//------------------------------//
// Art of the Runner 
// Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! EG: Neo W.R.P.G U.S. Selection Arc 
// by foxmaster 
//------------------------------//

In front of the base of the portal Twilight and Starlight emerged from, Starlight was shocked by her new form. Twilight -- remembering how she had been mostly the same way her first trip through -- explained how the portal worked to Starlight, calming her and giving her a bit of time and confidence to get used to her new form. Twilight explained the situation to Sunset and the others and after hearing Twilight's description of the thief Sunset know who it was.

“So that's what Team Skull Crush is up to...” Sunset theorized.

“Who's Team Skull Crush?” Twilight and Starlight asked in unison.

“They are the most dangerous team on the Pro Circuit; they are known for severely injuring their opponents before their matches and cheating in the ones they actually do play. No one can report it to the officials because they’re good at covering their tracks so they leave no real proof,” Sunset explained.

“Pro Circuit?” Twilight asked, reminded of something from back in Equestria.

“The Pro Circuit is a series of Turbo Duel tournaments where the greatest Turbo Duelists compete for the title of the world's Greatest Turbo Duelist,” Sunset explained.

Twilight and Sunset simultaneously realized what these “Skull Crush” goons were going to use Twilight’s experimental magic prisms for. Sunset, remembering the chaos that had ensued during the Midnight Sparkle incident, told Twilight and Starlight they needed to stop them as quickly as physically possible. 

Twilight asked Sunset where they were going to be, and all Sunset could really tell her was that they were going to be competing in the US Grand Prix. Evidently, they were impossible to track down, as their base was well-hidden, likely cloaked somewhere in the city in plain sight. Sunset came to the conclusion that the only way they could get the prisms back was to beat them at the US Grand Prix before they could enact their plan.

Sunset, knowing now she needed to get a squad together quickly, asked if Twilight and Starlight wanted to join her team -- to which they agreed since they honestly had no one else they could turn to. Sunset informed the two others of the unfortunate fact that they had only two months before the Grand Prix and decided to use that time to teach them everything she knew about the Duel Monsters card game and about Turbo Duels. 

Twilight and Starlight, fortunately enough, already knew about Duel Monsters, as a version of the same card game existed in their world and they had tried it out for a time, so they were already halfway there! All they needed to do now was to learn about Turbo Duels, a process that they were sure would be difficult as neither -- being ponies and all -- had ever ridden anything even remotely like a motorcycle before. Sunset decided to ask Principal Celestia if she and her team could use the school track to practice, a request that the principal in question was happy to approve of.

Silver came to the school as soon as Sunset had contacted him in regards to the arrival of Twilight and her student, with a few older practice Runners as per her orders. Silver drove up to the school in his car; complete with a hitch carrying the two necessary Runners.

Sunset told the others about Silver Chance -- how he was a skilled programmer and a highly-regarded Runner technician. Silver wished he could have been of more help, but he regretfully informed the group that he had his own team to work on... and a third duelist to recruit. Sunset thanked him for the help he had been able to provide, all the same.

When the time came for Starlight and Twilight to actually try riding the Runners, Sunset told Twilight to try and think of the time she spent learning to fly, as the mechanics behind her wings would probably translate well into learning to ride a Runner. Twilight remembered what Rainbow Dash taught her about flight -- especially her lessons about turning -- and even managed to make an almost perfect sharp turn; before she flew off her Runner. 

Sunset was relieved she had also procured some safety equipment from the gym beforehand. 

Starlight, on the other hand, was a bit slower on the uptake -- hitting the gas harder than necessary and falling off her runner before even reaching the first turn. Not willing to give up, the two persevered, and on her second attempt Twilight made it past the first turn! But, due to her inexperience, she couldn’t keep it going and fell off part of the way through the second. 

Starlight had observed exactly how Twilight made the turn, and by mimicking how she had done so she managed to complete a whole lap without falling off. Sunset and Twilight were both impressed with Starlight's fast progress, congratulating her. 

Twilight, inspired by her student, kept going until she had finally mastered how to ride a Duel Runner. 



Meanwhile; back in Equestria, Rainbow Dash was scouring Twilight’s massive castle, looking for Twilight so she could help settle a dispute between herself and Applejack, but she was nowhere to be found. When she finally caved in and checked the library, she found a note on the table, reading as such:

“Dear everypony, sorry to disappear so suddenly like this; but Starlight and I left for the human world through the mirror to hunt down a thief that stole an important experiment I was working on. Don’t worry about us -- we will be back as soon as possible. Just try not to get into any trouble while I’m gone! 

Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.”

Skimming through the letter a few times to make sure she understood the situation, Rainbow flew off and told the others about Twilight’s absence after gathering them together, echoing her message about not worrying too much. 

Applejack decided to put her and Rainbow's dispute aside until Twilight came back, calling a temporary truce. The others weren’t too terribly concerned about Twilight since this had become pretty normal for her as of late. Everypony agreed to go about their days as normal until Twilight returned, and went back to what they had been doing.



In the human mirror world, behind the Silver Mansion; Silver and Lyra were back at it again -- practicing for the courses they would be facing during the US Grand Prix. Silver programmed his Solid Vision generator to create virtual copies of every possible race course they figured they would encounter during the tournament. 

They spent a while practicing loops and vertical turns while keeping their cards from falling out of the holder, as the loss of their cards made for a decent bit of incentive. They succeeded after only a few attempts and decided to stop training for the day. Worried about their progress, Silver decided to go check on Sunset and her team. Silver grabbed his keys, and he and Lyra drove to CHS to check on the newly-formed team.



Twilight and Starlight were resting, exhausted after driving a complete three laps around the track. Sunset decided it was time they moved up to real Runners, since the practice models were pretty sub-par, performance-wise, and would be unfit for the Grand Prix. 

Silver and Lyra arrived just in time to hear Sunset's resolve. Silver, glad to help as always, invited Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset back to his workshop -- where he’s built plenty of custom Runners for his friends and family. 

Once there, Silver asked if they had any blueprints -- or even some general ideas -- of what kind of designs they wanted. Taking note of Silver's Runner and how it had sleek wings equipped to it, Twilight asked if he could do something along the same lines with her own. Silver agreed and asked if there was anything else she wanted to include in its final design. Twilight said she was fine with that, and told Silver he could feel free to include anything else he thought would be necessary. 

As for Starlight, she just wanted something quick and functional that could keep up with the rest of her team. Silver had the three girls wait a few minutes while he sketched out the base designs, and showed them to Sunset and the others when he was finished -- and they were amazed at how Silver had managed to design something so perfect for both of them in such little time.

“These are amazing, Silver! How much will we owe you for them?” Sunset asked.

“Eh, let’s say it’s no charge this time. Consider these gifts, for saving our school and all,” Silver replied. “I’ll have your Runners ready to go by sometime next week,” he added as he pinned the plans to his drawing board.

“Uh, that will be just fine! I’m sorry for making this request on such short notice, by the way,” Sunset apologized.

“It's OK! Lyra and I still have plenty of time for training. Besides, what are friends for?” Silver replied.

After a round of quick farewells; Sunset, Twilight, and Starlight left and decided to go back to Sunset's apartment so Twilight and Starlight could settle in. It seemed they would be here for a while, after all. 

Silver went right to work on the commissioned Runners Sunset and the others had asked for and began looking through his inventory for the parts he needed. Lyra, tired of waiting in the background, decided she would help him and try to get the Runners ready even just a little bit faster.

“Silver, do you think maybe I can I help you out?” Lyra asked nervously.

“Sure! I could really use it. But; I must warn you -- this is some very advanced stuff, so I will try and explain things as simply as I can,” Silver replied as he continued to parse through the materials he had available.

Silver decided to start off by constructing Twilight's Duel Runner since hers would likely take much more time. He began by building the frame, making it look as similar to her pony form in her own world as he could, only a drab metallic gray instead of vibrant lavender. He then lined the wheels up with the axles and placed the support pins inside. Next, he laid out the parts he would be using to build the wings and horn that would eventually be placed on the machine and asked Lyra to help him paint the frame and the miscellaneous parts. Lyra was very excited to help out with the painting, as she enjoyed that particular art form more than most. 

Silver informed Lyra that they would need the “midnight purple”, “indigo”, and “pink” containers of paint. Silver grabbed two airbrushes and hooked a container of midnight purple to each of them. He shook them both and handed one to Lyra. At first, the excited girl went a bit crazy with it, but Silver told her to ease up a bit -- that painting a vehicle “requires a slow and steady touch, you know?” Lyra contained her excitement and slowed down, and she managed to give the wing a neat, even coat of paint to match the opposite wing that Silver had already completed.

Next came the horn; which would come to serve as the damage projector for any effect damage Twilight would inflict on either herself or her opponent. As it was a relatively small and simple part, Silver was able to finish the paint job quickly all by himself. Once complete, he laid it next to the wings. 

After that was done; Silver and Lyra began painting the main body of the Runner, and after the purple parts were all finished, Silver wheeled the dolly he had set them on before they had gotten down to work into the cooling chamber to let the paint dry. While the main parts were being cooled and dried, Silver decided to work on the armored plating that would be welded to the main body, the onboard computer, and the Duel system. 

Silver gave Lyra a detailed picture of what color was to be used on what part of the plating -- and reminded her once again to be slow and steady in her technique -- while he went to work on programming the Duel interface and onboard systems. Lyra painted the plating indigo, likening it to Twilight's mane, and included some pink streaks as well. By the time she finished, Silver had already completed the Duel interface, and he decided to check on the body’s progress. 

Silver grabbed his coat and gloves and entered the cooling chamber to retrieve the main body and the additional add-ons. Pleased with the results, Silver wheeled the parts out and placed them into his heating room to melt the ice off. Silver told Lyra that it was time to put the paint away while he wheeled the plating inside the cooling chamber.

After Silver exited the chamber, he then went back to the heated room and retrieved the body and add-ons. While Silver and Lyra waited for the plating to cool off and harden, the intercom system inside Silver's workshop buzzed loudly, causing the two to jump in surprise.

“Master Chance; there is a ‘Ms. Applejack’ here to see you and Ms. Lyra,” Silver’s family butler announced over the intercom speaker.

“Applejack? All right, let her in,” Silver said as he removed his coat and gloves.

The butler escorted Applejack down to Silver's workshop and left them to get back to his other duties with a curt bow. Applejack explained that she had stopped by to bring Silver and Lyra some of her family's famous fizzy apple cider after Sunset had told her and their other friends all about the Duel Runners she had asked Silver to build.

Silver told her about the progress he had made on Twilight's Runner, and how Lyra had helped him out with the detail work. Applejack, Lyra, and Silver each popped open a bottle and took a short break. Silver, not one to break for too long, checked his watch after only a few minutes and grabbed his coat and gloves. He went into the cooling chamber to retrieve the plating and move it to the heating room. 

Silver told Applejack that he and Lyra were almost finished with the frame, and asked if she would like to stick around for a bit longer to watch them work. Applejack accepted his offer and decided to watch Silver and Lyra in action. 

With the thawing process finished, Silver wheeled the plating out and told Lyra to put some gloves and face protection on while he looked for his welding torch. She quickly obliged, ready to see some sparks fly. Silver had Lyra hold the plating in place while he welded it to the rest of the body. With the plating all welded down the fresh Runner looked more like a real custom Duel Runner one would see going wild on the track. 

Silver installed the wings and horn next, now that the body of the machine had been put together. He included a storage space beneath the seat so Twilight could carry anything she needed in a convenient fashion. After the headlights and seat were properly installed as well, Silver then hooked up the onboard computer and ran a few diagnostic tests to check the Runner’s basic functions. Finally, Silver then installed the last -- and most important -- part of any good Duel Runner: the engine.

Silver figured that since this was Twilight's first-time Turbo Dueling, he would install a decent standard-issue engine instead of his experimental prototype. No need to be needlessly fancy or anything. With that out of the way, Twilight's Runner was almost ready. All Silver needed to do now was to take it on a test drive, and check the wings, horn, and boosters to make sure it all worked out like he had planned.



Silver programmed the Solid Vision generator to create, in his own words, the “perfect track” for testing the wings. This track came with a ramp with a nine-foot gap between it and the next batch of solid ground. Silver mounted the runner and turned the ignition. He waited for the onboard computer’s countdown to reach zero and took off.

Silver first put the handling to the test, and it worked perfectly -- even for a novice. Next, he tried out the boosters, and they managed to push him close to 88 MPH, and very close to the ramp. As the ramp swiftly approached, Silver activated the wings and the runner glided seamlessly over the gap and landed safely on the other side. 

After the test run, Silver declared Twilight's Runner complete and ready to go! Silver, Lyra, and Applejack decided to take this chance to relax again -- after Silver refilled Twilight's tank and threw a tarp over it for protection. 

Silver decided he would begin work on Starlight's Runner after school tomorrow and that it was best to take a breather for now. Applejack was impressed by how much time and work went into building even a single Duel Runner. 

Silver declared proudly to Applejack that once he took over his father's company, he would change the direction from weapon-construction to building the best Duel Runners in all the world. 

As they spoke, Silver Chance’s father Silver Bullet walked in and asked Silver how the Runners he had promised his friends were coming along. With pride, Chance told him he that he had just finished one of them about ten minutes ago, and had even tested it himself. 

Bullet was impressed by how much detail and testing his son put into his work, and knew that his company would be in very good hands once he retired.



Meanwhile; in an alleyway next to a local diner, the group of girls once knows as “Sirens,” the Dazzlings -- were defeated in a duel by a mysterious girl wearing a blue hood. The mystery girl took each of the Dazzling rarest cards upon their loss.

“Ooh, not my Black Rose Dragon! Any card but her!” Sonata whined as if her favorite childhood toy had been snatched away from her.

As the mystery girl mounted her Duel Runner and took off for the open road, she opened the locket around her neck and spoke softly to the picture of Silver Chance that lay inside.

“Soon... I: Lightning Dust will be able to stand on the same stage beside you, my silver soulmate,” Lightning Dust whispered as she drove off into the darkness.