//------------------------------//
// Big Bro Battle (Big Mac vs OC) 
// Story: Dueling Around Canterlot 
// by Darthvalgaav 
//------------------------------//

It was on a warm, pleasant Thursday afternoon as an old rickety pickup truck made its way onto Sweet Apple Acres. Leaves fell gently from the trees, riding on the winds until they landed in the back of the truck to coat the various tools it contained. Items like large hammers, a small anvil, and many more items that looked very heavy yet rested on a tool belt. Eventually the truck made its way to a spot close to the barn where it then parked, allowing its driver to exit.


The driver was a teenage boy, dressed in a heavy (and very filthy) long sleeved shirt and overalls. His light grey body was a bit thicker with muscle than the average person his age, demonstrated by him effortlessly lifting his tool belt and putting it on after retrieving it from the back of his truck. A single leaf fell onto his hair which had a similar flame-like appearance to that of Sunset Shimmer, but was cut shorter and slicked back in order to keep it out of his eyes. As he grabbed his hammer, the boy heard the familiar sound of boots against the gravel behind him. He took a deep breath in order to keep his heart rate steady, then turned to see if it was who he thought it was.


“Howdy Forge,” said Applejack. Forge, or Coal Forge on his driver’s license, did his best not to make a fool out of himself as he saw her. But it was hard as, when he saw her, the world seemed to slow down a bit more each time. Heart shaped leaves that defied reality suddenly began to fall and cheesy love songs began to play in the background. Thankfully for him this only lasted a moment or two and he was able to recover quick enough so as to not make this awkward.


“Hey AJ,” said Forge as he straightened his belt. “You said the axle broke again.”


“Yep,” said the farmer girl as she gestured to him to follow. Together, they walked into the barn where her brother Big Mac was already hard at work baling hay next to an old fashioned horse drawn wagon. As soon as he came in, Forge could clearly see that the metal axle under the wagon had snapped cleanly in two. He watched as Applejack walked towards it, crossing her arms as she did with a frown on her face. “Broke last night when Apple Bloom an her friends were off having a bit of a joy ride on it. Think ya can fix it?”


Forge didn’t answer right away, instead moving closer to it in order to get a better look. Once he was on hands and knees, Forge looked at the area that had snapped before gently tracing a finger over the area. He performed a few other tests which didn’t require any fancy gadgets or anything like it, needing only his hands as he had been trained to do. As he did this, Forge became aware that someone was watching him. Without looking he knew it was Mac for his bailing had become slower. That and the simple fact that Mac did this every time he came over to help.


“I wouldn’t recommend fixing this,” said Forge after he stood up, not bothering to dust himself off. “I can tell that the area that snapped wasn’t properly hardened the right way. Too many quenches making the metal too brittle. There might even be more fractures along the spine. My personal opinion is that you should get it replaced.”


Applejack briefly bit her lower lip. “Oh,” she said. “Ya…Ya sure?”


Forge nodded. “I could weld it back together, but it’ll be like putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm. It’ll hold for awhile, but sooner or later it’ll just break again.” Applejack slowly nodded and Forge had been helping the Apple Family for as long as he could remember as their go-to blacksmith. At first it had been more for practice, welding together things that had busted before moving on to making horse shoes and other such things around the farm. Nowadays he was skilled enough not to need the practice, but still came when AJ or Granny Smith called asking for help. Because of this he knew what was going on in her head. She was thinking about how much it would cost to get a replacement. Judging by her expression money was tighter right about now. Asking him to weld it together would give them time to save up for a brand new one. But that would run the chance that, if it broke again before they had time to save up they would be in trouble. Or someone might get hurt. It was a bind.


Thankfully, Forge had already thought about that on his way here. “Listen, Applejack,” he said gently while Mac’s work became slower still. “I just got done with a bunch of my work for the medieval festival and there was some left over material. More than enough to make a new axle for the wagon. I’ll make you a new one for the same price as fixing this one.”


Applejack’s eyes widened. “Woah, now hold on there partner,” she said as she pointed a finger right into his chest. “Ah can’t accept something like that!”


“Its no problem,” said Forge as he took her finger and lowered it with his hand. “It was already bought and paid for, so it’s not like its costing me anything. Besides it was just going to sit there until I wanted to work a project sooner or later so this works out well for me. So I figure I can kill two birds with one stone: work on a project and help a friend.”


For a moment, the two stood there very close. So close that he could easily count every cute freckle on her face as well as smell what she had for breakfast. He was still holding her hand in his which had relaxed a bit. Now he wondered what she was thinking or if this was the best time to pop a question he had been meaning to ask. A part of his brain told him to go for it! But another part warned him that this might come off as a string attached and that she would only go along with it because she owed him one. Something Forge didn’t want at all.


It was then that Mac cleared his throat, causing both teens to separate quickly. Turning his head to glance over at AJ’s older brother, he saw that his work had completely halted. He was standing there, gripping his pitch fork so tightly that the metal wielder was surprised it hadn’t shattered. Then there was the look that he was giving Forge. It wasn’t threatening…just yet. More like a very, very, very stern warning that Forge got loud and clear.


“Well, if ya insist,” said Applejack as she smiled in an awkward manner. Forge, for his part, mirrored it as she moved backward. “Ah guess Ah’ll get back ta work. Thanks again partner.” With that, AJ turned to walk out of the barn.


As she did, Forge took a moment to admire her figure. If anyone ever asked him, he would say that he thought that Applejack was definitely hotter than Rarity or Fluttershy. The fact that her hands weren’t soft but a bit slightly rougher than a normal girl's, her more muscular body from working on a farm, those lovely green eyes and long blonde hair that smelled of straw. Yeah, he found all of that really attractive. But her looks weren’t the only reason he liked her. Both of them were old fashioned, preferring to do things with their own hands. Heck, Forge refused to save up and buy a power hammer for his work even though it would save him a great deal of time while AJ would do any construction job on her farm herself and still do her own chores.


Slowly his hand reached for his back pocket were a pair of tickets rested. He wanted to take this moment to ask her out, just to see if they were right for each other. After all, just because you have a lot in common with each other doesn’t always mean you are meant for each other. The best way to do that was to spend time with each other. However, the sound of Mac clearing his throat again caused Forge to pause long enough for Applejack to be out the door.


-x-


“Let me guess, you choked again,” came a laughing voice from Forge’s phone. It was about an hour later and Forge was back on the road. He had spent his time in the mostly silent barn taking measurements of the axle so he could recreate it perfectly, jotting everything down onto a notepad before saying his goodbyes and driving off.


“Yes Jester, I choked,” grumbled Forge to his friend as he made a turn. If he hadn’t been driving, Forge would have pounded his head against the wheel.


“I just don’t get it,” said Jester with his voice still full of humor. “You’re not afraid of flames shooting out of a barrel of oil and into your face, power tools really close to your hands, swinging that hammer over and over again that could crush your hands if you’re not careful, but a cough from Big Mac causes you to lose your nerve. Dude, it's not hard. Just ask her out and if that guy tries to pull the overly protective big brother card just say its Applejack’s choice! There, problem solved. Or just ask her out when you know he’s not around. Like when she’s at work or something. Oh look, I solved the problem…AGAIN!”


As Jester laughed some more, Forge let out a sound of annoyance. “You do know how important family is to Applejack, right?” he asked.


“Well, yeah. Dude, everybody knows that. I just don’t see how…oh.” At that moment, Jester’s voice became more serious as understanding filled him. “I get ya now. You don’t want to cause a rift between them.”


“That’s the last thing I want to do,” said Forge as he came to a stop light. “Think about it, I ask her out in front of him and he objects then they’ll have a fight right in front of me. Even if she still agrees I’ll never know if she accepted it because she likes me or to spite her brother. Then she’ll spend the whole day being miserable or something like that. Might be better if I ask her out when he’s not around, but I’m afraid of what he’ll say to her when she comes back home.”


“Or what he’ll do to you,” added Jester as the light changed from red to green. “I heard a rumor that, back in Jr. High this one guy asked her out without asking Mac first if it was ok. Don’t know what Mac did to the kid but he didn’t show up to school for three weeks! People thought he was dead!”


“Great,” groaned Forge as he turned onto his street. Within moments he pulled into his family’s driveway and parked the truck. “So, any idea what I should do?”


“Well~” began Jester in a sing song voice. “If the rumors are true and Mac is operating under the outdated belief that you need to ask his permission to date his sister then that’s what you do. Just walk up to him when he’s alone and say ‘I want to take your sister out’. If he says yes, they you get the gold. If he says no, then you need to show him that you’re willing to fight for her.”


Forge’s eyes widened at that. “Ok, hold on right there. I can’t fight Big Mac! There’s no way she would ever go out with me if I did that.”


“Don’t be so literal,” sighed Jester. “Just challenge him to a duel or something. And if he says no, show you won’t give up and ask her out anyways. But…don’t do anything too reckless, ok? We really need you this weekend in one piece.”


-x-


The next day found Forge driving up into his usual parking spot at Sweet Apple Acres. While he had started on the axle, it was far from ready. Right now it was in a shed that was his forging area along with all of his tools. Today all he had with him was a duffel bag which he kept close to him as he exited the vehicle. After closing the door, he looked over at the barn where he hoped Mac would be with a look of focused determination. Today was going to be the day, now or never.


Calmly he made his way to the barn and, sure enough, there was Big Mac. Today he was stacking large bales of hay on top of each other. Despite it being much warmer than the previous day, Mac didn’t look like he was sweating or struggling any. He just kept working until he turned around and noticed Forge moving towards.


“Done already?” Mac asked, not stopping in his work.


“Not yet,” replied Forge. “I just wanted to ask you something about Applejack.” As he said this, Forge noticed Mac slow down. The older man looked over at the teen blacksmith with a frown on his face. “I was planning on asking her out this weekend. Just wanted to see if you were cool with it.”


Mac gave him a nod, something that took some of the weight off Forge’s chest. “Thank ya for asking me. It means a lot.” Mac then paused before his eyes hardened a bit. “No. Ah don’t want ya askin’ her out. Just leave her be.” Then, as if nothing had happened, Mac went back to his work. “Now, ah believe ya promised mah sister ya would fix that axle. Better get to it. We need the wagon up and going soon.”


“Wait!” Forge shouted. “That’s it? No? Not even a reason why?”


“If ya really knew mah sister, then ya would know why,” Mac said without turning to look at him.


“But I-”


“No,” interrupted Mac, putting down a bale of hay harder than he normally would have. “Nothing ya can say that would change my mind.”


“Well I’m not giving up,” said Forge as he thought of Applejack and the tickets he had in his back pocket. Mac turned to look at him with a frown while Forge dropped his duffle bag. Before Mac could say or do anything, the younger man had bent down to open the bag before pulling out his duel disk. As he stood up, Forge looked at Mac who had a look of surprise. “I challenge you to a duel. If you win then I’ll walk away from this…for now and get back to work on that axle. But if I win, then you let me ask her out on a date. It’ll be her choice and I’ll respect whatever she says. Deal?”


At first Mac said nothing, just looking at the Forge before changing his focus to the device on the blacksmith’s arm. As the seconds passed, Forge began to wonder what he was going to do if Mac said no. That his word was final and not going to change no matter who won. Or that he didn’t have a deck so that they would have to do something else. Did Mac even know how to duel? In all the time he had spent here he had never seen the guy with so much as a single card. He just worked all day. Then, much to Forge’s surprise, Mac nodded.


“We’ll duel,” said Mac as he turned and began to walk to a side of the barn. Forge followed the path Mac would take, easily spotting an old work bench on it. When Mac got there, he bent down and reached down underneath it and pulled out an old dented up tool box which he gently set on the workbench. “Only one small change. If ya really want ta date mah sister, then ya got ta be willing ta put it all of the line. All or nothing, ya hear? So if ya lose, then ya give up the right to ever ask mah sister out on a date.” As he said this, Mac opened up the tool box and pulled out a duel disk with the deck already inside. Quickly he strapped it on and activated it, pumping his fist in Forge’s direction. “Deal?”


Forge didn’t need a moment to think, activating his own duel disk. Yes, it was crazy to risk everything like this. Not when he could walk away and try something else later. But Forge knew in his heart that Applejack was worth the risk. He also had faith in his skills and his deck. So, as their duel disks connected, he moved to the opposite side of the barn across from Big Mac.


“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side was Forge while the other was Big Mac. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Forge.


“I’ll start,” announced Forge as his life point count appeared on his duel disk: 8000. “I draw.” With that, Forge drew before looking at the six cards in his hand. He then selected one of the cards and placed it on his duel disk. “I’ll start by placing one monster in face down defense position. Then I’ll set two cards face down and end my turn.” As Forge said this, the cards materialized in front of him.


“Ah draw,” said Mac as he drew his sixth card. He looked at it…and grinned. “Mighty good hand. Ah’ll start by summoning my Silent Paladin in attack mode!” As Big Mac slapped the card onto his duel disk, a woman appeared before him with 500 attack points. She was a beauty to be sure, with long golden hair that was tied up in a pony tail held up by a winged hair piece. Her bangs covered one of her piercing blue eyes as looked sternly over the field. In one hand she held a spectral blue sword while in the other was a shield of blue and silver. Her purplish armor looked light and she had a flowing white cape. “When this noble lady is summoned Ah can search mah deck an add one Silent Swordsman LVL 3 or one Silent Magician LVL 4 ta mah hand. So Ah’ll be chosen Silent Magician LVL 4.” With that, a card spat out of Mac’s deck which he took. Once the card had been pulled out the deck began to shuffle itself about.


“Next Ah’ll play the spell card Photon Lead which lets me special summon one level four or lower light monster in my hand to the field in attack position. So Ah summon Silent Magician LVL 4 to the field!” Appearing there on the field was a small child wearing a large pointed white hat, white robes, and carrying a wand. “But mah magician won’t be staying here for long. I tribute it to special summon Silent Magician to the field!” A bright blue pentagram circle appeared on the ground with Silent Magician LVL 4 standing in the middle. The child began to glow bright blue, then white, before being replaced with someone else. It was a woman in her late teen or mid-twenties wearing blue form fitting robes with a white line in the middle. Forge noticed that there were slits running down the sides of her robes in order to show off her slender legs. Her hat was like a mix of a ten gallon cowboy hat and that of a wizard’s. She had long flowing white hair and instead of a wand she had a short staff with a glowing blue stone at the end. Her attack was 1000.


“Silent Magician here is a special lady,” said Big Mac as he held up his hand. “For starters, she gains 500 attack for each card in mah hand. Right now ah’m holdin’ four which means she gains a total of 2000 attack points.” Forge winced as he watched Silent Magician begin to glow while her attack point changed from 1000 to 3000. “She also has another handy trick up her sleeve: the first spell card ya activate each turn gets negated. Now, ah attack with mah Silent Magician. Silent Burning Nova!” Silent Magician held out her short staff before making a sweeping motion with it, the path she created leaving a line of white light. It then began to grow larger and larger until it touched the ground, then flying across the field towards Forge’s face down monster which flipped over. Said monster looked like an anthropomorphic rhino wearing thick silver armor and a circle of six pointed shield above his head. While the monster had a very impressive defense of 2100, it didn’t stand a chance against this attack.


Well, not without some help.


“I activate my face down,” Forge called out as one of his face down cards revealed itself. “Defense Tactics! I can only activate this card if I control a Gladiator Beast monster. This turn, my monsters aren’t destroyed and I receive no battle damage. Then, this card goes to the bottom of my deck!”


“Fine,” grunted Big Mac as he looked at his hand. “Ah guess Ah can’t attack with Paladin so mah battle phase ends. So-”


“Wait right there Mac,” interrupted Forge. “During the end of the battle phase, the effect of my Gladiator Beast Hoplomus activates. If it attacked or was attacked and survived, then I can send it back into the deck and special summon another Gladiator Beast. So I’m tagging in Gladiator Beast Murmillo!” Hoplomus vanished from sight only to be quickly replaced with a weird looking fish man that had 800 attack points. There was pink webbing between his fingers as well as in-between his arms and torso. On his back rested two large sea shells. “Now, when Murmillo is special summoned I can destroy one face up monster on the field. I’ll also activate my other face down card: Double Tag Team. This trap card lets me special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from either my hand or deck when one is special summoned onto my field. So I’ll be bringing to the field Gladiator Beast Bestiari!” As jets of water fired from the seashells onto Silent Magician, destroying her, another half human half animal creature appeared on Forge’s side of the field. It was a large, thin green bird with darker green armor on. The feathers on the back of its head were read and had dart guns on each arm. Its attack was 1500.


“Not bad,” admitted Mac. “But when mah Silent Magician is destroyed by battle or your card effects, she lets me special summon any Silent Magician monster in mah deck while ignoring the summoning conditions. So ah bring out Silent Magician LVL 8!” In a brilliant flash of light appeared Silent Magician once again, only her attack points were 3500 and her robes had a lot more white and showed off less of her form. “Ah place one card face down an end mah turn.”


“Then I draw!” shouted Forge as he drew. He looked down at the four cards in his hand and nodded. “Ok, now it's time for some contract fusion! I fuse my Bestiari and my Murmillo together to create Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” As Forge removed his monsters from his monster tray, both flew into the air in preparation of his chant. “The wing beat of the bird is missed in the sound of battle. Striking with power to make the bravest tremble in fear! Leave nothing in your path! Fusion summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!” When the chant ended, a large creature landed onto the field in a superhero landing pose. Even before it stood up, everyone there could see it looked very much like Bestiari, but with heavier armor that had several large red gems in it. Its attack was 2400. “When Gyzarus is special summoned I can destroy two cards on the field so I’m clearing the field of both your monsters!” Mac said nothing in response as Gyzarus opened his wings and flew up into the air. Once he reached the rafters, long golden spears appeared in both of his hands which the bird man flung at the two women below. Both Silent monsters were impaled in the middle of their chests before they were destroyed.


“When Silent Paladin is destroyed, ah can return one Light LVL monster in mah grave an add it to mah hand,” said Big Mac calmly. “So Ah’ll take back mah Silent Magician LVL 4.”


“Alright then, I attack you directly!” shouted Forge as his monster flew across the field, creating another light spear in his hands as he prepared to thrust it into Mac’s chest. However, the attack didn’t connect as a sword of light appeared in-between them and blocked the attack. “Wait, what?”


“My trap card: Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light,” explained Mac as his trap card flipped face up. “With this here continuous trap card, I can pay 1000 life points each attack to negate it.” As Mac said this, his life points dropped to 7000.


“I end my turn,” said Forge as his monster returned to his side, arms now crossed and looking menacing. However, Forge knew it was a front. With the attack negated he couldn’t send his monster back into the extra deck and summon two more Gladiator Beasts and he could only use Gyzarus’ effect when it was special summoned.


“My draw,” announced Big Mac who now had five cards in his hand. “First Ah play Reinforcements of the Army ta add mah Silent Swordsman LVL 3 ta mah hand. Then Ah summon him ta the field in attack mode!” Appearing in front of Mac was a small boy in a blue trench coat with a sword on his shoulder that looked more like something a cartoon character would carry…and not one from Japan. His blond hair seemed to keep falling onto his light green face. His attack was 1000. “Next Ah activate the spell card: Level Up! This lets me send one LVL monster on mah side of the field to the grave and then special summon from either mah hand or deck that is listed in the sent card’s text while ignoring the summoning conditions. Meaning Silent Swordsman LVL 3 becomes Silent Swordsman LVL 5!” Mist began to surround Silent Swordsmen LVL 3, causing him to grow rapidly into an adult. When he stopped, he looked far more impressive than his previous form. For starters, his sword was as long as his body and weighed probably three times that much yet he carried it with ease. Silent Swordsman LVL 5’s body was slender and muscular at the same time, showing off his 2300 attack points.


“Now for the kicker,” said Mac as he played a card. “Ah activate the spell card: Silent Sword Slash which gives my monster 1500 more attack and defense points and makes him unaffected by your card effects until the end of this turn. Now, attack!” Silent Swordsman  LVL 5 bent his knees a bit while his attack points rose to 3800 before launching himself across the field in such a way that one might have thought he had stepped on a landmine. With a single slash of his sword he cut Gyzarus in half, knocking Forge down to the ground and lowering his life points to 6600.


“That will end mah turn,” said Big Mac as his monster hefted his blade back onto his shoulder.


“I draw,” said Forge. With six cards in his hand he looked at what he had and thought for a moment. He needed something strong enough to get over that body and then take back control of this duel. The only problem was right now he didn’t have the means to do that. But there was a chance he could get what he needed. “I activate the spell card: Gladiator Beast’s Respite. With this card I can return two of my Gladiator Beasts to my deck, shuffle it, and then draw three cards.” Forge then place two cards on the top of his deck and watched as it began to auto-shuffle. When it stopped, he drew three times and looked at them. “I…end my turn.”


“Hmm, bad luck,” said Mac as he drew his card. With three cards in his hand he looked at them and smiled. “Well things aren’t looking any better for ya because Ah summon Silent Magician LVL 4 in attack mode.” Once again, his young magician appeared on the field holding her wand. “Next Ah play the spell card Level Modulation. Ya get ta draw two cards and then Ah can special summon one LVL monster in mah grave while ignoring the summoning conditions. Only problem is it can’t attack or use its effect this turn. But it’s a small price ta pay for bringing back Silent Magician LVL 8!” As Forge drew his cards, the familiar sight of Silent Magician LVL 8 appeared next to her younger counterpart. But, not only did Mac get back his most powerful monster but LVL 4 also gained 500 attack points bringing it to 1500. “See ya noticed. Each time ya draw a card or cards, mah Silent Magician LVL 4 gets a counter and with each one she gains attack points. When she gets five, well, Ah can trade her in for another LVL 8!”


Mac paused to chuckle. “But Ah don’t think ya’ll be around long enough ta see that. Silent Swordsman LVL 5, attack him directly!” Once again, Silent Swordsman bent his knees before exploding forwards ready to slash at Forge. As he brought down his blade, however, a pair of claws blocked it. The swordsman blinked in surprise as a leopard or cheetah man appeared in front of Forge wearing metal clawed gauntlets with blue flames coming out of it. “Where did he come from!?”


“My hand,” replied Forge as he wiped away some sweat from his brow. “Gladiator Beast Noxious can be special summoned from my hand to the field if you declare a direct attack. Then not only does he redirect the attack to himself but he can’t be destroyed in battle. And since I special summoned him in defense mode, my life points are safe.”


“Fine,” said Big Mac with a scoff. “Ah end my turn.”


“Then I draw,” exclaimed Forge who now had a total of eight cards in his hand. At the same time, however, the attack of Silent Magician LVL 4 went up to 2000 since he had drawn a card. “I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari in attack mode.” Appearing on the field was a tiger man with bits of red armor across his body. Around his waist hovered several small rockets that connected themselves to each other to form a ring of fire. His attack was 1800. “Now, since I control a Gladiator Beast monster I can special summon my Test Tiger from my hand!” In an instant, a small tiger kitten appeared on the field wearing bits of armor. “By releasing my Test Tiger I can send Laquari back into my deck and special summon a different Gladiator Beast and this is treated as the effect of a Gladiator Beast. Now I’ll special summon from my deck Gladiator Beast Augustus in attack mode!” Appearing behind Forge was a creature that looked more like a beaked dragon in armor. Its armor was light, protecting mainly its vital areas over its purple scaly skin. Augustus had leathery wings like a bat, with clawed hands in the middle that were separate from his normal arms, one of which held a short sword. Its attack was 2600.


“When Augustus is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, I can special summon one Gladiator Beast from my hand in defense mode,” continued Forge. “Come on out Gladiator Beast Darius!” Stomping onto the field was a horse man wearing light orange armor with 300 defense points. In one hand Darius held a whip that crackled with electrical power. “When Darius is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, his effect lets me bring back one Gladiator Beast sleeping in my graveyard with its effect negated. Rise again Gyzarus!” Darius cracked his whip to the ground next to him, creating a tear in time and space in which Forge’s fallen monster returned to the field.


Mac now looked worried, taking a step back as he surveyed the field before him. “Ok, ya got some good monster’s on the field,” he admitted. “But none of them can take down mah Silent Magician LVL 8 or Silent Swordsman LVL 5.”


“Right now, you’re right,” admitted Forge. “But whoever said I was done? I return Gyzarus and Noxious back to the deck in order to do a contact fusion!” Forge watched as his monsters vanished, returning to the decks were he could use them again at their fullest. “From the wilderness of the savanna to the endless skies above. Only one has it in him to teach and mold all of the Gladiator Beasts. Make way for him now! Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor!”Appearing on the field in attack mode was a 2400 attack point moose human hybrid wearing red mage armor. His antlers were gold and more seemed to be growing out of his back. In his hand he carried a staff with a glowing green orb that floated above it. “When he is special summoned, his effect lets me special summon any of my Gladiator Beast fusion monsters in my extra deck ignoring the summoning conditions. So come on back Gyzarus!” Editor trusted his staff forwards and proceeded to make a circular motion with it. A portal quickly appeared in which Gyzarus soon stepped out of before taking to the air above them again. “And you remember what he does when he is special summoned, right Mac?”


Mac gritted his teeth, but did not answer. Instead he watched helplessly as Gyzarus created two more spears of light and launched them at Silent Magician LVL 8 and Silent Swordsman LVL 5. Neither monster could do anything to save themselves as they were both pierced there the chests before being destroyed, leaving only Silent Magician LVL 4 on the field.


“Now I send Augustus, Darius, and Gyzarus back to the deck to perform another fusion summoning,” continued Forge, much to the evident shock of Big Mac. “Ancient battles that never cease. Weakened and tired, he will call out for help when needed. Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Andabata!” Appearing now on the field was a creature that looked like a human pterodactyl minus the wings. In their place was something that could have been high tech cannons. His armor looked more high tech than the previous Gladiator Beasts but still used a shield and sword to do battle. His attack was 1000. “Like Editor, this guy can bring out a fusion Gladiator Beast while ignoring the summoning condtions. However he is limited to level 7 and below. Good thing I have just the guy for the job. My green bird of destruction: Gyzarus!”


“Not again!” yelled Mac as Gyzarus appeared on the field again. Forge watched as Mac trembled a bit while Gyzarus took to the air before destroying Silent Magician LVL 4 and his trap card. When he was finished, Gyzarus landed on the ground with a thud.


“Now I attack,” said Forge as he stared at Mac. Mac stood there, looking at his hand to see if there was anything he could use at this moment to protect him. But clearly there was nothing he could do. Andabata attacked first, slashing his sword across Mac’s chest to drop him to 6000. Then flew in Gyzarus, golden spear of light in hand which was quickly trusted into Mac’s chest. The older man yelled out as he was pushed back against the workbench, the old tool box falling to the ground as his life points dropped to 3600. Last came Editor, whose staff smacked Mac across the cheek and dropped his life points to 1200. By the time it was over, Mac had fallen to his knees and was panting heavily.


“Now that my battle phase is done, I have the option of sending my fusion monsters back to my deck in order to special summon Gladiator Beasts from my deck,” continued Forge. “I return Andabata to special summon two Gladiator Beasts. I choose Laquari and Retiari!” Once again the tiger man appeared on the field in attack mode along with a lizard man holding a trident whose attack points were 1200. “When Retiari is special summoned due to the effect of a Gladiator Beast I can banish one monster in your graveyard. So say goodbye to Silent Magician LVL 8.” Big Mac gritted his teeth as his card was ejected from the graveyard slot before being placed in his back pocket.


“Ya done yet?” asked Mac, soreness in his voice.


“No, I have one more move,” replied Forge as he removed Laquari, Retiari, and Gyzarus from his monster tray. “One more fusion summon. He who has mastered all weapons in the Coliseum. He who can withstand any challenger. Step into the arena and face your challenger! Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!” Falling to the ground and landing on one knee was a lion man with more armor than any other monster Forge had summoned so far. With 3000 attack points he seemed to have thicker armor than most Gladiator Beasts. On his back was a pair of glowing green wings and he held a heavy axe in one hand while in the other was a shield that looked like a turtle’s shell with blasters attached to it. “I end my turn.”


“Ah draw,” announced Mac. He looked at the card he had just drawn, smiled, and quickly placed it in his spell and trap card zone. “Ah activate the card Dark Hole to destroy everything on the field! Ah’m taking back this here duel right now!”


“No, you’re not,” said Forge simply as he discarded a card from his hand. “The effect of Heraklinos lets me discard a card from my hand to negate the activation of a spell or trap card and then destroy it.”


“No,” whispered Mac. He then looked at his hand for a moment and then, with a heavy heart, placed a hand over his deck signaling his surrender.


“Well now, wasn’t that a sight,” came a voice off to the side causing both men to jump slightly. Then turned to see Applejack standing at the doorway with a smile on her face. “Good ta see ya both getting’ along finally. Beginning ta think something was wrong with the two of ya given the way ya look at each other. Nothing like a good old duel to help patch the gap.”


“Y-Yeah,” said Forge as he looked over at Mac. The older man said nothing, only sighing before giving him a nod. Seeing this, Forge approached Applejack while he pulled out the tickets. “Ah, Applejack, I wanted to give you these yesterday but…well…if you want them.”


“What the?” began Applejack as she took them in her hand. “Group tickets to the medieval fair this weekend?”


“Y-Yeah,” stammered Forge as he watched her examine them. “I’m working there this weekend selling some of the sword I made and doing a couple of demonstrations. Each one is good for four people so you could bring your friends. And maybe, while you’re there, we could spend some time together. Maybe just the…two of us?” As he said this, Forge knew his cheeks were burning red. As where AJ’s as her eyes widened in realization at what he was asking. Slowly a smile crept onto her face as the redness of her cheeks darkened.


“Ah’d love ta sugarcube,” she said, her smile slightly awekard but no less genuine. “Never knew ya had…well…”


“I did,” said Forge quickly. “I mean, I have and still do. I mean…”


Mac let out a loud sigh. “Applejack, ya sure this is a good idea?” Forge’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Mac. What was he doing? He had won the duel. He had been allowed to ask Applejack out fair and square. So what was he doing now? But just as soon as those thoughts entered his head, he realized the truth. He had only been allowed to ask her out. He had never added the condition that Mac couldn’t talk her out of it. Drat.


“Why’s that?” asked Applejack, a frown appearing on her face as she stepped past Forge. “Ya saying Ah’m not allowed ta date or anything like that? Well?”


“Not that,” said Mac as AJ placed her hands on her hips, giving her brother the stink eye as she did so. “It’s just…Ah’m just worried about ya, that’s all. Ya do so much already. Ya go ta school, work at the mall, work here, ya play in a band, and still do things ta help out those friends of yours. Ah…Ah’m just afraid that ya might trying pushin’ yourself to throw dating into the mix and might be more than ya can handle. Just sayin’ ya should rest up a bit.”


“Oh,” replied AJ as both she and Forge were taken aback by this. “Well maybe these dates will let me have a break. If it goes anywhere, ya know.”


“And maybe I can help out,” said Forge. “Like help you out from time to time or just meeting up at a concert or something.”


“An if its too much for me,” continued AJ as she looked at Forge. “We could take a small break. No hard feelings?”


“None at all,” he replied, stealing a brief glance at Big Mac who gave a short and silent nod.