The bell rang, all that was left was an assembly and the day was over.
“Finally!” cried Rainbow. “I thought I was gonna die of boredom.”
“Me too,” said Pinkie. All the students rushed toward the auditorium.
“I wonder what’s so big about this assembly.” asked Sunset.
“Beats me,” said Applejack. “But we’ll find out soon.” Like always, the six girls sat together.
“Attention everyone!” announced Principle Celestia over a microphone. “As I'm sure you all know, tomorrow, Canterlot High School will be hosting our fellow students from Crystal Prep Academy as we join together in the spirit of sportsmanship in the Friendship Games.”
The students hardly clapped.
“But this time, we’ve decided to do something different,” said Vice-Principle Luna. “We know how much you all love the game Duel Monsters,” The students’ faces lit up instantly. “It has become just as popular over at Crystal Prep,” continued Luna. “So this year, we’ve decided to host a dueling tournament between our two schools!” The students cheered and clapped like crazy.
“Alright, settle down, settle down,” said Celestia. The students kept cheering.
“QUIET!!!!!!” yelled Luna over the mic. The whole auditorium went dead silent.
“Uh… thank you, Luna,” said Celestia. “Like my sister said, we will be hosting a dueling tournament. You will all receive a CHS medal. Whenever you duel someone, you can wager any number of medals. This competition will go on for two days, all students that manage to obtain ten medals by the end of the first day will advance to the finals on the second day. The school that wins will receive a small donation and the winner of the tournament will receive an extremely rare, mystery card, and be interviewed on Channel 10 News.”
“Now please proceed to the main foyer to receive your medals,” said Luna. “After that, go home and prepare your decks. Tomorrow after Crystal Prep arrives, the tournament begins.”
After all the students got their medals, they went home to prepare the decks.
“This is gonna be awesome!” cried Rainbow.
“I know,” said Pinkie. “Finally, something fun!”
“Finally, a chance to show off my new Gem Knight cards,” said Rarity.
“We’d better get to work,” said Applejack.
“Yeah, this isn’t going to be easy,” said Sunset.
“I need to buy some new cards,” said Fluttershy.
“I just wonder what kind of cards we’ll see from Crystal Prep,” said Rainbow. “This will be the first thing we’ve ever beaten them at something!”
“I guess I’ll see you girls tomorrow,” said Sunset. “And good luck to all of you.”
“Right back atcha,” said Rainbow.
Fluttershy had just tucked in all the animals at the shelter. “Good night everyone. Just so you know, I put one card in my deck for each one of you,” The animals chirped, barked and purred. Fluttershy then closed the door and began walking to the local game shop.
At Applejack’s farm-home, Applebloom, Big Mac, and AJ were all arranging their decks.
“So Applebloom, how’s that Kozmo deck of yours?” asked AJ.
“I just perfected it,” replied Applebloom. “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I are gonna duel as a team. No one will stand a chance!”
“Ain’t that sweet?” said Applejack. “We’ll be rooting for ya, right big Mac?”
“Eeyup,” said Big Mac.
“By the way, is your Boxer deck ready?” asked AJ.
“Nope,” answered Big Mac.
Applejack pulled out three cards. “Here, ya’ll. We all get a copy of The Golden Apples. That way, we’re connected.”
“Thanks, sis,” said Applebloom.
“Eeyup,” added Big Mac.
“Youngins!” called Granny Smith. “Time for dinner!”
Over at Rarity’s boutique, Rarity was helping Sweetie Belle with her deck. “This actress deck is adorable,” said Rarity.
“Aqua actress to be precise,” said Sweetie Belle. “By the way, how’s your gem deck?”
“Gem-Knight to be precise,” said Rarity. “And it’s now… perfect. It’s got all the gems I love, and with these new traps cards, everyone else will be… outshined.”
At Pinkie’s house, she and Maud were reinforcing their decks. “There, all done,” said Pinkie. “This is gonna be sweet.”
“I’m done too,” said Maud.
“Awesome,” said Pinkie. “I bet your deck’s gonna rock!”
“Yes, it is a rock deck,” said Maud bluntly.
At Rainbow’s house, she was adding some new cards to her Crystal Beast deck. “There’s more than one way to summon a dragon,” said Rainbow. “I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
Over at Sunset’s hangout, she was filing her deck with the best cards she had. “My deck may not have an archetype, but neither did Yugi Moto. Besides, to bet Crystal Prep, I’m have to go all out.” After another hour of strategizing and compiling her cards, she was done. “This is the best deck I’ve ever made, the rest is all up to fate.”
Over at Crystal Prep, Dean Cadence was about to give out medals to her students. “Please form an orderly line,” said Cadence. “Once you have received a CPA medal, you may go home.” The only one that wasn’t in line was Twilight.
After handing out the medals, Cadence went to Twilight’s study room and knocked. “Twilight?” called Cadence.
“Coming!” said Twilight. The door opened. “Hi, Dean Cadence. Did you need me for something?”
“Twilight, why didn’t you come to receive your medal?” asked Cadence.
“Because I can’t play in this tournament,” said Twilight. “I have too much work to do.”
“You mean with your dog?” asked Cadence in a jokeful tone.
“Um, yes! Precisely.” Confirmed Twilight.
“Well, okay. But Principal Cinch wants to see you,” said Cadence. “Also, make sure you put on a clean shirt. You know how allergic she is to dogs.”
“Oh, maybe it’s about my application to Everton,” Twilight immediately walked to Cinch’s office. “Principal Cinch? You wanted to see me?”
“Indeed I did,” confirmed Cinch. “I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming tournament. This contest will be an excellent way to improve our school’s reputation and status. The one thing I can’t understand is why my top student wouldn’t want to compete. I’ve seen you duel Cadence and your brother, and a vast majority of the time, you’ve won.”
“I’m sorry Principal Cinch, but I can’t possibly compete,” explained Twilight. “My work here is-”
“Ah yes, your work,” interrupted Cinch. “Cadence, would please find my contact sheet for Everton?”
“Of course,” replied Cadence.
“I understand you’ve applied,” said Cinch. “You know, one of the advantages of having a good reputation is a certain amount of influence in such things. So, let me offer you a deal. In return for contributing your amazing mind and dueling skills to this contest, I will use my influence to guarantee your application is approved. Though, I suppose I could also have it... denied. What do you think I should do?”
“Okay,” said Twilight. “I’ll compete.”
“A very wise choice,” said Cinch. "Now get your medal from Cadence, and with your skills, I don’t even need to wish you luck.”
Sunset was sitting at her home and decided to write to Princess Twilight. “Dear Princess Twilight, how's life treating you in Equestria? Any cool new magic spells? It's been pretty quiet here at CHS since the Battle with the Sirens. Now, we’re starting to pony up for no ligament reason. It makes me think our magic might be...changing. Everyone is looking to me to figure things out and I really don't wanna let them down. But I'm not sure I have enough experience with friendship magic to solve this. I would love to hear what you think about it when you get a sec. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer. P.S. There’s a dueling tournament going tomorrow.”