Let's Duel!

Chapters

New Town, New Duel
An Orchard Duel
Motivational Duel
A High Class Duel
Rookie Duel
Preparations' End
Duels of Darkness (II)
Duels of Darkness (III)
Duels of Darkness (IV)
Shadow Game
Twist of Fate
Sibling Duel
Duel Vault
Reunited
Prologue
Duels of Darkness (I)

New Town, New Duel

Many years later…

“Twilight?” a voice called out. “Hey, Twilight?”

The young woman in question was presently sitting behind a desk, cards laid out in front of her and a book propped open to the side. A computer screen shone brightly in the dimly-lit study, plastered with an image of an opposing duelist’s field. In spite of the privacy, Twilight’s appearance was immaculate, with an indigo sweater vest over a white collared shirt and black tie, complete with a long purple skirt.

“Yes Spike?” she called back. “What is it?” Turning her head back to the computer, she flipped one of her face-down cards up. “In response to your attack I activate my Mirror Force, destroying all monsters on your side of the field in attack position.”

In response, the computer showed all three of its monster cards being removed from the field. It put one card face-down in its Spell/Trap zone, and ended its turn.

“Can I come in?” Spike yelled up at her. “It’s a bit important!”

“Of course,” Twilight answered him, idly drawing a card. “I play my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card. Finally, my Dark Red Enchanter attacks your life points directly, ending the duel!”

The computer player’s life counter dropped to 0 at around the same time that the door to Twilight’s study burst open. In came a smaller boy in purple, with green hair. This was Spike, a younger student at Celestia’s Duel Academy whom Twilight had been assigned to mentor years ago. He looked a little out of breath from running all the way up the many flights of stairs to this level.

“What is it, Spike?” Twilight got up from her seat. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s Celestia.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she seemed to stand up a little straighter.

“She wanted to talk to you as soon as you could.”

“Tell her I’m on my way! Right now!” Twilight was already hurriedly scooping her cards off the desk and into her duel disk. She snapped the machine onto her left wrist and ran out the door in a wild blur of motion. Spike was left spinning in her wake.

“Uh…” he scratched his head, looking down the already-empty stairway. “I think you’ll be telling her yourself.”

A few minutes later, Celestia heard a soft knocking at her office door. The princess looked up from the paperwork she had been going over.

“By all means, come in,” she said.

The rainbow-haired woman smiled warmly when the door opened to reveal her personal protégé and Duel Academy’s top-ranked student. Twilight looked a little flush from her sprint across the campus and Celestia could make out a few beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. She couldn’t but chuckle slightly.

“Twilight, I’ve told you hundred times, there’s no need to rush on my behalf. If it’s urgent, I’ll let you know.”

“437 times, actually,” Twilight corrected automatically. It took her just a second to realize what she’d done, whereupon she blushed a little and looked down at her feet.

For her part, Celestia simply chuckled again and beckoned her student inside with a motherly smile.

“Please,” she said. “Have a seat. Would you care for something to drink?”

“No thank you, princess,” Twilight replied, sitting ramrod straight in one of the chairs across Celestia’s desk. “What is it you needed to talk to me about?”

“Twilight…” Celestia’s face looked a little weary, though no less pleasant. “I’ve told you before you can call me Celestia. And do relax a little. Too much tension is bad for your health.”

“Of course, princess,” Twilight remained sitting at attention.

Celestia sighed a little. “If you want to go straight to business, I’ll oblige. I’ve been getting reports that you’ve been spending even more time than usual in simulators these past few weeks. My teachers report that they barely see you in the arena anymore. Would you kindly explain?”

“Of course!” Twilight nodded. “You see, princess, I’ve been doing some calculations and I’ve determined that my skills are better honed by computer opponents than the present array of organic opposition.”

“Organic opposition?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “That is an odd way of referring to your fellow students – and my employees, for that matter.”

“I’m sorry!” Twilight scratched the back of her head, blushing a little. “It’s just that… well, I’ve beaten everyone at the academy. Multiple times. The teachers included. Except you, of course!” she added quickly.

“So you think that you’ve learned all that you can from them?” Celestia took a sip from her teacup.

“Well…” Twilight hesitated. “To speak frankly, yes. Also I kind of…” she rubbed her shoulder. “Felt a little guilty after my few opponents started to break down and cry or scream. Computers don’t do that.”

“I suppose that is a somewhat admirable motive to cease your public dueling.” Celestia took another small sip. “Though I am inclined to believe they would probably have cried less if you had refrained from detailing exactly what they did wrong. On every single turn, if what I’ve read is true.”

“I was only trying to help them…” Twilight looked down at her hands, folded across her lap.

Celestia put a finger underneath her student’s chin and gently pushed it back up, so that they were eye-to-eye again. The Princess of Games was wearing a soft, almost maternal expression.

“I know that you didn’t mean any harm by it. But I don’t think shutting yourself away even further than usual is a good solution, my faithful student.” she folded her hands together on her desk.

“Then… what do you think I should do, princess?”

“Hmmm…” Celestia tapped her chin lightly, though she was already wearing another smile on her face.

And at that very moment, the door to the princess’ office swung open again. Twilight jumped slightly at the noise, but Celestia looked, if anything, pleased to be interrupted.

“Hey Celestia! Hey Twilight!” came the sound of Spike’s voice as he casually invited himself in, taking a seat beside her tutor and across from the princess.

“Spike!” Twilight berated. “What have I told you about being patient?! And showing respect for superiors?!”

“Oh, it’s quite alright,” Celestia brushed it off. “As a matter of fact this concerns him as well, so I asked him to come with you. Though I didn’t think that you’d get here so far ahead of him. Live and learn, I suppose.”

Twilight said nothing, but gave Spike a sharp glance out of the corner of her eye. Spike grinned feebly and waved a little. His tutor glared, and he opted to sit back and fold his hands into his lap.

“Now then,” Celestia continued. “I had wanted to speak to the both of you because I had a special assignment that I wanted you to do for me.”

“A special assignment?!” Twilight somehow managed to sit up even straighter. “Of course we’ll do it! Anything you need!”

“While I appreciate your enthusiasm, my student, you needn’t be so obsequious about it,” Celestia frowned slightly. “Regardless, there is a little event in a few days’ time celebrating the upcoming summer solstice in Ponyville. I wanted your assistance in making certain everything was ready there before I make my appearance. And I thought a change in scenery might do you some good, Twilight.”

“Ponyville?” Spike spoke up. “Who names a town Ponyville?”

“Ponyville is primarily an agricultural settlement with an historical ‘frontier’ character,” Twilight explained from memory. “In this specific case some of their most famous and profitable exports have been well-bred ponies connected to the founding Apple family. The town was dedicated in the creatures’ honor 53 years ago.”

“Exactly,” Celestia beamed at her student. “I want the two of you to pay this little town a visit. It’s only an hour’s train ride from here, and I’ve already made arrangements for your accommodation. I want you to check in on all the preparations for the event and the tournament that they’ll be holding. And while you’re there, Twilight, I have a special request for you.”

“What is it, princess?”

“Please do some dueling. With actual flesh and blood opponents, if you wouldn’t mind. I think it’ll do you some good.”

“Of course, princess,” Twilight bowed her head. “Will that be all?”

Celestia sighed. “I believe so.” She reached into a desk draw, and extracted a pair of tickets, which she handed to Twilight. “Your train leaves in two hours. Your residence is listed here, as are the details of the event you’ll be overseeing preparations for.” Celestia gave her student a few sheets of paper.

“I’m on it, princess!” Twilight declared as she rose to her feet. “Don’t you worry, everything in Ponyville will be perfect for your visit even if I have to do it all myself!”

Celestia nodded slightly, and Twilight turned on a dime. Folding the paper up and slipping it into one of her vest pockets, she started for the door. Spike hopped out of his own chair and made to follow. It was just as her hand touched the knob that Celestia’s voice gave her pause.

“Oh, and Twilight?”

She turned back to her mentor. “Yes?”

Celestia’s smile contained the faintest hint of weariness. “Do try and make some friends.”

A few hours later Twilight sat idly in a train car as the countryside raced by. Just a few feet away there was a duel ongoing, holographic monsters provided an impromptu free floor show. Spike was watching it eagerly, but Twilight found it difficult to keep her eyes on the two. One man had two cards face-down and no monsters, while the other had one monster on the field and nothing else.

“My move!” yelled the man with the monster, drawing a card.

Don’t attack without clearing his field, Twilight thought. It’s an obvious trap, you’d have to be a moron not to-

“Gearfried the Iron Knight, attack his life points directly!”

The powerful black-armored raised its sword arm and charged the opponent with blade held high.

“Just what I was waiting for!” the man grinned, pressing one button on his disk. “Reveal face-down card, Ring of Destruction!”

Gearfried halted mid-step as an enormous collar fixen itself around his neck. The monster cried out in alarm as several gigantic red bombs attached to it.

“My Ring of Destruction will destroy your monster and inflict damage to your life points equal to its 1800 attack points! But I’ll be perfectly safe, thanks to my Ring of Defense, which prevents the same from happening to me!”

His other face-down card rose, revealing another ring with a quartet of rotating green fan blades. As the explosives about Gearfried’s neck detonated in a fiery burst, the green blades shielded their owner from the fires. The other man wasn’t so lucky.

“Hah!” the safe man gloated. “Now you’re the one with no defense!”

Twilight looked away, bored, as the duel continued.

Dueling was everywhere in the world, it was just a fact of life. It had been that way for centuries, ever since the game had taken off. It had been discovered that the game emitted powerful energies when played, which fueled the strength of magic-users. And then an even more remarkable find had been made, providing the key to a seemingly-boundless supply of energy. For whenever two duelists clashed in the game, they released a kind of spiritual fuel that could be harnessed by machines. One could power everything from houses to trains to motorcycles with this energy. And so, they did.

But that didn’t mean that all duels were particularly interesting to watch.

Twilight sat back against her seat and closed her eyes, wishing that she’d thought not to pack all her reading material into her suitcase. Her suitcase presently securely locked in a luggage compartment.

When Twilight and Spike stepped off of the train at Ponyville Station a little while later, the former was quite relieved. The latter, not so much.

“That was so cool, Twilight! Did you see how that Jinzo completely creamed his Rocket Warrior?! And blew up all those traps with his laser eyes?!” Spike pumped a fist as they walked out the station’s exit. “Awesome!”

“Yeah, Spike, I saw,” she did her best to smile. In truth she thought the man a rank amateur who pulled through by luck. But she didn’t want to rain on her pupil’s parade – especially not after what Celestia had said. “It was pretty cool.”

“Yeah!” Spike’s eyes were gleaming. “I wonder what other neat cards we’ll see while we’re here.”

Probably not many, Twilight thought. This Ponyville looked exactly as her data suggested that it would: small, homey, and with a distinctly rural feel to much of it. It was a town that wore its frontier heritage proudly, and there was nothing wrong with that, but it meant they weren’t likely to have access to the rare and powerful cards one could find back in the Duel Academy in Canterlot. She didn’t want to seem elitist, but Twilight suspected that there wouldn’t be too many duelists of note out here.

Aloud, she replied. “I’m sure that we’ll run into someone sooner or- ooph!”

Twilight’s progress halted as she ran smack into something mid-step. She tumbled over backwards with a slight squeal, hitting the ground roughly. Spike hurried over to her as she sat up, rubbing her behind.

“Twilight!” he implored. “Are you alright?! Speak to me!”

“I’m… fine, Spike,” she rubbed her head. “I-”

“Whoops! Sorry about that!” a high-pitched voice interrupted.

Twilight looked up from where she sat to find another figure looming over her. It was a girl apparently around her age with extremely puffy pink hair. She wore a light pink t-shirt with a three balloon motif in the center, a darker pink skirt, and long blue and yellow stockings extending well past her knees. A duel disk was clasped to her left arm. Her face wore a friendly smile.

“I had a feeling I’d run into someone new around here today,” she said as she offered Twilight her hand. “I didn’t know it’d be so literal!”

Twilight accepted the hand, the girl hauled her back onto her feet.

“Hi there, I’m Pinkie Pie!” the girl said as Twilight brushed dirt off of herself. “I know everyone around town, so I know that you must be new here! What’s your name?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“And I’m Spike.”

“Great to meet ya!” Pinkie shook both their hands enthusiastically. “What brings you two out here to Ponyville? You here for the big solstice celebration next week?”

“Actually, we are,” Twilight extracted her hand from Pinkie’s with some difficulty. “Princess Celestia sent us to check in on preparations and make sure that everything’s ready in time for her visit.”

“Wow! The princess herself sent you?! Then you two must students at the Duel Academy, right?”

“You bet we are!” Spike answered before Twilight could. “In fact, Twilight there is the hand-picked student of the Princess of Games herself!”

Pinkie’s jaw dropped a bit. “Really?! You’re really Celestia’s student?”

“Um…” Twilight scratched the back of her head, a little flush. “Yeah. I am.”

“Wow!” Pinkie grinned broadly. “What’s it like?! What does she teach you?! How many duelists have you beat?! How did you earn that?! Is it true she has a secret vault filled with secret cards of untamable power?!”

“I…” Twilight blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Oooooh! Oooooh! Never mind all that! I just got the most super-splenderific idea! We should duel!”

“Duel? I don’t know, Pinkie. I just got here I wouldn’t want to-”

“Come on! Pleeeeeease?” Pinkie clasped her hands together, eyes wide and watery. “It’ll be so much dueling against the princess’ student! And I promise that once you see my deck you’ll have a blast too! Everyone wins!”

“Well I don’t…” Twilight hesitated.

“Come on, Twilight!” Spike urged. “It’ll be fun to see what cards they have out here!”

“I’m just not sure if-”

“Pleeeeeeease?” Pinkie and Spike begged simultaneously.

“Oh…” Twilight remembered Celestia’s words. “Alright, fine. I’ll duel you.”

“Yay!” both cheered.

“Oooh, follow me!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the wrist. “I know the perfect spot!”

A few minutes and a good deal of running later, Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie stood in front of what looked for all the world like a building made from a tree. What kind of magic made something like that possible, Twilight didn’t know. But she thought that it might make for an interesting research topic when she wanted some light reading.

“I’ve got a really good feeling about this place!” said Pinkie. “Something tells me that dueling you here is a good idea! Plus, no one lives here, so no one will be bothered by this!”

“I’m fine with that,” Twilight answered, her duel disk snapping into readiness in a single gesture. “Are you sure you want to go through with this, though?”

“Definitely!” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. Her own duel disk snapped into place.

Both machines wirelessly synced to one another in an instant. Each one launched two small devices out of either side – portable hologram projectors, enabling the full dueling experience absolutely anywhere. Twilight and Pinkie each shuffled their respective decks, while their life point counters climbed to 4000.

“Let’s duel!” both cried at once.

Both players drew five cards apiece for their starting hands.

“Since I’m the guest here, I get to go first!” Twilight declared, drawing one more card.

“Fine by me,” Pinkie shrugged.

Twilight glanced down at what she had just drawn. She winced a little inside. It was a good card, no doubt, even one of her favorites. But it was much too powerful to just slam down against some happy-go-lucky village girl.

I don’t want to beat her too badly, she thought.

Instead, Twilight plucked a different card from her hand and placed it onto the Monster zone.

“I summon Defender, the Magical Knight! In defense mode!”

A powerful-looking knight in blue armor took shape on her side of the field. He got to one knee behind an immense blue and gold shield, his sword sheathed at his hip. Twilight smiled a little to see him again. The card had been a gift from her big brother, Shining Armor.

“Whenever he’s Normal Summoned like that, I can place one Spell Counter on him!” A gem on the knight’s armor lit up. “And while he protects my life points, I’ll protect him with two cards face-down!” Two cards appeared behind her monster. “That’s all for now.”

“Alright,” Pinkie said, reaching for her own deck and drawing a card. When she looked at it, her eyes went wide. The girl’s mouth formed into one of the biggest grins Twilight had ever seen.

“Get a good card?” she asked, trying to sound friendly.

“Oh boy did I ever!” Pinkie jumped up and down on the spot. “Get ready, because we’re about to enter into a world of whimsy! A world of excitement! A world where the fun never stops!”

What could she mean? Twilight wondered.

“That’s right!” Pinkie grinned even wider as she slipped the card into her disk. “A World of Toons!”

Pinkie
3000

Even as Pinkie’s life point counter dropped, a portal appeared in the ground in front of her. Out of that vortex rose a spinning green book that burst open in a wild shower of confetti and pink smoke. A cartoonish castle complete with little gravestones popped up from its pages as a wild music seemed to emanate from the card. Pinkie folded her arms and smiled as the book descended to hover in front of her.

I know that card, Twilight realized. Toons were rare and powerful monsters seldom seen these days. She’d read about them back home, but never actually seen any until that moment. Some stories had it that the cards had been favored by the legendary creator of duel monsters, Maximillion Pegasus himself. Of course, those records were spotty and incomplete, being centuries old. Nonetheless, seeing it here was certainly a surprise.

“And because you have a monster and I don’t, I can Special Summon my Toon Cyber Dragon directly from my hand!” Pinkie added another card. “And to keep him company, I’ll Normal Summon my Toon Gemini Elf! Both in attack mode!”

Toon World shut itself, spun around and up into the air, and then burst open again with even more pink smoke. Three figures tumbled out – one long cartoonish serpentine dragon, and a pair of bizarrely-proportioned elf women in minidresses. They took up position on Pinkie’s side of the field, giving Twilight insanely large grins.

She summoned monsters with enough attack to destroy my life points in a single turn, Twilight realized with a start. Maybe I underestimated her.

“Now, my Toons can’t attack the same turn they’re summoned,” Pinkie continued. “So I’ll just place this one card face-down and end my turn.”

“My move!” Twilight drew another card.

Let’s see… she looked at her hand. I still don’t want to use my trump card, but I don’t have anything in my hand strong enough to overpower her monsters, so…

“I reveal my face-down card, Mystical Space Typhoon!” Twilight gestured. “It destroys one Spell or Trap card on your side of the field! And I choose to send my typhoon right at your Toon World!”

The Spell Card swung upwards, launching a whirling tornado across the field towards the floating book.

“Sorry!” Pinkie grinned, pressing a button. “Where’s the fun in letting that happen? I activate my face-down card, Magic Jammer!”

The Trap Card swung upwards, revealing an image of purple smoke leaking from a magic circle.

“For a bargain price of one card from my hand, I negate the activation of your card and destroy it!”

Pinkie discarded one card, and purple energy shot out of her card. It raced across the field, dispelling Twilight’s tornado and shattering her Spell Card. But even as she shielded her face against the explosion, inside Twilight was smiling.

Now that I’ve revealed her Trap Card, I know her monsters have no protection! So that means…

“Fine! I summon Royal Magical Library in defense mode and place one more card face-down!”

Towering bookshelves shot out of the ground behind Twilight and her knight, easily reaching the height of the tree building beside them.

“Your move!”

“Thanks!” answered Pinkie, drawing another card. “I play Card of Sanctity, forcing us both to draw until we have six cards in our hands!” she reached into her deck, slipping five additional cards into her hand. Twilight took four for herself.

“Now then,” Pinkie continued. “I’ll use my Toons’ special abilities to bypass your monsters and attack your life points directly! Toon Cyber Dragon, you’re up to bat!”

The robotic dragon surged forward, stretching its way easily around both of Twilight’s monsters to loom over the girl herself. Its jaws opened impossibly wide, a bright white light appearing inside them.

“Sorry!” Twilight smiled. “But that won’t be happening! I reveal my Trap Card, Mirror Force!”

Just as the energy beam poured out of the toon dragon’s mouth, a shimmering bubble of semitransparent energy surrounded Twilight. The white light struck hard against it, held there for just a moment… and then exploded outwards. The dragon was annihilated before it had time to blink. The elf women screamed and ran in opposite directions, arms flailing wildly. But arcs of white light coming off of Twilight’s card descended on them both, and they exploded into a million pieces.

“My poor Toons!” Pinkie cried as she shielded herself with an arm.

“Sorry, but my Mirror Force obliterated all of your monsters, leaving you defenseless!” Twilight folded her arms across her chest and smiled a little.

For the first time, Pinkie was frowning slightly. “Fine!” she said. “I set one monster face-down in defense mode and place one card face-down!”

“Then it’s my move!” Twilight drew a card. “I switch my Defender to attack mode! Next I’ll equip him with Malevolent Nuzzler, raising his attack by 700 points! Now go my knight!” she pointed. “Destroy her face-down monster!”

The armored knight drew his sword and leapt into the air. With a loud battle cry he dropped directly atop the face-down monster card, plunging his blade straight through the center of it. The card shattered at once.

“My Toon Alligator!” Pinkie’s frown deepened.

“Since it was in defense mode, at least you don't lose any life points," Twilight offered. "Next I think I’ll play one more card face-down and end my turn.”

“You keep destroying all of my Toons. My deck won’t be happy about that!” Pinkie warned as she drew a card. “Nope, definitely not happy!”

“I think I can take it,” Twilight folded her arms again.

“We’ll see about that. I play my Spell Card, Wonder Balloons!"

The pages of Toon World flipped, closed, and then burst open again in a spray of confetti. Dozens of balloons of all shapes, colors, and sizes flooded the field. Twilight could barely even make out her opponent through the swarm.

"By discarding one card from my hand, I can cut the attack strength of all your monsters by 300 from here on out!" Pinkie explained. "Now, because Toon World is still on the field, I Special Summon my Toon Mermaid!”

Toon World opened yet again, and a cartoonish green-haired mermaid within a googly-eyed clam appeared on the field.

“And because she was Special Summoned, I can sacrifice her immediately to play my Toon Dark Magician Girl!”

The mermaid vanished into Toon World in a flash of white light. The book spun around again, and then shot out yet another monster. This one looked like a young, blonde-haired girl in a slightly-oversized magician’s outfit. She clutched her wand and giggled girlishly.

“You remember how I said my Toons couldn’t attack the turn they’re summoned?” Pinkie was starting to smile again. “Well, I may have told a liiiitle fib. Most Toons can’t, but Toon Dark Magician Girl? Not a problem for her!” she pointed across the field. “So attack Twilight directly!”

The little magician spun her wand nimbly in her hand and summersaulted high up into the air. Twilight’s knight swiped at her, but she easily bent like rubber to avoid his blade. She popped up directly in front of the purple-haired girl, and brought her wand down atop Twilight’s head as hard as she could.

Twilight
2000

Twilight hit the dirt roughly for the second time in the last several minutes. She swore that she could feel a lump atop her cranium, and she knew that she was seeing stars. Toon Dark Magician Girl retreated nimbly, pointing and laughing at the city-slicker’s misfortune.

“And I’ll follow up with my face-down card, Shadow Toon!” Pinkie pressed a button on her disk. “My Spell Card lets me pick one monster on your side of the field and do direct damage to your life points equal to its attack! And I pick eneenie meenie minie – your knight! Thanks to your card he has 2000 attack points, so this is the end!”

The shadow of Twilight’s monster flickered a moment, and then faded away. In its place came an amorphous shadowy blob with a deformed cartoonish face. It loomed over Twilight.

“Now go, Shadow Toon! Wipe out Twilight’s life points!”

“Not quite!” Twilight shouted. “Reveal face-down card, Emergency Provisions! This Spell Card lets me sacrifice my other face-down card for an immediate 1000 point boost!”

Twilight
3000

“But my card will still eat most of your points! Shadow Toon, avenge our lost!”

The shadow plunged onto Twilight, knocking her right back down just as she was getting up. Its hand grabbed her nose and tweaked it before slapping her right across the face. Toon Dark Magician Girl howled with laughter.

Twilight
1000

Pinkie’s Toon monster continued to laugh uproariously as Twilight lay sprawled out in the dirt. It even stopped and blew a raspberry down at her.

“Hey!” Spike pointed up at her. “Stop that! It isn’t funny!”

“Sorry,” Pinkie shrugged a little apologetically. “She can really get into it sometimes. Especially if some of her buddies go to the Graveyard. Anyway, I’ll place one card face-down. Your go.”

Twilight, for her part, was rising unsteadily back onto her feet. Her back hurt, her cheek stung, her head was pounding, and her immaculate dress clothes were covered in dust and grass. Her brow was deeply set, and her teeth were grinding.

“So, your monster thinks that’s funny, does she?” Twilight’s fists clenched around her cards as she drew. “I try and go easy on you, and your creature finds it amusing when I get hurt?”

“Sorry,” Pinkie said, face falling a little. “I don’t think it’s funny, for whatever it’s worth. I can’t stop her from doing that.”

Toon Dark Magician Girl blew a raspberry at Pinkie as well.

“Well, now I’m irritated,” Twilight brushed some dirt off of her shoulder. “My Royal Magical Library has been collecting Spell Counters since it was summoned, one for every Spell Card either one of us has played since then, until it completely filled up! Since it now has three, I can trade in all of its counters to draw another card!" Twilight drew a card, then grinned at it. "Perfect! Let’s see how funny your toon finds my Breaker the Magical Warrior!”

A red-armored knight with a flowing cape appeared on Twilight’s side of the field. He set his shield and brandished his thin sword up at the Toon monster, who just laughed at him. A gem embedded into his forehead armor lit up.

“Whenever Breaker is Normal Summoned, he gains one Spell Counter, giving him an additional 300 attack points!”

“So?” Pinkie shrugged. “My monster is still stronger.”

“So I can sacrifice one Spell Counter on Breaker to destroy any Spell or Trap Card on the field!”

Pinkie’s blue eyes widened.

“Now go!” Twilight leveled her finger. “Destroy Toon World!”

“NO!” Pinkie cried, holding out her hand.

The gem on the pommel of the knight’s sword crackled shone brightly. Red energy crackled up and down his sword, which he leveled at the floating book. A ruby-red lance of energy shot out of the thin blade and scored a direct hit on Toon World. The book crackled with red electricity for just a second, then exploded. Toon Dark Magician Girl threw back her head and wailed before exploding herself.

“Now, Defender and Breaker, attack her life points directly! End this duel!”

Both knights shoved off against the ground and soared across the field. As one, the two magical swordsmen raised their blades. Pinkie crossed her arms in front of her face just as the two brought them down with enough force to send her flying back.

Pinkie
0

Twilight panted slightly as the holograms faded away. While she waited for the smoke to clear off, she straightened her tie absentmindedly and brushed some more dirt off of her white sleeves. When the light breeze eventually swept away the smoke, she saw Pinkie lying on her back a good few yards from where she had started.

“Uh, Ms. Pinkie?” she reached a hand out, a little uncertain. “Are you… alright?”

“That…” Pinkie said from her spot in the dirt. “Was… AWESOME!”

Pinkie managed to get back to her feet in a single bound, her face split with yet another wide grin. She seemed not to run so much as abruptly appear in front of Twilight, causing the later to jump.

“That was so much fun! First I was all Toons! Then you were all Mirror Force! Then I was all more Toons! Then you were all Knights! And it was so amazing! That’s was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! We need to do it again!”

“Uh… you mean you aren’t… sad?”

“Sad?! Why would I be sad?! I just had a great duel with the personal student of the princess herself! How much does that happen to you?! I mean, probably never, because you’d have to duel against yourself, but I’m sure you get the point!”

“I… think so.” Twilight scratched the back of her head.

“I’d love to stay and talk and all but I’ve got a bunch of stuff I Pinkie Promised to do for Mr. and Mrs. Cake this afternoon so I’ve gotta go but I’ll see you again real soon!” Pinkie was already off and running. “Bye Twilight! Bye Spike! Watch out for falling pianos!”

“…What?”

An Orchard Duel

“Huh,” Twilight muttered as Pinkie disappeared into the distance. “That was…”

“Weird,” Spike finished for her.

“Agreed,” she nodded. “But now that that’s over with, we really should get back to what we came here for. The princess is counting on us and we won’t let her down, come rain or storm or supernova!” Twilight raised a fist into the air.

Behind her back, Spike rolled his eyes.

“Anyway,” Twilight began digging around in one of her bags. “The obvious first step is to locate our residence so that we can set our luggage down and settle in. Hmmm… aha!” she extracted and unfolded a map. “According to this thing, the place where we’re staying iiiiis…”

Twilight peered above her map, taking careful note of the street signs and the nearby buildings, her mind quickly plotting out their present location and comparing it to where they needed to be.

“Right… here,” she blinked.

“You mean inside the tree?” Spike asked.

“That’s… what it says,” Twilight walked over to the building’s mailbox and compared it to her map. “The address is correct and everything.”

“That’s kinda weird.”

“I guess, but if it’s where the princess sent us to, then it should be fine.”

Twilight walked right up to the red door of the building and fished out the key she had been given. A lock opened by a physical object seemed a bit old-fashioned compared to the passcodes and biometric scanners to be found back in Camelot, but that was life, she supposed. The golden key fit perfectly and the door swung open, admitting the pair of them to Golden Oak Library, as the sign so proudly proclaimed.

Twilight’s first impression was one of some degree of age. It wasn’t the appearance – it was quite dark inside – so much as the smell. Her nose was picking up the unmistakable scent of old books, left in some dusty shelf for ages, just waiting for a worthy pupil to come along and claim their knowledge for her own.

She loved the place already.

With an idle finger snap Twilight conjured a few glowing balls and sent them flying through the door. The violet light illuminated the building’s interior, rapidly confirming her initial impression. This place looked to be quite old. How old exactly she couldn’t quite guess, but at least a good few decades. Maybe older. More important to Twilight were the bookshelves seeming to overflow with tomes. She hadn’t seen that many good old-fashioned paper books anywhere outside the Duel Academy’s own library.

Twilight’s face fell a bit as she realized that a lot of what she could looked dusty. Locating a light switch and dismissing her spell, she discovered to her horror that almost everything inside this place positively reeked of age and neglect.

“Country plebs,” she pursed her lips irritably. “Don’t they know just because we have computers that’s no excuse to ignore the printed word?! Not having a librarian is bad enough, but they couldn’t even be bothered to send someone by dust every once in a while? Ugh!” She walked up to one of the bookshelves and brushed a cobweb aside. “Look at the condition this place is in!”

“What’s the big deal?” Spike had followed her inside. “They’re only books.”

“Only books?” Twilight’s tone was low.

“Uh oh,” Spike’s face paled somewhat.

“Only… books?” Twilight turned slowly to face him, one eye visibly twitching. “They’re only books?!”

“Someone help me.” Spike whimpered.

The next morning, after a long and detailed explanation of the importance of books, a great deal of cleaning, and a short rest at the end of it all, Twilight and Spike set out from Golden Oak to begin their appointed duties. The first thing on the list was to make sure that the catering was proceeding on schedule and in good order. For that, Celestia’s note directed them to speak to one Ms. Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres. With her trusty map to lead the way, it was only a short walk to what looked to be about the edge of town.

In front of the duo stretched what appeared to be a good few neatly-planted orchards surrounding a great red barn, all of it fenced in with a rather folksy white picket. Twilight and Spike walked through the rather welcoming front gate, looking around to see-

“YEE-HAW!”

A woman racing past the two of them atop a pony. Twilight jumped back a step as a blonde-haired young woman rode a decent-sized brown horse about a track not far from the barn. The surprisingly nimble creature wove in and out of stacked bales of hay, darted across the track, and for a finale outright jumped the track’s fence.

“Whoah there!” the girl atop the equine pulled back on the creature’s reigns. “Whoah there, girl!”

The horse slowed itself to a trot, and then a comfortable walking pace. The girl guided it towards the newcomers. At this distance Twilight could see that she was wearing a long orange shirt, worn blue jeans, work boots, and a Stetson hat.

Let’s do this, thought Twilight.

“Good morning,” she said to the farming girl, extending a hand. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I-”

That was as far as she got before the girl slid easily off her horse and grabbed Twilight’s pale hand with both of hers.

“Well howdy do, Ms. Twilight!” she shook the poor girl’s hand vigorously. “I’m Applejack! We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure love makin’ new friends!”

“Riiiight…” Twilight managed to extract her aching limb with some difficulty.

“So,” Applejack continued. “What can I do you for?”

“Well,” Twilight cleared her throat. “I am here to check in on preparations for the upcoming festival, and I was given to understand that you were the woman to talk to about the food.”

“We sure as sugar are! You wanna sample some?”

Twilight hesitated. The duel and the cleaning had already put her behind schedule. On the other hand, it wouldn’t do to inadvertently allow bad food to go through. Not when Princess Celestia would be there soon.

“If it won’t take too long,” she answered.

“Great!” Applejack’s face lit up, and she grabbed both of them by their shoulders. “Now come on, I got few folks I’d like ya to meet!”

Perhaps half an hour and far too many apple-themed foods and relatives later, Twilight sat behind a picnic table, clutching her stomach. More than a dozen empty plates stretched out in front of her and her protégé. She moaned faintly.

“Heh heh,” Applejack chuckled. “Liked the food, huh?”

“It was… ugh… great…” Spike managed.

“Glad ya’ll enjoyed it. Rest of the family will be too, I reckon.”

Twilight just moaned again.

“Now, I had a little question I wanted to ask ya’ll. I recognize that ya’ll ain’t from around here – city-slickers if ever I did lay eyes on some. Does that mean Celestia sent ya?”

“Yes…” Twilight managed. “She did.”

“So ya’ll know her then?”

“She’s my teacher,” Twilight elaborated, struggling to sit up properly.

Applejack’s eyes widened. “So you’re the student of the Princess a’ Games herself? Well shoot, ain’t that somethin’! I bet she’s taught ya all sorts of duelin’ tricks!”

“She has,” Twilight nodded with just a faint hint of pride.

“Well, if that’s the case, would ya mind facin’ me in a little duel?”

Twilight attempted to rise, but the legs wobbled and her stomach writhed. She collapsed back into her chair within a nanosecond.

“Uh, ya can stay seated if ya want,” Applejack offered with a slight blush.

“Well it’s not like I’m getting up any time in the next few minutes either way,” Twilight mumbled, managing to scoot her chair a little back from the table. She activated her duel disk. “So I don’t see why not.”

“Yee-haw!” Applejack cheered, pumping a fist. She reached into a brown back at the table’s edge, extracting a rather worn-looking duel disk of her own. She affixed it to her wrist easily, and it snapped into active position.

“Let’s duel!” they called.

Each girl drew five cards, and their life point counters set themselves to the standard 4000.

“Since you’re a guest, Apple Family hospitality says I ought to let you go first.”

“Fine by me,” Twilight mumbled, drawing a sixth card. She looked down at her hand and trued to concentrate past her aching stomach.

Not the best hand ever, she thought. But it’ll do.

“I summon my Magical Exemplar in attack mode,” she said.

Silver light flared up, and a pale dark-haired woman in elaborate green robes appeared a few feet away from where Twilight was seated.

“Next I’ll equip her with Mist Body, which makes her indestructible in battle. Then I’ll activate the Continuous Spell Card Arcane Barrier.”

The woman’s body grew faint and insubstantial, tendrils of fog leaking out of her form. Meanwhile, a statue of a wizard holding a staff rose from the ground behind Twilight.

“Magical Exemplar gains two Spell Counters for every Spell Card played,” Twilight explained. “Once per turn I can sacrifice those counters to summon a Spellcaster from my hand or Graveyard with the same number of stars. And I choose my Maiden of Macabre.”

A deathly-pale woman in a kimono wielding an oversized skeletal scythe and spouting a vicious-looking hairstyle joined Twilight’s other monster.

“I’ll lay one card face-down and end my turn.”

“Woah-wee! That’s a heck of an openin’ move, Ms. Twilight, if ya don’t mind me sayin’ so!” Applejack drew a card. “I’m afraid I can’t make quite that impressive a move, so I’ll just put one monster in face-down defense mode and lay one card face-down.”

Two flat cards appeared on Applejack’s side of the field.

“Right,” Twilight drew. “I play Pot of Greed to draw twice more.” She picked up the cards. “Which also gives my Exemplar another two Spell Counters. Then I’ll reveal my face-down card, Pitch-Black Power Stone.”

Her Trap Card rose to display the image of a mystic golden triangle on a circular black stone.

“This gives me three Spell Counters on the trap. Once per turn I can move one of them to any card on my side of the field that can have them. Like my Maiden,” she pointed, and a golden light flew from the trap to the monster. “For every Spell Counter on her, my monster gains 200 additional attack points.”

“That puts her at 1900!” Applejack whistled.

“Exactly,” Twilight nodded weakly. “So, Maiden of Macabre, attack and destroy her face-down monster.”

The pale woman let out an unearthly shriek and leaped into the air, scythe raised over her head.

“Now hold your horses!” Applejack shouted. “Because ya’ll seem to have forgotten all about this here face-down card! Go, Ordeal of a Traveler!”

Her card rose to display the image of a red-eyed sphinx glowering down at a hapless traveler.

“Now how it works is like this,” Applejack held up her hand. “You’re gonna pick one random card in my hand and guess if it’s a Monster, Spell, or Trap card. Guess right and your attack goes through. Guess wrong and…” she smiled. “Your monster goes right back to your hand!”

Twilight sat up a little, and then pointed.

“I’ll say that the card on the far right is a monster,” she guessed.

“Sorry,” Applejack turned the card long enough for her to make out a spell. “So your Maiden there is goin’ right back where she came from!”

The woman froze mid-step, shrieked again, and vanished back into white light. Twilight plucked the card from her duel disk.

“And best of all, this here is a Continuous Trap Card!” Applejack said. “That means ya’ll are gonna have to guess every time ya want to attack!”

Maybe I should take this a little more seriously, Twilight thought, sitting up a little straighter.

“I don’t think so. I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior.”

Twilight’s red-armored knight took to the field once again.

“He gets his own spell counter when summoned, which I can sacrifice to obliterate any Spell or Trap card on your side of the field. And I think I’ll destroy your Ordeal of a Traveler!”

The knight leveled his blade across the field and fired a beam of red energy. It struck Applejack’s trap, which all but disintegrated on the spot.

“That ends my turn,” Twilight sat back a little to watch.

“You’re pretty good, Twilight,” Applejack tipped her hat. “But I’m just gettin’ started! So look out!” she drew one card, then grinned down at it. “First off I’m gonna place one more monster in face-down defense mode!”

A second card appeared down on her field.

“Next, I’ll switch my first monster to attack mode, activatin’ his special ability!”

Her card flew up and what looked to be a walking stone cabinet complete with a spear clutched in its left hand appeared.

“Ya see, whenever Golem Sentry is flipped face-up like that, I can pick any one a’ your monsters and send it right back to your hand!” Applejack smiled. “And I think I’m pickin’ your Exemplar there!”

“No!” Twilight cried, alarmed for the first time this duel. “If she goes back I’ll lose her counters and her equipped spell will go to the Graveyard!”

“Exactly!” Applejack smiled as her monster’s eyes lit up with power.

The green-haired woman got one quick scream before she too was drawn back into her card. Twilight took it from her disk with a frown.

“And guess what? This here golem can go right back to face-down defense position once per turn!” Applejack laughed as her monster went right back to where it started. “Your move, partner!”

“Fine,” Twilight sat up straight and drew one card. “I’ll move my second counter from my Power Stone to my Breaker, raising his attack by 300 points! Then I’ll summon my Maiden of Macabre back to the field!”

The knight flexed his muscles as a gem on his armor lit up. Beside him the deathly-pale women reappeared and swung her scythe, looking menacingly across the field.

“Alright, first thing’s first! Breaker, attack her face-down Golem Sentry!”

The knight leapt into the air and plunged his sword down into the back of the enemy card, which promptly burst into a thousand pieces. Applejack gritted her teeth.

“Now, my Maiden,” Twilight pointed. “Attack her other face-down monster!”

The monster, eager for revenge, let out another inhuman wail as she flew across the field. Her scythe swung and buried its blade into the back of Applejack’s other card. The farmer just smiled.

Twilight
3400

“Hah!” she gloated as Twilight’s life point counter fell. “Ya’ll just attacked my Stone Statue of the Aztecs! With 2000 defense points against your monster’s 1700 attack points, you lose 300 life points! But it gets better, because his special ability doubles any damage you take when you attack him!”

Twilight gritted her teeth as a massive green statue with glowing orange eyes appeared on her opponent’s side of the field.

“Then I’ll place one card face-down,” she said. “That ends my turn.”

“My draw!” she grabbed another card. “Just what I needed! I summon Mine Golem in attack mode! I also switch my Stone Statue into attack mode!”

A towering, faceless mechanical construct with a single red eye appeared in front of Applejack. Her Stone Statue’s eyes seemed to shine brighter, looking over at Twilight.

“Next I’ll play my Shield and Sword Spell Card!” Applejack inserted it. “This switches the attack and defense points of all monsters on the field for one turn! That means my boys go up to 2000 and 1900 attack, while yours drop to 1000 and…” she grinned. “0!”

Twilight simply clenched her fists.

“Alright, boys! Show we do things ‘round here!” Applejack leveled her hand across the field. “Stone Statue, destroy Maiden of Macabre!”

The statue opened its mouth and gushed orange flames, which rolled over the deathly woman. She got one last agonized shriek before exploding.

Twilight
1400

“Now Mine Golem, crush her Breaker!”

The mechanical monstrosity rushed across the field. Towering easily over the knight, it raised a fist and shattered him in a single punch.

Twilight
500

“Yee-haw!” Applejack pumped her fist. “That’s all a’ your critters accounted for! And since I don’t need to worry about your Breaker no more, I’ll throw this here card face down, just in case!”

Another card appeared behind her monsters.

“Your move, sugarcube.”

“Thanks,” Twilight drew one card.

Alright, time to get serious.

“First off I’ll play Monster Reborn, to revive my Breaker!”

The knight appeared on her side of the field once again, glaring at Applejack’s monsters.

“And I’ll use the last counter on my Power Stone to trigger his special ability one more time! Destroy her face-down card!”

Breaker swung his sword and shattered Applejack’s hidden card with ease. Behind him, Twilight’s card faded away.

“Next I’m gonna sacrifice my Breaker, so I can summon my Dark Red Enchanter!”

A woman in red and gold armored robes appeared on Twilight’s field, clutching a crescent moon staff with a large red gem in its center.

“She comes with two Spell Counters, raising her attack points by 300 each, for a total of 2300!”

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack took a step back.

“And there’s more! I activate my face-down card, Mage Power! Granting her an additional 500 points for every Spell or Trap card I control! And I count two, giving her 3300! Now go!” she pointed. “Destroy her Stone Statue!”

The woman twirled her staff in her hands before leveling it across the field. A ruby-red energy stream crossed the space between them and exploded against the massive stone construct. The fires in its eyes dimmed, and it crumbled away into nothing.

Applejack
1000

“Alright,” Twilight said. “That ends my turn.”

I don’t like leaving my monster unprotected like that, but I really don’t have a choice.

“Then I’ll draw!” Applejack declared, doing just that. “I’ll set another critter in face-down defense mode. And then I’ll switch my Mine Golem into defense mode as well.”

A card appeared in front of her while the golem got to one knee, crossing its arms in front of its chest.

“And I’m sure that a well-educated duelist such as yourself knows that whenever my Mine Golem is destroyed in battle, you take 500 points of damage.”

Twilight could only grit her teeth, stomach pain long forgotten.

Applejack smiled confidently. “So that makes him the perfect defense! And on that note, I’ll end my turn.”

“Back to me.” Twilight drew, then grimaced. “I’ll summon my Magical Exemplar back to the field in defense mode.”

The green-robed woman reappeared on one knee, arms crossed.

“Then I’ll…” Twilight hesitated. Did she dare attack an unknown monster with so few life points left? “…end my turn.”

“Alrighty then,” Applejack grinned as she drew. “I’ll be flippin’ my Medusa Worm into attack mode, which lets it automatically destroy one of your monsters!”

The ground beneath the two women rumbled for just a moment before exploding outwards into a rain of holographic rocks. An enormous, many-toothed worm burst from underneath to swallow the Enchanter whole. She didn’t even get the chance to scream, and the Worm vanished back the way it had come.

“And just like my golem, this here critter can go right back into face-down defense mode once per turn!”

True to Applejack’s words, the card reappeared next to her Mine Golem.

“Now I think I’m gonna place one more monster in face-down defense mode. Your go, sugarcube.”

Alright, Twilight thought. I’ve got to draw a good card.

She drew.

…So much for that plan, she looked out across her field. But maybe there’s a way I can draw more.

“Alright, Applejack, I’m activating the power of my Arcane Barrier! By sacrificing it and my Exemplar, I can draw a card for every Spellcaster that’s been destroyed since it was played. And that’s three monsters!”

“Go ahead, if ya feel like it, sugarcube.”

“I will!” Twilight plucked three more cards from her deck and studied them. “Perfect! I activate my Stop Defense, which lets me switch your Worm into attack position!”

“Uh-oh,” Applejack muttered as the ground at her feet shook and her worm popped its head out.

“Since there’s no monsters for it to destroy, its effect is useless! And it can’t change back to defense position until your turn! So I summon my Crusader of Endymion!”

A masked man in blue plate armor answered Twilight’s call, appearing and folding his arms across his chest.

“And since my Crusader has 1900 attack points while your Worm only has 500,” Twilight smiled. “You lose! Crusader of Endymion, attack her Medusa Worm and end this duel!”

Twilight’s monster raised both hands high and seemed to chant for just a moment before both hands seemed to explode with blue-black energies. They swarmed over the field in a great tornado, enveloping Applejack’s great beast. It screeched its death agonies, and then vanished as if it had never been.

Applejack
0

“Whew!” Twilight sat back in her chair and wiped the sweat from her forward while the holograms faded away.

“Well I’ll be!” Applejack put her hands on her hips. “That was some mighty fine duelin’ there, Ms. Twilight!”

“Thanks,” Twilight nodded. It was nice to have opponents that didn’t curse or weep when she won. “But I think I’d better be going. I have a lot more stuff to do today.”

“Well alright,” Applejack walked over and extended a hand. Twilight took it, and the farm girl helped hoist her to her feet. And then two shook. “It’s been mighty nice meeting the two of you Ya’ll come back around any time, ya hear?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Twilight, nudging Spike to rise. “But for now, it’s goodbye.”

“Then I guess I’ll be seein’ ya.”

“I guess you will.”

Motivational Duel

“Alright,” Twilight said as she and Spike walked slowly out of Sweet Apple Acres. “We can confirm that the food seems to be progressing smoothly and is likely to be tasty. What’s next on the list?”

Spike looked down at a sheet of paper. “The next thing is… the dueling arena. There’s supposed to be some sort of special dueling arena being set up for the local tournament the night before the solstice. Someone called ‘Rainbow Dash’ is supposed to be handling it.”

“Alright them,” Twilight unfolded her map and examined it briefly. “This arena isn’t supposed to be located that far from here. And standard procedure on these sort of things indicates that it should be mostly or completely done by now.” She looked up and pointed. “It’s this way. Come on, Spike.”

Her pupil following in her wake, Twilight set off for her destination.

“I’m sure we won’t have any problems with this one.”

“What do you MEAN nothing’s been done?!” Twilight half-screamed at a cowering civic volunteer. “Do you people KNOW who’s coming in few days?! Do you know how important a successful tournament is to nationwide reputation of this backwoods town?! Do you know how absolutely critical a well-built dueling arena is to an upscale tournament?! And do you know how long it takes to set up a ring worthy of royalty?!”

“I-I understand that, miss,” the woman attempted to hide behind a clipboard. “But-”

“But what?!” Twilight was all but on top of her. “What could possibly excuse this?!”

“I-It’s not my fault!” she blurted out.

“Alright,” Twilight took a deep breath. “Then kindly explain your motivations for having failed to so much as break ground on this project.”

“Our project head, Ms. D-Dash,” the woman said. “She t-told us not to worry about it, that we would starting in two days’ time. And she’s the one they put in charge.”

“I… see.” Twilight frowned. “If you would, please tell me where I can find this layabout so that I can give her an earful. Oh, and I apologize for yelling at you. If your superior gave you explicit instructions to do nothing then the responsibility lies with her and not you.”

“Um… thank you?”

“It’s just that the princess’ opinion means a lot to me, you see. I don’t take well to the prospect of seeing her disappointed.”

“Alright?”

“Now, those directions, please.”

“Meh,” the rainbow-haired girl waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll get to it.”

“You’ll get to it?!” one could practically see the steam coming out of Twilight’s ears. “Do you know who’s coming to town for this?! Do you know who’ll be handing out the winner’s crown at sunrise?!”

“Yeah. Celestia, wasn’t it?” Rainbow Dash looked nonplussed.

“And so you’re going to wait until the absolute last second before you even start?!”

“Look lady,” Rainbow from the hammock she’d be napping on. “You’re new around here, so I’ll cut you a little slack for not knowing. I’m Rainbow Dash, head of the Ponyville dueling league. I’ve set things like this up for years, and I always pull through. Sure, I don’t follow all the “standard procedures” and “organized timetables”, but I never disappoint. You can believe me when I say that I won’t leave Ponyville hanging. Or your precious princess.”

“What could possibly be more important to you than making certain that this goes off without a hitch?!” Twilight threw her hands up in the air. “Do you know what even the slightest words of approval from Princess Celestia can do for your town?! Impressing her could catapult anyone and anywhere into the big leagues! It’s a once in a lifetime chance and you just plan to procrastinate?! Why?”

“Training, of course,” Dash answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Training?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “For what? The Annual Worldwide Napping Convention?”

“No,” she snorted. “For the Wonderbolts of course! I mean, surely Ms. Bigshot knows that they’re coming too.”

The Wonderbolts, Twilight knew, were a nationally renowned team for their unique combination of stunt flights, extreme sports, acrobatics, and of course, dueling. A number of them were due to show up alongside the princess, it was true. Though she hadn’t heard anything about them recruiting.

“Once they see me in action,” Dash grinned. “They’ll have to invite me to join! I’ve got a whole stunt routine ready and waiting, holograms and everything! They’ll love it!”

Twilight could almost see the stars in her eyes as she stared off into space.

Hmmm… that gives me an idea.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Sure they will.”

Dash looked back at her. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Twilight idly examined one of her nails. “I mean, what do the Wonderbolts want more than incompetent, lazy girls who neglect visiting royalty to nap and showboat?”

“Who you calling lazy?!” Dash’s hands curled into fists. “And incompetent?! I’m the best in town! I could have that thing built in a day if I wanted to!”

Twilight glanced at her. “Then prove it.”

“I will, you’ll see.” Dash folded her arms. “There’s no way I’ll let Ponyville down. But I’ll do my way, Ms. Prissy, not yours. And that means when I decide to do it.”

“All I hear is a lot of talk. Where’s the action?”

Rainbow stood up, locking gazes with Twilight. “You’re really starting to bug me, newbie.”

“As they say, the truth hurts,” Twilight put her hands on her hips. “But if you think Wonderbolts will want you, you must fancy yourself something of a duelist. Right?”

“Like I said,” she jabbed both thumbs at herself. “The best in town.”

“Then what say you to a little wager. We’ll duel, and if I win, you’ll get started on your job today. How’s that sound?”

“When I win, you’ll go away and leave me to do my thing in peace.” Dash declared. “Those are the terms. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.”

“Deal,” Twilight said.

The two girls briefly shook hands to seal it before backing up a few paces. Spike parked himself in Rainbow’s comfy hammock to watch, while both duel disks flared to life. Decks were shuffled, life point counters rose, and opening hands were drawn.

“Let’s duel!” they shouted.

“I’ll start this show!” Rainbow declared, drawing a card. “I lay one card face-down and summon my Black Metal Dragon in defense mode!”

A card appeared flat at the girl’s feet. A few feet in front of that, a shiny silver-black robotic dragon appeared, head bent down and wings folded back.

“That’s all for me.”

Behind her hand, Twilight smiled as she drew.

I know what’s she up to, she looked down at her cards. And it won’t work.

“I place two cards face-down!” Twilight said. “And then I’ll play my Maiden of Macabre, in attack mode!”

The cards appeared at Twilight’s feet, while the deathly visage of her monster graced the world once again. The maiden spun her scythe experimentally, smirking.

Rainbow Dash drew a card, frowned at it, and placed it in her hand. She picked another card out and set it on her disk.

“I summon one monster face-down in defense mode. And that’s all.”

“Fine by me,” Twilight drew her card and looked down at it. She grinned. “Just what I needed! I’ll activate my Stop Defense, which allows me to switch either of your monsters into attack mode! And I’ll choose your Black Metal Dragon!”

Rainbow gritted her teeth as the dragon rose to its full height and glared across the field at Twilight’s creature.

“Alright, my Maiden will cut your dragon down to size! Attack!”

The woman raised her scythe with a morbid grin and seemed to soar across the field.

“But wait, there’s more!” Twilight smiled. “Whenever a Spellcaster attacks, I can trigger my trap, Magician’s Circle! This lets both of us summon one Spellcaster monster from our decks with 2000 attack points or less! And if I’ve read you right, then you don’t have any.”

“I don’t,” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“I, on the other hand, will be summoning my Skilled White Magician in attack mode!” Twilight fished through her deck to retrieve the card, which she slapped onto her disk before reshuffling. A tall man in white robes appeared on her side of the field. In his hands he carried a long white staff with a blue jewel at the end. Three identical jewels adorned his chest and shoulders.

“Was there a point to all of that?” Dash asked irritably.

“Well for starters, my Maiden is going to destroy your dragon and a considerable chunk of your life points!” Twilight grinned again.

The pale woman rose high above the dragon, looking almost weightless. The robotic beast roared up at her with all its might, but she simply smiled and brought her scythe down. The blade cleaved the dragon’s neck from its shoulders with one mighty swing. Both halves mercifully exploded a second later.

Rainbow Dash
2900

“Oh, yeah? Well, when my dragon goes to the Graveyard I can search my own deck for a monster and add it to my hand!” Dash said, doing exactly that before shuffling the deck again.

“I’m aware. But did you know that my monster is a reaper of sorts?” Twilight asked, arms folded.

“I guessed,” Dash rolled her eyes.

The Maiden flew back across the field, now sporting an open smile displaying an uncomfortable amount of teeth. Her tongue swiped along the edge of her weapon.

“Whenever she destroys a monster by battle, Maiden of Macabre gains a Spell Counter, which gives her an additional 200 attack points,” Twilight nodded at her. “Scared yet?”

“Yeah right,” Rainbow crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Are you just going to stand there blabbing at me, or are you going to duel?”

“Patience is a virtue,” Twilight said, fingering another card from her hand. “In any case, I think I’ll have my White Magician attack your face-down monster!”

The man spun his staff easily in his hands, then leveled it across the field. A lance of bright white magic obliterated the only monster left on Dash’s side of the field.

“There goes my Decoy Dragon,” Rainbow mumbled.

"Next I’ll play my Pot of Greed to draw twice, which also gives my White Magician one Spell Counter of his own.”

One of the three gems on the monster’s body lit up.

“And next,” Twilight looked at her freshly-drawn cards. “I’ll equip him with Mist Body, preventing him from being destroyed in battle and giving him another Spell Counter.”

The White Magician’s body took on an ethereal, opaque appearance at the same time as another of his stones started to glow.

“And now I think I’ll turn it over to you,” Twilight finished.

“You’re about to regret that! Because here comes my comeback!” Rainbow slapped one card roughly from her hand onto her disk. “I summon my Red-Eyes Black Chick, in attack mode!”

A small red egg appeared on her side of the field. Cracks formed rapidly, an in just a moment a tiny, scaled black reptile head poked its way out.

“And get this! I can sacrifice him immediately to summon my good buddy, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

The egg burst into demonic-looking red flames, the chick inside consumed before it ever had the chance to cry out. The fire spread rapidly across the ground, grower wider and wider even as the flames reached ever-higher. Finally the fires rose high enough to take a more solid shape, and then disappeared entirely. In their place a monstrous black dragon stomped onto the field and let out an earth-shattering roar.

Twilight felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of her neck. She had guessed this was coming since turn one, but thinking about a monster and actually coming face-to-face with the legendary beast were two entirely different things.

“Alright, Red-Eyes!” Rainbow extended an arm. “Attack that creepy ghost lady! Inferno Fire Blast!”

The dragon opened its fanged maw, its signature red eyes seeming to ignite. A ball of the demonic fire took shape inside its mouth. Red-Eyes whipped its long neck around and hurled the fireball across the field into Twilight’s Maiden. She wailed hideously in the instant before she was incinerated utterly.

Twilight
3500

“Now I think I’ll end my turn with one more card face-down,” Rainbow sounded cocky. “Your move.”

“Thanks,” Twilight drew her card, her lips twitching.

“Hey, what are you smiling about? You’re up against one of the most feared creatures in the game.”

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight added the card to her hand. “It’s just that I knew that you would do that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Since you summoned your first monster I realized your goal. And I am quite prepared to deal with it. So first up is my Defender, the Magic Knight in defense mode!”

A blue-armored knight appeared before her, kneeling behind his massive shield. A stone on his armor lit up.

“Next I reveal my face-down card, Pitch-Black Power Stone! This card gives me three Spell Counters, one of which I can move every turn! I’ll move one of them right away, to my Skilled White Magician!”

The third and final jewel on the mage’s armor began to glow.

“So? What’s that do?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Twilight put her hands on her hips. “You see, when my White Magician has three counters on him, I can sacrifice him immediately to summon one very special monster from my deck! So come forth, Buster Blader!”

Skilled White Magician’s staff shone as he held it over his head, and the monster vanished in a column of white light. When the light faded a few moments later, a heavyset, purple-armored warrior hefting a massive blade stood in its place.

Rainbow took a step back, eyes wide. “That thing has 2600 attack points, while Red-Eyes only has 2400!”

“But I’m afraid it gets worse, Rainbow. You see, Buster Blader is a warrior built from his youth to be the ultimate dragon killer. He gains 500 attack points for every dragon on your side of the field or in your Graveyard. And by my count that’s four!”

“T-That puts him at 4600” she gasped.

“Exactly,” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Now Buster Blader, swing your mighty sword and slay her dragon!”

Her monster hefted his blade and charged fearlessly at the towering dragon. Red-Eyes’ fiery breath flowed off of his armor, and he cut the beast in half with one swing. The dragon’s carcass wobbled, crumpled, and burst into pieces.

Rainbow Dash
700

“Now do you give up?” Twilight folded her arms confidently as her monster returned to her side of the field. “I’ve crushed your best monster. I have a beast with more than 4000 attack points. And you’re down to your last little sliver of life points.”

For a moment, Twilight stared across the field at her opponent. Rainbow Dash was slumped over forwards, knees bent and hair concealing her face. She was… chuckling?

“Ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Dash threw back her head and laughed. “Give up? Me?! Hah! That’s a good one, newbie, you almost had me going for a moment there!”

“I didn’t mean it as a joke,” Twilight frowned. “Honorable surrender is a perfectly valid way to the end the current-”

“I haven’t lost until my last life point is gone!” Rainbow pumped her fist. “And I’m not giving up! Not now, not ever! So look out!” she drew her card. “I reveal one of my face-down cards, Silver’s Cry! This lets me summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon back from the Graveyard!”

Her dragon reappeared in its own column of white light, roaring angrily across the field at Buster Blader. It clawed at the ground, gnashing its teeth at the dragon slayer.

“So? I’ve already beaten it once, and it’s still no match for Buster Blader!”

“That’s where my other face-down comes in! Go, Metalmorph!”

Her card rose up, coating the dragon in a silvery sheen. When it faded, Red-Eyes’ scales had become fused and metallic, giving it the appearance of some sort of robot.

“Metalmorph gives Red-Eyes an additional 300 attack points, but that’s just the start! Whenever he attacks a monster while that card is equipped to him, he gains half of its attack points for the duration of the battle! So when he attacks your Buster Blader…”

“He’ll do so with 5000 attack points!” Twilight finished.

“Red-Eyes, it’s payback time!” Rainbow’s fist clenched. “Show that puny swordsman who’s boss! Inferno Fire Blast!”

Her dragon opened its jaw again, hurling another flaming orb across the field. Buster Blader exploded on contact, leaving Red-Eyes to roar triumphantly at Twilight.

Twilight
3100

“And next I’ll play Monster Reborn! I think I’ll bring back a card from your Graveyard. Buster Blader, come over to my side!”

The dragon slayer reappeared out of a blue-white sphere, stepping in beside Rainbow’s Red-Eyes. The two glared at one another, the dragon openly clawing at the earth and gnashing its teeth.

“Hey, cut it out you two! You’re playing for the same team now, so work together! Anyway, I think I’ll end my turn there.”

Well this… could be better, Twilight thought as she drew a card. I can’t get to my Buster Blader, and nothing else in my hand right now is strong enough to defeat that Red-Eyes. I do have something that could help me, but it’s not quite enough yet.

“I’ll place one card face-down on my side of the field and summon my Hannibal Necromancer in defense mode!”

A monstrous-looking dark blue creature took shape on Twilight’s field on one knee, arms cross over its chest.

“That’s all.”

“Then it’s my go!” Rainbow drew. “Don’t think I can’t see what you’re doing, Twilight. You can’t hide your life points behind weak monsters. Not while Red-Eyes is on the field! I play Inferno Fire Blast!”

Her dragon began forming another flaming orb in its mouth.

“Sure, Red-Eyes may not be able to attack the turn I use this, but in exchange he can do damage to your life points equal to his original attack strength of 2400! So fire away, buddy!”

Red-Eyes whipped his head around and threw the fireball. Twilight braced herself, but was still bowled over into the dirt by the overwhelming force of it. She could dimly hear it roaring yet again.

Twilight
700

“Now we’re even!” Rainbow gloated. “But not for long! Buster Blader, attack her Defender!”

The swordman leaped across the field, blade held high.

“Not quite!” Twilight yelled. “By sacrificing one Spell Counter anywhere on my field, Defender can use his special ability to prevent the destruction of one Spellcaster monster! Like himself!”

The glow on her knight’s jewel faded away as he brought his massive shield to bear against the massive sword. The two crashed into one another with a loud clang of metal on metal, and for just a moment the two were locked in a contest of strength. Then Defender managed to throw off Buster Blader, hurling him back to Rainbow’s side of the field.

“You can’t stall forever! I’ll place one card face-down and summon my Alexandrite Dragon in defense mode!”

A gem-studded dragon appeared on her side of the field, head bent low and wings folded in front of its body.

“My draw!” Twilight looked down at the card and grimaced.

I need something stronger. Or at least a way to draw more cards. Defending won’t work much longer.

“I set one monster in face-down defense mode! And then I play my Arcane Barrier!”

“That it?” Rainbow smirked, drawing a card. “I reveal my face-down Dragon’s Rebirth, which lets me trade in my Alexandrite Dragon for a second copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

Her dragon exploded in a pillar of flames, which rapidly coalesced into another of the fearsome black dragon.

“You have two copies of that card?!” Twilight’s jaw hung limply.

“You bet!” Rainbow grinned. “And they’re about to crush your entire line-up! Red-Eyes, attack her face-down monster!”

The second dragon launched a fireball that easily disintegrated Twilight’s monster.

“When my Magical Plant Mandragola is flipped, including by an attack, I can place one Spell Counter on every card on my field that can have one! That’s one for Defender, and one for Arcane Barrier! Plus, my barrier gets one for Mandragola’s destruction!”

“That’ll only delay the inevitable! Buster Blader, destroy Hannibal Necromancer!”

The swordsman darted across the field and carved up Twilight’s kneeling creature with consummate ease.

“Another Spell Counter for my Barrier!”

“Doesn’t matter! Red-Eyes, destroy her Defender!”

“I’ll use his special ability to sacrifice his Spell Counter and save him!”

The fireball exploded against the knight’s shield, which weathered the assault.

“That’ll be it, for now,” Rainbow smirked. “Do you wanna give up?”

“Not a chance!” Twilight drew her card. “I sacrifice my Barrier and Defender to draw a card for every counter that the Barrier held! That makes three!”

When she looked at her cards, Twilight’s eyes widened. And then she smiled.

“It’s been fun, Rainbow Dash, but it’s time for me to end this duel.”

“Just words, Twilight. Just words.”

“We’ll see! I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Defender!”

Her knight stepped out of another blue-white orb.

“So you destroyed your monster to draw some cards, then used one to bring it back. Am I supposed to be impressed?”

“Let’s see how you like this! I sacrifice one Spellcaster monster to summon my Blizzard Princess!”

Icy winds whipped across the field, rapidly consuming Twilight’s knight. They coalesced themselves into a blue-haired young woman wielding a grossly outsized ice flail.

“I reveal my final face-down card, Malevolent Nuzzler. This boosts my Princess’ attack by 700, all the way to 3500! Now Blizzard Princess, attack! Destroy her second Red-Eyes and end this duel!

The white-dressed woman spun around, hoisting a flail almost as large as she was with unnatural ease. She brought the boulder-sized end down on top of Rainbow Dash’s dark dragon, freezing it solid and shattering it into little specks.

Rainbow Dash
0

“Aw man…” the rainbow-haired girl sank to her knees as the holograms faded away. “I lost.”

“You did,” Twilight nodded, hands on hips. “And we had an agreement.”

"I... lost..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "I can't believe I lost! I'm Rainbow Dash, the best duelist in this town! How could I lose?!"

"I'd say that-"

"What did I do wrong?!" Rainbow's fists tore grass from the ground. "How did I fail?! How can I ever hope to impress the Wonderbolts if some snooty bureaucrat can trounce me and Red-Eyes like that?!"

"It... wasn't exactly a trouncing," Twilight offered, a little hesitantly. "You had me on the ropes for a little while there."

"Yeah, so?" Dash looked away and snorted. "You're just some out-of-town nobody that showed up to badger us about Celestia! Defeating you would just have been another day for me. But how could I possibly lose to you? How can I call myself a great duelist now?" her head hung. "This is the worst."

"You know that you're talking to Celestia's personal student, right?" Spike asked from the sidelines. "The one she's personally trained for years? Twilight isn't some run-of-the-mill bureaucrat with a checklist and an attitude. She's a royally-educated bureaucrat with a checklist and an attitude!"

"Spike!" Twilight glared over at him.

"Wait... what?" Dash looked up at Twilight. "You're Celestia's personal student? As in, Celestia the Princess of Games, and Duel Monsters World Champion?"

"Well, yes," Twilight admitted.

"Huh," Rainbow went silent for a minute. "Then... I guess it's not so bad that I lost, is it? I mean, you have a pretty big advantage built right in."

Twilight's brow furrowed. "I... suppose not."

"Then maybe I still have a shot at the Wonderbolts after all. Though I'll definitely need some more practice before they arrive. And less napping."

"That's all well and good, but as you'll recall we did have a bet."

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow sighed. “A deal’s a deal, and I don't go back on my word. I’ll get to work on that arena today.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight said, walking over to Rainbow and offering a hand. “I’m sure you’ll thank me when the princess gets here.”

“Uh…” Rainbow took her hand, and Twilight hoisted her to her feet. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. Anyway, good duel. I see I’ll have to up my game for the tournament.”

“Good duel indeed,” Twilight nodded.

“Anyways, I guess I’ll see you around,” Rainbow turned, beginning to walk off. “Oh yeah, and one other thing.”

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

“Even if you are almost as prissy as Rarity, I think you’re alright.”

“…Thanks?”

A High Class Duel

“So,” Twilight said to Spike as the pair of them walked along one of Ponyville’s roads. “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Let’s see…” Spike flipped through the paper he carried. “Next we have to check in on the town hall’s decorations, which are being set up by someone called Rarity.”

“Decorations?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Do you think they’ll be setting up their decorations this early? Especially considering they put someone like Rainbow Dash in charge of the duel arena?”

“Says here they should have at least started on them by now,” he showed her a paper, pointing. “At the very they should have in boxes somewhere or something. We can at least look at them and make sure they check out.”

“Good point,” Twilight smiled at her pupil. “You’re learning.”

“It’s a gift,” Spike replied with just a hint of smugness.

“Indeed it is.”

“Alright,” Twilight looked up at the tall, circular building standing in the town square. “Here we are. Ponyville town hall. No sense in wasting time.”

Twilight walked directly up to the front door and pulled it open. She took one look inside, and immediately her eyes went wide. She had expected to see an ordinary village center, with perhaps a few ribbons hung here and there. Instead she beheld a majestic tapestry of color stretching from one end of the building to the next. Banners celebrating moments from the country’s history or the town’s founding were spread out across the room – in chronological order no less! Ribbons hung across banisters or above archways, their ends concealed by tasteful flower arrangements. Celestia’s personal symbol was draped behind the central podium, with gold and white ribbons hung so as to appear to be bright rays of light emanating from the stylized sun.

“Beautiful…” Spike breathed.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded. “The décor looks to be coming along nicely. This ought to take no time at all. Everything looks wonderful!”

“Not the décor,” he corrected, pointing with one hand. “Her.”

“Huh?” Twilight looked to where he pointed.

A young woman stood on the other side of the building, her back to them. Her purple hair was elaborately styled, and she sported a white blouse and violet skirt with matching boots. Golden jewelry shimmered noticeably around her neck and on a few of her fingers. At the moment, she appeared to be comparing several types of ribbon, holding each up to various parts of the building.

“How do I look?” Spike asked breathlessly. “Are my clothes alright? Is my hair neat?”

Twilight smiled faintly and brushed past him, walking directly over towards the fair-skinned woman.

“No,” the woman said, putting one strand of ribbon down on a table. “No… No… Certainly not!”

“Excuse me,” Twilight began. “I’m-”

“Not now,” the woman interrupted without looking up. “I’m ‘in the zone’ as it were, and I’d very much appreciate it if you’d be quiet for just a teensy moment.”

“…Alright,” Twilight’s lips curled a little, and she folded her arms across her chest.

Spike caught up with his tutor and opted to stand beside her, staring longingly at the woman as she worked. They waited in silence for a few minutes as the woman examined, then rejected, design after design. Twilight began tapping her foot against the floor, but Spike didn’t appear to mind.

“Yes!” the women hoisted a ribbon without warning. “Yes! Perfect! This is just the right color to add to the ambiance!”

“Finally…” Twilight muttered.

“Anyhow, my apologies for keep you waiting. My name is Rarity and I-” she had turned to look at them for the first time. The moment her eyes fell on Twilight, she froze. “My goodness, darling, what happened to your coiffure?!”

“What, you mean my hair?” Twilight ran one hand back through it. “It was fine just this morning, and I don’t think that much has happened to it.”

“It’s frazzled! Besmirched!” Rarity moved in for a closer look. “Knotted! What horrible fate befell such fine strands?!”

“Well I was in a few duels today, and I have been knocked around once or twice,” Twilight admitted. “I guess maybe that might have done-”

“This is a fashion emergency!” Rarity declared, grabbing Twilight by the wrist. “You must let me take you to my boutique so I can fix this!”

“Uh, it’s really not so bad. I’m just here to check up on-”

“Nonsense, I insist!” Rarity tugged, her thin arms surprisingly strong. “You’re coming with me!”

“Hey, watch it!” Twilight squirmed. “Spike! Help!”

“She’s pretty…” he mumbled, following dumbly along.

“This seems excessive,” Twilight remarked.

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as excessive when it comes to selecting the perfect outfit,” Rarity declared, tying an elaborate knot behind Twilight’s back. “Now please, hold still.”

“This is the thirty-sixth dress you’ve had me try on!”

“Yes, and I think we should continue trying them until we’ve found that one special gown just destined to be yours!” Rarity finished tying the dress into place, stepping back to take a look. “Though I’m not quite certain if it’s this one, darling. While a wintry blue and white combination is rather fetching, now that I see it on you I worry that it might contrast too much with your hair.”

“Look,” Twilight groaned from the mirror-adorned stage. “I like my clothes perfectly fine the way they are! All I had wanted to do is ask you about the decorations for the town hall!”

“Yes, what about them?” Rarity looked away. “Spike, would you be a dear and bring me that rack from over in the corner there. There are a few ensembles that I think might look just darling on Twilight there! And then we can find something for you!”

“Sure thing, Rarity!” he saluted. “Whatever you say!”

As Spike was wheeling the rack of dresses over, Rarity continued examining Twilight with a critical eye.

“So, Twilight, where did you say you were from again?”

“Camelot,” she answered. “I came here from Camelot on Princess Celestia’s behalf.”

“Camelot!” Rarity slapped both of her cheeks, jaw dropping. “You come from Camelot?! How I envy you, darling! Imagine it! The lights, the glitter, the bustle, the high society, and the best purveyors of high fashion from all across the world! It must be simply magical living there!”

“It’s… really not all that,” Twilight shrugged. “Anyway, Celestia just sent me here to make sure everything was proceeding smoothly for the solstice festival.”

“Wait,” Rarity paused. “You mean that you don’t just work for Celestia, she actually sent you here? In person?!”

“Well, yeah. I am her personal student and all.”

“That’s amazing!” Rarity gawked. “You must tell me all about it! How does she look up close? When the cameras are off? How does she dress day-to-day? What are her fashion preferences? If I could get that kind of scoop I might be able to market a whole new line based on her!”

“I’m just kinda surprised you’re not challenging me to a duel. That’s what everyone else seems to do.”

“A duel?” Rarity blinked. “Why darling, you’re in the middle of a fashion transformation! I’d never kick someone while they’re down like that!”

“Huh, weird,” Twilight tapped her chin. “I’d have thought you’d want to get noticed in Camelot.”

“Hmmm? Noticed? How?”

“Well, I am the princess’ personal student and all,” Twilight offered, trying to resist the urge to smile slyly. “If you defeat me, especially in your boutique, it would be big news back home in Camelot. I’m sure the story would get into the gossip columns, and you’d be asked for interviews and everything.”

“Camelot… gossip… columns…” Rarity breathed, her eyes wide.

“And a story like that could really put your business into the public eye in a big way. You might even get visits from the likes of Hoity Toity,” Twilight named the highest-profile Camelot fashion purveyor that she could think of.

“Hoity Toity himself might come here?!” Rarity’s eyes shone like glittering diamonds. “Oooooh… it’s simply too good to pass up!”

Exactly as planned, Twilight thought.

“I’m so very sorry to interrupt the search for your perfect dress, Twilight dear, but we simply must duel! I can’t miss a business opportunity like this!”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Twilight raised her hands, in part to block the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I’ll duel you right now. In fact, let’s say if I win we call off the dress parade for today?”

“You’re a real spoilsport sometimes, darling,” Rarity frowned slightly. “But very well, I accept your terms. But should I prevail, after our duel we’ll keep going until we’ve got just the gown for you, even if it takes all day!”

Twilight picked up her duel disk from where it had been set, attaching it easily to her bare left arm. She had felt almost naked without it.

“Alright, you’re on!” she called as it activated.

“Then let’s do this!” Rarity slipped a shimmering, gem-encrusted silver duel disk over her own arm.

“Let’s duel!”

Both girls whipped out their first five cards.

“Since this is my boutique, I’ll start us off,” Rarity declared, drawing her first card.

“Fine by me,” Twilight answered, looking down at her hand.

Rarity slipped one card onto her disk. “I’ll start by summoning my lovely Cyber Tutu in attack mode!”

A pink-haired young woman in a skintight red and white suit and tutu appeared on the field.

“Then I think I shall place one card face-down, and turn it over to you.”

“Alright,” Twilight drew her card, and then broke into a smile. “I’ll summon my Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode!”

The red-armored knight materialized across from Cyber Tutu, drawing his blade and dropping a fighting stance.

“Next I’ll place four cards face-down.”

“Four cards?” Rarity blinked. “You’re using almost your entire hand on the very first turn. Isn’t that a bit risky?”

“Who says I’m not using the last card?” Twilight grinned. “From my hand I activate my Card of Sanctity, forcing both players to draw until we each have six cards in our hand!”

“So you gain six more cards, while I only draw two,” Rarity grimaced. “A good start.”

“Thanks. Next I think I’ll use my Breaker’s special ability, sacrificing his Spell Counter to destroy your face-down card.”

Rarity winced as her card exploded in front of her.

“Now Breaker, destroy her Cyber Tutu!”

Twilight’s swordsman leapt across the field and swung his sword right across the girl’s midsection. Both halves exploded a second later.

Rarity
3400

“And with that, it’s you move!” Twilight placed her hands on her hips. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“You know, normally I adore knights in shining armor,” Rarity glared at Twilight’s monster. “Of course, normally, they don’t slice ladies in half!”

Breaker’s expression was untroubled.

“Fine, be that way!” Rarity growled. “I play my Reinforcement of the Army! This lets me search my deck for one Warrior monster and add it to my hand.” She glanced through her deck, plucked out a card, and then shuffled it. “Next we’ll see you like my Cyber Gymnast!”

A more athletic-looking woman in a blue-black bodysuit appeared before Rarity.

“And my new monster has a special ability as well! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy any monster you have in attack mode! So, Cyber Gymnast, destroy that Breaker!”

Rarity’s monster made her own leap across the field as her mistress discarded a card, shattering Twilight’s monster with a single punch.

“Next I play my Monster Reborn to bring back my Cyber Tutu!”

The pink-haired girl returned to Rarity’s field.

“Next I’ll have them both attack your life points directly!”

Twilight grimaced as both monsters surged across the field. She glanced briefly at one of her face-down cards, but ultimately only shielded her face with her hands as both monsters slammed into her hard enough to send her sprawling onto the boutique’s floor.

Twilight
2200

“Yeah, wahoo!” Spike cheered from the sidelines. “Go Rarity!”

Twilight glared balefully over at him.

“Maybe I should have had you change out of that dress before we started. It isn’t meant for dueling in,” Rarity considered as Twilight pushed herself back onto to her feet. “Ah well, too late for that now. I place two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“Alright then, you wanna play rough?” Twilight drew. “Fine! From my hand, I activate my Spell Absorption, which will grant me 500 life points every time a Spell Card resolves! Like this one!” she gestured. “Reveal face-down card, Mystical Space Typhoon! I’ll use it to destroy your right-hand face-down card!”

A tornado raced across the field, shattering one of Rarity’s cards.

Twilight
2700

“Next I’ll summon out my Maiden of Macabre!”

The deathly-pale woman rose onto the field with a murderous smile on her face.

“Ugh!” Rarity winced. “What is that ghastly thing?!”

“About to destroy your Cyber Tutu! Attack!”

The maiden flew across the field, scythe raised.

“And why stop there? I activate my face-down card, Magician’s Circle! This allows us both to summon one Spellcaster monster from our decks with 2000 attack points or fewer!”

“Very well. I’ll play my Summoner Monk!”

A blue-skinned man in purple materialized on one knee, hand folded over his chest.

“Come on out, Skilled Dark Magician!”

A man appeared in dark blue armored robes, carrying a metal staff in his hand.

“Now my attack will continue!”

“Not quite! I reveal my own Trap Card, Half Counter!” Rarity smiled. “This card allows my monster to gain half of the attack points of your revolting creature until the end of this turn! Putting her at 1850, strong enough to destroy your monster!”

Just as the Maiden brought down her scythe on Cyber Tutu’s head, the young woman caught it in both hands. For a moment they wrestled, and then Rarity’s monster tore the weapon from Twilight’s before kicking her in the face. The Maiden flew back across the field and exploded.

Twilight
2550

“No problem! Skilled Dark Magician will attack your Cyber Gymnast!”

Her monster spun his staff and unleashed a burst of dark magic that consumed Rarity’s weaker monster instantly.

Rarity
2300

“Next I’ll place one more card face-down and activate Mist Body to make my monster indestructible by battle!”

Twilight
3050

“Not only do I gain 500 life points, but my magician gets one Spell Counter as well!”

One of three gems on his robe lit up.

“I think I’ll call it a turn.”

“Then it’s my draw!” Rarity picked up her card. “I place one card face-down and play my own Card of Sanctity to fill up my hand!"

Twilight watched as Rarity drew even more cards and her life points rose, idling rounding out her own cards.

Twilight
3550

“Now, once per turn my Summoner Monk allows me to play one four star monster from my deck. I think I’ll choose my lovely Etoile Cyber!”

A good-looking blue-skinned woman with long brown hair appeared on Rarity’s field.

“And next I’ll use my Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber with the Blade Skater in my hand to form my incomparable Cyber Blader!”

Twilight
4050

Both of her monsters disappeared into a swirling dimensional void. A moment later they were replaced by a graceful-looking woman with blue hair and a purple-red body suit. Cyber Blader struck a ballerina pose, only one of her skates touching the ground.

“Isn’t my Cyber Blader simply magnificent?!” Rarity clasped her hands together. “She combines the elegant atheistic of a ballerina with all the burning inner fire of a dragon! It’s a combination that simply can’t be beat, in dueling or in art!”

“We’ll see about that,” Twilight smiled.

“Yes we will,” Rarity smiled right back. “Oh Cyber Blader? Attack that Skilled Dark Magician, won’t you?”

Cyber Blader skated across the boutique’s floor as easily as if it were an ice rink, sliding past Twilight’s monster so quickly as to appear a blur. He winced, but did not fall.

Twilight
3850

“Don’t forget, thanks to my spell my magician can’t be destroyed in battle!”

“I’m well aware of that, darling,” Rarity looked unimpressed. “But it hardly matters, for my Cyber Tutu’s special ability allows her to attack your life points directly! Go!”

The pink-haired woman danced easily across the field and around Twilight’s monster, delivering a swift kick to Twilight’s stomach.

Twilight
2850

“And with that I'll end my turn with a second face-down. Back to you, darling.”

“Fine, I draw!”

“And I activate my Trap Card, Dust Tornado!” Rarity smiled. “This allows me to destroy one Spell or Trap Card on your side of the field, and then set another card of my own! And I choose your bothersome Spell Absorption!”

A tornado once again blew across the field, this time shattering Twilight’s card. Rarity added a second face-down card to her side of the field after it faded.

“You’re not the only one with face-down cards, Rarity! I reveal my Spell Power Grasp! This card lets me add one Spell Counter to any card on my side that can have one, and I choose my Skilled Dark Magician! Then he gets a third because a Spell Card was played, and as a bonus I can add a second Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand!”

All three of Skilled Dark Magician’s jewels were now glowing. Twilight shuffled through her deck and added the card to her hand.

“And next I’ll activate my monster’s special ability! When he has three Spell Counters on him, I can sacrifice him immediately to summon something very special from my deck!”

Skilled Dark Magician raised his hands and disappeared in a column of purplish black light. Twilight again rooted through her deck for a certain card. When she pulled it out, she took a moment to stare at it.

This may not be my very favorite card, she thought, her mind going to the one that was. But it will always have a special place in my heart.

“I summon my Dark Magician!”

The column of light vanished, revealing a tall, well-built spellcaster in purple armor. He gripped a green staff in his right hand and folded his arms across his chest.

“The legendary Dark Magician…” Rarity breathed, taking a step back. “They say it was favored by the King of Games himself…”

“And this one was a personal gift from the Princess of Games!” Twilight continued. “But I’m not through yet! I summon my Crusader of Endymion, and then reveal my face-down Magical Dimension! This lets me sacrifice my Crusader to summon my Dark Red Enchanter from my hand, then destroy one monster on the field! Like your Cyber Blader!”

“You wouldn’t!” Rarity cried.

“Oh yes I would!”

A blue-armored man appeared on Twilight’s side of the field, only to immediately enter into a golden sarcophagus. It vanished into a black void, then reappeared a moment later. When the sarcophagus opened, a red-robed woman clutching a staff stepped out. On the other side of the field, Rarity’s Cyber Blade screamed and exploded.

“And now my Dark Magician, attack her Cyber Tutu!”

The Dark Magician twirled his staff in his hands before blowing away Rarity’s monster in a wave dark magic.

Rarity
800

“Dark Red Enchanter, blow away her Summoner Monk!”

This time a red beam of magic crossed the field, destroying Rarity’s defense position monster.

“I think that’ll be all for now.” Twilight said.

Rarity’s mouth hung open, and her hands were clenched.

“How… could you…” her fists shook. “How could you destroy something as elegant and lovely as my Cyber Blader? How?!”

“You do know that’s the point of the game, right? Destroy your opponents’ monsters, eliminate their life points?”

“You won’t get away with such a high crime against fabulosity!” Rarity declared as she drew. “I reveal my face-down card, Call of the Haunted! This lets me bring my Etolie Cyber back from the Graveyard!”

Her blue-skinned monster reappeared in attack mode.

“Next I’ll summon my Warrior Lady of the Wasteland from my hand.”

A sword wielding, blonde-haired young woman took her place on Rarity’s side of the field.

“My monsters are my treasure, Twilight,” Rarity said. “A treasure you have just defiled!”

“Huh?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“And like any treasure, they have a guardian! I play my face-down Ultimate Offering and sacrifice my two monsters to summon my White Night Dragon!”

Rarity
300

Both Etolie Cyber and Warrior Lady of the Wasteland disappeared into columns of white-blue light. Frigid winds whipped across the field, giving Twilight goosebumps on her bare arms and through her dress. The white and blue energy streams merged together into a ball, and then rapidly coalesced into a solid shape. The monster that emerged looked for all the world as if someone had made a solid ice sculpture of Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

“This noble dragon may look fierce,” Rarity continued. “But inside he has the heart of a true knight! He guards my weaker monsters from your attacks!”

“And he has 3000 attack points, 500 more than my Dark Magician!”

“Next I’ll play a card from my hand, March of the Monarchs! It protects all of my Tribute Summoned monsters from being targeted or destroyed by Spell, Trap, or Monster Effects! So my dragon can only be destroyed in battle! Your face-down card won't be of any use!”

Twilight’s face was expressionless.

“Yeah!” Spike cheered again from the chair he was seated in. “That’s the way to make a comeback Rarity!”

“Why thank you, Spike,” she smiled over at him briefly, before turning back to Twilight. “And he is stronger than either of your monsters. So which to destroy? Hmmm…” she tapped her chin. “Since it was her summoning that destroyed Cyber Blader, I think I’ll have White Night Dragon destroy your Dark Red Enchanter!”

Her dragon opened its jaws and lunged forward. A miniaturized blizzard erupted from its mouth, crossing the field and washing over Twilight’s monster. The Enchanter screamed for a brief second before becoming entirely frozen over. A second later, her body exploded into a glittering shower of ice crystals.

Twilight
1550

“And with that,” Rarity put her hands on her hips. “I think I’ll end my turn.”

“Go Rarity!” Spike cheered. “You’ve got her on the ropes! Just a little more and the duel is yours! Don’t let up!”

“Oh don’t worry,” Rarity grinned in a surprisingly vicious manner. “I won’t.”

“Heh,” Twilight chuckled as she drew her own card. “You just made a fatal mistake. You should have destroyed my Dark Magician.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Destroying my stronger monster would have been the better choice. But you didn’t, and now it’s going to cost you. Because you aren’t the only one with Fusion Monsters, Rarity!” Twilight pointed to her face-down. “I’ll reveal my last face-down card, Polymerization! I’ll fuse the Dark Magician on my field and the Buster Blader in my hand to create my all-powerful Dark Paladin!”

“Not that!” Spike wailed. “She was so close!”

Both of her monsters disappeared into a whirling dimensional vortex. A few seconds passed, and then a new monster tore its way out onto Twilight’s side of the field. This one was a green and black armored figure wielding a polearm in his right hand. Dark Paladin wore a hard look on his face as he stared across the field at Rarity’s dragon.

“So? He only has 2900 attack points,” Rarity countered.

Twilight smiled. “But he gains 500 for every dragon on the field or in either of our Graveyards. At the moment, that’s one.”

“So he has… 3400…” Rarity swallowed. “Oh dear.”

“And now my Dark Paladin, attack her White Night Dragon!”

Dark Paladin crossed the field in a single bound, plunging his weapon through the dragon’s chest. It burst out the other side, and Rarity’s monster exploded with enough force to send her toppling over backwards.

Rarity
0

“Rarity!” Spike cried, running to where she had fallen as the holograms vanished. “Are you alright?! Speak to me!”

“Ugh…” Rarity moaned, pushing herself up into a sitting position. “No need to worry, Spike, I’m quite alright. Just damaged pride is all.”

“Thank goodness,” he let out a breath.

“Well, Ms. Twilight,” Rarity looked back at her. “It looks as though you’ve won. And we had an accord. You are free to go.”

“Thanks,” Twilight answered. “I’ll need to get changed back into my clothes first, though.”

“About that. Keep the dress,” Rarity said.

Twilight blinked. “What?! But-”

Rarity cut her off with a raised hand. “Now that I’ve seen it on you in a duel, I’m convinced that it suits you utterly. And I feel that it’s only fair you should have some reward for winning, as I might have had.”

“Hmmm…” Twilight looked around the boutique, hand under chin. “You know, I may not be a fashionista, but I think this is a lovely place you have here. And your products are very impressive.”

“Why thank you.” Rarity got to her feet. “I do take pride in my work.”

“When I get back home next week I think I’ll tell the princess what a great place you have here. See if she might like to order something.”

Rarity’s jaw dropped. “You would do that?!”

“Of course,” Twilight nodded. “You have a nice place here, and-”

Whatever she had been about to say was lost as Twilight found herself in a grip comparable to a hungry python’s.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!”

“Need… air…”

Rookie Duel

A little while later Twilight and Spike emerged from Golden Oak Library, where they had dropped off their new clothes. The dress Rarity had bequeathed to Twilight hung beside her other clothes, while Spike had acquired an appropriate-sized suit “for being an absolutely perfect little gentleman” as Rarity had put it. It had been difficult to convince him to put the designer clothing away. Twilight made a silent decision to wear the dress to whatever high society function she was next obliged to attend in Camelot.

“Alright, now that we’ve seen to the decorations-”

“And met the prettiest girl in the whole universe,” Spike interrupted.

“And met a girl you think is attractive enough to prefer over your own mentor,” Twilight pursed her lips. “What does our list say we should be doing now?”

“Heh heh,” Spike shied away from her a little. “Uh… anyway, this checklist says we should be enquiring about the music. A girl named Fluttershy is the one to talk to.”

“Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and now Fluttershy!” Twilight threw her hands up in the air. “What other kinds of ridiculous names do they give out in this place?!”

“I know, right?” Spike nodded as the two began walking.

“This town is weird.”

A few minutes of walking saw the duo nearing the town’s edge, where the buildings and road and manicured lawns gave way to a vast and dark forest called the Everfree. The locals mostly shunned the place, considering it cursed or haunted. Twilight thought that was just a bunch of superstitious nonsense. But either way, their latest errand called them to visit a cottage little more than a few dozen feet from the forest. The woman they sought lived there alone, in spite of the forest’s bad reputation.

She, Twilight decided, must be very brave.

As the two approached the location of the cottage they began to hear rhythmic sounds drifting through the air. The closer they got the more obvious it was that it was the sound of music being practiced. No vocals though, which Twilight thought somewhat odd. It was when they finally arrived in sight of the homey little place that source of the sound was finally revealed.

“Birds?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

But birds it was. Dozens of them, ranging from bluejays to cardinals to popinjays, lined up on the branches of a tree and chirping in their little voices. Together, the song they made was simple and somewhat repetitive, but relaxing and enjoyable enough. At the base of the tree, seemingly acting as a conductor, was a pink-haired, fair-skinned young woman in a yellow sweater and light green skirt.

Putting aside her bafflement with the woman’s choice of chorus, Twilight walked carefully behind her. Gently, she tapped the pink-haired girl on the shoulder.

“Hello,” she began.

“EEEP!” the woman yelped, her birds flying wildly in all directions.

“Oh my!” Twilight put a hand over her mouth when the girl shrank visibly before her. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you or your birds!”

The woman said nothing, looking down at her feet and tapping her two index fingers together.

“Let’s try getting off on the right foot,” Twilight continued after a moment. She extended her hand. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. How do you do?”

The girl again declined to say anything, and did not shake Twilight’s hand. The latter let it drop after a few seconds.

“Uh, what’s your name?” she asked, feeling awkward.

“I-I’m… umm…” she kept looking down. “Fluttershy.”

“I was sent here by Princess Celestia to oversee preparation for next week’s festival, and I was coming by to check in on the music. And from what I heard, it’s sounding beautiful.”

“P-Princess Celestia sent you?” Fluttershy’s pupils visibly shrank. “Oh m-my, you must be a very important person. And I wasn’t r-ready to have g-guests…”

“I’m her student, actually,” Twilight answered in a gentle tone. “And no need, I was just here to-”

“You’re the princess’ s-student?” Fluttershy swallowed. “I’m, um, sorry that I, uh, don’t have much to offer a l-lady of your standing. You see, my power is a teensy bit on the, uh, fritz, so I-”

“Hey there!” Spike, having caught up, interjected himself. “So, are you Fluttershy?”

“Why yes,” she actually met his eyes, even bending over to get more level with him. “I am. Who are you?”

“My name is Spike,” he told her. “Twilight there is my tutor. We were just coming by to check on your music for Princess Celestia.”

“So you’re a student at the princess’ school?” Fluttershy asked, smiling faintly. “That’s wonderful! Would you and Twilight care to come in?”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy half-whimpered inside the snug little cottage. “I’d love to offer you some herbal tea or nice hot food, but I’m afraid I wasn’t expecting any guests. So I, um, don’t have anything ready for people. I’d have to stoke the fire and cook.”

“Fire?” Twilight raised an eyebrow from her sofa seat. “Not to impose, but don’t you have an oven or something?”

“Oh y-yes. But, umm… it’s an electric model and the, uh, power is out. I’m so f-far off the main line that it sometimes happens.”

“Shouldn’t your house have a D-Energy capture mechanism?” Twilight asked. Most buildings that were up to code had an emergency backup generator capable of absorbing energy from nearby duels using the owner’s disk. They could generally keep a building powered for days in complete blackout situations.

“Well it d-does, but… but…” Fluttershy tapped her fingers together and looked down.

“But what?” Spike prompted.

“But I’m scared to duel,” she squeaked. “I mean… there are so many big m-monsters and scary traps and my cards gets hurt.”

“But don’t you want to have electricity?” Twilight asked, a little pity showing on her face.

“Oh yes, it’s quite nice to have that but…” Fluttershy looked back at her feet. “I don’t even have any opponents even if I did w-want to…”

“I can be your opponent,” Twilight offered gently. “I-”

“NO!” Fluttershy threw up her hands to protect her face, shielding herself from the world.

“F-Fluttershy?” the shock was evident in Twilight’s voice. “Are you… alright?”

She lowered her hands a fraction. “I m-mean… I could n-never duel the princess’ own student… you’re m-much too strong for me…” she hesitated. “And too scary.”

“What about me?” Spike cut in.

“Y-you?”

“Yeah. Twilight’s Celestia’s student, but I’m not. Why don’t you duel me instead? That way you could get some power back in here again.”

“W-well, children are much less scary than adults…” Fluttershy seemed to be considering it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Twilight whispered into Spike’s ear. “Remember what’s in your deck. You might well give the poor girl a heart attack.”

“Do you want me to use yours instead?” he countered, just as quietly.

“…Good point,” Twilight admitted. “Just try not traumatize her if she accepts.”

“Can do.”

“You k-know what?” Fluttershy spoke up. “I’ll accept your challenge.”

“Great!” Spike smiled as gently as he could. “Let’s take this outside.”

Spike and Fluttershy faced one another a short distance outside the latter’s cottage, well within the capture radius of her D-Energy generator. Both wore duel disks, with Fluttershy's noticeably a bit dusty. Twilight stood safely on the sidelines, propped up against a tree with her arms folded across her chest.

“Let’s duel!” the contestants shouting, drawing their opening hands.

“Y-You can go first,” Fluttershy offered.

“Thanks,” said Spike, drawing a card. “I summon my Planet Pathfinder in attack mode!”

A green and white space rover with red wheels appeared on his side of the field.

“Next I’ll place two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said softly, drawing her own card. “I’m afraid I can’t make a move as impressive as that. I place one monster in face-down defense mode, and one card face-down.”

Both cards appeared on her side of the field.

“And that’s it for me.”

“Alright,” Spike drew another card, smiling. “Hey Fluttershy, when you were a kid, did you ever watch giant monster movies?”

“Oh no!” she answered quickly. “Those movies are s-scary! I could never watch them!”

“Really?” his face fell. “Because I always loved them! The action, the thrills, the epic battle scenes as the terrible monsters stomped through downtown!” he sighed a little wistfully.

“Umm… no offense… but, um…” Fluttershy looked terribly indecisive. “What does that have to do with our duel?”

“Once I play this?” Spike grinned, holding up a card. “Everything.”

Fluttershy swallowed.

“First I’ll use my Pathfinder’s special ability, which lets me sacrifice it to add one Field Spell from my deck to my hand!” he declared.

The machine monster vanished just as quickly as it had come. Spike went through his deck, plucked out a card, and put it in his hand. He then reshuffled and replaced his deck inside his duel disk.

Oh no, Twilight rubbed her temples. He got one of the monsters he was looking for already. Maybe I should have made him use my deck instead.

“And now I play the Field Spell Card Kyoutou Waterfront!” Spike called.

The side of his duel disk popped open, and he inserted his card into the special field slot. There was a brief rumbling, and then from the behind the young boy a vast tower burst from the ground. It rose up far over the two duelists, gold-tipped and shining. A half-dozen lesser skyscrapers of various sizes soon joined it. They towered easily over both duelists.

“W-What does that do?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“You’re about to find out,” Spike told her. “Because from here on out my Kyoutou Waterfront gains one Kaiju Counter every time a card goes from the field to the Graveyard, to a maximum of five! Next I’ll summon,” he flipped a card in his hand around. “Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju!”

Twilight’s eyes went wide.

I know this strategy!

“But that’s a seven star monster,” Fluttershy protested. “You need two monsters to sacrifice, and you don’t have any.”

“Not a problem,” Spike grinned confidently. “Because my Radian’s special ability lets me sacrifice your monster instead!”

“What?”

A pillar of blueish-purple light erupted from the ground, consuming Fluttershy’s face-down monster.

“My poor Marshmallion!” she cried out as the light raced upwards, vanishing into a swirling portal high in the air.

“And because a card just went to the Graveyard, I gain one Kaiju Counter. Of course there is a downside,” Spike went on. “Sacrificing your monster means that Radian will appear on your side of the field.”

“My side?” Fluttershy looked up.

The portal that the light had disappeared into flared. More purple and blue energy swirled out from inside it, grounding itself in front of Fluttershy. The next instant the energy rose and began to solidify before the cringing girl. A vaguely-humanoid black giant with insectile red eyes took shape. Its silhouette flickered and jumped from second to second, the monster seeming to exist in more than one place at once.

“B-But why?” Fluttershy shivered, barely daring to peek up at the monster. “Why give me a creature with 2800 attack points?”

“Because,” Twilight answered from the sidelines. “He plans to take it back.”

“Right you are!” Spike nodded. “Reveal face-down card, Owner’s Seal! This handy Spell Card reverts control of all cards to their original owners! So, Radian, come over to me!”

The giant flickered again, and then vanished. He reappeared in front of Spike, staring down Fluttershy with soulless red eyes.

“Meep,” she took a step back.

“And guess what? Now that Owner’s Seal has gone to the Graveyard, I get a second Kaiju Counter! And that’s just enough to activate Radian’s special ability!”

The outline of Spike’s monster flickered with greater intensity. One moment there was one giant, the next there were two on his field.

“H-How?!” Fluttershy’s eyes were wide.

“Once per turn I can sacrifice two Kaiju Counters to have Radian create one Radian Token on my side of the field with all 2800 of his attack points!”

“That means your monsters have a combined attack strength of 5600! On your second turn!”

“Right you are,” Spike nodded. “So let’s not waste any time! Radian and Radian, direct attack! Wipe out her life points right now!”

The twin black giants extended one clawed hand apiece. The air swirled around them as the barriers between dimensions stretched and contorted, unleashing two lances of purple energy. These crossed the field in an instant and exploded spectacularly. Fluttershy vanished from sight in a pillar of black smoke.

“Spike!” Twilight yelled at her pupil. “I thought you said you weren’t going to traumatize her! If she thought dueling was scary before, what’ll she think now?!”

“What was I supposed to do?” Spike defended himself. “My deck gave me the perfect hand for a fast takedown! What other strategy could I have used? Besides, won’t ending it quickly make it better for her?”

“You trashed her before she got to really do anything with one of creepiest cards in your deck! How could you possibly think that would be anything but-”

“Um, excuse me,” a tiny voice interrupted.

Twilight and Spike turned as one towards the source. The black smoke was fading away, revealing a battered-looking but still-standing Fluttershy. She held one card out for them both to see.

Fluttershy
1200

“I, um, discarded my little friend Kuriboh here,” she explained. “That lets me negate the damage from one of your direct attacks. So I’m still in this duel.” Fluttershy paused. “If that’s ok with you, that is.”

“Fine by me,” Spike shrugged. “I’ll end my turn right there.”

“Alright, back to me. Before I draw, I’ll activate my face-down Solemn Wishes. It gives me 500 life points every time I draw a card.” Fluttershy then drew and added the card to her hand.

Fluttershy
1700

“Twilight is right though, Spike. Those monsters of yours are a-awfully scary. I wish they wouldn’t attack me anymore.”

“And I wish Twilight wasn’t so obsessive and fussy,” Spike said, earning a glare. “But we don’t always get what we want.”

“I understand,” Fluttershy said softly. “You want to win. So that’s what my Swords of Revealing Light are for!”

Dozens of shining blades of pure energy appeared from nowhere to cover Spike’s entire side of the field, pinning his monsters in place.

“My swords will remain on the field for your next three turns,” she explained. “And while they’re still there none of your monsters can attack me.”

“Hmmm,” Spike’s brow furrowed a bit.

“And next I’ll play my good friend Revival Jam in defense mode.”

A light blue blob of goo appeared at Fluttershy’s feet, looking absolutely puny next to Spike’s twin terrors.

“Then I’ll place one card face-down and end my turn.”

“My move,” said Spike. “So look out!” he drew his card.

Hmmm… he looked down at his four-card hand. Not good. I don’t have anything that can destroy her swords right now, so my monsters are helpless. And I have no idea what she’s planning. Better be cautious.

“I’ll set one monster in face-down defense mode,” he said. “And that’ll do for now.”

“Alright,” Fluttershy drew another card.

Fluttershy
2200

“I summon my Spirit of the Breeze in attack mode mode.”

A green-skinned, blue-haired fairy in the yellow dress appeared, staring serenely across at Spike.

“As long as my Spirit remains on the field in attack mode,” Fluttershy explained. “I gain 1000 life points for every one of my Standby Phases that goes by.”

But she has 0 attack points, Spike thought. So far, just about everything she’s played has been to defend herself or gain life points. Nothing she’s summoned poses the slightest threat to my Kaiju monsters. What’s she planning?

“That’ll do it for this turn,” Fluttershy finished.

“Then it’s my move!” Spike drew. He looked at the card and didn’t even bother to place it in his hand. “I’ll play this face-down and call it quits.”

“Then I guess it’s my turn again,” Fluttershy drew, her life points shooting up from the twin effects.

Fluttershy
3700

“I reveal one of my face-downs, Kaiju Capture Mission!” Spike interrupted. “This lets me change one of my Kaiju monsters into face-down defense mode once per turn. And I choose my Radian. In exchange, the card gets one Kaiju Counter!”

One of his black giants disappeared into a face-down card.

“I summon my Inaba White Rabbit!” Fluttershy declared.

A small, semitransparent white bunny rabbit coalesced at her feet.

“Now attack his life points directly!”

“Wait, what?”

Fluttershy’s tiny creature cleared the entire field in one hop, landing directly atop Spike’s head. He fell roughly over onto his behind.

Spike
3300

“Oh my, did that hurt?” Fluttershy asked kindly.

“A little,” Spike rubbed his rear as he stood back up.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have warned you. My cute little bunny’s effect allows him to bypass your monsters and attack your life points directly.”

“I got that.”

“And next I’ll play Poison of the Old Man. This allows me to inflict 800 more points of damage straight to your life points.”

Spike
2500

Spike gritted his teeth.

“Sorry,” Fluttershy squeaked. “I don’t like to see poor innocent creatures get hurt, so I like to take the fight directly to my opponent.”

“You know they’re only holograms, right?” Spike asked. “Not real creatures?”

“But does that make it right to hurt them?” Fluttershy asked.

“Um, yes,” Spike blinked. “It’s what they’re for.”

“Well I happen to disagree,” she answered. “If that’s okay with you, that is.”

“Whatever,” he shook his head. “Just finish your turn."

“Well, alright. My adorable little rabbit comes back to my hand at the End Phase of each turn.”

Her rabbit dissolved into white energy, which rushed back into its card. Fluttershy picked it back into her hand with a smile.

“My draw!” Spike added a card to his hand, frowning.

Still nothing for the swords. Plenty of monsters, but nothing to do with them. Unless…

“Don’t forget that because you sent a card to the Graveyard last turn my Waterfront gets a Kaiju Counter!” he said. “That gives me two! Next I switch Radian into attack mode!”

His red-eyed black giant appeared back on the field.

“And next I’ll use his special ability to sacrifice one counter from Waterfront and one from Capture Mission to summon a second Radian Token to my side of the field!”

A third identical monstrosity took its place alongside the first two.

“G-gosh…” Fluttershy swallowed. “That sure is a lot of big scary monsters you have there.”

“Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Spike smiled. “Because next up I’ll sacrifice your Spirit of the Breeze to summon Kumongous, the Sticky String Kaiju on your side of the field! This also gives my Waterfront a Kaiju Counter!”

Fluttershy’s gentle spirit creature screamed and vanished into a white pillar of light. The pillar spread out and solidified, forming a massive bladed spider easily several stories tall. The girl was completely engulfed by the massive arachnid’s shadow.

He got rid of her biggest source of life points, Twilight considered from where she stood. But he also gave her a very powerful monster with a useful special ability. And because each player can only control one Kaiju monster, he can’t take it back.

Beneath the spider’s abdomen, Fluttershy was shuddering openly, hugging herself and rocking back and forth.

“Cute little bunnies, cute little squirrels, cute little birdies…” she recited. “Cute little bunnies, cute little squirrels, cute little birdies….”

“And I think I’ll end my turn right there,” Spike crossed his arms. “That means your Swords of Revealing Light expire, and I get a Kaiju Counter as they go to the Graveyard!”

Indeed, the blades of light were fading away, allowing all three of Spike’s black giants to loom over the field like angry gods about to strike.

“R-Right,” Fluttershy drew her card with a trembling hand.

Fluttershy
4200

“I summon my Inaba White Rabbit b-back to the field.”

Her semitransparent bunny appeared again.

“Attack his life points directly!”

Once again, the rabbit cleared the field in a single hop. This time Spike braced himself, managing to avoid being knocked over.

Spike
1800

“And with that I think I’ll e-end my turn,” she finished.

“Then it’s my go!” Spike drew, barely even pausing to look at the card. “I’ll sacrifice two Kaiju Counters for a third Radian Token. And then I’ll attack your Kumungous with one of my Radian Tokens!”

One of the black giants raised a hand, unleashing a spear of purple energy.

“I a-activate my face-down card, Jam Defender!”

Fluttershy’s long-inactive goo monster sprung into motion. It stretched its body far longer than should have been possible, intercepting the Kaiju’s attack. It immediately exploded into a million tiny droplets of goo.

“Fine, but I don’t understand what that gets you,” Spike shrugged. “I was going to attack your slime creature next anyway, so what was-”

The boy bit his tongue as the blue goo that was raining down started to move in a different direction. Slowly at first, but rapidly picking up speed, the pieces raced back to where the monster had sat. They converged on one another and merged back together. In seconds, Revival Jam sat exactly where it had been, no worse for the wear.

“As its name s-suggests, my friend Revival Jam can resurrect itself automatically every time it’s destroyed in battle. And my Jam Defender card will allow it to intercept all of your monsters’ attacks.”

He’d have known that if he had bothered with the reading I assigned him, Twilight mused.

“Fine,” Spike growled. “I use Kaiju Capture Mission to flip the real Radian to face-down defense mode for another Kaiju Counter.”

“I draw,” Fluttershy was still shivering beneath the monster Spike had given her.

Fluttershy
4700

“I’ll p-play the Pot of Greed I just drew to draw twice more. Solemn wishes only gives me 500 life points for that, though.”

Fluttershy
5200

“Next I activate Messenger of Peace.”

“Not that card!” Spike called.

“Even though it will cost me 100 life points every Standby Phase, it’s worth it. It will prevent all monsters with more than 1500 attack points from attacking,” Fluttershy explained. “And next I’ll play my Wave-Motion Cannon.”

A bizarre-looking energy cannon riddled with pipes, gages, gears, and smokestacks appeared behind her.

“Now, all I have to do is send this card to the Graveyard on my next turn, and I inflict 1000 points of damage to your life points,” she explained. “And then I’ll activate a second copy of Poison of the Old Man to hit you for 800 points!”

Spike
1000

“And on that note, I’ll summon my Inaba White Rabbit and attack your life points once again!”

Spike winced as he got another face-full of rabbit.

Spike
300

“I’m getting really sick of that bunny,” he growled.

“I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy. “But I promise, it’ll all be over soon. I end my turn.”

She’s right, Spike looked at his hand. I haven’t got anything that can prevent my life points from being wiped out next turn. Deck don’t fail me now.

He drew one card.

Not… exactly what I was hoping for. But I still have a chance.

“I reveal my face-down card, Trade-In! It lets me discard one eight star monster to draw two more cards! And for Trade-In going to the Graveyard, I get a Kaiju Counter on my Waterfront!”

Spike drew two more card, stared down at them, and then grinned.

“Next I activate the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon, which lets me destroy your Messenger of Peace!”

A tornado whipped across the field, destroying Fluttershy’s card.

“I s-still have my Revival Jam and Jam Defender!” she managed in a squeaky voice.

“Not for long! Since two cards just went to Graveyard, I get another counter on my Waterfront! And now I’ll sacrifice my original Radian and my face-down defense monster to summon my ultimate creature, Dogoran the Mad Flame Kaiju!”

Both of Spike’s monsters burst into flames. The fires washed over the field, causing Fluttershy and even Twilight cover their faces as they were engulfed in violent red-orange flames. Slowly but surely, a titan rose out of the fire pit behind the young boy. Easily the largest monster on the field, a towering grey-black reptile stood on two legs, clawed arms and long wings spread wide. More flames licked the edges of his mouth.

“Impressive, huh?” Spike asked. “Now check out his special ability! I can sacrifice three Kaiju Counters and his attack for this turn to destroy… every monster that you have on the field!”

“NO!” Fluttershy cried with tears in her eyes. “Not my poor creatures!”

“Sorry, but I wanna win this one!” Spike pointed across the field. “Dogoran, destroy all of Fluttershy’s monsters!”

His behemoth drew back its head, taking a deep breath. And then it flung open its jaw and gushed a torrent of the red-orange flame. It swept over Fluttershy’s side of the field, consuming Revival Jam and Kumungous alike in the wild conflagration.

“And now, my three Radian tokens!” Spike gestured at her. “Attack Fluttershy’s life points directly! End this duel!”

All three of his gigantic black creatures raised their claws hands. As one, three blasts of purple energy soared across the field to explode again their opponent.

Fluttershy
0

“And that’s how we do it back at Duel Academy,” Spike crossed his arms with a confident smile.

“Well…” Twilight said. “You did win, fair and square. Though you cut it mighty close.”

“Like you don’t?”

Twilight ignored that. “But I hope that Ms. Fluttershy is ok.”

As if on cue, the holograms and the smoke that had been concealing the pink-haired girl faded away into nothing. Fluttershy was on her hands and knees, long hair covering her face.

“Oh…” Spike’s expression fell. “I hope she isn’t taking this too hard.”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight began walking towards her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m…” Fluttershy slowly looked up. “Actually, I’m feeling… kind of alright?”

Twilight and Spike looked at one another.

“Really?”

“Um, yes, actually,” Fluttershy pushed herself back onto her feet. “I mean, that was really scary and all. Especially your monsters, Spike.”

“Heh heh…” he scratched the back of his head.

“But at the same time it was… kind of fun.” Fluttershy looked as puzzled as the two of the newcomers. “I mean, sure I got scared, but I also… umm… sorta felt into it. My cards and critters were with me, and even though they did get a bit roughed up I got the sense that they still enjoyed it.”

“Well, it is what they’re meant to do,” Spike pointed out.

“And since they enjoyed it… I guess I did too,” Fluttershy paused. “Maybe dueling isn’t quite as bad as I remember it.”

“Remember it?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, this was my first duel in about five years or so.”

“Wow,” Spike marveled. “Then you did really well!”

“You think so?”

“Definitely,” Twilight nodded her agreement. “To get that close while so rusty… you must have a real talent for this! If you practiced more, you could go far.”

“Oh, gee…” Fluttershy looked at her feet. “I don’t know about that…”

“Well, I think so.”

“I…” Fluttershy paused. “Thank you. Both of you.”

Preparations' End

“That went well enough,” Twilight noted perhaps an hour later.

“Sure was nice of her to invite us in for dinner,” Spike nodded appreciatively.

“It beats eating out,” Twilight agreed. “But back to business. The sun shouldn’t completely set for a little while yet, so I think we may have time for one or two more things on the list. What’s next?”

“Welp…” Spike flipped through his papers. “According to this there’s only one major task left to complete. We’re ahead of schedule.”

“Really?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “After all the delays and duels we’ve been through, we’re ahead of schedule? What were we expected to do, spend all our time on vacation?”

“Well, it is a nice country town,” Spike said. “Maybe it was Celestia’s way of telling you to kick back and have a little time off.”

“But then we’ll have several days with nothing to do.”

“We could go out,” Spike suggested. “Have some duels. See the sights. Make some friends.”

“Or…” Twilight tapped her chin. “We could spend the whole time reorganizing the Golden Oak Library in accordance with modern systems! It’s horribly out of date.”

“Sounds like fun,” Spike rolled his eyes.

“Doesn’t it just?” Twilight clapped her hands. “Anyway, about the list. What’s the last thing we need to do?”

“We need to talk to the girl who’s actually putting together the tournament, make sure that everything’s coming together smoothly.” Spike read off. “Says here that her name’s Diana.”

“Diana, huh? A normal name for once.”

“Seems like it.”

A few minutes’ walking later, the duo were nearing Ponyville’s town square once again. The sun’s orange light was beginning to fade over the horizon, doors were closing, open signs dimming, and both were getting the sense that the small town was preparing to shut itself down for the night. Twilight and Spike therefore picked up their pace. When they finally came within sight of the square, Twilight was delighted to see the base of a duel arena set in place, shielded from the weather by a massive overarching tent. Rainbow Dash had been as good as her word after all. More immediately attention grabbing were the pair of women with active duel disks and monsters on the field.

“My move!” a pink-haired woman in a pale yellow dress shouted, drawing a card. “Just what I needed! I’ll sacrifice my Rose Witch so I can summon my Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms! Since she’s Plant monster, Rose Witch counts as two tributes!”

A green-haired plan woman in red and green dissolved away. A pale, delicate-looking woman in an elaborate floral costume appeared swiftly in her place, hiding half her face behind a pink flower petal fan.

“And now my Talaya will attack your Dark Necrofear!” the woman pointed across the field at a bald, blue skinned female surrounded by a dark aura. “Go!”

Her monster raised its hand and casually swept its fan. A mighty wind carrying thousands of cherry blossoms rushed across the field.

“Not quite,” her black-haired opponent smiled, looking professional in her white blouse and long black skirt. “Since you just declared an attack, I can sacrifice the Dark Necrofear on my field and the Phantom Skyblaster in my hand to summon my Darkness Neosphere!”

Now it was her monster that dissolved away into nothingness. In its place appeared a towering, blindfolded, pink-haired woman. Easily two stories high, she featured one angelic and one demonic wing, as well black armor with eyeballs sprouting in seemingly random locations.

“4000 attack points?” the pink-haired woman took a step back, arm clutched to her chest. “How am I supposed to beat that?”

“Well, the answer’s quite simple, Ms. Roseluck,” the dark-haired woman replied. “You aren’t.”

Roseluck looked at her hand, over at the towering Neosphere, and back at her hand again.

“I’ll place one card face-down, and end my turn.”

“That wouldn’t happen to be a trap, would it?” the black-haired woman smiled as she drew. “Because if it is, you’re out of luck. I reveal my face-down card, Royal Decree! This negates the effects of all other Trap Cards on the field!”

Roseluck’s eyes widened. “No!”

“Yes!” the other woman grinned. “Now, Darkness Neosphere, wipe out her Talaya and the rest of her life points!”

The massive monster held up its clawed hands, and a sphere of purple-black energies took shape between them. With a slight gesture it sent the attack soaring forward to strike the princess in her chest. The lesser monster was vaporized in an instant.

Roseluck
0

“I… I… I lost?” the trembling Roseluck sank to her knees, cradling her head in both hands. “This is awful! An absolute tragedy! A horror of horrors!”

“Oh do get over yourself,” the woman rolled her eyes. “You never had a chance to begin with. You were simply out of your league.”

That did not seem to help.

“Now off with you,” she waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve business to attend to. So shoo unless you want another lesson.”

With a groan and a faint sniffle, Roseluck pulled herself to her feet. Head hung and back hunched, she shuffled away, looking thoroughly dejected. Her victorious opponent turned her back casually and began walking towards the town hall. On her way she pulled a small tablet from her purse and examining it intently.

“Um, excuse me,” Twilight called, waving a little to draw the woman’s attention.

“Yes?” the woman didn’t bother to look up or stop walking. “What is it?”

“Uh, we were looking for a Ms. Diana, and we were told that she was in the area. Can you help us?”

“Look no further, you’ve found her,” she glanced up. “Is it urgent? I’m rather busy at the moment.”

“It is, actually,” Twilight continued. “I was sent here to supervise preparations for the solstice celebration next week, and my information says that you are the one to talk to about organizing the Duel Monsters Tournament itself.”

“I am the coordinator,” Diana returned her tablet to her purse and put a hand on her hip. “I take it that Celestia must have sent you?”

“Yes, actually,” Twilight walked up to her and offered a hand. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia. Pleased to meet you.”

“Her student?” Twilight caught an odd look in the other woman’s eyes. “I didn’t realize that our humble celebration rated so highly on the princess’ radar.”

“It was kind of a surprise to me too – er, no offense or anything,” Twilight caught herself. “Your town is a lovely little place. Very different from the big city.”

“No offense taken,” Diana shook Twilight’s hand firmly. “I don’t live here in any case.”

“You don’t?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “But you’re coordinating their tournament instead of a local?”

“There are a number of people from out of town attending the tournament this year. It’s a chance to impress Celestia herself after all. When the man that they usually rely on to handle the work became badly ill, I volunteered to take over.”

“Ah, alright,” Twilight nodded. “That makes sense. So, um, how’s it coming together?”

“Well enough, especially now that the resident slacker has finally bothered to get off her hammock and start work on our arena.” Diana paused. “I had heard that I have you to thank for that, correct?”

“Well, I did defeat her in a duel after she agreed to start today if I won.”

“I’m glad that you did. I was on the verge of challenging her myself.”

“Speaking of challenges, I saw the last bit of your duel over there. You did really well.”

“I know,” Diana smiled.

“Anyway…” Twilight went on. “I saw that you had a copy of Darkness Neosphere in your deck. That’s an extremely rare card. Where did you get it?”

“It was…” she looked down slightly. “A gift from a very special friend of mine. A pick-me-up, if you will. It was given to me at a low point in my life. Since then things have changed for the better, so I consider it something of a good luck charm. So it means rather a lot to me.”

Twilight nodded, knowing well enough how meaningful gifts from loved ones could be.

“But anyway, back to business. You were here to check in on the plans for our tournament, correct?”

“Yes, care to fill me in?”

“Certainly. We have 64 slots filled with participants, and room for one winner. We’ll be starting as soon as the sun sets the night before. The rules are single elimination. Lose one duel and you’re out. Draws result in replaying the duel until a winner is chosen. Last one standing is the winner to be crowned by Celestia at sunrise.”

“Sounds like fun. I’ll look forward to watching. And I can referee if you need me to.”

“I think it would be even better if you dueled in it.”

“But aren’t all the slots taken? Besides, I wouldn’t want to steal someone else’s spotlight.”

“They are but… things can change in a heartbeat, Ms. Twilight. We’ll see how things go and take it from there, alright?”

“Sounds reasonable enough,” Twilight shrugged. “Anyway, thank you for the update, and let me know if you have any more problems. I’d be happy to help. This whole thing seems like it’s shaping up to be a wonderful celebration.”

“Oh, it definitely is.” Diana smiled broadly. “I promise you, it will be a night that neither you nor Celestia will ever forget.”

A little while later Twilight and Spike reached the Golden Oak Library. The last of the sunlight was slowly fading away behind the horizon, and the pale moon was visible overhead.

“Well, I’m beat.” Spike put a hand to his mouth and yawned. “Long day, huh?”

“We walked around and played card games – and I did most of the playing.”

Spike waved a hand. “Details.”

“I really need to assign you some reading on logical fallacies.”

“The important thing is, we’re back home,” Spike gripped the door’s handle. “And it’s just about time to-”

“SURPRISE!!!”

“AAAAH!”

“Hi there!” said a certain familiar pink-haired girl. “I’m Pinkie Pie, but I’m sure you already know that because we met yesterday! But I just thought I’d remind you in case you forgot! Aaaaaanyway, when I went home yesterday I realized I didn’t have time to set up a Welcome to Ponyville Party for you, so I did it today instead!”

Twilight and Spike slowly disentangled themselves, but not before they were both seized by their shoulders.

“So come on in! I promise we’re going to have a great time! We have cake and games and punch and music and looooots of people for you to meet! This party’s gonna be the bomb!”

“Ummm…” Twilight managed. “Thank you?”

Duels of Darkness (II)

From where she sat, Twilight watched as the robed figures dragged Pinkie Pie away from the dueling arena, one on each of her arms. They held her back, far from where Twilight herself was being held. She wanted to do something – to run, to warn Celestia, to fight, to do anything at all before these lunatics hurt someone not themselves. But even beyond the pair of robed goons hovering above her, there were literally hundreds of hostages on hand if she tried anything.

What could these fools think they have to gain? Twilight wondered. They must know that Celestia will be here in a measly few hours. Then they’ll have to deal with the most powerful sorceress in the world. Do they seriously believe that playing a card game will free some demon queen? And even if it does, do they really believe that some Queen of Nighmares will do anything to help them? I just pray they don’t hurt anyone when this comes crashing down… and I hope Spike is ok.

A glance around confirmed that none of the cultists had dragged her young charge in, and Twilight allowed herself the slightest modicum of relief. That lasted approximately three seconds, at which point the man with the strange blue finger had found another contestant.

“Our next honored duelist is to be the girl called Fluttershy.”

Two large men in robes seized the girl and ripped her from her seat, whereupon she promptly began shaking, head bent low.

“M-Me? Oh n-no, you don’t w-want a little thing l-like me, I’m t-too-”

“You’re coming with us,” said one of the cultists, tugging roughly.

The two men unceremoniously dragged the shivering, crying Fluttershy through the frozen crowds and up to one of dueling arenas. She was roughly tossed onto one of the platforms, which began to rise almost immediately. Another woman in a standard dark robe stood atop the other. Fluttershy hadn’t even stood up.

“P-Please,” she whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks. “Don’t h-hurt me. I’m n-not-”

“We obey the Queen’s will,” the woman answered coldly. “Now get on your feet and duel or perish on the spot.”

“I-I…”

“We have no time to waste.”

Down below, several cultists drew knives.

“EEP!” Tears still streaming down her face, Fluttershy managed to force herself to her feet. She slipped her deck from a handbag and onto her platform’s card receptacle, and then drew her opening five cards with a trembling hand.

“My move,” the other woman declared, drawing a card. “Excellent. I play my Feast of the Wild LV5, which allows me to summon my Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard directly from my hand!”

Two massive, club-wielding ogres appeared on her side of the field. One red and one green, they tested their weapons and leered menacingly.

“And next I shall sacrifice both of my creatures to summon the Mosaic Manticore!”

Both ogres vanished into columns of light. In their place rose a yellow-furred, black-winged, scorpion-tailed monstrosity. Electricity crackled from its body, and it opened its mouth to reveal long rows of razor-sharp fangs. The ferocious beast unleashed an earsplitting roar.

“My manticore will soon feast on the puny flesh of your monsters. But in the meantime I’ll place one card face-down and that shall end my turn,” the woman grinned. “Your move.”

A trembling hand drew a card. Twilight could see that the other girl could barely bring herself to look at the arena or her opponent.

“I d-draw” Fluttershy squeaked. “And s-summon Revival Jam in defense m-mode.”

The little blue goo monster appeared on the field, looking decidedly small next to its opponent.

“And that’s i-it.”

“Hah!” the cultist laughed as she drew. “I knew the other’s victory against our sister was just a lucky fluke! I’ll destroy you here and now to prove the futility of resistance to one and all. And it will begin with these two.”

Her ogres reappeared on the field in a flash, both on one knee.

“Look familiar?” she grinned. “My beast’s special ability revives any monsters I sacrifice to summon it on my next Standby Phase! Next I play Pot of Greed to draw twice.” The woman drew her cards. “The Queen does favor me. I equip my Manticore with Fairy Meteor Crush, which allows him to inflict the difference between his attack points and your monster’s defense points in damage every time he attacks! So go, my beast! Eviscerate her Revival Jam and devastate her life points!”

The manticore pounced onto Revival Jam, slashing it into little chunks of slime with one mighty claw.

Fluttershy
1700

Revival Jam promptly reformed itself on the field, apparently no worse for the wear.

“And next I think I’ll reveal my face-down card, Ectoplasmer! You’re finished, little girl!”

Her card rose up, revealing the image of spiritual energy rising from a man’s back.

“This Spell Card forces me to sacrifice one of my monsters during each End Phase. In return, I can drain its soul to inflict damage to you equal to half of its original attack points!”

“You’d d-drain your own m-monsters’ souls?”

“Why not?” she shrugged. “They’re only tools, just like all of you. For the Queen I’d drain a thousand souls, be they monster or human! And I’ll start with my Swamp Battleguard!”

Her green ogre screamed in pain, its body slumping to the ground as its soul raced into the Spell Card. A moment later a blast of pure white energy crossed the field, striking Fluttershy dead-on. She toppled over backwards, barely managing to cling to the platform.

Fluttershy
800

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” the cultist woman laughed as her opponent hoisted herself to her feet. “Just look, it’s your second turn and already you’re down to a measly 800 points! This was even easier than I thought!”

“I p-play my Pot of G-Greed,” Fluttershy stuttered, drawing two cards. “Then I activate D-Double Summon, which lets me c-call out my friends Fox Fire a-and Des Wombat.”

A small red fox with a flame on the tip of its tale appeared. Next was a slightly-larger grey wombat.

“Pitiful. None of those creatures can even hope to save your life points!”

“Then I p-place three cards face-down and that’s i-it.”

“Oh?” the cultist grinned. “Is it?’

“Huh?”

“My Ectoplasmer works both ways, foolish girl. At the End Phase of every one of your turns you must sacrifice one monster and deal damage to me equal to half of its attack points!”

“W-What?!” Fluttershy’s bloodshot, teary eyes widened. “But I d-don’t want to sacrifice my f-friends!”

“Too bad! You don’t have a choice!”

“B-But… but…”

“Duel or else,” another cultist on the ground cut in. “This is your final warning.”

“I… I…” still more tears poured down the pink-haired girl’s cheeks.

The little fiery-tailed fox chose that moment to turn around, leaping onto its mistress’ shoulders. It nuzzled the girl gently.

“R-Really?” she managed after a moment. “Are you s-sure?”

The tiny fox nodded.

“Alright,” Fluttershy sniffed. “I s-sacrifice my Fox Fire…”

The little animal on her shoulder squealed and writhed as its own soul burst from its back, racing across the field to strike its opponent in the chest.

Cultist
3850

“That attack was as pitiful as your monster,” she brushed her shoulder, ignoring Fluttershy’s weak sobs and drawing a card.

"I r-reveal one face-down card, S-Spirit Barrier," Fluttershy managed. "This p-protects me from all battle d-damage while I control a monster."

“It won't matter. Now, let me show you a real turn, little girl. Mosaic Manticore, attack her Des Wombat now!”

The great beast pounced again, mouth wide and claws extended.

“R-Reveal face-down card, Jam Defender!”

Revival Jam flung itself into the beast’s path, being cut to ribbons immediately. Behind it, though, Des Wombat stood safe.

“And b-because of my Spirit Barrier, I t-take no damage.”

Revival Jam promptly reassembled itself in front of her.

“That may be the case, but my Ectoplasmer will devour my Lava Battleguard’s soul to drain your life points!”

This time her red ogre’s body hit the ground as its soul went screaming across the field. The white lance tore right up to Fluttershy… and then stopped an inch short, dissipating into nothingness.

“M-My wombat’s effect protects me from all effect d-damage!”

“…It doesn’t matter. The big brute couldn’t attack anyway, so he’d outlived his usefulness.”

“H-How can you be so cruel?” Fluttershy said. “Your m-monster just gave up its soul for y-you and you don’t even care!”

“My monsters are my tools. They will make every sacrifice I command of them because I am the mistress and they are the slaves. They don’t matter except to bring myself and my Queen victory.”

“You’d even sacrifice your m-manticore?” Fluttershy asked as she drew.

“To win? In a heartbeat.”

In front of her, the great beast stiffened.

“That’s h-horrible! Your monsters should be treated with love and care, like people!”

“I assure you that I treat my monsters exactly how I would treat you or anyone else. Now hurry up and make your move so I can crush you already.”

“You’re awful!”

“Your opinion is of no concern to me. Go.”

“You’re all just a bunch of big bullies!” Fluttershy’s expression was surprisingly stern. “You hurt people and treat them like they were nothing! You treat your own monsters like they were nothing! You don’t deserve to have them!”

“Only words.”

“Then let’s see what my cards have to say! Reveal face-down card, Change of Heart!”

Her card rose, revealing the image of a half-demonic, half-angelic woman.

“This card lets me switch control of one of your monsters over to my side of the field! So, Mosaic Manticore, come over to me!”

The great beast shimmered and vanished, reappearing on Fluttershy’s side of the field. The card itself vanished from the cultist’s platform to reveal itself on her’s.

“There there,” Fluttershy cooed, stroking the card. “I’ll take good care of you. The mean lady won’t take your soul, I promise. Because we’re ending this duel together, now.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Fluttershy stood up straight and pointed. “Des Wombat, direct attack now!”

Her small marsupial darted quickly across the field, leaping onto the cultist’s platform. It swiped her roughly with its tiny claws.

Cultist
2250

“And now, Mosaic Manticore, attack her life points directly!” Fluttershy commanded. “End this duel with your claw and fang!”

The powerful beast crouched low and then pounced. It crossed the field with ease to land directly atop its former mistress. The manticore smashed her from her platform with a single swipe of its claws.

Cultist
0

The dark-robed woman hit the ground below with a dull thud. She lay there in an unmoving heap, the slow rise and fall of her chest the only thing telling Twilight that she let lived. There was a reason for the safeguards implemented on dueling holograms.

“Again?!” the woman behind the podium growled. “Bah, never mind! Get our sister medical attention and get the girl down from there! The Queen is waiting and the duels must go on!”

“Our next duelist,” the odd man said a few moments later. “Shall be the girl called Rarity.”

As before, Twilight watched as a pair of robed figures marched out to one sitting figure and ripped her from her seat. This time, though, the reaction was little different.

“Get your filthy hands off of me, you ruffians!” Rarity snapped, managing to rip one of her wrists from a robed man’s grasp.

In response, the other simply punched her in the face. Rarity hit the ground with a muffled thump.

“Get up,” barked the first man, drawing a knife. “I won’t ask a second time.”

“Hmph!” Rarity snorted, pushing herself onto her knees. “Fine. Keep your hands off of me! I’ll go to your duel myself. I won’t be dragged like an animal!”

With that, Rarity hoisted herself back onto her feet. Though the two cultists surrounded her carefully, they made no move to grab her again as she began walking. Despite the red mark on her cheek and the general situation, the girl managed a stiff upper lip and kept her head held high. Twilight was surprised and impressed, considering how she’d overreacted to her monsters getting destroyed.

Swiftly Rarity and her opponent, a cloaked man this time, reached platforms on either side of the dueling arena. Both rose to their full height, hologram projectors firing up. The adversaries faced one another, shuffling their decks and drawing five cards.

“I shall begin,” the man said calmly, drawing a card. “First I shall discard my Warrior of Atlantis from my hand to add the Field Spell known as A Legendary Ocean from my deck to my hand.”

The cultist looked through his cards, took one, and reshuffled before continuing.

“Next I will summon the Deep Sea Diva, in defense mode.”

A mermaid-like creature with a pink lower half and light pink fins for hair appeared in front of him.

“Whenever she is summoned I can automatically Special Summon a Sea Serpent monster from my deck with three stars or less. And I choose my Atlantean Heavy Infantry, also in defense mode.”

A green fish-monster with a towering two-part shield took up position on one knee.

“His effect also allows me to summon one additional monster with four stars or fewer from my hand. I choose to add my Atlantean Marksman to the lineup, again in defense mode.”

Another green fish-monster appeared, this one wielding a vicious-looking trident and a nasty set of teeth.

“Finally I shall place two cards face-down, and that shall end my turn.”

He didn’t play that Field Spell he acquired, Twilight realized. What’s he scheming?

“What?” Rarity said as she drew. “No boasting about your superiority? No praises to whatever insane thing you think you’re serving? No assurances that I’ll soon be crushed? I’m almost disappointed.”

“After what became of the last two of our competitors,” he replied coolly. “Underestimating you would be an obviously foolish thing to do.”

“That’s the first sensible thing any of you has said all night,” she retorted. “Now if you’d just be so kind as to realize how moronic your plan is and surrender peacefully, you might yet be salvageable.”

“I’m afraid that that isn’t going to happen.”

“I didn’t think so,” Rarity sighed. “Well, when you’re all rotting in prison, you can’t say I didn’t try. I summon my Etolie Cyber!”

A blue-skinned woman in a skintight red suit appeared to her side of the field.

“Next I play Polymerization to fuse the Etolie Cyber on my field with the Blade Skater in my hand to summon my Cyber Blader!”

Rarity’s monsters vanished into a dimensional tear. The familiar-looking red and purple woman flew out a second later, striking an elegant pose before performing a picture-perfect spin on the spot.

“Isn’t she just divine?!” Rarity clasped her hands together. “And she’s powerful too! Since you have three monsters on the field, she negates the effects of all your Spell, Trap, and Monster cards! So if you thought you were going to catch me in a trap, think again!”

The robed man said nothing.

“The silent treatment, eh? Fine. I equip my Cyber Blader with my Fairy Meteor Crush, allowing it to-”

“Deal damage to my life points equal to the difference between its attack points and my creature’s defense points whenever it attacks,” he cut her off. “I am aware.”

“Don’t you know that it’s rude to interrupt a lady while she’s speaking?” Rarity huffed. “Honestly, you demon-worshipping cultists have no manners.”

There was no response.

“Now them, where were we? Ah yes, I remember,” Rarity smiled. “Cyber Blader attack his Atlantean Heavy Infantry now!”

Her monster spun around and took off with the speed of an Olympian. In one graceful, fluid movement it skated right by the kneeling fish-creature and sliced it smoothly in half.

Cultist
3500

“It may not have done the most damage to your life points,” Rarity explained. “But destroying that monster prevents you from using its effect to summon another monster from your hand next turn! Plus,” she shuddered a bit. “That grotesque creature was simply appalling! It completely clashed with the surrounding environment! No sense of aesthetics whatsoever!”

“Are you done yet?”

“As a matter of fact, no. I place the last two cards in my hand face-down on the field,” she said. “And now, I am done.”

“Using up your entire hand?” he drew. “Questionable.”

“We shall see.”

“Indeed we shall. I-”

“Hold on!” Rarity raised a hand. “Reveal face-down card, Spatial Collapse! As long as this card remains on the field, neither of us can control more than five cards at any one point in time! So sorry if this spoils any of your plans.”

“Plans can be changed,” the man shrugged. “So I think I will play my Field Spell A Legendary Sea right now, raising the attack of all my Water monsters by 200 points! Next I switch my Atlantean Marksman to attack mode.”

Behind the man, a mighty palace structure arose, gushing forth water. In moments the entire dueling arena was covered with holographic liquid, leaving every single monster and card underwater. The trident-wielding fish man stood up, facing down Cyber Blader.

“You know of course that he’s hardly a match for her.”

“He doesn’t need to be. I reveal my face-down card, Shrink!”

“Hah!” she retorted. “Cyber Blader’s attack points are doubled whenever you only control two monsters! That means even cutting them in half won’t make your creature strong enough!”

“Don’t be so sure,” he smiled. “Who told you I was after your Cyber Blader?”

“You’re not?” her eyes widened.

“No. I’ll use Shrink to cut my Atlantean Marksman’s attack in half, to 800!”

“Why would you weaken your own monster?!”

“So I can play my other face-down card, Secret Passage to the Treasures! This allows one monster on my side of the field with less than 1000 attack points to attack you directly, and I choose my marksman! Now go!”

The fish creature tilted back and, with a gurgling battle cry, hurled its trident across the field. The weapon flew above Cyber Blader’s head before arcing downwards. Rarity threw herself to the floor in an undignified heap.

Rarity
3200

“Next comes my Atlantean Marksman’s special ability. Whenever he damages your life points, I can summon one Atlantean monster from my deck with four stars or less. So I choose my Atlantean Attack Squad!”

A quartet of fish warriors wielding shields and curved swords joined the cultist’s lineup.

“Now, with three monsters on my field, your Cyber Blader’s attack points are no longer doubled!”

“Your monsters are still too weak to defeat her!” Rarity shot back. “And Cyber Blader’s special ability negates all of their effects because you have three monsters on the field!”

“Then it’s a good thing I have this! I sacrifice all three monsters to summon Poseidra, the Atlantean Dragon!”

The water soaking the battlefield reared up into a whirling tornado, which rapidly sucked in Armed Sea Hunter. The monster disappeared into the depths as the whirlpool grew larger and larger, reducing the vast ocean to a tiny puddle at Cyber Blader’s feet. Abruptly, the tornado exploded, drowning the battlefield beneath a localized tsunami. Rarity’s monster was bowled over an enormous blue behemoth appeared beneath the waves. Easily three times the drenched Cyber Blader’s height, the dragon was bedecked in jeweled armor, matching the flawless rows of ocean-blue scales running up and down its body.

“Oooooh…” Rarity gawked a little, hands clasped. “That, sir, is one absolutely fabulous monster! I’m seeing whole new lines of summer clothing just from looking at it! You must tell me where you got such a card!”

“From our Queen,” he answered with a hint of pride. “But don’t be fooled by its breathtaking appearance, my dragon is quite dangerous, especially with his special ability. When summoned by sacrificing three monsters, he sends all Spell or Trap Card back into our hands and then cuts your monster down by 300 attack points for each! So, my Sea, your Fairy Meteor Crush, your Spatial Collapse, and your face-down all return to your hand, then your Cyber Blader drops to a measly 900 attack points!”

“Not that!” Rarity reeled as the waves washed over every card on the field. “My Astral Barrier returns to my hand!”

“Yes, that,” he grinned. “But fortunately for you I’ve already conducted my Battle Phase for this turn, so Poseidra can’t attack quite yet. So I’ll simply place my Field Spell back onto the board and end my turn.”

“…Fine. I draw.” Rarity looked at the card. “And play Pot of Greed, so that I might draw twice more!” she studied her two cards. “I shall place two cards face-down, and that shall end my turn!”

“Very well,” he drew. “I activate Monster Reborn, bringing my Atlantean Attack Squad back from the Graveyard!”

His quartet of fish soldiers reappeared beside his dragon.

“Sure it may double your monster’s attack points back to 1800, but my creatures have a special ability as well! Whenever I control another Fish, Aqua, or Sea Serpent monster, they gain 800 attack points, bringing them up to 2400!” he pointed across the field. “And now I’ll attack with Poseidra! Destroy her Cyber Blader!”

The great dragon reared up, jaws opening wide to reveal glistening white fangs. A torrent of deep blue energy raced outwards.

“I reveal my face-down, Doble Passe!” Rarity cried. “This protects my monster from your attack!”

Cyber Blader nimbly dodged that oncoming tide.

“By redirecting that attack to you.”

“I’m willing to give up something for someone else,” Rarity countered.

Rarity barely had time to brace herself before the energy stream was upon her. The enormous beam consumed her platform utterly, the woman herself vanishing entirely from sight.

Rarity
200

By the time the gushing torrent was over, Rarity’s dress had been torn, her arms covered in bruises, and a not inconsiderable chunk of her hair had simply been sheered away by the dragon’s might.

“Ugh…” she groaned, pulling herself back onto her feet.

“Very well then. I’ll accept decimating your life points.”

“My… coiffure…” Rarity moaned. “My beautiful hair… ruined…” her eyes began to water. “This is the worst. Possible – no,’ she sniffed. “There are more important things at stake than my hair. And besides, giving it up was the right thing to do. I shall… have mourn its loss at a more appropriate time.” Rarity sniffed again.

“How terribly sad,” the cultist said flatly.

“Have you no sympathy, sir?!”

“No.”

“Fine then, you uncivilized brute! Doble Passe allows me to hit your life points for Cyber Blader’s attack points right now!”

Cyber Blader raced across the field, so fast that it seemed almost to skate atop the water. She leaped upwards at the last second, slashing the braced cultist across the chest.

Cultist
1700

“Fine, but you won’t be around much long to talk about it. Atlantean Attack Squad, destroy her Cyber Blader!”

The four fishmen raised their swords, charging across the field.

“Wrong!” Rarity shouted. “Because I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Wall!”

A huge wall of mirrored crystal erupted from the ground in front of Rarity’s monster, just as the swords fell.

“It attacks your beast with its own reflection, cutting its attack points in half! Cyber Blader, finish off his Attack Squad!”

Cyber Blader sliced and diced each one of the four fish monsters.

Cultist
1100

“You could have played that during Poseidra’s attack,” the cultist noted. “And destroyed him on the spot. Doble Passe was unnecessary.”

“I happen to disagree,” Rarity said as she drew. “That dragon is simply amazing! Inspiring! Beautiful! I must have one!”

“Your Mirror Wall Trap requires you to give up 2000 life points every Standby Phase or else send it to the Graveyard.”

“Yes, yes,” Rarity moved the card to her Graveyard. “I don’t so it goes away. Now, about that dragon…” she sighed.

“What about it?”

“I simply couldn’t bear to see something that beautiful besmirched by destruction!”

“Are you… serious?” he blinked.

“Indubitably, my good sir,” she answered. “Fortunately for me, it appears that I won’t have to! I summon my Cyber Tutu in attack mode!”

A pink-haired girl in her own bodysuit and tutu appeared and struck a pose.

“First off, Doble Passe’s effect also allows Cyber Blader to attack your life points directly this turn! So go!”

Cyber Blader danced around the dragon and delivered another blow straight to the cultist.

Cultist
200

“And now for the grand finale!” Rarity smiled. “My wondrous ballerina’s special ability allows her to bypass your monsters, assuming that every one of them has more attack points than she does.”

The cultist paled, then gripped the sides of his platform.

“Cyber Tutu, attack his life points directly! End this duel!”

The ballerina took a flying leap, landing atop Poseidra’s head and racing down the back of its long neck. The dragon snapped at her, but the graceful girl simply couldn’t touched. At last she used its tail for a springboard, jumping right up at the platform to deliver a flying kick straight to the man’s face.

Cultist
0

Though the man’s head snapped back, his grip was firm and he just barely managed to keep his feet. From the way that he immediately doubled over, clutching his nose, it was clear that he hadn’t escaped unscathed. Twilight could faintly make out blood running through his fingers. It was probably broken.

Serves him right, she thought.

“So, another victory for our honored duelists,” the woman still behind the podium visibly fumed. “Well, we’re not even close to through!”

Duels of Darkness (III)

“And our next addition to the ring will be the one called Rainbow Dash,” the robed man declared imperiously.

He doesn’t sound any less confident, Twilight thought. I know that these people are dangerous and crazy, but surely he’s noticed that the only ones getting hurt are them. And Celestia will be here in a few hours, maybe less. Just how insane are they?

Whatever the answer to that question, it would have to wait. The next contestant was pulled from her seat unceremoniously, whatever magic that had held her in place fading as soon as she was. Unlike the others, Rainbow was actually smiling as her two escorts lead her towards the arena.

“So,” she asked almost conversationally. “Which of your robed butts do I get to kick?”

There was no reply from either.

“I mean, even you freaky caped weirdos aren’t too dumb to notice the pattern, are you? You call up professionals and you send up amateurs. Then your guys come back down in a heap. So you’d better go find a stretcher, because you’re up against the best duelist in town!”

“I’ll be your opponent,” said yet another woman in the standard dark robe and hood.

“Alright,” Rainbow snorted. “For everything you freaks are doing to my friends and my town, I’m sending you back to your cult buddies in pieces!”

“We shall see,” the woman said, stepping calmly onto one platform, while Rainbow was pushed onto the other. Both rose to their full heights, while both duelists shuffled their decks and drew.

“I’ll begin,” the cultist said, drawing. “I will place one card face-down. Next I will summon Dark Elf, in attack mode.”

A dark-skinned, purple-haired elf woman in a green dress materialized.

“That’s all.”

“That was it?” Rainbow scoffed. “Let me show you a real turn!” she drew and peered down at the card. “Perfect! I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!”

A glittering, gem-encrusted dragon appeared on her side of the field.

“But don’t blink or you might miss him! Because I banish my Alexandrite Dragon in order to Special Summon my friend Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!”

Her monster vanished from the field, only to be immediately replaced by a towering dragon of fused steel and shadows. The new dragon showed its fangs, roaring with red eyes shining bright in the darkness.

“And check this out! His ability lets me Special Summon any dragon monster from my hand or Graveyard, once per turn! I think I’ll pick my Strong Wind Dragon!”

Another dragon flashed into life, this one a blue creature absolutely rippling with muscle.

“Alright Strong Wind Dragon, attack her Dark Elf!”

The blue dragon roared and unleashed fire, consuming the elf woman almost immediately.

Cultist
3600

“And now, Red-Eyes, your turn!” Rainbow pumped her fist. “Direct attack now!”

Her second dragon reared up and launched a dark fireball across the field.

“Reveal face-down card, Metal Reflect Slime,” the cultist said calmly.

Her Trap Card rose, and a small blob of silvery slime appeared on the field. Immediately it began to morph and expand, seeming to conjure more mass from nowhere with blatant disregard for physics. Very quickly a silver copy of Red-Eyes knelt on her field.

“What gives?!” Rainbow shouted. “Your trap just turned into a cheap knock-off of my monster!”

“A cheap knock-off with 3000 defense points. Care to continue your attack?”

“Grrr…” Rainbow growled. “I’ll place one card face-down and call that enough punishment for now.”

“Very well, then it’s my turn.” She drew. “Ah, very good. I discard my Darknight Parshath to the Graveyard so I can Special Summon my Dark Grepher in defense mode.”

A grey-skinned, red-eyed swordsman appeared on one knee, glowering viciously across the field at Rainbow’s dragons.

She could have Normal Summoned that monster, it only has four stars, Twilight realized. So the only reason that she would do that… she wants monsters in her Graveyard!

“And I think that that shall end my turn.”

“Then it’s my go! I’ll reveal my Dragoncarnation, which lets me add one Dragon monster that’s been banished to my hand!” Rainbow picked the card from the banished pile, then immediately slammed it onto the field. “And then I’ll summon the Alexandrite Dragon I just got back straight to the field! Then I’ll use Red-Eyes’ special ability to Special Summon Black Stone of Legend!”

Her gem-encrusted dragon reappeared, alongside a small, egg-like red and black stone.

“Next I’ll use my Black Stone’s special ability to sacrifice it, which lets me summon an old friend straight from my deck! Meet my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

Rainbow’s stone exploded into fragments as a pillar of dark fire emerged from it. From the flames stepped the legendary monster, all black scales and razor-sharp teeth. It too roared across the field, hard enough to force the cultist to take one step back.

“Oh yeah!” Dash cheered. “That’s what I’m talking about! Now I’ve got four monsters on the field to wipe out your life points!”

“Then by all means, just try.”

“I will!” Rainbow smirked. “Go, Strong Wind Dragon! Destroy her Dark Grepher!”

Her blue dragon breathed fire once again, this time wiping away the muscled warrior in one mighty blast.

“But because he was in defense mode, your life points are safe, right?” Rainbow’s smile widened. “Wrong! Strong Wind Dragon’s special ability lets him take the difference between his attack points and your monster’s defense points and deal it out as damage to you!”

Cultist
2800

“That’s just great,” came an odd-sounding voice to Twilight’s left. She looked over and spotted a man in dark robes, the heavy bindings over his nose identifying him as Rarity’s opponent. “Dad wanted me to be a chef, so instead I joined up with this for excitement and a chance to be part of a new order. So far I’ve gotten a broken nose. And now I get to watch us get humiliated at card games,” he sighed. “What am I doing with my life?”

“You still can’t destroy my Metal Reflect Slime,” Dash’s opponent brushed some dust from her shoulder. “None of your monsters are strong enough.”

“Not yet,” Rainbow admitted. “But just you wait. I place one card face-down. That thing will be gone before you know it! But for now, I’ve gotta end my turn.”

“Then it’s my draw,” the other woman said. “And it’s time to destroy you and all of your monsters!”

“Hah!” Rainbow snorted. “Fat chance! Nothing you’ve got can stand up to my dragons!”

“How about this?” She chose one card in her hand. “Since I have exactly three Dark Attribute monsters in my Graveyard, I am allowed to Special Summon my ultimate monster! Behold my all-powerful Dark Armed Dragon!”

The field beneath her platform burst open as one massive claw punched its way out of the holographic earth. A wingless dragon, blue and silver with a powerful drill on its tail, clawed its way out of the earth. It stood taller than any of Dash’s monsters, gnashing its teeth and flexing its claws menacingly at them.

“Not only does my beast have 2800 attack points,” the cultist explained. “But he also has an extremely powerful special ability! You see, I need only banish one Dark monster from my Graveyard to destroy any card on the field! So I think I’ll banish all three of them to destroy three off your dragons!”

“No!” Rainbow cried, shielding her face as both Red-Eyes dragons and Strong Wind Dragon fell to pieces on the spot.

“But that’s not all. Next I summon my Dark Valkyria in attack mode!”

Another monster took shape, this one an armored demonic-looking woman with black wings.

“Alright Dark Armed Dragon, attack! Destroy her Alexandrite Dragon!”

The colossal dragon unleashed its own jet of flame, blowing away Rainbow Dash’s last monster.

Rainbow Dash
3200

“And now my Dark Valkyria, attack her life points directly!”

The woman beat her wings and took flight, soaring across the arena to deliver a blow that sent Dash sprawling.

Rainbow Dash
1400

The cultist folded her arms as Dash struggled to get back to her feet. “All too easy.”

“I’m not… urgh… done yet!” Rainbow managed.

“But you will be quite soon, Ms. Dash. I think that’s enough punishment for now, though, so make your move.”

“Fine, I will!” Rainbow drew. “I summon my Red-Eyes Wyvern in attack mode!”

A smaller red-eyed dragon, this one lacking arms or claws, took up position on her field.

“Next I play the last card in my hand, Monster Reborn! So come on back, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!”

Her dragon reappeared, looking angrier than ever.

“And I’ll use his special ability to call back one more friend from the Graveyard! So let’s go, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

The dark-scaled dragon burst from the ground in a shower of dirt, roaring ferociously.

“Alright, time to win this duel! I play my face-down Tyrant Wing, and I’ll equip it to Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!”

Her powerful dragon snarled and unfurled its wings, which began to glow with a bright golden light.

“Not only does this give Red-Eyes an addition 400 attack and defense, it also allows him to attack two of your monsters! So Red-Eyes, destroy her Dark Armed Dragon and Metal Reflect Slime!”

Red-Eyes reared up and shrieked, unleashing twin fireballs in rapid succession. Both found their targets and exploded, bathing the cultist’s monsters in deep red flames. The two dragons went down, burning and flailing.

Cultist
2400

“Red-Eyes Wyvern, attack her Dark Valkyria!”

The smallest of the dragons launched its own fireball across the field. The armored woman flew out to meet it with one mighty slash. The ensuing explosion consumed both monsters.

“Since both our monsters had 1800 attack points, both are destroyed! And that means,” Rainbow Dash grinned, “that you’re wide open!”

Her mighty dragon clawed the ground eagerly with its talons.

“Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack! Wipe out her life points with Inferno Fire Blast!”

Red-Eyes took to the air with one beat of its mighty wings, picking up altitude rapidly. High above the dueling arena the legendary dragon opened its fanged maw. A red and black fireball easily the size of a truck raced downwards at the petrified cultist. The explosion was blinding.

Cultist
0

“And that’s game!” Rainbow pumped her fist, while the smoking woman tumbled limply to the ground far below.

“I knew it,” Rarity’s former opponent muttered.

Rainbow’s platform slowly lowered back to the ground, where two more robed figures grabbed her firmly by the arms.

“Your spirit is impressive,” one of the said. “As is your fighting ability. The Queen would love to have someone of your caliber on our side.”

“Join you guys?! After what you’re doing to Ponyville?! To my friends?!” Rainbow spat in the man’s face. “Forget it! Not interested!”

“The next duelist will be the girl called Applejack,” the robed man said, shining finger once again locating the target in the crowd.

The blonde-haired girl, for her part, appeared surly as she was in turn escorted towards the dueling platform, but remained silent the whole way through. With her head held high and brow furrowed, she watched as another robed man took up position on the opposite side of the dueling arena. Both platforms soared high into the air, while the field itself transformed yet again into a rocky ground.

“You may go first,” the cultist offered in a quiet voice.

“Well ain’t that mighty kind of ya,” Applejack retorted, sarcasm oozing from words. She drew her first hand, then one more card. “Can I ask what’s motivatin’ this here newfangled courtesy?”

“You could. But I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Fine.” She snorted. “I’ll place two cards face-down, and one monster in face-down defense mode. And that’ll be all.”

“Then it’s my move.” He drew. “That will do. I place two cards face-down and summon my Gene-Warped Werewolf in attack mode.”

A four-armed white beast appeared, snarling and snapping its teeth.

“That will do for now.”

“Alrighty then. That means it’s my draw.” Applejack picked up her card. “Now I think-”

“Hold it right there!” He held up a hand. “I reveal my Trap Card, Light of Intervention! As long as this remains on the field, neither player can set a monster face-down or flip it face-down due to an effect!”

“No!” Applejack cried. “Ya can’t just do that!”

“But I have,” he smirked.

“Grrr…” Applejack looked down at her hand. “Fine. I summon Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, in defense mode. And that’ll do it for now.”

A spiked, metallic figure of blue and gold metal appeared crouched low in front of the blonde girl.

“My move. And I will summon the mighty Vorse Raider!”

A brown-skinned, bestial humanoid creature grasping a viciously oversized blade made its debut. It twirled its weapon and made a few experimental swings, heavily-muscled arms easily controlling the hefty weapon.

“I’ll next reveal my second face-down, Tyrant’s Throes! By sacrificing two of my monsters, this prevents either player from Normal or Special Summoning Effect Monsters as long as it remains on the field! In other words, from now on we can only summon face-up Normal Monsters!”

Vorse Raider and Gene-Warped Werewolf vanished into the activated card.

It’s only his second turn and already all of her strategies I’ve seen have been rendered completely useless! Twilight marveled.

“But now you don’t have any monsters protectin’ ya,” Applejack pointed out.

“Not for long. Because next I activate my Ancient Rules, which allows me to immediately play my Summoned Skull!”

The bone-white winged demon that had started the whole show appeared again and flexed its powerful muscles.

“Now, which of your monsters to destroy…” The cultist tapped his chin. “Let me see… Summoned Skull, attack Gear Golem the Moving Fortress! Lightning Strike!”

The fiend raised its arms and spread its black wings wide. Forks of lightning arced out from its back, racing across the field to bath Gear Golem in electricity. The mechanical monster shorted out and crumpled to the ground in pieces.

“And I think that’s enough punishment for now.” The man crossed his arms. “Your move.”

“Heh,” Applejack chuckled as she drew. “Ya’ll just made a big mistake.”

“And what’s that?”

“Ya should’ve destroyed my face-down monster. And now it’s gonna cost ya! I switch my face-down Golem Sentry into attack mode!”

The same odd-looking rock golem Applejack had used against Twilight made its appearance, looking completely unfazed by the fiend facing it.

“His special ability lets me send one of your monsters back to your hand! So say so long to your Summoned Skull!”

The fiend shrieked as it was pulled back into its card, which the cultist then picked back into his hand.

“Your golem is still too weak to seriously damage my life points.”

“He may be, but this next monster ain’t! I sacrifice my Golem Sentry to summon Millennium Shield in attack mode!”

A bright red and gold shield appeared, the mystic golden eye emblazoned on its center glowing softly.

“Pffft… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” the cultist laughed. “You might want to check your math, little girl. That thing has 0 attack points!”

“Not for long he don’t! Because I’m activatin’ one of my face-down cards, Shield and Sword! This swaps the attack and defense points of all monsters on the field for one turn, givin’ my shield 3000 attack points!”

“This isn’t good…” the man braced himself, gripping the platform’s edges.

“No,” Applejack smiled. “It ain’t. Millennium Shield, attack his life points directly!”

The mystic eye on the shield shone brightly in the darkness. A golden beam lanced out and crossed the field, catching the cultist directly on the chest. He screamed, arms straining desperately to hold on to the platform's edge. In the end, he just barely made it.

Cultist
1000

“Next I’m gonna reveal my other face-down card, Zero Gravity! This switches the battle positions of all monsters on the field! Then I’ll place one more card face-down. So as I end my turn, my Millennium Shield goes into defense mode and gets 3000 defense points back!”

“Fine, then I’ll proceed.” He drew. “I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. And next…” he scanned his hand. “I’ll activate my Raigeki, destroying all monsters on your side of the field!”

An enormous bolt of searing electricity descended from the heavens, vaporizing Millennium Shield in an instant.

“And now that your only defense is gone I play my Phantom Gryphon!”

A mighty beast with the head and wings of an eagle paired with the body of a blue lion took flight.

“Attack her life points directly!”

The gryphon shrieked and dove at Applejack, claws first, while she held both arms across her head. The monster slashed hard against the farmer, tearing off her outfit’s right sleeve and leaving notable gashes in her forearm.

Applejack
2000

“Now hold on there, partner!” she managed, clutching her injured arm close. “Ya’ll just triggered my Trap Card, The Golden Apples!”

A shimmering fruit of solid gold appeared on the field for just a moment. Then it flashed brightly, and when the light faded a golden copy of the cultist’s gryphon stood in its place.

Applejack
4000

“See, I can use this card whenever I take damage while not controllin’ a monster. Not only does it give me back the life points I just lost, it also lets me summon a token in defense mode with the same attack and defense as the life points I just received.”

“Fine,” the cultist crossed his arms. “It only delays the inevitable. I place one card face-down. Then I’ll end my turn for the moment.”

“Then it’s back to me, so look out!” Applejack seized her next card roughly. “I summon Giant Soldier of Stone, in defense mode!”

A humanoid statue of thick, grey stone appeared on one knee with arms folded across its chest.

“Aaaand…” Applejack visibly hesitated, eyes going to her opponent's face-down card. “I’ll end my turn right there.”

“Excellent!” The cultist smiled. “I think you’ll find this card frighteningly familiar! I sacrifice my gryphon for Summoned Skull!”

The fiend put in another appearance, razor-sharp teeth curled into an eager grin.

“Alright my monster, attack her token now!”

More electricity arced across the field. This time the forks of lightning obliterated the golden gryphon where it knelt.

“Next I play my face-down, Heart of the Underdog! From now on, every time I draw a Normal Monster I can reveal it to you to draw one additional card per turn. And that, I think, will be enough punishment for now.”

“Alrighty then…” Applejack drew, then grimaced. “I’ll place one card face-down, and then end my turn.”

“Back to me already?” he smiled. “I’ll reveal the Mystery Shell Dragon I just drew to draw one more card.” The man looked at the card, then laughed. “And what a card it is! I summon Mystery Shell Dragon!”

The monster was a flat grey creature seemingly composed of shells.

“And now I think I’ll sacrifice my dragon to activate the card I just drew, Monster Gate! If this works you’re finished!”

A glowing, runic circle appeared at the shell dragon’s feet. The beast sunk into its depths at leisurely pace, as though the magic were quicksand.

“I’ll explain. Monster Gate lets me trade in one monster to draw cards from my deck until I pick a monster that can be Normal Summoned, then summon it immediately no matter how many stars it has! All the other cards may go to the Graveyard but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

The cultist drew one card, frowned slightly, and then placed it in his Graveyard. The second card he picked was likewise discarded with a grimace. But the third card…

“Ha! Just what I needed!” He slapped the card hard onto the platform. “I summon Cosmo Queen!”

The ground at the man’s feet exploded upwards. Inky black magic littered with glittering silver dots emerged in a wave, rising higher than even Summoned Skull. The energies flowed together, fusing into a tall woman in a long dress, an elaborate headpiece crowning her.

“Alright Summoned Skull, you’re up to bat! Destroy her Giant Soldier of Stone!”

Forks of lightning crossed the field yet again, this time shattering the kneeling stone man like he was nothing more than brittle clay.

“Cosmo Queen, attack her life points directly!”

The tall woman brought both hands close to her chest and began chanting softly. An orb of pitch-black energy formed quickly as the queen nimble fingers danced about it. Then without warning, she hurled it across the field. The magical blast exploded with all the force of a bomb.

Applejack
1100

“Alright,” the cultist said as his opponent struggled back onto her feet. “I think that that will end my turn for the moment.”

“Then it’s…” Applejack grimaced as she clutched her arm. “My move! I’ll draw one card and… perfect!”

“Is it?” the man sounded unimpressed.

“You bet your sorry behind it is!”

“He’s doomed,” muttered Rarity’s opponent.

“I’ll play my Hammer Shot! This card lets me destroy the critter with the highest attack on the field! Right now, that’s your Cosmo Queen.”

“So? What good will that do? I still have Summoned Skull.”

In the audience, Rarity’s former opponent facepalmed.

“Quite a lot, thanks for askin’. I activate my face-down, Monster Reborn! I’ll bring back the Cosmo Queen I just destroyed!”

“…Oh,” the man managed.

“And next comes a second copy of my Giant Soldier of Stone!”

Another of the stone titans appeared on the field.

“But this fellow’s in attack mode! Cosmo Queen, take out his Summoned Skull!”

Another dark energy sphere flew across the field, this time destroying the fiend.

Cultist
600

“Giant Soldier of Stone, attack his life points directly!”

The towering stone golem drew its weapon and charged. Each step brought on a thundering earthquake as the multi-ton behemoth trampled the ground underfoot. The strike of its blade was enough to send the man soaring from his platform.

Cultist
0

“And so much for that,” Applejack tipped her hat as her platform began to descend.

“Alright,” said the man behind the podium. “We have another duelist to face. This one shall be… Twilight Sparkle.”

“Me?” Twilight barely managed before being roughly pulled to her feet. “Who am I dueling?” she asked the two men who had firm grasps on both her arms.

A man standing near the platform answered. “I will be your-”

“Out of my way!” a robed woman shoved him roughly aside. Twilight recognized her as the one who’d been leading this whole demented ceremony. “You idiots have been bungling this from the beginning and the Queen is going to be furious! Not this time! I’ll duel this one myself!”

Duels of Darkness (IV)

Twilight did her best to maintain her dignity while on her way to the arena. Her efforts, stymied as they were by the four cloaked figures alternatively dragging and pushing her, were only partially successful. She stumbled over the edge of her skirt and hit the ground roughly, to general laughter. Face flush, Twilight hurried the rest of the way, brushing dirt from her dress even while she stepped onto her side of the dueling arena.

Alright, she thought. This isn’t so bad. Sure they may be… crazy… and violent… and backed up by extremely potent magic… but they aren’t unbeatable. They’ve lost every duel so far. This woman can’t be that much tougher than the rest of them, right?

Both platforms reached their apex of height on either side of the dueling arena. In between them the holographic terrain flared into life, this time choosing a graveyard setting. Around the arena the lights dimmed, then died away, leaving only pale moonlight holograms to see by. As if seeking to blend in, the arena’s field even added a layer of mist to the terrain.

On the opposite side, only dimly visibly through the darkness and fog, was the cloaked leader of the lunatic demon cultists and presumable source of all of this. Though she squinted, Twilight could make out little of her features. Her hooded cloak covered half her face easily, and conservative black clothing did the rest.

“Draw your cards,” the woman said, following her own advice.

“Fine,” Twilight picked up five cards.

“I shall begin,” she continued, drawing once more. “Did you know, Ms. Sparkle, about the legends of this place?”

“What legends?”

“They say that this town is haunted, little girl.” Twilight couldn’t see, but she could have sworn that she heard a grin. “By the ghost of a knight who lost his head in battle. Now, when the clock strikes midnight he bursts from his grave to wander in search of his missing head.”

“You’re just making that up!” Twilight waved a hand. “You’re only trying to psyche me out!”

“Am I?” she answered softly.

“Of course you – huh?”

Twilight froze as she noticed a slight rumbling sound from down below. Her eyes wandered downwards, peering over the edge of her platform towards the mist-shrouded cemetery below. The rumbling grew louder and louder, and she felt the machinery at her feet start to shake. But she still couldn’t make out the source–

*BOOM*

One of the graves below exploded upwards, showering the field with dirt and rubble. Twilight jumped with a faint shriek. A hideous, wailing suit of armor leapt out, rusted sword drawn and leveled up at Twilight.

“Meet the Headless Knight!” the woman crowed. “And to keep him company I think I shall place one card face-down. That’s all.”

It’s only a monster card, Twilight gripped her shoulders against the sudden chill overtaking her. It’s only a monster card…

“Well, has my knight terrified you into surrender yet or do you need more punishment?”

“Surrender? Because of some flimsy bucket of rust? No way!” Twilight drew a card, looked at it, and then smiled. It was the very same card she’d drawn against Pinkie but refused to play.

Let’s see… she peered at her hand. Looks like I’ve got everything I need right here.

“Alright, let’s show that monster something really scary! I play the Field Spell Magical Citadel of Endymion!”

The ground behind Twilight rumbled before itself bursting up. A mighty white fortress coated in mystic runes, bedecked in jewels, and overflowing with blue magical energies rose high above both combatants and the arena itself. A great tower rose from the center of that, shining brightly in the darkness as if a lighthouse.

“This card is one of the most powerful in my entire deck, and soon you’ll see why.” Twilight allowed herself a smile. The knight didn’t seem so intimidating when it was so puny in comparison. “But first I’m going to summon my Maiden of Macabre!”

The mist near the knight coalesced as a ghostly woman in a kimono materialized atop a gravestone. She gripped her scythe and gave an outsized grin with unhealthily pointed teeth.

“She’s more than powerful enough to shred your knight, but… I’ve got bigger plans! So instead I play Magical Dimension!”

A golden sarcophagus appeared behind Twilight’s monster, and she floated back inside of it. The lid slammed shut over her, and the sarcophagus disappeared into the mist.

“This card lets me sacrifice one Spellcaster monster to summon any other Spellcaster monster from my hand! And I choose the incomparable Ice Queen!”

The sarcophagus reappeared across from Headless Knight and opened once more. This time a different woman stepped forth. This one was fair-skinned and wore a white dress. Her hair consisted of light-bluish green crystals, and she carried a staff of the same material.

“And that’s not all! My Magical Dimension now allows me to destroy one monster on the field! And I choose your Headless Knight!”

The headless armor let out a ghostly wail as it crumbled to pieces, parts rusting into dust before they even hit the ground.

“So, I guess he just lost a lot more than his head. And now, you will too!” Twilight leveled her finger. “Ice Queen attack her life points directly!”

The monster spun her staff nimbly in one hand, a bright white light building on the end of it.

“I summon Juragedo in defense mode.”

“What?!”

A floating purple demon creature appeared out of the fog, clawed arms crossed over its chest. Ice Queen’s charge continued to build for a moment longer, and then she fired a beam of freezing magic. Juragedo took the blast head on, its body deep freezing in an instant before shattering into a million tiny ice crystals.

“You see,” the woman explained. “I can automatically Special Summon Juragedo from my hand in either player’s Battle Step. And not only does he protect my life points but his special ability grants me an extra 1000 points for summoning him in that manner.”

Cultist
5000

“Fine!” Twilight retorted. “My cards have special abilities as well! Since I played Magical Dimension, my Magical Citadel gains on Spell Counter!”

One small orb of blue magic began to rotate around the citadel’s center tower.

“That will happen every time a Spell Card is resolved! And that’s only the first of my citadel’s powers! Next I’ll place one card face-down and that’ll do it!”

“Very well.” The woman drew. “My turn. I think I’ll start by playing a Trap Card.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “A trap?!”

“Indeed. I reveal my Sinister Yorishiro.” She flipped her face-down card up. “This allows me to Normal Summon my most powerful Fiends once per turn without sacrificing any weaker monsters. And I think I shall start with my Ambitious Gofer.”

What looked to be a hideously ugly head mostly made out of brain rose slowly from the earth, easily larger than Ice Queen. It stared down at her balefully.

“Next I shall activate Gofer’s effect. Once per turn I can target up to two monsters that you control and destroy them!”

“No!” Twilight cried.

“Of course, you do have that option to reveal one monster card in your hand to negate this effect. If, that is, you can.”

Twilight looked down at the only card left in her hand, grimacing. Slowly, reluctantly, she turned it around, revealing her Royal Magical Library.

“Ah, very well then. Since my monster’s 2400 attack points are clearly no match for your beast’s 2900, I will lay one card face-down and end my turn.”

That has to be a trap, Twilight thought as she drew. There’s no way she would be so amateurish as to leave her monster and life points open like that… Or it could just be a bluff. She looked at her hand. I don’t have too many options. If I just leave her monster on the field she’ll use her Sinister Yorishiro to build up an army of them, or make it strong enough to destroy Ice Queen. I’ll have to take a chance.

“Alright, I’ll start by summoning Royal Magical Library in defense mode!”

A half-dozen bookshelves littered with mystic tomes and magical green spheres appeared amidst the tombstones.

“Now, Ice Queen, attack her Ambitious Gofer!”

Once again, Ice Queen spun her staff and began building up a charge of magic on it. Twilight braced herself for something to happen, eyes intently on her opponent’s face-down card. Unconsciously, she gripped the rails on the side of the platform. And then Ice Queen unleashed a lance of magic that went right through the loathsome head, destroying it on the spot.

Cultist
4500

Twilight breathed a faint sigh of relief.

“Well?” Twilight could hear a foot tapping impatiently. “Is that all?”

“For now, I suppose so,” Twilight replied.

“Excellent, then it’s my move. I’ll start by revealing my face-down, Fiend’s Sanctuary! This allows me to summon one Metal Fiend Token to my side of the field!”

A runic circle appeared amidst the graves. From it, a small creature looking like nothing so much as a doll made from grey metallic beads rose up.

I know that I take any battle damage from an attack on that thing. But it’ll cost her 1000 points per Standby Phase to keep it in play. So I just need to wait it out.

“Don’t forget that because you played a Spell Card, my Magical Citadel and Royal Magical Library gain a counter!”

The woman ignored her. “Next I shall activate Sinister Yorishiro’s effect to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des in attack mode!”

A portion of the graveyard’s mists rose up and began to coalesce. A great robed figure took shape – a wicked, green-skinned demon king clutching a glass in one hand. He locked eyes with Twilight and leered.

“I’m not ready to attack yet, so I shall place one more card face-down and end my turn.”

She could have destroyed my Royal Magical Library. What’s she thinking?

“I’ll draw one card…” Twilight looked at it, then smiled. “Exactly what I needed! I place one more card face-down and then activate Card of Sanctity! This forces both of us to draw until we each have six cards in our hands, which gives me an entirely new hand! And, of course, a third counter for my citadel, plus a second for my library!”

As both players filled up their hands, the tower behind Twilight now featured three orbs of blue energy orbiting it.

“Not bad…” Twilight looked down at her cards. “Not bad at all. I activate Spell Absorption! Now every time a Spell Card is played not only do I gain a Spell Counter, but I’ll also receive 500 life points! And speaking of counters, my citadel now gets a fourth, while my library gains a third!”

“You’ll find that will matter a lot less than you think,” her opponent answered. “The Queen is with me. You will fall, as will your precious princess.”

Twilight snorted indignantly. “I doubt that very much. You lunatics won’t beat her, just like you won’t beat me! I summon my Alchemist of Black Spells in attack mode!”

A blue-skinned, black-armored man appeared, perched narrowly atop a tombstone. He folded his arms across his chest, seemingly indifferent to the demon across the field from him.

“Next I’ll use his special ability! By switching him into defense mode, I can automatically add one Spell Counter to any card I can put one on! Like my Magical Citadel of Endymion!”

A fifth glowing orb joined the orbit around Twilight’s massive tower. The blue-skinned man hopped off his gravestone and sunk to one knee, head low and arms crossed protectively in front of himself.

“Next comes Spell Power Grasp! This lets me place yet another counter on my citadel and add a second copy of Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand! And don’t forget that it’s also a Spell Card, so that puts my mighty citadel’s total at no less than seven! Plus, Spell Absorption gives me 500 life points!”

Twilight
4500

“So? Is there a point to that?”

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough. But for now, Ice Queen, attack! Destroy her Dark Ruler!”

Twilight’s monster chose to twirl its staff a third time. The now-familiar charge of white magic began to build on the end of it.

“Foolish girl! You’ve just triggered my Trap Card, Dark Spirit of the Silent!”

A skull-faced spirit flew out from one of the graves littering the field. It crossed the field and swirled around Ice Queen, who froze on the spot. Slowly but surely Twilight’s monster lowered her staff, the magic around it dissipating into nothing.

“Not only does Dark Spirit of the Silent negate your monster’s attack, but it also allows me to choose one of your other monsters and force it to attack, even if it’s currently in defense mode!”

Twilight flinched, taking a step back.

“Now, which victim to choose…” the woman chuckled. “Royal Magical Library! Switch to attack mode and attack Dark Ruler Has Des!”

“No!” Twilight reached out a hand, but there was nothing she could do.

The swirling spirit left Ice Queen behind and soared over to the towering bookshelves. It disappeared inside them in an instant. A second later the bookshelves’ green orbs shone brighter than ever, and then were fired in rapid succession across the field.

“Dark Ruler counterattack!”

The fiend king’s grin widened. He stretched out one hand and unleashed a wave of dark magic that shattered the incoming green spheres with ease. It continued on back across the field, washing over the numerous shelves. With the creaking groan of old wood, Royal Magical Library crumbled to pieces.

Twilight
2050

“Even though my Library may be gone, its three Spell Counters aren’t! My Magical Citadel’s effect allows it to absorb the counters from any card that’s destroyed with Spell Counters on it! That gives it no less than ten counters!”

The tower now looked as though it had its own small solar system in wild orbit around itself.

“I don’t care. Are you done or not?”

Twilight looked down at her cards. “I’m done.”

“Excellent, then it’s my move,” the cultist declared as she drew. “I’ve been leading you by the nose throughout this entire duel, little girl! And you’ve fallen for it every step of the way! I expected better from the pupil of Celestia!”

“All I hear is a lot of talk!”

“Then here’s some action! I pay 1000 life points to keep my Metal Fiend Token on the field!”

Cultist
3500

What’s the point of that? Twilight wondered. She has to know that I’m not going to attack it.

“Next I will sacrifice my Metal Fiend Token!”

“What?! Why?”

“Patience, Ms. Twilight,” the woman wagged a finger. “For you’re about to find out! As I was saying, I sacrifice Metal Fiend Token to play my Puppet Master!”

The small metal creature vanished into a portal of darkness. In its place arose a horrid, pallid demon creature in a blue and yellow jester’s outfit. Rings attached to glowing red strings were affixed to each one of its fingers, while its eyes gave off an identical crimson glow.

“Whenever my Puppet Master is Tribute Summoned, I can pay 2000 of my life points to bring two Fiend monsters back from my Graveyard!”

Cultist
1500

The fiendish jester screeched horribly as it rose high into the air. The strings on its fingers lashed out, growing ten times their initial length and burying themselves amidst the tombstones below. A moment later the earth exploded as Headless Knight and Ambitious Gofer tore their way out of the Graveyard.

“You forgot to mention that those monsters can’t attack this turn!” Twilight retorted. “And besides, none of them are strong enough to defeat my mighty Ice Queen! You spent your life points for nothing!”

“Heh heh heh heh…” her opponent chuckled. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Aha hah hah hah hah hah hah! You puny little runt! I told you I’d been leading you since the beginning of this duel! Is Celestia really that bad a teacher?”

Twilight clenched her fist. “How dare you insult her good name?! After everything else you horrible freaks have already done?!”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the princess papered pupil would be too thick to see this coming.” She picked one card from her hand. “I sacrifice all four of my monsters to Special Summon the all-powerful monster of your ultimate defeat, Legendary Maju Garzett!”

The Dark Ruler, Puppet Master, Headless Knight, and Ambitious Gofer were all consumed in an instant by a pillar of pure blackness. The dark energy rose higher and higher into the air, twisting and shaping itself into something vaguely humanoid. Seconds passed as it took on a solid form that easily towered over the entire battlefield and even came close to the Magical Citadel’s height. A purple and pink fiend, rippling with muscle and sporting two white-feathered wings, glared down at Twilight’s monsters with soulless yellow eyes.

“Let me explain,” the cultist gloated. “Legendary Maju Garzett can only be summoned by sacrificing every monster I have on the field. In return, he gains the combined attack of all of my monsters put together!”

“That g-gives him 6300 attack points!” Twilight stumbled backwards, barely catching herself before falling from the edge of the platform.

“More than enough to destroy your puny monsters and your life points!” the woman finished for her. “The Queen is eager, so let’s not waste any time! Garzett attack her Ice Queen! End this duel!”

The towering monster cupped its clawed hands. An orb of red and yellow energy took shape in its palms, glowing like a small sun in the deep darkness. The ball started the size of a human head and only grew larger from there, Garzett spreading its hands wider as even they failed to contain the power. At last it lifted the energy sphere above its head and, with one mighty roar, hurled the building-sized attack downwards, directly onto Ice Queen.

The explosion that followed was immense, creating a blinding white flash that temporarily blinded anyone unable to shield their eyes in time. Smoke rolled from the arena all directions, enveloping the entire crowd and causing those not paralyzed by magic to double over, coughing wildly.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” the cultist woman roared with laughter. “Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA! I win! It’s over!”

“Oh?’ came the sound of a soft voice. “Is it?”

“Huh?”

The smoke slowly began to fade away, revealing Twilight Sparkle standing atop her platform with a card in her hand and a smile on her face.

“I saw it coming.”

“What?! Impossible!”

“Very possible. You seem to have forgotten about the face-down card I laid on my very first turn, and now it’s going to cost you! Because you’ve just trigged my Trap Card, Mirror Force!”

The smoke swept away from the arena’s floor, revealing Ice Queen standing completely unharmed – and surrounded by a shimmering barrier. The energy attack strained against it.

“Not only does my card negate your attack, it also destroys every attack position monster on your field!”

“NO!”

The yellow-red energy reflected off the shimmering barrier, traveling back the way it came as a mighty lance. It pierced directly through the towering fiend’s heart. Garzett managed one last pained roar before exploding into little more than a shower of ash.

“My fiend! No!” the cultist cried. “How could you destroy such a powerful creature with the Queen on my side?! How?!”

“It’s easy,” Twilight couldn’t resist the urge to grin. “When you’re not a raving lunatic worshiping a voice in your head.”

“Grrr…” the woman clenched both fists, pounding on her platform. “You’ll pay for that, you little runt! This duel isn’t over! Not by a mile!”

“Sure seems to me it is,” Twilight crossed her arms confidently.

“See what you think of this! I activate the Spell Card Nightmare’s Steelcage!”

Twilight and her monsters were suddenly enveloped by a wide cage of blackened steel. Gold spikes littered its exterior. Ice Queen strained against its bars, but couldn’t make them budge.

“This card prevents any of our monsters from attacking until two of your turns have passed!”

“And it gives my citadel an eleventh counter and me 500 life points!” Twilight added.

Twilight
2550

“I’m well aware,” the cultist growled. “I’ll place one card face-down and end my turn.”

“Then I’m up to bat.” Twilight drew. “First comes my Spell Power Grasp! You remember that, don’t you? My citadel gets two counters and I gain 500 more life points!”

Twilight
3050

“Next I think I’ll summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode!”

A blonde-haired young man in purple armor appeared on one knee, clutching a green staff.

“His special ability gives me yet another Spell Counter, raising the total on my Magical Citadel to fourteen!”

“Do you ever plan to actually do anything with all those counters?”

“Patience. You’ll see when I’m ready. In the meantime I switch my Alchemist to attack mode, then use his special ability to switch him back to defense for still another counter! That’s fifteen!”

“Hmph. Are you done?”

“Actually, I am.” Twilight folded her arms. “Take your best shot.”

“You’ll regret those words,” the woman declared as she drew. “For I shall continue my onslaught by sacrificing three monsters from my Graveyard to bring forth one more beast! Now allow me to introduce you to Dark Necrofear!” She slammed the card hard onto her platform. “A great beast of ultimate darkness that will show you no mercy! Now go Dark Necrofear!”

A pure white spirit trailing energy flew from the card, touching down in the center of the field. It spread out, transforming itself into a gruesome blue-skinned bald woman surrounded by a dark aura. In her arms, she clutched a broken doll that looked disturbingly like a baby.

“Next I will summon my Phantom Skyblaster in defense mode!”

A small, bat-winged fiend with two small cannons atop its back took up position next to Dark Necrofear.

“And whenever it’s summoned, I get Skyblaster Tokens equal to the number of monsters I control. I’ll put them in defense mode!”

Two identical fiends appeared beside her other two monsters.

“And then I’ll end my turn.”

“Then I’ll go.” Twilight smiled and drew.

I’ve got her on the ropes! Just a little more and I’ll have won.

“You know what’s first, my Spell Power Grasp to raise my Spell Counter total to an incredible seventeen and give me even more life points!”

Twilight
3550

“Unfortunately per the rules I only have three copies in my deck, so no more of those for me! Then I’ll switch my Alchemist to attack mode and back to defense to make that number eighteen!”

“Grrr…” the cultist woman growled.

“I think I’ll sacrifice my Apprentice Magician to summon my Dark Red Enchanter!”

A red-robed woman appeared, clutching her quarter-moon staff. Her blonde hair flowed gently in the soft night breeze.

“Now check out her special ability! Once per turn I can sacrifice two Spell Counters from her to force you to discard one random card from your hand! She comes with two naturally, but I’ve got a better idea! You see, once per turn I can use the counters on my Magical Citadel to activate one card’s effects! So its counters go down to sixteen, but you lose one random card from your hand!”

Dark Red Enchanter spun her staff and unleashed a spike of ruby-red energy. It slipped between the cage’s bars and flew across the field to strike the cultist’s hand. One of her cards crackled with red electricity, and she grudgingly discarded it.

“I think that’ll do for now.” Twilight smiled again. “And since two of my turns have now passed, your cage is no more!”

Around Twilight and her monsters, the blackened steel rusted at a supernatural pace. Within seconds it crumbled into so much dust.

“Which mean we’re both free to attack!” Twilight finished with a satisfied nod.

“We’ll see about that, little girl.” The woman drew with gritted teeth. “My Skyblaster’s effect activates during my Standby Phase! For each Skyblaster monster on my field I can dish out 300 points of direct damage to you! And by my count that’s three!”

Each of the three tiny fiends aimed their back cannons at Twilight and blasted her with shots of dark energy.

Twilight
2650

“Next, I activate my own Card of Sanctity!”

“So I get more cards, another Spell Counter, and 500 more life points?” Twilight grinned mockingly. “You’re too kind.”

Twilight
3150

“You won’t get with mocking me or the Queen,” she answered. “I activate my Sinister Yorishiro’s effect to summon my Gaap the Divine Soldier!”

A pale, bug-like fiend with a second enormous pair of clawed arms jutting from its back appeared on the field, perched nimbly atop a gravestone.

“First, he forces all monsters on the field into attack mode and prevents any of them from changing position!”

Twilight’s Alchemist got to his feet, as did all of the cultist’s Skyblaster monsters.

“I’ll activate his special ability, which allows me to reveal any number of Fiend monsters in my hand to boost his attack points by 300 for each one until the end of my turn!”

The woman picked three cards from her hand and placed them on the platform where they could clearly be seen. Twilight made out Gil Garth, Newdoria, and Dark Jeroid.

“This puts my mighty beast’s attack points at 3100! Now attack her Ice Queen!”

The beast leaped across the field, claws bared. Its mighty second arms slashed Ice Queen through her midsection, cutting the monster in half. Mercifully, both halves exploded a second later.

Twilight
2950

“Dark Necrofear, it’s your turn! Attack her Alchemist of Black Spells!”

The ghastly monster’s black eyes opened unnaturally wide and it fired a powerful red beam from them. The attack burned straight through the Alchemist, who disintegrated rapidly.

Twilight
1950

“Finally I shall activate Dark Door! This Spell Card allows us each to only attack with one monster per turn!”

“And grants me a Spell Counter plus life points.”

Twilight
2450

“Indeed. Your go.”

“Alright,” Twilight drew.

I’ve got almost all the cards I need to win in spite of that Dark Door. I only need to draw one more to clinch this!

“Alright, try this on for size! I summon Defender, the Magical Knight in attack mode!”

The trusty blue-armored knight appeared, sword in hand and shield by his side.

With him on the field and Dark Door in effect my Spellcasters are all but invincible!

“You’ve made a critical mistake,” Twilight explained. “Gaap affects your monsters as much as mine. And your Phantom Skyblaster has a measly 1100 attack points against Dark Red Enchanter’s 2300! So I’ll play my face-down Spell Card, Malevolent Nuzzler, to boost my enchanter’s attack strength by 700 and give my Magical Citadel eighteen Spell Counters! Now, Dark Red Enchanter, attack her monster and end this duel!”

Twilight
2950

The woman leveled her staff, power building on the end.

“Did I?” the cultist sounded confident. “Fool! I activate my Trap Card, Fiendish Chain!”

Black iron chains burst from the soil at the enchanter’s feet, wrapping tightly around her. Very quickly all her limbs were immobilized, and her magic faded away.

“This not only stops your monster from attacking, but negates all of her effects!” she gloated. “Better luck next time!”

“Fine then! That’s all for now!”

Just wait until I get the card I need. Then you’ll be sorry.

“My move!” she drew. “Phantom Skyblaster, deplete her life points now!”

All three fiends aimed and fired again.

Twilight
2050

“I can’t reveal cards I’ve already revealed… and I don’t feel like showing you any more of my cards, so… Dark Necrofear, attack her Defender now!”

Dark Necrofear’s eyes widened again, and it launched another red beam across the field, hitting the knight in the chest.

“I use Defender’s special ability to sacrifice one Spell Counter on my Magical Citadel and save him from destruction!”

The knight raised his shield and weathered the assault with stoic fortitude.

Twilight
1450

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Twilight called out. “I barely felt it!”

“That will be all for the moment, yes.”

“Goody, then it’s my draw.” Twilight picked her card. Her eyes widened, and then she smiled. “Well, I think it’s about time to end this duel! I activate the card I just drew, Mega Ton Magical Cannon! For the bargain price of ten Spell Counters from my side of the field, I can destroy… every card you have on the field!”

“WHAT?!”

“You heard me!” Twilight grinned as a massive piece of arcane artillery appeared on her side of the field. “Go my cannon! Destroy all of her cards now!”

The mystical cannon leveled its gun barrel across the field, a powerful white energy building in its depths. The cult woman shrank back as the charge built, shielding her face with her hands. And then, without warning, it fired.

The white magical blast enveloped the field like the sun itself, temporarily blinding anyone not shielding their eyes. Nothing could be seen, but the wails of demons and the sounds of explosions could be heard as the entire field was wiped clean Twilight’s enemies. The light had barely begun to dim when Twilight made her next move.

“My cannon gives me 500 life points, thanks to Spell Absorption!”

Twilight
1950

“I’ll sacrifice six more Spell Counters from the Magical Citadel to summon my favorite card, the master of the citadel and wizard supreme! My incomparable, all-powerful monster, Endymion, the Master Magician!”

Six of the blue sphere orbiting the mighty white tower broke off and flew over Twilight’s head. They swarmed over the field before settling in one place, forming a tornado of sapphire-blue energies. Then, all of a sudden, the merged and solidified. From them stepped a tall, well-built man in black and green armor. A purple cape billowed out from behind his shoulders, and in his hand he clutched a mighty crescent moon staff.

“His special ability lets me take the Magical Dimension from my Graveyard and add it to my hand!”

Twilight rooted through the Graveyard and seized her prize.

“Endymion!” Twilight called. “The honor is yours! Finish her off with a direct attack right now!”

The sorcerer twirled his staff once, then leveled it at the enemy. A purple-black charge built up in the jewel at the end of it.

“I summon a second copy of Juragedo, in defense mode!”

Cultist
2500

The purple fiend appeared again, arms crossed.

“What good will that do? I have three monsters on the field! Endymion, destroy Juragedo!”

The magician’s staff again began to light up.

“Now that you’ve declared an attack, I sacrifice Juragedo on the field and Gil Garth from my hand to summon my Darkness Neosphere!”

Twilight gasped as the massive winged fiend appeared on the field, taking one step back. But the gears of her mind were already motion, on more levels than one.

“Do you like her?” the woman sounded smug. “She’s the most powerful monster in my deck and completely unstoppable! The Queen herself gave this card to me! You’re done!”

“Oh?” Twilight said softly. “Am I… Diana?”

The woman across the field, winced visibly even through the mist.

“I’m not some helpless little girl that you can beat up on. I don’t know why you’re doing this or what you hope to gain, but I promise you that you won’t win! I activate Endymion’s other special ability! By discarding one Spell Card from my hand, I can destroy one card on the field! So goodbye to Arcane Barrier from my hand and Darkness Neosphere on the field!”

“NO!” she shrieked.

Endymion got another chance to twirl his staff. This time he unleashed a dark-purple blast of energy that impaled Darkness Neosphere right through the chest. The great beast cried out, and then exploded.

“Since I’ve already conducted my Battle Phase for this turn I can’t attack, but I can still sacrifice two Spell Counters to activate Dark Red Enchanter’s special ability!”

Dark Red Enchanter twirled her staff and blasted one card in Diana’s hand. She reluctantly discarded Newdoria.

“To close the deal I play my Magical Dimension to sacrifice Defender for Dark Magician!”

Twilight
2450

The blue-armored knight disappeared into a golden sarcophagus, which opened a few seconds later to disgorge the legendary monster. The purple-clothed magician joined Twilight’s already impressive lineup.

“Stare into the face of defeat!” Twilight called out. “I have three monsters with 2500 attack points or more, and you have nothing! There’s not a card in your deck that can save you from this assault!”

“Grrr…” Diana clenched her fists. “I still have some tricks up my sleeve! You destroyed Dark Necrofear this turn, so she can activate her special ability! Her spirit possesses one of your monsters, making it mine! And I choose your Dark Red Enchanter!”

A wispy white orb rose from the graves, trailing mist. It flew across the field and entered Dark Red Enchanter’s back. She twitched, and then stood ramrod straight before floating over to Diana’s side and turning to face her former mistress.

“That won’t save you,” Twilight crossed her arms.

For a good few seconds, her opponent said nothing. Silence reigned over the desolate graveyard, as Twilight’s monsters seemed to chaff at the bit, eager to destroy the enemy.

Even if she does destroy Endymion, Twilight thought. I have Monster Reborn in my hand to bring him back, and Emergency Provisions to discard to destroy her monster. Then I can wipe out her life points in one final attack.

“My Queen,” the sound of Diana’s soft voice cut off Twilight’s thoughts. “There’s only one card in my deck that can save me now. I need to draw it, now. I need…” her words sounded forced. “Your help.”

Twilight couldn’t be sure at her distance in the dark, but she could have sworn that she saw faint shadow pass over Diana’s deck. Then she blinked, and it was gone.

“I draw,” Diana picked up her card. Then she fell silent, staring almost blankly at it. And then… she grinned. “Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I WIN!”

“Have you lost it?” Twilight demanded. “You’re all out of tricks and cards!”

“Not quite, little Twilight,” Diana answered with a vicious grin. “For now I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist!”

A yellow man in monk’s robes appeared, carrying a simple wooden staff.

“What good will that do?”

“I can sacrifice one card from my hand to destroy every monster on the field that was Special Summoned.”

Twilight’s eyes widened with realization.

“So I discard my Dark Jeroid from my hand to activate Jowgen!”

The monster spun his staff nimbly, launching twin silver beams that hit Endymion and Dark Magician. Both monsters were obliterated in the blink of an eye.

“As you may recall, the only monster on your field that you Normal Summoned was… your Dark Red Enchanter.”

“No…” Twilight breathed.

“YES!” Diana’s hood had fallen back, and she looked practically ecstatic. “Dark Red Enchanter, attack Twilight’s life points directly! End this duel now!”

To Twilight, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Dark Red Enchanter twirled her staff in her hands once, twice, three times. She pointed it across the field. The ruby-red energy gather she’d seen so many times before gathered at its tip. Then it flashed. There was pain – lots of pain – and she was on the ground, smoking.

Twilight
0

Vaguely, through the disorienting haze of pain and fuzzy feelings in her head, Twilight heard noise. Some sounded celebratory, others distressed. She couldn’t make out the words. Suddenly there were people around her, vague shadows her eyes couldn’t quite focus on.

And then she heard it. A voice in her head.

All hail the coming of the Queen of Nightmares, it said. All hail to Nightmare Moon.

Shadow Game

Twilight lay motionless on the ground, head spinning and body throbbing with pain. Figures clustered around her, making sounds, but she couldn’t understand them. She couldn’t make them out properly either with her blurred vision. She felt like some of them were touching her, but her addled mind couldn’t make out what they were trying to do. She needed to say something, she realized. Needed to give these people concise and accurate information on the nature of her condition, to allow for maximal medical effectiveness.

Twilight’s mouth slowly opened.

“Myopic… banana… weasel,” she informed them.

Twilight laid her head back, allowing her eyelids to fall shut. She was tired now. Yes, very tired. And didn’t this patch of dirt seem just the perfect place for a nap? It all seemed a perfectly reasonable conclusion to her. She was just in the middle of nodding off when a very rude someone chose to interrupt.

“Hey! Twilight! Wake up!” someone shouted in her face. When that didn’t immediately work, they shook her like a ragdoll and shouted harder. “WAKE UP! WAKE! UP!”

“Rainbow Dash!” someone else snapped rather huffily. “Can’t you see that the poor dear is a bit out of it? After that nasty fall she’s lucky just to be in one piece!”

“Um…” a quiet voice muttered. “She doesn’t have any broken bones… at least I don’t think so… And she, uh, doesn’t look badly injured otherwise.”

“See that?” the first voice retorted. “She needs to get on her feet, pronto!”

“And why do ya figure that?” another person said.

“Because of Ms. Tall, Dark, and Creepy over there!”

“Ooooh…” Twilight moaned, eyes gently sliding open. “My head…”

“She’s coming around!”

“We can all see that, duh! You alright there?”

“What…” Twilight feebly rubbed her forehead with one hand. “What’s… going on?”

“That,” a completely new voice interrupted. “Would be me.”

“Huh?” Twilight looked up towards the dueling arena, searching for the source.

Her eyes didn’t have to wander for long. There, floating easily a good few yards off the ground, was a woman unlike anything Twilight had ever seen. With flawless skin the color of silky smooth cream and dark blue hair that seemed to twinkle like the night sky, this newcomer had an otherworldly air comparable to only one other person Twilight could think of. Her piercing eyes glinted like teal gemstones, the pupils black, reptilian slits. She wore clothes so deep blue that they appeared almost black, threaded tastefully with silver and a few shimmering diamonds. Long, puffed sleeves disappeared into silver cuffs around her thin wrists, while identically-colored pants were tucked tightly into tall black boots. An elaborate sapphire-studded silver clasp affixed a blue-black velvet cape to her neck. Finally, twin silver crescent moon earrings dangled from both of her ears.

The fay-looking woman met Twilight’s gaze and grinned, flashing a perfect set of pearly-white teeth. Perfect, that is, save for the unpleasantly-pronounced canines.

“Who…” Twilight stared, pain all but forgotten. “Who are you?”

“Heh heh heh,” the woman chuckled. “Are you truly so ignorant? Have you truly never heard the whispers? Did you not read the stories?”

“Just tell us who you are, you floating freak!” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“And what in tarnation you and your posse want with this town!” Applejack added.

“Hmm, very well. I suppose I do owe you thanks for your assistance in breaking the last of my bindings.” The woman’s smile didn’t fade. “My name is Nightmare Moon. Or, as you’ll soon be calling me, Queen of All the Land. Your Dread Majesty and Mistress are also acceptable.”

“Queen?!” Twilight started. “Are you insane? Princess Celestia is the ruler here! Do you honestly think you can take her, no matter what crazy magic you can pull?”

“Celestia?” Nightmare Moon’s sculpted eyebrows creased slightly. “Celestia will not be a problem for much longer. When she arrives here in a few hours, I have something very special just for her. The good princess has no idea what’s happening here, and she won’t suspect a thing… until it’s too late, of course. What she doesn’t know most definitely can hurt her.”

“You’re going to…” Twilight’s face was a rictus of shock. “You’re going to try and kill Princess Celestia?!”

“Kill her?” Nightmare smirked and shook her head in the manner of a patronizing teacher. “Why would I be so merciful, child? No, the fate I have planned for Celestia is far worse than mere death. But why spoil the surprise now? You’ll see it for yourself soon enough. Everyone here will have that privilege!”

“You… You’re…” Twilight’s mind was reeling dangerously. “How could you even think doing anything to the princess?! What did she ever do to you?!”

“More than you could ever know…” she muttered, eyes briefly downcast. “Now then, I still have some work to do before this can be a proper celebration of the commencement of my reign. So–” she waved one hand dismissively. “–off with you. Servants, escort these children off somewhere out of the way. And be sure to give them a good seat for what’s to come!”

Several cloaked men and women advanced, surrounding the girls from all directions. They easily outnumbered them three to one, if not more.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Twilight rose to her feet, pain now completely forgotten. “If you want to hurt the princess, you’re going to have to go through me first!”

“And me!” Rainbow declared.

“And me!” Applejack joined.

“A lady cannot stand by and watch wickedness unfold!” Rarity agreed.

“Oooh, and me too!” Pinkie jumped a little. “You’re going to have to go through me!”

“And… um… I don’t think I can, uh, let you get away with this…” Fluttershy muttered softly.

“I do not have time for this.” Nightmare rolled her eyes. “Beat them into submission if necessary. I have better things to do.” She turned her back on them, slowly gliding away through the air.

“You… You…” Twilight clenched her fist even as the cultists advanced. “You pathetic coward!”

“What.” Nightmare Moon froze on the spot. “What did you just call me?”

“You heard me!” Twilight shouted upwards at her. “You’re a gutless, cringing coward! You don’t have the nerve to face Princess Celestia in a fair duel, so you’re going to jump her on her way to a celebration! You don’t have the guts to face Ponyville, so you freeze them all while they’re unaware! And now you don’t even have the guts to face a few girls on your own without an army of flunkies to back you up!”

“You dare…” Nightmare rotated back around with excruciating slowness. “You dare to insult the Queen of All Nightmares? You dare to challenge me?”

“I dare!” Twilight barked. “You’re the one who’s too afraid to face me in a fair duel! Some Queen of Nightmares you are! I’ve met braver preschoolers!”

Nightmare Moon’s face was passive, neutral, and calculating as she stared down at the six girls and the small army of cultists surrounding them. She hovered in tense silence for some time, one delicate finger on her chin. Then, slowly but surely, her elegant eyebrows creased and sunk into a frown.

“I suppose I could use a bit of a warm-up,” she muttered thoughtfully. Then, Nightmare held up one hand and gestured to the robed figures. “Back away. I’ll deal with these little fools myself. Since I’m short on time I’ll even take all six of you at once.”

Twilight’s duel disk clicked into place at her mental command, cards arranging themselves back into a deck. Around her, five more duel disks did the same.

“Oh, poor naïve children.” Nightmare grinned. “You truly think that this is going to be some mere card game? No… This… This my friends will be something far more… amusing. To celebrate my return in style I’ll destroy all of you in a Shadow Game!”

“A Shadow Game?!” Twilight took a step back, eyes suddenly wide and arm hovering before her chest. “You’d invoke a Shadow Game?!”

“What the heck is a Shadow Game?” Rainbow demanded, fists balled.

“And what makes ya think we’re gonna play any of your demented games?” Applejack added.

“Oh you poor, stupid little children.” Nightmare Moon smirked. “As if you have any choice now. My cards.” She held out one hand towards her robed flunkies.

One of the cultists produced a small, dark wooden box from somewhere before opening it in an almost reverent manner. Immediately Duel Monsters cards shot out, soaring through the air on invisible winds. Swiftly they settled into an orbit around their mistress’ head, as if she were a sun and they her planets.

Even as the cards were racing towards Nightmare Moon the scene around the girls began to shift. The soft grassy terrain of Ponyville’s town square dissolved beneath their feet, plants seeming to wither and die in an instant. The area itself shimmered, blurred, and slowly faded out as a purple and black mist rolled over the land. The others present, civilian and cultist alike, disappeared from view one by one as the darkness swallowed earth and sky. The very last thing to go was the full moon hanging high overhead.

The six girls shifted almost involuntarily, huddling together against the grasping darkness. The ground beneath their feet seemed half stone and half sludge, randomly shifting in shape and solidity. The light was practically nonexistent, only a dim purple glow barely granting sight for a few feet. From every direction they could hear the faintest sounds of whispering, and occasionally screams. Perhaps most disturbing of all was the way the dark mist occasionally seemed to take on the brief outlines of grasping hands… or wailing faces.

The girls glanced at one another, not a one of them daring to speak. Few dared to even breathe. Fluttershy was on her knees, eyes squeezed shut and hands covering her head. Twilight’s face was frozen, eyes the size of dinner plates and mouth gaping limply. She was still enough to be mistaken for a statue.

“So,” a familiar voice cut in “how are you enjoying the Shadow Realm?”

The black and purple mists parted a little ways, giving the girls a clear line of sight to Nightmare Moon. She stood calmly in the center of the darkness, arms folded across her chest and cards continuing to slowly orbit her head. Her mouth was set into a toothy grin.

“W-What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash managed, despite her visible shudders.

“Doing?” Her grin widened. “Why, child, I’ve already done it. I’ve taken you to your new home. Just look around you.” Nightmare spread her arms wide. “This is the Shadow Realm, the origin of Shadow Magic and the place where your doom will be decided!”

As if in answer to her, a high-pitched shriek resounded, echoing a hundred times and more off the nothingness that stretched off in every direction. The flow of shadowy fog picked up the pace, as if agitated.

“You see, you’ve made the mistake of annoying me. So once I crush you in our Shadow Game your souls will be trapped in this dread realm for all eternity!” Nightmare Moon laughed. “Even as your bodies rot into dust so too will your souls wither away in this cursed plane, until finally you are left as yet another of these pathetic creatures!” She brushed one hand through a screaming face in the mist, dissolving it. “Your life, your memories, all the warmth of your hearts will be gone forever! In the end, you will be left as nothing but a wailing specter trapped forever in the darkness as you experience an endless torrent of horror and despair!”

Not one of the six girls could make a single sound, save for a tiny whimper from Fluttershy.

“So let’s not waste any more time, shall we? I may be reduced to collecting cards through minions while my own deck rots away, but they got this one right.” Nightmare snatched one card from the many orbiting her. “Your end is here! I summon the Masked Beast Des Gardius!”

The mist before Nightmare Moon parted, swirling in all directions as if eager to escape from what was coming. The murky, flowing ground now exposed trembled for just a moment. And then a claw burst forth from inky black earth. Moments later, a second claw joined it. Both pierced the fleshy earth and it seemed to bleed, oozing a dark purple substance. And then, with one mighty heave, a massive demon tore itself from the depths of the earth.

Easily three times the size of Nightmare Moon herself, Des Gardius towered over everything in sight. The monster’s body was orange and grey, with silver claws and hands. It sported three massive heads, each one ending in a royal blue mask. Two masks features grimacing demon faces, but the central and largest was blank save for a pair of glaring red slits gleaming in the darkness.

“Well met, loyal servant,” Nightmare said to the creature, before addressing the girls. “Des Gardius is one of my favorite cards and more than a match for anything you pitiful fools possess. Do you realize that you were fool to challenge me?”

“I…” Twilight’s mouth moved, but no more words came out.

“You seem to be the only one who has even an inkling of what’s going on,” Nightmare said. “So for the rest of you, I’ll explain. This duel will be played out by the very spirits of our monster cards! Through spirit and willpower alone can they be summoned here, and I assure you that in the Shadow Realm they are no holograms. Everything here is quite real. Those who wills fail them will be consumed by the ever-hungry shadows. So summon your monsters to fight for you.” She gestured at them. “Or else perish now to the talons of my Masked Beast!”

“I…” Twilight’s trembling hand reached for her cards, picking one unsteadily. She took a step forward. “S-Summon my B-Blast Magic–”

“Des Gardius destroy her monster now!”

Twilight’s blue-skinned, red-robed magician had barely had time to materialize before Nightmare Moon’s creature pounced. It cleared several yards in less than a second before cutting the spellcaster to ribbons with a single swipe of one mighty claw. The explosion was all but deafening.

But it was drowned out by screaming.

Twilight wailed in piercing, unearthly agony as waves of deep purple energy coursed through her body at lightning speed. For a brief instant she stood ramrod straight, and then the next she collapsed onto her hands and knees at Des Gardius’ feet. She gasped desperately for air in the manner of drowning woman, totally ignoring the monster towering above her.

“Oh, didn’t I mention?” Nightmare Moon smirked. “Since the monsters you summon are brought into existence and maintained by the power of your will, they are intimately linked to your spirits! In other words, you will feel all of the pain that your monsters do!”

“Since her c-creature was just cut to p-pieces…” Rarity whispered. “That m-means…”

“Yes!” she through back her head. “Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

The five girls raced to Twilight’s side, paying the monster not the least bit of attention. Each one gently gripped and stabilized the mute, shivering young woman, who offered no resistance. Des Gardius flexed its claws and looked down, but at a gesture from Nightmare Moon instead took several steps backwards and did not interfere.

“Easy now…” Applejack said softly as she and Rainbow Dash hoisted the still-twitching Twilight back to her feet. “We got ya… we won’t let ya fall…”

“No way,” Rainbow agreed.

“We’re here for you, darling,” Rarity added.

“One million percent!” Pinkie said.

“Not that this isn’t touching and all,” Nightmare’s voice cut in. “But would my next victim kindly step up to plate? I’m getting bored already and my Masked Beast is growing impatient."

The enormous fiend raked the ground with one clawed foot, flexing its powerful muscles eagerly. The red eyes of its central mask appeared to be even narrower than before.

“Y-You’re…” Fluttershy’s soft voice piped up, barely audible. Her head was lowered, pink hair covering her face. “You’re…”

“I’m what?”

“You’re a monster!” Fluttershy’s head jerked upwards as she gripped her deck. “And I won’t let you hurt people like this! I summon the Mosaic Manticore!”

A massive beast leapt out of dark mists, landing on all fours between the six girls and the towering demon. The yellow manticore pawed against the ground with one of its own clawed hands, wings fluttering in agitation. Its scorpion tail braced, stinger extended. The great beast stared down Nightmare Moon and her Masked Beast, opening its mouth to unleash one mighty roar.

“Fluttershy’s right!” Pinkie’s tone was surprisingly firm. “I’m not just going to stand around and let you do this to my friends! You’re not the only one with big scary monsters you know!”

“Oh really?” Their adversary’s tone sounded unimpressed.

“Really!” Pinkie seemed to produce a card from nowhere and held it up high. “Ladies and gents, the Toon Summoned Skull!”

A bluish-grey cartoon fiend reared up behind Pinkie Pie. Or, at least, its upper half did. Below the waist it seemed little more than a rubbery tail that extended into the shadow and beyond. The little creature grinned with pointed teeth, flexing arms that suddenly and inexplicably sported ridiculously outsized muscles.

“I quite agree!” Rarity declared. “What you’re doing is beyond appalling! So I call on the power of White Night Dragon!”

Freezing winds whipped through the Shadow Realm, driving the dark mists before them. In a flurry of snowfall and hail, a mighty figure swooped down from the sky to land in front of Rarity. A towering bipedal dragon of pure shimmering ice crystal stared down Des Gardius, wings flared wide and clawed hands at the ready.

“I ain’t lettin’ you get away with this!” Applejack drew a card while still supporting Twilight on one shoulder. “I summon my Megarock Dragon!”

The ground beneath their feet trembled, then burst open like a localized volcano. A quadrupedal, wingless dragon seemingly carved from the earth itself tore free with a great cry of rage, showering the surroundings with black dirt. The dragon’s long neck bent down to expose its piercing red eyes and fanged maw to its adversary. It positioned itself between its mistress and enemies, each thundering step like a miniature earthquake.

“Don’t leave me out of this!” Rainbow Dash had her own card in hand. “Come on out Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!”

The shadowy mists around them twisted and twirled before a portion split off. The breakaway piece expanded and took shape, solidifying almost as quickly. An imposing bipedal dragon of steel shadow materialized, wings flared and fangs gnashing. It met Des Gardius’ red-eyed glare with one of its own, flames licking at the edge of tis mouth.

“Oh no, some big scary monsters. Whatever will I do?” Nightmare looked idly down at her nails, not paying the least attention to the five monsters now facing her.

“Uuuuurgh…” Twilight moaned from where she hung between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy turned back to the limp girl. “Are you alright?”

“You took quite a blow there,” Rarity said. “I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt!”

“A… lot…” Twilight mumbled. “I’m sorry…”

“For what?” Pinkie asked.

“You got nothing to be sorry for!” Rainbow declared.

“I… got you all… into this…” She hung her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I’m so… sorry. I’ve doomed you all.”

“Horse pucky.”

“W-What?” Twilight managed to look up, eyes wide.

“I said that’s a load of cow dung,” Applejack said. “I’d have been against here even if you hadn’t said anything! This snake in the grass needs a good lickin’ for what she’s done!”

“She’s right!” Rainbow clenched her fist. “There’s no way I could have let this evil creep have her way!”

“I can’t deny that someone had to do something,” Rarity added. “And why should that someone not have been us?”

“I… um…” Fluttershy rubbed her arm, face down. “I guess I would have… um… done something… maybe?”

“We’re all with you, darling. Of our own free will, come what may. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

“Yep!”

“Sure as sugar!”

“Y-Yes…”

“Definitely!” Pinkie finished. “And besides, our souls are only doomed to endless horror if we can’t beat her!”

The others looked pointedly at her.

“What?”

“I…” Five pairs of eyes returned to Twilight. “I…” Her eyes were the size of very wet dinner plates, and more tears were trickling down her cheeks. “I…” Her jaw hung limply.

“We’re with you,” Rarity repeated. “We’re all with you.”

“I…” Twilight’s wandering eyes fell back onto Nightmare Moon. “I summon” she ripped one arm from Rainbow’s grip, a single card clutched in her hand. “Endymion the Master Magician!”

The shadows beneath her feet came together, beginning to swirl like some deep dark whirlpool. The vortex swiftly rose high and higher off the ground, until the ensuing twister loomed over even Des Gardius. And then, just as it reached its peak, the whirling storm exploded out in all directions, unleashing hurricane force winds that toppled all six girls on the spot. From on high came the black and green armored form of Twilight’s greatest monster, arms folded serenely across his chest.

“Are you all done yet?” Nightmare hadn’t even been budged. “I’m getting bored of watching drama. I happen to prefer action.”

“Alrighty!” Pinkie sounded almost cheerful. “You want action creepy evil lady, you got it! First I’ll attack with the Toon Skull!”

Pinkie’s monster grinned and rose higher into the sky. Arms and wings spread wide it launched a fat surge of electricity down at its foes.

“And I think I’ll have him target…”

The lightning strike arced downwards towards the Masked Beast Des Gardius. The gigantic fiend braced itself, flexing its muscles and not moving one inch. Toon Summoned Skull’s grin widened. The bolt of lightning abruptly split in half, both halves flowing easily around Des Gardius and converging as one on…

“You!”

Both bolts struck home, and Nightmare Moon instantly vanished into a massive, fiery explosion. Toon Summoned Skull threw back its head, pointed, and laughed maniacally. Des Gardius’ three heads turned back towards it mistress. Then, before the smoke had even had a chance to fade, a second explosion ensued. And then a third. Then a fourth. A fifth. A sixth. A seventh…

Pinkie’s Toon monster was busy hopping up and down, cackling like a lunatic.

The others stared.

Pinkie Pie herself offered a helpless shrug. “Cartoons are so violent these days.”

The Masked Beast turned its whole body towards the rising column of black smoke, then took a tentative step towards it. And then the next instant a powerful gust of wind appeared from nowhere, dispelling the black clouds. Inside was… a smirking, seemingly-unharmed Nightmare Moon.

“Tell me,” she said, brushing off her left shoulder. “Was that supposed to hurt me?”

Toon Summoned Skull abruptly stopped laughing.

“N-No way!” Pinkie took a step back, arms raised. “There’s no way…”

“No way I could have endured that pitiful excuse for an attack?” Nightmare finished with a smirk. “I’m afraid that you are nothing but another pathetic, powerless amateur in way over her head. I, on the other hand, am the Queen of Nightmares and Mistress of the Shadow Games! Now let me show you how it’s really done! Des Gardius!” She leveled one finger. “Attack now!”

The fiend’s red eyes narrowed and it bounded forward, razor-sharp claws extended.

“You think that masked freak can stop us?” Rainbow gestured right back. “Red-Eyes, counterattack!”

“White Night Dragon, you’re up as well!”

Both dragons opened their jaws wide, revealing a twin set of fanged maws. Deep red and black flames built up inside Red-Eyes, while White Night’s mouth held bluish white energies. As one the dragons opened fire on the charging fiend. Des Gardius shielded its three faces with both massive arms as twin blasts of ice and fire slammed into it. The creature trembled slightly, taking a single step backwards as both dragons poured on the firepower.

“My Masked Beast…” The same purple energies that had enveloped Twilight now coursed through Nightmare Moon, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Show those pathetic creatures what real power is all about!”

Des Gardius dug its talons into the murky ground and pushed. First its slow movement backwards was arrested and then, inch by inch, reversed. Powerful muscles visibly straining in the deep shadows, the fiend first took one small step forward, and then another, and then another. Then, all at once it forced it's arms to burst outwards, tearing the energy streams asunder even as it was engulfed in an explosion.

Not even a second passed before Nightmare’s creature bounded from out of the smoke directly for its draconic foes. Both beat their wings frantically to rise, but Red-Eyes wasn’t quick enough. Des Gardius raked a claw across its metal chest, sending the monster hurling backwards into the mists of the Shadow Realm. Supernatural energy raced through Rainbow Dash and she shrieked, collapsing to her knees and clutching her own chest.

Des Gardius lunged swiftly to the side, just in time to avoid a swipe at its back from Megarock Dragon’s stony spiked tail. Endymion cast a purple arcane bolt that clipped it on the side of the chest, causing little more than a scorch mark and a slight flinch. Its claws swiped at Toon Summoned Skull, but the little demon’s body stretch and contorted around them like a rubber band. From on high, White Night Dragon took another shot, this one just catching the Masked Beast’s left foot and coating it with ice.

As Des Gardius stumbled, Megarock Dragon reared up and brought both forelegs down on it. Nightmare’s creature raised both of its own arms and caught them. Mighty demonic muscles struggled against a multi-ton avalanche bearing down on it. Endymion and Toon Skull saw their chance, hitting it in the back with magic and electricity. Nightmare Moon gritted her teeth, wincing as more shadow energy flowed through her.

But in spite of the pain the Masked Beast did not falter. Instead it braced itself and pushed back, incredible strength somehow managing to force Megarock Dragon’s limbs further and further upwards. A final surge saw Des Gardius outright toss the quadrupedal dragon over onto its back. Before it had the slightest chance to do anything the fiend was on top of it. It plunged both arms deep into the dragon’s belly, punching through rocky scales with ease. Applejack herself toppled over backwards, face contorted in mute agony.

Like a demented game of baseball, Des Gardius tore off large chunks of stony scales and tossed them up into the air, one after another. White Knight Dragon dodged the first few, but one managed to clip one of its wings. Rarity’s monster lost balance and plummeted, hitting the ground roughly. The three-headed fiend pounced. A lance of violet magic took it in the chest mid-leap, sending it toppling over onto its back.

Des Gardius rolled with the ease of a practiced hand even while Endymion fired another shot, managing to return to its feet within the second. From behind came the sound of a raspberry being blown, and the next instant the fined got another lightning bolt in the back. The beast turned with an enraged gleam in its eyes. Mosaic Manticore, until that moment hanging back on the edges, chose that moment to pounce.

The sudden impact took Nightmare’s creature off-guard, and both tumbled. The two beasts wrestled as they rolled across the ground. The manticore’s jaws snapped ferociously for the Masked Beast’s three throats. When Fluttershy’s beast managed to force its way on top, it took immediate advantage to its black scorpion stinger into the beast’s muscled abdomen. Even while the poison pumped in, the fiend fought back by slamming all three masked faces into the manticore’s. While it reeled Nightmare’s monster tore a clawed hand from its grip and raked it hard across the winged beast’s face. Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to collapse in a heap, arms frantically pawing at her face.

Des Gardius stood tall, injured but undaunted, and faced down the remaining three monsters. Toon Skull, White Night, and Endymion frantically gave ground as it charged them, splitting off in three directions. The masked fiend pursued Pinkie’s Toon, ignoring the other two. Toon Skull grinned wickedly and gave the beast another taste of lightning. This one was strong enough to stop the creature in tracks, covering its faces with its arms.

“Perhaps you are stronger than I thought,” Nightmare Moon admitted as more energy wracked her body. “Your spiritual energy was enough to break my final chains, after all. But it does not matter! Des Gardius, finish this now!”

The Masked Beast’s six eyes flared as Nightmare extended one hand. Deep blue energy tendrils flowed from mistress to monster, wrapping themselves tightly around it before being absorbed. Des Gardius’ body shone brightly in the darkness as the fiend flexed its bulging muscles.

And then all hell broke loose.

Nightmare’s Masked Beast moved so fast as to beggar belief. One moment it stood a good distance away from Toon Summoned Skull, the next it seemed to be right on top of it. Des Gardius seized the cartoonish fiend by the throat with one hand. Before it had time to do more than squeal, the clawed hand pierced straight through its rubbery chest and out its back.

Pinkie’s pained wail provided the backdrop as Des Gardius rounded on White Night. Tossing the fading remains of Toon Skull aside, the beast tore up the ground between the two with alarming speed. The dragon opened its jaw and breathed a cone of frigid energy right into the oncoming behemoth, but the Masked Beast charged blindly through it, ignoring the ice crystals forming on its body. Des Gardius burst from the blizzard with all the force of an avalanche, pouncing on White Night Dragon and savaging Rarity’s beast with its claws.

An explosion abruptly consumed both monsters as a sphere of deep purple energy struck Des Gardius in the back. Nightmare Moon winced visibly, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. Rarity had taken a tumble, shivering softly in mute agony. A good distance away, Endymion held his staff at the ready. He conjured one, two, three more energy orbs and flung them into the rolling column, each eliciting another explosion. Then Twilight’s monster took a wary step back, gazing intently at the smoke mixing with the purple and black mist.

So intently, in fact, that he failed to watch his back.

“Look out!” Twilight called.

Endymion whirled about – just in time to catch sight of the massive fiend’s form bursting from the shadow. Des Gardius bashed the magician’s staff from his hands with one blow, then seized him by the head in one of its claws. Then it squeezed.

And Twilight’s world dissolved into agony.

Twist of Fate

All that Twilight could feel was pain. Crushing, blinding, fiery pain that engulfed her head and drove out anything else. Conscious thought vanished as she tumbled to the ground, clutching at her skull. It felt as though Des Gardius’ claws had wrapped around her own head, and no matter how hard she tugged at it they wouldn’t come off. Each passing moment only seemed to tighten the imaginary grip. Twilight couldn’t help it – she screamed her lungs out.

Time passed, though much too slowly from Twilight’s perspective. Each fresh heartbeat brought a fresh lance of pain to her head as the pressure mounted. Her lungs hurt from the constant wailing, and her throat was dry. But, eventually, the feeling of pressure about her head began to lessen. The grip grew weaker and weaker, the intense pain slowly fading away into a dull throb.

After what felt like ages, Twilight managed to force one eye open. She got a look at the toe of a fine leather boot inches from her face.

“Finally up for it, are we?” came the sound of Nightmare’s voice.

Slowly, painfully, Twilight forced her shivering, throbbing head to rise and look upwards. She was rewarded with the sight of Nightmare Moon looming tall over her, arms folded across her chest and a smirk on her face. Behind her, the Masked Beast Des Gardius loomed, claws flexing eagerly.

“Did you little fools really think that you could defeat me?” Nightmare asked. “Were you so arrogant, so blind as to think that mere skill with a card game could help you? Your pitiful souls are far weaker than mine, and my power over the darkness is infinite. You never had a chance in a Shadow Game against me. The only reason I haven’t yet torn your screaming souls from your carcasses is because I want you to know how useless this has all been. How utterly meaningless everything you have done has been.”

As Twilight’s eyes slowly drifted around, she saw the sprawled forms of the others spread out across the murky ground. Their breathing was shallow, and their bodies almost motionless. Their eyes, where she could see them, were clearly on Nightmare Moon.

“Nothing you did has changed anything,” Nightmare continued, grinning. “Your petty victories in matches of cards and holograms meant nothing! In fact, they only helped me. When you threw yourselves into the fight, the power of your dueling spirits flowed to me! Thanks to you I tore myself free to walk the world once again! You may think that you were brave, that in fighting my servants you struck some blow against me, but all you did was take the coward’s way out! If even one of you had refused, had faced death rather than duel, you might well have changed the course of the entire world! I needed the strength of your very special dueling spirits – your blood would have achieved absolutely nothing!”

We… We should have died?! Twilight thought. If I had refused… and perished… would the princess be alright? Would the world be safer? Is it… is it my fault?

“And you only made it worse for yourselves by daring to challenge me! Not only have you failed to accomplish anything against me, but now your souls will be trapped in the Shadow Realm for all eternity! Your lives and memories, your hopes and your passions, all stripped from you one by one until you are nothing but a wailing specter, cognizant only of your own endless torment!”

I… I did this to us…

Tears began to well up in Twilight’s eyes.

“And as for you, Twilight Sparkle…”

Twilight forced herself to look up through blurry eyes. Nightmare Moon was staring directly down at her, a vicious-looking smile plastered on her face.

“How does it feel, little girl? Knowing that you’ve sealed the eternal destiny of not only yourself, but five other souls? Knowing that you’ve not only lost, but helped me every step of the way? Knowing that soon I’ll crush your precious princess just like I’ve crushed you? You made the mistake of testing me, foolish girl, and now you and those fool enough to follow you shall pay the ultimate price. How does that make you feel?”

“I…” Twilight wheezed. She found that she could say no more. Her vision blurred ever further, and she felt hot liquid rolling down her cheeks.

“W-Why?” Fluttershy’s voice, weak and stuttering, cut in. “W-Why are you d-doing this?”

“Because you challenged me. Because you defied me on my very night of triumphant return. Because a warm-up for a main event is useful,” Nightmare answered, looking idly at her fingernails. “And, frankly, because the suffering of my enemies deeply amuses me. A girl should always remember to have fun.”

Twilight tried to say something, but the words caught in her throat.

“So, I’ll ask you this one more time, Twilight Sparkle. You and your little friends have lost. How does that make you feel?”

Time, for Twilight, seemed to slow to crawl. Her mind was whirling turmoil of emotions mixing, parting, dominating, and submitting to one another. Dull pain continued to eat away at her conscious brain. She couldn’t think. Everything was moving too fast. Her feelings wouldn’t let her. Her body wouldn’t let her. All she could do was feel. So she said what she felt.

“You’re wrong,” she said quietly.

“What?” Nightmare’s voice was soft, hissing. “What did you just say?”

“I said…” Twilight raised her trembling head slowly, meeting the woman’s gaze. “That you’re wrong. We haven’t lost.”

“Aha ha ha ha ha!” Nightmare threw her head back and laughed. “You’ve been hit on the head too hard, little one! I’ve already destroyed all of your monsters! You lie broken at my feet! And you say you haven’t lost?!”

“I say.” Twilight gazed up into her enemy’s face. “I say not only haven’t we lost, but that we’re going to win.”

“Are you insane?!” She laughed again. “Look around you, fool! Your souls are doomed!”

“I’m perfectly sane.” Twilight forced herself onto her knees, arms quaking with the effort. “And I say that together, we’re stronger than your Shadow Magic and your Masked Beast. We’re going to win.”

“Aha! Aha ha ha ha ha! Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Nightmare Moon clutched her stomach, roaring with laughter. “You pitiful, insignificant fools! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“I… don’t know how… but…” Twilight heard Rarity’s hesitant whisper, through Nightmare’s laughter. “I… just… feel that she’s right.”

“Maybe… we can…” Fluttershy said, a little slowly.

Rainbow was next. “We’re still… gonna beat her…”

“I ain’t…” Applejack panted. “Givin’ up.”

“Count me… in…” Pinkie breathed.

Around Twilight, slowly but surely, the other five girls were beginning to stir. First one, then another, and then another. One by one each forced herself up off the ground, their bodies weak and trembling from the exertion. But still they came on, rising onto their knees and then, ever so slowly, onto unsteady legs. Through it all, Nightmare Moon was still laughing wildly, clutching her sides and not even deigning to look at them.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha! We’re going to win! Oh, that’s rich! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!’ Nightmare reached up with one finger, wiping a tear from the edge of her eye. “That’s just too–” she stopped suddenly as she caught a glimpse, immediately swinging her eyes back down towards the group.

“We won’t lose,” Twilight insisted with a conviction that surprised even her. “We’re going to win here, Nightmare Moon, and do you know why?”

“Do tell,” she answered, hand on hip.

“Because you have Shadow Magic, and us?” Twilight felt her mouth curling into a smile. “We have the magic of friendship.”

Even as she spoke the words, Twilight felt a warm sensation moving through her body. It began at her chest, around the heart, but quickly spread itself to all corners of her form. The feeling was... comforting. Pleasant. Powerful.

It took her a moment to realize that she was starting to glow.

“And together, we’re stronger than–”

“NO!” Nightmare’s eyes had shot wide open, and she took a step back. “Not again! Des Gardius, eliminate them all! NOW!”

The three-headed fiend bounded in front of its mistress and raised one clawed hand at the closest target – Twilight. The heavily muscled arm came down, palm smacking into Twilight’s side. The girl found herself sailing through the air like a baseball, hitting the ground roughly almost twenty yards away. It didn’t hurt, but Twilight didn’t even think of that as she immediately sat up. On the spot where she had just stood, Des Gardius was just hurling the last of the other girls into the distance – all of them in a different direction.

Wait, why didn’t it use its claws? Why bother…

Twilight’s eyes widened as she perceived the beast’s strategy. Its blows didn’t cause harm, just push the other girls and herself around. Whatever the weird glow was, it had shielded them from harm. But even as these girls… her friends… sailed into the distance, the shimmering energy dimmed away. The further they got, the less potent the energy. When she looked at herself, Twilight realized that the glow had faded almost entirely.

“Excellent!” Nightmare pointed. “Finish Sparkle off first!”

Des Gardius bent its knees and leaped high into the air, all but vanished into the Shadow Realm’s black mists. Twilight rolled frantically as the massive fiend burst out of the fog all but on top of her and falling fast. The ground shuddered at its impact, razor-sharp claws puncturing the almost fleshy earth right where Twilight had just been.

The Masked Beast raised one long leg and stomped. Twilight again rolled along the ground, just barely avoiding being crushed. It tore its claws from the ground, leaving them covered in purple-black ooze. Des Gardius stomped out again, but this time well ahead of where Twilight was rolling to. Caught between its legs, she had nowhere to go as the fiend raised high one clawed hand and…

Took a burst of gold-orange flame to the chest.

It was Des Gardius’ turn to sail through the air, crashing roughly into the earth and gouging out a trench that halted almost directly at its mistress’ feet. Twilight forced herself to sit back up as she looked around in naked astonishment.

“What?!” Nightmare snarled through clenched teeth, clutching at her own smoking chest. “Who dares to–“

“That,” answered a voice Twilight couldn’t fail to recognize. “Would be me.”

Twilight turned her head towards the source. Her eyes opened to the size of dinner plates, her jaw almost unhinged itself. There, in the depths of Shadow Realm, shining like a brilliant torch on a moonless night, stood Princess Celestia, her face a mask of determination and fury. At her back was the massive Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, smoke drifting gently from its opened beak.

“Celestia…” Nightmare hissed dangerously. “You’re early.”

“I was tipped off,” Celestia answered, taking a few steps forward. “It seems your minions overlooked a certain someone.”

“Those fools!” She gritted her teeth. “They’ll pay dearly for that!!”

“Despite what you’ve done, in the name of our past I’m going to offer you a chance to surrender.” Celestia seemed almost to glide over the black ground beneath her, long rainbow hair flowing in a breeze that wasn’t there. The light seeming to come from her pale skin felt warm and comforting, like a bright summer’s day. Twilight managed to stand up, feeling rejuvenated by its mere presence. Celestia positioned herself and her monster between Nightmare and the others.

“Otherwise,” Celestia continued somberly. “I cannot guarantee your safety.”

“My safety?! Ha!” Nightmare smirked as Des Gardius rose again, baring its claws at the Sacred Phoenix. “You should be far more concerned with what’s about to happen to you!”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called out to her mentor.

“Twilight!” Celestia’s head whipped around to face her. “Are you alright? Are the others alright?”

“I’m fine!” she called back, looking around.

“I’ll live.” Rainbow Dash was standing up herself.

“As will I,” Rarity called out.

“I’m… um, ok,” Fluttershy managed.

“I’m still in it!’ Pinkie shouted.

“I ain’t done yet!” Applejack finished.

“I want you all to stand back and remain behind me,” Celestia ordered. “This madwoman is extremely dangerous!”

Twilight hesitated. “But we–”

“Twilight!” Celestia’s tone brooked no disobedience. “All of you! Behind me, now!”

“Yes, princess…” she muttered, hurrying towards the others, who were likewise running or hobbling as best they could towards her.

“Protecting the weak again, are we?” Nightmare chuckled. “How noble of you. So sad that’s its all for nothing! You will fall here, and your souls will be devoured!”

“I take it that you refuse to back down, then?” Celestia’s voice sounded oddly… sad.

“I didn’t last time and I won’t start now!” Nightmare Moon clenched her fist. “Don’t forget, dear princess, that I know your deck and all of your moves! Even your god card is no mystery to me!”

God card? Twilight’s eyes widened. The princess has a god card?!

“And don’t think you can use the god card you stole from me! You know that it won’t turn on its rightful mistress!”

This lunatic used to have a god card?!

“I assure you that I wouldn’t be so foolish as to try,” Celestia answered calmly. “But if you refuse to surrender, then I will do what I have to do to protect the innocent.”

“You always were a stupid little goody-two-shoes.” Nightmare snorted, slipping a card from somewhere. “But in the end your defiance is meaningless! Behold my secret weapon!”

Nightmare Moon held her card high into the air. Twilight couldn’t make it out, but Celestia gasped and took a step back. Moments later, lightning ripped through the mists to strike the card, bathing the Shadow Realm in blinding white light. Beneath Twilight’s feet, the ground began to shake.

“Watch as I summon the beast of your ultimate destruction! I call upon the powers of the god of despair, my invincible Dystopia the Despondent!”

The earth trembled and then, without warning, exploded. Twilight and all the others were flung to the ground, Celestia alone remaining on her feet, as the ground behind Nightmare Moon went off like a nuclear bomb. Great chunks of black earth the size of trucks and houses rained down, but Celestia held up a card of her own, and those that would have fallen on the girls instead vanished into swirling portals.

From the gaping hole in the earth rose a creature like nothing Twilight had ever seen. Humanoid and black as midnight, Dystopia’s mighty visage towered over everything on the field, making the Sacred Phoenix and Des Gardius look like little more than child’s toys in comparison. Even Spike’s Kaiju monsters would have been utterly puny next to this new creature. A black, crown-like crest topped its head, and baleful, soulless red eyes glared down at its enemies. The beast folded its two massive arms across its chest and growled, a deep rumbling that shook the much-abused earth even further and forced all six girls to cover their ears and curl up.

“AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!” Nightmare Moon roared, arms wide and face nakedly triumphant. “Behold my great beast! Your doom is here! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

“That card was sealed away,” Celestia muttered. “By my sister and I…”

“And I had my minions break the seals!” Nightmare crowed. “Now this card serves me, and I will use it to rend your pitiful soul from your body! It’s all over for you, Celestia! HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

“We’ll see about that,” Celestia answered, her own cards beginning to orbit around her head.

“There’s not a card your deck that can save you!” Nightmare grinned. “Last time it took the strength of two gods to defeat Dystopia! But you only have one!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Celestia’s voice was perfectly even, save for a faint undertone of melancholy. She picked one card into her hand. “And that is why you will fail here.”

“Huh?!”

Celestia slowly turned her card around.

“I-Impossible!” Nightmare’s eyes were wide, and she took several steps back. “That c-card hasn’t existed for ages! Not since the Pharaoh departed this world!”

“Very possible,” Celestia replied.

“N-No! I don’t believe it!”

Celestia bowed her head slightly as she held up the card. “Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight.”

There was a great flash high above the earth. Shadows dissipated as a column of light descended from on high, driving into the ground behind Celestia. The already fragile earth trembled and cracked still further. Overhead, inside a hole that had been blasted into the Shadow Realm’s fog, a newcomer appeared – a blazing orb of pure, blinding golden light. Twilight and the others were forced to shield their faces against.

“Envelop the deserts with your glow,” Celestia continued to chant. “And cast your rage upon my foe.”

Barely able to see through the radiant aura, Twilight could nonetheless make out motion from the majestic sphere. Slowly but surely, the great orb was splitting open, parting and rearranging itself.

“No!” Nightmare backed off still further, shielding her own face with one hand. “This isn’t possible! This must be a trick!”

“Unlock your powers from deep within, so that together we may win.”

The sphere seemed halfway transformed now. Great golden wings and mighty clawed legs were visible through the shining light. The wind returned, hot and fierce, whipping through the Shadow Realm with enough force to drive any ordinary human to his knees.

“Appear in this Shadow Game as I call your name.” Celestia’s eyes rose to the heavens, her arms spread wide. “Winged Dragon of Ra!”

The column of light flickered and then exploded. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as waves of brilliant golden light overtook them all. She shielded her face with both arms, but it wasn’t enough – even with her eyes closed everything looked bright as daylight. Heat waves washed over her as she curled up on the ground, blistering skin unfortunate enough to be exposed.

At last, the light dimmed and the temperatures fell. Twilight dared to open her eyes and look up. Her jaw dropped.

Hovering behind her mentor was the largest, most majestic dragon she had ever seen. Dwarfing every other monster present, the almighty golden beast radiated power, hot winds rolling off of its scales. Its red eyes glared at its enemies, its clawed arms braced. Ra’s vast, fanged maw hung open, raw flames licking at the edges. The god monster roared, the force so powerful it swept Nightmare Moon from her feet, sending her sprawling before Dystopia.

“Behold, the most powerful of all the Egyptian God Cards!” Celestia raised a hand high into the air. “And my secret weapon.”

“This is impossible!” Nightmare half-screamed. “That card was destroyed ages and ages ago, and there was only ever one copy! That must be a counterfeit!”

“Do you think Ra’s spirit would respond to a counterfeit, except to smite me for impudence?” Celestia asked her. “No, that card is very real.”

“Where could you have gotten that?!” Nightmare rose to her feet, fists clenched defiantly. “It hasn’t been seen since it was in possession of the King of Games himself!”

“You’re wrong,” Celestia said calmly. “There was another time it was used. But then, if you had known about that you wouldn’t be surprised that I tracked the card down.”

“Grrr…” she ground her teeth. “It doesn’t matter! I still have Dystopia!”

The black giant looked across the field, clenching its fists and growling at the golden dragon.

“Alright, my mighty god monster–” Nightmare clenched her fist, cape billowing out from behind her. “–attack her dragon now!”

“Winged Dragon of Ra, counterattack!”

Dystopia clenched its fist and pulled back one arm, dark energies concentrating around its enormous hand. Ra opened its mouth wide, exposing human-sized, razor-sharp white teeth. An orb of brilliant yellow and orange flame began to take shape inside its mouth. At the exact moment, they attacked. Dystopia threw a massive punch, a shadow fist the size of a house flying from the end of its arm. The Winged Dragon launched its massive fireball. The two attacks fly through the air, colliding with one another head on. For a moment, they strained against each other.

And the next, they exploded.

A billowing shockwave rocked the Shadow Realm, sending all six girls flying. Twilight couldn’t hear, couldn’t think. And as an impossibly bright white light washed over her, see couldn’t see either. Everything was an endless, bleak white.

The last thing she did was scream.

“Uuuurgh…”

When next Twilight became aware, she found herself lying on something soft and cool, with little tickling objects all over the front of her body. Every bit of her ached, and trying to move seemed to be almost futile. Trying to push herself up with her arms proved pointless – they quivered and collapsed within a moment, exhausted from the night’s events.

But I guess this isn’t what eternal torment feels like… she thought dryly. So I guess that’s good news.

As feeling and consciousness slowly returned to her, Twilight became aware that all wasn’t quiet. In fact, she could hear the sounds of several, simultaneous, ongoing battle all around her.

“My move!” called a familiar voice.

It can’t be… Twilight thought. Shining Armor?

With one more surge of energy, she managed to force her neck to turn vaguely in the direction of the voice. One eye barely consented to crack open, but it was enough. She could make out the familiar armored silhouette of her older brother, back to her and cards in his hand. Two of his mechanical monsters were also visible in the darkness, their backs to her as well.

What’s he doing here? she wondered.

“Alright, I’ll sacrifice my Ancient Gear Knight and Ancient Gear Soldier…” he declared, both of his monsters vanishing. “So I can summon my Ancient Gear Golem!”

A towering mechanical colossus rose up behind Shining Armor, massive gears grinding steadily and fists clenched. Its sole red eye gleamed brightly amid the darkness, the crested helmet it wore only making it more visible from every direction.

“Ancient Gear Golem, attack her Demise, King of Armageddon! Mechanized Melee!”

Gear Golem pulled its fist back and then, gears whirring, threw a single crushing punch. A phantom copy of its fist flew off the end of its arm and out of Twilight’s sight. She couldn’t see the impact, but from the ensuing explosion she guessed that it had done its job.

“And that’s game,” Shining Armor declared.

All he got in response was a low, somewhat feminine moan.

“Hmph.” He snorted as the holograms faded away.

There were other duels ongoing all around her, Twilight realized. Her mind rousing itself at last, she realized to her shock that she was back in Ponyville town square, minus any light sources save dueling holograms.

Celestia must have sent them, she realized. While she went to…

With a great deal of effort, Twilight managed to turn her head around a little bit. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw all five of her compatriots sprawled out around her, unmoving but obviously still breathing. Her relief turned to worry almost immediately as she realized that someone was missing.

Where was Celestia?

Sibling Duel

Twilight felt her breath catch in her chest as she looked around. Celestia wasn’t there! Her eyes darted to and fro, frantically scanning the area for any sign, anything at all. But, as far as she could tell, there wasn’t a single trace of her mentor anywhere. Her new friends were sprawled out across the ground and she could make out the sight of numerous concurrent duels between armored figures from the Royal Guard and cloaked cultists. But of her beloved teacher there was no sign – nor, for that matter, was there any of Nightmare herself.

Does that mean… the gears in her head began to turn. That she’s still the Shadow Realm? With Nightmare Moon?!

The thought of Celestia’s soul trapped forever in the darkness was enough to send a surge of guilty panic through Twilight’s mind.

If she’s stuck there, doesn’t that mean it’s my fault? I’m the one who challenged Nightmare in the first place, it’s because of me that she called up a Shadow Game at all! Is the princess going to pay the ultimate price for my mistake?!

Twilight’s thoughts were rather abruptly interrupted by the sound of explosions. She looked up to see several of the town’s buildings erupting into flames all around them as more detonations rang out from inside. Columns of black smoke rose high into the air, blocking out the already dim moonlight. Guards and cultists alike shielded themselves with arms and magic, backing off quickly.

Moments later, there was a hissing sound as a blazing blue flare soared into the sky. It hung in place for an instant, illuminating everything and visible for miles around. The next second it too exploded like a firework, raining trails of faint blue flames on the town. This was apparently the signal – as one, the cloaked figures broke from their duels and scattered, bolting in all directions. Even more buildings burst into flames as they fled. With the flames providing light, Twilight could finally make out the overall situation.

Ponyville’s people are still frozen! She realized with a start, before glaring at the already vanishing cloaked figures. Those cowards! They’re setting fire to the town and putting hundreds of lives in danger just for a distraction!

Cowardly it might have been, but it was certainly effective. All around the square Royal Guards were breaking off to pull helpless civilians away from the fire, or making attempts to fight the blaze. The cultists, having no such compunctions, were running for the hills.
Duel disks flared all around as watery monsters began to appear. With the safeguards removed, solid light holograms made for effective weapons – or firefighters. A giant serpentine dragon seemingly made of water demonstrated this quite effectively when it wrapped its body around a burning house, extinguishing large chunks in moments. Twilight witnessed her brother’s golem stomping around, smothering flames that threatened to spread. Those men of the guard who could use magic themselves were doing it.

Containing the fires would take several minutes, actually extinguishing them a good few hours. And then there were injured in need of care, a freezing curse that needed breaking, and of course a town in need of securing. The Royal Guard had quite a lot of work to do.

But Twilight wouldn’t witness any of this. Her mind and body, taxed to their limits by the Shadow Realm, at last gave out. She collapsed into blissful unconsciousness on the spot.

“Twilight…”

Twilight twitched, barely aware, at the faint sound of her name.

“Twilight…”

This time the name was louder, the voice somewhat familiar.

“Twilight?”

She knew that she knew that voice from somewhere, but where? Her exhausted, addled brain didn’t seem up to reminding her.

“Twilight!”

The voice was soft… melodious… feminine…

“Twilight! Listen to me! Open your eyes!”

“Oooooh…” Twilight moaned softly, reaching one hand up to rub her head. Only, she didn’t feel her head. Or her hand, for that matter. That was enough to kick start her mind. She opened her eyes – or more accurately, thought about doing so – and she suddenly could see all around her.

She was standing, or perhaps floating, in a land of seemingly endless grey mist. The thick fog covered everything, in all directions, as far as the eye could see. Even the ground itself, when Twilight looked down at it, appeared to be nothing more than still more of the mists. What light existed was weak and hazy, adding to the already oppressive atmosphere of this place. But what really astonished Twilight was that when she looked at herself, she saw absolutely nothing.

Am I… dead? she wondered.

To her astonishment, those very words echoed as though she were inside some massive cavern, reverberating in all directions and only slowly fading away.

My thoughts appear to be… voiced.

“Well, we are in your mind,” said another voice. “So that is rather natural.”

Twilight whirled… whatever she was now towards the source of the voice immediately. A short distance away a small portion of the mist swept aside like the curtains of a stage, peeling back to reveal an extremely familiar woman. And extremely familiar rainbow-haired woman in a white dress.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out, rushing towards her as best she could. “You’re alright!”

The older woman smiled wearily down at her, eyes sunken and worn. Up close, Twilight noticed that her mentor’s face had acquired several new wrinkles, and her flowing hair looked unusually frazzled. Even her smile was weak, looking almost forced.

“Not exactly.” Celestia sighed deeply. “I wish I could tell you that I am back, that the evil is vanquished, and that everything will return to normal. But I am afraid that I can’t.”

“What…” Twilight hesistated. “What do you mean?”

“I am very short on time, my student, so please listen well and do not ask questions until the end.”

“Why not ask – sorry.” Twilight caught herself.

“I am presently still within the Shadow Realm,” Celestia calmly explained. “As is the madwoman you know as Nightmare Moon. At present we are locked in a contest of strength, and it looks to be a rough stalemate. I’m using a small fragment of my power to speak directly into your mind during a slight lull.”

“How is – nevermind.”

“I don’t know long I can keep this link open before our battle picks up. So you must know: this is not end the end, for either of us. The way things are going I anticipate that both Nightmare and myself will be stranded inside the shadows for some time, but not forever. I will return – and so will she. When that happens, I need you to be ready.”

“Ready? How?” Twilight couldn’t resist.

“I want you to go back to Camelot, to the Academy. I trust you remember where my vault is?”

“The Royal Vault…” Twilight might have gasped if she had had lungs. “Of course I remember!”

“Good.” She nodded. “Listen carefully. I want you to go there and place your hand on the central cog. It will open for you.”

“You… you set it to open for me? You trust me that much?!”

“Of course,” Celestia smiled gently. “When you are inside, go down three rows, take a left, walk twenty-three feet and take a right. You’ll see a plain steel case with a star engraved on it. Take that and nothing else. Inside you should find six cards. Listen carefully, I want–”

And then, abruptly and without ceremony, she was gone.

“Princess Celestia?!” Twilight called out after her. “Princess Celestia?! Princess Celestia! PRINCESS CELESTIA!”

But there was no one to answer.

“No,” Shining Armor said, several hours later. “No. Absolutely not.”

“I have to,” Twilight declared, meeting her brother’s gaze. “The princess herself told me to do it.”

“A dream told you to do it,” he countered, face firm. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not breaching protocol in the middle of a major terrorist incident while the princess is missing over a vision you had. Everything in the vault is staying right where it is barring a direct order from the princess herself.”

“And she gave me that order.”

“Look, Twily.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I’ve had a really hard night. First we get call from Spike telling me that robed crazies have taken over a town, then the princess decides to come along, then out of nowhere she up and vanished on the way here! Now you tell me that not only were my little sister and five other girls almost stripped of the souls, the same thing could be happening to her right now! We spent half the night firefighting while most of the perpetrators slipped through our fingers! Even the ones that we did catch aren’t saying anything!”

“When you put it like that…” Twilight winced sympathetically. “It sounds pretty bad.”

“Tell me about it.” Shining nodded. “I’ve got half the government demanding news on the princess or the terrorists, hundreds of people to reassure, and to top it all off the people responsible are still out there! How do we know they aren’t just waiting to try something else even now? And you want me to let you get anywhere near a vault full of dark and powerful artifacts?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Twily, but no.”

“You don’t believe me,” she said.

“It’s not that.” He sighed again, rings prominent under his eyes. “It’s that with Princess Celestia missing, I’m the one charged with safeguarding the nation. We have a crisis situation with anywhere from dozens to hundreds of violent lunatics with access to powerful magic running loose and our leader completely vanished. Knowing what I do about what’s down there, I simply can’t risk opening that door until the situation has stabilized. There’s been enough Shadow Magic around here as it is.”

“You know I’m not one of your guards, right? You can’t order me around.”

“That’s true. But in the absence of the princess I can and will prevent anyone from barging in to a highly dangerous mystical location.”

“Even your own sister? Your LSBFF?”

Shining’s face was grim. “Even you.”

A short while later, Twilight stood in a small, dark hospital room housing six beds. Five were full – as was a chair beside the empty bed, where a young boy snoozed. Twilight gazed at the six sleeping faces, feeling a twinge of guilt for what she knew would be worry all around. But if her brother and his men weren’t going to cooperate… she had to do it alone. Turning, Twilight walked towards the door, enchanted shoes not making the slightest sound. She paused only to slip a small piece of paper onto a nightstand.

Dear friends,

Apologies for leaving so suddenly. Urgent task. Will be back soon.

Get well,
TS

Midmorning found Twilight Sparkle creeping silently through the corridors of Celestia’s Duel Academy like no one else could. She had spent much of her life in these hallowed halls, and she knew them like few others did. The princess herself had shown her many of these passages, some of which almost no one else had even heard of. She certainly had been there longer than almost any guard, which made dodging their patrols even more easy.

Not that there was much to dodge. Many of the usual men had been called away to Ponyville on short notice, or else were occupied on the mounting manhunt for the cultists. The school’s remaining faculty had closed down the academy, at least for the day, and sent the students home. The last thing anyone wanted were more robed freaks taking elite students hostage.

Getting to Camelot had simply been a matter of hitching a ride onboard one of the guard-occupied trains as it trundled back. Between magic and family connections, she’d had plenty of time to herself. Time enough to plan her move, and time to make a few adjustments to her deck. She had lost, and that was bad enough, but to lose when she had… to force Celestia to take the fall for her… that was intolerable. Simply intolerable. When she got access to her full card collection again, Twilight vowed to reorganize her deck into an unbeatable fighting force that could send any Nightmare Cultist or the madwoman herself packing.

So it was something of a shock to round the corner of the vault corridor to find her brother already waiting for her.

“Twily,” Shining said, face stone-like.

“…Shiny.” Twilight grimaced. “You knew I was coming, huh?”

“Since I came to check up on you and found the empty bed. You’re stubborn when you think you’re doing the right thing.”

“Right back at you.”

“The difference is, I’m following orders and common sense, while you’re listening to a voice in your head. A very suspect voice, I might add.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Twilight said calmly. “I don’t like to fight you…”

“The feeling is mutual, sis.”

“But I have to do what I have to do.”

“Funny.” Shining chuckled slightly. “That’s just what I was going to say.”

“I think it’s sufficiently clear that words aren’t going to end this,” Twilight observed. “I think I’m right and you think you’re right. So I guess there’s only one fair way to settle this.”

“I think you’re right, Twily.”

Two duel disks snapped into active position.

“Let’s duel!” the two siblings called out.

“I’ll start this time,” Twilight declared, drawing. “After all, you got to last time!”

“If that’s the way you want it.” Her brother shrugged.

She scrutinized her hand. Suboptimal. Mirror Force is no good against most of Shining’s best monsters, and as for the rest…

“I place one card face-down.” She slipped the card into her duel disk’s slot. “Then I’ll summon my Royal Magical Library in defense mode!”

A half-dozen towering bookshelves rose up around her, green magical spheres low and dull.

“And next I activate my Arcane Barrier!”

The ground behind Twilight quaked as a grey stone statue of a powerful wizard rose up behind her. The gem at the end of the man’s staff glittered brightly in the darkened corridor. One emerald orb on Twilight’s Library brightened considerably.

“I’ll end my turn right there.”

“Then I’ll go,” Shining declared, drawing a card. “I place one card face-down and summon one monster in face-down defense mode.”

Two cards appeared in front of him, backs high to the sky.

“And I think that’ll do it for now.”

More conservative than he usually plays, Twilight thought as she drew her card. Is he holding back, or setting something up?

“I summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode!”

A young, blonde-haired man in purple armor appeared on one knee. He clutched a green staff in one hand.

“I take it you remember how my monster works,” she asked her brother. “I can place one additional counter on a card I control, and I’ll choose my Magical Library!”

A second orb on her bookshelves brightened, bathing Twilight in more emerald light.

He smiled slightly. “You think I’d forget so easily? It hasn’t been all that long, Twily.”

“No, it hasn’t.” Twilight shook her head at him. “And that’s why you need to trust me and let me into that vault.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…” Shining hesitated. “It’s the opposite. You know I trust you completely.”

“Then why won’t you get out of my way?” Twilight frowned. “I need to get to some cards in there!”

“It’s because I know some of the cards that are in there!” Shining answered. “Princess Celestia only ever told me about a few of the most dangerous, but that’s all I need to know to understand how vital security is! While she’s missing and there’s a maniac cult with Shadow Magic running amok, I can’t allow the slightest breach! What’s down there is far too dangerous to just let someone wander through.” He sighed. “Even you. Not without Celestia’s permission.”

“I told you, I have Princess Celestia’s permission!”

“What you have, by your own account, is a voice in your head! Right after you barely escaped the Shadow Realm with your soul! For all I know it could be one of the cards down there calling out to you through the darkness still clinging to you. Or that Nightmare woman! She was strong enough to freeze hundreds of people in place for hours and invoke a Shadow Game on a whim. Why are you so convinced a ventriloquist act is beyond her?”

“Do you think I don’t know the voice of my own teacher?” Twilight asked. “You’re my BBBFF! Why won’t you just believe me?”

“I do believe you.” Shining met her gaze with a firm expression. “I believe you hear a voice in your head telling you to go down into Celestia’s private vault and retrieve cards I’ve never heard of. I believe you think it’s the princess. But as Captain of the Guard, it’s my sworn duty to prevent anyone from entering that place without Celestia’s explicit permission, and right now you can’t prove you have it. So I have to stop you.”

“You’re that paranoid?”

“You’re that gullible?” Shining retorted. “Twily, I know you’re smarter than this! You can’t seriously expect that I can take a voice in your head as proof that it’s perfectly alright to send you down into a vault full of sealed dark magic! Think! What if it’s a trap? Or Nightmare Moon is somehow following you and just waiting for that door to open? What then?”

“And what–” Twilight replied, eyes pleading. “–if I’m right, and the fate of us all rests on retrieving those cards? What if you’re wrong, and Celestia is speaking to me? If you want you can come with me to get them, but I need to get in there!”

“You know I can’t just pop in whenever I please. Celestia only ever let me glimpse the interior once – it’s the most secure location in all of Camelot.” Shining’s expression softened. “I have to do this, Twily. For everyone’s sake.”

“So do I,” she answered, with utter conviction.

The two siblings stared at one another in total silence for a few seconds, eyes meeting unwaveringly. Neither one moved. Neither was willing to back down. Both seemed utterly certain of their righteousness. Once could almost hear the sound of a fly’s footfall in the dark palace corridor.

“Fine,” Shining broke the silence. “If my words won’t convince you, then perhaps my cards can!” He drew one card with an armored glove, took one look at it, and smiled. “Perfect. I’ll begin my turn by switching my face-down Ancient Gear into attack mode!”

One of his face-down cards rose up, revealing a small mechanical contraption lacking both face and legs. Its small gears spun gently, powering two thin arms.

“Next I’ll play the card I just drew, Machine Duplication!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Not that card!”

“Too late.” Shining inserted it into his duel disk, and in a flash one Ancient Gear on the field became three. “I’m sure you don’t need a reminder of how it works. So instead I’ll play a card I just recently got, my Spell Gear!”

All three of the miniature machine monsters were abruptly enveloped in pillars of golden light, vanishing from the field a moment afterwards.

“This card lets me sacrifice any three Ancient Gear cards that I control,” Shining explained. “In return, I get to summon two legendary monsters from my hand and my deck! So come on out, my Ancient Gear Golems!”

Twilight took a step back as the ground trembled. Ruby-red towers of energy erupted out from behind her brother as he folded his arms and smiled confidently. Behind Shining Armor, the reasons for that confidence took form and solidified. Twin mechanical giants, each easily twice her brother’s height with crested helmets all but piercing the ceiling, gazed down at her and her creatures. She was used to thinking of the golems as benevolent protectors, but now, with two glowing red eyes seeming to glare balefully down, they appeared far more sinister.

“Gear Golem, attack her Royal Magical Library now!” Shining ordered. “Mechanized Melee!”

The monster drew back its fist, enormous gears spinning.

Since he’s attacking with Ancient Gear Golem, Twilight grimaced. I can’t activate my Trap Card.

Shining Armor’s monster threw one massive punch, a phantom copy of its fist launching itself into the air. The attack soared through the hallway and connected with the central bookcase. The ancient wood shattered on impact, raining countless thousands of priceless works of literature down onto Twilight. The other shelves groaned and toppled as well as Twilight shielded her head with her arms.

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of Gear Golem’s other effect.”

“I’m well-aware,” Twilight said. “If your Golem attacks a monster in defense mode with fewer defense points than its attack points, the difference comes of out my life points.”

Applejack would hate that, she added mentally. Fluttershy too.

“Right you are!” Shining pumped one fist.

Twilight
3000

“Do you give up?” he asked her.

“What do you think?” she countered.

“You never give up.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “That’s Twily for you.”

“Right you are!” she echoed with a faint smile of her own. Twilight could almost pretend they were back home again, playing Duel Monsters in the backyard with not a care in the world.

“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t!” he said suddenly. “Now, my second Gear Golem, attack her Apprentice Magician!”

The ancient machine pulled back its own fist and punched out. Once again, a phantom fist almost as big as Twilight herself raced across the field to shatter her monster.

Twilight
800

“Don’t forget!” she called out. “My monster has a special ability as well! Whenever it’s destroyed by battle, I can summon one two star Spellcaster from my deck in face-down defense mode!”

Twilight hurried looked through her deck, picked out one card, and place it face-down on the field. She then shuffled her cards and returned them to their proper place.

“I think I’ll end it there,” Shining said. “Your move, Twily. Better make it count.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It will!” she declared. “I have to get through to that vault, Shiny! So I’ll flip my face-down Magical Plant Mandragola into attack mode to place one Spell Counter on my Arcane Barrier! And don’t forget that it got two from the other monsters you destroyed last turn!”

“I take it you plan to sacrifice it now?”

“That’s right.” Twilight nodded. “I can trade in my Arcane Barrier and Magical Plant to draw the same number of cards as it has counters. So three more cards for me!”

“Good luck,” Shining said as his sister drew.

“Thanks!” She smiled. “Next I play the Ritual Spell Incandescent Ordeal! This allows me to sacrifice the Ice Queen in my hand to summon my Legendary Flame Lord!”

A beautiful, pale woman in a white dress appeared on the field, only to be immediately enveloped by blazing orange flames. She cried out briefly before the rising tide consumed her utterly. In her place, emerging with a great shout, came a well-muscled man with long red hair and light armor. The new monster clutched a purple staff with a fiery orb the end in one hand, and grinned cockily at his opponent.

“Not bad.” Shining grinned back. “But not good enough! Because you’ve just triggered my Trap Card!”

“What?!”

“Reveal…” Shining gestured, and his card rose. “Compulsory Evacuation Device!”

“No!”

“Yes! This sends one monster on the field right back to the owner’s hand, and I choose your Legendary Flame Lord!”

The blazing magician suddenly found himself dissolving into golden energy, which promptly rushed back into his card. Twilight reluctantly retrieved it from her duel disk.

“Such a shame you just used up his Ritual Card, Twily. Now all he can do is sit uselessly in your hand. At least it won’t be for long.”

“We’ll see about that!” Twilight grabbed another card from her still-large hand. “I activate Monster Reborn! This allows me to bring my Apprentice Magician back from the Graveyard!”

The blonde-haired magician appeared once again in a flash of golden light.

“I beat that monster once, I can do it again.” Shining shrugged.

“Maybe you beat him…” Twilight fingered another card. “But let’s see how your golems stand up to my Blizzard Princess!”

The young man dissolved away into blue and white light, which quickly reformed itself and solidified. A tall, blue-haired young woman with an elaborate jewelry dangled from the side of her head and golden crown atop it appeared. She smiled, twirling a flail with a massively oversized icy head.

“I’d say pretty well, considered she’s only got 2800 attack points.”

Twilight smiled confidently. “Not once I play my Mage Power, granting Blizzard Princess 500 extra attack points for every Spell and Trap Card I control!”

“So she goes up to 3800…” Shining grimaced.

“Right! And if you had any Trap Cards left, her special ability would prevent you from using them this turn anyway! Now them,” Twilight pointed down the hallway. “Blizzard Princess, attack his Ancient Gear Golem now!”

Twilight’s monster grinned cheerfully, spinning her massive flail high above her head as blue and white energy built up around it. Then, with a seemingly effortless flick of one hand, she sent the boulder-sized head whipping around. It crashed into one of Shining’s golems, smashing the ancient machinery into so many tiny bits and pieces that flew in all directions.

Shining Armor
3200

“That’s it,” she said with a nod.

“Alright then.” Shining drew. “I place one card face-down and switch my Ancient Gear Golem into defense mode!”

The remaining machine dropped to one knee, crossing both arms in front of its chest. Even so, it was still easily the tallest monster on the field.

“My move!” Twilight drew a card and glanced at it, then slipped it into her duel disk. “I place one card face-down, increasing my Princess’ attack points to 4300! Now attack his Ancient Gear Golem!”

Blizzard Princess smiled again and began to skillfully spin her weapon.

“Not quite!” Shining shouted. “I reveal Negate Attack, stopping the attack and immediately ending your Battle Phase!”

The princess’ flail slowly died down, returning to a still position at her side. Both monster and mistress frowned in disappointment.

“Stalling won’t save you!” Twilight told her brother. “But I’ll end my turn for now.”

“It only had to work once,” he answered. “I switch my Gear Golem into attack mode and summon my Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode.”

A smaller mechanical construct with a massive gun in place of a right arm appeared even as the massive machine beside it resumed its full height. The chambered cylinder on the small monster’s arm rotated, clicking ominously.

“Now,” Shining smiled. “I win this duel. I activate my Heavy Storm, destroying all Spell and Trap Cards on the field!”

“I activate my face-down card, Emergency Provisions!” Twilight countered, even as fierce winds began to emerge from her brother’s card. “Since it’s a quick-play, it allows me to sacrifice both of my other Spell and Trap cards for a 2000 life point boost!”

Both of Twilight’s vanished in a flash of light, just in time to avoid getting obliterated by the gale-force winds now racing down the corridor.

Twilight
2800

“You’ll need those points.” Shining gestured at Blizzard Princess with one hand. “Because now her attack points drop back to 2800! Gear Golem, attack her monster now!”

The golem once again drew back its hand and punched at Twilight’s creature. The phantom fist pulverized the princess with ease.

Twilight
2600

“And now, Gear Soldier, it’s your turn! Attack her life points directly!”

The monster’s cylinder spun rapidly as it leveled its gun barrel at Twilight. It promptly opened fire, spraying her wildly with holographic ammunition.

Twilight
1300

“I’ll think I’ll call it quits there.” Shining folded his arms across his chest.

“Fine. I draw!” Twilight said, doing just that. “And here’s Card of Sanctity, filling up both of our hands!”

Shining and Twilight both drew until they had six cards in their hand, both more focused on the other the entire time.

Twilight looked at her cards and smiled. “Alright, BBBFF, let’s see you get out of this! I activate my Enemy Controller!”

A silvery-blue video game controller appeared on her side of the field, a wire at the end reaching out towards her brother’s monster.

“I’ll use it to take control of your Ancient Gear Golem!”

The controller’s cord snaked around the golem and plugged itself into the back of its head. All at once Shining’s monster stiffened, straightened, and then vanished. It reappeared on Twilight’s side of the field.

“That only lasts for one turn,” he pointed out.

“One turn is all I need.” Twilight smiled. “Ancient Gear Golem, attack Ancient Gear Soldier with Mechanized Melee!”

It felt a little reassuring to see the towering monster raise its fist in her support this time. Its ghostly fist attack smashed the smaller machine into rubble with consummate ease.

Shining Armor
1500

“Now we’re just about even,” her brother noted rather cheerfully. “You’re as good as ever, Twily!”

“You’re not so bad yourself. Shiny!” Twilight gave him a friendly smile. “But I’ve got to win this! So I sacrifice your Gear Golem in order to summon my Dark Red Enchanter!’

Behind Twilight, the massive mechanical golem shuddered and crumbled into pieces, each chunk rusting and degrading into dust before even hitting the ground. In its place rose a blonde woman in red robes and armor, clutching a quarter-moon staff in one hand.

“Is that all?” Shining Armor asked, a little playfully.

“I think you’ve had enough punishment for now.” Twilight grinned cheekily. “So I’ll place one card face-down and spare you for the moment.”

Magician's Circle should come in very handy next turn, she thought to herself.

“We’ll see who’s sparing who,” said Shining Armor as he drew.

“Whom.”

“What?”

“Whom. The correct usage is: we’ll see who’s sparing whom.” Twilight folded her arms. “Didn’t they teach you grammar in the Guard Academy?”

“They had other priorities.” Shining shrugged helplessly.

“So I see.” Twilight giggled.

“Anyway, I suppose I should thank you.”

“For teaching you English 101?”

“For destroying my monsters.” He smiled, revealing the card he had just drawn. “Otherwise I couldn’t use my Pot of Avarice! It lets me–”

“Shuffle five monsters from your Graveyard back into your deck, and then draw two cards.” Twilight finished. “I know.”

“I might have known you would.” Shining smiled, choosing his monsters, shuffling his deck, and then drawing. “Excellent.”

“Good cards?”

“You might say that. First up is my new Field Spell, Geartown!”

The ground around the two shifted and quaked, as massive buildings rose up one after another to form a miniature city. Gears and clockwork were everywhere, spinning in ceaseless industry. Mechanical parts for a dizzying array of creature types were carried along conveyer belts between the buildings as steam hissed from innumerable small vents. The Academy corridor completely vanished.

“This is a very rare card, and I only got it recently,” Shining said with a touch of pride. “So I’ll explain how it works. Any and all Ancient Gear monsters now require one fewer tribute to be Normal Summoned. In the spirit of that my next card is Double Summon!”

“You don’t need to explain that one to me.”

“Thought not. So I’ll just use my Geartown’s effect to summon my Ancient Gear Engineer in attack mode!”

A mechanical humanoid appeared next to Shining Armor, single green eye alight and the massive drill it had for a right hand whirring,

“Your Engineer might not be strong enough to destroy my monster, but in this Field Spell…” Twilight grimaced. “It effectively counts as two sacrifices.”

“Right you are, Twily!” Shining beamed at her, seizing another card in his hand. “So I sacrifice Ancient Gear Engineer to summon Ancient Gear Golem!”

The mechanical engineer shuddered briefly, then exploded into pieces on the spot. Rising from the rubble was yet another of the massive, legendary machine monsters.

Or maybe the same one, Twilight thought. He’s sure to have shuffled both of them back into his deck… She shook her head. He really likes that monster.

“Ancient Gear Golem!” Shining clenched his fist. “Attack her Dark Red Enchanter now! Mechanized Melee!”

The golem’s gears spun in overdrive as it launched yet another copy of its fist. The projectile, larger than Twilight’s entire monster, had absolutely no difficulty in shattering it to pieces.

Twilight
600

“Next I think I’ll activate Ancient Gear Drill, which lets me discard one card to set any Spell Card straight from my deck face-down on the field.”

He always liked to use that to get Limiter Removal. Twilight remembered. 6000 points of angry golem that can shred defense monsters is a real game-ender.

“I’m going to have to call it quits right there,” Shining said. “Your move, Twily.”

“I draw,” she acknowledged, doing exactly that. She winced at Dark Spell Regeneration.

This card doesn’t help me at all right now, she realized, adding it to her hand. Not if he attacks with Ancient Gear Golem. I don’t have any monsters I can summon that could actually protect my life points from it… especially if he doubles its attack... do I have any good cards left at all? I have to win this duel! Celestia’s counting on me and I can’t let her down! There has to be something–

“STOP!”

Duel Vault

“STOP!” a voice cried out.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Both Twilight and Shining looked away from one another and towards the source. At first all they could see was the latter’s Field Spell, still steaming and churning, occupying the whole of the corridor. But then something else appeared from out of the holographic buildings – a young woman in pale pink, with long, luscious, tricolor hair. The siblings recognized her instantly.

“Cadence!” they said as one.

Cadence halted her sprint almost exactly between the two, then almost immediately bent over. Hands on knees and sweat dripping down her face, she gasped heavily for air.

“Sorry… I’m late…” she panted. “Everybody…”

Shining and Twilight looked at one another and nodded. They broke their positions, leaving cards and monsters behind, to race over to Cadence’s side. Shining offered the red-faced woman an arm, which she gladly took, leaning on him heavily with a grateful smile on her face. Her frilled, sleeveless pink top and matching pants running down to her knees contrasted heavily with his grey-black battle armor.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked her.

“What happened?” her brother added.

“It’s…” Cadence breathed heavily, but managed a friendly smile. “Good to… see you again… Both of you…”

Cadence took a minute to catch her breath, leaning on Shining heavily as she did so. It took a little time, but gradually her breaths became slower and slower, long and deep rather than quick and shallow. Twilight couldn’t help but notice, as Cadence pressed herself up against him, that Shining Armor was trying and failing to conceal a blush.

What’s up with that? Twilight wondered briefly, before shaking her head. Eh, it’s probably nothing important.

“Phew!” Cadence interrupted her thoughts, wiping sweat from her brow. “It’s been way too long since I’ve run anywhere, I think.”

“What’s the matter?” Shining asked.

“Is it something to do with Nightmare Moon?” Twilight inquired.

“Yes,” Cadence nodded, wiping a little more sweat from her face. “Actually it is. The reason I’m here is because Nightmare Moon will be back in this world very soon.”

Sister and brother gasped.

“Aunt Celestia called out to me in a dream,” Cadence explained. “She said there was only a short time before the battle in the Shadow Realm was over. She said it was absolutely critical that I help Twilight get some very special cards from her vault. So I dropped everything and came running.”

“Wait.” Shining frowned. “Celestia sent you too? So that means…”

“That Twilight is right?” Cadence nodded. “Yes. We need to get inside that vault, right now. Nightmare could return at time – she could be tearing her way back into this dimension right now! Even Aunt Celestia’s god card isn’t powerful enough to prevent it!”

“But…” Shining hesitated.

“See?” Twilight seized the moment. “Princess Celestia wants to me to go into that vault! You now have two independent sources saying the same thing! Surely that’s proof enough of what I’ve been saying!”

“This… doesn’t…” Shining frowned, visibly struggling to find words. “Feel quite right…” He looked at Twilight, then Cadence, then back at Twilight. “Something just seems… off.”

“Come on, BBBFF!” Twilight urged. “Stop trying to fight me and let’s go!”

“I can’t just…” He paused again. “Can I?”

“Shining.” Cadence pressed herself close to him, her back to Twilight. “Will you do it… for me?” Twilight could just make out her running one thin finger gently down his chest.

Twilight barely noticed the furious flush on her brother’s face, or the sweat dripping down his forehead. Her eyes were focused instead on his duel disk, where one armored finger slowly, reluctantly, pressed a button. She immediately hit the same button on her own disk. All around them, the holograms of monsters and face-down cards and buildings faded away as the duel was cancelled and the corridor returned to normal.

“Thanks, Shiny,” Twilight breathed. “Now let’s go!”

“Fine,” Shining sighed, then straightened up. “But I’m coming along.”

A few minutes later, Twilight, Cadence, and Shining Armor all stood before a pair of double doors like no others in the world. Built deep under the ground and buried within the rock of Camelot Mountain itself, Celestia’s vault was free to soar. And soar it did – the doors alone were easily a hundred feet tall and together almost half as wide. Every inch was high quality alchemically-treated steel, interwoven with enough protective charms, matrices, and seals to make Twilight’s head spin. The thickness of the doors was impossible to say from this side, but Twilight had the distinct impression that one could spend fifty years assaulting them with magic and high explosives alike without making a dent.

“Well, Twily.” Shining gestured at the main bolt. “Go on.”

Twilight swallowed, and then nodded. It wasn’t that she was having second thoughts – far from it – it was just that looking at this place made her wonder just what kind of things the vault was built to contain. No one knew what was in here, or even how long the massive storage facility had been down here. It was simply one of the many mysteries surrounding the princess.

Shunting her reservations aside, Twilight walked quickly and purposefully up to the doors. They were, for the most unadorned – or at least appeared to be so in the dim lighting. There was, however, one exception to that rule. The central cog on the ground level bore an image of a flaming sun that was so vivid one might even swear it was glowing in the dark. It was this painting that Twilight approached, raised one slightly-trembling hand, and then pressed her right hand firmly onto.

Seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

“Are you sure about what Celestia told you?” Shining Armor asked.

“Definitely.” Twilight nodded. “I’m sure she said to place my hand on this cog.”

“Well nothing much seems to be happeni–”

The earth suddenly lurched and buckled all around them. Shining and Cadence kept their balance, but Twilight hit one of the vault’s doors with her face. She stepped back quickly, rubbing her nose, as great clouds of dust flew in all directions. A sound one part clanking gears and one part booming thunder blasted filled the air.

Twilight backed off several more steps, jaw agape. With all the slow inevitability of the changing tides, the doors to Celestia’s vault groaned and swung inwards. Inside, rows of lights affixed to a distance ceiling snapped on one at a time, lending a dim illumination to the interior. She could see shelves going on and on and on and on… seemingly forever.

“That’s… big,” she muttered.

“Yes, what is it?” Twilight heard her brother’s voice. When she turned around, he had one armored hand on his earpiece and a frown on his face. “How many intruders did you say?” His frown deepened. “You’re sure?”

“What is it?” Cadence asked.

“Trouble,” Shining answered. “I see. Tell them I’m on my way.”

“Shining?” Twilight said. “What’s going on?”

“We have confirmed reports of at least two dozen magic-wielding robed maniacs running around the city and wreaking havoc.” Shining gritted his teeth. “And with so many men spread out around on our manhunt…”

“You need every man you can get.” Cadence’s eyes were downcast.

“Do you need my help?” Twilight asked, gripping her cards.

“No.” Shining shook his head. “The vault opened for you, so I can only assume that Celestia really does want you to get those cards. And if that’s the case, then they must be extremely important. Get them, and I’ll deal with these Nightmare cultists.” He snarled and tightened his fist. “They’ll rue the day they ever decided to threaten us!”

“I’ll go with Twilight,” Cadence volunteered. “I have training in white magic, it should help if anything in there is hungry.”

“That’s logical,” Twilight agreed.

“Then I guess it’s settled,” Shining fished out a few cards from his deck. “But just in case…” Both cards flared brightly as he held them up, and then a pair of Ancient Gear Soldiers appeared on the scene. Their massive guns clicked into readied positions.

Calling on monster spirits to temporarily incarnate without holograms requires a continuous flow of energy to maintain, Twilight thought. He’s taking a lot of risk going into combat with these out.

“Gear Soldiers, see to it that Twilight and Cadence get what they came for and leave this vault unharmed.”

The two mechanical soldiers saluted with their left hands, snapping to full attention.

“You don’t need to do that,” Cadence said.

“We can protect ourselves,” Twilight agreed. “Your energy would be better spent elsewhere.”

“Frankly I’d prefer to give you a pair of golems but I’m not that strong.” Shining turned his back. “And I don’t really have time to argue, so just take them and go.”

“But don’t you–”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Shining began to run, surprisingly fast for being in full armor. “Just get those cards for Princess Celestia!”

“Well, uh…” Twilight watched her brother round a corner. “Alright then.” She looked over at Cadence. “Shall we?”

She nodded. “Let’s.”

This place, Twilight had decided a few minutes later, was less of a vault, and more of a museum. Celestia had told her to walk down three rows, but what she had failed to explain was that each row was more like a six-lane street than the familiar rows of Duel Academy’s library. Each row consisted of two sets of towering wooden shelves more than thirty feet high displayed far apart from one another, with innumerable small shelves, display cases, and chests set up in the space between them.

Despite the urgency of her task, Twilight couldn’t help but look around a little as she went. She saw many thousands of Duel Monsters card, some of which she recognized and some she did not. She spotted a glass display case with a trio of cards bearing a passing resemblance to images she had seen of the Egyptian God Cards, though these seemed to her to be far more demonic in appearance. She saw another trio of cards in a case, this one built around a card with the image of a simple black sphere. She shied away from a card displaying an odd six-point pattern inside a glowing green circle, feeling malevolence almost oozing off of it even through its case.

But Duel Monsters cards were far from the only things that were in there. Twilight spotted a number of worn-looking weapons, from swords and halberds to chain lengths and bizarre blades whose origins she couldn’t identify. There were books too, in their tens of thousands, ranging from extremely worn tomes bound in cracking leather to fresh titles that might well have rolled off the printing presses yesterday. There were plenty of esoteric odds and ends as well, such as a floating purple being orbited by fifteen smaller orbs, a four-part chain scale that seemed to bob and down at complete random, and a well-preserved world map bearing absolutely no relation to anything Twilight could recall about geography.

Given the opportunity, Twilight knew that she could spend years and years in here, just going over what she’d already seen. And there was so much more to look at, so much more to learn! Just imagining how much otherwise vanished knowledge must be buried down in this place practically made her drool.

I’ll have to ask Princess Celestia for some study time down here. Twilight privately resolved.

Behind her, Cadence and the two Gear Soldiers walked in silence. The former occasionally looked around with an expression that was difficult to read in the dark. The two summoned monsters kept a wary eye out on the darkness as they marched in perfect sync. Their gun barrels darted to and fro in response to movement only spirits could see.

But, despite their apparent paranoia, the route Celestia had given her proved to be relatively uneventful. Twilight and co. walked three rows down, and then took a left. The four of them walked the distance she had been told to go. At first, Twilight didn’t understand, as this put them right next to one of the massive shelves, without a steel case in sight. Looking closer, she spotted an illusion conceal a small alcove literally built into one of the towering shelves.

Twilight walked through it, and found herself in a small, wooden room lit by only one candle that seemed to have been burning forever. In the dim light she just made out a simple wooden table, on which rested an almost unadorned steel case. Behind that was a glass box containing a deck and… a picture? Twilight took a look at it, and then gasped.

There were some minor physical differences to be sure, but the picture showed what was indisputably a brighter, happier Nightmare Moon.

Before Twilight had had any time at to contemplate this, her thoughts were cut off by the sounds of gunfire from the outside. She whirled around – just in time to avoid a one-handed chop at the back of her neck. On pure reflex she discharged a wave of kinetic energy, sending her attacker flying back out of the little alcove. Then she blinked, her mind processing who had just attempted to attack her.

“Cadence?” she whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

Twilight raced outside, just in time to watch two men in purple and black jumpsuits and masks dodge the one remaining Ancient Gear Soldier’s attacks. Its gun barrel tracked them as they moved, shredding several tables unfortunate enough to be in the way. But in doing so it turned its back on “Cadence”… who promptly drove a knife into the base of its neck joint. Shining’s monster halted, then crumpled to the ground, spinning gears coming to a halt.

“You…” Twilight breathed, backing up a step from the grinning woman. “You aren’t Cadence.”

“Heh.” She smirked, and made a gesture with one arm. Her skin and clothing dissolved away into mere wisps of black smoke, leaving a woman in another purple-black jumpsuit standing there, hands on hips.

“What?” Twilight’s eyes were wide.

“Pretty good imitation, wouldn’t you say?” the woman said in Cadence’s voice.

“Identify yourself!” Twilight demanded.

“Certainly.” She put one hand on her chest, Cadence’s high-pitched voice now dispensed with. “We’re part of an elite team of spies, martial artists, and illusionists in service of the Queen of Nightmares. You can call us… the Shadowbolts.”

“What are you doing here? And what did you do with the real Cadence?!”

“Relax, she’s fine. Which I more than I can say for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The Queen realized what your precious princess was doing instant she started contacting you. So she sent a little message of her own. We’ve been following you since you left Ponyville.”

“You’ve been shadowing me all this time?!”

“Well, it is in our name, after all.” The Shadowbolt grinned. “And yes. We stayed behind to watch the guard when they arrived, and then the Queen sent us after you. But you should be happy we’ve been following you. After all, on your own you’d never have made it past that worthless brother of yours! Be thankful I’m so good at improvisation.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s a good thing for you that I know to flood a man’s mind with hormones.” She sniggered. “Men are so gullible.”

One of her compatriots reached out a hand and gripped her shoulder roughly.

“Nrgh… Present company excluded, of course,” the woman continued.

The still-silent man gave a small nod and released her.

“Geez…” The Shadowbolt rubbed her shoulder. Then she pointed one gloved finger at Twilight. “Anyway, now we’re going to relieve you of those cards you’ve come for and take back what was stolen! So be a good little girl and hand them over quietly, and maybe you won’t get hurt!”

“Not a chance,” Twilight readied her duel disk.

“Oh, you want to duel for them?” She managed to produce a duel disk of her own out thin air. “Fine, but if I win, you’ll fork over that case and we’ll take back the deck Celestia stole!”

“And if I win, not only will you creeps not touch a single thing from this vault, you’re all going straight to prison!”

“I don’t like these terms,” one of the men announced. “Why don’t we just take her out right now and steal the cards?”

“Because she’s right next to them, you idiot!” the woman barked at her cohort. “Even if she doesn’t blast them to ribbons so we don’t get them, they could easily be taken out in the crossfire! And besides, many of the dark spirits sealed in here are no friendlier to the Queen than they are to Celestia! You want to be the one who lets a soul-stealing monstrosity loose while we’re right next to it?”

“You have a point there,” he admitted in a rather grudging tone.

“Besides,” the woman went on, “this girls isn’t much of a duelist anyway! We all saw her lose back at that backwoods hick town, and she was on the verge of losing to that idiot guard when we stepped in! This won’t take long.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes still further.

We’ll see about that.

“Then it’s settled.” The Shadowbolt turned back to Twilight. “We accept these terms. If I win we get the cards, if you win we surrender to you! Now enough talk!”

“Let’s duel!” the two called out.

“I’ll begin,” said Twilight, already drawing a sixth card into her hand. “And I’ll start with my Silent Magician LV4!”

A young, white-haired girl dressed in white and blue shimmered into existence in front of Twilight. She clutched a small, jeweled staff in both of her hands.

“And next I’ll activate my Spell Power Grasp! This gives my Silent Magician a Spell Counter and 500 extra attack points to go with it!”

A silver aura surrounded the girl, who grew a few inches in a matter of seconds.

“As a bonus, it also lets me search my deck for a second copy of Spell Power Grasp and add it straight to my hand! Then I place two cards face-down and end my turn!”

“That monster is almost as pathetic as you are!” Her opponent drew, and then smiled. “Excellent. This should spice things up a bit.”

“Hold on there!” Twilight raised her hand, pointing at her monster. “Every time you draw, my Silent Magician gains one Spell Counter and the attendant 500 attack points! Now she has two, for a grand total of 2000!”

Twilight’s monster grew a fewer more inches as the aura returned. It now looked a little more mature.

“Should I be worried?”

“Only if you aren’t brain-dead.”

“We’ll see about that.” The Shadowbolt picked one card from her hand. “I place one card face-down. And then I’ll activate Card Destruction! This forces both of us to send our entire hands to the Graveyard and then draw the exact same number of cards!”

“Hmph!” Twilight discarded three cards, while her opponent put four into the grave. Both drew immediately thereafter.

“Don’t forget that because you just drew, Silent Magician gains another counter and 500 points!”

“I’m well-aware,” the other woman answered. “And I’m not concerned. Not when I have this! I activate my Dark Eruption! This allows me to choose one Dark Attribute monster from my Graveyard with 1500 or less attack points and add it straight to my hand! And then I’ll summon it right away!”

One card slid out of her grave slot, and was promptly picked up and slammed onto the duel disk.

“Meet my Cyberdark Edge!”

A darkened steel machine with a thin body and long, sharp wings made its appearance across the field from Silent Magician.

“A Cyberdark deck?” Twilight looked at the creature warily. “You know that research has proven prolonged use of that deck to have strong statistical associations with severe cardiovascular problems, right? The spirits of those cards are very difficult to tame.”

“Who cares? I’m more than strong enough to control these beasts, and I’ll prove it by crushing you! Now, my Edge’s special ability activates!”

Wires raced out from the machine’s underside, piercing the ground and digging deep. A few moments later, they resurfaced with a small, sleek, black-orange dragon in tow. The cables bound the squirming beast to the cyber monster’s underside.

“Whenever my Cyberdark Edge is Normal Summoned, I can take any Dragon monster from either Graveyard and equip it to my machine! Like my Hunter Dragon!”

The machine monster let out a grind roar as energy flowed from the trapped dragon through its body.

“See, Edge can take that monster’s attack points and add them to his 800! Since Hunter Dragon has 1700, that puts his total at 2500 attack points!”

“As many as my Silent Magician!” Twilight exclaimed.

But… she glanced at her face-downs. Not for long.

“Right you are!” She smirked. “Cyberdark Edge, attack now!”

“Reveal face-down card, Dark Spell Regeneration!” Twilight cried. “It lets me take a Spell Card from my Graveyard and activate it instantly! I’ll choose Spell Power Grasp, adding a third copy to my hand as well as boosting my magician another 500 points! Now, she has 3000, so your monster is toast!”

The Shadowbolt grinned. “Not quite.”

Cyberdark Edge spread its wings and soared up and over Silent Magician, coming to rest almost directly above Twilight.

“By cutting its points in half, Cyberdark Edge can attack you directly! Now go!”

The machine beat its wings once, and fierce winds nearly blasted Twilight from her feet.

Twilight
2750

“Heh,” the woman chuckled, her monster settling back in front of her. “I’ll place one more card face-down, and then end my turn.”

“Big mistake!” Twilight drew her card. “Your monster is in attack mode and has only 2500 points! Now you’ll pay the price for your lack of perspective! I activate my third and final Spell Power Grasp, giving my monster an additional 500 attack points! At 3500, your beast pales in comparison to her!”

Twilight’s monster grew still further, now resembling more of a teenager than the young girl it had so recently been.

“Is that all?” the Shadowbolt shrugged. “Celestia must have been an even poorer teacher than I thought, if that’s all you can do. No wonder her soul will be screaming in the darkness forever.”

“How dare you.” Both of Twilight’s fists were clenched tight, her eyes were virtual slits. “How dare you insult the rightful ruler of this land? How dare you mock her when she’s fighting to save everyone from your demented mistress? How dare you?!”

“Ooooh, I think I’ve got her mad, boys.” Her opponent just laughed, both of her fellows jeering along.

“You’ll regret those words! Silent Magician, attack Cyberdark Edge right now!”

The young woman leaped into the air, her staff aglow with brilliant white magic. She came down all but on top of the cyber monster, blasting it at almost point-blank rage.

“Hah ha ha ha ha!” The woman laughed. “Idiot girl, you’ve just triggered my Trap Card! Activate Eradicator Epidemic Virus!”

Her card rose up, and dozens of tiny skulls wiggling with loathsome grey feelers appeared between the two monsters. The Silent Magician paused her attack, glow fading away as she looked uncertainly at the newcomers.

“All I need do to activate this lethal virus is sacrifice one Dark Attribute monster with 2500 attack points or more. And guess what? Cyberdark Edge fits the bill!”

The machine monster exploded into pieces on the spot. The army of skulls seized bits and pieces of it, then swarmed around the magician to encircle Twilight.

“Now I declare either Spell or Trap Cards, and then I can check every card in your hand and on your field, then destroy every card of that type! And I choose Spells!”

Twilight’s face-down card rose up, revealing Magical Dimension. It was promptly buried in the skulls, whereupon it exploded. Then, she slowly turned her hand around to reveal… three monster cards.

“Hmph.” The Shadowbolt crossed her arms. “Not quite as many as I’d expected, but no matter! I know your deck relies on Spell Cards to win! But my virus also lets me check every card you draw for the next three turns, and then eliminate every Spell Card among the lot! You’re finished!”

“Am I?” Twilight asked. “You seem to have overlooked one important fact. My Silent Magician still has 3500 attack points, and you just destroyed your only monster. Now, Magician, attack her life points directly!”

The magician rose high once again, this time with her staff aimed directly at the Shadowbolt.

“Oh I did, did I?” She smirked fearlessly at Twilight’s monster. “I have one more face-down to play! I activate my Hallowed Life Barrier! Now, by simply discarding one card from my hand, I can reduce all damage this turn to 0!”

Silent Magician aimed her staff and fired a pearly-white beam of magic. A shimmering, bright blue orb rose up around the costumed woman as it approached. The magical attack hit the protective bubble and exploded harmlessly against it.

“Nice try,” she said as the barrier faded away. “But as I thought, you’re a hopeless amateur in way over her head.”

“We’ll see. I summon Crusader of Endymion in defense mode!”

A thin mage in blue and gold armor took shape on knee before her.

“That’ll do it for now.”

“Goody, now it’s my turn.” The woman drew.

“You may have saved yourself temporarily, but don't forget that my Silent Magician still has 3500 attack points!”

“I find I don’t much care. And just to prove it I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw twice more!”

This time, though, the silver aura did not envelope Twilight’s monster.

“My monster maxes out at 5 Spell Counters,” she admitted reluctantly.

“Let’s see how your creature handles my Cyberdark Horn!”

Another machine of darkened steel appeared, this one a more serpentine creature with massive, rib-like spikes jutting from the sides of its body. As before, wires emerged from its bottom and pierced the floor, returning with Hunter Dragon in tow. The spikes bent down to form an impromptu ribcage, pinning the smaller dragon against the machine’s chest.

“Just like last time, my monster absorbs the power of my dragon to up its attack strength to 2500 points! Now attack her Crusader with Dark Spear!”

The cyber monster roared, four of its largest spikes rising and leveling themselves at Twilight’s monster. Four streaks of purple-black energy crossed the field, slicing the Crusader into so many tiny pieces.

“And just like that Gear Golem you were dueling against,” her opponent explained. “My Cyberdark Horn hits you for the difference between its attack points and your monster’s defense points!”

Twilight
1450

“I’ll place one more card face-down, and end my turn.”

“My move!” Twilight drew, then frowned.

“Let’s see that card,” the Shadowbolt beckoned.

Twilight slowly turn the card around, revealing Burden of the Mighty.

“A Spell Card!” she crowed. “To the Graveyard with it!”

“Fine,” Twilight discarded the card. “I don’t need it anyway.”

“Oh no? Seems to me that you need every card you can get right about now.”

“Looks can be deceiving. Since my Silent Magician has five Spell Counters, I can sacrifice her during my Standby Phase to automatically summon Silent Magician LV8 straight from my deck!”

The girl was enveloped in the silver aura one final time. On this occasion the light grew brighter and brighter than it ever had before, illuminating the dark underground vault with all the force of a second, silvery sun. When the blinding rays finally faded away, a full-grown woman in blue and white stood in front of Twilight, staff at the ready.

“Is that it?” Twilight’s foe smirked. “That creature doesn’t have a single attack point more than her weaker form! That was utterly pointless!”

“Wrong,” Twilight answered with a slight smirk of her own. “You see, my new monster has a very special ability. She’s immune to all of your Spell Cards!”

“She’s what?!”

“Silent Magician, attack her Cyberdark Horn!”

The enchantress smiled and gripped her staff with one hand, pointing it across the field. It shone brightly in the darkness, unleashing waves of pearl-white magic that washed over the dark machine.

“I activate my monster’s special ability!” the cultist shouted. “By sacrificing Hunter Dragon, my Cyberdark Horn is spared!”

The pinned dragon shrieked in pain as it was destroyed yet again, dissolved away by the tide of magic.

“But you still take battle damage,” Twilight pointed out.

Shadowbolt
3000

“Is that all you’ve got?” the other woman demanded.

“For now, yes.”

“Then it’s my move!” She drew, then frowned at her card. “I’ll set one monster in face-down defense mode and switch Cyberdark Horn into defense mode. And that’s… all I can do for now.”

“My turn again.”

“Then let’s see the card you drew!”

This time, Twilight revealed her freshly-drawn Solidarity.

“Another Spell Card bites the dust!”

“I don’t need it,” Twilight announced. “In fact, I don’t need any more cards at all. I’ll defeat you here and now with just the cards I hold in my hand.”

“Big talk from a little girl with only two monster cards to her name.”

“You underestimate me at your peril.” Twilight picked a card from her hand. “You people have invaded my home, threatened my friends, terrorized the innocent, and trapped my mentor in the Shadow Realm! I’m sick and tired of you goons and your demented queen! I’ll make you rue the day you thought you could mess with this land!”

The Shadowbolt crossed her arms. “Only words.”

“Then here’s some action!” Twilight slapped her card onto the duel disk. “I sacrifice Endymion the Master Magician and Crusader of Endymion from my Graveyard to summon Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!”

The ground all around the duelists began to quake, then rock, and then crack open. A golden pillar of light ten feet wide exploded out as if from a volcano, immediately blinding everyone present. Twilight and the Shadowbolts alike doubled over, frantically shielding their faces and rubbing their eyes.

And then, they opened them.

Standing on Twilight’s side of the field was a lean, well-muscled knight. Easily seven feet tall and enclosed inside magnificent armor of black and gold, the monster carried a matching shield in his left hand. In his right, the soldier clutched a lengthy, curved silver sword that shone with all the radiance of the rising sun. He leveled the blade’s tip at his mistress’ enemies, hard face promising nothing but pain.

“This extremely rare monster is one of the most valuable cards that I own,” Twilight informed them. “And you’re about to see why! Black Luster Soldier, attack Cyberdark Horn!”

The monster took one look at his mechanical opponent, braced his legs, and then leapt across the field in a single bound. Cyberdark Horn had been cut into ten pieces before his legs ever touched the ground.

“Now destroy her face-down monster!”

The soldier whirled and plunged his sword into the back of the Shadowbolt’s other monster. It pierced right through the card and several inches of armored floor below.

“That card just attacked twice! That’s illegal!” one of the spectating Shadowbolts shouted.

“He’s right!” Twilight’s opponent pointed an accusing finger. “You’re cheating!”

“Wrong.” Twilight shook her head. “If my Envoy of the Beginning destroys a monster by battle, it can immediately attack a second time! And as you may have noticed, that was your last monster.”

“Oh... hell.”

“Silent Magician, attack her life points directly! End this duel!”

The magician raised her staff high, conjuring what seemed to be a pearl as big around as a human’s head. She jerked it like a conductor’s baton, and the orb went flying. The explosion rattled the vault itself.

Shadowbolt
0

“And I think that’s just about it,” Twilight informed the rising pillar of smoke. “What do you think of me now?”

In the enclosed, under-ventilated environment, it took a good little while for the smoke to be sucked up into vents, but eventually it was. Twilight crossed her arms and smiled to see her opponent sprawled across the ground, twitching softly and moaning. As for herself she felt better than ever as she claimed her prize – the mystic energies generated by the duel spirits. Though she knew the effect was temporary, for now victory multiplied her magical powers twice over.

The other two Shadowbolts looked at their fallen comrade, then at one another. A small nod passed between them. Then, as one, they charged.

Idiots.

Twilight held up one hand, signaling for them to stop. Then there was a lavender flash and… they did. The two men froze right where they stood, locked in mid-step by a faint purple aura surrounding their bodies. Neither could so much as move his eyes. On the floor, their third member had suffered the exact same fate. Twilight brushed off her shoulder, collected the briefcase, and calmly strode in their direction.

“Did you think I wouldn’t expect that?” she asked her frozen adversaries as she walked between two of them. “Do you I think I don’t know that you’re treacherous slime? I knew you’d never keep the terms of our bargain. I just wanted a power boost before I dealt with you.”

Twilight passed between the two men without a care in the world. She stepped indifferently over the prone woman and began making her way back towards the vault’s entrance.

“You see, I’m going to defeat your queen and everyone who follows her. Every last one of you will fall, and it starts with these cards.” Twilight looked down at the briefcase she carried and smiled. Celestia would be proud, she just knew it. In satisfied silence, her legs carried her a good distance back the way she had come.

“Oh.” Twilight turned slight back towards her foes. “I’m sure my brother will be wanting to have words with you.”

She allowed herself a slight smirk.

“Don’t go anywhere.”

Reunited

Not too long afterwards Twilight was again seated on a train, watching the countryside fly by. She allowed herself to sit back and relax a little, grateful for some time to sit back and process the insanities of a world turned upside down. Princess Celestia was still missing, with no one able to find a trace of her. On the positive side, neither could a trace be found of Nightmare Moon. In her absence, governmental authority fell next to her niece, Cadence. Her brother had already left to ensure the princess’ safe arrival at the capital.

And ensure that she was the real one, of course.

Twilight had met Shining again not far outside the Royal Vault. It seemed that the figure wreaking havoc in Camelot had disappeared as swiftly as they had come, shedding cloaks and apparently fading into the civilian population as soon as the guard got anywhere near them. He’d smelled a distraction almost at once and come running back with a squad of men and monsters in toe. After making sure she was alright and taking the still-frozen Shadowbolts into custody, he had almost immediately been drawn away by still more problems popping up.

Which left Twilight virtually to her own devices once again. She’d been tempted to crack open the case she held immediately to see what it was that Princess Celestia had wanted her to have, but… it didn’t feel quite right. She didn’t know why, but she had the distinct impression that it would be best to open the case in the presence of the five girls who had faced Nightmare Moon with her. It was irrational, she acknowledged, but she did owe them… and besides, she kind of liked that weird bunch.

So Twilight waited patiently for her personally-commandeered train car to pull into the station, got out, thanked the conductor and engineer, and went to go and find her friends.

And walked directly into the middle of a duel.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash faced one another across a large waiting room, with Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy standing off to the sides. It took Twilight just a moment to pick out a handful of plainclothes guards placed discretely around the room.

“My move!” Rainbow called out, drawing a card. “I’ll switch my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon to defense mode, and then place one card face-down.”

The medium-sized red and black dragon in front of her hunched over, wings folding to cover its chest while the back of a card appeared behind it.

“And I think I’ll call that a turn.”

“What good will that do?” Pinkie sounded genuinely curious. “You know my Toons don’t have to attack your monsters if they don’t want to.”

“I know what I’m doing. Just make your move and worry about yourself.”

“Ok,” she shrugged. “Whatever you say, Dashie.” Pinkie drew. “I’ll start by giving up 500 of my life points.”

Pinkie
2500

“That lets my Toon Summoned Skull attack your life points directly!”

The green book floating in front of her wobbled, shook, and then burst open with a loud bang. A bluish-grey demon, or at least the upper half of one, tore its way out of the storybook pages, cackling madly. Lightning flashed from nowhere as it flexed suddenly oversized muscles.

“Alright old pal.” Pinkie gestured broadly, “attack her life points with Lightning Strike!”

The grinning little demon curled its clawed hands together as they crackled with energy, rubbing and twisting the flow as one might a snowball. Then the cartoon monster backed up, wound up one arm, and pitched a baseball-sized orb of lightning across the room. It took Rainbow Dash in the forehead.

Rainbow
600

Toon Summoned Skull fell over backwards in mid-air, laughing like mad. In the background, Rarity gasped, put a hand to her forehead, and collapsed onto a nearby couch.

“Very funny,” grumbled Rainbow Dash, looking up at her now ramrod-straight hairstyle. “But I play a Trap Card!”

“Silly Dash, you know that Toon Kingdom stops you from targeting any of my monsters with a trap!”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not targeting him! I reveal Damage Condenser!”

A silvery mechanical frame appeared behind her, connecting to a sealed glass tube by countless tiny red wires. Electricity began to flow from everywhere, crackling merrily across the machine and coalescing inside the enormous glass.

“This card lets me discard one card, and in return I can summon one monster from my deck with up to as many attack points as the damage I just took! And I think you can guess who I’m picking!”

The energy inside the tube began to shift into a more coherent shape.

“I summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

The glass tube shattered, wild thunderbolts hurling in all directions as the mighty beast announced its arrival with an eardrum-shattering roar.

“Hi Red-Eyes!” Pinkie grinned, waving cheerfully over at the dragon. “Good to see you again! Up for another trip into toon land?”

The dragon gave a low hiss, baring sharp fangs.

“Um… guess that’s a no?” Pinkie laughed weakly.

“You are NOT turning him into a Toon again!” Rainbow declared. “Now are you done or what?”

“Sure, just a sec.” Pinkie slipped a card into her disk. “I place one card face-down and end my turn.”

“Then it’s back to me! And I’ll activate my Inferno Fire Blast!”

Red-Eyes tilted his long neck backwards and opened his jaws wide. Deep red flames began to form in the back of his throat.

“Alright, Red-Eyes, attack her life points directly!”

The dragon roared, unleashing a fireball that flew past Pinkie’s Toon Kingdom to strike the girl herself directly in the chest.

Pinkie
100

“Alright!” Rainbow cheered. “Now you can’t use your Toon Summoned Skull to attack again!”

“Wow, good move!” Pinkie smiled over at her opponent.

“Heck yeah it was! I’ll end my turn with one more card face-down.”

“Alrighty then!” Pinkie picked her card, then giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Rainbow asked.

“It looks like you were wrong, Dashie!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I activate Cost Down, letting me discard one card to slash the levels of all the monsters in my hand by two! Sorry though, Toon Skull.” She looked up at the cartoon demon emerging from her book. “It’s your time to go.”

The little devil’s face fell a bit, but it nodded.

“I sacrifice Toon Summoned Skull to play the card I just drew!” Pinkie enthusiastically slapped the card onto her duel disk. “Say hello to my Red-Eyes Toon Dragon!”

As Toon Kingdom slapped shut over the blue demon, who had just enough time for one brief squeal. The book spun around in the air a few times, then burst open in puff of orange smoke and a shower of confetti. A castle sprang up from the pages to the sound of a jack-in-the-box. From one of its towers leapt a small figure. Red-Eyes Black Dragon bared its teeth.

A comically-undersized black dragon hit the ground, miniature wings folded up behind its back. The little beast curled its oversized clawed hands and grinned broadly, revealing solid black fangs. Across the field, the original Red-Eyes opened its jaw and roared angrily. The cartoon dragon blew it a raspberry.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash had both fists clenched. “How could you?! You know how much I hate that thing! It’s a disgrace to the real Red-Eyes!”

“Sorry…” Pinkie sounded genuinely apologetic. “But my deck wanted me to! What would you have done?”

Is there anyone in the world, Twilight wondered. That’s quite as strange as Pinkie?

Many, many miles distant, a girl with puffy orange-yellow hair was facepalming. Across the forest clearing, behind his holograms, her opponent was staring. A purple-haired, pigtailed girl on the sidelines rolled her eyes.

“For what has to be the hundredth time!” she growled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “When I say that I’m summoning Sonata the Melodious Diva, I’m talking about the card in my hand!”

“But aren’t I just so much better than some trading card?” The blue-haired, ponytailed girl made a face like a kicked puppy. “Come on, you know you’d rather have me up here!”

“GET OFF OF MY FIELD, SONATA!”

Eh, I doubt it. Twilight decided.

“Anyway,” Pinkie continued. “I’ll use my new cartoon friend’s special ability! Once per turn I can summon any Toon Monster straight from my hand! And I’ll choose my Toon Dark Magician!”

Twilight gasped as a second monster leapt from the parapets of Pinkie’s cartoon castle. This one, though blue skinned and wearing black and orange robes, was clearly a miniature version of her own creature. It floated down next to the cartoon dragon, its face considerably more serious looking. Staring at it, Twilight couldn’t help but think the beast a bit disrespectful to the card Celestia had given her.

I guess this is how Rainbow Dash feels, Twilight thought, frowning at the little creature.

“And he’s got a special ability too! I discard the last card in my hand to summon a Toon Monster straight from my deck! So let’s all give a rousing Ponyville welcome to my friend the Toon Ancient Gear Golem!”

And now I’m glad Shining isn’t here.

A third cartoon monster leapt from the pages of Toon Kingdom. This one was a golem greatly resembling her brother’s mighty colossus, though man-sized and spouting a pair of bulging eyes in place of the original single red orb. The mechanical cartoon took up position between the dragon and the magician, staring down Rainbow’s monster and somehow managing to crack its knuckles.

“But since none of my Toons can attack this round I guess I’m out of things to do.” Pinkie shrugged. “Your move.”

“And that’s where I come in,” Twilight said, finally stepping out of the shadows. “Uh… hi guys.”

“TWILIGHT!”

Prologue

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and inside a stadium a vast crowd of people erupted in cheers. Built to hold tens of thousands of spectators, the arena was packed to gills with the cheering throng, each egging on their favored duelist. On the arena floor, Celestia, mistress of magic and dueling, reigning world champion, and so-called “Princess of Games” faced off against the latest challenger for her position. The rainbow-haired woman wore a flowing white dress and a calm smile, while across from her a black-haired woman in simple street clothes frowned and gritted her teeth.

“My move!” Celestia’s dark-haired opponent called out, drawing a card from her deck. She grinned as she looked at it. “Perfect!”

The woman added the card to her hand before slapping a different card down onto her duel disk. The device featured ten slots, five each for Monster and Spell or Trap Cards. The arm-mounted machine lit up in response to her card even as the holoprojectors scattered around the arena brought the image on it to life.

“I summon Enraged Battle Ox in attack mode!” she cried.

A red-armored figure rapidly took shape in the arena center. Brown-skinned and rippling with muscle, it resembled nothing so much as an anthropomorphized ox wielding a bizarre combination of sword and axe. It swung its weapon experimentally, flexed its muscles, and roared a challenge across the field.

“With only 1700 attack points, that monster is far too weak to defeat the champion’s creature in battle!” the announcer’s voice boomed out. “Has our challenger snapped under the pressure of it all, or is there a method to her madness?”

“Next up,” the woman continued, pressing a button on the back of her disk. “I’ll reveal my face-down card, Ultimate Offering!”

The holographic image of the back of a card laying flat well behind her monster rose up to reveal the image of a bloody silhouette tearing itself from a grinning goblin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that Trap Card allows her to perform additional Normal Summons beyond the standard one each turn, at the cost of 500 of her life points apiece!” the announcer explained. “But with only 2300 remaining, she had better make each one count!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the woman said. “They will.”

She selected two additional cards from her hand, slamming both down onto her duel disk.

“First off, I’ll pay 1000 life points to summon Battle Ox and Beaver Warrior!”

Two more monsters came to life on the field, the first another ox practically identical to the one she had just summoned, the second a short anthropomorphic beaver with a sword and shield.

Challenger
1300

“And look at that folks! She’s sacrificed almost half her points to put two more weak monsters onto her side of the field! For her sake let’s hope she has a plan!”

“As it so happens, I do.” She grabbed the last card in her hand with a grin. “I pay 500 more life points and sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon my ultimate creature, Beast King Barbaros!”

Challenger
800

All three of the monsters the woman had just summoned vanished into small clumps of silvery light, which rose up and fused together into one amorphous silver blob. Then the light rapidly took shape and solidified, revealing a vast and powerful shape. An enormous centaur-like beast stood in the dueling arena. Its lower half resembled a powerful black cat with a stinger on the tip of its tail, while its upper half was that of a well-muscled human. Its face was bestial and it trailed a mane of blond hair. In its hands the woman’s monster clutched a lance and shield.

“With no less than 3000 attack points, our challenger’s monster is the most powerful creature on the field! When she said she had a plan, she wasn’t kidding!” the announcer sounded shocked.

“And not only is my beast fierce, he also has a special ability,” the woman informed her opponent. “You may have noticed that Barbaros is an eight star monster, which normally requires only two sacrifices to summon. But when Barbaros is summoned by sacrificing three monsters rather than two, he can obliterate every single card on your side of the field! So if you still think you’re going to win, it’s time to change your tune! Go!” she pointed. “Destroy her monster!”

Barbaros roared like a lion and leveled his lance at the great golden bird floating behind Celestia. The weapon crackled briefly with energy, and then unleashed a stream of pure power that pierced directly through the bird’s chest. It let out a brief cry, then exploded in a spectacular fireball.

“And both of her face-down cards!”

The lance fired twice more, each shot piercing one of the two card-back images at Celestia’s feet. Both shattered into nothingness.

“And now that she’s wide-open, attack her life points directly!”

Barbaros roared again and charged wildly across the field. The point of his lance shone brightly as the enormous holographic monster jammed it directly into Celestia’s chest. There was another explosion, engulfing the princess in black smoke.

Celestia
1000

“Unbelievable folks!” the announcer commented. “Within one turn the challenger has completely devastated the champion’s field and carved off a full three-quarters of her life points! One more direct attack like that and it’s all over!”

The crowd went wild for the sudden turnaround. Some cheered, some booed, but almost all of them got to their feet, screaming their lungs out. Even the announcer couldn’t get a word in for a good few seconds. Black smoke continued to rise in a great column from where Celestia had been struck.

Then, somehow, as if by magic, the sound of soft clapping filled the stadium. Every ear could hear it as if it were right next to them, in spite of all the clamor and screaming. As the smoke from the attack finally faded away, every eye fell on Celestia. The Princess of Games was clapping gently, a soft smile on her face.

“Well done,” she said, with no trace of sarcasm in her voice. “Well done indeed, Diana. A masterfully-executed move. I’m impressed.”

“I’m not here to impress you!” her opponent scoffed. “I’m here to beat you! Now hurry up and take your turn so Barbaros can crush you under his paws!”

Her monster held its lance up high and roared again.

Celestia’s smile fell somewhat. “So impatient. Why not sit back and enjoy the moment? You’ve just performed a fine turnaround in front of thousands of cheering fans. Why rush it?”

“Quit stalling and make your move, you washed-up has-been! I’m here to take your title, and I want to get on with it! Unless of course…” Diana smirked a little. “You’re ready to spare yourself more pain and just forfeit now?”

Celestia sighed. “If you insist.”

She drew a card from her deck and added it to her hand.

“Now then, my monster has a special ability as well. You see, whenever it’s destroyed by the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Monster card, it returns from the Graveyard in my next Standby Phase. And as it just so happens, it was! So rise again, my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!”

Bright orange flames burst from the Graveyard of Celestia’s duel disk, spreading rapidly to engulf the entire field. Diana shielded her face with both arms as the flames washed over her as well. A portion of the fire rose up behind Celestia in the form of a vast golden bird trailing orange flames from its tail and the back of its head. It shone almost like a second sun, its piercing cry setting the audience even more on edge.

“So what?” Diana managed with an arm shielding her face. “Your overcooked chicken still only has 2400 attack points! That’s nowhere near a match for Barbaros!”

“You could try allowing me to finish,” Celestia replied in a gentle tone. “For the other part of my phoenix’s ability is about to kick in. Whenever it’s Special Summoned from the Graveyard by its own effect like that, it destroys all Spell or Trap Cards on the field! Only, thanks to you, I don’t have any!”

Diana gritted her teeth as the flames converged on her still-active Ultimate Offering, shattering the card into a thousand pieces.

“It doesn’t matter!” she snapped. “Ultimate Offering was of no more use to me anyway! Barbaros is all I need to turn your bird into hot wings!”

“You shouldn’t underestimate your opponent,” Celestia chided a little. “I would have thought a duelist who could make it this far would understand that.”

“Just go!”

“Very well then.” Celestia placed a card onto her disk. “I summon my Hand of Nephthys in attack mode!”

A woman in a revealing gold-orange costume took shape on the field. She wore a face-concealing headdress resembling the phoenix that towered above her, and a small fire danced at her feet.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Diana laughed aloud. “That thing has a measly 600 attack points! What can it possibly do?!”

“Good things sometimes come in small packages, as you’re about to see.” Celestia slipped a card into her disk’s back one. “For I activate the Spell Card United We Stand!”

A card bearing an image of two armored hands clasped in friendship took shape in front of Celestia.

“You see,” she explained. “This card gives whichever monster I equip it to 800 additional attack points for every face-up monster I control! And I choose my Sacred Phoenix!”

Orange waves of power flew from up from the woman and into the towering phoenix. The great bird threw its head back and shrieked like a great eagle as its whole body seemed to shine like a second sun.

“Unbelievable, folks!” the announcer’s voice boomed out. “If I’ve done my math right, that gives the champion’s monster 1600 additional attack points, for a grand total of 4000! If it attacks now, the difference between its attack points and Barbaros’ will come directly out of the challenger’s life points!”

Diana stared slack-jawed as the phoenix rose high into the air, its golden surface shining brighter and bright. Celestia’s other monster raised its hands high, as if in ritual supplication.

“So you see,” Celestia told her opponent. “The bond between my monsters gives my phoenix more than enough strength to wipe out your monster and your life points!”

“No!” Diana cried out. “This isn’t supposed to happen! This isn’t possible!”

“But I’m afraid it is,” Celestia leveled her finger. “Now my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, attack Beast King Barbaros and end this duel!”

High above the field the great phoenix shrieked like a hawk. It pulled its wings back and in a single mighty flap, sent a wave of scorching golden fire down upon its enemy. The fire engulfed Barbaros and it roared in pain for a fraction of a second, then exploded. The flames raced one across the field, washing over Diana and hurling her backwards off her feet.

Diana
0

“And there it is, folks!” the announcer yelled out as cheers rocked the stadium. “Our victor and still undefeated world champion, the Princess of Games, Celestia!”

The crowd went wild. Tens of thousands of people rose to their feet, applauding wildly and screaming the champion’s name. Even as the holograms on the field faded away into nothing, the noise grew louder and louder. Soon it was all but deafening.

For her part, the victorious princess seemed to barely notice it all. She walked across the field, waving once or twice to the crowd but for the most part ignoring them. Instead she walked over to Diana, who had just managed to sit up. Celestia looked down at her with a gentle smile on her face.

“A good duel,” she said, offering Diana a hand.

“Bah!” she slapped it away. “I don’t need your condescending pity!”

Celestia barely recoiled. “I’m not trying to be condescending, I just wish to congratulate you on-”

“Oh shut up already!” Diana forced herself back to her feet, turning her back on Celestia. “You beat me, and that’s that! I’m out of here!”

“Please wait, there’s nothing for you to be ashamed of! You fought well!”

“Leave me alone!” Diana stormed off, pushing her way past the tide of reporters already beginning to surge into the arena floor.

Celestia frowned a little, making as if to follow. But she never got the chance, for a small mob of journalists eager to get the first crack at the world champion was already upon her. A half dozen microphones and twice as many questions were shoved into her face before she had time to take a single step.

In the stands, among the still-cheering crowd, stood one small purple-haired girl. Dressed in an immaculately clean school blazer and knee-length lavender skirt, she was looked down at the besieged world champion with awe in her eyes.

“Mommy? Daddy?” Twilight Sparkle looked up at her parents.

“Yes dear?” her mother asked. “What is it?”

“When I grow up,” Twilight declared. “I wanna be just like her.”

Duels of Darkness (I)

For Twilight, Pinkie’s party was a difficult experience. Pinkie Pie had no doubt put a great deal of effort into her welcoming party, but for Twilight the whole affair was an unwanted intrusion and rather awkward besides. She had all the friends she needed back home, and she wasn’t that interested in getting to know people she likely would never see again. Besides, loud noises were never exactly her thing. It surprised few when she ultimately opted to retire early.

Spike, on the other hand, seemed to take to it well. He ate the food, played the games, and chatted up the newcomers. To his delight – and his mentor’s dismay – the party continued the whole night long, coming to a halt only with the sunrise. Twilight found Spike a couple of hours later, curled up in a chair with a lampshade atop his head.

For the both of them, the following few days were best described as rather uneventful. Twilight chose to spend the majority of their time reorganizing thousands of books from the library’s shelf, making sure to assign her pupil plenty of reading material to take up the remainder of his days. The few outings she did countenance were mostly repeat visits to check up on the progress of various aspects of the solstice celebration. Spike did manage to squeeze in a duel or two along the way, but Twilight found them uneventful.

Eventually, the day prior to the solstice arrived.

As the sun slowly died away behind the horizon, Twilight and Spike made their way through Ponyville towards the town square and the grand dueling arena set up there. Or, more properly, arenas. There were eight mechanical dueling arenas arranged in one large circle, each allowing one duel to take place separately from the others. There were 64 contestants and one rule: lose, and you’re out. Win and you move on to the next round. Everything had looked to be in working order when Twilight had given the set-up her final look over that morning. A day of sleep had followed, and now the duo were making their way towards the town. Befitting a more upscale environment, Twilight wore the dress Rarity had given her and a purse, while Spike wore his black suit and tie.

“I can’t believe,” Spike was saying. “That you of all people are going to show up late for something like this.”

“Getting ready took slightly longer than anticipated. Besides, all we’ll miss is the first minute of the opening ceremonies or so. Not that big of a deal, all things considered.”

“Can I use that the next time you assign me homework?”

“You may not.”

“Aw man.”

As the two rounded a corner, Spike started to a squint ahead.

“Hey, Twilight?”

She looked down at him. “Yes?”

“Who are those guys?”

“What guys?”

“Those,” he pointed. “The ones in the black robes and hoods. With their backs to us, over near town square.”

Twilight put a hand to her forehead and squinted herself. “I’m… not sure.”

“So, there’s not supposed to be anyone like that around?”

“Not that I know of…” Twilight shook her head, considering. A second later, she halted, putting a hand over Spike’s chest. “Hold it.”

“Huh?” he looked up at her.

“This doesn’t feel quite right,” she said. “The schedule didn’t call for any performers and I wasn’t aware of anyone planning to show up in costume tonight. It’s probably nothing, but I’m not entirely sure of who these guys are. I don’t want any trouble, especially if you’re around.”

“Oh come on, they’re probably just circus clowns or something! Are you seriously going to go into a fit of paranoia over some guys in black?”

“I want you to wait here,” Twilight said firmly. “Just in case. I’ll go check in with the mayor about who these people are, and if it’s alright I’ll come and get you in just a bit.”

“Seriously?” he rolled his eyes.

“I’m being quite serious,” she knelt down to look him in the eye. “Your parents entrusted Princess Celestia with your welfare when they sent you here from your home country. Princess Celestia entrusted me with that for this trip. I take the responsibility very seriously.”

“I’m sure they’re just fine folks, and I don’t wanna miss anything. So-”

“Spike, listen to me. If everything’s alright, I’ll come and get you and you and you’ll miss nothing but a boring opening speech. If not, there could be real trouble. If I don’t come back in just a minute, I want to you to contact Princess Celestia, you understand me? And do whatever she says.”

“I’m not a child,” he retorted. “I’m thirteen years old, for pete’s sake!”

“Just listen to me. I’m only thinking about your safety. Alright?”

Spike sighed. “If it’ll make you feel better… fine.”

“Thank you,” Twilight smiled.

“Excuse me,” Twilight strode almost directly towards the two caped figure, while maintaining a respectable distance. “Sirs, can you please-”

The two men whipped around faster than she would have believed possible. From the front she could see that both were wearing nondescript black clothing and even gloves, despite the warm summer air. The hoods of their cloaks shrouded most of their faces.

“Celestia’s brat!” said one of them.

The other simply extended his right hand.

Without warning Twilight felt herself being torn from her feet. Some invisible force seized her like some enormous hand and yanked her roughly towards the silent man. He grabbed her by both wrists in an instant, easily outclassing an un-athletic schoolgirl physically.

But he wasn’t the only one who knew magic.

Twilight’s eyes flashed, and the man’s grip was broken as he flew backwards at an alarming pace. He slammed into the wall of a nearby building, flesh meeting brick with a very unpleasant thud. The cloaked man slumped down, collapsing into the dirt with a low grunt and a weak moan.

Before Twilight had a chance to process what she had just done, another powerful arm wrapped itself around her chest. An instant later she felt something thin and sharp pressed up against the underside of her neck.

“You try anything else,” a voice hissed into her ear. “And it’ll be the last thing you do in this world.”

“What is this?!” Twilight demanded as best she could with a knife to her throat. “Who are you?! What are you doing?!”

“Shut up and walk!” the man barked, pressing the blade a little tighter.

Left with little choice, Twilight did as she was bidden. The two quickly rounded the street’s corner and emerged into the town square. To her surprise, it looked almost… normal. Sure, there were more of the cloaked figures standing in the aisles between the seats, but all of those seats were full. Practically the entire small town had turned out for the event, and in spite of the strangers among them were sitting quietly and still, with no visible signs of alarm.

It wasn’t until her captor pressed her closer and more robed figures converged on them that Twilight got a better look. The town’s citizens were sitting there, quiet and still. Completely still. Unnaturally still.

Magic, Twilight realized. Some kind of spell is holding the whole lot of them in place! But who on earth could even cast something like that?! To hold hundreds of people in place simultaneously… The only one I know strong enough to even try that is Celestia and she would never…

“Ah,” a female voice boomed out of the speakers. “We have a straggler.”

Twilight looked up. Another robed figure stood behind a podium, microphone at the ready. Apart from being visibly female and having light skin, her clothing concealed any noticeable features.

“And look who it is, folks. Twilight Sparkle, our beloved princess’ prized pupil, joins us lowly commoners at last.”

The men and women in dark robes chuckled a little. More of them seized her by the arms, though the blade to her throat never let up as they led her through the seats.

“As I was saying,” the woman turned back to the crowd. “You’ve probably all noticed that you’re rather glued to your seats tonight. I’m sorry to announce the cancellation of your regularly scheduled tournament, but in its place we’ll be offering you something quite unique.”

She paused for a moment before continuing. “Tonight, with the stars aligned, you will all be contributing to the liberation of the Queen of Nightmares and rightful ruler of this land from her unjust imprisonment. Soon she will take up her place as this nation’s mistress, and we will be at her side. However, for that to happen we will be needing some very special duels to take place. So we’ve borrowed your arena. Hope you don’t mind.”

No one said a word. Twilight was unceremoniously forced down into a seat, though to her mild surprise she didn’t freeze up.

“Tonight a select few of you with certain traits will dueling against some of our number. The mystic energies generated will help to breach the last feeble seals on our Queen’s prison and release her into the world once more. Now, before any of you tries anything so foolish as refusing to duel, know that you will offer her your dueling spirit or your life’s blood,” she held up a curved dagger. “Your choice.”

“Further, we require that this duel be conducted with all of your might. As an incentive to this, all safeguards on the arena’s holograms will be removed. This means that serious injury is a real possibility for you… or your opponent.”

What kind of lunatics are these? Twilight wondered. Not only are they threatening innocents, but they’re risking themselves as well! And for what? Who is the Queen of Nightmares? I’ve never heard of anyone like that, much less anyone who could be broken out of jail by dueling.

“So, chosen and honored duelists, prepare yourselves for a match unlike anything you’ve ever seen!” the woman raised both hands high, as if in worship. “May the Queen smile upon your offerings, and may the best duelist win!”

Another figure stepped up onto the podium as the woman backed off.

“Our first honored duelist,” his finger rose, shimmering with a deep blue aura.The digit jerked about, seemingly of its own accord, for almost half a minute. At last, it settled on one figure from the crowd. “Is Pinkamina Diane Pie!”

Pinkie and her black-cloaked opponent stepped onto platforms at either end of the massive arena. Both rose almost immediately, putting their occupants high above the mechanical field. From where she was held, Twilight could see the cloaked woman’s back, and make out Pinkie on the other side. To her astonishment, the pink-haired girl didn’t appear to be that frightened at all. She wasn’t smiling or anything as both duelists plugged their disks into the arena’s system, but she wasn’t quaking in her pink boots either.

“This is the Queen’s night, so her servants shall go first,” the cloaked woman declared almost as soon as the both of them had drawn their opening hands. “Ah, I see that she favors me already. I play my Ancient Rules, which allows me to Special Summon one monster with five stars or more straight from my hand. And I choose my Summoned Skull!”

A tall, bone-white winged fiend with a horned head and black wings appeared on her side of the field.

“Next I’ll play my Polymerization to fuse Summoned Skull with The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion in my hand to create the all-powerful Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!”

Summoned Skull vanished into a swirling vortex, as did a bizarre purple ball of waving tendrils and mouths. A moment later the portal exploded into whirling dark energies and orange flames. From these arose a vast, spiked, black demonic dragon. Eyes glowing red and flames dancing about its head, the monster stared across the field at Pinkie, flexing its long talons.

“This creature was a gift from our Queen!” the woman boasted, hands on hips. “And it’s the most powerful card in my deck! Not only does it have 3200 attack points, but it also boasts a variety of powerful special abilities! Are you starting to realize just what you’re in for, little girl?”

For her part, the girl across the field simply covered her mouth with her cards and appeared to be coughing.

“Hmph. If you’re not going to admit to your fears then I’ll simply have to force them on you. I place two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“Oh weird robed cultist lady,” said Pinkie as she drew a card. “You’re such a funny bunny.”

“Funny?! I am a servant of the Queen of all Nightmares and a future mistress of this land! You dare laugh at me?!”

“Well,” Pinkie shrugged. “Granny always said that you should deal with your fears by laughing at them. ‘Giggle at the ghosty’, she told me, and then they won’t be so scary anymore! And I think my deck agrees!”

“You and your pathetic deck will be singing a very different tune once this duel is over, little girl.”

“Well, speaking of tunes, I’ll start off with the card I just drew, Toon Table of Contents!”

A green book appeared on her side of the field, opening up to an oversized and ridiculously colorful index page.

“This handy Spell Card lets me search my deck for any card with Toon in its name in my deck, and add it to my hand.” Pinkie flipped through her cards and slipped one into her hand, reshuffling the rest. “And if we’re using our most powerful cards, here comes mine. Welcome one and all to Toon Kingdom!”

Another book appeared on her side of the field, this one a bluish-green with a crowned moose on the cover. It twirled and then popped open in a puff of pink smoke, revealing a pop-up castle inside. The wild music Twilight remembered arrived again in force, enveloping the arena in its upbeat tones.

“By simply banishing the top three cards from my deck, this Field Spell counts as Toon World,” Pinkie explained. “But that’s not even half of it! As long as it remains face-up, my cute little Toons can’t be targeted by any card effects or destroyed by any means! And speaking of Toons, here comes one now! Meet my Toon Cyber Dragon!”

The metallic, serpentine little creature Twilight remembered from her duel leaped from the pages of Toon Kingdom to settle in the arena. It promptly started making faces at the Archfiend Black Skull Dragon.

“That little runt is no match for my creature!” her opponent barked. “My dragon will easily send your childish cartoon packing!”

“Don’t you know that Toons have feelings?!” Pinkie scolded.

Toon Cyber Dragon’s eyes grew three times bigger and glistened with fat tears. It stuck its lower lip around a foot out in front of its face and whimpered pitifully.

“But he won’t be around for long. Since you have a monster and I didn’t, I got to summon him for free. So I can trade him in right away for my Toon Dark Magician Girl!”

The dragon sprang back into the book just as quickly as it had come. A second monster leaped from the pages of Toon Kingdom, this one the infernal little blonde-haired girl that made Twilight’s head ache with her mere presence.

“And next up I’ll activate a handy-dandy little Spell Card called Toon Rollback,” Pinkie smiled as an old-fashioned reel of film popped out of her floating book. “This card lets my Toon Dark Magician Girl attack twice this turn! And she’s going to go straight for your life points!”

Her monster spun its magic wand nimbly in one hand before pointing one end across the field. A pink charge began to build on the end of it.

“Not quite! Reveal face-down card, Sakuretsu Armor! This destroys your monster before it can touch me! So much for your little girl’s dolly!”

“Unh unh uh!” Pinkie wagged one finger at her. “Weren’t you listening? I said Toon Kingdom prevents your cards from targeting my Toons! That includes Sakuretsu Armor!”

The robed woman reeled back as her card shuddered and exploded into fragments without effect.

“Now, where were we?” Pinkie considered. “Oh yeah! Toon Dark Magician Girl, show this lady what we think of her and her nightmare! Double direct attack now!”

The little toon smiled as the end of her wand shone a bright pink. With one flourish she sent a swirling stream of magic across the field, over the dragon’s head, and back down into the other woman’s chest. She screamed as the force of the attack blew her from the platform and sent her cards flying in all directions. The cultist hit the ground with an audible snapping of bone.

Cultist
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“Hey, lady?” Pinkie called. “Are you alright?”

The only answer was a low moan.

“Huh,” Pinkie shrugged a little as her platform began to descend. “Guess she wasn’t so scary after all.”

Two more of the cloaked cultists were waiting to grab the girl by both arms the moment she came within reach, perhaps a little harder than was strictly necessary. Both were giving her looks of unease. Pinkie looked totally nonplussed by them.

“Get that woman medical attention,” One woman ordered two other robed figures, pointed to their downed sister. “And get someone else up there! There’s still plenty of dueling left to be done!”