When unknown cards start appearing in Equestria, strange incidents begin to occur, and Celestia looks into it, only to pull somebody from their world who knows about the cards. Can this unknown being protect Equestria from these weird cards?
Everything was almost peaceful within the magical land of Equestria, key word: almost. Two days before the Summer Sun Celebration, a bunch of strange cards started appearing out of nowhere all over Equestria, and some of them started making ponies go crazy, it warranted enough attention for the princess to get to the bottom of this. Princess Celestia, ruler of all of Equestria, decided to conduct her own investigation on these cards, after casting a unique spell, she accidently pulled a human named Yulo Shinsetsu from his home world called Earth and told her about the card game from the strange cards, Duel Monsters.
She immediately enlists his help in stopping these incidents and protecting her subjects from any further harm, he is hesitant at first, but agrees after Celestia promises to find a way to send him back.
But little do they know is that those cards are the least of their problems, especially when threats from Equestria's past come out of the woodwork...
Author's Notes: This fanfiction will introduce a new Duel Disk design I came up with and are planning to build.
This story is not canon to Heart of the Cards, this is merely a bout of inspiration come to life.
A personal note to AspirantWriter, the author of Heart of the Cards, if you believe that I'm ripping off your story by writing this, please PM me with your concerns, and we'll try and work something out that'll separate our two stories from each other and prevent copyright issues.
It's a beautiful day in the magical land of Equestria, and everypony was happy as can be...well, they were, anyway. Exactly one week ago, strange cards started appearing all over the land out of nowhere, they seemed like regular trading cards, so some ponies ignored them or collected them. That's when the incidents started; not long after ponies began picking up the cards did they began acting differently, becoming polar opposites of their former selves, and not in a good way.
One of the most recent cases was in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, an Earth Pony member of the Royal Guard, Bronze Blade, had not been collecting the cards, just throwing them in the garbage instead, seeing it all as litter. Princess Celestia didn't say we HAD to keep them, was his mindset, but he made a crucial mistake, one of the cards he picked up had a dark aura that surrounded him and seeped into his flesh, the last thing he heard was, "Let the Number take hold". Soon afterwards, he went rogue and out of control, attacking anypony unfortunate enough to stand in his way, even saying that he'll stop only if anypony beats him in a Duel with the same cards he uses, and his case was enough for the ruler of this once peaceful land to finally do something about this.
Princess Celestia, she was said ruler for over a millennia, being the near immortal Alicorn pony she is, she was just getting ready to cast an ancient spell on one of the cards she found in the streets, the name read: Cyber Dragon. With said spell, she would discover the origin of these cards and find out their intentions, but was hesitant because this spell is taxing on her magical limits.
Celestia sighs, "Well...here it goes."
Her horn lit up with a yellow aura as she began weaving her spell into the card, once it was cast, a blinding light flashed from the card and the force of spell's power threw Celestia across the Throne Room. When the light finally died down, and Celestia recovered from her unexpected flight, she looked over where the card was and saw a being she had never seen before; a bipedal monkey with very dark brown hair with a red streak in the front, crystal blue eyes were seen as they fluttered open, wearing a red t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, a weird device on his arm, a backpack strapped to his back, denim pants, and grey shoes. Once the creature woke up, he suddenly became frantic, not realizing where he is.
"Where am I?! Who or what are you?! What's going on?!" he said.
Celestia walked up to him carefully, as not to upset him further, "Calm down. To answer your questions in order, you are in Canterlot, Equestria's capital city, I am Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria and I'm an Alicorn, and lastly, I cast a spell on one of these cards that mysteriously appeared around the land to figure out what they are and where they came from."
The being hyperventilated, trying to make sense of all this, then he noticed the card Celestia was talking about, "A Duel Monsters card? What's it doing here?"
"Duel Monsters?"
He picked up the card and turned back to Celestia, somehow maintaining his cool, "Yeah. Here, let me show you." he reached into a pocket from his pack and pulled out a deck box that contained the same cards Celestia saw, he pull out three cards, which were the same as the one Celestia had, "See? I have three copies of Cyber Dragon."
After he put his cards away, he explained to her the Duel Monsters card game; how it started out small, but then flourished as many people of all ages played it, eventually leading to the invention of the Duel Disk, a device that is worn on the left wrist to make the monsters, spells, and traps become real through Augmented Reality simulations, or AR for short, he even explained that thanks to the game people have gotten closer to one another and revolutionized technology.
"Oh, sorry, I was so busy explaining everything and freaking out, though I kinda still am, that I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Yulo, Yulo Shinsetsu."
"Nice to meet you, now if I may, we have a situation here in Equestria."
She explained the cases of rogue ponies running amok, wielding the same cards Yulo has, the most recent case was in Canterlot, when a member of her Royal Guard, Bronze Blade, went AWOL and started attacking ponies at random, causing chaos in the city.
"So when he said 'Duel', he meant a battle in Duel Monsters." she concluded.
"That's exactly right."
"...Then there may be hope."
Yulo raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
"If you can defeat Bronze Blade in Duel Monsters, he may stop his rampage."
"Wait, you're telling me, a complete stranger from another world that YOU pulled me from, can defeat some pony guard reeking mayhem all over the city in a card game? Wow...that's kinda cliché."
"Please," Celestia pleaded, "my guards can't lay a hoof on Bronze, he possesses some kind of dark magic after collecting those cards that prevents us from getting close to him. So for me, my subjects, and the sake of our land, will you help us, Yulo Shinsetsu?"
Yulo appeared hesitant, if he's their only hope, what can he do? He was never good at anything when he was under pressure.
Yulo sighed, finally making his decision, "...Alright. I'll try. But only if you promise to send me back after this evil card business is done and over with."
Celestia smiled, "Thank you, Yulo."
"YOUR MAJESTY!!" one of the Royal Guard burst into the Throne Room.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Bronze Blade! He's back! And..."
"And...?"
"He's holding one of the students of the School For Gifted Unicorns hostage."
Celestia eyes widened in fear, "Is it Twilight?"
"No, somepony who looks similar to her, Moon Dancer."
While Celestia was relieved that it wasn't her faithful student, she was still worried because one of her subjects have fallen prey to Bronze's mercy, and it was one of her school's most exceptional students other than Twilight Sparkle.
The guard noticed Yulo and pointed at him, "Who's this?"
Celestia turned to the human and smiled, "The one who will stop Bronze Blade: Yulo Shinsetsu."
The guard's eyes went wide in shock as Celestia spoke to Yulo, "Come. We must hurry."
Yulo nodded, "Right."
The trio left the Throne Room and rushed through the castle to save a pony named Moon Dancer.
Bronze Blade was wearing full body armor that prevented anypony from recognizing him, dragging Moon Dancer by her tail through the several blockades of Royal Guards preventing him from reaching the Throne Room, but they all proved to be worthless against him. He broke through them with no effort using the dark magic that he acquired from the strange cards and continued his journey to the princess so he could bargain with Moon Dancer's life. But before he could even get to the hallway that led there, another guard, a bipedal creature, and none other than the princess herself, Celestia, making him grin sinisterly.
"Ah, your highness, so glad you could greet us with your presence...well, presences." Bronze said, motioning to the other two with her.
"Enough of this tomfoolery! Release the young pony known as Moon Dancer!" Celestia ordered.
"Oh, I will...if you can beat me."
"In Duel Monsters?"
Bronze gasped slightly, "How did you..."
"Recently acquired information. As for your proposal, I can't...but he can." Celestia stepped to the side to let Yulo step forward towards him.
"The monkey looking thing?"
Yulo took his Deck out of his deck box and inserted it into his Duel Disk, activating it; a flap extended outward and four more pieces extended from the flap's sides, two for each side, the five in the center had an arrow pointing at the slots where the Monster Cards go, they also had five slots below them for Spell and Trap Cards, and the two slots at the very ends had two prism shaped arrows pointing left and right, one blue, one red, known commonly as the Pendulum Zones, after his Deck was put in, the Duel Disk initiated its auto-shuffle feature, the name is self explanatory.
Bronze was surprised at this, but then sneered, "So...somepony has finally come to challenge me. Very well then." he raised his left hoof and a dark version of Yulo's Duel Disk materialized in a plume of dark magic, scaring the other ponies around them, he inserted his own Deck and it auto-shuffled it. "Let's make this interesting, if you win, I'll let the girl go, but if I win, I become king and you, Celestia, will step down. What do you say?"
"The princess would never agree to—!" the guard was stopped by Celestia's hoof.
"I accept your terms."
"What?! But your highness, surely you can't be serious!"
Celestia smiled, "Don't worry. I have faith in Yulo." She nods towards him in acknowledgment.
Yulo nodded back at her and turned to his opponent as the rainbow lights shined from their Duel Disks, activating them.
Just then, a computerized voice spoke, "Augmented Reality Vision Link established."
Yulo stared down his opponent, "Ready?"
Then they both shouted, "Let's Duel!"
When they did, a Life Point counter appeared above both of them.
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 8,000 LP
"I'll go first, but I can't draw or battle on the first turn," Bronze said, "so, I'll summon Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode!" With that, an elf like warrior appeared wearing green armor and wielding a longsword in both hands, ready for battle.
Celtic Guardian: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1200
Everypony was in awe at Bronze summoning a monster out of nowhere, despite having no magic like a Unicorn.
"Your move."
Yulo smirks, "Alright, I draw!" Yulo examined his hand and the card he drew, "Since you control a monster and I don't, I'm able to Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand!" He slapped a card down on the Monster Card Zone and a wingless, leg-less robotic dragon roared as it appeared.
Cyber Dragon: Lv. 5 / ATK: 2100 / DEF: 1600
Everypony, especially Bronze, was shocked at how he could summon a powerful monster just like that.
"But guess what? I'm not done yet! I still have my Normal Summon, which I'll use to summon Pitch Black Warwolf in Attack Mode!" A humanoid wolf wearing war-torn armor and wielding a strange sword appeared, snarling at its opponent.
Pitch Black Warwolf: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 600
"Now, Warwolf, attack that Celtic Guardian!" The wolf charged forward, sword at the ready to strike the elf warrior down, when the blade made contact, the elf exploded in shards of light.
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 8,000 - 200 = 7,800 LP
"Cyber Dragon, direct attack!" The robotic dragon rushed towards Bronze, stopped in front of him, and blasted him with a ray of light from its mouth, making him scream in pain despite that it's just a hologram.
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 7,800 - 2,100 = 5,700 LP
"Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Yulo concluded.
"Grr! I'll show you! I draw!" Bronze sneered at what he drew, "First, I'll summon Warrior of Zera in Attack Mode!" A muscular warrior wearing green and blue armor and a red scarf wielding a draconian sword appeared.
Warrior of Zera: Lv. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1600
"Next, I'll play Monster Reborn, and bring my Guardian back from the Graveyard!" A green card appeared and out came the elf warrior from before, "Now, I Overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"
The two warriors turned into orange lights and swirled around themselves as they flew into the air and into a galaxy like portal.
"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"
The portal exploded in a rush of rainbow lights.
"I Xyz Summon...Number 85: Crazy Box!"
Out of the rainbow explosion, a massive mismatched cube with an eye poking out of its side and an 85 marked on its other side emerged with two orbs of light circling around it.
"That's right! And it has quite an ability!" One of the orbs flew into the cube's eye, "You see, by using one of its Overlay Units, I can roll a six sided die, and its ability depends on the die's result."
"Gambling, huh? Fine then."
A giant virtual die appeared on Bronze's side of the field and with a flick of his hoof, the die flew into the air and rolled on the floor, resulting in a 5.
"Yes!" Bronze exclaimed, "Now, I can destroy one card on the field!" He pointed at the dragon, "And I can't think of any better card than your Cyber Dragon!"
Suddenly, the eye of the cube shot out a laser beam at the robotic dragon and it exploded, the rush of wind from the attack knocking Yulo down to the floor.
"Stay down if you know what's good for you!"
Yulo grunted from the pain, but powered through it and stood back up, "I'll show you just what I'm good at, pal!" He drew his next card and smiled, "...Let's rock." One of Yulo's facedown cards revealed itself to be a green framed card with a picture of a swirling vortex, "I activate Polymerization! And with it, I fuse the two Cyber Dragons in my hand to create...the Fusion Monster, Cyber Twin Dragon!" Another robotic dragon with two different heads appeared on the field.
Cyber Twin Dragon: Lv. 8 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2100
"This changes nothing! Your fusion tactic was just a waste of time! That monster isn't strong enough to destroy Crazy Box!"
Yulo smirks, "Who said he was?"
"Huh?"
Yulo's last facedown revealed itself, "I play the Trap Card, Raigeki Break! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy any one card on the field!"
"No!"
"Yes! I discard the only card in my hand, Winged Kuriboh, to destroy your Number monster!" Yulo sent his card to the Graveyard and a massive lightning bolt struck the cube and it exploded. "And now you're wide open for an attack! Warwolf, attack him directly!"
The wolf warrior charged forward and slashed Bronze, diminishing his Life Points.
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 5,700 - 1,600 = 3,100 LP
"That doesn't faze me! Your Twin Dragon isn't strong enough to finish me off, so I'll make a comeback on my next turn!" Bronze declared.
"Don't count on it!" Yulo says confidently.
"Huh?!"
"You see, Cyber Twin Dragon has an ability of his own, he can attack twice on the same Battle Phase!"
"What?!"
"Go, Cyber Twin Dragon, direct attack number one!" The first dragon head blasted a beam of light at Bronze.
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 3,100 - 2,800 = 300 LP
"Now, finish this with one last attack!"
The another dragon head charged up its attack as Bronze was cowering before it.
"No...No..." Bronze uttered, fearfully.
The dragon blasted its final beam at Bronze as he screamed.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Yulo: 8,000 LP Bronze: 300 - 2,800 = 0 LP
WINNER: Yulo
With that, the AR link shut itself down and Bronze Blade collapsed in a heap, falling unconscious. The Royal Guard recovered from their fatigue from fighting and went in to arrest Bronze Blade, while Yulo walked over to Moon Dancer and untied her from her bindings.
"You okay?" Yulo asked.
Before she could answer, a dark aura surrounded Bronze and floated above him, morphing into a fearful face that screeched in agony and dissipated into nothing with the dark Duel Disk following suit and the cards in it scattering on the ground.
"...Well. That happened."
After that eerie little spectacle, the guards properly restrained Bronze if he woke up. Celestia walked up to Yulo and Moon Dancer with concern written on her face.
"Are you okay, my little pony?" Celestia asked.
"Y...Yes. A little shaken up, but I'm fine." Moon Dancer answered.
Celestia nodded and turned to Yulo with a smile, "I am in your debt, thanks to you, not only is one of my school's students safe, but you also put an end to Bronze Blade's rampage, for that you have my deepest gratitude."
Yulo blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head, "No need for any praise, I just did what I thought I had to do."
"That doesn't make it any less noble." Yulo smiled at Celestia's kind words.
"Um..." the two turned to Moon Dancer, "If I may Your Majesty, I would like to study more about this Yulo and these cards of his, I thought they were just regular trading cards, but now I want to know more. Is that okay?"
Celestia smiled, "Of course, but first we must address to the public that Bronze Blade has finally been stopped."
After at least three hours, everypony in Canterlot were gathered to the front gates of the Canterlot Castle, awaiting their princess to tell them the news she had obtained. Soon enough, she appeared on the balcony with a fanfare of trumpets behind her, making the ponies below her cheer and bow afterwards.
"Please rise, my subjects." everypony did just that and awaited the princess's words, "As you all know, the pony known Bronze Blade has recently acquired dark magic and caused mayhem all over Canterlot." the ponies murmured fearfully at his name, "But as of today, I had inadvertently pulled another being out of another world who knows about the cards he used and he managed to best him in his own game, to sum it up, Bronze Blade has been stopped and apprehended." the crowd cheered loudly at that bit of news, but Celestia raised a hoof to settle them down, "Now, this being may seem a bit strange to you all, but I assure you, he is completely harmless to friendly ponies. Fillies and gentlecolts, I give you the hero who has risked himself to protect us from Bronze's madness...Yulo Shinsetsu!"
That was Yulo's cue as Celestia stepped aside to allow him to step on the balcony, making the crowd below him whisper in shock.
Yulo cleared his throat and began to speak, despite that he didn't like to be a public speaker, "Ponies of Canterlot, I know you were afraid of Bronze and what he was capable of, but he has been stopped by me, but admittedly, if it wasn't for Princess Celestia bringing me here, you all still would've suffered. Now that I'm here, I will do what I can to prevent any more incidents like this one arising in this world, this I promise you all."
It was silent at first, but then a pony began clapping, then another, and then the whole crowd began to follow, erupting into ecstatic cheering for their new hero. Yulo and Celestia stepped off the balcony with the former kneeling to catch his breath, Celestia went to help him, but he raised a hand up to stop her.
Celestia and her guards escorted him to his room for the day to rest up after everything that's happened. Yulo, exhausted from absolutely everything, plopped down onto his new bed and passed out immediately. The last thought running through his mind was that Number card that Bronze had used.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 01 Day(s), 17 Hour(s), 05 Minute(s), 23 Second(s)
Yulo reluctantly woke up to greet the day as the sun's rays shined through his windows, he knew he wasn't a morning person, but he also knew that he couldn't sleep forever, especially with Celestia raising the sun every morning, he must admit that he was shocked when he was told that. But he had enough stalling and got out of bed, noticing that he was in the same room as he was the day before, any thoughts of yesterday being a complete and total dream were gone in an instant, this was real. With a sigh, he proceeded to look over his belongings to make sure nobody took anything while he was out cold, luckily his Duel Disk, Deck, and everything else were still here and in perfect condition, minus the scratches from his previous Duels, he'll admit he IS a little paranoid, but the way he sees it, you have to have a little paranoia to truly be cautious.
The sound of his door being knocked upon pulled him from his thoughts, he set his things down and answered the door, seeing the ruler of the land herself.
"Good morning, Yulo." Celestia greeted with a smile.
Yulo yawned into his hand, "Morning, Your Highness."
"Not much of a morning person, are you?"
"Not really, not until I get my morning cup of coffee."
Celestia giggled, "I know the feeling, I was once like you long before I ruled Equestria." Celestia shook her head, "But enough with speaking of the past, how are you since yesterday?"
"Better, a lot better, in fact."
"Good. My Captain of the Royal Guard will come by to drop off the cards Bronze Blade held and later afterwards Moon Dancer will be here for an official interview about your world."
"Understood."
"Come. Let us go get some breakfast."
The two left the bedroom to make their way to the dining hall for their morning nourishment. On the way there, they encountered several maids and guards who bowed and saluted respectively to their ruler. Soon after, they arrived and entered the dining hall, Celestia was now sitting at the end of the table while Yulo chose to sit at her side, the butler came up to them to take their breakfast requests; Celestia decided on some blueberry muffins and a cup of peach tea and Yulo chose a plate of scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice.
The butler bowed his head and left to fulfill his obligation, Yulo and Celestia were alone again as the latter tried to strike up a conversation with a question.
"So Yulo, could you tell me more about this Duel Monsters card game of yours?"
"Well, the game and the rules are a little complex, but I'll try to explain them as best as I can." Yulo answered.
Yulo tries to explain everything about the Duel Monsters game and its rules, but needless to say, Celestia was a little lost halfway through the explanation. After he was finished, Yulo caught his breath from talking so much, when he noticed Celestia's confused expression he knew the rules went over her head.
"See? I told you it was complex."
"Is there...an easier way to explain them?" Celestia asked.
"Well, I have the rulebook for the game if you want to read it."
"Of course, we'll take care of that after breakfast."
Not long after their conversation ended, the butler and a few servers arrived with their breakfast and they dug into their food. But the enjoyment wasn't to last as a certain snobbish Unicorn barged in the dining hall.
"Auntie! The other nobles are getting restless about this trading card issue, and you're just sitting here..." he trailed off when he saw Yulo, "And what is this animal doing in here, in MY seat of all places?!"
Yulo immediately became agitated with this pompous mule as his brow furrowed, but before he could voice his own opinion, Celestia beat him to it, "Blueblood! This is the person that saved us all from Bronze Blade! Show some respect!"
Blueblood suddenly paled a paler white than he already is (if that was even possible) and not so subtly made his way to the exit in a panic, making Yulo laugh at Celestia's quip.
He regained control of himself and spoke, "Thanks, Your Highness. I would've said something I might've regretted if it wasn't for you."
She smiled, "You're welcome."
The rest of breakfast time was uneventful and afterwards, Yulo returned to his room to await his possible visitors, but not before he gave Celestia his copy of the Duel Monsters official rulebook.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 01 Day(s), 16 Hour(s), 12 Minute(s), 47 Second(s)
As he looked over his Dueling Deck, adding new cards and taking out old ones, a knock came from Yulo's door, he stopped what he was doing and answered it, revealing it to be a white Unicorn wearing purple armor with a serious expression on his face.
"Um...may I help you?" Yulo asked.
The stallion bowed and spoke, "I am Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard." he stood up straight and presented a small chest, "The princess herself ordered me to deliver these to you."
Yulo took the chest and opened it, revealing a bunch of cards with a few familiar ones, "Are some of these Bronze Blade's cards?"
"Correct. The princess wished you to have them and the ones she found for safekeeping."
"Okay, thanks, just one other thing: is that...Crazy Box card in here too?"
"Yes. The princess made it perfectly clear to give that specific one to you, since you were the one to defeat it, personally I agree with her, I feel it could be a reminder of your victory, and maybe you could put it to good use."
"Maybe..." Yulo uttered, having certain suspicions about that specific card.
"Anyway, I have other duties to attend to, I thank you for helping us in our time of need."
With that, the Captain left as Yulo closed the door behind him, he walked over to a nearby desk and got to work on looking the cards in the chest over while setting Number 85: Crazy Box off to the side.
After a good half an hour, Yulo finished checking and organizing the cards and began writing a list of the card types he has and how many they were.
"Okay let's see here...67 Monsters, Normal and Effect altogether...18 Pendulums...43 Spells...39 Traps...8 Rituals...22 Synchros...31 Xyz, not counting Number 85: Crazy Box...and 56 Fusions. Done!"
A knock on the door roused Yulo from his list-making and he got up to answer it, Moon Dancer standing eagerly behind the door.
"Morning, Yulo! Are you ready?" she asked.
"Ready? For what?" he asked back.
"An interview, of course! I was hoping we'd get to know more about each other's worlds and their customs! Besides, Princess Celestia said you may have to go out into the land to face more ponies like Bronze Blade."
"Speaking of him, what happened after he was arrested?"
"Actually, I was hoping that YOU could shed some light on that."
"Huh?"
"You see, after he came to in the dungeons, he claims he doesn't know what happened, but all of a sudden, his face had an expression of guilt and horror and begged for forgiveness. He even said the last thing he remembers was picking a card up and hearing the words, 'Yes Bronze, let the Number take hold'."
Yulo tried to hold back a loud gulp as he realized what she was talking about and cursed himself for being right about his theory.
"Anyway, let's head to the Canterlot Library, we'll talk there."
The two left the bedroom and castle itself to head for the local library for Yulo's first interdimensional interview about his world and more about Duel Monsters while meeting with some of the ponies who wished to get their picture taken with him or asked for an autograph.
I suppose it can't be helped... he thought.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 01 Day(s), 11 Hour(s), 09 Minute(s), 59 Second(s)
A good four and a half hours had passed when Yulo sluggishly walked back to his room to take a power nap after all the explanations he had to give to Moon Dancer for the interview, he even faintly recalled that she was going to have a little get-together in the west castle courtyard with all of her closest friends coming tomorrow and even offered him to come as well, he accepted without hesitation, Yulo always loved making new friends. He made it back to his temporary room in the castle and passed out the moment he plopped on the bed.
...
......
.........
Another hour had gone by when Yulo fell asleep and woke up when he had one of the strangest nightmares, he knew he had to ask Celestia what it means. After getting up and changing into a better set of clothes, he walked through the halls of the castle, looking for Celestia, but had come up with nothing. Eventually, he came across a maid pony and asked her where the throne room was because he was lost, she guided him in the right direction and she went back to her duties as Yulo entered, earning Celestia's attention.
"Oh, Yulo!" Celestia greeted cheerfully, "How did the interview with Moon Dancer go?"
"It went well, but..."
"'But'?"
"When I got back, I took a short power nap for at least an hour, and I had a strange nightmare."
Celestia's expression turned from cheerful to worry, "W-What kind of nightmare?"
Yulo raised an eyebrow at the princess's behavior, but continued nonetheless, "It was about cards like the one Bronze Blade had, that Number 85 card, except there were more, a LOT more in fact, and that's not even the strange part. The strange part was...there was a pony that looked similar to you, except her coat was jet black and her mane dark blue."
Worry gave way to dread as Celestia stood up and ushered Yulo out of the throne room, "...We must talk, in private."
As they hurried through the hallways, Yulo only had one thought on the brain.
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 01 Day(s), 09 Hour(s), 59 Minute(s), 34 Second(s)
"What-mare Moon?!"
Yulo was in shock at what Celestia told him; supposedly her sister, Princess Luna, had given in to her darker thoughts when she became jealous of Celestia's subjects praising her and her sun more than Luna and her moon, and had transformed into a mare of darkness now called Nightmare Moon, who wishes to bring about eternal nighttime to the world.
"Nightmare Moon. Now may I finish?"
"Right, sorry. I'm still reeling from this."
"Anyway, before her night could last forever, I used the six Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon, I felt like it was the only way to stop her since she refused to listen to reason." Celestia sighed in sadness, "...I just wish I saw the signs before it was too late for my little sister."
Yulo surprised her with a hug, "It's okay, Celestia. It can't be helped, there was nothing more you could've done. Do you still love your sister?"
"Of course!"
"Then don't feel bad, you didn't do what you did out of malice or selfishness, you did it to protect everyone. Who knows? Maybe there's a way to pull her out of darkness she found herself in."
"You...You think so?"
"I know so. Light and dark are two sides of one coin, if dark exists, then so should light. The true Princess Luna has to be buried in there somewhere."
Celestia hugged back, "Thank you, Yulo...this...means a lot to me."
He chuckled, "Anything for a friend."
The two separated and Celestia addressed him, "So, you know the situation now?"
"Yeah, and odds are the Number cards have aligned with Nightmare Moon to carry out, not just her goals, but their own."
"The Number cards'...goal?"
"From what I heard, Bronze Blade wasn't in control of himself when he was picking up those cards, and that Number 85: Crazy Box was the marionette pulling the strings of the puppet."
"If so, what are they up to?"
"I wish I knew, but we have to be ready for when whatever they're planning happens."
"Alright then. For now, let's go get dinner in the dining hall and have a good night's sleep to be ready for tomorrow."
Yulo nodded in agreement and they did just that, he even met Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's personal student, who seemed to be enjoying Yulo's company since she wants to learn more about him and his cards. The time came for everyone to go to bed and Yulo got under the covers before passing out this time, slightly worried about what tomorrow had in store for him.
On the dark side of the moon a black brooding Alicorn wearing blue armor sat on the rocky ground watching as the stars slowly grew closer to her and granting her freedom.
"It won't be long now. Soon, all of Equestria shall bow before me. Isn't that right..."
She looked down at the ominously glowing rectangular object in her hoof.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 16 Hour(s), 33 Minute(s), 48 Second(s)
Yulo woke up bright and early this time, not only to be ready for Moon Dancer's party, but he could hardly sleep after what he was told by Celestia, and if what she told him was true, Yulo may have to gear himself up for the most dangerous Duel of his life. Regardless, he grabbed his Deck and Duel Disk, and made his way to the west castle courtyard, on the way there, he saw Twilight on her way back to her personal study, Yulo felt bad for the poor Unicorn, sure studying is great, but spending time with friends can be just as good or even better. Sadly, Twilight doesn't see things that way, Yulo tried to get her out of her comfort zone at dinner, but she made it plainly clear that she had no time or interest in friends.
As Yulo watched, he saw three other Unicorns he knew to be Moon Dancer's friends, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette, approach Twilight, "There you are, Twilight!" one of them spoke, "Moon Dancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard, you wanna come?"
Twilight responded with, "Ooh, sorry girls, but I have a lot of studying to catch up on." with that, Twilight ran off in a hurry.
Twinkleshine sighed, "Does that pony do ANYTHING except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends."
"Ease up, ladies." Yulo said, making them gasp, "I want her to have friends too, but it's her choice...unfortunately."
"I-I-It's Yulo!" Lemon Hearts stuttered out.
"W-What are you doing here?" Minuette asked.
"Moon Dancer invited me to her party." Yulo simply answered.
"WHAT?!?" they all shouted.
Yulo cleaned his ear with a finger, "Easy with the volume, please!"
The girls looked embarrassed, "Sorry!"
Yulo sighed, "Let's get a move-on, Moon Dancer's probably waiting for us."
They nod and they all head for the west castle courtyard to Moon Dancer's very first party.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 16 Hour(s), 22 Minute(s), 31 Second(s)
A good ten minute walk later and Yulo and the girls arrived at the courtyard, where Moon Dancer just finished her preparations.
"Hey, Moon Dancer! Look at this spread, huh?" Minuette commented.
"Thank you so much for coming." Moon Dancer said.
Yulo smiled, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Of course!" Twinkleshine began, "We wouldn't miss one of our best friend's parties!"
"Is Twilight coming?" Moon Dancer looked at her guests expectantly.
The girls looked any where but Moon Dancer's direction while Yulo rubbed the back of his head, not knowing how to break the bad news to her, but she took the hint and frowned.
"Oh...okay." she said, dejectedly.
"Hey! We'll still have fun, right?!" Minuette offered with a nervous giggle.
The group looked sad at Moon Dancer's defeated expression, but Yulo stubbornly refused to give up.
"...I'll go talk to her, you three keep the food fresh."
"What could you possibly do?" Lemon asked.
"I'm gonna help my friend the best I can."
Yulo ran after Moon Dancer to try and cheer her up while the girls did what they were told and kept the food fresh by keeping away from any animals or insects.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 15 Hour(s), 59 Minute(s), 47 Second(s)
Yulo had spent over twenty minutes trying to find Moon Dancer and after asking around he found out she went home, he made his way to a small, humble house and knocked on the door.
"...Go away." was the response he got.
"Moon Dancer, it's Yulo."
"I said go away."
"No. I'm your friend, I care about you, and whether you like it or not, I'm coming in."
Yulo grasped the doorknob and opened the door, allowing himself into the darkened home.
He barely even registered the bawling mare pounding at his chest, "I thought I told you to go away!"
Yulo just took the hits and held her close as she struggled, "Go on. Hit me, yell at me, I don't care what you do, all that matters that whatever you do helps you feel better."
"Even if it means knocking you on the head and giving you a migraine?!" she challenged.
"...Yes."
Moon Dancer just sat there, unresponsive. And then, her bottom lip quivered and hugged Yulo back as she cried her eyes out.
"It's okay, Moon Dancer...you're gonna be okay..."
"It's not FAIR! I thought she was my friend..."
Yulo took the initiative and stroked her mane, "You have other friends, ones that are waiting for you to come back to your party."
"I bet they probably left already...and I don't blame them..."
"I'm willing to bet that they're still there, waiting for their best friend..."
The two just sat in the middle of the room, Moon Dancer wailing and Yulo consoling her. After at least half an hour, Moon Dancer finally calmed down enough to talk.
"...Thank you...thank you so much..." she said as she sniffled.
"It's no big deal." he said.
"No, it's a very big deal. I thought nopony truly cared for me, but you...you proved me wrong. And I'll always be grateful for that."
Yulo frowned a bit, "Are you gonna be okay?"
Moon Dancer wiped a tear away, "No. I don't think I'll be okay for a while. But...I think I may...in time."
Yulo smiled, then blushed as Moon Dancer nuzzled into him.
"Again...thank you..."
His blush died down as he held her close. But the warm moment was not to last as a flash of light appeared in front of Yulo, revealing a rolled up scroll.
"A magically sent letter?" Moon Dancer asked.
Yulo narrowed his eyes, "And I have good feeling who it's from."
He plucked the letter out of the air and opened it up, reading aloud;
Dear Yulo, I have just sent my faithful student, Twilight and her assistant, Spike the Dragon to Ponyville to oversee the preparations for this year's location for the Summer Sun Celebration. I want you to follow them and watch over everything, and if everything we talked about falls exactly into place, then you may need to step up and fight for Equestria's freedom. I'll have a Pegasus-drawn chariot ready for you just outside of Canterlot, please finish your business here and head out before sundown.
Yours Truly, Princess Celestia
P.S. If you wish, bring Moon Dancer with you, she may be a good travelling companion.
After Yulo finished reading, he looked at Moon Dancer, who seemed to be confused, "What does she mean by, 'fighting for Equestria's freedom'?"
Yulo sighed, "Well, since you might come with me, I might as well tell you what's going on..."
Yulo explained to her everything that he and Celestia talked about last night, with few interruptions about Nightmare Moon not being real and an old pony's tale, and once he finished, Moon Dancer voiced her own recap.
"So tonight, Nightmare Moon, who is apparently real, is going to free herself from the moon..."
"Yeah..." Yulo said.
"...And she has one of those Number cards..."
"Uh-huh..."
"...So we may be facing a Duel for the fate of Equestria against an evil goddess hopped up on the card's power?"
"That's pretty much the gist of it."
"...You do realize that sounds science-fiction, right?"
"Yeah, but it's the truth."
Moon Dancer sighed, "...Okay. I guess I have no reason not to believe you, but if I'm going, I'm staying away from Twilight."
"Fair enough." Yulo started heading out the door, "Now c'mon, the girls are waiting for us." He stopped when he noticed she wasn't following. "Moon Dancer?"
"...Moony."
"W-What?"
"I...I want you to call me Moony from now on." she blushed.
"...O-Okay then."
The two left the house, depression forgotten, all that matter right now was making it back to the party and to their friends.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 15 Hour(s), 11 Minute(s), 09 Second(s)
The two made it back to the courtyard, where the girls were still waiting for them, after a brief explanation, they all calmed down and enjoyed the party that Moon Dancer prepped for them. An hour had passed when Moon Dancer broke the news to them about leaving for Ponyville soon with Yulo for "important business", as the two called it, but the girls could tell something was up, yet they didn't question it. After the party was finished, Yulo and Moon Dancer made it to the aforementioned chariot and rode over to Ponyville, where Yulo's greatest challenge awaits him.
But even after they left, the girls chatted amongst themselves about the two's behavior.
"They were acting really weird when they told us they were leaving." Minuette said.
"Yeah, but..." Twinkleshine began, "why would they act weird? It's just a short trip, right?"
"I don't know..." Lemon said, "...but we're gonna find out once they get back."
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 13 Hour(s), 58 Minute(s), 39 Second(s)
The chariot ride took over twenty minutes to reach its destination: Ponyville. Where a great danger would rise and Yulo would have to stop it. The Pegasi, as Celestia once explained to Yulo, slowed to a stop in the middle of a meadow just outside of town, which confused the two travelers.
"Why are we stopping here?" Yulo asked one of them.
"The princess had strict orders that you two were to remain hidden from Twilight Sparkle and young Spike for the time being, so she told us to land here." one Pegasus guard spoke.
"So you two are walking the rest of the way." the other added.
Yulo shrugged, "Eh, we need the exercise anyway."
The guards nodded and flew off, leaving Yulo and Moon Dancer to themselves.
"Let's press on, Moony."
"Yes, let's."
Yulo and Moon Dancer began their trek to Ponyville to watch over Twilight and Spike, and to be ready for the inevitable danger of Nightmare Moon and her Number card.
Time Before The Summer Sun Celebration: 00 Day(s), 05 Hour(s), 32 Minute(s), 41 Second(s)
After several hours of watching Twilight oversee the preparations and failing to make friends, much to Yulo's chagrin and Moon Dancer's mild amusement, they walked around town for a while as Twilight was hiding from her surprise party by Ponyville's resident "super-duper party pony" Pinkie Pie. Once the time had come to watch the sunrise, everypony, and Yulo, made their way to Town Hall, all while avoiding Twilight, to see Celestia raise the sun for what Yulo heard to be the thousandth year she's did this.
Man, she needs a vacation. he thought.
The mayor of Ponyville, ironically named Mayor Mare, began her speech about Celestia, when Yulo, Moon Dancer, and even Twilight noticed the craters forming the shape of a mare disappeared.
"Yulo..." Moon Dancer whispered.
"Yeah, I saw. Be ready for anything." he said.
"...Princess Celestia!" Mayor Mare declared.
The curtain pulled back to reveal...nothing. Nopony was there on the balcony. Yulo narrowed his eyes in anticipation as Moon Dancer clung to him in fear while everyone else murmured to each other in worry.
"Remain calm, everypony. There must be a reasonable explanation."
"Hold for it..." Yulo uttered.
"She's gone!" a white Unicorn, who Yulo heard her name was Rarity, said to everyone, making them gasp.
"...Yup. She's here."
A yelp from the crowd confirmed Yulo's statement as a dark blue mist came up to the balcony and took form as the Alicorn mare from Yulo's dreams.
"Nightmare Moon."
Moon Dancer said nothing, she just continued to cling to Yulo for dear life.
"Oh, my beloved subjects, it's been so long since I've seen your precious little, sun-loving faces." the dark mare said.
Yulo grit his teeth at the condescending tone she gave when she spoke.
"What did you do with our princess?!" a Pegasus with a rainbow-mane, who Yulo heard to be Rainbow Dash, demanded as she tried to rush her, but was held back by an orange pony that Yulo knew was Applejack.
The mare chuckled, "What? Am I not royal enough for you?" she narrowed her eyes, "Don't you know who I am?"
Pinkie Pie started randomly guessing her name, only ending when Applejack shoved a cupcake into her mouth.
Yulo wanted to slap the snot out of the dark mare when she approached Fluttershy, making the latter cower, "Does my crown no longer count now that I've been imprisoned for a thousand years?" she then approached Rarity, "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"
"I did!" Twilight declared, "And I know who you are!"
Shut up, Twilight, shut up... Yulo thought to himself.
"You're the Mare in the Moon: Nightmare Moon!"
The crowd gasped as Twilight said that, making Yulo pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." Nightmare remarked.
"You're here to...to...!" Twilight gulped as she couldn't finish her sentence.
Nightmare cackled, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night...will last...FOREVER!" she then laughed manically as she believed victory was hers to savor.
"Wait."
Nightmare stopped laughing as a shadowy spirit formed next to her, making the crowd tremble in fear.
"What are you talking about?" Nightmare asked the spirit.
"I sense it..."
"Sense what...wait. You mean..."
"Yes. Another Number."
Yulo heard what it said and tried to make himself and Moon Dancer as small as possible while making their way to the balcony.
"Who dares to shelter a Number card from me?!" Nightmare bellowed, "I am your princess! And I demand that you give me the Number!"
The crowd shivered in fear and confusion, not knowing what she's talking about.
The spirit turned to see Yulo and Moon Dancer behind Nightmare, "We meet at last...Number Hunter."
Nightmare turned to see them as well, not knowing what creature Yulo is, "So. You are the ones hiding a source of power from me."
Yulo clenched his fists, "Give up while you still can."
Nightmare was about to laugh at the sheer absurdness of his demand, but the spirit beat her to speaking, "Fool. You think just because you collected one Number card that you can best us?"
"No. But I can at least try."
"Obstinate youth!"
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm still not backing down!"
The spirit growled at Yulo's insolence.
"Foolish child." Nightmare interjected, "You really believe you can defeat me?"
Yulo said nothing, instead he stood defiant.
She smirked, "Very well then. I'll humor you." she then scowled, "Meet me where the Elements of Harmony were last used, my castle and throne that were supposed to be mine and mine alone."
Yulo nodded in confirmation.
Nightmare's mane swirled up a tornado to mask her and the spirit's escape, "If you fear for your life, do not follow me. But if you wish to meet your untimely end in battle, seek me out. I've waited a thousand years to return and take back what was rightfully mine, I can wait a few minutes for you to make your choice."
With that, they disappeared into the tornado as it vanished in a flash of light, leaving Yulo and Moon Dancer themselves as the crowd panicked and rushed out the doors. Yulo and Moon Dancer left the Town Hall and looked around for any source of Nightmare Moon and the spirit form of the Number card. Moon Dancer lit up her horn and gasped.
"What is it?" Yulo asked her.
"Nightmare Moon left us a trail of magical energy to follow."
"...She was serious about her challenge."
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"Heh, not really. But what choice to I have?"
Yulo and Moon Dancer ran off in the direction of what the ponies of Ponyville knew to be the Everfree Forest, following the trail of magic residue to face the Mare in the Moon in a dangerous game of Duel Monsters...
