Playing Cards

"So The Princess is holding a tournament? She never told me about it." Twilight said.

"Pinkie Pie came by earlier she was supposed to tell you but you were still asleep. So I just took the message." Spike said.

"These eggs are pretty good Spike." Bruce complimented. "Much better then the ones I had back home."

"Ach. Haaacck." Spike wheezed.

"Spike are you ok?" Twilight asked.

The baby dragon's face had gone from its natural green, to a more sinister blue. With another cough he belched out a flame and a scroll. Twilight used her magic and opened it.

"Glad you're not choking." Twilight mused. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, by now you must have heard about this dueling tournament. Its been a while since anything like this has happened. Ever since the pie incident with Soarin we couldn't exactly host food eating competitions anymore. Regardless of those past events this one will be splendid. It will take place in three of the major cities of Equestria, with the final four rounds in the Canterlot dueling center."

Twilight looked at Bruce and raised an eyebrow.

"Never told me anything about a dueling center. Just keep reading." He said.

"Alright. The winner of these matches will receive private lessons in any subject of the winner's choice! I like the sound of that." Her face was illuminated with joy.

Egghead. Bruce thought. Not in a sinister way however, in a playful way.

"I have also sent you this letter to remind you that the tournament starts in five minutes! Do hurry or you will be eliminated along with Spike and your human friend! Ah! Lets go lets go!" Twilight shouted.

The mare grabbed her deck from the bookshelf, and magically threw the table under the rug.

"Twilight relax. Can't you just teleport us or something?" Bruce reasoned.

"Oh." Her face became a bright pink. "I guess I could. We don't have enough time for your new clothes though."

"No problem. Lets see, deck check, well, I'm ready to go." He said confidently.

"Should we bring that letter Twi?" Spike asked.

"I don't think so. Just put it back in your bed or something." She said.

The freshly sent letter levitated to Spike, and he mumbled something under his breath before shoving it in his pillow. He walked back towards Twilight and Bruce, and in a flash of purple light they disappeared. In another flash, they warped back to the Canterlot grounds. The festivities had yet to start, but everypony in Ponyville was there.

"Last call for entries!"

The three of them rushed past their friends to get to the unfamiliar voice. Sitting at a table was a dark blue unicorn with a guitar cutie mark.

"Looks like you just made it. Just put down your name and race." He said with a monotone voice.

"Race? What do you need that for?" Twilight asked.

"The games are separated by divisions. For example, you'll be in the unicorn division, that dragon will be in the....dragon division? And the human will be in the human division? Hang on you three."

Spike and Bruce looked at each with equally puzzled faces. Neither one had any idea of what was going on.

Twilight filled out the form and wrote her name down, and the gamekeeper came back.

"Ok," He read the paper and mouthed the purple unicorn's name. "Twilight Sparkle." He pointed to a corner off in the distance with a hoof. "That is the unicorn section. This," He pointed directly at a card attached to a string necklace, and levitated it on the mare. "This is your ticket. It will be checked before and after matches to signify a win, loss or tie. Do not lose your ticket. Do not make illegal copies of your ticket for distribution. Lastly, on no circumstance, do not, do, not eat your ticket. Understood?"

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. Thats odd. Why would anypony eat a ticket? She thought.

"Now back to you two. Due to your.....features, I'm afraid I can't let you in. There isn't a dragon or human bracket in Ponyville. There is one in Fillydelphia however that allows dragons.....but none for humans." He said solemnly.

"Are you kidding me!? I can't go all the way to Fillydelphia!" Spike shouted. He placed his hands on the colt's table, and stared into his eyes.

Bruce brushed the irritated dragon aside and approached the colt.

"Look here pal.....I don't care about your rules. I do care for your safety. Now, I'm sure you care for your safety too am I right? And it would be a shame if your safety was......threatened correct?"

"I'm sorry but rules are rules. No matter what you do to me." He said.

"Alright." Bruce smiled. "Fluttershy can you come here for a moment!"

The timid mare flew in for once, and landed gracefully, careful not to disturb any earth worms that may have gotten in her path.

"Um yes?" She said softly.

Bruce went up to the mare whispered in her ear, and pointed to the colt.

"Are you sure it won't hurt him?" She asked.

Bruce nodded to her, and winked at Spike.

"Ok then....." Fluttershy took a deep breath of air, and looked right at the colt.

At first he didn't flinch. But then as Fluttershy's eyes widened, he started to rock back and forth uneasily. Then came the sweat. In Fluttershy's lifetime, she only had to use the stare on rare occasions, but over the years it became more and more deadly. The colt started to shake much more noticeably now and his eyes were becoming quite shifty. But after a few moments, the second phase of the stare kicked in; the freeze. He couldn't move his joints, and his eyes locked with Fluttershy's. If he hadn't run to the little foal's room earlier he would have leaked his nervousness all across the ground.

Fluttershy started to approach the table, eyes still targeted on the colt like lasers, and her eyes grew. She was initiating part three of the stare, the mental shutdown. The cream colored mare had total control over the stallion.

"Now, what do you have to say?" She said.

"Here are your tickets don't lose your copies of illegal tickets enjoy your meal."

"Good. Hope you two do well in the tournament!" Fluttershy said in her normal voice as she flew off to the pegasi division.

The two were then escorted to a room filled with earth ponies. There were two sets of doors, one was a normal wooden door, and the other appeared to be made of glass.

"Hiya Spike!" Pinkie Pie said. "Oh and hi Bruce! You guys excited? This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Yeah I'm pretty pumped!" Bruce said.

"Ah' guess that means your'e excited?" Applejack asked.

Bruce nodded his head.

"Heck I'm pumped too then. So is Applebloom and Big Macintosh." She grinned.

"Applebloom is entering?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah. Trying tah get their cutie marks in dueling." She rolled her eyes.

With a click, the glass doors slid open and revealed an oasis of dueling rings and waiting areas. The entire labyrinth was made of nothing but glass, and there were dozens of building sized monitors.

Whoa......this is awesome...... Spike thought.

The ceiling was made up of nothing but florescent lights, which had just started to dim. The entire complex was dark for a few seconds, and the monitors slowly lit up. They revealed a live image of Princess Celestia standing behind a podium, in her bedroom.

"Welcome everypony," Her voice boomed through the building. "To the first annual Yu-Gi-Oh games. We hope you will enjoy your time at the Dueling Grounds. The rules of the card game have already been explained to you, so we shall tell you the rules of the tournament, and the Dueling Grounds. When you are not in a match, you are expected to be in one of the waiting areas, or on your way to your next match. Dueling outside of the designated areas is forbidden, and will result in immediate disqualification. Be sure to keep your ticket on your neck at all times, and do not consume it. If you miss your match, you will also be eliminated from the games."

The monitors changed from the shady image of Celestia to three large brackets. One for each division.

"These brackets have your name, as well as your opponent's name. These brackets will be updated after every match, and will be displayed for the entirety of the games. Be sure to remember your place in these brackets. There will be fifteen winners in total, and these winners will move on to the Dueling Grounds in Appleloosa. We hope you enjoy your stay at the Dueling Grounds."

The lights went back up, and as promised the brackets stayed. These brackets were different from the average bracket, as they had no names whatsoever. Nopony knew who they would be facing. With another click, nine names appeared on the monitors; two in each bracket.

"Attention duelists, the three matches are about to begin. Please make your way to your match, or the waiting areas." It was Princess Luna's voice this time. "......Thats not funny Tia."

Unicorn Circuit
Flim Vs. Fleur de lis

Pegasi Circuit
Thunderlane Vs. Scootaloo

Earth Pony/Dragon/Human/Luna smells Circuit
Silver Spoon Vs. Bruce Willis