Despite the crackling of the flames that soon settled around the ring, there was an eerie silence in the air. Both of the duelists dragons had settled down from their rage, but still kept their guards up as they growled and huffed silently. The aura that wrapped around Sunset slowly begins to intensify as her eyes glow even brighter than before. The rest of the girls stand idly by; holding their breath as they wait for Sunset to make her next move. The scowl on Sunsets face deepens as she raises her arm and points towards Wallflowers dragon.

" Go, Red Demons Dragon. Absolute Power Force." Sunset says with an eerie calm in her voice. The scarlet beast howls as its right fist ignites in a fiery blaze and charges at Black Rose Dragon.

" I don't think so!" Wallflower declares. " I activate my Trap, Rose Blizzard! Now, I can negate your attack and switch your dragon into defense mode!"

The petal covered dragon roars as its stretches its wings and releases a powerful gale of wind. As the wind rages, numerous rose petals scatter from the dragons wings and strike Sunsets monster. The injured dragon howls in pain as it land on the ground and crouches in a defensive stance. It shakes off some of the sharp petals as it recovers from the impact and closes its wings in front of its body. A large 2500 defensive body replaces its 3000 attack.

" Oh no! Sunnys dragon got blocked!" Pinkie exclaims frantically.

" And with that dragons effect, her monsters attack will drop to zero again!" Rarity adds.

" I end my tun." Sunset mutters, still unphased by Wallflowers counter.

" My move. I draw! I'll activate my dragons effect again! Rose Restriction! " Wallflower declares as she removes Bird of Roses from her grave.

" I activate my Trap, Breakthrough Skill." Sunset responds, still as calm as ever. " Now for the rest of this turn, your dragons effect is negated."

Sunsets card flips up and slams into the oncoming barbed vines; stopping them dead in their tracks. A bolt of blue lightning flashes from the trap and strikes Wallflowers dragon. The beast groans and writhes as its colors become washed out and dull. It lowers its head and rests beside its master. Wallflower curses silently under breath as her turn comes to an end.

" It's my turn. I draw. First, i'll switch my dragon back to attack." Sunsets dragon rises from its stance and stretches its wings as it roars ferociously." Battle." Sunset continues as she raise her hand towards Wallflowers dragon. " Go, Absolute Power Force." Sunsets dragon once again ignites its right claw as it dives towards Black Rose Dragon.

" I play my Counter Trap, Negate Attack. This will stop your dragon in its tracks!"

A wide barrier suddenly appears in front of Wallflowers monster. Red Demons claw slams into the barrier as it creates a shower of sparks. The barrier reverberates as a shock wave knocks back Sunsets dragon away from Black Rose Dragon. The scarlet beast growls in frustration as it shakes off the remaining flames from its fist and resumes its position beside its master. Sunset huffs quietly as she reaches for the card she drew at the start of her turn.

" Hmph. I activate Pot of the Crimson Devil Dragon. Since my Red Demons Dragon is on field, I can draw two more cards. Now I play my Spell, Necroid Synchro. With this, I banish my level 4 Red Gargoyle and my Level 3 Trust Guardian to perform a Synchro Summon. However, the monster summoned by this card has its effects negated."

" No way!" Rainbow exclaims. " She can do that?!"

Two ghostly, indigo portals appear before Sunset as two monsters rise from them. From one came the familiar image of Sunsets Red Gargoyle. The other was a small humanoid being. Atop its head was an over sized red helmet with a tiny pair of white wings jutting out from both sides. It wore a blue robe as it flapped its larger pair of pink wings. The little monster crossed its arms as it wore a stern expression on its face. Trust Guardian flaps its wings and flys into the air as its body scatters into three neon rings. Red Gargoyle rises into the air through the rings and shatters into four shimmering stars.

" The former ruler's shout echos through the field. May its Hammer of Victory strike down the very earth we stand on. Synchro Summon. Appear, level 7. Explode Wing Dragon. Sunset chants ominously.

From the light came a large, ragged dragon with a torn, orange wingspan. Its wings came out of a massive tumor-like mass of flesh on its wrinkly, black skin. The rest of the new dragons body was relatively sickly and worn down as it shook its frilled head and let out a shrill roar. It lands with a heavy thud next to Sunsets other dragon as its 2400 attack are displayed. Sunsets blazing aura around her now intensifies even more as the unbearable heat around her rises even further.

" Oooo! Another big dragon! But ehh... why didn't Sunny summon that thing before?" Pinkie ponders as she rubs her chin inquisitively.

" She was testing her field." Twilight responds. " She wanted to see what her set cards were and either play around them or bait them out. Still... why did she summon her monster now? Due to her dragons effect, it will be destroyed if it didn't battle."

" Darling, Sunset knows what she's doing. Just look." Rarity says, stepping in as she beckons to Twilight to look at the field.

Sunsets Red Demons suddenly spreads its wings and unleashed a wave of fiery heat that swamped the field. The heat rages around Sunsets other dragon as it howls and spreads its own wings and shakes the excess heat off. The heatwave dies down as Explode Wing stands unphased by the heat.

" You see darling? While most monsters that don't attack are destroyed due to Red Demons effect, any monsters that are summoned after the Battle Phase are immune to this effect."

" I set a card and end my turn." Sunset says as she sets a card.

The howls and roars echoed throughout the trees as all three dragons took their places and stood their ground. Despite being outnumbered, Black Rose Dragon roared and screeched at Sunsets two raging beasts as it spreads its flowery wings to guard the witch. Both of Sunsets monsters spread their wings and roar in defiance as they too shield their master from the botanical beast.

" What's going on? Why are they acting like that?" Twilight wonders as she stares at the dragons.

" Dunno. It's like they have a mind of their own. Weird... Rainbow responded.

" Ah don' think i've ever seen Sunset like this, not since what happened durin' the Fall Formal."

The rest of the girls, save for Twilight, muttered in agreement. That final duel between Princess Twilight and Sunset during the Fall Formal brought about a similar degree of strange events, but none as bizarre as the current duel. During that fateful duel, Sunset had also summoned her scarlet beast against the princesses Endymion, the Divine Magical King and just like before, both monsters seemed to have a mind of their own. Sunset had a similar aura before, but now this was different. She was malicious, destructive, and radiated a raging tempest that was not unlike the heat generated by her Blaze Fenix before. But now? Cold, calm, dismissive, and far more collected then before. It was as if any anger and frustration that she held before was being restrained by some strange force. There was always something special about Sunsets dragon and its brethren that lay deep in her Extra Deck. A symbol of power and fury, whenever Sunset summoned her dragon before, there was some force that brought out a strange aura within Sunset. However, this was different, and the girls could feel it.

" Then its my turn. I draw!" Wallflower declares. A smirk creeps along her face as she eyes her drawn card. " Heh... you think you've won, haven't you? Look at you. Still the same unfeeling demon as before. You many not be a tyrant anymore, but I can see past the lies. You haven't changed at all, and that dragon is the very truth that no one could see. I made that mistake ages ago.... but now? Once this is over, everyone will see who you truly are, and i'll start with that demon! I play my Trap, Class Change! With this, I can raise your Explode Wings level by one. But that's not all! From my hand, I activate Star Changer. With this, I can drop your Red Demons Dragon level down to seven!"

Both of Wallflowers cards appear before her as they each fire off orbs of light towards Sunsets dragons. Explode Wing raises its stout head and roars while Red Demon lowers its head and growls bitterly. Each dragons level now swaps as Explode Wing rises to eight and Red Demon drops to seven. Sunset looks up at her dragons; puzzled as to why Wallflower would make such a pointless move.

" What was that all about?" Twilight thinks. " Why would she manipulate their levels? What is she planning?"

" With this, its all over. I'll set two cards and end my turn. "

' If you think i'm scared of your traps, then you're painfully mistaken." Sunset snaps. " It's my move, I draw. Go, Absolute Power Force."

" Not this time! You've played right into my hands! I activate my Continuous Trap, Dragon Creeping Plant!"

Multiple vines suddenly spurted from the ground in front of Wallflower as they anchored into the earth. From the deep hole came a garish looking creature that was vaguely shaped like a human heart. The skin was a vile pinkish red with numerous, pulsating veins running over its body. Most notable of all was its vaguely shaped dragonic head that held three bulbous, stained yellow eyes and its ragged wings that hung weakly on its back. Then it came; a horrible, guttural shriek that forced the girls to cover their ears.

" This beauty here will grant me the victory I need! Thanks to my Dragon Creeping Plant, if I control a Dragon type monster, I can take control of a Dragon type monster you control, provided it doesn't have the highest level! Now, your scarlet fiend is mine!"

" WHAT?!" The girls all exclaimed. Twilight eyes suddenly widened as she realized why Wallflower used her two cards to manipulate the levels of Sunsets monsters.

The grotesque mass of flesh let out another shill shriek as a stream of gnarled, vile vines gush from the creatures mouth. The vines wrap around Sunsets Red Demons as the dragon roars and struggles. Despite the struggling and slashes, the vines overwhelm it and the vines tighten around its wings and body. The Creeping Plant drags the giant beast toward Wallflower and turns it around; loosening its grip on the dragon and retracting its vines back into its maw. A sharp shock runs through Sunset as she kneels down and her crimson aura fades. Sunset stolen dragon howls as the familiar crimson aura now wraps around Wallflower and flows along with her current emerald aura.

" No... no way." Sunset mutters as she struggles to her feet. " My dragon! So this is what she was planning... "

" So much for your attack and dragon! With that, you may as well end your turn!"

" Grr... I end my turn," Sunset growls as her fist shakes.

Whatever calm facade Sunset held was all but gone once her dragon was dragged away. The force that she felt surrounding her body had faded away as she now felt a cold chill run up her spine. Red Demons Dragon, her former symbol of power, was now in the hand of the Emerald Witch. She knew there was some sort of strange magical force that her dragon held and that only she could control it, with that same force now in the hands of an unstable, emotionally driven girl who was meddling with a magic that was far beyond her control. Now, she had to face the wrath of both her old symbol of authority and the somber force of Black Rose Dragon.

" Oh no.... Sunset..." Fluttershy whispers meekly.

" That ain't right! Now what's Sunset supposed to do? She just lost 'er best monster!" Aj remarks angrily.

" Nothing." Wallflower snaps to Aj. " This is where it ends. Its my turn, I draw! Go, Red Demons Dragon! Absolute Power Force!"

Sunsets dragon ignites its claw once again as it charges toward Explode Wing Dragon. Unlike before, the scarlet beasts fiery claw meets its mark as it slams into the left shoulder of the weaker dragon. Explode Wing screeches in pain as numerous small flames scatter and land around Sunset. Dodging some of the flames, the ensuing heat stings at her skin as her life points drop to 1200. With a smoldering wound in its shoulder, Explode Wing strikes Red Demons claw away as it returns back to Wallflowers side. A counter reveals Explode Wing Dragons attack to have dropped to 2000.

" Hey, Sunnys dragon is still on the field, but why did its attack take a nose dive?" Pinkie says.

" My Trust Guardian." Sunset says as she hears her friends concern. " Once per turn, when the monster that was Synchro Summoned by this card would be destroyed by battle, I can reduce its attack by 400 instead."

" Hmph! I still have my Black Rose Dragons attack and thanks to Wings of the Supreme Ruler, you'll take damage equal to your Explode Wing Dragons attack! Black Rose Static Flare!" Wallflower declares as her dragon spews its violet stream towards Sunsets wounded dragon.

" I play my Trap, Battle Rush! This will keep my Explode Wing from being destroyed by battle and you take any damage I would have taken! Fight back! King's Storm!"

Sunsets dragon takes to the air and inhales sharply. the face-up trap begins to glow as it bathes Explode Wing in a bright aura. After a split second, the dragon releases a torrent of winding flames that mimicked a raging cyclone. The tempest clashes with the violent static flare and blazes through the beam. Wallflowers dragon howls as its struck by the flames. Wallflower covers her face with her arm as the blazing heat chips away at her life points and burns them down to 2700. Whatever was left of her cloak was left it tatters at the heat scorched away most of the hood and shoulders. A noticeable sizzling scorch mark now ran across the remains of her shattered mask, mimicking the look of a long teardrop on the masks right eye. She growls bitterly as she lowers her burned hood and carefully rubs the singed portion of her mask.

" Grr....damn you... I end my turn." Wallflower huffs.

Sunset made a relieved sigh as her wounded dragon hobbled over her. She managed to survive yet another turn, but was unsure as to how she would fight back now. Red Demons Dragon had been stolen from her and she was left with whatever was left of her deck. Few cards would be able to stop her own symbol of power and any that did have the strength were just evolutions and variants of her existing dragon. Both of Wallflowers dragons roared viciously at her weakened beast as it too roared back, albeit very weakly and with a deep groan following it. Throughout the whole duel, she believed she had the upper hand and could stop this all quickly, but now? Clearly Wallflower had planned this far ahead, so what else did she have in store? The more and more Sunset stared at the field, the more hopeless she felt. If she couldn't draw the right cards soon, it would be all over and all of her friends memories would be lost forever. Slowly placing her hand on the top of her deck, she prepares to draw the card that would either change the outcome of this duel, or end it all against her.

" I draw!"

Author's Note

To be continued? Oh boy! Fairly short chapter as we get quite the upset. More on the way