MLP Meets Yu-Gi-Oh Volume 1

Joey is still beaming with pride that he won his second star chip from his first official tournament duel, but some of the others aren't too pleased with Joey's constant crowing.

"Is there a time limit on how long he gets to crow?" Tea asked.

"Come on, Tea." Fluttershy responded. "He has every right to be happy about winning his first official tournament duel. Think about it, before this, Joey was just a beginning duelist with eagerness and attitude. And now he's more confident and knows to fight with both his heart and his head." Soon, Joey's stomach starts growling.

"All that dueling made me hungry. Did any of you guys remember to bring any food with you?" Joey asks. However, none of them did.

"What were we thinking coming here with no food? How are we ever gonna get through the rest of the competition without anything to eat? Especially Yugi and Joey?" Rainbow asks.

"That's a good question, Rainbow." Yugi responds. "All this dueling really takes it out of you, and I haven't seen any burger stands or restaurants since we got here."

"Well, we better do something fast!" Tea said. "I've gotta have my five basic food groups, or else it's metabolic meltdown!"

"Hey, chill out, you guys." Tristan said. "I got it covered." Tristan then pulls out a book. "Check it out...the Great Outdoor Survival Guide." The gang wasn't amused.

"Can we eat it?" Joey asks.

"Better that that, it lists all the plants, roots, berries, and grasses we can eat." Tristan explained. Most of the gang was disgusted with Tristan saying that some grasses and roots were edible.

"Aside from the berries, all those are other options wouldn't be the best ideas for food." Fluttershy says.

"Besides, do any of us look like squirrels, you big doofus?" Joey asks in fury. Suddenly, his nose catches a scent.

"I don't need your dumb book anyhow." Joey said. "I smell something cooking that-a-way." Joey proceeds to run off towards the smell. "See ya!"

"I think I smell what Joey's smelling!" Rainbow said as she rushed off to catch up with Joey.

"They're hallucinating." Tea said nonchalantly.

"Don't be so sure." Spike said. "After all, he didn't use his head to beat Mai. He used his nose." Soon, everyone follows Joey and Rainbow all the way to a cliff overlooking the sea. Once they catch up with them, they spot three fried fish on a stick by a fire.

"Oh, man! I just love barbecued fish." Joey said with a wide, hungry eye.

"Smells good." said Rainbow. "And I bet they taste even better." Soon, Joey and Rainbow rush to the fish.

"Hold on, what makes you think those fish are yours to eat?" Applejack asks, surprised at how rude they were being.

"Hey, trust us. We eat first and ask questions later. Your stomachs'll thank us." Joey replied as he and Rainbow headed for the fish.

"Guys!" Tea called. "Oh, they'll say anything to fill their stomachs."

"Some people have absolutely no self-control." Tristan says, to the surprise of the others, before running off to join them. "Guys, save some for me!" Tea and the others can't believe what they saw while the three hungry friends grab their dinner. However, before they could dig in, someone comes up the cliff and stops them before they take their first bite.

"Enjoy yourselves, you fish thieves. This is your last meal!" the stranger said, clearly unhappy that someone was taking his fish. "How dare you eat my fish, you thieving poachers? Has no one taught manners?" Soon, a wave comes crashing down on the stranger, sending him back over the cliff.

"So, can we eat now?" Rainbow asked as the stranger climbs back up.

"All right, let's try that one more time." the stranger said.

"I knew this was a bad idea." Applejack said, embarrassed.

"How dare you steal my fish, you bottom-feeding thieves?" the stranger asks.

"Hey, chill out, guy. It's just a few fish." Joey says.

"A few fish that do not belong to you, and to steal a fisherman's catch is to prove you have no honor!" the stranger retorts. However, Yugi notices that the stranger has a dueling glove and star chips, proving he's a contestant in the tournament.

"A dueling glove?" Yugi asks to himself. But he soon realizes who the stranger is. "Wait a second! Aren't you Mako Tsunami, the top-ranked ocean duelist?"

"And who might you be?" Mako asks.

"Wait a second, now I recognize your name!" Spike said. "You ARE Mako Tsunami! The duelist of the ocean!"

"I am more than just the duelist of the ocean, I am the duelist extraordinaire of all the seven seas." Mako says to correct him. Suddenly, Rainbow, Spike and Tea start laughing.

"What are you three laughing about?" Mako asks.

"On your head. You have some unwanted company." Tea explains as Mako looks up and sees a squid on his head. He quickly rips the squid off and throws it into the ocean in frustration.

"Off with you!" he calls, but Joey, Tristan and Rainbow are shocked as the squid could've been something they could've eaten.

"Are you telling me that those three are here as duelists?" Mako asks.

"No, just the one in the green jacket and the boy next to me." Twilight responded. "The two guys on the cliff are Joey and Tristan, this is Tea, the girl with Joey and Tristan is one of my friends, Rainbow. And the rest of my friends are Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy. I'm Twilight."

"And I'm Yugi Muto. Sorry about your fish." finishes Yugi. Mako couldn't believe it when he heard Yugi's name.

"You? You're Yugi Muto? The only duelist to ever defeat Seto Kaiba?" asks Mako. "What a fine surprise! It would be my very great honor to face you in a duel."

"Same here, Mako." Yugi responds.

"I must apologize. I've been ungracious." Mako says as he turns to the three hungry ones. "If you are friends of Yugi Muto, please, come sit down. Eat your fill." All three thank him and everyone digs in. Soon, they finish eating.

"Wow, that was good." Joey says.

"Where'd you learn how to cook like that?" Rarity asks.

"I've had to fend for myself since I was a tadpole, but it was my father who taught me how to fish and cook my catches." Mako explained.

"So, what brings you here to the competition?" Yugi asks.

"I was raised on a fishing boat where I learned to love the sea, so if I win here, I would love a vessel of my own." Mako explained. "Of course, I'll have to beat a few duelists first."

"Your own boat?" Tea asks. "How great would that be, living life out on the big blue sea?"

"Yes, the ocean is amazing, and we have shared a special bond since I was born." Mako said. "I can tell when the sea is happy by the way it sparkles...and when it is angry by the shifting tides." Mako realized that he was getting a bit too serious. "Excuse me." he said with a sheepish laugh. "I did not mean to be so serious." But the gang is grateful.

"No need to apologize, since you saved our lives from starvation." Rainbow said. "But we best get going." Everyone soon gets up and prepares to leave.

"Leaving so soon, are you?" Mako asks. Everyone bids Mako farewell, but then, as Yugi suggested they might meet in the competition, it happened.

"We certainly will meet in the competition...sooner than you think, my friend!" Mako says aloud as he picks up his harpoon and tosses just close enough to Yugi to get his attention.

"I treated you to dinner. Perhaps you will honor me with a duel." Mako says with a sly grin.

"You ask Yugi to duel by throwing a harpoon at him?! You must be nuts!" Spike said

"No, Spike, but I am an expert fisherman, and you have clearly taken my bait." Mako says with a laugh.

"What bait?" Tea asks.

"Why, the fish, of course." Mako explains. "I laid it out and lured you all right in. But I never expected to catch Yugi Muto."

"Forget this crazy chicken of the sea, Yugi." Joey says.

"Can't we just catch you a few fish as repayment?" Fluttershy asks.

"I reeled in another duelist a short time ago, but he wasn't a worthy opponent." Mako explains. "But a duel against you, Yugi, would be a true test." Right then and there, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle activates and his more confident half appears.

"Mako Tsunami, I accept your challenge." Yugi says with confidence. As soon as Yugi accepts, a duel arena rises out of the water below the cliffs.

"Behold, Yugi Muto. We shall battle beside the majestic sea." Mako says, just as confident. Both duelists take their positions on the field.

"The playing field is equally split into two halves. One half is land. The other is sea." Mako says.

"And the stakes, Mako?" Yugi asks.

"I wager two star chips on this match." Mako says as he takes two star chips out of his glove.

"Two stars it is." Yugi concurs as he puts his two stars down. Mako is pleased that he found an adversary of real merit, something he waited for for a long time.

"Now, let the battle begin!" Mako calls out. With both players calling out a hardy, 'Let's duel!' they both draw their hands.

"I'm curious to see how you will combat my mighty denizens of the deep." Mako says as he plays his first card, but when it appears on the field, it appears under the water on Mako's half of the field.

"His creature is underwater." Twilight says in surprise.

"How do I choose which card to play when I can't even see what I'm fighting?" Yugi asks himself. None of the spectators on the sidelines like this one bit.

"The ocean conceals many things beneath its shifting surface." Mako says.

"As long as that thing stays submerged, Yugi can't attack!" Spike says in shock.

"I promise he won't stay submerged for very long." Mako replies. Yugi knows that since he has no idea what monster Mako played, he'd have to prepare for the worst with as strong a defense as possible. Mako notices that this duel is Yugi's first encounter with sea-based duel monsters, but knows that he will learn firsthand what a powerful ally the ocean can be, because he knows that the ocean gives his monsters a Field Power Bonus as well as conceals them, making their stealthy attacks even more lethal.

"How can Yugi possibly fight what he can't see?" Rainbow asks as Mako laughs in triumph.

"It seems that my ocean-based strategy has taken you by surprise, Yugi." Mako says. Yugi knows that Mako's right, but he knows he can still raise a strong defense as he picks his first card to play.

"I call upon the Horn Imp!" Yugi says as he plays his monster.

"Shouldn't have Yugi played the Horn Imp in defense mode since he doesn't know what monster Mako played?" Applejack asks.

"Either he forgot or didn't think that Mako's monster was stronger than 1300 attack points." Spike answered.

"Now, Fiend Kraken...ensnare him!" Mako called out. Soon, Mako's Kraken lunges its tentacles at the Horn Imp, and none of the spectators can believe it.

"Fiend Kraken, end this now!" Mako commands as the Kraken crushes the Horn Imp completely. "Well done, Kraken." he says.

"That was just his opening move, and Mako's already making a great showing!" Twilight said, amazed.

"You're good, Mako. A brilliant opening play." Yugi says, though still shocked.

"I'm pleased you appreciate it, though I very much doubt your imp did." Mako replied as Yugi's life points drop to 1740.

"Wait, if Yugi's life points dropped to 1740, and the Horn Imp had 1300 attack points, that means that Fiend Kraken was 260 points stronger!" said Spike in shock. "I guess that water half of the field increased it's attack power increased to 1560, since it's original attack point count is 1200, from what I remember."

"Well, now I know what I'm up against." Yugi says.

"Yes, the mighty ocean commands respect, as do the creatures that inhabit it." Mako says. Yugi decides to prepare an attack that'll destroy his Fiend Kraken and any other monsters he brings out, even though he can't see them as he picks his next card.

"Feral Imp, in defense mode!" Yugi says aloud as he plays his next card, thinking that it should dispose of Mako's monsters no matter how deep they are.

"I am familiar with your feral monster from your duel with Weevil, and its electrical attack, so for my next card, I play... my giant Jellyfish." Mako says, revealing he saw Yugi's victory over Weevil, and he proceeds to play it face down and in defense mode. Once it appears, it makes a battle cry.

"I don't like the sound of that." Yugi says in response to what he heard as Mako laughs.

"That is the battle cry of my creature." he responds.

"It'll be crying, all right...once I combine my Feral Imp with the magical Horn of the Unicorn!" Yugi retorts as both he switches his Imp to attack mode and the horn appears on the Feral Imp's head, increasing it's attack power to 2000.

"If I'm correct, the Jellyfish monster has 1200 attack points, like the Fiend Kraken, and the water field should increase its attack power to 1560." Spike said. "But with that 700 point boost for the Feral Imp, that puts Yugi at an attack point advantage."

"More than that." Joey said.

"What do you mean, Joey, darling?" Rarity asks.

"Yugi can't see Mako's monsters, but he knows they're all underwater, and water conducts electricity." Joey explained.

"So they're vulnerable to the Feral Imp's electrical attack." Applejack said with dawning awareness. "Now that's a smart idea if I ever heard one!"

"Magic Lightning Attack!" Yugi calls, and it appears that the attack hits something, but on Yugi's screen, Mako's life points don't decrease. The others on the sidelines quickly notice something's not right.

"Your strategy has failed, Yugi!" Mako declared with a laugh as the Jellyfish rises out of the water.

"How?!" Yugi asks in shock.

"As a sea duelist, I am well aware that water conducts electricity, so I played my giant Jellyfish." Mako explained. "It has the magical ability to absorb all electrical attacks, regardless of where they are aimed, protecting all of my ocean creatures." None of Yugi's friends could believe it as the Jellyfish returns to the water.

"And now it's time for my counterattack." Mako said. "Fiend Kraken, crush his Feral Imp!" The Fiend Kraken's tentacles emerge, grab, and completely destroy the Feral Imp. "Did you enjoy my Kraken's embrace?" he asked as Yugi's life points drop again.

"But how?!" Rainbow asked. "Did the Horn of the Unicorn lose its power?"

"My guess, yes." Spike says. "It would explain why Yugi's life points dropped to 1480. That Field Power Bonus stripped away the 700 attack points that the Feral Imp gained thanks to the Horn of the Unicorn." In his player box, Yugi rationalizes that he's never dueled against ocean-based monsters before, and since its his first time doing so, he feels like he's battling both the monsters and the very ocean itself.

"Do any of your cards have the power to stand against my ocean pets?" Mako asks.

"I have the power of Silver Fang." Yugi says as he plays said monster. "And I combine him with magic of the Mystical Moon to double his ferocity!" he adds.

"That just might give Yugi a chance." says Twilight. "The Mystical Moon card gives Silver Fang a 300 point boost!" But Mako isn't impressed.

"Ferocious indeed, but the moon also controls the tides, causing them to rise." Mako says. "Allowing me to unleash my next creature. Arise, mighty Kairyu-Shin!" In no time, a mighty sea serpent rises from the water on Mako's half of the field.

"Whoa, nelly! That is one big fish!" Applejack says in shock and amazement.

"That ain't no ordinary fish, that's a sea serpent known as Kairyu-Shin!" Twlight says, equally in shock and amazement. "It has 1800 attack points to go along with its power level of five. But with the Field Power Bonus from the water, it's attack points just jumped to 2340!"

"Behold the colossal Kairyu-Shin." Mako says. "A creature so enormous, that when he rises up from the ocean depths, he creates his own tidal wave!"

"What a beast!" Yugi says.

"Your wolf is brave, Yugi, but he will not stand before my Kairyu-Shin's Tidal Attack!" Mako says as the water washes away and drowns Silver Fang. "Gone, but my Kairyu-Shin's Tidal Attack did more than just wash your wolf cub away. It considerably altered our playing field!" Yugi looks and sees that most of his half of the field is covered in water.

"My land!" Yugi says in shock.

"Kairyu-Shin nearly wiped out ALL of the land Yugi can play his monsters on!" Rainbow says in disbelief.

"You should consider yourself lucky, Yugi. In my previous duels, when Kairyu-Shin attacks, nothing is left standing in its wake." Mako says. "I think it was quite considerate of my pet to leave you a little patch of dirt for your monsters to stand on, don't you? Or does it make you uneasy being surrounded on all sides by the sea? All men give pause before the savage power of the mighty ocean. Even the greatest of fishermen."

"You mean your father?" Yugi asks.

"My father was a great fisherman, he taught me my love of the sea." Mako explains. "But, one day, the sea, took him." Mako begins to remember the day he father was taken by the sea. "I loved going out on the boat with my father, just the two of us and the big, beautiful ocean. Never suspecting that the sea would turn on us." Mako remembers when a storm blew in that day, and possibly a big one. "And father was right. Suddenly, the calm, friendly sea turned into a raging maelstrom! It pitched our boat as if it were a toy." Mako remembers his father tying him down to the mast as a tidal wave came rushing in. "When the storm finally died out, our little boat had washed ashore. My father was right, I had been perfectly safe. But because he had stopped to tie me down, he had no time to secure himself to the mast! I thought I had lost him forever, but then, I noticed that our lifeboat was missing! I know my father is alive, so I will win this contest, buy a ship, and search the seven seas until I find him! That is why I duel, Yugi. That is why I must win and you must lose!" Some of the spectators were shocked and heartbroken, if not touched, by Mako's story and his reason for being in the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

"Wow." Twilight said in somber. "I never thought that someone would be so dedicated to finding their missing relatives." Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were nearly in tears.

"I take off my hat in respect, Mako." Applejack said as she took off her hat.

"I understand where you're coming from, Mako." Yugi said at last. "Believe me, but I still can't let you win."

"Mako's dueling for his dad like Yugi's dueling for his grandpa." Rainbow said. Yugi realizes that with so little land available to him, he'd have to make his next play count so he could turn the tide of the battle. He then selects his next card.\

"Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode!" Yugi says aloud as the colossal stone warrior appears. "You may have shrunk my battlefield down to an island, Mako, but my stone soldier still gets a Field Power Bonus!"

"Playing the Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode was the best thing Yugi could do." Spike says after recollecting himself from Mako's sad story. "Its defense points boosted up from 2000 to 2600, just what Yugi needs to protect himself."

"Your massive monster can barely fit on that little rock, let alone do battle with my undersea attack force!" Mako says. "And he is surrounded on all sides by the ocean, making him easy prey for--Great White Terror!" Mako plays said monster, and it leads Kairyu-Shin, Jellyfish and Fiend Kraken to surround the Giant Soldier of Stone on all sides.

"This savage shark will lead my other sea creatures in an all-out ocean onslaught!" Mako calls as all four monsters surround the mighty stone warrior.

"I don't like this!" Pinkie said in worry. "The Giant Soldier of Stone is outnumbered 4 to one, and he could end up becoming fish food!"

"Guess Yugi should've gotten a bigger boat." Applejack says to herself.

"This is it, Yugi. It's over, but you played honorably." Mako says, thinking he has the match clinched.

"You have been a fair and noble opponent, too, Mako, But I also duel with the fate of a loved one at stake." Yugi responds, with a look that makes him seem like he has an idea to turn the duel around. "And I can't afford to lose. I switch my stone soldier to attack mode!" Yugi proceeds to switch his monster.

"Attack mode? But why?" Mako asks. "He cannot attack my sea monsters while they're underwater."

"And even if he could, he only has 1690 attack points, HARDLY enough to damage either Kairyu-Shin or Great White Terror!" put in Spike.

"But his target isn't your sea monsters." Yugi explains, puzzling Mako and the others. "I'm having him attack, a card I put on the field myself. The Mystical Moon!"

"No!" Mako said in disbelief.

"Now, Giant Soldier of Stone, destroy the moon!" Yugi commands as the massive warrior pierces and shatters the moon with his sword.

"What's happening?!" Mako asks in shock, and he soon sees what, as does everyone else. "The tide! It's going out!"

"More than that, all the water on Mako's half of the field is draining away!" Twilight says in shock. "But how?"

"As you yourself said before, Mako, it's the moon that controls the ocean's tides. Its ebb, and its flow." Yugi explains. "So I ordered my Giant Soldier of Stone to obliterate the Mystical Moon, causing the ocean's tides to reverse and recede." Mako cannot believe what he sees and hears

"Yugi's stone soldier beached all of Mako's monsters!" Fluttershy says in surprise. "He has no ocean left, and all the monsters lost their Field Power Bonuses!"

"No! My precious fish!" Mako says, meekly.

"And now, I'll deliver the final blow." Yugi says as he plays his next and final cards. "I combine my Curse of Dragon with the magic of the Burning Land card to wipe out your monsters and all of your life points." Soon, Curse of Dragon appears.

"It's deja-vu, like what happened to Weevil's forest field after he played the Cocoon of Evolution in Yugi's last duel!" Spike says with a smile.

"Burning Land Attack!" Yugi calls as all of Mako's fish are burned alive. "And that takes your life points down to zero." Mako cannot believe what happened as Yugi's friends celebrate.

"Destroying your own Mystical Moon was a brilliant and unexpected move, Yugi." Mako says in sadness, but he soon cheers up. "What a grand duel. I salute you, my friend!"

"This victory was not easily won, Mako. You're a great duelist yourself!" Yugi responds. Later, Mako is back on the cliff with the others.

"I am down to one star chip, but I will start over again." Mako says with determination.

"And I bet you'll do fine." Yugi responds.

"You'd win that wager." Mako says happily as the two shake.

"You know, I can't hep but like Mako." Rarity says with a smile. "He's such a nice guy, and the fact that he fights for his father reminds me of Yugi a lot."

"I hope he finds him one day." put in Fluttershy. Soon, Mako's stomach starts growling.

"My friend, dueling you is hungry work." Mako says with a laugh as he dives back into the ocean and swims out to catch his next meal. "Time for Mako to fish again! Farewell!" Everyone watches as Mako swims away.

"He is a nice guy, but I wish he had left us some fish for the trail." Rainbow says.

"I'd have to duel him again." Yugi says, and everyone laughs at the comment.

"Forget about it." Joey says. "But guys, I am getting seriously hungry."

"Not a problem, we've still got my Great Outdoors Survival Guide, and I have a feeling there might be some berry bushes around this island." Tristan says.

"Go ahead, Tristan, find all the blackberries you'd like." Spike says jokingly as the group heads on and laughs.