With Eyes of Blue

Once again, I found myself completely captivated by Twilight. And no, it wasn’t just because of her luscious legs. Or her amazing ass. Or her breathtaking beauty. No, no; it was the way she moved. It reminded me of an accomplished conductor leading an orchestra. The way she made the books and scrolls float around her, opening and closing, arranging themselves back and forth between shelves in different combinations at the behest of the sharp, precise waving and pointing of her delicate hands; until only a select few were left, neatly piled on a small, circular table. Spike had disappeared just a moment ago into one of the adjacent rooms; between that and Twilight’s focus on her task, I decided the best thing I could do was remain silent. Not that it bothered me; like I said before, I was completely enthralled by her display of magical prowess.

It wasn’t until Spike returned a couple of minutes later, carrying a metal tray with three thick sandwiches and three glasses filled with water, that I broke off from my trance. Without even taking her eyes away from a small scroll, Twilight got hold of a sandwich and a glass of water with her magic, while I accepted mine from Spike with a smile and a soft thank you. I glanced at the contents of the sandwich discreetly. There was a lot of green there. The bread crunched as I took a bite and munched slowly. Much to my surprise, it tasted surprisingly good. I swallowed and said. “This is great, Spike. What does it have?” He cleared his throat, raised an index finger and recited. “Sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, shredded cheese and black olives, between two slices of lightly toasted whole wheat bread.” I nodded. Thank God. For a moment I was afraid I was going to end up with my mouth filled with hay, grass or flowers. Spike turned his nose up and declared. “Not to boast, but it’s one of my finest recipes.”

It suddenly occurred me to ask. “Do you eat meat?” He shrugged and replied that gems, fruits and vegetables were enough for him. “That and Equestrians don’t eat meat.” Interesting. First the magic and now this. I wonder what else do “Equestrians” have in common with the ponies from the show. My thoughts were cut off when Twilight suddenly declared. “Done.” She commanded swiftly. “Spike, go get our supplies, please.” He nodded, finished his meal in three bites and gulped down the glass of water, almost choking in the process, before taking to the stairs upwards.

I glanced at Twilight, daintily wiping her mouth with a napkin, while trying to pick up the pace with my own food. I both, wanted and needed, to know more about this world and its inhabitants, but her demeanor made things difficult. She was far more reserved than I expected and did not ask anything beyond the most important questions. Not that I blamed her, considering her circumstances, but it made me I feel hesitant to ask. What if I blurt something I am not supposed to know, like a name or a place, and she ends up thinking I’m a spy or something worse? I had to tread carefully. I took a drink of water after finishing my sandwich and asked casually. “Say, do you think it’s a good idea, Twilight? To take on a whole town with just three people?”

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Don’t worry, I have a plan.” You don’t say? Fortunately for me, she continued unprompted. “Ponyville is a rural town and one of the major providers of food and rations for our forces.” She explained further. “Mostly apple derived products from Sweet Apple Acres.” The Apple family farm is still there, good to know. “I have been keeping an eye on the town’s levels of activity and nothing has changed beyond the fact all the food now goes for King Sombra.” She gritted her teeth. “No reinforcements or added magical defenses; just the townspeople forced to work for him against their will.” Twilight finished by stating. “There’s only one person there we need to worry about.” I nodded. So, King Sombra left somebody in charge? I attempted to steer the conversation towards the rest of the Mane Six. “Still, shouldn’t we try to gather a few more allies? Isn’t there another place where we could go ask for help?”

Twilight shook her head. “The capital city of Canterlot is close enough, but I doubt they would be able to spare soldiers between fighting on the front and trying to keep the city safe.” Alright. Time for the last question. “Any friends we could contact?” She removed her glasses and massaged her eyes. “My friends and I got separated in our efforts to contribute towards the fight.” She admitted sadly. “I haven’t seen them in a while.” I gulped. That’s enough for today. Damn it. How do the guys at the movies and novels do it? How do they know what to say to make their friends and allies feel better in moments like these?

Twilight extended her right hand and materialized a dark purple coat she put on. I smiled in amusement. She was one wand away from looking like a Hogwarts student. Twilight looked at me up and down and said. “I think you should wear one of these too.” Without waiting for an answer, she snapped her fingers and a blue coat of a similar design to hers appeared on my hands. I blinked in surprise and said. “Thanks.” The coat fit like a glove. Not only that, but it went perfectly with my black shoes, blue trousers and darker button shirt. Who would have thought being an office drone would have the benefit of making me look like the Duelist Kingdom version of Seto Kaiba with just a single extra piece of clothing? Now all I need is the looks, education, money, resources, etc. Baby steps, I guess.

Spike came down the stairs with a backpack easily twice his size. He didn’t seem bothered by the weight, curiously enough. Between his speed and this, it made me wonder if he was naturally stronger thanks to his race. I looked at Twilight and asked. “Do you have a map of the forest?” She finished adjusting a Duel Disk around her left arm, smiled and said. “Even better.” Twilight whistled softly and a small, brown owl came flying into the room through the open window, posing itself on her shoulder. My eyes widened as I recognized the bird. Twilight smiled and pointed at him. “Joe, this is Owlowiscious.” Then at me. “Owlowiscious, this is Joe.” Owlowiscious greeted me with a short hoot.

Without thinking, I leaned forward to better look at Owlowiscious, opened my mouth and, with my voice raised an octave, said. “He’s so cute.” Twilight stifled a laugh. Spike was far less restrained about it. What? Can’t a man have a weakness for cute things?

The canopy of trees formed a perfect dome above, allowing only half of the rays of the sun to touch the dirt trail, where we steadily made our way. Owlowiscious lead us, occasionally flying way ahead then coming back several seconds later to inform us the path was safe by means of a cheerful hoot.

I walked with Twilight at my side and Spike behind us. Despite the chorus of chirps and rustling of leaves coming from seemingly everywhere around us, I could not help but feel disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t hoping for a Manticore or a pack of Timberwolves to attack us so I could fend them off by throwing my trading cards at them, but after a while of walking around the Everfree Forest seeing nothing beyond trees and rocks, well, it gets kind of boring. I turned to Twilight and attempted to make some conversation. “Say, Twilight.” She turned to me. “You mentioned a couple of names back then.” I made a gesture with my hand, as if I was having some difficulty remembering them. “Starswirl and the Princesses?”

Twilight’s face lit up. “Starswirl the Bearded is the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era.” She kept going like an excited child talking about her favorite subject. “Not only he created more tan two hundred spells, but he also had the ability to travel through different worlds and all the information he documented from his visits has been employed to greatly advance research on nearly every single conceivable field, from agriculture and engineering to medicine and thaumaturgy.”

For some reason I pictured an old man with a long, white beard smiling mischievously and introducing himself as Starswirl the Bearded, before saying something along the lines of “Oh, but I believe on Earth you knew me as Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim!” followed by a joyful laugh. Twilight quickly added. “He also has a shelf in the Canterlot library of magic named after him!” I smiled and said. “You seem to know a lot about him.” She grinned cutely and said. “I’m a big admirer of his work.” From behind us, Spike muttered. “Understatement of the century.” Twilight shot him a glare. I tried to keep the conversation going. “And what about the Princesses?”

Twilight pondered for a moment, then began narrating. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land.” Wait a minute. “To do this, the eldest, Princess Celestia, used her powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger, Princess Luna, brought out the moon to begin the night.” Is she really telling me the story of “The Mare in the Moon”? “Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects.” Awesome. I smiled with delight. “But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. Equestrians relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked being of darkness: Nightmare Moon.”

Okay. Not really different from what I already know. “She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night, subject Equestrians to a perpetual slumber and torment them with endless nightmares.” I gulped. That took a turn for the dark. “Reluctantly, the elder sister raised her hand towards the younger and the two clashed in a battle that shook both, land and sky.” I nodded dumbfounded. “In the end, the elder sister defeated the younger, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both, sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.”

Twilight looked at me expectantly. It was a good start, but I still had to play dumb. “So, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the rulers of Equestria, who keep the peace and harmony by, among other things, controlling the cycle of the sun and the moon respectively?” She nodded in approval. “Very good.” I felt like a little kid getting a listening comprehension test. “But you mentioned Princess Luna was fighting King Sombra’s forces. What happened to Nightmare Moon then?” Twilight smiled nostalgically. “It was predicted Nightmare Moon would return on the longest day of the thousandth year since her defeat, which was also the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration.” Here we go again. “Princess Celestia had entrusted me with overseeing the preparations for the celebration on Ponyville, as well as making some friends.” She chuckled at the last part. “Just as I expected, Nightmare Moon returned that very night, announcing herself to the whole town before retreating towards the Castle of the Two Sisters, her and Celestia’s old home located here, on the Everfree Forest.” Right. Everything looks like it’s going to play exactly like in the show, then the sudden twist hits me like a slap on the back of the head. “My friends and I gave chase, fought Nightmare Moon and managed to defeat her, purifying the darkness and reverting her back into Princess Luna.” Told you. I raised a hand. “You fought her?” Twilight nodded. “I mean, you really fought her?” I made a few punching motions. She smiled in embarrasement. “Well, I fought using my magic, but yes.”

Wow. Seriously. They beat the darkness out of her. Literally. I suddenly felt very thankful for the fact they had turned to settle this conflict by playing a card game. Still, something seemed amiss here. The Elements of Harmony. Twilight did not mention them at all. Does this mean Celestia and Luna did not find them? Did they defeat Discord without them? Or they simply do not exist and neither does the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony? Moreover, if my memory served me well, Nightmare Moon headed towards the Castle of the Two Sisters because that’s where she was hoping to find and destroy them. But if the elements do not exist here, or haven’t been awakened, then why did she go there? Was she looking for something else? My musings were interrupted when Twilight tripped on a small root and fell right on her ass. “Ouch.” I extended my hand and helped her stand up, while discreetly taking a peek between her legs. Guess some habits from high school aren’t as dead as I believed them to be.

The rays of the sun intensified as we reached the edge of the forest, welcoming our presence like a shining red carpet. Spike had taken the lead, with Owlowiscious comfortably perched atop his backpack.

Twilight must have noticed my silence and the distant look in my eyes, because she called my name. I replied with a soft, questioning “hmm” before turning to look at her with a smile. She paused for a second and said. “I wanted to apologize.” I tilted my head in confusion. “I was the one who brought you here yet I have been practically ignoring you all this time.” I smiled nonchalantly and said. “That’s okay; I don’t think I would be interested in socializing either if I were in your shoes.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Joe.” She put her hand over her chest. “Trust me when I say I would love to hear more about you and your world once we put an end to this war.” I chuckled embarrassed. I’m afraid she would get bored with me pretty fast.

Twilight smiled and asked. “Do you have a family? Friends?” I nodded. “Mother, father and a younger brother; several cousins, aunts and uncles, childhood friends; pretty much the whole package.” She nodded slowly and asked. “Do you live with them?” I replied. “I live alone. My parents are on a trip with my brother, my friends are busy with their jobs and I’m on three weeks of vacation starting from today.” Just in case, I added. “So, I don’t think anybody will be notice my absence for a while.”

Spike suddenly announced. “We’re here!” As Twilight and I hurried up towards the exit of the Everfree Forest, I let out a small, ashamed sigh. The truth is, before she called my name, I wasn’t exactly pondering about the mysteries of this world, the nature of magic or even new strategies to defeat future foes. Nope. Remember that small peek I took? Yeah, well, turns out Twilight is not wearing panties. And her pantyhose are not exactly the kind that does much to conceal her naughty bits. Oh, and she has her pubic hair neatly trimmed in the shape of a small triangle. Yep. Let’s see you try to keep that out of your mind.

Ponyville was visible in the distance. Spike took out a small, portable telescope from his backpack and handed it to me. I placed it over my right eye and observed. Funny. The whole town looked nowhere near as bad as “The Cutie Re-Mark” part one showed; somewhat desolate, yes, but no houses on deplorable conditions or Sweet Apple Acres turned into a factory. Hmm. Twilight did say they had the advantage until Sombra started bringing monsters to life. That would certainly explain it. Just then, I spotted a tall, robust man steadily pulling a wagon. His whole head was fully covered by a brutal looking, jet-black helmet with two visors in the shape of thin, glowing lines; giving it the appearance of a pair of eyes narrowing menacingly. There were more men, women and children; every single one of them wearing the same helmet. They moved from one side to another, carrying boxes, barrels and bags filled with apples, other fruits and vegetables. Seeing them reminded me of a colony of ants. No, they were more like automatons. I gulped and handed Spike the portable telescope back.

Twilight informed. “Those helmets are dark magic artifacts King Sombra uses to control the minds of others.” I nodded grimly. On the show, those things may have looked cool or even silly, but here they were downright terrifying. I went ahead and asked her. “What’s the plan?” She stood in silence, with her eyes locked on Ponyville for a long time, enough to make me think she did not hear me. Just before I opened my mouth, she turned to me and said. “They know about Spike and me, but not you. We’ll distract them, and then you can go in.” That’s it? It sounds a bit too simple. I nodded and watched puzzled how Twilight detached her Duel Disk from her arm and put it inside the backpack. Spike did the same and the two of them marched towards the town. Owlowiscious hopped and perched himself on my right shoulder. Things only got more confusing for me when I saw they made no attempts to hide or be stealthy. They just walked right into Ponyville, stood on the middle of the street and raised their hands.

One of the “drones” saw them and immediately dropped the box she was holding. Several others followed. The way they moved in unison sent a chill down my spine. Soon, Twilight and Spike were completely surrounded. My heart was beating furiously inside my chest. It felt like they were about to jump and start tearing them apart like a pack of wild dogs on a couple of deer. But, contrary to my expectations, the drones merely escorted Twilight and Spike deeper into Ponyville, while forming a tight circle around the two of them.

Was this my cue to act? Owlowiscious hooted and took flight. I ran straight into Ponyville and followed the crowd from a safe distance while hiding between the houses. More and more drones appeared until it seemed the entire population of Ponyville was marching on a parade. It was then I noticed the smaller details: the flowers and plants withering and dying, the abandoned carts and the dust and dirt that covered the windows. Not only that, but several of the drones looked like they should have changed their clothes a couple of days ago. Where were they taking them? My answer came in the form of countless apple trees. Sweet Apple Acres, huh? The whole place seemed like it had received far more attention than the rest of the town. The crowd stood around the main entrance of the farm house, completely blocking any possible way of escape Twilight and Spike could’ve had. I ducked behind a pile of bales of hay and watched attentively.

A young girl came out of the farmhouse, flanked by an elderly woman and a child, both wearing the black helmet. She wore brown boots, blue jeans and a short sleeved, white shirt; a high-crowned, wide-brimmed brown hat covered her head. Her long, blonde hair, tied into a ponytail, fell down her back like a golden cascade. She had nothing to envy Twilight in the beauty department. Her skin was pleasantly tanned, obviously from working on the farm, while her tight jeans and shirt emphasized her toned thighs and ample breasts, giving her quite the hourglass figure. She looked at both, Twilight and Spike, grinned and said with a noticeable accent. “How mighty kind of you to finally pay us a visit, Twilight.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Applejack? There was no doubt about it. But what was with her expression? Her grin was feral and her emerald green eyes were filled with animosity. I kept watching as Twilight confronted her. “That’s enough, Applejack! This is not like you!” Applejack crossed both arms over her chest and asked mockingly. “Oh, really?” Twilight insisted. “The Applejack I know is a friendly and honest person who would never think of turning Ponyville into this—this labor camp!” Spike nodded fiercely in agreement.

Applejack snorted. “Don’t make me laugh, sugarcube.” She spread her arms. “Ponyville is better than ever! Everybody is workin’ for Sweet Apple Acres in perfect harmony! There’s no arguin’ or foolin’ around, only the feelin’ of a job well done.” Applejack shook her head. “Ah’ thought you of all people would understand that, but ah’ guess you just need the right motivation.” She snapped her fingers and six drones leapt on Twilight and Spike, taking away the backpack from the later and holding them both from their arms and shoulders. I watched horrified as two more drones approached carrying each one a black helmet. Spike called fearfully. “Twilight?” She stood firm and assured. “It’s okay, Spike.” They did not make any attempt to resist.

My hands were shaking. Was this part of her plan too? Or did she make a mistake? What the hell was I supposed to do now? Release some sheep to cause a stampede? Ride a cow and charge towards the crowd? Bombard them with apples? A sudden whimper got my attention. A scruffy and dirty dog sat next to me, looking with exhausted eyes. I frowned as I recognized the animal. “Winona?” Her ears perked up at the sound of her name and she wagged her tail weakly.

It was as if a switch flipped inside my head. I stood up fully and shouted. “That’s enough!” The drones froze and turned in unison, watching me intently as I marched towards them. Spike blinked in surprise while Twilight smiled confidently.

Applejack quirked an eyebrow and said. “Ah’ don’t think I’ve seen you before.” I said drily. “My name is Joe.” She chuckled. “Are you lookin’ for a job, Joe? We got plenty of vacants!” I wordlessly activated my Duel Disk. Cut me some slack, will you? The whole “witty lines” thing is harded than it seems. Applejack glanced at Twilight. “Ah’ figured you would have a plan, but ah’ gotta say ah’ was expectin’ somethin’ more impressive.” Twilight did not say anything.

I gritted my teeth and growled. “Why don’t you let your cards do the talking?” Applejack laughed out loud. Oh, come on! I’m pretty sure nobody laughed at Kaiba or Yugi when they said stuff like that! She made a gesture and the old lady at her side handed her a Duel Disk, which she adjusted around her left arm. As she walked forward, the crowd spread open, forming a circle around us. Twilight and Spike were still firmly held in place. Applejack ignited her Duel Disk and our life points appeared above us at 4000 each. She smirked and said. “Ah’ don’t mind taking a break once in a while.” We drew our initial hand of five cards. “And as soon as I’m done with you, we’re all goin’ back to work.” With that declaration, she drew her first card and immediately summoned Amazoness Sword Woman. The tall woman swinged her large blade single-handedly once before letting it rest casually over her broad shoulders. Applejack declared the end of her turn.

An “Amazoness Deck”? Interesting. I knew one or two things about them. I drew a card and examined my hand. Minotaurus, Saggi the Dark Clown and La Jinn the Demonic Spirit of the Lamp; Hypnotism, Cyclops and one copy of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I made a mental note of trimming the deck later before summoning my first monster. “Minotaurus!” The tall, half-man half-bull appeared on the field with a loud bellow.

Amazoness Sword Woman’s effect would transfer all the battle damage to me, true, but with a difference of only 200 attack points, it was a small price to pay for the field advantage. I ordered the attack of my monster. “Axe Crusher!” The Minotaurus’ axe easily cut through the amazon’s sword and body; shards of her broken blade flying everywhere, with a single one of them grazing my left side and taking my life points down to 3800.

A sudden sharp pain assaulted my side. I couldn’t even scream. The cards fell from my hands as I held my left side tightly and dropped on my knees. What the hell? I knew this thing was pretty realistic, but it wasn’t like this when I dueled Spike! From the sidelines, Twilight said urgently. “It’s an illusion, Joe! It’s not real!” Not real? I looked at my right hand. Blood. You have to be kidding me. Not real? How the hell can this not be real when I’m feeling the warm and wetness of my blood with my own hands?

Applejack chuckled. “Hey now, you ain’t workin’ for me if you can’t take a bit of roughing, partner!” She went ahead and began her turn. “Draw! Amazoness Chain Master!” The muscular woman appeared on her side of the field, holding a chain with a large spike on one end and glaring at me. Applejack continued by playing Amazoness Curse Master, swapping the attack values of our monsters. She ordered her monster. “Chain Dance of Death!” The Amazoness Chain Master swung her chain overhead and lauched it forward with astonishing speed, nailing the Minotaurus on the ribs.

The attack took another 200 points of my life, leaving me with 3600, but as I doubled over and struggled to breathe, I could’ve sworn I lost a million. Applejack said something, don’t ask me what. I was so focused on bearing the pain that her voice, as well as that of Twilight and Spike, was like a whisper to me. I needed to defend. That was the only thing I could think of. I slowly picked up my cards and drew one from my deck. Clone Reproduction. Good. I set it and put Saggi the Dark Clown face-down. I muttered. “I’m done.”

Applejack swiftly drew a card. “I think I’m goin’ to put you on toilet cleanin’ duty.” She activated the spell Bait Doll. Damn it. My Clone Reproduction was forcibly activated and destroyed. She shuffled Bait Doll back into her deck and summoned Amazoness Pet Tiger. The large, one-eyed feline roared as its attack points went up to 1900. I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth. First came the sound of my monster getting ripped to shreds, then the pain of the chain hitting my back and putting my life points on 2100.

How did this happen? One minute I was walking tall and now I’m curled up and with my head nearly touching the ground. I glanced at Twilight and Spike. What was she trying to tell me? “Dark magic! It’s King Sombra’s specialty! It’s stimulating your brain to create the hallucination of pain!” He did some kind of illusion stuff on the show too, right? I found myself staring at their faces. Their expressions of worry, pain and fear. Then the realization hit me like a fist. They had dueled like this themselves, didn’ they? They had experienced this kind of pain. I picured them both on the ground, in pain and struggling like I was right now. A feeling of shame, followed by anger came over me.

I took a breath. One, two, three. Left leg first, then the right one. I stood up once again with both arms at my sides and declared. “Not yet.” Twilight and Spike smiled in relief. I shouted. “Draw!” I examined my newly drew card. It would do. I set a monster face-down and finished my turn.

Applejack chuckled. “Not bad. I’ll promote you to pickin’ apples.” She drew a card, summoned Amazoness Sage, increasing the attack points of her Amazoness Pet Tiger to 2300, and commanded. “Rip him to shreds!” I smirked as my face-down monster was revealed. “Magic Lamp!” The Pet Tiger made a sharp turn and charged at the Amazoness Chain Master, who launched her chain at the last minute and snatched the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand, before the tiger took her down with a single slash to the neck.

Applejack didn’t seem bothered by her life points going drastically down, from her initial 4000 to 1700, thanks to the battle damage and the cost of the Amazoness Chain Master’s effect. She waved the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card with a smirk and taunted. “I’m definitely callin’ this little fella on my next turn!” Damn it. That was a smart move. She must have seen it when I dropped my cards.

I looked at my deck. So this is how it’s going to be? Betting everything on a draw with my life and that of dozens of people at stake? What did Kaiba say in moments like these? Shit, I don’t remember. I held the top card of my deck and pulled with all my strenght. “DRAW!” I looked at the card and smiled. Guess all those fancy moves do pay off. I summoned La Jinn the Demonic Spirit of the Lamp with the effect of my Magic Lamp and sacrificed them both. “Come, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Seto Kaiba’s best monster appeared on the field with a roar that shook the ground. Its scales shone under the light of the sun like the finest diamond. Twilight and Spike stood in awe at the majestic beast, and I finally understood why Kaiba likes to plaster it on everything he owns.

Applejack gritted her teeth. “Ah’ can’t believe it!”

Imagine every single upset you had in your life. The kind you bottled up because you had no choice or figured it wasn’t worth it. Maybe dealing with a particularly nasty customer or that reckless cyclist that nearly made you crash. Imagine taking all those emotions and releasing them at once with just two words. “BURST STREAM!” The Blue-Eyes White Dragon reared its head back and fired a stream of lightning, completely disintegrating the Amazoness Pet Tiger. Applejack staggered backwards, her life points going down to 600. I played Hypnotism and declared. “It’s over, Applejack! You won’t be able to stop my next attack!”

Applejack glared at me and drew a card, examining it briefly before smirking and taunting. “Oh yeah?” She summoned a second Amazoness Sword Woman and declared her attack on my Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I closed my eyes. Twilight and Spike called my name. The pain coursed all over my body. I could not fail. My father would not forgive me, my mother would be heartbroken and my brother would be angry beyond words. My friends would miss me. Spike would probably be upset he didn’t get to duel me again. Twilight…no, I don’t want to think about it.  I opened my eyes. We both now had 600 life points left. Applejack was in shock. I asked. “Anything else?” I took her silence as a reply, drew my card and pointed my finger at her Amazoness Sage. “Burst Stream.” Lightning flashed and the sound of thunder echoed as my Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacked.

I sat down, my body feeling like a sack of gravel, and looked at my right hand. Not a single drop of blood. Guess it was an illusion after all. I looked up, my Blue-Eyes had vanished and Applejack had been knocked down. All around us the inhabitants of Ponyville came back to their senses, the black helmets having been shattered into countless pieces. Was it the power of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon?

Twilight hurriedly went to check on Applejack while Spike did the same for me. "Joe! Are you okay?" I nodded and smiled. Damn it. I was just too tired to say something cool.