Chapter 4: Chaos

Zach activated his duel disk and said, "I destroyed you eighteen years ago."

Darkness began to chuckle, "I am the only being in this universe that cannot be destroyed under any circumstances. I can only be shifted to another host."

"Then why choose my daughter?"

The door opened and all the ponies that were at Hope's party were on the other side and Zach said, "Spike, get a letter to Lux."

"At least allow me to explain myself," Darkness objected, "All I ask for is five minutes with my host, the Elements of Harmony, and Dinky Do."

"Why would I agree-?"

"Fine," Hope interrupted.

Zach turned towards Hope and asked, "Why should we let this thing stay any longer?"

"Because I've used that deck for two years and this is the first time Darkness has ever spoken to me, let alone turned into a black cloud and hovered in my bedroom."

After a few minutes Zach sighed, "Fine. But only five minutes. Night, make sure the kids stay downstairs."

Night began to herd the kids downstairs while the Elements of Harmony, Dinky, Pip, and Ditzy entered the room.

"Why am I not in pain right now?" Dinky thought aloud.

"I am making sure to contain my powers as a courtesy towards you and your child," Darkness explained.

"Your five minutes start now," Zach said.

"Before the beginning of time, there only existed me, Darkness. When this universe was created I came to this fledgling planet and fell into a dormant state. Millions of years later I was woken from my slumber by a being known as the Oblivion entity.

"This entity corrupted me. While I was originally existed as a balance for Light, Oblivion forced me to believe that the only thing that deserved existence was myself. I knew that I would need a host for my power, so I decided to create one. I went to the Crystal Empire and mated with the queen while under the guise of the king. The child was named Sombra."

"Wait," Dinky interrupted, "Since Sombra was my birth father*, would that make you my grandfather?"

"Yes. Now stop interrupting me. When Sombra became of age I told him of his power and we took over the Empire. When Celestia and Luna used the Elements on Sombra, I was sent to another dimension. While I was there the one you call Lux found me and we made our deal. Over a millennia later when Zach tapped into the Elements of Harmony and ripped me from Lux, I was also purified of Oblivion's influence."

Once Darkness stopped talking Zach said, "That was an interesting story, but why did you possess Hope?"

"I have no idea." When everypony had a confused look Darkness explained, "Allow me to clarify, I don't know what force of the universe did it. It appears that I was drawn towards the most stable source of light in the area"

"How was Hope the most stable source of light?" Ditzy asked, "She wasn't even born."

Darkness floated over to Zach, "The answer is right here on his leg."

Zach looked down at his duel disk, "Is it because of the Element of Love?"

"Exactly. Hope was conceived while your body was under the influence of Love, which can only be wielded by one who can also use the other six. This fact makes it the strongest of all the Elements. It also makes Hope have a light capable of balancing my dark power. My powers within her were awakened when she came in contact with the Tree of Harmony. Now, I have been out of my host for too long, I must rest."

Darkness returned to the cards it came from. Zach grabbed the deck with his magic, but Hope caught the cards with her hooves and held them close.

"Give me the deck," Zach said.

"No," Hope refused, "I think I need to have this deck for some reason."

"Even if Darkness is to be believed, I don't want you to have those cards."

Ditzy placed a hoof on Zach's shoulder, "Let her keep the cards."

Zach looked over at his wife in confusion (there seems to be a lot of that in this chapter), "Why should she keep them?"

"She can handle it. Look at Dinky. She can use Dark magic but she's totally fine."

Zach sighed in defeat, "Fine. But can you get a letter to Lux, Twilight. I want him to come here with his special deck."

Twilight nodded, "I'll have Spike send one later."

Everypony left the room except Zach, Ditzy, and Hope. Hope went over to her desk and said, "If I'm going to duel Lux then I'll need to take a good, long look at my deck."

Her parents nodded and hugged her. Both told her that they loved her while Zach also added to be careful with the deck.

When they closed the door Hope pulled out her Photon deck and said, "If you were meant to be a balance with Light, then let's see how well you do with my light."

-The next day-

Hope and her family were standing outside of their house, waiting for Lux to come and duel Hope.

"What can you tell me about this special deck Lux uses," Hope asked.

"We created it specifically to combat Darkness," Zach replied, "Lux and Celestia both infused it with their own light energy. But you'll probably find a way to beat it if you managed to beat Discord."

"There's the carriage," Halo called out.

Everypony watched as a carriage landed in the middle of street. Out of the carriage stepped a golden Alicorn wearing white armor.

"Hello Lux," Zach said, "It's good to see you again."

Lux had figured out how to shift his form to that of an Alicorn. He and Zach had also become good friends over the years.

"It's good to see you as well," Lux replied, "Though I wish I didn't have to duel."

Hope activated her duel disk, "I just want to duel. I had to miss my date because I had to prepare my deck for this."

"Well then," Lux began to glow, "Let us begin."

Lux returned to his human form. His armor changed from white to gold with white trim. His duel disk was on his arm.

Hope's Light: 8000

Lux: 8000

Lux was about to draw when the Pie twins yelled, "Wait! We're coming."

Hope watched as her friends came running towards the duel. The Pie twins were wearing foam fingers.

"Thanks for coming," Hope said, "I'm going to beat this guy."

"I do not think so," Lux said, "Though I hope this will be fun. I summon Divine Light Defender (ATK 500). I will end my turn." Lux's monster was a humanoid with armor similar to his. It was carrying a large shield.

"One card?" Hope asked, "Is that all?"

"That is all I need."

"Fine then. I draw and activate Realm of Shadows (ATK 500-0)."

The field turned dark and Lux sighed, "I was still hoping that your father was pulling a prank."

"Hey!" Zach yelled.

Hope put a card on her duel disk, "I summon Shadow Beast Roc (ATK 1200-1700)." A black bird wearing purple armor appeared and flew over the field. "I attack your Defender with my Roc."

Lux's monster dropped behind its shield and Hope's monster bounced off.

Hope's Light: 8000-7600

"What just happened?" Hope asked.

"When my Divine Light Defender is attacked by a dark monster, it switches to defense mode (DEF 2100). Also, it cannot be destroyed by battle against dark monsters."

"I set two cards and end my turn."

Lux drew, "Since you control a dark monster I can special summon Divine Light Sword Master (ATK 2200-1700)." A monster that looked similar to Defender but had a long sword in both hands. "I attack your Roc, and since your monster is dark my monster gains 300 points (ATK 1700-2000)."

"I activate Shadow Drain. It lowers your monster's points until they're equal with mine (ATK 2000-1700)."

"But Divine Light monsters cannot be destroyed in battle against dark monsters, so you are the only one who gets hurt. I end my turn."

So this is the special deck. It would be nearly impossible to beat with my old deck. Hope grinned. But this isn't my old deck.

Hope drew, "While I control Realm of Shadows, I can special summon Shadow Beast Destroyer (ATK 3000-3500). Now I summon Photon Crusher (ATK 2000-1500)." The Photon monster appeared, contrasting greatly with the dark surroundings.

"You put light monsters in your deck?" Zach asked.

Hope nodded, "I got the idea yesterday. Darkness told us that it was a balance for light. So now my deck is a balance of dark and light. I activate Photon Booster to make the attack points of my Photon Crusher 2000 (ATK 1500-2000). First, my Shadow Beast Destroyer attacks your Divine Light Sword Master."

"But he gains attack points (ATK 1700-2000)."

Lux: 8000-6500

"I'm guessing your monster's attack change lasts until the end of the damage step (ATK 2000-1700)," Hope said smugly as Lux nodded, "Then, I attack with Photon Crusher."

Lux: 6500-6000

"I end my turn (DEF 0)."

Lux drew, "You threw me off with that light monster, but I'm ready now. I activate the ritual spell Divine Light Ritual. I send a level eight monster in my hand to the graveyard to summon Divine Light Colossus (ATK 3000-2500)." A large man wearing armor appeared. He was about a hundred feet tall. "When my Colossus is summoned I can get rid of your field spell (ATK 2500-3000)."

The entire field returned to normal, revealing various ponies who were watching the duel intensely. Shadow Beast Destroyer fell to the ground and shattered.

"What happened to your monster?" Halo asked.

"Destroyer is destroyed when Realm of Shadows leaves the field," Hope explained.

"Now I attack your monster with my Colossus." Lux's monster crushed Hope's under its foot. "I set a card and end my turn."

Hope drew, "I summon Galaxy-Eyes Cloud Dragon. I can tribute my monster to special summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon (ATK 3000)! I activate Xyz Plant and overlay my two cards to summon Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon (ATK 4000)."

Hope's monster was far shorter than Lux's, but it was still more powerful.

"Galaxy-Eyes, attack with Eternity Photon Stream!"

Lux: 6000-5000

"I end my turn."

Lux drew, "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Colossus (ATK 3000). I now activate DNA Transplant to make all monsters dark attribute. Now I activate Divine Doubler. If you control a dark monster I can double the level of a Divine Light monster I control, so I make my Defender level eight. I overlay my Defender and my Colossus to xyz summon Divine Light Nova Dragon (ATK 4000)." A giant dragon made of golden light appeared. It looked similar to a Neighsian breed of dragon. It looked similar to Dragulon. "I can detach and xyz material from this card to destroy a dark monster, like your Galaxy-Eyes! I attack you directly."

"I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back Number 62!" Hope yelled as her monster reappeared behind her.

Lux stopped his attack, "I set a card and end my turn."

Hope drew, "I activate the effect of the Galaxy-Eyes Cloud Dragon in my graveyard and attach it as an xyz material. Now I activate the spell Darkness Overlay. This allows me to use an overlay unit from one monster I control to xyz summon a Shadow Beast monster from my extra deck. Come forth, shadow Beast Dark Leviathan (ATK 4000!)!"

The Leviathan appeared and roared. Then Darkness said, "It's good to be free!"

"Darkness!" Lux appeared scared, "I activate the card Divine Shield. Now my monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects."

"I didn't plan on using Dark Leviathan. I now overlay my rank eight Dark Leviathan and Galaxy-Eyes!" As Hope chanted her flank began to glow, "I combine the forces of Dark and Light. Alone they are powerful, but combined they are unstoppable. Come forth, Apophis the Chaos Snake (ATK 3000)."

Apophis wove its way through the clouds and roared.

Hope's flank stopped glowing and she looked down at herself. On her flank was a yin-yang.

Sweet, I have my cutie mark. Now to win.

"I equip my monster with Shadow Armor to double its points (ATK 3000-6000). I now use the effect of Apophis. By using two overlay units I can attack directly. Go, Chaos Devouring!"

Apophis swooped down from the clouds and rammed its head into Lux, knocking him down.

Lux: 5000-0

As the monsters faded away Hope closed her eyes and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Hope!" Zach called out as he ran towards his daughter. He held her in his forelegs and tried to wake her up.

Lux walked over to Zach and said, "Allow me to see if she is alright."

Lux's hand began to glow as he put it on Hope's chest. After a minute he removed his hand and said, "She will be fine. That duel took a lot out of her. Just take her up to her room."

"Can you remove Darkness from her?" Zach asked.

Lux shook his head, "The Divine Light cards I used should have loosened its hold, but her soul is completely wound around Darkness. Her cutie mark shows that, though she might begin to manifest more control over shadow magic."

"I can help her control it," Dinky said, "Though I can't perform it while I'm pregnant."

Lux smiled, "That's good. I want you to tell her I had a good time dueling and that she is excellent. She'll give you a run for your crown Zach."

Lux returned to his Alicorn form and was about to enter the chariot when Ditzy remembered something, "Yesterday we talked to Darkness. It said something about a creature called Oblivion. Do you know what it is?"

Lux turned pale, "Just enough to know it's far worse than Darkness."

-Location Shift-

A cloak being walked down a dark hall. It stopped in front of a large mirror and removed its hood, revealing the face of a black dragon, "Master, you awaken."

The image in the mirror shifted to show the crystal in Tartarus. The being in the crystal began to speak, "Yes. The mare's power is growing. But her Chaos will not be enough to give me all the power I need."

Seven cards began to form and passed through the mirror, landing in the dragon's hands.

"Release these cards into the world," the creature said, "They will feed me more power."

The dragon released his grip and six of the cards disappeared.

"Why is this card still here?" the dragon asked.

"That card has a destined wielder, but he does not have the level of anger needed for it to take shape. But you must go to Canterlot for the prize we discussed earlier."

"Yes, master Oblivion."

-Location: Canterlot-

Blueblood walked through the dark alleys of Canterlot.

Need more power. I used to have the royal bank account to buy whatever I wanted. Suits, mares. Now I have nothing.

A white card landed in front of Blueblood and he grasped it with his magic. A dark aura passed over his body and he heard a voice in his head.

"Greed."

-Location: Canterlot Castle-

Celestia was in bed, getting ready for Lux to come in. A card blew into the room from the window and landed under her bed.

"Sloth."

-Location: Manehatten-

A Pegasus couple was walking the streets of Manehatten. A white card appeared in front of them.

"Pride."

-Location: Everfree Forest-

A Changeling was walking through the forest, trying to get home. A card flew into her saddlebags.

"Lust."

-Location: Ponyville-

I'm going to take Sapphire to bed," Spike said, walking into the kitchen. He found the filly with a hoof in the jar of gems they kept.

"Now Sapphire," Spike said in a stern voice, "You know that you can't have gems before bed."

"Awww," Sapphire said, trying to be as cute as possible. Spike tried to resist, but reached into the jar and grabbed two emeralds. He gave one to Sapphire and said, "Don't tell Mom."

Spike put his emerald into his mouth and took Sapphire in his arms and went upstairs. A card blew into the room through the window and somehow landed under the jar.

"Gluttony."

-Location: Rich Manor-

Ruby Crown was in her room, poring over her cards. She kept mumbling to herself.

"How does that weirdo have everything? She has all the friends, all the most powerful cards, both of her parents are there and love her. The only reason I can even play Duel Monsters is because Dad thinks I can be used as a walking billboard. She gets to see her sisters on a regular basis while Diamond Tiara moved to Manehatten with Suri and never came back."

Crown shivered a bit and saw that her bedroom window was open. She went over and closed t. when she got back to her desk a new card was there. A voice began to speak to her.

"I feel your desires. Give in to the power of Envy."

The artwork began to appear on the card. Crown looked at it curiously. It said Element of Vice-Envious Archfield.

*The mane six along with Lux, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadence know about Sombra being Dinky's birth father.