The Magic of Dueling

by CrystalQueen

Chapter 19: The Final Battle

“Red, we finished the dimensional movement card.
I’ll meet you in Twilight’s portal room tomorrow at 3.
Sunset Shimmer”

Red read, as he looked up to the clock in Twilight’s portal room, comparing it to the time on his Duel Disk. “Man, it sure would be great if I knew what time it was.” He said. “I mean, I can’t read any of the numbers on that clock, and I think Equestrian time is about twice as fast as my time back home, so that probably means it’s about 3PM…” Just then, an orange pony flew out of Twilight’s portal to the human world.

“I will never get used to that.” The pony said, as she began to compose herself.

“So, this is your true form!” Red said, closing the book he was using to communicate with the pony in front of him. “How’s it been Sunset?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash broke all her arms and legs trying to have a Riding Duel without the autopilot, so now Applejack and Fluttershy are trying to put her back together.”

“I am not surprised by this in the slightest.” Red said, letting out a sigh of disappointment. “Say, on the topic of Rainbow, has anything else happened to her? Or Fluttershy, Applejack or Trixie for that matter?”

“No, is something wrong with them in Equestria?” Starlight asked, a sense of concern in her voice.

“No, it’s just that I thought something bad happened to them, I guess I was right, seeing as Rainbow was an idiot again, so all is right in the worlds.”

“Isn't that the truth.” Sunset responded. “Well, I better get going, we've got a hard math test today that nobody except for Twilight is ready for. Well, our Twilight at least.”

“Is it that trigonometry bullshit?”

“Yeah, Cranky's tests sure are brutal, but I'm sure Twilight will pass at least.” Sunset said. “And besides, it feels weird walking around on four legs after you get used to walking on two.”

“Yeah, and I've got my share of shit to do today, mostly getting my shit together so I don't leave anything behind.” Red explained, as he stopped leaning on a pile of books Twilight had left in the room.

“Well, just so you know, as long as you have a charge in your Duel Disk, which based on what you said about Momentum, is always, me, Twilight and the gang, as well as Equestria are always just a few clicks away!” Sunset said. “But really now, I have to get going now, bye!”

“Later!” Red responded as Sunset kept through the portal back to Canterlot High School. Red looked at the card Sunset gave him, as he slid it into his Duel Disk’s Graveyard slot.

“UPDATE CARD DETECTED - BEGINNING DATA TRANSFER.” The automated voice assistant said. “DATA TRANSFER FINISHED - NEW APP ADDED.” Red scrolled through the menus on his Duel Disk and activated the new app he had just added.

“Dimension Movement, huh…” Red thought to himself, as he looked over the menu options. “So all I have to do is select “Home” and then hit “Go” and then it’s all over... No, this feels too easy.” Red said, as he closed out of the app and went back to his Duel Disk’s main menu. “I’m not sure why, but something feels wrong. I better go tell Twilight, she should be able to put my mind at ease, or at least give me a chance to say goodbye.”
************************************************************

“Hey, Twilight, can I talk to you about something?” Red asked as he opened the door to Twilight’s office in the School of Friendship, only to see that she wasn’t there. “That’s weird, Twilight said she’s always filling out paperwork in here… She must be in the auditorium giving a lecture or something.” Red walked to the auditorium, opening the door, shocked to find it completely empty. “What the-!? Maybe in the school library-!” Red ran to the library, concerned to find that not a single creature was present, studying or otherwise. “What the hell!? Where is everybody!?” Red ran outside, and quickly boarded his D-Board as he rode through all of Ponyville, desperately searching for any signs of life.

“Rarity! Pinkie! Anybody!” Red shouted, jumping off his D-Board and placing it behind his back again once he reached Sugarcube Corner. “Surely, there has to be someone in here-!”

“I activate my Spell Card!” A voice said from around the corner.

“What? A Duel? That means people are still alive!” Red said, as he ran around the corner the voice came from, to see a cloaked figure with a Duel Disk staring down a little orange dragon.

“Dragon’s Mirror!” The dragon shouted, tapping one of the holographic cards in front of her to activate it. “This will let me perform the Fusion Summon of a Dragon Type monster by Banishing materials from my field or Graveyard! I’ll Banish Baby Dragon, Spear Dragon, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Light and Darkness Dragon, and Dark Armed Dragon from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials! No monster can stand up to this card’s might! Unleash the pride of us dragon with your five heavenly elements! Fusion SUmmon! Gather! Level 12, Five Headed Dragon!”
(Level 12, 5000 ATK/DEF)

“Yes, yes! Very impressive Smolder! It’s a shame your friends didn’t have the same potential you did!” The cloaked figure responded.

“Why you-! Battle phase! Five Headed Dragon, attack this guy directly! Five Element Burst!” Following Smolder’s command, her gigantic dragon fired a burst of fire, water, darkness, rocks, and pure light, one from each of its five heads towards the cloaked figure. “It’s over!”

“You’re right! It is over! For you! I activate my Trap Card! Magic Cylinder!” The figure responded as it pressed a button on the back of its Duel Disk, causing its card to reveal itself. “Magic Cylinder is a Trap Card that negates an opponent’s attack, then inflicts damage to them equal to the Attack Points of the attacking monster!”

“Wait, Five Headed Dragon has 5000 Attack Points, and I only have 4300 Life Points, so that means-!” As soon as Smolder came to the realization of what was happening, her dragon’s blasts all went into one of the Cylinders, and came out the other, vaporizing her in an instant.
Smolder 4300 -> 0 LP

“Smolder, you were a good opponent.” The cloaked figure said as it walked over to Smolder’s card, and put it into a binder that it produced from inside its cloak. “May you forever find peace, with the rest of your friends.”

“Hey fucker!” Red said, walking from around the corner. “How the hell are you still alive!? You were looped by Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon! I saw the outcome of that Duel with my own eyes!”

“Oh Red, you simple minded fuck, you don’t really think that I, Ernesh, The Equestrian God of Death, would lose to a simple Alicorn, do you?” Ernesh responded. “I could have won that Duel, but then you, Rarity, and Pinkie all would have challenged me to a three on one Duel, and no matter what bonuses I was given, that would’ve been a major disadvantage, so I opted to force the Duel to a DRAW using the Forbidden Chalice card, sealing off Beelze’s immunity to destruction, then destroying it with Ring of Destruction, then I would eliminate you one by one, and look where we are now! You and I are the last remaining sentient being in Ponyville!”

“And the rest of them?”

“Here, sleeping in this binder, where no harm will come to them until the end of time.” Ernesh responded, pulling a binder out of his cloak. “However, my plans can wait, I assume you want to Duel, am I wrong?”

“After all the pain and suffering you’ve caused, I want nothing more than to beat you senseless.” Red responded. “Now ready your Disk! It’s time to Duel!” Red activated his Duel Disk, as he noticed Ernesh’s Duel Disk was different, being exactly the same as his own, except for all the red highlights being black.

DUEL

Red 8000 LP
Hand: 5
Ernesh 8000 LP
Hand: 5

“Victory to the swiftest!” Red shouted. “I Normal Summon The Black Stone of Legend!”
(Level 1, 0 ATK/DEF)
“Now I activate the effect of my Black Stone of Legend! By Tributing this card, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or lower Red-Eyes Monster from my deck! O flaming dragon with heart black as night and soul bright as flame, show yourself to win this fight and end this accursed game! Appear! My faithful servant! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” As Red’s Dragon materialized from the stone, it let out a loud, prideful roar.
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
“Now, I equip Black Metal Dragon from my hand to Red-Eyes Black Dragon! This will boost its Attack Points by 600!”
(Red-Eyes Black Dragon) 2400 -> 3000 ATK)
“With that, I’ll set two cards, and end my turn!”

“Well aren’t you impatient here? Bringing out your ace monster on the first turn!” Ernesh said. “It’s my turn, I draw!”

Red 8000 LP
Hand: 1
Ernesh 8000 LP
Hand: 6

“To begin my turn, I Normal Summon Equestrian Spike!” As Ernesh slapped his card on the Duel Disk, Spike appeared in front of him, his eyes appearing blank, as if he wasn’t really there.
(Level 1, 0 ATK/DEF)

“What the-? Spike?” Red asked, confused about the appearance of Ernesh’s monster.

“Equestrian Spike’s effect will now activate! By tributing this monster, I can Special Summon another Equestrian from my deck! Begone, Equestrian Spike, and come forth! Equestrian Twilight!” Spike dissipated into a multi colored portal, as Twilight emerged from it, her eyes also blank.
(Level 4, 1600 ATK 1200 DEF)

“What the hell? Why are there cards that look exactly like ponies from another world?” Red asked.

“Equestrian Twilight’s effect! On Normal or Special Summon, she allows me to add an Equestrian Monster from my deck to my hand! And my choice is Equestrian Rainbow, a Tuner monster I can Special Summon when it’s added to my hand outside the Draw Phase!”
(Level 4, 1700 ATK 300 DEF)

“Tuner monster? You’re not saying-!”

“Yes, I am saying!” Ernesh responded. “When Equestrian Rainbow is Summoned, I can return 1 Equestrian in my Graveyard to my hand! I’m returning my Equestrian Spike! Now, I’m Tuning my Level 4 Equestrian Rainbow to my Level 4 Equestrian Twilight!” Rainbow and Twilight spread their wings and flew into the sky, with Rainbow turning into four green rings, that began to line up, as Twilight flew through them, turning into four stars herself, before a beam of light enveloped the rings, blinding Red as he tried to look on. “The sun’s bright rays shall eviscerate all that stands in their way! Behold the power of the supreme ruler! Synchro Summon! Take form, Equestrian Celestia!” As the light in the sky faded, Red could see a white Alicorn descend, her eyes hazed up, as if she were blind.
(Level 8, 3000 ATK 2500 DEF)
“Equestrian Celestia’s effect! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can draw 1 card! When I draw this card, I can Summon it! Come forth! Equestrian Pinkie!”
(Level 4, 1900 ATK 100 DEF)
“When Equestrian Pinkie is Summoned, I draw 1 card! Now, I activate my Monster Reborn! Be reborn, Equestrian Twilight!”
(Level 4, 1600 ATK 1200 DEF)
“Now, when Equestrian Twilight is Summoned, I get to add another Equestrian to my hand! I add Equestrian Applejack!” Ernesh shouted, as the auto shuffle on his Duel Disk shuffled his deck. “Equestrian Pinkie’s effect! Once per turn, I can shuffle each player’s deck, then we both draw 2 cards!” The auto shuffle on Red’s Duel Disk, along with the auto shuffle on Ernesh’s Duel Disk began to shuffle their decks, before each Duelist drew two cards. “I overlay the Level 4 Equestrian Twilight and Equestrian Pinkie! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!” As Ernesh placed his cards on top of eachother, a black spiral appeared in front of him, which Twilight and Pinkie flew into, as a wave of darkness enveloped the Dueling field. “The moon’s pale glow evaporates all who stand against it! Behold the monarch’s grace! XYZ Summon! Take form, Equestrian Luna!” A wave of darkness enveloped the Duel, with a black and blue Alicorn emerging from the portal in front of Ernesh, spreading its wings to dispel the darkness, revealing its hazed eyes, two orbs of energy orbiting around her.
(Rank 4, 2 OLU, 2800 ATK 2300 DEF)
“When Equestrian Luna is XYZ summoned, I draw 1 more card!”

“Holy shit! He has an entire quarter of his deck in his hand!” Red thought to himself. “How the fuck am I going to deal with this!?”

“The Spell Card, Polymerization! I’ll fuse the Equestrian Applejack with the Equestrian Spike in my hand!” As Ernesh slid the card into his Duel Disk’s Spell/Trap slot, a blue and orange vortex appeared behind him, Applejack and Spike flying into it despite the fact that neither of them had wings. “Behold the crystal ruler’s supreme heart! Fusion Summon! Take form, Equestrian Cadence!” A pink Alicorn emerged from the vortex behind Enesh, standing alongside the other two Alicorns.
(Level 8, 2500 ATK 2000 DEF)
“When Equestrian Cadence is Fusion Summoned, I can place a Love Counter on one monster you control, and monsters with Love Counters cannot attack, change their battle positions, or activate their effects!” Ernesh explained. “Cadence! Immobilize his dragon!” Following Ernesh’s command, Cadence cast a spell on Red’s dragon, a heart emerging from her horn, and flying over to Red’s monster, as it fell down, immobilized by love.
(Red-Eyes Black Dragon 0 -> 1 Love Counter)
“That will give me time to safely dispose of your dragon. However, as it stands now, my hand exceeds the hand size limit, so I set one card face down, and end my turn!” Ernesh explained, as a giant hologram of his face down card appeared in front of him.

“Shit!” Red thought to himself. “The entire time, he was collecting cards of ponies to make an impenetrable field! The bastard! Come on deck, give me something I can work with-!” Red thought to himself, before loudly shouting, “It’s my turn! I draw!”

Red 8000 LP
Hand: 4
Ernesh 8000 LP
Hand: 6

Red looked at the card he drew in shock, unable to believe his eyes. “What the-!? This is Trixie’s card!” He thought to himself, before looking over the effect text. “Well, if he’s using cards from the ponies I’ve come to befriend, then so will I! I activate my De-Fusion Spell Card! This will return a Fusion Monster to the Extra Deck, but in addition to that, when a Spell card is activated, I can Special Summon Trixie from my hand! In Defence Position!”
(Level 4, 1500 ATK 1200 DEF)

“So that’s what happened to Trixie and Starlight’s cards!” Ernesh shouted.

“That’s right! I’m not sure how or when they got into my deck, but I’ll use them to kick your ass anyway! De-Fusion will now resolve! I return Cadence to the Extra Deck, and when a Spell Card resolves, I can place a Trick Counter on Trixie!”
(Equestrian Trixie 0 -> 1 Trick Counter)
“With the source of your Love Counter sealing effect gone, Red-Eyes is free to attack again! Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack Luna! Hell Fire Shot!” Following Red’s command, his dragon shot a massive burst of fire towards Princess Luna, shattering her into countless pieces.
Ernesh 8000 -> 7800 LP

“That’s just a minor scratch!” Ernesh shouted.

“Shit… This bastard’s deck is so powerful that even when trying my hardest, I can only just barely scratch him, but, he seems to be relying entirely on my new friends as his Monster line up, meaning that he should have 7 Monsters total, so if I can just survive his initial onslaught, I just might be able to win this!” Red thought to himself. “I set two cards face down, and end my turn!”

“Bold of you, setting the last two cards in your hand.” Ernesh said. “My draw!”

Red 8000 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 7800 LP
Hand: 7

“To begin this turn, I’ll activate my Graceful Charity Spell card! This lets me draw 3 cards, but then I must discard 2. Te cards I’m discarding are Equestrian Rarity and Dark Mirror Force!”

“When a Spell Card is resolved, Trixie will gain another Trick Counter!” Red shouted.
(Equestrian Trixie 1 -> 2 Trick Counters)

“A meaningless effort.” Ernesh responded. “Once per turn, when Equestrian Rarity is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon her!”
(Level 4, 1200 ATK 1700 DEF)
“When Equestrian Rarity is Summoned, I can send an Equestrian monster from my hand, field, or deck to the Graveyard, and I choose to send Equestrian Fluttershy to an early Grave!” Ernesh said. “Now, I activate my Fusion Recovery Spell Card! This will return Polymerization and Equestrian Applejack from my Graveyard to my hand!”

“Trixie gains another Trick Counter!”
(Equestrian Trixie 2 -> 3 Trick Counters)

“No matter! I activate Polymerization! I fuse Equestrian Applejack with Equestrian Rarity to Fusion Summon Equestrian Cadence once more!”
(Level 8, 2500 ATK 2000 DEF)

“Trixie gains yet another Trick Counter!”
(Equestrian Trixie 3 -> 4 Trick Counters)

“Equestrian Cadence’s effect! I’m going to immobilize Trixie with a Love Counter! And as the source of my sealing effect has returned, so has your dragon’s love paralazis!” Ernesh Shouted.

“I don’t think so!” Red shouted, pressing a button on his Duel DIsk. “I activate my Infinite Impermanence Trap Card! This will negate the effect of one monster the opponent controls until the end of this turn, and I target Equestrian Cadence!”

“What!?”

“Furthermore, all Spells and Traps in this card’s column are negated until the End Phase! This means your face down is useless this turn!” Red shouted.

“Shit-! Battle Phase! Equestrian Celestia, attack his Equestrian Trixie! Sun Scorching Blaze!” Ernesh shouted, as Celestia flew high into the sky, and channeled all her magical energy into her horn, firing an orange burst of energy towards Trixie.

“I activate my Trap Card!” Red shouted. “Blazing Mirror Force! When the opponent declares an attack, all Attack Position monsters the opponent controls will be destroyed, and we both take damage equal to half the destroyed monsters’ Attack Points!” A red barrier appeared in front of Trixie, and bagan to block Celestia’s attack, redirecting a burst fire towards Ernesh and his monsters.
Red 8000 -> 6750 LP
Ernesh 7800 -> 6550 LP
“What? Why didn’t we take more damage?” Red asked.

“It’s quite simple, really.” Ernesh said. “Equestrian Celestia cannot be destroyed by card effects! The battle continues! Sun Scorching Blaze!” Following Ernesh’s command, Celestia fired another burst of energy towards Trixie, enveloping her entirely.

“Trixie! I won’t let him hurt you!” Red shouted. “When Trixie would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can remove 1 Trick Counter to protect her from destruction!”
(Equestrian Trixie 4 -> 3 Trick Counters)

“Bratty little punk! I set one card and end my turn!” Ernesh shouted.

“Here goes! My turn!” Red shouted, drawing his card.

Red 6750 LP
Hand: 1
Ernesh 6550 LP
Hand: 4

“I play Pot of Greed!” Red shouted. “Now I draw 2 new cards! This also has the effect of giving Trixie another Trick Counter!”
(Equestrian Trixie 3 -> 4 Trick Counters)
“Now, I activate my Cards of the Red Stone Spell Card! This lets me discard a Level 7 Red-Eyes Monster, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon in this case, and draw 2 cards!”
(Equestrian Trixie 4 -> 5 Trick Counters)
“Now, I activate the Red-Eyes Fusion I just drew into!” Red shouted. “This will perform the Fusion Summon of a monster that lists a Red-Eyes monster as Fusion Material, using materials from my hand, field, or deck, but I cannot Summon any other monsters this turn! I’ll fuse the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field with Gearfried, the Red-Eyes Iron Knight from my deck! Appear, from the black miasma of hell! The armored dragon of nightmares! Fusion Summon! Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
(Equestrian Trixie 5 -> 6 Trick Counters)
“When Black Metal Dragon is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one Red-Eyes card from my deck to my hand!” Red shouted. “This card I got from one of your puppets! My Red-Eyes Fury Equip Spell! Which I subsequently equip to my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon! The equipped monster gains 500 Attack Points for each Dragon and Warrior type monster in my Graveyard, of which there are currently 4!”
(Red-Eyes Slash Dragon 2800 -> 4800 ATK)
(Equestrian Trixie 6 -> 7 Trick Counters)
“Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Slash Dragon attacks Celestia, and when a Red-Eyes monster declares an attack, I can equip a Warrior type monster from my Graveyard to Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, and have it gain 200 Attack Points! Black Armored Slash!” Following Red’s command, his metallic dragon cleaved through Celestia’ body in a single stroke using the blades attached to one of its arms, causing her to explode into countless pieces.
(Red-Eyes Slash Dragon 4300 -> 4500 ATK)
Ernesh 6550 -> 5050 LP

“How daring of you, attacking the Princess of a foreign land with no remorse, not even fearing the consequences!” Ernesh said.

“Anything it takes to defeat you, and end this madness.” Red responded. “You’ve ruined too many lives, Ernesh. Even if it means roughing up my friends, I’m not going to hold anything back to end your existence.”

“That determination, that burning passion, that anger! You know Red, we’re not so different, you and I!” Ernesh said.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You remind me of myself from 1000 years ago, almost as if you were a son of mine.” Ernesh said.

“Are you trying to intimidate me, or confuse me?” Red asked.

“Red, you bare a grudge towards your home world, don’t you?” Ernesh asked. “You have issues with managing your anger, and vent it all out in your Dueling, hasn’t that ever cost you anything that remaining calm would have gained you?”

“S-shut up!” Red shouted, gripping the card in his hand with enough force to bend it. “It’s my turn, so continue with the Duel!”

“Oh, fine, we’ll continue the Duel. For now.” Ernesh stated. “When Equestrian Celestia is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Equestrian Luna from my Graveyard, and attach two Equestrian monsters form my Graveyard to it as Overlay Units! I attach Equestrians Twilight and Celestia!”
(Rank 4, 2 OLU, 2800 ATK 2300 DEF)

“Bastard-! I set one card, and end my turn!” As Red slid his card into the Spell/Trap slot of his Duel Disk, a giant hologram of the card appeared in front of him.

“This is not holding back?” Ernesh asked. “You’re going to need to be much more ruthless if you’re going to defeat me! It’s my turn! I draw!

Red 6750 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 5050 LP
Hand: 5

“Tell me, Red, why do you think I’m doing this?” Ernesh asked. “Why do you think I’m going through all the effort of reving Legendary Duelists from your world, and turning Ponies into cards?”

“The motive doesn’t fucking matter!” Red shouted. “All I know is that you’re an enemy, and you’re in my way! I’ve never let an enemy stand between me and my goal, and I’m not going to start today!”

“Oh? What am I in the way of? What do you gain from striking me down?” Ernesh asked.

“Are you stupid? By beating you, your hold on all the Ponies you’ve killed will be released, repopulating the world.” Red explained. “At least, that’s how Twilight explained capture magic to work.”

“You think I’ve been killing all these Ponies?” Ernesh asked, clearly disgusted by Red’s words. “I’ve been saving these Ponies from Death’s cold embrace!”

“What?”

“Red Rocket, as the Equestrian God of Death, I have seen that which would drive any mortal insane.” Ernesh began. “And I’ll show you with my magic!” Ernesh snapped his fingers, causing a large collection of skeletal hands to emerge from the ground, and grab Red by the ankles.

“AHH! What the hell are these things!?” Red shouted, trying to shake the hands off him, as they started dragging him down into the ground.
***************************************************************

Red was lying on the ground when he regained consciousness, and as he got up, he looked around him, noticing the starry location he was in. “Wha...Where the hell am I…? Last thing I remember, I was Dueling, and then-! Ernesh! Where’d you run off to you coward!? Our Duel isn’t finished yet!” Red shouted as loud as he could.

“I’m right here. “Ernesh said, appearing from a cloud of purple fog. “Welcome to the Death Dimension, this is my domain, my power source.” Ernesh said.

“Death Dimension…? Wait, you mean to say that we’re actually in Pony Hell!?” Red asked, a sense of both fear and anger in his voice.

“Do not fear. I have not done anything to your physical body; you are only seeing this world. And yes, you could say that this is Pony Hell, for this is where I once guided the spirits of Ponies whose bodies had failed them to their final resting place 1000 years ago.” Ernesh explained. “But…” Ernesh snapped his fingers, causing several screens to appear around Red, each one of them containing ponies crying throughout various time periods, each of them next to a dead body.

“What the fuck are these supposed to be?” Red asked.

“These are the families of all the ponies I have brought to the other side.” Ernesh explained. “Every last one of them was heartbroken to realize that their loved one would never return to them, so, I tossed aside my original form, and broke the law of the Equestrian Gods, and began traveling to different dimensions, in search of a better alternative.”

“What?”

“I went from dimension to dimension, and saw many different worlds on my travels, learning much about the greater universe.” Ernesh said. “Until I encountered a rather peculiar world, one that was ruled by a game. A game known as ‘Duel Monsters’. This was your world.” Ernesh explained.

“Okay, but what does Duel Monsters have to do with your guilt problems?”

“Using my magic, I assumed the form of a human from your world, and learned everything I could about Duel Monsters, from the strategies, to the cards, to the mechanics, all of it intrigued me.” Ernesh continued. “But...The one thing that intrigued me the most were the origins, in Ancient Egypt, 3000 years before the game as you know it was created.”

“Will you just get to the point so we can continue our Duel already?”

“Fine, the point is, I saw the Penalty Games of old, and found the answer to my guilt! If I turn Ponies into cards, they’ll never be torn apart by the shackles of death ever again, remaining together, forever, until the end of time!” Ernesh shouted. “And Red, this is where you come in! There is no reason why Equestria should be the only world to be saved! Join me, and together we can save the entire universe from death, and create a new world! One where every creature can live together in harmony!”

“You know what?” Red said. “That’s actually a great plan…”

“Yes! Now Red, walk over here, and join me at my side, and together we can-”

“If you ignore the fact that it’s absolutely fucking retarded!” Red interjected. “Death is just a natural part of the life cycle, and if you, the God of Death can't deal with that, then grow the fuck up! It’s your turn! Now continue the Duel, damnit!”

“Very well then! I activate my Trap Card! Call of the Haunted!” Ernesh shouted, as his face down card revealed itself. “This will Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position and equip itself to that card! The monster I’m reviving is Equestrian Cadence!”
(Level 8, 2500 ATK 2000 DEF)
“By discarding one card, Equestrian Cadence will allow me to target and place a Love Counter on one monster the opponent controls!” Ernesh shouted. “I discard my Cosmic Cyclone, and target Equestrian Trixie!”

“I chain the effect of my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!” Red shouted. “By sending one Equip Card I control to the Graveyard, I can negate and destroy the activation of a card that targets one of my cards! I send Gearfried, the Red-Eyes Iron Knight to my Graveyard!” Right as Cadence was about to blow a heart from the tip of her horn towards Trixie, Red’s dragon swiped its bladed arm forward, firing a supersonic shockwave towards Cadence, shattering her into pieces.
(Red-Eyes Slash Dragon 4500 -> 4800 ATK)

“I set one card face down!” Ernesh shouted. “And now I activate the effect of my Equestrian Luna! By detaching one Overlay Unit and targeting a face down Sell or Trap I control, I can force its activation, and place it in its spot in the Chain!” One of the orbs surrounding Luna flew into her horn, as Ernesh’s face down card sparked, before revealing itself as any other card would. “Ring of Destruction! My target is your Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!”

“Is this guy crazy?” Red thought to himself. “Ring of Destruction inflicts damage equal to the Attack Points the monster destroyed by its effect had at the time of destruction, he’d nearly kill himself at this rate!”

“I activate my Rainbow Life Trap Card!” Ernesh shouted. “At the low cost of discarding one card, for the rest of this turn, whenever I would take effect damage, I gain that much Life instead! And seeing as your Red-Eyes Slash Dragon currently has 4800 Attack Points, I’d say it’s time for a sudden reversal!”

“Shit!” Red shouted. “Rainbow Life is the most recent card in the Chain, so that means-!” Before Red could finish his sentence, the ring of grenades around the neck of Red’s dragon all exploded simultaneously, knocking Red several meters backwards.
Red 6750 -> 1950 LP
Ernesh 5050 -> 9850 LP

“I activate my Fairy Meteor Crush Equip Spell, and Equip it to Equestrian Luna!” Ernesh shouted. “When the equipped monster attacks a Defence Position monster, piercing damage will be inflicted to the opponent!”
(Equestrian Trixie 7 -> 8 Trick Counter)
“Battle Phase! Equestrian Luna, attack his Equestrian Trixie! Dark of the Moon!” Following Ernesh’s orders, Luna flew high into the sky, as she gathered all her magical energy, concentrating it into a burst from the tip of her horn, aimed squarely at Trixie.

“Trixie’s...Effect...Activates!” Red shouted, trying to compose himself from the explosion. “A Trick Counter...Will be substituted...For her destruction!”

“Yes, but you still take the damage!” Ernesh pointed out.
(Trixie 8 -> 7 Trick Counters)
Red 1950 -> 350 LP
“Admit defeat!” Ernesh shouted. “Your Life is in critical condition, your ace monster has been destroyed, and all you have is a Level 4 monster and a face down card you haven’t even activated! It’s over for you!”

“This is...The end…?”

“That’s right! Surrender now, and you will not have to endure anymore pain!” Ernesh shouted. “As I said, I want you to join me in my quest to unite all the worlds, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re turned into a card!”

“Ernesh…” Red began, trying to stand up. “I’ve never been able to say that I’m the best guy around...And I’ve never been able to say that what I do is morally right or wrong, but...One thing I can say, is that when I face an enemy, I will defeat them! You can knock me down, but like a Red-Eyed phoenix, my deck and I will just keep getting back up, never truly dying! And I’ll prove that determination to live in this Duel! My Life may be at a paltry 350, but it’s 349 more points than I need to kick your ass! And I’ll prove not just my determination, but the determination and will to live of all the ponies in Equestria, as well as all life in the greater universe!”

“Very well.” Ernesh said. “If you wish to oppose me, even when your life is a candle in the wind, then when I defeat you, I’ll rip your card into pieces, and discard them into the trash, truly killing you.”

“Ernesh! So long as I have cards in my deck, and points in my Life, I’ll always oppose you!” Red shouted, standing normally again. “Here’s the proof of my indomitable spirit! My Red-Eyes Spirit Trap Card! This will Special Summon a Red-Eyes Monster from my Graveyard, now be reborn! My eternal companion! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)

“On Main Phase 2, I activate my Card of Demise Spell Card!” Ernesh shouted. “This lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand, but in 5 turns I must discard all of them! Not that this Duel will last 5 more turns! With that, I end my turn!”

“It’s my turn!” Red shouted, his voice echoing in the vast reaches of Ernesh’s domain. “I draw!”

Author's Note:

Yeah
We're almost finished here
Just one more chapter, and this shonen wannabe edgefest of a trainwreck will be finished