"What an amazing spectacle folks! In an amazing performance, the winner of the second duel of the CHS Cup is Pinkie Pie!"

The ensuing roar of cheers, whistles, and applause that rose after the M.Cs declaration deafened the stadium as the platform lowered itself. Pinkie and her monsters all gave a bow towards the crowd as the rest of her monsters fade away. Still propped up on the ground, Photo rises to here feet with a wide smile on her face. A loss was a loss, but one she took with grace and some fun. With the audiences and her own laughter dying down, she rises to her feet and fixes her crooked shades. The inhumane pink blur that was Pinkie Pie streaked across the field and quickly shook her opponents hand.

"Vat a duel... Arh! I guess effen mein own vizion is not enough to offertake your performance."

"Heya! Now don't feel too bad about losing. That was a really fun duel! We should do this again sometime!"

"Hehe... Ja. I'd like zat."

Both of the girls are led off by the dueling official as the platform is lowered once more. There was a small but satisfied huff from Photo as she takes her seat by Lyra and Bonbon. Being knocked out of the tournament so early was far from what she had intended, but the ensuing performance had more than removed any melancholy from her mind. To Pinkies side, all of her friends crowded around her with glee.

"Alright! Way to play Pinkie!" Rainbow says giving her friend a fistbump. "Take it from me, that was pretty awesome!"

"Aww, thanks! That was pretty fun! Not as fun as what Sunny went through. I'm still super jealous that you got to go first!"

"Ahh, don't be too jealous Pinkie. You've riled up the crowd and brought smiles to everyone here. I can't think of anybody better to be a world-class Entertainment Duelist." Sunset says with a giggle.

"Hehe, thanks Sunny!"

"Attention all duelists! Will Rainbow Dash and Cloudy Kicks please proceed to the field?" the duel official boomed.

Oi, sfigato!" a loud voice suddenly yells; catching the groups attention. Out of all the girls, Rainbow Dash quickly leaped up and stood ahead of them as she confronted a familiar face. Standing in front her with a sly smirk was another blonde young girl dressed in a sleek indigo jersey with the numbers "10" emblazoned on the back. Clutched tightly between her hands was soccer ball that she occasionally tossed back and forth."Are you ready? Or are you going to run and hide?"

"Hide from you? Ha! What a joke! It's time we settled the score!" Rainbow retorts.

'Uh, I'm lost here. Who is she again and what's her problem with Rainbow?' Sunset whispers.

'Cloudy used to be the team captain and playmaker for the Wondercolts Soccer Team until Ranbow took over.' Fluttershy whispers.'During our freshman year, Dash managed to outperform her at soccer and took both of her positions. Ever since she lost her position, they've both been at each others throats trying to upstage one another.'

'I... kinda remember that. Actually, I bumped into Cloudy one before. I don't remember much since I was... busy, but she looked furious... and she was crying.'

"What a match-up ladies and gentleman!" the M.C interrupts. "A duel between Canterlot Highs former and current star athlete! Let's get this clash underway!"

The two rivals burned daggers into each others eyes as they bolted towards the center of the field. Even as they shuffled their decks and readied their duel disks, their ever present glares persisted into each other. Despite the mutual feeling the girls felt, the smirks they wore never once faded as they stared each other down across the field.

"Duel Disk link established. Life Points: 4000. The first to go will be... Cloudy Kicks!"

"Hope you're ready for dis! I've been waiting to do dis for-a 2 years now!"

"Sorry Cloudy but it looks like you're gonna be waiting forever cause I don't plan on losing!"

"Let's Duel!"

~~*~~

The cheers of the crowd slowly die down as the attention turns to a now unflinching Cloudy. Her scowl was now adverted to her deck as she stared deep in thought. This was it. Nearly 3 years of constant humiliating defeats at the hand of some egocentric hotshot finally coming to a close. 'This iz it. They will all see that she iz-a nothing! Ever since that day I have felt nothing but anger. She will finally learn her place!'

"Yo! Are you gonna play or what?!" Rainbow yells; snapping her opponent from her thoughts.

"Don't-a rush me sciocco! But if losing fast in front of everyone is what you desire, then so be it! I draw! And to begin this little game, we shall battle on-a my turf. Go, Dream Pitch!"

Shooting out from behind Cloudy came a torrent of multi-colored fireworks that exploded into the shapes of soccer balls and stars. A gust of wind spirals across the stadium and the cold grey steel of the dueling field was replaced by a serene field of flowing blades of grass and two goal nets situated near each end. Another small gale of wind quickly whipped around Rainbow Dash as it completely engulfed her. Once the wind dissipated, she had been dressed in what appeared to a a bright pink cheerleaders uniform along with two large golden pom-poms held in her free hand.

"Huh? Hey, what gives?!" Rainbow exclaims as she tosses aside the pom-poms, her face now a bright scarlet.

"Oh there iz more than just a costume change. Now that we fight on my territory, I'll show you that you are nothing more than second best! Appear, Captain Wing!"

A soccer ball from somewhere from the new fields dugouts sailed across the field and onto the grass. Sprinting onto the field came a tall orange robotic human clad in a dark blue jersey and an unfamiliar crest on its chest. It had an almost toyetic appearance due to its spherical segmented joints and glossy finish from its mechanical components. Utilizing the two mechanical wings on its back, its boosted itself towards the ball and began to perform various tricks and flips as it entertained the now cheering crowd. Satisfied with its performance, it waves to the crowd as it casually juggled the ball with is foot and its counter showed 1100 attack points.

"And that is just da beginning! I set a card and end-a my turn. Your move now."

"This is gonna be easy if that's all you got!" Rainbow says as she tries and fails to pull down the surprisingly short skirt. "I've beaten you before and I'll do it again!"

"Yes... don't remind me." Cloudy growls.

Back with the rest of the duelists, Sunset took notice of Cloudys bitterness. Out of the many students she knew during her reign, Cloudy was one of the few she had ignored. Plots of blackmail against the soccer team? Sure she had a few, but when she learned that the team captain had been replaced by who she referred to as, "some ego driven, technicolor meathead," she lost interest in Cloudy and turned her sights elsewhere.

"Fluttershy, what exactly happened that day? That day that I bumped into her. I remember it was after school and I was walking down the halls when she ran into me."

"Well..." Fluttershy began.

Canterlot High; 2 years ago

Sundown. One on one. Soccer field. The conditions were almost poetic in their nature. But this was no time for admiring the scenery. Cloudy had something else on her agenda today. Long had she felt anger and hatred for her technicolor adversary and the fervent need to stomp out her old rival suddenly reared its ugly head. 'This will be the day' she would think. Nothing but a pipe dream. All of her carefully laid out strategies laid in the dirt just as she did. There she was, thrown to the ground and drained of her life points.

"And that's game! Gotta say, that was pretty wild!"

There, kneeling before Dash, was a beaten and crying Cloudy. She remained silent for the longest time; still knelt down and shaking furiously. All she could do was slam her fist into the dirt and seethe with fury as she balled her other fist. Slowly looking up, she could see the outstretched hand from her opponent.

"Hey, don't cry! It's ok. Sure, you probably couldn't have beaten me but hey, I'm not one to kick ya when you're down. I'm sure we can still get you a position as a midfielder or something."

Sympathy? From her of all people? No. It was too much to bear. Not after this humiliation. A quick swipe from Cloudy swats away her hand as she stand up with a burning scowl on her face,"No. Nononono! I cannot lose! Not to you! Disguzting puttana! You stole my pozition from me, made me a mockery in front of de whole school and you now humiliate me by defeating me in a duel!"

"What?! You did that yourself! All you've ever done since I became the team captain is challenge me for the position again! You lost to me fair and square that day! I can't help it if I'm so awesome and amazing at sports!"

"STA' ZITTO! You and your damn pride! I hate you! You don't deserve to lead our team to victory! You don't even bother to play together as a team!"

"I'm a great team player! Just because I sometimes make goals on my own doesn't mean I'm not a team player! From what I've heard, all you ever did was push the team to be better by yelling at them. Face it, I'm more than capable of leading our team to victory than you are!"

Left hook. Impact. In a blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash was slammed into the floor. All she could do was nurse her stinging cheek and sudden nosebleed as she saw her opponent run away through the schools double doors. Wiping her nose, she stands back up and scowls bitterly. To say she'd kick her off the team was an understatement, though one that she would do with disdain. Before she could walk away to deal with her wound, the sounds of the doors slamming shut again and the sight of a familiar unsightly red-head caught her attention.

"So that's it then..." Sunset says. "That's why she was crying that day."

"Mhm. Rainbow told me everything that happened that day. She ran her off the team the next day."

"And that's why she waited so long. She finally has her chance at humiliating her in public. Still..."

During her old reign, Sunset had always been too preoccupied with her own ambitions to worry about the plight of others. All she did was brush off her run-in with Cloudy as she went on to work her deceit with Rainbow Dash. A duel filled with emotions of anger and revenge was one Sunset was all too familiar with. She wished she had a moment to talk with Cloudy and ease her mind.

"That all? Heh, you're gonna have to do better than that to beat me!" Rainbow exclaims, interrupting Sunsets thoughts on the matter. "Lemme show ya! I draw! It's a good thing you went first cause since I don't have a monster and you do, I can special summon this guy from my hand! Let's go, Speedroid Beigomax!"

In a blinding flash of light, 13 ruby colored toy tops spun wildly onto the field. One of the tops, which had two curved obsidian blades on its sides, rallied the rest of the tops behind it into a orderly line with an orange hue of energy linking them together. The collection of swirling tops stands center with 1200 attack points.

"We're just getting started here! See I've got two more Speedroids in my hand and I just set the stage for both of them to join in. Come on out, Speedroid Taketomborg and Speedroid Carturbo!"

Two more bright light suddenly appear and cough up yet two more toy-like machines. The first appeared to be some sort of helicopter rotor with vibrant red and green stripes across its blades. The blades fold and bend into the shape of arms and legs as an armored head with two bulbous blue eyes pop out. The humanoid machine stands tall with 600 attack. To its side was what appeared to be a rectangular slate of steel with a car engine haphazardly attached to the center of it. It revs its engine as it hovers next to its counter with 800 attack.

"And the best part? I still haven't used my normal summon this turn! So I'll use it to summon my Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! Thanks to my dices effect, I can make one of my Speedroids level anywhere from one to six. So my Taketomborg gets promoted to level four!"

A fourth light spits out an oversized yellow dice that spins and tumbles onto the field and lands face-up on 1. Instead of a solid black dot, it was replaced by a single, crimson, stylized eye that quickly blinked. It hopped up and scattered six strange orbs that gently hovered around it. This monster was the weakest of the group; standing at a mere 100. Four of its six red orbs sailed into the chest of the robotic toy and imbued it with a faint aura.

"Look at that! Four monsters in one turn!" the M.C declares excitedly.

"That's our Dash. Ain't nobody as quick to the draw as she is." Aj says.

"And It's not just any form of swarming. She has two tuner monsters." Sunset adds.

"Now it's time for a little tune up! I tune my level three Beigomax with Carturbo and my level four Taketomborg with my level one Red-Eyed Dice! I Synchro summon! Let's go! High-Speedroid Magical Sword Dama and High-Speedroid Chanbarider!"

A blur of blue and red rapidly slash across the field and blink around the stadium. Despite the crowds best efforts, their eyes couldn't keep up with the insane speeds of her new monsters. The blurs finally slow down and both monsters hover next to Rainbow Dash. To her left, the one known as Dama, was a strange blue machine whose body had the shape of some sort of dagger-like glyph. Streaks of gold lined its four massive orbs that each held a wide booster. Attached to its leftmost orb was a robotic face that wore a red visor across its "face." The other machine, known as Chanbarider, was a red, gigantic steel sword with an golden hilt that curved upward into a pseudo seat. Situated when the "seat" would be was a robotic humanoid clad in a dark purple armor. It held two curved blades that it frequently sharpened. Each monster held 2200 and 2000 attack points respectively. The entire arena explodes with a roar of cheering and applause.

"Incredible!!! Two Synchro summons back-to-back!" the M.C yells.

"Oh yeah! You like that Cloudy? Hope you're ready, cause you're in for a world of hurt! I activate my Damas effect! All I gotta do remove my Beigomax from the game and I can slam you with 500 points of damage!" A solid beam of light fires off from her monsters blade and meets its mark as its pierces through Cloudys chest and drops her life points to 3500.

"Now got get 'em Chanbarider! Better brace yourself Cloudy, cause not only does my rider gain 100 attack points whenever he attacks, but he can battle twice!"

A shower of fumes and sparks crackles from its rear-mounted engine as the living blade thrusts itself towards Cloudys robotic star athlete. There was no time for any sort of response from Captain Wing as the tip of the blade pierces clean through its chest. A shrill whistle is suddenly heard as a referee steps onto the field and, with some inhumane strength, pulls both of the monsters apart. The ref then pulls out a yellow card from its pocket and presents it to Chanbarider, who then grunts and storms back to Rainbows side.

"What? But how-"

"So blind as always. I played my Offside Trap card." Cloudy interrupts. "This is-a very special trap dat I can only play when I have no other cards in my Spell and Trap zones. Now I can prevent the damage I would take and keep my Captain from being deztroyed!"

"Yeah well, you may have dodged that one but I'll get you next time! For now, I'll just set a-"

"It's-a my turn now! I draw!"

"What?! Maybe my Dama knocked a screw loose or something but It's still my turn ya know!"

"Ahh, I forgot to mention dat my Offside Trap also immediately ends your turn!"

"No way!"

"Don't be too zad about your-a turn now. For you zee, all I will do is set another card and summon my Defender Libero in defense mode!"

True to her word, another robotic athlete sprints toward the field. This new robot was much bulkier than the previous; standing nearly 2 feet taller than Captain Wing though its hunched over posture didn't make it immediately clear. Much of its armor was covered by a blue tracksuit with a few tiny buttons loosely attached here and there. It's most prominent features, however, where its gigantic shin guards and hands. Once onto the field, it takes a wide defensive stance in front of the goal net behind Cloudy with an imposing 2100 defense points.

"That all? You may have cut my turn short but if that's all you can do then I've got nothing to be worried about!"

"Team play bambina. Unlike you, I don't charge in without a plan. I don't let my damn pride take over my team!"

"Would you shut up already? Not my fault you weren't as awesome as I was to stay as team captain! But don't take my word for it. I'll show you! I draw! Now I remove Taketomborg from play to use my Damas effect again!"

The tip of Rainbows monster lights up once more as it fires off another bolt of energy. The bolt pierces through Cloudy's chest yet again as she stumbles backwards. Now down to 3000, she gives Rainbow a scowl that would unnerve any other person but was ineffective to the rainbow haired teen.

"Now lets try this again! Go, Chanbarider!" Rainbow declares as her monsters attack rises once more to 2200.

"No you don't! I play my trap, Cure Conversion! All I have to do iz releaze my Captain Wing and I can bring a stop to your Battle Phase!" Cloudy declares as her monster quickly vanishes. Once it vanished, she swipes a card from her deck and says,"Also, I can draw a card and if its-a monster, I regain life points equal to its attack. And the card I drew iz a monster; Striker Top! Striker Top has 2000 attack points, so your Damas efforts were in vain!"

"Whoa! And just like that, Cloudy has just undone all of the damage done by Rainbows high speed monsters. With 5000 life points she's finally taken the lead!" the M.C says.

All of her work was undone by one card. All of the damage and her rapid summons had done nothing but inconvenience her old rival. Gone was the feelings of confidence and bravado that had kept her spirits high as she gripped her cards tightly. "Grr, fine. I guess I'll try again next time! I set two cards and end my turn."

"Ohhh povero bambina. You try-a so hard and for what? Nothing! Now watch as I show you what a true champion can do! I draw!" A smirk suddenly sparks across Cloudys face as she stares at her card. It was just the card she needed to finally put down her rival for good. "Thanks to the effect of my Dream Pitch, I can summon my Striker Top to the field without a tribute! But he won't be alone as I also play my Spell, Team Play! With this, my Captain Wing returns to the game with-a extra level! Return, Captain Wing!"

Sprinting yet again from the dugout to the field was another mechanical player. This new being was clad in the same deep blue jersey and shorts like its teammates. It, however, sported bright gold mechanical components and armor. Atop its helmet was a tall protrusion that was vaguely shaped like a horn. It gave its goalkeeper ally a swift high-five as it took its place next to Cloudy Following close behind was the previously released Captain Wing.

"She's got three level 5 monsters now." Aj remarks. "Ain't too hard ta see what she's 'bout ta do."

"Right..." Twilight says nervously. Any monster that required so many monsters for an Xyz summon would undoubtedly have a powerful ability. Worse still was the levels present on the field.

"Dis iz where it begins! I overlay my level 5 Defender Libero, Striker Top, and Captain Wing!"All three of Cloudys monster pump their fists as the each become a swirl of golden light and spiral into the sky. The spheres suddenly jerk downward and soar into the dugout.

"Watch as the true champion of the soccer field glides in to crush you! The true king of speed! XYZ summon! Venire, Fantasista Dieci!"

No one could have anticipated the absurdly fast blur that came speeding from the brilliant dugout. Whatever came out of there quickly knocked around the soccer ball that was placed in the center and bounced it around. Once the blur slowed down, the new monster was revealed to be yet another toy-like robot that was clad in the same blue jersey. Unlike its predecessors, its armored body was painted in a dark crimson and white color, save for its black helmet. Placed firmly on its back was a pair of gigantic scarlet wings that rattled slightly as they snapped into place. The new player gives a wave to the crowd as it alternates between juggling the ball on its head and chest. Cheers and applause reverberate across the stadium as the playmaker stands by its "team captain" with 2600 attack points.

'There he is. The big cheese himself again. Its been a while since I've seen that guy again.' Rainbow muses to herself. There he stood; the last monster she had battled with years ago when she had to put down her old rival. King of speed? A smirk was as she gave it. Nobody could outmatch her in speed and some toy in a jersey wouldn't sway her. The true king of speed still lied deep in her deck. One that was itching for a rematch.

'Here we are again. Just like-a that day. Only now, things will be different.' Cloudy thinks as she stares to the cards in her hand. 'I've learned much over all this time and I've been preparing for this day. My deck is nothing like da trash you faced before! Today, da victory belongs to me!'

Only the duelists below could feel the tension radiating from the two rivals. To the crowd this was nothing more than some spat between old rivals but to the rest of the duelists, this was far more. Sunset and the rest of the girls could feel the cold hatred emanating from Cloudy. Something that the cocky Rainbow Dash had yet to catch onto. The more and more Sunset pondered on what would happen, the more she felt a sense of dread. Rainbow was still blissfully unaware of how Cloudy truly felt, a trait that Sunset and her friends have scolded her countless times for, and Sunset could only observe as the duel proceeded.

'I sure hope you know what you're doing Dash.' Sunset ponders. 'Who knows what she's capable of now.

Author's Note

New chapter, new duel. Some of you may be wondering, "Why didn't you use someone like Lightning Dust for her rival?" I wanted to try something different. Cloudy is one of those bg characters that I wanted to experiment with (i.e obscure anime deck, personal backstory, etc etc) So I whipped up a backstory, a themed deck (which is probably why I really did it in the first place) and a bit of tension between the two that will become more relevant in the next part.

Cloudy is of Italian descent if it wasn't immediately obvious