Running!
That's what Rainbow Dash was doing as she made her way across Cloudsdale, trying to get to the arena on time. As she dodged a green mare, she yelled a half-hearted apology and kept on dashing. Today was the day that the balloon set out to Duel Academy, an island upon which sat the school Rainbow was about to go off to. The mare yelled back at her, shaking a hoof and shouting something about hooligans, but RD's mood was too good to let that bother her. Since she had been a filly, she had always wanted to be a weather mare and join the Wonderbolts, but then everyone started playing a game called Duel Monsters.
At first she hadn't cared too much, but eventually somepony convinced her to duel, and she had hardly put down her deck since then. And now the game had gotten big enough that it was possible to play it as a profession, and it was for this purpose that the Duel Academy was made: to train the next generation of duelists. Sure, it was great to have fun in a duel, but nothing thrilled Rainbow more than the rush from a victory against a strong opponent. Which was exactly why she aimed to go pro.
Just the thought excited her so much that she jumped up a little, almost knocking her saddlebag from her back. Flailing to keep it from flying, Dash missed the pony in front of her, toppling straight into him and knocking them both to the clouds. Shaking herself off, Rainbow got up and gave an actually sincere apology, since she had actually run into somepony this time. The stallion Pegasus got up quickly, seeming like he had never fallen. He sized up the mare that had crashed into him, unnerving her the slightest bit with his stare.
"Um... are you angry?" Rainbow asked sheepishly, feeling uncomfortable with his stare for some reason. She couldn't make out any of the details of his face, as she tried to avoid looking directly at him now, but he had a sleek black coat and pretty well-built muscles. He said nothing at first. Then he noticed the device on Rainbow Dash's arm.
"Ah. So you're a duelist, aren't you?" He asked. "Well, I suppose you're just excited to be on your way to Duel Academy. I played Duel Monsters a little, but never really got into it." He paused for a second, reaching to his back pocket. Rainbow wasn't sure what to expect him to pull out and tensed, but relaxed when she saw it was just a card.
"I don't know what it is," the stallion said, "but I can actually feel the cards calling out to others sometimes. And right now, this card is calling out to you."
Calling out to me? What kind of crap was this? This guy must have gone mental. But either way, something compelled her to reach out and take the card. And looking down at the Winged Kuriboh she now held, Rainbow felt insulted. She looked up to ask the stallion what he meant by calling out to her, but she looked up to see nopony else around.
"Huh. Oh well, free card." She said out loud to herself. Then she looked up at the sun in the sky, and realized she was about to run late for her ride. She threw the card into her deck case, then took off towards the arena.
The Academy representatives stood outside the tournament arena, looking out at the empty cloudscape in front of them. The two ponies were in charge of guiding any students that arrived to the test field. Only students who were able to defeat the exam proctors in a duel were considered skilled enough in order to attend Duel Academy. Of course, the proctors were using powered-down exam decks, which meant anyone with basic skills would be able to construct a deck good enough to win. Inside the arena, they could hear the roar of the ponies here to take the test as they watched their fellows take the exam.
"All right, that's probably the last of them." One of the reps said.
"Yeah, the testing period is pretty much over. These are the last two matches." The monitor above the arena displayed the duels going on inside. The holograms of monsters clashed as a Big Koala crashed down on a Luster Dragon. The yellow Pegasus pony had just managed to defeat the exam proctor and earn her spot at the academy, though that game had been closer than most of the other ones. One other game was on what would probably be its closing turn, but the two attendants were no longer paying attention to the monitor. They were looking at the ridiculously late blue mare with a rainbow colored mane that had just showed up.
"Hey guys, you can let the proctors know that the next top student just arrived." Rainbow Dash said as she approached.
The two reps snickered. The mare had spirit, they had to give her that. They glanced at each other, sharing the same thought. This one was a lucky one. She was extremely late, but they technically hadn't closed down just yet, so one of them took her inside, after asking her name, while the other finished cleaning up shop.
Rainbow gazed around the arena as she was escorted inside. There were Pegasus ponies all over the stands, some already wearing their new school uniforms. Not a single pony had lost their duel, and there were probably about 150 or so. And that was just the Pegasus portion of the school. Earth ponies and Unicorns had a separate facility elsewhere for their test, since they couldn't easily reach the Cloudsdale arena. Rainbow was brought to the bottom row of the stands to wait as the rep went to address the issue of getting one more potential student tested. Standing next to her was the yellow Pegasus that had just won her match.
"Hey!' Rainbow Dash said in a friendly manner. The yellow pony instantly jumped and shrunk back.
"Oh... um... hi...." She said.
"Nice duel, though I only saw the end of it." Dash complemented her. "I'm Rainbow Dash. We're gonna be schoolmates soon."
"Wait, what do you mean soon? You haven't taken the test yet?"
"Nope, just got here."
"Um... I.. hate to tell you this, but... that was the last entry duel... they closed down already..."
"No way! They have to let me duel. I'm too awesome not to get in! They don't know what they'd be missing out on if they didn't let me in!" The yellow pony wasn't sure whether the blue Pegasus was panicking, or just that confident. Either way, she was about to find out.
"Will Miss Rainbow Dash please report to duel field number 3." An announcement came over the loudspeaker.
"See? Told you." Rainbow Dash said as she made her way down. "Like I said, classmates soon."
The draconequus really wasn't amused as he made his way to the duel field. Stupid Celestia, making him work this job for her because she was too busy as "Principal" to do it herself. Yeah, she had sooooo much paper work to do. And she totally did it on a regular basis. Maybe if she didn't let it stack up, she'd be able to show up at events like this. And now some upstart had the nerve to show up this late in the test and think they could still get in to Duel Academy. What kind of school would it be if it allowed unpunctual ponies like that into its ranks? So Discord had decided to have a little fun with the upstart. He would allow her into the academy, but only if she could beat him personally. No sympathy for her. She would face his personal deck. She didn't stand a chance.
As he came out of the hallway and onto the field, there were surprised gasps and muffled whispers from the audience. He made some of them out as "Isn't that Professor Discord?' and "Woah, the head professor!" Good to see his reputation had proceeded him. And now for the upstart. The pony making her way to the duel field was a blue Pegasus pony, a buzz in her step and a confident look in her eyes. The kind of student that was the most fun to crush.
"Heya, teach!" The mare said as she reached the other side of the field. "Can I call you that? I mean, you'll be my teacher soon enough."
Now the noise coming from the audience was snickering, all directed at the mare with the obviously bloated ego about to get the beating of her life.
"You won't be calling me anything other than "superior" once I'm finished with you, kid." Came the reply from the professor. But the intimidating had the opposite effect on Dash. She smiled at her opponent.
"Well, let's see you put those words into action. You better get your game on, teach!" She said as the two duelists shuffled their decks and activated their Duel Disks. Rainbow's was a simple standard issue, but Discords was a fancy duel vest that place the deck over his chest and launched cards out to his waiting hand when he drew.
"Duel!" (Rainbow Dash Lp: 4000, Discord Lp: 4000)
"As professor, the first move is mine! Draw!" Discord drew his first card. "I activate the spell card Hand Destruction. We each discard two cards from our... hoof or hand, then draw two cards from our decks."
"Wait, you mean your making us toss cards already?" Dash was surprised that he would want cards gone right off he bat.
"Well, at least you can follow that much. At least now you might be able to fit into the kindergarten level courses. Now discard already." He had already finished his toss and draw.
"Um... maybe this one...?" Rainbow muttered to herself, as Discord stood and rolled hi eyes. If this mare made it into the Academy, then its standards had slipped below help. Finally she made her decision, right before Discord snapped.
"Now that was far to long to spend on just the first turn. So I'll wrap the rest up quick. I place two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Uh... teach? Aren't you supposed to play some defense? You know, like have a monster or something?" Discord was about at the boiling point.
"Which one of us has the dueling PHD?" He asked, trying his best not to show how much this mare was pissing him off. "I'm pretty sure it's not you."
"Well, it could be soon enough. My turn! Draw! I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" (1200 Atk) The hologram of a woman in a red tight suit appeared. Her black hair flowed straight out from some sort of yellow headdress, and she looked like she could be some kind of super-hero.
"Aren't we a little old for comic books?" Discord said sarcastically.
"Make all the jokes you want teach, but your the one who's about to get burned. Go Burstinatrix! Attack him directly with Burst Flare!" The woman jumped into the air quite nimbly, and bombarded the draconequus with a rain of fireballs, which exploded all over him. (Discord: 4000 => 2800) "Aw yeah! I'm already in the lea- wha?"
Rainbow looked up at the giant spider-like creature that had now made its appearance on Discord's side of the field. Its abdomen had six legs, while its upper body had two arms, a bulky left one leading to a clawed hand, and a thinner right one leading to a wicked pincer. It's glowing yellow eyes and large number of teeth didn't exactly increase its charm.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I ruin the celebration? Whenever you inflict battle damage on me, I can special summon Tragoedia from my hand. And as for its attack points, they're equal to the number of cards in my hand multiplied by 600. And since I currently hold three, it has 1800 points. Or can you do basic math on your own?"
Rainbow was too busy focusing on her next move to pay the teacher's insults any mind.
"I'll drop two cards face-down and call it a turn." She said, a little bit of the smugness knocked out of her voice.
"Well, that sure didn't take long for your ego to collapse. Draw! And now Tragoedia's attack points increase by another 600. Go, attack Burstinatrix! Arachnid Impaler!"
"Not so fast! Trap activate, Hero Barrier! This card lets me negate one attack while I control and "Elemental Hero" monster." A circular vortex appeared in front of Burstinatrix, blocking the blow, but to Rainbow's surprise, the claws went right through the shield and then followed straight through her Hero. (Rainbow: 4000 => 2800) Then she noticed the trap now face up on Discord's field.
"Sorry, but Royal Decree negates the effects of all other trap cards on the field, so your little barrier is pointless." He said, smirking at her falling for another of his set-ups. "And that should be enough for one turn. Now, impress me."
"Okay, prepare to have your mind blown!" Rainbow shouted out, though inside she wasn't feeling quite so confident. "I'm up. Draw!" She looked at the cards in her hoof. Only one of them could get her out of this. It had a cost, but... "I activate the effect of Special Hurricane. By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all special summoned monsters on the field!"
"What?!" Discord actually seemed surprised by the move as his giant spider was sucked up in the raging whirlwinds of a storm, tearing it to shreds. Awesome! She had gotten rid of Tragoedia! But her joy was quickly cut off when she realized she didn't have a follow-up monster in her hoof.
"Ugh. One card face-down. Turn end." Discord's look of surprise flipped up to one of mocking laughter.
"So you make a descent move, and you can't even follow it up? Figures. My turn, and it's gonna be a big one." He said, spreading his hands wide in gesture to make his point. I activate the spell card Foolish Burial, which lets me send one monster card from my deck to the graveyard."
"Again with the sending to the graveyard?"
"And the monster I'll be selecting is Thunder King Rai-Oh." He placed the card in his graveyard as the duel disk reshuffled his deck. "And now for the 'big' part. By removing from the game one 'Light' monster and one 'Dark' monster from my graveyard, I can special summon my ace monster. Rise, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" A figure cloaked in a powerful aura began to arise. He was wearing a blue suit with greenish armor, and carried a shield and a wickedly sharp sword. (3000 Atk)
"Woah! Awesome!" Dash let out, admiring the soldier.
Discord had to sigh. That wasn't quite the reaction he had wanted. But it would all be over soon enough.
"Now then, with your traps still sealed, it's about time to end this. Luster Soldier, attack her directly: Midnight Slash!" the soldier leaped forward, preparing to run his blade through Rainbow and end the duel.
"Oh, please. Like I'd let this end that easily. I activate a spell, Emergency Provisions. By sending one spell or trap card on my side of the field to the graveyard, I gain 1000 Life Points. (Rainbow: 2800 => 3800)
Discord was clearly frustrated, but carried on.
"Fine, but my attack still goes through." And the soldier finished his attack on the blue mare. (Rainbow: 3800 => 800) "My turn is done. Now then, 'next top student,' go ahead and get yourself out of this."
Rainbow cursed under her breath. One card in her hand. She needed one heck of a draw.
"Here I go!" And she drew her next card. "I activate the spell card Pot of Greed, which let's me draw two cards from my deck." This is it, she thought as she pulled her last two cards.
Discord stood in anticipation. His hand had been pretty void of monsters this game, and his one remaining face-down was Mirror Force, which couldn't be activated with Royal Decree still in play. But he still had 2800 Life Points and a 3000 attack point monster. There was no way she could win. And yet there was still a fire in her eyes as she looked up from checking her last two cards. Could she actually...
"I summon Elemental Hero Avian! She said, calling forth another super hero, this one a male in mostly green with large white wings stemming from his back, and claws on his left hand. (1000 Atk)
"And just what's that supposed to do?" Discord asked.
"Nothing on his own. Spell card, Miracle Fusion! By banishing fusion material listed on an "Elemental Hero" monster from my field and graveyard, I can summon that monster."
"Fusion? I'm surprised you can pull off that kind of tactic. But even so..." He already knew the monster that was coming.
"Rise, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" one more hero stood up, this one a buff humanoid colored green red and black. He had a single wing coming out to his left from his back, a red tail, and his right arm stemmed off into the head of a dragon. (2100 Atk) "And now the last card. The Field spell, Skyscraper!" As she placed the card in her duel disc, the scenery of the arena was completely shadowed by the massive amounts of giant buildings rising from the floor. Atop the largest stood Rainbow's new hero. "You've come to the wrong city, because here, when an "Elemental Hero" monster attacks an opponent's monster with more attack point, then it gains 1000 points for the battle!"
"But, that means...!" Discord figured out what was about to happen.
"Go, Flame Wingman! Attack Black Luster Soldier with Skyscraper Shoot!" As she yelled, the monster dove from the top of the tower, aiming its dragon hand straight at the soldier, and smashed it to the ground. (Discord: 2800 => 2700)
"We're not done yet. I'm not about to-"
"But it is over. Wingman's monster effect. When it destroys a monster by battle, my opponent takes damage equal to that monster's attack points."
"But..." Discord was cut off as the figure of Flame Wingman cast over him, and aimed its right hand one more time. Discord gulped, and was blasted by a stream of flames from the dragon's mouth. (Discord: 2700 => 0)
As Discord fell to the floor and the holograms faded away, the audience was stunned in silence. Someone had just defeated the professor in a duel. For a long moment, nopony moved. But then one started clapping, another followed suit, and soon the entire arena was in blazes of shouts and cheering for Rainbow Dash, who looked around, taking in the praise with a beam around.
"Thank you, everypony! Looking forward to class with you all!" She yelled. One of the other exam proctors walked over to her, carrying a red jacket, which he presented to her.
"Well, Ms Dash, Welcome to Duel Academy."
