Twilight let out a moan as she struggled to open her eyes. She quickly felt for her environment. Certainly, she was in a bed. Not in the bed in her home, but a bed nonetheless.
A sudden pain struck her in the back of her head. Her hoof went behind her head to feel where the source of the pain was.
“Bandages,” she thought. “Last thing I remember is…”
“Let my friends go!” she demanded, her horn glowing once more.
“That won’t happen,” said a deeper male voice. Another hooded figure entered the room, lightning sparking from his hands. The newcomer extended his arm towards Twilight and shot several bolts at her, knocking her through the hole in the wall.
“Twilight!” shouted her friends.
“The Elements and their bearers belong to us now!” The figures stepped through the hole. The second extended his arm towards Twilight again. “Give up.”
Twilight rose to her hooves, her horn and the emblem on her crown glowing. “Release… my friends…!”
The second human glared at her. “Have it your way.” A large burst of lightning shot out towards Twilight. This time, she fired a burst of energy from her horn in retaliation. The blasts collided directly in between. “A strong one, aren’t you? But it’s useless.”
“I won’t… let you win…” Twilight replied, struggling to maintain her strength.
Neither she nor the human let up, and the collision of their attacks triggered an explosion of light that engulfed the vicinity.
“My friends!” she quickly shouted, her eyes jerking open. “Huh…? Where am I…? Spike? Spike! Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Pinkie Pie…?” She scanned the well-lit room, a worried expression on her face. The walls had simple white wallpaper. The floor was made from wooden planks. There was one window and one passage leading downstairs where she began to hear… hoofsteps? No. Sounded too soft to be hoofsteps. Footsteps, perhaps, similar to Spike’s whenever he scurried around the library.
“Hello?” she asked. “Anypony… there…?”
She watched as a tall, thin… creature with red… not mane… hair walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake,” the figure said, with a female voice. It looked almost as confused as she was. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised… he did tell me you could talk, after all…”
“Who and what in Equestria are you?! Wait! Aren’t you a human? What are you doing here?” Twilight exclaimed. Another pain struck her in the head. “Ow!”
“Please calm down!” the figure replied, approaching Twilight and placing her hand on her shoulder. The alicorn immediately jerked away as the figure pulled her arm back. “My name is Akiza Izinski. A friend of mine brought you here not too long ago while you were still unconscious.”
“Where am I?” Twilight rubbed the back of her head.
“My friend’s apartment.”
“Who?”
“His name is Yusei Fudo.”
“‘Yusei… Fudo…’” Twilight repeated. The name rung familiar.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” said a male voice.
“Wh… what happened…? Where am I…?” Twilight asked. The pain in her head made her too dizzy to try to open her eyes.
“You were captured earlier… but you’re safe now. I’m just taking you to a place where you can rest and regain your strength.”
“Who… are you…?”
“My name… is Yusei Fudo.”
“Yusei… Fudo…” Twilight repeated. Struggling to see, Twilight soon noticed something bright in front of her. It was bright red, almost inviting. Almost… magical. “This light… so… warm…”
Her strength began to slip away from her. She didn’t know who this “Yusei Fudo” was… but from her studies of magic, no light that was this bright and strong could be something she needed to fear… at least for the moment.
Twilight’s eyes closed as her mind drifted away.
Twilight remained silent, trying to gather her thoughts.
“Is something wrong?” Akiza asked.
Silence.
“Where did you… come from, anyway? You don’t appear to be a Duel Monster. At least not one I’ve seen before,” Akiza continued.
“‘Duel Monster’…?” Twilight stared at the red-haired woman, confused.
“Either way, you don’t seem to be from this world.”
Twilight froze for a bit. “You don’t seem to be from this world.” Her heart sank as Akiza’s words echoed in her mind. “This is… another world…?” Twilight mumbled. She closed her eyes and held her hooves to her head, attempting to process all the information that was suddenly thrown at her all at once.
“I’m in… the human world…? But… that’s impossible… I didn’t go through…” She then came to another realization. Something on her head was missing. “My Element! Where is it?!” Twilight screamed.
“‘Element’…?” Akiza asked.
“My crown! What happened to it? I was wearing it earlier!”
“Please, calm down! I think my friend, Yusei, said something about looking for a crown before he left.”
“You mean…”
“Yes. The man that brought you here. It still surprises me how he managed to bring you here all on his own, considering your size.”
Twilight once again used the trick her former foalsitter taught her, in an attempt to calm her nerves.
“It’s just… so much to take in…” Twilight finally spoke, breaking the momentary silence.
“What do you mean?” Akiza questioned, pulling up a chair.
“First, these humans—they look like them, anyway—show up and attack us… then I somehow get thrown into this completely different world… and now suddenly my big crown thingy is gone and my friends are nowhere to be found!” Twilight groaned. Her hooves then covered her face as she began to sob. “This is just bad… really, really bad…”
Twilight nearly jumped when she felt Akiza’s hand on her shoulder.
“Listen, I may not know much about your situation now, but I promise… we’ll figure this out.”
“Okay, but… how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you’re not with those humans wearing hoods that attacked me and my friends?”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“Likely story…”
“Well, I’ve never even heard of you before, for one thing. Are humans rare where you come from?”
“I suppose… and… I guess you’ve never met a pony before.”
“‘Pony’ wouldn’t be the word I use. We have horses in this world, but none that can talk. They don’t have wings or horns, either. And they certainly don’t have a coat the same color as yours.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, you should probably rest some more. It’ll take time for that bump on your head to heal.” Akiza stood up.
“But… I need my crown. It’s important!”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, Yusei went out to search for it a while ago. If anything, you can trust him.”
Twilight hung her head and remained silent for a short moment.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a name, would you?” Akiza asked.
Twilight’s head rose. “My name… is…” Twilight paused, hesitant to place any sort of trust in these “humans”, or whatever they call themselves. She looked back at Akiza once more. The female human did certainly appear sincere enough, and did most likely tend to her injury. She figured Akiza probably deserved, at least, that much. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well, then, Twilight… get some rest. I’ll see if I can’t get something for you to eat.” Akiza turned towards the doorway.
“Oh… okay…”
“Something the matter?”
“I just… have a few questions is all…”
“That makes two of us, but let’s wait until Yusei and the others get back.”
“Others?”
“Friends, I should say. Don’t worry. We don’t want to hurt you.”
“Sure… if you say so.”
“You don’t really trust us, do you? I can’t say I blame you. I’ll be right back.”
Twilight hung her head once more as the human left the room. Pondering her next move, she glanced out the nearby window. If she wanted to escape, this was her chance. But at the same time… she was in a completely new world. There was no place to go and little choice but to trust these humans, Yusei, Akiza, and whoever else was going to see her soon.
Her eyes traveled around the room again and caught sight of a bookshelf. Slowly pulling off the covers, she gently placed her hooves on the wooden floor.
Approaching the shelf, Twilight found herself appalled by the arrangement of the books, which appeared to be randomly placed as if they were set on the shelf mindlessly and carelessly.
“Do these humans even know the meaning of the word ‘organized’?” she mumbled with disgust.
Her horn began to glow as she attempted to levitate the books off the shelf.
“Ow!” The books dropped onto the floor. Twilight rubbed the back of her head. Concentrating on any sort of spell almost immediately drew her mind to the pain from whatever hit her.
She heard footsteps scurrying up the stairs.
Recovering from the sudden surge of pain, she turned her head towards the passageway, where Akiza and another human stood.
“What happened?!” Akiza asked.
“Sorry. I just saw this bookshelf and how everything was unorganized on it. I tried… to use my magic to rearrange it but then… I sort of… dropped them…” Twilight confessed.
“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
“No, I’m all right… except for that bump on my head…”
“What do you mean ‘use your magic’?” the male human—a conclusion Twilight quickly came to considering the sound of his voice—behind Akiza questioned.
“Who are you?” Twilight returned.
“He’s Yusei Fudo, the one who saved you,” Akiza answered.
“You’re Yusei? What was that bright light I saw before I passed out?”
The two humans glanced at each other.
“Good grief, maybe we should take turns asking questions,” Akiza suggested.
“Agreed,” Yusei concurred.
“Oh… right… yeah, that would probably be best…” Twilight replied. “But wait, didn’t you say others are coming?”
“Yeah, but they’re a bit farther away so it’ll take a while for them to show up,” Akiza answered.
“All right…” Twilight sighed.
Twilight sat in the bed and faced Yusei and Akiza, with him leaning against the wall and her sitting in the chair again. The bookshelf was already cleaned and organized, though not to the her liking.
“I guess… I’ll start…” she offered. “But shouldn't we wait for your friends?”
“They’ll be held back for a while, so you might as well start now and we can fill them in later,” Akiza replied.
“All right, then… my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the fourth alicorn to be crowned princess in Equestria, the world I come from. My friends and I represent the spirits of the six Elements of Harmony.”
“Elements of Harmony?” Yusei repeated.
“Is that what you meant before when you said you were missing your Element?” Akiza asked.
“Yeah, but we can only use their power when we have the actual Elements with us. My friends have necklaces and I have a crown,” Twilight answered.
“You mean…” Yusei started.
He then felt a pulse in his arm. Glancing at it, he saw the mark on his arm glowing then looked up at the object now fastened to Dobocle’s waist. The emblem, glowing brightly, was shaped like a star and was identical to the symbol on the creature’s rear end.
“What’s wrong, Yusei?” Akiza asked.
“That crown… it fell into the ocean after Dobocle’s Duel Runner exploded,” Yusei answered.
Quickly regaining control of his Runner, he turned around and headed in the direction he came with the small horse across his lap. Lowering the armpiece, he saw a sparkle in the distance. He turned his head to see the crown fall into the sea below.
“It… WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed.
“It’s why I went back out. Crow is still looking for it as we speak,” Yusei quickly replied.
“But how are you supposed to get it from the bottom of the ocean?!”
“With scuba gear, of course,” Akiza answered.
“Oh... right...”
“Tell us more about these Elements."
“Oh… uh… well, there are six. Loyalty, kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty, and the last one—which is mine—is magic… The Elements are responsible for maintaining harmony in Equestria, so everypony can live happily… what?”
“It’s nothing,” Yusei replied.
“It just seems weird to use the term ‘pony’. No offense,” Akiza stated.
“How so?” Twilight responded, curious.
“‘Pony’ is somewhat of a… little-girl term for what we call ‘horses’ here.”
“I guess it’s more of a preferred term for us.”
“Do they all have wings and a horn like you, Twilight?”
“No. I’m one of four alicorns, all of which are princesses. The other three are Princess Celestia, my mentor… Princess Luna, her sister—both of which rule Equestria together… and Princess Cadance, my old foalsitter when I was little and when I was still a unicorn.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everypony else… sorry, is that weird for you?”
“We don’t mind. It’ll just take some getting used to.”
“All right. Everypony else is either a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. Unicorns are gifted with the ability to use magic with their horns, pegasi can manipulate the weather, and earth ponies are more in tune with the natural world than the other two.”
“But you said you used to be a unicorn?” Yusei interjected.
“Yeah. My mentor, Princess Celestia, sent me a book written by one of the most powerful unicorns in history. I was to complete a spell that he couldn’t and, when I did, I was transformed into an alicorn.”
“I’d like to ask more but… we would probably end up way off-track,” Akiza said.
“Right. So, clearly, the Elements are important to you and your world,” Yusei added.
“Yeah. Anyway, it’s my turn to ask questions,” Twilight replied.
“Ask away,” Akiza encouraged.
“Where do I start…?” Twilight paused for a moment. “I guess I’d want to know… what kind of world I’m in? And what is this ‘Duel Monster’ that Akiza—that’s your name, right?—mentioned earlier. And… what was that bright light I saw when you rescued me? You know, before I passed out and before I woke up here.”
“To start…” Akiza began. “Our world is just called ‘Earth’, and you’re in New Domino City. Duel Monsters is more of a card game that everyone plays… most of the time.”
“Most of the time?” Twilight wondered.
“In the past, there have been several individuals who have tried to use Duel Monsters to do evil, such as taking over the world or trying to destroy it.”
“With… a card game…?”
“Duel Monsters have actually played a large role in our world’s history,” Akiza continued. “It’s even believed that its origins date back to about 5,000 years ago. Some say it was even about 10,000. It seems to be like any card game at first glance, but many of the cards are special; some even have connections to people. More so, there is even a separate world where Duel Monster Spirits live.”
“That’s a bit farfetched.”
“It is true, though,” Yusei responded.
“Besides, the idea of talking horses—ponies, rather—that can use magic and manipulate weather is a bit farfetched to humans here,” Akiza added.
“Fair enough,” Twilight replied. “What about that light, though?”
“You’re probably referring to this,” Yusei said, raising his right arm. He rolled up his sleeve and removed his glove.
“What… is that…? A cutie mark…?”
“Cutie mark?”
“Oh… I guess not, then. A cutie mark is something a pony earns when he or she realizes their special talent. The symbol then magically appears on the pony’s flank. Mine, for example, represents my talent of magic.”
“I see. Well… my mark here is the mark of the Crimson Dragon.”
“Crimson… Dragon…?”
“The Crimson Dragon is a mythical creature said to have existed about 10,000 years ago and fought the Earthbound Immortals, a group of dark deities, both then and 5,000 years ago. Its servants are six dragons, which hold special connections to the Signers,” Akiza explained.
“What’s a Signer?”
“A Signer is someone who is endowed with the Crimson Dragon’s power and there are a total of six Signers, including Akiza and myself,” Yusei stated. Akiza rolled up her sleeve and revealed her mark as well. “The light you saw was probably my mark when it was glowing, reacting to your crown.”
“It what?”
“Our marks can sense when others possessing some sort of magic are nearby as well as major threats. I guess you could say that’s how I managed to follow your kidnapper and rescue you,” Yusei answered, putting his glove back on after he and Akiza rolled up their own sleeves.
“I see. Well… thank you, Yusei. How’d I get this bump on my head, anyway?”
“Well…”
A sudden moan was heard.
“Wh… where am… I…?” a young female voice asked.
The two duelists became wide-eyed as they saw where the voice came from.
“It talks?!” Dobocle exclaimed.
“Why do I feel… so… restrained…?” the equine began to squirm. The struggle caused Dobocle’s Runner to wobble slightly.
“Hey, knock it off!” Dobocle shouted.
Yusei watched as the horse screamed for freedom, only to be silenced by a blow to the head from the crown Dobocle now held.
Twilight’s mouth dropped open, disgusted at the thought of her own Element of Harmony being used like a miniature club. She rubbed the back of her head again. “Ugh… just thinking about it makes my head hurt…” she moaned. “So… what about the dragons? You mentioned dragons earlier when you were talking about the… Crimson Dragon, I think.”
“Their power is contained within Duel Monsters cards,” Akiza answered. “Each of them is owned by the Signer they belong to.”
“I see… May I… see one of these… cards?”
“Is it alright with you, Yusei?” Akiza asked.
“Sure,” Yusei agreed, revealing a card to Twilight.
“‘Stardust Dragon’…” she read aloud.
“So I guess that means you can read English,” Akiza commented.
“I’m surprised we speak the same language, let alone write,” Twilight added, as Yusei put the card away.
“At any rate, we’ll do what we can to help you get back home to your friends,” Yusei said.
Twilight’s head jerked up.
“What’s wrong?” Akiza asked.
“My… friends…” Twilight responded.
“What about them?”
“Just before I found myself in this world… we were attacked by humans…”
“Oh, right. I remember you saying this before…”
“What, Akiza?” Yusei questioned.
“Twilight said a group of humans had attacked her and her friends, then she suddenly found herself here in our world,” Akiza answered.
Twilight covered her face with her hooves. She dreaded the thought of what might have befallen her friends.
“Then… all the more reason,” Yusei said, turning towards the stairway. Twilight slowly removed her hooves from her face. “I know what it’s like to miss your friends.”
Twilight glanced over at Akiza, who appeared melancholy. “Did something… happen?” she asked.
“Just yesterday… we discovered two of our friends, Leo and Luna—fraternal twins and also Signers—were missing,” Akiza replied.
“That’s terrible!”
“What’s worse is that our Signer marks haven’t reacted to anything besides you and your crown, since they can also be used for finding other Signers. I don’t want to think about what might happen to them… especially considering how young they are.”
“I’m… sorry to hear about that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I hope you find them soon.”
“So do I…”
“Maybe I can help,” Twilight offered.
“That’s not a good idea,” Yusei said.
“But why?”
“You’re from a different world. When you first came here, the first thing that happened to you was that you were placed in a high-tech security lab. The only ones that know you’re here are Akiza and I. Eventually, Crow and Jack will, too.”
“Who are they?”
“The other two Signers. Crow was the one that found you.”
“If they find you, they might send you back to the lab to let the scientists do whatever tests they want to perform,” Akiza added.
Twilight hung her head. It was sad. Logical, but sad. She knew all too well what being a scientist was like.
“But after what you’ve been through…” Yusei continued, “you don’t deserve that. That’s why we can’t risk you going out in public.”
“Right…” Twilight responded.
“First things first, though. We’ll have to recover that crown.”
The alicorn looked up once more. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s what friends are for,” Yusei replied, walking downstairs.
Twilight froze.
“That’s Yusei for you,” Akiza commented.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, turning her head towards her.
“I guess… he just sees a friend in you… and felt that you needed one yourself so you don’t feel alone while you’re here in our world. I’d be honored if you’re willing to consider me a friend as well.”
“They’re so… nice… and sincere…” Twilight thought, as she turned her head back towards the stairway. “I’d… like that.”
She glanced once more at Akiza, catching her smile.
“Looks like… the magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria or that other human world… it exists in this place, too,” she thought, smiling as well. “Maybe being in this new world won’t be so bad after all.”