My Little Pony: Dueling is Magic!

by Wolfgang

Rating: everyone
Tags: Discord, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Other, Adventure
Length: 57684

Yusei Fudo appears in Equestria and is given the task of saving it from an ancient enemy!

After saving the future from Paradox, Yusei prepares to return to his own time. But when the Crimson Dragon veers off course in the rift, Yusei finds himself in a strange new world... populated by brightly colored talking equines. Yusei meets Twilight Sparkle and her friends and becomes their friend as well, even teaching them how to duel. But something isn't sitting right with Yusei and he soon learns why he was brought here when an ancient enemy reappears and goes on a destructive rampage.

This is my first attempt at pony fanfiction, though not my first try at writing in general. I have no idea how this is gonna go, but be honest.

Regarding the duels: I intend to describe the actual gameplay just as much as the monsters and card animations. I'm not just a fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, but a Duelist myself. As far as the rules go, I'll try to help the unfamiliar understand the game in the beginning. Card and player stats will also be displayed during the duel portions of the story (I'll try and write it so that they don't disrupt the flow of the story too much). But beyond the stats and character descriptions of their cards, you'll have to look stuff up yourself. You can do so on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wiki.

DISCLAIMER: My Little Pony! Friendship is Magic, all Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game are copyright their respective owners. All original story elements are mine and may not be reproduced without my consent.

Published 2012-01-07 08:57:45 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-05 04:17:03 UTC

A New World

My Little Pony: Dueling is Magic Chapter 1: A New World

*********************\

After saving the future from Paradox, Yusei prepares to return to his own time. But when the Crimson Dragon veers off course in the rift, Yusei finds himself in a strange new world... populated by talking equines. Yusei meets Twilight and her friends and becomes their friend as well, even teaching them how to duel. But something isn't sitting right with Yusei and he soon learns why he was brought here when an ancient enemy reappears and goes on a destructive rampage.

*********************\

The rift. The space outside of time. Yusei didn't quite know what to call where he was. But he didn't mind being there. It was a place filled with light, incredibly bright light, but he could see just fine. The Crimson Dragon flew above and ahead of him, creating a path for his D-Wheel. Yusei thought back on his last adventure, glad that he'd made new friends across time, even meeting the legendary King of Games. He smiled at how determined Yugi was to support his friends.

Jaden had impressed Yusei. Though young and a bit reckless, Jaden had heart and always looked on the bright side of things. Yusei chuckled at how excited he got when Yugi had played the Dark Magician. He must have been a big fan of Yugi's.

Yusei's thoughts drifted to Paradox. What he said... a future brought to ruin by Duel Monsters. Could that be true? Yusei wished he could have asked what happened, but he, Yugi and Jaden had destroyed Paradox before that. The man was determined to kill Pegasus, but Yusei still wished he could have saved Paradox.

Maybe I can save him, thought Yusei, if I just prevent whatever future he was talking about. But I'll do it my way, without hurting anyone.

Suddenly, the Crimson Dragon roared and turned sharply to the left. Yusei leaned over to catch the turn in the path it created, trying not to fall into the void. A new light appeared in front of him, one that was blinding. Finally, I'm coming home, he thought.

*****

"Are you sure about this, Rainbow?" asked Fluttershy. "I mean, you've only been able to do it twice before."

"Of course I'm sure!" said Rainbow Dash. She flapped her wings a few times. "This time I'm totally gonna do it! That sonic rainboom is mine!"

"O-okay, if you're sure," Fluttershy said nervously. Dash jumped into the air and began flapping her wings, gaining altitude quickly. Once she thought she was high enough, she doubled back and began her free fall, throwing one hoof out in front of her and locking her wings at her side. Dash approached the sound barrier and a trailing cone formed around her.

I'm gonna do it! she thought. I'm really gonna do it!

Dash reached the sound barrier and stopped in midair. The cone rebounded and flung her into the sky.

*****

Yusei looked around. This isn't Neo Domino City, he thought. He was in the middle of a meadow. A light breeze created ripples in the grass and rustled the leaves of a few nearby trees. "Maybe I wound up in a park?" said Yusei.

Just then, Yusei heard a noise, like someone yelling. He looked around, but saw nothing. When he looked up, he saw a multicolored something falling right at him. Yusei dove out of the way as the object flew over his D-Wheel and crashed into the ground nearby. Yusei stood up and looked over to where the thing had crashed. A cloud of dust hid it from him, but he heard a slight groaning and new that someone was there.

"Hey!" he said, rushing over to the small crater. "Hey, are you all right?"

The dust cleared and Yusei's eyes widened. Laying on her back in the small crater was a small blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her eyes were spinning in two different directions. She shook her head quickly, rolled over and stood up.

"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking slightly as she dusted her self off, "I'm okay. Geez, I can't believe I still can't do it!"

Yusei, in his confusion, was at a loss for words.

"I mean, I've done it twice already, and you'd think I'd be able to nai-yaaaah!" The pegasus had turned around and spotted Yusei. "What the hay are you?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," said Yusei. "Where am I? Is this the Duel Monsters Spirit World?"

"The what?" said the pegasus. "No, this is Equestria!"

"Equestria?" repeated Yusei.

"Yeah, you know, home to ponies everywhere, ruled by Princess Celestia," said the pegasus. "I'm not ringing any bells, am I?"

"Sorry, I'm not from around these parts," said Yusei. "I'm Yusei. I'm from Neo Domino City."

"Neo Domino City? Never heard of it," replied the pegasus. "Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria!"

"Huh. Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash," said Yusei. "So, uh..."

"Rainbow! Are you okay?"

Yusei turned around and saw another pegasus, yellow with a pink mane, flying toward them. She spotted Yusei, squeaked, and hid behind a tree.

"Fluttershy, it's okay!" said Rainbow Dash. "Sorry about that, she's pretty shy around strangers." Fluttershy peeked out from behind the tree. "Come on out, Shy!" said the blue pegasus. "This is Yusei. He's from... uh... where again?"

"Neo Domino City," replied Yusei. He smiled at the yellow pegasus. "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy." Fluttershy just gave a little, "Eep!" and ducked behind the tree again. Yusei chuckled.

"So, what exactly are you?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"What am I? What do you mean?" asked Yusei.

"Well, you're obviously not a pony," answered the Pegasus. "You look more like a monkey. Are you a talking monkey?"

Yusei laughed. "No, I'm not a talking monkey," he said. "I'm a human."

"Yeah, I have no idea what that is." Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and flew over to Fluttershy's tree. "Hey, Fluttershy. Do you know what a human is?"

Fluttershy poked her head out from behind the tree. "No, I don't," she said.

"Come on out, Fluttershy! I promise he's cool," said Dash. She grabbed one of Fluttershy's hooves and pulled her out.

"Um... h-hello," said Fluttershy softly. She looked behind Yusei and saw his D-Wheel. "Um... if you don't mind my asking... what's that?" she asked, pointing a hoof at the red motorcycle.

"That? That's my D-Wheel," said Yusei.

"What's it for?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Dueling, mostly, but I also use it to get where I'm going," Yusei explained.

"Does it go fast?" asked the blue pegasus. She gave her wings a few excited flaps and rose a bit higher into the air. A mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes.

"Yeah, it goes pretty fast," replied Yusei.

"How about a race? See that town over there? I'll race you to the big tree in the middle!" She pointed off to the distance. Yusei saw a small town with a very large tree in the center. He smiled.

"You're on, Rainbow Dash!" he said as he got back onto his D-Wheel.

"Oh, and you can call me Dash," said the pegasus. "Readysetgo!" And she took off.

Yusei smiled and revved the engine of his ride. "Talking ponies," he said to himself, "now I've seen everything."

Fluttershy just flapped her wings and said, "Go Rainbow!", almost whispering it. She chuckled and flew off after the racers.

*****

Twilight slid the book she just finished back into its place on the shelf. It was about lunch time so she decided to go to the kitchen and make a daffodil sandwich. She saw Spike coming down the stairs and heard his stomach rumble.

"Eheh... I guess it's lunchtime," said Spike.

"I was just thinking that," replied Twilight. "I'm gonna make a sandwich. Do you want me to make you something?"

"Nah, that's okay. I've still got a bunch of gems left over from the last time I helped Rarity in the mountains," Spike answered. "I'll just grab some of those out of the cabinet."

"Okay," said Twilight. As she started toward the kitchen, there was a thud against the front door, followed by a strange screeching sound. "What was that?" Twilight asked as she turned around. She heard voices outside.

"You okay, Dash?" said a male voice she didn't recognize.

"Yeah, I'm fine," came Dash's voice. "I've had worse crashes."

"Yeah, I saw one earlier." The first voice chuckled.

"Laugh all you want, but I still won the race!" said Dash as she opened the door and sauntered in. "Heya Twi," said the pegasus when she noticed her friend.

"Hi DaaaaAAAAAAA!" A tall figure on two legs walked in behind Rainbow Dash.

"You know, Dash, you DID have a head start," said the figure, "and you flew over most of those buildings. My D-Wheel can't do that- oh." Yusei noticed the unicorn staring at him. "Hello."

"Twilight, this is Yusei," said Rainbow Dash. "He's a... was it 'hoo-man'?"

"Human," Yusei corrected her. He turned back to Twilight. "I'm not exactly from around here."

"Yeah, heh heh... sorry for staring," said Twilight. "Anyway, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my library."

The two-legged creature wore a strange outfit. Brown boots and black pants covered his legs while a blue coat covered a black shirt with a red design on the front. He also wore a pair of brown gloves. His knees, shoulders and elbows sported strange orange circles. He reached up and removed the red helmet he was wearing. The back layers of his hair pointed up and back, with gold highlights running along the larger spikes. His bangs hung down in his eyes, but they did not obscure them. Twilight saw that his eyes were bright blue. Beneath his left eye was a jagged, yellow mark that ran down the side of his cheek.

"Twilight, you've gotta see this guy's ride, it's so cool, and almost as fast as me!" said Dash excitedly. "Come on!"

As Dash flew outside, Yusei turned to Twilight and asked, "Is she always this excitable?"

"All the time," said Twilight, rolling her eyes. She and Yusei followed Rainbow Dash outside. A red, two-wheeled vehicle sat in front of the step. The back half above the rear wheel looked like a chair, with the head curving over where the rider would sit, and two arms coming out of the side. The front of the strange device was unlike anything Twilight had seen before.

"It's called a D-Wheel," said Yusei. "Where I come from, people use them as transportation and for dueling."

"And where exactly are you from?" asked Twilight.

"Near as I can tell, another world," Yusei answered. "Dash tells me this isn't the Duel Monsters Spirit World, but this obviously isn't my home either. Honestly, I don't know where I am."

"So, how'd you get here?" asked Twilight.

"That's kind of a long story," said Yusei.

"Well, I was about to take a break from my studies and get some lunch," said Twilight. "Why don't we go inside and get some food, and you can tell me about it?"

"That sounds like a good idea," said Yusei.

"By the way," said Twilight, "what do humans eat?"

*****

Twilight, Spike and Yusei sat at the kitchen table. Twilight munched on her daffodil sandwich while Spike popped little gems into his mouth. Yusei quietly munched on an apple. Rainbow Dash had already left because it was almost time for her shift on the weather team to start. Some rogue clouds had formed over the Everfree Forest and were drifting towards Ponyville.

"So, how'd you get here?" asked Twilight.

Yusei looked down at his apple. “I should probably start with how I got where I was before I came here,” he said. “I'd gone out riding with a couple of my friends when a man on a huge D-Wheel came up behind us and challenged us to a duel. I decided to take him on myself, but when I did... he stole my best card and then took off with it. A little later, I found out that he was using my card in a time period when it didn't even exist, and he was doing a lot of damage with it.

“That man's actions started to destroy my time period because he was changing the past. With the Crimson Dragon's help, I followed him back in time.”

“I'm sorry to interrupt,” said Twilight, “but what's the Crimson Dragon?”

“I'm not really sure myself,” said Yusei. “I've heard it said that it's an ancient god. Personally, I think it's just something that's looking out for us. It shows up every 5000 years to battle against wicked gods called the Earthbound Immortals. When it does, it marks five humans like me as Signers.” Yusei removed his right glove and pulled back the sleeve of his jacket. A mark resembling a dragon's head was branded on his arm.

“Cool!” said Spike. “Hey, you think I could meet this Crimson Dragon?”

“The Crimson Dragon's not really a talker, Spike,” said Yusei.

“Oh...” said Spike, disappointed. He grabbed an emerald and popped it into his mouth.

“That's sort of like a Cutie mark,” said Twilight.

“Cutie what?” asked Yusei.

“It's these marks that appear on our flanks,” said Twilight. “Everypony gets one. It represents our special talent, the one thing we can do best. Mine represents my ability to use magic better than anypony else!”

“I see,” said Yusei.

“So, what happened next?” asked Twilight.

“Well, when I got to where that man was, I saw him using my card to attack somebody else,” Yusei continued. “The Crimson Dragon blocked the attack and the man fled.

“The person he was attacking was Jaden Yuki. He could apparently communicate with Duel Monsters spirits, so that man wanted him out of the way.”

“Duel Monsters spirits?” asked Twilight.

“Right, I guess I should explain that too,” said Yusei. “In my world, we play a game called Duel Monsters. The card game itself is fairly recent, only about twenty years old or so, but Duel Monsters seems to have existed for a lot longer than that. There's really no telling how old the game is. But one thing's for certain: The spirits of the cards live in their own world.”

“Wow,” said Twilight. “What a strange place you come from.”

“I guess. Anyway, Jaden and I looked at some old news articles and found out where the man was going to strike next, so we followed him further back in time. You see, he was planning to kill the man who created the Duel Monsters card game, Maximillion Pegasus.”

“Oh no!” said Twilight. “That's horrible!”

“Yeah, it is,” said Yusei. “And he succeeded, in a sense. Jaden and I got there just after he used some of the other cards he stole to destroy the part of the city where Pegasus was. We found someone else there and took him back to before it all happened.

“The person we found was a- no, the legendary Duelist, Yugi Muto, the King of Games. He was the best there ever was. We asked for his help in stopping that man's plot and he agreed.

“When the man finally showed up, he called himself Paradox and told us why he wanted to kill Pegasus: He said that Duel Monsters had destroyed the world in the future that he came from, and that he was trying to prevent that future from happening by destroying Duel Monsters.”

“Was it true?” asked Twilight.

“I don't know,” said Yusei. “I don't know if he was telling the truth or not. He might have been. Even if he was, though, a future that's gained by sacrificing someone else isn't right!”

Twilight's ears lowered. She felt a pang of guilt, but she didn't know why.

“Well, the three of us challenged Paradox to a duel,” Yusei continued. “We beat him, but just barely. Yugi got my card back for me too, and we managed to save the future. After dropping Jaden off in his own time period, I was following the Crimson Dragon home when it changed directions and brought me here.”

“Wow,” said Twilight. “That's quite a story. And I'm glad you managed to save your future. But I can't help but wonder-”

“Twilight!” came a voice from the front of the library. “You in here?”

“In the kitchen, Pinkie!” called Twilight. “Come on back!”

A pink pony with a curly mane hopped into the room. She had no wings or horn that Yusei could see, but she was talking a mile a minute. “Hi Twilight! I just wanted to let you know I came up with a super-delicious new chocolate cupcake recipe and you should come to Sugarcube Corner and try one before they're all sold out and they're really good so I thought that I should come tell you about them, but when I came over there was a big red thing on two wheels sitting outside your door and I tried to figure out what it was, but I gave up and came inside so I could ask you about it and hey, who's this?”

“Oh, this is Yusei,” said Twilight. “The red thing outside is his D-Wheel. Yusei rides it to go long distances.”

“Oh, that's neat!” said the pink pony. “Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!”

“Yusei.”

“Oh! You know what would we should do since you're new in town?” said Pinkie. “We should throw a welcoming party! I'll go get it set up!” And with that, she dashed out of the room.

“What just happened?” Yusei asked Twilight.

“Oh, that's just Pinkie Pie,” Twilight answered. “She throws a party for everypony that's new in town. Actually, she throws parties for just about every occasion she can think of. It's her special talent, after all. You saw the balloons, right?”

“I'm not sure what I saw,” said Yusei. He smiled. “Just a lot of pink. She was bouncing around a lot.”

Twilight chuckled. “Yeah, she's like that. But she's a great pony to have around, and she loves to make ponies happy.”

“She definitely got me to smile,” said Yusei.

“We should probably head over to Sugarcube Corner,” said Twilight. “Pinkie can get a party set up in a matter of minutes. I don't know how she does it, but there you go. Do you want to come, Spike?”

“Sure!” he said. “Rarity might be there!”

“She's always at Pinkie Pie's parties, Spike,” said Twilight. She turned to Yusei. “Come on, I'll show you around town while we're out.”

Duel Disk

Author's Note: And we finally begin the first duel of the story! I only went a few turns into it because it's a fairly long duel, so I'll finish it next chapter. I originally wanted it to be shorter, but it kind of evolved into what it is. I wasn't just satisfied with it, I was proud of it, so I didn't want to change it.

I'm a bit worried that I haven't gotten any better about "show vs. tell", and I'm really afraid that it might show pretty glaringly in the duel. If you think I could do better, don't be afraid to say so! The pony community has tons of awesome people in it, so you don't have to worry about me being offended if you didn't intend it, and I know you wouldn't go out of your way to hurt my feelings.

/*********************\

Yusei leaned against the wall as he munched on a chocolate-chip cookie. Music pumped through a pair of speakers on the opposite side of the room. Ponies were bobbing and weaving in time with the music, though a few just stood by and talked. Though he was enjoying the beat, Yusei couldn't help but wonder what was powering those speakers. Not a whole lot of things made sense to him in Equestria.

"Hey Twilight," said Yusei as the unicorn was walking past him toward the snack table. "What's powering those speakers?'

"What do you mean, Yusei?" asked Twilight.

"Well, those speakers have to get power from somewhere," Yusei explained. "They can't just run on their own, right?"

"Of course they don't run on their own, silly!" said Pinkie Pie. She had appeared next to Yusei unnoticed, but he seemed unfazed. "They run on magic!"

"Magic?" asked Yusei.

"Yes," said Twilight. "Magic is everywhere in Equestria. It's just as much a part of our world as the air we breathe. Unicorn and Pegasus ponies are more in tune with it than Earth ponies, but even they can feel it. We've also figured out how to power a lot of our machines with the magic in the air, and it never seems to run out."

"That's incredible," said Yusei. "Sort of like Momentum..."

Twilight tilted her head to the side a bit. "Momentum?" she asked.

"It's a type of energy generator that my father invented," said Yusei. "It's a perpetual motion machine that generates a limitless supply of clean energy. But..."

"But what?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"It's... not a happy story," said Yusei. He pushed himself off of the wall. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit and get some fresh air," he said, then left the building.

*****

"Wow, I can't believe so many ponies showed up for Yusei's party!" said Rainbow Dash as she danced in the air above Applejack.

"Yer telling me," said the orange Earth pony. "I guess everypony learned their lesson after Zecora moved into town, huh?"

"Yes, it certainly seems like it," said Rarity. She took a sip from the cup of punch that she was holding in front of her with magic. "I still haven't had a chance to properly talk with this Yusei fellow. I want to know where he got that outfit!"

"He's from another dimension, Rarity," said Dash. "You're probably not gonna find anything like that in Canterlot."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Rarity conceded. "Still, I would like the chance to study it in detail. It's such an interesting design and I can already feel the creative juices flowing in my head!"

"Hey girls?" said Fluttershy. "Yusei just left, and he looked really sad. Do you think he'll come back?"

Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked up to the other four mares. They each had a look of concern on their faces. "Girls, Yusei seems down about something," said Twilight.

"Yeah, we should go outside and ask him what's wrong so we can cheer him up!" said Pinkie Pie.

"I agree," said Fluttershy. "I'd hate for our new friend to be sad for very long."

The six friends made their to the front of the building and exited through the front door.

*****

Bonbon looked frantically around the room. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, and she had been to. So why was she so upset?

"I was... I was supposed to meet somepony," she muttered to herself. "Who was I supposed to meet? I can't remember..." Somepony asked her to dance and all thoughts of her forgotten meeting vanished.

*****

Twilight and the others found Yusei leaning against the wall next to the doorway. He still had a sad look on his face.

"Yusei, what's wrong?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah, why so glum?" Dash added.

"It's... nothing," said Yusei.

"Come on now, sugar cube," said Applejack. "Somethin's obviously buggin' ya. What's wrong?"

"Well... my father's invention, Momentum, it..." Yusei sighed. "At one point, it went berserk, completely out of control. It caused a lot of damage in my world. I was just a baby when Zero Reverse happened, but I feel responsible for it because Momentum was my father's work. A lot of lives were lost and a lot more were just ruined. Kids had to grow up without parents. People struggled to survive. I grew up in the aftermath of it all."

"Wow, I'm so sorry," said Twilight.

"Me too, Yusei," said Pinkie. The group was silent for a while.

"Why would yer dad make somethin' so dangerous?" asked Applejack. "I mean, did he know that it would hurt so many folks?"

"Not at first," said Yusei. "But he realized that it was dangerous when he noticed that the weather was becoming more erratic and wild every time the reactor was activated."

"And he just continued with this?" said Rarity in a cynical tone.

"Well, no," said Yusei. "After he realized what was happening, he tried to get the project shut down because of how dangerous it was. But one of his assistants, Rudger Goodwin, talked the company funding the project into letting him take over. Then Rudger activated the machine in reverse."

"Then you shouldn't feel responsible," said Fluttershy. "You said yourself you were just a baby when it happened. And if your father tried to stop it from happening then it's not his fault either."

"Fluttershy's right, Yusei," said Twilight. "If there was nothing either of you could have done then you have nothing to feel bad about."

"I guess so..." Yusei mumbled. He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes, though. I actually had that dream just last night."

"It was just a dream, hun," said Applejack. "And believe us when we say nopony can blame you for what happened. T’weren't your fault and t’weren't yer dad's fault neither."

"Come on, Yusei!" said Pinkie. 'Maybe some punch will cheer you up! It's a new recipe I made!" She battered her eyelids and bounced back inside. Yusei smiled.

"She sure is bubbly," he said. "You can't help but smile at her."

"Yep, that's why we love her," said Twilight. The other ponies went back inside, but Twilight stayed outside with Yusei.

"Hey, Yusei," said Twilight, "this game you play in your world... Duel Monsters? How do you play?"

Yusei looked down at Twilight. The pony came up to his chest, but even so she didn't seem at all small to him.

"You want to learn how to duel?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just kind of curious," she responded. "I like to learn about things. And I bet if I learned about this game, I could better understand your world and what happens there.”

“Sounds cool,” said Yusei. “Actually, let me go get my D-Wheel first. I’ll need my Duel Disk.”

“What’s a Duel Disk?” asked Twilight.

“You’ll see,” said Yusei. “Be back in a few minutes.” With that, he turned and started to walk in the direction o the library, but then stopped. “Oh, could you tell Pinkie to save me some punch? I won’t be gone long.”

“Sure thing, Yusei,” said Twilight before trotting back inside the shop.

“Hey, where’s Yusei?” asked Pinkie when she saw Twilight but not Yusei.

“He went to get his D-Wheel,” Twilight answered. “He’s gonna teach me how to duel!”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Duel? You mean like with swords and stuff?” she asked.

“No, with cards,” Twilight replied. “You know, that card game he mentioned when he told us all how he got here?”

“Oh right! Duel Masters!” said Pinkie excitedly.

“Duel Monsters, Pinkie,” Twilight corrected her. “Though, I don’t know why he’d need his D-Wheel to teach me how to play... oh, before I forget, Yusei wanted me to ask you to save him some punch.”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” said Pinkie before zooming off to the snack table.

*****

Yusei arrived at the library and found his D-Wheel right where he left it. Three young fillies were investigating it.

“What do you think it is?” said the little white unicorn.

“Ah dunno,” said the yellow fily. She hopped up onto the seat, her huge hair bow bouncing as as she landed. “Maybe it’s some kinda cart?”

“Nah, it’s gotta be a scooter!” said the orange pegasus filly. “It looks a lot like mine, but backwards.”

“You’re not far off,” Yusei chimed in. The three fillies turned to look at him.

“Hi there!” said the yellow one. “This thing yers?”

“Yeah it is,” he said. “It’s called a D-Wheel, and it’s like a scooter that moves on its own.”

“It moves by itself? How does that work?” said the tiny unicorn.

“It’s a machine,” explained Yusei. “I just turn it on and steer it where I want to go. He walked up to the red bike and the fillies. “I’m Yusei. What are your names?”

“Ah’m Apple Bloom!” said the yellow pony as she hopped out of the seat of the D-Wheel.

“I’m Sweetie Belle,” said the unicorn.

“And I’m Scootaloo!” said the pegasus. “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Yusei pushed one of the arms up, opened a compartment in the seat and pulled out a helmet before closing the seat back. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, huh?” he said. “So what do you guys do?”

“We’re trying to get our Cutie marks!” said Sweetie Belle. “They only appear when you find out what your special talent is.”

“We haven’t found ours yet, though,” said Apple Bloom. “But we ain’t givin’ up until we do!”

Yusei smiled. “That sounds like a good plan,” he said. “Never give up on your dream, even if your dream is finding out what you want to do.” His thoughts drifted back to his duel with Paradox and how he had almost given up, but then he remembered Jaden’s smile and Yugi’s wise words.

“So, where ya goin’, Yusei?” asked Apple Bloom. “You takin’ yer scooter with you?”

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “I’m heading over to Sugarcube Corner.”

“Is Pinkie Pie throwing a you a party?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Can we come?” Scootaloo chimed in.

“I don’t see why not,” said Yusei as he put on his helmet. He pushed a button on the side and the visor lowered in front of his eyes. “Tell ya what: Hop on and I’ll give you guys a ride. I don’t have any helmets your size, though, so I’ll have to go slow, okay?”

“Don't worry!” said Scootaloo. She ran over to the a scooter that was leaning against the doorpost. Three small helmets were hanging from the handlebars by their straps. "We've got our own helmets," said the Pegasus as she strapped one onto her head and handed the others to her friends. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle strapped on the helmets and climbed up into Yusei’s lap, standing on their hind legs so they could hold onto the arms of Yusei's D-Wheel. Scootaloo hopped up onto Yusei's back and put her forelegs over his shoulders.

“Don’t fidget too much either, okay?” He said as he revved the engine. “We don’t want to lose our balance.”

“Okay, Yusei!” said Apple Bloom.

“You three hang on tight!” said Yusei.

*****

Twilight heard the odd screeching that signaled Yusei’s arrival. She and her other friends came back outside and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders hopping off of Yusei’s D-Wheel.

“That was about as fast as I can go on my scooter!” said Scootaloo. “Can it go even faster?”

“A lot faster,” replied Yusei as he took off his helmet. “Hey Twilight.”

“Hi Yusei.” Twilight turned to the three fillies. “Hello my little ponies. I see you’ve met our new friend.”

“Sure did,” said Apple Bloom. “Hey, you think we can get Cutie marks for ridin’ a D-Wheel?” she said to the other fillies.

“I dunno,” said Sweetie Belle. “It was kinda scary. Oh, hi sis!” She waved at Rarity.

"Rarity's your sister?" said Yusei.

"Yep!" said Sweetie Belle.

"And Applejack's my sister," said Apple Bloom.

"What about you, Scootaloo?" asked Yusei. "Is Dash your sister?"

"No," said Scootaloo, "but she's my hero! I wanna be like her when I grow up!"

Yusei smiled, then turned to Twilight. “So, Twilight, you ready for dueling lessons?” he asked.

“Sure am!” said Twilight. “But why did you need your D-Wheel?”

“Well, like I said, I needed my Duel Disk,” Yusei explained. He pushed a button next to the screen in front of him. A mechanical voice said, “Mode out,” and the white circle in the middle lifted up. Yusei fit his left arm underneath it, attaching the grey device on his wrist to the white object. It fully detached from the vehicle and Yusei dismounted the D-Wheel.

“A Duel Disk is used to bring the cards in Duel Monsters to life,” he explained. “It creates a moving picture of the cards in the air using light. It’s called a hologram.”

“That sounds interesting,” said Twilight, “but I don’t have a Duel Disk... oh, wait! I could probably make one!”

“Really? How?” asked Yusei.

“I’ll use magic to figure out how your Duel Disk works, and then I’ll cast a duplication spell,” answered Twilight. “Though it won’t be perfect, so it might end up looking kind of funny. It might not work at all.”

“Well, go ahead and try it,” said Yusei, holding out his arm. Twilight’s horn and Yusei’s Disk began to glow with a pink aura. Twilight’s eyes were closed and she seemed relaxed, but only for a moment. Suddenly her eyes flashed open. There was a faint green glow around her irises.

‘Incredible,” she said. “There’s a kind of energy in here I’ve never felt before... and it’s not just in your Duel Disk, it’s coming from your cards too!” The magical glow surrounding Twilight’s horn and Yusei’s Duel Disk became connected. A white circle appeared in the middle of the connection. It grew and took on a shape similar to Yusei’s Duel Disk, but rounder and with fewer corners. As the pink aura and the white light faded, the form of Twilight’s new Duel Disk became clear. The main body was round like Yusei’s, but purple with a pink stripe through the middle. The arm fanned outward from the main body in an elegant but sharp curve.

“Pretty impressive,” said Yusei.

“Yeah, I think it worked,” said Twilight. “But...”

“But what, Twi?” asked Applejack.

“But I don’t know if it will work the same way as Yusei’s Duel Disk,” she said. “I mean, it’s made almost entirely from magic, and you know that can have unforeseen- hey, what’s this?” Twilight walked up to the floating Duel Disk and looked at one side of the main body. “There’s a deck in here already!” she exclaimed.

“Really? Let me see this,” said Yusei. He took one card from the top of the deck and looked at it. “These cards are blank,” he said before putting the card back.

“That’s weird,” said Twilight. She took the card and looked at it herself. “Wait, it’s not blank now!”

“What do you think it means, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“Hmm... well, this whole thing is made of magic and the energy I sensed from Yusei’s cards,” said Twilight, “maybe the deck just shows itself to whoever it wants to?”

“In any case, let’s teach you how to duel,” said Yusei. “Probably the best way to really learn how is to actually duel. So how about we get started?”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait to see how this game works! I LOVE games!” said Pinkie Pie as she bounced up and down happily. Yusei turned and walked away a few paces before stopping and facing Twilight again. His Duel Disk lit up with a rainbow of colors which faded quickly. A determined smile flashed across his face.

“Duel!” he shouted, drawing five cards from his deck. Twilight’s deck shuffled itself, then five card levitated from the top and floated over to her.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 4000
Yusei: 4000

“Do you mind if I go first?” asked Twilight.

“Not at all,” said Yusei. “Just remember that you can’t attack on the first turn.”

“That’s fine,” said Twilight. A sixth card hovered off of her deck and over to her other five cards.

“Do you want me to tell you about the different types of cards?” Yusei asked.

“No, I... I think I got it,” said Twilight. “I summon 'Royal Magical Library' in Defense Mode.” As Twilight laid the card on the arm of her Duel Disk, a tower of bookshelves rose up behind her. Platforms floating on balls of green light moved about the shelves as red-robed figures moved, reshelved, and inspected the books. Some seemed to be chanting, others singing.

Royal Magical Library
DEF/2000
LV 4

“Figures the first card she played would be a library,” said Spike.

“It’s a mighty impressive library, though,” said Applejack with a whistle. “Ah don’t think I've seen this many books in all mah life, and I've been to the Manehattan Public Library.”

“How’d you know to summon it in Defense Mode?” asked Yusei.

“I don’t know,” Twilight answered. She looked down at the Duel Disk floating before her. “I just sort of... knew. Maybe the magic had something to do with it.”

“Maybe,” Yusei concurred. “It’s still your turn.”

“Right. I play the Field Spell ‘Magical Citadel of Endymion’,” Twilight continued. A small arm emerged from the center of the edge of the Disk’s blade and Twilight placed another card on it. The arm withdrew into the blade. As it did, the air around them began shift. The simple cottages and houses of Ponyville vanished and were replaced by ivory stone towers. In the distance behind Twilight stood a massive bell tower that dwarfed the other buildings around them. Streams of glowing runes floated in the air around them, written in light and flying by like leaves in the wind. One of the platforms in Twilight’s Library began to glow brighter than the others.

“Each time a Spell Card is played, my Library gains a Spell Counter,” she said. “So let’s play another! I activate 'Spell Power Grasp'. Spell Power Grasp lets me put a Spell Counter on a card that can have Spell Counters, and then lets me add another copy of it to my hand from my deck. I’ll give the counter to the Citadel.” Two orbs of light appeared next to the bell tower and began to float around it.

“The Citadel?” Yusei asked. “It can have Spell Counters too?”

“Yep,” said Twilight. “And like my Magical Library, the Citadel also gains a Spell Counter whenever a Spell Counter is played.”

“So they both have two Spell Counters,” said Yusei.

“And that’s about to go up to three. I play 'Magical Blast', which deals 200 damage to you for each Spellcaster-Type monster I have on the field!”

“Finally, some action!” said Rainbow Dash. The robed figures in the library began to chant rapidly, their voices rising in volume as a swirling ball of blue and purple energy appeared above Twilight. It shot toward Yusei with great speed, enveloping him for a few seconds before vanishing. Yusei had shielded his face with his arms just before the impact.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 3800

“Wait,” said Dash. “That doesn't look like his points dropped a whole lot.”

“That’s ‘cause they didn't, Dash,” said Applejack. “Only two hundred points out of four thousand? That’s like two apples out of forty for me.”

“The damage wasn't really the point,” said Twilight. “Look.” She pointed a hoof at the library behind her. Two more platforms had lit up. Farther back, a third orb had appeared around the bell tower of the Citadel.

“Now I’ll use Royal Magical Library’s effect. By removing three Spell Counters, I can draw one card from my deck. I’ll also use the effect of the Citadel to substitute its own Spell Counters,” said Twilight. The robed ones in the library began their chanting once more. As they did, the three lights orbiting the bell tower suddenly rushed toward the duel, touching Twilight’s deck before vanishing. Twilight took the top card of her deck and added it to the other cards floating in front of her. “Now I’ll use Magical Library’s effect again with its own Spell Counters,” she said. Glowing platforms dimmed and Twilight took another card from her deck.

“I’ll activate the Continuous Spell ‘Arcane Barrier’ and end my turn,” she said finally. One of the platforms in the Library lit up again and an orb of light appeared next to the bell tower.

“Twilight, you've never played this game before in your life,” said Rarity. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Pretty sure, Rarity,” said Twilight confidently. “I don’t quite know how I know, but I know.”

“Well I don’t know WHAT’S going on,” said Dash. “I didn't understand half of what you said!”

“Defense Mode means that my monster is acting like a wall to protect me,” said Twilight. “A Field Spell changes the location of the duel. A Continuous Spell stays on the field after I play it instead of going to the Graveyard. Make sense now?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dash huffed.

“Your turn, Yusei,” said Twilight. “You might get to see some action this time, Dash. Yusei gets to attack first since he’s going second.”

“I draw,” said Yusei as he took a card from his deck. “I might be able to attack, but I won’t just yet. I summon 'Tricular' in Defense Mode and Set one card face-down to end.” A blue robot sitting atop three wheels appeared before Yusei. The engines on it back roared as it spun its wheels rapidly. A giant card appeared behind it, hovering over the ground between the machine and Yusei.

Tricular
DEF/300
LV 3

“Oh, this is boring!” said Rainbow Dash. “I’m going back inside.”

“Wait Dash,” said Twilight. “It’s about to get good!”

“Nah, I’ll pass on this,” Dash replied. “But if it DOES get exciting, somepony come get me.” Dash trotted back into the sweet shop. Twilight sighed.

“It IS about to get exciting,” she said. “My turn. If Magical Blast is in my Graveyard, its effect lets me add it to my hand instead of drawing a card at the start of my turn, so I'll do that. Next I’ll summon 'Magical Exemplar' in Attack Mode.” A human woman appeared before Twilight. She wore green robes and held a calm look on her face, framed by straight, jet-black hair. Mystic runes ran down the middle of her robe.

“Now I play my second Spell Power Grasp to add a Spell Counter to Magical Exemplar,” said Twilight. “Plus, Exemplar gains two Spell Counters whenever a Spell Card is played.” Three orbs of light appeared and began to circle the robed woman. Another appeared around the far-off tower and one of the platforms in the Library lit up.

“I’ll use Exemplar’s effect. I can use any number of her Spell Counters to Special Summon a monster from my hand or Graveyard with the same Level as that number,” said Twilight. “I’ll use all three Spell Counters and summon 'Card Ejector' from my hand.” Twilight laid another card onto her Duel Disk and a little girl in bright pink robes and wearing a too-big purple hat suddenly appeared. The hat fell in front of her eyes and she pushed it back up with the red wand in her right hand.

Magical Exemplar
ATK/1700
LV 4

Card Ejector
ATK 400
LV 3

“Now ain’t she adorable?” said Applejack, pointing a hoof at the little girl.

“Very cute,” said Rarity with a smile.

“Battle!” shouted Twilight. “Card Ejector, attack Tricular!” The little girl aimed her wand at Yusei’s monster and fired a burst of red sparks from the jewel on the end. The sparks hit the robot and it exploded.

“Tricular’s effect activates!” said Yusei. “When it’s destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 'Bicular' from my deck in Defense Mode. Come on out, Bicular!” A yellow robot appeared, this one standing on only two wheels. It spun them and a steady stream of smoke shot out of the exhaust pipes behind it.

“Magical Exemplar, attack Bicular,” twilight ordered. The woman held her hands out in front of her and a ray of green light erupted from her palms and struck the wheeled robot. It exploded, concealing Yusei and his field in a thick cloud of smoke. When it cleared, Twilight saw that a red robot on one wheel had replaced the yellow one. It rolled around in a circle, then stopped and crossed its arms in front of its body.

“Just like Tricular summoned Bicular, Bicular summons 'Unicycular' from my deck,” said Yusei.

Unicycular
DEF/100
LV 1

“Good job defending yourself, Yusei,” said Twilight. “But I’m not done yet. I’ll use Card Ejector’s special effect: Once a turn, I can pick a card in your Graveyard and remove it completely from the game! Say goodbye to Tricular!” The little girl raised her wand above hear head. A bright red light flashed from it. An image of Tricular appeared before fading away.

“Next I play Magical Blast again,” said Twilight. “And since I have three Spellcasters this time, it’ll do six hundred points of damage!” Just as before, the robed figures in the Magical Library began chanting and a swirling ball of energy appeared before them. Card Ejector pointed her wand at it and added a stream of red energy to it. Magical Exemplar added her own power by firing green light at the energy ball. It shot forward and struck Yusei before disappearing.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 3200

“This also puts another Spell Counter on my Citadel and my Library, and two more on Magical Exemplar,” said Twilight. “I’ll use their effects to draw two cards. Then I’ll place three cards face-down and end my turn.”

Yusei looked first at the field, then at his hand. He was holding "Junk Synchron" and "Quillbolt Hedgehog". If I play Quillbolt Hedgehog in Defense Mode, Twilight will destroy it and Unicycular next turn, he thought, and she might even be able to play something stronger to attack me with. I could go for "Junk Warrior", but she might can still destroy it. Same goes for "Junk Gardna".

Twilight wore a confident smirk on her face. “Come on, Yusei!” she shouted. “Show me what you got!”

If I want to turn this duel around, I’ll have to pull off a pretty big attack, Yusei thought. Well, here goes nothing! “My turn!” he said as he drew a card.

TO BE CONTINUED

Master of the Citadel

Authors Note: Like I said last time, this duel is pretty long. It actually goes for fourteen turns: Seven for Twilight, and seven for Yusei. As I write this, I have no clue how long this chapter will get since I ended the last chapter after only three turns had passed. And if you noticed, both of Twilight’s turns had some pretty elaborate moves in them. She’s going to be doing more of that as the duel progresses.

In the meanwhile, I’ll be trying to add more descriptions to what’s going on, but don’t expect me to repeat myself if something happens that’s already happened in the duel. As much fun as I had writing the duel, I really want to get the meat of the story. I’ll still be applying “show vs. tell” as much as I can figure out, but only when I haven’t done so already.

Also, I'm really afraid that all the gameplay terminology might turn you guys off from the story, so please let me know if you have trouble keeping up with it. I really don't want to sacrifice the duels, though.

Also, crud. This chapter went over 4000 words, so I'll have to finish the duel in the next chapter. I might actually be able to do it since the turns won't be nearly as complex as they were earlier in the game.

Also, regarding the poll I created... I've actually considered another possibility. I don't think Rainbow Dash dueling is essential to the story, so I'll skip it for now. Once the story itself is finished, I'll write it as a bonus chapter. This will also give me ample time to figure out just what the hay Dash would actually run.

/*********************\

The afternoon sun hung in the sky and was sinking slowly at an angle behind Sugarcube Corner. It was warm that day, but the shadow cast by the building gave the promise of cool air. Yusei felt the heat leave as the shadow crept over him.

“My turn!” said Yusei as he drew a card. He turned it over in his hand and glanced at it. All right! Go time! he thought.

“By sending a monster in my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster ‘Quickdraw Synchron’ from my hand,” said Yusei. “Come on out, Quickdraw!” A little blue robot wearing boots, a red cape, and a stetson hat appeared. It threw the cape behind its back and quickly drew two tiny pistols from their holsters and fired them. One round eye was visible beneath the brim of the hat.

“Next I Normal Summon another Tuner, 'Junk Synchron',” said Yusei. Another short robot, this one orange, appeared before Yusei. “When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level Two or below monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated. Come back, 'Quillbolt Hedgehog'!” Junk Synchron held its hand out beside it and a blue ring opened next to it. Out of the ring bounced a brown hedgehog with several bolts sticking out of its back.

“Oh, he’s adorable!” said Fluttershy. She flew over to the creature, though it took no notice of her. When she tried to pet it, her hoof went through it. Her face set into a look of confusion.

“It’s not really there, Fluttershy,” said Yusei. “It’s just a picture made out of light.”

“Oh, um... what does that mean, exactly?” she asked.

“Well, have you ever seen a beam of light pass between the branches of a tree?” said Yusei.

“Yes.”

“And you know how you can disrupt it by passing your hand- er, hoof through it?” he continued.

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied.

“A hologram is basically that: A beam of light, but manipulated so that it looks like something, like Quillbolt Hedgehog,” he finished.

“Oh. That makes sense,” Fluttershy said. She hovered over next to Yusei, landed and sat down.

“Okay, Twilight,” said Yusei. “Someone might want to get Rainbow Dash back out here, because this duel’s about to go into overdrive!”

“I’ll get her!” shouted Pinkie Pie before running inside the shop. While she was fetching Rainbow Dash, Yusei continued with his turn.

“When a monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand,” said Yusei, placing another card on his Duel Disk. “I summon 'Doppelwarrior'!” Another human appeared next to Quillbolt Hedgehog. He was dressed in a black uniform and helmet and was holding a gun of sorts in his hand (though Yusei hoped the ponies didn’t know what it was, and that he wouldn’t have to answer). A faint, orange shadow seemed to trail right behind the man.

Just then, Pinkie Pie reappeared, pushing Rainbow Dash from behind. “Come on, Pinkie! I told you I’m not interested!” Dash protested.

“You will be after this, Dash,” said Yusei. “If I use Quickdraw Synchron for a Synchro Summon, I can substitute it for any other Tuner Monster with ‘Synchron’ in its name.” A large number of cards appeared in a circle in the middle of the field and began to spin rapidly. The blue robot grabbed one of its pistols in the blink of an eye and fired it. The wheel stopped and one of the cards had a hole through the middle- it was Road Synchron’s card.

“Level Five Quickdraw Synchron, let’s give Level Two Doppelwarrior and Level One Unicycular a tune up!” Both monsters leaped into the air. Quickdraw Synchron’s body vanished and five stars appeared in its place. These stars formed a line and moved in a circle, drawing several green rings before vanishing themselves. The other two monsters moved through these rings and their bodies also vanished, replaced by three more stars.

“Hope comes together to evoke a new horizon,” said Yusei. “Become the path its light shines upon!” A beam of light shot through the stars in the rings and quickly grew to envelope the rings themselves. “Synchro Summon! Drive onward, 'Road Warrior'!”

A human-shaped shadow appeared in the light. It swing its arms outward and the light vanished. Yusei’s new monster stood tall and wore shining, gold armor. A helmet with a tall, flat crest hid its face.

Road Warrior
ATK/3000
LV 8

“Doppelwarrior’s effect activates,” said Yusei. “When I use it for a Synchro Summon, I can Special Summon a 'Doppel Token' to the field.” Doppelwarrior briefly reappeared. its orange shadow shrank down to the size of a filly and jumped away from it before the taller original vanished.

“I activate Road Warrior’s effect,” said Yusei. “Once per turn, I can summon a Level Two or lower Warrior or Machine-Type monster from my deck. I summon 'Tuningware' to the field!” Road Warrior reached behind it and took hold of two rods on its back. It lifted them over its head and pulled a giant blade out in front of it. A wide beam of light shot forth from the blade and a tiny robot wearing a yellow scarf (and a helmet that looked like a frying pan) emerged from it.

“Okay, that’s kind of cool, I guess,” said Dash. “But it’s still not that great.”

“Just wait, Dash,” said Yusei. “Tuningware is normally a Level One monster, but I can treat it as Level Two for a Synchro Summon! I tune my Level One Doppel Token, and my Level Two Quillbolt Hedgehog and Tuningware with my Level Three Junk Synchron!” Junk Synchron grabbed the handle of a cord hidden under its breastplate and pulled it. The motor on its back roared to life as its body vanished and three green rings encircled Yusei’s remaining monsters.

“Souls clash and merge together to awaken a dark raging spirit! Become the path its light shines upon!” Another pillar of light appeared before Yusei and a massive shadow appeared within. “Synchro Summon! Obliterate, 'Junk Destroyer'!” The light vanished and a giant, four-armed warrior appeared from within. It was black with gold trimming and had four blade-like wings. Its eyes flashed and glowed bright red.

Junk Destroyer
ATK/2600
LV 8

“Tuningware’s effect activates,” said Yusei. “When it’s sent to the Graveyard for a Synchro Summon, I draw one card from my deck. Next, Junk Destroyer’s effect activates! For every non-Tuner monster I used to summon it, I can destroy one card on the field! Junk Destroyer, destroy Twilight’s Set cards! Tidal Energy!” The four green orbs on Junk Destroyer’s chest lit up, and a wave of water-like energy erupted from them, surging forward to Twilight’s cards.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Yusei!” said Twilight. “I activate one of my Traps, ‘Card of Sacrifice’! If the combined Attack Points of my Attack Mode monsters is less than the attack strength of your weakest monster, I can draw two cards.”

“If I’m understanding all of this correctly, the Attack Points of Twilight’s monsters adds up to two-thousand one-hundred points,” said Rarity.

“And Yusei’s weakest monster only has twenty-six hundred points,” said Pinkie Pie. “That means Twilight gets some new cards!”

Twilight grinned as she added two new cards to her hand from her deck. “Glad you took the bait, Yusei, but I wasn’t expecting to lose those other cards,” she said. “Still, better than losing all my monsters, right?”

“You’re gonna lose them anyway, Twilight,” said Yusei. “Road Warrior, attack Magical Exemplar!” The gold warrior jumped into the air and threw its fist forward as it came down. The clawed knuckles resting atop its hand struck the green-clad spellcaster and she was destroyed. The Spell Counters floating above her flew off to the Citadel’s central tower. Twilight briefly explained that Spell Counters from destroyed cards would be transferred to the Citadel. Yusei nodded in acknowledgement before continuing.

“Now Junk Destroyer, attack Card Ejector!” ordered Yusei. “Destroyer Knuckle!” Junk Destroyer punched in front of it once with each of its four arms, sending four balls of energy flying towards the tiny magician. She squeaked and hid beneath her large hat before vanishing in the explosion.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 500

“I’m not done yet either,” said Yusei. “I activate my own Trap, 'Synchro Overlimit'! When a Synchro Monster I control destroys a monster in battle, it can attack one more time! Go, Junk Destroyer, attack Royal Magical Library!” Junk Destroyer’s eyes flashed as it launched another energy attack at Twilight’s library, destroying it as well. Twilight looked on in anguish as the library was torn to shreds.

“If a monster attacks with Synchro Overlimit’s effect, it’s destroyed immediately afterwards,” said Yusei. Bright beams of light emerged from the joints and orbs on Junk Destroyer’s body, followed by the monster itself exploding. “I Set one card face-down and end my turn.”

Yusei turned to Rainbow Dash. “So, Dash, what’d you think of that?” he asked her. He noticed the look on her face and laughed; her jaw had dropped completely. Pinkie Pie poked Dash in the shoulder with her hoof. Dash shook her head rapidly.

Yusei turned back to the duel. Two orbs of light were moving around the Citadel’s tower. Yusei noticed that three more had appeared around the Arcane Barrier card that Twilight had played on her first turn.

“Arcane Barrier gains Spell Counters too?” he asked.

“That’s right,” said Twilight in a serious tone. Yusei was caught off guard. “Each time a Spellcaster is destroyed, Arcane Barrier gets one Spell Counter. My turn!” Twilight said, drawing a card from her deck.

“I summon 'Apprentice Magician'!” she said. A young man with yellow hair and wearing a red band around his head appeared. He was dressed in purple clothing and held in one hand a long, green staff with a round jewel on the end. “When Apprentice Magician is summoned, he puts a Spell Counter on one card on the field. I’ll give it to Arcane Barrier.” Twilight’s new servant pointed his staff at the Arcane Barrier card. A fourth orb of light appeared above it.

“Next, I activate Arcane Barrier’s effect,” Twilight said. “By sending it and a Spellcaster on my field to the Graveyard, I can daw one card for each of the Barrier’s Spell Counters.” The Apprentice Magician raised his staff above his head. Dark green circles inscribed with mysterious runes appeared above him, spinning slowly. A dome of light formed around him. In a flash, the Apprentice Magician, the dome and the runed circles were gone. Twilight drew four cards.

“I activate 'Field Barrier',” said Twilight. A dome of green light appeared over the bell tower and another Spell Counter appeared as well. “This card will protect my Citadel from being destroyed, and prevents both of us from playing a new Field Spell. Since it’s a Continuous Spell, the Citadel also gains a Spell Counter from it. Then I’ll play my final Spell Power Grasp to add two Spell Counters to the Citadel. And last, I play the Spell Card ‘Assault Teleport’. By shuffling a monster with ‘Assault Mode’ in its name from my hand into my deck, I can draw two cards.” Twilight briefly revealed a monster card in her hand before returning it to her deck. The deck shuffled itself and Twilight drew two new cards.

Assault Teleport? thought Yusei. She’s got an Assault Mode monster. That can’t be good, and if it’s the one I think it is...

“Perfect,” she said, interrupting Yusei’s thoughts. “Let’s see how you handle a master magic user! I remove all six Spell Counters from the Citadel to summon its steward: 'Endymion, the Master Magician'!” The six Spell Counters moving around the tower of the Citadel stopped suddenly, then rushed toward the duel field. They formed a vertical line and a yellowish light enveloped them. When the light faded, a new magician appeared. He was dressed entirely in black robes outlined with gold. A purple cape fluttered behind him and a giant metal ring rested on his back. In his hand he held a staff with a large hook on the end. At the base of the hook was a large, perfectly round amethyst.

Endymion, the Master Magician
ATK/2700
LV 7

“Oh my goodness,” said Rarity. “I’ve never seen such an elaborate outfit before! ...paper! I need paper!” With that, she dashed toward Sugarcube Corner, but was knocked over when she bumped into another pony. Yusei looked over to where Rarity fell and saw that nearly everyone in the shop was now standing outside, watching the duel.

“Seems we’ve drawn a crowd,” said Yusei.

“Yep yep yep!” said Pinkie Pie exuberantly. “They heard the loud BOOM BOOM BOOMs outside and I told them you and Twilight were playing a card game with magic and stuff and they wanted to come watch!”

“Aw man!” cried Dash. “How come I can’t get ponies out in the park like this to watch me? No fair!”

“That’s probably ‘cause you ain’t mastered the fine art of spontaneous explosions, Sugarcube,” said Applejack. Applejack just leaned against a wall with her front legs crossed in front of her chest and snorted.

“Endymion’s effect activates,” said Twilight suddenly. “When I summon him by removing Spell Counters from his Citadel, I can add a Spell Card in my Graveyard to my hand.”

“So which card are you getting?” asked Yusei.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Twilight, “because I’m discarding it to activate Endymion’s effect! This lets me destroy one card on the field. Road Warrior is toast!” Endymion aimed his hooked staff at Yusei’s gold-clad warrior and fired a burst of purple energy at him. Road Warrior vanished in the ensuing explosion.

“Endymion, attack Yusei directly!” said Twilight. “Dark Magic Mastery!” Endymion gripped the the staff with both hands and held it above his head. A black and purple beam of light shone from the jewel on the end and raced toward Yusei.

“I activate 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow'!” said Yusei. His face-down card flipped up and a scarecrow made of metal rods, wires, and a broken helmet emerged from the picture. The light struck the metal scarecrow and dissipated. Then the scarecrow moved back into the picture and the card turned face-down again. “Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates one attack and then flips face-down so I can use it again later,” Yusei explained. Twilight ended her turn.

Yusei looked at the one card in his hand, Double Cyclone. It wouldn’t do him any good now, and he needed a way to protect his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Come on, deck, don’t fail me now! “I draw!” Yusei glanced at his new card and his eyes widened. Yes! “I summon the Tuner monster ‘Debris Dragon’!” he said. A white dragon appeared before him, standing only a few inches shorter than Yusei. It had jewel-like orange armor plates on its chest and shoulder. The back of its head ended in three long prongs that stuck out behind it, while its nose extended in a thin, arrow-like point. It flapped its wings and roared.

Debris Dragon
ATK/1000
LV 4

“When Debris Dragon is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a monster with five hundred or fewer Attack Points from my Graveyard in Attack Mode,” said Yusei as the orange armor plates on his monster began to glow. “Come on back, Bicular!” A blue ring appeared before the dragon and the two-wheeled robot emerged from it.

“Next, if I have a Tuner monster in play, I can also bring back Quillbolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard,” said Yusei as the brown ball of fur and bolts appeared once again. Several ponies in the audience cooed.

“I’m tuning my Level Two Quillbolt Hedgehog and Bicular with my Level Four Debris Dragon,” said Yusei. The dragon flapped its wings and roared before vanishing. Four green rings flew away from it and encircled Quillbolt Hedgehog and Bicular. They two vanished and were replaced by two stars each.

“Gathering wishes will become a bright new star,” said Yusei. “Become the path its light shines upon!” The familiar pillar of light appeared, engulfing the rings and the stars they contained. “I Synchro Summon 'Stardust Dragon'! Stardust, take flight!”

A massive white dragon emerged from the pillar, shooting into the air like a rocket, spinning before coming to rest with its wings extended and its claws ready to tear an opponent to shreds. It resembled Debris Dragon, but was much, much larger and the armor plates on its chest and shoulders were purple instead of orange. It roared loudly to announce its arrival. Its yellow eyes flashed for a brief second.

Spike stood in awe of the great dragon hovering above Yusei. Several other ponies began to whisper; Yusei was worried that they might be scared of the dragon, but then he noticed that several were smiling. Fluttershy, however, was cowering behind him, her head buried underneath her hooves. He turned around and knelt down, putting his hand on her back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.

Fluttershy mumbled something.

“What’s that?” Yusei asked.

“...scared of...”

“A little louder, Fluttershy,” said Yusei gently.

“I’m scared of dragons! Eep!”

Yusei smiled at her. “You don’t have to be scared of this dragon, Fluttershy,” said Yusei. “It’s one of my dearest friends, and it’ll do anything to protect its friends.” Fluttershy looked out from beneath her forelegs and stared at the dragon. It growled softly, but not in a menacing way. It was almost comforting. She stood up and smiled at the dragon.

“Isn’t that the card that was stolen from you?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah, it is,” said Yusei. “And now I’ve got it back, and I can duel at full power! I end my turn!”

Twilight announced the start of her turn, but recovered Magical Blast from her Graveyard instead of drawing. “I don’t know what your dragon does, Yusei,” she said, “but with only twenty-five hundred Attack Points, it doesn’t hold a candle to my Master Magician! I activate Endymion’s effect! By discarding Magical Blast from my hand, I can have Endymion destroy your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” Endymion aimed his staff at Yusei’s face-down card and fired a burst of magical energy.

“I activate Stardust Dragon’s effect: Victim Sanctuary!” said Yusei. “If an effect is activated that would destroy a card on the field, Stardust can sacrifice itself to negate that activation and destroy that card!” Stardust held out its clawed hand and flew forward. The blast of energy collided with the palm of its hand and the dragon pushed it back until it reached the magician. Once it was close enough, Stardust Dragon grabbed the jewel on Endymion’s staff and wrapped its wings around both of them. The jewel exploded and both monsters were hidden by a curtain of smoke.

“Don’t count me out just yet, Yusei!” said Twilight. The smoke cleared and Yusei saw the edges of a cube formed by metal rods. Chains connected the corners of the cube to a coffin-like object in the center. The front was split by a beam of light and it opened as two doors. A humanoid marionette wearing a red cape and hood emerged from the coffin.

Magical Marionette
ATK/2000
LV 5

“What the... but how?!” said Yusei.

“Just before Stardust could destroy Endymion, I activated the Quick-Play Spell ‘Magical Dimension’,” said Twilight. “If I have a Spellcaster in play, I can Tribute one of my monsters and Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand, so I summoned 'Magical Marionette'! And since Magical Dimension was a Spell Card, Endymion’s Citadel gains a Spell Counter.

“Now I summon 'Arcane Apprentice'.” A short wizard appeared, completely wrapped in purple and brown robes. A purple hat concealed his face. Two red eyes shone out from the shadows between his hat and robes.

“A Tuner monster!” said Yusei.

“You Synchro Summoned three times in this game,” said Twilight, “so I figured I should get in on the fun. Level 2 Arcane Apprentice, tune with Level 5 Marionette! The apprentice learns and the apprentice grows, becoming a master of magic! Synchro Summon! Adept of the arcane arts, rise! 'Arcanite Magician'!” Emerging from the pillar of light before Twilight Sparkle was a magician dressed in white robes and holding a green staff in his hand. Black armor rimmed with red gleamed beneath the robes. A black belt with several silver studs was wrapped around his waste. He looked solemnly at Yusei from beneath his three-pronged hood.

Arcanite Magician
ATK/400
LV 7

“If Arcane Apprentice is used for a Synchro Summon, I can add ‘Assault Mode Activate’ from my deck to my hand,” said Twilight. She revealed the card that slid out of her deck with her magic. Yusei’s eyes widened.

I knew it! he thought. This is not good. I don’t even have my own Assault Mode cards with me!

“Arcanite Magician’s effect also activates. When he’s Synchro Summoned, he gains two Spell Counters,” said Twilight as two of the studs on the magician’s belt lit up. “Plus, he gets a thousand extra Attack Points for every Spell Counter that he has!”

“So how much is that, Rarity?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“That’s two-thousand and four-hundred points, Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity.

Applejack whistled. “Twi’s really on a roll here,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, but Yusei still has that metal scarecrow thingy,” said Pinkie Pie, “so Twilight won’t be able to attack because Yusei can just stop it!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Pinkie,” said Twilight with a mischievous grin. “I activate Arcanite Magician’s effect! By removing a Spell Counter from one of my cards, I can destroy one card on the field. I’ll remove the Citadel’s Spell Counter and destroy Scrap-Iron Scarecrow once and for all!” Twilight’s newest magician aimed his staff at the Spell Counter floating around the bell tower and it froze in place. Then he aimed his staff at Yusei’s face-down card. The ball of light slammed into the card and destroyed it.

“Arcanite Magician, direct attack!” said Twilight. “Arcane Blast!” The Arcanite Magician pointed the jeweled end of his staff at Yusei. Three rings of runes written in light appeared around it. The larger rings moved forward, the largest moving to the front, and a ball of green energy appeared within. It blasted forward, causing the rings to break apart, and struck Yusei in the chest. He stumbled backward a bit.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 500
Yusei: 800

“Ah-ha! That’s our Twilight! Resourceful as ever!” laughed Rarity.

“They’re only three-hundred points apart!” said Pinkie. Though they didn’t quite understand the game being played, they saw that Twilight had landed a hit and cheered loudly for her, stomping their hooves on the ground in applause. Fluttershy looked up at Yusei with a concerned expression.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Yusei. He looked down at Fluttershy with a smile. “I’m having fun.”

“I'll place a card face-down and end my turn,” said Twilight.

“During the End Phase of the turn that it negated an effect, Stardust Dragon is Special Summoned back to the field,” said Yusei. “Return to my side, Stardust!” A blue circle appeared in the ground and Yusei’s Stardust Dragon flew out of it, roaring and extending its wings.

“That’s the thing about Stardust Dragon, Fluttershy,” said Yusei. “It’s willing to sacrifice itself to save others, but it won’t abandon its friends, so it’s never gone for long.” Fluttershy looked up in wonder at the sparkling white dragon.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Twilight. “I guess this is where the game gets interesting!”

To be continued...

The Evolving Magician

My Little Pony: Dueling is Magic! Chapter 4: The Evolving Magician

*********************\

The stunning conclusion to the duel between Yusei vs. Twilight draws near! Yusei must now deal with the powerful Arcanite Magician, and while he has the protective power of Stardust Dragon on his side, he also knows that this is only the beginning! Twilight has proven to be a clever duelist and threatens to increase the power of her newest monster! Meanwhile, a dark force is at work in Equestria, dragging its denizens into a world of despair...

*********************\

Author’s Note: It’s come to my attention that some folks are having trouble keeping up with the duel. First off, I wish to apologize to all of you for the heavy use of gameplay terms. Though I have tried to make sure that certain things are explained when they are first used, I fear I may have relied too much on your own memory to carry the story through. I will try to rectify this.

Though it’s probably not necessary, I feel I need to say this for my own peace of mind: This story takes place at the end of the Bonds Beyond Time movie, just before Yusei returns home. The movie itself took place before the Crash Town story in 5D’s. Any cards that appear from that story or beyond will have their anime effects in this story rather than their real-life effects, such as Doppelwarrior in the last chapter.

I appreciate you guys reading this. Thank you for putting up with this longer-than-expected duel.

/*********************\

Early afternoon was perhaps the most beautiful time of day in Canterlot. Celestia’s sun still hovered high in the sky, but no longer at its zenith, allowing shadows to fall at angles throughout the city. Large, fluffy clouds hung above the city, moved by a gentle wind and adding shade and atmosphere to the cobbled streets below.

The streets were bustling with ponies as they went about their business. For some, it genuinely was business. For others, it was merely time spent exploring the town, visiting the shops, and frequenting favorite restaurants. For most ponies, working or not, today was a good day in Canterlot.

But not for all. Fancypants, the most important pony in all of the social circles of the city, walked somberly toward the palace. He had arranged a meeting with Princess Celestia to discuss a matter of vital importance: A pony he could not remember. It had happened a week ago, when he first noticed the troubling feeling of missing somepony, but he could not remember whom. Though his memory was strong, Fancypants still felt it necessary to keep a journal, and recorded this odd feeling within.

Two days later, he had forgotten all about it. The day after, he decided to read some of his more recent journal entries. Upon reading his words from three days prior, that odd feeling returned, stronger than before. He remembered that other ponies were feeling the same thing as of late. He immediately wrote a letter to the Princess, requesting an audience to discuss this disturbing matter. The reply came the very next day and the meeting was set up.

Fancypants had been reflecting on these things and had not noticed that he had arrived at the doors to the throne room. Two white guards in golden armor stood stoic and unmoving. A yellow pegasus with an orange mane stood at the doors as well.

“Spitfire, what are you doing here?” asked Fancypants. The pegasus turned to him.

“I sent the Princess a letter a few days ago,” she replied. “I wanted to talk to her about-”

“About the missing ponies?” Fancypants finished. “Yes, I am here for that reason as well.”

“You’re missing somepony too?” Spitfire asked.

“Yes,” said Fancypants solemnly. “And I can’t remember who it is...” Several other ponies arrived at the doors. They all stood in silence, waiting.

The doors swung open and the Princess beckoned them inside.

*****

‘My turn!” said Yusei as he drew his card. “Stardust Dragon, attack Arcanite Magician! Shooting Sonic!” The white dragon reared its head back, then flung it forward as a clear beam of energy erupted from its mouth.

“'Assault Mode Activate'!” said Twilight. The face-down card before her flipped up. “By Tributing a Synchro Monster on my field, I can Special Summon an ‘Assault Mode’ monster from my deck whose name contains the name of the Tributed Synchro Monster.”

“What the hay does that mean?” asked Applejack.

“Basically,” said Yusei, “she’s making her Arcanite Magician even more powerful!”

“That’s right,” said Twilight. “I summon 'Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode'!” The Arcanite Magician grabbed the white robe he wore, pulled it off and flung it aside, revealing the black and orange armor beneath. It gleamed in the sunlight and the orange edges of the armor seemed to glow. Stardust Dragon’s attack struck the white robe, blasting straight through it and destroying it.

Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode
ATK/900
LV 9

“When I summon Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode, it gains two Spell Counters,” said Twilight, “and its Attack Points are also increased by one thousand for every Spell Counter he has!” Two green orbs in the magician’s armor lit up and the orange edges glowed even brighter.

“That puts it at twenty-nine hundred Attack Points!” said Rarity.

“Stardust, stop your attack!” ordered Yusei. The dragon closed its mouth and the clear beam vanished. “I set two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“My turn,” said Twilight. “Arcanite Magician, attack Stardust Dragon! Arcane Assault Flare!” The magician aimed his staff at Yusei’s dragon and fired a burst of green fire at it. It enveloped Yusei’s monster and destroyed it in a matter of seconds.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 500
Yusei: 400

“Next I activate the effect of my powered-up Arcanite Magician!” said Twilight. “By removing both of his Spell Counters, Arcanite Magician can destroy every card on your side of the field! Arcane Explosion!” The gems on Arcanite Magician’s armor as well as the one on its staff began to glow. He flung his arms out to beside him as a flash of bright green light erupted from every gem. Intense wind pushed against Yusei as his face-down cards threatened to be blown away.

“If it’s getting destroyed anyway, then I’ll use the Quick-Play Spell 'Double Cyclone'!” said Yusei. One of his face-down cards flipped up and two tornadoes, one red and one yellow, shot out of the picture. The yellow one struck his other face-down card and destroyed it, and the red one sped toward the green barrier surrounding the tower of Endymion’s Citadel. “Double Cyclone destroys one Spell or Trap on each side of the field, and I’m using it to destroy my other face-down card and your Field Barrier!”

As the light from Arcanite Magician faded, the red tornado struck the green barrier around the Citadel, causing it to shatter like glass.

“Next I activate the effect of my destroyed card,” said Yusei. “When 'Limiter Overload' is destroyed, it automatically Special Summons 'Speed Warrior' from my hand, deck or Graveyard. I’ll summon him from my deck in Defense Mode.” A new warrior in beige armored jumpsuit appeared. It moved far too quickly and seemed to slide across the ground on its feet. Twilight noticed that there were wheels on the soles of the warrior’s feet as it knelt down and crossed its arms in front of its chest.

“Interesting,” said Twilight. “But I doubt there’s a lot you can do without Stardust Dragon. And because you used a Spell Card, my Citadel now has a Spell Counter on it. And if I can activate a Spell Card on my next turn, I can destroy your field a second time! I end my turn.”

“My turn!” said Yusei. He looked at his card. I’ll attack and then go on the defensive, he thought. “I switch Speed Warrior to Attack Mode!” Speed Warrior spun around on its wheels, standing up as it did.

Speed Warrior
ATK/900
LV 2

“Speed Warrior, attack Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode with Sonic Edge!” Yusei ordered. Speed Warrior dashed towards Twilight’s monster. Two jets on its back fired up, causing it to move even faster. Speed Warrior suddenly flipped onto its hands and spun around, slicing its leg into the magician who, in turn, fired a burst of green fire from his staff at Yusei’s monster. There was an explosion and both monsters were destroyed.

“Since both our monsters have the same attack points, they’re both destroyed,” said Yusei. “You won’t be using your magician’s effect again!”

“That’s what you think,” said Twilight. “When an ‘Assault Mode’ monster is destroyed, it can revive its original Synchro form. Be reborn, Arcanite Magician!” The smoke from the explosion faded and Twilight’s magician still stood, donning its white robe.

Yusei grit his teeth. At least I don’t have to deal with that Assault Mode anymore, he thought, but the regular Arcanite Magician can still destroy one of my cards. Guess I don’t have a choice here. “I summon 'Stardust Phantom' in Defense Mode and end my turn,” said Yusei. His new monster was another Spellcaster-type, this one wearing white robes and a blue cape. Its helmet and staff both resembled Stardust Dragon.

Stardust Phantom
DEF/0
LV 1

“A monster with no Defense Points. Out of moves, Yusei?” mused Twilight.

“Not quite,” replied Yusei. “When Stardust Phantom is destroyed, I can bring Stardust Dragon back from the Graveyard in Defense Mode. You’d better think carefully about your next move.”

“I already have,” said Twilight as a card floated from the top of her deck and over to the other card in front of her. “I still have a Spell Counter on my Citadel. Arcanite Magician will use it to destroy your Stardust Phantom!” Just as before, the Arcanite Magician took control of the orb of light circling around the distant tower, and in one swift move, commanded it to strike Yusei’s monster. From the ensuing explosion arose Yusei’s mighty dragon, roaring loudly to make its return known to all, then crossing its wings in front of its body.

Stardust Dragon
DEF/2000
LV 8

“Oh yeah! Stardust Dragon is back!” shouted Spike. He jumped up and down and cheered loudly for Yusei, but then caught Twilight’s eye and stopped. “Oops. Sorry, Twilight.”

“That’s okay, Spike,” she said. “I understand why you’d be excited. But don’t get used to Stardust Dragon staying around. Yusei, you have no more cards in your hand and no other cards on the field. But I still have one card I can play: The Spell Card ‘Miracle Synchro Fusion’! By removing a Synchro Monster and one other monster on my field or in my Graveyard from play, I can summon a Synchro Fusion!”

“Synchro Fusion?!” exclaimed Yusei. His mind flashed back to the mysterious D-Wheeler and his ultimate Synchro, formed by combining Synchros... but this couldn’t be the same thing, could it?

What if it’s all I can do? thought Yusei.

“Delving into arts new and old and combining them with the works of the arcane, my servant grows even stronger, becoming the ultimate wizard! I Fusion Summon the 'Supreme Arcanite Magician'!” A proud grin spread across her face as orange and green flames engulfed the white-robed magician, obscuring him from Yusei’s vision. The flames danced with each other as they shifted into a lavender hue that matched Twilight’s coat. A green staff was thrust up from the flames and they died down instantly.

Twilight’s monster was now robed in a more elaborate outfit than ever, armored robes that mimicked the lavender flames from before. Green jewels were embedded in the armor at the shoulders, chest, wrists, the waist, and even the helmet. A white cape fluttered behind the magician, then softly floated down around his ankles.

Supreme Arcanite Magician
ATK/1400
LV 10

“Ah gotta say, that is one mighty impressive critter, Twilight,” said Applejack.

“Yeah, that looks totally awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“I bet it’s SUPER-DUPER strong!” said Pinkie, bouncing from one hoof to another.

“The outfit seems a bit much to me,” said Rarity. The others glared at her. “...but it’s probably your ace in the hole,” she added. “Go Twilight!”

“Like his previous forms, when Supreme Arcanite Magician is Fusion Summoned, he gets two Spell Counters,” said Twilight as two of the gems on the magician’s chest lit up. “And also like the other two forms, he gets 1000 extra points for every Spell Counter he has!”

Applejack leaned over to say something to Dash, but the cyan mare put a hoof to her mouth and said, “I got it this time,” she said. “Three thousand and four hundred, right?”

“Eeyup!” The four ponies jumped and turned around to see a red stallion behind them.

“Big Macintosh!” said Applejack, giving the stallion a shove. “You gotta stop sneakin’ up on ponies like that!”

“Nnnnope!” he said with a grin. Applejack gave him a smile and turned back to the duel.

“Supreme Arcanite Magician, attack Stardust Dragon,” she said. “Spell of Supremacy: Arcane Ultima!”

Purple rings of runes appeared above the magician and on the ground beneath him as the green jewels on his armor all lit up. The rings began to move toward each other. The runes turned upright, interlocking with each other and rotating around the magician. He held his staff out in front of him, pointing the jewel and the pen-like tip at Stardust Dragon. The runes gained speed, moving faster and faster. Rays of light stood from the jewels on the armor, then bent down to the jewel on his staff. The rays of light and the spinning runes disappeared into the jewel and it glowed with a blinding light. The light faded and a wide ray of purple magic blasted out of the jewel and raced toward the white dragon.

“I activate Stardust Phantom’s effect!” said Yusei as the ghostly image of Stardust Phantom appeared in front of his dragon. “By removing it from the Graveyard, I can give a Dragon-Type Synchro Monster an effect that saves it from being destroyed in battle by having it lose 800 Defense Points!” The blast struck Stardust’s wings and slid off to the sides. Every pony watching shielded their eyes with a hoof. Stardust Dragon roared and ducked its head behind its wings. As the ray of light shrank and faded, a small counter appeared next to Stardust displayed its Defense Points.

Stardust Dragon
DEF/1200
LV 8

“You’re more resourceful than I thought,” said Twilight. “But I’m not done yet. Since I used a Spell to summon my Supreme Magician, the Citadel of Endymion has a Spell Counter on it. I’ll use it to activate Supreme Arcanite Magician’s effect. Once per turn, I can use a Spell Counter on my field to destroy a card on the field or draw a card from my deck.”

“Twilight, you’re not actually going to try to destroy Stardust Dragon, are you?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah! You know what’ll happen if you do!” Pinkie chimed in.

“I know,” said Twilight. “That’s why I’m drawing a card from my deck instead.” Twilight levitated a card from her deck, looked at it, then moved the other one to her Duel Disk. “I summon 'Defender, the Magical Knight' in Defense Mode. When he’s Normal Summoned, he also gets a Spell Counter.” A man wearing blue and gold armor and a blue cape emerged from a blue circle in the air. In his right hand was a (laughably) small sword, while his left wielded a blue and gold wall shield with a red gem in the center. The gem lit up as Defender moved the shield in front of himself.

Defender, the Magical Knight
DEF/2000
LV 4

“That ends my turn,” said Twilight.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “Wait, what? Why’s Twilight playing a guy with a big shield?” she asked. “She’s got a SUPREME wizard on her side!”

“She’s getting ready, Pinks,” said Dash. “Twilight expects Yusei to turn things around since she couldn’t get rid of Stardust Dragon.”

“You seem awful sure about that,” said Applejack.

“That’s because I’d expect the same thing,” Dash replied. “You don’t get this good at flying and racing without learning how to anticipate surprises.”

“It’s my turn now,” said Yusei as he drew his new card. “Perfect! I summon 'Synchron Explorer' in Attack Mode!” A very round, red robot with a large hole in its front emerged before Yusei. The hollowed front began to glow and a shadow appeared within. “When I summon Synchron Explorer, I can bring back another ‘Synchron’ monster in my Graveyard. Come on back, Quickdraw Synchron!” The caped robot emerged from the belly of the red robot and fired one of its pistols.

“I substitute Quickdraw Synchron for Junk Synchron, and tune it with my Level two Synchron Explorer! Gathering roars form an echoing arrow that pierces the sky! I Synchro Summon 'Junk Archer'!”

Yusei’s new monster was tall and thin, an orange robot holding a large bow with an arrow resting on the string. It had two green eyes within a tall, orange helmet. One eye was covered by little orange bars.

Junk Archer
ATK/2300
LV 7

“I activate Junk Archer’s effect. Once per turn, it can remove one monster on the field from the game until the End Phase,” said Yusei. “I’ll remove Supreme Arcanite Magician from play. Go, Dimensional Shot!” The arrow on Junk Archer’s bow began to glow with a blue aura. The robotic warrior drew the arrow back and aimed it at Twilight’s magician, then let it go. The arrow flew fast and pierced the magician in his middle, going straight through him. The arrowhead then pushed at the space around it and tore through the air, opening up a rift behind Supreme Arcanite Magician. He was pulled through it and the rift closed after him.

“When he comes back, he won’t have any Spell Counters,” said Yusei. “I switch Stardust Dragon to Attack Mode. And now to take care of your other monster. Junk Archer, attack Defender, the Magical Knight with Scrap Arrow!”

Junk Archer drew another arrow on its bow and fired it. Defender moved his shield into the arrow’s path. It struck the red gem in the center and bounced off, flying upward before falling and embedding itself into the ground and vanishing. The gem on the shield lost its light.

“Once a turn, Defender can save any number of Spellcasters from being destroyed by using that same number of Spell Counters on the field,” explained Twilight.

“Then Stardust Dragon, attack Defender with Shooting Sonic!” said Yusei.

Stardust Dragon opened its maw and fired a clear, sparkling beam at Defender. The beam made contact with the shield and broke through, destroying the Magical Knight.

“That’s all I can do for now,” said Yusei. “I end my turn.”

“During the End Phase, Supreme Arcanite Magician returns to the field,” said Twilight as her monster reemerged from a tear in the air.

Supreme Arcanite Magician
ATK/1400
LV 10

“My turn!” said Twilight. “Instead of drawing a card, I’ll add Magical Blast to my hand from the Graveyard, and I’ll activate it! You take two hundred points of damage, Yusei, and this puts a Spell Counter on the Citadel of Endymion.” Twilight’s Arcanite Magician fired a blast of energy at Yusei, pushing him back a small bit. A small light appeared in the sky and started circling the tower in the distance.

“Now I’ll use that Spell Counter to activate Supreme Arcanite Magician’s effect so that I can draw a card,” said Twilight. A card floated away from her deck. She looked at it and smiled. “I summon 'Apprentice Magician' in Defense Mode! And when he’s Summoned, he puts a Spell Counter on my Supreme Magician!” The purple-robed young man appeared and pointed his staff at the taller magician. A green light shot out of the jewel on the end and connected with the one in the center of Supreme Arcanite’s chest plate. It lit up with a bright green aura.

Apprentice Magician
DEF/800
LV 2

Supreme Arcanite Magician
ATK/2400
LV 10

“Supreme Arcanite Magician, attack Junk Archer! Spell of Supremacy: Arcane Ultima!” shouted Twilight. In a flash of light, Yusei’s Archer was destroyed.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 500
Yusei: 100

“I’ll place a card face-down and end my turn,” said Twilight. “But on my next turn, I’ll bring back Magical Blast to win the duel!”

“But if I get a monster, I can destroy both of your magicians by attacking them,” Yusei pointed out.

“That won’t work,” said Twilight as she pointed a hoof at Apprentice Magician. “When Apprentice Magician is destroyed by battle, he summons a Level Two or lower Spellcaster from my deck. There’s no way you can destroy three monsters next turn!”

Yusei drew a card from his deck. When he saw what it was, he smiled. “I won’t need to,” he said. “Stardust Dragon, attack Supreme Arcanite Magician! Shooting Sonic!”

Twilight smirked. “Your attack has triggered my Trap, Yusei!’ she said. “Go, 'Skill Successor'! With this card, Supreme Arcanite Magician gains four hundred Attack Points! I guess I win a turn early.”

Supreme Arcanite Magician
ATK 2800
LV 10

“Are you sure about that?” said Yusei with a smile. Twilight’s smirk faded. “I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card ‘Blind Spot Strike’! This card increases the Attack Points of a monster on my field by the Defense Points of a Defense Mode monster on your field. Apprentice Magician’s Defense Points are eight hundred, so Stardust Dragon gains eight hundred Attack Points!”

Stardust Dragon
ATK 3300
LV 8

“Stardust Dragon, finish the duel!” he said. “Shooting Sonic!” The white dragon, threw its head forward, launching the crystalline beam of sound from its jaws. Supreme Arcanite Magician fired his own beam of green magic, but the sonic stream tore through it like tissue paper and struck the magician, destroying him. The beam continued on and hit Twilight, knocking her to the ground.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 0
Yusei: 100

“Twilight!” shouted Rarity. She and the other mares rushed over to their friend. Yusei and Fluttershy also ran up to help her.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Yusei asked.

Twilight lifted her head and shook it quickly. She stood up and shook her head again. The Duel Disk had fallen to the ground. She looked up at Yusei with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “That... was a ton of fun!” She flashed Yusei a wide grin. Yusei smiled back.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said. Then he heard a noise and looked around him. The other ponies were cheering and stomping the ground.

“I guess everypony else had fun too!” said Pinkie. “That was super-duper!”

“That was pretty cool,” said Dash. “Wish it could be more like a race, though. There’s nothing like a good burst of speed!”

“Speed, huh?” said Yusei. “I bet I can help out with that. You see, there’s actually another way to duel that involves speed.”

*****

The darkness was maddening. The silence was deafening. Discord tried desperately to break free, but could do nothing. His body was stone and he knew it would remain that way until the Elements of Harmony were passed on to new guardians.

He roared in his own mind and threw his consciousness against his prison, ramming against it again and again.

And then he stopped.

He could envision himself in his mind. He sat in the darkness. He looked around him and realized that it was hopeless. Discord brought his lion’s paw up to his eyes and wept.

There was a hiss. A word. He couldn’t make it out. Discord looked up. He heard it again. He stood up.

“Who’s there?” he tried to say, but the words never came. He was still stone.

He heard the hiss again. And then he saw it. A black cloak and two eyes glowing blue beneath the hood.

The darkness around him deepened as he fell.

Discord landed on the ground with a thud. He groaned and stood up.

“Wait a moment,” he said. He felt himself, moving his hands along his body and up to his face. “I’m free... I’m free!” He yelled and whooped and laughed. And then he stopped. He heard the hiss again, like a soft whisper in his ear.

“That’s right,” he said. “I will have my revenge! This time... this time I WILL turn ponies to stone!” He laughed deeply and then vanished.

Rage of Discord! Return to the Ancient Castle

Author’s Note: EXPOSITION! And also, I’m stalling. I haven’t gotten the duel written yet, and I expect it’s gonna be a doozy because I want Discord to go all-out. But at the same time, I want him to be manipulative in the duel, as he always is. Fear not, though: I know what his deck will be based around, and Spike’s as well.

Oh. Yeah. Spoilers.

Anyway, this is where things start to get dark. So hold onto your psyches, folks. If you aren't depressed, you might be by the end of this chapter. And if you are depressed, please don't read this alone (not joking here; I have depression, so I take this seriously). It's probably not THAT bad, but you never know how impressionable someone might be.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this. I'll get started outlining the duel!

/*********************\

Bon Bon stomped her hooves loudly after the duel. She easily caught on to a few things that were happening and greatly enjoyed how the game played out. Even though Twilight lost, she could tell that she gave it her all.

All the partying and excitement had begun to wear her out, though, and she decided to head home. She walked along the dirt road, happily humming a tune that she seemed to hear every so often that came from nowhere in particular. After a few minutes of walking and humming, Bon Bon reached her house and opened the door.

Sitting on the sofa in that unusual posture of hers was Lyra.

Bon Bon blinked. Lyra looked up at her.

It all suddenly rushed back to her. “Lyra!” she cried. “Oh goodness, I can’t believe I forgot that we were gonna meet at the party! Hey, were you there? Did you see what the new guy and Twilight did? It was some kind of a game, but it was amaz- ...Lyra? Are you okay?”

Lyra slid off the sofa onto her back hooves. “Do you remember,” she said, “when we were fillies? Back in school...” Her voice trailed off.

A flash. Bon Bon remembered. “Of course!” she said.

“We were so close back then,” said Lyra, still standing on only her hind legs, her front legs dangling beside her. “Weren’t we, Bon Bon?”

“We’re still close,” replied Bon Bon. But doubt suddenly appeared in her expression. “...aren’t we?”

“You forgot,” answered Lyra, her horn glowing a bright blue, “that we would meet today.” Bon Bon stood transfixed. A moment later, her vision faded.

*****

Yusei quickly dismounted his D-Wheel and took off his helmet before running over to the tree that Rainbow Dash had flown into. He heard faint groans coming from the leaves, but he couldn’t see the pegasus.

“Dash!” he called. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “I’m- whoa! WAAAAAAAAA!” Dash suddenly fell out of the tree and landed with a loud thud. “...fine,” she finished before blowing her mane out of her eyes. Yusei knelt down and offered her his hand. She placed a hoof in his palm and he pulled her up. The visor that Twilight had made for her fell out of the tree and hit the ground. Several cracks appeared in the glass and it vanished.

“What happened to it?” asked Dash.

“Objects made of pure magic act solid, but have to stay that way,” said Twilight. “If even the tiniest fracture appears in it, the magical framework will fall apart.” Dash looked at her in confusion. Twilight sighed. “If it breaks even a little bit, it can’t hold itself together. That’s how magic works.”

“Oh,” said Dash. “Eh, no worries. The game was fun, Yusei, but I still say nothing beats a good race!”

Yusei gave her a smile. “To each their own, I guess,” he said with a chuckle. Yusei stood up and looked around. The sun was approaching the horizon and the town was bathed in a deep orange. “It’s getting late,” Yusei observed. “If I don’t do whatever the Crimson Dragon brought me here to do soon, I may need to find someplace to stay the night.”

“You can stay in the library with me if you need to,” said Twilight.

“Thanks,” said Yusei. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. Yusei covered his eyes with his arm, but the light faded quickly. Before him stood a winged unicorn as tall as he was. Her long, chromatic mane and tail flowed as if a gentle breez was blowing. She gave off an air of gentle authority.

“Princess Celestia!” said Twilight Sparkle. Her friends gave a quick bow to the alicorn. Twilight herself ran up to the new arrival.

“Hello, my faithful student,” said the princess. “It’s good to see you again. But I’m afraid we don’t have time to chat. I am here because Equestria needs your help once again.”

“Anything, Princess,” said Twilight. “What’s happened?”

“Discord has broken free once more,” Celestia explained. “And I fear he has something to do with the ponies that have been disappearing all over the land.”

“Ponies disappearing?” asked Twilight.

“Not just from Equestria, but from the memories of everypony who knew them as well,” Celestia added. “Many ponies in Canterlot have come to me about this, including Fancypants and Spitfire of the Wonderbolts.”

“Why would Spitfire ask you for help about this?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“She says she feels like they’ve forgotten someone,” answered Celestia. “Though she knows the Wonderbolts only have four members, she feels-”

“Wait, four? Since when?” Dash interrupted. “There are ELEVEN ponies on the Wonderbolts!”

“...then this is worse than I feared,” said Celestia. “It seems that I am affected by this as well. However, you six seem to be safe as you are the Bearers of Harmony.”

“Did you bring the Elements of Harmony with you?” asked Twilight.

“Oh that I could have, Twilight. But Discord must have stolen them again, as they were not in the vault.”

“Excuse me,” said Yusei, “but who’s Discord?” Celestia looked up at him.

“Discord is the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony in this world,” Celestia said. “But who, may I ask, are you? And how did you get here?”

“I’m Yusei Fudo,” replied Yusei. “I was brought here by the Crimson Dragon. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling this has something to do with it. So please, let me help in any way that I can.”

“Thank you, Yusei,” said Celestia. “If you and this Crimson Dragon you speak of can help, then we’d be glad for it.” Yusei nodded.

“So Discord stole the Elements,” said Twilight. “Do we know where he is now?”

“Right above you,” came a voice. The seven ponies and Yusei looked up to see a strange, mismatched creature floating over them. Its form was comprised of several different animal parts, including a lion’s paw, an eagle’s claw, the hind leg of a lizard and of a goat, and the head of a horse. One long fang jutted down from his upper jaw. His tail was long and green like a snake. On his back were two different wings, one feathered like a pegasus, and one leathery bat wing. Atop his head were two different horns, a deer antler on the right and a goat’s horn on the left. He grinned down at the ponies, glaring at them with two differently sized pupils.

“Hello, my little ponies,” he said in a sing-song voice. “Did you miss me?”

“No way!” shouted Dash. “After all the trouble you caused? Why would anyone miss YOU?”

“Discord, are you behind the disappearing ponies?” Celestia demanded.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” said Discord, staring idly at his claws. “First thing’s first though...” He disappeared in a flash of white light, then reappeared in front of Yusei with another flash. Yusei, surprised, took a step back. “Who’s your friend?” asked Discord.

“Yusei,” replied the human. “I’m guessing you’re the reason I was brought here.”

“I wouldn’t know,” replied Discord as he floated away. “I don’t even know where you’re from. Not that I care right now. I have business with the four-legged ones.”

“Where are the Elements of Harmony, Discord?” Twilight demanded. “Tell us now!”

“Or what, Twilight Sparkle?” laughed the draconequus. “You and I both know that without the Elements you’re no match for me! But I’ll give you a hint as to where they are.”

There was a pause. Silence fell over the street as Discord hovered in place, perfectly still and grinning wickedly.

“Are you gonna tell us, or what?” said Applejack in an annoyed tone.

“Just a moment,” said Discord. Another pause. Then, “Okay, I’ll tell you now. The Elements are hidden in the first house of chaos.”

“Why make us wait to hear it?” asked Twilight.

“Just to make you wait,” Discord replied. The others groaned and Discord laughed. “I lied. THAT was why I made you wait.”

“Just to annoy us?!” snapped Twilight.

“Yes.”

“Jerk.”

“Bookworm.”

“Monster.”

Anger flashed across Discord’s face. He flew down and smacked Twilight with the back of his lion paw, knocking her to the ground.

“Twilight!” shouted the other ponies as they ran to her side. “Are you okay?” asked Spike.

“I’m fine,” said Twilight, standing up and rubbing her cheek with her hoof.

“Don’t... call me... a monster!” huffed Discord. “If you want the Elements, then come find me at the first house of chaos.” With that, he snapped his fingers and vanished.

“The first house of chaos,” said Twilight. “I have no idea what that means.”

“I do,” said Celestia. “He is referring to old castle, the place where you found the Elements of Harmony, within the Everfree Forest. It was where Discord sat on his throne during his first reign, and it is where I ruled after his imprisonment.”

“But why did you and Luna abandon it?” asked Twilight.

“Who?” said Celestia. A puzzled look clouded her visage.

“Your sister, Luna,” said Twilight. “Oh no... you don’t remember, do you?”

“I... I had a sister?” said Celestia. “She... she must have disappeared like the others! If you remember her and I do not, then...” She suddenly became very angry. “We must stop Discord at all costs! Girls, I’m going with you! This is not just between you six and him anymore- he’s taken my sister away from me!” Celestia turned and began to run, then jumped into the air and spread her wings. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her into the sky. Spike quickly grabbed Twilight’s bag from inside and stuffed her Duel Disk into it and threw the bag over her back.

“I don’t think we’ll be needing that, Spike,” said Twilight.

“Well, you told me that Discord likes games, right?” said Spike. “Maybe we can get him to play a game of Duel Monsters with Yusei!”

“Hmm. You might be right, Spike,” said Twilight She picked up Spike with her magic and put him on her back. “All right, let’s go! You coming Yusei?”

Yusei had put his helmet back on and was now sitting on his D-Wheel. “Right behind you,” he said, revving his engine. Twilight nodded and she and the others galloped off. Yusei sped off after them.

*****

The path to the castle had been a perilous one, but Yusei’s reflexes were quick and he was able to bypass much of the danger. Once they reached the rickety old bridge that led to the castle, however, he had to leave his D-Wheel behind. Detaching his Duel Disk and concealing the motorcycle in the bushes, he and the others carefully crossed the bridge.

“This place is just as spooky as ever,” commented Applejack.

“You’ve been here before?” Yusei asked, taking each step slowly and gripping the ropes to his sides tightly.

“Yes, once,” said Rarity. “It was dreadful the first time around, and it’s dreadful now.”

“But it all worked out in the end,” said Fluttershy.

“That it did, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “We found the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nightmare Moon.”

“Nightmare Moon?” repeated Yusei. The ponies had reached the other side of the bridge by that point.

“Princess Celestia’s sister had turned into Nightmare Moon when she became jealous of her sister,” Twilight explained. “The two of them are responsible for raising the sun and the moon respectively, but ponies sleep during the night and Princess Luna became bitter over that, and she refused to lower the moon and tried to make the night last forever.

“She just wanted others to enjoy the night like they enjoyed the day,” Twilight said with a sigh. “But she didn’t realize that so many bad things could have happened. Plants all over Equestria would die. Crops would fail without sunlight, winter would be the worst in history. Everypony would die... her mission was self-defeating.” Twilight shook her head sadly.

“So what happened when you beat her with the Elements of Harmony?” Yusei asked.

“She turned back into her old self,” said Twilight. “Everyone forgave her after that, even Princess Celestia.”

“Well, we’re here,” said Applejack.

“Yeah! Let’s find Discord and beat that big meanie-pants!” said Pinkie enthusiastically. “But first, do you think we can get him to make it rain chocolate milk again?”

“Chocolate milk?” Yusei said, confused.

“He’s the spirit of chaos,” said Twilight. “When Discord’s around, nothing works the way it should.”

“Ah.”

Princess Celestia had remained quiet the whole time. She stood completely motionless, save for her flowing mane and tail, staring up at the ruined castle. Night had finally fallen on Equestria, but there was no moon to be seen. Only the stars decorated the blackness.

“It’s been so long,” said Celestia. “Let’s go.” With that, she started to move inside.

The corridors were pitch black. Celestia, Twilight and Rarity lit the way with their horns, but Yusei still stumbled every now and again. Celestia never faltered and never stopped, as if she knew the way perfectly.

“T-Twilight, this place g-g-gives me the creeps!” said Spike, shivering from the cold and fear.

“Don’t worry, Spike,” said Twilight. “I think we’re almost to the room where we first found the Elements.”

“That we are, Twilight,” said Celestia. “Though I must say that it surprises me.”

“Why’s that, your highness?” asked Yusei. Then, with the light from Celestia’s horn, he saw the hallway open up into a wide room with a fountain-like stone structure in the middle.

“Because Discord loves to cause chaos and confusion,” she answered. “I thought for sure that he might try to warp our path to this room and prevent us from reaching it.”

“Oh, my dearest Celestia,” came the voice of Discord, “how naive you are. If there’s one thing that is consistent about me...” There was a flash and Discord stood with perfect balance on the moss-covered sphere atop the stone sculpture. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. Two black capes flowed behind him in a way much like Celestia’s mane. A black spiral wrapped its way around his goat horn and a black stripe swept down from his right shoulder around his body and several more times around his green tail, covering the top in a black spike. The smaller pupil of his left eye had also changed color and was now a pale blue. He sneered down at the princess.

“...it’s that I’m inconsistent. Besides,” he continued, “I built this place and I liked it just the way it was- even better now, since it looks like it was blasted half to smithereens. I’m curious: Whatever happened to my beloved old home?”

“There was a battle,” said Celestia. “After that, I could no longer bear to live in this place, so I founded New Canterlot in the mountains.”

“‘New’ Canterlot?” repeated Twilight. “Then this place is...”

“Yes, Twilight,” answered Celestia. “This place is the original Canterlot Castle.”

“A battle, huh?” said Discord. He jumped down from his perch and landed with incredible grace. He stood up and again grinned darkly at Celestia. “What kind of battle? Who was your foe?”

“Nightmare Moon,” said Celestia quickly. Discord gave a short laugh and Celestia stepped back.

“Nightmare Moon... your sister, I believe” said Discord. “If the old legends are true, that is. Tell me, what was her name?”

Celestia was taken aback. She stuttered and tried to say something, but could not.

“You’ve forgotten, haven’t you?” said Discord. “First you imprison her on the moon for a thousand years instead of freeing her from the darkness that changed her, and now you forget who she is, despite the supposed bond you two shared.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She screwed her eyes shut and began to weep. “How could I...” she said between sobs. “How... how could I forget?” The six ponies and Spike just looked on. Yusei knew that they wanted to do something for her.

“Princess,” said Twilight, “We still remember your sister’s name. It’s-”

“No, Twilight,” sniffed Celestia. “I... I don’t deserve to remember...” She continued to sob. Even as she did, Celestia heard a voice. It was soft and deep and naive and regal all at once.

“How could you forget me, big sister?”

Celestia cried harder. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry!” she said over and over. “I’m so sorry, sister!”

“You’re horrible for forgetting me...”

“Please don’t say that!” cried the princess. “I know I am, but please don’t say it!”

“Princess, who are you talking to?” asked Twilight.

Celestia did not answer and only continued to sob. Suddenly, she stopped. A hand rested on her neck. She looked to her left and saw Yusei.

“I don’t know her name either,” he said.

“That’s... that’s because you weren’t here,” said Celestia.

“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s not your fault that you forgot. It’s Discord’s. We’ll beat him and get your sister back. You forgave her for trying to make the night eternal, when you knew the horrible things that would have happened because of it. If you really feel like this is something to forgive, then she’ll forgive you. But you know what?” Celestia sniffed and wiped her eyes with her hoof.

“I think she’ll say that there’s nothing to forgive,” said Yusei with a smile.

“You’re... you’re right, Yusei,” said Celestia, sniffing once more. “Thank you.”

Discord snorted. “Forgiveness... an imagined sentiment if you ask me!”

“Well, nopony asked you!” snapped Rainbow Dash.

“Give us back the Elements, Discord!” said Twilight.

“Why? So you can imprison me in stone again?” Discord growled. “You called me a monster earlier, Twilight Sparkle. But look at you... whatever cannot live within the confines of your ideological ‘harmony’ is imprisoned and banished! You are unreceptive and unwelcoming! I say that you ponies are the monsters!”

“That’s enough, Discord!” said Yusei. Discord turned to him and grinned.

“Ah, Yusei, our little... whatever you are!” Discord teleported behind Yusei. “You might not be so quick to stand up for your friends if you knew what they’d done to me.”

“Whatever they did, I promise you I’ve seen worse,” Yusei replied.

“They turned me into stone!” roared the draconequus.

“A man who worked with my father destroyed an entire city while under the influence of pure evil,” said Yusei.

“They rejected me! Left me alone in their gardens as a mere ornament because I was different!”

“A friend of mine tried to kill someone and was tortured by law officers because of it. Then he tried to get revenge on me for his imprisonment and abuse.”

“Then perhaps you know what it’s like to be blamed for something that is hardly your fault,” said Discord.

“What do you mean?” Yusei asked. Discord did not answer. Instead, he walked past Yusei, the two capes billowing behind him. “Discord, why are you wearing that? And why has your eye changed?”

Discord turned back to Yusei. “I have a new ally,” he said. “One who hasn’t rejected me like you ponies have!” He pointed angrily at the pastel equines and glared at them.

“Discord, what did you do with the missing ponies?” Yusei asked.

“I took them to a place where they can be at peace,” Discord answered. “Would you like to see?”

The world around them changed. Yusei and the others saw a black, murky water all around them, but found that they could breathe, as if none of it was there. But the pressure was there. They could feel it, pressing against them, making it hard to draw breath.

Yusei looked around. There were dark shapes all around him, shapes of ponies, pegasi, and unicorns.

“Why aren’t they moving?” asked Yusei. Worry clouded his features.

“They’re not dead, if that’s what you’re thinking,” said Discord. “They’ve simply given up.”

“Given up?”

“Yes. These ponies have realized the futility of their own lives. Their hopes and dreams, all for nothing. Here, they are confronted with this fact, watching their dreams as they end in pieces over and over until they realize the truth. Here, they give up on themselves. And it is then, when they have relinquished everything, that they truly become free!”

The dark world around them slowly disappeared and Yusei and the others found themselves once again in the dark chamber with the stone sculpture in the center.

“How can you call that freedom?!” shouted Yusei. “That’s nothing but a nightmare!”

“But it doesn’t end there, Yusei,” said Discord. “Once they have let go of their individuality, they become as one. All their hopes and fears, all their joy and sorrow, their love and despair, melt together. They are all one, and they are all none. It is the ultimate peace.” Discord snorted and teleported onto one of the arms of the stone sculpture, reappearing sitting atop the arm with his goat leg pulled up in front of him and his lizard leg dangling off the edge.

“I’ve learned a great truth, Yusei,” Discord continued. “Individuality is the true cause of suffering, and harmony can only exist by sacrificing that individuality.”

“That’s not true!” Yusei countered. “Harmony exists when everyone chooses to live at peace with each other, not by throwing away who they are!”

“Then WHY am I rejected time and again?!” roared Discord. “Why is it that these ponies could never accept me?! Because I am too different from them and they are too like each other! That is why! So I am giving them exactly what they want, Yusei! I am giving them their precious harmony by showing them the only way it can exist!”

“We’re not gonna let you do this, Discord!” said Twilight.

“And how are you going to stop me without the Elements of Harmony?”

“Maybe they can’t stop you, but I bet I can!” said Yusei. Discord laughed.

“You? With what? That silly card game you and Twilight were playing earlier?” Discord continued to laugh at Yusei. But stopped when he saw that Yusei was smiling too.

“What’s the matter, Discord? Afraid you’ll lose?” Yusei taunted.

“Not in the slightest,” said Discord.

“Then let’s duel, Discord!” said Yusei. “If I win, then you return the Elements of Harmony to the Bearers!”

“Fine by me, but there’s an extra twist,” he said. “One pony will be chosen for each of us. Our favorite ponies. As our Life Points go down, that pony will slowly be turned to stone!”

Yusei heard several of the ponies gasp.

“Discord, I thought you didn’t turn ponies into stone,” said Celestia.

“Oh, my lovely princess, don’t you remember what I said when you got here?” he mused. “If there’s one thing consistent about me, it’s that I’m inconsistent.” He snapped his fingers and Twilight disappeared. Spike and the saddlebag flopped to the ground. Twilight reappeared above Discord, her hind legs bound together by black metal and her forelegs flung out to her sides. Rainbow Dash appeared above Yusei, pinned the same way.

“Hey! Lemme go!” said Dash as she struggled against her binds.

“Twilight!” cried Spike.

“It seems that Twilight is MY little pony!” laughed Discord.

“No way!” shouted Spike. The mismatched creature looked at him curiously. “No way am I gonna let you do that to Twilight!” Fire burned in Spike’s eyes and his pupils became little more than black slits. His entire body erupted into green fire as he roared.

“Spike!” cried Twilight. “Spiiiiiiike!”

The fire soon died down, but Spike now stood as tall as Princess Celestia. His arms and tail had grown much larger and his eyes were fierce and thin. Spike reached into Twilight’s bag and pulled out her Duel Disk, strapping it to his arm. The ponies just stared in slack-jawed amazement. Then Spike spoke, though his voice was deeper. “If you wanna hurt Twilight, then you’re gonna have to go through me!” he shouted.

“I don’t think you get it, you foolish dragon,” said Discord. “If I lose, then Twilight Sparkle will sparkle no more!”

“Then there’s no way we’re doing this!” said Yusei. “Let the ponies go and just fight me!”

“You don’t have much of a choice, Yusei,” Discord snapped. “If you refuse this duel, you’ll never recover the Elements of Harmony, and every thinking creature in the land will be taken into that dark world.”

“We don’t have a choice in this, Yusei,” said Spike. “We’ll just have to figure out a way to win. And if Twilight DOES get turned to stone, maybe the Elements can change her back.”

“And if they can’t?” asked Yusei.

“Then I’ll tear Discord limb from mismatched limb,” hissed Spike.

“The duel will be a three-way Battle Royal!” announced Discord. “Nopony may attack on the first turn, and the duel will start with me as I AM at a disadvantage.” A Duel Disk with appeared on Discord’s right arm. The body was black and had jagged blue-tipped spikes all over it. The arm of the Duel Disk was smooth and leathery like Discord’s bat wing. Yusei and Spike’s Duel Disks began to glow as they activated.

The three of them cried out at once, “DUEL!”

Twilight's Mistake

Author’s Note: I’ll be taking a bit of time to explain the basics of dueling through Yusei, so there’s going to be a bit more exposition before the actual duel commences. Please note that these are the rules for the 5D’s anime, and NOT the rules for the real-life card game. Also it might be boring, but I tried to keep it all very brief. It’s a complicated game, however. It doesn't actually contribute much to the story, though, so you can probably skip it if you think you can catch on to the rules by reading the duel.

Also, this duel is one of the longest I’ve ever written. But I’m completely satisfied with it (provided I don’t find any errors). Given the decks I had chosen for Spike and Discord- especially Discord- I thought it would be difficult to write. But the duel took on a life of its own and it became an exhilarating experience. Out of any duel I write, the ones that developed on their own like that are my favorites, and are my best works.

/*********************\

“DUEL!”

Life Point Count
Discord: 4000
Yusei: 4000
Spike: 4000

“Oh, Spike, I almost forgot to assign you a pony,” said Discord. He snapped the fingers of his lion paw and Rarity appeared above Spike, held in place like Twilight and Rainbow.

“What in the- release me, you ruffian!” shrieked Rarity as she struggled against her bindings. “Spike! Help!”

“Rarity!” cried Spike and Twilight together. When they realized they spoke at the same time, they looked at each other. Rarity looked at Twilight with wide eyes, then glared down at Spike.

“Spike, you do whatever you have to do to free Twilight, do you understand?” she said sternly.

“But...”

“I mean it, Spike! You save Twilight! Don’t worry about me!”

“I can’t help but worry about you!” Spike replied. Rarity fell silent. Her eyes became clouded with tears and her lower lip quivered.

“Can we save the sob story moment for later? I’d like to get this game started,” said Discord. “I take the first turn, so... what do I do?”

Spike slapped his forehead with the palm of his clawed hand. Yusei blinked in confusion. “You don’t know how to duel?” he asked. “But the Duel Disk that Twilight made gave her knowledge of the rules, and I’m sure it’s done the same for Spike.”

“Oh, it did that as well?” said Discord. “Well, I’ve already made my... Duel Disk, did you call it? Why don’t you tell me what I need to know since you’re the expert?”

“All right,” said Yusei. “When the duel begins, each player draws five cards from their deck-” Yusei held up the cards in his left hand- “and they’re given four thousand Life Points.”

“Life Points... points that indicate how much life a player has, I assume,” remarked Discord. “Or, in this case, how much life certain ponies have left!” He chuckled darkly. Yusei grimaced.

“Anyway, a player’s turn is divided into six Phases,” Yusei continued. “The Draw Phase is first. At the start of this Phase, you draw one card from your deck. Next is the Standby Phase. Unless a card effect mentions it, don’t worry about it.

“Next is Main Phase One. This is where you’ll be playing most of your cards. You can Summon monsters, change their battle positions, activate Spells, and set Spells and Traps face-down.”

“How does one do all of these things?” asked Discord.

“There are two ways to Summon a monster,” said Yusei. “The first is called a Normal Summon. You can only do this once each turn, but you can put the monster in Attack Mode-” Yusei took a card from his hand and held it vertically in front of him, with the back of it facing Discord- “or in Defense Mode.” Yusei turned the card he was holding horizontally. “If a monster has a high Level- that’s those orange stars underneath its name- then you have to Release monsters on your field to summon them. Level Five and Six monsters require one Release, and Level Seven and above require two. Releasing basically means sacrificing; you just send the monster to the Graveyard. This kind of Normal Summon is called an Advance Summon.

“The other kind of Summon is a Special Summon. It’s done with different kinds of cards and abilities. Ritual, Fusion and Synchro Summons are also different kinds of Special Summons.”

“With you so far,” said Discord, idly staring at his eagle claw.

“Ritual, Fusion and Synchro Monsters can’t be Normal Summoned like other monsters. They have to be summoned with the kind of Special Summons I mentioned. But if you summon them properly, then you can summon them from your Graveyard again later. For Ritual Monsters, you need a Ritual Spell Card. Follow its instructions and you can play the monster.

"Fusions and Synchros are different from other kinds of monsters. They’re stored in your Extra Deck instead of your Main Deck. If they are sent to the hand or the Main Deck, they go to the Extra Deck instead. Fusion Monsters are summoned by fusing the monsters listed on its card with a Spell Card, usually ‘Polymerization’.

“Synchros are a bit easier because you only need a Tuner Monster and some other regular monsters. Add their Levels together, send them to the Graveyard, and then you can summon a Synchro Monster whose Level is the total Levels of the monsters used. So a Level Three Tuner and a Level Two monster would make a Level Five Synchro Monster.”

Yusei glared at Discord, who was now fiddling with one of his capes. He looked up. “I’m still listening!” he said. “Go on!”

“Well, there are two battle positions a monster can have,” said Yusei. “Attack and Defense Mode. You can change a monster’s mode once each turn, but only if it wasn’t Summoned that turn, and hasn’t declared an attack yet.

“Now for Spells and Traps. There are six different kinds of these cards, and they have different icons for each. Normal Spells and Traps don’t have an icon. Ritual Spells have a flame, Quick-Play Spells have a lightning bolt, and Counter Traps have a curving arrow. All of these kinds of cards go to the Graveyard after they are used.

“Continuous Spells and Traps have an infinity symbol on them and they stay on the field once activated. Equip Spells are basically equipment for your monsters, like armor and weapons, and have a cross icon. If a monster holding an Equip Card leaves the field, then the Equip Card is destroyed. Field Spells go in the Field Card Zone and have a compass rose icon. They basically change the duel field.

“Right, right,” said Discord. “What’s next?”

“There’s a few more rules you should know about Spells and Traps,” said Yusei. Discord groaned. “Most Spells can only be used during your Main Phases. Quick-Plays can be used at any time during your turn. You can also use them on your opponent’s turn, but you have to put them face-down first. Also, Quick-Plays are the only kind of Spell that you cannot activate in the same turn that you Set them face-down.

“Traps are like Quick-Play Spells: You can use them at any time in the duel, but you can’t play them from your hand. Instead, you have to Set them on the field, and you can’t activate them in the same turn that you did.”

“Traps and Quick-Play Spells can respond to almost anything. Certain monster effects can respond to the same things; these usually negate something or say you can use them in your opponent’s turn. Counter Traps can respond to anything and everything, but you can only use a Counter Trap against another Counter Trap.”

“Is that all?” asked Discord.

“One more thing,” said Yusei. “When a lot of cards are played against each other, they form a Chain. Each new card is put on top of the Chain as it’s played. When resolving the Chain, start with the card on top and work your way back down to the first card.”

“So the most recent card played is the first one to do its thing?”

“Pretty much. Now for the Battle Phase.”

Discord’s ears perked up and he stared at Yusei intently. “I like the sound of this one!” he said excitedly.

“Well, this is where you can attack with your Attack Mode monsters,” said Yusei. “You pick a monster to attack with, and then you pick its target. Whichever has the most points wins. If both monsters were in Attack Mode, then the losing monster’s controller takes damage equal to the difference in their Attack Points. If their Attack Points are equal, both are destroyed and no one takes damage.

“If the monster being attacked is in Defense Mode, you look at its Defense Points. If they are lower then the attacking monster’s Attack Points, the defending monster is destroyed, but there’s no damage. If their Attack and Defense Points are equal, there’s no damage and neither monster is destroyed.”

“They just bounce off each other?” asked Discord. “That sounds rather silly.”

“Basically, yeah,” said Yusei. Discord laughed. “If the defending monster had higher Defense Points, though, then the attacking player takes damage equal to the difference, but the attacking monster is not destroyed.”

“And the last two Phases?” asked Discord.

“Main Phase Two is basically the same as Main Phase One. The End Phase is also a bit like the Standby Phase, except that at the end of it, you check the size of your hand. If you have more than six cards, then discard some cards until you have exactly six.”

“Anything else I should know before I begin trouncing you two?” Discord asked with a sneer.

“Just one thing,” said Yusei. “Each player’s side of the field has eleven Zones: Five Monster Card Zones, Five Spell and Trap Card Zones, and one Field Spell Card Zone. So you have limited space to play cards. Other than that, just be sure to read your cards carefully and you’ll be do fine”

“‘You’ll do fine’?” said Dash. “Come on! Don’t tell him he’ll do fine like he’s your buddy!”

“Dueling is important where I come from, Dash,” said Yusei. “It’s just as important as racing is to you. Two people in a duel give it their all. Their very souls are clashing with each other. I consider anyone who duels with me to be a friend and companion.” Yusei turned back to Discord. “Well, it’s your turn. Remember, none of us can attack on the first turn, like you said.”

“Indeed,” said Discord as he drew six cards from his deck. “You know, that sure did take a long time to explain. I was getting a bit bored.” He looked over the cards in his hand for several minutes and then smiled. “So let’s get the fun started! First I play 'Reinforcement of the Army', which lets me add a Level Four or lower Warrior-Type monster to my hand from my deck." Discord's deck floated out of his Duel DIsk and spread out before him. Taking another quick glance at his hand, Discord selected a card from his deck and revealed it to Yusei and Spike. "I select 'Dark Grepher'." Discord's deck returned to his Duel Disk and shuffled itself, the flutter of cards echoing throughout the room.

"Now I discard the Level Five 'Darknight Parshath' to Special Summon Dark Grepher!” A blue ring appeared and a human warrior stepped through it. He was tall and muscular, but his skin was dark gray and his eyes glowed red. His clothing was black and studded with spikes. In his right hand, he held a sword with a purple-tinted blade. He grinned wickedly at Yusei and Spike. A circular display appeared next to the man, showing his Attack Points and Level.

Dark Grepher
ATK/1700
LV 4

“Wait, did he say ‘Special Summon’?” asked Spike.

“He did,” said Yusei.

“I can discard a Level Five or above DARK monster to Special Summon Dark Grepher from my hand,” explained Discord. “But Dark Grepher has another ability as well. By discarding a DARK monster, I can send another one from my deck to the Graveyard. So I’ll discard 'Dark Simorgh' and send 'Dark Valyria' to the Graveyard from my deck.

“Now I Release Dark Grepher to Advance Summon 'Dark General Freed',” Discord continued. Dark Grepher was enveloped by a swirling, multicolored glob of light that then morphed into another blue ring. Yet another human stepped out, this one bearing an even more striking appearance. He wore black and gold armor and a dark green cape billowed behind him. His hair was long and dark silver, his eyes glowed red like Dark Grepher’s, and his skin was a sickly shade of blue, as if he had been underwater for a long time. His fingernails were long and filed into claw-like points. On his right hip rested a sword in its scabbard, his right hand resting on the pommel of the curving, golden handle.

Dark General Freed
ATK/2300
LV 5

“I’ll place two cards face-down and end my turn,” said Discord.

“My turn!” said Spike as he drew a card. “I summon 'Ruby Dragon' in Defense Mode and Set two cards face-down. Your go, Yusei.” As he spoke, a ruby-red dragon flew through a blue ring and came to rest in front of Spike. It crossed its wings in front of itself and bent its head down. Two giant cards appeared face-down behind the dragon.

Ruby Dragon
DEF/1900
LV 4

“I draw!” said Yusei. “Discord, why are you doing this? What are you getting out of it?”

“Revenge,” said Discord. “Simple as that. They turned me to stone, imprisoned me and took away everything I loved. I’m here to return the favor.”

“I thought you didn’t turn ponies into stone,” said Applejack.

“You remember something I said months ago, but cannot remember my words from five minutes ago?” replied Discord. “The only thing that’s consistent about moi is that I’m inconsistent.”

“It’s never that simple, Discord,” said Twilight. “I know you better than most ponies. You don’t do simple.”

Discord did not respond. Instead, he simply shot Twilight a glare.

“Twilight is correct,” said Celestia. “This goes deeper than petty revenge.”

“You would know,” Discord muttered before saying to Yusei, “it’s your turn.”

Yusei looked at his hand and quickly planned out his turn. He grabbed three cards and began. “I activate 'Reincarnation of Hope',” he said. “By discarding two monsters from my hand now, I can add a monster from my deck to my hand in two turns. Next I summon 'Shield Wing' in Defense Mode and place one card face-down. I end my turn.”

A bird-like reptile appeared before Yusei. It’s skin was green and it somewhat resembled a pterodactyl, but its wings were silver and covered in layers of scales. It crossed its wings in front of itself like Spike’s Ruby Dragon. A face-down card appeared behind the creature.

Shield Wing
DEF/900
LV 2

“Running scared already, are we?” taunted Discord. “It’s no fun if you don’t fight back.”

“Then come and get us,” said Yusei.

“With pleasure. My turn! However, instead of drawing a card, I’ll use Freed’s effect. This lets me add a Level Four DARK monster from my deck to my hand. I choose and Summon 'Armageddon Knight'!”

The dark general held out his hand and a blue circle appeared next to him. Yet another human warrior appeared from the circle. He was clothed in brown leather and rusting armor. A red scarf was wrapped around his neck and waved in the air behind him with his long, ragged black hair. In his right hand was a long rapier.

“It’s only got fourteen-hundred Attack Points,” noted Spike. “It’s pretty weak compared to your other monster.”

“His strength lies in his effect,” said Yusei.

“The boy is right,” chimed in Discord. “When he’s Summoned, Armageddon Knight lets me send a DARK monster from my deck to the Graveyard.” Discord slid a card into the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. “Time for battle! Armageddon Knight, attack Shield Wing!” The warrior ran forward and slashed at Yusei’s monster with his sword, but it bounced off of its wings.

“That was a waste of an attack,” said Yusei. “Shield Wing can survive up to two battles each turn.”

“Then I’ll have Freed attack Ruby Dragon,” said Discord. Freed drew his sword with his left hand and ran forward with the blade trailing behind him. He slashed at the red dragon, the sword slicing through it like cloth. The dragon growled and shattered as it was destroyed. Suddenly, one of Spike’s face-down cards flipped up.

“I activate the ‘Soul Rope’ Trap Card!” said Spike. “By paying a thousand Life Points when one of my monsters is destroyed, I can Special Summon a Level Four monster from my deck. I summon 'Luster Dragon' in Attack Mode!” A golden rope emerged from Spike’s chest and shot forward like a ray of light. A blue portal opened from the other end and a dragon similar to its predecessor appeared. The main difference between the two was that this one was a deep blue and glittered like a sapphire.

Spike heard a scream. He looked up and saw that stone had begun to creep its way up her back hooves. She struggled against her binds, but to no avail. “Rarity!” he cried. “Rarity, I’m sorry! I didn’t- I won’t let it happen again, I swear!”

Rarity stopped struggling and looked at Spike. Her eyes were sad at first, but then became determined. “No, Spike,” she said. “You do whatever you have to do to save Twilight, you hear me? If that means turning more of me into stone, then so be it.”

“But-”

“Spike...”

“But I-”

“Spike, if you don’t do this, then I’ll never speak to you again!” Rarity yelled. Everyone was silent for a moment. Discord leaned against the stone sculpture behind him and smiled, amused at the sudden conflict.

Spike lowered his gaze and said, “If I lose, you’ll never speak to me again anyway. I don’t think I could handle that.”

“Spike...” said Rarity softly.

“That’s touching, but I still have to finish my turn,” said Discord. “I play my own Trap, 'Dark Spirit Art - Greed'. By Releasing a DARK monster on my field, I can draw two new cards. But one of you can negate it by showing me a Spell Card in your hand.”

Yusei and Spike each looked at their hands. Yusei held only one card- a monster. Spike was holding three, but none were Spells. He grimaced and shook his head. Discord grinned and a rune-lined circle appeared beneath his Armageddon Knight. Wind and purple light shot up from the circle and the knight vanished with a scream. The circle and the light disappeared as Discord drew two cards from his deck.

“I Set one card face-down and end my turn,” said Discord.

Spike drew a card as he announced the start of his turn. “All right, Discord,” he said. “Time to bring the hurt! I Release Luster Dragon to summon 'Luster Dragon Number Two'!” The sapphire dragon was enveloped by a multicolored blob of light which transformed into the blue portal from which all monsters emerged. Through the portal flew a much larger dragon. Its hide was emerald green and it large crystals grew along the backs of its legs. It roared as it landed on the ground.

Luster Dragon #2
ATK/2400
LV 6

“Battle!” barked Spike. “Luster Dragon Two, attack Dark General Freed with Emerald Flame!” The green dragon opened its maw and bright green flames shot out, racing toward the deathly general.

“Not so fast, little dragon!” said Discord. “I play another Dark Spirit Art and Release Freed to draw two more cards!” Spike growled. Why did I have to draw a Trap Card? thought the purple dragon.

“Luster Dragon, continue your attack!” Spike ordered. “With no monsters in play, you’re wide open, Discord!”

“We’ll see about that! I activate 'Call of the Haunted'!” Discord’s remaining face-down card flipped up. “This lets me bring a monster back from the dead! I Special Summon 'Dark Horus' in Attack Mode!” The ground before Discord cracked and splintered, then exploded as a huge creature burst forth. Its hide was made of metal the color of dark smoke. Though it had the appearance of a dragon, its head was in the shape of a falcon and its cry sounded as such.

Dark Horus
ATK/3000
LV 8

“Luster Dragon, stop!” shouted Spike. The emerald dragon snapped its jaws shut, cutting off the stream of fire. Spike wiped his brow with the back of his right hand. “That was close.”

“Spike, I’ve seen a lot of these monsters before,” said Yusei. “But they were different.”

“What do you mean ‘different’?” asked Spike.

“I mean that they weren’t dark creatures,” said Yusei. “'Warrior Dai Grepher', 'Freed the Matchless General', 'Horus the Black Flame Dragon'... Discord is playing darker versions of these monsters.”

“Is that bad?” asked Spike with a gulp.

“Yes it is,” Yusei answered. “The Dark Counterparts are powerful versions of already powerful monsters. But they’re all brutal.”

“Dark versions...” muttered Twilight. Suddenly she said, “Wait! Discord turned me and my friends against each other the last time he broke loose! He turned Applejack into a liar, Pinkie Pie hated everything, Rarity became greedy, Fluttershy became a brute, and Rainbow Dash abandoned us.”

“Discord turns everything rotten!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Big rotten bully!”

“Don’t forget about what happened to yourself, Twilight,” said Discord. “Of course, I didn’t even have to do anything to you. You lost faith in your friends all on your own.”

“Twilight, is this true?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight hung her head in shame. “It is,” she said sadly. “You guys had changed... I didn’t know what happened. I thought... I thought none of you cared anymore. So I quit caring too.” A single tear slid down Twilight’s cheek. “I should have realized that it was Discord who did that to you guys. I didn’t have enough faith in you... shows what kind of friend I am, huh?”

Yusei’s eyes widened at what he saw then. Twilight’s color seemed to be draining away from her.

“Twilight, it’s okay,” said Rainbow Dash. “We were all acting like jerks. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” said Twilight. “I gave up on all of you.”

“Twilight, my faithful student,” said Celestia, “you still went back for them when you remembered what friendship is all about. Does that not count for anything?”

Discord turned around and stared up at Twilight. A black aura appeared around him.

“No,” said Twilight. “No it doesn’t. How could it when my faith in my friends was destroyed so easily? I gave up on them.”

“Twilight, we forgive you,” said Applejack. “Don’t beat yerself up over this.”

Twilight was now a dull shade of gray. Steady streams of tears ran from her closed eyes as she said, “I can’t forgive myself, Applejack. What if it happens again?”

“Come on, Twi, don’t be like that,” said Rainbow Dash.

“It’s too late, Rainbow Dash,” said Discord as he turned back to the duel. “She’s given up.”

“You did something to her, you snake!” said Yusei.

“Hey! I’m only part snake!” retorted Discord. “Besides, so what if I did? She’s better off this way, just like everypony else in the world of darkness. You’ll all be joining them soon, so you may as well get started accepting it.”

Yusei gritted his teeth. “You won’t get away with this!” he yelled.

“I already have,” replied the draconequus. “Hurry up and end your turn, dragon.”

Spike growled and set a card face-down before ending his turn.

“My turn!” said Yusei. Now I get a Spell Card! he thought angrily. Then, Can’t be helped. My deck knows what it’s doing. “I activate the Spell Card ‘Tuning’! With this, I can add a Tuner Monster with ‘Synchron’ in its name from my deck to my hand. I think I’ll get 'Drill Synchron'! After that, I send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard.”

“Dark Horus’ effect activates!” said Discord. “Once per turn, if a Spell Card is played during your Main Phase, I can Special Summon a Level four DARK monster in my Graveyard. I summon 'Dark Valkyria'!” Through the blue portal stepped a woman wearing a purple dress and blue armor. Atop her silver hair was a blue tiara. On her back were two giant, black metal wings.

Dark Valkyria
ATK/1800
LV 4

“I summon Drill Synchron!” Yusei continued. A small, brown, round robot flew out of a blue portal. It had two treads, two thin arms that ended in blue drills, and a yellow drill atop its round body.

Drill Synchron
ATK/800
LV 3

“Next I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Graceful Revival’! With this, I can Special Summon a Level two or lower monster from my Graveyard. I revive 'Tuningware'!” Yusei’s new monster was another small robot. It wore what looked like a frying pan on its head. Two green eyes glowed beneath it. Wrapped around its small frame was a yellow scarf.

“Level Three Drill Synchron, tune with Level Two Shield Wing and Level One Tuningware!” Drill Synchron’s body vanished and three bright stars emerged from it. They drew three green rings before vanishing. Yusei’s other two monsters flew up into the rings and their bodies became yellow outlines, revealing more stars within.

“Gathering power will turn into a spear that pierces the earth!” chanted Yusei. “Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon!” A beam of light shot through the stars and widened to engulf the green rings. “Break through, Drill Warrior!” Yusei’s new monster burst forth from the light. It wore brown armor and a yellow scarf. On each of its shoulders were drills, and a much larger drill rested on the end of its right arm.

Drill Warrior
ATK/2400
LV 6

“When I use Tuningware for a Synchro Summon, I can draw one card from my deck. Next, I activate Drill Warrior’s effect! I can cut its Attack Points in half, and this turn, it can attack you directly!” Drill Warrior plunged the drill on its arm into the ground. It spun rapidly, pulling the brown warrior into the earth. A few moments later, the ground beneath Discord’s feet began to crack.

“Drill Shoot!” shouted Yusei. Drill Warrior burst from the stone floor and struck Discord with its drill, knocking him against the stone structure. Discord fell to the ground and cried out. He stood up slowly, glaring at Yusei, but then grinned and turned to see Twilight. Her back legs had turned completely into stone.

“I deserve this,” muttered the unicorn.

“Hold on, Twilight!” cried Spike. “We’ll save you!”

“Not if you plan to beat me!” said Discord. “And if you don’t, you’ll never get your Elements of Harmony back!” He laughed maniacally.

Life Point Count
Discord: 2800
Spike: 3000
Yusei: 4000

A Broken Rainbow

Author’s Note: The last time I had THIS MUCH FUN writing a duel was when I wrote Joey fighting against an archetype I made called “Cyborgs”, DARK Machine-Types that focused on card advantage- the idea that if you have more cards, you’re more likely to win. Joey won, of course; more cards does not mean “better cards”.

The story is going to keep getting darker as Discord forces each pony to face their deepest flaws one by one, so hang on to your psyches, folks. And again, PLEASE don’t read this alone if you suffer from depression like me.

/*********************\

Discord continued laughing. Yusei gritted his teeth and said, “I activate Drill Warrior’s second effect. I can discard one card from my hand and Drill Warrior is removed from the game until my next turn. Finally, I’ll Set a card facedown and end my turn.” Drill Warrior again dove into the ground, vanishing from sight.

Discord’s laughing subsided and he began his turn. “First, I’ll Gemini Summon my Dark Valkyria,” he said. A blue aura briefly appeared around the Valkyrie.

“Gemini Summon? What’s that?” asked Spike.

“It says here that Dark Valkyria is a Gemini Monster,” said Discord. “She’s treated as a Normal Monster while she’s on the field or in the Graveyard. But I can Normal Summon her while she’s on the field to turn her into an Effect Monster and give her some other abilities. I figured I’d call this a Gemini Summon.”

“Makes sense,” said Yusei.

“I guess there IS some fun in making sense,” said Discord. “I activate Dark Valkyria’s special new effect. Only once, I can put a Spell Counter on her. For every Spell Counter she has, she gains three-hundred Attack Points!” The green gem in the center of Dark Valkyria’s tiara lit up. The Point Counter appeared next to her and displayed 2100.

“Battle! Dark Horus, attack Luster Dragon Two! Darkness Flare!” ordered Discord. Black flames tinged with blue danced in the metal dragon’s beak. It spat a flashing ball of the dark fire at the emerald dragon.

“I play the Trap ‘Scrap-Iron Scarecrow’!” said Yusei. A scarecrow composed of metal rods, barbed wire and an old helmet appeared in front of Spike’s monster. The dark flare struck the metal scarecrow, but did nothing to harm it and dissipated. “My Scarecrow negates your attack, and then flips face-down so I can use it again later.”

“You’ll pay for ruining my fun. Dark Valkyria, attack Yusei directly!” The dark Valkyrie jumped into the air and came down on Yusei fist first. She struck him in the chest and knocked him to the ground before jumping back to Discord’s field.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 1900

“Yusei!” shouted the ponies and Spike. Twilight remained silent. “You okay?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Yusei groaned and sat up. “Yeah, I’m fine. What about you-” He looked up and gasped. More than half of Rainbow Dash’s body had been turned to stone.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just hurry up and beat Discord so we can get the Elements of Harmony back and save Twilight!”

“You don’t know that the Elements can return her to normal,” said Discord. “And what would be the point? She’s given up on herself. She can’t stand the idea that she gave up on all of you without my help. If you really cared about her, you’d leave her alone.”

“How would THAT prove that we care about her?!” demanded Rarity.

Discord waved his lion paw at the ponies. “All of you remind her of her failure,” he said. “If you weren’t in her life, it would be easier for her to forget about herself and surrender to the darkness. By slipping into darkness, she loses her individuality, and will no longer suffer, just like everypony else in the world of darkness.”

“Well we’re not gonna let that happen!” yelled Applejack. “Yusei, you show ‘im who’s boss!”

“Yeah, Yusei! Go get him!” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“Please... save Twilight,” said Fluttershy timidly.

“I will, don’t worry,” said Yusei.

“You’d better!” said Rainbow Dash. “Twilight’s the glue that holds us together! She’s the one who teaches us how to be better friends. It may have been my sonic rainboom that brought us together, but it’s Twilight that KEEPS us together!”

“So who are you truly loyal to, Rainbow Dash?” asked Discord.

“Huh? What’s that mean?”

“Are you loyal to Twilight, your friends, or yourself?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Here’s what I think: I think you’re scared of losing your friends, which is why you’re so loyal to them. Twilight is the reason you even HAVE these friends. What would happen if you lost her?”

“Hey, shut up!” snapped Dash.

But Discord continued. “Look what happened the first time I escaped. After I turned all of you against her, she gave up on you willingly! If she’s not around to keep you together, you don’t have any friends. It leaves you all alone, poor wittle Dashie.”

“Shut up... shut up!” Dash shouted. Her eyes were screwed shut, but tears were still escaping.

“And being alone terrifies you,” said Discord with finality. “That’s why you act so loyal to them: If you don’t leave them, they won’t leave you. But you know that it doesn’t work. Twilight is the only reason they are your friends, and without her, you have nothing. Well guess what, Rainbow Dash? She’s going away forever! She’s given up and she’ll surrender to the darkness, and she’ll be at peace! And you, you’re the most selfish, disloyal pony in existence for wanting to deny her that!”

Yusei turned around and looked up at Rainbow Dash. Her color had drained away.

“Dash, listen to me,” said Yusei. “There’s nothing wrong with being afraid of loneliness, but I don’t think that’s why you stay loyal to your friends. It’s not why I stay loyal to mine; it’s because I care about them. When my friend Kiryu blamed me for what happened to him and tried to get revenge, I still tried to save him. I didn’t do it because I felt guilty; I did, but that wasn’t the reason. I did it because he was my friend, and I wanted to save him.”

“No, Discord’s right,” sniffed Dash. “I’m just a selfish pony who’s afraid, and I know it.”

“Rainbow Dash, you are NOT a selfish pony!” said Fluttershy. “Remember when you stood up to those bullies for me? That’s proof enough that you aren’t selfish.”

“No it’s not,” said Dash, shaking her head. “I did it to boost my ego. I didn’t do it for you.”

Yusei turned back to the draconequus. “Discord, stop this! They don’t deserve what you’re doing to them!”

“Don’t they though?” he replied with a snort. “They took away what I loved more than anything: Freedom. So I’m taking away their little delusions that they love so much. Twilight is weak and Rainbow Dash’s loyalty is a farce.”

“Those are lies that you planted in their heads!” roared Spike.

“Don’t get huffy with me, dragon!” Discord roared back. “I activate Dark Valkyria’s second ability! By removing her Spell Counter, she can destroy one face-up monster! I WILL take out your Luster Dragon! Fire away, Valkyria!”

The light from the green gem faded as a white light appeared between the woman’s hands. She threw her palms forward and the light rushed toward the emerald dragon, striking it in the chest and causing it to break like a window. Discord placed two cards face-down afterward, and ended his turn.

“My turn!” said Spike. “Finally!” he hissed as he looked at his card. Still holding the new card in his right claw, he pushed a button and flipped up one of his face-down cards. “I activate 'Birthright'! This Special Summons a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode! Come on back, Luster Dragon Two!”

Spike’s emerald dragon reappeared on the field, roaring as it returned.

“Next I activate the Quick-Play Spell ‘Adamantine Sword Revival’!” Spike continued. “By Releasing a Dragon-Type monster when it’s Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 'Diamond Head Dragon' to that side of the field. Behold as one gem gives way to another. The ultimate crystal given the wrath of a dragon! Descend! Diamond Head Dragon!”

The size of the dragon was immense. Its wings were wide, its arms rippled with muscles, and its neck was long. Its scales were a pale green. Shards of uncut diamonds grew along its back and tail, and a single jewel jutted out of its forehead. Two more diamonds curved out of the side of its head like horns. The dragon gave a howling roar. Discord raised his eagle claw to cover his face until the roar had ceased.

‘Diamond Head Dragon’s Attack Points are a thousand points higher than the monster I Released to summon it,” said Spike.

Diamond Head Dragon
ATK/3400
LV 8

“Dark Horus’ effect activates,” said Discord. “I revive Dark Grepher in Defense Mode!” The dark warrior appeared next to the bird-dragon, kneeling with his arms crossed in front of him.

Dark Grepher
DEF/1600
LV 4

“Next I activate the ‘Taunt’ Trap Card! Now you’ll have no choice but to attack Dark Grepher,” said Discord. Dark Grepher drew his sword and pointed it at Spike. The dark gray warrior laughed and gestured with his hand for Spike to come and get him.

“Fine by me,” said Spike. “I play the Continuous Trap ‘Dragon’s Rage’! Now my Dragon-Type monsters can inflict piercing Battle Damage for as long as I have this card in play.”

“‘Piercing’ Battle Damage?” Discord repeated. “What’s that?”

“It means putting your monsters in Defense Mode won’t protect you from damage.” Spike grinned. “Diamond Head Dragon, attack Dark Grepher with Diamond Dust Cyclone!” The diamond horn atop the dragon’s head lit up with a bright white light and a sparkling whirlwind erupted from the jewel. It struck Dark Grepher and destroyed him effortlessly, and then hit Discord, pushing him back a few inches. When the cyclone faded, he growled as a point counter appeared next to him.

Life Point Count
Discord: 1000

Stone slowly crept up Twilight’s body. Everything except her neck and head had turned completely to gray rock. Twilight remained silent and gray.

“I’d say that you’re only hurting her,” said Discord, “but isolation is what Twilight needs, what she deserves.”

“She does not deserve this!” hissed Spike. “She deserves better! She deserves to be with her friends!” Discord chuckled. Spike placed a card face-down and passed to Yusei, giving him a nod.

“It’s my turn now,” said Yusei. “And during my Standby Phase, Drill Warrior is Special Summoned back to the field. Then it lets me add Drill Synchron from my Graveyard to my hand.” Drill Warrior burst through the stone floor once again. A card slit out of the Graveyard slot on Yusei’s Disk and he placed it in his left hand.

Drill Warrior
DEF/2000

“Next, since it’s been two turns, I can use Reincarnation of Hope to add 'Junk Synchron' to my hand,” said Yusei. “Now I summon Drill Synchron in Attack Mode!”

“I activate Zero Gravity!” said Spike as Yusei’s Tuner appeared. “This’ll change the battle mode of every monster on the field. So Attack Mode monsters are switched to Defense Mode...”

“...and Defense Mode monsters are switched to Attack Mode!” finished Yusei. Drill Synchron crossed its thin arms in front of itself while the kneeling Drill Warrior stood up. The dragons on the field crossed their wings in front of their bodies and Dark Valkyria knelt and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Yusei took a card from his hand and played it. “I equip Drill Synchron with 'Prevention Star',” he said. “I can only equip this card to a monster that was changed to Defense Mode. It lets me pick pick one of your monsters and stop it from attacking or changing its mode. I target Dark Horus!”

“Counter Trap, 'Dark Illusion'!” said Discord. “This negates the activation of a card or effect that targets a DARK monster on my field, and then destroys that card.” Discord laughed as Yusei’s Equip Spell was destroyed.

“Oh, but that’s not all,” continued the patchwork creature. “When one of my Counter Traps has activated, I can Release Dark Valkyria to Special Summon 'Dark Voltanis' from my hand!” As the woman vanished, a new creature appeared in her place. It’s body seemed to be made of purple crystals and was covered in black armor. Two black, ridged wings floated behind the monster, disconnected from its body. Held in place by bolts of purple lightning between its sharp hands was a long, crooked staff with a single, purple gem at the end. The dark angel seemed to stare into Yusei with its single, purple eye.

Dark Voltanis
ATK/2800
LV 8

“When Dark Voltanis is summoned this way, it destroys one card on the field,” Discord continued. “Say goodbye to Drill Warrior!” The dark angel’s staff spun in the air and then flew toward Yusei’s monster, striking it in the chest and destroying it before flying back to its owner.

“I end my turn,” Yusei said through gritted teeth.

“My turn,” sang Discord as he drew his card. “First, I’ll switch Dark Horus back to Attack Mode.”

“Spike, I can finish him off on my next turn,” said Yusei, “but in order to do that, I can’t protect Diamond Head Dragon.”

“I understand, Yusei,” said Spike. “Bring it on, Discord! I’m right here!”

Diamond Head Dragon
DEF/2800

“With pleasure,” said Discord. “Dark Horus, attack Diamond Head Dragon! Darkness Flare!” Dark Horus spat out a black flare from its beak. It struck the diamond-covered dragon and destroyed it. Rarity cried out in dismay.

“And it was such a beautiful dragon too,” she said.

“There’s more where that came from, Rarity,” said Spike with a wink.

“The real question is, does she really care?” Spike turned back to his opponent.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” said the purple dragon.

“What did she admire that dragon for? Surely not its wingspan, or the color of its eyes, or its personality.” Discord practically sang the last word. “She wanted the diamonds.”

“So what if I admired the diamonds?” said Rarity. “The dragon itself was beautiful and I’d never dream of taking beauty away from anything!”

“That’s not my point, my dear,” said Discord. “Why do you allow Spike to do so much for you?”

“Because he’s a good friend, an absolute gentledragon, and-”

“Because he makes getting gems easier!” roared the chimeric creature. “Your thoughts are no secret to me, Rarity. The spirit of Generosity you may be, but your flaw isn’t in your selfishness; it’s that you are manipulative. You give of your excess to keep others around so that you may continue to collect your riches. Your generosity is not who you are, it is a tool that you use to satisfy your true nature.”

“Why, I never!” said Rarity indignantly.

“Just like she is the one to stave off Rainbow Dash’s loneliness, so too is Twilight the central gear to your puppetry. Without her, you would not have any of these ponies. You wouldn’t have your connections in Canterlot- oh yes, I know ALL about that, my dear. Frankly, you would have nothing without your so-called ‘friends’, so you continue to give them things in the hope of buying their friendship.”

“That’s not... I... I...”

“Discord, you leave her alone!” roared Spike. “You stop it right now or I’ll-!”

“You’ll what, baby dragon?” Discord snapped. “You’re no match for me and you know it! Even if you were fully grown, my magic far exceeds your own.”

“I don’t care,” said Spike with a snort. Black puffs of smoke shot out of his nostrils. He turned to Rarity and said, “Rarity, you could never buy our friendship because you never needed to. You could be the poorest pony in Equestria and all of us would still love you. And even if everypony else abandoned you, I never would.”

“That’s not the point, Spike,” said Rarity, the color slowly draining from her form. “I’m... I’m selfish and manipulative. I’m just a puppeteer, pulling strings to get what I want. Friendship is just one of those strings.”

“Big deal,” said Spike. “You deserve everything you have because you worked for it! And all of your friends love you no matter what.”

“But... I....”

“Even if it’s true that you’ve been manipulating us, that doesn’t have to change anything,” Spike continued. “If you think you’ve done something wrong, we’ll forgive you and forget about it. All we ask in return is that you do the same for yourself.”

“But what about...”

“We love your gifts, Rarity, but it’s not why we keep coming back. We keep coming back because we know you care about us. We know that’s why you’re giving us those gifts in the first place. No matter what Discord says, no matter what ideas he plants in your head, they’re not true. You do what you do because you care about your friends, just like we care about you.”

Yusei saw the black aura appear around Discord once more. Spike glanced behind him and saw it too. His eyes flashed with a green light.

“Not this time, Discord!” he yelled and shot a stream of green fire at him. The flames never reached the draconequus; they were blocked by a dark gray barrier. Rarity’s color continued to drain from her.

“Rarity,” said Spike as he cut off the flames, “you have to forgive yourself.”

“I don’t deserve it,” she said.

“Then don’t do it for yourself,” said Spike. “Do it for your friends. ...do it for me.” He tried to reach up and touch her, but she was too far away. Rarity saw the purple dragon reaching for her.

“What if... what if I do it again?” she asked.

“We’ll forgive you again,” Spike replied. “And if it happens again after that, we’ll still forgive you. We’ll forgive you every single time. Please, Rarity, we don’t want to lose you. I... don’t want to lose you.”

Tears had begun to water Rarity’s gray face. A small, sad smile formed on her lips and the color began to reappear in her coat and mane. Spike flashed her a toothy grin, then turned back to Discord with a smug look on his face. “If you thought I’d let you take Rarity after what you did to my other friends, you were dead wrong, Discord!” he announced.

“The seeds have already been planted,” said Discord. “It’s only a matter of time before I get both of you.”

“Not on my watch, Discord!” said Yusei.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to get rid of you,” Discord replied. “Dark Voltanis, obliterate Drill Synchron! Dark Adjudication!”

“Go, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” shouted Yusei as his Trap Card flipped up. “Drill Synchron’s not going anywhere this turn, Discord!”

“Very well, then. I Set a card face-down and end my turn.”

“My turn!” said Spike. “I also play a face-down and end my turn. Go get ‘im, Yusei.”

“With pleasure,” said Yusei, drawing a card. He glanced at it quickly, but couldn’t help but wonder why he received that card. “First I’ll summon Junk Synchron to the field in Attack Mode. Next, Junk Synchron’s effect activates. When I Normal Summon him, I can Special Summon a Level two or below monster from my Graveyard. Come on back, Tuningware!”

Discord snapped the fingers of his lion paw and grinned as face-down card flipped up. “I’m afraid you won’t be Synchro Summoning with Tuningware any time soon, Yusei. I play Crevice into the Different Dimension! This Trap Card lets me declare an Attribute and banish two monsters from the Graveyards with that Attribute.”

“So you’re declaring the LIGHT Attribute?” asked Yusei.

“Oh, is THAT what those little circles are?” said Discord. Spike slapped his forehead with his palm again. “Very well, then. I declare the LIGHT Attribute.”

“The only other LIGHT monster in the Graveyards is my Diamond Head Dragon,” growled Spike. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Yusei.” He and Yusei took their monsters from the Graveyards, and the cards vanished into a dark storm of a portal that had opened above them.

“I did,” said Yusei. “I could have Synchro Summoned two monsters that would’ve won the game for us. But without Tuningware...”

“You have a Plan B, though, right?” asked Spike.

“I do,” said Yusei with a nod. “Since I have a Tuner on my field, I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard, but it’s removed from the game when it leaves the field.”

“I assume you discarded it earlier in the duel?” Discord asked.

“With Drill Warrior,” Yusei answered. “Now, Level three Junk Synchron, tune with Level two Quillbolt Hedgehog! Gathering stars will call upon a new power. Become the path its light shines upon! I Synchro Summon 'Junk Warrior'!” Yusei’s new monster was a tall humanoid wearing purple armor and the same white scarf as Junk Synchron. His eyes were nothing more than red circles that flashed once as it spun around, briefly showing the jets on its back, and threw its right fist forward. It was larger than the left and was adorned with set of metal knuckles.

“But that’s not the end of it,” said Yusei. “Drill Synchron, tune with Junk Warrior!” His two monsters leaped into the air. Drill Synchron vanished and its stars became green rings that encircled the purple warrior.

“Here it comes, girls!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Here it comes here it comes here it comes!”

“Gathering wishes will become a bright new star...”

“You show that no-good rustler who’s boss!” cheered Applejack.

“Become the path its light shines upon!”

Rainbow Dash began to stir. She blinked and looked up as a column of white-green light appeared before her and Yusei.

“Synchro Summon!” said Yusei as he placed a card on his Duel Disk. “Take flight, 'Stardust Dragon'!” The thin, white dragon flew out of the light like an arrow, roaring as it did, fully extending its wings and flipping backwards in the air before stopping and striking a fighting stance. Even Fluttershy cheered at the sight of the star-borne dragon.

Stardust Dragon
ATK/2500
LV 8

“It’s... it’s magnificent!” said Celestia. “I’ve never seen a dragon... sparkle like that, and I have seen many dragons in my time.”

“It’s about to sparkle even more. I equip Stardust Dragon with ‘Silver Wing’ Equip Spell Card.” Stardust’s wings were coated with silvery light and glittered like a many-faceted gemstone.

“I activate Dark Horus’ effect and revive Dark Valkyria in Defense Mode,” said Discord.

“Battle! Stardust Dragon, attack Dark Valkyria!” ordered Yusei. “Shooting Sonic!” The white dragon reared its head back as it inhaled sparkling white light, and then threw its head forward spat it out in a clear beam that struck Discord’s Dark Valkyria, destroying her. Yusei ended his turn after the attack had finished.

“Dark Horus, go get your attack negated by that pesky Trap Card of Yusei’s,” said Discord dismissively. When the metal dragon did nothing, he sighed and ordered it to attack Spike directly. Yusei activated his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, however, and the scrap-metal man blocked the black fire.

“Now that that’s done, Dark Voltanis, attack Stardust Dragon with Dark Adjudication!”

The black angel gripped the staff with its pointed fingers and held the jewel up to its eye. A thin beam of light shot out of its eye and into the jewel on its staff. The purple gem magnified the beam and it sped toward Yusei’s dragon, gaining size as it did.

Stardust Dragon growled and threw its left wing in front of itself. The purple beam struck it, but slid off like water on glass. When the beam died away, Stardust Dragon was still there, but another small portion of Rainbow Dash had turned to stone.

“Let me guess,” said Discord, “your Silver Wing card keeps Stardust Dragon from being destroyed in a fight.”

“Twice every turn,” Yusei answered.

“Then let’s work on getting rid of it, shall we? I activate the effect of 'Dark Nephthys' from my hand. If there are at least three DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can remove two of them from play to send Dark Nephthys to the Graveyard.” He took Dark Grepher and Armageddon Knight from his Graveyard and threw them into the stormy portal that had reappeared above the duel field.

“What good will that do?” asked Yusei.

“On my next turn, Dark Nephthys will be Special Summoned to the field. And when it is, it’ll destroy one Spell or Trap on the field!” Discord began to laugh. “Neither of you have enough cards to stop me, and Yusei, you can’t protect both yourself and Spike. I’m taking one of you down next turn, and when I do, the other will be a snap!” As he said the last word, he snapped the fingers of his lion paw and laughed.

Spike flared his nostrils, green flames shooting out of them. “Then I’ll just have to counterattack! My turn!” he roared as he drew a card.

Life Point Count
Discord: 1000
Spike: 3000
Yusei: 1600

"For my love!" A Legend Reborn

"For my love!" A Legend Reborn

Author’s Note: Yes, I went there. And there. And there. And to that place where everyone else has gone. Sort of.

To be honest, I scared myself a little, writing what I did for several of the other ponies. You'll have to read on to find out what I did, but know that I scared myself a little.

/*********************\

“My turn!” roared Spike as he drew a card. He glanced at it and a fire began to burn in his eyes. “I activate 'Cards of Consonance'. By discarding a Dragon-Type Tuner Monster from my hand with one thousand or fewer Attack Points, I can draw two new cards from my hand.” Spike slid the remaining card in his hand into the Graveyard and then took two new cards from the top of his deck.

“Next the effect of my discarded Tuner activates,” said Spike. “When the 'White Stone of Legend' is sent to the Graveyard, I add... a specific monster from my deck to my hand.”

“Before I forget, since you played a Spell, Dark Horus will revive Dark Valkyria,” said Discord. “Now, what monster did you add to your hand?”

“The one that I’ll be summoning in a moment,” replied Spike. “But first, I summon 'Totem Dragon' to the field!” A small dragon with a very long neck and a turtle-like body appeared. Its back seemed to be covered with multifaceted enamel, and a thin, curved crest rested atop its round head. Two long, yellow wings flapped as it appeared through the blue portal and settled onto the ground.

“Aw, it’s adorable,” cooed Fluttershy.

“The thing about Totem Dragon is that I can count it as two Releases when I summon a Dragon-Type monster,” said Spike.

“But you’ve already summoned this turn,” said Discord.

“Then I activate 'Double Summon', so I can Normal Summon a second time,” said Spike. “I Release Totem Dragon!” Totem Dragon vanished in a ball of multicolored light. “This is the ultimate power of dragons, Discord! You’ll never take Rarity while I stand in your way! For my friends! For my love! I Advance Summon 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'!”

Yusei couldn’t believe his ears, but he knew it was true when the white dragon emerged from the blue portal. It’s long neck writhed snake-like atop its ridged, segmented body. Two spikes rested on the sides of the dragon’s mouth. Long, sharp wings flared out behind it as the creature gave a roar Yusei had heard only once before- his duel with Paradox.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/3000
LV 8

“That’s... no way!” said Yusei. “Only three copies of that card exist, and Seto Kaiba has them all!”

“The cards Twilight made change based on the user,” said Spike.

“But why that card?” Yusei asked. “I mean, the crystal dragons I can understand, but... Blue-Eyes?”

“Why do you think?” said Spike with a smile. He looked up at Rarity, still smiling, then turned back to Discord. “This is the most powerful dragon in existence, Discord! Legends give birth to legends!”

“The White Stone of Legend,” said Yusei. “Blue-Eyes was the monster it gave you...”

“Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Dark Voltanis! Burst Stream of Destruction!” The white dragon opened its jaws wide. A ball of blue-white energy formed within. Arcs of electricity danced around the dragon’s sharp teeth. A stream of energy blasted out of the ball and struck the dark angel on Discord’s field, breaking through it as if it were nothing more than tissue paper. Voltanis exploded and Discord covered his face with his arms to shield himself from it.

Life Point Count
Discord: 800

“Yusei, your turn!” said Spike.

“Right!” said Yusei, drawing a card. “Stardust Dragon, attack Dark Valkyria with Shooting Sonic!” The white dragon roared and fired its beam at Dark Valkyria, destroying her. Discord growled, clearly frustrated.

“I’ll end my turn by summoning 'Sonic Chick' in Defense Mode,” said Yusei. A pink bird wearing red running shoes appeared, squawked, and hid its face behind its wings. Fluttershy began to coo over the tiny bird.

Sonic Chick
DEF/300
LV 1

“My turn!” roared Discord. “First, 'Dark Nephthys' is Special Summoned to the field!” The ground cracked and dark red flames erupted from the fissures. The floor exploded and another creature appeared. It was made of the same black metal as Dark Horus, and was shaped like a phoenix. It had two sets of wings made of dark flames burning long and wide on the edges of metal arms. The creature screeched out a metallic cry. Yusei raised his Duel Disk, readying himself for anything.

Dark Nephthys
ATK/2200
LV 8

“Dark Nephthys’ second effect activates,” said Discord. “When Special Summoned, it destroys one Spell or Trap on the field. Say goodbye to your Silver Wing, Yusei!” Nephthys flapped its wings and the dark flames raced toward Stardust Dragon.

“I activate Stardust Dragon’s effect: Victim Sanctuary!” shouted Yusei. Stardust Dragon glowed white and then vanished. As it did, the dark flames stopped in midair. “When an effect is activated that destroys cards on the field, I can Release Stardust Dragon to negate that effect and destroy that card. The only one saying goodbye is Dark Nephthys!” The flames from Nephthys’ wings turned around and sped toward their source. They engulfed the metal phoenix and destroyed it.

“What was the point of that? You still lost your card, and you’ll lose another as well! Dark Horus, attack Sonic Chick!”

“Sorry, but Sonic Chick’s not going anywhere because it can’t be destroyed by monsters with nineteen-hundred or more Attack Points!”

Dark Horus launched a black flare at the tiny pink bird, but it struck the ground in front of it instead. The flare exploded, but nothing happened to Sonic Chick.

“Fine then,” grunted Discord. “I’ll Set one card facedown and end my turn.”

“My turn!” said Spike. “I activate 'Dragon Heart'! I send three Dragon-Type monsters from my deck to the Graveyard, and a dragon on my field gains one thousand Attack Points!” Ghostly forms appeared around Spike’s dragon- two white orbs and the emerald form of Luster Dragon #2. The three specters flew into the Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s chest and disappeared within. A red light began to glow from within its body, pulsing with the steady rhythm of its heartbeat, which echoed throughout the room. The white dragon roared with its new found power.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/4000

“The only downside to Dragon Heart is that I can’t Normal Summon this turn,” said Spike. “But that’s a small price to pay.”

“A small price indeed,” grumbled Discord. “Dark Horus revives Dark Valkyria in Defense Mode.”

Two cards slid out of Spike’s deck and he took them. “Two of the monsters I sent to the Graveyard were White Stones of Legend, so I can add two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons to my hand,” said Spike, flashing the two cards he mentioned. “Time to end this! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Dark Horus with Burst Stream of Destruction!”

“He’s gonna do it!” said Pinkie. “Spike wins! Spike wins!”

“You show ‘im, partner!” cheered Applejack.

“Go, Spike, go!” said Fluttershy.

The blue-eyed dragon charged its attack and fired the blue-white beam of energy. As it sped toward the black dragon, the face-down card behind it flipped up, standing on its edge.

“I play 'Dimension Wall'!” said Discord. “Instead of me, you will be taking all the damage from this battle!”

“But Dark Horus is still destroyed!” said Spike as the white beam raced toward Dark Horus. It struck the dragon, piercing through it like an arrow. The beam continued toward Discord, but the air in front of him became distorted, twisting as if it was being wrung out. The white beam disappeared within it. Another distortion appeared in front of Spike and the white beam shot out of it, striking him in the face and knocking him to the ground.

“Spike!” cried Rarity.

“You okay?” asked Yusei.

“Yeah... yeah, I’m fine,” Spike groaned as he stood up. “Your turn, Yusei.”

Yusei nodded and drew a card. “Stardust Dragon, attack Dark Valkyria!” he ordered.

“I play a Trap: 'Chaos Burst'!” yelled Discord. The card he had placed facedown flipped up. “Chaos Burst lets me Tribute one of my monsters when you declare an attack. Your monster is destroyed and you take a thousand points of damage!” Discord laughed as his Dark Valkyria’s armor began to glow bright orange. She threw her arms out to the sides and screamed as she exploded into pure energy.

“Victim Sanctuary!” shouted Yusei. Stardust Dragon wrapped its wings around the blast and vanished with it. Yusei wiped his brow with the back of his gloved hand. “I Set a card facedown and end my turn. During the End Phase, Stardust Dragon is Special Summoned back to the field.”

“My turn,” said Discord. “This is where the fun begins. I Special Summon 'The Dark Creator'!” Another metal beast appeared, this one in the shape of a man with two giant, orange wings resting on his back. The metal that composed his body was black like Dark Horus and Dark Nephthys. A single blue gem rested in the middle of its forehead. The dark monster seemed to glare down at Yusei, as if it believed he was barely worth a fight.

The Dark Creator
DEF/3000
LV 8

“He summoned it in Defense Mode,” said Yusei.

“Yeah, but HOW did he summon it?” asked Spike.

“Simple,” replied Discord. “I can Special Summon The Dark Creator if I have at least five DARK monsters in my Graveyard, but no monsters on the field.”

“We’re gonna have a hard time getting around a monster with three thousand Defense Points,” said Yusei.

“Oh, you’ll have to get around more than that,” Discord chuckled. “I activate Dark Creator’s effect! By removing a DARK monster in my Graveyard from play-” Discord removed Dark Valkyria from the Graveyard, tossing it into the stormy portal above- “I can Special Summon a DARK monster from my Graveyard. Rise, 'Dark Simorgh'!”

The Dark Creator held his hand out toward the ground in front of him. A dark portal appeared on the stone floor and a monstrous bird covered in black feathers arose from within. A short little crown rested atop its head and long feathers waved behind it like thin cloth tassels. It screeched at Yusei and Spike, flapping its wings violently.

Dark Simorgh
ATK/2700
LV 7

“Dark Simorgh, attack Stardust Dragon!” ordered Discord. “You can try and negate the attack with Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, but it’ll be the last time you do! As long as Dark Simorgh is in play, neither of you can Set cards face-down!”

“Say what?!” said Yusei.

“Hey, no fair!” yelled Spike.

“Dark Tornado!” barked Discord. Simorgh flapped its wings furiously, creating a massive cyclone before it. It roared and the cyclone rushed forward toward Stardust Dragon.

“Use your Trap Card, Yusei!” shouted Discord, laughing.

“Not yet,” said Yusei.

The black tornado struck Stardust Dragon. It gave a pained roar and was destroyed. The tornado plowed onward, knocking Yusei back.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 1400

“Why?” asked Discord. “Why didn’t you use Scrap-Iron Scarecrow?”

“Because I have this: 'Miracle’s Wake'!” Yusei’s other card flipped up and a beam of light shone down on the spot where Stardust Dragon had been. The great dragon reappeared, fading into existence as light shone around it. “During the turn that a monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon it from the Graveyard with this Trap Card.”

“So you used that instead and saved Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” said Spike.

“Good show, Yusei!” said Rarity.

“Sorry about that, Stardust,” said Yusei. Stardust growled softly, but the growl didn’t sound at all menacing; rather, it seemed understanding. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy beamed up at the creature. Celestia smiled as well, then looked over at Discord, sadness beginning to cloud her features.

“Isn’t that sweet,” said Discord mockingly. “Sickeningly so, in fact, but at the same time, revealing.”

“Revealing?” Yusei asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Your cruelty, of course,” Discord said in a casual tone, gazing at his eagle claws with vague interest. “You are cruel in that you would allow your own monster- a creature that appears to be very loyal to you- to be destroyed to protect what amounts to nothing more than a tool. Then you bring it back, though you know it cannot defeat my own monster. Which means, you’re relying on Spike to do your dirty work for you. He’ll spend his resources trying to take me down and you’ll move in for the killing blow. You’re not a hero, Yusei; you’re a hypocrite.”

“He is NOT a hypocrite!” said Fluttershy, flapping her wings furiously and hovering above the ground. “And he’s not cruel either! He’s one of the kindest people I know.”

“Oh, is that right?” said Discord with a wicked grin. “He most certainly IS a hypocrite. How does his Stardust Dragon protect other cards? By sacrificing itself? No. It does so by destroying the destroyer! And then it returns to the field, making its sacrifice nothing more than a hollow lie.”

“I do what I have to do, Discord!” said Yusei. “I’ll try to save everyone, but some people just don’t want to be saved. If that’s the case and I can’t convince them to stop trying to hurt my friends, then...”

“Yusei, we get it,” said Spike. “You did what you had to do with Paradox. Don’t let Discord get to you.”

“P-Paradox?” Fluttershy stammered. “Who’s Paradox?”

Yusei looked at her uncertainly. After a moment, he sighed. “Paradox was the man who stole Stardust Dragon from me. He stole several other cards and then traveled back in time with them to kill the man who invented the Duel Monsters card game. He said it was because the world was destroyed by Duel Monsters in the future he came from.”

Fluttershy gasped, holding a hoof to her mouth.

“I met Jaden Yuki and Yugi Muto, and together, we battled Paradox,” Yusei continued. “But Paradox played a card that made it all real- not just holograms like what Twilight and I were using. Losing the duel meant losing your life. Then he merged himself with his most powerful monster and...”

“Yusei...”

“I had no other choice, Fluttershy. If I didn’t, he would have killed me and my friends, including my friends back home in my own time period.”

“Did you... did you try to get him to stop?”

“I did.”

“The duel, I mean.”

“...Fluttershy, he never would have stopped. I don’t know if what he said about the future is true, but whether or not it is, he never would have stopped trying to kill Pegasus.”

“But you don’t know that, do you? You didn’t try to talk him into canceling the game, did you?”

“...no,” Yusei said softly. “No, I didn’t. He just... he seemed so determined. I couldn’t talk him out of it before the duel, so I didn’t think I could talk him out of it during the duel, especially when he had the upper hand nearly every turn.”

“You are cruel... you do destroy others.” Fluttershy dropped to the ground and began to back up toward the wall.

“Only if I don’t have any other choice, Fluttershy!” Yusei protested. “What would you do?”

“Don’t ask me that... please...” said Fluttershy, closing her eyes.

“And therein lies the rub,” said Discord suddenly. “The kindest pony of all can be the cruelest. I remember overhearing some commotion at the Grand Galloping Gala about a crazed mare trying to get the animals to love her. But in the end, she only scared them into a stampede.”

“N-no, it’s not- I-”

“It’s exactly like that, my dear. You are kind to others, but when they do not show kindness in return, when they refuse and push you away, what do you do? You lash out! You punish them!”

“No! Please, stop! Please!”

“But you lash out not out of anger, but out of fear, fear that they will hurt you. So you try to hurt them first, so they won’t hurt you at all.”

Fluttershy curled into a ball and began to weep.

“This same fear is also the true source of your kindness,” Discord continued mockingly. “You are kind to others because you fear pain!”

“Fluttershy, he’s right,” said Yusei. Everyone stopped and looked at him. “But not for the reason he thinks. Everyone is afraid of pain. That fact is what makes you kind. You’re kind because you’re afraid of being hurt, but I believe you’re also kind because you don’t want others to be hurt the same way.”

“How would.. you know?” squeaked the yellow pegasus between sobs.

“Because I know someone who’s the same way,” he answered. “She’s a good friend of mine back home. She went through a lot of pain and hurt, and now she’s one of the kindest people I know.”

Fluttershy’s sobbing became softer.

“Everything about you is motivated by a fear of pain,” Discord said. “You’re a coward. Give up yourself and I can make the pain go away.”

Fluttershy uncurled herself and looked at discord. She nodded and her color slid away like water.

“Fluttershy, no,” said Applejack. “This isn’t right! Come on, Fluttershy, stand up! Yusei an’ Spike are out there fightin’ t’save our friends! You can’t give in to Discord!”

“She already has,” said Discord. “And what of you, Miss Prideful? You are one of the most dishonest ponies I’ve ever seen.”

“I am not!” Applejack shouted.

“Yes you are. Remember the maze? All you needed was a push in the right direction. Who would have thought that direction was a truth you wouldn’t like?”

“It wasn’t true, Discord! That vision ya showed me never happened and we still put your sorry hide back in stone!”

“Oh, what a lie! Perhaps it did not come to pass as I had shown you, Applejack, but your little group of friends still splintered easier than rotted wood. And the fact that you reunited and defeated me was always a moot point; all that mattered is that your friendship broke. And do you know what destroyed it, Applejack? The very things that make each of you who you are!”

“No! That was you, not us!”

“I only needed to give each of you a push toward a truth you wouldn’t like, and then tweak your minds so that you would only focus on that truth. You ponies did the rest.”

“No... no, that’s not true...”

“The one truth you cannot admit to yourself, Applejack, is that you are a liar, and until you admit that, you will ALWAYS be a liar. But then, if you do admit it, then you’re still a liar, aren’t you?”

“I... I...”

“Discord, stop this at once!” said Celestia. Discord ignored her.

“Refusing to admit to being a liar is, of course, worse than actually owning up to it,” continued the draconequus. “But to do that, you would have to swallow your pride, wouldn’t you? And your pride is an integral part of who you are... why, I dare say you would be sacrificing your identity.”

“Discord!” shouted Celestia. Again he ignored her.

“I’m right either way, Applejack,” said Discord. “Of that there is no doubt, not even in your mind.”

Applejack fell sat on her haunches, tilted her hat down and began to weep. The color started to drain from her.

“Applejack, telling lies isn’t unforgivable,” said Yusei. “My friend that tried to get revenge on me... I had lied to the authorities because I was trying to save him. He eventually forgave me.”

“And what about my pride?” asked Applejack. A single tear dripped off her chin. “I’d have to give up my pride to believe him... but I’m a liar either way...”

“Swallowing your pride doesn’t mean giving it up,” said Yusei. “It just means that you’re able to move past it when you have to. Pride is only a bad thing when it gets in the way of what’s important.”

“But...”

“You’ve done it before, haven’t you?”

“This isn’t about buckin’ apples by myself, Yusei! This is about who I am as a pony! I’m supposed to be honest, but I can’t even be honest with myself! And admitting that means that I’m not honest at all.” As she spoke these last words, the last of her color faded away. She now sat before them all, monochrome like Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Another tear dripped off her chin, and then another. Yusei clenched a fist.

“You guys,” said Pinkie Pie, “come on, cheer up! It’s not as bad as you think it is, and if it IS that bad, your friends are there to help you through it no matter what. You’ve still got me to make you smile, right?”

“Did they ever, Pinkie Pie?” asked Discord. “Why do you try so hard to make ponies smile?” Before she could answer, Discord continued. “I’ll tell you why: Because you feel you don’t deserve happiness if you can’t get others to smile. You’re as selfish as the rest of them. I see through your facade, Pinkie Pie. Why do you think I chose Twilight over you?”

“Because you spent more time with her than anypony else?” Pinkie Pie ventured. Yusei heard a a slight trembling in her voice.

“Because you are a selfish liar like all the others,” Discord countered. “Yes, I spent more time with Twilight, but that’s because she was the most honest of you all. She at least was able to admit when her friends had changed, and she didn’t even need my help! You could never make me laugh, dear Pinkie, because you would never truly want to. You would only want to make yourself happy, which makes it all a lie.”

Pinkie’s eyes began to water and her mane and tale slowly deflated like a balloon, becoming perfectly straight. Just like the others, her color began to slip away.

“Pinkie, Discord is the liar!” said Yusei.

“He... you told me I was your favorite!” said Pinkie with a small squeak.

“No, I said the Element of Laughter was my favorite,” Discord replied. “You are supposed to represent that Element, but you as a pony? No. My favorite little pony is in this room, but it’s most certainly not you.”

“He didn’t choose Twilight because he doesn’t like you, Pinkie,” said Yusei. “He chose her just to mess with your head! Don’t listen to him!”

Pinkie Pie’s color was receding quickly as she said, “Even if that’s true, everything he said about me is... also true. I never believed that I deserved to be happy unless everypony else was happy too. And since that’s why I try so hard to make everypony smile... it’s all a lie.”

“Everyone deserves happiness, Pinkie,” said Yusei. “Even you. Especially you. You make me smile without even realizing that you’re doing it.”

“That’s not true” she said as the last of her color vanished. “I DO realize it, and I don’t deserve to be happy anyway, not if being me being happy is the only reason I try to make others happy.”

“If you want something, then you go after it and earn it.”

“That’s just it! I went after it! I tried to make others happy just to satisfy myself! I didn’t do it for them, I did it for me! If you only try to make someone happy for your own benefit, then it’s a lie!” Pinkie fell flat on the floor, her front legs flung out beside her. “I’ve been lying to everypony and myself. That makes it all worthless. Who I am... is worthless.”

“I will not stand for this any longer!” roared Celestia. “Your quarrel has always been with me, Discord! Leave my subjects out of this!”

“You dare to bring THAT up, Celestia?” Discord growled. “You’re right, I do have dispute with you- a vendetta even. But you are not the only one who turned me into stone; your precious subjects encased me in that wretched prison as well.”

“I’m not talking about that, Discord,” said Celestia.

Discord blinked and tilted his head, confused. Then his eyes widened. “Oh,” he said with realization. “Yes, that IS when this all started, isn’t it?”

“Princess, what’s he talking about?” asked Spike.

“Discord... was once my friend,” said Celestia.

“And I loved her more than I love chaos and freedom combined,” Discord added wistfully.

The Peace of Despair

Author’s Note: The end of the duel is nigh. But first, Yusei has to see exactly what is happening to everypony in the dark world. I felt bad for what I did to one pony in particular...

/*********************\

“You what?!” shouted Spike and Rarity simultaneously.

“I loved her,” Discord repeated. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes,” the two said, again simultaneously.

“Perhaps I should be the one to explain,” said Celestia. She stepped forward, carefully moving between the gray ponies before her. “From the moment of Discord’s creation, he was a chaotic being. He was small at the time, and I was just entering marehood. We were children when we met.”

“I saw her trying to fly and doing a poor job of it,” said Discord. “Nothing about what she was doing had any kind of order to it. So I decided to experiment a little- I would see if I could bring order from chaos. I used the wind to stabilize her in the air, and she quickly learned how to do fly on her own.”

“When I landed, he came up to me and asked-”

“‘Did you enjoy the wind I gave you?’”

Celestia looked at him blankly. Her wings fluttered slightly. “He told me that he was responsible for the wind that balanced my flying and I thanked him for it. We would often get together and play with each other.”

“Needless to say, her parents didn’t exactly approve,” said Discord. “Something about a prophecy or some hogwash like that.”

“It was an ancient prophecy that heralded the coming of the Chaotic One who would plummet the world into disharmony and darkness,” said Celestia. “My parents were convinced it was Discord.”

“They were right. But then, I believe prophecies are self-fulfilling, so there you go.”

“My parents did eventually warm up to you, Discord.”

“Only after I replaced the pudding in their bed with clouds.”

“Pudding?” asked Yusei.

“Yes, pudding,” said Discord. “I filled their bed with pudding, and their pillows with cotton candy. I had a good laugh, but then I filled them up with clouds. They apparently loved it.”

“Discord and I were the best of friends,” Celestia continued. “But it didn’t last.”

“What happened?” asked Spike.

“I...”

“She broke my heart,” said Discord nonchalantly. “I told her I loved her, but she said she couldn’t be with me. It was I who tried to salvage the friendship as well, but she would have none of it. She refused to be anywhere near me!”

“Discord, it wasn’t like that!” Celestia pleaded.

“Yes it was,” he spat. “I remembered the prophecy and I decided that I would become the Chaotic One. I would break Celestia’s heart like she broke mine!”

The princess sighed. “Discord reigned for a hundred years,” said Celestia. “I was no match for him. But then I found the Elements of Harmony and used them to imprison Discord in stone. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I don’t even remember why I turned him down in the first place...”

All was silent. For several minutes, nobody said anything. Then Discord said, “I believe it’s still my move. I place one card facedown and end my turn.” A single card appeared behind Dark Simorgh and The Dark Creator.

“My turn,” said Spike. He looked at his new card, then at the cards in his hand. A grin crept up his face. “Oh, you’re in for it now, Discord!” said the purple dragon. “By discarding 'King of the Swamp', I can add 'Polymerization' from my deck to my hand. Next I'll play that Polymerization! With this, I can combine the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on my field with the two in my hand to Fusion Summon 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon'!”

Two more white dragons appeared on either side of the first. They began to spin around each other in a vortex. There was a flash and the room was suddenly filled with bright white light. A shadow formed within the light: A draconic creature similar in shape to the three dragons, but larger and sharper-looking. The light faded and the shadow was given depth. The mighty white dragon was indeed sharper that it had previously appeared... and it had three heads. The extra two rested on long necks above its spiked shoulders. Its roar was deeper than that of its original form, and the creature appeared far more menacing. Each head glared at Discord and his monsters in a way that seemed to Yusei like it was looking down on them.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/4500
LV 12

“Impressive, I must admit,” said Discord, “but you still can’t beat me.”

“Check your Life Points, Discord,” said Spike. “You’ve only got eight hundred points left, and my Ultimate Dragon has eighteen-hundred more points than Dark Simorgh.”

“And I’m supposed to be frightened?” Discord asked. “You know that if you attack, your dear Twilight will turn to stone.”

“But you’ll have to give us the Elements of Harmony back,” Spike said, “and I’m betting they can change Twilight back to normal. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack Dark Simorgh with Ultimate Burst!”

The three heads came together and open their pointed maws. A ball of gray-white energy appeared before them, arcs of electricity dancing around it. A bright white beam shot out of the ball and raced toward the black bird. Yusei shielded his eyes from the light with his arm. He didn’t smile. If this attack goes through, we’ll win, he thought, but Discord still has that face-down card...

“I play the Trap ‘Defense Draw’!” said Discord. “I take no damage from this battle and I get to draw one card.”

“But your Dark Simorgh is still destroyed!” said Spike. The white blast engulfed the dark bird completely. Its shadow dissipated within the beam as the creature cried out, then it was no more. Discord drew a card from his deck. “Without Dark Simorgh, we’re free to play face-downs again,” said Spike. “Your move, Yusei.”

“Right,” said Yusei. He drew a card. “I play a facedown and end my turn.”

“That’s it?” said Discord. “Just a facedown? Booooorrrrriiiiinnnnng! My turn!” Discord drew his card and the black aura flashed around him. “I activate the effect of 'Veil of Darkness'. If I draw a DARK monster, I can send it to the Graveyard to draw another card.” Discord revealed the card he was holding- "Dark Grepher"- then slid it into his Graveyard and drew a new card. “Well, would you look at that,” he said, revealing another monster. He drew again. “This seems to be my lucky day.” Discord sent another card to the Graveyard and drew. He sent four more cards to the Graveyard before stopping.

“He probably manipulated his deck, that cheat,” snorted Rarity. “Did you see that black outline that appeared around him just before he drew each card?”

“Considering what I’ve seen him do so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did change some cards around,” said Yusei.

“If you’re going to accuse me of cheating, you could at least talk directly to me,” said Discord indignantly. “May I continue, or do I need to remind you that your friends’ lives and identities are at stake in this duel?”

Yusei grit his teeth and Spike growled, his pupils narrowing to slits.

“First things first,” said Discord. “I activate The Dark Creator’s effect. I remove Dark Simorgh from play and Special Summon 'Darknight Parshath' in Attack Mode!”

Out of the blue portal emerged an incredibly strange creature. Celestia, Rarity and Spike were all shocked by its appearance. It had the black body of a horse, but the torso of a human. A pair of wings with dark purple, almost black feathers rested on the sides of the equine body. The human part wore armor and a helmet the same color of his wings. The skin of his face was a pale green and his hair was a deep, golden yellow, like the yolk of an egg. In his left hand he gripped a shield that appeared to have wings and a crown, with a huge green jewel in the center. His right forearm was covered by a wide blade, as though his hand had been replaced with the sword. The center body of the blade was pitch black and marked with golden runes. Red eyes and an evil grin gleamed out from under his helmet and hair.

Darknight Parshath
ATK/1900
LV 5

“What... what IS that thing?!” said Rarity with disgust.

“A centaur,” said Yusei. “A kind of creature that appears in stories in my world.”

“I’ve never seen its like before,” said Celestia. “I’m not sure I would care to see it again.”

“Darknight Parshath’s effect is this.” said Discord. “He gains one hundred Attack Points for every DARK monster in my Graveyard. Currently, there are eleven, putting his Attack Points at three thousand!” The centaur glowed with a purple nimbus and swung his sword while laughing. “In addition to that, if he destroys a monster by battle, I can remove a DARK monster from my Graveyard to draw a card from my deck. I switch The Dark Creator to Attack Mode. Darknight Parshath, attack Stardust Dragon!” The black centaur bounded forward, the muscles of the equine half of his body rippling beneath his taut skin as he ran.

“Go, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” said Yusei. The centaur jumped into the air, beating his wings to gain height and strike at Stardust. He brought his sword-arm across, but it struck the metal frame of Yusei’s scarecrow and glanced off of it. The centaur was thrown back from the force and Yusei’s Trap reset itself.

He knew it was there, thought Yusei. So why did he attack anyway? Why use that card? Why not try Dark Simorgh again?

“I place two cards facedown and end my turn,” said Discord. He grinned, his single fang gleaming in the moonlight.

“Spike, be careful,” said Yusei.

“Got it,” Spike replied. “My turn!” He drew. Spike’s eyes widened when he saw the card in his hand. “All right, Discord,” said the dragon. “It’s time I end this once and for all! I Release Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” The three-headed dragon roared as it dissipated into light. Yusei, Rarity and Celestia gasped.

“Spike, what are you doing?!” shouted Rarity.

“Growing up,” said Spike. “Fueled by love and fallen comrades, protected by the brightest of crystals! I Summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!”

As the three-headed monster disappeared, a new dragon took form in its place. At first it was simply a vague mass of light, but slowly it took shape. It was rigid and segmented, much like the earlier dragons, but also curved and angular. The light faded and Yusei was amazed at what he saw. The hide of the dragon seemed to be made out of a pale blue metal similar to the bodies of The Dark Creator and Dark Horus. It had no arms; only two wings that were flat and machine-like. Large, perfectly round sapphires rested on the creatures legs and wings, with one directly in the center of its abdomen, and a smaller one atop its pointed head. Yusei had heard tales of this creature; it was said that it had been designed by Pegasus to counter the three Egyptian God cards, but that Yugi Muto still defeated it in a duel with Seto Kaiba. However, the card was lost in an explosion and no videos or logs of the duel survived.

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon
ATK/3000
LV 10

“You sacrificed your most powerful creature for THAT?” laughed Discord. “It’s even weaker than the last one!”

“That’s what you think,” said Spike. Ghostly images of all the other dragons he had played, save for Diamond-Head Dragon, appeared around the Shining Dragon before vanishing into the jewels on its body. It roared and a blue aura pulsed along its body. “Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon gains three hundred Attack Points for each Dragon-Type monster in my Graveyard. Since there are ten, that means its Attack Points are doubled!”

“Six thousand Attack Points,” said Yusei under his breath, amazed.

“I’m not scared of your face-downs either, Discord!” Spike continued. “If Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is targeted by a card effect, I can negate that card’s effect. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, attack The Dark Creator with Shining Burst!” The Shining Dragon opened its metal mouth and fired a beam of light made of blue and white sparks at metal man. Discord began to laugh.

“I don’t need to target it to destroy it!” shouted the draconequus. “I activate the ‘Inverse Universe’ Trap Card! The Attack and Defense Points of ALL Effect Monsters on the field are switched!”

Yusei watched as Point Counters appeared next to each monster and spun around, displaying the monster’s Defense Points as its Attack Points.

Darknight Parshath
ATK/1400

Stardust Dragon
ATK/2000

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon
ATK/2500

The Dark Creator
ATK/3000

“Spike!” shouted Yusei.

“I activate 'Interdimensional Matter Transporter'!” Spike’s only face-down card flipped up and a strange device appeared. It created a sphere of light around his dragon and then the two vanished. Spike wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “My Trap removes my monster from the game, then returns it to the field at the end of the turn. When it comes back, it won’t be affected by Inverse Universe. Your move, Yusei.” Spike’s dragon reappeared, letting loose its metallic cry.

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon
ATK/6000

Yusei shook off his amazement and returned his focus to the duel. He drew. Discord has one more face-down card ready, probably to protect Darknight Parshath, he thought. But he’s also out of cards and only has eight hundred Life Points left. If I attack now, I can make him use his face-down and force him on the defensive. So long as he doesn’t draw another defensive Trap next turn, Spike can take down The Dark Creator and he can I can break down his remaining defenses. In that case...!

“Stardust Dragon, attack Darknight Parshath with Shooting Sonic!” Yusei ordered. His white dragon fired its crystal-clear beam at the dark centaur.

“I won’t lose that easily, Yusei!” said Discord. “I activate 'Dark Spirit Art - Greed'!”

“Say what?!”

“You thought the first two were the only ones? I Release Darknight Parshath to draw two cards!” Yusei grit his teeth. The card he drew wasn’t a Spell, so he couldn’t stop the effect. The centaur vanished and Discord drew two cards.

“I Set a card face-down and end my turn,” said Yusei.

“A Trap Card, no doubt,” said Discord. “But I’m not worried. My turn! First, I’ll use The Dark Creator’s ability to revive Dark Nephthys by banishing Dark Horus.” The black phoenix reappeared on the field at the Creator’s command, screeching as it rose. “When Dark Nephthys is Special Summoned, it destroys one Spell or Trap on the field. I WILL rid myself of that blasted Scarecrow! Go, my servant!”

“Stardust Dragon, do your stuff!” said Yusei. With a roar and a flash, Stardust Dragon stopped Nephthys’ assault. Yusei smiled, but it faded when he saw that Discord himself was still smiling.

“I activate 'Psychic Cyclone'!” he said.

“What?!” said Yusei.

“Oh, you’ve seen this one before, have you?” said Discord. “Psychic Cyclone lets me pick a face-down card and call Spell or Trap, then destroy it. If I call it right, I draw a card. If not, you draw a card.”

“He’s going after Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, isn’t he?” asked Spike.

“No doubt,” said Yusei. “I would too.”

A whirlwind erupted from Discord’s pointed claw and raced toward Yusei’s card, sliding underneath it and spinning it into the air. He grinned when he saw the picture of the metal scarecrow, and he drew a new card to replace Psychic Cyclone.

“Now to take care of that bird,” said Discord. “Poor little chicky, fallen into a 'Fissure'!” A Spell Card appeared before Discord and a black line appeared in the floor beneath the pink chick. It fell into the crack with a squawk and the fissure closed up.

“You’re wide open now, Yusei,” said Discord. “Dark Creator, destroy him!” The steel giant held his hands out in front of him and formed a crackling ball of black energy. With one hand, it threw the ball at Yusei.

“I activate 'Scrubbed Raid'!” said Yusei. One of his remaining face-downs flipped up. It was a Continuous Trap. “While this card is on the field, I can send one of my other cards to the Graveyard to end the Battle Phase.” Yusei grabbed his other face-down card from his Duel Disk and slid it into his Graveyard. The black ball of energy vanished from sight.

“And what’s more, the card I sent is 'Limiter Overload',” Yusei continued. “When it’s sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon 'Speed Warrior' from my hand, deck or Graveyard. Come on out, Speed Warrior!” Yusei’s beige-suited monster dashed out of a blue portal and knelt with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Speed Warrior
DEF/400
LV 2

“Humph,” said Discord. “I play 'Card of Burial Magic'. I remove three Spells from my Graveyard and draw two cards. 'Reinforcement of the Army', 'Psychic Cyclone' and 'Fissure' are gone. I end my turn with three face-downs.”

Spike drew and asked, “Yusei, you got my back?”

“I do,” Yusei answered.

“Then Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, attack Discord’s Dark Creator! Shining Burst!”

“You’ve triggered not one, but two Traps, little dragon!” laughed Discord. “Coffin Seller and Call of the Earthbound! Coffin Seller deals three hundred damage to my opponent whenever a monster is sent to their Graveyard. Call of the Earthbound lets me choose your attack target for you. Dragon versus dragon, as it should be. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, attack Stardust Dragon!”

“I activate Scrubbed Raid’s effect!” shouted Yusei. “I send Speed Warrior to the Graveyard to end the Battle Phase!”

“Coffin Seller still deals you three hundred points of damage, however,” said Discord.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 1100

Stone crept further up Rainbow Dash’s body, nearly reaching the base of her neck. If Dash noticed, she didn’t seem to care. She hung from black shackles, completely despondent save for the occasional tear that slid down her cheek.

“I don’t know why you continue to defend her,” said Discord. “She’s given up. When she joins the others, she’ll be at peace.”

“She was at peace before, Discord!” Yusei yelled. “They all were!”

“Is that right? Well, let me show you something then.” Discord snapped his fingers. He, Yusei, Celestia, Spike and Rarity- who was still bound in the air- suddenly found themselves back in the dark world where Discord’s victims had been taken. Discord walked up to one pony, a pegasus stallion wearing a blue uniform.

“This is Soarin of the Wonderbolts flight team,” said Discord. “Do you know why he’s here?” No one answered. “Because of his utter despair. Look.”

A flash of light emanated from Soarin’s forehead. Yusei and the others watched a colorless scene unfold before them. They were in a stadium made of clouds. The crowd was cheering loudly.

“What a spectacular show that was!” shouted an announcer. “I’d say that was the best one we’ve yet seen from the Wonderbolts, especially their team leader Spitfire!”

The roar of the crowd dulled and faded. In the blackness, only Soarin and another pegasus- Spitfire, Yusei presumed- remained, sourceless lights shining upon them. She waved at the hidden crowd with an exhausted but joyous smile. Soarin simply looked at her.

“I nearly messed up the routine again,” he said. “And you expect me to become a leader someday... I can’t do it. No matter how hard I practice, I’m just not good enough. I just... I want out. I want out from under the pressure to perform, to win races, to be the best, because I’m NOT the best!” His speech had turned to shouting. Spitfire vanished as well and Soarin collapsed. “I’ll never be the best... and I can’t live up to your expectations... or my own. Just make the pressure go away.”

A wave of slate-gray water roared to life and enveloped him. Yusei and the others were thrust back into the dark world.

Discord pointed to another pony, a filly. Yusei immediately recognized her- it was-

“Applebloom!” he shouted. “Discord, you would do this to a child?!”

“She felt despair, and I offered, on behalf of my new friend, to free her from it,” said Discord. “Look.”

Yusei found himself inside what looked like a classroom. Fillies and foals sat at small desks while a teacher talked to them from the front of the room. Every child in the room was paying attention to the teacher. Every child, that is, except for Applebloom. She stared sadly at her desk. The teacher walked up to her.

“Applebloom?” she asked. “Are you paying attention?”

“What?” said the filly.

“Applebloom, is something bothering you?”

“N-no, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Applebloom, why don’t you come talk to me after school?”

“Okay,” said the filly sadly.

The scene melted away. Yusei and the others were still in the classroom, but now only Cheerilee and Applebloom occupied it.

“Applebloom, your grades are slipping,” said the mare, “and you look sad all the time. Tell me: Is it because you still don’t have your Cutie mark?”

Applebloom sighed. “Yes,” she said.

“Everypony finds their special talent eventually, Applebloom,” said Cheerilee. “You just have to be patient.”

“But Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle both have their Cutie marks, and it’s been a whole year since they got ‘em!” Applebloom protested.

“Hm. Perhaps waiting isn’t going to work for you. Why don’t you tell me what you enjoy doing?”

“I’ve already tried that with my family, Miss Cheerilee,” said Applebloom. “I’ve tried it with my friends too. I tried apple-buckin’, I tried juice makin’, I even tried buildin’ an’ repairin’ things around the farm, and I thought fer sure that’d be it since I fixed up the tree house so nice, but I still got nothin’!” She pointed to her flank. There was nothing there.

“I’m gonna be a blank flank forever, aren’t I?” she said with a sniff.

“That won’t happen, Applebloom,” said Cheerilee. “I promise.”

The scene faded again. Yusei saw the center of Ponyville now. Ponies walked to and fro through the dirt streets. One cream-yellow mare walked slowly along, a sad look in her eyes and a red bow bouncing behind her head. It was Applebloom, Yusei realized, fully grown... but her flank was still bare.

Everypony stopped what they were doing and watched her. Some shook their heads, others pawed the ground awkwardly. One silver mare snorted and smiled haughtily while shouting after Applebloom, “There goes the only grown Blank Flank in history!”

Applebloom stopped and looked up. Everypony was staring at her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she collapsed to the ground. Everything around her went black and only she remained.

“I’m nopony,” she said. “I got nothin’ that defines me. No talents, no quirks... no identity. I’m nopony. I don’t belong here...”

Discord walked up to Yusei’s side from behind him. “She belongs in a world where there is no individual identity,” he said. The gray waves appeared and washed over Applebloom.

Discord then showed Yusei a silver-haired unicorn that Rarity and Spike identified as Trixie. Yusei saw her travel from town to town, always attempting to put on a show, but always being laughed at or chased away. Someone called her a fraud and threw a rotten apple at her that splattered against her head and knocked her to the ground. She didn’t get up. She simply lay on the ground and darkness covered everything around her. Tears escaped her eyes and she said in a low, hushed voice, “They’re right. I’m a liar and a fake. I’ll never be good enough...” And then the waves took her.

More and more ponies were shown to Yusei. Each one was forced to watch as their hopes were taken from them. They were crushed under their despair and taken by the waves of the colorless flood. Even Rarity’s parents were shown to them. Rarity cried out to them, begged them to hear her, to see that she was fine, but they did not acknowledge her.

Darkness flashed across Yusei’s vision and Discord said, “Celestia, I think you’ll find this one most interesting. I know I did.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the princess.

“I’m talking about your younger sister,” said Discord. “Dear Luna has the most interesting despair I’ve seen in a long time. And you know what? It has nothing to do with the Nightmare Moon incident.”

Discord's Assault! The Beginning of the End

Author’s Note: If you guys didn’t see my blog post, I had gone back and added a card to Discord’s first turn: Reinforcement of the Army. The reason I did this was so that he could activate Card of Burial Magic, which targets 3 Spell Cards in your Graveyard, removes those targets from play and lets you draw 2 cards.

Luna’s despair... I’d pulled a few surprises, but I wanted to make up for the sudden switch to Discord x Celestia since it’s been done so many times before. I hope you guys appreciate it.

Also, had to make one final retcon to the duel: Spike uses the effect of King of the Swamp before summoning Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. King of the Swamp is a monster that can be discarded to add Polymerization from your deck to your hand.

/*********************\

Yusei and the others found themselves in the castle again, but... it was different. Though the world was still in monochrome, the castle itself looked lively and fresh. The floors were clean and covered in long carpets. Many of the stone windows had stained glass set in them. Pegasus guards stood at intervals throughout the hall. Strong beams of light streamed in from the windows and Yusei realized that the sun was setting. He saw a tall, dark pony walking down the hallway toward a set of stairs. He mane flowed just like Celestia’s. She also had wings and a horn like the princess.

“Is that your sister?” Yusei asked.

“I... I believe so,” said Celestia uncertainly.

“Yes, that’s her,” said Rarity.

“She looks so... sad,” said Spike. Yusei looked at the winged unicorn more closely and saw that she did indeed seem unhappy. Her head hung low to the ground and her steps were slow. Her tail dragged along the ground, though it continued to flow and swirl in a nonexistent wind. She reached the staircase and began to climb. Yusei and the others followed her.

They arrived at the top of a tower, the tallest in the castle. Celestia was standing there, her horn glowing as the sun set. Luna sighed and turned in the opposite direction. Her horn began to glow and the moon began to rise in the east.

For a while, no one said anything. Then the dark pony spoke.

“I still don’t understand,” she said. “Why do ponies frolic and play in the daytime, but sleep away the night? It’s so beautiful- the stars, my moon... they are missing it!”

“Some ponies do like to stay up and go stargazing, little sister,” said the other Celestia. “But for the most part, ponies need to sleep, and sleep comes easier in the dark.”

“I just wish they appreciated it like I did,” said Luna. “I stay up all night to make sure the moon stays on course, and I see the most beautiful things when I do! Why does nopony else wish to see it?”

Celestia remained silent. The sun at last disappeared beneath the horizon and the last rays of its light vanished from the sky. Celestia’s horn stopped glowing.

“I wish I could answer that question for you, dear Luna,” said Celestia. “It’s not that ponies don’t want to see it; everypony loves everything that is beautiful. It’s just that ponies must slip, and night is the best time to do it. Everything must rest. The day cannot last forever, nor can the night.”

“But it’s not fair!” said Luna. “You always got everything when we were growing up! Everypony is awake during the day, but they ignore my night! Mother and Father always payed more attention to you, and it was you who found the Elements of Harmony!”

“Mother and Father loved you just as much as they loved me, Luna,” Celestia protested. “If they spent more time with me, it was simply because I would have more to deal with than you. You rule the night, little sister. It’s far less peaceful during the day, so I have royal affairs to attend to.”

“And what about Discord?” said Luna. “You even had him!”

“Luna, what are you-”

“He told me he loved you... he asked me for advice... you knew I liked him and it broke my heart when he said he loved you! I helped him anyway, but I did it because it would make him happy. But you still knew...”

“Luna...”

“Even if nopony loves my night... even if I never got to spend as much time with Mother and Father as you did... I wouldn’t have cared if I could have just had Discord. I didn’t want you two to stop being friends, I just... and now...”

The world around the them faded. Only the past Celestia and Luna remained.

“And he’s in stone now, and it’s all your fault!” Luna shouted. “You broke his heart and stopped being his friend, and instead of trying to fix it, you told me we had to turn him into stone! You didn’t even have the courage to face him. You used me as a distraction while you sneaked up behind him! He sang for me, sister! He sang for me...”

The other Celestia vanished and Luna collapsed to the ground.

“I loved him... but you always got everything, so you took him away... nopony loves my night, so I have nopony with whom I can share... ANYTHING. I don’t...” Luna began to sob. “I don’t want to be alone.”

As the last word escaped her lips, the waves appeared and took her. Celestia screamed her sister’s name and they all found themselves back in the room where the duel was taking place.

“I swear you’ll pay for this, Discord!” Celestia roared.

“I’ve been paying for your mistakes for the last thousand years, Celestia,” Discord countered. “Finish your turn, dragon.”

Spike hissed and Set the one card in his hand face-down. Yusei drew but chose to pass.

“Yusei... nothing?” asked Spike. Yusei didn’t answer.

Discord began to laugh. “Oh, this is just priceless!” he said. “But as much as I’m enjoying this, I will have to end it here and now. My turn!” Discord swiped a card from the top of his deck and grinned when he read it. His eyes darted up from the card to Yusei. “Your Stardust Dragon can’t save you now, Yusei! I activate The Beginning of the End!”

The space behind Discord began to warp as fractal patterns began to take shape. Five rings appeared within the pattern, four smaller ones with a much larger one in the center looping through them. Five monster cards flew out of Discord’s Graveyard and planted themselves in the centers of each ring.

“If I have at least seven DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can remove five of them to draw three new cards,” said Discord. The five cards slid backward into the ever-shifting patterns and were enveloped within them, vanishing from sight. The patterns vanished and Discord drew three cards.

“Next I play Pot of Avarice, which lets me return five monsters in my Graveyard to my deck so I can draw two cards,” said Discord. “Now I play Burial from a Different Dimension and return two of my removed monsters to my Graveyard.”

“What is he doing?” Spike asked Yusei.

“I don’t know,” said Yusei, “but I don’t like it.”

“The stage is set! When there are exactly three DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Dark Armed Dragon!” said Discord. A massive dragon with dark green skin and covered in black armor appeared behind him. Much of the armor was either spiked or curved and sharpened into blades. At the end of its tail was a huge, spiked club that it swung about with ease. It roared loud and deep. Yusei and Spike both took a step back as the stared up in shock at the dark monster before them.

Dark Armed Dragon
ATK/2800
LV 7

“Now I activate The Dark Creator’s effect and Special Summon Darklord Zerato from my Graveyard,” Discord continued. A humanoid creature appeared next to the dark dragon. In his left hand he held a curved blade with a serrated back edge. Wrapped around his head and shoulders was a blood-red cape and hood. The cape spread out behind him, unfurling like a pair of leathery bat wings.

Darklord Zerato
ATK/2800
LV 8

“I activate Zerato’s effect,” said Discord. “By sending a DARK monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy every monster on my opponent’s field. Say goodbye to Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!” The wing-like cape fluttered behind the dark man as he raised his sword above his head. Black lightning erupted from the top and danced about the room. It withdrew into the tip, then blasted out again, focused on Spike’s lone monster.

“I activate Stardust Dragon’s effect: Victim Sanctuary!” said Yusei. Stardust Dragon vanished and the lightning stopped just short of hitting the blue dragon. The dark bolts curved around and shot back toward Darklord Zerato. They struck and he exploded. Discord’s Coffin Seller card glowed and a red nimbus appeared around Yusei.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 800

“As expected,” said Discord, “but I’m not done. Now I activate Dark Armed Dragon’s effect. By removing a DARK monster from my Graveyard, I can destroy one card on the field. I remove Zerato and target that face-down card!”

“I activate it in response!” said Spike. “Go, Foolish Revival! This Trap lets me bring a monster back to my opponent’s field. I Special Summon Sonic Chick to Yusei’s field!”

“That won’t be enough to stop me,” said Discord. “I activate Return from the Different Dimension! By paying half my Life Points, I can Special Summon as many of my removed monsters as possible, and they are removed again during the End Phase. I Special Summon Dark General Freed, Dark Simorgh and Darklord Zerato!”

“Say what?!” said Yusei.

“No way!” said Spike.

“Discord, stop!” cried Celestia.

“No, Celestia, I will NOT stop!” Discord snapped. “I activate Darklord Zerato’s effect once more. This time, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon WILL be destroyed!” The red-winged man fired black lightning at Spike’s monster again. This time, the dark electricity struck it and it was destroyed. Discord’s Coffin Seller glowed again.

“Spike!” cried Rarity as the stone crept up her chest.

Life Point Count
Spike: 1700

“Now I activate Dark Armed Dragon’s effect three more times!” said Discord.

“You can use it more than once?!” said Spike.

“That’s right, my purple friend,” said Discord with a grin. He picked the remaining three monsters from his Graveyard and threw them into the air. The black-armored dragon caught all three of them in its mouth and roared as the wing-like blade on its back began to glow. “Go, Dark Mambele!” ordered Discord. The dragon reached back and grabbed the two blades, then threw them forward. One blade swept across the room and destroyed Spike’s ‘Dragon’s Rage’ card and Yusei’s ‘Scrubbed Raid’. The other blade cut through Sonic Chick, causing the tiny bird to explode. The blades flew back around the room and landed perfectly on Dark Armed Dragon’s back with a loud clink! The Coffin Seller card glowed once more and Yusei’s Life Points went down even farther.

“Both of you are wide open now,” said Discord. “Go, my monsters! Destroy them once and for all! Arrivederci!”

“Spike! Yusei!” shouted Celestia.

“Spike!” cried Rarity. “Twilight, do something! You have to do something!”

Twilight looked up at Rarity with tear-filled eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Yusei!” shouted Spike. “Come on, do something! YUSEI!”

Yusei glanced over at Spike... and smiled, holding up the one card in his hand.

“It’s never that easy, Discord,” said Yusei. “I activate the effect of Swift Scarecrow! By discarding it when you declare a Direct Attack, I can negate that attack and end the Battle Phase!” Yusei slid a card into his Graveyard and another metal scarecrow appeared. Atop its head was a brown, pointed hat. Beneath the hat waved long, unruly green hair. The scarecrow held two long sticks, one in each hand. On its back was a small, blue jet that propelled it forward. Discord’s Dark Armed Dragon swiped at the scarecrow and it exploded, forming a wall of black smoke between the monsters and their targets.

“NO!” roared Discord. “No no no! You slippery little... humph! It doesn’t end here! During the End Phase of the turn that Darklord Zerato used his effect, he’s sent to the Graveyard. That’ll give Dark Armed Dragon fuel for later. As for Freed and Simorgh, both of them are removed from play once more.”

Darklord Zerato simply vanished from the room while Dark General Freed and Dark Simorgh were sucked into the swirling black clouds above them. Two monsters remained on Discord’s field, however: Dark Armed Dragon and The Dark Creator.

“During the End Phase of the turn that Stardust Dragon negated an effect, it’s Special Summoned back to the field,” said Yusei as his dragon reappeared.

“Yusei, we’re down to the wire here,” said Spike. “You’ve only got two hundred Life Points left, and I don’t have anything else on the field. If Discord forces you to use Stardust’s effect...”

“I know, Spike,” said Yusei. “This means we’ll have to find a way to defend ourselves.”

Spike nodded and drew. “I play Pot of Avarice,” he said. “I return Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to my Extra Deck, and I send Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Luster Dragon, Ruby Dragon, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to my main deck so I can draw two cards.” Spike drew his cards and looked at them... and fell to his knees.

“Spike?” said Yusei. “Spike, what is it?”

“Darling, what’s wrong?” asked Rarity.

“We can’t win....” said Spike. “If I destroy Dark Armed Dragon, he’ll just bring back Darklord Zerato next turn... and if he gets a monster in his hand, then that’ll be the end of it. But if I don’t destroy it...”

“Spike, maybe you’re looking at the wrong card,” said Yusei.

“What do you mean?” asked Spike. Then he looked at Discord’s field again. “Coffin Seller... if I don’t get rid of that, then he’ll beat you no matter how Stardust goes to the Graveyard.”

“Trust your cards, Spike,” said Yusei. “They’ve given you an answer.”

Spike looked down at his hand. Then he looked up at Rarity.

“Rarity... I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” he said.

“It’s all right, Spike,” said Rarity. “You... you did your best. And I’m proud of you for it.”

Spike gave a sad smile before turning back to Discord, a green fire burning in his eyes. “I might lose this duel, but I’m gonna make sure Yusei can take you down! I activate Swing of Memories and Double Cyclone!” Two Spells- a Normal Spell and a Quick-Play- appeared on Spike’s field. Two cyclones, one red and one yellow, erupted from the Quick-Play Spell. “Double Cyclone destroys one Spell or Trap on each side of the field. I choose Swing of Memories and Coffin Seller!”

“Why would you destroy your own card?” asked Discord as his the cyclones ripped the chosen cards apart.

“Because,” said Spike, “Normal Spells don’t have to stay on the field to do their thing. They just have to be played. Swing of Memories Special Summons a Normal Monster from my Graveyard, but destroys it during the End Phase. Return to my side, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The massive, white dragon reemerged onto the field, spreading its wings and claws wide and roaring.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/3000
LV 8

“Rarity... one last battle,” said Spike. “Yusei can handle one powerful monster, but not two.”

“You’re absolutely right, Spike,” said Rarity. “If Discord recovers Darklord Zerato and draws a DARK monster...”

“He can stop Zerato’s effect, but that’ll leave him vulnerable to The Dark Creator,” Spike finished.

“Then you know what you have to do,” said Rarity. Spike nodded.

“Battle!” shouted Spike and Rarity. “Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack The Dark Creator! Burst Stream of Destruction!”

As the white dragon charged its attack, the metal giant formed a black ball of energy between his hands. A stream of white lightning erupted from Blue-Eyes’ maw just as The Dark Creator threw the black ball. The beam struck the dark giant in the head and destroyed it, but the black ball hit the dragon in the chest, causing it to explode as well. The room became clouded in smoke and fierce winds pushed against everyone. The smoke finally began to clear and Yusei saw that only his and Discord’s dragons remained.

“I end my turn,” said Spike.

“I’m proud of you, Spike,” said Rarity. “And Twilight is too. Yusei! It’s up to you now. Get back the Elements of Harmony and save Twilight!” Yusei nodded.

“My turn!” said Yusei. He looked at his card. This won’t help me now! he thought. No, I can’t give up yet. But what about Spike? And Rarity?

“Yusei,” said Spike. “We’re done for. I can’t go any further. You have to save Twilight. I’ve... I’ve lost.”

“Spike...” said Yusei. Then, with determination in his voice, he said, “I’ll save you. I’ll save all of you, I promise. I switch Stardust Dragon to Defense Mode and place one card face-down. Your move, Discord.”

“Time to end this,” said Discord as he drew. “I Set a card face-down. Dark Armed Dragon, attack Spike directly! Dark Armed Punisher!”

The black dragon roared and brought its claws down on Spike. The purple dragon stood firm.

Dust flew up as the black dragons claws struck the floor. Spike and Rarity became hidden from view.

Yusei heard a scream. Spike flew backwards out of the cloud, but he was tiny once again. The Duel Disk slipped off his arm and crashed to the ground, shattering like glass before disappearing completely. The cards within it scattered across the floor.

“Spike!” shouted Yusei. The little dragon did not move for several seconds and Yusei feared the worst. Then Spike groaned and turned over onto his belly. Yusei let out a relieved sigh.

Spike rubbed his head for a moment. Then his eyes shot wide open and he jumped to his feet. “Rarity!” he cried. He ran up to where the unicorn still hung in the air. She had turned completely into stone. The white of the marble gleamed in the moonlight streaming in through the windows. Spike fell to his knees and tears streamed down his face.

“We’ll get her back, Spike,” said Yusei.

“No you won’t,” said Discord. “You have no guarantee that you’ll win. I’m clearly at an advantage. And even if you turn the tables and defeat me, you don’t know how the Elements work. None of you fully understand them. You don’t know that they’ll turn your friends back to normal.”

“Maybe not,” said Yusei, “but we can hope.”

“What good is hoping?” said Spike. Yusei looked over at him.

“Spike, what are you talking about?” he asked.

“I failed Rarity... I failed Twilight...”

“You didn’t fail, Spike,” said Yusei. “You fought with everything you had. I promise you, I’ll beat Discord and get the Elements of Harmony back.”

“And then what?” said Spike, pounding the ground with his fist. “Twilight will be turned to stone and you don’t know that the Elements can change her back.”

“There are a lot of things I don’t know,” said Yusei. “But even when I had no idea what would happen, I still hoped for the best. Even in the darkest situations, I hoped. Hope is all we have, Spike. We can’t give up on it.”

“Spike, you have fought long and hard,” said Discord. “For that, I commend you. But it obviously was not enough. The pony you loved is no more. But I might be willing to change her back myself.”

Spike looked up.

“Come into the world of darkness, and I will free her from her stone prison,” said Discord.

“Spike, don’t!” said Yusei. “Rarity wouldn’t want this!”

“Yusei, she’s my friend,” said the baby dragon. “I can’t leave her like that.”

The room became dark for several seconds. The darkness vanished and Yusei saw that both Spike and Rarity were gone, as were Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie.

“Discord, what did you do?” Yusei demanded. “Where are they?”

“In the world of darkness,” said Discord. “I end my turn.”

“You’ll pay for this,” said Yusei. “My turn!”

“Go, Battle Mania!” shouted Discord. “This Trap changes all of your monsters to Attack Mode and forces you to attack with them this turn! You lose, Yusei!” Discord began to laugh.

“You sure about that?” asked Yusei with a smile. Discord stopped laughing. “I equip Stardust Dragon with Fighting Spirit,” Yusei continued. “Stardust gains three hundred Attack Points for each monster on my opponent’s field.”

Stardust Dragon
ATK/2800

“Battle! Stardust Dragon, attack Dark Armed Dragon with Shooting Sonic!” Yusei ordered. Stardust Dragon reared back and threw its head forward, firing its beam of sound at the black dragon. Dark Armed Dragon threw its clawed hand forward to try and stop it, but the beam pushed past it and struck the creature in the chest. The monster exploded, filling the room with smoke. Discord coughed.

“This changes nothing!” said Discord. “If I draw a monster next turn, you still lose!” The smoke cleared and Discord’s eyes widened. “No... no! How is Stardust Dragon still there? How?!”

“If the monster equipped with Fighting Spirit would be destroyed by battle, I can send Fighting Spirit to the Graveyard instead,” Yusei explained. “And there won’t be a next turn for you, Discord. I play the Trap Card ‘Synchro Destructor’! When a Synchro Monster I control destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to half the destroyed monster’s Attack Points!”

“What?!”

The ghostly form of Dark Armed Dragon appeared above Discord. It flew at him, piercing his chest and knocking him to the ground. Discord roared as he struck the floor.

Life Point Count
Discord: 0
Spike: 0
Yusei: 200

Discord stood up with a grunt.

“Return the Elements of Harmony, Discord,” said Celestia. Discord glared at her.

“Fine,” said the draconequus. He snapped his fingers and six pieces of jewelery appeared on the ground in front of him. There were five necklaces and a large, ornate tiara. Each piece had a differently colored gem set in the gold framework. Yusei noticed that each gem was also shaped like the Cutie marks of Twilight and her friends.

“But they’re useless to you,” said Discord. “You’re not even from this world, much less a pony. And what’s more, the Elements are not connected to Celestia or Luna anymore, and Twilight and her friends are gone.

Yusei turned around. Rainbow Dash had vanished, as had Twilight.

“Discord, return Twilight and the others at once!” said Celestia.

“That wasn’t part of the deal, Celestia,” Discord replied. “But if you want to see them that badly...”

Yusei and Celestia were suddenly floating in the black water of the dark world where Discord was keeping the ponies.

“Learn of their suffering, Celestia!” said Discord. Black tendrils appeared and wrapped themselves around the princess. One embedded itself in her forehead just below the horn. Celestia screamed.

“NO!” she cried as she struggled against the darkness that held her. “No, no, stop it! You can’t do this to them! Stop, please!”

“Discord, what are you doing to her?” shouted Yusei.

“Showing her how every single one of her subjects suffers,” said Discord. The color began to drain away from Celestia and her screams began to fade. “And now I will show you!”

More black tendrils appeared and each one headed straight for Yusei. Suddenly, the mark on Yusei’s arm began to glow bright red and a crimson orb of light appeared around him. The tendrils struck the orb and vanished.

“Why you-!” growled Discord.

“That is enough,” came a new voice. “You have served your purpose, Discord.” The black tendrils reappeared and wrapped themselves around Discord, pulling him deeper into the darkness. Discord struggled against his bonds.

“What is this?!” he roared. “Let me go!”

“You have served me well, Discord,” said the voice. “Your reward is peace.”

“I don’t want your peace!” Discord shouted. “I want chaos! Let me go!”

“Discord!” shouted Yusei. “Celestia, do something!”

But Celestia had stopped moving. The dark tendrils had released her and she floated in the water, not moving, her eyes closed.

“Yusei Fudo,” said the voice. “The Signer chosen by the Crimson Dragon. You are a human and have no place in the world of Equestria, though you may have a place in my world.”

“Who are you?” said Yusei. “Show yourself!”

The dark world around him vanished and he again found himself in the room with the strange stone carving. The Elements of Harmony still lay on the floor. A deep growl echoed throughout the room.

“Follow the path to the roof of this wing,” said the voice. “I will reveal myself to you there.”

The Invader from Home - Darkness

Author’s Note: This is where I begin to wrap things up. The final boss fight has arrived! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this story.

I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. And the duel isn't even finished! It's just a bit difficult to describe some of the monsters, but I'm trying my best. And the duel itself was a pain to outline because nothing seemed to flow right, but I think I finally got it.

/*********************\

Yusei gathered the six pieces of jewelery into his arms and started forward. He would have to put an end to this, and to do that, he would need to confront the source of the voice.

“On the roof,” Yusei wondered aloud. “Why the roof?”

Yusei emerged onto the roof of the castle. It was still night in Equestria, but it was much darker than it should have been. Yusei looked up at the moon and saw that it had been completely eclipsed. A black circle with a thin, soft white ring around it hung in the sky.

“What is going on?” said Yusei. Then he called out, “All right, I’m here! Who are you? Show yourself!”

The answer Yusei received sent a chill down his spine: A deep, raspy groan that echoed across the trees.

“Show yourself!” Yusei repeated.

“Yusei Fudo... I have waited a long time for one such as you,” came the voice. It was deep and raspy, the same as the groan.

“Who are you?” Yusei asked. “What do you want with the ponies in this world?”

“I am Darkness,” said the voice. Yusei looked up and saw that the black object blocking the moon was moving closer to him, seeming to grow in size. Dark jets of water shot out of the black orb and collided with one another, creating a black gas that began to take form. The black object moved out of the way of the moon and Yusei saw the thing that now stood before him.

The creature towered over Yusei; it was nearly twice his size. A black robe trimmed with a dull gold was wrapped around the creature’s body, except for an open spot in the chest. Yusei saw a ribcage. Skeletal hands emerged from the ends of the robe’s wide sleeves. A black cape with a red underside waved behind it. Two blue eyes glowed beneath the thing’s hood.

Yusei gasped as his mind flashed back to his duels with Jack.

”I activate the Speed Spell ‘The End of the Storm’!” said Jack. As he played the card, fierce winds kicked up and pushed against Yusei. Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend roared at each other, their cries barely audible above the storm.

But the source of the storm was one card. On that card was...

“I’ve seen you before!” said Yusei. “You’re not from this world, are you?”

“I am not,” replied Darkness. “I am from your dimension, Yusei Fudo.”

“So why did you come here? What is it that you want?” asked Yusei.

“‘Want’?” said Darkness. “I want nothing. I simply follow the logic of all things.”

“Logic?” asked Yusei.

“Individuality causes pain and hardship,” it said. “It is logical. Because of the separate nature of us all, no one can fully understand anyone else. The complications of society attempt to reconcile this, but it only causes more disharmony. The universe itself constantly breaks down, always seeking the simplest form.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Yusei.

“The solution to suffering is elegant in its simplicity,” Darkness continued, “because the solution is simplicity. Everyone who enters my world is shown how their hopes and dreams will fall apart, how they will lose everything that they love and long for. They eventually realize that the pain is too much for one person to bear alone, and sacrifice their individuality. Their hearts and minds become one and they live forever, sharing all joy and all suffering. No longer separated, all who enter my world will understand one another perfectly because they will become one another while remaining themselves.”

“There’s no way that’s true!” shouted Yusei.

“It is the logical outcome of the universe,” replied Darkness. “Everything seeks simplicity.”

“But that’s not our nature!” said Yusei. “Human or pony, we all have potential! Our dreams and our futures, that’s what drives us forward!”

“And look where your ‘potential’ has gotten you, Yusei Fudo, son of Dr. Fudo. Or have you forgotten the results of Zero Reverse?”

“How do you know about-?”

“It is the darkness in your heart, Yusei Fudo. Many have blamed you for the destruction caused by your father’s work, and you fear they will continue to blame you.”

“That’s-!”

“It is the truth of your heart. My world offers relief to your pain.”

“And then what? I join your world and that’s it? No way! I still have my dreams, and I’m not letting them go. I have friends waiting for me back home. There’s no way I’m abandoning them!”

“It does not end there, Yusei Fudo. Your friends and the entire world of humanity would come next.”

“Say what?!”

Darkness chuckled. “Fate is strange at times,” it said. “When I last attempted to replace your world with my own, I was stopped by a foreign object. Now, here we are, with myself confronting another foreign object. You do not belong in this world, Yusei Fudo.”

“Neither do you,” Yusei replied.

“The darkness in your heart will allow me to take you into my world, and you shall become my emissary.” Gray water rushed out of the black orb above them, dropping down onto Yusei. Yusei covered his head with his arms. Darkness chuckled.

Suddenly, the Dragon Head mark on Yusei’s arm lit up and a red orb of light appeared around him. The dark water splashed off the orb, but did not touch Yusei. Darkness growled and the flowing water ceased. The Crimson Dragon appeared behind Yusei, crying out.

“So, the Crimson Dragon has arrived as well,” said Darkness. “Then this shall be a battle between gods. Or rather, a battle between a god and the servant of a god. You cannot defeat me, Yusei Fudo. We will fight with the ceremony that created the universe: Duel Monsters.”

“Duel Monsters?” repeated Yusei.

“That is correct,” said Darkness. “In the darkness of the void, a single card came into existence. Each side of the card had been previously determined. Your world occupied the front of the card, while mine represented the back. Eventually, stars and planets were born, and humanity rose up as the dominant race on Earth. Humans are curious, so it was inevitable that they would discover their origins, but they are also weak. Had light prevailed in human hearts, there might have been peace. But their darkness dyed the cards of your world black, allowing me to enter your world.

“The future of humanity is bleak, Yusei Fudo. It is not shrouded in darkness, but in death and destruction. Zero Reverse was a warning to the generations of the future. By constantly seeking unlimited power, you doom yourselves to extinction. Only in my world is there salvation.”

“That’s not salvation. All you’re doing to these ponies is torturing them!”

“And in so doing, they realize that their efforts are fruitless. Their dreams are folly because they come with a cost that is too steep to pay.”

“And what is that?”

“Each other. It is the same with humans.”

Yusei grimaced. “Not everyone is like that,” he said. “Some are willing to sacrifice themselves and their dreams for the sake of another. Others try to find ways to achieve their hopes without taking hope away from others.”

“The very nature of Duel Monsters teaches that this is not possible,” replied Darkness.

“That may be,” Yusei replied. “But Duel Monsters is meant to be fun. Winning and losing... those are only how the duel ends. They don’t actually matter. They shouldn’t matter. All that matters is that you have fun in your duel.”

“You speak like the foreign object who stood in my way before,” said Darkness.

“What’s this ‘foreign object’ you keep talking about?” asked Yusei.

“The boy who held a Duel Monsters Spirit within him,” Darkness replied. “Jaden Yuki.”

“Jaden?!” said Yusei. “You fought Jaden?”

“Yes. Because of him, I was no longer able to enter your world. But now I shall fight you. I will defeat you and make you my emissary to the human world. Through you, humanity shall once again enter my world, and they shall be at peace.”

“I won’t let that happen!” said Yusei as he activated his Duel Disk. “My friends are waiting for me to come home. I won’t return with a parasite like you hanging off of me just so you can destroy everything we’ve worked so hard for!”

“I spoke of the future to Jaden Yuki and I will speak it to you: What you have worked for will lead to your destruction,” Darkness replied. Yusei’s mind flashed back to Paradox’s words. “If you are so intent on allowing your ambitions to destroy your world,” Darkness continued, “then I shall pass judgment upon you. Remember for all eternity, Yusei Fudo, the duel of a god!’

“I’ve dueled gods before,” said Yusei. “Bring it on!”

“DUEL!” they both shouted.

Life Point Count
Darkness: 4000
Yusei: 4000

“From the darkness came existence. So too shall come this duel,” said the creature as five gray, leathery wings appeared on its back. “My turn.” It held up its right hand and a card appeared in its bony fingers, black smoke trailing away from it. “I summon Darkness Seed.”

The stone floor before Darkness cracked and a withered-looking plant broke through. At the top was a blue bulb with several eyes all over it. The bulb split and opened up, revealing a mouth with several rows of teeth. Two massive scythes curved around the plant from its back.

Darkness Seed
ATK/1000
LV 2

“I end my turn,” said Darkness.

“My turn!” said Yusei. I can’t hold back against this thing, he thought. Not if I want to save this world... and mine. “I activate One for One. By sending a monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level One monster from my hand or deck. I summon Tuningware from my deck in Defense Mode!” The tiny robot with the yellow scarf appeared before Yusei and crossed its arms in front of itself.

“Next I summon the Tuner Monster ‘Junk Synchron’,” Yusei continued. The stout orange robot emerged next to the other robot, yelling, “Ha!” as it appeared. “When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level Two or lower monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position with its effects negated. Come on out, Quillbolt Hedgehog!” A third monster appeared before Yusei, this one a brown hedgehog with several bolts and screws in its back.

Junk Synchron
ATK/1300
LV 3

Quillbolt Hedgehog
DEF/800
LV 2

“Finally, when I use Tuningware for a Synchro Summon, I can treat it as Level Two,” said Yusei. “I tune Junk Synchron with Quillbolt Hedgehog and Tuningware! Gathering roars form an echoing arrow that pierces the sky! Become the path its light shines upon! I Synchro Summon Junk Archer!”

The tall orange warrior emerged from the pillar of green-white light, holding a green bow in one hand and a metal arrow held against the bowstring in the other. One of its blue eyes was covered by the thin orange plates of its mask.

Junk Archer
ATK/2300
LV 7

“Tuningware’s second effect lets me draw a card if I use it for a Synchro Summon. Next I activate Junk Archer’s effect,” said Yusei. Junk Archer drew the arrow back on its bow. “Once per turn, I can remove one of your monsters from the game until the end of the turn. Go, Dimension Shot!” The archer released the arrow. It streaked toward the hideous plant and struck it in one of its eyes. A blue glow shot out of the tip of the arrow and the creature was sucked into a vortex in the air.

“Junk Archer, time for a direct attack! Scrap Arrow!” Junk Archer took another arrow from the quiver on its back and launched it at Darkness, striking it between its ribs.

Life Point Count
Darkness: 1700

“I Set one card face-down and end my turn,” said Yusei. A giant card appeared face-down in front of him. The vortex in the air reappeared and Darkness Seed reemerged.

“My turn,” said Darkness as another card appeared in its hand. “I activate the Field Spell Card ‘Darkness’. When I activate this card, it allows me to Set five Trap Cards from my hand or deck in a random order. I cannot see the order in which these cards are placed on the field.” As the five cards appeared before Darkness, the leathery wings on its back turned jet-black.

“So you can’t check your face-downs?” asked Yusei.

“That is correct,” replied Darkness. “I now summon Darkness Eye to the field.”

Darkness’ new monster was sickening. Red stalks twisted plant-like around each other. Sitting at the end of them and held in place by deep red tendrils was a giant eye with a large black pupil. The pupil split and opened, revealing a bright blue eye beneath it. It closed and spun sideways, then opened again.

Darkness Eye
ATK/0
LV 1

“My turn,” said Yusei, trying to ignore the hideousness of the eye. But he knew he had to think about the eye. There’s no way something so obsessed with logic would summon a monster with no Attack Points in Attack Mode without a backup plan, he thought. Which means that Darkness has a Trap waiting for me. I can’t attack recklessly, but I should get whatever surprise is waiting for me off the field. “Junk Archer, attack Darkness Eye!” Yusei ordered.

“I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Zero’,” said Darkness. “If ‘Darkness’ is face-up when I activate this card, I can select and activate one of my other Set cards. With this effect, I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Infinity’. When these two Traps are activated, they allow me to activate every card that rests between them. Zero and Infinity... that which rests between them is the Darkness.” Yusei saw that there was one card between the two Traps. The other two were on Darkness’ left side.

“The card which has been activated is Darkness One. When it is the first card activated by Zero and Infinity, it destroys one card on your field. Junk Archer is destroyed.”

A thick jet of black water shot out of the card and struck Junk Archer. The jet grew larger and larger until it completely enveloped Yusei’s monster and destroyed it.

“Junk Archer!” cried Yusei. “I’m sorry, Junk Archer. I summon Shield Wing in Defense Mode and place one card face-down. That ends my turn.”

“During the End Phase of the turn, the effect of the ‘Darkness’ Field Spell activates,” said Darkness. “Every Continuous Trap I activated is flipped face-down and all of my cards are shuffled and placed in random positions on the field.”

“No way!” said Yusei.

Darkness chuckled as its Traps flipped face-down. Then its face-down cards vanished and were placed onto the field once more.

“My turn,” said Darkness. “During my Standby Phase, Darkness Eye’s effect activates. I am now allowed to Normal Summon a monster from my hand without Release. Appear before me, Darkness Destroyer.”

The blue iris of Darkness Eye glowed a pale purple as a new monster appeared next to it. Yusei gasped. The creature was massive, its skin dark gray, its body skeletal. Its ribs heaved as it roared loud and deep. Massive hands rested on the ends of two thin arms. Yellow claws jutted out of the wide paws and its feet. Thick, yellow spikes shot up from its shoulders and the middle of its wings. Lines of light gray scales ran along its arms, waist and legs. Massive horns curved away from the sides of its head. Its eyes were set deep into its demonic skull and glowed bright red.

Darkness Destroyer
ATK/2300
LV 7

“When Darkness Destroyer attacks a monster in Defense Mode, it inflicts piercing Battle Damage to the opponent,” said Darkness. “Furthermore, it can attack twice during each turn.”

“You’ll have to do better than that,” said Yusei. “Shield Wing can survive up to two battles each turn!”

“Darkness Destroyer, attack Shield Wing,” ordered the robed creature.

“I play the Trap ‘D2 Shield’!” said Yusei. “This doubles Shield Wing’s Defense Points!”

“I activate Zero and Infinity,” said Darkness. “This in turn activates the two cards resting between them. Behold, Darkness Two and Darkness One. As Darkness Two was the first card activated this way, its effect activates. One monster I control gains one thousand Attack Points. Then I can increase the Attack Points of one of my monsters by one thousand for each ‘Darkness’ Continuous Trap activated after Darkness Two. Darkness Destroyer and Darkness Seed will each gain one thousand Attack Points.”

Darkness Destroyer
ATK/3300

Darkness Seed
ATK/2000

Shield Wing
DEF/1800

Darkness Destroyer brought one of its massive hands down on Yusei’s Shield Wing. The winged reptile was pushed back, but was not destroyed. A red aura appeared around Yusei as his Life Points went down.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 2500

“Darkness Destroyer, attack Shield Wing once more,” Darkness ordered. The giant demon raised its other clawed hand and brought it crashing down onto Yusei’s monster. However, a pale white light appeared in front of Shield Wing that deflected the claw. “What’s this?” asked Darkness.

“My Trap,” said Yusei. “Spirit Force! It negates the Battle Damage I take from this fight and lets me add a Junk Synchron from my Graveyard to my hand.”

“Regardless, your monster will not survive. Darkness Seed, attack Shield Wing.” The evil plant lifted its roots out of the ground and pushed itself forward with them. It grabbed Yusei’s monster in the giant, scythe-like talons on its back and sliced through it. The winged beast was destroyed.

“Because you destroyed the monster powered up by D2 Shield, I get to draw a card,” said Yusei. Darkness ended its turn and its Traps were flipped face-down and replaced on the field.

Yusei drew another card to start his turn. “I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!” he said. “I’ll also use his effect to bring Tuningware back to the field. Next I activate the effect of Quillbolt Hedgehog in my Graveyard. When there’s a Tuner Monster on my field, I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog! And now I’ll activate Doppelwarrior’s effect in my hand! When I Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Doppelwarrior from my hand!

“Level Three Junk Synchron, tune with my Level One Tuningware and Level Two Doppelwarrior and Quillbolt Hedgehog!” said Yusei. The little orange robot pulled a cord on his chest and the engines on his back roared to life. He vanished in a flash of light and three stars appeared in his place. They traced three large circles, creating the green tuning rings that signaled a Synchro Summon. Yusei’s other monsters jumped into the rings and vanished, leaving only their stars behind.

“Souls clash and merge together to awaken a dark raging spirit! Become the path its light shines upon!” said Yusei. A line of light shot through the stars, then widened into a green-white pillar that envoloped the rings. “Synchro Summon! Let me show you what a REAL Destroyer can do! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer!”

Four arms and sharp spikes thrust out of the column of light. As it dissipated, the metal form of Yusei’s monster was revealed. Four giant metal wings swept up and down its back, their sharp edges gleaming in the moonlight. Its orange eyes flashed brightly.

Junk Destroyer
ATK/2600
LV 8

“When Junk Destroyer is Synchro Summoned, it destroys one card on the field for each non-Tuner monster I used to summon it! All three of your monsters are going down, Darkness! Go, Tidal Energy!” Water-like energy erupted from Junk Destroyer’s chest and washed over Darkness’ monsters, destroying them.

“Let’s not forget about Tuningware and Doppelwarrior,” said Yusei. “Since I used them for a Synchro Summon, Tuningware lets me draw a card, and Doppelwarrior summons two Doppel Tokens to my field in Attack Mode.” A tiny version of the black-garbed soldier appeared. Its shadow rose up from the ground and took the same shape.

Doppel Token
ATK/400
LV 1

Yusei went on. “And without Darkness Eye, you can’t check your face-downs anymore!”

“How did-!” Darkness started, but Yusei interrupted it.

“It was the only thing that made sense,” said Yusei. “You said when you played Darkness that you couldn’t check your face-down cards, but then summoned Darkness Eye right afterward. And when I attacked with Junk Archer, you knew exactly what cards to play. Either you were incredibly lucky, or you had a special effect helping you out. And since I’m not stupid, I guessed that Darkness Eye was exactly what its name implies: Your eye in the dark!”

Darkness growled.

“For someone who claims to be a god, you use a pretty cheap trick,” Yusei went on. “Telling your opponent you can’t see what you’re playing but then getting exactly what you wanted? You were just trying to make me think destiny was on your side, trying to make me think it was hopeless. You underestimated me, Darkness, and I bet you underestimated Jaden too! Battle! Junk Destroyer, attack Darkness directly!”

“You are wrong, Yusei,” said Darkness. “You have underestimated me. I activate Zero and Infinity, and with them, Darkness One and Darkness Three! I used Darkness Eye’s effect in response to Junk Destroyer’s effect.”

“So that means-!”

“Yes, Yusei. It means that I was prepared. Junk Destroyer is no more.”

Darkness One fired its jet of dark water at Yusei’s monster, blasting through Junk Destroyer’s midsection and destroying it. Yusei grit his teeth and said, “I still have my Doppel Tokens, Darkness! Attack!”

Darkness growled as the tiny warriors fired their guns at it. Tiny explosions appeared all over its robed body as the bullets struck it. Yusei then Set one card face-down and ended his turn. Darkness’ Traps returned to their face-down positions and were repositioned.

“My turn,” said Darkness. “Your underestimation of me was far worse than you initially thought, Yusei. I summon Darkness Necroslime to the field.”

A flicker of light from above caught Yusei’s eye. He looked up and saw something falling from the dark orb above. It seemed shapeless and gleamed faintly in the moonlight. It struck the ground with a splash and large drops of dark gray liquid splattered all over the stone roof. They slowly slithered back together and rejoined, forming a large blob as big as Yusei’s chest.

Darkness Necroslime
ATK/0
LV 2

“I can send Darkness Necroslime to the Graveyard to revive one of my fallen ‘Darkness’ monsters,” said the hooded creature. “Return to me, my cherished Darkness Eye.” The black glob began to twist and writhe as it took on the shape of Darkness Eye. Once it was finished, the liquid slid off the creature and seeped between the stones. The eye opened and the blue iris peered at Yusei, twisting in place without blinking.

Darkness Eye
DEF/1000
LV 1

“Did you really think I would not have compensated for such a glaring weakness, Yusei Fudo?” said Darkness. “Your judgment will continue. I reveal Zero and Infinity, and awaken the power which sleeps between them: Darkness Three and Darkness One. As Darkness Three was the first card activated by Zero and Infinity, you will suffer one thousand points of damage, and an additional one thousand points will be inflicted for each other ‘Darkness’ Trap Card.”

A ball of dark energy shot out of the card at Yusei, striking him full in the body and knocking him to the stone floor. Darkness laughed deeply as Yusei struggled to get back on his feet.

“Yusei Fudo,” said Darkness, “you will know despair as you witness the duel of a true god! I end my turn.” Darkness laughed as its Trap Cards flipped face-down once again. The Set cards on Darkness’ field vanished and reappeared in a new order. Yusei finally managed to get to his feet, though not without effort. He was bruised and dirtied. A small cut had appeared under his right eye and a single drop of blood slid down his cheek. He panted in exhaustion.

Life Point Count
Darkness: 900
Yusei: 500

The Failure of Dreams

Author’s Note: The truth is, this whole thing has been something of a personal journey for me. It didn't start that way, but that's what it's become. To be honest... I agree with Darkness’ logic. I feel that our individuality gets in the way of us truly understanding one another. Without understanding, we can’t stop ourselves from hurting each other. We might be looking at the same rainbow, but never from the same perspective. We’ll never see it the same way as each other.

But at the same time, I don’t agree with its methods. I don’t believe that this should be forced on anyone. But more than that, I want to believe that true harmony is possible, the kind of harmony that exists when we make the effort to understand each other, when we choose to not harm one another. I don’t know that I can believe it, but... I guess this story is my way of fighting for that belief. It isn’t just the duel, it’s the arguments against Darkness’ logic. And it IS logical. But I have to find a way to beat it. Because in the end, nothing has meaning without being chosen. Emotions, actions, harmony... they must be chosen to be worth anything. If they are imposed, they are false. That’s why I fight. I want meaning.

/*********************\

The storm clouds had passed and the sun shined brightly, gleaming off the sides of KaibaCorp. Tower. The buildings had stopped eroding. Neo Domino City never looked as beautiful as it did today.

And yet, it still felt as though something was missing.

“Yusei...” said Aki.

“He stopped the masked man for sure,” said Crow.

“Yeah, but don’t you think he should have been back by now?” asked Luka.

“You don’t think that he-” Lua started to say, but Jack interrupted him.

“It would take a lot more than a time-jumping card thief to take down Yusei,” said Jack. “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s fine. I know better than anyone that he’ll come back.” After all, he and I still have a score to settle.

“I’m still worried, though,” said Aki. “I hope he comes back okay.”

Aki turned and looked out at the city from the rise they were at. The sunlight was warm against her face. A gentle breeze blew through her hair.

*****

Life Point Count
Darkness: 900
Yusei: 500

“My turn,” said Yusei. “I switch my Doppel Tokens to Defense Mode and summon Tricular in Defense Mode.”

“That will not save you,” replied Darkness. “I activate Zero and Infinity!”

“Oh no,” muttered Yusei. “They’re at the worst positions... all three ‘Darkness’ cards are between them!”

“The first card I activate is Darkness One,” said Darkness. “And with Darkness Two and Darkness Three activated as well, I can destroy all three of your monsters.” Three blasts of dark energy struck Yusei’s monsters, obliterating each of them. Yusei shielded his face with his arms.

When the smoke cleared and the wind died down, Yusei said, “I Set two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“My turn,” said Darkness. “I activate the effect of Darkness Seed. During my second Standby Phase after it was sent to the Graveyard, I am allowed to Special Summon it.”

The yellowing plant emerged once again from the stone floor, hissing as it rose up. Darkness continued to speak. “Because it was summoned this way, Darkness Seed cannot be destroyed by battle. Darkness Seed, attack Yusei directly!”

“I activate Card Defense!” said Yusei. “I discard one card from my hand to negate your attack, and then I can draw a card to replace it!” Yusei slid a card into his Graveyard as Darkness Seed rushed forward with its roots and raised its scythe-like branches. Crisscrossing lines of cards appeared between Yusei and the wicked plant. The blades struck the cards and the creature reeled back. Yusei drew a new card from his deck afterward.

“You are fighting in vain, Yusei,” said Darkness. “My world has become a peaceful rest for the inhabitants of this place, just as it was and will be for the people of your world. You do not know the pain of these ponies. Allow me to show you.”

Darkness pointed a bony finger at Yusei. A stream of dark water fired from the tip and made contact with Yusei’s forehead.

*****

Rainbow Dash collapsed, panting. She couldn’t go on... she’d failed so many times, she couldn’t possibly go on. The crowd glared at her, booing her, yelling for her to get out of arena. Tears welled up in her eyes. Three of the Wonderbolts came up to her. She looked up at them.

“You’ve failed every single year you’ve auditioned, Rainbow Dash,” said Spitfire. “You’re just not good enough. Go home.”

The Wonderbolts turned and left her. Rainbow Dash began to chuckle softly. Her Cutie mark began to fade away. “I’m free now,” she muttered. “I don’t have to try anymore...” Black waves washed over her.

*****

Pinkie Pie sat alone in the bakery. Streamers and balloons littered the ceiling while confetti covered the floor. A large table of snacks sat on the far side of the room. Everything was gray and dull, and Pinkie sat alone in the middle of the floor. Her hair was straight and flat and lifeless.

“Nopony came,” she said. “Nopony ever comes anymore. Maybe... maybe I don’t have to try so hard anymore. Maybe I don’t have to make everypony happy anymore. It’s so... relieving.”

The waves came and enveloped her. He Cutie mark vanished from her flanks.

*****

Dark clouds hung in the sky. Thunder rumbled slow and deep, but Fluttershy did not flinch. She kept a slow pace as she approached her cottage. She opened the door. It was dark inside. Nothing stirred. No birds chirping, no mice running about. No Angel Bunny impatiently tapping his foot...

“They’re all gone,” said Fluttershy. The butterflies on her flanks slowly began to vanish. “I couldn’t take care of them... I wasn’t strong enough. I’m never strong enough...”

And the waters came.

*****

”You’ve lost your touch, Twilight,” said Celestia. She sat upon her throne, her face hidden in shadow. Faint light beamed in from the tall windows, but did not spread through the room, leaving deep shadows between the light. “Your skill in magic has diminished greatly. I don’t know what happened, and I cannot help you. Please leave.”

Twilight’s head sank and she turned around and slowly walked out of the throne room. Tears streamed down her face. She looked back at her flank and watched as her Cutie mark disappeared. “I was never good enough,” she said. “I’m used up... and there are no answers. It’s all... meaningless.”

And the waters came.

*****

Rarity used her magic to hang a small wooden sign on the door of her shop. It read, “Closed for business.” The sparkle in her eyes had disappeared long ago. They were now dull and lifeless She’d stopped styling her mane and it now hung straight around her head.

“I’ve run dry,” she said as she shook her head. She had tried digging for gems to spark her imagination, but they all looked dull and colorless, like nothing more than regular rocks. Her Cutie Mark had disappeared with her drive. “I have no more ideas... and I can’t do this anymore. It’s all gone. All of it, just... I’m done. I’m finished.”

And the waters came.

*****

The trees were barren and dead. A strong summer wind blew threw the gray orchards. A single branch snapped off of a tree. Applejack sniffed and she turned away from the sight.

“Big Macintosh, you take Granny Smith an’ Apple Bloom to Aunt and Uncle Orange’s place in Manehattan,” said Applejack. “I’ll... I’ll look for work here.” Big Mac nodded and started to walk in the direction of the train station. Then he stopped and looked back at Applejack.

“Will you be okay, Sis?” asked the red stallion. Applejack swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. Big Macintosh nodded in return and resumed walking to the train station.

As soon as her brother was out of sight, Applejack fell to the ground and started sobbing.

“I couldn’t do it,” she cried. “It was just too much, even for my family. And now it’s all gone... my home... the farm... I never deserved this.” As the orange mare cried, the apples on her flanks slowly faded out of existence, as if they had never been there.

And the waters came.

*****

It had been five thousand years. Discord had not been freed from his stone prison, but he no longer cared. He’d watched the march of time and progress. He had enjoyed the sight of the wars, but mourned when he remembered that he had not caused them. He watched as peace came to the entire world and all conflicts had stopped. There was no more chaos. There was only order.

Discord no longer felt anything. He had become as he was imprisoned: Unfeeling stone.

And the waters came.

*****

Rain came down in sheets. The falling raindrops made a comforting sound, but it did not comfort Spike. As he looked out the window, he saw a Rarity dressed in a stylish but effective raincoat. Her horn was lit up and an umbrella hovered over her... and a stallion. The stallion said something and Rarity giggled.

Tears ran down Spike’s cheeks as he remembered Rarity’s words.

“Spike, I know you care about me, but I’m seeing somepony else,” she had told the dragon. “You’re a very dear friend, but I just don’t feel the same way as you do. I’m sorry, darling, but I’ve made my choice.”

Spike hopped down from the windowsill and crawled into his bed, completely covering himself with his blanket.

“I’ll never come out,” he said. “What’s the use? No one can compare to Rarity... if the best pony in Equestria doesn’t want me, then what good am I?

“...I’m no good at all,” Spike muttered.

And at last, the waters came.

*****

“Do you now understand, Yusei Fudo?” asked Darkness. “They fear failure, and the possibility of failure is very real. Failure and rejection occur because of individuality. All living things are better off without this curse.”

“That’s a lie!” shouted Yusei. He gripped the liquid tendril with his right hand and his Signer mark began to glow. Yusei ripped the tendril away from his forehead. “Without individuality there might not be conflict, but there wouldn’t be dreams and hopes either! There’d be no family, no friendships. There wouldn’t be love! How can you call that a better existence?”

“The Living Singularity is perfection,” said Darkness.

“The Living Singularity?” repeated Yusei.

“Yes. The single existence that would be shared by all minds within my world,” Darkness explained. “Within this existence, there would be peace and understanding. Within my world, your race would not die.”

“I won’t let you destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build, Darkness!” said Yusei. “And I won’t let the future Paradox talked about happen either!”

“We shall see about that,” said Darkness. “I activate Darkness Eye’s effect, allowing me to see my face-down cards.”

“I don’t think so, Darkness!” said Yusei. “I discard Effect Veiler from my hand to negate Darkness Eye’s effect!” A young girl dressed in white appeared. Two thin, white wings rested on her back. He green hair was tied back in two long pigtails. She flew over to the giant eye and wrapped her wings around it before vanishing.

“Then I shall end my turn,” said Darkness. “During the End Phase, Darkness Seed’s second effect activates.” As it spoke, jets of black water shot out of the dark orb above the duel. They merged into a single stream that curved around Darkness and pierced it from behind, passing through its chest and connecting it to Darkness Seed. Darkness cried out. “When Darkness Seed... has been Special Summoned... by its own effect... it changes my Life Points to... four thousand... during each End Phase.”

“No way!” said Yusei. The black waters vanished and a point counter appeared next to Darkness.

Life Point Count
Darkness: 4000

This is bad! thought Yusei. I was so close to beating him, and now I have to start all over!

“My turn!” said Yusei. “I summon the Tuner Monster ‘Debris Dragon’ in Attack Mode! And when it’s Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a monster with five hundred or fewer Attack Points from my Graveyard, so I’ll revive Tricular!”

The stocky white dragon appeared on Yusei’s field with a growl. The orange gems on its chest lit up and Yusei’s three-wheeled robot also appeared on the field.

“Next I activate Graceful Revival, which lets me Special Summon a Level Two or lower monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position,” Yusei continued. “Revive, Tuningware!”

Debris Dragon
ATK/1000
LV 4

Tricular
ATK/300
LV 3

Tuningware
ATK/100
LV 1

“Level Four Debris Dragon, tune with Level Three Tricular and Level One Tuningware,” said Yusei. Debris Dragon flapped its wings and shot into the sky. It disappeared and the four stars that remained drew neon green rings in the air. Yusei’s other two monsters were encircled by the rings and they too vanished, leaving only four stars behind. The stars moved themselves into a single-file line.

“Gathering wishes will become a bright new star,” Yusei chanted. “Become the path its light shines upon!” A thin beam of light shot through the stars, then widened and engulfed the rings. “Synchro Summon!” said Yusei. “Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”

Two white wings stretched out of the column of light. They flapped twice and the light began to melt away as Stardust Dragon rose into the air. It roared and did a back flip, coming to rest with its arms and wings thrown out to its sides and its head bowed, glaring at Darkness.

Stardust Dragon
ATK/2500
LV 8

“So this is your Ace monster, your spirit partner,” said Darkness. “The ancient servant of the Crimson Dragon.”

“That’s right,” said Yusei. “With Stardust on my side, there’s no way you can win!”

“We shall see, Yusei Fudo,” replied Darkness.

“I activate Tuningware’s effect,” Yusei continued. “If I use it for a Synchro Summon, I draw one card. Now, time to battle! Stardust Dragon, attack Darkness Eye!”

“I activate Darkness Eye’s effect,” said the robed creature. “This will allow me to see where my face-down cards are.”

“Go, Shooting Sonic!” shouted Yusei. Stardust Dragon brought its head up as it inhaled, then threw its head forward and let loose a clear sonic beam. The giant eye glowed purple as the beam approached, but was soon engulfed and destroyed. Darkness growled.

“I activate Zero and Infinity,” said Darkness, frustration laced in its voice. The two cards flipped up, but Yusei grinned when he saw them.

“They’re right next to each other,” said Yusei, almost laughing. “Looks like you won’t be doing anything with them this turn, Darkness!”

“It matters not. Stardust Dragon will not help you, not even against Darkness One. The activations of the other four cards are performed as part of the effect of Zero. You are a very knowledgeable duelist, Yusei Fudo, so I am sure you are aware that the cards and effects cannot be activated while an effect is resolving.”

“Wait, you mean... I can’t respond to your other Traps because they activate while Zero’s effect is still happening?”

“That is correct.”

“Fine. I Set two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“My turn,” said Darkness. “I Release Darkness Seed and Advance Summon Darkness Bramble.” Red vines and green thorns rose up from the ground and twisted around each other. A green bulb at the end of the plant blossomed and revealed a cluster of black berries within.

Darkness Bramble
ATK/2000
LV 6

“Darkness Bramble inherits the effects of Darkness Seed,” said Darkness. “Furthermore, it allows me to check my face-down cards, bypassing the effect of Darkness.” Yusei saw that the cluster of berries was actually a cluster of eyes as each one opened and began looking in all directions. Zero and Infinity flipped face-up. Only one card rested between them.

If that card is Darkness Three, I’m done for! thought Yusei. The card was revealed to him then.

“Darkness Two increases Darkness Bramble’s Attack Points by one thousand until the End Phase,” said Darkness. “Darkness Bramble, attack and destroy Stardust Dragon. When this battle concludes, Yusei, you will lose your remaining five hundred Life Points.” Green and red vines that were covered in thorns erupted from the ground around Stardust, moving to wrap themselves around the dragon.

“I don’t think so, Darkness!” said Yusei. “I play the Trap ‘Miracle Locus’! Stardust Dragon gains a thousand Attack Points until the End Phase, and you draw one card, but you take no damage from Stardust’s battles.”

Stardust Dragon
ATK/3500

Darkness Bramble
ATK/3000

Darkness held up its right hand and a card appeared in its bony fingers. “Very wise of you, Yusei,” said Darkness. “You avoided my attack.” Stardust Dragon spun around, firing its clear sonic beam at the vines, cutting them down. “However, Darkness Bramble cannot be destroyed by battle.”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Yusei. “I play another Trap: ‘Insightful Cards of Reversal! When you add a card to your hand outside of your Draw Phase, I draw the same number of cards that are in your hand. Currently, you have five cards in my hand, so I draw five cards!”

“I end my turn,” said Darkness. Zero, Infinity, and Darkness Two flipped face-down and Darkness’ Set cards were rearranged.

“My turn!” said Yusei. “Stardust Dragon, attack Darkness Bramble!”

“You will do no such thing, Yusei,” said Darkness. “I activate the effect of Darkness Raincrow in my hand.” A card in Darkness’ hand flipped around and a strange figure wrapped from head to foot in black cloth appeared hovering over Darkness Bramble. Two red eyes glowed beneath the wrappings. In its hand was a massive, black double-bladed scythe. The edges of the two blades were as red as blood. It swung the blade and sliced through the vines of Darkness Bramble’s body. Both creatures vanished. The remaining vines retreated into the earth and a giant pink flower bulb rose up in their place. The flower blossomed and black ooze spilled out between its petals. The ooze continued to bubble and flow out of the flower like a fountain, rising higher and higher and taking the shape of a human.

The thing stood even taller than Darkness. It had long pink hair that seemed faded in the moonlight. Its skin was a grayish violet and its upper body was wrapped in thick gray vines, its lower half in a dark green skirt. The thing’s left arm was thick and horrible, with five giant claws where the fingers would be. On its back were two different wings. The left was leathery and black with three claws atop it, while the right was covered in bright white feathers. The creature was blindfolded, but two giant eyes on its body opened and began looking around. One was on the left side of its chest, and the other on the right shoulder.

Darkness Neosphere
ATK/4000
LV 10

“Your judgment is nigh, Yusei,” said Darkness.

Yusei grit his teeth. “That must be his Ace,” he muttered. “I Set five cards face-down and summon Sonic Chick in Attack Mode.” Five face-down cards appeared before Yusei and a pink bird wearing red shoes ran onto the field and squawked several times.

Sonic Chick
ATK/300
LV 1

“I end my turn,” said Yusei.

“My turn,” said Darkness. “I activate Darkness Neosphere’s effect. Now I am allowed to rearrange my Set cards as I see fit.”

“I activate Card of Sacrifice!” said Yusei. “If the total Attack Points of my Attack Position monsters are less than the Attack Points of your weakest monster, I can draw two cards, but I can’t Summon or change battle positions this turn.”

“It is a pity that you will not get the chance to use those cards,” said Darkness. “I activate Zero and-”

“Not so fast, Darkness!” shouted Yusei. “In response to Zero, I activate Panic Wave! Now, by destroying a card on my field, the effects of all Continuous Spells and Traps, and the effects of Monster Cards are negated for the rest of the turn. I destroy Sonic Chick!”

“What did you say?!” growled Darkness. Sonic Chick exploded and a shock wave raced across the duel field. Arcs of electricity flashed across Zero.

“You can’t use your combo now, Darkness,” said Yusei.

“It still does not matter! Your Stardust Dragon is in Attack Mode, and my Darkness Neosphere far surpasses it. Darkness Neosphere, attack Stardust Dragon!” roared Darkness.

Darkness Neosphere’s head twisted around to face behind it, giving a sickening crack! It lifted its hands and used them to part its pink hair, revealing another giant eye on the back of its head, turned vertically. A purple beam of energy shot out of the eye at Stardust Dragon.

“I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” said Yusei. A scarecrow made of metal bars and an old helmet appeared between the white dragon and the violet beam shooting toward it. The beam struck the scarecrow, but could not get past it. “This card negates your attack and then flips face-down so I can use it again later!”

“I end my turn,” Darkness rumbled.

“During the End Phase of your turn, I activate Stardust Mirage!” said Yusei. “Since I have Stardust Dragon on the field, every one of my monsters that was destroyed this turn is returned to the field.”

“But Card of Sacrifice prevents you from Summoning this turn,” replied Darkness.

“I know,” said Yusei, “but Stardust Mirage doesn’t Special Summon the destroyed monsters. I said they are ‘returned’ to the field. Come on back, Sonic Chick!”

A slab of polished crystal rose up from the ground. Sonic Chick broke through it with a squawk.

“Just what do you plan to do with those monsters?” asked Darkness. “Neither of them can hope to surpass Darkness Neosphere.”

“Maybe not, but I’m not out of this duel yet,” said Yusei. “And besides, I’m not alone.”

“‘Not alone’?” Darkness repeated. “Look around you, Yusei. This world’s inhabitants are gone. The only ones here are you and I, and you stand opposite me. You stand alone.”

“You’re wrong,” said Yusei. “I have my friends! The mark on my arm keeps us linked, and the battles we’ve fought are the fires that forged our bonds!”

The mark of the dragon head began to glow on Yusei’s arm and the Crimson Dragon appeared behind him, letting loose its whale-like cry. Suddenly the mark faded from Yusei’s arm. Yusei looked over his shoulder at his back, but saw nothing.

“What the- what happened?” he said. “I don’t get it! Why didn’t the full Mark of the Dragon appear?” He looked up at the Crimson Dragon and it looked back at him. “Oh man... you can’t reach my friends from here, can you? We’re not just on another world, we’re in a different dimension, and you can’t get to the other marks from here!”

“It would appear that you truly are alone, Yusei Fudo,” said Darkness. “But that will not last. You will return home to your friends, and you will not be alone when you do, for I will be with you. You will be my envoy to the human world, and you will aid in my mission to end human suffering. During the End Phase of my turn, Darkness flips Zero face-down and shuffles my Set cards.

“Hope is worthless, Yusei. You toil in vain. You will be defeated in this duel, and I shall return to the world from which I was banished. I end my turn.”

Life Point Count
Darkness: 4000
Yusei: 500

The Strength to Fight

Author’s Note: Told you I had a plan.

I had a tough time writing what you’re about to read, but it became easier as I pressed on. I’m not sure why that is, but I think it’s best not to question it. A mild curiosity is fine, but I don’t wanna jinx it.

I promise that the next chapter will wrap up the duel. In the meantime, please enjoy this chapter, and thank you all for putting up with my stalling for so long.

/*********************\

A gentle breeze brushed through Yusei’s hair and made the cut on his cheek sting. He surveyed the duel field and looked at his deck in desperation.

“It is your turn, Yusei,” came the deep voice of Darkness. “Draw your card and fall to your knees. Revere me, a true god who has defeated a Signer.”

“You haven’t won yet, Darkness!” said Yusei.

“You simply do not understand. You may have the strength to fight, but those who occupy my world do not, and your strength will not be enough to defeat me.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand. I don’t have the strength to fight, not on my own. My father named me after the project that led to Zero Reverse because he wanted me to be like the center gear of Momentum. He wanted me to be the kind of man that would bring people together. That’s where I get my strength, Darkness. I get it from my friends.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Anyone can fight alone, but no one can overcome their failings alone. My father was blamed for Zero Reverse, and I was blamed with him. My first D-Wheel was stolen from me by my best friend, and he trashed it. I’ve been beaten in duels; I’ve nearly been killed. Whenever I felt alone, I would give up. I’ve faced fear itself, and sometimes, I gave in. But my friends always pulled me back up I may be cut off from my friends at home, but I have friends right here! I won’t let them give up, and they won’t let me give up either!”

“Just what do you plan to do?”

Yusei looked up at the black orb in the sky and clenched his fist. Then he shouted, “Everypony! Can you hear me? You have to hear me! Remember who you are! Think of the things that you love! Look at your Cutie marks! Those are just a fraction of who you are! Everything you’ve ever done, everyone you’ve ever met, they’ve all shaped who you are! Remember that and grab hold of it! Remember your friends, your family! Remember the ones you love, and don’t let them forget their dreams! Don’t let them forget about you, and they won’t let you forget about them! Don’t give up!”

*****

Spike lay curled up in his basket, wrapped in his blanket, shaking from crying so much. The sound of the falling rain transformed into rumble of waves rushing toward him.

But he heard something else. It was faint, but he still heard it. He poked his head out of his blankets.

“Yusei?” he said. Spike crawled out of his bed and moved up to the windowsill again. He saw Rarity walking, alone, in the direction of Carousel Boutique.

“That’s right,” said Spike. “Even if she never chooses me, I can still be there for her. I can still help her when no one else is around to do it. She’s still my friend, and that’s what matters!”

Spike jumped down from the window and ran downstairs, grabbed an umbrella, and bolted out the door.

“Rarity!” he called as he ran. The white unicorn stopped.

“Spike?” said Rarity, surprised. “Goodness, darling, what are you doing out here in the freezing rain?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” said Spike. “Look, maybe you’ll never share my feelings, but you’re still my friend. Even if I can’t have anything more than that, I don’t want to lose it.”

Rarity looked down at the baby dragon in bewilderment, but it slowly melted and was replaced by admiration. “Spike, you really are the most generous dragon, I’ve ever known. Why don’t you come over for some hot chocolate, dear?” she said with a smile. “Pinkie Pie shared the most delicious recipe with me the other day.”

And together, they walked.

*****

Chaos in nothingness. That is what Discord was trying to accomplish. He realized this now and had given up. He had no power where there was nothing to be done. He heard the waves and smiled at the inevitable peace that would wash over him.

Then he heard it. Faintly, a voice cried out to him.

“What’s that?” muttered Discord as he held his paw to his ear. “Is it that two-legged ape? ...Yusei?”

The sound of the waves vanished. Discord heard the sound of the wind, felt it blow through his fur. He took his hand away from his ear and looked at it. He was free.

“Freedom,” said Discord. “I’ve been selfish with it, haven’t I? Why can’t I be the chaotic being that I am and still live in Equestria? What’s stopping me from loving Celestia as I do? I said it myself, didn’t I? Harmony can come from chaos!”

Discord vanished and reappeared in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, reading scroll that she held in front of her with magic.

“Celestia,” said Discord gently. The scroll moved aside and the alicorn’s eyes widened.

“Discord!” she cried, her eyes narrowing.

“I’m not here to fight,” said Discord. “How long has it been? Five thousand years? You must have seen a lot of ponies pass in your time.”

Celestia’s glare remained.

“You’ve only had your sister to support you these past millennia,” Discord continued, “but you probably did most of the supporting, huh? Listen, I just want you to know... well, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the stunts I pulled. I’m sorry for ruining our friendship. And I’m sorry for not being there for you for the last six thousand years.”

The stern look on Celestia’s face melted away. She now seemed... sad. For a long time, there was silence. Discord sat on the floor, but did nothing else. The silence remained.

“Discord... thank you,” the princess said at last. “And... I’m sorry too.”

*****

Applejack lay on the ground, sobbing as hard she could. Gray waves rushed toward her, roaring behind her. Then she stopped.

“Y-Yusei?” she sniffed. “S’that you?” Applejack stood up. The roaring of the waves faded away and was replaced by another sound.

“The timberwolves!” said Applejack. “That’s right, the zap apple trees are ALWAYS bare! The rest of the farm might be gone, but we still have the zap apples! An’ I can’t give up on my family! We Apples have gotta stick together!”

Applejack turned in the direction of the train station and started galloping as fast as she could. “Big Mac, wait!” she yelled when she saw her brother. He stopped and looked behind him. Applejack caught up with him.

“The... timberwolves... are howlin’!” she panted. “Get Apple Bloom an’ Granny Smith! We can still save the farm!”

“How?” asked Big Macintosh.

“I dunno,” said Applejack. “But we gotta try! We ain’t done nothin’ yet, so we ain’t failed yet! Am I right?”

Big Mac grinned and said, “Eeyup!” Then he galloped off to the train station to get Apple Bloom and Granny Smith.

Applejack turned and began walking back to the farm. “That’s right,” she said to herself. “We ain’t done nothin’ yet, so we have to try!”

Applejack’s flank began to glitter and the three red apples that were her Cutie mark reappeared.

*****

Rarity looked glumly up at the sign on her door. She could hear the waves coming for her, just behind her. She turned to face them. They were gray and lifeless, just like the gems she once adored.

“Just like my heart,” she muttered. “I suppose I’ll fit right in...”

The waves were almost upon her when she heard something else. Her ears perked up. “Yusei? Is that you, darling?” she said, looking around. Then she saw somepony walking toward her out of the waves.

It was Twilight. Spike was sitting on her back.

“Hi, Rarity,” said Twilight. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, hello, Twilight,” Rarity replied. “I’m... well, I suppose I’m doing as well as can be expected. Which is to say... not very good.”

Twilight walked up to Rarity and gave her a hug. Rarity began sobbing.

“Rarity, I’m so sorry that your business is gone,” said Twilight. “If there’s anything you need, just say so. Spike and I would be more than happy to help.”

Spike hopped down from Twilight’s back and put a hand on Rarity’s front leg. “Twilight’s right,” he said. “No matter what, we’re here for you.”

“I... thank you... b-both of you,” said Rarity as she tried to get her sobbing under control. “But... I suppose what I need most is inspiration.”

Twilight dropped to her hooves again and backed up to look Rarity in the eye. “Well, how about this? You and I were destined to become friends. It breaks my heart to see you like this and I wish we could have the old you back. So you should look back at what you’ve accomplished.”

“Yeah!” said Spike. “You’ve done so many cool things that nopony else has ever thought of before! Just look back and remember it all!”

Rarity sniffed and looked back at the boutique. “Perhaps... perhaps you two are right,” said Rarity. “Maybe I could rework a few of my earlier designs and... ah-ha! Spike, I’ve never made anything for you, have I?”

“No, I don’t think so,” said the baby dragon.

“Well, I think I know exactly what to do for you,” said Rarity. She turned around and tore the “Closed for business” sign off the door with her teeth. Three diamonds sparkled into existence on her flanks.

*****

The throne room doors closed behind Twilight with a deafening thud. Spike was waiting for her outside.

“How’d it go?” he asked. Twilight looked down at him with sad eyes. She could hear the waves coming for her.

“I’m done, Spike,” said Twilight. “I don’t have any magic left in me, and the Princess doesn’t want me as her student anymore. I failed...”

Spike kept talking, but his words were drowned out by the waves.

But Twilight heard something else. Someone calling her, miles away, but she still heard him.

“Yusei...” said Twilight under her breath. Then she looked down at Spike.

I can’t go, she thought to herself. Spike is still just a baby dragon, and he needs me. Maybe I don’t have the kind of magic that can impress the Princess anymore, but I still have the magic needed to care for someone. I’ll stay with you, Spike, no matter what! The waves receded. Twilight’s horn glowed and, with some effort, she lifted Spike onto her back.

“Come on, Spike,” she said. “Let’s go home.”

As Twilight trotted to the train station, a pink and purple starburst appeared on her flanks.

*****

Fluttershy sat on the wooden floor of her cottage. No tears came to her eyes. No sobs escaped her lips. She just sat in the silence and the shadows, the world around her devoid of color. The silence gave way to the roar of waves.

Suddenly Fluttershy heard a noise. She didn’t jump and she didn’t squeak. She just looked up. “Yusei?” she said. She turned around. Standing in the open door was a baby bird. It looked lost and scared. Fluttershy slowly walked up to the chick and scooped it up in her forelegs.

“I failed once,” she said. “I won’t fail again. Come on, little guy. Let’s get you some food.”

As she slowly flew across the room to where the old bird feeder hung, three pink butterflies appeared on her flank.

*****

She had bounced her last bounce, laughed her last laugh, thrown her last party. She never realized just how relieving it would feel to give up. The weight of the world was lifted off of Pinkie Pie’s back.

She heard a rumbling and looked up at the front window. She saw the waves coming toward her, about to swallow Ponyville, about to break through the window and take her away.

“I don’t want to do it anymore,” she said.

And then she heard something else. Her ears perked up. She turned away from the window and looked at the stairs. “Y-Yusei?” she said. Then, louder, “Yusei? Is that you?” She slowly walked up the stairs. His voice was gone. “I could have sworn I heard him,” said Pinkie Pie once she reached the top. But then she heard another sound. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were crying.

Pinkie immediately ran to their room. The two children were crying very loudly.

“Ooooh, sh-sh-sh,” said Pinkie Pie. “Auntie Pinkie Pie’s here, don’t worry.” She looked around the room. It was dark and the toys cast strange shapes on the walls, terrifying shapes that scared the children.

Pinkie Pie looked at every claw, every hook, every talon, and every hooked nose that was splashed across the walls... and started laughing. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake’s crying stopped and they looked at each other, confused.

And Pinkie started to sing. She sang her laughter song, and she carried the two foals around the room on her back, singing to them as she did. She laughed at every shadow they passed, and the foals started laughing with her.

Pinkie put them back in their crib and tucked them in and they went to sleep. Pinkie smiled softly and whispered, “Good night, Pound. Good night, Pumpkin.”

As Pinkie Pie left the room, she said to herself, “Even if nopony came to the party, I still have Pound and Pumpkin. As long as I can make them smile, it’s all worth it.”

Her hair bounced as she walked, becoming curly once again. Three small balloons slowly appeared on her flanks.

*****

Exhaustion pinned her to the ground. Her lungs burned for air, but she didn’t care anymore. The waves were coming and water would fill her lungs soon.

Everything she had tried, she had failed to accomplish. Rainbow Dash lay on the cloud floor of the stadium, out of breath and out of energy. Alone and forgotten. The roaring of the waves drowned out the booing crowd around her.

In the midst of the noise, Rainbow Dash heard something. Like a drop of water falling into the ocean. A single tear. She heard it again. And again. It became louder as it came closer, and she realized that someone was walking toward her.

“Don’t give up!”

Her eyes shot open. She stood and looked around her. “Yusei?” she said, but he wasn’t there. She still heard the waves behind her, but she heard something else.

She looked... and she saw her friends. They were cheering and whistling, just for her. Fluttershy was practically screaming.

A spark flashed in her eyes. A shiver ran down her spine and into the tips of her wings.

“WAIT!” she yelled. The Wonderbolts, who had been walking away from her, stopped and turned around.

“Didn’t you hear me, Dash?” said Spitfire. “You’re done. Just go home.”

“I’m NOT done!” snapped the pegasus. “Not yet! I still have one more trick!” Before the Wonderbolts could argue, she leapt into the air and flapped her wings as hard as she could, pushing herself higher and higher.

The air became thinner and thinner as she climbed higher and higher. Then, at last, she stopped. She looked around. Rainbow Dash was on top of the world. It was round and glowing. The sky was empty. She hovered where the clouds couldn’t reach her. The solitude was overwhelming. Despite this, she knew she wasn’t alone.

She could still hear her friends.

Rainbow Dash flipped around, tucked her wings to her sides and dove. Air streamed around her, pushed against her, but she pushed back. She was Rainbow Dash, the greatest flyer in Equestria! She wasn’t about to let some measly atmosphere tell HER what to do! She wouldn’t even let her heroes tell her what to do! She could choose. She could choose to fly, or she could choose the waves. She could choose to give up, or she could choose to want something.

As she gained speed and the air formed a trailing cone around her, Dash realized something: Sonic rainbooms weren’t just legendary, they were impossible. Anytime she had seen somepony break the sound barrier, there was just a simple shock wave and a delayed boom. Nopony could do it. Yet she not only did the impossible, she did it twice.

Rainbow Dash felt a tingling on her flank, but she didn’t look back. She knew it was her Cutie mark. That mark let everypony know that the impossible was her special talent.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash made a choice. At that moment, Rainbow Dash decided that she wouldn’t give up on her friends, even if they gave up on her, even if she was left all alone, like she had been mere moments ago at the edge of space, because no matter what, she could choose to do the impossible.

At that moment, she made a choice: Rainbow Dash threw her front hooves out before her and grinned.

*****

Glowing, gold cracks traced their way across the dark orb in the sky. Darkness gazed up at its world.

“What is this?” it said. The cracks expanded, becoming gold circles that covered the surface of the sphere. Beams of light fell from the sphere like rain. “No, no! Not again!”

Suddenly the orb exploded, knocking Yusei off his feet. Darkness shielded its hooded face with its arm. A rainbow-colored ring burst through the explosion, expanding across the forest. A rainbow trail shot straight up into the sky, then curved around and streaked towards the ancient castle.

“A sonic rainboom,” said Yusei.

Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt next to Yusei, smirking the whole time. As the gold rays of light fell onto the castle roof, Twilight and the others appeared. Twilight groaned and rubbed her head with a hoof. Fluttershy and Applejack found themselves lying down and stood up. Even Princess Celestia had appeared on the roof with them. Another alicorn, this one smaller and dark blue, stood beside her.

“Celestia?” said the dark alicorn. “What happened?”

“Luna!” cried Celestia, wrapping her neck around the other pony. “Oh, Luna, I’m so glad you’re alright!”

“This is impossible!” roared Darkness. “This is simply impossible!”

“‘Impossible’ is my middle name, bub!” Dash sneered.

“Looks like nopony liked your world, Darkness,” said Yusei as he stood up and brushed himself off. He turned and looked at the other ponies. “I’m so glad you guys are okay.”

Celestia looked up at Yusei with a soft smile, then looked at Darkness with narrowed eyes. “Are you the same dark force that took my sister a thousand years ago?” she asked.

“I am not,” replied Darkness.

“That thing isn’t from this world, Celestia,” said Yusei. “It’s from mine.”

“Your world?” asked Celestia.

“What’s it doing here?” asked Dash. “And what is it anyway?”

“Darkness,” Yusei answered. “One of the duelists I met in the past, Jaden Yuki, fought it and stopped it from doing to the human world what it tried to do to Equestria. Since it was banished from the human world, it came here. It set up a trap for me so it could try to invade my world again.”

“And now you’re dueling it,” came a familiar voice. Yusei turned and saw Discord standing at the edge of the roof. “Well, I hope you defeat Darkness, ape. It may have freed me from my stone prison, but I do NOT appreciate being brainwashed!”

Yusei smiled, but Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Discord and snapped, “Hey, what gives? First you’re working for that... thing... and now you’re all goody-goody and rooting for Yusei?”

“Yusei said it himself,” Discord replied calmly. “Anyone he duels is his friend. We dueled, and though I lost, I still had fun. And I like the sound of that philosophy anyway.”

Yusei nodded, then turned back to the duel field. “I’m not sure I can win this, though,” said Yusei. “I need my friends back home, but the Crimson Dragon can’t reach them from this world.”

“Then allow me to help you with that,” said Discord. He started waving his hands about, but stopped when Celestia spoke.

“Discord, no!” said the princess. “You may be powerful, but tearing open a dimensional rift like that... even you can’t contain it if it becomes unstable!”

“There’s another way,” said Twilight. Everyone looked at her. Her horn glowed and the Elements of Harmony floated off the ground and moved to their respective owners. “You need friends, Yusei? You’ve got friends right here!”

Each Element began to glow and the six ponies rose into the air. Twilight closed her eyes for just a moment, then slowly opened them. They were glowing bright white. Six different beams rose out of the jewels and swirled around each other, then fell on Yusei in a rainbow. The Dragon Head mark on his arm glowed and vanished. The full mark of the Crimson Dragon appeared on Yusei’s back and the top card of his deck began to glow bright gold.

“Thank you, everypony,” said Yusei as the Twilight and her friends returned to the stone floor. He drew the glowing card from his deck.

“I summon Messias Draconis, Majestic Dragon!” said Yusei. A very small dragon, no bigger than Spike, appeared before Yusei. Its body was bright pink and had a crystalline sheen. Its eyes were large and bright yellow.

Majestic Dragon
ATK/0
LV 1

“Now, Level One Majestic Dragon, tune with Level One Sonic Chick and Level Eight Stardust Dragon!” Stardust Dragon roared and flew into the sky, with Sonic Chick following it. Majestic Dragon spun into the air above them and grew larger than both of them. The two monsters moved into its clear body.

"Gathering starlights will enlighten a new miracle! Become the path its light shines upon!” As Yusei chanted, A beam of light shot through all three monsters and widened to envelop them. “Synchro Summon! Arrive in light, Majestic Star Dragon!”

Like a crystal arrow, the new monster burst out of the beam of light, spinning as it did. It made a wide loop in the air, then stopped above Yusei, spreading its four wings out. Its body was made of the clearest crystal. Purple gems adorned its chest and shoulders, while red ones rested on its wings and knees. Its roar sounded like Stardust Dragon’s, but deeper and- Yusei could think of no other word for it- ancient.

Majestic Star Dragon
ATK/3800
LV 10

“It’s... beautiful,” said Fluttershy.

“Simply dazzling!” said Rarity.

“That is a mighty impressive dragon,” commented Applejack.

“That is so cool!” came Rainbow Dash’s voice.

“You’re in BIG trouble now, you big pile of bones!” said Pinkie Pie with a grin.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” breathed Twilight. “It’s... incredible!”

“It does not matter!” said Darkness. “It cannot hope to surpass Darkness Neosphere!”

“Maybe not,” said Yusei. “But I think we’ll manage. I activate Majestic Star Dragon’s effect! Once per turn, I can negate the effects of one of your monsters until the End Phase, and Majestic Star Dragon can activate it as its own effect! Go, Sublimation Drain!”

Tiny blue lights floated up from Darkness Neosphere and were absorbed by Majestic Star Dragon. It roared as it gained its new power.

“I Set three cards face-down and end my turn,” said Yusei. “During the End Phase, Majestic Star Dragon activates the effect of Darkness Neosphere, returning my Life Points to four thousand!”

“In addition to that, I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Stay Force’! Normally, Majestic Star Dragon would return to my Extra Deck during the End Phase, but I can negate that effect with Stay Force by paying a thousand of my Life Points!” A green nimbus appeared around Yusei for a few seconds. A Life Point Counter appeared next to him and displayed “4000”.

“I’ll never give up on my friends, Darkness!” said Yusei. “The bonds I’ve forged with them are too precious and too strong!”

“Yusei’s right,” said Twilight.

“Yeah!” said Dash. “When friends are together, they can do the impossible!”

“They can find hope when there’s none left,” said Applejack.

“They can inspire each other when they cannot go on,” said Rarity.

“They help us see that we can try again,” said Fluttershy.

“They make us laugh when the whole world is gray and dull and flat!” laughed Pinkie Pie.

“When your friends need you, you find the the strength to be there for them,” said Twilight. “That’s the kind of magic that’s more powerful than anything. That is the magic of friendship!”

“You won’t win this duel, Darkness,” said Yusei, “not while I’ve got my friends with me! I end my turn!”

Life Point Count
Darkness: 4000
Yusei: 3000

The Future of Man! Stardust Dragon vs. Darkness Neosphere

The Future of Man! Stardust Dragon vs. Darkness Neosphere

Author’s Note: I had originally planned to have one last duel at the end, but then decided to just end the story and send Yusei home. I'm happy with what I've got here. I don't think I need to do anything more.

The last chapter ended up being longer than I expected, but I guess that worked out for the better. This chapter will be where I make my last stand against Darkness. It’s not just the characters in the story anymore. This is me. Stardust Dragon may be Yusei’s Ace, but it means so much more to me.

For better or worse, it’ll be over after this. I know what I want, and I know how I want this to end. I intend to fight for it. I’m a wuss. I don’t have the strength to fight. But I’m going to fight anyway. Because I don’t want to believe I’m alone. I don’t want to believe that the World of Darkness would be better. I want to believe that I can create a future that would make me happy. I want to believe that my choices are real, and that I have the power to make my life what I want it to be. This is my way of fighting for that.

Thank you all for fighting with me.

/*********************

“I’ll never give up on my friends, Darkness!” said Yusei. “The bonds I’ve forged with them are too precious and too strong!”

“Yusei’s right,” said Twilight.

“Yeah!” said Dash. “When friends are together, they can do the impossible!”

“They can find hope when there’s none left,” said Applejack.

“They can inspire each other when they cannot go on,” said Rarity.

“They help us see that we can try again,” said Fluttershy.

“They make us laugh when the whole world is gray and dull and flat!” laughed Pinkie Pie.

“When your friends need you, you find the the strength to be there for them,” said Twilight. “That’s the kind of magic that’s more powerful than anything. That is the magic of friendship!”

“You won’t win this duel, Darkness,” said Yusei, “not while I’ve got my friends with me! I end my turn!”

Life Point Count
Darkness: 4000
Yusei: 3000

“My turn,” growled Darkness as a card materialized in its skeletal right hand. “You have forgotten the full power of Darkness Neosphere. Not only am I allowed to check my face-down cards, but I can rearrange all face-down cards as I see fit. You have only three thousand Life Points, Yusei Fudo, so I will use Zero and Infinity to end this duel once and for all.”

“You won’t get that chance, Darkness,” said Yusei. “During your Standby Phase, the effect of Darkness Seed activates! Two turns ago, you Released it to summon Darkness Bramble. And now it’s time for Darkness Seed to come back!”

“How will that stop me from using Darkness Neosphere’s effect?” Darkness asked.

“It’ll stop you by letting me activate Majestic Star Dragon’s other effect!” said Yusei. “By Releasing it when you activate a card or effect, I can negate that activation and destroy every card on your field!”

“What?!” Majestic Star Dragon flew up into the air and stretched its wings to stop. Then it tucked its wings back in and dove straight for Darkness Neosphere. It collided with the abomination and the force of the explosion swept away all of Darkness’ cards. Once the dust and smoke had cleared, Yusei saw that Darkness’ wings had returned to their original gray color.

“You will pay for that, son of Dr. Fudo,” said Darkness. Its eyes flashed red and the creature roared. Powerful winds kicked up, pushing Yusei and the others toward the ledge behind them. Discord yawned and snapped his fingers. The wind was still blowing- they could see it pushing against the trees- but it moved around them. The wind eventually died down, but Darkness’ eyes remained red.

“It is still my turn. I do not care about this world. Every dimension will eventually fall to the darkness, but the world of man is the key! I activate Bait Doll from my hand!” A small voodoo doll appeared and rushed toward Yusei, raising its left arm which had a nail stuck through it. “Bait Doll forces the activation of a face-down Trap Card, but negates and destroys it if its activation conditions cannot be met. I will destroy your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!”

Yusei’s Trap started to flip up, but was stopped when a giant hammer appeared above it and smashed it into the ground. Scrap-Iron Scarecrow was destroyed, and the doll and hammer disappeared.

“You have nothing left to defend you, Yusei,” Darkness remarked. “I summon Darkness Necroslime, and sacrifice it to revive Darkness Neosphere! Be reborn, O envoy of judgment!”

A black blob oozed out of the cracks in the stonework of the roof and formed itself into abhorrence of Darkness Neosphere.

Darkness Neosphere
ATK/4000
LV 10

“Darkness Neosphere, attack Yusei directly!” bellowed Darkness. With a sickening crack, Darkness Neosphere’s head spun completely around. Its hair parted and revealed the giant side-turned eye on the back of its head. The eye fired a violet beam at Yusei.

“I play the Trap ‘Synchro Spirits’!” said Yusei. “By removing Majestic Star Dragon from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon the monsters I used to summon it! I summon Stardust Dragon, Majestic Dragon, and Sonic Chick in Defense Mode!” Yusei smiled as all three monsters appeared before him.

“That will not stop me from destroying you, Yusei!” Darkness replied. “From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell ‘Enemy Controller’ to switch Majestic Dragon to Attack Mode! Darkness Neosphere, destroy the incarnation of the Crimson Dragon!”

Neosphere’s head swiveled and the beam swerved toward the tiny pink dragon.

“I activate Superior Protector!” said Yusei. “This Trap equips to Stardust Dragon and negates all Battle Damage I take from battles that don’t involve Stardust!”

As the beam struck the little dragon, Stardust Dragon stretched its wings out, shielding Yusei and his friends from the blast.

“So, you are trying to seal my attacks,” muttered Darkness. “Then next turn, I shall simply eliminate your Stardust Dragon. The Attack Points of Darkness Neosphere far surpass those of Stardust Dragon. I end my turn.”

Darkness is right, thought Yusei. I can fend off Darkness Neosphere’s attack with my remaining face-down card, and even if that doesn’t work, I can protect Stardust Dragon from being destroyed in battle by destroying Superior Protector. But I have to find a way to get at Darkness’ Life Points if I’m going to win. I can’t risk putting Sonic Chick in Attack Mode either. The only way out of this is to get rid of Neosphere and-

Yusei’s thoughts were interrupted when Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on his hand.

“Don’t think, Yusei,” she said. “Just do it. Duel the way I fly: With nothing but instinct!”

Yusei blinked. “Dash,” he said. Then, with determination on his face, he nodded and announced, “My turn!” Yusei looked at the card in his hand. Of course! he thought. “I Set a card face-down and end my turn!”

“My turn,” said Darkness. It glanced at the card in its hand and chuckled. “Darkness Neosphere, attack Stardust Dragon!”

“I activate Power Frame,” replied Yusei. A metal cube frame appeared in front of Stardust Dragon. The beam entered the cube and was absorbed into the center, creating a purple ball of light. Darkness Neosphere stopped her attack and twisted her head back around. The light in the frame changed to bright blue and flowed out of the frame to Stardust.

“Power Frame negates your attack and equips itself to Stardust Dragon, and increases its Attack Points by the difference in our monsters’ points,” Yusei explained. “You’re gonna have to try harder, Darkness!”

“That will not be a problem,” said Darkness. “My return was inevitable. Humanity will always return to the dark, for I am the future of all things."

“I don’t believe that for a minute!” Yusei shouted.

“And what of the events in your world?” asked Darkness. “Abnormal weather. Constant warfare. Terrorism. Zero Reverse. The future you were told of by the man Paradox will come to pass, Yusei.

“And to you denizens of this world: You live on the very precipice of the abyss. Disharmony exists amongst your own kind. The dragons of this world are a warlike race. The spirit of chaos himself stands in our midst. The Gates of Tartarus close this world off from pure evil, but what would happen if those gates opened? It is only a matter of time before your world goes to war, Princesses Celestia and Luna. You asked me if I was the dark force that took your sister from you; I am not, but its mere existence supports what I say.”

“You’re wrong, Darkness!” said Yusei. “They have the Elements of Harmony to protect Equestria!”

“And what’s more, I did not break free from your world on my own,” Discord added. “It was Yusei who gave me the power to be free. Harmony can come from chaos, Darkness, because that is the nature of chaos. It doesn’t have to make sense, and I am in control of my own actions.”

“We have our bonds, Darkness,” said Twilight. “And together, we can do anything!”

“Believe what you like,” said Darkness, “but it is nothing more than wishful thinking. A vain hope. All things return to darkness. Even this duel shall return to the dark. Allow me to illustrate my point. I activate the Field Spell ‘Darkness’!”

“You had another one?!” cried Yusei. Darkness laughed loudly as its wings turned jet-black once again. The last of the cards in Darkness’ hand vanished and reappeared on its wings with two other cards. Five giant cards materialized face-down in front of Darkness.

“No matter how many times you think you have escaped it, the darkness will always find you,” said Discord. “With Darkness Neosphere’s effect, I will rearrange my face-down cards in any order I see fit!”

“That’s not good, is it?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No, it’s not,” Yusei answered. “The ‘Darkness’ Field Spell puts five cards face-down on the field at random, and Darkness cannot check them. But Darkness Neosphere not only lets its controller see those cards, it lets Darkness put them in any order it wants! The Zero and Infinity cards can activate every card between them, and those cards have powerful effects.”

“What are they?” asked Twilight.

“Darkness One destroys a card for each ‘Darkness’ Trap; Darkness Two gives a thousand Attack Points to a monster for each one; and Darkness Three will hit me with a thousand damage for each one,” said Yusei.

“You mean he can hit you with every single one of those at once?!” cried Spike.

“No, he only gets the effect of the first card activated,” said Yusei. “But no matter which one it is, I can’t stop it. No doubt Darkness will go for the damage effect to wipe out my Life Points. The moment I start my turn....”

“Have you accepted your fate, Yusei?” asked Darkness. “Have you realized the hopelessness of your situation?”

Yusei looked around at the ponies, at Spike, and at Discord. Every one of them smiled at him. “The situation might seem hopeless,” said Yusei, “but I won’t give up as long as I can draw a card!”

“You are a fool,” said Darkness. “I end my turn.”

Yusei slid the top card of his deck into his fingers. “This is the final turn,” he said. “I draw!” Yusei glanced at his card and narrowed his eyes.

“Zero!” bellowed Darkness. “Infi-”

“I play Double Cyclone!” shouted Yusei. “This card destroys one Spell or Trap on both sides of the field, so I’ll have it destroy my ‘Stay Force’ and your ‘Zero’!”

“No! NO!”

Two cyclones ripped through the sky and struck the two cards Yusei listed, blasting through both and destroying them. Just then, blue arcs of electricity danced along Darkness’ wings and the giant face-down cards before it. Each of the remaining cards exploded, and a huge ball of fire blasted out of Darkness’ back. The creature roared in pain and fell to its knees.

“What just happened?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It was the Field Spell,” said Yusei. “If one of Darkness’ Spells or Traps leaves the field, then the ‘Darkness’ Field Spell destroys ALL Spells and Traps that it controls.”

The smoke was blown away by the night wind. Darkness struggled to stand up. Much of its cloak had burned away. The creature beneath was, indeed, a skeleton, but one of demonic appearance. Its shoulders and hips rose into sharp spikes and a long tail ending in a long, narrow spike slithered about on the ground behind its owner. The creature growled as it rose to its full height.

“You were right about one thing, Darkness,” said Yusei. “Every living thing will venture into the dark and the shadows, maybe more than once. But every single time we do, we have the power to break free! This duel entered your world twice, and both times I brought it out again.”

“You... cannot be... this strong!” gasped the skeleton. “How are you this strong?! HOW?!”

“I told you, Darkness,” said Yusei. “I get my strength from my friends!”

For a brief moment, Yusei felt his friends back home. In that same moment, he felt the strength of the new friends he had made that day.

“Battle! Stardust Dragon, attack Darkness Neosphere!” ordered Yusei. “Shooting Sonic!”

Stardust Dragon roared and fired its clear ray at Darkness Neosphere. The foul woman swung her head around and revealed her giant eye, launching its own violet beam. The two attacks slammed into each other and then began to twist around one another. Stardust and Neosphere were struck at the same time. The two monsters exploded. Darkness staggered backward.

The smoke cleared and Stardust Dragon still stood.

“Impossible!” cried Darkness.

“Oh, it’s quite possible!” Yusei replied. “The monster equipped with Superior Protector can survive one battle by sending Superior Protector to the Graveyard.”

“You still only had one attack, Yusei,” said Darkness. “If you can believe so strongly in hope for yourself, then a creature such as myself can hope as well!”

Yusei smiled. “There’s no hope for pure evil like you,” he said. “I play the Trap ‘Synchro Overlimit’! If a Synchro Monster I control destroys a monster by battle, it can attack a second time! Stardust Dragon is still equipped with Power Frame, so it still has four thousand Attack Points- exactly what I need to wipe you out! Go, Stardust Dragon! Attack Darkness directly!” The giant white dragon cried out and flew into the air.

“Okay, girls!” shouted Twilight. Her eyes and the jewel in her tiara lit up. “Get ready!” The six small ponies rose up into the air with their Elements. Rays of light shot out of the six jewels into the air. Stardust Dragon roared and fired its clear beam at Darkness. The rays of light from the elements twisted around the beam, merging with it and forming a glittering, prismatic ray.

Together, Yusei and the six ponies named the attack: “Shooting Rainbow Sonic!”

“NO!” cried Darkness as the beam struck and engulfed it. As the creature’s silhouette began to vanish within the beam, it roared out, “So long as there is even the slightest shade of darkness within so much as one heart, I WILL return, Yusei Fudo! Mark my words, I will return!”

“And if you do, we’ll be ready,” said Yusei.

*****

Yusei and the others emerged from the forest, tired but happy. The moon had disappeared behind the trees, and the eastern horizon was turning a faint shade of powdery blue as the sky began to brighten. Yusei pushed his D-Wheel beside him.

“We went through a lot back there,” said Twilight.

“We all did,” said Celestia.

“Sister... I still don’t fully understand what happened,” said Luna. “All I could see was...”

“I know, little one,” said Celestia.

“This is going to make things awkward between us, isn’t it?” asked Discord.

Celestia stopped.

“Discord, there’s something you should know,” she said. “I did not refuse you because I didn’t feel the same way.”

Discord blinked. “You didn’t?” he said.

“No.”

“Then why?”

Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. “Because of Luna,” she said. “I knew how she felt about you. It would break her heart to see us together. I couldn’t do that to her.”

“Sister...” said Luna.

Discord nodded. “I understand,” he said. “Perhaps we can talk about this later.”

“I’m so sorry that I hurt you that way, Discord,” said Celestia. “I didn’t know how to explain it to you. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid I would be betraying Luna’s trust in me.”

“I said that I understand, Celestia,” Discord replied. “Let’s talk about this another time, just the three of us.”

Celestia nodded and said no more.

They continued to walk.

Twilight spoke after a while. “I did fail you girls,” she said. “When Discord broke free the first time. I gave up on all of you.”

“Twilight, we forgive you,” said Rarity. “Besides, you came back for us. You truly are the best friend a pony could have.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” said Twilight.

“It seems I wasn’t far off,” said Discord.

“What do you mean?” asked Yusei.

“I may have been acting under Darkness’ influence, but everything I said about all of you was right, wasn’t it?” Discord frowned. “And I suppose I’m not too different from you.”

“We all have things we need to work through,” said Celestia. “My feelings for you, Discord...”

“My faithlessness,” said Twilight.

“My fear of being alone,” said Dash sullenly.

“Mah hypocrisy,” said Applejack.

“My fear of pain,” whispered Fluttershy.

“My self-worth,” said Pinkie Pie.

“My manipulation of others,” said Rarity.

“My selfishness,” said Spike. “Rarity, you don’t know, but... Discord told me he would change you back if I went into the world of darkness. I’m... I’m sorry. I’m a big disappointment, huh?”

“No, Spike,” said Rarity. “You’re still the most selfless dragon I’ve ever met, and you’re more selfless than most stallions I’ve met.”

“I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson in friendship,” said Celestia. “Yusei? Would you do us the honor?”

“What do you mean?” asked Yusei, looking over his shoulder as he continued pushing his D-Wheel. Twilight trotted up beside him.

“When I first came to Ponyville and met my friends, the Princess gave me an important assignment,” said the lavender unicorn. “She told me that I should study the magic of friendship and report back everything that I learn. I think she wants you to give the report this time.”

Yusei smiled. “I’d be honored,” he said. “My father’s work led to the deaths of a lot of people. Ever since then, my father was blamed for what happened. Once the information was made public, I became afraid that people would blame me too. I felt so guilty. I always felt like I had to carry my father’s burden. And I guess that’s my flaw... I feel like I have to carry everyone’s weight on my shoulders.

“But I still made friends. I was misunderstood, betrayed, even abandoned, but I still stuck by my friends and they’ve stuck by me. I came here and made so many new friends too. All of this has taught me that we all have flaws, and that they can run very deep, but our friends will stay with us in spite of these flaws, and they’ll help us overcome them. In turn, we can do the same for them.

“Even if you give up on your friends, or they give up on you, it doesn’t matter. Real friends always come back to each other.”

“Real friends inspire us!” said Rarity.

“They remind us of how strong we are,” said Fluttershy.

“They give us a reason to keep goin’,” said Applejack.

“They give us a reason to smile!” laughed Pinkie Pie.

They cheer us on so we can do the impossible!’ said Rainbow Dash as she swooped into the air.

“Your friends will love you no matter what happens,” said Twilight. “When everypony else has abandoned you, and even if you’ve abandoned them and yourself, they still love you, and they help you to love yourself.”

“The battles we fight show us our weaknesses,” said Yusei, “but our friends more than make up for them, and even help us get rid of them. Your friends are your greatest strength. Always hold on to them. So I guess the lesson is that you should never give up on yourself because your friends never will.”

“Well said, ape,” said Discord. Yusei laughed.

As the group approached the town, they saw a strange sight. Sleeping ponies lay scattered all about the street. A few of them began to stir.

“Apple Bloom!” shouted Applejack as she ran forward. The yellow filly groaned and stood up, shaking her head.

“Applejack?” she said. “Whu... what happened? I had this awful nightmare! I grew up an’ I never got mah Cutie mark!”

Applejack didn’t say anything. A single tear escaped her eye as she embraced her little sister.

“...Applejack?”

“I’m just... glad you’re okay, sis,” said Applejack with a sniff.

Apple Bloom looked around. “What’s everypony sleepin’ in the street for?” she asked.

“I’ll explain everything later, sis,” said Applejack.

“Yusei,” said Celestia. Yusei turned around to face the princess. “I would like to give you a royal celebration, honoring what you did to save Equestria.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” said Yusei, “but I have to return to my own world. Paradox told me that he came from a future that was destroyed by Duel Monsters. I have to figure out what he meant. There are still a lot of things I need to do back home, and I would like to see my friends as soon as possible.”

“Very well,” said Celestia. “Safe travels, Yusei.”

“Thank you for everything, Yusei,” said Twilight.

“Come back and race me sometime, okay?” said Dash.

“I’ll try,” said Yusei with a smile. Then he looked at Fluttershy and his smile faded. He walked up to her and knelt down to look her in the eye.

“Fluttershy,” he said, “you were right before. I didn’t try to save Paradox. But I promise you here and now that I’ll try to save him by stopping the future that he was talking about.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded.

“Before you go, Yusei,” said Twilight, “I have something for you.” Twilight shut her eyes and ignited her horn with magic. A blank card appeared just above the tip. Yusei took the card and watched it change before his eyes.

“Dragon Knight... Draco-Equiste,” said Yusei. “Thanks, Twilight. I’m sure this will come in handy.” Yusei slipped it into his deck box. He opened up the seat of his D-Wheel and took out his helmet.

“Thank you again, Yusei,” said Celestia.

Yusei gave the princess a smile and a nod, then put on his helmet and mounted his D-Wheel. He revved the engine and took off. The Crimson Dragon appeared above him, roaring loudly.

“You’re gonna take me home for real this time, right?” Yusei asked. The Crimson Dragon just roared. Yusei smiled.

*****

“Look over there!” shouted Leo. A white portal had appeared in the air and Yusei’s D-Wheel shot out of it, landing roughly on the ground. Yusei took off his helmet and looked out at Neo Domino City.

“It’s Yusei!” shouted Crow. They all started running toward him.

“Yusei!” they all shouted happily.

THE END