Dueling is Magic! Many Futures

by Wolfgang

Chapter 20: Heart to Heart

Applejack stretched when she awoke, moving to pop her back in as many places as possible. The bunks she and the others slept in were soft enough, but they just didn’t compare to her bed back home. She rubbed her back a little, then threw off her covers and slipped out of bed as quietly as she could. Most of the others were asleep. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had woken up earlier than her for their own duties- Pinkie said the night before that she would be making pancakes for the army’s breakfast, and Rainbow Dash had been getting up before dawn for patrol. Applejack chuckled inside. Rainbow Dash was taking this more seriously than cloud duties back home.

Applejack looked around the room. Fluttershy snoozed peacefully on her cloud in the corner. Rarity had managed to stitch together a sleeping mask with materials she found lying about and was still fast asleep. And snoring, but even that somehow seemed ladylike.

Twilight was asleep, but it seemed restless. Spike had draped himself across her as a cat would and was snoring quietly himself. Applejack thought that Spike’s weight was the only thing keeping Twilight from tossing and turning, but she couldn’t fathom why. She watched Twilight thoughtfully for another few seconds before turning to the door and leaving the room.

Applejack made her way to the mess hall for breakfast. She was looking forward to pancakes. As she approached, she heard the muffled sounds of a crowded room coming from behind the doors. It always amazed her that so many humans were up this early in the morning on a regular basis. She was a farmpony by nature and upbringing, so early mornings were nothing new to her, but most ponies she knew didn’t get up as early as she or Big Macintosh normally would.

Applejack approached the serving counter and stood on her hind legs to get a better view. Pinkie Pie was bringing out another tray of pancakes, carefully balancing it on her back. One of the other servers took it and placed it on the counter.

“Mornin’ Pinkie,” said Applejack.

“Good morning, Applejack!” said Pinkie. “Have a good sleep?”

“I guess. Not as good as if I were home, but I slept alright.” She arched her back to pop her spine. “Beds aren’t that comfy, but they’ll do.”

“You seemed kinda restless last night,” said Pinkie. “I woke up and had to use the bathroom. Were you having a bad dream?”

Applejack said nothing, but nodded.

“I dreamt... ah, it don’t matter. Was just a nightmare.”

“If something’s bothering you, you should talk about it with someone.”

“I’m gonna be plenty busy today, Pinkie Pie. Not gonna have much time for talkin’.”

“It’s about Twilight, isn’t it?”

Applejack was silent again. People started to move around her to get at the breakfast foods.

“Applejack,” said Pinkie, “you really should talk to Twilight. I know you’re upset with her about keeping that secret, but-”

“It ain’t just the secret, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “It’s what that secret did to Rainbow Dash. You seen her lately? She’s almost as grouchy as Jack!”

“I know,” said Pinkie. “But you should still talk to Twilight.”

Applejack snorted and started pushing pancakes onto her plate, then moved down the line to grab some biscuits, a juice box and a bowl of grits.

“Mind if I carry your tray for you?” came a gruff voice. Applejack looked up.

“Ushio!” she said. The tall human stood behind her, holding a food tray in his hands. “Naw, I don’t mind. Thanks.” Ushio picked up Applejack’s food tray with one hand and held his own in the other. “See ya later, Pinkie,” Applejack said to her friend before leaving the counter to follow the human.

The ponies still received stares from the humans, but only when they were completely awake. Sunlight was only just beginning to seep in through the windows. Most of the humans were still groggy with sleep, so they hardly noticed Applejack. She liked this time of day because of that.

Ushio found an empty table and set down the two food trays, then sat in a chair in front of his tray. Applejack pulled her chair out and hopped into the seat.

“How’s life in the human world treating you?” Ushio asked. Applejack shrugged.

“S’alright,” she said. “Still ain’t used ta all the stares, but I just keep workin’ to take my mind off it.”

“I think part of the reason they stare at you is that you don’t talk with them much.” Ushio cut off a piece of pancake and put it in his mouth with a fork. He chewed a bit then swallowed. “Pinkie spends a lot of time talking with everyone she sees. Fluttershy talks with a lot of the patients in the clinic. And Rainbow Dash? She’s out on recon missions a lot, so she has to talk with everyone in her group.”

“So they just ain’t used to me yet?”

“Probably, yeah.”

“Makes sense, I guess. Ah remember when Zecora first moved to Ponyville. She’s a zebra and almost everypony in the town was scared of her. Wasn’t nothin’ to be scared of, though. She’s nice as can be and really helpful when it comes to medicine.”

“You live in a strange world, Applejack.”

“I can say the same fer you, Ushio.”

“Different worlds, different cultures.”

“I guess.”

The two ate in silence for several minutes.

Ushio was the first to finish. “Say, Applejack,” he said. “Would you like some help with the crates in storage today? I’ve technically got the day off, but I can never just sit still and do nothing all day. I’m a working man, so I gotta keep busy.”

“You sayin’ I can’t do it alone?” Applejack asked.

“We’ve all seen how well you work for the past week, Applejack. I know you can do it. I just thought you might like someone to help you make some extra progress today.”

“Eh, sure, why not?” said Applejack. She pushed her tray away from her.

“I’ll take our trays and meet you by the door.”

“Sounds good.” Applejack slipped out of her chair and started walking to the doors.

Ushio and Applejack had worked in relative silence for several hours, speaking only when one needed help from the other. Boxes and crates were carried or pulled from one area to another with ease, and Applejack noticed her workload was shrinking.

“It’s almost time for lunch,” said Ushio. “How about I call in a lunch order so we don’t have to walk all the way to the cafeteria and back again?”

“Sounds good,” said Applejack. “Get this crate onto my cart here and you can go ahead and do that.”

“Giving me orders now?” Ushio laughed. He hoisted the crate onto the cart behind Applejack. She walked off with the cart in tow and Ushio walked over to a nearby phone. “Operations? Yeah, this is Chief Ushio. Can you connect me to the kitchen? Thanks... hi, this is Chief Ushio calling in a lunch order for myself and Applejack. We’re in Storage Unit Eight.”

“No need for the order, sir,” came the voice on the other side. “Pinkie Pie just left with lunch for you two. She figured you would be tired from all the work.”

“Did she? Well, that was nice of her. Thanks.”

“Bye then.”

Ushio hung up.

Applejack appeared a few moments later. “So, what’s for lunch?” she asked.

“Dunno,” Ushio replied. “Turns out Pinkie Pie decided to go ahead and bring us food before I called.”

“Now ain’t that sweet o’ her?” said Applejack. “Well, she’ll be here in a few minutes- maybe sooner. She tends to show up when- and where- you least expect her.”

Ushio sat down on a nearby crate. “Listen, Applejack, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” he said. “It’s about your fight with Twilight.”

Applejack sat down. “Probably not much I can do to stop you sayin’ what you’re gonna say,” she said. “So go ahead.”

“Alright. Look, I know you aren’t happy with Twilight about keeping secrets from you and the other ponies, but you can’t just avoid her because of it. You should go and talk to her.”

“Ushio, it ain’t just that she kept a secret from us- and that’s not even that big a deal since Princess Celestia asked her to. It’s the secret itself. Equestrians and Duel Monsters are the same, even if we’re living in different worlds. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, they’ve all played this game, but it’s not just a game. Not knowing before an’ still duelin’ is understandable. But after Twilight learned what we really are, she kept duelin’! And she even let Rainbow Dash go out and fight!”

“Those duels were necessary, Applejack,” said Ushio.

“That’s beside the point!” Applejack said. “You didn’t see the look on Rainbow’s face when she found out! She was mortified, Ushio! You’ve seen how her deck’s supposed to work. What if that’s what your military strategy was? It’s even worse for her not just because she didn’t know, but because Twilight did know and didn’t stop her!”

“I know,” came a voice. Ushio and Applejack turned their heads. Pinkie Pie and Twilight were standing a few feet away. Two food trays floated over to Ushio and Applejack. “I know, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“What’re you doin’ here, Twilight?” Applejack said.

“I came to try and win my friend back,” Twilight responded.

“This ain’t no game, Twilight!” Applejack said. “And now that I mention it, neither is Duel Monsters!”

Twilight bowed her head.

“Twilight, I get that the Princess asked you not to say anything, but you still shouldn’t have let Rainbow Dash duel. You even encouraged her! You owed it to her to tell her the truth before she went out there.”

“Applejack, you know what happens if you tell a secret, right?” Pinkie chimed in. “You can-”

“Pinkie, she’s right,” Twilight interrupted. “You can lose friends if you tell secrets. But some things you should tell your friends anyway.” Twilight looked up at Applejack with tears in her eyes. “Applejack, I’m so sorry for not saying anything.”

“Aw... darn it, Twilight, yer makin’ it hard to stay mad at you.” Applejack sighed. “Look, I really ain’t the one you should be apologizin’ to. You owe Rainbow Dash this apology. She’s been sendin’ our own kind to be destroyed with every game she plays because you didn’t tell her sooner.”

“I understand, Applejack. But there’s something else that you should know, something that Spike found out.”

“What is it?”

“We’re not Duel Monsters Spirits. At least, not anymore.”

“...come again?”

“When our worlds split, our kind had to change to survive. We ended up becoming something new. And there’s actually something we have in common with humans.”

“And what’s that?” Ushio asked.

“Neither of our species are Duel Monsters Spirits. However, Duel Monsters Spirits are born from our hearts. They’re a part of us, a part of who we are.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Pinkie asked.

“The decks that Spike, Dash and I all have aren’t just cards, and they aren’t soldiers that we send off to battle for us. They’re our souls.”

“Yusei always said that two duelists going all out was like their souls were clashing,” Ushio said. “I always thought he just meant that duelists give it everything they’ve got in a duel and it becomes personal.”

“It’s much deeper than that,” said Twilight. “Rainbow Dash was never commanding soldiers. She was fighting with her own soul.”

Applejack just stared. For a long time, no one said anything.

At last, Applejack said, “No wonder she was havin’ so much fun.”

“Applejack, can you ever forgive me for keeping this from you and the girls?” Twilight asked. Applejack stood up, walked over to the unicorn, and pulled her into a hug.

“O’ course I can, sugar cube,” said the orange mare.

A convoy moving to establish a recon outpost is attacked by Dark Troopers and a mysterious D-Wheeler, and many people are hurt. Fluttershy and Aki desperately try to keep up with the wounded that flood into the clinic, but soon must call on Twilight and Rarity for help. Twilight decides to take a chance and talk to Fluttershy, but she simply doesn’t want to hear it and tells Twilight to focus on the patients...

Goyo Guardian
EARTH
Level 6
Warrior/Synchro/Effect
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon that monster to your side of the field in face-up Defense Position.
ATK/2800
DEF/2000