Yu-Gi-Oh! EQG 5: The Malefic Menace

Chapters

Duel 2: New Dragon Users
Duel 3: Reacton Shots
Duel 4: Starlight Strikes
Duel 6: The Malefic's Worst Nightmare
Duel 7: Starlight's Decision
Duel 8: Paradox's Plan
Duel 9: Gateway to Paradox Part 1
Duel 10: Gateway to Paradox Part 2
Final Duel: Clash of the Dragons!
Duel 1: Reunion
Duel 5: The Enemy Uncovered
Epilogue

Duel 2: New Dragon Users

Burst had just woken up and found Moon with her arms wrapped around him again. And considering he was dating her and Celestia, he had taken quite the liking to it. And when she woke him up, she was way better than a blaring alarm clock.

"Morning Burst!", Moon said with a smile.

"Good morning Moon. So what did you think of the performance last night?", Burst asked referring to last night's party.

"That was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. So what do you have planned today?"

"Well Rainbow Dash said that she finally got dragon powers. So she wanted to show them off with a duel. Wanna see how things play out?"

"Did you even have to ask?" After getting ready for the day and eating breakfast, the two of them got their decks and duel disks and headed for the duel park. Rainbow and a group of kids were waiting for Burst when he and Moon arrived.

"Hey Burst! Hope you don't mind but we brought a bit of an audience!", Rainbow greeted. Burst recognized Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom. And he saw Bolt Dash, Rainbow's little brother as well as two other boys. "Guess who finally got dragon powers?", Rainbow said as she ponied-up and activated her bond with Rainbow Dragon. When the light faded Rainbow had two pairs of wings! One pair looked like pegasus wings while the other looked like the wings of Rainbow Dragon! "I know I didn't get cool dragon eyes like you, Inferno or Ace, but the wings are sweet right?"

"I won't lie Dash. You just got fifty percent more awesome! By the way was this the only reason you asked me to come here?"

"Well, my little bro and his friends and Scootaloo and her friends are pretty big fans of yours since Duelist Kingdom. So I figured I'd surprise them by getting to meet you in person! Don't be shy Bolt! Say hi!" Bolt nervously walked up to Burst.

"H-hi.", he said nervously. Burst saw how nervous he was, and gave him a kind smile.

"Nice to meet you Bolt. I can sense you've got a bond with a dragon like I do." Bolt's face lit up at hearing this!

"Really?! Does that mean I can get cool powers like Rainbow said you had?!"

"Not exactly the same, but I'm sure you can get some pretty awesome wings. Watch what I do. Focus on the monster you have a bond with and call on its power. Like this!", Burst said as he activated his dragon powers. Soon he had sprouted wings and his eyes were dragonic. "Now you try!" Bolt Dash focused hard and called on the power of the bond between him and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Soon he had the wings of Clear Wing and his eyes were dragonic!

"This.Is.So. Cool! Shining Spoon! Bright Star! You guys have GOT to try this! It's awesome!" Shining Spoon and Bright Star called on their bonds with Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Starve Venom Fusion Dragon respectively.

"Sweet!", Shining Spoon said admiring his new wings.

"I can't wait to trying flying with these things!", Star said testing out his wings. Burst gave a pleased chuckle at seeing the young duelists admire their new powers.

"You think that's cool? You can take it one step further!"

"How do we do that?", all three of them asked.

"You can summon your actual monsters since you share such strong bonds with your decks. Watch. Come on out Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Soon Blue Eyes landed on the field.

"Showing off for a change Burst?", Blue Eyes said with a joking smile. Shining, Bolt and Star deactivated their dragon powers and then summoned their own dragons to see if they could do the same as Burst. And surely enough they were successful.

"Nice to meet you in person Bolt.", Clear Wing said.

"Hey Shining! Nice to finally get some fresh air.", Dark Rebellion said with a smile

"So this is the human world. Wonder what kinds of food they got here?", Starve Venom said.

"Venom are you always thinking with your stomach?", Dark Rebellion asked with an annoyed expression.

"Hey! I'm called Starve Venom for a reason! I've got an almost bottomless pit for a stomach!" Bright Star couldn't help but laugh at the scene unfolding in front of him.

"So which one of you wants to take me on?", Burst asked.

"Really?", Bolt asked.

"Yup. So who's up first?"

"I'm up first!", Shining Spoon said. "What do you say Dark Rebellion?"

"I've always wanted to face-off against one of the legendary dragons!"

"Alright then! Let's duel!", Burst said.

Burst: 8000
Shining Spoon: 8000

"You've got the first move Shining!"

"Sweet! I set a card face-down and special summon the trap monster The Phantom Knights of Tomb Shield in attack mode! And since I don't have any trap cards in my graveyard, I can special summon The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine the same turn that I set it! Now I overlay my two monsters to xyz summon Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! That's it for my turn. Your move Burst!"

"Might as well start off big! I draw! I reveal one Blue Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon! Attack Dark Rebellion! White Lightning!"

"Just like I planned! I detach both of Dark Rebellion's overlay units to activate his effect! Your monster's attack points are cut in half, and Dark Rebellion gains the other half of the attack points! Go! Dark Rebellion Blaze!" Dark Rebellion roared as he fired a blast of dark purple flame that wiped out Blue Eyes Alternative!

Burst: 5500
Shining Spoon: 8000

"Nice move Shining! Now to show you my ace xyz monster! I play the Melody of Awakening Dragon to discard one card and add two dragons with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense from my deck to my hand! Then I'll play Return of the Dragon Lords to bring back Blue Eyes Alternative from the graveyard! Next I'll play Chaos Form and send a monster from my hand whose level equals eight to the graveyard to ritual summon Blue Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Now I overlay my monsters to xyz summon Number 107: Galaxy Eyes Tachyon Dragon! Too bad you used up Rebellion's overlay units. Tachyon Stream!" Galaxy Eyes roared and fired a laser that destroyed Dark Rebellion!

Burst: 5500
Shining Spoon: 7500

"You were right about the overlay units. I guess I should have saved them for later."

"Hey. Even I make mistakes. For example, I didn't make use of Alternative's effect. But the duel isn't over until the last card's drawn!"

"Right! I draw! I play Double Summon! Now I summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm! Then I'll place on card face-down and end my turn!"

"I draw! Perfect! I attack your Phantom Knight! Tachyon Stream! And that's it for my turn."

Burst: 5500
Shining Spoon: 6000

"Well since you sent one of my Phantom Knights to the graveyard, I get to special summon the two copies of The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor! Now I overlay my two monsters to xyz summon Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Now I'll activate his effect and attack!"

"I don't think so! I activate Galaxy Eye's effect! I detach one overlay unit and negate the effects of all face-up cards on the field!"

"Aw man! Didn't see that coming.", Shining said as Dark Rebellion was destroyed. "I end my turn."

Burst: 5500
Shining Spoon: 5500

"I draw! You've shown me your ace card, so it's only fair I bring out mine! I play the spell card Harmony Absolute! I send a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand to the graveyard to summon Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon from my deck! Attack him directly! Absolute Neutron Blast!"

Burst: 5500, win
Shining Spoon: lose

"Good dueling back there. Gotta admit, your dragon has a pretty good effect!"

"Thanks! And your Blue Eyes Absolute is awesome! I've never seen such a strong monster be summoned so easily!", Shining Spoon said. Burst powered down his dragonic powers too after the duel had ended. Soon, Bright Star stepped up to face Burst next.

"Time to show off my fusion skills!", Bright Star said!

"Then show me what you've got!"

Burst: 8000
Bright Star: 8000

"Hope you don't mind, but I'm taking the first move this time! I summon a monster in defense mode and set one card face-down. Your move!", Burst said.

"In that case, I summon Dark Blade! I attack your defense mode monster!" With one slice Dark Blade destroyed Burst's monster! "That's all for me."

"Just what I was hoping for! Now I'll use White Stone of Ancients effect! Since he was in the graveyard and your turn ended, I can special summon a 'Blue Eyes' monster from my deck! Now I play Dragon Shrine to send a normal dragon-type monster from my deck to the graveyard! And since the dragon was normal, I can send another dragon to the graveyard! Now I play Dragon Shrine and banish the two dragons in my graveyard and the Blue Eyes White Dragon on my field to fusion summon Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Attack Dark Blade! Neo Neutron Blast! And that's not all! Since he's the only monster I can control, I can send one 'Blue Eyes' fusion monster to the graveyard so he can attack again!" Bright Star shielded himself from the two enormous blasts sent flying his way!

Burst: 8000
Bright Star: 800

"That ends my turn. Your move."

"Time to show you my dragon! I play Double Summon to bring out tow dark monsters! Now I play Fusion Sage to add Polymerization from my deck to my hand! Now my deck is shuffled, but it's worth the price! I play polymerization to fuse my two monsters and fusion summon Starve Venom Fusion Dragon! Now I'll use his effect! I can make him gain attack points equal to one special summoned monster you control until the end of this turn! I choose Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! This brings his attack to 7300! Attack with Venom Blast!" Starve Venom roared as he charged and unleashed a blast of purple mist that destroyed Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! "I end my turn."

Burst: 5200
Bright Star: 800

"My move! I play the spell card Harmony Absolute! I send a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand to the graveyard to summon Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon! Attack Starve Venom Dragon! Absolute Neutron Blast!"

Burst: 5200, win
Bright Star: lose

"Even if I did use Starve Venom's effect to copy your dragon's abilities, I don't think it would've helped much any way! Not to mention that you almost pulled off a one-turn-kill earlier!"

"Thanks Star!", Burst said with a grin. "Now the only left to face is Bolt Dash."

"I'm ready! Let's duel!", Bolt Dash boasted.

Burst: 8000
Bolt Dash: 8000

"I'm up first! I summon Speedroid Tri-Eye Dice! And since he's a wind monster, I get to special summon Speedroid Taketomborg! Now I tune Tri-Eye Dice with Taketomborg to synchro summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Now I'll put an equip spell on him. That's all for my turn. Your move!"

"I draw! I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster in my hand to draw two new cards! Then I'll play the Dragon Shrine I just drew to send a normal dragon to the graveyard! And since the dragon was normal, I get to send another dragon to the graveyard! Now I discard a card to activate the Melody of Awakening Dragon! This lets me add two dragons with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense from my deck to my hand! Then I'll reveal the Blue Eyes White Dragon I added to my hand to special summon the Blue Eyes Alternative that I also added! Next I play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive the Blue Eyes White Dragon in my graveyard! Alternative destroys your Clear Wing while Blue Eyes attacks you directly! White Lightning!"

Burst: 8000
Bolt Dash: 4500

"Since it was the end of your turn, my equip spell's effect activates! I special summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon from my graveyard in defense mode! He'll only be able to block one of your attacks, but that should keep me in the duel a little bit longer!"

"True. Unless I bring out my ace right away! I draw! I play Cards of Consonance to discard a dragon-type tuner with 1000 or less attack to draw two new cards! Perfect! I activate the spell card Harmony Absolute to summon Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon! Since he's on the field, he gains 300 attack for each monster in my graveyard! Also he inflicts piercing damage when he destroys a defense mode monster! And best of all, he's immune to card effects!"

"That means even if I did use Clear Wing's effect it would have no effect! No wonder he's got absolute in his name!"

"Blue Eyes Absolute! Take down Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack him directly! White Lightning!"

Burst: 8000, win
Bolt Dash: lose

"That was epic!", Bolt nearly screamed. "It's pretty easy to see why you've won such big tournaments!"

"Thanks.! But it takes more than just strong monsters and good strategies. You also need good friends to stand by your side when things seem hopeless. That's the real reason I've won. And I'd say you three have pretty good friends in Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.", Burst said as he motioned to the three girls who Moon had finished dueling. "I know you three will be great duelists! Best of luck to you!"

"And I know you'll carve out your own legends.", Blue Eyes said to their dragons. "And with friends like the duelists you've bonded with, you're already legends in my book! See ya back in the monster world!" And with that Blue Eyes and the other dragons returned to the monster world. Burst had gone to see how Moon was doing.

"You're awfully nice for someone with such a scary name!", Applebloom said.

"Not to mention you're an awesome duelist!", Scootaloo added.

"Hope to see you again Moon!", Sweetie Belle said as she waved goodbye.

"Thank you. And I hope to see you again too!", Moon said with a smile.

"You're certainly a big hit with kids.", Burst joked.

"Well it's easier for them to approach you when there aren't any myths that say you eat them if they misbehave. So where to next?"

"We can always see what Inferno is up to. And I'm pretty sure Rarity is dying to make you an outfit and she's having him model some of her male garments."

"I guess that settles it! Let's go!" So the two left to see what their friends were doing. Unbeknownst to them, Burst was being watched.

"So that's the source of the huge dragon power.", Starlight said with a wicked smile. "Soon it will be mine when I make his Blue Eyes a malefic!"

Duel 3: Reacton Shots

Shadow Thunder had just enrolled in CHS and was listening to Ace as he told him about the adventures he and his friends had. "From the sound of things your friends are pretty strong duelists. Especially Burst Stream if he won Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. I guess we're meeting them and your girlfriend today?"

"Uh-huh! I think they'll get to like you pretty quickly. And I think I see most of them now!", Ace said as he went towards his friends with Shadow Thunder close behind. "Hey everyone! There's someone I want you all to meet."

"Who's that Ace?", Sunset asked.

"Meet my lost brother. Shadow Thunder!" At hearing this, everyone's jaws dropped and Rarity nearly fainted. Pinkie took a picture and put "hashtag reaction shot" on the picture. Inferno was the first one to find his voice.

"Ace. HOW MANY FORGOTTEN SIBLINGS DO YOU HAVE?"

"Just me.", Shadow answered. "So these are the friends you were telling me about?"

"Yup. There's Sunset, Golden Rise, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, my girlfriend Sonata, Applejack, Twilight, Inferno, and last but not least Burst Stream and one of his girlfriends Moon."

"Wait. ONE of his girlfriends?"

"Yeah. Burst is also dating Principle Celestia."

"He's won Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and he's also got two crazy hot girlfriends? That's it. Burst, you are officially the coolest guy I know."

"Thanks!", Burst said. "You've also got a strong bond with a dragon too. My bond's with Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"No way! Mine's with Number 46: Dragluon."

"As much as all of us would like to continue this conversation, we should probably head to class.", Rainbow Dash said. Everyone headed off to their classes. While Shadow was heading for his first class, he spotted Starlight in the hallway and decided to talk to her.

"Hey Starlight!"

"Oh! I didn't expect to see you here Shadow."

"It's my first day here. How about you?"

"Same! Want to help me find my way to my first class?"

"Sure!" Shadow escorted Starlight to her class, and prepared to ask her a burning question in his mind. "Hey Starlight?"

"Hm?"

"Are you...free this week? I've got nothing planned the next couple of days, so do you wanna go out?" Starlight gave him a kind smile.

"I'd love to. Wednesday after school. It's a date."

"YES! Thank you! I won't forget!", Shadow nearly shouted as he went off to his class with the biggest smile possible. Starlight smiled too. Both for having a date, and the fact that there were about seven powerful dragons bonded with duelists at this school.

"Soon they shall be mine just as you are. Your friend Timaeus is close Critias and Hermos. And soon he shall join you as my slave. Like all of the legendary dragons I've captured!", Starlight said with an evil smile as the legendary dragons in her deck howled in pain and sorrow from the malefic corruption that had enslaved them!

Meanwhile in Celestia's office...

Celestia was going about her business until Saffira and Felgrand suddenly materialized. "Saffira? Felgrand? What's wrong?"

"We can hear them. The cry of enslaved dragons.", Saffira said.

"A powerful dark magic is responsible for this. And it seems to be seeking out legendary dragons in specific. It is corrupting them! Making them little more than mindless puppets! We hear their sorrow. We sense their pain.", Felgrand added.

"I'd better alert Sunset and the others. We may be facing another threat.", Celestia said.

Duel 4: Starlight Strikes

Ace was sitting in class trying to focus on the teacher's lesson when there was a glow from his deck. As he inspected to see which card was causing the glow, Timaeus materialized! "Timaeus?! What's with you?"

"I can sense them! They're close! Critias! Hermos! Where are you two?", Timaeus asked frantically. Ace was about to tell Timaeus to calm down when he noticed storm clouds gathering outside.

'That doesn't look good! And why do I hear dragons crying out?', Ace thought to himself. Soon the whole school had gathered at the gates because a lone figure had come in just as the storm started. The figure was female and wearing a black and white mask that covered her whole face and was wearing a black cloak.

"Where is the duelist who holds the Eye of Timaeus?!", the girl said. Ace stepped forward to confront her.

"I'm here. And I can also hear the cries of the dragons in your deck! Can't you see you're hurting them?! And why do you want Timaeus?"

"Simple. His power is greatest when he stands with Hermos and Critias. And I seek to control all the legendary dragons! Now duel!"

"Bring it!"

Ace: 8000
????: 8000

"I'll go first!", the girl said. "I play the field spell Malefic World! Instead of drawing a card, I can add three malefic monsters from my deck to my hand! You pick one and that monster is added to my hand and the rest are shuffled back into the deck."

"I choose the middle one.", Ace said.

"Very well then. Now I'll banish Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck to special summon Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Soon a Blue Eyes White Dragon descended, but its wings and part of its face were covered in evil-looking black armor.

"It...it hurts!", the dragon groaned.

"Are you really that heartless that you don't even notice how you're hurting these dragons? No card deserves to suffer! I draw! I set a card face-down and summon Gagaga Girl! Next I activate Magical Dimension and tribute Gagaga Girl to special summon Dark Magician Girl! And since I used Magical Dimension, I can target and destroy one monster you control! Now DMG! Attack her directly!"

"Useless overgrown lizard!", the girl fumed as Malefic Blue Eyes was destroyed and she took the full force of DMG's attack.

Ace: 8000
????: 6000

"I draw! I play the Melody of Awakening Dragon! By discarding a card I can add two dragon-type monsters 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense from my deck to my hand! Then I'll banish Cyber End Dragon from my extra deck to special summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon! Destroy Dark Magician Girl with Malefic Super Strident Blaze!"

"I don't think so! I activate my trap! Magic Cylinder! This stops your attack and inflicts your monster's attack points to you as damage!"

"Aaagghh!"

Ace: 8000
????: 2000

"How is this possible?! No one has been able to push me this far back before!"

"Because I take care of my cards! Which is more than I can say for you! I draw! Now to end this! I play the Eye of Timaeus! I fuse it with my Dark Magician Girl to fusion summon DMG-The Dragon Knight! Now I'll use her effect! I discard one card to destroy one face-up card on your field! And I choose your Malefic Cyber End Dragon!"

"NO!"

"Attack her directly! Dragon Knight Blaze!" DMG's dragon launched a gigantic fireball that collided with the mystery duelist's life points!

Ace: 8000, win
????: lose

Soon a blue and red flash went off in the mystery duelist's deck and two cards flew into Ace's hands! The girl seemed to have noticed.

"You haven't seen the last of me yet! I know there are other duelists who have dragon power here! I will find you, I will defeat you, and your power shall be mine!", she said as she teleported away! As soon as she left, Critias and Hermos materialized.

"Timaeus old friend! Thank you and your duelist partner for freeing us!", Hermos said.

"Gather your friends young duelist.", Critias said in a grave tone. "We have great information on this new threat. And feel you would be better prepared if we told you. Especially those that share a bond with legendary dragons." Ace nodded and gathered his friends as things calmed down. Meanwhile, the mystery duelist who had attacked was on the school roof recovering from her defeat. Starlight removed her mask and had an annoyed expression on her face.

"Impossible! Every legendary dragon user I've ever dueled has been defeated by my hands! No matter! I will crush them in due time!", she said as she changed into her street clothes and headed back to class. Meanwhile, Critias and Hermos were informing Ace and the others, but the only one absent was Shadow.

"The duelist who attacked your school today is named Starlight Glimmer. A while ago, she started capturing legendary dragons and has bent them to her will. Corrupting them with the malefic power. It twists and gnarls at the power of these once noble dragons, making them slaves to her will.", Critias said.

"You must all be on-guard. Especially you Burst.", Hermos said.

"Why me? Just what makes me such a prime target?"

"Your Blue Eyes has fully realized his potential and is strong enough to not only resist, but completely ignore the malefic power. This makes you both a threat and a prime target due to the immense dragon power you have at your disposal. If Starlight should defeat you, or should she be able to steal your power, she would become unstoppable! We can describe her appearance outside of the disguise you saw her in. Be wary of a girl with light purple skin and purple hair with a light blue streak in it.", Critias said. "We would offer to join the ranks of your decks, but Starlight has drained most of our energy. We are of little use at the moment."

"We understand.", Sunset said. "Don't worry! We'll put a stop to her no matter what!" With that, they all headed back inside CHS to try and move on with their day. Shadow on the other hand had run into Starlight and had noticed the scowl on her face.

"Hey Starlight. You okay? You look like you're having a pretty bad day."

"Oh. I guess you could say I'm just....having a rough first day. That's all. But I guess seeing you makes it a bit more bearable.", Starlight said with a small smile.

Duel 6: The Malefic's Worst Nightmare

The next school day had passed so fast people barely noticed. Moon was heading home when she was stopped by Applebloom.

" Miss Moon, wait up!"

"Hi Applebloom. Is there something you want to ask me?"

"Me an' my friends wanted to duel you. You don't have ta if yer too busy.", Applebloom said while giving Moon a big puppy dog eyes face. Contrary to the Nightmare Night myths in Equestria, Nightmare Moon actually had quite the soft spot for children.

"Sure! I've got nothing planned!", Moon said with a smile.

"Cool! I'll tell 'em you said yes!" And with that Applebloom went off to tell the others that Moon wanted to duel too. Soon the six of them met up at the duel park.

"So you think Moon's going to show up?", Bright Star asked. "I wonder what type of deck she has."

"Well most of her monsters seem to be dark attribute.", Sweetie Bell said. "And most of her cards are based on the night."

"I'm excited to see her monster partner!", Shining Spoon said.

"Monster partner?", Applebloom asked.

"He means the card she shares a bond with. All of the greatest duelists in history have a signature monster partner!", Bolt Dash said. "Yugi has the Dark Magician, Kaiba has Blue Eyes, and Joey has Red Eyes. Kind of like Burst has Blue Eyes as his partner!"

"Oh! Kinda like Rainbow Dash has Rainbow Dragon for her partner and you three have Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starve Venom!", Scootaloo said.

"And soon their dragons will be mine!", Starlight said as she appeared from a malefic portal wearing her disguise. Using the malefic powers at her disposal, she imprisoned Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell in a cage made of energy.

"What do you want ugly?!", Bolt demanded. "Let our friends go!"

"How sweet. And how very foolish. Listen kid. If the three of you just hand over your dragons, I'll let them go. Or we could do things the hard way and I duel each of you for your dragons. Either way, I'll let them go as soon as I get what I want."

"There's no way we're handing over our dragons without a fight!", Bright said.

"The hard way it is then.", Starlight said with an evil smile.

"You won't lay a finger on them!", a new voice said. Starlight turned to face where the voice was coming from, and saw Moon with her duel disk activated. "Going after these kids was a bad move."

"Who are you?!"

"Your worst nightmare! If you're going to duel anyone, duel me!"

"Fine then! All you are is a minor setback. Soon I'll have what I came for!"

Moon: 8000
Starlight: 8000

"I'll take the first move!", Starlight said. "I play the field spell Malefic World! Next I banish Red Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to special summon Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon! I end my turn."

"I draw! I set a card face-down and summon Star Mage in attack mode! I end my turn.", Moon said.

"Hmph. Not much of a strategy player are you? Your mage is a sitting duck! Attack Malefic Red Eyes!"

"Just what I was hoping for! I activate the trap Lunar Gravity! If my opponent's monster attacks I can send it back to their hand! Too bad I can only use this card once. Now it's my turn! I draw! Perfect! I equip Star Mage with Lunar Staff! This boosts his attack by 400 points since he's a dark attribute monster! Attack her directly with Star Blast!"

Moon: 8000
Starlight: 6100

"You won't be so lucky this turn! I play the Melody of Awakening Dragon to add two dragon type monsters with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less attack from my deck to my hand! Now I summon Malefic Parallel Gear and activate its effect! When I use it as synchro material, the other material is a malefic monster in my hand! Now I synchro summon Malefic Paradox Dragon! Destroy her mage! Malefic Stream!" Paradox Dragon let out a horrifying roar as it let loose its attack!

"Aaagghhh!", Moon screamed as the blast hit wiped out her Star Mage!

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Moon: 5500
Starlight: 6100

"I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"My turn. I activate my trap card! Malefic Claw Stream! Since I control a malefic monster, I can destroy one monster my opponent controls! And that leaves you wide open! Attack Paradox!"

"Nngghh!"

"I end my turn. One more attack and you're history!"

Moon: 1500
Starlight: 6100

'Not good! Even if I summon a monster in defense mode, she'll just destroy it! I have Nyx in my hand, but I can't power her up enough to take down Malefic Paradox Dragon!', Moon thought to herself. Soon a rainbow colored flash went off in her deck. 'Huh? What is this? Is this the elements giving me their power? Only one way to find out!' "My move! I draw! Yes! I play the spell card Harmony's Light! I send Night Queen Nyx from my hand to the graveyard to summon Nyx the Night Guardian from my deck! Now I activate her effect! She gains 500 attack for each light or dark monster in my graveyard! I can also banish all spells and traps from the field until the end my turn!" As she said this, Moon had ponied up and sprouted large black wings and her eyes became cat-like.

"No! Paradox can only stay on the field if there's a field spell!", Starlight said as Paradox Dragon vanished from the field along with the Malefic World!

"Nyx! Attack her directly with Lunar Saber Slash!"

"Time to put this villain to bed!", Nyx said as she slashed at Starlight directly!

"Agh!"

"That's it for my turn."

Moon: 1500
Starlight: 2100

"Well now that your turn's over, my Malefic World comes back! Now I banish Rainbow Dragon from my deck to special summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon in defense mode! You may destroy him, but at least my life points are safe!"

"I don't think so! I activate another one of Nyx's effects! If all their monsters are in defense mode, I can attack them directly!"

"NO!"

"Lights out! End this Nyx!"

"Night Impact!", Nyx cried out as she fired a blast of pure night directly at Starlight!

Moon: 1500, win
Starlight: lose

"You win this round. But all the legendary dragons will be mine! And then all duelists will be at my mercy!", Starlight yelled as she vanished through a portal and the cage containing Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo vanished with her. Moon took a moment to enjoy her victory, but was in shock at her appearance. She thought the kids would be scared of her, but in actuality their response was entirely different.

"That was so cool!", Bolt and Scootaloo cheered as they went up to hug her.

"And your hair looks awesome! My sister would freak if she saw this!", Sweetie Bell said as she admired Moon.

"You're..not scared of me?"

"Why we would we be scared? You saved us!", Applebloom said as she hugged Moon tightly. Seeing them happy lifted Moon's spirit as they gave her a group hug.

"Thanks all of you. But you should probably head home now. Wouldn't want your families to worry now would we?", Moon said with a small smile.

"Bye Moon!", they all said as they headed for home. Moon decided to test her wings out and flew back to Burst's house. When she landed at the front door and rang, Burst couldn't believe the sight in front of him!

"You sure got a make-over.", Burst said with a small smile. Moon giggled at this and pulled him close with her wings.

"Well now you don't have to worry about me hogging the covers.", she replied with a smile of her own as she powered-down. "But there's something you should now. I had a run-in with that duelist who attacked the school a few days back."

"Starlight Glimmer.", Burst said flatly. "Some legendary dragons Ace rescued from her told us about her. So what was she doing targeting you?"

"It wasn't me she was after. Do you remember those kids from the duel park last weekend? She was after the ones you dueled and their dragons! She trapped their friends and held them hostage for their dragons. I beat her, but I've got the feeling we haven't seen the last of her."

"Ace found out her name from the legendary dragons he rescued from when he beat her. Her name is Starlight Glimmer and she's been hunting legendary dragons. But if she's willing to go this far, we've got to put a stop to her! I guess I was hoping too much that Shadow could make her see another way.", Burst said with a sigh. Moon pulled him close and embraced him with her wings.

"This is probably what Celestia and I love most about you. You're willing to give people a chance to start again. Maybe Starlight will change.", Moon said with a smile.

"Thanks Moon. I just hope she realizes it before its too late for her."

Duel 7: Starlight's Decision

'I can't believe what I did yesterday! What possessed me to go after those kids' dragons? They weren't legendary so they weren't targets. So why did I do it?', Starlight thought to herself. 'I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore. Whatever reason I had I can't remember. Maybe I should talk to Shadow. Being around him makes me feel better. Like I don't have to keep on the path I'm on.' Ace had noticed Starlight and had just gotten news from Burst about her latest attack. But he also knew how Shadow felt about her and decided that maybe he could talk things out and see if he could avoid conflict. And he brought Shadow with him in-case Starlight needed any extra convincing.

"Hey Starlight.", Ace said. Starlight nearly jumped when she heard him!

"Ace! Don't scare me like that. Is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Starlight. I know you're the duelist who attacked the school just a few days ago. Critias and Hermos told me when I released them from your control. But I'm not going to duel you. Not yet at least."

"Then why are you telling me this?!"

"Because I know how much Shadow means to you. But if you don't believe me, you can hear from him.", Ace said as Shadow stepped out from his hiding place.

"Starlight, I fell for you when I first saw you. When you're around me you always seem to be happy. But I want you to know that even after Ace told me about what you did, I don't hate you. I love you and I just want you to be happy. But are you going to throw that away just for power? Starlight, please. I don't want to lose you!" Starlight burst into tears at hearing this!

"I want to stop hunting the legendary dragons! I saw how terrified those kids were when I tried to take their dragons! And now that I think about it, I don't even know why I started hunting the dragons in the first place! What am I supposed to choose when my head can't decide?!"

"Think with your heart Starlight. What is it telling you to do?", Ace asked.

"It...it's telling me to make the choice that makes me happy. And when I think of what makes me happy, that's Shadow."

"Starlight...", Shadow said as she began to walk towards him. But as she got close, something was wrong with her deck as it started to glow.

"I can't let you do that Starlight.", a voice said as light shot from Malefic Paradox and Malefic Truth Dragon! Soon, figure materialized and grabbed Starlight!

"What the? Let me go!", Starlight protested.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You're the key for me claiming dominion over the legendary dragons! Who else would put that thought in your head of hunting them down?"

"You're why she was hunting the dragons?!", Ace shouted.

"Indeed I am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Paradox Truth. I'd love to reveal my reasoning for going after the dragons, but I think I'll just take this girl and be on way!"

"Let Starlight go!", Shadow cried as he charged at Paradox! But he was too late as Paradox vanished through a portal. "We have to get her back Ace! We can't let that creep get away with this!"

"We will Shadow! But first, I need to call in some back-up.", Ace said as he dialed a number on his phone. "Burst. Get everyone."

Duel 8: Paradox's Plan

"So Starlight never intended to hunt the dragons?", Sunset asked.

"Yeah. There was someone who was using her to do their dirty work!", Shadow growled.

"He called himself Paradox Truth.", Ace said.

"PARADOX?!", Blue Eyes and Red Eyes nearly shouted as they materialized.

"I'm guessing you guys have a history with him?", Burst asked.

"So what's the story with Paradox?", Inferno asked.

"All those who are of the legendary dragon clans are familiar with him. My family and Red Eyes' know full well of him.", Blue Eyes said. "It all started long ago. A human sorcerer had found his way into our world, and using his magic he created two powerful dragons. Using his dragons, he protected villages but he charged great sums of tribute as payment. In time he and his dragons had caught the attention of the legendary dragons and they wished to meet with him. When the day came for them to meet, he arrogantly demanded that his dragons be made legendary dragons and that he be titled the master of all legendary dragons. But the legendary dragons sensed the evil within him and denied him his demands. In his rage, he foolishly attacked the legendary dragons! Fortunately, he was defeated and banished to another dimension. But before he vanished, he swore vengeance. He swore that if he could not stand beside the legendary dragons then he would enslave them and make them bow down to him. And that he would steal their power and make it his so he could dominate the entire monster world."

"And now he's back and it looks like he wants to make good on his promise. Starlight was just a pawn for him to move.", Red Eyes said with a scowl. "The creep's actually gotten worse with time!"

"Then let's all gang up on the guy and duel him!", Rainbow said.

"I'm with Rainbow Dash on this one.", Rarity said. "This Paradox is the worst kind of brute possible! Not to mention making a lady doing all the hard work for him!"

"You're not leaving us outta the action this time!", Applejack said. "We're goin' in with you guys like it or not!"

"Can't let you boys have all the fun now can we?", Moon said.

"Alright then. All of you can come with us, but only duelists partnered with legendary dragons can destroy Paradox. Meaning that Inferno, Ace, Golden, Celestia, Rainbow, Shadow, Burst or me can beat him for good. But that doesn't mean he won't have forces waiting for us, so it's a good thing you're coming with. You take care of any of his lackeys, we take down the boss.", Inferno said.

"Time to show Paradox what real dragons can do!", Golden boasted.

"Let's not get too overconfident.", Celestia warned. "We don't know what kinds of nasty surprises he has waiting for us."

Meanwhile with Paradox....

"You played your part well Starlight. But I don't need you to hunt for the dragons anymore. Soon they will come to me, and one by one they will fall at my hands and their power shall become mine."

"What makes you think you stand a chance?", Starlight said with a smirk. "You've no idea how powerful the enemies you've just made really are."

"Foolish girl! I control legendary dragon power as well!", Paradox said with a savage grin as he used the corrupted dragon power from the malefic cards. But instead of a normal transformation like with Burst, Ace, or Inferno, his new form looked like a horrid combination of all the dragons he had corrupted! "This from might not be appealing, but its power in undeniable! And soon your friends will fear it as I steal their dragon power as well!"

Duel 9: Gateway to Paradox Part 1

"So we know our plan. But how are we supposed to find Paradox?", Twilight asked. "It's not like he's just going to open a portal to let us into his lair."

"No...I'd say he'd bring his lair to us!", Steele said as a gigantic castle patterned after the malefic armor worn by the corrupted dragons materialized almost out of thin air! "Looks like he's been expecting us."

"Then let's not keep him waiting.", Burst said with determination. "Let's get Starlight back!" And the group entered the castle where they would face the duel of their lives. But as they entered the main floor, a seal with the malefic pattern appeared on the floor and seemed to separate them!

"So good of you all to come!", Paradox's voice said in a mocking tone. "But all of you against little old me hardly seems fair. So I decided to split you up! Have fun trying to get to me now! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Most of them were split into groups of two: Celestia with Moon, Golden Rise with Sunset, Ace with Shadow, Steele with Rainbow Dash, Burst with Inferno, AJ with Rarity, and Pinkie with Fluttershy and Twilight. Each team was transported to a different part of the castle.

"I guess we should have seen this coming.", Sunset said. "There's no way he'd stand a chance if all of us dueled against him. Golden put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. At least we get to spend more time together!", Golden said with a smile. Sunset couldn't help but chuckle at hearing this.

"I guess this counts as our first date.", Sunset said with a small smile. "Now to see if we can find a way to Paradox." The two of them explored the area they had been sent to and came upon an arena-like area. "I guess Paradox likes to entertain a lot."

"Yeah. And I think we're the next act!", Gold said as he noticed the doors had locked behind them! Soon a swirl of shadow appeared and a figure materialized from it. It was Sunset's past self.

"Great. What sort of illusion are you this time?", Sunset asked annoyed.

"Oh I'm very real sunny! I'm the part of you that hungered for power and the part that once ruled Canterlot High! But you cast me out and now I have my chance at revenge! Just you and me!"

"Actually it's going to be Sunset AND me against you.", Gold said as he activated his duel disk. "I'm not letting her face you alone!"

"How sweet.", Sunset's dark half said with an evil smile. "Your boyfriend can keep you company in the shadows!"

Gold and Sunset: 16000
Dark Shimmer: 16000

"I'll go first!", Dark Shimmer said. "I summon Dark Dawn Knight in attack mode and set a card face-down! I end my turn."

"I'm up then!", Sunset said. "I set a card face-down and summon Blue Flame Swordsman! Then I'll equip him with Lightning Blade to boost him by 800 points! Destroy her knight! Blue Flame Slash!"

Dark Shimmer sneered as her monster was destroyed. "Perfect! Now I can activate my trap! Eclipse Summon! When a dark monster I control is destroyed, I can special summon a level seven or higher dark monster from my hand or deck! Now I can bring out my most fearsome beast! Rise Fallen Light Dragon!" Soon a large dark-red dragon with with demonic wings and a fiery mane descended. "Do you like it? It was made to resemble the demon form you took when you tried to use Princess Twilight's element! Now its effect activates! I can destroy all monsters on your field and inflict their attack points as damage to you during my turn!" Sunset and Gold braced themselves as the flames crashed against their life points!

Gold and Sunset: 13400
Dark Shimmer: 15200

"My turn!", Gold said as he drew a card. "Perfect! I play the spell card Light Sanctuary! This lets me special summon two spirit tokens in attack mode with zero attack and defense. That's all for my turn."

"No sense wasting Fallen's effect, so I'll just destroy one of your tokens by battle! WHAT?!", Dark Shimmer said as she saw that both tokens were still standing! "How are your tokens still there?!"

Gold smirked. "I may have taken a serious hit, but my tokens can't be destroyed by battle!"

"Turn over.", Dark Shimmer growled.

Gold and Sunset: 10400
Dark Shimmer: 15200

"I don't know how much more we can take! Huh?", Sunset noticed a rainbow colored glow coming from the top of her deck. "What is this?" As she drew the card, Sunset ponied-up! "Just what we need to turn the tide! I play the spell card Harmonic Fusion! By sending fusion materials from my hand, deck, or extra deck or banishing them from my graveyard, I can fusion summon a monster that lists those monsters as fusion materials! I fuse Guardian Eatos, BLS, and Stardust Dragon to bring out my true ace card! Come on out! Stardust Luster Guardian Eatos!" As Sunset called her name, a majestic monster descended from the heavens. She had the body of Guardian Eatos, the wings of Stardust Dragon, and armor like BLS but in Sunset's colors. "Now I get to activate her effect! I can banish a monster my opponent control until the end phase! Or I can negate any card effect that destroys a card or cards and destroy that card! And if I destroy a monster by battle I can make a second attack! And I think I'll go with the first effect! Celestial Banishing!" Soon Fallen Light Dragon vanished in a flash of light! "Now Eatos! Attack her directly! Cosmic Flame Slash!"

"Prepare to meet the light!", Eatos cried as she charged forth and slashed at Dark Shimmer directly!

"Aaagghhh!", Dark Shimmer screamed as she took the full force of the attack!

Gold and Sunset: 10400
Dark Shimmer: 11700

"This isn't over!", Dark Shimmer snarled. "I play Eclipse Rebirth! This revives Fallen Light Dragon! But I'll put him in defense mode because of those effects of yours and end my turn."

"My time to shine then!", Gold said. To Sunset's surprise, Gold ponied-up too! But instead of normal pegasus wings, he had flaming phoenix wings! "Nice! I tribute my tokens to summon my ace card! Join the party Crimson Dragon!" A dragon that looked almost exactly like Blue Eyes descended. But instead of white scales it had bright red scales and a dark red underbelly and its eyes were yellow and it had crystal wings!

"Time to light up this duel!", Crimson shouted as he landed!

"Good to have you on the field Crimson! Now for your effect!"

"Right!", Crimson said as he fired a bolt of red energy that destroyed Fallen Light Dragon!

"Now that your dragon has been destroyed, Crimson gains attack equal to the destroyed monster's attack! And now you're wide open!"

"Impossible!", Dark Shimmer howled.

"Attack her directly Crimson!", Gold cried out as Crimson gathered up a huge amount of energy and his wings began to glow! And once the energy was at its peak, Crimson let loose an enormous beam of red energy that his Dark Shimmer dead-on! "That's it for my turn."

Gold and Sunset: 10400
Dark Shimmer: 5700

"That's it! Now I'm not going to hold anything back!", Dark Shimmer roared. "I play the spell card Red Giant! This revives Fallen Light Dragon and doubles his attack points! Destroy Crimson Dragon!"

"I don't think so!", Sunset said. "I activate my trap! Negate Attack! This stops you monster from attacking and ends the battle phase!"

"Curse you! I end my turn!", Dark Shimmer fumed.

"Now it's my turn! I activate Eatos's effect! I banish your monster until the end phase! What do you say we end this together Gold?"

"Sounds good to me!", Gold said with a smile.

"This can't be!", Dark Shimmer howled as Sunset and Gold's monsters charged up their attacks!

"Celestial Flare Blast!", Sunset and Gold said together as Stardust Luster Guardian Eatos and Crimson Dragon fired a beam of crimson energy that destroyed Dark Shimmer! When the dust cleared, all that was left was a malefic parallel gear that crumbled into dust.

"Gold that was amazing!", Sunset said as she hugged him tightly. "But how did you pony-up?"

"You know how I said Pegasus adopted me? Well he adopted me after I came from Equestria to this world. He loved me like his own son and taught me to love my cards.", Gold said with a fond smile. "And there's something I wanted to tell you Sunset. I loved you from when I first saw you. I know you got out of a relationship a while back, but I'm here if you'll have me."

Sunset smiled and kissed him on the lips. "There's no guy I'd rather have Gold. Because you always rise to the occassion."

"You do know how corny that line was right?", Gold said with a joking smile.

"Like you weren't going to say 'my shimmering sunet'.", Sunset said with a giggle. Soon a warp appeared that led back to the main entrance. "Looks like our date is going to have to wait." The two of them headed through the warp and back to the main entrance. When they looked around, they noticed a large door that seemed to be the way to Paradox. There were several chains that bound it shut, but one of the chains seemed to vanish. "Looks like we need to beat Paradox's minions before we can face him ourselves. I hope the others are doing as well as we did."

Meanwhile Celestia and Moon were trying to find their way through the area of the castle they were sent to and found themselves in what looked like a throne room. "It looks like we won't be leaving quite yet.", Celestia said as she saw a barrier surrounded the whole room.

"I've got a bad feeling about this.", Moon said as she saw a swirl of shadow form and a figure materialized. When the figure fully formed, Nightmare Moon was shocked to see herself!

"So this is how weak I've become? I'll take joy in crushing you!", Nightmare Shadow said. "Good luck trying to beat me! I'm the best and most powerful part of you!"

"No you're not! You're the worst of me! ", Moon said in defiance! "And I'll prove it by beating you!"

"We'll prove it Nightmare.", Celestia said to her. "This is something you shouldn't have to face on your own."

"C-Celestia..."

"Let's take her down!", Celestia said with a confident smile!

"Right!"

Celestia and Moon: 16000
Nightmare Shadow: 16000

"I'm up first!", Celestia said. "I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode! Then I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn.", Nightmare Shadow said with a dark smile. "I discard to summon Fear Knight! And now I'll activate his effect! Once per turn, I can make the attack of one of my opponent's monsters zero! I choose Alexandrite Dragon! Now destroy her dragon! Darkness Slash!"

"Ngh!", Celestia winced as she took damage!

Celestia and Moon: 13500
Nightmare Shadow: 16000

"You may have gotten one hit in, but too bad for you that you can only activate his effect during your turn!", Moon said. "Now it's my turn! I draw! Nice! I summon Night Maiden! and when she's on the field her effect activates! I can tribute her to special summon Night Queen Nyx from my hand or deck! And now that Nyx is on the field, she gains 300 attack for each dark monster in my graveyard! Destroy Fear Knight! Moon Crescent Slash!" Nyx executed a strike so swift only a silver streak was seen as Fear Knight was destroyed!

Celestia and Moon: 13500
Nightmare Shadow: 15200

"Time to pull out my trump card. I play the spell card Supreme Nightmare! By discarding all dark monsters in my hand I can special summon my ultimate beast! Rise Nightmare Dragon!", A pitch-black dragon soon materialized from the shadows. It had sinister azure eyes and wings made of dark mist. "Now for his effect! I can discard one card and make a direct attack! Nightmare Oblivion Breath!" Nightmare Dragon howled as it fired a stream of concentrated shadows that struck Moon directly! "With that, I'll end my turn."

Celestia and Moon: 9500
Nightmare Shadow: 15200

"We can't give up yet!", Celestia said. "As long as we can draw cards we're not finished!" Soon a rainbow colored flash went off on the top card of Celestia's deck. Once she picked up the card, Celestia ponied-up. "And I think this card is just what we need! Harmony's Light! I send Sun Princess Solaria from my deck to the graveyard to special summon Solaria the Day Paladin! Now that she's on the field her effect activates! Whenever she battles a dark monster her attack points double! Also she's unaffected by card effects and gains 300 attack for each light monster in my graveyard! Destroy Nightmare Dragon! Day Break Strike!"

"Time to send this bad dream to the graveyard!", Solaria said as she unleashed a blast of light from her sword that destroyed Nightmare Dragon!

"I end my turn."

Celestia and Moon: 9500
Nightmare Shadow: 12600

"A lucky shot! But it's too bad your monster can't do piercing damage! I summon a monster in defense mode and set two cards face-down! I end my turn."

"Those face-down cards won't protect you from me!", Moon said as she ponied-up and drew the card that was shining at the top of her deck! "I play the spell card Harmony's Light and send Night Queen Nyx from my field to the graveyard to summon Nyx the Night Guardian! Now I activate her effect! I can banish all of my opponent's spells and traps until the end of my turn! Also she gains 500 attack for each light and dark monster in my graveyard! And since you control a defense mode monster Nyx can attack you directly! Lunar Saber Slash!"

"Agh!", Nightmare Shadow screamed as she took the full force of Nyx's attack!

"I end my turn."

Celestia and Moon: 9500
Nightmare Shadow: 8600

"If I defend I get hit directly and if I attack I have to deal with a monster whose strength doubles! However there is one way out of this! I play Nightmare Cataclysm and pay half my life points to destroy all cards on the field! What?!", Nightmare Shadow was in shock when neither Solaria or Nyx had vanished from the field! "How is this possible?!"

"Neither Solaria or Nyx can be destroyed or targeted by card effects. The only way to defeat them is in battle! Let's end this Moon!", Celestia said.

"Right!"

"Impossible!"

"Eclipse Slash!", Celestia and Moon shouted together as Solaria and Nyx unleashed a tremendous blast of energy from their swords that wiped out the last of Nightmare Shadow's life points! After she faded away, a malefic parallel gear crubmled away.

"Well this is new.", Celestia said as she noticed her new wings and tail. "But not unwelcome."

"Well now you literally have the body of a goddess.", Moon said with a joking smile. "Poor Burst might get a nosebleed from looking at us!" Soon a warp back to the main entrance appeared and the two of them went through it to find Sunset and Gold there. Another one of the chains that had the door to Paradox was broken. "Sunset, how many were left when you got here?"

"After Gold and I won our duel, we saw that there were six left. And I'm guessing that since you and Celestia won yours, there's only five left. So it looks like we need to beat Paradox's minions in order to unlock the door. I just hope everyone else is doing well."

Duel 10: Gateway to Paradox Part 2

Burst and Inferno were wandering the halls of the region of the castle they were transported to when Blue Eyes and Red Eyes suddenly materialized. "Hey you two!", Burst greeted. "So what brings you guys here?"

"We have some items that should help you.", Blue Eyes said as he handed a pair of blasters and a double-edged sword that seemed to be modeled after him to Burst. Red Eyes handed Inferno a single blaster with two barrels and a single-edged sword to Inferno.

"What are these?", Inferno asked.

"Drago Arms.", Red Eyes said. "In their current states they're strong. But once you activate your dragon powers their strength increases and they can do more damage! And you'll be needing them pretty soon."

"Why?"

"Because of the horde of malefic drones heading towards us as we speak." Burst and Inferno turned their attention to what looked like a group of dragons that looked like they were made of the malefic armor the corrupted dragons wore.

"This party's gettin' crazy!", Burst said. "Let's rock!" Burst and Inferno charged forth and wiped out the force behind them a series of shots from their blasters and series of quick slashes from their swords. "Man. Paradox should invest in better minions."

"He did.", a humanoid figure said that seemed to be composed of the malefic armor. "I applaud you two for making it this far, but I cannot let you interfere with my master's plans. I, the Malefic Knight shall put an end to your quest! Draw you cards!"

"Alright then. Let's duel!"

Burst and Inferno: 16000
Malefic Knight: 16000

"I shall begin the duel.", Malefic Knight said. "I play the field spell Malevolence Castle. And its effect allows me to pay half my life points to summon a level five or higher warrior-type monster from my hand! I pay half my life points to summon Malevolence Dragon Slayer! Once per turn he can destroy one dragon-type monster my opponent controls! So the instant either of you summon a dragon, it will be sent to the graveyard immediately!"

"Yeah I don't think so.", Burst said with a calm smile. "I play the spell card Harmony Absolute to send Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the graveyard to summon Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon!"

"Your ace is about to meet his end! Dragon Destroyer Aura!", Malefic Knight cried out as Malevolence Dragon Slayer fired a bolt of energy that struck Blue Eyes! But as the dust cleared, Blue Eyes was still on the field! "Impossible!"

"Oh it's possible! One of Blue Eyes Absolute's effects is that he's immune to all card effects! Also, he gains 300 attack for each monster in my graveyard! Let's slay this dragon slayer! Absolute Neutron Blast!"

"Eat this you Buster Blader rip-off!", Blue Eyes cried as he fired his signature attack! Destroying Malevolence Dragon Slayer!

Burst and Inferno: 16000
Malefic Knight: 5200

"I'm not beaten yet! I summon Malevolence Defender in defense mode! Even if you destroy him, you won't be able to deal me any damage!"

"Suurree.", Inferno said. "Unless of course I do this. I summon Black Stone of Legend and now I'll tribute him to special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon! Now I activate my own Harmony Absolute to send the Red Eyes on my field to the grave so I can summon Red Eyes Absolute Dragon! Now I'll activate his effect! Once he's on the field, he gains 300 attack for each monster in my graveyard. And once per turn, I can inflict his attack points as damage!"

"No!"

"Burn baby burn!", Red Eyes said as he launched a wave of fire that collided with Malefic Knight directly!

Burst and Inferno: 16000
Malefic Knight: 600

"This can't be! I've not landed even a scratch on you two!"

"You could accept defeat with grace like a real knight.", Burst said.

"Never...never! I pay half my life points again to summon Malevolence King! Next I play the spell card Malevolence Boost! I pay half my life points to double Malevolence King's attack points! Destroy Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon!" As Malevolence King charged at Blue Eyes, his sword broke the instant it hit Blue Eyes' armor! "WHAT?!"

"There's a reason why he has absolute in his name. He can't be destroyed by battle and I take no damage from when he gets attacked!"

"No! I was supposed to win!"

"Let's end this Inferno!"

"You got it Burst!"

"Double Dragon Blast!", Burst and Inferno shouted as Blue Eyes and Red Eyes combined their attack and destroyed Malefic Knight!

"Looks like we can move on.", Burst said as he noticed the portal that led back to where the main entrance was. They saw Moon, Celestia, Sunset and Gold waiting for them. Another one of the chains on the door was broken. "Looks like we're close to the final boss."

"All these hallways look the same!", Rainbow Dash complained. "I've had it with this stupid castle! What's to stop me from summoning Rainbow Dragon and trashing the place?!"

"The fact we're still inside?", Steel said. "And I think it would be 20% less awesome if we were flat as pancakes."

Rainbow had a sheepish smile on her face. "Eh heh! Right. So where do we go? As far as I can tell, almost every hallway is an exact copy."

"Simple.", Steel said with a small smile on his face. "We break the mirror." He pointed to a large mirror that seemed to contain an image of the hallways Rainbow Dash had been trying to navigate.

"I can't believe I missed that! Welp. Time to trash this thing!", Rainbow said as she smashed the mirror with a kick and a shadow swirled out and took form.

"I am the Malefic Mage. You stand against my master.", Malefic Mage said. "I can't let you go any further."

"Bring it on!", Rainbow said as she activated her duel disk.

"Count me in on the action too.", Steel said as he activated his duel disk.

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 16000
Malefic Mage: 16000

"I've got the first move!", Rainbow said. "I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth and equip him with Crystal Release to boost him by 800 points! Then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

"I draw.", Malefic Mage said. "I play the field spell Dark Arts Academy. This allows me to pay life points to special summon a spellcaster monster from my hand or deck. But that won't be necessary since I summon Breaker the Dark Magical Warrior. When he's normal summoned, I can place two spell counters on him and he gains 400 attack for each one. But if I remove a counter, I can target and destroy one spell or trap card on the field! And I target Crystal Release! Destroy her Mammoth!" And with one swipe, Amber Mammoth was destroyed!

"Thanks! You actually helped me out! Now I can choose to put Amber Mammoth in my spell and trap card zone! And since Crystal Release was destroyed, I can put another crystal beast face-up in my spell and trap card zone!"

"Hmph. Turn end."

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 15700
Malefic Mage: 16000

"My turn.", Steel said as he drew a card. "I special summon Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight since you control more monsters than we do! Now I play the spell card Double Attack! By discarding a monster, I can target one monster whose level is less than the monster I sent to the graveyard and it can attack again! Spiral Spear Strike!"

"Ngh!", Mage winced as he took damage.

"I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 15700
Malefic Mage: 13400

"Good move. But it won't save you! I activate my field spell's effect! I pay 2000 life points to special summon Dark Magician from my deck! Now I'll tribute him to special summon Dark Eradicator Warlock! But I won't have him attack just yet. So I end my turn."

"My move then! Sweet! I summon Sapphire Pegasus and activate his effect! I send one crystal beast from my deck to my spell and trap card zone! Then I'll activate my trap! Crystal Raigeki! I send one crystal beast in my spell and trap card zone to the graveyard to target and destroy one monster my opponent controls! I choose your warlock, which leaves you wide open! Next I activate Crystal Beacon to special summon Topaz Tiger! Sick 'im guys!" Pegasus and Tiger rammed right into Malefic Mage! "That's all for me!"

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 15700
Malefic Mage: 8000

"No more fooling around. I play the ritual spell End of the World! By sending monsters from my hand whose levels equal his, I ritual summon Demise, King of Armageddon! Now I'll use his effect! By paying 2000 life points I can destroy all cards on the field except for Demise! Attack them directly!" Steel and Rainbow Dash braced themselves as Demise brought down his ax! "I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 13300
Malefic Mage: 6000

"Well if you're done holding back, so am I!", Steel said as a rainbow colored flash went off on the top of his deck and he was soon wearing armor like the Black Luster Soldier that seemed to only go over part of his street clothes. "I play the spell card Harmonic Ritual! By sending a monster listed as material or monsters whose levels equal the level of the monster I want to ritual summon! And to top it all off, I can ritual summon the monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard! I'll send BLS-Super Soldier from my deck to the graveyard to summon Black Luster Soldier-The Ultimate Soldier!" Soon BLS-Ultimate Soldier descended! As opposed to his other forms, BLS had gold armor, and instead of green skin his skin was the color of a normal human and his hair was flowing from under his helmet as opposed to being tied-up in his famous ponytail. "BLS now has access to the best abilities of his previous forms! He can banish a monster my opponent controls, if he destroys a monster by battle he gets to attack again, and if he destroys a monster he can inflict its' attack points as damage! But I'm feeling merciful unlike you. So I'll end my turn."

"Most unwise.", Malefic Mage sneered. "I activate Demise's effect again! Say goodbye to your soldier!"

"Actually, it's Demise who will meet his end! I left out one of BLS's other abilities! Ultimate Soldier Shield! If an effect targets BLS-Ultimate Soldier, or another card on my field, I can negate the activation and destroy it!"

"Time to meet your end Demise!", BLS said as his shield absorbed the wave of destruction and sent it right back at Demise!

"I end my turn.", Malefic Mage growled.

Rainbow Dash and Steel: 13300
Malefic Mage: 4000

"I think it's time to wrap-up this magic act! I play the spell card Painful Choice! I draw and reveal the top five cards of my deck and you get to pick which one I can add to my hand! The rest go to the graveyard!"

"Fine. I pick the Tortoise."

"Nice choice! Now I'll summon Emerald Tortoise! Next I'll play Crystal Beacon to special summon Cobalt Eagle from my deck! Now I activate my other face-down card! Rainbow Gravity! Since I have seven crystal beasts total on my field and graveyard I can special summon Rainbow Dragon from my deck! Huh?", Rainbow noticed a rainbow colored flash go off on in her hand. "Sweet! Now I got my own harmony card! I activate the spell card Harmonic Fusion! I can send fusion materials from my hand, deck, extra deck, or banish them from my graveyard that are listed as fusion materials on a fusion monster! Now I'll fuse Rainbow Dragon on my field with Rainbow Dark Dragon from my deck! I fusion summon Rainbow Ascension Dragon!" Soon Rainbow Ascension Dragon descended from the heavens! It was wearing cyan armor and a rainbow colored mane.

"Dash. Things just got 200% more awesome!", Rainbow Ascension Dragon said.

"Nice new duds! Hey Steel! How about we end this with style?"

"Is there any other way to end it?"

"Ultimate Spectral Surge!", the two of them cried as BLS and Rainbow fired a massive blast of energy that wiped out Malefic Mage! Soon Mage faded and a malefic parallel gear crumbled. A warp opened to take them to the main entrance where another chain had broken. But before they went through, Steel grabbed Rainbow's attention.

"Hey Dash!"

"Yeah? What is it St-", Rainbow barely had anytime before Steel stole a kiss from her!

"So how about we hit the duel park after this is all over? You can have your chance to return the favor.", Steel said with a wink. Rainbow just blushed as she followed him through the warp and back to the main entrance where everyone was waiting.

"Awesome! Just two more chains to break and then we kick Paradox's butt!"

"Paradox has poor decision in terms of design.", Ace said as he took note of the odd shape of the area he and Shadow were warped to. "But I think we're on the right track." Soon Timaeus, Critias and Hermos materialized. "What are you three doing here?"

"We've come to give you an item that should greatly assist you in the coming final showdown.", Timaeus said as he handed Ace a card. "When the time comes, you will know when to use it. But in the meantime, keep it in your deck should things escalate."

"Thanks Timaeus. I wonder if Hermos or Critias helped any of the others out."

"Actually, Hermos provided assistance to Blue Eyes and Red Eyes. He forged weapons for their duelist partners. I've never seen him put that much passion into any of his previous works.", Timaeus said with a smile. Shadow on the other hand wasn't having nearly as pleasant a conversation with Dragluon.

"Shadow you need to calm down! In your current state you wouldn't last one turn against Paradox!", Dragluon said with his voice full of worry. "I know how much Starlight means to you but you can't afford to be reckless!"

"I know! But what he did is unforgivable! Using her like a puppet to do his dirty work....every time I think about it, it makes my blood boil!"

"Shadow. We WILL get her back. And Paradox will be defeated. But if you let your anger cloud your judgement you might as well be dueling blind!"

Shadow let out a defeated sigh. "You're right. Sorry Dragluon. Now let's see if we can find the way out of here." Shadow and Ace had ventured into what looked like a ballroom. Soon the door behind them was sealed and a shadow took form. The figure that formed was female and looked like it was composed of the armor of the malefic monsters.

"Greetings. I am the Malefic Mistress. So gentlemen? Shall we dance?", she said as she activated her duel disk.

"Alright. Let's bust a move!", Ace said as he and Shadow activated their duel disks.

Ace and Shadow: 16000
Malefic Mistress: 16000

"Ladies first.", Malefic Mistress said. "I summon Allure Queen LV3 and set a card face-down. I end my turn."

"In that case, I summon Skilled Dark Magician! Attack Allure Queen!", Ace said.

"I don't think so! I activate Negate Attack! Now the battle phase has ended."

"End turn."

"Excellent. Now I'll be taking your monster through Allure Queen's effect! Now that it's my standby phase, I'll send Allure Queen with her equipped monster to special summon Allure Queen LV5 from my deck! Attack them directly! Allure Flame Burning!" Allure Queen fired a blast of flame that hit Ace and Shadow directly! "Next I summon Queen's Bodyguard in defense mode and equip them with Magnum Shield to boost their attack by their defense. I end my turn."

"Good thing Allure Queen can only equip one monster at a time.", Shadow said with relief. "Now to see if I can get past her bodyguards. This should do! I play the spell card Shield Crush to destroy your bodyguards! Now I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster to draw two new cards! Now I summon Decoy Dragon in attack mode and end my turn."

"What a wimpy little drake that thing is. No use in equipping him to my queen. I think I'll just put him out of his misery. Attack Decoy Dragon!"

"Just what I was hoping for! Since you choose to attack him, I can special summon a level seven or higher monster from my graveyard! And the damage calculation is done for that dragon instead! I summon Armed Protector Dragon in defense mode! And now you take damage according to their point difference of their attack and defense!"

"I end my turn.", Malefic Mistress said with an annoyed look on her face.

Ace and Shadow: 15000
Malefic Mistress: 14200

"Time to dethrone this queen! I play the spell card Cost-Down to lower the levels of all monsters in my hand by two! Now I summon Dark Magician Girl and equip her with Magic Formula! Then I'll play the spell card Dark Burning Attack! It destroys all monsters you control!"

"No!"

"DMG! Attack her directly! Apprentice Dark Magic Attack!"

"It's not as powerful as my master's, but it should be more than enough to put a dent in your life points!", DMG cried out as she fired her attack!

"Then I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."

Ace and Shadow: 15000
Malefic Mistress: 11500

"I draw. I play Ancient Rules to special summon Cosmo Queen from my hand! Now I'll destroy your Dark Magician Girl!"

"Not if my trap card has anything to say about it! Magic Cylinder! This negates your attack and inflicts your monster's attack points as damage!"

"Fine! I end my turn."

Ace and Shadow: 15000
Malefic Mistress: 8600

"My turn! I draw! Perfect! Since I control a level eight monster, I can special summon Parsec, the Interstellar Dragon! Now I overlay my two dragons to xyz summon Dragluon! Attack her directly! Dragon Star Flare!"

Ace and Shadow: 15000
Malefic Mistress: 5600

"I believe I've let you two have your fun for long enough! I play the field spell Queen's Court! With this card I can pay half my life points to special summon a copy of Dark Queen from my hand, deck or graveyard! And when she's on the field I can boost her attack points by the multiples of 1000 that I paid to summon her! I paid 4000 life points, so that brings her to 6500 attack points! I think I'll get rid of Dragluon first! Dark Majesty Blast!" With a blast of darkness from her scepter, Dark Queen annihilated Dragluon! "I end my turn."

Ace and Shadow: 11500
Malefic Mistress: 1600

"Too bad your monster isn't protected from effects! I play the Eye of Timaeus! I'll fuse it with my Dark Magician Girl to summon Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight! Next I activate her effect! I discard one card to destroy one face-up card you control! I choose your queen! End this DMG! Attack her directly!" With a blast of flame from Timaeus, Malefic Mistress was destroyed and the parallel gear that maintained her crumbled! The warp back to the entrance appeared and Ace and Shadow reunited with the others. Another chain that sealed the door was broken, and only two chains remained.

Rarity and AJ had stumbled upon an area that seemed to be like a courtyard. Soon the gates on either side closed and shadow formed and took shape. Like some of the other opponents the others had faced, this being was composed of malefic armor. "I can't allow you to go any further. This is where your journey ends!"

"We'll just see about that!", AJ said as she and Rarity activated their duel disks.

AJ and Rarity: 16000
Malefic Guard: 16000

"Ah got the first move!", AJ said. "Ah summon Junk Synchron! And since Ah control a junk monster, Ah can special summon Junk Servant! Now Ah'll tune Junk Synchron with Junk Servant to synchro summon Junk Archer! Then Ah'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"I play the field spell Guard Barracks. This allows me to pay half my life points to special summon a 'guard' monster from my hand or deck. I summon Elite Guard from my deck in defense mode! And the best part is his high defense points! Have fun trying to destroy him by battle."

AJ and Rarity: 16000
Malefic Guard: 8000

"I draw!", Rarity said as she started her turn. "I play Gem-Knight Fusion! I send Gem-Knight Emerald and Gem-Knight Tourmaline from my hand to fusion summon Gem-Knight Prismaura! Now I'll use his effect! By sending a Gem-Knight from my hand to the graveyard I can destroy one face-up card on the field! I choose your Elite Guard!"

"My perfect defense!" Guard panicked!

"Attack him directly Prismaura! Lightning Gem Flash!" Prismaura fired a bolt of lightning from his blade that struck Guard right in the chest! "I end my turn."

AJ and Rarity: 16000
Malefic Guard: 5500

"I draw! I pay half my life points again to special summon Final Guard from my deck in defense mode! He can't be destroyed by card effects! He is my perfect defense! And the wall that shall block your progress! And once per turn during my opponent's turn, I can double his defense! I end my turn. Breach my defenses! If you can!"

"I reckon Ah'm up then. Ah summon Gogogo Golem! And since Ah control a level 4 monster, Ah can special summon Kagetokage from my hand! Now Ah overlay my two monsters to xyz summon Gagaga Cowboy! Now Ah equip him with Magnum Shield! This boosts his attack by his defense! Now Ah'll use mah Archer's effect! Ah can target and banish one monster mah opponent controls! Too bad yer guard ain't safe from banishment!"

"My last line of defense! And I've already paid so many life points just to special summon monsters to my field!"

"And now yer payin' the price! Gagaga Cowboy, attack him directly!"

"Reach for the sky!", Cowboy said as he fired his twin blasters directly at Malefic Guard!

"But my defenses were supposed to be impenetrable!", Guard screamed as he faded away and a parallel gear broke! A warp showed up that led Rarity and AJ back to the main entrance. Once there, only one chain remained that sealed the door to the final showdown with Paradox.

"Let's hope Twilight and the others can pull through.", AJ said as she worried for her friends.

'I should've guessed that Pinkie would be the one out of all of us to have fun here.', Twilight thought to herself as she, Fluttershy and Pinkie tried to find a way out of the area of the castle they were warped to. After some looking around, they stumbled upon an unlocked door. When they opened it, inside was a library where a lone figure was waiting for them. It looked exactly the form Twilight had when the magic her device had absorbed took over her! Midnight seemed to notice the group after they entered.

"Hello again Twilight. Miss me?", Midnight said with a dark smile as she closed the book she was reading.

"Not a bit.", Twilight said with a hard glare. "I nearly destroyed the world when I became you!"

Midnight let out a sinister chuckle. "And did you forget how powerful you were? Don't you miss that strength? Let me back in Twilight. You can have that strength again. You know you're nothing without me."

"How dare you!" Twilight and Pinkie were shocked to hear Fluttershy shout for the first time since they knew her! "You think just because you have all that power you can call her a 'nothing'?! You're the one that needs a body to exist! So don't you talk down to her you...you meanie!"

"Heh. Looks like the timid one has the sharpest fangs. If you're so insistent on standing up to me, then I'll indulge you with a duel!", Midnight said as she activated her duel disk!

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 24000
Midnight Sparkle: 24000

"By all means. Have the first move.", Midnight said.

"Oh! Me first!", Pinkie said. "I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card face-down. That's all for my turn!"

"Time to make my move. I draw! I summon Midnight Apprentice in attack mode! Next I'll equip her with with Book of Secret Arts. Attack her face-down card!"

"I activate my trap card! Madolche Waltz! If any madolche monsters I control attack or are attacked, I can inflict 300 points of damage after damage calculation."

"Hmph. What an annoying trap. I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 24000
Midnight Sparkle: 25700

"I'm up next.", Twilight said as she drew her card. "Since I drew him, I can reveal Palladium Oracle Mahad and special summon him! Now I'll attack Midnight Apprentice! And since she's a dark attribute monster, Mahad's attack doubles!" With a mighty blast from his staff, Mahad destroyed Midnight Apprentice!

"Ngh! Impressive move Twilight. But you did just what I wanted you to!"

"What?"

"When Midnight Apprentice is destroyed, I can special summon Midnight Sorceress from my deck! I also summon Midnight Guard in defense mode! And now I think I'll use her special ability! If I have a midnight monster in my graveyard, I can banish it to negate all effects until the end of my turn! Destroy her Oracle! Midnight Strike!" Sorceress charged up a devastating attack that wiped out Palladium Oracle Mahad! "That's all for now.", Midnight said with a smug look on her face.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 23500
Midnight Sparkle: 22600

"My turn.", Fluttershy said as she drew a card. "I'll use Beast King of the Swamp as a substitute for fusion material and play polymerization to fuse it with Des Koala to fusion summon Master of Oz! Attack Midnight Sorceress! Master Punch!" Midnight was reeling from the force of the attack! But when she got back up, she had an evil smile.

"You've been playing right into my hands. When Midnight Sorceress is destroyed, I can special summon Midnight Queen from my hand or deck! And not that she's on the field, I can activate her effect! Once per turn during any of our turns, I can destroy all spell and trap cards on the field! And if I attack, the opponent's monster loses attack equal to the difference between their attack points and my queen's! Midnight Oblivion!" Midnight Queen fired a powerful blast of magic that destroyed Master of Oz in one shot! "I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 20700
Midnight Sparkle: 20900

"Hmmm. This duel's turning into one heck of a doozy!", Pinkie said as she took note of the tight spot she and her friends were in. Soon a rainbow colored flash went off on the top card of her deck. Pinkie ponied-up the moment she drew the card. "Maybe this should help! I play the spell card Xyz Harmony! This lets me use monsters from my hand or deck as xyz materials for an xyz monster in my extra deck! I'll use four monsters from my deck to xyz summon Madolche Dessert Empress! Now to use her sweet effect! She gains 200 attack for each overlay unit attached to her, and can do piercing damage! Attack Midnight Guard!" Midnight Guard was destroyed in a wave of syrup that washed him off the field! "I end my turn."

"That's it. No more playing around. I play the ritual spell Midnight Fury! By tributing monsters from my hand or my field, or by banishing Midnight Queen from my graveyard, I can ritual summon Midnight Dragon! Now to unleash her power! Destroy her monster! Midnight Void!" Midnight Dragon let out a horrifying roar as it fired a blast of pure darkness that destroyed Madolche Dessert Empress! "I end my turn. I'm saving her effects for next turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 19700

Another flash of rainbow colored light went off on top of Twilight's deck. "What? I've never seen this card before. Maybe this is just what we need to take down Midnight Dragon! I activate the spell card Magician's Harmony! I can send Dark Magician from my hand or deck, or banish a Dark Magician from my graveyard to summon Master Dark Magician! Now I'll use his effect! I can destroy all monsters my opponent controls and deal their attack points as damage!" Dark Magician raised his staff and brought it down to create a magic shock-wave that destroyed Midnight Dragon! "The only downside to this is that he can't attack after he uses this effect. So I'll set a trap and end my turn."

"You may have destroyed my ace card. But I'm far from finished! I discard all cards in my hand to special summon Midnight Berserker! He gains 200 attack for each card I sent to the graveyard to special summon him! And he can also attack as many times as the number of cards I discarded! His attack should be just enough to destroy your Master Dark Magician!"

"Sorry! DM has other plans! I activate his other effect! When he's targeted for an attack, I can negate the attack of the monster that attacks him and it's returned to the hand!"

"Grrr. I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 15200

'The same thing's happening in my deck.', Fluttershy thought as she noticed that she had ponied-up and a rainbow colored flash went off on the top of her deck. "I hope this card works. I play Synchro Harmony! This lets me send a tuner monster and as many non-tuner monsters needed for a synchro summon from my hand or deck as material, or banish them from my graveyard! I synchro summon Forest Queen! And depending on which types of monsters I used as synchro material, she gain these effects! If I used a beast-type monster she gains 500 attack, if I used a winged beast-type monster she can negate the activation of a spell or trap card once per turn, if I used a plant-type monster she gains 500 defense, and if I used an insect-type monster she can't be destroyed once per turn. I used all of those monster types, so she gains all of these effects! Attack her directly with Gaia Force!" Forest Queen charged up her staff and fired a blast of earth magic directly at Midnight!

"It's not over! I play Ritual Rebirth! By sending monsters whose levels equal the level of a ritual monster in my graveyard, I can revive that ritual monster! Welcome back Midnight Dragon! Now I'll use her effect! I can banish to destroy all cards on the field except Midnight Dragon!"

"I activate my trap! Divine Wrath!", Twilight said. "Since you activated a monster effect, I can discard one card to negate the activation and destroy that card!"

"Not again! I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 11700

"Hmm. Think I'll set a card face-down and end my turn.", Pinkie said as she put the card on the field.

"Think I'll do the same.", Midnight said with a sly smile.

"My move then. I play Dark Burning Magic! Since Master Dark Magician's original name was Dark Magician, I can destroy all cards you control! Next I play Dark Magic Expanded! This boosts my Master Dark Magician by 1000 points since I have one Dark Magician in my graveyard! Also he gains 300 attack for each spellcaster in my graveyard! This brings him to 4800 attack points! Ultimate Dark Magic Attack!"

"Magic brought you into this world, and now it's going to take you out of it!", Master Dark Magician said as he fired his attack!

"Agh!"

"I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 6900

"I believe I've let this carry on for long enough! I activate my face-down card! Midnight Vengeance! I pay life points so that I only have 1000 left to destroy all cards on the field! And you take damage equal to the monsters destroyed by this effect!"

"I don't think so! Master DM's other effect activates! If an effect would destroy a card, he can negate the activation and destroy it! And if he does he inflicts 500 damage for each card negated!"

"I can't believe I'm losing this badly! I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 6400

"Forest Queen, attack her directly!"

"I activate my trap! Damage Cut! If I take battle damage this turn, I only take half of it!"

"I end my turn."

"My move! I summon Dark Elf and pay 1000 life points for her to attack Pinkie directly!" Dark Elf unleashed a powerful blast that struck Pinkie directly!

"I activate my trap! Damage Vaccine Omega MAX! This increases our life points by the damage we would have taken.", Pinkie said with a smile. While Midnight had a scowl on her face.

"I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 19500
Midnight Sparkle: 4250

"Hm. Think I'll pass on my turn this time."

"In that case...I pay another 1000 life points to have Dark Elf attack you directly! With that I end my turn."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie: 17500
Midnight Sparkle: 3250

"Too bad your card makes you pay life points to attack. I'll attack your monster with Master Dark Magician!" Dark Elf was destroyed in a single blast of magic! "Then I'll activate Master Dark Magician's last ability! By removing a spellcaster from my graveyard, I can inflict damage equal to its attack points to you!"

"NOOO!", Midnight screamed as she faded away and the parallel gear that maintained her existence shattered! A warp appeared, and Twilight and the others went through to find themselves back at the main entrance. All the chains that had sealed the door were now broken. But when they all tried to enter, Timaeus materialized.

"I'm sorry. But only those partnered with legendary dragons can enter the final battle. This is the way Paradox has enchanted his chamber." At hearing this, Shadow made a mad dash for the open door!

"Shadow wait!", Burst shouted as he, Inferno, Ace, and Gold ran after him. The final showdown with Paradox lay in front of them! And the fate of the monsters' world hung in the balance!

Final Duel: Clash of the Dragons!

Shadow was the first one to see the chamber that the main door had lead to. Once he was through, he noticed Starlight bound to what looked like some sort of seal. "Starlight!", Shadow cried as he ran towards her! But as he got closer, Paradox showed up out of nowhere making a crater with a cruel smile on his face.

"Well, well. Isn't this a twist? The dragon coming to rescue the beautiful maiden."

"Yeah. And I'm going to take you down!", Shadow said as he activated his own dragon power!

"Ahahahaha! Can you still talk so big after seeing THIS?" Paradox's body morphed as he called upon the corrupted power of the legendary dragons. Making him look like a hideous fusion of their various body parts. "I now have the power of the legendary dragons! And once I defeat and destroy you, I'll be unstoppable!" As Paradox prepared to take a swipe at Shadow, he was hit by what looked like a blast of white lightning!

"You really want a piece of him so bad you forgot about us?", Burst said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Curse you!", Paradox snarled as he got back up. Ace, Inferno and Gold were the next to arrive.

"We've come to liberate the legendary dragons' power from you! You aren't meant to handle it.", Ace said.

"Yeah dude. Have you looked in a mirror lately? No female monster would fall for you because of looks.", Inferno said with a smirk.

"This is your last chance to surrender Paradox!", Gold said. "We can end this where nobody gets hurt."

Paradox sneered at hearing this. "Where's the fun in that? I'll prove I was destined to wield this power by beating all five of you! Then, I shall be the undisputed master of all dragons!"

"Hey Shadow.", Burst said. "Care to help us take this sucker down?"

"Gladly. Let's duel!"

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 40000
Paradox Truth: 40000

"Since this is my home, I'll start this duel!", Paradox said with a sneer. "First I'll play the field spell Malefic World! Then I'll banish Cyber End Dragon from my extra deck to special summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon!" Malefic Cyber End let out a dark roar as it appeared on the field!

"So your deck sacrifices the good versions of monsters to bring out their corrupt versions.", Burst said with a glare. "Time to show you what we're made of! I won't lie, it was pretty impressive seeing such a strong monster summoned on the first turn. But it takes more than just attack points to win a duel! I reveal a Blue Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon to the field! Next I'll play Dragon Shrine to send one normal dragon-type monster to the graveyard! And since it was a normal dragon, I get to send another dragon to the graveyard! Then I'll play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Blue Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard! I'll use Alternative's effect! He can destroy one monster you control!"

"No! My monsters are still vulnerable to card effcts!", Paradox said as Malefic Cyber End was destroyed!

"Attack him directly Blue Eyes! White Lightning!" Blue Eyes charged up his attack to as high as it could reach, and fired it full force at Paradox!

"This one's for the Blue Eyes you captured!", Blue Eyes said.

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 40000
Paradox Truth: 37000

"Time for me to use Malefic World's effect! I can add three malefic monsters to my hand! You pick one, and the rest get shuffled back into my deck."

"I choose the one on the far right!", Inferno said.

"An excellent choice. For me.", Paradox said with a savage smile. "I banish Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck to special summon Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon! Fitting that a Blue Eyes should be destroyed by a Blue Eyes don't you think? Destroy Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon! Malefic White Lightning!"

"Ngh!", Burst winced as he took damage!

"Now I don't have to worry about you zapping every monster I bring out.", Paradox said with a smug smile. "I end my turn."

"And now you'll have to deal with me!", Inferno shouted. "I play Red Eyes Fusion! I'll send Red Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull from my deck to the graveyard to fusion summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! Destroy Malefic Blue Eyes! Archfiend Flare!"

"Hope you like being in the hot-seat Paradox!", Archfiend Black Skull cried as he fired an enormous fireball!

"And since he attacked, I can inflict the attack of a red eyes normal monster in my graveyard as damage! Then I shuffle that monster back into my deck!" Paradox winced as he took damage from Black Skull's effect. "Then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 39000
Paradox Truth: 34400

"Impressive. You've almost chipped away a quarter of my life points. But the worst is yet to come! I summon Malefic Paralle Gear! And since I plan on doing a synchro summon, the other material is a malefic monster in my hand! I tune Malefic Parallel Gear with Malefic Stardust Dragon to synchro summon Malefic Paradox Dragon! Now I'll also banish Red Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to special summon Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon! Paradox Dragon will destroy your Archfiend Black Skull, while you take a direct attack from Malefic Red Eyes!"

"Aaghh!", Inferno cried as he took the full force of Malefic Paradox and Malefic Red Eyes' attacks!

"I believe I've caused you enough pain for now. I set a card face-down and end my turn.", Paradox said with a savage smile.

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 35800
Paradox Truth: 34400

"My turn!", Ace said as he drew a card. 'Not good! I pulled Critias, Hermos, and Timaeus but I've got nothing to use them with! And I don't have Magic Cylinder or Mirror Force! There's only one monster I can bring out and they'll have to be in defense mode! Wait. Gold Sarcophagus! Maybe I'll need to use the card Timaeus and the others gave me!' "I summon a monster in defense mode and I play Gold Sarcophagus to banish one card from my deck until the second standby phase after its activation."

"Wishful thinking you're safe from my attack! I activate my trap card! Malefic Claw Stream! If I control a malefic monster, I can select and destroy one monster my opponent controls. And I select your defense mode monster! Malefic Paradox, destroy Blue Eyes White Dragon! Malefic Red Eyes attacks you directly!"

"Ngh!", Ace braced himself for the full force of the attack!

"I end my turn.", Paradox said with a cruel grin on his face.

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 32400
Paradox Truth: 34400

"You're dealing with me now Paradox!", Gold said. "I play the spell Light Sanctuary! This lets me special summon two light tokens that can't be destroyed by battle in attack mode! Now I'll tribute my tokens to bring out Crimson Dragon! Then I'll activate his effect! He can destroy one monster you control and gains his attack points! I'll set a card face-down, and then I'll attack! Go Crimson Dragon! Crimson Plasma Blaze!" Crimson charged up a red energy blast and released it once it was at its peak! Paradox braced himself for the huge amount of damage that hit him! "I end my turn." As he ended his turn, Gold noticed a faint rainbow glow come from the card he had set.

"Oh...you shouldn't have done that. Now I'll be forced to show you all my worst monster!", Paradox said with a maniacal grin. "I play Malefic Fusion! By sending malefic monsters from my hand, field, or deck to the graveyard, I can summon my ultimate monster! I'll send one copy of each malefic monster in my deck to fusion summon Oblivion-Lord of the Malefic Dragons! Once per turn, I can make his attack 10000 during my turn! Attack him directly! Malefic Oblivion Stream!" Gold shielded himself from the blast as it collided against him! "I end my turn. Oh. One more thing. Oblivion can't be destroyed by spells or traps!"

Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, Shadow: 22400
Paradox Truth: 26400

"This isn't looking good! Dragluon won't stand a chance against that thing! Huh?", Shadow noticed a rainbow colored flash from the cards at the top of his deck. "Wait...this could work! I play Dragon's Seal! If I have a dragon-type monster in my hand, my opponent can't attack for the next three of their turns! Now I'll end my turn."

"Fine.", Paradox fumed. "It's only a waiting game when it comes to wiping you out! I'll end my turn and savor my closeness to victroy."

Burst smiled at the next card he drew. "Guys. I think it's time to show Paradox our real power! I activate my face-down card! The spell card Harmony Absolute! I'll send the Blue Eyes White Dragon in my hand to the graveyard to summon Blue Eyes Absolute Dragon from my deck!" The moment Blue Eyes Absolute hit the field, Burst activated his dragon powers! "That's it for my turn."

"I'll end my turn since that thing can't stand up to Oblivion.", Paradox said with a triumphant smirk.

"Time for me to go all-out too!", Inferno said as he activated his dragon powers. "I play the Harmony Absolute I set a couple turns back! I'll send Red Eyes Black Dragon from my hand to the graveyard to summon Red Eyes Absolute Dragon! I end my turn."

"How futile. I'll just wait my last turn before victory."

"It all comes down to this.", Ace said as he drew a card. Once he looked at it, he smiled and activated his dragon powers! "I play the spell card Legend of Heart! I'll pay 2000 send the Eye of Timaeus, the Claw of Hermos, and the Fang of Critias from my hand to the graveyard to bring out their legendary knights! Then I'll send them to my graveyard to summon Timaeus the Knight of Destiny! I end my turn."

"At last. With that bothersome seal gone, I'm free to attack any of your monsters. I choose your knight!"

"I activate Timaeus's effect! Once per battle, I can make his attack equal to the strongest monster on the field! And at the moment, that's your dragon! Now they'll take each other out!"

"NO!", Paradox screamed as Timaeus and Oblivion destroyed each other with their attacks!

"Now! Since Knight of Destiny was destroyed, I can special summon Legendary Knights Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos from my hand, deck or graveyard! Then I'll tribute Timaeus to summon Dark Magician Girl! And thanks to his effect, I can set one spell card from graveyard onto the field. Now I'll use it! I play the Eye of Timaeus and fuse it with DMG to summon DMG th Dragon Knight! I end my turn."

"That was my strongest monster....and it was destroyed in a single turn! No matter! I'll just pay half my life points and summon Malefic Truth Dra...wait. Could you all hold on for a minute?", Paradox asked as he checked his deck. "No....I've used up all my malefic monsters! I've got nothing left but their original forms!"

"Time for Crimson to join the party!", Gold said. Soon he summoned his phoenix wings, but his eyes were dragonic and he had also sprouted crystal wings like the ones on Crimson Dragon! "I activate the spell card I set a while back! Harmony Absolute! I'll banish Crimson Dragon from my graveyard to special summon Crimson Absolute Dragon!" Soon, Crimson Dragon descended wearing bright red crystal armor! "Now I'll play Burial from a Different Dimension to return Crimson Dragon to the graveyard! Now to activate Crimson Absolute Dragon's effect! I can target one monster in either of our graveyards and increase his attack points by that card's attack points! I choose your Malefic Rainbow Dragon! This brings him to 7000 attack points! I'll end my turn. Your move Paradox."

Paradox was panicking! His whole deck was based around his malefic monsters and he had just wasted them all in an attempt at a quick victory! "Grrrrr. I end my turn."

"And now to end this!", Shadow cried out. "I activate the spell card Apex Harmony! This card lets me use monsters from my extra deck as xyz material to summon an xyz monster! I'll use dragluon to summon out his true form! Rise, Dragluon Eternity! Now I'll activate his effect! By detaching one overaly unit, all dragon type monsters on the field can attack! Let's finish this guys! Eternity Flare!" Shadow's eyes then turned dragonic and he sprouted wings that looked like Dragluon's!

"Absolute Crimson Plasma Blast!", Gold shouted!

"Dragon Knight Blaze!", Ace called out!

"Absolute Inferno Fire Blast!", Inferno screamed at the top of his lungs!

"ABSOLUTE....NEUTRON....BLAST!", Burst shouted out as all of their attacks merged into one and struck Paradox directly!

"But I had the legendary dragons' power!", Parados screamed as he was engulfed by the true power of legendary dragons! Soon the seal that held Starlight in place broke, but Shadow caught her just in time!

"Hey beautiful.", Shadow said with a small smile while his eye were tearing up. Starlight opened her eyes and kissed him.

"I knew you'd come.", she said with a small smile. Soon, the castle began to crumble!

"Come on lovebirds!", Burst said. "Chances are that when Paradox goes, this place goes too!" The group then rushed to meet with the others at the main entrance. But before they could all leave, Paradox had somehow survived the last attack!

"This place shall become your grave! None of you are leaving alive!"

"Hey Burst. Reference time?", Inferno asked as he readied his blaster drago arm.

Burst cracked a smile. "Reference time." Burst readied his own blaster as he and Inferno got into a pose where their arms interlocked.

"Jackpot.", Burst and Inferno said as they fired twin charged shots that ripped into Paradox! Destroying him instantly! Everyone made a mad dash for the exit, and made it out before the castle crumbled away into nothingness!

"Pinkie.", Burst said.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to need the party of a lifetime after this!"

Duel 1: Reunion

"Looks like Dark Ice is gone for good.", Shadow Thunder said as he was walking the streets of Canterlot. "At least I can go home now." Soon Dragluon materialized.

"You must be nervous to see your family again. You've not seen your other brother or your parents in a long time.", Dragluon said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah. Oof!", Shadow had accidentally bumped into someone while he was speaking to Dragluon. "Sorry about tha...", Shadow froze when he saw who he had bumped into. The girl had light purple skin and purple hair with a light blue streak. "Uh..sorry I bumped into you!", Shadow said as he noticed the duel monsters cards the girl had dropped. "Here. Let me help you pick your cards up."

"Um, thank you.", the girl said with a small smile. "You're a duelist too?", she asked noticing his deck box.

"Sure am! Name's Shadow Thunder. What's yours?"

"Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you."

"Cool. See ya around Starlight!", Shadow said with a slight blush as he left.

"Someone's caught your interest!", Dragluon said with a sly smile. Soon they arrived at Ace's home. "Good luck with this Shadow."

"Thanks Dragluon.", Shadow said as he knocked on the door. Ace's mom was almost speechless when she saw Shadow! "Hi mom."

"Shadow...", Ace's mom said with tearful eyes as she hugged her hidden son. Ace had just gotten up to see what was going on.

"Mom? Who's at the door?"

"Ace...meet your lost brother. Shadow Thunder."

"Hey bro!", Shadow greeted Ace. Ace was shocked!

"But...how?! Where have you been all this time?!" Ace's mom put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your father and I hid him away to protect him from Dark Ice. You on your own were a threat, but should you and Shadow join forces you would destroy him. And since you defeated Dark Ice, there's no reason for Shadow to hide anymore!"

"If you were able to beat Ice, you must have gotten pretty strong!"

"Thanks...bro. So you wanna see something cool?", Ace said as he activated his dragon powers! "Like it? I got from the bond I shared with the Eye of Timaeus!"

"Whoa! You've got dragon powers now? Sweet! You've got a dragon you've bonded to also! Let me show you mine!", Shadow said as he summoned Dragluon.

"Ah! So you are Ace. Pleased to meet you! I am Number 46: Dragluon. And I see you share a bond with a dragon as well.", Dragluon said.

"So Ace. Care to see how your dragon stacks up to mine? I can't think of a better way to celebrate coming home!"

Ace cracked a smile. "Bring it on Shadow! Let's duel!"

Arctic Ace: 8000
Shadow Thunder: 8000

"Since you've been gone for so long, I'll let you have the first move.", Ace said.

"Thanks!", Shadow said. "I summon Assault Wyvern in attack mode! Then I'll set a card face-down and end my turn!"

"Alright then! I draw! I summon Gagaga Girl in defense mode and set a card face-down too! Your move!"

"I draw! I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card! Now Assault Wyvern attacks Gagaga Girl!" With one quick slash of its' head-blade, Assault Wyvern shredded Gagaga Girl! "And now that he's destroyed your monster by battle I can tribute him to special summon a dragon from my hand or graveyard! I special summon Armed Protector Dragon! And since I control a level eight monster I can special summon Parsec the Interstellar Dragon! Now I overlay my two dragons to xyz summon Number 46: Dragluon! Come on out buddy!" In a flash of light, Dragluon descended! "That's all for my turn! Your move Ace!"

"I draw! Perfect! I play Double Summon! I normal summon Gagaga Magician and tribute him to summon Dark Magician Girl! Now I play the Eye of Timaeus! I fuse it with DMG to fusion summon Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!", Ace said as he activated his dragonic powers! "Now I activate her effect! I can discard one card and destroy one face-up card on the field!"

"I don't think so! I detach one overlay unit to activate one of Dragluon's effects! I choose to use the effect that lets me take control of one dragon-type monster you control! Sorry bro! But I ain't holding anything back!", Shadow said as DMG the Dragon Knight went over to his side of the field.

"Wouldn't want it any other way! I end my turn.", Ace said with a grin.

"My turn then! I'll have both dragons attack you directly!"

"Sorry Ace!", DMG said as she struck Ace!

"No hard feelings!", Ace said with a wince.

Arctic Ace: 2400
Shadow Thunder: 8000

" Well now that things are back in my hands, I draw! Nice! I play Owner's Seal! This returns all face-up monsters to their original owners! Welcome back DMG! Then I'll place a card face-down and activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card! Then I'll end my turn. Your move Shadow!"

"If that's the case, I'll attack DMG the Dragon Knight!"

"Not so fast! I activate my trap! Magic Cylinder! This halts your monster's attack and inflicts your monster's attack points as damage!"

"I end my turn then."

Arctic Ace: 2400
Shadow Thunder: 5000

"My move! I set play Dian Keto the Cure Master to gain 1000 life points and end my turn."

"I activate Dragluon's effect! By detaching his last overlay unit I can make it so that DMG the Dragon Knight can't activate her effect until the end of your turn!"

"Just as I planned! I activate my trap! Divine Wrath! I discard one card to negate Dragluon's effect and destroy him! Now! Attack him directly! Dragon Knight Blaze!"

"Nnnggghhh!", Shadow winced as he took damage!

Arctic Ace: 3400
Shadow Thunder: 2400

"Not bad Ace! I play a monster in defense mode and end my turn. I got a good feeling about what's coming next. Come at me bro!"

"You're not a sore loser like Ice that's for sure! I draw! Now I play Shield Crush! This destroys a defense mode monster you control! End this DMG! Dragon Knight Slash!" DMG charged forth and ended the duel with one slash of her blade!

Arctic Ace: 3400, win
Shadow Thunder: lose

"That was quite the comeback Ace!", Shadow said. "I almost had you a few turns back!"

"Yeah! I thought I wouldn't make it for a second! Anyway, I can't wait for you to meet my friends! Especially Burst and Inferno! If you think I'm strong, wait until you get a load of them! But that'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Sure thing bro. But for now, its just good to be back home!"

Duel 5: The Enemy Uncovered

Before Shadow knew it, it was Wednesday and the awaited day for his date with Starlight. Soon school was out and he met with her to take her out. "Ready to go?"

"Sure am!", Starlight said as she walked off with him. "So where did you plan on taking me?"

"My brother told me about this really sweet ice cream place. Wanna hit up that place?"

"I could use a good case of brain freeze." Soon they arrived at the ice cream place Ace mentioned. "Did you really have to get five scoops Shadow?"

"Hey. Can't a guy appease his sweet tooth?" Starlight giggled in response.

"I guess I've got no argument there!" Soon Shadow's phone buzzed.

"Huh. Looks like my brother and a couple of his friends are going to be stopping by. Wanna meet them?"

"Sure." Ace and the others soon arrived. But when they got closer they all seemed to freeze!

"Guys? What's up?"

"Shadow.", Burst said calmly. "Just checking up on your date.", Burst said with a smile.

"Burst isn't tha.."

"Inferno. Everyone. I think we should speak in private.", Burst said as he put a hand over Inferno's mouth.

"Burst are you crazy?!", Ace asked. "That's Starlight Glimmer! The same duelist who's been capturing legendary dragons! AND she's on a date with my brother! What if she's after his dragon?!"

"Calm down Ace. I can understand your reason for being upset. By as far as I can tell she hasn't done anything. Yet. And if we made a scene in public, people could get caught in the crossfire. That, and they look happy together. He could be the one to change her mind about what she's doing. If I gave Moon a chance, I don't see why we can't give Starlight a chance to change too."

Ace let out a defeated sigh. "I guess so. And Shadow does look really happy with her." Back with Starlight and Shadow, Starlight had picked up on Shadow's dragon power.

'Is it wrong that I don't want to take his dragon? He seems so nice. Maybe I could convince him to join me! Or....maybe....I could walk away from all this.', she thought to herself. 'No. Not when I'm so close. All I have to do is defeat the remaining duelists bonded with legendary dragons. And maybe take care of those younger dragon users I sensed. Their dragons aren't legendary, but they could be useful.' "I had a good time Shadow. Maybe we could do this again sometime."

"Sure Starlight! Oh before I forget, I wanted to introduce you to my friends! Hey everyone!" Starlight nearly froze when she saw Ace! She hadn't known that the duelist who had freed Critias and Hermos from her was Shadow's brother. Or the fact that Shadow was friends with her targets!

"So nice to meet you all.", Starlight said. 'Shadow. I'm sorry. But now that I'm so close to my goal, I can't turn back.'

Epilogue

Once they were inside the school, Burst and the others were greeted by the whole school cheering for them defeating this latest threat! This gave Celestia an idea. "Pinkie. I think I know where to throw our party. Attention students! Tonight we'll be holding a party in celebration here at CHS!" The whole school cheered at hearing this! The rest of the day was fairly normal. Once the night hit, CHS was practically buzzing with energy! As the party was calming down for a short bit, an idea formed in Burst's head. He went to Inferno and told him about it.

"Okay. So we're getting our girlfriends involved in this too?", Inferno asked.

"Uh-huh. It's gonna be awesome!"

"Alright! I'll tell Ace, Shadow and Gold!" Once all the guys and their significant others had been informed, they took the stage and got ready to sing the song Burst had selected.

Burst
Inferno
Ace
Gold
Shadow
Celestia
Moon
Rarity
Sonata
Sunset
Starlight

Mysteries abound, made of a deep energy!
Foes all around, but I will go fearless and free!
I'll give you strength! You give me love, that's how we'll live!
My courage won't fade! If you're with me, my enemies will never win!
We will fight for love and glory!
We will live to tell the story!
There is nothing we can't live through! Nothing ever dies! We will rise again!
Don't stop! Don't stop! We're in luck now! Don't stop keep your spirit proud! And ride upon the wind! All we have to do is go!
Don't stop! Don't stop! We're in luck now! Don't stop there's so much to be found! We can find paradise! All we have to do id go! Go! Free your soul! Dragon Soul!
Mysteries abound! In this world, that we will see! Foes all around! But I will go fearless and free!
I'll give you strength! You give me love, that's how we'll live!
My courage won't fade! If you're with me, my enemies will never win!
We will fight for love and glory! We will live to tell the story!
There is nothing we can't live through! Nothing ever dies! We will rise again!
Don't stop! Don't stop! We're in luck now! Don't stop keep your spirit proud! And ride upon the wind! All we have to do is go!
Don't stop! Don't stop! We're in luck now! Don't stop there's so much to be found! We can find paradise! All we have to do is go! Go! Free your soul! Dragon soouul!

The whole school cheered after the performance, and the party kicked into overdrive! However, Burst and the other duelists didn't know they were being watched. Luna had approached Burst at one point with an idea for a tournament. One where the last duelist standing would face Burst in a final duel. Flyers for the tournament were made next week and posted all throughout CHS. But CHS wasn't the only school to catch wind of this. Principal Cinch of Crystal Prep. had heard about this tournament, and saw it as the perfect chance to restore her school's reputation. But what she didn't know was just how strong Burst was. She had assembled the best duelists at Crystal Prep with one goal in mind. "Your goal is to defeat this 'Burst Stream' at Canterlot High's tournament. Is that clear?" But all the duelists had cleared out once she started to rant on about reputation. "Well if you want something done right.", she said as she got out her old duel disk. "Do it yourself."