Fluttershy knocked on the door to the library, looking up at the pegasi as they moved today’s storm clouds into place while she waited. She heard the door open, and quickly broke into her question.

“Oh, Twilight, I’m sorry to bother you, but I-”

“Uh, Fluttershy?” Spike interrupted.

“Oh!” gasped Fluttershy, blushing. “I-I’m sorry, Spike. I didn’t notice it was you.” She looked down, rubbing her hoof in embarrassment.

“It’s fine,” said Spike. “Twilight went to go ask Cheerilee something. If you want to wait for her to get back, I could put on some tea.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” said Fluttershy. “I need to get back to my cottage soon, so I’ll just go see her at the schoolhouse.”

“If you say so,” shrugged Spike. “Better hurry, though. It’s going to start raining soon.”

“I know,” said Fluttershy, glancing at the overcast sky. “Thank you, Spike. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya,” said Spike, as Fluttershy trotted off.

“Fluttershy…”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened upon hearing the voice again, and she began looking nervously at all the ponies she passed. Seeing nothing suspicious, she looked up, but only saw a small spider web on one of the street lamps.

“Oof!”

Distracted, Fluttershy walked headlong into a pony, and fell back against the street. “Ow… Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” said Mayor Mare, helping the pegasus to her hooves. “I didn’t really feel it. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“To the schoolhouse,” Fluttershy replied. “Spike said Twilight went to ask Miss Cheerilee something, and I needed to talk to her.”

“What a coincidence,” said Mayor Mare. “I had some paperwork for Twilight to file in the library’s archives.”

Fluttershy stood there awkwardly for a moment, sparking the mayor fake a cough. “Oh! Um, shall we go together, then? To the schoolhouse?”

“Why, thank you for the offer,” smiled the mayor.

I didn’t really have much choice, thought Fluttershy. “It’s no problem.”

They began to trot off together, when the mayor stopped, raising a hoof to scratch her neck. “Bug on my back. Can you see it, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked, and saw a spider bite into the mayor’s neck, burrowing itself inside. “Oh my goodness! Miss Mayor, a spider-”

Mayor Mare’s hoof dropped, and her muscles slackened for a moment. Passing ponies had begun stopping, gathering around to investigate.

“Miss Mayor? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

The Cutie Mark on the mayor’s right flank vanished, and was replaced with the glowing image of a purple spider. Her eyes seemed empty as she looked up towards Fluttershy, who began to back away in fear.

“M-Miss Mayor…?”

“I am a Dark Signer,” the mayor replied in a near monotone. “Envoy of the underworld.”

“W-what are you talking about?” stuttered Fluttershy, feeling her wings lock up. “Miss Mayor, you’re scaring me…”

Mayor Mare smiled, and a ring of purple flames erupted from the ground, surrounding the two. The crowd that had gathered ran off screaming in terror.

Fluttershy curled up into a ball, and began shivering in fear. “W-what do you want…?”

“I want to duel. A duel of darkness!” She readied her Duel Disk, her deck briefly glowing purple as the auto-shuffler shuffled the cards.

Fluttershy whimpered a bit, before finding her voice. “H-help!”

Twilight was trotting back through the market, her book levitating in front of her. “Cheerilee was right, the information is pretty vague. Though, it says the servants of the Crimson Dragon have prominence in the Spirit World. I’ll see if Celestia has any more books about- ow!”

Somepony bumped into her book, causing it to slam into her face. “Watch it!” Twilight snapped, putting the book into her saddle bags. Her anger was replaced with confusion as she noticed the crowd of ponies stampeding in a panic past her.

“Rose!” she called, upon spotting the earth pony. “What’s going on?”

“Purple fire!” she called back.

“From the ground!” added Daisy, as she darted past.

“Purple flames?” repeated Twilight, her eyes wide.

“H-help!” she heard a voice call out, barely noticeable over the noise of the crowd.

“That voice,” Twilight mumbled. “Fluttershy!”

Twilight teleported out of the mob of ponies, and galloped around the corner, skidding to a halt when she saw the ring of purple flames. “Fluttershy!”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy called back. “Miss Mayor, she’s acting really scary!”

“The mayor?” repeated Twilight. “Mayor Mare! What are you doing? How are you doing this?”

“I am a Dark Signer,” the mayor stated. “I will bring about the end of this world of light!”

“Dark Signer?” repeated Twilight. “Tell me, do you have something to do with the Crimson Dragon?”

Mayor Mare’s eyes narrowed. “The Crimson Dragon…”

“So you do know something,” said Twilight.

“T-Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. “What’s going on? What’s a Dark Signer?”

“I’ll explain what I know later,” said Twilight. “First, I’m getting you to safety!” Twilight focused magic into her horn, and tried to teleport Fluttershy out of the flames, only for her magic’s aura to be overcome with a burst of purple fire.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped, as the unicorn was blasted back into a nearby wall. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine,” groaned Twilight. “What’s going on? My magic shorted out…”

“The powers of the underworld and the Dark Signers surpass the magic of a mere unicorn,” said the mayor. “Now that the flames are lit, the only way to dispel them is for the duel of darkness to reach an end.”

“Duel of darkness?”

“Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. “What do I do? My wings are locked up!”

Twilight stared in thought, watching as the now falling rain did nothing to affect the flames. “I hate to say it, Fluttershy, but I think you have to duel her.”

“B-but,” stuttered Fluttershy.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” said Twilight, “but I can’t do anything from out here. Just hang tight, I’m going to go get some help. Okay?”

Fluttershy nodded. “A-alright. Please hurry, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded, before galloping off towards the schoolhouse. “Cheerilee said Applejack and Rarity were watching the class… Please, let them be there! I don’t have time to waste looking for everypony!”

Fluttershy stared off after Twilight, before returning her attention to Mayor Mare. “I was able to beat Rainbow Dash yesterday… I think I- No, I know I can do this! Twilight’s counting on me to hold my own, and I won’t let my friends down!”

“Then face the power of the underworld,” said Mayor Mare. “Fall to the might of the Dark Signers!”

“Duel!”

Mayor Mare: LP 4000. Fluttershy: LP 4000.

“I take the first move,” said the mayor. “Draw! I summon Blizzard Lizard!" A small gecko-like creature covered in blue and white fur took a fighting stance in front of the mayor. [ATK800. LV3] "I set one card, and end my turn.”

“My turn,” said Fluttershy. “Draw! I summon Wattwoodpecker!" A black, red, and yellow bird landed in front of Fluttershy, its beak twitching forward. [ATK1000. LV3] "Battle! Wattwoodpecker, attack Blizzard Lizard!” Wattwoodpecker's beak became coated in electricity, and it repeatedly pecked into both Blizzard Lizard and the mayor.

“Gah!” winced the mayor, the force of the impact pushing her back and tearing up some of the cobblestones. [Mayor Mare: LP 4000 –> 3800] “Blizzard Lizard’s effect! When destroyed, my opponent takes 800 points of damage!”

“Agh!” winced Fluttershy, a burst of icy wind slamming into her. [Fluttershy: LP 4000 –> 3200] She staggered from the damage, shivering slightly. “W-what’s going on? T-that really hurt…”

“This is a duel of darkness,” remarked Mayor Mare. “The damage your Life Points take are really inflicted upon you.”

“W-what!?” gasped Fluttershy.

“When I have all seven Crystal Beasts either on the Field or in the Graveyard,” said Rarity, “I can Special Summon this card from my hoof! I Special Summon-”

Rarity was cut off by Twilight barging in through the door, the Solid Vision disappearing, returning the classroom to its normal appearance. “Girls!” she gasped, leaning against the door frame to catch her breath.

“Twilight?” asked Applejack. “What brings you here?

“Did you run the whole way?” asked Rarity.

“Fluttershy’s... in danger,” gasped Twilight.

“What!?” gasped the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Fluttershy?” asked Rarity. “Where is she?”

“I’ll show you,” said Twilight, taking another gasp of air. “Follow me!”

“Class dismissed!” said Applejack, as the three mares galloped out the door.

“This whole day has been a waste of time,” muttered Diamond Tiara, packing up her bags.

“Fluttershy’s in trouble?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Come on, Crusaders!” said Scootaloo. “Let’s see if we can help her!”

“Right behind you!” said Sweetie Belle.

Fluttershy stared at her Duel Disk, trembling. “If this duel is dealing real damage, does that mean I’m hurting the mayor?”

“It’s still your Battle Phase,” said the mayor. “What are you going to do?”

If this was like any of those times I saw Rainbow and the others duel, thought Fluttershy, I’d attack directly. But if I might hurt somepony, I…

“Fluttershy!”

“Rarity?” asked Fluttershy. “Applejack?”

“Whoa, Nelly,” said Applejack, skidding to a halt. “What’s with these flames?”

“Fluttershy, what’s going on?” asked Rarity.

“The mayor is acting scary,” said Fluttershy. “She’s calling herself a ‘Dark Signer’, and challenged me to a duel of darkness.”

“Duel of darkness?” repeated Rarity.

“What’s that?” asked Applejack.

“A duel where the damage is real,” said Fluttershy, shaking a little. “That’s why I can’t bring myself to attack her.”

“What?” gasped Twilight. “But Fluttershy, she’s trying to kill you!”

“S-she is?”

“Twilight!” snapped Rarity. “Don’t scare her like that!”

“She’s right, though,” said Applejack. “If the mayor conjured up these here flames, and is dishin’ out real damage, then Ah don’t think we can play it safe.”

Rarity sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Fluttershy, dear, try your hardest to win.”

Fluttershy gulped, before nodding. “R-right. I’ll do my best. Wattwoodpecker’s effect! I can attack twice each turn with him! Direct attack!”

“Agh!” winced Mayor Mare, getting jabbed by the electrified beak again. [Mayor Mare: LP 3800 –> 2800]

“I set a card,” said Fluttershy. “Turn end.”

“My turn,” said the mayor. “Draw! I activate the Continuous-Trap, Call of the Haunted! I can Special Summon one Monster from my Graveyard in attack position! Revive, Blizzard Lizard! [ATK800. LV3] Next, I activate the Spell Card, Ice Mirror! I can Special Summon a level 3 or lower WATER Monster from my deck with the same name as a Monster I have on the Field! I Special Summon a second Blizzard Lizard! Then, I activate a second Ice Mirror!”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Applejack.

“What are the odds she’d have two of the same card in her hoof?” asked Rarity.

“I Special Summon my third Blizzard Lizard,” said the mayor. “Now, I release two of them to Advance Summon Dark Tuner Catastrogue!” A demonic, bipedal creature with one red eye appeared, its upper and lower halves separated by a glowing dark gem. [ATK0. LV8]

“Dark Tuner?” asked Fluttershy. “What’s a Dark Tuner?”

“I'll show you! I'm dark tuning my level 8 Dark Tuner Catastrogue to my level 3 Blizzard Lizard!” Catastrogue burst into eight stars, which punctured into Blizzard Lizard. Three of the stars shattered, while the remaining five became negative colored, bursting out of the remains of Blizzard Lizard to spin around, black lighting coursing between them. “When darkness overlaps with darkness, the doors of the underworld will open to a world without light!" The stars and lightning were engulfed by a pillar of dark energy. "Dark Synchro! Frozen Fitzgerald!” Emerging from the energy was a spirit-like entity, it's only limbs being wings made of ice crystals, jutting out of what vaguely resembled a torso of some sort. [ATK2500. LV-5]

“D-Dark Synchro?” stuttered Fluttershy.

“Level -5?” asked Twilight.

“And what’s with this icy aura I feel?” asked Rarity.

“Mayor Mare!” snapped Applejack. “Explain what the hay this thing is, now!”

“A Dark Synchro Monster,” the mayor responded. “A creature of the underworld, summoned in opposition to the Synchro Monsters of the living.”

“Okay,” said Applejack. “Now explain it in Equestrian, so everypony can actually understand.”

“A Synchro Monster is summoned by adding the levels of a Tuner to non-Tuner Monsters,” said the mayor. “A Dark Synchro Monster is summoned by subtracting the level of a Dark Tuner from a non-Tuner Monster. As the underworld has no light, the Dark Synchro Monsters carry negative levels.”

“That’s insane,” Twilight mumbled.

“Dark Tuner Catastrogue’s effect!” said the mayor. “When used for a Dark Synchro Summon, I destroy one card on the Field! I destroy Wattwoodpecker!”

“What!?” gasped Fluttershy, as Wattwoodpecker shattered in a burst of darkness.

“She’s left defenseless!” gasped Rarity.

“Battle! Frozen Fitzgerald, direct attack! Blizzard Strike!”

“Trap activate!” countered Fluttershy.

“I’m afraid you can’t do that,” said Mayor Mare with a smile. “Frozen Fitzgerald’s effect! When this card attacks, my opponent can’t activate Spell or Traps!”

“No!” gasped Fluttershy, before getting pelted with shards of sharp ice. “Agh!” [Fluttershy: LP 3200 –> 700]

“Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy was blasted back into the ring of flames, which flung her back into the Duel Field. She collapsed onto the ground, moaning in pain.

“Fluttershy, get up!” urged Twilight.

“I can’t…” she mumbled.

“You can, Fluttershy!” said Rarity.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” cheered Applejack.

“Fluttershy…”

“That voice again…” mumbled Fluttershy. “But who said it?”

“Fluttershy…” the voice said. “Your friends believe in you, and so do I. Stand up, and win this.”

Fluttershy nodded to herself, shakily pulling herself up to a standing position. “My turn, draw! I activate the Trap, Wattkeeper, allowing me to Special Summon a Watt from my Graveyard! I Special Summon Wattwoodpecker! [ATK1000. LV3] Then, I summon Wattgiraffe!" A small giraffe, with light-bulbs for ears and electric prongs for horns appeared in front of Fluttershy. [ATK1200. LV4] "I activate the Spell Card, Lightwave Tuning! I target a level 4 LIGHT Monster I control, such as my Wattgiraffe, and make it a Tuner! Battle! Wattgiraffe’s effect lets him attack directly!” Wattgiraffe leapt into the air, its horns shooting bolts of lightning into Mayor Mare.

“Gah!” [Mayor Mare: LP 2800 –> 1600]

“When Wattgiraffe deals Battle Damage from a direct attack, my opponent can’t activate card effects until the End Phase! Now, during my Main Phase 2…” Fluttershy paused in thought for a moment. “I don’t know how, but I think you were the one speaking. Please, help me. I tune my level 4 Wattgiraffe to my level 3 Wattwoodpecker!" Wattgiraffe dissolved into green rings, while Wattwoodpecker dissolved into stars, centering themselves between the rings. "Oh holy light of protection, shine now and become eternal life! Synchro Summon!" A pillar of light shot through the center of the rings. "Be born, Ancient Fairy Dragon!”

A slender, light blue, legless dragon gently stretched large, butterfly-like wings out of the light. Her chest, wrists, and head were protected by golden armor. Her long, light green hair drifted behind her, as she gently flew down in front of Fluttershy, gazing reassuringly back at her with her large, orange eyes. [DEF3000. LV7] Fluttershy’s right flank began glowing, and her Cutie Mark vanished, being replaced with a glowing red dragon claw.

“What the hay!?” gasped Applejack.

“Where did she get that dragon?” asked Rarity.

“What’s happening to her flank?” asked Applejack.

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she quickly pulled out the book to look at the picture of the dragons. “That dragon… It’s another servant of the Crimson Dragon. And that mark… Does this mean…?”

“You’re a Signer!?” gasped the mayor.

“A what?” asked Fluttershy, looking around. “Why’s everypony looking at my flank?” She tried positioning her tail in a different way, when she noticed the new mark. “W-what is that?”

“Relax, Fluttershy,” said the voice.

“Ancient Fairy Dragon?” asked Fluttershy, looking up.

The dragon seemed to be looking at her. “All will be explained, my dear. For now, vanquish the evil that’s controlling this mare.”

“She’s being controlled?” asked Fluttershy. “So, this won’t kill her?”

“Fluttershy, who are you talking to?” asked Rarity.

“The pressure of the duel must be getting to her,” said Applejack.

“Keep it together, Fluttershy!” called Rarity.

“Huh? Uh, r-right,” nodded Fluttershy. “I set two cards. Turn end.”

“My turn,” said Mayor Mare. “Draw! I activate the Equip-Spell, Black Pendant! The Equipped Monster gains 500 ATK! [ATK3000] Then, I activate After The Struggle! At the End Step of this turn’s Battle Phase, all Monsters that were involved in battle will be destroyed! Battle! Frozen Fitzgerald, attack Ancient Fairy Dragon! Blizzard Strike!” Shards of ice once again went flying across towards Fluttershy's field. Ancient Fairy calmly folded her wing in the path of the ice, blocking the attack.

“Since Frozen Fitzgerald’s ATK is the same as Ancient Fairy Dragon’s DEF,” said Rarity, “neither Monster is destroyed.”

“But thanks to that After The Struggle Spell she played,” said Applejack, “once the Battle Phase ends, they’ll both be destroyed anyway.”

“I enter Main Phase 2,” smiled Mayor Mare. “Both our Monsters are destroyed!”

“Trap activate!” countered Fluttershy. “Emperor’s Staff! You get to draw a card, and in exchange none of my cards can be destroyed by effects this turn!”

“Hmph,” snorted Mayor Mare. “No matter. Since Frozen Fitzgerald has been destroyed, Black Pendant is too. And when Black Pendant is destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!”

“Agh!” winced Fluttershy. [Fluttershy: LP 700 –> 200]

“Hang in there, Fluttershy!” called Twilight. “You still have Ancient Fairy Dragon!”

“And Mayor Mare is defenseless!” added Applejack.

“Am I?” asked the mayor. “Perhaps the card you’ve let me draw is all the defense I need. I activate the Equip-Spell Darkworld Shackles! The Equipped Monster can’t attack and its ATK and DEF are reduced to 100! I Equip it to Ancient Fairy Dragon!” Large, dark chains sprung out from a large, black ball, ensnaring Ancient Fairy Dragon and dragging her to the ground.

“Ancient Fairy!” gasped Fluttershy. [ATK100/DEF100]

“Furthermore,” said Mayor Mare. “During each of my Standby Phases, the owner of the Equipped Monster will take 500 points of damage!”

“No!” gasped Rarity. “On the mayor’s next turn, Fluttershy will lose!”

“I set a card,” said Mayor Mare. “Turn end.”

“M-my turn,” stuttered Fluttershy. “Draw! I activate the Continuous-Trap, Wattcannon! Once per turn, when I summon a level 4 or lower Thunder-Monster, you take 600 points of damage. I summon Wattsquirrel!" A large, red squirrel hopped in front of Fluttershy, nibbling on a battery. [ATK700. LV3] "Take the effect of Wattcannon!” An electrified, star-shaped blast shot out of the cannon, striking Mayor Mare.

“Agh!” [Mayor Mare: LP 1600 –> 1000]

“Alright, Fluttershy!” cheered Applejack.

“Wattsquirrel can attack twice each Battle Phase,” said Twilight. “Fluttershy’s won!”

“Continuous-Trap!” smiled the mayor. “Nightmare Wheel! I target a Monster my opponent controls. While this card is on the field, that Monster can’t attack or change its battle position! Additionally, during each of my Standby Phases, you’ll take 500 points of damage! I target Wattsquirrel!” A large, demonic torture device rose up, strapping onto Wattsquirrel, and stretching it out.

“What!?” gasped Fluttershy.

“No!” gasped Applejack. “How’s she supposed to recover from this?”

Fluttershy looked down towards the ground, and seemed to be sobbing.

“Fluttershy…” mumbled Rarity. “Please, don’t cry.”

“I-I’m not crying,” said Fluttershy, stifling giggles. “I’ve won.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Mayor Mare. “Stop laughing!”

“Ancient Fairy Dragon’s effect!” said Fluttershy. “At the cost of this turn’s Battle Phase, I can Special Summon a level 4 or lower Monster from my hoof! I Special Summon Fairy Archer!” Ancient Fairy's wings glowed, and a winged, bipedal fairy flew out from the light. [DEF600. LV3]

“Fairy Archer?” repeated the mayor.

“Fairy Archer’s effect!” said Fluttershy. “Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can inflict 400 points of damage for every LIGHT Monster I control!” Fairy Archer readied her bow, setting up an arrow with a glowing red gem for an arrowhead for launch.

“Fairy Archer, Wattsquirrel, and Ancient Fairy Dragon are all LIGHT Attribute!” cheered Twilight. “That’s 1200 points of damage!”

“No!” gasped the mayor, as Fairy Archer launched the arrow into her. The jewel on the arrowhead slammed into her and exploded on impact. “Agh!” [Mayor Mare: LP 1000 –> 0]

The flames dissipated with the Solid Vision as the mayor was tossed backwards. Twilight and Applejack ran over to her, while Rarity went to comfort Fluttershy. The spider fell out of the mayor’s neck, and burned away into smoke. As it vanished, the spider mark on the mayor’s flank faded away, her normal Cutie Mark returning.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?” asked Rarity.

Fluttershy gave a slight nod, before closing her eyes. “I think I’m okay… I need to rest, though.”

“Of course, darling,” said Rarity, pulling her into a hug. “Rest easy.”

“Why’d you attack Fluttershy!?” snapped Applejack.

“Tell me about the Dark Signers!” ordered Twilight.

“What are you talking about?” groaned the mayor, opening her eyes. “Ow… What happened?” She looked around and noticed the torn up street and wrecked carts and windows. “I ask again… What happened?”

“You don’t remember what you just did?” asked Applejack.

“I remember Fluttershy walked into me,” said the mayor, “then I think we went to go see you, Twilight, but after that…”

“You don’t remember your duel of darkness?” asked Rarity, trotting over with Fluttershy resting on her back. “Or that Dark Synchro Monster?”

“Dark Synchro Monster?” repeated the mayor. "What is that?"

“Twi,” said Applejack, “check the mayor’s cards.”

Twilight levitated the mayor’s deck up, and spread the cards out in front of her. “It’s gone! The Dark Tuner and Dark Synchro are gone!”

“What!?”

Fluttershy gave a small moan from Rarity’s back. Rarity gave a quick glance back to her. “We’ll worry ourselves with that later. We need to get Fluttershy and the mayor to the hospital.”

Twilight nodded, levitating Mayor Mare onto Applejack’s back, and they set off down the street. The Cutie Mark Crusaders peeked out from the barrel they were hiding in.

“What happened?” asked Sweetie Belle. “What was all that?”

“That Dark Synchro thing,” said Apple Bloom, “that weird mark on Fluttershy…”

“And that duel tore up the road!” said Scootaloo. “If Fluttershy didn’t get hurt, then that would have been awesome!”

“Looks like something big is going down, girls,” said Apple Bloom. “And you know what that means?”

“We’re going to investigate!” said Sweetie Belle.

“And earn our Cutie Marks!” cheered Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom smiled. “Exactly! Cutie Mark Crusaders, go!”