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Duelists of the Autumn Crown

by DrakeyC

Chapter 6: Shining Friendship - vs Rarity

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Duelists of the Autumn Crown

Shining Friendship – vs Rarity

Twilight took a breath as she and Rarity walked a distance away from the other. I can do this. It wasn’t all that different from her duel with Fluttershy: a sparring match with a friend. Except that Rarity is a lot stronger than Fluttershy. And this win or loss could disqualify either of us from the finals. Twilight gulped. “No pressure,” she whispered. She stopped and turned to see Rarity looking over at her.

“Let’s begin this.” Rarity reached down and tapped a button on her duel disk.

“Opponent detected! Streaming data.” Twilight’s duel disk announced its actions as it set up a holographic display of hers and Rarity’s profiles. Her win-loss record was 3-0, displayed to the left of Rarity’s 5-1. “Duel mode set. Initiating.” The pictures zoomed out to make way for a holographic display of their respective sides of the field. “Commence duel?”

“Here we go, Rarity!” Twilight reached down and pressed the button on her duel disk to accept the challenge.

“Game start!”

-Twilight Life Points: 4000-

-Rarity Life Points: 4000-

The two profiles flashed back and forth before Twilight’s lit up. “Player takes first turn.”

“Good.” Twilight drew the six cards her duel disk ejected and fanned them out. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Honestas’.” A muscular orange fairy flipped onto the field and kicked the air before standing in front of Twilight. (1800/300) “Next I activate the effect of ‘Harmony Spirit Magnanimity’ in my hand.” Twilight discarded her card and the image of a white fairy with a long horn appeared above her. She held her hands down over Twilight and sent a pulse of magic over her. “By discarding Magnanimity, I can reveal the top card of my deck, and if it’s a Spell card, I can add it to my hand.” Twilight drew her card and held it out. “It’s a Spell, ‘Harmony Bolt’. With that I set one card and end my turn.”

“Very well, then.” Rarity drew with a flourish. She turned her card over and moved it to her duel disk. “I summon ‘Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus’.” A glowing blue portal opened in front of Rarity. A white winged horse rose from it and beat the ground as it finished, spreading its wings with sapphires embedded in them. (1800/1200) “When Sapphire Pegasus is summoned, I can select any Crystal Beast monster in my deck and play it as a Continuous Spell card.” Rarity tapped on her duel disk screen and a card slid out from her deck. “I choose this, ‘Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger’.” Twilight recognized the tiger, with topazes set into its neck, as it materialized on the field. It curled up as yellow crystals rose around it.

Rarity looked over her hand. “Next, I activate the Equip Spell ‘Crystal Release’! By equipping this card to Sapphire Pegasus, it gains eight hundred attack points!” Sapphire Pegasus reared into the air and the jewels on its wings lit up. (1800 → 2600)

“At this time, I reveal my face-down card!” Twilight pressed the button on her duel disk and the hologram on the field flipped up. “It’s the Spell card I got from Magnanimity’s effect, Harmony Bolt. This card lets me discard a Harmony Spirit from my hand, then I can destroy any card on the field! I discard ‘Harmony Spirit Risus’ and choose Sapphire Pegasus.” Risus’ image appeared in front of Twilight’s Spell card and was drawn into the latter as particles of light. The card sparked and sent a bolt of lightning across the field, striking Sapphire Pegasus in a blast of smoke.

Her field is clear, so on my next turn I can attack directly. Twilight paused as the smoke cleared. “What?” Sapphire Pegasus was still standing on Rarity’s field. As Twilight watched it bowed its head and curled its wings forward. It floated backwards and a prison of blue crystal encased it. “What happened?”

Rarity folded her arms. “That’s the power of the Crystal Beasts, darling. Whenever one of them is destroyed as a monster, I can place it in my Spell and Trap zones, treated as a Spell card.”

Twilight grimaced. I knew those rulings were in the book for a reason.

“And then she’s got all sorts of support cards to use ‘em.” Twilight’s attention drew to Applejack on the sidelines. The other girl shook her head. “As you keep blastin’ her monsters into Spell cards, she gets to activate better support cards as she gets more in play. The trick is to—”

“Thank you, Applejack.” Rarity scowled at her. “I am quite certain my opponent appreciates the tutorial lecture on how to defeat me.”

“No problem.”

So, they don’t get along either. But wasn’t Applejack watching her duel? Twilight frowned. “Why are you helping me? Weren’t you complimenting her before?”

Applejack shrugged. “Rares is on the winning advantage, so ya need the help. Besides, it ain’t like it’ll make much difference to me in the long run. Whichever or both of ya make it to the finals, I’ll beat ya the same.”

“Gee, thanks,” Twilight deadpanned.

“If Applejack is done with her interruptions,” Rarity said, giving the other girl a glare as she spoke, “then I’m not done with my turn yet. When Crystal Release is sent to the graveyard, I can take any Crystal Beast from my deck and play it as a Spell card.” Rarity pulled her card from her deck and held it out. “I choose this, ‘Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat’.” The familiar cat appeared on the back side of Rarity’s field and was encased in violet crystal. “Next I activate the Spell card ‘Crystal Beacon’. Since I have two Crystal Beasts in play as Spell cards, I can summon a third Crystal Beast from my deck. Come forth, ‘Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle’, in defense mode!”

The new monster flew onto Rarity’s field, a pale brown and white bird of prey with light blue gems in its wings. It crossed its wings and took on a blue hue (1400/800). “The effect of Cobalt Eagle lets me select any other Crystal Beast card on the field and place it on top of the deck.” Rarity tapped her duel disk screen, and the crystallized Sapphire Pegasus dissolved into particles of light. “I return Sapphire Pegasus to the deck. Then I set one card and end my turn.”

Twilight looked down at her duel disk and pressed the icon on the screen to zoom in on Rarity’s field. Applejack said the more Crystal Beast cards she gets in the Spell and Trap zone, the better support cards she can use. She has two now, Amethyst Cat and Topaz Tiger, and she’ll add Cobalt Eagle if I attack and destroy it. She looked at her hand. I’ll have to risk it. I have no choice but to attack and get rid of that monster if I want to win this.

“Hun, this ain’t a spectator sport,” Applejack called.

“I’m thinking over my move,” Twilight replied. She put a hand on her deck and drew. “It’s my turn.” She turned to her hand again and paused before picking out a card. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Gracia’!” A swarm of butterflies manifested in front of Twilight, dispersing to reveal the pale yellow winged fairy. (900/1800). “Then I activate the Spell card ‘Harmony Fruit’, to return two Harmony Spirits in the graveyard to my hand.” Twilight held Magnanimity and Risus out to show them to Rarity. “And now, battle phase! Gracia attacks Cobalt Eagle!” Gracia flew forward towards Cobalt Eagle and spun in the air to deliver a kick to the bird. It flew backwards into line with Rarity’s other cards, a crystal prison surrounding it and freezing it in the air.

“I activate my Trap card!” Rarity flung her hand out. “When a Crystal Beast monster is destroyed in battle, I can activate ‘Crystal Pair’. Now I can place a Crystal Beast from my deck in my Spell and Trap zone and all damage I take from attacks this turn is negated.” Rarity held up her card. “I set ‘Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth’ as a Spell card.”

Twilight grimaced. She’s got four Crystal Beast cards now! She looked at her hand. “I end my turn.”

“Wonderful. My move!” Rarity drew and flipped her card over. “I activate ‘Rare Value’. This lets you send any Crystal Beast Spell card to the graveyard, then I can draw two cards.”

I choose, huh? Twilight looked over her duel disk display. I don’t know nearly enough of her strategy to really make a good choice. Maybe she’s reliant on keeping them in play as Spell cards? Or does she have something to revive whatever I send? Twilight furrowed her brow and looked up. “I choose Cobalt Eagle.”

“Very well.” Cobalt Eagle’s gem exploded and the shards were drawn into Rarity’s duel disk. She drew her cards and smiled. “And here we have the game-sealing move, my dear. I activate the Spell card ‘Terraforming’. This lets me select any Field Spell in my deck and add it to my hand.” She picked out the card that emerged from her deck, then tapped on her duel disk screen and a slot on the side of the disk slid open. “But it won’t be there long. I activate the Field Spell ‘Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins’!” Rarity spun and inserted her card into the open slot.

The ground shook, Twilight stepping back and looking around them. Columns of rock burst from the ground, causing Twilight to cry out and fall on her backside. The dirt split further as the field continued to expand. As Twilight watched an ancient amphitheater rose around them, at once massive and imposing but somehow scaled down to fit their conflict. She saw a pillar nearby and put her hand through it. All just holograms. Incredible. Imagine if actual magic could replicate something like this! The sound of cheering drew Twilight’s attention to behind her. A crowd had begun to gather and were now calling Rarity’s name.

Rarity beamed as she waved her hands at them and nodded. “Now, now, everyone, settle down. The real spectacle is yet to come.” She turned her attention back to Twilight. “Marvelous, isn’t it? My field card gains more effects the more Crystal Beasts I have in my Spell and Trap zones. With at least one, my field can’t be destroyed by card effects.” Rarity picked up another card from her hand. “But you’ll have to worry about its other effects later. For now I summon once again my Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus!” In front of the row of four gemstones, the pegasus rose and spread its wings, the jewels on them gleaming. “With my pegasus summoned, another Crystal Beast from my deck is played to my Spell and Trap zone. I choose ‘Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle’.”

Twilight tensed at the sight of the small, purple beast manifesting inside a red crystal. That’s the card she used to beat her last opponent! Twilight tapped on her duel disk screen to call up the image of Ruby Carbuncle’s card. When Ruby Carbuncle is Special Summoned, every other Crystal Beast she has as a Spell card returns as a Monster card. She looked back up at Rarity’s field. That’s her strategy, fill up her back row with her destroyed Crystal Beasts and then summon them back en masse.

“With four Crystal Beasts on my field as Spells, the fourth effect of Rainbow Ruins allows me to draw a card once per turn. Then, it’s time for the offensive.” Rarity held her hand out. “I attack Harmony Spirit Gracia with Sapphire Pegasus!” The pegasus reared up and charged forward, its head held down at it came at the pale yellow fairy.

“From my hand, I activate the effect of Harmony Spirit Magnanimity.” Twilight discarded her card and put a hand on her deck. She flipped the top card over. “It’s a Monster card, ‘Harmony Spirit Magia’, so it gets returned to the deck.” She frowned. I could have used that card…

“I don’t see how that’s going to stop my attack,” Rarity sniffed.

“Here’s how.” Twilight tapped her duel disk and Gracia lit up in a yellow aura. “During the turn a Harmony Spirit monster is discarded, the effect of Gracia prevents my Harmony Spirits from being destroyed in battle.” Gracia held up its hands and caught Sapphire Pegasus’ head as it slammed into her. Gracia was pushed back by the charge but remained standing.

-Twilight Life Points: 3100-

Rarity frowned. “Very well. I end my turn.”

“And I’ll start mine.” Twilight drew and put her new card in her hand. She looked over her cards. If Rarity summons that Ruby Carbuncle, every one of those crystallized monsters will be released. Even if Gracia’s effect will let it survive, my Life Points won’t. I have to play this more cautiously for now. “I switch my Harmony Spirit Gracia to defense mode.” Twilight turned the card onto its side on her duel disk. Gracia knelt on the field and it took on a pale blue tone. Gracia has 1800 defense, that’ll set up a good block. Next I have to find some way to keep her from summoning Ruby Carbuncle. She has several Spell cards to use for that, so… Twilight gasped. “That’s it!” She smiled at Applejack. “I know how I can beat her.”

Applejack smirked. “Do ya, now? Go for it.”

“I will. First, I activate the Spell card ‘ Harmony Gem’. By discarding Harmony Spirit Risus, I can now draw two cards.” Twilight looked at her new cards and frowned. Nothing yet. But I can continue for now anyway. “Since I discarded a Harmony Spirit monster, the effect of Honestas activates. For the rest of the turn it gains 500 attack points! Honestas, attack Sapphire Pegasus!” Honestas (1800 → 2300) lit up in a bright orange aura and it sprinted towards Rarity, its fists held out. It reached Sapphire Pegasus and delivered an uppercut, sending it spiraling into the air.

-Rarity Life Points: 3750-

Twilight frowned at her duel disk’s display. “Shouldn’t that have done more damage to you?”

“Sorry, dear, but you forgot my Field spell.” As Rarity spoke, the gems in front of her lit up and Sapphire Pegasus fell in line with them as it crystallized. “As I said, the more Crystal Beasts there are in my Spell zones the more powerful it becomes. And with two in play, once per turn I can halve any damage I take.”

“Darn.” Twilight bit her lip. A setback, but I’m still ready for her. “I set one card and end my turn.” She looked back at her display. She has five Crystal Beasts in her Spell zones now. As long as I can use my Trap next turn just in case…

“My turn again.” Rarity folded her arms. “Still thinking you’re going to win at this point?”

Twilight nodded. “I figured out your weakness! Your Crystal Beasts count as Spell cards when they crystallize. But a player can only have five Spells or Traps in play at once, and can’t play any more if they do. So now you can only play Monster cards!” Around them the crowd erupted into groans and boos. Twilight looked back at them, confused. “What?”

Rarity fanned herself with her cards. “Not a bad idea, darling. But you overlooked one little loophole – I already have a sixth Spell in play.” She held her hand up into the air. “I activate the final effect of Rainbow Ruins! With five Crystal Beasts crystallized, I can select one of them and Special Summon it!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “No!”

“I call forth my Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle!” The ruby on Rarity’s field broke apart and the purple beast inside leapt forward, mewling. (300/300). “And when Ruby is summoned, her effect activates. Now every other Crystal Beast I have is released from its prison!” The other four gems on Rarity’s field lit up and shattered. “I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus, Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (1600/100), Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat (1200/400), and Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (1700/1600).” The four monsters stepped out of the shards of their crystals.

Twilight paled. “She did it… she summoned all of them.”

The crowd erupted into a flurry of loud cheers and roars and eventually settled into a triumphant chant of Rarity’s name. She tossed her hair and fluttered her eyes. “Settle down, everyone. I haven’t won yet!” She leaned forward and smiled. “That comes next turn. For now, the summoned effect of Sapphire Pegasus triggers. I place ‘Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise’ on the field as a Spell card.” A monster Twilight didn’t recognized appeared behind Rarity’s other monsters, a blue and green turtle with gems poking from its shell, and it surrounded itself in green crystal.

“And now, Topaz Tiger, attack Honestas!” The tiger roared and began to run across the field. “When Topaz Tiger attacks, it gains an additional 400 points.” The tiger reached Honestas and pounced, raking its claws down the monster’s chest. Honestas was shredded into ribbons of light. “Next, the effect of Amethyst Cat lets it attack directly at half the normal damage it would inflict.” Amethyst Cat emerged from beside Topaz Tiger and jumped at Twilight. A feedback burst from the holograms erupted from her duel disk and she fell to her knees.

-Twilight Life Points: 2300-

“I end my turn.” Rarity smiled. “On my next turn my Topaz Tiger can wipe out Gracia, and even if you destroyed my Crystal Beasts my Field Spell will just become stronger again. It’s over.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ya tried, hun.”

“I’m not out yet!” Twilight shot back. “This duel isn’t over!”

“Isn’t it?” Rarity spread her arms out. “All seven of my Crystal Beasts are in play, with my Field Spell here to support them, and all you have are your two Harmony Spirits.” She shook her head. “You’re not bad, truly. But honestly, I just don’t think you have what it takes to win a tournament like this.”

“I don’t care. I’m not giving up.” Twilight shook as she glared at Rarity. “I’m going to make it as far as I can, all the way to the finals! I have to!”

The crowd began to talk among themselves. Rarity frowned. “Before you said this was some silly tournament you didn’t care about winning and now you act as though it’s the most important thing to you. Which is it?”

“Both!” Twilight lowered her head. “Don’t you see? The Rarity I – the Rarity that Fluttershy knew, that was friends with her and Applejack, never would have talked down to an opponent like that or yelled at her friends. This is a game—we should have fun playing it, not use it to try and claim power and reputation in the school.”

Twilight looked up at Rarity. “Fluttershy showed me the good this game can be used for, to help people become friends and show their true selves to the world. That’s what it used to be about and what it can be again. If we beat Sunset Shimmer!” The crowd gasped at the declaration. Twilight stood up and turned to them.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. And I’m here to win the Autumn Crown Tournament and defeat Sunset Shimmer!” She looked back at Rarity and put her hand on her deck. Rarity gasped as a pulse of purple light flashed from Twilight’s eyes. “And I’ll show you how I’ll do it now!” She drew, sparks of light trailing in the air after her card. Without looking at it, Twilight held it in the air. “I send Ancient City Rainbow Ruins to the graveyard!”

Rarity looked around her as the stone ruins began to crumble and sink away. “You can’t! I have a Crystal Beast in play as a Spell card, so Rainbow Ruins can’t be destroyed!”

“I’m not destroying it. I’m getting rid of it. Because the rules say only one Field Spell can be in play at once.” The side slot of Twilight’s duel disk popped open. “I activate my own Field Spell, ‘Harmony Castle’!” She slipped the card into the slot and trails of light coursed over her duel disk. The ground behind Twilight split apart and a large fortress rose from the fissure. Spires and turrets of violet, blue, and pink crystal stabbed into the sky, banners hanging from window ledges displaying an eight-pointed pink star. The central doors of the castle bore the same symbol as it finished its ascent.

Rarity stared, her mouth open. “Harmony Castle…”

Across the field, Spike put a paw on Twilight’s ankle. “Twilight?” She ignored him.

“I activate Harmony Castle’s effect. I return Harmony Spirits Risus and Magnanimity in the graveyard to my deck and then I can summon any Harmony Spirit monster from the deck as long as its name is different from the two of them.” Twilight set her cards on top of her deck and pressed her finger to her disk’s display. Her deck shuffled and then ejected the chosen card. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Pietas’.” The rainbow-haired winged fairy descended from above Twilight, its arms crossed. (1600/800)

Twilight held out a card. “Next I activate the Equip Spell ‘Harmony Crown’. This card gives Pietas an additional 800 attack points.” Pietas roared and pumped a fist into the air as a golden spiral crown appeared on its head, a violet aura of power around it. Twilight pointed across the field. “I switch Harmony Spirit Gracia to attack mode, and then enter my battle phase. Pietas, attack Amethyst Cat!” Pietas (1600 → 2400) flapped its wings to fly into the air, and dove down, its fist held out as it came towards Amethyst Cat.

“The effect of Amber Mammoth activates! When a Crystal Beast is attacked, Amber Mammoth intercepts the blow.” The mammoth stepped in front of the cat and Pietas’ attack connected. The mammoth was punched back, trumpeting loudly.

-Rarity Life Points: 3050-

“The effect of Harmony Crown now activates. When the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, a Harmony Spirit is added from the deck to my hand.” Twilight held out her card. “I choose this, Harmony Spirit Magia. But she won’t be here long.” Twilight tapped a button on her duel disk. “I reveal my face-down card, the Quickplay Spell ‘Harmony Textbook’. This lets me discard a Harmony Spirit from my hand to revive another one from the graveyard. By discarding Magia I revive my Harmony Spirit Honestas.” A glowing purple book appeared in front of Twilight and cracked open its pages, revealing a swirling vortexz. Honestas leapt out of it and stood next to Pietas.

“Now I activate the second effect of Harmony Castle. Once per turn when I discard a Harmony Spirit, I can summon it back from the graveyard. Magia takes the field too!” The fourth spirit, lavender-skinned with a spiral horn and long purple hair, rose up on the other side of Pietas. (1500/1300) “Finally, since I discarded a Harmony Spirit, the effect of Pietas triggers, letting it attack twice this turn!”

Applejack’s jaw dropped. “Ah don’t believe it…” The crowd’s stunned silence at Twilight’s moves began to give way to more cheers.

“Pietas, attack Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus!” Pietas once again flew up and descended into a dive bomb. Its fist slammed into Sapphire Pegasus and knocked it back. “Honestas, attack Topaz Tiger, Magia, attack Amethyst Cat, and Gracia, attack Ruby Carbuncle!” Honestas and Gracia charged the field while Magia held up its hands and fired a beam of violet magic. The magic blast struck Amethyst Cat before Honestas delivered a two-handed clobber to Topaz Tiger and Gracia slammed a kick into Ruby Carbuncle’s side. Rarity turned away and raised an arm to shield herself as the three monsters took the brunt of Twilight’s assault.

-Rarity Life Points: 1350-

Twilight looked at the five gemstones on Rarity’s field, emerald, topaz, amethyst, amber, and sapphire. “With your Spell and Trap zones filled by your previous monsters, the destroyed Ruby Carbuncle cannot crystallize and is sent to the graveyard. I end my turn.”

Around the two the crowd began to whisper.

“She destroyed all five monsters in one turn!”

“Rarity’s Spells are locked down, she can’t play them!”

“With that Field Spell in play she’ll be able to summon more monsters anytime she wants.”

Rarity gulped. “I draw…” She picked up her card and looked between it and her hand. “I…”

Applejack leaned forward. “Rarity?” The crowd grew silent as Rarity’s eyes kept going from her hand to her new card to her duel disk display.

“I…” Rarity slowly set her card back on top of her deck and let her hand rest there. “I forfeit.”

Twilight shut her eyes. Her eyelids flashed purple and she opened them again. “Huh?”

Rarity shook her head. “There’s nothing I can play that will stop your win next turn. I admit defeat.”

The crowd cheered loudly as the holograms deactivated. Twilight looked at Applejack and the farm girl smiled at her and tipped her hat. She looked at her duel disk and picked up the Harmony Castle card from the open Field Sell slot. I think I missed something…

“Twi-light, Twi-light, Twi-light!” The crowd chanted her name among the cheers and calls.

“You pulled out a marvelous win.” Twilight jumped at Rarity’s voice so close. The other girl stopped walking near her and held out her hand. “Such conviction, such skill, such power.” Rarity nodded. “A worthy champion if ever I saw one. You can count on my support, Twilight.”

Twilight looked at the hand being offered, at the crowd chanting her name, and then at her duel disk. “I… I have to go.” Twilight rushed past Rarity and into the crowd that parted for her as she neared. Spike bounded after her.


In the bathroom, Twilight splashed water in her face and coughed, watching it drip into the sink. “What happened there?”

“I don’t know.” Spike jumped onto the sink and sat down on the edge. “You got really serious all of a sudden and pulled out some really cool moves.”

“Yeah, but…” Twilight blinked tightly. It seems like a blur. I remember summoning monsters and attacking, but the details… It was like trying to remember a dream hours after it had faded. “Spike, what do you think?” She looked at him for his answer.

Spike shook his head. “I don’t know, Twilight. I could tell something had happened to you, but maybe you just got caught up in the moment?”

“Maybe…” Twilight cupped her hands to splash more water on her face and then turned off the taps. “On the bright side, I won. Rarity is our ally. That’s two. Three if Applejack is convinced after that.”

“Now we just need Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”

“And Flash. He’s the former champion and he seemed to believe what Fluttershy does about the game being fun. I think he’ll help if we can get to him.” Twilight reached to the paper towel dispenser and cranked out a sheet. She wiped her face off and threw the towel in the trash can. “For now, we have to get back out there and win more duels. We still have to worry about qualifying for the bracketed rounds first.”

Twilight approached the door to the bathroom when the door swung open. She stopped in place as Sunset Shimmer stepped into the bathroom. Twilight hesitated for a moment when Sunset looked at her, then stepped to leave.

Sunset’s voice stopped her again.

“Hello… Twilight.

Next Chapter: The Spirit of Competition Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 35 Minutes
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