Duel Monsters Are Magic GX

by snivygamer97

Nightmares, Tablets, and Duel Monsters

Rainbow Dash zoomed faster than lightning across the sky, either spinning the clouds she passed or even busting them to pieces. Much to Rainbow’s glee, all of Ponyville was watching her performance and everyone seemed to love it, especially her friends.
“I can’t believe that Dashie was able to win the grand flight competition of the century and earned the title of fastest flier of all time! Woohoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“Not only that, but she was able to perform a Double Rainboom on top of that!” Fluttershy agreed.
“Yeah! A Double Rainboom shouldn’t even be possible, but Rainbow still pulled it off!” Applejack was in awe, with hearts in her eyes.
“If Rainbow doesn’t end up becoming a Wonderbolt after that performance, I don’t know what will make her become one,” Twilight threw in her own two cents.
“Looks like she may become one right now. Look over there!” Rarity pointed to Spitfire as she flew up to Rainbow Dash.
“So, Spitfire, what are you doing here? Are you here to tell me how awesome I am?” Rainbow asked the yellow pegasus.
“I don’t think I need to tell you about that, Rainbow Dash. You should already be more than well aware of your reputation as a hero and awesomely amazing flier by this point. I was here to ask; Do you want to become a new member of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash?” Spitfire asked the pegasus, who was quick to look excited.
“YES! A thousand times yes! Being a Wonderbolt has been my dream ever since I was a little filly! Part of the reason I love to fly is because of you guys!” Rainbow Dash answered passionately.
“Well, we better get going. Our first show with you as a part of the Wonderbolts starts later tonight. And don’t worry about your friends. They’ll have front row seats to see you perform with us!” Spitfire reassured.
“This…is the best day of my life! Nothing can make this moment bad!” Rainbow cheered ecstatically.
Suddenly, however, the sky was quick to turn dark and stormy, thunder ringing out wildly. All of the ponies that were both in the sky and on the ground were scared for their lives as they grabbed their friends and loved ones and ran for their homes, except for a confused Rainbow Dash and her friends.
“Well, that can’t be a good sign,” Spike muttered to Twilight.
“No kidding. Storms like this would usually come with some sort of warning. Still, whatever this is, I’m sure we can handle it. We just need to find the princess or get the Elements of Har-,” Twilight was interrupted by a loud roar, scaring Fluttershy and Spike.
“Whoa nelly! What in the name of Celestia could be causing this storm and that roar?” Applejack asked, confused.
“I have no idea, but running to the train station may be a good call right now,” Rarity suggested as another roar rang out.

Rainbow Dash flew on down quickly to where her friends were. “Twilight! Do you know what is causing this storm? I mean, today is still great, what with me becoming a Wonderbolt and all, but ponies can still get hurt if we don’t fix things!”

“You? A Wonderbolt? Uh…,” Pinkie Pie nervously responded.

“Last I checked you were still trying to get into their academy,” Applejack confirmed.

“W-w-what?” Rainbow was shocked and saddened.

“But, I must say you will make for a marvelous Wonderbolt, darling, I mean when the time comes,” Rarity said supportively.

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but can we save this talk for after we save all the ponies and animals?” Fluttershy asked meekly.

“Y-Yeah! Saving everyone should take priority!” Spike agreed.

“I would do something if we had the Elements of Harmony, or at the very least knew where this storm was coming from! Could it be from the Everfree Forest?” Twilight wondered.

“The Everfree Forest? How naive. No. Your pain and misery will come from a much different force than that old place.”

Everyone was confused and scared on where this voice had come from and what they had meant.

“Uh, Twilight? You know where that creepy voice came from?” Spike asked in fear.

“I wish I did,” Twilight responded.

All of a sudden, a strange demonic eye started to form into the sky.

“Ah…one of my beloved loves. And- her soon to be suffering friends. How nice to see you all,” The eye said.

“Well, this is new, girls. What do y’all think we should do?” Applejack asked.

“I say we rush it and hit…her?” Rainbow suggested.

“I am of both genders. I am neither male or female, intersexed. As for your other concern,...feel free to hurt me. I know what it means.”

“Whatever! Time for you to feel the burn!” Rainbow yelled as she was about to fly at the eye…only for Applejack to hold her back.

“Dash? Why don’t we stay away from the ominous floating eye for now?” Applejack suggested.

“Also, are you sure about hitting them, Dashie? I mean, the eye could be friendly, after all,” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“W-Well…seeing as how they said we’d be suffering, I’m not sure. Hopefully we can put a stop to them before things get out of hand,” Fluttershy tried to be brave in spite of her fear.

“Fluttershy is right. We may need to flee in order to stop her. Hopefully we can make it to Canterlot and find the Elements. I just wish it was for better reasons,” Rarity decided.

“Sure. Believe that your little stones can stop me or those other threats that seek to hurt you.”

“Look, I don’t know why you wanna hurt me or my friends. But know that we will stop whatever you plan to do and keep Equestria safe from your grasp!” Twilight said bravely.

“That’s very touching, my little pony. However, you’re not the one I’m interested in. You may be the magical friendship Element, the one which your six stones need to combine into, but my interest does not lie with you.”

“W-What?! But then what do you want?” Twilight wondered.

“All will be revealed with time. For now, say hello to my little friends.”

At this point, three monsters larger than a building appeared in the sky; a ginormous red dragon, a yellow thunder creature, and a blue demon. Before the group could respond, the trio shot out powerful energy bursts at the six ponies and the young dragon.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

However, before the blast could hit the mare and her friends, Twilight suddenly opened her eyes. She and her friends were no longer being confronted by those three ferocious beasts. She was back in her room at the Golden Oaks library right at the crack of dawn. Looking down, she saw Spike had also just woken up as well.

“Twilight! What are we going to do about…,” Spike yelled only for him to realize that what just happened was a dream. “Oh, thank goodness! All that just happened was a dream! What a strange one, though. One minute I was about to move into an ice cream house with Rarity, and the next we’re being confronted by an evil eye and three massive monsters!”

“Uh…Spike?” Twilight asked nervously.

“What?” Spike asked only to begin to understand that what had just occurred wasn’t a simple dream. “Oh. It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that this wasn’t a normal dream. It appears that we’ve both shared it. I recall from Princess Luna that the only dreams that are shared between individuals are those that a certain magic user allows to be shared. I wonder if any of our friends had that dream also,” Twilight explained.

“Could be. So, what do you think was the deal with those monsters anyhow? Do you think that they could be coming to hurt us?” Spike wondered.

“It’s a possibility. We need to put a stop to whoever plans on summoning them before it is too late,” Twilight said just as she realized something. “Spike. Take a letter to the Princess. We need to tell her what we just dreamed about.” Spike nodded and got out a scroll to write down the warning that the young unicorn had for the Princess.
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Not very long after Twilight woke up from that terrifying nightmare, Rainbow Dash woke up a bit worried. No, a bit worried would be underselling it. Even though she would never admit it to anyone, even herself, she was scared. Some strange monster and their pets, one that she knew felt familiar even though she never met, appeared in a dream that felt almost real and threatened not only herself and her friends, but also the innocents of Equestria. Wanting to calm down about her worries, she decided to go and see the one pony who she knew wouldn’t judge her over her fears; Fluttershy.

And so, Rainbow Dash zoomed past the beautiful sunrise and was able to arrive at Fluttershy’s cottage so fast that the Wonderbolts would be proud. Rather than knock on the door, Rainbow flew up to the bedroom window and knocked on it in rapid succession. After a few seconds, she got a response from Fluttershy who looked very worried, about as much as Rainbow was.

“Fluttershy! I need to talk to you! You see, I had a dream that started off awesomely sweet only for it to turn dark! Some monster and her giant pets appeared and destroyed us!” Rainbow confessed, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

“I know, Rainbow Dash! I had the same sort of nightmare and it has me worried about my pony and animal friends!” Fluttershy squeaked out in fear.

“I know you’ll think it means nothing, but- wait. You had the same dream as me?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes. A-A-And I’m worried about what it means. Is something bad going to happen to us and the creatures of Equestria? I really hope it was just a normal dream and we don’t have to worry about anything,” Fluttershy confirmed.

“Something tells me that this dream is more than just a normal nightmare. What if we or anyone else we know dies as a result of that monster’s sadism. I’m scared something bad is about to happen and that we won’t be able to do anything about it!” Rainbow confessed her worries.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash. I bet the others are already getting the Elements ready to combat that creature. Plus, Twilight is the smartest mare we know. She’s probably already coming up with a plan to stop them,” Fluttershy reassured. “Oh, and don’t worry too much, Rainbow. I won’t bring up that you were scared to the others.”

“Hey! I’m not…never mind. Still, we should be better safe than sorry. I mean, once that storm started up, things felt a lot more real and we both appear to have had the same dream. I bet the rest of our friends may have had that dream too,” Rainbow Dash guessed.

“M-Maybe we should go and see Twilight and the others to make sure. After all, Twilight and Spike may have contacted the Princesses and gotten some sort of answer on what is going on here,” Fluttershy suggested. “I just hope we don’t have to go on another dangerous quest so soon after we fought Nightmare Moon.”

“And give up being awesome with my friends? Come on, Fluttershy! Let’s go get the others so we can-,” Rainbow said, only for Angel to enter the cottage and try to get Fluttershy’s attention. “Hey, Fluttershy, your jerkish bunny is here and trying to say something.”

“Don’t be rude, Rainbow” Fluttershy said boldly before backpedaling a bit. “P-please? I’ll see what Angel is trying to say. So, what do you need, my little furry friend?” Angel was quick to run out of the cottage, which Fluttershy guessed meant that they should follow him. “Come on, Rainbow Dash! We should follow and see what Angel is trying to say.”

“But what about the demon in our dreams?” Rainbow asked impatiently.

“We can find out more later! Angel looked worried to me! Now, please! Let’s go!” Fluttershy pleaded while trying to be polite.

“But-Ugh, fine! We’ll see what your bunny wants!” Rainbow begrudgingly agreed, with both ponies flying after Angel to see what he was referring to. A few minutes later, both pegasi reached the location that Angel was leading them to… only to be massively confused at what was there.

“Rainbow…do you know what-,” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“No, I don’t. Maybe Twilight knows?” Rainbow suggested in regards to what was present; a giant stone tablet with a carving of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t take long for Rainbow and Fluttershy to find Twilight, who with Spike’s help was in the middle of investigating another tablet, this one with Dark Magician carved onto it.

“Fascinating! Even though these tablets just started to appear, they appear to be thousands of years old. Spike, where do you think they came from?” Twilight asked her brother/assistant.

“No clue. Maybe it’s like it was in one of my old comics and it came from space,” Spike suggested.

“No, it can’t be that. There would be craters much bigger than the ones surrounding the tablets if they came from space. Besides, objects this big crashing down would have done much more damage. I don’t quite understand it, Spike. First our shared nightmare, now these strange tablets. What in the name of Celestia is going on?! Are we all going to be invaded by monsters? Will there be another tablet crashing down that will destroy Equestria?! What are…?!” Twilight began to panic with tears in her eyes.

“Aw, don’t worry, Twilight! I know things seem stressful right now, but we’re here to help you figure things out,” Fluttershy said as she hugged Twilight.

“Fluttershy is right, Twilight! We may not have the whole story yet, but we will! Celestia and Luna already received your letter and are sure to be thinking of a way to fix everything and solve all these mysteries. In the meantime, please don't give yourself a heart attack from stress,” Spike comforted while hugging Twilight as he half-joked.

“Yeah. Spike has a point. No use in figuring everything out if you can’t live long enough to see things get fixed,” Rainbow said as she reluctantly hugged her as well.

Twilight cried in relief as she said, “Thanks, you three. I needed that. Now, I take it that you girls had the same thing happen? You know, a scary dream involving dangerous and unfamiliar creatures straight out of Tartarus?”

“Correctamundo, Twilight. Of course, I wasn’t scared of the dream,” Rainbow lied badly.

“Seriously? You weren’t scared by the monsters bigger than the Princesses’ castle?” Twilight snarked.

“Well, it looks like Twilight may be calming down,” Spike teased as Twilight blushed..

“So, it looks like all of us may have had the same dream then?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight nodded.

“Worse still, from the sounds of it, you know even less than we do,” Rainbow asked, with disappointment present on her face as Twilight nodded slowly.

Suddenly, before Rainbow Dash could say anything else, Pinkie Pie popped up between her and Twilight. “So guys, what are you doing here? Were you all chatting over the same dream I had last night involving mean old evil beasties?” Pinkie asked as she finally noticed the tablet in front of them. “Oh, are we going to throw a party involving that strange rock in the middle of town? Because that would be so cool!” Pinkie Pie cheered at the idea of throwing a party for her friends, wanting to think of something else.

“I don’t think that this is what is going on, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said as she walked towards the growing group. “However, I believe that I could potentially make some interesting outfits back at home based off of it.” Rarity said with sparkling eyes as she was getting inspired.

“Rarity? Maybe focus on the shared dream part and the mystery rather than your business right now?” Applejack said.

“Sorry. But as an artiste, you have to be able to find and follow any opportunity to grow and create your craft. Still, you have a point. First we have the same creepy dream and then these alluring yet mysterious and dusty old stones? Something is going on here all right,” Rarity said.

“So, wait, there’s more than just the ones here and in the woods?” Rainbow asked.

“I heard that there are apparently more of these stone pieces in towns all across Equestria,” Applejack said as she approached them, having found this out due to her connections with the rest of the Apple family.

“Yeah, and these stones have even gotten the animals confused,” Fluttershy revealed. “Plus, it’s kinda terrifying.”

“What do you think is going on, Twilight?” Applejack asked the purple mare.

“I don’t know. I know as much about this as you do. Maybe the princesses know more about this. I had Spike write a letter asking Celestia and Luna what they currently know,” Twilight wondered, looking a bit disappointed for not knowing more.

“Hey, don’t worry, darling. It’s not like we’re really much in the know either. Besides, how exactly could we know more about these things anyhow?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah! It’s not like you know something we don’t,” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, with everyone dreading that Twilight's feelings would be hurt. Fortunately, Twilight appeared to be fine. Suddenly, Spike belched up a letter from Princess Celestia.

“So, what does the letter say, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It says for all of us to meet Celestia and Luna at the castle in Canterlot,” Twilight admitted the news to her friends.

“Does it say we need to go get the Elements of Harmony and defeat whatever threat is popping up?” Rainbow asked, feeling amped up.

“I hope it isn’t that serious,” Fluttershy hoped.

“We may just be getting invited to the next party at the palace,” Pinkie suggested, trying to be optimistic.

“As fun as that would be, I have a bad feeling that the news may not be good,” Rarity warned.

“I wouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch. We should let Twilight continue talking before we judge the situation,” Applejack said.

“Well…it just says we should meet them in Canterlot and that we have things to discuss,” Twilight responded.

“Well that was very unhelpful,” Rainbow grumbled in annoyance as Twilight started to look annoyed with Rainbow.

“Uh, to be fair we may get a better understanding of what is going on when we reach the castle,” Spike said supportively to his older sister.

Twilight sighed before responding, “Thanks, Spike. Girls, we’re all heading off to Canterlot!”
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It took a few hours, but the group of seven eventually made it to the castle in Canterlot.

As they walked down the hall, or flew in Rainbow Dash’s case, they were in the middle of thinking up an explanation as to the origin of the tablets.

“G-girls? So, what do you think about this whole mess? I mean, first the shared nightmare and now strange tablets with unfamiliar creatures? Who or what do you think is responsible for this?” Fluttershy meekly managed to ask with some difficulty.

“I don’t know, darling. I may not be a historian, but what I do know is that there is a strong chance that these things are connected,” Rarity suggested.

“No duh! What I can’t get over is how the strange eye monster appears to be familiar with us and was aiming for us specifically,” Rainbow admitted.

“You have a point. Do you think it has to do with us being the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?” Applejack wondered.

“I doubt it. It appears that they had other reasons, possibly more personal, for wanting to hurt us,” Twilight said.

“Twilight has a point. She wanted to hurt us, but showed no interest in going after Twilight or the Elements,” Applejack reasoned.

“But what could that reason be? We never hurt anyone without at least apologizing afterward,” Rarity noted.

“You’re right. Also, it appears that they loved at least one of us at some point,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding and she wants to do nothing bad at all and believes pain is love. I bet if we hash things out we could be good friends!” Pinkie Pie suggested as the others stared at her.

“Uh, not a bad idea, Pinkie Pie, but perhaps a bit too optimistic,” Spike whispered.

“Sorry,” Pinkie Pie apologized.

“Well, regardless of what harm they’ll do to me or my friends, I’m gonna find out what’s going on and save all of my friends and Equestria!” Rainbow cried out.

“But first we should talk with the princesses and see what they know,” Twilight reminded the group as they opened the door to the throne room, with both princesses sitting down next to each other looking a bit worried.

Upon arriving at the throne room, the group all bowed with respect towards the reigning princesses. Shortly afterward, Twilight was quick to bombard Celestia with questions. “It’s nice to see you, princesses. Now…What was that dream we had about? What are these stone tablets? Why are they showing up now? Are they the work of another villain?”

“Relax, Twilight.” Celestia calmed down her faithful student. “I don’t think that any villain is the source of these stone tablets. No, I think that these tablets come from another world entirely.” At this, the six ponies and one dragon gasped.

“Hold on. Other worlds exist? That sounds a bit far fetched if you ask me,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I don’t think this is a lie, darling. They seem to be serious,” Rarity whispered.

“You see, in ages past my sister and I used to travel through different worlds through a pair of Dimensional Scissors that allow for travel through different dimensions. I believe that another world may be sending these stone tablets out as a means of getting our attention and perhaps are asking for help,” Luna explained.

“That poor dimension! Perhaps we should go over and cheer it up,” Pinkie Pie sympathetically said as everyone but the princesses comically fell.

“Um, Pinkie? While you have the right idea, perhaps it was someone from that dimension asking the help,” Applejack suggested.

“Still, whoever needs help may be terrified. We may need to do something,” Fluttershy said.

“Especially if our home may end up in danger as well,” Twilight said grimly before she thought of something. “Do you think that the creature in our nightmare is the one responsible for the chaos we are being asked about?”

“It’s possible. I apologize for not interfering with your nightmare sooner, but there was a strange light magic that was keeping me from helping you all out,” Luna bowed apologetically.

“It’s okay, Princess Luna. We didn’t experience that much trauma,” Spike genuinely apologized before Twilight covered his mouth.

“So, what should we do, Princess? Do we go to the dimension that needs help and give it to them?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I was thinking just that,” Celestia agreed. “After all, for all we know the suffering of that dimension could come back to affect ours as well. However, before you all go I need to make something clear. Not many are aware of there being different dimensions outside of a select few different dimensions. Said knowledge would be bad to get out into the public eye as there are those that would attempt to damage the different dimensions for their own purposes. So, for that reason I think that you should avoid tipping off others that there are different dimensions as much as possible. Understood?”

All of the ponies agreed with this, ready to do what was necessary to save the different dimension and their own.

“Uh, I just realized something, everypony,” Pinkie Pie realized something.

“What is it Pinkie Pie?” Rarity asked.

“How are we supposed to give the creatures of this other dimension help if we can’t ask questions about the situation?” Pinkie Pie asked worriedly.

“Pinkie Pie has a point, believe it or not. What are we supposed to do? Ask the local animals if they know what’s up?” Rainbow rhetorically asked.

“Now that would be cute!” Fluttershy squeed.

“Right…So, Princesses, what should we end up doing?” Applejack asked.

“I understand your concerns, everypony, but we happen to know a few trusted individuals in certain dimensions that you can talk to,” Luna reassured.

“That sounds good! They know what is going on, right?” Spike asked.

“Yes, he does. While most creatures are not aware of other dimensions, there is at least one ally in the dimension you will be going to that knows of the existence of different dimensions. His name is Maximillion Pegasus. He will be sure to help set you on the right path.” Celestia got out her pair of Dimensional Scissors and opened a portal. After opening the portal, Celestia proceeded to give the pair of scissors to Twilight to hold onto. “Now, keep in mind, time flows a lot differently in the dimension you are about to go to. One day there can be as small as a few seconds here. The dimensional scissors can remain synched up with both times for a few hours, but after that the difference in time will start to be felt. So, if you want to head back home, you will be able to. Also, this means that even if time does go slower in the other dimension, you will not miss much of anything at home. So, good luck to each of you.”

“Don’t worry Princess Celestia. You can count on us to save that world that needs our help!” Twilight said in determination. “Right girls?”

“Right!” All of Twilight’s friends said at once.

“Are you sure? You all may be gone for a very long time, even if it isn’t felt in the time you are absent from this world,” Celestia tried to give everyone an out just to be safe.

“We could always go instead of you if you really want to,” Luna suggested.

“We can handle this mission, Princess. Don’t worry about a thing,” Twilight reassured her teacher.

“Hey, wherever Twilight goes I go,” Spike made clear.

“Hey, sometimes heroes need to make sacrifices for the good of many,” Rainbow Dash reassured the Princesses.

“Yeah, we can’t just leave this place to suffer,” Rarity said.

“Whatever that world throws at us, we can take it on if we stick together,” Applejack said.

“And who knows? Maybe we can have super fun parties with the residents of this new place,” Pinkie Pie said optimistically.

“Um, right.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Alright then. Take care,” Celestia said. At this, the six ponies and dragon entered the portal to a brand new reality.

Just as the group of heroes left and the portal vanished, Luna asked Celestia, “Are you sure it was a good idea to let them go without us?”

“Well…aside from the fact they chose to go, remember that they helped to save Equestria and our sisterly relationship. They can handle things for now. We’ll jump in in case things go wrong,” Celestia tried to reassure Luna, who looked apprehensive.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon going through the portal, the six ponies and one dragon immediately realized that something was off. First of all, they were now wearing clothes that they were not wearing beforehand. Second, they had all turned into strange white creatures. Third, the group was right in front of a castle surrounded by a jungle. Upon noticing that they were no longer ponies or a dragon, the ponies proceeded to freak out, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who was busy trying to find out what she could do with her new form.

“What happened to us?!” Twilight screamed out, panicking that she was no longer a pony.

“I don’t know! Though I have to admit that our outfits look pretty nice all things considered,” Rarity took a moment to appreciate their clothes.

“What’s up with our hooves? They have strange claw-like appendages attached to them,” Applejack was confused.

“Forget our hooves! Where are my wings?!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “How am I supposed to fly without my wings?”

“Hey, it isn’t that bad to be these new creatures. Look! I can walk on two legs!” Pinkie Pie said as she demonstrated her ability to walk on two legs instead of four.

“Um, how did you figure that out?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie.

“Just experimented,” Pinkie Pie responded.

“Okay, calm down everyone,” Spike tried to reassure the group. “We won’t be getting anywhere by just freaking out.”

“You’re right, Spike. Everyone, we just need to calm down and decide where we go next,” Applejack said reasonably.

“Okay, calm down Twilight,” The purple haired leader said to herself as she walked back and forth. “So, we are brand new creatures in a strange land. Chances are we are what the dominant species is in this world. We just need to find this Pegasus creature and see if he knows where the problem is.” Twilight proceeded to turn her attention to the others. “Girls, we should try to find Pegasus and find out where the problem or villain is.”

“That is assuming that this Pegasus dude knows where to look,” Rainbow snarked under her breath.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. If the Princesses trust that he’ll know where to look then we should believe in him too,” Fluttershy reassured.

“But where should we look? Should we check the castle?” Applejack asked Twilight.

“It’s either that or we get lost in the jungle, so I vote we check there before we end up lost,” Rarity said.

“Okay then…Let’s go check there before we go any further,” Twilight answered. “Let’s go.”

After taking a few minutes to get used to walking on two legs, with Spike giving everyone a hand, the group started to walk to the castle’s entrance. Upon reaching the entrance, they were met with a guard. “Hold on! Who are you seven and what business do you have with Pegasus?”

“Um-well-you see-we, um,” Fluttershy nervously buffered before Twilight kindly took over and had Applejack comfort her.

“You see, we have been summoned to here in order to deal with a world endangering cataclysm that may happen at some point in the near future,” Twilight tried to explain. “Now, if you would just kindly let us through to see Pegasus, we can get started in saving the world.”

“A likely story. You are most likely just here to harm him or get some blackmail material,” The guard refused to allow entry.

“Hey, buddy, what’s the big idea? You refuse to let us in, even though we asked nicely and are trying to save the world?” Rainbow Dash growled as she got into the guard’s face.

“The world is fine, kids. Now I suggest you leave before I am forced to use force to get you to leave,” the guard countered.

“Really?! You don’t want to get on my bad side, bub,” Rainbow Dash was furious, ready to rush at and hurt the guard. Suddenly, Applejack grabbed her by the arms in order to keep her from doing something rash.

“Settle down there, sugarcube. The last thing we need is to cause a fight,” Applejack warned Rainbow Dash before she could do anything rash.

“Please sir, this must be a misunderstanding. Can you please bring Maximillion Pegasus here so that we may speak with him?” Rarity pleaded with the guard.

“Look, I was given orders to guard the entrance to Pegasus’s castle and to not let any unauthorized guests in. While it is true that there are guests expected to be here later today, you do not appear to be the expected guests. So, please leave before I stop being so patient,” the guard warned.

“This is patient?” Spike asked.

Before the group could say anything else or try to leave, the door that the guard was in front of opened and a man in a red suit and with gray hair stepped out. “Please, Richmon, tell me who these guests are and what they are doing at my door.” the man said.

“Sorry Mr. Pegasus, but these kids here are trespassing and are trying to make claims that they have a meeting with you,” The guard explained.

“Wait, that’s Pegasus?” Rainbow whispered to Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah, I know, right? I thought he would be an actual pegasus,” Pinkie Pie responded.

“Is that so, well then can you tell me who it is that sent you here?” Pegasus asked the group.

“Princess Celestia, Mr. Pegasus,” Twilight answered.

“She and her sister said that you may know what we’re supposed to do in order to help protect this place and our home from villains,” Fluttershy said.

“Princess Celestia?! Well then, Richmon, you can let these six in. These were the guests that I have been expecting,” Pegasus explained.

“Hey! What about me?! I’m here to help too!” Spike protested.

“Pegasus, please let our pal Spike come in with us. He could be of great help,” Applejack asked kindly.

“Applejack's right. Spikey Wikey is an expert in lots of things from baking to heavy lifting,” Rarity agreed.

“Well…fine. He has permission to come in with us,” Pegasus agreed. “Richmon, once again please let them in with us.”

“Sorry, sir,” Richmon apologized. “Ladies, sir, you may head inside.”

The group of seven followed after Pegasus into the castle, with Rainbow Dash sticking out her tongue at Richmon as they passed by.

“So, what has Celestia told you about this dimension?” Pegasus asked the group as he led them through the castle’s halls.

“Not much. She mostly just said that this world is in danger and that our world could also be affected,” Twilight explained.

“Well, the danger is unlikely to be due to any normal threat, but a matter of the Spirit World. So tell me. Have any of you heard of Duel Monsters before?” Pegasus questioned the group. However, each of the group shook their head, having never heard of the game before. “Really, none of you? Wow, you really are from a different dimension. Duel Monsters is a card game I created many years ago, based on old Shadow Games from many years ago.

“Shadow Games? Ooh! Are they games you can play with friends?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

“Uh, Pinkie? I don’t think these Games are anything good,” Rarity politely interjected.

“I think Rarity is right. So, Pegasus, what are these Shadow Games?” Twilight asked for clarity.

“While the game of Duel Monsters is indeed very fun and safe on its own, Shadow Games can endanger the lives of those involved. They can even kill their victims and trap their souls to damnation in the Shadow Realm forever!” Pegasus revealed.

“T-That sounds terrifying!” Fluttershy shivered.

“I agree. Why do people doom others with an evil card game rather than just have fun?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“To be fair, I did say that the game is usually safe and fun. Shadow Games only occur when those with dark powers take part in them. By now, there are few ways to get roped into a Shadow Game.

“Phew! Well, that’s a relief,” Rarity sighed.

“So, we may not have to worry about suffering for all time,” Applejack agreed.

“Hopefully,” Twilight nervously noted.

“Anyways, they used to be very common in Ancient Egypt. It was here that I found the tablets where most of the cards were born. However, little did I know that these tablets are based on real creatures from a realm separate from ours known as the Spirit World. The only threat that I can think of is one that can affect the Spirit World as well as this world. The only threat like this would be… the Sacred Beasts.”

“Um, excuse me Mr. Pegasus,” Fluttershy interrupted, “But what are the Sacred Beasts?”

“Very rare and powerful cards that have dangerous abilities. They could steal all of the souls from Duel Monster cards as well as cause untold danger to other worlds as well. If they were to fall into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen. In fact, I had a dream about them just last night,” Pegasus explained, much to the fear of Twilight as she realized that she and her friends may have dreamt about the cards and the danger they could pose.

“So, what do you want us to do? Tear up the cards so that they can’t be used?” Rainbow Dash asked out of curiosity.

“Actually, no,” Pegasus shot the idea down. “The cards could attack you spiritually if you tried to do so. What we need to do is to find and stop whoever would try to steal the cards before they could steal them.”

“Alright then. So, where are the cards anyway?” Applejack asked.

“They are hidden underneath Duel Academy,” Pegasus answered as he stopped in front of a door.

“So, what is Duel Academy?” Rarity asked.

“Duel Academy is a school created by a man named Seto Kaiba in order to teach duelists to play Duel Monsters,” Pegasus continued to explain.

Twilight finally proceeded to ask the question that all of the group had on their minds, “So, what do you want us to do, Mr. Pegasus?”

“First of all, you can just call me Pegasus. Second, I want you to enter Duel Academy in order to find the ones after the Sacred Beasts,” Pegasus finally answered.

“So, you want us to attend a school that teaches us to play a card game to stop potential thieves? Sounds a bit lame if you ask me,” Rainbow Dash rudely butted in.

“Rainbow Dash! Don’t be so rude,” Rarity scolded the brash girl.

“Yeah, think of all the potential new friends we could make and have a party with at Duel Academy,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Still, it does seem a bit much. Potentially leaving home for months in order to keep these cards and different dimensions safe? I’m not so sure about this,” Applejack gave out her concerns.

“Keep in mind, you all still have a pair of Dimensional Scissors, which you can use to visit home whenever you want,” Pegasus reassured.

“So Twilight, what do you think we should do?” Spike asked Twilight for her to weigh in her view on the situation.

Twilight spent a good few minutes thinking about what should be done. On the one hand, not being able to see home or her friends and family for a long time seemed like a big ask, though fortunately they could still visit whenever they wanted. Also, her dream from the previous night concerned her. If those creatures she saw in her nightmare really were the Sacred Beasts, then who was to say that their dimension or any others for that matter, would remain safe if they didn’t act soon. So for this reason, Twilight nodded her head and said, “I’m going to stay and help. You guys can go back home if you want, but I want to stay and learn about Duel Monsters so that I can protect the Sacred Beasts cards.”

“Hey, who said you were going to do this alone? I’m with you all the way!” Rainbow Dash offered her help.

“You can count me in too,” Spike agreed.

“Me too. We can’t just let this world and possibly others fall to ruin like this,” Applejack concluded.

“Same here. Though hopefully it will end up being a relaxing time rather than a stressful one,” Rarity agreed.

“Yeah! It may be fun to be at Duel Academy,” Pinkie Pie also agreed. “So, what about you, Fluttershy? You want to stay and help too?”

“Um, I guess if everyone else will be staying to help, I guess I can stay too. But only if I am allowed to visit home from time to time,” Fluttershy reluctantly agreed.

“Perfect. Now that you all have agreed to help, it is about time we get to the issue of building your decks,” Pegasus responded. Pegasus opened the door, which had an entire array of cards to find on the other side.

The Mane 6 and Spike were in awe at the sight before them. There were cards as far as the eye could see within this room. “You see, if you are to attend Duel Academy, you need to build your own dueling decks and practice dueling until you are good at it. So, for this reason, I am allowing you all to build decks from this collection of cards you see before you. Almost every card that exists is here, with a few exceptions,” Pegasus explained.

“So, we can build any deck we choose?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Maybe this game will be fun after all.”

“Yes, well of course there are rules to consider,” Pegasus started to explain, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

“Aw, come on. It’s not like we need to read them. Just pick the strongest cards. That is the way to duel,” Rainbow Dash boldly claimed.

“Excuse me, Pegasus, but can I see these rules?” Twilight politely asked.

“Why, of course. Here are some small pamphlets containing all of the important rules as to how Duel Monsters works,” Pegasus proceeded to hand out a pamphlet to each of the Mane 6.

“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary Pegasus,” Rainbow Dash reassured. “Now to build my deck. I’ll be winning matches in no time flat!”

“But, Rainbow Dash, shouldn’t we read the rules first?” Twilight tried to reel in the brash girl only for her to be met with no response. “Please tell me that the rest of you will read the rules before building your decks,” Twilight pleaded to the rest of her friends.

“Of course, darling. It would be best for us to know what to do going in rather than jumping in blindly,” Rarity responded.

“Oh, right. Before you build your decks, I also have managed to obtain some duel disks for you. They’re right here,” Pegasus motioned his right hand over to a table that held six Duel Disks.

“Um, what are these things?” Applejack was confused about the technology.

“Duel Disks. They are an invention of Kaiba Corp. They allow for the cards to form realistic holograms. It is a much more interesting means of playing the game, isn’t it?” Pegasus explained.

“Sounds terrifying,” Fluttershy shivered in fear.

“Are you kidding?! That sounds exciting!” Pinkie Pie screamed out in joy.

“Yes, it really is excit- huh?” Pegasus was interrupted by a glowing light coming from a briefcase in the room with cards. “What’s this?” Pegasus opened up the briefcase and saw that the cards inside, six dragons with a white card border. “Could it be? That you six are the ones to bear these six dragons in duels?”

“Um, dr-dr-dragons?” Fluttershy was scared.

“Relax, they are only paper,” Rainbow Dash tried to comfort her old friend.

“You see, these cards are rare synchro monsters, of which there is only one of each. I have been holding onto them until the ones who can use them would arrive, and it looks like you six are the ones, ironically enough. Here, take them,” Pegasus gave the briefcase over to the others.

“Sure thing!” Rainbow Dash cried out as she grabbed Red Dragon Archfiend.

“This will be great!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she grabbed Power Tool Dragon.

“I’ll pick this one. It looks majestic,” Rarity said as she grabbed Black Rose Dragon.

“Well, I guess since we are getting the cards I’ll choose this one,” Applejack decided as she grabbed Black Winged Dragon.

Fluttershy reluctantly looked into the briefcase and was quickly convinced to take one upon seeing Ancient Fairy Dragon. “I’ll take this one.”

Before Twilight grabbed the sixth dragon she asked, “Are you sure we can take them?”

“Go ahead. They were just rotting away in this briefcase for ages, refusing to be used by me or any of my men,” Pegasus reassured.

At this, Twilight reluctantly grabbed the sixth card, Stardust Dragon. ”Well, I think I’ll get to reading the rules now,” Twilight said as she sat at the table and began to read the rules. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was building a deck of only powerful monsters.
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Several hours later, the Mane 6 and Spike had gathered outside in order to test out their new decks. It took some time for them to get used to holding cards and wearing a duel disk on their arms, but they were eventually able to manage it.

“All right, it’s about time we test out our decks to see if they are good enough to use,” Twilight started to explain.

“And to build up our skills so that Duel Academy will accept us,” Applejack added on.

“So, who should duel first?” Rarity asked. “I would just love to test out my new deck.”

“Hey, Twilight. How about you and I duel? It would be great to see how I stack up against an egghead like you,” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Rainbow Dash, are you sure your deck is ready for you to duel with?” Twilight asked carefully.

“Of course I am,” As she held up a deck of over forty cards.

“Um, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy meekly questioned her oldest friend. “Are you sure you’re ready to Duel with that Deck?”

“Um, yeah. I don’t see the problem,” Rainbow Dash was confused.

“The problem is that your deck has too many cards in it. A balanced deck should only have forty cards in it, while yours has way more than forty,” Twilight explained.

“What?! Seriously? Just when I was getting used to my new deck,” Rainbow Dash was annoyed as she started to take out cards until she had only forty. “Can we start now?”

“Sure, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said as she readied her Duel Disk and shuffled her deck.

“All right! Prepare to get defeated Twilight because I am so gonna win this Duel!” Rainbow Dash gloated. As Twilight drew five cards, Rainbow Dash proceeded to grab as many cards as possible.

“Um, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity this time interrupted.

“What?”

“You can only draw five cards on the first turn. Not only that, but unless another card effect is in play, you can only draw one card at the start of each turn,” Twilight explained once more.

“Seriously?!” Rainbow Dash was annoyed further. She put back most of the cards except for five to open up the Duel with.

“Seeing as how you didn’t read the rules, how about I go first and explain them to you as we go?” Twilight suggested.

“Um, okay.”

“Right, my turn. I draw. And I summon Magician’s Valkyria in Attack Mode,” Twilight opened up her first turn. A beautiful brunette wearing strange magical clothes was summoned onto Twilight’s field (1600/1800). “That will do for my turn.”

“Okay, now it’s my move. I draw a card,” upon seeing that the card was Red Dragon Archfiend, she was happy. “And I summon Red Dragon Archfiend in Attack Mode!” However, as Rainbow Dash summoned her monster onto the field, her Duel Disk gave a warning beep noise. “Huh? What did I do now?”

“Seriously, girl? You sure you’re ready to Duel?” Applejack asked partly in annoyance but mostly out of concern.

“Yes, I agree. Maybe you should read up on the rules before you continue playing,” Rarity suggested.

“What? Phht! No way! I can handle learning as I go!” Rainbow protested.

“Okay? You see, Rainbow Dash, when summoning a monster, you can only summon levels one through four out normally. Levels are represented by the number of stars on the card. You need to sacrifice monsters if you want to summon higher leveled cards, one monster for levels five and six and two monsters for levels seven and higher. However, even if you did sacrifice, it wouldn’t have worked anyway. You see, some monsters need to be summoned in special ways from a side deck, like the purple bordered fusion monsters mainly summoned by Polymerization or Synchro monsters with the white border. They require a tuner and one or more non-tuners to summon them,” Twilight gently explained.

“Are you serious?!” Rainbow Dash was really starting to get mad at what was going on. “You mean I cannot summon Red Dragon Archfiend?! Well, I guess I can only summon a lower level monster then. Let’s see, what can I summon?” However, as Rainbow Dash looked at her hand, she realized that she didn’t have any low level monsters in her hand. In fact, as far as she could remember, she couldn’t remember putting any such cards into her deck at all. “Fine. I end my turn.”

“Alright, now it’s my turn. I draw, and I activate the spell card Dark Magic Curtain. Now, by paying half of my life points I can special summon a Dark Magician from my deck,” As Twilight said this, her Life Points went down from 4000 to 2000.

“Hey, wait a minute! What do you mean spell card?” Rainbow Dash was confused.

“Again? Seriously?” Applejack was getting tired of how much Rainbow Dash didn’t know about the game.

“Wow. Rainbow Dash really didn’t read the rules at all,” Pinkie Pie said in surprise.

“You see, Rainbow Dash. The game isn’t just about summoning and attacking with monsters. It also is about playing spells and traps in order to support your monsters as well. With these effects, you can destroy monsters, power them up or down, or in this instance, summon a stronger monster without using your one normal summon.” a magician wearing purple appeared onto the field, ready to battle (2500/2100). “Granted, Dark Magic Curtain prevents me from summoning any other monsters this turn, but that won’t matter. Since you control no monsters, I am allowed to attack you directly. Magician’s Valkyria, attack with Mystic Scepter Blast!” Twilight’s female sorcerer proceeded to attack Rainbow Dash directly, cutting down her Life Points to 2400. “Now, Dark Magician, attack Rainbow directly with Dark Magic Attack!” Dark Magician proceeded to launch a green energy blast from his scepter, hitting Rainbow Dash and reducing her Life Points to zero.

At this, Rainbow Dash collapsed onto all fours, unable to believe that she lost so easily. “I can’t believe I lost. I should have won. I had so many strong cards, but I still lost.”

“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but this may be a good learning opportunity for you. You see, in order to do well with Duel Monsters, you need to have a great balance of monsters, spells and trap cards. Without balance, you cannot be a great duelist,” Twilight explained to her brash friend.

“Maybe… I should go ahead and read the rules now,” Rainbow Dash decided.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Twilight said. “Maybe after that we can build you a deck that works well for you and is good for dueling with.”

At this, Rainbow Dash went from disappointed to smiling, “Sure. Sounds good.”

Author's Note:

Hello. After some reflection I've decided to edit and make changes to my story. Hopefully, the story will be better with these changes and that I make a satisfactory product that will make others happy. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thank You.

Comments

[MechaTomX]

Nice, it could be a good idea.

[nightshroud96]

This really looks nice

[PirateLord93]

So Twilight is using Dark Magician, my favorite archetype.