• Published 7th Jan 2012
  • 14,200 Views, 248 Comments

My Little Pony: Dueling is Magic! - Wolfgang



Yusei Fudo appears in Equestria and is given the task of saving it from an ancient enemy!

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Duel Disk

Author's Note: And we finally begin the first duel of the story! I only went a few turns into it because it's a fairly long duel, so I'll finish it next chapter. I originally wanted it to be shorter, but it kind of evolved into what it is. I wasn't just satisfied with it, I was proud of it, so I didn't want to change it.

I'm a bit worried that I haven't gotten any better about "show vs. tell", and I'm really afraid that it might show pretty glaringly in the duel. If you think I could do better, don't be afraid to say so! The pony community has tons of awesome people in it, so you don't have to worry about me being offended if you didn't intend it, and I know you wouldn't go out of your way to hurt my feelings.

/*********************\

Yusei leaned against the wall as he munched on a chocolate-chip cookie. Music pumped through a pair of speakers on the opposite side of the room. Ponies were bobbing and weaving in time with the music, though a few just stood by and talked. Though he was enjoying the beat, Yusei couldn't help but wonder what was powering those speakers. Not a whole lot of things made sense to him in Equestria.

"Hey Twilight," said Yusei as the unicorn was walking past him toward the snack table. "What's powering those speakers?'

"What do you mean, Yusei?" asked Twilight.

"Well, those speakers have to get power from somewhere," Yusei explained. "They can't just run on their own, right?"

"Of course they don't run on their own, silly!" said Pinkie Pie. She had appeared next to Yusei unnoticed, but he seemed unfazed. "They run on magic!"

"Magic?" asked Yusei.

"Yes," said Twilight. "Magic is everywhere in Equestria. It's just as much a part of our world as the air we breathe. Unicorn and Pegasus ponies are more in tune with it than Earth ponies, but even they can feel it. We've also figured out how to power a lot of our machines with the magic in the air, and it never seems to run out."

"That's incredible," said Yusei. "Sort of like Momentum..."

Twilight tilted her head to the side a bit. "Momentum?" she asked.

"It's a type of energy generator that my father invented," said Yusei. "It's a perpetual motion machine that generates a limitless supply of clean energy. But..."

"But what?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"It's... not a happy story," said Yusei. He pushed himself off of the wall. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit and get some fresh air," he said, then left the building.

*****

"Wow, I can't believe so many ponies showed up for Yusei's party!" said Rainbow Dash as she danced in the air above Applejack.

"Yer telling me," said the orange Earth pony. "I guess everypony learned their lesson after Zecora moved into town, huh?"

"Yes, it certainly seems like it," said Rarity. She took a sip from the cup of punch that she was holding in front of her with magic. "I still haven't had a chance to properly talk with this Yusei fellow. I want to know where he got that outfit!"

"He's from another dimension, Rarity," said Dash. "You're probably not gonna find anything like that in Canterlot."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Rarity conceded. "Still, I would like the chance to study it in detail. It's such an interesting design and I can already feel the creative juices flowing in my head!"

"Hey girls?" said Fluttershy. "Yusei just left, and he looked really sad. Do you think he'll come back?"

Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked up to the other four mares. They each had a look of concern on their faces. "Girls, Yusei seems down about something," said Twilight.

"Yeah, we should go outside and ask him what's wrong so we can cheer him up!" said Pinkie Pie.

"I agree," said Fluttershy. "I'd hate for our new friend to be sad for very long."

The six friends made their to the front of the building and exited through the front door.

*****

Bonbon looked frantically around the room. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, and she had been to. So why was she so upset?

"I was... I was supposed to meet somepony," she muttered to herself. "Who was I supposed to meet? I can't remember..." Somepony asked her to dance and all thoughts of her forgotten meeting vanished.

*****

Twilight and the others found Yusei leaning against the wall next to the doorway. He still had a sad look on his face.

"Yusei, what's wrong?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah, why so glum?" Dash added.

"It's... nothing," said Yusei.

"Come on now, sugar cube," said Applejack. "Somethin's obviously buggin' ya. What's wrong?"

"Well... my father's invention, Momentum, it..." Yusei sighed. "At one point, it went berserk, completely out of control. It caused a lot of damage in my world. I was just a baby when Zero Reverse happened, but I feel responsible for it because Momentum was my father's work. A lot of lives were lost and a lot more were just ruined. Kids had to grow up without parents. People struggled to survive. I grew up in the aftermath of it all."

"Wow, I'm so sorry," said Twilight.

"Me too, Yusei," said Pinkie. The group was silent for a while.

"Why would yer dad make somethin' so dangerous?" asked Applejack. "I mean, did he know that it would hurt so many folks?"

"Not at first," said Yusei. "But he realized that it was dangerous when he noticed that the weather was becoming more erratic and wild every time the reactor was activated."

"And he just continued with this?" said Rarity in a cynical tone.

"Well, no," said Yusei. "After he realized what was happening, he tried to get the project shut down because of how dangerous it was. But one of his assistants, Rudger Goodwin, talked the company funding the project into letting him take over. Then Rudger activated the machine in reverse."

"Then you shouldn't feel responsible," said Fluttershy. "You said yourself you were just a baby when it happened. And if your father tried to stop it from happening then it's not his fault either."

"Fluttershy's right, Yusei," said Twilight. "If there was nothing either of you could have done then you have nothing to feel bad about."

"I guess so..." Yusei mumbled. He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes, though. I actually had that dream just last night."

"It was just a dream, hun," said Applejack. "And believe us when we say nopony can blame you for what happened. T’weren't your fault and t’weren't yer dad's fault neither."

"Come on, Yusei!" said Pinkie. 'Maybe some punch will cheer you up! It's a new recipe I made!" She battered her eyelids and bounced back inside. Yusei smiled.

"She sure is bubbly," he said. "You can't help but smile at her."

"Yep, that's why we love her," said Twilight. The other ponies went back inside, but Twilight stayed outside with Yusei.

"Hey, Yusei," said Twilight, "this game you play in your world... Duel Monsters? How do you play?"

Yusei looked down at Twilight. The pony came up to his chest, but even so she didn't seem at all small to him.

"You want to learn how to duel?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just kind of curious," she responded. "I like to learn about things. And I bet if I learned about this game, I could better understand your world and what happens there.”

“Sounds cool,” said Yusei. “Actually, let me go get my D-Wheel first. I’ll need my Duel Disk.”

“What’s a Duel Disk?” asked Twilight.

“You’ll see,” said Yusei. “Be back in a few minutes.” With that, he turned and started to walk in the direction o the library, but then stopped. “Oh, could you tell Pinkie to save me some punch? I won’t be gone long.”

“Sure thing, Yusei,” said Twilight before trotting back inside the shop.

“Hey, where’s Yusei?” asked Pinkie when she saw Twilight but not Yusei.

“He went to get his D-Wheel,” Twilight answered. “He’s gonna teach me how to duel!”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Duel? You mean like with swords and stuff?” she asked.

“No, with cards,” Twilight replied. “You know, that card game he mentioned when he told us all how he got here?”

“Oh right! Duel Masters!” said Pinkie excitedly.

“Duel Monsters, Pinkie,” Twilight corrected her. “Though, I don’t know why he’d need his D-Wheel to teach me how to play... oh, before I forget, Yusei wanted me to ask you to save him some punch.”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” said Pinkie before zooming off to the snack table.

*****

Yusei arrived at the library and found his D-Wheel right where he left it. Three young fillies were investigating it.

“What do you think it is?” said the little white unicorn.

“Ah dunno,” said the yellow fily. She hopped up onto the seat, her huge hair bow bouncing as as she landed. “Maybe it’s some kinda cart?”

“Nah, it’s gotta be a scooter!” said the orange pegasus filly. “It looks a lot like mine, but backwards.”

“You’re not far off,” Yusei chimed in. The three fillies turned to look at him.

“Hi there!” said the yellow one. “This thing yers?”

“Yeah it is,” he said. “It’s called a D-Wheel, and it’s like a scooter that moves on its own.”

“It moves by itself? How does that work?” said the tiny unicorn.

“It’s a machine,” explained Yusei. “I just turn it on and steer it where I want to go. He walked up to the red bike and the fillies. “I’m Yusei. What are your names?”

“Ah’m Apple Bloom!” said the yellow pony as she hopped out of the seat of the D-Wheel.

“I’m Sweetie Belle,” said the unicorn.

“And I’m Scootaloo!” said the pegasus. “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Yusei pushed one of the arms up, opened a compartment in the seat and pulled out a helmet before closing the seat back. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, huh?” he said. “So what do you guys do?”

“We’re trying to get our Cutie marks!” said Sweetie Belle. “They only appear when you find out what your special talent is.”

“We haven’t found ours yet, though,” said Apple Bloom. “But we ain’t givin’ up until we do!”

Yusei smiled. “That sounds like a good plan,” he said. “Never give up on your dream, even if your dream is finding out what you want to do.” His thoughts drifted back to his duel with Paradox and how he had almost given up, but then he remembered Jaden’s smile and Yugi’s wise words.

“So, where ya goin’, Yusei?” asked Apple Bloom. “You takin’ yer scooter with you?”

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “I’m heading over to Sugarcube Corner.”

“Is Pinkie Pie throwing a you a party?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Can we come?” Scootaloo chimed in.

“I don’t see why not,” said Yusei as he put on his helmet. He pushed a button on the side and the visor lowered in front of his eyes. “Tell ya what: Hop on and I’ll give you guys a ride. I don’t have any helmets your size, though, so I’ll have to go slow, okay?”

“Don't worry!” said Scootaloo. She ran over to the a scooter that was leaning against the doorpost. Three small helmets were hanging from the handlebars by their straps. "We've got our own helmets," said the Pegasus as she strapped one onto her head and handed the others to her friends. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle strapped on the helmets and climbed up into Yusei’s lap, standing on their hind legs so they could hold onto the arms of Yusei's D-Wheel. Scootaloo hopped up onto Yusei's back and put her forelegs over his shoulders.

“Don’t fidget too much either, okay?” He said as he revved the engine. “We don’t want to lose our balance.”

“Okay, Yusei!” said Apple Bloom.

“You three hang on tight!” said Yusei.

*****

Twilight heard the odd screeching that signaled Yusei’s arrival. She and her other friends came back outside and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders hopping off of Yusei’s D-Wheel.

“That was about as fast as I can go on my scooter!” said Scootaloo. “Can it go even faster?”

“A lot faster,” replied Yusei as he took off his helmet. “Hey Twilight.”

“Hi Yusei.” Twilight turned to the three fillies. “Hello my little ponies. I see you’ve met our new friend.”

“Sure did,” said Apple Bloom. “Hey, you think we can get Cutie marks for ridin’ a D-Wheel?” she said to the other fillies.

“I dunno,” said Sweetie Belle. “It was kinda scary. Oh, hi sis!” She waved at Rarity.

"Rarity's your sister?" said Yusei.

"Yep!" said Sweetie Belle.

"And Applejack's my sister," said Apple Bloom.

"What about you, Scootaloo?" asked Yusei. "Is Dash your sister?"

"No," said Scootaloo, "but she's my hero! I wanna be like her when I grow up!"

Yusei smiled, then turned to Twilight. “So, Twilight, you ready for dueling lessons?” he asked.

“Sure am!” said Twilight. “But why did you need your D-Wheel?”

“Well, like I said, I needed my Duel Disk,” Yusei explained. He pushed a button next to the screen in front of him. A mechanical voice said, “Mode out,” and the white circle in the middle lifted up. Yusei fit his left arm underneath it, attaching the grey device on his wrist to the white object. It fully detached from the vehicle and Yusei dismounted the D-Wheel.

“A Duel Disk is used to bring the cards in Duel Monsters to life,” he explained. “It creates a moving picture of the cards in the air using light. It’s called a hologram.”

“That sounds interesting,” said Twilight, “but I don’t have a Duel Disk... oh, wait! I could probably make one!”

“Really? How?” asked Yusei.

“I’ll use magic to figure out how your Duel Disk works, and then I’ll cast a duplication spell,” answered Twilight. “Though it won’t be perfect, so it might end up looking kind of funny. It might not work at all.”

“Well, go ahead and try it,” said Yusei, holding out his arm. Twilight’s horn and Yusei’s Disk began to glow with a pink aura. Twilight’s eyes were closed and she seemed relaxed, but only for a moment. Suddenly her eyes flashed open. There was a faint green glow around her irises.

‘Incredible,” she said. “There’s a kind of energy in here I’ve never felt before... and it’s not just in your Duel Disk, it’s coming from your cards too!” The magical glow surrounding Twilight’s horn and Yusei’s Duel Disk became connected. A white circle appeared in the middle of the connection. It grew and took on a shape similar to Yusei’s Duel Disk, but rounder and with fewer corners. As the pink aura and the white light faded, the form of Twilight’s new Duel Disk became clear. The main body was round like Yusei’s, but purple with a pink stripe through the middle. The arm fanned outward from the main body in an elegant but sharp curve.

“Pretty impressive,” said Yusei.

“Yeah, I think it worked,” said Twilight. “But...”

“But what, Twi?” asked Applejack.

“But I don’t know if it will work the same way as Yusei’s Duel Disk,” she said. “I mean, it’s made almost entirely from magic, and you know that can have unforeseen- hey, what’s this?” Twilight walked up to the floating Duel Disk and looked at one side of the main body. “There’s a deck in here already!” she exclaimed.

“Really? Let me see this,” said Yusei. He took one card from the top of the deck and looked at it. “These cards are blank,” he said before putting the card back.

“That’s weird,” said Twilight. She took the card and looked at it herself. “Wait, it’s not blank now!”

“What do you think it means, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“Hmm... well, this whole thing is made of magic and the energy I sensed from Yusei’s cards,” said Twilight, “maybe the deck just shows itself to whoever it wants to?”

“In any case, let’s teach you how to duel,” said Yusei. “Probably the best way to really learn how is to actually duel. So how about we get started?”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait to see how this game works! I LOVE games!” said Pinkie Pie as she bounced up and down happily. Yusei turned and walked away a few paces before stopping and facing Twilight again. His Duel Disk lit up with a rainbow of colors which faded quickly. A determined smile flashed across his face.

“Duel!” he shouted, drawing five cards from his deck. Twilight’s deck shuffled itself, then five card levitated from the top and floated over to her.

Life Point Count
Twilight: 4000
Yusei: 4000

“Do you mind if I go first?” asked Twilight.

“Not at all,” said Yusei. “Just remember that you can’t attack on the first turn.”

“That’s fine,” said Twilight. A sixth card hovered off of her deck and over to her other five cards.

“Do you want me to tell you about the different types of cards?” Yusei asked.

“No, I... I think I got it,” said Twilight. “I summon 'Royal Magical Library' in Defense Mode.” As Twilight laid the card on the arm of her Duel Disk, a tower of bookshelves rose up behind her. Platforms floating on balls of green light moved about the shelves as red-robed figures moved, reshelved, and inspected the books. Some seemed to be chanting, others singing.

Royal Magical Library
DEF/2000
LV 4

“Figures the first card she played would be a library,” said Spike.

“It’s a mighty impressive library, though,” said Applejack with a whistle. “Ah don’t think I've seen this many books in all mah life, and I've been to the Manehattan Public Library.”

“How’d you know to summon it in Defense Mode?” asked Yusei.

“I don’t know,” Twilight answered. She looked down at the Duel Disk floating before her. “I just sort of... knew. Maybe the magic had something to do with it.”

“Maybe,” Yusei concurred. “It’s still your turn.”

“Right. I play the Field Spell ‘Magical Citadel of Endymion’,” Twilight continued. A small arm emerged from the center of the edge of the Disk’s blade and Twilight placed another card on it. The arm withdrew into the blade. As it did, the air around them began shift. The simple cottages and houses of Ponyville vanished and were replaced by ivory stone towers. In the distance behind Twilight stood a massive bell tower that dwarfed the other buildings around them. Streams of glowing runes floated in the air around them, written in light and flying by like leaves in the wind. One of the platforms in Twilight’s Library began to glow brighter than the others.

“Each time a Spell Card is played, my Library gains a Spell Counter,” she said. “So let’s play another! I activate 'Spell Power Grasp'. Spell Power Grasp lets me put a Spell Counter on a card that can have Spell Counters, and then lets me add another copy of it to my hand from my deck. I’ll give the counter to the Citadel.” Two orbs of light appeared next to the bell tower and began to float around it.

“The Citadel?” Yusei asked. “It can have Spell Counters too?”

“Yep,” said Twilight. “And like my Magical Library, the Citadel also gains a Spell Counter whenever a Spell Counter is played.”

“So they both have two Spell Counters,” said Yusei.

“And that’s about to go up to three. I play 'Magical Blast', which deals 200 damage to you for each Spellcaster-Type monster I have on the field!”

“Finally, some action!” said Rainbow Dash. The robed figures in the library began to chant rapidly, their voices rising in volume as a swirling ball of blue and purple energy appeared above Twilight. It shot toward Yusei with great speed, enveloping him for a few seconds before vanishing. Yusei had shielded his face with his arms just before the impact.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 3800

“Wait,” said Dash. “That doesn't look like his points dropped a whole lot.”

“That’s ‘cause they didn't, Dash,” said Applejack. “Only two hundred points out of four thousand? That’s like two apples out of forty for me.”

“The damage wasn't really the point,” said Twilight. “Look.” She pointed a hoof at the library behind her. Two more platforms had lit up. Farther back, a third orb had appeared around the bell tower of the Citadel.

“Now I’ll use Royal Magical Library’s effect. By removing three Spell Counters, I can draw one card from my deck. I’ll also use the effect of the Citadel to substitute its own Spell Counters,” said Twilight. The robed ones in the library began their chanting once more. As they did, the three lights orbiting the bell tower suddenly rushed toward the duel, touching Twilight’s deck before vanishing. Twilight took the top card of her deck and added it to the other cards floating in front of her. “Now I’ll use Magical Library’s effect again with its own Spell Counters,” she said. Glowing platforms dimmed and Twilight took another card from her deck.

“I’ll activate the Continuous Spell ‘Arcane Barrier’ and end my turn,” she said finally. One of the platforms in the Library lit up again and an orb of light appeared next to the bell tower.

“Twilight, you've never played this game before in your life,” said Rarity. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Pretty sure, Rarity,” said Twilight confidently. “I don’t quite know how I know, but I know.”

“Well I don’t know WHAT’S going on,” said Dash. “I didn't understand half of what you said!”

“Defense Mode means that my monster is acting like a wall to protect me,” said Twilight. “A Field Spell changes the location of the duel. A Continuous Spell stays on the field after I play it instead of going to the Graveyard. Make sense now?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dash huffed.

“Your turn, Yusei,” said Twilight. “You might get to see some action this time, Dash. Yusei gets to attack first since he’s going second.”

“I draw,” said Yusei as he took a card from his deck. “I might be able to attack, but I won’t just yet. I summon 'Tricular' in Defense Mode and Set one card face-down to end.” A blue robot sitting atop three wheels appeared before Yusei. The engines on it back roared as it spun its wheels rapidly. A giant card appeared behind it, hovering over the ground between the machine and Yusei.

Tricular
DEF/300
LV 3

“Oh, this is boring!” said Rainbow Dash. “I’m going back inside.”

“Wait Dash,” said Twilight. “It’s about to get good!”

“Nah, I’ll pass on this,” Dash replied. “But if it DOES get exciting, somepony come get me.” Dash trotted back into the sweet shop. Twilight sighed.

“It IS about to get exciting,” she said. “My turn. If Magical Blast is in my Graveyard, its effect lets me add it to my hand instead of drawing a card at the start of my turn, so I'll do that. Next I’ll summon 'Magical Exemplar' in Attack Mode.” A human woman appeared before Twilight. She wore green robes and held a calm look on her face, framed by straight, jet-black hair. Mystic runes ran down the middle of her robe.

“Now I play my second Spell Power Grasp to add a Spell Counter to Magical Exemplar,” said Twilight. “Plus, Exemplar gains two Spell Counters whenever a Spell Card is played.” Three orbs of light appeared and began to circle the robed woman. Another appeared around the far-off tower and one of the platforms in the Library lit up.

“I’ll use Exemplar’s effect. I can use any number of her Spell Counters to Special Summon a monster from my hand or Graveyard with the same Level as that number,” said Twilight. “I’ll use all three Spell Counters and summon 'Card Ejector' from my hand.” Twilight laid another card onto her Duel Disk and a little girl in bright pink robes and wearing a too-big purple hat suddenly appeared. The hat fell in front of her eyes and she pushed it back up with the red wand in her right hand.

Magical Exemplar
ATK/1700
LV 4

Card Ejector
ATK 400
LV 3

“Now ain’t she adorable?” said Applejack, pointing a hoof at the little girl.

“Very cute,” said Rarity with a smile.

“Battle!” shouted Twilight. “Card Ejector, attack Tricular!” The little girl aimed her wand at Yusei’s monster and fired a burst of red sparks from the jewel on the end. The sparks hit the robot and it exploded.

“Tricular’s effect activates!” said Yusei. “When it’s destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 'Bicular' from my deck in Defense Mode. Come on out, Bicular!” A yellow robot appeared, this one standing on only two wheels. It spun them and a steady stream of smoke shot out of the exhaust pipes behind it.

“Magical Exemplar, attack Bicular,” twilight ordered. The woman held her hands out in front of her and a ray of green light erupted from her palms and struck the wheeled robot. It exploded, concealing Yusei and his field in a thick cloud of smoke. When it cleared, Twilight saw that a red robot on one wheel had replaced the yellow one. It rolled around in a circle, then stopped and crossed its arms in front of its body.

“Just like Tricular summoned Bicular, Bicular summons 'Unicycular' from my deck,” said Yusei.

Unicycular
DEF/100
LV 1

“Good job defending yourself, Yusei,” said Twilight. “But I’m not done yet. I’ll use Card Ejector’s special effect: Once a turn, I can pick a card in your Graveyard and remove it completely from the game! Say goodbye to Tricular!” The little girl raised her wand above hear head. A bright red light flashed from it. An image of Tricular appeared before fading away.

“Next I play Magical Blast again,” said Twilight. “And since I have three Spellcasters this time, it’ll do six hundred points of damage!” Just as before, the robed figures in the Magical Library began chanting and a swirling ball of energy appeared before them. Card Ejector pointed her wand at it and added a stream of red energy to it. Magical Exemplar added her own power by firing green light at the energy ball. It shot forward and struck Yusei before disappearing.

Life Point Count
Yusei: 3200

“This also puts another Spell Counter on my Citadel and my Library, and two more on Magical Exemplar,” said Twilight. “I’ll use their effects to draw two cards. Then I’ll place three cards face-down and end my turn.”

Yusei looked first at the field, then at his hand. He was holding "Junk Synchron" and "Quillbolt Hedgehog". If I play Quillbolt Hedgehog in Defense Mode, Twilight will destroy it and Unicycular next turn, he thought, and she might even be able to play something stronger to attack me with. I could go for "Junk Warrior", but she might can still destroy it. Same goes for "Junk Gardna".

Twilight wore a confident smirk on her face. “Come on, Yusei!” she shouted. “Show me what you got!”

If I want to turn this duel around, I’ll have to pull off a pretty big attack, Yusei thought. Well, here goes nothing! “My turn!” he said as he drew a card.

TO BE CONTINUED