In which Draw Blank rides a Train
Chapter 2: In which Draw Blank rides a Train
The last train Draw could have taken to make it to Ponyville on time was just leaving when he arrived. After some arguments and train hopping he was able to get a seat and was relaxing in his chair. The trip would be a long one since it took a day and a half with all the stops this train had to make.
“Why does it have to be in the middle of nowhere?” he thought pulling out his bit pouch. Two bits, that’s all he had left. All he had to his name was two bits. Two bits couldn’t even buy him enough food too last him this trip. “Looks like I’m going to have to barter for money while on this trip too. Still it’s better than begging.”
It was better to do it sooner when he had more time and energy than later when he’d be desperate and coming off accused of assaulting a filly, something he’d rather not get through again. He rose and started to walk around the cramped cars. The further he walked to the back the less ponies he saw, not that there were many in general. And none of them were kids nor did they have the look about him that told him they were the type to not only play a card game but carry it with them.
Giving up he decided to head for the food area where he knew stallions like to play poker. Draw Blank didn’t like poker. That and most other games that used those cards were about luck first and skill second where his card games were opposite.
Try as he might he saw nothing to like about a game where the first hand could win you the game without you even having to hunt down or balance the deck to make it so. Still he was confident he’d make money semi-legally with that. The problem was if you win too much at poker in a game involving strangers they tended to think you were cheating and not let you take the money, and that was the best case scenario.
He had just turned around when something caught his ear. “But I just don’t get it Applebloom. How do ya play this Dueling Monsters? This book is too long and has too many rules.”
“Bingo,” Draw thought, “legit money op here I come.”
Following the sound into the caboose the first thing that caught his senses was the strong smell of Apples. The room was empty except for two ponies. The first that caught his eye must have been the one who asked that question. A small yellow filly with bright red hair and a bow nearly as big as her head looking at her cards.
The other one, a young orange mare with a blonde mane, was reading the rule book intently.
“May I be of assistance?” Draw said trying to make himself sound as professional as possible. It came out more like a slimy salespony’s proposition, but you take what you can get.
As expected, the younger of the two looked at him interested and with a vague sense of knowing. Not surprising since his picture was all over kid’s magazines and papers last year to promote the pocket monsters card game he became champion of last year in exchange for not being able to get paid for winning due to low attendance. That stunt did get him some challengers that got him a few bits that kept him alive till the Duel Monsters tournament that saved him from working odd jobs till lately.
The elder of the two gave him the usual stage of emotions, the surge of anger for someone imposing on in an obvious personal car. The shock of seeing a sick looking pony enter that looked like he was about to pass out on her. The pity of seeing such a sick creature, followed by the the pupil dilatation of realization. Finishing of course with the annoyance that she was fooled by his appearance. All these emotions were gone in a flash and only able to be seen from the pony’s eyes. This mare however had full on cute little faces with them and Draw Blank was forced to hold back his amusement since he needed her not to kick him out.
“Howdy stranger,” said the elder in a deep southern accent, “Ya need something?” Apparently she had realized it was stupid to blame him for her own mixed emotions on seeing him when she didn’t know him.
At her words Draw Blank also realized it was she who had asked for how to play Duel Monsters. Meaning the younger was Applebloom. This was surprising but not at all a deal breaker that would stop Draw Blank from his objective.
“No my dear,” he said still keeping up the slimy salespony voice, “but it appears you need me. The name is Draw Blank, I’m-“
“Oo OOO,” exclaimed Applebloom, “I know you. You’re the former kingdom champion of card games. I saw an article on you in my hub magazine.”
Drawn nodded, “Yes I am. As for why I am here at this moment, my ears were pleasantly graced by the sound of your sweet voice miss?”
“Applejack,” answered the orange mare blushing slightly. “Me and my sister are just returning to ponyville after helping out our cousin with some preparations. Gonna be a big wedding for him soon.”
“Wow,” thought Drawn Blank, “For once this voice didn’t kill my chances of going beyond professional.” He continued, “Applejack, that’s a nice name.” The words as he tried to say it came out with a dull accent that made him sound far more like he was trying to hit on her than he intended. Neither of the ponies seemed to notice however, but he still pulled back just in case.
“Well I was trotting by trying to find a way to get some food. I’m low on bits you see, when I heard your little conversation about Duel Monsters. I for one would be happy to give you a lesson if you wish if you would both grace me with allowing me to join you for dinner tonight.”
“Sounds fair,” said Applebloom.
“Yep,” agreed Applejack with a wisp of desire in her voice. Applebloom didn’t catch it, and it made Draw Blank a little uncomfortable. Mostly because he wasn’t sure if it was something he said or if somehow this mare was into skinny ponies despite looking like she needed one that could handle some rough and tumble work. Either way it was best to keep it professional.
“Alright then,” he said pulling out his saddlebags, “Do either of you have a deck?”
“I do!” said Applebloom. But her face sagged, “I left it at home.”
“I don’t got one either,” said Applejack, “Reckon I’d get myself a deck when I got home. I assume you’ll be entering that tournament too though. So I suppose with your skills it’d be useless now.”
“Not necessarily,” said Draw Blank. “True the better cards you have the better off you are, but I’ve seen many get far with just a starter deck because of luck and knowing how to use them. It’s like if I tried to buy a heard of sheep. I could get the best sheep and luck out and get the best land to raise them on, but if I don’t know how to take care of them properly eventually I will lose them in the end. So here is what I’m going to do. I’ll let Applebloom here borrow one of my decks and then use a different one and I’ll explain to you all the ways one can play as we do. Will you be able to follow if we do?”
“I guess,” said Applejack. She seemed to finally come out of her haze.
“Then to not have this take long, Applebloom and myself will have a 2000 life point game and then you and I can have a game to have you learn.”
“Good idea,” said Applebloom, “Only my friend Scootaloo, my colt friend, and two others have the free time to play this game a lot in my school so I need a refresher anyway.”
“Two birds with one stone then,” agreed Draw Blank. He handed Applebloom his Dinosaur and pulled out a deck he made just for teaching for his own. A deck that really didn’t work well in real competitions but could show all the various moves all the same.
“First off,” he began showing Applejack his deck and setting some cards aside. “Most duels, especially tournaments have a rule that to keep luck from really winning out each match in one is set up as a best two out of three duels. This however is time consuming so I doubt it will be used for anything but the final match at your event, but you never know.”
“Now, there are three decks in a sense one has. The side deck, extra deck, and main deck. Tell me if I’m going too fast. In order of importance: first is the side deck. This is a deck made of pretty much 15 cards max that you use as sort of a utility knife. You keep cards you would normally not keep in your main deck in it. That way if you say notice you can’t use a certain card for example or a certain strategy is useless, you can switch out the cards with the ones in your side deck between duels in a Match to fix that. I don’t have one for this deck but it is worth mentioning.”
On and on went the explanations, but to his credit Draw had kept is as simple as possible and gotten everything explained in a clear manner until it was time for him and Applebloom to duel. Applejack followed with interest and Draw found it very odd how attracted she obviously was to him. In fact he could hear a soft male chuckle in the back of his head and didn’t get why.
“Duel!” Both he and Applebloom shouted as they took their starting hands.
“I’ll go first,” said Applebloom. Life points 2000.
“I’ll start by laying two cards face down and setting one monster in defense mode.”
“Kay,” said Draw, “my turn then.” Life points 2000. “I start by summoning my Axe Raider. Then I’ll use the spell: Polymerization from my hand to fuse the Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon in my hand to special summon, Gaia the Dragon Champion.”
Attack: 2600 Level: 7 Defense: 2100
“I thought you said this was for teachin.”
“Sure it is,” he said with a grin, “I wouldn’t use these monsters in a real match. Now Applejack, here is a tip. See most defense monsters likely 2000 or higher if there is no real effect to them so when you don't know what the monster is it's smarter to attack with your strongest first. Even if you don’t have a monster with over 2000 attack it reduces damage. Now Applebloom, Gaia attacks your face down monster.”
“Fine, you killed my Hyper Hammer Head. This sends your monster back to your hand. But since it didn’t come from there it goes back to the extra deck.”
“Good,” Draw Blank smirked. “But I still have one more monster. So Axe Raider, attack her life points directly.”
“I have a trap: Fossil Excavation. This lets me bring back the Black Tyranno I discarded to the field. It just gets rid of his effect. But I don’t need it to block your attack. “
“Nice move again,” said Draw, “then I’ll set two cards face down and end my turn.”
Applebloom: 2000 Draw Blank: 2000
“My turn,” called Applebloom drawing a card.
“I play the spell: Tail Swipe. This sends up to two of your monsters back to your hand, so goodbye Axe Raider. Then I switch my Black Tyranno into attack mode and attack you directly.”
“Are you following so far Applejack?” asked Draw.
“I guess,” said Applejack. “Still sort of confusing though.”
“So long as you’re not lost,” he replied before turning back to Applebloom. “I use my Scapegoat quick play spell. This summons four sheep tokens to my side of the field in defense mode.”
“Fine,” said Applebloom annoyed. “Then I guess I’ll just take out one of those tokens and end my turn.”
“Alright,” replied Draw doing his namesake, “I activate a trap: Reckless Greed. This lets me draw twice more. I simply can’t draw normally again for two turns.”
“Oh no you don’t,” said the small filly, “Malfunction. I pay 500 life points to this trap to negate its activation.”
Applebloom: 1500
“Thought so,” said Draw with a smile, “But I had to be sure before I end this.”
“End it?” Applebloom was obviously confused. “You can summon a monster with 4600 attack points?”
“Nope,” he said still grinning. “But since I’m not afraid of your traps now, I can summon my Cannon Solider.”
Attack: 1400 Level: 4 Defense: 1300
“What’s it do?”
“Simply, for every monster I tribute while he’s on the field, you lose 500 life points.”
“Oh, and you have four monsters counting him.”
“Yep,” his grin widening, “so it is my win.”
“Shoot,” said Applebloom, “and I thought you gave me the better deck to use.”
“I did. But like I said: Even if your cards are not as good it’s all in how you use them. None of the cards I used had a strategy to back them up outside what I already used. Now I’m hungry. Time to pay the piper so to speak, and Applejack, I think after that I’ll duel you. I’ll even give you this.”
He handed over the Scapegoat card from the deck. “There, your first card not in the starter deck you can use. I hope you find a good use for it.”
Again Applejack seemed oddly touched by this gesture. But soon enough she shook it off and then they were readying to leave the car. As he gathered his things to lay with the Apples he heard that laugh one last time, though far smaller.
Something told him to double check his deck, and instead of the thirty-nine cards in the learning deck he expected he counted forty. The new card was one he had never added to any of his decks. “That’s odd, never had this card.” Draw shrugged it off as he put the Chaos Greed into his saddle bag and left.
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I'm still liking the story, but is there any chance the duels could run longer?
967034 I only made this one short since it isn't serious. All the duels in the tournament will be long.
Well Trixies may still be short. But good timing as aside from pinkish pie none of the main 6 have a deck yet so throw out ideas
967079
)), Gusto, or maybe even the new Chronomaly archetype (as inspired by her idol Daring Do)
Twilight Sparkle: Spellcaster-type Deck
Rainbow Dash: Tech Genus (for accel synchro summons (remember the anime
Applejack: Any Warrior/Beast-Warrior archetype (Heroic, X-Saber, Gladiator Beast, Six Samurai)
Fluttershy: Naturias or a Beast-type deck
Rarity: Gem-Knights or Crystal Beasts
I hope this helps.
Does no-one remember the original Yu-Gi-Oh series?
I always thought that the series that started it all was the best! Dark Magician was such a badass...
967281 if you didn't notice his teaching deck is Yugi's old deck in a sense. I'm considering giving Twilight or Sparkler Yugi's deck just because since I have to include some sychros and xyz monsters having half the town with starting cards allows for first series cards to actually make sense.
OHHH. Well now I feel silly.
I went and dug up "Chaos Greed" on the TCG wiki and it looks like this...
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chaos_Greed
That's a fairly narrow focus card...but one that has ties to the "Different Dimension" theme. Which might sorta kinda explain why it suddenly appeared, or speak to the deck our hero uses in tournament play. Either way you KNOW it's going to show up again.
Good call, can't wait for more.
967990>>967557>>967169
Now before it gets too far. I should ask if I should even go through with the love interest angle in this story. Considering the nature of this stuff I don't think it is needed but then I have to leave him rich and content with friends since this character has no family. and before your confused it isn't applejack, that is just a plot point. AJ only cameo here on out in this story.
Another good chapter, and fairly timely too.
Sadly, my readers don't have such luck, due to me being a terrible writer.
968280 oh just wait. I'm just on vacation this is going to take forever starting next week.
968279
Tough call man,
On one hand a good romance is a notoriously tricky thing to write, and both your sources espouse the virtues of friendship over ones of love. Therefore him earning some friendships would indeed be “enough” by the standards of both settings.
But on the other if you think you can pull off a full blown romance while simultaneously keeping the awesome duel action going I’m all for it. The trick is making it worth talking about. I still don’t quite understand Draw Blank as a character and instead see him as just a catalyst for dueling. I think he needs to be a bit more defined as a character before you give him a girlfriend.
Try writing a chapter where no dueling happens. Let him meet a few ponies, make enemies, make a few friends, spot his future girlfriend out of the corner of his eye and promptly run into a lamppost…that sort of thing. Also give him a reason to enter the tournament other than “I’m poor and want money”…even if it’s just “I’ll show HIM a thing or two”
Also…
Rainbow Dash uses a blunt, punch you in the face until you stop twitching sort of deck. I’m thinking some sort of Monarch variant, but I’m not sure which one.
Applejack uses a normal monster deck…and all the nasty control cards that surround it. Combine with those double summon monsters for extra fun.
Rarity is Crystal Beasts…until it stops working and she drops the one “Sacred Beast” to clean house.
Fluttershy uses Zombies...don’t ask questions, she just does.
967281 (Falls back into a time where twin blue eyes meant destruction to most of the other kids on the play ground...
) It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who recalls the orginals, hell I can still hold my own with the old cards... Hopefully 
968279 Hold off on it for a while.
I am liking where this is going and Applejack only making a cameo appearance from now on is okay in my book, you could still give her something of arole and tease us with a relatinoship between her and our hero but like with Yuesi and Aki(Akiza in the English Dub) it doesn't take off.
As for deck types:
I don't know if Twilight should have all of Yugi's deck but I think a Spellcaster and Fiend based deck would be good for her and some of the cards she would have from Yugi's deck would be Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician of Black Chaos, and Summoned Skull alongside some of the best Spells and Traps like Mirror Force and Swords of Revealing Light.
Pinkie Pie could have a somewhat random deck with multiple strategies which she uses to keep her opponents guessing, maybe even give her some Synchros and XYZs or perhaps some Toons and make her have Toon World.
Applejack should have a Beast or Beast Warrior type deck which gives off the impression of an improved starter deck and maybe a few Warriors.
Rainbow Dash I could picture having an Elemental Hero type deck or maybe a raw power type deck consisting of lots of powerful monsters and only a few Spell and Trap cards to back them up.
Rarity deserves a Crystal Beast deck or maybe an Amazoness deck or even a Harpie Lady deck.
Fluttershy should have a Plant type deck and cards that let her play defensively but her strongest card would be Black Rose Dragon which she pulls out only as a last ditch resort.
Trixie's deck should be based off of Seto Kaiba's with a little bit of variety although she should still have at least one Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Sweetie Belle should have a Fairy Type deck with plenty of Equip Spells and a few minor Traps.
Scootaloo should have a deck similar to Rainbow Dash's but with some extra Winged Beasts, Spells, and Traps.
970914 dear god how did you guess Trixie and Scootaloo's?
but seriously Trixies deck will more be based on Tamas Esses' deck with slight changes to the magic and traps. Not much of a spoiler since she's literally dueling at the start of the next chapter anyway.
972010 I don't know I just made a lucky guess and considering that you wanted Twilight to use Yugi's deck it would only make sense for Twilight's rivla Trixie to use the rivial deck of Yugi's which is Seto Kaiba's.
968544 I lost a duel on the playground once. I lost one my Blue Eyes :(