It's a beautiful day in the magical land of Equestria, and everypony was happy as can be...well, they were, anyway. Exactly one week ago, strange cards started appearing all over the land out of nowhere, they seemed like regular trading cards, so some ponies ignored them or collected them. That's when the incidents started; not long after ponies began picking up the cards did they began acting differently, becoming polar opposites of their former selves, and not in a good way.
One of the most recent cases was in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, an Earth Pony member of the Royal Guard, Bronze Blade, had not been collecting the cards, just throwing them in the garbage instead, seeing it all as litter. Princess Celestia didn't say we HAD to keep them, was his mindset, but he made a crucial mistake, one of the cards he picked up had a dark aura that surrounded him and seeped into his flesh, the last thing he heard was, "Let the Number take hold". Soon afterwards, he went rogue and out of control, attacking anypony unfortunate enough to stand in his way, even saying that he'll stop only if anypony beats him in a Duel with the same cards he uses, and his case was enough for the ruler of this once peaceful land to finally do something about this.
Princess Celestia, she was said ruler for over a millennia, being the near immortal Alicorn pony she is, she was just getting ready to cast an ancient spell on one of the cards she found in the streets, the name read: Cyber Dragon. With said spell, she would discover the origin of these cards and find out their intentions, but was hesitant because this spell is taxing on her magical limits.
Celestia sighs, "Well...here it goes."
Her horn lit up with a yellow aura as she began weaving her spell into the card, once it was cast, a blinding light flashed from the card and the force of spell's power threw Celestia across the Throne Room. When the light finally died down, and Celestia recovered from her unexpected flight, she looked over where the card was and saw a being she had never seen before; a bipedal monkey with very dark brown hair with a red streak in the front, crystal blue eyes were seen as they fluttered open, wearing a red t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, a weird device on his arm, a backpack strapped to his back, denim pants, and grey shoes. Once the creature woke up, he suddenly became frantic, not realizing where he is.
"Where am I?! Who or what are you?! What's going on?!" he said.
Celestia walked up to him carefully, as not to upset him further, "Calm down. To answer your questions in order, you are in Canterlot, Equestria's capital city, I am Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria and I'm an Alicorn, and lastly, I cast a spell on one of these cards that mysteriously appeared around the land to figure out what they are and where they came from."
The being hyperventilated, trying to make sense of all this, then he noticed the card Celestia was talking about, "A Duel Monsters card? What's it doing here?"
"Duel Monsters?"
He picked up the card and turned back to Celestia, somehow maintaining his cool, "Yeah. Here, let me show you." he reached into a pocket from his pack and pulled out a deck box that contained the same cards Celestia saw, he pull out three cards, which were the same as the one Celestia had, "See? I have three copies of Cyber Dragon."
After he put his cards away, he explained to her the Duel Monsters card game; how it started out small, but then flourished as many people of all ages played it, eventually leading to the invention of the Duel Disk, a device that is worn on the left wrist to make the monsters, spells, and traps become real through Augmented Reality simulations, or AR for short, he even explained that thanks to the game people have gotten closer to one another and revolutionized technology.
"Oh, sorry, I was so busy explaining everything and freaking out, though I kinda still am, that I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Yulo, Yulo Shinsetsu."
"Nice to meet you, now if I may, we have a situation here in Equestria."
She explained the cases of rogue ponies running amok, wielding the same cards Yulo has, the most recent case was in Canterlot, when a member of her Royal Guard, Bronze Blade, went AWOL and started attacking ponies at random, causing chaos in the city.
"So when he said 'Duel', he meant a battle in Duel Monsters." she concluded.
"That's exactly right."
"...Then there may be hope."
Yulo raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
"If you can defeat Bronze Blade in Duel Monsters, he may stop his rampage."
"Wait, you're telling me, a complete stranger from another world that YOU pulled me from, can defeat some pony guard reeking mayhem all over the city in a card game? Wow...that's kinda cliché."
"Please," Celestia pleaded, "my guards can't lay a hoof on Bronze, he possesses some kind of dark magic after collecting those cards that prevents us from getting close to him. So for me, my subjects, and the sake of our land, will you help us, Yulo Shinsetsu?"
Yulo appeared hesitant, if he's their only hope, what can he do? He was never good at anything when he was under pressure.
Yulo sighed, finally making his decision, "...Alright. I'll try. But only if you promise to send me back after this evil card business is done and over with."
Celestia smiled, "Thank you, Yulo."
"YOUR MAJESTY!!" one of the Royal Guard burst into the Throne Room.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Bronze Blade! He's back! And..."
"And...?"
"He's holding one of the students of the School For Gifted Unicorns hostage."
Celestia eyes widened in fear, "Is it Twilight?"
"No, somepony who looks similar to her, Moon Dancer."
While Celestia was relieved that it wasn't her faithful student, she was still worried because one of her subjects have fallen prey to Bronze's mercy, and it was one of her school's most exceptional students other than Twilight Sparkle.
The guard noticed Yulo and pointed at him, "Who's this?"
Celestia turned to the human and smiled, "The one who will stop Bronze Blade: Yulo Shinsetsu."
The guard's eyes went wide in shock as Celestia spoke to Yulo, "Come. We must hurry."
Yulo nodded, "Right."
The trio left the Throne Room and rushed through the castle to save a pony named Moon Dancer.
Bronze Blade was wearing full body armor that prevented anypony from recognizing him, dragging Moon Dancer by her tail through the several blockades of Royal Guards preventing him from reaching the Throne Room, but they all proved to be worthless against him. He broke through them with no effort using the dark magic that he acquired from the strange cards and continued his journey to the princess so he could bargain with Moon Dancer's life. But before he could even get to the hallway that led there, another guard, a bipedal creature, and none other than the princess herself, Celestia, making him grin sinisterly.
"Ah, your highness, so glad you could greet us with your presence...well, presences." Bronze said, motioning to the other two with her.
"Enough of this tomfoolery! Release the young pony known as Moon Dancer!" Celestia ordered.
"Oh, I will...if you can beat me."
"In Duel Monsters?"
Bronze gasped slightly, "How did you..."
"Recently acquired information. As for your proposal, I can't...but he can." Celestia stepped to the side to let Yulo step forward towards him.
"The monkey looking thing?"
Yulo took his Deck out of his deck box and inserted it into his Duel Disk, activating it; a flap extended outward and four more pieces extended from the flap's sides, two for each side, the five in the center had an arrow pointing at the slots where the Monster Cards go, they also had five slots below them for Spell and Trap Cards, and the two slots at the very ends had two prism shaped arrows pointing left and right, one blue, one red, known commonly as the Pendulum Zones, after his Deck was put in, the Duel Disk initiated its auto-shuffle feature, the name is self explanatory.
Bronze was surprised at this, but then sneered, "So...somepony has finally come to challenge me. Very well then." he raised his left hoof and a dark version of Yulo's Duel Disk materialized in a plume of dark magic, scaring the other ponies around them, he inserted his own Deck and it auto-shuffled it. "Let's make this interesting, if you win, I'll let the girl go, but if I win, I become king and you, Celestia, will step down. What do you say?"
"The princess would never agree to—!" the guard was stopped by Celestia's hoof.
"I accept your terms."
"What?! But your highness, surely you can't be serious!"
Celestia smiled, "Don't worry. I have faith in Yulo." She nods towards him in acknowledgment.
Yulo nodded back at her and turned to his opponent as the rainbow lights shined from their Duel Disks, activating them.
Just then, a computerized voice spoke, "Augmented Reality Vision Link established."
Yulo stared down his opponent, "Ready?"
Then they both shouted, "Let's Duel!"
When they did, a Life Point counter appeared above both of them.
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 8,000 LP
"I'll go first, but I can't draw or battle on the first turn," Bronze said, "so, I'll summon Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode!" With that, an elf like warrior appeared wearing green armor and wielding a longsword in both hands, ready for battle.
Celtic Guardian: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1200
Everypony was in awe at Bronze summoning a monster out of nowhere, despite having no magic like a Unicorn.
"Your move."
Yulo smirks, "Alright, I draw!" Yulo examined his hand and the card he drew, "Since you control a monster and I don't, I'm able to Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand!" He slapped a card down on the Monster Card Zone and a wingless, leg-less robotic dragon roared as it appeared.
Cyber Dragon: Lv. 5 / ATK: 2100 / DEF: 1600
Everypony, especially Bronze, was shocked at how he could summon a powerful monster just like that.
"But guess what? I'm not done yet! I still have my Normal Summon, which I'll use to summon Pitch Black Warwolf in Attack Mode!" A humanoid wolf wearing war-torn armor and wielding a strange sword appeared, snarling at its opponent.
Pitch Black Warwolf: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 600
"Now, Warwolf, attack that Celtic Guardian!" The wolf charged forward, sword at the ready to strike the elf warrior down, when the blade made contact, the elf exploded in shards of light.
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 8,000 - 200 = 7,800 LP
"Cyber Dragon, direct attack!" The robotic dragon rushed towards Bronze, stopped in front of him, and blasted him with a ray of light from its mouth, making him scream in pain despite that it's just a hologram.
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 7,800 - 2,100 = 5,700 LP
"Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Yulo concluded.
"Grr! I'll show you! I draw!" Bronze sneered at what he drew, "First, I'll summon Warrior of Zera in Attack Mode!" A muscular warrior wearing green and blue armor and a red scarf wielding a draconian sword appeared.
Warrior of Zera: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1600
"Next, I'll play Monster Reborn, and bring my Guardian back from the Graveyard!" A green card appeared and out came the elf warrior from before, "Now, I Overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"
The two warriors turned into orange lights and swirled around themselves as they flew into the air and into a galaxy like portal.
"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"
The portal exploded in a rush of rainbow lights.
"I Xyz Summon...Number 85: Crazy Box!"
Out of the rainbow explosion, a massive mismatched cube with an eye poking out of its side and an 85 marked on its other side emerged with two orbs of light circling around it.
Number 85: Crazy Box: Rank 4 / ATK: 3000 / DEF: 300
"Number?" Yulo said.
"That's right! And it has quite an ability!" One of the orbs flew into the cube's eye, "You see, by using one of its Overlay Units, I can roll a six sided die, and its ability depends on the die's result."
"Gambling, huh? Fine then."
A giant virtual die appeared on Bronze's side of the field and with a flick of his hoof, the die flew into the air and rolled on the floor, resulting in a 5.
"Yes!" Bronze exclaimed, "Now, I can destroy one card on the field!" He pointed at the dragon, "And I can't think of any better card than your Cyber Dragon!"
Suddenly, the eye of the cube shot out a laser beam at the robotic dragon and it exploded, the rush of wind from the attack knocking Yulo down to the floor.
"Stay down if you know what's good for you!"
Yulo grunted from the pain, but powered through it and stood back up, "I'll show you just what I'm good at, pal!" He drew his next card and smiled, "...Let's rock." One of Yulo's facedown cards revealed itself to be a green framed card with a picture of a swirling vortex, "I activate Polymerization! And with it, I fuse the two Cyber Dragons in my hand to create...the Fusion Monster, Cyber Twin Dragon!" Another robotic dragon with two different heads appeared on the field.
Cyber Twin Dragon: Lv. 8 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2100
"This changes nothing! Your fusion tactic was just a waste of time! That monster isn't strong enough to destroy Crazy Box!"
Yulo smirks, "Who said he was?"
"Huh?"
Yulo's last facedown revealed itself, "I play the Trap Card, Raigeki Break! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy any one card on the field!"
"No!"
"Yes! I discard the only card in my hand, Winged Kuriboh, to destroy your Number monster!" Yulo sent his card to the Graveyard and a massive lightning bolt struck the cube and it exploded. "And now you're wide open for an attack! Warwolf, attack him directly!"
The wolf warrior charged forward and slashed Bronze, diminishing his Life Points.
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 5,700 - 1,600 = 3,100 LP
"That doesn't faze me! Your Twin Dragon isn't strong enough to finish me off, so I'll make a comeback on my next turn!" Bronze declared.
"Don't count on it!" Yulo says confidently.
"Huh?!"
"You see, Cyber Twin Dragon has an ability of his own, he can attack twice on the same Battle Phase!"
"What?!"
"Go, Cyber Twin Dragon, direct attack number one!" The first dragon head blasted a beam of light at Bronze.
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 3,100 - 2,800 = 300 LP
"Now, finish this with one last attack!"
The another dragon head charged up its attack as Bronze was cowering before it.
"No...No..." Bronze uttered, fearfully.
The dragon blasted its final beam at Bronze as he screamed.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Yulo: 8,000 LP
Bronze: 300 - 2,800 = 0 LP
WINNER: Yulo
With that, the AR link shut itself down and Bronze Blade collapsed in a heap, falling unconscious. The Royal Guard recovered from their fatigue from fighting and went in to arrest Bronze Blade, while Yulo walked over to Moon Dancer and untied her from her bindings.
"You okay?" Yulo asked.
Before she could answer, a dark aura surrounded Bronze and floated above him, morphing into a fearful face that screeched in agony and dissipated into nothing with the dark Duel Disk following suit and the cards in it scattering on the ground.
"...Well. That happened."
After that eerie little spectacle, the guards properly restrained Bronze if he woke up. Celestia walked up to Yulo and Moon Dancer with concern written on her face.
"Are you okay, my little pony?" Celestia asked.
"Y...Yes. A little shaken up, but I'm fine." Moon Dancer answered.
Celestia nodded and turned to Yulo with a smile, "I am in your debt, thanks to you, not only is one of my school's students safe, but you also put an end to Bronze Blade's rampage, for that you have my deepest gratitude."
Yulo blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head, "No need for any praise, I just did what I thought I had to do."
"That doesn't make it any less noble." Yulo smiled at Celestia's kind words.
"Um..." the two turned to Moon Dancer, "If I may Your Majesty, I would like to study more about this Yulo and these cards of his, I thought they were just regular trading cards, but now I want to know more. Is that okay?"
Celestia smiled, "Of course, but first we must address to the public that Bronze Blade has finally been stopped."
After at least three hours, everypony in Canterlot were gathered to the front gates of the Canterlot Castle, awaiting their princess to tell them the news she had obtained. Soon enough, she appeared on the balcony with a fanfare of trumpets behind her, making the ponies below her cheer and bow afterwards.
"Please rise, my subjects." everypony did just that and awaited the princess's words, "As you all know, the pony known Bronze Blade has recently acquired dark magic and caused mayhem all over Canterlot." the ponies murmured fearfully at his name, "But as of today, I had inadvertently pulled another being out of another world who knows about the cards he used and he managed to best him in his own game, to sum it up, Bronze Blade has been stopped and apprehended." the crowd cheered loudly at that bit of news, but Celestia raised a hoof to settle them down, "Now, this being may seem a bit strange to you all, but I assure you, he is completely harmless to friendly ponies. Fillies and gentlecolts, I give you the hero who has risked himself to protect us from Bronze's madness...Yulo Shinsetsu!"
That was Yulo's cue as Celestia stepped aside to allow him to step on the balcony, making the crowd below him whisper in shock.
Yulo cleared his throat and began to speak, despite that he didn't like to be a public speaker, "Ponies of Canterlot, I know you were afraid of Bronze and what he was capable of, but he has been stopped by me, but admittedly, if it wasn't for Princess Celestia bringing me here, you all still would've suffered. Now that I'm here, I will do what I can to prevent any more incidents like this one arising in this world, this I promise you all."
It was silent at first, but then a pony began clapping, then another, and then the whole crowd began to follow, erupting into ecstatic cheering for their new hero. Yulo and Celestia stepped off the balcony with the former kneeling to catch his breath, Celestia went to help him, but he raised a hand up to stop her.
"It's okay...anxiety issues...that's all." Yulo panted out.
Celestia and her guards escorted him to his room for the day to rest up after everything that's happened. Yulo, exhausted from absolutely everything, plopped down onto his new bed and passed out immediately. The last thought running through his mind was that Number card that Bronze had used.