When Twilight Sparkle discovers that her favorite card game "Duel Monsters" is real, she must use her skills and the friendship of her friends to save the universe.
Long ago, in the realm of Equestria, the Alicorn Princesses played a game of enormous and terrible power. But those Dark Games unleashed a war that threatened to destroy the universe ... until a brave and powerful alicorn warrior caught the magic, locking it in the mystical Elements of Harmony, and sending them to another dimension.
Now, 5,000 years later, a girl named Twilight Sparkle has revealed the secret of the Element of Magic and ancient magical forces have invaded it. Since the fate has chosen her to defend the universe from the Dark Games, just as the brave warrior did 5,000 years ago.
The Twilight Sparkle story begins at Canterlot High where "Duel Monsters", the world's most popular card game, was all the rage. Twilight was the best duelists around, and her friend Rainbow Dash desperately wanted to learn how to duel, too.
So our story begins with Twilight teaching the rules of "Duel Monsters" to Rainbow Dash, while her friends Applejack and Flash Sentry watched.
"Hello? Rainbow Dash? Earth to Rainbow Dash?" Twilight said "It's your turn!"
"Mmmmm ..." Rainbow said, as she looked at her cards.
"Ohhhh! She looks so cute when she's thinking, right?" Applejack said.
"Hey Applejack" said Rainbow "Twilight here is teaching me how to play Duel Monsters".
"Dream Monsters?" Applejack said.
"Duel Monsters, you idiot!" Rainbow said.
"They've been playing for hours" said Flash "Rainbow is just beginning to learn how to play, but Twilight is already an expert!"
"Ok, Twilight" Rainbow said "It's time to duel!"
However, after a long time playing, Twilight is the winner in the end.
"What?!" Rainbow said, after losing the duel "Such a powerful card will totally annihilate me!"
"Wow, you're really bad at this game, Rainbow!" Applejack said.
"You haven't been too bad, Rainbow. I just have better cards" said Twilight "My older brother owns a game store, and he gets me my best cards."
"Your own game store!?" Rainbow asked "What are you waiting for? Come on!"
"Ok!" Twilight said "Maybe I can ask my brother to show us the letter from him that he has which is super weird."
What they didn't know was that someone was listening to her conversation. Someone who was looking for a very rare card to add to her collection.
Her name... was Sunset Shimmer.
Chapter 1 - The Heart of the Cards (Twilight Sparkle vs Sunset Shimmer)
That afternoon, Twilight and her friends went to her older brother's game store, Shining Armor. Twilight wanted to show his friends the prized possession of his brother.
"Brother, could you show my friends your awesome super rare card?" Twilight asked.
"Rare card? You mean my special card?" Shining Armor asked "Hmmmm ..."
"Please!" Twilight pleaded "Please!"
"Ha ha! How can I refuse?" Shining Armor said "You're in luck! I don't draw this card very often."
Shining Armor then produced a small box and displayed its contents.
"Ready?" Shining Armor asked "Here it is".
In the box, there was a card that said "Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000 ATK - 2500 DEF)".
"The "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". So rare, so powerful! I never let her out of my hands!" Shining Armor explained "This card is priceless! There are only four of them in the whole world!"
Suddenly, her high school classmate suddenly entered the store. Her name was Sunset Shimmer, the young CEO of Shimmer Corporation.
She had found the card she was looking for.
"Name the price of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon" Sunset ordered "I can pay anything you ask!"
"I'm sure you can, but this letter is worth more to me than you can offer" Shining Armor said.
"You moron!" Sunset yelled.
Sunset stormed out of the store. The others were shocked by Sunset's obsession with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
The next day, when Twilight returned to the store with her friends, she realized that her brother was missing.
When the phone rang, it was Sunset on the other end, taunting Twilight and telling her that she had kidnapped Shining Armor and taken him to Shimmer Corporation.
Twilight and her friends rushed to Shimmer Corporation and found Shining Armor lying on the ground, defeated.
"Brother! Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight, I have failed..." Shining Armor said "I wanted to teach that brat Sunset a lesson about the Heart of Cards... but I lost".
"Brother!" Twilight said.
Suddenly, Sunset appeared at the scene.
"How is your brother feeling, hmmm?" Sunset asked.
"Sunset, you have no shame!" Rainbow yelled "What have you done to him?"
"We have only met in a duel. And we bet our most valuable cards as a prize" Sunset explained "But I imagine that playing against a champion like me was just too much encouragement for this weakling".
"Sunset, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Flash said.
"And look at the great prize I have won!" Sunset said, showing Shining Armor's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card in her hand.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Sunset held up the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card... and tore it in half.
"NOOO!!" Twilight yelled "My brother's most precious card!"
"The Blue Eyes White Dragon is a rare and powerful card..." Sunset said, as she threw the two pieces of the card to the ground "And this will never be used against me".
"My Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Shining Armor said, trying to get up "My treasure ..."
"Brother! Hold on!" Twilight said "Sunset, how could you do something like that?"
Shining Armor then removed a deck from her bag, and handed it to Twilight.
"Twilight, take this..." Shining Armor said.
"Huh? Brother?" Twilight asked, seeing the deck.
"I built this deck for you. I put my soul into these cards, and I already taught you everything I know, Twilight" Shining Armor said, putting the deck in Twilight's hands "Take my cards and teach Sunset to respect the Heart of the Cards".
"Okay, brother..." Twilight said "I'll do it!"
Later, Twilight and Sunset met alone on a huge virtual stage, while Twilight's friends took Shining Armor to a hospital.
"Are you ready to play, Sparkle?" Sunset asked, preparing her deck.
"Your games are over, Sunset!" Twilight yelled, preparing her deck.
Suddenly, Twilight's gold necklace, which she never took off and which was decorated with a magenta gem in the shape of a six-pointed star, began to glow.
"PO-NY-OH!" Twilight yelled, as the purple energy from the necklace covered her body.
"Huh?!" Sunset said.
When the light completely dissipated, Sunset was surprised by Twilight's sudden change: she discovered that she now had a kind of purple-winged hologram on her back... and her calm demeanor had been replaced by a more confident one and powerful.
"Sunset, get ready, because it's TIME TO DUEL!" Twilight yelled.
Sunset Shimmer: 2000 LP Twilight Sparkle: 2000 LP
"Virtual systems ready" Sunset said "Let's get started".
Turn 1: Sunset Shimmer
"I summoned the "Giant Hitotsu-Me" in attack" Sunset said, placing the monster card "Giant Hitotsu-Me (1200 ATK - 1000 DEF)" on the field "Get ready, Sparkle. Because you've never had a duel like this".
Suddenly, a giant hologram of "Giant Hitotsu-Me" appeared on the field, located in the space similar to where Sunset placed his card.
"What the...?!" Twilight said, surprised "The monster on the card has come to life!"
"It's my virtual simulator" Sunset explained "Create holograms of all monsters".
"So you have won my brother?" Twilight asked.
Turn 2: Twilight Sparkle
"Well, now it's my turn!" Twilight said, as she drew a card from the deck "I summons "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress" in attack"
Next, the hologram of "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress (1400 ATK - 1200 DEF)" appeared on Twilight's side of the field.
"As you can see, combining cards can be very useful" Sunset explained.
Turn 4: Twilight Sparkle.
"She's good. She knows all aspects of the game" Twilight thought "But my brother put all his knowledge and all his heart in this deck. He sure has some secret strategy".
Twilight draws another card from her deck, the name of which was "Right Leg of the Forbidden One (200 ATK-300 DEF)".
"This card is worth nothing. I can't beat the Dark Clown with this" Twilight thought "I need another monster in defense. I will sacrifice the monster, but my life points will be safe".
Twilight then places one of her monsters face down (Sangan (1000 ATK-600 DEF)).
Turn 5: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset draws another card from her deck and places it in her hand.
"Dark light!" Sunset ordered his monster.
Twilight's "Sangan" is destroyed, but since she was on defense, Twilight didn't lose any life points.
"I'm finishing my turn" Sunset said.
Turn 6: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight draws another card: "Battle Steer (1800 ATK - 1300 DEF)".
"I place another monster face down" Twilight said, placing another monster in defense "I'm finishing my turn".
Turn 7: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset pulls out another card and puts it in her hand.
"Dark light!" Sunset ordered his monster.
Twilight's "Battle Steer" is destroyed.
"I'm finishing my turn" Sunset said.
Turn 8: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight draws another card: "Torike (1200 ATK - 600 DEF)".
"I place another monster face down" Twilight said, placing another monster in defense "I 'm finishing my turn".
Turn 9: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset pulls out another card and puts it in her hand.
"Dark light!" Sunset ordered the monster of hers.
Twilight's "Torike" is destroyed.
"I'm finishing my turn" Sunset said.
At that moment, Twilight was starting to get doubt.
"You're not doing better than your brother, Sparkle" Sunset said "Your deck is as weak as him".
"My brother is a great man and he is a better duelist than you. He has entrusted me with his cards and noticed his heart in this deck" Twilight said, annoyed by Sunset's words "I doubt that you have so much faith in your cards, Sunset".
"What?" Sunset said.
"I do believe in this deck" Twilight said, putting her hand on her deck.
Turn 10: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight pulls out another card, and when she sees it, her face emits a small smile.
"And my faith rewards me with... Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" Twilight said, placing her new card on the field ("Gaia, the Ferocious Knight (2300 ATK-2100 DEF)") "With a destructive power... of 2300 points! Attack!"
With her new monster, "Saggi, the Dark Clown" was destroyed.
"Faith or no faith, you will fall to the superiority of my monsters, Sparkle" Sunset said "Power is the key to the game. Faith belongs to losers, like your pathetic brother. My turn is over".
Turn 12: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight draws another card: "Horn Imp (1300 ATK - 1000 DEF)".
"I summon another face-down monster and finish my turn" Twilight said, after placing the card on the field.
Turn 13: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset pulls out another card, but keeps it in her hand.
""White Lightning"!" Sunset ordered his monster.
Twilight's "Horn Imp" is destroyed.
"I'm finishing my turn" Sunset said.
Turn 14: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight draws another card: "Beaver Warrior (1200 ATK - 1500 DEF)".
"I summon another face-down monster and finish my turn" Twilight said, after placing the card on the field.
Turn 15: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset pulls out another card, but keeps it in her hand.
"White Lightning!" Twilight ordered the monster from her.
Twilight's "Beaver Warrior" is destroyed
"Admit it, Sparkle. In your entire deck, there is not a single card that can stand up to a Blue Eyes White Dragon" Sunset said "And let's not say more... if there are TWO!".
Immediately afterwards, a second "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" appeared on the field, next to the first.
"So, why don't you admit defeat?" Sunset said, after summoning the monster.
In this moment,Twilight was beginning to doubt her strategy.
Meanwhile, Rainbow, Applejack, and Flash managed to get Shining Armor to a hospital.
"Don't... give up... Twilight..." Shining Armor whispered, as he was riding unconscious on a gurney.
Turn 16: Twilight Sparkle.
"I will not give up!" Twilight said "My brother is counting on me!"
Twilight draws another card from her deck. A so-called " Swords of Revealing Light ".
"A magic card!" Twilight thought.
Then, she placed it on the field.
"I use "Swords of Revealing Light"!" Twilight said.
At that moment, swords made of light appeared from the sky and landed on the field, surrounding the Sunset's monsters
"Now your dragons will be immobilized for three turns" Twilight explained.
Turn 17: Sunset Shimmer.
Susnet draws another card, but keeps it in her hand without playing it.
"You're wasting your time, Sparkle" Sunset said "What's the use of a three-shift delay?"
Turn 18: Twilight Sparkle.
Hearing those words, Twilight looked at her hand, desperately.
His four current cards in his hand were "Rude Kaiser (1800 ATK - 1600 DEF)", "Left Leg of the Forbidden One (200 ATK - 300 DEF)", "Right Leg of the Forbidden One (200 ATK - 300 DEF)" and "Right Arm of the Forbidden One (200 ATK - 300 DEF)".
"She's right. What do I do? I don't know what to do with these cards. They're a bunch of... pieces!" Twilight thought "How can I use them against an expert like Sunset?"
"For someone who claims to have faith, you give up very easily, little sister..." a mysterious voice behind Twilight said
"What the...?" Twilight thought upon hearing her voice, discovering who was speaking to her "Brother!?"
What Twilight saw, in reality, was an illusion of her brother encouraging her to continue.
"Look, sometimes the cards are like... a puzzle" Shining Armor explained "You have to put all the pieces in their proper places".
"Brother... You mean... the necklaceyou gave me?" Twilight thought, looking at her gold necklace.
"Exactly" Shining Armor said "Each piece serves to create... a greater entity".
Suddenly, Shining Armor disappeared.
"Brother!" Twilight thought.
"Like the pieces of a puzzle, Twilight!" Shining Armor's voice yelled "Remember!"
"A puzzle? When are the cards a puzzle?" Twilight thought "Wait a second. Now that I remember, my brother told me..."
Flashback at the Shining Armor store:
"Listen Twilight" Shining Armor said "I'm going to tell you something".
"What is it, brother? Twilight asked.
"You see, in "Duel Monsters", there is only one unstoppable monster: "Exodia, The Forbidden One". But you can only take it out using its five special cards..." Shining Armor explained "A feat that, until now, nobody has been able to achieve..."
End of flashback[/i]
"Play it up, Sparkle!" Sunset said "Or it will count as dropout!"
"That never!" Twilight said.
Twilight then drew the next card from her, and to her relief, the card was "Left Arm of the Forbidden One (200 ATK-300 DEF)"
"Yes! Another piece of the puzzle!" Twilight thought.
Then Twilight picked up the letter from "Kaiser Rude".
"I place another monster face down and finish my turn!" Twilight said.
Turn 19: Sunset Shimmer.
"Take out the card you want. It won't change anything" Sunset said, as she took another card from his deck "My dragons will remain motionless for another two turns... but not my new monster".
Next, a monster known as "Judge Man (2200 ATK - 1500 DEF)" appeared in Sunset's field.
"Attack!" Sunset ordered his monster.
Twilight's "Kaiser Rude" is destroyed.
Turn 20: Twilight Sparkle:
When Twilight drew another card from his deck, she discovered that it was her favorite monster: "Dark Magician (2500 ATK-2100 DEF)".
"I can attack with the "Dark Magician". But he won't survive when Sunset's dragons break free from my spell" Twilight thought.
Twilight then summoned her favorite monster in attack.
"Dark Magician!" Twilight ordered "Attack with "Dark Magic Attack"!"
"A sacrifice that does not faze me. And since my dragons are still standing another turn..." Sunset said, as she drew another card "My new card is... the THIRD "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"!".
"What!?" Twilight said.
Immediately afterwards, a third "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" appeared between the previous two.
Twilight couldn't believe it: Sunset had in her possession the THREE unique copies of the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".
"And now... my monster destroys your "Dark Magician" with "White Lightning"!" Sunset ordered.
"Tell me Sparkle, how is your faith doing now? On my next turn, my three dragons will be able to attack" Sunset said "Whatever card you draw... the duel will be over!"
Turn 22: Twilight Sparkle.
"Sunset had her three copies of the "Blue Eyes White Dragon". She just wanted my brother's card so that no one would use it against her" Twilight thought "My only chance is to put together all the pieces of "Exodia". But it's very difficult, I don't know if I can do it".
Suddenly, Twilight started to see her deck drift away from her as she reached over to pick up another card.
"Oh no! The deck is picking up on my doubts!" Twilight thought "Come on, Twilight! Focus!"
Suddenly, three different hands appeared out of nowhere and stopped the deck. It was the hands of Rainbow, Applejack and Flash.
"Guys!?" Twilight thought.
"Twilight, the three of us are with you" Flash said.
"Twilight, you must be confident" Applejack said.
"You can do it!" Rainbow said "Defeat Sunset!".
"They are right" Twilight thought "I must believe in the cards, as my friends believe in me".
Then, Twilight drew the next card from her deck, and upon seeing it, she gave a small smile.
"Come on Sparkle" Sunset said "Use that last card to end this duel once and for all"
"My brother's deck has no pathetic cards, Sunset" Twilight said "But it does contain... the unstoppable "Exodia"!!"
At that moment, Susnet was scared to see that the card that Twilight had drawn was "Exodia, The Forbidden One (1000 ATK - 1000 DEF)".
"WHAT!?" Sunset shouted "Impossible!"
Twilight then placed the five "Exodia, The Forbidden One"'s cards in her field area.
"I have collected the five special cards! The five pieces of the puzzle!" Twilight said "I summoned ... "Exodia, The Forbidden One"!!".
At that moment, a gigantic monster, shaped like an Egyptian statue, appeared in Twilight's field.
"Exodia?!" Sunset said, scared to see Exodia in person "That's impossible! No one has been able to summon him!"
At that moment, Exodia began to concentrate golden energy in his hands.
"Exodia... ATTACK!!!!!" Twilight ordered.
With a powerful golden beam, all three of Sunset's monsters were destroyed at once.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sunset yelled.
Sunset Shimmer: 0 LP. Twilight Sparkle: 400 LP.
When the duel ended, Sunset fell to her knees, her cards spread out on the floor.
"You play only for power, Sunset. That's why you've lost" Twilight said "But if you put your heart in the game, there's nothing you can't do".
"But... how?" Sunset said "How could I have lost?"
Suddenly, Twilight's eyes turned white and luminous, and she pointed her open hand at Sunset.
"Sunset Shimmer, if you really want to know...!" Twilight yelled "OPEN YOUR MIND!!"
At that moment, Sunset felt as if something invisible was going through her mind, and then, she felt a great weight being lifted from her.
"Goodbye, Sunset..." Twilight said, starting to leave the place "I hope you start to see it now".
Meanwhile, at the hospital.
"Rainbow! Applejack!" Flash said "Come quickly!"
"What wrong, Flash?" Rainbow asked.
"It's Shining Armor!" Flash said "He has woken up!"
"Really?" they both asked at the same time.
The three gathered in the room where Shining Armor rested.
"Shining Armor! Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.
But all Shining Armor said was...
"Twilight... she has won..."
Meanwhile, in a castle located in the middle of an island, an old man is distracted by a necklace, exactly like Twilight's, but with a red gem in the shape of a lightning bolt.
At that moment, the mysterious old man's butler approached the lord of him.
"My lord, Sunset Shimmer, our champion..." the butler explained "She has been defeated in a duel by a girl named Twilight Sparkle".
Hearing that, the mysterious old man smiled.
"Interesting" the mysterious old man said "I think it's time to learn more about... Twilight Sparkle".
The mysterious old man was called... Maximillion Discord.
