//------------------------------// // Turn 42, Showdown // Story: Yugioh EQG // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// In a run down corner of the city, Applejack could be seen walking through it. After the Survival Duel she had decided to spend a few days going solo just to get some extra points without losing time with watching her friend's Duel. But right now it didn't look like there were any Duellists around. "This place gives me the creeps," she said looking around, "it's the middle of the day and there's no one out." That statement was soon countermanded when she saw a young boy run out of a nearby house, only to be grabbed by his mother. "Get back in this house right now," she told him, "what if there are Duellists around?" And with that they rushed back inside, leaving a very confused Applejack. "What's she got against Duellists?" she asked, but before she could say anything else she suddenly found herself the target of a rock storm. "What in tarnation?" she asked trying to dodge the small projectiles, and in looking for their point of origin she noticed someone standing on a nearby building. Quickly reaching into her bag she grabbed a piece of rope and began spinning it around, before letting rip sending it flying over to the figure and wrapped around their leg. With one quick tug she pulled the figures foot from under them, causing them to lose balance and slip off the roof. With a cry of surprise whoever it was crashed into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud. "Yee-haw," Applejack said returning the rope to her bag, "now what was that all about?" she asked only to gasped when the dust cleared revealing a young girl of about ten, with pink skin and dark pink hair. "What in tarnation?" she asked kneeling down, "are you okay?" The girl looked up at the teen and almost growled at her, "stay away from me!" "What's with the attitude?" Applejack asked, "I'm sorry for pulling you off the roof but you were throwing rocks at me." "I threw those rocks because this town doesn't need any more good for nothing Duellists," she said. "That's enough Cupcake," the two turned to see a woman that looked like an older version of the girl, but with white skin instead. "Mommy!" the girl named Cupcake said, "I was protecting our home from this Duellist." "She hasn't done anything," the woman said, "shame on you for judging her." She turned to Applejack, "I'm sorry about her." "It's fine," Applejack said. "My name is Sugar Coat," the woman said, "and that's my daughter Cupcake." "Am Applejack," the cowgirl clothed teen said, "now what's with this hatred of Duellists?" Sugar sighed, "why don't we go to my shop and I'll explain." The mother and daughter took Applejack to a small cafe that reminded her of Sugarcube Corner, only this place was old and run down. Once they were sat down Sugar explained. "It started about five years ago, when this part of town was so packed with people you couldn't walk down the street with bumping into someone." "So what happened?" Applejack asked. "Longhorn!" Cupcake said angrily, "he and his Duel Gang showed up one day and started roughing people and businesses up for protection money." "If someone didn't agree then they made life very difficult," Sugar continued, "they've run several people out of business." "That's horrible!" Applejack said, "why don't you try and so anything about it?" "We've tried," Sugar explained, "but we're no match for them physically and there's only one other option." "Duelling," Applejack asked. "We've hired the best Duellists we could afford, but each one has been bested by Longhorn and his gang and were forced to either join them or have their decks destroyed." "Meaning they definitely can't try again," Applejack said. "We can't go to the authorities because if we do we they'll only send one or two officers, and even if they manage to catch a couple of his men the rest of them would attack whoever called them." "What a bully," Applejack said, "someone needs to teach that rotten guy a lesson." In that moment a chime from the door as it opened revealing three bulky men stepped in. "Can I help you?" Sugar asked standing up while shaking. "Longhorn wants five hundred blueberry muffins," one of them said. "But...but Longhorn still hasn't payed us for the last batch," she said, "or the batch before that." "Just put it on the tab," another said. "But you haven't payed that tab in over two years." "Do we have a problem here?" the last one asked getting up close and cornering Sugar against the counter. "Leave my mommy alone!" Cupcake called out getting the thugs attention. "You shouldn't go getting into situation you have no business in," one of them said closing up to her only for Cupcake to kick him in the shins. "OW! You little." He went to grab her, only for someone to grab his arm and flip him over. "What the?" The two others looked over at Applejack who did not look happy. "Ya want to harm these good folks," she said, "then you'll need to go through me." All three thugs did not look happy. "You just made a big mistake little girl," they took out Duel Disks while Applejack did the same. "AAAARRRR!" The thugs screamed as their monsters were destroyed and their life points reduced to zero. "You'd better get out of here," Applejack said, "or else." The three growled at each other but turned and ran out the door anyway. With them gone, Applejack turned to the mother daughter duo. "Are you okay?" "Thanks to you," Sugar said. "That was amazing!" Cupcake said. "Thanks," Applejack said. "I just hope this doesn't get you into trouble," Sugar said. In an abandoned warehouse the three thugs were cowering as a bulky figure stood above. "Beaten!" he said, "by a girl." "She was really strong," one of them said. "She was a girl!" he almost yelled. "We're sorry Longhorn," they said. The figure named Longhorn stood up from his chair and walked up to them. "If this girl is so strong, we will simply have to add her to our ranks." Applejack was sitting in Sugar Coat's store enjoying a muffin while texting on her phone when she heard a loud rumble in the distance, which caused both Sugar and Cupcake to flinch in fear. "What is it?" she asked. "It's him," Cupcake said looking generally scared. Down the street a dust cloud kicked up as several Harley modelled Duel Runners ripped down the road, before finally coming to a stop in front of the store. From the biggest of the Runners stepped off a giant of a figure, who digitised his riding gear to reveal himself. He was a man with gray skin and black hair with sideburns under a black stetson. "Is that him?" Applejack asked. "Yeah," Cupcake said, "that's Longhorn." "APPLEJACK!" they heard Longhorn yell, "come out here and face me!" "There's a door in the back," Sugar said, "you can make a run for it." "No," Applejack said, "I won't run." She turned and opened the door, stepping out and walked out to the corner of the street and faced off against Longhorn. "So your the little lady who gave my boys such a hard time," Longhorn said. "Maybe if you taught them some real manners I wouldn't have to," Applejack said. "My apologies for that little incident," he said trying to sound gentlemanly, "It won't happen again." "Like I believe that," Applejack said, "you and your crew a just a bunch of criminals who need to be brought down." "Is that a challenge?" Longhorn asked, "very well. We will Duel right here." "Good," Applejack said, "and if I win you and your Duel Gang beat it and never come back." "And when I win," Longhorn said, "you will come work for me. Are we in agreement?" Applejack knew that demand was coming, but nodded in anyway. "Very well," Longhorn said, holding up an arm for one of his lackeys to attach a gray Duel Disk to. Applejack placed her own Duel Disk on and the two readied themselves for battle. Glancing around Applejack saw many people in the windows of buildings, wanting to see her beat this bully. "DUEL!" Longhorn: 4000 Applejack: 4000 "I'll take my turn first," Longhorn said, "and play Different Dimension Capsule which lets me take a card from my deck and remove it from play." A large sarcophagus appeared before it phased into the ground, "now in two turns that card will be added to my hand. Next I summon Battle Ox in ATK mode." A humanoid bull appeared wearing red armour carrying an axe. (A1700/D1000/L4) "I end my turn with a face down." "It's my turn," Applejack said, "I draw and summon Green Apple Golem in ATK." A green version of Red Apple Golem appeared. (A1400/D600/L4) "And when Green Apple Golem is Normal Summoned, I can add Yellow Apple Golem to my hand." Her deck shuffled out of card which she added to her hand, "next I play Miracle Feed. This special plant food will raise my Golem's ATK power by one thousand for this turn." Apple Golem began to grow until it was twice as big. (A2400/D600/L4) "I attack Battle Ox," the giant apple creature charged at the man cow and smashed into it. Longhorn: 3300 Applejack: 4000 "I activate my face down," Longhorn said, "Call to the Wild. This Trap activates whenever a Beast Type monster is destroyed, and lets me summon another Beast Type that's ATK points are lower then Battle Ox. I summon Raging Bull," a large red bull appeared on the field. (A1600/D1600/L4) "I end my turn with a face down," Applejack said as her monster's ATK points returned to normal. "It's my turn," Longhorn said, "I draw and I'll get rid of Raging Bull in order to summon Ushi Oni in ATK mode." The red bull disappeared and was replaced by a large pot, which let out a mist that took to form of a large monster with a bulls head. (A2150/D1950/L6) "Ushi Oni attack that over ripe piece of fruit," he ordered as the bull creature flew towards Green Apple Golem and pummelled it to pieces. "I always preferred my apples crumbled," Longhorn joked. Longhorn: 3300 Applejack: 3250 "I end my turn with a face down." Applejack was quiet shaken by the force of that attack. This guy might have been a bully but he was good. "It's my turn," she said, "I draw and activate the Spell card Graceful Charity. With this I can draw three cards, then ditch two," she did so and nodded at her new hand. "Next I'll use the effect of Astilbe Archer. By discarding a Plant Type monster I can reduce its level by two for this turn, meaning I can summon it to the field." Her archer appeared besides her. (A2000/D1000/L5) "Plus since my Apple Knight was sent to the graveyard, I can summon two Pip Tokens to my field." (A0/D0/L1)X2 "Those monsters can't hurt my Ushi Oni," Longhorn said. "Maybe not," Applejack said, "but I can when I activate my Ultra Grow Spell card. This card lets me tribute my tokens for two level four of lower Plant Monsters, so say hello to Maiden of Vines and Sylvan Marshalleaf." The tokens dug into the ground, as a pair of watering cans appeared and poured their contents onto the ground. Seconds later a pair of flowers shot out of the ground, and as their bulbs opened the two monsters appeared. (A1000/D1000/L3), (A1500/D1200/L3) "That's three level three monsters," Longhorn said. "Now I Overlay my three level three monsters," Applejack said as her monster flew up and into the opening black hole. "As the seasons bring fourth new growth, it can also bring fourth a new power," the black hole exploded in a burst of light. "I XYZ SUMMON!" The light faded revealing, "Orchard Cowboy." (A2100/D600/R3) "Next I equip my Cowboy with Turbo Revolver, which will increase his power by one thousand." (A3100/D600/R3) "Now attack," Applejack's cowboy aimed its revolver at Ushi Oni and fired. The blast ripped through the bull monster's chest, destroying it. Longhorn: 2350 Applejack: 3250 "I'll place one card face down and end my turn." "It's my turn," Longhorn said drawing, "and since it's been two turns my Different Dimension Capsule returns." The sarcophagus burst out the ground, opening up to reveal a card. "Now I can get back the card I removed earlier, before activating my face down." His card flipped up revealing a Trap. "Call of the Haunted, which will let me revive Ushi Oni." "To bad for you my Orchard Cowboy's ability, lets me remove an Overlay Unit to negate that effect." One of the monsters Overlay Unit flew into it pistol, as it aimed and fired a blast a the Trap destroying it." "Fair enough," Longhorn said not looking bothered by the loss of his card, "I'll activate this instead. Monster Reborn, revive Ushi Oni to my field." The pot returned and released the bull demon. "He's so determined to get that monster back but why?" "Now I release Ushi Oni," Longhorn said, "to summon the monster I got from my capsule. Giant Ushi Oni, arise in ATK mode. The bull demon disappeared and was replaced by a spider like creature with Ushi Oni's body in place of the head. (A2600/D2100/L8) "Not good," Applejack said. "That's Longhorn's best card," Sugar Coat said from inside her shop. "No one who's faced it has ever won," Cupcake said in fear. "I equip Giant Ushi Oni with Axe of Despair, which will raise his ATK power by one thousand points." A giant axe appeared in the monsters hands, which it raised and swung around menacingly. (A3600/D2100/L8) "Giant Ushi Oni attack Orchard Cowboy," Longhorn ordered as his monster charged at Applejack's and slashed it with the Axe of Despair. Longhorn: 2350 Applejack: 2750 "I activate my face down," Applejack said, "Overlay Recovery. This card lets me take the Overlay Units that were still connected to my Cowboy and summon them to the field with their levels increase by one." Maiden of Vines and Sylvan Marshalleaf appeared back on the field in DEF mode. (A1000/D1000/L4), (A1500/D1200/L4) "Don't think yourself safe yet," Longhorn said, "because Giant Ushi Oni can attack twice if it destroys a monster." The spider, bull demon charged once again and slashed at Sylvan Marshalleaf destroying it. "I end my turn with a face down." "It's my turn," Applejack said, "I draw and summon Yellow Apple Golem in ATK mode." A yellow version of Applejack's Apple Golem appeared on the field. (A1200/D1200/L4) "And now," she said, "am using these two monsters to build the Overlay Network." Her monster flew up and into the forming black hole. "He who watches over all growth, lend us your protection." The black hole burst in an explosion of light, "I XYZ SUMMON!" The light faded revealing, "Orchard Defender." (A1400/D2600/R4) "Playing defence huh?" he asked chuckling. "Laugh if you want to," Applejack said, "but I get the feeling my Defender will be doing some attacking against you later." "Is that so?" "Yeah," she said, "but for now I'll end my turn." "Than it's my turn," Longhorn said, "and I play the Spell card Fairy Meteor Crush. Now my Giant Ushi Oni will deal you damage even if your monsters in DEF mode." "Applejack's in trouble," Cupcake said. "Looks like we're getting a new teammate," one of Longhorn's lackeys said. "A cute one and all," another said. "Giant Ushi Oni Attack!" Longhorn commanded as his monster charged at Applejack's Xyz monster, raising its axe and brought it down. "I activate Orchard Defender's ability," Applejack said, "by removing an Overlay Unit I can negate your monsters attack." One of the Overlay Units flew into the orb in the centre of Defender's shield, and it blocked the attack completely." Longhorn growled seeing his attack stopped, "you'll run out of Overlay Units eventually." "That's true," Applejack said, "but that last move didn't just save my life points and monster but also got Yellow Apple Golem into the graveyard." "So what?" "So," she replied, "I'm just one card away from taking you down." "Is that so," he said, "well in that case I end my turn. you honestly think you can beat me now?" "Let's find out," Applejack said. "It's my turn," she placed her hand on her deck and took a deep breath, "I DRAW." She looked at her card and smiled. "I activate the Spell card, Apple Golem Grenade. This card lets me remove any number of Apple Golem from my graveyard." "What'll that do?" Cupcake asked in confusion. "Now for each Apple Golem removed, I can destroy a face up card on your field and inflict five hundred points of damage to you." Everyone's eyes went wide as they saw the three Apple Golems appear floating infront of Applejack, before they flew towards Giant Ushi Oni, Axe of Despair and Fairy Meteor Crush. Once the made contact with the cards, the Apple Golems self destructed taking the three cards with them. Longhorn: 850 Applejack: 2750 "My Giant Ushi Oni," Longhorn said, "destroyed!" "And with your field now empty," Applejack said, "I can switch Orchard Defender to ATK mode and aim a direct attack at you." Her Xyz Monster stood up and charged at Longhorn, before smashing him in the gut with one of his shields and sending him flying off his feet. Longhorn: 0 Applejack: 2750 (Winner) Everyone was in shock at what they'd seen. "You kidding me," one of his flunkies said. "Longhorn lost," another said. As Longhorn pulled himself up he looked over at Applejack, who had a confident smirk on her face. "You remember our deal," she said to him, "you and your gang get lost." "Like I'd honour that deal," he said, "get her!" He order his men, who all charged at Applejack. "APPLEJACK!" Cupcake screamed. "Get out of there," Sugar Coat said. But suddenly. "HALT!" everyone stared up at the buildings, where many police officers stood, each holding guns pointed at them. "This is the police, you are all under arrest." What are they doing here?" Longhorn asked, "which of you maggots called them." "I did!" everyone turned and gasped when they saw Shining Armor standing at the end of the street, alongside Cadance, Twilight and Spike. "Twilight," Applejack said, "you got my message." "You bet," Twilight said, "as soon as I got it I contacted Cadance and Shining who used their contacts to get to the head of police." "Turns out this Longhorn guy has quite the wrap sheet on him," Shining said. "He also has several outstanding arrest warrants against him for multiple crimes," Cadance said. It wasn't long before Longhorn was sent away in cuffs, along with many of his men. The people of the town were finally free from the Duel Gangs tyranny. "The city will reimburse you all for repairs to the buildings and anything else you'll all need to get back on your feet," Cadance said. "Thank you," Sugar said to her, before turning to Applejack, "and thank you for everything." "Aw shucks," Applejack said before feeling a pull on her leg. She looked down and saw Cupcake smiling up at her. "Applejack," she said, "when I grow up I want to be a Duellist as good as you." "I'm sorry," Applejack said, "but you won't be as good as me." "Why not?" she asked sounding hurt. "Because you'll be even better," the teen replied making the little kid smiled along with everyone else.