The Magic of Dueling

by CrystalQueen

Chapter 20: One Card to Save the World! Bring the End! Red-Eyes Connection Dragon!

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

Red 350 LP
Hand: 1
Ernesh 9850 LP
Hand: 5

“Ernesh.” Red said, looking at the card he drew. “You were right.”

“Yes, it’s good to see that you’ve come to your senses and-”

“Card of Demise’s drawback isn’t going to matter, because those 5 turns will be a countdown to your demise!” Red shouted. “I activate Trixie’s effect! I hate to do this, but by tributing her, I can Special Summon any monster from my deck whose Level is equal to or lesser than the amount of Trick Counters she has! Trixie currently has 7 Trick Counters, so by Tributing her, I Special Summon my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
“Now, I Overlay the Level 7 Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!” A black spiral appeared on the Dueling field, both of Red’s dragons flying into, as a burst of fire emerged from the spiral. “Rise, the hellish inferno dragon of legend! My flaming anger incarnate! Rank 7! Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!”
(Rank 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF, 2 OLU)
“Now I activate the effect of Starlight in my hand!” Red shouted. “When the opponent has at least 2 more cards than me in their hand and field, and at least 2000 more Life Points than me, I can Special Summon her from my hand!” As Red placed the card on his Duel Disk, Starlight appeared from a blue portal, her eyes hazed, as if she were blind.
(Level 4, 1500 ATK/DEF)
“When Starlight is Summoned this way, I get to draw 2 cards and gain 1500 Life Points!”
Red 350 -> 1850 LP
“Now that I’m not in critical condition anymore, I activate my Monster Reborn! This will Special Summon a monster from either player’s Graveyard! Spike! Get away from him!”
(Level 1, 0 ATK/DEF)
“Now, by Banishing a Dragon type monster I control, Spike in this case, I can Special Summon this card, which I keep secret from even my best friends!” Red shouted, as Spike fazed out of existence. “King of all Dragons, bear your fangs and burn my enemies to a crisp! Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!” Red’s dragon materialized, all the light around it reflecting off its dark, metallic body, giving the appearance of bioluminescence, as it let out a mighty roar.
(Level 10, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
Red began to take Spike’s card off his Duel Disk, but as he was about to throw the card back to Ernesh, it began dissipating in his hand. “What the fuck!?” He said, as Spike materialized in front of him and fell on his face.

“Ow...Man, what happened?” Spike said as he climbed back on his feet, holding his head in pain as he looked at his surroundings. “Where am I…? Is...Is that Luna?”

“Spike!” Red shouted, squatting down to better look at the baby dragon. “You-You’re alive! But how!? I removed your card from play!”

“My what? The last thing I remember is that you barged in on Twilight’s lesson and challenged me and her to a Duel.” Spike said. “After that...It’s all blank, but I just want to know why you’d just barge in like that, I thought you were waiting for Sunset to give you something.”

“I was.” Red responded, as he stood back up.

“So wait, if you were in the castle all day, then who charged into the school?”

“Think about it, Spike.” Red said. “Who else in Equestria is as tall as me, is a Duelist, and would challenge you to a Duel without provocation?”

“Wait, you don’t mean-!”

“That’s right!” Ernesh shouted. “As I said before, when I left Equestria to travel the greater universe, I had to use my magic to assume the form of a human, but this had a side effect of stripping away my original form, and now-!” Ernesh ripped off his cloak, revealing that he looked exactly like Red, save for the fact that his red shirt and hoodie were black, as were the highlights on his Duel Disk. “I’ve had this as a plan B ever since I first saw your Dueling through Manjome’s eyes! First, I take your shape, then I use the element of surprise to bring all of Equestria together! Then, I move on to the next world, and I do it again, and then-”

“Holy fuck will you just shut up already!?” Red shouted. “It’s my Main Phase, so by detaching 1 Overlay Unit from Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon, I can Special Summon a Red-Eyes Normal Monster from my Graveyard! Be reborn, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK, 1700 DEF)

“Wait, the border for that card is orange, doesn’t that make it an effect monster?” Spike asked.

“Normally yes, but Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon is a Gemini Monster, and is treated as Normal Monster while on my field or in the Graveyard, but if I give up my Normal Summon for the turn while it’s on my field, I can give it an effect, and treat it as an effect monster! This is a technique known as Gemini Summon! Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
“Now I activate the effect of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Dragon type monster from my hand or Graveyard! Be reborn! Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
(Level 7, 2400 ATK, 1700 DEF)
“Now, I activate Starlight’s effect! Once per turn, during either player’s turn, I can target 2 monsters on the field, and equalize their Attack Points! By adding Luna’s 2800 Attack Points to Starlight’s 1500 Attack Points, the total is 4300 Attack Points…” Red explained. “And half of 4300 is 2150, so until the end of this turn, Starlight and Luna only have 2150 Attack Points!”
(Equestrian Starlight 1500 -> 2150 ATK)
(Equestrian Luna 2800 -> 2150 ATK)
“Battle phase! Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Luna! Dark Metal Flare!” Following Red’s command, his largest dragon launched a massive ball of fire towards Luna, incinerating her completely.
Ernesh 9850 -> 9200 LP

“Red!” Spike called out.”How...how could you do that?”

“It’s simple Spike.” Red said. “He turned you, and all our friends into cards, so to beat this bastard, I have to constantly pummel our friends! Only then can I save everyone!”

“Equestrian Luna’s effect activates!” Ernesh shouted. “When this card is destroyed, I can Special Summon Equestrian Celestia from my Graveyard!”
(Level 8, 3000 ATK 2500 DEF)

“Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon’s effect activates!” Red shouted. “While this card has at least 1 Overlay Unit, whenever the opponent resolves a card or effect, 500 damage is inflicted to the opponent! Melting Flare!”
Ernesh 9200 -> 8700 LP
“Celestia has 3000 Attack Points and cannot be destroyed by card effects, so there aren’t many cards in my deck that can beat it.” Red thought to himself. “And if I do beat it, he’ll just revive Luna, who will in turn, revive Celestia.Don’t I have some way to break this combo…?” Red thought, looking over the cards on his field. “I end my turn!”

“It’s my turn! Draw!” Ernesh shouted, a sadistic smile plastered on his face.

Red 1850 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 8700 LP
Hand: 6

“One turn has passed since the activation of Card of Demise, and yet I still have over 8000 Life Points.” Ernesh said. “How do you plan on reducing my Life to 0 when you can’t even beat a 3000 Attack monster?”

“Because, I know that somewhere, hiding in my deck, is one, single card that will end this Duel immediately.” Red said. “As soon as I draw that card, your reign of terror will be over!”

“Is that so? Well, in that case I feel I should tell you that I also have a card that can end this Duel in a single turn!” Ernesh said it. “It appears that we’re in a race to draw our game ending cards! But before that can occur, Battle Phase! Equestrian Celestia, attack Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon! Sun Scorching Blaze!”

“Are you retarded!?” Red shouted. “Starlight! Equalize your and Celestia’s Attack Points! Power of Sameness!” Starlight began charging a burst of magical energy in her horn, aiming directly at Celestia. “This will reduce Celestia’s Attack Points to 2250, which Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon is more than a match for!”

“You think I wasn’t prepared for that? I activate my Forbidden Chalice Quick Play Spell! This will increase a monster’s Attack by 400 Points, but its effects are negated! I target Equestrian Starlight!” The magic in Starlight’s horn fizzled out of existence, as Celestia eviscerated Red’s XYZ dragon with a burst of energy.
Ernesh 8700 -> 8200 LP
(Equestrian Starlight 1500 -> 1900 ATK)
Red 1850 -> 1650 LP
“Now that that nuisance is gone, I activate my Premature Burial Equip Spell! By paying 800 Life Points, this will Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard, and right now, my target is Equestrian PInkie!” Ernesh shouted.
Ernesh 8200 -> 7400 LP
(Level 4, 1900 ATK 100 DEF)
“Now, when Equestrian Pinkie is Summoned, I can draw 1 card, and I also activate her effect, shuffling both of our decks, and letting each player draw 2 cards! Now, I activate my Pot of Greed!” Ernesh said. “This almighty Spell Card allows me to dig two cards deeper into my deck, and fill out my hand even further! And now I play Lightning Vortex! By discarding my Jar of Greed, I can destroy all face up monsters you control!” A fierce bolt of lightning struck all of Red’s monsters, shattering them instantly. “With that, I end my turn!”

“Shit-! I draw!”

Red 1650 LP
Hand: 3
Ernesh 7400 LP
Hand: 5

“Ernesh!” Red shouted, having looked at the cards in his hand. “This turn, I'm going to Summon a monster mighty enough to end you in a single turn!”

“And how do you plan on making that happen?” Ernesh asked. “You only have 3 cards in your hand, and nothing on your field!”

“Red, you drew that card you were talking about, right?” Spike asked. “I really don't want to go back to being a card!”

“Don't worry Spike, he won't hurt you!’ Red shouted. “I activate the effect of The Black Stone of Legend in my Graveyard! By returning Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon from my Graveyard to the deck, I can add it to my hand, from where I Normal Summon it!”
(Level 1, 0 ATK/DEF)
“And before you fuckers say anything about this, I'm nowhere near done yet!” Red said. “Appear! The guiding circuit that leads me to victory! The Summoning condition is one Level 1 Monster! I set The Black Stone of Legend in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Appear, Link 1! Linkuriboh!”
(Link 1, 300 ATK, )
“Now return! The guiding circuit that leads me to victory! The Summoning condition is one Cyberse Link Monster! I set Linkuriboh in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Come forth, Link 1! Secure Gardna!”
(Link 1, 1000 ATK, )
“Lastly, I activate my Mystik Wok Spell card!” Red shouted, sliding the card into his Duel Disk’s Spell and Trap slot. “This lets me tribute a monster and gain Life Points equal to its original Attack or Defense Points! I tribute Secure Gardna, and gain 1000 Life Points!”
Red 1650 -> 2650 LP
“And with that, my preparations are all complete!” Red shouted, a look of dumbfounding shock over Spike and Ernesh's faces.

“You consider this preparing for a turnaround play!?” Ernesh shouted.

“Yes!” Red answered. “After all, I needed the extra Life Points for what I'm about to do!”

“What?”

“I activate my Dragon’s Mirror Spell card!” Red shouted. “This will perform the Fusion Summon of a Dragon type Fusion monster by banishing materials from my field or Graveyard! I'll banish my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, The Black Stone of Legend, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon and Red-Eyes Slash Dragon in my Graveyard!”

“Wait, Fusing 5 Dragons in the Graveyard, that can only mean-!”

“That's right!” Red shouted. “Almighty king of all dragons, hear my plea! Descend from the heavens, and crush all who would be my enemy! Fusion Summon! Arise, Five Headed Dragon!”
(Level 12, 5000 ATK/DEF)

“5000 Attack Points!?” Spike shouted. “There's no way he can beat that!”

“But wait there's more! I play the Dimension Fusion Spell card!” “By paying 2000 Life Points, each player will Special Summon as many of their Banished monsters as possible, and seeing Spike's card no longer exists, you won't be summoning shit! Come back, Red-Eyes Black, Black Flare, Flare Metal and Slash Dragons!”
Red 2650 -> 650LP
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
(Level 7, 2400 ATK 1700 DEF)
(Rank 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
(Level 7, 2800 ATK 2400 DEF)
“Once more! The guiding circuit that leads me to victory! The Summoning condition is one Normal Monster! I set my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Link 1, Link Spider!”
(Link 1, 1000 ATK, )
“One last Link Summon! The guiding circuit that leads me to victory! The Summoning condition is at least 3 effect monsters! I set Red-Eyes Black, Flare Metal and Slash Dragons, along with Link Spider in the Link Markers! Appear, Link 4! Borreload Dragon!”
(Link 4, 3000 ATK,
“Battle Phase! Borreload Dragon, attack Celestia! Capture Shot!” Red shouted, as his dragon readied a shot from the canon in its mouth, aiming directly at Celestia.

“Borreload Dragon and Equestrian Celestia both have 3000 Attack Points!” Ernesh shouted. “They’ll both be destroyed you idiot!”

“That’s what you think!” Red retorted. “When Borreload Dragon attacks a monster, I can place that monster in one of the zones Borreload points to, but I have to send it to the Graveyard during the next turn’s End Phase! Fire!” Following Red’s command, his dragonfired a blast of energy at Celestia, Celestia appearing on Red’s field as the smoke cleared. “Now, I activate Borreload Dragon’s second effect! Once per turn, I can target one monster on the field and reduce its Attack and Defence Points by 500! Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to this! My target is Pinkie!”
(Equestrian Pinkie 1900 -> 1400 ATK)
“Celestia! Show Pinkie why you’re the Princess! Sun’s Wrath!” Following Red’s command, Celestia fired a magical beam at Pinkie, eviscerating her entirely.
Ernesh 7400 -> 5800
“Celestia’s effect will now activate! When she destroys an opponent’s monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I gain Life Points equal to the destroyed monster’s original Attack Points!”
Red 650 -> 2550 LP
“Lastly, Five-Headed Dragon! Direct Attack! Five God Wave!” With Red’s command, each head of his Five-Headed Dragon all fired blast of their respective element towards Ernesh, the ensuing explosion completely enveloping him.
Ernesh 5800 -> 800 LP
“How do you like that!? I end my turn!” Red shouted.

“You think that’s enough to defeat me!?” Ernesh shouted. “I am Ernesh! The God of Death! You can never hope to defeat me! You won’t escape your fates! It’s my turn, I draw!”

Red 2550 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 6

“To begin my turn, I play Dark World Dealings! Both players draw, then discard 1 card! I discard Makyura the Destructor!” Ernesh shouted.

“And I discard the Necro Gardna I drew.” Red said.

“Now, because Makyura the Destructor was sent to the Graveyard, I can activate Traps from my hand for the rest of this turn!” Ernesh shouted. “I activate two copies of Call of the Haunted! This will Special Summon Equestrian Pinkie and Equestrian Fluttershy from my Graveyard!”
(Level 4, 1900 ATK 100 DEF)
(Level 4, 200 ATK 2200 DEF)
“Now, when Equestrian Pinkie is Summoned, I can draw a card! And now I activate her effect, shuffling both of our decks, and making both of us draw 2 cards!” Both Duelists looked over the cards in their hands, a sinister look plastered over Ernesh’s face. “Yes...My key card...It’s been too long…”

“Red, you don’t think he drew it, do you?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know Spike, but based on his face right now, I don’t think I want to know-!”

“I activate my Magical Stone Excavation!” Ernesh shouted. “By discarding two cards, I can add a Spell from my Graveyard to my hand! I discard my Mirror Force and Dark Mirror Force, and return Monster Reborn to my hand! Which I subsequently activate, Special Summoning Equestrian Twilight from my Graveyard!”
(Level 4, 1600 ATK 1200 DEF)
“With this, I can now Summon the monster that will end your futile resistance!” Ernesh shouted. “I tribute Equestrian Twilight, Equestrian Pinkie, and Equestrian Fluttershy! Great ruler of the lands beyond, cross the aether and rend these fools with your mighty cleaver! Take for, Level 12! Reaper of Souls!”
(Level 12, ? ATK/DEF)
“The Reaper of Souls...A card designed in my own, original image…” Ernesh said, looking at the cloaked pony standing in front of him. “This card will put your futile struggle to rest…”

“Are you sure about that?” Red asked. “Not only have I gotten out of tight jams during my time here,but I currently have 3 powerful monsters on the field compared to your monster that doesn’t even have a single Attack Point! How are you kicking my ass with that?”

“Well it’s quite simple, really.” Ernesh explained. “The Reaper of Souls gains 400 Attack Points for each monster in each player’s Graveyard! And seeing as we have a combined 16 monsters, The Reaper of Souls now possesses 6400 Attack Points!”
(Reaper of Souls ? -> 6400 ATK)

“Wait, 6400 Attack Points!?” Spike said in shock. “There’s no way Red can survive that!”

“It’s all over now! Red Rocket! Reaper of Souls attacks Borreload Dragon! Death Harvester!” Following Ernesh’s command, the cloaked pony standing in front of him brandished a large scythe form inside its cloak, and lept towards Red’s dragon, prepared to cleave its head off.

“I activate the effect of Necro Gardna in my Graveyard!” Red shouted. “By Banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can negate one attack!” As Red removed the card from his Duel Disk, a ghostly apparition of Necro Gardna appeared in front of his Borreload Dragon, blocking Ernesh’s monster’s scythe, before dissipating.
(Reaper of Souls 6400 -> 6000 ATK)

“You bought yourself one turn.” Ernesh said. “It won’t mean anything once my next turn rolls around! I end my turn, and during the End Phase, Equestrian Celestia will return to my Graveyard!”
(Reaper of Souls 6000 -> 6400 ATK)
“Normally, this would allow me to Special Summon Equestrian Luna and attach two Equestrian monsters to it as Overlay Units, but The Reaper of Souls prevents me from Summoning other monsters.”

“Shit...I draw!”

Red 2550 LP
Hand: 3
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 2

“Shit…That thing is more powerful than the Five-Headed Dragon…” Red thought to himself as he read the effect text of Ernesh’s monster on his Duel Disk. “And it’s even immune to all card effects...The only way I could possibly beat that thing would be if I emptied both our Graveyards, but I already used up all my cards that Banish from the Graveyard...Except for that card Celestia gave me, I just need to draw into it-!”

“Well? Have you decided to submit to me ad surrender?” Ernesh asked. “You can always surrender and join me, if you so desire.

“Shut up!” Red shouted. “It’s like I said! I will never die! You can kick me down, and kick me until I start coughing up blood, but I will never surrender in a Duel! I set three cards face down, and end my turn!”

“Is that all you can muster?” Ernesh said. “Pathetic, although I guess humans react to impending loss of life differently than ponies do. I draw.”

Red 2550 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 3

“I’m ending this now. Battle Phase! Reaper of Souls, attack Borreload Dragon! Death Harvester!” Ernesh’s monster, following its masters command, lept towards Red’s dragon, brandishing a scythe, before slicing the dragon’s head off, destroying it instantly.

“Red! NO!!!” Spike cried out, tears rolling down his face.

“Yes! Now, the path to peace between all worlds is cleared!” Ernesh shouted.

“Are you sure about that?” Red said. “Because I still have Life Points remaining.”

“What!? But how!?” Ernesh shouted. “The Reaper of Souls is unaffected by the opponent’s card effects!”

“I know, but the Defence Draw Trap card that I activated during damage calculation doesn’t do anything about your attacking monster, it just reduces all battle damage to 0, then lets me draw 1 card.”

“You bastard-! The Reaper of Souls will still gain 400 Attack Points! I end my turn!” Ernesh shouted.
(Reaper of Souls 6400 -> 6800 ATK)

“I draw!”
Red 2550 LP
Hand: 2
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 3

“Alright! Time to draw my card!” Red thought to himself, looking over the cards in his hand. “First, I activate Star Blast! By paying Life Points in multiples of 500, I can reduce the Level of one Monster I control by 1 for each multiple of 500 payed! I’ll pay 2000 Life Points to reduce Five-Headed Dragon’s Level by 4!”
Red 2550 -> 550[/i] LP
(Five-Headed Dragon Level 12 -> 8)
“Now, I activate my Advance Draw Spell Card! By tributing a Level 8 monster I control, I can draw 2 cards! I tribute Five-Headed Dragon, and draw 2 cards!”
(Reaper of Souls 6800 -> 7200 ATK)
“Son of a bitch!” Red thought to himself. “I set two cards, and end my turn!”

“How brave of you, willingly giving up your only monster in a desperate bid to draw more cards! It’s my turn, I draw!”

Red 550 LP
Hand: 0
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 4

“Battle Phase! Reaper of Souls, attack the Red Rocket directly, and end this Duel! Death Harvester!”

“I may be out of tricks to dodge the damage, but I’m not out of this Duel yet!” Red shouted. “I activate my Nutrient Z Trap card, and my Emergency Provisions Quick Play Spell! Emergency Provisions will send my three other Spells and Traps to the Graveyard and increase my Life Points by 1000 for each, totalling a net gain of 3000 Life Points, and Nutrient Z will boost my Life Points by 4000 when I’m about to receive 2000 or more battle damage!”
Red 550 -> 3550 -> 7550 LP
“Now bring it on!”

“Reaper of Souls! Continue your attack! Death Harvester!” Ernesh’s monster lept towards Red, slashing at him with its scythe, sending him flying far back, landing on his back.
Red 7550 -> 350 LP

“You’re certainly a persistent bastard!” Ernesh shouted. “I end my turn!”

“Red!” Spike shouted, running over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine…” Red said, standing up. “Ernesh! This will be the final turn! I’m betting the fate of all life on this one draw! Here goes!”

Red 350LP
Hand: 1
Ernesh 800 LP
Hand: 4

“I activate the Spell Card Beginning of the End!” Red shouted. “When I have 7 or more DARK monsters in my Graveyard, this card lets me Banish 5 of them to draw 3 cards! I Banish my Red-Eyes Slash, Black Flare, Flare Metal, Five-Headed and Borreload Dragons! Now, I draw 3 cards, and your Reaper of Souls loses Attack Points!”
(The Reaper of Souls 7800 -> 5800 ATK)
“Yes...It’s finally here...Thank you, my deck, you never let me down in the end…” Red said, looking over the cards he drew. “Ernesh! Your reign of fear is over! I activate my Spell Card Friendship Fusion!”

“Friendship Fusion” Ernesh asked.

“By Banishing a number of monsters equal to the Level of a Fusion Monster from either player’s field or Graveyard, including at least 6 Equestrian Monsters with different original names and one monster from my field or Grave whose original type matches the original type of the Fusion Monster I intend to Summon, I can Special Summon any Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring the Summoning Conditions!” Red shouted.

“What!?”

“I Banish Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Celestia, Luna and Cadence from your Graveyard, along with Trixie, Starlight and my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my Graveyard!” As Red explained his card’s effect, all the cards he listed were automatically ejected from the Duel Disks, and all but his Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to disintegrate into particles of light, and silhouettes appeared above him. “Everyone! Become one with my Red-Eyes Black Dragon! This is the ultimate Fusion Summon!” As per Red’s instructions, all the ponies turned into orbs of light, and flew into his Dragon, the Fusion Monster Card Celestia gave him becoming a full card. “I Summon Red-Eyes Connection Dragon!” As Red placed the Fusion monster on his Duel Disk’s blade, the silhouette of his dragon above him materialized, with dark black scales, and the Cutie Marks of all the Ponies used as Fusion Material running along its back.
(Level 12, 4500 ATK/DEF)
Red’s dragon let out a loud roar, as the entire realm Red and Ernesh were Dueling in was engulfed in light, and with a bright flash, they were returned to Ponyville, where they began Dueling, all of Red’s friends regaining consciousness in a pile.
“Now, with 12 monsters no longer in the Graveyard, The Reaper of Souls will lose 4800 Attack Points!”
(The Reaper of Souls 5800 -> 1000 ATK)

“What!? Impossible! I was overpowered in my own dimension!? My own plane of reality!?” Ernesh shouted.

“That’s right!” Red shouted. “And I’m about to boot you out of this dimension too! Battle Phase! Red-Eyes Connection Dragon, attack The Reaper of Souls! Bonds of Flame!” Following Red’s command, his dragon fired a massive fireball from its mouth towards Ernesh, the Cutie Marks along its back all lighting up as it prepared to fire, before launching the flame burst towards its target, causing a massive explosion that engulfed both Duelists.

“Are you guys okay?” Red asked, directing his attention to the ponies.

“Uh...What happened?” Twilight asked, Spike helping her stand up.

“That’s what I want to know.” Starlight responded. “I think I know how you guys felt after I used that spell to make you all obey my every command.”

“Ugh, do not mention spells, or traps, or anything about this stupid game for the rest of our lives…” Trixie said. “Trixie will be taking an extended vacation on stress leave.”

“Umm, girls…?” Fluttershy said, pointing behind Red. “There’s another Red…”

“What!?” Red shouted, as he turned around to see what Fluttershy was pointing at, only to see Ernesh, struggling to stand.

“Red Rocket…” He began. “I may have lost to your cards, but you must remember...I am the God of Death...As such, I can easily be revived in this world, again, and again, and again…”

“That may be.” Red said. “But, so long as I’m...No, so long as Duelists who continue to believe in their potential, and have the will to survive exist, you will always have opposition no matter what world you go to. Your world will never come to be.” Unable to remain in Red’s form from his battle scars, Ernesh detonated like a Duel Monster, the cards in his binder all dissipating, as all the creatures he had converted to cards returned to where they belonged in Equestria.
Ernesh 800 -> 0 LP

“Would y’all care to explain what in the hay just happened here?” Applejack asked. “Why were there two Reds?”

“I don’t know.” Red said. “In the middle of the Duel, he he started rambling on about creating a new world and shit, point is, it’s over. You guys are safe.”

“Lance Higbee.” Celestia said. “You have saved Equestria from what surely would have been complete destruction, and for that, I must thank you.”

“Yes, what you have done is not something we would have been able to do alone.” Luna added. “Would you be so kind as to join us for a celebration in Canterlot?”

“Sorry, but I’ll have to pass on that.” Red said.

“WHAT!?” Pinkie exclaimed. “We’re about to have a party for you! And you’re leaving before it even happens!?”

“Sorry to say, but yeah, I gotta get going.” Red explained. “Sunset came by earlier today, and gave me the necessary card to get home, and it’s like I said, without me, my friends Kevin and Patrick are goners.”

“Wow, that sounds really hard to live through.” Twilight said. “But, if it’s for your friends, then we won’t keep you from them.”

“Alright, it’s been nice meeting you all. Except for you Rainbow. Go fuck yourself.” Red said.

“What?” Rainbow asked, as Red pressed a button on his Duel Disk, as he dissipated as a form of energy. “What does “Go fuck yourself” even mean?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know.” Fluttershy said. “But maybe it means he really likes you.”

“I don’t know, I think he was trying to insult me.” Rainbow said.
****************************************************************

As Red rematerialized in his own world, he looked around himself, seeing that he was back in his garage. “It’s finally over…I’m home…” He thought to himself. As Red thought this, he heard a voice from the other room.

“I can’t believe it’s been a week since Lance disappeared.” The voice said.

“Where could have have gone!?” Said another voice. “He’s never late from his raids on Security!”

“Heh, sounds like the guys were worried about me.” Red thought to himself. “Guess I better go give them a little surprise.”

“You don’t think he lost a Riding Duel, do you?” One of them said.

“No, Lance’s Dueling is much more sophisticated than Security’s!” The other voice said. “He’d never lose!”

“You know Kevin, you’re right.” Red said, walking into the room. “I’m way better than Security’s grunts.”

“Lance!” The two men the voices were coming from said in shock.

“Sounds like you guys missed me.” Red said. “But do me a favor, and come a little closer.” He said, as his friends came closer.

“Do you not understand the concept of two way communication!?” Keven shouted, getting closer. “Patrick and I were worried about you all week!”

“Yeah, Kevin’s right.” Patrick said. “Why didn’t you at least tell us where you were?”

“You guys are right, and it’s a bit of a long story, but first, I just have to ask you guys a simple question.” Lance said, as he grabbed both his friends by the heads, before smacking their heads together in rage. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me Red Rocket meant Dog Boner!?”

Author's Note:

Alright, so it's finally over.
To be honest, writing this was one of the only things that kept me going throughout 2018, so to look back on this and see that it's finished, that sure does put a smile on my face.
Like I said, I'm going to make a side story explaining the shit Red did in EQG land between chapters 4 and 5, but I'm going to take a hiatus from writing before that.
-Zeroace

Comments

[CrystalQueen]

9459419
Yes, life is just really busy right now, so I don't really have the time to take on a third personal project in addition to my full time job and the other personal projects I'm working on

[nightshroud96]

Honstly this was a pretty good fanfic.
And the Red Eyes fusion was epic.

But..
I really didn't like how Spike and Luna got taken out off screen like fodder like that and the fact they've been card and humiliated badly by being used in the duel like puppets(with Luna being destroyed a bunch). And the fact neither of them had any clue on whats happening made the humiliation even worse..
And the fact Luna looks like even more of a huge failure due to being taken out like that..(and the fact she pretty much lost 2 freaking duels).
It also hurts that Spike didn't get to properly duel while the mane 6 did, what's worse his very first duel was just him being taken out off-screen like fodder..

Really sorry if my comments are really bothersome but.. I really want to let that off of my chest..

[nightshroud96]

I hope my comments weren't too bothersome, were they..?

Sorry..
It just really bums me out on how Spike and Princess Luna were handled here..

[nightshroud96]

I just wished something is done on how Spike and Luna were handled here..