Yu-Gi-Oh! Friendship is Magic: The Numeric War

by moviemaster8510

Part 6: In the Presence of Enemies - Chapter 41: Amends

Ryan felt a slight pain in his chest, almost like a pinprick. Then he remembered.

That’s right. I was shot. Am I dead? If so, why am I feeling pain?

Ryan removed the covers to find his shirtless torso bandaged all over his left pectoral. There was a small amount of crusted blood on the bandages where his wound was.

Why is there such little blood?

“Oh good, you’re up,” said a doctor pony.

“Where am I? Am I dead?”

“Far from it. Ain’t magic medicine just grand?”

“What?”

“Princess Luna had a couple of ponies bring you in here. You were losing a lot of blood, but thankfully, we took out that metal thing in your chest, stitched you up, and put a little ipecequine in your intravenous fluid and-”

“Ipecequine? You mean ipecac?”

“No, I mean ipecequine. It’s a special fluid that quickens the healing process. In fact, you should be good right about now.”

Ryan took off the bandages and saw that his would had sealed already. It seemed impossible. Ryan stumbled out of the room.

“Sir, you need to rest.”

Ryan stepped outside to find dozens of ponies lining the corridors. Also, Alex found him.

“Are you alright?” asked Alex.

“I don’t know. Come here.”

Alex came in closer. Ryan then punched him in the face.

“Why did you save me?” Ryan asked angrily.

“Because you were dying.”

“Then why didn’t you leave me dead?”

“Because you’re weren’t. Listen, we have a lot of problems right now. Just look outside, and put these on.”

Alex tossed him some clean clothes to wear. After he put them on, Ryan was escorted outside to see a vast array of ponies sitting outside the houses.

“What’s going on?” asked Ryan.

“This is the population of Canterlot. They were banished out by Inverz following his takeover.”

“Takeover? What happened to Rainbow Dash?” Now Ryan sounded really concerned.

"When she and her friends tried protecting us, I don’t know, Inverz did something to them and now he’s taken them hostage."

Ryan couldn’t bear the guilt he felt now. “What then,” he asked, trying to change the topic.

“From what I understand, according to a witness, after we took you to Ponyville via teleportation by Princess Luna, Inverz gathered all of the ponies in Canterlot, including Princess Celestia, to the town square of Canterlot. They then said that they would be banished from Canterlot, and that someone would have until tomorrow at noon to return the Numbers that ‘you stole’ from him, or else he’ll raze Ponyville in a mass genocide. Then, he transported every pony here.”

“Oh God,” said Ryan feeling uneasy.

Alex spoke again. “Now, you need to explain some things to us.”

____________________________________

Alex walked Ryan to the theater. Inside, all of Alex’s human and Pokémon friends were there, along with Braeburn, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.

“Quite a trooper,” said Lucas.

Everyone else gave him similar praises for his bravery.

“So,” said Alex. “I want you to tell us the whole story. Why you joined the Vegas Bureau, the whole shebang.”

“You… want me to talk to you again about this? I told you it was to save my son.”

“What else?”

“You mean like, how I got in?”

“That sounds good.”

Everyone listened intently.

“When Joel was taken from me, I fell into a sharp depression. I had trouble paying my bills, and my workload felt increasingly heavier. I was a cop living in L.A. Despite being seen as one of the best officers in the city, it still wasn’t enough to keep my son alive. I worked overtime trying to make ends meet, until one day, we heard of this guy with a large bounty on his head. Whoever caught him would make a massive windfall. Needing the money, I went in my squad car and tried to hunt him. One day, I found him driving a Camaro, and upon seeing me, he tried to flee. I went and chased after him. Once we got onto the freeway, he was more elusive than ever. Being as determined a driver as I could handle, I made sure not to lose another inch of him. When I finally caught him after a truck decided to change lanes without a turn signal, he hopped out of his car and made a perfect shot in my heart, right where I was shot, actually.

“In the hospital, I learned that another cop had gotten him, and he’d be getting the bonus and not me. Also, the doctor had told me that I’d lose too much blood to be saved. I couldn’t believe it. I was so close to saving my son, and it was a tiny piece of metal that stopped me. Then, they showed up.”

“Vegas.”

“When my room was left mysteriously empty, Mark walked up and told me about the Bureau, and that if I agreed to work with him, he’d save me and I could save my son. Wanting that more than anything, I agreed. Mark then used some strange thing with his hands, and the next thing I knew, my chest was better, and Mark held the bullet in front of me. I then moved to the Vegas headquarters in Seattle where I began my long trip to Hell.”

“So that’s why you wouldn’t leave,” said Alex.

“Because he’d just leave you for dead if you tried to leave.”

“Exactly. As you know, Mark takes a vendetta against traitors; it’s also why Mark hates Zelda so much.”

“It’s probably why he wasn’t told the truth either,” said Eli. “If Ryan says he was a really good police officer, he probably had a high sense of morals. If he knew that his work in the Vegas Bureau was only aimed at the destruction of a world and being given ultimate power and not towards the saving of his son, he would have never accepted, right.”

“Yeah,” said Ryan. “That’s exactly right. Listen. I know it’s not nearly enough of compensation, but I am truly sorry for all of the pain I caused here. If you would never forgive me, I’d understand.”

Princess Luna placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. Alex did the same. Soon, everyone in the room had their hands/hooves on Ryan’s soldiers. Ryan was overcome with emotions.

“Thank you,” he finally said.

“So, what now?” said Eli. “Whether we return the Numbers to Inverz or not, this world will be fucked either way if we just sit here and wait.”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Alex opened it up, and a light purple pegasus pony with a spikey white and light blue mane walked in.

“What have you seen?” asked Eli.

The pegasus began to relay information. “It seems that Inverz is using the whole of Canterlot to house his army.”

“Army?” asked Ryan.

“Yes. There are other bipedal creatures in black armor with massive trolls. This army looks very strong. Also, we saw a strange building rise right out of the ground in the desert about 10 miles from Dodge Junction. And then a bunch of men in black suits appeared by it-”

“Wait, black suits?” interrupted Ryan. “Jesus, they’re bringing in the whole Vegas Bureau.”

“That’s not the kicker though. I saw a large vehicle pull up to the building and it’s where they’re keeping in Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

“Were they alive?”

“I don’t know, I just saw-”

Ryan got up and walked out.

“Wait what are you doing?” asked the Princess Luna.

“I’m going to save my friends.”

“You can’t. It’s too dangerous; you’ll die again!”

“I’m already dead. Alex do you have my D-Pad?”

Alex tossed it over to him. Ryan tried to turn it on, but it wouldn’t.

“Damn it. They must have shut me out of the system.”

Luna then did a quick spell to the D-Pad and just like that, it was on.

“I can’t say that what you’re doing is ethical,” she said, “but if you want to save your friends, I won’t stop you.”

“I’m going too,” said Zelda. “If you think you’re going to get anything accomplished by yourself, then let me help you. As a friend. As an ex-Vegas agent,” she said with a wink.

Ryan nodded. As Zelda went to get her motorcycle, Ryan was able to turn his D-Pad into his car and he got in. Zelda rode up with him.

“So, you have a plan?” she asked.

“More or less.”

Ryan and Zelda then took off for Dodge with the sun setting.

____________________________________

Princess Celestia inside the theater continued to weep.

“What’s wrong,” asked Eli.

“I’m not fit,” she mumbled. “I’m not fit to be a ruler of a nation.”

“What are you talking about?”

“For years, I’ve hidden behind my title as Princess. Ever since I banished my sister to the moon, I’ve never acted out of bravery, only for myself. On the Summer Sun Celebration when Nightmare Moon, returned. I had the full ability to save my land and stop my sister again, but I left the job to Twilight and her friends with me only giving vague instructions on how to stop her.”

No one had heard this side of Princess Celestia before.

“There’s trivial things, like how I gave Twilight two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala despite knowing she had five other friends, but there’s more.”

She talked about how she failed to try and save Rarity as she almost fell to her death during the Best Young Flyer Competition, how she left Twilight and her friends to fight Discord by themselves with little to no assistance, she eventually told all.

“Woah,” said Eli disappointedly. “I can’t believe you.”

“I’m sorry! I truly am. If there’s a way I can redeem myself, please, that’s all I want.”

“You want to help?” asked Eli. “Well here’s what we have. Inverz says he’s going to attack Ponyville tomorrow at noon if we don’t give him the Numbers. How long of a walk is it to Ponyville would you say?” “About five hours.”

“We’re going to attack them before 7 AM tomorrow then.”

“What? But that’s crazy.”

“We don’t have a choice. We need to take Inverz by surprise, it’s the only way that I know of to possibly defeat him.”

“But that would mean we’d need to assemble and organize army by 2 AM to make it to Canterlot.”

“The trains,” interrupted Orion. “There’s a hidden station underneath the royal palace, quite possibly an emergency exit for the princesses.” The princess nodded in confirmation. “If we could get a train to that exit and then spring them from the inside.”

“We’d need a really strong train if we were to withstand an attack when the enemy notices us.”

Braeburn pulled out his train monster cards. “What will that do?”

Orion spoke again. “I have a strong magic on me,” said Orion, “that can bring these monsters to life. I can summon these trains, and this should be a perfect armored vehicle for our siege.”

“Perhaps I can also offer a suggestion,” said the light purple pegasus.

As she, the princesses, Eli, and Orion constructed their battle strategy, Lucas looked around the room and discovered that Charley wasn’t there.

____________________________________

Charley was feeling very fragile at the prospect of a war happening thrown in with losing her friends, so she slipped out the back door and went to Fluttershy’s cottage. She sat under a tree and listened to the brook, hoping it would calm her. Suddenly, Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel, hopped up to her. He angrily thumped and pointed to a picture of Fluttershy, seemingly asking where she was. Charley began sobbing right there. Angel then looked at her confused.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” said Charley. “Fluttershy’s gone.”

The rabbit could tell by her crying that she wasn’t joking with what she was saying, and he began crying too. In fact, many of the small animals that Fluttershy tended to overheard her and joined in with her crying, their friend also being taken from them.

“Charley?” asked a voice.

Charley looked up and saw it was Lucas. Angel hopped towards Lucas and signaled him to leave, but Charley told the rabbit that Lucas was fine, and with that it hopped away to continue mourning.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“Ryan and Zelda went to a building that appeared. Someone said it’s where they’re keeping them captive.”

“So, they are alive?”

“We don’t know. That’s what Ryan and Zelda are going to check.”

The animals listened intently, hoping to hear more news.

“Right now, Eli and Orion are going to organize an army for a counter-attack.”

“You mean, we’re-”

“At war, yes.”

Charley was nervous again, the animals matching their expressions.

“I don’t know if I can bear to lose any more of my friends.”

“Perhaps you just need something more to fight for,” said Lucas.

“What?”

Lucas dropped to one knee, pulled a box from his back pocket, and opened it. Inside was a gold ring with a diamond in it. “Luke,” said Charley, getting flustered.

“What is this?”

“Charley, you are the most amazing woman I ever met. When I lost my home at a young age, you opened yours up to me. In the many years that I spent with you, I have been searching for the best way possible to repay you. Today, I can think of no better payment and privilege than to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Charley was getting incrementally more excited as she realized that Lucas wasn’t fooling with her.

“I wanted to give you this tonight at the after tournament ball if we won, but seeing the current circumstances, I only have this time to offer this to you. If these are the last days that we spend with each other, I want them to be together. Now, all I can ask now is this: Charlotte de Silva, will you marry me?”

The animals behind her eagerly egged Charley on. She didn’t need them, however.

“Of course I will,” she said. She and Lucas embraced. The animals cheered in their own voices.

“Let’s go back now,” said Charley. “If we’re going to spend the rest of our life together, we have to fight to ensure that.”

____________________________________

Lucas and Charley came back to Ponyville, to see every pony, human, and Pokémon huddled closely at the town hall for a speech being given by Eli. He had the eyes and ears of everybody.

“My fellow men and ponies. Today, the dark lord Inverz rose and intends to wreak havoc on this land. The princesses and I have come up with a battle plan.”

The ponies recoiled at the thought of “battle.”

“I know you are not looking forward to risking your lives like this, nor was anyone expecting it. But let me put this perspective. You can either risk your lives by fighting evil and tyranny and help carve a brighter future for your children, and your children’s children, or you can guarantee your deaths by waiting for the inevitable.”

Eli had now begun to rally the ponies’ fighting spirit.

“I have already garnered the support of ten brave souls to fight for everyone’s freedom. But you and I both know that that isn’t enough. We need to rally an army that will leave that son of a bitch quaking in his boots. The future will begin with all of you, for without you, it will perish.”

The crowd began getting more pumped and excited.

“Inverz thinks this is no more a war than it is a battle between ponies and maggots. For once, I will agree with him. We will show him that we are the ponies, and that he’s the maggot.”

Cheering ensued.

“Inverz thinks he can send a message with his hate that he can take whatever he wants. The Numbers, our lives, this land. We’ll return that message. That these are our Numbers. These are our lives. And this. This is our land!”

Eli walked off of the podium with a massive crowd of cheering ponies in its wake. Sammy met him as he walked down the stairs.

“Did you steal that from Avatar?”

“I’ve always wanted to give that speech,” said Eli.

____________________________________

With Eli, Orion, and the princesses as their commanders, they began to assemble their army. Orion and Luna would man the train, Princess Celestia would command the winged division, and Eli would march with earth ponies and unicorns to storm the castle from the front. Orion was handed three copies of Snow Plow Engine Hustle Russel. Orion placed these on the train tracks of the Ponyville Train Station. He then cast a spell at all three cards. The magic he used made the monsters on the cards literally come to life, forming a sturdy looking train fit for a war. Orion swooned at the use of so much magic, but was caught by Princess Luna. They began putting multiple passenger cars from the Equestrian Line trains on the ends of the trains that Orion had just summoned.

Princess Celestia ordered the pegasi to bring as many cloud making machines as possible to form a temporary smokescreen. She then organized the Wonderbolts to form as the front line in the winged division. They did so with salutes.

When the Numbers emerged with Alex and Orion two years ago, Princess Luna had ordered each home to be equipped with shields, swords, and spears in case of Inverz’ return and war was necessary. Eli was able to get every willing pony to suit up and be ready. Once that was done, then they’d begin to organize squadrons. After that, they would wait, and then they would fight.