The Legend of Fauna

The time had moved to about 12:40 before they reached the place known as Sweet Apple Acres. As Ruby had been spouting facts about the Apple family which apparently had a recorded line going all the way back to the unification of Fauna and then some, somewhere along the lines, she mentioned that the farm was one of the longest standing properties in town. The land it enclosed was around 60 acres, with over half of that being devoted to just apples, and over 1000 apple trees were planted there that still stood from over 1000 years ago.

The town of Pony Ville was founded by the Apples that settled it, who miraculously found water in the nearly desert below the Everfree. The Storm drain river runs just outside the Everfree from Sky lake, and the Apples managed to run into it coming from south of the String hill range that separates the dapple desert from the rest of the world. They somehow managed to cross the gods forsaken desert without all dying, and then were still strong enough to build a settlement a few miles from the river. How they managed it, many will never know. This happened in the 500's or so, therefore the Queens weren't even around yet.

The farm was built, and the land around it was barren. The first year, the family was barely able to grow enough food to feed themselves. But during the next spring, an entire group of unnatural trees sprouted from the ground all around the settlement, which produced the most strange fruit known to man. They called the rainbow things Zap Apples, and from then on have been the only ones who know how to grow and harvest them. Only the head of the family is allowed knowledge, and from each head the knowledge is passed through the generations. The current head, by force, is Macintosh Apple. He's only 20 years old, but has managed to run the farm practically on his own for most of his life.

He, his grandmother, and his sisters are the only true resident Apples in Pony Ville, since all the others live everywhere in the country. Some how, the entire family has been Terran aside from those who marry in, but even then, the children have always come out Terran, Ruby herself being an example. They arrived at the gate of the farm after several minutes of walking, and then Ruby began to explain as much as she could, as fast as she could before they made it to Pony Ville farm.

Their best seller was the jack apples which were the odd creation of Johnny Apple, son of Pauline Smith and Sweet Apple. After that came the zap apples, which were in such high demand that a single apple would run a person around fifty to forty bits, which is nothing compared to the by products of the zap apples. The only stipulation with these apples is that they had a very short window of growth and harvest. The entire month of march was all they had to get everything grown before the trees would 'zap' away, and there was only a week that the Apples could be harvested.

From there, they grew and sold every other apple under the sun, along with various seasonal fruits and vegetables. Sweet Apple had created a method to grow an orchard inside, so even during the winter, the family still produced a good number. Finally, there were the, 'branches' as Ruby called them, of the Apple family. The major family lived here in Pony Ville, but there was an Apple family orchard in every major city in Fauna with a few smaller ones here and there around minor towns and bodies of water.

“Well, that about covers everythin' Ah know! Y'all ready to meet the family?” The old Angel pulled out a Rectangular duel disk from his Conductor's coat pocket and checked the time. “Alright Ruby. I've got bout ten minutes I can spare, but as soon as this here timer goes off, I'm gone, got it?” The red haired woman looked a little disappointed but accepted the fact that her grandfather was here at all for the first time in years. “Okie dokie! Lets head in!” The group of five followed Ruby down the earthy path that looked like forest ground rather than the almost sand type of ground that made up the streets of Pony Ville.

When they made it to the crowd, Ruby and Raid were met with open arms and several 'Howdy cousin's'. As for the other three, Ruby would take each of them to a person, shake hands vigorously with the person she introduced, and move to the next one. Finally, Zephraim managed to get Ruby to streamline her introductions so they could make it to this Jaquline or Applejack girl that they discussed on the train. The yard had four wooden bench tables that seated about ten people on either side, and Twilight didn't believe that that was anywhere close to enough space for all these people.

At the back of the yard were two structures, one was a large red and white wooden barn that was almost of story book design, and another building that looked to be made entirely out of sheet metal, at the very least on the outside. It had a wooden porch seemingly built on to it as an after thought rather than intentional design, and on it were several elderly people who had similar statures and hair to Raid. Standing next to one old woman was a relatively tall man with bright orange hair. He was about twice the size of Zephraim in terms of muscle, and at least as tall as Luna, if not taller. His muscles nearly bulged out of his plaid light and dark red shirt. They were completely defined in his white tank top underneath. He had freckles along his cheeks and had less facial hair than Zephraim, but it was thicker than his, like he'd trimmed it recently. He had green and brown irises, and he was wearing blue jeans and western boots. The boots were a little strange though, because they had what looked like engraved metal plates along the shins.

“Hey Big Mac!” The red haired Terran woman rushed over to the large man on the porch, and gave him a hug that lifted the man off the ground. “Holy shit. How does she even do that?” The old Angel put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. “Terrans, girl. Try to refrain from cursin' if ya can. They don't take too well ta it here.” The old Angel stood back up, and then Ruby motioned for the rest of the party to join her. “How's it been boy?” The big Terran shook the old Angel's hand. “Decent, sir.” Bass 1? Bass 2? maybe even Bass 3? This guy's voice was very deep, possibly just naturally in the fifth octave. “And them?” He motioned to Twilight, Zephraim, and Spike with his giant hand right. “Oh, of course. This is Twilight and Spike Sparkle, and this is Zephraim Black.” They each took turns to shake hands with the giant. Twilight was surprised at how very light his grip was. There was a possibility that he wasn't even putting pressure in his hand at all just to avoid causing an injury.

“Nice to meet you sir.” The giant replied. “Same.” He kneeled to shake hands with Spike. “Hi, I'm Spike.” The boy tried to grip his hand, but his palm was wider than Spike's entire hand. The giant gave a gentle smile. “You'll grow into it.” There was a hint of an accent there, but his was much more toned down than Ruby's. The then stood to greet the Angel. “I believe we've met before. You don't happen to know anything about the business convention in upper Canterlot last year do you?” The giant thought for a second. “Ah helped stop a fight.” The Angel nodded.

“To be quite honest, you really ended the fight. This guy noticed a spat break out between a few other guys that were arguing over price reductions in the gem trade, walked over there and told them to knock it off. Naturally, they tried to gang up on him, but that didn't last long. Tried to punch him and broke their hands.” The giant almost blushed. “Holy crap. That's friggen impressive dude.” The giant accepted the compliment and then moved to help the old woman in the rocking chair behind him up. She was wearing a long beige sun dress with a bright green shawl over her upper body. She, like Ruby, was relatively small and frail looking for a Terran, which was likely due to age more than anything. There were signs of muscle that had been lost in her arms as she picked up her cane to stand on. Her silvery hair looked to have a few blonde streaks left in it here and there, and it was all pulled neatly into a bun.

“Well howdy there young'ins. What brings ya here to my family's old farm?” The old woman stuck out a shaky hand to Twilight. Once again, she grabbed the hand tentatively due to her last encounter, and like then, there was much more force than expected in the shake. “What the? Come on girlie, give it some power!” Complying with the challenge, Twilight squeezed her hardest, but the old woman's hand didn't change. “Well, that's a lil' disappointin', but yer a Mage after all. Can't really be helped. And how about you lil' one? Got a good, strong, hand shake for an old Apple?” The old woman relinquished her death grip on Twilight's hand and moved on to the boy.

“I can try!” The woman once again stuck a shaky right hand out. In reply, the boy's hand looked like several small scales flipped over all along his skin which then turned violet, and his fingers grew clawed. He then grabbed at the woman's hand and squeezed as hard as possible. The woman didn't budge but smiled at it. “Well now, aren't you somethin' fancy! How old are ya dear?” The woman put a harder grip on Spike and he winced at the hand. “My eleventh... birthday is in... five months!” the woman let go of his dragon hand and returned it to her cane. “You've got a whole bunch of potential if yer hand shake is that strong at ten. Why, ya might even out do ol' Big Macintosh over here.” The woman slapped the giant's back, who took a step forward to brace it. “Now, you are?” The Angel took the hand expecting a similar death grip, but didn't receive it.

“Zephraim Black ma'am.” The old Terran gave him a look. “Hmm... now that doesn't sound right... You've got that gold in yer eyes... I've only ever seen one other person in the world with that trait...” The Angel frantically tried to change the subject. “So uh, where's that Applejack? Jaquline, or whatever her name is?” The old woman seemed to drop her line of inquiry and don an unhappy look. “Oh, you mean the sourpuss. Yeah, Applejack's up in her room. Been in a real foul mood lately. There was an accident bout seven years ago today that took her father. Y'all probably need ta talk ta her fer some reason other than the family reunion, and I imagine it's real important that ya do fer y'all ta come all the way out to an ol' farm like this. Macintosh, why don't ya go up there and try ta get her ta talk with them?” The giant nodded.

“Sure Granny.” The old woman then pointed a cane at Twilight. “You got that angry look about ya girlie. And yer eyes... yer not quite the same as everybody else either, huh? Hope yer good at that game. If I was a bettin' girl, which I was back in the day, I'd say you out of the lot of ya have the best chance of getting her outta that mood. She's a might stubborn, and there ain't no one here who'll ignore a challenge. Use it to yer advantage.” The old woman gave Twilight a slap on the back, and she almost fell over. “Ow, shi- uh, thanks... I guess?” The old woman gave Twilight that 'I know what you were about to say' look that grandparents and parents all seem to have, but before she said anything, Raid cut in.

“Well, I'd love ta stay and chat, but I need ta go meet my son and his daughter across town.” The old woman nodded. “It was good ta see ya again Raid. Glad ya finally decided to come visit me, even though I'm sure yer other granddaughter dragged ya here.” The old Angel shifted his Hat and started to hover. “Don't think too hard bout it Smith. I might even come back later.” The old Angel took off. The rest watched him as he flew away, until Mac coughed. “If y'all will follow me.” At this point none of them knew where Ruby had drifted off too, and then Twilight spotted her in the sea of people in front of the house. Guess the party had lost two members. The trio followed the giant into the metal house which was lined with polished wood on the inside. Pictures of countless people were on the walls everywhere, and there was a small shrine with two pictures and a lit candle on a dresser near thee entry way. Twilight guessed they were Johnny Apple and his wife. They approached a stair case, and then they started to hear voices.

“Come on sis! Everybody's already here! Yer gonna miss the whole reunion!” A couple of knocks on what they assumed to be a door later, another voice was heard. “Ah don't want ta see anybody! Now git! Go play with yer cousins er somethin. Leave me alone.” The younger voice complained again. “Applejack! You do this ever friggen year! Come on, lets just go play in the orchard like we used to!” The older voice was more irritated now. “If you don't get the hell away from my door, I swear Applebloom, I will make sure your chores are a livin' hell next week!” They heard a quick step. “Fine! I didn't want ya to come anyways! The family doesn't need you if yer gonna be a bitch!” A teary eyed little girl tried to run down the staircase and pass the group, but was caught by the waist by the older brother.

“There ain't no need to be callin' her ugly names. Now go on. I'll take care of her. I think I saw Babs over by the west field with some of yer other cousins.” The little redhead was talked down by the giant, and he seemed to do it right. “Okay... but make her do the dishes tonight fer bein such a... meanie.” The older brother nodded. “Consider it done.” The girl managed a smile and ran off, but not without giving Spike a good long stare. “Cool wings!” And just like that, she was gone. “Looks like you have an admirer.” The boy gave his sister an annoyed look. “Oh, shut up. Your the one whose trying to bang Cel-” Both the Mage and the Angel put a hand over the boy's mouth. The giant gave them a look, but continued up the stair case without a word.

“Remember what I told Stripes earlier at the Canterlot station? Those rules apply to you too, got it?” The boy was still afraid of the Angel's eyes, and once again, he nearly yelped out loud. “Yes sir.” he whispered back. “Applejack!” Said the giant as his heavy fist knocked against the wooden door. “What do you want?” The giant shook his head. “You know damn well what Ah want. Open the door before Ah break it down.” Muted cursing came from the other side of the door, and it opened to a blonde girl of about six feet, at least at Zephraim's height, wearing nothing but an oversized orange and blue plaid button up shirt. Her face was freckled, and she had watery green eyes. They were reddened, like she'd been crying. She gave a half angry half depressed look to the giant, then her face turned bright red as she looked at the other people. She then slammed the door.

“Why in the hell didn't ya tell me you brought people with ya!” The sounds of frantic opening and closing of drawers came from the other side of the door. “It's one in the afternoon! Ah didn't expect you to be still in yer skivvies!” The door opened again, the blonde now with messier hair, hastily thrown on jeans, likely a bra considering her chest was much tighter in her shirt, and boots with a similar metal plating. “Fine! Now who in the hell are these people, and what are they doin' in my house?” The girl turned to look at the three invaders, but she stopped on Twilight. “Hold on a sec. Do... Ah know you?” The Mage was startled by the sudden inquisition.

“Oh, uh, me? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered somebody with a rack like that... Oh gods damn it.” That wasn't supposed to come out. The blonde narrowed her eyes. “You would have, huh? Ah want these people out of my house.” The giant nodded. “Sure. But yer commin' with.” The giant grabbed the girl with his shoulder, and hoisted her up. “Come on y'all, she want's us out of the house!” The wide eyed trio just looked at each other and did as they were told. “You put me the hell down right now Macintosh! Ah swear Ah'll knock yer damn head off!” They managed to get outside of the house with Applejack in toe, but as soon as they did, the entire crowd stopped dead in their tracks. Twilight also noticed that Zephraim had zipped up his coat and put his hands in his pockets. Weird. It's nearly 95 degrees outside. Why in the hell would he do that? The giant threw the girl on the ground as she continued to curse at him, and she scrambled to get back up.

“Yer fuckin' dead! Why would ya throw me!?” The giant leaned down and put his nose against hers. “You asked me to put you down. So I did.” He said with a terrifying calmness in his voice. If she had to guess, Macintosh was one of those people who just got quieter and slower in tone when he was angry. “Great! Just fuckin' great! Is this what y'all wanted!? Ta show these random people my underwear, and see me go ballistic on the anniversary of dad's death! Is that it!? Cain't I just have one damn day to mourn my own fuckin' father!?” The girl was flushed and half in tears, likely because she'd been crying earlier on top of being enraged. The giant hugged the raging blonde.

“Will ya just shut up? He was our dad too. Yer bein' selfish and stubborn, and neither of them would have wanted you ta shut yerself in her damn room all day and mope like that. And it ain't just today, you've been like this fer weeks! It's been seven years fer Divinity's sake.” The blonde struggled in her brothers arms until finally she just hid her face in his embrace. “Gods damn it... It's just not fair...” The giant pushed her outward so she looked him in the eyes. They had the same green and brown eyes. “You have a job from the Queens. Ya cain't just ignore somethin' like that. These are the people she mentioned in that letter we got a week ago. You know we won't make it through the year without that money.” The girl turned away from her brother and wiped at her face. She then turned to Twilight.

“Yer Twilight right? Ah got a letter last week with a card and some instructions from the Day Queen. We're supposed to duel today. Ya think ya can quit lookin' at my chest long enough to play me?” Twilight turned just as red as the blonde. She grabbed at her hair with her hands and began to play with it nervously. “Um... y-yes...” That was likely to never go away. The blonde look satisfied with her reply, then addressed the silent crowd. “Good. Now will y'all set up the tables fer a game? Ah'm gonna go get dressed.” The various people who were dead silent all gathered around the four tables in the yard and began to lift them into place. They lined up two on either side of the yard about thirty feet apart. They then took four trash can like objects from the porch of the house and placed them at each corner end of the tables.

“You'd better go get ready. She's not gonna take it easy on ya, especially as emotional as she is right now.” She nodded and moved toward the tables closest to her. She removed her disk from her bottom right pocket and placed it on her left arm. The level of silence had moved up to a whisper. Granny Smith had gotten up from her chair and moved to the center of the yard in between the tables, where she invited Twilight to stand on top of one. Around that time, Applejack had come back. Her hair was combed, into shape at least, and the long ends were tied together by a bright red hair band. She had changed into a dark and light orange plaid shirt that mirrored the one her brother was wearing, and was now wearing a belt and a brown leather stetson. The hat looked ancient, but well kept all the same. She had tucked her jeans in her boots which now displayed a symbol engraved into the plates. Three apples in a circle, like a family crest, or a Terran's mark of an important family head. She started toward the tables opposite of Twilight with a trapezoid shaped orange duel disk on her left arm. As she got closer, she started to get a bounce in her step, and once she was close enough, she turned and back-flipped up to the table top, grabbing her hat and doing a bow after she landed. The rest of the family cheered and clapped, and Applejack sniffed and wiped at her nose. Granny gave her a look, then gave Twilight the same one, and smiled.

“In the words of our fore fathers, let the game begin!” The entire crowd and the two players said all in unison, “DUEL!” The two disks shot out matter waves, and then beams of light at each other. The four cans at each table end also shot beams of light out, and the six beams met at the center of the field, far above the players. “What are those?” The blonde girl gained a hint of a smirk. “That would be my own personal invention. Ah call em' invoker restraints, or IR's fer short. Similar to duel disks, these big ol' cans generate MR fields, but ya can restrict em to a specific size or shape, and the cut the exterior magic leak to nothin'. That way, everyone can watch without getting hurt and still bein' able ta see the action.” The girl couldn't hide her pride at all. “That's impressive. You must be a top student or something, right?” The blonde shook her head.

“Naw. Haven't been ta school since Ah graduated a year ago. This came mostly out of habit.” The Mage furrowed her brow. “You already graduated?” The Terran nodded. “Yeah. What about it?” The Mage narrowed her eyes. “But... aren't you like, sixteen?” The girl shook her head again. “Turned sixteen almost a whole year ago, sugar cube. Gimme a month.” Twilight was shocked. This girl graduated high school when she was fifteen!? “Holy shi- uh, You have a diploma already!?” The blonde tipped her hat. “Yes ma'am, skipped three grades. Now are we just gonna stand here and talk or play this game?” The indigo haired girl crossed her arms. “You tell me, turn player.” The blonde looked at the screen on her disk and muttered a curse word.

“Damn, well, I guess if it's my turn, I'll go ahead. Ta start us off, Ah'll set the Pendulum scale with the scale 1 Continental Knight, Honest Lord Ephraim, and the scale 8 Continental Knight Paladin!” The blonde placed the two cards on either end of her disk and both monsters showed up at each end of her field. The first was a medium armored man who resembled the girl and her brother quite a lot. In fact, he looked almost identical to the picture she saw inside the house in the shrine. He, like the siblings, had longer hair the came to a curl that pointed upward in his bangs that was sandy blonde, much like Applejack. Like the older brother, he had facial hair running from his sideburns to his chin, and carried those green-brown irises. He was wearing dark, almost navy blue armor with beige accents all along it's edges. He had white pants and a violet colored long sleeve shirt with beige accents underneath, and was wearing a dark brown cape with a red underside that was held on by an ornate gold clasp that had the same crest as the sibling's boots and the grandmother's shawl. He carried a medium sized shield in his left hand, and a large halberd in his right that had a red cloth tied around it's shaft. The other knight was much lighter armored, and rode a brown stallion. He carried a medium shield in his right and a long spear in his left. His face was uncovered, and his hair and eyes were a bright red. He was, to say the least, very attractive, and unlike like the other, his armor was turquoise. He wore what looked like brown leather underneath everything, and had a navy blue shoulder cover just underneath his shoulder plates. The two monsters floated in position, and above the girl, a large object appeared and began to oscillate.

“When Ephraim hits the pendulum zone, Ah get ta add a continental card ta my hand. At the moment, Ah think the army needs some range, so Ah'll add Continental Knight Sniper!” In a similar fashion to Andromeda earlier, Ephraim tapped his lance to the ground, and sent an orange colored wave under Applejack's feet. She took her card from her deck, and then the oscillating object above her began to move faster. It's trail became visible, and there was a circle area where it continually passed the edges of with each movement.

“Now that we've got some soldiers, let's bring out the troops! Using the scales, Ah can pendulum summon monsters who'er level 2 through 7! Swing Pendulum swing! Just like my family before me, bring the army back ta life! Continental Knight Warrior Princess, and Sniper!” Out of the poly-star came two orange lights that turned into more armored people. The first was a woman wearing very light, very ornate, gold armor over her chest and shoulders with long flowing turquoise hair over bright a bright red shirt. She was wearing an ivory skirt with red long boots and carried a rapier in her red gloved right, and nothing in her gold armored left. The other was a man wearing chain mail under relatively plain light blue clothing. He had a leather shoulder plate on his left, and wielded a giant silver bow that was nearly as big as him. He had silver hair that was long enough to hide his forehead, and cold yellow eyes. Just after the summon, the crowd that was expectantly waiting for it began to cheer her on, and shout for Applejack. She took a bow, then continued her turn.

“And now we got two effects that go off. First, our paladin lets me add an Army card to my hand, so Ah'll take Army phalanx formation. Then, the princess lets me destroy one card in my pendulum zone and replace it with a monster with the same scale from my deck. Ephraim is destroyed, and Continental Knight Princess Wing Rider is put in his place.” The navy blue lord spun his halberd and then stabbed the ground. It opened up in an orange light, and he sank into it. In his place rose a blue haired woman riding a bright white pegasus. Like the other princess, she wore light ornate armor over her shoulders, and not much else. She was wearing a bandeau dress with an ivory underskirt, yellow frills on the edges of the red outer part that looked like it was tied all along dark red fringe that encircled the dress. Another set of armor Zeus was likely to complain about, because it was very impractical.

“Well, Ah'm sure we'll get to this later, but just so ya know, while Princess Wing Rider is in the pendulum zone, Monsters can't be banished. With that, Ah got a couple a cards ta set, and it's yer go.” The Mage girl examined the field, then examined her hand. Depending on what those two traps were, and what the phalanx card did, she didn't have any good options to her at the moment. If nothing else, she could start off with Andromeda and buff his attack to play it safe, but the pendulum monsters wouldn't stay gone unless she could send them to the grave, rather than destroy. Even then, that was if she could manage to even do that. Considering that a phalanx was a formation that the queens came up with back when they ruled over Gaia to defend against on coming arrow and lance rain of Sephira's forces, this trap would likely screw her over if she just went straight out for it. Using seal would keep it shut for the turn, but with Wing rider over there, she wouldn't be able to sweep her field like this. So there's the solution. Kill the princess.

“I like the army motif. But they all seem to be Terrans, so let's recreate a little history! First off, I'll summon Shooting Star Pegasus. When Pegasus is summoned while I control no monsters, I can special summon two level 3 or lower monster from mt hand. Star Magician Halley and Shooting Star Swan Join the field. And If Halley is summoned, I get to add a Star Quick play spell to my hand. I think I'll take Silent Star Seal. Now that that's done, I'll activate Star Fusion. By sending Halley and Pegasus to the grave, I preform a fusion summon! He who holds the power of heaven in his hands, come forth and show the majesty of the galaxy! Appear, Magic Star Andromeda, The Galaxy Magician!” The Tritium began to form, and unlike at school a few days ago, this card got a reaction out of the crowd. They all 'oohed and 'awed over the violet lights and then Andromeda appearing got whole volumes of cheering, just like Applejack's pendulum summon. It was strange. She expected the crowd to go wild for Celestia on Sunday, but a normal duel getting this much of a reaction from fifty or sixty people? Have I been missing something? Or did I just never watch duels enough to think that they're exciting to watch? Now that I think about it, I can feel my own pulse. My heat beat is just rapidly increasing the closer I get to the battle phase. Maybe It's always been like this, and I just never noticed.

“Uh... sugar cube?” Twilight pulled her head back to reality upon the southern girls voice. “Oh right, sorry. When Andromeda is fusion summoned, I get to add a Star monster to my hand, and in this case I need Star Magician Huygens, um, please.” Andromeda turned his head to give Twilight a confused look, then did a similar motion to the lord. He placed his staff on the ground for a light blue wave to reach Twilight, and her deck to eject Huygens. The crowd and Applejack all stared at Twilight after the event transpired. “Did y'all just... ask yer card politely fer his effect?” The Mage now understood why she received that look from the sorcerer, and tried to hide herself behind her hand.

“A-anyways, I activate the effect of Huygens from my hand. While I control a Dark and a Light attribute monster, I can special summon him.” The next Star Magician appeared and kept trend with the other three, appearance wise. Applejack noticed that between this one and the last one, the clothes had changed, but the face was different. The last one looked like a young man, and didn't have any facial hair or glasses, but this one was wearing glasses, had thin facial hair along his jaw line, and was wearing an ear ring on his right ear.

“Now uh, since he's on the field, I can send monsters I control to the grave to perform a fusion summon with his effect. I fuse Swan and Huygens! Circling galaxy, great disk of light! Stars that spin in elliptical flight! Descend, Star Ellipse, the Galaxy Magician!” The swan flew and grabbed on the magician's back, then the two took off. They rose in the air until they could barely be seen, then began to spiral downward toward the ground at a rapid rate. The spinning figures flashed in a bright violet light until an armored sorceress with wings made of light with black lines and stars in them hovered down beside Andromeda. She wore a tutors cap similar to Andromeda's, but on both sides above her ears were feathers made of the same teal light that her wings were. Like the princesses on Applejack's field, she was armored at the shoulders and the chest, in that boob-mold style that Zeus hates with small metallic violet shoulder plates that just passed the middle of her upper arms. She wore gauntlets and shin plates over the same white pants Andromeda wore, and was wearing an indigo blue and gold lined blouse that ended in a skirt toward the back. Her hair was an inversion of Twilight's being magenta with a violet and indigo streak, but ended in the spiky points that the Star Magicians all shared, and unlike any of the other galaxy magicians, this one had glasses. She carried a small baton in her hands that she held just below the end of her shirt that had an elliptical swirl of light at each end.

“Well ain't she a pretty lil' thing. Ya size her chest yet?” The blonde snickered, and Twilight retreated behind her cards again. “I... uh... so, when... when she's summoned...” The Terran started to wave her hand at Twilight. “Come on now! Ah cain't here ya, if y'all get all mousy on me like that. Ah'm just jerkin' with ya.” The Mage cleared her throat. “Ahem, if Ellipse is fusion summoned, I get to target and destroy one card you control. I think there's only room for one princess on your field, so wing rider is gonna have to go.” The Terran looked down at her two set cards. “Well. Damn.” The sorceress spun her baton twice in her hand and then the lights extended into pointed sabers. It was a twin blade, not a baton. She jumped above the pendulum zone princess, and threw her light twin blade into her, slashing her into two. The princess exploded into fragments with her pegasus, and began to float into a white circle of light that appeared just above her.

“Wait a minute. If the card I destroy is a spell or trap card then it's banished after it's destroyed! Wing rider goes to hell!” The blonde exclaimed. “You shittin' me!?” Just as she spoke, the white light disappeared, and a black one appeared below the spot. A large shadowy hand struck out and grabbed at the particles that turned back into wing rider atop her pegasus. The pegasus bucked and neighed, and the rider made a silent scream as she was dragged into the black. For the first time, Twilight felt bad about doing it. That display was like dragging a real person down to the abyss. Is this what the game was? Playing with lives? This didn't feel right. Something was different about this match. That felt too... real. At the same time, she notice Applejack wince and grab at her chest. Something was wrong. This wasn't normal.

“Uh... So, next, I activate shooting star comet, and target Andromeda. This turn, he can attack every monster you control, and for each monster he destroys, he gains 400 attack.” The blonde gave a confused look to the Mage. “What's with that? Yer givin' me that mousy bit again. And uh... Ah don't know if ya noticed, but yer kinda glowin'.” Glowing? What did she mean? Twilight looked at her hands, and then saw it. A faint violet smoke was coming off of her skin. It was happening again. Her senses were going crazy and she was producing magic like nothing. But... what was it about this that was different? It wasn't normal magic either... From the crowd, someone else made a comment.

“What are ya talkin' about? She's not glowin'!” Several others chimed in with the same reply, and then the crowd was in an uproar over it. “What the? Can y'all not see or somethin'? She's got a damn purple ring around her body! It's practically an outline at this point!” mutterings came from the crowd until the last phrase was repeated, and the uproar continued. Master Sparkle, this is getting out of hand. The voice of Andromeda started playing in her ears, and the sorcerer was still in the same forward facing position on the field, but his staff was lowered. She whispered back.

“What am I supposed to do about it? I don't know how to turn it off!” The sorcerer's staff bobbed a little, and then his voice returned to her head. I was afraid of this. I'm going to do something. So be prepared. Remember where you and she are standing, or this could get... messy. The sorcerer placed his other hand on his staff, and his whole body began to glow in a light blue. He tapped his staff on the ground three times, and then the area around them lost all color. The world was frozen, and only she and Applejack retained color aside from Andromeda. “Hah... I... must sit down...” The sorcerer stopped floating, and walked to the table Twilight was standing on, then he sat down, breathing heavily.

“That boy... was not joking when he said this was... difficult.” The sorcerer swallowed, and Twilight got down from her table to check on him. On the other side of the field, the Terran was more confused now than she'd ever been in her life. “What in tarnation? What the hell happened!?” The blonde approached the edge of the IR field her cans generated, and tried to reach past it, but was stopped by an invisible wall. She poked at it, and then acquainted it to the texture to glass. She felt along the area with her empty hand, and then moved around until she reached a corner, that lined up with her can, and spread to the other two.

“Alright. You need ta tell me what in the hell is goin' on, Missy!” The blonde turned away from the wall to Twilight, and marched down to the two of them. “Who is this guy?” The sorcerer tried to stand up, but couldn't manage, so he introduced himself from his seat. “I am Andromeda, the Galaxy Magician, as you know me. If you would place my brother on your disk, it would be very much appreciated.” Applejack was stunned, and Twilight tapped Applejack's extra deck slot. “Trust me on this one. You remember that letter, right? I need you to tell me exactly what it said.” The slot opened, and Twilight put Ephraim on Applejack's matterwave. The man was summoned to position, but as soon as he was, he looked around. He then locked on Andromeda, then sank to the ground.

“Andromeda, What the devil did you do?” The sorcerer's head fell on the table with a thump. Then his muffled voice came out. “It has been nearly five years since we've been in the same room together, and the first thing you do is ask me that?” The lord moved to the opposite side of the table and sat down across from him. He then stabbed his lance in the ground. “Fine. How've you been, is this the girl, what's up, bla bla bla. What did you do?” The blonde jumped up on the table between the three and demanded their attention.

“I've put up with this shit fer long enough. Some body tell me what the fuck is goin' on right now!” The sorcerer raised his head from the table, and looked with weary eyes at the blonde. “I see she shares your... personality.” The lord reclined on the invisible wall. “You could say that. You could also say she's merely a younger version of myself. I imagine that one is the same?” The two continued to ignore the quickly angering blonde on the table. “If nothing else, she is the spitting image of my first granddaughter. However, she does share my younger selves personality as well, so in that regard, she is the same. Master Sparkle, would you please explain to my brother and his incarnate what is happening?” Twilight starred daggers at Applejack.

“Sit down already! We need to have a conversation.” The Terran debated whether or not to fight, but then decided to comply, simply until she gained more information. “Alright, fine. But y'all better explain well. This... frozen thing is startin' ta freak me out.” The girl jumped off the table, and sat down next to the lord. She looked at his face for a long moment, until he looked back and smiled. She turned red, and looked at the floor. “Right now, we're in what's called a dimensional pocket. Pretty much everything around us is going to be frozen until Andromeda releases it, at which point we need to be back where we were standing, or the pocket will put us there, and it does not feel good.” The blonde nodded. “So this is some kind of spell right? Now what's up with them? Who are they? And why were y'all glowin'?” Twilight held her chin, and started to think of how to phrase everything she knew short enough to explain it.

“To put it shortly, These two were originally our ancestors from a time before we have records of today. They fought against an alien dark magic that caused them to be sealed inside stone slates, or the original duel monsters cards. The queens found them some time ago, and turned them into cards. At the same time, the ancient dark alien magic was released and possessed Luna. If you remember the night that Upper Canterlot burned, that was why. A battle between the Queens ensued, and these guys and their other siblings used the powers of the gods that they inherited to fight of the dark magic again, but something went horribly wrong, and Luna was lost to another dimension. Eventually, Luna was freed and returned home with the dark magic card, which was then sealed away. Seventeen years ago, a woman who was imprisoned under Canterlot castle made off with the card. There are six of us who were born, and all inherited these guys' Marks and powers. The Day Queen has ordered me to team up with you and the other four, and find this woman, and stop her. She's the one who Celestia believes is causing all of those murders that have been happening here.” The blonde looked to the men sitting beside them, then back to Twilight.

“Hmm... Ah don't know if Ah can take all of that at face value, ya know? Sure, this guy looks a hell of a lot like my dad, but...” The lord put his hand on the girl's shoulder. “I assure you, It is the truth. You see...” The lord began to remove his armor. He unbelted his left shoulder plate, and then the rest of the plates on his left arm. After all the armor was gone, he rolled his sleeve up to his neck, and with it revealed the image of three apples in a circle on his left shoulder.

“You and I share a destiny, and if we're to be honest here, Your entire family is wearing my mark.” The Terran rolled up her own left sleeve to look at the same mark on her shoulder. Then she looked at her boots to see it on the plates. She turned to look at the frozen people in the crowd, and each and every one of them had some article of clothing with that mark on it. “Holy shit... That mark... Is yours?” The lord nodded. “You see, I started the trend. Originally, I was the one who engraved my mark into things. If it's still there, there is a cave in the string hills that has an entire fortress carved into the stone. I built My family out of those hills, and we thrived. For whatever reason, I had always found growing plants relatively easy, even if it was only Optimism and myself that could do it well. Big brother over here tried his best, but that was one thing he could never get right.” The lord gave a hearty slap to the sorcerer's shoulder plates and laughed. The sorcerer sighed and put his head back on the table.

“He brings this up every time he meets someone new, really. Prideful little bastard.” The lord slapped the sorcerer again. “So negative, aren't we? Anyways, that place didn't used to be a desert. It was the most fertile land I'd ever come across in my travels, but after the great nightfall, that land was desolated. I still don't know what happened to the family that survived it, but it seems they found their way here. And from the looks of it, there's quite a few of us now. Now, tell me of yourself, Jacqueline. I want to know of this father you spoke of.” The Terran girl looked down at her hands. She looked depressed again. The lord gave her a pat on the back, much gentler than when he did so to his brother, and began to re-armor his arm.

“Well... my dad was a lot like ya, actually. He was big and strong, and always smilin' at folks. He and my mom were real special people. Even when they would try and come ta screw our farm over, they never got mad, they'd just invite them in fer dinner. And he was just so... perfect. He was... always such a good guy...” The girl was starting to tear up. “He never yelled at me, and he always knew just what ta say. He loved me so much. And now... he's... he's gone... That stupid sonic boom... this damn mark! Why did it have to happen like that...?” The girl had dug her face in her arms, lightly sobbing. The Mages looked at each other, unsure of what to do, then the lord took hold of the girl.

“Come now, there's no need for this. You are among friends. If you tell us what happened, then we might just be able to help you.” The girl looked up at the lord. “You... y'all are just like him... he even... said the same thing, well, if not in so many words.” The girl wiped at her eyes, and then started to circle her thumbs. “Well... it happened about seven years ago today. Twilight, do y'all remember some real loud noise and color in the sky from when y'all were younger.” Twilight thought for a second, then her eyes went wide.

“How could I forget? My Mage's mark appeared that day, and I uh... well let's ignore that part.” The other girl's eyes went wide. “Yours did too!?” Both of the girls looked at each other intently. “Yeah it did. That's... really, really weird. What has happened to my life? Literally, less than a week ago, there wasn't any weird shit in it, and suddenly everything is friggen crazy. I don't understand this crap.” The sorcerer patted the Mage's back. “There, there, Master Sparkle, this is simply the beginning. Please, continue Master Apple.” The Girl gave the sorcerer a weird look, then resumed her story.

“So mom had passed away about three years prior, and it was really startin' ta get ta me. Ah wasn't functionin' right, and Ah just couldn't get up the drive ta work or go ta school. So dad had the idea ta have me visit my aunt an' uncle's place up in Heartland. He said that bein' around my mom's family might cheer me up a little, so I went. And fer a while, it worked. Ah was up there fer a couple of weeks, and after the first week ended, Ah really started ta get the hang of that fancy talk they use, even learned a little Aristonace.” She said the last word in perfect Aristonace, which was surprising because her normal speech was the exact opposite of the beauty people expected from that language.

“But, then Ah started getting' home sick. I was missin' dad, and my brother, and my baby sister. So the next day Ah was starin' out the window when this real loud noise happened and what followed that was a whole bunch of colors in the sky that just seemed ta point back home. Ah knew that's where Ah really wanted ta be, and then this here mark showed up on my arm. Ah couldn't really understand why it did, but Ah was so happy, that I got my Uncle to rush me back home that night. But, Ah didn't come back ta a happy home.

While he was out the day of the sonic boom, he was visitin' a friend who owned an armory just outside of town. The boom set off a gun that was traded in earlier that day and hadn't been unloaded by the owner. The bullet flew and ricocheted off of a few things, and my dad protected his friend, but was hit right above the heart... It... pierced his Aorta... his friend took him ta the hospital, but he... he didn't make it there... he was out buyin' me a present fer when Ah got home ta try and cheer me up... If Ah had never left... He wouldn't...” The lord brought the girl in his arms.

“Stop right there. We've heard enough.” The girl fell into him and accepted the hug. “If Ah had just... never left...” The lord continued to rub her head. “Stop with that. You don't know what would have happened. And you cannot know what would have happened. The past is exactly that. It's gone, done, and over with. Nothing can change that. Look at me.” He pushed the girl out and stared directly into her eyes. Twilight noticed that just like her and her brother, He shared the green and brown irises too.

“You are still here. And if he were to see you like this, well, I'm afraid he'd be disappointed. You're a strong young girl. You've accomplished so much on your own. You're smart and filled to the brim with talents you can't even see that are there right at this very moment. When you stand, You walk with confidence. When you play, you play without fear. When you work, you put your all into it. You are exactly who your father was trying to raise when you act like yourself. But this... teary, little, mopy, girl is not who you are. Come now. Tell me what your father would have said to you.” The girl looked down at her hands again, beginning to stave off tears.

“If it wasn't that... then, Ah just don't know...” The lord smiled. “There it is. Now, when I was tracing through all of the people who could inherit me, you were the one who stood above the rest. You have endured a hardship that no one should have to suffer, and you are stronger than anyone because of it. Your will cannot be broken, and your strength and determination are unwavering. Your siblings were the others I could have chosen, but you stood out even among them. You will defend this land that your family has lived on for generations, and you will topple all adversity. It doesn't matter which battles you fight, because there isn't one you cannot win. This girl in front of you will become one of your greatest allies, but first, you must fight with her. Clash your very soul against hers, and emerge with a new friend. She has seen you at your lowest so there is only to go up from here. So get up! Challenge her! Fight with all the energy you have to offer! Win for your sake, and no one else!” This guy must have been an expert manipulator or something, Twilight thought, and it was definitely working.

“Well then! Let's get to it! Come on!” She was absolutely fired up now. “But we didn't even...” The blonde grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and brought her up to the table, then leapt twice to reach her original spot. “Let's do this!” The sorcerer gave a tired sigh and went to his place. “Ephraim, you weren't on the field before we started.” The lord shrugged. “Not much I can do about that.” Twilight sighed just like Andromeda. “Applejack, can you get set up like we were before Andromeda cast the spell? And, just don't ask questions this time. I'm sure I'll end up explaining everything again to the other four too, so let's just hold off on that okay?” The girl shook her head and readjusted her hat.

“Alright, alright. But Ah want ta know about them murders. Half the family isn't here this year because of it.” Twilight was shocked by the sentence. “THIS IS ONLY HALF!?” The blonde put Ephraim back in the extra deck and then wiped her face again. “Yep. Now lets play the game.” The girl resumed her position, and Andromeda floated to his spot. He then tapped the ground with his staff three times. From the spot, color expanded in a circle until everything was enveloped and people were arguing over whether or not Twilight was glowing. After a few seconds of it, Applejack got angry and just gave in to the crowd, because at the moment, they were right.

“Fine! Fine. She's not glowin' any more. Y'all shut up and let her finish her turn. What'ch ya got fer me sugar cube?” Twilight looked at the cards in her hand. She had Silent Star Seal, and Shooting Star barrier. At this point, it would be best just to go for it with Andromeda, and hope she doesn't need to use barrier. But wait... phalanx was a counter trap! If I don't use seal first... damn it. Well, all in I guess. “I don't really have much choice on this one, so I activate the effect of Silent star Seal! While I control a level 5 or higher Star monster, the effects of all trap cards are negated until the next standby phase!” And just as Twilight thought, she activated the trap.

“Ah'm gonna have ta take that as an opportunity ta activate Army Phalanx Formation! All monsters Ah control are switched ta defense position, and they gain defense equal ta all monsters Ah control. In this case, 3900.” And that is what I was afraid of. So much for comet. But, there's still Ellipse. “I figured that's what would happen. But that isn't about to stop me! Battle Phase, I attack directly with Star Ellipse!” The blonde stepped back. “What? How?” Twilight put on a smirk for the first time in almost a week.

“I can banish a Star monster from my graveyard to attack directly. I banish Pegasus, now 2200 to the face!” The Sorceress started to fly upward above all the other monsters on the field. She began to spin her baton, which then grew the two light blades that made it a twin blade. She dove headfirst into Applejack, who did something unexpected. She kicked Ellipse in the stomach while avoiding the blade swing. The entire crowd seemed to gasp, at least, every one other than her siblings and Granny Smith. None of them seemed to even think anything of it. Her life point counter went down to 1800 and Ellipse returned to her place, clutching her stomach with her left hand at the same time. What in the hell just happened.

“Surprised?” The blonde had that pride in her voice again. “Uh, yeah, a little bit. How, or what really, did you just do?” The Terran girl swiped at her hair with her right. “An old family trick that my dad came up with. Turns out that even though we don't have yer fancy magic, Terrans can still avoid hurtin' ourselves in a duel. It takes practice, but if ya fight back, ya can stop attacks, sometimes even deflect projectiles, but Ah've only ever done that one once.”  These people were more and more impressive by the minute. No wonder she was chosen. “W-well, in any case, I set one card and end my turn.” The Mage girl slid a card face down into the disk, and prepared herself mentally for an attack. If she was anywhere close to Zephraim's level, this would hurt, and it would hurt a lot.

“Alright, lets see what we get! Ah draw!” For whatever reason, the Terran girl pulled a card out of her deck as dramatically as she could, then gained a wide smile when she looked at it. “Well isn't that somethin' special. First off, Ah activate my other trap, Guerrilla Tactics of the Army! Ah can target one face up monster in my extra deck and put em' in an empty pendulum zone. Come on back, Continental Knight, Honest Lord Ephraim!” The orange light from earlier returned to let the blue clad lord back on the field. Now that she saw him on the field again, he really did have that winning smile.

“Then, since Ephraim entered the pendulum zone, Ah get ta add a Knight ta my hand! Ah add Continental Knight War Priest! And then, Ah think we've had enough of that phalanx formation, so Ah activate Formation Change of the Army! Ah can special summon both monsters in my pendulum zones, and replace them with two pendulum monsters on my field!” The turquoise paladin and the dark blue lord traded places with the red princess and the and the light blue sniper, and their values were displayed. Paladin had 3200 attack, and Ephraim had 3000. Twilight whispered to Andromeda

“Hey! You didn't tell me he was stronger than you!” The sorcerer gave a quick glance to the Mage. You also never asked. And now you know. I did however specify that my younger brother was a prideful little bastard didn't I? He's always been out to beat me, and for the most part he never succeeded... unless it came to a fight. Twilight put a hand to her face. “For Divinity's sake, you're pathetic.” The sorcerer crossed his arms in indifference. I was the brains of our battles, not the brawn. Do you have a plan other than the barrier? I fear we may need something else. Twilight sighed.

“Top deck the next card I need?” The sorcerer sighed. We are birds of a feather. The blonde raised her hand to the air, and the red crystal that Twilight now believed to be a pendulum began to start it's rotation again. “Then Ah Pendulum summon! Continental Knight War Priest!” The Pendulum circled fast, and then it's rotation became visible again as a bright red line. Out of the interior circle it made came the orange light that turned into War Priest. He was a rather large man, with short brown hair and a rather thick mustache. He had brown eyes and wore white and light blue robes with two metal guards on either shoulder and both his hips. He also had a metal guard around his lower torso, and carried a large ax in one hand, and a staff with a teal crystal on the top in his other.

“Next up is Sniper's effect! Ah can target one monster you control and destroy it. Later Sorcerer guy!” The Sniper kneeled pulled an arrow from the ground. He loaded his bow like a ballista and prepared to fire. “Not so fast! I activate Andromeda's effect! I can target one spell card in my hand or on my field, and activate it as if it were a quick play, and replace his effect in the chain with it! I activate the effect of Shooting Star barrier that I set! By banishing one Star monster in my graveyard, I can target one monster I control, and that monster cannot be destroyed this turn!” The spell card opened, and a large teal ball of light enveloped Andromeda. The sniper fired, but the arrow crumbled once it reached his barrier. The blonde laughed.

“Well, if that ain't a trick! We're gonna be dead even at the end of this turn! Ah activate the other pendulum effect of Sniper! While Ah control a warrior type on the field and in my pendulum zone, Ah can change all yer monsters ta defense position!” As the blonde said, the Sniper loaded two arrows that looked much less impressive than the last in his bow, and launched them at the Mages. The Mages were both shot in the shoulder, then each took to kneeling, and placed their staves in position to protect their bodies. “Wait. What does that do for you? I don't take damage if you attack my defense position monsters.” The Terran gave a wicked smile.

“The Princess begs to differ. Wile she's in the pendulum zone, all warrior type monsters Ah control gain the piercing effect, and Ah'm sure y'all know what that is?” Huh. 3200-2000+3000-2000=2200. She was right. “Oh. Well shit.” The girl's smile some how increased in size. “Ah set one card, and then we battle! Since this is a family reunion and all, I'll have Ephraim attack Andromeda first!” Without saying anything, the two duelists heard a conversation start between the brothers.

Well is this not the fun turn of events! You get to meet Minerva again! The sorcerer's barrier flared up. You and your pet names for inanimate objects. Just get it over with already. You won't be sending me away anytime soon. The lord's face seemed to darken somehow. Oh well, if you insist. The wicked smile Applejack had given Twilight was now on the lord's face being given to the sorcerer. He took two running leaps, and spun his whole body around the Halberd, then brought it crashing down on the sorcerer's barrier. An orange shock wave rang out with a C tuned bell-clang tone to accompany it, and smashed right into Twilight's own barrier. With each wave, the barrier cracked a little more, until after seven waves, it stopped, and the lord returned to his place. Twilight started to get a head ache.

“And just ta get rid of another of yer monster's for that there barrier ta eat, Ah'll attack yer pin up girl with Paladin” The now blushing Twilight banished Huygens from her grave to keep her 'pin up girl' from being destroyed, and the same teal barrier Andromeda had was now covering her. The brown stallion puffed air out it's nose, and began to charge at the sorceress. The Paladin raised his spear, and the horse jumped at his command. The spear cracked the barrier, but was then deflected, and another orange shock wave with a bell-clang tone rang out. The waves broke against Twilight's barrier nine times, and now it was practically shattered.

“Crap. I really need to get on top of this barrier thing. Literally everyone I've dueled in the past three days has either managed to destroy it, or get it to this point. So, is that it?” The blonde wagged a finger at her. “Not quite. Ah still need to attack with War Priest. Even though he won't do any damage, When he does attack, Ah get ta do two things. One, if the target is not in defense position, Ah get to change it to defense position. And two, Ah get ta set an army card from my deck. Without further adieu...” There was another phrase that sounded odd coming from this southern girl. The last word she used comes from Aristonace, and like she told them in the dimension pocket, she knew some of the language. It was perfect, but the Aristonace accent right after the southern one was just... off putting. The War Priest placed his staff carefully in his belt, then took the ax in both hands. He charged at the Sorceress, and swung at her with it. The barrier and the ax collided, but no shock waves were produced. He then returned to his spot, took his staff back out, and raised it so it produced a teal glow.

“So then Ah add Army Medical provisions to my hand, set it, and end my turn. All yours sugar cube.” Another pair of set cards, and this time she had nothing to fight them with. Top decking Star Comet Phase, or Star Creation was about all she could hope for at this point. “Here we go. Pray for it...!” She drew, and it was Star Comet Phase “Oh thank Divinity. I activate the effect of Star Comet Phase! By sending Pegasus, Huygens, and Halley to the deck from my banished, I draw two cards!” The card activated, and an image of the sun appeared in a starry canopy above the field. Three comets came and circled the sun, then went flying at Twilight, where they crashed into her duel disk. The deck shuffled itself, then she drew two cards.

“Yes! It's time to take you down Applejack! I activate Ultraviolet Star Rays and Super Giant Star!” The blonde gave her an 'I can sense your bullshit look'. “Really now. What do those do?” The indigo haired girl snickered. “First, they each raise Andromeda's attack by 500. Then they both have another few effects. Ultraviolet makes it to where Andromeda is unaffected by your cards until the end of the damage step when he attacks, and Super Giant makes it so when I destroy a monster you control by battle, You take damage equal to that monster's attack” Two things happened to Andromeda. First, he was cloaked with a violet light, that made an outline of him glow intensely. Then, a bright red yellow and orange flame coated his violet outline.

“It doesn't really matter who I attack at this point, but this is a family reunion after all, so... Andromeda attacks Ephraim!” The blonde tipped her hat to the Mage. “Well, Ah have ta admit, y'all got me beat here. But, Ah'm not really in the mood ta lose ya see, so, Ah'm gonna make a stand! Ah activate the effect of Last Stand of the Army! When a monster Ah control is destroyed by my opponent's monster, both players take damage equal to it's attack! It's a family reunion after all!” The Mage sighed. “I used that trick earlier today. Is this karma?” Andromeda began to charge a mass of energy to the end of his staff, and then the stars aligned into a blade, similar to the one at the end of Ephraim's halberd, which she believed he named Minerva. The sorcerer charged at the lord, seemingly with a smile, even though there was a mask hiding his face.

What was that about this being fun? I do believe you get to meet Gradius again! The Lord raised his lance and returned the charge. Yes, this has been fun. And for once, you actually get to beat me. Special day for you isn't it? The sorcerer and the lord came inches apart from each other, and clashed their blades against one another. The resulting sound was that of a two note harmony, specifically, a G and a C. the resulting shock wave was light blue and orange and covered in violet fire. The waves reached each player, and knocked both outside of the IR field. The field displayed DRAW to all the viewers, and then the spectacle ended. The various family members helped the two up to a standing point, and then rushed them back to the center of the tables where Granny Smith was waiting for them.

“Well, now. Ya gave Applejack a run fer her money didn't ya? In fact, I'd say if ya coulda out right stopped her traps that turn, ya woulda won. But that doesn't really matter. She's smilin' fer the first time in weeks with a real smile on her face, and that's worth much more than a win. Isn't that right Applejack?” The old woman gave a good slap to the blonde's back. “Granny, ya really need ta stop slappin' people. That still hurts ya know.” The old woman scoffed. “Oh, calm yer fiddle sticks. Yer young, it'll heal. Anyways, I reckon y'all aren't done with today just yet are ya?” The two men who had been watching from the sidelines joined the group in the center of the sea of Apple family.

“That would be a negative ghost rider. We've got about four more people to visit today. And it's... just about 14:00.” Said the lone Angel in the crowd of Terrans. “And this has been fun. But the four of us need to go. If what she said to me is correct, we'll have another run in with one of them as soon as we head into town.” The Mage caught his carefully placed number. “Four? You mean we're taking her with us?” The Angel gave her the 'for real?' look. “Yes we're taking her with us! That was the whole point of coming here! We have things to do, and we need the full party!” The blonde interjected.

“'Sides, Ah really would like ta know why Ah was hearin' voices durin' that duel. Cause they were the voices of them cards, and Ah just need ta know more. Ah figure if Ah stick around you guys Ah'll learn somethin'.” The Angel gave her the same look he gave Twilight. “Uh, Case and point. I guess. Actually... when did you talk with...? You know what? It doesn't matter. Let's head out. Spike! Are you ready?” He called out to the boy who was over back toward the porch with the red haired girl from earlier. “Oh crap! Gotta go! Bye Applebloom!” He Waved to the girl and ran to join the group. “Yeah, I'm here.” Twilight snickered at the boy. “Oh, so there was a follow up to that first encounter huh, Mr. cool wings?” The boy blushed and crossed his arms, and shuffled those little leathery dragon wings.

“She's in the same grade as me... I.. thought it would be good to at least know some one. We're going to spend the next semester here, so why not?” The Mage girl smiled put him in a headlock and rubbed his head. “At least you're more social than I was. This is a good thing!” The boy struggled under her, then managed to get free. “So, where to?” The Angel took his duel disk out of his pocket again, then opened a map application. “Well, It would be relatively nice if we could get Twilight's things back. Actually, you don't happen to know a girl with bright pink hair and blue eyes do you? She is... fast. Really fast.” The Terran rubbed at her chin.

“Hmm... Ah don't really know. Ya see, there have been quite a few people that have moved here over the past year, and even more that have moved away since that string of murders started a month ago. If anybody would know, It'd probably be Rarity.” The Angel snapped his fingers, then dug in his coat pocket for something. Then he handed her a picture. “This Rarity wouldn't happen to be Rarity Belle would it?” The blonde nodded. “Yeah, that's her.” She sounded far less enthusiastic upon seeing the picture. “Great! Two birds with one stone. She has one of the six. Lead the way Jacqueline!” The girl came face to face with the Angel. Hers was not a happy one. “Applejack, thank ya.” Then she started away. Zephraim followed behind and then was followed by Spike. Twilight started to move that was, but was stopped by a bony hand.

“Just a moment there, girlie. I think I have somethin' ya might need later. This was a card I had made a long time ago to celebrate my late husband. All the kids have one, and well, I just think it might come in handy fer ya. After all, yer just a little bit different huh?” The old woman handed her a trap card and gave her a smile. “Oh, uh thanks. I mean, I'm not really one to use this kind of card but, I guess I'll give it a shot.” She slid the card in her deck, then was pulled back to the old woman. “Oh, and tell the Iscandor boy that he should be fine here. I doubt anyone else would even know that his mothers eyes have that. O'course, ain't many people who've actually seen her up close. Heck, there's even less that know her last name! Cameras just cain't catch the gold right. Now go on! They're waitin' on ya!” The old woman gave Twilight a push forward that sent her a good distance. Twilight gave her a concerned look, but was shooed away. She ran to catch up with the group at the top of the hill and they left.

“Hey, Zeph.” She whispered to the Angel. “Yeah? What?” He replied in hushed tones. The two let the blonde and the dragon boy move ahead enough to speak in private. “She said she knows who you are!” The Angel sighed. “I figured as much. If you've ever seen mom's eyes, then you'll know her kids when you see them. Unique eyes are relatively easy give aways as to who the parents are. And this is why I usually work at night. It's a curse really.” Twilight looked into his eyes and started to see the gold flecks more, then be reminded of Celestia for it. “Yeah, I could see that. Considering you, your brothers, sister, and she are the only ones in the world with a trait like that, I guess it would be pretty hard to hide. Although, I think his hair would be a little more than a dead give away.” The Angel nodded.

“Yeah, that's true. Zeus and Eclipse really have it bad because they basically inherited the hair straight off our mom's heads. And my cousins all have the flecks in their irises too, albeit silver rather than gold. Speaking of which, I got a message from Eclipse while you were dueling. He's on his way here, and He'll be here tomorrow night. He says he's got some important information for us that needs to be spoken rather than sent.” The Mage frowned. “I don't like the sound of that. Where is he coming from that will take him a day and a half to get here?” The Angel looked at his disk again with an expanded map of Fauna.

“Crater on the west coast. It's normally a two day trip unless you fly, but the planes have been getting attacked when passing shell river. We don't have exact details, but Mount Exuvia has been hostile recently. And I don't like the sound of this either. I'll just be happy if I don't have to break out the blades, or worse, teach six girls how to defend themselves. The less involved I have to be in this the better. There's already a serial murderer around here, so clean up would be... difficult to say the least.” Twilight didn't want to comment on that in any way. The two caught back up with the blonde and the dragon boy, and the party made their way into town.