Chapter 1: Enter Solar Force

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Planet Earth. From the beginning, the Earth has continued its Rotation throughout all of Mankind's History. And in time a game was created that was inspired by that Rotation. The game which came to be know as Beyblade. Throughout history, champions have risen and fallen, and the noble Bey has changed its shape and form, becoming faster and stronger. Now a bold new chapter of Beyblade history is about to be written.

In Canterlot City, there is a small Beyblade tournament taking place at the local Bey Stadium.
Cutting into the battle, the MC is giving the play by play. “If you are just joining us we have reached the final showdown between Canterlot City’s own Fluttershy, against the unstoppable Sledgehammer.”

“I'm gonna crush you, little girl!” Sledgehammer shouted.

“Not today you won’t!” Fluttershy shouted back.

In the centre of the stadium, the two opposing Beys crashed into each other, then ricocheted around the stadium. Sledgehammers Bey moved in for another attack. “I got you now, girly!” Sledgehammer shouted

Then Fluttershy shouted back, “That’s what you think!”

Fluttershy’s Bey stopped in the very centre of the stadium, as Sledgehammers Bey moved in for the attack. The enemy Bey struck hard, But Fluttershy’ Bey stood its ground.

At this point of the battle, Sledgehammer’s Bey began to wobble, then fall onto its side, grinding to a stop, indicating that Fluttershy had won the match.

The MC then made the announcement. “It’s all over, and the winner is Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy then took her winning’s, her total point count was now 1267 points. Fluttershy then cheered with glee and waved to the crowd, giggling the whole time. After the tournament, Fluttershy was walking out of the stadium with the three crusaders.

“That was so awesome, the way you controlled that battle!” Scootaloo said with excitement.

“Yeah, you were on fire out there.”Applebloom chimed in.

“Why don’t you try other types of Beys, my defence type might be more your style considering the way you have been battling lately?”Sweetie belle then asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy replied, “Well Sweetie Belle, the thing is…” Then she was interrupted by Scootaloo.

“No way my attack type is better than…”
Apple Bloom then jumped in. “No my stamina type is the best there is!”

Then the trio glared at each other as they pulled out their launchers, pointed them at each other and before they knew it, they were in the middle of a full on battle.

Fluttershy sighed. “Honestly, they are fighting over something like this?” Then she pulled out her own launcher and launched her Bey at the girls and with one hit she ended the battle. The girls then looked at Fluttershy and she spoke in a gentle but stern voice. “Listen girls, I use a Balance Type Bey, it takes the best of all three types.”

Then Fluttershy looked at the time on her phone. “It's getting late, you three better start making your way home now.” The crusaders then started to make there way home, saying goodbye to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy then made her way own way home, thinking about today’s victory and daydreaming about her next big win. She became so lost in thought, she wasn’t looking where she was going. It was then that she bumped into someone. She finally looked up and noticed she had wandered into a narrow alleyway with high walls and a railroad bridge on one side. And then she noticed who she had bumped into, it was Starlight Glimmer. “Oh no.” She said as she shook in fear.

Starlight looked down at her with an angry glare. “Your not going to say sorry for crashing into me?” “Think your better then me?” “After winning one tournament, you think your hot stuff don't you?”

“Oh, no, I don’t think I’m better than you.” Fluttershy pleaded.

“So your calling me stupid is that it!?” Starlight yelled and then some boys appeared out of the shadows.

“You got some guts to stand up to Starlight like that.” Said one of the thugs.

“Oh, look,” said another thug, “This girl scratched up one of your shoes, Starlight.”

“Oh yes, your right, and these were my favorite pair too.” Said Starlet with a devious grin. “Maybe if you give me all your Bey points, I might forgive you for your ignorance.”

Fluttershy turned and attempted to run, but she was cornered by two more thugs, who forced her to back up towards Starlight. Fluttershy knew she had no choice, she would have to battle Starlight. The two readied their Beys, but Fluttershy’s nerves were getting the better of her, her hands were shaking, and she couldn't grip her Launcher properly.

The thugs began to count down. “3..2..1..Let It Rip!!

Fluttershy and Starlight launched their Beys, but for Fluttershy, It was the weakest and clumsiest launch she had ever done. Starlight gave Fluttershy a cruel smirk. “Is that really all you’ve got?” She said mockingly. “Could you possibly be anymore perfectic, all your points are as good as mine!” “And while I’m at it, I think i’ll go ahead and scrap that worthless Bey of yours!”

Starlight’s Bey closed in on Fluttershy’s helpless Sagittario.

Just as it seemed all hope was lost for Fluttershy, a mysterious Bey came out of nowhere, and struck Starlights Bey, stopping it in its tracks. Everyone’s eyes were instantly fixed on the mysterious Bey. The Bey then sped away, back down the path, returning to its Blader.

At the entrance to the alley, stood a teenage boy. His hood was up so no one could see his face. Needless to say, Starlight was not at all pleased to have her hunt be interrupted.

“Well, this is certainly an unpleasant surprise.” She sneered. “I don’t know how things work back in your town, but in my town you play by my rules.” She said, pointing her finger at the boy. “You got that punk?”

The boy didn’t reply.

Starlight scowled angrily at being ignored. “Hey, I’m talking to you punk!” She Yelled.

Still no reply.

“Are you death, or are you just plain stupid?” Starlight shouted.

“If your trying to help me please don’t!” Shouted Fluttershy. “You don’t want to antagonise her!”

Then Starlight snapped her fingers, and all the thugs pulled out their launchers and pointed them at the boy. “Last chance, punk!” She said.

Then the boy reached up, and pulled down his hood.

Everyone looked at the boy in shock. “He’s listening to music?!” They all shouted in unison.

Over the boys ears, was a thick set of green headphones, with what looked like a large orange bird on the side of each speaker.

Starlight had not expected this, “So this whole time you had your headphones on, listening to your music and you didn’t hear a word i said did you?” She said accusingly.

The boy then reached into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out what looked like a small notebook and a pen. He opened the notebook and started writing in it.

“Now what’s he doing?” asked one of the thugs.

The boy then stopped writing, ripped the page from the book, folded it into a paper airplane and threw it toward Starlight.

Starlight grab the page out of the air and unfolded it. The page read, ‘I know everything you said, and I’m not a punk, punk!’

Starlight growled with fury, and tore the note to pieces. “You can lipread!?” She yelled.

The boy gave Starlight a thumbs up, indicating ‘Yes.’

By now, Starlight’s temper had reached boiling point. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. “I’m calm, I’m calm.” She kept repeating to herself.

“Alright tough guy,” Starlight said to the boy once she had cool downed a little, “How about we have a battle?”

The boy gave another thumbs up.

One of the thug’s then said, “Just to let you know this is a handicap battle, five on one.”

And the thugs all drew there launcher’s, ready to battle.

Starlight chuckled, “your not scared are you?” She said.

The boy smiled and pulled out his launcher.

Starlight and her thugs began to count down, “3..2..1!” “Let It Rip!!”

6 Beys shot toward each other.

“All right boys, form the Circle of Doom!” Commanded Starlight.

Oh, yeah, I love that one! Said one of the thugs.

“This is gonna be too sweet.” said another thug.

The five enemy Beys surrounded the orange Bey in a perfect circle and began to close in.

Just as Starlight and her minions were about to close in for the finishing blow, the orange bey suddenly disappeared.

“Huh!?” said the thugs.

“Where did it go!?” Shouted Starlight.

“How could it just disappear like that?” asked Fluttershy.

In an instant, the orange Bey reappeared, colliding with with one of the enemy Bey’s and sending it flying back towards it’s launcher, who was unable to react fast enough to catch it, sending it flying over his shoulder and onto the ground behind him.

“N-no way!” He Stuttered.

But the assault didn’t end there. The orange Bey started to zig zag, moving so fast it was almost a blur. In no time at all, three more Bey’s went flying. Now the only Bey left spinning was Starlight’s.

Starlight was now seething with rage. “YOU THINK YOU'RE REALLY A MATCH FOR ME!?” She screamed.

The orange Bey then started attacking Starlight’s Bey, but what caught both Starlight and Fluttershy’s attention was the way the Boy’s Bey was now moving, and how fast it was moving.
As it moved, it seemed to be engraving something into the ground. After several intense blows, the boys Bey returned to him, and halted, still spinning, at his side.

A moment later, Starlight’s Bey came to halt and toppled over.

“No way!” said an utterly shocked Starlight.

“Starlight lost?!” Shouted the Thugs.

“What kind of attack was that?!” Whispered Starlight. “He made a five pointed star, around my Bey!”

The Boy then showed them his Point Metre, and it read 30,157 points.

This terrified both Starlight and the thugs. “OVER THIRTY THOUSAND POINTS?!” They screamed.

“Let’s get out of here!” Shouted Starlight, “This guy’s a beast!”

They all turned and ran, leaving Fluttershy and the Boy alone in the alley.

The Boy picked up his Bey and was about to leave when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning back, he saw Fluttershy looking at him with a timid but grateful smile. “Thank you so much for saving me.” She said.

The Boy still didn’t speak, but he gave her a smile and then turned leave again. But as soon as he started to walk away, Fluttershy leapt in front of him. “Wait!” She cried.

The Boy stared at her, confused. He reached for the pen and notebook in his pocket, but once he took them out, he suddenly dropped them on to the ground, and a strange look crossed over his face. He quickly pulled off his headphones, just in time to see a small light on the Right-Side speaker fade and die. “NOOO!” He suddenly screamed as he collapsed to his knees and started to bawl.

Fluttershy was shocked. She quickly knelt down next to him and started to pat him gently on the back as he continued to wail. “Oh, no, what’s the matter?” She asked.

“My last Battery just died!” The boy shouted as he carried on whimpering.

Fluttershy was now confused and a little weirded out. “He’s this upset because the battery in his headphones died?” She thought. “Doesn’t really seem like something to get so worked up about.”

“Um, there’s an electronics store near here where we can get some batteries.” Fluttershy said a bit awkwardly.

Her only response was some depressed mumbling as the boy kept his face planted on the ground.

“Ok, I’ll take that as a yes, let’s go.” She said

With great struggle, Fluttershy managed to drag the whimpering boy to the electronics store. Once they got there, she leaned against the wall, huffing and puffing as she tried to regain breath. “Finally… here.” She said between breaths.

She turned her head to look at the boy, only to realise he was already gone. She looked around to see where he’d gone, only to see him already inside the store. She quickly made her way inside and up to the boy who was standing at the counter talking to the Cashier.

“Do you have any V9 Batteries?” He asked politely. He seemed to already be over his depression.

Fluttershy stared at him. “Was that just a phase he was going through?” She thought, confused.

The boy walked out of the store with a bag of V9 Batteries, Fluttershy tailing behind him, still looking confused.

The boy then removed the old battery from his headphones, and put in a brand new one. Once that was done, the power light came back to life, and the boy grinned happily.

He was about to place the headphones back on his head, when he was once again interrupted by Fluttershy.

“N-n-no, wait, wait!” She exclaimed, jumping in front of him once more.

“Look,” said the boy, “Thanks for showing me this place, your welcome for me saving you, but it’s time I got going, goodbye.”

He was about to place his headphones back on his head and walk away again, but froze when he heard what Fluttershy said next.

“Wait, Senpai!”

“Huh?!,” “Wh-what did you call me?!,” “Senpai?!” The boy exclaimed in shock. “Look, I’m really not into that sort of thing!”

In a panic, the boy tried to get away, only to be halted when Fluttershy lunged at him and wrapped both her arms around his waist. “Please teach me to strong Blader like you, Senpai!” She said in a desperate voice.

“Are you crazy?!” The boy yelled, trying to shake her off, “Let me go?!”

“I just want to be a strong Blader like you, Senpai!” Fluttershy cried.

“I can’t be your teacher!” The boy yelled at her. Then he remember something from earlier “Wait a second.” He thought. “Hey, can you take arms off me please, I want ask you something?” He said out loud.

Fluttershy looked up at him, then released him from her hold and took a step back. “Yes, Senpai?” She asked, giving him the most innocent look you could imagine.

The Boy grimaced slightly. “Ok, first of all, no more ‘Senpai’, please, and second, what was that business in the alley all about anyway?” He asked her.

“Oh, well, I was being attacked by the Face Hunters.” Replied Fluttershy.

“Face Hunters?” Asked the Boy. “Never heard of them.” “Who are they?”

“Well, to put it simply, the Face Hunters go after Bladers with high amounts points so they can steal them.” Fluttershy explained.

“I see,” said the boy. “So they use their Beyblades to bully other Bladers.”

“Um, yeah, you could say that.” Said Fluttershy.

By this time, it was getting late, and the Sun had already set. Fluttershy then followed the Boy as he made his way along the streets and into a nearby park. As they strolled along the quiet path, the Boy was in deep thought, after what Fluttershy had told him about the Face Hunters. “Maybe these Face Hunters have something to do with-” The silence and his thoughts were then interrupted by Fluttershy.

“Um, Senpai?” She said.

“I thought I asked you not to call me that?” The Boy said, looking back at her.

“So, anyways,” Fluttershy continued as if he’d not spoken, “About that favor I asked of you?”

The Boy then sighed heavily and sat down on a Bench at the side of the path. “Look, I can’t teach you to be a strong Blader, that’s something you're going to have to learn on your own.” He said seriously. “For example, a great Rock Climber doesn't get taught to be a great Rock Climber, he becomes a great Rock Climber, and the same law applies to Blading.” “It’s just the law of the universe.”

Fluttershy sat down on the bench next to him. “So, there’s really nothing you can teach me?” She asked, a bit disappointed.

“Well, whenever you battle, every hit your Bey takes, also hits you here.” The Boy said, placing his hand on his chest.

“In your chest?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, in your Heart.” Said the Boy

“Oh.” Fluttershy said, feeling a little confused. Then she remembered something. “Oh, right, I forget, we never introduced ourselves.” “My names Fluttershy, what’s your name?”

But when she looked over at him, She saw that his head had slumped back, and he’d already fallen asleep. She couldn’t help but giggle softly at the sight. “It has been a long day.” She thought with a smile.

She then decided it was time to make her way home. “I’m sure he’ll be fine own his own, he’s probably slept outside like this a thousand times.” So she got up and walked away from the park, leaving the Boy to his slumber beneath the stars.

In a Warehouse by the Docks, loud voices could be heard.

The loudest voice belonged to a very angry girl with flaming red and yellow hair.

“I can’t believe it!” She fumed. “I just can’t believe what I’m hearing!”

She started to advance on a trembling Starlight Glimmer.

“Your actually telling me that you had that little wimp cornered, and you were you sent packing by some headphone wearing twerp, who was listening to music the entire time?!”

“B-but Sunset,” whimpered Starlight, “You don’t understand, this guy was really strong!”

“SHUT UP!” The girl known as Sunset roared. “I don’t want your pathetic excuses, I want you to find this headphone wearing twerp and bring him to the construction site.” She ordered. “We are going to give him a proper welcome, Face Hunter style!”

The next day, back at the park, the Boy was still sleeping on the bench, when shadows loomed over him. He suddenly woke up, seeing the same group of Face Hunters that he had faced the previous day. Only this time they were grinning with sinister glee.

Starlight stepped forward. “Had a nice nap?” She asked. “I hope so, because we are having a little get together today, and your invited.”

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was making her way back to the park, to see if the Boy was still there. “Even if he won’t teach me, I can still ask him his name, and if we can be friends.” She said to herself.

As she entered the park and walked up to the same bench, she saw that the Boy was already gone. Fluttershy frowned. “Don’t tell me he already left town.” She said disappointedly.

Fluttershy then went to look for the Boy around the town. “He can’t have gone far.” she said. She searched at all the places a young Blader might go, the local Bey Park, the Stadium, even some of the local cafes, but no luck. She was walking past a construction site, on the verge of giving up. “Where are you?” She thought to herself.

It was then she saw some boys going into a construction site, she recognized them from them the Face Hunters. She could just about hear what they were saying.

“Aw man, it’s gonna be a massacre, let’s see if that Headphone wearing freak has a tune loud enough to block out what we’re gonna do to him.”

“Come on guys, It’s about to get started.”

After hearing this, Fluttershy swallowed her fear, and followed them into the construction site, not daring to make a sound. Amidst all the building materials and girders, stood a large group of Face Hunters. Fluttershy had never seen so many of them in one place. “The whole gang must be hear.” She thought, trying to not let her fear get the better of her.

But what really got her attention was who was standing in the middle of some kind of pit. “It’s Him!” She thought with wide eyes.

Standing on one of the girders above the boy was Starlight Glimmer. “Okay punk, you got two options, you can either surrender all your Bey points and we might let you go, or you can join us, we could always use a bit of extra muscle for footstooling.” She, along with the rest of the Face Hunters, then laughed mockingly.

However, the boy didn’t seem phased. “There’s always a third option.” He said back.

Starlight glared down at him. “What do you mean third option, there’s only two available to you.”

The boy stared back at her. “You can all just walk away right now, with your prides still intact, or did you forget how badly i beat you last time?” He asked confidently.

Starlight ground her teeth in anger. “That’s it!” She screamed. “No more Miss nice girl!” She pulled out her Bey and Launcher, and the other Face Hunters all did the same. “No more Messing around, Let’s just get him!” “All out attack!”

As one, the Face Hunters launched their Bey’s straight at the boy. The next instant, Beys were flying everywhere. Fluttershy was beside herself with worry. “With all those Beys flying around, how’s he going to get out of this.” Suddenly a Bey flew over her, inches form the top of her head. “Eek!” Fluttershy shrieked and ducked for cover.

As the Beys continued to fly and crash in all directions, Starlight smirked. “What’s wrong punk, too much for you?” She said mockingly. “Where’s that overconfidence of yours now?”

As the assault went on, Fluttershy stared at the Boy as he stood there, not moving a muscle. “Ohno, he must to scared to move.” She said. “Maybe If i launch my Bey, I can try and help him.”

With shaking hands, she reached for her own launcher and Bey, but could not keep her hands steady enough to launch properly. “Come on Fluttershy, be brave, he needs help, you can do this!” She tried telling herself.

“Put down your launcher Fluttershy”, Said the boy suddenly, “I got this.”

Fluttershy stared at him. “He knows my name?” She said “I thought he never heard it.”

The boy then readied his own Bey, and launched it with a bright orange flash. The Bey then shot up into the air, leaving a trail of fire behind it. “Fly, Phoenix!,” The Boy yelled. “Solar Flare attack!”

In a flash, the flaming Bey shot downwards, colliding with every Bey in its path before hitting the ground, the impact releasing a shockwave which sent all the other Beys flying high into the air. Then they started falling from the sky like rain.

The Boy had won.

Starlight and the other Face Hunters were completely stunned, so was Fluttershy. She then ran up to him. “So, um, you sure won’t reconsider teaching me?”

Then, from above, they heard someone slowly clapping. On the girder above Starlight, a girl with fiery red and yellow hair stepped out of the shadows. “I have to say kid, i’m impressed.” She said with a smirk.

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked, trying hide behind the boy. “Sunset Shimmer!”

“You heard the wimp, the names Sunset Shimmer, leader of the Face Hunters.” She said arrogantly. “Now isn’t it about time you told us your name?”

The Boy stared up at her. “It’s Solar Force.” He said in a serious voice.

“Solar Force huh?” Sunset said. “Well now that we have exchanged names, we need to have a battle.”

The now named Solar Force readied his launcher, but Sunset just chuckled. “Not today, hot shot.”

“When then?” Asked Solar Force.

“I’ll let you know when i’ve decided.” Sunset said. “Bye for now.”

With that, she waved her hand and walked away.

Chapter 2: Ring Of Fire

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It was a sunny afternoon at the Canterlot City Bey Park. A crowd of young Bladers surrounded one of the Dishes. A 3 on 1 Battle was in progress. On one side, stood the three Crusaders. On the other stood Solar Force.

“We got ya now, Solar!” Smirked Scootaloo. “C’mon girls! Let’s give em the Tri-Attack!”

“What?” Said Applebloom. “No Way! We should use the Triangle Trap!”

“Do you two want to lose?” Put in Sweetie Belle. “We should totally use the Triple Charge!”

“Attack!” Shouted Scootaloo.

“Trap!” Applebloom shouted back.

“Charge!” Put in Sweetie Belle.

As the girls descended yet again into another argument, down in the Dish, the girls Beys just spun on the spot, with what looked like little drops of sweat hanging next to each of them.

Solar Force just stood and watched the girls with a deadpan look on his face. “Phoenix. Put us all out of our misery and end this.” He said flatly.

A moment later, all three of the girls Beys flew out of the Dish and landed at their feet, with the girls too busy arguing to notice.

Solar Force then picked up his own Bey, turned and began walking away, which caused Scootaloo to look up from the girls argument. “Hey! Where ya going Solar?” She asked. “Your not just giving up are ya?”

“Sorry, girls.” Said Solar Force without looking at them. “But I’m afraid that your Crusade ends here.”

“What are ya talkin’ about?” Asked Applebloom. “The battle ain’t over yet.”

“Just look at the Dish.” Said Solar Force.

All three girls looked down at the Dish, and all three of their Jaws dropped. “No way!” They shouted in unison.

“How did this happen?!” Shouted Scootaloo.

“That’s an easy one.” Said Applejack as she walked up to them. “It happened because you three spent more time arguing with each other than you did strategizing. So you only have yourselves to blame.”

Scootaloo snorted. “Psh! Don’t blame me! We all know this is Applebloom's fault anyway.

“What!?” Exclaimed Applebloom. “Don’t look at me! I say this is Sweetie Belle’s fault!”

“Hey!” Said Sweetie Belle indignantly. “Don’t be stupid! We all know this is Scootaloo’s fault!”

Before they all knew it, the three Crusaders were arguing yet again.

Applejack slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. “Ugh! Will these girls ever learn?” She said flatly.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Park, sat Fluttershy, seemingly oblivious to the all comotion, as she was lost in her own thoughts. She was thinking about Sunset Shimmer, and her recent challenge to Solar Force. She was then broken out of her thoughts by Solar Force, when he walked over to her.

“Penny for your thoughts Fluttershy?” He asked when he saw the thoughtful look on her face.

“Oh!” Said a startled Fluttershy. “Senpai!”

Solar Force sweatdropped. “Your still calling me that?” He asked.

“It’s just that,” Fluttershy continued. “I can’t help feeling worried. You getting challenged by Sunset Shimmer. The leader of the Face Hunters, and the strongest, meanest Blader in the whole city?! Aren’t you the least bit scared?”

“No way. I’m not scared of her.” Said Solar Force calmly. “She can take me on anytime, and any place she wants.”

“Really?” Asked Fluttershy. “But if your not scared of Sunset Shimmer, then is there anyone you are scared of?”

“Trust me Fluttershy.” Said Solar Florce. There are way scarier people out there than Sunset.” His face then took on a very serious look. “And there is one person I can think of who scares me.” In Solar Forces mind, he could suddenly see a dark figure, and could hear a loud, psychotic laugh. He Shuddered slightly at the terrible memory.

He was snapped out of his flashback, when he heard the voices of the three Crusaders in front of him. “Please teach us how to battle Senpai!” They said in unison, all with puppy dog eyes.

Solar Force was stupefied for a moment, but then slapped both hands over his face and groaned loudly. “Oh man, It’s spreading?!” He Shouted.

Fluttershy couldn’t help giggling. “Aw, there, there Senpai. Just think of them as your new fan club.”

Solar Force stood up. “You know what? I’m just gonna go.” He said. “This whole ‘Senpai’ stuff is getting out of hand.”

After Solar Force left the Beypark, he noticed he was being followed by the Crusaders, much to his annoyance. He tried to lose them, but no matter where he went, they always caught up to him, begging for him to teach them. After the girls cornered him for the tenth time, he finally decided to confront them. “Okay, girls, enough is enough already!” He said to them.

“Does this mean you’ll teach us now?” Said Scootaloo excitedly.

“No!” Said Solar Force firmly. “Trust me. You don’t want me as your teacher. I’d be really lousy at it.”

“But you don’t know unless you try.” Said Sweetie Belle sweetly.

Solar Force rolled his eyes. Then he had a smart but slightly mean idea. “Ok, girls.” He said. “I’ll make you a deal. All three of you will take me on in a battle, and if you win, I’ll teach you everything I know about Blading. But if you lose, you have to promise to leave me alone.”

The girls took a moment to think about the offer, but they eventually agreed.

With the deal made, they all raised their launchers. “3, 2, 1! LET IT RIP!” Solar Force wasted no time. All three of the Crusaders Beys were sent flying almost instantly, and they came tumbling down and landed at the girls feet once again. “NO WAY!!” Shouted the shocked girls in unison.

Scootaloo then scowled at Solar Force, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You only took us on because you knew you’d win, didn’t you?!” She shouted.

“Sure I did.” Said Solar Force. “I only did this because i know that-” As he was talking to the girls, he reached down to pick up his Bey, but before he could grasp it, something purple snatched it up and ran off with it. “Hey!” Shouted Solar Force. He looked up and saw a small dog, with purple fur, green floppy ears, and a little tuft of green fur on its head, holding his Bey in it’s mouth.

“Give me back my Bey, you little mutt!” Shouted Solar Force.

The dog didn’t listen. It just turned and ran off down the street. “Hey, come back here!” Shouted Solar Force as he gave chase. “Wait for us!” shouted the Crusaders as they gave chase as well.

For several long minutes, the four young Bladers chased the little dog this way and that. Down long streets, around corners and across busy roads, the chase seemed to go on and on, and every time they thought they had the dog cornered, he always managed to slip away again. Eventually, the dog ran up to the front door of a small corner shop, and disappeared through a small doggy door built into it. Solar Force and the Crusaders skidded to a halt in front of the shop, trying desperately to get there breaths back. After running so much, they were all exhausted.

“Nowhere... left...to...run...now.” Said Solar Force, panting. “We...got him...cornered.”

“You think...this is...where he...lives?” Asked a panting Sweetie Belle.

“I...hope...so.” Wheezed Scootaloo. “I...can’t...run...anymore.”

“Y’all...said it.” Puffed Applebloom.

Solar Force then took a deep breath through his nose, and then let it out slowly through his mouth. He then got a serious look on his face. “Let’s go get my Bey back.” He said firmly.

With that, the 4 teens marched into the shop. But as they opened the door and stepped inside, they stopped and stared, their jaws dropped. After a moment, the Crusaders eyes went wide with wonder, while Solar Force just raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I-Is this a-” he stuttered.

“A Beyblade Shop!” The Crusaders shouted excitedly. The girls then rushed off to look at everything they could see, leaving Solar Force alone by the door. As they were lost in their own little world, Solar Force wondered up to the counter to the main counter at the back of the shop. He was about to call out to see if the owner of the shop was there, when he heard a voice coming from a door behind the counter. “There you are Spike. Where have been? Do you have something for me boy? Hey, this is a Beyblade. Where did you get this Spike?”

“Excuse me?” Solar Force called out. “Can we get some service here please?”

The door behind the counter opened and a girl with lavender coloured skin, dark purple hair with three pink streaks tied in a ponytail, and dark purple eyes walked out. She had a set of microscopic goggles on her head, and wore a workers apron over her clothes. “Sorry for the wait.” She said with a cheerful smile. “So, how can I help you?” She then placed Solar Forces Bey on the counter in front of her.

“Well for starters,” Said Solar Force. “Maybe you can explain why your dog stole my Beyblade.”

The girl gasped. “Wait, this is your Bey?!” She said in shock.

“Yeah, it is.” Said Solar Force sternly. “Like I said, your dog stole it.”

“Wait a second.” Said the girl. “Spike wouldn’t have taken your Beyblade if he didn’t have good reason to.”

Solar Force was confused. “What do you mean ‘good reason’?”

“Would you mind if i just give your Bey a quick Examination?” The Girl asked.

“Er, I guess so.” Said Solar Force, still confused.

The Girl then picked up Solar Forces Bey and walked over to a small machine at the far end of the counter.

“What’s that?” asked Solar Force.

“It’s a Bey Scanner.” Said the Girl.

She placed the Bey inside a slot on the front of the device, and pressed a button. The result of the scan appeared on the screen of the Laptop next to it. “Alright.” Said the girl. “Lets see what we have here.” After a few clicks of the mouse, the girl examined the results carefully, only for her eyes to go wide, and for her to gasp in shock. “What in the world happened?!” She exclaimed. She then turned and glared at Solar Force. “How could you let this happen?!” She yelled.

Solar Force was stunned. “L-let what happen?” He stuttered.

“Do you have any idea about the condition of your Beyblade?!” The girl continued to yell. “How could you be so irresponsible?! Your lucky your Bey is still in one piece! How many battles have you had without giving your Beyblade any proper maintenance?!”

“Er,” Solar Force seemed to shrink under the girls intimidating glare, “A-a few battles?” He continued to stutter.

“A few Battles?!” The girl carried on ranting. “With this kind of damage, it’s more like a few hundred battles!”

“What damage?” Solar Force asked. “I never noticed anything wrong.”

“That’s because this kind of damage can’t be seen with the naked eye.” Said the exasperated girl. “Let me show you.” She turned her Lap Tops’ screen toward Solar Force. On it, Solar Force could see his Beyblade. “Look carefully when we zoom in.” Said the girl. The image then zoomed in, and sure enough, the top and sides of the Bey were covered in minute scratches, some parts were even chipped.

Solar Force could only stare. “I never noticed any of this.”

“I did say it couldn’t be seen with seen the naked eye.” Said the girl. “And this could only be the beginning. If you don’t do something about this now, I predict your Bey could explode from the pressure of your next battle.”

Solar Force gulped heavily. “W-well, what do I do? I don’t know how to fix a Bey.”

The girl then smiled proudly. “Well, lucky for you, I just so happen to be the best Beyblade mechanic around!” She said proudly. “I could offer to fix it for you.” Her smile then morphed into a smirk. “If you want me to.”

“Really?! You’ll fix it for me?!” Asked a starry eyed Solar Force.

“Sure. No Problem at all.” Said the still smirking girl. “I’ll get started right away.”

She then retrieved the Bey from the scanner, and walked through the door behind the counter. “Follow me please?” she said as she went. Solar Force and the Crusaders walked around the counter and followed the girl through the door. The room beyond was a small workshop, with tables full of equipment, tools, and Bey parts. “This is where I’ll be doing all the repairs.” Said the girl. “With this level of damage, it might take me all night to get this done.”

“In that case…” Said Solar Force, “I’ll just crash here until your done.” And with that, he laid himself down on a coach by the opposite wall.

“Wait a minute!” The girl protested. “You can’t stay there all night!”

“Listen, wherever my Phoenix goes, I go, you got that?” Said Solar Force. “We’re a package deal.”

The girl couldn’t bring herself to argue. “Fine, you can stay. But just for tonight.”

Seeing where things were going, the Crusaders looked at each other with bored looks. “So, what are we gonna do now?” Muttered Scottaloo.

“I don’t know.” Muttered Sweetie Belle.

Applebloom then looked up at a clock on the workshop wall, and saw just how late it was getting. “Hey Girls.” She said, pointing up at the clock. “It’s gettin’ late. We'd better get goin’.”
“Oh, My!” Said Sweetie Belle.

“Whoa, time really does fly.” Said Scootaloo.

“Hey, Twilight.” Said Applebloom. “Were gonna head home now. We don’t want to get in trouble with our big Sisters.”

“Bye Twilight.” The girls said as they left.

“Bye girls.” Said the now named Twilight.

Solar Force sat up and gave Twilight a puzzled look. “Wait? You know those three?” He asked.

“Sure I do. There sisters happen to be my best customers.” Said Twilight with a shrug.

“But that would that mean when we chasing your dog, they knew where he was going the whole time.” Said a slightly annoyed Solar Force. “And that would mean that…” He then groaned. “Agh, forget it, I’m too tired to think about this now.”

Twilight then smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about them. Those three girls can be quite spontaneous. Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”

“It’s...Solar Force.” Solar Force Yawned.

“Nice to meet you Solar Force, my names Twilight Spar-” She then heard Solar Force snoring softly. “And he’s gone.” She said with a sigh.

Twilight then walked over to a workbench to begin repairs on Solar Force’s Bey. “Alright girl, time to earn your keep.”

It was a bright sunny day. Solar Force was running through what looked like a lush forest. From up ahead, he heard a young male voice. “You can’t catch me, Solar!” The voice said teasingly.

“Oh, yeah!” Smirked Solar Force. “Watch Me!”

The chase continued into a small village near the edge of the forest. The voice continued to tease Solar Force. “Your to slow Solar! Come on, hurry up!”

“Where are you going!?” Solar Force called. The voice lead Solar Force to the Bottom of a high mountain, and under a pair of tall, ancient looking columns, was what looked like a young boy, whose face he couldn’t properly see. “Why have you lead me here?” He asked.

The mysterious Boy suddenly turned away from Solar Force and started to run up the Mountain. “Come on!” He called back. “Your going to miss it!”

“Hey, wait!” Solar Force Shouted. “We’re not allowed to go up there!” He began to run up after the boy, but as he did so, the Sky was suddenly clouded over. But they were not ordinary clouds. They were a dark shade of purple, and looked very ominous. As Solar Force neared the Summit, he found his way into a triangular shaped cave. As he ran through the cave, he looked straight ahead, but there was no end in sight, and all around him, he could hear the boys laughter. The Deeper into the cave he went, the louder the laughter became. It also seemed to become deeper, like that of someone older. He finally reached the exit and stopped. In front of him, he saw a boy roughly his own age, who was chuckling darkly. Lying face down on the ground, was a woman, who looked like she had just been defeated in battle.

Solar Force’s face twisted in fury. “What have you done!?” He yelled.

The other Boy then looked at Solar Force with eyes filled with pure insanity. Then suddenly, in a flash of purple light, he took the form of an enormous purple dragon and lunged at Solar Force. “YOU FAILED!!” Bellowed a demonic voice, as the dragon lunged at him, it’s huge jaws opened wide.

Just as the dragon's jaws were about to snap shut on him, Solar Force woke up. He sat up with a gasp. He looked around him and realised where he was. “Stupid Dream.” He muttered.

Twilight walked in with a bowl of cereal. “Good morning.” She said cheerfully. “Got some breakfast for you. Hope you like cereal.”

“Good morning,” Said Solar Force. “Cereal sounds great.”

Twilight handed Solar Force the bowel and he eagerly started eating. “Listen,” She spoke again. “I have something I really need to ask you. Where did you get that Bey?”

Solar Force paused in his eating. “I got it back in my home village.” He answered. “Why? Is there something wrong?”

“No! No!” Twilight assured. “There's nothing wrong. It’s just that it’s obviously a unique Bey. I’ve never worked on anything like it before. Everything from the design, the metal, even the plastic, It’s just that i’ve never seen this configuration. Was the Phoenix Bey even developed by the BBA?”

Solar Force shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He said. “It’s a hand-me-down.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a bit unfortunate.” Twilight said with slight frown. “Well, anyway, I'm almost done with the repairs. Just one adjustment to make and-”

“SOLAR?!”

Twilight was abruptly interrupted as the three Crusaders ran into the room, all with tears in their eyes.

“What’s up with you three?” Solar Force.

Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Here,” She said, as she held out a slightly shaking hand, holding a piece of paper. “Read this.”

Solar Force took the paper and unfolded it.

Dear Solar Punk

Sunset wants to battle you at Flints Shrine.

Be there by noon, or the three little brats Beys are going to get it.

Sincerely
Starlight Glimmer

When he was finished reading, Solar Force stood up, and looked straight at Twilight. “Do you know where Flints Shrine is?” He asked.

“Yeah, I Know where that is.” Twilight replied.

“Good.” Said Solar Force. “Can you tell me how to get there? And I’m gonna need Phonix back to.”

“What?!” Said a shocked Twilight. “No! The repairs are not finished yet. If you try using it now, any number of things could happen. It could end up being permanently damaged, or broken or-”

Solar Force raised his hand to cut her off. “I cannot let this go unpunished. Sunset Shimmer targeted these three girls for no reason at all. Also, the message said be there at noon, and it’s almost noon now.” He said seriously. “Twilight, how long do you think it will take to finish the repairs?”

“I’m not sure.” Said Twilight. “An hour maybe?”

“Well then, I’m sorry Twilight.” Said Solar Force. “We don’t have time to wait. I need my Phoenix back now. Whatever happens, happens.”

Twilight hung her head and walked over to her work bench. She picked up Solar Force’s Bey, and walked back to him, holding up the Bey in her hand. “Just so you know, I am completely against this.” She said before reluctantly handing the Bey over.

“I know,” Said Solar Force. “But thank you. I promise to bring it straight back once this is over.”

“I’m coming with you.” Said Twilight. “Your new in town, so you won’t know the way to Flints Shrine.”

“Hmm,” Said Solar Force. “Fair point. Thanks.”

With that, Solar Force turned and dashed out of the Store, Twilight and the three Crusaders right behind him.

Across town, in front of a very old, but well maintained Shrine, Sunset Shimmer sat in front of her entire gang of Face Hunters, her hands joined together in front of her face, her head tilted forward so her eyes could not be seen. One of her thugs approached her from behind. “Hey, Boss?” He asked.

Sunset lifted her head to look back at him, her eyes narrow. “What?” She said irritably.

“You don’t think this guys really gonna show up do ya?” He said. “We said noon, and it’s almost noon now.”

Sunset slowly got to her feet, and turned to face her underling, looking him square in the eye. “Do you really think he’s just going to abandon those three little kids?” She asked, not expecting an answer. “That guy is obviously some wanna be hero. He’ll come. And when he gets here, that’s when I will really turn up the heat.”

Just as the time struck noon, Solar Force appeared at the top of the Shrines steps, along with Twilight Sparkle and the Crusaders.

Sunset looked back her minion. “Told you so.” She said with a satisfied smirk.

“Ok, I’m here Shimmer, just like you wanted!” Solar Force said with a glare. “Hand over those girls Beys right now!”

“Yeaah no.” Said Sunset, rolling her eyes. “That’s not how this works.”

“You got me here! What more do you want?!” Solar Force demanded.

“Simple.” Said Sunset. “I want a battle with you, here and now. If you win, you get those three twerps Beys back. But if you lose, I get to keep them, and do whatever I want with them.”

“And what if I refuse to Battle?” Solar Force asked.

Sunset pointed with her thumb. “If you don’t battle, Starlight will toss those Beys into that Flame pitt over there.” She then gave a cruel smirk. “And trust me, those flames are easily hot enough to melt a Bey.”

“Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.” Solar Force muttered to himself. “Alright Sunset! You want a Battle? You got one!”

Solar Force approached a circular sloped hole in the ground. Sunset stood facing him on the other side. “Before we start, let me tell you a bit about the history of this shrine, and why I wanted to battle you here.” Sunset said.

“Is this a battle or a lecture?” Said an annoyed Solar Force.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get your battle.” Sunset said. “Now listen. This shrine is very important to me. It was built to honor a very powerful Fox Deity. It was known by the name Flint.” She then held up her Bey for Solar Force to see. “I named my Bey after this Deity. Behold, my partner, Flint Kitsune. This is why I wanted to battle you here. You see, I’m going to offer up your precious Phoenix as a sacrifice to the great Fox Deity.”

“And let me guess?” Said Solar Force. “If you lose this battle, you’ll just offer up the girls Beys as the Sacrifice?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Said Sunset casually.

“Alright, Enough talk! Let’s Battle!” Solar Force announced.

“Believe me, the Fox Deity will have a sacrifice.” Said Sunset, as she readied her launcher.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!!!”

The Two combatants launched their Beys at the same moment, and they flew into the stadium, circling each other before clashing several times, sending sparks flying.

Off to the side, Twilight stood with her eyes fixed on the two Beys, biting her nails, and her whole body quaking with nerves. She knew all too well just how big a risk Solar Force was taking. If the battle dragged on too long, Phoenix could become even more damaged than before, or even shatter completely.

As the battle continued, Sunset looked up at Solar Force. “I think i've toyed with you long enough. It’s time for your Phoenix to feel the heat. Special Move! Fox Flame!” She Commanded.

At Sunsets command, Her Beys Performance Tip let off a spark, then the whole Bey burst into flames, and began circling the arena faster and faster.

“Wait a minute.” Said a confused Twilight. “No Bey can ignite like that, that fast.” She then reached for her Laptop, and used it to scan Sunsets Bey. The results of the Scan confused her. “Strange. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The arena maybe?” After a quick scan, Twilight's eyes widened at the results. “No way! This arena is made of Flint Stone!” She then rechecked the results from Sunsets Bey. “And her Bey’s Performance Tip is made of Steel.” She then thought about these details carefully, and found her answer. “That’s It! Repair lube!” She thought. “She must have doused her Bey in repair lube. As soon as she launched her Bey, Sunset must have known the friction from the Steel performance Tip would cause a spark from the Flint, Igniting the lube, and setting her Bey alight. That’s why she wanted to Battle Solar here! She totally has the advantage!” “Hey!” She shouted at Sunset. “I’m onto you Sunset Shimmer! I know your cheating!”

“What?” Said Sunset, feigning ignorance. “You accuse little old me of cheating. I’m insulted.” She then gave a sinister smirk. “Can’t you see the little halo over my head?”

“But this battle can’t-” Twilight tried to proset, but Solar Force raised his hand to silence her. “It’s okay, Twilight.” He said. “Sunset can battle her way.” A determined look crossed his face. “But I will win my way.”

Sunset laughed. “You actually think you have chance of beating me?” She said with mirth.

“Yeah, I do.” Said Solar Force. “But before I do that,” He reached for his headphones, which were hanging around his neck, and placed them over his ears. “I think I’ll listen to some music.”

As the music began to play, Solar Force’s Bey began to move in a strange pattern, swerving and zig zagging as if following the music. Sunset eyed this closely. “Hm, this must be that move that Starlight warned me about. I’m not impressed.” She then smirked. “Time to end this. Destroy him Flint!” She commanded.

Following her masters command, Flint Kitsune began to attack Phoenix relentlessly, but due to it’s unpredictable movements, it missed its mark repeatedly. As her Beys futile assault went on, Sunset began to grind her teeth in frustration. “What are you doing?! Destroy Him?!” She yelled.

“Sorry Sunset.” Said Solar Force. “But it’s time for me to end this. Go Phoenix?!” Phoenix began circling the stadium. As it did so, the flames surrounding Flint seemed to be drawn toward it. Everyone watching was stunned.

Sunset broke the silence. “Chase him Kitsune! Hunt him down!” She shouted angrily.

Twilight could not believe what she was seeing. “What is he doing?!” She said, shocked.

Phoenix was moving so fast, it was almost a blur. And suddenly, it shot up into the air like a rocket. “You won’t get away!” Yelled a Furious Sunset. “Follow him Kitsune!”

Sunset’s Bey picked up speed and shot into the air as well. Both Bey’s climb higher and higher until they disappeared from sight. Twilight stared up at the sky. “W-where are they?” she asked.

Starlight pointed upwards. “Look!” She shouted. “Something's coming down!”

Everyone looked and stared as they saw something shining falling from the sky. It landed in the stadium with a spray of sparks. It was Flint Kitsune, Still spinning. “Wait!” Said Sunset. “What happened to-?”

Before she could finish speaking, something came rushing down at tremendous speed. “NOW, PHOENIX!” Yelled Solar Force. “SOLAR FLARE ATTACK!” Phoenix hit the stadium with explosive force. Everyone covered their heads with their arms from the impact. Something flew past Sunsets shoulder. As the impact died down, everyone lowered their arms. For a moment, there was silence. Sunset turned her head to look behind her in utter disbelief. There on the ground was her Bey, lying on its side. “N-no way.” She Stuttered. “I lost? How could I lose?!”

The Crusaders jumped for joy. “He did it! He Won!” They cheered.

Twilight sighed with relief. “I’m just glad it’s over.” She said.

Starlight and the other goons were shocked. “D-did Sunset just lose?!.” She stuttered, as the Crusaders Beys fell out of her hand.

Solar Force walked over and picked up the three Beys. “I’ll be taking these.” He said.

The thugs were now cowering behind Starlight, none of them wanting to deal with the person who just defeated their boss. Starlight herself was still too stunned to react.

After retrieving the Crusaders Beys, Solar Force walked over to Twilight, and held out Phoenix to her. “There you are Twilight. Still in one piece.” He said, smiling.

Twilight was not smiling. “In one piece?” She said incredulously. “Your lucky Phoenix isn’t in a million pieces after that stunt you pulled! I dread to think what kind of damage you’ve now caused!” Her eyes filled with tears. “All my hard work, wasted!” She wailed.

Their business there concluded, Solar Force, Twilight and the Crusaders left the Temple.

Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer had fallen to her knees, still trying to process what had happened.

When Solar Force and Twilight returned to the shop, he returned the Beys to the Crusaders.

“Thank you Senpai!” They said happily, much to Solar’s annoyance.

“Not again.” He muttered. “Is that ever going to end?”

Twilight couldn’t help giggling.

At the Face Hunters warehouse, Sunset Shimmer was pacing back and forth, seething with Fury, as Starlight and the other thugs kept their distance. “How?!” She snarled. “How could I lose?! And to some little headphone wearing twerp! How?!”

A Shadow fell across the ground at the entrance to the warehouse.

“Would you prefer the truth?” Said a mysterious female voice. “Or the lie?”

Everyone turned toward the entrance and stared. Standing in the doorway, was a tall woman, In a black business suit, with black skin, dark green hair tied into a bun, sparkling green eyes behind a pair of thin rectangular glasses, and deep green lipstick.

The Woman strode forward, her hips swaying hypnotically as she went. Everyone in the warehouse couldn’t help but stare at the woman, as if mesmerised.

The Woman stopped in front of Sunset, and placed her finger under Sunsets chin, lifting her face so Sunset was looking directly into her eyes.

“So?” She purred. “Which is it?”

TO BE CONTINUED...

Chapter 3: Starlight Strikes Back

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Inside the Face Hunters warehouse, Starlight Glimmer was miserable. Why was she miserable? Because Sunset Shimmer was gone. She remembered the events of the previous night all too well.

(Flashback Starts)

Before Sunset could answer, the woman removed her finger and stood up straight. “If you want to defeat Solar Force that badly, then I suggest you come with me,” She said in a silky voice.

Sunset’s face screwed up in annoyance. “What do you know about it?” She demanded.

“Oh, I know a lot about you, Sunset Shimmer,” The woman replied with a smirk. “I know what kind of Bey you wield. Your Flint Kitsune. I also know all about your recent defeat at the hands of young Solar Force and his Solar Phoenix. He defeated you with his dive bomb attacks, did he not?”

“How did you know that?!” Sunset snapped.

“Word travels fast,” Said the woman nonchalantly. “Especially word of someone’s defeat. I bet they're still talking about now. The infamous Sunset Shimmer, with a reputation for preying on the weak, finally beaten by some random unknown.”

By now, Sunset was grinding her teeth in frustration. “Are you going somewhere with this?” She asked. “What’s the deal between you and Solar Force anyway? You seem kinda obsessed with him.”

The woman chuckled. “Me? Obsessed with that little brat? Hardly,” She said in an amused tone. “It’s not I who has an obsession. Let’s just say someone I know has a grudge to settle with that boy. A deep, personal grudge.”

“OK, fine, whatever,” Sunset said with a groan. “But what’s any of that got to do with me?”

“Why, It has plenty to do with you,” Said the woman. “Because I know how you can defeat Solar Force.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow sceptically. “Really? Because if you know so much, why don’t you defeat him yourself?”

At this, the woman held up a launcher with a Bey already attached. “How about instead of simply telling you, I show you in a battle!” She challenged Sunset.

Sunset smirked. “Your're actually challenging me? Your're gonna regret those words.”

“We’ll see about that, little girl,” The woman said with a devious grin.

The two opponents took a short walk away from each other, and Sunset prepared her Bey. Starlight walked up to her and tried to reason with her. “Uh, Sunset?”

“Not now, Starlight,” Sunset said. “Let me handle this.”

“But, are sure you want to do this?” Said Starlight nervously.

“You bet I wanna do this,” Sunset said dangerously. “I want to teach this lady what happens when you disrespect a queen in her own domain.”

“You, a queen?” The woman chuckled. “You don’t have what it takes to be a true queen.”

Sunset glared at her. “Oh, I am so gonna enjoy taking you down.”

They both readied their Beys.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!!”

The two Beys flew at each other at blinding speed, colliding with each other in a fierce clash, sending sparks flying in all directions.

The woman’s smirk only grew. “Is that all you can muster, little girl? Pathetic,” She said sadistically.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “All right, that’s it!” She yelled. “I’ll show you what I’ve really got! Go, Flint Kitsune! Special Move! Fox Flame!” Her Bey ignited, and began circling the woman’s Bey at an increasing speed, creating a wall of flame around it. Sunset laughed victoriously. “Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! Now I’ve got you!”

“Sorry, my dear,” The woman said darkly. “But I’m afraid that the wolf always beats the fox.” She gestured with her hand. “Shadow Wolf, now is the time to pounce!” With lighting fast speed, her Bey struck, and Sunset’s Bey went flying across the warehouse before smashing into the far wall, where it juddered to a stop.

For a moment, there was a stunned silence, before Sunset looked over her shoulder at her defeated Bey, and her eyes widened with shock and horror. “N-no way. I-Impossible!” She stuttered in disbelief.

Starlight was just as shocked. “She beat her! She beat Sunset’s Flint Kitsune like it was nothing!”

“Oh, I assure you, it’s very possible,” The woman said smugly.

Sunset turned back to the woman. “What did you do? How did you do that? Was that some kind of special move?” She demanded.

“If only it was,” The woman replied. “No, my dear, that was just an ordinary attack. I did it that way to demonstrate the difference in our levels of strength. And believe me, that wasn’t even close to my Shadow Wolf’s full power.” She finished with another smirk.

Sunset was now furious. “Alright, you’ve made your point!” She yelled. “But I ask you again! If you know so much about Solar Force, and if your really that strong, why don’t you take down that little brat yourself?! Why do you need me to do your dirty work?!”

“Quite simple, my dear,” The woman said. “I need you because I have no choice. As you may know, the game Beyblading is a pastime for the young. Those with plenty of youth can always improve, always become stronger as Bladers. However, once a Blader leaves their youth behind, they hit a metaphorical wall. They can no longer advance, no longer become stronger. In other words, due to my age, I cannot become any stronger. And Solar Force will always be stronger than me.”

Sunset frowned in disbelief. “Don’t make me laugh. That’s impossible. I mean yes, I admit he beat me, but that must have been a fluke. He was struggling against me for most of the match.”

“No!” The woman snapped, “Don’t be so naive! He was playing you!”

“That twerp, play me?! No way!” Denied Sunset.

“Think about it!” The woman fired back. “From the moment that battle began, Solar Force knew exactly what he was going to do. He knew exactly how the battle was going to end. And every time he battles with that Bey of his, he gains more power. Even when he battles weak opponents, he gains more strength. Soon he will become too powerful to battle.” She then gave Sunset a calculated looked. “That’s why I've come to you, Sunset Shimmer. You're still in your prime. You still have so much untapped potential, just waiting to be released. I can help you achieve this. I can make you stronger than your wildest dreams. Strong enough to utterly destroy Solar Force before he himself becomes too strong. That is, if you accept my offer.” She finished by holding out her open hand.

Sunset was silent, matching the woman’s intimidating eyes with her own. Off to the side, Starlight held her breath. She wasn’t really considering going off with this woman, was she? At last, Sunset spoke. “If I accept your offer, how strong will I be?”

“How strong do you want to be?” The woman said with a purr.

(Flashback Ends)

“And then she just left with that... that... that Temptress!” She shouted in frustration. “And all because of that kid, Solar Force! This is all his fault!”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Tell the lucky lady what she’s won Jack! The greatest prize of all! Absolutely nothing!” Shouted a loud, very cocky, and kind of obnoxious voice.

Starlight turned to the warehouse door, where she saw a tall man, dressed in a business man's suit. He had mismatched eyes, a small pointed goatee, slimy slicked back brown hair, and was giving her the most arrogant smirk she’d ever seen. “And… you are?” She said, giving him a strange look.

“You can just call me Handsome Jack, cupcake. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think,” He said, swaggering towards her.

“EW! Cringe alert!” Starlight thought with a shudder. Everything about this man was like something her mother had warned her about when she was little. “OK, first of all, don’t call me cupcake!” She snapped. “My name is Starlight Glimmer! Remember it! And second of all, what are you going on about a prize for?”

“OK, OK, let me explain something,” Said Jack. “You don’t get the prize for identifying a problem. You get one for solving it. You follow me? Because your right. That little twerp you call Solar Force is the reason your great leader is gone. He’s also the cause of several other major problems in this town.” He then pointed at Starlight. “And so, if someone were to take care of the kid, everything would go back to normal.”

Starlight finally realised what Jack was saying. “You mean...me? Beat Solar Force?” She said.

“You, or someone else. We don’t really care who does it, as long as that brat is off our backs for good,” Jack replied.

Starlight pulled out her own Bey and simply stared at it. “But, Solar Force is so strong,” She said doubtfully. “How can I beat him with just a standard BBA Bey?”

Somehow, Jack’s smirk grew even bigger. “Oh, you won’t be able to do much with a little kiddies spinning top like that,” He said, before holding up a suitcase and opening it. Inside was a shiny new Bey.

“Whoa! What is that?” Starlight hated to admit it, but she was impressed.

“The latest model from our development team,” Said Jack. “We call it, Dark Stryker.”

“Whoa!” Starlight said again in awe.

“That’s right, take it all in, kid,” Said Jack. “And guess what. This baby is all yours. All you gotta do in exchange, is do us one little favour. Use it to destroy Solar Force!” He finished with a sinister grin.

Starlight was entranced by the shiny, powerful, brand new Bey being offered to her. She reached out to grab it, and held it up in her hand. Even just holding it, she could feel the power practically radiating from it. With a Bey like this, she’d be unstoppable! “OK, you got yourself a deal!” She said excitedly.

“That’s what we like to hear, kid!” Said Jack with his trademark smirk. “But be warned. That Bey’s a wild stallion. You’ll first need to break it in.” And with that, he turned and swaggered out of the warehouse. “Catch you later, kid!”

Once Jack was gone, Starlight looked down at the new Bey in her hand, grinning with excitement. “Time to try out this bad boy!” She said with enthusiasm, reaching for her launcher, and attaching the new Bey. She stepped into the middle of the warehouse, where she’d have plenty of room. She held her launcher out in front of her, and braced herself. “OK, here we go!” She said with determination. “In 3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!!” She yanked the rip cord hard, and felt like she’d been hit by a tornado. She was flung off her feet, and fell flat on her back. She sat up just in time to see her new Bey shoot across the ground, and crash into a wall, grinding to a halt. She stared in disbelief. “Wow! That Jack guy really wasn’t kidding!” She exclaimed. She stood up, walked over to the Bey, and picked it up. She stared down at it, her eyes burning with determination. “I’m going to keep practising with this Bey! And I’m not gonna stop until I tame this wild stallion! And then, I’m gonna use it to destroy Solar Force!” She vowed to herself.

Meanwhile, back with Solar Force and his friends, he was currently having a battle against the cowgirl known as Applejack. “Go, Terra Taurus! Back that varmint into a corner!” She commanded, her Bey closing in on Solar Phoenix. “I gotcha now, bird boy!” She said with a smirk.

Solar Force didn’t answer. He hadn’t even heard her. He had his headphones on, and he was too busy bobbing his head to the beat of the music pounding away in his ears.

Applejack frowned at him. “I hope ya ain’t attached to yer eardrums, partner?” she said. “Because yer gonna bust ‘em one of these days.” As her Taurus Bey closed in on his Phoenix Bey, she gave a smirk of triumph. “Like I’m gonna bust you in this battle!”

Again, Solar Force didn’t answer, he just looked up at Applejack, giving a smirk of his own. Suddenly his Bey began to accelerate, spinning around the edge of the dish faster and faster, before jumping out of the dish, and landing on top of it, literally riding it.

“What in tarnation!” Applejack exclaimed in shock.

Then Solar finally spoke. “Aw, yeah! Go, Phoenix! Ride that Bull!”

Applejack growled in annoyance. “Oh, you are so gonna get the horns now, you little varmint!”

“Oh, yeah? Good luck trying to give them to me!” Solar replied with a cheeky smirk, which only annoyed Applejack even more.

“Oh, you think you can tame this bull, do ya? Well, your Phoenix better hold on tight! Let’s take ‘em for a ride, Taurus!” Applejack commanded, as her Bey started shaking violently, trying to throw the other Bey off, just like a bucking bull. This went on and on, but no matter how hard Taurus shook, it couldn’t seem to get rid of Phoenix, much to Applejack’s chagrin. Her Bey’s movements seemed to become slower and slower, until it made its way into the centre of the arena, where it ground to halt, still standing on it’s tip, with Phoenix still spinning on top. Applejack could only watch, her jaw dropped, as her Bey toppled over, and Solar’s own Bey leaped out of the stadium and into its master’s outstretched hand. “N-no way!” She stuttered.

Solar finally took off his Headphones, before giving the cowgirl a victorious smirk. “Sorry, Applejack. Looks like I beat ya again!”

“Not Again!” Applejack growled in frustration, before grabbing her hat, tossing it on the ground, and stamping on it. “I can’t believe it! That’s five times in a row!”

“Eh, don’t it take too hard, AJ,” Said Rainbow Dash. “You win some, you lose some. No big deal. Not everyone can be as awesome as yours truly.” She finished with a confident smirk.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “If you're so awesome, then how come you lost to Solar 10 times in a row?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It was an off day!” Rainbow said indignantly.

“It’s always an off day,” Applejack muttered.

Solar chuckled to himself. “He he he, I love being over powered.”

Just then, Twilight walked up to him. “Hey, Solar, can I borrow your Phoenix for a bit please?” She asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Said Solar, handing over his Bey. “I’ve had enough battles for one day. What’cha you want it for?”

“Oh, nothing much, just a little data gathering,” Twilight replied. “I want to do a comparison between Phoenix’s stats before and after it’s recent repairs and improvements. Then I’ll have a much clearer picture of just how much stronger you and Phoenix really have become.”

“You don’t need to do all that complicated stuff. I know how strong my Phoenix is,” Said Solar with a casual shrug.

“Judging your Bey’s strength purely on your gut instinct is not what I call scientifically sound,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. “Besides, you should count yourself lucky that you have a Bey mechanic who’s willing to repair, maintain and upgrade your Bey when required for free. So I’d say it’s a fair trade, wouldn’t you?” She finished with a smirk.

“Yeah, OK, you got me there,” Said Solar. “You just do whatever you need to do.”

“Great, thanks!” Smiled Twilight.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am simply exhausted from watching the rest of you go at each other with your Beys all day,” Said Rarity with a stretch. “I believe it’s time for me to take my leave. Sweetie Belle! We're heading home now! Come along!” She called to her sister.

“Aw, Rarity,” Said Sweetie Belle with a groan. “Can’t I stay five more minutes?”

“Oh, very well, Sweetie Belle, we can stay,” Said Rarity, before giving her sister a knowing smile. “But if we do, you’ll miss your favourite TV programme.”

“Wait, what?” Said Sweetie Belle, quickly pulling out her phone to look at the time. “Oh, my gosh, it’s that time already?!” She exclaimed, before turning to her two friends. “Sorry girls, looks like we’re gonna have to pick this up tomorrow,” She said apologetically.

“What?!” Said Scootaloo. “But what about the tie breaker?

“Tomorrow!” Repeated Sweetie Belle.

“The tie breaker?!” Exclaimed Scootaloo again, but Rarity and Sweetie Belle were already making their way out of the Beypark to head for home. She pouted in annoyance. “Oh, great. I hate waiting.”

“Well, any who,” Said Applejack with a stretch. “I say it’s time I was heading home to hit the hey too. Come on, Applebloom. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

“Aw, we’ve always got an early start tomorrow,” Applebloom groaned, but reluctantly followed behind her sister. After that, everyone else agreed it was time to go home, and said their goodbyes as they slowly filed out one by one, leaving only Twilight and Solar Force.

“Well, I’d better be getting home too,” Said a tired looking Twilight. “I’ve got a lot of Bey data to analyse.” She left the Beypark and made her way back to the Beyshop. Once she got inside, she placed Solar’s Bey on her work table, and was about to start work, but she just felt too tired. “I can analyse the Data tomorrow.” She took off her back pack, and was about to toss it on to her coach.

“Your laptops still in your bag, Twilight,” Said a voice.

“Oh, thanks Solar,” Said Twilight as she was about to leave the room… only to turn on her heel to look at the coach. “Solar?!”

“Hi,” Solar said with a wave as he lounged on the coach.

“W-w… What are you doing here?!” Twilight stuttered.

“You said we were going home,” Solar said casually.

“I said I was going home!” Twilight said in annoyance. “Don’t tell me you're gonna freeload off me again!”

“Yup,” Solar said simply.

“On my coach?!”

“You have a spare bed?”

“No!”

“Then it has to be the coach.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and groaned heavily. “My mother was right. The moment a stray comes into your house, you never get rid of them,” She muttered. “Spike, make sure he doesn’t raid the fridge!” She called to her dog as she headed upstairs.

Once she was gone, Solar stared down at the little dog. “I’m still raiding that fridge,” He stated.

Back at the warehouse, Starlight’s hand grasped the top of a wooden crate, as she dragged herself back to her feet, gasping and panting in exhaustion, her whole body dripping with sweat. She took a moment to regain her breath, before her lips turned up in a triumphant smirk. “Finally. I did it,” She said in a satisfied tone, looking down at the powerful Dark Striker, spinning innocently on the ground in front of her. “I tamed you.” She walked up to her new Bey and picked it up, looking at it with a sinister grin. “I take back what I said about you Jack. When it comes down to it, you know how to build one Powerful Bey.” She gripped it tightly in her hand. “And tomorrow, I’m going to use it to destroy your Phoenix, Solar Force.” With those words, she threw back her head, and let out a long, maniacal laugh.

Next day, around noon, Twilight walked into her kitchen, headed toward her fridge and opened it, looking for leftovers, only to not find what she was looking for. “Huh? Hey! Where's my leftover Omelette Rice?” She then frowned, before heading into the living room, only to see Solar Force lounging on the couch like usual. “Solar Force,” She said in an interrogating tone. “Did you raid my fridge last night?”

“Nooo,” Said Solar Force innocently.

“Did you eat my leftover Omelette Rice?” Twilight asked.

“Nooo,” Repeated Solar Force.

Twilight then looked closely at Solar’s face, before narrowing her eyes at him. “Is that a piece of rice stuck to your cheek?” She said, reaching out and pinching the tiny morsel away with two fingers. “Well, look at that, it is rice. And from the texture, I’d say it’s recently been reheated.”

“Oh, that,” Solar said, still trying to sound innocent. “How did that get there?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you how it got there,” Said Twilight accusingly. “It got there after you ate my Omelette Rice, because one, your a sloppy eater, and two, unlike most people, who wash their faces early in the morning, you always wait to wash your face in the afternoon, and since it’s not even noon yet, there’s no way you’ve washed your face.” She crossed her arms and glared at him. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Solar looked sheepish for a moment, but then he stared back at her with a devilish smirk. “It was delicious!” He said in triumph.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!” Twilight yelled in anger, and gave chase as Solar tried to flee from her vengeful wrath. However, as the furious, bespectacled girl chased him in circles around the room, something fell out of the young boy’s pocket. Twilight stopped, then knelt down to pick up the dropped item, before looking up Solar with a vengeful smirk. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Solar stopped in his tracks, turning around to look at her, only for his eyes to go wide in shock. “Hey, that's my wallet!” He exclaimed in worry. “Give that back!”

“Oh, ho, ho, no way,” Said the smirking Twilight. “I’ve got plans for this wallet. I think I’ll go treat myself to a nice, big lunch,” She narrowed her eyes, and her smirk grew in triumph. “All at your expense.”

“NOOO!!” Solar cried in horror. “NOT AT MY EXPENSE!!”

(30 minutes later)

“Mmm, that was so good,” Twilight said with a satisfied smile, patting her belly. She was sitting at a table outside a cafe, and she had just finished a three course meal. “And thank you so much for paying the bill, Solar,” She said with a devious smirk as she looked over at the miserable, distraught boy sitting across from her, laying his head on his arms, tears streaming down his face. “Very generous of you.”

At that moment, the three Crusaders popped their heads around the corner, watching Twilight and Solar closely.

“You see,” Said Sweetie Belle. “I told you they were on a date.

“I dunno,” Said Applebloom sceptically. “Doesn’t look like a date to me. I mean, look, Solar’s just sittin’ there, crying his eyes out.”

“All my money,” Solar said mournfully, staring into the bottom of his empty wallet. “You even spent the moths.”

“Wait, Moths?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow.

“Trust me, this is a classic romance scene,” Said Sweetie Belle. “Once he’s done crying, they’ll head back to either of their apartments, most likely Twilight’s, and then he’ll take her in his arms and then-” Her speech was cut off when a blushing Applebloom quickly placed her hand over her mouth.

“W-where are ya gettin’ this information?” She asked timidly, before removing her hand.

“Uhh,” Sweetie Belle blushed. “From my sister’s romance novels.”

Scootaloo scrunched up her face in disgust. “Blehh! You actually read that garbage?!” She exclaimed.

“Uh, y’know what, girls,” Said Applebloom in a bored voice. “I’ve lost interest in this. I’m out.”

“Wait, what?” Said a bewildered Sweetie Belle.

“I agree with Appleboom,” said a just as bored Scootaloo. “This is getting weird. I’m out too.”

“But girls, wait!” Said Sweetie Belle. “The sparks between the lovebirds are about to ignite!”

“We’re out!” Shouted Applebloom and Scootaloo in unison as they walked away.

In the old warehouse district, Starlight was giving instructions to her face hunter goons, sitting on a makeshift throne, made of boxes and crates. “All right, listen up! I want you to get out there, find Solar Force, and bring him here!” Instead of obeying her, they all looked at each other uneasily, like they were reluctant to follow her orders. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!”

“Uh,” Said one of the goons nervously. “You see Starlight, we… don’t really want to do this.”

“What?!” Starlight snapped, her eye twitching with barely suppressed fury. “May I ask why?!”

“Well, it’s just that,” Said another goon. “None of us want to face this guy again. We tried beating him twice, the first time was five on one, including you, and we lost. The second time was 100 on 1, and we still lost! He even took down Sunset!”

“Yeah, that kid is just way too strong for any of us!” Called out a third goon.

“Oh, I get it,” Said Starlight in a low, dangerous voice. “You are all just a bunch of cowards!”

“U-uh, no, Starlight, it’s not-”

Before the goon could finish, Starlight raised her launcher, and with a scream of rage, launched her new Bey with incredible force. It shot across the warehouse like a bullet, ricocheting off the far wall, leaving a large hole in its wake. It flew across to the opposite wall, impacting hard, leaving a hole in that wall, before bouncing off in another direction, crashing through a stack of crates, reducing them to splinters. This went on and on, with the wild Bey zig zagging in all directions, destroying everything in its path, with the FaceHunters ducking, covering their faces, or diving to the ground in fright. Finally, a smirking Starlight raised her hand, and caught the Bey out of the air.

“You see this?” She said in a low voice. “This is my new Bey. Dark Stryker, the first of its kind.” Her smirk grew slightly. “And believe me, it is by far the most powerful Bey that I have ever seen, and you have all just had a small taste of its power.” Her eyes narrowed in a furious scowl. “Now, get off your sorry, worthless behinds, AND BRING ME SOLAR FORCE!!”

The goons, utterly terrified, ran out of the warehouse faster than any of them had run before, both to carry out Starlight’s orders, and to not have to face her wrath.

Meanwhile, the CMC’s were still arguing with each other.

“I’m telling you,” Said Sweetie Belle. “The fireworks of passion were starting to ignite between the two of them!”

“Ugh, give it a rest, Sweetie Belle!” Snapped a scowling Scootaloo. “Before you make me lose my breakfast!”

“Yeah, and y’all seriously need ta lay off those stupid books of your sister’s,” Agreed an equally agitated Applebloom. “Do you even understand half the gunk you’ve been sayin’? And besides, ain’t y’all kinda young to be readin’ that kind of stuff?”

Before Sweetie Belle could answer, they were confronted by the FaceHunter goons. “Hey, kids! Tell us where that punk, Solar Force is, now!” The lead goon demanded.

The CMCs glanced up at them, but otherwise simply ignored them, before going straight back to arguing. The lead goon glared at them. “Hey, you little brats, I said-”

“Yeah, yeah, we heard you,” Scootaloo interrupted, sounding bored. “Why should we listen to you losers?”

“What’d you say?!”

“You heard her,” Said Sweetie Belle, sounding just as nonchalant as Scootaloo. “Why should we even listen to a bunch of washed up has bins?”

“Also, wasn’t it Solar Force who took down your entire gang, all by himself, even your precious leader?” Added Applebloom. “And you're still lookin’ for a fight with him?” She rolled her eyes. “You guys really are gluttons for punishment, ain't ya?”

Twilight and Solar had just left the restaurant and were on their way back to the shop, when they spotted the CMCs confronting the face hunters. “Hey, Solar, look. Aren’t they the FaceHunters?” Twilight said, pointing ahead.

“Ugh, what do they want now?” Solar groaned, before they dashed over to them. “Hey, girls, what’s going on?” He then glared at the FaceHunters. “Are these losers giving you trouble again?”

“It’s him!” One of the goons shouted.

“We’re not here for these pipsqueaks!” Shouted the lead goon. “We’re here for you, punk!” He pointed at Solar.

“Oh, really,” Said Solar with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry, not interested. I already kicked all your sorry butts.”

At this, the FaceHunters walked a short distance away and huddled together, whispering to each other. They couldn’t fully make out what they were saying, but they could tell from the tone that they were nervous.

“What are we gonna do…?”

“If we don’t get him to go, Starlight’s gonna…!”

“Hey, why don’t we…?”

The goons broke the huddle and headed back over to Solar and the others, and much to their shock, they got down on their knees and bowed, with the lead goon holding up his hands, presenting a coin purse. “Please accept this and come and see Starlight,” He said in a begging voice.

For a moment, there was a stunned silence, until…

“And there’s the payoff!” Shouted Scootaloo.

“You're paying him to go and battle Starlight?” Asked Twilight in disbelief.

“That’s just sad,” said Sweetie Belle, with a disappointed frown.

“Real sad,” agreed Applebloom.

Solar reached down and took the purse, opening it to look inside. “Wow, there's a lot in here,” He stated.

“Solar, you're not actually thinking of accepting their offer are you?” Twilight said.

“I can’t pass up free money,” Solar said with a shrug. “Not after you totally cleaned me out.”

“You had it coming for eating my Omelette Rice!” Twilight said indignantly.

“Well, the point is I’m broke,” Solar continued. “Besides, it’ll be a piece of cake. I already beat Starlight once before.” He tucked the purse in his pocket, and turns back to the FaceHunters. “Alright, let's go see what your second in command wants.”

“My purse,” said the lead goon.

“You mean my purse,” Solar smirked.

“Aw,” the lead goon groaned. He and the rest of the FaceHunters got back to their feet, and they led Solar, Twilight and the CMCs toward the old warehouse district.

As they approached the lair of the FaceHunters, Twilight leaned over to whisper to Solar. “Solar, are you seriously going along with this? This could very easily be a trap.”

“Of course it’s a trap, what else would it be?” Solar smirked back at her.

“And you're just going to walk right into it?!”

“You won’t get anyway by playing it safe all the time,” Solar shrugged. “Besides, I want my money.”

“You already have the money!”

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean I shouldn’t keep my end of the deal.”

“You’re impossible!”

They finally entered the warehouse, seeing Starlight sitting on the makeshift throne. Her eyes narrowed dangerously the moment she saw Solar. “Well, well, look who finally showed up,” she said coldly.

“Alright, Starlight, I’m here,” Said Solar nonchalantly. “Let's get this over with. I need to earn my pay.”

At this, Starlight raised both eyebrows. “Wait. Pay?” She said in confusion, before looking over at the FaceHunters and glaring at them. “Did you pay him to come and battle me?”

“Uh, well…” Said one of the goons sheepishly. “He wouldn’t come otherwise.”

Starlight slapped both hands to her forehead, and dragged down her face, breathing in deeply through her nose, before letting it out through gritted teeth. “Well, that completely kills the mood,” She groaned.

“Look, Starlight,” Solar said. “The deal was I come here and battle you, so let’s just skip the melodramatic stuff and get to it.”

“You know, I kind of had this whole thing planned out,” Starlight said as she stood up from her throne. “You would show up, I would give you a nice little villainous speech, you’d get mad at me and then we’d battle.” She rolled her eyes. “But the mood’s gone now, so I think I’ll just get to the part where I destroy Phoenix.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Solar asked.

Starlight reached into the holster on her hip, and held her new Bey for all to see. “Easy. With this,” She said with a sinister smirk. Everyone stared at it.

“I’ve never seen a Bey like that before,” Twilight said, as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her laptop. She booted it up and gave the Bey a scan. The results confused her. “What? No data? How’s that possible?”

Solar then gave an amused smirk. “Alright, Starlight, what serial box did you get that out of? Come on, I’m not gonna laugh, I promise.”

“Oh, I didn’t get this from no serial box,” Starlight said smugly, before raising her launcher and locking her new Bey into place. “But I’m gonna be the one laughing when I destroy Phoenix with my Dark Stryker.”

At this, Solar’s smile vanished. “What did she call it? Dark Stryker?” He said in an almost nervous voice.

“Uh, Solar, are you alright?” Twilight asked, noticing the sudden change in his demeanour. “Have you heard of this Dark Stryker?”

“There’s only one Bey I know with the word Dark in its name,” Solar thought, as a long, loud laugh, the laugh of a madman, echoed through his mind as he remembered his distant past. “Tell me, Starlight,” He demanded. “Where did you get that Bey?”

“Wouldn't you like to know,” Starlight said in snarky tone.

“Uh, yeah, that’s why he asked,” Said Sweetie Belle with a raised eyebrow.

“Fine. We’ll play it your way, Starlight,” Solar said with a determined look as he stepped forward, readied his own launcher, brought out Phoenix, and attached it to the launcher, ready for battle.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

With a flourish, both Bladers yanked on their ripcords, sending both their Beys rocketing towards each other. They collided with a clash, filling the air around them with sparks. They circled each other, like they were sizing the other up before moving in for a strike. Everyone watched intently, until Starlight declared, “Alright, enough of this tip toeing around. Dark Stryker, destroy his Phoenix!” With seemingly lightning fast speed, her Bey struck Solar’s, sending it flying across the warehouse, as Solar stared in shock.

“Whoa! I almost felt that! That Bey is fast, and really strong!” He said. “This might be tougher than I thought.”

“So much force,” Twilight said as she used her laptop to analyse the battle. “The amount of power behind that attack was off the charts! Where did Starlight get that Bey?”

“Alright, I shouldn't let this drag on,” Solar thought. “I’d better finish this fast. The sooner I end this, the sooner I get some answers.” He reached up and placed his head phones over his ears, before starting his music at max volume. As he lost himself in the beat, Phoenix began to zip back and forth in time with the rhythm. This was the technique that he had spent many hours perfecting, which he dubbed ‘The Dancing Phoenix’. Dark Stryker moved in for another attack, with Phoenix zipping out of the way. However, this proved fruitless, as Stryker suddenly did a Zig Zag manoeuvre, closing in for another hit. The attack struck home, sending Phoenix skidding away across the ground. Solar stared in disbelief. “What?! I wasn’t able to dodge her attack? How?!”

“You didn't seriously think it would be that easy did you?” Starlight said in a condescending tone.
“I've seen your battle style more than once, and trust me, it's useless against My Stryker!”

“We’ll see about that!” Solar shouted. “Go Phoenix!” His Bey moved in on hers, ready to hit back, but at the last second, Dark Stryker zig zagged away again, before reversing course, and speeding back for a counter attack, sending Phoenix flying again.

Off to the side, the three Crusaders watched the seemingly one sided battle with worry as Twilight finished a scan of Dark Stryker. She was shocked by the results. “No way!”

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Asked Applebloom nervously as she and the other Crusaders looked over her shoulder at the screen.

“I’ve figured out how Starlight’s Bey is able to manoeuvre so well,” Twilight Explained. “It has a completely rounded performance tip called The Eternal Smooth! I thought It was just an urban myth!”

“The Eternal Smooth?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s so special about it?”

“Well, normally, a Bey has a pointed performance tip,” Twilight explained. “It’s good for helping Beys keep their balance, but it does cause a small amount of drag while the Bey is spinning. However, The Eternal Smooth is a completely rounded performance tip, making it smooth enough to reduce air resistance to practically nothing.”

“In other words,” Scootaloo said nervously.

“No drag,” Twilight finished ominously. “That’s how it can change direction so fast, and why Phoenix can’t land a hit, as well as not being able to dodge it.”

“But that means Starlight has an unfair advantage!” Exclaimed Applebloom.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Starlight tutted snidely. “Don’t you know, all’s fair in love and war.”

Solar knew he was in real trouble. He had heavily underestimated the situation, and now he was backed into a corner. What could he do? “If what Twilight said is true, the secret of Dark Stryker’s power is in it’s completely smooth performance tip. What if… What if it wasn't smooth?! “That’s it!” He finished out loud. He then looked up at Starlight with a renewed sense of confidence and hope. “Sorry, Starlight, but it’s time to really heat this battle up, literally! Go Phoenix!” Solar’s Bey suddenly ignited into flames, charging toward Stryker, before circling it, going faster and faster, as the air began to get hotter and hotter. But Starlight was not intimidated.

“Try whatever tricks you like, It won’t change a thing. I’m still gonna destroy your Bey! Dark Stryker! Let’s end this! Special Move! Dark Lance!” At Starlight's command, Her Bey glowed a deep black, before speeding right into Phoenix’s path. It seemed like it would hit home, but a split second before impact, Phoenix sped away in the other direction, missing by inches. However, it continued to speed on across the warehouse, one of the metal support beams of the warehouse directly in its path. It hit the pillar with a juddering crash, before bouncing away. Everyone looked and stared in shock. Right where the Bey had struck, there was a large, perfectly round hole, right the way through the pillar. If that had hit Phoenix…? Solar shuddered at the thought. Starlight just smirked at the looks on everyone’s faces. “You scared? I would be If I was in your shoes!” She gloated.

At this point, Solar pulled his headphones off his ears. “Er, Starlight? Wasn’t that the support beam for this place?”

Starlight’s smirk vanished. “What?” She looked over at the pillar, and the damage she’d caused, as the pillar suddenly buckled and broke, as the whole warehouse was filled with the screeching of rending metal. Her eyes became pinpricks. “Uh oh.”

“The whole place is coming down!” Shouted Twilight.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!” Screamed the Crusaders.

Solar held out his hand as Phoenix leapt up and he caught it. “We’ll finish this later,” He said to the stunned Starlight, before turning and running toward Twilight and the Crusaders. “Let’s get out of here!” The girls didn’t need telling twice. They turned and ran as fast as they could out the warehouse. They made it out the door just in time, as the whole roof of the warehouse caved in, before the walls crumbled and collapsed, kicking up a huge plume of dust. They came to stop, coughing and spluttering, before looking back. The warehouse was now just a pile of rubble. “Well, that could have gone better,” Solar muttered.

“I think we should just go,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“Agreed,” Chimed the Crusaders.

So they all turned and left.

Meanwhile, Starlight and the FaceHunters looked over the damage she had caused.

“Sunset’s not gonna be happy about this,” Muttered one of the goons.

At this, Starlight's face scrunched up in rage, as she grabbed her beanie hat off her head, throwing it to the ground, and stomping on it furiously, as she let out a furious scream. “DANG IT!!”

After seeing the Crusaders back home, Solar and Twilight were now back at the shop. Twilight was carefully examining Phoenix. “Wow! Look at this damage! Even though that battle was short, that Bey Starlight used was really powerful. Where did she get it?” She looked over at Solar, who was lying on the couch. He was unusually quiet. From his face, she could tell he was troubled. “Solar?”

Solar didn’t answer. He was lost in his own thoughts. “That Bey she used. How is it possible that she had another Dark Bey? Could this have something to do with…?” His thoughts trailed off as he let out a yawn. “I’m too tired to think about this now.” He looked over at Twilight. “Goodnight.” He then closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

“Uh, goodnight,” Twilight said. “He must be really tired.” She thought, before turning back to her work on Phoenix.

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, the man known as Jack was studying the data from Starlight and Solar’s battle.

“Hmm, it has power, just not the kind of power we’re looking for,” Analysed Jack with a disappointed frown.

At that moment, the clacking sound of high heels could be heard approaching him. It was Chrysalis. “So, what does the data show?” She asked.

“Dark Stryker was a success to an extent. The Bey fed off young Starlight’s negativity, making it that much stronger, but unfortunately, it’s not what you're looking for,” He explained.

“Well, then, we will just have to keep manufacturing more Dark Beys,” Chrysalis said while rubbing her chin. “Oh, and one more thing. How is our little friend doing?” She asked.

Jack changed the display on the screen to show Sunset Shimmer training with all of her might. She was panting heavily, and her body was dripping with sweat, but she powered on furiously, not letting up for a second.

“Her training is going well, but she still has a long way to go,” Jack stated neutrally.

“Hmm, well, in that case, I think it’s time for me and Miss Shimmer to go on a little field trip,” Chrysalis said with a conniving smirk. “Jack, continue your research into Project Darkness. I want to know any and all progress as it happens,” She ordered.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Said Jack with his own smirk.

Chrysalis then left Jack to his work, making her through the facility, and entering another room. In this room was a large metal and glass cylinder, surrounded by monitoring equipment. She stepped up to the cylinder, placing her hand on the glass, as she gazed at the figure inside.

“Soon, you will awaken once again, my young friend. And when that time comes, you and I will finally have our revenge.” She gave a sinister smirk, before letting out a villainous cackle.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 4: The New Dark Bey

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At the Canterlot City Bey Park, Solar Force and his friends were gathered once again, with Solar already engaged in a heated battle. His opponent for this match was the young fashionista, Rarity, who gazed at him with an air of confidence and grace.

“Ah ha!” She said, holding up a fan in front of her face. “I’ve got you now, you young rapscallion! Close in, Diamond Eagle!” Her Bey closed in Solar’s Phoenix, ready to strike.

“That’s what you think,” Said Solar with a confident smirk. “Sorry to disappoint you, Rarity, but it’s me who’s got you.”

“What?” Rarity asked, her smile dropping, “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see in sec,” Solar said confidently. “Go, Phoenix!” He commanded, and his Bey zig zagged away at a blistering pace, circling back around the rim of the dish, and before Rarity could do anything to stop it, slammed hard into her Bey, sending it flying up and over the edge of the stadium, and clattering to the ground, where it came to a juddering halt. “Alright!” Solar cheered. “Sorry, Rarity, looks like I won again!”

“Ohhh, whoa is me!” Rarity cried melodramatically, before raising her hand to her forehead, and giving an exaggerated gasp as she let herself fall backwards in a “faint”... only to sit up a moment later, rubbing the back of her head. “Ouch!” She cried in pain, before looking around in confusion. “Wait a minute. Where is Sweetie Belle with my fainting couch?”

“Uhh, what?” Solar said, looking down at her strangely, before looking off to the side at Applejack, who just rolled her eyes at Rarity’s antics. “Uhh, did she just say…?”

“Yup,” Applejack said bluntly.

“So her sister just…?” Solar asked.

“Yup,” Applejack said again.

“How does Sweetie Belle carry that around with her?” Solar said with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s one of life’s great unsolvable mysteries,” Applejack replied in a deadpan tone.

It was at that moment that the CMCs walked into the park, chatting excitedly to each other.

“These medallions are so cool!” Scootaloo said, holding up what looked like a small rock on a string, which was covered in a badly drawn star pattern.

“I know,” agreed Apple Bloom, holding up a trinket just like Scootaloo’s.

“Not only that,” Sweetie Belle said, holding up her own ‘medallion’. “Now that we have them, we’ll be the greatest Bladers in the world, because we will never lose a battle ever again!”

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity said as she got back to her feet, and looked at her sister sternly. “Just where do you think you have been? You missed your cue with my fainting couch.”

Sweetie Belle sighed wearily, and rolled her eyes. “Rarity,” she whined, “I’ve got more important things to do with my time than just be your pack mule for your stupid couch.”

Rarity gasped. “Don’t you use that tone with me young lady,” she said in a reprimanding tone, marching over to her sister, and they quickly started arguing with each other.

Solar, meanwhile, walked over to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Hey, what’s that you girls were saying about never losing a battle ever again?” He asked curiously.

“That’s right,” Scootaloo said with a smirk. “We won’t lose to you anymore.”

“Not now that we’ve got these,” Apple Bloom said smugly, as she and Scootaloo held up their ‘medallions’.

Applejack walked up beside Solar, and they both looked at the rocks sceptically. “They just look like rocks with a bit of paint on them,” Solar observed.

“You got that right,” Applejack agreed, before frowning at her sister. “You sure you ain’t bin duped, Sugarcube?”

“What?” Apple Bloom said, looking at her sister disbelievingly. “No way.” She then smirked as she said, “Why, with this medallion, I’ll be the greatest Blader in the world, because I won’t ever lose a battle again!”

“Never lose a battle again, huh?” Solar said with interest and a smirk of his own. “I’ll take that challenge.”

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Apple Bloom said in a sing-song voice. “I ain’t gonna lose to you this time.”

“OK,” Solar smirked back at her, “Only one way to find out.” He then turned and headed toward the Bey dish, taking his position and preparing his Bey. “Bring it on, oh so unbeatable one.”

“You got it,” Apple Bloom said confidently, taking her place opposite Solar, and preparing her own Bey. “I’m gonna make you regret ever challenging me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Solar said back with a playful smirk.

“Yeah, you got this, Apple Bloom!” Cheered Sweetie Belle.

“Kick his butt, AB!” Smirked Scootaloo confidently.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

Apple Bloom and Solar launched their Beys with a flourish, and they sped toward each other at great speed. “Alright, Solar,” Apple Bloom said with confidence and pride. “You're about to get a taste of my Apple...” She stopped abruptly, as, with just one hit, her Bey went flying out of the arena, and landed with a clatter at her feet. “W-what?!” She cried in shock. “What happened?!”

“What’s that you were saying about never losing again?” Solar asked with a teasingly smug tone, as his Bey jumped back into his hand.

“What the heck was that?!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, just as shocked as Apple Bloom.

“That wasn’t even 5 seconds!” Added Scootaloo.

“B-but...but how?!” Apple Bloom protested.

“I tried to warn ya, Sugarcube,” Applejack said with a shrug. “I knew that you’d been duped.”

“Alright, stand aside!” Scootaloo said with determination, pushing Apple Bloom aside and readying her own Bey. “That one time was a fluke! Now, try your luck against me and my medallion, hotshot!”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom whined at her friend.

“Alright,” Solar said with a shrug. “If that’s what you want.” He raised his own Bey once more. “Anything to clear up this mess.”

“Bring it!” Scootaloo shouted defiantly.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

The combatants launched their Beys… and a moment later, Scootaloo’s Bey went flying over her shoulder, and came to rest on the ground behind her. She remained still for a moment, before turning stiffly to see the evidence of what had just happened. “N-no...no way!” She stuttered in disbelief.

“Convinced those things are bogus, now?” Solar asked with a big smirk.

“No way!” Scootaloo shouted at him in frustration, before looking over at Sweetie Belle. “OK, it’s your turn, now! Get in there!”

“OK!” Sweetie Belle said with a look of defiance, as she readied her own Bey and took Scootaloo’s place. “Time to put you in your place, Mr Lucky!”

“Bring it!” Solar announced, readying his Bey one more time.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

The two combatants launched their Bey’s… and almost instantly, one went flying out of the arena, straight up into the air, and came hurtling down toward Sweetie Belle’s feet, where it hit the ground with a clatter, and juddered to a halt. It happened so fast, that Sweetie Belle hadn’t even registered that she had already lost. She slowly looked down toward her feet, where her Bey lay, and then looked back up at Solar, her right eye twitching as the cold hard fact sunk in. “I-It c-can’t be,” she said slowly and unsteadily.

“No way!” Apple Bloom cried.

“That didn’t just happen!” Shouted Scootaloo in frustration.

“OK, surely you girls have had enough by now,” Solar said with a smirk.

“No way!” They shouted in unison as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stepped up beside Sweetie Belle as they all glared at him with indignant anger, their eyes filled with hunger for revenge.

“This isn’t over yet!” Snapped Apple Bloom.

“Those wins were all flukes!” Scootaloo said in defiance.

“Yeah! We only just got those medallions, so their effect must not have kicked in yet!” Sweetie Belle finished. “Battle us again! You’ll see!”

“Really?” Solar said in a deadpan tone. “You know what? I’m getting tired of this. How about we save time and have all three of you take me on at once? I won’t even bother launching this time.” He said, gesturing to the stadium, where his Phoenix Bey was still spinning. “So, come on, girls. I’m giving myself a handicap here. Bring it on!”

“Yeah!” The CMCs yelled, readying their Bey’s once more.

“This won’t end well,” Applejack said with a frown.

“Agreed, darling,” Rarity said with her own frown.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

Three Beys were sent rocketing toward the one lone Bey in the centre of the arena. They struck it all at once...and merely bounced off like they had done no damage at all. The three girls tried desperately to knock Solar’s Phoenix off balance or slow it down, to seemingly no effect at all.

“Sorry girls,” Solar said with another smirk, “but it’s time to end this farce. Go, Phoenix!” At his command, Phoenix finally moved from it’s spot, and with blazing speed, lapped the arena, and with a crash, sent all three of the girls Bey’s flying out of the arena, before they each came crashing down at the girls feet. The looks of utter shock and disbelief and their faces made Solar smirk. “OK, surely now you girls are convinced those cheap trinkets are nothing but junk,” he said in a cocky tone.

The three girls all just stared across at him, before slowly looking at each other, and then they scowled furiously. “We’ve been duped!” Apple Bloom shouted, throwing her medallion onto the ground.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo snapped, also throwing her painted rock on the ground. “These things are just pieces of junk!”

“Wait till I get my hands on that girl who sold these to us!” Shouted Sweetie Belle indignantly, also throwing her medallion down to the ground as well.

“Well, now that you girls have finally come back to your senses,” Applejack said seriously with crossed arms. “How’s about telling us where exactly you got those worthless rocks?”

“We can do better than that,” Apple Bloom replied.

“We can show her to you,” Added Sweetie Belle.

“Follow us,” finished Scootaloo.

The CMCs led Solar Force, Applejack and Rarity out of the Bey park and through the streets, until they stopped as they heard a loud, obnoxious voice.

“That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! Come one, come all, and be amazed at this stupendous new product!” Following this loud proclamation, a series of flashes and loud explosions filled the air like a fireworks display. They made their way through a small crowd, until they saw a teenage girl with light blue skin, white hair with blue streaks, and dark maroon eyes. She was dressed in a blue hoodie, a purple skirt with blue lining and a magician's wand printed on the side. She also wore a stage magician's outfit, consisting of a pointed purple hat imprinted with moons and stars, and a long cape of similar colour and design to the hat. She stood in front of a table with a white cloth on it, and a Bey arena on the top. She then raised her arms with a flourish as she then proclaimed loudly, “a miraculous product produced by the Great, Powerful, and Amazing Trixie!” With those words, more flashes and bangs filled the air, which it turned out were indeed fireworks, and multi coloured sparklers. Solar and the girls just stared at this display with deadpan stares.

“This...is who sold you those rocks?” Solar asked slowly.

“Yep, that’s her,” Apple Bloom said with a slow nod.

“What a show off,” muttered Applejack.

“Indeed,” agreed Rarity with a distasteful grimace. “Just looking at that tacky outfit alone is making my eyes hurt.”

“And what might that amazing product be you may ask,” Trixie went on, “why, it’s none other than this!” She then held up a rock which had been painted with the same star pattern as the ones the CMCs had been given. “That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! With this miraculous medallion, you will never lose a Bey Battle ever again! If you don’t believe the words of The Great and Powerful Trixie, then perhaps a demonstration is in order. Who will face me in a battle?”

“I will!” shouted a young, cocky voice from the crowd. A young boy ran forwards, his Bey loaded into his launcher and already out stretched. “No way I’m gonna lose to you and some rock!”

“Oh really,” Trixie smirked, holding up her own Bey. “You will soon learn your lesson, little boy.”

“Bring it on!” The boy challenged.

“This oughta be interesting,” Solar said with intrigue.

“Eeyep,” Agreed Applejack. “Interesting how she pulls off this little scam of hers.”

“Indeed,” Rarity nodded.

“Kick that faker’s butt!” called Scootaloo.

“Yeah, teach that loud mouth a lesson!” added Sweetie Belle.

“Make her pay for selling us a bunch of rocks!” Finished Apple Bloom.

The young boy glared at Trixie, while she merely looked back at with absolute smugness, as they held up their Beys.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

The boy and Trixie launched their Beys, with the Boy’s Bey closing on Trixie’s fast, while Trixie’s Bey merely sat in the middle of the arena. It closed in until...it hit her Bey...and merely bounced off, seemingly not causing any damage. The boy stared in disbelief, as Trixie's smug expression grew. “I told you, my young friend. With this medallion, no one can defeat The Great and Powerful Trixie!” The boy glared at her even harder, before sending his Bey in to attack again...and again...and again...but no matter how hard he tried, Trixie’s Bey would not budge an inch. Finally, the boy’s Bey spun slower and slower, until it came to a halt. Trixie simply looked across at her defeated opponent with a smug, condescending smile. “So, are you now convinced that Trixie is unbeatable?” She asked. The boy, stunned, simply nodded. “Would you like to be as unbeatable as Trixie?” The boy nodded again. “Well, don’t worry, because now you can,” Said Trixie before turning to the crowd with a flourish. “And so can all of you lucky people! All you need to do is buy one of these!” She held the stone up for them all to see. “The Great and Powerful Trixie’s Guaranteed Victory Stones! Only 10$ each!”

“What?!” Applejack exclaimed. “10$?!” She then turned to look at her now sheepish looking sister. “Apple Bloom?” she asked sternly.

“What, Applejack?” Apple Bloom said nervously.

“Don’t tell me you spent your whole allowance on this garbage?” Applejack asked warningly.

“I didn’t!” Apple Bloom objected, before saying sheepishly, “Well, not quite all of it.”

“How much is not quite?” Applejack asked.

“9.99,” Apple Bloom muttered sheepishly.

Applejack frowned deeply at her sister before letting out a huff. “We’re gonna discuss how to be more responsible with money when we get home,” she said in a voice that gave no room for augment.

“Ohh, man,” Apple Bloom groaned.

“OK, this is getting ridiculous,” Solar said, and was about to step forward to confront the boastful girl himself, when he jumped in surprise as another voice from someone beside suddenly spoke.

“Not so fast, Solar,'' said Twilight Sparkle, as she peered at the screen of her laptop. “Something’s not right about this.”

“Twilight!” Solar exclaimed in surprise. “When did you get here?! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Twilight looked up from her screen, giving Solar an odd look. “Solar, I’ve been here the whole time. You seriously didn’t notice me?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The whole time?!” Solar exclaimed again. He then gave Twilight a thoughtful expression. “You know, we really should put a bell on you or something.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the suggestion, Solar,” she said sarcastically. “I’ll take that under advisement.” She then continued in a more business-like tone. “Anyway, I would advise not to battle this Trixie person just yet.”

“Huh?” Solar asked in confusion. “Why not?”

“Because if you battle her as you are right now, you’ll lose for sure,” Twilight went on matter of factually.

“What?!” Solar said indignantly, his eye twitching. “Me, lose to her?! Impossible!”

“Oh, it’s very possible,” Twilight said as she turned back to her computer and began tapping away on the keyboard. “Especially if your opponent happens to be cheating.”

“Cheating?!” Shouted Solar, along with Applejack, Rarity, and the CMCs in unison.

“Mm hmm,” Twilight said with a nod, and began explaining. “You see, during Trixie’s last battle, I scanned her Bey, and the results were alarming. Turns out, every time her opponent’s Bey closed in for an attack, it never even actually hit it before it got bounced back, therefore it never did any damage.”

“It never even landed a hit?” Solar asked, “How could it do that?”

“Simple,” Twilight said, “It all comes down to science. Or more precisely, it comes down to magnetism. According to my analysis, a negatively charged magnetic field was being produced from underneath the stadium. The negative magnetic field was redirecting the boy’s Bey before it could even land an effective strike.”

“So, basically, his Bey never even touched hers,” Rarity stated.

“Precisely,” Twilight confirmed.

“Why, of all the dirty, underhanded tricks!” Applejack scowled, balling her fists.

“So, you see why you can’t battle her, Solar?” Twilight asked.

“Why, that dirty cheat!” Solar said with a glare. “She’s gotta be taught a lesson!”

“Not yet, Solar,” Twilight insisted.

“But what am I supposed to do if I can’t battle her?” Solar asked, “Just let her carry on cheating people out of their money?”

“Like I said, you can’t battle her as you are right now,” Twilight said, before holding out her hand. “Give me your Bey, quick.”

“Uh, OK,” Solar said, handing his Phoenix Bey over to her. “What for?”

“Just need to make a few little Tweaks,” Twilight said, before setting to work.

Meanwhile, Trixie walked over to her defeated opponent. “So, what do you say, kid,” She asked with her usual swagger. “Wanna be as unbeatable as the Great And Powerful Trixie?” She then held one of the stones. “If you do, here’s your ticket to Blading glory right here.” The boy then reached for the stone, before she pulled it back with a shake of her head. “Uh uh,” she said in a sing song tone. “I’m not just giving these away for free.” She then held out her other hand expectantly. “Pay up, kid.”

“Can you believe this?” Asked Apple Bloom with a grimace.

“Yeah, she’s basically intimidating him into paying for that piece of junk,” agreed Sweetie Belle. “It’s disgusting.”

“Who would actually fall for this garbage, anyway?” asked Scootaloo rhetorically.

“Cool!” Shouted an enthusiastic voice. “I’ll take 20!”

“Sold!” Trixie called, turning to face…

“Rainbow Dash?!” Applejack, Rarity, the CMCs, and Solar shouted together in disbelief, as they watched wide eyed as said rainbow haired girl handed a wad of cash over to Trixie.

“Oh hey girls,” Rainbow said as she took her new ‘medallions.’ “Aren’t these awesome?”

“Rainbow Dash, what do you think you're doing?” Applejack said with a frown. “You realise that you just been scammed out of all your money on a bunch of rocks?”

“Rocks?” Rainbow said, looking down holding up one of the ‘Medallions’ and examining it closely. “Oh,” she said sheepishly. “Heh, heh, I guess you're right.” She then scowled and turned to face Trixie. “Hey! I want my money back!” she demanded.

“Sorry,” Trixie said dismissively. “No returns and no refunds.”

“What?!” Rainbow snapped. “You can’t do that?! That’s not fair!”

“Sorry, but that’s business,” Trixie said condescendingly, before turning back to the crowd. “Now, who will be the next to test their worth against The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“I will!” Solar shouted, about to step forward, when he was jolted back as Twilight grabbed his arm. “Hey! What’s the idea?”

“You can’t face her,” Twilight said. “At least not yet. Your Bey isn’t ready. Like I already told you, if you face her now, you’ll lose for sure.”

“Aww, come on,” Solar groaned. “We can’t let her get away with this.”

“What’s that? A challenge?” Trixie said, turning to look at Solar and the girls.

“That’s right!” Solar shouted back at her.

“Solar, don’t do anything foolish,” Twilight warned him.

“Aww, what’s this, now?” Trixie teased, “You need your girlfriend's permission before you can face Trixie?”

“W-what?!” Solar and Twilight stuttered in unison. “She’s/he’s not my girlfriend/boyfriend!” The other girls could not help sniggering behind their hands. “Shut up!” The embarrassed pair shouted at them.

“Well, anyway,” Twilight said, clearing her throat. “I’ve got work to do.” She opened her laptop and set to work on Solar’s Bey. All Solar could do was wait, much to his annoyance.

“Could you hurry it up, please?” He asked her impatiently.

“Just a minute,” Twilight said. “OK…tweak here...slight adjustment there...and...done!” She then proudly handed his Bey back to him. “Here you go.”

“About time,” Solar said, taking his Bey back from her, and marching toward Trixie. “OK, it’s time to make you pay all of these people’s money back.”

“About time,” Trixie said impatiently. “Trixie was getting bored.” She and Solar faced each other, and raised their Bey’s, ready for the battle to begin.

“Hey, Twilight?” Asked Apple Bloom with a bit of concern in her voice. “Solar can beat her, right?”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Twilight said with a reassuring smile, which then became a smug grin. “With the modifications I made to Solar’s Bey, there’s no way he can lose.”

“What did you do to his Bey, exactly?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“Is it something super cool?” Scootaloo asked with intrigue and a hint of excitement.

“You’ll see, girls,” Twilight replied with a cheeky wink. “Just watch.”

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

Solar and Trixie launched their Bey’s, and they landed in the arena, with Trixie’s Bey heading straight to the middle, while Solar’s circled it at high speed. “Alight, go get it, Phoenix!” Solar commanded, and his Bey closed in for a strike.

Trixie was not worried at all. “You will soon taste defeat at the hands of the Great And Powerful Trixie!” She shouted condescendingly, “stand strong, Virgo!” Her smirk only grew as Solar Phoenix drew ever closer. She fully expected a repeat of what happened in her last battle...but her face turned from smugness to utter shock as the attack from Solar’s Bey struck home, sending her own Bey spiralling and swerving up the side of the arena before skidding back down toward the centre again. “W...w-what?!” she stuttered in disbelief. “How is that possible?!”

“Whoa!” Exclaimed Scootaloo with wide eyes. “He actually hit it!”

“He broke through her unbreakable defence!” Put in Sweetie Belle.

“He may have a chance of beating her after all!” Finished Apple Bloom.

“I told you so,” Twilight said proudly.

“Lame sakes,” Applejack said. “What exactly did you do to his Bey, anyway?”

“Let's just say I evened the playing field, metaphorically speaking,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’ll explain later.

“Alright,” Solar said to his opponent with a wide grin. “Now that you can’t cheat anymore, let’s have a real battle and see how great and powerful you really are.”

Trixie was now livid with fury. “I’ll make you pay for this!” she screamed in rage. “You and your little helper over there!” She pointed accusingly at Twilight, before continuing the battle. “Counter attack, Virgo!” Her Bey then finally moved from its position in the centre of the stadium and began giving chase to Solar’s Bey. “Ha! Now you will see the true wrath of The Great and Powerful Trixie!” She boasted.

“Oh yeah?” Solar said with a confident smile. “We’ll see about that. Go Phoenix!” At his command, Phoenix increased speed, zooming ahead of Virgo, as it raced around the edge of the stadium. With each rotation of the stadium, Phoenix edged further and further ahead of Virgo, until it was closing in on Virgo from the opposite direction.

As it closed in on it’s target, Trixie didn’t seem worried. “You fool,” she said. “You think you can sneak up on Trixie? Guess again! Get him Virgo!” Her Bey suddenly zipped off to the side, before turning back toward Phoenix, and was now closing in fast. “I have you now!”

“Bring it!” Solar said in a challenging tone, as the two Bey’s raced toward each other. They finally collided with a clash and a spray of sparks, both Bey’s trying to overpower the other. They pushed away from each other and clashed again, and again, neither one seeming to gain any ground. The other girls were on edge as they watched, especially the CMCs.

“Ha ha!” Trixie laughed mockingly. “Is that the best you’ve got? Pathetic! You're not even worth Trixie’s time! Finish him off, Virgo!”

“Oh, this isn’t my best,” Solar said back. “This isn’t even a warm up for me.” He then gave a big grin as he said, “you want my best? Well, here it is.” He then put on his headphones, and his music began blasting away in his ears. Trixie looked at him strangely, but the other girls smiled excitedly at what they knew was about to happen. Looking back down at the battle, Trixie’s eyes widened in shock as Phoenix began accelerating to an incredible speed, as it darted and zig zagged across the stadium, leaving a trail of flames in its wake. It was like Phoenix had Virgo trapped in a web of flames. With one final change of direction, Phoenix charged in, and with one huge strike, sent Virgo up and flying out of the stadium, before it came crashing down at a horrified Trixie’s feet.

“HE WON!!” The CMCs cheered.

“See,” Twilight said with a large smile. “What did I tell you?”

“Superb performance, Solar,” Rarity said with a pleased smile of her own.

“You really got her good there, partner,” Applejack said, smiling as well.

“Eh, I could have taken him,” Rainbow said smugly, but then said with a grateful smile, “but, nice job kid.”

“Thanks a lot, everybody,” Solar said with a smile and a thumbs up. “Especially you, Twilight. Whatever you did to my Bey, it really did the trick.”

“Did to your Bey?” Trixie said, before pointing an accusing finger at both Solar and Twilight. “I knew it! There’s no way you could have beaten The Great and Powerful Trixie! You must have cheated, and you just admitted it!”

“Actually, he wasn’t cheating,” Twilight said with a smug smile as she stepped forward toward Trixie. “I just evened the playing field by swapping out the materials his Bey was made from. To be precise, non-magnetic materials,” her smile became more smug, “just like what your Bey is made from.” Trixie suddenly looked nervous as Twilight went on. “That’s right. I figured out your little secrets. Both the material your Bey’s components are made from, and…” she suddenly took everyone by surprise as she flipped the Bey stadium off the table, before she kicked the table over to one side. “This!” Everyone gasped at what they saw. Sitting on the ground, in a crouching position, was one of Trixie's lackeys, Lavender Lace, and in her hand was a red horseshoe shaped magnet. “Like I said,” Twilight went on, ”non magnetic materials, so you couldn’t cheat by diverting Solar’s Bey away from yours by using that magnet, just like you did with the other Bladers you cheated out of their money with.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd started to boo and jeer at Trixie, demanding that they give them their money back, before trying to pelt her with the painted stones she had conned them into paying for. Now that she was exposed, Fuchsia quickly got back to her and cowered behind Trixie. “Get away from me you idiot!” She screamed at her in anger. “This is all your fault!” She then glared furiously at the crowd. “Like I said before, no refunds!” She yelled, before turning to face Solar and Twilight. “I swear, The Great And Powerful Trixie will have her revenge on both of you! You just wait!” She then held up her hand, before tossing it down, and with a flash, she and her assistants disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“She’s gone!” Solar gasped.

“No, there she is, running into that alley,” said Pinkie Pie suddenly from beside him, making him jump, as she pointed to the retreating forms of Trixie and her lackeys, who froze in their tracks, as they angry crowd turned to glare at them, before turning and running as the crowd turned angry mob gave chase, yelling out demands to give them back their money.

“Pinkie, where did you come from?” Solar asked in confusion. “What are you even doing here?”

“Eh,” Pinkie shrugged, “Just here for the gag.”

“Uhh, gag?” Solar said in utter confusion.

“Yeah, just a little gag that was put in by the authors,” Pinkie replied with a smile and a knowing wink. “Any who, gotta go now. Bye.” With that, she turned and walked away.

“First Twilight, now Pinkie appearing out of nowhere? What is going on with everybody today?” Solar muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, within the large, very dark laboratory, Jack was hunched over a huge keyboard, which sat in front of a vast array of many huge monitors, which displayed graphs, statistics, and diagrams of a new Beyblade.

“Alright, that should do it,” He said to himself with a satisfied smirk. “Now the process can begin.” He then pressed the enter key on the keyboard.

In the room next to the lab, was a large machine, which held a long glass chamber, big enough for a human to lie inside. Inside the chamber, lay the unconscious form of a teenage boy. His whole body suddenly lit up with a sinister dark glow, before some of said aura was siphoned off, disappearing up a tube at the top of the chamber. The dark aura flowed along the tube until it came out into a glass container on top of a plinth. Once this was done, the glass container lit up with lights and lasers, which crossed and zig zagged in a fast, organised pattern, and the distinctive shape of a Beyblade began to take form. As this was happening, the dark energy flowed from one container to the other, imbuing the new Bey with the dark power as it was formed.

Jack monitored the birth of his latest creation with laser sharp focus. This had to work perfectly. Nothing must go wrong. He had suffered too many failures already.

However, as the new Bey neared completion, his attention was drawn when an odd smell reached his nose. He sniffed, and then frowned.

“Is..is that smoke?” he said, before raising his head from the screens to look around, sniffing again. “Yes, that is smoke.” A look of panic then crossed his face. “ON NO!! THAT’S SMOKE!!” He was then bombarded with an array of alarms, and the monitors showed the machine creating the Bey begin to spark and smoke. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NOT AGAIN! I JUST BUILT THIS THING!” He slammed his hand down on an emergency button, causing a set of valves in the ceiling to release a spray of C02 to quickly suppress and put out the flames. Once the fire was out, and the gas and smoke had been vented, Jack pawed at his face with his hands, shaking with frustration and rage. “ANOTHER 5.5 MILLION DOWN THE DROWN! THE FOURTH TIME THIS WEEK!” He slammed his fist down on the desk. “HOW MUCH MORE PERFECTLY GOOD MONEY IS SHE GONNA MAKE ME THROW AWAY ON THIS FANTASY PROJECT OF HERS?!”

“Are you quite finished, Jack?” Said Chrysalis in a cold, unamused voice, as she came strutting into the lab, her high heeled shoes clacking on the metallic floor with every step. “Have you completed your current task yet?” she asked in a stern, cold tone.

“As a matter of fact, yes, I have,” Jack said, rolling his eyes. “Give me just a moment.” He then headed into the room where the machines were, and retrieved the newly created Bey, which had, despite the setbacks, been fully completed. He walked back over to Chrysalis, and unenthusiastically presented it to her. “Here’s your precious new Dark Bey that you wanted that cost me so much trouble and MONEY to create for you.”

“Ah, it’s ready,” Said Chrysalis with a smirk. “Let me examine it for myself.” Still grumbling, Jack handed the new Bey over to her. She held it up before her eyes, turning it in hand to see it from all angles. “Magnificent,” she said with pride. “You have done an outstanding job, Jack.” She then handed the Bey back to him. “Now, go and find someone to give this to.”

“What?!” Jack shouted indignantly. “Have you looked around this place?! I can’t just up and leave this mess!”

“You will do as you are ordered, Jack,” Chrysalis warned, “or you will suffer the consequences of disobedience.”

“Look, Chrysalis,” Jack said with narrowed eyes, “let’s be real here. You see that machine in there?” He pointed to the machine in the opposite room. “Do you know how much that machine cost? Well, I’ll tell you. 5.5 million. Just for that one. And that’s the fifth one I’ve built. And out of those five machines, I’ve only managed to make 2 Dark Beys for you. Just 2!”

“And your point is?” Chrysalis said with a flat tone, already bored of Jack’s rambling.

“My point is, Chrysalis,” Jack went on, “we are spending too much effort, too many resources, and too much money on this deadbeat project of yours. We’re getting close to the billion mark here. Billions! Obtaining the right parts, transportation costs, not to mention all the hush money! And not to mention all the costs to build and maintain that little chamber for that sleeping pet of yours!”

At this, Chrysalis slammed her clenched fist down on the desk so hard, she actually left a small dent, before giving Jack a cold, furious glare. “DON’T YOU DARE CALL HIM A PET!” She screamed in rage. “AND NEED I REMIND YOU THAT FOR THIS ORGANIZATION, MONEY IS NO OBJECT!” She then took a deep breath, before continuing in a more level, but icy voice, “so is there a point to all of your whining, Jack?”

“My point is,” Jack said, seemingly unfazed by Chrysalis's fury, “that if you want this project to succeed, then I’m going to have to build a machine that actually creates Dark Bey’s for you, without catching fire, or blowing up, and for that to happen, I’m going to have to work on it non stop to get it right, which means I can’t leave the lab for anything, since this project needs 100% of my attention, which also means I can’t go and distribute these Bey’s whenever you ask me to. I need someone else to hand them out for me.”

“And what do you expect me to do?” Chrysalis asked. “Get another one of my employees to distribute the Bey’s for you?”

“Well, of course…” Jack began, before he paused, pondering for a moment. “You know, on second thought, I have a better idea.” He then turned his head to the far side of the lab. “NEO?!” He yelled. “GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT HERE!”

Another door, in the far wall, slid open, revealing a small, cosy, but quite messy looking room. On one side was a large screen TV, and in the middle of the floor was a Japanese style Kotatsu. Poking out from underneath the Kotatsu was the head of a teenage girl, with long, mostly pink, and part brown hair, lazily scooping spoonful's of ice cream into her mouth from a small tub beside her as she watched the TV listlessly.

“Hey! Neo!” Jack shouted down at her as he stepped into the room. “Get out here right now you worthless little parasite!” He walked right up to her, and reached to grab one of her hands...only for the girl to stab him in the back of the hand with what seemed to be her spoon. He pulled his hand back and howled with pain. “YEEEOOOWWW!” He rubbed his hand vigorously as he glared down at the girl, who’s spoon turned out to have three small prongs, like a fork. “Is...is that a spork?!” He shouted incredulously. “Who eats ice cream with a spork?!”

The girl just stared blankly up at him, before reaching under the Kotatsu, and pulling out a sketchbook and a pen. She quickly scribbled something on it, and then turned the pad to show it to jack. It read, “How am I supposed to defend my ice cream from greedy hands with just a spoon?”

“You defend your ice cream with a spork?!” Spluttered Jack. “What kind of person does that?!”

The girl known as Neo scribbled in her sketchbook again, and showed Jack what she had written. “Duh. I do.”

“Jack,” Chrysalis spoke up as she walked into the tiny room. “Why are you pestering that girl under that Kotatsu? Or, better question, who is that girl under the Kotatsu?”

Jack grunted grouchily. “This,” he said with a heavy sigh, “is Neopolitan, Neo for short. She’s...ugh...my niece,” He finished with an eye roll.

“And why, pray tell, are we even bothering with this child?” Chrysalis asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neo then scribbled yet again in her sketch book, before showing them what she had written. It now read, “Yeah, why are you bothering me?”

“Or better question, why is this child even here?” Chrysalis continued, not even acknowledging Neo with a second glance.

“Because she was dumped on me,” Jack said with gritted teeth, “and now I’m stuck with her. Luckily, she stays here in her little hidey hole and doesn't get in the way of my work. However, now that I’ve hit this little speed bump in this project of yours, I'll need her to deliver this,” he held up the newly created Dark Bey to show to Chrysalis once more, “and I’ll also need her to collect data, and bring it back to me.”

Neo, once again, scribbled in her sketchbook, and held it up. It now read, “And why would I do that?”

“Because, Neo,” Jack said with a forced smile, “You are my niece, which makes me your uncle,” he paused, before his face twisted into a scowl, and he yelled angrily, “WHICH MEANS I’M IN CHARGE OF YOU!” Neo’s only response was to pull her head completely under the Kotatsu and out of sight.

Chrysalis just rolled her eyes at the whole thing. “Tsk, tsk, really Jack,” she said in a disappointed voice. “You really don’t know how to talk to young people, do you?” She then knelt down on the floor beside the Kotatsu, and spoke in a sweet voice. “Hey, sweetie. If you do this one little job for us, you can buy more ice cream. I’ll even pay for it.” She then held up her purse and shook it enticingly.

Neo quickly poked her head out again and scribbled yet another note into her sketch pad, before turning it toward Chrysalis, as well as giving her a deadpan look. The note read, “Drop the sugary sweet act and hand over your purse.”

“Hmm,” Said Chrysalis with a small smile, “straight to business. Very good. I think I'm going to like this one.” She then opened her purse, pulled out some money, and held it out for Neo to take, which she did, before the chocolate and pink haired girl gestured with her hand to give her more. “Hmm, you drove a hard bargain, young one,” Chrysalis said, handing over more money, only for Neo to gesture for more again, and again. On the fourth time, Chrysalis snapped her purse shut. “That’s all you are getting out of me, kid,” she said, before standing up straight again. “Alright, Neo. All we need you to do is one very simple job for us. We want you to deliver this Bey,” she held it out for Neo to see, “to any Blader you find. Also, we need you to observe this Blader, and collect all the data you can while the Bey is in use.” She then put on an overly sweet smile, as she said in the sweetest voice you can imagine, “if you do this, and do a good job, I’ll give you more money.”

Neo quickly scribbled in her book, and held it up. “Ugh! Fine!” The message said.

“Splendid,” Chrysalis said, still in the sweet voice. “On your way now, young lady.” Rolling her eyes at her, Neo slowly and reluctantly pulled herself from under the kotatsu and stood up. She was wearing light pink pyjamas and pink slippers. She walked slowly past the two adults, and left the room, with Jack following her with narrowed eyes as she went.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered sourly under his breath. “Still in her pyjamas at this time of the day. How lazy can you get?”

“Remember, she is still a child, Jack,” Chrysalis said with a slightly reprimanding tone, before narrowing her eyes at him. “Now, get to work on assembling a new Fabricator! Immediately!” With his orders received, Jack simply nodded before leaving the small living space, heading back to his lab, while Chrysalis headed back to her office to do her own work.

A few hours later, mid afternoon, a battered, bruised, and very angry and frustrated Trixie slumped down against a wall under a bridge which crossed over a river. She hissed through gritted teeth, and even had tears at the corners of her eyes.

“Curse those two for ruining everything!” She ranted to herself. “I swear, they will rue the day they ever decided to cross The Great And Powerful Trixie!” As the distraught and frustrated girl continued to rant and rave, little did she know that she was being watched.

Neo watched her chosen target with narrowed eyes, as she gave her ice cream a slow, maniacal lick.

As Trixie pulled herself to her feet, and was about to leave, she looked up, and saw Neo standing on the bridge above her, as she held a pink parasol over her shoulder, and licked an ice cream. She scowled up at her and yelled, “What do you want?!” Neo didn’t answer. She just smirked down at her, and started to walk off the bridge. Trixie growled. “Hey! I was talking to you! You're being rude!” Neo simply kept walking, as she left the bridge, walked along the sidewalk, descended down to the river bank, and approached Trixie, still with the same smirk on her face. “Didn’t you hear what I said?!” Trixie demanded. “The Great And Powerful Trixie was talking to you!” Neo just gave a smile, before holding out her parasol, and gesturing for Trixie to take hold of it. “Uhhh…” Trixie said slowly with a confused look. “You...want me to take your umbrella?” Neo simply nodded. “Uhh, why?” Neo just continued to hold out the parasol, giving her a sudden evil glare, while holding up her ice cream to her lips. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is very...confused right now.” Trixie uttered. “But...I may as well indulge in your little game, just to humour you.” So she grabbed hold of the parasol and took it out of Neo’s hand. Neo then took out her phone and began tapping away on it. Trixie rolled her eyes in annoyance. “You gave me your umbrella, which I don’t even see why you have it in the first place since it’s not raining, just so you could use your phone? Unbelievable.”

Neo just kept typing, before holding out her phone to show her the message she had typed. It read, “Hello, My name is Neo. I overheard your grief over those who mistreated you so harshly. I have something that may interest you. Hold on a moment.” She then put away the phone, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a Bey, holding it out for Trixie to take.

Trixie stared at it. “A..Bey?” She said slowly. “You're just giving Trixie a Bey?” Neo nodded, and gestured for her to take it. “Uhh...sure, OK,” Trixie said, reaching out and taking the Bey.

Once her hand was free again, Neo pulled out her phone again, and typed up another message before showing it to the now intrigued girl. The message read, “This Bey is called Dark Virgo. It’s for you to keep, and to use in order to take your revenge on those who wronged you. Make sure you use it well. And one more thing. Give me my parasol back.” She then looked at Trixie with an angry pout, who quickly handed back the parasol, before giving her an adorably happy smile. And then she turned and quickly slipped away.

Trixie just stood and stared and blankly at the spot where Neo had just stood. “That girl...is such a weirdo,” She muttered under her breath. She then looked down at the Bey in her hand, and as she looked at the face bolt in the centre, it seemed to give off a dark aura, and a strong urge came over her. An urge to utterly destroy the ones who had wronged and humiliated her, by using the power of this new Bey, as a malicious smile grew on her face. “Prepare yourselves, because The New and Improved Trixie is coming for you!” She said with a wicked giggle.

It was at that moment, three young boys were walking across the bridge. One of them looked over the edge and spotted Trixie. “Hey, guys, look,” he said to his friends, causing them to stop and look as well. “Isn’t that the girl from before?”

“Yeah, that’s her, alright,” the boy on his left said with an angry scowl.

“You think she’s learned her lesson by now?” The boy on his right asked with a raised eyebrow.

All three boys looked at each other, before looking down at Trixie together, and then back at each other with matching scowls. “Nah!” They all said in unison.

“Hey,” The lead boy says with a nasty smirk, “How about we teach her that lesson?”

“Yeah,” The other two boys said with matching smirks, before they ran off the bridge, down to the river bank, and toward Trixie.

“Hey you!” Called the lead boy. “We want a word with you!” Trixie didn’t answer, making the boy angrier. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” When Trixie still didn’t respond, the boy pulled out his Bey. “OK, if my words won’t work, maybe my Bey will. Right boys?” The other boy’s nodded, raising their own Beys. “We challenge you to a battle! You still owe us for what you did!”

Trixie slowly turned to face them, as she looked at them with the sadistic smile of a mad woman. “Oh, so you want a piece of Trixie?” She said in a cruel, manic tone, as she slowly licked her teeth, creeping the boys out.

Despite this, the boys would not be put off. “Y-yeah, we want a piece of you!” Shouted the lead boy with a slight quiver in his voice. “Don’t we boys?”

“Yeah!” The other boys shouted, trying to sound braver than they were.

“Well, then,” Trixie said, her grin only growing wider, making her look even more sinister. “Come and get a piece of Trixie.” She raised her new Bey towards them, while the boys raised their own Beys. They quickly readied their launchers, and held them out to begin the battle.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

The four combatants launched their Beys...only for the boys to be nearly blown off their feet.

A short distance away, and out of sight, Neo was observing and recording the battle as she had been ordered. She smirked as she saw the influx of data on her phone, as it was all too clear who the victor of the battle would be.

And moments later, she was proven right, as the three boys now lay battered and bruised on the ground, their Beys now lying next to them, and shattered to pieces. The ground around them wasn't any better, as it was now covered with loads of deep cracks.

And standing above them all was Trixie, as she gazed down at them with malicious glee, as her new Bey continued to spin by her feet, as she let out a cold, merciless laugh.

Meanwhile, at Twilight’s shop, Solar Force and the girls were currently talking amongst each other about the situation with Trixie.

“Look, Twilight, I get what you’re saying, but if you ask me, she got what she deserved,” Solar said to her, as she looked back at him with a slightly guilty look.

“I agree,” Rainbow Dash put in, “you had every right to expose her as what she really was, and she paid the price for it. What are you getting so worked up about?”

“Well, it’s just that,” Twilight replied quietly, “part of me can’t help but wonder that maybe she was doing those bad things because she didn’t know any other way. What if instead of just shunning her, we’d actually tried to help her?”

“Help that good for nothin’ varmint?” Applejack then spoke up. “And if we did, what’s to say she won’t just go ahead and pull some other kind of scheme where she hoodwinks folks out of their money all over again?”

“Well, maybe if we had just reached out to her, she might actually accept our help and become a better person because of it,” Twilight tried to argue.

“And what if she doesn't?” asked Rainbow again.

Before the conversation could continue, the shop door suddenly burst open, and who else should come running in than Trixie’s two lackeys. They dashed frantically toward the counter where the group stood, and leaned on it for a moment to catch their breaths. Solar and the girls were apprehensive at first, but upon seeing the freaked out looks on their faces, they became bewildered. “Please?!” cried Fuchsia. “You gotta help us!”

“What?!” Rainbow replied incredulously. “Why should we even think of helping you two after what you and Trixie did?!”

“And what, pray tell, could you two need our help with?” Rarity asked them with suspicion.

“It’s Trixie!” Lavender shouted desperately. “She’s gone completely psycho on us!”

“Yeah right,” Applejack said, shaking her head in disbelief. “More like she finally decided to ditch you two after you weren't useful to her anymore.”

“Please, you have to listen to us!” begged Fuchsia.

“Trixie got her hands on a new Bey!” Lavender added, “And after that, she went completely insane! She called it, uh, what was it called again?”

“Dark Virgo!” Finished Fuchsia.

At this, Solar and Twilight looked up at the two distraught girls in shock. “What did you say?!” They shouted in unison.

“Whoa, what’s up with you two?” asked Rainbow in surprise.

“If what these two are saying is true,” Twilight began.

“Then Trixie has gotten her hands on a Dark Bey.” Added Solar. At everyone’s confused looks, Solar began to explain. “What these girls are describing is the exact same thing that happened with Starlight Glimmer. She got her hands on a Dark Bey, and it drove her insane until I defeated her.”

“T-that sounds...kinda scary,” Fluttershy whispered, pulling her long hair in front of her face.

“Tell us,” Solar asked seriously, “where’s Trixie now?”

Lavender and Fuchsia quickly led Solar and the girls to another of the city's outdoor Bey parks.

When they got there, they all stared in shock at what they saw. On the ground, at least a dozen young Bladers lay either unconscious, or curled up into a ball, shaking with terror.

Amidst all this, sitting on the ground with her knees up to her chin, and resting her head on them, was Trixie, with a large, deranged smile on her face. Her two lackeys quivered with fright at the sight of her, as they huddled together, trying and failing to comfort each other. Upon seeing the newcomers, Trixie’s smile somehow grew even wider, before she rolled backwards, and then see-sawed forwards, using her momentum to push herself to her feet. The other girls glared at her as she approached them, but Solar just stared in recognition, as the way she had stood up was eerily familiar to him. She reminded him of…

Before his thought could go any further, Trixie then spoke. “Well, well,” she said in an uncharacteristically dark tone, “if it isn't just the people I was waiting for.”

“I’m in no mood for games, Trixie,” Solar said as he stepped forward to confront her. “Tell me. Is it true that you got your hands on a Dark Bey?”

“That’s correct,” Trixie said darkly, “meet my new partner.” She held the Bey for them all to see. “Meet Dark Virgo.”

“So she does have one,” Said Twilight with worry and intrigue. “Just like with Starlight.”

“You girls know what they’re talking about?” Asked Rainbow. “I’m lost.”

“Beats me,” Shrugged Applejack.

“Where’d you get that Bey?” Solar demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Trixie said mockingly.

“This is serious, Trixie!” Solar shot back warningly, “you gotta get rid of that thing right now! It’s too dangerous!”

Trixie giggled coldly. “You want me to get rid of it?” She said in the same cold tone. “Then why don’t you make me, little boy?” With those words, she headed over to one of the stadiums, reached her Launcher, and readied the destructive Bey for battle.

“Alright, looks I have no choice,” Solar said as he took his own place opposite Trixie, prepared his own Launcher and loaded in his own Bey. “Looks like I'm gonna have to take you down for good this time!”

“Bring it on!” Trixie challenged.

“3! 2! 1! LET IT RIP!”

With an extra hard pull on their rip cords, the two opponents' Beys went soaring toward each other, before colliding with a huge clash, and a spray of sparks, letting off a shockwave that almost pushed everyone back slightly. They clashed with each other again and again, each time making the air ripple with more shockwaves and sparks.

Twilight quickly pulled out her laptop and began analysing Dark Virgo, her eyes widening at the results. “Whoa! Trixie’s Bey has a lot of power! And I mean a lot!” She exclaimed in shock.

“No duh!” Rainbow called. “We can all feel that!”

“You...you think Phoenix can stand up to that much punishment?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.

“I hope so,” Twilight replied nervously. “Because if it can’t…” she trailed off, unable to voice the dreadful thought. The other girls all looked at each apprehensively, before turning back to the battle.

“Come on, Phoenix!” Solar shouted. “You’ve had tougher battles than this! Stay strong!” At his words, his Bey zigged and zagged this way and that as it weaved and dodge around Dark Virgo as it charged it from one direction, then another, before moving in for a strike of its own. However, as hard as he fought, he didn’t seem to be gaining any ground.

“Is that the best you can do!” Trixie mocked. “Pathetic!”

“Don’t count me and Phoenix out yet!” Solar shot back. “We’re just getting warmed up!”

“Oh, really,” Trixie said, her smirk growing even more. “Well, Trixie isn’t even breaking a sweat. Maybe it’s time Trixie stopped holding back! Dark Virgo, time to show your true power!” At her command, her Bey began letting off an ominous aura, which sent a shiver up Solar and the other girl's spines. At the same time, as they all watched, a just as ominous black mist began seeping out of Trixie’s mouth like smoke. They all stared in astonishment at this.

“Is...is she smoking?” Rainbow asked slowly.

“How can she?” Applejack replied. “I don’t see no cigarette.”

“Um, girls,” Said Fluttershy worriedly, “look at Solar.” They all looked at him, and what they saw confused and slightly shocked them.

“Does...Solar look…scared to you?” Twilight asked slowly. Indeed, the look on his face was one of shock and genuine fear. They’d never seen him look like this before.

As Solar stared across at Trixie, who almost looked like she was now possessed, an old, terrible memory played out in his mind. He was watching a Bey battle play out before him, as on one side, a tall woman with brightly coloured hair battled hard against her opponent, as he laughed maniacally, with the same black smoke pouring from his mouth, before his shadowy face was slowly replaced with Trixie’s. Then the memory faded, bringing him back to the present. “N-no way,” he stuttered under his breath. “How? How can she have his power?”

“Aww, what’s the matter?” Trixie gloated, “you scared now of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“No way!” Solar snapped back forcefully. “There’s no way I’d ever be scared of you!”

“Oh! You will be!” Trixie said, before letting out a strange, but still mad laugh. “Ze ha ha ha ha ha!” This freaked out Solar even more, as another long buried memory began to resurface, before, concentrating hard, he forced it back down again. Trixie then announced, “Dark move! Dark Star!” The aura around the Bey formed into a woman dressed in ancient ninja garb, and wielding a shuriken. She flung back her arm, before throwing the shuriken, sending it flying as it spun at high speed. At the same time, her Bey suddenly streaked forward like a bullet toward Solar’s, hitting it with an almighty crash, sending it flying to the other side of the stadium, and almost flinging it over the edge.

“Whoa!” Solar exclaimed. “That Bey has so much power!”

“No kidding!” Twilight said as she pored over the results of her analysis. “But apart from that I’m not getting any data on this Bey. All of its parts are non listed! It’s like it doesn’t even exist!”

“Non listed?” Rainbow asked. “How can that be? Are you saying that Bey is fake or something?”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Twilight said in confusion. “But all of this Bey’s parts are all of unknown design.”

“Does that mean that Solar can’t beat her?” Asked Fluttershy apprehensively.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said helplessly. “I can only hope he can find a way to beat her.”

Back at the battle, Solar glared at Trixie with utmost determination. “Alright, enough is enough!” He declared forcefully. “If you’re pulling out all the stops, then so am I!” He slipped his headphones over his ears, and began playing his special music at high volume. “Phoenix, ignite!” At his command, his Bey was suddenly engulfed in flames, as it charged across the arena like a meteor. “Solar Flare Attack!”

“Dark Virgo!” Trixie yelled, “Finish this worthless fool off with another Dark Bullet!” At her command, her Bey flared with it’s Dark Aura again, and zipped toward the incoming Phoenix once more.

With a great crash, and a spray of sparks and flames, the two Bey’s clashed with each other, with neither one giving an inch. The question was which one would overpower the other. After a few moments, they both moved away from each other, before clashing again, and it was at that moment, Solar noticed something. The dark smoke pouring out of Trixie's mouth was being drawn down into the arena and toward her Bey, like it was siphoning it off from her. Could it be that it was drawing power from her? It was then that he got an outlandish idea. It was risky, but if it worked, it could win him the battle. “OK,” He said with a determined scowl, “It’s time to end this! Soar, Phoenix!” His Bey moved away from Trixie’s, moving up to the edge of the arena, beginning to circle it at high speed, going faster and faster, leaving a blaze of fire in its wake.

“What do you think you're doing?!”Trixie demanded angrily, “This is supposed to be a battle, not a fireworks show!” Solar didn’t answer, he just kept his eyes on the arena and his Bey kept increasing speed until it was a blur. Trixie gritted her teeth furiously at being ignored. “Whatever you’re up to, I won’t let it happen, and I will not be ignored! Dark Virgo, destroy him now!” At her command, Dark Virgo moved to intercept Phoenix, but at the last moment…”

“Now! Fly, Phoenix!” Solar yelled, and his Bey went flying up and out of the arena and up to the sky like a rocket. Everyone held their breath, before, with a whoosh, Phoenix came rushing down like a missile. It came down at just the right angle to strike Dark Virgo on it’s top, it’s fiery aura blowing away the dark smoke. As it dissipated, the stream of smoke from Trixie’s mouth became smaller and smaller, until it vanished altogether.

After this, Trixie grabbed her head with a groan, before looking up, and blinking in confusion. “Uh, what...what happened?” She asked in a confused tone. “What is Trixie doing here? And why am I in a Bey Battle?”

“Whoa, no way,” Solar said with a big grin. “I can’t believe that worked.” He looked down at the stadium again. Phoenix had moved away from Dark Virgo, both their auras having now vanished, and Virgo was beginning to wobble as it lost speed. “OK, there will be no more trouble from you ever again.” He declared. “Get in there and finish it, Phoenix!” With one last rotation around the arena to gain more speed, Phoenix moved for one final attack on the now defenceless Dark Virgo. With an ear splitting crash, Phoenix struck it at full force, and a moment later, the Dark Bey slowed down to stop, now covered in cracks, before it shattered to pieces. Phoenix zipped around the arena before jumping back into Solar’s hand, as he smiled in triumph.

Now that the battle was over, everyone watching breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phewee,” Applejack said, “sure glad that’s over.”

“You're telling me,” Twilight said with exhaustion.

“I can’t even bring myself to feel stoked that Solar won,” Rainbow muttered.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Fuchsia quietly, as she continued to hug Lavender.

“I’m just glad that Trixie’s no longer a raving nutcase,” agreed Lavender just as quietly.

“I’m just glad that Solar’s alright,” Fluttershy whispered from behind her hair.

At the arena, Trixie, still confused, looked down, seeing the shattered remains of her Dark Bey. “What the...what happened to my new Bey?” She was just reaching down to pick up the pieces, when she was stopped as a hand grabbed her wrist.

“I’ll take those if you don’t mind,” Twilight said, before reaching down, and scoping the pieces into a plastic bag, and sealing it. “I’ll need these to do my research on these Dark Beys.”

“W-what?!” Stuttered Trixie. “You can’t do that! That’s my Bey!”

“Not anymore, it’s not,” Twilight replied nonchalantly.

Trixie was about to retort, when Solar approached her and asked in a non-nonsense tone, “OK, Trixie, this is very important, so please listen? Where did you get that Bey?”

“What?!” Trixie exclaimed. “Why should I tell you anything after you trashed it?!”

“I’m serious, Trixie, I need to know, where did you get it?” Solar insisted.

“Alright fine,” Trixie grumbled bitterly, “if you must know, it was given to me by some girl with an umbrella.”

“A girl with an umbrella?” Solar asked in confusion.

“Yeah, and she was a real weirdo, to,” Trixie replied with an eyeroll. “She never said a single word, and she only ‘talked’,” she said with air quotes, “by typing messages on her fancy phone. She then gave me the Bey, and then…” She paused, thinking hard for a moment. “Actually, I...don’t remember anything else until just now. Why is that?”

“It’s probably for the best that you just forget,” Solar said simply.

“Well,” Applejack said with a stretch, “I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I feel like it’s time to hit the hay after all this.”

“I quite agree, darling,” Rarity said, rubbing her eyes, “after such a stressful time, a girl does need her beauty sleep.”

“Um hmm,” Rainbow nodded, “let’s say we head on home now.”

“Agreed,” Twilight said before letting out a yawn, and turning to Solar. “Come on, Solar, let’s go.”

“Sure,” Solar said, before turning to look at Fuchsia and Lavender as they headed over to Trixie. “Hey, you girls take care of her, she’s been through a lot,” he advised.

“Sure,” They both nodded, before taking Trixie by the arms and guiding her away.

“Uh, girls, what exactly happened?” Asked Trixie as they left the park.

“It’s a long story,” Both girls sighed, before they turned the corner out of the park and were gone.

With that, Solar joined the other girls as they left the park too, all looking forward to a good night's rest.

Up on a nearby roof, a bored looking Neo watched everyone leave the park, as she recorded the last of the needed data from the battle. Her task completed, she stood up, letting out a silent sigh, and a cute little pout of disappointment and boredom. She then turned and made her way down from the roof to return to Chrysalis and Jack.

Back at the lab, Chrysalis stood before the large container which held the unconscious form of the boy. She placed her hand on the glass as she gazed in at him. “Soon, my boy,” she said in an almost motherly tone, “soon your time will come.” She then looked up as she saw wisps of black smoke floating above her, before it was drawn inside the machine, and more importantly, seemed to enter the comatose boy’s body, making him glow with a dark aura for a brief moment, before dissipating completely. “Hmm,” Chrysalis said with intrigued eyes, “Very interesting, and at the same time, unexpected. Most perplexing. I should inform Jack of this.” She then turned and left the lab to find her subordinate.

To Be Continued...