Illusion Stadium

The thunder of sparkling fireworks and the roaring cheer of a crowd fills the air of the stadium on this special day. It had been nearly two days since the advent of the Cup's announcement and excitement was in no short supply among the bystanders seated all along the platinum bleachers. More fireworks burst into the clear blue sky past the giant monitors plastered around the stadium; each one presenting all sorts of ads for card packs and other miscellaneous items. Winding around the sizable marble dueling field was a long elliptical road that wrapped around the outer edge of the field. Static suddenly flashes across the main screen above the stadium as the crowd hushes and peers above at the monitor.

Appearing on the monitor was a tall, lanky man clad in a stylish crimson suit. Accenting his flashy suit was a crisp, clean white dress shirt and a citrus colored bow tie that drooped slightly over his lapels. His face was just as thin as he was, with a thin pencil mustache and goatee. Most prominent of all was his outlandishly styled hair that curved upward into a massive pompadour that bobbed around as he moved. He gave a confident smile as he whipped around to face the audience as he dramatically reached for his microphone.

" Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the CHS Cup; our very first Cup held here at the newly built Illusion Stadium! " the M.C declared as the crowd once again exploded with cheers and applauds. " I am your M.C, Mike Raphone, and oh boy! Are we in for some great duels today! As you all know, the illustrious President of Industrial Illusions and creator of Duel Monsters Mr. Pegasus J. Crawford is holding this Cup to to find a new Duel Monsters Regional Champion. After much consideration, Mr. Crawford has chosen a fine selection from the local Canterlot High School! 20 impressive applicants have been selected and the match-ups are complete! Starting today, we'll begin the Primary Bracket with the Ground Duels! Without further ado, let's meet the contestants!"

~~*~~

" Attention all duelists! Please proceed to the assembly area in 5 minutes!"

The screech of the P.A system shutting off rings in Sunsets ears as it snaps her from her concentration. Arriving nearly an hour ago with her friends, she met with one of the stadiums tournament officials and was placed in a small room bellow the stadium. In accordance with Cup rules, she and the rest of the contestants were told to take an hour to revise their decks and prepare for the unveiling of the dueling roster. Sighing, Sunset gets up from the ivory seat and grabs her deck off from the table in front of her and slides it into her empty duel disk. Even with an additional hour to make any fixes to her strategies, she had done all of her editing and planning back at Pinkie's slumber party and was as ready as she could ever be.

Walking past the door, Sunset walked into a long, brightly lit white hallway. As if on queue, the doors all along the the hall opened up as Sunsets friends and many other students from CHS stepped out. Standing at the end of the hall in front of a large automated door was a a hulking man dressed in a tidy black suit. The man towered above the students and even Principal Celestia herself. He wore a serious expression on his solid, chiseled face that was further solidified with the dark shades that he wore. If his height wasn't already absurd, the tall spike of hair only helped to cement his size, even if Sunset did do a double take once she spotted his hair.

" Attention all duelists!" he said in a booming voice that reverberated throughout the hallway, " Please follow me to the assembly area!"

" Attention all duelists. My hair can pierce the heavens." Pinkie whispers behind Sunset imitating the officials gruff voice. A small snicker escapes her lips.

Imposing as he was, the rest of the duelists obeyed and followed him through the automated door. Past the door was a giant empty room that was illuminated by a row of lights that surrounded the outer edges of the floor. Painted in the center of the room was a large, black letter "I" with a tiny number "2" situated to the lower right of the letter. All of the students are lead to the center of the room as the official signals them to stop. He turns his back to the students and unholsters a walkie-talkie from his hip. Whatever he was saying was unbeknownst to the duelists as the students mumbled and whispered to each other. While the Cup official continued to converse with his superiors, the rest of the Rainbooms converge with Sunset.

" Oooo! This is gonna be so much fun!" Pinkie says delighted.

" Yeah! I can't wait to see who I'm dueling first." Rainbow reciprocates with a wide smile.
" You feelin' it Sunshim?"

Sunset gives a weak smile as she hold her stomach. " I'm feeling something alright."

" Don't sweat, sugarcube. It'll all come out 'n the wash, you'll see."

The official clears his throat as he turns back around and says, " Please line up and wait here as we raise the platform."

More hushed murmurs are heard, now confused by the officials statement. They were all lined-up in a seemingly empty room, so what did he mean by "raise the platform?" Before anyone can ask for an explanation, the official walks past the crowd and leaves through the automated door behind them. There was a small period of silence, before a deep, muffled wave of sound was heard above. Suddenly, the floor shifted and shook slightly as the duelist were startled by the sudden movement. After a series of rumbles, the floor slowly begins to rise and push upward towards the ceiling. As the floor rises, the ceiling above opens up as the room is bathed in a blinding light and a single, loud voice is heard.

" -let's meet the contestants!"

~~*~~

Slamming into the stoppers near the side of the stage, the platform comes to a abrupt halt as the sounds of fireworks and roaring cheers fills the air. The entire stadium is filled with waves upon waves of people cheering and moving about as the duelists below smile and wave to the crowd. More cheers arise from the crowd as the M.C clears his throat to speak again.

" We've got quite a selection of duelists today! So let's give them all a fond introduction, starting with one of the seven elite duelists of Canterlot High; Sunset Shimmer!"

Sunset nervously steps forward and waves to the crowd. The stadium explodes in roaring cheers from the fans as Sunset smiles brightly and steps back in line with the rest of the duelists. The M.C continues his roll call as each duelist steps forward and waves to the crowd.

" Twilight Sparkle!"

" Pinkie Pie!"

"Rainbow Dash!"

" AppleJack!"

" Fluttershy!"

" Rarity!"

"Trixie Lulamoon!"

" Micro Chips!"

" Bulk Biceps!"

" Photo Finish!"

" Flash Sentry!"

" Octavia Melody!"

" Maude Pie!"

" Cloudy Kicks!"

" Lyra Heartstrings!"

" Bon Bon!"

" Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna!"

" And finally, Gi- huh?" The M.C pauses abruptly as another duel official approaches him and whispers something into his ear. The crowd slowly hushes as the M.C whispers something back to the official in a notably annoyed manner. All of the duelists simply stare in confusion at the monitor as the M.C fixes his bowtie and turns back to the crowd.

" Sorry about that folks, but there seems to be a last minute substitution. We have a new contestant that also hails from Canterlot High! Her name is... erm...well. what was her name again? Ah! Here she comes now! Ladies and Gentlemen, please divert your attention to the North Tunnel."

All of the stadiums attention is diverted to the northern tunnel as two figures approach from the darkness. One was the same Cup official that had led the other contestants to the platform, complete with his stoic expression and sharp hair. The other was a smaller figure, reaching only up to the officials chest. She was draped in a long, tattered brown cloak with flared shoulders that seemed to mimic armored pauldrons. The length of her cloak completely covered her entire body as the end of her cloak drags across the floor. A hood covered her spiked, flowing green locks of hair. Strangest of all was her face, or what covered it; A simple, white porcelain mask that had strange indigo lines above and below the "eyes" of it. The official led the cloaked girl across a long walkway that cleared the oval racetrack. A short pair of stairs at the end of the walkway unfolds and the official helps the masked duelist up onto the platform to join the rest of the duelists. Idle glances and hushed whispers arise from the other contestants as she stand still next to Celestia. Her escort reaches for a stubby microphone and taps on it gently. Once tested, he turns to the cloaked figure and says, " Attention, young duelist. Please state your name to the audience." He holds the mic up to her as she speaks.

" I am the Emerald Witch." she says with a slight muffled voice.

There wasn't so much as a clap after she spoke. The unease caused by her words fell upon the crowd and other students. A few hushed sounds from the crowd here and there, but nothing more. Sunset leans forward slightly and stares with a cocked eyebrow and a dumbfounded look on her face. She felt unnerved by the sudden interruption and introduction of an unknown contestant. Something was off and Twilight caught on to this.

" You can feel it too, right?" Twilight whispers to Sunset. " There's something off about her... well, besides the whole Witch alias."

" Yeah. Who is she? I didn't even know someone like her went to CHS. I can't seem to figure out who she is?" Sunset replies.

" Very well, Emerald Witch." the officials responds as he motions to the M.C. " With the introductions out of the way, we can now proceed with the unveiling of the dueling roster."

" Oh, right! *ahem* With all of our contestants here and accounted for, it's time for the match-ups!" The M.C sidesteps to reveal an odd machine placed on a table. The machine had the strange shape of a three-headed dragon that was a bright cyan, with the left and right heads curved downward and red arrows painted on each head. The center head jutted upward into a large glass sphere that was docked on the base of the dragon. Inside the sphere were many tiny, yellow balls that each had some writing inscribed on them. " Using our tried and true Bingo Machine Go Go, we will have our match-ups! So, without further ado, Bingo Machine! Go! Go!"

The machine suddenly roars to life as the balls inside begin to fly around the sphere in a wild frenzy. Watching them whiz around, the crowd and the duelists stare apprehensively as they eagerly await the first result. Inside the translucent orb, the main head of the dragon begins to inhale two of the balls from the swarm. Powering down, the machine coughs up the two balls into a pair of oval dishes beneath the two other adjacent heads.

' And here we have it folks, the first duel of the CHS Cup! For our first duel, it will beeee.... Sunset Shimmer vs. Micro Chips!"

Once again, the stadium exploded with the sounds of clapping and cheering from the excited crowd. A separate monitor across from the M.C's displayed an empty tournament bracket, with Sunset and Micro's faces appearing on the two smaller prongs near the bottom left. With their names called, the two duelists stepped forward and gave each other a look of esteem. Micro adjusts his thick framed glasses and extends his hand toward Sunset.

" This is quite a surprise. My first duel of the tournament will be against Canterlot High's best duelist. I look forward to our duel."

A small smirk creeps along Sunsets face as she shakes his hand and says, " Likewise."

" Sit tight Ladies and Gentlemen, because here comes the next duel! For our second duel.... Pinkie Pie vs. Photo Finish!"

Once again, the crowd cheers wildly as the bouncy pink teen sprout a mile wide grin and eagerly shakes the young photographers hand. The rapid vibrating of Pinkie's inhuman shaking nearly knocked over her newly appointed opponent.

" YAAAAAAYYY!!! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!! ICAN'TWAITTODUELYOUSOGOODLUCKANDHAVEFUN!!!"

" Ehehe... ja..." Photo responds nervously. Even with her wide tinted glasses and low cut hairstyle, her expression of discomfort was far from hidden. " Zis vill be fun."

More and more balls are coughed up by the machine as the M.C continues to list off all of the match-ups. One by one, he reads them off as the crowd continues to go wild with each reveal. He reaches for the next two balls.

" Next up! Rainbow Dash vs. Cloudy Kicks!"

" Perfezionare! Just the bambina I've wanted to settle the score with!" Cloudy exclaims. " Smashing you will be fun!"

" Bring it on! I've been itching to give you a beatdown since our last duel ages ago!"

" Lyra Heartstrings vs. Bon Bon!"

" Oooo! I can't believe it Bon! I can't wait to duel you!"

" Me too, best friend!"

" Twilight Sparkle vs. Bulk Biceps!"

" Excellent. I look forward to-" Twilight begins before she notices Bulk completely ignoring her; preferring to flex his enormous muscles and pump up his chest. Twilight simply shakes her head and stands back in line.

" Rarity vs. Flash Sentry!"

" Fufufufu. Best of luck to you darling!"

" Yeah, you too!"

" Principal Celestia vs. Fluttershy!"

" Oh joy! Let's have some fun!"

" Oh umm... ok." the shy teen muttered.

" And last but not least, Trixie Lulamoon vs. The Emerald Witch!"

" Ha! I hope you're ready, Emerald Witch! Your little entrance was almost as bad as your choice in attire! The Great and Powerful Trixie will give this crowd a real show!"

"......"

" Furthermore, the remaining contestants, Applejack, Principal Luna, Maud Pie, and Octavia Melody will each be dueling the first victors of todays duels! And there you have it folks! The dueling roster is complete and we can finally move on to our Main Event! Starting today and for the next two days, our contestants will not only be dueling for the coveted tittle of Regional Duel Champion, but they'll also receive this special prize!" The M.C motions to a clear glass rectangular case situated on a pedestal next to the stage by two officials. Inside of it was a tall, slender cup styled trophy that was embedded with numerous beautiful jewels along its base. Embossed on the base itself was the words, " Regional Duel Champion " and an empty space beneath it. " So, let's get this started! Right now, our dueling officials will lead the other contestants to the nearby stands where they can observe the first duel! These first few duels will determine who will move on to the Turbo portion of the Cup, and the reveal of the new Speed World 3 field spell!"

Finishing his statement, the dueling official leads all of the duelists to the sidelines near the field. There was a long row of benches that each held 4 of the participants and many touch pads situated on short columns directly in front of each bench. There was an air of wonder and excitement as all of them eagerly awaited for the official. Another dueling official, this person being much younger with a short mustache, stepped forward and cleared his throat.

" Duelists, in front of you all is our special Duel Status Tracker, or D.S.T. for short. With this, you can view the tournament roster, receive more detail on any cards played during the duel, and call on a duel official for any ruling questions you may have. While we ready the duel field, please take this time to make any final adjustments to your decks and duel disk... or go to the bathroom and grab some snacks along the way. Yes, I see you Ms. Pie."

Most of the contestants shifted their gaze to Pinkie, who had a sheepish grin on her beet-red face. She squirmed around with her legs locked tightly, most likely due to the copious liters of soda she had indulged in just last night. If Dash was capable of inhuman speed, then Pinkie's mad dash across the bridge leading to the restrooms would put her friend to shame. A few snickers did come from this, as the others did some tests and tinkered with their duel disks. Sunset had finished toying with her duel disk as she surveyed the benches. While most were either relaxing or checking their decks again, there was one person that caught her attention. Seated at the end of the farthest bench with Lyra, Bon Bon, and Trixie was the Emerald Witch. Unlike the three that sat next to the mysterious girl who were busy chatting or doing revisions, she simply sat still and stared out to the field.

' Who is she, and what's her deal? Why isn't she doing anything?' Sunset thought as she worked her brain to figure out who the Witch was. To say that there was an air of unease from the masked girl was a light statement and Sunset could feel something else from the girl.

" She sure is creepy, isn't she?" Rainbow says as she also stares at the Witch. " She show up outta nowhere and what? Does she think she's got a chance?"

" I'm not sure. I thought it would be someone we know from CHS. If she's from school, then who is she?"

" I dunno either. I'm not too fond of Trixie and her boasting, but here's hoping she knocks whoever this is off of the roster."

" Hehe, you're one to talk about boasting."

Simply giving her friend a foul look of annoyance, Rainbow playfully gives Sunset a small jab to her shoulder as she goes back to checking her cards. While she no longer leaned in and stared, Sunset kept the image of the unflinching Witch in the corner of her eye. Out of the corner of her eye, the Witch slowly turns her head slightly and presumably keeps her eye on Sunset as well. The idle glances soon became a full on stare into each others eyes as the feeling of unease rose further in Sunsets mind. Whatever distance Sunset felt from the Witch was swiftly removed as she peered into those porcelain eyes.

" SUNSHIIIIM!" a familiar high strung voice suddenly yelled, snapping Sunset from her gaze. She was nearly knocked form her seat as Pinkie had appeared behind the benches. " Oops... ehehe, sorry about that Sunny. Just came to give the girls their snacks, give you some tasty cotton candy, and to wish you good luck!"

" Oh... thanks Pinkie." Sunset says still jittery at Pinkie's sudden appearance. She nibbles away at the fluffy, sweet cloud of delicious sugar as Pinkie gives her yet another absurdly wide smile and bonces off to her seat. Pinkie always did find a way to make her feel better, even if it did take a few sweets or so.

" Ladies and Gentlemen! The first duel of the CHS Cup will now begin!"

" Attention all duelists!" the official with the pointed hair said in a booming voice, " The dueling field has been set up. Will Sunset Shimmer and Micro Chips please proceed to the dueling platform? We will now begin."

'Game time.' Sunset thinks to herself as she quick wolfs down her treat. The official nods to her as he takes both students back up the short stairs onto the field. More and more cheers and roars arose from the crowd as Sunset and Micro took center stage. Each of them took out their cards and began to shuffle them as Sunset stared at Micro pensively. To Sunset, Micro was an odd one, as he rarely ever dueled. As far as she knew, all Micro ever did was keep to himself in the school's library, toiling away on whatever projects or experiments he had in progress. Despite his stagnant duel score, the few times he had duel always resulted in victory. From what Sunset had heard, all of Micro's cards were built with methodical precision and his moves were planned out, far beyond what most students could even think of. However, whatever deck he might be playing was lost to Sunset. The only card that she could recall him having was All-Ruling Dragon - Brain Dragon, and even that wasn't a guarantee.

" This will be an interesting duel. I'm glad that you'll be the first person to test my new deck." Micro says, shuffling his deck.

"New deck huh? Well this will be interesting." Sunset replies sliding her deck into her duel disk.

" Duelists! Please walk to your respective areas on the field and ready your duel disks!"

Both of them swiftly walk to the end of the dueling field and turn to face each other. She had to thank Twilight for customizing and rebuilding her duel disk, right down to the crimson and gold color scheme Sunset was so fond of. Even with Twilight telling her how to operate her new duel disk, Sunset still struggled to figure out what button she had to press to eject the "blade." Fiddling with the touch screen, she finally taps on the top right corner of the screen and the disk tray glows in a multicolored light. Unfolding from the bottom of the tray was a long, rectangular blade with a cold, solid grey color scheme. In a similar fashion, Micro taps something on his wrist dealer and a clear, aqua colored blade slams shut in front of him. Strangely enough, his duel disk was far more subdued than most, with the bulky graveyard and life point counter being shaved down to a small compartment on the wrist dealer. It seemed appropriate to Sunset that he'd have such a high tech duel disk. As each disk powered up and both of them drew their opening hands, a monotone female voice filled the arena as the field rose up higher.

" Duel Disk link established. Life Points: 4000. The first to go will be... Micro Chips."

"Let's Duel!"

Author's Note

And with that, we begin. As for the duel, I've been working on it and all of the other duels for a while now, since ive been revising them numerous times now. After many revisions, I think I've written just the duel I've been hoping for and I hope to write it soon