It's Time to Duel!

Chapters

Duel 2-The First Foe
Duel 3-Completion
Duel 4-Fakery on the Telly
Duel 5-Midnight Robbery
Duel 6-The First Horseman
Duel 7-The Second Horseman
Duel 8-The Third Horseman
Duel 9-The Fourth Horseman
Duel 10-Luna Land
Duel 11-Laser Battle
Duel 13-The Mansion
Duel 14-The Hunchback Killer
Duel 15-Terror Cubes
Duel 16-Mentor to Apprentice
Duel 17-Capsule Hell
Duel 18-Discovery and Death
Duel 19-The Final Stage
Duel 20-Endgame
Duel 21-Pieces Of Her Heart
Duel 22-Get the 10 Million Bits!
Duel 23-Game of Bombs
Duel 24-Test of the Gods
Duel 25-The Priestess's Challenge
Duel 26-The Wild Gang
Duel 27-Facing The Past
Duel 29-Spirit World RPG
Duel 30-Triumph Over The Ring
Duelist: Duel 1-The DVD
Duelist: Duel 2-Falling From Cloud Nine
Duelist: Duel 3-Soul Battle
Duelist: Duel 4-The False Prophet
Duelist: Duel 5-The Deal
Duelist: Duel 6-The Dragon Cards
Duelist: Duel 7-The Third Tape
Duelist: Duel 8-The Final Tape
Duelist: Duel 10-Insect Combo
Duelist: Duel 11-The Great Moth
Duelist: Duel 12-Confrontation
Duelist: Duel 13-"I'll Win By Myself!"
Duelist: Duel 14-Attack From The Deep
Duel 1-Puzzle of the Alicorns
Duel 12-Chairs of Death
Duel 28-The Alicorn Ring
Duelist: Duel 9-Journey to Duelist Kingdom

Duel 2-The First Foe

Later that day, after school, Applejack and her younger sister visited Twilight's home. "So, y'all live here by yourselves?"

"Indeed," Twilight replied. She then called, "Spike, can you come down here?"

"Sure thing," the young man replied. An eighth-grader from Ponyville Junior High, he had a much easier time adjusting to the move to Ponyville than Twilight. As he walked down the stairs, he said, "Hey there! My name's Spike." He then walked over to the two sisters. "I've met you before, Apple Bloom. I assume this other girl here is your sister."

"Yup," Apple Bloom, also an eighth-grader, replied.

"So, how's that puzzle of yours doing, Twilight?"

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied. She then grabbed the puzzle from one of the many bookshelves in the old library that was her home. "This is the Alicorn Puzzle I was talking about."

Spike said, "You know, are you sure you can solve it?"

"Of course I can!" Twilight then turned back to the Apple sisters. "As I was saying-"

Then, a knock was heard on the door. A voice said, "Twilight, are you home? I'm in town?"

Twilight gasped in joy. "It's the princess!" She then turned to the door and said, "Coming!"

As she opened the door, Apple Bloom said, "Oh my God, she really does know Celestia well."

Princess Celestia, dressed in a business suit, hugged Twilight and said, "So, how's my star student doing?"

"I've begun to make friends, as you can see." Applejack and Apple Bloom waved at the princess, nervous.

Celestia said to them, "Come on now, there's no need to be nervous."

Applejack went up to Celestia, shook her hand, and said, "My Sovereign, it is an honour to meet you. My name is Applejack."

Apple Bloom also shook her hand, saying, "Ah'm honoured to meet you as well. Ah'm Apple Bloom."

Celestia replied, "Why thank you for your politeness, girls. Say, Twilight..." She then turned to Twilight. "Have you done anything with that puzzle I gave you?"

"I'm still trying to solve it," Twilight replied. "I'm gonna finish it, trust me."

"Well, well, I admire your determination. I assume you all heard the stories behind this artefact, right?"

"Of course," Applejack replied. "Twilight told us all about it."

"Interesting. Anyways, I came into town because I need to tell Twilight something important. Spike, Applejack, Apple Bloom, can you step out for a sec? This is confidential."

All 3 nodded. Spike said, "Just call for us if you need anything." The 3 of them then walked out.

Twilight asked, "What is it?"

"It's about Nightmare Moon," Celestia worryingly said. "You know the story, right?"

"Of course. You kicked her out of Equestria because she turned on you and tried to kill you in 1015. She rallied up the other convicts of the Moon Penal Colony and helped establish the Lunar Republic in 1020. However, after that, she took a back seat and more or less became a recluse."

"And then she came back," Celestia continued. "She came back in 1985 when she took over the Luna Corporation, allegedly through coercion. Honestly, I'm extremely surprised she decided to take up video games as a business venture, especially since before her, the Luna Corporation made weapons. Our courts ruled I couldn't shut her down, so I let her do business here. She made deals with another old enemy of mine who had just created the Siren Illusions Corporation, or should I say 3 old enemies of mine, in 2000. Together, they dominated gaming of all kinds in Equestria. Since Nightmare Moon gave jobs and real economic opportunities to the very poor Lunar Republic, she became a political giant there too. She was the only person in business that gave the Moon a chance, and I guess it paid off. She's accumulated a net worth of over 700 billion bits (A/N: 87.5 Billion US Dollars) in just 30 years. Twilight, she has become the richest person on this planet, and certainly on the Moon too."

"Why are you re-telling this to me?" Twilight was confused as to what Nightmare Moon was up to.

Celestia then said, "The Summer Solstice is coming soon. It was on the Summer Solstice of 1015 that I banished Nightmare Moon. I want you to be extra vigilant on that day. The 23rd is only 2 weeks away. Intelligence confirmed that the SIC isn't doing anything important, but the LC, on the other hand, is about to finish a theme park in Manehattan called Luna Land. It's set to open on the 23rd. There's a lot of buzz on the LC's communications over a specific attraction there, as well as a special guest to be invited."

Twilight said, "What can I do? I'm a great student, but I'm still just a student."

"I want you to possess these," Celestia replied. She quickly grabbed a box she had brought with her in a bag and showed it to Twilight. When she opened it, she said, "These are the Elements of Harmony. I entrust them to you. I used these to assist me in my spiritual battle against Nightmare Moon 1000 years ago." Inside were 6 artefacts that were colour-coded.

Twilight was flabbergasted. "I... What?! The Elements of Harmony?! To me?!"

"Use these to defeat Nightmare Moon when the time comes. They are the only way."

"Well, okay then... I'm... Honestly, I'm very surprised. Thank you." Twilight then hugged Celestia again.

Celestia replied, "You are welcome, my student." She then put the Elements away, gave the box to Twilight, and said, "Hide these. Many people want their hands on them. Bring them out when the right time comes."

"You got it," Twilight replied. "I won't let you down, Celestia."

The next day at school, Twilight was tired. After yawning, she said as she walked away from school grounds, "Man, I stayed up all night trying to put together that puzzle. I barely stayed awake in class."

Then, Wild Strike's voice beckoned, "Hey Twilight, come over here."

Twilight followed the voice to a secluded area outside and saw Wild Strikes standing near something, or someone. "What's going on?"

"This is," the senior said before stepping away, revealing a badly beaten Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. "You can thank me later."

Twilight screamed, "What the hell?! What did you do to them?!"

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight in contempt, saying, "Are... Are you happy, Twilight?"

"You think I ordered him to beat you 3 up?! No way!"

Wild Strikes said, "So, you're defending them?" He then kicked Rarity in the stomach again.

"They're my friends!" Twilight stood in front of the 3. "Stop it!"

Rainbow Dash thought, "Friends?! After all I've done, we're your friends? Twilight, please, don't get yourself hurt."

Wild Strikes replied by punching Twilight across the face. "Now," he said. "You have to pay up. As your bodyguard, I'll charge you 15,000 bits!" (A/N: 1875 US Dollars.)

Twilight said, "15,000 bits?! Are you insane?!"

"If you don't, you and your "friends" will get a worse punishment." Wild Strikes then pulled out a pocket knife. "With this, you'll know the true meaning of pain." He then walked away.

Twilight rushed to the 3 and said, "Are you 3 alright?"

Fluttershy began crying as Rainbow Dash and Rarity got up. Rarity spit in Wild Strikes direction and gave him the finger, saying, "Piece of shit!"

Twilight helped Fluttershy up as she said, "This... This is too much, Rainbow Dash. I can't do this anymore."

"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said. "Please, don't say that."

"I can't be friends with you if I'll only get hurt," the pink-haired girl said. "I can't do this anymore."

Twilight shouted, "All of you, shut up!" She then paused for a seconds. "Listen, Fluttershy, you won't have to cut off Rainbow Dash, because I'll take care of that Wild Strike jerk. I promise you won't get hurt. I'm sick and fucking tired of being shy and weak!"

The 3 of them were taken aback by Twilight's profanity. They had never heard Twilight say anything worse than hell or the very occasional damn. Rarity said, "She's right. Twilight, we would all like to apologise for what we've done to you."

Rainbow Dash put her hand on Twilight's shoulder and said, "Agreed. Twilight, the old me that harassed you is gone. We'll all support you when you face that prick Wild Strike."

Fluttershy said, "You can count on us."

Twilight smiled and began to cry. "Guys... Thank you..." The 4 of them then all hugged.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash remembered the piece of the puzzle she had thrown in the fountain. "Oh no!" She quickly split from the group and ran to the fountain, which was a long, moat-like body of water that surrounded the school and had nozzles spraying water out of it.

Rainbow Dash dove into the fountain, which was 10 feet deep, as Twilight said, "What's going on?!"

Then, Rainbow Dash emerged from the fountain, soaking wet, carrying the missing puzzle piece. "I think you need this."

"A puzzle piece?"

"I threw it yesterday, or, should I say, the old me threw it yesterday." She then put it in Twilight's hands. "I urge you to complete the puzzle, Twilight."

Twilight nodded and said, "It shall be done."

September 23, 1015

"Stop this madness," a very angry Celestia shouted as she stood in a field. "If I have to battle you, my sister, I will!"

"Your sister is dead," Nightmare Moon shouted back. "I hated the name Luna! I am Nightmare Moon!" She then activated a gold device on her arm, known as a Spirit Summoner. "How about we settle this through the spirits that surround us one last time? After all, us Equestrians haven't battled like this for 2000 years!"

"Fine," Celestia replied as she activated her Summoner as well. As she did, the Elements of Harmony flew up before her and disappeared into her Summoner. "I have the Elements by my side."

"I don't care," Nightmare Moon replied. "I call upon the spirit of Duos!" Suddenly, a giant stone tablet emerged from the ground, and a slot on her Summoner began to glow. "Now, make your move, sister."

"I shall. I call upon the spirit of Galestorgas! Attack her Duos!"

The 2 monsters then began to battle. Before long, Galestorgas was destroyed, causing one of 5 glowing lights on Celestia's summoner to turn off. Nightmare Moon said, "Not so smart of a move, huh?"

Eventually, after several battles, the 2 of them were both down to one glowing light each. Celestia said, "Please, Luna, I don't want to hurt you, but I may have to if you don't stop this nonsense!"

"Never!" Nightmare Moon then summoned another spirit. "Attack her Helimai!"

In the ensuing battle, the Helimai Celestia summoned won, and Nightmare Moon lost. "This has gone far enough." She then held out a golden rod with a spike at one of the ends and a large red stone at the other end. "I didn't want to use the Alicorn Rod against you, but you've left me no choice." She then held the red end at Nightmare Moon and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

Nightmare Moon was suddenly surrounded by smoke. She screamed," No! This can't be happening! I should have won!" Then, she heard growling behind her and screamed. Monster surrounded her and began attacking her.

Celestia, watching the smoke, shouted, "You were a Princess of Equestria! You helped lead us to victory against Discord! It was said that you would destroy disharmony beside me, not create it! Bring balance to this world, Princess Luna!"

Nightmare Moon, filled with hatred, screamed from the smoke, "I HATE YOU!"

As Celestia looked on with tears in her eyes, she yelled, "You're my little sister, Luna! I love you!" She then broke down and got on her knees, bawling her eyes out. She then held the Alicorn Rod up as it glowed.

Then, Nightmare Moon and the illusion that surrounded her disappeared.

"Oh my God... What have I done?! I inflicted the Experience of Death upon my own sister and then banished her to the penal colony on the Moon." She then threw the Alicorn Rod to the ground in anger and screamed, "LUNA!!!"

Duel 3-Completion

Later that day, Twilight began working on the puzzle. She oddly found it easier than ever tonight.

As she was about to put in the last piece, a phone call came in on her cell phone. Twilight quickly answered it, saying, "Hello?"

"It's me," Wild Strike. "Your little friends tried to take me on again, so I kicked their asses, again."

1 Hour Earlier

As Wild Strike was leaving the school after having returned there to inspect a broken water pipe, a voice called out, "Hey Wild Strike! Over here, ya creep!"

Wild Strike turned around and saw Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack all standing in front of him. "Well well well, you 2 brought more help this time. It still won't do anything." He then charged at the 3 of them.

Applejack kicked Wild Strike in the back and forced him on the ground. He quickly got up and socked her in the face, knocking her out.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash nodded and shouted, "CHARGE!!!" The 2 of them then charged full-force at Wild Strike.

Twilight said, "No... Not again... Not Applejack... I have to finish this puzzle."

Spike then walked in, saying, "Hey there. I see you're about to finish the puzzle. I thought I'd give you something that might help you."

Twilight turned around and saw Spike holding an envelope. "What's in it?"

"There's a lot of money in it," the boy replied. "I heard from Applejack about Wild Strike, so I thought I could help. Celestia sent me the money when I told her. If this money can help you get out of this, that's all we care about."

Twilight got up and hugged Spike, saying, "That's so sweet of you, both of you. Don't worry, I'll take care of Wild Strike. Thank you."

Spike nodded, shut the door, and walked out, thinking to himself, "I can't believe she did it, but she finally finished the Alicorn Puzzle. I wonder what she'll do with it."

Then, Twilight put the last piece in. She stood up as she looked in awe at the completed puzzle.

Suddenly, the puzzle glowed and shot a beam of light at Twilight's forehead, knocking her to the ground, unconscious.

A few minutes later, Twilight got up again. However, her eyes were green with purple irises. She also had gained a few inches in height, as well as a deeper voice. She said, "Heheheh, that Wild Strike creep is the one who will be in trouble this time."

As Wild Strike waited for Twilight, he stood by the unconscious bodies of the 3 girls. He said to himself, "Where the hell is she?"

"Right here."

Wild Strike turned around and was startled to see the "new" Twilight standing before him. "Uhhh... What's up with the changes? Ah, whatever. Hand over the money, Twilight."

"Sure thing," the girl said. "And I've managed to double it to 30,000 bits. (A/N: 3750 US Dollars.) However, it wouldn't be fun just to hand it over, now wouldn't it? How about we play a game?"

"A game? Well fine, as long as I get my money, I'm up for any challenge. What's your game?"

"Simple," the girl explained. "We'll split the money into two neat piles of 15,000 bits. Then we'll use that knife of yours to stab the money while it is on top of our hands. Do not take any money from your opposing player's pile. Whoever gets all 15,000 first wins. There are no penalties for losing apart from losing your money."

"You're crazy."

"But if you break the rules, you will face a severe penalty." Twilight glared at him. "Don't break them, or else."

"Fine, I won't. Let's just get started."

Once the game was set up, the 2 of them laid their hands out on a nearby table and placed the two piles on their left hands. Twilight went first.

Once she stabbed the money, she held up 5 bills and said, "The key to this game is self control. Stabbing your own hand will make you forfeit the game and all of your money."

Wild Strike found it very hard to control his right hand. His right hand wanted to stab the money with full force, but his mind told him not to. Finally, he said, "Ah, screw it!"

When he looked again, he saw that he did not stab his hand, and he also grabbed 10 bills. "Impressive."

"Hahaha! I got 10 bills without a single mark on my hand! Good luck!"

Twilight then stabbed her pile, getting 7 bills.

Wild Strike thought, "Wait a minute, I have an idea! There is a way I can get all the money without stabbing my right hand!" He then yelled, "You gave me this opportunity, and I'll damn well take it!" He then lunged at Twilight with the knife. "Die, Twilight, Die!"

Twilight immediately jumped out of the way, giving Wild Strike a slasher smile as she said, "Just as I thought, I knew you would break the rules, you greedy brat!" She then laughed as her eyes began to glow pure white and her irises disappeared.

"What the... No... What's up with your eyes?!"

"You made the mistake of trespassing against me by assaulting my friends and trying to extort me through violence, and now, it's time to pay! The door to darkness has opened..." She then pointed at Wild Strike and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

Wild Strike closed his eyes, expecting the worst. When he opened them, he looked around and said, "What the-?! It's.. MONEY! There's money everywhere! Oh my God!" He danced around as he grabbed what he thought was money falling around him.

In reality, Wild Strike was playing with leaves and garbage from the ground. "Wild Strike," Twilight said. "I guess this is a happy ending for you in your reality. As for me, I got all of my money back. Game Over!" She then walked over to the three unconscious girls.

Suddenly, she glowed and changed back into "normal" Twilight just as the 3 of them woke up. Applejack said, "Twilight?"

Rarity stood up and looked at Wild Strike, pointing and saying, "Woah, look at Wild Strike!"

"Ew," Rainbow Dash said in disgust. "He's playing around with garbage and leaves, thinking it's money. He's gone off the deep end."

Twilight asked, "What happened? All I remember was..." She then gasped in excitement. "I completed the puzzle!" She held up the puzzle to her friends. "I finally did it!"

Rarity asked Rainbow Dash, "Wanna go kick his ass?"

"Nah," the rainbow-haired girl replied. "The embarrassment tomorrow will be more than enough punishment." She then began taking a video of Wild Strike. "Instagram, here we come!"

In a dark room, a woman was watching TV, relaxing after a meeting.

Suddenly, a security guard came in and said, "Master Nightmare Moon, I have some news from a town called Ponyville."

"Go ahead," Nightmare Moon replied. "What's going on?"

"Princess Celestia gave the Elements of Harmony to her student, Twilight Sparkle. We also know that she is also in possession of the Alicorn Puzzle and that she may have completed it."

"Well then... I'll be right on it. Send scouts to Ponyville. We need to test her abilities. and see what those artefacts can do."

"Yes, Master." The security guard then walked out.

Nightmare Moon laughed and said," Just wait, Celestia. I'll be ready."

Another person, a young winged man named Cloud Chaser, then walked in. "Master Nightmare Moon," he said. "I heard the news."

"Indeed you did," she replied. "I have waited for this day for one thousand years, my student. For one thousand years, I was deprived of the power to rule over a nation. For a majority of it, I was confined to the moon. Even after I came back to create the Luna Corporation into what it is today, I still felt that I lacked something. Now, I won't be lacking in anything anymore soon. Cloud Chaser, I want you to se something." She then showed him a tablet with a video on the screen.

"What is this?"

"Just watch. We've been working on it for 3 years." She then played the video.

In it, a man was standing in a glass box. Suddenly, the glass box filled with smoke, and the man began screaming and clawing at the glass to come out. After 11 minutes, the man stopped screaming and a thud was heard. The smoke then dissipated, and the now-dead man was led out.

"I have created a perfect replication of what my sister put me through when she defeated me in our battle. We used spirit monsters, and when she won, she placed upon me an illusion so frightening, so horrifying, that I still wake up from nightmares about it, 1000 years later."

"The Experience of Death," Cloud Chaser replied. "You recreated the Experience of Death with a virtual simulator?!"

"Not just that, my student. I also utilised virtual simulation to bring the game Duel Monsters to life." She then played another video where she stood on a ground-level platform at the end of a field encased in glass. She then placed a card onto a space on her platform, and a monster of some sort formed on the playing field before her. "I have managed to bring the spiritual battles the Equestrians held long ago into the modern era with computers."

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Cloud Chaser smiled and laughed. "You actually did it!"

"Indeed. On the 23rd, we will show the world the power of Nightmare Moon, and Celestia will go down once and for all."

Duel 4-Fakery on the Telly

September 11, 2015

Today, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike all walked to school together. As Spike said goodbye to the group to continue on to the Junior High school nearby, Applejack pointed at a van and said, "Hey, look at that! The News is here!"

Rarity said, "I wonder what they're covering at our school."

Twilight walked over to the windows of the van and tried to look inside. "I think it's a one-way mirror. I can't see inside at all."

Unbeknownst to them, a director was watching the group. Next to him was his assistant, who took a picture of Twilight. The director said, "This girl will be the star of our next story. I will guarantee it."

Rainbow Dash said to Twilight, "Eh, forget about it. Let's just go inside and see what happens throughout the day."

Later that day, the director grouped together with a cameraman, his assistant, and a news presenter. The assistant walked up to him and said, "I got some info on the girl. Her name is Twilight Sparkle. She's a junior."

"Good," the director replied. "Alright, action!" The director thought to himself, "Make that presenter of ours look hot. Viewers love sex appeal."

The presenter, a woman with a microphone and a suit, then said, "Today we will bring to you shocking videos and photos of violence at this school. This school has long been plagued with violence, and now, we will get a secret glimpse of it today. This is Caught on Camera: School Violence."

"Aaaand cut," the director said. "Great shot." He then turned to his assistant. "Get a uniform and find that Twilight girl. You're gonna be the bully."

The assistant pulled back her hair in a ponytail and said, "Got it. What do you want me to tell her to get outside?"

"I don't care. Anything you can think of."

After returning from an AP Magic class, Twilight was walking down the halls when she heard, "Hey, are you Twilight?"

Twilight turned around and looked at the assistant before saying, "Yes, who are you?"

"Just a sophomore," the assistant said. She was small enough to certainly pass for a sophomore. "I know why the TV station is here. You see, there's a movie star transferring to this school, and I kinda know him well, so I thought you could meet him. He's really into magic himself since he has a horn too."

"No way," Twilight replied in excitement. "Really? When can I meet him?"

"During break, of course. I'll see ya behind the gym."

Later, during break, Twilight went down to the location where the assistant said the "movie star" was going to be.

As Twilight looked around, the assistant waved at her and said, "Hey there, Twilight!"

"Hey there. Where's the actor?"

The assistant then said, "I'll whisper it to you. The truth is..." Twilight then moved in closer to the assistant's mouth.

Suddenly, the assistant uppercut Twilight with a hard punch to the jaw. "You stupid bitch, there is no fucking star! I fucking lied to you!" Twilight fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from her mouth.

Twilight tried to say, "What?"

The assistant then picked Twilight up and body-slammed her onto the ground, causing Twilight to scream so loud the assistant's ears began ringing. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The assistant then kicked Twilight in the stomach.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash ran to the scene, shouting, "GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER, BITCH!" She then charged at the assistant and tackled her to the ground. The assistant looked at Rainbow Dash in fear, whimpering and shaking.

The director ran out from the bushes, yelling, "Cut! Cut! Enough! Get your hands off of my assistant!"

Twilight got up and looked at the scene before coughing up blood. Rainbow Dash asked, "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Your friend Twilight was the star of our show on school bullying!"

Rainbow Dash went up to the director and angrily said, "What?"

"I had my assistant kick and punch the living hell out of Twilight, though I must say, you really went overboard, A.D."

The assistant said, "Sorry about that."

"Overboard? What's gonna happen to Twilight?"

"She'll get a lotta sympathy, and we'll get a lotta views."

Rainbow Dash then growled and pulled out a knife. "I've never wanted to go to prison so badly now than ever. Let's just say I really wanna slash your throat open with my knife here."

"Go ahead, just remember, I'm filming the whole thing." In reality, the cameras were off.

Rainbow Dash then balked. "Wait, what?!"

Suddenly, the director punched Rainbow Dash across the face, grabbed her knife, and kneed her in the stomach, knocking her out. "Alright, now that we have that taken care of, let's wrap up. We're gonna have to censor Twilight's face, though."

However, a voice behind them said, "That won't be necessary."

The director, his assistant, and the cameraman all turned around and saw Twilight, having "transformed" and now free of injuries. The director said, "Woah! What happened to you?!"

"You have trespassed against me, all 3 of you have." Twilight then brought out a die. "For that, we'll play a game. But this will be no ordinary game."

The assistant said, "Should we?"

The cameraman said, "Why not?"

"Fine," the director defeatedly replied. "But only because you were the star, Twilight."

"It's a simple game of dice," she replied. "Whoever rolls the lowest number wins. Whoever loses will face a penalty greater than their imagination."

The director said, "I'll represent my quote-unquote team of sorts. Let's make it quick."

"Good. I'll go first." Twilight then rolled a 6 on her die.

The assistant, the director, and the cameraman all laughed. The director said, "No way! There's no way I can lose! I'll just pick up this die..." He then lunged at Twilight. "And throw it hard at your face!"

The die them bounced off and hit the ground, splitting in two. "You lose."

The director said, "But how?! I rolled a seven?!"

Twilight then revealed she had held up the Alicorn Puzzle to her face, hitting the die in just the right spot to break it. "All 3 of you now have to face my punishment. The door to darkness has been opened." She then pointed at the 3 of them and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

The 3 of them then covered their faces as a flash of light engulfed their vision. When they looked again at Twilight, the cameraman screamed, "My vision is mosaicing!"

The director said, "Why is everything censored?!" The three of them screamed at the top of their lungs as their pupils themselves turned into mosaic and they went blind.

Twilight smiled and triumphantly said, "For bending the truth in front of the cameras, everything you 3 liars see from now on will be censored for the rest of your pathetic lives! Game Over!"

As the 3 of them ran away, Twilight transformed back to "normal" without any injuries.

She said, "Huh? Why are they running away screaming?"

Rainbow Dash then got up and hugged Twilight, saying, "Twi... Are you okay? Why aren't you injured?"

"I don't know," the very confused girl replied. "I blacked out with my mouth bleeding and I think one tooth smashed, and the next thing you know, I woke up with not a scratch and those 3 guys from the news running away, screaming that they're going blind."

"Well," Rainbow Dash said as she brushed herself off. "I hope that means that stupid story of theirs won't be published. Well, I gotta help Fluttershy after school with her animals. She's dealing with this one bear who has a really bad ear infection and a bat with a broken wing, and though her parents are both licenced vets, they said they could use all the help they can get. I'm thinking of getting myself a job there. Wanna come over?"

"Sure. I could even help you 2 out with your homework." Twilight then laughed. "Seriously, you could use some improvement."

Rainbow Dash laughed as well, saying, "You're right about that. I sure do suck at math."

At the Luna Corporation headquarters in Manehattan, Nightmare Moon was preparing to have a meeting with the President of the Lunar Republic, a horned man named Duke Tail, and his Cabinet. He was a shrewd politician and was known for being friendly to businesses. He had ruled the Lunar Republic since 1990 and was often considered a close ally to Nightmare Moon.

As the meeting began, Nightmare Moon said, "Me and your Cabinet have spoken, President Tail."

"I know that," Duke replied. "What did you guys speak about?"

Suddenly, the entire table, save for Duke, got up and stood beside Nightmare Moon. "We spoke about you and me. As of today, you are no longer the President of the Lunar Republic. The Lunar Senate will be voting me in to take your place in mere hours, Duke. I used every single political trick you taught me against you. How does it feel, knowing a near-immortal woman and ex-Princess banished from Equestria who makes video games is now in control of your country?"

Duke Tail angrily got up and said, "Fine! You win, Nightmare Moon! Now burn this into your head!" He then turned around to a window. "This is what happens to losers!" He then ran head first into the office window, shattering it and plummeting 35 stories to his death on the street below.

Nightmare Moon simply chuckled and said, "To lose means to die. Thank you for your final lesson, Duke Tail. Now, with all this power, night will soon rule over all of this planet." She then turned to the cabinet members. "Thank you for your support. You will bring upon a new era in this world."

Duel 5-Midnight Robbery

September 12, 2015

Fluttershy stayed up most of Friday night. Now, it was 12:44 A.M., and she was talking to Twilight on her phone. As she did, she heard a door being violently opened. She quickly looked up as her parents got up to see what was going on.

As her dad walked down, he said, "Who's over here?!" Then, more shouting was heard, and a struggle took place.

Fluttershy quickly hid in a bathroom as she heard the struggle continue. She said to herself as she cowered in the closet of the bathroom, "Please go away, please go away, please go away..." She quickly got her phone out and texted Twilight, "HELP ME THERE ARE BURGLARS"

Twilight, back at her house, was confused. She texted back, "what?"

"HELP ME CALL THE POLICE"

"call them yourself. I'll be down there" Twilight then got up and yelled to Spike, "Spike, watch the house for me! I have to go somewhere for an emergency."

Spike tiredly got up from his bed and groggily said, "Okay... Have fun..." He then fell back onto his bed and fell asleep.

Twilight hurriedly got dressed and ran out of the library to grab her car, which had been given to her by Celestia as a gift when she moved to Ponyville. As she got on, she thought to herself, "Fluttershy, please hold on. Help is on the way."

Back at Fluttershy's house, 3 burglars had knocked both of Fluttershy's parents out. The leader of them said, "Let's see what these guys got."

Then, one of the burglars suddenly came running in from another room, screaming, "There's animals in there! A bear almost attacked me!" As he came out, a giant bear did indeed follow him.

The leader said, "Everyone, get back!" He then drew his pistol and aimed it at the bear.

Fluttershy, upstairs, was startled by the sudden gunshot from downstairs. She began crying as she thought to herself, "Oh no, they have guns! Who did they shoot? My mom? My dad? One of the animals?" To make matters worse, in her fear and anxiety, she had forgotten to call for help from the police.

About 10 minutes later, Twilight arrived. While she was biking to Fluttershy's house, she called the police halfway through her trip. However, due to the distances involved and the fact that the police were tied up at a bad car accident on the other side of town, it would be a while before they would arrive at Fluttershy's rural house.

She quickly got out and ran up to some bushes near the front to hide. She then looked down at her puzzle and said to it, "I hope you give me luck. I need to help her."

Suddenly, the puzzle glowed again, and Twilight stood up. She calmly walked over to the front door of the house and knocked.

The 3 robbers quickly looked at the front door from the inside. The ringleader said, "Don't just stand there. One of you, open it."

Another robber quietly walked up to the door and then flung it open, pointing his gun at Twilight. She said, "Well, well, well, I see you have made yourselves welcome at my friend's house."

The robber said, "Who the hell are you?"

"Just a friend, nothing more." She then pulled out a weird cylindrical toy from her bag. "Since you seem to be ransacking this place, how about we play a game? If you win, you get to take my life and the lives of everyone else in this house. If I win, a punishment beyond comprehension will await all 3 of you."

The ringleader said, "Why should we play your game?"

"If you don't play, I will call the cops on you 3." Twilight then smirked.

"Ugh... Fine. We'll play. What's that toy of yours?"

She then placed it on the ground. "It's called a Sound Pierrot. It dances when it detects one of the players making a sound. It's kind of like a jack in the box. Whichever group makes a sound first loses." She then laughed and said, "Game Start!" She then bent down and turned the toy on.

The 4 of them stood in place quietly, all anticipating the first person to make a sound.

As time wore on, the ringleader began to grow impatient. "C'mon," he thought to himself. "Somebody make a God damn sound already!" Then, he had an idea. "I got it! I'll just shoot this girl, and the game won't matter." He then aimed his gun at Twilight and cocked it, setting off the Pierrot. "It doesn't matter if I lose this game! You will still die!" He then fired a shot at Twilight's head.

Suddenly, the sound of a bullet hitting something echoed, and the 3 robbers stood in shock at what was in front of Twilight as she said, "No, I won't. You lose."

Her puzzle and her horn glowed as the compressed bullet hovered in mid air. Then, the bullet dropped to the floor. The ringleader said, "What the hell are you?!"

Twilight then pointed at the 3 robbers and said, "Penalty Game!"

One of the robbers screamed, "It's all a lie! It's all a lie! It's all a lie! All of it!" He then cackled maniacally as the other 2 robbers began going mad as well, chanting and talking to themselves.

Then, in unison, the 3 of them put their guns to their heads, said, "All is lost," and shot themselves.

Twilight said, "There just was no redeeming for any of you. The only thing I could do was end your pathetic lives. Game Over!" Suddenly, she glowed and changed back to normal as the police approached the house.

Nightmare Moon sat at a roundtable with 4 other people in a dark room. It was clear this would be a meeting off the record. She said to them, "Open the files in front of you and take a good, hard look at your targets."

The 4 others sitting at the table were:
1. Cloud Tail, Nightmare Moon's apprentice, 17 years old, Pegasus. High-ranked Capsule Monster Chess player and Duel Monsters player.
2. Ivory Spark, 20 years old, Unicorn. High-ranked Duel Monsters player.
3. Lila Love, 19 years old, regular. Fashion model from the Lunar Republic. Ivory Spark's girlfriend. High-ranked Duel Monsters player.
4. Aqua Lilly, 27 years old, regular. Executive for the Luna Corporation. Master of gaming.

Nightmare Moon then continued, "Lila Love, you will target Twilight first. I will leave the secondary targets to your choice."

Lila Love then replied, "Yes, Master. I'll be sure to test the waters."

"Excellent. The Four Horsemen of Death are now in operation. You are all to keep this a secret. Nobody is to know of this meeting. We must keep this under wraps so Celestia doesn't destroy us. Lila Love, may I give you a suggestion on a secondary target?"

"Of course, Master."

"There's a flying competition in Ponyville that at least one secondary target is participating in tomorrow. Disguise yourself amongst the spectators and kidnap that Rainbow Dash girl that Twilight knows. If you see any other secondaries, be sure to nab them too. You will lead Twilight right to yourself."

"Yes, Master. They won't know what hit them. I can easily get my hands on knockout drugs and spike one of Rainbow Dash's drink after the competition. Once she's out cold, I'll nab her. It's foolproof."

Duel 6-The First Horseman

September 13, 2015

It was 5:30 PM. Rainbow Dash was standing in line, carrying a form she had filled out earlier. From her excited expression, one could tell she was pumped. She thought to herself, "Alright, time to wow the crowds with my skills!"

Watching from the crowd was her friends, including Twilight. She was still rattled from last night's events, but she had put them aside to cheer on Rainbow Dash. Next to her were 3 smaller girls, all about Spike's age. One of them, a purple-haired winged girl, waved at Rainbow Dash and said, "Over here!"

Rainbow Dash noticed her and turned around, waving back and saying happily, "Thanks for showing up, Scootaloo! I'm glad all of you could make it to watch me win!" She then grinned.

Scootaloo replied excitedly, "That's the spirit! Show the others who's boss!"

Another face in the crowd, hidden behind sunglasses and carrying a camera, took several pictures, including one of Scootaloo. The person said, "Looks like I found my target."

Rainbow Dash had come in first place in the race. Afterwards, the gang gathered at a pub in Ponyville to celebrate.

The victorious girl said to her friends, "To my friends Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and, of course, Spike, this has been an eventful evening. I wanna thank all of you soooo much for having my back out there. Let's just say I can't wait for the next race to come up. When it does, I'll be sure to win again! Cheers!" The group all then clinked glasses.

Afterwards, at 9:36, Scootaloo began walking back to her home. She said to herself as she rounded a corner onto her street, "I hope I can win races like Rainbow Dash when I'm older."

Suddenly, she heard and felt a metallic clang on the back of her head, and she fell to the ground, unconscious. A woman stood over here, carrying a crowbar. She said to herself, "I wasn't able to drug your drink, so I'll have to knock you out instead." She then picked Scootaloo up in an over-the-shoulder carry and walked to a waiting car down the street.

When she got in, she shoved the unconscious Scootaloo next to her. Her driver said, "Miss Lila Love, where do you wish to go?"

"To the meeting point," she replied. "I'll look through this girl's phone and find Rainbow Dash's number." She then reached into Scootaloo's pockets, trying to find her phone. When she found it, she turned it on and began looking through her contacts. "Even better..." She surprisingly found Twilight's number on Scootaloo's phone. "I'll just call Twilight myself."

As Twilight was talking to Spike at the library, she felt her phone vibrate. She said to Spike, "Hold up a sec, I got a call." She then looked at her phone and answered it, saying, "Hello?"

"Oh hello," Lila Love replied. "This is Twilight Sparkle, right?"

"You don't sound like Scootaloo at all... Who are you?" Twilight seemed worried.

"You can pick her up at the old warehouse near town hall. I'll see you there. Bring your puzzle and your Duel Monsters cards." Lila Love then laughed and hung up.

Twilight immediately stood up and said to Spike, "I need to go somewhere. If I don't make it back by 10:45, call the police." She then ran upstairs.

Spike said, "Where are you going?"

Twilight yelled down, "No time to explain!" She then ran back down, carrying her puzzle and her deck of Duel Monsters cards. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, Spike."

Spike was about to say something, but he just stopped and nodded.

At the warehouse, Twilight drove up in her car, flung open the door, and ran out. When she ran into the empty building, she saw just how decrepit the building was. There were holes in the ceiling, potholes across the floor, and cracks in the cement.

She then noticed a table and 2 chairs near her. She yelled out, "Where are you?!"

Then, Lila Love walked out from the darkness and took a seat at the table. She said, "Come on, take a seat."

Twilight grudgingly took a seat at the table as well, placing her deck down on it. She asked firmly, "Where. Is. Scootaloo?"

Lila Love then pointed and said, "There."

Twilight looked over and gasped in shock. "Oh my God! Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo was suspended from a rope and pulley by her hands held up above her. By now, she was conscious. She said, "Twilight?! Oh thank God you're here!" She then spit on the ground. "That asshole sitting in front of you bonked me in the head with a crowbar and kidnapped me! Kick her ass!"

Then, Lila Love stood up and said, "That's enough out of you." She then walked over with her crowbar and hit Scootaloo 4 more times with it, knocking her out again. "Now, shut up!"

Twilight said, "Why you little..." Suddenly, the puzzle began to glow, and Twilight transformed once more. She stood up and faced Lila Love, saying with anger in her voice, "You will pay!"

The other woman simply replied, "Really?" She then sat back down again and pulled out a deck of cards. "Let's have the cards seal our fate."

"Indeed," Twilight replied. "Be warned, though, this will be no ordinary duel."

"Whatever." She then drew her first card. "To start off, I'll summon Frenzied Panda with 1200 attack." She then placed the card down.

Suddenly, smoke began coming from the card, and Twilight said, "I told you this was no ordinary duel. This is a Shadow Game."

Lila Love said in astonishment, "The cards are alive?! No way!"

Twilight then drew her first card and said, "Now it's my turn. I'll summon Ancient Lizard Warrior with 1400 attack." Just like Frenzied Panda, Ancient Lizard Warrior came to life on the table. "Attack!"

The lizard slashed the panda and killed it, reducing Lila Love's life points by 200.

LILA LOVE: 1800
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 2000

Lila Love said, "This... This is amazing!"

Twilight replied, "To you, it certainly must be. However, whoever loses this game will face a punishment greater than their wildest dreams."

"Good! This is the high-stakes game I've always dreamed of! Bring it on!" Lila Love then cackled.

Twilight thought to herself, "She truly has no idea who she is messing with..."

Lila Love then said, "I'll summon Battle Ox, one of the strongest Beast-Warrior cards in the game with 1700 attack! I'll easily wipe the floor with your lizard!" As Battle Ox came to life, it growled. "Attack!"

LILA LOVE: 1800
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

Twilight said as she drew her card, "Your Battle Ox may be strong, but I am stronger." She then thought to herself, "Crap, I don't have any monsters in my hand with an attack higher than Battle Ox. However, I do have a Mystical Elf that can defend me until I draw a stronger card." She then said, "I'll summon Mystical Elf in defense position with 2000 defense."

"That's a good card you got right there," Lila Love replied. "Too bad I'm better." She then drew her next card and said, "I'll activate Black Pendant to boost my Battle Ox's attack to 2200! Now, decapitate that stupid elf!"

As Battle Ox swung his axe, a loud chop was heard, and Mystical Elf's head fell to the table before she disappeared. Twilight grudgingly placed the card in her graveyard before saying, "I admit it. You one-upped me there." As she drew her next card, she looked at it and thought, "Another weak card. I'll have to defend against Battle Ox until I draw a better card."

For the next 3 turns, Battle Ox knocked down all of Twilight's monsters. Lila Love said on the last of the 3, "I wanna watch you suffer. Eventually, you'll just run out of cards."

Twilight then drew her next card and looked at it with excitement. I'll summon the Summoned Skull with 2500 attack!"

Lila Love replied in shock, "Summoned Skull?! That's rare as hell!"

"Destroy Battle Ox!"

LILA LOVE: 1500
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

Twilight set 2 cards and ended her turn.

Lila Love then said, "I must admit, you're pretty good. You should even enter the next local tournament around here." She then drew her next card. "But this is the end of your good luck. I summon my trump card, Cosmo Queen, with 2900 attack!" As Cosmo Queen formed, Lila Love thought, "I win!"

Twilight chucked and said, "You fell right into my trap. I'll activate my quick-play magic card, Shrink, which cuts your Cosmo Quen's attack in half!"

Lila Love gasped and said, "What?! No!" Cosmo Queen literally shrank to half of her size as her attack was reduced to 1450.

"But I'm not done yet, Lila. I'll then activate my trap card, Secret Barrel, which will inflict 200 damage for every card in your hand and on your field. Since you have 5 cards in your hand plus Cosmo Queen on the field, you will take 1200 damage."

LILA LOVE: 300
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

Lila Love thought to herself, "No! I can't lose!"

Twilight then said, "Summoned Skull, destroy Cosmo Queen!"

LILA LOVE: 0
TWILIGHT SPARKLE 1700

Lila Love got up from the table and yelled, "No! I shouldn't have lost! Nightmare Moon's gonna have a fit when she hears about this..." Then, thick smoke began to surround the table. Lila Love said, "Huh? What's going on? What the hell are you?!"

Twilight's eyes, horn, and puzzle then glowed as she said, "And now, the door to darkness has been opened." She then pointed at Lila Love and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

Suddenly, Lila Love saw the world around her disappear, replaced only by darkness. She said, "Where am I?! Where are you, you little bitch! When I find you, you're dead!"

Then, she heard growling behind her. She turned around and screamed.

Before here were multiple monsters, all baring their teeth and licking their lips. One of them spoke to her, saying, "Time to eat!"

In the real world, Lila Love ran around, screaming and yelling, "I'm being eaten! Dear God, somebody help me! Somebody help me! Noooo!"

Twilight then walked over to Scootaloo and untied her, gently laying her on the ground. She said, "Lila, you will experience death in that world. But don't worry, it's only an illusion. However, I do have to find out about your connection to Nightmare Moon. This only confirms that she is indeed trying to go after me. But... If that's the case, Princess Celestia is also in danger." She then sighed and smiled with confidence. "No matter. When Nightmare Moon comes, we will be ready. Game Over!"

Duel 7-The Second Horseman

September 16, 2015

After school, Twilight talked to Spike about the past several days being filled with a variety of events. As they sat down and did homework, Twilight said, "I don't know, Spike. Ever since I solved that puzzle, I've been blacking out for various periods of time. Plus, I think something was up with that Lila Love girl. I can't remember my encounter with her that much, but I do know it seemed like she was sent by someone. Who that someone is, I have no clue."

Spike, worried about Twilight, said, "I wonder if they are after the puzzle. I heard that rare artefacts from the times before Discord could fetch well over hundreds of thousands of bits."

"If you're implying I should give up the puzzle," Twilight said, annoyed. "I won't."

"I'm not saying that at all. The only person me and Celestia trust in regards to that puzzle is you."

Then, a knock on the door was heard. Spike got up to get it. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a pegasus that said, "Hello there, is Twilight Sparkle here?"

"Uhhhh, yeah?" Spike was confused by this visitor. "Who are you?"

Suddenly, the visitor pulled out a cloth and said, "Your worst nightmare." He then spun Spike around and placed the cloth over his mouth, causing him to pass out. "Well, now that I've taken care of the witness, it's time for me to confront you." He then shut and locked the door behind him.

Twilight, angered and scared by the visitor's assault, shouted, "Who are you?! What the hell did you do to Spike?!"

"I just gave him some chloroform. I wouldn't want him getting in the way. Anyways, my name is Cloud Tail. I am associated with that Lila Love girl you dueled and defeated." He then grabbed game supplies out of his bag. "Now you will face me."

Twilight then clutched her chest as the puzzle glowed once more. After a minute, she looked at Cloud Tail, determined and confident, and said, "So you are. What game do you have in mind?"

"Capsule Monsters Chess." He then laid out the board and game pieces on a reading table in the main room. "I have brought 10 pieces for us to use. We will pick them at random from a bag."

Twilight sat down at the reading table and said, "Be warned, Cloud Tail. This is no ordinary game."

"I know. Lila Love told me that you change into someone else when you battle. It's almost as if you are a different person, in fact."

Once the game was set up, Twilight said, "Let's begin."

Cloud Tail's Pieces:
1. Eye Mouth (1)
2. Ganpo (5)
3. Red Cobra (4)
4. Devil Castle (1)
5. Flowerman (1)

Twilight's Pieces:
1. Torigun (2)
2. Ninja Squid (2)
3. Winged Dinosaur (5)
4. Mogley (1)
5. Brain Slime (1)

Twilight clumped together all of her pieces on the right side of the board, with the exception of Torigun, which was left on the left side by itself. Cloud Tail thought to himself, "Hmph. Her formation is amateurish at best."

Twilight moved Mogley first, right into the attack path of Cloud Tail's Ganpo. She said, "Throughout this game, I'm gonna teach you some lessons."

"Whatever," Cloud Tail replied. "Attack!"

Suddenly, the pieces came to life, and Ganpo incinerated Mogley. Twilight said, "Just like with Lila, I have turned this into a shadow game. The loser will face a punishment beyond their imagination."

Cloud Tail said in disbelief, "No way! What Lila said about the monsters coming to life was real?!"

"Indeed. Now, I'm gonna move my Ninja Squid up to your Red Cobra." She then sighed. "Forgive me, God, for what I'm about to do. Suicide Attack!"

Ninja Squid, using one of its special effects, blew itself up, also destroying Red Cobra. Cloud Tail simply shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. I still have more pieces than you." He then moved his Eye Mouth forward. "Ganpo, destroy her Brain Slime next."

As Twilight's Brain Slime burned, she said, "The first lesson is this: When a player is too confident in their abilities, they begin to show off their weaknesses."

"Shut up," Cloud Tail exclaimed. "I have no time for your remarks."

"The second lesson is this," Twilight said as she moved Torigun for the first time. "Never lose your temper. By the way, take a look at the way your monsters are positioned."

Cloud Tail, confused by what she meant, looked at the board and said, "Yeah, so? They're diagonal, not that it makes a difference."

"Now look at where my Torigun is located."

Cloud Tail looked over at her Torigun and said, "Once again, it won't make a-" He then paused. "Wait a minute." He suddenly realized why she asked that question. "No way..."

"Torigun's special effect allows it to destroy all monsters in a diagonal line once per game. You lose. Attack!"

Then, Torigun flew up above the board and slashed through all of Cloud Tail's monsters, ending the game. "I lost?!"

"Let this be the third lesson: Always save your trump card for last." She then stood up from the table as her horn, puzzle, and eyes glowed. "Now the door the darkness has been opened." Then, she pointed at Cloud Tail and exclaimed, "Penalty Game!"

Suddenly, Cloud Tail saw the bottom half of a capsule form around him as well as the top half of one form above him. "What... What's going on?!" Then, the capsule began to fall around him as he screamed.

Twilight angrily said to him, "Now, tell me who sent you and Lila before I banish you to hell!"

Cloud Tail then laughed. "Fine, you unicorn bitch! I'll tell you who fucking sent me!" He then gave Twilight the double middle finger and he said, "It was Nightmare Moon! My mentor sent me! Are you happy, you little bitch!" He then laughed again as his sanity slowly dwindled and the capsule closed on him.

In the real world, Cloud Tail then collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Twilight picked him up and said, "Looks like you kinda went crazy there for a sec." She then dragged Cloud Tail out the front door and picked him up on her shoulders. "Where to put you..." She then went to the back of her house and found a dumpster. "Perfect." She then threw him into the dumpster as she said, "Into the trash you go!"

When she walked back inside, she had transformed back to normal, and Spike had woken up. He asked Twilight, "What happened? Where was that pegasus guy?"

"I have no idea. I had another blackout." Twilight then walked over to the reading table. "Why is there Capsule Monsters Chess stuff here?"

Duel 8-The Third Horseman

September 19, 2015

"Say," Twilight said as she talked on the phone. "Did anything weird happen with the puzzle when you had it, Celestia?"

"Weird?" Celestia looked confused as she spoke to Twilight from Canterlot. "Not really. It pretty much just collected dust inside the box when I stored it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, since I solved the puzzle, I've been having memory blackouts at random times." Twilight rubber her forehead. "I've told nobody because I fear they might think I'm crazy or something."

"Crazy? Twilight, you're one of the sanest people I know. You're not crazy. If you have more blackouts, call me and I'll head over right away." Then, a guard called to her. "I gotta run. See ya later, Twilight."

"Bye, Celestia." She then hung up. "I wonder... Who will be the next opponent Nightmare Moon sends my way?"

Later that day, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and a friend of Rainbow Dash named Flash Sentry were playing Duel Monsters at her house. Twilight was explaining the rules to Flash Sentry, a new player of the game. "There are 4 types of cards: Monsters, Magic Cards, Viruses, and Traps. Monsters battle each other. Magic Cards can be activated only on your turn unless they are quick-plays. Viruses can be played on any player's turn once you set them. Traps can only be activated the turn after you set them. Rainbow Dash, wanna duel and show your friend how it's done?"

"Of course," Rainbow Dash replied. "Flash, watch carefully." Rainbow Dash went first.

Twilight said, "At the beginning of the duel, each player draws 5 cards. Additionally, each player draws 1 card per turn automatically, unless otherwise affected by a card effect."

Rainbow Dash said, "I'll summon Ancient Brain with 1000 attack. I'll then end my turn."

Twilight then went. "I'll summon Battle Warrior with 700 attack. Then, I'll activate the virus card Earth Shattering*. I'll sacrifice my Battle Warrior and half of my 2000 life points to destroy all cards you control and send all cards in your hand to the graveyard. You also take 150 points of damage for each card sent to the graveyard. I'll then set 1 card and end my turn."

RAINBOW DASH: 950
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1000

"Crap," Rainbow Dash. "I did not factor that in."

Flash laughed and said, "You seem pretty weak in this game, Dash."

"No matter. I'll summon The 13th Grave with 1200 attack. I'll attack you directly."

"I'll stop you right there," Twilight replied once she flipped her set card up. "I activate Negate Attack. Your attack gets cancelled."

"Aw man..."

"I'll go next." Twilight then drew her card. "I'll summon Blackland Fire Dragon with 1500 attack. It will attack your 13th Grave and deal you 300 damage."

RAINBOW DASH: 650
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1000

Suddenly, the 3 of them heard a noise behind them. Twilight looked and said, "What the hell is that?!"

Some form of gas was coming out of the air vents in the house. Rainbow Dash said, "Oh shit!"

Flash Sentry was the first to fall, collapsing to the floor, unconscious from the gas. Rainbow Dash and Twilight tried to cover their mouths as they heard 2 more thuds upstairs from Rainbow Dash's parents going unconscious.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash tried to stand up and bolt for the door. However, halfway there, she fell too. When Twilight saw this, she gave up and lapsed into unconsciousness.

About 5 minutes later, after the gas cleared, a man entered the house. As he checked the house, he found the interrupted Duel Monsters game on a table. He said, "Hmph. This duel is very amateurish. There are elementary schoolers in the regionals better than this."

Then, a voice suddenly beckoned to him, "So there is?"

The man turned around and saw Twilight, having transformed through the puzzle, standing in a doorway. "How did you wake up?!"

"It's a good thing I was holding onto the Alicorn Puzzle when I fell unconscious," Twilight replied. "Let me guess, you're with Nightmare Moon?"

"Indeed I am," the man said. "I am Ivory Spark, the third horseman, and Lila Love's girlfriend."

"Well, well, well," Twilight replied as she sat down at the table where she had previously been dueling. "Can you play?"

"Of course! I'll kick your ass for hurting my girlfriend, Twilight!" He then sat down as well as she grabbed his deck.

Twilight picked up her cards and reshuffled them into her deck. "Do NOT underestimate me." They both then drew their cards.

Ivory said, "I'll go first. I assume the monsters will come to life again?"

"Of course. This is a Shadow Game, where the loser faces a punishment beyond comprehension."

"I'll summon Beautiful Beast Tamer, with 1750 attack. I'll then end my turn."

"Well then." Twilight then drew her card. "I'll summon Blackland Fire Dragon with 1500 attack. Then, I'll activate Big Bang Shot and equip it to my dragon to boost its attack to 2100." As both monsters formed and stared each other down, Twilight said, "Now, attack!"

TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 2000
IVORY SPARK: 1650

Ivory replied, "Not bad, not bad. You're better than I thought. Now it's my turn again. I'll summon Cyber-Tech Alligator with 2500 attack. I'll also activate Swords of Revealing Light to prevent you from attacking for 3 turns. Now, destroy her dragon!"

TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1600
IVORY SPARK: 1650

Twilight thought to herself, "Crap! I'll need to defend for now." She quietly set a monster and ended her turn.

"I'll just demolish it like that dragon of your's!" Cyber-Tech Alligator easily obliterated Twilight's set monster.

Twilight then drew her next card and smiled. "I'll summon Giant Soldier of Stone with 1300 attack. Then, I'll activate Earth Shattering. By sacrificing my soldier and paying half of my life points, I'll destroy all of your cards on the field and make you discard every card in your hand! You'll be taking 1350 damage."

TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 800
IVORY SPARK: 300

"How did you get a virus card?! Those were just introduced! They're super rare! Even I have only one!" Ivory was in shock. "Whatever. It's my turn." He then drew his card. "I'll set this monster and end." The monster he set was Battle Footballer, with 2100 DEF.

Twilight said, "Okay then. I'll summon my trump card, Dark Magician!"

Ivory Spark thought to himself, "Dark Magician AND a virus card?! HOW?!"

"Then, I'll take care of that set monster you have by equipping Dark Magician with Fairy Meteor Crush, which will inflict the difference between my attack and your defense as battle damage." Twilight then smiled. "You lose. Now, Dark Magician, attack!" As Dark Magician formed and got ready, Twilight triumphantly said, "Black Magic!"

Dark Magician stuck his palm out as a shattering sound echoed through the house. Battle Footballer formed and was instantly destroyed, shattering into numerous pieces.

TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 800
IVORY SPARK: 0

Ivory said, "No way!"

Twilight then stood up and pointed at him as her eyes, puzzle, and horn glowed, shouting, "Penalty Game!"

Ivory Spark suddenly began to hear a beating. He said, "What the-?! What is this?!" As the beating got louder, he tried to cover his ears, but to no avail. He screamed, "Oh dear God, make it stop!" He then darted out of the house, screaming.

"Now you shall be cursed to hear your own heart beat for the rest of your pathetic life. Game Over!" Twilight then remembered, "Wait... Rainbow Dash's parents!" She then panicked and suddenly changed back to her normal self as she ran upstairs.

As she did, Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry woke up. Rainbow Dash said, "Flash? Twilight? What happened?"

When Twilight ran upstairs, she found Rainbow Dash's mother, who had also just woken up, crying in a bathroom. Twilight said, "What happened?!"

"My husband drowned," Rainbow Dash's mother said as she continued to cry. Twilight looked over and gasped.

Apparently, when Rainbow Dash's father went unconscious, he had fallen into a toilet, fracturing his skull, giving him a cerebral haemorrhage, and making him drown in water and his own blood.

Twilight pulled him out and said, "Call 911 now!"

Rainbow Dash ran to the room and screamed, "Oh my God! Dad!"

As Rainbow Dash's mom ran out to call 911, Twilight began to do CPR. As she did, Flash Sentry arrived and said, "Holy shit!"

After 2 minutes of chest compressions, Twilight said, in tears, "He's... He's gone..."

Rainbow Dash cried out, "DAD! NO!" She collapsed into Twilight, sobbing, as the police arrived at the house.

Author's Note

Earth Shattering=Sacrifice all EARTH-type monsters you control and pay half of your life points to destroy all cards your opponent controls and send all cards in their hand to the graveyard. Inflict 150 damage to their life points times every card sent to the graveyard this way from your side of the field and their side of the field, not counting this card.

Duel 9-The Fourth Horseman

September 20, 2015

A voice shouted, "That idiot!" A slam on a table was then heard echoing through a darkened meeting room. "We are NOT supposed to kill bystanders! I swear to God, if we get more careless, we'll be exposed before we know it!" The woman talking was clearly angry.

"Nightmare Moon," another voice calmly replied. "I apologise. Ivory Spark was too careless. I opposed his participation from the beginning. He doesn't care if he hurts bystanders."

"I thought I could keep him under control," Nightmare Moon replied as she relaxed. "But I guess I couldn't. He almost blew our cover by killing Rainbow Dash's father." She then sighed. "Whatever. We only have 3 days before the Summer Solstice and 4 days before Luna Land opens for business. I need you to go to Ponyville tomorrow and deliver Twilight's invitation to the opening of Luna Land. I will organise the efforts to bring Celestia. Also, test Twilight. If you defeat her, Celestia will be all mine to handle. Good luck, Aqua Lily."

"Yes, Master Nightmare Moon."

September 21, 2015

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and her friends had all gathered at Twilight's house after the funeral of Rainbow Blaze, Rainbow Dash's father.

"Thank you all for being there for me," Rainbow Dash began. "This has been a rough past few days, and I'm glad I have friends to back me up. The police still have no leads on what was to blame for the gas that leaked in our house, unfortunately."

Fluttershy, who was still crying and being comforted by Rarity and Spike, said, "You're... You're welcome..."

Twilight said, "I really wish me and Flash Sentry could help more, but we're still stumped, Rainbow Dash." Flash Sentry nodded.

Pinkie Pie, who was almost never in a downer mood, was very quiet. She had never been so downtrodden and silent ever since her grandparents had died several years ago. Applejack looked at her and asked, "Hey Pinkie, are ya doin' alright?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Not really. I usually love parties and get-togethers, but not when they're because of death."

The blonde patted Pinkie on the shoulder and said, "Same here. I still remember the day of my parents' funeral. I was only 'bout 7 years old. All my relatives were crying, and I barely understood what death was."

Later that night, a buzz of a doorbell woke up Twilight at 10:30. She rustled in her bed and slowly slipped out of it, rubbing her eyes and saying, "Who the hell could be knocking at my door at this hour?" Before walking out of her room, she put on her Alicorn Puzzle seemingly subconsciously.

After walking down the stairs and to the door, she opened it. Before her was Aqua Lily, who held an envelope and said, "I apologise if I am interrupting your sleep. I really am. You have been invited to the opening of Luna Land."

Twilight grabbed the envelope and said, "Luna Land?" She then yawned. "Who does that?"

"My boss, Nightmare Moon." She then walked into the house, pushing Twilight out of the way with ease. "I am the Fourth Horseman of Death. I applaud you for coming this far. It is a shame you will lose now."

Twilight suddenly got angry and yelled, "You monster!" She then charged at Aqua Lily, fist aiming right at her face.

Then, Aqua Lily grabbed her fist and knocked Twilight out with a punch to the side of the head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have done that."

Then, Twilight began to stand back up again as her puzzle glowed. As she transformed, she said, "No, you shouldn't have done that."

Spike suddenly came down running from the stairs, saying, "What's going on?!"

Aqua pulled a gun from her coat and aimed it square at Spike's head, saying, "None of your business. Do not call the police. Do not interrupt us."

Twilight looked at Spike in shock. Spike thought to himself, "What's up with Twilight? She seems... Off..."

Aqua then said, "Now, let's begin." She sat down at a table and pulled her deck of cards out. "I hope you're ready."

Twilight checked her pockets for her deck, but couldn't find it. She said, "Excuse me for one moment." She then walked over to a cabinet and looked around for her deck, eventually finding it.

Aqua said as she shuffled, "Now that you're ready, let's go over something. I know that you turn into a different person when you duel. I also know that you can make these cards come to life. I would like to inform you that Nightmare Moon has made the technology to replicate your magic, and will be debuting it at the opening of Luna Land."

Twilight replied coldly, "I don't give a damn. All I care is that my friends and family are safe." She then turned to Spike. "Spike, go to your room."

"But-"

"Trust me, I'll be fine." She then gave him a smile of confidence. "I don't want you getting hurt."

The young man nodded and ran back up to his room, thinking, "I've never seen this amount of confidence in Twilight before. This is odd..."

Aqua went first. "I'll summon The All-Seeing White Tiger with 1300 attack."

"Okay then," Twilight replied. I'll summon Beautiful Headhuntress with 1600 attack." As her monster formed, Twilight pointed at Aqua's monster. "Attack!"

AQUA: 1700
TWILIGHT: 2000

"Not bad," Aqua said. "I'll summon Green Gadget with 1400 attack. This is a brand new card that also has an effect." She then looked through her deck. "I'll add 1 Red Gadget from my deck to my hand." She then shuffled her deck and put it back down. "Then, I'll activate Black Pendant to boost Green Gadget to 1900 attack. Now, destroy her headhuntress!"

AQUA: 1700
TWILIGHT: 1700

Twilight drew her card and said, "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

Aqua replied, "Alrighty then! I'll destroy it!"

The set monster was Giant Soldier Of Stone with 2000 defense. Because of this, Aqua lost 100 life points.

AQUA: 1600
TWILIGHT: 1700

Twilight told her, "Don't be so quick to attack, Aqua Lily." She then drew her card. "Now it's my turn. I'll summon Dark Magician with 2500 attack!" As the Dark Magician formed, Aqua smiled, impressed that Twilight had that card. "Black Magic!" Dark Magician then attacked Green Gadget.

AQUA: 1000
TWILIGHT: 1700

Aqua said, "I'm impressed. That is a pretty rare card, Twilight. However, it won't save you." She then drew her card. "I'll activate Raigeki to destroy your 2 monsters!"

Twilight said, "Oh no!" The Dark Magician and the Giant Soldier of Stone were then struck by lightning, causing them to shatter into thin air.

"Then, I'll summon Red Gadget! Now, attack her directly!"

AQUA: 1000
TWILIGHT: 400

Twilight cursed under her breath as she drew her next card and looked at her hand, pondering what to do next. Then, she saw a card that piqued her interest. "I'll set 1 card in the Magic and Trap Card zone and end."

Aqua laughed. "You're just giving up?! How pathetic!"

Then, as Aqua drew her next card, Twilight said, "I'll activate my trap card, Secret Barrel! For every card you control on the field and in your hand, you take 200 damage!"

Aqua exclaimed, "What?! No!"

AQUA: 0
TWILIGHT: 400

Twilight said simply, "I win."

Aqua once again grabbed her gun from her coat. This time, she aimed it at Twilight's head and said, "You little bitch! I'll kill you!"

Twilight's puzzle then glowed, causing the gun in Aqua's hand to become unbearably hot. After several seconds, Aqua was forced to drop the gun from how hot it got. As soon as she dropped it, the heat disappeared. Twilight stood up and told her, "The door to darkness has been opened."

Aqua got up as well and said, "How did you-?! How?!"

Twilight pointed at Aqua as her horn and eyes glowed and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

Aqua looked down at her right hand and screamed.

Her right hand began to form the chambers of a revolver, and her right hand was beginning to involuntarily move to her head, her right index finger turning into a barrell and her right thumb turning into the hammer.

"Please! Stop! I'm sorry!"

Then, her thumb cocked back, breaking it and causing Aqua to scream in pain, and a squeeze of a trigger was heard.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the room, and Aqua fell to the floor.

In reality, Aqua was unconscious, but otherwise unhurt. Twilight stood over her and said, "When you wake up, tell Nightmare Moon I'm ready for her."

As Spike raced downstairs to see what had just happened, Twilight transformed back into her regular self. Spike said as he ran to her, "What happened?! I heard a gunshot!"

Twilight, confused and not able to remember what had just happened, said, "What? What happened? A gunshot?" She then looked over at Aqua. "How did she get knocked out?"

Spike asked her, "You don't remember anything? Didn't you duel that woman?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied as she felt her forehead and horn. "Spike, I have a confession to make. Don't tell anyone else about this, okay?"

"Got it," Spike said firmly. "I won't tell a soul, Twi."

'I've been... Having blackouts now ever since I solved the Alicorn Puzzle." Twilight scratched the back of her head. "I have no clue what goes on during these blackouts. I've been researching medical books and books on ancient Equestrian history, but nothing can explain them."

"Hmmmm," Spike said to himself. "You did seem very different when I saw you duel Aqua..."

"How different?"

"You seemed... Taller? More confident? Deeper voice? Does any of that ring a bell?"

"Nope." Twilight then sat down and pulled her phone out. "Well, time to call the police. We can't just leave this woman here all alone."

Duel 10-Luna Land

September 24, 2015

The day before, Twilight had called her friends, telling them of her invitation to Luna Land and the threat Nightmare Moon posed. They all agreed to go to Twilight's house and await the limousine that would transport them to Luna Land.

At the house was:

Twilight
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie
Applejack
Rarity
Fluttershy
Spike
Flash Sentry

As they all sat down at tables in the library, Twilight got up before them, ready to speak. "Now," she began. "Before we go, I have to make something clear: I do not know what lays ahead. However, I do know that what does lay ahead could be very dangerous. I want everyone here to remain safe, and I want nobody getting hurt. Nightmare Moon may have her cronies, her cards, and her powers, but she lacks friendship and the heart of the cards, and that is why she will lose."

Rainbow Dash replied, "You're God damn right, Twilight. That bastard killed my dad, and we're gonna go deliver a serving of justice to her, up close and personal. You got this, Twi."

Then, Spike looked out a window in the doorway and said, "The limo is here!"

Everyone got up and walked out the door, not knowing what to expect.

Outside, a chauffeur got out and opened the passenger door, saying, "Greetings. Master Nightmare Moon is awaiting your presence."

"Tell her we're ready," Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie said to Rarity, "Oooh, that looks like a pretty awesome limo, right?"

"It sure does," Rarity replied. "Let's just hope this isn't a trap."

When they arrived at Luna Land in the city of Trottingham, they were greeted by Nightmare Moon herself. "Welcome," she said to the group, cheerful and energetic. "I'm glad you all could make it." She then extended her hand to Twilight.

Twilight uneasily shook her hand in response, saying, "Nice to meet you, Nightmare Moon." She thought to herself, "What's up with this woman?"

Fluttershy said to a visibly irritated Rainbow Dash, "Calm down, Dashie. Punching Nightmare Moon, or worse, won't help, for now at least."

The young woman sighed and replied, "I'll control it. Don't worry. Remember, don't get lost or hurt."

Flash Sentry said to Spike, "Hey there, fellow dude amongst girls."

Spike laughed and replied, "Hi." The 2 then fistbumped. "I assume Rainbow Dash roped you in?"

"Yep," the blue-haired man replied, "She said she needed me just in case shit hit the fan."

"Hopefully it doesn't."

As the group was led through the entrance of the park, a crowd of people watched them, intrigued as to why Nightmare Moon had invited them.

Once they reached the service entrance to another section of the main building of the park, Nightmare Moon turned around and said, "Now, you may all be wondering why I brought you here today."

The rest of the group replied with generic yesses to Nightmare Moon's question. Twilight raised her hand and said, "Why is there such a long line to the other entrance to this section?" She was referring to another entrance they had passed earlier that had a long line coming into it.

"You're about to see," the businesswoman replied. A guard then walked up, nodded at Nightmare Moon, and opened the door of the entrance.

Nightmare Moon walked in first, soon followed by 4 guards and the rest of the group. As soon as they walked in, they noticed that the section they had walked into was a stadium of some kind with a large tiled playing field and 2 yellow platforms that had been lowered to the ground.

Twilight looked around at the spectators, all cheering and screaming. She wondered why so many had come here.

Then, Applejack pointed at one of the yellow platforms and said, "Hey wait a minute! Ain't that Princess Celestia?!"

Twilight quickly looked over and gasped.

Celestia stood on the right hand lowered platform, seemingly worried and frightened.

Twilight broke from the group and jumped over a barrier to get onto the field, shouting, "Celestia! Celestia!"

The Princess looked over and said, "Twilight! Come over here!"

Twilight ran up to her and asked, "Celestia, what are you doing here?"

Celestia sighed and said, "Nightmare Moon kidnapped me this morning. I've been locked up inside the park for several hours. She wants me to duel her using some new Duel Monsters Arena she made."

"What?! No way!"

Nightmare Moon walked down to the 2 of them and said, "Yes way, as a matter of fact. Welcome to Hell on Earth, Celestia and Twilight. You all will die here, and nobody will ever know until it is too late to stop me."

As the rest of the group caught up to them, Twilight screamed, "Nightmare Moon, you monster! You wouldn't dare!"

"But I do, little girl." After laughing and stepping into her platform, she said, "Welcome to Moon-T, where the winner walks away and the loser faces a penalty game!"

Celestia said to Twilight, "Go back to the stands and wait there for us. I'll be fine. I have my secret weapon with me." She then winked her right eye at Twilight and smiled.

Twilight nodded and said, "Godspeed, Princess. Godspeed."

As the group went back to the stands, the platforms got into their ready positions. Nightmare Moon turned on a built-in microphone connecting the 2 platforms together and sinisterly said, "Good luck, sis." She then grabbed a portable microphone and said, "Welcome to Luna Land! Today, your's truly will be facing your head of state, your Princess, your leader, Princess Celestia of Canterlot! This was a duel already agreed to by both of us. I hope you enjoy your stay here at Luna Land, and I would like you to wish both of us the best of luck. Now, let's duel!"

The crowd went wild as the duel finally began, chanting, "Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon!"

As they both drew their cards, Nightmare Moon spoke through her built-in microphone to Celestia, saying, I'll let you go first."

Celestia replied, "Fine." After drawing her card, she said, "I call upon Divine Dragon Ragnarok with 1500 attack." She then placed her card down on the electronic playing mat on her platform.

Suddenly, the tile that corresponded with the zone she placed the card in began to light up, and the monster she had summoned began to take form.

Celestia gasped and said to herself, "No way! She made the cards real!"

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Flash Sentry all said together, "Real monsters?!"

Applejack yelled, "What the hell's going on out there?!"

Nightmare Moon said to Celestia, "I bet you're a little shocked, sister. This is my new Virtual Simulation System. It indeed makes the cards come to life." She then drew her card. "Now it's my turn. I summon Bottom Dweller with 1650 attack!" AS the monster took form, Nightmare Moon said, "Attack her dragon!"

NIGHTMARE MOON: 2000
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 1850

Princess Celestia had to look away and cover her eyes as the bright light of the attack flashed before her. She thought to herself, "She's gone mad!"

Once the attack was done, Nightmare Moon said, "Oh yeah, and one more thing." She then pressed a button on her platform that only she had. "I forgot this little surprise."

Suddenly, a glass box rose in the centre of the field. In it were 2 armed guards. Celestia said to Nightmare Moon, "What did you just reveal to me?"

"The loser will be forcibly escorted into that little glass room and subjected to a penalty game." Nightmare Moon thought to herself, "You did this to me, sister, and now, it's your turn."

Celestia replied, "No matter! Now it's my turn again, and I summon Hyozanryu with 2100 attack!" After the dragon took form, she said, "Attack her Bottom Dweller!"

NIGHTMARE MOON: 1550
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 1850

Twilight cheered and said, "Alright! Go Celestia!"

Nightmare Moon replied, "Not bad. That's a very good card. Now it's my turn." After she drew her card, she said, "I''ll summon Akihiron in Defense Position with 1400 defense. I'll now end my turn."

Celestia thought to herself, "Once I get my Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field, Nightmare Moon is done for! The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the strongest monster in the game with 3000 attack and 2500 defense. Only 4 were made, and I have one of them. Nothing can defeat it."

After Hyozanryu destroyed Nightmare Moon's defense monster, she said, "Now I'll summon Empress Mantis with 2200 attack! Now, destroy Hyozanryu!"

NIGHTMARE MOON: 1550
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 1750

Rainbow Dash said, "This duel is getting pretty intense. Those are some damn strong cards they both got there."

"I'll set 2 cards face down and end my turn."

Celestia said, "I'm far from finished, Nightmare Moon!" She then drew her next card and smiled, simply saying, "I win."

Nightmare Moon said, "You win? How?"

"I summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with 3000 attack!" Celestia then set the card onto her platform.

As the monster formed on the field, the crowd once again went wild, left in shock and awe over Celestia's Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Now, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!" The Blue-Eyes White Dragon replied by opening its mouth and firing a massive beam of light at the Empress Mantis, destroying it with ease.

NIGHTMARE MOON: 750
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 1750

Nightmare Moon simply laughed, replying to Celestia, "You think that can stop me?! Sure, it may be the most powerful monster in the game, but I still have a truck up my sleeve! I'll first activate Ultimate Offering, which allows me to sacrifice 500 life points to normal summon or set another monster. Then I'll activate Blue Medicine to bump my life points up by 400."

NIGHTMARE MOON: 1150
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 1750

Celestia said, "So what? No monster can match the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Indeed," Nightmare Moon replied as she summoned a monster. "That's why I got one of my own."

Celestia, shocked at Nightmare Moon's answer, replied, "What the hell?! You got a Blue-Eyes?!"

As Nightmare Moon's Blue-Eyes formed, she said, "That's not all. I'll sacrifice 1000 of my life points to bring forth my other 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

Celestia was in a state of extreme shock by this point, amazed and horrified at the fact that Nightmare Moon had 3 copies of the most powerful monster in Duel Monsters. "No... Impossible!"

Twilight screamed, "Celestia! No!"

"Now," Nightmare Moon replied, "Attack her! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

NIGHTMARE MOON: 1150 (WINNER)
PRINCESS CELESTIA: 0 (LOSER)

As the force of the attack hit Celestia, she screamed in pain as the air escaped from her lungs and her arms were forced back by the sheer force of the wind, dislocating her left shoulder with a very loud "pop". She felt her windpipe burn intensely as she breathed in superheated air.

Once the attack was over, the platforms were over, and Celestia could barely find the strength to stand, having had the wind knocked out of her by the attack. Nightmare Moon walked over to her platform and grabbed her Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, saying, "Here's your first penalty game, bitch!"

Twilight jumped onto the field, screaming, "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Nightmare Moon then ripped her Blue-Eyes White Dragon in half before tossing the 2 pieces on the ground. She said, "The rules only allow 3 copies of one card in a deck, so the fourth one is unnecessary to me."

The entire gang of 8 stopped dead in their tracks and gasped in shock. Twilight screamed, "CELESTIA'S BLUE-EYES! NO!"

Celestia weakly reached out and said, "No! My... My Blue-Eyes!"

"Of course," Nightmare Moon said as her 2 armed guards led Celestia into the glass box. "There is still one more penalty game for you."

Once they shut the door on the box, the guards pressed a button outside, filling the box with obscuring smoke.

Celestia looked around, rubbing her dislocated left shoulder. "Where am I?"

Suddenly, she heard growling behind her and looked. She screamed when she saw what had made the growling.

A group of at least 6 monsters, all hideous, oozing blood from their mouths, and bearing their sharp teeth, approached Celestia. She screamed, "Oh my God! Someone help me! Oh dear God! Oh God no!" The screams got louder and louder as the monsters began to attack her, or so it seemed to her.

Twilight screamed at Nightmare Moon, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

Nightmare Moon replied, "This is the Experience of Death, Twilight. It's a machine that subjects the victim to extreme illusions of being devoured by monsters. I put 10 convicted criminals from the Lunar Republic through this to see how they would react. All went insane in 8 minutes, 7 tried slitting their wrists with their own fingernails in 13, and 4 succeeded in killing themselves in 20. Now, if you want me to let her out, you must agree to face me in Moon-T, or else."

"Fine," Twilight confidently replied. "I'll go up against you in your sick game! Just let her out!"

"You heard the girl, boys. Let her out."

The guards nodded and turned off the box before opening the doors, allowing Twilight to run in. As the rest of the group ran up to catch up with her, Twilight ran to Celestia's side, tears filling her eyes.

Celestia, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, held her face with her left hand, saying, "Twilight..."

"Celestia," Twilight said as she began crying. "I'm so sorry I let you get into this..."

Celestia then said, "It's not your fault, my star pupil..." She then reached into her pocket with her right hand and pulled out a small deck box. "I... I want you to have this..."

"Celestia, please, you're going to make it..."

"I know, you idiot... I can't die yet..." She then coughed up some blood in Twilight's face before wiping it off with her left hand. "Sorry about that... Use this deck to defeat Nightmare Moon... Please..." She then clutched her chest with her right arm in intense pain.

Twilight grabbed the deck box and put it in her pocket before yelling at the group, "Somebody call 911! I think she's having a heart attack!"

Nightmare Moon groaned and said, "I'll call my medical staff to pick her up." She then called the first aid station on her phone to pick Celestia up as the crowd wondered what was going on.

"You bitch," Rainbow Dash yelled at her. "First you killed my father, and now this!" As she tried to charge at Nightmare Moon, Fluttershy and Rarity held her back.

A guard asked, "Should we eject her from the park?"

Nightmare Moon replied, "No, let her be. She'll be needed for this."

After about a minute and a half, 3 people ran onto the field with a stretcher and a medical bag. Once they loaded Celestia up, they quickly wheeled her away. The crowd, thinking she was now alright, began clapping as they usually did at sporting events when an injured player was wheeled off.

Nightmare Moon grabbed her portable microphone and said, "Celestia was a bit thrown off by that. Don't worry, she'll be fine, ladies and gents. She would want us to carry on with the show. Now, look at the group of 8 that I brought in here with me. These lucky 8 will participate in Moon-T, a game where they will face a variety of challenges leading up to the final stage, where one of them will face me in a Duel Monsters game. Don't miss it!"

The crowd then cheered, thinking Moon-T would be a harmless game of survival.

In reality, it would be the exact opposite.

Duel 11-Laser Battle

Several security guards led the gang of 8 to the door to the first level, opposite of the entrance to the first duel arena. When they got to the door, Twilight said, "Everyone, get ready."

When the door opened, it led to an elevator. The 8 of them entered the elevator and found there was only 1 button. Pinkie Pie said, "Huh... This button says Moon-T 1." She then pressed it.

As the elevator went to the next floor, just above the duel arena, Rainbow Dash said to Twilight, "I wonder what this will be."

"Same," the horned girl replied. "Hopefully it isn't too challenging."

When the door opened, they looked around and saw 8 lockers filled with electronic vests and laser guns. Applejack said, "Laser tag? Really?"

Then, a TV in the equipment room flashed on, and Nightmare Moon appeared, saying, "This is no ordinary Laser Tag game."

Fluttershy, startled by the TV, jumped and said, "Woah!"

Twilight said to Nightmare Moon, "What do you mean?"

"You will be facing 4 mercenaries I hired. They all have a lot of experience in wars across the world." The first mercenary's picture then appeared on screen. "This is Blue. He is a 15-year-veteran of Equestria's army special forces." The second mercenary's picture then appeared on screen. "This is Red. She was originally in a gang for 20 years as a hitman. She has no living victims." The third mercenary's picture then appeared on screen. "This is White. He has 23 years under his belt in intelligence." Finally, the fourth mercenary's picture then appeared on screen. "This is Green. He has 14 years of experience in the marines." Then, Nightmare Moon appeared again on screen. "Good luck." The TV then shut off.

The door to the laser tag battlefield opened. Inside, it was dark, and the level appeared to be sci-fi, with long corridors containing prop computers and electronics, as well as stereotypical test tubes containing what seemed to be aliens.

However, Twilight decided to step in and take a closer look at one of the test tubes. She said, "These aliens seem a bit sketchy..." When she peered inside, she got the shock of her life and screamed. "That's a real dead body!"

Inside all of the tubes were the bodies of executed criminals, all killed by a shot to the back of the head. Fluttershy turned around and threw up before crying. Rainbow Dash comforted her. Rarity screamed, "What?! No way!"

Applejack ran over and took a look at the body for herself. She stared at it for several seconds before shaking her head in disbelief. "No way... Nightmare Moon is a psychopath..."

Then, one of the mercenaries spotted them from a platform above and fired on them. All 8 of them quickly dispersed as Applejack attempted to fire back, seemingly hitting the mercenary once but not doing anything to him.

Spike clung onto the nearest person to him, which happened to be Rarity. Once the shooting stopped, he looked up and saw an annoyed Rarity pointing to his hands, "Ummm... Your hands..."

Spike took a look at where he had clung onto Rarity and immediately jumped off in embarrassment, his face almost completely red. His right hand had grabbed her chest in the fray. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry I did that!" He then looked away.

"It's fine, darling. No need to be so upset about it, though it did hurt when you latched on." She then quickly ducked down behind the corner of a wall as the mercenary returned fire.

"I swear to God I hit 'em," Applejack said to Twilight and Flash Sentry in frustration. "But my laser had no effect on 'em!"

Then, Pinkie Pie came running back from the other side of the arena, an unconscious mercenary, Blue, in her hand. "Look what I found, guys!"

"Wait, how did you... Nevermind," Twilight said, deciding to not try and find an explanation for Pinkie Pie's actions. "Anyways, give me that mercenary's gun. I have an idea."

Suddenly, Fluttershy screamed in pain as she was hit by a laser, her vest seemingly electrocuting her. She then fell to the ground, whimpering and crying, unable to move.

Rainbow Dash ran over and picked her up, dragging her to safety with Twilight and Flash Sentry. When she laid her down, she shook her and said, "Fluttershy, wake up!"

All she could say was, "It... It... Hu-... It hurts..."

Twilight then realized why Applejack's gun had no effect. She yelled out, "Our guns are useless!"

Rarity and Spike both said, "What do you mean useless?" They then looked at each other, wondering why they both spoke at the same time.

"The guns we have are basically toys! They don't do anything!" She then picked up the unconscious mercenary's gun. "This gun, on the other hand, can and will shock you, as it just did to Fluttershy." She then handed the gun to Applejack. "You're the best shot in this team, AJ. Go kick some ass."

"I'd be happy to," Applejack replied as she took the gun and walked out calmly to face the mercenaries.

On the other side of the arena, Red, White, and Green were arguing. "I can't believe that pink-haired bitch surprised us and took out Blue by landing on top of him like that," Red said. "At least they won't have any more tricks up their sleeves. What are the odds of them doing a stunt like that again anyways?"

"Don't say that," White replied. "It's bad luck."

"Shut your trap with your superstitions, White," Green said. "Let's just focus on getting our pay."

"I'm afraid y'all ain't gettin' paid today."

The 3 of them turned around just in time for Applejack to shoot Green, causing her vest to shock her. White yelled, "Holy shit!" He returned fire, gun Applejack quickly got out of the way and ducked behind a corner.

Then, Rainbow Dash yelled from the top of a prop platform, "Up here, you big horse's ass!"

As Red looked above, Rainbow Dash jumped and landed right on top of her, knocking her out instantly. When White aimed at her, she grabbed the gun from his hands and deflected it as he fired off a shot before punching him in the gut and once again in the jaw, knocking him out as well.

As the rest of the gang caught up, Applejack said, "Alright! We got 'em all without gettin' a scratch!"

Fluttershy, helped up by Twilight and Flash Sentry, said, "Yay..."

Rainbow Dash then ran over to her and took her from Twilight and Flash Sentry, saying, "You'll be okay, Fluttershy. You'll be okay."

Twilight then took her vest off and said, "Alright, gang. Let's go to the next level."

Rarity and Spike, bewildered by how they spoke together, continued talking about each other as they walked to the rest of the gang. "Well, I've been surrounded by people in the fashion industry for most of my life. My mother worked in it for a long time, and she and my dad actually met through it. So, for the most part, fashion and clothing is my path. How about you?"

"Well, I'm like 3 grades below you, so I really have no clue what I'm gonna do after high school. I gotta get through middle school first, after all." Spike then nervously laughed. He was thinking to himself, "Don't screw this up, don't screw this up, don't screw this up...

Flash Sentry looked behind him and saw Spike. He simply smiled and gave him a thumbs up before quietly mouthing, "You got this."

Spike gave him a thumbs up in reply. Rarity then said, "You seem like a good kid, darling."

"And you... You seem like a good girl, Rarity," Spike replied. "Er... Good person..." Rarity giggled in response.

Then, the door to the next level opened. Twilight said, "Let's roll, everyone."

Duel 13-The Mansion

When the gang walked into the mansion, they were greeted by a small main hall with stairs on both sides of the wall. Rainbow Dash ran up them to the second floor to see if any of the doors up there worked. She tried every single one, and every time, it was the same result. "Agh! Damn it, none of these doors work!"

Suddenly, a hologram flashed up from the floor below. It was Nightmare Moon. "Why hello there..."

Twilight said, "What do you want?"

"Welcome to my little mansion of horrors, guys and gals." She then smirked. "As you may know by now, none of the doors on the second floor work."

"I know that," Rainbow Dash exclaimed, annoyed.

"To get to the next stage, you have to open the door in front of you on the first floor." Then, a guillotine opened up from the floor on a stage lift. "However, to open the door, 4 of you have to put your hand in the slots on this guillotine and figure out which button to press. If you press the wrong button, or if you take too long, the guillotine will fall, and your hands will be chopped off." She then smiled. "Have fun!"

As Nightmare Moon disappeared, Pinkie Pie said, "She is craaaaazy."

Flash Sentry walked up and placed his hand in a slot, saying, "Well, it's worth a shot." That's when they all noticed that above each slot was a number above each slot. The numbers were "00, 01, 10, 11." Flash's slot was 00.

"I'll go," Rarity said. However, Spike placed an arm in front of her and stopped her.

"No," he said. "I'll do it." He then placed his hand in the 01 slot.

Twilight nodded and placed her hand in the 10 slot. Applejack said, "Well, if nobody else gon' do it..." She placed her hand in the 11 slot.

Twilight then noticed a piece of paper hammered to the top of the guillotine. "Hey, look at that." She pointed at the paper with her free hand. "That paper up there said "blood.""

"But it's misspelled," Flash Sentry replied. "It says b, l, l, o, o, d. What does that mean?"

Then, the guillotine blade suddenly inched downwards a bit before stopping, startling everyone. Spike said, "Whatever it means, we better figure it out soon!"

Applejack said, "Try to find a clue on that paper!"

Twilight nodded and began to look at the paper intensely. "Hmmm... What's unusual about this apart from the spelling? Wait a minute... That's when she noticed something. "That second L looks a bit odd. It has a downward arrow on it."

Then, the guillotine inched closer again. Fluttershy said, "Oh no..."

Rainbow Dash then said, "Hey, I found another note on the ground on the second floor!" She then picked up the note. She read it, saying, "The guillotine does not like misspellings." She shrugged and said, "I don't know what that means."

"Hmmmm," Twilight said to herself. Then, she realized what the solution could be. "Applejack, press your button now!"

Applejack replied, "Are ya sure?"

"Just do it!"

Applejack nodded and pressed her button. Sure enough, the guillotine stopped, and the slots opened up, allowing the 4 of them to free their hands.

The whole gang breathed a sigh of relief. Spike said, "Thank God that's over."

Rarity said, "Say, how did you figure it out?"

Twilight replied,. "It was actually not too hard. You see, the word blood was misspelled on the first note. The second note said the guillotine did not like misspellings." She then pointed to the numbers on the guillotine. "Then, I just converted the numbers into letters. 10 became b, 11 became ll, 00 became oo, and 01 became d. I also noticed the first note made the second L look like a downward arrow."

Fluttershy said, "That's pretty good,. Better than anything I could do."

Then, the door behind the guillotine opened, leading to the next part of the mansion. The gang triumphantly walked past the guillotine and into the next room.

The next room was an octagonal room with 4 paintings on the wall. Unlike the first room, it was lit up. Rarity looked around and said, "What's the deal with this room?"

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon's voice said over an intercom, "Hello again."

Twilight replied, "What game are you gonna put us through now?"

"Nothing really. This is just a teaser for the final part of the mansion." Then, it appeared as though the ceiling began to stretch upwards. "You see, the door you entered through is now locked. The ceiling above you is not moving. Instead, you are being lowered, as this room is actually an elevator."

As the room lowered, the paintings' bottom halves were revealed, showing more grotesque images than as they originally appeared. Fluttershy began to shake in fear. "I don't like this..."

"Now, the elevator should stop right about now." Sure enough, the room stopped lowering on cue. "There are no doors out of here that are unlocked. However, of course, there's always my way."

Suddenly, several crashes of thunder were heard as the room turned dark. As Twilight looked up, she saw what appeared to be a hanged corpse above everyone in what appeared to be a cupola as a scream was played over the intercom.

Then, Applejack screamed, "Flashbang!" Suddenly, a loud boom was heard followed by another crash of thunder as everyone was stunned and the sound of a door slamming shut was heard. When everyone came to their senses again, the lights flipped back on.

Suddenly, Twilight said, "Hey, where's Pinkie Pie?"

"Oh no," Rarity said. "She's gone!"

Nightmare Moon's voice came over the intercom again, saying, "So, how did you like it?"

Twilight yelled, "Where the hell is Pinkie Pie?"

"I took her to another place. Don't worry, she's safe for now."

"For now?" Rainbow Dash then punched the wall. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Anyways, allow me to open the next door." A door opposite of the entrance to the room opened. "Before you go, I must warn you of the next challenge. You see, I hired a man who has a lot of skill in killing."

Fluttershy by now was crying and holding onto Rainbow Dash's arms. Flash Sentry asked, "What do you mean experience?"

"I hired a serial killer from my nation in exchange for a pardon. His name is the Hunchback Killer. He murdered 22 people over the course of 2 years at a summer camp with an axe. Now, two of you will step into the Hunchback Killer's lair while the rest of you wait here."

Then, a voice from the next room said, "Come here... Come here...

"I believe that's him. Now, I want... Fluttershy and Rarity to go in." Nightmare Moon then laughed. "Try to find a way to stop him. Good luck."

Fluttershy said, "No..."

Rarity walked over and patted her on the back, saying, "We'll make it through this. We just need to stop the killer."

Duel 14-The Hunchback Killer

The Hunchback Killer's room was a dank and dark room filled with various weapons mounted on the walls. The only source of light once the door closed behind Fluttershy and Rarity was 6 candles on the walls. The killer himself wielded a large knife.

Rarity said to Fluttershy as they and the killer paced around each other, "Just stay calm, and do NOT get hurt, alright?"

Fluttershy whimpered and nodded her head. The killer replied, "What are ya gonna do?"

Rarity replied, "Try to stop you and get the hell outta here."

"We'll see about that," the killer replied. Then, suddenly, he charged at Fluttershy with his knife. Rarity quickly reacted, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and pulling her out of the way. She then noticed an axe on the wall next to her. She quickly grabbed it and pushed Fluttershy behind her.

Rarity, defiantly holding the axe, said, "Come any closer and I'll split your head open!"

"Well," the killer replied. "Looks like we are at an impasse. We both have weapons, very lethal and sharp ones too, and we can both easily strike at any time..."

For the next 3 or so minutes, the 3 of them held their ground, not moving at all. Finally, Fluttershy began to grow impatient and even more scared. She looked around, trying to see what she could use. "Please, I need to think of something, and fast! I don't know how long Rarity and the killer can keep this up!" Then, she had an idea.

She quietly grabbed a candleholder with a lit candle off of the wall without the killer noticing. She touched Rarity on the shoulder to warn her. Rarity then stepped out of the way as Fluttershy threw the candle at the killer.

The killer flailed his arms as the candle caught part of his shirt on fire. Rarity then threw the axe right at the killer, slashing him across the chest. She then grabbed a throwing knife off the wall and threw it at the killer as well, striking him in the throat. As the killer went down, the fire was smothered by his body falling to the floor.

Fluttershy said, "Oh my..."

"Now that that's all over," Rarity said. "How the hell do we unlock the doors out of here?"

Then, both doors in the room opened on their own. The rest of the gang ran in, checking to see if Rarity and Fluttershy were okay. Rainbow Dash ran over, worried, and said, "Are you hurt anywhere, Fluttershy?"

"No, thank God." Fluttershy then brushed her shoulders. "I'm glad that's over with. I don't know how much longer I could have taken it in there."

Spike ran up and gave Rarity a big hug, saying, "I'm so glad you're okay, Rarity."

The horned girl blushed and returned the hug, replying with, "Thank you, Spike..."

As he watched, Flash Sentry then got an idea. "Hey, everyone, I got a really cool idea." He then reached into his pocket and grabbed a marker. "I forgot I had an old Sharpie pen in my pocket from earlier. Anyways, gather your right hands around in a circle."

Twilight asked, "What are you gonna do?"

"Yeah," Applejack said as well. "Are ya gonna draw a smiley or somethin'?" She then laughed.

"Actually, I was thinking a star, but I like your idea better, Applejack." He then proceeded to draw on the eight of their right hands. When he was finished, he said, "This symbol will represent that we will always be together, even after this smiley face fades away."

Everyone nodded. Rainbow Dash said, "Alright then. I like the idea."

Pinkie Pie said, "This smiley face is pretty cool. So, shall we go to the next round?"

"Of course," Twilight replied. She then turned to everyone else and said, "Alright gang, let's roll out."

The rest of the gang shouted in unison, "Yeah!"

After walking down another corridor, they all found themselves in an empty room with a tall ceiling. Flash Sentry looked around and said, "This place looks pretty desolate. Are you sure this is Moon-T 3 and not some storage room we got lost in?"

"Hey," Applejack said as she pointed at something. "Lookit that over there!"

Twilight looked where Applejack had been pointing and saw an opening up above. "Huh... That's pretty high for an opening... How do you think we'll get there?"

Suddenly, Fluttershy yelled, "LOOK OUT FROM ABOVE!"

Then, a massive metal block fell from the ceiling and onto the floor, just inches from striking Spike and Rarity, who quickly ducked out of the way. The loud clang of the block startled everyone. Spike yelled, "What the hell is this level, anyways?!"

"You are in the Room of Falling Blocks," said Nightmare Moon's voice over an INTERCOM. "The trick is to avoid the blocks while they stack up to let you climb to that opening on the wall. Good luck." The INTERCOM then cut off.

"Oh no," Twilight said. "This could be the worst one yet!"

Duel 15-Terror Cubes

The second block fell, luckily far from everyone else, as the gang tried to figure out where and when the next blocks would fall.

A third block then fell, startling Rainbow Dash. She said, "Somebody better figure out this God damn pattern fast before we get squashed!"

"I'm trying," Twilight yelled back in frustration. "Hmmm," she thought. "The blocks can't just fall randomly. There has to be a pattern to them. They all fall at the same time interval."

After the fourth block fell, Fluttershy spoke up, saying, "Uhhh... I think I may know the pattern. I learned it when I was a dancer."

"Now that you mention it," Rarity said as well. "I think I may recognize it too. I am a dancer myself. If me and Fluttershy are right, the next block should fall there." She then pointed at a spot next to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

Sure enough, a block fell there. Twilight said, "Good thinking, you 2! We're saved!"

For the next 5 or so minutes, the group easily dodged the blocks as Fluttershy and Rarity pointed out where each block would fall. Also, they began to climb them as they built up to the opening in the wall.

Finally, a block landed on the same level as the opening's floor, allowing the gang to climb up and enter. Twilight went up first, followed by Applejack. She said, "Come on now, we ain't got all day, folks!"

As another block fell next to the climbing block, Rarity and Spike climbed up, soon followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Finally, Flash Sentry climbed in, and Rainbow Dash was getting ready to as well.

Suddenly, however, a block fell right next to Rainbow Dash, causing her to scream from what seemed to be fright. Rarity yelled, "Oh my God, they must have changed the pattern!"

Fluttershy yelled, "Dashie, hurry up!"

"Agh," Rainbow Dash said. "You'll... You'll have to go without me..."

Twilight said, "What do you mean go without yo-"

Suddenly, Fluttershy screamed, "HER WING WAS CRUSHED!"

Sure enough, Rainbow Dash's right wing had been caught and crushed by the block, trapping her. She winced in pain, but still gave a thumbs up as she said, "Don't worry about me, guys. I'll find a way outta here somehow."

Twilight yelled, "Rainbow Dash, no!"

Fluttershy screamed, "DASHIE!"

Then, another block fell, blocking off the opening. Twilight screamed, "RAINBOW DAAAAASH!"

Applejack said, "Oh my God... No way..."

Pinkie Pie began to cry loudly as Fluttershy started quietly sobbing to herself. Rarity banged on the block blocking the entrance as she yelled, "Listen to me, Rainbow Dash! You better use your fucking head to get yourself outta there, you hear me?! I'm not gonna let you just die here, alright?! FIND A WAY OUT!" She then began to cry herself.

Twilight suddenly spaced out as she heard her own heart beating rapidly and began to breathe heavily. She thought, "I... Rainbow Dash... No... I let her die... I let her die... I LET HER DIE... RAINBOW DASH IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME... MY FRIEND IS DEAD BECAUSE I DIDN'T ACT IN TIME... I'M A WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH... I'D BE BETTER OFF DEAD MYSELF... BETTER OFF DEAD... BETTER OFF DEAD..."

Flash Sentry noticed that Twilight had spaced out, and he said, "Hey guys, hold up. Something's wrong with Twilight..."

Spike asked, "What do you mean?"

Applejack looked at Twilight and said to her, "Are ya alright there, Twilight? Are ya with us?"

"If you're worried about Rainbow Dash," Rarity told her. "Don't be. She'll find a way out. I know it, she is not dead."

Then, Twilight snapped out of it. She shook her head and said, "Ugh... My head hurts again..." She then began to cry. "I... I had bad thoughts... I haven't felt this hopeless since I was just 13 and 14... I haven't thought about harming myself since then, until now, with this." She then broke down. "I failed..."

Angered, Applejack grabbed Twilight by her shirt and yelled, "GET A GOD DAMN GRIP, TWILIGHT!" She then delivered a hard punch to Twilight to try and literally knock sense into her, causing Twilight to fall to the ground and stop crying. "I'm... I'm sorry I did that to ya... But y'all need to calm the hell down before something else bad happens..."

Twilight looked up and said, "I have... I have 2 confessions to make... One, when I was around 13, I was bullied and harassed pretty bad. Now, you may think it was on the level of the "old" Rainbow Dash, but no. Hell, compared to what happened back then, Rainbow Dash was a saint..."

Several years earlier

Twilight had just returned home from another terrible day at junior high school. After dinner, where she had mostly remained quiet, she went upstairs to her room. There, she plopped down on the bed and began to quietly sob to herself. She had once again been harassed by a group of girls who bullied her, primarily over a false rumor that she asked out a popular boy and got rejected, alongside the unfortunately typical 'she's smarter than us, so she must be ugly and unattractive.'

As tears stained her pillow, she thought to herself, "I need a better way to let this out. Crying isn't cutting it. Hey, cutting it... Cutting..."

The young horned girl got up and quietly tiptoed to the bathroom upstairs in her house. When she got there, she found a container of razor blades in a cabinet and picked one up. She said to herself, "Do I really want to do this?"

She then lowered the blade onto the skin of her left arm, fearing what would come next. She then fought back her urges to stop and pushed hard enough to draw some blood. At first, the pain felt bad, but after about a minute, Twilight began to feel numb to it. She made 4 more cuts before stopping and washing the blade and the blood in the sink. After putting the blade away, she grabbed a bandage and wrapped it around her left arm.

When she went back to her room, she put on a long-sleeved shirt and fell back on her bed as she began to cry again. She said to herself, "Oh, what am I doing to myself?"

"No way," Applejack said. "That's... That's awful..."

Spike, having been the only one to know until now, said, "Not even her parents know. It's very sad."

Twilight then followed up with, "Now, don't get all worried about me. I haven't actually cut myself since I was 14, and I'll be damned if I do it again." She then wiped her eyes. "My second confession is... Well..." She grabbed the Alicorn Puzzle with her left hand and held it up, its rope necklace suspended in the air. "Ever since I completed this puzzle, I feel as though there's another "me" or something."

Applejack and Spike said in unison, "Another "you?""

Rarity asked, "What do you mean another "you," Twilight?"

"Well, several times, I've blacked out during certain situations." She then sighed. "I did it at least 7 times before now. Every time, I feel as though someone else took over." She then put the puzzle down. "I didn't want to tell any of you because I was afraid you'd think I was a mental nutcase and leave me." She began to sniffle. "You guys have been the best. For the first time in my life, I've had good and dependable friends. I don't want that going away."

Spike walked up to Twilight and put his hand on her shoulder, saying, "Look, Twilight, even if that puzzle is doing something to you, I promise on my grandfather's grave that I will never abandon you."

"Neither will I," Fluttershy said.

"Neither will I," Applejack followed with.

"Of course I never will," Pinkie Pie said as she gave Twilight a big smile. "I'm nothing like that."

"I'm not gonna leave," Flash Sentry said. "I promise."

Rarity nodded and said, "Neither will I."

Twilight began to smile again as she said, "You all really are my best friends..." The 7 of them then all got together in a giant group hug as they laughed and smiled, ready to take on whatever was coming next.

Duel 16-Mentor to Apprentice

"So," Cloud Tail said to his mentor, Nightmare Moon, as they sat down in the control room of Moon-T. "Do you remember that deal we made?"

Nightmare Moon turned to him and said, "What deal?"

Cloud Tail, annoyed at his mentor's response, replied, "You forgot? Really? I made a deal with you saying that I would get to kill Twilight in Moon-T 4 so that you could sit back and watch as your worst enemy's student gets murdered in cold blood by my hands rather than yours."

"Oh," Nightmare Moon coldly replied. "THAT deal. Listen, I never really had that much faith in you actually beating Twilight as part of the Horsemen run-up plan. What makes you think I expect you to win this time around? Besides, I bet it all on Moon-T 5, which is my Duel Monsters duel with her."

Cloud Tail, now angered, said, "You WHAT?! I'm your prized pupil! You trained me exactly as you wanted to, and yet you still had no faith in me?! You even bet against me?!"

"I actually opposed your participation in Moon-T from the beginning," Nightmare Moon harshly replied. "Be glad that you're lucky enough to still be in it!"

"But... But what about the deal we made? You're my mentor! You're supposed to care for me and cherish me!" Cloud Tail, by now, was getting upset.

Nightmare Moon yelled, "ENOUGH! Cloud Tail, in this world, caring and cherishing don't matter AT ALL! Now, go!"

Cloud Tail growled and said, "Fine! I'll go!" He then motioned to a security guard, who had watched the argument in fear, and said, "Get me my things, please. I'm ready to kill that bitch Twilight if it's the last God damn thing I do!" He then turned to Nightmare Moon as he got up. "You'll see!"

"Pathetic," Nightmare Moon thought to herself. "Absolutely pathetic. Anyways, I can't wait for Twilight to arrive at Moon-T 5. It is there where she will die."

When the gang of 7 got to a T intersection in the path, one sign said "To Moon-T 4A" and pointed down a hallway to the right. Twilight said, "Before we split up, let's call the hospital where Celestia's at. Applejack, you got your little sister to watch out for Celestia, right?"

"Yup," Applejack replied. "I'll call 'er right now." She then dialed Apple Bloom's cellphone number.

At the hospital, as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle sat in a busy waiting area, Apple Bloom answered her phone, saying, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's AJ. What's the deal on Celestia?"

"She went to surgery not too long ago," Apple Bloom replied. She then grimly said, "The thing is—and please, don't tell anyone else this, sis, 'cause this could be EXTREMELY confidential and top secret and whatnot—the doctor mentioned to one of her royal guardsmen that she had a severe allergic reaction to somethin' when they began operating on 'er, and she may not make it."

Applejack replied with a shocked, "WHAT?! No! She can't!" She then paused. "Listen, just keep watch as much as y'all can, okay? We'll make it through this, and Celestia will too. She's too strong to go down like that from just a damn heart attack and some allergic reaction. I gotta run. I love you." She then hung up.

Twilight said, "What's the status?"

"It's not good." She then sighed. "Celestia suffered a severe allergic reaction to somethin', and the doctors fear the worse."

Everyone else gasped. Rarity said, "Celestia, DYING?! No!"

Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped before she said, "She's immortal to aging death! She can't die from some stupid allergic reaction and a heart attack! It's not fair!"

Twilight then said, "Everyone, everyone, listen. Applejack's right. Celestia is too stubborn and strong to let that kill her. She will be fine. Do you hear me? She. Will. Be. Fine." She then took a deep breath. "Now, I want Fluttershy, Flash Sentry, and Pinkie Pie to go down the hallway to Moon-T 4A. Maybe we can find Rainbow Dash there. Everyone else will come with me. But... Before we go, I want you all to see this..."

Fluttershy asked, "What are you gonna do?"

"I won't be afraid of me other me anymore," Twilight said. Then, her puzzle began to glow as she closed her eyes and transformed. As the rest of the gang looked in awe, her whole body glowed a bright white as she changed. Once the transformation was complete, the other Twilight turned to the rest of the group, confident and smiling, and said, "Everyone, we will win."

"So this is the other Twilight," thought Applejack, amazed. "She looks really confident. It's almost as if I'm lookin' at another person!"

The other Twilight then said, "Fluttershy, Flash Sentry, Pinkie Pie, you all know what to do. Good luck."

The 3 of them nodded. Flash Sentry said, "We won't let you down, Twilight." They then ran to the other hallway, determined to find and rescue Rainbow Dash.

Rarity then said, "Are you ready, Twilight?"

"Of course," the other Twilight replied. "To Moon-T 4!"

As Applejack, Spike, Rarity and Twilight walked down the next hallway, they began to hear a stadium crowd cheering. Spike said, "Looks like we got another arena to deal with. Sure does sound a bit smaller, though."

Then, they emerged into a smaller arena that contained a glass box on top of a tiled arena. In the glass box was Cloud Tail, sitting in a chair. He got up and walked out of the box, saying when he got out, "Welcome to Moon-T 4, Twilight! This is my level!"

"You again," the other Twilight said in disgust. "Want some revenge, huh?"

"Indeed," Cloud Tail replied. "This time, though, YOU will die! In fact, not if, but WHEN, you lose, your friends are gonna be taken by my security guards and shot in a storage room."

Twilight looked behind her and saw that 3 security guards had come up behind the rest of her gang. As Applejack tried to turn around and attack one of them, he grabbed her in a chokehold, covered her mouth so she couldn't scream, and put his gun to her head. He said, "Alright, if anyone else does anything funny, this girl will die, right here, right now."

The other Twilight, angered, said, "You're disgusting!"

"That's what you think," Cloud Tail smugly replied. "Now, come, we have a game of Capsule Monsters Chess to play. But this time, Nightmare Moon's virtual simulation system will make the battle come to life, just like your shadow game! And when you lose, you too will become a victim of the Experience of Death!"

Duel 17-Capsule Hell

The other Twilight and Cloud Tail sat down in the glass box. Between them was a Capsule Monsters Chess arena, and next to them was a Capsule Monsters dispenser.

The young apprentice said, "We will be playing a special edition of Capsule Monsters Chess. We will play normally up here, but below us, Nightmare Moon's Virtual Simulation System will play out the battle for all to see. Now, we will both take 5 capsules from the dispenser and place them on the arena. I will go first." He then reached over to the dispenser and pressed a button on it 5 times, dispensing 5 capsules.

The other Twilight did the same right afterwards. However, when she looked over her capsules and compared them to Cloud Tail's capsules, she noticed something was wrong. "All my capsules are either Levels 1 or 2. Cloud Tail's capsules all are either Levels 4 or 5." Then, it hit her. "I knew it! That little bastard rigged the damn machine! He set this whole game up from the beginning!" She said to Cloud Tail, "I know you rigged that dispenser, you idiot."

Cloud Tail uneasily laughed and replied in a denying tone, "What do you mean? I'd never do that, not even to an old hag like you."

"First off," The other Twilight replied. "You absolutely suck at lying. Second off, don't push it. Do you remember what I did to you last time when you lost?"

Cloud Tail looked over at her Torigun and said, "Once again, it won't make a-" He then paused. "Wait a minute." He suddenly realized why she asked that question. "No way..."

"Torigun's special effect allows it to destroy all monsters in a diagonal line once per game. You lose. Attack!"

Then, Torigun flew up above the board and slashed through all of Cloud Tail's monsters, ending the game. "I lost?!"

Twilight angrily said to him, "Now, tell me who sent you and Lila before I banish you to hell!"

Cloud Tail then laughed. "Fine, you unicorn bitch! I'll tell you who fucking sent me!" He then gave Twilight the double middle finger and he said, "It was Nightmare Moon! My mentor sent me! Are you happy, you little bitch?!" He then laughed again as his sanity slowly dwindled and the capsule closed on him.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember that." Cloud Tail then changed subjects, having been disturbed by the other Twilight bringing up that bad memory. "Anyways, let's forget that ever happened and get on with the game, alright? Now, place your pieces on the board."

Cloud Tail's Pieces:
Megaton (5)
Nama Hargen (4)
Big Foot (5)
Zoid "M" (5)
Armorsaurus (5)

The other Twilight's Pieces:
Mogley (1)
Ninja Squid (2)
Beeton (2)
Brain Slime (1)
Toppo (1)

The other Twilight clumped all of her pieces together, while Cloud Tail spread his out. He said, "Alright, I'll go first." He then moved Armorsaurus forward by one space.

The other Twilight shrugged and said, "I'll pass."

Cloud Tail laughed and said, "That's a pretty bad decision on your part." For the next several turns, Cloud Tail moved his pieces around while Twilight did nothing.

Eventually, Cloud Tail had completely surrounded the other Twilight. Finally, she moved her Beeton forward by one space.

"Hahaha! Finally, you move! Even so, it won't save you! Armorsaurus, kill Brain Slime!" On the field below them, Armorsaurus blew fire from his mouth and burned Brain Slime until he was a pile of ashes. "Now, kill her Toppo too with the Armor Attack ability!" Sure enough, Armorsaurus crawled into a ball and rolled right into Toppo, flattening the monster.

The crowd was shocked that the other Twilight seemed unfazed. One voice said, "No way! That girl's totally gonna lose, yet she's so nonchalant about it!"

"Attack her Mogley too!" Armorsaurus then rolled up again to kill Mogley.

The other Twilight replied, "Mogley, dig." On the battlefield, Mogley dug into the ground and disappeared, missing Armorsaurus' attack.

Cloud Tail suddenly realized what the other Twilight was doing and said, "Oh no! He's gonna kill me Megaton!" Sure enough, Armorsaurus ran into Megaton. Since both monsters were of the same level, they both broke into various pieces and dissipated.

"Now it's my turn. Normally, a low-level monster like Ninja Squid can't kill a high-level monster. However, it does have one ability that grants an exception to that." She then moved Ninja Squid next to Zoid "M." She thought to herself, "God, forgive me for what I'm about to do." "Ninja Squid, use your Suicide Bomber ability!"

On the battlefield below, Ninja Squid blew itself up, also killing Zoid "M." Cloud Tail thought to himself, "Damn it! I'm down to 2 monsters!"

"And now," the other Twilight replied. "A path has been opened."

Cloud Tail looked at the board and realized what she had meant. "Oh no! Her Beeton is free to get to the Evolutionary Square and level up by 3! My last 2 monsters are too far away to catch it!"

Sure enough, after 4 turns, the other Twilight moved her Beeton to the Evolutionary Square, causing it to evolve into the monster Hyper Beetle. She said, "If you invest enough into something, even the weakest of beings can turn into a powerhouse that cannot be stopped, Cloud Tail. Now, Hyper Beetle, attack his Nama Hargen with your Horn Attack ability!"

Hyper Beetle flew into the air and charged at Nama Hargen on the battlefield below before smashing into it with its horn. Nama Hargen proved to be no match and was easily destroyed. The crowd went wild at the sudden turn around in the battle, with many cheering on the other Twilight instead of Cloud Tail.

Now it was down to 2 monsters, both level 5. One was Cloud Tail's Big Foot, while the other was Hyper Beetle. The young apprentice thought to himself, "Big Foot should be able to win. Hyper Beetle is actually pretty weak at close-quarters combat while Big Foot is strong. Once Hyper Beetle is dead, I'll kill her Mogley, and then she'll be dead too!"

They then both said at the same time, "Attack!" On the battlefield below, Hyper Beetle and Big Foot charged at each other and slashed each other. For a few tense seconds, the winner of the battle seemed unclear. Then, Hyper Beetle fell apart, indicating a victory for Big Foot.

The other Twilight said, "It's not over yet."

"Actually, it is," Cloud Tail said as Big Foot aimed his sights at the recently-emerged Mogley. His massive stature scared the small Mogley, causing it to shiver in fear.

Suddenly, Big Foot began to crouch in searing pain. Mogley looked on, confused as to what was going on. Then, Big Foot screamed out loud as parts of his body began to fall apart. Eventually, Big Foot collapsed to the ground and dissipated, shocking Cloud Tail. "Now it's over," the other Twilight said to him. "I win."

Cloud Tail freaked out and thought to himself, "I... I lost! Oh no... This means I'll be put through... I'll be put through the Experience of Death by my own mentor!"

Duel 18-Discovery and Death

As Twilight and Cloud Tail's Capsule Monster Chess duel went on, Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie discovered another room that took the place of Moon-T 4A. It was empty except for 2 desks that had game controllers on them, as well as 2 sets of armor, all of which were paired together on opposite ends of the room.

Pinkie Pie said, "What is this place?"

Then, Fluttershy looked up and yelled, "Look at that!"

Above the gang was a glass room that contained Rainbow Dash. She had been banging on the glass floor for a while trying to get their attention. She yelled, "About damn time you found me!"

Flash Sentry said in shock, "Rainbow Dash?! We thought you were dead!"

"Dead?! No way! I was stuck in that room of falling cubes until some guards entered and brought me here for some reason."

Then, another voice said, "Welcome to the Battle Arena." Everyone turned to the other doorway at the end of the room and saw 2 of the old Horsemen of Death: Lila Love, who had spoken, and Aqua Lily. Lila said, "Aqua, put on your battle suit."

"Of course," Aqua replied as she picked up one of the suits of armor and put it on. "Now, you see, one person will put this battle suit on, and another will control their movements. When one of us reaches a hit count of 100%, our suits will deactivate, and that person will lose."

Flash Sentry said to the group, "I'll put on the suit of armor."

Fluttershy walked over to one of the desks and confidently said, "I'll be the controller."

Pinkie Pie said to her, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm not being a burden this time around." Fluttershy then turned on her controller. "Ready, Flash?"

"Of course." Flash Sentry looked at and admired his suit of armor as Aqua Lily and Lila Love got ready.

Rainbow Dash yelled, "Good luck!"

As the other Twilight exited the glass box towards the elevator to the next arena, Cloud Tail feared how Nightmare Moon would react to his loss. He thought to himself, "I screwed up... I really screwed up this time..."

Suddenly, the TV screens above the glass box flashed on as Nightmare Moon's face appeared on them. The other Twilight turned around in shock and said, "Nightmare Moon!"

"I see you've beaten my apprentice," Nightmare Moon said to her. "Now, go to the elevator to the final stage and prepare for a real challenge, Twilight Sparkle."

The other Twilight defiantly said, "I will! Don't you worry, I'll rise to your challenge, and I will win!"

"We'll see about that." The youthful-looking businesswoman then turned her sights onto a frightened Cloud Tail. "Now, I see you have lost."

"I... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry won't cut it, I'm afraid." She then pressed a button on her control panel. "You know the rules, right? Only the winner leaves the box alive. The loser will face the Experience of Death before being cast off to the pitch black nothingness that is after one dies."

Then, as smoke enveloped the box, Cloud Tail's worst fears became a reality. Virtual simulation monsters formed in the smoke, with their teeth sharpened and yellowed by blood, and their eyes transfixed on Cloud Tail as they began to inspect their newest snack. As they inched closer, he screamed bloody horror, grabbing the other Twilight's attention.

She yelled, "Cloud Tail! No!" "Impossible," she thought to herself. "Nightmare Moon is going to kill her own apprentice with a Penalty Game! I never thought I'd see such cruelty in my life!" She then ran back over to the glass box, sticking her hand in the enclosure and yelling, "Cloud Tail! Grab my hand!"

Cloud Tail, frightened and breathing heavily, instinctively reached over to her hand and grabbed onto it. The other Twilight then yanked him out of the box to safety just as one of the virtual simulation monsters was about to bite off his head. After he came to his senses, he looked up at her and said, "Why? Why me? Why did you go back and save someone like me?"

"Because," the other Twilight began. "I'm not that cruel. Look, Cloud Tail, I won because I had people who actually believed in me behind me. They honestly believed I could win, and they trusted me with their very lives, given your threats at the beginning of the game."

Cloud Tail then said to himself, "Trust..."

"Listen, I never really had that much faith in you actually beating Twilight as part of the Horsemen run-up plan. What makes you think I expect you to win this time around? Besides, I bet it all on Moon-T 5, which is my Duel Monsters duel with her."

Cloud Tail, now angered, said, "You WHAT?! I'm your prized pupil! You trained me exactly as you wanted to, and yet you still had no faith in me?! You even bet against me?!"

"I actually opposed your participation in Moon-T from the beginning," Nightmare Moon harshly replied. "Be glad that you're lucky enough to still be in it!"

"But... But what about the deal we made? You're my mentor! You're supposed to care for me and cherish me!" Cloud Tail, by now, was getting upset.

Nightmare Moon yelled, "ENOUGH! Cloud Tail, in this world, caring and cherishing don't matter AT ALL! Now, go!"

Cloud Tail growled and said, "Fine! I'll go!"

He then slammed his fist on the ground and yelled, "Why?!" After he calmed down, he grabbed his wallet and pulled out a picture from about 3 years ago. In it, he and Nightmare Moon were at a party and were dancing happily. "I remember those days..." He then said to the other Twilight, "Hey, Twilight."

"Yes?"

"Do me one favour, please... Beat Nightmare Moon. She has become nothing like she was when I first met her. She has been corrupted by greed and power." He then sighed. "I just want things to be like they were before she went mad... When she didn't think of me as worthless..."

The other Twilight felt a deep pang of sympathy for the young man. "I'll try, Cloud Tail." She then thought to herself, "I can only imagine what he went through. I'm glad Celestia was never slowly corrupted by power and greed like Nightmare Moon was."

As the other Twilight entered the elevator to get to the Duel Monsters arena, an armed guard told Spike, Rarity, and Applejack, "You 3 will enter through a different entrance so you can see the duel from the ground level."

"Front row seats, please," Applejack defiantly replied with a grin. "I'd like to see, up close and personal, the moment when Twilight kicks Nightmare Moon's ass."

Spike said, "Exactly." Rarity nodded as well.

"Hah," another guard replied. "I wouldn't count on that."

Duel 19-The Final Stage

The other Twilight's elevator ride ended at the opening to one of 2 duel platforms in a second Duel Monsters arena. It followed the same pattern as before: 2 yellow movable platforms with microphones connecting each player to each other. The arena's stands were packed to the brim with people, all chanting for Nightmare Moon.

She thought to herself as she stepped onto her platform, "Nightmare Moon, you have inflicted pain onto not only my friends, our families, and your own apprentice, but also possibly thousands more. I'll never forgive you, even if you beg for mercy at my feet when I am through with you."

Nightmare Moon also stepped out onto her platform. She smiled and thought to herself, "The day of reckoning has come. My deck has the 3 most powerful regular cards in the game, the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. No card in the world exists that can defeat them!" Then, she talked to Twilight through her mic, saying, "Congratulations on getting this far, really. I am impressed by your performance, Twilight. It's almost a shame that this is where your little journey ends."

"Enough of the small talk," the other Twilight replied. "Let's get on with this." She then set down Celestia's deck as both platforms moved away from their starting positions and leaned over the arena floor.

"You're right," Nightmare Moon said back. "At this point, words are meaningless. The only things that shall decide our fates now are the cards we possess."

"I believe in Celestia's deck," the other Twilight thought to herself. "I will win."

Applejack said to herself as she and the others watched from the stands, "Please win, Twilight. Please win."

TWILIGHT: 2000
NIGHTMARE MOON: 2000

Then, the lifepoint counter above the arena set Twilight and Nightmare Moon's life points to 2000, starting the duel. Nightmare Moon said, "Now, let's begin. I'll go first." She then drew a card and placed another card down onto a monster zone. "I'll summon Hitotsu-Me Giant with 1200 attack!"

"Now it's my turn," the other Twilight replied. "I'll summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 in attack position with 1400 attack!" Both monsters stared each other down as the audience roared with anticipation. "Attack her giant with a fireball!" The Hitotsu-Me Giant was easily destroyed as it screamed in pain before shattering.

TWILIGHT: 2000
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1800

Nightmare Moon then drew her next card. "Eh, that didn't hurt a bit, Twilight. Now I'll summon Saggi the Dark Clown!"

The other Twilight said to herself, "Saggi the Dark Clown? It's attack is nothing."

"Your Winged Dragon has 1400, and my Dark Clown only has 600, putting me at a disadvantage." Then, Nightmare Moon played another card. "But if I equip it with this card..."

The other Twilight thought, "Uh oh..."

"Then my Dark Clown's attack is tripled! My Negative Energy Generator spells your Winged Dragon's death!" Saggi then grew in size as the power of Negative Energy Generator strengthened it. "Now, attack! Dark Light!" Saggi then formed a ball of dark energy and threw it at the Winged Dragon, destroying it.

TWILIGHT: 1600
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1800

"Damn it," the other Twilight said to herself. "I hope I can draw a card that has over 1800 attack soon."

Meanwhile, the second battle was just beginning. Aqua Lily said to Flash Sentry, "Are you ready?"

"Of course," Flash replied. "And I'm gonna win."

Then, Lila Love started playing with her controller, causing Aqua Lily to punch at Flash Sentry. Fluttershy immediately moved Flash Sentry out of the way with her controller before she pressed the A button, causing Flash to jump into the air. She said to herself, "Oh no! I should have pressed B probably."

Aqua then landed a punch on a confused Flash Sentry, causing his hit count to climb to 7%. Pinkie Pie said, "Don't lose your step, Fluttershy!"

"I'm trying," Fluttershy replied. Finally, she moved Flash Sentry into a good position and managed to have him give a hard punch to Aqua, causing her hit count to rise to 6%. "Alright!"

"There we go," Flash Sentry said confidently. "Now the real fight has begun!"

Lila Love replied, "Oh yes, it has." She then pressed several buttons rapidly, entering a combo into the controller that caused Aqua to jump into the air and land a devastating roundhouse kick into Flash Sentry, causing his hit count to rise to 20%.

Fluttershy quietly said to herself as she facepalmed in disbelief, "Oh no..."

Nightmare Moon asked a frozen other Twilight, "What's wrong? Are you afraid?"

The other Twilight thought to herself, "Nightmare Moon knows this game in and out. But I know that Celestia put her heart and soul into this deck. There must be something that can defeat anything in my path." She then drew a card that confused her. "What the hell is this? 'Left Leg-Element of Honesty?' This card isn't powerful enough, despite it being named after an element of harmony for some reason. I'll use a different one instead to defend myself until I draw a more powerful card." She then set a card in defense position.

"Well, well," Nightmare Moon said. "I see you wish to defend. Too bad my Dark Clown will just kill it. Dark Light!" Saggi then destroyed the other Twilight's set monster.

Spike yelled out to the other Twilight, "C'mon! What the hell are you doing?!"

Meanwhile, Flash Sentry and Fluttershy had begun putting up a better fight than before. Aqua Lily barely avoided several punches thrown by Flash Sentry as he rapidly fired at her. She said to him, "Not bad."

"I see you remember the basics," Lila Love said to Fluttershy.

"I sure do," Fluttershy replied. "My friends showed me how to play combat games back home." She then created a combo of her own, causing Flash Sentry to jump and deliver a hard-hitting twisting kick to Aqua Lily. Her hit count jumped from 10% to 26% as a result, a devastating blow. However, Flash's hit count also jumped from 20% to 23%. "Wait, why did his hit count go up too?"

"Combos drain your energy slightly," Lila Love said. "You should have weakened Aqua Lily more before doing that. Now, attack!" Aqua Lily then punched Flash Sentry before kneeing him, causing him to fall to the floor on pain. His hit count rose to 30%.

Rainbow Dash said to herself, "Please, Flash, keep yourself alive. There's no way you should lose to those creeps."

After several turns of the other Twilight's monsters being wiped out by Saggi the Dark Clown, Nightmare Moon said, "So this is the deck Celestia left you? It's pathetic at best. In fact, I can even hear her dying breath from those cards."

This struck a nerve with the other Twilight, who defiantly replied with, "Princess Celestia is NOT dying. She trusted me with these cards because she knew I was capable. Nightmare Moon, do your cards trust you as much as you trust them?"

Nightmare Moon, confused, asked, "What?"

"I know that these cards will be true to me," the other Twilight exclaimed before drawing her next card. When she looked at it, she smiled. "I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight, with 2300 attack, more than enough to destroy your Dark Clown!" As Gaia formed, Nightmare Moon looked on in surprise. "Now, attack!" Gaia then began to charge directly at Saggi. "Spiral Saber!" As soon as she uttered those words, Gaia's lance struck Saggi, causing him to disappear in a spiraled shape. "Take that!"

TWILIGHT: 1600
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1300

Rarity and Spike both said, "Go, Twilight!" Applejack cheered and clapped as the guards looked on in worry.

"This battle is not over yet," the other Twilight said.

Nightmare Moon said back, "Oh, but the ending is clear to me." She then drew a card to signal her turn before smiling and laughing to herself. As she set down her next card, she called out, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

As the Blue-Eyes formed, the other Twilight said, "Oh no! Not the Blue-Eyes!"

The crowd went wild as the dragon took shape, with many saying that the other Twilight was going to lose. Applejack said, "Twilight, just focus on the game! Don't panic!"

"Now," Nightmare Moon said confidently. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon... Burst Stream of Destruction!" The dragon formed a massive ball of lightning in its mouth as it roared loudly. Then, the ball fired at Gaia in the form of a beam of light, wiping him out completely and causing the other Twilight to recoil away from the bright light.

TWILIGHT: 0900
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1300

"Now you're finished," Nightmare Moon said. "No card can stop the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Twilight! Prepare for your defeat!"

The other Twilight thought to herself as she looked at her cards, "Celestia... What should I do...?"

Duel 20-Endgame

"It's no use," Flash Sentry said as he struggled against Aqua Lily. "There's too much of a power difference!"

Pinkie Pie called out, "Flash, remember, you're not alone!"

Aqua then smirked before kneeing Flash Sentry in the jaw, knocking him out and causing his hit count to rise to 75%. When he landed in front of Fluttershy, she winced and said to herself, "Oh no!" Flash then laid out on the floor, sprawled and unconscious.

Rainbow Dash yelled out to Lila Love and Aqua Lily from her glass box, "Have a heart, you pieces of shit!"

"Time to finish him off," Lila said.

"Indeed," Aqua replied back to her.

Meanwhile, Flash woke up in what appeared to be a room of all-black in his mind. He stood up, brushed himself off, and looked around, seeing nothing but cold emptiness. He called out, "Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash? Anyone?" He then thought to himself, "Am... Am I dead? Where in God's name am I?" He then began to panic, fearing that he had already lost.

Then, he saw something above him. Reaching out to him were 7 arms, which he instantly recognized as being those of the rest of the group due to their clothing. The voices of all of his friends called out to him at the same time, saying, "Get up, Flash."

In real life, Flash Sentry suddenly awoke from unconsciousness and stood up, shocking everyone. Aqua Lily said in surprise, "What the hell?! How did you get up?!"

"I got up because I had friends I can depend upon," Flash defiantly replied. Suddenly, his hit count dropped to 45%.

Lila said, "How did his hit count decrease?! That has to be a glitch or something!"

Meanwhile, for several turns, Nightmare Moon obliterated any of the other Twilight's monsters that she set in defense position. She said to her as she began her next turn, "Are you just gonna keep setting monsters until you run out of cards, Twilight?" Then, she drew her next card and said to her, "Looks like the goddess of victory favors me."

The other Twilight said to herself, "Shit..."

"I've drawn my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon," Nightmare Moon said as she summoned it. After the second dragon took form, she said, "So, when will you just give up and face death, Twilight?!"

Rarity called out, "Twilight! Remember us!"

The other Twilight then thought about Celestia as she tried to weigh her options. She imagined her lying in a bed in an operating room as doctors worked furiously to save their Princess's life, unbeknownst to most others. She remembered the last conversation Celestia had with her normal self before Moon-T had begun.

Celestia, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, held her face with her left hand, saying, "Twilight..."

"Celestia," Twilight said as she began crying. "I'm so sorry I let you get into this..."

Celestia then said, "It's not your fault, my star pupil..." She then reached into her pocket with her right hand and pulled out a small deck box. "I... I want you to have this..."

"Celestia, please, you're going to make it..."

"Celestia," she said to herself. "I won't give up." She then drew her next card and gasped at what it was. "A magic card!" "I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" She then placed the card down onto a magic/trap zone. "This prevents your monsters summoned up to now from attacking for 3 turns." Several swords formed above the 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons before coming down between them, trapping them.

Nightmare Moon said to her, "Whatever. What can you possibly do in 3 turns that will turn your fortunes around?"

The other Twilight then looked at her hand and thought to herself, "Nightmare Moon's right. Of my 4 cards, only one is a monster of any use. The other 3 are all named after Elements of Harmony, but they're about as useless as a white crayon. Am I really gonna lose?"

Suddenly, she heard Celestia's voice behind her say, "That doesn't sound like you, Twilight." The other Twilight then turned around and faced her. "You see, anything can be shattered and rebuilt piece by piece. After all, look at that puzzle I gave you. Now you've solved it."

The other Twilight looked down at the Alicorn Puzzle and said, "The Alicorn Puzzle... You may be onto something..."

"Exactly," Celestia said before she began to disappear.

The other Twilight reached out and called out, "Princess Celestia!"

"Remember what I said! Anything can be shattered and rebuilt piece by piece!"

Suddenly, it hit her. "The Sun Goddess! Celestia has all 5 pieces of The Sun Goddess!"

"You see," Celestia said to Twilight in a flashback just before she moved to Ponyville. "There is one monster in Duel Monsters that can only be brought together with 5 cards. It is called The Sun Goddess. When the cards were made, they had the names of the Elements of Harmony printed on the pieces. However, this unknowingly caused those cards to harness the power of the real elements. Thus, they were never put into mass production. It is said that whoever puts the first 5 Elements of Harmony together through these cards will summon the 6th element, Magic, and strike down anyone in their path."

A curious Twilight asked, "Has anyone ever collected them?"

Celestia hesitated before saying, "I'm afraid not. Nobody has seen any of the 5 cards at all to this day."

"She didn't tell me for my own protection," the other Twilight thought to herself. "But she did let me have the actual elements, which means that she planned for me to eventually find out about and use those 5 cards eventually!"

Then, Nightmare Moon snapped the other Twilight back into reality by saying, "It's your turn! Quit stalling and draw your next card!" As it turns out, Nightmare Moon had done nothing for her turn, wanting to have the Blue-Eyes have the honor of defeating the other Twilight.

"I'm drawing," the other Twilight said in annoyance. When she drew her next card, Right Arm-Element of Kindness, she gasped and thought to herself, "That makes 4 of the 5 cards!" She then set another monster in defense position.

"Draw whatever you want," Nightmare Moon said. "It won't change anything. On my turn, I'll use a new monster to attack your defense position monsters." She then summoned Judge Man, with 2200 attack. The Judge Man then reached across the field and smashed his mace on the head of the other Twilight's set monster, destroying it.

The other Twilight then drew a card called Dark Magician, with 2500 attack. "If my only other choice is to try and set the Dark Magician only to have it be destroyed later by Blue-Eyes, then I might as well just attack the Judge Man instead." After the Dark Magician formed, she said, "I'm gonna attack! Black Magic!" The Dark Magician then stuck his left hand out at the Judge Man, causing both him and the Judge Man to turn photo-negative as the sound of shattering glass was heard. THen, the Judge Man broke into pieces. "Your Judge Man falls!"

TWILIGHT: 0900
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1000

Nightmare Moon laughed and said, "A loss like that doesn't even scratch me! Your seal is only effective for one more turn." She then drew her next card. "And the card I've drawn is my 3rd Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" As the other Twilight recoiled in fear, the 3rd dragon took form on the field. "Attack the Dark Magician!" Then, the Dark Magician was obliterated by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Burst Stream of Destruction attack.

TWILIGHT: 0400
NIGHTMARE MOON: 1000

Applejack screamed in horror, "Twilight! No!" Then, the guards behind them began to cock their guns, ready to lead her, Spike, and Rarity to a back room to be shot upon Nightmare Moon's victory.

Meanwhile, Flash Sentry and Fluttershy, re-energized by a miracle that saw Flash's hit count decrease and him get back up from a devastating blow, got ready to deliver a knockout blow to Aqua Lily, who was still in shock over Flash waking up from unconsciousness.

Then, Flash Sentry jumped into the air and said, "Let's finish this!" He then delivered 2 roundhouse kicks followed by a hard punch to Aqua Lily, causing her to fall to the ground in unconsciousness and her hit count to rise to a whopping 100%. Flash Sentry had won.

Lila Love, staring at Flash Sentry in horror, said in disbelief, "No way! How did... How did you win?!"

"Friendship was the answer," Fluttershy said. "We couldn't do this alone."

"She's right," Flash Sentry said as Lila Love exited her booth. "Friendship is magic, after all. It can do things people think can't be done, such as my victory over you, and Twilight's eventual victory over Nightmare Moon."

Then, Rainbow Dash's glass box began to lower to the ground. When it did, Lila begrudgingly unlocked and opened a door on the box for Rainbow Dash to leave. When she did, she ran over and hugged Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. She said, "You guys were awesome. Thanks for getting me out of that box." Then, the pain of her broken wing began to hit her again as the group hug split. "Ow... Ow..."

Pinkie Pie asked, "Are you okay? Your wing is all sorts of bent and messed up."

"I'll be fine for now," Rainbow Dash said. "Let's just go over and see Twilight kick Nightmare Moon's ass."

Nightmare Moon said to a deeply afraid other Twilight, "So, Twilight, draw your final card. On my next turn, my 3 Blue-Eyes will attack you all together. Your life is over no matter what you draw!"

Spike yelled out, "Hang in there, Twilight!"

The other Twilight then looked down at her cards and thought to herself, "If I have any shot at winning, the next card in this deck must be The Sun Goddess-Element of Loyalty. But... The odds I'll pull the 5th card on my next turn are too low." Then, as she began to reach for her next card, her deck seemingly began to move away from her. She said in disbelief, "Are the cards resisting me?" Then, she realized the true reason why. "No, wait, it's me! I'm afraid to draw the wrong card!"

Nightmare Moon said to her, "Hurry up, Twilight! Draw your next card!" "Draw it and then you can rest," she thought to herself. "Rest in hell! Rest for eternity in the pits of fire as I, Nightmare Moon, unleash darkness forever on this planet!"

Then, the other Twilight noticed the mark on her hand as the other 7 members of the group formed around her deck, their right hands placed on it as well. "Everyone... Everyone's here with me..." She then smiled and said, "Thank you, everybody. I'm not afraid of anything anymore."

Nightmare Moon then said, "Hah! Did you finally lose hope and decider to use any card?"

"Not quite," the other Twilight replied confidently as she drew her next card. "I have hope right here in my hand! The card I pulled..." She then revealed the final piece of The Sun Goddess. "Is The Sun Goddess-Element of Loyalty!"

Shocked, Nightmare Moon stammered out, "Agh! What the-?"

"I have assembled all 5 needed cards," the other Twilight said as she placed all 5 on her monster zones. Then, the cards themselves suddenly began to glow as a pentagram formed vertically on the field. A beam of light shot out of all 5 cards plus the other Twilight's horn and onto the field, signalling that all 6 Elements of Harmony had been brought together: Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter, and Magic.

Then, 2 arms shot out of the pentagram as a giant lady with flowing yellow and orange hair and a white dress emerged, staring down the 3 dragons. Nightmare Moon stood back as she said in horror, "No way! It's The Sun Goddess! Are you saying you've performed a miracle?!"

The other Twilight then called out, "Hellfire's Rage! Solar Flare!" Then, the Goddess formed a bright ball of light in her hands before shooting it at the 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons with her right hand. Instantly, all 3 dragons were vaporized by the heat of the blast, which hit Nightmare Moon full-force. As superheated air filled her lungs and she felt searing pain across her entire body, she let out a bloodcurdlingly high-pitched and loud scream that echoed throughout the arena. The entire audience averted their eyes from the bright light as it enveloped the whole building.

Duel 21-Pieces Of Her Heart

TWILIGHT: 0400
NIGHTMARE MOON: 0000

The arena erupted in cheers as the dust settled, the life point scoreboard lowered Nightmare Moon's life points to 0, and the other Twilight emerged victorious. Applejack yelled out, "It's amazin'! Twilight won!"

Spike and Rarity both called out, "She did it!"

The other Twilight then spoke to a shell-shocked Nightmare Moon through the inter-platform mic, saying, "No matter how strong your cards are, without a heart attached to them, they're meaningless. If you had led your heart to the cards, you could have very well won. But you didn't, and that is why you lost."

"No," Nightmare Moon said as she gripped the sides of her platform. "Ridiculous... How did I lose?"

"Nightmare Moon," the other Twilight said as her eyes and horn began to glow a bright white light. "This will destroy the evil in you." She then stood back and stuck her right hand out, her palm facing Nightmare Moon and her 5 fingers extended, as she yelled, "MIND CRUSH!"

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass was once again heard throughout the arena as the vision of both the other Twilight and Nightmare Moon turned photo-negative. To the rest of the arena, a photo-negative-colored light formed around a screaming Nightmare Moon and then shattered into pieces, cutting her scream short. She then fell down to her knees, unconscious.

"Now the evil plague in your mind has been crushed to bits," the other Twilight said as the platforms were lowered to the ground. When they reached the ground, she stepped out and looked at the audience, which was cheering her on.

"Master Nightmare Moon," one of the armed guards near Applejack, Rarity, and Spike said to himself in worry.

"We need to get outta here," Applejack thought to herself. "But that gun of his ain't goin' nowhere. As long as he's got it, we can't escape."

Suddenly, both of the guards were knocked down onto the ground from behind. Applejack, Rarity, and Spike turned around to find Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy standing behind them. Rarity said, "Rainbow Dash! You're alive!"

"Of course," the winged girl said before she punched the second guard when he tried to get up. "There's no way I'd let myself get taken down."

Then, the first guard stood up and grabbed Rainbow Dash by her shirt, pointing his gun right at her forehead and yelling, "You little bitch! I'll kill you for this!"

"Enough," yelled another voice from behind. "Let them all go."

The second guard said, "Master Cloud Tail..."

"I said," Cloud Tail began. "Let them all go, or else."

"Yes," stumbled the first guard as he and the second guard brushed themselves off and walked away.

Fluttershy asked, "Aren't you Nightmare Moon's apprentice?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Thanks for getting those guards off our backs," Rarity said to him. "That was a freaking nightmare."

"I was just going Twilight a favor, that's all." He then looked over at the field and saw Nightmare Moon slumped over unconscious on her platform. "Nightmare Moon!" He then ran over in worry. "Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon!" When he reached her platform, he shook her body to no avail, her piercing blank eyes showing no expression.

The other Twilight saw this and said, "Cloud Tail, right now, Nightmare Moon, or as I should say, Princess Luna, is rebuilding the shattered pieces of her heart and mind. I can assure you that she will wake up soon, and when she does, she will be a better person than before."

Cloud Tail then nodded and looked at Nightmare Moon, thinking to himself, "You will wake up soon... I know it..."

Then, the gang ran up to the other Twilight. Applejack gave her a big hug and said, "Alright, Twilight, ya did it!"

"Awww," the other Twilight said. "You guys are the best." She then changed back into her normal self before saying, "I couldn't have done it without you all."

Rarity said to Spike, "So... Wanna do something later this week, like on Saturday?"

"Uhhhh," Spike said, once again blushing. "Sure..."

Later, back at Twilight's house, Applejack was telling her sister and her friends, who were tasked with watching over Celestia in the hospital, about what had happened. "I see they're pretty captivated by the story," Rainbow Dash, who now had a cast on her broken wing, said to Twilight as they looked on.

"They sure are," she replied. "They were a big help in keeping watch over Celestia. I'm glad her surgery ended up going off without a hitch."

"Say," Rainbow Dash asked, now noticing that Twilight had returned to normal.. "When did you-?"

"When did I what?"

"Uhhh... Ahh, nevermind." Rainbow Dash decided not to ask Twilight about it.

Twilight thought to herself as she smiled, "I know what she was gonna ask... She was gonna ask when I returned to "normal." Well... I don't really know myself. Anyways, I'm glad I finally told the truth about the other me. Now I can remember all the battles we fought together."

Meanwhile, in a darkened meeting room, a butler informed a group of 3 seated girls about the duel between Nightmare Moon and the other Twilight. "Adagio, Sonata, Aria, we have received word that Nightmare Moon has lost her duel with Twilight Sparkle. To top it off, something that Twilight girl did knocked her unconscious."

"Perfect," Adagio Dazzle said before sipping from a wine glass. "Ladies, it's time to strike."

Aria Blaze said, "I'll get the camera ready to film the video."

Sonata Dusk said, "I'll call our moles in the Luna Corporation. They'll start to get things rolling."

"Excellent." As a red rock encased in a metal ring gleamed where Adagio's left eye should have been, she thought to herself, "In 5 weeks, Twilight will know of us, and by then, it will be too late to stop us."

Duel 22-Get the 10 Million Bits!

September 30, 2015

The entire gang said to Rainbow Dash in surprise, "A TV show?"

"That's right," Rainbow Dash said. "I was invited to appear on the show Get The 10 Million Bits on NBS." The pegasus girl, who still had a cast on one of her wings from Moon-T, was giddy with excitement. "Once I win, me and my mom won't have to run into more debt!"

Rarity said, "That's wonderful, darling! I heard about the debt your family had accumulated after your dad died. I really hope you win."

"And I will," she said back. She then confidently held her fist in the air and said, "I'll show the world that Rainbow Dash is no quitter!"

"Say," Twilight replied. "We should be in the audience for the show. Do they have a studio audience that watches?"

"I think they do," Fluttershy replied. "I saw a few episodes of the show, and I definitely heard cheering and clapping. Trust me, that show is hard to win."

"It doesn't matter," Rainbow Dash. "To be honest, even if I don't get all 10 million bits, I'll be happy if I get like a tenth that or something."

"So," said a producer at NBS in charge of the game show division. "Who's the latest sucker we chose to do Get The 10 Million Bits?"

"It's this 11th Grade Girl from a small town called Ponyville," said a man who sat next to him at a table filled with stacks of paper. "Her name is Rainbow Dash." He then handed the NBS producer the paper detailing her. "A background check on her says that her father is dead and her family has been accumulating debt as a result."

"Alrighty then," said the producer as he smiled. "She's the perfect candidate for this show. Audiences love a backstory like her's." He then paused. "Of course, she'll never win." The producer then laughed.

October 2, 2015

"Welcome to Get The 10 Million Bits." announced the host of the show to a cheering studio audience. "I'm your host, the one and only Saddle Hold!"

In the studio audience were Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Flash Sentry, and Fluttershy. Rarity yelled to Rainbow Dash excitedly, "Go get 'em!"

"Our special guest today is a girl from the small town of Ponyville named Rainbow Dash," the host said as he presented a smiling and excited Rainbow Dash, who waved at the camera. "Tell me, how determined are you to win, Miss Dash?"

"Very would be saying the least of it," she confidently replied. "I've heard this show is hard to win."

"It sure is," the host replied. "In the 4 years I've hosted this, only 3 people have gotten the 10 million. Will you be number 4?"

"Of course," Rainbow Dash replied. "So, what's the first challenge?"

It had been 24 minutes into the live show. Rainbow Dash had completed 4 challenges so far. All she needed to do was spin a wheel and hopefully have it land on the 10 Million spot.

Twilight had excused herself to use the studio bathroom. As she exited, she heard a conversation nearby. "Hmm... I wonder what's going on behind the scenes?"

In the conversation, the game show division producer was talking to a studio technician. The producer said, "So, you got the rig set up?"

"I do," said the technician. "I'll ensure that girl doesn't win." Twilight's jaw dropped in shock.

"Good," replied the producer. "The ratings are through the roof! I'll be the real winner today, and that Rainbow Dash girl will be the real loser!"

"Damn you," Twilight thought angrily to herself. "I'll make you both pay for trying to rig this game against Rainbow Dash!" Suddenly, she collapsed to the floor, her heart racing, as she began to transform into the other Twilight once again.

When she arose, the other Twilight said to herself, "Time to end this charade."

Behind the stage, the producer and the technician were getting ready to rig the wheel. "When I press this red button," the tech said as he showed the producer a machine with 10 buttons on it. "The wheel is guaranteed to stop on the "Lose all of your Money" space."

"Excellent," said the producer. "Get ready."

"I don't think so," said suddenly a voice from behind them. "If you don't do as I say," the other Twilight then said as she came into view. "I'll tell the whole world you rigged this game show and possibly others."

The producer said, "How the hell did you get back here?"

"See that rope hanging from the scaffold above you?" The 3 of them then looked at a rusty scaffold above them with 2 long ropes hanging off the end. "There happens to be a paint bucket attached to one. If it spills on me, you can do whatever you want to me. If it spills on your tech, a Penalty Game will decide your fate, producer."

Meanwhile, on stage, the host said to an excited Rainbow Dash, "Now, all you gotta do is spin the wheel, and when you say stop, it will stop on a dime. Are you ready?"

"Of course," said a trembling Rainbow Dash. As she spun the wheel to get started and the crowd cheered her on, she thought to herself, "Please, God, let me get 10 million!"

Backstage, the tech and the other Twilight got ready. She said, "One, two, three."

Then, both ropes were pulled by both of them. Suddenly, a large bucket of red paint fell on top of the technician, knocking him out with a concussion and spilling paint all over. The producer, surprised, said, "Jesus Christ, you almost got paint all over me!" He then turned to the button machine to press the red button himself. That was when he said, "Shit! I can't tell which is which!" The red paint had spilled over the entire machine, confusing the producer.

Then, as the other Twilight's eyes and horns glowed, she said to the producer, "Your greed will be exposed, producer!" She then pointed at him and shouted, "PENALTY GAME!"

Suddenly, the producer screamed and put both of his hands to his head as his head began to hurt intensely before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud. When he got up a few seconds later, his pupils showed a visible dollar sign in them as he said, "I must tell the world how much I love money!" Then, he ran off, much to the other Twilight's amusement.

On stage, Rainbow Dash yelled, "STOP!" She then closed her eyes in anticipation.

Sure enough, just as the host said, the wheel stopped on a dime. As soon as it stopped, the crowd went wild. The host, flabbergasted, announced, "She... She won! She won the 10 million bits!"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw that, indeed, the wheel stopped on the 10 Million space. She immediately jumped in the air and yelled in joy. The rest of the gang sans Twilight all cheered and clapped wildly for her.

The host then handed Rainbow Dash a check, saying, "Here you go, Miss Dash. You certainly earned it."

Rainbow Dash grabbed the check and shook the host's hand, saying, "Thank you!" As she looked at the check, she thought to herself, "This is it, girl! You did it!"

Suddenly, however, the celebration was interrupted by the shout of, "Holy shit, cut the broadcast!" As she looked over, she saw several stage techs rush a camera as somebody held onto it.

It was the producer! He had an iron grip on the camera as he shouted into it, "Give me your money! You poor, worthless slobs, give me it! Cash, check, credit, bitcoin, it doesn't fucking matter! GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!"

As he was finally ripped off of the camera, the normal Twilight came running in to give Rainbow Dash a tight hug. She said, "It's amazing! You won!"

Rainbow Dash replied, "Awwww... Thanks, you guys..."

Applejack walked over with the rest of the gang and said, "What the hell was that lil' incident with the producer 'bout?"

"Uhhh," Twilight said as she tried to remember. "Oh yeah! I can remember the other me now! Well, apparently, he was trying to rig the game against Rainbow Dash."

"No way," Spike and Rarity both said as everyone else's jaws dropped.

Rainbow Dash asked in shock, "Are you being serious?"

"Yes," Twilight replied. "That was when the other me came out. I think I ended up using one of those penalty game thingies on the producer to expose his greed. I think it will wear off soon, though."

Flash Sentry asked, "You mean like the one you used on Nightmare Moon?"

"Kind of, except with less inducing a coma and more making someone go crazy." She then looked at her Alicorn Puzzle. "The other me is capable of some pretty weird stuff."

Duel 23-Game of Bombs

October 3, 2015

"We're here," said Flash Sentry as he and Twilight arrived by bus at an amusement park in Trottingham called Kings Park. The sprawling park had various rides, a zoo, and both an indoor and outdoor water park all located in the same location. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," Twilight said, still nervous. Flash had previously asked her out to go to the park several days before. As she carried a bag of clothes with her off the bus, she thought to herself, "Please, for the love of God, don't screw this up, Twilight..."

As they made their way to the entrance, Flash said to her, "We came here just in time, actually. The park, sans the indoor water park, closes on the 5th."

As Flash then paid for their tickets at a booth, Twilight said, "What do you want to ride first?"

"I was thinking a roller coaster to start off the day," Flash replied as they made their way through a turnstile. "How about you?"

"Same," Twilight replied. In reality, heights were not exactly her thing. She thought to herself, "Oh boy... I hope he doesn't choose a really tall one..."

After about 2 hours of riding rides, the 2 decided to get changed and go to the water park section. Twilight had already found a 2 chairs for the 2 to sit in. As she waited for Flash top return, she said to herself, "Alright, I haven't screwed up yet. All I gotta do is-"

Then, Flash walked to her and said, "I'm back."

Twilight took one look at Flash, shirtless, in his bathing suit and began to blush. "Oh... Hi..." She thought to herself, "Oh no... He looks even better than I thought..."

Meanwhile, Flash himself had begun to notice he was looking at Twilight in her bathing suit, a sports bra-esque bikini, in a different way as well. "Is that suit new?" "Really? Is that the best you could come up with, Flash?"

Twilight snapped out of her trance and said, "This? Yeah... I've never really worn it because I thought it was a bit daring for me." She looked at herself and wondered what Flash was thinking.

Changing subject, Flash asked, "Do you wanna ride the Cyclone? It's got 2-person tubes and goes fast." He then pointed to it from their location. The slide was about 50 feet tall, red and green, and ended in a giant bowl that led to a landing pool.

Twilight took one look at it and nodded, having become less afraid of tall rides due to the rides she went on earlier. She then said, "Alright. I'll go."

Towards the end of their visit, Flash and Twilight decided to go on the Ferris Wheel. As they made their way to it across the park, Twilight said to him, "You know, this has been an awesome day, Flash."

"I agree," he replied before stretching his arms and his wings. "We oughta do this some other time. I mean, we can't here 'cause this place closes for the season on the 5th, but maybe something like a movie."

Twilight nodded and said, "Yeah. That would be nice."

Suddenly, they both heard panicked noises emanating from the direction of the ferris wheel. A voice yelled, "Everyone stay away from the Ferris Wheel! There's an emergency!"

Flash decided to ask a passerby what was going on, saying, "What does that guy mean by emergency?"

"Someone threatened to bomb the Ferris Wheel," the passerby replied. "I don't know much."

Then, a police officer yelled out into the crowd, "Is there anyone here that knows how to play games well?! It's extremely important!"

Flash looked at Twilight and said, "You do, right?"

Twilight thought about it for a second, and replied, "I do. I wonder if..." She was then cut off by her Alicorn Puzzle glowing.

"So," Flash said to himself. "We're doing this again."

As the other Twilight stood before him, she said, "Let's see what we can do." She then took Flash by the hand and led him to the police officer. When they got there, she said, "I am great at games, sir. What do you need?"

"It's about the suspect on the Ferris Wheel," said the police officer as the three of them walked to it. "When we get there, we'll tell you what to do, and do not stray from our instructions, got it?"

"Yes sir," replied the other Twilight. "I assume the suspect says they have a bomb or something?"

"Exactly," replied the police officer. "He says he rigged all of the cars with one bomb each. There are people on 3 cars out of 13. He wants us to pick a random park attendee to play a game with him using a deck of regular playing cards." He then shrugged. "I got no idea why, he's just crazy."

The other Twilight used a cellphone to talk to the bomber, whose location was not known. She told him, "Ready to play?"

"I sure am," replied the bomber as he chuckled. "Now, are the jokers removed from the deck?"

"They are," she replied as she placed a deck of playing cards, sans the jokers, that had been given to her by the police on the ground in front of her. "Now what?"

"Deal the cards into 13 piles of 4," the bomber replied. "12 piles are to be arranged in a circle and 1 pile is to be left in the middle."

Once the other Twilight arranged the cards in the order the bomber wanted them in, she said, "Alright, now what?"

"To start the game," the bomber replied. "Flip over the top card in the pile and then place it in the clock position its number corresponds to. Aces go in the 0100 hours position, Knights go in the 1100 hours position, Queens go in the 1200 hours position, and Kings stay in the center. You should know the rest, as apart from that, it's a regular game of clock solitaire. Car 13 is not to be affected."

Intrigued by the bomber's use of military time, the other Twilight asked, "Are you a military veteran?"

The bomber became hesitant to answer at first before admitting, "Yes. I know you asked that because I used military time. Anyways, just flip the damn center card over and get this show on the road already."

The other Twilight turned to several police guarding her and said, "The bomber says he's a veteran. We are starting the game now." She then turned over the top card in the center pile, revealing a 3 of spades. She then placed it on pile 3. From there, she drew the top unturned card of pile 3, revealing a 4 of hearts. She then placed it on pile 4.

Eventually, after drawing and turning 9 cards, she was down to one final card on pile 4. After placing a 7 of clubs from that pile on the 7th pile, she told the bomber, "Pile 4 is all complete."

"Good," the bomber simply replied.

Suddenly, car 4 of the Ferris Wheel exploded with a loud boom, sending debris falling onto the other cars. Flash Sentry, watching next to the police officers guarding the other Twilight, said, "Holy shit!"

The other Twilight yelled, "Oh my God! Car 4 exploded!" She then realized what she needed to do to win the game. She turned around to the chief of the Trottingham Police Department and told him, "I'll need to draw 4 kings and place them in the center pile to win!"

"Well then you better," the chief frantically replied. "Please, hurry!"

"I already have one king there," she replied confidently. She then began turning other cards to continue the game. "3 more kings is all I need," she thought to herself in worry.

Eventually, she had drawn 3 kings and placed them in the center. However, she was also 1 card away to completing piles 6, 9, and 10. 10 had people on it.

"This next card HAS to be a king," the other Twilight thought to herself. "If it isn't, I'll run the risk of killing someone." She then pondered to herself. "Say... Why did the bomber say car 13 was not affected by this?"

She then drew the next card, closing her eyes in fear. When she held it up, she opened her eyes and looked at a kings, the 4th kings. Flash said, "She drew the 4th kings! She won!"

"I did," the other Twilight said to herself as she sighed in deep relief and stood up. She then looked at car 13 and noticed there was a solitary man inside. "Say, you police officers should look at car 13. The bomber said that car was unaffected. I have a strong feeling he's in that one."

The police chief walked over to the other Twilight and shook her hand, saying as the crowd cheered, "You did a good job today, and I was wondering the same thing about car 13." He then turned to a SWAT team assembled nearby and told them, "Get ready to go into car 13. I think the bomber's in that car."

Duel 24-Test of the Gods

June 1, 2015

"Woah," Twilight said as she showed Celestia a newspaper headline as they sat and ate breakfast in the Royal Castle. "Check this out!"

Celestia read out the headline of the newspaper, which read, "Ancient Tomb From the Pre-Discordian Era Unearthed by Canterlot University Archaeologists! Evidence Suggest It Is Queen Platinum's Tomb!" She said after, "Oh my... This is a big discovery, especially since most tombs from those years have already been found. The newspaper says the discovery was made by Professor Ruby Dream and Curator Shadow Flower."

Twilight asked, "Don't you know Ruby Dream?"

"I do, actually. I lectured for her classes several times when she was a student at Canterlot University. I also helped finance several of the school's archaeological projects."

October 10, 2015

"Woah," said an astonished Pinkie Pie as the gang admired the artifacts brought back from the exhibition, which were being shown at the Canterlot Imperial Museum. "This stuff is really cool, Twilight!"

"I know," Twilight replied as she looked at a mummy that had also been excavated from the tomb. It was wrapped extensively in old brown cloth. Its eyes were shut and its skin and horn were brown. According to a sign that gave info on the mummy, it was that of Queen Platinum, the daughter of the last Independent ruler of the Unicorn Kingdom before pre-Discordian Equestria's founding, as well as the first Queen of the unified Equestrian Kingdom.

Rarity, Spike, and Rainbow Dash also looked at the mummy with Twilight. Rainbow Dash, freaked out over the mummy and the idea of curses befalling tomb excavators, said, "This thing gives me the creeps!"

"That 'thing' was the first leader of our country," Rarity replied in annoyance. "Queen Platinum may have had a tragically cut-short reign, but she laid the foundation for us."

"She's right," Twilight replied. "If only she hadn't been assassinated by one of her own guards."

Spike then asked, "Who succeeded her?"

"Sadly," Twilight continued. "Her successor's name was lost to history."

Then, Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, and Applejack walked over, bringing along a winged woman with black hair and brown eyes in a suit. Flash said, "Twilight, Curator Shadow Flower would like to speak with you."

Twilight turned and saw the curator that Celestia had mentioned several months before. She immediately went up to her and shook her hand, introducing herself by saying, "My name is Twilight Sparkle. I have known Princess Celestia personally for a long time. I am honored to meet you, Curator."

"It is a pleasure," Shadow Flower replied before looking at Twilight's Alicorn Puzzle. "I see you have an artifact yourself."

"Oh yeah," Twilight said as she held up the puzzle. "It's the Alicorn Puzzle. I finally completed it after years of hard work."

"I can't believe it," the curator said, astonished. "It's finally complete." She then had an idea. "Say, why don't you let me exhibit it for a day or two?"

Twilight replied, "Ehh? The Alicorn Puzzle? I mean..." She then paused. "Eh, why not? Is one day enough?"

"One day is plenty," the curator replied. She then thought to herself, "Plenty for me..."

Applejack said to Twilight, "Wow! That's pretty cool! I bet your puzzle'll get a lotta views, Twilight."

"I see you are already making acquaintances," said another voice, this time from a woman with red hair and red eyes. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Professor Ruby Dream, lead archaeologist of Canterlot University."

Twilight then shook her hand as well, saying, "Twilight Sparkle. A pleasure to meet you."

"So," the professor replied, "You're the pupil of Celestia that solved the Alicorn Puzzle?"

"I am."

"I am amazed. It was said that nobody could ever solve it." She then turned to Shadow Flower. "So, you've agreed with Twilight to have the puzzle exhibited?"

"I have," the curator replied. "I'll set it up now." The curator then turned to Twilight. "May I take the puzzle?"

"Sure," Twilight said as she took the puzzle off and handed it to Shadow Flower. "I hope you like it."

"How could I not?"

"Alright," Shadow Flower said as she admired the puzzle at 9:32, about 30 minutes after the museum closed. "All I gotta do is call the buyer and we'll be all set." As she began to dial a phone number on her office phone, she heard 4 knocks on the door. She hurriedly put the puzzle away and said, "Come in!"

The horned woman who entered had orange hair and red eyes. She also wore a white headscarf and a flowing white dress and carried what appeared to be a golden scale with a red gem in the middle beam. Around her neck was a cross-shaped golden object that also had a red gem in the middle. She said, "Hello."

Shadow Flower, perplexed, asked, "Wait... Who the hell are you?"

"I am Mythic Diamond," the girl replied. "My family has guarded the tombs of the Ancient Rulers of Equestria for 3,000 years. I am a servant of Kilna."

Shadow Flower, perplexed, replied, "Kilna? The Ancient Goddess of Death?!"

"Indeed," Mythic replied. "I am here for bad reasons."

"Listen," the curator replied. "If you're from the Imperial government, I will swear on the grave of my mother that I do NOT sell artifacts on the black market!"

"The Alicorn Scales will determine that," Mythic replied as she placed the Alicorn Scales on the table before placing a feather from underneath her headscarf on one of the scales. "As a curator, you do recall Chapter 125 of the Umman Kitja Por Iqual Fatni?"

"The Book of Death and the Afterlife," Shadow Flower replied, saying the book's translated name. By now, she was deeply concerned for her own sake. "That Chapter is on the tail end of the book... It details the final judgement of the souls of the dead."

"Correct." Mythic then pointed at the Alicorn Scales. "These scales will represent the Scales of Truth from that Chapter. The feather I placed will represent your mind. Now, i will ask you a series of questions. If you lie, the scale with the feather will grow heavier. If it touches the table, you lose, and a Penalty Game will decide your fate."

"Whatever," replied Shadow Flower. "Let's get this started."

"Alright. Now, let's say you see a young boy fall down a well. You are the only one who sees it. However, on the ground is his cellphone. It's brand new and is worth over 2000 bits. What would you do?"

"Uhhh," Shadow Flower said before pausing. "I'd save the boy! I'd save him!"

The scale with the feather than got heavier. "You lied."

"I did not!"

Meanwhile, back at the museum, Twilight had managed to get entry to retrieve the puzzle. As she looked all over the museum for both the puzzle and Shadow Flower, Twilight thought to herself, "I wonder if the puzzle was popular? I bet it sure was. Now, where the heck is Shadow Flower? She should have given me the puzzle back by now."

After several questions, the scale with the feather was almost touching the ground. By now, Shadow Flower was legitimately scared and shivering, while Mythic Diamond continued to press her.

"Looks like we're down to one question," Mythic said. She then snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, Shadow saw her chair begin to change shape and growl. "Wait, what are you-?!" Her chair then changed into a lizard-like creature, whose teeth were positioned over a frightened Shadow. "Did... Did you just change my fucking chair into the demon Emmut?!"

"Indeed," Mythic replied. "Emmut will consume you if you lose." She then continued with the final question. "Now, have you ever taken sacred artifacts from the Valley of the Royals and proceeded to sell them on the black market instead of preserving them and protecting them from grave robbers?"

"What," Shadow asked as she became too scared to answer. "What?!"

"I see," Mythic said as the scale with the feather fell onto the tabletop. "You lose."

"No," Shadow said as she saw Emmut begin to consume her. In reality, however, Shadow began to wheeze as she clutched her chest. After several minutes of intense pain, Shadow slumped onto her desk with a loud bang.

Shadow Flower was dead.

"Judgement has been passed," Mythic said as she turned around and left the room, carrying the Alicorn Scales with her. Then, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Oh my God!" She then ran to the object and held it with her hands. "It's the Alicorn Puzzle! It's been completed!"

Twilight was sitting on a bench in the closed museum when she saw Mythic appear. She turned to her as she noticed she was carrying the puzzle and said, "Wait, who are you and why do you have my puzzle?"

Mythic was visibly shocked. "HER puzzle?! Did she... No way! How did a teenager complete the Alicorn Puzzle?!" She said to her, "Are you sure this is your puzzle?"

"Yes," Twilight replied. "I completed it by myself. Princess Celestia, my mentor, gave it to me."

"No way," Mythic replied. She then walked up to Twilight and held up her Alicorn Key, the cross-shaped pendant she had, and placed it on Twilight's forehead, just below her horn.

Twilight said, "What are you doing?"

In Mythic's mind, she had now entered the mind of Twilight. As she opened her eyes, she received the shock of her life. "She has TWO soul rooms?!"

There was a dark hallway, and on both sides were two doors. One door looked normal, and the other door looked ancient and foreboding.

"People are supposed to have only one soul room," Mythic said to herself. She then walked to the normal door and peered inside. In the room were some pictures, a bunch of games, some textbooks, and a large science kit. "This room is obviously of someone who is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. This girl also has some pictures of people she knows very prominently shown."

She then decided to go look in the second room. However, as she turned around, she heard a voice behind her. "Hello there..."

Mythic jumped and turned around, saying, "Who are you?!"

"Finally," the other Twilight said to Mythic. "I have a visitor to my room."

"Your room?" By now, Mythic was extremely confused.

"Come in," the other Twilight said to her. Mythic complied as she walked into a dark and dank room made of stone.

"This looks just like the tomb of a Pre-Discordian royal," Mythic thought to herself as she saw Ancient Equestrian Logographs written across the walls. "What is this soul's connection to that era?"

"So, why are you here?" The other Twilight stood before Mythic.

"I came here because of Shadow Flower," Mythic began. "She had sold sacred artifacts on the black market, resulting in priceless items being lost. I punished her, resulting in her death. I had no idea the Alicorn Puzzle was completed until I saw it in her possession. Tell me, did the girl whose soul I entered truly complete the puzzle?"

"Well, she sure does awfully look like me, huh? That should give you a hint. Tell me, do you have any other Alicorn Items with you?"

"Two," Mythic replied. "I have the Alicorn Scales, which judges people's minds, and the Alicorn Key, which lets me enter people's souls. I have no clue on the power of the Alicorn Puzzle, though."

"You are about to see," the other Twilight said. "You see, this is just a labyrinth. My real soul room is in here somewhere. I want you to find it."

"A Shadow Game? I see." Then, the other Twilight disappeared, thus beginning the game.

"Hmmm," said Mythic as she examined the various stairwells, some of which were upside down or lead to nowhere, and the many doors in the labyrinth. She then walked up one such flight of stairs to a door that had a circle with an eye in the middle. "What does this lead to?"

When she opened the door, she was met with a lion that had been devouring a gazelle. Then, the lion turned to her, its teeth drenched in blood and its eyes filled with fury, before it charged at her.

Mythic jumped and slammed the door shut, saying, "Oh my God... What is this place?!"

Eventually, after opening and rapidly closing several other doors, she was almost about to give up when the other Twilight's voice told her, "You're almost there."

Mythic decided to try one last door, a simple and plain one surrounded by 2 wall-mounted candles. When she opened it, she saw the other Twilight sitting in a throne. "Finally!"

"Congratulations," the other Twilight said as Mythic walked in. Then, she disappeared, much to Mythic's confusion.

Suddenly, the brick floor below her began to give way. Mythic tried to run, but she slipped and almost fell into a pit of darkness, hanging onto only a brick that had not fallen. She said, "What?! How?! Someone help me!"

Then, the other Twilight walked up to her and extended her hand, saying, "Here you go."

Mythic used her other hand to grab onto the other Twilight as she pulled her up onto the floor. After that, Mythic said to her, "You almost killed me..."

"I wasn't going to kill you," the other Twilight replied. "So, what do you think?"

Mythic asked, "Is your host aware of your presence?"

"Actually, yeah. She is. She doesn't mind. In fact, I'm starting to become friends with her in a way." The other Twilight then smiled. "If you're implying I hurt her, stop. I've literally killed people over them harming the other me and her friends and family, whom I consider my own as well, so why would I do so myself?"

"True," Mythic replied.

"Now, leave."

Mythic suddenly awoke in the real world, covered in sweat and breathing heavily as she fell to her knees. Twilight said, "You stood there for a long time. What was going on?"

Mythic then got up and gave Twilight the puzzle, putting it around her neck as she said, "You are a very intelligent girl, and so is the other you." She then walked away from Twilight, feeling confident in her abilities.

Twilight thought to herself, "What did she mean by the "other me?" Did she actually see the other me while she was in that trance?"

October 11, 2015

"No way," Twilight said as she dropped a glass of milk while reading the newspaper in the morning in shock, causing milk and glass shards to spill onto the floor. "Curator Shadow Flower DIED?!"

Spike said as he grabbed a towel, "Oh my God... That's horrible!"

"It says she died of a massive heart attack in her office," Twilight told Spike. "She was just 45."

"We should visit and comfort Ruby Dream. She's probably all torn up over this."

"I'll call the gang and we'll all go," Twilight replied.

Meanwhile, Ruby Dream sat in her own office, her eyes reddened by endless sobbing all night. As she sniffled, she said to herself, "This is horrible..." Then, as she received a text message from Celestia, she looked at it and saw that Twilight and her friends were coming over. Ruby smiled and said, "Good... I could use friends right now."

Then, several knocks were heard on the door.

"Come in," Ruby said as she wiped her eyes.

Mythic appeared before her and said, "Hello. My name is Mythic Diamond."

"Hmmm," Ruby said to herself before asking, "Who are you?"

"I would like to ask that question myself," Mythic said as she approached Ruby with the Alicorn Key while holding the Alicorn Scales on her other hand.

Ruby instantly recognized the key, saying, "No way! 2 more Alicorn Items?!"

"Indeed," Mythic replied before placing the key up to Ruby's forehead and entering her mind.

In Ruby's single soul room, Mythic looked around. She saw that the room was full of artifacts and bookshelves, presumably containing books on archaeology. "This is a very interesting room. It's as if her mind is cluttered with objects from the past."

She then noticed a picture frame in a corner, which was covered in dust. Mythic walked over and held it up, dusting it off. The picture was of Ruby and her boyfriend.

"She has pursued archaeology so much she's neglected her own boyfriend. Something tells me he wants to get married, in fact, but she simply has no time."

Then, she noticed another picture in another corner, this time with light shining upon it. Mythic walked over and held it up as well. The picture was of Twilight and her group of friends plus Celestia.

"This must be her only hope at this point," Mythic said to herself. "Say, this gives me an idea..." She then put the picture down before holding up the Alicorn Key and saying, "Marionette Design!"

Several hours later, at around 5, Twilight and the gang, plus Celestia, arrived at the museum. Rainbow Dash said to the group, "I can't believe that Shadow Flower died so suddenly."

"Me neither," Rarity replied. "She seemed healthy to me when we met her."

Celestia said, "Yeah, you're right. Something actually does seem off about it. But anyways, let's speculate later about it. Right now, we need to comfort Professor Ruby Dream."

"Right," Twilight said. "Fluttershy, you remembered to bring refreshments, right?"

"Yeah," Fluttershy replied as she showed her a bag of food. "It would be nice to thank him for showing us around the museum."

Then, Ruby Dream stumbled out of her office, her eyes slightly different, saying, "Hello there!"

Celestia walked up and hugged Ruby Dream, saying, "I'm so sorry about what happened to Shadow Flower."

"Thank you," Ruby said as they split. "So, how's it going?"

"Pretty good," Twilight said. "We came over to see how you were doing."

"We also wanted to thank you for showing us around the museum," Pinkie Pie said.

"Ah, yes, the museum..." Ruby Dream then paused. "Somebody... Somebody killed Shadow Flower..."

Applejack said to Twilight, "Are ya sure he's alright? He don't look like it."

Suddenly, Ruby ran up to Applejack and wrapped her hands around her neck, almost seemingly in a trance. She said, "Reveal yourself, Twilight! Reveal yourself!"

As the gang tried to rip Ruby off of Applejack, Twilight thought to herself, "Did that girl I meet somehow take control of Ruby Dream? What should I do?!"

Duel 25-The Priestess's Challenge

Finally, the gang was able to rip Ruby Dream off of Applejack's throat. A tired and breathless Applejack stood back as Ruby Dream stood before the group, hanging her head low and not moving at all. Applejack yelled, "What the hell was that for?!"

Suddenly, Mythic Diamond calmly walked into the room, the Alicorn Scales in her hand. "I see you've fought back my puppet."

Twilight exclaimed, "It's that girl from the museum I saw!" She then asked Mythic, "What did you do to Ruby Dream?"

"I rearranged her soul room to make her my puppet," she replied as she then grabbed her Alicorn Key and moved towards Pinkie Pie. "However, it was not enough to trigger you into calling your other self, so I must do this instead."

Pinkie Pie nervously asked, "What do you mean by that, silly?"

Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, "Want me to take care of this creep?"

"Not yet," Celestia interjected, knowing just how serious the situation was. "I'll explain later why."

Then, Mythic Diamond accessed Pinkie Pie's soul room by placing the key to her forehead. After standing for about a minute, Mythic returned back to the real world, and Pinkie Pie's eyes became dull. "I have made this girl my puppet as well. Do not worry, I can guarantee that she will not be gravely harmed." She then walked away with Pinkie Pie in tow. "Follow me, Twilight."

Twilight then said to the group, "I got this. I'll take the girl head on." She then followed Mythic and Pinkie, confident that she could face any challenge thrown her way.

As the gang contemplated what to do next, Ruby Dream suddenly bolted out of the room and ran the opposite way down the hallway outside the room. Celestia shouted, "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, go chase after Ruby Dream! Spike, Applejack, stay with me for now."

Twilight eventually followed Mythic and Pinkie to the roof of the museum. Up there, Pinkie and Mythic stood towards the north side of the ledge, not far from the entrance to the roof. Twilight turned to them and asked, "What do you want from me?!"

"I must test you to make sure you are worthy of the Alicorn Puzzle," Mythic replied. "Oh, and by the way, that part about me guaranteeing your friend's safety? That was a lie. She could die if you lose."

Twilight angrily yelled, "NO!" She then had a beam of light envelop her as she transformed into her other self, much to Mythic's anticipation. When the transformation was complete, the other Twilight told him, "Alright, what do I need to do to save Pinkie?"

"Give me 15 minutes to prepare my game. In the meantime, you must stay off the roof until those 15 minutes are up. Good luck."

In another section of the museum, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity all laid chase to a still-brainwashed Ruby Dream, who ran like a madman across the halls. As they ran past an exhibit, Rainbow Dash said, "Jesus Christ, this woman's fast!"

Fluttershy then said, "What if I tried to fly up to her to stop her?"

"Try it," Rarity quickly replied. "Dash's other wing is still hurt, so you are the only one that can fly!"

Fluttershy then jumped up and began to fly rapidly towards Ruby, eventually stopping in front of her just in time for the two of them to crash into each other with a loud thud. As the 2 fell to the ground, Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly caught up to them.

15 minutes later, the other Twilight went back to the roof to see what game Mythic Diamond had in store for her. She was shocked to find Pinkie Pie standing on a board jutting off of the roof. Tieing the board to the roof was a series of 4 ropes that went through the Alicorn Key and were attached to the fence surrounding the edge of the roof by 4 sculptures. The Alicorn Key itself was held back by a larger sculpture.

Mythic Diamond told the other Twilight, "Your friend is held by 4 sculptures called Idhana, the funerary figurines of Ancient Equestria. The game we are to play is called The Trial of the Mind. I must expose your weaknesses in your mind to break the 4 Idhana holding your friend up. However, there is 1 Idhan attached to my Alicorn Key. If you win, that Idhan will break, and the Key will slide down to your friend and break her free of my Marionette Design spell."

The other Twilight replied, "I see. So, what's the whole "Trial of the Mind" composed of?"

"Hmph," Mythic Diamond replied. "It has already begun. Now, I'm gonna tell you this right off the bat: Don't be afraid."

"Afraid?" The other Twilight was puzzled.

Mythic Diamond explained, "I can tell you are afraid of the unknown powers of the Alicorn Puzzle, Twilight. That is one of your mind's weaknesses. Try to look in front of yourself for proof."

Suddenly, the other Twilight blacked out as the normal Twilight flashed into view for a split second before returning, causing her to collapse to her knees in intense physical pain. As she did, an Idhan shattered, causing the board to lower. "No way..."

"Alright, now, let's begin." Mythic then snapped her fingers, causing the tiles around the other Twilight to crack. As she looked around, she saw that hands were popping up out of the tiles and grabbing onto her feet.

The other Twilight said, "What is this?! What's going on?"

"If you want to be free of these hands, you must answer my riddle." Mythic then paused. "What creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars?"

As she said the riddle, one of the Idhana began to crack. The other Twilight pondered to herself as to what the answer to the riddle could be. "Pillars... Ground... Maybe my feet are the pillars... No... That doesn't make sense with the ground part... Hmm... What comes off of a pillar onto the ground? Dust?"

Mythic told her, "If you don't answer soon, an Idhan will break."

"I got it!" The other Twilight then said, "A shadow! It's a shadow!"

Suddenly, the hands disappeared and the roof tiles became unbroken once more. Mythic Diamond told her, "Congratulations, you've completed Stage 1. Now, get ready for Stage 2."

Then, an opening appeared behind the other Twilight as the same monster that had appeared to Shadow Flower grabbed and restrained the other Twilight by her arms, startling her and causing an Idhan to shatter, further lowering the board. Then, a 3 by 3 grid of slabs appeared before her, with the middle slab being an orange question mark and the other slabs being 4 pairs of different body parts: Eyes, Ears, Hands, and Nostrils.

"If you do not solve this puzzle in 5 minutes," said Mythic Diamond. "You will be devoured by that monster. You need to name what body part is on that middle slab to win. Remember, the slabs mirror the monster."

"So this is an almost complete game of Concentration," the other Twilight said to herself to calm her nerves. "Okay..." "The monster has a pair of everything on this slab. But... What is the other thing? Wait... Is it...?" In a moment of desperation, the other Twilight blurted out, "Mouth? Is it the monster's mouth?"

"That was fast," Mythic Diamond said as she snapped her fingers and caused the monster and the slabs to disappear. "Now comes the hardest challenge."

Suddenly, tiles began falling apart around the other Twilight until she was stuck on an island composed of a 10 by 10 section of tiles. Then, a blast of smoke in front of her revealed Rainbow Dash, or at least what the other Twilight thought was her. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh hey there," said "Rainbow Dash." "How's that stupid puzzle treatin' ya?"

Mythic Diamond told a stunned other Twilight, "I created a copy of Rainbow Dash before she became your friend. She will take your puzzle and toss it. You will take two tile steps in that direction and then repeat by you tossing the puzzle."

"Rainbow Dash" then walked up to the other Twilight and ripped the puzzle off of her before tossing it to the pair's right. The other Twilight replied by stepping over two tiles. She then said, "I'll pass on my turn. I don't want to play this game with you, Rainbow Dash." She then turned to Mythic. "How do I know this isn't the actual Rainbow Dash that you just possessed?"

"You don't."

Then, "Rainbow Dash" tossed the puzzle to the right again, causing Twilight to move two tiles closer to the edge. "I'll pass again."

"Why are you not doing anything? Are you admitting defeat?"

"No," the other Twilight defiantly replied. "I trust Rainbow Dash to not throw me off the edge." Once again, she moved two tile steps closer to the edge.

"That will get you nowhere," Mythic told her. "You put too much faith into people." She then turned to "Rainbow Dash." "Toss the puzzle again to send her off the edge."

Shockingly, "Rainbow Dash" did nothing and just stood there. Then, the illusion vanished as it smiled at the other Twilight. The other Twilight told Mythic, "When it comes to friendship, there is no such thing as past or present. If I trust them, they will trust me back."

"Alright," said Rainbow Dash as she looked out an open window. "Let's get some fresh air." Her, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all tired out after chasing and stopping Ruby Dream, who was still possessed.

Fluttershy, restraining the professor, said, "I'm getting a bit tired here."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash yelled, "Holy shit, is that Pinkie?! She's standing on a board off of the roof!"

Rarity looked out to see what was going on and saw Pinkie Pie on the board, which was tilting dangerously close to the ground. "We need to get to the floor below her and hold up the board!"

Mythic told the other Twilight, "You... You won?!"

"Of course I did," she replied. "My friends backed me up the whole time."

Then, they both heard commotion near Pinkie and ran over to the board. There, they saw Rainbow Dash, standing on the ledge of the building below the roof, holding up the board with every ounce of strength she had as Rarity and Fluttershy looked on below. Rainbow Dash said, "I got her, I got her!"

Mythic, dumbfounded, said to herself, "I..." Then, her Idhan shattered, causing the Alicorn Key to slide down to Pinkie's right hand.

Instantly, she blinked her eyes, looked around, and screamed before saying, "How did I get up here?! Where am I?!"

Then, Fluttershy yelled, "The professor broke loose!"

Pinkie immediately climbed the fence behind her and jumped onto the roof of the building as Ruby climbed up to Rainbow Dash, still possessed by Mythic. She yelled, "Go, shoo!"

The other Twilight yelled, "Rainbow Dash, grab the Alicorn Key and smack Ruby with it! It'll snap her out of her mind control!"

Rainbow Dash quickly complied, grabbing the Alicorn Key from the rope attached to the now fallen board and slapping Ruby in the face with it. As the professor moves her head back, she blinked and said, "Huh? What happened?"

Rainbow Dash quickly helped her up onto the ledge before saying, "I'll explain later."

Eventually, the entire gang made it up to the roof several minutes later. Mythic, now confronted by 9 people, was forced to explain herself. "Now, you may be angry at me, and to be honest, I can see why. But... This was important."

Celestia questioningly asked, "How so?"

"Twilight passed all of the tests I gave to her. You see, you all may think it was just a coincidence she solved the Alicorn Puzzle and that the Elements of Harmony fell into your possession, but it was not. Not at all. The puzzle chose Twilight, and the Elements all chose you. My family has been the guardian of the tombs of the Ancient Equestrian rulers, and we have long searched for the person that could solve the Alicorn Puzzle. I am glad that Twilight is that person." She then walked past the group. "I must go now. I hope to meet you all again, hopefully in much better circumstances."

Spike asked the group, "The puzzle chose Twilight?"

Celestia told the group, "Don't try to pursue or punish her. She's right about everything she just said. I knew I recognized her facial features from somewhere."

The other Twilight asked, "You've met her family?"

"She comes from a long line of Tomb Keepers that are in charge of keeping the tomb of the Nameless Princess safe from harm," Celestia explained. "The Nameless Princess, as her placeholder name implies, lost her name to history. It is believed she succeeded Queen Platinum."

Then, the other Twilight transformed back into the normal Twilight. She said to the group, "Mythic taught me something. She taught me that I can't be afraid of the puzzle any longer."

Duel 26-The Wild Gang

October 13, 2015

"Huh," said Twilight as she sat down in her seat in History class and looked over at an empty desk. "That's odd. Rainbow Dash never misses school."

Rarity, who went to History class with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Flash Sentry, also noticed she was missing. "Twilight, do you have any idea where she could be? She never misses school."

"Nope. Dash never texted or called me about it." Twilight shrugged.

"You may find this hard to believe, but Rainbow Dash never, and I mean NEVER, misses a single day of school." Rarity was adamant. "She gets an A+ in P.E., but she doesn't do too well in other classes."

Flash Sentry then chimed in, saying, "Hate to admit it, but it seems awfully lonely here without her."

"Maybe we should check on her after school," Twilight suggested as she grabbed her History textbook from her bookbag. "It wouldn't hurt."

"Sorry," said Rainbow Dash's mom at her house as she sat down with Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Flash Sentry. "I don't know where she ran off to if she wasn't at school today. I tried calling her to see how she was doing during school, but she didn't answer, so I just assumed she was in class."

"That's unusual," Fluttershy said. "This doesn't seem right at all."

"Yeah," replied Rainbow Dash's mom as she wiped her eyes and yawned. "I got an idea. Why don't you get the rest of the gang together and see where she is? I'm getting pretty worried now."

"Consider it done," Twilight replied before turning to her friends. "Let's go find Rainbow Dash."

1 hour later, and the gang of 7 had had no luck finding her anywhere in town. As they walked through the center of town from one of Rainbow Dash's normal hangout spots, Twilight noticed a gang of 12th Grade boys, consisting of what appeared to be 2 winged, a regular person, 2 horned, and a bat-winged, confronting a pegasus freshman near a fast food restaurant. Applejack said, "Oh great, it's those idiots again. Stay away."

One of the boys held up the freshman from his shirt and told him, "Why did you step on my feet, you prick?"

"I... I didn't mean to..." The young boy's eyes were filled with fear.

Then, the 12th Grader slapped him and lowered him to the ground, saying, "Do that again and you'll get something worse than a slap. Now, scram!" The freshman then ran off in fear.

Rarity told the group, "That's Star Whistle's gang. They're nothing but trouble, especially these days."

"Wait a minute," said Twilight as she noticed an odd one out in the gang. "Is that... Oh my God..."

Fluttershy and Flash Sentry both said at the same time, "That's Rainbow Dash!"

The leader of the gang, a blue-haired unicorn named Star Whistle, turned to them and said to Rainbow Dash, "You know that gang of losers?"

Rainbow Dash emotionlessly said to him, "Beats me."

Pinkie Pie said to Rainbow Dash, "What do you mean 'beats me?'"

Spike told her, "How could you?!"

Twilight immediately ran up to her and said to her, "Rainbow Dash, it's me, Twilight Sparkle! Please, say you know me!"

Suddenly, the bat-winged of the gang clocked Twilight right in the face, telling her, "Shut your trap, you bitch." He then realized what he just said and turned to Rainbow Dash, telling her, "Ehhh... Sorry for saying 'bitch,' RD." She said nothing in response as the gang walked away.

An angry Applejack told Rainbow Dash, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Once Twilight got up and the gang walked away, Rarity told the group, "I... I have a confession to make... It's about Rainbow Dash's past."

Twilight asked her, "What? What is it?"

"Rainbow Dash... Was in a gang during middle school and early high school." Rarity then sighed in despair.

Fluttershy immediately became somber, saying, "I was just going to admit that."

Flash Sentry asked, "Mind telling the story, Fluttershy?"

She nodded and began telling the group about Dash's gang days. "Middle school was a rough time. I was held back in 6th Grade, and I was mercilessly bullied by my former classmates who went ahead while I stayed behind. However, there was one girl who stood up for me. It was Rainbow Dash."

Rarity then explained, "Rainbow Dash joined Star Whistle's old middle school gang at the end of 6th Grade after she became attracted to him. She was the only girl in that gang, and the only underclassman. When those two were together, they dominated the streets. Even some high school gangs were afraid of them. She also looked out for weaker students, such as Fluttershy, and protected them."

"But then," Flash Sentry continued. "Star Whistle became more aggressive. His gang turned from protectors to bullies themselves when the gang, sans Rainbow Dash, moved up to 9th Grade. Towards the end of Rainbow Dash's 9th Grade year and Star Whistle's 10th Grade year, they broke up, and she left the gang for good. Or, at least, I thought she did."

Twilight thought to herself for a minute. Then, she said, "This doesn't seem right. Something tells me Rainbow Dash was less than willing to join. She barely moved or interacted with anyone in the gang when we saw them. That's very out of character for her."

"Now that you mention it," Spike said. "She did seem a bit tense, actually. She definitely looked like she didn't want to be there at all."

Applejack began to agree, saying, "Maybe y'all are right. How 'bout we go lookin' for a member of Star Whistle's gang to see what's goin' on?"

A member of Star Whistle's gang said to himself as he emerged from a café called "The Griffon Club" carrying his wallet, "Why does Star Whistle wanna buy foreign cigarettes so bad? I wish he'd just buy from a domestic brand."

Suddenly, Rarity and Applejack tackled him from behind to the ground, holding his hands and legs still. Rarity told the man, "Tell us about Rainbow Dash rejoining Star Whistle's gang, NOW!"

"Uhhh," said the gang member as he tried to play dumb. "I got no clue what you're talking about."

"Tell me or I'll punch your teeth in," Rarity told him as she made a fist with her right hand and aimed it at the young man's mouth.

"Fine, fine! I'll tell you!" He then got up and brushed himself off. "If you wanna know so badly, here's how it went down. So, it all began about 4 days ago. Star Whistle was bringing his old gang back together to rule the streets. He decided that though he and RD had issues stemming from the fact they dated, and... Did other stuff... He needed her to come back to bring in more manpower and muscle. She told him, and this is right from her texts to him, to fuck off or else. He replied by telling her that if she didn't join, his gang would beat up the entire Class of 2017, starting with her friends and ending with her."

"Jesus Christ," Flash Sentry. "It's no wonder why she complied."

"However, things took a turn for the worse in the half an hour between us punching your little friend with the purple hair..." He then pointed at Twilight. "And you meeting me here..."

Applejack firmly asked him, "What do you mean 'took a turn for the worse?'"

Duel 27-Facing The Past

About 20 minutes earlier

"I gotta say," Star Whistle said to Rainbow Dash as he addressed his gang in the pub. "I never thought you'd comply with my little request to join me again. Thanks, RD." He then puffed out smoke from a cigarette. "Hell, with the way things are going, we could even date again." His eyes scanned her body, it having grown since they broke up in her Freshman year.

The rest of the gang laughed, even Rainbow Dash, though a little uneasily. She said, "Maybe." She then drank from a water bottle.

Then, the gang member that had punched Twilight noticed that Rainbow Dash had looked at her funny for a while. He asked, "Is something wrong, RD?" He thought to himself, "I gotta admit, I can see why Star Whistle went after her. She's pretty hot, and she's a great fighter, too, despite being an ass to the rest of us. It's almost unfortunate she basically had to be forced back in."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said as she sighed. "I just can't forgive you."

"Wait, what?" The gang member looked surprised.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash reached across and punched the gang member square in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious. "That's what you get for hitting my best friend earlier, you piece of shit!"

"Heh," Star Whistle said to Rainbow Dash. "That old look in your eyes that enticed me all those years ago is finally coming back. Too bad for you, it's aimed at us." He then snapped his fingers.

The rest of the gang then moved in to subdue Rainbow Dash. She managed to punch another gang member in the chest and swerve away from the punch of another before she felt a metallic object hit her in the back of the head, causing her to collapse to the ground.

Star Whistle said, "Bring her to the torture chamber. She needs to learn a lesson."

30 minutes after Rainbow Dash's fight

"Damn it," said Rarity as the gang looked upon an empty pub. "They're all gone."

Twilight said, "What do you think happened to them?"

"Hmm," Applejack said to herself. She then asked Rarity," Would you have any idea where the gang is?"

"Uh oh," Rarity suddenly said as she had a realization. "I think they're at the torture chamber, especially since Rainbow Dash fought the gang."

Fluttershy said in disbelief and horror, "What?! No! We need to get her as soon as possible!"

Flash Sentry asked with worry, "The torture chamber?"

"It's an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town," Rarity replied. "Star Whistle's gang takes people he really hates to there to kick them around."

"Then Fluttershy's right," Twilight said back. "We need to find her now."

Inside the torture chamber, Star Whistle's gang huddled around Rainbow Dash, who was tied by her hands above her head to a hook that dangled from the ceiling. She had been beaten several times already, and her face was bruised. Star Whistle told her, "I like this view of you a lot better, Rainbow Dash."

"Same to you," Rainbow Dash replied as she spit some blood onto the floor. "Sorry about that. Anyways, with this view, I get to see your pathetic gang in all of its so called glory."

Star Whistle, unamused by Rainbow Dash's retort, said, "Rough her up again." Immediately, his gang began to kick and punch Rainbow Dash hard across her body for a few seconds before Star Whistle lifted his right hand to tell them to stop. "Enough." He then addressed Rainbow Dash personally. "You know, when we were together, even when we were just partners in crime and not boyfriend-girlfriend, we ruled the streets. We had built an empire together. Even the high schoolers were afraid of us. When they heard we were dating, they all collectively shit their pants, because they thought our bond would be even stronger."

"I know that," Rainbow Dash replied. "I don't have amnesia, dumbass."

"One thing you never could fully grasp is that when it came to gang business," Star Whistle replied. "You were always second in command. I was your boss. However, you always wanted to be the one in control. I did not like that about you when it came to the gang."

"Exactly what a pathetic leader like yourself would think," Rainbow Dash retorted. "I was always the more intelligent one of the two of us. Hell, I can remember how many times you and your cronies hit me today. I'll be sure to pay back double."

"I see," Star Whistle replied. "Well, that was only the appetizer." He then snapped his fingers. The rest of the gang then revealed their newest weapon, 35,000 volt stun guns. "The main course will blow your mind away."

One minion told her, "With this, we can blow those memories right outta your head, and maybe even some of your life too."

"Fuck this," Rainbow Dash yelled as she swung on the rope and kicked the minion in the face, knocking him out. Then, another minion came up from behind and shocked her, causing her to scream loudly for about 10 seconds. Afterwards, she was left on the rope, dangling and twitching from the electric shock.

"Excellent work," Star Whistle told the gang. "Now she's just twitching. She can't even talk back."

Another minion asked him, "Want us to shock her more?"

"No," Star Whistle replied. "We'll run the risk of killing her if we do, and I'd rather not go to prison for the rest of my life."

Suddenly, a voice behind them yelled, "STOP!"

Star Whistle turned around and saw Twilight before him and his gang. He said, "You're that scrawny girl from earlier."

"I'm more than that," Twilight replied as the Alicorn Puzzle glowed. Then, she transformed into the other Twilight, who told the gang, "Come at me."

"Huh," a minion said. "Don't know why that happened, but okay." He then ran up to the other Twilight and punched her across the face as it began to rain through the holes in the old warehouse's roof. She was knocked back, and as the gang discussed what to do with her, she looked at the minion Rainbow Dash knocked out and used an old metal bar to hoist his arm up off the ground. She then attached the Alicorn Puzzle to a rope directly above the minion before standing on a rubber tire.

"Now," she began. "I'll challenge you guys to a game. If you win, you can kill me. If I win, well, you'll know what the results will be soon."

"I like those stakes," Star Whistle. "So, what's your stupid game about?"

"There's a time bomb below your feet. If you don't find both of the switches, you'll all be taken out by the bomb."

"This girl's stupid," a minion said. "Let's shock her with the stun guns."

Suddenly, Star Whistle realized something and yelled, "Wait! No! Don't use them!" He then turned to the other Twilight. "Now I understand. As you can see, it's raining, and due to the holes in the roof, we're soaked. You all should know what happens with water and electricity."

"You're right," a minion replied. "If we turn the stun guns on, we'll get shocked!"

"Since we have two stun guns, that means we found both switches." Star Whistle then rolled up his sleeves. "Well, I gotta admit, that was clever, but we won, so as promised, we're gonna kill you now."

"Nope," the other Twilight replied. "You only found one switch. The second is going to go off right now." She then pointed to the unconscious minion.

Star Whistle realized what she had done. The arm the other Twilight had raised with the metal bar held an active stun gun, and when that minion woke up, the stun gun would go into the water and shock everyone but the other Twilight, who stood on a rubber tire to remain safe. He thought to himself, "For the love of God, don't wake up!"

Sure enough, the minion woke up, and his arm and the stun gun fell into the water. Immediately afterwards, the entire gang screamed in intense pain as the electricity shocked them to the point of unconsciousness, causing them to fall to the ground. The other Twilight said, "And with that, your gang is done. Game Over!"

Duel 29-Spirit World RPG

The game had begun. All the players placed their pieces in the starting point, a small village with a few houses and a tavern. The other Rarity told the group, "You may notice there are no enemies on the game board. You see, you will only be able to see them either through your actions or by complete chance."

"We should probably get more info about this world," Scootaloo said to the gang. "Come to think of it, we don't know the enemy we're fighting against really well."

"Good idea," Twilight replied. "Let's go to that tavern on the board in the village where we started."

After a few turns, they managed to squeeze all of their pieces into the small tavern, which had a bar and a few tables. Rainbow Dash said, "Who wants to go talk to the bartender?"

"I'll do it," Pinkie Pie said. She moved her piece over to the bar and said, "Hey, bartender, we have a question."

Shockingly, the bartender figure replied back to them, saying, "I see. What is it?"

"Woah," Applejack said. "Did it just talk?"

"Yep," the other Rarity replied. "I programmed that myself." Then, she thought to herself, "Actually, those figures are vessels for the souls of the random dead I have captured and forced into this game."

Pinkie Pie continued, "Me and my friends are adventurers. Is there anything we can do around here for adventuring?"

"Hah," the bartender replied scornfully. "Last time a band like you guys came along, much blood was shed."

Rainbow Dash told the bartender, "What do you mean by bloodshed?"

The bartender then sighed. "Well, you see, this area was a peaceful one. But then, everything changed when the Dark Lord Tirek Necrophades assassinated the king in a coup d'etat and took over. Ever since, we've been oppressed for trying to exercise our basic human rights and whatnot. A band of adventurers tried leading a rebellion against him, but he crushed it."

"Well then," Rainbow Dash said, tall and proud. "I swear on the graves of my ancestors that we will succeed! We will take down Tirek Necrophades and we will free you all!"

Applejack asked, "So's Rainbow Dash the leader now? I thought Twilight was."

"If you really wanna try, the castle is to the north of the village." The bartender then sighed. "Good luck. You're gonna need a lot of it."

"Alright then," Scootaloo said. "Let's go to the castle."

After a few more turns, the gang had exited the village and wandered into the open space of the board. Then, after Fluttershy moved her piece into position, the other Rarity said, "You've entered a monster zone. There are monsters hidden all around you. Go ahead and move your piece, Twilight."

Twilight moved her piece forward one spot. As soon as she did, a monster appeared on the computer screen of the other Rarity. "Looks like you found a monster, guys. This one's a goblin." She then pulled out 2 10-sided dice. "All battles will be decided by these dice. The white die is the ones. The red die is the tens."

Applejack said, "A 10-sided die? I've never seen that before."

"They're very common with certain games," Twilight replied. "Especially RPGs and even some card games similar to Duel Monsters."

"Correct," the other Rarity replied. "Now, you do more damage when you roll closer to 0. Rolling a 00 is called a supercritical hit. It guarantees a kill. On the other hand, rolling a 99 is called a critical fumble. It guarantees your character getting killed."

"Alright then," Pinkie Pie said, since her turn was after Twilight. "I'll roll first." She rolled a 13. After Rarity punched it in the computer, the sound of a club hitting a skull was heard, as well as the sound of broken glass, indicating the goblin had been destroyed.

"Good job," the other Rarity said. She then thought to herself, "Just wait until you roll a critical fumble. You'll be in for a surprise."

"Hey," said Apple Bloom as she noticed something. "A figure's on the ground on the board. Maybe we should help 'em."

"Good idea," Sweetie Belle replied. "I'll take care of this." She then moved her piece forward to talk to the fallen figure. "Are you okay?"

"Don't know how," said the figure, who wore drab robes. "But I am. I was attacked by thieves who took my treasure. It's somewhere in the forest with them."

"Hmmm," Flash Sentry said. "I like treasures. What is it?"

"It's the Holiest of Swords," the figure replied. "It is the ONLY thing that can stop the Dark Lord Tirek Necrophades."

Spike said, "A sword that can beat Tirek? That could be useful."

"Please, find it. I don't know what I or anyone else in this kingdom will do if it's lost forever." The figure seemed very worried.

"Looks like beating Tirek will be easier than I first thought," Twilight said to the group.

"Okay," the other Rarity then said. "Looks like you'll be entering the forest. In here, there's an 85% chance of finding a monster, so be careful." She then grabbed the dice and said, "Let's see how you fare..." She then rolled an 06.

Suddenly, 6 monsters appeared on the board. "Woah," Spike said. "Think we can handle them?"

"Of course," Rainbow Dash replied. She then rolled an 80. "Aw crap!"

"Don't worry, you just fall over. You don't die, Rainbow Dash."

"My turn," Scootaloo replied. She then rolled a 16. "Alright!"

"Direct hit!" Then, the sound of a knife stabbing a monster was heard, indicating one of the 6 monsters had been destroyed. "Good job, Scootaloo."

"Now I go," Twilight replied. She then rolled a 25.

"Looks like you triggered a special effect," the other Rarity said. "Your character can take over a monster and use it as an ally."

"Sounds good to me," Twilight replied. "I'll choose the 5th monster." The 5th monster was a walking eyeball. It walked over and stood next to Twilight's figure. "2 down, 4 to go."

"My turn," Pinkie Pie said. She then rolled a 10. A 3rd monster was then clubbed to death by her figure and destroyed. "Alright!"

"Now, it's my turn," Fluttershy replied. She then rolled, to the surprise of everyone, a 00. She said, "Oh my God... A 0-0!"

"A supercritical hit," the other Rarity said.

Fluttershy's figure then unleashed a torrent of electricity at the last 3 monsters, destroying all of them. "I... I did it? I did it!"

"Awesome," Rainbow Dash said.

"Now," Sweetie Belle said. "Let's find that treasure. Sorry, big sis, but it looks like you're gonna lose this time."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the other Rarity said. "Look at that figure your friends helped up, sister."

"So," the figure then said. "You're the adventurers trying to overthrow me? How pathetic. Your luck ran out when you encountered me and this forest. Your lives end now!" Then, the figure glowed on the stage.

"What the-?!" Twilight now had a very bad feeling about the game. "How is it glowing?!"

Sweetie Belle said, "Huh, that's funny. I've never seen that figure, or any figure in general for this game, glow like that before, or glow at all."

Then, the figure changed shape into its true form. "I am the Dark Lord, Tirek Necrophades!" Tirek was a centaur with red skin, white hair, dark fur, black horns, and cloven hooves. His head had bull-like facial features with a goat-like beard, and he wore a crown.

"This doesn't seem right," Applejack replied. "How's Rarity doing all that?"

"You fools! There is no sword in this world that can defeat me!"

"Looks like you were caught completely off-guard," the other Rarity said. "Because of this, Tirek attacks first."

Twilight then angrily asked her, "Rarity, what the hell is going on?!"

Then, the other Rarity rolled a 00. "Looks like I got a supercritical hit. Now, Applejack, Spike, you should remember what Twilight did to Nightmare Moon after she lost, correct?"

"Yeah," Spike replied. "She did that Mind Crush thing. Why do you ask?"

"Because something a little similar is about to happen to one of you," the other Rarity said in a commanding tone. "And the first person to befall this fate will be Fluttershy." Her eyes and horn then glowed as she pointed at Fluttershy and yelled, "Penalty Game!" Suddenly, Fluttershy collapsed to the table, unconscious.

Twilight said, "I knew it! This is a Shadow Game!"

"What the fuck did you do to her?!" Rainbow Dash was now seething with anger. "I'll solve this!" She then rolled a 00. "How's that?!"

"Rainbow Dash, it was NOT your turn." The other Rarity then pointed at her as her eyes and horn glowed again. "Penalty Game!"

Then, Rainbow Dash fell to the table unconscious as well. Sweetie Belle asked," Rarity, what's going on?!"

"This is the ultimate RPG," the other Rarity replied. "If I roll a 00 or you roll a 99, you get trapped in your figure. Good luck."

Sure enough, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy woke up in their figures. Fluttershy screamed and yelled, "What the hell?! Why am I trapped in this?!"

Rainbow Dash turned to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Now," the other Rarity said. "Continue."

"My turn," Scootaloo said. "I'll free them both!" She then rolled a 99. As her eyes turned from anger to dread, she yelled "What?! No! No!!!"

The other Rarity's eyes and horn glowed again as she pointed at Scootaloo and yelled, "Penalty Game!" Scootaloo then fell onto the table, unconscious.

Sweetie Belle yelled, "Why are you doing this?! What happened to you?!"

Apple Bloom angrily asked, "Are y'all asking to get your ass kicked?!"

"I've had enough of both of your chatter," the other Rarity said as she coldly dismissed her own sister and Apple Bloom. The other Rarity's eyes and horn glowed again as she pointed at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom and yelled, "Penalty Game!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom then fell to the table, unconscious.

Applejack picked up Apple Bloom and said," That's enough! My turn!" She then rolled a 99. "Another 99?!"

The other Rarity's eyes and horn glowed again as she pointed at Applejack and yelled, "Penalty Game!" Applejack then fell to the table, unconscious. The other Rarity then laughed. "How pathetic!" She then turned to Twilight. "Take your puzzle off, now."

Twilight asked her, "Why?"

"If you don't, I'll imprison your other 3 friends still left now."

Twilight then replied, "Fine." She then took her puzzle off and placed it on the table next to her. "I don't see why, but there you go."

"Excellent" The other Rarity thought to herself. "Now she can't transform into the other Twilight if she loses." "I have a special punishment for you, by the way." She then pulled out a blank jar and placed it on the floor between her and the gang. "Because I desire your puzzle so badly, that makes you my biggest target. Therefore, if your figure loses or if 30 minutes pass after your soul is transferred, whichever comes first, your soul will be transferred to this soul-eating jar."

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Flash Sentry, and Spike all said, "Soul-eating jar?!"

"That's right. Once your soul is in this jar, you cannot leave, and your soul will be devoured in 24 hours." The other Rarity then laughed. "Now, I believe it's Spike's turn."

"You got that right," Spike replied. He then rolled a 79. "Crap!"

"My turn," Flash Sentry said. He then rolled a 50. "What will a 50 do?"

"It will hurt Tirek," the other Rarity said as Tirek was blown back by Flash's attack. "But it won't kill him."

"Now I go," Twilight replied. She then rolled a 64. "Not this again..."

"You and Spike barely did anything to Tirek," the other Rarity said.

"Let's do this," Pinkie Pie said. She then rolled a 99. "Another 99?!"

The other Rarity's eyes and horn glowed again as she pointed at Pinkie Pie and yelled, "Penalty Game!" Pinkie Pie then fell to the table, unconscious. "Now it's my turn again." The other Rarity then rolled a 00. "Looks like I activated one of Tirek's 4 special abilities. I can kill 3 players at once!" She then pointed at Spike, Twilight, and Flash Sentry as she yelled, "Penalty Game!" Flash Sentry, Twilight, and Spike then both fell to the table, unconscious. She then laughed and said, "Looks like I win!" Then, she noticed that Twilight had been holding onto something when she lost. "Wait, what?!"

Sure enough, Twilight had grasped the Alicorn Puzzle in her hands right before she fell unconscious. The other Twilight then stood up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, as she said, "Ugh... Thank God the other me was holding onto that puzzle or else I'd be a goner."

The other Rarity then said, "No way! You actually appeared?!"

"Indeed," the other Twilight said as she aired herself of sweat and wiped her forehead. "Now, the real game begins. I know you're not the real Rarity, you piece of shit. You're just a spirit attached to the Alicorn Ring."

"How did you figure it out?!"

"I could sense it when this became a Shadow Game," the other Twilight replied. "Only those who bear the Alicorn Items can create Shadow Games." She then grabbed the dice from her. "Now, other Rarity, it's game time!"

Duel 30-Triumph Over The Ring

"Alright then," the other Rarity said. "Just remember, you're on a 30-minute time limit. If you lose or 30 minutes passes, the normal Twilight will be trapped in the soul-eating jar."

The other Twilight then thought to herself, "Say, I should be able to see the other me..." She then looked down at the board and said to the normal Twilight, "Hey, other me."

The normal Twilight then turned around and said, "It's... You can talk to us?!"

"I guess so." She then sighed. "You know of the soul-eating jar, right?" Normal Twilight then nodded. "Good. Trust me, 30 minutes is more than enough time to beat the other Rarity." She then turned to the other Rarity as she rolled the dice. "I'll attack with Rainbow Dash." She rolled a 03. "03. Direct hit!"

Rainbow Dash then slashed at Tirek, injuring his right front leg and making him wince in pain. "Alright! If you think I'm afraid, you got another thing coming! My friends are here to back me up!"

"Now," the other Rarity said to the other Twilight. "You do realize that if your pieces are killed in-game, your friends will die in real life, right?"

"I know. I also know that none will die, because I'm watching over them."

Then, on the battlefield, a piece of Tirek's flesh that had been chopped off by Rainbow Dash began to change form. Spike said, "What is that thing?!"

Tirek said, "Whenever a piece of me falls off, it turns into a servant of mine." He then laughed and turned around to walk back to his castle. "If you manage to beat this servant, you may find me at my castle. I doubt you'll win, though, regardless of how you fare against my servant." The "servant" was a black dragon with blood-drenched teeth.

"Oh no," Fluttershy said as she cowered behind Twilight. "We're doomed."

"No, we're not." Twilight replied. "The other me will pull through."

"Say," the other Twilight said to the other Rarity. "I noticed something about the way you throw your dice."

The other Rarity questioningly asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll demonstrate on my turn," the other Twilight said as she threw her dice. The tens die stopped first and landed on a 5. Then, the ones die suddenly struck the tens die, producing a 01. "You intentionally throw the tens die slower than the ones die, and if the tens die is bad, you vibrate the table to get the ones die to strike it. Now, I'll use Sweetie Belle to kill that recently-spawned monster."

Sweetie Belle then decapitated the dragon with one fell swoop, killing it. She said, "Aww yeah!"

"Fine, you got me." The other Rarity then sighed. "From now on, we'll just drop the dice down onto the board instead. Are you happy?"

"Now," Applejack said to the gang. "Let's go to that castle." The gang then walked through the forest on the board and to the front entrance of the castle, which was a drawbridge over a moat..

Pinkie Pie said, "Looks like the only way through is that drawbridge, but how do we open it?"

Suddenly, the drawbridge began to lower by itself. Scootaloo said to herself, "Well, that takes care of that problem."

The other Rarity then lifted up the roof of the castle, revealing a dark throne room and two towers with rooms on the bottom. She said to the other Twilight, "Tirek could be anywhere in this castle. Be careful." Then, as she began typing away at the game computer to determine when Tirek would appear, she lost control of her left arm. "What the hell?! My left arm is typing up something completely different!"

Once the message was complete, it read out, "MY NAME IS RARITY. I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MY FRIENDS AND MY BOYFRIEND. I AM JOINING THIS BATTLE."

The other Rarity then yelled, "Shut up, Rarity!" She then stabbed her left hand with the spike of a castle tower, causing it to bleed. She said to herself, "There... Now don't interrupt again, host..."

The other Twilight smirked and smugly said, "Just as I thought. You really aren't the real Rarity."

"Shut up," the other Rarity retorted back. "You won't be so smug for long, because Tirek appears once more!" Then, Tirek appeared on the board in front of the gang, defending the throne. "Now, I'll roll!" "One thing Twilight didn't count on was the fact that my dice are infused with the souls of the dead as well," she thought to herself. "I can command them to roll any result I want!" Sure enough, she rolled a 00.

The other Twilight screamed, "Everyone! Look out!"

Then, Tirek lunged at the entire gang with fury in his eyes, saying, "Die, you pathetic fools!" The entire gang screamed in pain as they were blown back by the attack and fell to the ground.

The other Rarity said, "Haha, I wi- WHAT?!" She then looked at her computer screen. Shockingly, everyone was still alive, but with only 1 HP left. "How the hell are they not dead?!"

Suddenly, Tirek winced in pain as he clutched his left arm, which had been cut before. Then, a girl dressed in a white robe and a white wizard's hat appeared from his left arm. The purple hair and blue eyes immediately gave away who it was. "Hello, again, darlings! I'm White Wizard Rarity!"

Twilight immediately said as her eyes lit up, "You're okay!"

As the gang celebrated, Spike immediately ran up to her and hugged her tight, saying, "Oh my God... I thought you were a goner..."

Rarity returned the hug and quietly said to him, "I wasn't. Spike, we'll get through this together, and we'll win."

The other Rarity said, "How... How did she create an NPC from Tirek's arm?!"

"Friendship," the other Twilight replied. "It was friendship. Other Rarity, whoever you are, let it be known that the Elements of Harmony are on my side, and because of that, anything is possible. Now, it's my turn!" She then rolled a 18. "Not a direct hit, but good nonetheless. Go, Applejack!"

Applejack then said, "Got it, pal!" She then cocked her magic gun and fired several devastating shots at Tirek, knocking him to his knees. "Take that, ya damn psycho!"

Rarity said to her as she held up her staff, "By the way, let's just say I kinda helped with that by using a spell to slightly increase your attack power."

Tirek then told the gang, "Your luck runs out now!" He then opened his mouth and breathed fire at the gang.

The other Twilight yelled out to them, "Everyone! No!"

Then, Rarity said, "I won't let you!" She then stood in front of the gang and held her staff up to the inferno, diverting the fire away from the gang, but also using up her own HP to do so. She yelled at Tirek in searing pain, "You bastard!"

Spike yelled out, "Rarity! No!"

Finally, the fire attack ceased, and Rarity's arms dropped to her sides as she stared aimlessly at Tirek. Then, she fell to her knees and onto the ground, her HP reading 0. The other Rarity said, "Finally, my annoying host is dead!"

The other Twilight stared at the board in complete shock. She whimpered to herself, "Rarity... Rarity..."

Twilight, on the board, cried out as tears fell from her eyes, "Rarity! No! It can't be!"

Spike ran to her and picked up her upper body in his arms, crying to himself. Rarity, still alive, but barely, used her right hand to take her hat off and said to Spike, "Spike... I need to tell you something..." She then used the last of her strength to reach her hands out to Spike, grab him, and pull him in for a kiss, which he returned. "I love you... I'm sorry..." Then, Rarity fell limp and fell to the ground as a horrified Spike stared aimlessly in front of him.

Then, Spike threw his head up into the sky and yelled out her name, saying, "RARITY!!!"

Sweetie Belle then ran over and also hugged her sister's body, sobbing as she shook her body and said, "Wake up! Please, Rarity, wake up! Why aren't you..."

The other Twilight then threw her fist down on the table and said, "I... I WILL get her back... I will get her back, even if it's the last thing I do..." She then rolled her dice. "Please, be a critical or a super-critical!" Sure enough, she rolled a 00. "Go, other me!"

Twilight then swung at Tirek with her bare hands, which were magically enhanced due to the supercritical, and hit him in the chest, causing serious damage. She said, "This one's for Rarity!"

The other Rarity said to the other Twilight, "You can't! I won't allow it!" Suddenly, though, the real Rarity appeared before her. "What the hell?! How are you still alive?!"

"I won't let you control my body anymore," said Rarity in her thoughts. "This ends now!" She then used her right hand to pick up the dice from the other Rarity and smash them onto the table.

The other Twilight, who only saw the dice lift into the air and then get thrown onto the table to be destroyed, said to herself, "Her dice were destroyed!"

"No," the other Rarity said to herself. "My dice!"

"This ends now," the other Twilight said as she rolled her dice. Sure enough, she rolled a 00. "Spike, I'll let you have the honors."

Spike, on the board, replied, "Gladly." He then charged at Tirek as he cast a destruction spell, yelling, "DIE!!!" Then, he unleashed a fury of fire and lightning upon Tirek, who screamed in pain as he burned to death. Finally, Tirek disappeared.

Apple Bloom yelled, "We did it! We beat Tirek!"

Twilight smiled and looked at her other self, thinking, "We really did do it together..."

The other Rarity, in a state of shock, said to herself as she stood up, "I... I lost... How did you defeat Tirek?!"

"Whoever you are," the other Twilight said as she also stood up. "You lost because placed too much trust into just one being. I, on the other hand, placed trust in a group of friends, and unlike you, I actually respect and care about the other me."

The other Rarity yelled, "You worthless piece of shit! Friendship will still get you nowhere!"

Then, the other Twilight's eyes and horn glowed as she said, "And since this is a Shadow Game, the loser must face a penalty game, just like you said. It's time for you to be gone from my friend's body!" Then, she stuck her right hand out, her 5 fingers extended, and yelled, "MIND CRUSH!"

The other Rarity screamed as the penalty game took affect, a photo-negative light forming over her before cracking away to the sound of shattering glass, cutting off her scream and revealing the real Rarity underneath. Rarity then collapsed to the floor, unconscious, as the rest of the gang began to wake up back in their old bodies.

"I have shattered the evil spirit that possessed your body, Rarity." The other Twilight then saw the soul of the normal Twilight form up in a ball as the gang watched. Then, the ball of light entered the Alicorn Puzzle. "Welcome back..."

Sweetie Belle immediately noticed Rarity unconscious and ran over to her to wake her up, saying, "Sis! Wake up!"

Then, Rarity opened her eyes and said to her, "I'm... I'm alive..." She then stood up and hugged her sister, telling her, "I'm so sorry for putting you through that, Sweetie..."

"You didn't," Sweetie Belle replied. "It was that other Rarity."

Then, Rarity turned her attention to Spike. She ran over to him and kissed him again on the lips, much to his surprise. She then pulled away, smiled, and said, "That's for saving us, darling."

The other Twilight then transformed back into her normal self as Rainbow Dash and Applejack hugged her. Rainbow Dash said to her, "You were awesome, Twilight!"

Applejack said to Twilight as they split, "Ya really came through for us on and off the board!"

Twilight then told the gang, "Everyone... Thank you."

Flash Sentry then said to Spike, "So, are you and Rarity a-"

Rarity and Spike both said to him in reply, "Yep." They both then blushed as Spike said to her, "So... Uhhh... Wanna go do something tomorrow?"

"Of course," Rarity replied. "I'd love to do something with you, Spike."

Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle, "Looks like your sister finally found a boy, eh?"

Sweetie Belle laughed and said, "I guess you're right."

Twilight then thought to herself, "I finally got to see the other me today. It was like looking in a mirror in some ways, to be honest. I'm glad I did, though. I can't wait to see what the next battle will look like. Hopefully, it isn't as pressing or deadly at this, of course!"

Duelist: Duel 1-The DVD

October 31, 2015

"Eh, better luck next time," Twilight said as she, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Flash Sentry, and Spike walked home from a local tournament at a card shop that Rainbow Dash had lost around 2 in the afternoon. "You can't win all the time."

"I know, I know," Rainbow Dash said as they approached Twilight's library. There, on the front doorstep, was a small package. Rainbow Dash said, "Look at that. A package."

Twilight looked at it and noticed it was stamped with an address identifying it as an Industrial Sirens package. "Hey, Industrial Sirens, the company that makes Duel Monsters." The gang then walked inside the library's main room.

Pinkie Pie said, "Open the package up. I bet there's cards in there."

"I didn't order anything," Twilight replied as she opened the package up. Inside was a DVD. "Huh... It's labelled "For Twilight Sparkle." I wonder what it's about..."

"Pop it in the T.V.," Applejack said. "Let's see what this is." The gang then sat down in front of the library's main room T.V. as Twilight popped in the DVD into a DVD player. She then used a remote to turn the T.V. on and select DVD mode. Then, she pressed play.

Immediately, Adagio Dazzle, the CEO of Industrial Sirens, appeared on the screen. She said, "Why, hello, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight said in shock, "The CEO?!"

"I apologize if this seems sudden," Adagio continued. "You see, I would like to congratulate you in your victory against Nightmare Moon, or as she now calls herself, Princess Luna. I see you did a number on her too, since she was in the hospital in a coma for a few days afterwards."

"Say," Rainbow Dash said as she noticed something. "Why does she have that artificial eye?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied. "It looks a little similar to my Alicorn Puzzle."

Rarity asked, "Could it be another Alicorn Item?"

"Now," Adagio Dazzle continued. "I believe that you could be the true champion of the game Duel Monsters, Twilight. That is why I want to invite you over to a special tournament of mine during Spring Break. It starts on March 22, 2016, in 5 months time. In those 5 months, you will need to prepare yourself. Additionally, you will also receive another 3 DVDs, one each from my partners, company CFO Aria Blaze, and company president Sonata Dusk, and finally, one again from me right before the tournament."

Twilight thought to herself, "She seems serious. I wonder what's in store for me."

"The tournament is called Duelist Kingdom," Adagio continued. "I've invited many of Equestria's best Duel Monsters players. You have your work cut out for you, Twilight, but I'm confident you will do very well. Anyways, before I go, I must tell you about the artificial eye I have. You see, I noticed that you yourself possess the Alicorn Puzzle. Well, I possess an Alicorn Item as well: The Alicorn Eye. It would be unkind, though, to reveal what it does just yet. I will let you find out on your own."

Rarity said, "So there's more than just the Ring and the Puzzle." She then looked down at the Alicorn Ring, which, as far as anyone knew, was now just a powerless necklace.

"I also know that you possess the Elements of Harmony," Adagio continued. "I am impressed that Princess Celestia would entrust you with these powerful artifacts that are so intertwined with the Alicorn Items. You see, they were born of the Tree of Harmony around the same time the Items were created in the Pre-Discordian era, though they would not be found until later by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Well, with that, this video ends. Good luck, Twilight."

Now more confused than ever, Twilight said to herself, "What does all of this mean?"

Fluttershy said to her, "Regardless, we'll be there with you during the tournament."

Flash Sentry said, "Of course. I don't mind taking a vacation with friends during Spring Break."

"Alright then," Twilight replied, confident. "Let's get ready so we can win in 5 months time."

June 1, 2015

An exciting duel was taking place in Manehattan, and 50,000 people watched in a converted concert/basketball arena.

Nightmare Moon had been invited by Adagio Dazzle to watch her face a Griffonian-Equestrian player named Gilda Rhodes. She had been born in a neighboring country named Griffonia, but had emigrated with her family to Equestria when she was young. She and Rainbow Dash had been classmates in elementary school before they both moved from the city of Cloudsdale in the 5th Grade. She had challenged Adagio Dazzle, and she agreed on the following conditions:

The prize would be 8 million bits
The Duel would take place in a large stadium capable of holding fifty thousand people.
The Duel would be broadcast nationwide.
The earnings would be split with the sponsors and TV stations.

Adagio Dazzle was in a pitched duel with Gilda, who ran a Mechanical deck. After Gilda had completed her turn, Adagio said to her, "You seem pretty confident."

"I am," Gilda replied. "I feel confident that I'll be beating the creator of Duel Monsters at her own game."

Then, Adagio said, "I'm gonna show you that even a child could defeat you." She then stood up and called over a young boy in the stands. The boy was only 9 years old, and was helped over the fence of the stands to the floor of the small arena by Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.

The boy ran over and said, "Oh my gosh, this is so cool!"

Nightmare Moon, who had been watching, thought to herself, "What the hell are the three doing?"

Adagio said to the boy, "Follow these instructions, and good luck."

After a few more turns, it looked like Gilda was going to win. She had the monster Garnecia Elefantis, with an attack of 2400, on the field, and the boy had no monsters left. Gilda was down to 100 life points, and the boy was down to 50. Then, the boy said, "I'll summon Flying Elephant with... 1850 attack. Then, I'll activate... Uhh... Megamorph, I think?"

Gilda said, "Megamorph?!"

"Oh boy," said the boy. "It says here Flying Elephant's attack is doubled since my life points are lower than your's. I don't know what 1850 doubled adds up to, but I know it's more than 2400."

Gilda said to herself as she facepalmed in defeat, "Oh mein Gott... Das kann nicht passieren... Ich muss träumen..."

"I see you've lost," Adagio Dazzle said to Gilda. "As I said, even a child can beat you, Gilda."

Nightmare Moon said to herself, "Holy shit... She just embarrassed Gilda on live T.V."

Later that evening, Nightmare Moon, Cloud Tail, and the three Sirens met in an office. In front of them was a miniature version of the hologram technology that the Luna Corporation had developed for Duel Monsters. "Go on," Nightmare Moon said to the three. "Place any monster card down on the field."

Sonata Dusk, the more upbeat of the three, said, "Oooh, I'll go first." She then pulled her deck out of her pocket and selected the monster "Happy Lover" with 800 attack. Sure enough, it appeared on the field as an extremely life-like hologram. "Woah... That's cool..."

"I'm impressed," Adagio Dazzle said as she extended her hand out to Nightmare Moon. "Consider this a done deal, Nightmare Moon."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Adagio," Nightmare Moon replied.

Cloud Tail thought to himself, "I think there's something up with that fake eye of Adagio's... There's no way she could have pulled off her win against Gilda fairly..."

Duelist: Duel 2-Falling From Cloud Nine

November 10, 2015

"Cloud Tail," said Princess Luna as they sat in her office. "I know I've been pretty... Quiet... Since I woke up."

Cloud Tail, still getting used to Luna now that she had been defeated, said, "Well, yeah. You lost one of the most important games in your life, almost killed your sister, and got put into a coma for several days. You're in shock, Luna."

Luna then sighed. "You're right... This whole Moon-T shit distracted me from ruling over the Lunar Republic. The Moon's inhabitants are still not doing too well after all these years. We're restricted by the harsh environment to a little over a fourth of the Moon's surface, basically the size of Ib'xian, and we're still broke, though we're getting better." She then stood up. "I gotta go to the Moon from today to the 27th on Presidential business."

"You know, you haven't spoken to Celestia or Twilight since Moon-T," Cloud Tail said to her.

"I know," Luna replied as she walked out of the office. "The thing is... I'm afraid to talk to my sister, and I still have the urge to beat Twilight, though under much fairer circumstances than in Moon-T. You see, I've grown to have a level of respect for Twilight, even though she is still my rival." She then paused. "There are only 3 people who deserve the title of "duelist" in the world, Cloud. They are me, my sister, and Twilight Sparkle. I will leave you with that."

Cloud Tail thought to himself, "What does she mean by that?"

Twilight stood in line at a packed department store in Trottingham around 5 P.M., waiting for a rare new watch that had came out called the P-Shock Premium. She intended to buy it for Flash, who had broken his watch the day before while playing football with the gang after school. As she inched closer to the counter, she thought to herself, "I mean... It's not like I have feelings for Flash in that way. This is just a favor for a friend and nothing more..."

Then, as Twilight approached the counter, she said, "I'll have the P-Shock Premium, please."

"You're in luck," said the clerk. "Because you are about to buy the last P-Shock Premium we have in stock."

As the crowd behind her became disappointed, Twilight said, "Wow, I am lucky." As she paid for the watch and received it, a man behind her became agitated.

"You don't really deserve it," said the man, wearing an orange jacket. "I, on the other hand, do." He then rolled up his sleeves, displaying 10 watches, 5 on each hand. "These are the ultra-rare Dragonican Color Watches in Special Variation. I am the ONLY person to have all of these 10 watches at once. A watch as rare as the P-Shock only deserves to be in the hands of a watch collector like me."

"I'll call the police if you don't stop," the clerk sternly said to the watch collector. "Now, leave."

"Fine," the watch collector replied as he left. "There'll be more one day, I hope."

At 6:30 P.M., Flash Sentry came over to the Golden Oaks Library to get the watch. As he stepped inside, Twilight greeted him and handed him the watch itself, a sleek gold-yellow digital watch. "Here you go, Flash. I got it for you after you broke your's yesterday." Twilight then blushed slightly.

"Why, thank you," Flash replied. He then put it on, admiring its looks. "This had to be expensive as hell."

"It wasn't a problem," Twilight replied. "Anyways, some guy tried to take it from me."

"Were you hurt? What happened to him?" Flash then became concerned for Twilight.

"Some watch collector said I didn't "deserve" the watch or something. Luckily, the clerk told him to get out before things escalated." Twilight then checked her phone.

"That's good," Flash replied as he set the time on his new watch. "It's 6:34 P.M., right?"

November 11, 2015

After school, Flash Sentry and Twilight went to a local arcade. After winning against him in a fighting game, Twilight said, "Alright, I won!"

"Damn," Flash replied as he turned around. "Well, I gotta run to the bathroom. Hopefully, I can beat you in the next game." He then took off the P-Shock and stuffed it in his back pocket.

"Maybe," Twilight replied as Flash walked to the men's bathroom.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Flash went to wash his hands in a sink. As he did, he suddenly felt a small pull on his back pocket. He turned around, but saw nothing except a man walking out of the bathroom. He then shrugged and continued washing his hands.

However, after drying his hands, he reached to his back pocket and noticed the watch was gone. He immediately said, "What the hell?! That man I saw must have taken it!"

Meanwhile, outside of the men's bathroom, Twilight saw the man emerge wearing the P-Shock on his right arm. She immediately walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. As the man turned around, she said, "Give me back that watch. That's my friend's."

"You're that girl from the store," the man replied. As Twilight recognized him, the man bolted for a utility closet. Twilight immediately gave chase. Eventually, after about 15 seconds of running, they both entered the utility closet.

"This ends now," Twilight replied as she closed the door behind her and locked it. "Give me the watch, or else."

"Or else what?" The man then lunged at Twilight and punched her in the face.

As Twilight recoiled, her Alicorn Puzzle glowed as she said, "This is what." Then, she was enveloped in a red light as she transformed into the other Twilight. "Now you'll face MY wrath."

"Woah," replied the watch thief in surprise. He then sneered, "Whatever." He then took off the watch and held it in his right hand.

Suddenly, the entire utility closet became filled with various large and small gears. Additionally, a mechanical bird popped out of the ground and took the watch from the thief before retreating into the ground, and stopwatches appeared on the walls behind Twilight and the thief.

"What the hell was that?!" The thief was startled and shaken by the room transformation.

"The P-Shock will reappear from the ground and the stopwatches will activate," said the other Twilight as she explained the rules before pointing at a pendulum above. "See that pendulum? The one who stops the stopwatches closest to 10 seconds wins. But if you exceed the 10 seconds you will get hit by the pendulum passing by right next to the P-Shock."

"Okay then," replied the watch thief as he got ready and the P-Shock reappeared.

"Game Start!" The other Twilight then started the stopwatch, also starting the pendulum. As the pendulum moved in closer, she stared intently. Then, she stopped the timer. "I got 9.6 seconds."

"Not bad," replied the watch thief as the pendulum got back into position. He then started the stopwatch again along with the pendulum. After what he thought was 10 seconds, he stopped the stopwatch. "Hah," the thief replied. "I'm a great counter in my he-" He then stopped in shock. "9.4 seconds?!"

"I win," the other Twilight replied as she smiled in victory.

"I don't care," replied the thief as he reached for the watch anyway. However, as he did, the pendulum suddenly swung down and cut his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "Agh!"

The other Twilight then pointed at him as her horn and eyes glowed and yelled, "Penalty Game!"

The thief looked down at his bleeding cut as it suddenly turned into a series of gears, giving off the impression that the thief was made of machine parts. He screamed and fell to the ground in shock as he looked into a nearby mirror and saw that even his pupils were replaced with gears, panicking him further. He screamed at the top of his lungs and fell to the floor, shivering in fear.

The other Twilight then grabbed the watch and said to the thief, "And that is what you get for not only stealing from my friend, but also for breaking the rules of the game. Game Over!"

Duelist: Duel 3-Soul Battle

November 20, 2015

"So, how do you like it?" Rainbow Dash was showing off a brand new yo-yo to the gang called the Omega FireKick. "This is the hottest yo-yo out there right now."

"I say," Rarity said to Rainbow Dash. "That thing certainly is... Well-crafted..." The yo-yo had flames painstakingly drawn and painted on it with a black background.

"Eh, whatever," suddenly said a student from the back of the room. "I hate yo-yos anyways."

Twilight turned to him and asked, "What's up? Why don't you like yo-yos?" She was confused as to why he had jumped into the conversation.

The student then pointed to a bruise on his cheek and said, "Some assholes that were going around and mugging people by hitting them with yo-yos did this to me. I was walking alone at night and suddenly became surrounded by three guys, who demanded that I hand over all my money. When I refused and tried to escape, they took out their yo-yos and used them to hit me." He then sighed. "Those pieces of crap took 105 bits from me."

"That sucks," Rainbow Dash replied. "Say, if they were here right now, I'd kick their asses."

Fluttershy said to Rainbow Dash, "Try to calm down, Dash."

"I know where they are," the student said. "Rainbow Dash and Twilight, you two can come with me to confront them. I won't need anyone else, really, since it's only three guys." He then smiled. "Please?"

After school, the student, accompanied by Rainbow Dash and Twilight, went to an abandoned warehouse in Ponyville. The student said to them, "This is the place. Be careful."

Twilight couldn't help but think to herself that this place seemed familiar. "It's as if I've been here before or something. It's weird."

As they walked in, Rainbow Dash said, "They should be here shortly, right?" She then noticed a familiar hook hanging from the ceiling all the way down to the height of their heads. "Say, does the mugger's name happen to be Star Whistle?"

"Yes, it does," the student then said as he turned around. "And you fell right into his trap."

Suddenly, both Rainbow Dash and Twilight were attacked from behind. Rainbow Dash was hit twice by yo-yos while Twilight was punched hard in the back of the head by a grunt working for Star Whistle. As the two continued to be beaten up, Star Whistle himself watched.

Then, he signalled with his right hand to stop with the beating. "Enough." He then turned to Rainbow Dash and Twilight as he walked over and said, "Hello, again." Then, the student from before grabbed Twilight by her uniform shirt collar and dragged her off elsewhere in the warehouse by the Alicorn Puzzle's necklace, choking her.

"Of course it's you," Rainbow Dash sneered in response. "What do you want, jackass?"

Star Whistle smiled and told her, "Do you really want to make me your enemy, Rainbow Dash, after everything we've been through?" He then pointed at the student from before, directing Rainbow Dash's attention to him.

The student and several members of Star Whistle's gang had hung Twilight up by the hook by attaching it to the necklace that held the Alicorn Puzzle in place, suffocating her slowly. As she coughed and tried to breathe, Rainbow Dash swung back around and told Star Whistle, "You're a real piece of shit, you know that?"

"Join us or watch your friend die," Star Whistle told her. "It's that simple."

Twilight, still suffocating, pleaded with Rainbow Dash not to join in her head. "Don't do it, please! I'm begging you! Don't join his gang, Rainbow Dash!"

"Or I can do this," Rainbow Dash said as she got up. As she did, the gang members around her started beating her with their yo-yos, striking her in the head several times as she pushed them back and charged at Star Whistle, punching him across the face and causing him to fall back. She then ran over to Twilight, whose face was turning purple from a lack of air, and unhooked her from the makeshift noose.

Once Twilight was let down, she fell to her knees and took several deep breaths. She then stood up weakly and said, "Thanks..."

Star Whistle and his gang stared the two down. He said, "How annoying of you two. For that little punch you gave me, I'm gonna make sure you two know the true meaning of pain when we're finished."

"Just try," Rainbow Dash replied defiantly. "The pain you think you're gonna inflict on us is nothing compared to the pain of betrayal. That is why I didn't join you, even when you tried to hang Twilight. Prepare yourself, Star Whistle, because me and Twilight are ready for our counterattack." She then readied herself as Twilight smiled and nodded.

Star Whistle laughed and said, "How pathetic." He then turned to his gang. "Now, kill them."

The gang then began swinging their yo-yos at Rainbow Dash and Twilight wildly. Rainbow Dash then grabbed the Alicorn Puzzle from Twilight, startling her. She said, "I got a plan." She then swung the puzzle around several times, deflecting the yo-yos from hitting her or Twilight.

Then, suddenly, the yo-yos stopped, shocking Star Whistle. "What happened?!"

Rainbow Dash then revealed why they stopped. All of the yo-yos were now tied around the necklace of the Alicorn Puzzle. "That's why I swung the puzzle around. Now you're all trapped." She then removed all of the yo-yos from the puzzle's necklace and attached them all to the hook. "This is punishment for what you did to us." She then hung the gang members who had the yo-yos from the hook by their yo-yos, causing them to scream in pain.

Twilight was then given the puzzle back before saying, "Nice job, Rainbow Dash." She then transformed suddenly into the other Twilight in front of Rainbow Dash.

"Oh... Hey," Rainbow Dash said as she was perplexed by the transformation. "So, ready?"

"You bet," the other Twilight replied. "You take on Star Whistle. I'll distract the last of his minions." They then bolted off in separate directions.

"Well, don't just stand there," Star Whistle told his remaining 4 minions. "Go get Twilight! I'll take care of Rainbow Dash myself."

The other Twilight had fled to the galvanized roof of the warehouse. As she stood, waiting for the gang to find her, she saw them climb up to the roof, carrying their yo-yos. "Over here, boys!"

"Get her," a minion exclaimed. "Don't let that bitch get away!"

The other Twilight then pulled out a yo-yo of her own, saying, "Why don't we play a game? Last one on the roof wins."

"Fine by me," another minion replied. They all then gave chase to the other Twilight.

As they chased her, the tried hitting her with their yo-yos, but to no avail. However, instead of hitting them back, the other Twilight instead put holes in the roof with her yo-yo.

Eventually, they reached a corner of the roof. A minion told her, "You're trapped! Either accept being hit in the face by our yo-yos or jump off the roof to your death."

"No," the other Twilight replied. "You're trapped." She then pointed at the holes she had made in the roof. "I hope you like tetanus when the rusted pieces of metal in the roof cut you up when you fall."

Then, the minions noticed the roof around then was warping and cracking. "Oh no!" Then, the section of roof they were standing on gave way, sending them down to the ground below.

The other Twilight then laughed and said to herself, "I hope you think long and hard in the hospital about what you did."

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Star Whistle were fistfighting on the roof as well. As they wrestled with each other dangerously close to the roof's edge, Rainbow Dash managed to get in a punch to the jaw, knocking out one of Star Whistle's teeth. "I bet you hated that, you son of a bitch!"

Star Whistle replied by kicking Rainbow Dash in the chest, causing her to yelp in pain fall back. He then said, "I bet you didn't like that, either."

Then, Rainbow Dash pushed Star Whistle just inches from the edge before punching him across the face again, finally sending him over. However, he managed to hold on by one hand. "Say, wanna see a yo-yo trick?" Rainbow Dash then got out her yo-yo. "It's called Walking the Dog." She then rolled the yo-yo on the ground, hitting Star Whistle's hand and making him lose his grip.

As he fell, he screamed, "No! How could you?!" He then fell to the ground with a loud thud.

As Rainbow Dash looked on, the other Twilight ran over and asked her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm good," she replied as she dusted herself off and put her yo-yo away. "Say, where did that other guy go?"

"You mean the guy that brought us here?" The other Twilight then shrugged. "No clue."

"I'm gonna shove my yo-yo up his ass next time I see him," Rainbow Dash scornfully said. "Worthless sack of shit." She then turned to the other Twilight, "Sorry I got you involved in all this."

"No worries," the other Twilight replied as she smiled. "As a friend, your problems are mine, too." They then both stared out at the town.

Duelist: Duel 4-The False Prophet

November 30, 2015

"Say," said Rarity as she asked the gang a question as they gathered around Twilight's house after school. "Did you hear about the boy who's been giving out fortunes? Many of the girls and even some of the boys are getting their fortunes told during recess."

Spike, uninterested and skeptical, replied, "Fortunes? Pfft, yeah. I'll believe it when I see it."

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied, recognizing the description. "I heard he predicted a house fire at a sophomore's home during the summer. Ever since then, he's been getting hammered with fortune requests."

Rainbow Dash said, interested, "Hmm... I wouldn't mind getting my fortune told."

"Me neither," Fluttershy replied. "Though, I hope it's a good fortune."

Suddenly, a bird fell from the sky and crash-landed at Rainbow Dash's feet, killing itself. As it hit the ground with a thud, everyone jumped back. Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her wings and Flash Sentry's wings folded out in shock, "Jesus Christ, that scared the hell outta me!"

"You're tellin' me," Applejack replied. "Why'd that bird do that?"

"No idea," Rainbow Dash replied in confusion. "I've been having bad luck recently. After all, I did get assaulted when me and Twilight were lured into a trap by Star Whistle a few weeks ago, so there's that. But hey, we still clobbered him and his pathetic gang afterwards, right, Twilight?"

"Yup," Twilight replied as the two fistbumped.

December 1, 2015

At school, a crowd gathered around a desk at a classroom during the midday break to see the "prophet," an 10th Grade boy named Duke Venture. The gang all decided to take a trip down to see this so-called prophet for themselves.

Duke at the time was telling a freshman girl her fortune. He said to her as she listened in very closely, "As long as you do not die, you will live forever more." The girl's eyes widened with excitement at the so-called fortune, despite it lacking any actual future, bar the obvious.

The girl shook his hand and said, "Thank you, Duke. That was awesome." She then smiled and walked away, beaming with happiness as the gang watched with confusion.

"Hey," said Flash Sentry as he noticed Rainbow Dash was next in line. "Go get your fortune told, Dash."

"Oh yeah," she replied. However, just as she was about to step forward, the room began to shake beneath them, startling everyone except Duke. "What the hell?"

"Oh no," Twilight sain in worry. "It must be some kind of earthquake." As the room continued to shake, everyone feared for the worst. A few pens and markers fell off of desks due to the shaking. Fluttershy closed her eyes in fear.

Then, it stopped. Everyone inside breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Duke said to Rainbow Dash, "So, you want your fortune told?"

"I guess," Rainbow Dash replied, not knowing what to expect as she sat down across from Duke.

"You see," Duke began. "I do not use other methods such as astrology and palm reading, which are only effective because they rely on statistics. I see clear visions of the future in my mind." He then handed Rainbow Dash a piece of paper. "Read it."

"Earthquake today," she said as she read out the paper. "So you predicted that?"

"Yes. I wrote it down about an hour ago after I had a vision of the earthquake." Duke then smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash replied. "I'm at a loss for words. I don't know how exactly, but you actually predicted it. I'm kind of impressed, actually."

Duke, confident, replied, "By the way, based on what I can see, you've been having bad luck recently."

"Again, you're right," Rainbow Dash replied. She then got up and said to Fluttershy, "Wanna get your fortune told, Fluttershy?"

"Uhhh," Fluttershy replied, unsure. "Eh, why not? It wouldn't hurt." Shen then sat down across from Duke.

Duke thought to herself, "Wow, she looks pretty. Imagine if I could get with a senior girl..." "Hmmm... From what I can gather, a wonderful man awaits you. You will swoon before him."

Fluttershy's face reddened as she replied, "Woah... Well, if you... If you predicted the earthquake and Dashie's bad luck, I guess you could be right..." She then sighed and nervously laughed. "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm a bit shy, if you couldn't already tell by my oh-so-indicative name."

"It's alright," Duke replied. "I've given fortunes to a lot of people, both shy and outgoing. It's nothing new."

"You know," Twilight said to Duke, questioning him. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but I saw a trick on T.V. like the one you did."

A random fan of Duke said to Twilight, angered, "Woah, that's too far. Don't bring up your disbelief around him. It will ruin his concentration."

"I see," Duke himself replied. "Well, here's a prediction I have for you, with no papers involved on my end." He then pointed at Twilight. "Countless letters will fall from the heavens and bring disaster upon you!"

Later, just after school ended, the gang met up again outside, this time with Spike, who came from across the street from the middle school. Twilight was feeling down about the prediction that she had been given by Duke. "I don't know what to think if it, man."

Rarity said to her, "Who gives a damn? He never specified what the disaster was. For all we know, darling, it could be something as minor as forgetting stuff at home or getting a bad grade on something. I'm sure it isn't life-threatening."

"Yeah," Spike said to Twilight as well, holding Rarity's hand. "You'll be fine, Twilight."

"Say, that reminds me," Twilight said as she began to remember something. "I gotta turn in a book to the library today." She then took her backpack off and opened it to search for the book.

Fluttershy also remembered something at the same time. "I forgot to write down the homework in math. Oh no." She then ran back into the school as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Flash Sentry watched.

Applejack said to Twilight, "Are ya sure you don't want me to do it ? I gotta stay after school anyways."

"No, I'm fine." Twilight then walked back into the school, the library book in hand.

In the library, Twilight began searching for the spot the book was located in. It was a nonfiction Magic/Science book she had rented so she could write down the publishing info of the book so she could request a copy of it for the Golden Oaks Library from Celestia.

Eventually, she found the shelf the book was located on. "Here it is," Twilight said to herself as she slid the book into place. Suddenly, she heard the shelves behind her in the empty library begin crashing down like dominos. As she turned around, she thought to herself as she had a realization, "Countless letters!" She immediately stepped out of the way of the last bookshelf just before it fell on top of her, which would have most certainly killed her.

As she looked at the damage, she transformed into the other Twilight. As she brushed herself off, she also had a realization. She said to herself, "Duke Venture did this! He makes his predictions come true... But that means..." She then realized something about Fluttershy. "Fluttershy is his next target!" She then ran out of the library, her backpack still on her back, as she ran to Fluttershy's math room.

As Fluttershy wrote down her homework, Duke walked in. Fluttershy noticed him and said, "Oh, hi, Duke."

"Hello, Fluttershy," Duke said. "Say, remember my prediction?"

"Oh yeah," Fluttershy replied as she smiled and stood up, ready to go. "That was an interesting one. I do have some doubts about it coming true, though."

Suddenly, Duke approached her from behind with a rag and pressed it against her mouth as he said, "Nonsense! My predictions are infallible!" Fluttershy was then lowered to the ground by Duke, unconscious from chloroform poisoning. He then said to himself, "Any woman is mine! I'll be popular forever!"

Suddenly, a voice said from the doorway to the classroom, "Oh, really?"

Duke turned around and saw the other Twilight. "You survived?!"

"I did," she replied. "Your prediction about countless letters was wrong!" She then stepped forward and snatched a bottle of chloroform Duke had placed on a desk without Fluttershy noticing. "It's Game Time, Duke. If I win, you can chloroform me and have my way with me in any way in Fluttershy's place. ANY, way, mind you. I know you want to rape her, Duke, you sick freak. I saw it in your eyes that you were a predator the minute you began telling your stupid little fortune to Fluttershy. It's a good thing Rainbow Dash isn't confronting you right now, because if she was, she'd skip the game and go straight to busting your face in."

Duke, angered, denied the accusation and replied, "No, I do not!"

"If I win, you're getting chloroformed, and I'll expose your fraud to the whole school." The other Twilight then grabbed her backpack and took out a bunch of papers before laying them out on a desk, with all of them touching the bottle of chloroform. "We take turns pulling out papers from underneath the bottle. Whoever loses gets chloroformed."

"I'll go first," Duke replied as he pulled a piece of paper. The bottle moved a little closer to the edge of the desk.

Then, the other Twilight pulled a paper as well. "Be careful of how you pull out the paper."

Duke then yanked a piece of paper out, moving the bottle closer. The other Twilight did the same with even more force, causing the bottle to sit right on the edge. Duke said under his breath, "Oh shit."

"Now, what will you do? You supposedly have magic powers, despite not even having a horn." The other Twilight watched Duke closely.

Duke then clenched his hands together and closed his eyes, thinking to himself, "Maybe I can make the bottle rise... C'mon!" Then, he opened his eyes, and to him, the bottle was levitating several inches off the table. He pointed to where he thought the bottle was and said, "See? I made it levitate! Ha!"

In reality, he was imagining it. The other Twilight said, "Prove it's levitating." She smiled, knowing he would lose.

Duke reluctantly pulled the last paper, causing the bottle to fall from the desk and break beneath him. Shortly afterwards, having been poisoned by the chloroform, he fell and smacked his head against the desk, splitting his forehead open as he fell into unconsciousness.

As he bled profusely on the ground, the other Twilight saw a bunch of small post-it notes fall out of his coat. "Of course!" Each post-it note had a bunch of various events that Duke had wrote out in advance. If something that these notes supposedly predicted happened, it was purely by chance rather than by psychic powers!" She then took out her phone and walked out of the room, dialing 911 so she could get Fluttershy and Duke Venture to the hospital, as well as to report the rape Duke had tried to commit on Fluttershy. As she walked out and dialed, she said to herself, "Game Over!"

Duelist: Duel 5-The Deal

December 19, 2015

"So," said Adagio Dazzle as she, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk met at a round table with 5 executives of the Luna Corporation. "I know that you are all angry at the Princess for her betrayals of you."

One of the executives, a winged Lunar Republic resident named Dazzleflash, said to Adagio, "We're beyond angry! When we teamed up to take over the government of the Lunar Republic under her wing, she promised us top government positions. Instead, she gave us ceremonial ones!" She slammed her fist on the table. "I'm a native-born resident of the Moon, God damn it!"

"We understand, Dazzleflash," replied Aria. "We also know that ever since Luna's defeat at the hands of Twilight, she has been very withdrawn from the company and has devoted almost all of her time to the Presidency." She then passed out 5 folders to the 5 executives. "We at Industrial Sirens Corporation would like to propose a deal with you."

Another executive, a man named Mythic Sprint, said, "So, what are you proposing?"

"It's simple," Sonata Dusk replied as she opened her folder. "We're holding the Duelist Kingdom tournament soon. My friend Adagio possesses an item known as the Alicorn Eye." She then pointed to Adagio's left eye. "When she defeats people in duels, she can trap their souls in cards. We are going to do just that to Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Once we do, you will have full reign over the Luna Corporation as well as the Lunar Republic, and maybe even Equestria."

"We just need you to do one thing for us," Adagio said to the executives. "Kidnap Cloud Tail and bring him to us so we can lure Princess Luna to the island when we give you the go-ahead. After all, Princess Luna did entrust him with the information needed to take over the Luna Corporation, did she not?"

All 5 executives looked at each other before saying in unison, "Yes." They all enjoyed the prospects of the deal.

Another DVD had came in the mail for Twilight on the same day. Once again, it was unmarked. As she walked over to her computer and popped the DVD in, she said to herself, "Looks like Adagio sent me another video."

As Spike watched as well, the video started up. Aria Blaze was seated at a table in the video and said to the camera, "Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I'm Aria Blaze, the CFO of Industrial Sirens. This is the second DVD we have sent you." She then pointed to three objects on the table. "These things are what you shall wear when you are at Duelist Kingdom." She then picked up one of the objects. "This is a Duel Gauntlet. You'll notice the star-shaped holes in the gauntlet. Well, that's where your star chips will go." She then held up a star chip. "At the beginning of the tournament, each invited Duelist will receive 2 Star Chips and a Dueling Gauntlet with 10 slots to hold them. Duelists will wager their Star Chips in Duels against each other, with the loser handing over the wagered Star Chips. If a Duelist runs out of Star Chips, they are disqualified; exchanging Star Chips outside of a Duel is a violation of the rules, and being caught will also result in disqualification."

Twilight decided to begin taking notes of Aria's words so she could remember when March rolled around next year.

"If you win 10 Star Chips," Aria continued. "You will be let into the castle on the island, where the finals will take place. However, be wary of Eliminators. They are special players who are tasked with eliminating other players so that only 4 duelists will enter the castle. There are 80 Star Chips issued to players in total, and the Eliminators are assigned to retrieve 40 of them to ensure that it will be impossible for more than four finalists to enter the castle. Whoever wins the tournament will be awarded 400,000 bits." (A/N: $50,000 USD)

Twilight said to Spike, "This will be harder than I thought."

"Well," Spike replied, trying to encourage Twilight. "You did beat Nightmare Moon, or, well, Princess Luna."

"True, but that was just one time." Twilight then turned back to the video.

"If you have not figured it out yet," Aria concluded. "The next person who will send you a video will be Sonata Dusk, our company president. Have a wonderful day, Twilight Sparkle." Then, the video ended.

"I'm gonna need to buy new cards," Twilight said. "I can't rely on The Sun Goddess cards alone. I mean, what if I lose them or something?"

Spike nodded and replied, "True, true. I mean, Celestia's deck is pretty good even without the Sun Goddess. The only reason Princess Luna had you cornered was because she drew the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and she has the only three copies in existence."

"I mean," Twilight said to Spike. "It's not like anything bad is at stake in this tournament, right? This isn't like Moon-T where my life was at stake. I shouldn't be so worried."

Duelist: Duel 6-The Dragon Cards

January 3, 2016

During the New Year's Break, Twilight got to work at the Golden Oaks Library, ordering a bunch of new books and building several new shelves. As she polished a new shelf, a young man about the same age as her walked in. Twilight and Spike turned around as she said, "Hello there! Welcome to the Golden Oaks Library."

The person asked Twilight, "Are you Twilight Sparkle?" He then placed a jar with a box on top tied down by a rope on a table next to him.

Twilight nodded and said, "That I am. What's that thing you got there?"

"It's called the Dragon Cards," the person replied. "I have no idea what the whole thing is all about. All I know is that there's some supposed curse."

"I know what this is," Spike replied. "I learned about it back in Canterlot." He then shook the stranger's hand. "I'm Spike, by the way. Anyways, it is written that the Dragon Cards were used by a martial arts master as the final test for his students in Dragonica hundreds of years ago. The Dragon Cards represent the shadows of the world, and the seal that binds them is the light of the world. If the seal was to be broken the shadows and light would clash creating a warped power. If a game is not played in the spot that it is opened, misfortune will fall upon it." Spike was born to Dragonican-born parents who worked for Celestia, but had become orphaned after a bad car accident when he was a baby.

"Oh my," said the man. "That sounds dangerous."

"It sure does," Twilight replied. "So, do you have anything else you need?"

January 6, 2016

While looking through her locker after school, Twilight noticed that the Alicorn Puzzle was missing. "What? No! I swore I left it here for the day!" Then, as she looked further, she found a note. "Huh? What's this?"

She opened the note up. It read, "If you want your puzzle back, come by yourself to Room 215. Don't tell anyone about this. (If you do, I'll ditch the puzzle!)" The note was anonymous.

"Shit," Twilight said to herself. "Ugh... I'll have to deal with this without the other me."

Then, Applejack, whose locker was next to her, asked her as she walked up to her locker, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Twilight replied. "I'm fine."

In Room 215, Twilight walked in and found the young man from 3 days earlier sitting at a desk, the Alicorn Puzzle hanging from his neck. He said to Twilight, "Come on in." Other than the two of them, the room was devoid of life.

Twilight closed the door behind her and said, "Why the hell did you take my puzzle?"

"I know of the Alicorn Items," the young man said, deviously smiling at Twilight. "I know of the power they possess. I want it for myself." He then grabbed the same Dragon Cards set from 3 days before from the floor and placed it on the table. "We are going to play a Shadow Game consisting of Dragon Cards." He then broke the seal by removing the rope that bound the box shut and bound it to the jar beneath it. "I did some more research, and I found out that the loser gets their soul devoured by the dragons in the jar."

"You need to stop," Twilight said. "This has gone far enough."

"Too late," the young man replied. "The rules are as follows: There is a deck of 75 cards. We both draw 6 cards from the same deck one after another. Each card depicts a dragon of one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Metal, Earth, and Water) and has a level from one to five. There are three copies of each card, making a total of 75 cards. If a player collects three copies of the same card, they can summon its dragon. The players collect the strongest Dragon Cards they can and Summon two dragons each. The player who defeats their opponent's dragons wins. Good luck."

Twilight begrudgingly agreed and said, "Fine, I'll do it." They both then drew 6 cards to start the game.

The young man went first, drawing a level 4 water dragon card. He thought to himself, "Without the Alicorn Puzzle, she is all by herself." He then discarded a level 1 metal dragon card.

Twilight went next, drawing a level 5 fire dragon card and discarding a level 1 wood dragon card. She thought to herself, "I need to win."

Eventually, after several turns, Twilight was able to assemble two dragons. "I call upon a level 5 fire dragon and a level 4 metal dragon!" She then laid her cards out on the table.

The young man laughed and replied, "Not bad, but I can do better. I call upon a level 3 water dragon and a level 4 water dragon!" Then, mist filled the room as four dragons suddenly took shape in front of Twilight and the young man. "Water can beat both of your dragons! Let the battle begin!"

Both of the young man's water dragons immediately opened their mouths and sprayed water at Twilight's dragons, drowning them and killing them. "No! That means..."

"That's right," the young man replied. "I've always wanted to do this." He then stood up from his chair and pointed at Twilight, shouting, "Penalty Game!"

"No!" Suddenly, the level 4 water dragon the young man had stabbed Twilight with it's tail in her chest, pulling her soul out in the form of a black sphere and dissolving with it into the jar. As the young man sat back down, Twilight collapsed onto the desk.

"I win! Now your soul shall be devoured by 25 dragons!" The young man laughed. Then, he stopped when he realized that Twilight's right hand had fallen on the puzzle. "What?!"

Then, the other Twilight opened her eyes as she stood back up and said to herself, "Thank God... Thank God the other me was touching the puzzle..." She then focused on the young man. "We're playing another round. Also, give me the puzzle. Now!"

"Fine then," said the young man as he shuffled the cards and placed them back in the middle between them. He then took the puzzle off and handed it back to the other Twilight, who put it on quickly before drawing 6 cards. As the young man drew his 6 cards, he said, "Good luck."

The other Twilight coldly told him, "Rot in hell, you heartless son of a whore." She then drew the first card before discarding another.

The young man thought to himself as he took his turn, "So... There really is a soul within the puzzle... This certainly is a twist..."

After several turns, both the other Twilight and the young man were able to bring out dragons. The young man said, "I call upon a level 5 water dragon and a level 5 wood dragon!"

The other Twilight then drew another card and declared, "I call upon a level 4 earth dragon and a level 5 metal dragon! Now, attack!"

The 4 dragons then battled it out after forming from another mist cloud. As they did, the other Twilight and the young man watched intently. First, one of Twilight's dragons was killed. The young man said, "Hah! You're gonna lose again!"

Suddenly, Twilight's other dragon, the level 4 earth dragon, attacked both of the young man's dragons at the same time. "C'mon!" As they three wrestled, the level 4 earth dragon managed to gain the upper hand. As it destroyed its two opponents, the other Twilight yelled, "I win!"

"No," the young man replied in shock. "No way!"

The other Twilight then stood up from her table, her eyes and horn glowing. "Your little "penalty game" was insulting. This is what a real one feels like." She then pointed at the young man and shouted, "Penalty Game!"

Then, Twilight's remaining dragon stabbed the young man in the chest, ripping his soul out and dissolving with it into the jar as he collapsed onto the floor, dead. As it did, the normal Twilight's soul floated back into a happy other Twilight as she said to herself, "Welcome home, other me." She then took the rope for the seal and began resealing the game up, saying, "This must never be broken again... Game Over!"

Duelist: Duel 7-The Third Tape

February 14, 2016

"So," Spike said to Twilight as she held a DVD case. "You got the third tape?" Rarity was also present, the two having just came back from a date.

"I sure did," Twilight replied as she popped the DVD out of the case and slid it into the DVD player on her T.V. "This one must be from Sonata Dusk. I wonder what she's like."

As soon as she turned on the T.V., she changed the mode to DVD mode on her remote and pressed play. Immediately, a young woman with blue hair and purple eyes appeared, smiling. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle! I'm Sonata Dusk, president of Industrial Sirens Corporation."

"She seems a lot cheerier than the other two," Spike said as he and Rarity stared in anticipation.

"You're probably wondering when the next tape will come," Sonata said to Twilight. "Well, let me be the first to tell you that I indeed have a definitive date. The final tape will come on March 18, 2016. In it, you will receive all of the necessary supplies for Duelist Kingdom, including your gauntlet and your two Star Chips, as well as the tape itself. Now, I need to break down how the finals of the tournament will go."

Rarity said to Twilight, "This should be interesting, given that Aria made it sound like a free-for-all."

"As you already know, the beginning of the tournament is a full-on free-for all. However, once there are four finalists, they will enter the castle and participate in a more conventional single-elimination bracket tournament. Whoever wins this will first have to face me. Then, if they win, they will have to face Aria. Finally, if they make it through her, they will have to face Adagio, and if they somehow are able to win that, they will win the 500,000 bits."

Then, Twilight got a phone call, so she paused the video and ran over to her home phone, picking it up and answering, "Hello?"

"Hey, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash, in a sullen mood. "I got bad news about Scootaloo."

Twilight, confused, asked, "What's up with her?"

"She went into the hospital this morning to get her eyes checked," Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo had had eye problems in the past. "The doctors said she will go totally blind if she doesn't get operated on soon. The problem is, her family doesn't have the money, since the operation isn't covered by national healthcare insurance. It costs 300,000 bits."

"300,000 bits?! No way," Twilight replied, shocked. "Say, remember that Duelist Kingdom tournament Adagio Dazzle mentioned?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The prize money is 500,000 bits, more than enough to cover the cost."

"I want in, then," Rainbow Dash immediately replied. "I'll be sure to win that prize money for her."

"I was gonna just give you the money if I won, but okay." Twilight smiled. "I'll see what I can do. Regardless, you will get into that tournament, Rainbow Dash."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," Rainbow Dash excitedly said. "I can't wait!" She then hung up.

Rarity asked, "Was Scootaloo having eye problems again?"

"Yeah," Twilight replied. "And if she doesn't get an operation soon, she'll go blind. Now I have a reason to win. If I win, I'll give her the prize money. If she wins, well, you know the drill. Hopefully, this Scootaloo thing stays the only reason to win."

"That's awful," Rarity replied. "My sister mentioned her eye problems to me before, but I never knew they got this bad while she's so young."

Then, Twilight unpaused the video. Sonata Dusk continued by saying, "I wish all of our competitors the best of luck, but especially you, Twilight Sparkle. You have impressed all of us with your dueling skills. I hope you do not let us down." Then, the video ended.

"I won't," Twilight replied. "I sure as hell won't."

Meanwhile, in a house in Trottingham, a young woman looked through a deck of Duel Monsters cards in her bedroom. "I need to show up that bitch Adagio Dazzle at her little tournament," the woman said to herself. "I'm amazed she even invited me."

Then, a male voice called to her, "Gilda, are you ready for practice?" The voice belonged to the girl's boyfriend, who was around the same age as her and had been visiting her house during the weekend.

"I am," Gilda replied as she grabbed her deck and walked out of the room, thinking to herself, "I need to win at all costs!"

Duelist: Duel 8-The Final Tape

March 2, 2016

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Flash Sentry, Spike, and Princess Celestia all congregated at Twilight's house around 6 P.M. after she had discovered the fourth and final tape in the mail in the morning.

Twilight held the DVD cover to her friends as they congregated in the main hall as she said, "As you can clearly see, it appears Adagio Dazzle wrote "Make Sure You Have Friends With You" on the front of the case." Sure enough, those words had been scribbled onto the front of the case. "She also gave me a set of rules for the tournament." She then showed off a small card that contained the gameplay rules of the tournament. The only big differences between the regular rules and the Duelist Kingdom rules was that only one monster could attack per turn and direct attacks were not allowed.

"I don't like the feeling of this," Applejack said. "It seems fishy."

"I'm with her," Rarity said in agreement as Celestia nodded.

"Twilight," Celestia said to her pupil. "Are you ready for anything that may be on that tape?"

"I am," Twilight replied. She then put the DVD in and turned on the T.V. before tuning it to the DVD setting on a remote.

Pinkie Pie said to Fluttershy, "I wonder what's gonna happen. Think anything scary?"

"I hope not," Fluttershy replied. "I'd rather not deal with that." She then chuckled before yawning and stretching her arms and wings out.

The DVD then began playing as Adagio Dazzle appeared on the screen and said, "Hello again, Twilight Sparkle. I hope that you brought friends with you."

"She sure did," Rainbow Dash replied to the video.

"Anyways," Adagio Dazzle continued. "I wish you the best of luck in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Twilight. However, before you enter, I must give you... How should I put this... A little test." Her false left eye then began glowing.

Suddenly, the whole room was enveloped in darkness as the whole gang looked around in confusion. Rainbow Dash yelled out, "What the hell is going on?!"

Princess Celestia said to Twilight, "I know it now! She has the Alicorn Eye! We've all been placed into a Shadow Game!"

"That's right, Princess Celestia," Adagio Dazzle replied. Twilight gasped as she realized that Adagio could hear and reply to them in real time through a seemingly cursed DVD. "As you can now see, I can talk to you, and you can talk to me. Now, Twilight, how about we duel until this video ends? Remember, we are going to follow the rules I have set for the Duelist Kingdom tournament."

Twilight then stood up and said, "Let's." Then, her puzzle began to glow as she began to transform.

Flash Sentry said to himself, "There she goes again..."

Then, once she was done, the other Twilight said to Adagio, "I'll be sure to beat you in this little test!" She then took her cards out and laid her deck on the floor, looking up at the T.V. Then, she and Adagio both said, "Let's duel!"

"Go get 'er," Applejack said to the other Twilight.

Adagio said, "I'll go first." She then drew a card. "I'll set a card and end my turn." She then set a card onto the field in the Magic/Trap Zone.

The other Twilight then drew her card and said, "I'll summon Koumori Dragon with 1500 attack!" As Koumori Dragon took to the field before her, the other Twilight said, "My deck has The Sun Goddess cards in it. Remember that."

"I'll activate Trap Hole," Adagio said as she flipped up the card. Immediately, a hole formed below Koumori Dragon, and it fell to its death after it shut. "I predicted that you would summon that card, by the way."

"How?!" The other Twilight was stunned. "You're lying!" She then sighed. "I end my turn."

"Good," Adagio replied as she drew her card. "I'll set two cards and end my turn." This time, she set a card in the Magic/Trap Zone and the Monster Zone.

Rainbow Dash said to Applejack, "I don't buy it for a single minute that she can predict Twilight's cards. I think she's just bluffing."

"Sure seems like it," Applejack replied. "Suuuure seems like it."

"I summon Silver Fang, with 1200 attack!" Twilight then placed down Silver Fang before it took to the field before her. "I end my turn."

"I'll activate Monster Reborn from my hand to bring back your Koumori Dragon," Adagio said as she reached her hand out from beyond the T.V. to grab Twilight's card, shocking the whole group after playing Monster Reborn.

Princess Celestia, astonished, said, "This is amazing! You must have mastered your Alicorn Item!"

"I have," Adagio replied before Koumori Dragon took to the field before her. "Now, I'll activate Chain Healing to gain back 500 life points."

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 1700
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 2000

"Because that was Chain Link 2," Adagio continued. "I'll put it back in my deck and then shuffle it." Once she was done shuffling her deck, she said, "Koumori Dragon, attack her Silver Fang!" Silver Fang was then destroyed by a burst of fire from Koumori Dragon.

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 1700
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

"We're tied now," the other Twilight said. "Oh well, I'll still win!" She then looked at her hand. She thought to herself, "If she really can see my hand, I might as well just draw and summon something without looking." She then drew a card and placed it onto the field without looking. "I really hope it's something useful!"

Adagio said, "What?! You did-?!"

Sure enough, the Dark Magician formed before the other Twilight who breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she said, "Now, Dark Magician, attack!" As Dark Magician stuck his right hand out, Twilight yelled, "Black Magic!" Koumori Dragon winced in pain as it was it by Dark Magician's attack before shattering.

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 700
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

Adagio then laughed. "Very impressive, Twilight Sparkle. Very impressive, indeed. But, be warned. My deck has many surprises."

"I'm ready for all of them," the other Twilight defiantly replied. "Hit me with your best shot."

Spike said to Twilight, "Nice job with that play, Twilight!"

"I'll summon the Illusionist Faceless Mage with 1200 attack," Adagio said before the monster took form before her. "Then, I'll equip it with Eye of Illusion." She then placed down the Eye of Illusion onto the field, equipping it to the Illusionist Faceless Mage. "Now, attack the Datk Magician!"

The other Twilight, shocked, thought to herself, "What the hell is she doing?!"

"Now, I'll activate Eye of Illusion's effect," Adagio replied. "I'll negate my own attack and equip the card to your Dark Magician." Sure enough, the attack was stopped dead in its tracks, and Adagio gave the other Twilight her card through the T.V. screen. The other Twilight took it and placed it onto her field before Adagio set a card. "Hahaha... You've fallen into my trap."

Sure enough, when it became the other Twilight's turn, the Dark Magician began floating over to Adagio's side. The other Twilight yelled, "What the hell?! It can change control of my monsters?!"

"Indeed!"

The other Twilight then handed her Dark Magician and the Eye of Illusion cards to Adagio through the T.V. screen before she gladly took them from her. "Damn you..." She then said, "I'll summon the Celtic Guardian, with 1400 attack!" Then, Celtic Guardian took to the field before her. "Now, attack her Illusionist Faceless Mage!" The Celtic Guardian then sliced through the Illusionist Faceless Mage with ease.

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 500
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 1700

"Not bad," Adagio replied. "Now, it's my turn. Dark Magician, attack her Celtic Guardian! Black Magic!" The Dark Magician easily destroyed the Celtic Guardian.

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 500
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 600

"Now," Adagio continued. "I'll activate Chain Healing yet again to gain 500 life points, and I'll summon Gemini Elf with 1900 attack." As Gemini Elf took form on her side of the field, she smiled.

ADAGIO DAZZLE: 1000
TWILIGHT SPARKLE: 600

The other Twilight then drew a card and again summoned it to the field without looking, thinking, "I hope this can destroy the Gemini Elf!" Sure enough, the card she summed was the Summoned Skull, a card with 2500 attack, more than enough to destroy the Gemini Elf. "Aha!" Then, she looked at the timer on the T.V. and noticed only a few seconds were left. "Go, Summoned Skull, attack Gemini Elf!"

Summoned Skull then formed lightning between his hands as he began to charge at the Gemini Elf. Then, just as they were about to collide, the timer ran out, and the duel suddenly ended.

Everyone around the T.V. gasped in shock and horror. The other Twilight, horrified, said, "I... I lost... No! That means..." She then yelled, "I lost?!"

Adagio laughed. "Indeed! You lose, Twilight!"

Princess Celestia yelled, "Twilight, be careful! She could use a Penalty Game on us!"

"Oh shit," the other Twilight said as she came to the same horrifying realization.

"Now," Adagio said as her Alicorn Eye glowed and her other eye began to glow a bright white. "Time to pass judgement. But, it won't be on you, Twilight. I will be on somebody you hold dear!" She then pointed at the entire gang as she yelled and held up a blank Duel Monsters card in her other hand, "Penalty Game!"

Everyone instantly faced away as the other Twilight screamed, expecting the Penalty Game to affect her. Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded everybody as the darkness around them dissipated, and the video finally ended.

Once everyone could see again, they all looked around. The other Twilight said to herself, "I... I wasn't affected after all..."

Then, the frightened words of Rarity alerted everybody. "Oh my God, Princess Celestia!"

Celestia stared blankly at the T.V. for several seconds before she fell over limp, her eyes wide open. The other Twilight immediately switched back to normal as she tried to shake Celestia awake, saying, "Princess Celestia! Wake up! What the hell is going on?!"

Rainbow Dash then pointed at the T.V. in shock, saying, "Holy shit, she's on the T.V.!"

Celestia appeared on the T.V. for a few seconds, yelling, "Twilight! Everyone! Help me! I'm trapped! Hel-" Then, she was cut off when she disappeared, much to everyone's shock.

Applejack said to herself, "Oh my lord... This ain't good..."

Twilight then began banging on the T.V. as tears began to fall from her eyes, screaming, "Celestia! Celestia! No! C'mon! CELESTIA!!!" She then broke down in a fit of tears as Flash Sentry ran over to comfort her. "She's gone..."

"No," Flash Sentry said to her. "She's not gone, Twilight. We're gonna get her back."

Rainbow Dash said to Twilight, "Looks like we both got another reason to go to this tournament, Twilight. How about we go over there and kick the asses of all three of those Siren creeps at their own game, eh?"

Duelist: Duel 10-Insect Combo

The first arena was a clearing in a forest. As the gang looked around, Spike said, "There's nothing here."

"That's because an arena is supposed to pop out of the ground," Twilight replied as she looked around. "At least, that's what I think is supposed to happen. I don't really know myself, Spike."

"I see you made it," declared Sunny Flare as she approached the clearing opposite of the gang. She then pressed a button with her right foot below her. "Now, watch as this Duel Arena appears before your very eyes!"

The gang stood back as the ground shook and opened up in front of them. Then, a stage popped up, followed by a red tower and a blue tower. As the gang looked on, Rainbow Dash said, "Woah... This is so cool..." Both towers had elevating platforms lowered to the ground built into them.

Twilight then stepped up to the blue tower as Sunny Flare took to the red one. After the platforms in both towers were raised up, Twilight declared to her, "You're gonna pay, Sunny Flare." Then, her pendant lit up, indicating she was transforming.

After she transformed, the other Twilight declared, "You made the wrong choice when you threw those cards overboard, Sunny Flare! With the people of Ponyville on my side, I will defeat you!"

"Good luck," Sunny replied through the built-in microphone on each tower. "After all, the surrounding forest gives me an advantage per the rules."

"An advantage?" The other Twilight was confused.

"The forest around us plus the desert near us gives my Insect monsters a 30% Field Power Bonus," Sunny explained. "As well as any Beast, Beast-Warrior, Dinosaur, Plant, Rock and Zombie-Type monsters you may have." She seemed confident.

"Oh no," the other Twilight said to herself. Then, she said to Sunny Flare. "No matter. I'll defeat you! Now, let's duel!"

SUNNY FLARE: 2000
OTHER TWILIGHT: 2000

Sunny Flare drew first. "I'll summon Killer Needle with 1200 attack! However, due to the field bonus, its attack will increase to 1560!" As Killer Needle grew slightly larger, the other Twilight looked on in worry.

"Now," she said as she began her turn. "I'll summon Mammoth Graveyard, which also gets a boost to 1560!" After Mammoth Graveyard took to the field, she said. "Go! Launch a suicide attack!" Mammoth Graveyard then charged at Killer Needle, killing both monsters and causing neither Sunny Flare nor the other Twilight to lose life points.

"Not bad," Sunny Flare replied as she drew her next card. "I'll summon Hercules Beetle, which has its attack boosted to 1950!" As Hercules Beetle took to the field, powered up by the Field Power Bonus, the other Twilight looked on.

"I'll summon Feral Imp with 1300 attack," the other Twilight replied as she placed the card down onto her field. Unlike the last three monsters, it did not get a power boost since it was a Fiend-type monster. "Now, Magic Card Activate!" She then placed down Horn of the Unicorn, an Equip Magic Card. "I'll equip Horn of the Unicorn to Feral Imp, boosting its attack to 2000 and its defense to 2100!" A horn then grew on the forehead of Feral Imp as it slightly increased in size. "Now, attack her Hercules Beetle!"

"Not so fast," Sunny Flare replied. "The Field Power Bonus for this field doesn't just give my monsters more attack. It also gives them the ability to negate the effects of Equip Magic and Trap Cards equipped to monsters attacking them!"

"Oh no," Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, and the other Twilight all happened to exclaim at the same time. Then, Hercules Beetle destroyed the weakened Feral Imp, also destroying the useless Horn of the Unicorn.

SUNNY FLARE: 2000
OTHER TWILIGHT: 1350

"For my turn," Sunny Flare replied. "I'll just pass. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'll need it," she thought to herself as she wiped her forehead and horn of sweat. "I'll set a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn." She then placed a monster down onto her field face down.

"I see," Sunny Flare replied. "Now, I'll summon Basic Insect, which has a boosted attack of 650!" After Basic Insect took to the field, she followed up with, "Magic Card Activate! Laser Cannon Armor! This card will boost Basic Insect's attack to 950!" After Basic Insect slightly grew in size, she also followed with, "Magic Card Activate! Level 2 Power Boost! This card boosts Basic Insect's attack to 2150! Now, destroy her set monster!"

As Basic Insect destroyed the other Twilight's set monster, which was a Griffore with a boosted defense of 1950, Rarity called up to her, "Twilight, Shining Armor called again!"

The other Twilight turned around and replied, "What did he say?!"

"The growth of the Everfree Forest is getting worse," Rarity sorrowfully replied. "They're evacuating the whole town now. It's not looking good. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo made it out okay, though!"

The other Twilight stared at her in shock for a moment. Then, she said, "Rarity, we need to win this duel. I have a feeling that this duel will stop the invasion, but only if we win." She then turned around and said to Sunny Flare, "Now, let's continue, shall we?"

For the next several turns, Sunny Flare and the other Twilight set cards on their field. By the 16th turn of the duel, Sunny Flare had three face-up monsters on the field, consisting of Gokibore with a boosted attack of 1560, Big Insect with a boosted attack of 1560, and Kamakiriman with a boosted attack of 1495. As the other Twilight drew her next card, she had an idea. So," she thought to herself. "I've drawn the Dark Magician. What I'll do is set it as well as this trap card so I can lure Sunny Flare into a trap." She then set both cards. "I end my turn!"

"Alright then," Sunny Flare replied. "Basic Insect, attack her set monster!"

"Not so fast," the other Twilight replied to her. "I activate Mirror Force! Now, all of your attack position monsters will be destroyed!" Indeed, Basic Insect proceeded to turn around and charge right back at Sunny Flare's own field just as the Dark Magician revealed himself. Subsequently, all of Sunny Flare's monsters were destroyed.

Sunny Flare replied in shock, "No way!"

"Now, Dark Magician, attack her set monster!" Dark Magician then stuck his right hand out as the other Twilight yelled, "Black Magic!" The set monster, revealed to be another Basic Insect, was destroyed. "How about that, Sunny Flare?"

Spike yelled up to the other Twilight, "Awesome job, Twilight!"

Duelist: Duel 11-The Great Moth

Sunny Flare drew her next card to begin her turn. "Aha! The card I was looking for!" She then smiled deviously and set a monster card on her field plus another card. "I end my turn, Twilight."

"Works for me," the other Twilight replied. "I'll summon Torike, with 1200 attack, to complement my Dark Magician!" As the small dinosaur-like creature then took shape on the field. "Now, Dark Magician, attack her set card!"

Just as Dark Magician was about to attack, Sunny Flare yelled, "Not so fast! Reverse card open! Negate Attack! I'll end the battle phase instead." She then laughed.

"Damn it," the other Twilight said to herself. "I end my turn!"

On her turn, Sunny Flare declared, "I now flip summon my Petit Moth in defense position to equip it with Cocoon of Evolution! This reduces its attack to 0 but boosts its defense to 2600!" Petit Moth then changed form on the field as it was equipped with Cocoon of Evolution. "Then, I activate Lightning Vortex."

"Oh no," the other Twilight exclaimed.

"By discarding one card," Sunny Flare explained. "I can destroy both your Torike and your Dark Magician!" Then, as she discarded a card, both the Dark Magician and Torike were killed by a storm of lightning before shattering into pieces. "How does it feel, Twilight?!"

"It makes me even more determined to win," the other Twilight defiantly replied as she drew her next card. "I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!" As Gaia took form on the field, the other Twilight stared Sunny Flare down. "I then end my turn."

"Well," Sunny Flare began. "This will be a quick turn. I pass." She then thought to herself, "Soon, I'll be able to get my trump card out! I need just a few more turns."

After a few turns of doing nothing else, it had now been 4 turns since Cocoon of Evolution had been equipped to Petit Moth. Due to Petit Moth's high defense, the other Twilight was reduced to just setting monsters to protect herself. "I'm getting too tense, damn it! She's plotting something. I know it!"

Now," Sunny Flare said as she began her turn. "I sacrifice my Petit Moth to call upon my trump card, the Great Moth!" As the Great Moth took to the field, it stared down Gaia. It had an original attack of 2600, but due to the Field Power Bonus, its attack increased to 3380. "Attack her Gaia!"

"Reverse Card Open!" The other Twilight then revealed a trap card. "I activate Negate Attack, which ends your battle phase!" Indeed, the Great Moth suddenly stopped as it began to charge at Gaia and then turned back around.

"Of course," Sunny Flare replied. "But no matter! I still have the strongest monster on the field, Twilight. To finish my turn, I'll summon Magnetic Mosquito with 300 attack and end." Magnetic Mosquito then took to the field.

The other Twilight then drew a card to begin her turn. "Aha! I have the card that will bring about your demise!" She then activated a magic card. "I activate Burning Land! This card destroys any Field Magic Cards on the field. Additionally, per the rulings of this tournament, it also negates the Field Power Bonus, reducing the attack and defense of your Great Moth to 2600 and 2500, respectively."

Sunny Flare yelled out, "Oh no!" Great Moth then decreased in size as it lost its power boost.

"And to top it off," the other Twilight continued. "For each of our Standby Phases, we take 500 damage." She was now confident once more. "Now, Magic Card Activate!" She then placed down a second magic card. "Polymerization! I'll fuse Gaia with the Curse of Dragon from my hand to call upon Gaia, the Dragon Champion, with 2600 attack!" Gaia and the newly-formed Curse of Dragon then merged with each other as Gaia rode on top of the Curse of Dragon's back.

Spike shouted, "There you go, Twilight!"

"Finally," the other Twilight concluded. "I'll flip summon Battle Steer, with 1800 attack!" As Beaver Warrior took to the field, he aimed his sights at Sunny Flare's Magnetic Mosquito. "Gaia, attack her Great Moth in a suicide attack!"

Gaia then charged at Great Moth, destroying both of the monsters with a powerful explosion. Sunny Flare then realized what the other Twilight was about to do. "Oh no! She's going to-"

"Battle Steer," the other Twilight declared. "Attack her Magnetic Mosquito!" Beaver Warrior then sliced her Magnetic Mosquito right in half, destroying it.

SUNNY FLARE: 500
OTHER TWILIGHT: 1350

"That didn't kill her," Pinkie Pie said, confused. "Sunny Flare still has 500 life points left."

Rainbow Dash then told her, "But Twilight's magic card means she has to take 500 damage next turn automatically."

"Go on," the other Twilight replied. "Begin your turn."

Sunny Flare then drew a card. Sure enough, right after she did, the effect of Burning Land kicked in, making her drop to zero life points and lose.

SUNNY FLARE: 0
OTHER TWILIGHT: 1350

"No," Sunny Flare exclaimed. "I lost! You've... You've taken the position of the National Champion away from me!"

"That's not your only punishment," the other Twilight replied as her eyes and horn began to glow. "Sunny Flare, because you almost destroyed my hometown by throwing overboard the Sun Goddess cards, which contained the Elements of Harmony, you must face a great punishment." She then pointed at her and exclaimed, "Penalty Game!"

Sunny Flare then found that insects began crawling up her legs from her shoes and into her skirt and shirt. "Oh... Oh my God..." She then let out a loud scream that could be heard across the island as she ripped her Duel Gauntlet off, jumped off of the platform, and ran away into the extensive and expansive forest surrounding the Duel Arena, scratching at herself to try to get the "insects" off of her, which were all just an illusion planted by the other Twilight's magic into Sunny Flare's mind in reality. As she ran, she continued to scream, yelling, "Get off me! Get off me! Oh my God, somebody help me! They're eating me alive!"

As the other Twilight came down, she noticed 6 lights hovering in the sky above the Duel Arena. All were colored differently and began to descend. She said to herself, "Is that...?"

Rarity yelled out, "Those must be the Elements!"

Then, the 6 lights shot forwards and flew into the chests of the Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, while the purple light instead shot straight into the Alicorn Puzzle around the other Twilight's neck. As they all stood, wondering what had happened, Rainbow Dash got a phone call. "Hello? Wait... What? It's going away?! The town is safe?! Oh my God... Thank God! I'll tell them right away!" She then hung up as she said, "Guys, the Everfree Forest is retreating from Ponyville! We did it!"

The other Twilight then smiled as Rainbow Dash hugged her from behind. "Looks like we didn't need the cards after all. All we need is our friendship."

Fluttershy said to the group, "Indeed. Those cards aren't the elements. We are."

"Alright," the other Twilight then said to the group, now more determined than ever. "Let's keep moving forward! We have a Princess of Equestria to save!"

Duelist: Duel 12-Confrontation

2 days before the beginning of Duelist Kingdom

As Princess Luna worked on something in the office of her personal estate on the Moon, she looked out towards the Ocean of Storms, which was surprisingly calm that morning. Her estate was right on a cliff side and was expansive. She then set down what she was working on: Two red and blue discs with cables attaching them to gauntlets that carried Duel Monsters decks. These prototypes were to be called "Duel Disks."

As she then grabbed a screwdriver to open the battery compartment of one of them, she thought to herself, "Adagio Dazzle has to have some kind of trick involving the Alicorn Eye. Hopefully, if her field of vision is blocked by these Duel Disks, she won't be able to read my mind when I face her after her little tournament is done and rescue Cloud Tail. Ugh... Even thinking about that bitch and how she kidnapped my star pupil makes me want to puke."

Suddenly, she heard footsteps from behind the door in the hallway, as well as the sound of a gun cocking. She quickly closed the battery compartment, placed both Duel Disks, her wallet, and her cell phone in her briefcase of cards, and slammed it shut just before two men busted down the door, guns in their hands. She instantly recognized both as Luna Corporation security guards.

As she turned around to face them, one of them shouted, "Don't move a muscle, Princess Luna!"

The other then shouted at her, "On the orders of Adagio Dazzle and the Big Five, you're gonna need to come with us, or else!"

"Or else what?" Princess Luna remained defiant as she grabbed her briefcase. "I'm assuming that if I say no, you're just gonna kill me instead, right?"

"Right, you are," said one of the men.

Princess Luna then suddenly kicked the chair in front of her towards the two men with such force that it knocked them both down. She then shouted, "You'll never take me alive, you traitors!"

One of the men then fired her gun at Luna. However, she instantly deflected the bullet with her briefcase before crashing through the window and down towards the Ocean of Storms below. One of them men shouted in disbelief, "What the hell?!"

They both then ran to the smashed window and looked down at the water. "Well," said the other man. "That takes care of her. Let's get the hell out of here." They both assumed she was killed by the fall.

"Wait a minute," the other man said as he noticed that Luna had left her actual deck on the desk. "Let's take this." Sure enough, when he drew a card from it, he happened to pick up one of her three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. "Adagio will love this."

However, their assumption that she was dead proved to be wrong, as several minutes later, Princess Luna emerged from the water and walked onto a nearby beach, soaking wet. Luckily, her briefcase survived, as well as all of the contents in it, due to it being both waterproof and watertight. As she brushed herself off, she said, "That's it. I'm going to that fucking island and facing Adagio now."

Present Day

"C'mon," said a duelist who had just lost to Soarin on the island. "How did you know what you would play before it happened? Are you some kind of psychic, dude?" He was clearly unhappy.

"No," Sorain replied. "I'm just lucky, I guess. Anyways, hand over your star chips." The other duelist then sighed and begrudgingly handed over his star chips, knocking him out of the tournament.

Then, Soarin noticed that the other Twilight and her friends were walking over. Rainbow Dash called out to him, "Hey there! Didn't we meet on the ship?"

"I believe we did," Soarin replied. "I see your friend Twilight won a duel already." He noticed that the other Twilight had three star chips. "Who did you win against?"

"I won against Sunny Flare," the other Twilight replied. "She's out of the tournament."

"Wait," Soarin replied in shock. "Then that means... Oh my God, you're the National Champion!" He then noticed that Rainbow Dash also now had a gauntlet with just one star chip. "I didn't know you were in the tournament. Say, who did you lose against?"

"Nobody, thank you very much," Rainbow Dash replied, annoyed. "Twilight gave me a star chip, and I took Sunny Flare's gauntlet, hence why she has only 3 star chips. In fact, I haven't dueled against anyone."

Soarin then thought to himself. "Hmm... How about this? I'll be your first opponent."

Flash Sentry advised Rainbow Dash, "Uhhh... Dude, I wouldn't go for it. Soarin is a really good duelist."

"I mean," Soarin followed up with. "I would like to face someone weaker before I face Twilight."

Rainbow Dash, now angered, replied back, "Oh, really? Fine. I'll take up your challenge."

Fluttershy told her, "Ugh... Rainbow Das-"

"No," the other Twilight replied. "Let her face Soarin. We'll be behind her all the way." She then turned to Soarin and told him, "Don't be so cocky, Soarin. Cockiness has been the downfall of many otherwise great duelists, including Sunny Flare."

Soarin brushed her off by saying, "Whatever. Keep your philosophy mumbo-jumbo to yourself. This is between me and the rainbow-haired winged girl. By the way, since you have only 1 star chip, even if I do lose, by some weird act of God, it won't affect my standing in the tournament, so don't get your hopes up."

Rainbow Dash and Soarin then took to the Duel Arena, with Rainbow Dash taking the Blue platform and Soarin taking the Red platform. As they raised up, Rainbow Dash thought to herself, "Don't give into his insults. You got this. Your friends are behind you."

Soarin thought to himself, "I'll steamroll her, and once I'm done with that, I'll face Twilight and see if she's truly what she claims to be."

Duelist: Duel 13-"I'll Win By Myself!"

"I'll go first," said Rainbow Dash. She then drew a card. "I'll summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, with 1100 attack! Due to the Field Power Bonus, his attack will increase to 1430!" As Masaki grew in size slightly, Rainbow Dash remained determined. "I end my turn."

"Fine then," Soarin replied as he drew a card. "I summon Harpie Lady in attack position. Due to the bonus, its attack goes up to 1690, more than enough to destroy your monster!" As his Harpie Lady took to the field, Rainbow Dash looked confused.

"That's odd," thought Rainbow Dash to herself. "He did not strike me as someone who plays a deck like Harpies."

"To top it off," Soarin continued. "Your Masaki loses its power bonus since my monster is an EARTH monster and your Masaki is a WIND monster." Then, Harpie Lady slashed Masaki, which went back down to 1100 attack, destroying him as he screamed in pain.

SOARIN: 2000
RAINBOW DASH: 1410

Then, Soarin set a card. "This will be a piece of cake." He then laughed.

Rainbow Dash then drew a card. "I'll have to set a monster to protect myself," she thought to herself as she set a monster. "I end my turn, Soarin."

"Fine by me," Soarin replied as he drew a card. "I'll now summon a second Harpie Lady." As his second Harpie Lady took to the field, the rest of the gang looked worried. "I knew from the start I'd draw a second Harpie Lady. After all, I am psychic."

Twilight said to Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow Dash, don't give in to him!"

"Attack her set card," Soarin said to his second Harpie Lady before it slashed open her set monster, which was Tiger Axe, destroying it. "Eventually, you'll just run out of cards and lose."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Ugh... This is awful. Hey, wait a minute." She then sniffed something odd in the air. "I... I smell cologne... It's pretty strong, too, and it smells like a combination of several." She then drew her next card. "Baby Dragon! Say, when I rebuilt my deck with Twilight before the tournament, she gave me a Polymerization, a fusion monster, and a Time Wizard after she noticed the Baby Dragon. Aha! I know what to do now!" "I'll set one card and end my turn." She decided to set another monster and wait until she drew the cards she needed. By now, she also had Time Wizard in her hand.

"My turn," Soarin replied to her. "I'll activate Elegant Egotist from my hand to special summon a second Harpie Lady with 1300 attack! boosted to 1690!" As the second Harpie Lady formed, they both stared Rainbow Dash down. "Now, attack her set monster!" The second Harpie Lady then slashed open and destroyed Rainbow Dash's set monster.

"My turn," Rainbow Dash replied as she drew her next card. "Polymerization!" She then smiled. "I activate Polymerization from my hand!" She then placed it onto her field and placed her Baby Dragon and Time Wizard in the graveyard. "I now fusion summon Thousand Dragon, with 2400 attack!" As Thousand Dragon took to the field, the others cheered her on. "But I'm not done there. I now summon Faith Bird, with 1500 attack, which is boosted to 1950!" Once Faith Bird took to the field, Rainbow Dash was ready to attack. "Go! Destroy his Harpie Ladies!"

Faith Bird slashed one Harpie Lady, while Thousand Dragon incinerated another. Both were instantly destroyed as they screamed in pain.

SOARIN: 1030
RAINBOW DASH: 1410

"Say," Rainbow Dash said to Soarin. "I noticed an odd smell from your side of the arena. It smells like strong cologne. Mind telling us what it is?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Soarin replied in denial. "Shit," he thought to himself. "She figured out my strategy of dousing cards in colognes."

"I end my turn," Rainbow Dash replied. "Good luck." She then laughed.

Soarin then drew a card. "Damn it." He then set a monster, seemingly ready for defeat.

"I've figured you out," Rainbow Dash replied as she drew her next card. "I activate Stop Defense, which forces you to flip your set monster and place it into attack position."

Soarin thought, "Oh no! That one is Harpie Girl, which even with the power bonus will only have 650 attack! She'll have enough to kill me!" As Harpie Girl formed on the field, she shook with fear.

Rainbow Dash then called out, "Attack!" Thousand Dragon immediately incinerated Harpie Girl, destroying her and making Soarin lose.

SOARIN: 0
RAINBOW DASH: 1410

Soarin slumped over his cards, saying to himself, "How the hell did I lose to a damn amateur?"

"You know," Rainbow Dash replied. "I know your strategy now. By strategy, I mean your cheating method. You spray your cards with different colognes to make sure you know what you're drawing." She then laughed. "Never underestimate determination and friendship, Soarin. Never do it, or else you may pay."

On the ground, Twilight ran up to her and hugged her, saying, "Alright, you did it!"

Soarin then approached the group, carrying a star chip with him. "I believe I owe you this." He then sighed. "Not gonna lie, you were good."

"Thank you," Rainbow Dash replied as she took the star chip. She then turned to the group. "Alright, let's keep moving forward!"

Duelist: Duel 14-Attack From The Deep

"Alright," Rainbow Dash said to herself as she continued to celebrate her win against Soarin. "I feel awesome!"

"We get it," Applejack replied, annoyed with Rainbow Dash's constant reminding of her win to the others as they walked through the forest of the island. "Ya won."

Twilight laughed and said to Rainbow Dash, "I knew from the start that you would win, Rainbow Dash. You were very good out there." Rainbow Dash smiled in response.

Then, Pinkie Pie suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. "Wait, guys, did we bring any food with us?"

Spike immediately tried looking through his bag for anything as he set in on the ground. To his horror, he had brought nothing. "Oh crap! I got nothing!" As the others did the same, they all realized they had no food.

Rarity facepalmed in response as she said, "Are you kidding me? NOBODY brought food?" She was clearly annoyed. "Ugh... This damn tournament should have provided us with something!"

"You're telling me," Flash Sentry replied in agreement. "I'm sure they have more than enough money in the bank to do that. What's up with the logistics here?!"

"Wait," Fluttershy then said before she shushed everyone. "I... I smell something in the distance near the sea." Soon, everyone else could smell it as well. "It smells like cooked fish."

"Well, there we go," Rainbow Dash immediately replied. "Let's get it!"

Rarity, in disbelief, replied, "Are you crazy?! That's probably someone else's food!" However, by the time she finished her sentence, all but Twilight, Applejack, her, and Spike had ran off in the direction of the smell.

Twilight said in disbelief, "Wow... They didn't even pay any attention to you."

As the rest of the gang caught up, Rainbow Dash was seen eyeing out a small fire pit with several fish cooking in it near a cliff overlooking the ocean. Applejack called out to her, "What the hell?! That's someone else's food!"

"Aw c'mon," Rainbow Dash replied back to her. "It's clear that whoever had this abandoned it for good. We might as well not let this food go to waste." She then moved in and grabbed a skewer that was held over the fire that had a fish on it.

Just as she was beginning to look at it, though, a spear suddenly flew in from out of nowhere and struck the ground next to Rainbow Dash, causing her to jump up and scream. Fluttershy yelled out, "What the heck?!"

A male voice then called out, "What do you idiots think you're doing?!" Then, a younger man with green hair then walked over to the group. As he did Twilight recognized him.

"Hey, wait a minute," she said to him. "Aren't you Timber Spruce? The 3rd place duelist in the national tournament?" Her eyes then lit up with excitement.

"I am," he replied as he brushed himself off. "You must be the duelist that beat Nightmare Moon, or Princess Luna as she calls herself now." He then looked over at her friends. "I see your friends are a bit hungry." He then showed her a box of more fish. "Tell you what, I'll let you eat the fish. You're a great duelist, after all. I got plenty more where that came from anyways."

Flash Sentry by then already had a fish in his mouth as he looked up at them. "Mmm... Mank yomm..."

As the gang finished their meal, Pinkie Pie asked Timber Spruce as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Say, where did you learn to fish so good?"

"Well," he began as he cleaned a skewer with a rag. "My father taught me the ways of fishing when I was much younger. Ever since, I've dreamed of buying a big boat to fish, hence why I entered this tournament. Hopefully, I win so that dream can become a reality." He then laughed before he turned to Twilight. "Say, I got a proposal for you."

Twilight, wondering what it was, asked him, "Oh, really?"

"Indeed," he replied as he pulled out his Duel Monsters deck from his pocket. "How about we duel? I did give you guys food. It's only fair." He then pointed to the cliffs nearby. "There's even an arena nearby we can use that pops out of the ocean and cliffs."

Twilight, taken aback, replied with, "Well... Uhhh... Sure, I guess..." She then stood up.

Spike said to her, "You can take this guy on, Twilight."

Timber Spruce then pointed over to a cliff side. "Just gotta press a button located near those cliffs, and the arena will pop right out, complete with a platform for us to walk there and everything. It's really cool, actually." With the push of that button, the arena slowly rose from the ocean, amazing the gang.

"Woah," Applejack said to herself. "This is some high-tech stuff, Twilight."

Once the platform also rose into place, Timber Spruce invited Twilight in. "Come, Twilight. The arena is half-Wasteland and half-Ocean."

Twilight then closed her eyes and let the other Twilight take control. Once she did, she told him, "Very well, Timber Spruce."

As both duelists took their positions in the arena, with Twilight on the half-Wasteland side and Timber Spruce on the half-Ocean side, Rainbow Dash thought to herself, "What kind of Field Power Bonus does Timber Spruce have here? It'll probably give an attack and defense point boost to any WATER monsters he has, but maybe it'll give them other abilities like it did in Twilight's duel with Sunny Flare."

"I'll let you go first," said the other Twilight. "You did feed us, after all."

"How nice," he replied as he drew a card. "I summon Fiend Kraken to the field, and due to the Field Power Bonus, its attack is boosted to 1560! Also, take a look at what else I can do!" He then flipped Fiend Kraken into face-down Attack Position, hiding it from Twilight. "Due to the Ocean field, I can hide WATER monsters in Attack Position, and you can't attack them until I reveal them."

"Damn it," the other Twilight muttered to herself as she drew a card. "Okay, I summon Imp in attack mode and end my turn." She thought to herself, "I need to be very careful. At any moment, he could strike."

"My turn," Timber Spruce replied to her as he drew a card from his deck. "I'll flip up Fiend Kraken to reveal him!" From the depths of the Ocean field before him came a hologram of Fiend Kraken, which amazed Twilight's friends. "Now, Fiend Kraken, attack Twilight's Imp!" Fiend Kraken then wrapped a tentacle around Imp's neck, strangling him until he exploded.

TIMBER SPRUCE: 2000
OTHER TWILIGHT: 1740

"Now I'll have Fiend Kraken retreat back into the Ocean," Timber Spruce said as he flipped the card back face-down. "Now that is what I call my Sea Stealth Attack. I end my turn!"

As the other Twilight began her turn, she looked at her hand and thought to herself, "I don't have a lot of good options here. I do want to teach Timber Spruce a lesson, though. How about this?" She then selected a card and said, "I summon Feral Imp in Defense Position. With that, I end my turn!"

Duel 1-Puzzle of the Alicorns

October 12, 1994

"Hey," a male archaeologist shouted to a worker nearby. "Did ya find anything yet?"

The worker emerged from an opening to a tomb embedded in a cliff, carrying a box. "Yeah! Come take a look at this! All of you!"

A group of 8 people crowded around the box as another flew over, his wings lightly sweeping up sand from the ground as he landed. The lead archaeologist looked at the box and said, "My God... I think this is it! Open it up!"

The worker opened the box, taking off the top and revealing a smashed red amulet inside. "This must be the Alicorn Puzzle! The Nameless Princess used this 3000 years ago to-" Suddenly, he clutched his chest and quickly handed the box to the archaeologist.

The archaeologist said, worried, "Woah, dude, are you alright?"

The worker then collapsed to the ground, still clutching his chest.

"Someone get an ambulance!"

The worker then looked at the archaeologist and faintly said, "It... It was the Shadow Games..." He then went limp, dead from an unexplainable heart attack.

September 7, 2015

It was another normal Monday at Ponyville High School. As the students in a classroom all filed out to play basketball during a break, a student asked a girl sitting at a desk, "Hey Twilight, wanna come outside and shoot some hoops with us?"

"Oh," the girl said as she looked up from a book. "No thanks. I'm not a sports kind of girl. Have fun, though."

"Okay then, see ya around." The student then left.

"Time to bring out my treasure," Twilight thought to herself as she reached into her bag and brought out a box. "Let's see if I can make any progress on this thing."

Suddenly, a hand swiped the box from her desk. A female voice said, "Huh... What's this?"

Twilight looked up and saw a rainbow-haired winged girl holding her box. "Rainbow Dash, what gives?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see this box of your's."

Twilight, annoyed, said, "Fine, have a peek."

Rainbow Dash looked in for a second and then closed the box, saying, "Well, boring as always, Twilight." She then smiled. "You know, if you had any balls, you would have swiped that right back from my hands and then socked me in the face."

"Well maybe I don't want to use violence," Twilight retorted.

"And she doesn't have to," another voice retorted. This voice had an accent to it. "If y'all think it's sooooo borin', give it back to Twilight. What did ah' tell ya bout messin' with her, ya creep?"

"Yadda yadda yadda," Rainbow Dash replied. "You're so defensive of her, Applejack. You know, I'm startin' to think you might be in the closet."

Twilight blushed. "Uhhhh... I dunno if that's such a good question-"

"Says the girl who has God damn rainbow-coloured hair," Applejack retorted. "Going by your hair, you're the most homosexual student here."

2 girls walking by peered their heads in. One of them, a cheery, pink-haired girl, said, "Wow! That was a sick burn, Applejack!" Applejack turned around, smiled, and nodded at the girl, named Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie.

Rainbow Dash stammered her response, saying, "I... Urgh... God... Ugh, forget it. I'm outta here. And by the way, I'm not gay. Are you implying it would be a bad thing if I was?"

Another student, a blue-haired girl with a horn, walked in and said, "Hey Rainbow Dash, what's up?"

"Nothing, Rarity," the girl replied.

Applejack said, "To say ah hate people for who they love is slander and nothin' more!"

Rarity said to Rainbow Dash, "Uhhhh, context, darling?" The 2 then walked out and continued their conversation. A pink-haired and cheery girl named Pinkie Pie left them and walked over to Twilight and Applejack.

Applejack said, "Sorry bout that, Twilight. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I thought you were outside."

"Nah, screw that. Ah noticed the guys were handing the girls the ball a lot during basketball. Wasn't 'til a bit later that ah realized the guys were peekin' up the girl's skirts when they took their shots." Applejack sighed. "Skirts were never meant for no sports, let me tell ya that."

Twilight blushed, saying, "Well... Uhhh... That's... Interesting..."

Applejack jokingly said, "Ya know, what if you're the gay one?"

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Twilight, being lesbian? That's just silly, silly. There's no shame in being one, but I simply can't see Twilight liking and... Doing... Other girls."

Twilight said, annoyed, "No, I'm not gay. I like boys. It's just that I know I don't have a chance in hell with one, at least not here. Even the outcast group's guys don't seem to like me. Well, at least I got you 2, and Spike."

"Yup," Applejack replied. "So, what was in your box that Dashie grabbed?"

Twilight opened the box and pulled out 2 pieces, saying, "It's a puzzle. It was found deep in an ancient tomb from the Pre-Discordian Era. The writing on the sides basically says whosoever solves the puzzle will be granted immense power, and all their wishes will be granted. However, when it was found, a worker at the site died of an unexplained heart attack, and the lead archaeologist died exactly one year after excavating it in a car accident. People say it was a curse."

Pinkie Pie said, "Ehhhh... It seems dangerous to have around... I wouldn't want that at my house. It would probably scare away customers at Sugarcube Corner, too."

"Well," Applejack replied. "Nothin's happened to Twilight yet, right?"

"Nope," Twilight replied. "And nothing will, because I am going to solve the hell out of this puzzle! I've been at this since I was 11 when Princess Celestia gifted this to me back in Canterlot. I'm not gonna stop now."

Pinkie Pie happily replied, "That's the spirit!"

Back in the halls, Rainbow Dash said, "Fluttershy, you didn't see anything, right?"

"Not really," the pink-haired winged girl replied. "I don't get involved with that kind of stuff. I'm not the type to fight or anything."

"Say," Rarity asked. "Isn't it hypocritical?"

"What is?" Rainbow Dash seemed confused.

"Isn't it hypocritical that you basically tease Twilight even though she seems to be similar to Fluttershy in terms of shyness?"

"Fluttershy's different," Rainbow Dash quickly replied. "Okay?"

Suddenly, the 3 of them bumped into someone else. Rainbow Dash cursed loudly before the three of them stepped back and looked at a foreboding senior named Wild Strikes. "What is this about teasing and hypocrisy, you 3?" Fluttershy peeped in fear as Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked on at him.

"Listen, buddy, this is none of ya God da-"

Suddenly, Rarity and Fluttershy covered up Rainbow Dash's mouth. Rarity said, "Nothing, Wild Strikes. We were just saying how teasing's wrong and hypocritical!"

"Yeah," Fluttershy replied. "Nothing more!" She was shaking in fear, thinking, "Please don't kill us, please don't kill us, please don't kill us."

"Good," the tall senior replied. "Bullying and hazing are wrong. I like to see more students hold that opinion." He then walked away.

Rarity and Fluttershy uncovered Rainbow Dash's mouth. She quickly said, "You assholes almost suffocated me!"

Rarity told her, "You idiot! Do you realise who that was?! That was Wild Strikes, the hall monitor! He's so terrifying, even some teachers are intimidated by him!"

Fluttershy said, "Did you want us to be killed?"

"No, I didn't, alright? Let's just forget about it, okay?" She then shifted through her pocket. "Anyways, wanna see what I got from Twilight's box?"

"No," Rarity replied as she laughed. "You didn't."

Fluttershy, confused, asked, "Wait, what?"

Rainbow Dash then held out a piece of the Alicorn Puzzle, saying, "I stole it! Now she can't complete that puzzle of her's!" She then opened a window and looked down on a fountain on the ground below. "I'll just drop this "by accident" right into this fountain and voila!" She dropped the piece into the water.

Fluttershy said, "Are you sure that was a good idea?" She objected to some of Rainbow Dash's behaviour, but didn't feel like making a big deal out of it because she didn't want to cause a fuss.

"Meh," Rarity replied. "It's just a puzzle."

Later that day, as Twilight left the school, Wild Strikes stopped her. He said, "Hey, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight turned around and asked, "Yes, who is it?"

"I'm Wild Strikes, the hall monitor. Listen, I heard you were going through some issues with some students."

Twilight replied, "Oh, Rainbow Dash? Meh, it's no big deal."

"Whatever you say," the senior replied. "How about you let me talk to her and see if we can solve any issues before they come up, huh?"

"Oooookay then," Twilight awkwardly replied. "Well, I gotta run. Bye." She then thought to herself as she walked away, "What's up with him?"

"Heh, heh, heh," Wild Strikes thought to himself. "Looks like I found a new schmuck to extort."

Duel 12-Chairs of Death

When the door to the next level opened, the group looked around, noticing they were in a large and dark warehouse-sized room.

Then, they saw the "gate" to the entrance, a decrepit horror-esque brick structure. On a sign above the path was writing in what appeared to be blood reading "Moon T-2: Horror Zone."

Fluttershy gulped and said, "I have a bad feeling about this one, guys..."

"Same," Spike replied, moving closer to Rarity. "This place is giving off all sorts of bad vibes..."

"Welcome to the Horror Zone," a voice suddenly said to them from behind, startling all 8 of them and making Rainbow Dash scream.

Twilight turned around and said, "Who are you?!"

Rainbow Dash, already scared out of her wits, yelled, "You scared the shit outta me, asshole!"

"I am a servant of Master Nightmare Moon. Please, follow me." He then walked past the group and led them down a path through a mock cemetery.

Flash Sentry saw a body on the ground and asked, "Hey, servant man, uhhh..."

"My name is Gate Stand. What do you need?"

"Are those bodies in the graveyard real?"

Pinkie Pie laughed and said, "Hah, as if! They're pretty fake to me, almost laughable."

"Oh no, you are wrong, pink-haired one." Gate Stand then pointed at another body. "Those are the bodies of recently-executed criminals. They were all shot in the head."

Rainbow Dash shivered in fear, saying to a whimpering Fluttershy, "Holy crap..."

Twilight thought to herself, "That monster!"

Then, they arrived at their destination, the gang of 8 extremely unnerved by the brutality of Moon-T. Applejack said, "What the hell is that thing?"

Gate Stand presented a ride that had 9 seats on it, decorated with (hopefully fake) skulls. "This is the ride that will take you to the Mansion of Mystery. Please, step in."

As the gang of 8 sat in their seats, Rarity said, "These seats are certainly uncomfortable, darling."

"Comfort will soon be the least of your worries." The servant then pressed a button in his seat.

Suddenly, restrains locked everyone's hands in place and lowered caps onto their heads. Twilight said, "What the hell was that?!"

Fluttershy began to cry, saying, "What's even going on?"

The servant replied, "These chairs will shock you if any of you make a sound. There are microphones built into your head caps. If any of you speak, you will be shocked to death. To keep things fair, I have been equipped with the same trap. Now, let's begin!"

"Remember," Rainbow Dash said to everyone. "Don't make a sound!"

"Let's go," Twilight said, confidently.

"Game Start! Silence!" The servant then pressed a button on his control panel to start the ride.

As the ride slowly moved on the tracks through the eerie pathway to the mansion, the servant thought to himself, "As a torture expert and an executioner for the Lunar Republic for 15 years, this will be a piece of cake! All I have to do is scare the living hell out of these teenagers, and I'll be all set."

Then, he pressed a button on his control panel. The ride came to a halt as the gang quietly wondered why. Fluttershy kept her eyes closed tight, preparing for the worst. Rainbow Dash sweated profusely, all of her worst fears and phobias being seemingly exploited.

A projection screen dropped down from the ceiling. The servant thought to himself, "Nothing scares these kids more nowadays than a good old jumpscare!"

A video began playing on the projection screen, showing a chair in the middle of a dark room. Twilight instantly knew where the video was from, and thought to herself, "Oh no..."

The chair began to rock back and forth quietly, making a small creaking sound. Applejack looked at the video, wondering what would happen next as a small moan was heard in the background.

Suddenly, a horrid face popped up on screen as a shrill female scream pierced the air. Rainbow Dash tensed up as she screamed profanities in her thoughts and Fluttershy fainted.

Then, the ride continued onwards. As the screen retracted upwards, the ride took the gang through a swampy forest. Twilight looked around, wondering what would frighten the group next.

Rarity looked at Spike with a frightened look on her face, motioning her eyes to a thing to the left of Spike. Spike was confused at first, wondering what Rarity was doing. He then looked to the left of him.

They both saw 2 bodies hanging from a tree by nooses. Spike and Rarity's jaws dropped.

The servant made note of it in his thoughts, thinking, "Those bodies were freshly shot a day ago by your's truly. They did some horrible stuff back on the Moon."

Twilight thought to herself as well, thinking, "I need to find a way out of this ride for us... Wait a minute!" She then realized something as her horn glowed.

She then shrunk, falling out of her restraints and onto the seat of the chair. She then said, "Finally, I can speak! Now, time to make the servant scream..." She then looked around, wondering how the world looked around her now that she had shrunk in size.

She then quietly jumped down to the floor of the ride train and walked to the servant's chair. Everyone else was too scared to notice her. The servant thought to himself, "Time for my next big trick before we stop at the mansion!"

"Not so fast," Twilight yelled to him as her horn glowed again.

The servant was shocked at Twilight, thinking, "No way! She used her magic to shrink and escape?!"

Her horn then shot out a beam of superheated red light at the servant's right shoe, burning a hole through it and into the servant's skin. "Take that!"

The servant tried to hold in a scream from the intense pain, but after a few seconds, he couldn't help it, and he let out a loud scream in excruciating pain. This triggered his electric chair soon afterwards, which caused the ride to short out as thousands of volts shocked his body. Twilight watched from below as the servant's eyes popped out of his skull and blood poured from his eye sockets, nose, and mouth and onto the floor.

The rest of the group, sans Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, got up just as the flow of electricity into the servant stopped. Twilight then used another spell to grow back to her normal size.

Applejack sniffed the air and gagged, saying, "Oh my God, his body reeks of burnt flesh!"

Rarity said to herself, "Jesus... Nightmare Moon isn't messing around..."

"I'm glad that's over," Flash Sentry said. "Say, where's Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?"

Spike looked at Fluttershy, who had fainted and looked as though she was peacefully sleeping, and said, "This one fainted."

"So did this one," Pinkie Pie replied, pointing at a fainted Rainbow Dash, who had slumped over in her seat with her eyes in the back of her head. "Hey sleepyhead, wake up!"

Rainbow Dash then began to awake, saying, "Whu... What..." She then opened her eyes and screamed for several seconds, causing everyone else to cover their ears and waking up Fluttershy. "Is it over?! For the love of God, please tell me this is over!"

"It's over," Twilight replied. "I tricked the servant into screaming. He's dead now."

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash then got up and turned to Fluttershy, holding out her hand and helping her up. "You alright?"

"Yes," Fluttershy quietly replied. "I don't wanna go through that again..."

Twilight then looked over to the direction of the mansion and said, "Everyone, the mansion is in sight. Let's go."

Spike took hold of Rarity's hand, saying, "Now, I'm really scared."

"Same," Rarity replied. "Don't worry, this mansion thing should be the last of this level, darling."

"I hope so... You don't mind me holding your hand, right?"

"Not at all." Rarity then sighed. "You're a good kid, Spike."

"Uhhhh..." The 8th-Grader then blushed. "Thank you..."

Duel 28-The Alicorn Ring

August 20, 2015

"So this is the pendant," Rarity said as her father showed her the odd-looking red pendant. He had found it on a trip to the homeland of the Ancient Equestrians. "It looks amazing." It consisted of a golden ring holding a triangular-cut flat red stone, with 5 golden prongs hanging off of the ring.

Her father told her, "The guy selling it said he wanted to get rid of it as soon as he could for some reason, so it was a bargain. Go ahead and put it on." Rarity did just that and put the pendant on.

"I think it looks fabulous," Rarity said to her father and Sweetie Belle, who watched.

Sweetie Belle said, "Maybe I'll get one of those things eventually. It seems pretty cool."

October 19, 2015

"Woah," Rainbow Dash said to Rarity as the gang looked at the pendant. "That's cool."

"Thanks," Rarity replied. "I almost never wear it outside of home, but I decided to touch things up a bit for today."

Pinkie Pie asked, "How much did the pendant cost your father?"

"About 800 bits," Rarity replied. "It's a bargain, but apparently the last guy who owned it must have been desperate for money, because he told my father he wanted to get rid of it as soon as he could."

Twilight noted the similarities between the pendant and the Alicorn Puzzle, saying, "That looks awfully familiar to my puzzle."

"Now that you mention it, it does." Rarity then laughed. "Wouldn't it be odd if this was connected to your puzzle?"

Later at home, as Rarity was about to take the pendant off to get changed in her room, she suddenly felt a presence with her as she sat on her bed. "What the hell?"

Then, she heard a voice that seemed similar to hers, but deeper, tell her, "Don't take the Alicorn Ring off!"

Rarity jumped and yelled, "Who the hell was that?!"

"I've been in the ring for millennia, and you're my chance at getting out." The voice calmed itself down. "Before you ask, yes, this artifact is indeed related to the Alicorn Puzzle that your little friend has, Rarity."

"How do you know my name?!" Rarity, by now, was extremely frightened.

"I've watched you ever since your father gave you the Alicorn Ring." Then, the ring began to glow. "Just bear with me here, okay?"

"Wait, no!" Rarity then fell onto the floor, unconscious.

After laying on the floor for several seconds, Rarity stood up and brushed herself off, though she did seem different. "Alright," this other Rarity said to herself. "Let's see..."

October 20, 2015

The gang decided as a whole to go over to Rarity's home after school, since her parents were out for several days. Tagging along were 3 8th Graders: Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister, Apple Bloom, Applejack's younger sister, and Scootaloo, a close friend of Rainbow Dash.

As they all met in the living room, Rarity said to the group, "Me and Sweetie Belle have something you guys would love to see. It's a huge RPG board game my parents made in the basement. They made custom figurines and everything." Everyone looked at her and Sweetie Belle with surprise.

"No way," Twilight said as her eyes lit up with excitement. "Can we play a game, all of us?"

"Of course," Sweetie Belle replied. "It's designed for a lot of players."

Applejack said, "I bet me and Apple Bloom would clobber everyone in that game." The 2 of them then laughed as the group funneled downstairs.

After the group as a whole positioned themselves in the basement around the massive RPG board, Rarity said, "Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom. When I come back, I'll explain the rules and get us started." She then walked over to the stairs and went upstairs.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Rarity heard the voice again as she exited. "Hello again."

"Not this bullshit again," Rarity angrily said to the voice. "Get out."

"Nah," the voice replied. "I need to get that puzzle." Then, Rarity collapsed to the floor for several seconds before standing up again. The other Rarity brushed herself off as she said, "Time to get that puzzle."

When Rarity made it back downstairs, Scootaloo said to her, "Finally."

The other Rarity chuckled to herself before seating herself. "Now, the rules go like this. The Dark Master, me, will control all of the evil creatures, such as this one." She then held up a gargoyle figurine. "The rest of you are adventurers. You control a single blank figurine from a race of your choosing. Your job is to defeat me. My job is to defeat all of you."

"But before we do that," Sweetie Belle said. "You all have to choose what race and what class your character will be." She then handed everyone, including herself, except the other Rarity, a character sheet detailing what races and classes there were to choose from. "Choose wisely."

RACES:
Human-Average wisdom, strength, and speed.
Elf-High wisdom and charisma; make good magicians. Low strength.
Half-Elf-A human-elf crossbreed.
Hobbit-Small but very fast, and well-muscled for their size. Make good thieves.
Pixie-Fairy-High wisdom. Able to fly. One of the "magical races".
Dwarf-Low wisdom, but high strength and constitution.
Birdtail-A race of bird people. Able to fly. High charisma.

CLASSES:
Warrior
Beast Tamer
Magician
Bard
Priest
Enchanter
Martial Artist
Diabolist
Magic Gunman
Illusionist
Merchant
Thief

As the gang filled out their forms, Flash Sentry said to Rainbow Dash, "Hey Dash, you should totally be a Birdtail. Hey, it fits."

"Haha, real funny," Rainbow Dash replied sarcastically. "I was going to pick that, but now I'm gonna choose Human and Warrior instead."

"Choose carefully," the other Rarity said. "You may be playing with that character for longer than you think."

Sweetie Belle thought to herself, "I don't know why, but something seems off about Rarity..."

After everyone finished, the other Rarity took their forms. "Nice job, everyone. Now, time to read them out loud..."

TWILIGHT SPARKLE'S CHARACTER: Twily
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Beast Tamer
Weapons: None
Equipment: Elf cloak
Speed: 17
Wisdom: 18
Strength: 9
Courage: 18
Level: 1
Hit Points: 22

RAINBOW DASH'S CHARACTER: Dasher
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Weapon: Short sword
Armor: Leather armor/leather shield
Speed: 16
Wisdom: 8
Strength: 20
Courage: 21
Level: 1
Hit Points: 25

FLUTTERSHY'S CHARACTER: Shia
Race: Elf
Class: Magician
Weapon: None
Equipment: Elf's staff/elf's cloak/elf's hat
Speed: 20
Wisdom: 17
Strength: 9
Courage: 13
Level: 1
Hit Points: 18

APPLEJACK'S CHARACTER: A.J.
Race: Human
Class: Magic Gunman
Weapon: Magic Gun
Equipment: Cloak/magic bullets
Speed: 18
Wisdom: 10
Strength: 14
Courage: 19
Level: 1
Hit Points: 23

PINKIE PIE'S CHARACTER: Diane
Race: Hobbit
Class: Bard
Weapon: Club
Equipment: Book of records
Speed: 24
Wisdom: 14
Strength: 9
Courage: 16
Level: 1
Hit Points: 17

APPLE BLOOM'S CHARACTER: Bloom
Race: Dwarf
Class: Thief
Weapon: Knife
Equipment: Sack
Speed: 14
Wisdom: 9
Strength: 15
Courage: 14
Level: 1
Hit Points: 24

SWEETIE BELLE'S CHARACTER: Belle
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Weapon: Long sword
Armor: Leather armor
Speed: 17
Wisdom: 10
Strength: 18
Courage: 22
Level: 1
Hit Points: 24

SCOOTALOO'S CHARACTER: Scoots
Race: Human
Class: Thief
Weapon: Knife
Equipment: Sack
Speed: 17
Wisdom: 12
Strength: 14
Courage: 19
Level: 1
Hit Points: 20

SPIKE'S CHARACTER: Spike
Race: Pixie-Fairy
Class: Magician
Weapon: None
Equipment: Spellbook
Speed: 24
Wisdom: 19
Strength: 13
Courage: 19
Level: 1
Hit Points: 18

FLASH SENTRY'S CHARACTER: Flash (Author's note: AAAH! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!)
Race: Birdtail
Class: Illusionist
Weapon: None
Equipment: Cursed book
Speed: 23
Wisdom: 19
Strength: 15
Courage: 18
Level: 1
Hit Points: 20

"All are good choices," the other Rarity said after reading them all out loud.

Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie and Spike, "Hopefully I won't get eliminated at the very start."

"Don't worry," Spike replied. "We got this."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie replied. "What Spike said, silly! We're totally gonna win."

Duelist: Duel 9-Journey to Duelist Kingdom

March 21, 2016

The gang arrived at the Manehattan Seaport around 3 P.M. after a 3 and a half-hour drive. After going through security, the gang was getting ready to board the ship that would take them to Duelist Kingdom, which was located on an island off the eastern coast of Equestria.

Twilight said to Rainbow Dash as they waited in line, “"Rainbow Dash, hey.”

The young winged girl turned to Twilight and said, “What's up?”

“I want to give you this,” Twilight replied as she gave her one of her two star chips. “That way, you can be in the tournament for real.” She then smiled. “I hope you do well.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and replied, “Thanks, man. That means a lot to me.” She then put the star chip in her pocket. “And thanks for the encouragement, too.” She then turned to Fluttershy, “I’m in!”

“Alright,” Fluttershy replied. “That’s wonderful. Now, you can help pay for Scootaloo’s operation.”

Later, on the ship, Twilight and Flash Sentry decided to go out on the middle deck and look out into the water at night. “So, Flash, how did you and Rainbow Dash become friends?”

Flash turned to her, surprised, before replying, “I moved to Ponyville after my freshman year of high school. As soon as I came here, I began enrolling in the sports program. Rainbow Dash was an early friend of mine after I came here. We would practice our soccer skills a lot after school. To be honest, I'm kinda surprised neither of us developed feelings or something.”

“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “I always wondered that. Say, is there anyone you are attracted to?”

“I guess,” Flash replied, somewhat flustered. "But I don't know if they feel the same way.”

“What's going on?” Rainbow Dash then came over, carrying a bottle of water with her. “You two looking out at the water?”

“Pretty much,” Flash replied.

Then, another voice appeared. “Aren't you that girl that beat Nightmare Moon, or should I say, Princess Luna?” A man with light blue wings and dark blue hair appeared. He looked to be around 22. He had a jacket that read “IEAF WONDERBOLTS” on it.

“I am,” Twilight replied. “Say, you look a bit familiar.”

“You're a Wonderbolt pilot?” Rainbow Dash seemed intrigued. “Nice... I think I've seen you before, too.”

“My name is Soarin,” said the man. “I’ve been in the Air Force for 6 years since I was 16. I also am a very good duelist.” He then looked at Rainbow Dash. “What brings you to Duelist Kingdom?”

“I'm very new at this game,” Rainbow Dash said. “But my friend Twilight gave me a star chip so I could participate.”

Stunned, Soarin replied, “No way. You're new to this game and you came here?”

Annoyed, Rainbow Dash replied, “You got a problem with that?” She got up in Soarin's face.

"Calm down," Twilight said to both of them. "No need to tussle. Save that for the tournament."

"Fine," Rainbow Dash replied. She then turned back to Soarin. "I'll still go much further than you think."

"We'll see about that," Soarin replied as he walked away.

As he did, a second person approached. This person was about the same age as Twilight, Flash Sentry, and Rainbow Dash. She was a girl with grayish mulberry hair. She looked familiar to Twilight. "Are you the famed Twilight Sparkle?"

"I am," Twilight replied as she shook the girl's hand. "Say, have I seen you before?"

"Probably," the girl replied as she introduced herself. "My name is Sunny Flare. I am the 2nd-best duelist in Equestria as of now."

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied as she recognized her. "I saw you duel Indigo Zap and Princess Luna last year on T.V." Twilight referred to another duelist who was famous for using a dragon/dinosaur deck. "Say, don't you go to school with Indigo?"

"Yep," Sunny replied. "We go to the same school. In fact, we're both in the tournament as well." She then looked at Twilight's deck box next to her. "Say, you still have those Sun Goddess cards, right?"

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied as she opened her deck box and took the 5 cards out of her deck. "Wanna see them?"

"Don't mind if I do," Sunny Flare replied as she took them and admired them. "Woah..."

Rainbow dash told her, "She's gonna kick Adagio Dazzle's butt with those cards, don't you worry."

"She very well may," Sunny replied as she put her secret plan into action. "I've always wondered how one could prevent the Sun Goddess cards from being drawn in a duel. I think I finally figured out my strategy." Then, as she turned away from Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Twilight realized something was wrong. Then, Sunny Flare reached over the side of the ship and exclaimed, "This is my strategy!"

As she flung the cards off the ship, Twilight screamed, "Nooo!!!" Rainbow Dash angrily socked Sunny Flare across the face, knocking her out before jumping into the water to try and retrieve the cards. Twilight immediately shouted, "Man Overboard!"

Several other passengers rushed over to see what had just happened as Rainbow Dash emerged from the water, a sullen look on her face. "Twilight... I could only get two cards! The rest are gone!" She then sneezed as she waited for rescuers to pull her out of the freezing waters.

Twilight then had a sudden realization. "The Elements of Harmony! They were sealed within those cards! They're lost forever!" She then shouted as she panicked and shook an unconscious Sunny Flare, "You maniac! You just doomed all of Equestria by throwing those cards away!"

March 22, 2016

As the gang exited the ship together, Twilight received a phone call on her cellphone. "Huh? Shining Armor?" She answered it on the dock, saying, "Hello?"

"Twilight," Shining Armor told her in a serious tone of voice. "All hell is breaking loose in Ponyville." He then sighed. "Oh my God... Sometime last night, the Everfree Forest... It... It just went crazy..."

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. "No... Oh my God... I... Somebody threw the Sun Goddess cards into the sea... We lost them..."

Rainbow Dash, now worried, asked her in a panicked tone of voice, "What's going on in Ponyville?!"

"Twilight," Shining Armor replied to her by phone. "Those cards held the Elements of Harmony. Now that they're gone, we are all as good as dead unless we find a way to unlock them without those cards." He then paused. "Oh my God... The trees... They're eating up the whole God damn town!" He then panicked. "I need to go! My unit needs to fight these moving trees! Bye!" He then hurriedly hung up.

Twilight then broke the news to the gang, solemnly saying, "My brother got deployed to contain an out-of-control Everfree Forest. It's eating up Ponyville as we speak."

Applejack cried out, "It's because of those damn cards, ain't it?!"

Fluttershy began to cry, saying, "My home is right near the forest... My parents... Oh my God..."

As Rarity immediately began to call her sister Sweetie Belle, Twilight turned around and saw Sunny Flare exit the ship with a smug look on her face. Disgusted, she pointed to her and called out, startling the rest of the passengers, "Sunny Flare, you have blood on your hands!"

Sunny Flare, ignorant of the disaster in Ponyville, snarkily replied, "Oh, for throwing away some trading cards?"

"Those cards held the only thing keeping the Everfree Forest from eating up my town," Twilight explained in a harsh tone of voice. "The Elements of Harmony. Because you threw them away, that forest is eating my town and ripping it to shreds." She then declared, "Sunny Flare, I order you to be my first opponent!"

"Fine then," Sunny Flare replied, disturbed by Twilight's explanation, but still trying to put on a confident and stubborn face. "I'll be sure to beat you!"

A security guard said to the two as they approached each other, "Lucky for you two, we have a space that is open right near here." He then handed both of them a map of the island, with the duel arenas marked. He then pointed to one of them. "It's right here. Good luck, both of you."

The crowd around them was abuzz with gossip and discussion. Some doubted if Twilight was telling the truth. Those doubts were quickly dispelled as news alerts from Ponyville streamed in about the destruction and chaos the Everfree Forest was wreaking upon the town. As many in the crowd gasped in shock, the gang began to walk to the first arena, while Sunny Flare walked there by herself, taking a different route.

Pinkie Pie asked Twilight as they walked, "Twilight, how are we gonna bring back the Elements?"

"We will find a way," Twilight replied, trying to keep her cool. "I swear, we will."