//------------------------------// // Turn 22: Distance // Story: Crossover Into Chaos // by dabestgamer //------------------------------// “Bah! I can’t believe that we’re doing this! The Diamond Dogs taking orders from an ape!” Rover grumbled, as he and the two dogs accompanying him were approaching the cottage. “But the master promised us gems if we did some signing after this,” the bulky Fido replied. “Shut up! He is not our master! We are our own masters!” “But if we try to fight him, he’ll…” Spot paused, rubbing the back of his head. “Yes, yes. I know! I did not forget. Let’s just check the house and go to the signing!” Fido tapped his paw on Rover’s shoulder. “Uh… if he’s not our master, then why are you—” “SHUT UP.” Rover grabbed the door handle to the cottage, trying to pull it open, only to find that the door would not budge. “Open!” he shouted. The two dogs watched as their canine leader violently shook the door, ripping it from its hinges. “Finally!” Rover exclaimed. “I don’t see anything in there…” Fido stated. “Of course not! You can’t see anything at all! It’s too dark!” Spot added. “Quiet!” Rover stepped towards the blackness. A bright light suddenly blinded the dogs. Immediately following was a loud noise they only recognized from the apes commanding them. Too slow to get out of the way, a passerby could swear that they heard the sound of pins in a bowling alley. Recovering from the blow, they looked up to see that a red… contraption—with a… lone ape rider?—in front of them, undoubtedly having come from inside the cottage. The dogs gaped at what they saw. “Maybe he’s the one master wants!” Fido said. “He’s not our master! Get him!” Rover commanded. The canines leapt towards the red contraption, only for their heads to crash into the ground as their target evaded them. They looked on as the rider slowly distanced himself from the dogs. “Come and get me!” the rider challenged. Rover growled. “After him!” Fluttershy peeked out the upstairs window with a concerned expression. “Let’s go, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, placing cloaks on herself and her friend. “Uh… okay…” Fluttershy responded. “Is he… going to be okay…?” “Yusei will be fine. Let’s move.” “R-right…” As she turned away from the window, something in the distance caught her eye. “Uh… Twilight?” “What is it?” “Wasn’t Yusei riding a giant red… bike? And not wearing a cloak?” Fluttershy’s hoof pointed at the approaching figure on the path. Twilight peered out the window. “That’s not him… we need to go out through the back.” “Figures they can’t take simple orders,” a voice spoke from downstairs. “Let’s go,” Twilight whispered. The two ponies crept towards the back window as the voice continued on. “Did they not understand that they were looking for a Signer and two ponies?” Fluttershy slowly pushed the window open. “What did they think they were doing? Now the Signer is obviously leading them away. Dumb mutts.” Twilight motioned for Fluttershy to go through the window. “If those three were competent enough to understand what we were telling them to do, I wouldn’t be here to ensure that they didn’t miss something that obvious.” The two ponies descended slowly to the ground, out of sight of the newcomer. Footsteps were heard traversing the staircase. “Whatever. The sooner they’re found, the sooner I can get out of here.” The two ponies crept away from the cottage, out of the intruder’s line of sight as he continued rambling on. “That was close,” Twilight sighed, once out of earshot of the cloaked man. “I wonder if Yusei is all right,” Fluttershy said aloud, as they traveled on. “He’ll be fine.” “How can you be so sure?” “Because his Duel Runner is easily faster than those dogs.” “Duel… Runner?” Fluttershy gave Twilight a confused look. “The bike.” “Oh… that’s an awfully strange looking bike. And a strange name for it, too.” “That’s just what the humans of his world call bikes that they Duel on.” “Duel? I heard you and Yusei talking about something like that before…” Twilight glanced at Fluttershy. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping. Never mind. Forget I asked.” “No, it’s fine,” the alicorn sighed, as she started to mumble. “It’s just a dumb card game that they somehow use to hurt others…” “I-I didn’t quite hear you.” “It’s a card game, but somehow they’re using it to hurt others.” “Twilight, are you… okay?” “I’m fine. It’s just… the humans attacked us… they found a way to seal you into a card.” “What?!” Fluttershy froze in place. “Don’t you remember, Fluttershy?” “N-not exactly. All I remember is being trapped in a really, really dark place. I felt like I couldn’t move. Should I have remembered being in a card? I’m sorry I don’t—” Twilight placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s muzzle to quiet her. “My point is that you were trapped inside some giant monster! And Yusei could’ve hurt you even more!” “I-I-I don’t understand…” “He just… he just… went along with the rules of the stupid game and had his dragon attack the monster that you were inside.” Fluttershy shuddered. “Dr-dr-dragon…?” “I know he was doing it to draw you out of the monster so I could save you but… so many things could’ve gone wrong! It was a huge gamble, and he knew it. He knew how bad things could’ve turned out and gambled on it anyway! I’ve exhausted nearly all of the magic I could muster up these past couple of days. Right then… right there… I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to save you…” Tears began welling up in Twilight’s eyes. “Twilight…” “I was just lucky that I somehow managed to get you out… you could’ve died there… we both could have. We don’t even know for certain that that human had any of our other friends sealed into cards! What if he did? What if his Runner crashed and exploded because it started malfunctioning? What if—” Twilight suddenly found herself in Fluttershy’s embrace. “There, there,” the pegasus spoke, attempting to calm her friend. “You know you shouldn’t let your worries get the best of you.” “I know… I just… I don’t want to lose any of my friends… not like that… I just wish Yusei wasn’t so… so… risk-taking.” “Well… at least you know I’m still here.” “Yes… I guess I can be grateful for that.” The two ponies began walking again. “But still, how do we know for sure that that human didn’t have the rest of our friends?” “Maybe you can try asking one of the ones in town really nicely?” Twilight could only respond with a blank stare. “N-never mind… I’m sorry…” The alicorn sighed. “That just might be our only option.” “…What?” “Let’s just get to Sweet Apple Acres.” “Hey, let me go!” a male voice called out. Twilight and Fluttershy glance towards the center of the crowd. All they could see was a giant metal crate with wheels attached to the bottom. Attached to the front was a carriage that were chained to a group of armored dogs. Unable to see the back where the commotion was, the two ponies crept around until they saw a unicorn being shoved into the crate by two other armored canines. Behind them stood another cloaked human. “Oh, my…” Fluttershy reacted. “That armor those dogs are wearing…” Twilight noted. “It looks like… the same armor as the dogs that broke into the Golden Oak library the other night…” “Quit your struggling, pony, and just cooperate. You’ll make things so much easier,” said the human. “You won’t get away with this!” shouted the unicorn. “Oh, please.” The stallion shoved the canines aside and glared at the human. “Idiot.” The human raised his Duel Disk, drew a card, and placed it in what Twilight recognized as the location for playing Spells and Traps. A large lightning bolt shot down from the sky and struck the unicorn. The crowd watched in horror as the stallion screamed in agony until the lightning faded away. “Th-that’s… horrible…” Fluttershy cried. “How… how did he do that…? He wasn’t in a Duel…” Twilight wondered. The human sneered. “Let this be yet another example to you all… of what happens when you try to resist us. Rogues! Toss him in the crate! He’ll be joining our other captives at the castle.” The dogs hurled the stallion into the crate and shut the door. “The castle?” the alicorn softly repeated. “Um, Twilight? You don’t think they mean…?” Fluttershy whispered. “My castle? Probably. It also likely means that they’re using it as a base of operations.” “What are we gonna do…?” “I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure something out.” “How could you?!” a young and unmistakably country-like voice yelled out. “That voice…” Twilight noticed. “No. No way.” “You fillies should know better than to misbehave like you have,” the man replied. “Or do you want to end up like that unicorn that just tried to play hero?” “We’ll get you for this!” shouted another young voice. “Wait until our sisters find out!” added a squeaky voice. “Think I’m not above harming you? Try me.” The man raised his Duel Disk once more. “You don’t scare us!” the country voice shot back. The man grinned as he drew a card. “No…” Twilight mumbled. “This’ll teach you to talk back to me.” “No!” “Twilight?” Fluttershy said. “I hope you’re ready.” The man placed the card in the Spell and Trap Zone of his Duel Disk. “NO!” “Twilight!” Fluttershy shouted. Another lightning bolt struck down from the dark clouds above. The sparks suddenly bounced off a lavender shield, ricocheting in several different directions. The dogs and the crowd ducked in a panic to avoid the shock. “Well, well, well,” the human chuckled, as the smoke vanished. “What do we have here?” The crowd of ponies gasped as the cloak around the alicorn came off. “How kind of you to join us, Princess Twilight.” “Let everypony go and leave this town. Now,” Twilight demanded. “You’re not the one in charge around here, Your Highness.” With a snap of his fingers, the two armored canines that threw the stallion into the crate lunged at Twilight. The alicorn’s horn glowed brightly. A brief flash lit up the area. As the light faded, the dogs no longer saw their target in front of them. A sudden burst of magic struck one of the canines from above. Everyone in the vicinity looked up to see Twilight, her horn covered in a lavender aura. “A slippery one, aren’t we? But you can’t win,” the human stated. “I won’t stop until all of my friends are rescued and you all leave forever,” Twilight replied. “I’m afraid that isn’t up to you, Your Highness, or did you already forget the advantage we have over you?” “What…?” “We have your friends and your hometown in our clutches. You are but one pony; you couldn’t possibly stop us if we decided to… oh, I don’t know… go on a little rampage and destroy this town. You couldn’t possibly stop us all by yourself.” “You wouldn’t dare.” “Oh, I would. And I will. Unless…” “Unless?” “How about a trade, Princess Twilight? We will leave this town and release all of our captives here.” Twilight planted her hooves on the ground. “What’s the catch?” “Oh, something simple: You.” “Me? Why would I ever agree to that?” “Because if you don’t, your friends will be ours.” The dogs attached to the carriage rotated the crate until Twilight could see the captives inside. “Girls!” she shouted. Behind the bars were, along with the unicorn, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and an unconscious Big Macintosh. “Let them all go!” “Like I said… I will if you give yourself up.” Twilight groaned. Another burst of magic shot towards the cage only to bounce right off the cage, which glowed upon contact. “But how…?” she wondered. Another flash of light. She found herself against the bars, unable to teleport inside, and quickly backed away. “Is that thing enchanted…? But wasn’t he just about to—” “As you can clearly see, you’re at a huge disadvantage here. However, if you’re willing to cooperate…” All eyes were on the princess. “What should I do?” Twilight asked herself. “If they capture me, then… they might do the same thing to me as they did to Fluttershy! Then they’ll just use me to destroy Equestria! But if I don’t… then they might be taking my place! I can’t just let them get taken away!” “Don’t do it, Twi!” Apple Bloom begged. “You can’t just let yourself get captured!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “If you get taken, they’ll just come after us again!” Scootaloo added. “Quiet!” the human yelled. “Let the princess make the decision for herself.” Twilight remained frozen in place, unable to reach a decision. “Hmm, in that case…” the man snapped his fingers. The two dogs approached Twilight. Voices called out to her, all of which were tuned out by her own uncertainty. All she could do was stare at the cage containing her best friends’ relatives. Twilight suddenly found herself jerked away. “Fluttershy?!” she exclaimed, noticing the pony dragging her by the hoof as she flew. The man watched the two ponies fly into the distance. “Well, well, well… this just keeps getting more interesting,” he said. “Hey! Stop!” Rover demanded. The three dogs were slowing down out of exhaustion. Yusei glanced back at them to see that they had come to a halt. “This should’ve given them enough time,” he figured. Speeding up his Runner, the pursuing canines were quickly out of sight. “According to Twilight, Sweet Apple Acres shouldn’t be too far from here.” Looking ahead, he saw a large red barn in the distance. At the entrance to the farm, one pony appeared to be hugging another. “Is that…?” he mumbled. “Twilight? Fluttershy?” Yusei’s Runner came to a halt near them. Twilight was sobbing in Fluttershy’s embrace. “Oh… hello, Yusei,” Fluttershy gave a weak greeting. “What happened?” “My friends… their family…” Twilight cried. “They’ve been taken by those humans… and I couldn’t save them…” “What?” “They almost got Twilight, too,” said Fluttershy. “I just… suddenly found myself pulling Twilight away before they could grab her.” “They were using cards… to hurt other ponies…” Twilight added. “I don’t get it… how are they able to do that? Why haven't you been doing that?!” “Using cards…?” Yusei wondered. “Maybe that means…” “I’ve had enough of this…” the alicorn’s sobs ceased. “I’ve got to save them.” “Um… are you sure you can?” Fluttershy asked. “It’s better than doing nothing.” “But… you already tried, didn’t you?” “What do you mean?” asked Yusei. “Twilight couldn’t open the cage with her magic. It was like something else was stopping it.” “Then… we definitely need to come up with a plan.” “Just what would your plan be? Duel them? Maybe risk another of my friends? Or maybe even yours?” Twilight snapped. “Twilight!” Fluttershy responded. “You can’t… just take gambles like that, Yusei!” Yusei began to speak. “But I already said that—” “That you wouldn’t take such big risks unless it was necessary? At what point do you consider it necessary? Did you even try to figure something else out?” Silence. “Twilight, please calm down,” Fluttershy begged. “You’re right… I’m sorry… I just… can’t deal with this anymore,” Twilight whimpered. “It’s just too much. It’s heartbreaking enough that my friends get hurt whenever those humans use cards that have them inside, but… this card game you play in your world… the way your monsters can attack others without hesitation… nearly unable to stop them once you realize it’s a mistake… It’s just too dangerous when the stakes are this high, especially considering that the one being attacked might have one of my friends trapped inside.” Yusei and Fluttershy could only stand there and listen as Twilight continued on. “It’s even scarier when you’re willing to take that gamble when I might not be able to save them! There just has to be a way to save them without having to play that card game where they could get hurt and suffer like Fluttershy did… where they could die!” Silence. Twilight sighed. “Yusei?” “What?” he responded. “I don’t… I don’t think I want your help.”