Regenesis, A Duelist Story

Chapters

Dawn of the Duelist
Chapter 1: Magic Vs Machine
Chapter 2: Of Drill Sergeants and Synchros

Dawn of the Duelist

The expected bustle of Canterlot High School found itself jolted out of the semi-expected monotony. The usual rumblings about athletics, politics, and magical gossip found themselves taking a back seat to the new phenomenon that was currently shaking the entire institution. And for that matter, shaking the entire city. Yes, a craze which had obtained a tidal wave of interest and marketing seemingly overnight.

That craze was the game of Duel Monsters.

On it's own, it seemed like just another trading card game. A wide variety of monsters, spells, and traps that appealed to people of all types. Eye-catching artwork and a complex battle system. But at the end of the day, seemingly just another card game. So, what was it that took duel monsters from a relaxed, enjoyable hobby to an almost unanimous sensation?

The answer could be found in the new technology that essentially out-performed the game's original release itself.

Developed by The Chaos Corporation, the Duel Disk took the perceived limitations of current technology and proceeded to rip it to shreds. This wasn't just another piece of technology. This was a fully interactive and responsive hologram interface. One which just so happened to be designed for Duel Monsters.

The monsters, spells, and traps came to life with the addition of a Duel Disk. With just cards and a device, the duelist became a true combatant. A general, leading their army into battle.

It was due to this that the game went from semi-participated in to an almost universal activity.

Naturally, nearly every teenager found themselves infatuated.

With all this in mind, it came as a shock to none that the entire lunch period became a PVP zone for the newly minted duelists. The students were so motivated for that goal that they began moving and arranging the tables and seats to make various battle fields. They were placed with enough foresight to become mid-meal entertainment. With the approval of the faculty and staff, of course. On occasion, even teachers could be spotted watching the duels themselves.

Surrounded by this battle mania is where the Rainbooms found themselves.

"Geez," Twilight sighed, "this is getting ridiculous! Amazing tech, but it's just a game!"

Rainbow Dash gave a shake of the head and turned away from a duel to look at her, "Are you crazy? This is awesome! It's like real monsters coming to life just to fight it out! Except without, you know, actual destruction."

"So, the game is basically like the usual that happens around here?" Sunset asked with a smirk.

Twilight gave a smirk of her own, "Almost as common as someone needing to say 'no offense'."

"Shade has been thrown!" Pinkie declared with a giggle.

"Well, at least we're far enough removed from the... incidents that you can have a little fun with it." Rarity commented with a sedated but pleased smile.

"Fluttershy, ya been mighty quite." Applejack said, glancing to her friend in question.

"Oh," Fluttershy whispered, "I'm sorry girls. I know they're not real, but the monsters are still scary..."

"Not all of them are scary, Flutters. Look over there!" Rainbow said softly, rubbing the shy girl's shoulder and pointing to a duel on the other side of the cafeteria.

Looking to where the athlete pointed, she saw a small feline of black and white with a ribbon on its tail, curled into a ball. A small smile could now be seen on the animal lover's face.

Unfortunately, the next instant saw an arrow shoot through it, destroying the critter while they were all still looking at it. In that instant, Fluttershy sunk under the table with tears in her eyes while Rainbow gave an annoyed groan. The rest of the girls found themselves cringing in varying degrees.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"Wow. Talk about bad timing." Sunset sighed with a shake of her head.

"Well, I still wanna play." Rainbow said with a neutral tone.

"I'm interested!" Pinkie chimed with a grin.

"Probably not my thing, but I can respect the strategy needed." Sunset added.

Rarity responded with a frown, "I'd consider it if these cards didn't look so tacky."

"Ah might play if I find a deck Ah like." Applejack shrugged, "Wouldn't play much though."

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile, "Pass for now."

"Hey, Sunset?" A voice called from behind them, prompting the girls to glance over.

Wallflower Blush had quietly made her way over to the table of friends, unnoticed by everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

"I was wondering when you were gonna speak up." Sunset commented with a slight smirk.

"I didn't want to interrupt," Wallflower shot back, "though, I gotta disagree with some of you. The game seems to be really fun."

"Heck yeah it does!" Another voice echoed from behind her. In a matter of seconds, the group found themselves looking to Vinyl Scratch, affectionately monicked DJ PON-3, and Octavia Melody.

"Of course you'd think that." The cellist commented with a smirk.

"Octavia, you play too!" Wallflower smugly responded.

"Yes, well... I've found it to be a good mix of strategy and luck."

"Wait wait wait," Rainbow Dash spoke up, "YOU play Duel Monsters? I didn't think it'd be your thing."

"What can I say," Octavia shrugged, "I've found myself taking part in many of Vinyl's hobbies."

"Well, it's always good to keep open to new things." Sunset nodded, smiling happily, "Maybe I should give it a go."

"I'd recommend it!" Vinyl said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Alright! So, you, me and Pinkie are game!" Rainbow shouted triumphantly.

"Guys," Wallflower groaned, "We're getting off-topic here."

"You started this line of conversation." Octavia pointed out with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, well... Shut up." The gardener responded, though it was completely lacking in malice.

"So," Sunset said, pulling the group back on track, "I'm guessing this is about our group project for English?"

"You got it!" Vinyl smiled, pointing her index finger right in Sunset's face.

"Now, that's just rude." Octavia smirked.

"Yeah, that's exactly it!" Wallflower smiled, "I'm just glad I'm with you guys. You're like the only ones I really talk to in that class... It's too bad Roseluck or Derpy aren't in with us. But at least I've got you guys!"

At that, Vinyl slung her arm around the reformed girl's shoulders, "And you're stuck with us!"

"Heck yeah!" Sunset respond happily.

"It is nice to wind up doing this project with friends." Octavia agreed, "But speaking of that... Is someone still giving you a hard time about the... Rock-related incident?"

In response to Octavia's concern, Wallflower just shook her head, "No, nothing like that. People have even started remembering me and being nice! It's just... I don't know, it's hard to make new friends. I'm trying though."

"Aww," Vinyl cooed, ruffling the floof of green hair, "Our little Wallflower's growing up. When you quit wearing that sweater, it was like a butterfly coming out of cocoon! ... Or something."

"Knock it off..." The gardener tried to growl, but her smile betrayed her.

"Anyway," Sunset once more interjected, smiling warmly at the display of friendship, "I'm guessing we should totally get together so we can get a head start on said presentation."

"Got it in one." Wallflower nodded.

A sudden gasp brought the attention of everyone at the table to the now bouncing party planner.

"We should have a combination sleep-over and study session! We have projects too!" Pinkie nearly shouted, much to the amused flinching of everyone present.

"Dang, girl. Got a set of lungs on ya." Vinyl smirked, casually pressing her palms on her ears.

"It's not a bad idea, though." Rainbow nodded, "Oh, let's make it a weekend thing! So we have time to squeak in some dueling and mall crawling too!"

"I'll volunteer my house then." Octavia spoke up with a smile.

"Ah'm game." Applejack spoke up.

"Um, I'd love to." Fluttershy smiled quietly.

"Oh, why not." Rarity caved with a pleased expression.

"Well, somebody's gonna have to keep you guys on the academic track. I'm in." Twilight playfully antagonized.

"You down, Wallflower?" Sunset asked, directing her attention to her enemy-turned-friend.

"I've never really been a part of a big group hangout before... Yeah, alright, let's do this."

At Wallflower's agreement, the expanded group burst into cheers, earning amused glares from the rest of the lunchroom.

"Nerds!" A voice called from several tables over.

"Up yours, Trixie!" Sunset called back, doing her best not to laugh.

"Hey Trixie! Wanna come be a nerd too?!" Pinkie shouted.

"The GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! ... Wishes she could, but I have a family reunion."

"Offer's always valid." Sunset smirked.

At that, the bell rang, signaling lunch's near end. The girls groaned, slowly gathering their things.

"Alright everyone, after class, gather your bags. We'll meet up at the mall, and head to my house after some much needed shopping." Octavia announced.

With a chorus of agreement, the girls adjourned.

~~~~~~~~~~

Just as planned, the girls had made their way to the mall not too long after the school day had ended.

"Okay, let's get our weekend supplies here, and then we'll go and party, as they say, at my abode." Octavia instructed the group.

"Oh, let's hit the card shop first!" Rainbow suggested.

"I do need to build a deck. Sure." Sunset was quick to agree.

"It's time to add some new pieces to my deck." Octavia nodded.

"Ditto." Wallflower said.

"Well... I guess we should at least build decks, given how majority seems to be into it." Twilight said, albeit somewhat reluctant.

"Then off we go!" Vinyl shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

"I just hope I can find some cards that aren't too... Vicious." Fluttershy commented as they began their walk.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a rather short trekk. The card shop was located on the East end of the first floor.

The instant they stepped inside, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch made a b-line for the showcase.

The rest of the girls followed along.

"Okay," the multi-colored athlete said, "the first thing you're gonna wanna do is find an archetype with a playstyle that matches you."

At the several blank expressions, she sighed, "Find a type of deck you like and also shares your battle plan."

At that, the soon-to-be new players nodded. Without much else, the girls quickly dispersed, searching through boxes and binders for what they needed, much to the shopkeeper's pleasant surprise.

Sunset Shimmer found herself looking through one such binder, until she came upon a series of pages that caught her interest.

"Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic?" She asked herself.

"Ooh, that's a strong one." Wallflower commented, having followed along with Sunset in hopes of helping her find the right deck.

"It's cool. But what're these arrow-y kind of things? And why does it have two effect zones?"

"That means it's a Pendulum monster. They can function as either a spell or a monster."

"A what or what?" Sunset asked, genuinely confused.

With a sigh, Wallflower began explaining the game in more detail. Rather quickly, Sunset grasped the basic mechanics of the game, as well as the mechanics specific to her selected archetype.

"And that's what makes these so strong." The gardener finished, mildly surprised at how quickly her savior was grasping the game.

"Gotcha. Yup, I'm rolling with these guys."

Meanwhile, Rarity had been passively flipping through pages, none too impressed with the monsters presented.

That was, until she came across a card she fell in love with.

"Rainbow Dragon? Oh, it's just gorgeous!"

"Wow," Vinyl commented, making her way over to the fashionista, "You picked a pretty decent boss monster. But, the deck isn't exactly regarded as a powerhouse."

At that, Rarity looked upon the card with some unexpected affection, "Well, he seems perfect to me. He's going to be the centerpiece, I'll make it work."

Vinyl couldn't help but smile. While Rarity wasn't exactly thrilled to pick up the game, she was thrilled to find that card. It was almost as if it was calling out to her.

"Well, let's build the rest of that deck for ya." Vinyl nodded supportively.

All the while that was going on, Twilight had already gathered the entirety of her deck and made her way to the shopkeeper's area.

To say the shop keeper was impressed with her decisions was an understatement, "You sure this is your first time looking at the game? You picked one hell of an archetype."

Twilight smiled sheepishly, "I just saw them and knew they were for me."

The shopkeeper couldn't help but chuckle, "It's nice to see someone who finds a connection to their cards so quickly. Tell you what, I'm gonna throw in a monster from my own personal collection, if you promise to use it to the best of your ability."

"I promise! Thank you, sir!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Not long after that, the girls completed their shopping trip, gathering their decks, some snacks, and a few movies to get them through their weekend.

With their arrival to Octavia's home, however, they had been floored.

It was a lovely three story house in a very wealthy part of town. Grey in color with a white trim around the doors and windows. A high fence surrounded the property, shining silver in the evening sun.

The other houses in the neighborhood we're spaced generously from the cellist's, and an large expanse of deep woods surrounded the backside of the home.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Octavia said simply as she punched in her passcode, opening the front gate.

"That ain't quite the most humble, t'be honest." Applejack shot back.

"Whatever, let's get in there and get some work done so we can play!" Rainbow whined.

"Manners, Dash." Rarity chided, not taking her eyes off the cellist's house.

"More like manor." Pinkie said, giggling to herself.

Fluttershy joined with her own giggles, "Puns. Yes, please."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ugh, this is so boring!" Rainbow Dash groaned.

The room herself, Twilight, and Applejack found themselves in was quite akin to a library, with tables in the center and bookshelves reaching from front to back.

While the other two had to be impressed at the expansive collection of literature, it lost Rainbow's interest rather quickly.

While they had all agreed on getting some work done before fun and games, they weren't exactly thrilled about it... Save for Twilight, who had been engrossed in her third of the work since they started two hours ago.

Still, it was understandable how ready the athlete was to enjoy their weekend get-together.

"It ain't that bad, Dash. Look, we're done with everything but the PowerPoint." Applejack shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Honestly," Twilight sighed, "we've done exceptionally well on progress. And the presentation won't take but maybe an hour to throw together... Alright, fine. Let's call it for tonight."

"Yes! I wonder when the other groups'll be done?" Rainbow thought aloud.

"Well, we're all good!" Pinkie Pie was heard a few moments before herself, Fluttershy, and Rarity casually strolled in through the doorway.

"How's y'all's project gone so far?" The farmgirl asked the second wave of their group.

"Done, actually." Rarity smirked, "We had already done some preliminary work earlier in the week, so all we needed to do was complete the spoken outline for said presentation."

"I'm still nervous about speaking in front of the class..." Fluttershy commented, brushing a lock of hair back behind her ear.

"You'll do great, Shy. I know it!" Rainbow said, giving a thumbs up to her timid friend.

The smile she received back was heartwarming.

"We're only down four now." Twilight observed with a smile.

"Try down none!" With that announced, Vinyl, Sunset, Octavia, and Wallflower arrived through the doorway.

Whatever the three were talking about behind the DJ, it had Octavia snickering conspiratorially and the other two excited but a bit confused.

"What're yall laughin about?" Applejack asked with narrowed eyes.

"A surprise, my dear AJ." Octavia said mysteriously.

"Whatever it is, Tavi here says it's gonna boost the night to fortissimo. Heh, music jokes." Sunset giggled.

Wallflower nodded, "It's time to have a bit of fun now that we've fried out brains... Mostly. Sunset, I swear, you're a genius. It's not even an exaggeration. You're like, double brain power."

"It's nothing, really." Sunset responded, blushing slightly.

Rainbow chose that moment to speak up again, "So, what's the big surprise?!"

Looking over to Rainbow Dash, she was trying to keep composure, and was, save for the excited tapping of her right foot.

Octavia couldn't help but chuckle, "Very well. Follow me, I have a room to show you all, where we shall also teach you Duel Monsters."

"YES! FINALLY!" Rainbow exclaimed, finally losing her composure in favor of excitement.

~~~~~~~~~~

They weren't quite sure what they were expecting, being led through the maze of this place Octavia called home.

However, a full-sized dueling arena about the size of a tennis court inside of an unassuming room at the end of a hallway wasn't an expectation any of them could have hoped to have.

Save for Vinyl and the resident of the home herself.

"Woah! Dude, THIS. IS. AWESOME!" Rainbow shouted, taking a full sprint around the massive room.

"And now for a few gifts for you all." Octavia said, casually walking her way over to a chest on the far side of the room, "Come along now."

With awe, the collective group followed their host to the place she had decided to wait for them.

"Now, before I give these to you all, know I will not take no for an answer." Octavia lectured, a ghost of a smile ever present on her lips.

"C'mon, Tavi." Vinyl whined, "You're killing me here. What's up?"

"I'm with her. Just do it!" Wallflower agreed.

"Oh very well." Octavia smiled, before placing a medium sized box in everyone's hands, one at a time.

When she was finished, she nodded, "Alright, open them all up."

At once, everything from furious ripping to casual peeling could be heard. Rainbow, of course, was the first to finish.

"WHAT?! NO WAY!"

Not far behind her, Vinyl also looked down into her box with no small measure of shock, "Forreal, Tavi? These things aren't cheap!"

Yes, inside each box she had handed out, a compact duel disk, equipped for every format from modern to classic could be found.

"Nope, you all promised." Octacia chided, "These are all yours now. Obviously, I'm not hurting for money. Let me spoil my friends!"

"Geez, Tavi. How the heck am I supposed to thank you for this?!" Wallflower exclaimed, cradling hers like a newborn child.

"Seriously." Vinyl nodded.

Octacia couldn't help but smirk, "Glad the two of you decided to ask that first. I know exactly how you can thank me. The two of you will demonstrate the effectiveness of these models, as well as the flow of gameplay right now!"

At once, Vinyl and Wallflower locked eyes.

The gardener spoke first, "Looks like we're gonna settle our score in style!"

"Heck yeah! Hope you're ready for me to take the lead again!" The DJ shot back, an eager expression in her eyes.

"Excellent!" Octavia exclaimed, "Alright, everyone else! Bleachers over there! You'll get an excellent demonstration from these two!"

Quickly, the rest made their way to the seats. Meanwhile, Wallflower and Vinyl carefully set their duel disk and looked over their decks.

"So, what's this about a score to settle?" Sunset asked Octavia with a curious expression.

Octavia smiled in amusement, "Those two have been trading wins and losses for the last few weeks. Right now, it's tied forty-three to forty-three."

"Woah. That's crazy!" Rainbow shouted.

"It also means they have some free time on their hands." Twilight smirked, no actual negativity reflected in her tone.

"You'll see just how good these two are!" Octavia declared with mirth in her eyes.

Vinyl stepped to her side of the field first, "Let's put on a show for these newbies, flower girl!"

"You're going down, miss-sunglasses-indoors!" Wallflower declared with a smirk.

"DUEL!"

Vinyl: 4000
Wallflower: 4000

"I'll start things off!" Vinyl declared, "First thing I'm gonna do is summon Orcust Harp Horror to the field!"

In a flash, the strange cross between machine and beast appeared on the field in all its glory and bad intentions. (LV4 1700/1400)

"Okay, this technology still impressed me every time." Twilight said, "Crazy to think it's all for a game."

"I'm getting use to it, to be honest." Sunset responded with a playful smirk.

"Y-yeah, they're still scary." Fluttershy squeaked out.

"Ooh, she's going to try and set up her combo first turn." Octavia thought aloud.

"Wait, Harp Horror?" Sunset spoke, "Kinda figured a deck based on classical instruments would be your thing, Tavi."

"The aggressive playstyle suits her better." Octavia said with a shurg.

"If only the creature didn't look so hideous. The armor isn't too hard on the eyes." Rarity commented.

"Oh, here we go again." Rainbow sighed.

Back down on the field, Vinyl decided to start the trash talking, not that Wallflower was backing down either.

"Hey, I've got my favorite starter out on turn one. You ready to give?" The DJ teased with a smirk.

"Not a chance!" Wallflower shot back, "It wouldn't be fitting if I didn't beat you at your best!"

"You want my best? Fine by me!" Vinyl declared, "I use my Foolish Burial! This let's me pitch Orcust Cymbal Skeleton to the graveyard!"

A ghost of the musical creature appeared behind Vinyl, before fading away.

"Oh, boy, here we go." Wallflower sighed, tensing up.

"Wait, what's the point of a card that just sends her monster to the graveyard?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll see." Octavia responded, "Orcust cards tend to have their most useful effects while in said graveyard. It almost functions like a second hand in Vinyl's deck."

"That's a useful strategy." Sunset said, "It's like each monster gets to be used twice."

"Got that right!" The DJ shouted to her audience, "Next, I'll play Dark World Dealings! We each get to draw a card, then discard one!"

"I'm aware of how it works, Vinyl." Wallflower responded with a grin, "I'll be happy to swap out a card!"

"You won't be saying that for long! I banish my Cymbal Skeleton from the grave, in order to special summon the monster I just discarded!"

"She's preparing to Link Summon." Octavia spoke.

"Link Summon?" Rarity asked.

"It's a special type of summon that certain decks use. It's similar to Synchro Summoning, but not quite. It's a bit more versatile."

"Hmm. Sounds potent." Sunset nodded.

Vinyl merely smirked, "And I'm more than happy to demonstrate it! Bye bye, Cymbal Skeleton. Now I'll summon Orcust Knightmare from the grave!"

In a flash, the twisted mix of human shape and machine appeared on the field, malicious grin almost splitting its face. (LV7 100/2000)

"Oh my!" Fluttershy trembled, "Why are all of Vinyl's cards so scary?"

"I must agree with you there, my dear." Rarity said, cringing slightly.

"It's total nightmare fuel!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Heh, puns again. Quality running gag."

"And it's just getting started!" The DJ announced, "I use my Orcust Knightmare to Link Summon Knightmare Mermaid from my extra deck!"

The monster merely nodded its head before disappearing in a flash of light. What took its place was a creature straight out of nightmares, as the name suggested. While it did hold the general shape of what was expected of a mermaid, that was where the similarities ended. The creature was a single shade of dark blue, a sinister ring of architecture hovering behind it. Its eyes, as well as the gem on its forehead, gleamed a sharp red. (Link-1 ATK1000)

"Well, should've seen this coming..." Wallflower grumbled to herself.

"This is a lot for a single turn!" Sunset commented, "... Right?"

"Indeed." Octavia affirmed, "Decks like these have been monikered 'combo decks' by most players. The ability to combo off effects and summons almost effortlessly."

Rainbow let out a low whistle, "It looks like your girl's gonna lose quick, Sunny."

"I wouldn't count her out yet, my fine, not so fastidious friend." The cellist cut in, "While a strong first turn plays a part in a victory, there's a lot that can happen in a few turns. It's not over til the life points hit zero, as it were."

"Regardless, I've gotta say, I'm actually pretty impressed with this game." Twilight added in.

"No doubt 'bout that, Twi." Applejack agreed with a nod.

Vinyl couldn't help but smirk confidently, "I think you know where this is going."

"Yeah, yeah," Wallflower sighed, "Hurry up and do your fancy summons."

"My pleasure! I discard a card from my hand, and Knightmare Mermaid let's me summon another Knightmare monster from my deck! And I'll choose... My second Orcust Knightmare!"

With that, the all-too-familiar monster reappeared. It casually craned it's neck back and forth, not breaking eye contact with its opposition.

"It's back again..." Fluttershy whined quietly.

Octavia merely nodded, "The recursion of Vinyl's deck is borderline ridiculous. But of course, this strategy drains your resources rather quickly."

"Now then," Vinyl declared, "while it's been nice to see ya again, I'm afraid it's a short return. Now I link my Knightmare Mermaid and my Orcust Knightmare!"

"She's linking again?" Sunset asked.

"Yup," the cellist answered without looking away from the field, "the plan is to Link upwards until she has everything she needs to lock the field in her control."

"Let's go!" Vinyl shouted, dramatically raising her right fist, "I link summon Galatea, the Orcust Automaton!"

Appearing on the field was a creature a bit less jarring. It had the appearance of a young girl, a serene expression on it's face. However, the massive scythe it held prevented it from appearing too welcoming. (Link-2 ATK1800)

"Of course. There she is..." Wallflower whispered to herself.

"Well, there ya go, Flutters. Something not totally terrifying." Rainbow observed.

"Y-yeah... Something about it is still unsettling though."

"Now then," Vinyl smirked, "I'll activate Galatea's special ability! By returning my banished Cymbal Skeleton to my deck, I can set an Orcust spell or trap directly to my field! And I think I'll pick Orcust Crescendo!"

"Naturally." Wallflower sighed.

"Huh. These Orcust cards seem to be able to keep bringing their own stuff out, no matter what it is." Sunset observed.

"It's consistent, to say the least." Octavia agreed, "And that Crescendo can cause problems. It can negate any spell, trap, or monster effect, as long as Vinyl controls an Orcust Link Monster."

"Well, shoot. How d'ya get 'round that?" Applejack asked.

"Try to bait it out, mostly." Octavia explained, "However, it'll take an effect quite valuable to Wallflower in order to have Vinyl consider it important enough to stop."

"I hope Wallflower has a plan, then..." Sunset whispered.

"I think I'll just set two more cards facedown and end my turn." Vinyl finished, "Show me what you've got!"

"I'd be happy to!" The gardener shot back, "Draw!"

"Hey, I just realized something." Twilight spoke up, "Why didn't Vinyl get to draw at the start of her turn?"

"The first turn of the duel doesn't draw to try and keep that player from having a total advantage... As far as I can assume." Octavia responded.

"Trying to balance the game. Got it." Twilight said with an understanding nod.

"Ding ding! It'd be a shame someone won automatically because they went first!" Pinkie spoke up, "Awesome move, Scratch!"

"Yeah! Totally awesome!" Rainbow added in.

"Trying to show off, dear?" Octavia asked with a smile.

"It really was a great way to demonstrate several mechanics in action, though." Rarity added.

"Sure was. Great stuff, Vinyl!" Applejack agreed.

Vinyl smirked and waved at the audience, "Thanks! But you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

"Why do you get all the cheers?" Wallflower asked jokingly.

"I won the crowd. What can I say? I've got great stage presence!" Vinyl responded with a comical exaggeration of confidence. "But, you already have a fan too."

"Huh? I haven't done anything yet?" Wallflower asked, confused. But her question was answered almost immediately after.

"Come on, Wallflower!" Sunset cheered, "Show me something awesome! Turn it around!"

"Oh..." Wallflower said, her trademark blush becoming evident as she smiled contently. She turned and waved back, "Just watch me, Sunny! I'll give you something to really cheer about!"

She didn't notice the gleam in Vinyl's eyes as she finished waving and looked down at her hand.

"Do I sense something extra between you two, Wally?" Vinyl asked, mischievously grinning.

Wallflower looked up from her hand, blushing for a different reason now, "Don't be ridiculous. She's just being a good, slightly over-supportive friend."

"Right." Vinyl responded, rolling her eyes, "Then give her something to really cheer about. Try and get through my defenses!"

"I'd be happy to!" The flower girl shot back, "First, I'm gonna activate Mystical Space Typhoon! Let's get rid of that pesky Crescendo!"

A violent whirlwind of air and water shot out, breaking through the set card. It shattered, much to Vinyl's irritation.

"Lucky draw!" The DJ said in mock arrogance.

"Oh, it looks like Wallflower has gotten privy to Vinyl's tricks." Octavia commented.

"Yeah! Nice going!" Sunset cheered.

"What a low-key way to handle things." Pinkie said, staring off into the distance.

"We're just getting started!" Wallflower shouted, "Next, I activate Seed of Deception! This let's me special summon on level two or lower plant monster from my hand! And I choose Copy Plant in defense mode!"

Rising from the ground, several roots snaked together in formation, until it took a vague upright shape, small eyes peeking through the tangles in the center. (LV1 0/0)

"Wait, she summoned a monster with no attack or defense? Why?" Rainbow asked, a cross between disappointed and confused.

"You'll find power isn't everything in this game, Rainbow." Octavia sighed.

"Well, it doesn't look too scary." Fluttershy said, slightly less tense.

"You know this guy pretty well!" Wallflower declared.

"He's only as good as the other monsters you have on the field. Show me what else you got!" Vinyl shot back.

"Fine!" Wallflower shouted, "Next I summon Lonefire Blossom!"

With that, a flower that had the appearance of a bomb where the bulb and petals should be sprouted from the ground. At the bulb's end, a fuse could be seen. (LV3 500/1400)

"Now, it'll get interesting." Octavia explained, "Lonefire Blossom is one of the most important cards in her deck. Vinyl more than likely wanted to negate its effect and play from there. But now, she's down Orcust Crescendo."

"Which means Vinyl better have a Plan B." Sunset was able to finish.

Wallflower smirked, "Now, I'll use Lonefire Blossom's ability! I tribute it to summon any plant-type monster from my deck!"

"You already know you won't! Crescendo wasn't the only card I had for that! I activate Infinite Impermanence!" Vinyl shouted as her trap flipped face-up. "I'm gonna have to negate that Lonefire effect anyway!"

"Like heck you will!" The gardener exclaimed, "I activate the effect of Rose Archer in my hand!"

"A hand effect?! That's new in your deck!" Vinyl shouted in surprise.

"Just got it today." Wallflower responded easily, "And her effect let's me discard her to negate any trap card as long as I control a plant!"

In that instant, an arrow shot from above, piercing through the Impermanence and shattering its hologram.

"Woah, that's a fancy lil trick right there." Applejack commented.

"I think I wanna call it a hand trap!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"That's... An ironic name but also not entirely inaccurate." Octavia admitted.

Wallflower raised her hands in confidence, "As I was saying, I tribute Lonefire Blossom in order to special summon a monster from my deck! And I choose another new addition! Flower now, Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!"

With that, a massive rose appeared on the field. Slowly, it bloomed, revealing the upper half of a humanoid creature growing directly from the center. It had fitting ornaments and armor resembling the rose itself adorning it. (LV8 2800/2600)

"Oh, now that's a beautiful creature!" Rarity gushed with excitement.

"It looks strong, too." Rainbow nodded.

"It's the friendliest creature I've seen today." Fluttershy said with a smile.

"Oh, dang." Vinyl growled, "Definitely wasn't expecting this. You get her earlier today?"

"You know it!" Wallflower grinned, "And now I'm gonna use her! Tytannial, attack Galatea! Sharpest Thorns!"

"How about no!" Vinyl shot back, "I activate my other trap card, Orcustrated Attack! When you declare an attack, I get to tribute one Orcust monster I control then banish one of yours! I'll choose my Harp Horror and your Tytannial!"

"Wow. Vinyl really did have a backup plan against Wallflower's backup plan." Twilight observed, a bit impressed.

"Better luck next time!" Vinyl taunted.

"You really should research your opponent's cards more!" Wallflower smirked.

"Huh?"

"Tytannial's special ability!" The gardener shouted with confidence, "When a card gets targeted by an effect, I can tribute a plant type monster to negate it!"

"What?! Aww man!"

"Wow." Twilight blinked, "That's a crazy turn of events."

"No kidding!" Pinkie agreed, "Wallflower had a backup plan to counter Vinyl's backup plan against her first backup plan!"

"Woohoo!" Sunset cheered, "Way to go, Wallflower!"

With that, Tytannial raised its index finger at the trap. A single rose Thorn shot out, shattering the card as Harp Horror and Copy Plant disappated from the field.

"Now, continue the attack! Tytannial, destroy Galatea!" Wallflower ordered.

With a slight nod, Tytannial launched several rose vines at its opposition, destroying it in a flood of rose petals.

Vinyl: 3000
Wallflower: 4000

"Well, damn." Vinyl sighed.

"Man, that's crazy. What a move!" Rainbow cheered.

"And that's how we do it!" The gardener declared with a grin.

Unfortunately, Wallflower's triumph wasn't mean to last.

At that moment, a tremor began ripping itself through the area, drawing the girls out of their reverie.

"What the heck?! This isn't part of the game, right?!" Rarity shouted as she braced herself.

"I should hope not!" Octavia responded, quickly grabbing ahold of the guardrail to her left.

"Hold on, guys!" Sunset ordered as the tremor continued.

"This is the second scariest thing today!" Fluttershy whimpered.

Vinyl took a wider stance, trying to keep herself balanced. Across the field, Wallflower had been knocked to the ground and decided it safer to stay down for the duration of the event.

As quickly as it came, the shaking of the earth passed. The girls stayed motionless for a few more moments, before getting back up.

"The heck was that?!" Applejack asked in frustration.

"Whatever it was, at least it's over now." Octavia sighed.

Rainbow glanced down, poking at a device similar to a watch, "Where'd our duel disks go? And what're these?"

"If they aren't being used, they'll return to their compact form." Octavia supplied, "It makes them easy to carry at all times. I did say they were compact models."

Just as the explanation left her mouth, a rapid beeping began emanating from Twilight's bag.

Quickly, she reached in, pulling out a device that Sunset Shimmer recognized.

"Hey!" She shouted, "That's the device you had when you were scanning the CHS statue!"

"I've made some modifications to it, at Rainbow's suggestion." Twilight responded sheepishly.

"Well, what's it do?" Vinyl asked as herself and Wallflower made their way back to the group.

"It detects abnormal energy signatures." Twilight answered as she began playing with it.

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, "I figured if anything magical came along again, it'd be better if we knew about it ASAP."

"Huh." Sunset blinked, "Good thinking, Rainbow."

"Got it!" The techie exclaimed, drawing the group's attention, "It's coming from the woods out back! And it's close!"

A collective sigh ran through them.

"We gotta check it out, don't we?" Applejack asked with an exasperated expression.

"Afraid so, AJ." Sunset answered with a grin expression.

"I'm coming with you." Octavia declared, "I used to play in these woods all the time as a child."

Sunset shook her head, "It isn't safe, Tavi."

That response got a roll of the eyes from the cellist, "It's not for you lot either. Quite frankly, going to CHS isn't 'safe', as you call it."

"She's got ya there." Pinkie said with a shurg.

"I'll fight you on this all night." Octavia finished.

Sunset was about to respond, before the geode present on neck began to pulsate. Quickly she set her hand upon it. After a moment, she sighed.

"Fine. But stay behind us."

"We're coming too!" Vinyl added.

"Guys..." Sunset groaned tiredly.

"It's safer as a whole group anyway." Wallflower quickly interjected.

"She's not wrong." Twilight agreed, albeit reluctantly.

Sunset thought for a moment, before caving, "Fine. Something tells me it really is better if we stick together. But stay behind us!"

"Gotcha." Vinyl nodded.

Wallflower quickly positioned herself behind Sunset, "Can do."

"Guess you two'll need to finish your game later." Pinkie added in.

"I'm a bit more concerned about the readings at this point." Octavia said neutrally.

"Agreed. Let's get going." Twilight nodded.

With that the girls began their journey towards whatever the device had detected.

None of them could have known the adventures and trials that awaited them.

Author's Note

Hey guys! This is something I've been cooking up for a long time. If it receives a positive response, I'll be sure to continue it.

Edit: I somehow forget spell speed. It's been adjusted. Thanks for reminding me, edge!

Chapter 1: Magic Vs Machine

"Ugh," Rarity groaned, "Twilight, dear? I believe you and I have different definitions of 'close'."

When the group had left Octavia's house, they had been under the assumption that the detection was within striking distance. It was only after they'd departed the house that the techie gave them an estimate of several miles.

Which, of course, was extended by the rough and heavily wooded terrain.

Twilight didn't glance up from her device, "Subjectively, it's close. We've only been walking for about forty-five minutes. And we're almost on top of the energy signature."

"About time!" Rainbow Dash said, "Let's just get it taken care of so we can go back to chillin out."

"While I understand your sentiments," Twilight replied, "it may not be that easy. Now that we're closer, I can confirm it. The signature is similar to Equestrian Magic, but it's different."

"So, you guys have a new kind of baddie?" Vinyl asked.

"It sure sounds that way." Sunset confirmed with a sigh.

"I've got to be honest," Octavia added, "I haven't really been this far very often. The terrain we find ourselves stepping through being the exact reason."

"Don't sell yourself short." Twilight said, "You've been a great help avoiding a lot of unnecessary danger."

The cellist merely shrugged, "I'm here to help as much as possible."

As they crested another hill, Twilight raised a hand, signaling for a stop. Looking to her left, she pointed to a cave, "It's coming from in there."

"Wait a second." Octavia said, "I know that wasn't here before.

In response, a single lantern lit itself just within the cavern.

"Well, that's ominous!" Pinkie commented.

"I'm gonna suggest we pony up." Sunset said, "Maybe the rest of you should stay out here."

"Oh yes," Wallflower rolled her eyes, "us non-superpowered people can just stand outside of the evil-looking cave in the middle of the woods!"

At that, Sunset winced, "Right, dumb idea, sorry."

Wallflower softened, "Sorry, didn't mean to snap. Maybe it's safer out here, maybe not. I'd prefer if we were with the superheroes on this one though."

"Seconded." Vinyl nodded.

"Then we ought keep it tight." Applejack told them.

"Copy that, captain." Pinkie agreed, saluting.

"Let's do this thing!" Rainbow shouted, slamming her first into the other palm.

With that, after transforming, albeit with less flash than normal, the group began their journey into the cave, keeping close together.

~~~~~~~~~~

After entering the cave, they had wordlessly descended deeper and deeper.

As they went, a lantern lit itself every couple yards they traveled. The more came on, the more unsettled the group felt.

It was then they began to to notice the discrepancies between a normal cave and where they currently found themselves.

"This place doesn't feel right." Wallflower broke the silence, "It's too quiet. And look, moss isn't even growing in here.

"That's not all." Fluttershy added, "No mice, no snakes, no bats, not even any insects. There's no life at all. It's unnatural."

"There's a good possibility we're walking right into a trap." Sunset observed.

"No doubt about that. Can't help wondering who's the one setting it, though." Vinyl thought aloud.

"Unfortunately, we might have to wait for them to spring it to find out." Twilight answered.

With that, they continued on in silence.

Not a few minutes later, they found the path leading into a massive chamber. It had laterns around the walls, luminating its entirety.

Almost immediately after entering, a sudden flash occurred behind the girls. To their horror, they turned to see the tunnel they came through was no longer there. It looked as if it was never there. Just more of the walls they had been looking at.

"Where'd the exit go!?" Pinkie shrieked in confusion.

"It's gone!" Rainbow scowled. Fluttershy simply whimpered and latched onto the athlete's arm.

"This isn't possible..." Twilight sighed.

"This has magic written all over it." Sunset said with a growl.

"Close, but not exactly what kind you're used to." A new voice pierced the silence and shocked all the girls as they turned toward the source. There, on the other side of the chamber, stood a new figure, hooded in an all-black cloak. A highly stylized, cursive 'V' adorned the right side of the chest. However, Twilight recognized the figure's voice almost immediately.

"... Principal Cinch?"

The other girls looked to her in confusion, then back to the figure in battle stance.

There was a beat of silence, then a maniacal laugh as the hood was removed.
Twilight was right, to the shock of her friends.

"You're right, Miss Sparkle! You always were too attentive for your own good!" Cinch sneered.

"You?! You're the source of these weird readings?!" Sunset asked through her scowl.

"Woah, plot twist." Vinyl commented.

"Enough of one, anyway." Octavia agreed.

Cinch chuckled in amusement, "Yes, I am. And it's all thanks to these new powers I've been given. As I'm sure you've noticed, your escape route is now gone. And now, I'm going to eliminate all in my way. Starting with you and your friends, Twilight."

Twilight didn't waver, locking eyes with her formal principal, "Why? Because I transferred out of Crystal Prep? Because we didn't win those blasted games?! You can't be serious!"

Cinch glared back, "Yes, those play their parts. However, the ultimate reason lies in the destruction of our reputation. And of course, the fact I was removed from my position. In favor of your precious Dean Cadance, no less."

Twilight found herself caught off-guard, "You got fired? I knew Cadance was promoted, but..."

Cinch bared her teeth in anger, "Yes! All thanks to you!"

She shook with anger, before going rigid and giving an abnormally large grin. The girls all found themselves unnerved, taking an unconscious step back in near unison.

Cinch then turned her focus to the others. Sunset thought she saw a flicker of green and black pass through her adversary's eyes. With a snap of her fingers, a magical barrier suddenly began to rise around the girls.

"Look out!" Wallflower shouted.

With speed she didn't know she was capable of, she rushed to Sunset, shoving with all her might.

The momentum happened to carry the both of them outside of the barrier's intended range, but barely.

The rest who didn't escape the magical field reacted quickly, attacking the barrier in unison. But it was futile. It didn't budge an inch. And Twilight had seen enough to lose her composure.

"Do you even know what you're doing?! That power is dangerous! It could destroy people! Destroy you! Didn't you learn anything from what happened to me?!" She screamed with all her heart.

At first, her adversary didn't react. But then, she gave a confident grin, "Believe me, child. I understand fully. And it's a risk I'm willing to take. All for my revenge. I used my entire life to build up Crystal Prep. And now, it's all gone."

Cinch then turned to Sunset, "Of course, I'd say it was all because of you. You ruined everything."

"Excuse you?!" Wallflower quickly cut in, "She saved everyone from your screw-up!"

Cinch raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that, child?"

"I was there, you jerk!" Wallflower found herself screaming, "I saw the entire thing! Before, I was too blinded by hate and jealousy to admit it, but she saved the entire world! And the other one too!"

"Wallflower..." Sunset whispered, truly touched by the stand the gardener was making against a far more powerful foe. On her behalf, no less.

"Hmph." Cinch sneered, "You simply talk too much."

With that, the disgraced principal raised her hand. Instantly, a burst of energy erupted from her hand and into the young gardener.

It made impact, sending her flying into the cave wall. The collision was noticably audible.

"Wallflower!" Sunset cried, rushing over to her friend's side.

Quickly, she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. A wince and whimper squeezed out of her.

"Ugh..." Wallflower groaned, "That hurt. A lot. You guys take hits like that all the time?"

"Preferably not." Sunset answered, quickly looking over her.

"I'm fine. Just bruised up."

"You won't be fine for long." Cinch corrected, raising her hand a second time.

Suddenly, the geode around Sunset's neck began glowing with vigor. Immediately after, the rest of the geodes began to glow as well.

"What?" Sunset whispered in confusion.

Cinch simply growled, "I don't know what those are, but they won't save you."

With that, she shot another wave of dark energy at the pair.

Sunset reacted in kind, forming a barrier around the two. The blast from Cinch careened off of it, smashing into the cave's ceiling.

At that moment, a beam of energy shot out of each of the girls' geodes, directly into their duel disks. A second from Sunset's ran to Wallflower. An aura of light enveloped her, then vanished almost as quickly.

"Wait, what?" The gardener asked, quickly patting herself over, "I don't hurt anymore."

She carefully got to her feet, looking herself over.

"That's new." Pinkie spoke up.

"Woah, never seen something like this before." Vinyl said with no small amount of awe.

"Thank goodness. It looks like whatever that was, it healed Wallflower's injuries." Octavia observed with a nod.

Cinch growled, "No matter, I'll simply do it again."

Before she could, a dark aura consumed her. She glanced over herself, before nodding reluctantly.

"Oh, very well," The ex-principal grit out, "We shall settle this with a game of Duel Monsters."

"And why should I accept a duel from you?!" Sunset shouted.

Cinch grinned, "Because if you don't," She raised her finger in the direction of Wallflower, then to her trapped friends, "They'll all pay the price. You might be able to match me. But you simply won't be able to match and protect them at the same time."

"Y'all some cowards fer sure!" Applejack shouted.

"Just some big meanies!" Pinkie agreed.

"You're unforgivable for hurting Wallflower!" Fluttershy added, a surprising amount of venom in her voice.

"She's definitely a typical bad guy." Vinyl agreed.

"I care not for what you think of me." Cinch said, "But if you defeat me, you'll be free to go."

"Don't trust her, Sunny." Wallflower whispered, gently grabbing Sunset's wrist.

"I don't really have a choice." She sighed, before turning to Cinch, "Fine, let's do this!"

"Sunset, no! You've never dueled before!" Octavia shouted.

"It's alright," The girl responded calmly, "I've gotten the rundown on my deck from Wallflower. And... The geode is telling me I have to do this."

"Be careful, Sunset." Applejack added, "Ya don't know wut kind a tricks she's using."

"Kick her butt, Sunny!" Pinkie cheered passionately.

Sunset nodded, and activated her duel disk. The geode began to glow, enveloping her device before fading away.

Cinch merely grinned, activating her own. Like Sunset, an aura enveloped her duel disk. But unlike Sunset's, it was dark and malicious.

"Duel!"

Sunset: 4000
Cinch: 4000

"Oh, and one more thing..." Cinch said, focusing a sphere of dark energy in her hand.

"What's that?!" Sunset demanded.

"Just a raise of the stakes." Cinch responded.

In one fluid motion, she raised her hand. The sphere of energy shattered itself dispersing around the two combatants.

With that, a crystal dark as night and tall as Cinch herself sprouted in the middle of the field. Following that, a seal glowing black and green expanded around the two duelists.

Sunset quickly turned, placing her hand out. She found that a barrier had formed itself around the perimeter of the seal.

"This," Cinch declared, "is a Shadow Duel. A wonderful thing, really. As the duel progresses, you'll find that all damage is inflicted is real! Death is, of course, a possibility."

"That's ridiculous!" Wallflower shouted, "It's just a game! How does that even work?!"

"She's right! That's completely insane!" Vinyl agreed.

"A near impossibility." Octavia gritted out.

"Normally, I'd agree..." Twilight responded grimly, "But with magic involved, it's a very real possibility."

Cinch glanced over at the trapped teens, "It's reasonable enough to find that hard to believe. But, Duel Monsters isn't just a game, of course."

"What does that mean?" Rarity asked, narrowing her eyes.

The disgraced principal chuckled, "It would be a waste of time explaining it all to those with so little time left in this world."

"Then I'll beat it out of you." Sunset declared, "What you're talking about, where you got these powers, I'll beat it all out of you!"

"Foolish of you to believe you can." Cinch told her, "Now then, it's time to duel. As an educator, it seems right that I allow you the first move and critique your mistakes."

"I'd use that term lightly." Twilight snarked quietly.

"Fine by me!" Sunset shouted, glancing down at her hand.

"Come on, Sunset. I know you got this..." Wallflower whispered to herself.

"I'll start by playing the field spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion!" Sunset declared.

Around them, an expansive city rose from the ground. The architecture was of older variety, but shone like an illustration from a history book. In the distance, a grand tower that stood above all else could be seen.

"Woah. Alright, Twi, Ah've gotta give ya this one. That's sumthin else." Applejack said, looking around the field.

"It's a true picture of rustic beauty!" Rarity exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"That's impressive, to be certain." Octavia agreed, "but I hope it does more than just look beautiful."

Sunset took a moment to admire her work, before continuing to play, "Next, I'm gonna set the Pendulum Scale using Servant of Endymion and Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic! Two and eight!"

With that, two pillars of light flared on either side of Sunset, before two stone slabs with simplistic sketches of the two monsters firmly planted themselves to the spot.

"And since setting the Pendulum Scale counts as playing spells, my Citadel gains two spell counters!" Sunset shouted.

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 2

"Nice... Nice going, Sunset!" Wallflower cheered, "Great going first play!"

"Admirable, but it will ultimately be useless." Cinch taunted from across the field.

"We'll see about that." Sunset shrugged, "Next, I'm going to Pendulum Summon my Magical Abductor in defense mode!"

At that, a woman adorned with refined ornamental head accessories and a flowing robe of mint green and black appeared on the battlefield. In her hands, a strange scepter held defensively in front of herself. (LV4 1700/1400)

Sunset looked over to her monster, and she could of sworn it nodded to her. She quickly shook her head, "Finally, I'll play Pot of Desires! This spell let's me banish the top ten cards of my deck facedown, and then I get to draw two!"

With that, she took ten cards from the top of her deck and inserted them into the deck holder attached to her belt.

"Preparing for next turn, are we?" Cinch mocked, "It won't do you any good. A child like you has no hopes of defeating me. Especially one with zero experience. Draw all you want!"

Sunset glared back but didn't respond immediately. Eventually, she nodded to her opponent, "Every card of my field gains a spell counter."

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 3
Servant of Endymion: 1
Endymion, the MMM: 1
Magical Abductor: 1

"That's a pretty big risk, playing it at the end of her first turn." Vinyl commented.

"Inexperience, perhaps." Octavia sighed.

"I'm not a math genius," Rainbow added, "but didn't she banish like a fourth of her deck just to draw two?"

"Indeed. There's a high probability she banished something she might have needed later." Twilight agreed nervously.

"Don't get me wrong," Vinyl spoke again, "it's an insanely good card in fast-paced decks. But it's usually used as a way to get more pieces to push for the win. It doesn't matter too much, since she was going first. But it's just odd timing."

"I hope she knows what she's doing..." Fluttershy almost whispered.

Sunset looked over the two new cards in her hand, "And I'll end my turn right there."

"Finally." Cinch sneered, "Now, it's my turn. I draw!"

She glanced down at her hand. An expression of scrutiny crossed her face, before she looked back up with a wicked grin.

"First," the former principal declared, "I'll activate the effect of Cyberdark Cannon! By discarding it, I can add any machine-type Cyberdark monster from my deck to my hand!"

The former principal discarded the creature from her hand and began rummaging through her deck, "Ahh, yes. Perfect. I'll add this one... And I think I'll summon it right away! Rise, Cyberdark Horn!"

Without waiting a beat, she placed the selected monster onto the field.

Rising to the field came a strange amalgamation of machinery that formed into the loose shape of a dragon. (LV4 800/800)

"Next, I'll use the on-summon ability of my Horn. He allows me to use a level three or lower dragon-type monster in my graveyard as an equip spell. I'll choose the one I just discarded, Cyberdark Cannon!"

The beast roared as the discarded Cyberdark Cannon appeared on the field. Immediately, Cyberdark Horn wrapped its spikes around the creature. It cried in distress, before several cables extended from the machine and attached themselves to the Cannon's head. In an instant, it went still. Several similar tendrils reached out of its mouth, plugging into the Horn.

Cyberdark Horn (2400/800)

"Oh my... The poor thing." Fluttershy whispered. Despite its imposing appearance, she couldn't help but feel bad for it being used as a shield.

"Cyberdark monsters are nasty business." Octavia sighed, "They use their fallen comrades as power boosts."

"I'm not a fan of that playstyle." Rainbow said with a scowl.

"It's fitting they're being used by Cinch." Twilight shook her head.

"Makes sense you're using a strategy like that!" Sunset spat, "Using other people's talents is something you're good at!"

Cinch merely gave a bored expression, "And what's wrong with using these weaker soldiers to make the more powerful ones even stronger? The rules of my deck apply to life as well. Find a way to utilize the underachievers to your advantage."

That garnered unified scorn from the girls. It wasn't too surprising to see she believed that, but it was another thing to explain it like a natural thing that occurs.

"Wow, lady." Wallflower commented, "You're really messed up in the head."

"I suppose I'm supposed to care what you children think?" Cinch asked, "This is how the world works. And it's how my Cyberdark deck will run rampant over you little pests."

She looked towards Magical Abductor, "Cyberdark Horn, attack that little magician. Oh, and so you know, this one inflicts piercing damage."

"Piercing damage?" Applejack asked.

Octavia bit her lip, "It means that the difference between Cyberdark Horn's attack and Magical Abductor's defense will be dealt to Sunset as damage."

"That's really bad." Rainbow growled.

With a hiss, Cyberdark Horn charged at Magical Abductor, crashing its head into her. The spellcaster let out a grunt before shattering.

"And now, I'll deal one-thousand points of damage to you!" Cinch declared.

Cyberdark Horn turned to Sunset, and loosed a concentrated beam of energy at its opponent.

Sunset braced herself, but didn't expect an actual impact to take her off of her feet.

She flew back into the barrier, before collapsing to the ground.

"Sunset, no!" Wallflower screamed, "How?! They're just holograms, right?!"

Cinch chuckled darkly, "Now you see the influence of a Shadow Duel. I told you! All the damage is real!"

Rainbow began pounding at the barrier containing herself and the rest of the group, "Wait til I get my hands on you!"

"Sunset! Please be alright!" Vinyl shouted.

"How dare you do that to Sunset?!" Fluttershy cried.

"Simple. I dealt damage." The former principal responded with a smirk.

"Cheap shot." Sunset growled, pulling everyone's attention.

Unsteadily, she got to her feet. She had noticable scrapes and scuffes on both her person and her clothes. A single cut ran across her right cheek, bleeding slightly.

"Real damage..." Octavia gasped, "Blast! This really is a life-or-death battle!"

"Sunny!" Pinkie shouted, "You're okay! Well, not okay. But like, you're still conscious and that kind of thing!"

"I don't know how many shots like that she can take, though." Twilight grimaced, "Even with our powers and magic protection, we still try to avoid getting hit too much. For that reason alone. Some of us don't have as strong a resistance to damage as others."

"Then she's gotta win quick." Rainbow said intensely.

Cinch raised an eyebrow, "Hmm. You are tough, I'll give you that. But now you understand. I'm going to rip you to pieces, bit by bit. And then, the rest of you rabble."

"Not gonna happen." Sunset grit, pulling herself up to full posture, "Are you finished?"

"For now." Cinch responded, "Oh, but Cyberdark Cannon's ability let's me send one monster to the graveyard. I'll choose Infernal Dragon. And I'll set one card face-down. Now, I'm finished."

"Then it's my turn." Sunset spat, "I draw!"

Looking down to her cards she began running her eyes over them. She had to formulate a plan to streamline a victory.

"First, I'm gonna Pendulum Summon Mythical Beast Jackal King to the field!" Sunset declared.

A cloud of mist began to appear in front of Sunset. After a moment, out from the cloud stepped a majestic creature. Adorned by armor not dissimilar to what a mage would wear, it did indeed take the form of a jackal. One with varying shades of blue. Its long and ethereal fur fluttered around, almost like a fire. (LV6 2400/1400)

"Wow. That's one impressive monster." Octavia commented.

"He's gorgeous." Fluttershy said, small smile adorning her face.

"It truly is a breathtaking creature." Rarity agreed.

"He's strong too!" Rainbow added.

Cinch wasn't impressed, "So you've summoned a monster with equal attack power to mine. You understand that if you try to attack, both our monsters will be destroyed?"

"Don't patronize me." Sunset scowled, "I know that. Which is why I'm not done yet!"

"Then do something worthy of note." Cinch sneered.

"I will!" Sunset declared, "I equip Jackal King with the spell card One-Shot Wand! This gives him an additional eight-hundred attack points!"

The beast took hold of the staff with a boomerang-like head in its mouth, casually craning its neck side-to-side.

Mythical Beast Jackal King (3200/1400)

"That's sum attack power." Applejack said.

"It's impressive, to say the least." Rarity agreed.

Sunset smirked, "And of course, I'll gain spell counters. And Jackal King gains two instead of one!"

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 4
Servant of Endymion: 2
Endymion, the MMM: 2
Jackal King: 2

"Now, Jackal King! Attack Cyberdark Horn! Mythical Melee!"

The creature nodded, before appearing almost instantaneously in front of it's opponent. Quickly, it swiped its head, making the staff smash into the Cyberdark machine.

The creature roared, crushing its spikes deep into Cyberdark Cannon. With a cry, the equipment monster shattered, but Cyberdark Horn remained.

A wave of wind burst towards Cinch. She quickly crossed her arms, concentrating that same dark energy from before over herself. She maintained her ground, being pushed back only slightly.

Cinch: 3000
Sunset: 3000

"What?!" Sunset cried in confusion.

"Why wasn't that thing destroyed?!" Rainbow shouted.

"Cyberdark monsters have an additional effect as well..." Octavia said with a scowl.

Cinch grinned, "When a Cyberdark would be destroyed by battle, it destroys the equip spell instead!"

"They really did use Cyberdark Cannon like a shield." Fluttershy said with realization.

"Ah was right, cowardly as they come." Applejack scowled.

"No doubt." Vinyl nodded, "But more than that, it takes a lot to take em down."

"Still, its attack power isn't nearly the threat it was when it had Cannon equipped." Twilight said nervously.

"You must try harder than that if you hope to defeat me!" Cinch gloated.

Sunset grit her teeth, "I'm not done yet! To finish my turn, I'll play Allure of Darkness! I draw two, then banish a dark monster from my hand!"

She did just that, taking two cards from her deck, then placing another card into her deck holder.

"I'll banish Breaker The Magical Warrior. That's all for me."

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 5
Servant of Endymion: 3
Endymion, the MMM: 3
Jackal King: 4

"Then it's my turn." Cinch said, drawing a card. After a moment, she grinned, "It's time I put you in your place."

"Then quit talking and do it already!" Sunset growled back.

"My pleasure." Cinch declared, "First, I'll deal with your Jackal King's annoying ability. I activate my face-down card, Fiendish Chain!"

In that instant, several chains materializing around the Jackal King. While fighting viciously, it was eventually wrapped within the chains.

"No!" Octavia cried.

"What?! Why's that so terrible?!" Twilight asked in a panic.

Vinyl cut in, "Jackal King's ability would allow him to negate monster effects. It would've been huge for crippling Cinch's deck, at least for a few turns."

"But now, she's free to do whatever she wants..." Octavia finished.

"Next, I'll activate the spell card Polymerization from my hand!" Cinch declared, slapping the card onto her duel disk. "Using the Horn on my field, as well as Cyberdark Keel and Cyberdark Edge in my hand, I send them all to my graveyard in order to summon my most powerful monster!"

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 6
Servant of Endymion: 4
Endymion, the MMM: 4
Jackal King: 4

"This is bad. Really bad." Octavia gritted out.

"Three-monster fusions usually aren't good for the other player." Vinyl agreed.

"Sunny..." Wallflower whispered with worry.

At once, she took the Cyberdark Horn from her field, as well as two cards from her hand, and placed them into her graveyard.

With that, a portal of blue and orange appeared on the field. It began shaking with pitch-black sparks mimicking electricity.

"Rise to my field, Cyberdark Dragon!"

A beast slowly began emerging from the portal. It bled malicious energy from every crevice on its body, manifested as whisps of living shadows. It held a similarity to Cyberdark Horn in regards to its spikes, but it appeared as a massive serpent with a vicious groan emanating from its jaws. (LV8 1000/1000)

"Woah, nelly." Applejack gasped, "That's a big 'un raht there."

"It looks so... Vicious." Rarity said quietly.

"I'm betting it's more than just looks." Rainbow added.

"This is the beginning of the end!" Cinch declared, grinning maniacally, "Or should I say yours? Cyberdark Dragon will equip the Infernal Dragon in my graveyard!"

Cyberdark Dragon roared. Shooting tendrils into the portal, they eventually dragged a fighting Infernal Dragon to it. Much like before, the spikes and tendrils attached, silencing the objection of its new power source.

Cyberdark Dragon: 3000/1000

"Oh, crap." Sunset breathed out.

"Indeed." Cinch sneered, "Next, I activate Limiter Removal! This card will double my Cyberdark Dragon's attack power!"

With a roar, the creature nearly doubled in size almost instantly.

Cyberdark Dragon: 6000/1000

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 7
Servant of Endymion: 5
Endymion, the MMM: 5
Jackal King: 4

"Oh, no!" Twilight screamed.

"This isn't looking good..." Fluttershy whimpered.

"Shit." Wallflower gritted out, unconsciously wringing her hands together.

"Cyberdark Dragon, attack Mythical Beast Jackal King! Show her what real power is!" Cinch ordered.

With that, the mighty dragon shot a massive beam of energy directly at its enemy. Jackal King was consumed in a massive explosion, and that same explosion hit Sunset Shimmer with equal vigor.

At once, she was sent flying into the barrier with a scream. Her impact into it caused a huge thump, and an audible crunch. She slid down the barrier, collapsing onto the ground like a ragdoll.

"Sunset! Sunset, no!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

She immediately began attacking the barrier that contained them again, this time the entire group joining her.

Like before, it didn't budge an inch.

"Dammit!" Applejack shouted in anger.

"We gotta get to Sunny!" Pinkie shouted, throwing another exploding cupcake at the barrier.

"Sunset! Come on, girl! Show me some movement!" Twilight screamed as loud as she could.

Sunset didn't even make a sound.

Wallflower began pounding on the barrier that kept her savior separated, "Sunset! Get up! Please! Don't leave us!"

Slowly, the gardener's pounding came to a halt. She fell to her knees, sobbing profusely.

"Don't leave me..." She whispered through her tears.

Wallflower was in disbelief. The first person to ever acknowledge her. The first person to ever reach out to her. The person she held dearest, the reason she was in such a better place than before... Was gone.

"This can't be happening..." She whispered to herself, wracked with another fit of violent sobs.

"Sunset..." Twilight whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Like Wallflower, she held Sunset in the highest esteem for the forgiveness and friendship she offered. Twilight felt like she owed the person she was now to her dear, out of place friend. For her, it was like someone had ripped all her hope out of her.

The rest weren't fairing any better. Every one of them were in violent tears. Fluttershy cried into Rainbow Dash's arms. The athlete herself was trying her damnedest not to break down. Applejack attacked the barrier again with renewed vigor, angry tears staining her face.

Vinyl and Octavia quietly cried, supporting each other just to stay upright. Pinkie's hair went completely flat, a look of pure hate never seen before on her face as the tears wouldn't stop falling.

It was in the midst of all this anguish that person responsible spoke up, "This is what happens when you oppose someone so obviously superior."

That broke it for Wallflower. She shot back up, punching the barrier over and over, her own hands bleeding profusely.

"Shut up! She was a better person than you could ever be!" She screamed, angrier than almost anyone had ever heard a person speak, "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Hmph." Cinch sneered, "If you're so eager, I'll dispose of you next."

Another voice, one familiar like a dream, pulled everyone's attention and stunned them into silence. It was quiet and strained by pain, but also resolute.

"Like hell you will."

Slowly, Sunset Shimmer tried to rise to her feet. She was covered in deep gashes and huge bruises. A generous stream of blood ran from the corners of her mouth.

It took a moment, but slowly, she stood up. If she looked unsteady last time, there wasn't a strong enough word for how she remained upright now. It was as if sheer willpower was the only thing that kept her conscious and able to move at all.

Sunset: 200
Cinch: 3000

"Sunset!" The girls shouted in unison. Their tones were a strange mix of concern, relief, and pure happiness.

"Oh," Cinch commented, trying to keep the amazement out of her tone, "it appears you're still alive."

"I won't let someone like you do me in." Sunset responded, an angry scowl and nashed teeth adorning her expression. Whether from pain or anger, no one could be sure.

"I won't let you hurt Wallflower or any of my friends! I'll beat you right here!" Sunset declared, no uncertainty in her voice.

"While your fortitude must be admired, you must accept you don't stand a chance at this point." Cinch told her with a glare.

"I won't be beaten here." Sunset stated, "I activate the effect of One-Shot Wand! Since my monster did battle, I can destroy it to draw a card!"

With that, Sunset painstakingly raised her arm, pulling a card from the top of her deck.

"Oh!" Octavia realized, "Because Cinch played Limiter Removal, Cyberdark Dragon will be destroyed at the end of her turn!"

"She could still turn this around!" Rainbow shouted.

Cinch chuckled, "Yes, I suppose so... If I were to let that effect follow through. I activate my spell card, De-Fusion!"

In a flash, Cyberdark Dragon broke back into its smaller parts, each of them taking their place on the field.

Cyberdark Horn: 800/800
Cyberdark Keel: 800/800
Cyberdark Edge: 800/800

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 8
Servant of Endymion: 6
Endymion, the MMM: 6

"Dammit!" Applejack cursed, "Them things are back again!"

"Not for long!" Cinch grinned, "I activate Cyberdark Impact! from my hand! This allows me to return these three to my deck and return to me Cyberdark Dragon!"

As Cinch began shuffling the smaller Cyberdarks back into her deck, the maligned dragon reappeared on the field, once again adorned with Infernal Dragon.

Cyberdark Dragon: 3000/1000

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 9
Servant of Endymion: 7
Endymion, the MMM: 7

"No way..." Wallflower gasped.

"All that, and Cinch didn't lose a thing!" Fluttershy cried in fear.

"This..." Twilight couldn't even complete her sentence.

Cinch grinned darkly, "And I think I'll end I'm turn by playing the field spell, Cyberdark Inferno!"

Cyberdark Dragon roared angrily, its entirety bursting into flames. It shook its head for a moment, before calming down and glancing down at Sunset.

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 10
Servant of Endymion: 8
Endymion, the MMM: 8

"That's where I end this turn." Cinch sneered, "Hurry up with yours so I can finish you off!"

"Not gonna happen." Sunset growled, "I draw for turn!"

She quickly looked over the cards in her hand, before turning to the disgraced principal, "Cinch... I win!"

"What?!" Her adversary asked in astonishment.

"I really hope she isn't bluffing..." Octavia whispered.

"She isn't." Wallflower looked to Sunset with tears in her eyes, this time from happiness, "She's got all she needs to win."

"Impossible!" Cinch growled.

"It's very possible!" Sunset shot back, "Haven't you wondered what all my spell counters do? What they're for?"

"Hey, yeah!" Rainbow shouted in realization, "She's been stocking those up since the duel started!"

"And now, I'm gonna use them! First, I'll summon Magister of Endymion in attack mode!" Sunset declared.

Jumping from an unseen spot came a monster in robes of green and gold, adorned with red jewels. A visor covered the creature's face as it held a magical scepter crackling with energy of red and yellow. (LV3 1500/900)

"Well, he means business." Rainbow commented.

"That's your big play?" Cinch mocked, "He can't possibly hope to defeat my dragon!"

"Not on his own." Sunset responded, "Next, I'll remove three spell counters from Servant of Endymion! This allows me to special summon Servant of Endymion from the scale! And she'll go ahead and bring out Reflection of Endymion from my deck as well!"

A strong whirlwind quickly swept through the field, causing both duelists to cover their eyes.

When they looked back, two monsters stood on the field. One was dressed in a white and gold robe, golden ornament in one hand and golden scepter in the other. A circular piece of gold and white architecture hovered behind. (LV7 1850/2700)

The second was in a robe of green and black. A bird-like mask covered her eyes as she wielded two miniature wands in each hand. (LV 3 900/1500)

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 10
Servant of Endymion: 5
Endymion, the MMM: 8

"You may outnumber me in monsters controlled," Cinch sneered, "but my monster is the most powerful one on the field!"

"Good thing I'm not done yet!" Sunset shouted back, "I remove six spell counters from Endymion, The Mighty Master of Magic in order to summon him from the scale!"

Like before, a strong whirlwind ripped through the battlefield. However, within the center was an orb of energy, glowing a powerful red and white.

The orb began to change, taking on the appearance of truly remarkable threat. It was creature adored in robes, this time of black and gold. Various ornamental red gems ran along the fringes. In its hand was a red sphere, a golden arc of steel and the handle of a staff rotated around it. (LV7 2800/1700)

Magical Citadel of Endymion: 10
Servant of Endymion: 5
Endymion, the MMM: 2

"He's still weaker than Cyberdark Dragon!" Cinch shouted.

Sunset smirked in response, "Then it's a good thing for his special ability! I can destroy cards on the field up to the number of cards that can hold a spell counter!"

Cinch recoiled, before grinning, "I suppose you don't know about my field spell! It prevents any of my Cyberdark monsters from being targeted by effects!"

"Dammit!" Vinyl scowled, "She was so close!"

"I hadn't even heard of that field spell before." Octavia added with a grimace.

"You mean all that was for nothing?!" Rainbow shouted in irritation.

"No..." Fluttershy whispered, standing far more rigid than she had been before.

Sunset, however, remained calm in the face of this newly-stated effect of Cyberdark Inferno.

Her thoughts drifted back to earlier in the day, as Wallflower and herself had built and discussed her deck.

~~~~~~~~~

"So, he's definitely the big, bad boss of the deck." Sunset commented, glancing down at her newly acquired Endymion card.

"Heck yeah!" Wallflower nodded, "He's got a lot of text to read, but it all matters."

As the group was walking back to their vehicles from the mall, Wallflower and Sunset had tailed towards the back. Their discussion centered heavily around the newly-minted duelist's recently-made deck.

Sunset had truly felt a connection to her Endymion card, as well as the rest of the deck that supported it.

She smiled down to her deck holder, "I don't know what it is, but they just feel right."

With that, she slipped Endymion back into the holder as well.

Wallflower darted in front of Sunset, halting them for a moment. She stopped her steps in the face of the gardener's new position.

"What?" Sunset asked, smirking in amusement.

"There's one other thing that makes Endymion's effect so ridiculous." Wallflower stated playfully.

"And what's that?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That is, Endymion's effect..."

~~~~~~~~~~

In response to Cinch's claims and her friends' concerns, Sunset smiled slightly.

"And what's so funny?!" Cinch growled.

"What's funny," Sunset responded, "is that Endymion's destruction effect is non-targeting!"

"What?!" Cinch shouted.

"Now that's a great conclusion to a duel!" Pinkie laughed.

"Endymion is the strongest card in Sunset's deck!" Wallflower shouted, "He can nuke the field and he doesn't target a damned thing!"

"No!" Cinch shouted, now realizing what that meant.

Quickly, Endymion raised its free hand. In one fluid motion, it swing its arm in an arc. Bolts of lightening shot out, piercing Cyberdark Dragon through.

In roared in resistance, before shatting into the many parts that made the horror come to life.

"Impossible!" Cinch shouted in fear.

"Afraid it's not!" Sunset declared, "Now, I'm going to end this! Everyone attack!"

At that, the geode around her neck began glowing again, brighter than ever before. And it wasn't the only one.

The geodes around the other girls necks began to glow as well. A beam of light shot from each one, directly to Sunset.

In a flash, the nightmare of Cinch once again took shape.

Sunset stood proud, once again adorned in the dress of white and red. All the injuries that had previously tattered her body began to heal before everyone's eyes.

Steadily, she began to float, and in an explosion of light, those wings of fire from the day she had defeated Midnight Sparkle once again took to the night sky.

Cinch began to back away, seeing the vision that had haunted her dreams return to life. All her planning, all her work, everything... Was about to be undone by this child a second time.

"No way!" Twilight shouted in awe.

"It's definitely about to be over!" Rainbow cheered in triumph.

Pinkie jumped excitedly, shaking Fluttershy's shoulders. Applejack took off her hat, grinning ear to ear.

Octavia and Vinyl happily leaned into each other, seeing Sunset once again achieve her status that had been affectionately monickered both 'Daylight Shimmer' and 'Daydream Shimmer' by the students of CHS and Crystal Prep.

"Still beautiful..." Wallflower whispered, smiling contently as a blush spread through her cheeks.

"This is where we end it." Sunset declared.

Without another word, she raised her palms towards the disgraced principal. Her monsters followed suit, pointing their scepters in the same fashion towards their opponent.

Endymion looked towards its master, and to the surprise of everyone, gave a resolute nod.

In unison, they shot their waves of magic at ex-principal Cinch.

The energy combined, forming a single massive beam of pure white light.

In response, Cinch crossed her arms, as a veil of darkness surrounded her. But it didn't stand a chance.

Without even the slightest hint of resistance, the shadows we're cut through, sending the target flying back into the barrier around the battlefield at high velocity.

Cinch landed on her feet from the impact, much to everyone's surprise but Sunset's, only to crumple to the ground almost immediately after.

Sunset: 200
Cinch: 0

Sunset stayed unmoving for a moment, before she slowly lowered herself to the ground. She looked amongst her monsters, who had all turned to face her. In unison, they nodded before dissipating.

Sunset herself let her magical transformation fade. Once she had returned to her usual appearance, she fell to the ground on one knee. She winced. While the massive injuries that had hobbled her had been healed, there was still pain coursing through.

Finally, the barriers that kept the girls trapped and Sunset separated fell. At once, the girls made a mad dash to their victorious friend.

Wallflower got there first, enveloping her in a gentle but compassionate embrace. She nuzzled her face into Sunset's, earning a subtle blush and relaxed smile.

Seconds later, the entire group joined in on the hug, happy to see that she was still in one piece.

"Sunset." Wallflower smiled, "You did amazing."

"Totally awesome!" Rainbow shouted, patting their victorious friend on the shoulder a bit too rough.

Applejack gently set her hand on Sunset's shoulder, "Mighty fine piece o work there, if Ah do say so mahself."

"Main character powers!" Pinkie shouted, much to the amused confusion of the group.

"Rookie, eh?" Vinyl asked, "Sure didn't play like it!"

"Indeed." Octavia agreed, "You played to your deck's strengths very well."

Sunset smiled, "I can't really take too much credit. Wallflower here taught me most of it on our way back to your place."

"Yeah, once!" Wallflower laughed, "The fact you remembered all of it's just crazy."

Their reverie was quickly broken, however, by the sound of a thunderous snap.

They all turned to see a massive crack run through the center of the crystal that Cinch had summoned.

A roar turned their attention to the fallen adversary. Shadows began to bleed out of the fallen principal, until they formed the vague shape of an angry creature. It appeared almost like a wolf, completely pitch-black, save for green eyes of malicious flame.

"Oh, my..." Fluttershy said, folding in on herself slightly.

"Wot in the..." Applejack breathed.

"Great." Rainbow groaned.

Twilight tensed up nervously, putting herself in front of Vinyl and Octavia. Meanwhile, for whatever reason, Pinkie Pie had impatient look of annoyance on her face.

After a few seconds, another crack formed in the crystal. This caused the new threat to roar once again, before being pulled into it in an almost comical fashion. Like water being poured from a vase, it slowly was pulled into the crystal.

Once all of it had disappeared, the crystal shattered into innumerable pieces. Then, those pieces faded from existence, removing almost all traces of the battle that had just been waged.

At that, Cinch groaned, forcing herself to her feet, "Damn it all."

This time, it was her battered from the attacks waged in the Shadow Duel. The former principal was covered in scuffs, bruises, and scratches across her entire body. A furious scowl was angrily directed at the girls.

"Where am I?" She growled, "And why am I in this condition? Perhaps most importantly, what are you lot doing here?!"

The girls confusedly looked among themselves. Was she faking? She had to be. How could she forget everything that just happened?

"That'd be on you." Sunset scowled, "You're the one who lured us here!"

"Preposterous!" Cinch sneered, "Why would I want you lot here for?!"

"Well," Pinkie spoke up, earning sighs from her friends, "youtotallyusedthiscrazypowerofdarknesstosetoffTwilight'smagicdetectorwhichpulledushereandthenyouforcedSunsettoduelyouandallthedamagewasreal!"

After that, Pinkie furiously sucked in air, before leaning on Fluttershy's shoulder, "And then you totally lost!"

"Dammit, Pinkie..." Rainbow groaned.

"Ridiculous!" Cinch declared, "Where would I... have..."

The former principal trailed off, much to the confusion of the group. After a moment, she grit her teeth, "Those insufferable welps! They used me!"

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, "Who used you? What are you even talking about? What did you do, Cinch?!"

"Hmm..."

"Ugh, spit it out!" Wallflower shouted.

"I'm weighing the 'enemy of my enemy' adage." Cinch sneered, "While I can't stand the lot of you brats, I hate being manipulated even more."

"Well, one of the two groups used dark magic and brainwashed you, before putting you in a life-or-death battle with a teenager. The other beat you in a school rivalry and got you fired." Vinyl said, rolling her eyes, "Gee, wonder which is worse?"

"You might as well tell us, Cinch." Sunset spoke up, "Or you'll be seeing a lot more of us until you do."

Cinch scowled. Either way, she'd be benefitting a group she'd love nothing more than to see burn into ashes.

However, eventually, her self-preservation won out over her hatred for being kicked from her career and legacy.

"Here's what I know," She gritted out, "there's a group of individuals none too fond of you lot. They plan to eliminate you and take your powers for whatever they have planned. In this case, they want those blasted crystals around your neck."

"Someone's after our geodes?!" Twilight asked, aghast.

"Indeed." Cinch confirmed, "I can't tell you anymore than that."

With that, she strode past the girls and towards the exit, "Now, I'd prefer to never see you brats again. Good luck with your new enemies, try not to get destroyed."

She glanced over her shoulder to them, "Despite how detestable I find you, the enslavement of the world isn't a better alternative."

After that last little statement, she strode out of the cave, not turning back once. The girls waited for Cinch to have been out of sight for several moments before speaking.

"It okay ta let her go?" Applejack asked.

"She's not worth any extra effort." Octavia sighed.

"I don't like the sound of that..." Fluttershy mumbled.

"Well, we found something she hates more than us..." Sunset thought aloud.

Rainbow nodded, "Nobody wants to be brainwashed."

"And apparently death or evil syndicate world domination is also above us on that list." Rarity added.

"New magical threats. Great." Wallflower said sarcastically.

Suddenly, Sunset began to fall over. Pinkie and Wallflower moved quickly, catching the girl. They all looked around, concerned.

"Sunset!" Twilight shouted in fear.

Octavia quickly made her way over to the girl, placing two fingers on her neck. After a moment, the cellist sighed.

"She's fine. Just unconscious."

"Still not great." Wallflower said, looking at Sunset in concern.

"Then let's get the hell outta here." Vinyl suggested.

She was met with unified nods of agreement.

"Let's get back to my house." Octavia ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~

In complete darkness, a single candle flickered atop a long steel table. The small flame being the only light visible. Around the table, a void of nothingness surrounded it on all sides.

"Cinch failed." A voice spoke from amongst the darkness.

Slowly, seven figures stepped from the darkness and into the edges of candlelight. Each adorned with a black robe that obscured all identity and a stylized "V" on the left breast. Every robe had a different color on the fringe of the hood.

"She wasn't a real one of us, anyway. Just a little drone run." Another voice called out, this one high-pitched and valley girl-like.

"Just let me at em. I'll rip em apart in a duel or a fight." A gruff, yet higher-pitched male voice declared.

"If it was that easy, Cinch would've won." Another male voice, this one deeper, said with a tone of amusement.

"Wasn't a total waste." A female voice noticably deeper than the other spoke, "A good amount of Ener-D was gathered by the crystal. Enough of that, and we're really cooking."

"Not a loss, at all." Another voice, male with the presence of a European accent agreed.

"Indeed, we got what was necessary." A confident, southern male voice called out. "I didn't expect Cinch to succeed. We've gotten all we will from her. Don't waste another thought on that one."

As he spoke, his accent changed from southern, to mimicing a royal voice. By the end of his sentence, it became more arrogant and mocking.

"Oh, all seven of us are here." The valley girl spoke again.

"Cool." The other woman commented.

"Great." The deeper-toned male spoke, amusement evident.

"I didn't even notice." A regal, subdued male voice spoke.

"Can't see a damned thing with these hoods on." The gruff voice spoke again.

"Enough." The southern turned arrogant accent ordered, "It's suffice to say that our enemies are strong in ability and in heart. But we must not waver. The power we can summon with the darkness could be used to truly fix the world. It must come to pass."

"True words spoken." The European agreed again.

"Thus," the constantly changing voice continued, "we must continue to strive for it. From this evil will be berthed greater good. The seeds of Shadow Agents have already been planted. Our dreams of a utopia will come to pass, with us at the head. For the Void!"

"For the Void!" The others chanted in unison.

Author's Note

Is it sad I've been writing this aggressively for the last week and for many hours today?

Dont forget to comment and upvote if you dig it!

Chapter 2: Of Drill Sergeants and Synchros

The hike back was significantly more difficult than the journey to their location. Twilight and Wallflower wound up bracing Sunset and carrying her as well as they could.

About half way through, Twilight was running on empty. As she handed off her duties to Applejack, Wallflower was asked if she wanted someone to take over for her.

She adamantly refused.

Of course, few were surprised. More accurately, they'd be shocked if Wallflower would let Sunset out of her sight any time soon. That little fact didn't sneak past Vinyl, as she watched the gardener fight through her sore legs and aching back. It made the DJ store this little detail in the memory bank.

It was fairly predictable. Wallflower was the closest to the recent battle. She was up close and personal as the friend she practically idolized was battered around like a punching bag. As such, the gardener being as protective as a dog raised from infancy by its owner. No one could really blame her.

The group was relatively quiet, milling over everything that happened in their minds. A new threat, one that aimed to take their geodes. An enemy that held a dangerous and unknown power.

For the geode holders, it was nothing new to them. They were on edge, that was certain. But they also held a business-like aura about them. Time to get back to work, managing the balance between everyday life and protecting their homes from magical or supernatural threats.

As for the three newbies to this kind of challenge, it weighed a bit heavier. This led to each of them trying to make sense of the situation. It was almost awe-inspiring, how those girls could roll with such unexpected events. Not surprising, but no less impressive.

Vinyl had helped fight magical threats before, so that let her hold confidence. She'd seen her hero-like friends fight with certainty and find ways to win. And damned if she wasn't going to contribute again this time.

Octavia was in full analytic mode. There were enemies who used their powers both outside and inside duels. Whoever was influencing Cinch's actions wanted them to use duelist battles to inflict damage. Her mind drifted to the strange crystal that was called into existence. What was its purpose? And what was the goal of their new opposing side? There had to be more than what was obvious to them.

Wallflower was hit the hardest, but not out of concern for her own well being. She was closer than anyone else as Sunset found herself battered around by her opponent. And she was entirely powerless to do anything to help. It truly affected her. Sunset was a rookie duelist who won a life or death battle by the skin of her teeth. It wasn't an ideal situation by any stretch of the imagination. However, there was also a silver lining. It seemed that this new enemy had a reliance on using the game of Duel Monsters as a conduit. While they displayed an ability of inflict harm outside of duels, as her still-sore body could testify, they seemed heavily invested in these Shadow Duels. So, number one, if the Rainbooms were trained, they'd have an equal playing field against the opposition. And two, Wallflower herself could participate in this battle, and she had confidence in her dueling ability to do such. Add onto that the fact she could hopefully help Sunset harness her natural dueling prowess, despite feeling nervous and distraught, she also felt a glimmer of hope.

Thus, she'd have to press on all of them especially hard to constantly improve.

But that conviction didn't do much to steady her nerves. She wasn't quite used to caring about other people. That, and her mind continually drifted back to how losing her most important person came dangerously close to fruition.

"Hey there, Wallflower?" Applejack asked, "You doin' alright?"

The gardener shook her head furiously. For now, she had to focus on getting back to Octavia's place.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving back at the cellist's house, the group couldn't help but be grateful for the fact that Octavia's parents were rarely home. It would've been one hell of a hassle to explain away their current state.

Quickly, Octavia led the group to the room that Vinyl had dubbed "Base Camp". It was quickly rebutted that the room them currently found themselves in was their "hangout room". Located right across the hall from the dueling field, it was welcoming and the perfect place to regroup.

Littered with several couches, a television, a table, multiple comfy rolling chairs, and a mini-fridge, Rainbow declared this room was now indeed the "base camp" that Vinyl declared earlier. But now wasn't exactly the time to party, not with their de-facto leader unconscious, their resident gardener sore and hovering like a guard dog, and the rest of the group's mental states ranging from frazzled to strategic.

Wallflower quickly led herself and Applejack over to the most comfortable-looking couch and set Sunset down gently. The country girl spared a quick glance at her, before silently making her way back to the group that had found themselves seated around the table.

The gardener didn't join them, instead seating herself on the floor in front of Sunset. She silently began wrapping her damaged hands in gauze, not reacting much, save for a wince here and there.

While the room was spacious, it was still small enough that she could still participate in discussion while placed in front of her unconscious friend. Octavia glanced around at everyone before locking eyes with Twilight.

"So, let's recap what we know so far." The cellist said, but her tone made it clear that this was not a request.

"Number one, we've got new baddies to beat." Rainbow cut in, smacking her fist into the other palm.

"They seem to place high importance on dueling." Twilight added.

"Not only that, but they have the ability to inflict real injuries, as well as use some variation of magic." Rarity frowned.

"And they got sum kinda know-how about magic, if Cinch's words got any weight." Applejack said.

"They want our geodes..." Fluttershy whispered.

"They're completely cuckoo, they want a fight!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"They got some dueling skill, and ain't afraid to use it." Vinyl commented with a rare, serious expression.

"Whoever they are..." Wallflower began, drawing the group's attention, "They think they can beat us through Duel Monsters, break our bodies, and use magic to run shit. But that's not gonna happen!"

Wallflower shot to her feet, surprising her friends, "We're gonna get you guys up to speed on dueling! You guys are gonna be ready next time, and take the fight to them! We'll start training tomorrow... provided Sunset feels up to it."

"I'm ready anytime."

The group quickly turned around to see Sunset seated upright, rubbing both hands over her face to try and clear her head. She quickly shook herself, locking eyes back up with her friends who were now looking to her with concerned eyes.

As several of the girls started to speak, Sunset slightly raised a hand to halt them, "Before you even ask. I'm fine, just a bit sore... Mentally and physically. But fine."

"Are you certain?" Octavia asked, raising an eyebrow, "Or are you just saying such due to a mix of pride and a sense of little time before another Shadow Duel?"

The girl in question sighed, "Admittedly, a bit of both. But I feel good enough to function, and a bit restless to start training."

"I get that," Rainbow said with a nod, "but even the best athletes know to heal first. You sure?"

"As I'll ever be." Sunset responded resolutely.

Wallflower raised her chin, "Good. Like I said, we'll start tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~

It couldn't have been any later than six in the morning when an airhorn ripped through the air surrounding the sleeping Rainbooms.

Rainbow Dash quickly shot to her feet with hands up. Fluttershy immediately flipped over the couch she was sleeping on, peeking over from her new hiding spot. Rarity jolted awake, before giving an unamused glare.

Applejack, used to being up early for both school and farmwork, slowly got to her feet, rolling her shoulders without much more reaction. Twilight rolled off her recliner, flailing her limbs in alarm. Pinkie Pie hopped to her feet, a cupcake in her hand, arm cocked back to throw it.

As for Sunset, she stirred slightly, before slowly swinging her feet over the edge of the couch she was resting on, and pulled herself into a sitting position.

The highschool heroes looked to the doorway where the sound originated, to find Wallflower, Octavia, and Vinyl standing there.

Octavia wore what appeared to be grey joggers and a matching hoodie, expression in a fight between amused and trying to stay serious. She was failing at the last part.

Vinyl looked like she was still half asleep, sunglasses set on her forehead, and adorned in vibrant blue shorts that matched her hair, and a white tank top. A still-steaming cup of coffee was firmly grasped in her hand.

Wallflower was adorned in a beige tank top and dark-green cargo shorts. A camo bandana was tied around her head, eye black under each eye. She held a serious expression and airhorn high above her head.

"Up and at it, rookies!" The gardener shouted with fierceness.

The Rainbooms, however, had to ask one question.

"Why'd you use an airhorn?! For dramatic effect?! Tone change?!" Pinkie exclaimed in confused irritation.

... Two questions.

"An why the heck are ya dressed like Rambo?" Applejack added.

Wallflower simply gave them a hard stare, "Less questions, more preparation. Get dressed in something athletic, grab your duel disks, load your decks, and get your asses out front!"

"Better hustle," Vinyl added with a smirk, "Your trainer isn't just blowing her load for show."

Octavia gave her a disgusted glance, "Must you word it like that?"

By this point, all the girls had risen to their feet and where standing in a disorganized group. They were mostly recovered from their out-of-left-field wake-up call. Their expressions ranged from annoyed to concerned.

"All this for learning a card game?" Twilight asked.

Wallflower turned fully to the genius with a scowl, "It's not just a card game anymore. This is war. You guys got by magical incidents so far, but it's time we get you actually capable."

"Much as Ah hate t' admit it, she's got us there." Applejack sighed.

"Should I be scared? I'm feeling distinctly scared." Fluttershy asked quietly.

"You're always scared, 'Shy." Rainbow whispered, gently grasping the animal lover's shoulder.

"Wally?" Sunset asked, "Are you okay?"

For an instant, the gardener's eyes softened, but they quickly steeled themsevles again.

"I'm fine, Sunset. It's you guys I'm concerned about. Double time! Get out front!"

Without waiting for a response, the trio of trainers turned on their heels and made for the front door.

The girls gave one more exchange of concerned glances before getting dressed and following suit.

~~~~~~~~~~

Once they had arrived outside, they were greeted by the sight of Wallflower, Octavia, and Vinyl setting up various stations and equipment.

There was a chalkboard, several traffic cones, a small assortment of weighted vests, and a folding table with several notepads and an iPad on it.

"Uh... What?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow, "Are we training for Duel Monsters or The Olympics?"

"It's training, either way!" Wallflower scowled, "Plus, these 'Shadow Duel' things turn it into something like a fist fight anyway!"

At that moment, Octavia decided to speak up.

"While I don't necessarily disagree", the Cellist sighed, "I feel it's definitely more important to focus on their dueling skills. They do have magical powers, after all."

Vinyl nodded, "Yeah, forreal." The group let out a relieved sigh, "You can run them into the ground after."

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy squeaked out.

Twilight merely sighed, "I'm in trouble."

"It seems Applejack and Rainbow Dash will have an unfair advantage at some point." Rarity complained with a groan.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that for now." Octavia said with a placating tone, "I could see most of your time taken up by Duel Monsters. At least for today."

Wallflower shook her head, "It's been proven that physical activity helps your learning! We're having them do that first."

The Rainbooms glanced among themselves, before shrugging in unison. How bad could it be?

...

Apparently the answer was very and over the top to cataclysmic proportions.

It started simply enough, Wallflower had instructed Rainbow to lead the group through basic stretching routines. Which, unfortunately, left a few of them short on breath by the end.

As it turned out, that was a vastly deceiving low bar of a precursor for the drills that were to follow.

Wallflower had them run what could only be described as military conditioning. Setting up cones, having them run back and forth between them repeatedly, earning the ire of the less athletically inclined...

The idea was somewhat clear, but the execution left much to be desired.

While Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were still perfectly fine, and Sunset was holding up impressively, the rest were gassed. They fell together into a heap, gasping for breath as their gardening drill instructor pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"You know," Wallflower began with a sardonic tone, "I kind of expected pseudo-superheroes to be a bit more... In shape."

"Blame the magic." Applejack sighed, "That's probably where all the energy comes from, Ah reckon."

"No joke." Rainbow nodded, "But honestly, my expectations were a bit higher."

"Yeah, they're waaaaayyyyy out of shape." Pinkie added.

"Ironic that the girl who lives off sweets is doing this well, actually." Wallflower said, allowing herself a small chuckle.

Of course, this discussion right in front of the subjects in question ruffled a few feathers.

"I'm not exactly known for athletic acheivements, believe it or not." Twilight groaned in frustration.

Rarity scowled in irritation, "Darling, I'm right there with you. Ugh, all this sweating is so uncouth."

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to return to her feet, sighing as she brushed herself off. Her expression remained unsure, but she didn't bother stating any of her gripes.

Perhaps it was due to the pressure of avoiding Wallflower's irritation, but her breathing returned to normal rather quickly.

Wallflower raised an eyebrow, "Okay, I'm impressed with you now. And no complaints, bonus points."

Honestly, she didn't expect Fluttershy to get this deep in the first place, let alone recover at such a high rate.

"She'll surprise you pretty often." Sunset finally stated, before turning back to the gardener.

"What's up?" Wallflower asked, some of her concern resurfacing for a moment, "You holding out alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But..."

"But what?"

"We aren't really sharpening anyone's dueling skills at this point." Sunset sighed, before sweeping her hand towards her still downed friends, "Just running them into the ground."

"Seconded." Vinyl sighed, mildly amused and partly bored.

"Indeed." Octavia nodded, "I think you've 'warmed them up' enough, dear."

The gardener opened her mouth to argue, but closed it as she realized she was outnumbered. Admittedly, she might be overworking them, but also felt that this was necessary. With that in mind, she could agree it was time to start actually instructing them on the game that so much hinged on.

"Fine." She granted with a nod, "Everyone take a seat around the chalkboard, we're starting the actual lessons."

With varied energy levels, the group made their way over, seating themselves in the grass around it.

Wallflower sighed, before throwing on thick-rimmed glasses and removing her bandana. She then threw a tan suitcoat on and picked up a yardstick.

Vinyl chuckled and leaned over to Octavia, speaking in a whisper, "How over the top is she gonna be for this?"

"I don't know," the Cellist responded quietly, "but it's equal parts annoying and amusing."

Back with the supposed students, they seemed to be ready to learn. As far as one could expect, anyway.

Pinkie casually popped a piece of gum into her mouth while Twilight picked up a notebook and pen.

The rest took part in hushed conversation as Wallflower wrote on the board.

She turned to reveal she had written 'Instructor Blush' in surprisingly neat cursive.

"I'll be your teacher for this lesson." She began, speaking in a confident tone that was fairly new on her, "I expect full focus while I instruct you all on game mechanics. No talking, and Pinkie, spit out that gum and focus!"

Rainbow threw her hand up, and Wallflower pointed her yard stick at the athlete, "Yes, Rainbow?"

"Doesn't this seem a little much? And a bit too much like school?"

"Valid question, thank you for asking. Next!"

"Is all this really necessary, darling?" Rarity asked with a frown.

"Another solid question, good job." Wallflower nodded, "Now, I'll begin the lesson."

Vinyl and Octavia spared each other a concerned glance. Wallflower was gung-ho on doing everything precisely her way, it seemed.

"Oh, boy." Vinyl groaned.

"I don't see this being productive." Octavia said, in agreement with the DJ's sentiment.

Wallflower cleared her throat, "Now then, we'll start with basics. There are three basic kinds of cards. Can someone tell me what they are?"

Sunset raised her hand almost immediately, much to the gardener's satisfaction. She spared a quick smile, before hardening up again, "Can someone other than Sunset answer the question?"

Rainbow hesitated for just a moment, before raising her own hand.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash?"

"Monster, spell, and trap."

"Correct, now can someone tell me the types of mon-"

Wallflower was cut off as Rainbow's hand went up again. The athlete spoke before she could even be called on.

"So there's normal monsters, effect monsters, and pendulum monsters."

"Right again, not ba-"

"There's also trap monsters, ritual monsters, and extra deck monsters."

Wallflower blinked for a moment, before smirking, "Of course you know the basics, you're the one that really wanted to learn the game."

"I did my research!" Rainbow declared with a proud smile.

Applejack chuckled, "If only ya could do this well in school."

Rainbow shot her a dirty look as the group tried to contain their giggles. Wallflower cracked a smile, before refocusing.

"Okay, so I can skip basic stuff with you. Sunset!" She quickly pointed to Octavia and Vinyl, "You and Rainbow go with the music kids. Go get some practical training in."

Vinyl sighed, "Becoming a teacher, oh how I've fallen on hard times."

"Oh, shush." Octavia giggled, lightly bumping hips with the DJ.

Without another word, Sunset and Rainbow made their way over, and the group of four began walking towards the backside of the house.

As they did, they were still able to make out some of what Wallflower was saying.

"Now, we'll cover the types of spells and traps, then I'll start getting into more advanced concepts... Like missing timing."

Vinyl let out a full laugh as they proceeded out of earshot.

"Those girls are gonna have a bad time."

~~~~~~~~~~

Once they had retreated to the back yard that bordered the forest they had traversed the night before, Octavia turned to her two students.

"We'll start by discussing just what you can do with your decks. Sunset, you did a great job piloting your deck, but it can do so much more."

Sunset merely nodded, idly tapping her fingers on the deck box attached to her hip.

Octavia then turned to the rainbow-haired athlete, "You on the other hand... What did you decide to play? May I see your deck?"

Rainbow Dash smirked, handing her deck over to the cellist.

Octavia raised an eyebrow as she shifted through it, "Really? I had taken you for a U.A. player, honestly."

"What can I say? I live to be unpredictable!"

With that, the athlete raised her right arm and flexed it, smile adorning her face.

Octavia shook her head with a smile of her own, "While it wasn't what I expected, it still makes sense for you."

Rainbow slumped her shoulders, "Aww, man."

Sunset casually patted her soccer star friend on the shoulder. The two exchanged a content smile, before they turned back to the cellist.

"That being said," Octavia continued, "this deck really is ideal for you. Quick extra deck plays, making use of your opponents monsters for advantage."

Vinyl raised an eyebrow, "What, did she main deck Super Poly or something?"

"Not quite." The cellist shook her head, "Why don't you and Rainbow get a game in? Sunset and I will be working on more advanced combos with her deck."

"Sure thing, Tavi." Vinyl nodded, activating her duel disk, "Game on, multi-colors. Show me what you got!"

"I'd be glad to!" Rainbow shouted back, her own duel disk already prepared.

"DUEL!"

Vinyl: 4000
Rainbow: 4000

"I'll start things off!" Vinyl smirked, "First, I'm gonna summon Orcust Brass Bombard!"

On command, the small monster made of the brass instruments in it's name appeared. It gently let out a hum from the trumpet-like instrument on its head. (LV1 500/1900)

"That better not be all you got, or I've got a win for my first duel in the bag!" Rainbow shouted cockily.

"Good thing I'm not done!" The DJ responded smugly, "Now, I'll link him away! Goodbye brass section, hello Linkuriboh!"

The Brass Bombard was quickly shielded by light. As it faded, a small circular creature popped out, face more like a rounded computer monitor. (Link-1 ATK300)

"A link summon already?"

"I'm not done yet!" Vinyl declared, "Next, because there's a monster in an extra monster zone, I can special summon Gizmek Kaku The Supreme Shining Sky Stag!"

Instantly, a burst of red lightning struck down into the ground. It sent a red and yellow current around the impact zone, before fading away.

Rainbow was about to ask where this monster supposedly was, but the ground cracked and burst up before she could.

A massive, mechanical deer-like creature rose up. It was coated in a glow of light. Its coal-colored body was covered in a golden armor over the joints and head of the creature. (LV9 2750/2750)

"Woah..." Rainbow whispered, awe-struck by the mighty creature that rose before her.

"You should be impressed!" Vinyl shouted with a jubilent grin, "This bad boy is one of the legendary Gizmek monsters! It's a privilege just to see one!"

Rainbow quickly shook her head. She glanced up at the creature again, "Then it'll be awesome when I take it down!"

"Bring it on! I'll set a card and end my turn!"

"Draw!" Rainbow pulled the top card from her deck, glancing at it. She couldn't help but smirk, "I'm about to take that metal fleabag from you!"

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. She doubted it, but had been silently hoping the appearance of Kaku wouldn't spell the total control of the duel in her favor.

She wanted to see what Rainbow Dash could do against it.

"First, since you have monsters and I don't, I can special summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!"

A small cyclone of wind rose up from the ground, clearing away to reveal the bladed spinning top. It moved similar to a centipede, several smaller tops moving like a serpantine tail. (LV3 1200/600)

"Speedroids, huh?" Vinyl asked, "Show me what you've got!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Rainbow shouted, "When Terror Top is summoned, I can add one Speedroid card from deck to my hand! And I choose Speedroid Taketomborg!"

"Hmm. Interesting! What else you got?!"

"Me taking over right now! When I control a wind monster, I can special summon him right to the field!"

Dropping down next to Terrortop, the action figure appeared onto the field. It's jointed arms and horns atop its head contantly moved in a disjointed way. (LV3 600/1200)

"Not a bad start."

"You ain't see nothin yet!" Rainbow boasted, "Next, I activate Mind Control!"

"Aww, hell."

"Got that right! And you already know what I'm choosing! I pick Gizmek Kaku!"

At that, a portal opened in front of the Gizmek. A hand holding a pocket watch by the string emerged, slowly swinging it.

A strange blue glow began to come from its eyes, and it slowly marched over to Rainbow's field, performing a dramatic turn to face it's former master.

"Traitor." Vinyl droned in a neutral tone.

"He didn't have a choice, no way he could resist it! Now I tune my level three Taketomborg and your level nine Gizmek!"

"What?!" Vinyl scowled, "There's no level twelve Speedroid synchro!"

"But there are wind monsters!" Rainbow shot back with a smirk.

"What?! What're you summoning?!"

"You'll see in a sec!"

Taketomborg began to eminate a white glow. It turned translucent, three small lights spinning in its outline.

With a roar, Gizmek Kaku jumped into the air. The three lights began to spin around it at a shocking speed, barely visible to the naked eye.

Rainbow grinned widely as she began to chant, "The master of the hive arrives in awesome fashion! Tear down the castle walls protecting the villain! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Battlewasp - Ballista The Armageddon!"

Gizmek Kaku was engulfed in a flash of light. From it, emerged a massive insect. It took the form of a wasp, adorned in jewels and two front claws holding a tremendous bow and arrow. It flapped it's wings at high speed, giving a hostile impression. (LV12 3000/800)

"No way!" Vinyl shouted, "You play him in there?! That card's legendary! Where the hell'd you get him?!"

Rainbow couldn't help but smile, "There's something about finally getting a chance to summon this guy that's got me fired up! He was a gift from my dad."

Rainbow's smile faded slightly, but not losing her happiness, "My dad's super supportive, but he's away a lot for work. Before the game took off like it did now, it was just something cool to do. So even when he's not around, I can still feel him cheering me on! I knew I had to find a way to keep this guy in my deck!"

Rainbow paused, her smile growing back to full intensity, "Speedroids were the perfect deck, I got to play something my speed, but still got to play the card that matters most to me!"

Vinyl blinked, before approvingly nodding her head, "So that's what's up. That's not just a card to you... Alright, Dash. You got me good."

"I'm not done yet!" Rainbow announced, "I've still got my normal summon!"

"Thats right..." Vinyl blinked, slowly letting a smile creep onto her face, "Show me what you've got! You're piloting your deck awesomely!"

"Got that right!" Rainbow shouted, "Now, I normal summon Pilica, Descendant of Gusto!"

The small monster with the appearance of a young girl popped into existence in a demure way. Pilica was adorned in traditional Gusto tribal wear, green hair in a ponytail with the end dyed red. She casually waved her staff back and forth like a metronome would move. (LV3 1000/1500)

Rainbow glanced at her new monster, before looking to Vinyl, "I've got you. Pilica's on-summon ability could special summon a WIND tuner from my grave, but I'm not gonna activate it!"

"Why wouldn't you? You could Synchro Summon again!"

"Because of your Linkuriboh." Rainbow said with a smirk, "If I tried to attack, you could turn one of my monsters to zero attack this turn."

Vinyl couldn't help but be impressed. While Rainbow Dash was the serious about learning the game and clearly did some research, the fact she knew about Linkuriboh's effect showed just how serious it had been.

"I'm fully impressed at this point. But how do you plan to beat me this turn, then?"

"Like this!" Rainbow grinned, "I activate the spell Shock Surprise! This let's me banish up to two Speedroid monsters in my graveyard and destroy that many cards on the field!"

Vinyl gasped, "But that means-"

"It's game over! I banish Terrortop and Taketomborg to clear your field!"

Instantly, both Linkuriboh and the face-down card, revealed to be Mirror Force, were destroyed in small explosions.

"Well, damn." Vinyl blinked, "I'm about to be OTK'd by a rookie."

"Yeah you are! How's that for fast!?" The athlete shouted, "Pilica, Ballista! End it!"

Ballista nodded, aiming and firing the bow at their opponent immediately. Pilica waved her wand at the same time, causing the bolt to glow a light green as it flew.

To Vinyl's credit, she didn't even flinch.

But as the bow bolt passed through her, she did let out a small sigh.

Rainbow: 4000
Vinyl: 0000

As the holograms faded, Rainbow couldn't help but jump excitedly, "Oh my gosh! I did it! I won my first duel! In one turn!"

Vinyl made her way over to the celebrating athlete, reaching her hand out.

"I gotta say, I didn't take you seriously enough. You knew what you were doing." She paused, before grinning, "But you owe me a rematch sometime, and I'll come at you with everything I've got"

Rainbow returned the grin, grasping the DJ's hand, "You're on! I'll make sure to go even harder and win again!"

The two were cut off my a small round of applause. They turned to see that not only Sunset and Octavia, but the rest of their friends showing their appreciation for Rainbow's victory.

"I must say, I didn't even expect you to win, let alone that quickly." Octavia admitted with a smile.

"Good work, Dash. Welcome to the one-and-none club." Sunset said, a mild grin on her face.

Wallflower nodded, "That was one hell of a turn. I figured she was going to take it easy on you, but I sure didn't see that coming. You should be proud anyway. Vinyl's an amazing duelist."

Pinkie locked herself into a side hug on Rainbow, "You were so awesome!"

"Got that right! Good 'un, Dash! You're definitely better at dueling than school!" Applejack added, playfully punching her friend's shoulder.

"I'm happy you won, and with your dad's card even." Fluttershy said quietly.

As the group continued to celebrate, Sunset, Wallflower, and Vinyl stepped away.

"So," Wallflower asked, "How good is she? Like really?"

Vinyl shrugged, "She's no slouch, that's for sure. Even if I had gone into my more advanced combos, she still would've had enough to turn momentum her way."

"Think she's ready for real duels?" Sunset asked.

Vinyl chuckled quietly, "Oh, she's ready. I'm gonna be eager for that rematch though. I've never been OTK'd before."

Octavia giggled as she made her way over, "There's a first time for everything, love."

"I guess." Vinyl sighed, "How'd the classroom cosplay go?"

Wallflower grimaced, "Don't call it that. And... I think Pinkie's ready for sure. Twilight's grasping the rules and ruling well. Rarity's probably fine. Fluttershy didn't say much, but never looked confused."

"Guess you didn't really go over 'missing timing', then?" Octavia asked amusedly.

"Nope."

"Good." Vinyl cut in, "I wanna be there to see that lesson."

They laughed together, before Sunset suddenly stopped.

"Sunset?" Wallflower asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did everyone finish their group projects?" Sunset asked with a concerned frown.

"... Crap."

Author's Note

I loved writing this chapter tbh.

Having Vinyl run a deck incredibly similar to the one I run myself has been extremely fun.

And be sure to remember why Rainbow Dash uses her "ace" monster that's mildly out of place.