MLD (My Little Duelist)
Volume 1 Chapter 0
The Arrival
It all started on a bright and sunny day in the land of Equestria, and it was just as so in both the kingdom of Canterlot and the small town of Ponyville. Everyone was going about their daily lives, whether it was running a boutique, tending to an apple orchard, or keeping the weather looking as nice as possible. However, no peace can truly last forever, as Spike, the dragon assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle found out when a giant stone slab fell out of the sky and nearly crushed him. "What in the name of Equestria is this?!" asked the little dragon. He looks at the tablet and saw what looked like the carving of an even bigger dragon, one like Spike had never seen before. "I better get Twilight! Fast!" he shouted as he rushed to find the princess. He soon did find her at the new Ponyville library. "Twilight! Out in the meadows! Outside of town! Giant stone tablet!" he shouted. "Spike, what is it?" the alicorn princess asked, clearly confused. "A giant stone tablet fell out of the sky right in front of me and..."
But before Spike could finish, another tablet fell, right outside the library. Twilight went to investigate and found this one had the image of a strange creature that appeared to be glad in armor and wielding a staff or wand. "Something like that?" Twilight asked. "Yes, but the one I saw had a dragon on it!" Spike answered. Soon, the rest of their friends showed up, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. "Twilight, what in tarnation is that thing?!" Applejack asked. "It appears to be some giant, ancient stone tablet." Rarity pointed out. "Yeah, but what's that thing carved on it?" Rainbow asked. "I'm not sure I want to know." Fluttershy said, nervously. Suddenly, Spike belched up a message from Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. "I wonder if Celestia and Luna know what these things are." Twilight pondered as she opened the letter with her magic. It read: 'My dearest Twilight, this is a matter of utmost urgency. You and your friends must show up at my castle in Canterlot immediately for an audience with me and my sister. We sent for a carriage to pick you all up. Signed, Celestia.' "Looks like there're more coming! Look!" Rainbow shouted as more tablets came down, one by one, in different places around town. "Looks like this is an Equestria emergency!" Rarity said with worry. "Yay! That means we'll get to go on another exciting adventure!" Pinkie shouted with glee. Soon, the carriage arrived and took them to Canterlot.
The group of friends entered the castle and kneeled before the princesses of the land. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, do you know anything about these tablets and why they're falling from the sky all over Ponyville and Canterlot?" Twilight asked. "We saw plenty of them when we were flying here." Applejack added. "From what we've seen, they appear to be harmless, but where they come from was a mystery, until Luna discovered something. A book of legends, legends from both our world, and others." the wise princess answered. "Worlds beyond ours?" Spike asked, curious. "Yes, this book contained the answer, which lies in another world far from our own. But I will tell it to you." Luna replied. The group sat down and heard the tale from Luna and Celestia's book of legends: 'Long ago, in another world, in an land called Egypt, similar to our own Somnambula, when their own ancient pyramids were still young, the kings of this land played a game of great and terrible power, known as Shadow Games. They could only be performed by means of sorcery. But these Shadow Games erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the entire world, until a brave and powerful king, whom the Egyptians called pharaoh, locked the magic away. He imprisoned the power of the Shadow Games within seven mystical, golden objects, created by the sacrifice of 99 souls. These objects were called the Millennium Items.'
The group was in awe over what they had heard. "According to the book, the Millennium Items were separated and closely guarded for 5,000 years by those who have a direct lineage to the time period in which they were created." Celestia said. "So, you want us to find these Millennium Items?" Twilight asked. "No, it'd be too long and tedious to find all of them. But there is one who possesses one of the Millennium Items, in the world they were created in. His name is Yugi Muto. He has in his possession, the Millennium Puzzle. I believe destiny may have chosen him to have it." Luna answered. "Your mission, is to travel to this new land and protect both Yugi and his Millennium Puzzle. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, along with the other six Millennium Items, I fear his world, and essentially ours, will be engulfed by the dark magic of the Shadow Games." Celestia added. "I don't know. This might be more dangerous than we think." Fluttershy said, cautiously. "Come on! We're just going to protect this Yugi guy, how hard can it be?" Rainbow asked confidently. "Well, if it's a mission from the Royal Pony Sisters, we have to accept." Twilight said as she turned towards her friends.
Celestia then used her magic to open a portal to the other world. "We will keep close watch over you from here. But all the same, you must be careful. No one knows who's after the Millennium Items." she said. With a confident nod and a look to her friends, who also nodded, Twilight and her friends entered the portal and traveled to the new world. "May they be safe during this treacherous adventure." Celestia said, worried, though Luna comforted her. As for the Mane 6, they soon found themselves in an alley on the other side of the portal, but they found they weren't standing on four legs and hooves anymore, and wearing different clothes. "Huh? What happened to your hooves? And my claws and feet?" Spike asked, bewildered. "Twilight, what happened to us?" Applejack asked as she saw her tail and mane were missing. "I may be wrong, but we've been turned into creatures called, humans." the princess answered. "I like it!" Pinkie said with a smile, quickly getting used to walking on two legs instead of four. "Well, I must admit, we all look rather wonderful as humans." Rarity said, clearly impressed by how her mane turned into beautiful, flowing hair.
Soon, Spike saw someone across the way with spiky purple and yellow hair and wearing a golden, upside-down pyramid around his neck. "Hey, look! Is that Yugi?" Spike asked. "It is! And he's wearing that Millennium Puzzle thing!" Rainbow pointed out. The group soon ran over to meet him. "Uh, excuse us. But, are you Yugi Muto?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes, I am. Who are you all?" Yugi asked. Twilight thought carefully, as she didn't want to alarm Yugi that they were really ponies and a dragon. "We have nicknames you can call us by. I'm Twilight Sparkle. And these are my friends Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Spike. We just arrived in town." she explained. "Nice to meet you. But, how do you know my name?" Yugi asked. But before anyone could answer, some other people came up to Yugi, two boys and a girl. "Hey, Yugi! What's up?" asked one of the boys. "Oh, hi guys! Twilight and company, I'd like you to meet my friends Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor and Tea Gardner." Yugi said with a smile. "Hey, Yugi, I had no idea you had a way with girls. And you got six of them!" Tristan said with a smile. "I'm sorry, but, I'm afraid you're mistaken, darling. We just arrived in town." Rarity responded. "Guys, meet Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Spike." Yugi said with a smile. "Are those nicknames?" Joey asked. "They sure are, and we're proud of 'em." Applejack answered. "But would you mind telling us just what town this is?" Rainbow asked. "This is Domino City, and this is our school, Domino High." Tea explained. "Are you newly enrolled students?" she asked. "Well, they have the uniforms, so they must be." Joey pointed out. Soon, the bell rang for school to start.
"Well, if you want to, you can enroll and be in our class." Yugi said with a smile. The group happily nodded and entered the building, unaware that their adventures with Yugi Muto and his friends in Domino City were about to begin.