It's Time to Duel!

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."