//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Greetings // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Equus X Zexal // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// “Here,” said Lauren, handing Alex a large wad of cash at the lobby, “take this.” Tom, Yuma, Astral, Shark, Kite, Hart, Tori, and Orbital were also there. “What could this be for?” he asked Lauren. “Train fare, of course. Do you think I’m going to expect you to cover five extra train tickets?” “Well,” spoke Tom, “according to Alex, there’s six extra, if you count the imaginary Dr. Manhattan.” “Hey,” exclaimed Alex, putting his hands up to neck level, “as long as no one else can see him, who am I to complain?” “Also,” said Lauren, “there’s some extra cash for food, toiletries, new clothes, pajamas, and whatnot in case your stay is longer than expected.” “Lauren,” said Kite. “I can’t thank you enough for your helping us.” “It’s not a problem. I just think that I should lend you some valid American currency while you’re here.” “Say,” said Tom, “where’s Kyle?” “He’s tweaking the Duel Room. Apparently, Kite’s… powers caused a bit of real damage inside the thing.” “Once again,” said Kite, “I’m sorry about that.” “Don’t worry about it. The damage was minor at best.” “And what about my motorcycle?” asked Shark. “I’m having it shipped to Alex’s house. It should be there before you arrive.” “How did you even get it dow–” Lauren waved her fingers, yellow sparks coming from them. “Oh… right.” “Actually,” said Tom, “would you mind sending that to the 5th Avenue Train Station in Naperville? That way, we can have enough vehicles to ship our… extra passengers.” “I’ll get right on that. Anyways, enjoy your day in Chicago.” “Thank you, Lauren!” called Alex. “Don’t forget to tell Kyle thanks for me!” Lauren waved them goodbye as she went into the elevator. The doors closed behind her closed, officially dismissing Alex and his friends. “So,” said Tom, “now what are we going to do?” “I don’t know,” said Alex. “Hart, is there anything you’d like to do while you’re here?” “Well,” admitted Hart, “I’ve never been here before, so I don’t know what’s even here.” “Have you ever been to an aquarium before?” “No.” Alex and Tom smiled at one another. “We’re going to need a couple of taxis,” said Tom. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Shining Armor and Cadance were at the Canterlot train station. The engine itself was short and purple, pulling in a brown carriage with large, open windows and a smaller window on top of its purple roof, followed by a smaller purple carriage with glass windows and a purple roof. The final car was a caboose-like car with a triangular roof and a balcony-like end on the back. “I still can’t believe this,” said Cadance. “Protecting an entire empire by ourselves?” “Nothing we can’t handle together,” consoled Shining Armor to his wife, “I mean, I was able to protect Canterlot singlehandedly… well, at least I would have if Chrysalis didn’t–” “Right. But that’s all in the past now. Right now, Celestia has tasked us with something greatly important.” “And its nothing we can’t handle together, right?” he said, putting his arm over her neck in a comforting gesture. Cadance threw her arm around her husband affectionately, confirming his faith in the both of them. “Shining Armor,” addressed a pegasus guard, “Princess Cadance. Your train is packed and ready. All aboard.” Cadance and Shining Armor shared one last glance before the two of them entered the third carriage, ready to begin their journey. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Naperville, USA _________________________________________________________________________________________ Later that afternoon, Alex, Tom, Yuma, and the rest of his friends were on the Metra train to Naperville from Chicago. Alex and Tom looked out the windows at the buildings and roads that they passed. Yuma was asleep on the train with Shark casually looking out the window. Tori sat across from Kite and Hart, the latter of whom was napping on the former’s lap as he stroked his younger brother’s hair. Hart was wearing a Shedd Aquarium novelty t-shirt over his vest. Orbital sat on the other seat next to Kite, off and completely inanimate. Astral hovered over the walkway, watching as people walked to and from the cars and passed through him, completely unaware of his presence. Each person, minus Alex and Tom, had a large plastic Macy’s bag filled with clothes. Tom had a large, paper Garrett’s Popcorn bag on his lap, the top covered in crease marks from several closings and re-openings. With the number of remaining stops becoming less and less, the train cars began to become more and more vacant. Astral began to notice that even their half of the car was almost completely empty of complete strangers, minus a middle aged man snoozing in his seat. Astral took this opportunity to talk to Alex. “Alex,” spoke Astral. “Astral,” answered Alex. “What is it?” “I was talking to Lauren over how Yuma and his friends could see me, as well as to wondering why you and her can too. Could you explain this to me? She said something about being possessed by a dark magic force that left its powers behind with her. Perhaps that can give you some ideas.” “In that case,” said Alex, “it must be the Equestrian magic within me that allows me to.” Tom looked over at his friend seemingly talking into thin air, but decided to ignore it and continue looking out the window. “Equestrian?” queried Astral. “I heard you mention that word when you were dueling Kite. I assume that you weren’t referring to a horse jockey, were you?” “No, of course not. That planet up there has a country named Equestria, hence the term. Now, when I tell you this, you aren’t going to believe me, but the planet up there is inhabited by a race of highly-intelligent, magical ponies.” “Ponies? As in a pygmy horse?” “Yes, sir. Earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, along with a couple who are a mixture of the latter two whom I’ve met.” “Unicorns? Pegasi? Those creatures are fantasy; works of fiction.” “That’s exactly what I thought when I first met them, but I digress. There’s a powerful magic that exists from that planet known as the Elements of Harmony. They represent the seven assets of friendship: Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, and Passion. There are six ponies that live there that represent the spirit of each Element, making them the sole bearers of that Element.” “Then what of the seventh?” “Heh, you’re talking to him.” “So, from that I can surmise that because of your connection to this Element, you possess the magic necessary to see me.” “That’s about the long and short of it.” “Normally, I’d find that all that you’re telling me is ridiculous, but for the sake of all that we’ve seen and all that we’ve been through today, I can suspend my disbelief until I can prove that your claims are indeed ridiculous.” “Thanks, man,” giggled Alex. “The next stop is: Naperville,” spoke an automated male’s voice through the intercom. “Well,” said Alex, “time to go.” Alex and Tom got up and walked to the center of the car where the exit would be. “Yuma,” called Astral in his normal tone of voice, causing Yuma to stir, “Yuma. You need to wake up.” Yuma stretched and yawned before getting up. “Are we almost there?” he wearily asked. “We are,” answered Astral. “Alex and Tom are going to the center of the car. I believe we should get there too.” Yuma picked up his bag and walked to the front of the car, followed closely by Shark. “Hart,” cooed Kite, gently shaking him. Hart’s eyes fluttered open. “Huh?” exclaimed Hart upon his awakening, “are we almost there?” “Yes. Come on.” Hart plopped off of his seat as the two brothers walked towards the center of the car, Kite grabbing both of their bags of new clothes. Tori got up as well. “Orbital!” called Kite. “Activate.” The lens-like eyes of Orbital went alight. “Understood!” responded Orbital in its shrill metallic voice as it scooted towards the center of the train with Kite. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Once the train finally pulled into the station, Alex and the rest of his group filed out of the train as soon as the doors opened. Once he made sure everyone was out and all of their belongings were accounted for, Alex and Tom led them to the parking lot where they parked their duel runners. Upon sighting his motorcycle, which happened to be parked right next to Alex and Tom’s, he gasped at the sight of two teenaged boys wearing basketball jerseys and baggy pants looking at and touching the motorcycle. Shark ran right over. “Who do you think owns this?” asked one of the boys. “Oy!” shouted Shark, bringing himself to the boys attention, “that’s mine! Get away from it!” “What the hell?” exclaimed the other boy, trying to not break into laughter. “What’s up with your hair? It looks like Ursula from The Little Mermaid.” Shark clenched his fist in anger. “Bastard…” he growled. “Is there a problem here?” asked Tom, stepping up next to Shark. “Oh,” said the first boy, “hey, Tom! Have you seen this fruitcake’s hair?” “I have, and he happens to be one of my friends. You’re not insulting my friends, are you?” Upon hearing the serious and foreboding tone in his voice, the two boys began to quiver. “Uh,” spoke the second boy, smiling nervously, “of course not! Why would we do that?” “We got to go anyways,” spoke the first boy. “Catch you later, Tom!” The two boys then sprinted out of the parking lot and out of Tom and Shark’s sight. “How do you know those two?” asked Shark. “Freshmen,” answered Tom. “Don’t ask.” “Shark,” called Yuma, running up to his friend along with everyone else. “Are you alright?” “Fine. Just some hoodlums giving me trouble.” “Alright,” said Alex. “Let’s try and see how we’re going to do this. Who’s riding with whom? We have three bikes, seven of us, and a robot. I assume Astral can just fly along.” Kite smirked. “Orbital?” he said to the robot. “Understood,” complied Orbital. Orbital began to fold and transform into different ways, covering Kite in the process. Once Orbital’s transformation was done, it had transformed into a one wheeled motorcycle, similar to Shark’s, although it was much smaller and much sleeker. Along with the motorcycle, Orbital provided an armor and helmet for Kite, the latter of which had a large visor that encircled the entire helmet. “…Okay,” Alex spoke, correcting himself, “seven people and four motorcycles.” “Hart,” said Kite, “ride with Shark. I’ll follow close behind, I promise.” “Okay, Brother,” agreed Hart, going in and climbing onto Shark’s motorcycle. “Shark,” called Kite, “you protect him with your life, understand?” “Got it,” he replied. “What about our clothes?” asked Tori. “Who’s going to carry them.” “Not to sound like a misogynist,” said Tom, “but we were wondering if you and Yuma could carry them all.” “I don’t know how that would make you sound like a mysoginist, but that doesn’t sound like a problem to me.” “Ugh,” moaned Yuma, “do I have to?” “Yuma!” scolded Tori, causing Yuma to tense up in fear, “these guys are giving us free meals and a roof over our head. The least you could do is help them out a little.” “Alright!” shouted Yuma, taking three of the five bags while Tori picked up the other two. “Now,” finished Alex, “Tori can ride with Tom, and Yuma can go with me.” “Okay,” complied Tori and Yuma, getting into their respective vehicles. “Now that everyone’s situated,” spoke Alex, putting on his helmet, “let’s get home.” Alex and Tom led the group out of the parking lot, each of them filing out one by one. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Alex, Tom, and Kite pulled into their driveway while Shark parked along the street. Once Orbital was parked, it transformed back into its normal self and freed Kite. Alex and Tom took a bag each from Yuma and Tori while Kite took his from Yuma. Shark and Hart came to rejoin the group, all ready to walk inside. “Now, guys,” said Alex to his new friends, “I asked Carolyn to order some more pizzas for you all, so dinner should be covered. Come on, let’s get you guys fed.” Alex and Tom led the way to the front door, with Alex’s hand upon the doorknob before Shark talked to them. “Are you sure there’s going to be enough room for us?” asked Shark. “I mean, I don’t mind sleeping on a couch, but is there enough space to go around?” “Oh yeah,” said Alex, turning the doorknob, “you wouldn’t believe the number of guests we got here a couple of weeks ago.” Alex opened the door, letting everyone inside. Upon getting inside, Yuma and his friends were initially offput by the darkness of the house, especially if there was supposed to be someone already home. Alex stepped forward, trying to center himself into the house. “Carolyn?” called Alex. As soon as he yelled the word “Carolyn,” the lights to the house flew on. In the living room was a large green blanket that was obviously covering six large lumps. It was pulled from over the masses to reveal six equine figures and the small, bipedal, purple dragon that pulled the covers off. Alex and Tom immediately recognized the figures: the purple unicorn Twilight Sparkle, the blue pegasus Rainbow Dash, the pink pony Pinkie Pie, the yellow pegasus Fluttershy, the orange pony Applejack, the white unicorn Rarity, and the dragon being Spike. “SURPRISE!” cheered the ponies in tandem. While Yuma, Shark, Kite, Hart, Tori, and Astral were all still with mouths agape and eyes wide, along with Orbital, who had a flap of metal where its mouth would be shifted downwards, giving him the expression of a dropped jaw, Alex and Tom looked ecstatic upon seeing them. “Twilight!” shouted Alex. “Guys!” Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Rarity, ran up to Alex as he knelt, allowing him to hug them all at once. “Rainbow Dash!” called Tom. Rainbow Dash flew to Tom and hugged him midflight, with Fluttershy and Applejack meeting him at his side. “It’s so good to see you guys!” Tom exclaimed as he knelt down to include Fluttershy and Applejack in the hug. “You can say that again,” said Rainbow Dash. As each of the ponies greeted their two friends, Yuma and his friends continued to stare in disbelief and awe. “Those….” whimpered Yuma, hardly able to speak, “ponies… talking…” Yuma collapsed limply on the floor like a dropped doll. Alex, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity took notice to the thumps on the floor caused by Yuma’s fall, turning around to find him completely unconscious. “Oh dear!” exclaimed Rarity. “Twilight,” asked Alex, “could you help him out and put him on the couch?” “Sure thing,” she said, using the magic in her horn to levitate Yuma. This action was met with more shock and awe from Shark, Kite, Tori, Hart, Orbital, and Astral. “I don’t believe this,” whispered Astral, still stricken with awe. “These unicorns and pegasi are real!” “Who even is he?” asked Twilight. “Is he new here?” “Very,” answered Alex. As Twilight gently placed the unconscious Yuma on the couch in the living room, Rarity observed the others who were staring at her and her friends. “What’s the matter with you?” she questioned, causing a bit of recoil in Yuma’s friends’ steps. “Haven’t you ever seen a pony before?” “Not one that could talk or use magic,” said Shark. Upon turning to face the responder, she glanced at Shark. Upon looking up and down at him, her eyes and smile grew wide, giggling in the process. With unnatural speed, she scooted up close to Shark and looked into his eyes. “Why, darling! I absolutely love your style! I mean that blazer, those shoes, that hair! Pinch me, I’m going to faint.” Shark gasped again, but for a wholly different reason. “You…” he began, “…like my hair?” “Sweetie, it’s divine! It just screams, ‘Get back! I’m one person you don’t want to mess with!’” “Well, to be honest, lots of people have been messing with me about it today.” “Well, ignore them. They clearly don’t have the same sense of fashion that we share. Oh, where are my manners?” Rarity held out her hoof to Shark. “My name is Rarity, pleased to make your acquaintance.” Shark was confused over the prospect of shaking hands with an anthropomorphic unicorn, but seeing that she meant well, he took the hoof and shook it, introducing himself. “Reginald,” he said, “but please, call me Shark.” “And such a stylish name! We’re going to be the best of friends!” Shark sneered slightly. For as nice as she was being to him, her exuberance was starting to rub him the wrong way. “Yeah,” he managed to say, walking over to the kitchen/dining room to sit down. Pinkie Pie glanced between Shark, Kite, and Tori, still heavily unsure of which new potential friend to introduce herself to first. That’s when she spotted Hart clinging to his brother’s waist, somewhat frightened of the appearance of the ponies. Pinkie Pie wasted no time in coming up close to Hart and speak to him. Upon Hart meeting Pinkie Pie’s eyes, she began to talk. “Hi,” she chirped in her peppy voice, “I’m Pinkie Pie, and–” Hart shrieked slightly and ran behind Kite, frightened over Pinkie Pie's sudden appearance. Kite took immediate notice to this. “You!” shouted Kite at the pink pony, issuing genuine fear from Pinkie Pie as she backed up. “Get away from him!” “Pinkie,” scolded Fluttershy, coming up next to her, “how could you? Couldn’t you see the poor thing was scared? Here, let me try.” Fluttershy approached Hart, who still hid behind Kite. Fluttershy’s advance angered Kite even more. “I said get back!” Fluttershy immediately squeaked and fell to the ground on her stomach, clenching her arms and legs close together in fear of Kite’s loud voice. Hart peered behind Kite’s legs as he watched the pegasus tremble and whimper, pressing her head into the floor. Feeling sorry, he walked from behind Kite and knelt down to Fluttershy’s level. “Hart,” spoke Kite in a softer voice, unsure of his brother’s actions. Hart then stroked Fluttershy’s mane, causing her to glance up at Hart with teary eyes. Hart wiped them dry with his thumb. “I’m sorry if my brother scared you,” he said, “he can be a bit protective of me sometimes. My name is Hart. What’s yours?” Hart’s act of kindness brought a smile to Fluttershy’s face. “I’m Fluttershy,” she admitted quietly. Hart then wrapped his arms around Fluttershy’s neck. Fluttershy responded by gently putting her arms around Hart and gently patting his back, happiness immersing her as she received his affection. Kite himself, while apprehensive about Hart’s actions, couldn’t help but smile at the two of them. Pinkie Pie then approached Hart as he and Fluttershy continued to hug. “Hey,” whispered Pinkie Pie, causing Hart to let go of Fluttershy and look at her, “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. It’s just that I love making new friends. Could you forgive me? And also, would you like to be my friend?” “I forgive you,” said Hart, “and yes, I’d really like to be your friend.” Pinkie Pie, engorged with happiness over Hart’s acceptance, wrapped her arms around Hart and bounded into the air. “YAY!” she screamed. “Hart!” shouted Kite, concerned once again. However, upon looking at Hart’s face, he could see that his eyes were closed, his mouth open in laughter along with Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie landed on her back, letting Hart land on her soft tummy, continuing to laugh together. Kite smiled wider than before, pleased that his brother was happy despite being in a foreign world. “Oh!” exlclaimed Pinkie Pie to Kite, standing up on her fours while Hart stood on his feet, “I don’t think we met before. I’m Pinkie Pie. Who are you?” “My name is Kite,” said Kite, his voice free of tension, “and with the way Hart took to you, I think we're going to get along just fine.” Pinkie Pie beamed again as she jumped onto Kite and hugged him, wrapping her legs around Kite’s waist. Kite, trying to support her, held onto her upper back. As Kite struggled to keep his balance, Hart laughed at his efforts. Tori, feeling the tension being lifted from the air, went over to Fluttershy as she was watching Pinkie Pie and Kite. “Excuse me,” said Tori, tapping Fluttershy on the shoulder. “Oh,” exclaimed Fluttershy upon turning and seeing Tori, “hello. Who are you?” “I’m Tori. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, picking up Fluttershy’s hoof and shaking it. “It’s… nice to meet you too.” Shark continued to watch the meeting while sitting on a stool in the center counter of the kitchen. Despite his efforts to remain alone so he could still take in the strange new sights, he was approached by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Hey,” said Rainbow Dash, “I saw you sitting off in the corner like this and I didn’t get a chance to meet you.” “That was kind of the point,” said Shark. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that I’m talking to a real pegasus.” “Jeez, dude. What rock have you been living under?” “Rainbow!” hissed Applejack, appalled at her friend’s brashness. “It’s a long story,” said Shark. “We got time.” “Apparently, some woman named Lauren used a magical satellite to watch my friend and I duel and she ended up sucking us here from our home world.” “Wait,” interrupted Rainbow Dash, “so you’re from a completely different world?” “Yes.” “I guess that explains the hair.” Shark got off from his seat and headed towards the living room. “Speak for yourself.” Rainbow Dash watched as Shark sat down on the living room couch next to the still unconscious Yuma. She then felt a hoof smack her in the back of her head. “Ow!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, turning to see that Applejack’s hoof lowering itself back down. “Why, of all the things you could possibly pull,” admonished Applejack. “Go over right now and apologize to him, missy!” “Pfft. Whatever.” Rainbow Dash sulked over to where Shark was and sat down in front of him. Her rainbow colored mane was enough of an eyesore to draw Shark’s attention to her. “What do you want?” he asked. “Would you like to stare at my hair some more?” “Rainbow!” butted in Rarity, rushing to their area. “Did you seriously criticize this man’s wonderful hairstyle? Have you no shame?” “Cool your jets, Rarity,” spoke Rainbow Dash. “I wasn’t criticizing anything. I was just saying that his hair was… different, especially since he came from another world. In fact, I kind of like it.” Shark glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was still talking. “And you know,” giggled Rainbow Dash. “I guess you’re right. Me and my friends have really wacky manes too.” Rarity gasped in surprise over her mane being labeled wacky by Rainbow Dash. Upon looking at Rainbow Dash and Rarity’s manes, along with Pinkie Pie’s over by Kite and Hart, Shark chuckled. “His name is Shark,” Rarity mentioned to Rainbow Dash. “Awesome name!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, putting her hoof out for Shark to shake. “Name’s Rainbow Dash. Don’t wear it out.” Finding her enthusiasm akin to Yuma’s, along with her attitude being similar to Tom’s, he found no qualms in shaking the hoof of the pegasus offering her friendship. Applejack came over too Shark as well. “I suppose I never introduced myself,” she said. “The name’s Applejack.” Shark shook her hoof as well. Astral observed everything with interest, still somewhat bewildered about the existence of unicorns and pegasi, yet alone ones that spoke fluent English. “Hey,” called Twilight’s voice, causing Astral to look down at the purple unicorn looking up and smiling at him. “I don’t think I saw you. Who are you?” Twilight’s ears then drooped as her face changed into an inquisitive one. “As a matter of fact, what are you?” “My name is Astral,” he spoke. “You can safely say that I’m an alien being from another world.” “An alien? A real life alien? Wow! There’s so much I want to learn from you!” Astral smiled, relating her curious nature to his own. “My sentiments exactly,” he responded. “Might I ask you for your name?” “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Astral.” “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” “And what of you?” she asked, looking at Orbital. “Just what is this machinery?” “I’m Orbital 7!” exclaimed the robot, as it proudly sprung to life. “I’m Kite’s personal servant.” “And it displays a vast amount of intelligence!” Orbital screeched slightly at her compliment, causing it to turn away from Twilight and put its “hands” on the side of its face, trying to hide its embarrassment. “It’s a good thing I’m a robot,” it said, “otherwise, I’d be blushing.” Twilight giggled at the robot’s bashfulness. Suddenly, Yuma began to stir on the couch, getting the attention of Shark, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack. “Look’s like Spiky is waking up,” said Rainbow Dash. “But I’m right here!” called Spike, still over by Alex. “No, not you, Spike. I mean this guy on the couch with the really spiky hair.” Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Kite, Hart, Orbital, Tori, Astral, Alex and Tom, came over to the couch to await Yuma when he would awake. Upon opening his eyes, Yuma saw all of his friends along with the six ponies and Spike crowded around him. He immediately shot up onto the couch, reaching to the sides and gripping the back cushions, eyes and mouth wide open. “Wahaha!” he screamed. “What in the heck are you guys?” “Yuma,” said Alex in a stern voice, “calm down. These ponies are our friends. And they can be yours too if you just calm the hell down.” Yuma took a look at the faces of each pony, who were giving him quaint smiles to make him feel at ease. Sure enough, Yuma’s look of fear and anxiousness was soon replaced by the same wonder and awe that his previous friends met them with. “Where did they even come from?” asked Kite. “Alex explained to me that they came from the planet up there,” explained Astral. “Apparently, the large landmass is an entire country known as Equestria where Twilight and her friends are the dominant race.” “Twilight?” asked Yuma, scanning his finger across the room. “Which one is Twilight?” “I’m sorry,” said Twilight, “I think some proper introductions are in order for those who didn’t meet all of us. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Each of the ponies gave their respective names as they introduced themselves. “I’m Applejack.” “Rainbow Dash!” “Fluttershy…” “I’m Rarity.” “And I’m Pinkie Pie!” said Pinkie Pie, getting up and putting her front hooves on Yuma’s chest. “Now, will you please be my friend?” “Calm down!” shouted Yuma, throwing Pinkie’s hooves off of him and back to the ground. “I’ll be your friend as long as you keep from running up to me like that!” “Oh, alright then!” “Now,” said Twilight to Alex, “who are all of these guys?” “My name’s Yuma Tsukumo!” he responded, pointing at himself with his thumb. “Shark,” he simply said, waving his hand. “My name is Kite Tenjo, and this is my brother Hart.” “I’m Tori Meadows. Nice to meet you all!” “Orbital 7, at your service!” “Which one of you ponies can see me?” asked Astral. Each one of the ponies, including Spike, raised their hooves/claw. “Was that supposed to be some sort of trick question?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Apparently,” answered Alex, “Astral is invisible to most people that don’t have Equestrian magic inside them.” “Well,” said Astral. “Yuma and his friends can also see me, but that’s because of an energy that they were exposed to on our world.” “Your world?” asked Twilight. “What does that mean?” “Shark told me that Lauren sent them here with the Orion satellite,” Rainbow Dash explained. “What? Why would she do that?” “Perhaps I can give a better explanation,” said Alex. “You know the Numbers cards?” Twilight and her friends nodded. “Yuma’s world is actually the place where they originate.” Twilight and her friends began to murmur to themselves, surprised by this news. “Anyways, Lauren was observing a duel between Shark and Yuma to get new card ideas when this supposedly massive surge of magic from Equestria interfered with the satellite. Do you remember when Lauren used to be Rae and when she tried bringing the Stones of Equus cards to Earth? The Elements of Harmony’s magic interfered with her spell, causing her to bring Equestria here. Similar case here, except the only thing the satellite pulled out were these guys.” “Cool,” said Rainbow Dash. “So, these guys are duelists?” “Duelists?” asked Yuma, suddenly sounding excited. “You mean, you ponies duel?” “Well,” answered Twilight, “we learned from Alex when we first arrived here ourselves.” “Wait a second,” said Kite, “do you happen to know who your leader is?” “Leader? Quite an erratic change in subject, but yes, I know my leader. Her name is Princess Celestia, and my friends and I happen to be personal protégés of hers.” Kite gasped, surprised by this statement. “You are? Then please, could you ask her to send us home?” “Send you home?” asked Pinkie Pie. “But we just met! I haven’t even gotten the time to throw you a party.” “A party?” asked Yuma. “Of course! I throw a party for all of my newest friends.” “Did you hear that, Kite? They’re going to throw us a party!” “Forget it,” said Kite, redirecting his attention to Twilight. “We need to find a way to return home, and seeing how you’re close to this leader of yours, you can help us return home.” “But,” said Hart, “can’t we just spend one day here with our new friends?” “I’m sorry, Hart. We don’t belong in this world. We need to return to our own.” Hart turned away from his brother before he made his next rebuttal. “…I hate you.” Every single creature in the room was appalled at Hart’s statement. “I hate you when you don’t care for others. The ponies opened up their arms to us and you want to turn them away?” “Hart…” muttered Kite, causing Hart to turn and face him again. “Just one day, please! That’s all I ask. Just one day.” Kite then looked at Twilght, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Fluttershy, and Rarity, all of whom were wearing sullen expressions upon their faces. He then looked at Pinkie Pie, who looked as if she was ready to burst into tears. Kite sighed. “Alright,” he quietly relented. “One day. Nothing more, nothing less.” “YAY!” cheered Pinkie Pie, happily hopping onto Kite’s back, piggybacking on him. Kite, once again, struggled to keep his balance as Hart and the rest of the ponies laughed at his expense, relieved that they could spend some time with their new friends. Yuma was also smiling, which went noticed by Twilight. “So,” she said slyly to Yuma, “you looked pretty eager upon finding out that we can duel. Would you care to show me your skills?” Yuma beamed, his massive energy bursting forth from him as he jumped onto the couch for dramatic effect, getting everyone’s attention. “Alright!” cheered Yuma. “I accept your challenge, Twilight! Kattobingu-da ze!”