Of Magicians and Card Games

by jrock117

Rating: teen
Tags: Yu-Gi-Oh, Trixie, Comedy, Starlight Glimmer, Profanity, Human, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other
Length: 10438

Starlight and Trixie hop through the former's new mirror to see Jason, only to find him and his friends are already preoccupied with their own game.

Starlight was feeling a little bored, and Trixie has been wondering what the deal about the new mirror was, so she decided to bring Trixie to the other side and meet with Jason and his friends. Little did they know that the Humans had a small plan for that particular day.

-+-+-+-+-

"I summon Apple Magician Girl, in attack position." Jason said, placing the purple-sleeved card onto the carpet.

-----------

Cover image is a screenshot taken from an awesome app called Yugipedia Deck Builder.

Human in Equestria/Pony on Earth story.

This story is only connected to Shattered Glass with characters, it is not Canon to it. As some may know, I just wanted to make a chapter dedicated to Starlight and Trixie watching and learning how to play a game...this was that game. I felt it wasn't needed as a chapter, so I decided to make it it's own story. I also wanted to get this out by Christmas but my laziness got in the way. I hope you fellows enjoy people slapping paper onto the ground!

Published 2018-12-29 23:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-12-29 23:20:01 UTC

In Which Two Ponies Watch Two Humans Play

Author's Note

If there are any mistakes in grammar, tense, spelling, etcetera, feel free to correct me in the comments! Or if I get an effect wrong/make a misplay.

I am uploading just mere seconds before I need to start my shift, so Merry Christmas one and all, and to all a Happy New Year!

In Which Two Ponies Watch Two Humans Play

Starlight yawned as she stretched on her bed. It's not that she had just woken up, nor was it that she was going to nap or sleep. No, after all, it was only ten in the morning. The only pony she knew that would sleep at this time would be Rainbow Dash. Maybe Twilight sometimes, but that was only when she didn't sleep the night before. Aaand maybe Trixie, but her sleep schedule is a mess anyways. And then there's Princess Luna- Okay, that's just not fair, Brain! She scolded her thoughts. No, she wasn't even trying to relax, she was completely and utterly...

"Boooored." She said, lightly flailing her hooves whilst she laid on her back. Usually, she'd be at Twilight's School, restocking and dusting her shelves for the Nth time, but it was closed due to many of the halls being refurbished after Pinkie's cannon accidentally went off. Now, you'd think it would be an easy fix, but for the poor unfortunate souls that were tasked with cleaning, they kept finding confetti and icing in several nooks and crannies, so much so that they were pretty sure it was impossible. Given that it was Pinkie's cannon, they chose not to question it. Starlight would be helping, she even volunteered to help, but Twilight had said she needed somepony to watch over the castle while her and the elements, and some students whom volunteered, cleaned up the place.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem, had it not been for the lack of activities to do. Starlight had read every book she owned on her little bookcase, and she wasn't in the mood to reread anything. She didn't have any spells she wanted to practice today. She couldn't even fly her kite, her kite! The weather was scheduled to be nice all week, leaving her with no wind upon which to fly her kite. What could she do about it? She couldn't just ask the weather team to make a slight breeze, and she didn't feel bored enough to make the sun erupt with solar winds. No, that particular thought was put into a mental storage unit that she would rarely think back to, if at all. She gave a cursory glance to her window, maybe jumping into the bushes would alleviate her boredom for a few seconds. It would hurt a little, but that would have to suffice as a distraction.

With a quiet grunt, she rolled off her bed and sluggishly walked to her window. Opening it wasn't very satisfying for her, considering that usual breeze-from-opening-a-window just wasn't there. A quick look down showed the bush had grown a bit fuller since her last jump, coincidentally being the day she got her new mirror, which also happens to be a portal to another world. How long had it been since she's had that mirror now? A month and a half maybe? She thought to herself. She'd ask Jason later. Jason being the human owner of the other side of the mirror. Actually, I wonder if Jason's doing anything today. Today's Tuesday, right? He should have today off. With a determined nod, she turned to her mirror...

Only to yell as her hoof slipped off the window sill, sending her tumbling down to the bush. With a loud and pained 'oof', she poked her head out to find a shocked Trixie staring at her.

"Starlight, are you alright!?" The blue, panicked Unicorn ran to her friend. "You didn't break anything, did you?!"

Starlight slowly pulled herself from the bush. "I should be fine, although I think I bruised my leg a little."

"That's not what Trixie is talking about!" She brought her face muzzle-to-muzzle with Starlight's. "You didn't break a vase or a window or something else that get Twilight upset, did you!?" She gasped. "You didn't break the mirror I gave you, did you?!"

Starlight, of course, took slight offense from this. "No! I didn't break anything! Not a vase, not a window, and definitely not the mirror." Starlight brushed herself off, with a little help from Trixie, of course. She mumbled under her breath, "I also didn't break a bone, in case you were wondering."

"And Trixie is glad for that," she said, "Trixie was just making sure the mirror was alright..." She trailed off into a whisper, "and that you didn't break anything in case Twilight would think Trixie is an influence..."

Starlight glared at her, unbeknownst to the blue Unicorn, before sighing with a tired smile. She cares about you in her own weird way, Starlight, just keep remembering that. "So, what are you doing around here? I thought you had a show in Vanhoover."

This struck a nerve with Trixie. "Hmph! Those snooty-tooty ponies threw Trixie out!"

"What!?"

"Trixie didn't even do anything yet!" She grabbed Starlight's withers. "Trixie was just trying to get into building that she had scheduled, and when she tried showing the staff ponies her pass, they just pointed her elsewhere!" Starlight brushed Trixie's hooves off.

"That... doesn't sound like they threw you out."

"No, that only happened after Trixie snuck in."

Starlight facehoofed, "Of course it did."

"Now, because of those ponies, Trixie's audience must go without her splendiferous magic!" Trixie said with a practiced hoof wave before grabbing her friend by the cheeks, speaking with sheer distress. "Do you have any idea how many bits I wasted scheduling that show? That took my entire budget for the month! Now I'm not even going to have enough to feed myself, all because they kicked me out!"

"Trixie!" Starlight grabbed Trixie's hooves, pushing them down. "Did you file a complaint, at least?"

"File?"

"Usually, when something like that happens, you should file a complaint to the manager or supervisor."

Trixie, ever so slowly, turned away from Starlight.

"Let me guess," Starlight said, "you didn't do that."

"How was Trixie supposed to know to do that?"

"Let me take another guess, you tried sneaking in after they turned you away once."

Trixie didn't meet Starlight's eyes, instead opting to look at a patch of dirt. "Yes."

"Trixie," Starlight sighed, "look, maybe I can help you out."

Trixie gasped. "Really!? You'd do tha-"

"But only if you admit that what you did was wrong and stupid."

"What!?"

"Trixie, you spent so many bits that you won't be able to even eat for a while, and I know for a fact you don't have a fridge!" Starlight pointed at Trixie. "Now, I'm giving you a chance here, admit what you did was wrong and especially stupid."

Trixie looked to the ground with a pout as she mulled over what to do. "What I did was wrong." She whispered.

"What was that?"

"What I did was wrong... And stupid."

"Alright, let's go." Starlight got to her hooves and began walking to the front door of the castle.

"Wait, go where?" Trixie got up and followed.

"You walk everywhere, and considering you have zero bits, I'm assuming you haven't eaten lunch yet."

"Trixie hasn't even had breakfast."

"We've got some lunch left over from earlier." Starlight magicked the doors open and walked in with Trixie in tow. "What's your opinion on cauliflower?"

---~~---

"Wow, those were delicious," Trixie said with glee, "Trixie never knew the dragon could cook."

"From what I know, Spike has been cooking for Twilight since they lived in her apartment in Canterlot." Starlight lead Trixie down the many halls of the castle with no real destination in mind, just talking and walking. "I'm pretty sure he could win a cooking competition if he ever wanted to." She turned, expecting a response from Trixie, to see the blue mare had stopped following her. In fact, she had stopped in front of the door to Starlight's room, the door itself being slightly ajar. Trixie looked to be contemplating something as she stared through the open space the door left. "Uhh, Trixie?"

"Trixie just remembered something." Trixie walked up to Starlight, her eyes still locked on to the room. "How is the mirror holding up?"

"Wha- Uh, what do you mean?" Starlight asked a bit too quickly.

"You and Princess Twilight showed up at Trixie's wagon over a month ago asking where she had gotten it. Trixie assumes something happened with it."

"Why, what would give you that idea?" Starlight asked.

"Trixie knows you're hiding something," she narrowed her eyes, "and Trixie wants to know what it is."

"I'm-I'm not hiding anything from you, I'm just... Uhh..."

"Please tell Trixie what it is," she brought her hooves to her chest and pouted, "she promises she'll keep it a secret."

"Uhh..." Starlight struggled to refuse, oh did she struggle. "Ok, fine! Just promise me you won't tell anypony!"

Trixie stood to her hooves and nodded. "Trixie promises."

"No no no, Pinkie Promise me." Starlight said with a shake of her head.

"What Promise?"

"Pinkie Promise. You know, tha-"

"Pinkie what?"

"Pinkie. Promise."

"What what?"

"Trixie!!"

"Sorry! Trixie couldn't help it!"

"Hahhhh..." Starlight massaged the sides of her head with her hooves. "Ok, I need you to Pinkie Promise me that you won't tell anypony, hay, not even anycreature. Am I clear?"

Trixie raised her hoof. "Serious question, what is a Pinkie Promise?"

"Trixie, I swear to-"

"I'm being honest this time!" Trixie raised both hooves in surrender. Starlight shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"Ok, here's an example." Starlight sat on her haunches as she went through the motions. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eyes." She stood back up. "Did you get that?"

Trixie sat on her own haunches. "Cross Trixie's heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in Trixie's eye." She looked to Starlight, hoof still on her eyelid. "Did Trixie do it right?"

"Yes," Starlight nodded, "now," she pointed a hoof at Trixie, "you have just entered a verbal contract and if you break the promise... Not even I know what will happen, but it probably involves Pinkie Pie doing something horribly terribly, uh, horrendously... Terrible to you."

Trixie shuddered, "You had Trixie's attention at 'Pinkie Pie'."

"Good." Starlight walked passed Trixie and lead her into the room. She stopped and gestured to the mirror. "Now, I had you Pinkie Promise me because not even I'm supposed to tell anypony about this. It would be easier to show you." Starlight grabbed a cleaning cloth in her magic and moved it through the mirror, leaving Trixie's jaw on the floor.

"Wha... What." Trixie said, more of a statement than a question.

"Anything that has magic either coursing through it, like us, or has magic surrounding it can go through the mirror and into another world." Starlight explained.

"Can..." Trixie began, "Can I see what's on the other side?"

Starlight had to pause for this. Should I show her? I mean, I wanted to see Jason earlier, but I was bored then. This probably isn't a good idea. She thought. "I don't know..."

"Please!" Trixie went down to the floor. "I found the mirror, I should at least be able to see the other side just once! Please, please!"

"Ok! Ok!" Starlight said. "No need to grovel, that's just... Weird." Trixie stood up and walked to the dresser.

"So, how does this work?" She asked excitedly. "Does Trixie just jump through or is there a method?"

"Just... Just follow me." Starlight said, taking the lead. After pulling out a step stool, she trotted up and dipped her hoof into the mirror.

---~

~---

A Few Hours Earlier

Jason answered the knocking on his front door, opening it to see his friends on the other side. Well, three of them at least. Davis, Ty, and Jakob.

"Hey, Gypsy!" Jakob said.

"Jackal." Jason responded with a nod. "What brings you guys over? All at once I mean."

"We came..." Davis said.

"To my house."

"To duel your ass six feet under." Davis pulled out a purple case, DECK BOX written on the top.

"Well fuck," Jason raised his hands in faux surprise, "can't say I was expecting this." He stepped back into the main room, followed by the other three. He went to the entertainment center and opened a compartment at the very bottom, pulling out a black and white deck box. On every side were the words 'I said GOOD DAY!' He paused and looked to Ty. Since when did you learn to duel?"

"Davis has been teaching me these past couple of weeks." Ty simply shrugged.

"Huh, cool." Jason looked over everyone in the room. "So, are we doing this like a four person tournament or what?"

"Yup." Jakob said as he pulled out his phone. "I was waiting until now to make the order." With a tap of his screen, he turned the phone around to the rest of the group. "Round one will be Davis versus Ty,"

"God damnit." Ty said.

"and round two will be Jason versus me."

"Oh fuck." Jason said.

"Alright, let's whip out our decks and do this." He stared daggers at Jason with a malicious grin. "Prepare to die, bitch!"

---~

~---
---~~---

Starlight planted her hooves onto the dresser in Jason's room. She took a quick glance around the place before going down the 'steps'. She looked up expecting to see Trixie, but what she saw was the blue mare's hoof waving around. She rolled her eyes and walked up halfway, grabbing Trixie's hoof and planting it on the dresser. Slowly, Trixie walked through.

"Heh heh..." She tried to hide her sheepish smile behind her other hoof, but Starlight could see right through her.

"Well, here you are." Starlight hopped off and gestured to the room. "Here's what I've been hiding from you for a few months..." Starlight pulled into herself. "Sorry about that by the way..."

Trixie looked over the room for a few seconds, looking back to starlight afterwards. "A room? Really?"

"It's actually-" Starlight was about to extend a hoff, but a quick stomp from Trixie retracted it.

"You had the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie excited and curious about a bland room?" Said mare had begun pouting to herself.

"To be fair, this is more than just a room." Starlight rubbed her hoof with the other.

"Wait wha-"

"BULL SHIT!!" The two mare's turned their heads to the doorway; Trixie looking at the curtain with surprise and curiosity, and Starlight looking on with wilted ears.

"Oh, thank God!" Starlight heard Jason's familiar voice, he sounded relieved. Her ears perked and her brow creased as the thought of introducing her best friend to a literally otherworldly friend raced through her mind. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought more about it. Would that be such a good idea? ... Why not? Trixie can't say anything about it to Twilight. As she was about to suggest to Trixie that they could go, her friend had already pulled the curtain aside. Starlight knew there was no going back as her blue friend's eyes widened.

"Oh..." Trixie looked over to Starlight with a slightly sheepish grin. "I guess this is one of those times when 'overstepping boundaries' is brought up?"

"Well, yes, but I was going to suggest we go and talk to them."

"Really?" Trixie's smile went from uncomfortable to excited in an instant,then back to uncomfortable. "I mean, is that a good idea?"

"It's not the first time I've been here, I'm sure Jason would understand." Starlight squeezed passed Trixie and gave her a stern look. "Just remember, you can't say anything to anypony about this."

"Trixie's lips are sealed." The two mares walked down the hall, the heavy thumping of hooves on carpet grabbed Jason's attention. He turned to see Starlight and Trixie enter the kitchen. He smiled.

"Oh, hey, Star. Bring another friend for us to meet?" He sat on the floor, similar to his other friends at the moment. Starlight saw Davis holding, what looked like, a deck of black cards as he sat across from Jason. Jakob and Ty were sitting on the three seater, across from the TV. Jakob was pouting.

"Hey guys, I just wanted to introduce you to my-" She was cut off as Trixie interrupted.

"The Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie, best friend of the Great and Amazing Starlight Glimmer." She said as she gave a one leg hug to Starlight. Jason gave a quizzical look to Trixie.

"Are you, like, a showman or something?" Davis asked.

"I think the term would be show-pony in this circumstance." Jason said.

"Why, I am only the greatest magician in all of Equestria!"

"Guess that explains the hat." Jakob said.

"And the cape." Ty followed.

"Now, now." Jason stood, grabbing his friend's attention. "It's not polite to poke fun at someone's choice of grandeur." Starlight saw Davis plant his face into the palms of his hands, she could almost hear him mumbled something.

"Don't you dare bring out The Grand Gao Ganta." Starlight could practically feel the venom in his tone.

"Too late!" Jason's voice went a pitch higher as he hopped over to a corner of the room, just left of the TV, and took out a top hot and grey jacket, swiftly putting both on.

"Nooo..." Davis despaired as Ty and Jakob looked on in confusion.

"For tis I!" He took a knee and waved his hands. "The Grand Gao Ganta!" He picked up a deck of purple cards. "And you shall never forget his trusty assistants, the Group de Grimoire!"

"You sound like a 1920's snake oil salesman." Jakob jabbed.

Jason pointed at him with a but too much flaunt. "Coming from the very vermin whom lost to the Great Magicians."

"That was a fluke and you know it!" Jakob argued, angrily pointing a finger at Jason.

"Wow, demoted from jackal to vermin, harsh." Ty said.

"Can we just duel already?" Davis groaned as he placed the deck of black cards on the floor. Starlight felt her brow raise as she tried to mentally go over the situation before her. She'd been used to friends lightly poking fun at each other, but this seemed a bit much in comparison. They looked ready to jump at each other's throats!

"Alright," Jason said, pulling Starlight from her thoughts, "then as the Grand Gao Ganta, lead act of the Group de Grimoire, I shall claim victory in our battle!" He sat on the floor across from Davis, placing down his set of purple cards.

"Let's duel!" They both said, each drawing five cards from the top of their respective decks.

"Wait wait wait! What's going on?" Starlight asked in slightly confused panic. She breathed to calm herself. "What's this about dueling?"

"Oh, right," Jason looked to Starlight with a smile, "I've never shown you this before, have I?"

"It's a card game called Yu-Gi-Oh." Davis grabbed the mare's attention. "It's... Well... Uh..."

"Not so fun when you can't explain things, huh?" Jason asked with a derisive smile. He looked back over to Starlight. "It's a game my friends and I play from time to time." His expression turned thoughtful. "Well, it used to be just Davis and Jakob, but Ty over there's been learning how to play." Ty gave a wave as a response. "If you want, you can watch, though I can't promise I'll be able to explain much." Jason paused as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not sure how fun it'll be for someone who hasn't even heard of the game to sit and watch, though."

"Trixie doesn't see a problem with this." Trixie held a hoof to her breast. "Trixie hadn't planned for much other than to spend the day with her best friend, Starlight, so if it's fine with her, it's fine with Trixie."

"I guess it's alright." Starlight said a bit hesitantly, not particularly enjoying how the final decision was placed on her shoulders. "It might be fun to see how a new game is played."

"Alright, hold up a sec." Jason got up and left the room, entering the hall vanishing into the side room. He came back with pillows and placed them down to the left of the 'play area'. "Don't want you guys to be uncomfortable after all." Trixie quickly took a seat on the pillow to Davis's right. With a little scoot towards the untaken pillow, she seemed happy enough.

"This should suffice." She said, earning a snirk from Jason. He looked to Starlight.

"Well, how 'bout it?" He asked with a calm smile. Starlight sighed and took the previously untaken pillow, now a taken pillow. Trixie gave another little scoot toward her.

"I think I'm as comfortable as a I can get. So, how do you play?" She asked. Jason looked between Davis and Starlight, clearly he was thinking something.

"Hey, Davis, should we do tourney rules or house rules?"

"We've been using tournament rules the whole time, don't see why we should stop now."

"Aight." Jason pulled out a coin, a quarter from what Starlight remembered. "Heads or tails?"

"Heads." Like that, the coin launched into the air and back into Jason's palm, he slapped it the back of his hand and revealed it to the room. Davis leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Damn it."

"And wouldn't ya know it, tails. I'll choose to go first." Davis and Jason both drew five cards from their respective decks. The look on Davis's face changed immediately, from the constant sour-puss frown Starlight had recognised as his default whenever she or another pony were around, to a joyful expression one would see on a foal during Hearth's Warming. Jason, on the other hoof, seemed to be chewing on the inside of his cheek. It seemed poker faces were an unknown tactic to these boys. Davis was the first to speak, with a laugh at that.

"Ha HA! I just got the perfect otk in my hand." He pointed at Jason. "You are so screwed right now."

Jason, for his part, looked at Davis with... Not exactly contempt, but it wasn't joy either. "Oh, yeah, good, for you." He took a look at his hoof of cards again and gave a pained sigh, there was a lot of sighing going on by now. "Anyways, I'm going first, sooo..." Starlight looked to Davis and saw that him showing his cards to Jakob and Ty, the former silently chuckling to himself while the latter looked over at Jason. "I place Secret Village in the field zone."

"Fuck you!!" Davis shouted, startling both Starlight and Trixie, while earning a few chuckles from Jakob.

"Whoa!" Jason put his hands up in defense. "Simmer down now, I just placed one card, and what did I tell you about swearing around ponies?"

"Don't you try to change the subject." Davis spat. " You think you can get away with ruining my master plan on your first fucking move?" Davis brought a hand to his chest. "Because I say neigh, I'm not gonna let that stand."

"Wait wait wait, did he do something wrong?" Starlight asked. Davis opened his mouth for a retort, yet nothing came.

"Well," he started, "uh... No, but..."

"I'm gonna guess he had a card in his hand that was the crux of his otk, and now he won't be able to activate it." Jason said.

"What's an oh-tee-kay?" Trixie asked.

"It means "one turn kill"," Jason said, "it basically..." He placed his free hand upon his face. "I didn't even begin with how life points work."

Jakob stood from the couch, gaining the pony pair's attention. "How 'bout we tell you guys the rules before we continue this duel?"

---~~---

"That's the basics of it, if you have other questions during the duel, feel free to just ask." Jakob finished, taking a sip from a can of generic brand soda.

"This game sounds... Complicated." Starlight said, even though she was now sitting next to a written-in notebook full of information on how to play the game. Written by her to be specific.

"By the words of Arin "Too Perfect" Hanson," Jason said as he picked his four cards back up, "I don't say this all that often, but let's see how that's a good thing." He turned his attention back to the playing field. "Anyways, Secret Village is up, now I'll summon... Hm." He chewed his bottom lip before taking a card. "I summon Apple Magician Girl in attack position." Jason said, placing the purple-sleeved card onto the carpet. The card depicted a woman wearing a (what the humans would call skimpy) red outfit adorned with tiny little wings on her wrists, elbows, knees, and the back of her boot heels. She had midnight-blue hair and wore a spiralling, cone shaped hat, red like her outfit. She a majestic pair of pink feathered wings sprouting from her back. "Next, I'll set two cards face down," Jason placed two cards with their purple facing up. "And... That'll be that, your turn." Jason scratched the back of his neck as he looked to the cards in his hoof- hand, hand... Davis took a card from the top of his deck.

"I draw." He looked at his cards, growling as he began to think up a storm. "Wellll, since I can't do what I originally wanted to do... Jason... I guess I'll summon Black Stone of Legend." He placed a black-sleeved card on to the carpet. A red stone, cracking and glowing with power and surrounded by a lava landscape, was depicted in the artwork. "I will then activate his ability, tribute him," Davis slid the card into place in front of his deck, "to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck." He picked up his deck and sifted through the cards, taking one and placing it where the Black Stone previously sat. A mighty dragon, as if born from darkness, stood on it's hind legs, bathing itself in the red glow from the bright flames of its maw. Starlight took a small glance at it's left-most numbers, (it's attack points, she remembered) comparing them to the attack of the Apple Magician Girl.

"That thing's stronger than Jason's monster." She said with a small bit of worry. She heard Jason chuckle.

"Getting into the game, huh?" Jason said, turning back to Davis. "So? You gonna attack or end?"

"I'll set four cards, and end my turn." Davis placed four black-sleeved cards face down, confusing Starlight. Before she could say anything though, Trixie spoke up.

"Why would you go and do that!?" Trixie half shouted. "Your dragon has more points than that little fraud of a magician!"

"It's because of what that "fraud of a magician" can do." Davis gestured to the Apple Magician on Jason's side of the field. "Attacking her right now would weaken my monster, and I'd rather keep my dragon from getting destroyed, thank you very much."

"Attack points aren't everything, my pony companions," Jason said in the voice of the Grand Gao Ganta, "if numbers were all that mattered, surely the Dastardly Davis and his Dangerous Dragons wouldn't be so wary."

"Dastardly Davis?" Davis asked. "What is with you and forcing alliteration?" Jason pointed at him.

"Don't you judge me, I can make my own sentences."

"Whatever, man, it's your turn now."

"Got it, draw." Jason looked at the two cards in his hand, once more unsure of what to do. "Let's see, I'll summon Lemon Magician Girl in attack position, and... I'll end." A tanned girl with a yellow outfit stood as the artwork. A cone-like spiralling hat, long yellow gloves, yellow shoes with white thigh-high socks, all topped off with pixie-like wings.

"Draw." Davis looked at his own two cards, gaining a small smile. "First, I'll activate Dark World Dealings," he flipped over the face down card third most from his deck, "we each draw one card, then discard one card." The two dueling humans drew from there respective decks, taking a short second to decide on their next action. "Say buh-bye to Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning." Davis placed a card in the zone in front of his deck, the artwork showing some manner of monster made of black bone and purple flesh, its ribcage whiter than snow and piercing red eyes, lightning surrounding the beast. Jason, for his part, discarded a spell card, another Secret Village. "Please tell me that wasn't what you drew." Davis said.

"Correct, I started this duel with two of that card in my hand." Jason said with a smile.

"Oh... Neat..." Davis looked back to his cards.

"Man, all you need is to get rid of that damn field spell." Jakob spoke up. "That's the same card that fucked me over."

"Language." Jason responded.

"Red-Eyes will attack... Lemon, why not." Davis gestured to each card as he spoke their names.

"And with that," Jason, as the Grand Gao Ganta, said, "since Lemon was chosen as an attack target, I'll special summon the monster you gave me." He raised his hand slightly before placing in the middle most zone, right next to his Lemon Magician Girl. "Say hello to Dark Magician Girl."

"Oh God damn it."

"Boy, language."

"Whatever, now my Red-Eyes is destroyed."

"Wait, what?" Starlight asked. "H-how, though? Your monster still has higher points than Lemon Magician Girl."

"That's the thing, my heliotrope friend," Jason said, "you see, when lemon is attacked, I can special summon another "Magician Girl" from my hand, in this case, Dark Magician Girl. When that happens, the attacking monster, Red-Eyes, attacks the special summoned monster instead and it's attack gets halved."

"Oh..." Starlight looked back over the field, chewing on her cheek. "This is really complex."

"Trixie gets it!" The titular mare exclaimed. "It's similar to a vanishing act, the assistant raises the curtain, and when it lowers, the true magician stands for the crowd." At "true magician", Trixie struck a pose. "And that was how Trixie learned never to have a tiger as an assistant."

"Excuse me, what!?" Jason looked at Trixie with a mix of intrigue and confusion. "You had a tiger as an assistant? That's freaking awesome!"

"You actually perform?" Jakob followed. "I thought you were just joking."

"Hmph!" Trixie hmphed. "Why would I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, ever joke when it comes to the magical arts of prestidigitation?" Trixie up-turned her nose and scoffed. "Trixie feels insulted."

Jason leaned in towards Starlight, "Is, uh, her talking in third person a normal thing, should I be worried?" He whispered.

"Yeah, it's pretty normal, for her anyways." Starlight whispered back.

"Aight then," Jason leaned back to his original position, "let's continue with this duel then, you take 800. Pap!" Jason pointed at Davis, his hand a facsimile of a gun from his world, lifting it when he said "Pap".

"That brings him to seven thousand two hundred life points. Right?" Starlight asked. Jason nodded.

"You could say that," Davis said, "you could also just seventy-two hundred or just seventy-two, but you do you."

"That doesn't make sense," Starlight gave a small laugh, "seventy-two hundred is just incorrect grammar and seventy-two is it's own number."

"Jesus Christ." Davis slapped his forehead as he looked at Jason. "It's like having another you."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Grammar Nazi." Davis shot with a smile

"It's Grammar Police and you can shut your hole." Jason smiled back. "Anyway, you end your turn?"

Davis sighed, "I'll set a card face down then end my turn."

"Good, draw." Jason looked at his new card, clearly pleased to have it. "Y'know what, Lemon will attack you directly for eight hundy." Jason tapped Lemon Magician Girl and moved her in Davis's direction before pulling her back.

"I..." Davis took a look at his face down cards, "guess I'll take it." He said as he raised his hands in a crazed shrug.

"And now you're at sixty-four hundred. I end." Jason folded his arms, seemingly satisfied with his turn. Until-

"Why didn't you attack with your other monsters?" Trixie asked. "He's open, you should've attacked him more!" Starlight looked over the field once more. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh. OH! The face down cards!" Starlight leaned over to Trixie and pointed at Davis's field. "Look, remember the face down cards, those might be trap cards. If Jason attacked with all of his monsters, he might lose them or his life points."

"So?" Trixie asked. "He won't know what those cards are unless they're flipped, so he should just attack anyway."

"Hey, Davis?" Jason called, getting the attention of Davis and the pony pair. "Does she remind you of anyone?" He nodded at Trixie.

"Shut up." Davis said. "You ended, so I'll draw." As Davis drew his card, he gained a wicked smile. "Finally." He looked at Jason. "Prepare for the butt smashing of your life, boy." He flipped one of his cards. "First, I'll activate Call of the Haunted to special summon Red-Eyes from my graveyard." He took his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and placed it in front of Call of the Haunted. He then flipped the card to its left. "Next, I'll activate Red-Eyes Spirit to special summon Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning from the grave." He pulled said card from the grave, placing it to Red-Eyes Black's left.

"I think I know what you're planning, so I'm just gonna nip it in the bud." Jason said as he revealed his own face down. "I'll activate Dark Renewal. Target your Lightning and my Apple, send both to the grave," they did so, "and then I'll special summon one dark spellcaster monster from my deck." Jason picked up his deck, plucking through the cards. "Hmm... Who to pick... I could always go for another Dark Magician Girl... Screw it," Jason picked a card and raised it up, his voice becoming that of the Grand Gao Ganta, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, mare's and the like, it is the grandest of pleasures to introduce to you, the one, the only, the man who's been there from the beginning, say hello to the Dark Magician!" He placed the card to the left of Dark Magician Girl. The artwork showed a pale-skinned man wearing black clothing with white lines running about it, a long and flowing cloak, and topping it off with a cone shaped hat. He wielded a black scepter with a sharp, crooked bottom, and topped with a blue crystal ball in a nook with a similar shape to the man's hat. Starlight's attention was taken from the card, as Davis had been chuckling to himself. "What, got a way to stop this?" Jason asked.

"Nip it in the bud they say." Davis said, continuing his giggle-fit.

"That's the term." Jason added.

"But yeah, I got a comeback for this." Davis said. "I'll activate Dust Tornado to destroy your Secret Village." Davis pointed at the card, the very one that ruined his plans from the beginning.

"Yes! Blast that village to Kingdom Come!" Jakob said, hopping a bit in his seat.

"Dah crepe." Jason said, placing it in his graveyard.

"Crepe? Know what, nevermind, doesn't matter, I got rid of that stupid field spell! Now's my time to shine, I'll summon another Black Stone of Legend." He placed it to the left of Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "Next, I'll activate the effect of my Black Stone in the grave, send Archfiend back into the deck, then add Black Stone back to my hand from the grave."

"Uh oh." Jason said.

"What do you mean "uh oh"?" Starlight asked a bit frantically.

"Now, I'll activate by Black Stone on the field, tribute him to special summon the very Archfiend I sent back into the deck." Davis placed the former into the pile in front of his deck, picking up said deck and taking out Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning and placing it to it's precious position. "Now, I'll finally activate the Polymerisation I've had set this whole time, fusing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning," Davis placed both into the grave, picking up a secondary pile of red sleeved cards, "to fusion summon my baby, you all know him, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!" Davis took a red-sleeved card and placed it where the Red-Eyes previously stood. The purple border of the card surrounded the artwork, of which a behemoth of a beast reared up. A body seemingly made from white and black bone stood with red-hot flames erupting from its maw, red and powerful muscles exposed to the air. A pair of large, red wings jutted behind, each point exaggerated. Finally, its vile visage, one that would give a being from Tartarus nightmares.

"Now that is a monster." Starlight said, examining the card art further. "May I take a closer look at it?" She asked politely, to which Davis shrugged and handed it over to her, her sapphire glow of magic enveloping the card and hovering it in front of her face. "Is that thing's jaw completely bone?" Feeling a nudge on her left, she tilted the card so Trixie could get a better view.

"Yes indeed it is," Jason said, "and with that jaw, my field is scrapped. I don't have any Magician Girls in my hand to special summon." Jason flipped a card face up. "Before you try to attack, I'll activate Magicians' Defense, as long as I control a spellcaster monster, any damage I take is halved.

"You can run, but you can't hide. Archfiend Black Skull Dragon will now attack your Lemon." Davis tapped his monster and pointed at Lemon, to which Jason sent the targeted card to the grave.

"Ok, thirty-two minus eight hundred equals... Twenty-six, half that is thirteen, so I'm at sixty-seven points now." Jason said.

"Hold up," Davis interrupted, "you're forgetting his effect." Davis plucked Red-Eyes Archfiend from his graveyard. "At the end of the battle phase, when damage calculation is performed with this big guy, I pick a "Red-Eyes" normal monster from my grave, deal damage to my opponent equal to the targeted monster's attack, then shuffle it back into the deck."

"Well, that damage is halved, so that's... What, twelve fifty?" Jason paused as his eyes looked up.

"You would be at five thousand four hundred fifty life points." Starlight stated.

"Thanks, Star." Jason looked over the cards in hand and on the field, seeing if there were a way out of this situation. Starlight could see the tension on his face, the same look she had when playing games.

"I end." Davis said.

"I draw." Jason took a glance at his new card, chewing the corner of his lip. "I'll set one card, then switch my monsters into defense, I end."

"Scared, are we?" Jakob asked.

"No, I just don't have any clue what to do. And no comments from the peanut gallery, Mr. Couldn't-Summon-His-Chaos-Ancient-Gear-Giant."

"It only ended that way 'cause of your stupid field spell!"

"It is really stupid." Davis followed.

"Rude, if anything." Ty commented.

"Well... No one asked you." Jason said. "Don't hate. Anyways, it's your turn."

"Draw." Davis said.

Starlight tilted her head a bit, looking at the bunch of humans. She just couldn't quite get a read on them. In terms of snappiness, they were on par with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, maybe even more so. The last time she, herself, had been this snappy, it almost ended her friendship with Trixie, yet these humans seemed to enjoy it. Davis placed a spell card under Archfiend Black Skull Dragon.

"I'll activate Foolish Burial," he said, "to send one monster from my deck to the grave, I'll choose Archfiend of Lightning. Now, it's time for the battle phase. Archfiend will attack Dark Magician."

"If he's going to use the same strategy as last time, then Jason's life points will be at four thousand two hundred." Jason and Davis, and for that matter Jakob and Ty, looked at Starlight with raised brows, making her just the teensiest bit self-conscious. "A-Assuming he'll even use the same strategy, hehehe..." Jason gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Not even your first duel and you're already thinking ahead, you learn fast."

"Well, not to toot somepony's horn," Trixie flicked Jason's hand away from Starlight, replacing it with her own hoof, bringing the other mare closer to her, "but she isn't the graduated student of Princess Twilight AND guidance counselor at the School of Friendship AND Trixie's best friend for nothing." Jason's jaw, slowly but surely, dropped upon hearing that.

"You're kidding." Starlight could see the faint twitch at the corners of his lips, not to mention the held back chuckles from the other three humans.

"Nope!" Trixie gave a proud smile and hugged Starlight closer. "What Trixie says is true."

"No way, that's insane..."

"Quite the contrary!"

"School of Friendship!? Are you serious!?"

"Yes! What?" Trixie had immediately gone from her iota of pride to confusion in the blink of an eye. Jason gripped the couch beside him for support as he fell back slightly, clutching his mouth shut with his hand as little laughs made their way. The other three, though, faired much better, only letting a few snorts out. Starlight tilted her head up to see Trixie's face twisted in a state of "what now" as her brain kicked into overdrive. "Y-Yes, for that is what I-I--Trixie was talking about for I kn-knew what we were talking about for I am- Trixie means Trixie is Trixie..." Her voice faltered as she kept whispering with her false smile.

"School of-of F-F-Fffff-heeheehee!" Starlight could make out what Jason was saying behind his hand.

"What's the school anthem? F is for Friends?" Ty asked with a grin.

"Oh! What's the first lesson, making friendship bracelets!?" Jakob threw in.

"Hey!" Starlight shouted as she got away from her friend's grasp. "Twilight's School of Friendship is a very important piece to shaping the future of Equestrian bonds! What's so funny about it?"

"The name." Ty quietly stated. Starlight opened her mouth as if to argue, but no words came, she couldn't argue with it. A small giggle escaped her.

"Ok, the name might be a little silly, but friendship is what we mainly teach there as a defining aspect of not only our curriculum, but as something that should be shared with any-creature and every-creature." She brought a hoof to her barrel. "As the guidance counselor, I get the privilege of working with many students that happen to have problems or just want some advice, and every day there is another experience I get to add to my repertoire of lesson ideas."

"I don't doubt it." Jason regained his composure. "You're really a guidance counselor?"

"I am, and proud to be one... Even if nopony visits from time to time." She said the last bit with a quieter tone.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. So, who's turn was it again?" She quickly changed subjects with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, right, Archfiend attacks your Dark Magician." Davis tapped his monster pointed at Jason's.

"Right." Jason checked his face downs. "And I've got nothing to stop that." He moved Dark Magician to the grave. "Sorry man. My turn?"

"Not yet." Davis picked Archfiend of Lightning and put it back in his deck, shuffling it. "You take damage equal to his attack, and thanks to your trap card, it's halved."

"Four thousand two hundred." Starlight said.

"Forty-two, got it." Jason nodded. "My turn?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Aight, I draw." Jason looked at his new card, immediately flipping one of his most recent face down card. "I'll activate Magical Dimension to tribute my Dark Magician Girl to special summon another Dark Magician." He placed the former into the grave, putting the latter right next to it. "And you already know it's second effect."

"You can destroy one monster on the field, yeah, yeah." Davis took his Archfiend Dragon and put it in the Grave.

"And now, Dark Magician will attack for direct damage." With a flourish of his pretend cape and a wave of his hand, Jason pointed at Davis.

"Yep," Davis inhaled through his teeth, "so, that brings me to-"

"Three thousand nine hundred life points." Starlight said, gaining a small glare from Davis. "Sorry."

"Mmh... I guess I should thank you for keeping track at least. My turn?" Jason nodded. "Good, draw." With one glance, Davis's mood went from good to great. "Alright then, now, I'll activate Red-Eyes Fusion, sending from my deck to the grave Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact and another Red-Eyes Black Dragon." The former of the two cards was taken from his deck first, the picture showed that of a rock like beast diving down at such velocities that it burned red from air friction with molten cracks that ran across it's body. Davis picked up the second deck of cards again, taking one and placing it next to the grave. A low angle shot of an assumingly massive beast with burning claws and wings, its chest resembling the face of Meteor Impact while it's actual head and legs resembled Red-Eyes Black Dragon's, molten veins running across its body like Impact.

"Three thousand five hundred!" Starlight gasped. "That's stronger than the last one!"

"And it's what killed me in our duel." Ty said. "Didn't even give me a chance."

"And I won't give him a chance either." Davis said. "His effect activates. If he's fusion summoned, send a "Red-Eyes" monster from the deck to the grave yard and inflict damage to you equal to half of that monster's attack."

"But then that damage would be halved," Starlight said, "meaning Jason would only take a quarter of the attack."

"That's right, but that's not the point." Davis picked up his deck and put Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning back into the grave. "Now you'll take... Uhh..."

"Six hundred twenty-five, making his life points three thousand five hundred seventy five." Starlight assisted.

"Jesus Christ, picking Archfiend was a mistake." Davis rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That number is really gonna mess with my head. Ok, now I'll have Black Comet attack Dark Magician."

"So, that means I'm at thirty seventy-five now." Jason said as he put his card in the grave.

"I end my turn."

"Hoo boy, I draw." Jason took his card and checked his face downs. His face drained of emotion, deep concentration taking it's place. He held one card longer than the other, staring at it for a couple seconds before placing it back and looking at the card in hand. "I'm taking a gamble with this... I summon Berry Magician Girl in attack position." The picture showed, well, what appeared to be a human foal with wings like two pairs of wings like a bee. It wore a purple onesie with teal legs and sleeves, holding a purple baton while wearing a purple cone-shaped hat. "When she's normal summoned, I can bring a Magician Girl from my deck to my hand." Jason picked up his deck and plucked a card from it, revealing it to the group. "I choose Kiwi Magician Girl." A mature looking woman stood facing forward, wearing a black outfit with green gloves, green leggings, a long and green loincloth, a green breastplate, and a green hat with two ram-like spirals on top with a pink heart in between. She had long, purple hair spilling out from under the hat. He put it in his hand. "I end."

"I draw." Davis checked his new card before looking to the field. "Definitely setting this card." He placed it beneath his Comet Dragon. "I'm thankful that Berry's effect is different from the other magician Girls. Archfiend Dragon will attack Berry."

"I'll activate Berry's effect." Jason rummaged through his deck and pulled out Dark Magician Girl, placing her in attack position to Berry Magician Girl's left and switching her into defense position.

"I'm continuing with my attack, Berry is still destroyed." Davis said. Jason moved Berry Magician Girl to the grave, making Starlight cringe. Jason gave Starlight a weird look.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"What?" Starlight asked.

"You made a weird grunt when I put Berry in the grave."

"I-I did? Hahaha," she nervously laughed, "guess I'm getting really into the game then."

"Alright, I end." Davis said, gesturing for Jason to draw.

"Aight, fine, fine, duro." Jason did so. "Haha! Monsta cādo! Ok, first, since I drew this guy as a normal draw, I can reveal him, then special summon him while still in the draw phase." Jason did just that, showing the room what he had drawn. The picture showed a man wearing meticulously crafted, golden chest armour, upon it were various etchings and details. Under it he wore a black outfit with a flowing white cape and a white loincloth with gilded markings. Golden leg guards went from his heel to his mid thigh, completing the set with a pair of golden wristlets. He wielded a golden staff that ended in two points at the top, the two points separating from a circle of gold. Finally, a white cowl rested upon his head, flowing like the cape, and decorated with small golden wings near the ears and a design at the forehead similar to a stag beetle's horn. "Behold," Jason's voice lowered an octave, "the ever faithful companion to the almighty pharaoh, the being who serves him even in death, I summon Palladium Oracle Mahad in attack position!" He placed the card to the left of Dark Magician Girl. "Now, battle phase."

"But your monster's have much lower attack than his!" Starlight interrupted.

"It's not just about attack!" Jason said, pointing at Davis. "Mahad will now attack your Comet Dragon! As such, his effect activates, when he battles a dark attributed monster, his attack doubles, bringing him to five thousand during the damage step."

Davis flipped his facedown card, "I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow, negating your attack. My Comet Dragon is safe from you Palladium." Davis flipped the trap card back facedown, confusing Starlight.

"Isn't that supposed to go to the graveyard?" She pointed at the card Davis's only set card.

"Unfortunately, Scrap Iron Scarecrow resets itself after being activated." Jason said.

"And unfortunately, traps can't be activated the same turn they're set." Davis said.

"Anyways, you think that's all? Now, I'll attack with my Dark Magician Girl!"

"What, why are you continuing with your battle phase?" Starlight asked. "Dark Magician Girl has less than your other monster's attack."

"That's insane," Trixie agreed, "not even the Great and Powerful Trixie would attempt that, and Trixie has seen some serious stuff."

"Gimme a sec," Jason said, revealing his card, "I'll activate the quick effect of Kiwi Magician Girl. I can discard her during either player's turn and all Magician Girl monster's on the field gain three hundred attack and defense for every Magician Girl on the field or in the grave with a different name." He dropped the card into the grave. "Now, including the discarded Kiwi, who's been keeping track?"

Starlight looked down in thought. "Apple, Lemon, Dark, Berry, Kiwi- that's an extra one thousand five hundred attack! That would make Your Dark Magician Girl on the field have three thousand five hundred."

"But that's the same as Davis's dragon! They'll both be destroyed!" Trixie said. Davis looked at the two monsters, his eyes slowly widening.

"Oh shit..." He said under his breath, but just loud enough for Starlight to hear.

"Ah, but that's the thing," Jason stole the attention of the ponies, "Dark Magician Girl gains three hundred attack for every Dark Magician in the graveyard. Now, how many Dark Magicians did the Dastardly Davis's Dangerous Dragons destroy?"

"Two," Starlight said, "giving her an extra six hundred, making her attack four thousand one hundred."

"Ah, Christ." Davis said, taking his Comet Dragon and placing it in the grave. "I take nine hundred, so that puts my life at three thou. Great, now I'm under you again."

"That's what she said." Jakob said, getting a quick "shut up" from the other humans.

"What are you, twelve?" Davis jeered. "Anyways, I still get his effect. Since he was sent from a monster zone to the grave, I can special summon a normal monster from the grave, and I know who I'm bringing back." Davis picked through his graveyard and placed a monster right next to it. "Once again, say hello to my own dark clown, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!"

"No!" Jason slammed his fists into his knees.

"What? Scared of what this guy can do if given the chance?" Davis asked with a smug grin.

"What's it able to do?" Trixie asked.

"I can explain this one." Ty said. "Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning is a gemini monster. Gemini monsters count as normal monster's when on the field or in the grave, as Archfiend's card text will read. However, if you normal summon it when it's already on the field, it gains an effect."

"And this guy's got a special effect, once it's my turn at least." Davis waved his hand in a circle. "So, is it my turn?"

"I... Can't do anything else," Jason gave an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders so yeah, "It's your turn now."

"Good, I draw." Davis smiled at his new addition. "Oh ho ho ha alright! First, I'll normal summon my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning. Next, I'll activate the card I just drew, Claw of Hermos, by sending a monster in my hand to the grave that is the same type as listed on a fusion monster that can only be summoned by Hermos, I can summon a special kind of monster. So, I'll use this and discard my Black Stone of Legend to special summon, from my extra deck, Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword!" The artwork shown a sword with a handle seemingly made from the head of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, a double-edged blade mimicking the upper and lower jaws of the beast. "And now, I'll activate his effect and equip him to my Archfiend of Lightning, giving him an extra thou, plus five hundred for every dragon type monster on the field and in the grave."

"What!?" Starlight shot forward. "But that puts him at seven thousand attack points!"

"That's right, and now," Davis tapped Archfiend, "I'll activate his effect to destroy all of my opponent's monsters with defense less than his attack." Davis leaned back and crossed his arms. "And in case we weren't keeping track, that's every one of your monsters."

"Fine," Jason placed his monster's in the grave, "but my Mahad's effect activates, when he's destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon a Dark Magician from deck, hand, or grave, I'll choose the latter." He took his previous Dark Magician and placed it onto the field. "And with him on the field, any damage I take will be halved if you attack him since my Magicians' Circle is still active."

"That may be true, but," Davis pointed at Jason, "I enter the battle phase and attack your Dark Magician, dealing twenty-two fifty to your life points." Jason placed Dark Magician back in the, biting the corner of his lip as he nodded.

"Putting me at eight twenty-five. Alrighty then, my turn?" He asked, to which Davis nodded. "Good, I draw."

"Don't lose hope, Jason," Starlight said, "you can do this."

"Show those disgusting creatures what magicians are capable of." Trixie said.

"Uh, hehehe, yeah..." Jason said as he looked at his new card, he took a sharp inhale through clenched teeth. "I don't know about that. Uhh... I'll summon Chocolate Magician Girl in attack mode." The artwork depicted a woman wearing similar attire to Dark Magician Girl, she held a weird wand in her right hand and had wings similar to a bat. Upon her hat sat a pink heart with little bat wings extending off of it. "I end." Davis hmmd as he narrowed his eyes at the card. "Yeah?"

"Nothing, I draw." He glanced at his hand before tapping his Archfiend. "Activate his effect, destroy Chocolate."

"Oh come on!" Jason said, putting Chocolate Magician Girl into the grave.

"Yeah, I'm not attacking that thing when I know what it does, you were planning on special summoning Palladium from the grave so my monster's attack would be halved and his attack would be doubled, meaning I would take five hundred and my Archfiend would be destroyed." He pointed at Jason. "And now, I'll attack with seven thousand direct for game." Jason looked at his face down, before placing it back. He checked it two more times before placing it down again.

"I... Can't... Do anything to stop that..." Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "I lose." Starlight felt herself slump upon hearing that, she saw Trixie do the same.

"Trixie was truly hoping for you to win." She said.

"Me too." Starlight followed.

"Eh, it's not the first time I've lost, and it definitely won't be the last time." Jason picked up his cards and put them in a small, white and black box he had hidden behind him. Davis did the same with his own cards. "Not gonna lie though, was really hoping you'd just attack Chocolate."

"Yeah, not happening," Davis shook his head, "I've done that way too many times in the past, I'm not doing it again. Speaking of again, what was that set card you were looking at?"

"... Um... Dark Hole..." Jason said with no amount dignity.

"Really? You should've activated that before you summoned Chocolate."

"Well, I had already summoned her so I couldn't just bring her back to my hand!" Jason gave an exaggerated wave of his hands. "Plus it didn't exactly help that I had forgotten I set it in the first place."

"I'm saying that because if you did, I had no way to recover,my hand was all Polymerisation and Fusion Sages."

"Oh, gooood, for you." Jason went to stand, but quickly sat back down, rubbing at his calves. "Ouch, sitting criss-cross for too long sucks." It was at that time, a long series of "ting"s played through the room, each one stemming from Jason's friends. They pulled out their phones and grimaced.

"Sorry guys, I gotta go," Davis said as he stood up, "my girlfriend is going to visit her mom for a while, so I need to look after the dogs."

"Hey man, it's cool." Jakob said. "I need to get back home, too. My roommate's going to work so I need to check the cats."

"My friend needs me to check up on his car." Ty got up from the couch and headed to the door. "See ya later." He gave a quick wave before heading out, letting the sunlight reflect of the white door and into the room. Jakob and Davis followed suit, each one waving goodbye as they left.

"Deuces, guys." Jason said as he finally stood up, just to sit on the couch, wincing. Several seconds of silence passed by as the door remained open. "... Did they live in a freaking barn." Jason stood up and closed the door.

"Talking as someone who's friends with two kinds of farmers," Starlight began, "that's kind of inaccurate."

"Talking as someone who's uncle owns a barn in Texas," Jason began, "I can assure you, it's not."

"That's anecdotal evidence!" She quickly pointed a hoof at him.

"So was yours!" He said back. A smile quickly grew on his face as he sat back down on to his couch. "So, stop me if I asked this already, but what brings you guys over here?"

"Oh, uh, well," Starlight faltered, "at first I wanted to hang out here because I was bored, then I found Trixie was still around so I thought "Hey, why not spend time with her?", then she wanted to come here, so I... Did..." Starlight could feel her muzzle scrunch as tiniest hint of warmth touched her cheeks.

"You forgot the part where you fell out of your window." Trixie stated.

"Again!?" Jason exclaimed.

---~~---

The time quickly went as Jason, Trixie, and Starlight spent a portion of the afternoon talking about the week prior. A particularly irritating employee, a recently botched magic trick, and a load of recent books that Starlight had found referring to the psychology of adolescent foals had been the main discussion points before Starlight noticed the time.

"Oh, we'd better get going." Starlight hopped off the couch. "Twilight is kind of a neat freak, so they should be done by now."

"Trixie must go as well." She followed. "She wished to spend the day with Starlight and has succeeded in that effort. Many acts of magic are planned for her next show, and practicing those more must be an equation for success."

"A-Actually," Jason stuttered as he stood. "Starlight, before you go, can I ask you somet-thing?" Starlight paused before her hooves touched the kitchen floor.

"Yeah, sure." Starlight turned to see him. "Trixie, you can head on through the mirror, I'll be quick."

"Already ahead of you!" Trixie called from down the hall. Starlight turned to see her tail pass through the mirror.

"Wow, must have been in a hurry." She said under her breath. "So, what did you need to talk about?" Starlight could see Jason's hands twitch a bit. He quickly raised one and started chewing on the corner of his pointer finger as he sat back down. "Hey, if it's embarrassing, I won't judge."

"I-It's not that!" He said. "I just..." He looked away from Starlight, she deduced he was specifically trying to avoid eye contact. "You said you were a guidance counselor, right?" He finally spoke. "And you said help other people with friend related problems?" Starlight knew where this was going.

"Mhm." She nodded.

"If... If I ever, y'know... Have a similar situation, you wouldn't mind if I talked to you about it, would you?"

"Of course not," she said gently, "whenever you need somepony to talk too, I'm just a mirror away." She gently trotted up to Jason and held out a hoof. Cautiously, he grasped it, and shook.

"Thanks..." He said, finally looking her back in the eye.

"Of course." Starlight retracted her hoof and walked down the hall to the mirror. "See you later, Jason." She waved.

"See ya, Star." He flashed a peace sign as she hopped through the mirror.