Twilight was trotting through Ponyville Market, double checking her shopping list. It’s been a year since the Dark Signers were defeated and, thanks to a new invention that came out, Equestria had enough bits and managed to complete repair it. Said invention, however, wasn’t very impressive in Twilight’s eyes.

“Carrots: check. Celery: check. Chickpeas- Ah!” Twilight gasped as a sudden noise came out of the shop next to her. She leapt aside as a large door opened and what looked like a grey, streamlined, motorized bicycle sped out.

“Enjoy your new D-Wheel, Miss Hooves!” the shopkeeper called after the pony.

“Damn D-Wheels…” Twilight muttered.

“Oh, Twilight Sparkle!” the shopkeeper said. “Didn’t see you there.”

“You never do,” Twilight complained. “This is the third time this month one of your customers nearly ran me down!”

“I’m really sorry about that. Hey, since you’re here, do you think you might want to buy a D-Wheel of your own?”

“I have no intention of wasting money on some stupid fad,” said Twilight. “There’s no thrill to Riding Duels. No challenge. Its just racing a motorized bike.”

“You’ve never seen a Riding Duel, have you?” the shopkeeper asked.

“No,” said Twilight. “I don’t live near those new highways, thankfully. All those revving engines would prevent me from ever studying or strategizing new combos with my good old, Ground Duel deck.”

“Why don’t you go down to the highway one of these days and see a Riding Duel for yourself? It might change your mind.”

“Why don’t you?” Twilight asked. “Wouldn’t a D-Wheel shop make more sense being at the highways they built specifically for D-Wheels!?”

The shopkeeper sighed. “I swear, Twilight. One day, you will eat your words and I will see you in Ponyville Motors.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” said Twilight. “No offense.”

Before the shopkeeper could get another word in, Twilight trotted off, levitating her shopping list in front of her again. “Chickpeas: check. Corn: check…”

The shopkeeper shrugged, and trotted back into Ponyville Motors. Twilight continued on towards home, slammed the door behind her in annoyance.

“That was quite an entrance, Twilight,” said Spike, not looking up from the shelves he was dusting. “Something happen?”

“What do you think happened?” Twilight asked. “Another one of those D-Wheels nearly ran me down!”

“I do hope you weren’t rude to the shopkeeper again,” said Rarity, trotting in from the kitchen with Applejack.

“Oh,” Twilight blushed. “I didn’t know you two were here… Sorry for being so loud.”

“It’s fine, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Ah understand how annoying D-Wheels can be. But its still no excuse for bein so rude to the guy.”

“I don’t want to be rude,” said Twilight, “I just want him to understand I don’t want to buy one.”

“But what if you change your mind?” Rarity asked.

“I think it would be cool if you got a D-Wheel, Twilight,” said Spike. “I mean, just look at this!” Spike snatched up a flier and passed it to the three ponies.

Rarity levitated it in front of them, reading it aloud. “D-Wheelers everywhere, come celebrate the advent of Riding Duels in Equestria’s first World Riding Duel Grand Prix. The WRGP will gather the best of the best Riding Duel teams in the world to our fair country in order to compete to see who’s the world’s fastest, most powerful duelists. Riding Duel, Acceleration!”

“Teams?” Applejack repeated. “It might be fun to enter a team duel tourney.”

“Yes it would,” said Rarity. “Just think of the team uniforms I could design for all of us!”

“Ah was thinkin more about the whole teamwork thing,” said Applejack. “What do you say, Twilight?”

“It sounds nice on paper,” said Twilight. “But so does any good advertisement. The fact still remains that its about Riding Duels.”

“Speaking of Riding Duels,” said Applejack, “you’d think Rainbow Dash would be all over them by now.”

“I’ve hardly seen her or Fluttershy this past year, come to think of it,” said Rarity.

“After all that happened last year,” said Spike, “they probably just wanted time to themselves to relax.”

“The two of them alone together,” said Rarity. “Sounds almost romantic.”

“Ah don’t think they’re dating, Rare,” said Applejack.

“Wouldn’t it be great if they were?” Rarity asked.

Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard the faint sounds of an engine. “I can’t say if they’re dating, Rarity, but I’m fairly certain I know what they’ve been doing this past year.”

“Oh?” said Rarity, training her ears towards the source of the noise.

“Is that a D-Wheel Ah here?” Applejack asked.

The sound of two D-Wheels screeching to a halt outside the library were heard, followed quickly by a sound of a hoof pounding on the door. “Twilight, come quick! Dashie and Fluttershy have a surprise for you!”

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked, opening the door.

“Oh, Rarity! Applejack! You’re here, too! Great!” Pinkie reached around and pulled the three of them outside. “Look it!”

“What do you think of our new rides?” Rainbow asked, a cocky grin on her face. She was wearing what resembled a flight helmet and goggles.

“We built them ourselves,” Fluttershy added, shyly ducking behind her mane. “Be gentle with your critiques…” As if to protect herself from criticism, Fluttershy lifted up on her yellow helmet. The helmet seemed to have fake cat ears sticking out of the top.

Spike ran out to join the six ponies and blinked in surprise. Rainbow Dash was straddling a black D-Wheel with a red outline of her Cutie Mark embroidered on the back. Spike climbed up on Twilight’s back to see better, and saw that, when viewed from above, the D-Wheel looked like a more streamlined, three-dimensional version of Rainbow’s Signer Mark, with black blades resembling the Crimson Dragon’s wings jutting out in the back to help it cut through the air at higher speeds. There were two hoof rests on the side that helped enclose and protect Dash as she rode around in case of a crash. The seat red, as was the Duel Disk and monitor. The monitor had a color scheme set up like the rest of Dash’s D-Wheel and her Red Demon’s Dragon card. It seemed to be displaying different readouts and statistics of the D-Wheel such as its current speed, G-Forces, and engine efficiency. A small, upside down, red trapezoid was coming down from the top of the display reading out as the D-Wheel being in ‘Driving Mode’. Closer inspection revealed that the Duel Disk was a modified version of Rainbow’s old Duel Disk, recolored and made to be attachable and detachable from Rainbow’s D-Wheel.

Fluttershy’s D-Wheel was modeled after her Watt Monsters, being a strangely appealing mismatch of red, blue, and yellow. It also, while still streamlined better than the D-Wheel Twilight saw earlier, seemed much more reserved than Rainbow’s, with larger sides protecting the rider, and a backrest that rises high above Fluttershy. There were also two large, yellow storage boxes attacked to the back, a blue outline of Fluttershy’s Cutie Mark adorning them.

“Wow, they actually look really… good!” said Rarity.

“How much did those things cost ya?” Applejack asked.

“Not much,” said Rainbow. “We only bought scrap parts from Ponyville Motors. We built these things ourselves.”

“That’s why we were out of contact for most of the year,” said Fluttershy. “We wanted to surprise you. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” said Twilight. “Though I’m interested in how you convinced Fluttershy to work on such a dumb fad.”

“Fad?” Rainbow repeated. “Did you not see the highway systems? The D-Wheel stores? The freaking government agency setup around these? I would have thought Celestia would have mentioned the Security Task Force to you.”

“She did,” said Twilight. “I’ll admit the fad is popular and widespread, but I can’t see it catching on.”

“Yeah, the thing that saved the country will never catch on,” Rainbow replied. “Have you even tried a Riding Duel? Have you ever watched one?”

“Well, no,” said Twilight.

“Hypocrite!” Rainbow accused. “You told me not to judge things before trying them, didn’t you?”

“Alright, calm down, everypony,” said Pinkie.

“Wow, you built those all by yourselves?” Spike asked.

“Never knew you two were so good with your hooves,” said Applejack.

“Or with design,” said Rarity. “Particularly you, Rainbow. No offense.”

“None taken,” Rainbow shrugged.

“So are you two entering the WRGP?” Spike asked.

“We hope to,” said Fluttershy. “Would any of you like to join us?”

“Count me in!” said Applejack.

“And don’t forget me!” said Pinkie.

“I would love to join you, girls,” Rarity smiled. “I’m sure if we all work together, we can assemble some D-Wheels for it in time, yes?”

“Totally,” said Rainbow. “Fluttershy and I are practically pros at this.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Fluttershy, “but we are pretty good. These things do ride well.”

“Come on, Twilight,” urged Spike. “Say you’ll join them!”

“I…” said Twilight. “I don’t know…”

“Tell you what, Twilight,” said Rainbow. “Let me and Fluttershy show you a Riding Duel. Then you can be as judgmental or apologetic as you want. I’m betting it’s the second one, though.”

Twilight glanced around, to see all of her friends staring eagerly at her. She let out a sigh. “Looks like I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“What do you mean the highways are closed!?” Rainbow gasped.

“I’m sorry, Miss,” the Security officer said. “I’m just doing my job, and the Vice Director said to keep everypony off the highways near Ponyville.”

“How unfortunate,” Fluttershy mumbled.

This is great! Twilight though, a smile forming on her face. Now I don’t have to watch a Riding Duel after all!

“Hey, Ah have an idea!” said Applejack. “Rainbow, are those D-Wheels of yours any good on the dirt?”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow, “I guess. Why?”

“Well Ah have a track down at the farm,” said Applejack.

“The one where you practice for rodeos or hold the Sisterhooves Social, yes?” Rarity asked.

“That’s the one!” Applejack smiled. “Ah could clear it off for you, and you and Fluttershy could have a Riding Duel on that!”

“Oh, thank you, Applejack!” Fluttershy smiled.

Darn, Twilight thought, her smile dropping.

“Wonder why Security wanted to keep us off the highways, though?” Pinkie asked.

“Good question,” said Rarity.

Three white coated ponies draped in hooded white cloaks stood on the edge of the Ponyville Highway overlooking the Whitetail Woods. A large, stone tablet was in front of them, standing up straight in the middle of a crater.

“It appears the first has finally arrived,” the largest of them said. He had no tail or visible mane under his cloak, and his mouth was obscured by a long beard. His yellow eyes had a weary look to them as they stared intently at the tablet.

“Pity it’s Decima’s,” the smallest of them said. He was a young colt with a long red mane and tail partially visible even under the cloak. His green eyes gazed at the tablet in disappointment.

“Hah, it’s mine with a good reason, Nona,” the middle sized one, Decima, said. Strands of his grey mane were visible from under his hood, as was his horn. His red eyes were trained on the tablet, and a smirk crossed his face. A scar ran down his cheek from underneath his left eye. “Morta, looks like you an the brat will never be needed. Even god recognizes that fact.”

“Hmph,” the older one, Morta, snorted.

“Or maybe god just wanted to send the weakest one out first and get it over with,” the young colt, Nona, laughed.

Before Decima could retort, the sound of D-Wheels screeching to a halt came from behind them. The three turned around to see a line of Security officers had arrived. Heading them up was a frazzled looking unicorn.

“Didn’t I ask you to keep all unauthorized ponies off the highway?” Adviser asked.

“Sorry, Adviser, sir!” said one of the officers.

“I haven’t been an Adviser for a year,” Adviser mumbled. “Why does everypony keep calling me that?”

“Looks like the welcome party arrived,” said Nona.

“Perfect timing,” said Decima. “Take this tablet back for us, and don’t let anypony else see it.”

“Who do you think you are, giving orders like that!?” Adviser snapped, trotting up to confront the three hooded ponies.

Decima’s horn glowed in a red aura, and in a flash a sword was pulled out of nowhere, and pressed against Adviser’s throat. “And who do you think you are, questioning my orders?”

Adviser’s eyes were wide. “I… I’m known as Adviser. V-Vice Director of the Highway Security Task Force, and acting head of Security.”

“Acting head?” Nona repeated.

“Yes,” said Adviser. “Originally Spitfire was Director, but she quit to devote time to preparing her team for the WRGP.”

“So you’re in need of a new Director, huh?” Morta asked.

“Perfect,” said Decima, sheathing his sword. “You’ve got three of them.”

“I… what?” Adviser asked. “Who are you three?”

“Nona, Decima, and Morta,” Morta answered. “Your new Directors.”

“May I ask what kind of names those are?” Adviser said. “They’re pretty strange for Equestria.”

“Says the pony who’s name is literally an old job title!” laughed Nona.

“We’re… immigrants,” said Decima. “From Neightaly.”

“I don’t recall ever seeing the Neightalian Ambassador where robes like that,” said Adviser.

“I don’t recall him being a part of Yliaster,” said Decima.

“Yliaster?” Adviser repeated.

“Think of us as the world’s protectors,” said Morta.

“You didn’t really protect my neck,” Adviser muttered.

“Your head is still on it, isn’t it?” said Decima. “Now stop wasting time, and move this tablet to headquarters!”

“Y-yes, sir!” Adviser stuttered. “Officers, do as our new Directors requested, and move the stone tablet! Tell nopony about this!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Well, that was incredibly easy!” Nona laughed.

Decima smirked again, turning to look at the tablet once more.

“Everythin’s ready!” Applejack called as she finished painting a starting line across the track. She leapt over the fence, and sat down in the makeshift stands with the others.

“Thanks, AJ!” Rainbow smiled, before speeding out onto the track, with Fluttershy following close behind. The two of their D-Wheels to a stop by the starting line.

“A Riding Duel is pretty different from a normal Ground Duel,” said Fluttershy, “so we’ll give you a brief breakdown of the rules.”

“First off,” said Rainbow, sliding her deck into the auto-shuffler, “you may have heard that ordinary Spell cards can’t be used.”

“Yeah,” said Twilight, “so you can focus more on brute force, right?”

“Oh, no, quite the opposite,” said Fluttershy.

“Fact time!” smiled Rainbow. “When the Wonderbolts were developing the rules for Riding Duels, they created a special Field Spell that will always remain active for the duration of the duel, called Speed World. Speed World introduced Speed Counters which allow you to use Speed Spells.”

“And what if you don’t have the money to spend on both a D-Wheel AND new card packs for Speed Spells?” Twilight asked.

“You’re acting like the Wonderbolts didn’t think of that,” said Rainbow. “Geez, Twilight, they weren’t always rich and famous.”

“So what did they do, then, if not get rid of Speed Spells altogether?”

“Well, getting rid of Speed Spells would defeat the whole point, wouldn’t it?” said Rainbow. “When they release Riding Duels to the public they replaced Speed World with Speed World 2. Speed World 2 also helps you build up Speed Counters for Speed Spells, but also has its own effect to use if you have enough Speed Counters.”

“An actual duel will help you understand better,” said Fluttershy. “Ready, Rainbow?”

“Ready,” Rainbow smiled. “Field Spell, Speed World 2, set on!” The two pegasi clicked a button, and their D-Wheel’s monitors displayed a duel field.

“Duel Mode, on.”

Both D-Wheels sent out pulses of light, and the area around them seemed to have more defined colors.

“D-Wheels have an option for auto-pilot where it’ll drive a course on its own,” said Fluttershy. “But since the WRGP won’t allow that, Rainbow and I have been practicing without it.”

“We’ll choose who goes first by whoever gets the first corner,” said Rainbow.

“This is going to be so exciting!” said Pinkie.

“Good luck, Fluttershy!” Rarity called.

“Riding Duel, Acceleration!” The two pegasi sped off the starting line, speeding off down the track.

Rainbow quickly took the lead, and sped around the first corner. “The first turn is mine!”

Rainbow Dash: LP 4000. Fluttershy: LP 4000.

“My turn,” said Rainbow. “Draw! I summon Flamvell Firedog!” The magma dog erupted from the ground, and began running along side Rainbow. “Then, since I have a Flamvell, I Special Summon Neo Flamvell Origin!” The multicolored flame burst to life next to Rainbow, flickering in the wind. “I tune my level 2 Neo Flamvell Origin to my level 4 Flamvell Firedog!” Neo Flamvell Origin burst into two green Tuning Rings, which lined up next to Rainbow and began channeling the four level stars of Flamvell Firedog. “Burning flames of my heart, pierce through my opponent’s defenses!” A burst of light shot through the Tuning Rings. “Synchro Summon! Flamvell Uruquizas!” A large biped, with fists coated in flames rose out of the of light, and began drifting along next to Rainbow. [ATK2100. LV6] “I set three cards. Turn end.” The three cards flashed next to Rainbow, before seemingly turning invisible.

“That’s actually kind of cool,” Twilight admitted. “Makes a Trap feel more like a, well, trap.”

“Are my ears deceiving me?” Rarity asked. “Did you just admit to liking Riding Duels already?”

“No,” said Twilight. “They easily could have incorporated the invisible set card thing to Ground Duels.”

“My turn,” said Fluttershy. “Draw!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 1. Fluttershy: SPC 1]

“Continuous-Trap!” said Rainbow. “Full Throttle! During each Standby Phase, I gain a Speed Counter in addition to the one I’d receive from Speed World 2!” Rainbow’s D-Wheel shot forward at a slightly faster speed. [Rainbow Dash: SPC 2]

“I summon Wattgiraffe!” said Fluttershy. The light bulb eared giraffe with electric prongs on its head appeared, running alongside Fluttershy. [ATK1200. LV4] “Wattgiraffe can attack directly by his effect! Go, Wattgiraffe! Attack Rainbow Dash directly!” Wattgiraffe shot a blast of electricity off his horns, striking Dash’s D-Wheel and zapping the pegasus driver.

“Gah!” Rainbow winced. [Rainbow Dash: LP 4000 –> 2800]

“I set three cards,” said Fluttershy. “Turn end.”

“My turn,” said Rainbow. “Draw! Thanks to the combined effects of Speed World 2 and Full Throttle, I gain two Speed Counters instead of one like you!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 4. Fluttershy: SPC 2] “I activate Speed Spell - Overboost! I increase my Speed Counters by 6, but at the End Phase my Speed Counters will become one!” Rainbow Dash shot forward in another burst of speed. [Rainbow Dash: SPC 10]

“I’m still not seeing anything different from a regular duel other than you showing off how fast you can go,” said Twilight.

“Than watch carefully, Sparkle!” said Rainbow. “I activate Speed Spell – Rekindling! If I have at least five Speed Counters, I can Special Summon as many FIRE Monsters as I can from my Graveyard with 200 DEF or less! I Special Summon Neo Flamvell Origin and Flamvell Firedog back to the Field!” The magma dog once again ran next to Rainbow. [ATK1900. LV4] The multicolored flame reappeared next to her as well. [ATK500. LV2]

“So there are Speed Spell version of regular Spell cards, too?” Pinkie asked.

“They’re harder to use, though,” said Rarity. “Needing a certain amount of Speed Counters to use them in addition to whatever their normal conditions are.”

“Now then,” smiled Rainbow. “I activate Speed World 2’s effect! I remove 10 Speed Counters to destroy a card on the field! I destroy Wattgiraffe!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 0] Rainbow’s D-Wheel lost speed, and the blades meant to cut though the air sliced through Wattgiraffe instead.

“What!?” Pinkie gasped. “So Flutters is wide open!?”

“Battle!” said Rainbow. “Flamvell Firedog, attack Fluttershy directly!”

“Trap activate!” Fluttershy countered. “Wattkeeper! I Special Summon a level 4 or lower Watt from my Graveyard! I Special Summon Wattgiraffe!” The electrical giraffe rose up to run next to Fluttershy again. [ATK1200. LV4]

“Fine by me,” shrugged Rainbow. “Replay happens. Flamvell Firedog, attack Wattgiraffe!”

“I activate the effect of Honest from my hoof!” said Fluttershy. “By discarding him when a LIGHT Monster I control battles, that Monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the Monster its battling until the End Phase! Wattgiraffe gains 1900 ATK!” [ATK3100]

“What!?” Rainbow gasped, as Wattgiraffe shot electricity through Flamvell Firedog and into her. “Gah!” [Rainbow Dash: LP 2800 –> 1600]

“Can’t forget that there’s still Monster and Traps, RD!” Applejack called.

Rainbow muttered something under her breath in response. “Main Phase 2, I tune my level 2 Neo Flamvell Origin to my level 6 Flamvell Uruquizas!” Neo Flamvell Origin burst into two green Tuning Rings again, lining up next to Rainbow and channeling the level stars of Flamvell Uruquizas. “The ruler’s heartbeats now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!” A pulse of light shot through the rings. “Synchro Summon! Red Demon’s Dragon!” In a whirlwind of flames, the black and red dragon appeared. With a roar, he spread his wings, dispelling the flames before flying above Rainbow as she sped along the track. [ATK3000. LV8]

“Counter-Trap, activate!” said Fluttershy. “Wattcancel! I discard a Watt from my hoof to negate the Special Summon of Red Demon’s Dragon!”

“Counter-Trap!” Rainbow countered. “Flamvell Counter! I banish Neo Flamvell Origin to negate your Trap and destroy Wattcancel!”

“Darn,” Fluttershy mumbled. “Good one, Rainbow.”

“That was a good one,” Twilight mumbled.

“Did you say something, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“Huh?” said Twilight. “N-no.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, before returning her attention to the duel.

“During my End Phase,” said Rainbow, “Speed Spell – Overboost’s effect makes my Speed Counters become one, and Wattkeeper sends Wattgiraffe back to your Graveyard!” Wattgiraffe seemed to sink back into the ground. [Rainbow Dash: SPC 1]

“She managed to use what was meant to be a drawback to her advantage,” said Rarity. “I must say, I’m impressed.”

“My turn,” said Fluttershy. “Draw! [Rainbow Dash: SPC 3. Fluttershy: SPC 3] I summon Wattpheasant!” A light blue bird, with red feathers around its face, black tail feathers, and highlights of yellow scattered around its body appeared, flying along next to Fluttershy. [ATK1000. LV4] “Battle! Wattpheasant, thanks to its effect, can attack directly!” Wattpheasant flapped its wings, and sent a gust of electricity into Rainbow.

“Gah!” Rainbow gasped. [Rainbow Dash: LP 1600 –> 600]

“When Wattpheasant deals damage from a direct attack, I can banish a Monster from the field until the End Phase,” said Fluttershy. “I banish Red Demon’s Dragon!” Red Demon’s Dragon roared as the electrical gust temporarily paralyzed and blew it away.

“What good will that do her?” Applejack asked.

“Quick-Play Spell!” said Fluttershy. “Speed Spell – Burial from a Different Dimension! I remove three Speed Counters to target up to three Monsters that are banished and return them to their owner’s Graveyard! I return Neo Flamvell Origin and Red Demon’s Dragon to Rainbow’s Graveyard!” [Fluttershy: SPC 0]

“And since Red Demon’s Dragon isn’t banished anymore,” said Rarity, “it won’t come back during the End Phase!”

“Good one, Shy,” Rainbow smiled.

Fluttershy smiled back. “I end my turn. Your move, Dashie.”

“Alright,” said Rainbow. “My turn, draw!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 5. Fluttershy: SPC 1]

“Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sure seem to have gotten closer over the past year,” said Spike.

“Don’t you start this, too,” said Twilight. “Rarity’s matchmaking dream is bad enough.”

“I summon Flamvell Grunika!” A bipedal dragon appeared, flying next to Rainbow. It had a frill of flames on the back of its neck, as well as a tail of fire. [ATK1700. LV4] “Then, I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy! For every Speed Counter I have, one of my Monsters gains 200 ATK until the End Phase! Since I have 5 Speed Counters, Grunika gains 1000 ATK!” [ATK2700]

“Looks like Rainbow’s about to make a comeback!” said Pinkie.

“Battle!” said Rainbow. “Flamvell Grunika, attack Wattpheasant!” Grunika formed a ball of flames in its claws, tossing it at Wattpheasant. It shot through, and engulfed Fluttershy’s D-Wheel in flames.

“Gah!” Fluttershy gasped. [Fluttershy: LP 4000 –> 2300]

“When Grunika destroys a Monster by battle, I inflict damage equal to the destroyed Monster’s level times 200! Since Wattpheasant was level 4, you take 800 points of damage!”

“Ah!” Fluttershy gasped. [Fluttershy: LP 2300 –> 1500]

“Trap activate!” smiled Rainbow. “Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai! I release a FIRE Monster I control to deal damage equal to its original ATK! I release Flamvell Grunika! You take 1700 points of damage!”

“Counter-Trap, activate!” countered Fluttershy. “Seven Tools of the Bandit! I negate your Trap by paying 1000 Life Points!” [Fluttershy: LP 1500 –> 500]

“Uh oh,” said Rainbow. “I end my turn.”

“Rainbow Dash has left herself wide open,” said Rarity.

“If Fluttershy draws a Monster with at least 600 ATK,” said Applejack, “she wins.”

“My turn,” said Fluttershy. “Draw!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 7. Fluttershy SPC 2]

“What did you draw?” Rainbow asked.

“A Monster,” said Fluttershy. “I set a Monster, and end my turn.” Like the set Spells and Traps from before, the Set Monster’s card faded from view shortly after being played.

“Whew,” Rainbow sighed. “My turn, draw!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 9. Fluttershy: SPC3]

“That was a really close call,” said Pinkie. “Dashie has a chance to turn this around now.”

“She’s only got one card to do it, though,” said Applejack.

“That’s where you’re wrong, AJ!” Rainbow smiled. “Speed World 2’s effect! I remove seven Speed Counters to draw a card!” [Rainbow Dash: SPC 2]

“How many different effects does Speed World 2 have?” Pinkie asked.

“I activate Speed Spell – Vision Wind!” said Rainbow. “Since I have two Speed Counters, I can Special Summon a level 2 or lower Monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon Neo Flamvell Origin!” The multicolored flame burst to life next to Rainbow once more. “Then, I release Neo Flamvell Origin to Advance Summon Flamvell Fiend!” A blue, demonic looking ghoul appeared, drifting next to Rainbow. Strands of blue flames flew off the body and into the wind. [ATK2100. LV5] “Flamvell Fiend, attack Fluttershy’s Set Monster!”

A small, green grasshopper with a blue back and red eyes appeared. [DEF0. LV1] It was quickly incinerated by an orb of blue flames Flamvell Fiend threw at it.

"Watthopper!" Fluttershy gasped.

“When Flamvell Fiend destroys a Monster,” said Rainbow, “I deal damage equal to the total number of Pyro-Type Monsters in my Graveyard times 200! Since I have two; Flamvell Uruquizas and Neo Flamvell Origin, so you take 400 points of damage!”

“Gah!” Fluttershy gasped. [Fluttershy: LP 500 –> 100]

“Turn end,” said Rainbow.

“If Rainbow can survive one more turn, she’ll win, right?” Spike asked.

“Looks like it,” said Applejack.

“Don’t give up, Fluttershy!” Pinkie cheered.

“My turn,” said Fluttershy. “Draw! [Rainbow Dash: SPC 4. Fluttershy: SPC 4] I activate Speed World 2’s last effect!”

“Uh oh,” mumbled Rainbow.

“I remove four Speed Counters to deal damage equal to the number of Speed Spells in my hoof! I have one: Speed Spell – Lightwave Tuning. So you take 800 points of damage!” [Fluttershy: SPC 0] Bolts of electricity coursed around Fluttershy’s D-Wheel and shot out at Rainbow.

“Gah!” Rainbow gasped. [Rainbow Dash: LP 600 –> 0] Panels on the front of Rainbow’s D-Wheel slid open, steam shooting out of them. Rainbow’s screen display changed to read out the word ‘Defeated’ as it automatically skidded to a halt.

Fluttershy did a small loop around Rainbow as she slowed to a halt on her own. “I did it!”

“Heh,” Rainbow smiled. “Great job, Fluttershy.” She turned to look at the stands. “So what did you think of that, Twi- hey, where’s Twilight?”

“Spike’s gone, too!” said Rarity, eyes wide in surprise.

“She must’ve slipped away while we were distracted,” said Applejack.

“Aw, man!” Rainbow groaned. “How are we going to impress that mare? She’s suddenly more stubborn than Applejack!”

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing!” Rainbow laughed awkwardly.

Twilight shut the door of the library behind her, levitating Spike off her back, before trotting upstairs.

“Why’d you pull us away like that?” Spike complained. “You could’ve at least congratulated Fluttershy for winning like that!”

“Because,” Twilight sighed, trotting downstairs while levitating a bag of bits, a blush on her face, “it would be too embarrassing to admit that I really like and want to compete in Riding Duels!”

Spike snorted, before bursting out laughing. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, Twilight, you’re so-”

“Shut up!” Twilight interrupted. “Just hold the library down while I buy some Speed Spells and a D-Wheel.” She trotted out the door, before suddenly sticking her head back in. “And don’t tell anypony!”

“Fine,” Spike sighed, as the door slammed shut again. “How did she know what I planned to do?”

“About time the highways opened again,” the stallion complained. “I was supposed to be back home in Ponyville hours ago.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience, sir,” the Security officer said.

“Yeah, yeah,” the stallion replied, before speeding his D-Wheel onto the highway, and set off towards Ponyville. “I thought these highways were supposed to make things convenient.”

The sun had set by now, and the stallion soon found himself driving alone in the dark. Or at least, that’s what he thought. As he switched his headlights on to help him see, he saw an all black D-Wheel in front of him, a dark colored pony, dressed in a strange, black Riding Suit.

“Whoa!” the stallion gasped. “Hey, buddy, could you switch some lights on, at least? I almost hit you!”

“Hm, hm, hm,” the strange, dark pony snickered, his voice sounding oddly mechanical.

“What’s so funny?” the stallion asked, before his D-Wheel answered the question for him.

“Duel Mode, on. Speed World 2, imposed activation.”

“W-what?” the stallion stuttered, as the pulse of light shot out of the two D-Wheels.

“Duel!” the strange pony laughed.

A short while later, the Ponyville highway circuit was closed again, bright lights illuminating it as Security officers lifted a badly bruised stallion off the wreckage that used to be his D-Wheel, and onto a stretcher before taking him not to his home, but to the hospital.

Author's Notes:

Just a heads up, I wrote the rough draft for the whole second arc while on painkillers. So, even though I'm doing my best to touch it up, it may still seem a little weird at times. My apologies.