//------------------------------// // Green Legend Applejack Part 3 // Story: Tales of the Canterlot High Duelists // by Brony-wan-kenobi //------------------------------// Applejack sat on one of the park benches, panting slightly from the intense duel she just finished. She leaned back in her seat, elbows on the wooden table as she looked up into the sky. Around her she could still hear others around her. The sounds of two people, maybe more, hitting a tennis ball back and forth. The occasional sounds of little tikes screaming as they played. A random explosion from a duel going on somewhere else. Just another peaceful day in the park. Almost enough to make her close her eyes and drift off to sleep for a bit. That is until she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her, stepping over a few small twigs that made snapped as they got closer to her. Turning her eyes but not her head, Applejack saw Star Hunter standing there with two large bottles of water. Both of them looked cold and refreshing to her at that moment. Just the sort of thing that she needed after something like that. “Thank ya kindly,” she said as she sat up properly. Smiling, she reached out to take one before she stopped. Eyeing the bottles with a level of suspicion she pulled her hand back towards her. Normally, she wouldn’t be so rude as to refuse such a kind gesture. The only time she would do something like this was when she thought Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie were up to one of their pranks fests. But in this case, it wasn’t what had been done to the bottle that concerned her but where it had come from. “Relax,” sighed Hunter as if he had read her mind. “This isn’t from my house. I got it from the vending machine near the restrooms. It’s perfectly fine.” “Sorry,” murmured Applejack as she took the water bottle this time while her cheeks darkened. “No, its fine,” said Hunter as he sat down next to her. He paused for a moment to open his bottle…or at least trying to as he struggled with twisting the cap. “After seeing my place, I really wouldn’t blame anyone. Don’t even eat the food that’s there. Grr. Was the cap fused to this thing or something?” “Give ‘er here,” said Applejack as she reached out her hand. Slightly flustered, Hunter handed her the bottle which she gently took. Then, with one hand, she twisted the cap off in one go before handing it back. “Thanks,” he muttered as Applejack undid the cap on her own bottle, “And again, that was a good duel. Maybe we could have another one sometime soon. I have plenty of decks that should keep things interesting.” “Sounds fine,” said Applejack before she took a moment to take a sip of water. “Maybe should’ve bought Apple Bloom an’ her friends along. Might have some fun dueling each other, finding some other folk to duel, or just have some fun with a ball,” Applejack paused again to take another sip but stopped just short of her lips. Slowly she glanced over at Hunter as she lowered the bottle, “But, ah, before we do that, there’s something Ah think Ah ought ta ask.” Hunter didn’t say anything at first, simply drumming his fingers over his bottle of water with his head down. From her angle, Applejack could see that he was biting his lower lip. After a moment of this he raised his head before speaking but not looking over at her, “I think I know what you’re going to ask. And I guess it would be pointless to tell you not to worry or it’s none of your business.” “Sorry, sugarcube,” replied Applejack as she set her bottle of water down next to her, “But…Ah’m worried about ya. The way you and your folks are livin’. Some of the things ya said. Well, that’s got me mighty worried. Don’t want nothin’ bad happenin’ to ya.” “And if I don’t you’ll probably keep pestering me about it. That or go snooping around,” said Hunter as he glanced over in the direction of his house. Even from this side the place looked like a wreck with trash bags piling up in various places. The grass that was there was high, going well past both teen’s knees and clashing with the neighboring lawns, “Alright, I’ll tell you everything. But…just don’t go telling everyone about this. Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna know enough about what’s going on at my house. And of course Moondancer knows. I’d like to keep it that way. The last thing I want is people’s pity.” “Ta be honest, that’ll depend on what Ah hear,” said Applejack, “If things are really bad, Ah’ll tell mah friends ta see if they can help. But Ah won’t go plastering it around the school.” “Well, that’s something,” sighed Hunter as he closed his eyes. “You remember all those medals and awards that were in my house. They belong to my younger brother, Star Chaser. He’s not around anymore.” “…Is he dead?” asked Applejack, tentatively. “What? No,” said Hunter quickly, “He’s in jail right now. I sort of… contributed…” The teen then sighed as he began to roll the bottle between his hands, “I guess I should start from the beginning. Back when we were both much younger living in Hollow Shades… “To be honest, I don’t remember when or how it all started. Chaser was only a year younger than me, but from an early age our parents seemed to believe that he was destined for greatness. He learned how to play nearly every sport really quickly while I struggled. He was already taller than me and, well, according to most of the girls, good looking. Then when we got our first starter decks, he also learned how to play the game faster. Me; I was more into reading and writing. I liked to read and watch shows about detectives rather than going outside to play. Honestly, sports never really interested me all that much, you know? As for Duel Monsters, I enjoyed learning all sorts of tricks and strategies over winning outright. Usually when we dueled he would win. “Our parents weren’t mean or abusive to me. No, nothing like that. But they did insist that I try out for every sport my brother wanted to go into, even if we all knew I wouldn’t make the cut. Like I was just there to make him look better, that my failure made his success seem all the greater. And I couldn’t help but notice that he got more of everything. Every one of my birthdays were held at home while he got these massive parties that needed a banquet hall. On Christmas he always got four times the gifts. Every time his team won a match or game, they would break out a bottle of wine to celebrate while acting like it was solely because of him that they won. If the team lost, it was because the coach refused to utilize Chaser properly. Any card in the game he wanted he got, even if he wasn’t going to play with them for very long. That’s how I got all those cards by the way; they all belonged to him at one point. Anyways, I also knew that if I wanted to do something or had some school presentation, like a play they would come only if Chaser didn’t have anything going on. They made it very clear that he came first. I guess, in the end, my parents determined I wasn’t ambitious enough or something like that.” “Dang...” was all Applejack could say. It sounded like Hunter’s parents had taken a page from Rainbow’s and then some. However, Applejack doubted Rainbow’s parents would ignore one child over the other if they had more than one. “It wasn’t just our parents who held him on high. Because he won so many local Duel Monster tournaments and was on so many sports teams, most of the adults treated him like a local legend in the making. That he’d be the one to put Hollow Shades on the map. Most of the kids in our neighborhood wanted to be close to him, as if it came with some perks. And when he started dating, well, there was no shortage in that department. “I guess it wasn’t too hard how all that would go to his head. The concept of not getting something that he wanted was just so alien to him. He walked around like he owned everything and at times it felt like that included people as well. I’ve heard talk about women like they were flavors that he would eventually get tired of. Chaser bragged daily about his future, about how he was going to join the Pro Duel League as soon as he was old enough, as well as a sports team. About how he’d be literally swimming in money.” “Here ah thought Rainbow had a swelled head,” said Applejack with a whistle, “So, what happened to ‘im? Did he try ta take something he really shouldn’t?” “No,” replied Hunter as he shook his head. “What happened was we were applying to Crystal Prep. I wanted to become a writer and thought learning more about the league would be helpful. Maybe even writing some murder mysteries about the game while using a position as a duelist to, well, make me a little more well known. Maybe use that fame to my advantage,” he let out a sigh. “So, we both took the tests at the same time. Chaser used his best deck: a Red Eyes Burn deck which he always used in tournaments while I used my Shaddoll deck. We both scored victories and, after we took the tests, our parents quit their jobs and moved here so that we could all stay together. They guessed I wouldn’t get in so they were preparing to send me to CHS at the same time as they were getting ready to celebrate Chaser getting accepted. But things didn’t go as they thought…” - “Hey retard, your rejection letter arrived!” laughed Chaser as he tossed a letter to Hunter, who was sitting at the kitchen table and deep into a book, ignored the letter as it bounced off his head. Rolling his eyes, the young teen closed his book while his parents rushed Chaser into the family room which already had all of his trophies and awards on the walls. Without needing to look up, he knew their mother had her smartphone out to record this moment like she did with everything he did. Nor did he expect either of them to tell Chaser off for the way he had spoken to his brother. That sort of thing was common from him. “Don’t keep us waiting,” said their father happily as he beamed with pride, patting his son on the back, “Go on son, read it!” Fighting back a sigh, Hunter opened his letter as Chaser read aloud his response from Crystal Prep, “Dear Mr. Star Chaser. We here at Crystal Prep pride ourselves on accepting only the very best duelists within our hallowed halls. We have examined your work on the written exam and found it to be above a satisfactory level. As for your practical test, we were impressed that you were able to achieve victory on your very first turn. Not many students can boost such an accomplishment within our school’s history. Normally, we would be more than proud to welcome such an outstanding student into our ranks. However, due to the number of capable students entering our school being higher than normal, there is a need to thin out the applicants further. To that end, we have decided that a select group of randomly selected student hopefuls will be dueling each other for the chance to enter school. Your name was one of the chosen.” “WHAT!” bellowed their father causing Hunter to look up from his own letter. Their father’s face was flushed, eyes wide with undiluted rage as he looked at the letter as if it had just thrown him a very vulgar insult, “How dare they?!? Don’t they know how lucky THEY are just to have my son apply at their school?” Hunter said nothing, only scanning the room to see the rest of his family’s reactions. His mother had lowered her phone. While her face was far calmer than her husbands, she still seemed to regard the piece of paper as if it were a rodent she wished to stomp on. As for Star Chaser, there was an odd look on his face. He looked like he had lost a great deal of color on his face and hands, as if he had just seen a ghost. Yet that lasted only for a brief moment as a dead look on his face was replaced with his usual swagger. “Ha,” he laughed. “So all I have to do is beat down some loser to get in? Easy. If anything, this will just prove to them how much better I am than everyone else. Look here, it even says that I can change my deck if I want.” This seemed to calm both their parents down considerably, “That’s the spirit son!” said their father as he clapped his son on the back. “Another brilliant showing from our brilliant son,” agreed their mother as she grinned broadly, “So when is this duel?” “Let’s see here,” said Chaser as he began to scan the paper with his finger. His lips moved as he skimmed the letter until he finally found what he was looking for, “Ok, it says here that each match will take place on a separate day. Looks like mine it will be this Saturday. I wonder what poor sap they’ll have me dueling?” “I guess me,” said Hunter. At the sound of his voice, the family turned to look into the kitchen where Hunter was sitting and looking at him as if they were suddenly made aware of his existence. Hunter held up his own letter, “It says I was chosen for one of the duels as well. Same date.” “Oh,” said their father, “Well, this is farther than we thought you’d get at least. Too bad you had to get your brother as an opponent. Guess bad luck of the draw and all that.” “We’re sure you’ll try your best of course,” added their mother, “But, try not to embarrass yourself or waste too much of your brother’s time.” “Don’t worry,” said Chaser with a grin as he wrapped an arm around each of their parent’s shoulders, “He won’t get that chance. I’ll defeat him before he even knows what’s going on. How about we go out to celebrate in advance?” “That’s my boy,” laughed their father. As the family began to head out the door, lead by Chaser stating loudly where he wanted to go, Hunter sat there with the letter still in his hands and the voices of his family echoing in his head. He sat there; his breaths becoming deeper with each passing moment. His grip began to grow stronger as he held the letter until small rips began to appear. Outside he could hear the doors to the car opening and closing, loud music that his brother loved pouring out so everyone could hear. As the car began to move out of the driveway, Hunter screamed as loudly as he could. - Applejack felt something rotten trying to climb its way up her throat as she listened to Hunter recall this memory. She could see the teen boy’s knuckles turning white as he gripped his water bottle as a hardened look took over his face. Not that she could blame him. She had heard plenty about abuse or just plain poor parents on the daily news. But it was a different matter to have someone who had them sitting next to her as he recounted what it was like. “I don’t know why it happened,” continued Hunter as he stared off into the distance, “They had treated me like that my entire life. Yet, for some reason, it hurt far worse than normal. Maybe it was because this was something I wanted and they had already written me off. Or maybe it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Honestly, I have no idea. All I knew was that, at that moment, I didn’t just want to defeat Chaser but to utterly humiliate him in front of a crowd. I wanted to see that smug look on his face ripped off. I wanted to come back home from school every damn day and talk about how great it was just to rub it in his face. That…was my corruption I guess.” “Can’t hardly blame ya there,” said Applejack, “There’re times when all Ah want to do is shut Rainbow up when she gets all half cocked an’ stuff. So, what did ya do? Nothin’…wrong, right?” “You mean illegal like tampering with his deck?” asked Hunter. While there was nothing wrong with his tone, talking as casually as if he had spotted an oddly looking cloud, it still caused Applejack to wince slightly, “No, I just made a brand new deck. A Red-Eyes one with a few of my own touches. He’d always been so proud of his deck I figured being defeat by something similar would be a huge blow to his ego. So the day came…” - Hunter stood on the raised platform within Crystal Prep’s professional duel stadium. Normally for the exams, the school would have rented out a football stadium or something similar to hold all of the exams. Perhaps given the nature of these duels as well as there being only one duel per day, the people at Crystal Prep had decided to hold it here instead. The room, about half the size of such a field, with several rows of seats along the rounded sides. There, students and faculty members sat with bored expressions on their faces as they looked down on the flat platform where Hunter stood. Finally, all around them, were large monitors with blank scenes. Among the primary people there was Principal Sombra. He sat in the front row in the middle so that he could see both duelists easily. Next to him was a very pretty looking woman who was the Vice-principal. His parents were also there, smiling and holding up signs wishing Chaser luck. Speaking of Chaser… “Look at all this fine ass eye candy,” he said aloud as he looked over at a group of female students dressed in their uniforms. He licked his lips as a smile appeared on his face, “It’s almost like with place was designed just for me. Helps get me into the pro’s with all the snacks I want along the way. I just can’t wait to see what they all look like without those uniforms,” He then jerked his head to look at Hunter. “Say, you mind just forfeiting now and saving everyone some time? I know you have nothing but time to waste, but some of us have a future.” As Hunter gritted his teeth, he was denied the chance to respond as a voice echoed through the P.A. system. Hunter didn’t need to look over to his side to see that it was Sombra who spoke. “Both duelist are present and their decks have been verified. Be advised that while you are using standard issue duel disks, this stadium is utilizing hard light technology to make things feel more real. Not enough to deal any serious harm, but enough so that you will feel it for a while. This is the sort of thing that you should expect when entering Crystal Prep. If you have any issues with this you may back out now. If not, you may commence the duel.” -Star Chaser’s Life Point’s 8000- -Star Hunter’s Life Point’s 8000- “It’ll be fine,” said Chaser as they both drew their opening hands. He briefly glanced at it before smirking, “He’ll never even touch me.” Turn 1: Star Hunter Hunter’s duel dick beeped, signaling that he was to make the first move, “We’ll see about that. I draw!” Hunter paused for a moment as he looked at his hand. It had everything he needed to make an amazing first move, but the downside was that it would leave him defenseless if it messed up. For a moment he debated on what to do before making up his mind to go all out. “First I play the spell card ‘Pre-Preparation of Rites’!” declared Hunter as a murmur went over the crowd, “This card allows me to add one ritual spell card from my deck to my hand, as well as one ritual monster whose name is listed on the card. I choose the spell card ‘Red-Eyes Transmigration’ and the ritual monster ‘Lord of the Red’.” “I told you not to embarrass us!” shouted Hunter’s mother as his cards popped out of his deck, “What are you thinking using ritual monsters?” “Really sad,” said Chaser as he crossed his arms, a grin on his face, “Couldn’t you have at least pretended to try? That or just given up? At least then you wouldn’t be wasting my time.” “Trust me, I plan on giving this my all,” replied Hunter, “Now I activate the ritual spell I just added to my hand. By tributing my level eight Dragon Core Hexer from my hand, I am allowed to summon to the field the Lord of the Red (2400/2100) in attack mode!” Appearing on Hunter’s side of the field was a woman wearing form fitting armor that looked like it had been made from the hides of dragons. She stood there, holding a massive sword in her hands, as flames began to circle her. Without warning they rose upwards until they hit the ceiling. Hunter nearly took a step back as he felt the heat of the flames and feared they would sear him to the bone. Yet he held his ground as he began to chant. “Great flames that burn bright red. Accept this offering to bring forth your champion! Ritual Summon: LORD OF THE RED!” There was a sudden explosion that shot out in every direction. When the smoke cleared, a figure stood in front of Hunter. It was a humanoid who was either wearing armor designed to look like a Red-Eyes Black Dragon, or it was a more human looking Red-Eyes Black Dragon. “I’m not done,” continued Hunter, “Because I still have my normal summon! I summon the Red Stone of Legend! (0/0)” Appearing next to the Lord of the Red was a chipped black egg with a red, crystalline structure in the middle. The Lord of the Red looked down at it and smiled fondly. As Chaser began to laugh loudly, Hunter continued, “Now I activate its effect. By tributing the Red Stone of Legend, I am allowed to special one level seven or lover Red-Eyes monster from my deck. So I’m bringing out the original classic ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’(2400/2000)!” On his command, the egg shattered and the very iconic black dragon appeared on the field. “Lastly, I’ll activate this spell card from my hand: The Claw of Hermos,” said Hunter as he held out the card, “I’ll use it and my Red-Eyes Black Dragon to fusion summon the ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword’ (2400/2000)!” There wasn’t enough time to chant as Red-Eyes flew up into the air before doing a backflip which sent it shooting down to the ground. It’s body began to grow brightly, shrinking more and more until it hit the ground right next to Lord of the Red. When the light faded, the dragon had become a sword with a wicked hooked black blade and a cross-guard shaped like the Red-Eyes’ head. “Now I activate my swords effect and equip it to Lord of the Red,” said Hunter as his ritual monster picked up the blade, “Lord of the Red gains an additional 1000 attack points as well as an additional 500 attack and defense for every dragon on the field and in both graveyards. I end my turn.” (5400/4100) More people were muttering now as Hunter stood there, his monster sinking his sword into the ground before him and laying both hands on the pommel. Turn 2: Star Chaser “This has to be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Chaser as he drew a card, “Trying to copy MY deck, but using those loser cards. Ha! All you’ve done is get yourself a dumb looking, edge-lord wannabe beater. Looks like you’re little brother will have to show you how it’s really done.” “Go Chaser!” screamed their father excitedly. “Now here’s a card worth having in a Red-Eyes deck,” said Chaser as he held up a card. “It’s called ‘Red-Eyes Fusion’. This lets me fusion summon a monster using materials from my deck. The only down sides are that I can’t normal or special summon anything else for the rest of this turn. Also, my monster’s name become Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Not that either of those things matter much when I can have any Red-Eyes fusion monster I want.” Hunter said nothing as Chaser’s duel disk spat out two cards. However, there was something off about it. Was it just him, or did he miss when the auto shuffler activated? “Twin Red-Eyes, one of old and one of flare, come together to show burn away those in your wrath. Fusion summon: Meteor Black Comet Dragon! (3500/2000)” Flames erupted behind Chaser as they slowly took form of a massive dragon that towered over everything in sight. It’s scales were black and cracked, flames escaping out of them and licking the tips of its many horns. “Since two more dragons went to the graveyard and another one appeared on the field, my monster gains an extra 1500 attack and defense points, (6900/5600)” stated Hunter as he kept his eyes locked on his brother. As Lord of the Red’s attack points rose, a chuckle rippled through the audience. Some even broke out into full blown laughter, pointing down at the stage. Out of the corner of his vision, Hunter could see that even Sombra, who seemed to have the perfect poker face whenever he had crossed paths with the man, had a the smallest of grins on his face. “Ha, even the audience knows how pathetic your monster is,” decried Chaser as the audience as a whole broke out into uncontrollable laughter, “You think having a stronger monster can protect you, then you’re wrong! I activate my dragon’s effect: by sending one dragon in my deck to the graveyard after its been fusion summoned, I can deal damage to you equal to half of that monster’s attack points. So I’ll just send another Red-Eyes Black Dragon to the grave to burn you for 1200.” As Hunter’s monster rose in strength (7400/6100), the flames on Meteor Black Comet Dragon began to rise. It flapped its mighty wings as the fire began to float in front of it, forming several orbs that sparked with black electricity before being launched at Hunter. As for Hunter, he let out a sigh as Lord of the Red extended its wings. The fire orbs then seemed to hit an invisible barrier while Hunter’s life points remain untouched. “What the fuck?!?” yelled Chaser as the crowd continued to laugh. “That should have-” “My Lord of the Red’s effect,” interrupted Hunter, speaking over the crowd. Grinning broadly he gestured to his monster, “During either player’s turn he can negate up to two effects and then destroy one monster and one spell/trap card. He negated your monsters effect so now all that is left to do is destroy your monster.” “NO!” screamed Chaser as his eyes went wide and his pupils became mere dots. Lord of the Red, however, did not heed his words as he flew across the field while his fist became surrounded with flames. When he got in front of Chaser’s dragon, Lord of the Red pulled back his fist before slamming it into Meteor Black Comet Dragon’s gut. The dragon clutched the area where it had been struck, taking several steps back before it exploded and sent Chaser flying through the air. When the teen landed it was face first into the metal ground with his rear sticking up in the air creating even more laughter. Hunter paused as he looked at his brother, savoring the moment. It was now clear to everyone both of them that the crowd had never been laughing at Hunter. Chaser could have asked what his opponent’s monster did or looked it up on his duel disk. Instead he arrogantly dismissed it, thus walking right into his own defeat. And it was clear that everyone around them had seen it clear as day. “So,” said Hunter as he crossed his arms, an amused look on his face, “Is there anything else you want to do? You can’t normal or special summon any other monsters this turn. I guess you could set a facedown.” “You…You…CHEATER!” raged Chaser as he scrambled to his feet. “There is no way you could have stopped my perfect turn. You had to have cheated, it’s the only explanation,” Chaser pointed a finger at his brother at the same time a red light began to flash. The crowd became silent as all of the scenes above them read ‘Duel Canceled’. As Hunter looked around confused, Chaser looked like he had hit the jackpot at the lottery, “You see. Even they know you had to have cheated me!” “Yes, there was foul play during this match,” said Sombra as he stood up and walked over to the two, “Witnessed by every single person here and recorded as evidence. However, it was not Mr. Star Hunter who cheated,” By this time, Sombra was standing next to Chaser with an expression used when looking at a pile of dog droppings. “You…You can’t be serious!” screamed Chaser right into Sombra’s face. He then pointed at Hunter, “I had the perfect move. He-” “The exact same move you used during your entrance exam duel,” interrupted Sombra coldly, silencing Chaser, “While at first I was impressed you managed to pull off such a feat, the proctor who dueled you said he failed to notice your auto shuffler activate. This worried me slightly so I looked up your most recent duels. All the transcripts and recordings showed that in the last ten duels, while you have used slight variations, the end result has been the same. Meteor Black Comet Dragon summoned via Red-Eyes Fusion, followed by two ‘Inferno Fire Blasts’. Each time you dueled, you have made sure to keep your duel disk away from the cameras and the judges. Most likely so they couldn’t see that you had tampered with you machine.” “That’s…No…You can’t prove that! You can’t prove anything!” yelled Chaser as he began to look worried, taking a step back. “Well, that’s not completely false,” said Sombra with a slight nod, “Up until this duel, I couldn’t really prove anything.” At that moment, all of the scenes began to show the duel with an extra window focused on Chaser’s deck, “That is why I decided to hold this little ruse. You and your brother were the only two duelist who received that letter. No one else was invited to have a duel to enter our school. And with all of these students and cameras focused on you, it was easy to see that my suspicions were correct.” “That,” began Chaser, but no other words passed through his lips. They moved soundlessly as he stared at Sombra. It took a moment, but he seemed to snap out of it and began to point to his brother, “He had to have messed with my duel disk. Yeah! He disabled my auto shuffler and probably his own. That’s how he-” Sombra raised a hand to silence the boy, “I have heard enough of this,” he stated firmly as he moved away from Chaser, “You are an embarrassment to the entire dueling community. At least have the decency to admit that you were caught instead of these half-baked lies. Now, leave this school at once and never show your face around here again. Your dueling days are done.” Hunter stood where he was as he watched his brother fall onto his hands and knees. The high he had been feeling earlier had vanished, leaving him with an oddly empty feeling. Hunter could hear his parents shouting something, but the words no longer made sense to him. It was like the world was turning upside down. He blinked and, like magic, Sombra was standing in front of him. “Forgive me for putting you through all of this,” he said pleasantly. “You were chosen for this match because I needed to see if you were anything like your brother. I am glad to see that isn’t the case.” He then raised a fist to his mouth and gave a soft cough into it, “As for the duel, I will admit that I am impressed. Not many duelist would try to enter this school using a ritual monster and even few would dare to imagine pulling off a combo such as you did. It is my hope to see you when the new semester begins.” “NO!” came Chaser’s scream as he looked up. His pupils were moving wildly, almost unfocused as he looked at Hunter, “It’s your FAULT! WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST ROLL OVER AND DIE? WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST FORFEIT? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” - “The ride home was less than pleasant,” said Hunter as he shook his head. “Before we got home, my brother had gotten dozens of calls from various dueling officials. Principal Sombra had apparently called them and informed them of my brother’s cheating. So they called to inform him that he now had a lifelong ban. All his awards were now invalidated and his records were removed. My parents tried to tell him that it would be alright, that they would fight this and that it was my fault-” “Now wait one cotton-pickin’ moment,” said Applejack as she stood up, “How can they blame ya for something he was caught red handed doin’?” “Well, the logic they are using is that if I had just not accepted the duel, then none of this would have happened,” said Hunter simply. “That…That…” was all Applejack could say. It just seemed almost inane for his parents to do something like that. But then she thought back to what she had seen back in the house. The two of them sitting there in the dark, watching old duels of their cherished son. Back when he was at the top of the world. “My aunt says that sometimes it's easier to deny something rather than accept it as truth,” said Hunter. He then ran a hand through his hair, “Well, Chaser didn’t listen to them. Instead he went right for where our parents kept the liquor and started drinking like it was the end of the world. Two days later, he ran out of drinks and tried to rob a store. Since we weren’t in Hollow Shades anymore the court didn’t care who he was. Right now, he’s doing a two year sentence with a chance at an early release. That’s where I was during the Crown, visiting him. Still blames me. As for my parents, after he went to jail they both sort of shut down. stopped going to work and spend everyday just watching Chaser on the television. With money as tight as it is, there’s no way I could have gone to Crystal Prep.” “Ya know, that wasn’t yer fault,” Applejack said firmly. Hunter, oddly, laughed, “To be honest, I sort of wish his downfall was my fault. There are times, dreams, when I wish I had ended that duel and he had gone insane from his defeat. I felt… angry that he cheated me out of that victory and what Sombra had revealed!” He then suddenly turned and looked at Applejack, “Does…Does that make me a bad person?” The farmer girl sighed as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “Sugarcube, Ah got ta be honest here,” she said. “Ah have no idea if that makes ya a good person or not. Ah don’t know how Ah would feel in that position. But what Ah can tell ya, is that how you are livin’ right now might not be what’s best for ya.” “Oh, I know that,” said Hunter, causing Applejack to blink. “What? I just told you I have an aunt and not to worry about me. Ever since she last came to visit she’s been talking to a few lawyers to try and take custody of me. And Moondancer’s family has invited me to dinner whenever I want.” “Oh,” said Applejack as she looked embarrassed. From there, the two talked for a bit longer until Moondancer arrived for her date. Applejack wished them both a goodnight as she walked in the direction of home with every intention of giving her family the biggest hug she could muster.