//------------------------------//
// The Good, The Bad, and The Duelists part 4 
// Story: Dueling Around Canterlot 
// by Darthvalgaav 
//------------------------------//

Long Horn paced in the dirty, junk-infested yard with his face looking down at the ground. His lips were clenched tightly while his face was turning slightly red with frustration. Something was wrong, so very wrong. Free Range should have been back by now. Seriously, how long would it take to find Bull? Or find out if someone had taken that idiot out? If that happened, Free should have contacted Long Horn ASAP! Then there was Tempest. She was also running late with the truck, something that made Long Horn all the more worried. Was the truck in such bad shape that she needed to repair it? If so, then why didn’t she call him to get some help or come up with a backup plan?
 

Visibly frowning now, Long Horn looked over to where Tempest had headed, off in the distance to the shed where the truck was kept. The doors were open, but that was it. He hadn’t seen her or anything really heading out. Was she…betraying him? After everything he had done for her? Oh, she better not. He had taken her under his protection, listened to her and even made her his second in command. He was going to help her take whatever petty revenge she desired! If she did betray him after all this then…
 

Eyes widening, Long Horn quickly shook his head. No, he shouldn’t think like that. Tempest was too smart to think she could just leave now and nothing would happen to her. They were in this, all of this together. If one was caught then it would only be a matter of time before they were all caught. Unless they stuck together, pooled the magic and power they had amassed.
 

Sighing, Long Horn turned his gaze towards the town. Perhaps the reason he was thinking like this because he was panicking. Things looked like they were falling apart, losing everything they had acquired. Their members dropping one by one. At least, that’s how it felt. Honestly, it felt like a blast from the past. How he, back as a young, snot-nosed kid, panicked when he and his brothers were robbing a store. How he had tripped, knocked junk down, and ran out the back door right into the waiting police. Long Horn had years to think about his screw up, years to muscle up and become strong enough so that something like that would never happen again. And for so long it had worked. Perhaps it was because magic was involved, something that was so far beyond what he understood.
 

The sound of a motor in the distance caught Long Horn’s attention. Turning his head slightly, the teen felt his shoulders relax as he saw the four wheeler heading towards the house. Finally some good news that he…Wait a second! Where was Free Range? All he saw were two teen girls on it! And why did one of them have a giant bag of sprinkles? What possible reason could she have to bring something like that?
 

Long Horn got his answer sooner than he realized. As he took a step forward, the blond girl driving the four wheeler drove it towards him at full speed before hitting the brakes and turning so that it stopped right in front of him. At that very moment, the giant bag of sprinkles began to glow brightly before it was thrown at him. As the bag made impact it suddenly EXPLODED, sending him flying backwards with enough force that he was knocked through a wall of the main house.
 

-x-
 

“Well, Ah wanted us ta start using magic more often ta solve our problems,” said Applejack as she turned off the four wheeler. Slowly, she leapt off her ride, her boots hitting the rocky soil with Pinkie bouncing right behind her.
 

“Yeah, might be a little too violent for children’s television,” said Pinkie as she approached the goon they had taken down. But AJ just stood where she was, staring at the destruction around her while her heart felt like it was being pricked by thousands of tiny needles all at once. After seeing the town in such a state, Applejack knew that the same could have happened to her Great Uncle’s farm. Trash of all sorts was everywhere and the walls of the house had been defiled. The fields she had passed looked like no one had worked on them for sometime and were in need of some care. She should have been prepared to see it transformed into a dumpster of a mess. Not to mention the fact that she had barely ever visited the place.
 

Yet, seeing it now brought the full weight of the situation onto her shoulders all at once. Great Uncle Chili Pepper might not have had the most sense within her kin, but he was still family. He had helped make this entire community and tried his best to help those who were in need. So to see his home in a state of ruin like this was heartbreaking. Briefly, she wondered if any of it could be salvaged. Sure walls and stuff like that could always be repaired, but all of his possessions that he had kept for so long could never be replaced even with a fortune behind him. Those memories might be gone forever.
 

Hopefully, Great Uncle Chili Pepper would still be around. That he wasn’t lost. If they had done to him what they did to the townsfolk, he might not have survived. And if that happened…
 

As AJ clenched her fists in anger, there was a sudden burst of movement near Pinkie. The farmer girl turned just in time to see the thug Pinkie had thrown a full bag of sprinkles at erupt from the ruins of the wall, bits of broken boards flying all around him. In a flash of speed he grabbed Pinkie by the wrist before holding her above the ground. Applejack could see her friend using her free hand to try and pry his grip off her whilst kicking her feet at his chest which, while the shirt had been destroyed, was unblemished from the attack.
 

“Using sprinkles as a weapon?” muttered the thug as he stared at Pinkie. “Odd, but perhaps useful magic to have. I might be able to make use of it once I rip it out of you!”
 

“Like fudge you will!” shouted Pinkie as the speed of her kicks increased. But her captor just chuckled as he raised his other hand and brought it close to her mouth.
 

Having stood still long enough, Applejack rushed over to him while activating her own magic. The thug saw this and swung his arm in order to slap her away with the back of his hand. Too bad for him though that AJ saw this, catching his arm with both of hers before twisting around in order to toss him. The thug’s eyes widened, dropping Pinkie as he was tossed away from the house and into the chili pepper fields. As a flock of crows rose into the air, crying out in surprise as they left those very same fields, Applejack turned to look at her friend.
 

“Ya ok there sugarcube?” she asked as she helped Pinkie stand.
 

“I’m ok,” groaned Pinkie as she dusted herself off. “Guess I should have used cupcakes or marshmallows against him instead. Kind of scary he was able to take it though.”
 

“Yeah,” agreed AJ as she turned to look over at the fields. “An something tells me he ain’t licked yet.”
 

“But,” began Pinkie yet was interrupted as the thug got back onto his feet and charged at the two like a rampaging bull. With arms raised high above his head, the teen lunged at the two girls. Applejack put her back into it and caught his hands with her own, surprised to see that she was being pushed back effortlessly, the soles of her boots making small trenches in the soil in the process. Soon enough her back was literally against the wall, it cracking behind her as her enemy tried to push her through it. Sweat began to form on her brow as she summoned all the magic power she had, yet somehow he seemed to be able to match her power with his own.
 

“Oh, I see now,” grunted the thug. “You must be Applejack.”
 

“How…How do ya know mah name?” demanded Applejack with a grunt of her own, her voice mixed with the crack of wood behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pinkie pulling various things out of her puffy hair. Her toy Gummy, an empty gumball machine, nail chippers and so on in what was no doubt a search for more sweets.
 

“Got a nice little tip that the Rainbooms might show up,” said the thug with a grin. “Decided to look them up and imagine my surprise when I found out that you were one of them. That old coot’s great niece. Now ain’t that a twist.”


For a second, AJ saw red. “Where is he?!” she demanded, gritting her teeth and pushing back. The thug looked a little surprised as he was pushed back, Applejack’s back no longer pressed against the wood.
 

That look of surprise didn’t last very long as soon the thug began to frown. He suddenly let go of Applejack before quickly backing away as the farmer girl almost tumbled head first into the ground. She managed to right herself quickly enough to see that the only male teen was watching her carefully now. His lower lip moved while his eyes darted this way and that. It looked like he was doing some thinking, going over things in his head. Finally, he reached behind his back to pull out a duel disk.
 

“Since we seem to be equal in strength, why don’t we fight it out with our decks,” said the thug with a smug grin. “You win and I’ll tell you where the old man is. But if you lose, well, that loon will be the least of your worries.” He then glanced over at Pinkie Pie who was now surrounded by candy wrappers and other odd items that she kept in her hair. “Or we could try and fight it out. Don’t make much difference to me. Of course, one or two people might get hurt in the process if you get my meaning.”
 

As Pinkie paused while pulling out a rubber ducky from her hair, Applejack knew that she had caught on to the implied threat. If the two of them continued to match strength in a prolonged fight, she would more than likely get pulled into it. Applejack felt she might be able to handle him one on one, but she couldn’t protect Pinkie at the same time. Without her sugar filled treats her pink skinned friend would just be in the way. But there was more to it than that. Somewhere around these parts was Great Uncle Chili Pepper. If the fight moved into the house then the whole thing might come tumbling down!
 

It was downright dirty, trying to make her fight on his terms. If he won, then she would end up like them townsfolk for sure. Might even lose her magic, but that was the least of her worries. Then, he would have no reason to duel Pinkie Pie when he could just overpower her with his physical strength. But, if she won then…
 

“Alright,” said Applejack as she pulled out the duel disk Twilight had made, walking to the side so that her back was now against an empty field. If this duel did make things real then the last thing she wanted was to put anyone in the house in harm’s way. Like how Twilight had done before, AJ attached it to her wrist while also putting her gem in the appropriate slot. The machine sprang to life instantly creating a row of five red apples in front of it to act as her card tray. “Let’s duel.”
 

“But Applejack,” began Pinkie; however, she was stopped by a glance from AJ.
 

“Listen up Pinkie,” began Applejack. “I’ll keep him distracted while you search the house for Great Uncle Chili Pepper. We need to at least get him out of here.”
 

“Like you’ll last long enough,” laughed the thug as he inserted his deck. “This duel will be over long before she finds him.”
 

“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 Applejack while the other was a mugshot of the thug with the name Long Horn under it. 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 Long Horn.
 

“Well, this won’t last very long,” said Long Horn after drawing his opening hand, looking at all six cards. “I’ll start off by summoning Gearfried the Iron Knight!” Leaping out of a portal in the ground was a warrior clad in heavy black armor. A silver blade was attached to one arm while a shield was melded into the other. It stared lifelessly at Applejack as its 1800 attack points were displayed.
 

“But he won’t be here for long because I play the spell card: Release Restraint!” continued Long Horn with a wicked grin. “With this I can tribute my monster to bring out his unleashed form: Gearfried the Legendary Swordsman!” Applejack watched as Gearfried leapt into the air, bringing his arms and legs close to his body before quickly extending them back out. When he did this there was a flash of light as the armor went flying off his body. When the light faded and the monster touched the ground, he looked much different. He was taller now and sporting a more elfish barbarian look to him. He had bronze colored skin with barely anything covering it to show off his powerful muscles as well as long black hair that flowed down to cover his back. His attack was 2600.
 

“Bringing out the big guns a little early,” remarked Applejack as she stared at the swordsman.
 

“Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet,” commented Long Horn. “Since I can’t attack you and break you down right now, I’ll just place one card face down and end my turn.”
 

“Alright then,” cried Applejack as she drew. With six cards in her hands, she looked them over before pulling one out from the rest. “I summon Kozmo Farmgirl in attack mode!” Falling onto the field was a red headed girl, her hair tied in two sets of braids running down her shoulders. She wore a green skirt and blouse with a belt that had numerous pouches on it as well as a tanned cloak. The girl also had on boots and stockings that went all the way up to her knees. Once she was on the field, one hand went to her hip while the other reached for a futuristic blaster on her belt as her 1500 attack points were proudly displaced.
 

“Wait a moment,” shouted Long Horn as he looked at the monster in surprise. “I thought your family used plant type decks! You’re uncle had a Jerry Beans Man deck and…and…shouldn’t all farmers use plant decks?!?”
 

“Now hold on there a second,” replied Applejack with a frown. “That right there is a nasty stereotype. Won’t deny or shame those that do, like mah cousin Apple Crisp. She’s really old school using one of them Fairy King Truesdale decks. Or mah little sister who uses a Naturia deck. But the rest of us, we use whatever deck we like just like everybody else. Ones that speak to us. Heck, mah big brother uses a Silent deck.”
 

Long Horn snorted. “I don’t see how that puny girl speaks to you. What is it? A reject from Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz? Maybe an Amazoness deck or something like that I could see, but this?”
 

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, can’t possibly see how Ah could relate to this deck. How could Ah possible relate ta characters who grew up on farms before being thrown into some big magic shindig where they had to fight great evil who what to destroy everything good? Characters who make new, lifelong friends along the way? Characters who discover something magical about themselves? Nope, can’t see it at all.”
 

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” grunted Long Horn as AJ’s eyes looked up for a moment. Then he grinned before pressing a button on his duel disk. “Too bad for your monster that her story is going to be cut short! I activate my trap card: Armory Call! This trap lets me search through my deck to add one equip card to my hand. Then, and this is the best part, I can equip it to my monster! I think Fusion Sword Murasame Blade will do the trick!” A portal appeared behind Gearfried who turned to reach inside. When his hand left, it was covered with what looked like a metallic slime holding a long sword. His attack then rose to 3400. “Oh, and my monster also has a nice little effect. Every time he gets a new weapon, he gets to test it out and destroys one of your monsters. So this is the end for Farmgirl!”
 

As Gearfried raised his sword high into the air, Applejack held out a hand. “Ah don’t think so because Ah activate mah monster’s special effect,” she declared as Gearfried swung his sword down onto the ground. A shockwave-like blast ran across the ground, kicking up dirt and trash as it headed towards Farmgirl. Then, to Long Horn’s surprise, the girl jumped into the air as a red space jet with four laser cannons on it appeared above them casting a shadow over the field.
 

“H-How?” stammered Long Horn as he looked at the jet set in defense mode which had only 800 defense points.
 

“Mah monsters are quick on their feet,” replied AJ with a grin. “They have to be in order ta fight evil forces. Mah low level monsters banish themselves during either players’ turn in order to bring out the higher level monsters in mah hand. An that ain’t all! This here ship is called Kozmo Sliprider, a ship always ready for a good brawl. When it enters the fray, it destroys one spell or trap card ya got. Since ya have only one…” As AJ’s words trailed off, Sliprider fired twin green beam of energy. With pinpoint accuracy they flew across the field towards the sword in Gearfied’s hand. However, with a wave of his arm, the warrior managed to deflect the blast with ease. “W-What?”
 

“Sorry, but my equip card is special,” answered Long Horn. “Those who wield it become one with the card. So, in addition to giving my monster a huge attack boost, it also becomes immune to destruction effects.”
 

“Fine,” said AJ with a huff. “Ah end mah turn.”
 

“Oh don’t feel too bad,” said Long Horn as he drew, four cards in his hand now. “It’ll all be over soon. I’ll play the spell card Double Summon which will let me normal summon twice this turn. That way I can bring to the field my Brushfire Knight and Command Knight in attack mode!” With a quick motion, Long Horn slapped both cards onto his card tray as a column of fire appeared on either side of Gearfried. When the flames died down, two more human warriors stood with their heads only reaching Gearfied’s shoulders. Brushfire Knight was a male knight with 1400 attack points. He was dressed in silver armor, a tattered red cloak, and a black cloth covering his eyes. In one hand he carried a long, thin blade which had fire dancing around it. As for Command Knight, she was dressed in reddish armor with four golden wings coming out of her helm while a purple cloak fluttered slightly behind her. While her weapon was larger than Brushfire’s, her attack was 1200.
 

“Something you should know about Command Knight,” continued Long Horn as he pointed at his monster. “While she’s on the field, all warriors gain an extra 400 attack points. And don’t think you can attack her while other monsters are on my side of the field. If you want to get to the commander then you have to defeat the troops first!” Applejack gritted her teeth as she watched her opponent’s monsters growing stronger. Gearfried, already the strongest on the field, became a 3800 attack point monstrosity. The flames on Brushfire Knight’s sword became more intense as his attack changed to 1800. Then there was Command Knight as her attack became 1600.
 

“Now time to destroy you!” yelled Long Horn. “Command Knight, take down that piece of space trash!” Leaping into the air, the red clad female warrior flew toward Applejack’s space fighter. It landed on top, right behind the fighter cockpit where she proceeded to thrust her sword into it. At once there was a fiery explosion as Command Knight leapt off. Chunks of red metal landed all over Applejack’s side of the field, not vanishing just yet while being alit with flames.
 

“Mah Sliprider has another effect ya might like ta hear,” yelled AJ as she removed her card from the magical tray. “When this here card is destroyed and sent ta the graveyard, it removes itself to send out a distress signal ta all his pals. So Ah’ll do just that ta bring out Kozmoll Wickedwitch in a defense mode!” Walking onto the field from behind one of the larger pieces of metal was a green skinned woman dressed mostly in a black cloak and hood. The only other visible piece of clothing she had on was silver boots with leggings that went all the way up to her thighs. In one hand she held a wand that quickly sprouted red glowing energy blades from the top and bottom. Her defense was 300.
 

“Like that will do you any good,” sneered Long Horn as he pointed to Wickedwitch. “Brushfire, cut her down!” Brushfire Knight ran as fast as he could to cross the field, his weapon burning even stronger than before. As he brought his weapon down, Witchedwitch raised her weapon to defend herself.
 

“No dice there sugarcube,” said AJ. “Because Ah activate mah Wickedwitch’s effect: giving up a 1000 life points in order fer her to not be destroyed by battle or card effects for the rest of the turn.” Applejack’s monster used one hand to continue blocking while the other reached out towards the farmer girl. A moment later, lightning was coming out of the green skinned woman’s fingertips hitting AJ and filling her with pain. Despite her own strength, the farmer girl cried out in utter pain while sinking to her knees. When it was finally over, a panting AJ looked up to see that her monster was safe as Brushfire Knight was retreating to his side of the field. As for herself, Applejack now had 7000 life points.
 

As she struggled to get to her feet, Applejack wondered if this was what Twilight and Sonata had felt during their own duels. Perhaps…Perhaps it had been worse for Sonata since she didn’t have a gem or magic to protect her with. A wave of guilt washed over the farmer girl as she remembered her prior suspicions on the former Siren. Maybe they had been warranted, but the girl had stayed behind willingly and faced this sort of pain just to help them out. For facing something like this, Applejack knew that she deserved the benefit of the doubt as well as an apology.
 

“Guess it would be pointless to attack you again,” grumbled Long Horn as he looked at the last card in his hand. “I suppose then I’ll just set this card and end my turn.”
 

-x-
 

At the same time, Pinkie was quickly searching the house. Or, at least, as quickly as she could given the state it was in. Trash and holes littered the floors making it difficult for her to safely run through. More than once she had nearly slipped or tripped on something on the ground. And she could feel herself stepping on things that squished in a way that sent shivers down her spine. In her humble opinion, this place was going to need to be seriously disinfected when this was all over.
 

Still, she didn’t let this stop her. She ran throughout the entire first floor, searching for where they might be holding her possible Great (lots of Greats) Uncle Chili Pepper. He wasn’t in the living room, the kitchen, or even the dining room. She found a flight of steps leading down the basement, reminding her of a movie where a bunch of kids kidnapped their parents and locked them down there. Thinking these baddies had done the same, she looked down there but only found bottled chili pepper sauce and plenty of spider webs.
 

As she did all this, Pinkie was constantly pulling things out of her hair in search for more candy that she could use as an explosive. But, sadly, she seemed to have eaten the majority of her stash on the train ride here and had not stocked up at the abandoned candy store to refill her supplies. Still, she searched, hoping that there was something deep inside her mass of hair that she could use.
 

It was when she was moving back up the stairs that she found something. An old sugar cookie that was slightly stale. Perhaps this would do.
 

Holding the cookie like a lost treasure, she made her way through the main floor towards the stairs that lead up to the second floor. She bounced over the holes, nearly falling flat on her face in the process as she made her way up. Once at the top, she looked about before spotting a door at the end of the hallway that looked more secure than the others. Narrowing her eyes, she raced towards it.
 

“Hello?” yelled Pinkie Pie as she knocked loudly on the door, pocketing her cookie at the same time. “Great Uncle Chili Pepper? This is your possible great niece Pinkie Pie. Are you in there? And if you are and you're really another bad guy could you please pretend you didn’t hear this?”
 

“A great niece I haven’t heard of before?” came a shouted voice before Pinkie could pull her head away from the door. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
 

“The DNA test results have been a bit unreliable,” replied Pinkie as she reached for the door knob and turned it. However, the door didn’t open. She tried several more times, grunting and shaking the door with all her might before pausing to pant. When she finally let go, she realized that it was one of two options. One was that the door was locked. The second was that the door was stuck. Either way, she was going to need to try something and soon.
 

“Ok, stay back from the door,” shouted Pinkie as she pulled out her cookie again. “I’m going to try something.” Pinkie began to crumble the slightly stale cookie, rubbing it between her hands until it was nothing more than a powder. Once it was as fine it was going to be, she rubbed some of it around the keyhole before infusing it with her magic, hoping that it would work. After all, she had done this with sprinkles and marshmallows before but never anything like that. Thankfully there was enough sugar in it to get that glow that showed it was about to explode. Grinning, the pink skinned girl backed away just in time to watch it make a small ‘poof’. With a smile still on her face, she walked back over to the door and turned the knob…only to find it was still locked.
 

“Ah nuts,” she groaned as her shoulders slumped, hair going flat. Looking back at her hand, she saw that there was still plenty of cookie powder left. So with a shrug, she backed up before throwing all of it against the door. This time the explosion was much larger, shattering the door completely. Now with a grin on her face, she raced through the door to find Great Uncle Chili Pepper sitting in an old chair with an empty bowl on his lap.
 

“Well, what’s one more door?” he said as he looked at Pinkie. “So, tell me a little about yourself.”
 

-x- 
 

“Than Ah’ll draw!” shouted Applejack as she drew her card. Now with five cards in her hand, she looked over her options while glancing up at the field. The main problem was Gearfried. If Long Horn managed to draw another equip card, then AJ would be forced to give up another 1000 life points in order to protect her monster. And, sadly, right now she had nothing in her hand that she could trade in for that could destroy that muscled brute. But, that didn’t mean that she didn’t have other options.
 

“First off, Ah’ll be switching mah Wickedwitch into attack mode,” announced AJ loudly as she held up a card in her hand. “You’re not the only one who has an equip card. So Ah’ll equip Wickedwitch with Kozmo Lightsword which gives her 500 extra attack an defense points, lets her attack twice, and inflicts piercing damage!” Witckedwitch’s blade began to glow brighter as small amounts of lightning danced around its twin blades. At the same time, her attack rose from 1900 to 2400.
 

Long Horn, however, didn’t seem bothered by this at all. “Really? Is that the best you got little girl?” he laughed. “No spaceships to try and blast me?”
 

“Trust me, ya ain’t seen nothing yet,” said Applejack. “Because Ah play my Kozmo Goodwitch in attack mode!” Appearing next to Wickedwitch was a woman with long, wavy brown hair with elf ears and fairy wings. She was as tall as Applejack and dressed in a pink skirt and blouse along with a red vest. In one hand she carried a magical wand with a green energy blade coming out of the top; her attack was 1800. “Ah know this might not look as impressive as one of those fancy extra deck summons, but this here gal’s got a trick for ya. By paying 500 of mah life points, she can force one of your monsters to flip into face down defense mode. So Gearfried, time ta hide!”
 

“What?!? NO!” yelled Long Horn as Applejack’s life points drained to 6500. Not as painful this time, but she did have to grip her shoulder to stay upright. At the same time, Gearfried became nothing more than a facedown with his equip card being destroyed.
 

“Now time ta attack,” shouted Applejack. “Wickedwitch, attack Brushfire Knight!” Wickedwitch moved towards her target, twirling and jumping the whole way as if to build momentum for the final strike. When the attack came she sliced Brushfire in two, cutting both him and his weapon in half with ease.
 

“AHHH!” yelled Long Horn as his life points fell to 7400. “You just activated Brushfire Knight’s effect, letting me send a fire type monster in my deck to the grave. So I’ll be ditching my Phoenix Gearfried.”
 

“Alright then,” said Applejack as she looked over at Goodwitch. “Time ta take out Command Knight. Goodwitch, she’s all yours.” Goodwitch seemed to nod before flying across the field on her wings, leaving behind a trail of pink bubbles as she did. Like with Wickedwitch, Goodwitch sliced Command Knight in two causing Long Horn’s life points to drop to 7200. “Wickedwitch, time for your second attack! Take down that facedown!” Wickedwitch didn’t need to be told twice as she leapt into the air, bringing the back blade of her weapon down on the center of the facedown card. A moment later, both duelists saw Gearfried on his knees with a energy blade impaled in his chest looking horrified. A moment later he exploded while Long Horn’s life points dropped to 7000.
 

“Alright partner, ah’m done with mah turn,” said Applejack.


 “Fine!” yelled Long Horn as he drew his card, now the only card in his hand. “I summon The Fiend Megacyber in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a warrior with 2200 attack points, dressed in electric yellow armor. On the monster's shoulder there were large, silver blades shaped like claws and a third one under his chin. “This monster can be special summoned when my opponent has at least two more monsters than me. Now go and destroy Goodwitch!” The Fiend Megacyber changed forward while pulling back a fist in order to punch his enemy. When he got close enough, the proceeding blow was powerful enough to shatter Goodwitch and lower Applejack’s life points to 6100.
 

“That’s all I can do,” said Long Horn before quickly glancing at his deck. A look that seemed to be trying to willing a certain card to the top of his deck.
 

“Then Ah draw,” announced Applejack as she drew. Now with four cards in her hand, she was feeling very confident. Especially with what she had just drawn. “Ah play mah field spell Kozmotown!” The area around the two duelist quickly changed, morphing into a futuristic city with metal skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Above their heads were flying cars and spaceships moving in lines this way and that. “Now I activate one of its effects. I can return one of mah banished Kozmo monsters back ta mah hand and then take damage equal ta that monsters level times 100. Guess mah level three Kozmo Farmgirl is a good place to start.” Taking a breath, Applejack returned her Famrgirl back to her hand as a glow surrounded her body. The pain wasn’t as bad as the previous two times and quickly ended when her life points hit 5800.
 

“Now Ah activate the other effect of mah field spell,” continued Applejack as she held up three cards. “Ah can reveal as many Kozmo monsters as ah want an then shuffle them back into mah deck in order ta draw the same number of cards. Thing is ah can only do it once per turn. So Ah’ll be sending back mah Farmgirl, Strawman, and Scaredy Lion in order ta draw three cards.” Taking a breath, Applejack placed her three cards on the top of her deck. At once the auto-shuffler went into effect mixing up her cards at an amazing speed. When it finished, the top three cards slid out halfway for Applejack to pull out.
 

“Perfect,” said Applejack with a grin, as she looked at what she had. “Ah’ll summon mah Kozmo Tincan to the field in attack mode!” Appearing next to Wickedwitch was a creature that looked like a metal trash can on wheels. The top of this metallic hunk of junk looked like a tea kettle with steam coming out and long arms on its sides which touched the ground like a gorilla. Its attack was 0.
 

“Time for battle once again,” said Applejack with confidence. “Wickedwitch, slay Fiend Megacyber!” Once again, Wickedwitch twirled about before slicing the yellow warrior in half and causing Long Horn’s life points to drop to 6800. “Now one more attack. But this time make it direct one!” Wickedwitch, who had not returned to her side of the field yet, spun around so that her back was facing Long Horn while at that same time lifting her weapon so that the back end pierced his chest. As his life points dropped to 4400, Long Horn threw back his head as he screamed in pain. Wickedwitch said nothing as the thug fell to his knees, clutching his chest as he continued to cry out.
 

“Damn it, damn it,” he scream. “I shouldn’t be feeling pain. This isn’t right! This isn’t fair!”
 

“A lot more fair than this being one sided,” snapped Applejack, her smile vanishing on the spot. She stared at Long Horn, her eyes almost baring through him in a display of disgust. After everything he had done, how dare he whine about what’s fair and what isn’t!
 

Long Horn just breathed deeply as he stood up, sweat running down his face as he did. “Shut and finish your turn,” he growled.
 

“Fine,” replied Applejack as she reached towards her Tincan. “Ah end mah turn an in doing so activate mah monster effect. By paying 500 life points, ah get to pick three Kozmo cards with different names and then ya pick one at random.” Once again, Applejack’s life point dropped as a glow surrounded her which only stopped when it fell to 5300. As this was going on, the apple farmer looked at a screen which displayed all of her targets. With a shaky hand and a shortness of breath she looked over each one of them, thinking about what she needed to end this duel before pressing them. When she had chosen her third, three holographic cards appeared in front of Applejack with their backs facing Long Horn. “Alright partner, pick one.”
 

“This is,” began Long Horn. “Fine, I pick the one on the left.”
 

“Alright then,” said Applejack as she added the card to her hand. “Now Ah get ta keep this here card and the rest go ta mah graveyard.”
 

“Then I draw,” snarled Long Horn. He looked at his only card for a second before holding it up so Applejack could see it. “I play the spell card Pot of Desires. By banishing the top ten cards in my deck face down, I’m allowed to draw two more cards.” Quickly, Long Horn removed the cards and pocketing them before drawing his two. He looked them over and grinned excitedly. “Now you’re in for it little girl. I play the spell card: Swing of Memories. This card allows me to summon to the field one normal monster in my graveyard but it gets destroyed at the end of the turn. So now meet your doom with Phoenix Gearfried!”
 

Flames shot out of the ground with such force and brightness that Applejack was forced to cover her eyes. She could feel the heat on her skin as well as the moisture in the air lessen. When it ended, a lone figure stood on Long Horn’s side of the field. He was tall, taller than Long Horn and dressed in mostly white armor that had bits of red here and there which covered his entire body. On his back was a cloak as well as flames that rose up to almost form wings. In one hand this warrior held a long, white shield that looked like it could have been used as a weapon. The other held a massive white sword that had a gem near the tip which was also on fire. It’s attack points were 2800.
 

“Wait a second,” said Applejack as she looked at her duel disk. “That ain’t no normal monster.”
 

“It is and it isn’t,” replied Long Horn with a grin. “Phoenix Gearfried is a type of monster known as a Gemini monster. When he is in my graveyard or on my field he’s treated like a normal monster until I normal summon him again. Which I’ll do right now!” At once, the flames on Phoenix Gearfried began to rise, burning brighter and hotter than before. “Now he won’t be affected by Swing of Memories. Then I’ll equip him with Salamandra, giving him 700 more attack points!” At that moment, a dragon made of flames appeared around the blade of Phoenix Gearfried while his attack rose to 3500.
 

“But that’s not all, I activate my trap card Metalmorph!” roared Long Horn as his trap card flipped up. Once the card was revealed, a metallic liquid began to pour out of the card and flowed towards Phoenix Gearfried. Slowly it rose up his body, covering him and removing all color from his except of a metallic silver. At the same time his attack rose even more, stopping at 3800.
 

“Now I attack Tincan!” he roared, Phoenix Gearfried taking up his sword to attack the smaller monster.
 

“Not so fast,” cried Applejack. “Ah activate his effect ta banish him in order to special summon one of mah other Kozmo monsters in mah hand. An it just happens ta be the one ya put there. Kozmo Dark Eclipser!” Kozmo Tincan vanished from the field and, at the same time, a massive shadow appeared overhead. Applejack watched as Long Horn looked up to see her 3000 attack point battleship, shaped like a massive black blade with thin red lines here and there.
 

“Well, it's strong, but not strong enough,” laughed Long Horn. “I continue the attack, but this time my new target is Dark Eclipser! And when my monster battles one of yours, half of your monsters attack gets added to Phoenix Gearfried!” Applejack’s eyes widened as Phoenix Gearfried leapt high into the air, his attack rising all the way to 4300! Somehow he managed to reach the underbelly of Applejack’s star ship and impaled his sword into it. The warrior then flew across it, cutting into it while its sword fed flames into the Eclipser until it finally exploded.
 

“Now then, that should have done…” began Long Horn as Phoenix Gearfried landed next to him, but stopped when he realized something was wrong. As the pieces of Dark Eclipser fell all around them, she wasn’t losing life points. No, instead a green glow surrounded her body as her life points went up to 6600! “That…That isn’t right! You should have lost life points, not gained them! You have to be cheating!”
 

“Sorry partner, but ah don’t cheat,” replied Applejack. “This was all fair and square thanks ta ya.”
 

“What? How did I do this?!?” demanded Long Horn as he stomped his foot on the ground hard enough to cause massive cracks in the surface.
 

“Remember those cards ya sent ta the graveyard when Ah used Tincan?” asked Applejack as she held up a card. “One of them was this here trap card: Kozmomourning. It has this nifty effect that lets me banish it from the graveyard so that when ah take battle damage with a Kozmo monster this turn, ah instead gain that much instead. But that ain’t all. Mah Kozmo Dark Eclipser has another effect that lets me banish him when it's destroyed to have a lower level Kozmo monster join mah hand. So ah think Ah’ll take Kozmo Dark Destroyer.”
 

“FINE!” shouted Long Horn again, his eyes looking bloodshot as he snorted loudly. Steam seemed to be coming out of his nostrils as he glared at Applejack with the utmost hate. “It doesn’t matter what you do because nothing can take down my monster. Not with his sheer attack power!”
 

“Partner, Ah don’t need high numbers ta take him down,” replied Applejack as she drew her card. She looked at it for a moment before placing it on her card tray. “I summon mah Farmgirl once again. But she won’t be there for long because she’s taking flight in Kozmo Dark Destroyer!” Farmgirl was only on the field for a moment before jumping high into the air where a beam of light caught her. It raised her high into the sky as another space ship appeared, once again having 3000 attack points. However, there was very little that was ‘dark’ about this one as this single-engine starship was mostly silver. It was a smooth, well rounded ship with twin ‘wings’ on its side that ended in ever visible blasters.
 

“Hmp, not much better than the last one,” grunted Long Horn.
 

“Well, that’s because I haven’t activated its effect,” replied Applejack. “When Dark Destroyer is summoned, ah can target one of your cards and destroy it.” Before Long Horn could shout or do anything, a massive bullet of energy was fired from Dark Destroy. It flew down towards the ground, hitting Phoenix Gearfried and destroying him on the spot. Now, there was nothing for Long Horn to do.
 

“No,” gasped Long Horn, eyes wide now as he looked at his empty field. “It can’t end like this! I was going to take over! This magic was my ticket to the big leagues!”
 

“The only thing happening now is me stopping ya from hurting good folk,” declared Applejack. “Finish him!” Dark Destroyer fired first, twin lasers firing from its sides towards Long Horn. While they didn’t hit him directly, the force of the blast sent him flying backwards and rolling throw the trash he and his gang had left. Chunks of garbage smeared his body while small rocks and gravel cut at his skin. When he finally stopped rolling, he looked like his body had been dragged through the dump with his hair a mess and clothing stained with blood and other things. he laid there, staring at the sky as his life points dropped down to 1400.
 

“This isn’t right,” said Long Horn as he reached for the sky while Wickedwitch slowly moved over him, holding her wand sword with both hands while the bottom blade was pointed at his chest. But the thug wasn’t looking at the monster as far as AJ could. “I had such a big dream. I was supposed to go into the big time. Be a big crime boss. So why did this-” Long Horn’s words were cut out as Witchedwitch suddenly brought her blade down causing the teen to scream in utter pain. He thrashed about as Pinkie and Great Uncle Chili Pepper walked out of the house, Pinkie holding the older man to help keep him upright. They both watched as a green glow began to surround the teenage thug before his body began to shrivel up, turning him into a mummified version of himself that needed to gasp for air.
 

As his gem shattered, there was a loud cracking noise from out in the distance. The next thing Applejack knew Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s old pick-up truck was barreling through the fields towards them. Or at least, that’s how it looked. The girl who was driving it turned, slowing down as she did so and looked at the elder for a brief moment. AJ barely had time to realize this, let alone figure out what kind of look it was because the driver sped off leaving behind Long Horn to his fate.
 

-x-
 

It was several days later as Applejack wandered through the hospital on her way to see her Great Uncle. The place was back to normal, with nurses walking this way and that and doctors on their way to see patients. Thankfully, the only mummified patients they had were the members of the gang. The rest were the normal cases of broken bones and illnesses. As for her Great Uncle, the doctors just wanted to check to make sure he was in good health after being held captive for the last several days.
 

Outside these walls, the town had been working hard to get everything fixed up with the help of the government. Buildings were being patched up and businesses were being reopened so that a sense of normalcy could return. This was helped in part that there had been no deaths caused by the gang and their use of magic. The local government was also doing what they could to help, but were curious as to what had happened. Right now, Sheriff Tumbleweed had made something up about drugs or something along those lines. She didn’t know the full story that he had told them, but whatever he made up would be better believed than the truth. And, for now, they seemed to be buying it
 

“Hey Applejack!” came a loud voice from behind Applejack. The farmer girl turned to see that it was Sonata with several of the medical professionals giving her only slightly annoyed looks. Probably because they owed her so much for helping the town get back to normal.
 

“Hey there sugarcube,” said Applejack as Sonata bounced right in front of her, a gem much like the ones that the gang had been using around her neck. “How ya feeling? Any changes?”
 

“Nope!” replied Sonata as she twirled around, arms spread out to show that there were no visible bandages. Something that Applejack found hard to believe when she heard the story of what the former Siren went through from Twilight. How badly she had gotten hurt just to give them all the time she could. How she barely had a pulse when the duel had ended. She had no reason to believe that Twilight was lying, she just found it hard to believe that anything good could have come from those gems.
 

Speaking of the gems, the one around Sonata’s neck hadn’t just healed it. It had changed slightly. The unicorn markings on it had vanished and its shape had transformed more into a teardrop. Its color had also transformed. While it was still green, it was more like an ocean green color with less of a foreboding presence to it. When they had all learned this, Twilight began spinning theories out until the poor girl became dizzy with excitement. One theory was that ownership of the gem switched when its owner had lost, transferring ownership and health over to Sonata. The others, well, kind of flew over Applejack’s head as Twilight was spitting them out faster than AJ could understand them. In the end, all that mattered was that Sonata was healthy and alive.
 

“What’cha doing down here?” asked Applejack. “Ah thought you’d be helpin’ Twi with the checklist ta head home.”
 

“Oh, we got that done last night and went over it again this morning,” replied Sonata. “I just thought I just wanted to talk to Free Range.” As a sad smile appeared on Sonata’s face, making AJ feel slightly worried about her, the blue skinned girl walked past her heading in the same direction that Applejack had been going.
 

Slowly, Applejack followed her friend while rubbing her left arm with her right hand while looking nervous. That was until they turned down a hallway where several rooms were being guarded by the local deputies, each one glancing at the door as if afraid that those in the room would attack them from behind. Calmly, Sonata walked down towards the middle room and was allowed inside without any trouble. Slightly curious, AJ walked ahead a bit so that she could look into the room.
 

Inside was a plain, white room with a single bed and chair. Sonata was pushing the chair closer to the bed where its lone occupant laid, handcuffed to the side as breathing devices and heart monitors were hooked up to him. This man, if he could still be called that in the state he was in, was named Free Range. The person who had hurt Sonata during their duel.
 

“Hey, how are you doing today?” asked Sonata gently.
 

“Better than yesterday,” the mostly toothless Free Range managed to gasp as he turned his head to look at Sonata. “Managed to get some medicine into town that is…somewhat making this more bearable.”
 

“I,” began Sonata before gulping loudly. “I heard the adults talking about what to do with you. One of the doctors said that you might never get better. That he doubted even with all the new resources that they’re getting and access to super smart specialists. Even Twilight doesn’t know if you’ll get better and she’s like the super smartest of them all.”
 

“I…deserve this,” wheezed Free Range, surprising AJ. “I should have known from the start that there might be a cost to this power, but I ignored it. Even when I heard about what happened to Raging, I thought that would never happen to me.” Even from where she stood, AJ could see tears rolling down Free’s face. “I guess, I just wanted to go home so badly that I ignored all the warning signs. Now, I’m more a prisoner than I ever thought possible. I can’t even get up from this bed. The handcuffs, they’re more for show than anything. I’m so weak and helpless.
 

“It just doesn’t seem fair. I made one mistake, a big one but one all the same. So many people out there make mistakes on a daily basis, so why did I have to pay for it over and over again? Why was I trapped in that hellhole for so long, alone and forgotten? Why didn’t anyone do anything to help me? Why?”
 

“Don’t worry,” said Sonata with a sniff as she reached out to place a hand on his. “I don’t think you’re going back there. I heard some of the adults talking about that mean Warden. I guess he wants all of you back really badly. But Twilight looked online at their facilities and told a judge that they don’t have the right equipment to take care of any of you. That it would be a death sentence. So they're looking into other places that can take care of you.”
 

Free Range was crying more freely now as he turned his head to the ceiling. “Thank God,” he gasped. “Thank God.”
 

“Those boys sure had it rough,” came another voice that caused Applejack to jump. Turning to look at her side, she saw Great Uncle Chili Pepper standing beside her using a cane to help him walk.
 

“Uncle Chili Pepper, are ya sure ya should be up an about?” asked AJ quickly in a hushed voice. “Ah could take ya back ta your room an-”
 

“Pish posh, Ah’m fine,” replied Chili Pepper as he waved off the concern. “Been cooped up for too long and those fields aren’t going to tend to themselves. Plus there’s a house that needs fixing.”
 

“Yeah,” agreed Applejack with a sigh. “Ah wish we could stay a bit longer but-”
 

“Ya’all have been here long enough,” interrupted the old man once more. “You’re school work is far more important than helping an old man like myself. Granny Smith would have mah head if ah kept ya’ll here any longer!” He then let out a sigh as he turned to look into the room Sonata was in. “But, maybe ya could do me a slight favor.”
 

“Of course,” said Applejack.
 

“It’s about Fizzy or, as she prefers to be called, Tempest,” began Chili Pepper as he looked into the room with a sad expression. “I heard that they found my old truck several miles out of town, abandoned in a ditch. That they don’t know where she is.”
 

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Ah’m sure the police will find her,” said Applejack in a comforting tone. The last thing she wanted was for her great uncle to worry that one of them might come back for him. But, to her great surprise, her great uncle just shook his head.
 

“That poor girl is driven,” he said. “She’s spent so long hating, trying to survive. But there’s a sweet girl under all of that that ah saw plenty of times while she was with me. Ah tried hard ta help her an the rest of them. But, it was hard. Many of them thought that their families had abandoned them.” Applejack noticed that Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s hand began to tighten his grip on his cane.” When she and the others first came under mah care, Warden Storm told me not ta allow them any contact with their families. Told me there would be consequences if ah did. Now Ah wish Ah had done just that an damn it all.”
 

“What-” began Applejack, but Chili Pepper just shook his head.
 

“Did what Ah could ta help them, Ah really did,” he said. “But some Ah guess were too far gone. Let the rot reach their core. But, Ah ain’t giving up on all of them. No sir. They might call me a fool all they want, but Ah’m goin’ keep tryin’. So, if ya ever happen ta run into that there Tempest, tell her there will always be a room waiting for her at my place. That she can come in for a spell whenever she wants. In good times or bad times, mah door will aways be open ta her while Ah live and breath.” And before Applejack could say anything else, Chili Pepper walked into the room towards Free Range.