After school ended everyone began to run to their lockers as they began to prepare themselves for the weekend. For most people it results in them not caring about school work and usually putting it off till the last minute. However, Isaac was excited about it because he not only got to hang out with his friends, but he was also going to explore the city of Canterlot. As Isaac and the girls made their way out of the building, all of them were excited for what tomorrow would bring.
“I’m really excited about tomorrow. I get to finally have a chance to explore this place; I hope you girls don’t mind spending your time showing me around town.” Isaac asked with a bit of guilt.
“Not at all sugarcube, in fact it’s been a while since either one of us explored the town so in a way we all deserve some time to relax and hang out.”
“I can’t tell you how exhausted I am from filling out all my orders. I do hope we can stop by a spa tomorrow; I would love nothing more than a mud mask to relax my completion and rid my face of any wrinkles.”
While Rarity was daydreaming about getting a spa treatment, the rest of the group just rolled their eyes. They all then headed to The Sweet Shoppe to get a bite to eat. While they were there, they talked about the duel Isaac and Fluttershy had against Emerald and Ember. Isaac was happy that Fluttershy had finally gotten over her confidence issue, also he was more impressed with how well she handled the deck. It really showed that given time she could make it her own plus it made Isaac happy to know that he made a deck for her that she was comfortable with. As time went on Isaac learned a bit new info about the girls, apparently they all played an instrument of sorts and were hoping one day to form a band.
“What about you Isaac, do you play any musical instruments?”
“I did play Trumpet a few years back, but it’s been a while.”
The girls were surprised that Isaac had experience with music, while they insisted that once their band formed they wanted me to be a part of it but he declined politely. Eventually Isaac decided to ask them something.
“Hey Rainbow, you mind telling me a bit more about the CHS Fall Formal Tournament?”
“Realistically, it’s a round robin tournament. So while you losing won’t mean you’re eliminated, it does have an impact on your overall record. Eventually, the top 8 contenders/duelists are then selected and then face off against each other until there’s 1 left standing. However, it doesn’t happen all at once. The reason why it’s called the Fall Formal Tournament is because there's actually a Fall Formal.”
“Ok, mind explaining what that is?” Isaac was really confused by what Rainbow had mentioned.
“Darling, it’s simply a night full of festivities full of socializing, prancing, and perfectly sequenced human movement that holds both aesthetic and symbolic value. Ultimately, it’s the best night ever!” Rarity had put on her dramatic voice as she gave that explanation.
“So in other words it’s just a dance?” asked Isaac.
“Just a dance!? It’s the most important dance for any girl!”
“Calm down Rarity, it’s just a night for us to unwind and have fun.” said Aj while trying to calm her down.
“Anyways, the Fall Formal is also important because it’s where the finals of the tournament will take place. The whole school will be watching to see who comes out on top and is crowned CHS duel champion.”
“Interesting, well it means that I’ll have to work extra hard if I want to make the finals and hopefully win.”
“Yeah, that would be the case if I wasn’t going to win. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got this competition in the bag. Nobody stands a chance against me, you saw how easily I beat Diamond. If everyone is like that I’ll steam roll the competition, so watch out Isaac.”
“Settle down there Dash, don’t forget you’re not the only one enterin' this tournament.” Aj had a smug look on her face.
“Yeah, we’re in this together and when all is said and done we’ll have a great big party.” Out of nowhere confetti started to rain down from the sky.
Sometime passed and they all decided it was best for them to depart. They all agreed to meet up at Rarity’s boutique which thankfully she told him where she lived so Isaac didn’t have to worry about getting lost. He then said goodbye to the girls and made his way home. Once Isaac got home, he told his parents about his plans to explore the city tomorrow with the girls. They told him to have fun and to not arrive too late. Isaac was a bit scared exploring a new place, but he felt comfortable having the girls show him around. Also Isaac was really looking forward to relaxing a bit after all that has happened at school.
The next day came by faster than expected and once Isaac awoke he got himself ready and began walking to Rarity’s house. Isaac was expecting to be the last one but was surprised to see nobody else there. He decided to knock on Rarity’s door to see if she was home to which his reply was a cheering ‘come in’. Once Isaac entered the place, he saw tons of model stands as well as dresses. As he explored more of the place, he saw Rarity didn’t just make dresses but every so often she would get a request from someone to make them a suit. Isaac was so enthralled by the amazing designs that he didn’t notice Rarity behind him until she spoke.
“These designs are some of the most beautiful/amazing that I’ve seen in a long time. This truly is a piece of work.”
“Why thank you for the compliment, darling.”
“Huh, oh my bad Rarity. I hope I didn’t ruin any of your work” Isaac gave a nervous laugh.
“Not at all, besides I was hoping you would be the first one here. Please understand it’s been a while since I’ve had a male model to work on designs plus I did promise to make you an outfit so why not kill two birds with one stone. We have some time before the others arrive; let me go get my supplies.”
Once Rarity got her stuff, she began to take Isaac’s measurements. While it felt weird for Isaac to have someone do this, he didn’t have the heart to tell her. He saw how much it made Rarity happy and he didn’t want to ruin it. Eventually she had gotten what she needed just as the others entered the establishment. Once Rarity got her belongings they then headed out of the place and began their tour.
Somewhere else in a secluded place there was an individual walking along the street. He had a hoodie over his head to avoid anybody seeing him as he made his way to his destination. Once he had arrived at the place he entered hoping that she was home. Suffice to say she was on the couch playing a video game while her duel disk and her deck was spread out on the table besides her. The girl wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings until she heard her door open and close. She quickly turned her head to see who it was before going back to her game.
“Whatever you have better be worth it. I’m busy at the moment.”
“I got something that I think will interest you, it involves that kid.”
“Yeah, yeah, the same kid you said has been making an impact recently. He also is the same kid you claim to have the legendary Dark Magician; I’ve said it before unless you got some evidence I don’t buy it.”
“Then I’ll have you know he plans to enter the upcoming CHS tournament along with some friends you know quite well.” That seemed to have caught her interest as she paused her game. Just then another person entered the room.
“Hey buddy, what are you doing here?”
“Nothing other than hanging out with my best friend, and trying to convince her about this new kid.”
“Well good luck with that, she won’t waste her time with someone who’s not a threat.”
Just then the girl stood up and made her way toward her two lackeys as they stood frozen when she got in her face. She took the phone out of his hand and looked at the ‘evidence’ he gathered. Once she was done she looked at them both and had a face of intrigue.
“Tell me, who this Isaac is and what does he want?” She asked with a bit of evil in her voice.
Meanwhile in Canterlot City, Isaac and the girls had just left the boutique and were walking through the streets.
“A whole day in the big city to do whatever we want” shouted Dash as she walked forward in front of the group.
“Oh think of the fashion” giggled Rarity.
“The food” said Applejack as she rubbed her belly.
“The frolicking! I do hope we try out the new sweet I heard that just hit the market.” Pinkie was jumping up and down as it was hard to contain her excitement.
“Girls, let not forget we promised Isaac we would show him around.” shouted Fluttershy.
“It’s ok Fluttershy, besides I’m sure we’ll all get to do that stuff. So then what’s the first place to visit?” I asked.
The whole afternoon was spent with the girls showing Isaac around. They stopped at a mall that was very popular. Once inside they started to drag him to check out the other stores inside to which he had no control over. Overall Isaac had a fun time; he got to see new sides of these girls that he didn’t know. Whenever they stopped by a candy stand, they would constantly have to drag Pinkie away to avoid being there forever. Rarity was persistent in having them shop for clothes mainly because she needed someone to carry her bags to which Isaac had to the pleasure of being her pack mule. Thankfully, Aj had offered to help him so he didn’t have to strain himself. By the time they had left the mall, they had begun to make their way towards the amusement park. They played a lot of games and even went on some rides though they had to take breaks in between due to Fluttershy’s uneasy stomach. After that they tried some food to which Pinkie was able to fit 10 cotton candy in her mouth in 1 swallow. Isaac sweared she must have had a bottomless stomach if she was able to consume all of that and not feel even the tiniest bit sick. The next place they led him to was the pier in which they walked on the boardwalk which overlooked the ocean. Isaac saw thousands of people sailing on the water in their boats and they even waved to a few. By that time the sun was starting to go down and they left to take a stroll in the park. Fluttershy was enjoying herself as she sat on a bench feeding the ducks, while Rarity and Pinkie were going over the things they bought. That left Rainbow, Aj, and Isaac to discuss duel tactics. He could tell that both girls had a bit of a rivalry with each other based on Rainbow constantly putting herself on a pedestal.
“Admit it Aj, clearly I’m the best out of all of us.”
“If that’s true then how about those 72 times you’ve lost to me.” Applejack had a smug face which pissed off Rainbow.
“You only won because you got lucky. When it comes to the excellence of execution nobody is above me.”
“You keep tellin' yourself that. What about you Isaac, have you entered any tournaments in the past?”
“When I was younger I competed against kids in my neighborhood and we would often battle each other. As I got older I entered a few tournaments that my local game shop held but nothing major. This will be the first time that I’ll be able to showcase my abilities on a bigger platform. I’m a bit nervous.”
“Let me offer you some advice partner. Just do yer best and you’ll do fine.”
“Please what kind of advice is that? Look, everyone knows that if you want to rack up some easy wins you tend to fight the duelists that are weak or are fairly new to the game. In the case of you, Isaac, while it’s true this will be your first time I doubt people will want to fight you in the opening round. In fact you could use that to your advantage to get some quick wins. Remember based on your record, it determines if you’re eligible to compete in the finals.”
Isaac did admit there was a lot of information that Rainbow was throwing his way and it made his head hurt. Applejack saw it and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
“Don’t worry about that now, the tournament isn’t for a while. The most important thing right now is to build some momentum before the event.”
Eventually the sun started to go down and they started to head back to Rarity’s house. Once they got there, they took a moment to talk about how the day went and for Isaac to rest after carrying all of Rarity’s bags.
“I really appreciate you girls. Thanks to you I had a wonderful time seeing what this place had to offer and we all got to hang out. So win, win. Plus I’ve got some cool souvenirs I can give to my parents.”
“It was our pleasure, dear. It was the least we could do, besides I’ve some wonderful new inspirations for my designs. I’ll let you know when I’m done with designing your outfit, Isaac. Feel free to stop by anytime you need some new clothes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind Rarity.”
“Well I don’t know about you guys but I’m ready to call it a day, so I’m going to head out. See you guys on Monday.” Rainbow then began to run as she made her way home. The rest of the girls soon followed. Just as Isaac was about to leave, he felt a tug on the sleeve of his shirt. Isaac turned around and saw that it was Aj. She seemed to have something on her mind.
“Is something the matter, Applejack?”
“Actually there’s somethin' ah wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been having a hard time tryin' to keep this a secret, but there’s a reason why Rainbow approached you. She was right about one thing: it does involve the CHS tournament.”
Isaac was a bit confused at what AJ was telling him.
“What she didn’t tell you is that there’s someone she’s tryin' to defeat or rather all of us are tryin'?”
“No offense Aj, but you're not making any sense.”
“Ah promise to tell you everythin' on Monday; ah just didn’t want to ruin our day. You were havin' so much fun that it would have felt wrong to thrust this upon you suddenly.”
“How is this any different?”
“Ah understand, just trust me, everythin' will be made clear in time.”
All of this was so sudden that Isaac couldn’t figure what the hell she was saying. So his only response was a simple nod.
“Ah appreciate it, sugar. Also I’ve been meanin' to ask do you have any plans next week?”
“I would have to check my schedule, but as of right now I don’t. Why?”
“Well mah family is havin' a small get together. It’s full of fun, food, and some good old fashion minglin'. This time ah’m the one plannin' the gatherin', but ah could use some help settin' up. Everybody else seems to be busy that day, so would you mind lettin' me a hand?”
The amount of information that was thrown in Isaac's face in the past 2 minutes was a giant cluster. One minute she’s telling him that she and the girls only wanted to meet with him because of the upcoming tournament. The next minute she’s asking his help as if they hadn’t talked about the previous topic. Honestly, Isaac didn’t know what to do. He looked at Aj and saw she had a genuine sincere look on her face.
“Alright, I’ll help. On one condition: from now on if you or the girls have an issue that’s bothering you don’t hesitate to ask me. Friends are supposed to trust each other and the worst way you can lose a friend is to betray their trust. I don’t want that to happen between us.”
“Ah understand, you have mah word that we’ll be honest with you from now on. Anyways, it’s getting late we better get home. I’ll see at school.”
Applejack gave a jab to Isaac's arm before she started walking home. Isaac took a couple of minutes to register what had transpired. To think that Rainbow only wanted to meet with him because she needed his help in taking someone down. Isaac thought she was impressed with his skills as a duelist but clearly that was wrong. This really has been an interesting day. Nighttime was starting to arrive and he needed to get home to avoid his parents worrying. Isaac figured he needed to have some more time to think about this so he made his way home. Little did Isaac know that it would only get worse.
The weekend had ended and Isaac was preparing for school. Ever since his talk with Aj, he had a whole day to lull over what she said. Isaac had some lingering thoughts and some unanswered questions; his best bet was to wait for the girls to tell him, especially Rainbow Dash. Isaac arrived at school and began to make his way to class. As he was walking, he noticed two people blocking his path; they weren’t tall in fact they were both short, one of them was a slight pudgy.
“Excuse me gentleman, but can I help you with something?”
The pudgy one spoke first, “Yes, in fact you can. We’ve been meeting to talk to you for quite a while, especially our leader.”
“Who’s your leader?”
“Follow us” spoke his friend.
They then began to walk in the opposite direction and Isaac soon followed them. They led him down a dark hallway that had a light overhead that was flickering on and off every second. Eventually, they came to a stop.
“So where’s your leader?”. As soon as Isaac said that, they turned around and faced him. Sensing a bad feeling, he started to reach for his deck when he heard a voice behind him that caused him to stop.
“Don’t even think about it!” came an evil voice.
Isaac turned around and he saw a girl. She had a light amber skin tone and had moderate cyan eyes. The major thing that stuck out about her was her bacon-like hair color and the leather jacket she wore.
“So you’re the kid who’s been causing a ruckus. Well now, I think it's time you and I got properly acquainted.”