The day following the incident, at CHS: Rainbow Dash was regaling Sunset and her other friends with the tale of her Tag Duel with Silver, and how they had spectacularly beaten two members of Team Skull Crush. Sunset could not believe how weak team Skull Crush was or their spineless actions -- but she also couldn’t understand why Silver had agreed to the illegal ante rule.
Rainbow came to Silver’s defense, telling Sunset that he was “just doing what he had to!” in order to defend Angel Wings -- and nabbing their Starving Venom and Dark Rebellion dragons was just an added bonus. Sunset wasn’t happy about the way things had gone but decided not to press the matter of Silver’s behavior anymore -- since she knew that, in the end, he had done the right thing.
Silver and Lyra arrived to join the others, telling them that he and Lyra were going to Appleloosa, Texas for the week after Silver received a letter from a woman named Barbara requesting his assistance. Lyra was concerned that the sudden plea for help might, in fact, have been some kind of elaborate trap -- so she decided to go along with him, just in case anything happened.
Silver and Lyra spent some time before their departure preparing their Runners for the long dirt roads they would be traveling on once they reached the Texan Desert. Sunset and the others gathered in front of the gates to Silver’s mansion to see the two off. Rarity packed a few things inside both of her friends’ storage compartments and told them she had prepared them some outfits for their trip -- since it would be a “crime against fashion!” if she let them roam around a western town dressed like city folk. Lyra, struck by curiosity, examined the outfit Rarity made for her -- noticing just how... flashy it was.
“Um, Rarity? No offense or anything; but not even Clint Eastwood would wear something like this around,” Lyra said, waving around the hat in her hand as she looked it over.
“Forgive me darling, but… Clint who?” Rarity asked.
“The western movie actor,” Applejack replied. “You ain’t never heard of him?”
Silver told Lyra to just accept Rarity’s generosity and warned her they were about to leave and that she should finish preparing herself. Once they were finished; the two riders waved goodbye to their friends one last time, started their engines, and set off for their destination.
After some driving, Lyra and Silver exited the city limits and decided to stop for lunch before they entered the Nevada Desert, pulling in at a local Hay Burger to eat. While ordering their meal, the cashier asked where Silver and Lyra were off to -- to which Silver simply replied “Appleloosa.”
The cashier was impressed that a couple of teenagers like them were traveling out of state at such a young age. She warned them to beware of sandstorms while riding through the deserts, but Silver assured her that they had that part covered -- since their helmets were designed to prevent them from inhaling exhaust fumes, sand would be no different. Silver and Lyra finished eating, thanked the cashier for her advice, and began their long drive through the deserts of Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Silver and Lyra rose swiftly through the Nevada Desert, intent on making it through before the sandstorm began -- a goal they only narrowly managed to accomplish, the early signs becoming apparent right before they crossed the border.
As they entered Arizona, the temperature in the air rose slightly and the terrain became a little bumpier. Silver and Lyra joked that their helmets “might get stuck” to their heads if they did not reach New Mexico in time. Eight hours passed during their stay in Arizona before they reached the New Mexican border as the sun began to set.
Finding a hotel for the night, Silver took it upon himself to clean out all the sand out of his and Lyra’s Runners and perform some additional basic maintenance while Lyra got a room for them. When Lyra returned and questioned Silver about his actions, he explained that if they allowed the sand to build up in their wheels: they would almost certainly wind up crashing or breaking down before ever reaching Appleloosa. Not quite understanding, Lyra took Silver’s words at face value -- since he was the runner expert -- and did her best to assist him in finishing up. With the wheels all cleared, the two turned in for the night so they would be able to get going as soon as possible.
The next day; the two Runners were checked out and back on the road bright and early. The New Mexico desert was even hotter than the expanses of Arizona, but Silver and Lyra kept pushing through to their destination.
Upon reaching Texas and reviewing the route, Silver regretfully informed Lyra that it was still a two-hour drive to Appleloosa from their current location. Along the way; they noticed that there were an awful lot of mines -- and people dressed in rags pushing minecarts full of some kind of ore seemed to be working in them.
Silver explained to Lyra that the ore she was looking at was called “Dyne,” a mineral used to create Duel Runners. Lyra noticed that throughout the entire trip, Silver had only really been talking about Runners -- but given his mechanic’s background and the importance of the vehicles, she realized she probably should have expected that.
As their destination neared, the two riders heard a scream rip through the sounds of the wind and pulled over to find its source. What they saw across the way was a terrible sight: a man in rags getting brutally whipped by a gang of large men in Western clothing. Before the man passed out from the intensity of the pain, he threw his locket toward the cliff where the two horrified bystanders stood. Silver caught it out of the air and in it he saw a picture of none other than Applejack and her siblings. Silver held tightly to the locket and made a vow to save the man before he and Lyra returned to the path.
The two made it to Appleloosa not long after and were greeted by a woman dressed as a showgirl upon entering the city limits. “Welcome to town! The name’s Barbara,” she greeted, sizing up the duo. “Hey; are you, by chance... Silver Chance?” Barbara asked.
“Yes; I am. And this here is my companion, Lyra,” Silver replied. “It’s nice to meet you, Barbara.”
“Likewise! I’m glad you came. As you probably read in my letter, there has been a turf war going on between the Appleloosan residents and the Buffalo tribe -- and the reason I called for you specifically, is because this involves an old friend of yours,” Barbara said.
Just as Barbara had begun to explain the situation, the bell of the tower in the Town Square rang loudly, and two men, positioned ten paces apart directly in front of it, glared at each other. Silver recognized the one on the left as his old rival, Sky Stinger, with whom he had lost touch. Both he and his opponent slowly reached for a gun-like object holstered to their sides.
Once their hands wrapped around the guns’ grip, they drew them quickly and slapped them onto their wrists, Sky about a second faster than the other man. Their “guns” transformed into Duel Disks styled after revolvers. Since Sky had been quicker on the draw, he was to have the first move. Both opponents locked eyes as they drew their opening hands.
DUEL
Sky Stinger LP: 4000
??? LP: 4000
“I’ll start by summoning Infernity Mirage!” A fiendish looking monster, resembling a Native American wearing a large, red headdress appeared on the field in front of Sky.
Infernity Mirage
LV:1
ATK:0
“I’ll wrap things up by Setting these two cards. That ends my turn,” Sky said as two face-down cards appeared behind Mirage.
“My turn! I draw!” the mystery duelist said as he added his sixth card to his hand. “I Summon my Illegal Keeper in Attack Mode.” A disturbed-looking cowboy with spindly spider legs appeared on the field with his guns drawn, moving skittishly as he eyes flicked from object to object.
Illegal Keeper
LV: 3
ATK: 1300
“Next; I activate the Spell, Hand Reset!” The mystery duelist said as a Spell Card with artwork zoomed in on the reset button on a gaming console appeared on the field. “This card forces both of us to send all the cards in our hand back to the Deck, then re-draw the same amount.”
“I activate the Trap, Full Salvo!” Sky countered by revealing a Trap depicting a barrage of missiles being fired. “This card sends my entire hand to the Graveyard, and inflicts 200 points of damage to you for each card that I discard.” Sky discarded the last two cards in his hand and two missiles materialized from within his card and flew at the mystery duelist, exploding once in range and leaving a dent in his Life Points.
Sky Stinger LP: 4000
??? LP: 3600
“Before you bother asking, your Spell won't effect me now that my hand is empty,” Sky pointed out as his opponent applied his card’s effect.
“Not that it matters. Battle! Illegal Keeper, attack Infernity Mirage!” Illegal Keeper’s hands snapped up and he repeatedly fired his guns at a blistering pace.
“I activate the Trap, Extreme Wild Fire,” Sky said as he revealed a card with a picture of a forest engulfed in wild flames. “This card not only stops your attack, it also deals damage to you equal to triple the value of your monster's ATK!” The mystery duelist began to get consumed by a very huge flame.
Sky Stinger LP: 4000
??? LP: 0
Winner: Sky Stinger
As the holograms disappeared, a stagecoach rode up to the Duelists and the drivers lassoed the mystery duelist, tossing him into a coffin and loading it in the back of the coach. Barbara explained to Silver and Lyra that the new mayor of Appleloosa declared a new policy: that if you lose a Duel in the square, you get sent to the mines inside the mountain to mine for Dyne, and that anyone foolish enough to try and escape would be beaten horribly -- and almost never heard from again.
Lyra was mortified by the horrible fate that had fallen upon Appleloosa. Silver swore on his honor that he would put an end to the system and Lyra jumped at the chance to do what she could to help -- prompting Barbara to tell them her plan.
Barbara told Silver about the two warring Duel groups, one of which was the Buffalo Tribe -- the group that Sky was currently a part of -- and that the only way to save him was to defeat him, but first; Silver needed to try and get into the town’s duel gang.
Agreeing to go along with the plan, Silver and Lyra figured now was as good a time as any to change into the outfits Rarity gave them. Silver emerged wearing a light blue cowboy outfit with a poncho that had his crest sewn on it, while Lyra came out in a similar outfit -- only in a shade of mint green instead.
Barbara took a good long look at their ensembles and laughed, saying that “not even Clint Eastwood” would wear anything like that. Lyra could only shrug and admit that she said the very same thing to their friend who had designed the outfits before they left.
Silver returned to Barbara’s house to prepare his Deck to take on these so-called “Duel gangs,” knowing that he was likely going to be in for quite the experience during his stay in the town. He could only hope that he would be able to save Sky Stinger and the rest of the citizens before it was too late.