Ryou Bakura's eyes flew open, and it was a strange experience as he found himself standing by his desk back in the game room.

"D-Did I dream all of that...?" The boy murmured softly to himself, his horrifying encounter with the apparent spirit of the ring still fresh in his mind. That was what he tried to tell himself, that the terrible, yet familiar voice of the millenium ring was just a figment of his imagination, brought about by the stress of the revelation of his past.

Ryou looked around the large room, as if expecting someone to jump out at any moment, but found no indication that something was awry.

"Get yourself together." He scolded himself lightly, rubbing his eyes as he realized just how tired he was. Ryou tried to take a look at the time to see if he had just imagined everything, but came to a startling realization as he saw just what date his phone was set on.

According to his phone, it was now Friday... but to Ryou it had been Thursday just a few moments ago before his blackout! Thinking that it might just be a phone malfunction, Ryou looked at his computer as well. It also said that today apparently was a Friday.

Panic starting to well up within him, Ryou took a look outside and saw that the sky looked to be in the same colours and shades as it had done since what to him had been mere moments ago. But how could this be...!?

"Just what is going on...?" He murmured helplessly to himself, fearing that he might be going insane. Ryou was used to completely blanking out on occasion, but he had never been unconscious of his actions for an entire day!

Before he could put more thought into it, Ryou froze as he heard an all too familiar cackle which seemed to be coming from all around him. The white-haired boy's body went completely rigid in fear as he came to the horrible realization that maybe he hadn't been dreaming at all.

"I had need of your body for a little longer than usual. There were a few matters I had to attend."

"You again!" Ryou exclaimed, the familiar frustration from his previous encounter with the spirit returning. Yet with that same frustration came also a great deal of fear. "Wh-what have you been doing!?"

The faceless voice only laughed. "You should ask yourself the same question, Landlord. We're partners in crime, after all."

"No we're not!" Ryou denied intensly, his anger and helplesness over the whole situation begning to affect him. "You are the one using my body by forcing me out of it! I-I would never help you!"

"Ha! Keep telling yourself that."

Ryou seethed to himself, clenching his fists tightly and closing his eyes hard as he could even feel small tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes. But still, he was morbidly curious over the spirit all the same. "What have you been doing...?" He asked quietly, actually afraid of the answer.

The spirit only answered vaguely, though Ryou thought that it sounded awfully pleased with itself. "That Lulamoon girl will bother you no longer, Landlord."

"Not bother me?" Ryou asked, not really understanding what the voice was talking about. But he quickly began to remember a certain smug stage magician.

"Trixie..." He gasped softly with mounting horror, starting to remember just what the spirit had told him the other day. In fear of what the malicious entity possibly could've done to his history partner, Ryou demanded helplessly, "JUST WHAT DID YOU MAKE ME DO TO HER!?"

The spirit chuckled ominously, and Ryou felt the shivers going down his spine. "Nothing I haven't done before..."

Ryou started to feel lightheaded, practically on the verge of hyperventalating. The spirit cared not, only continuing to talk, "But none of that matters anymore. I have seven far bigger fishes to fry."

The white-haired boy quickly put together just which seven people the spirit was referring to, and felt his fear and impotence increase. "What do you want with my friends anyway!?" He demanded, not understanding why the demon seemed so fixated on those girls in particular.

Strangely enough, the spirit was silent, if only for a moment, before it inevitably began to speak again. "Those wenches have something I desire, and I aim to take it!"

"Desire?" Ryou echoed, not really understanding. "What could seven high school girls possibly have that you couldn't just buy yourself at a mall somewhere!?"

"Those girls have some manner of power you couldn't even begin to comprehend! Naturally, I want it for myself."

That took Ryou completely off-guard. The Rainbooms? Powerful? Sure, they certainly were unlike any other people Ryou had ever met, but he never got the impression that they were anything but a nice group of high school girls... Had they been keeping things from him?

Ryou immediatly felt great shame at that train of thought, as he knew full well that he had no right judging someone for keeping things secret from him. Not since he himself had lied to the best friends he had ever had...

"Speaking of which," The spirit then contiuned, now sounding rather gleeful, "It looks as if the wenches are approaching."

"Wh-what!?" Ryou didn't know what exactly compeled him to look out the window, but as he did he saw a distinct colourful group of people seemingly making their way down Ebony Street, moving closer and closer towards the Blackwood house. Though it was a sight which normally would've filled Ryou with excitement, now it simply filled him with dread.

"Quite a lot of people have come to check on you." The spirit remarked idly, though there was an undeniable malice hiding in his words. "Isn't it nice to have such caring friends?"

Despite the horror he was currently experiencing, Ryou himself couldn't help but feel his concerns soften as his thoughts went out to his friends. "Girls..." He murmured softly, geniunley touched that despite everything that had been revealed about his past, they still came to visit him.

But these more sentimental thoughts were quickly squashed, as Ryou began to feel the sensation of numbness in his entire body.

"N-No...!" He gasped, desperatly trying to fight against the spirit's rapid take-over of his body. Despite Ryou's struggles, his limbs began to forcefully move on their own, slowly but surely making Ryou's body move towards the door.

"Just surrender, Landlord." The demon's voice said, sounding sickeningly sweet. "It will all be over soon, and then your friends will be with you forever."

"No!" Ryou protested feebly, though as his limbs moved on their own he began to feel a strong, burning sensation in the center of his chest. To make things worse, there was a couple of knocks on the front door, and Ryou knew that it was the Rainbooms, probably here to check on him.

"Girls! S-stay away! Please...!" He futilely tried to scream in warning, but it came out as more of a pained whimper. He was now right infront of the door.

As his right hand went to the doorknobb, Ryou could feel his vision and other sense completely blanking, a single phrase ringing in his mind before he completely lost consciousness,

'I'm so sorry, girls'

"Hiya, Ryou!" Pinkie Pie was the first to greet their male friend as the door to the Blackwood house opened, revealing Bakura standing there and observing them with a light smile.

"Hi, girls." He greeted them all simply. "Nice to see you."

"Sorry if we're just dropping by kind of unannounced like this." Twilight apologized with a slightly abashed smile. "We just thought you could use some company after..." She briefly trailed off as the other girls shot her warning looks, and decided to word it differently. "Well, after happened yesterday."

All of the girls still clearly remembered how Trixie had revealed Ryou's rather bizarre past, but even moreso how the next schoolday had transpired.

Trixie Lulamoon had apparently been found comatose at the stage where she usually performed on Thursdays, with no signs of any struggle. Shortly after being found she had been taken to Canterlot's hospital where the doctors were mystified as they just couldn't understand why or how the completely healthy Trixie had suddenly fallen into a coma.

These news had of course spread their way throughout the entire city, and naturally to CHS as well. And adding rumors to a high school is like adding gasoline to a wildfire. All of the girls couldn't keep grimaces off their faces as they remembered some of the comments which they had heard throughout the school day, all of them revolving around Ryou, and wether there was any truth to what Trixie had revealed.

The girls (except one) had all refused to buy into it however, instead deciding amongst themselves that Ryou now needed their support and understanding more than ever, and had therefore all decided to pay him a little visit once school was over, just like they were currently doing.

But, in sharp contrast to how devastated and heartbroken Ryou had seemed the other day, he now seemed hardly bothered as he spoke to them in an almost abnormal casual way.

"It's no trouble at all." Bakura swiftly rebuked Twilight's apology. "In fact, I'm glad you all came." His brown eyes, which some of the girls thought looked strangely darker than usual, though that may have just been a trick of the light, scanned the group and was surprised to only see six girls.

"Where's Sunset?" Bakura asked, trying to sound casual. "Could she not make it?"

The smiles of the six girls all seemed to dimm at the same time, all of them suddenly finding it hard to meet Bakura's eyes. For while the six of them had decided to give Ryou support and the benefit of the doubt, Sunset Shimmer had not.

All of them could remember vividly how they spend a good 20 minutes trying to win Sunset over at school earlier that day, but how the fiery-haired girl had been adamant that Trixie's sudden state of comatose was proof that Ryou was dangerous.

This had lead to their talk turning into a rather heated debate, before Rainbow Dash had finally snapped and simply said that they would all go on to Ryou's house without her. It wasn't a talk any of them were very proud of, even moreso how they knew that Sunset was now by herself once again.

Seeing as none of the girls seemed to answer him and how the atmoshpere had grown tense, Bakura tried to hide his frustrations with a rather flawless copy of his host's soft smile.

"Well, I'm glad that all of you came, at least." He remarked, though he was anything but. Not having the Shimmer there could complicate quite a lot of things in his plans. Oh well, he could always track her down later once the others were disposed of, he supposed.

The girls all seemed to swallow his act as they all smiled at him in return, and the spirit secretly found it to be revolting. But keeping up his act, he then gestured inside and said to them, "Well, it wouldn't be right of me to keep you girls out here all evening. Please, come in."

Seeing the request as innocent enough, the girls all headed inside. Immediatly they were awed at what they saw.

Applejack let out a low whistle. "Hoo-wee! This ol' place looks amazin' now!"

She was of course referring to how the added furniture to the cleaned up old building had actually made it look like a place fit for humans to inhabit. The other girls started to look around, their eyes taking in everything.

"I can hardly believe it's the same house..." Fluttershy remarked quietly, though smiling.

"It was all thanks to you, girls." Bakura thought that sounded like something his host would say. Naturally, the girls all ate it up as they send who they thought was their friend smiles.

"And we were happy to help, Ryou." Twilight assured him as she kept looking around. That was until her eyes were transfixed on a particulat decorative longsword hanging from the wall. She immediatly recognized it and was awed because of it, but her awe increased tenfold as she saw a certain familiar signature written on it.

The bespectacled girl let out an excited gasp as she rushed over towards the sword. "You have a replica of Andúril actually signed by VIGGO MORTENSEN!?"

Though annoyed by the mortal's loud noises, Bakura maintained his benevolent persona. "It was a birthday gift from a few years back." He explained simply, recalling how happy his host had been to recieve the damn thing. "Father met mr. Mortensen on one of his trips."

Twilight took the information in stride, letting out a bunch of what could only be accuratley be described as 'nerd-noises' as she kept her eyes locked on the signed replica. The other five girls rolled their eyes playfully at the sight, knowing that it was simply one of those things that Twilight went nuts for.

"Hey, RB!" Rainbow Dash boisterously gained Bakura's attention who turned his dark eyes to the eager looking athletic girl. "Can we see your game room!?" She asked him hopefuly. "I've been wanting to get a good look at your gaming gear ever since we first cleaned up the room!"

"Yeah! And see all your Monster World-stuff!" Pinkie Pie supplied helpfully, giving him a large and cheerful smile.

The other girls expressed similar sentiments, and Bakura was all to eager to oblige. "Certainly." He affirmed, turning his back towards them as to not reveal his sinister grin. "Just follow me."

He quickly led them down the hallway and let them inside the aforementioned game room. All the girls were once again impressed by what they saw.

Inside of the room reminded them a lot of Canterlot City's local game store, only more personalized. In the center of the room was a large game board which obviously was meant for Monster World. The walls were almost completely surrounded by display cases showing a great deal of figurines and other rare gaming items. Either that or shelves with what looked to be a great deal of binders and small boxes, probably meant for Ryou's Duel Monsters cards. There were also a great deal of posters spread about.

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash gasped in amazement, her eyes almost trying to take in everything in the room at once. Without waiting for Bakura she and the other girls all began to move inside the room, looking over the many gaming items.

"I do say, darling! This is most impressive!" Rarity remarked as she looked over the great Monster World board. Even though she wasn't a hardcore gamer by any means, the fashionista could still appreciate and be awed by the sheer love for gaming which the room represented.

"There must be atleast over two hundred figurines here!" Twilight exclaimed in awe as she and the others were looking through the display cases, admiring the original and intricate design of all the different figurines.

"Did you really make all of these yourself?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes fixed on some of the more cute and animal-like figurines.

"A great deal of them, yes." Bakura responded nonchalantly, hands in his pockets, to which the girls let out various sounds of awe.

"Gotta say," Applejack started while adjusting her hat. "Seein' all this makes me wanna try out this Monster World-game even more."

As the other five girls let out different words of agreement with the farm girl's words, Bakura tried extremely hard to surpress his malicious grin. 'What are the mortals fond of saying, again? Ah, yes. Hook, line and sinker.' He thought darkly to himself, eager to proceed with the next step of his plan.

"If none of you are too busy, then we could play a little round of Monster World right now." He offered, returning to his false Ryou-persona. "It's quite simple to get into."

This offer took the girls by surprise, but it was clear as day on their expressions that they all wanted to at least give it a try.

"Doesn't it take some planning on the Game Master's part?" Twilight asked curiously, but Bakura was prepared.

"As luck would have it, I finished a campaign I had been working on yesterday." He held up numerous papers related to said campaign. "A campaign I had hoped all of us could play."

Hearing this encouraged the Rainbooms minus one, who all gave eachother knowing smiles.

"Well," Twilight started, looking happy at the opportunity. "I don't have any plans for today. I say we give it a go."

"Oh, me too!"

"Me three!"

"Me four..."

"Me five!"

"Me Pinkie!"

Now that they had all agreed, Bakura mentally compared it to the girls digging their own graves. Naturally, he voiced no such thought aloud. A shadow game was about to commence, and he had precious little of those to enjoy these days. And of course, once he won he would get quite the price.

A power which would aid his hunt for the millenium items, and very soon it would be all his! Oh, what fun!

But this only made maintaining his act all the more important.

"Do you girls remember how the game is played?" Bakura asked them, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't be forced to explain everything.

"Ah think so." Applejack said, hand on her chin in thought. "It's supposed to be us adventurers facin' off against a Dark Master, right?"

"Very good." Bakura nodded in acknowledgement as he took his seat at the other end of the large table. "Should they find the boss monster and defeat it, then the adventurers win. Should the characters all be wiped out then the Dark Master wins."

"So it's just like the Role Playing in any given video game?" Twilight asked to clarify, to which she got a nod in response.

"Precisely. I'll go ahead and be the Dark Master." Bakura then casually gestured to the many display cases. "You girls can simply go ahead and pick out whatever characters you want."

"Really?" Asked Rarity eargerly, she and the others looking over the many figurines behind the glass display.

"Of course." He assured them all easily, thought unbeknownst to the girls there was a dark meaning hidden in his next words. "I'm sure you'll find one figurine or another which is an offshoot of yourselves."

"Alright." Twilight clapped her hands together, her and the others making their way to the display cases. "Let's get to it!"

And so all six girl began to look through the impressive collection of figurines, hoping to find something that fit themselves just right.

"Ha! This one kinda looks like you, Pinkie!"

"Oooh! It has a gun!"

"Gotta say, Ah'm likin' the look of that hammer."

"Oh, that one's outfit is simply magnificent!"

'Make sure to choose carefully.' Bakura thought as he observed them with a small, yet sinister smile. 'You will spend eternity within one of those dolls, after all.'

After a few minutes of the girls scanning and debating amongst themselves about which figurine they would use, this including Rarity insisting that Applejack should pick a character with a red colour scheme, they all sat themselves down at the other end of the game table, characters at the ready.

"We've picked our characters!" Rainbow Dash declared, eager to start the RPG adventure.

"Perfect." Bakura began to type away on his specialized computer. "I'll just go ahead and put in your data."

Twilight Sparkle
Race: Elf
Profession: Sorceress
Weapon: Magic staff
LV 1
HP 22

Fluttershy
Race: Half elven, half human
Profession: Magical Beast Tamer
Weapon: Magic gloves
LV 1
HP 18

Rainbow Dash
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
Weapon: Sword
LV 1
HP 25

Pinkie Pie
Race: Human
Profession: Magic gunwoman
Weapon: Magic gun
LV 1
HP 23

Applejack
Race: Half dwarven, half human
Profession: Warrior smith
Weapon: Dwarven warhammer
LV 1
HP 26

Rarity
Race: Elf
Profession: High Merchant
Weapon: Elven daggers
LV 1
HP 20

"Everything appears to be in order." Bakura remarked idly, now having put in the character's data. He then gave the girls a sharp smile. "We're all set up."

Rainbow Dash pumped her fist in excitement, getting hyped to kick butt at yet another game. "Yeah, let's get this thing going!"

"Let's do our best, girls!" Rarity clapped her hands in anticipation, a sentiment shared by the five others who exchanged smiles, thinking of how fun this new game would surely prove to be, even if Sunset didn't join them.

Bakura, meanwhile, merely observed them with his usual false smile, though there was a very real sadistic amusement hiding behind it. Oh, those poor foolish girls had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

And once they realized just what this game truly was, and what fate awated the loser, it would be all too late...

GAME OVER!
YOU LOSE!

Sunset merely let out what felt like her thousand sigh as she failed to defeat the game's final boss for what felt like the thousand time that day. She carelessly threw her controller aside and instead leaned back into her couch, thinking hard over the events of today and yesterday.

After the girls had all headed over to Ryou's place despite Sunset's warnings and protests, Sunset herself had simply head home by her lonesome, spending the rest of the friday playing the same levels over and over again. Not that she was happy about that.

She let out a small frustrated noise. Why couldn't the others see that she just wanted to keep them all safe!?

It wasn't that she thought that Ryou was a bad guy or truly meant any harm. Far from it. In fact, he was undoubtedly one of the kindest people she had ever met. But that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous.

Having all of one's friends fall into comas couldn't be a simple coincidence. And Trixie who revealed his secret fell victim shortly afterwards. She had tried to tell the other Rainbooms just that, but they were adamant that it all had to be some sort of misunderstanding.

Did Sunset think Ryou was responsible for it? Yes.

Did Sunset think Ryou had done it on purpose? Hard no.

For some reason or other, Ryou had to have some manner of curse on him. Wether it was equestrian magic or something else she did not know. All she knew was that the curse was dangerous. And as much as it pained Sunset to think it, she couldn't risk such a curse befalling her friends. Even if it meant leaving Ryou all by himself... much like she herself had been once...

Truth be told, she had felt terrible after what she had said to Ryou earlier the other day. Sunset had just been so angry, and princess Celestia had always remarked how temperamental she could be. She thought her anger was justified, but she definetly could've handled the situation better... Sunset could still clearly remember how absolutely heartbroken the white-haired boy had looked as she had torn into him verbally.

The interdimensional girl was somewhat saved from more of these gloomy thoughts as she heard a familiar vibration pattern accompanied as the book she had recieved from princess Celestia all those years ago glowed on her coffee table. Knowing that the book had been filled with a new message from princess Twilight of Equestria, Sunset eagerly grabbed hold of it.

Even though she hadn't told the rest of the Rainbooms about it, Sunset had infact been in attempted correspondence with the interdimensional pony princess. But not directly about Ryou, but moreso over his millenium ring.

Ever since he had first showed the artifact to them, Sunset hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she had seen the item somewhere. But not somewhere in the human world, that much she was sure of. Unfortunatley, she no longer had access to the vast library on magical items from Equestria, and had therefore written to princess Twilight about it as soon as the game night she, the girls and Ryou had shared was over.

She knew it was hypocritical to hide things like this from her friends, espescially conscidering how she had blown up on Ryou over his secrets. But at the same time, Sunset knew how her friends would only see this as another wacky overreaction on her part.

Taking a deep breath as if to calm herself, Sunset then opened the magic book and began to read the message from another princess Twilight, eager to find out anything about the millenium ring. The message was written in the pony princess' usual neat and elegant handwriting, and it read as follows;

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Normally I would take the time to ask you how your friendships is progressing at Canterlot High, but this time I need to jump straight to the point.

Firstly, while I am sorry that it took such a long time for me to respond to you, I assure you that there is a very good reason. The sketch you drew of the so-called "millenium ring" was very informative and helped narrow down the search immensely. Unfortunatley, I had little to go on other than a sketch and a name.

I immediatley retreated into my library for any books on magical items, but that alone took up a great deal of my time. Once I finally did find some manner of reference to the item, it was some old documents which have now been estimated to be around 3000 years old.

Of course, they weren't in the best condition, which irked me to no end, mind you! But nonetheless, on the documents were detailed drawings clearly ressembling the artifact you described, along with six other strange items, all with the same eerire eye-symbol. But that's research for another day!

Unfortunatley, much of the documents content have been lost as time has passed (probably because the previous librarians have no sense of historical preservation!). The few bits of text I could make out were written in a language even I didn't recognize.

I contacted princess Celestia (she says "Hi", by the way!), who send the renowned history professor Dusty Tomes to my castle in Ponyville all the way from Canterlot. His knowledge and skills was beyond useful.

Apparently the documents belonged to a team of adventurers who made an expidtion to the human world 3000-ish years ago, the date isn't specified. Apparently they were gone for three years in your world before coming back. But only three of the original 13 explorers returned... and it is said that those three were never the same.

From what little professor Tomes could make out, much of the text is some sort of poems that doesn't make much sense in translation. However, among the text surrounding the seven mystery items, including the millenium ring, a few key phrases kept coming up;

Darkness, Evil, Shadow Game, Destruction and Soul.

I don't know anything about this "Ryou Bakura"-character who apparently possesses it, but I do know something:

Whatever that item is, it can't be good.

I'm afraid that's all the help I can be at the moment. However you choose to handle this, I know that you will make the right descision, Sunset. I have faith in you.

Take care,
Twilight Sparkle

Sunset could barely breathe as she read over the last few paragraphs of the message over and over again, as if desperatly hoping that there was some hidden meaning behind it she had missed. Eventually giving up, she threw the book aside and put her face in her hands, thinking hard over what she'd just read.

Some equestrian adventurers had ventured into the human world 3000 years ago... around the time of the egyptian dynasties. Only three of them had returned and included findings of the millenium ring in their texts, along with six other items...

But much like what princess Twilight had said, it was clear to Sunset now that the millenium ring was bad news. It was probably through that item that all those people fell into comas in the first place, Trixie included.

It was with a horrified gasp that she realized at this very moment her best friends were within close range of that very same artifact.

Back at the Blackwood house, the girls and who they thought to be Ryou were just about to start the adventure board game. There was only one little complication.

"Um, hey now," Applejack began, scratching her head in slight confusion as she observed the large game board. "we're the only folks on the field."

Bakura just grinned back at her. "One feature of this game is that it's not always obvious just where the monsters and challenges are hiding." He explained, "It's up to the players to explore and learn more of their surroundings and through that discover their objective."

Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated noise. "But we don't know the first thing about this place!"

"Indeed, it's not all that clear how we should reach the final boss monster." Rarity remarked, a hand on her chin in thought.

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she observed the board, until her eyes lit up as she saw a little wooden settlement. "We can always try heading to the village and ask around." She suggested, remembering some things Shining Armor and Spike had mentioned occasionally, "That's a common RPG trope if I'm not mistaken."

"Sounds good to me." Fluttershy shrugged passively and the others expressed their agreement as well.

"Then let's head to the village!"

"Alright." Bakura typed in some things into the computer. "It takes you five turns to reach the village. Fortunatley for you, you encounter no trouble on your way there."

"Oh thank goodness!" Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, whereas Rainbow Dash looked a little put out.

"No fun is more like it..." The athletic girl grumbled to herself.

Her chagrin was quickly forgotten when Bakura took the liberty of the 'shell' of the village, revealing a very small, yet detailed diorama of a bar-like setting, complete with many unique figurines serving as bar patrons, the bartender and the like. It was very detailed, as for example by the counter one could clearly see many small fake flasks that actually looked made out of real glass and were all clearly labeled.

"Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she eagerly observed the little miniature, amazed by the amount of detail Ryou must've put into it.

"Oh, how charming!" Rarity said, finding the small setting to be quite endearing.

"Yeah, yeah, it's impressive, got it!" Rainbow Dash was getting impatient as always. "Now let's get some of that info already!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Pinkie Pie assured the others confidently. She then took a hold of her own figurine and eagerly placed it within the bar, getting into character. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie! Me and my friends here need some information about this place and fast!"

Bakura analysed the data. "Your charisma and bold words garner the attention of a villager sitting by themselves in a lone booth."

The girls now turned their attention towards the bar, their eyes quickly spotting the only figurine that was standing by itself. Though the Rainbooms quickly found that there was something oddly familiar about that particular character.

Rainbow Dash found it funny, letting out a snort as she pointed down at the blue-skinned figurine. "Look at this one! It kinda looks like Trixie!"

Though the girls had all thought that the doll looked familiar, but now that they got a closer look it really did look much like Trixie. It had the same hair colour and shape, even the same shade of blue skin colour as her. How odd.

"It sure got that same arrogant look to it." Applejack remarked.

"Y-You there...! Rainbooms!" A voice suddenly pipped up, it's owner believing that it had finally found some saviours. Though the voice was unnatrually silent, nearly inaudible.

"Did you girls hear something?" Rarity asked, thinking to herself that she'd just heard someone talk.

"Can't say that I did." Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"H-Help me, please...!" Begged the figurine which in actuallity contained the soul of one Trixie Lulamoon, having been placed there by the spirit of the ring. She had managed to raise her voice just a bit. "Ba-Bakura turned me into a doll! H-He's a monster!"

"... Did that doll just talk?" Fluttershy asked quietly, as now both she and the other girls had definetly heard the figurine say something, though they couldn't quite make out just what it said.

"Don't be silly, Fluttershy." Twilight rebuked gently, always logical. "Roles which aren't the main adventurers should fall under the Game Master's area of responsibility."

"So that was Ryou talking?" Rainbow Dash asked, slightly impressed. "Man, he really got that voice-acting down."

While the Rainbooms where having that riveting conversation, they were unaware of the dark, soul-piercing glare that Bakura was sending Trixie. The doll containing her soul flinched at his evil gaze, his dark and raspy voice starting to echo within her head.

'You are no longer a charlatan nor are you the human Trixie Lulamoon.' He told her through a mind-link, his angry voice sounding much like that of a demon. 'By my hand have you become an eternal resident of this game world.'

Trixie was powerless to do anything but to stare up in as much horror as her figurine body would allow at the malevolent spirit whose eyes promised torment beyond imagening should she disobey him. 'You are a mere villager, and you know I have the power to back up my threats. Now play your role and play it well, or else...'

Knowing that it would be futile to even attempt to resist the evil being, Trixie began to retell the dialouge she had been given. "I-I take it the six of you aren't from around here?"

Her voice was now noticeably louder, and Trixie couldn't help but wonder if it was another of Bakura's tricks, but she was too terrified of the demon in human flesh to dare speak up. Instead she merely continued to deliver the in-game expossition. "Our kingdom of Monsley was once a peaceful and harmonious land, until that one fateful day."

"Why, whatever happened?" Rarity asked, both her and the others already getting intruiged.

"O-one day the sky turned black, heralding the awakening of Dark Master Zorc from his thousand year slumber!"

"Dark Master Zorc?" Applejack repeated, trying out the name on her tounge.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, found this piece of information to be quite amusing. "Zorc?" She repeated, trying to hold back a snicker. "What kinda Big-Bad name is that? It rhymes with 'Pork', for crying outloud!"

While the other five girls laughed at this, it took every part of Bakura's self-control not to tear the annoying rainbow-haired insect apart right then and there. Insulting Zorc was practically like insulting him, after all.

"Aww, c'mon, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie tried to appease her friend cheerfully. "At least it's better than 'Zarc'!"

At that everyone else in the room, including the demon who had wandered the earth for millenia and existed long before even that, stared at Pinkie Pie in silence, trying to comprehend what she had just said.

"... What even is that?" Rainbow Dash asked after a moment of weird silence.

Pinkie Pie just blinked at her, smile still in place, "What is what?"

"Girls, focus!" Twilight brought everyone's attention back to the game itself, as she continued to question the villager "What did this Zorc-character do exactly?"

"After Zorc had risen again he swiftly executed our kingdom's beloved royal family before taking their castle for his own."

The girls all gasped at this, shocked and appaled by the information. "That's horrible!"

Though Trixie wanted nothing more than to scream at them to save her, she could feel Bakura's dark glare and reluctantly kept repeating the dialouge. "Under Zorc's rule a great deal of monsters have begun invading our lands, pillaging and slaughtering wherever they go. Many of my fellow villagers have fallen victim..."

All the Rainbooms were horrified by this, even though it was a fictional world. It filled all of them with a determination to stop the so-called Dark Master.

"Where can we find this Zorc-guy!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, clenching her fists. "I want to give him a piece of my mind!"

"His castle lays far north from this village."

"Then that's where we're goin'!" Applejack declared determinedly, the others calling out in agreement. Bakura merely observed them, his inner thoughts filled with gleeful cruelty.

The adventurers then swiftly left the village, unknowingly leaving the doll containing Trixie's soul behind. After three quick turns, a beep was heard from Bakura's computer.

"Ah, the adventurers have now reached a Monster Area." He announced with a sharp smile. "Take heed, for all around there be monsters..."

"In that case we should probably be careful." Twilight remarked while observing the playing field critically.

"Y-yeah, let's do that!" Fluttershy, even though it was simply a board game, really didn't want to fight anything or anyone if she could avoid it.

"Nah! I'm not scared of any monsters!" Rainbow Dash, however, was thirsting for some good action and therefore moved her own piece. "Let's get going!"

"Ask and you shall recieve." Bakura grinned as he typed in the data. "A monsters now appear, a rogue mountain-goblin to be precise."

As the new figurine was placed in the appropriate spot, the girls now got their first look at what kind of enemies they would be fighting.

"Oh, how revolting!" The other girls found that they agreed with Rarity's assesment. Even though the figurine was made of wood, the goblin still had a very unsavory appearance. With its grey skin, stooped posture, coarse hair, large muscular body, low forehead and porcine face, it as certainly not beautiful by anyone's standards.

"This particular goblin," Bakura began, eager to explain the lore, "though not allied with Zorc, have taken advantage of the chaos throughout the kingdom and left the mountains in the west along with his kin, ravaging and stealing from any unfortunate village he comes across."

"Why, he's just a no-good varmint!" It was common knowledge that Applejack held no love for thieves, and this imaginary goblin proved to be no different.

"The goblin expresses clear hostility and probably aim to steal the adventurers' items. How do you respond?"

Applejack adjusted her hat, wanting to teach that imaginary monster a thing or two. "No way we're surrendering to some no-good thieves!"

"Yeah, let's kick some goblin-butt!"

Seeing their excitement, Bakura held up his hand to show the girls two small objects. "All battles will be conducted through these two ten-sided dice."

This caused the girls to momentarily pause in their excitement. "Oh yeah, you mentioned that."

"The white die represents the one's position. The red die covers the ten's position. The closer you roll to zero the more damage you will inflict." Bakura explained. The girls all nodded or shrugged in response, not thinking of it as too complicated.

"Sounds simple enough." Rarity commented idly.

"However," Bakura then interjected, and the girls all thought that his smile became sharper then usual and even his voice sounded more low and raspy. "Should you roll a 99... punishment awaits."

Rainbow Dash let out an impressed whistle. "Man, Ryou's really getting into this whole 'bad guy'-persona, isn't he?"

"Well, obviously, darling." Rarity responded, a smile on her face. "He is the game master, after all. It's to make it more engaging. Bravo, Ryou!"

Bakura didn't respond to the praise as he analysed the game data. "Now, despite the goblins taking the adventurers by surprise, all of your characters have far better speed than the slow, mountain-breed of goblins. The first attack is therefore yours."

"Got it! I'll start!" Rainbow Dash eagerly grabbed a hold of the dice and threw them, she and the others anticipantly awaiting the result.

18

"Alright." Bakura was typing away. "That's a direct hit. The first enemy goblin is taken out with a single percise swing of the warrior's sword."

"Aw yeah! Who's the boss!?" Rainbow Dash pumped her fists in victory. The athletic girl's excitement was quite contagious, as the others chatted among themselves, happy to seemingly have made some progress.

Bakura merely observed the girls' elation, his thoughts filled with dark amusement. 'Enjoy all the meager victories you like.' He thought with a hidden sharp smile. 'For so little do you know of this shadow game's true nature...'

The players then continued on their trip north, until they came across a knocked over figurine, upon which they were interrupted by Bakura. "On their path the adventurers come across what appears to be a simple villager lying unconscious on the ground with clear signs of a struggle."

"Oh, poor thing. Let's help!" Fluttershy insisted, eager to help someone in trouble.

"I dunno..." Applejack murmured, sounding unsure. "Seems kinda suspiscious."

Twilight nodded. "Applejack's right. It could be a trap."

Pinkie Pie, however, had no such qualms and, without consulting the others, simply smiled and lifted the figurine upright. "Nah! Let's help him!"

"I need your aid, all of you!" Said the villager, or rather, Bakura who was acting the part. "I was attacked in the forest by monsters who stole my treasure!"

"Did he say treasure!?" Rarity's eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect.

"Yes." The stranger continued on, "Said treasure is a map that leads one to the location of the Holy Sword of Ramnael! The only thing that can defeat Zorc!"

"Something that can defeat Zorc?" Twilight repeated, sounding both intruiged and somewhat suspiscious. The stranger kept on talking, paying her tone no heed.

"I was transporting the map in hopes of getting it to the scattered resistance forces around the kingdom, but if Zorc should get his hands on the sword then all hope is lost! I beg you to retrive the map!"

"What should we do?" Fluttershy asked the others, unsure of the best course of action.

"Is it really that easy to find something that can lead to Zorc's defeat?" Twilight still found the whole idea to be somewhat odd. Knowing Ryou, he tended to enjoy complex and challenging games. Simply retreaving a map that lead to a so-called 'Holy sword' didn't sound much like his usual style.

"C'mon! A treasure is always good!" Rainbow Dash on the other hand had no such suspiscions, already imagining herself in the game swinging down the mystic sword on the Dark Master.

Rarity seemed to be in agreement with the atheltic girl. "I'm sure that it'll be fine, darlings. With all of us working together, retrieving that map will be simple."

Hearing the fashionista's words, the other felt encouraged. Rarity was right, if their past had proved anything the it was that nothing was impossible with all of them working together. Of course, they ignored acknowledging that Sunset was not currently with them.

"Alright, we'll help you get back that map!" Twilight declared resolutely.

"Thank you greatly." The villager expressed his gratitude. "I'll accompany you to the forrest."

"What should we call you, by the way?" Rainbow Dash then asked curiously.

"I am Akefia."

A certain party-loving girl couldn't hold back her giggle at that. "That's a funny name! We should totally get together and party after this adventure-thing!"

After the group of players all shared a chuckle at Pinkie's words, not including Bakura, they all knew their next course of action. "Alright then. Let's head go and retrive that map!"

A few uneventful turns passed before the players began to reach their designation, following the guidance of the Akefia character.

"Alright." Bakura declared, looking over the game data as he narrated. "The adventurers enter the dark forest of the west. In this area, the monster encounter rate is 80%. Judgement Roll."

The demon in human flesh cast the dice, and let out a pleased noise at the result.

"Excellent. Seven rabid monsters appear, therefore a battle is now iniciated."

As seven new and figurines of different, bizarre monsters entered the board, the Rainbooms minus one began to feel somewhat pumped up, hoping that not just Rainbow Dash would get to roll during this battle.

Speaking of, the rainbow-haired girl grabbed a hold of the two dice and eagerly cast them. "Alright! Let's roll!"

82

"An awful roll." Bakura commented as he lazily typed in the data, a smirk spreading across his face. "Rainbow Dash the warrior trips over her own feet."

"Aw, come on!" Rainbow Dash whined as the other girls let out small giggles.

"Hehe, so much for that." Applejack gave her atheltic friend a teasing look, while said friend merely glared back at her. "Let me show yah how it's done!"

21

"A swift swing." Bakura announced idly. "The hostile orc stands little chance against against the half-dwarf's mighty hammer and perishes after a single hit."

"Yee-haw!" The farm girl pumped her fist in celebration, glad to have delt the first blood.

"Bravo, Applejack!" Rarity praised her friends, clapping her hands together lightly while the others gave similar remarks. That is except Rainbow Dash.

"Eh, let's be honest." She shrugged, not sounding all that impressed as she simply observed her nails, though there was clear mischief dancing in her violet eyes. "It was passable, at best."

The other girls all shared a good laugh, even Applejack took it in good humor as she lightly punched Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. "Ah, shut it, you."

Pinkie Pie, now eager to do some damage of her own, cast the dice energeticaly. "Alrighty! I wanna blow something up!"

12

"A direct hit. Pinkie's magic gun makes short work of her opponent who is shot right through by the magic bullet."

"Yipee!" Pinkie Pie cheered loudly.

Rainbow Dash patted her on the back, a grin on her face. "Way to go, Pinks!"

It was then Rarity's turn. "Alright then, I roll!"

18

"Another good roll. The elf merchant catchers her enemy off guard using her elven speed and daggers."

"Yes!" Rarity exclaimed happily, "That's three of those horrid creatures gone now!"

Fluttershy, ever timid, though fearing that she may not get that good of a roll, cast the dice nonetheless. "M-my turn."

25

"Ah, now this is interesting." Bakura murmured as he typed in Fluttershy's roll and analysed the data. "A beast tamer with elven heritage, even though they are at a low level, have the ability to turn an enemy monster into an ally."

"R-really?" Fluttershy was surprised at this particular ability, though she was excited all the same.

"Alright, let's see..." The usually timid girl murmured as she looked over the remaining monsters, before she finally settled on one. It was a bizzare creature, alright. It's entire bronze coloured body being round with small blunt appendages to serve as makeshift arms and legs. Its eyes were large and narrow in hate and rage, blood red in colour.

And yet, Fluttershy, lover of all critters, thought to herself that there was potential for goodness there, which was precisely why she selected that monster. "I pick you!"

Using her Glove Hand attack, Fluttershy the beast tamer turned the previously malicious monster into a creature that could only be described as adorable. The monster figurine was replaced by one with similar body type, but it's skin was now yellow, it had a smile that could melt one's heart, and it's previously large and narrow eyes were now pink, smaller, and far friendlier.

Naturally, the girls all let out their respective, "Aww"s.

"Oh, it's simply adorable!" Rarity gushed over the newly transformed monster.

"Looks like we have a new ally on our team." Twilight remarked with a smile.

"Yeah! Way to go, Flutters!" Said animal-loving girl couldn't help but blush at the praise she recieved from the other girls, but she too was excited.

"I think I'll call him... Poki!" She declared, looking at the figurine of the newly named 'Poki' with a smile.

After five seperate turns, Twilight grabbed hold of the dice eagerly, happy to finally do something with her own character. "Let's go! My move!"

00

"A-a supercritical hit!" Bakura declared, his composure seeming to break for the first time in shock. "Despite being a mere apprentice-class sorceress, Twilight lets loose an ultimate magical attack which eradicates all traces of the remaining enemy monsters!"

A stunned silence reigned for just a moment, that is before all the other girls began cheering for their bespectacled friend.

"That. Was. Awesome, Twi! You took out three monsters in one hit!" Rainbow Dash praised her while patting her enthusiastically on the back. The others let out similar sentiments.

"Hoo-nelly! That oughta show 'em!"

"Marvelously done, darling!"

"Hurray for Twilight!"

"Yay..."

Twilight blushed at the big heep of praise, but smiled all the same, happy for her acomplishment. She gave her friends an appreciative look. "Thanks a lot, girls. Now, we can hopefully find that map soon."

However, this moment of levity was not to last, as behind the adventurers, a dark chuckle was heard. Said chuckle came from none other than the Akefia-character who had led them to the forest to begin with.

"Akefia?" Fluttershy questioned, concern and fear in her voice.

The character now spoke, but it was a far contrast from the polite and humble tone which he had spoken in before, now sounding arrogant and downright malicious. "So, you six are the adventurers trying so hard to defy me? Well, that I cannot allow."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Rarity demanded, she and the other girls begining to feel uneasy.

Akefia did not directly answer her, only giving her another dark chuckle. "You all sealed your fates by entering this forest. You tried to unbury the truth, but instead, I shall bury you all right now!"

Rainbow Dash was annoyed by this. "Enough with the riddles! Just who are you!?"

For the first time in a while, the Game Master now adressed the girls as a narrator of the story. But all of them could tell that something about Ryou now seemed... different, as he spoke to them in a noticeably raspy tone, his eyes growing darker and a smirk on his face.

"In a surprising twist, the one whom the adventurers thought was the mere villager Akefia, turned out to be something far more deadly. Before the adventurers' very eyes, Akefia begins to twist and change, revealing the so-called villager's true form!"

"True form!?" All the girls gasped in shock, something which Bakura seemed to delight in.

"Take a good look on the game board and see for yourselves."

The girls did just that, turning their attention back to the Monster World board, only to be shocked by what they saw. For standing in place of the Akefia-figurine was now something far larger and far more frightening in appearance.

It was far taller and wider than any other figurine they had seen so far, easily being three times as tall as any of their own character. It seemed to have a muscular humanoid appearance, but its skin looked coarse and dark and horns seemed to grow out of its back. It wore a dark blue cape which only added to it's impossing appearance, and its yellow eyes seemed to glow from the skull-like face, from which many horns seemed to be growing out of to ressemble some sort of crown.

While the girls thought this new character to look frightening, Bakura seemed to have the time of his life as he exclaims, "For Akefia is truly the Dark Master Zorc! Here to wipe some pesky adventurers off the face of the earth!"

"Zorc!?" All six girls gasped.

The character of Zorc now spoke, and the girls found his voice to be deep and demonic, "You pathetic insects fell for one of the simplest tricks! There never was a map! And even if there was, it wouldn't do you any good for there is no sword in this world that can slay me! Holy or otherwise!"

"No way..." Twilight murmured in mild despair, something which was reflected on the other girls' faces. And, was it just Twilight, or did the game room seem to get a lot colder all of a sudden, not to mention darker...

She was interrupted from this train of thought as Bakura adressed them once again as the narrator, casually resting his face in his hands and looking at them all like a cat who just caught the canary. "The adventurers were completely caught of guard and are now defenseless."

He paused for a bit, and the girls couldn't help but feel uneasy as a downright predatory grin spread across his face. "As such, they are easy prey for Zorc's preemptive assault."

This piece of information was enough to snap the girls out of their shock, but that shock was now replaced by an ominous feeling in their gut.

Rainbow Dash, angry with the ongoing deceit, pointed an accusing finger at the Game Master across the table. "You tricked us!"

Bakura merely scoffed at her words, now grinning as he threw his own pair of ten-sided dice. "Zorc attacks."

00

"A supercritical hit!?" Twilight gasped, causing Bakura to chuckle.

"I see you're as sharp as ever." Twilight flinched just a little at those words, but moreso the ominous tone in which they were spoken... this didn't sound like Ryou at all.

Her reaction went ignored by Bakura who elaborated, "As decided by the roll, Zorc shall use his dark power to attack a player. As for his target..."

Bakura's dark eyes now roamed over each and every one of the girls, who at this point all felt various levels of unease of how things were progressing. At last it seemed as if the Game Master had selected a target, his sharp eyes getting fixed on none other than Rarity, who flinched under their soul-piercing gaze.

Raising his right arm and pointing at the fashionista, Bakura's mind had been made up. As such, he declared loudly in a voice filled with power, "IT'LL BE YOU!"

Just as the demon in human flesh had uttered those words, Rarity's usually expressive eyes seemed to go completely hollow and dull before her body went completely limp, causing her to fall face first onto the table.

Of course, this caused quite the uproar from her friends. "Rarity!" They all exclaimed before hurrying over to her seat, looking over their now seemingly lifeless body with great concern.

"Rarity, what's wrong!?" Fluttershy asked worringly, already checking things such as the fashionista's pulse, but let out a sigh of small relief when she found that Rarity still had one.

Applejack, on the other hand, merely shook Rarity, albeit gently, as if hoping that it was just like any other time that her friend had fainted. "Rarity! Sugarcube!" The farm girl tried to adress Rarity, her voice quickly growing desperate as she recieved no response from the now unconscious girl. "C'mon, girl, talk to me!"

"Sh-should we call an ambulance?" Pinkie Pie asked, her usual cheery tone having been replaced by one of great concern and her usually poofy hair seemed as if it had deflated. The sight brough Bakura immesurable amounts of joy.

Said spirit hadn't risen at all from his seat, now having decided to drop the act of his host completely. Instead he merely began to laugh lightly, though his raspy voice made it sound incredibly ominous.

His tittering did not went unnoticed, as all the girls turned to look at the only boy there in total disbelief, though it quickly mde way for anger in some of them, mainly Rainbow Dash who glared at him hard, "Are you seriously laughing at a time like this!?"

"R-Ryou... what have you done?" Twilight then asked him, as the intelligent had quickly connected the dots between Bakura's ominous words, what Trixie had told them the other day, and what had just now happened to Rarity. And yet, she prayed to whatever diety existed out there that she was wrong.

Though the other girls looked at Twilight questioningly at this, Bakura merely gave the bespectacled girl a malicious grin in return, eager to completely discard his Nice Guy-act.

"Oh? Didn't I tell you?" He asked them mockingly, sneering all the while. Bakura then outstretched his arm wide as he gestured to the game world. As he did so he looked like the perfect image of how one would imagine a malevolent puppet master. He then continued on.

"We are currently participating in the ultimate Role Playing Game, a game where the players' fates are all decided by the dice. When struck by Zorc's Supercritcal hit, OR should you roll a fumble, the powers of darkness will seal that unfortunate player's soul away!"

"Powers of darkness...?" Twilight murmured to herself, she and the other finding the whole current situation very hard to comprehend. But also, Twilight couldn't help but feel despair overwhelm her as Bakura's words essentially meant that her fears were true. It was the boy who had caused Rarity to end up in her current state. A boy who she thought was her friend...

Twilight's thoughts were apparent on the other girls' expressions as well, all of them looking at Bakura with emotions raging from fear, sadness, betrayal, and of course, anger.

Pinkie and Fluttershy both started to feel tears welling up in the edges of their eyes as they stared at Bakura with expressions filled with disbelief. "Ryou... why would you do this?" The animal loving girl asked quietly, desperatly hoping for all of this to be just some crazy misunderstanding! That it was all some crazy dream!

Bakura only sneered at the two of them, an expression filled with hateful disgust which seemed completely alien on Ryou's usually kind face.

"Enough games!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she slammed her fist down hard on the gaming table, her voice filled with a wild rage. And secretly, there was a great deal of betrayal and sadness hidden underneath, for the athletic girl also felt her heart break at the revelation. "Tell us what you've done to Rarity right now!"

Bakura only let out a full on laugh at this, a laugh which sounded completely deranged. He quickly composed himself as he gave Rainbow Dash and the others a smug smirk. "No need to fret. Ms. Rarity is still very much alive... in the game world that is."

While all the consciouss girls gave Bakura looks of helpless confusion, not understanding what he truly meant, there was something else happening.

None other Rarity herself, had been shocked when Bakura had selected her as the target for Zorc's assault. But as soon as he had announced his intentions to them all while pointing her, she had felt really strange. It had felt as if her entire body had been incased in ice before suddenly losing all senses at her disposal. Even if this experience had only lasted for maybe a microsecond, Rarity would later on admit that it was one of the most uncomfortable and fearful moments of her life.

But as of right now, she had found herself regaining all of her senses, which filled her with no small amounts of joy. But while her eyesight began to return, it instantly became clear that she was no longer in the Blackwood house's game room.

"Wh-what happened to me?" The fashionista asked herself as she rubbed a sore spot on her head. But as she did this she began to take in her new surroundings and was shocked over what she found. Rarity had somehow found herself in some sort of forest. A thick forest where the trees seemed to grow far darker than normal, she noticed. It didn't look like any forest she herself had ever seen. As she was currently without a friend in sight, she began to feel fear forming in her gut.

"Wh-where am I...and for that matter, where did I get this gorgeous outfit!?" Rarity discoverd that she was wearing an extremely fine piece of beutiful, yet practical form fitting tunic-like clothes which were dark blue and violet in colour, not made in any sort of material she knew about, and adorned by many small gems. Around some manner of silver belt hung two daggers in satchels.

While getting a little distracted by her clothes, Rarity then looked up and noticed two very concerning things about the sky. For one; it was red. And two; There were what looked like giant versions of five of her best friends towering over bother her and her surroundings, seeming to look down with various fearful expressions.

"Wh-When did everyone get so big!?" Rarity exclaimed to herself, perhaps a bit stupidly. But then again, as she took another good look at her surroundings... it looked an awful lot like a setting on Ryou's Monster World board... and the clothes she was currently wearing reminded her of the figurine she had selected...

"Wait... No," Rarity murmured to herself, her words growing louder and more paniced as the horrible realization began to set in. "No, I can't possibly be a-a... A DOOOLLLLLL!!!"

The girl's panicked screaming was heard even to the still conscious players. Bakura merely smiled sadistically, seeming to find dark amusement in Rarity's terror. The girls on the other hand looked down at the now doll-Rarity in shock and horror as they began to realize just what Bakura had meant when he told them of his this was meant to be the 'Ultimate RPG'.

Anger quickly seeped into most of the remaining girls as they all now glared at the one they until now had thought of as their friend.

Bakura seemed to delight in their negativity, raising his hands in a mock-placating gesture as he smirked at them all. "Now don't look so angry. There is a way to retrive a soul." He now gestured lazily to the largest figurine on the board. "All you have to do is defeat Zorc."

Applejack, emboldened by this information, grabbed the dice from Rainbow Dash without thinking and threw them, determined to save her friend as soon as possible. "Ah'll save ya, Rares!"

05

"A five! YES!" The farm girl pumped her fist in celebration, but her elation quickly disappeared as Bakura only chuckled at her. "Now what's so funny!?"

"Applejack, it wasn't your turn!" The demon scolded her harshly, though his dark grin remained all the same. "I've never seen such awful gaming manners!"

"Oh no!" Said girl gasped.

"Allow me to show you just what happens to those who roll without the Master's permission!" Bakura gave Applejack the same damned point he had given Rarity. And just like with the fashionista, Applejack felt a quick yet terrifying freezing sensation before her body uncermoniously crumbled, now without a soul.

That very same soul now found its way inside Applejack's half-dwarven character figurine, very much shocking the farm girl.

"What in the heck is this!?" She exclaimed as she took in everything from her new surroundings to the unique dwarven armor and large hammer she was wielding. Rarity was throughoutly shocked at how her dear friend had suddenly appeared before her in that horrid place, yet at the same time strangely relieved to not be alone in the game world.

While those two took a small comfort in eachothers' presence, the remaing girls all despaired as they saw that yet another one of their friends had fallen victim to Bakura. Much like with Rarity, they futilely tried to wake up Applejack, but to no affect.

"Another one bites the dust." Bakura remarked almost causally, watching the two soul-filled dolls with a predatory expression, causing the others to glare at him in anger, even the more mild mannered girls. Of course, it meant nothing to the demon in human flesh who just snickered darkly at them.

"Now then, let's keep this game going." He turned to the rainbow-haired girl among them with a provoking tilt of his head. "I believe it's your turn?"

Rainbow Dash, now having purposefully set aside her feelings of sadness for anger, glaring at Bakura harshly as she grabbed a strong hold of the two dice, readying to throw them "I'll show you!" She seethed. "I'll get a supercritical and save everyone!"

The Game Master only laughed at the display, his dark eyes fixed on the hand currently holding the dice in amusement. "Why, dear Rainbow Dash, your hand is shaking." He now gave the infamously provokable athlete an insanely provoking grin. "Scared, perhaps?"

"No way!" She denied fiercly, but her hand was indeed visibly shaking quite violently. And if one were to look closely, it was clear that beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy observed their friends with clear concern. Bakura observed her with clear glee.

"Oh, I don't blame you." He assured Rainbow Dash in an obiously fake understanding tone while still giving her that damn grin. "Should you misroll you will be the one eternaly trapped in a figurine, after all. Fear is quite natural. However," None of the girls knew how, but his dark smile somehow grew even wider.

"Should you roll your dice in fear then you'll never get a good result."

Rainbow Dash denied this once again, unknowingly causing her hand to shake even worse. "Shut up! I'm not scared! I'm shaking with anger!"

"That is for the dice to determine."

The other three conscious girls tried to calm and encourage their friend. "You can do it, Rainbow!" Twilight insisted fiercly, not wanting another one of her friends to end up like Rarity and Applejack. "Just focus!"

"I know!" Rainbow Dash harshly responded, but more so because the pressure was starting to seriously affect her judgement. Shortly after she hastily and clumsily threw the dice, watching them roll with a desperate yearning of a good result.

99

"A Fumble!" Pinkie gasped in worry.

"N-no way...!" Rainbow Dash could hardly believe it, staring at the dice in absolute despair. Was... was she really that scared?

Bakura only laughed maniacally, giving the athletic girl a sadistic look of glee. "The dice don't lie, my dear!" The girls all felt dread within them as the Game Master raised his right arm a third time. "Now join your friends!"

Once again, Rainbow Dash's body went completely limp as the soul was forced out of her body and into the warrior-figurine. The athletic girl found herself in the dark forest, dressed in a suit of armor and armed with a rather fierce-looking sword. Had it not been for the horrifying situation, Rainbow Dash would have found it to be rather awesome. But she was too afraid and regretful at the moment to care.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack and Rarity both exclaimed, shocked to have another one of their friends join them. But the rainbow-haired girl only had her eyes closed hard, cold sweat still running down her face.

"Damn!" She cursed softly to herself. "I wasn't afraid! I SWEAR WASN'T!"

"How pitiful." Bakura sneered down at her, before turning his attention to a ceratin party-loving girl. "You turn, Pinkie Pie." He called sing-song tone which didn't fit his gravely voice at all.

Said girl, whose hair now looked as if it had completely deflated, didn't respond in her usual loud and cheerful way. Instead, she simply gulped softly before quickly taking hold of the dice.

"Here goes nothing." Pinkie said in a poor attempt at sounding cheerful as she rolled the two dice.

94

"Oh, poopy..." Pinkie muttered to herself in disapointment while Fluttershy and Twilight could only look on in concern.

Bakura now looked somehow more maliciously eager than usual as he got ready to throw his own pair of dice. "Your poor roll causes Pinkie the gunwoman to freeze in fear, allowing Zorc to make his counter move."

00

"Another supercritical!?" All three remaining girls gasped in disbelief and worry.

The demon in human flesh only laughed maniacally, espescially happy at the opportunity of getting rid of Pinkie Pie. "This just isn't your day!" Bakura raised his arm to point a fourth time. "NOW BE GONE, YOU PINK PEST!"

The pink-skinned girl's eyes went blank and her body crumbled, her soul and consciousness now finding itself in the Monster World. Despite the horror of it all, Pinkie was strangely unbothered by suddenly finding herself in a game world, and instead couldn't help but get a very itchy trigger finger as she looked down at the magic gun she was now wielding.

"Oooh, potential child endangerment!" She stated mostly to herself with an eager grin, which then grew wider as she spotted her three other friends whom had their souls trapped. "Oh, hiya! You girls are here too!?" She waved to them enthusiastically. "Small Monster World, huh? Cool weapons, by the way!"

The other girls-turned-dolls looked at their poofy-haired friend in unaminous bewilderment.

"Wasn't she, like, extremely serious and solemn just a few moments ago?" Rainbow Dash questioned, leaning on the handle of her sword. "How did she get back to being... well, being Pinkie Pie so quickly?"

While Applejack had no answers at all, the best Rarity could muster was, "It's best not to think about it, darling."

Back by the three still conscious players, Twilight and Fluttershy observed this light-hearted interaction with some very small sense of comfort, while Bakura glared down at them like one would look at a cockroach.

"Insolent fools..." He muttered harshly to himself, before deciding that it was better to focus his energy on getting rid of the remaining two girls. Therefore, he gave Twilight a dark smile. "Well?" He prodded. "Throw the dice, Twilight."

Said bespectacled girl flinched at being adressed, but picked up the dice all the same. However, much like with Rainbow Dash, Twilight's hand was visibly shaking, and Bakura knew that he had already won.

"I believe in you, Twilight." Fluttershy tried to encourage her friend who gave her a smile in return. But Bakura could tell as Twilight threw the dice that her fear and anxiety was getting the better of her.

99

"No." Twilight gasped softly, utter hopelessness on her face as she saw that damn number.

All the same, Bakura couldn't help but stir the pot a little bit, just for the Hell of it. He had always been one to kick someone when they're down.

"Come now, Twilight. Remember what you said that night in the park?" He purposefuly referred to that particulat interaction the scholarly girl had with his host, because he knew it was one of Ryou's fondest memories of the seven girls.

Seeing that Twilight remembered what he was talking about, Bakura's grin grew more wicked. "It'll be just like visiting Middle-Earth!" He cackled gleefully as poor Twilight visibly only went further into despair at the reminder of the personal exchange between herself and his host. Espescially conscidering that Twilight believed that Bakura was the same kind boy she had interacted with.

"JOIN YOUR FRIENDS IN DARKNESS!" He screamed as he pointed for a fifth time, now causing Twilight's body to go completely lifeless. Instead she woke up in the game world, holding an ornate staff and dressed in ancient-looking, yet form fitting teal magician's robes.

"..." Twilight said nothing as she merely observed her new surroundings with a feeling of sadness, horror, and resignation. Even seeing her other friends trapped in the game couldn't shake her out of her funk.

"And then there was one." Bakura quoted the eerie nursery rhyme as he settled his dark and sharp eyes on the single girl whose soul still remained in her own body.

Fluttershy was quite literally shaking in her seat. Not only becayse of what fate had fallen upon her best friends, but the knowledge that she was soon to join them as nothing more than a doll was even worse.

As she fearfully met Bakura's eyes, she still couldn't help but question wether this truly was the same kind boy whom she and the others had been getting to know for the last couple of weeks. The boy sitting on the opposite side of the table didn't even seem human to her, completely different to the understanding and compassionate Ryou Bakura she thought that she knew.

"Well?" Bakura suddenly demanded harshly, and Fluttershy realized that she had merely been silent for quite a while, and Bakura was clearly running out of patience. "Throw the dice already!"

The poor girl once again flinched at his words, her fear paralyzing her. "I-I-I-I..." She stuttered feebly, feeling utterly helpless as she observed the game board. It was clear that Bakura had been rigging the game for this exact situation, just waiting for the moment that she and the others would slip up.

Now she was all alone while her friends were all trapped in dolls in some sort of sick game scenario, and there was nothing she could do about it!

And yet... as Fluttershy again observed the doll-versions of her friends, who all appeared to be looking right back at her in concern, the animal-loving girl felt a strange desire brewing in her gut. As it had been proven time and time again, nothing was impossible when she and her friends worked together! ... Perhaps that applied to this situation as well.

"Ryou!" She then suddenly declared, the usually timid girl now looking at the Game Master with an unnatural resolve in her usually kind eyes. Safe to say that it was enough to gain his attention as Fluttershy then said, "... Turn me into a doll too!"

"WHAT!?" Exclaimed all five of the other girls, looking up at their remaining friend with fear in their eyes.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, but the pink and yellow girl only kept staring hard at Bakura.

Said demon was actually surprised for once, as he could only gape at Fluttershy, looking at her as if she were insane. "Wh-what!? You would have your soul trapped of your own volition!?"

Fluttershy nodded resolutely, before looking down at the game board as her eyes and tone softened consciderably. She spoke with her usual timidness, but there was a hint of steely determination underneath it. "My friends are all down there... I-I won't leave them! I wan't to fight along side them!"

"Flutteshy..." Rarity could only murmur in a genuinley touched tone as she and the others stared up at their now determined friend.

Bakura, though still taken quite off-guard by the request, quickly regained his wits and grinned malicously at Fluttershy. "Fine then! I'll grant your wish! But know this; should there be noone left to roll the dice then neither one of you will be able to do anything! You will have even less of a chance against Zorc!"

"Just do it!" Fluttershy demanded, and Bakura was all too happy to oblige.

Cackling like a madman, he raised his hand a sixth and final time. "You little fool! THIS IS GAME OVER!"

Like with the other girls, Fluttershy briefly felt a sickening freezinf sensation envelop her before her soul completely left her body, leaving it crumbled face down on the table. The animal-loving girl felt herself waking up in the dark forest beside her friends, now finding herself dressed in dark blue armor and a red-cape, wearing a pair of pristine white gloves with some manner of runes inscribed on them.

"Fluttershy..." Applejack started as she and the others went over to their timid friend. "Not for nothin', but... why'd you do it, sugarcube?"

"I meant what I said." Fluttershy responded resolutely, yet a smile was still on her lips. "I don't want to feel useless! I-I don't like violence... But if I have to fight to protect all of you then I will!"

"Oh, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash said, both she and the others moved by Fluttershy's words.

"I will fight alongside you too! Poki!" The monster-turned-ally from earlier interjected, cutely making himself visible to the girls for the first time. His voice was quite adorable and high-pitched. "Master Fluttershy turned me from Zorc's evil, and I'll do whatever I can to help! Poki!"

"Poki!" The girls all exclaimed in apparent joy, espescially Fluttershy as she gazed lovingly at her new ally.

"That's right." Twilight then said, some of her hope starting to return as all the girls and Poki looked at eachother with smiles. "As long as we keep together then-"

She would've continued on if it weren't for the sudden maniacal laughter interrupting her. Obviously, it belonged to Bakura, of whom a giant version now became visible in the red sky of the game world, looking down at the little group with a twisted look on his face.

"How sentimental!" He sneered down at them, and some of the girls could unfortunatley feel some dread returning. "I'm sure you and the little puffball got a lot of catching up to do, but unless it escaped your notice, allow me to fill you in!"

He then brought up his two ten sided dice for all to see, grinning madly all the while. "There is noone left to roll the dice, no number of meaningless friendship-speeches will change that!"

"Therefore, I as the Dark Master declare myself the-"

"HOLD EVERYTHING!"

Bakura suddenly choked on his own words in surprise. For back in the real world, the sudden words were accompanied by the very door to the game room flying open violently.

"What is the meaning of this!?" The demon in human flesh demanded as he rose from his seat for the first time in a while. He hated being interrupted, after all. But his surprise only grew tenfold as he saw who had slammed open the door.

For standing in the doorway was a sweaty and panting Sunset Shimmer, starring at Bakura with green eyes filled with a steely determination.

Author's Note

Just for reference, this is Poki:

Easily the best character in all of Yugioh
Seriously, fight me on that. I dare you