It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot. On a day as beautiful as this, you’d expect for every pony to be hanging out with their friends and getting ready for this year’s Summer Sun Celebration. While many ponies were, there was at least one pony, a lavender unicorn, that wasn’t. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, one of the land’s upper crust and student to the ruler of the land, Princess Celestia herself. She was spending the day reading a book she had assigned for herself to read. An old ponies’s tale on two royal sisters that have been believed to have ruled the land long ago.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hmm... Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before... but where?” Twilight wondered as she looked over that last part of the book once more. Twilight was a very well-read unicorn, and wasn’t easy to forget matters related to her studies. The same went for things she read for fun. However, she was still stumped on what the Elements were. Perhaps it was because she only read about it in passing before. But where should she look to begin looking for the answer?
Deciding to investigate further, Twilight stood up, putting the book on the Tale of Two Sisters into her saddlebag and putting said bag onto her back using her purple magical aura. Ready to return home to look for her answers, Twilight took a somewhat leisurely stroll back to her room.
“This is so curious…If what this book says is true, then the royal sisters that used to rule our land eventually stopped ruling together over a simple disagreement. Strange. Ponies I’ve met don’t get mad at each other that easily. I mean, my brothers and I rarely if ever get into a serious fight. I wonder…”
Twilight was suddenly drawn away from her thoughts by a friend of hers. Make that three. “There you are, Twilight! Moon Dancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?” Twinkleshine, a white unicorn with pink hair, asked as she and two other unicorns, Lemon Hearts, and Minuette looked at Twilight with anticipation.
“Oh, sorry, girls... I've got a lot of studying to catch up on,” Twilight politely rejected the offer before running off. After all, this could be an amazing breakthrough. Besides, while they considered her a friend, she…was fine with them, but didn’t think she needed to waste her time on trivial matters.
Twinkleshine sighed with some annoyance, having expected this but still disappointed Twilight was unwilling to break from her books even before a holiday. “Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends.”
“I know I've heard of the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight tried to remember the book she read the name in. One pony she ran by, another acquaintance named Lyra, with a green coat and green and white hair, waved at her, but Twilight didn’t take time to respond.
Eventually, Twilight began to reach her home, particularly her study atop an ivory tower. On the other side of the door was a purple dragon with green spines and belly. He had a strange device on his left wrist that had forty brown backed cards. He also was holding a red box, planning on going to Moon Dancer’s party right now. However, just as he was about to open the door, Twilight slammed the door open, knocking Spike backward a ways into the room onto the floor. “Ow!”
“Spike! Spi-ike! Spike?” Twilight called, waiting for her assistant and younger brother to show up. However, after turning her head to in front of her, she found the assistant in question trying to recover from being hit by the door. Spike groaned as he picked himself up, shaken a bit but otherwise okay.
“There you are. Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies,” Twilight commanded, before seeing that Spike’s tail had pierced the gift box. “What's that for?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Well, it was a gift for Moon Dancer, but…,” Spike responded as he picked up the box, with a stuffed animal bear landing with a squeak onto the ground, stuffing falling out as it did so.
“Oh, Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing. Celestia expects us to be ready for a variety of different assignments and I can’t be distracted by anything that could keep me from being ready!” Twilight reminded as she shook her head.
“But we're on a break! You’re supposed to be kicking back and relaxing right now, not wasting time reading even more,” Spike reminded.
“But I love reading!” Twilight said back as she began to levitate a book to read the cover.
“Tell you what? We go and spend some time at Moon Dancer’s party and then we look for your book. I’m sure the Princess will be fine if you don’t respond straight away just once. While we’re there, I bet I can even show you how this Duel Monsters game works,” Spike suggested as he held out his Duel Disk. “It may help you relax. After all-”
“Thanks for the suggestion, but no Spike! Contrary to what you just said, Celestia is bound to be mad if we don’t respond straight away. Now, you can leave and play your card game if you want, but I’m still gonna look for Predictions and Prophecies,” Twilight declined as she looked at more book titles. Spike looked conflicted for a moment before sighing. While he did want to have fun, he didn’t want to leave Twilight alone. So he got up and looked over in the “P” section.
“No, no, no... no, no, no!” Twilight groaned, having looked at the fronts of six more books, but to no avail.
“It's over here!” Spike called out as he held up the book Twilight was looking for. “It was in the “P” section?” Spike teased.
“Oh…,” Twilight blushed in embarrassment. She quickly grabbed the book with her magic, and opened the book, the pages fluttering by faster than a comet. “Thanks, Spike…but you know you can just leave for a while. I can probably handle things from here. Go play your filly’s card game with Moon Dancer and…”
“I will, but not until after you send the Princess your letter. I mean, it’s not like you can get it to her quickly without me,” Spike said, part truthfully and in part to be nice, hoping Twilight would be willing to finally rest after answering whatever question she had.
“Right…Ah! Elements, Elements, E, E, E... Aha!” Twilight found the page that the Elements were talked about on. “Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?” Twilight asked in confusion, the legend of Equestria’s past having come up once more.
“Mare in the Moon? But that's just an old ponies' tale,” Spike reminded as he stood on a nearby ladder, starting to get ready to look for the book if need be.
Twilight began to look over her book once more and found the page in question. “Mare, mare... aha! The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!” Twilight finished with a gasp, realizing that the “myth” could in fact be real after all. And worse, there could be trouble. “Spike! Do you know what this means?”
“No— whoa!” Spike fell off the ladder, fortunately, Twilight used her magic to pick him up before he fell and placed him on the floor.
“Take a note please, to the Princess,” Twilight commanded.
“Okie dokie,” Spike agreed as he got out a quill and paper, writing as Twilight spoke.
“My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!” Twilight began her message.
“Hold on. Preci... preci…,” Spike began to struggle. He knew some of the big words Twilight liked to use, but not all of them.
“Threshold,” Twilight suggested to replace the word.
“Threh…,” Spike struggled once more.
“Uh, brink?” Twilight hoped he’d understand this time. When he didn’t, Twilight groaned. “Ugh, that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twi... light Spar... kle. Got it!” Spike finished the letter with no further difficulties.
“Great! Now send it, Spike,” Twilight said.
“Uh…,” Spike looked conflicted for a moment.
“Spike, is everything okay?” Twilight asked with concern.
“I am. It’s just…remember that Princess Celestia's a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. And it's like, the day after tomorrow. I doubt that…,” Spike explained himself.
“That's just it, Spike. The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away! We can’t waste any more time if we wish to save Equestria!” Twilight pointed out.
“Wait…Impera... impera…,” Spike was confused once more.
“Important!” Twilight grumbled in frustration, sending Spike back into some books.
“Whoa! Okay, okay!” Spike got himself out of the books and then blew fire onto the parchment, fire engulfing the page as it was magically sent over to the Princess. “There, it's on its way. But I wouldn't hold your breath...I mean, the myth could be real but it also couldn’t be.”
“Oh, I'm not worried, Spike. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me,” Twilight said over confidently. Almost immediately, Spike burped up a letter and a small brown box.
“See? I knew she would want to take immediate action,” Twilight said, confident in what the Princess’s response would be.
“Maybe. Wonder what’s in the box?” Spike asked Twilight.
“Probably some detailed instructions on how to defeat Nightmare Moon,” Twilight guessed.
“Well, let’s see what it is…,” Spike opened the box, seeing a device like the one Spike had, but bigger, and a Deck of cards. “Hey! I didn’t know that this game was gonna help out with saving Equestria!” Spike laughed in amazement.
“She probably meant to send it to someone else, Spike. She should know we don’t need to waste time on the foal’s card game,” Twilight dismissed the box…only to see Spike look annoyed and a bit sad. “Well, I guess it can be enjoyed by you and other ponies…but I’d rather spend my time on other things. Now…the letter?”
Spike, who appeared to look better after Twilight’s later words, cleared his throat before reading, “‘My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely.’”
“Mm-hm!” Twilight responded as things appeared to be going as expected.
“‘...but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!’” Spike continued, Twilight gasping at the unexpected request. —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later on…Twilight and Spike were being flown by carriage through the sky to a small rural town.
“‘My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!’” Spike read as Twilight groaned over how even her teacher was judging her over not making friends. “‘And to help you with just that, I have sent you a Duel Monsters Deck along with a Duel Disk. My hope is that you make plenty of friends with the help of this game. See you soon. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.’”
“Ugh! Like I need to be told yet again to waste my time on friends?! The Princess especially should know I’m not gonna waste my time on that! I mean, I have her, Spike, and the rest of my family if I want someone to talk to!” Twilight complained.
“Yeah…but look, Twilight. We get to step outside Canterlot for the first time in pretty much forever. By talking to other ponies you can learn more about other experiences that can’t be found in books. And…we can share an interest by playing Duel Monsters together! Won’t that be fun?” Spike asked as Twilight looked annoyed and miserable, not convinced by Spike’s words. “Well…look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?”
In an instant, Twilight began to perk up. “Yes, yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return.”
“Then... when will you make friends, like the Princess said? Or learn more about Duel Monsters?” Spike asked.
“She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends or playing a foal’s game. If you want, you can go off to find a Duelist or two after we’re done with preparations. But for now, focus!” At this time, the pegasus guards had landed their carriage in Ponyville, not far from the center of town. As Twilight and Spike got out, the Royal guards whinnied.
“Thank you, sirs,” Twilight thanked the guards as they huffed up in pride. As they flew away, Twilight began to return to her task. “So…where to first?” Twilight asked.
“That was quick. You didn’t even talk to anypony else yet,” Spike noted.
“I don’t need to talk to anyone else other than the ponies that have to do work for the Summer Sun Celebration,” Twilight reminded.
“Maybe…but the Princess did want you to kick back a bit. Heck, I doubt the princess will be happy if she found out you didn’t even put your Duel Disk on, ya know,” Spike noted as he got out the disk and put it on Twilight’s left forehoof. “So, how do ya feel?”
“Like I’m wasting time?” Twilight asked lamely.
Spike sighed for a moment before responding, “But, like I said, maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about,” Spike suggested as a pink earth pony with wild hair began to approach with a playful skip and a smile on her face, stopping right in front of them. “Come on, Twilight, just try!”
“Uh... hello?” Twilight asked kindly yet awkwardly. Suddenly, the pink pony gave a prolonged gasp before rushing off, not even touching the ground first. “Well, that was interesting all right,” Twilight snarked, Spike sighing over the fact that the first encounter with a local didn’t help Twilight.
Still, not wanting to give up, Spike said, “Well, since we have a bit to walk, mind if I give out some game rules for Duel Monsters?” Spike suggested.
“Uh…no?” Twilight responded, not wanting to be rude but not wanting to hear about the game.
“C’mon it’s easy! When you start the game, you begin with 4000 Life Points for you and your opponent. You draw a starting hand of five cards, and then…” Spike began, wanting for Twilight to give the game and friendship a chance. Twilight, though, wasn’t looking convinced…at least not yet.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day wasn’t as bad as Twilight thought it would be. I may have, in fact, been worse! Against her wishes, she was forced to spend most of the remaining day interacting with the four Ponyville residents that were necessary to speak with about the Summer Sun Celebration plans.

Her first task was to speak to an apple farmer named Applejack. She was supposed to handle the food for the celebration, and she had a large amount of delectable apple food that it seems she and her gargantuan family baked. However, she was guilted into spending time with them she’d rather have spent studying.

Next up, she literally crashed into a lazy blue pegasus named Rainbow Dash. After dealing with Rainbow messing up her hair after a failed attempt at cleaning it and both the pegasus and Spike laughing at her, Twilight was able to confirm that she was supposed to keep the skies clear. Apparently, she wanted to join the Wonderbolts, the greatest flying stunt group, and part time military, in all of Equestria. Fortunately, Twilight was able to trick her into doing her job by chipping at her apparent ego. She was able to get her job done very quickly, ten seconds flat at that, much to Twilight’s apparent surprise.

Third on the list was to check on the decorations. Inside of town hall, where the Celebration would take place, she found a white unicorn with an eye for design named Rarity. The decorations were all looking spectacular and it seemed she would be able to be in and out at last…until Rarity noticed Twilight’s hair and took the intellectual unicorn to her home/boutique to give her a makeover. Twilight was put in many outfits before Rarity finally asked where Twilight was from. However, upon answering she was from Canterlot, Rarity got excited and admitted she desired to set up a boutique in Canterlot one day. Twilight eventually bolted when Rarity left to get rubies, having to drag Spike with her to get her to go. Apparently, Spike now had a crush on the fashionable unicorn.

Finally, she needed to check up on the music. Rather than be played on instruments, the music for the Celebration would be sung by a myriad of birds with beautiful singing voices that were friends with a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. True to her name, though, she was quick to shut down when Twilight approached. However, when Fluttershy saw Spike, she was quick to light up and lose all her timidity, talking with Spike for minutes upon minutes about Spike’s life as Twilight dragged Spike and herself to the library at last. Still, to end the current conversation, Twilight had to lie about Spike’s condition and slammed the door shut.
Granted the ponies themselves seemed to be fine, but still it was annoying that she was being held from saving Equestria due to these ponies wanting to be her friend. She didn’t need friends! She needed to find more information on the Elements of Harmony! Fortunately, after hours wasted on being forced to make friends, she finally could study and learn what she needed to keep Equestria safe…or so she thought.
“Huh. Rude much?” Spike questioned as he and Twilight spoke in the dark main room of the library.
“Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?” Twilight asked as the lights suddenly turned on, revealing that many ponies from around town were inside of the library to surprise Twilight.
Noises erupting as the ponies cheered, “Surprise!” A kazoo noise played for a few seconds as Twilight groaned miserably and in annoyance at the unexpected intrusion.
“Surprise!” One pony cheered as she approached Twilight. She was the same pink pony from earlier that day. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?” Pinkie innocently got into Twilight’s face as she asked for confirmation.
“Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet,” Twilight grumbled.
Pinkie seemed to fail to notice Twilight’s sarcasm and continued. “Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all gasp, remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!” Pinkie explained herself. Around this point, Twilight groaned as she tried to walk away and ignore the pink pony only for the mare to follow Twilight. “And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went gasp! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See?” Around this point, Twilight decided to try and at least drink something before trying to do something about that party, pouring a bottle’s contents into a cup without looking at it. In addition, the four ponies from earlier that day had gathered around Pinkie as she finished her long paragraph by saying, “And now you have lots and lots of friends!”
Twilight’s eye opened in shock as her face began to turn red…but not just from the news of having friends she didn’t want.
“Are you all right, sugarcube?” Applejack asked in concern as she noticed Twilight was now breaking out into sweats and her eyes were watering. Finally, she lit on fire before she began to run away up the stairs to drink a bunch of water from the bathroom sink.
“Aww, she's so happy she's crying!” Pinkie cheered, not getting that Twilight wasn’t happy.
Spike took a look over at the bottle Twilight got her ‘drink’ from and saw that it was a bottle of, "Hot sauce".
“Ooh... ,” Pinkie cheerfully snacked on a cupcake that happened to have the sauce be poured onto it. Unlike with Twilight, she was unfazed by the sauce. With her mouth full, she responded, “What? It's good!”
“Should one of us check on her? I mean…she could be needing our help right now seeing how she reacted to the sauce,” Fluttershy meekly suggested before withdrawing once more.
“I dunno, darling. I mean, she could need a moment to herself after such a long day. She can join us in a little bit, right…Spike was it?” Rarity questioned.
“Yes, most beautiful one…,” Spike dreamily said before noticing the ponies look at him weirdly. Realizing what he had just said, he course corrected, “I can try and convince her, but she may not want to be a part of the party at all if she can help it,” Spike shook his head.
“Aw, why not? I mean, parties like this would make any pony happy! Even Fluttershy here I’ve seen open up a bit when she comes to one of my parties!” Pinkie noted.
“Well…not every pony is the same. There’s bound ta be some out der that’ll not like a good party. But…seein’ how nice this Twilight was, ah doubt she’ll be gone forever,” Applejack noted.
“Fair point. But maybe not…if what Spike said was true. I’m gonna go grab her and bring her back down!” Rainbow began to be ready to speed off…only for Applejack to lasso her before she could leave.
“No forcin’ her into this here, Rainbow! She should wanna be a part o’ this party, not be forced into it!” Applejack warned.
“Yeah, but she can’t enjoy it if she isn’t here, right?” Rainbow pointed out.
“Yep! Just like I thought, Rainbow Dash! When she comes back, we should show her an activity she’ll enjoy! Ooh! And I think I know just the one!” Pinkie remembered something as she got out a familiar looking device from nowhere.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight, by this point, had finally managed to drink enough water to lessen the heat from the sauce. She had just left the bathroom when Pinkie Pie had shown up and freaked out the unicorn mare once more.

“Hello there, miss…,” Pinkie asked.

“Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight answered, in confusion.

“Twilight! That’s a cool name! Well, not the coolest out there. Rainbow has a cooler name if you ask me, but being named after a time of day must be quite the story to be associated with your name, right? Anyway…,” Pinkie was about to go out on another tangent when Twilight interrupted.

“So…what do you need? I kinda need to study something and I don’t have all day,” Twilight honestly answered.

“Well that’s silly! We have hours upon hours upon hours left before the Summer Sun Celebration to begin! I’m sure whatever it is you need to study can wait until Princess Celestia comes and raises the sun up at this year’s Celebration! Anyway, I’d like for you to come with me! I have a surprise for you!” Pinkie innocently said as she grabbed Twilight’s right forehoove and dragged her back to where the party was.

“So…what is it that you wanted to show me?” Twilight questioned the pink mare.

“Well, I saw that you must be a Duelist since you and your dragon pal have Duel Disks on your wrists. So… I figured you’d enjoy this party more if we played a simple game of Duel Monsters!” Pinkie cheered as confetti popped up from behind the pink mare.

“Thanks, but no thanks. There’s a misunderstanding. I may have a Duel Disk and Deck, but I am not a Duelist. I just want to go upstairs to relax and study a bit,” Twilight tried to get out of Dueling.

“Kinda figured it would turn out this way, girls. Twilight just is too obsessed with her studies to wanna play,” Spike shook his head.

“You say that as if it’s a problem Spike, but it isn’t. I just am busy is all and the last thing I need is to be distracted,” Twilight answered, annoyed but still trying to be polite.

“Well…maybe you just need to see a Duel in order to enjoy the game! It’s a lot of fun, ya know! Now…all I need is an opponent to Duel against. Hmm…eeny meeny miney…you,” Pinkie pointed at Spike as she said you, surprising the young dragon.

“Wait…you want me to Duel?” Spike asked with confusion.

“Of course, silly! You’re a Duelist and I’ve never taken you on before, so why not Duel each other?!” Pinkie answered as she turned on her Duel Disk for a Duel. “That makes sense, right?”

“Uh…,” Twilight was uncertain how to get her point across without being mean.

“And I’m out,” Rainbow shook her head as she was about to leave…only for Pinkie to suddenly pop up to where Rainbow was.

“Where ya headed?” Pinkie asked curiously.

“Away from this egghead game I obviously don’t care for?” Rainbow snarked.

“Aw, Dashie! It’s just a game of Duel monsters…,” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie Pie is right, Rainbow. I may not have played the game much myself, but I’ve seen from experience that it is indeed quite a bit of fun. Same with Twilight here, maybe you shouldn’t knock the game before one tries it,” Rarity noted.

“Agreed…though if they don’t want to we shouldn’t force them,” Applejack said.
“Okay…But maybe the two of them just need to watch for a little bit. Please…just one time and I promise to stop bothering you two over this game,” Pinkie made a sad face, which eventually got Twilight to feel guilty and Rainbow to sigh.
“Fine…but don’t be offended if I leave to eat some cupcakes,” Rainbow begrudgingly agreed.
“Woohoo!” Pinkie cheered.
“I’ll watch a bit of it, I guess…,” Twilight agreed reluctantly. “Just don’t bother me about the game anymore if I don’t enjoy it.”
“Oh, you probably will and we can duel each other and so many other ponies and have fun and-,” Pinkie began to ramble.
“Uh…let’s get to the Duel while Twilight is willing to watch,” Spike interrupted, shaking Pinkie’s foreleg.
“Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie agreed. “Now…”
“Let’s Duel!” Both the pony and dragon yelled out.
Pinkie Pie 4000 LP
Spike 4000 LP
“I’ll make the first move! I draw and summon to my field Mirage Dragon in attack mode (Mirage Dragon Attack 1600 LVL 4)! I end my turn with two facedowns. Your move, Pinkie Pie,” Spike made a simple move.
“Okay! I draw! I summon my pretty pal Performapal Frienddonkey (Performapal Frienddonkey Attack 1600 LVL 3)! And with his ability…he allows me to summon yet another cuddly co-star from my hand! So…say hello to Performapal Silver Claw (Performapal Silver Claw Attack 1800 LVL 4)!” Pinkie cheered.
“Wait…a chained wolf with sharp claws?! That’s so ama-er…boring and so not cool,” Rainbow lied.
“Are ya sure? Ya seemed to be happy fer a moment there, Rainbow,” Applejack noted.
“I’m sure! Wait…if you can hold more than a single card in your hand, why didn’t Spike bring out more monsters like Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow was confused.
“Well, you see, Rainbow, a Duelist can only Normally summon once per turn. However, you can still use a Special Summon in order to bring out more monsters like Pinkie did,” Rarity explained.
“Uh huh…,” Spike nodded dreamily for a moment before snapping out of it. “So, what’s your next move, Pinkie?”
“Simple. I’ll play the spell card Smile World! With it, all monsters out gain 100 points for every monster out (Frienddonkey->1900/Silver Claw->2100/Mirage Dragon->1900)!” Pinkie played.
“A…spell?” Rainbow was confused once more.
“I heard Spike say something about it…it’s not just about Dueling with monsters. The game also allows for one to use spells and traps in order to help benefit the Duelist and their monsters throughout the game,” Twilight said, curious but not truly invested.
“Uh huh! And now…I play the spell Performance Bash!” Pinkie played a spell that showed Odd Eyes, Cheer Mole, Silver Claw, and Camellump near a table with chips, cake, and punch. “Now…Silver Claw! Attack and wipe out Mirage Dragon!”
“Good move, Pinkie! But…not good enough! I play my trap card Mirror Force! With it, all attack position monsters you control are destroyed when you attack! So…say goodbye to your monsters!” Spike countered.
“Nu uh! See, Performance Bash prevents my monsters from being destroyed this turn if my monster’s Attack Points are higher than their original total! Continue your attack Silver Claw! Oh, and there’s more! All Performapals I have out gain 300 more Attack Points this turn when Silver Claw pounces(Frienddonkey->2200 Attack/Silver Claw->2400 Attack)!” Pinkie countered.
“I play my facedown Dragonic Barrier!” Spike countered with a trap that showed Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon surrounded by a blue force field. “With it, my dragons are safe from being destroyed this move in exchange for his Attack being reduced by 800 this turn (Mirage Dragon->1100 Attack) (Spike-2700 LP)!”
“Not a bad move, Spike! But my turn isn’t over yet! Now Frienddonkey will attack (Spike-1600 LP)! And with that, I end my turn. And with it, my costars now all return to their original points. Your move, Spike!” Pinkie Pie said chipperly.
“My move then. I play the monster Spear Dragon! When he attacks, he deals piercing damage in exchange for being switched to defense mode after the attack!” Spike explained.
“Uh…Spike? You do know my monsters are both in Attack mode, right?” Pinkie reminded.
“Maybe…but it won’t matter after this! I Overlay my Mirage Dragon with my Spear Dragon in order to Xyz summon!” Spike cried out as the two monsters formed into a yellow and green light that merged in a galaxy spiral. “Cloaked in shadows and relentless in its objective, I call upon the most dangerous of dragons! Behold! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon( Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon Attack 2500 Rank 4)!”

Just about everyone aside from Twilight looked on in awe as they saw the powerful one-of-a kind card hit the field.

“Heavens to betsy!” Applejack was surprised.

“Where did Spike get such an Xyz monster from?” Rarity asked.

“Um…I take it it’s a big deal?” Rainbow asked.

“Kinda…? See, there are three Extra Deck summoning methods. They are Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz. Currently, Fusion is the only one that most ponies have. You have to be very rich and/or powerful to get them,” Fluttershy explained.

“Yikes! Well…he looks coo-okay,” Rainbow backpedaled once more.

“Well…maybe he’s friendly?” Pinkie asked.

“Sadly, no. I play his Special ability! By using one Overlay Unit, Dark Rebellion can halve the power of a monster and increase his own power by that same amount! Power possession!” Spike cried out as a purple orb surrounding Dark Rebellion was absorbed and electricity weakened Silver Claw(900 Attack/3400 Attack)! “And what can be done once can be done again! I’ll use his other unit in order to have him gain half of Silver Claw’s power again (450 Attack/3850 Attack)!” Spike cried out as Fluttershy hid under a nearby table, though the others were too focused on the Duel to care.

“Sweet Celestia! That monster has so many points!” Rarity was in awe.

“Uh huh! And now…he’ll make use of them! Dark Rebellion, attack now with Treason Discharge (Pinkie-600 LP)!” Spike cried out as Pinkie was knocked back a bit. “And with that, I’ll now end my turn with two facedowns. And with it, Dark Rebellion’s power returns to normal (Dark Rebellion-2500 Attack). Your move now, Pinkie!”

“I…think I’ve seen enough for now,” Twilight said as she turned to leave…only for Rainbow to fly in front of her and make a comment.
“You sure? The Duel isn’t over yet, Twilight…and I’d rather be bored with you than bored alone,” Rainbow half-lied.

“But…you have so many other ponies to waste your time with than me. Besides, I have something important to do,” Twilight said truthfully as she tried to leave again, getting the other girls’s attention when Rainbow grabbed Twilight.

“But Twilight…!” Rainbow tried to convince the mare once more…only for Applejack to interrupt.

“Rainbow! I get you are apparently not fully into this game, but y’all shouldn’t force Twilight ta watch if she doesn’t wanna! Just…leave her be fer now,” Applejack said the last part more calmly.

“Fine!” Rainbow begrudgingly released her hold on Twilight and the mare was quick to run off, both grumbling for different reasons.

“At this rate, I’m bound to not get anywhere fast on learning about to the Elements,” Twilight grumbled.

“I just wanted to be nice,” Rainbow grumbled at being treated like the bad guy.

“This Duel has been sweeter than cupcakes filled and covered with chocolate sauce and frosting!” Pinkie salavated for a second before returning her focus to the Duel. “Still winning this
Duel now seems impossible. I mean, I have my main ace in hand, but I can’t summon him. And…even if I did, he doesn’t have enough power to win the game…”

“Does this mean you give up then?” Spike wondered, kinda disappointed.

“Of course not! After all, my next draw can still find a way to turn this around, after all! My move!” Pinkie drew her card. “I drew the spell Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards from my Deck! Here it goes! Draw!” Pinkie drew, seeing her hand, which consisted of Stargazer Magician, Timegazer Magician, Odd Eyes Dragon, and Odd Eyes Power Drainer began to change. While her hand remained the same, the three monsters began to now have green on them, gain these additional effects, and Odd Eyes was now being called Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon. This greatly confused the normally strange pony as she didn’t know what had just happened here. Still, she decided to just roll with the current situation. So, with what felt like a second voice speaking with her, she said, “I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician! We’ll now be having a blast starting now! (1-8)”

“Wait…What in the world is happening? I’ve played a few games before, but Pendulum? That’s new to me,” Rarity noted.

“Maybe it’s new ‘round these parts,” Applejack suggested.

“With the scale set, I can now summon monsters between levels 2 and 7 all at once! Swing far now, Pendulum! Let’s bring victory and joy to all! My monster is ready to swing into action! Turn up the heat dragon with dichromatic eyes, Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon Level 7 Scale 4 Attack 2500)!” Pinkie cried out as an upgraded version of her ace appeared.

“A’ve seen Pinkie summon her dragon before, but not like this,” Applejack noted.

“He also looks kinda different to me, maybe even a b-bit angrier?” Fluttershy stuttered fearfully as she popped out from under the table before returning a second later.

Suddenly, both Spike and Pinkie felt strange. Their chests felt like they were on fire and like breathing was very difficult. Not only that, but there was a different voice from theirs trying to egg them on into fighting even more. Fortunately, both Duelists weren’t looking to hurt anyone and they did their best to avoid listening to the voice.
“Next up, I play my spell card Odd Eyes Power Drainer!” Pinkie cried out as a spell showing Odd Eyes surrounded by a blue and red aura appeared. “With this spell, I can sacrifice my Performapal Frienddonkey in order to give my dragon Attack Points equal to half of his (2500 Attack->3300 Attack)! Now…attack and wipe out Spike’s Dark Rebellion!”
“Not so fast! I play the trap card Sakuretsu Armor! With it, I can destroy your attacking dragon!” Spike countered.
“Fraid not! I play the effect of Timegazer in order to negate a trap effect once this turn since it involves a attacking Pendulum monster!” Pinkie said as Sakuretsu Armor was placed back facedown.
“Well…In that case…I play my set Shrink! With it, I can cut your Odd Eyes’s power by half!” Spike cried out.
“Good try, but you’ll need to do more than that! Stargazer can stop a spell once per turn if the spell was used during battle! So, Odd Eyes keeps all his power! Now…wipe out that Dark Rebellion! Spiral Flame Strike (Spike 1600 LP->800 LP)! And with that, I end my turn! You did very good, Spike. But…I’m afraid this game is mine. Still, it was a ton of fun and I look forward to our next Duel,” Pinkie said good-naturedly.
“Thanks…but no thanks. I have a plan in order to turn this game in my favor! I draw! First…I play the spell card Card of Demise! With it, I can draw until I have five cards in hand! But…in a few turn’s time, I’ll have to ditch my hand! Next up, I play my spell card Monster Reborn in order to bring back my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (Dark Rebellion Attack 2500 Rank 4)! Next, I’ll play my spell Shrink in order to cut your dragon’s power in half! Spike cried out as a magnifying glass appeared over Odd Eyes.
“Not happening, I’m afraid! I banish my Performance Bash in my graveyard in order to prevent my dragon from losing power for the rest of this turn!” Pinkie countered.
“Good move, but not good enough! I summon to my field Red Eyes Retro Dragon (Red Eyes Retro Dragon Level 4 Attack 1700)! Then…I play my spell card Polymerization! With it, I can fuse both of my Dark Attribute Dragons and together they will bring the most toxic monster ever seen! I Fusion Summon! The vicious, voracious, and venomous Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (Starving Venom Fusion Dragon Level 8 Attack 2800)!” Spike cried out as the dragon roared, scaring many of the unlooking ponies, especially the hiding Fluttershy.
“C-Cool dragon! He’s big and scary for sure! But I don’t think he’ll win yout the Duel with only 2800 Attack, Spike,” Pinkie pointed out.
“Not unless I use his ability! I play Starving Venom’s effect! Once a turn, if fusion summoned using monsters on the field, he can gain the power of all Special Summoned monsters my opponent has out (Starving Venom 2800->6100 Attack)! Not only that, but he can gain the power of the other monsters in exchange for sealing them from the opponents for the rest of the move! That won’t matter in this case, since I have more than enough power left to win! Starving Venom, wipe out Pinkie’s Odd Eyes and end this Duel!” Spike cried out as his dragon created a strong energy burst that proceeded to wipe out Pinkie’s monster and her remaining Life Points. As Spike panted from exhaustion and smiled at his victory, he looked over and saw that Pinkie was lying down after her loss. “Pinkie! Are you okay?!” Spike asked in concern as he and the other tried to wake her.
“Man! She looks about as wiped out as I am after my stunt practice!” Rainbow noted.
“You think she’ll be all right?” Flutershy asked, concerned.
“Now, don’t worry, girls. This game can be exhausting if intense enough, but right now ah doubt Pinkie is in any serious danger,” Applejack reassured. At this point, Pinkie started to get up. “See? What did ah say?”
“That was…totally amazing!” Pinkie cheered as she hugged Spike. “That was easily the best Duel that I’ve ever been a part of…well, the parts I can remember of it anyway.”
“Wait…you don’t remember everything, darling?” Rarity asked as Pinkie confirmed this with a nod. “What about that Pendulum Summoning? That had to have been memorable seeing as how that appears to be the first one of its kind.”
“Well…I remember part of it…just not where it came from. One moment I was about to lose, the next I have these cool new cards and a voice telling me what to do,” Pinkie revealed.
“That’s…weird,” Rainbow shook her head.
“Not by much, since I did hear a voice like that myself,” Spike admitted.
“That’s…that’s strange…,” Rarity noted.
“Well, now that the scary Duel is over, maybe now you can show us more about how that Pendulum Summon works,” Fluttershy suggested.
“Uh…sorry. I’m drawing a blank here,” Pinkie shook her head.
“You mean ya don’t remember that part at all?!” Applejack was shocked.
“Uh…nopey dopey!” Pinkie answered as the nearby ponies comically fell. “Anyways, Twilight, Dashie, how did you enjoy your first Duel?”
“Um…Pinkie Pie? Twilight left a while ago. She didn’t care for this nerd game and neither did I,” Rainbow bluntly noted.
“Aw man!” Pinkie yelled, disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for the game.
“Ya sure about that, Rainbow? You did almost seem to enjoy it a few moments there,” Applejack teased.
“Yes, I’m sure I didn’t enjoy it!” Rainbow denied enjoying the game.
“As much as I dislike agreeing with Applejack, I do agree with her that you smiled at a few points. I’ve seen ponies lie about liking things in the past, and I can tell that you’re lying about something here,” Rarity said.
“Yeah! You don’t need to worry about enjoying the game, Dashie. Heck, if you’d like, we can Duel right now. Maybe experiencing the game itself will help you to open up and give it a chance,” Pinkie suggested.
“First, the name’s Rainbow Dash. Second, I don’t even have a Deck or Duel Disk, so you have no way to play with me,” Rainbow suggested to get out of playing the game.
“Oh…okie dokie! I understand!” Pinkie said cheerfully.
“Good, so I can go?” Rainbow bluntly said as Applejack and Rarity shook their heads at Rainbow’s tactlessness.
“Go? But what about our Duel?” Pinkie asked with innocent confusion.
“What? But didn’t I say…?” Rainbow asked.
“That all you need to play is a Deck and Duel Disk! Fortunately for you…,” Pinkie grabbed another Duel Disk complete with a Deck from inside her hair. “I always hold a spare Deck on me in case of emergencies! So come on, Dashie! Let’s get our game on!” Pinkie cheered as she placed the Duel Disk on Rainbow’s left forehoof..
“Uh…I just realized that I need to go to the bathroom. I-I’ll be right back,” Rainbow lied as as she zoomed off.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow, to no one’s surprise, did not head to the restroom. Instead, she headed to a cloud outside of the small library and proceeded to think about Pinkie’s offer.

It’s not that she’s never played or didn’t enjoy Dueling. But…To be honest, her feelings toward Duel Monsters were complicated. She could get enjoyment from the game. Heck, she did so just now. Heck, while her understanding of the rules were kinda rusty, she still could remember how to play given time.

No, her reason for not wanting to play the game came down to two things. First, it would ruin her image. Rainbow was an awesome and cool pony, and ponies like her would look nerdy and eggheaded if they were to try and play this game openly. But…that wasn’t the only reason.

Her second reason was…

“So…Rainbow Dash, at last we meet,” A voice rang out from out of nowhere, freaking out the cyan mare.

“AHHH!” Rainbow screamed as she looked around for the source of the voice. After a few moments of looking, she didn’t see the source. She was the only pony out here and within range, so it couldn’t be a pony that spoke. “Okay…Pinkie’s randomness is making me go crazy if I’m hearing voices.

“Actually, you’re not insane, Rainbow Dash,” The voice spoke again as Rainbow looked once more. This time she looked and saw a strange eye appear on her Duel Disk. Said eye was yellow and red. “Perfect! You found me! Now we can get to talk-.”

“Who or what are you?! I’ve seen Duel Disks before, and none of them can speak! What is your deal here?!” Rainbow demanded.

“Looks like you still lack manners, Rainbow Dash. Very well, I’ll tell you my name. My name is-,” The eye began…only for Rainbow to interrupt again.

“Look, I don’t care what your name is! Just…let me forget about Dueling again so that I can be happy again! And the sooner the better!” Rainbow yelled.

“Rude! I was just trying to be civil. But…you know, whatever is bothering you keeping it locked up in you can’t be of use to anyone,” The eye said.

“Whatever! It’s worked before and it will work now! Now just leave me alone so I can be awesome for the Wonderbolts later!” Rainbow demanded.

“But…if you don’t listen to what I have to say, you’ll never remember Theodore or the Lost Incident!” The eye yelled.

At this, Rainbow froze. It had been years since she last heard those names. And, if she could have helped it, she’d rather have never heard them again.

“You lose!”

The Lost Incident carried many painful memories, and not just emotionally.

“You lose!”

It was one thing that she and that other kid would be starved if they didn’t Duel well, but then…

“You lose!”

She could still feel that sensation that was a strong jolt. Even clouds couldn’t zap as hard in her mind.

“You lose!”

And her parents disappearing after all was said and done…

“Rainbow Dash!” The eye yelled once more, shocking Rainbow out of her current state. “Look, I know that things couldn’t have been easy for you. After all-.”

“No, you couldn’t know because you’re just a weird magic eye! You never had to go through what I went through!” Rainbow yelled out.

“But Rainbow…,” The eye pleaded.

“No! I’m sorry, but I’m not going to listen to you if what you need has anything to do with the Lost Incident! So, just scram!” Rainbow demanded.

“...Fine. I suppose I should let you cool off before I continue talking. Just remember, Rainbow, regardless of what you think, you’re not alone,” The eye said as he disappeared from the Duel Disk.

“Finally! I thought he’d never leave!” Rainbow yelled out. However, in spite of what she currently thought, their business was far from over. If anything, it was just about to begin…
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that night…
Twilight was trying to read over the few books she had gotten before she was asked to party by the other ponies. However, the booming of muffled disco music kept her from focusing. In fact, as much as she tried, it even kept her from sleeping.
As the clock was ticking, Twilight lifted her head, which had a pillow on top if it as she tried and failed to block out the noise. As Twilight groaned, the door had unexpectedly opened, with Spike coming in wearing a lamp top on his head.
“Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie's starting "pin the tail on the pony"! Wanna play?” Spike asked.
“No! All the ponies in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!” Twilight yelled in disbelieving frustration.
“It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the Princess raise the sun! You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!” Spike tried to reason as he repositioned the lamp top and left to return to the party, Twilight mockingly imitating him as he left, the door closing right behind him.
As Twilight turned onto her back, positioning her pillow over her stomach, she groaned in frustration, “Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making and Duel Monsters watching has kept me from it! Twilight was getting really mad by this point. The fate of Equestria was at stake and no one but her seemed to care. However, Twilight then turned to see the moon, with the Mare in the Moon on it. There were many stars close to the moon, which appeared to slowly getting closer with each passing minute. In somber worry, she recited, “"Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night." I hope the Princess was right... I hope it really is just an old pony tale…”

At this point, Spike reopened the door and yelled out, “C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s just like it was planned. The many ponies of Ponyville had gathered in town hall to see the Princess raise the sun. Twilight, of course, had stood there with everyone else, even with her many reservations. However, the brainy unicorn wasn’t left alone for long as Pinkie Pie popped up next to her and said, “Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went, gasp but I mean really, who can top that? Well, maybe Spike and I’s Duel. Heck, maybe I can ask the Princess if the two of us can Duel once the sun comes up in order to further celebrate and-.”
“Pinkie…once again, I’m not a Duelist. Find somepony else to play with. Besides, we don’t have time for that kind of nonsense, seeing as-,” Twilight began only to be interrupted by the pink mare.
“Well, maybe you just need to learn! After all, I didn’t start a pro, after all. It took me months to get good enough to Pendulum Summon! I just need to remember how it works and then-,” Pinkie went on another tangent…only to be interrupted by fanfare.
At this point, a gray haired mare named Mayor Mare had appeared from behind the curtains on a higher story of town hall. “Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” As was expected, the townsponies of Ponyville cheered, ready for the following day to begin. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!” Around this point, Twilight looked outside again, seeing that the stars near the moon had gone into the moon, with the Mare in the Moon vanishing shortly after. As Twilight turned back to the celebration, she nervously gulped. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…”
“Ready?” Fluttershy questioned her birds, hoping they were ready to sing.
“...Princess Celestia!” The mayor cried out as the birds sang and Rarity had opened the curtain where the princess was…or at least, was supposed to be.
“Huh?” Rarity looked and was confused by the lack of their noble and loving ruler. The many confused and scared ponies began chattering quietly and nervously in the background, not sure just what was going on.
“This can't be good,” Twilight noted nervously.
“Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!” The mayor tried to calm down and reassure the gathered ponies. Meanwhile, Rarity had gone into the back to look for their beloved ruler.
“Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?” Pinkie guessed.
Rarity had returned, but not with good news. “She's gone!”
“Ooh, she's good,” Pinkie blithely said, unaware of how bad the current situation truly was. Suddenly, the mare yelped as a bunch of purple and blue smoke appeared where the princess was supposed to be, causing all the ponies present to fearfully gasp as the smoke formed a large alicorn shape.
“Oh no... Nightmare Moon!” Much to Twilight’s horror as her brother Spike fainted, Nightmare Moon had returned. She had hoped that, like Celestia said, it was nothing more than an old pony’s tale. However, here she was. As real as could be, and there was no telling what she was going to do now.

“Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces,” Nightmare Moon greeted the ponies of Ponyville spitefully, who were all confused and scared.

“What did you do with our Princess?!” Rainbow Dash demanded as she was about to rush the ancient alicorn, only for Applejack to grab her by the tail.

“Whoa there, Nelly…,” Applejack said, muffled.

Nightmare Moon proceeded to chuckle evilly, “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?”

“Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty—,” Pinkie Pie guessed before Applejack put a snack into Pinkie’s mouth to silence her and avoid enraging the threatening alicorn.

“Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” Nightmare Moon questioned in annoyance as she got close to the terrified Fluttershy. Almost as quickly, Nightmare Moon changed gears and went over to Rarity. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

“I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!” Twilight revealed her knowledge of the threat, causing the ponies present to gasp as they realized who she was.

“You mean to tell me that this is that same jerk that Nightmare Night is centered around?” Rainbow Dash was confused.

“Apparently,” Applejack noted, muffled.

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here,” Nightmare Moon responded to Twilight’s apparent knowledge.

“You're here to... to…,” Twilight gulped as she lost her nerve, remembering that Nightmare Moon was overpowering compared to her.

“Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Nightmare Moon confidently laughed evilly as she summoned a bunch of thunder.

Author's Note

Hello. I decided the best thing to do with my Yugioh stories was to restart them with a different mindset than I initially had. I hope you all enjoy this story. Oh, and if you have any suggestions on what to do in the future, please let me know.