The train ride to the Crystal Empire was mostly a quiet one, nopony wanting to say anything about the overwhelming possibility of Fluttershy and Applejack’s defeat, and with it, their transformation into cards. Nopony except for Pinkie, that is.
“Anypony wanna play a game?” Pinkie asked. “Hey Red, how about a Duel? I’ve gotten waaaay better since our last game! Me and Dashie have been playing a lot and we even found deck themes to match our personalities! Dashie has these super cool HERO monsters while I got a hold of these wacky Toons and-"
"Shut up!" Red shouted, drawing everypony's attention away from the windows. "We're on our way to go pick a fight with a fucking God and this is how you're acting!?"
"Well, it's just that everypony being so glum, and I just wanted to try and lift your spirits..." Pinkie said.
"I'm sorry." Red began. "It's just that I'm a little on edge, it kind of feels like it's my fault that we don't know where Applejack and Fluttershy are, these Duels are just as dangerous as the ones I do back home, nobody should have life or death Duels forced upon them."
"No Red, it wasn't your fault." Twilight said as she walked towards him. "I shouldn't have sent them to just wander Canterlot alone."
"Now darlings, you shouldn't be so hard on yourselves." Rarity said. "Neither one of you were responsible for what happened to them."
"Yeah!" Rainbow said. "We just have to go beat up Ernesh and all of this will go back to normal!"
"Why do you think it'll be that easy?" Twilight asked.
"You know, that's how it normally works." Rainbow said. "Somecreature starts making an attack on Equestria, and after we beat them up, everything goes back to normal, you know, like when Princess Luna came back as Nightmare Moon, when King Sombra came back, or just recently with the Storm King's invasion."
"Yeah, I'm with Dashie here." Pinkie said. "Normally it takes 22 minutes for us to solve a problem, although this feels like one of those times it takes 44 minutes. Oh! Or that time where we had to use the power of that chest that made your castle! That took us like, 24 intervals of 22 minutes! Although if you want to add it all up, I guess it would be 528 minutes. Or 31680 seconds!" Everyone looked at Pinkie in sheer confusion as she went on her time tangent, except for Red, who was looking out the window again.
"Right, well, I think we should use this down time to go over all our decks and give them any boost they might need, we're all probably going to have to Duel at some point." Twilight said. "Red, you have any last minute advice?"
"Huh? Oh, well all I can really say is make sure you're down to 40 cards with a 15 card Extra Deck. Unless you're playing Monarchs that is." Red began. "Say, what decks are you guys running? I have my trusted Red-Eyes deck ready for both Ground and Riding Duels, but if it isn't useful for any reason, I can still switch back to my Gem-Knight and Gladiator Beast decks at any moment, but what are you running?"
"Wait, you're still playing Gem-Knights?" Rarity asked.
"...Yeah. Why?"
"Well, it's just that I-"
"Rarity, what deck are you running?" Red asked.
"I'm...playing Gem-Knights." She said, preparing for the verbal destruction Red was about to unleash on her.
"Seriously Rarity?" Red asked. "Well, let me tell you something. Friends don't steal friend's decks. Not even the idea. Now, if two random strangers play the same deck, that's one thing, but when one person plays a deck only for their friend to go out and play that exact same deck, that's a problem. Look, just play something else, alright? There's literally hundreds of decks to pick from, surely there's something that isn't already taken that you'll be interested in." Red said. "Now, what about the rest of you?"
"I've got Psychics, they focus on rapid Synchro Summoning." Twilight said.
"My deck is focused on summoning Horus the Black Flare Dragon LV8 as fast as possible." Spike said.
"Elemental HEROES! Truly a deck as awesome as I am!" Rainbow said.
"And I've got Toons!" Pinkie said. "They attack directly regardless of the opponent's monsters and are really funny to watch!"
"Alright, now I say we go over the specific cards in our decks to see if there's anything we can improve on." Red said. "I'll go first. My Red-Eyes deck is-"
"Look outside the window." Said a voice on Red's Duel Disk.
"What the hay was that?" Rainbow asked, her wings outstretched in shock.
"It was a two way microphone on my Duel Disk." Red explained. "It's how me and the opponent explain our card effects in a Riding Duel, but it's only supposed to activate in response to a D-Wheel, so that means-!" Red looked out the window as the voice instructed, only to be shocked at the sight of a human in a blue jacket on a bright red D-Wheel that he recognized all too well. Without a single word, Red pulled his goggles over his eyes, grabbed his board from his back and ran for the edge of the train car as his Duel Disk activated.
"Red, wait! There has to be a better way than-" Twilight began to say before Rainbow cut her off.
"Wait, are they gonna have a Riding Duel!? I gotta get in on this!" Rainbow said as she quickly flew out the train by Red's side.
"Red Rocket!" The man shouted. "If we Duel here, the innocents on the train would get hurt. Let's take this somewhere less populated."
"Fine by me." Red responded as the Duelists and Rainbow turned away from the Friendship Express.
"Hey Red, you sure we can trust this guy?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, he is only one of those dead guys Ernesh brought back to life."
"Rainbow, I'm not sure how I can put this into words, but I trust his Duelist's spirit, and I've wanted to Duel him my entire life." Red said."I'll trust him as far as Duelling is concerned."
"He's taking us away from our friends! Don't you find that even slightly problematic!?" Rainbow exclaimed.
"For good reason." The man interrupted. "In this world, the abundance of magic gives mass to the Solid Vision. By Dueling next to the train, we'd only be putting innocent lives in danger. Now then, I take it you both know the stakes of this Riding Duel?"
"Yeah, we do!" Red said. "And I also know that you're Yusei Fudo!"
"Good!" Yusei said. "Activate Field Magic, Speed World!" Yusei pressed a button on His D-Wheel as his console screen, the screen on Red's Duel Disk and a holographic screen that appeared in front of Rainbow read out DUEL MODE ON-MANUAL
RIDING DUEL
ACCELERATION
Red 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
Rainbow 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
Yusei 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
“I’ll take the first turn!” Yusei shouted. “First, I summon Quillbolt Hedgehog in Defence Position!”
(Level 2, 800 ATK/DEF)
“Now I place one card in reverse, turn end!”
“It’s all me!” Rainbow shouted.
Red 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
Rainbow 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
Yusei 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 3
Rainbow waved her hoof in front of her, materializing five digital cards in front of her face. “I summon my Elemental HERO Ocean!” She shouted as she tapped one of the cards with her hoof, causing it to dematerialize.
(Level 4, ATK 1500 DEF 1200)
“That’s all for now! Your turn Red!”
“Here I go!”
Red 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 5
Rainbow 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 4
Yusei 8000 LP 2 SPC
Hand: 3
“I summon my Red-Eyes Baby Dragon in Defence Position!”
(Level 3, 1200 ATK 700 DEF)
“Now I set two cards face down and end my turn!”
“It’s my turn! Because all players have taken their first turn, I draw!” Yusei shouted.
Red 8000 LP 3 SPC
Hand: 2
Rainbow 8000 LP 3 SPC
Hand: 4
Yusei 8000 LP 3 SPC
Hand: 4
“I summon Speed Warrior in Attack Position!”
(Level 2, 900 ATK 400 DEF)
“Is that it?” Rainbow asked. “900 Attack Points isn’t enough to match my monster, and Red’s dragon is in Defence Mode, so-”
“During the Battle Phase of the turn Speed Warrior is Normal Summoned, its Attack Points are instantly doubled.” Yusei interrupted.
“Wait, so that means its Attack goes up to-!? Um, how much, exactly?” Rainbow asked, looking to Red for the answer.
“1800.” Yusei said.
(Speed Warrior 900 -> 1800 ATK)
“Speed Warrior! Attack Elemental HERO Ocean! Sonic Edge!” Yusei’s monster dashed up to Rainbow’s monster before spinning on its hands to kick it in the face, destroying the monster.
Rainbow 8000 -> 7700 LP)
“Now I place one more card in reverse.” Yusei said as a giant hologram of his card appeared face down beside his D-Wheel. “During the End Phase, Speed Warrior’s Attack will be returned to normal.”
(Speed Warrior 1800 -> 900 ATK)
“Then it’s my turn again! I draw!” Rainbow shouted as she waved her hoof in front of her face again, materializing her new 5 card hand.
Red 8000 LP 4 SPC
Hand: 2
Rainbow 7700 LP 4 SPC
Hand: 5
Yusei 8000 LP 4 SPC
Hand: 2
“Aw yeah!” Rainbow shouted. “Looks like this will be quick! I activate my Speed Spell - Speed Fusion! I’ll fuse the Elemental HERO Heat and Elemental HERO Voltic in my hand to Fusion Summon Elemental HERO Nova Master!”
(Level 8, 2600 ATK 2100 DEF)
“Battle Phase! Elemental HERO Nova Master! Attack that Speed Warrior!” Following Rainbow’s command, her monster materialized and threw a fireball towards Yusei’s Speed Warrior.
“Reverse Card, open!” Yusei shouted as he pressed a button on his D-Wheel’s console. “Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! This trap card will negate one attack.” As Yusei’s trap materialized, the fireball Rainbow’s Nova Master threw struck it instead of the monster it was intended for. “After using Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, I can set it face down again instead of sending it to my Cemetary.” Yusei said as his scarecrow returned to its card and went back to the face down orientation.
“Ugh, I end my turn!” Rainbow said.
“My draw!” Red shouted.
Red 8000 LP 5 SPC
Hand: 3
Rainbow 7700 LP 5 SPC
Hand: 2
Yusei 8000 LP 5 SPC
Hand: 2
“Damnit.” Red thought to himself. “Yusei has at least one Scrap-Iron Scarecrow on the field, and who knows what that other face down is. I could summon Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, but I still have no out to his Scarecrow, and it would leave my hand empty…” Begrudgingly, Red said: “I end my turn without playing a card.”
“Then it’s my turn. Draw.” Yusei said.
Red 8000 LP 6 SPC
Hand: 3
Rainbow 7700 LP 6 SPC
Hand: 2
Yusei 8000 LP 6 SPC
Hand: 3
“To begin my turn, I summon Road Synchron!” Yusei shouted.
(Level 4, Tuner, 1600 ATK 800 DEF)
“Now, I’m Tuning my Level 4 Road Warrior to my Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog and Speed Warrior! Gathering hopes will evoke a new horizon! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Dash onward, Road Warrior!”
(Level 8, 3000 ATK 1500 DEF)
“Once per turn, Road Warrior lets me Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my deck! Come forth! Road Runner!”
(Level 2, 300 ATK 300 DEF)
“Battle Phase! Road Warrior, attack Elemental HERO Nova Master! Lightning Claw!” Following Yusei’s command, Road Warrior flew towards Rainbow’s monster and shredded it to pieces. Rainbow flew up to avoid the ensuing explosion.
Rainbow 7700 -> 7300 LP
“Lastly, I’ll place one more card in reverse. Turn end.” Yusei said.
“My draw!” Rainbow shouted.
Red 8000 LP 7 SPC
Hand: 3
Rainbow 7300 LP 7 SPC
Hand: 3
Yusei 8000 LP 7 SPC
Hand: 1
“Awesome! I drew exactly what I needed!” Rainbow said. “Check this out! First I’ll play my Speed Spell - Angel Baton! I need 2 Speed Counters to play this card, but it lets me draw 2 and discard 1! I’ll discard my Elemental HERO Bladedge, who I now revive with my Monster Reborn!”
(Level 7, 2600 ATK 1800 DEF)
“Rainbow!” Red shouted. “What the hell is wrong with you!?”
“What do you mean?” She responded. “I got out a high level monster on the field easily!”
“You used a non-Speed Spell to do it!” Red shouted. “Didn’t you listen when I explained the rules of Riding Duels to you!?”
“Uh, kinda?” Rainbow responded. “What’s so wrong with it?”
“When a player activates a non Speed Spell Magic Card, Speed World will inflict 2000 points of damage to them.” Yusei interrupted.
“What!?” Just then, Rainbow felt immense pain all around her, almost as if the wind itself was trying to rip into her.
Rainbow 7300 -> 5300 LP 7 -> 5 SPC
“Well that would’ve been good to know beforehoof-!”
“I did tell you beforehand!” Red shouted. “It even says so on the actual Speed World card! You have no one to be mad at except yourself for not reading the card!”
“Whatever! I end my stinking turn!”
“Goddamnit Rainbow, I draw!”
Red 8000 LP 8 SPC
Hand: 4
Rainbow 5300 LP 6 SPC
Hand: 2
Yusei 8000 LP 8 SPC
Hand: 1
“Metalmorph! Perfect!” Red thought to himself. “Alright, now I just need to get Rainbow’s Bladedge off the field to protect her, and I can wipe out that Road Warrior before it generates any more unwanted card advantage!” Red pressed a button on the back of his Duel Disk as one of his face down cards rose to reveal itself. “I activate my facedown Speed Spell - Speed Fusion!” He shouted. “I’ll fuse the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight in my hand! Appear, from the black miasma of hell! The armored dragon of nightmares! Fusion Summon! Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
“And that’s not all! Now I overlay the Level 7 Red-Eyes Slash Dragon and Elemental HERO Bladedge! With these two monsters, I build an Overlay network!”
“What the!? Bladedge is my monster!” Rainbow shouted.
“Rise, the hellish inferno dragon of legend! My flaming anger incarnate! Rank 7! Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!”
(Rank 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF, 2 OLU)
“Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon attacks Sonic Chick! Hell Flame Burst!” Following Red’s command, his dragon launched a large blast of fire from its mouth towards Yusei’s hedgehog.
“I activate my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” Yusei shouted. “This negates one attack, and then it sets itself face down again to be used next turn!”
“Good play Yusei, but you overlooked one thing about my dragon.”
“What?”
“When the opponent activates a card or effect, immediately after it resolves, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon inflicts 500 damage to them! Red-Eyes! Roast him!” Red shouted as his dragon began to spew a continuous stream of fire towards Yusei.
Yusei 8000 -> 7500 LP
“Now I set one card and end my turn!”
“It’s my turn!” Yusei said. “Draw!”
Red 8000 LP 9 SPC
Hand: 1
Rainbow 5300 LP 7 SPC
Hand: 2
Yusei 7500 LP 9 SPC
Hand: 2
“With Road Warrior’s effect, I’ll Special Summon Shield Wing from my deck in Defence Position!”
(Level 2, 0 ATK 900 DEF)
“Battle Phase! Road Warrior Attacks your Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!”
“I activate Metalmorph!” Red shouted as he pressed a button on the back of his Duel Disk. “This Trap Card equips itself to a monster I control and boosts its Attack by 300 points! Obviously, my Equip target is Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon! Lightning Claw!”
(Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon 2800 -> 3100 ATK)
“The battle continues! Red-Eyes, counter!”
“I activate my Give and Take Trap Card!” Yusei shouted as he pressed a button on his D-Wheel’s console. “This lets me Special Summon a Monster from my Cemetary to your side of the field in Defence Position. Now take my Speed Warrior!”
(Level 2, 900 ATK 400 DEF)
“What the-? Why would you summon a monster to my-!” Red asked, before realizing the answer himself. “When an opponent’s card effect resolves, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon inflicts 500 damage to the opponent’s Life Points!” He shouted as Red-Eyes breathed a stream of fire towards Yusei.
Yusei 7500 -> 7000 LP
“I can increase the level of one monster I control by the level of the monster I gave you, but more importantly, a replay occurs!” Yusei said.
(Road Warrior Level 8 -> 10)
“Wait, what’s a replay?” Rainbow asked.
“When a monster is summoned to the opponent’s field when you attack, you can decide to either stop the attack then and there, or redeclare it to any monster the opponent controls.” Yusei explained. “Road Warrior! Attack Speed Warrior!” Without hesitation, Yusei’s monster dashed towards Speed Warrior and cleaved it in half, destroying it completely. “Lastly, I’ll place one more card in reverse, turn end.”
“Ah yeah! It’s my turn now!” Rainbow shouted.
Red 8000 LP 10 SPC
Hand: 1
Rainbow 5300 LP 8 SPC
Hand: 3
Yusei 7000 LP 10 SPC
Hand: 1
“Awesome!” Rainbow said as she looked at her hand of cards. “First, I Summon my Elemental HERO Stratos!”
(Level 4, 1800 ATK 300 DEF)
“When Elemental HERO Stratos is summoned, I can add a HERO to my hand, and I’m picking Elemental HERO Solid Soldier! Now I activate my Speed Spell - Speed Fusion! I’ll fuse my Elemental HERO Stratos with my Elemental HERO Solid Soldier to Fusion SUmmon my ELemental HERO Gaia!”
(Level 6, 2200 ATK 2600 DEF)
“When Elemental HERO Gaia is Fusion SUmmoned, I can target one monster the opponent controls, and take half its Attack Points into itself!” Rainbow shouted. “And I’m targeting your Road Warrior!”
(Road Warrior 3000 -> 1500 ATK)
(Elemental HERO Gaia 2200 -> 3700 ATK)
“And that’s not all! Now I activate my Miracle Fusion! I’ll take a beating, but no pain, no gain!” Rainbow said, despite the agonizing pain she felt from the activation of her non Speed Spell.
Rainbow 5300 -> 3300 LP 8 -> 6 SPC
“I’ll banish my Elemental HERO Nova Master and Elemental HERO Stratos from my Graveyard, and Fusion Summon my Elemental HERO Great Tornado!”
(Level 8, 2800 ATK 2200 DEF)
“When Elemental HERO Great Tornado is Fusion Summoned, all monsters the opponent controls lose half their Attack and Defence!”
“Shit!” Yusei said under his breath.
(Road Warrior 1500 -> 750 ATK/DEF)
(Road Runner 300 -> 150 ATK/DEF)
(Shield Wing 0 -> 0 ATK 900 -> 450 DEF)
“Holy shit!” Red thought to himself. “Could Rainbow have just been faking being bad at Dueling this whole time? That’s fucking amazing! We’re bound to win now!”
“Battle Phase!” Rainbow shouted. “Elemental HERO Gaia! Attack Road Warrior!”
“I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!” Yusei shouted. “This will negate one attack, then set itself face down again to be used next turn!”
Yusei 7000 -> 6500 LP
“Now I attack it again with Elemental HERO Great Tornado!” Following Rainbow’s command, her monster flew towards Yusei’s monster and punched it, causing it to shatter like a mirror.
Yusei 6500 -> 4450 11 -> 10 SPC
“And with that, I end my turn!”
“My draw!” Red shouted.
Red 8000 LP 11 SPC
Hand: 2
Rainbow 3300 LP 9 SPC
Hand: 0
Yusei 4450 LP 11 SPC
Hand: 1
Red looked at the card he drew with a smile. “Yusei! Here comes the winning play! I activate my Speed Spell - End of the Storm! I can activate this Speed Spell only when I have 10 or more Speed Counters, and it destroys all monsters on the field, then inflicts 300 points of damage to each player for all their destroyed monsters!”
“Wait, you’ll just destroy our monsters too!” Rainbow said.
“Not quite! While Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon has XYZ material, it cannot be destroyed by card effects!” Just then, a violent storm emerged from Red’s Spell Card, the wind destroying his baby dragon, Rainbows HEROES, and Yusei’s defending monsters.
Red 8000 -> 7700 LP
Rainbow 3300 -> 2700 LP
Yusei 4450 -> 3850 LP
“Now I activate the secondary effect of my Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon! By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can target a Red-Eyes Normal Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it! I’ll detach Elemental HERO Bladedge, now be reborn! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
“Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack Yusei directly! Inferno Fire Blast!”
“I activate my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! This-”
“I activate my Red Reboot!” Red shouted. “By paying half my Life Points, I can activate this Trap Card from my hand to negate the activation of your Trap Card, then set it again! Although you do get another Trap from your deck.”
Red 7700 -> 3850 LP
“Then in that case, I’ll set Angel Lift from my deck.” Yusei said as he grabbed the card ejected for him and put it in his Spell/Trap zone.
“The attack continues! Red-Eyes! Burn him!” With Red’s command, his dragon launched a massive fireball from its mouth directly towards Yusei.
Yusei 4450 -> 2050 LP 11 -> 9 SPC
“Alright Red!” Rainbow said. “Now hurry up and finish him off!”
“I...I...I can’t!” Red said.
“What!? Why not!?”
“Because, throughout my entire life, I’ve idolized this man on a similar tear to your idolization of the Wonderbolts! I...I just can’t bring myself to kill him, even in such a warped from, I...I end my turn!”
“Red, look at yourself!” Rainbow shouted. “We’ve got all of Equestria at risk here, and you’re refusing to win because of who we’re playing!? That’s-”
“The declaration of Turn End is one that under no circumstances is to be revoked, no matter the situation.” Yusei said, interrupting Rainbow. “It’s my turn! I draw!”
Red 7700 LP 12 SPC
Hand: 0
Rainbow 2700 LP 10 SPC
Hand: 0
Yusei 2050 LP 10 SPC
Hand: 2
“First, I’ll Normal Summon my Junk Synchron! And when Normal Summoned, Junk Synchron allows me to Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Cemetary, and my target is Road Runner. Lastly, I chain my Angel Lift Trap Card! This will revive a Level 2 or lower monster from my Cemetary, and my target is Shield Wing!)
(Level 3, Tuner, 1300 ATK 800 DEF)
(Level 2, 900 ATK 500 DEF)
(Level 2, 0 ATK 900 DEF)
Yusei 2050 -> 1550 -> 1050 LP
“Now, I’m Tuning my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Road Runner and Shield Wing!” Yusei shouted as his Junk Synchron pulled an engine cord on its torso as it turned into three green rings that Yusei’s Synchro materials flew into. “Gathering roars turn into an echoing arrow which tears through the sky! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Archer!"
(Level 7, 2300 ATK 2000 DEF)
“Junk Archer’s effect! Once per turn, Junk Archer allows me to target one monster the opponent controls and Banish it until the End Phase! I Banish Red-Eyes Metal Flare Dragon! Dimension Shoot!” Yusei’s monster fired an arrow from its bow towards Red’s metallic dragon, causing it to fall down a portal that materialized beneath it.
“Shit!” Red shouted as he placed the card in his back pocket and slid the remaining XYZ material and Metalmorph card into his Graveyard.
“Now that that’s taken care of, I activate my Speed Spell - Angel Baton! This allows me to draw two cards, but then send one to my Cemetary!” Yusei shouted as he drew two cards, smirking as he slid one into the Graveyard slot on his D-Wheel. “The sent card was Executioner - Makyura! For the rest of this turn, I can activate Trap Cards from my hand! I’ll start by activating Reckless Greed, and draw two cards from my deck!”
“Wait, he gets to draw two cards for free!?” Rainbow asked. “What makes it so reckless!?”
“Reckless Greed forces the player who activates it to skip their next two Draw Phases, but I’ve got a feeling he’s going to try and keep it from mattering.” Red explained.
“Now, I activate two more Reckless Greed! I’ll draw four more cards! Now, I activate my Speed Spell - High Speed Crash! I’ll destroy my face down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to destroy your Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
“What the-” Before Red could finish his sentence, Yusei’s Scarecrow materialized itself and flew towards Red’s Dragon, causing an explosion that destroyed both of them.
“Now, I activate my Speed Spell - Fallen Synchron! This lets me Banish Synchro Material monsters from my Cemetary to Synchro Summon a monster, but the summoned monster is Banished during the End Phase! I Banish my Level 4 being treated as Level 2 Road Synchron along with my Level 2 Speed Warrior, Road Runner, and Quillbolt Hedgehog!” Yusei shouted as transparent images of his monsters appeared above his D-Wheel. “Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”
(Level 8, 2500 ATK 2000 DEF)
As Yusei’s dragon materialized, Red was left speechless in awe at the sight of his idol’s ace monster. “Stardust...Dragon…!”
“So Red, you wouldn’t happen to have your Solemn Judgement card, would you?” Rainbow asked, a bead of sweat dripping down her face.
“What the? This isn’t Stardust!” Yusei shouted as he looked down at his D-Wheel’s playing field, noticing that his card had completely different artwork and effect text. “Stardust Spark Dragon? When did this get in my-” Just then, Red and Rainbow noticed a dark aura surrounding him. “Ah! Get out of my head!”
“Red Rocket!” Yusei shouted, his voice sounding much deeper as if he were possessed by a demon. “You should have finish this Duel on the last turn! And for your misplay, you shall be reunited with Starlight and Trixie!”
“What? How do you know about Starlight and Trixie!?” Red demanded. “Their fates are unknown to even most of Equestria! How do you know about them!?”
“Because the one who orchestrated the events was I, Ernesh!” Yusei shouted. “The Duel continues! I activate my Speed Spell - Power Baton! By sending a monster from my Main Deck to the Graveyard, I can increase the Attack Points of one monster I control by an amount equal to the Attack of the monster I sent! I’ll send Max Warrior to the Graveyard to give Junk Archer an additional 1800 Attack Points!”
(Junk Archer 2300 -> 4100 ATK)
“Now I activate my Speed Spell - Final Attack Orders! This will double the Attack Points of one monster I control, but it will be destroyed during the End Phase, and my target is Stardust Spark Dragon!”
(Stardust Spark Dragon 2500 -> 5000 ATK)
“Battle Phase! Stardust Spark Dragon, attack the Red Rocket directly! Shooting Blast of Darkness!” Following Ernesh’s command, the dragon fired sonic waves towards Red, directly hitting him.
Red 7700 -> 2700 LP 12 -> 7 SPC
“Red Rocket! It’s over! Junk Archer, attack him directly! Scrap Arrow!” As Junk Archer took aim at Red, he gathered his composure and pressed a button on the back of his Duel Disk.
“I activate my face down Red Dragon Revival!” He shouted as the card revealed itself. “Once per turn, this allows me to Special Summon a DARK Dragon type monster from my Grave-”
“I activate Dust Tornado!” Ernesh interrupted. “This lets me destroy one Spell or Trap on the Field, and because Makyura the Destructor is still in effect, I can activate it from my hand, and because your Red Dragon Revival is a Continuous Trap, destroying it will cause it to resolve with no effect!” Just as Ernesh slid the card into Yusei’s D-Wheel, the card appeared beside it and a blast of wind flew through Red’s card, destroying it instantly. “The Attack continues! May you find peace with your friends, Red Rocket!”
“Red”! Rainbow shouted. “You’ve got a better shot at this than I do! Looks like it’s all on you!” Before Red could notice what she said, Rainbow flew towards Red and kick him off his D-Board, effectively redirecting the direct attack towards herself.
Rainbow 2700 -> 0 LP 10 -> 0 SPC
As Rainbow began fading away and dissolving into a card, Red picked himself up, and ran towards the pony that saved his life. “Rainbow! Rainbow!”
“Looks like I really crashed…” Rainbow said. “Go on Red, you’ve got a better chance than I do. Take this guy down, and save Equestria for us…” Before she could say anymore, Rainbow completely dissolved into a card in the snow.
“Well then.” Ernesh said, pulling Yusei’s D-Wheel up to where Red and Rainbow had been. “I wasn’t aware you could physically intercept an attack to redirect it in a Riding Tag Duel. However, with two monsters at over 4000 Attack Points, you might as well-”
“Ernesh!” Red shouted, his anger causing the possessed Duelist to recoil in his seat. “First you taint the souls of Legendary Duelists, then you steal the souls of innocent ponies, now you treat them like nothing but cards!? I’m ending this now! During the End Phase, the effect of Power Baton ends, returning Junk Archer to its original Attack value, and Stardust Spark Dragon will be both destroyed and Banished by the effects of Final Attack Orders and Fallen Synchron!”
“I activate the effect of Stardust Spark Dragon and my face down Imperial Iron Wall! Once per turn, Stardust Spark Dragon will negate the destruction of any monster I control, and Imperial Iron Wall prevents either player from Banishing cards! I end my turn!”
“Lastly, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon returns to my field! I draw!”
(Rank 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
Red 2700 LP 8 SPC
Hand: 1
Ernesh 1050 LP 11 SPC
Hand: 0
“I activate my Speed Spell - Synchro Defuse! This lets me take control of a Synchro Monster you control, and my choice is Stardust Spark Dragon!” Red shouted, as the white dragon above both Duelists slowly floated over to Red’s field.
“What!? Impossible! How could you draw that card in such a critical moment!?”
“Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon, attack Junk Archer! Inferno Hell Flame Burst!” Following his command, Red’s dragon launched a larger than normal fireball from its mouth towards Junk Archer.
Ernesh 1050 -> 550 LP
“It’s over! Stardust Spark Dragon, attack this bastard directly! Shooting Sonic!” Following Red’s command, the Stardust Spark Dragon he stole fired a series of sonic blasts from its mouth towards Ernesh, shredding Yusei’s body into pieces.
Ernesh 550 -> 0 LP
As the body of his opponent dissolved into another card, Red looked at what remained of Rainbow Dash, and began to shout to the sky. “MARK MY WORDS ERNESH! I WILL DEFEAT YOU, AND AVENGE ALL THE LIVES YOU’VE RUINED!” However, Red then began to look around him, before coming to an unsettling realization. “Wait, the train tracks are nowhere in sight, and neither is the Empire! Wh-where am I supposed to go!?”