"Careful now, darling!"

"It's all up to you now!"

"Go for it..."

"Go on an' get 'im, girl!"

"You can do it, Sunny!"

"This. Is our last. CHANCE!"

The tension in the room was so thick that one could've cut through it with a knife. Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but feel pressured, her six friends practically on top of her as they tried to give her encouragement when it pretty much ahd the opposite effect. But even without them, Sunset could not deny that she felt nervous. Everything was relying on this one action, this one chance. If she should fail now, all of their struggles, all of their sacrifices, it would have all been for nought and darkness would rise to cover the whole world.

Despite her best efforts, her hand was shaking and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Loathe as she was to admit it, she was afraid. Afraid of failure.

"It's now or never, Sunset." said Ryou from straight across her, his tone and expression ice cold. "Do it!"

She gave her enemy a mild glare, but his frosty words ironically seemed to be the spark that lit the fires of hope within her. There was a roar of determination from Sunset, and so she did what she had to do, "FOR MONSLEY!"

She threw out her hand and let the dice fall, each and every one of the eight teenagers watching them roll on the gameboard with anxiousness written all over them. To them it was an agonizingly long wait, and they all held their breaths as the two ten-sided die at last came to a halt.

00

Sunset let herself breathe out a huge sigh of relief, a satisfied smile forming on her lips while her friends cheered and clapped hands around her.

"A super critical." observed Ryou, his usual smile returning as he typed away on the game's computer and analyzed the data, "Sunset the fire mage unleashes her Sevens Inferno assault and makes a direct hit."

The girls all smiled hopefully, "And that means...?"

Ryou let out a defeated sigh, though there was still a smile on his face, "An elemental attack of that nature and power was too much for the already wounded creature. The Ice Dragon of Angmyr perishes and the adventurers have saved the kingdom from an eternal winter."

Resounding whoops and cheers of joy were then made by the Rainbooms, exchanging brief hugs and high-fives to celebrate their victory over the threat to the imagined kingdom. Ryou watched it with a smile, happy to have given his friends another more positive Monster World experience this time around. He was also happy that Sunset could now play with a character of her own instead of having to play with characters containing the stolen mortal souls of her friends.

Strangely enough, the game was far more enjoyable without the evil spirit and constant threat of death. Who could've guessed, right?

It had been little more than a week since the visit to Zecora and since then things had actually been quite calm and pleasant for Ryou and his friends. School went on as always, even more pleasant than when he had still been new there, though Trixie was still making a clear point of avoiding Ryou as much as humanly possible.

Thoughts of the spirit and the item he possessed had hardly been bothering Ryou at all throughout this time as well. As soon as he had gotten home from Zecora, Ryou had wasted no time in hiding away the artefact. The millenium ring had been locked away in a briefcase and hidden deep underneath piles of clothes within his cupboard. Ryou had full intentions of never ever opening it up ever again.

Had anyone told him a month ago that he would get to spend friday nights playing games with friends like this, he would've called them crazy. Only now it was actually happening, and Ryou couldn't be happier.

"I think us adventurers deserve some kinda reward!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed, raising her fist in the air while riding high on the familiar feeling of victory. It was a very alluring suggestion, as she immediatly found herself recieving resounding cheers from her fellow saviours.

"What sort of reward did you all have in mind?" Ryou asked, a bemused smile on his lips, "I'm afraid I can't knight you."

As the girls all prepared to give the boy different answers, seven stomachs suddenly rumbled all at once, and the seven girls they belonged to found themselves blushing. Ryou blinked twice but then couldn't help but laugh.

Coughing into her hand, Sunset then gave Ryou an akward smile and suggested, "Something to eat wouldn't be too bad."

Ryou looked thoughtful for a brief moment before he then snapped his fingers as a lightbulb went off in his head, "I think that I've got a little something that'll do just the trick." He turned towards his friends, "You girls make yourselves comfortable in the living room and I'll be out there in a jiffy."

Having no objections to this plan, the Rainbooms all filed out of the game room and wandered straight into Ryou's living room while the boy himself disappeared into the kitchen. Plopping themselves down on Ryou's large, red couch, they all passed the time with idle chatter of no real importance.

It didn't take long for Ryou to exit the kitchen carying a tray filled to the brim with big, delicious-looking treats which made the girls' mouths water at the mere sight of them. "I picked up some fresh fruit at the grocer earlier today and decided to make it into some muffins." He said as placed the tray down on the coffee table before settling himself down in his favourite lamino chair. "I'm by no means an expert but I think they'll taste fine enough."

"Hogwash! I'll bet they taste great!" Pinkie Pie said, cheerful as always. Her fingers twitching in anticipation, she reached out and snatched herself a muffin and took a big bite. As soon as the fluffy treat made contact with her tastebuds, the girl froze up, eyes wide as saucers.

Pinkie's friends couldn't help but look on in slight concern at the akward reaction. Ryou felt a stab of panic in his heart, thinking the worst of the reaction. With a downcast sigh, he asked her, "That bad, huh?"

Pinkie's breathing grew more audible and more rapid, her chest moving up and down while her previously blank face began to change. Her right eye twitched while her pupils grew to almost completely make up her eyes. Like a budding flower, there quickly bloomed an enormous grin on her face. Once she spoke, her voice grew steadily more loud and cheerful with each word, "This... muffin... is... AMAZING!" With this final declaration, she eagerly took another bite. "You gotta give me the recipe, Ryou!"

Despite having gotten somewhat used to his poofy-haired friend's odd behaviour at this point, Ryou could only blink as he watched Pinkie scarf down his creation.

Encouraged by Pinkie's positive reaction, the rest of the Rainbooms all reached out and grabbed a muffin of their own to sample its taste. As they bit down and felt the fluffy cake on their tounges, they too felt themselves overwhelmed by just how scrumptious the treat was.

"Oh darling, this is positively heavenly!" Rarity was practically moaning in-between bites, a hand on her cheek as the delicious, fruit-tinted taste filled her entire being. Similar comments were made by the others.

Ryou blushed and scratched the back of his head, though he was beaming at the praise all the same, "I'm just so glad you all like it! It was a new recipe I've been meaning to try for a while so I wasn't too sure about how they would turn out."

"Tastes like a success to me!" Applejack exclaimed with a grin, raising her half-devoured treat in the air in a sort of salute.

"Seriously, where did you learn to make stuff like this?" asked Sunset while hungrily biting down on her own muffin.

Ryou gave a modest shrug, "When you've had to live by yourself as much as I have, you sort of have to pick up a few culinary skills if you don't want to eat cheap instant noodles every day. But it was honestly my mother who got me into cooking."

This got caught the girls' attention, making them all listen intently for further details. It was sort of weird to think of how none of them had ever picked up on it, but the fact was that Ryou had never once mentioned his mother to them before. Up until now, that is.

"Your mom taught you?" asked Twilight, she and the others eager to learn more.

Ryou nodded, a nostalgic smile appearing on his lips while his eyes were lost in the warmth of nostalgia, "When I was little, I would always rush into the kitchen because I was so eager to help her cook. She had long days at work and I just wanted to make things a little easier for her. At first it was just the simplest of tasks as she didn't want me burning myself or cutting my fingers off, but when she saw how much I enjoyed it, she gradually let me help her with more advanced stuff. "

He could still remember those times so very clearly. Remember the clang of pots and pans, the different aromas of the spice rack, and of course, the warm smiles his mother woud send him while he eagerly absorbed any and all culinary knowledge she would share with him.

Ryou didn't really know what compelled him to do it. He had never been one to overshare, after all. And yet, something about his company, how his friends seemed so genuinley interest, had the boy keep on going, "When I was 8, it was the first time I cooked up a meal all by myself to surprise her for her birthday. It was just a rice omelette, nothing special. But the way her face lit up when she took the first bite..." The mere thought of it was enough to make him feel warm inside, "I'll remember that till the day I die."

"Aww!" Pinkie Pie gushed and clasped her hands. "That's so sweet!"

"Oh, come now." Ryou chuckled sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed at this point. He felt his cheeks going hot as he noticed that the other girls seemed to share Pinkie's sentiments, most of them letting out small aww's and coos of their own.

"It does sound pretty adorable." said Sunset with a bemused laugh.

Rainbow Dash picked up another muffin, turning towards Ryou with a questioning frown, "Y'know, we've heard some stuff about your dad but up till now you've never really talked about your mom. What's she up to these days?"

Ryou's smile died as suddenly as a glowing light bulb, his gaze lowering and his eyes clouding. When he answered, his voice was low and subdued, weighed down by the bitter burden of loss, "My mother passed away in a car crash when I was 10."

Rainbow Dash's muffin fell out of her hand. With the sound of seven seperate horrified gasps, the room was then plunged into a tense and melancholic silense. The girls could only stare at Ryou, none of them knowing what to say. After all, how could they possible respond to an emotional bombshell like that?

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, though it was more of a gasp than anything, "Oh, dude..." Her expression, words and tone spoke of uttermost remorse, thinking that she must've brought up a sore subject, "Ryou, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

She was effectively silenced by Ryou. The boy simply held up a hand and Rainbow Dash felt whatever apology she had attempted to make die on her tounge. For a brief moment he continued to look down, eyes closed and his lips tilting downwards. But then, he looked up to face Rainbow Dash, and his entire expression changed as if by magic.

"Don't be sorry, Rainbow. It's alright, really." Ryou was smiling, and though it wasn't as bright as usual, it was not most certainly not a false one. It wasn't like when he talked about his father, when his serene smile and words only seemed like a mask meant to hide the very ugly and very real pain underneath. No, the boy's smile and tone where as genuine as can be. "It's been five years since then. I've managed to move on."

"But don't you miss her?" asked Fluttershy timidly, though she instantly regreted asking such a tactless question.

Ryou let out a strange sound, somewhere inbetween a scoff and a light laugh, "Of course I miss her, Fluttershy. I miss her everyday." His smile dipped, though only slightly, "Though I can't deny that it makes me sad sometimes, she wouldn't want me to grieve for her my whole life."

Ryou could feel small tears starting to gather at this corners of his eyes, stinging with the bitter-sweet feeling of nostalgia that would so often accompany him any time he thought of his mother. And yet, it did not bother him. Five years ago, any conversation about his mother would've sent Ryou into hysterics, but no longer. It was an old wound, but a wound that had been mended and faded with time.

Shaking his head out of these thoughts, he turned to fully face his friends, a serene and strangely determined smile on his face while a lone tear ran down his cheek, "I figured out way back that the best thing I can do to honor her memory as her son is to move on and live my life to the fullest. I will always treasure the moments I got to share with her, and as long as I do that, well... She'll never be truly gone."

For a while there was only silence except for the constant and penetrating tik-tok of the room's grandfather clock. Slowly, but surely, all seven Rainbooms found themselves with small smiles on their faces, finding Ryou's heartfelt words resonate with them. Though it was certainly sad to know that their new friend had lost his mother, it brought them all no small amount of comfort to see that the boy really seemed to have moved on.

"Still, even though it's been so long, I'm sorry for your loss, Ryou." Sunset's tone was solemn, a hand was placed over her heart while her eyes sparkled with empathy. The others wasted no time in letting Ryou know of their own sentiment regarding his mother's death and the boy found it strangely comforting. He could hear so clearly that the words of his friends was so unlike the hollow comforts he would usually recieve from strangers who found out about his mother's passing.

"And movin' on like dat's mighty big of ya, Ryou." said Applejack, tilting her hat to him and just slightly covering her eyes. Ryou didn't know why his friend's voice was so suddenly thick with emotion, nor why it looked as if a slight wetness was gathering in the corners of her eyes.

The other girls knew, however, exchanging knowing, sympathetic looks between them. For a brief moment they conscidered telling Ryou why Applejack was acting this way, but they ultimatley decided that it was for Applejack to tell him. After all, the cowgirl hadn't even told all of them straight away.

This solemn mood was not to last, however. For Rainbow Dash hadn't yet realized that she had sat herself down on the remote. Thus, the moment she shifted slightly in her seat, her butt unknowingly worked its magic and just like that Ryou's TV screen suddenly burst to life. All of the teens jumped slightly, turning and looking at the TV.

For a moment they feared that it was a case of paranormal activity, until they saw Rainbow Dash pull out the remote from underneath her, the girl chuckling sheepishly. "My bad, guys."

Before anyone could say anything, all of the teens' attentions were easily siezed by the TV. Or rather, the extravagant voice blaring from it, declaring that this would be the 'showdown of the year', whatever it was. Undoubtedly interested, the group all gazed upon what was shown on the screen.

The camera view shown panned over to what appeared to be an arena of some sort with a pair of tall podiums on either side of it, one colored red and one colored blue. On each podium there stood a person, though it was hard to make out any details by the camera angle and distance. Placed on each corner of the arena was a large post with all sorts of reflective mirrors built on the tops of them. On both the left and right sides of the arena, the number "13" was printed in black. A great crowd of cheering fans surrounded the arena, enthusiastic for whatever the arena was meant for.

As is if this wasn't strange enough on its own, there appeared to be some manner of strange, towering figures standing on both ends of the arena, staring down the other side. While none of the girls really understood what exactly was happening on screen, Ryou's brown eyes lit up in recognition and apparent enthusiasm.

"Sweet! It's a Duel Monsters tournament!" he exclaimed, his smile turning into a full on grin as his gaze was transfixed by the TV. "I'd completely forgotten that the state championships were were coming to a close! And from the looks of it these are the last two finalists!"

None of the girls really understood what Ryou was talking about. They recognized the name of Duel Monsters, of course, Ryou had mentioned the cardgame a couple of times before, apparently it was one of his all-time favourites. Twilight and Applejack both knew for a fact that their older brothers were fans of the game, but none of the girls had ever taken a shot at it themselves.

But seeing just how much Ryou seemed to be enjoying it and given the rather interesting sight displayed on the TV, the girls all decided silently on what to do. Whatever this was, it could be a good way to derail from the more melancholic talk from earlier. Following the boy's example, they turned their heads towards the screen watched.

"And we're back Live from here at this year's Duel Monsters California State Championship!" exclaimed the match's announcer, a well-dressed, balding man wearing a pair of ridiculous sunglasses. His deep and charasmatic voice echoed out throughout the arena, causing the audience to cheer even harder. "It's hard to think that after 64 well-versed competitors, we are now down to these two extraordinary duelists!"

Said duelists were glaring daggers at eachother, locked in a battle of wills. Standing by the red podium was a lean young man with light-violet skin and a bald head, dressed in a baggy shirt and an equally baggy pair of jeans. This duelist's whole stance screamed of defensiveness and weariness, his eyes narrowed over at his opponent in determination and even mild hate.

On his side of the field there was but a single face-down card and only one monster. What looked like a little girl dressed in a cute, frilly dress styled after rose petals, it was Bloom Diva The Melodious Choir (1000/2000). Though her bright and innocent features were tarnished by a look of discomfort and pain, most likely because of her being encased in some manner of chains.

Standing on the blue podium was a man looking to be around 18 years old. His skin was jade green and his hair was a wild mop of golden locks. He was wearing nothing on his upper body but a ragged looking vest and from his neck there hung what looked like a great fang of some kind made into a pendant. Unlike his wary opponent, this player's stance radiated confidence and charisma, him standing tall but also relaxed at the same time while a suave smirk danced on his lips. Given the cheers going his way, it was clear he was the fan-favourite.

This duelist's field held far more of a presence. In the backrow ther was a face-up continous Trap and a single face-down. In the frontrow there stood a great, towering figure looking like an anthropomorphic, very muscled bat with six wings draped in menacing dark armor. The creature bore no weapon, yet it was intimidating enough on its own, its red eyes glaring over at the duelist who dared oppose its master. Next to it was another towering creature, best described as a ripped, anthropomorphic tyrannosaurus dressed in gold and black armor, wielding a great axe of the same colouring. These two were, in order, Gladiator Beast Nerokius (2800/1900) and Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz (2600/1500).

VIOLET MOON - Hand 0x : LP 2000
SAVAGE STRIKE - Hand 4x : LP 3800

The announcer spoke once more, "It's Violet Moon and his majestic Melodius monsters against Savage Strike and his fierce Gladiator Beasts! Tensions are high and the stakes have never been higher! However, things don't look too bright for player Moon at the moment."

"My Fiendish Chain has rendered your little fairy worthless, Moon!" said Savage, a toothy grin befitting of his name spreading on his face. Violet Moon could only grit his teeth as his opponent pointed a finger towards the imprisoned monster, "Gladiator Beast Nerokius, destroy his Bloom Diva with Sonic Death Shriek!"

Obeying its master's commands dutifully, the red eyes of Nerokius seemed to burn ever brighter in rage and determination. Without further warning, the bat-like monster opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing, sonic shriek, causing most audience members to cover their ears. The little Bloom Diva took the brunt of the blast, the chains preventing her effect from protecting her. She could only let out a small scream of pain before the attack destroyed her completely, causing Violet Moon to flinch.

VIOLET MOON - LP 2000 - 1800 = 200

Satisfied by the result but wasting no further time, Savage Strike then pointed straight at his opponent, "But we're not finished yet! Now, Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz! Attack him directly and end this! Reptilian Rage Slash!"

Letting out a roar of pure bloodthirst, the armored dinosaur leaped into the air and raised its enormous battle axe, quickly descending upon Violet Moon with a killing intent.

"I don't think so, Savage!" He exclaimed, pointing towards his field with a look of utter most triumph, causing the hidden Trap card to reveal itself, "Reveal face-down: Mirror Force!" On cue, around Violet Moon there suddenly appeared a dome-shaped barrier looking as if it was made out of some holy light, garantued to deflect any assault. "Your bat may have hindered me from activating it but your lizard's got no such luck!"

"Oh my!" The announcer gasped, most of the audience doing the same, "This sudden reversal could be a serious blow to player Strike!"

Violet Moon watched with a grin as Gaiodiaz continued to approach the barrier, knowing what fate would await his opponent's field once the attack conected. For a brief moment, Violet felt an elasion in his heart, feeling that this would be the moment that the duel would turn around. He felt as if victory was within his grasp, and he aimed to take it straight out of his opponent's hands!

However, as he eagerly looked across the arena, he noticed that Savage Strike wasn't scowling in bitter disapointment or cursing in frustration. Rather, the young man was smiling, quite serenly, in fact. With what felt like an icy dagger to his heart, Violet Moon knew then that something was terribly wrong.

"Well played, Moon..." Savage praised, but it sounded hollow. Like some bizarre transformation, his serene smile grew into a grin only properly described as bloodthirsty, "But not well enough!" It was with a savage eagerness he revealed the hidden card still on his field, "I activate a face-down of my own; Dark Bribe! The effect of your trap is negated and you get to draw a card. Not that it'll do ya any good at this point."

"OH, COME ON!" Violet Moon could only scream in helpless frustration, watching as the shimmering holy barrier of Mirror Force disolved into nothing, this allowing Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz to descend and swing down its axe upon him with a mighty and viscious roar. Violet Moon fell to his knees, the bitter sting of humiliation infecting his every thought as his points rapidly decreased.

VIOLET MOON - LP 200 - 2600 = 0

WINNER: Savage Strike

"And we have a winner!" exclaimed the announcer, seeming to revel in the audience's loud and exultant cheers as much as Savage Strike did, "After such an inspiring clashing between spirits filled with twists and turns, the one standing on top of it all as California's new state champion is none other than the Colosseum King himself: Savage Strike! What a guy! Let's give him a hand, folks!"

All too eager to oblige, the audience cheered louder than ever before and applauded just as hard, some even standing up and jumping in their seats. Savage Strike was clearly reveling in it all, picking up his deck and holding it upwards as if it was the holy grail, leading to even more cheers.

He waved to all his fans and was wearing an admitedly very charming smile, though none noticed the brief, sinister sneer he sent his downed opponent. Violet Moon himself appeared to have completely shut down, not moving an inch and instead preferring to wallow in his own loss.

The announcer now turned towards the many cameras there, flashing a charismatic grin and giving them a wink, "The award-ceremony shall be carried out right after these brief words from our generous sponsors! Don't you folks at home touch that remote!"

For a short few moments the only sound heard in the room was the background noise of the commercials. The Rainbooms were all still sitting in awe of what they had just witnessed. Was that really a cardgame tournament they had just watched? It had looked more like some sort of sci-fi gladiator battle. All of them turned towards the only one there who actually seemed to have fully understood what they had seen if the size of his smile was any indication.

"That was an amazing finisher!" Ryou exclaimed, his eyes still shining enthusiastically while the memory of the duel still burned fresh in his mind, "That Savage Strike really seemed to have the thing in his control the whole time! It's a shame we only got to see the end of it!"

"A-Are all Duel Monsters games like that?" Fluttershy asked, slightly hiding behind her hair. Not only had those two hulking monsters looked quite intimidating, but something about that Savage Strike-person had just sat wrong with her. But even she couldn't deny that there had been a certain thrill to watching the duel.

Ryou shook his head as he answered, "Not at all. The use of holograms to enhance the experience is quite a recent adition but it has been doing wonders for the game's popularity since its implementation."

"I can get that! That match was AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, an excited grin on her face as she turned towards her friends, "Did you guys see the way that bat-thing just destroyed that little fairy princess and that dinosaur guy just freakin' went after that Moon-guy with an axe! Now THAT'S what I call entertainment!"

"Can't say it looked boring, that's for sure." Applejack remarked with a laugh.

"It all looked so real, though." Sunset murmured mostly to herself, slightly troubled by just how convincing those holograms had looked, "For a moment I though it was Equestrian magic going wild or something!"

"That's Kaiba Corp.'s tech for you." Twilight said with a bright smile. Seeing the questioning looks her friends gave her, Twilight all too eagerly slipped into her lecturing-mode, "In these last few months they've accomplished incredible things for virtual reality simulation and holographic technology, including these Battle Arenas we saw on the TV. The reason it was used for a game like Duel Monsters is because I heard the CEO is quite an accomplished player himself."

Ryou nodded in agreement, "Oh yes. Seto Kaiba is the number one ranked duelist in Japan, if not the world right now. Quite amazing that he finds the time, actually, conscidering his company is a corporate giant."

Thinking back to the time they had all talked about their favourite games, Pinkie Pie asked him, "You play Duel Monsters, right Ryou?"

The boy nodded with a smile, "Yes, I've been playing since I was like eight. I don't suppose any of you do?"

Seven sheepish smiles were what he recieved in response at that, Rarity telling him, "I don't think any of us have really had any interest in children's cardgames, darling."

"I've seen brief glimpses of the game being played at the game shop but nothing beyond that." Sunser added, thinking back to the times she had seen the small store-tournaments, "The basic impression I got was that it's just placing cards on the table and the strongest one wins." She turned towards Ryou with a small smirk, "Buuut judging from what we just saw I guess there's a bit more to it."

The smile Ryou gave her was most fox-like, "Oh, you have no idea."

"I take it you got your own deck?" Sunset asked him curiously, finding herself becoming strangely more fascinated by the game.

Ryou looked at her as if she had asked him if the sky was blue, "Of course I do!"

"Can we see it?" Pinkie Pie asked eagerly. Seeing how the other girls seemed to want to see his cards as well, Pinkie found herself recieving a happy nod in return.

Telling the girls to wait a minute, the boy ran upstairs. He came running back down quite quickly with a small box held securily in his hands. Out of it he pulled a perfectly stacked deck of cards, handling them with an undeniable care and respect as he put the neat pile down on the table and fanned them out so that the girls could all have a look. All seven of them began to do so quite eagerly.

"You were right about it not being so simple as stronger monster wins." He explained as he sat himself back down, "With the combination of Spell cards, Trap cards, effects, even a deck consisting mostly of what one might conscider 'weak' monsters can win."

"So it's the smartest player who wins?" asked Twilight with a small smile, she herself having already starting to read some of the cards' text. Though she certainly did not understand all of the text, it seemed like the sort of complex and layered game she wouldn't have anything against playing.

"Typically, yes." Ryou answered, "I mean, there are a multitude of different strategies and basic overwhelming beatdown is one of them. But, as you saw with the duel on TV, what really makes this game fun is that practically every move has a counter. That along with the fact that everyone has their own strategies and deck builds make every duel different."

“Another question, darling." said Rarity, a somewhat unnerved expression on her face as she looked at Ryou's Curse Necrofear. "Are all the cards in the game so…” She trailed off, not sure how to describe the cards in Ryou's deck without possibly offending the boy.

“Eerie?" He finished for her, to which he recieved a somewhat sheepish nod from the fashionista. Ryou was not offended in the slightest, tough. He simply chuckled and shook his head, perfectly understanding what Rarity meant, "No, not all. There’s a large variety of card designs out there, so everyone who plays is sure to find some cards that appeals to them.”

“Some of yours look really scary…" Fluttershy murmured timidly, shuddering slightly as she shyed away from the sight of Ryou's Annihilator Archfiend. She quickly realized that she hadn't said that as quietly as she had hoped, and tried to let out a startled apology to the boy, "N-no offense!”

Once again, Ryou chuckled and waved a dismissive hand, “None taken, as that’s kind of the point. Most duelists choose some matter of theme in their deck, either in the cards’ designs or strategies. There’s a pro-duelist out there by the name of Weevil Underwood who uses only insect-type cards.”

“Really? Weevil uses insects?" Rainbow Dash asked with an amused smirk, letting out a little snicker, "A little on the nose, don’t you think?”

Ryou raised a single, elegant brow at her. When he spoke his tone was drier than the Saharah, “Gee, I dunno. How’s that hair of yours, Rainbow Dash?”

“... Touché.”

“So, your deck is horror themed?” Sunset guessed, thinking that a great deal of Ryou's cards looked as if they could probably star in some horror movie.

Ryou nodded, “Sort of. More specifically, it’s an occult deck packed with Fiend monsters and spooky spells.” His smile had grown as he explained it and the girls couldn't help but smile and chuckle slightly at their friend. There was something about this white-haired, brighthearted boy loving the occult so much that was just funny in and of itself.

Suddenly, Fluttershy let out a positively delighted gasp, her eyes sparkling as she picked up a single card she found herself liking among all the other horrors in Ryou's deck, "Oooh, this one is really cute, though!" She cooed in the way she would at one of the little critters at the animal shelter, thinking the little monster on the card was cute enough to rival a great deal of them.

Quite curious about this reaction, all the other girls leaned and reached over to get themselves a look at the one card of Ryou's that seemed to have captured Fluttershy's affection. As soon as they saw it, some of the other Rainbooms couldn't help but let out small "D'aww"s of their own, finding the little puffball on the card to be positively adorable.

"Okay, I admit it: That lil' feller's pretty freakin' cute." Applejack said with a small grin.

"'Cute' is hardly enough to describe it, darling!" Rarity argued, an adoring smile gracing her lips, "This 'Kuriboh'-creature is positively adorable!"

Pinkei nodded enthusiastically, a dreamy glint in her eyes while her hyperactive imagination began to run wild, "I wish he was real so I could feed him cookies and hug him forever!"

Sunset thought that the card itself was quite odd in spite of its adorableness, turning to look questioningly at its owner, "Doesn't seem like it fits in with the rest of your cards, Ryou."

The boy shrugged, "Well, Kuriboh is a DARK Fiend monster, so he fits in well enough in that regard, just not in asthetics." A nostalgic smile slowly bloomed on his face, "But, someway, somehow, Kuriboh always finds a place in my deck. His effect is quite useful and has gotten me out of plenty of tight situations in the past."

“There are so many different ones…" Twilight observed, noticing that, despite all of the boy's deck certainly being connected by a theme, hardly any of the two cards really looked the same, each with unique artworks and designs. She looked up and asked him, "Do you have a favourite card?”

Ryou nodded, “Of course. Every duelist has a card that’s extra special to them. And for me, it’s this one.” He held up a single card from the rest of the deck so all his friends could get a good look at it. The girls all leaned in and looked it over.

“Diabound?" Pinkie read the odd name aloud for all to hear. Some of the girls were squinting their eyes at the art of the card, finding it to be a very strange creature and unlike anything they'd seen before. The monster had a half-human body with muscular features along with three horns on the back of its head and the second on the front with different angles. It's tail had the head of a snake at the end of it, as well as four feathered wings– two on its back and two on its lower torso near the waist. It certainly wasn't something one would want to encounter in a dark alley at night.

Ryou clearly saw nothing wrong with it though, simply nodding brightly at Pinkie's question, turning the card so he could look at the art himself. A strange smile appeared on his face, speaking of fondness and something else none of the cǵirls could place. He answered her, "Mhm. I don't really know why, exactly. I've just always really liked this particular card."

"What does that 'LV' next to the card name mean?" Twilight asked, having been confused by the strange title.

It was a question Ryou eagerly answered, "Oh, that means Diabound is what is known as a level-monster, a card that can evolve and level up after it reaches certain conditions." He then put the card back with the others, having already begun to gather up his cards into a neatly stacked pile.

While he was doing that, the Rainbooms had all started to come to a conclusion of their own which had slowly been forming since they first saw the duel on TV. Duel Monsters, both from what they had seen and from how Ryou had described it, actually seemed like quite an interesting game. And given how they had all come to greatly enjoy Monster World, they figured that it wouldn't hurt to try to get into another one of the games Ryou clearly held so dear to his heart.

Being such good friends, all of these thoughts and conclusions were easily conveyed between them silently through a couple of subtedly exchanged nods and smiles. It was Sunset who turned got the boy's attention, "Ryou?"

"Hm?" He tilted head, having not caught up on the silent communication between his friends.

Sunset smirked, putting on a mock-contemplating expression as she playfully asked, "I don't suppose you'd be up for teaching us all how to play, do you?"

At that moment Ryou looked as if christmas had come early. "Y-you really want to learn Duel Monsters?" He asked, feeling hope starting to burn within him, "And you want me to teach you?"

"Yeah! You can be our Mister Miyagi!" Pinkie Pie chirped brightly while the other girls all nodded in agreement.

"ALRIGHT!" Ryou cheered, unable to hold in his excitement of the prospect of his friends learning his all-time favourite game. His enthusiasm quickly made wave for embarassment however, upon noticing that his cheer hadn't been as internal as he had thought. Surpressing a flustered blush, he crossed his arms and averted eye contact from the girls in an atempt to look non-chalant, "I mean, uh, th-that's cool. No biggie."

His friends just exchanged knowing smiles, all of them used to their friend's enthusiasm over his passions at this point.

"So, how should we best go about learning this game, darling?" Rarity asked.

Ryou answered her, "Well, as with any game, one needs to know the rules." He reached into his pocket and dug around before pulling out a small, red booklet. He held it up for all to see, "Now this is the official Duel Monsters rule book!" he announced boldly, treating the object with a care and reverence one might show for a religious text.

Sunset raised a brow, "Do you always carry that thing around in your pocket?"

Ryou suddenly looked anywhere other than Sunset's eyes, "... Maybe." Before anyone could prodd at him any further, he put the booklet on the table with just a little more force than needed. "It can seem a bit complicated at first bit give it a few read-throughs and you'll have the gist of the game's mechanics. After that we can gradually get into the more advanced stuff."

While the others found this to be reasonable enough, Rainbow Dash did not. She wasted no time in letting the boy know this by letting out a rather loud snort, rolling her eyes as well, "C'mon! I wanna get into this stuff fast! Just tell us now!"

While the other girls sent their athletic friend scolding looks at her brash words, Ryou simply looked concern, "I dunno..." He murmured, scratching the side of his cheek in though, "You sure you want this, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash let out another scoff, her expression relaxed and confident, "Ryou, my dude, it's fine. Lay it on us."

Ryou did not look convinced, but let out a defeated sigh all the same, "Alright then. Just remember that you asked for it." Clearing his throat, Ryou then went on to explain the mechanics of the world's most popular cardgame.

"Now, each duelist has a deck conscisting of a required minimum of 40 cards. You CAN run up to 60 cards but 40 is overall the best consistent number. These decks consist of a chosen variety of Monster, Spell and Trap cards. Both players summon monsters to battle their opponent's monsters while Spells and Traps are more supportive with a variety of effects. Each player begins with 4000 Life Points and the game's main objective are to reduce the opponent's Life Points to 0. The most common way of doing that is to attack monsters with stronger monsters, in which case the owner of the destroyed monster loses points equal to the difference between in power."

The girls all nodded at this, finding this to sound reasonable enough.

"Doesn't sound too complicated." Twilight said lightly. Ryou gave the girl a downright pitying look, as if to say, 'You poor fool'. Before she could inquire as to why, the boy continued without any sign of slowing down.

"Now, each card has their own subtypes. Spell cards can be divided into Quickplay, Continous, Field, Equip, Ritual, and Normal. Trap cards consist of Continous, Counter and Normal. Each of these subtypes determines when and how the card can be activated and how it affects other cards."

"Uh-"

"The subtype also determines a card's spell speed, which is a mechanic meant to restrict certain effects from actively chaining with other cards. A chain in this case is the process of activating effects on top of others, thus creating a stack, if you will, that determines the order of resolution of activated cards and effects. It's a process often used to counter."

"That sounds a little-"

"Anyway, a Counter Trap, for example, is spell speed three so it can chain to anything, but Quickplay Spells are only spell speed two, so they can't chain to Counter Traps because they're of a lower spell speed."

"O-okay, slow down-"

"Now, while some have no abilities whatsoever, Monster cards can also have effects. These effects can be divided into certain types such as Ignition, Continous, Quick, Trigger and Flip. Those effects in turn are all activated in different ways and can be played thusly. Heck, depending on wether its a colon or a comma in the text can completely change how an effect works."

"Ryou-"

"These effects may have their own restrictions listed in the card text, such as only being allowed to be used a certain amount of times per turn or when either you or your opponent performs a particular move or certain conditions are met. Now, there's this thing called the Banished Zone and-"

"RYOU!" Sunset's sudden shout almost made Ryou fall out of his chair. Seeing that she now had the boy's attention, Sunset cleared her throat and continued in a far more relazed manner, "I think we'll do what you said and get into this gradually."

Ryou looked over his friends and noticed that they were all looking helplessly lost at this point, the finer intricacies of the game having clearly overwhelmed them. Pinkie Pie's eyes was practically spinning in their sockets.

The boy couldn't help but feel slightly smug, giving his friends a smirk that told them as much, "Thought so." Ignoring their mild grumbling, Ryou instead clapped his hands together to regain their attention, deciding upon a different route. "Well, first things first, you all need to have dueling decks of your own. It's impossible to play without one." There was a contemplative pause, then Ryou's face broke out into a smile, "Give me a second."

Getting out of his chair, Ryou then hurried out of the room and went deeper into his house, leaving his now confused friends behind.

"... Did he just bail?" asked Rainbow Dash after a few beats of silence. Before anyone could answer her, Ryou came wandering back into the room, only this time his arms were now filled with different tin boxes and quite a few binders. The girls could only observe in silent interest as the boy walked over and carefully placed the many binders down on the table.

As soon as he had sat himself back down, Ryou wordlessly opened up one of the tins, thus revealing the great amount of Duel Monsters cards inside of it. Unsurprisingly, the Rainbooms found themselves impressed.

"Woah!" Twilight gasped, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at the huge collection, "Are all of these really yours?"

"Yep." Ryou answered with no small amount of pride in his tone, "Though the cards in those tins are mostly commons which I have plenty of. No, the real treasures are kept in the binders. There's where I keep all my rarest and most powerful cards." To illustrate his point, he threw one of the binders open at random allowing the girls a better look at the cards within.

"Ooooh, shiny!" said Pinkie Pie upon seeing them and the others couldn't help but agree, smiles of light awe appearing on their lips. All of the cards within the binder were obviously well-treated and kept in mint condition, lined up and sorted neatly. What set them aside from the ones in the tins were that these cards all had different sorts of holographic finishes to the card art, making them almost sparkle like jewels.

Ryou saw their reactions and smiled, feeling as if they were already off to a good impression of the game. He continued, "To make this as fun as possible, I say you should pick the cards you find to be the most appealing, then we can go on from there to build each of you a deck that's just right." Having said that, he gently pushed the pile of binders and tins towards the girls, "Go ahead, pick out some cards."

That came as a suprise, the girls looking at the boy as if he had grown a second head.

"Are you really fine with us just taking your cards?" Fluttershy asked timidly, twiddling her fingers while her eyes roamed over the pile of Duel Monsters cards, "You must've been building this collection for years... It wouldn't feel right."

That got the other girls thinking as well, troubled frowns appearing on their faces. But Ryou wasn't having it, a stern frown on his lips as he lifted a single finger, "First of all: You are not taking anything, I'm giving them to you. And second;" He held up another finger, only now the frown lifted into a heartfelt smile, "What good is it to have these things to just gather dust in some binder when I could use them to have fun with my friends?"

None of the girls could have kept the grateful and endeared smiles off of their faces even if they had wanted to. Ryou really was a great friend, willing to hand out something that clearly meant a great deal to him just so to make things easier and more fun for all of them. If any of them still had any doubts about learning Duel Monsters, this simple gesture of generosity was enough for it to evaporate completely.

"But should we really just pick the ones we like best?" Sunset then asked, a small frown on her face. Despite now being a better person than she had ever been before, the pony-turned-human had always been competitive in nature, "Shouldn't we search for the ones that can help us the most in a game?"

Ryou looked at Sunset as if she had said something hysterical. A soft smile on his face, he gently shook his head and explained, "Building your deck is half the experience, Sunset." He looked down at his own cards, the images of ghouls and spirits resonating deep within him. Ryou placed a hand over his heart, "In a way, the cards you chose are a representation of your passions and who you are. If you chose a deck concept just to have the strongest possible thing, so much of the magic in this game is lost."

He looked back up at his friends, the smile on his face the very definition of earnest, "When you chose cards that mean something to you, even if they aren't the best, it can be a whole journey in and of itself to find a way to make it work. Remember, there's no such thing as a useless card." He removed the hand from his heart and once again gestured to his collection, "Just chose the ones that speak to you. Then I can help you find some other cards and deck builds that best compliments your choices."

Once again, the girls found themselves amazed by just how seriously Ryou seemed to be taking this cardgame. The way he talked about these trading cards as if they were a way of life was actually quite amazing to hear. And from the way he put it, building a deck sounded almost like some sort of spiritual journey. By all rights it should have sounded rather silly, but to the Rainbooms it was just more proof of how much this cardgame meant to their friend.

Finding Ryou's words to be reasonable, each of the girls grabbed themselves either a binder or a tin and started to look through them. They quickly found out that the boy's words had been true, this game truly did have a great variety of cards. As they flipped through the binder pages or rummaged through the tins, they saw everything from magicians, dragons, fairies, machines, zombies, you name it. Sunset even briefly thought she might've seen a card with a man made out of lego blocks. She immediatly dismissed it though because otherwise that would've been one of the dumbest things she's ever seen.

"Hm?" Twilight was the first one to stop her persuit. As her finger trailed along a row of cards in the binder she held, none of them had caught her eyes. That was until her eyes landed on one certain card. Cyber End Dragon. She didn't know what it was but something about the pure power displayed by the mechanical beast on the art just appealed to her.

Making sure to be very careful, she slid the card out of the binder and just admired it for a second. A smile then appeared on Twilight's face as she put it down on the table so it couldn't leave her sight. With a new sense of direction, she began to look once again, only know she was on the hunt for more mechanical wonders.

Rarity quickly followed in her wake, her eyes sparkling while a delighted gasp escaped her lips,"Oh my! This one is positively gorgeous!" She gushed, the myriad of gems depicted in the card she had found along with its holographic quality was enough to resonate with her. She read the name aloud, "Brilliant Fusion, hm? Quite a fitting name for such a stylish card!"

Applejack chuckled, she herself flipping through a binder filled with dragons of different kinds, "Y'know what they say 'bout appearances, Rares. They can decieve ya."

While Rarity pouted at that, she was quickly defended by Ryou, who was looking quite approving of Rarity's choice, "I wouldn't say that." He argued, turning towards her with an encouraging smile, "Brilliant Fusion is a powerful card and a good basis to build a deck around. Now you just need to find yourself some Gem-Knights."

"Gem-Knights?" Rarity parroted, her eyes gleaming with interest at the name alone.

Ryou nodded before turning towards a binder, briefly flicking through it before he found what he was looking for. He swiftly but expertly pulled out a couple of cards and handed them out for Rarity to take, "Here."

Rarity did as much, carefully taking the cards into her own hands to get a better look. The instant her critical eyes landed on them, eyes that were able to spot even the smallest specks of dust, the aspiring fashionista fell positively in love with the artworks. Each one of these 'Gem-Knights' were aptly named, each card depicting a warrior dressed in armor made out of brilliant minerals of all sorts.

Though her gaze was locked on the beautiful cards, her ears still listened intently as Ryou explained more about them, "They're a series of cards, or 'archetype', focused on the concept of rapdily combining different monsters to create a new one in a process called fusion. A good example of such a card is that Gem-Knight Master Diamond you're holding."

Rarity looked at the card he pointed to, seeing how it differed from other Monster Cards with its purple colouring. The fact that it added another set of elements to this already complicated game she had set out to learn did not bother her. For the girl's mind was already made up, her practically singing, "I think I know what my deck's going to be~!"

Ryou nodded approvingly, happy to already see some progress, "Gem-Knights are an excellent choice with a somewhat simple yet effective game plan of rapid fusions and beatdown." He then turned towards the girl whose choices of cards had caught his eye earlier as now adressed her, "In fact, their style is quite similar to the style of those Elemental Hero-cards you're holding there, Rainbow Dash."

Said girls looked up at being adressed, but quickly looked back down at the cards with enthusiastic eyes, shrugging lightly in response, "I don't know about style. All I know is that all these guys look freaking awesome!" The one called Elemental Hero Sunrise had caught her eye in particular, apparent by the way she held it up closer to simple admire it. All of these cards looked as if they had come straight out of one of her comic books and that alone was enough to draw her in. But, being Rainbow Dash, she couldn't resist a small boast, "Not to mention that they fit me perfectly. What's better for a hero to duel with than heroes?"

While her friends all shared a small round of chuckles at that, Rainbow Dash turned towards the girl sitting to her left, "What you got there, Flutters? Find anything good?"

Fluttershy nodded brightly, her large eyes alit with adoration and tenderness as she looked over the cards in her hands, "Oh yes! I found this group of cards that just has the most adorable little critters on them! I just have to have them in my deck!"

Interested by Fluttershy's apparent gushing, those sitting closest to her leaned over girls' shoulder and got themselves a look on the cards that had caught her interest. Sure enough, depicted on her cards were a great deal of cute little animals, each of which looked as if they had little toy wings on their backs. There was a bear, a mouse, a lion, a penguin, even a cute little octopus. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Fluttershy took an interest in these cards.

Rainbow Dash did not look impressed though, saying, "That's cool and all, but they don't look all that strong. Even the name, Fluffals don't sound very imposing."

"That's because the Fluffals are only part of the deck, Rainbow." said Ryou, causing both her and Fluttershy to look at him questioningly. In order to explain further, he held up another card named Edge Imp Scissors which showed what looked like a row of scissors lined up, only within the grips there was a pitch black darkness from which there only glowed a pair of red, menacing eyes. "You see, Fluffals also focus on fusion, only they combine with the Edge Imp monsters like this one to create a completely new brand of monster called Frightfur."

Fluttershy tilted her head, feeling only a slight tingle of fear within at the rather menacing name, "And what are the Frightfurs like?"

For a moment Ryou hesitated, wondering if he would completely shatter poor Fluttershy's enthusiasm for the Fluffals if he were to show her what they turned into. But ultimatley, he figured that it was pointless to try and hide it since he brought it up. As such, he let out a barely audible sigh before opening up a binder and swiftly finding a good example of the monsters, Frightfur Tiger. It was with a slight tredipation that he leaned over and handed it to her.

"They're basically all like that." He told her, watching carefully for how she would react as she turned the card in her hand to get a look at the artwork. Rainbow Dash and Twilight who sat at Fluttershy's sides leaned over to also get their own look at the card. They immediatly flinched back, however, seeing the horrifying creature the card depicted. Ryou expected that, as was the usual reaction people had to the Frightfur-designs.

What he most certainly did not expect was the way Fluttershy reacted. She didn't gasp in horror or flinch back in fright. Instead, her face lit up in joy as a soft coo left her lips, "Aww, this one is cute, too!"

Ryou almost dropped the card he was holding. Twilight's mouth was moving up and down without a word escaping her. Rainbow Dash could only sputter, "A-Are you serious!?"

Fluttershy's head bopped up and down, her adoring gaze not leaving the card, "Just look at his little button nose! He's adorable!" She turned eagerly to Ryou, demanding to know, "Are there any more like this!?"

Ryou blinked once. Then Twice. After the third blink he could only let out a small chuckle. Leave it to Fluttershy of all people to find compassion for beasts others might find terrifying. He answered her, "Yes, I think there are about 10 different Frightfur monsters out there."

The squee of absolute delight that left Fluttershy at that was sweet enough to give anyone type 2 diabetes. Knowing that there were more little critters like the Frightfur bear out there, she then immediatley went back to looking through the binders, now on the hunt for both Fluffals, Edge Imps and Frightfurs. Her friends could only look on in amusement.

Shaking his head fondly, Ryou then turned towards the girl who sat closest to him, "What about you, Sunset? Find anything you like?"

"I dunno..." Sunset murmured, shuffling through and looking over a few cards from a tin. "Not that the cards aren't cool and all, they really are. But... I guess I just haven't found anything that really speaks to me like you said."

Ryou couldn't help but frown, placing a hand on his chin as he thought over what she said. If Sunset had trouble finding something on her own... maybe he should help her, much like she had helped him so many times before. Thinking long and hard, Ryou went over all cards he had in his head, trying to think of one that could fit his interdimensional friend just right.

A lightbulb went of in his head just as the perfect card came to mind, "I got it!" He exclaimed in the tone of someone who had just figured out one of life's great mysteries, causing his other friends to look at him strangely. Ryou ignored them, instead turning towards Applejack, "Could I have that dragon binder?"

She nodded and handed it over without a fuzz, "Of course. The thing's yours, anyway."

Giving her an appreciative nod, Ryou then swiftly opened the binder and began flipping through it, eyes roaming over each row after that one certain card. Once he found it, he let out a satisfied little, "Ah!" before he carefully brough it out of the binder. He then turned to Sunset with a soft smile, reaching out with the card in a clear want for her to take it. "It's ultimatley your choice, but I think this card is a good fit for you, Sunset."

Intruiged, Sunset accepted the card and looked it over, reading the name aloud mostly to herself, "Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" As Sunset turned to the artwork, she couldn't help but be impressed. The creature depicted on the card could only be described as fierce, it's red eyes glistening like rubies because of the holographic finish. The dragon was depicted standing admist raging flames, making its black scales glisten in a crimson glow. Its head was reared upwards, as if it was in the middle of a mighty roar.

It reminded Sunset of some of the dragons of legend she had read about back in Equestria. But something about this card in particular, how it stood among the flames of adversity yet remained mighty, it just appealed to her. Looking back up she saw how Ryou was looking at her hopefully. Giving the boy a small but clearly grateful smirk, she let him know that she had decided, "I love it."

Ryou let out a huge sigh of relief and Sunset couldn't help but chuckle. The boy then said, "You can always try acquiring more support cards for Red-Eyes in particular later on. I unfortunatley don't have a great deal of Red-Eyes cards on hand. Until then, I'd say your best shot is to try and build a dragon-centered deck." Sunset absorbed the information intently, giving the boy an appreciative nod before she began searching for more dragons, all the while she gripped her Red-Eyes carefully, but tightly, already feeling a sort of connection with the black dragon for reasons she did yet not know.

Having heard of her inter-dimensional friend's choice of card, Applejack couldn't help but chuckle and add her own two cents, "Sounds like ya found yourself a dragon there, Sunset. But Ah think mine is just a wee bit cooler."

Sunset scoffed good-naturedly at that, already convinced that nothing could match her Red-Eyes. Ryou, on the other hand, turned to Applejack with a curious smile, "Have you got a thing for dragons, too, Applejack?"

The cowgirl shrugged, still smiling, "Well, not so much 'dragons' as it's a dragon." She held up the card in question rather proudly to her friends, it depicting a rather ferocious-looking dragon that appeared to have features similar to that of a carnivorous plant of some kind.

While the rest of the Rainbooms' opinions varied on the card, Rainbow Dash thinking it looked cool while Fluttershy thought it looked sort of scary, Ryou was the only one who really recognized it, a knowing smile on his face as he adressed her, "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is a very powerful card, Applejack. What made you choose it?"

She simply shrugged, turning the card around so she could look at it again, "Ah don't rightly know the fine details. Ah guess Ah really liked his design. It may sound a lil' silly, but Ah can tell Starvin' Venom here is a fierce feller, just like me!" Shaking her head lightly, Applejack then turned to Ryou, "But it's the only card Ah got at the moment. Any ideas for what could go well with 'im?"

Ryou looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is very good in the way that one can play it in basically any deck with DARK-attribute monsters. Heck, I could probably run a copy in my own deck if I wanted to. But anyway, there are a ton of good archetypes centered around the DARK-attribute. Hmm..." His face then lit up with a smile as the thought hit him, "But I think I know something that should suit you and Starving Venom perfectly, Applejack."

Recieving no objections to this idea, Ryou reach over to one tin and quickly pulled out a bunch of cards which he then gave to the curious Applejack. When she looked them over, the cowgirl saw that all of them seemed to depict strange hybrids between plant and animal. As outlandish as the concept was, she couldn't deny that she found herself curious as she began reading them over, "Predaplants, ey?"

Ryou nodded brightly, "Mhm. They're an archetype focused on aggresive fusion summoning and causing huge amounts of destruction and damage. That along with disrupting the opponent's plays with the use of these little things called Predator Counters makes for a troublesome opponent. And they're all DARK-attribute so brining out Starving Venom with them should be a piece of cake."

Applejack soaked up the information like a sponge. She was just about to thank the boy, when she felt that little nagging, tingling sensation in the back of her head, telling her that there was something she needed to do. Acknowledging this, she simply looked at Ryou for a while, her thoughts inevitably turning towards what she had found out about him earlier that day. Applejack knew what she needed to do. It was only fair.

"Uh, Ryou?" She asked him, her voice only barely tinged with her inner unease for what she was about to do. When Ryou turned to her with a questioning look on his face, Applejack felt that small, nagging sense of doubt increase. She was quick to squash it down, however. Instead, she coughed somewhat akwardly, slightly averting looking him straight in the eye as she asked him, "Can Ah talk with ya in private fer just a second?"

Slightly confused by the request, Ryou nodded all the same, "Of course." He then rose up from his seat and Applejack shortly followed, both of them starting to head towards the more secluded kitchen. While the rest of the girls looked confused, Applejack just sent them all a brief look of pleading as she mouthed, "I'll tell ya later."

Sparing them no further glance, she then wandered into the kitchen where Ryou was already standing, his expression that of curiousity but also of slight concern. There was a small bout of silence between the two until Ryou hesitantly spoke, "So... What's this about exactly?"

And there it was, the one pointiant question that Applejack had been asked no less than six times by her friends all the other times she'd had this kind of talk. In spite of that, it rarely felt as if it got any easier. Heck, there was a part deep within Applejack that never wanted to talk about this subject with anyone.

But in the end she managed to steel herself. She was an Apple, after all. Ryou had shared something obviously extremely personal with all of them, and now it was her turn to return the favour. Realizing that she had simply stood there in silence for maybe just a bit too long, Applejack decided that it was now time to act. After taking a deep, soothing breath to calm her raging nerves, she focused her attention on the boy and told him the truth,

"Ah lost mah parents, too, Ryou."

The choked on a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, his jaw dropping while he could only stare at his friend in shock and horror. Whatever he had been expecting Applejack to tell him privately, it certainly wasn't something as horrible as this. It almost felt surreal, as if it was a part of some horrible, twisted prank. After a beat of silence, all he could get out was a very quiet, "What?"

Applejack could only nod tersely, her usually bright and confident eyes sinking downwards and filled with clouds of years worth of sorrow. Knowing it was now or never, she made her best attempt to swallow down the old grief and began explaining further to Ryou,

"It happened when Ah was five years old. They we're on their way to a big farmer's convention in Denver or somethin' like that. Ah was devestated, of course. Ah didn't want mah Ma an' Pa to leave an' Ah told them so, quite loudly too." She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the memory of how silly she had been, yet it quickly died as she continued, "Ah remember how they would pat me on the head like they've done so many times before, tellin' me they wouldn't be gone fer long. Just a couple o' days and then they'd be back."

She paused briefly to, in a move that greatly surprised Ryou, actually reached up to her head and removed her signature cowboy hat. Ryou was actually hard-pressed to find a memory where he had seen Applejack without her hat before, only to turn up short.

The girl held the hat out infront of her, looking down at it in a way a mother would look down upon her child, her smile soft as she spoke, "The day they left for the show, Ma an' Pa knelt down and looked me in the eye an' told me that Ah just had to be good an' behave for Granny for a few days, look after Applebloom an' keep mah big brother out o' trouble."

With a wet sounding chuckle, she placed the hat back on her blonde head, patting it a few times as if to make sure it was secured. She then turned to Ryou with a look of nostalgic fondness on her faces as the precious memories played over in her head, "Pa then took of his hat and placed it on mah head, sayin' it was a promise between us. That everytime Ah looked at this hat, Ah would know that he would come back and take it off sooner than Ah'd think. After that, Ah gave both him an' Ma one last hug and watched as they stepped into the car and drove off."

Applejack's smile then died, feeling familiar and bitter sting of tears in her eyes as her story came to its inevitable conclusion. Her shoulders shook ever so slighty. When she spoke, her voice broke with emotion half-way through, "Little did Ah know that... That it would be the last time mah folks ever held me."

"Oh, Applejack, I..." Ryou tried to think of something to say. Heck, to him it felt as if he had too many things he wanted to tell her all at once. How sorry he was for her loss, if there was anything he could do for her and what felt like a million other things, yet he could not find a good way to say it. Of course, he had no experience comforting people, least of all had ever had any people in his life that needed comforting. He cursed himself internaly when all he could do was to stutter, his own voice filled with sorrow for his friend, "I-I'm so sorry."

But Applejack gave him a shrug that looked only slightly forced, wiping her tears away before leveling the boy with a surprisingly sturdy smile, "Don't be. Ah've had time to mourn, Ryou, just like you. And it's true what you said, 'bout how as long as we remember them, those we love are never really gone."

Ryou said nothing, simply standing there and blinking, still trying to think of something appropriate to say. Noticing this, Applejack couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly. She then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to jump only slightly in surprise. He locked eyes with Applejack and felt how she gave him a firm, yet reassuring squeeze.

"Now Ah know you seemed to've moved on, and Ah'm happy that you've done that, believe me." Her expression was steel, yet it was one forged by the fires of compassion as she gave Ryou a gentle smile, "Ah just took ya here cuz Ah wanted to tell you that... Well, if ya ever feel like you need someone to talk to, y'know, 'bout the whole... 'no mom'-thing... Ah'll always be there. Ah learned first hand that keepin' those kind of emotions to yourself won't do anybody any good."

"I-I don't know what to say." Ryou truly didn't. Despite him certainly having moved on from his mother's death, he had never once truly had a person in his life who could truly understand his pain, someone he could really talk to about such a heavy thing. He had never felt comfortable discussing his mother's death with his father. Even if he would, Ryou had never really had a chance to talk about such things with his remaining parent since his mother's passing as his father had been completely engrossed with his work ever since.

Before he came to CHS he certainly hadn't had any friends whatsoever to speak of such things. Though he now had true friends in his life and he was insanely grateful for all of them, Ryou had never suspected that any of them could ever REALLY understand how he felt, having lost the person who meant the most to him.

Finding out that Applejack DID in fact understand, but had put him aside just so she could tell him that she would always be there for him if he needed her... Easy to say, it lifted a certain burden off of the boy's shoulders that he hadn't even known he was carrying.

And just like that, Ryou suddenly found himself embraced in a tight, yet incredibly reassuring hug by the cowgirl. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke to him, yet her words were so full of warmth and sympathy that at that moment it was all Ryou would've wanted to listen to, "You don't have to say a word, sugarcube. Ah understand."

There was only a brief, slight moment of hesitance, but Ryou found himself returning the embrace wholeheartedly. Tears had started running down his cheeks yet he smiled all the same. "Still... Thank you, Applejack."

She let out a wet chuckle, patting him comfortingly on the back, "Don't mention it, partner. Don't mention it." The two of them disloged from the hug, but Applejack kept her hand on Ryou's shoulder. "And again, Ah'm sorry 'bout your mom. If she were anythin' like her son, Ah would bet mah hat she was a wonderful lady."

Ryou could only let out a wistful sigh, yet he couldn't have stopped the warmth that build up within at Applejack's words even if he tried, "She really was. Your parents sounded like wonderful people, too."

"Thanks." Applejack said with a warm smile, clearly appreciating his words. A comfortable silence then passed between the two teens, a new sense of understanding only they could truly appreciate between them. The then cowgirl clapped her hands together, her usual jovial and steady demeanour quickly returning as she turned to hang her arm around Ryou, a friendly smirk on her face, "Now, enough 'bout this depressin' stuff. You gotta help me build a deck that can beat Rainbow Dash's."

Ryou laughed, his own mood quicklt brightening as well, "Sounds like a plan."

Without further notice, the two of them walked out of the kitchen side-by-side, sitting down to join their friends once more. Said girls all looked up from their cards and gave the pair brief hello's. It was Rainbow Dash who felt it was necessary to prod, asking them, "So, what was all about?"

Applejack and Ryou shared a brief look, the same smiles from earlier remaining while a silent agreement passed between the two. It was Applejack who turned to answer Rainbow Dash with a dismissive shrug, "Oh, it was just a lil' talk between friends, nothin' special."

"Yeah." Ryou concurred easily, "Nothing of note, I'd say."

While the other girls looked as if they suspected they weren't being told the full story, Rainbow Dash seemed to accept it without issue, shrugging slightly as she returned her attention to the cards, "Whatevs. You guys do you."

As none of the girls deemed it necessary to prodd any further, they all followed Rainbow Dash's lead and once more began to look through Ryou's collection, each determined to find the best cards for their future decks. The sight was enough for a huge smile to spread on Ryou's lips. Yet he noticed somehting odd as he looked over at the one girl who hadn't seemed to have taken even a single card, "Pinkie, why haven't you taken any?"

"Oh, I got it covered!" She answered him with a cheerful smile, waving a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it."

The boy blinked twice in light confusion, but quickly accepted it as he was dealing with Pinkie Pie, after all. Still, as his brown eyes wandered over the table and the girls seated around it, today turned out to be a very fulfilling friday-afternoon indeed. He had gotten his friends into another one of his favourite games and he had been rid off a previously unseen burden. Though he couldn't stop his imagination from going wild as he started to think about what was soon to follow.

After all, with the Rainbooms learning Duel Monsters, who knows what could happen?

Ryou paused from his musings upon hearing a loud rustling coming from outside, "Wait a minute... Is someone rooting through my trash?"

Leaving the girls to keep experimenting with different cards, Ryou grabbed himself a broom and hurried outside. It didn't take long for him to find the culprit.

Standing with her head down in one of his garbage cans was a girl appearing to be around his own age. She had blueish-white skin, artic blue hair with two running lines of darker blue tied up into a pony tail and a pair of raspberry-coloured eyes. She was dressed in a baggy hoodie and sweatpants that both looked as if they had seen better days, dirtied and colours faded. The girl herself looked up like a deer in headlights once she was alerted by Ryou opening the frontdoor.

"Hey! Hey! Get outta here!" Ryou shouted, holding his broom aloft in a threatening manner in hopes of driving her away. Turns out it was more than enough, the strange girl letting out a frightened squeak before she quickly went down on all fours, not unlike a racoon. She then scurried off into some bushes and out of sight, an old bag of nachos gripped securily between her teeth.

Setting the broom down, Ryou let out a tired sigh and shook his head in frustration, "Darn beautiful women! Always... e-eating out of my trash..." He trailed off. Like a speeding train, it suddenly registered in his mind what he had just witnessed, "Wait, what?"

Author's Note

Pinkie's deck will be the focus of the next chapter, don't worry.