MLP Meets Yu-Gi-Oh Volume 1

Up in the castle in the center of Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus talks to himself about the competition.

"All over the island, my unwitting pawns are in place." he says. "The duels have begun, and by now, the slow process of elimination is well underway. Only the strongest Duel Monsters players will survive, and those of insufficient skill will fall by the way side."

Outside, the group is in a meadow, fresh off of Yugi's victory over the regional champion, Weevil Underwood, and Joey is itching for a duel.

"Ok, bring em on. I'm itching to duel, and I'm taking on the first player we see." Joey says with anticipation and passion as the rest of the gang watch him run up to a cliff overlooking the sea.

"You know, I'm not so sure Joey's up to this." Tea admitted.

"Yeah, there are tournament level players here. Minus one champion who was defeated by Yugi." put in Rainbow. "But maybe Joey's smart enough to realize that?" she asked as Joey comes to a stop.

"Here I stand, the next Duel Monsters champion!" Joey shouts in triumph.

"He needs a reality check." Tea says, slightly embarrassed. But Joey tells himself that he has to be the next champion, for Serenity's sake, since she's always counted on him, even when they were kids. He starts thinking back to when he took Serenity to the beach for the first time for a full day of fun, despite their parents oncoming divorce. Joey remembers the promise he made to Serenity to take her back to the beach that day, and vows to take her back once she has her eyes fixed. Soon, after the others join Joey on the cliff, they all hear people cheering. And when they look over to the left, they spot Duel Monsters arenas and active duels on them. Joey decides to head down.

"Right. I'm going in." Joey says, but the others slightly put the brakes on that idea.

"You sure you want to do this?" Tristan asks. "If you lose, you give up your only star chip." Joey collapses, realizing that Tristan has a point.

"Don't panic, Joey." Fluttershy reassures him. "You can do this. You just have to remember all that Yugi's grandpa taught you."

"I hope you're right, Fluttershy." Joey replies. "This is my first official duel, and I can't afford to get knocked out."

"True, but not everyone here is a pro." Yugi points out. "I'm sure you can find someone on your level."

"I guess I should think about what kind field my cards are best suited for, first." Joey says. "They're mostly warriors and beast-warriors. I guess that makes this meadow region my kind of turf."

"That's right, Joey." Twilight said. "See? You know what you're doing." Soon, the group hears the familiar voice of Mai Valentine telling her first fallen opponent to hand over the star chips she won from him. As the young duelist walks away, defeated and humiliated, she soon spots Yugi and the others.

"Well, look who's here." Mai says.

"Looks like Mai's already won two star chips." Spike said, looking at her dueling gauntlet.

"Hey, Yugi, are your duels going well?" she asks.

"I'm making progress." Yugi replies.

"Well, he did just beat Weevil Underwood and take his title of regional champion." Pinkie pointed out as Mai looks at Yugi's gauntlet.

"Well, guess that match with Weevil really helped you out if you managed to get both his star chips to make an even three." Mai said. "I might be up for another duel myself."

"Take her." Tea whispers to Yugi. "Knock her out of the contest and of the island!"

"You do realize that there are more important things to think about than getting one duelist off the island, right?" Applejack whispers to Tea. "Such as getting the soul of our friend's grandpa back?"

"You know, I definitely in the mood to get more star chips." Mai said at last. "So get ready, because I choose to challenge you, Joey!" Joey and the others were in disbelief. "Do you have the guts to accept?" she asks.

"Guess you heard about my growing skill." Joey said in response.

"Don't flatter yourself." Mai retorted. "I overheard you and Yugi talking on the boat, and I know he gave you the only star chip you have. My motto is, 'take out the weakest players first'. And considering that you wouldn't even be here if Yugi hadn't given you one of his two chip he got when Pegasus invited him, you've got to be the weakest duelist on the island."

"Do you have to be so insulting?" Joey asks.

"This time, she was being truthful." Tea said nonchalantly. "Mai's ruthless. Don't duel her first."

"Tea has a point. If you lose this contest, you're out for good." Spike added.

"Yugi, stand up for Joey. You have to fight her in his place." Tea tells Yugi, but Yugi doesn't go along with it.

"It's Joey's decision to make, not mine." Yugi answered. "Show her what your made of, Joey."

"Right. She thinks I'm a pushover, but she'll see." Joey agrees.

"You can't be serious, Joey." Tristan said.

"I've never been more serious." Joey replies. "Don't you see? This is my chance to prove myself...to show everybody. Don't forget, gramps trained me. I mean, sure, gramps didn't get a chance to finish my training. And granted, I wish I'd had a chance to practice more before getting thrown into a tournament this huge with so many heavy hitters. But honest, I think I can take her."

"We hope you're right, darling." Rarity said. "For your sister's sake."

"We have faith in you, Joey." put in Fluttershy.

"I accept. Let's duel." Joey says.

"Get ready to lose." Mai retorts. Soon, both players take to the field with Joey's friends cheering him on.

"Yugi, do you really think Joey can win this?" Rainbow asks.

"He'll do fine." Yugi answers.

"Since you only have one measly star chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you." Mai says as she takes one of her star chips out of her gauntlet. Joey does so as well, thinking that the meadow region will give him a field advantage. However, his calm attitude changes when he sees that most of the terrain on the field isn't meadow.

"Oh no! What are all those mountains doing on your half of the field?" Joey asks in shock.

"The field we're battling on is 40% forest, 40% mountain, and the last 20% is meadow." Mai explains. "So deal with it or surrender."

"Just calm down, Joey." Fluttershy calls out. "You'll be just fine because your monsters will still get a Field Power Bonus from the meadow."

"Right." Joey replies. "Listen, Mai, not for nothing, but I gotta ask you one question before we duel." Mai is puzzled by what Joey says. "Why did you decide to take part in this tournament? Tell me, Mai, why is it you duel?" Joey asks.

"Why do I duel? For all the comforts that I crave: designer clothes, travel perks--anything to avoid real work." Mai explains. "Hot cars turbo charged for living large."

"So that's why you want the prize money?" Joey asks. "Some would call that selfish."

"How dare you try and judge me!" Mai angrily responds. "Who do you think you are, you pathetic little punk?"

"Hey, you're only dueling for things that can be replaced." Joey calmly says. "But for your information, two of us are fighting for the people we love."

"You'll show her, Joey." Fluttershy said with confidence. "Show her what it's like to duel from the heart." And so, with both players saying 'Let's duel!', the game is on and Joey's up first.

"So to start the game off, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman." Joey says as he plays said level four monster.

"Smart idea." Spike said. "Normally, Masaki has 1100 attack and defense points, but the 30% Field Power Bonus will bring it's attack and defense points up by 330, bringing it up to a grand total of 1430!"

"Hey, I made my first move!" Joey said with a smile. But soon, Mai starts acting and sounding weird.

"What do you think you're doing?" Joey asks, confused.

"Divining my card." Mai replies. "I have to mystically choose which one of them is the best choice." Joey can't believe what he heard.

"What are you, a psychic?" he asks.

"Mai, a psychic?" Twilight ponders. "That just can't be."

"And the best card would be...this one. The Harpie Lady!" Mai says as she picks one of her facedown cards. In moments, the level four Harpie Lady appears, sporting wings and 1300 attack points. "And just like your samurai, her strength is boosted by the mountain region's Field Power Bonus." she adds.

"Great, the first monster Mai calls out and it's already more powerful than Joey's!" Rainbow says. "1690 is enough power to slice deep into Joey's life points."

"I'll still take it on. Attack!" Joey calls out as Masaki charges.

"Joey, wait!" Yugi calls. "Land monsters are at a disadvantage against flying monsters!" This is proved all too true when the Harpie Lady takes to the sky.

"Since she has wings, the Harpie Lady has a big advantage over monsters that don't, such as your samurai." Spike adds. "And worse yet, since the Harpie Lady can fly, Masaki loses his Field Power Bonus!"

"So Joey blew it already?" Tea asked.

"No, but he attacked too soon--before he thought about what that Harpie was capable of." Yugi explained as the Harpie Lady swipes at Masaki and destroys it.

"My samurai's sushi!" Joey says as his life points drop to 1410.

"Oh, cards, speak to me!" Mai says aloud. "And I'll choose again without looking." she adds as she slides her next card into her spell and trap zone.

"How's she doing that?" Joey wonders.

"I think he's starting to lose his cool." Rainbow said.

"Guess he really wasn't ready or a tournament like this, or a duel like the one he's in." put in Tristan.

"Joey, think about you're next move." Fluttershy said, but Joey is still trying to wrap his head around how Mai can tell what her cards are when they're facedown. As for Mai, she notices that her card trick is making Joey forget everything he ever knew about Duel Monsters. Soon, Joey picks his next card.

"Maybe this one will work better, Tiger Axe!" Joey says as last as his level four, earth attribute, 1300 attack point beast-warrior appears on the field. "The Field Power Bonus from the meadow should raise its attack power so it can take on the Harpie Lady head to head!" And indeed, Tiger Axe's attack power increases to the same amount as Harpie Lady's.

"That won't work!" Spike called out. "The Harpie Lady still has its wings!"

"Right. Tiger Axe is another handicapped and wingless monster." Mai confirmed as Harpie Lady takes out Tiger Axe, lowering Joey's life points down to 1020, due to Tiger Axe losing it's 30% power boost when battling Harpie Lady.

"It'll take stronger monsters than your land-based wimps to beat my Harpie Lady." Mai says with confidence. "Now I'll play this lovely card without even looking." Mai proceeds to slide another card into her spell and trap zone. "I'll give you a hint. It's an equipment magic card that will help me defeat your next card in one turn."

"Again with all that psychic stuff?" Twilight asked. Joey wondered if Mai could see the cards in his hand, so he decides to set his next monster in defense mode.

"Running scared, huh?" Mai asks as she proceeds to pick up and reveal her facedown. "Well, let me show you my surprise--Cyber Shield, to juice up my Harpie Lady." In no time at all, Harpie Lady's new armor is revealed and it raises her attack points to 2190.

"Aw, man." Spike says with worry. "A Harpie Lady without armor is bad, but a Harpie Lady with magic armor that can increase its attack points by 500 is even worse!" The newly empowered Harpie Lady lands and crushes Joey's defense monster.

"How's she doing that?" Joey wonders again as Mai laughs, enjoying herself enormously.

"This is so much fun." she says aloud. "In case you were wondering, the next card you were thinking of won't work either."

"Mai has ESP, that has to be it!" Joey says in worry. "I'm gonna lose this duel, and the chance to save my sister!"

"Settle down, Joey!" Yugi called. "Remember what my grandpa taught you about how to play Duel Monsters!"

"Don't let her rattle you!" put in Tea. "She's just trying to psyche you out!" Mai had heard enough.

"Stay out of this!" she bellowed. "Your brainless pep talking won't help him overcome the superior power of my Harpie Lady. Don't you guys get it yet? Friendship doesn't win duels, never has and never will. It hasn't helped him, he's defeated, and he knows it."

"That's not true!" Fluttershy retorted.

"No? I beg to differ." Mai responded. "There can be only one champion. On this island and in this game, someone can be your best friend today, and your worst enemy tomorrow. Once the competition forces you to face each other in a duel, where's your friendship then? That's why the only person a duelist can trust is him/herself. I hope your defeat today teaches you that lesson, kid."

"That's it!" Rainbow calls out. "No one messes with my friends and gets away with it! Yugi, bring out that Millennium Puzzle of yours and show her up for the cynical know-it-all that she is!" Right on cue, Yugi's puzzle activates and his more confident half appears.

"Don't listen to her, Joey." Yugi spoke. "We're here to help you, just like you're always there for us." Mai and Joey quickly noticed Yugi's deeper vote of confidence. "Trust me on this, she's trying to divide and conquer. A strategy that's been used for centuries. Believe me, I know." Yugi concluded as the Eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead.

"For some reason, when you get that look in your eye, I believe everything you say." Joey said as he looked at Yugi. But Mai just laughed.

"Do you really think that Yugi wants you to be the grand prize winner?" Mai asked. "He's a duelist too, you know. To win, you'll eventually have to take him on." Joey realizes that Mai was right.

"She's right. We will have to duel for the grand prize." Joey says with awareness, remembering the promise he made to him two days prior and his sister.

"You are a team, Joey." Twilight said. "Even though you may have to win the contest for your sister, you and Yugi can just look forward to a duel between friends, regardless of who wins."

"Twilight's right. Now I have to stop listening to Mai's nonsense and start thinking about how I'm gonna win the game." Joey said to himself. He started thinking about Mai's tactics thus far, knowing that if she's using the divide and conquer strategy, she's not psychic. Then, it hit him. An odd smell he didn't notice when his eyes were open. What it was, was the combined smell of different perfumes, and it was coming from Mai's cards. Joey had finally found out how Mai was mentally getting the best of him, she was clearly cheating.

"Let's go, kid! It's your turn!" Mai called, but Joey was about to bring her plan crashing down.

"That's it!" he declared. "I see right through your little card trick!" Mai was surprised. "You sprayed all your cards with different perfumes!" Joey said. "And by smelling each different scent, you could tell which card was which and pick which ones to play, even though they were facedown! So you didn't have to look at your cards to tell which ones were which, that way you could psyche the other player out!" Mia was in disbelief.

"No way! How could a punk amateur like you see through my aroma strategy?! It's just impossible!" Mai shouted. Soon, the others on the sidelines got a whiff of what Joey and Mai meant

"I smell it, too!" Spike said in disbelief.

"So Mai was cheating the WHOLE TIME?!?" Rainbow asked in fury.

"That is just a DISGRACE to perfume manufacturers ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!" put in Rarity.

"I gotta admit, Mai, you really had me buying into the whole psychic power schtick." Joey said. "I was too freaked out to think things through because of that, but you're not a psychic at all! You're just a big fake!" The whole gang start giving Joey more support.

"Just because you saw through my little psychic act, doesn't mean you're going to be able to defeat me in a duel!" Mai said in anger and frustration.

"I think you're wrong." Joey retorted. "Before, you were winning by confusing me and trying to pit me against my friends, but now my mind is clear. I know who I can trust. All you got left are your cheap tricks, and I'm not falling for them anymore. I'm gonna blast your Harpie Lady out of the sky with a one, two, three, four combo!" Joey proceeded to reveal one of his cards, one of the ones he got on the boat to the island, Baby Dragon. "First, I'll play this!"

"Good card, Joey." Yugi said.

"But what can a Baby Dragon do against a Harpie Lady?" Rainbow asked.

"Let's find out." Twilight answered.

"Baby Dragon in defense mode!" Joey calls out as he plays his card. Mai just laughs.

"That wimpy card is part one of your grand play?" she asked in sarcastic disbelief. "I only wish it was in attack mode and worth some more points so when I devastate you, it would do more damage to your life points. My card will be, Elegant Egotist." Mai proceeds to hold up the card before playing it. "Its magic will make two duplicates of my Harpie Lady, essentially making a whole new monster!" Soon enough, the one Harpie splits into three, to the shock of Joey.

"Harpie Ladies one, two, three!" Mai said with confidence.

"Three Harpies at once?" Rainbow asked.

"I've seen that card in someone else's deck some weeks ago." Spike replied. "That's not just three Harpie Ladies, that's a whole new monster. A level six, wind attribute monster with 1950 attack and 2100 defense called Harpie Lady Sisters!" The others couldn't believe that the name of the monster included the word 'sisters'. "And worse yet, that Field Power Bonus from the mountains increases its attack power to a whopping 2535!"

"It's three times the trouble!" Applejack said in shock.

"Now what?" Tea asks "He was struggling when there was only one!"

"Don't worry, he said he has a four card combo in mind." Twilight said with calm. "He'll bring out the next parts shortly."

"I don't have any card in my hand strong enough to take down three Harpie Lady Sisters!" Joey said with worry.

"Too bad, because I'm going to keep using the magic of Elegant Egotist to bring out more Harpie Lady Sisters again and again each turn!" Mai said with a laugh. "However, while my Harpie Ladies multiply, I can't attack you. So it's your move. Of course, you'll soon be up against an army of Harpies!"

"An army of Harpies? How do I fight of an entire army?" Joey asks himself.

"Don't give up, Joey!" Yugi calls. "Think hard about her strategy thus far. She's been using only one variety of monster and strengthening it with many magic cards. But there's a serious flaw in her plan, Joey."

"She's using magic around one single monster?" Joey ponders. "I guess that means the flaw is that if she's been powering up a Harpie Lady each turn, her deck has mostly magic cards, and her Harpie Lady and its sisters are the only monsters she has!"

"You're right! That's the big flaw, overexposure of one card!" Spike calls out.

"So if I destroy her Harpie Lady Sisters, she might not have anymore monsters left to play!" Joey realizes.

"That's right, Joey!" Yugi calls. "Now, think. What card in your deck will be the next step in your combo and help you win?"

"Which card in my deck? You tell me!" Joey asks. But then he remembers on the boat ride a card that Yugi gave him, the Time Wizard. Realizing that this is the kind of tight spot Yugi was referring to the night before, Joey thinks about how to use it and looks in his hand to see if he has it.

"If I had known how long it was going to take you to make a move, I would've brought a magazine." Mai says, clearly annoyed.

"Uh oh. The Time Wizard's not in my hand!" Joey says as he realizes that the card he needs isn't in his hand. "I'll have to draw for it. But what if I don't get it?"

"Trust in yourself and in the Heart of the Cards, Joey." Twilight tells him. "That helped Yugi, and it'll help you, too."

"Here I go. It's all or nothing!" Joey says, worried about not getting the card he needs. Joey draws, and the card he gets, is just what he needed. "Alright! It's the Time Wizard!" Joey calls out as he plays said monster, puzzling Mai.

"What good is that thing?" Mai asks, puzzled.

"Don't you know? The Time Wizard can make time go faster, causing my Baby Dragon to grow up into something much better!" Joey explained.

"Right, Joey." Yugi concurred. "And that's not the only effect your Time Wizard will have once you play the next card that I know you're going to play next."

"That's part two of my combo, and here's part three! Polymerization!" Joey calls out as he proceeds to activate his card, fusing Time Wizard and Baby Dragon together, creating the mighty Thousand Dragon. But Mai isn't impressed.

"So now you have a bigger dragon, big deal! My Harpie Lady Sisters still have greater attack power from the Field Power Bonus they get from the mountains." Mai said. "Attack it, my Harpie Sisters!" However, the Harpie Lady Sisters have changed, for the worse, as they've grown older and more grey, shocking Mai.

"What?! What happened to my Harpie Lady Sisters?!" Mai asks in shock. "They've gotten so old!"

"And weaker!" Spike adds. "Their attack power dropped to 1300!"

"I warned you." Yugi says to Mai with a chuckle. "Thanks to the Time Wizard's magic being fused with the Baby Dragon to form Thousand Dragon, a millennium has passed on the battlefield and your Harpie Lady Sisters have become old and decrepit. Face it, Mai, time's running out for you and your ladies!" Mai panics, realizing that she's about to lose.

"I believed, and the cards came through for me!" Joey said in awareness, now knowing that the Heart of the Cards pulled him through. "Awesome! Go, Thousand Dragon! Attack with Inferno Flame Breath!" he calls out. In an instant, the Harpie Lady Sisters are turned into three piles of ashes and Mai's life points drop straight to zero. All of Joey's friends celebrate Joey's first major league dueling win, and he thanks them.

"How?" Mai wonders aloud. "How could I ever lose, to such an amateur?"

"Hey, Mai!" Joey calls. "I tried to tell you, there's more to Duel Monsters than just kicking the other guy's butt. If you're ever gonna be a real champion, you gotta learn to care about someone and be willing to fight for that someone, other than yourself. Isn't that right, Yugi? Girls?" Yugi agrees as he turns back to normal, and Twilight and the others also agree.

"We're all proud of you, Joey." Twilight said. "All your hard work and training paid off. You went from nothing but a guy with eagerness and attitude, to a winning duelist who battles with his head. And his heart."