With Eyes of Blue

I wiped the fog from the mirror and stared at my reflection. Not a single scratch or mark on my sides or my back. Yet it felt so real. I tied the towel to my waist while thinking about all cards out there that could inflict direct damage to my life points; like Torture Wheel and Fire Ball. What would happen if my opponent used those? Would I feel the pain of my bones breaking or my flesh burning? And what if I lost?

A voice from the other side of the bathroom’s door interrupted my thoughts. “Joe? I’m leaving your clothes on the bed.” I quickly replied. “Thank you, Big Mac.”

Big MacIntosh was a tall and robust young man with tanned skin. He had short reddish hair and the same emerald green eyes as his sister, Applejack. Mac wore brown work boots, blue jeans and a short sleeved, red lumberjack shirt. Despite his size, that made you feel like he could pick you up and threw you over the horizon, he carried himself in the same calm and easy-going way he displayed on the show.

The guest room was barely furnished, with only a single bed, a nightstand and a small wardrobe. Nonetheless, it was quite cozy. I even had my own bathroom, complete with sink, toilet and a showerhead. All in all, it was pretty much all I could ask for.

Just like Mac said, every single piece of my clothing, the coat Twilight gave me included, was neatly folded in a pile on the bed. I could even smell the perfume of the soap they used to wash it. Apple scented, of course. I smiled appreciatively. After yesterday’s incident, Applejack insisted I had to stay and rest in her house. The fact the Golden Oak Library was in the middle of the Everfree Forest made her offer difficult to resist.

Still wrapped in a towel, I approached the nearby window, from where the light of the morning sun illuminated nearly every corner of the room. I could see the tall and thick trees, their branches filled to the brim with big, juicy apples. The whole field was so full of life. No wonder Applejack often contented herself with sitting down and gazing at them for hours.

I turned around and almost had a stroke when I saw three young girls of about fourteen years-old standing in front of me. Both of my hands instinctively grasped the knot of my towel. The Cutie Mark Crusaders? Yeah, ponies or not, there was no way I could mistake them. Applebloom, who I had met yesterday, had long, bright red hair tied with a pink ribbon and amber colored eyes. She wore brown shoes, blue jean shorts and a yellow shirt. Curiously enough, she lacked the tan her older sister and brother had. Scootaloo had short, messy purple hair and brown eyes. She wore grey sneakers, green gym shorts and a black shirt. She had a band aid on both knees and elbows. I guess scooter accidents happen. Finally, Sweetie Belle had long, curly light purple hair and light green eyes. She wore sandals and a pure white sundress that went down below her knees.

Applebloom announced cheerfully. “Girls, this is Joe.” She then pointed at her companions. “Joe, these are mah’ friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” I meekly waved at them with my right hand, while keeping a firm grasp on the towel’s knot with my left, and said. “Hi, girls.” Applebloom put both hands on her hips, puffed out her chest and said with pride. “See? Ah’ told you we had a human living in our house!” Right. Where’s my share of the admission ticket sales?

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle approached me from the sides. The former with both hands crossed over her chest and a frown of suspicion on her face, and the later with both hands behind her back and tilting her head with curiosity. Sweetie Belle said. “Are you sure he’s from another world? He doesn’t look too different to me.” I felt a pair of hands moving my towel around. “Whoa!” I jumped against the wall, once again grasping the knot of my towel with both hands. Scootaloo blinked in bewilderment and said. “He doesn’t have a Cutie Mark.” Both, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at me with a mixture of surprise and fascination.

I asked. “Cutie Mark?” I already knew about them, but since I still had to play dumb, the question seemed appropiate. Applebloom replied. “Yep! They show our special talent.” Sweetie Belle added. “And every Equestrian has one.” I nodded slowly. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen a single Cutie Mark since I arrived here.

Scootaloo must have mistaken my thoughtful silence with disbelief since she said. “Here, look!” Much to my surprise, she turned her left side towards me and pulled down her shorts below her knees. “See? This is my Cutie Mark!” Applebloom followed suit, pulling her shorts down to her knees, and Sweetie Belle was last, lifting her skirt up to her waist.

Now, I would like to tell you how I immediately noticed they all had the Cutie Marks they obtained in “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”, but I believe the order my brain processed the information went like this. They all had really cute asses. Scootaloo was going commando, Applebloom was wearing white cotton panties, which she pulled down along with her shorts, and Sweetie Belle was wearing bright pink panties.

So yeah, for nearly ten seconds I, an adult man, stood dressed with only a towel and being practically flashed by three teenage girls. I’m pretty sure you could’ve cut my awkwardness with a plastic butter knife. I nodded slowly and said. “Cool.” The girls all covered themselves and I began breathing again. I shook my head and said. “We, humans, do not have Cutie Marks like you.” The three girls looked at each other in confusion. Sweetie Belle asked. “How do you know what your special talent is?” I shrugged and said. “Trial and error, I guess.”

Scootaloo asked. “What’s your special talent then?” I dunno. Paperwork? Before I could answer, Applebloom said enthusiastically. “If you don’t know, we can help you!” I blinked. The three girls looked at each other, nodded and struck a pose. They declared altogether. “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Applebloom said. “Our speciality is helping others find their special talents!” Sweetie Belle added. “No matter how difficult it gets!” Scootaloo finished. “Or how long it takes!” I nodded with an amused smile. That was catchy. “Thank you, girls. But I’m pretty sure my special talent is Duel Monsters.” That wasn’t very accurate. I haven’t participated on a single tournament or played with anybody beyond my brother, who won two thirds of all our games, but I needed to say something to get these three out of my back. As fascinating as this conversation was, I was still wearing nothing beyond a towel.

The girls deflated. Applebloom noted. “That explains how you beat mah’ sister.” Suddenly, Scootaloo snapped her fingers in realization. “Wait! That means you can teach us everything there’s to know about the game!” What? Sweetie Belle nodded quickly. “All your secret combos and tactics!” I haven’t even finished checking this deck yet! The girls looked at me with pleading eyes. I sighed in defeat. “Sure.” The three of them cheered loudly. Applebloom pointed a finger at me and declared. “We’ll get ready and come back for you, okay?” I nodded. Satisfied, they rushed out of the room. I let out a breath of relief. Thank God. It was getting cold in here. That and the last thing I needed was somebody coming in and asking me to take a seat over there.

Now fully dressed, I went down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I found Twilight and Spike sitting around the dining table and waiting for me. She was not wearing her coat or her glasses, her jacket was partially unbuttoned and she looked somewhat dishveled. He wasn’t much better, resting his head on the table with both arms hanging lazily at his sides.

Spike grinned widely. “Hey, Joe.” I grinned back and we bumped fists. Twilight smiled. “Hi, Joe.” She tilted her head and asked. “Feeling better now?” I nodded as I took a seat between the two of them. The table was filled with plates containing several kinds of apple dishes, from slices of apple pie and apple fritters to apple dumplings and apple crisps; plus two glass jars filled with water and apple juice respectively.

I immediately thought of Granny Smith and how she asked me if I liked apples. She was an elderly lady around her eighties; filled with wrinkles and with her long, white hair neatly tied into a bun. She wore sandals with yellow socks up above her knees, a light green skirt and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Finally, she also had an orange handkerchief tied around her neck. Despite her advanced age, Granny Smith brimmed with energy and had a strenght you wouldn’t expect from a thin, little old lady. Suffice to say my right hand needed five whole minutes to fully recover from her friendly shake.

Twilight told me Applejack was busy and she would join us shortly. She rested both arms over the table and said solemnly. “In the meantime, I imagine you must have several questions.” Spike quickly raised his right hand. He whined. “Can we please eat first, Twilight?” She chidingly called his name and he groaned. Twilight let out an exasperated sigh, but before she could say anything else, her stomach growled audibly. I stiffled a chuckle. She blushed slightly and explained. “We were busy putting the Golden Oak Library back in place, so we haven’t had anything to eat yet.” I smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay, why don’t we eat first then talk?” Spike took my words as his cue and began wolfing down on the apple dumplings before Twilight called his name again and he apologized. Or at least that’s what I thought; it was difficult to understand him with his mouth full and all. Smiling in amusement, I grabbed an apple fritter, took a bite and munched. Yep. It looked good and tasted even better. I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for receiving this much kindness and hospitality in such a short time.

We enjoyed the food in silence for a while. Once it seemed everybody was satisfied, Twilight calmly wiped her mouth and began explaining unprompted. “As you probably guessed, Applejack was the one who drove us out of Ponyville two weeks ago.” I took a gulp of apple juice, wiped my mouth and listened attentively. “She had left to deliver an order of half a dozen apple barrels to a garrison of Royal Guards stationed at the nearby town of Hollow Shades, but when she came back, she was different and, what’s worse, accompained by Sombra’s forces.” She crossed both arms over her chest. “The attack took us by surprise and we had no choice but to retreat deep into the Everfree Forest.” I leaned forward, resting both arms over the table. Twilight continued. “After watching you duel Spike, I came to the conclusion the best course of action was to distract her so you could sneak in and challenge her directly.” I nodded and asked tentatively. “What about the duel I had with her?” Her expression turned grim. “What you experienced back then was a Game of Darkness.” I frowned in bewilderment. A Game of Darkness? Like the ones used by Dark Bakura and Dark Malik to torment his opponents? Twilight explained. “It happens when a Duel Disk absorbs enough dark magic.” I put my right clenched right hand over my mouth and glared at the table. Unbelievable. First the card game, then the Duel Disks and now the Ancient Egyptian Magic too? What else could there be?

My concentration was broken when Spike asked meekly. “You’re not angry, are you, Joe?” I tilted my head and looked at him puzzled. “Twilight did not mean for you to get hurt or anything.” He added. “She just didn’t see it coming.” I blinked and turned to Twilight. She was looking down, biting her lower lip with an expression of shame. Did she feel guilty for the pain I felt on that duel?

I smiled and said. “I’m not angry.” I scratched the back of my neck in embarrassement. “In fact, I’m kind of honored.” Both, Twilight and Spike, looked at me in confusion. “I mean, the whole plan would’ve fallen apart if I decided to run away instead of following you or if I had lost the duel, right? But you still choose to trust me, a guy you knew for less than a couple of hours, with your lives and the fate of the entire town.” I shrugged and grinned. “How could I possibly feel angry after receiving those sentiments?” Damn, that was cheesy; I’m going to need a lot of practice before pulling another speech.

Spike grinned proudly and slapped me on the back. Ouch. Twilight gave me that glowing smile of hers that made you feel like getting lost in her eyes. She said. “Thank you, Joe.” I felt my cheeks heating up. “It was nothing.” Just in case, I went ahead and asked. “Does Applejack know how to use dark magic?” Twilight shook her head. “Definitely not, but it would be possible to achieve the same results by infusing a Duel Disk with said magic. Still, that’s not the thing that baffles me the most about this incident.” I frowned and asked. “What is it?” She looked at me. “Applejack was not wearing a helmet, remember?” I blinked. That’s true. Twilight continued. “I have no doubt she was under the influence of dark magic, but I have no records of King Sombra controlling others by different means.” I scratched my chin as I pondered. “So, either Sombra learned some new magic.” Twilight finished my sentence. “Or that was the work of somebody else.”

A sudden bark caught our attention. Winona came running into the kitchen. The dog’s fur was pristine and was she was full of her usual energy, perhaps even moreso. Soon, Applejack came jogging behind her. “Sorry ‘bout the late, everybody!” My jaw dropped. It’s amazing how different people look when they’re not trying to kill you with a card game. She was far more beautiful now with that cheerful smile across her face instead of the hateful grin from yesterday. Not only that, but her arms, legs and ass were in much better shape than what I thought. Her white shirt was tied up, revealing her well defined abs. All in all, she could easily pass for a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. Last but definitely not least, she was soaking wet, to the point that her shirt had turned practically transparent. “Ah’ was busy fixin’ the sprinklers!” That certainly explains it.

Applejack sat down, took a big gulp of apple juice straight from the jar and asked. “Did you sleep well, Joe?” I nodded rapidly. Look at her face. She’s got a pretty face. Look at it. “Great! Ah’ was afraid the room may have been a bit too bare for your like.” I shook my head rapidly and said. “It was perfect, Applejack. I really appreciate what your family has done for me.” She smiled. “You’re welcome, sugarcube. It’s the least we could do after you helped us.” I gulped and clenched my fists. Her pink, puffy nipples were perfectly visible and contrasting beautifully with her tanned breasts. Applejack grabbed an apple fritter and took a bite out of it. She spoke with her mouth half full. “Everybody’s been workin’ hard to put Ponyville back in shape, and ah’ been tryin’ to help as much as ah’ could.” I know! Think about card games. There’s the Black Magician Girl—damn it, not that one! She swallowed and sighed. “It’s the least I could do.”

Twilight frowned with concern and asked. “Have you managed to remember anything else about that day, Applejack?”

Applejack looked down and shook her head. “I don’t remember anythin’ sides of wakin’ up and findin’ out ah’ had turned into a consarned slave driver.” She gritted her teeth and slammed the table with her right hand, making the three of us jump in our seats. I have no doubt she could have easily broken the thing in half if she tried.

Twilight bit her lower lip, Spike gulped and even Winona let out a whimper of sympathy. I gritted my teeth. Mind control was certainly troublesome in the show, but I never thought about how terrible it would be for those affected. My brain worked at full capacity to think of who could have done such thing. Was it Discord? The Changeling Queen? Sirens? Was I dealing with the unknown here? Or just the familiar in a different way?

The kitchen was in silence. I shook my head. I needed to say something to change the mood. “Hey, Applejack.” All the presents turned to look at me. “Twilight told me how you once fought a terrible enemy called Nightmare Moon.” Applejack nodded. “Eeyup! It was a hard fight, but we won with some good ol’ teamwork.” I made a couple of punching motions and asked. “It’s true you beat her into submission?” Applejack laughed loudly. Success. “Well, ah’ ain’t one to boast, partner.” She turned sideways on her seat and lifted her amazing legs up. The pose reminded me of one of those pin up girls. Damn it, why did I have to forget my cell phone? “But ah’ made sure to show her what "Bucky McGillycuddy" and "Kicks McGee" could do!” We all shared a good laugh. Nice to see that, hooves or not, Applejack still gave her legs those nicknames.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders came running into the kitchen, all of them with a Duel Disk adjusted to their left arms. Sweetie Belle announced. “We’re here!” Scootaloo lifted her Duel Disk with a grin and said. “It’s time to duel!” Applebloom finished. “Eeyup!” Applejack lifted an unamused eyebrow and asked. “Did you three finish your chores?” They flinched simultaneously and she grumbled. I quickly interjected. “I’m sorry, Applejack. It’s my fault; I promised I’d play with them.” Applejack smiled. “Alright, you three can have a break.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered and I mouthed a “thank you” to Applejack.

Twilight smiled. She asked. “Shall we watch, Spike?” He grinned and nodded.

After taking a minute to retrieve my Duel Disk, we set up behind the farm house. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders were deciding the order of play, I glanced at our audience. Applejack’s shirt looked like it wasn’t drying anytime soon, even in this pleasantly warm weather. She had both arms crossed, resulting in her breasts being pushed upwards. My God. How am I supposed to concentrate with those puppies looking at me? I chuckled and shook my head. Sweetie Belle stood in front of me, ready to play. We ignited our Duel Disks, drew our initial five cards and our life points appeared above us at 4000 each. I smiled and said. “Ladies first.”

“Thank you!” Sweetie Belle drew a card, examined her hand carefully and set a single card before finishing her turn.

That’s it? I drew a card with a smirk and activated the spell Fusion, combining my Minotaurus and Kentauros into a single monster. “Minocentaur!” The half-minotaur half-horse appeared on the field rearing back and letting out a loud bellow that made several birds on the nearby trees fly away. I noticed Sweetie Belle gulped and looked at me intently. Did she have a trap prepared? Let’s find out. “Direct attack!” With a mighty swing of its axe, my Minocentaur got Sweetie Belle’s life points down to half. She immediately activated her set card. “Scapegoat!” Four horned furry balls appeared on the field with a chorus of cute cries. What was that? Did she got scared and forgot to activate her card to protect her life points? I looked at the remaining cards in my hand. Bell of Destruction, Defense Sealing and The Flute of Summoning Dragon. I could finish this on her turn with my Bell of Destruction. Nah, there was no need to be cruel. I’ll wait for my next turn and use Defense Sealing on a goat token. “Turn end!”

Sweetie Belle drew a card and smiled widely. A good draw, I guess? She immediately summoned Maha Vailo. What was she planning? She declared loudly. “I activate Power of Unity!” That card! My eyes widened as Maha Vailo’s attack skyrocketed up to 6050. Sweetie Belle pointed a finger and ordered. “Holy Lightning!” Black clouds formed above us as Maha Vailo raised his hands and summoned a lightning bolt which he directed at my Minocentaur. I had to cover my eyes as my monster was vaporized along with my whole 4000 life points.

Applejack whistled. “Whoa Nelly!” Spike cringed and Twilight watched attentively in silence. I couldn’t believe it. A one turn kill? I huffed angrily. Calm down. It was just a stroke of luck. Sweetie Belle high-fived both, Scootaloo and Applebloom; the later whom now stood before me. I re-shuffled my deck. We both drew five cards, our life points flashing at 4000 each. Now I was getting serious. “I’ll go first! Draw!” I played my Magic Lamp face-down. Try something funny, Applebloom, and you’ll be getting a nasty surprise. “Turn end!”

Much to my surprise, Applebloom played a monster face-down, a set card and finished her turn. The confident smile across her face made me doubt. No! Not now. Not in front of everybody! I shook my head and swiftly drew a card. I revealed my Magic Lamp and summoned La Jinn the Demonic Spirit of the Lamp with its effect, before sacrificing it to summon Judge Man. “Crush it, Judge Man!” The tall, mace-wielding warrior charged forward and attacked Applebloom’s monster; revealing the Nimble Flying Squirrel. The tiny rodent was decimated instantly, yet a loud shriek from beyond the grave increased Applebloom’s life points by 1000. She took two copies of her squirrel from her deck and played them face-down. I scoffed and ordered the attack of La Jinn. The demonic spirit breathed a stream of fire that incinerated the squirrel on the right, leaving not a single stray hair. Applebloom’s life points went up to 6000. I flared my nose. “Turn end!”

“Mah turn!” Applebloom smirked. She sacrificed her squirrel. “Twinheaded Beast!” From a wall of fire emerged a centaur with two heads like that of a lion. Its whole body was covered by flickering flames. Applebloom continued by playing Wild Nature's Release, bringing her monster’s attack points to 3600. “Double Fireball!” The Twinheaded Beast created a ball of fire on each hand, hurling them at terrific speed and decimating my two monsters in the blink of an eye. I braced myself as the flames rolled over me, taking my life points down to a mere 800. Before I could even lower my arms, I head Applebloom’s voice. “Trap card open! Cattle Mutilation!” She replaced the Twinheaded Beast in her field with one in her hand and attacked again. My life points went down to zero. I gritted my teeth. My blood boiled and I wanted to take this damn deck and hurl it on the roof of the farm house. How could this be?

Scootaloo was my last opponent. It took me several breaths to calm down. As before, I re-shuffled my deck, we drew our initial hands and our life point counters stood at 4000 each. I took the first turn again. I drew a card, examined my hand and smiled in satisfaction. Third time’s the charm. I summoned Dragon's Ruler and activated The Flute of Summoning Dragon. This was it! My strongest combo! The warrior clad in an armor made of dragon bones blew the flute, calling two Blue-Eyes White Dragons from my hand. How do you like it, huh? Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stood in awe, and so did Applejack and Spike. Scootaloo gulped and Twilight frowned. Okay, maybe I overdid it a bit, but after what happened in the last two games, can you blame me? I pointed forwards and declared with a confident smirk. “Turn end!”

“Draw!” Scootaloo drew a card dynamically and held it upwards. “I activate Power Bond!” The fusion spell for machines? She continued. “I fuse two Cycroid into Pair Cycroid!” A red tandem bicycle with cartoonish eyes and arms appeared on the field. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to remember the monster’s effect. Unfortunately, I never cared much about Vehicroids. Scootaloo pointed her right fist towards me and declared. “Direct attack!” Ah, that was it. The Pair Cycroid spun its wheels with alarming speed, kicking up a cloud of dirt and launched itself towards me. I crossed both arms in front of my face. It was a risky play; she probably had a card to protect herself, but I had a copy of Magic Removal in my hand.

Imagine my surprise when Scootaloo said. “Limiter Removal!” The Pair Cycroid attack points went from a boosted 3200 to 6400. Let me tell you, there are few things more humillating that getting one-shotted by a cartoon bicycle.  My Blue-Eyes White Dragon vanished without having moved a single claw; almost like if they had been played only to provide a show.

Spike put both hands behind his head and groaned. “Aw man!” Applejack chuckled and commented amused. “Now that was unexpected!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders congratulated each other before striking a victory pose while Winona ran in circles around them, barking and wagging her tail.

My legs wobbled. Three consecutive one turn kills at the hands of three teenage girls. Was I dreaming? But it wasn’t over. Twilight walked up to me and called my name. I looked at her; she had a Duel Disk around her left arm. “Stand up, Joe. I want you to duel me.”