summon one Fairy from my hand at the cost of its attack points being cut in half as well as being destroyed at the end of the turn. So I’ll summon Agent of Judgment-Saturn!” The students gasped as, in the middle of the field, a small scale replica of the planet Saturn appeared. Then, from the gaseous planet, came a purple skinned figure with equally purple wings. This man was dressed in white robes with a thick, dark purple line going down the middle as well as a white headdress that had golden lining. His original 2400 attack points dropped to 1200 as he landed on the ground and the planet above their heads faded.
 

“Since I summoned a Fairy type monster, Athena’s effect activates dealing 600 points of damage directly to your life points,” shouted Celestia as the Goddess pointed her spear at Spoiled. From it emerged an owl made of white light that flew through the air, colliding with Spoiled’s gut. The other woman took several steps back as her life points dropped to 7400.
 

“A lucky move,” growled Spoiled as she looked coldly at Athena.
 

“Well, there’s more to that move,” said Celestia in a matter of fact tone. “Because now I tribute my Agent to summon Tethys, Goddess of Light!” Agent of Judgment vanished in a flash of blue light and was replaced by a winged woman who floated a foot off the ground. She was dressed in an elegant white dress, trimmed in gold whose bottom was stripped and the strands pointed in every direction. Her wings were not attached to her body, but blue orbs floated behind her shoulder blades and the wings floated just above those. Her attack points were 2400.
 

“Since I summoned another Fairy, you know what that means,” said Celestia as Athena pointed her weapon at Spoiled again. Another owl went flying towards Celestia’s opponent, ramming into her.
 

“These little tricks are eating up your hand,” sneered Spoiled as her life points fell to 6800.
 

“True,” admitted Celestia as she looked at the two remaining cards in her hand. “I’ll set a face down and then pass it to you.”
 

“About time. I draw,” said Spoiled as she drew her card. With six cards in her hand, Spoiled glanced at them before looking down at Celestia. “Now it’s my turn to teach you a lesson. The difference between a commoner like yourself verses a member of high society.”
 

“Go ahead,” said Celestia as Spoiled reached for a card in her hand. But before she could play anything, Celestia had already pressed a button on her duel disk. “I activate my trap card: Jar of Greed. This lets me draw one card.” Spoiled frowned as Celestia drew a card. The Principal looked at what she had drawn before showing it to Spoiled. “I just drew Zeradias, Herald of Heaven. Since I drew him Tethys, Goddess of Light’s effect activates allowing me to draw once more.”
 

“Pitiful,” sneered Spoiled. “All that work to draw two cards. But I suppose I should have expected as much.” Calmly, Spoiled inserted a card into her duel disk. “I’ll play the spell card Pre-Preparation of Rite. Now I can add two cards from my deck to my hand. One ritual monster and the ritual spell card that lists that monster’s name.”
 

-x-
 

“So she uses a ritual deck as well,” said Sunset as she looked down at the field. For a moment she sat there, thinking hard about what kind of deck she might be using. This was a little difficult since she really didn’t know that many ritual decks in the game. Not many people played them. In fact she knew of only one person in the school and, luckily that girl was seated just a few seats away from her. “Hey Sonata, any idea what deck she might be playing?”
 

Sonata looked at her and shrugged. “No clue,” she said. “I don’t even use that card.”
 

“What?!?” cried Rainbow, who was seated in the row right behind the two girls. “But that card is perfect for a ritual deck like yours.”
 

“You would think that,” said Sonata as her gaze turned to the ceiling, sighing as she did so. “I mean, I was excited when it was announced. It sounded like I could search any of my ritual spells and any monster…at first. Only thing is that my ritual cards don’t list the full names of my ritual monster.” Sonata then looked rather thoughtful. “In fact, I think that most ritual decks these days do something similar. One ritual spell card that works for the entire archetype. So, if I had to guess, she’s probably using older ritual monsters.”
 

“So that means that Principal Celestia has a good shot at winning, right?” asked Fluttershy who was seated next to Rainbow. “I mean, I’ve never seen her duel before, but she seems to have some powerful monsters on her side of the field.”
 

“Yeah, come to think about it, I’ve never seen Principal Celestia duel as well,” admitted Sunset. “In fact, I don’t think Princess Celestia back in my world knew how to duel. But she does seem to be doing well.” Yet as she spoke Sunset, along with the rest of her friends, could not shake a foreboding feeling around them.
 

-x-
 

As the girls spoke, Spoiled’s deck began to shuffle rapidly. When it stopped, two cards slid out from the top which Spoiled took. “Now to play my new cards. I activate the ritual spell card Black Illusion Ritual. By tributing the Millennium-Eyes Illusionist in my hand I can ritual summon one of the oldest and most powerful monsters in the game.”  Appearing in front of Spoiled was a large golden jar with horns on its sides and an Egyptian styled eye engraved in the middle. On both sides of the jar were golden burners. As Spoiled sent a card from her hand to her graveyard smoke was emitted from the jar as the image of the monster she had sent appeared within the purple haze before quickly being sucked back in.
 

“Born of the darkest arts,” chanted Spoiled as the jar began to grow and morph. “Created to be the ultimate weapon. Come now to serve at your master’s call. Ritual Summon: Relinquished!” The jar’s color began to change, turning from gold to a greenish grey. As it grew to double the size of Spoiled, parts of the front rose upwards as if they were the shell protecting the wings of a beetle but on the front. Thick arms began to grow from its sides, ending in gauntlet-like hands with talon-like digits at its end. The creature had no feet but ended in a point like a top as it hovered above the ground. And above that point was a round hole that served as the creature's mouth, pulsating and drooling. Finally, a single eyestalk came out  right above its mouth which held the ‘eye’ symbol on it. This creature had no attack points.
 

“Now, since I special summoned Relinquished my Millennium-Eyes Illusionist returns to my hand,” continued Spoiled as her card shot out of her graveyard slot. “Then I’ll activate the effect of my Relinquished, absorbing Athena into it!” As she said this, the mouth of her ritual monster began to inhale. The crowd watched as both of Celestia’s monsters braced themselves with Athena impaling her spear into the ground in order to keep her ground. But the force was too great, her hand slipped from her weapon. Tethys tried her best to reach out but it was too late as Athena was devoured by Relinquished. The students gasped as they all saw Relinquished’s ‘wings’ lower themselves as if to protect its body, Athena now half consumed within the monster’s body. What’s more, the monster’s attack rose to 2600!
 

“Let’s see how well you deal with this,” said Spoiled with a smirk as she pointed to Tethys. “Relinquished, remove that prissy eyesore from my sigh!” Relinquished’s eye began to glow purple before firing a beam that struck Tethys in the chest. The Goddess cried out in pain before exploding.
 

“My monster!” yelled Celestia as her life points dropped to 7800.
 

“I believe that’ll do for this turn,” said Spoiled. “Lets see if you can squirm your way out of this. But I doubt it.”
 

“We’ll see. I draw,” yelled Celestia as she drew her card. With four cards in her hand, she looked at her options before placing a card in her spell/trap slot. “I play the spell card Cards from the Sky! By banishing one Light Fairy monster from my hand, I’m allowed to draw two more cards. So I’ll be saying goodbye to Zeradias, Herald of Heaven.” Calmly, Celestia pocketed her monster before drawing two more cards. “Next I’ll play the spell card Shards of Greed which will help me out later. Unfortunately there’s nothing else I can do this turn so I’ll end it here.”
 

“How sad for you,” said Spoiled with a bit of a laugh as she drew. With six cards in her hand, she merely glanced at them again before looking back at Celestia. “I suppose this is the best someone of your class can manage. A pity, but not surprising at all.” She then placed a card on her card tray. “I summon Armageddon Knight in attack mode!” Standing next to Relinquished was a warrior clad in old, rusty samurai-ish armor with a red scarf covering his face. His attack was 1400. “When this monster is summoned, I am allowed to send any dark monster from my deck to the graveyard. Something like my Thousand Eyes Idol.” Once again, Spoiled’s deck began to shuffle itself rapidly before spitting out a single card which its owner sent to the graveyard.
 

“Let's cut your life points down, shall we,” said Spoiled in a mocking tone. “Both monsters attack her directly!” As Armageddon Knight ran across the field, Relinquished fired another eye laser at Celestia which hit her in the gut. Sent backwards by the blast, Celestia’s life points dropped to 5200. Armageddon Knight’s attack was next, slashing at her as Celestia continued to fall to the ground. By the time the Principal had landed back against the ground her life points had dropped all the way to 3800.
 

“Utterly pathetic,” sneered Spoiled as Celestia slowly got back up. “You don’t even have enough wits about you to know when it's in your best interests to stay down.” Nose raised again, Spoiled picked out a card from her hand and slid it into one of the spell/trap card slots. “Not that I think I’ll need it, but I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”
 

“Then I draw!” yelled Celestia as she drew her card, the total in her hand now four. “First of all, my Shards of Greed gains a counter. Then I’ll play the field spell Sanctuary in the Sky.” Opening up the side of her duel disk, Celestia slid in the card. As she closed it a valley of clouds appeared overhead with a temple seated upon them. “Then I’ll place one card face down and then set two more cards. That’s all.”
 

“Yes, that’s all,” commented Spoiled as she drew her card. Calmly she added the card to the rest of the ones in her hand, giving her a total of five. “I’m not sure why, but I expected you to at least try to put up more of a fight. Let's see what pathetic monster you have hiding there. Armageddon Knight, cut it down now!” Armageddon Knight did as its master commanded, racing towards Celestia’s face down card and slicing it in two. As it did, the image of an orange reef appeared in its place sliced in half moments before it was destroyed.
 

“The card you just destroyed was my Nova Summoner,” said Celestia as a screen appeared in front of her. “When it’s destroyed in battle I can special summon another fairy to take its place. As long as its attack is 1500 or less that is.” Celestia began to scroll down the screen until she found what she was looking for. The crowd watched as her deck began to shuffle once more before a card popped out from the top which was then taken and placed on her duel disk. “So please welcome The Agent of Wisdom – Mercury!” Appearing above them was a greenish blue planet as another angelic figure descended downwards. This figure's skin matched the planet’s, and he wore blue sleeveless robes that showed off the tattoos on his shoulders. In one hand he carried several stone tablets and his attack was 0.
 

Everyone around looked on in confusion as Celestia’s monster hovered in front of her in attack mode. It was strange to see this since, well, Celestia would lose nearly the rest of her life points if her opponent attacked. Some even guessed that that’s what she wanted based on the slew of face down cards she had. But that seemed a little too obvious. This went for Spoiled as well, looking at the new monster on the field and then at the back row where the two face down cards could still be seen.
 

“Alright Celestia, I’ll call your bluff,” she said at last. “Relinquished, attack Mercury!”
 

“I activate my face down card!” shouted Celestia as Relinquished fired another purple beam towards her. At the same time, it hit an invisible barrier. “It’s called Draining Shield. Not only will this card protect my monster but I’ll also gain life points equal to the attack of your monster.” Grinning, Celestia looked at the readings on her duel disk showing that her life points were now at 6400.
 

“Pitiful,” sneered Spoiled. “I’ll set one more card face down and end my turn. I end my turn.”
 

“And I get to draw,” said Celestia as she drew her card. As she did, the tome Mercury held began to glow. “Now my monster’s effect activates. Since I held no cards in my hand during your last end phase I get to draw another card. Not only that, but my Shard of Greed gains another counter. With two on it, I can send it to the graveyard in order to draw two more cards.” By the time she was finished, Celestia now had four cards in her hand.
 

“With that out of the way, I special summon The Agent of Entropy – Uranus!” declared Celestia with a triumphant grin on her face. Once more a planet appeared above before a winged angelic figure descended to the field. Only this one looked more like a fallen angel, with four black wings and tattered black robes. The only part of his clothing that looked intact was the large golden collar around his neck. His skin looked like that of a pale, blue zombie and his hair was light blue while he held in both hands a staff. In that staff was a large red stone that let out a soft glow. His attack was 2200.
 

“His effect allows me to special summon him from my hand as long as Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field,” explained Celestia as Spoiled looked like someone had put dog droppings under her nose. “He also has another effect which I’ll use right now. By sending my Agent of Miracles – Jupiter from my deck to the graveyard, I can adjust Uranus’ level to match. Mean he goes from a level five monster to a level four. And guess what? Uranus is a tuner monster. So I’ll tune him with my level four Mercury.” At that, her two fairy monsters flapped their wings as they rose up into the sky. While up in the air, Uranus transformed into four green rings while Mercury’s body broke apart into four stars. The stars flew into the tunnel created by the green circles as Celestia began her chant. “The planets align, opening up a portal to the divine. Galloping on wishes and hopes, come forth true hero! Synchro Summon level eight: Avenging Knight Parshath!”
 

A pillar of white light came through the tunnel created by Celestia’s monsters and from that arose a centaur-like creature. It’s entire body was white and glowed with what felt like a holy radiance. On the back of its horse half were white wings which were protected by gold and blue armor at the joints. Its upper human body was protected by blue armor on its chest while it carried a white sword of light in one hand and a golden shield with a large green gem in it in the other. It’s attack points were 2600.
 

“Congratulations Celestia,” said Spoiled in a mocking tone. “You finally got a monster on the field that’s as strong as my Relinquished. Not like it will do you any good. If your plan was to attack me in the hopes that both monsters will be taken out, you’d better rethink your plan. Relinquished will survive by sending the monster equipped to it to the graveyard!”
 

“Who said I was done,” countered Celestia as she held up another card. “I still haven’t normal summoned yet. So I summon to the field the Agent of Mystery – Earth!” Above Celestia’s head was the unmistakable image of the earth. Flying down to the field from it was a white skinned and robed woman with green wings that slowly changed to blue. In one hand she had a staff with a blue orb at the end. “When I normal summon Earth, I can go through my deck to add one Agent monster to my hand. Unless I have Sanctuary in the Sky in play that is. Instead I can add one Master Hyperion!”
 

“But before I do anything with him, I’ll tune my level 2 Agent of Mystery – Earth with my level eight Avenging Knight Parshath,” continued Celestia as her monsters rose again. Earth turned into two rings while the Avenging Knight became eight stars, quickly turning into a pillar of light. “Noble loin of the divine. From thy sacred service, I call to you to ask for your aid. Synchro Summon level 10: Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree!” Appearing from the portal was a massive lion that towered over Celestia and Spoiled. Most likely, it would have been larger if they were not indoors. Everyone could feel the power of this 3100 attack point monster, even Spoiled who backed up a step as Leo roared. Leo was clad in white armor, with bits of green seen underneath it. On its back were curved spikes which twisted to its front with what looked like insect wings draped on it. Its mane was made of rose petals and Leo wore a white helmet with large black horns coming out of it.
 

“And I’m not done just yet!” said Celestia. “I remove Agent of Mystery – Earth from my graveyard in order to special summon the star of my deck: Master Hyperion!” As she removed the card from her graveyard, a figure rose up from behind her. This one was massive, hiding the students seated behind the principal from view as jets of flames burst out from around this monster. Students cried out as the flames came close to touching them while others who were close began to feel claustrophobic due to the amount of space this creature took up. Master Hyperion was a man, of sorts, dressed in ornate armor of black, gold, and orange. His silver face was looking down, but not at the duel that was taking place. No, instead it seemed to stare at the solar system which floated in the air between his two outstretched silver hands. His attack was 2700.
 

“I activate the effect of Master Hyperion,” announced Celestia. “By removing one Fairy from my graveyard, I can destroy one card on your side of the field. So I’ll banish my Tethys, Goddess of Light to have him destroy Relinquished!” Spoiled gritted her teeth as Celestia’s duel disk spat out a monster card followed by Relinquished bursting into flames before exploding.
 

“By destroying my Relinquished, you activated the effect of the Illusionist Faceless Magician in my hand allowing me to summon him to the field in defense mode,” declared Spoiled. Before her appeared a frightening sight of a robed figure on one knee. On his right shoulder was the dollish head of a girl while the opposite had a similar head but of a boys’. As for this creature's own head, it was smooth and featureless save for the massive smiling lips. Its defense was 2200.
 

“Since Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field Master Hyperion can activate his effect for a second time,” continued Celestia as she tried not to look at the creepy spellcaster now on the field. “So this time I’ll banish my Athena that just returned to my graveyard in order to destroy your Illusionist Faceless Magician.” Once more another card was ejected from Celestia’s graveyard as her opponent’s monster burst into flames. But, instead of melting like normal it melted onto the field as if it were made of wax. Quickly the liquefied remains of the Faceless Magician began to form a summoning circle. The circle then began to glow as Relinquished reappeared on the fiend in defense mode.
 

“As you can see, my Magician has another effect,” said Spoiled with a smug smile. “When destroyed by battle or card effect, it returns Relinquished to the field. Sadly, I can only use each of its effects once per turn.”
 

Celestia gritted her teeth before pointing at Armageddon Knight. “Leo, destroy her Knight,” she shouted. Leo pounced at once, his front paws coming down on Armageddon Knight with the force of two semi-trucks. A massive force of wind was sent out in all directions, forcing Spoiled to brace herself while her life points dropped to 5100. “Master Hyperion, destroy Relinquished once and for all!” Master Hyperion didn’t move at all, but Relinquished was lifted high into the air before bursting into flames once again.
 

“With that I end my-”
 

“Not so fast Celestia,” interrupted Spoiled. “I activate my face down card: Relinquished Fusion! I banish my Relinquished and my Armageddon Knight in my graveyard to bring out something far more frightening!” Dark clouds appeared above the dueling arena as Spoiled began her chant. “Mystic forces far and wide, opening up the eyes of possibilities. Add to the hunger of this loyal servant to make it an unstoppable terror. Fusion summon Millennium – Eyes Restrict!” Descending from the clouds was a massive version of Relinquished, easily the size of Leo. Only this one now had gold skin with hundreds of eyes all over its body. Instead of a point at its bottom there was a thorny circle and above the thing that passed for the creature’s mouth were two glowing green eyes. It still had the eye stalk, but the eye was now decorated with a sort of crown as well as an Egyptian styled beard. This monster had 0 attack points.
 

“Now that he’s been summoned I’ll activate the effect of the Millennium – Eyes Illusionist in my hand,” continued Spoiled. “By discarding it, I can target one of your monsters and equip it to my Millennium – Eyes Restrict! I think your Leo’s power is more suited for someone like myself.”
 

“That’s-,” began Celestia, but her words were cut off as Millennium – Eyes Restrict began to inhale. Leo tried to fight it by digging his claws into the ground but it was no use, he was just dragged towards the monstrosity while leaving claw marks in the ground. Everyone watched as Leo was consumed, Millennium – Eyes Restrict’s ‘wing’ coming down to protect it while Leo was merged with it. Now Spoiled’s monster had 3100 attack points.
 

“Now, to further show you your place, I activate my other face down: Imperial Order,” laughed Spoiled as her card flipped face up. “From now on, all spell effects on the field are negated. That means no more drawing cards, no more special summoning monsters from your hand, and when I attack you’ll feel it.” Spoiled paused to smirk wickedly at Celestia. “Oh my, how rude of me. It’s still your turn. Go on.”
 

Celestia let out a growl. “I end my turn,”
 

“Then I draw,” said Spoiled as she drew. With three cards in her hand, Spoiled fanned them briefly as her trap card began to glow. “In order to keep my Imperial Order up and running, I am forced to give up 700 life points during each of my stand by phases.”
 

-x-
 

Meanwhile, back in the stands, Sunset and her friends were on the edge of their seats as they watched the duel. Even Fluttershy, who normally would have been curled into a ball on the ground doing her best to hide behind the seat in front of her. Instead, she gripped her seat with both hands tightly as a look of rage appeared on her face.
 

“That big meanie!” growled the normally sweet-hearted girl, her eye twitching as she did. “How dare it do something like that to such a kind, gentle looking loin? It’s downright criminal.”
 

“Ah, yeah,” muttered Rainbow as she leaned away from Fluttershy. “But, why didn’t Spoiled Bitch activate that trap at the start of Principal Celestia’s turn? Or at the start of her turn so she didn’t have to pay the cost?”
 

Applejack looked over at her friend with a disapproving look. “First of all Rainbow, it’s Spoiled Rich,” she said.
 

Rainbow merely crossed her arm. “I know what I said,” she replied, earning a sigh from AJ.
 

“It’s not too difficult to understand if you really think about it,” said Twilight, keeping her eyes on Spoiled’s field. “Imperial Order is a limited card, one that also affects her side of the field as well. If she used it too soon then she wouldn’t have been able to activate her fusion spell or any of her ritual spell cards after that. Meaning she feels confident that Principal Celestia can’t destroy it.”
 

“And it was still Principal Celestia’s turn when Spoiled summoned that monster,” continued Sunset. “Principal Celestia might have had a spell card that could have helped her. It seems unlikely, but there was a chance.”
 

“But, Principal Celestia can still win…right?” asked Pinkie. Nobody, however, answered the pink skinned girl.
 

-x-
 

“I believe it's time we ended this exercise in futility,” continued Spoiled Rich after her life points had dropped to 4400. Smugly, she pressed a button on her duel disk so that a screen appeared in front of her. “I activate the graveyard effect of my Relinquished Fusion.”
 

“But your trap card,” began Celestia. However her words died in her throat as she watched a spell card slip out of Spoiled’s graveyard.
 

“Oh Celestia. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that the devil is in the details,” laughed Spoiled. “Imperial Order only negates the effects of spell cards on the field. Now then, by removing this card during my main phase my Millennium – Eyes Restrict gets to absorb another monster. Like Master Hyperion for example.” Students cried out in dismay as Celestia’s only remaining monster was sucked into Millennium – Eyes Restrict. When it ended, only one of Master Hyperion’s hands was seen sticking out of the creatures ‘wing’. At the same time, Millennium – Eyes Restrict’s attack rose to 5800.
 

“Impressive, isn’t it,” said Spoiled as she gestured to her monster. “This is the power of an upper class deck. With this, I can even destroy my daughter’s silly Ultimate Blue – Eyes. Nothing can stop me from getting what I want. Millennium – Eyes Restrict, take her down!” All of Millennium – Eyes Restrict’s began to glow gold before beams of light shot out of them. But instead of going in every direction, the beams bent a few feet away from the monster so that now all of them were heading towards Celestia.
 

“I won’t go down that easily!” shouted Celestia as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “You might have taken away my spell cards, but I still have traps! Like this one: Miraculous Descent! With it, I bring back my banished Earth in defense mode!” Agent of Mystery – Earth appeared on the field in defense mode, kneeling with her arms covering her chest. But she wasn’t there for long as she was instantly destroyed by Millennium – Eyes Restrict.
 

“You might have saved yourself that time, but how long do you think you can hold up?” sneered Spoiled. “I end my turn!”
 

“Then I draw!” announced Celestia. At first she looked hopeful at the card she had drawn only to look downtrodden. Instead of adding it with the other two cards in her hand, Celestia quickly placed it on her duel disk. “I place one card face down and end my turn.”
 

“Seems like you used up all your steam last turn,” mocked Spoiled as she drew. As she added the card to her hand, giving her a total of four cards, her trap card began to glow again. Frowning, she saw that her life points were now 3700. “I hope you’re not trying to run out the clock as it were. Millennium – Eyes Restrict, destroy her monster!” Once more, golden beams of light came out of all the eyes of Millennium – Eyes Restrict which bent so that they now targeted Celestia’s face down monster. When they hit, the monster was revealed to be another Nova Summoner.
 

“When Nova Summoner is destroyed and-”
 

“Activating its effect?” interrupted Spoiled. “I don’t think so. I activate Millennium – Eyes Restrict’s quick effect, allowing it to absorb another monster from either your field or graveyard. And I choose your Nova Summoner!” Millennium – Eyes Restrict began to inhale once again, the ground being uprooted by the suction. Soon enough Nova Summoner was pulled out from the ground and consumed by Millennium – Eyes Restrict, becoming a part of its body as well as adding its strength to it. Now Millennium – Eyes Restrict had 7200 attack points! “And just so you know, monsters with the same name as the monsters consumed by my Millennium – Eyes Restrict cannot attack nor can they activate their effects! On that happy note, I end my turn.”
 

“Then I draw!” shouted Celestia, desperation in her voice as she drew.  She looked at the card she had drawn before slipping it in her spell/trap card slot. “I’ll set this card and…and that’s all.” As her turn ended, Celestia hung her head in defeat while her hands were clenched tightly.
 

“Then time to end this,” cried Spoiled gleefully as she drew. With five cards in her hand, her trap began to glow once more and dropping her life points to 3000. Spoiled didn’t mind as she picked one of the cards in her hand and held it up. “Just in case I banish the four cards in my hand along with the fourteen cards still in my extra deck face down to special summon Eater of Millions!” Now appearing on her side of the field was a large creature about her size, lizard-like with a row of very sharp teeth. Its body was long, the projectors showing it to go out through the double doors of the stadium. As for its attack points, right now they were at zero.
 

“This monster is very special as its attack is equal to the number of face down banished monsters times 100,” said Spoiled as she crossed her arms, her monster’s attack rising to 1800. “Of course it can grow stronger. At the start of the damage step, it can banish whatever monster you have face down. So it’s power will only continue to grow! Now, Eater of Millions, attack!” Eater of Million began to exhale, sending duel monster cards flying at Celestia at frightening speed.
 

But as they neared her, Celestia raised her head so that everyone could see her smile. “I activate my trap card: Skill Drain!” she announced. As her life points dropped to 5400, the cards that were flying towards her disintegrated in mid-air. At the same time, steam was coming off of both Spoiled’s monsters as they now looked sick.
 

“W-What have you done?!?” shouted Spoiled as her monster’s attacks went to 0.
 

“Skill Drain is a trap that negates the effects of all monsters on the field,” said Celestia calmly. “All at the cost of 1000 of my life points.”
 

“There’s no way,” yelled Spoiled. “There’s no way you could have drawn that card!”
 

“Spoiled, why do you think I used Cards from the Sky when the duel first began, giving up my only means of defending myself,” asked Celestia as she stared at Spoiled. “Ever since I saw your ritual monster, I knew my best chance to claim victory was to get this trap card. So I’ve been taking every chance I could get to dig through my deck hoping to draw this one card. Now, you have monsters with no attack points and a trap card which will continue to eat away at your life points while preventing the two of us from using spell cards.”
 

“I…I end my turn,” growled Spoiled, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
 

“Then I draw,” announced Celestia, drawing her card in a sweeping motion. Now with three cards in her hand, she placed one on her duel disk with a slight smile. “I summon the Agent of Miracles – Jupiter to the field in attack mode!” Above their heads appeared the gas giant Jupiter and, like before, an angelic figure descended from it. Jupiter had rust colored skin with bright red tattoos on his body. His pants and headdress had a very Egyptian feel to them, both looking like they had been made out of white cotton. His attack points were 1800.
 

“Time to free my monsters from your monster,” stated Celestia. “Jupiter, destroy her Millennium – Eyes Restrict!” The Agent of Miracles, who had been floating in the air, soared over to Spoiled’s side of the field as his right fist began to glow green. Once he was close enough, Jupiter let out a cry of rage before sending his fist right into Millennium – Eyes Restrict’s main eye. The whole school watched as Restrict’s body looked like it was expanding, as if it were a balloon being filled with too much air. Eventually Spoiled’s monster exploded, sending bits and pieces everywhere which dissolved as soon as the pieces touched the ground. At the same time, Spoiled’s life points took a hit dropping to 1200.
 

“I end my turn,” said Celestia.
 

“I can still turn this around!” roared Spoiled, a look of utter frustration on her face as she drew. Before she could look at what she had drawn, her life points dropped again thanks to her own trap card stopping at 500. With a twitching eye, Spoiled looked at what she had drawn and moved to put it in her spell/trap slot. However, when she did her duel disk rejected the card as a screen with a large red X on it appeared before her. Frustration growing, Spoiled tried her hardest to put it in again. To play the card she had just drawn. Yet the result was the same.
 

“I…I play one card face down,” panted Spoiled, her duel disk finally accepting this order. “I’ll also switch my Eater of Millions to defense mode before I end my turn.”
 

“I draw,” said Celestia. After drawing her card she looked at it and quickly placed it on the field. “I summon my Mystical Shine Ball in attack mode!” With a flash and a ‘pop’ sound, a glowing white sphere with 500 attack points appeared on the field. “Now both monsters attack and end this duel.” Jupiter took off like a jet while Shine Ball just seemed to scoot across the field. With another passionate cry, Jupiter rammed his glowing fist into Eater of Million. Like with Millennium – Eyes Restrict, its body began to expand more and more until Eater of Millions exploded. By then, Mystical Shine Ball, reached Spoiled and just…began to glow brightly. That was it. It wasn’t even a blinding light, more like something that would annoy a person. But at least it got the job done as Spoiled Rich’s life points dropped to 0.
 

As the holograms began to fade, Spoiled fell to her knees in shock while the stadium erupted into cheers. Students were standing and jumping, clapping and hollering madly. Normally Luna would be on them like a whip, ready to remind the students that this sort of behavior was not allowed and to punish the ones who were going overboard. But instead she looked besides herself with relief, slumping against the wall as Pip managed to somehow get besides her.
 

“It’s over,” said Celestia, more to herself than anything. Yet as she began to turn around she caught movement from Spoiled’s side of the field. The rich woman looked ready to kill, teeth clenched tightly.
 

“Do you really think this is over?!?” she yelled, causing the stadium to be filled with boos.
 

“Madam Chairwoman,” said Documented loudly as he approached his superior. “Please, let's try and be a good sport. You both put up a good match and-”
 

“How long Celestia?” shouted Spoiled, a glint of evil in her eyes as she interrupted Documented. “How long before your students find that video of your sister? How long before their parents are in an outrage when they find out that you let her teach after that?”
 

Celestia stood there, looking shell shocked with her mouth hanging open. Around her, the boos had stopped and were replaced by whispers. Curiosity was now in the air, not helped by the look on Documented’s face. His eyes were wide with shock, sweat now appearing now his face as he looked around nervously. Then there was Spoiled who looked like she had triumphed! Spoiled straightened up and-
 

“Vice-Principal Luna’s video isn’t that bad,” came a familiar voice. Celestia’s eyes went wide as did Spoiled’s as they both turned to look at who had spoken. There, standing next to Luna (whose face had changed from blue to a burning red) was Pip who looked back at them innocently.
 

“You’ve seen the video?” asked Celestia.
 

Pip tilted his head a little. “Seen it?” he echoed. “I own three copies.”
 

-x-
 

“Oh yeah. Just like that. You’re all doing great!” came Luna’s voice from the television within the library. Only the Luna on the scene was a bit different than the one sitting in front of it with her face still bright red, hands hiding her face. This Luna was younger, maybe around eighteen years old. Her body was fit and slender while her blue hair was tied in a tight ponytail to keep it from falling into her face. This younger Luna’s body also glistened with sweat as she moved her body across the screen, soaking her sports bra and skin tight pants as she brought her knees high into the air. Cheesy music played in the background as she and several other people in the video worked out.
 

Standing around the embarrassed Luna were only a handful of people. Celestia was there of course, looking like she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or shake her head in exasperation. Documented was doing his best to keep his face neutral while shooting death glares at Spoiled. Meanwhile, Spoiled was doing her best not to look at anyone in the room. Then, finally, there was Pip the owner of this copy of the video. He had just returned from his home (with approval from Principal Celestia of course) with one of the copies of his videos. Now he stood there with a look of pride.
 

“Pip,” said Celestia slowly after a bit. “Where did you find this?”
 

“Well,” began a smiling Pip. “After I found out that Vice-Principal Luna was Nightmare Moon I knew I just had to find out if she was ever in anything else. I couldn’t find anything online, but there’s this old pawn shop that me mum likes to take me to sometimes. The place had a small stack of the tapes, all in mint condition! Funny really. Must've passed them by every time I visited in the past and never noticed them.”
 

“And you bought three because?” inquired Documented.
 

“Well one was to watch, naturally. The second I keep under lock and key to preserve. I mean, once everyone found out that Vice-Principal Luna was Nightmare Moon those things would be hunted down like crazy. Someone might even try to steal it! The third is a back up that I keep in a safety deposit box in the bank.” Pip’s tone throughout all of this sounded like all of this was the most natural thing in the world. But as he finished talking, it seemed like he finally read the room. As if talking about his fan love of Luna had distracted him from so long that the real world was now catching up with him. “But, ah, what’s so wrong about these videos. I mean, doesn’t seem like a reason to fire anyone.”
 

“No, it isn’t,” said Documented, his voice sounding like he was in a losing battle to restrain his anger. “It seems like the school board was horribly misinformed about the contents of the video.”
 

“I did no such thing,” said Spoiled quickly as she turned to Documented. There was a fire in her eyes that had greatly dimmed since the beginning of this whole ordeal. The way she held herself showed that she had lost a great deal of her former bravado, like she was running on steam or sheer force of will right now. But she did her best to sound confident. “Everything I said about the video was true. From a certain point of view that is. Why, I even asked Luna about the contents and she agreed. And as a mother, I would have been horrified to know that one of the adults in this school had been involved in something like this.”
 

“You purposely misled us,” Documented growled. He then turned to the Vice-Principal whose face was still red. “Miss Luna, please, for the sake of my own sanity, why didn’t you just explain that this was just a poorly done work-out video. If you had done that you could have saved us all a lot of time!”
 

Luna didn’t say anything at first, but slowly looked up at Documented with an expression that caused all of his anger to ebb quickly. “This is mortifying,” she sniffed before turning to look at the video. “I never noticed anything while I was making it, but…look at me in that outfit covered in sweat. The only reason I got that job was because I was slightly attractive. All to sell someone else’s workout because Heavy Weight’s appearance wouldn’t attract people. And it still didn’t sell. So I couldn’t even help with that! It was just another one of my many failures!”
 

“I don’t think you did badly in it,” said Pip. Luna turned to him with a frown on her face that made him shrink a bit.
 

“Pip, the only reason you bought that wasn’t because you thought you could lose weight or stay fit,” she said. “It was because I just so happen to be in it. That doesn’t exactly fill me with pride.”
 

“Well,” said Celestia as she stepped forward. “Be that as it may, my sister wasn’t the one who started this whole mess. And while her silence only made things worse, I think we can all understand past regrets. So I hope her termination will be rescinded.”
 

Documented, must to Spoiled’s shock, nodded. “I will make sure of it,” he said. “However, there might be some slight disciplinary action taken. Nothing too extreme given the circumstance as it is.” He then glanced over at Spoiled. “We will also make sure that something like this never happens again.”
 

With that, Documented walked out of the room without a single word of goodbye. As he moved towards the door everyone saw him ram his hand into his pocket and pull out his phone. Seeing this Spoiled rushed out after him, her cheeks turning red as she did so. When the doors closed the three that remained could hear the loud voices of the two which slowly softened as she moved away.
 

For a moment, no one said anything until Celestia cleared her throat. “I guess I’d better get back to my office. Plenty of forms to fill out because of this mess.”
 

“Sister, wait a moment,” said Luna before Celestia could take more than a few steps. “I…I’m sorry for everything. And thank you for sticking up for me like that. If there’s anything I can do to repay you all you need to do is ask.”
 

Celestia turned to look at Luna, with a smile on her face. “Oh Luna, you’re my sister. You know I would do anything to make you happy. Besides, we were meant to work at this school together.” She then paused for a moment as if something crossed her mind, her smile faltered for a moment. “But, since you’re offering, could you not cancel any of our other nightly traditions? Other than the Tuesday and Thursday ones of course since they mean so much to you. I just feel so lonely without you.”
 

Luna looked surprised by this, but nodded. “Of course sister,” she said.
 

Then, as Celestia walked towards the door, she heard Pip say, “I actually do work out to those videos.”
 

-x-
 

Luna groaned into her phone, listening to Sombra laugh his ass off on the other end. It was much later that night, not that she could tell as she sat alone in her basement. In truth she had bought this place specifically because she liked the old fashioned look of the basement. The walls were covered by wood paneling, making it easy to hang up pictures and other things with candlestick lighting sticking out of them. What was an interesting design was that if you pulled on the right one, part of the wall would open up leading to the washroom. On one side of the basement was a stone fireplace, large enough so that she could lay in it comfortably. Not that she would of course. But it was the perfect spot for her to have a roaring fire on a cold winter night as she read a book. Far better than one of those fake fireplaces. Luna was sitting on a stool directly across from the fireplace where her bar was situated. Not that she drank or anything. She had imagined a time when she bought the place, having friends and co-workers visiting her and having small parties. Not like that ever came to be. Instead she used it as a workstation, away from any distractions in the house and only getting up to get a drink from the mini fridge.
 

“It’s not that funny,” groaned Luna into the phone, one hand rubbing her temple as she did so.
 

“So, what did you tell the kid?” Sombra managed to ask between his laughter. “To make sure he worked out three days a week?”
 

“I regret telling you this,” sighed Luna as her shoulder slumped, Sombra still laughing. “I just wanted to tell you what happened. And that we won’t be able to meet next week. I made a promise to my sister not to cancel any of our other traditions.”
 

“Alright, alright,” said Sombra as he calmed down. “I understand. She did a lot for you. We’ll just figure something else out. Maybe we could get lunch or something.” He then paused for a moment and, when Sombra spoke again, his voice sounded far more serious. “So, do you have any idea who sent Spoiled that video?”
 

“If I did I’d ring his or her neck,” stated Luna, anger flashing in her eyes for a brief moment. “I did call Documented on my way home to ask if he knew how Spoiled came into possession of the video. All he could tell me was that it was sent to her home anonymously.”
 

“Do you think it might have been the same person who sent Starswirl that note?” questioned Sombra.
 

“What?” was all Luna could say.
 

“I mean, it is a theory,” said Sombra quickly. “Someone sent a note to Starswirl that ruined your life. Then, for years, nothing. You’re out of the picture, fading into the background. Then shortly after the world finds out you were Nightmare Moon another anonymous is sent to your boss to get you in trouble. Fits a pattern.”
 

“Maybe if there were more than two instances,” Luna stated. “Besides, if this was really the same person as back then, what’s the motive? It’s not like I announced that I was returning to dueling or anything like that. And that happened so long ago. What would be the point in trying to ruin my life?”
 

“Luna, I don’t need to tell you that some people can hold a grudge for a very, very long time,” said Sombra in a serious tone.
 

That was something that Luna couldn’t argue against. She had seen students who had held grudges against her for what they claimed was an unfair punishment, interrupting their plans for detention and the like. Heck, some of them had long since graduated and still gave her the cold shoulder. So yeah, people could hold a childish grudge. But this? It just seemed too extreme. What could she have done to piss someone off that much?
 

“I really hope that isn’t the case, Serious Sombra,” said Luna after a bit. “The last thing I want to do is spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder waiting for another message to arrive.”
 

“I’ll take a look into it,” said Sombra. “Just in case the two are connected. If nothing else we can find out who sent that Spoiled woman that tape and then you can decide how to handle it. At the very least you’ll know who did it. I think the best place to start is at the pawn shop. Who knows what’ll I’ll find.”
 

Luna, despite talking on the phone, nodded. “Yeah, that sounds go-” Luan suddenly cut herself off, her eyes widening at a memory from after the last time the two of them had dueled. Slowly she looked at the phone with suspicion. “Sombra, you weren’t planning on going there to also see if they had any of those tapes, were you?”
 

“…Noooo,” replied Sombra in the most unconvincing tone Luna had ever heard.
 

-x-
 

Meanwhile, within an office, a figure stood in the dark looking down at an open draw. Slowly the figure reached in to pull out a copy of Luna’s workout video. Even with the lack of light, the figure could see Luna smiling on the cover.
 

“Looks like I didn’t need my insurance after all,” said the figure aloud as it turned its head towards the trash can next to the desk. If anyone else had been in the room, it would have appeared that this person was about to chuck it in the trash and be done with it. But the figure seemed to pause halfway as if reconsidering it for a moment. Tilting its head, the figure thought about it for a moment before shrugging and putting the tape back into the drawer. Once inside, the figure locked it with a key before heading out.
> Shine On Rarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight laid on the bed within her hotel room, watching the crappy movie playing on her large screen TV while occasionally making snarky comments to no one in particular. Honestly, she could never figure out how anyone, at any point, thought this was a good idea. A movie where living hyenas were being caught in a tornado, being dropped harmlessly into a city or eating whatever got caught in the funnel? Dear God was this stupid. So stupid that it was a great comedy.
 

About an hour in, Starlight’s stomach began to rumble. Glancing over at the nightstand, she looked past the empty tray from room service to glance at the clock seeing that it was well past one in the afternoon. After flicking her hair to the side, she reached over to pick up the phone and pressed one for room services. As the phone rang, she picked up the menu tucked in the back of her night stand.
 

“Hello friend,” came the voice on the other end, a cheerful yet hollow voice. A voice Starlight had talked to many times since taking up a room here.
 

“Yeah, hello friend,” said Starlight quickly as she opened the menu. “I’d like to order room service. I’m in the mood for your grilled chicken sandwich, hold the mayo with a side of steak fries. Oh, and what kind of pie is on the menu today?”
 

“I’m sorry friend,” said the voice, a hint of worry escaping his tone. “But we might not be able to help you with that. We were just informed that upper management has started looking into your stay.” Starlight frowned at that, closing the menu while sitting up straight. This shouldn’t be possible! When she first came to this hotel a couple weeks ago, she had dueled the manager, the guy behind the counter, the cooking staff, the wait staff, and even the pool boy so that no one would be able to tip off the corporate HQ while she stayed here for free!
 

“And how did they find out?” asked Starlight, her heart racing slightly.
 

“Well friend,” began the voice. “When you first arrived, we marked the room down as ‘occupied’ as to not inconvenience our other potential guests which put you in the system. Our system also keeps track of all food being sent to any room. I believe that HQ took note that during your extended stay no credit cards were used in connection to either your room or other services.” Starlight let out another groan as she fell back onto her pillow. She should have thought it was something like that.
 

“Can’t you just tell them that I paid with cash?” demanded Starlight.
 

“Of course we can friend,” said the voice. “But, our total earnings are sent to the accounting department of HQ at the end of every month. They will notice the irregularity.”
 

For a moment, she said nothing, just staring at the ceiling as she pondered what to do next. The thought of going to one of the cheaper locations, ones that wouldn’t have as much computerized tracking, was instantly discarded with a shudder. She had been to one of those places for a single night, finding it full of bed bugs and a dog that seemed to wander into every single room whenever it wanted. There was no room service and the bathroom was not something she ever wanted to think about again. The next idea was to just go to another hotel. But that would involve dueling the entire staff once again which would be time consuming, not the sort of thing she wanted to do if she really would have to keep changing hotels every couple of weeks. Not to mention that it would be leaving a trail. Sure, she could tell the staff to delete all the videos of her on it and whatever else they needed to do to erase her existence from this place, but once other hotels in the area began to spot similar things going on someone was bound to notice. Then they would send the sort of people who wouldn’t accept a duel for her to get out.
 

Of course there was another reason why she didn’t want to leave this place. Starlight wanted to see just how far she could extend her newfound power! Right now, at this hotel, she had about twenty people or so under her control whom she could keep an eye on. That didn’t include the several additional people she was also controlling within the city and outside of it, adding at least one or two people to her numbers by the day. So far, none of those she had taken control of had begun to resist. An interesting development as, when she first got this power, she could only control a handful of people for a short amount of time. Was her magic growing more powerful? Perhaps. But, regardless, she needed to keep watching them for just a bit longer before moving to the next phase of her experiment: adding a mass group of people in a single day. She needed to know the limits of her powers before moving on to her end goal.
 

So that left Starlight with one real option. Get them some money. “Fine, I’ll get you the money by the end of the day,” she said, hanging up the phone before the voice could respond.
 

Getting up, Starlight stretched a bit as she thought about how lame this all was. When she first got this power, when she understood what she could do, Starlight thought that her life would be on easy street from now on. That she could get people to do whatever she wanted, make them however she wanted and never have to worry about anything ever again. Only reality is never that direct as problems kept creeping up. She had to keep an eye out for those not under her control, she still had to appear like a normal high school girl. It was irritating. What’s more, she was aware that there were others out there who could pose a problem. That Limestone girl, who had been freed before she could steal for her, was proof of that! She was also aware of others looking for her. She had spotted a girl with a large forehead and puffy hair within the area where she had used her magic several times now, eyeing the area with a device. So much for easy.
 

After stretching, Starlight pulled out her phone and brought up a map of the city. As she walked out the door, she began to scroll around looking for a random spot she hadn’t been to yet. Hmm, maybe the mall.
 

-x-
 

“Sweetie, I’m heading out,” called Rarity as she made her way down the steps of her family’s home. “Twilight just called. Something about our new duel disks. Would you-” Now at the bottom of the stairs, Rarity scanned the main floor of the house for any signs of her little sister. She wasn’t on the couch, bent down as she texted on her smartphone nor was she watching television. As Rarity cut herself off, she wondered if Sweetie Belle had decided to head out with her friends without telling anyone. It wasn’t unusual for her to do that, though she wished her parents would drill it in the head of that girl to at least tell someone! However, Rarity was quickly proven wrong as she turned her head to look into the kitchen. There, sitting at the dinner table was Sweetie Belle, clearly not paying any attention to her older sister.
 

Annoyed, Rarity let out a sigh as she walked over to the younger girl while also taking note of the mess she had made at the table. Several shoe boxes were spread out before Sweetie, their lids equally scattered about haphazardly. As she neared, Rarity could see that within the boxes were all of the Duel Monster’s cards that Sweetie had collected over the years with some of them on the table in various half stacked piles. The only bit of real organization that Rarity could see was her sister's deck, clearly separating the three types of cards in neat little rows before her. Only Sweetie was not going over them at all. Instead her face was planted firmly in a book she was reading.
 

“Sweetie,” Rarity said a bit louder. Still her little sister paid her no mind, instead licking her lips as she turned the page. Curious, Rarity leaned to the side to read the title of the book which had her sister so completely enthralled. ‘Witch Alley Girls’. Rarity was now fighting hard to hold back her irritation at this. If Sweetie wanted to read a book, then she should have put away her cards first. What if guests arrived? How would she be able to show what an ideal host she could be with this mess?
 

 Sighing again, Rarity reached out a hand to grab the book and tore it from her sister's hold.
 

“Hey! I was reading that!” shouted a startled Sweetie who turned to give Rarity the stink eye. Then, she blinked before a sheepish smile appeared on her face. “Oh, hey Rarity. Didn’t hear you come down.”
 

“I could tell,” said Rarity, holding the book in a way so that her thumb kept the page her sister was reading was bookmarked. Her other hand was placed squarely on her hip. “I called for you a few times now.”
 

“You did?” replied Sweetie while blushing. “Guess I was pretty lost in the book.”
 

“I can see that,” said Rarity in a matter of fact tone, her eyes turning to look at the mess in front of Sweetie. “And all of this?”
 

“Oh,” said Sweetie, looking a little dejected now. She turned to look at the cards, slumping in her seat as she did. “I, ah, well remember last night when I stayed after school with my friends? Well, we were at the new stadium practicing our dueling and somehow it turned into a tournament. We even got a few other people to join like Gabby, Rumble, Diamond, and Pip. I…got last place.”
 

Rarity’s face softened somewhat as she watched Sweetie turn on her seat, head lowered as she faced her deck. Sweetie’s dueling was always such a delicate subject for her as she was unquestionably the worst out of all her classmates. It wasn’t for a lack of trying or interest because she did try hard; she did have an interest in becoming a better duelist. Rarity had seen it herself, how Sweetie Belle gave it her all every time she dueled. Maybe that’s why it affected her so much when she lost. So no, it wasn’t because she didn’t try. The sad truth of the matter was that her problem was her deck. It just, oh how could she put this? Not very good?
 

Sweetie Belle used an Ice Counter deck. The idea, as far as Rarity could see it, was to place Ice Counters on the field to get various effects. Originally, her main strategy was to use Cold Enchanters to place Ice Counters on the field in order to power themselves up as well as summoning Ice Master and Blizzard Princess (Sweetie’s favorite monster) for some extra ‘muscle’ Later, she added a few additional cards to help her summon more powerful monsters. However the deck overall just seemed a jumbled mess of cards with too high costs leaving her with few life points and even fewer cards in hand.
 

“I see,” said Rarity slowly as she looked over the table again. “Were you looking for cards to improve your deck?”
 

Sweetie let out an exasperated sound before folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on top of them. “I thought there was something here that I missed, some card that I had misread or maybe some out of the box thinking. But…But what’s the point? I must have gone over these cards a hundred times before now. All I’m doing is repeating myself, going over the same cards again and again hoping that I missed something. Only I haven’t! Nothing I have here will help me out and getting better cards is just so expensive. I don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on cards that might not even do that much to help me win! It just got so frustrating and depressing that I needed a break.”
 

“I see,” said Rarity slowly, realizing that she had inadvertently opened up a serious would in her little sister. For a moment, she looked around trying to think of something that might help cheer her sister up. Thankfully, she didn’t have to look far. “So, this book,” she began slowly while holding the book up. “I take it it’s another one of those stories where the main character thinks that she’s a loser before finding out she’s a witch, alien, or a demi-goddess?”
 

“NO WAY!” shouted Sweetie, standing up straight and pushing the table back. A fire was now in her eyes as she looked at Rarity who was doing her best not to smile. “It’s nothing like those books. It’s about a group of friends who all run shops down this street in a magical city! They work together to stop the plots from a rival magical city while also helping out the people around them! What’s better is that each book is told from the point of view of a different character so that we can see through the eyes of each one of them!”
 

“Hmm, that reminds me of this one series,” said Rarity as she handed back the book. “So, what’s the evil scheme in this book?”
 

Sweetie smiled, happy to be talking about the book. “Someone has tampered with the ley lines,” she explained in a rushed and excited tone. “Basically a network of magical currents that flow around the city and power all its magical defenses. So far it’s only been a few minor things that the Master of the city thinks are just flukes, nothing too get too worked up about. But the girls think that these were more like test runs. They have been spotting clues all around town that lead them to think that the barrier which keeps their enemies from spying on them is in danger. So they were about to head down into the sewer system where the ley lines can be more easily accessed to see if they can find any signs of tampering.”
 

“I see,” said Rarity as she glanced at the clock, gasping at the time. “Oh my, I’d better get going. Sweetie, I was going to invite you to come along to see Twilight’s new duel disks followed by accompanying me to a fabulous spa treatment, but you need to clean this up. Plus I’m sure you’d rather finish your book.”
 

“Yeah,” said Sweetie as she took the book back. As Rarity turned to leave, however, she heard Sweetie say to herself, “Why would I want to look at a new duel disk when I might just quit playing?”
 

-x-
 

“About time!” cried Rainbow Dash, tapping her foot on the ground of Twilight’s lab as Rarity hurried through the door.
 

“So sorry I’m late,” said Rarity, breathing in the air which had hints of burnt metal and other dusts which she hoped wouldn’t stick to her clothing. The last thing she wanted was for people to think that she had just walked past an explosion! Fighting the urge to cover her nose, Rarity looked around at the other people in the room. Sitting on one of the nearby tables, with various machine parts pushed to the sides, were Sunset and Fluttershy. Both girls were looking in her direction with Spike laying on Fluttershy’s lap as she petted him. Pinkie Pie was on the ceiling with suction cups on her feet for, well, whatever reason that had popped into the dear’s mind. Applejack was over by the window, appearing to have been looking out of it until Rarity arrived.
 

Then there was Twilight. She was in the back of the room, smiling so much that you could see all of her teeth. Right now she was dressed in her lab gear, a dirty looking lab coat along with thick gloves that did nothing positive in the ways of fashion. Well, other than making her look like a mad scientist. As for her hair, Rarity felt like she was about to faint as several strands looked like they had recently been set on fire! Twilight was standing next to a table with a cloth covering it with Sonata by her side. The former Siren was holding up her new gem, gazing at it with a silly looking grin on her face.
 

“We’ve been waiting for hours,” complained Rainbow as Rarity shut the door behind her.
 

“Rainbow, it's been three minutes,” stated Applejack bluntly, her eyes have lidded in annoyance.
 

“Well, you’re all here now so we can begin!” cried Twilight excitedly, ending what might have been a potential argument before it began. As everyone turned to look at her and Pinkie bounced back down to the ground, Twilight cleared her throat to begin. Her tone was a bit more controlled, yet everyone there could still feel the excitement in her voice. “With the rise of magic here in Canterlot, along with it being used in Duel Monsters to hurt people, I have been hard at work creating a number of duel disks which will allow us to combat it more effectively. Some of my attempts have been… less than successful.”
 

“You’re telling me,” grumbled Spike as he sat up, holding out a paw while giving Twilight a deadpanned look. “One of those designs actually exploded when you put the card on the tray while another somehow made you think you were the monster!”
 

“Yes Spike, I know,” said Twilight as she rolled her eyes in irritation. “You know this wasn’t easy trying to merge science and magic to work as one!” Then she smiled again. “But, thanks to trial and error, as well as my assistants Spike and Sonata, I was able to figure it out in the end so I was able to come up with several working models which I have tailored made for all of you.” Twilight then grimaced slightly before turning to Sonata who looked extra excited. “Well, except for you Sonata. When I started making them, I only ordered materials for the seven of us since we all had gems.”
 

Rarity, as well as everyone else in the room, watched as Sonata’s happiness seemed to evaporate on the spot. Her arms lowered, allowing her gem to dangle around her neck as her head looked squarely at the ground. “Oh, I understand,” she mumbled. But, before she could say anything else, Twilight put a hand to her back which drew the attention of Sonata.
 

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight with a soft smile. “I already placed an order for all the materials I need to make another one. Once they arrive, I’ll get right to work on your very own custom made duel disk!” In an instant, Sonata’s toothy smile returned followed by hugging Twilight in what seemed like a death grip.
 

“You’re the best sort of sister EVER!” she cried.
 

“Ah don’t mean ta be a wet blanket or nothing,” interrupted Applejack. “But are we sure that there’s a good idea?” Everyone turned to look at AJ who was now walking towards the pair with a serious expression on her face.
 

“Applejack, really,” said Rarity with a dismissive wave of her hand while all the other girls looked at Applejack sourly. “How could you deny Sonata of a fabulous chance like this?”
 

“Yeah, especially after she helped us out in Rancho Bronco,” Pinkie chimed in.
 

At that, Applejack sighed. “Look, it ain’t like I don’t trust her or none,” she said. “Thing is, she’s wearing one of the gems that Long Horn an his gang used. Ya know, the ones that sucked up people’s lives, leaving them dried husks? Now Ah know it changed shape when all them others plum broke, but we still don’t know why. Heck, we don’t even know what powers it has. What happens if she uses that there gem an accidently does the same thing they did?”
 

Everyone blinked at that. “Oh, I never thought about that,” said Fluttershy softly. “From what you told us, it would be just horrible if that happened to anyone we knew.”
 

Twilight let out a sigh, looking like some of the wing had been pulled from her sails. “She’s got a point,” said Twilight as she placed a hand to her chin. She stood there for a moment, looking like she was trying to figure out what to do next while biting her lower lip slightly. More than once, Rarity noticed that Twilight glanced over at Sonata. Or maybe it was her gem. Finally, Twilight turned to look at Sunset. “Sunset, have you ever heard of anything like this happening back in Equestria?”
 

“Not really,” said Sunset as she jumped off the table, her expression mirroring Twilight. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors of certain magical enchantments transferring to another or changing shape. From what Princess Twilight told me the Elements of Harmony something similar after they were destroyed. Hmm. But I know magic behaves differently here than in Equestria and it's easier to take control of a magical item that has bonded to another. It’s why I took Twilight’s crown here in the first place.” She then paused and let out a sigh. “But, if I had to guess why the gem bonded to Sonata when none of the others did was because Twilight and Applejack were using those magical prototype duel disks. The two forms of magic were in a sort of…combative state, battling each other in the duel so the losers was damaged or destroyed. Or maybe the battle just damaged the vessel, forcing the magic to disperse or something like that. Sonata didn’t have that so instead the magic might have found her to be more worthy. Or something like that. Honestly, right now I’m just spinning ideas. Although, I can say that the magic in your gem doesn’t feel evil or anything.”
 

“Oh, oh!” cried Pinkie. “What does evil magic feel like? I always wondered.”
 

“That’s…hard to explain,” began Sunset as she closed her eyes. “But I’ll do the best I can. Well, ah, I guess it sort of reminds me of the feeling I get right before I’m about to put black liquorice in my mouth.” She paused to shiver. “Now add in mint, a cold sweat, as well as week old tuna on top of that.” At that, everyone shuttered at the phantom feeling of putting all that in their mouths. Rarity worse of all. “Anyways, perhaps Princess Celestia might be able to help. But we’d have to go see her in person.” She then paused to smile. “Or should I say in pony.”
 

“So, we need to see her?” asked Sonata, who tilted her head to the side.
 

“It’s possible,” said Sunset. “But I think we should use that as a last resort. For now, me and Twilight can work with you to discover what kind of magic your gem has. I know I said it doesn’t feel dark, but there’s a chance that it might just be weak right now or dormant. If we can’t-”
 

“AHHH!” yelled Rainbow. “Enough with this already and let's see what we all came here for! At this rate we’ll be talking all day! And we do have other places we need to go!” As much as Rarity didn’t want to agree, out loud anyways, Rainbow did have a point. Glancing down at her watch, she saw that the time for her spa appointment at the mall was ever approaching. When she looked up, she saw that the others had done the same thing before giving Twilight the slightest of smiles. But their eyes said everything they needed to. Something so clear that even Twilight, bless her, was able to pick up on it.
 

Twilight let out a sigh. “I guess you have a point,” she said. “We’ll finish talking about this when we have more time. But for right now: behold!” With that, Twilight went back to the table where she pulled off the cloth with the greatest of fanfare.
 

Rarity’s eyes twinkled, her hands balling up into fists as they shot to either side of her face while everyone let out an ‘ohh’ at what Twilight had made for them. There were seven of them in total, seven brightly colored duel disks just for them. Rarity quickly spotted hers: a bright white diamond shaped device that looked like it could easily fit on her wrist. Next to hers was Applejack’s which took the shape of a bright red apple. On the other side was Fluttershy’s, a pink butterfly. Rainbow’s had the most color to it: a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud. Pinkie Pie’s was shaped as three connected balloons, the ones on the outside blue while the middle one was yellow. Sunset’s was shaped and colored like the sun, matching her own symbol perfectly. Finally there was Twilight’s which was a purple star.
 

“Alright, let me tell you all quickly how to work these,” said Twilight as she strapped on her own duel disk. “Right now they are all powered down and won’t activate until you put your gem in like so.” Calming, Twilight took the gem off her neck and brought it over to the center of the duel disk. As it drew neared, a small hole opened up just big enough for Twilight to place it in. Then the device sprang to life, glowing brightly as holographic numbers appeared above the purple star. 8000, the same amount they started with at the start of a duel. Below the numbers were several holographic buttons, each one labeled clearly with words like ‘Graveyard’, “Opponents Monsters’, and ‘End Duel’. At the same time, a row of five purple multi pointed stars appeared on the other side of the duel disk in order to form the tray. “These are set to run until the duel is over, in which case the center will open allowing you to take the gem out. Or you can just turn it off with the press of a button.” To show this, Twilight pressed the ‘End Duel’ button and the duel disk turned off.
 

“I’ve got to hand it to you Twilight, that’s pretty impressive,” said Sunset as she crossed her arms, giving Twilight a half-lidded smile. “The other Sunset has had her best scientists hard at work to make something just like this.”
 

“Well, the only reason I was able to do it was because of our gems,” said Twilight with a slight blush on her face. “They are what power these duel disks without weighing them down too much. I’m sure if the other Sunset had access to this sort of power she’d be using it as well.” Twilight then cleared her throat, closing her eyes and pacing back and forth in the duel disks. Her tone became more serious, almost business like. “And speaking of the gems, I don’t want us using these for everyday duels just yet. There’s no telling what they might do to everyday people or the effect they will have on our gems if used too often. Only use them if your opponent is using magic. To help us with this determination, I have created smaller versions of my magical detector for us all to use. The range isn’t as good as the one I’m using but-”
 

By that point, none of them were really listening anymore. Rainbow was the first to move, spotting a row of what looked like purple pocket watches on the table behind where the duel disks were. In a blur she grabbed one before racing out into the world. Applejack was next, moving around Twilight and grabbing her own before she too raced out. Rarity, as much as it pained her to act in such an unladylike fashion, also took one of the pocket watches and made for the door hoping that she wouldn’t be late for her appointment.
 

-x-
 

“Oh dear I just feel awful,” groaned Rarity aloud as she walked down the main hallway of the Canterlot mall. All around her people were moving at various speeds, some in a group talking to each other while others drifted on their own drinking a soda or water as they did so. “Twilight put all that time into making us such wonderful things and I had to run out on her. Maybe I’ll get her a gift card for a free makeover session. I dare say the poor girl needs one and not just because she worked hard on these.”
 

Turning a corner, Rarity found herself near the movie theater where a crowd had gathered creating a wall of people between her and the entrance. Whispers circulated around as people were moving about or jumping up and down in order to get a better view of what was going on. For a moment, Rarity thought that a movie star or some other celebrity was around. But she didn’t feel that level of excitement in the air. It was a bit more…panicked? Yes, that was the right word. At first, Rarity was going to ignore it as she had to get to the spa as soon as possible…but her curiosity quickly got the better of her. After all, a little peak wouldn’t hurt and it would make for excellent juicy gossip when she reached the spa. So with as much ladylike grace as she could manage, Rarity slipped through the throng of people until she was at the front.
 

Once on the other side, Rarity saw what had caused the commotion: the police. Several of them had gathered around the entrance, keeping the crowds back while others looked like they were looking around collecting evidence as well as statements. One of those officers in blue was Twilight’s brother: Shining Armor. He was talking to, if memory served her right, the manager of the theater, who looked like he was in a panic. While Rarity couldn’t hear what he was saying, her time in the fashion world had taught her how to read body language fairly well. She could see him holding his arms, with them twitching as if they wanted to go flying about. It was clear he wanted to go into a rage, yelling at the top of his lungs while waving his arms about. But he knew that would do no good and would only serve to hamper the investigation by forcing everyone there to pause to calm him down. His eyes were focused on Shining, narrowed. Oh yes, he was angry. Very, very angry.
 

For a brief moment, Rarity considered flagging Shining Armor down to ask what was happening. Yet common sense told her that would be a bad idea. Right now he was working and she had no connections to this case. Whatever was happening was none of her business.
 

Still, from what she could see, it didn’t look like anything too serious had happened. If someone was attacked there would have been an ambulance near here. Also, Rarity would have assumed that the mall and police would have wanted to push the crowd back even more. Perhaps locking down the building to search for whoever had committed the attack. So perhaps they had just been robbed.  Deciding she would ask Shining about it later, when he was out of that dashing uniform, Rarity began to walk away at a slightly hurried pace. Not so quickly as to make it seem like she was escaping the scene of her crime, or at least to give the impression of it, but fast enough so that she could get to her spa appointment on time.
 

Yet, once she was away from the crowd, the pocket watch began to buzz so powerfully that the white-skinned girl jumped. Quickly, she pulled it out, seeing a glowing purple light (because of course it would be purple) pointing to her left. As she turned, she saw that the light seemed to be fixated in the same direction much in the same way as Applejack’s compass. Why dear Applejack would still use such a crude device when she has a GPS on her phone was beyond her. Much the same way she wondered why Twilight would design these things like a compass!
 

For a moment, Rarity stood there wondering what she was going to do. Equestrian magic was close by but her spa appointment was fast approaching. She could call the others, like maybe Rainbow Dash who would be here in a flash and eager to take on whatever it was so that she could enjoy herself as planned. Pulling out her phone to do just that, Rarity paused before she could speed dial her friend. What if Rainbow was busy right now and away from her phone? Yes, no doubt she was running about like mad in soccer or something like that. Same with Applejack if she was helping out at her family farm. She never kept her phone on her while she was harvesting apples, something about not wanting to fall and break it. Twilight? Might be mad at her for leaving or might still be on a tangent about how the devices worked, never realizing that they had left. That image brought a smile to Rarity’s face.
 

“Guess it’s up to me,” said Rarity as she began to walk towards the magic. Yes, this was for the best right now. If the magic was in the wrong hands then whoever it was might cause trouble in the mall, harming the mall goers while interrupting her spa visit. But if it was a false alarm or the magic wasn’t too bad or anything like that she would just be a few minutes late at most. Nothing to worry about.


The watch took Rarity down a long hallway and through the doors leading out of the building, which Rarity hesitated to open. When she did, she found herself at the farthest parking lot. One which few people used since it was on the opposite side of the main street as well as being close to, in her opinion, the least popular stores. And there, walking towards her in her cinema uniform was Juniper Montage. Only, the lime skinned girl was not looking like her normal self. The first thing Rarity saw that was off was the poor dear’s uniform was all a mess. It looked dirty, as if she had gotten into a bad scuffle or something with buttons missing as well as other parts looking untucked. Her hair was also a mess with one of her twin tails completely undone. Not that she seemed to mind the horrible state of her appearance. Juniper had a large, forced smile on her face that looked almost painful to look at! But the worst thing was the hideous mass that was on her neck. A blob like thing that looked exactly like what Pinkie had described on her sister’s neck! It clung to her skin, wiggling about while making the most vile noises that made Rarity cover her mouth in disgust!
 

“Juniper, what happened to you?” asked Rarity as she took a step back in disgust, one hand flying to her mouth to cover it.
 

“Hello friend,” said Juniper, her head twisting to the side in a way that made a cracking sound. “I’m perfectly fine. There are no worries no, no judgments. I’m just like all the others who have accepted true friendship.”
 

“You what?” began Rarity as dread began to take root within her. She glanced backwards for just a moment, thinking about the scene inside the mall while also recalling what Limestone had tried to do. Fearing the worst, Rarity slowly turned to look at her friend. “Juniper, something happened at the theater. Did you have anything to do with it?”
 

“Oh yes,” said Juniper, cracking her neck in the opposite direction. “My friend asked me to help her out. And after she gave me this wonderful friend on my neck and opened my eyes, how could I say no?”
 

“But your uncle-” began Rarity
 

“Rarity, would you like to know true friendship?” asked Juniper, interrupting Rarity as she took a step forward. At the same time the thing on Juniper’s neck divided, splitting into two separate creatures. While the mass still on Juniper’s neck began to replenish itself, the part that had split off launched itself away from her and towards Rarity. Only Rarity was ready for this. She knew that this thing had done this before so she raised her hands into the air to create a diamond barrier. The mass struck the barrier, making a ‘splat’ sound as it did while its tendrils wiggled around. Clutching her hand, Rarity commanded her barrier to turn in on the mass, crushing it utterly on the spot.
 

“Not today darling,” said Rarity firmly, pulling out the duel disk Twilight had made for her while Juniper watched on in confusion. After strapping the thing onto her wrist, Rarity held out her hand. “Now Juniper, I’ll free you from the control of that thing and of needing to buy out a whole aisle's worth of vanishing cream!”
 

“No one is taking away my friendship,” said Juniper, pulling out her own duel disk and activating it. At the same time, Rarity inserted her gem into the device which instantly created a row of five interconnected glowing blue diamonds to act as her card tray.
 

“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In-between the two appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, one side showing Rarity as she blew a kiss at the cameraman in a very elegant style while the other showed Juniper in her Daring Do cosplay. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Juniper.
 

“I go first,” announced Juniper as they both drew their opening hands. “I draw!” Only briefly glancing down at the six cards she now held, Juniper began to place most of her hand in the spell/trap card slot. “I set five cards and end my turn.”
 

“Ok,” said Rarity slowly as she drew. Before she even looked at her hand, her eyes which were so used to detecting the minor flaws in any of the fashions she created, examined her opponent’s field with the greatest of care. She had never seen Juniper duel before, but she had heard from Rainbow that she had a deck ‘inspired’ by Daring Do. Whatever that meant. So she really had no idea if this was good for Juniper or not. For all she knew, this could be a bluff to hide the fact that she had a bad hand. Or it could be a series of traps ready to strike.
 

“First I’ll play the spell card One for One,” announced Rarity as she slid the card into the magical hard light tray. “By discarding one monster from my hand, I’m allowed to special summon one level one monster from my deck. So I'll discard my Vylon Prism to bring out the simply marvelous Vylon Sphere!” A small white orb with bright blue eyes and two arms appeared on Rarity’s side of the field showered in golden light. The top of its head it had two large blue orbs that answered for eyes which looked about innocently as it hovered there in defense mode. Not that it would be a good defense with only 400 defense points. “Next I’ll play the spell card Vylon Element!” Above Rarity appeared a series of golden rings, one behind the other, large enough for a truck to run through. They hovered there, filling with a multicolored glow that caught the attention of anypony who looked at it.
 

“I know this play,” said Juniper as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “With the right cards, you can use Element to get all the tuner monsters you need. But that’s not going to happen as I play Twin Twister! By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy two spell or trap cards on the field.”
 

“So you’re using both your targets on my Element?” asked Rarity with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, it felt like she was jumping the gun a little with this move. But, then again, if she knew about what Element could do then she must know about her Vylon equip card which, when destroyed, could let her search her deck for another one. So maybe that was why she was using it now, so Rarity couldn’t get any searches.
 

“No,” replied Juniper, head twisting to the side as she spoke. “I’m targeting two of my face downs!” Rarity gapped as from Juniper’s card came a wind funnel that shot high into the air. Above their heads the funnel split into two before heading back to the earth where it then crashed onto Juniper’s card creating a large cloud of smoke that hid Juniper from view. When the possessed girl spoke, there was an additional eeriness to it. “Now the real duel can begin. The cards I destroyed were my Artifact Scythe and Artifact Moralltach! Monsters that can be set in the spell/trap card zone. But when they are destroyed during your turn, they get special summoned to my side of the field!” As the smoke cleared, Rarity saw what she meant as two ghostly figures were now on Juniper’s side of the field holding massive weapons. The first was a whitish blue ghost with wild, lion-like hair. He held in both hands a sword that looked two to three times his size whose base looked both ancient yet high tech at the same time. The blade was white, like it was made of some sort of energy with blue lines running down it. This monster’s attack was 2100. The other monster was purple, looking like a truly malnourished man with long hair that went past his shoulders. Resting on his shoulder was a scythe which also looked old yet integrated technology well beyond its age. This monster had 2400 attack points.
 

“Now their other effects activate since they were special summoned during your turn,” continued Juniper. “Scythe prevents you from special summoning from the extra deck for the rest of your turn. As for Moralltach, it destroys one face up card you control. This means your Vylon Element is no more.” If possible, Juniper smiled even larger while her eyes bulged as Moralltach swung the blade which set an arc of energy at Element. When it made contact, the gateway was cut in half with ease causing it to explode over Rarity’s head.
 

“Well, that’s disappointing,” admitted Rarity as she held up a card. “But I’m sure I’ll be able to draw another Element in due time. But for now I summon Vylon Vanguard in attack mode!” A light shone from above as a metallic creature descended to the ground next to Rarity. This 1400 attack point monster had no legs, its lower body ending at a jagged point as it floated there. Despite that fact, it seemed imposing as it was at least twice Rarity’s size with a mostly ivory white body with four green gems in its chest. Its lower arms were covered in gold as were its slicked back shoulder pads that almost resembled folded wings. “Now, time to empower my elegant monster with a few accessories. And I just so happen to have a matching set of Vylon Material.” On either side of Vanguard appeared slick metallic devices that were golden circles with a yellow crystal sticking out of the middle. They floated in unison next to her monster who held up his arms, lightning shooting from his golden armbands to the base of the weapons as they closed in. When they connected, his attack rose to 2600.
 

“As you can see, each Vylon Material gives my monster an additional 600 attack points,” said Rarity. “More than enough to take down your monsters. Vanguard, destroy her Moralltach!”
 

“Sorry friend, but I can’t let you do that,” replied Juniper as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “I activate the trap card: Artifact Sanctum. With this I can go through my deck and special summon one Artifact monster to my side of the field. And the Artifact I have uncovered is Achilleshield which will be appearing on my field in defense mode!” A massive bronze like shield with a similar craftsmanship to the other artifacts appeared in the field, with purple glowing circles rippling out of its center. Another ghostly figure held this weapon, looking more gallant than the one holding the scythe. Its defense points were 2200. “When this monster is special summoned during your turn, its effect kicks in preventing you from attacking any Artifact monster.”
 

“Very well then,” said Rarity with a sigh. For a moment, she examined the field as well as their hands. Right now they had both used up their entire hands, leaving them to the mercy of the draw. Juniper had more monsters as well as one final face down, but her deck seemed to require her to wait for Rarity’s turn to do anything. Not only that but Rarity’s monster was currently the strongest one on the field. Meaning… “I end my turn.”
 

“I draw then,” said Juniper, head turning and cracking some more while the creature on her neck began making squishing noises. “Now to make sure you can’t tune anything. Artifact Scythe, destroy Vylon Sphere!” The withered purple ghost stood up before throwing the scythe at Rarity’s monster. The fashionista watched as the weapon swung around almost like a boomerang, circling her monster before returning to its owner. When it did, Sphere began to split in half revealing it was cut right along the middle.
 

“You may have destroyed it, but it shall not leave the field,” said Rarity, placing a hand on her chest for emphasis. “By paying 500 of my life points, Sphere will become equipped to Vanguard!” A golden glow surrounded Rarity, who cried out while also doubling down as her life points dropped to 7500. Thankfully all this was more out of shock than pain for it wasn’t that bad. As she rose back into a standing position, she could see that her monster was now attached to Vanguard’s waist.
 

“Not good enough to stop me,” replied Juniper, her eyes twitching. “I set one card face down and end my turn.
 

“We’ll see about that darling. I draw!” announced Rarity as she drew. She looked at the sole card in her hand…and smiled. “I now summon Vylon Pentachloro!” Once more a monster descended down from the sky in a beam of golden light to Rarity’s side of the field. Only this monster was a bit more…abstract. It’s head was a golden arc whose ends curved down its black body where they became thicker and more circular until finally they were long arms whose colors rotated from silver to gold. The rest of its body seemed to jab outwards, ending in ornate golden spikes. It’s attack was 500.
 

“Pentachloro is a union monster, meaning that once per turn I can either equip it to a Vylon monster or unequip him in order to summon him back onto the field,” explained Rarity. “So I’ll equip him to Vanguard to make him even more powerful!” As Rarity moved her monster into the spell/trap card slot, Pentachloro moved behind Vanguard and underneath its wings. It’s arms merged with Vanguard’s while its ‘head’ became more of a high collar. Only its attack remained the same.
 

“Now Vanguard, let's battle,” announced Rarity. “We shall finish what we started and end  Moralltach!” Vanguard raised its arms, sending twin beams of of golden light at Moralltach. Juniper’s monster shattered while her life points dropped to 7500. However, Rarity’s attack kept going, bending around Juniper. “Oh, I think I forgot to mention darling but when a monster equipped with Pentachloro destroys a monster in battle, then I can target one card you control and destroy it. Time to put that hideous Scythe to rest!” And with that, Scythe was attacked in the back and destroyed.
 

“You may have destroyed two of my monsters, but I can easily replenish them,” said Juniper. “I activate my face down Artifact Ignition! With this quick play spell card I can target one spell or trap card on the field and then destroy it. Then I can set one of my Artifact monsters in my deck into my spell/trap zone for later. I destroy my own card: a copy of Artifact Moralltach! And since this is still your turn, you should know what that means.”  Moralltach swung the blade once again, sending an arch of energy right at Vanguard. It hit him, however Vanguard remained on the field. “How?”
 

“Just another feature of union monsters darling,” said Rarity as she pulled out Pentachloro. “When the monster it's equipped to is about to be destroyed, Pentachloro goes to the graveyard in its place.”
 

“Very well friend,” said Juniper as a card shot out of her deck. “I’ll finish up with the last part of Artifact Ignition, setting another Artifact Scythe to my side of the field.” Calmly, she placed the card onto her duel disk.
 

“Then I suppose I’d best end my turn,” said Rarity.
 

“I draw then friend,” said Juniper before looking at her lone card. “I set one card face down. Then, I build the overlay network using my level fives Artifact Achilleshield and my Artifact Moralltach!” On the ground between the two dueling girls appeared a vortex that looked like a spiral galaxy twinkling with stars. Both of Juniper’s monsters turned into beams of light that shot in while the chanting began. “Weapons of old and the spirits tied to them. Be re-forged into a weapon greater than before! XYZ summon Rank 5: Drill Driver Vespenato!” Rarity watched in shock as a mechanical hornet rose from the portal; its wings on its back looking like jet engines, its legs nothing more than metallic claws, and its stinger a drill. It’s 2500 attack was impressive, but still it was not powerful enough to get over her Vanguard! It seemed…out of place for a deck like this. If anything, Rarity would have thought she’d use it as her own decks XYZ monster.
 

“With that, I end my turn,” said Juniper. Now Rarity was really confused and it no doubt showed on her face. What was she thinking? Why didn’t she use her monster’s effect? For a moment, Rarity wondered if this was again like what she had heard from the duel with Limestone. According to Pinkie, Limestone had been fighting it the entire time, making bad plays or at least half baked ones. Was the same thing happening here? To be honest, Rarity couldn’t tell.
 

“Juniper, is everything ok?” asked Rarity. Perhaps it was a dumb question since whatever was controlling her would be answering. But, as she said this, she pressed the button on her duel disk to see what that Drill Driver could do.
 

“Of course everything is ok friend,” replied Juniper, her smile becoming even more painful to look at. “Everything is finally alright. I have never felt so happy before. All those negative feelings, the twinges of jealousy I feel whenever your music video plays or hearing about all the things you and your friends are doing, they’re all gone.”
 

Rarity looked up from her duel disk, frowning. “Darling, I never knew you felt like that,” she said honestly.
 

“Of course you wouldn’t,” replied Juniper, and for once there was bitterness in her voice. Like something authentic of the girl was breaking through. “You’re like the main character of a movie or a TV show, the one who has the skills to do anything and go on grand adventures. See the world, other worlds, meet famous people, and have a great future. But the rest of us? We’re stuck in the background or behind the stage, just existing. We know we don’t have what it takes to be anything more no matter how hard we try.” Then, her voice changed into a forced cheerfulness as the creature on her neck seemed to regain control. Rarity could see large veins in Juniper’s neck now appearing like the grip of a hand. “But now, I don’t feel like that anymore. And my friend can help everyone feel like this. No more special people in the world to feel jealous of because we’ll all be in the background. Won’t that be wonderful?”
 

Rarity shook her head, not hesitating for a moment. “No darling, it wouldn’t,” she said firmly. “I’m sorry if I ever made you or anyone else, feel less than what you really are. That’s not why I got into fashion. I wanted to make everyone feel wonderful and unique. I love helping people find ways to show off how wonderful they really are, bringing that out in the most dazzling way.” She then paused for a moment. “But in the world your friend wants to make, as you claim, then I would be denied that chance. As would anyone else who dreams about rising up from where they started. Or even a chance to shine like you once did.”
 

As Juniper’s neck cracked again, the creature now making slurping noises, Rarity let out a sigh. “Sadly, you are right about one thing: not everyone can be the star of an exciting story. Not everyone has the skills they want or need to do something like that. And, as try as they might, might not have what it takes to learn them. But…just because you’re not the star doesn’t make you any less important.” Pausing for a moment, Rarity pulled out Vylon Sphere from her spell/trap zone and held it up. “Take this darling little monster. It’s just a weak little monster, not my deck’s headliner. But Sphere is still important and not just because it’s a tuner. It can be searched out fairly easily, act as a defense, and if I had one of my equip cards in the graveyard he could help me bring it back. It may never be seen as a card everyone would want or be in anyone’s top ten video, but I’ll always stand by it.”
 

As Rarity spoke, she began to feel something. Not from the duel disk, not from her opponent, or even a sense that they were being watched. No, it came from the card in her hand. Rarity could feel something warm, something good flowing into her. Turning the card around, Rarity could see Sphere’s eyes looked like they were beginning to water before the card art returned to normal.
 

“Are you going to draw anytime soon?” asked Juniper.
 

“Very well then,” replied Rarity, sliding Sphere back into her graveyard before drawing. One card in her hand now, she looked at it before smiling. “Time for another equip card: Mage Power. Now, for each spell or trap card I control, my Vanguard grows even more powerful. So with a total of five, Vanguard’s attack becomes…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as Vanguard began to grow larger and larger, its attack rising to 5100!
 

“Now attack Vanguard and destroy that Drill Driver!” yelled Rarity as she pointed to the Xyz monster. As Vanguard’s beam flew across the field, piercing the machine insect with the ease of a knife through warm butter, Rarity noted the delight in Juniper’s eyes.
 

“You fell for it!” yelled Juniper as her life points dropped to 4900. “Now Friend I’ll show you the folly of your actions. When my Xyz monster is destroyed, I can special summon one level five or lower monster from my graveyard. With this power, I'll bring out the monster I used to activate my Twin Twister: Artifact Mjollnir.” Appearing on the field was a ghostly, hot pink figure holding a massive hammer that was so much like the other weapons Juniper had brought out. The ghost took a knee, protecting Juniper with its 1800 defense points. “When Mjollnir is summoned to the field during your turn, I can special summon one of my Artifacts in the grave. Moralltach, come back to me!” Mjollnir slammed his hammer into the ground creating a massive fissure which Moralltach flew out of. “And since it was special summoned during your turn, I can destroy one card you control. Vanguard, prepared to feel the power of these ancient artifacts! Meaning I can say goodbye to Vylon Vanguard for good!” Artifact Moralltach swung its blade again, sending an energy arc right at Vanguard which sliced him in two.
 

“Now you are helpless,” said Juniper as she stared at the cloud of dust before her. “On my next turn, I’ll be able to Xyz summon again to begin tearing you apart. And with nothing in your hand you will be helpless.”
 

“Oh, I couldn’t say that,” said Rarity as the cloud began to disperse. There she stood, with a total of seven cards in her hand.
 

“What?” asked Juniper, staring at Rarity in shock. “But how?”
 

“Vanguard knows how to repay a person for so generously giving him so many different equip cards darling,” explained Rarity. “When he is destroyed, I get to draw one card for each card equipped to him. What’s more, each of my Vylon equip cards lets me add another from my deck when they are sent from the field to the graveyard. Meaning I was able to get my last Material as well as a Vylon Component. Now I have what I need.”
 

“No…You can’t…That was supposed to end all your hoping,” gasped Juniper.
 

“Darling, I read what your monster could do,” said Rarity. “That’s why I attacked it in the first place. You might have replenished your field with monsters, but I replenished my hand. And what’s more, it’s still my turn.” Rarity then held up a card. “But first, one more draw! I activate Vylon Matter which lets me take the three Vylon equip cards in my graveyard, shuffle them back into the deck, and then draw one card.” Rarity paused as she took out her three cards from her graveyard, watched as they were auto-shuffled back into the deck, and then drew a card. As she looked at it, her eyes began to glow in the shape of the omega symbol.
 

“Now I normal summon Vylon Hept in attack mode!” declared Rarity. Appearing now on Rarity’s side of the field was another monster with no legs, just a point made of white, ivory-like metal with golden wings on its back. Its arms were thicker than the rest of its body, looking like golden cannons were attached to them. Its attack was 1800. “Next, I’ll equip him with the spell card Rod of Silence – Kay’est!” In front of Hept appeared a clear crystal with a staff in its center. The crystal shattered, allowing Hept to take a hold of it with its hands. “With that in place, I think a return of Element is in order.” Once again, above Rarity’s head appeared the gateway. “The stage is now set. I equip Hept with Segment which is then destroyed due to the effect of the Rod of Silence. Since Segment was sent to the grave from the field I’m allowed to get another copy of Segment. What’s more, the effect of Element activates, allowing me to special summon one Vylon tuner from my deck. So descend to earth Vylon Prism!” Prism came out from the portal, looking like a crystal with the Vylon monster wrapped around it like armor. The shining blue crystal was visible on the creature’s lower body as well as parts of the creature’s chest and shoulders. But beyond that Prism had on the same white metal with golden trim. “Next I’ll use the Segment I just got to repeat the process, getting a Material from my deck this time as well as another Prism!”
 

Rarity lowered her head a little as the third monster appeared on her side of the field. “Now darling, I will tune my two level four tuners Prism with my level four Hept to create the glory of my deck!” Rarity paused as her two tuners rose into the sky, becoming a total of eight rings which then transformed into golden omega signs. As for Hept, he transformed into four golden lights. While this was happening, Rarity raised her head to show that the golden light in her eyes was even brighter than before. “The end has come, the ultimate weapon of war. Let the heavens quake with your might and glory! Synchro summon level 12! Vylon OMEGA!” As Rarity finished her chant, the pillar of light that she created, the same one that happens with all synchro summons faded. But moments later, in the sky above them, appeared a massive golden omega symbol that towered over everything. As it lowered onto the field, its white body began to phase in around the symbol taking an almost dragon-like appearance. White, spiked circles appeared around the upper part of the omega before arms attached to them. More and more body appeared until, finally, black feathered wings appeared. Vylon Omega looked down with its one eye honed onto Juniper. It’s attack was 3200.
 

“Like with Sphere, I’ll give up 500 life points for each Prism so that they can be attached to Omega,” continued Rarity as her life points dropped to 6500. “I’ll also equip the two Materials to him as well as a Component.” One by one, the equip cards attached themselves to Omega to become more weapons for this giant monster. When it was over, its attack power had risen to 4400. “With that, I end my turn.”
 

“I…I draw,” stammered Juniper as she drew, looking at the monster, down at the card she had just drawn, and then back up at the monster. “I build the overlay network once again, using my level fives Artifact Mjollnir and my Artifact Moralltach! Legends abound, glorious battles remembered in dreams. Uncover the blade and swing into victory! Xyz summon Rank 5: Articfact Durendal.” Appearing on Juniper’s side of the field was…another sword carried by a ghostly figure. The only difference this time was that it’s blade had red and blue lines in it that matched the mismatched colors of the ghost holding it. What’s more, its attack wasn’t all the impressive at 2400.
 

“I end my turn,” she said.
 

“Then I draw,” said Rarity, drawing her card with so much power that a golden arc was created when she drew. As she did, however, Juniper pressed a button on her duel disk.


"Since it's now you're turn, I activate my face down: Back to the Front!" she declared. "This lets me special summon one of my monsters from the graveyard in defense position. So I bring back my Artifact Moralltach!" Again, Juniper's blade returned to the field. "Now, it's effect activates letting me-"


"Not so fast darling," said Rarity as Omega began to pull back one of its arms. "When you activate a monster effect, I can send one card equiped to Omega to the graveyard in order to negate and destroy it!"


“That’s what you think,” said Juniper as she removed a material from her monster. “I activate one of my monster’s effect in response to one of your Prism’s effect, changing it to destroying one card on my side of the field so-” 


"So sorry to interrupt you again," said Rarity as her monster pulled back another arm. "However, Omega's effect is not once per turn. As long as I have equip cards, he can continue to stop you." Juniper's smile faded as a Vylon Component was flung from Omega, piecing and then shattering the blade of Durendal before it was destroyed. Following that a Material was then flung at her Moralltach to repeat the process.
 

“Since I just sent two of my equip cards from the field to the graveyard, I can now add two more Vylon equip cards from my deck to my hand. What's more, Element activates allowing me to special summon two more tuners from my deck to the field. I suppose I'll add two Vylon Cubes,” stated Rarity, glaring not at Juniper but at the thing controlling her as she added her last Material to her hand as well as a Component. At the same time twin white boxes floated out of Element and slowly lowered itself to the field. Both monsters had two thin looking arms while a golden light shined from its chest. Their attacks were 800 a piece. “You are far too late to try such cheap, underhanded tricks like that with me! Now, I equip Omega with the last Vylon Material in my hand. Then I will activate his effect, targeting one Vylon monster in my graveyard and equiping it to Omega.” Now, with five cards equiped to Omega, its power began to rise more and more until it reached 4400!


"It is time Omega! Attack her directly!" At Rarity's command, the crest of Omega began to glow blightly while the three Vylon Prisms began to pulse. As the glow of the crest became as bright as the sun its attack rose all the way to 7400!


"T-That's impossible!" shouted Juniper as the light drew closer to her.


"It's not," said rarity simply. "Each of my Vylon Prisms has the effect where when a monster equiped to it attacks or is attacked, that monster gains 1000 attack points."


“I won't let it end here!” said Juniper as she held up a card. “I activate the effect of the Artifact Vajra in my hand, allowing me to special summon it when you declare a direct attack!” Omega’s attack was halted as a blue specter appeared on the field holding twin weapons that Rarity couldn’t make heads or tails out of. All she knew was that it was in defense mode with 1900 points. “And when this monster is special summoned during your turn, its effect kicks in, destroying all cards in my spell/trap card zone meaning-” She got no further as another Material was used to negate the effect and destroy her last remaining defense.
 

“It’s over darling,” said Rarity as her monster attacked, its light engulfing Juniper. The girl cried out in pain, mind-blowing agony coursing through her as she held out her arms to protect herself. However, the thing that was in real pain was the creature on her neck which began to smoke before it too became nothing more than dust. When it had gone, Juniper fell to her knees and passed out leaving Rarity the only one left standing as the police came out.
 

-x-
 

“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do for her,” Rarity nearly shouted in an unladylike manner. It was much later that night with Rarity now dressed in her nightgown, ready to get her beauty rest when she was interrupted by a call from Twilight’s brother.
 

After their duel, everything had happened so fast that it was a whirlwind to Rarity. One moment, she had finished dueling Juniper and the next the green haired girl was being questioned by the police. From what Rarity heard, they caught Juniper on security tape stealing all of the money that was in the manager’s office. What’s more they also had several eyewitnesses who placed her at the scene of the crime. Juniper had her head down the entire time, mumbling out responses that Rarity could only make out as “I can’t remember” and “I don’t know”. What made the whole thing worse is that the press were on the scene soon as well, coming up to Rarity and proclaiming her to be a hero for stopping the thief. It was all she could do just to get out of there, only managing to ask Shining Armor to give her a call as soon as he could.
 

And things were not getting any better.
 

“Rarity, my hands are tied here,” said Shining Armor. His voice sounded tired, drained of all his energy. “I just can’t let her go because she’s your friend.”
 

“But she’s innocent,” cried Rarity.
 

“That’s-”
 

“She was under the influence of magic,” interrupted Rarity. “You know that can happen. So why can’t you let her go!”
 

“Because the law doesn’t work that way!” shouted Shining Armor, sounding like he was quickly losing his patience. No doubt he had had a similar conversation with Twilight and Sonata, having to repeat himself for a third time. “Look, I know about magic now. But a lot of people don’t even believe in it. Even if you were to go to my chief, show what you can do, Juniper would still be in jail because she got caught and now has to defend herself in the court of law. That’s how it works. And you will have a hard time convincing a jury to accept that ‘magic made me do it’ is a plausible defense without hard evidence.”
 

“But…But what if we were to show them we had magic?” asked Rarity.
 

Shining Armor let out a groan, the noise in the background making it sound like he had plopped onto a chair. “You would prove magic exists, but you still wouldn’t be able to prove that Juniper was affected by it.” There was a pause and when the officer spoke again, he sounded a little more hopeful. “The good news is that we are getting a few cases like this one. Employees suddenly stealing from their bosses and then having no memories of what they did or what they did with the money. We’re also getting reports that people are doing strange things without remembering anything. Like paying $500 for a Saggi the Dark Clown and not even a mint condition one that was held by a famous duelist.  These are all good hard working people, most of whom have never done anything like this before so there are a few lawyers out there throwing out the possibility they were under hypnosis. But…”
 

“But?” echoed Rarity, a hint of fear in her voice.
 

“Juniper might have a problem,” admitted Shining. “I spoke to her uncle and, well, the stunt she pulled at the studio is going to weigh against her.”
 

More fear gripped at Rarity as she clutched the phone tighter. “He…He believes her though right? That it was magic?”
 

Shining just sighed. “Right now Rarity, he’s hurt. Very, very hurt.”

-x-

At the same time, Starlight whistled a nameless tune as she walked into her hotel room without a care. Of anything.
> The Hell that is my Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aria Blaze sighed as she entered the Taco Loco, flinching in annoyance as the clutter of bells rang overhead to signal that someone had just entered the building. Grr, it was so annoying. Just like nearly everything else in this world ruled by stupid humans.


Honestly, she felt like she was in some sort of hell most of the time.


Grumbling to herself, the purple skinned siren made her way to the counter with her phone in hand. Thankfully there was no line; either because the lunch rush had not started yet or this place was still the same lame pit stain that it had been when she briefly worked here. Maybe a little of both. Whatever. Who cared? All that mattered right now was that she could get something pathetic to eat without wasting too much of her time and using their Wi-Fi in peace.


“Hey Aria, welcome to Taco Loco!” came an all too cheerful voice that nearly caused Aria to drop her phone. Not even bothering to fight the urge to roll her eyes Aria looked up from her mobile device to see her sister standing there behind the counter. Unlike the others who were working there, all of whom were wearing black shirts with the Taco Loco symbol on them, Sonata was wearing a white button up shirt that she miraculously managed to button without getting her fingers stuck in them like the idiot she was. On her shirt was a golden name tag which had her name (duh), but that was smaller as the work ‘Manager’ took up the majority of the tag. Aria also noted the clean and freshly ironed black pants she was sporting as well.


“Ah great,” grumbled Aria as she brought a hand to her forehead. Great, just great. This was just what she needed. “What are you doing there?”


“One of my girls called in sick,” answered Sonata cheerfully, her smiling beaming in contrast to Aria’s dour expression. “So I’m helping everyone out!”


“Of course you are,” Aria grumbled again as she felt her shoulders and back slump. Her toes curled at the sight of that smile. How the hell could she possible be that happy?!? They were stuck in this miserable world, ruled over by creatures whose greatest accomplishment was social media! That’s it. To make matters worse, they had been stuck in the bodies of teenagers which at times wasn’t that bad…until the times changed. Suddenly, they were too young to get decent paying jobs and instead had to settle with paying ones. Social Security was a nightmare and they had to find the seediest places just to rent an apartment, placing that didn’t care who you were as long as you paid. And if that wasn’t bad enough, stupid governments created those dumb laws that said they were ‘too young’ to smoke or drink. All that was bad, but when they lost their powers it became so much worse. So how could that moron smile like that?


Maybe people were right when they said ‘ignorance was bliss’.  


After letting out a sigh Aria reached into her pocket to pull out the few dollar bills she had as well as a number of coins. Not enough for a full meal. Damn! Why did these prices have to be so high? She could remember a time when this could get her a burger, fries, soft drink, and still have enough for dessert. Dumb humans. Looking up, she noticed Sonata looking at the small amount of money in her hand, her smile dropping ever slightly.


“Let’s see,” mumbled Aria as her looked up at the menu. “I guess I’ll have two of your cinnamon swirls…and a cup of tap water. That is still free, right?”


“Yep,” replied Sonata, quickly placing her order. “That’ll be $2.01 please.” Quickly Aria placed the bills on the counter near Sonata followed swiftly by placing a single copper coin on top of it. Seriously? Two dollars and one cent? At least she didn’t have to wait long as Sonata took the money and, with remarkable speed for someone as dumb as her, placed a tray right in front of her.


“There you go,” said Sonata as she closed her eyes and gave her another smile. “I hope you enjoy your meal!” Aria said nothing as she looked down at what she had paid for. The cinnamon swirls were in child sized wrapping, looking like they barely held more than ten of each overly cinnamon flavor stick! Just looking at it was almost enough to make her sneer in sheer disgust, wishing she had just found a vending machine and bought something from that! At the very least her stomach didn’t growl or anything cliché as that, since she was hungry.


Without so much as a word of thanks, because really who in their right mind would thank anyone for crap like this, Aria moved away from the counter and found a spot for herself in the corner of the restaurant. Once she sat down, the former siren leaned back against the seat while letting out a sigh as her eyes looked up at the ceiling. As she sat there, a hand went to her pocket where it felt the money card Cinch had given her when she joined. Thanks to this card, she could buy pretty much whatever she wanted without worrying about pesky people tracing it or crap like that. Well, unless you were Cinch or Adagio that is. Cinch would know what she bought and where while Adagio would always find out somehow. And if Adagio ever found out she had stopped here she would be in for a big headache.


Groaning aloud, Aria sat up to look blankly at her ‘food’. It was sure to be too sweet for her tastes as well as unfulfilling. But ordering something else wasn’t worth the headache. As for just going someplace else, well, it wasn’t worth the effort. And it would defeat the purpose of coming here.


Resting an elbow on the counter, Aria pulling out her phone and pulled up MyStable. So much delicious gossip and misery was already afloat, reminding her of the days when she and her sisters would devour it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While that sort of thing would no longer sustain her, there was an odd pleasure that could be derived from it. Looking at all those people spreading their woes and hate was one of the few pleasures Aria had left in this miserable world. The only thing that could ever top it was adding to it. And it was so easy to do that. With a glance, she could see one of her ‘friends’ posting messages.


Growl: I can’t believe this! My VP is a total bitch!


Aria licked her lips. She knew who ‘Growl’ was in real life, just not by name. He was a student at that dump where she and her sister lost their powers. A few years younger than she was, closer to Snails’ age. The only time they had ever been face to face was in the cafeteria, though he probably had forgotten all about her. It had been brief after all. Well, better find out what was going on and seeing if she could make it worse.


Diva: What happened?


Growl: I got weekend detention AGAIN! All I did was push a couple of people out of the way so I could FINALLY get a chance to duel in the new stadium. But no. No, I’m cut out again because she’s all sweat on this shrimp in my class.


Diva: Favoritism. It’s a bitch. I get ya dude. 


Growl: He’s not even that good! I could beat him without even using my extra deck.


Diva: Don’t take this lying down. Stand up for yourself


Growl: Tried. The VP and P are related so they look out for each other. Tried talking to my parents, but they won’t listen. They’re all ‘It’s just a game’ and ‘No reason to act that way’. As if they had any idea how I felt! Not even my brother will help me.


Aria grinned. Oh, this was too easy. ‘Growl’ already seemed at his wits end right now and that self entitled attitude made him suck easy prey. So sure he was in the right. So sure he was the victim in all of this. Yeah, this was going to be easy to help make his world a living hell. All she had to do was give him a push in the ‘right’ direction and he was sure to spread so much hostility. Her only regret was that she wouldn’t be there to see it.


Diva: You have a duel disk, right? Challenge the kid and embarrass him in front of the school! That’ll teach him.


Growl: *Sigh* Wish it were that easy. Last time I tried, this loser named Scoots got in the way. She’s been ticking me off because she thinks she’s got the better winged beast deck. It’s lame.


Diva: That excuse is lame. Dude, if her deck really is lame then challenge her as well. Put her in her place! You do have the better deck, right?


Growl: OF COURSE I DO!


Diva: Then show them who’s boss! Go to the shrimp and challenge him to a duel. If Scoots gets in the way then say ‘Fine, I’ll duel you first as a warm up before I mop the floor with your boyfriend!’ If she tries to back down, mock the hell out of her until she feels like crap! If they go to the VP, attack the kids manhood or lack thereof. Heck, you could even spread some nasty rumors about them.


There was no response. At least, not right away. Either her words were sinking in or he was trying to come up with another excuse not to duel them. Not like it mattered to Aria in the least since there would be misery no matter what this kid did. He could duel them and win causing the two to feel like shit, hopefully resulting in some sort of high school teen drama that would end in a battle with fists. That or the VP got involved and all of them got into trouble. Or he could lose, his pride shattering to thousands of tiny pieces. Heck, even if he did nothing his self loathing would begin to eat him away from the inside. Ah, it was some wonderful. Who needed magic when these social media platforms allowed her to do the same thing without needing to hit a single note?


Reaching towards her food Aria frowned as she realized that both bags of cinnamon swirls were all gone. Great, just great! Barely enough to fill the belly of a toddler. Maybe she should have stayed with this dead end, loser job just so she could make people miserable with their over inflated prices for lame food that would no doubt cause those same idiots to gain body image issues. Heck, she could have tried to become a CEO and really make people’s lives a living hell!


“Hey Aria,” came Sonata’s cheerful voice, nearly causing Aria to let out the loudest groan of the day. With one thumb, she minimized her MyStable app before looking up at her annoying stupid sister. She was standing there with a tray in her hands along with a large smile. “I brought you your food.”


“I didn’t order anything else,” she grumbled. 


“Don’t worry about it,” said Sonata, dismissively. “It’s on me.”


For a moment, Aria could only stare wide eyed at her sister feeling…touched by this kind gesture. Even after she had done nothing to prevent her from being kicked out of their apartment, she was still willing to do this? However, that moment came and went as her bored/annoyed expression returned. “You know I hate tacos,” she said as looked down at her phone again. With the swipe of her thumb, she brought up Taco Loco’s website ready to give this dive a nasty, one star review.


“Then why are you here?” asked Sonata who either didn’t see Aria pressing the single star symbol or was too dumb to know what she was doing.


Aria paused for a moment so she could roll her eyes. “Because Adagio hates this place,” explained Aria in a tone that one would usual find in an adult speaking to a child. “She’d rather saw off both her legs than to come within a mile of this dump. So I figured it would be the perfect place for me to go to get some space from here.” 


“Oh,” said Sonata, blinking slightly at that before her smile reappeared. “Well don’t worry, I got you this instead.” Aria’s attention was caught once more, looking up just in time to see Sonata set the tray in front of her. On it were two burritos, a side of nacho chips dripping with hot melted cheese, and a lemon lime soda.


“Ahh, aren’t burritos just,” Aria began, ready to complain. However, it suddenly just felt like too much work to complain. And really, she was getting free food from her idiot sister. She would have to be dumber than Sonata to reject this outright. So, setting the phone down, Aria pulled the tray closer to her. “Never mind.”


“So,” said Sonata as she pulled out the chair across from Aria and sat down, the bored Siren not even looking up as she picked up her food and began to eat it. “How are you and Adagio doing? Did you both find another job?”


Aria paused for a moment to give her sister her classic annoyed look. “Why do you care?” she asked.


“Well I passed by your apartment not too long ago,” began Sonata as she leaned onto the table, crossing her arms while resting both her elbows on the wooden/plastic surface. “I wanted to remind you both that you hadn’t returned your uniforms and that’s why you hadn’t gotten your final paycheck. I would have called, but Adagio hasn’t been answering my calls. But when I got there, no one would answer no matter how long I knocked. Then I talked to the landlord who told me that you two were long gone.” She paused, looking down at the table. As she continued to talk, her voice became less cheerful. “To be honest, it kind of freaked me out a little. Even though you both kicked me out, I was worried. I didn’t know where you were staying, what you were doing for money.”


Swallowing was becoming harder for Aria as Sonata continued to talk. She felt, well, bad for some reason. Bad enough to slowly set her food down on her tray, her gaze fixed on the table between them. Even after how things went down the last time they were face to face, she was worried about them? Wanted to check up on them? After centuries of verbal abuse she should have been happy to never see them again! At least, that’s how Aria believed she would feel if their places had been reversed. The more she thought about it, the more this unsettling feeling inside her began to grow until Aria picked up her drink hoping to drown it out with some discount soda pop.


“We’re not doing too bad,” said Aria, speaking while her teeth were between the straw. “I mean, we’re not living in a four story mansion but we’re also not living in a van down by the river. Just watching my money a bit more.” She then looked up to give Sonata a meaningful look. “I mean, we can’t all be freeloading in the house of one of the Rainbooms.”


“Oh,” said Sonata as she seemed to shrink in her seat a little. “You know about that?”


“Yeah,” said Aria gruffly, setting her drink down and picking up her burrito again. “Adagio went ballistic when she found out. It was amusing for a bit, but got old after the first hour of her ranting and raving.”


“She does know that that’s not the same Twilight, right?” asked Sonata in a defensive tone. “They only look alike, but I think she’s a lot better and smarter than the pony princess who zapped us. Twilight’s even helping me with some of my homework. Thanks to her, I got a C+ on my last Lit test. I would have gotten a B-…but I did sort of mention how we were the sirens who tried to sink Odyssey’s ship and the teacher thought I started writing my fanfiction into the test.”


At that Aria rolled her eyes. “Look it doesn’t-” she began but stopped herself when she noticed something that Sonata was wearing. It was a pendent one that looked like an ocean green teardrop. And it was only now, as she sat there looking at it, that she could feel the Equestrian magic practically rolling off of it.


For what seemed like forever, Aria just sat there staring at it. How?!? How in the world did this idiot get her hands on more Equestrian magic? Did that other Twilight create it for her? No, she would have heard something thanks to that virus she and Adagio had planted into the girl genius’ computer. There was no way Cinch would have kept that to herself, she would have tried to duplicate whatever Twilight would have done. And Adagio would have exploded, blasting off to the moon in her anger. So, how did she get it? The obvious answer was that she found it, but somehow that answer left a bad taste in her mouth. She and the others were working hard, busting their asses to hunt magic only for this airhead to have it drop in her lap! Not to mention that the Rainbooms now seemed to trust her with it! After all, as dumb as the Rainbooms were, they did have a few slightly smarter members of their group that would notice the magic around that girl’s neck. Like Twilight who created the magic tracking device! So yeah, they had to know that she had magic.


But one thing did bother her about this. Cinch had to know that Sonata now had a magical item on hand. So why didn’t she mention it? Could it be that she was waiting to find out more information on it before they made a plan…or was she keeping this piece of information to herself?


Sonata was saying something, but Aria wasn’t really paying attention right now. Instead she pushed her doubts about Cinch to the side for now as she began to consider her options…which weren’t many. She could reach out and grab it before making a break for it. Only she knew that was a stupid plan. There were cameras in the store that would catch her in the act and the police would be called. Sure it would be for something they would consider small time, but theft was theft and she didn’t want to look over her shoulder for the police whenever she went out. Or the Rainbooms since they would no doubt try everything in their power to find her. And that was only if she could get out. For all she knew, that pendent gave Sonata the power to slow her down, invert her perception of reality, or turn her into a candy bar!


“Aria? Aria?” The former siren blinked as the world around her returned to the forefront of her attention. She gazed at Sonata who, thankfully, hadn’t noticed what she had been staring at.


“What were you saying?” asked Aria quickly, leaning back into her seat. Taking a small breath, she slowly began to relax. She needed time to think. There was no need to rush this.


“I was just wondering what you and Adagio were doing now,” said Sonata, an awkward smile on her face.


Arai paused for a moment, before she answered. “We got a job in the collection business,” she replied. There was no reason to tell her the whole truth, but no reason to lie either. It would be the best thing for her if they ever met up again so that she didn’t need to keep her lies straight.


“You mean like stamps?” asked the airhead as she blinked. “I don’t think you’ll be able to make a lot of money unless you find a really rare one.” Aria fought back a groan, almost slapping her forehead.


“No you moron,” she growled before taking a breath. “Not that kind of collection. Basically our boss sends us out to find something she’s looking for and we get paid when we bring it back.” Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but Aria’s phone began to buzz thus saving her from what was no doubt a stupid question. Looking down at her phone, she saw that it was Snails sending her a simple text: Adagio is looking for you. Aria’s shoulders slumped as she read this, setting her phone down on the table. Great, just great. No doubt Adagio was going through her tiny room right now trying to find her or searching their ‘home’ for any traces of her. Sooner or later their ‘leader’ would realize she wasn’t there and would begin texting her as well. At least Snails had warned her of the upcoming headache. It didn’t mean she could avoid it, but she could prepare for it. 


At least, that’s what she had hoped for. Moments later her phone began to buzz again and she knew who it was without looking at the name. Adagio wanted her back now, texting her in all capitals with no explanation why. As if she were a dog, being ordered around like some sort of dog. At first, Aria saw fit to just ignore the text only for Adagio to send another one. Then another one. And another. And another. And another.


“This better be important,” muttered Aria under her breath, quickly texting Adagio that she would be there as soon as she could. After she set her phone back down the girl began cramming what was left of her burrito into her mouth.


“Is everything ok?” asked Sonata, looking worried again.


“It’s nothing,” replied Aria after swallowing. She then picked up her drink, quickly taking a big gulp before letting out a sigh. Ok, Sonata did something right with that drink. “Work is calling. I’d better get going.”


Sonata smiled as she stood up before Aria could. “Let me get you some to-go boxes and a bag.” Surprised by this, Aria could only sit there as Sonata left before her eyes became half lidded once more. Looking down, she pulled up the screen where she had begun to give this dump a poor review. Seconds ticked by as she looked at the single lit star she had pressed which seemed to grow bigger the longer she stared at it. Then, she looked up at the food she had been given for free by the airhead whom she had always insulted, never defended causing that odd feeling to return to her chest. After returning to phone Aria let out a sigh before she pressed the third star causing three to light up and then hitting accept without writing a thing down.


And, as she did, that odd feeling went away.


-x-


“Where have you been?!” roared Adagio, her hands flying in the air. Next to her was that fat shrimp named Snips, who nodded in an almost sycophantic way with an annoying smirk on his face. Off to the side was one of their newer members, Vignette, who had her back against the steel wall and her head downcast.


“I needed some air and time to myself,” replied Aria as she stepped out of the elevator and into the secret hidden lair found beneath the old Victorian house in the middle of the woods. The Taco Loco bag Sonata had given her being discarded after she had finished with the food, the bag tossed into the woods along with all the other litter and crap that could be found out there. In her mouth was a breath mint which she sucked, hoping it would overpower the odor of her breath. Or, at the very least, help mask what she had been eating. The last thing she needed was for Adagio to get on her case.


As she folded her arms, looking at Adagio with her usual uncaring look, Aria noticed someone sitting off to the side in front of one of the large computer work stations. It was Snails. He was just sitting there, saying nothing and doing nothing except looking straight ahead. One might have thought he was deep in thought, pondering something complex by the way he just sat there not paying any attention to what was going on. Only the people in the room knew that wasn’t the case. Snails was a person who just didn’t think: period! He was like a younger, male Sonata. Only he talked less so that made a level above the airhead in Aria’s opinion.


“Come on,” said Vignette with a groan. “You called us all here for a reason. Can we please get on with it?”


Adagio shot Aria another look before turning around. “Fine, follow me. We need to have a little chat with Cinch” she ordered. With that she stormed off, Snips following at her heels while looking up at her in the same way a puppy looked at its master. It was just so sickening!


Aria only took a few steps before she paused and looked over at Snails. “Hey, Snails, get moving,” she said. At that Snails jumped out of his seat as though it had suddenly been electrocuted. Panting he finally noticed the room around him, as well as the people now leaving.


“What’s going on?” he asked dumbly as he walked towards Aria.


“I don’t know,” she said glumly as she followed the crowd, sticking to the rear. “Could be another Adagio power trip or something. And, to be honest, I really don’t care.” Snails made a noise but nothing more as the two followed the others down the metal corridors. 


The group quickly made their way deeper into the facility, moving past a group of metal doors which lead into their ‘rooms’. A term Aria used lightly. She had no idea what this place was originally meant for. A secondary, offsite work station or a place to hold up during the zombie apocalypse. But whatever the case was, they skimped on the living spaces. All of their rooms, minus Cinch’s, were small things where the bed took up the majority of the room. At the very least, the dressers were the kind built into the wall kind so as to not take up more space. Honestly, they reminded her of those tiny cabins on cruise ships for the lowest of the low passengers.


  At the end of the hallway was a doorway which Adagio opened without knocking. Light flooded inside the dark room, revealing Cinch standing over a fallen Twilight Sparkle. At first, Cinch didn’t seem to notice this intrusion, just standing there with her arms crossed and a duel disk attached to one wrist. As for Twilight, there seemed to be blood coming down from one of her lips as she reached out with one arm towards the former principal, her dueling cards scattered around her with a few looking like they had been set on fire.


Cinch, who had been looking pleased with herself, suddenly frowned as she turned to look at the girls who had entered the room. “It is good manners to knock before entering,” she said in a stern voice, eyes narrowing at Adagio in particular.


“Sorry to interrupt you imaginary puppy kicking session,” said Adagio as she stormed into the room. “But this is important. So I’m going to need your full attention for this.” Aria watched as her sister stood in front of Cinch, their gazes focused on the others in a deadlock. For some time, the two just stood there as if in some battle of wills. It was Cinch that eventually pulled away first, either submitting to Adagio or she just didn’t see the point in continuing. Regardless, the woman pulled out a small remote from her pocket before pressing a single button on it. In an instant, the Twilight on the ground exploded into thousands of golden lights. The same kind that duel monster holograms turned into when they were destroyed. A second later, light filled the room.


“For your information, I was practicing for the inevitable moment when I duel my former student once again,” said Cinch as she brought her hands behind her back, holding herself up high as she looked down at Adagio. “I will not allow a repeat of what happened back at Camp Everfree to occur once again.”


“Heh, like I need it,” scoffed Adagio as she gave Cinch a smug look. “I’m not the person who lost to a Genex deck.”


Aria felt her eye twitch as Cinch let out an angry noise. “Is there a reason why we’re here?” demanded the purple siren. “Because if you called us all here just to watch you pick a fight with Cinch, then I’m out.”


“Same,” groaned Vignette. “By the way you were pounding at my door; I thought something big had happened.”


“Something big did happen!” Adagio shouted at the two of them before rounding on Cinch. “That movie girl I’ve been following, Juniper, well, we just lost her.”


Cinch brought a hand up to her chin, looking like she was trying to remember something in a very dramatic fashion. “Juniper. Hmm. If I recall correctly, she was the one who had the magic mirror for a short time.”


“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Adagio, now fuming as she began to walk around in the holographic dueling room. As she paced, her arms would fly up into the air from time to time as the others watched. “I’ve been following her, waiting for the right moment to approach her for days now. Make her the offer to get her magic back, to get back everything she lost if she helped us. And if she refused, she could have been the perfect test subject in that magical extraction chamber you’ve been working on.” Aria’s eyes widened by the tiniest bit when she heard this. Magical extraction chamber? She hadn’t heard of that before. And by the looks of the others, neither had they.


“Wait, what’s this about magical extraction?” demanded Vignette.


Cinch coughed into her fist. “It was supposed to be my secret,” she said in a tired voice, shooting a glare at Adagio before turning to the other. “As the name implies, it’s a specialized chamber that is meant to remove all lingering traces of magic from an individual. Using Ms. Juniper as an example, we are aware that when her mirror was at full power she underwent a transformation not unlike how that former student of mine transformed.  While her transformation was brief, it still altered her on a level, perhaps cellular, atomic, or even some form we have yet to discover. Something that invasive would no doubt leave traces, small bits of magic that we could extract more easily than dueling our opponents. It is my belief that there is a possibility that traces of the magic that altered her form could still be in her to some degree. Thus, this chamber will forcibly extract that magic so that it can be stored until we can put it to a more proper use.” 


“Ah, what happens to whoever goes in that thing?” asked Snails, showing a rare display of insight.


“Right now, that is unknown,” said Cinch as her gaze fell upon Snips, Snails…and Aria! While Aria continued to look at Cinch with her normal, uncaring appearance the purple siren could feel sweat forming slightly on her brow. It was taking a real effect not to clench her fists or even to take a step back. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that neither Snips nor Snails had grasped what the woman was implying. But Vignette, she understood judging by the calm and almost smirking expression on her face. Both of the boys in their group had been transformed into winged minions back when they were toddies to Sunset Shimmer. As for Aria, she was a creature who came from Equestria and transformed a few different times. The last time, at the Battle of the Bands, as she allowed the magic to flow into herself. They were possible test subjects to be used. That’s why none of them had been told about this. Except…


But she knew, thought Aria as her focus shifted to Adagio. Her sister was standing behind Cinch now with a look that screamed cruelty while her eyes danced between the three. Cinch must have told her all about this back when we first came here! But why did she let that out? Now we’ll be on our guard! 


“I do plan on testing it out on that vile thing that my former student calls a pet,” continued Cinch as she turned away from the group, no staring at the wall. “That creature still contains magic, and it will help us immensely to discover if we can simply extract more stable magic through more direct means. If it works, we will then have the means to drain all of Equestria of its magic thus making all of us more powerful. Still, testing this on someone who only has lingering traces would be a boon before that as a sample to see if it works. That and we will know if it is worth our time to hunt down all of those whose forms had changed.” Cinch then paused as she turned around to look at the three of them again. “However, with that said, I would prefer not to use any of our members on a test which might prove costly to their…well being.”


“Unless, of course, they’re not pulling their weight,” added Adagio. Now, Aria couldn’t help but clench her fist tightly for a moment. So, that was why she brought it up. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue, but rather to motivate them all into not failing. A threat which would hang over all their heads.


“I would not get so cocky if I were you Adagio,” said Cinch sternly as she rounded on the girl, causing Adagio to take a step back. “You said that we lost Juniper. How exactly did you allow that to happen?”


For a moment, Adagio seemed taken aback as she was now on the hot seat. As if she thought that she was somehow immune only to be proven wrong. Yet, an instant later, she was back to her usual form. “It wasn’t my fault,” Adagio snapped as she pointed a finger into Cinch’s chest. “It was that other girl we’re been trailing: Starlight Glimmer. She used her magic on Juniper, taking control of her body or whatever to rob the movie theater where she worked. Dumb girl then fought that Rarity girl, lost, and got her ass hauled off by the police.”


Cinch nodded as she moved away from Adagio, walking over to a panel on the wall. “Yes, that girl has been using her magic more and more lately. No doubt testing her limits. Making bolder moves.”


“Are we going to get her?” asked Snips, punching his palm with his fist. “We know where she is, right?”


Adagio rolled her eyes. “Of course we know where she is,” said the siren. “That stupid girl thinks she’s smart enough to do all of this without being noticed. But I’ve seen her every time she’s used her magic in Canterlot and followed her back to her hotel room several times now. Bet she isn’t even aware of us.” Adagio then gestured to Aria and the others. “That’s why we’re all here right now. We know where she is and, from what I can see, beating those losers she defeated in duels frees them. So I say we strike her hotel, freeing all her mind slaves before dueling her and taking away her magic. That’ll teach her for messing with our plans.”


“Alright!” cheered Snips as she punched a fist into the air. “That sounds-”


“Leave her be for now,” said Cinch, her back facing all of them again.


Adagio blinked at this before placing her hands on her hips, an angry look appearing on her face. “Excuse me? Leave that pain in the ass alone? She’s messing up with our plans, alone, and-”


“And can serve as a good distraction for the Rainbooms,” interrupted Cinch as she began to press buttons on a keyboard sticking out of the wall. “Currently, they are unaware of what we are up to. Something that I would prefer stayed that way until we’re ready to make our big move. But if that Starlight girl really did take control of Juniper, then the Rainbooms will focus their attention on her. After all, they will want to help out their friend so their attention will be fixated on that. Hopefully anything we do will be laid at the feet of Starlight. We could, if such a situation ever arose, use her as a scapegoat should we ever get caught. Simply claim that we were being controlled after losing a duel.”


“Yeah, and if she ever becomes too powerful?” asked Vignette, taking a step forward. At her words, Cinch stopped her typing yet didn’t turn around as if to give their newest member her say. “Like, I get where you’re coming from. But FYI, she can control people. What happens when she manages to take control of an army of people, using them as a shield to like wear us down or whatever?”


“I am not saying we don’t keep an eye on her,” said Cinch flatly as she returning to her typing. “We will keep a close eye on her and, if she is getting too powerful, we end her there. That or we can use the Rainbooms as cannon fodder for her mind controlled slaves.” Cinch seemed to finish what she was working on, pressing a final button before the image of a teenage girl with a scar on her eye appeared as a hologram in the middle of the room causing everyone to jump back a little. “Starlight is not the only one at play right now. The girl named Tempest is on the move as well. For now, we shall allow her to do as she pleases as long as it does not hinder our goals. Like Starlight, Tempest will serve as a suitable distraction while we find more Equestrian magic.”


“I don’t like it,” said Adagio as she crossed her arms. “We know they have magic. We should just take them out now before they become a headache. As it stands, we barely have any. The only one of us who has collected any is me. If we don’t get a move on we’ll lose it all!”


“As much as I hate to say this, you have a point,” said Cinch as she walked into the middle of the room. “Thankfully, I have located a new magical source. Or, at least I believe I have. Your opinion on the matter would help expedite the process.”


Adagio’s smug, superior expression returned while the image of Tempest vanished. A moment later, the room changed entirely. One moment, they were in an empty room of steel and iron walls to what looked like an old-time, indoor flea market. No, that wasn’t quite right. As Aria looked around she saw that this was just a cheap looking pawn shop. Several of the aisles were filled with people’s trash which some poor idiot thought could make him a quick buck. VHS tapes, old toys, baby clothes, musical instruments, and even guns were lined up, seeming at random.


Then, people appeared near a glass counter. Two of them. One was a man in a black suit, an expensive looking one at that. Judging by the solid gold buttons and the gold watch he had on his wrist, he was clearly loaded. So why was he in this dingy shop? Aria’s eyes moved over to the other man, standing behind the counter. He was a yellow skinned man with red hair that had a white streak in it as well as a red mustache. By the way he dressed, he looked more like one of those old barbershop singers (or just a barber in general) than a man who would own someplace like this. 


“Seems my tip was wrong,” said the rich man, still looking down at the glass counter. Aria moved just a little bit so that she could see what he was looking at. Duel Monster cards. Each one in a plastic protector with very high prices on them. “These cards are…rare. But not the level of rarity that I was promised.”


“Oh my dear sir,” said the shop keeper. “I am wounded, simply wounded that you would believe that we would just display our absolute finest where just anyone could see. No, this is just a test to see if you possess the keenest of eyes to discern our fair product! A test which you, yes you, have passed with flying colors. So allow me to show you our rarest cards.”


The rich man sighed. “I could do without the theatrics Flam,” he said as ‘Flam’ pulled out a box behind him. The box was set on the table before it was opened with an over the top motion that made Aria’s eyes roll. But then she saw something. Flam pulled out a coin from his pocket that seemed to-


“What is THIS!” roared the rich man as he held up a card. Aria’s widened when she saw it: the original Mushroom Man. A lame plant monster with no effect and 800 attack points! That was the rare card he was trying to pedal. “Is this some sort of joke?!”


“Oh no my good sir,” said Flam as he then flipped the coin in the air. Aria watched it, her eyes widening as she took in what was etched into the coin. Something familiar that she hadn’t seen in ages. It was a dragon, sleeping next to a large hoard of treasure. At first she tried to tell herself she was mistaken, that it couldn’t be the same coin. That it was just something that looked similar to that one. After all, how many thousands of years had it been since that coin had been created. Surely one of these damn monkeys would have thought to put a similar image on a coin simply because it looked ‘cool’.


Yet, those thoughts were blown away as the coin began to shine briefly and the rich man began to talk again. “I…I want it!” the man said, a panting now in his voice as he held the cheap card with both hands. There was a tremble in his body now and no doubt a look of utter greed in his eyes. “I need this card. It’s…It’s so perfect. I want it.”


“Yes, I know you do,” said Flam as he caught the coin easily. “But such a fine card does not come cheaply I’m afraid.” Aria watched without listening as Flam dulled out an insanely high price to which the rich man did not question. His focus was on the card alone, staring at it like it was some sort of magical ring that would grant ultimate power or something like that. By the time it was all over, Flam had taken everything from the rich man who walked out of the store still staring at the card.


“This footage was gathered thanks to our young associate Snails not too long ago,” said Cinch as she walked over to the hologram of Flam. “The man who purchased that card was Power Stride, a Pro-Duelist turned street bum as he had emptied out his bank account to purchase a card that costs, at most, three cents. His wife left him shortly after that and his three children are not talking to him or even bothering to try and find him since they had to drop out of college. He is just one of several victims in recent weeks of the Flim-Flam brothers.” She then stopped next to Flam, the image of the coin blowing up so that it was now as tall as her. “A few of their victims are right now trying to sue them to get back everything they lost, claiming that they were hypnotized into spending outrageous fees for substandard products.”


“Makes sense they would think that given that that’s one of the Coins of Sendak,” said Aria as she stepped forward.


“The what?” asked Adagio, sounding confused.


Aria shook her head a little. “Tirek talked about them a few times while we were dating,” she said before letting out a sigh. Slowly she turned to look at the assembled group. “The coins were a creation of his mentor, the centaur who taught him how to absorb the magic from other living things: Sendak the Elder.” Aria paused for a moment, watching as Adagio’s eyes widened at that before she continued. “In his early days, Sendak became curious about dragon greed growth. Wanting to study this in a controlled setting, he crafted two coins using rare metals only found in the mines of his homeland as well as ancient mystical arts he himself had created over the years. One had the ability to infuse a creature with greed while the other removed it. For several weeks he used the two coins on a baby dragon he had captured from the Dragon Lands, forcing it to greed grow and then shrink over and over again as he made notes on the process.”


“Whoa, that’s amazing!” exclaimed Snips, licking his lips in a greedy fashion.


“I guess, but what was the point?” asked Vignette.


Aria shrugged. “Who knows,” she said. “Maybe it was just curiosity. Or maybe he was planning on dethroning King Vorak and Queen Haydon with his own dragon army only to discover he couldn’t control them. What I do know is these studies were what eventually lead him into researching how to drain magic from other creatures to make oneself bigger and stronger.”


“I see,” said Cinch with a nod of what felt like approval. Not like Aria cared all that much about getting it from her. “So that’s all these coins do. At least, all they did in your world.”


“Hmmm,” came a sinister sound from Adagio as she looked at Cinch. “Coming here changed them? How so?”


For a moment, Cinch said nothing. She just stared at Adagio as if trying to decide if it was worth answering her. Then, at long last, she spoke. “From what I have gathered, the effects on most people are short term. Most of the time the greed effect lasts only for several hours, a day or two at most. However, if one of the brothers’ wins a duel then the effect becomes permanent. Either greedily desiring and hording something or simply willing to give away everything they own for next to nothing.” Cinch then looked at Aria once more. “I am curious how such items came to our world. So far, we have only seen pony artifacts and magic coming into this world. So how did centaur magic make it in here?”


“That’s easy,” said Aria as she crossed her arms. “Tirek told me that after Sendak was caught experimenting on ponies he was sentenced to the mines for the rest of his life. King Vorak then traveled to Equestria to make peace with the dumb ponies living there. No doubt he brought over all of Sendak’s research as a peace offering as well as the captured dumb pony. Knowing Starswirl the Breaded, he probably chucked it through the mirror the moment he saw it and decided to make the coins someone else’s problem.”


“To which we are thankful for,” said Cinch, a faint smile gracing her lips.


“Seriously, I can’t believe you dated that guy,” said Adagio as she closed her eyes, placing a hand on her forehead. “I mean, what did you ever see in that guy?”


“I needed an intelligent conversation every once in a while,” replied Aria. She then felt her cheeks turning red followed by looking away, staring at the floor as she continued. “That…and he had abs for days.” That caused Adagio to shudder.


“In any case,” said Cinch after coughing into her hand. “Thanks to my virus, I am aware that my former student is slowly becoming aware and suspecting the brothers of using magic. We should act now before she confirms her suspicions. Right now Flim is on the outskirts of the city making a purchase, putting him farther away from Twilight Sparkle’s range to detect magic. This makes him a prime target. Adagio, please make yourself useful and deal with-”


“Hold on,” interrupted Adagio. “Why do I have to do this? I tested the capture disk and gathered magic the last time we detected it. Send someone else this time! Like Aria. She’s got nothing better to do!”


Cinch opened her mouth to say something, but Aria beat her to the punch. “Fine, whatever,” she said as she turned around. “If it gets me away from all of you, I’m down for a duel.” Without looking back, she strode out of the room with the door closing behind her. Yeah, this day was just hell. Made all the worse by Adagio being the backstabbing bossy witch that she was. And surrounded by all these idiots and morons who just-


The door opened behind her, cutting Aria off from her inner rant. While she didn’t turn around, she found herself slowing down a bit as footsteps other than her own echoed through the halls. Coming closer to her. Was it Snips? Honestly, she could see that fat little worm following her under Adagio’s or Cinch’s orders. Or perhaps it was Vignette? She couldn’t see the former celebrity following her because she wanted to. Adagio? Maybe if she just wanted to rant and boss her around, but if it was her then she would be doing it right now.


“Mind if I come with you?” came a boy’s voice next to her. Aria blinked and looked to her side, seeing Snails walking besides her. “Just in case you need any help?”


“Not likely,” said Aria coldly, her voice causing the boy to stop in his tracks. She paused herself, looking at Snails as he stared at the ground while that dumb feeling appeared inside her again. The same damned feeling she had with Sonata. For a moment she stood there, staring at him before her face softened and she scratched her nose. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he came with her. If by some chance she did lose, she might need a hand getting back to the base. And he wasn’t entirely useless or annoying. If anything, he was certainly more trustworthy than any other the other by simple virtue of being too stupid to come up with any devious backstabbing plans. Kind of like another person she knew…


“…But, if you want, you can come along,” said Aria as she quickly looked in front of her, her cheeks turning red for some reason while that feeling was quickly squashed. Damn that feeling. It was making this world feel more and more like hell.


-x-


“A pleasure doing business with you,” said Flim as he rolled up the recently signed contract. Next to him was a rare, top condition 1962 Ferrari GTO who, up until just now, had been in the possession of Crazy Wealth. Said Mr. Wealth and his wife stood in front of Flim looking completely at ease that they just sold off their prized car for only a nickel, both of them signing a contract agreeing to the terms.


Whistling a nameless tune, Flim hopped inside the car and drove away while kissing the dragon coin in his possession. As the large manor belonging to the Wealth family slowly shank in his rear view mirror, the man couldn’t help but toy with the thought that he could have taken everything they owned without so much as a peep from them. It would have been so easy too. All he had to do was duel one or both of them, and then they would be completely without greed or desire. Giving him everything they had just because he asked them too. Then he would have everything.


As the large mansions began to pass him by, Flim pulled out the gold coin from his pocket before holding it up in a way so that he could look at both it and the road at the same time. Almost an exact duplicate of the coin his dear brother had, only the dragon on this one was smaller and without a horde of treasure. Not like it matter to Flim as he kissed it, a smile appearing on his face as he remembered how he and his brother had acquired such a find. The coins had been part of an old coin collection belonging to a recently deceased man, his son bringing them to the pawn shop in the hopes that they were worth something. Both Flim and Flam had looked over the coins with only a few having any real value to them…until they spotted a thin, black box. Just looking at it, the brothers could tell there was something special about it for none of the other coins had been given such treatment. The two had to hold back their excitement and wonder as they opened it before the man, finding the two coins, sitting on red velvet cushions. Finding the designs on the coins curious and went to work, doing a quick search of the images to see if they had any historical significance as well as testing the metal to see what it was made of. At best, they had hoped that these coins were from some ancient civilization or had some other link to an important historical figure thus making them worth a small fortune. At worst, they could at least scrap the metal. Only, none of their tests could place the coins on the periodic table. It was like they were from another world! Not wishing to alert the customer to their find, the two paid him $400 for the entire collection as they knew the coins would certainly be worth a fortune once they confirmed their findings. The man did not look into this, only accepting the money before leaving without another word.


Now, the fortune they had envisioned from the sale of the coins seemed so tiny. It had been during one of their tests that they had unlocked the secret of the coins, showing the two their true potential! A scam artists dream come true if there ever was one! With these coins, they could ‘convince’ anyone they wished to part with their belongings or buy whatever junk they had.


Slowly, Flim lowered the coin as his eyes drifted over to the fancy houses passing him by on their many acres of lawn. How easy it would be for their owners to part with them. The only problem was Flam. Oh that brother of his, wanting to move around now that they had a good handle on their powers. But…why? The power they had could give them the easy life from here on out. No more elaborate hustles or cons. No more running from towns after they had been caught. No more tiny pawn shops hoping that someone else would drop something worthwhile into their laps. It had already happened! Their golden goose had finally come in and it was foolproof. Sure, some of their victims were gathering together to try and sue them but he knew they didn’t have a chance in hell. They could easily afford the best lawyers in the country right now!


As Flim rounded the corner, the setting sun to his back, he began to consider his future and his alone. He loved his dear brother for they had been working hand in hand since they were toddlers. But if Flam insisted on moving about, then Flim would have to put his foot down. After all, he did have the more powerful of the two coins. He could just go off on his own, leaving his brother to go where he pleased.


Or, he thought darkly as a wicked smile appeared on his face. I could just duel him and take his coin. With the power to make people greedy as well as the power to take away all their greed, I’ll be unstoppable! I could have everything! There’s nothing that can stop-


Flim’s thoughts came to a sudden halt, his eyes widening as he looked down the road. There, in the middle of the street was a girl. She stood there, motorcycle behind her as she looked at the incoming car with little to no reaction. In a burst of panic, Flim slammed on the brakes as he turned the wheel so that the car came to a screeching halt.


“Are you insane?!” yelled Flim as he got out of the car, heart racing as he slammed the car door. He had no idea who this brat was and he hoped that she wasn’t the daughter or granddaughter of one of the wealthy elite who lived in this part of the city. Sure, he could make people willing to give up everything they owned…but he wasn’t sure his power could stop the police from arresting him for vehicle manslaughter.


Still the girl said nothing, just eyeing him as Flim moved closer. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” roared Flim as he moved closer. “What are you doing here, in the middle of the street? Well?!?”


“Waiting for you and that magic coin,” replied the girl. Flim’s anger seemed to vanish on the spot while the sun finished sinking over the horizon. He stared at the girl, finagling noticing that she had on a odd looking duel disk.


“I…I don’t…What are you?” Flim stammered in shock as girl’s eyes narrowed on him. Or, to Flim’s horror, his pocket.


“Don’t play dumb with me,” said the girl as she crossed her arms. “I know full well you have the coin on you. The one that turns people into generous morons, completely devoid of greed or want. And so do my, urk, friends.”


Flim stood there for a moment before reaching behind him to pull out his duel disk. “You’ll never take it from me,” he said, activating the device.


The blank look on the girl’s face vanished slightly as she allowed herself to smile. “Oh good, we’re skipping all the ‘why should I duel you bit’,” she said with a laugh. None of which made her seem any less charming. Instead, it caused the hair on the back of Flim’s neck to stand on end. It took an effort for Flim not to reach out and clutch the area of his shirt above his heart. Yet he remained where he was.


“You seem to know about my coin,” said Flim, trying to sound tough. “I’ll drain you of all your greed and then you’ll tell me everything. How you know about it and how many others do as well! Then you’ll give me everything you have!”


“Yes,” said the girl as she closed her eyes, a smile still on her lips. “I’m well aware of what that coin can do to me. Then, she opened her eyes, and her smile vanished. She looked at him as if he were nothing but a tiny annoying fly, wanting to swat him a thousand times over. “But, that’s only if you can win this little duel.”


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks while they were raised, their decks shuffled by the auto-shuffler. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” Between the two appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side showing the girl along with her name under it: Aria Blaze. On the other side was one of the rare pictures that only had Flim on it. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Flim.


“Looks like I get to make the first move,” said Flim as he drew his opening six cards, their life points on their duel disks going up and stopping at 8000.


Aria rolled her eyes. “Obviously,” she said in a snarky tone. 


“Hmp,” grunted Flim as he gazed at his hand. “Then perhaps this will help fix that bad attitude of yours. I play the spell card: Goblin Thief!” As the card appeared on the field, a fat goblin around the same size as his opponent appeared behind Aria. Before she realized what was happening, she was knocked over as goblin pushed her as he ran over to Flim. “This card takes 500 of your life points and gives them to me.” As he spoke, the goblin handed Flim a bag of coins which he accepted. Once he did, Flim’s life points went up to 8500 as the goblin exploded.


“Not very impressive,” said Aria as she stood, her life points at 7500.


Flim chuckled. “Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet! Now I summon Shadowknight Archfiend in attack mode!” Grinning broadly, Flim watched as the knight chess piece appeared in front of him before it suddenly exploded. In its place was a bad winged monster with 2000 attack points. One of its hands had been replaced with a sword and the other a three-fingered claw-like weapon. Parts of the monster’s body were exposed; showing that underneath its silver armor was blue sinew.


“Impressed yet?” asked Flim as he took three more cards from his hand and set them in his spell/trap slots. “Well, you will be. I place three cards face down and end my turn!”


“Goodie for me,” droned Aria as she drew. Looking at the six cards in her hand, she let out a sigh. “I’ll start with my Tour Guide From the Underworld.” As she spoke, a black bus appeared near her. Its sudden appearance caused Flim to let out a yelp as he thought for a moment that they were going to be run over! Thankfully that didn’t happen as instead a red headed woman walked out of the bus wearing a blue tour guide uniform. Her attack wasn’t much, only 1000. “When she is normal summoned, I can special summon one level 3 fiend from my deck. Something like my Doomdog Octhros.” Appearing next to the Tour Guide was a large creature that didn’t exactly look like a dog. It was more of a black…thing with no eyes, only red paint on its body to form things like a skull with eye sockets. Its head was huge as were its fangs. Yet, even with all that, its attack was only 800.


“Now the stage is set,” said Aria, her tone dark as a spiral galaxy shaped portal appeared in the middle of the field. “With my two level three monsters I can build the overlay network! The song of doom plays for all the damned. Strum the guitar, adding to their woes. XYZ summon Rank 3: Muzurhythm the String Djinn!” As Flim took in this haunting chant, Aria’s two monsters were sucked into the portal before it suddenly exploded covering everything in darkness. Flim looked around trying to see anything at all but there was nothing! He even tried bringing up his own hand, hoping he could see that. But no, there was nothing. Then light appeared. A stage light shining on a black horned creature wearing a cowboy hat and a long brown coat. There was a rose coming out of the darkness that answered as his face and it held in its arms a double handle guitar. As light returned to the field, Flim saw that its attack points were only 1500. 


“Is that the best you got?” asked Flim in an amused tone as he watched the two material orbs fly around the monster.


“For now,” said Aria as she pointed at the Shadowknight. “Muzurhythm, play him a tone worthy of hell!” At her command, the String Djinn began to strum his guitar faster and faster until Flim could see sound waves flying towards his monster. “At this point, I activate his effect. By removing one overlay unit, my Djinn’s attack is doubled!” Flim watched as Muzurhythm’s attack shot up as it quickly became 3000, the sound waves created by the guitar wielding demon becoming larger. As they drew closer to his Shadowknight, Flim felt himself being pushed back a little before the impact! Just imagine what the explosion would be like!


“Not bad sweetheart,” shouted Flim as he press a button on his duel disk. “Too bad for you I have a trap card: Draining Shield!” A barrier was created around Shadowknight, the sound waves striking it instead. “This handy, dandy little trap card not only protects my monster but also gives me more life points equal to your monster’s attack. So very kind of you.”


Aria’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Flim’s life points shoot up all the way to 11500. “Since the overlay unit I used was Doomdog Octhros, I can use his effect. When he leaves the field and hits the graveyard, I can add to my hand one level 8 fiend. Something like Dark Necrofear.” Aria waited a moment for her duel disk to finish shuffling, moving the named card to the top of her deck before slitting it out halfway. She then took it, adding it to her hand, before picking out two other cards. “Before I end my turn, I’ll place these two cards face down.”


“And as you end your turn, I activate my two face down cards!” announced Flim, now grinning broadly. “The first is the continuous trap Solemn Wishes. Each time I draw, this trap card will bless me with 500 more life points. But that isn’t all! Because my other card is Battle-Scarred! Another wonderful continuous trap card that locks onto my Shadowknight, making us both pay life point for the upkeep of the monster during each of our standby phases.


“Now I draw,” continued Flim, his grin turning into a smirk as he held in his hand two cards now. “Thanks to the effect of Solemn Wishes, I gain 500 more life points.” As he spoke, light began to shine upon him along with a sprinkle of water causing his life points to go up to 1200. “But alas, I must now pay life points in order to keep my Shadowknight on the field. At least I know I won’t be alone in this endeavor.” Still smirking, Flim watched as a claw stretched out of his Battle-Scarred trap all the way over to where Aria stood. The claw then slashed along her gut, ripping her clothing a little as well as leaving marks on her body while her life points dropped to 6600. As for Flim, an aura of green light surrounded his body before his life points dropped to 11100.


“The distance between us just seems to continue to grow,” said Flim. “And it will continue to do so as I play Pot of Desires. By banishing the top ten cards in my deck, it allows me to draw two more cards. You should know what that means.” Flim grinned as he removed the cards on the top of his deck before drawing twice, his body being showed by golden light as his life points rose to 11600. “Now I summon to the field Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode!” Next to Shadowknight appeared the king chess piece. Like with Shadowknight it shattered as another winged demon appeared from inside. This monster appeared more regal in appearance as he placed a large sword in front of him. He stood tall, his armor looking like jagged bones over purple exposed flesh. His attack points were 2000, same as Shadowknight. “Think this monster is strong now little lady? Well, he’ll be even stronger once I give him a dose of Riryoku! This one-of-a-kind spell card sucks up half of your monsters attack points and allows me to give them to Terrorking!”


Aria didn’t seem to flinch as a green aura surrounded her monster before flowing over to Terrorking. The Archfiend let out a mighty roar as he began to grow, doubling in size as his attack rose to 2750. As he grew, Aria’s monster shrank while also looking tired and worn out. This continued until Muzurhythm’s attack was down to 750.


“I do believe it’s time to battle,” said Flim with the upmost confidence. “Terrorking, show that little fella what a real demon is like!” Terrorking responded with a roar, its chest opening up as a swarm of locus flew out towards the smaller monster. Aria just stood there as her monster became covered by the insects, devoured and destroyed in the blink of an eye as her life points dropped to 4600. “Now Shadowknight, attack her directly!”


As Shadowknight lunged forward, its bladed arm outstretched, Aria pressed a button on her duel disk. “I don’t want to deal with this. I activate my trap card Zoma the Spirit.” Shadowknight halted in the middle of the field as gas began to form in front of Aria. The gas slowly began to solidify into a purple clawed creature in defense mode. Its defense was meager at only 500. “If your eyes are working, you should see a monster on my field. That’s because my trap card becomes a monster when activated.”


“Fine, fine,” laughed Flim as he looked at the trap monster. “Shadowknight, cut it down.” Shadowknight bent its oddly shaped legs before lunging again, easily cutting the monster in two…only for the creature to return to its gas like form.


“When Zoma is destroyed, you take damage equal to the attack of the monster that destroyed it,” said Aria, her face completely neutral as the gas flew into Shadowknight and then out again. Flim only had a moment to take a step back before he was hit, his attack dropping to 9600.


“Is that all?” asked Flim after taking a breath, slowly dusting himself off like it was nothing. Sure he felt some pain, but it had been minor. Yet he wasn’t going to let her know that. “Little lady, you’ll have to do better than that. Because I plan to keep taking from you as you are slowly dragged into the hell that is my deck.” A chuckle escaped Aria’s mouth, earning a raised eyebrow from Flim. Most people he had dueled since getting the coin quickly became terrified by this point. The vast difference in their life points, the pain they felt when taking damage, knowing more was to come. A few had even broken down crying, pleading for mercy. Now, Flim was willing to bet that there was a good chance that this girl had been in a duel like this before. After all, she seemed to know about the coin and what it could do. That or she was just acting tough. But he had never expected this sort of reaction.


His confusion only seemed to grow as her chuckle became a downright laugh, throwing her head back to look up at the darkened heavens. It was not of humor or insanity, instead it felt like evil mockery. A cold sweat began to form on Flim arms as he felt a chill running through him. Something that only seemed to grow all the more when she suddenly stopped laughing. Aria’s head lowered so that now she was looking at the ground.


“You think you know what hell is?” she asked in a dreadful voice. “Please, you don’t even know the meaning of the word. I live in hell every single day.” Slowly, she raised her head, her eyes now narrowed in a hateful manner that made all her other features seem like a twisted mockery. “I used to live in a world of magic, power all around me as plentiful as water. I had power then. I had true freedom, going wherever I pleased and doing whatever I wanted. Then, in a single instant, I lost nearly everything. For centuries I had to watch it, holding on to what little magic I had as I felt like I was slowly dying of hunger. What little I could get was only just enough to keep me going until the next day while I dealt with a bossy bitch and a clueless idiot. I used to think it couldn’t get any worse. But now I see how wrong I was. Now I’m powerless, stuck in a body that is now slowly aging.” Aria leaned forward, flinging her arms out as she did so. “This is hell! To go from almost all powerful to a tiny speck, watching the sands of time flicker before you!”


“…Okay,” said Flim, his voice sounding unsteady even to him. “I’ll just…end my turn.”


“As you do, I activate my other face down: Destiny Board!” announced Aria as her card flipped up. A moment later an Ouija Board appeared above the girl’s head, the planchette already moving to the letter F by a ghostly hand. When it stopped, a ghost rose up from the board holding the same letter before simply hovering there. “I hope you know what this means. The life point difference between us now means nothing. Once all five letters appear, it will be the end for you. You will lose instantly!”


“Hmp, that’s only if you can manage it,” replied Flim, a bit of his confidence returning. “All I have to do is take out that one card and all your letters are destroyed. Then again, with the way things are going right now, I might not even have to do even that. Your life points will be gone before you can even get your third letter!”


“Lets see if you can. I draw!” shouted Aria, her draw being so powerful that it sent a chilling wind towards Flim. One that so cold that he could not help but shiver as Aria looked at the five cards in her hand. “Now my Destiny Board gives me another letter.” Above her head, the planchette began to move again. When it stopped, a ghostly I rose up in the grip of a vile spirit.


“I activate my field spell: Dark Sanctuary,” continued Aria as the field spell slot in her duel disk opened up. After closing it, the sky turned from black to blood red and the stars were replaced by giant teeth and eye balls. The street beneath Flim’s feet transformed into a more rocky version of itself while a castle appeared in the distance behind Aria. Only, it didn’t look like most castles Flim had seen in this game. Rather than looking like it was made of brick or something similar, it appeared to him like it had been chiseled out of a mountain. A wind swept over him again and Flim quickly brought a hand to his mouth to keep from vomiting. There was a vile odor in the air as if there were thousands of decaying carcasses.


“With this pleasant change of scenery out of the way, I remove three fiends in my graveyard in order to special summon Dark Necrofear in attack mode!” The three monsters in Aria’s graveyard were removed as another ghostly figure appeared on her side of the field. Slowly it too form, becoming a blue skinned woman with red eyes and pointed ears. Her body looked like it had been stitched together in places like her neck and arms with her stomach was wide open showing it to be hollow like a mannequin. And in her arms was a broken doll whose head began to spin around, laughing insanely. Flim gulped both in fear of the sight before him as well as her attack points: 2200. More than enough to take down either of his monsters.


“But I’m not done,” continued Aria as she slid the removed cards back into her graveyard slot. “By returning three removed fiends back into my graveyard, I’m allowed to special summon another fiend from my hand: Curse Necorfear!” Flames appeared around Dark Necorfear, only she didn’t burn. The flames turned blue as they moved next to her, slowly taking the form of the monster they had come from. She looked almost exactly like Dark Necorfear, even down to the doll she was holding but never did she seem to solidify like the original. Her body continued to flicker like flames on a long and her attack points were 2800!


Aria let out a chuckle. “Feel the fear my monsters bring,” she said, her voice sounding more sadistic. “Dark Necrofear, destroy his Terrorking!” Twin red beams shot out of Dark Necorfear’s eyes, burning a hole through Flim’s monster. Flim could smell the scent of fried bugs, a welcome relief at the moment, before his Terrorking exploded and his life points dropped to 9400.


“When my Terrorking is destroyed, I can discard my Desrook Archfiend to bring him back,” countered Flim as he slid his last remaining card in hand to the graveyard. “Only this time he’ll be back in defense mode!” Like that, Terrorking was back on the field.


“Curse Necrofear, remove his Shadowknight from my sight!” Aria’s words had a horrible bite to them as Curse Necrofear turned into blue flames again which flew across the field. These flames entered Shadowknight and before Flim knew what was happening, his monster’s body began to crumble while blue flame began to come out of every opening. The red headed man let out a scream of fear as his life points dropped to 8600 while at the same time his Battle-Scarred trap exploded as well. When the attack was over, Flim stumbled back while Curse reformed on Aria’s side of the field.


“Look at you,” said Aria, all humor gone from her voice as her expression returned to its original, emotionless tone. Breathing a little harder now, he looked at her to find her barely glancing back as if he were some bug barely worth her notice. “You were ended your last turn so sure of your victory, so confident that your ‘power’ would help you win. Now here you are. Hand empty. A single monster and plenty of meaningless life points. All you can do now is struggle as you wait for your inevitable end.”


“Shows what you know!” shouted Flim, hot air blowing out of his nostrils. “I’ll beat your little destiny board. And I have just the card to do it!” As he spoke, he thought of the card in question: Spell Shattering Arrow. The perfect card to turn the tables on this little girl. It was a powerful card that destroyed all of his opponents spell cards and would then deal her 500 points of damage for each. Sure, it wouldn’t get rid of her Destiny Board, but it would give him time and deal damage. Plus, if she no longer had any more of those letters then her goose would be cooked for sure.


“That’s assuming you didn’t banish it when you drew those cards,” said Aria, causing Flim to grow pale. He…He hadn’t thought of that. Briefly he glanced down at his deck while a tremble ran through his body. He needed to draw that card. He needed to get more cards in his hand period! But his only draw card was Pot of Desires. Each time he used it, there was a chance that he’d banish the card he needed! “I set one card face down and end my turn.”


“F-Fine. I draw,” said Flim who slowly drew his card with his eyes closed. Bit by bit, he brought the only card in his card up to his face, slowly opening his eyes to peek at what he drew. Finally, he opened them to see that it wasn’t his Spell-Shattering Arrow nor Pot of Desire. But it wasn’t a bad card. As he looked at it, he felt his Solemn Wishes activating as an almost heavenly glow surrounded him and bathed him in light while his life points rose to 9100. But, a moment later, that glow vanished as the cost of his Terrorking kicked in, his life points dropping to 8300.


“I equip my Terrorking with the Axe of Despair which raises his attack points by 1000!” declared Flim as a large axe appeared before Terrorking. The lone fiend dropped his sword to pick up the axe which had a shrunken head within the handle near the blade. Once he took ahold of it, energy wrapped around him to raise his attack all the way to 3000. “Now time for battle! I’ll take a good chunk of your life points by destroying Dark Necrofear.”


“You fool,” said Aria as Terrorking’s chest opened up. Flim grinned, ready for his attack to go through and destroy her monster…only to have a ghostly head shoot out from the back of his Archfiend and strike him in the chest.


“W-What was that?!?” howled Flim as he stumbled back, his life points dropping to 6800. Tears were forming in his eyes as he felt like a horse had kicked him in the gut.


“My field spell isn’t just for show,” said Aria. “Each time you attack, there is a 50/50 chance that it will be negated and half of your monster’s current attack will be dealt to you as damage. If we were doing this without duel disks, I would have had to flip a coin. But thanks to technology, the computer did it for me.”


“No…no,” gasped Flim as he tried to stand. “My monster has an effect. It should have protected me. Or at least given me a chance to-”


“Against effects that target, yes,” interrupted Aria. “I am aware of your Archfiend’s effects, a dice roll to see if you can negate targeted effects. Only my field spell doesn’t target.” She then paused for a moment to let out a sigh. “I do think you got off lucky. Had that attack succeeded, then there was a chance that my monster would have possessed your Terrorking thus making it mine.” Flim’s eyes widened at that as his body began to feel so very heavy. This…This didn’t seem fair! If he attacked then he would either lose life points or his monster. Well, if her monster targeted his then he might have a chance to protect it. But if he didn’t attack, he’d just be a sitting duck as his life points were depleted by his own monsters and her Spirit Letters continued to grow. He…He needed his Spell Shattering Arrow! Now!


“I…I end my turn,” whimpered Flim.


“I draw,” said Aria coldly. As she held the two cards in her hand, the planchette on the Ouija board began to move again, stopping on the letter N. From there another ghostly specter holding a large letter N in his hands appeared above Aria and the board.


“Hmm, what was it you said to me before?” asked Aria, a small trace of mockery in her voice. “Oh yes. You said that you would have taken away all my life points before I got my third letter. Yet here I still stand, closer to victory. I end my turn.”


Flim’s eyes widened. With a trembling hand he drew his next card as a duo of effects activated. First he was showered with more life points thanks to Solemn Wishes, going all the way up to 7300. But then came his Terrorking, taking away 800 of those life points so that he was down to 6500. Slowly he looked at the card, hoping that it was his Spell Shattering Arrow. Only it wasn’t. It was another copy of Riryoku. Normally he’d be happy to see this, but right now there was too much risk. If the attack failed them he would just lose more life points. Then again, if he succeeded then Dark Necrofear would just take his monster. And he didn’t want to think about what Curse would do to him! 


Fear began to overtake Flim as he gripped his head with both his hands, fingers running through his hair. He was trapped. There was no way out of this. Attacking was pointless because even if everything went right, there was no way he could reduce her life points to zero before she got her fifth letter in two turns! Could he stall? Not for very long as he still had only two turns! If only he could get more. But he had no way of blocking her spell…and trap…zone…


Slowly the red haired man looked up, spotting the face down Aria had set not too long ago. It was still there! Maybe it was some sort of protection for her Destiny Board but, like a fool, she had forgotten that she needed all five spots in her spell/trap card zone! Flim almost began to grin but stopped himself. No, he needed to wait. He didn’t know anything about Destiny Board so he didn’t know if it was an optional effect. He needed to wait, have her place her fourth letter in her spell/trap card zone so that they would be full. Then, she would have to wait till she could find a way to remove that last spot. That would give him time at the very least to see if he could draw that card!


Hope began to spring up within Flim as his lips twitched in eagerness to smile. He could see light at the end of the tunnel, he was out of this nightmare. His lips were twitching madly, a laugh caught in his throat as he looked at the field as if he were seeing it for what it really was for the first time! He could see Aria’s limitations, her mistakes, his victory! Dark Necrofear became like an equip card, it needed to if it wanted to possess his Terrorking. Well, with all her spell and trap card slots taken up she couldn’t use its effect. Meaning he was safe from it! She should have attacked during her last turn when she had the chance, so that she could have attacked him with both monsters and dealing him 5800 points of damage! Sure, she would have had to give up her instant win but she had already given it up with that face down. What a fool! All he had to do was pass turn, wait until the letter appeared, and he was safe.


“I end my turn,” Flim said, his voice awkward.


“Fine, whatever,” said Aria as she drew. Flim’s eyes moved quickly from the three cards Aria now held to the planchette as it moved. His eyes must have looked mad, but he didn’t care. Nor did he care how his smile was slipping to the forefront as the Spirit Letter I appeared on her field.


“YOU FOOL!” shouted Flim loudly, bringing a hand over his face as laughter erupted like mad. “Now all you’re spell and trap zones are filled. There’s no way you can finish this duel! And on my next turn, I’ll be sure to start taking back control of this duel!”


“Oh really?” said Aria in a tone that made Flim’s laughter die instantly. He looked at the girl as his fear began to return in full force, seeing Aria appearing completely calm. So calm, in fact, that new terror crept over him. “Well, I can see how you would think that. But, there are two flaws in your theory. The first being that I need spell/trap zones.”


“What?!?” snapped Flim as he took a step back. “Of course you need spell/trap card zones. All of your letters are-”


“Spell cards,” interrupted Aria. “And, if this had been a few years ago, you would have been correct. However, the introduction of Dark Sanctuary changed all that. Along with the protection it offers me, it also allows me to place my Spirit Letters in my monster zones where they’ll have 0 attack and defense. But, good news for me, you can’t attack them there or destroy them with effects. Of course, if they were the only cards on my field, you could just attack me directly. To be honest, the only reason I haven’t done it is because you’re not worth the effort. Not with skills as pitiful as yours.”


“Then,” began Flim, realization dawning on him as he gulped. Slowly he looked down at his duel disk, his focus primarily on his deck. “Then I only have one more turn.”


Aria let out a humorless chuckle. “And that there was your second flaw,” she said as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “You’re not getting another turn because I activate my trap card: Sentence of Doom.” As the card flipped face up, Flim felt his knees growing weak without knowing why. Tears began to appear on his face, rolling down to his chin as he looked on in horror. “This card has two effects, but I only need one. I can send this face up card to the graveyard in order to add one Spirit Letter to my spell/trap card zone. Meaning this duel ends now.”


Flim let out a scream as he turned to run. So quick was this motion that he found himself on the ground, face first. But he didn’t care, Flim just pushed himself off the ground before lunging forward like a track star would have done as he made a mad dash for the car. His blood was pounding in his ears while the only other sound he could hear was the moving of the planchette. His face was the perfect mask of horror as more tears poured from his eyes, pathetic noises that he would have otherwise mocked had they not come from his own throat. But none of that matter. All Flim cared about was getting into the car before the final letter appeared and driving away. To find his brother and warn him. Warn him of the monster he had just dueled so that they could prepare.


Yet, it was too late. Before Flim could take more than three steps, he felt something grab his leg. He fell to the ground once again, desperately trying to kick whatever had him off without looking. His hands reached out before him, trying to find something to grab onto to and pull himself forward. When this didn’t work, Flim found himself forced to look back so that he could pry the grip off him. But what he saw horrified him to no end for coming out of the ground was a skeletal hand. Flim let out a scream of horror, trying to hold on to whatever was left of his sanity as he turned over to begin frantically trying to free himself. But as he did this, more hands came out of the ground. Those demonic boney arms and hands grabbed him by the legs, the arms, the neck, and even on both side of the head so that he was forced to stare up at the nightmarish sky. A sad whimper escaped him followed by more pathetic noises as he tried to wiggle his way free while the letter L appeared above Aria’s head.


The girl said nothing more as the ghosts who had been holding the letters sprung to life. They flew above Flim looking horrible and wretched. The spirits grinned at him, raising their clawed hands up as they circled him like vultures circling a creature about to die. Flim screamed once more, a wordless thing really, as he watched the ghosts descend upon him until he could scream no more.


-x-


“Let’s get going,” said Aria as the magic of the coin was captured into her duel disk, her eyes closed as she turned away from the thing that had been Flim. He was alive, but for how much longer…well, who could say really? If he was lucky, someone might come driving by and stop in time before calling him an ambulance. But that would be where his luck ended, of that she was sure. Hmm, but that face he had made at the end was something she would treasure for days to come. The look of hope shattered as the horror of the situation was spelled out to him, sending him into his own personal hell.


“Right,” said Snails as he slid into the sidecar. He watched her as she put on her helmet, doing her best to make sure her hair wouldn’t get in the way as she drove. It was somehow annoying her to no end. Which was odd because she had been watched like this plenty of times before. Maybe it was just the dumb look he had, like he was trying to work up the courage to ask her something. Damn it! He better not start whining about what she did to that guy or-


“I’m sorry,” he said before looking forward.


“…About?” asked Aria slowly as she eyed him.


“For all you lost and feeling like you’re in hell,” he said simply. “It must be hard on you.”


For a moment, Aria wanted to tell him ‘no shit’ or something like that. But that strange feeling began to reappear in her chest as she looked at the boy. It wasn’t love, she was sure of that. Yet it felt like she needed to say something. As she stared at him, she thought about how he had offered to come with her. How he didn’t annoy her by asking to stop to go to the restroom every five minutes or to get a snack or whatever. In fact, the trip had been silent and, well, peaceful. Then she thought back to Sonata and her gift of free food for a former sister. Was she feeling regret or was it…


“Some days are more bearable than other,” she said finally as she got on the bike. “Just depends who I’m with, how much they annoy me. That sort of thing.” Snails didn’t say anything, only nodding as if he understood something as they began to drive away from the scene.
> Meanwhile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rumble sat in his deck, eyes fixated on the clock as the seconds ticked by. He refused to look at anything else, to turn his gaze on anything else other than the hands that would soon signal his freedom. Normally, this would be the average response for a teenager in school awaiting his release. It was a beautiful day outside, the weather pleasant enough to do anything from going out for a bike ride all the way to a swim in the nearby lake. Or, if he so chose, he could go home and play on his PC or head over to the school’s duel stadium to see if anyone there wanted to duel him. His deck was burning to be used!

What was abnormal was the day: Saturday! Rumble fought to keep his leg from bouncing up and down, his anticipation of being released from this unjust confinement reaching its max! For several long hours he had had to sit here, doing nothing as Vice-Principal Luna did various paperwork or did things on her laptop. He wasn’t allowed to talk, not that there was anyone to talk to since he was the only one here today. Nor was he allowed to bring something to read, do homework, or even go over his deck. The only thing he could do was use the bathroom and even that had a limit on it! All he could do was sit there and wait, seething with rage while occasionally sending hateful glares at the woman who had done him this injustice when she wasn’t looking.

Speaking of which, it had been about an hour since the last time he had given the Nazi any hateful glances. It was all her doing that had put him here after all. The VP had always been a bit of a bitch, the one who seemed to love giving out detentions and making the students suffer for breaking stupid rules. And for the longest time, he had managed to stay out of trouble that would catch her ire. In fact, the only time a teacher ever came down on him were the few times he had left an assignment unfinished due to some late night deck building. You know, something important to do with his time instead of learning about old folks who weren’t even around when Duel Monsters were a thing. Then, well, things changed when it was discovered that VP Luna had been a promising Duelist on the road to becoming a pro. Heck she actually beat Sombra in an amazing come from behind victory! It seemed to loosen her up, becoming a bit more lenient with the rules and holding dueling classes after school. Everybody kept saying how much nicer and approachable she was to everyone.

Well, everyone but him it seemed. For some reason, the VP was targeting Rumble and getting him into trouble over nothing. Pushing and shoving people? Where the hell did she think she was? People pushed and shoved others all the time! And all he was trying to do was to get the chance to show off what he could do! But no, she seemed to favor that little turd Pip since he was always kissing her feet. Him and that group of girls, the CMC. And Diamond Tiara. And Silver Spoon. And Tender Taps. And Button Mash. And…and…and everyone else but HIM! Damn her!

What’s worse was that he knew what she was doing: punishing him now because she knew he was going to become a pro. Something that loser VP could never do! She had pretty much spelled it out for him last week.

-x-Flashback-x-

“You wanted to see me?” asked Rumble as he opened the door to VP Luna’s office.

“Yes, please take a seat,” said the VP as she sat behind her desk, the light from the open windows behind her causing her features to appear a little darker than normal. Almost as if they were creating shadows to hide her face. As he entered, Rumble saw that there was someone else in the office as well. Standing next to VP Luna was Miss Cheerilee, arms folded in front of her with a frown on her face.

Like any student who had ever been called to see either the Principal or the Vice Principal over the P.A. system, Rumble felt a pit form in his stomach as well as a feeling of unease. Maybe it was because the eyes of the students were upon him when he left the room, judging him as if he had done something wrong. Which he knew he hadn’t! Maybe it was because being called to the office usually meant something bad had happened like when that other Twilight he had heard about was accused of wrecking the gym. Or, in some cases, something bad had happened at home. Like a grandparent had died or one of his parents was in an accident. Seeing Miss Cheerilee there should have made him feel better since that should mean that nothing bad had happened to his family. Yet, strangely, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Slowly he made his way to the chair, feeling their eyes glued to him.

“Do you know why you are here?” asked VP Luna once Rumble was seated. When the boy shook his head, the Vice Principal let out a small sigh. “It’s about your recent assignment from Miss Cheerilee.”

“I…I turned it in,” said Rumble, feeling confused. He had just turned it in this morning, he knew he had put it on her deck with everyone else. And if he hadn’t, was it really worth calling him to the office like this?

“Rumble, you didn’t complete the assignment,” said Miss Cheerilee, shifting her weight a little.

The accusation caused Rumble’s anger to rise slightly. “Yes I did,” he said, maybe a bit louder than he should have. Realizing this, he took a breath before speaking. “You asked us to write what kind of job we wanted to do after graduation. And I said I wanted to be a professional duelist.”

“No Rumble,” said Miss Cheerilee, her tone grim. “The assignment was to write an essay in MLA format, telling me three potential careers you wanted to pursue. You only gave one: professional duelist.”

“But that’s all I want to do!” stated Rumble in confusion. A part of him wanted to stand at that moment, to tell them that that’s what most people put down as well. That or a movie star, a singer, professional athlete. What was so wrong with wanting to focus on one thing? However, Rumble knew better than to do something like that right now.

“But that wasn’t the assignment,” stated Miss Cheerilee as she lightly bit her lower lip. “I wanted three things you might want to be when you leave school. Nothing has to be set in stone, just careers that sounded interesting and why. Everyone else followed that guideline. And what I got from you,” there was a brief pause as Cheerilee took a breath, “it read more like a fantasy detailing how you would defeat everyone in the dueling league as soon as you got out of high school. The format was all wrong, your wording was all over the place, it was much shorter than I asked for. I…I’m sorry Rumble but I have to give you a failing grade on this.”

For a moment, Rumble sat there with his emotions blistering with the unfairness of it all. “Ok, so I failed,” he said as he stood up. “You didn’t need to make such a big deal out of this.” As Rumble turned towards the door, he rolled his eyes so that neither adult could see it. Seriously, was any of this necessary? He had failed a few times before and no one had made this big of a stink about it. Overkill and overreacting much? And why did he have to learn MLA format anyways? He wouldn’t need it when he became a pro duelist! In fact, when would he ever need to know it or how to use it unless he became some stupid teacher? It was just a waste of time!

“Wait,” said VP Luna. “We’re done yet, Rumble. Please sit back down.” Rumble rolled his eyes again before turning around. As he did, something about the irritation he was feeling must have shown on his face because both adults both stiffened while their expressions tightened. But, honestly, Rumble was losing his ability to care. All he wanted to do was go back to his boring class where no one was really pestering until it was time to go back home so he could work on his deck some more.

Once he was seated, the Vice Principal gave him an odd look as she placed her hands one on top of the other. “Rumble, this is more than just one assignment. The truth is that we are starting to worry about you.”

Rumble felt his head lean back a little as if he were stuck. “What?” he asked, truly confused now. He hadn’t seen that coming.

Luna nodded. “Since the new stadium was built, we’ve been getting more than a handful of students coming to both myself and Principal Celestia to register complaints about you. That you are hogging one of the dueling fields for yourself, refusing to leave and insisting that if others want to use that spot then they have to duel you.”

“There’re other spots they can go!” stated Rumble, his hands clenching into fists as he spoke. “There’s like ten of them. And I got there first! If they want to duel so badly then I’m willing to be their-”

Rumble stopped as Luna shook her head. “Not everyone wants to duel against you,” said Luna. She then took a long, deep breath. “Rumble, one of the complaints was from a student who wanted to duel against her friends to try and improve. They had been waiting for some time for a spot and when they saw you finish your duel, they claimed to politely ask if they could have that spot. According to them, you gave the exact response that you just gave me right now. That you refused to move and that if they wanted to duel then they had to duel you.”

“Who made that complaint?” demanded Rumble, a slight edge to his voice. However, he had a feeling he knew who it was. Sweetie Belle and her friends. He remembered Sweetie begged him to let them use that field so she could try out some changes she had made to her deck. Like that would help the weakest duelist in the school. Besides, move your feet lose your seat! There was no way he was going to give up the spot for the likes of her! Now, dueling against her was a different matter and having him as an opponent would show her just how much she needed to improve. But when he offered to be her opponent instead so that everyone got what they wanted she whined like a little girl!

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” replied Luna. “But that is only one complaint out of over two dozen. Then there are the instances that I have witnessed. Shoving students, nearly knocking them down just to get a chance to duel someone.”

“But I need all the experience I can get!” shouted Rumble, no longer able to contain himself. Cheerilee jumped a little at this outburst, but the Vice Principal just sat there barely raising an eyebrow. “I only have a few more years until I leave school for good. Then I can register for the minor leagues and begin working my way up the ladder! I could become a real pro in just a year or two!”

“Yes, I am aware,” said the Vice Principal before shaking her head. “But, it's not going to be as easy as you think it is. Rumble, do you know how many people try out for the minor league every day? Thousands. Maybe hundreds of thousands.”

“Well they’re not as good as me,” stated Rumble.

“That’s what they all say,” replied Luna in a grave tone. “Believe me. When I was in the minor leagues, me and Sombra heard it all the time. So many times, if fact, that we stopped counting. And most barely made it past their first year before giving up.” Rumble watched with wide eyes as the Vice Principal got up, moved around the table before sitting down on the edge right in front of him. “Rumble, you can still shoot for being a pro duelist like everyone else. But closing your other options is not going to help you. You need to consider the very real possibility that things don’t end up the way you want them to. You need to have a backup plan.” And from there, Rumble stopped listening as he eyed the bitch with veiled contempt. He knew what this was really about. She was jealous! The Vice Principal was a washed out hasbeen, no, a never-was and she didn’t want him to have a chance to reach what she failed to do! She was trying to discourage him, trying to put the idea of failure in his head. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. So, as she continued to drone on and on, Rumble sat there pretending to listen until finally he was allowed to leave.

-x-End Flashback-x-

Since then, Rumble had refused to change his ways. He wasn’t going to let that loser take away his future! Instead, he focused more on improving himself. On getting better with his strategies, improving his deck no matter how much money it cost him. In class, instead of learning whatever garbage they were droning on about, he was instead working on new combos that he could use. And it seemed that the Vice Principal noticed this as well because she began shilling out detentions for every little thing, calling his parents, and just making his life a nightmare. Heck, he had even heard that she was talking to her sister to get him banned from the stadium! What a bitch! Was there any length she wasn’t willing to go to destroy his chance at fame?

“Alright Rumble,” said Luna suddenly. “You may go.” Silently, Rumble got out of his seat and headed towards the door. “Please, let this be the last time.”

Rumble felt the heat rising to his face as she said that. Like he wanted to waste his time in here. It was her fault he was in here after all. She was the one who gave him a detention after all. Rumble wanted so very, very much to turn on her and shout that to her face. To say all the things he wanted to say to her. But no, he held his tongue as he silently left the room without another word.

Quickly Rumble moved through the hallways and did not stop until he was out the main doors where he then sat down on the steps to pull out his phone. His anger was still boiling up inside him and he knew he needed to vent somehow. Thankfully, he knew just the way. MyStable!

Growl: I can’t believe this! My VP is a total bitch!

Diva: What happened?

Rumble blinked at the response from one of the people on his friends list. To be honest, he had no idea who ‘Diva’ really was. But she, at least Rumble was assuming that she was a she with a name like Diva, seemed pretty chill and sometimes gave out useful advice. Also Diva seemed to be oddly invested whenever someone on MyStable was having a rough time. Maybe she liked to help or thought they needed a sympathetic ear. Regardless, Rumble now had someone who he could more openly vent his frustrations on. So he began to type away.

Growl: I got weekend detention AGAIN! All I did was push a couple of people out of the way so I could FINALLY get a chance to duel in the new stadium. But no. No, I’m cut out again because she’s all sweet on this shrimp in my class.

Diva: Favoritism. It’s a bitch. I get ya dude.

Rumble grinned at that for a moment. Yeah, Diva got him. So he continued.

Growl: He’s not even that good! I could beat him without even using my extra deck.

Diva: Don’t take this lying down. Stand up for yourself

Growl: Tried. The VP and P are related so they look out for each other. Tried talking to my parents, but they won’t listen. They’re all ‘It’s just a game’ and ‘No reason to act that way’. As if they had any idea how I felt! Not even my brother will help me.

While Rumble was more than willing to lay everything out, there were a few things he was holding back. Truth was, what he had given Diva was basically the ‘diet’ version of his home life. His brother, Thunderlane, was not home all that often. Usually out with one of his girlfriends (he couldn’t tell if he had one or two or even three sometimes) or going to a special dueling prep class to help him get into the pros next year. Seemed sort of lame that Thunderlane would do something like that, pooling his money just for some class when practicing was all he needed. And when he was home, he would somehow get roped into one of the many arguments his parents were having lately. Arguments caused by that bitch Luna! She actually had the nerve to call them and rope them into her stupid little vendetta against him. That’s what started the friction between them. ‘We need to make him understand,’ his mother would say before his dad roared ‘He doesn’t want to understand, that’s the problem!’ Then his mother would say ‘He’s just a child,’ followed by “Stop treating him like he’s five! He’s a teenager!’ And from there, it was all downhill. All caused by Luna.

Diva: You have a duel disk, right? Challenge the kid and embarrass him in front of the school! That’ll teach him.

Oh, that idea sounded so sweet. Pip, Vice Principal Bitch’s favorite, defeated by Rumble’s superior deck and skills. Humiliated in front of everyone. The more Rumble thought about it, the bigger his grin became. Oh yeah, how he could rub it in their faces. He could tell everyone that that’s why Luna never wanted to duel him: because she knew her skills weren’t up to par with a rising star like his. After all, she had been teaching and helping Pip so it stood to reason that if he failed it was because of the trash she had taught. Yeah, everyone would see that he was better. He might even be able to use this to tell his parents the truth and then they would stop fighting. Then…

Rumble’s thought came to a screeching halt as he thought of that tomboy Scootaloo. His smile quickly vanished as he went back to his phone.

Growl: *Sigh* Wish it were that easy. Last time I tried, this loser named Scoots got in the way. She’s been ticking me off because she thinks she’s got the better winged beast deck. It’s lame.

Diva: That excuse is lame. Dude, if her deck really is lame then challenge her as well. Put her in her place! You do have the better deck, right?

Growl: OF COURSE I DO!

Rumble’s eyes narrowed at his phone as he wrote down his message, his breath sharp as he hit the send button. Of course he had the better deck! All Scootaloo had were her dinky, stupid little green birds yet she walked around acting like she was hot stuff. She probably only picked that deck because she secretly thought they were cute or whatever. And yeah, she could win her duels but that was only because she either got lucky or her opponents didn’t know what they were doing! But against him, luck would only take her so far.

As Rumble waited for the reply, he thought about Scootaloo while his anger began to subside a little. As he took a breath, Rumble had to admit that he didn’t hate Scootaloo. She annoyed him sure, but his feelings of dislike were nowhere close to how he felt towards Luna and, by extension, Pip. It was the main reason he never dueled her to get to Pip. Well that and the fact that he didn’t want to waste his energy dueling her when it was Pip he wanted to go after. At the very least he could appreciate that she had her own deck and wasn’t copying him. Also, while her skills were nowhere near his own, she was the best out of her three friends. Sure that wasn’t saying much but it still counted for something.

Before Rumble could type any of that down, however, his online friend beat him to the punch.

Diva: Then show them who’s boss! Go to the shrimp and challenge him to a duel. If Scoots gets in the way then say ‘Fine, I’ll duel you first as a warm up before I mop the floor with your boyfriend!’ If she tries to back down, mock the hell out of her until she feels like crap! If they go to the VP, attack the kids manhood or lack thereof. Heck, you could even spread some nasty rumors about them.

Slowly Rumble read Diva’s message, his anger morphing into something really odd that made him feel…uncomfortable. Yeah, he didn’t like how that bitch Luna was treating him and favoring Pip. And Diva was right, he had to stand up and show everyone who was boss. But…Honestly he didn’t know why but some of this just seemed to go too far. Maybe it was because it was including Scootaloo in it all. His beef wasn’t with her really. Mocking her until she felt like crap just didn’t seem as justified as his desire to show up the Vice Principal and Pip. They were the ones he was after, not her.

Slowly Rumble stood up, his gaze moving from his phone to the dueling stadium and then back again. While he didn’t like everything Diva had said, one thing remained true: he had to duel Pip. It was the only way he could stick it to the Vice Principal. It would show everyone that even with all the special attention that little shrimp was getting from her, it was still no match for his skills. Then everyone would know what he knew.

So with that, Rumble headed towards the stadium.

-x-

At the same time, Luna let out a groan as she ran her fingers through her hair. Before her was the assignment from her online class, but the words were out of focus at the moment. Her eyes darted from her computer to the seat Rumble had been sitting in not too long ago before lightly biting her lower lip. As she stared at the desk, a familiar sound could be heard by her ears alone. It was soft at first, like a light buzz but soon grew into the thunderous applause of a crowd full of cheering fans from so long ago. Luna then let out a sharp breath as the desk was replaced by a teen. One with long, sharp green hair who stood in front of a massive three headed metal dragon. The teen’s face shifted from something akin to indifference, arms crossed before he suddenly pointed at her as his face then held the look of anger. Then, just as quick as it came, the vision vanished.

Without taking her eyes off Rumble’s seat, Luna began to reach a shaky hand to her pocket only to stop halfway. For a moment, she wondered if she should go through with this. But her worry caused her to press on, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. Quickly she went to her contacts scene and began to scroll down the list of pictures until she came upon the one she knew she could talk to about this. Not a teacher, though perhaps it might have been better if she had from a professional standpoint. After all, wasn’t she supposed to keep this sort of thing inside the school? Maybe even talking to Cadence, another educator, would have been seen acceptable. However, Luna knew that while all of them would be helpful none of them would be able to understand. Not fully. No, she needed someone who had seen the same things Luna had seen. So, upon finding his picture, Luna pressed on it.

One she had been calling a lot more recently.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up. “Hey there Luna,” came Sombra’s voice. He had to speak up a little as Luna could hear other things in the background. Voices and people walking loudly, their steps seeming to create echoes that resonated in the halls of wherever he was. “Good timing. I think I might be on a good lead on who might have sent Spoiled Rich that video. See-”

“Actually Sombra, I’m calling about something else,” said Luna as she stood up and walked to the window.

“Oh, it must be serious if you’re not interested in this,” said Sombra, his voice sounding slightly disappointed but also very concerned. “Passing up the chance to find out who might be trying to ruin your life? And not even using my old nickname? Ok, what’s weighing on your mind?”

“It’s,” began Luna, pausing for a moment to bite her lower lips once more. How should she explain this? Damn, she should have thought about it more before calling! But it was too late, he was already waiting for her. So, Luna began as best she could. “When you were in school, did you ever have to write an essay on what you wanted to do when you grew up?”

“Oh, that takes me back,” laughed Sombra. “Actually, I had to write stuff like that every couple of years. The last time was for Miss Amore back in the day. Man that takes me back. Five whole pages if you can believe it.”

Luna smiled a little. “Do you remember what you wrote?” she asked, slightly curious.

Sombra let out another laugh. “I think so. Let’s see, I know I wanted to be a pro duelist. Then again I think everyone wants to do that at least at one point or another in their lives. But I also wrote some other stuff, like being my own boss. Can’t remember what kind of job I’d be running back then, but I knew I didn’t want to work under someone else. At least those things came true, but the rest? Thought I’d…Luna, where is this going? Did you want me to come in and make some big speech to the kids or something? Let me guess, your sister roped you into asking me.”

“No,” said Luna as she leaned against the wall, still staring out the window. Her thoughts were a bit more in order, and she realized it would be best not to name names. Sure, she knew Sombra would never tell anyone that she had spoken about a specific student, but with this mysterious person watching her it would be best to take a few precautions. “I’m just dealing with a student who didn’t finish a similar assignment. All he wants to do is be a pro duelist and nothing else. His teacher had to fail him. That, along with his behavior brought him to my office. I tried to talk to him, tried to explain why he shouldn’t be so focused on one thing and hoping it will all work out. But ever since then, he’s been looking at me like I’m the enemy or something. He’s getting all these detentions, I’m having to call his parents more than most, and…and I’m at my wits end!”

Sombra let little hum which caused Luna to raise an eyebrow. There was something about that noise that Luna found unsettling for some reason. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait too long to find out why.

“I seem to recall a young girl who was also pretty focused on becoming famous once,” said Sombra slowly so that his words sank in. “One who had to dress up in a suit of armor and sneak out of the house so she could duel. Sound familiar Nightmare Moon?”

Luna’s hand gripped the phone tightly while her other flew from her head. “That was different and you know it,” she almost growled.

“I’m just saying, the kid sounds motivated and you’re standing in the way,” said Sombra quickly. “Kind of like how Starswirl did the same to you. Maybe that’s why-”

“Sombra,” Luna interrupted in a very serious tone. “I may have been focused on becoming famous, but I never EVER let it get to the point where I was neglecting my homework.”

“Because if you did, Starswirl would have taken notice sooner,” said Sombra, standing his ground. Luna opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out. She hated to admit it but he did have a point. The whole reason Luna took on the persona of Nightmare Moon was so that Starswirl would never find out what she was doing. She worked hard to maintain that nothing had changed from her everyday life, something that included her studies. Luna could recall some nights where she never slept, staying up until the crack of dawn just to complete her homework or to study for a test. If she received a failing grade, if it was discovered that she wasn’t finishing her homework, then Starswirl would have looked into her business much sooner. He was right…but that wasn’t the point!

“Sombra, would you be this lenient if one of your employees was turning in unfinished work?” she demanded, “Would you accept ‘I was working on my deck’ as a good reason for sloppy work?”

Over the phone, it sounded like Sombra had stopped head in his tracks. “Tsk, point taken,” he said before sighing. “You’re right, you’re right. If someone came up to me and told me the figures weren’t in because he was too busy dueling, I’d tell him to clear out his desk before the end of the hour.”

Luna nodded to herself, pushing away from the wall at the same time. “Sombra, I know I can’t control what he does when he leaves school,” she said. “And, personally, I have no problem with his wish to pursue the path of a duelist. I want to wish him the best of luck. It’s just…It’s just he’s too focused on becoming a pro. Like it’s the only thing that matters to him. But, what will he do if he fails? Sombra, you and I have both seen people like that. What happens to them…”

Sombra let out a deep sigh. “To be honest, I never really thought about it,” he said. “Back in the minor leagues it was everybody for themselves. Still is in the pros. Never paid too much attention to what happened to those I defeated afterwards. And when I do it's usually in passing or they're blaming me for their lot in life. I mean, you got people like Storm King who started up his own business or Top Dollar who went into politics. Then you have people like Bitter Pill who, well, never really moved on.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” said Luna. “I want this student to have a life after his dueling is done, whether it be when he decides to retire after a long career…or one that is sadly short lived. And I don’t want him to end up like…” Luna’s words trailed off again as she closed her eyes. Her mind began to focus on the figure she had just remembered. She could remember him, but it was still hazy. That and… “Crap, I can’t even remember his name anymore. Sombra, do you remember that one duelist I went up against? The one with the long greenish hair and used a Cyber Dragon deck?”

“Cyber Dragon,” repeated Sombra, the sound of fingers snapping following it over the phone. “Yeah, I think so. Not sure if his hair was green but, damn, that was a long time ago! Kid was some hot shot from one of those island academies they used to have, if I remember correctly. Glad those things moved inland because, well, bit stupid to have them isolated like that. Always dueling the same people. Pretty easy to get a big head like that or to think you’re the best out there. Didn’t duel him myself, but I think I watched your duel against him. Whatever happened to him?”

“He’s dead,” said Luna in a mournful tone. “I heard about it shortly after Starswirl found out about me. A few weeks after our duel, it looked like his dueling career was over. Losing to opponents who, well, were just starting out and the like. Barely anyone watching his matches, moved to the smallest arenas. But I guess he had no other options because I heard rumors that he went to some underground duels, getting electrocuted whenever he lost. Made it back to the pros, but it was short lived due to the damage all that did to his heart. Died of a heart attack about a year after he had to leave the pros for good.”

“Sad,” muttered Sombra. “Even sadder that that’s not the worst story I’ve heard. Some people are just so desperate to stay in the pros or make it to the top they went down a far darker path.” Sombra let out a sigh and Luna could almost see his rubbing his forehead as he paused in their conversation. “Let’s just hope this kid that you're worried about isn’t that desperate.”

“I don’t think so,” said Luna. “Not yet anyways. I can already see some signs that it's getting out of hand. His eagerness to show off, to prove himself. Pushing and shoving students just to get a chance to duel. Hogging dueling zones for himself.”

“Listen Luna, I honestly don’t know what to tell you,” said Sombra. “This kid, he’s lucky that he has someone like you to worry about him. But beyond talking to him and his parents, that’s all I think you can do. It’s up to him to listen. And if he won’t do that, then whatever fate befalls him is all on him.”

Luna let out a sigh. “I suppose you have a point. Not one that I-” At that moment, Luna saw Rumble crossing the courtyard with a determined look on his face. While she couldn’t fully explain it, there was something about that look that Luna didn’t like. “Hey, something’s come up. How about we meet for lunch tomorrow and you can tell me what you’ve found?”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Sombra. With that, Luna hung up as she turned to leave the room. Her destination: the dueling stadium.

-x-

Finding Pip was so very easy for Rumble. As soon as he entered, he saw the small boy standing off to the side watching a duel between Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. Grinning, he moved towards where the duel was taking place while also taking note of the action going on with the duel. Or, rather, the lack of action. Drawing closer, Rumble was able to see the hunched shoulders of Diamond Tiara as she looked at her hand while two large multi-headed dragons hovered in the air above her with their own gazes focused on Scootaloo’s side of the field. Scootaloo had out her ace synchro monster, a lone figure on the field blocking a direct attack to Scootaloo. However, that was all the boy took in as he made his way towards Pip who was watching the duel with excitement along with several other students.

“If they think that’s impressive,” whispered Rumble to himself, slowly shaking his head as he walked. When he spoke next, it was in a loud shout so that everybody in the building, or at the very least everyone in the vicinity, could hear him. “Hey Pip, I challenge you to a duel!” At that, all heads turned to look at him as his voice echoed through the stadium. Even Diamond and Scootaloo turned to look at him, seeming annoyed.

“Not this again,” came Apple Bloom’s voice along with a choir of groans from everyone else there. But Rumble didn’t bother to look at her, his eyes fixed on Pip who looked startled.

“Diamond, time out,” said Scootaloo. At the same time Diamond nodded, Scootaloo raced over to Rumble. With her speed, she was easily able to cross the distance so that she stood in front of Rumble. She stared at him with a look in her eyes that made Rumble feel a little uneasy. But he kept his cool as she spoke to him. “Rumble, if you want to duel that’s fine but-”

“Good,” said Rumble as he side stepped her. “Come on Pip. Let’s see if the Vice Principal has taught you anything. And how well it measures up against me.”

“I,” began Pip, looking around him in a confused manner. But before he could see anything else, Rumble’s view was blocked by Scootaloo again. This came as a bit of a surprise, causing Rumble to take an unconscious step backwards as his view was filled by Scootaloo’s disapproving expression. Even more so as she stepped closer to him.

“Don’t do this Rumble,” she said in a soft hiss, her body almost pressed against his. “We-”

“Hey, Pip can speak for himself,” said Rumble loudly before moving his head so that he could look at the smaller boy. “Isn’t that right Pip? You don’t need her permission after all.”

“Well, yeah, I mean no. I mean,” stammered Pip. “To be honest, I was really into watching them duel mate.”

Rumble rolled his eyes at that. “Come on, the duel is almost over,” he said. Ignoring Diamond’s huff and Scootaloo’s worsening glare, he sidestepped the orange skinned girl to continue advancing towards Pip while still planning what he was going to say next. He could see that Pip was still reluctant to duel him which made sense given just how good Rumble was. All he needed right now was an edge, something to heat the fire as it were. Something that would rile Pip up…other than attacking the shrimp’s manhood. That just felt a bit too low for the grey skinned teen.

Thankfully, he knew just the thing.

“Fine, fine,” said Rumble as he took a step away from Scootaloo, hands held up in a manner like he was surrendering. Not that he believed that any of them bought it given how he was grinning. “I guess all that time with your precious Nightmare Moon was all for show.”

“What?” was Pip’s response, almost a growl as he stepped forward. Rumble could see it now, the fire in his eyes for having dared to insult his ‘beloved’ Nightmare Moon. He was close. All Rumble had to do was keep talking.

“I’m just saying with all that alone time you’ve had that bitch must not have been that helpful,” continued Rumble in a casual tone, watching Pip’s face turn red. “You spend how much time dueling with her? I’m guessing enough to know that the ‘help’ she’s been giving you isn’t good enough. My guess is that you only spend time with her because you like older women. Bet it makes her feel good knowing that someone fawn over her like you do. Probably the only reason she would spend time with a shrimp like you! How pathetic can she be?”

“You,” said Pip, his entire body shaking while his face was turning red. Rumble watched as Sweetie Belle moved over to him, placing hands on his shoulders only for the boy to push her away. “You can’t say that about her! She’s still amazing!”

“I don’t know,” laughed Rumble. “How good can a ‘hasbeen’ really be? Oops. Did I say ‘hasbeen’? Sorry, that was wrong of me. What I meant to say was ‘never-was’!”

“Fine!” shouted Pip, his face turning scarlet. A few of the other students tried to approach him, but Pip moved out of the range of their arms while taking several steps forward. “You want to duel, then fine! I’ll duel you!”

-x-

Meanwhile, Luna stood in one of the corridors leading into the dueling arena, the shadows hiding her shaking form as she watched the two students take a field for themselves. While being called a bitch stung, it wasn’t the first time she had heard someone call her that. To a degree, Luna could let such an insult wash over her before giving the insulter detention. Nor was it being called a ‘has been’ or a ‘never was’. No, what made her mad was the insinuation that she spent time with Pip only because she liked having someone fawn over her! That she was anything other than a mentor to her biggest fan! And saying all that in front of all these students? There was trash-talking, something Luna herself had done in the past, but this? Oh, Rumble would get it for this!

As much as Luna wanted to fly in there and punish him now, she held back. Why she was, she didn’t really know. Maybe it was because Pip was standing up for her like a knight and she didn’t want to get in the way of such an act by swooping in to take care of everything herself. Or maybe there was a part of her that wanted to watch Rumble get his ass handed to him. Perhaps it was both.

Standing there taking deep, calming breaths, Luna could see that she wasn’t the only one bothered by this. All of the other students were looking at Rumble with disgust. All of them were moving in towards the field the two had picked out, standing behind Pip to show their support leaving Rumble all alone. It was clear none of them found what the grey skinned boy said funny or appropriate.

-x-

“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from both boys’ duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Rumble’s grinning with confidence while on the other side was Pip’s looking nervous. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Rumble.

“Alright! I draw!” announced Rumble as he leaned forward into his draw, his arm making an arc like motion as he drew his card in the most dramatic fashion possible. Straightening up, he looked at the six cards in his hand. A good start if he wanted to win this without using his extra deck. A part of him wished that the Vice Principal was here to watch as her prized student failed without him even needing one of his best monsters. Oh, that would sting. But, on the other hand, he was glad that she hadn’t heard any of the things he had said.

“I’ll start with this: Cards for Black Feathers,” said Rumble as he took a card from his hand and placed it in his pocket. “By banishing one Blackfeather monster from my hand, I get to draw twice. But it also prevents me from special summoning for the rest of the turn.” With a flourish, Rumble drew two more cards from his deck. “But why stop there? Next I play the spell card: Upstart Goblin to draw again at the cost of giving you 1000 extra life points. Trust me, you’ll need them!” As Rumble drew again, Pip’s life points went up to 9000.

“Now I play another spell card: Black Whirlwind!” declared Rumble as a card appeared next to him. “As long as this card is on the field, whenever I normal summon a Blackwing monster I can add another one to my hand from my deck. As long as it has fewer attack points that is. With that out of the way I normal summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame in attack mode!” Appearing on the field in front of Rumble was a human bird hybrid covered in mostly black feathers. Its legs and arms were thin, almost to the point where one wondered how it could stand without them snapping like twigs! But the monster’s clawed hands were monstrously thick as were its large wings. The head of this winged beast was covered in bluish feathers and its attack points were 1800.

“With that out of the way, I can now use the effect of Black Whirlwind,” continued Rumble with a grin as a screen appeared before his, showing him a list of targets. His decision was quick, pressing the image in the middle causing his duel disk to begin shuffling quickly before the card on top slid out. “I picked my Bora the Spear. Sadly I can’t special summon him so I’ll just place one card face down and end my turn.”

“Alright mate,” said Pip as he drew, Rumble smirking as he watched. “I play the spell card: Unexpected Dia. Since I control no monsters, I’m allowed to special summon one level four or lower normal monster from my deck. So bow your heads because I’m summoning Queen’s Knight!” Rumble nearly laughed as a woman with long blond hair wearing pink armor appeared on the field. In one hand, this 1500 attack point monster held a sword with a pink grip while in the other she held a shield decorated with a black club and spade. “But I’m not done yet! Because now I normal summon her friend: King’s Knight!” Rumble’s smile didn’t fade as another monster appeared on the field, this one with 1600 attack points. He was a beefier looking warrior, dressed in gold and orange armor with spiked bracers as well as a purple cape. In one hand he held a much larger blade while in the other this blond haired man held a round shield. But neither of them were a match for his monster.

“King’s Knight has an effect,” continued Pip. “When he is normal summoned and Queen’s Knight is on the field, Jack’s Knight enters the field!” Appearing between the two knights came a third wearing blue armor. He looked more muscular than the other two, holding a larger sword as well as a kite shield. He even had more attack points, standing at 1900. Rumble watched as the three knights held up their blades, the edges touching each other in a sign of unity.

“Now, Jack’s Knight, slay his monster!” yelled Pip as he pointed at Shura. At once, Jack’s Knight lunged across the field before thrusting his sword right into the Blackwing’s thin gut.

“Heh, wasn’t expecting you to scratch my life points,” said Rumble with a slight laugh, his smile never fading as his life points dropped to 7900.

“Well then how’s this?” demanded Pip as he pointed at Rumble. “Queen’s Knight! King’s Knight! Attack him directly!” With an amused smile, Rumble watched as the two knights leapt into the air. Their swords raised over their heads ready to cut the grey skinned boy down.

“I don’t think so,” said Rumble smugly as he placed a card on the field. Both knights halted, landing on the ground as a small six winged blackbird with a red Mohawk appeared in front of Rumble. What made it better was that it was in defense mode, its points being 1600! “When you declare a direct attack, I can special summon Blackwing – Ghibli the Searing Wind from my hand. Got anything else?” Rumble watched as the smaller boy’s legs shake, anger in his eyes at having walked into such a perfect trap. And Rumble was willing to bet that he knew what was going to happen next!

Pip looked down at his hand as his two useless knights returned to his side of the field. “I can’t get over your monster, but I can do this,” said the smaller teen as he opened his field spell slot. “I play the field spell Tilted Try!” Rumble raised an eyebrow as a massive slot machine appeared behind Pip. It was a little unsettling, if he was being honest with himself, for it had a large grinning Pot of Greed jar on the very top looking down at the field. Once it stopped rising, the lever pulled itself downward sending thousands of golden coins onto the field where they then rolled off to the side so that they were then surrounded by riches.

“I…I’ve never seen this card before,” said Rumble honestly as the crowd moved out from behind the slot machine. They were all standing on the sidelines, the piles of golden coins separating them from the field. Yet still they stayed close to Pip.

“It just came out,” said Pip. “I’ll explain what it does when my next turn comes.”

Rumble smirked a bit again. “If you get another turn that is. I draw!” Again, Rumble did an overly dramatic draw for all to see. When he straightened out he looked at the four cards in his hand with a grin on his face. This was going to be so easy he almost felt bad for Pip. Almost. “I’ll start by special summoning Blackwing – Bora the Spear in attack mode!” Appearing in front of him was another of his bird human hybrids. Along with its back feathered arms, legs, and wings this creature also had yellow feathers on its chest as well as red ones on its head. Bora had a large beak which was open to show a human face in it as it held a long spear. Its attack was 1700. “When I have a Blackwing monster on my side of the field, I can special summon this guy. But there’s more. Since I have a Blackwing monster on my side of the field, I can normal summon Blackwing – Elphin the Raven!” A third monster appeared on Rumble’s side of the field, this one having 2200 attack points. This one had long thin legs like a bird but its arms were bare showing off human-like arms. It was hunched over a little, its heavily feathered head looking like long flowing hair running down its back.

“When Elphin is normal summoned, I can change the attack position of one of your monsters. King’s Knight, why don’t you bow to your better?” Rumble felt his grin grow wider as King’s Knight took a knee. He then planted his sword into the ground while raising his shield. As if that would help since the monster only had 1400 defense points. “At the same time, Black Whirlwind activates! I pick Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind! And why not special summon him as well!” Rumble laughed as a blue feathered monster appeared on the field. It was almost human-ish in that it stood upright, but it lacked arms in the normal sense only having large wings in their place. It had no visible mouth or beak, but it did have large eyes. Its face was covered by yellow feathers and seemed to have green feathers that answered for hair. Its attack was 1300.

“Would you look at my flock,” said Rumble proudly, gesturing to his monsters. “But we have room for one more. I activate my face down: Escape from the Dark Dimension! This trap lets me bring back one of my banished dark monsters. Like the one I banished last turn: Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn!” Now Pip was taking a step back as the fifth Blackwing monster appeared on the field. This one had 2000 attack points, standing taller and straighter than the rest. Its long legs were yellow with tanned feathers on their upper portion. Its arms were bare, almost looking human, but it still had large black wings and a blue feathered head. Like with Bora, its beak was open showing off a very human head.

“Time to show you what a real duelist is capable of!” declared Rumble. “First, I switch Ghibli to attack position before using his effect: switching his attack and defense points until the end of this turn!” Now Ghibli’s attack rose from 0 to 1600! “Then, I’ll use the effect of Gale to cut the attack and defense of your King’s Knight in half!” Rumble watched with barely contained glee as Pip could only stand there helpless as his monster flapped its wings, the wind lowering Knight’s defense points all the way to 700. “Now its your turn Sirocco! Transfer all the attack of my monsters to Bora the Spear!” Sirocco raised his arms, his aura as well as the others going into Bora who began to grow. As this happened, Bora began to grow larger and larger as his attack points went up only to stop at 8800!

“Now Bora, dethrone that loser of a king!” shouted Rumble. His mammoth sized bird man beat its wings, spear in hand as it soared across the field. The wind began to spin around the tip of its weapon, moving faster and faster until it easily pierced King’s Knight’s shield. Before the shattered remains of the shield could hit the ground the spear was in the king’s chest, soon followed by a massive explosion that flung Pip backwards. The small boy rolled back into his lousy slot machine, landing on his back while his life points dropped to 900.

“Wait, how did he lose so many life points?” asked a grey skinned girl with a small ponytail. Gabby if Rumble remembered correctly.

“Bora’s effect,” said Diamond Tiara. “Not only can it be special summoned, but it deals piercing damage. It’s why Rumble pumped him up so much and then cut King’s Knight defense. If he hadn’t played Upstart, Rumble would have won with that attack.”

“This match is pretty much over,” said Rumble as he watched Pip groan, slowly getting back onto his feet. “There’s nothing that old hag taught you that can get you out of this! Come next turn, my flock of Blackwing’s will take the rest of your life points.”

Pip raised his head slightly, looking like there were tears starting to form in his eyes. “Don’t call her that!” Pip yelled angrily. But Rumble, he just kept on smiling which only seemed to make Pip even madder. It took all of Rumble’s might not to close his eyes and imagine that Vice Principal Bitch was here, watching in horror as her favorite student was beaten down by a real duelist. To see all the faith he’d put in her crumble into dust. Perhaps she’d even fall to her knees as well as the truth finally came out. That she knew Rumble was the better duelist, that she had been jealous. That she-

“Pip, calm down!” shouted Scootaloo. Smile faltering, Rumble shot the orangeskinned girl a glare while Pip looked to the side. “You got this Pip! Just think your moves through a bit more.”

“Take him down Pip!” cheered Apple Bloom.

“We’re, like, right behind you!” added Silver Spoon. At the same time, the other students began to cheer on Pip. Repeating the same tired phrases like ‘You got this’, ‘Don’t give up,’ and ‘We believe in you’. Hearing all that caused Rumble’s frown to deepen as he looked at the scene before him. Why were they cheering him on when he was winning? Weren’t they impressed by his amazing skills? He was the better duelist here after all! Well…maybe they were just cheering him on because he was the small underdog? Yeah! That had to be it!

Pip looked at them for a moment before smiling. “Right,” he said as he used his arm to wipe his eyes. Deluded confidence shined through his eyes as Pip stared at Rumble, his smile still intact as he did so. “You done?”

“Yeah,” said Rumble. “Due to Sirocco’s effect, none of my other monsters can attack. So I end my turn.” As he spoke, Ghibli’s attack dropped back down to 0 making him an easy target. Not like it mattered since that was the reason Rumble had switched it to attack mode. Even if Pip attacked with both his monsters, targeting Rumble’s Ghibli and Bora, it would make Pip’s life points easy pickings. If he didn’t, all Rumble had to do was repeat his last move and he would win. There was no way out of this.

“Then I draw!” shouted Pip. In one hand he held three cards while in the other he held the card he had just drawn. He looked at it for a moment before moving the card back to his deck. “I activate the effect of my field spell. When I draw during my draw phase I can put the card I drew at the bottom of my deck in order to draw again.” Slowly, Pip slid the card under his deck before taking a new card at the top. Not really impressive for someone with the skills Rumble had. After all, it was a straight one of one that he had to wait for until his draw phase!

“Ok,” said Pip after looking at his hand. “I’ll set one card face down and switch both my monsters to defense mode. That’s all.”

Rumble snorted as he drew. “Not even putting up a fight,” he commented while holding three cards in his hand. “Time to end this. Ghibli, switch your attack and defense again. Sirocco, transfer all the attack of all monsters on the field to Bora once again. Let’s end this!” Once again, Bora received the power from the rest of the flock, growing in strength until he was at 8800 again. “Now attack Queen’s Knight and end this!”

“I don’t think so!” shouted Pip as Bora flew towards his monster. “I activate my trap card: Negate Attack!” As Pip’s face down flipped face up, a transparent barrier appeared around his side of the field blocking Bora’s attack.

“Lucky draw,” said Rumble as Bora returned to his side of the field. “Nothing more. I end my turn.”

“Then I draw!” shouted Pip, drawing his card. He looked at it for a moment with uncertainty before glancing back at the slot machine behind him. “I…I activate the effect of my Tilted Try again. Placing this card at the bottom of my deck to draw another card.” Rumble watched in amusement as Pip drew his next card with his eyes closed. After a moment, he peaked at it before his eyes went wide. “Alright! I equip Queen’s Knight with my Cursed Bamboo Sword! Then I play the spell card Golden Bamboo Sword which lets me draw two more cards!” Eagerly Pip drew twice, his face filled with excitement while Rumble stood there watching with his arms crossed in front of him. He knew no matter how many cards Pip drew, there was nothing that could save him.

“I summon Knight Day Grepher in attack mode!” announced Pip. Appearing between Queen’s and Jack’s Knight was another human warrior, this one with 1700 attack points. He wore pinkish purple armor and a blue cape while holding a sword in one hand.  “Now that I have two level four monsters, I can overlay Queen’s Knight and Knight Day Grepher in order to build the Overlay Network!” Rumble took a step back as the familiar galaxy like vortex appeared in the middle of the field as both of Pip’s named monsters turned into golden lights. Together they flew into the vortex as Pip began his chant. “Bright lights of the cosmos, knight of the shining stars! Wield thy sword to defend all that is just! XYZ summon Rank 4: Starliege Paladynamo!” Rising up from the portal was a warrior who had two glowing sphere’s orbiting around him. Paladynamo wore a skintight outfit with bits of white armor attached to him that looked like they had come from a spaceship of some kind. Most notably were wings on his back as well as his shoulder pads which had glowing yellow lights in the center which reminded Rumble of an eye. In one hand, Paladynamo held a sword of light and his attack was 2000.

“Not a very impressive monster,” said Rumble, his smirk returning.

“Just wait to see what he can do,” responded Pip as he removed the two cards underneath his XYZ monster. “This is a monster given to me by Nightmare Moon herself! By using both of his overlay units, I can lower the attack of one of your monsters to zero. And the monster I chose is Elphin the Raven!” Both orbs orbiting Starliege Paladynamo flew into the monster’s sword right before he pointed it at Elphin. A beam flew out of it, striking the bird man causing him to wither and lose most of his feathers while his attack points dropped.

“Time for battle!” exclaimed Pip as he pumped his fist. “Jack’s Knight, strike down Elphin!” Jack’s Knight nodded before he lunged across the field, thrusting his sword right into Elphin’s gut. Rumble’s monster exploded, dropping his life points down to 5900. “Starliege Paladynamo, avenge the fallen king and take out Bora the Spear!” Pip’s monster shot into the air thanks to a rocket pack on its back before pointing its sword at Bora. A beam more akin to a bolt of lightning shot out of it, striking the spear Bora held and electrocuting him on the spot. Rumble raised an arm to shield his face from the explosion, his life points dropping again to 5600 as the crowd cheered for Pip.

As for Rumble, he stood there seething with anger as Paladynamo lowered itself to the ground to stand in front of Pip. He couldn’t understand why! Why were they cheering for Pip when Rumble had been the one to control the duel up to this point? Because he did one slightly above average move?!? What’s more, Pip had taken down two of his monsters and dealt a powerful blow to his life points. Now he could-

Rumble’s eyes widened for a moment before taking a breath. It was fine, just a lucky move. There was no reason to get upset. He still had Sirocco and Gale; monsters that could pump up his own monsters and weaken his opponents, respectfully. And even though Pip had taken down one of his piercing monsters, he had already attacked meaning Pip couldn’t switch his monsters to defense position. All he had to do now was attack with enough power and he would win. All without needing his extra deck!

“I’ll set two cards face down and end my turn,” said Pip, pride in his voice as two face down cards appeared on the field.

“That was your last one,” said Rumble as he drew, four cards in his hand. It was time to end this farce! “I special summon Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn in attack mode!” A new black feathered monster appeared on the field, this one having 1900 attack points. Kris wore red robes that looked like they might fit in with a Japanese temple along with a mask over his eyes while holding a sword in one hand. “Next I summon Blackwing – Pinaki the Waxing Moon!” Another monster appeared on the field, this one half the size of the others. Pinaki wore a blue vest and a turban on his head while holding a bow and arrow. His attack points were 1200.

“Since I normal summoned Pinaki, Black Whirlwind activates allowing me to add another Blackwing card to my hand,” said Rumble as the screen appeared in front of him again. “I choose Blackwing – Decay the Ill Wind. Not that I’ll be needing him because this duel is ending here and now!” Rumble took a moment to observe the field, having more than enough to take down both Pip’s monsters as well as the remainder of Pip’s life points. He could use Gale’s effect to cut the attack points of Pip’s XYZ monster in half, having Sirocco take down his Jack’s Knight while Kris destroyed Paladynamo. From there, the rest of his monsters could just run over what was left of Pip’s life points. Only…that didn’t feel as dramatic and satisfying enough for him. No! He wanted to defeat Pip in the perfect way: ending the match by destroying the dumb monster that the bitch gave him! The card he thought was helping him with his comeback. And wasn’t a single attack better, more impressive than several?

“Gale, cut Paladynamo’s attack in half!” Rumble ordered. Gale the Whirlwind went to work at once, flapping his wings so that they sent bursts of wind at its target. When he was finished, Paladynamo had 1000 attack points. “Ghibli, switch your attack with defense! Sirocco, give all the power of the flock to Kris so he can end this!” Once more, Sirocco sent the aura of himself as well as all the other monsters to Kris who began to grow bigger and bigger until he was triple the size of a Blue-Eyes! His attack rising all the way to 8000!

“Attack Kris and end this duel NOW!” roared Rumble as Kris slashed down with his weapon, easily cutting Pip’s monster in half before it exploded. Rumble grinned, waiting to see Pip’s life points dropping to zero. But…

“I activate my trap card: Defense Draw!” shouted Pip as one of his face downs flipped up, Rumble’s eyes widening as it did. “With this, I take no damage from that attack and I get to draw a card!” Rumble’s teeth began to grind against each other as Pip drew his card, fists clenched and shaking. “But that ain’t all mate. See, Starliege Paladynamo has another effect that activates when you destroy him. As long as he goes to the graveyard, I get to draw a card!” Now Rumble felt like pulling his hair out. Not only did he waste his ONLY attack, but he helped Pip draw two more cards?! How was it possible?!? It had to be luck!

“I end my turn,” growled Rumble, fighting the urge to stomp his feet as Ghibli’s attack went back down to 0. Next turn, he would not make the same mistake again.

“I draw!” said Pip, now grinning as he drew. With four cards in his hand, Pip looked them over before pressing a button on his duel disk. “Once more, I activate Tilted Try to send the card I just drew to the bottom of my deck in order to draw again.” Rumble wanted to groan as Pip went to work. It was honestly annoying to see Pip searching for whatever lame card he needed. Why couldn’t he just get normal draw cards like everyone else? “Alright! I drew Fusion Sage which lets me add a Polymerization card from my deck to my hand! Next I’ll play Card Destruction! We both send our hands to the graveyard and then draw the same number of cards that was sent there!”

“You fool,” said Rumble, unable to help himself as he spotted such an obvious mistake. “You just sent the Polymerization card you just got to the graveyard! What a waste!”

Much to Rumble’s surprise, Pip grinned. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” he said as he pressed another button on the duel disk. “Now I activate my face down: Fusion Reverse! Here’s how it work: I reveal a fusion monster from my extra deck and then I get to add one monster specifically listed on that card to my hand.” Pip’s extra deck slot opened, a card shooting out instantly which he grabbed and held up. “And the monster I reveal is Arcana Knight Joker! Since this monster lists three monsters on it, I’m allowed to pick any of the three. So I’ll be adding to my hand another King’s Knight!” Rumble’s eyes narrowed as a card shot out of Pip’s deck, the boy taking it right before his deck began to auto-shuffle. “But that’s not all! My trap card also lets me add to my hand one Polymerization card from my graveyard!” Now Pip stood there with a hand holding five cards!

“Now I play the spell card: Swing of Memories!” announced Pip. “This card lets me special summon one normal monster from my graveyard, but I have to destroy it at my end phase. So return Queen’s Knight. Then I’ll normal summon King’s Knight and use his effect to get another Jack’s Knight to the field!” Rumble watched, almost dumbfounded, as Pip managed to summon his three knights to the field once more who once more held their swords into the air in a sign of unity. Three knights which were soon to become something much more.

“The stage is set,” said Pip as he slid his Polymerization card into his spell/trap slot. “Now I fuse my royal knights to create my ultimate monster!” Instead of a portal appearing on the field, a light began to shine from the tips of the three warrior’s swords. A light which became brighter and brighter as Pip began to chant. “Trio of knights: bound together serving the hearts, clubs, and spades. Merge together to become the wild card needed to win the battle! Fusion summon: Arcana Knight Joker!” A sword seemed to cut through the light, revealing a single knight wearing black armor that looked like it belonged to a paladin with bits of gold and silver placed upon it. The gold was mostly in the tassels hanging from his shoulder pads as well as around his waist, coming down his dress-like pants in points. The silver was around his chest. His sword was thicker, more powerful than the other knights he had originated from and had an attack of 3800!

‘No way!’ thought Rumble, unable to hide the shock and fear from appearing on his face. ‘That little…he summoned THAT?! There’s no way I can win…unless I use MY extra deck! Damn it all to hell! I wanted to show this puny loser who was boss!’

“Way to go Pip!” yelled Sweetie Belle. As she did, the other students began to cheer him on as well. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spook were looking impressed by what Pip had summoned.

“Thanks,” said Pip as he looked over to them. “Nightmare Moon, er, I mean Vice Principal Luna suggested Fusion Reverse would help out my deck. You know, to get what I needed. She also suggested that I should send Polymerization to the graveyard before I use it so that I-”

“Hey, talk to them on your own time!” yelled Rumble, heart pounding against his chest while his eyes narrowed. He didn’t care that everyone else had become silent, looking at him with narrowed eyes. “We’re here to duel, remember?!?”

“Right,” said Pip as he looked at Rumble before looking at his lone Jack’s Knight. “I’ll send you out in a blaze of glory.” As he spoke to Jack’s Knight, Rumble had to rub his eyes at what he saw. The hologram, that useless monster, seemed to look back and nod at Pip. As if it were alive and understood what Pip was saying! But…But that was impossible! “Jack’s Knight! You will lead the charge and slay Kris!”

“But they have the same attack points!” yelled Rumble. At that moment, Jack’s Knight lunged forward while Kris ran towards his attacker with blade in claw. Everyone watched as the two swung their blades, easily impaling the other. But, to Rumble’s shock once more, he could see Jack’s Knight staring at Kris as he managed to give him a gritted smile before they both exploded.

“Arcana Knight Joker, this might seem dishonorable but I need you to slay Ghibli!” ordered Pip. Rumble couldn’t believe what he saw next: Joker looking at Pip with a small smile on his face before nodding. He then looked at the bird, eyes narrowing, before lunging across the field to effortlessly slice it into several pieces. As the feathers fell, Rumble’s life points dropped to 1800!

While the crowd cheered for Pip, all Rumble could do was stand there with his eyes twitching madly. This was impossible! How could this have happened to him? He was supposed to be a future pro duelist, one of the best of the best! So why was he in this position where some twerp with a deck that wasn’t even rogue level was pushing back against him? Was it luck? Perhaps. Taking a breath, Rumble began to think of his last move. Yes, Pip had gotten lucky with that draw but Rumble should have just attacked with all of his monsters instead of going for a one shot kill. That was on him.

Looking down at the ground, he began to think about what Vice Principal Luna had told him. About how many people go into the minor leagues thinking they could make it big. Was…Was he really just like them? Just one of the thousands who tried only to fail? After all, he had been training for years and now here he was on the ropes against someone like Pip. PIP! And if he did fail at dueling what would he…NO! Rumble raised his head, eyes narrowing as he looked at Pip. He couldn’t afford to think like that. All that had happened was him making one mistake, a mistake that he would learn from and never make again. He had one goal in life, to become a pro duelist and NOTHING would stop him.

“Just so you know,” said Pip as he held up the two cards in his hand. “My knight is more than mere attack numbers. Whenever you activate a card effect I can send the same type of card from my hand to the graveyard to negate and destroy that card.”

“Yeah, I know,” spat Rumble. “I activate a monster effect then all you have to do is discard a monster from your hand. Spell for spell and trap for trap.”

Pip frowned. “I was just trying to be-”

“Save it,” interrupted Rumble as he swung his arm to the side. “I’m not some third rate duelist who needs their hand held during a duel! I’ll show you MY skills, skills I learned without needing some old hag’s help!”

“Stop calling her that!” yelled Pip, eyes narrowing again as he took a step forward.

“Make me!” yelled Rumble back as he drew his card. He then looked down at the four cards in his hand before glaring at Pip. “Up until this point, I’ve been taking it easy on you. Well no more. I’ll show you and that bitch who has the real skills here! I summon Blackwing – Mistral the Silver Shield!” Now appearing on the field was a blackbird the size of a chicken, silver armor covering the front of its body along with its head. It’s attack was 100. “Now get ready for a synchro summon! I tune my level 2 Mistral the Silver Shield with my level 5 Sirocco the Dawn! The flock of black feathers combine to create a powerful champion! Let the silver armor merge with strength to create one whose wing will never be clipped. Synchro summon level 7: Blackwing  Armor Master!” Everyone watched as a pillar of light appeared on the field in front of Rumble and, when it faded, a muscular figure soared out of it. To those who didn’t know any better, they might have thought it was a superhero wearing armor as well as wings. Not surprising seeing that most of Armor Master’s body was covered in black armor, the exposed parts showing well toned and muscular flesh. Even the monster’s wings were covered in armor and its face completely hidden, only a red glowing orb in the center of its helmet. Armor Master’s attack points were at 2500.

“If you think I’m done yet you’re wrong!” spat Rumble again as another pillar appeared in front of him. “Because now I tune my level 3 Pinaki the Waxing Moon with my level 7 Armor Master to create a monster you have no hope of defeating! You who are indestructible, carried on black wings of power. Your allies will become your weapons to bring you greater strength! Synchro summon level 10: Blackwing Full Armor Master!” The crowd gasped as a new figure came out of the pillar wearing the same armor as Armor Master. But Full Armor Master had a few additions. Most notably in one hand he carried a futuristic gun while in the other he carried a large sword that rested on his shoulder. On the back of his helmet were long white feathers that ran down his back like hair would. To go along with his new arsenal his attack points had gone up as well, all the way to 3000!

“Now I’ll end this!” yelled Rumble. “Gale, cut that lame knight’s attack in half!”

“Did you forget my monster’s effect?” Pip yelled back, Gale already flapping his wings while Pip sent a monster card to the graveyard. As he did this, Arcana’s sword began to glow hot white before he swung it. Instantly the wing dissipated while Gale was sliced in two. Yet, at the same time, Full Armor Master pointed his gun at Arcana and fired something right into its chest. “What the? What did you do?”

“My monster has an effect as well,” said Rumble, grinning wickedly as he looked at the piece of black metal shaped like a feather sticking in Arcana’s chest. “Whenever one of your monster’s activates their effects, Full Armor Master fires a Wedge Counter into them to seal their fate.” Rumble then pointed at Pip. “Now I begin my attack!” As soon as those words were spoken, Arcana screamed in pain as his veins became visible before turning black. Slowly he began to move over to Rumble’s side, his head turning left and right as if he were trying to fight it.

“What? I don’t,” began Pip as he tried to understand what was going on.

“Just another effect from a real monster,” said Rumble as Arcana Knight Joker stood next to him, glaring at the grey skinned boy as he did so. “When I start my battle, all monster’s with Wedge Counters join my side. And since you didn’t negate that, I’m guessing you don’t have another monster card in your hand.”

“You mean you used Gale’s effect just to do this?” demanded Pip as he took a step back.

“Yeah, and you fell for it,” said Rumble as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Well, not like it would have made a difference. Either way you were going to lose. And hey, at least this monster gets to stand next to a real duelist!” At that moment, Arcana Knight Joker looked like he would have loved to spit in Rumble’s face. “Arcana Knight Joker, show your old master who the real clown is and finish this duel!” Still gritting his teeth, Arcana Knight Joker ran across the field with his legwork looking a little jerky. As if he were still trying to fight it. While it seemed odd to Rumble he paid it no real mind as the monster slashed at Pip, knocking him down and bringing the boy’s life points to 0.

For a moment, nobody did anything. Nobody cheered Rumble on for his win. Nobody looked at him or even gave him a thumbs up. All these the crowd did was stare at Rumble as he laid there in defeat. When movement did occur, it was from Pip’s dumb fusion monster. As it began to fade away, the knight bent down to place a hand on Pip’s shoulder while tears fell from its eyes. Something had to be going on since holograms couldn’t do stuff like that. Maybe Rumble was seeing things. To test that, Rumble rubbed his eyes and when he looked again the monster was gone. Ok, so he was seeing things.

A moment later, Pip stood up. “I lost,” he admitted, his voice sounding like he was choking back tears and trying to put on a brave face. “Good game.”

“Well of course you lost,” said Rumble, his pride swelling inside of him. “What would you expect when you take advice from that no good, lousy, old hag of a bi-”

“RUMBLE WOULD YOU SHUT UP!” yelled Scootaloo, her voice ringing through the stadium as she looked at Rumble in a manner that almost made him jump. She was glaring at him as if she wanted to stab him or something. “I am so sick of this attitude of yours.”

“Like, we all are,” added Diamond, grabbing Rumble’s attention. He could see that she was looking at him with disgust as well and, thankfully, far less hate than Scootaloo. But, more than that, he could see that the others were giving him varied looks of anger. Apple Bloom looked like she wanted to wring his neck while Sweetie Belle looked at him like he was something she wanted to scrape off her shoes. Silver Spoon was just eyeing him from the corner of her eye while Gabby was cracking her knuckles. Loudly. And suddenly, Rumble wasn’t feeling on top of the world anymore

Still, Rumble didn’t want to back down too much so he raised his hands in an effort to calm everyone down. “Hey, come on,” he said as a nervous smile graced his face. “It was just a duel, you know. And, if you had let me finish, I was going to offer to help-”

“Why, so you can badmouth Vice Principal Luna some more?” demanded Scootaloo as she took another step closer. Out of the corner of his vision, he noticed Sweetie Belle moving to stand beside Pip right before Scootaloo spoke again. “Because that’s what this is all about! You’re upset about not getting your way like a little kid and since you can’t do anything to her, you’re going after Pip!”

That caused Rumble’s face to heat up. “I’m not acting like a little kid!” he bellowed.

“Really?” said Diamond, taking a step closer. “Cause, like, it sure seems that way. Pushing everyone to the side just to get a chance to duel her and then getting all pissy when she doesn’t do what you want. Badmouthing her, pouting? The insane boasting about how great you are?”

“Hey, you used to do the same thing!” Rumble snapped back, pointing a finger at Diamond.

“Yeah, I used to,” said Diamond as she rolled her eyes causing Rumble to lower his finger. “But that’s because I grew up a bit. Something you are having trouble with. This isn’t the second grade anymore when we were playing on the playground. Like, move on.”

“We’re tired of it,” said Gabby. “I’m sick of you trying to force yourself into other people’s duels, trying to create tournaments where you’re the center of attention. Tired of the boasting! Everyone is! And this?”  Gabby then gestured to Pip who had remained silent through the whole thing. “This is the last straw! Even when Pip lost, after all the stuff you said about Vice Principal Luna, he still tried to be the better man which is more than I could ever say about you. Just had to keep digging into his hero! A hero to everyone who loves this stadium that she helped win!” At that, many of the students nodded.

“You mean that staged duel against Sombra,” said Rumble who refused to back down. “That loser, that joke could never have won unless he let her win! Because she’s nothing more…” Rumble’s voice began to fade as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, his stomach beginning to do backflips. Perhaps it was in response to the sound of footsteps behind him. Perhaps it was the looks everyone was giving him…or, rather, something behind him. Maybe it was a bit of both. Nevertheless, Rumble slowly turned around to see, to his horror, Vice Principal Luna standing there with a ‘We are not amused’ look on steroids.

“That is quite enough,” said the Vice Principal. Her breathing was loud, as if she were fighting to keep herself under control. Yet the look in her eyes was as cold as ice making Rumble feel like she was trying with all her might to encase him in a glacier. “I have heard and seen enough of this. School hours may be over, but this is still school grounds. Come Monday, I will be having a conversation with the Principal about this.”

“I was,” began Rumble, but another icy glare from the lone adult silenced him at once. From there, he stood for a moment watching her move over to Pip. Lying to him about what a great job he did, saying that she was proud of him. And as he stood there, their voices began to drown out. Standing there, he could hear his parents fighting because that bitch called them again. Yelling at each other because she was standing in his way of becoming a pro! Eventually Rumble couldn’t take it anymore and left with the plans of complaining on MyStable.

Hopefully Diva would be able to give some good advice.
> Reforged: Boy's Night Dueling (Forge vs Timber vs Flash)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweat dripped down Forge’s face as he swung his hammer down hard, striking the heated metal before him. Over and over again, he stuck it with all his might as he watched the metal’s shape slowly twist on the anvil into his desired form. Yet with each second that passed, the red glow of the material began to dim ever so slightly and the metal refused to move as ‘easily’ as it had before. That, however, did not dissuade Forge in the slightest as he pressed on with his work while the clang of hammer against metal sounded all around him. It was only when the metal had lost its glow completely did the teenage boy set down his mighty hammer.

After taking a breath while wiping away the sweat from his forehead, the teen looked forward to the outside world beyond his parent’s garage. This pleasant Sunday afternoon looked a little cloudy, though thankfully none of them looked like storm clouds. Nor did it feel humid outside which was a blessing to him. All these clouds seemed to do was bring a slight chill to the air, causing the folks in the neighborhood to stay indoors. Not once had he spotted anybody walking past his house; though that might also be because he had been working so hard. Still, Forge wished that the wind would blow his way, cooling his workspace a little. But, alas, we don’t always get what we want.

Before heating the metal once more, Forge grabbed a gallon milk jug filled with water and began to drink from it as he checked the rest of the garage. Unlike other garages he had seen, this one had none of the normal lawn equipment, fertilizer, cars draped in a cover, or anything like that. No. Instead, not too far from where he was standing was a large coal forge. With a special covering to keep as much heat as possible inside, the forge was measured at one yard long with an additional part in the back which could be equipped to this one so that it could handle materials twice that length. There was also a drum barrel, filled with oil used for quenching. Near the barrel was a hand truck which the teen used to take the barrel outside before the quench. After all, those flames got pretty big and his parents had told him that if he burned the garage down then that was the end of his hobby. There were also a number of tools on the shelves along the walls with wood materials he used to make things like handles.

Hanging on the walls, however, were some of his completed works. Several large swords that looked like they would have been wielded in the medieval ages hung with the tips facing downward, shining brightly even in this low light. Daggers, shields, and maces were all hung with pride while a massive warhammer that looked like it could break your back just by looking at it rested on a wooden table next to a picture of him and AJ. Forge’s eyes rested on the black and white picture, a reminder of his last date with the country girl. The two of them were smiling brightly, him in his old fashioned blacksmith clothing while she looked more like a tavern maiden that was ready to throw out anyone causing trouble.

As he removed his water supply from his lips, Forge could help but remember the time they had spent at the renaissance faire while a sappy smile appeared on his face. He had sold quite a bit of his wares that day along with his friends and had given several demonstrations to onlooking crowds. And while their cheers and excited questions had made him feel good, as had hearing them gasp when the flames shot out of his barrel, none of that compared to spending time with Applejack. He could still see her, looking like she had just stepped off the farm while checking to see if there was any straw in her hair. There was, which he helped take out as they made their way around. Together, they saw a number of shows like the jousting matches, falconry, and even a comical sword fight to the death while they ate smoked turkey legs. In between the shows, the two had wandered through the shops where they examined a number of the handmade items like books that had been made the old-fashioned way, hand dipped candles and candies, and so forth.

“This here is just the type of thing Ah like ta see,” Applejack had said as they watched a man blowing into hot glass and shaping it in front of a crowd, preparing to turn it into an eagle. “Hard workin’ people, usin’ their hands ta make something. Always mighty impressive if ya ask me.” As she spoke, Forge felt her hand move to touch his own causing the teen’s heart to dance a jig within his chest.

After they had left the show, Forge purchasing them both small glass figures, the two spotted a picture booth. While they could have just taken a few shots of themselves with their phones, the range of costumes appealed to Applejack for some reason. But rather than wearing one of the many gowns fit for a princess or queen, she had decided to go simple in a bar maiden attire. And, if Forge was being honest, it suited her far better. The outfit just complimented her hard working nature while highlighting her natural beauty so that when she stepped out the teen couldn’t help but blush.

And as he turned away, he noticed that she had noticed and was blushing as well.

Once the picture had been taken, both of them getting copies, Forge had to sadly return to work. The two of them parted ways,  Applejack heading off to look around the faire some more by herself whilst Forge prepared for his own little demonstration. It was nothing too special as all he was doing was showing the audience how to make their own nails while even having some of the younger members in attendance doing it with him. But during the halfway point, he did spot Applejack again in his shop looking at some of the swords before turning to watch him. 

When it was over and night was slowly set across the land, the two of them just decided to sit next to each other watching the fair goers as they got any last minute items for the day as well as food. When Forge turned to look at Applejack, he noticed that she was already looking at him with those lovely green eyes of hers. His heart thumped just a little bit louder, the whistling of the fireworks sounding as Applejack seemed to lean forward a bit. While nervous and unsure of what to do, Forge began to mirror his date. Then, before they could feel the other’s breath against their skin, both pulled away with glowing red cheeks.

Again, Forge licked his lips as he wished he could have pressed them against Applejack’s that night. To breathe in the scent of straw and apples that normally clung to her body while they shared that moment. To…no, he could wait. Wait until Applejack was ready to be that intimate with him. That had been their first real date after all and, from what he could tell, she seemed to enjoy it as much as he had. So maybe when she was free again they could take it a small step forward?

Grinning at the thought, Forge grabbed large metal tongs before picking up the metal. Carefully, he placed the metal into the coal forge before checking the temperature. Spotting that it was low, he reached under it to activate the most advanced technology he used when crafting his works: a hairdryer! As soon as he turned it on, constant air began to flow into the forge to heat up the coal and raise the temperature. Quickly righting himself, his eyes focused on the metal while his mind began to think of places he could take Applejack. Perhaps next time they could go hiking or something. Or was that too much for her after a long day on her feet? Maybe they could just chill with some movies like-

“I think this is the place.”

“You sure? I mean, that’s what you said about the last two houses.”

Forge’s ears perked at the two voices as they drew his attention away from his thoughts and his work. Glancing over, he didn’t spot anyone in the driveway nor across the street. Not even a parked car on the street with the windows down. He did, however, spot two shadows whose owners were clearly hiding outside his sight on the side of the garage.

As Forge cocked an eyebrow at this, the figures moved into sight. Both of them people he had seen before, but had rarely ever spoken to. The first, and the one he saw the most often, was Flash Sentry. The spiky blue haired teen was standing there in his usual jacket along with the lightning bolt shirt with a hand resting on the back of his neck, rubbing it slightly as he gave Forge a nervous smile. Besides him was the slightly older Timber Spouse, wearing a red shirt while forgoing his normal shorts in favor of a pair of jeans. His smile was a bit more confident, only falling briefly as he looked around at all the weapons hanging on Forge’s walls.

“Hey there Forge,” said Flash as he extended his hand. “Been a while, hasn’t it.”

“…Flash, we have the same third period. I just saw you on Friday,” replied Forge in a flat tone, watching as Flash cringed slightly at the awkwardness of the situation. Still, Forge removed the thick glove on his hand to shake Flash’s, careful not to crush it.

“Hope you remember me, right?” said Timber, pointing finger gun at Forge as he released Flash’s hand.

“Yeah, you’re that camp counselor who was hitting on Twilight the entire time we were there,” stated Forge, Timber’s eyes looking back and forth as sweat appeared on his forehead. And probably not from the heat.

“So, what brings you both here?” asked Forge, doing his best not to add “at the same time” to the end of that sentence. It seemed very odd that these two would be together given what he knew about them. Timber was Twilight Sparkle’s boyfriend while Flash had a rather…complicated history with the Twilight’s of two different worlds as well as Sunset Shimmer. Flash was still in high school while Timber, age unknown to Forge, lived up at Camp Everfree with his sister. The only time these two ever spent together was at said camp as far as Forge knew. And when you consider that he had spent even less time with either of them made the fact that they were standing there all the more baffling.

Timber seemed to recover quickly, his grin returning. “Well, I just happened to hear from Twilight that you and Applejack started dating.”

“Well, ah,” stumbled Forge, feeling like a spotlight was shining down on him at that moment. Geez, how to answer that?! He had gone on a date with her, but did that mean they were together? “Kind of, sort of? We’ve only had the one date.”

“Close enough,” said Timber loudly. “That makes you one of us: guys dating amazing magical girls who are saving the world!”

“…Who’s Flash dating?” That was the first thing that came to Forge’s mind when he heard that line. His brain was too busy rebooting, trying to process that statement as well as why Timber felt the need to say it loudly. Shouldn’t keeping the fact that those girls had magical power be something to be kept, you know, at least a little secret!?! And did dating one of them automatically put him in a group like this? Really? Wasn’t Pinkie Pie seeing some Cheese guy while Fluttershy was into some college student named Discord? Why weren’t they here? Then again, since this group dealt with people dating the Canterlot Magical Girl group, asking who Flash was dating did seem somewhat logical.

“Sunset,” replied Flash before looking nervous. “Well, we’re kind of, sort of, getting back together after I realized that me and Twilight will never be a thing.”

“Wait, Twilight?” asked Timber, looking shocked. Forge took note of Timber as he clenched his hands into fists briefly, his smile vanishing as his eyes became hard. But only for a moment, his eyes quickly softening as he let out a laugh.  “Not my Twilight.”

“No, ah, I mean,” stammered Flash. As the teen boy took a breath, Forge went back to his forge to take the heated metal out. As he brought it to the anvil, Flash did his best to explain. “OK, I was with Princess Twilight who’s from the world all this magical stuff came from. But she had to go back to her world and when I saw this world’s Twilight I thought she was the same person at first. Then when I realized that she wasn’t, I thought we might hit it off since they are the same person…but I guess I just made things creepy between us.” As Flash finished, Forge began to strike the metal hard causing the room to sing the song of metal against metal. Both boys stared at each other, neither flinching at the sound.

“That’s…really complicated,” said Timber at last, scratching his head a little.

“That’s Canterlot these days,” breathed Forge as he swung down his hammer again. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Timber was looking at him again with a far more serious expression than before.

“Yeah, that’s sort of the reason why we’re here,” said Timber. “It’s about all this magic stuff going around. Twilight’s hasn’t really told me all that much, probably because of what that Well-To-Do guy did at Camp Everfree with that Cinch lady. But she did tell me about what was going on in Rancho Bronco after I saw the bandages on her. Using card games to turn people into mummies, sapping away their strength so that some thugs could hulk out.”

“Yeah, I heard about that too,” said Forge as his hammer came down again. “Applejack told me all about when she came back. Glad she and her great-uncle are ok.”

Timber seemed to pause for a moment, scratching the back of his head as he looked away for a moment. While Forge continued with his work, he watched Timber out of the corner of his eye. There was something…off about his expression. Anger? Regret? Shame? Forge had no idea what it was. All he knew was that when Timber spoke again, it lacked the same energy he had at the beginning. “That’s the only thing she’s told me, but Flash here says that that’s not the only thing going on around town. He heard from Pinkie Pie that someone tried to mind control her sister and she needed to defeat her in a card game in order to free her. Then he heard about what happened to another one of their friends who’s accused of stealing from a movie theater. Not to mention that guy, Flitz I think, was found mauled by something in an area where Twilight’s magical device said magic was happening. Add that with Cinch and Well-To-Do…well, we’re getting kind of worried about the girls.”

“You should have more faith in them,” said Forge as he continued to swing his hammer down, the two flinching slightly. However, Forge had no idea if this was because of his words or particularly loud clang of metal that rang through the air. “If Applejack needs a hand, she knows she can come to me for help.”

Timber rolled his eyes at that. “Yeah, because Applejack has such a history of not being pig-headed or stuck in her ways.”

As Forge shot Timber a look, one that said ‘yeah, I know she can be like that but dude that’s the girl I really like’, Flash stepped forward. “Look, we’re just worried that they might get really hurt this time. These people aren’t playing around. They aren’t some kid who just lacks friends or is lonely. Whoever is doing this clearly doesn’t care who they hurt to get what they want. What if these people decide not to use a card game and try to attack them directly? Like jumping them and stealing their gems?”

“Me and Mac thought that,” replied Forge. “And if something like that happens, we plan on going fully medieval on them.”

“…You mean all these weapons are…” said the two other boys in unison as they looked around as if finally taking note of the number of weapons on the walls.

“Very dangerous, more so in the hands of people who know how to use them,” was Forge’s reply, feeling satisfaction in the look on both the other two’s faces. “When I make a weapon, they are meant to be used. Each one is sharpened to perfection and kill tests are done on ballistic dummies that a friend of mine makes. I even made that warhammer there for Big Mac.” Timber and Flash quickly turned to look at the table, spotting the large apple engraved on its side. Unable to help himself, Forge smirked at the two looking nervous and loudly gulping as sweat began to form on their brows. As if they were suddenly getting a mental image of what kind of man could ever use such a weapon and what would become of said man’s ire.

“Ah, we were thinking maybe we could help them in a different way,” said Timber who took a couple steps away from the warhammer. As if he suddenly thought it would fly up on its own and strike him. “Like if that happened, we could challenge them to a duel? You know, to take back the magic they stole? Or just duel besides them should they need back up.”

“And we were wondering if you wanted to help train with us,” added Flash with a jovial punch to the air. “Think of it, the three of us working together to help the Rainbooms take on this threat so they don’t need to go at it alone. Being their back up.”

Forge let out a hum, not pausing for a moment as he continued to work. His mind, however, was thinking about what they had said. About the promise he had made to Big Mac to help take some of the load off Applejack’s shoulders. Practicing with them made sense as did being there to help out Applejack as well as the others. However, Forge couldn’t help but think there was a nagging problem. A glaring flaw that he hoped they hadn’t overlooked, just failed to mention. Over and over, Forge continued to think this over as the two stood there watching him strike the metal until it finally became too cool to continue.

“Well, ah, I guess that’s a no then,” said Flash, looking a little dejected. “It’s cool. We’ll just see if we can’t-”

“Never said no,” said Forge, interrupting Flash as he set down his tools followed by his gloves. With them resting on the anvil, Forge turned to look at the others. “Might as well give this a shot. I could use the break.”

-x-

Perhaps twenty minutes later found the three in a park located no more than two blocks away from Forge’s home. It was a small area with a wide field with two metal, rusting soccer poles at either end with a small playground for kids sitting next to it. Bits of trash were littered here and there, but nothing too offensive or out of the ordinary. It was in the barren soccer field where the three now stood with their duel disks firmly attached to their arms.

“So, how are we going to do this?” asked Timber. “Do we draw straws to see who goes first?”

“How about we have a three-way duel?” suggested Forge.

“Dude, could you just say free-for-all?” asked Flash. “Three-way just puts, well, the wrong image in my head.”

Forge rolled his eyes at that. “Fine, free-for-all,” he said. “This way, we don’t have to worry about taking turns. Plus, it’ll allow us to see each other’s strengths and weaknesses at the same time.”

“No problems here,” said Timber.

After Flash nodded in agreement, the three of them backed away from each other until they were in a triangle formation. Once situated, Forge activated his duel disk and went for the free-for-all option. Instantly a screen appeared in front of him, going over the rules for such a duel. For the most part, it was the same as a normal duel. Everyone would start with the same life points, same cards in the hand, ect. However, once it was decided who would go first, no one could attack anyone until each player got a turn. You could attack whoever you wanted, but there was the additional rule that said you could block an attack directed at one of your opponents if you so choose to do so. If you wished to use a card that affected your opponent’s field, you had to choose which opponent rather than it being both.

Once Forge had finished reading, he hit the accept button on the holographic screen to begin. “Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from all three of their duel disks, their decks shuffled by the auto-shuffler. “Three opponents found. Displaying order now.” Rather, she showed a flat holographic image of a portrait, an arrow appearing in the middle of the field before it began to spin around. Faster and faster it went, becoming a blur until it came to a sudden stop where it pointed at Flash. “First duelist selected. Displaying order now.” With that, each one of their portraits appeared in the middle of the field with Flash’s at the very top.

“Looks like we’re going around the field counter clockwise,” observed Timber, who was second.

“Seems like,” said Forge.

“Alright!” cheered Flash as he drew his opening hand, the other two doing the same. “I draw!” After drawing his sixth card, Flash looked at his hand before pulling out one of them and placing it into his spell/trap card zone. “Sorry guys, but I’m coming out of the gate strong. I play the spell card Onomatopaira! This card allows me to send one card in my hand to the grave in order to add up to two monsters from my deck to my hand. Well, as long as they are Dododo, Gagaga, Gogogo, and Zubaba monsters, and I can only pick one from each group. So I’ll be dropping my Gogogo Golem in order to add a Gogogo Giant and Dododo Witch to hand.” Flash grinned as he slid his card into the graveyard slot, his deck rapidly shuffling itself before two cards were ejected from the top. “But he won’t be there for long because I summon my Gogogo Giant in attack mode!” Rising up from the ground was a tall, lengthy rock-like creature with 2000 attack points. Its brown limbs were round and smooth, looking like stone pillars of different sizes and lengths placed together in order to create a human-like shape. But the odd thing for Forge were the odd shoulders that went way too far past the creature's arms.

“When this bad boy is summoned, I can target one Gogogo monster in my grave and special summon it to the field in defense mode!” continued Flash. “Meaning I can bring back my Golem!” Exploding from the ground was another rock-like creature, this one reminded Forge of a green grenade with long grey, gorilla-like arms and short stubby feet. Its lone red eye shone in the shallow dome that answered for a head. It crossed its arms as it showed off its less than impressive 1500 attack points. “Then, when this happens, my Giant switches to defense mode as well!” Flash didn’t seem to mind as his massive Giant took a knee, arms crossed against its chest to show off its 0 defense points.

“Since both my monsters are level four, I can build the Overlay Network!” Flash announced, throwing a fist into the air as the galaxy-like portal appeared in front of him. Both of his monsters transformed into light being sucked into the void while Flash began his chant. “On wings of hope, shining brightly on the darkest night. Descend from the heavens now! XYZ summon! Rank 4! Number 39: Utopia!” Flash’s monster rose from the portal, a winged warrior covered in mostly white armor with golden trimmings. In one hand, this 2500 attack point monster held firm a massive sword that looked like it could cleave anything apart in a single blow.

“And with that, I end my turn,” finished Flash, still smiling.

“Ok then, I draw,” said Timber as he drew his card. He looked at it for a moment before adding it to his hand before picking up another one. “I summon my Crystron Thystvern in attack mode!” Appearing on Timber’s field was something that Forge would never expect. He had thought that the camp counselor would have been using something nature related, but instead this purple creature looked like it was made out of metal. It stood on two backwards turned legs, hunched over with an oval gem glowing in its belly. At the end of its long arms, the monster had three fingers on each hand but behind it were purple, crystalline wings that extended back in a way that reminded Forge of a bat. More crystals were on the thing’s small head, looking like curved horns. This 1500 attack point monster, Forge had no idea if it was meant to be a dragon or a gargoyle. Or something else.

“Now that it’s on the field, I can activate its effect,” continued Timber, snapping his fingers as the crystals that were the monster’s wings began to glow. “I can target one card on the field and destroy it, allowing me to special summon a Crystron tuner from my deck. So I’ll destroy my Thystvern in order to bring out Crystron Citree!” As Thystvern shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, a new machine appeared in its place. This time Forge had no trouble figuring out that it was a human girl. While the body looked like it was made of black metal, its eyes, ‘hair’, and ‘dress’ looked like they had been made out of some sort of yellow crystal. More so with the hair, whose pigtails held more of its crystalline qualities as they shone.

“Never would have figured you for using that sort of deck,” said Flash. “Figured you would have picked up some sort of plant deck.”

Timber shrugged. “What can I say, I’m into gems.” He then held up another card, looked at it, and then placed it in his duel disk. “I’ll finish up with one card face down and end my turn.”

“Alright,” said Forge as he drew his sixth card. Briefly, he looked at what he had before activating his own spell. “I’ll start off with this: Gladiator Rejection! This continuous spell card will protect my Gladiator Beasts from being targeted by card effects. Then I’ll normal summon my Gladiator Beast Sagittarii!” Galloping onto Forge’s field was a centaur whose lower body was that of a white steed. Long golden hair flowed out from the copper helmet he wore while in his bronze hands held a bow and arrow. This monster had 1400 attack points. “But he won’t be here for long, because now I special summon my Test Tiger!” Now on the field was a small tiger cub with armor on its body. Test Tiger let out a noise between a mew and a growl as it looked at Sagittarii.

For a moment, Forge looked at the field. Utopia he knew well. What duelist hadn’t heard of the iconic XYZ monster? But Timber’s deck, well, not so much. If he remembered correctly, their non-tuner monsters had effects in the graveyard and that the deck could Synchro summon during his turn. But beyond that, he had no idea.

So the best way to handle it was to deny him that chance.

“I activate the effect of Test Tiger!” announced Forge, snapping his finger as Test Tiger let out a louder cry. “Get this, by tributing it, I can send one Gladiator Beast on my field back into my deck in order to special summon another one. The best part? It’s treated as though it were special summoned via the effect of a Gladiator Beast! So I’ll say goodbye to Sagittarii and welcome to the field Gladiator Beast Retiari!” Sagittarii raced around Forge before turning into white light which entered the duelist’s deck before another light, green this time, shot into the air right before a figure landed on the field in the classic superhero pose. This monster with 1200 attack points looked reptilian in nature, with black arm and legs guards trimmed with gold while a white sash crossed his chest. In one hand, he carried with him a trident which he spun around before letting out a mighty roar.

“When Retiari is special summoned from the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, he allows me to banish one monster in my opponent's graveyard,” continued Forge as he looked at Timber. Upon seeing this, Timber took a step back in surprise. “Guess who I’m aiming for?”

“Too bad that won’t work!” shouted Timber as Forge’s spell card began to glow. But Timber ignored it for the moment, pressing a button on his duel disk. “I activate the effect of my Crystron Citree! I can target one non-tuner in my graveyard and special summon it. Then I Synchro summon one machine type monster while also banishing the materials used to make it! So return Thystvern to become something greater!” Citree leapt into the air, turning into two rings while Thystvern exploded out from the ground where he flew upwards while turning into three stars. Forge could not help but smirk as Timber began his chant. “Greatness shines brightly as do you. Brilliant gems combine thanks to machinery. Synchro Summon. Level 5! Crystron Ametrix!”

 

There was an explosion of light and, when it faded, it looked like Citree was standing there. Only she was now three times taller with a thinner waist and limbs. Like she had gone from a blocky carving done by a child to a professionally made mannequin. Then, from the sky, came purple dust which landed on Ametrix which quickly formed into her armor. Now her legs were covered in a triangular shaped purple armor with yellow crystals jutting out like spikes. Her waist was bare, but her chest and arms were protected by the same purple armor with oval shaped shields appearing on her forearms. A helmet was then placed on her head, one with horns as a tail appeared on her back along with wings that looked more angelic than those that belonged to Thystvern. In the end, she looked almost like a purple version of Utopia right down to having the same attack points!

“Now the effect of my monster kicks in, switching all your monsters to defense mode,” said Timber, crossing his arms as the two opposing monsters to his took a knee.

“Not bad, but you forgot my spell card,” said Forge, pointing to the still glowing card. “When I special summon from my main deck, once per turn, I can special summon another one! Now I summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari!” Before either boy could say anything a large, thin green bird man with darker green armor appeared on the field. The feathers on the back of its head were red and it had dart guns on each arm. Its attack was 1500.

“Now, everything is set,” said Forge calmly. “I fuse my Bestiari and my Retiari together to create Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” As Forge removed his monsters from his monster tray, both flew into the air in preparation of his chant. “The wing beat of the bird is missed in the sound of battle. Striking with power to make the bravest tremble in fear! Leave nothing in your path! Fusion summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” When the chant ended, a large creature landed onto the field in another superhero landing pose. Even before it stood up, everyone there could see it looked very much like Bestiari, but with heavier armor that had several large red gems in it. Its attack was 2400. “When special summoned, Gyzarus can destroy two cards on the field. And there just so happens to be two monsters right in front of me.”

“What? NO!” shouted both boys as Gyzarus flew into the air, spears of light forming in its claws. But despite their shouts, Forge knew there was nothing they could do but watch as both their monsters were impaled where they stood, falling to their knees before exploding while Gyzarus landed next to its owner.

“Dude, come on,” complained Flash.

Forge, however, ignored him as he looked at one other card in his hand. “I’ll set this and then end my turn,” he said as a face down card appeared on his side of the field.

“Alright then,” said Flash, his tone seemingly more agitated now than before as he drew his card. Clearly, he had not expected Forge to destroy both their monsters that quickly. His eyes darted across the six cards he held before taking one and holding it above him. “I’ll turn this around with my Dododo Witch!” Now on Flash’s side was a woman wearing a red Viking helmet. Her attire was mostly black, with silver patches of metal on her sides as if to protect her from side blows. Dododo Witch wore a tattered cowl while in her hands was a staff whose head was that of a long beaked bird. Her attack was 1200. “When this monster is summoned, I can special summon another Dododo monster from my hand other than herself. And, luckily for me, I just so happen to have one. Now race to the field Dododo Driver!” The sound of thunder seemed to echo across the field as a massive cloud of dust raced towards them. As this cloud got closer, Forge spotted a man in front of it pulling a cart. The man was massive, easily taller than all three of the duelists with a leather skirt around his hips and a bull-like helmet on his head. Once he was in front of Flash, the monster skidded to a halt showing off his 1800 attack points.

“Vice Principal Luna isn’t the only one who knows how to modify the levels of her monsters,” said Flash. “When Driver is special summoned, I can raise or lower any Dododo monster’s level by one twice. So I’m targeting both my monsters and powering them up by one making them both level five. Then I build the overlay network once more!” Both of Flash’s monster’s were sucked into the vortex which appeared in the middle of the field, the duelist beginning his chant with fire in his eyes. “Ancient warriors, feed the beast which lies below. While powerful and skilled, its might surpasses your entire tribe. XYZ summon! Rank 5! Number 61: Volcasaurus!” A mighty roar echoed across the field, drawing the attention of those just walking by as a figure clawed its way out of the portal. This 2500 attack point dinosaur was mostly purple and red with the number 61 tattooed on its chest just below its very long neck. The monster stood on two legs, large yellow spikes coming out of its knees while its hands were replaced by large yellow spikes. Those same spikes were also attached to the monster’s back, creating a fan while wisps of smoke rose up from them.

“That’s…big,” said Forge as he looked up at the monster that towered over the field, looking down at them all from behind Flash.

“You’re lucky you have that spell card out, or else you would have been in serious trouble,” said Flash. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t destroy your monster through battle! Volcasaurus, incinerate his bird man!” Steam and smoke began to rise from Volcasaurus, its scales rising to show the magma-like flesh below it before it fired several molten rocks from its mouth. They struck the ground around Gyzarus, the flames and smoke showing only a silhouette. “Alright, how do you…like…that?”

Flash’s expression changed from excited and happy to confused, taking a step back as another figure could be seen in the blast zone of his monster’s attack. Something just as large as his own dinosaur. The rocker teen’s eyes narrowed, trying his best to make it out when an arrow of golden light shot out from the flames to strike his monster in the chest. Volcasaurus let out a roar of pain as it stumbled backwards and exploded into thousands of golden lights.

“What? How?” cried Timber, who sounded equally confused.

Then the flames cleared, revealing two monsters. One of them was a large, greenish blue creature with a white underbelly. Its long, spiky tail was wrapped around Gyzarus in a protective fashion as it stood next to him on its two muscular legs with webbed toes. Fish-like fins rose from its back as well as its long neck where it seemed to form something like a Mohawk. Light blue armor draped its chest, hands and legs like it carried a massive sword in one hand. Though it was large and imposing, its attack was only 2300.

“Allow me to introduce one of my newer monsters: Gladiator Beast Vespasius,” said Forge. “During the damage step of a battle involving a Gladiator Beast, I can special summon this card from my hand to the field.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you were able to destroy my monster!” shouted Flash, his life points dropping to 7600 as he spoke.

“Well, that’s not all he does,” replied Forge. “Vespasius has another effect when special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, boosting the attack of my monsters by 500. And since he special summoned himself with his own effect and he is a Gladiator Beast, well…” Forge allowed his words to hang as both his monsters were now able to show off their new strength. Gyzarus was now at 2900 while Vespasius was at 2600.

“But…But that’s,” stammered Flash, his arms falling to his sides. Forge could see something he had noticed from other blacksmiths in the past, Flash’s knees were beginning to shake and were ready to fall to his knees. But unlike his fellow blacksmith’s, it wasn’t from strenuous lifting or working in an extremely hot environment. No, Flash, with his grip on his cards so loose that they looked like they would slip through his grasp at any moment, appeared ready to give up.

As he saw this, Forge fought hard to keep his eye from twitching in annoyance. So this is what he’s made of, thought the blacksmithing teen as he fought to shake his head. I destroy his monsters and counter one attack only to have him act like he’s lost the duel already. Timber’s not doing much better. But, as these thoughts crossed his mind, Forge’s shoulders began to loosen up. Maybe I’m being a little hard on him. His idea was good in theory. If I didn’t have Rejection on the field or Vespasius in my hand, that would have done some serious damage to me. He could have cleared my entire field! Perhaps all he needs a little-

 

No, thought Forge as his eye hardened briefly as his thoughts went back to what Applejack had told him. About how Twilight had glass shards embedded in her back. About how Sonata could have died from blood loss from her opponent. The pain she herself went through in her duel against Long Horn. We’re supposed to be training to help Applejack and the others. We need to be strong. We need to be able to overcome! Forge’s eyes then glanced over at Timber, remembering the way he reacted when he found out that Flash had dated a Twilight before pursuing the other. A sickening thought appeared before him, leaving a vile taste in the teens mouth. But, one that had merit. I’m going to feel like an ass for doing this, but they need to know what they're getting into. Not like the bad guys will hold back their punches.

“I’m honestly surprised that you attacked me Flash,” said Forge firmly, causing the rocker teen to lift his head slightly. “You knew I had a face down and a monster on the field. There was a chance that your attack would have failed, but you attacked me anyways instead of going for an easier target.” Forge paused for a moment, looking over at Timber who seemed to jump a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Flash was looking at him as well. “Mind telling me why you took a gamble at attacking me?”

“Well, I,” began Flash as he seemed to fumble with his wording. “I guess…It’s because right now you’re the biggest threat!” His statement was packed with energy, speaking quickly as if he were trying to quickly justify himself. Like he hadn’t just attacked Forge in a moment of anger from the previous turn.

“Hey!” shouted Timber. “Dude, I can be threatening!”

“I mean right now!” said Flash quickly, holding up his hands in a way that looked like he was trying to defuse tension. “Right now, he’s the biggest threat. I didn’t mean anything by it personally.”

Forge nodded, his eyes slowly moving between the two boys as he took in their reactions. “That makes sense,” said Forge, his eyes now focused on Timber. “If that attack had succeeded, it might have impressed Twi-” Forge cut himself short, doing his best to act like it was a slip of the tongue while mentally kicking himself. Not only was this low and underhanded, but it was horrible acting on his part! Jester had been telling him he should take a Theater class since Freshman year.

Thankfully, Flash didn’t seem at all suspicious by his statement. “I guess I have to end my turn,” he said in a slightly confused tone. But as he turned his head to look at Timber, Forge saw him almost jump. Timber, despite the poor performance that Forge believed he had given, looked ready to throttle Flash.

“Then I draw,” said Timber, his eyes glaring at Flash as he did. It took him a moment to pull his eyes away before looking downward at the five cards in his hand. “I’ll discard my Crystron Rosenix to special summon Cryston Sulfefnir in defense mode.” As Timber sent his card to the graveyard, an even more dragon-like monster than before appeared on his side of the field. This one stood on four legs, its yellow metal shining brightly while yellow crystal formations appeared on his shoulders as well as along its long tail. There were also a series of jagged crystals along its chin as if to form a beard. Its defense was 1500. “Also, as part of its summoning, I must destroy one card. So I’ll destroy my face down.” Said card shattered but Timber paid it little mind.

“Now I can use the graveyard effect of my Crystron Rosenix,” continued Timber. “By removing it from play, I can summon a level one Crystron Token to the field.” A small, teardrop shaped crystal appeared besides Sulfefnir as Timber removed the card. This token had neither attack or defense points as it seemed to just float there idly.

“But I’m far from done, because now I play the card I just drew: Genex Controller” announced Timber. Appearing on his side of the field was a small big headed robot that seemed to be falling apart. This gray bot was sitting there, staring out with grey eyes with lights sticking out from either side of its head. The body seemed half finished with no chest plate, allowing everyone to see the inner workings of this very simple looking robot.

“Just in case none of you are aware, Genex Controller is a tuner monster,” said Timber, his gaze flickering towards Flash for a moment. “So I’ll tune my level three Genex Controller with my level one Crystron Token.” Genex Controller seemed to break down at that point, its pieces turning into three rings that positioned themselves above the token right before a bright green pillar fell down upon said token. “Through the combination of technology and nature, crystals powering machines. Together they walk down a new path. Synchro summon! Level four! Crystron Quandax!” When the portal faded, a large white robot with 1800 attack walked out. Forge could see that its toes were golden, as were both the claws on its hands as well as various other decals on its body. Silver crystals ran through the open areas of its armor while glowing gold spikes jutted out from its back. Its face was hidden behind a visor.

“If you think that’s all I can do, you’re both wrong,” said Timber as he eyed Flash again, his lips almost curling a little. “Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Ametrix! Then tune my level four tuner Crystron Quandax with my level five Ametrix!" Timber’s eyes narrowed as Quandax turned into four rings which rose high into the sky, his Synchro monster leaping into the air towards them as it turned into five stars. “The phoenix in crystal rises up, metal surrounding it to take on a more powerful form. Sing now the song of war. Synchro Summon! Level Nine! Crystron Phoenix!” Coming out of the portal was a large ruby-esque machine with 2800 attack points. Its legs were long and sender ending in feet that had upturned red crystals at the ends. Its body looked normal, thinner than the last monster used to create it but thicker than Ametrix. Its arms were thin, looking like they would easily be snapped in half with the same ease as a twig with massive red transparent crystals as shoulder pads. Several long spikes stuck out from its back like the hands of a clock while chains with gems at the end floated around it.

“When Phoenix is synchro summoned, I can banish all spells and traps on my opponent’s field and in their graveyard,” said Timber as he pointed to Forge. “And since I don’t want you special summoning from the deck anymore, I’ll choose you!” At that, the chains flew across the field and into the ground below. The ones Forge could see quickly wrapped around his Rejection spell card as well as his face down. Red crystals began to grow out of them quickly, covering the entirety of the cards before they shattered. “Now Phoenix! Attack Flash Sentry directly!”

“What?!” shouted Flash as both of Timber’s machines turned in his direction. Flash held out a hand as the chains from Phoenix appeared overhead with the gems at the end of each pointed right at him. All of them began to glow before sending a beam of light directly into Flash’s chest as the teen made a face like he had just been gut punched. The beams didn’t stop until his life points returned to 4800.

“Still think I’m not a threat?” demanded Timber. Rather than wait for an answer, he took the last card from his hand and placed it on his duel disk. “Before I end my turn, I’ll play the spell card Supply Squad. With this, once per turn when one of my cards is destroyed I can draw a card.”

As the spell card appeared next to Timber, Forge saw Flash getting up with a face flushed with anger. He glared at Timber with a look of spite as he breathed heavily, wiping away several blades of grass and dirt with a clenched fist.

Well, that was easy, thought Forge as he drew. I barely had to push either of them and these two are at each other’s throats!

“Let's get this over with,” muttered Forge as he glanced at the two cards in his hand before turning to look at Timber. “You should have attacked me when you had the chance. Now you’ll pay the price! I return Vespasius and Gyzarus back to the deck in order to do a contact fusion!” Forge watched as his monsters transformed into light, returning to the decks were he could use them again at their fullest. “From the wilderness of the savanna to the endless skies above. Only one has it in him to teach and mold all of the Gladiator Beasts. Make way for him now! Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor!”Appearing on the field in attack mode was a 2400 attack point moose human hybrid wearing red mage armor. His antlers were gold and more seemed to be growing out of his back. In his hand he carried a staff with a glowing green orb that floated above it. "This is perhaps one of my most powerful monsters. Once per turn, his effect lets me special summon any of my Gladiator Beast fusion monsters in my extra deck ignoring the summoning conditions. And I choose Gladiator Beast DOMITIANUS!” Tamer Editor raised his staff to the sky, spinning it in a wide circle above his head as lightning crackled around it. The cloud above became darker, the air became colder as the holograms began to project rain falling from the heavens. Lightning flashed in the sky, and in that moment a massive creature seemed to just appear behind Forge! Both of the other boys took a large step back as they gazed up at the monster that looked like Vespasius but with 3500 attack points. Its tail swung from left to right, revealing that it had ridges on its upper side like that of a crocodile. Its armor was lighter, with parts looking like they had been forged from other monsters while in one hand it carried a staff topped with a diamond.

“But that’s not all I’m going to do,” continued Forge as he placed one card on his duel disk. “I normal summon Gladiator Beast Dimacari!” Now on the field appeared a purple ox-like humanoid with 1600 attack points. It was shirtless, chest bare save a metal sash across it. Both forearms were covered by thick metal gloves that ended in claws. It’s lower half was protected by a metal kilt with four high tech disks hovering behind it.

“Look what you did you idiot!” yelled Flash as he faced Timber. “If you had just attacked him, he wouldn’t have been able to summon them! What were you thinking?!?”

“I,” began Timber, still looking upon the beasts before him with fear. But he quickly gathered something for his expression changed, looking at Flash with contempt. “How was I supposed to know he had those cards?”

“Dimacari, attack Crystron Sulfefnir!" commanded Forge, not wanting to listen to these two bicker with each other. Timber turned just in time to see beams of light shooting out of the hovering disk which propelled Dimacari towards his four legged crystal dragon. Once it was close enough the oxen warrior unleashed his full furry, thrusting its fist forward and shattering the machine’s stomach causing it to explode. Timber took a step back, raising a hand to shield himself as yellow shards flew in every direction.

"You may have destroyed my Sulfefnir, but it's leaving me a parting gift!" announced Timber as, at that moment, the shards began to fly back to where his monster had been but losing their color. "When its destroyed, I get to summon to the field one Crystron monster in defense mode. And who better to act as a wall than Crystron Prasiortle!" At that moment, the crystal began to turn green while forming the body of a turtle. Soon silver metal began to merge with it, creating the shell as well as armor on its legs and neck. It's defense was 2000. "But that's not all or did you forget about my Supply Squad? Because a card I control was destroyed, I get to draw a card." In a single, quick move, Timber drew.

“Very well. Strike down Phoenix, Domitianus!” shouted Forge, his massive sea serpent looking down at the crystal robot as it opened its mouth. Dark water shot from it, striking with enough force that cracks began to instantly form on its body. Soon Phoenix shattered, leaving the only thing standing being its legs which soon exploded as well as Timber’s life points dropped to 7300.

“You might have destroyed my monster, but my field remains strong!” shouted Timber, crystral shards appearing around his field once again. "When my Phoenix is destroyed, I can revive one of my Crystrons in my graveyard. So I'll-”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” said Forge firmly as his Domitianus held up its staff. “One of my monster’s effects is that it can negate the effect of one of your cards once per turn. So Phoenix won’t be reviving anything this time. But, on the plus side, you still get to draw a card.” Timber scowled as he drew his card.

“Now, Tamer Editor, attack Flash directly,” said Forge as he placed his hands in his pockets.

“Seriously?!?” shouted Flash as Tamer Editor held out his weapon. In the blink of an eye, Editor had traveled the distance between them while pulling back his staff before delivering a powerful blow to Flash’s side. The force of the blow knocked the other teen down, his life points dropping to 2400.

“With the battle over, I activate Dimacari’s effect,” said Forge as he slid the card off his duel disk. “At the end of the battle phase and this card attacked or was attacked, I can return it to the deck and special summon one other Gladiator Beast. Prepare to pounce: Gladiator Beast Alexander!” A loud roar filled the air as a half man/half lion appeared on the field. Its muscles bulged proudly underneath its golden high tech armor with mechanical wings on its sides, bent downward along its sides to show off the laser cannons attached to them. Both of Forge’s opponents looked ready to bite their lower lips upon seeing its impressive 2400 attack points. “When Alexander is brought out thanks to a Gladiator Beast monster effect, he becomes immune to all spell cards. I end my turn.”

“I’ll figure something out,” announced Flash as he drew, now holding five cards. His hands shook a little as his gaze drifted up from the cards before him, looking over at the impressive line up on Forge's side before lingering on the lone figure on Timber's.

“Alright then, I’ll play Monster Reborn to bring back my Utopia!” said Flash, his spell card appearing on the field, returning Utopia in all its shining glory. "However, thanks to his own effect, if he is ever targeted for an attack without having an overlay unit Utopia is instantly destroyed. But luckily for me, I can fix that. I build upon the Overlay Network to create something greater!" The galaxy like portal appeared on the field once more, but this time it seemed… darker. Slowly Upopia descended into the darkness as Flash began his chant. The dark realm of chaos stretches out before you. Harness its power to sharpen your blade. Chaos Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Number C39: Utopia Ray!" Utopia then rose from the darkness, his white armor looking slightly darker. Then, before everyone's eyes, newer armor flew up from the portal to attach itself to him. Thicker and heavier, this new grey armor gave him a more imposing appearance while turning the white skin on the warrior black. Its wings also turn black while gaining a bit more of an edge in their design as two mechanical arms grew between them holding a massive broad sword.

"That monster would be trouble for either of us," admitted Forge as the portal vanished. "A pity then that you can't activate its effect unless you have under a thousand life points."

Flash grinned confidently as he held up the card he had drawn at the start of his turn. "Then its a good thing I'm not done yet! Better now close you're eyes because your going to see something amazing! I summon my Utopic Onomatopeia in attack mode!” In a flash of light that looked oddly like a sword slash, a smaller and more cartoony version of Utopia appeared. And while this version was shining brightly, its attack was only 1500. “Now that he’s on the field, I can special summon one each of my Gagaga, Dododo, Gogogo, and Zubaba monsters from my hand. And I choose my Gogogo Ghost and Gagaga Magician!” Now on Flash’s side of the field appeared two monsters…sort of. The first, Gagaga Magician, rose slowly from the portal which appeared on the ground. Only one of its lazy eyes could be seen, the other covered by white bangs while the rest of its face was covered by a red scarf. The rest of its body was covered by robes as chains were wrapped around its body from a metal band around its waist which was engraved with seven stars. Gagaga Magician had 1500 attack points. Beside it, red samurai armor fell from the sky one piece at a time before rolling this way and that. When the last piece, a helmet, landed on the ground they all began to rise up and float into place. Soon Gogogo Ghost was formed with a ghostly figure seeming to wear the armor as a large sword fell from the sky as well, landed right in front of it. As the Ghost picked it up, its attack points were shown as 1900.

“When my Ghost is special summoned, I can revive my Gogogo Golem from my graveyard,” said Flash, snapping his fingers as Golem burst out from the ground in defense mode.

“Heh, not bad,” said Timber. “Looks like you can bring out more than one Xyz monster this turn.”

“Yeah, I can,” said Flash with a light scowl from the other teen’s tone. “Now, with my two level 4 monsters, Gogogo Ghost and my Gagaga Magician, I build the Overlay Network!” Once again a galaxy-like vortex appeared on the field with both of Flash’s monsters transforming into lights before being consumed. “Great mobile fortress of the Gogogo tribe, the earth rumbles with each step you take. Ready your cannons on top of those unsalable walls! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Number 55: Gogogo Goliath!” The portal vanished as the earth behind Flash exploded, sending large chunks of holographic earth in every direction while a stone figure with 2400 attack began to rise up. Its main body looked like a tower, with stone pillars lining up as if to form a neck with numerous cannons both between the pillars as well as below, sticking out of small windows right above where the number 55 was painted in red. Attacked to it were large, thick metal arms and legs, made of both black steel and bronze. And on this monster’s back were two bronze containers that went all the way from the base of the monster all the way past its tiny head.

“Like you said Timber, I’m not done yet!” continued Flash. “I’ll build the overlay network again, this time using my Gogogo Golem and my Utopic Onomatopeia!” Again, the vertex returned to consume both of Flash’s monsters while the Xyz user began his chant. “Swords swing like the pendulum while cries ring out in the night. But it all ends as the leader of the Zubaba tribe enters the fray. Xyz summon! Rank 4! Zubaba General!” Rising up from the portal came an incredibly muscular warrior in knightly armor whose under armor was black while the waist guars, leggings, arm bands, shoulder pads, and helmet were white. The helmet was especially noticeable as it had massive horns coming out of it around where its cheeks should be. A long red cloak fluttered in the breeze as it held a massive sword with a golden Z engraved along the handle. The General’s attack points were 2000.

“Time to show both of you what my monsters can do,” said Flash. “First I’ll start with Zubaba General! By detaching one overlay unit, I can equip one warrior in my hand to this card. And the card I choose is my Dododo Warrior!” As Zubaba General consumed an overlay unit into its sword, the ghostly image of a large dwarf-like image appeared in front of it. Slowly the warrior slid back, seeming to merge with General. “Oh, just so you both are aware, Zubaba General gains the attack points of every monster equipped to it.”

“WHAT?!?” yelled Timber as General’s attack grew to 4300.

“Next I activate the effect of my Goliath,” continued Flash. “By detaching an overlay unit, I can add an earth rock type monster from my graveyard to my hand. Meaning Gogogo Giant returns to my hand!" An orb circling Goliath suddenly shot down towards the ground, digging deep into the earth. After a moment, a golden card rose up and hoovered over the hole before flying over to Flash's hand where it was added to it.

“Now to battle,” said Flash with a grin. “Zubaba General, show Domitianus the might of the middle ages!” Zubaba General swung his sword back, looking like it was about to slice off Flash’s head for a moment, before it began to charge right at the massive sea serpent. With each step, dirt was kicked back while the blade looked like it was growing double in size.

“I am well aware of the strengths of the middle ages ,” said Forge, as he looked at Tamer Editor. The monster seemed to turn its head and look back at its duelist before nodding, as if there were an unspoken request that it agreed to. “However, that attack will never land on Domitianus. Tamer Editor, take the blow!”

“You can’t just-” began Flash, but events were already in motion. As Zubaba General grew close enough, he swung his mighty sword…only to have Tamer Editor step in the way. Tamer Editor planted his staff to his side, muscles bulging as he attempted to block the blow. Sparks flew, but the blade of the General’s sword was too sharp and there was too much power behind the swing. It cut through Tamer Editor who let out a howl of pain before he exploded into nothing.

“One of Domitianus’ effects is that he allows me to pick the target of my opponent’s attacks,” said Forge, his life points dropping to 6100.

“B-But you took more damage that way!” said Flash, looking flabbergasted. “You sacrificed your monster…for nothing. Next turn my General will be able to-”

“Flash, Tamer Editor took one for the team,” said Forge. While his tone was calm, there was enough power behind it to silence the rock star teen. “And his sacrifice will not be forgotten. Nor will it have been for nothing. It will clear the way for my victory.” He then paused briefly to take a breath. “But that will come later. It’s still your turn Flash.”

Forge watched closely as Flash examined the field. The blacksmith could tell that he was weighing his options carefully. Not that he had many. The had two monsters on the field with three targets to attack. Flash could order either of them to attack Domitianus… and have them get destroyed in the process while Flash lost a good chunk of his limited life points. Then there was Alexander who could be destroyed by Utopia Ray. However, Forge didn’t think that Flash would go for that option given Domitianus could just redirect the attack to itself. Which left only one option.

“Gogogo Goliath, attack Crystron Prasiortle!” ordered Flash as he pointed at the other duelist. Forge watched as the cannons took aim before firing dozens of cannon balls at the area surrounding Prasiortle, each one exploding upon impact with the ground to create a hellish landscape until they finally hit hit the target and shattering Timber's lone monster.

"Too bad your you my monster was in defense mode," said Timber as his Supply Squad card began to glow. "And since you destroyed one of my cards, I get to draw!" Swiftly, Timber drew his card.

"Then too bad for you I still have another attack," replied Flash, his face darkening slightly. "Utopia Ray, attack him directly!"

“No, no, no, no,” repeated Timber as the darker Utopia readied its swords, the one on its back being lifted high in the air. Timber only had enough time to take a small step back before Utopia was upon him, first slashing him from the right before the sword in its left hand was swung. Timber was knocked around a bit, stopping just in time as the third strike from above came down on his head causing the camper to cry out while falling to his knees. As Utopia flew back to its owner's side Timber's life points dropped to 4800.

“I end my turn,” finished Flash, a small smirk on his face as Timber stood on shaky legs.

“You’ll pay for that! I draw!” announced Timber who now had three cards in hand. “I’ll special summon my Cryston Sulfefnir from the graveyard by discarding a copy of my Crystron Thystvern.” As Timber slid his card into the graveyard, the yellow crystal dragon reappeared on the field. “However, since it was special summoned this way, I have to destroy a card on the field. Goodbye Supply Squad.” With that, Timber’s spell card shattered into thousands of tiny bits.

“Now for the big move,” said Timber. “I remove my Crystron Thystvern from the graveyard in order to add a different Crystron monster to my hand. I choose Crystron Rion. Then I remove my Crystron Prasiortle to use its effect to special summon Rion from my hand!” As Timber removed his cards from the graveyard, a silver robot with a thin V shaped visor appeared on the field. This 500 attack point machine had a cubical body save the torso which was made out of sapphire as well as its long Super Sayian level three hair. “Then I’ll normal summon Crystron Quan!” Another silver, cubical android appeared on the field. Only this one had bits of diamond coming out of its metallic body as if they were piercing it, trying to get free. Its torso was also made of diamonds as was its hair which was so long it touched the ground, splitting in two.

“With this, everything is set for a double tuning,” said Timber. “I’ll tune my level three Rion and my level one Quan with my level five Cryston Sulfefnir to bring out the strongest card in my deck!” Like before, the two tuners flew towards the sky as they transformed into four rings while Cryston Sulfefnir followed after them as it turned into five stars. But what was different this time was that a beam of light crashing into the ground did not occur, rather a pillar of yellow crystal appeared behind Timber as he began his chant. “The dragon frozen in crystal, scales replaced with metal. Let out a cry heard in all realities as you shatter your bonds. Synchro summon! Level nine! Crystron Quariongandrax!” When the chant ended, the crystal pillar behind Timber shattered sending large shards across the field as a massive figure floated over the remains. Quariongandrax was a machine built in the image of a bipedal dragon with 3000 attack points. Its yellow, crystalline wings were more like daggers which glowed as they floated in the air. Its tail swished back and forth, revealing that there was diamond underneath the yellow metal. As for the rest of the draconic machine, its armor was smooth and well rounded while diamond could be seen in exposed areas of its arms and torso with other parts having the diamonds sticking out like spikes.

Forge eyed Quariongandrx, noticing that it seemed to be staring at Domitianus. Looking up, Forge saw that his sea serpent was staring right back with a smirk on its lips.

“Meet my deck’s centerpiece,” said Timber with a proud smile. “When this bad boy is synchro summoned, I can target and banish monsters my opponent controls or in their graveyard. But only up to the number of monsters used as material to make Quariongandrax. So say goodbye to-” Timber paused, hand looking like it was ready to point at Domitianus only to stop himself. Forge stood there, glancing up briefly to see that his monster’s smirk had grown larger and one that the duelist found himself mirroring. It was clear that Timber had almost forgotten his monster’s effect to negate an effect once per turn, one that he had yet to use this turn. Eventually, Timber turned to point at Flash. “Say goodbye to General, Goliath, and Utopia Ray!”

“This is bull!” shouted Flash, frustration growing as all three of his monsters were suddenly coated in orange crystals before shimmering away. But even as they did, Flash stood his ground as he glared at Timber. “I am seriously getting tired of being the world’s punching bag!”

“Too bad you’re so good for the role,” mocked Timber. “Quariongandrax, take out the rest of Flash’s life points! Show him what happens to people who try to steal Twilight away from me!” As he said this, massive yellow crystals began to grow out of Quariongandrax’s fists. Spikes began to form, each one several yards long. The Crystron then made two wide arm sweeps, sending the crystal spikes out as it did so that they were flying towards Flash.

“I activate the effect of my Gagaga Gardna, summoning him to the field in defense mode!” yelled Flash. Appearing before him was a warrior with 2000 defense points. This man wore a long, black trench coat over his padded chest while an orange scarf hid his lower face. A hat and goggles protected his head while he held a massive shield in one hand. “I’m not trying to steal Twilight from you. I swear! Me and Sunset-”

“I bet you think of her as a backup in case Twilight chooses to stay with me!” yelled Timber, veins appearing on his face. “Destroy his monster now!” Quariongandrax’s crystal spears continued to fly down at Flash’s lone monster who placed his shield in front of both him and Flash. Gagaga Gardna then lowered his goggles over his eyes before peering out of the small eye hole to watch the attack coming.

“That’s ridiculous!” yelled Flash back. “And if you think I’m going to stand here and take it, you’re dead wrong. I activate my monster’s effect, discarding a card from my hand to-”

“No you won’t,” said Forge, interrupting Flash right before his monster exploded. Flash had only a moment to look over across the field, spotting Domitianus holding its glowing staff to realize what had happened before the attack hit the earth around him. Flash let out a yell as he was tossed backward, still in the game but with nothing to protect him. “And that’s all she wrote. Thank you both for making this so easy for me.”

“What?” asked Timber, his body tensing as he looked over to where Flash laid. “But he…I thought-”

“Only because I put the idea in your head,” admitted Forge, his face blank as he drew. With two cards in his hand, Forge let go of the card he had just drawn before taking the older one and placing it in his spell/trap card zone. “I activate the spell card: Gladiator Beast’s Comeback! Think of it as a Monster Reborn for the Gladiator Beasts. I’ll use it to keep my promise and return Tamer Editor to the field in attack mode!” Timber looked on as Forge’s moose man reappeared, swinging his staff around to create a portal right out of the gate. “And with his return, I can use his effect! Once more I can summon a Gladiator Beast from my extra deck, ignoring its summoning conditions. Come forth Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!” Falling to the ground and landing on one knee was a lion man with more armor than any other monster Forge had summoned so far. With 3000 attack points he seemed to have thicker armor than most Gladiator Beasts. On his back was a pair of glowing green wings. In one hand he held a heavy axe, while in the other was a shield that looked like a turtle’s shell with blasters attached to it.

“This…This isn’t fair,” moaned Flash while Timber’s body shook at the four monsters before them, ready to end the duel.

“Is that what you’re going to say when you face the bad guys?” demanded Forge, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Do you really expect them to play nice? Like you said, they were using pain to distract the girls and try to throw them off their game. One of them went after Pinkie Pie’s sister! Think about that! Was that fair?!? Domitianus, destroy Quariongandrax! And if he tries to use his monster's effect, negate it!” Timber shielded himself as Domitianus' attack landed swiftly, shattering his monster and sending the fragments all over the field as his life points dropped to 4300.

“You,” gasped Timber as he stared at Forge. “You messed with our heads. We were supposed to be helping each other, not-”

“And managed to do that with simple observation. Just imagine what someone else could do if they had more time to research you,” interrupted Forge, causing both boys’ eyes to widen. “Think of all the things they could find to get into your head. A mistake you made in the past, a slip-up, or even just an embarrassing moment. Anything to get under your skin so that you would make mistakes in such a high stakes duel…if they even bothered with us.”

“W-What? B-But,” stammered Flash.

Forge let out a small sigh. “You really never thought about it, did you?” Slowly Forge shook his head. “The thing is, I can see where you’re coming from in helping the girls. If Applejack was ever pressured to have a tag team duel against these bad guys, I’ll be there for her in a heartbeat. Or cheering her on along the side lines if she has to pick one of her other friends. But in any other case: why would they ever duel any of us? None of us have any magic.” As the other two stared at Forge, he shook his head again. “The sad truth is that, other than to defeat us and hold us hostage, dueling us would be a waste of time. And if they were willing to jump out and attack any of the Rainbooms, well, why would they give up the magic they stole? They already got they wanted, so why even risk it by dueling one of us? Why even give us the chance? Them let's say they did give us a chance: what are the odds that they would ever honor their word?” Forge shook his head.

“Let's finish this,” said the blacksmithing teen as he eyed the field. Alexander went first, pointing his golden metal wings at Flash, the small laser cannons on its sides aimed at him as well. The Gladiator Beast let out a roar as powerful beams were sent flying across the field where they then struck Flash right in the chest, knocking him on his back once again as his life points hit 0. Heraklinos came next, charging down the field with his shield raised towards Timber. In the blink of an eye the shield impacted the camp counselor, knocking him to the side while the axe Heraklinos held in his opposite hand swung into Timber’s back. As it did Timber let out a howl as his life points hit 1300. At the same time, Tamer Editor charged forward to ram its staff into the belly of Timer. Making a face as he was struck hard in the gut, eyes bulging while coughing, Timber's life points hit 0, ending the duel.

-x-

Sometime later found Forge back in his garage, hammer in hand as he pounded away at the metal in front of him while drops of sweat ran down his face. He knew he was hitting the metal too hard, too fast. But he couldn’t help himself. His insides twisted every time he thought about what he had done, how he had decided to act to get his point across. So he threw himself into his work with all the gusto he could manage.

But, it didn’t help that both Flash and Timber were sitting right outside his forge with their backs towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, Forge could see that their heads were down as they sat in silence. How long had they been there? Long enough for him to take three water breaks.

Then…

“I’m…sorry,” said Timber, just loud enough for Forge to make out what he was saying. Forge turned his head slightly, seeing that Timber still had his head down and was clearly talking to Flash. “For, you know, thinking that you wanted to steal Twilight away from me.”

“It’s,” began Flash as he lifted his head, looking over at Timber. The rocker teen looked tired, in a more run down fashion. Like the world had taken its toll on him for some time. “You got nothing to worry about. Twilight really likes you.”

Timber gave a short laugh. “I wonder sometimes,” he said darkly. “I…I feel like I’m losing her. She used to tell me everything about the magic she was discovering. A new person infected with Equestrian magic, what they could do. How she and her friends managed to defeat them. Even little things like a new thing she learned how to do with her powers. Like using six screwdrivers at the same time. But now, ever since she saw me on the ground at Camp Everfree, it feels like she’s keeping me at a distance. I barely know what’s going on these days. She’s…she’s shutting me out.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to remind you of what happened at camp,” offered Flash before he sighed. “And, for what it's worth, I’m sorry for getting so mad and sucking. I made so many mistakes in that duel. If I had just summoned Utopia again and then ranked up into Utopia the Lightning…”

“Hey, you gave it a good shot,” said Timber. “The General was pretty powerful. If that attack had landed-”

“But it didn’t,” said Flash quickly, bringing his hands into his hair while lowering his head even more. “It failed because…because that’s just what happens to me nowadays. I…I just feel like the world hates me or something, like I did some horrible crime and need to be forever punished for it. I keep getting knocked down, over and over again. It just gets tiring.”

Timber was silent for a moment as he looked at Flash. He then looked forward with his head raised. “Hey, you didn’t always have it so bad. I know you used to date Sunset before you dated a literal princess. And now you’re trying to get back with her. So, that’s something. Right?”

“I guess,” admitted Flash, lowering his hands and lifting his head. As he turned his head, Forge saw that Flash was smiling a little. “I just wish we had done better in that duel. But maybe Forge is right. It’s pointless to try and help.”

“You know,” said Forge, speaking up as he set down his hammer. As the two teens turned around to look at him, Forge picked up the blade he was working on to examine what he had done so far. “I can still remember my first time blacksmithing. It was in this intro class I begged my parents to take me to and at the end we were going to make these tiny daggers that were no better than a letter opener. Ha, I went in there thinking that it would be great. That blacksmithing would be quick and easy. But every step of the way, I messed up. The forge wasn’t hot enough to properly move the metal around. I wore out too quickly. Used water instead of oil to quench the blade, cracking it. The metal wasn’t even hard enough. In the end, I left that class with a useless piece of metal that wasn’t even fit enough to be a paper weight.

“But if blacksmithing has taught me anything, it's that if you’re passionate about something you put in the time. Even if you make a mistake, you need to recognize it early enough so that you can fix it. And I plan on putting even more time in on my relationship with Applejack than on my blacksmithing. That includes helping her with this magic stuff that’s going on.”

“But,” began Flash, looking at Forge confused. “Did you say it was pointless-”

“Never said that,” Forge interrupted, now setting down his work. “Sorry if it came out that way, but the truth is we might not be as helpful as we might like to be. Odds that we will be called in to save the day at the eleventh hour, having an epic duel against the big bad are next to zero. Called in to help the girls in a tag team, well, better odds there but only if we happen to be around. More likely that they will target us, trying to capture us to use as bait.” Forge then let out a sigh. “I’m honestly sorry for what I did during our duel. I thought that, if we were going to prepare like you wanted, we needed to do more than practice with our decks. Our monsters and our life points aren’t the only things we need to protect. We need to learn how to shield our hearts and minds as well.”

“You know you could have just told us, right?” asked Timber as he stood up, Flash following suit.

Forge nodded. “Yeah, I know. And again, I’m sorry.”

For a moment, nobody said anything as they all stared at each other. Then Flash let out a forced laugh before punching Forge on the shoulder. “Well, just don’t let it happen again. How about we have another duel without any of the dirty tricks? Fresh start.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Timber as both looked at Forge.

“Give me a minute,” he said before turning around. “I have just a little bit more to do on this piece before I can call it a day. Then, we’ll have another three-way.”

“DUDE!” yelled Flash. “Just call it a free for all!”
> The Duel you have all been waiting for! Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, does anyone think Sunset and Twi found something?” asked Applejack as she, along with the rest of their clique of friends, walked through the halls of Canterlot High towards the library. All around them, students had flooded the halls moving in the opposite direction making. The final bell had rung not too long ago, signaling the beginning of everyone’s favorite daily quest: to leave the classrooms behind! Hundreds, if not thousands, of voices were chattering about their plans for the afternoon as they paused in their journey only long enough to head to their lockers to get what they needed. Some, like Rainbow Dash, would be staying behind to practice with their sports teams. Others planned to get some dueling in before heading to get something to eat at the local diner or just heading home to begin work on a paper for Mr. Doodle’s class.

“No, oof, idea darling,” said Rarity as a student accidentally slammed into her shoulder. Said student quickly apologized as he continued on his way leaving Rarity to momentarily scowl at him before turning to look at her farmer friend. “They’ve been pouring over those books and looking up articles online for days now. Poor dears look so frazzled.”

“I just hope they found something that might help Juniper,” whispered Fluttershy, her words causing unease to settle on the group as they turned the corner and entered the library.

It didn’t take long to find the two teenage girls, seated at the same table they had been using every day during their study hall period and after school. It was a large, round table where over a dozen students could sit; situated right smack dab in the middle of the large room with books stacked into tall towers all around them. All of them thick, heavy books dealing with the law and other legal matters. Famous cases, court proceedings, general law, specific laws, and so on. Nearly the entire legal section of the Canterlot High Library was at this single spot, as were two girls situated on opposite sides of the table. On one end was Twilight, flipping through a book with one hand, her eyes darting back and forth at lightning speed as she read, while the other held a pen ready to take notes. However, the notebook she was using had many scribbled out with such intensity that it looked like she had torn through the pages more than once. On the other side sat Sunset, bent over with her shoulders slumped as she started at the screen of her laptop.

“Hey girls!” Pinkie shouted, jumping with hands in the air as she did. Miss Cheerilee shot her a glare as confetti shout out of her open palms, causing Pinkie to rapidly grab the thin pieces of party paper. In a flash, they were all collected and she gave the older woman a nervous ‘sorry’ smile.

But before anyone could notice Miss Cheerilee rolling her eyes, Twilight and Sunset turned around causing all of the girls to recoil. Some (cough, cough Rarity) more so than others. Frazzled was an understatement. Both girls looked tired, with lines beginning to show under their eyes and small blotches of what could be coffee stains on their blouses. Their skin looked slightly paler and their hair was sticking up in random places.

“Ah…Are ya’ll alright?” asked Applejack, being the first to get over her shock and approach the table.

“You both look dreadful,” said Rarity with a shudder.

“Trust us, we feel ten times worse,” said Sunset, her head dipping a little as her eyes seemed to grow heavier for a moment. It looked like, for a moment, she was going to faceplant into the table and books but managed to stop herself with a sudden jerk. “Even giving up all of our free time to look for something that might help Juniper, we’ve only managed to scratch the surface of the law in this world.”

“Come on, it can’t be that hard,” said Rainbow, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. But, as she did so, she noticed the twitching eyes of her tired friends.

“You’re right, it's not that hard,” said Twilight as she stood up, speaking in a voice that sounded like she was going to go full maniac at any moment. Rainbow looked around, as if trying to find an escape route, but the others shot her a look that said ‘you made your bed, now lie in it’. Even Miss Cheerilee, whom Rainbow saw in her peripheral vision was shaking her head before turning away, stating clearly that she wasn’t going to touch this one. Slowly, she turned her head to look forward, finding that her purple friend was marching towards her with clenched fists and a smile that looked crazed. “I mean, we’re just pouring over hundreds of years of legal cases from all over the country to find some sort of legal precedent. Just searching for an obscure law that might help Juniper. Finding some sort of legal argument that would be more believable than ‘magic made me do it’! Doing all that while doing our own homework, jobs, searching for evil Equestrian magic infesting a children’s trading card game, being on the lookout for who did this to Juniper, dealing with my brother’s apartment hunting, finding out my boyfriend was in town without telling me, trying to make time to make a new duel disk for Sonata, and a slew of other things while also getting at least some sleep! Yeah, not that hard!”

By the end of her rant, Twilight’s face was inches away from Dash’s. Twilight’s eyes were wide open, veins clearly visible now as she stood there panting heavily while her body shook ever so slightly. Rainbow tried to smile weakly, but feared what her friend might do in this crazed state.

“Even if we did find something, we’d have to prove it in court,” said Sunset, drawing everyone’s attention while closing her laptop. “That’s where the problem lies. Even if we did find something, anything, that might help Juniper, the prosecution will do everything in their power to disprove it. And they will have experience and resources on their side. We…we just don’t have any of that.”

For a moment, nobody said anything as the words of the two smartest girls in the school sunk in.

Then, Applejack sighed. “Well shoot,” she said. “Guess this was a lost cause after all.”

“Applejack!” gasped Rarity, so loud that Miss Cheerilee had to shush her. Rarity winced a little at that before speaking again in a softer tone. “How could you say that? Are you really going to abandon a friend just because it’s a little hard?”

“I ain’t saying I like it none,” snapped AJ, her voice low as her eyes narrowed at her ivory-skinned friend. “But let's face the facts: this here is too big for us ta handle! None of us have the time or skills ta represent Juniper in court. At least not proper-like. We go in there and them big fancy lawyers they’ll have will just be runnin’ circles around us! And none of us has the spare cash needed to hire a real lawyer.”

“But that’s…” began Rarity as she turned to look at everyone else. Pinkie instantly pulled out her pockets, her plush Gummy falling out as well as several cupcakes. But no money. Fluttershy merely lowered her head, trying to hide her face behind her long pink hair. Then she looked over at Twilight who-

“All of my money has gone into building the new duel disks,” she said before crossing her arms and looking very annoyed. “Those devices you all took without listening to my long, detailed tutorial on how they worked!”

Rarity let out a nervous laugh as she turned to look at Sunset who instantly shook her head. “Hey, I’m the only one here who has to pay her own rent,” she said.

“Right,” said Rarity slowly as she then turned to look and hope beyond hope that Rainbow had some cash they could use. However, Rainbow was already shaking her head.

“Rarity, you know I’d never leave you hanging,” she said. “But I don’t think the $450 I have saved up will be enough for a real lawyer.”

Now Rarity’s shoulders slumped as her eyes became downcast. “I’m afraid I can’t help out much in this department either,” she admitted. “And her uncle, well, hasn’t gone to see her since she was arrested. The poor dear.”

“Wait! He hasn’t?” asked Pinkie, so loud that she earned another shush. “B-But why? They’re family!”

“That may be why it’s hitting him so hard,” said Rarity. “From what I know, he was still upset that she nearly ruined the movie set and could have cost everyone working there their jobs. Maybe even hurt or even killed someone with her sabotage. The director has calmed down so he’s not as mad as he was, you know ‘time healing all wounds’ and whatnot. But some of that pain and anger is still there. And they had been rebuilding their relationship and he was starting to trust her by having her bring him things at the studio. But now it's like they’re right back at the beginning.”

“I get it,” said Sunset as she folded her arms on top of the table before resting her head on top of it. “It’s like how everyone expected the worst from me during the battle of the bands. They still couldn’t get over what I had done prior to the Fall Formal.” Sunset let out another sigh. “At least the good news is that if she can’t get a lawyer herself, the court will provide one for her. Sure it’ll be a public defender with too many cases on his plate and not enough time or resources, but a lot more help than we could ever be.”

“Then I guess that’s it,” said Fluttershy slowly. “There’s nothing we can do.” Slowly, one by one, all of the girls began to hang their heads in defeat. It was such a rare thing. Normally the power of friendship would be at their side, helping them conquer whatever problem stood in their way. But now, they had found something that was so far beyond their powers. Something that-

“Yeah,” said Pinkie as she turned around and began to walk towards the door. “Too bad none of us knows someone who is super rich, has an army of lawyers at their beck and call, and owes us a favor.” While her words didn’t have an effort on her (Pinkie’s hair deflating as she walked away), it did have an effect on the rest of the group as they all looked up with realization shining in their eyes.

“Pinkie,” said Twilight. “You’re a genius!”

“I am?” said Pinkie as she turned around, looking confused but at the same time happy. So happy that her hair bunched back up into its normal poofy form!

Sunset facepalmed before swiftly pulling out her phone. “I can’t believe I forgot. President Shimmer! Her legal team has worked miracles before, so I’m sure this shouldn’t be a problem!” She then paused to look at the others, seeing hope fill their expressions. “And who knows, maybe I’ll catch her in a good mood!”

-x-

“You have got to be kidding me!” yelled President Sunset Shimmer as she slammed both of her open palms onto her desk, loose papers flying off as if escaping from a fire breathing monster. The teenage billionaire was breathing hard, trying her best to keep her emotions under control. It was taking all her might not to clench her hands into fists, smacking the table as hard as she could while screaming in utter rage! To not grab the nearby coffee mug and fling it against the wall! To not go off on a firing rampage at the group in lab coats standing on the opposite side of her desk. That last one she knew, deep down, was the worst thing she could do as they were some of the brightest minds there were in the industry. So, instead, she remained where she was as her eyes twitched slightly as she tried to process this latest failure.

Shimmer’s eyes glanced down, spotting the schematic for the immersion chair. It was supposed to be every Duelist and anime otaku’s dream come true! The ability to enter into a virtual world with a magnitude of options for what you could do! Want to join the Dark World Army and conquer a kingdom with you at the helm? Have fun! Want to have a thrilling spy drama, but with the vampire monsters instead of Spyral? Whatever floats your boat! Want to have your own world to operate your own Jurassic Park or something with dragons? Go nuts! Want to have a workout with Gilford the Lightning? Er, not Shimmer’s cup of tea but if that’s what you want. Do you want to be in your own slice-of-life anime-type setting with Witchcrafters like in those young adult novels? Enjoy! Heck, if you wanted, you could create your own avatar and duel other people online in fantastic settings!

Originally, this had been the pet project of her adopted father. The one who had turned this company from a military manufacturer giant into the world’s greatest gaming company. The one who had invented duel disks! However, the immersion chair had been one of his few failures. When the first round of testing had begun, he had been trapped in the virtual world by the board of directors who had tried to backstab him. Then, years later, he tried to bring it back only to find out that some nut job had imprisoned even more people in a VR world where if their avatar died they died in real life! This was then followed by another person who was caught doing something similar, but at a much smaller scale. It was because of these idiots that everyone else wasn’t allowed to have nice things, forcing the governments to do the remarkably sensible thing and ban any such technology. It was only now that these bans had lifted with a string of protocols put in place to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.

Enter Sunset Shimmer. She had seen the old design for the game and, while it had its charm, the medieval fantasy was far too cliché. No, she would make this work. Bigger and better than her old man could have ever dreamed! She would bring the game of Duel Monsters to the next, highest level!

…IF ONLY SHE COULD GET THE DAMNED GAME TO WORK! She honestly could not understand what was going wrong! Every time they got the game up to the point where they could test it on a person, a damned glitch would spring up and cause the entire thing to crash! Sometimes it was when you were going to activate a trap card. Other times it was when you used an equip card. And one time the entire thing crashed when she ordered tea without sugar within a VR café! Really! Time after time, they had tested the systems searching for the source of these glitches and every time found nothing. Because of this, the game’s release date had been pushed back eight times. Eight!

“How is it that none of you can figure out a single glitch?” demanded Shimmer, her eyes narrowed dangerously as if daring someone to speak.

Her lead scientist gulped loudly, taking up that dare. “Ms. Shimmer, please believe me that we thought we had it this time. Me and my team, we went through the entire system code by code to make sure everything was correct. We tested it all day, looking at every previous issue. But when we came in, all of them were there! This shouldn’t have happened.”

“But it did,” said Shimmer in a growl, her eyes feeling ready to incinerate all of them on the spot. “And I want answers to why this is happening or else you’re all-”

“I think it was sabotage,” blurted out one of the other scientists. President Shimmer blinked, looking like she had been slapped followed by having a bucket of cold water splashed in her face. Slowly her eyes went to look at the one who had spoken. He was a pimply man with messy brown hair and thick glasses. His front teeth hung over his lips, making him look like the embodiment of nerdiness for all the world to see.

“Who are you,” asked Shimmer slowly.

“Don’t mindPoindexter,” said the lead scientist quickly, moving to block the teen’s view of the nerd. “He’s just…well he’s been saying this for a while now and we have tried to explain to him that it couldn’t ha-”

“Poindexter,” said Shimmer in a tone that meant she was talking now and everyone else was to shut up. The head scientist shot Poindexter a pitying look, as if he had warned him that saying this would get him in trouble. But he moved, allowing the two to look at each other without any obstacle. “You are aware that Kaiba Corp has one of, if not the, greatest security systems in the world. There are guards on every floor who-”

“Ah, weren’t all of those guards beaten up by a bunch of high school girls recently?” asked Poindexter. While his voice was both nervous and polite, there was something more in it. Something that wouldn’t let him back down. And despite herself, Shimmer couldn’t help but feel impressed by this. Sure, she was annoyed that he had interrupted her, but it took guts.

President Shimmer glanced over to the lead scientist. “I take it he has already heard about all of our security precautions, both physical and digital. And that your lab is not connected to the rest of the Kaiba Corp network. And that the immersion chair is not hooked up to the internet, making it impossible to hack into.” The lead scientist nodded again, his face paling as he gulped loudly. But Shimmer ignored him for the moment as she turned to look at Poindexter. “Alright then, if you know about all of that, what makes you think that it's sabotage.”

Piondexter took a deep breath. “Because I made a copy of the immersion chair’s systems and took it home with me,” he said. Shimmer’s eyes widened, mouth dropping. At once, all of the other scientists began to talk in a frenzy. Their words blended in with each other so Shimmer had to assume they were trying to save their own hides. But Shimmer didn’t care as she stared into the face of the nerd who stared back at her while wave upon wave of emotions crashed within her. She felt angry at him for doing that as well as at security who had failed to do their job. She felt numb that something like this could be going on right now under her nose. She felt…impressed that he could just stand there, admitting what he had done. She felt so very, very much now.

“You know,” said Shimmer as she tried her best to rein in her emotions. As she spoke, the other voices died down so as to listen to her unimpeded, “I could have you fired, thrown out of this building while making sure your life becomes as miserable as possible. Making sure you are penniless and homeless by the end of the day, your reputation in ruins. So please, explain to me why you took top-secret programming home with you and why I shouldn’t do any of that!”

“Because it was the only way I could think of to be sure,” said Poindexter, a slight irritation in his voice now. “We’ve exhausted all of our other options. We’ve replaced every piece of hardware in the immersion chair and rewritten the code from scratch four times. But even after we have tested the chair, the glitches just keep appearing from out of nowhere. So what’s more likely? A magical glitch that keeps reappearing no matter what we do or someone is making sure this project fails.” As Poindexter paused to take a breath, Shimmer found herself fighting not to nod. Even after finding out that there was a magical land of talking ponies out there as well as other things that defied all logic and the sense of norm, it still seemed more likely that this seemed intentional.

“I tried to tell everyone my theory, but no one listened,” continued Poindexter as Shimmer began to pace back and forth. “I managed to evade all of our security with the copy of the programming. Then, when I brought it back the next day and found that there was another glitch, I compared the two using a program I created. New code had just appeared! Complete gibberish.”

“Piondexter, you know that’s not proof!” said the lead scientist. “The parameters are completely different and-”

“I believe him,” said Shimmer, interrupting the lead scientist. She sighed while continuing to pace, not looking at the assembled group before her. A part of her wanted nothing more than to punch herself in the gut for never considering this. For not wanting to believe it was a possibility. For putting so much faith in her security system that it would blind her to the fact that it could fail. And now, she was paying the price. Something she had to own up to. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. But you’re right as well: we have no proof at the moment. All we have is a theory that will sound like we’re making excuses for why the immersion chair still isn’t ready. We need to figure out how we’re going to get the evidence we need and soon before the investors lose even more faith in-”

At that moment, her phone began to ring causing the teenage CEO to pause in her step. For a moment, she considered letting ring as she had more important things to do. But the noise was making it hard for her to concentrate on the task at hand. She needed to figure out how to handle this mess, a mess that had dropped millions of dollars in with nothing to show for it! She needed to figure out how this saboteur was spotting the weakness in her security. Everyone she hired went through a screening process and, well, she had ways of finding out who was getting a little extra on the side. Even if it was in an offshore account. She needed to find a way to quickly restore everyone’s faith in her company and quickly before all of her other projects were scrapped! So, in utter frustration, she pulled out her phone to end the call.

It was at this point that she saw who it was: Sunset Shimmer. The oddness still hadn’t worn off, even after all the times the two had hung out since their first meeting/kidnapping. After all, this was her from a parallel universe where she was a pony who had been mentored by a princess in a magical kingdom. Yeah, still strange every time she thought about it. And it was because she had come to this world, getting her social security number thanks to some moron’s oversight that had caused President Shimmer no small amount of grief. Thankfully now, everything was alright. She had set the record straight, even giving her alternate self a new backstory for the public: they were twins separated at birth and, due to a mix up, they had both grown up with the name Sunset Shimmer. Hey, it wasn’t perfect but it did its job.

For another moment, Shimmer debated with herself on what to do before hitting accept. “Hey sis,” she said, playing the part for the crowd.

“Ah, hey…sis,” said Sunset, sounding a little uncomfortable. But there was more to it. She sounded tired, almost drained. “A friend of mine is in some legal trouble and we were sort of hoping that you could lend a hand…”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow at this. “Not another friend from your hometown?” she asked before glancing at her staff. All of them seemed frozen in place, a few looking grateful that she wasn’t pacing anymore.

“No, no,” said the other Sunset. “She, well…had a magic spell placed on her that stripped her of her freewill and robbed the movie theater where she worked and needs a really good lawyer.” Sunset had spoken swiftly, barely pausing between her words. But Shimmer could hear everything, frowning a bit more now.

“Ok. And I should care…why?” asked Shimmer slowly, not caring how that made her sound at the moment. “You know she’ll be given her own attorney, right?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” said Sunset, her voice sounding strained now as she tried (and failed) to keep her irritation under control. “Plus you owe me, remember? The whole kidnapping thing?”

“I thought you were imperson-” began Shimmer, quickly losing her cool but stopping herself before she said too much in front of her staff. So she paused for a moment, bringing a hand to rub her temples for a moment. “I already paid you back for that. I thought we were even.”

“I,” began Sunset, sounding like she was also calming down a bit. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve been trying to get her out on my own and…You know I wouldn’t be asking you if there were any other way. Juniper doesn’t deserve this!”

“Sis, please don’t,” moaned Shimmer as she moved to her seat and sank right into it, feeling the guilt wash over her. “This is the worst possible time. I have a lot riding on a project which-” Shimmer cut herself off as an idea popped into her head. A crazy, wild idea that, if it worked, would restore faith in her company while also gaining the proof that someone was working to undermine them. It might be a little dangerous, but right now it was the best she had.

Placing a hand over the phone, she looked over at Poindexter. “I have an idea,” she said softly. “And you’re going to help me. Everyone else: leave.” The other scientists didn’t need to be told twice, quickly leaving the room. It was only when it was just the two of them did Shimmer return to her call. “Alright sis. I believe we can come to an arrangement.”

-x-

“What is taking her so long?” demanded Garble. The red skinned man sat at his seat, fingers tapping on the fine oak table while he fought to keep himself from placing his head in his other hand. He, along with several others, sat waiting in the executive board room. Unlike him, the rest were either sitting there with their arms crossed against their chest or sipping some of the provided refreshments.

“Garble, the president isn’t even two minutes late,” said a pink-skinned woman named Cinders, whose chair came with an extra pillow for her to lean her head back against. “Give her some time and relax a little.”

“Glad to see that your department isn’t suffering from all this wasted time,” muttered Garble, just loud enough for all to hear.

“Speaking of wasted time,” growled a man up front. He was older than most of them, taller too as he towered over all of the others in the room even though he was seated. Garble knew this man as Razer, a red-skinned man who was in charge of the HR department. “Complaints about you have been eating up much of my time!”

“Just toss them in the trash,” said Garble with a yawn. “What can those peons do other than complain?” It was then that Garble noticed something that caused him to straighten up in his seat in a hurry. All of the eyes in the room were fixated on him, all of them narrowed while their faces scowled at him in complete loathing. One or two eyes were even twitching, so much so that it took a great deal of effort for the young businessman not to shrink in his seat.

“They can walk out, leave for good,” said Razer with a hiss. “Then we have to waste more time looking for suitable replacements. Or those in a union could strike! Then we would be wasting even more time!”

“Ah, well,” began Garble, only to have another in the room clear her throat. It was Gostir, head of their legal department. The green skinned woman was looking at Garble with her head slightly raised, looking like she had smelt something vile as her eyes connected with his. Her hands were folded together tightly while they slightly shook.

“Or we could have another harassment lawsuit,” she breathed as everyone, including Garble, could feel the tension rising within the room.

“That’s not-”

It seemed like his voice caused something to snap within her. In a second her hands unclasped and she slammed an open palm onto the desk. “Do you have any idea how many times the legal department has had to go out there and defend you since you arrived? Three! That’s three times where we had to drop everything and run for cover because you were abusing your staff to the point where they called a lawyer! Three times we had to use money and resources because you didn’t take those complaints seriously!”

A great deal of effort was now being used not to show he was getting angry…or worried. They had the money to make all of their worries go away, to treat their employees however they wanted. To push them around just like how he used to push others around back when he was in Crystal Prep. And if they did try to fight back by suing them the company could easily just pay them off and make them sign some non-disclosure agreement, to crush whatever pathetic lawyers they could find at the mall, or even to simply make them vanish off the face of the earth. So why the heck were they getting all up in his face about this? All he did was scream at people to work faster, take away their breaks, make them work late into the night, and a few other things here or there.

What worried him however was that this was a poor sign for his overall plans to take over the company. He had been working on his own front to undermine that young flame haired brat since the day he was hired and bit by bit he could see her being pushed closer to the edge. But for that final move, the one that would get rid of her and make him the dragon of this den, he would have to make sure that everyone else in this room was on his side. To back him up! And, right now, it was clear he was alone. Perhaps he just needed to get them to come around to his way of thinking. But that would take time so he’d better just play nice and-

At that moment, the door opened and President Shimmer entered with Ember following behind her like her ever dutiful shadow. Everyone in the room became silent, their attention on Shimmer while Garble gritted his teeth for just a moment. The amount of loathing he had for her could not be understated. It didn’t seem right that he had gone to Crystal Prep, graduating with near top marks thanks to a combination of hard work and bullying, only to have to worm his way into this position all while she was handed her position on a silver platter! Garble despised the way she walked around the company, acting like she owned it! Well, ok, she did own it, but that was beside the point! After all the hard work he had done, he deserved to run this company!

“Sorry for the small delay,” said President Shimmer as she sat down at her seat, leaning back into it like it was her throne. “I was meeting with some of my scientists as we went over the latest updates on the immersion chair.”

“Please tell me it’s finally working,” begged Cinders as she leaned forward. “That thing has been a PR nightmare.”

Shimmer shook her head. “I’m sorry to say that it is not.”

Garble held back a grin at Shimmer’s failure while Cinder’s head landed on the table, both her hands reaching to cover it. “Let me guess, we’re going to move the release date again,” she moaned while the others frowned at her. All their ire was focused on President Shimmer, though not as obvious as it had been when they had been glaring at Garble. As the seconds ticked, Garble’s lips twitched a bit as he relished the sight before him for he knew what would happen. Shimmer would defend her pet project, refusing to budge an inch no matter how much money they spent on-

“No, we are not,” said Shimmer as she closed her eyes. “It’s pointless right now to continue the project.”

Garble felt his eyes widen as he stared at Shimmer. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? It was good in the way that she had wasted so much time and money with nothing to show for it. Had hurt the company’s reputation with this failed game. That she had waited this long to pull the plug. But, on the other hand, the fact that had finally ended her foolishness might put her back in everyone’s good graces. So, for a moment he just sat there like everyone else as he tried to decide what he should do. Remembering that he had always been the most vocal about this being a waste of time, it might look odd that he wasn’t saying anything.

“Good to see that you are finally seeing reason,” said Garble, though no one turned to look at him. “Now we can completely scrap it and move on to-”

“We are not moving on,” said Shimmer, interrupting him as she opened her eyes. “Nor are we scrapping the immersion chair. I only said it was pointless to continue. And that is because we have a saboteur in our mists.” At once the room exploded with noise as everyone was talking…everyone but Garble who sat there wide eyed. How…How did she find out? He had been careful, so careful to avoid being found out.

“Madam President,” said Gostir, speaking up so that her voice could be heard. “I hope you have some proof to back up this claim.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Garble, seizing on this opening. He stood up so that he towered over everyone else, pointing a finger at Shimmer who remained seated. “Kaiba Corp has some of the best security in the world! How do we know that you’re not making this all up to pass the blame of your own failures onto someone else!”

“Loath as I am to say this, but Garble has a point,” said Razer, sounding like he just drank a cup of toilet water while Garble slowly took his seat. “The immersion chair has been failing for some time and it's only now that you are claiming it to be the work of sabotage. Without proof, this may come across as you being unwilling to admit defeat.”

Much to Garble’s shock, Shimmer smiled slightly as she looked at Razer. “Do not worry, I plan on providing all the proof needed in due time,” she said. “But for the time being, until we can get this sorted out, we will be contacting everyone who has made a preorder and offer them a full refund along with a small gift to apologize for the inconvenience. Perhaps a 10% discount on a customized duel disk.”

Though she said all of this confidently, Garble could see that none of the others present were happy about this. All of them frowning as they shifted in their seats as their disapproval grew. They probably assumed she had nothing, unlike Garble who now knew it for a fact. If Shimmer had anything that could link anyone (and by anyone he meant himself!) to the sabotage then Ember would have been bringing it up on the big screen or else passing folders around on the table. And as she did this, company security would have been in the room as well ready to kick Garble out of the building. But no, there was nothing. Not even the head of security was here today! Still, Garble knew he had to be more careful now as Shimmer finally seemed to be aware that someone was working against her.

“There is some good news,” continued Shimmer, causing Garble to blink in surprise. As he and the others seated in the room grew puzzled, Ember pressed a button on her tablet causing a 3D holographic image to appear right in the middle of the table. Everyone but Garble looked in awe and excitement at the two motorcycles projected before them as they slowly spun around. Both of them were sleek looking, with their grips more off to the side along with arm protectors built right into them. In front of where the driver would be seated was a duel disk tray with special modifications in order to keep the cards from flying away in the wind. The wheels had a rainbow glow as they, along with other parts of the bike, would project the holograms. But beyond that there was nothing special about them. They looked exactly the same, with one being red while the other a plain white.

“President Shimmer, does this mean?” asked Cinders, her voice in awe and dripping with excitement that made Garble’s stomach flip in anger.

“Yes,” said the flame haired woman, her eyes focused on the holograms with her mouth twisted into a triumphant smile. “The D-Runners are ready.”

-x-

Garble stood in the back of the group as President Shimmer herself opened the door to a large hanger that was located near a motor cross field not too far from Kaiba Corp headquarters. The building was large, looking like it was meant more for a small plane or something similar. But the only two things inside were the D-Runners which were both positioned right in the center under a light which began to shine as soon as the doors were open.

“What you see before you are the finished prototypes,” said the president as she strode toward the two overhyped motorcycles. “The very first of their kind, ready to take to the streets. I had hoped to make the announcement that they were ready along with the immersion chair, but sadly this will have to do.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” Garble all but shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hanger. “No one in their right mind will want these things!”

Shimmer looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “Are you saying that the heads of the dueling commission are not in their right mind?”

As Garble’s face began to flush with anger, Razer’s eyes lit up as he turned his attention to Shimmer. “You mean you already spoke with them? So soon?”

“Indeed,” said Shimmer as she began to walk around her expensive toys, her hand tracing the chrome as she did so while Garble narrowed his eyes. “I began talks with them as soon as I heard they were near completion. They have been very interested in expanding the types of tournaments they can have, looking for the next hot ticket. And to prove that this is it, I have already taken the liberty of renting this entire arena so Kaiba Corp can show them what a duel will look like with the D-Runners! They will be here tomorrow.”

“What?!?” yelled Gostir, thankfully before Garble could. “Madam President, I know you’re excited for this but you should have at least spoken to me about this first. We need to make sure that our test duelists know how to ride a motorcycle and have signed all the appropriate waivers to avoid any legal penalties that might occur!”

“We are not using any of our usual test duelists on this,” said Shimmer as she continued to walk around the bikes, still stroking them as if they were two large cats. “I’ve seen them duel, and well, we want to give our guests a show. Not put them to sleep! As such, I have already found two duelists I trust who can ride these D-Runners.”

As Garble’s eye twitched Gostir began to frown deeply. “Duelists you trust,” she echoed. “Meaning you think one of them might be your phantom saboteur.” At that, Garble’s eyes widened before slowly returning to normal while a smile began to appear on his face.

“I’m not taking any chances with this one,” said Shimmer as she finally stopped in her tracks to face the assembled group. She looked serious now, very determined. “If the committee members like what they see, duelists across the globe will have to buy these D-Runners if they want to compete in these new tournaments. We will corner the market while everyone else is trying to catch up! Nothing can go wrong.”

“But if something does go wrong, our company’s reputation will hang in the balance,” said Razer. “Even more so with such a public test. Are you sure that-”

“Everything is already in motion,” interrupted Shimmer, her voice firm. “If anything goes wrong, I will take full and sole responsibility for it. You have my word.” The smile on Garble’s face grew a little more as he saw that this seemed to be enough for the others, most simply nodding in understanding and agreement before they were all led away and out of the building.

But, just a few hours later, the doors to the hanger were opened once more as Garble entered. His greedy eyes focused on the twin D-Runners as he held two devices, one in each hand. The one in his right was a special device used to detect security cameras. Since this wasn’t a Kaiba Corp facility, he couldn’t hack into the system like he had been to put the security footage on a loop while he did his thing. Thus he was forced to use such a device to detect cameras, hidden or otherwise. The other was shining a light on the floor, just in case Shimmer had set up some sort of electronic tripwire or something.

As he walked, neither device seemed to pick up anything. No broadband signal from hidden security cameras, no visible security cameras, no trip wire. Not even a guard asleep at the entrance. It was like fate had giftwrapped this entire thing for him! He almost felt silly for changing out of his suit to wear a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a mask instead of his usual suit and tie. And as much as he would have loved to at least take off the mask, he knew better. He had to be careful.

When he had reached the D-Runners, Garble set down his two devices in order to pull a thumb drive out of his pocket. Contained within was a special little program he had created years ago as a prank back in Crystal prep. It wasn’t much, the duel disk infected with this program would begin to short circuit along with everything connected to it when the life point meter hit zero. Why had he created it? Well, to be honest, he had been bored back then and wanted to see if he could make something like a duel disk explode. It was a ‘wouldn’t it be cool’ moment and nothing more. And of course he had to test it on someone. Or, rather, a group of someones. Garble could still remember them, a snobby group that had never given him nor his gang the respect they deserved. So they made the perfect test subjects as Garble and his crew managed to break into their lockers without anyone noticing, installing the program and then challenging them the next day. He could still hear them crying out in surprise and pain as sparks flew from the defeat duel disks, one even exploding right on the guy's arm! Just imagine what this could do on a D-Runner!

Grinning evilly, Garble inserted the thumb drive into the port to begin the download.

-x-

“Woohoo! Would you look at this place!” yelled Pinkie as she bounced up and down on the paved road while Sunset finished getting ready. Today she was not in her normal attire, forgoing her normal black leather jacket, blue blouse, or any of the other outfits she normally wore. Instead she was in a full body outfit that reminded her of the skin tight costumes a superhero would wear. The color pattern sort of resembled the flames of a phoenix, with darker, almost crimson flames on her shoulders running all the way down her arms with shades of oranges and yellows moving downward. Thankfully, there was additional padding along her torso as well as on her knees and elbows. Finishing off her look was the helmet she held under one of her arms, whose shape had an almost bird-like quality to it. Most of her face was exposed save for a yellow visor covering her eyes with the ‘beak’ right above it. It also had two painted eyes on it and she couldn’t help but think of Princess Celestia’s rather annoying pet as she looked at it.

Taking a breath, Sunset turned to look at the others who were all looking around them in excitement. They were in a large, outdoor area that looked ready to hold a NASCAR rally at any moment with more seats than she had seen before. Seeing all this reminded her of the times she had gone to see the Wonderbolts in action back in Canterlot, sitting in one of the high boxes along with Princess Celestia.

…Wow, she was really starting to get homesick.

“This is going so awesome!” cried Dash, looking like she was fighting tooth and nail not to start bouncing like Pinkie Pie. No surprise there, seeing as how they were on one of the few race tracks in the area, given the rainbow-haired girl's love of speed. And Pinkie, well, was Pinkie. “You’re going to be the first one ever to play a card game on a motorcycle!”

“And looking fabulous while doing so,” added Rarity, grinning with maddening glee as her eyes moved between Sunset and those in the stands. Sunset looked over at them as well. Seated in the middle of the stands were a group of people which Sunset understood to be some of the higher up of Kaiba Corp. All of them were watching Sunset with keen eyes, nearly intimidating her. Nearly. Sitting below them were another group of people wearing suits of brown and black. These people were from the dueling league committee, the people who made sure the dueling world kept spinning, as it were. These were the ones who were in charge of hosting tournaments around the world, creating and enforcing the rules, as well as deciding what cards to ban. Unlike the CEO’s from Kaiba Corp, they looked a bit more excited as they chatted with each other.

Then there was her. Walking towards the group was President Shimmer, her leather trench coat billowing behind her as she walked. She had a very confident smile on her face, her eyes glued to her interdimensional clone without sparing to look at any of the others gathered around.

“Is everyone here?” asked Sunset once Shimmer was close enough.

“Everyone that needs to be,” replied Shimmer simply. “So we’ll be starting as soon as your opponent gets here.” Shimmer’s smile faltered for a moment. “Are you sure she can do this? Looking at her, I don’t think-” At that moment, Shimmer was startled as Rainbow suddenly jumped in front of her. The rainbow hair girl was practically bouncing on her heels.

“Hey,” Rainbow began with a smile so wide you could see all her teeth. “If whoever you got to be Sunset’s partner doesn’t show, can I take his place? Please~”

“Speakin’ of not showin’, where’s Twi,” asked Applejack as she placed a hand over her brows as she began to look around. At the same time, Fluttershy looked worried as she began to check her phone. “Ain’t seen hide nor hair of her since the school. Think maybe she’s gettin’ some rest? Real shame if she missed this.”

“Wait, you didn’t tell them?” asked Shimmer as she looked at Sunset. Before Sunset could say anything, the white D-Runner came out of the nearby hanger. It’s rider, dressed in steel grey with a large black visor covering the entire front of the helmet, came soaring towards them at incredible speeds. The rider leaned right and left, serving the bike in a controlled fashion with the skills of a master as the D-Runner passed by them all. All of the girls watched as the person riding it went around the entire track once, speeding up and slowing down as if to get a feel for the vehicle. Then, when the D-Runner drew close to them again, the rider leaned back to perform a wheelie as the front of the bike faced the heavens above before spinning the D-Runner around several times. Everyone was in awe of this…except for Shimmer who looked ready to pull out her hair!

When the stunt was over, the rider landed the D-Runner back onto the ground and killed the motor. Now that the rider was closer to them, Sunset could better make out the outfit. Like her, the outfit was a skin tight mesh of steel grey, but having a matching biker jacket on with a thin black line on its shoulder pads. After kicking the stand, that person got off and removed the helmet: revealing Twilight Sparkle! Everyone other than Shimmer (who still looked like she was about to have a heart attack) and Sunset (who chuckled nervously) stood there with their mouths open.

Pinkie was the first to act, pulling out a glass of water from her hair and downing it before doing a massive spit take. “Who could have seen that coming?” she asked aloud. “Huh, guess we should have, seeing as you weren’t around. And that your family and Sonata are up in the stands too.” At that, Sunset blinked before looking up. Indeed, her crazy pink friend was right. Sitting closer to the bottom was Twilight’s family and then some. Both her parents as well as her brother were seated close together, with what looked like large signs that they were ready to hold up at any moment. Sitting next to Shining Armor was that woman from Crystal Prep, Principle Cadence. Then, finally, was Sonata who had Spike on her lap.

“Sorry about that,” said Twilight as she approached the group, using the back of her gloved hand to wipe away some of the sweat from her brow. “But I wanted to get a handle on the bike before we began. It runs beautifully by the way.”

“But you could have,” began Shimmer before glancing up at the committee members who all now looked even more excited. “Ok, fine. You didn’t crash the bike and ruin the show before it could begin. Letting it go. Letting it go. Letting it go.” The teenage CEO took several deep breaths as Twilight moved to stand next to Sunset. When she looked calm again, Shimmer regarded the two. “Ok, as we discussed on the phone, you two put on a good duel for everyone here and I’ll hold up my end of the bargain.”

“So it doesn’t matter who wins or loses?” asked Twilight as she and Sunset looked at each other.

“Nope,” replied Shimmer with a wave of her hand. “But with that said, this isn’t going to be like a normal duel so there are going to be a couple of extra rules. Nothing too complicated for either of you; just something to make it more interesting for those watching you. Number one: whoever makes one full lap around the track first makes the first move. Number two: if you fall off your D-Runner you have until your opponent passes you five times to get back into the duel or else you lose. Other than those two changes, just treat this like a normal duel. Simple, right?” She then placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, giving her a firm look. “Just make sure the duel lasts more than a couple rounds and give it your all. The better you both do, the better the D-Runner will look.”

“Hold up a moment!” yelled Dash at the top of her lungs, everyone jumping at the sudden outburst. As they all recovered, Dash pointed an accusing finger at Twilight. “Seriously? Are we really not going to draw attention to the fact that Twilight can drive a motorcycle like a pro? When did that happen?!?”

“Actually, I’ve been taking lessons from my mom and brother ever since I first learned how to ride a normal bike,” said Twilight, smiling proudly. “It also helps that I studied combustion engines since I was in the second grade, so I know what they are capable of. And thanks to several physics books, I was able to better understand the theories of how some of the stunts are performed in order to gain the maximum result.” As Twilight said all this, Rainbow just stared at her with her eye twitching and mouth slightly hanging open.

“So this whole time ya could ride?” asked Applejack, holding onto her head like it was about to come flying off if she let go. “But…But if that were the case, why did Cinch put ya in the archery competition during the Friendship Games? Just…Just why?”

“Well, archery was a mandatory subject back at Crystal Prep,” said Twilight with a shrug. “I guess she assumed I would be more skilled there than anywhere else. Would have been great had she just asked me what I was best at.”

“Alright, enough of this,” said Shimmer as she clapped her hands. “You can all ponder what else she's good at up in the stands. We have a duel to start.” With that said, Shimmer began to push all of Sunset’s and Twilight’s confused friends away.

As the sounds of their friends walking away began to grow distant, the two girls looked at each other intently. A wind blew past them, but neither even flinched as the stare grew more intense. There was no malice or hostility in it, but both of them seemed to burn with a desire that neither had ever felt before. At least, that’s how Sunset felt. She could still remember her failure during the duel at Camp Everfree. How she had barely been able to put up a fight for most of the duel against Cinch and Well-To-Do while Twilight had done most of the heavy lifting. But now, things were different.

“This is going to be our first time dueling each other,” said Twilight firmly. “And the first time we’ve had to go against each other since the Friendship Games.”

“Yeah,” said Sunset with a nod before a small grin appeared on her face. “And I don’t intend to lose. Not after all the new support I put into this deck!”

Twilight grinned back. “You’re not the only one who has been improving her deck,” she said, a hand reaching to touch the deck box on her hip. “I’m ready to show everyone here what my Genex Allies can do.” As she spoke, Sunset saw the ghostly image of Genex Ally Axel appearing behind her friend. The android towered at least a good two to three feet above Twilight, looking down at Sunset as he gently placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.

At almost the same moment, however, Sunset felt something touching her shoulder as well. Eyes widening, she turned around to behold the image of someone she hadn’t seen since Camp Everfree. It was Prominence, the Molten Swordsman! He stood nearly as tall as Sunset, his skin made of tanned rock with black shoulder pads. He had no mouth, but there was a silver circle embedded within its forehead right between his green eyes. Prominence said nothing, but merely nodded at Sunset before he and Axel vanished.

And before either girl could comment on what they had just seen, a siren sounded signaling for them to get to their bikes.
> The Duel you have all been waiting for! Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Miss Shimmer, we are so excited to be here.” Garble fought hard to keep from groaning as he heard the voice of the head dueling committee member, a woman who rose up excitedly to shake the flame-colored girl's hand as she approached. Shimmer, from what he could see, was doing her best to keep her face more composed. But there was a bit of a prideful smile on her face as she accepted the handshake, the two beginning to talk with Garble tuning them out. Whatever they were going to say would be meaningless once the duel ended, their stupid dreams burning right in front of their eyes!

It all seemed too good to be true, his scheme working out far better than he ever would have expected. From what he knew, both of these D-Runners were being driven not by professions, but rather schoolgirls! Girls who he doubted would know what to do once the program he had placed inside the D-Runners kicked in. Whoever lost this duel would be in for a nasty surprise for everyone seated to witness first hand. Those people included not just himself but all the other heads of Kaiba Corp who were seated high as well as the losers from the dueling committee. And from this position, so high in the stands, they could see the whole track without needing to move their heads. The only one who wasn’t here was the head of security who was no doubt back at the office, jerking his thumb towards the public restroom at the front of the entrance. His absence would only help fuel Garble’s position that Shimmer was not fit to run this company!

What made all this better was the fact that one of these girls was Shimmer’s long lost sister. Oh, that made everything all the sweeter. He could almost see it now: Shimmer’s cocky smile vanishing as her sister’s D-Runner began to malfunction; perhaps throwing her off so that she rolled onto the side with the D-Runner crashing to the ground in front of her. Or the duel disk part of the bike exploding in her face, the girl crying out in shock and horror as she got some small burns as well as losing all of her cards. Whatever happened, Shimmer would no doubt feel the brunt of the blame. Perhaps that silly look-alike would even start yelling at her, screaming that Shimmer said this was safe or whatever. Garble was sure that once Shimmer was fully demoralized she would barely put up a fight once he led the rest of Kaiba Corp to oust her. Then he would remind everyone that he had been right, that had they just stuck to duel disks their reputation would not be hanging in the balance. Hopefully, that would be enough that they would all choose him to become the next president of Kaiba Corp!

Garble, still slightly grinning, turned to wish Shimmer good luck on this project only to stop when he noticed something strange. As Shimmer was sitting down, a scientist came walking down from the top of the arena towards her. Once this nerd was close enough, he bent down to whisper something into Shimmer’s ear. Straining his ears as best he could, all Garble could make out was ‘You sure about this?’ coming from Shimmer. Whoever this nerd was, he was talking fast and far too quietly for Garble to make out anything! Not without becoming too obvious. But, what was odd was that Shimmer seemed pleased.

Then, Shimmer noticed him looking at her. “Something the matter, Garble?” she asked, clasping her hands together in front of her as she spoke. Her grin seemed to double in size, sending chills down the man’s spine.

“No, just…,” he began, pondering what to say. It seemed odd that one of the geek squad would be here, talking to her in person. They were all supposed to be back at HQ, working in the labs like the good little nerds that they were. So why was one of them over here, talking to Shimmer like they were equals or something? And why not call her instead of walking up to her? So, as Garble thought of the right words, he spoke again. “Has something happened?”

“You could say that,” said Shimmer, still confident. “Let's just say that everything is going according to my plan.” Garble gave her a confused look as he turned to look at the duel that was about to happen. What did she mean by that? There was only one plan in motion: his! There was no way she could be on to him or know what he had done. If she did, well, he wouldn’t be sitting here right now. No, she was just being a stupid, cocky teenager so full of herself that she didn’t see that her downfall was right in front of her.

And, a moment later, the buzzer was sounded singling the beginning of the first, and last, duel on a motorcycle.

-x-

It all happened within seconds. The sound of the buzzer, the light turning green, tires rapidly spinning before the wind began to rush past the two girls as they sped down the track at speeds they could have never done on a normal street.  “Duel link established,” came a female voice from the D-Runner, the duel disk before them coming to life before they reached the first turn. “Opponent detected. First one to make one full lap will take the first turn. Good luck.” As the computer spoke, a screen came to life right in front of the duel disk tray which showed more than just their speed and fuel gauge. From what both girls could see, it showed the layout of their opponents field. No doubt to help them keep track of what was going on. There were also buttons on the screen, one showing a tombstone and the other a question mark. It didn’t take too much thought to realize that the tombstone was the graveyard and that question mark was the help screen.

As the two rounded the turn, Twilight didn’t seem to lose any speed. Her turn looked almost dangerous, leaning into the curve so much that it looked like she might topple over. But, she seemed to know what she was doing as she quickly righted herself and sped downwards to the other side. Sunset, however, did not fare as well as she had slowed down greatly around the bend to a more comfortable speed. Not surprising as she had only been in this world for a couple of years, only recently getting her license. Still, her competitive nature would not allow her to lose so she sped up towards the other end. But even at full speed, Twilight was simply too far ahead of her as she was already around the next turn before Sunset could make it to the bend and slowing down. Then, a moment later, Twilight’s family could be heard cheering as she was the first to finish a lap.

“Looks like I’m going first,” said Twilight. Despite the rush of the wind and the roar of the engines, Sunset could hear her clearly over the speakers on her D-Runner as if the purple-skinned nerd were standing right in front of her. At the same time, the screen on their D-Runner’s began to light up again, showing a portrait of Twilight in the corner with Sunset’s right below it. A star appeared next to Twilight, as if to say ‘Yes, it’s your turn.’

“I draw!” announced Twilight, drawing her opening hand as well as a sixth card. For a moment, she looked down at her hand, a small smile hidden from view, before placing all but one of the cards on the clip. “I’ll start this duel off strong with Genex Neutron in attack mode!” After quickly slapping the card on her duel tray, a wormhole opened up next to her D-Runner and out came a monster no one there had seen since she first dueled Princess Twilight. Neutron was an android with 1800 attack points, but had a more alien appearance when compared to Twilight’s other machines. It flew next to Twilight’s D-Runner as they turned a corner, curling its long fingers while its single eye glowed orange. Colorwise, it was all over the map with mostly black armor, but red feet and belly with orange areas as well as similarly colored wires.

“Next I’ll set two cards facedown and end my turn,” said Twilight, two facedown cards appearing on either side of her D-Runner. “But before I pass it to you, the effect of Neutron activates. At the end of a turn he is normal summoned on, I can add any machine type tuner monster I want to my hand.” As she spoke another wormhole appeared besides her D-Runner. Reaching into it, Twilight pulled out a card and held it up high for all to see. “And the card I have chosen is Genex Ally Remote!”

-x-

“Huh,” went Rainbow as she crossed her arms, eyes focused on the field below. She, along with the rest of the Rainbooms, had taken seats right in front of Twilight’s family who were still cheering their support of the Genex wielding duelist. “I was kind of expecting more. Like maybe bring out one of her Synchro monsters or something. A monster with 1800 attack points isn’t horrible, but we all know she can do better than that!”

“And doesn’t Genex Neutron clash with her deck?” asked Rarity. “Besides looking so, well, bizarre. From what I can recall, Twilight’s deck is full of dark attribute monsters with support specifically for them. But Genex Neutron is a light attribute.”

“At least she was able to get a tuner to her hand,” offered Fluttershy as she brushed some of her long, pink hair out of her face. “Just a pity it had to come at the end of her turn though.”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight knows what she’s doing,” said Sonata. The girls all turned to look at the former siren, sitting there with a smile on her face. “Twilight is like, amazingly smart! She’s been looking into new moves that she can do with her deck since before I moved in! And I think I know which one she’s going for.”

-x-

“Really, that’s it?” asked Sunset as she sped up while drawing her sixth card. A grin appeared on her face at what she saw: Rekindling! With this, as well as the other card she had in her hand, she could go full combo! “Sorry Twilight, but you’re going to have to do better than that if you want to stay in this game! Because I play my Molten Conduction Field to get things into motion! This lets me send two Laval monsters from my deck to the graveyard. I’ll choose Laval Cannoneer and Laval Volcano Handmaiden.” Sunset’s deck began to shuffle wildly before two cards on the top jutted out, allowing the flame haired girl to take them with ease before sending them to the graveyard. “Next I’ll activate the effect of Handmaiden. When she is sent to the graveyard, and I have another Laval monster in there with a different name, I can send another Laval monster to the grave. So I’ll send a second Handmaiden to the grave whose effect I’ll use again to send the third. Next, thanks to my third Handmaiden’s effect, I’ll send Laval Lancelord to the graveyard.” Sunset’s deck continued to shuffle and spit out cards, the girl only pausing in this as she made her turn.

“Now everything is set,” announced Sunset as she held up her ace spell card. “I play Rekindling! I hope you haven’t forgotten what this card does. But, in case you need a refresher, this card allows me to summon as many fire attribute monsters that I want from my graveyard as long as they have 200 defense points!” Flames began to appear around Sunset’s D-Runner as she inserted the card into her spell/trap slot, almost making her look like the Ghost Rider! Small faces could now be seen in the flames as their bodies began to form.

“Not so fast Sunset!” yelled Twilight before Sunset could shout out the names of the monsters she was to bring out. “I knew you would play that card sooner or later. Activate trap card: Magic Drain! This card can negate the activation of your spell card and destroy it. However, if you offer it a different spell card, you can prevent this.” As Twilight spoke, her trap card flipped faceup allowing a ghostly blue spirit of a vampire to fly towards her. It eyed the flames hungrily but paused to glance over at Sunset as if hoping she would give him a tastier treat. “So Sunset, do you have another spell card you can give up?”

Sunset said nothing for a moment, only gritting her teeth. “No,” she finally admitted in frustration as the vampire began to inhale the flames, sucking them all into its mouth before vanishing. If she had any other spell card, any at all, she would have gladly given it up.

I’m just glad Rekindling finally got off the Limited list, thought Sunset as her eyes looked over at her deck. Right now there are two more copies sleeping deep inside my deck, waiting to be used again. I just need to draw into it. And, luckily for me, I’m not out of moves just yet.

“Not bad Twilight,” said Sunset finally as she took a different card out of her grip. “You managed to stop that move, but I wonder if you can stop this one. I summon Red Resonator in attack mode!” Flames erupted on Sunset’s side of the field as a ghost-like monster made out of red flames carrying a tuning fork appeared next to her. Its attack points were 600. “Red Resonator’s special ability activates: when normal summoned, I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my hand. And I choose Laval Miller!” The ground around Sunset suddenly cracked, opening up to allow gases and molten rock to escape onto the field. The lava then began to quickly cool, forming into a rocky creature with a chain embedded into its head. Miller had only 300 attack points.

“Now I’ll tune my level 2 Red Resonator with my level 3 Laval Miller!” announced Sunset. As she spoke, Red Resonator broke apart as it turned into two circles while Miller became three stars. Like normal, the stars formed a straight line as they flew into the circles. However, rather than flying upward towards the sky to create a massive pillar of light, these events happened besides Sunset! As she began to chant, they became more of a tunnel that shot forwards with enough force that it almost knocked her to the side. “The fiery passion of learning burns deep within you. Share with us all you have learned throughout time. Synchro Summon level 5! T.G. Hyper Librarian!” When the tunnel vanished, a man cloaked in white futuristic robes appeared besides Sunset. This monster with 2400 attack points had a visor covering his eyes as well as a book in one hand. However, if one looked closely enough, they could see that the pages of this book weren’t paper, but rather a blue crystal substance.

“Hyper Librarian, attack Neutron!” ordered Sunset pointing ahead of her. Her newly summoned monster did not hesitate to obey, holding up its book as dozens of green rectangles flew out of it to strike Twilight’s machine. Each of these rectangles struck into its chest, pounding away and leaving an indent until they finally created a hole in the Genex monster which destroyed it. A large explosion occurred dropping Twilight’s life points down to 7400.

“Not bad Sunset,” said Twilight. “Got anything else for me?”

“No, I end my turn,” said Sunset, a small smile on her face as she felt good about her position. She knew Twilight would have to play things more carefully thanks to Librarian’s special ability. Every time a monster was synchro summoned, Librarian would allow Sunset to draw another card. She had hoped to summon it right after using Rekindling, adding to her hand as she summoned a whole slew of monsters ready to take a chunk out of Twilight’s life points. At least this way, she could benefit from Twilight’s summons. Or, better yet, having her play defensively for the time being.

“Then I draw,” said Twilight as she drew. With five cards in her grip, she glanced at her newest card before putting it to the side and pulling out a different one. “I’ll start this turn off by bringing out my Genex Ally Remote in attack mode!” A beam of what looked like data shot down from the sky like in an old Megaman game before suddenly ‘flipping’ around next to Twilight to reveal her monster. It didn’t look like much compared to Neutron, however. It was a small, mostly white sphere shaped robot with eyes appearing in the middle section. It had two feet and arms, but one of its hands had been replaced with an oversized remote controller. Its attack points were 800. Of course, in this game, looks could be deceiving.

“Now that I have a machine on my side of the field, I can activate this card: Iron Calling!” announced Twilight as she inserted her card. “With this, I can bring back a level four or lower machine type monster in my graveyard. However, its effects are negated and it is destroyed at the end of my turn. And since I only have one monster in my graveyard you can guess who I’m bringing out!” Just like that, Neutron returned to the field.

“No wonder you weren’t too shaken up when I destroyed it,” said Sunset. “You had a way to bring it back all along.” Though her voice was calm, she knew she could be in for some pain. If she knew Twilight like she thought she did, the purple duelist was going to use a card to change Genex Neutron’s attribute into fire. Then she would go into Genex Ally Triforce who would gain the effect to deal her damage equal to whatever monster it destroys in battle.

“Now things are all set,” said Twilight, Sunset’s eyes widening in surprise. “I’ll tune my level three Genex Ally Remote with my level four Genex Neutron!” Like with Sunset, Twilight’s monsters broke down with Remote becoming three green rings while Neutron became four stars. As the tunnel of green energy appeared next to Twilight, she began her chant. “Circuits connect opening new pathways to victory. With the addition of light will bring about new life. Synchro Summon Level 7: Genex Ally Triforce!” As the light faded, a metallic white figure was seen flying next to Twilight’s D-Runner. It was large, standing much taller than Twilight with a red visor covering its face. Most of its body looked smooth and well rounded except for its chest which stuck out a bit. One of its hands was not a hand, but instead a blaster with three muzzles with different colors (red, brown, and black) in a triangular design. The gun arm spun around, stopping with a loud click as the black muzzle was seated at the top. Once it was finished, Triforce turned to look at Twilight before giving her a thumbs up.

“B-Because you synchro summoned, I get to draw a card,” stammered Sunset, feeling nervous as she drew. She had been somewhat right, Twilight had summoned Triforce…but she had not changed its attribute the way she had thought. Did she not have the right cards in her hand or did Triforce have some sort of effect that needed a light monster? To be honest, she had no idea as Twilight had never used a light monster when summoning Triforce before. It was always either fire or earth as that attribute was best suited for back row heavy decks.

“Now on to battle,” yelled Twilight before doing something that made Sunset’s eyes grow wide and her jaw drop! Twilight, the bookworm and scholar, spun her D-Runner around so that it was facing Sunset and began to drive backwards! “Genex Ally Triforce, as much as I hate to say it, we have to get rid of Librarian!” Holding his weapon in front of him, Genex Ally Triforce’s weapon began to spin as a large black orb appeared in front of it before launching at Librarian. Sunset’s monster let out a single yell of pain before exploding, Twilight turning around at the same time. Sunset let out a small pant, thankful that her life points dropped only to 7900.

“With that done, I activate Triforce’s light effect,” continued Twilight as she made the next turn, Sunset following behind her. “Once per turn, I can select a light attribute monster in my graveyard and special summon it to my side of the field in defense mode! So Neutron will be coming back again!” Triforce nodded, pointing its gun at an area next to where Twilight was driving. A beam of light shone out from the gun making it look more like an oversized flashlight before a facedown card appeared there.

-x-

“Oh man, things aren’t looking good for Sunset,” said Rainbow as she gripped her knees tightly as she felt envious of both girls. The action, the speed, the people watching. More than once, she had looked behind her when Twilight’s family had begun loudly cheering for her, Mrs. Velvet even screaming ‘THAT’S MY GIRL!’ when Twilight had attacked Sunset while doing that admittedly cool trick. What’s more, Rainbow had noticed how the fancy people up top were reacting. Shimmer looked like she was about to have a heart attack when she had seen the stunt, gone unnoticed as those committee people were whooping and hollering just as much as Velvet. From the looks on their faces, they were enthralled with how the match was going even though it was still early on. As for most of the others up there, Rainbow could see that they were clearly pleased…except for one. This guy, Gibble or Garnip or something like that, looked more composed than the others as he watched with a small half smile whose smugness Rainbow could see even from all the way down here. Regardless, nearly all eyes were on the duel, leading the speedster to conclude that she needed to get a D-Runner when they came out.

“Why?” asked Pinkie, her voice muffled and thanks to having known the pink party planner for so long Rainbow knew it was due to her mouth being full. Turning to look at her, yeah, it was. In one hand Pinkie held a half eaten hot dog while in the other a large container of fries that she got from…somewhere. Honestly, Rainbow didn’t want to think about it. Seeing that Rainbow was looking at her, Pinkie began to quickly sip soda from a straw connected to her soda helmet that she had put on at some point, drinking fast enough to where she emptied both cans before speaking again. “Right now, Sunset has more life points.”

“Sure, she has the life points,” agreed Rainbow with Applejack and Rarity nodding at the same time. She could tell that the other two girls saw the same thing. “But that’s all she has right now. Twilight has two monsters on the field right now. One of which can just keep on bringing the other one back from the graveyard every turn! And she can use that monster for another synchro summon or a tribute! Heck, she might even have an XYZ monster in her extra deck now!”

“Ohhh,” was all Pinkie could say as she removed the empty cans from her helmet, putting them in her hair before replacing them with new ones.

“Told you she’s been learning,” said Sonata, who smiled proudly down at the track.

-x-

“Now I’ll set this card and end my turn,” said Twilight, another facedown card appearing next to her D-Runner.

“It won’t be there for long. I draw!” yelled Sunset, now having four cards in her grip. She looked at what she had just drawn, slightly irritated that it wasn’t Rekindling. But it was something that could help her make her move and perhaps get the card she needed. “Time to turn up the heat! I summon Laval Archer in attack mode!” The ground next to Sunset suddenly began to crack, molten rock exploding into the air in large masses all around them. One of those masses began to cool faster than the others, taking on the form of a rock man with cracks all over its body which still glowed orange due to the heat. A long tube was connected to its back going all the way up to its shoulder to form a container filled with flames. Meanwhile, on one of its arms appeared a slingshot while Archer held an arrow made of pure flames in its other hand. Its attack was 1000.

“Laval Archer is one of the newest supports given to my deck,” said Sunset, her D-Runner speeding up until she was right next to Twilight. “And he’s just what my deck needed! When normal summoned, Archer calls in reinforcements by allowing me to normal summon another Laval monster!” As Sunset spoke, Archer placed his arrow into the slingshot before pulling back and firing the fiery arrow right into Sunset’s hand. “And I just so happen to have one! Come on out Laval Lakeside Lady!” More cracks appeared on the ground, lava slipping out as a figure rose gracefully out. Lakeside Lady was a monster with 200 attack points wearing a simple blue dress with white trimming over her rocky skin. Her hair was long, seeming to be made of fire as it flickered about but never damaging her clothing.

“That’s not the only new card my deck got,” said Sunset. “Let me show you! I tune my level three Laval Lakeside Lady and my level four Laval Archer!” Lakeside Lady rose to the sky, transforming into rings above Sunset’s head. But these weren’t green energy rings like before. No, instead these were rings made of red and orange fire whose heat Sunset could feel bearing down on her. Archer became four stars, flowing in the space between the rings as a tunnel of flames came rushing over both girls' heads. But that wasn’t the only thing that seemed to be ablaze, for the wheels of her D-Runner also began to flame up. “Mighty beast birthed with the gift of flames. Bath your scales in the blood of the earth and become one with the Laval tribe. Let each wingbeat alone scorch the land! Synchro Summon level 7: Lavalval Salamander!” At that moment, all the flames dissipated to reveal a large winged dragon flying over the two girl’s heads. Long rows of bright yellow spikes ran down the creatures back as well as along its massive wings, heat radiating off of them each time it flapped them. Speaking of its wings, there were brownish-grey areas around the edges which reminded one of a mountaintop. That, along with the spikes, gave to both duelists the image of a series of volcanoes erupting at once. Its inner body was red, looking like rock that had been super heated, running from its head down to its tail. Embedded in its kneecaps, as well as both wings, were stone disks which held engraved within them the symbol of the Laval tribe. Salamander’s attack was 2600.

“Lucky you,” muttered Twilight, speeding up her D-Runner to put more distance between the two.

“Don’t be jealous,” said Sunset, a slight smirk on her face. “Let me show you what this bad boy can do! Once per turn, when he is special summoned, I get to draw two cards. Then I must discard two cards from my hand, one of them being a fire monster or else my entire hand goes back into the deck. I draw!” Sunset quickly drew her two cards, seeing that neither of them was the card she had been hoping for…but Laval Cannon was not a bad draw. And she knew just how to make the most of it. “I discard my two cards, one of them being Laval Forest Sprite as per the cost.”

After sending the cards to the graveyard, she began to think about what to do next as they rounded the corner again. Ok, I could use Salamander’s other effect to banish one of my Laval monsters to flip her Triforce facedown, she thought to herself. But there really isn’t any point to that. My monster is already strong enough to melt it a hundred times over. Or I could use Lakeside Lady’s effect on one of those trap cards. The first one…no. If it was anything that could help her out, Twilight would have used it last turn. But that one she just set could be dangerous…

“Alright,” said Sunset, quickly making up her mind. “I activate the effect of my Laval Lakeside Lady sleeping in my grave. By banishing it and another Laval monster, I can destroy one facedown card you control. So I’ll banish her and Forest Sprite in order to destroy your facedown spell/trap!” Coming out of the ground next to Twilight’s D-Runner was Lakeside Lady, her hand glowing a bright yellowish orange from the heat. Slowly she reached down as Twilight’s facedown card appeared before her, ready to burn it into ashes.

…Only then to have it flip faceup, knocking Lakeside Lady over in the process.

“Sorry Sunset, but I activate the card you were about to destroy: Metaverse!” said Twilight loudly, her voice full of positive energy while Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise. “This trap card lets me go through my deck and activate a field spell card! Welcome to the world of Heavy Metal Raiders!” Darkness began to creep over the field, despite it being a sunny day. Almost like a dark tint had been cast everywhere. But that wasn’t all for massive machines appeared on the edges of the tracks as if to form an additional barrier to keep them from going off road. Sunset jerked in surprise, nearly losing control of her D-Runner, when she saw that one of those machines was Launcher Spider, holding up a sign that read ‘We Love You Twilight’ in oil of all things. How it was able to hold up the sign using its front legs, Sunset had no idea. If they were hooves, that would be a different story. Then there was Slot Machine, wearing a blue race car cap on its tiny head along with a shirt with Twilight’s face on it! More and more old, normal machine monster cards lined up as they silently cheered on Twilight.

“Of course your cards would do that for you,” muttered Sunset softly, annoyed at how her friend's cards always seemed to act like this.

“Pay them no heed,” came a massive, gruff voice from above that nearly stopped Sunset’s heart for a moment. Looking up, she saw Salamander looking around it in annoyance. “These pitiful toys are no match for us and the power we wield. Allow me to unleash my might upon our opponent and show her the error of her ways.”

For a moment, Sunset sat there as they turned feeling better already. “Right,” she said, knowing that her cards were with her as well. She then thrusted her hand forward. “Attack Triforce now with Lava Overflow!” Salamander’s belly suddenly bulged, tripling in size before opening its mouth to allow a massive stream of lava to shoot downwards towards Twilight’s monster. The attack was so hot that Sunset hand to raise a hand over her face in order to better shield herself. Yet even though her monster was the stronger, Triforce used its gunner arm to swat away the lava away from Twilight seemingly at the cost of its entire arm. It then looked like it was going to fall over, but it righted itself at the last second before using its one good hand to gesture in a ‘come at me’ motion.

“What trickery is this?!?” roared Salamander, flapping his wings extra hard in annoyance.

“It’s the effect of my field spell,” answered Twilight, her life points dropping to 7300. “It protects each of my Dark machines from being destroyed by battle once per turn. Not only that, if I happen to take any damage, my monster gains an equal amount of attack points for as long as my field spell remains in play!” As she spoke, several machines from off to the side flew over to Genex Ally Triforce. Most noticeably the multi-armed machine Mechanicalchaser. Together they began to repair Triforce, working swiftly until his gunner arm was repaired and his attack points were now 2600.

“…I end my turn,” said Sunset as she put the pieces together for Twilight’s next play. More than likely, her friend would crash into her Salamander knowing that her machine would survive. Then she would attack with the rest of her monsters.

“Then I draw!” said Twilight, three cards now in her grip. “First off, I’ll flip my Genex Neutron faceup so I can use this card: Iron Draw! If I have exactly two machine type monsters on my side of the field then I can draw two more cards! However, there is a serious drawback in that I can only special summon one more time this turn.” Sunset grit her teeth while tightening her grip, watching as Genex Neutron reappeared on the field so Twilight could get her additional cards. Two additional ways to gain an advantage in this duel.

For a moment, Twilight looked at the cards she had drawn before putting them in her grip. “Now I summon Genex Ally Volcannon!” A pixel beam shot down close to where Twilight was driving before ‘flipping’ itself to reveal a red android wearing a welding mask. On its back was a steel drum that had tubes coming out of it that connected to a blaster-esque weapon on its shoulder. As Volcannon began to crack its knuckles and neck, something Sunset still couldn’t believe a machine could do, her eyes widened as she recalled this monster from their tag team duel.

“Now that he’s on the field, I discard my Genex Ally Chemistrer to change Neutron’s attribute to fire,” continued Twilight as she discarded her monster. At the same time, a purple machine with a yellow visor appeared on the field behind Neutron. This machine also had two tanks on his back with hoses connected to the devices in both hands. He rammed one of the devices into the back of Neutron who jerked while a red tint surrounded him. “With that done, I can use Volcannon’s effect: by tributing a fire attribute monster on my side of the field, I can destroy one of your monsters. Not only that, but you take damage equal to the destroyed monsters level times 400.”

“That means…” began Sunset, but her voice became silent as Neutron began to liquidate into a silvery goop that flew into Volcannon’s barrel. The red Genex then pointed its weapon at Salamander, firing the silver substance across the track and hitting her monster right in the chest. The Lavalval monster let out a roar of defiance, trying its best to get the goop off of it only to have it spread more and more. Soon, it was completely covered in it and despite how hot it had been the substance seemed to cool rapidly. Twilight raised a hand up into the air, snapping her fingers for all the world to see. At that moment, Salamander shattered into thousands of chunks that rained down all around Sunset. The girl cried out as her D-Runner swerved around, her life points dropping to 5100.

“I could activate the other effect of my field spell,” said Twilight as both girls heard the cheers of her family as they passed the stands. “But I’d rather use Triforce’s effect to bring back Neutron in facedown defense mode.” As she spoke, Triforce used its weapon once more to bring back a facedown card. Then, once again, Twilight spun her D-Runner around and began to drive backwards! “Now onto battle! Triforce! Volcannon! Attack Sunset directly!” Both machines nodded, with Triforce making the first move as he raised his gunner arm at Sunset. The flare haired girl watched it spin as a massive black orb of energy began to grow in front of it. Once it was big enough, it was launched right at her. More out of instinct than anything else, Sunset swerved her D-Runner to the side to just narrowly miss being hit. But her movement, along with the force of the impact, caused her to spin around several times. When she stopped, her stomach felt like it was about to turn upside down while her life points fell to 2500. But the attacks weren’t over as Volcannon raised its weapon at Sunset, firing small red orbs that splattered all over her. The holograms made her feel the impact and she could see the holographic smoke rise up from where she had been hit. Yet all she could do was grit her teeth as her life points continued to fall until they stopped at 800.

-x-

“Did you see that?! Did you see that?!” asked the committee woman as she jumped up and down like an excited child. Her face was lit up, watching as Twilight turned her D-Runner forwards again as they made another turn. “This is so…exciting! My heart hasn’t been pumping like this in years!”

Shimmer let out a chuckle which she hoped didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. “And just think what it’ll be like when we get more duelists on the D-Runners,” she said. “Just imagine the heart pounding action!” Heart pounding indeed, but probably a different reason for her. Every time one of the D-Runners was in one of those stunts, spun around, or whatever, the teenage CEO felt like her heart was being pulled on. This had to be the most nerve wracking field test she had ever been on.

Maybe it was because so much of her company was on the line. Maybe it was because her pony counterpart was the one taking most of the damage right now, being tossed around like driftwood in a storm. Maybe it was a little of both.

Looking over at the rest of the heads of her company, she felt like she was the odd duck out. All of them looked excited at the duel before them, sitting at the edge of their seats as if this were the movie of the year. Even Garble, whom she thought would be more aloof or complaining seemed more into the match now as he checked their life points over and over. So maybe she should just relax a bit.

-x-

Down on the track, Sunset was panting hard right now as she turned another corner. Things were not looking good for her. She could still do her big move, but it felt like Twilight was in some way preparing for just such an event. Twilight’s defenses were all there: a facedown card, normal summoned monster, and that damned field spell of hers! And with Sunset so close to having her life points at zero, if Twilight had Gagaga Cowboy in her extra deck then all she had to do on her next turn was to summon it and she would win!

Looking down at her deck, she knew she needed a good card if she was going to have any chance at winning.

“I draw!” announced Sunset, eyes closed for a brief moment as she drew. But, as she did, she felt like her hand was on fire…yet the flames did not hurt. Instead they felt warm as they tickled around her hand as she slowly looked at what she had drawn. It was a card she had placed in her deck once she knew she was going up against Twilight. And it was something that might help.

“Alright Twilight, time to show you what else I got,” said Sunset, her confidence growing as she now had three cards in her grip.

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” replied Twilight. “After all, I’m giving this duel everything I’ve got.”

“And so am I,” replied Sunset with a grin while playing a card on her tray. “I summon Laval Cannon in attack mode!” At once the ground cracked next to Sunset’s D-Runner, lava pouring out from the opening to form a humanoid monster with skin that looked like it was made out of blue stone. As this 1600 attack point monster continued to form, everyone there could see that one of its hands was missing, replaced with a cannon that dripped molten stone onto the track as it flew by. What’s more, one of its eyes was missing, replaced with a small stone disk with the Laval tribe symbol on it. “When he is summoned to the field, I can also target and special summon one of my banished Laval monsters to the field! So I’m bringing back my Laval Forest Sprite!” The ground cracked open, lava pooling out as a small boy with a brownish hood jumped out.

“Now it's time to take this duel to the next level,” continued Sunset. “I tune my level two Laval Forest Sprite with my level four Laval Cannon!” Like with Salamander, Sunset’s monsters broke apart to become a massive fiery tunnel above her head as she began to chant. “Ancient beast that flies over the fields of flames. Like the skies feel our furry as you serve the Laval tribe! Synchro Summon level 6! Lavalval Dragun!” As the chant ended, the flames exploded in every direction as another pair of large wings shot out of the tunnel. But this time, the monster Sunset had summoned seemed more like a large, yellow and red pterodactyl-like creature. Stone-like plating had been attached to its underbelly, as if to protect it from archers below, as well as a decorative necklace. On the back of this creature, standing on a stone saddle as if this were a mount, was a small rider holding its reins. It’s attack points were 2500. “Now I can use the effect of my Dragun: once per turn I can add a Laval monster to my hand and then discard one. So I’ll add Laval Coatl to my hand and then send another copy of Lakeside Lady to my grave.”

“Now everything is set,” said Sunset after discarding her card. “I activate the effect of Coatl in my hand, allowing me to special summon it to the field if I have three or more Laval monsters in my graveyard with different names.” Appearing on the field was a smaller, riderless version of Dragun which flew under the larger Laval’s wing. “And just so you know, Coatl is a tuner monster! So I synchro summon once again using my level two Laval Coatl and my level six Lavalval Dragun!” Again, Sunset’s monsters formed a tunnel of flames above her head. But that wasn’t all as her entire bike was engulfed in flames as well, leaving behind a burning trail on the track as she sped up. “Battle scared and tired, the red dragon of demons shall never give up. Let fire and lava empower you, let their might be added to yours to burn your foes asunder! Show them the might of the Queen! Synchro Summon level 8! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!” A roar echoed through the arena as the flames vanished, revealing a large red and black humanoid dragon flying above Sunset. The first thing the crowd noticed were its horns on either side of its head, curving backwards before moving up to its face as if to better guard its head. Yet one of the horns was broken at the halfway point. Going down its scaley body were plenty of red and yellow stripes that sort of looked like claw marks, scars from previous battles. But what caught everyone’s attention was the clawed gauntlet on one of its arms, looking like a mix of bone and metal with an orange glow coming out from the cracks. Its attack was 3000!

“Scarlight, show Twilight what you can do! ABSOLUTE POWER FORCE!” On Sunset’s command, the flames in Scarlight’s gauntlet vanished and were replaced by dark red energy. The bottom of its wings looked like they had caught on fire while its scars began to glow. And while all this was going on the dragon soared higher above the two. It then sped down, slamming its fist into the ground creating a powerful shockwave of flames that hit everything. The flames washed over the Genex monsters, destroying Twilight’s synchro.

“Triforce!” cried Twilight as the flames hit her D-Runner, pushing it towards the side and nearly off the track while her life points dropped to 6800.

“This is the power of my new Archfiend Dragon,” explained Sunset as she held up a card. “Once per turn I can destroy all special summoned effect monsters on the field with attack less than Scarlight’s. And the controller of those monsters takes 500 points of damage for each. Now I can play this card: Greed Grado! This spell card lets me draw two cards when I destroy a synchro monster you control either by battle or card effect!”

Twilight said nothing as Sunset drew her two cards, the two teens rounding the corner once more as Sunset’s speed picked up. She then looked at the card…and smiled. “I summon Laval Burner to the field in attack mode!” As before, the ground cracked open with lava shooting out and taking form in the air. Burner’s body quickly took form, a bent humanoid with massively long and thick arms that forced him to bend over. Arm guards quickly formed around its hands and wrists, catching fire as it began to run next to Sunset’s D-Runner. The way it ran, as well as its appearance, reminded Sunset of either a primitive caveman or a gorilla. As its skin cooled down, it took on a rocky tan cooler form while its long hair was made out of magma. Its attack was 2100. “Burner is a level five monster, but when I have enough Laval’s in my graveyard, he can be special summoned regardless of how many monsters I control.”

“Good show old girl, good show,” came a posh, yet gritty voice coming from Burner!

“…wait, what?!?” yelped Sunset, almost losing control of her D-Runner as she looked at her Laval monster.

“Yes, it's about time you brought me out again,” continued Burner. “Been having a bit of a chin-wag with some of the others of my tribe. Terribly rough around the edges they are, but mean well. Thought it best I came down and lend a hand they did. Just waiting for you to draw me.”

“…I don’t…I…I…what?” went Sunset as her brain tried its best to reboot. After another turn around the corner, she managed to shake her head enough so she could focus on the road and the duel. Though, she would have some questions for later.

“Burner, attack Volcannon!” ordered Sunset as she pointed to the red android.

“Tally-ho!” cried the Laval monster as it leapt into the air, raising both fists above its head. Sunset watched as gravity took over, bringing it back down to the ground in front of Volcannon where it then slammed both fists onto the robot. Twilight cried out, the force of the impact pressing against her back.

“Due to the effect of Heavy Metal Raiders, Volcannon isn’t destroyed and his attack goes up!” said Twilight as her life points dropped to 6400. At the same time, repairs were being made to Valcannon and, when it was finished, his attack had gone up to 2100.

“Yeah, but too bad for him you can’t use that effect twice this turn,” said Sunset with a devious smile. “Scarlight, finish the job!” The dragon didn’t need to be told twice, opening its mouth to unleash a torrent of red and orange flames that shot towards Volcannon. The Genex monster raised an arm as if to shield itself, but against this much awesome power it was pointless. In mere seconds Volcannon exploded, body parts flying everywhere before vanishing and Twilight’s life points dropping to 5500. “With that, I end my turn.”

“Then I draw!” said Twilight with confidence. She then looked at the now four cards in her grip for a moment, but did nothing else. “I end my turn.”

“Really?” asked Sunset as she drew, now having two cards in her grip. “Guess that’s the luck of the draw. Burner, attack Twilight’s facedown card!”

“Tally-ho!” cried Burner again, leaping into the air before smashing down on the facedown Neutron and leaving Twilight completely defenseless.

“Scarlight, attack Twilight directly!” ordered Sunset, her dragon seeming to be one step ahead of her as it had already opened its mouth with flames leaking between the gapes in its razor sharp teeth. A half second later, a massive stream of fire was launched right where Twilight was creating a massive cloud of smoke which obscured the field. Sunset began to slow down, knowing a turn was nearby and she did not wish to crash. But she did not have to wait long as the smoke cleared and…Twilight’s life points were untouched?!? “What? How?”

“I activated the trap card I placed on the field when the duel began,” explained Twilight, gesturing to the faceup card hovering next to her. “Defense Draw! With this card I take no battle damage and I get to draw a card.”

“Grr, fine,” growled Sunset as she took a card from her grip and placed it on her duel tray. “I’ll set this card and end my turn.”

“Then I draw,” said Twilight, now having six cards in her grip. She looked at them carefully before taking a card and placing it on her tray. “I’ll start out by playing the spell card One for One. By discarding a monster in my hand, I can special summon one level one monster in my deck. So I’ll discard Genex Ally Solid in order to bring out Genex Recycled!” Another pixelated beam landed next to Twilight’s D-Runner, ‘flipping’ to reveal her most banged up monster so far. It was a small machine, looking as if it could barely go past a person’s knee, with a large square head. Recycled looked like he had gone through the ringer plenty of times, having parts of his body half heartedly wielded together. It even had exposed wires wrapped around its arms and coming out of its legs as it floated there, staring up towards the sky with a dead look in its unblinking eyes.

Well, at first anyways. A moment or two after it appeared on the field, Recycled looked around to see the machines on the edges of the track cheering for him silently. He then looked behind him, spotting the two fiery monsters ready to come down on him as soon as Twilight’s turn ended. Recycled then seemed to roll over in the air before heading over to Twilight and clinging to her arm as if to beg her not to let him fight them alone.

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight gently, causing her monster to look up at her. “Help will be on the way. But first, I’m activating your effect to change your name to one of the other monsters in the graveyard. And I choose Genex Ally Solid!” Recycled looked up at Twilight, looking like it wished it could blink at her, before the metal on its body slightly shifted. A thin fin of metal appeared on its head while its rust and grim colored body began to shift closer to a shade of blue. “Now I play the spell card: Machine Duplication! This lets me target a machine type monster on my side of the field with 500 attack points or less and bring out two more copies! And since I changed my monster's name to Genex Ally Solid…”

Twilight allowed her sentence to hang as two more pixel-like beams landed near her D-Runner, summoning two blue machines with 500 attack points. However, what was odd was that they were both on their back, hands behind their heads looking like they were taking a nap. But, as they rounded the corner, the two seemed to awake with a start as they seemed to panic slightly. Both of them were smooth, well rounded machines with large red eyes but no mouth. Razor fins came out of their shoulders, feet, and wrists. They spun around, pointing what Sunset had thought were hands at first but soon realized that they had small laser cannons there in their place. The two did this for a moment or two before realizing that Twilight was there, suddenly straightening out to give the duelist a salute.

“Now I activate the effect of the Chemistrer I drew thanks to the help of my trap card,” continued Twilight. “By discarding it, I can change the attribute of one of my Solids into water.” Like before, Chemistrer appeared on the track, shoving its device into one of the Solids as a blue tint surrounded it. “With that done, I can activate its effect: Solid lets me tribute one water Genex monster on the field to draw two cards.” The blue tinted Solid pounded its chest twice before vanishing, allowing Twilight to draw twice. However, when she looked at the cards, Sunset could see her friend's shoulders slumping. Meaning it was more than likely she didn’t get what she wanted.

“O-Ok,” continued Twilight. “Let’s try this again. I activate the spell card: Pot of Avarice. With this card I target five monsters and then shuffle them back into my deck. Then I draw two more cards. I choose Solid, the two Chemistrers, Volcannon, and Neutron!” The cards slid out from Twilight’s graveyard before placing them on the top of her deck. Once she was done, the auto shuffler engaged at a rapid place before shooting out two cards. Twilight drew them before turning her head to look at Sunset with a smile.

“Time to finish this duel,” she said, in a tone that made Sunset’s fists tighten around the handles of her D-Runner. “I now tune my level one Genex Recycled with my level two Genex Ally Solid!” Sunset raised an eyebrow as Twilight’s monsters broke down to create the tunnel of green light, wondering what her friend was up to. There wasn’t a level three Genex synchro monster…was there? “Time marches on and so shall you, always moving to the tune you create. Let your song be the one that echoes forever through the heavens! Synchro summon level 3! Martial Metal Marcher!” Sunset blinked in confusion as a brass-coated machine appeared next to Twilight, a monster with only 500 attack points. But despite its low attack, this faceless machine towered over her with musical instruments used in marching bands covering it. Just at a glance, Sunset thought she saw a tuba horn and a trombone. “When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I can special summon one tuner in my graveyard with its effect negated. Return: Genex Ally Remote! In defense mode!”

“Let me guess,” began Sunset as Remote returned to the field. “You’re going to tune these two monsters together to create Triarm, right?”

“No,” said Twilight, surprising Sunset even more. “Even if I wanted to, Triarm requires that the tuner monster I use is Genex Controller. Without Remote’s effect to change the name of my other monsters to that, I can’t summon it. And even if it did have its effect, both my monsters are tuners.”

“Then…what’s the point?” asked Sunset, now genuinely confused.

“This should help make things clear. I play the spell card: Monster Reborn!” As Twilight said this, Triforce returned to the field next to her. The white robot was flying there, but without its effects making Sunset wonder even more what Twilight was going for. “Now the stage is set. I control one synchro tuner monster as well as a synchro monster. I had wanted to finish this off with Axel, using a new combo I’ve been working on…but since you’ve been showing me your new cards, it only seems fair that I do the same in kind. The circuits connect through time, upgrading the savage might of the dragon! Past and future now meet in the present bringing forth a mighty power! Synchro summon Level 10! Shooting Star Dragon T.G. Expansion!” As Twilight finished her chant, both she and her monster sped forwards at blinding speeds that would make Rainbow blush! All while the tunnel formed around Twilight! She was in the tunnel of energy, moving faster and faster until she was RIGHT BEHIND HER! Sunset turned around just in time to see a figure flying out as the passage of power began to dissipate, flying high into the sky. The shape of this monster looked like that of the famous Shooting Star Dragon, all the way from its three point harpoon shaped head to its fighter jet like wings, and its long tail. But despite this, Sunset could tell this was a different white dragon than the one she had heard about. She could see that parts of its body had been replaced with metal plating, like on the chest, along the underside of its neck, and on the legs, with wires connecting underneath its armpits. What also made this monster different was the fact that it was that it held in its claw a rectangular cannon. It’s attack was 3300!

“Shooting Star Dragon has more than enough attack points to end this duel here and now,” said Twilight as she thrusted her hand forward. “Attack Burner and end this!” Twilight’s techno dragon wasted little time, pointing its weapon at Burner as electricity began to dance upon it. At that moment, Sunset realized what it was: a railgun. The weapon then fired, sending a hailstorm of high-speed, high-tech bullets right at Burner. Only…

“I activate my trap card: Molten Whirlwind Wall!” declared Sunset as her facedown flipped faceup. At that moment, flames surrounded Burner who raised its massive arms up in time to block the attack. The flames burned at such a high temperature that the bullets seemed to be melting in the air before they could touch him. “This trap card raises the attack of all my Laval monsters on the field by 100 for each Laval monster in the graveyard. I count eleven.” Sure enough, Laval Burner’s attack rose, making her monster a whooping 3200. However it was not enough as one bullet made its way through the flames, piercing through both arms before entering its chest and exiting through the other side. The mere force of the impact next to Sunset’s D-Runner was so powerful that it almost knocked her over, just barely managing to stay up as she swerved about for several seconds.

“G-Good show,” uttered Burner as he looked at his summoner before exploding, Sunset’s life points dropping to 700.

“That was a good move Sunset,” said Twilight. “That trap card saved you from taking 1200 points of damage. But, you know you only bought yourself another turn. My next attack will end this. I end my turn.”

Sunset said nothing as she continued to ride, still panting slightly from the last attack while adrenaline pumped through her system. She gripped the handle of her D-Runner tightly as Twilight’s words sunk in. Yes, if Twilight got another turn, it would be all over. Heck, it could have been over this turn if Twilight had been able to summon her Dark Jet Fighter! All she would have had to do was tribute her Shooting Star Dragon and she would have been able to inflict massive damage to her directly. And now, Sunset was at the mercy of Twilight’s next draw. If she drew Duradark, then she could use its effect to destroy her Scarlight and then unleash a direct attack. If she drew Changer, then Twilight could make Dark Jet Fighter. Heck, at this point, drawing any monster might mean instant victory for Twilight.

As they turned once more, Sunset took a deep breath to calm herself while reaching for her deck. She needed to remind herself that worrying about the what-ifs would not help her right now. She needed to make her own play, to do her best and never back down. To give this duel her all!

“I draw!” said Sunset as she drew, creating an arc of flames as she did. The fiery-haired teen could feel the warmth again, the fire radiating from the card going through her veins and into every corner of her being. She could feel it rising within her, the power similar to when she was a unicorn and using magic. Yet so different. There were others around her, present yet unseen. They were with her, backing her up just like how Twilight’s monsters backed her up! Sunset’s heart began to pound with excitement as she placed the card on the tray, knowing what it was without looking at it. “I play Rekindling!”

Fire began to surround Sunset’s D-Runner, the earth beneath her wheels cracking and melting. “With this, I can summon back all my fire monsters with 200 or less defense points! So come back to me Red Resonator, Laval Handmaiden, Lavalval Salamander, and a second Handmaiden!” Rising from the flames came Sunset’s monsters, starting with her molten dragon followed by two girls in blue hoop skirts, and finally her Resonator who clanged onto his tuning fork as soon as he appeared. The sound waves could be seen, surrounding Sunset who grinned brightly. “When Red Resonator is special summoned, his effect kicks in, increasing my life points equal to the attack of one monster on the field.”

“You’re…You’re going to summon Red Nova?” asked Twilight, fear now creeping into her voice as Sunset’s life points went up to 3700.

“No,” said Sunset, the flames surrounding her moving towards her as she spoke and quickly covering her entire body. Above her head, her three tuners began to turn into four fiery rings, Scarlight flying into it before being washed in flames. “I have something better in mind. The fires of passion burn brightly within both our souls. Unleash it all with the same force as an exploding star! Triple tuning synchro summon! Level 12! RED SUPERNOVA DRAGON!” The fire above Sunset’s head exploded, creating a shockwave that was felt all the way in the stands as a new monster appeared on the field. A large, four winged red and black dragon with 4000 attack points flew over Sunset’s D-Runner, the air around it seeming to catch on fire. Every part of this dragon seemed to be curved in almost a blade-like fashion, from its horns to its wings and even its thighs. Fire flowed around its claws, going up its thin arms. And on its chest was a four pointed star like gem the color of lilac.

“Red Nova had gotten an upgrade,” said Sunset proudly as she speed down the track. “First of all, my new dragon gets 500 extra attack points for every tuner in my graveyard! Right now, I have a total of six. That means my monsters attack shoots up to 7000!” She then held up the last card in her hand. “Now I play my other spell card: Resonator Call. This card lets me add another Red Resonator to my hand, allowing me to normal summon him!” Again, Sunset’s fiery fiend appeared on the field grinning like mad. “Now I’ll tune my level two Red Resonator with my level seven Salamander bring out my last new monster!” The Resonator broke down into two fiery rings, however they did not move besides Sunset or above her. No, these rings grew larger and larger as they moved to the center of the track with Salamander moving right into the middle. “Lord of the Laval tribe, be reborn in molten glory. Become one with the land, forever empowered by its might as you strike with the power of the planet itself! Synchro Summon Level 9! Lavalval Exlord!” As Sunset finished her chant, the tunnel of energy did not shot into the sky but the earth below. Rumbling quickly began to shake the track as a mountain began to rise up, towering over everyone. As the two girls rounded the corner once again, the top exploded unleashing lava into the air where it quickly began to reform. Connected to the volcano was the upper body of a man, wearing a silver belt around his waist whose design looked like flames or molten rock going downward as well as equally silver spiked shoulder pads. Running up Exlord’s chest was a row of the stone disks, each one containing the symbol of the Laval tribe and on his back was a cloak made out of fire that billowed behind him. Exlord’s attack was 2900.

“Now both my monsters’ attacks go up,” continued Sunset. “Since another tuner was sent to the graveyard, Supernova gets an extra 500. Meanwhile, thanks to my trap card, Exlord gets 1200!” Everyone watched as Red Supernova’s attack became 7500 while Exlord roared, flames surrounding him as his attack became 4100!

“Sorry Twilight, but you’re not getting another turn,” said Sunset. “Because I’m ending it here! Red Supernova Dragon, attack Shooting Star Dragon T.G!” Flames began to surround Sunset’s dragon as it circled around to build up speed, moving high into the sky in order to dive bomb Twilight’s monster.

“I activate my Shooting Star Dragon’s effect: once per turn, I can negate your monster's attack!” declared Twilight as a grid of green pentagram shields appeared in front of Shooting Star Dragon. At the sight of it, Red Supernova stopped high above their heads as it looked down at the offending white dragon.

“Should have known you’d have a trick like that up your sleeve,” said Sunset who, though annoyed that she couldn’t finish the duel, was still grinning. “Too bad for you, Supernova has a super powerful effect! As soon as you activate your effect, my dragon’s kicks in to banish not only himself, but all cards you have on your side of the field!”

“What? NO!” shouted Twilight as flames seemed to fully consume Supernova Dragon while at the same time curling itself up into a ball. Then, before Twilight could do anything, the flames began to focus themselves around the dragon’s waist while turning a bright white. Once the heat grew too much for it, the dragon unleashed the fire ring as its arms, legs, tail, and wings shot out. Supernova vanished from the field as the flames he had unleashed hit the ground starting from behind Twilight, leaving Sunset’s field untouched. The wall of white quickly moved forwards, consuming everything in its path leaving nothing behind. All the monsters created by the field spell: gone. Her Shooting Star Dragon: gone. Her lone defense monster: gone. When it was over, Twilight was defenseless.

“Now Exlord, attack Twilight directly!” commanded Sunset. Exlord raised both his hands up in the direction of Twilight’s D-Runner, sending waves of heat radiation towards her that were so powerful they distorted the air. Twilight yelped from the heated, her D-Runner swaying and smoke coming out of the ports. But thankfully it didn’t last long, ending when Twilight’s life points hit 1400.

“With that I end my turn,” said Sunset, now neck and neck with Twilight in terms of life points.

“Then I draw,” said Twilight as she drew, now holding six cards in her grip. “I’ll set a monster facedown and set two more. That’s all I can do.” With that, three facedown cards appeared on Twilight’s side of the field.

Is she bluffing? Sunset wondered as she continued to ride in front of Twilight, glancing behind her shoulder to look at her opponent. Twilight's head was downcast, making her expression difficult to read. Her body looked tense, but was it because she had nothing to help her now or was she hoping Sunset would take the bait? Well, better not disappoint her, thought Sunset with a grin. If it was a trap like Mirror Force, Exlord’s effect would kick in allowing her to special summon three monsters from her graveyard to finish this match off. And if it was something else, well, she wouldn’t be left unguarded.

Sunset’s eyes hardened as she made up her mind. “I draw!” she cried out, drawing her card. “I summon my favorite monster: Prominence, Molten Swordsman in attack mode!” And there he appeared, sword in hand as he burst from the ground with a spin. “Since he doesn’t have Laval in his name, he isn’t affected by my trap card. But Exlord, he’s still fired up! Exlord, attack her-”

“Before you do, I activate my trap card: Linear Equation Cannon!” interrupted Twilight, pressing a button on her tray. Exlord, who had begun to raise his arms, paused in confusion as a large red cannon appeared at the front of Twilight’s D-Runner. The cannon sprang to life almost instantly, a tuning fork coming out of the barrel with coils wrapped around its base. “In order to use this card, I have to solve a math problem!”

Sunset blinked in confusion before a small smile appeared on her face. “What, trying to turn dueling into math class now?” she asked playfully, hearing Rainbow over the roar of the motor yelling ‘NOOOO!’.

“It’s not that hard,” said Twilight. “First I choose a number between one and six, then I multiply that number by the level of an effect monster you control. Then I add to it the number of cards you have on your field. I choose three as my number and I’ll multiply it by the level of Prominence!” As Twilight said that, a keyboard appeared next to her. Taking one hand off her D-Runner, she typed a few things in as the cannon began to bob up and down. “Three times four is twelve. Add that to the number of cards you have on your side of the field and I get fifteen.”

“…Ok,” said Sunset slowly. “And where is this all going?”

“The point is to see if I can use this equation to match the number of cards in my graveyard,” replied Twilight as both girls heard a ‘ding, ding, ding,’ noise similar to what could be heard on a game show. “Looks like my math checks out. Since I got it right, I can use my cards first effect to send the declared number of cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard. Since I declared three, that's how many are sent.” Sunset still rode there, looking over her shoulder in confusion at what Twilight was doing. It honestly didn’t make any sense why she needed to do something like this. But then, after all three cards were in the graveyard, her cannon began to glow. “And with that done, three cards on your side of the field are sent back into your deck!”

“What?!?” shouted Sunset as the cannon fired three beams, each hitting her cards. Sunset watched as her two monsters slowly began to be tinted red before they were turned into cards on the field, floating into her deck where they were then shuffled back in. The same went for her trap card leaving her with nothing. Briefly, Sunset gritted her teeth before taking a breath. “I guess I have to end my turn then.” After all, she had no more cards in her hand or on the field. Nothing she could do…but wait.

“Good, then I-” began Twilight, but stopped as fire began to form above Sunset’s head. Larger and larger it grew, taking on a very familiar form. The form of Red Supernova Dragon!

“You didn’t really think that I could give up my best monster just because you stopped one attack, did you?” asked Sunset. “When Supernova uses his effect, he returns to the field during my next end phase!”

“Well he won’t be here for long!” said Twilight as she drew, four cards in her grip. “I flip over my set monster: Genex Ally Crusher!” Appearing in front of Twilight’s D-Runner was another humanoid looking machine that looked more run down than Recycled. Crusher was a bulky machine with dirty yellow heavy duty plating that only partially concealed a system of gears inside of it. But what made this monster unique compared to Twilight’s other monsters, besides its impressive 2000 defense points, were its eyes. Instead of a visor of some kind, it had two eyes with one of them red while the other was replaced with an old style scope. “Next I summon Genex Ally Duradark!” Computer code beamed down in front of Twilight, ‘flipping’ over to reveal her 1800 attack point, Megaman like monster.

“Now I activate Crusher’s effect, since a dark type monster was summoned to my side of the field I can destroy one monster you control,” said Twilight firmly. “Unless you banish everything on the field you will-”

“Sorry Twilight, but Supernova cannot be destroyed by card effects,” interrupted Sunset.

“What?!” yelled Twilight, looking over at her monsters and then back at her hand. Finally, she had to lower her head. “I end my turn.” When she had finished speaking, Duradark floated over to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder. Twilight looked up to see that Duradark was giving her a nod as well as a thumbs up. It was as if to say ‘It’s alright. You did good.’

“Supernova, end this,” said Sunset as she drew. And with that, Supernova became covered in flames once more as it flew up into the sky before diving down. As it neared Twilight, it lifted up at the last moment, smashing Duradark with its tail to destroy him while bringing the purple teen’s life points to 0.

-x-

“That was incredible!” screamed the head of the dueling committee as she bounced up and down, her face bright. Any semblance of self-control having been tossed by the wayside as she babbled with joy and excitement. The others she had brought with her, while not jumping, looked excited as well, for they had all stood up to watch the final showdown between these two duelists. Arms were raised, making fists that pumped into the air while they cheered like excited fans as the holograms began to fade. And that excitement didn’t fade as they watched Twilight’s D-Runner release steam and smoke as it began to power down, allowing Sunset to zoom forward as the purple girl moved off the track.

“I can believe the upgrades with the holograms,” said another, gesturing to where Supernova had been just a moment ago. “They look so real. So much so that I thought I heard some of them talking.”

“Must have been the adrenaline,” laughed another, slapping his co-worker on the back. “My heart is racing like mad!”

“President Shimmer, I think the vote is unanimous,” said the committee head as she looked down at her followers. They looked back at her, still grinning from ear to ear as they all nodded in agreement. The head of the committee then turned to the teenage CEO and took her by both hands. “Within the next couple days, we’ll hammer out the rules for these Turbo Duels before making the announcement to the public! Once that happens, I’m positive you’ll be swarming with orders for more of these D-Runners!”

“I look forward to it,” said Shimmer, doing her best to stay professional while her insides were a mix of emotions. On one hand, she felt like doing back flips up and down the stadium! Everything had gone smoothly, no, better than she could have ever hoped for. Sunset and Twilight had put on a show that fully demonstrated just how incredible duels could be! Her company was finally moving forward with her in the lead and soon the investors would be off her back! On the other hand, she was a bit worried by what they had said about the holograms talking. Much like how Sunset’s monsters had talked during their duel, magic was at play here. Had they suspected that Kaiba Corp had upgraded their holographic technology, Sunset would have been in a real bind as she would have to deliver that same quality to them when the D-Runners hit the market or else they would have thought she was cheating them! Thankfully, the situation had solved itself…for now.

Her internal joy increased as she saw the rest of her board, looking back at her. They all seemed pleased with this development, no doubt already counting the money they would soon be racking in. Well, all except for Garble. The man had his hand gripped to the seat in front of him, staring down at the D-Runners with a look of…shock? Horror? It was a look that Shimmer took note of, her happiness diminishing greatly as a spot of darkness fell on her face.

“They work,” she heard him whisper. Like he couldn’t believe it.

And that didn’t sit well with Shimmer at all.

-x-

“Yesterday, I promised you all that I would have proof there was a saboteur among us,” said Shimmer as she led her group to the hanger where the D-Runners had been stored. All of the members of her board traveled behind her in a group, the members of the dueling committee heading out. Ahead of them were Sunset and Twilight, both bringing the D-Runners into the hangar. “I believe that now is the time to share it with you.”

“Madam President, there’s no need to lie,” said Garble as they all began to walk through the opened door. His voice was devoid of its normal sneering tone, now more than a little irritated. He had wanted to leave as soon as the duel had finished, but told he had to follow along with the group on this. “If you had any proof then you would have WHAT THE HELL?!?”

Garble’s words echoed through the hanger, hand raised and fingers pointing to what was in the middle. Standing there was a bulky man with blue skin and red eyes who seemed to exude strength and power from every fiber of his being while towering over all those assembled. This man was none other than the head of security for Kaiba Corp: Torch. But, it wasn’t the man who Garble was pointing at, but the two extra D-Runners that looked identical to the ones that Sunset and Twilight had driven. And behind them were a group of scientists.

“There are more?” asked Gostir, shocked as well. Though nowhere near as much as Garble. “But I thought that we had only two.”

“There are only two,” said Shimmer as she strode over to the D-Runners in the middle of the room. “These are the ones you all saw last night. However, they were not the real D-Runners. These are fakes, nothing more than fancy polished shells that my scientists were able to whip up quickly from some spare parts. No motor, no programming, nothing. They just had to look like the real thing. As for the D-Runners you all saw on the track, those are the real ones which I had safely stored away at a trusted friend's house until this morning.”

“But…why?” asked Garble.

“I think that should be obvious at this point,” replied Shimmer, still stroking the fake D-Runner’s while Torch stepped forward.

“I personally oversaw their transport here as well as confirming that no programming had been installed,” he stated in a rough tone, one that stated ‘Interrupt me and it will be the last thing you do’. “When we arrived this morning, I was also present as the scientists examined the D-Runners. It was easy to discover that a program had been installed into both of them. One that, after some study, would have become active once the duelist lost. Had President Shimmer not switched the D-Runners, one of those girls would have been in a serious accident. Might have even been killed.” The words sunk into the assembled group, all of them growing pale.

“The lawsuits, the public fallout, the…the everything,” murmured Cinders who looked like she would fall on her face at any moment. “If that had happened in front of the dueling committee we might have been ruined!”

“Please tell me that you know who did this!” demanded another.

Torch shook his head. “In order for this ruse to be effective we needed to ensure that it was an easy mark,” he stated. “Had I ordered my crew to place hidden surveillance, there would have been a paper trail or even chatter among the employees. The same if I had hired outside contractors, a paper trail would have existed. And, to be honest, we don’t even know if we can trust them and purging the entire department isn’t an option. We are sadly looking for a needle in a haystack.” He then let out a sigh. “The good news is that he or she wasn’t able to reach the intended target. And now we know that about this person, we can begin looking for him. Or her.”

“We will begin upgrading all of our security protocols,” said Shimmer, taking charge of the conversation. Talking about all the new security protocols that would be in effect. From creating offsite labs to new security badges, guards at every door if need be, as well as a host of other things that would be going on. All the while, she kept an eye on her board to see their reactions. None of them objected, either vocally or silently. It seemed they grasped the gravity of the situation. Good.

As she spoke, her eyes also fell on Sunset and Twilight. Both were in the back, talking to each other as they waited for her to finish. To hear if she would hold up her end of the deal. And she would…and then some. How could she not after that duel went above and beyond all she had hoped for? Perhaps they would like to keep the prototypes for themselves.