The competition quickly got underway, and Spike was eager for his first duel, more so to try out the new Duel Arenas. They were set up all over Ponyville, and it soon became clear as to what made them so incredible!

Thanks to mystechnology utilizing Illusion magick combined with some creative Enchantments, duels could be played with 3-Dimensional illusions of Duel Monsters cards, so everyone could literally see their creatures and cards virtually come to life and do battle with one another.

Spike wished he could watch some duels but he was eager to start dueling himself, so he looked around for his first opponent.

“Hey there, Spike!” The young dragon turned around to see Button Mash, giving him a challenging look.
“You up for a little duel…?”

Spike smirked and said, “Well, if you insist…”

They found a dueling arena not in use by the schoolhouse, so their spectators were mostly Button Mash’s schoolmates.

The Cutie-Mark Crusaders were all there, feeling torn between wanting to cheer for their friend Spike and their fellow crusader, Button Mash. all except for Sweetie Belle, that is.

“Go on, Button! You can do it!” Sweetie Belle cheered and Button smiled with a bashful blush before he set down his deck and put up his badge.

“Alrighty, Spike, let’s get this duel on the road!”

“Like you even need to ask,” Spike agreed as he set down his own deck and badge as well.

They each drew their first hands as their Life Point counters set to 4000 points before they both said, “Let’s duel!”

“Since I’m the challenger, I’ll go first!” Button drew his first card before considering his hand and then deciding his first move.
“I’ll start… by summoning Geo Soldier of Earth, in Defense mode!”

Appearing on Button’s side of the field was an illusion of a Geo Pony warrior clad in stone and crystal armor, a large shield held in front, boasting 1300 ATK and 2000 DEF.

“Next, I’ll place one card facedown, and I end my turn,” said Button, having played his cards and now looked to his opponent with anticipation.
“Your move, Spike!”

“Alright, here we go. Draw!” Spike drew his card and regarded his hand, Button’s Geo Soldier of Earth has a strong defense, and nothing in my hand can break through. I’ll have to build my own defenses until I’m ready to take him down…

“I’ll summon Guardian Dragon of the Castle, in attack mode!” Spike declared as he summoned a dragon monster with 1400 ATK and 1200 DEF. It was blue with large jaws and its arms doubled as its wings. It looked kind of cute but still plenty ferocious.
“And I’ll set a card facedown too, and that ends my turn.”

“Why’d Spike summon his monster in attack mode?” asked Scootaloo. “It’s not strong enough to take down Button’s Geo Soldier.”

“Spike knows that, which is why he’s trying to draw Button out of defense and into attacking,” answered Twinken.
“They both have a monster and a facedown card. Button’s monster has a stronger defense but Spike’s monster is just a little stronger with attack. Right now, they’re at an impasse, which is why Button’s next move will determine who takes the lead in this duel.”

“I draw…” Button looked at his new card and his hand again before deciding, “I’ll summon another monster, my Guardian Colt!”

Button’s new monster appeared to be an earth pony colt with an earth brown coat, wearing a warrior’s winged helmet and holding a sword. He matched Spike’s Guardian Dragon point for point.

“Not bad, Button,” Spike raised a brow, “but monsters with equal ATK will destroy each other if they battle.”

“I know that,” Button smirked as he played another card, “which is why I’m gonna power up my Guardian Colt with this, it’s an Equip Spell Card called Mighty Sword! It can only be equipped to Warrior monsters like Guardian Colt, and boosts his ATK by 300 points, giving him 1700 ATK!”

Guardian Colt was then armed with Mighty Sword, a stout blade that gleamed with strength, raising his own to 1700, as Button said.

“Great move, Button!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
“You got this, buddy!” added Rumble.

But still… Twinken thought.

“Now my Guardian Colt is stronger than your Guardian Dragon!” Button pointed his hoof before declaring, “Go, Guardian Colt! Attack!”

“Button, wait!” Twinken tried to warn his friend but it was too late.

“You’ve walked right into my Trap, Button!” Spike declared as his facedown revealed itself, a scary cave with a pair of glowing dragon eyes in the darkness, “Or perhaps my lair? Because I activate Dragon’s Lair! When a Dragon monster I control is targeted for an attack, my monster gains a boost of 300 attack points for every star your attacking monster has until the end of this turn!

“So, if my math is right, your 4 Star Guardian Colt times 300 equals my Guardian Dragon with an extra 1200 points!”

“But- That means…!” Button realized as he watched Spike’s dragon get stronger, growing up to 2600 ATK.

According to the rules, if a monster attacks a monster with greater ATK, the attacking monster is destroyed instead and the difference comes out of the LP of the duelist who initiated the attack.

That meant Button just lost 900 LP along with his Guardian Colt as it was blown away by Guardian Dragon’s fireball attack. He groaned, a little shaken, but then he heard Sweetie Belle and the rest of his friends cheering him on.

“Ungh, I end my turn…” Button said, noticing his Life Points had dropped down to 3100.

“Which means the effect of Dragon’s Lair is over too,” Spike said as he drew, “and Guardian Dragon of the Castle returns to its original 1400 ATK. So let’s see… I summon Dragon Sword in attack mode!”

Spike’s next monster looked like a skinny and green warrior dragon, clad in armor and armed with a sword and shield, with 1500 ATK and 1200 DEF.

“And I’ll play another facedown and end my turn,” said Spike as he placed another card facedown.

“Button better do somethin’ soon,” commented Apple Bloom, “His monster may have 2000 defense points, but Spike’s got more monsters now.”

“My guess is, Spike may have a strong monster in his hand but he can’t summon it without making a sacrifice,” Twinken brought up. “So for his next turn, he’ll probably sacrifice one or both of his dragons to summon a monster strong enough to take down Button’s Geo Soldier of Earth. Then he’ll be free to attack Button’s Life Points directly.”

“C’mon, Button! You got this!” cheered Scootaloo.

Button drew and just barely managed to keep his cool when he saw the card he’d drawn and thought, Perfect! Just what I need…

“I’ll play the Spell Card, Console Control!” Button’s Spell Card manifested as a video game controller on the field.
“This spell card allows me to either change the position of one of your monsters, or… I think I’ll go with its other effect! I’ll use Console Control to take control of one of your monsters for this turn, and I choose Dragon Sword!”

Uh-oh…! Spike thought as he watched his Dragon Sword monster leap from his side of the field to Button’s.

“Now that Dragon Sword is under my control, I’m gonna sacrifice him!” Button declared, “So that I can summon… Superhero Bayard!”

Dragon Sword vanished and in his place appeared a MASSIVE earth pony, thick in barrel but pumped in muscle, garbed in cape and tights, with a superhero domino mask over his eyes, stomping with the strength of 2400 ATK and 1400 DEF.

“Now I’ve got a strong monster for attacking and a strong monster for defending,” Button smirked, “so let’s do this! Superhero Bayard, stomp his Guardian Dragon flat!”

Superhero Bayard charged towards Spike’s Guardian Dragon and reared up to bring down his massive hooves onto-

“I activate my Trap Card, Fragile Shield!” Spike declared and his facedown rose up, revealing a beat-up and dented rusty shield that took the blow for Guardian Dragon, saving it from being destroyed.
“This card allows me to stop one attack and end the battle phase of this turn. So my Guardian Dragon is safe for now.”

Button grumbled but shrugged it off, “Alright, then I’ll end my turn.”

“Wow, I thought for sure Button had Spike there for a moment,” Rumble commented.

“Spike still has all his Life Points but right now, Button has the advantage with two strong monsters,” Scootaloo debated.

Even so, Spike is no slouch when it comes to games, Twinken thought. Button may seem to control this duel right now, but Spike’s not gonna go down without a fight.

Drawing his card, Spike smiled gleefully as he said, “If you think you’re safe, Button Mash, think again! I summon… Thorn Dragon!”

Spike’s new dragon had a pointed mouth full of jaws and was covered with thorny spikes, but it only had 1900 ATK and 0 DEF.

“What’re you gonna do with that?” asked Button Mash, confused by Spike’s move. “It’s not strong enough to take down either of my monsters.”

“Not yet it isn’t,” Spike played another card, “but with my Dragon Claws, it can now! This Equip Spell raised Thorn Dragon’s ATK by 700 points, bringing him up to 2600!”

Thorn Dragon’s claws grew larger, sharper and serrated and gave off a metallic sheen to emphasize their sharpness.

“And now that my dragon is pumped up, I think he’ll attack… your Geo Soldier! Go, Thorn Dragon!” Spike exclaimed and they watched as it opened its mouth and unleashed a piercing blast of power that blew Geo Soldier away.
“And since your monster was in defense mode, that means your Life Points are safe, right? Wrong!”

“What?!” Button gawked in disbelief to see his LP counter drop from 3100 to 2500. “What happened?!”

“Thorn Dragon’s special ability kicked in,” explained Spike. “When he attacks a monster that’s in defense mode, you still take damage based on the difference. However, after Thorn Dragon attacks, he automatically goes into defense mode.”

Indeed, Thorn Dragon stepped back and took a defensive position as Spike laid down a card, “I’ll end my turn with one facedown and back to you!”

“Button better be careful,” Rumble fretted. “Just because Spike’s only monster has 0 defense points, I have a feeling he’s got plenty of surprises waiting for Button’s next move.”

“You can do it, Button!” Sweetie Belle called out to him. “Just keep your cool and use your head! You can still turn this duel around, I know you can!”

I dunno, Sweetie Belle… Button worried to himself as he drew, but perhaps this card can help!

“It’s my turn, Spike, and I’ll start by playing this Spell Card, Dragon’s Greed! This allows me to draw three new cards from my deck if I pay 300 LP…” Button did so, his LP dropping to 2200, and he regarded his new cards, smirking at what he got.
“Now, I summon Superhero Golden Mane!”

Button’s new monster was another earth pony warrior but with a resplendent golden mane, armed with a battle axe and bearing fancy armor on his hooves and legs, with 1800 ATK and 900 DEF.

“But in case you were planning to use your facedown, I’ll use the Spell Card, Magic Bolt! This allows me to destroy your facedown card!”

A bolt of energy flew up from behind Button, arched in the sky, and came down to strike Spike’s facedown card, a Trap Card, causing Spike to groan, There goes my Iron Jaws Trap Card…

“And now, with no facedowns to protect your monster, go! Golden Mane, destroy his Thorn Dragon!” yelled Button and his Golden Mane axed Spike’s monster, leaving him completely defenseless.
“Now, Bayard! Attack Guardian Dragon!”

Bayard spun `round and gave such a bucking kick to Guardian Dragon even Spike felt it, along with a strange pressure that briefly gave him a feeling like pins and needles, but it quickly passed and Spike watched his LP counter display his Life Points dropping down to 3000.

“I’ll place a card facedown and end my turn. Your move, Spike!” Button declared and his friends cheered.

“Way to go, Button!” “Keep it up, you’re doing great!” “You the mane, Button!”

Button may have taken a chunk of Spike’s LP, Twinken thought before he looked towards Spike as he drew his next card.
But this duel is far from over…

“You’re better than I thought, Button Mash, but I plan to win this tournament and become the King of Cards! So watch this, I summon…” Spike played his card, “Wyvern Warrior in attack mode!”

Wyvern Warrior was a dragon monster whose wings doubled as his arms, each holding a sword, and he had 1800 ATK and 1000 DEF.

“Your Superheroes are pretty cool, but not every hero saves the day! Sometimes they stumble and fall but only the real heroes can pick themselves up and continue to fight the good fight! So now, Wyvern Warrior, attack Golden Mane!”

“But they have the same amount of ATK!” Button brought up, “They’ll destroy each other!”

They all watched as the two monsters went head to head and in a blinding flash of light the battle was decided… only for them all to gasp to see Wyvern Warrior was still standing while Golden Mane was gone!

“What happened?! They should both be gone!” Button flabbergasted.

“Wyvern Warrior’s special ability saved him,” explained Spike. “When he battles a monster with the same amount of ATK as him, the other monster is destroyed but Wyvern Warrior isn’t.

“So now, I’ll end my turn with this facedown card. Back to you!”

Rrgh, I gotta be careful, Button thought, My Bayard’s stronger than his Wyvern but Spike has that facedown card. To attack or not to attack....?

“What’s with Button Mash? He’s just staring at his cards,” Scootaloo pointed out.
“Button, you can win!” Sweetie Belle cheered, “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are behind you one hundred percent!”

“Whattya think Twinken? How’s he doing?” Rumble asked.
“Well, Button is ahead right now,” Twinken replied, “Spike’s behind by 600 points while Button has his Superhero Bayard as the strongest monster on the field. This duel keeps going back and forth, I have no idea who could win at this point!”

But Button’s next draw gave him hope yet again.

Yes! If I play this right… Button thought as he ran the strategy through his mind. Then he played his next card as he said, “Now, Spike, I play Hero’s Sidekick! This Spell Card allows me to special summon a monster from my deck as long as it’s 3 Stars or less. So, say hello to…”

Button went though his deck until he found the card he wanted, “Colpix, in attack mode!”

A colt-sized pony appeared on the field with flitting faerie wings and a cute yet sneaky smile, and had 300 ATK and 400 DEF.

“He might not look like much, but just you wait, because I’ll use the Spell Card Power-Up!” Button’s next card summoned a pixelated cube with 1+ on it.
“This Spell gives all my monsters a 100 point boost for each of their Stars! Superhero Bayard is a Six Star monster and Colpix has three. So that means Bayard gets 600 points and Colpix gets 300.”

Spike flinched to see Bayard power up to 3000 ATK while Colpix was now 600 ATK.

“But Power-Up has a downside,” Button brought up, “In order to keep it on the field, I have to sacrifice 100 of my LP for each of my monsters that get a boost per turn I take.”

Button’s LP dropped from 2200 to 2000.

“But it’ll be worth it when I win this duel! So go, Superhero Bayard!” Button pointed, “Take down Wyvern Warrior!”

The massive earth pony superhero gave a nasty buck to Wyvern Warrior’s face, causing it to shatter into illusory fragments, and Spike felt his LP take the blow as they dropped from 3000 to 1800.

Darn it, he risked my facedown! Spike thought with worry. I thought for sure he’d be too afraid to attack while I had a card in play...

“Luckily for you, another downside to Power Up is that I can only attack once per turn while it’s in play. So I’ll call it a turn, and it’s your move!” Button declared..

“Yes! Button’s back in the lead,” Sweetie Belle beamed.

“Yeah, but th’ duel ain’t over till th’ last card is played,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

Drawing his next card, Spike’s eyes lit up just a little and he regarded all the cards he had, including his facedown.
If this combo works, then this duel is mine…

“I’ll summon to the field my Charging Captain!” Spike declared and before him appeared an armored earth pony warrior, armed with two swords, with 1200 ATK and 400 DEF.
“When my Captain appears, his special ability allows me to special summon another monster with 4 Stars or less from my hand, so check it out! My Dragon Hatchling!”

Appearing beside Charging Captain was a dragon egg that quickly hatched to reveal a baby dragon of sunny orange scales, little horns and wings and bright courageous eyes.

“But you know kids, they grow up so fast!” Spike said before he laid down another card, “Which is why I’ll play this, Growth Spurt! This Spell Card only works if certain Monster cards are in play, and I can return those monsters back to my deck and then special summon the appropriate monster in its place!

“So come to papa, my Dragon of the Century!”

Dragon Hatchling glowed with magic as it then grew from an adorable newborn to a ferocious and matured beast, the glow dimming to reveal an adult version of the monster it was just a moment ago. It resembled the Drakes of the Dragon Lands yet retained a primal ferocity that was seen amongst the Wyrms, evident by its 2100 ATK and 1500 DEF.

“It’s a strong-looking monster, Spike, but Bayard is still stronger,” Button debated, “especially since he’s powered up by Power-Up!”

“Points aren’t everything, Button Mash,” Spike smirked as he held his cards at the ready, “It’s the cards you have and how you play them. Dragon of the Century may not be able to butt heads with your Bayard, but his special ability should change that.”

“Special ability?” Button tensed up.

“When he’s special summoned, using Dragon Hatchling, Dragon of the Century gets the special ability to grow even more powerful,” Spike explained as he held up a Bit.
“But there’s a risk to it… I flip a coin and if it’s Heads, my Dragon of the Century will age gracefully further… into an even stronger monster! But if it’s Tails… my Dragon of the Century will instead become weak and lose half his ATK power.”

Button furrowed his brows and responded, “Then let’s get on with it.”

“Alright, here we go!” Spike flipped the Bit upwards and all eyes watched as the coin spun above Spike’s head before it dropped and he caught it in his hand and slapped it onto his arm. He hesitated, knowing full well that this would make or break his progress in this tournament.

He took a deep breath as he thought, No matter what, I dueled well…

He lifted his hand and saw the Bit facing… “Heads!”

Button gulped as Spike brought out a card from his deck and declared, “So Dragon of the Century shall grow, becoming stronger in his age as he becomes…!”

Dragon of the Century grew twice as large, a beard of tendrils growing from his chin and snout, his scales losing a little luster but remaining adamant and strong, his muscles bulking up, his belly swelling into a fatherly paunch, yet his face became regal and distinguished with the wisdom that came with age before he opened his mouth to reveal his fangs and shot a gout of golden flame skyward and Spike introduced, “Millennia Dragon!”

Spike’s monster now vaunted 3000 ATK and 2400 DEF.

“Now our monsters are evenly matched, but that’s about to change because I activate this Spell Card,” Spike revealed the card which appeared to display numerous hooves and hands apparently clapping like an audience to a stage with curtains and a spotlight..
“Encore Enchantment!”

The sound of applause rang out as a Card rose up in front of Spike, its back facing Button so he couldn’t see what it was.

“To play this card, I have to pay up half my Life Points,” Spike explained, his LP dropping to 900. “So I can regain a Spell Card or Mage monster I played that was sent to the Card Graveyard. Care to guess which one, Button Mash?”

Button took a moment to think of all the cards Spike had played thus far, none of the monsters were Mages… but one card came to mind as he gasped, “Uh-oh…!”

“‘Uh-oh’ is right, because it’s time to give my handy Dragon Claws an encore!” Spike said as the card whirled around to reveal it was indeed the Equip Spell Dragon Claws.
“You know what that means, Button. I now equip Dragon Claws to my Millennia Dragon, raising his ATK by 700 points! More than enough to take down your Bayard…

“But I’m afraid it gets worse! Because Millennia Dragon was special summoned by using the special ability of Dragon of the Century, he gains his own special ability too: He can attack twice in the same battle phase!”

“Oh no! Both of my monsters are in trouble!” Button flabbergasted.

“You put up an awesome duel, Button Mash…” Spike said kindly before furrowing his brows and pumping his fist, “But it’s time to end this!

“Millennia Dragon! Thousand Years Ablaze!”

Millennia Dragon took a DEEP inhale, his belly inflating like a balloon, before he vomited a wildfire of radiant flames at Button’s monsters. Button cried out in alarm as his field was emptied and his Life Point counter dropped all the way down to 0.

The duel arena lit up as it projected Spike’s picture with the word ‘Winner!’ above it in bright and bold red and gold letters.

There were cheers and hoof-stomping applause as the Cutie-Mark Crusaders noticed the first time that the duel had garnered a modest crowd. They saw some of their classmates, neighbors, and as both duelists stepped down from the arena, they were saddened to see Button Mash tearing up and looking like he wanted to crawl under a rock.

Spike approached the colt with a sympathetic smile, and held out his hand, saying, “You dueled a good duel, Button Mash. I have to admit, there was a couple moments where I thought you’d beat me. I mean it.”

Sweetie Belle wanted to rush over and give Button Mash a hug, assure him he’d played well… but then Button Mash took a deep breath and wiped away his tears. He stood up and looked Spike in the eye with a determined smile, “That was awesome, Spike! I won’t be surprised if you wind up winning the Clash and becoming the King of Cards.

“Here,” Button offered his duel badge, “You earned it.”

Spike was relieved and accepted the badge, before saying, “Let’s duel again sometime, but I hope you brush up on your skills and strategies!”

“Oh, I will! And you better clean up in this tournament!” Button replied as he held his hoof out and Spike accepted it in a shake, and the both of them got cheers from their friends and the crowd.

After wishing Spike good luck and seeing the dragon head off to find his next opponent, Sweetie Belle noticed Button had drifted away from the others and followed him to behind a nearby tree without him knowing. She watched as Button plopped down against the base of the tree… and began to sob softly.

Her heart hurt to see him upset, and she’d suspected it. Sure, Button had shown good sportsmanship and even maturity after losing. But now that that was over and he’d taken a moment to himself, he could finally let it out.

The marshmallow white filly softly went over to sit beside the chocolate brown colt, and pulled him into a hug. Button said nothing, but let himself be embraced as Sweetie comforted him. The moment was tender and bittersweet, and though neither said a thing, Button appreciated the comfort Sweetie Belle offered and Sweetie Belle was understanding that although it’s no fun to lose it’s still okay to cry.

Author's Note

Some of the cards I portrayed are MLP-versions of actual cards frm the Yu-Gi-Oh cardgame, and some I made up.

Can anyone guess which cards have RL-counterparts?