The day of the Friendship Games had finally come. The buses from Crystal Prep were currently dropping off the last of the students. Twilight was the last to get off.
“Huh?” her device was getting a reading from the CHS building. As Twilight approached the main doorway, she bumped into Flash Sentry and knocked off her glasses.
“Twilight? I almost didn't recognize you,” said Flash. He then looked down and saw her eyewear. “When did you start wearing glasses?”
“Um, like, since forever,” replied Twilight.
“Oh, okay,” said Flash placing Twilight’s glasses back on her face. “You’re here for the tournament, right?”
“Yes, are you competing?” asked Twilight.
“Yep, I know I’ll see you at the finals,” said Flash. As Twilight’s vision came into focus and saw Flash’s face, she cheeks burned red. Her device then picked up a signal.
“Excuse me, I’ve gotta go,” said Twilight.
“O-okay, bye?” Flash’s head drooped in depression. Derpy then walked up and padded him on the back.
Meanwhile, Sunset and the girls were going over their decks in the main lobby of the school. “Alright,” said Sunset. “Are you all ready?”
“Absolutely!” said Pinkie.
“You bet,” said Rainbow.
“Eeyup,” said Applejack.
“I guess so,” said Fluttershy
“Oh yes,” said Rarity. “I am…ready!” Rarity walked in a new purple sequin outfit and struck a pose. “What do you think?”
“It looks amazing,” said Fluttershy.
“You said it,” agreed Applejack.
“You look great, Rarity,” said Sunset.
“Thank you girls,” said Rarity. “And there’s plenty more where this came from. I bet all of you are just dying to have a dress of your own, but not to fret. I made one for each of you. Viola!” The girls looked over and saw sequin outfits in red, yellow, orange, blue and pink.
“Wow!” said the girls.
“Thanks so much, Rarity,” said Sunset.
“No problem at all, darling.” All of a sudden Rarity sprouted her pony ears and ponytail, and began to hover.
Twilight’s devise opened up and began to draw in the magic from Rarity’s body. “Oh my,” said Rarity out of breath. “I’m suddenly all out of energy.”
“You okay?” asked Fluttershy.
“I believe so,” replied Rarity. Suddenly the main doors behind them opened and Twilight walked in.
“Twilight?” asked the girls in unison.
“Uh, yes?” replied Twilight.
“Well, I'll be,” said Applejack. “You shoulda told us you were comin'.”
“Darling, those glasses,” said Rarity. “What are you wearing? It's so...severe.”
“My uniform…” said Twilight.
“You’re uniform for what?” asked Fluttershy.
“For...Crystal Prep,” answered Twilight. “But how do you all know who I am?”
“Did you just say Crystal Prep?” asked Rainbow. Spike then popped out of Twilight’s pack.
“Spike!” said the girls.
Twilight gasped. “You know my dog's name, too?”
The double doors opened again and Celestia and Cinch came through. “Yes, Principal Cinch, everything is ready for the tournament. Wait, Twilight?” gasped Celestia.
“This is getting ridiculous!” said Twilight.
“I must apologize for the curiosity of my prized student,” said Cinch.
“Your student?” asked Celestia.
“The smart ones are always curious,” explained Cinch.
“Come, Twilight,” said Cinch.
“I didn't know Twilight had a twin sister,” said Celestia.
“I'm sorry, Principal Cinch,” said Twilight. “I was just following these strange readings. Actually, they led me to those girls and-”
“Twilight, what you do in your free time is of little interest to me,” said Cinch. “Just don’t let it distract you from the tournament.” Twilight then got another reading on her device and followed it over to the Wondercolt statue.
Meanwhile in the school. The girls couldn't who they just met.
“I can't believe our world's Twilight goes to Crystal Prep!” said Rarity as she and girls headed toward down the hall.
“So Twilight’s going to play against us?” asked Rainbow. “She’d never to that.”
“Our Twilight wouldn’t,” said Fluttershy.
“You’re right,” said Sunset. “Unfortunately, our friend is busy in Equestria. So we’re gonna have to handle this ourselves.”
“Right!” said the girls.
“Still, I wish she was here to give us some advice,” said Sunset.
“I’m sure we’ll think of a way to handle this,” said Applejack. “After all, this isn’t the first time we’ve had these kind of problems.”
“No kidding,” said Rainbow. “Come on, let’s go check out the competition.”
“I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute,” said Sunset. She looked in her journal. “Still no reply.” Sunset walked out the main doors toward the Wondercolt statue, Twilight was on the other side.
“Maybe there’s another way to reach her,” said Sunset. She walked over to the Wondercolt statue and touched it, at the same time, Twilight’s device opened up and began sucking power out of Sunset and the statue. “Hey, let go!!” Twilight’s device then closed and released Sunset. “What did you do?!” demanded Sunset. Twilight immediately ran off. Sunset felt for the portal, but the magical opening was gone. “Where's the portal? Where's the portal?!!”
“Attention!” called Vice-Principal Luna over the school speaker. “All those competing in the Friendship Games Dueling Tournament, please report to the gymnasium!”
In the gym, a welcoming party was being held for the Crystal Prep students. Though, no one was mingling.
“What do ya mean the portal's gone?” asked AJ.
“I mean it’s literally gone,” said Sunset. “It’s not there anymore.”
“How'd that happen?” asked Rainbow.
“I don't know,” said Sunset. “But it has something to do with that Twilight.”
Twilight was still trying follow the readings on her device when she pumped into Pinkie.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie,” said Pinkie.
“Hi, I’m Twilight,” replied Twilight.
“I know, you look just like my friend, her name is Twilight too,” said Pinkie.
“That’s… weird,” said Twilight.
Pinkie then noticed the device around Twilight’s neck. “What’s that?”
“It's sort of a spectrometer,” explained Twilight. “I built it to track EM frequencies, but it can also contain anomalies.” Pinkie just blinked. “It measures things.”
“Like the party?” asked Pinkie.
“Yeah, though it doesn't look like much of a party to me,” said Twilight.
“I know. Something is definitely missing,” said Pinkie. “Come on!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight’s hand and pulled her over to a hidden area. The two then hauled in a pair of huge boxes.
“What’s in these things?” Twilight grunted.
“Party cannons of course!” said Pinkie. Pinkie then gave Vinyl Scratch a silent signal and Vinyl put on some pop music.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Twilight.
“Absolutely,” said Pinkie and she fired the cannons. The party then kicked into full swing, and the Canterlot High and Crystal Prep students started to mingle with one another. Pinkie felt so pleased, she began to transform and hover. “Oooh, floaty.”
Twilight’s device opened and sucked out Pinkie’s magic, leaving Pinkie feeling exhausted. “I’m party pooped,” she said.
The device then opened again and shot a small blast of magic under the bleachers. Afterwards, a small dimensional rift opened a portal to Equestria. “What in the world? I-I mean, in that world?” asked Twilight.
The girls walked over to their friend. “Pinkie, you alright?” asked AJ.
“Yeah, I guess so,” answered Pinkie.
“What happened?” asked Fluttershy.
Before Pinkie could answer, the Principals took the stage and Luna spoke into the mic. “Good morning, students! I'm sure you're all thrilled to start the first day of the Friendship Games Dueling Competition! Now that you’re all here, please raise your hand if you do not have a medal.” said Luna. No one’s hand rose. “Excellent,” said Luna. “Now we can begin, Dean Cadence?” Luna handed the mic to her niece.
“Thank you, Vice-Principal Luna,” said Cadence. “The rules are simple! When you duel, each player can wager any number of medals! Even if you run out of medals, you can still duel others who do have medals! All the players who have accumulated ten medals by three O’clock today, will go to the finals tomorrow! You are allowed to make any adjustments to your decks, but only before you duel! As you now, all forbidden cards are allowed! I repeat, all forbidden cards are allowed in this tournament!” all the students cheered. “Now good luck to all of you, and the let duels commence!”