Chapter 1: Clash of the Titans
It was the Quarter-Finals of the Battle City Tournament and it was the duel between Yugi and Bakura. It was halfway done and Bakura got a strange look on his face, a evil smirk that unnerved Yami, who had taken his traditional possession of the body during the duel. “What are you smirking about?” Yami snapped.
“I have a gift for you, Yugi.” Bakura announced in his usual British accent. The Millennium Ring glowed, blowing his white hair back in a wind coming from seemingly nowhere.
“Hardly.” Yami growled, the Millennium Puzzle glowing as well.
A blinding light shone between them, blinding the entire group, including the witnesses. When the light disappeared, Yami, Bakura, Seto Kaiba, Joey, Tea, and Tristan were gone.
Yami came to in a meadow he’d never seen. It was surrounded by trees and he could see a pond nearby. He lifted his head and spotted a pony nearby with very familiar tri-colored black, red, and yellow mane and tail. “Yugi?” he gasped.
Yugi lifted his head at the sound of his name and gasped as he saw Yami. “Yami?” he exclaimed, his surprise mirroring his own.
“How come you look like that?” Yami asked, confused.
“Like what?” Yugi twisted his neck to look at his body. “I’m a horse?!”
“I think the term is pony.” Yami answered wryly as Yugi galloped to the pond.
Yugi stared at his reflection in the pond’s surface, mesmerized. “Oh my…You’ve got to see what you look like, Yami.”
Curious, Yami went over and gazed at his reflection. Both of their coats were purple but Yami’s was a darker shade. They both had their classic spiky tri-colored hair but it slanted back instead of sticking up. Yami had his usual blond spikes in his mane, while Yugi just had bangs hanging around his horsey face. Yami also had a purple horn sticking out of his forehead.
“This is too strange…” Yami murmured.
“What is that on your…is it flank?” Yugi asked, confused by the horse term.
Yami twisted his neck around, craning to look at his flank. Clearly visible was an image of the Millennium Puzzle. “I have no idea what that is.” He responded, meeting Yugi’s familiar amethyst eyes.
Yami’s keen hearing picked up a pair of female voices, coming from the end of the clearing, and his ears rotated instinctively in the direction of the sound. “Yuge, someone’s here.” He whispered.
Yugi lifted his head, glancing in the direction of the noise. “Should we hide?”
They could tell the voices were coming closer, and quickly. “No time. We better hope they’re friendly.”
A moment later, two ponies entered the clearing and spotted them. One was a butter yellow with a light pink mane and tail, the other was a lighter purple than Yugi with medium purple mane and tail. “Hey, who are you?” the purple one called, her eyes lighting up.
Yugi hesitated, but Yami strode forward confidently, feeling awkward walking on four hooves now. “I’m Yami. What’s your name?”
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Fluttershy. Where are you from?” The pony asked, smiling a brilliant white smile.
“Domino City, Japan.” Yami answered.
“Never heard of there. What’s it like?” Twilight Sparkle asked, her eyes lighting up with the prospect of new information.
“It’s a great country-”
“What kind of food do you eat?” Twilight interrupted, before Yami had finished the answer. Fluttershy looked like she’d seen this before.
“Sush-”
“Are there ponies? What are they like?” Twilight continued the interrogation.
“Twilight, give him a chance to answer your questions.” Fluttershy interjected, and Yami noticed she had a shy voice that he could just barely hear.
Twilight took a breath. “Sorry, I just get so excited about knowledge. I love learning.”
Yami smiled. “It’s okay. I love learning new things too.”
Twilight smiled shyly. “Can I ask one more question?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Yami dipped his head.
“How come you’re a unicorn and he’s not? You look like brothers.” Twilight asked, confused.
Yami looked at Yugi, confused. “I didn’t know I was a unicorn. Although the horn should have given it away, I guess.” He chuckled. “But we’re not brothers.”
“Well come on, you have got to meet our friends.” Twilight urged, gesturing with a front hoof.
“We do need to find out if our friends are here. So show us around.” Yami nodded thoughtfully.
“Follow me.” Twilight trotted off with Fluttershy, Yugi, and Yami following.
Seto slowly awoke and found himself on a soft cloud, staring at a light blue pony with a rainbow mane and tail staring at him, annoyed. “So, you decided to drop in on my cloud.” The pony said hautily.
‘Cloud?’ Seto thought startled, and nearly fell off the cloud in surprise. “Where am I?”
“My cloud, like I said.” The pony answered with a snort.
Seto rolled his eyes. “I mean whatever…city this is.” His lip curled in a sneer at the last part.
“Hey, no putting down Ponyville. Ponyville is cool.” The pony’s eyes narrowed at him. “What is your name, pony?” she growled.
“Seto Kaiba.” Seto answered coldly. “And if you don’t know my name, you aren’t anything in the world.”
“Hey, I aspire to big things, thank you very much.” The pony snapped. “I want to be a Wonderbolt, the best fliers in Equestria.”
“And what, pray I ask, is a wonderbolt?” Seto asked, coolly.
“It’s only the best aerial stunt team in all of Equestria!” The pony shouted, jumping in the air and hovering using her wings.
Seto smirked. “Ah, so they’re a glorified Blue Angels team.”
“What?” The pony asked, confused.
“An aerial stunt team.” Seto rolled his eyes again.
“So what kind of name is Seto Kaiba anyway?” The pony asked, purposely butchering his name.
Seto scowled. “It’s Japanese. Where I’m from. Ever heard of it?”
“Japa-wha?” The pony asked, blankly.
“That look is familiar.” Seto’s smirk returned. The look she had on her face reminded him of his favorite verbal pin cushion. “Dare I ask what your name is?” He asked, not really caring.
“Rainbow Dash.” The pony gave a cocky smile that reminded Seto of his favorite rival. “Come on, I got to show you something.”
Seto raised an eyebrow as Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and lowered herself so she was level with the cloud near him. “And how am I supposed to get down?”
“You fly of course.” Rainbow Dash pointed out like it was obvious.
“Unless I sprouted wings, that’s impossible.” Seto pointed out.
Rainbow Dash laughed long and hard for a few seconds. “Looks like you already did.” She chortled, pointing at his back with her hoof.
Seto twisted his neck to look at his back, which to his surprise, was lower than and farther back than he expected. Sprouted from his back were short white wings with a pale blue tint to them, reminiscent of his favorite monster. “Where can I see my reflection?” he demanded, distracted.
“There’s a pond nearby.” Rainbow Dash. “But you obviously don’t know how to fly.” She pointed out.
“Teach me.” Seto ordered. Rainbow Dash was about to argue, he added, “Please.”
Rainbow Dash gave a few instructions and soon they were flying gently toward the ground. Rainbow Dash landed like a pro and Seto realized that she forgot that portion of the lesson. He refused to bow down and ask for help, so he gritted his teeth and attempted the landing. He landed too hard and his knees crumpled underneath him. He heard Rainbow Dash laughing from nearby.
“You could have told me how to laund.” Seto growled.
“I could have but that was funnier.” Rainbow Dash laughed again.
“Where is this pond?” Seto asked, wishing he could order her around like he did his employees.
“Over here.” Rainbow Dash led him over to a small pond and let him approach. She stood and waited.
Seto stared at the pale white pony with the faintest blue tint to his coat. The wings were visible on his back. His mane and tail were his human hair color. A cry of disbelief shattered the silence, startling the birds out of the trees.
Bakura woke up slowly in a forest with the strangest creature in his line of vision. The creature looked part dragon with gray skin and two different horns on its head, one an antler, it had one long tooth, yellow different-sized claws, two different shaped legs, one green with a claw, the other tan with a hoof, blue wings, and a red fan tail. Only one word for this strange creature: Discord.
“What in bloody hell are you?” Bakura snapped, lifting his head.
“Never met a pony with such a strange accent.” The creature responded in a cool voice. “The name’s Discord, at your service.”
A flower appeared in the creature’s claw and he handed it over. Bakura took it in his hoof and stared at the hoof and flower until the flower squirted water in his face. Livid, he glared at him. “Thanks.” He replied sarcastically.
“No problem. Discord is my name, spreading discord is my game.” Discord said pleasantly.
“And I like spreading evil, not getting jokes played on me.” Bakura snapped.
“I am not evil. I just like making things…how shall I say…interesting.” Discord smiled.
“What is this place?” Bakura glanced around at the trees around him.
“We’re outside Ponyville.” Discord responded, smirking.
Bakura grinned, amused. “Clever name. Let me guess, it is run by horses?”
“Aren’t you smart. Have a round of applause and a pat on the back.” Discord snapped his fingers. A whole bunch of miniature Discords appeared around them, most of them applauding, and Bakura felt something patting his back.
“Funny.” Bakura rolled his eyes. “I’m out of here.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Discord’s singsong voice called after him, as he walked away.
Discord appeared in front of him, holding a mirror. “Look you fool.” He snarled, all signs of humor gone.
Bakura gaped at his reflection, seeing a white-gray pony with a white mane and tail. “Bloody hell, that’s me?” he gasped, touching his face with a hoof.
“No, I tricked the mirror.” Discord rolled his eyes.
“You are very irritating.” Bakura snapped and walked away.
“Look, don’t let me rain on your parade.” Discord was in a buoyant mood again as a cloud appeared above Bakura’s head and began raining down on Bakura.
“Go take a flying leap.” Bakura muttered, continuing to walk. But the cloud followed him.
“You seem like the type that would make us great partners. Shall we partner up and cause discord all over Equestria?” Discord followed him, flying on his back.
Bakura glared at him. “Why should I do that, freak?” he snapped.
Discord looked offended. “I am not a freak. I look just like my pappy.” He answered scandalized. He snapped his fingers and a ancient copy of him appeared, frail and pointing a crooked finger at him. He held a walker.
“No you look, sonny boy.” The doppleganger shook his finger at him in a wavering voice.
Bakura snorted. “You are just a trickster, nothing else. Not evil.”
“But there isn’t much difference between evil and discord. The ponies thought I was a villain once, too.” Discord pointed out.
“Would you leave me alone if I agree to it?” Bakura sighed, annoyed.
“Saddle’s honor.” Discord grinned, though his claws were crossed behind his back.
“Fine, we’ll join forces on one condition.” Bakura saw Discord’s face fall.
“What is that?” Discord asked warily.
“That we see if my enemy is here and destroy him.” Bakura grinned evilly.
Discord thought a moment. “You leave my Fluttershy alone and we have a deal.”
“Flutter-what?” Bakura was taken aback and a little unnerved.
“Fluttershy is the kindest most generous pony here. And my best friend.” Discord answered passionately.
Bakura muttered something that sounded like, “I bet she’s the only friend you’ve got.”
“What was that?” Discord held an ear trumpet to his own large bat-like ear.
“Never mind.” Bakura rolled his eyes again.
Tea woke up slowly and found herself on hard ground. She lifted her head and found a light brown pony with darker hair. “Tristan?” she gasped, surprised when she recognized the hair color and the classic spike of hair over his forehead.
Tristan lifted his head to look at her. “Woah, what happened to you?” he gasped.
“What do you mean?” Tea asked, confused.
Tristan twisted his head toward the west, where they could hear a female and a young male voice. “Who’s that?” he hissed.
“How should I know?” Tea hissed back. “Should we go check?”
“We might as well, they’ll attack us anyway if they’re bad guys.” Tristan shrugged his shoulder.
Tea followed Tristan toward the sound of the voices and a pony and a young dragon appeared, digging for gems. The pony had a white-gray coat with dark purple mane and tail. The dragon was purple with green spikes. The dragon spotted them, his eyes lighting up. “More ponies!” he cried, running over. He had an armful of gems and one in his mouth.
Tea cringed away at this odd behavior. “Hi, I’m Tea. You are?”
“Spike, at your service.” The dragon said proudly. “And this is Rarity.” He gestured to the pony.
“Hello, there. Nice to meet you.” Rarity smiled at the pair in a cultured voice.
“I love your mane.” Tea smiled shyly.
“Oh, I brush it a hundred times a day.” Rarity’s horn glowed, a brush floating out of a saddle bag against her side. The brush brushed her mane of its own accord.
“I brush my hair too.” Tea responded, nodding.
Rarity looked at her blankly. “You mean mane?” she asked, confused.
“What do you mean? It’s hair.” Tea’s confusion mounted. “Do you have a mirror?”
“Of course. I have to have a mirror to make myself look absolutely perfect.” Rarity said loftily, using magic again to bring out a mirror. She made it float over to Tea and float in front of her.
Tea gasped softly at her reflection. She saw a pony staring back at her that had a rose pink coat with short brown mane and tail. “Wow, I love the color.” She murmured.
“You like ballet?” Rarity asked suddenly, noticing Tea’s flank.
“What?” Tea asked sharply, twisting her neck to look at her flank. Clearly visible on her flank was a pair of ballet slippers. She blushed. “Yeah, I love dancing.”
“I don’t dance, but I do love going to the ballet in Manehattan.” Rarity smiled. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”
“Me too.” Tea smiled back.
“What’s mine look like?” Tristan said, trying to see his flank. On it was a motorcycle wheel. “Awesome.” He grinned.
“What, may I ask, is that?” Rarity asked, a disgusted look on her face. “It looks hideous.”
“It’s a bike wheel.” Tristan explained.
Rarity gave him a blank look. Then she shook her mane. “Oh well, if it isn’t fashion or friends, it doesn’t matter. Come, we’ll show you around.”
Tea and Tristan followed them, Spike chewing on the gems.
Joey woke up slowly to the smell of fresh apples and wet earth. He opened his eyes and lifted his head as a southern accented voice drawled, “So the sleepy head is awake.”
Joey blinked as he spotted an orange pony with her blond mane in a ponytail and had a blond tail. “Hello,” he grinned, instantly shifting to his flirtatious side. “You dating anyone?”
“How about you get to know me first, partner.” The pony rolled her eyes.
“Aw, come on sweetheart, a gal like you can’t be that lonely.” Joey continued to turn on the charm.
The pony narrowed her eyes, not looking at all charmed. “You sayin’ a pony can’t be single in this day and age?” she asked in a dangerous voice, her accent getting thicker.
“Not saying that. Just…well…” Joey trailed off.
The pony turned tail on him and for a moment he thought that she was going to walk away. But then she bucked, kicking him squarely in the chest, knocking him off his hooves. “That’s what you get, you flirtatious stallion.” She snapped, smirking over her shoulder.
Joey stood up carefully, eyes watering. “Sheesh, you could have just said you were.”
“That’s not what I meant! I was sayin’ it’s not polite to ask a lady if she’s seein’ a pony of the opposite gender.” The pony blushed faintly.
Joey grinned. “It’s cool, no offense taken. So what’s your name?”
“Applejack. And yours is rude I presume?” Applejack gave him a smirk as she turned toward him.
“Joey Wheeler.” Joey replied, letting his Brooklyn accent thicken more. “I know what it’s like having trouble getting people to understand you because of your accent. I’m don’t live in a place where people are used to this.” He gestured with a hoof at his throat.
“And where are you from?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“Domino City, Japan.” Joey answered proudly.
“Where’s that?” Applejack asked blankly.
“You’ve never heard of Japan?” Joey was surprised that anyone had never heard of the country.
“Nope. Right Big Mac?” Applejack called over Joey’s shoulder.
“Yup.” A deep voice answered from behind him, making him leap a foot in the air.
When he didn’t land again, he was dumbfounded. “What the-?”
“You never realized you’re a Pegasus?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. She pointed with a hoof behind his head.
Joey twisted his neck and spotted a pair of light orange wings sprouting from his back. “Woah!” He exclaimed, losing his concentration and forgot to flap his wings. He careened to the ground, stunning him.
“You all right?” Applejack asked, approaching him.
“I’m fine.” Joey shook his head. “You got a mirror or something?”
“There’s a pond out back. I can show you it.” Applejack nodded her head toward the barn. “Follow me.”
Joey followed Applejack to the pond and stared at his reflection. He was staring at a light orange pony with a shaggy blond mane and tail. “Cool.” He grinned.
“Why do you have goats on your flank?” Applejack asked suddenly, startling out of his daze.
Joey twisted his neck to see his flank and saw a trio of goats clustered on his flank. “Scapegoats.” He murmured.
“What did you say?” Applejack asked, confused.
“Nothing. Can you help me find my friends? They might be around here somewhere.”
“Sure. I’ll get my little sister Apple Bloom to help.” Apple turned to the barn and shouted loud enough to wake the dead, “Apple Bloom, come here and meet the newcomer!”
Joey was surprised when the smallest pony she saw appeared, a light yellow in color with flaming red mane and tail. “Yeah, Applejack?” she asked in the same accent as her sister.
“This is Joey Wheeler. From Japan.” She mimicked Joey teasingly. “He wants to find us help his friends. You want to help?”
“Sure, I’ll help any friend of yours, Applejack.” Apple Bloom grinned, her reply thick with implication. “I’ll go get the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“Oh, don’t you try any match makin’ either!” Applejack called after her sister, blushing.
Joey fought a grin as she turned back to him. “And you better be on your best behavior or the deal is off.” She was dead serious as she said this.
“Yes ma’am.” Joey nodded his head.
“Let’s go to the barn and wait for Apple Bloom to follow.” Applejack sighed and led him to the barn.