Yugioh: Worlds Collide

by ShootingStar25

Chapter 37: Doppelgangers

It was the day after both schools had announced that the Friendship Games would be taking place in two weeks and it was safe to say that the students of both schools were ecstatic. Moreso that Crystal Prep just simply shrugged it off as they were confident that they would be victorious as always. Canterlot High on the other hand were full of excitement. They felt like this year would be the time things would change for the better; they knew that this year could be their shining moment to finally be in the winner's circle. With that both teams began to make preparations on how they would combat their opponents.

Isaac was currently in the school's library where he was accompanied by both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. They were waiting for the girls to show up as Isaac had called them to inform them about being part of the team for CHS. It didn't take long as soon the doors were open and the girls began to make their way in and headed towards Isaac. The girls noticed that he wasn't alone as both Celestia and Luna were standing behind him which could mean that this meeting was important.

"Alright, Isaac. You got all of us here, so what's the issue?"

"Simmer down, Dash. I'll explain in due time." The girls then sat in the chairs Isaac had set up so they could pay attention to the whiteboard behind him. Isaac then sat so that he faced them. "Well in case you haven't known the Friendship Games are coming up. And it's my honor to tell you all that you'll be 6 out of the 7 participants competing on Team CHS."

The girls were happy as they all had smiles on their faces. They then began to give each other hugs and high fives. Just then a thought crossed their mind which caused them to turn back to Isaac.

"Pardon the interruption, Isaac. But you said 6 out of the 7, right? So who's going to be the last member?"

"Well, Fluttershy. The last member of the team will be me. In fact, by request of Celestia, she's made me the team captain." Isaac then put on his captain cap as the girls were even more happy that Isaac had agreed to being a part of the team.

"Ha, told you. I knew you would come through and wouldn't let us down. But wait, you said a team of 7?"

"I believe I can answer that Ms. Dash. According to the Board of Education, they believe that having 7 members on the team will help limit the win-loss ratio so that the event won't end in a tie. They just want to make sure that there's a winner."

"Exactly, Celestia. Now that we've got that out the way, I don't think I need to ask you but I'll still anyway. It's my duty to represent Team CHS as not only its captain, but also as its champion. So I'll ask you girls, if any of you aren't comfortable with competing then it's okay you can just tell me and we'll find a replacement."

"Like hell we would! We're here because we want to be here. This is finally our time to show those uptight Crystal Preppies how to throwdown CHS style. Plus with you leading us to victory, we've got nothing to worry about, right girls?"

"What Rainbow is saying, darling? Is that we've got your back and we're willing to support you till the very end. In fact, now that we know we're all going to be teammates I should get to work on designing team shirts. Nothing screams unity without us wearing something in common."

"Settle down, Rarity. We should probably be more focused on what Isaac is going to say."

"Thanks Applejack, now back to business. As we know the event this year will be Duel Monsters. Already, that puts us at a bit of a disadvantage. While Crystal Prep has dueling embedded into their curriculum; we've only got the time when we're not in class to actually practice. So with that I was able to talk to both Luna and Celestia and they've told the teachers about the upcoming event that they're willing to allow us to have extra time in order to prepare ourselves. Now then the next item on the list is our opponents. Currently, we don't know who we'll be facing until the actually event. Thankfully the Friendship Games will be taking place here, so in a way we'll have home field advantage. Now that brings us to the last major thing to discuss. Ourselves and our decks."

"What do mean by that?"

"Allow me to explain, Sunset. See a team is only good as your strongest duelist, but it's also on how you handle your weakest member. There's no two ways about it, some of us are a bit better than others. Therefore it's up to each one of us to cover the weakness of the other person, so that we can learn from them and make us even stronger as a team. Am I understood?"

The girls all nodded as they understood what Isaac was saying.

"Now in terms of our deck; in order for us to be unite as one we need to know each other."

"Thankfully, that's not a problem. I mean we're all best friends with each other and we love to party." Pinkie then pulled out her party cannon and pulled the string as confetti came out.

Isaac just brushed the confetti that landed on his shoulder. "It's not just that Pinkie, in order for us to truly know one another we must put ourselves in each other's shoes and see how they play their decks. For example, you've all seen the way I play. But say it was Applejack that was using my deck, or even Fluttershy? As far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty sure that they would do things differently and play different strategies compared to me. So in order to understand how each one of us thinks, every so often we'll be playing with each others decks to get a feeling for how they work and to picture ourselves in their positions."

"That's actually smart. Not only does it allow us to expand our knowledge of Duel Monsters, but it gives us exposure to different scenarios and how well we respond to them."

"Right on the money, Sunset. Now the next key thing will be cards, as you know a deck is nothing if you don't have the proper cards to play with. So as you know that I've got a couple of cards that I'm willing to let us use so that we can make sure our decks are up to date. In addition, Luna here has used a small portion of the school budget to get use some card packs/sets. Hopefully this will be enough for us to be as prepared as we can be. So with that does anybody have questions." The girls all shook their head. "Alright, well then what do you'll say we get some extra special training." The group nodded as Isaac led them out to the field with Celestia and Luna staying a bit behind to talk.

"Well, you were right sister. Isaac was definitely the right choice to pick as team captain for CHS."

"Thank you, Luna; but this didn't have anything to do with me. I just simply gave Isaac an offer and told him about how he had tons of students who would be cheering/supporting him if he chose to partake in this event. He was the one to make the final decision and he's showing what a great leader he is."

"Indeed, come on Tia. Let's go see how well Isaac is whipping the girls into shape." With that Luna and Celestia then made their way outside as they wanted to see their students train for the fight of their lives.

---

Crystal Prep was a place that prided themselves on being the best. To them their motto was: that they were the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. The students really took it to heart as everytime they faced Canterlot High, they made sure to completely dominant their opponents as it often resulted in a squash match. Nevertheless, they weren't worried as they felt history would repeat itself and they would be declared the victors. Twilight Sparkle was making her way to the room where she would be meeting the rest of her team and see who her teammates were. She found the room number and opened the door; upon first glance there was a huge table in the middle with a couple of seats that surrounded the wooden structure as they were positioned in the shape of a circle. Twilight saw that neither Principal Sombra nor her brother were here; she could only assume that they would be arriving soon. She did notice 5 other individuals who were seated as one of them got up and began to approach her.

A girl with multi-toned blue hair, brilliant gamboge eyes, and light amberish grey skin began to introduce herself. "Hey. You the seventh member of the team?"

"Umm, yeah."

"Nice, by the way the name's Indigo Zap."

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Cool name, let me introduce you to the others." Indigo then led Twilight to the table as she began to introduce the other girls.

Sitting in the chair next to Indigo Zap was a girl who had light opalish gray hair with a light bluish gray streaks; she also had grayish orchid eyes as well as light phthalo bluish gray skin. The person next to her had grayish mulberry hair with light raspberry streaks; she had moderate cerise eyes and had light turquoishish gray skin. The next person over had light pistachio hair with pale, light grayish green and light brilliant lime green streaks; she had light brilliant amber eyes and pale, light grayish amaranth skin. The last girl was sitting in the chair next to Twilight and she had moderate rose hair with lighter moderate rose and grayish aquamarine streaks; she had moderate indigo eyes and pale, light grayish gold skin.

"This here is Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet."

Twilight gave a light wave as they all gave a wave back. "So you girls call yourselves the Shadowbolts, am I right?"

“Well, aren’t you well-informed!” Sour Sweet gushed. “If I didn’t know any better I’d peg you as a stuck-up know it all!” She snarled the last words.

Twilight leaned away at her tone. “Did I mistake your names?”

“Relax, dear.” Sunny Flare gave a look at Sour Sweet to behave herself and smiled at Twilight. “Yes, that would be us. It seems our reputations precede us, as they should.”

“Shining Armor talks about you sometimes,” Twilight replied.

“I would presume so, seeing how often we challenge him,” Sugarcoat said. “Even if our win-loss record couldn’t surpass his, a victory would be a symbolic show of superiority.”

"That's my brother for you. He won't stop till he wins and how can he not; he's just that good."

"So Twilight, got any secrets to share on that front?” Indigo nudged her and winked.

“Secrets?”

“Yeah, you know.” Indigo shrugged. “How’s he so good? Do you have some kind of program that builds his deck for him, does he have to train ten hours a day? Does he have some magical power that allows him to be undefeated?”

Twilight gave her a quizzical look. “I’m not sure I follow. There isn’t any sort of secret like that to my brother’s dueling. He just practices hard, builds his deck well, and knows how to use it effectively. In fact, ever since we were little, he would always battle whoever was around him as he felt it was the best way for him to learn. Safe to say that it worked as he quickly climbed the ranks of the school and is now the number #1 duelist in Crystal Prep history.” I doubt there's a single person who can beat my brother, let alone tie with him.

“Then why does it work for him? I mean, I do all the same things as he does!” said Indigo Zap.

Twilight shrugged. “Than it stands to reason he’s simply better than you, doesn’t it?”

Sunny Flare let out a small, indignant huff. “It's good to know you think so little of us.”

Twilight turned her attention her way. “Not at all, you're all extremely skilled. But, if you were capable of defeating Shining Armor, you would have done it by now.”

Sugarcoat murmured. “She's got us there.”

“She's just so confident!” Sour Sweet gushed. She scowled after. “Makes me wonder how badly we'd crush her if she faced us!”

“Yeah, good idea.” Lemon Zest put her elbow on the table and leaned across to look at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Think you could beat us?”

Twilight paused as she looked around the table at the five girls staring at her, her eyes stopping on Indigo. “Is that a challenge?”

“Do you want it to be?” Indigo replied immediately.

“No.” Twilight shook her head.

Indigo Zap just let out a laugh as she was having fun with Twilight. "I'm just messing with you, nerd. Lighten up and smile a bit, will ya?"

"Sorry it's just I only duel with a purpose. If it doesn't benefit me in any way shape or form, then I see no point in it. I'd have little to gain by dueling any of you. As for Sour Sweet's statement, while a win wouldn't be outside the realm of probability, it wouldn’t be favorable to me within a reliable degree of certainty. All the reason more not to try.”

“Wow, really?” Lemon scrunched her face. “That's lame. You won't duel anyone you don't know you can beat?”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “If I have minimal chance of defeating a duelist, I don't see the point of facing them.” Though while Twilight said that she immediately remembered her duel with Isaac the other day. All signs pointed to her winning the duel but as it kept going on her chances started to dwindle till it was very low; even then she began to question herself why she continued to fight if she knew her probability of winning was diminishing.

Sugarcoat gave the new girl a half-lidded stare. “With the right combination of luck and skill, anything is possible.”

“Possible, yes. Probable, no. Luck is just a word for variables one hasn’t solved for yet.” Twilight adjusted her glasses. “At any given time in a duel, the odds of a duelist drawing a particular card on their next turn can be definitively calculated as long as one knows the contents of their deck. Then, knowing the contents of the opponent's deck and the current state of the field, one can determine the statistically best usage of that card to have the most impact at increasing their own resources or draining the opponent's resources. A duel is merely the process by which duelists take turns putting this formula into action, and the deck is the tool they use to execute it. True, a duelist may occasionally defy the odds of random chance, but they can’t manage it every turn. Under these conditions, and presuming optimal decision-making from both players, eventually the duelist whose deck is more efficient at this process will gain enough advantage over the other that their ability to follow the process will be compromised beyond repair. Shortly thereafter, the duel will certainly reach its conclusion.”

The other five stared at Twilight as she finished her explanation.

Indigo let out a low whistle. “I feel nerdier just listening to that. Still couldn't you have simplified that in short words."

Lemon nodded. “There's more to this game than statistics, you know.”

Twilight was confused by what she said. "Like what?"

“Having fun!” Indigo grinned. “The adrenaline rush of a great draw, the thrill of pulling off that epic combo to clench the win, the rush of victory as you watch that Life Point counter tick to zero!”

Sour Sweet grinned. “Watching the hope drain out of their eyes as you back them into a corner and grind them down one card at a time.”

“Yeah…” Indigo leaned back in her chair and sighed. “It's the best feeling in the world. Know what I mean?”

Twilight looked down at her deck. "No. I don't know what you mean." Once again Twilight's subconscious was conflicting with her as her mind kept flashing back to her duel with Isaac.

Sour Sweet peered closer at her. “If you don't play for fun, why even play this game?”

“I intend to go into card design when I graduate. I've already applied to internships at a tournament venue to shadow under judges.”

Indigo rolled her hand through the air. “And you want to do that because…”

“Card design is a promising career path with a lot of room for advancement and development.”

“So is being an electrician, why not look at that?” Lemon snickered and high-fived Indigo.

“I have.” The two lowered their hands. Twilight gestured to her duel disk. “Hardware development for duel disks. But I find the hazardous factory environments unappealing. And I don’t want to carry heavy loads every day and I don't know how to operate a hand truck.”

Lemon shrank back. “Oookay then…”

"Anyways, seeing as how we're all going to be on the same team. Mind telling us what deck you use?" asked Sunny Flare as she adjusted her hair.

"My archetype is pretty complex and calculated. I use tons of literature with magical properties and use their energy to summon out sorcerers that wield incredible power both in stats and abilities."

The rest of the girls just had confused looks on their face as they didn't understand a word Twilight was saying. Twilight just rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as she did her best to 'speak English'. "I use a Spellbook deck, with a bit of variety of magicians/spellcasters."

"Huh, the nerd who likes facts and figures uses a deck that is made up of magic and other natural powers along with tons of books. Seems about right. As for me I've got F.A. deck, which means Formula Athlete."

"Magnetic Warriors" said Sugarcoat.

"Hazy Flame for me, dear." Sunny Flare simply flipped her hair.

"Morphtronics is the way to go my dude." Lemon Zest then put on her headphones and began to rock out while playing air guitar.

"Save the best for last, like you should. Mighty Amazoness. Tough girls who show they don't need any male to boss them around!" Sour Sweet had a smile on her face while looking at Twilight which then turned sideways really fast.

"Now what about your brother? He uses tons of different decks, but what's his main deck?" Indigo Zap was hoping to get some extra dirt on Twilight's brother so that she could come up with a plan to beat.

"Well he uses..." before Twilight could say the door opened with Principal Sombra walking in accompanied by someone.

He was a tall person as he had moderate sapphire blue hair with moderate cerulean and dark phthalo blue streaks. He had moderate cerulean eyes and had light gray skin. On his cadigan, he had a shield with a larger sparkle in the middle and had three smaller stars on top of the shield. Once they made their way all the girls stood up with Twilight slowly following behind.

"At ease, everyone. Apologizes for being late, Shining Armor and I were collecting some info that may help us figure out how to defeat out opponents." Sombra then took his position at the head of the table with Shining Armor standing in front of his seat which was between Sombra and his little sister. "Now then, as you know the Friendship Games will taking place in about two weeks. Both of our schools have selected the individuals who will represent the schools and they will meet in several rounds of Duel Monsters to see which school is superior. I've chosen you all because I believe you to be the best of the best, so I expect nothing but success and victory. Are we clear!"

Everybody nodded as they heard Sombra's booming voice. "Now then Shining Armor, please present the documents for all to see."

"Glady, Principal Sombra." Shining Armor then threw a couple of files on the table that had the portraits of their rivals and inside had some information about them. The girls all looked at them before Shining Armor began to explain them.

"The first person you see here is a girl by the name of Fluttershy. She uses a beast-type deck; she's into floral and fauna lifestyle. However, don't let her shy nature fool you. She deeply cares about her friends and animal companions that she would do anything to keep them safe. Not to mention that her most recent accomplishment was she made it into the top 8 of the Fall Formal at CHS." He then presented another file. "This one, her name is Rarity. Apart from her beauty, she has a fascination for things that shiny and priceless. She has a strong passion for fashion and hopes to pursue it. In terms of what she uses, she has a Crystal Beast deck so expect some issue with this. Next file: Pinkie Pie. She's hyper energetic, not to mention loves to party. Despite not dueling as much as the others, she still knows how to throw down and is not to be taken lightly. She uses a Toon deck. So expect some craziness to ensue. The fourth file is Applejack. She's a hard working country girl who loves her family deeply as it runs through her veins. Deck type: Predaplant. Expect her to have some tricks up her sleeves. After that we have a girl who gives new meaning to the word 'speed': Rainbow Dash. Along with Applejack, she's one of CHS's top duelist; always placing in the top 3 or 4 of every tournament. The deck she uses personifies her attitude as she relies heavily on her U.A. or ultra athletes." Shining Armor then presented the last file in his hand. "Lastly, there's Sunset Shimmer. Went from former bully to one of the most beloved students in Canterlot High. At first she used relied on archfiends, but since then has gotten rid of them and is now using a Red-Eyes deck." That last piece of info sent Twilight to have big eyes as she was surprised that someone on the opponent's side would being using such a well respected card.

The girls then began to pick up the files as they each took a turn to look through the files of their opponent. Safe to say that it wouldn't be no walk in the park but they still expected them to be the winners no matter who they faced. Just then Sugarcoat noticed something as she spoke up.

"Wait a minute, there's only 6 files. According to the rules of the Friendship Games, there are 7 members on a team. So who's the seventh?"

Sombra then waved his hand as he commanded they all take a seat. The entire group complied as they all sat down in their chairs as they placed their arms on the round table.

"Unfortunately, that is something we don't know. For some reason, we can't seem to collect info on CHS' final member. However, we do know who it will be. If you all saw the files, you'll notice that none of the girls are ranked as the champion. Therefore it comes to no shock that the final member of Team CHS will be the champion. Now all that remains is to figure out who that champion is and once we figure out what deck he uses, we'll implore the proper countermeasures to achieve victory."

"I don't care, so what if it's their champion? I'll knock them down the same way I do everybody who faces me."

"Overconfidence can be a weakness, Ms. Zap. Have too much of it and you'll soon find yourself at the bottom of the barrel."

"Either way, as long as we win majority of our duels we won't have to worry about who the 7th member is. In fact, there's a chance we won't even face the champ."

"True. But always take into account the probability of the uncertain to happen, Ms. Sugarcoat."

Twilight on the other hand had a different expression on her face. When Sombra first mentioned that they didn't know who the seventh member was, she had a relaxed look. But once she looked at the files of the competitors and heard Sombra say that the final member of Team Canterlot was the champion; she immediately started to sweat. Twilight knew that the champion was the boy she had dueled when she was spying on CHS, it took a while but eventually she remembered the boy's name.

"Isaac." whispered Twilight.

"Hmm, what was that little sis?"

"Nothing." Twilight did her best to deny that she said anything to which her brother bought it. Still it plagued her on why she didn't choose to speak up and tell her team on how she knew who the final person was and what his signature monster was. She felt like it was an important detail as it would prove beneficial for them as they could come up with the proper plan to beat him. But she didn't; for some reason she just chose to keep that detail to herself and listened as Principal Sombra was talking.

"Now that we've got the details out of the way; tell me girls what do you think of our opponents."

"The girl with U.A. gets maximum points for coolness, can't wait to throw down with her."

"Blonde hair. Simple, still not a problem."

"She wants some flair then I'll gladly give her some."

"Can't wait to turn it up to 10! Yeah! Hope that girl knows how to party!"

"Hope she has her animals friends around so I can pet them, then make they watch as I put their master down for good!"

"As for the champ, let me take care of them. Even if they're good, they don't come close to the skills that I possess."

Everybody was expressing how they felt, except for Twilight. Sombra then got her attention. "What about you Twilight? Surely, you must have something to say. Perhaps about our opponents and how you can possibly formulate a plan to counteract them."

Twilight just looked around as her teammates looked at her to see what she would say. "Just that we'll do whatever it takes to win."

Everybody agreed on what she said and began to plan ahead for their victory speech. She quickly looked at Sombra who had a smile on his face; but when she looked at it felt cold and sinister. Sombra then spoke up.

"Now then we've seen our opponents, I'm sure you'll have someone who you want to face but know that the duelists/duels will be randomly generated before each match. Which means the probability of who you desire to duel gets either larger or smaller depending on who's already participated. This leads me to the rules of the Friendship Games. As you know the Board of Education has changed this year's teams to 7 members to avoid a tie occurring. So in order for the team to win they must win 4 out of the 7 duels that will take place. Therefore if we were to win all 4 of our rounds then that means most of you won't get a chance to compete, nevertheless I'd expect you'll to be prepared for anything. Now we know the types of decks our opponent's use so using the database that Twilight has come up with, we can have our robots use these cards and practice against them. That being said; let me bring your attention to each duelist's signature card." Sombra then projected on the screen behind them the portraits of their opponents and their signature monster next to them.

"Fluttershy's card is Behemoth, the King of All Animals. She's also been recently using Thunder Unicorn and the Xyz monster Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu. Applejack has Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon. Rarity uses Rainbow Dragon. Pinkie Pie is an interesting one as she'll be rely on her toon monsters, so expect the standard monsters that go into a toon deck. Rainbow Dash relies on her U.A. deck, but recently she's gained possession of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. And Sunset Shimmer has the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. A mix of variety among these participants, not including who the champion is, but they all have a similar feature in that most of them haven't used the more advanced summoning methods that we use. CHS doesn't teach their students dueling as most of them learn on their own, so realistically they only know how to Fusion and the basic Tribute summoning."

"Then how does this Fluttershy girl have a Synchro and an Xyz card? Not to mention that Sunset girl will definitely have some variations of Red-Eyes in her extra deck." said Sugarcoat bluntly.

"That's the part I was getting to; while most of these decks are theirs, they also had help to change them. Compared to how they were before the school term of last year, it's clear they've had someone who's modified their decks. It also happened right around the time their Fall Formal was occurring and it could be assumed that whoever they were that won the event was also the same person who helped improved their decks."

"So you're saying this person has a vast knowledge of Duel Monsters that they would make all these changes to the girls' decks?"

"Correct, Ms. Sweet. Which means the champion is someone who'll be a bit difficult but seeing as how he attends CHS, he'll probably only know the basic stuff and summoning methods. Overall, this is but a sure victory for Crystal Prep. Now then I'd expect you'll to get along and practice twice as hard so that the moment we arrive at CHS they already consider the idea of forfeiting. We start as soon as classes are done, dismissed." With that everybody nodded and they began to head to their classes.

Twilight was still in her seat as she watched her teammates leave. Sombra was about to ask what was wrong, but Shining Armor told him that he'll talk to his sister. He gave him his permission and told them not to take too long as they wouldn't be excused for being tardy. Shining Armor then made his way to Twilight who was dwindling with her fingers.

"Twily, is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're acting a bit unusual than normal. I figured you would be someone who would be excited to share with the girls about how to counter our opponents. So what's been eating at you?"

"Nothing big bro."

"So it has nothing to do with what's on your mind? Especially pertaining to you meeting a certain someone? A boy, perhaps?" Shining Armor had a sly look on his face.

"What!? No! Why would that be a fact?"

"Cause Cadance told me about it yesterday."

"I've should have known. Well you'll be pleased to know that, that's not the reason. I've got something else that's occupying my mind."

"Twily, I understand on keeping things to yourself. We all have our secrets, but know that I'll always be here to keep you safe. It's my duty as your big bro."

"I appreciate that BBBFF." She then gave him a hug.

"Anytime, LSBFF. By the way, I don't mind if you've taken an interest in someone. They just got to answer to me and see if they've got what it takes to be with my little sis." Shining Armor then took out his deck as he looked at it while saying that to Twilight. She knew how her big brother would get like this which is why she didn't bother being involved in relationships. With that they both left as they attended their classes.

---

Isaac and the girls were currently having a couple of practice duels. He even introduced them to the activity that he did with Rainbow before the Winter Ball. He showed them how it worked and used it to see their skills; the results were all over the place but eventually they were able to figure out one scenario. Sunset was able to solve it on her first few tries, so Isaac decided to name her as the co-captain of Team CHS to which the girls had no issue with it. Celestia and Luna were watching from afar as they were impressed with what they were seeing; they were happy to see Isaac take charge as he wiped the girls into shape and were feeling a bit excited themselves as they couldn't wait to see their students battle.

Isaac was currently facing against Sunset but they weren't using their actually decks. Isaac was using Rarity's Crystal Beast deck while Sunset was using Fluttershy's beast deck.

"Now that I have all 7 of my Crystal Beasts on my field and in my graveyard, I can now summon my Rainbow Dragon." Isaac played his card as a dragon full of colors and embedded jewels appeared on his side of the field. It led out a mighty roar as it looked at the person who summoned it. It didn't feel the same as to when Rarity would summon him, but he sensed the presence/spirit that Isaac had as it was strong with him and Rainbow Dragon knew it could trust Isaac. "Now I'll have Rainbow Dragon attack your Behemoth. Go Rainbow Refraction!" With that Rainbow Dragon powered itself up and opened its jaws as it unleashed a powerful beam and destroyed Sunset's behemoth and watched her life points hit zero.

Once the duel was over, Isaac told Sunset how she performed and offered his insight on how she could improve. Soon it was time for Applejack and Fluttershy to face each other using different decks. Isaac and Sunset then watched from the sides with their other friends as he began to take notes on what he observed during the duel. Overall, Isaac had his work cut out for him; he knew that it would only be a matter of time before they would be in front of the school and battling against Crystal Prep. Not to mention that like the Fall Formal, this event would be televised to both families of the schools so that they could witness the great battles to come. In the end, Isaac did the best he could to make sure that they were prepared; eventually he saw progress and it couldn't happen at a better time as the two weeks had flown by and they soon found themselves on the cusp of the Friendship Games.

---

The day had finally arrived; today was the day where Crystal Prep would be arriving to CHS where the two teams would meet in a party being held in the auditorium. There the captains and the other members would be able to see their rivals and be able to mingle with them. This would be the first time that Team CHS would see who their rivals were and then it was praying that all their training paid off. Isaac and the girls had registered their decks into the system and were told by Celestia and Luna that they were free to make any changes between now and before their match because once the participants were selected for the round they had a minute to get ready. The entire school body were outside as they waited for their enemies to show up which didn't take long as they soon came into view. A black limousine turned the corner down the street and drove towards the school. Behind it came a school bus. The limo turned into the parking lot and stopped with the back door aligned with the stairs leading down to the field. The school bus stopped on the roadside and opened its doors.

Students clad in purple and blue uniforms filed off the bus. More than a few dirty looks and a couple obscene gestures passed between the opposing student bodies. A few of the Crystal Prep students gave a glance at the students of Canterlot High, but no remarks or gestures were directed at them. Once everybody that was on the bus had gotten their stuff, the door to the limo swung open. A tall man with pale grey skin in a dark grey suit and a red ruffled shirt stood out of the limo. He took a moment to adjust his jacket and then turned to offer a hand to Cadance who stepping out behind him. She took the hand and stood up, a silver briefcase in her other hand and then stood beside him. Now more students came from the limo. The first was an older boy with blue hair and pale skin. Behind him came five more Crystal Prep duelists, all girls. Then the sixth girl stepped out as she had a different look compared to her classmates. They then meet with Celestia and Luna who were waiting for them in the parking lot.

"Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna. It's been too long. You are looking well.” Sombra took the offered hand and shook it twice, then turned it and bowed to briefly press his lips to the back of it.

"Good to see you again, Principal Sombra and Dean Cadance. Welcome back to Canterlot High.” said Celestia as she retracted her hand and began to lead the entire student body of Crystal Prep towards the auditorium to where they would meet their opposition. Twilight was able to sneak away from the group as she wanted to do a bit of snooping for herself.

Isaac was currently heading towards the auditorium as he was on the roof of CHS when he noticed Crystal Prep had arrived. He knew that was his cue to head down for the party that was to take place; Rarity had wanted to design him an outfit to fit in at the party, but Isaac denied as he chose to go with his signature look. The girls on the other hand had decided to go in new dresses.(Just picture the outfits they wore in Friendship Games when they were at the party.) Isaac had just finished walk down the stairs that led to the roof as he turned the corner and began walking toward his destination.

"Well, they're here. Time to see who our opp..." Isaac didn't finish his sentence as he bump into someone who collided with him as they both fell down.

"Ow." Isaac was his hand on his head as he rubbed his temple to sooth the pain. Once the pain was gone, he looked to see who he had bumped into and it was a girl.

"That hurt. My glasses, where are they?" Twilight was scrambling trying to figure out where her glasses were.

Isaac looked to his side and saw they had fallen next to him. "Here they are." Isaac then picked them and put them on Twilight's face.

Once Twilight had gain her vision, she immediately blinked as she saw who was in front of her. For a moment, the eyes of Isaac and Twilight looked at each other as they examined each other. It seemed like something was happening inside both of them as they just stared at each not saying a word. Eventually the silence was broken by Isaac.

"Woah, you're beautiful." Isaac didn't know what came over him as he just said what was on his mind. He quickly pulled himself back as he helped Twilight to her feet.

"Thanks. Well sorry for bumping into you; I should be on my way." with that Twilight started walking away from Isaac.

"What the hell was that? That's the first time I've ever said something like that. Usually I'm not the one to say things like that to a girl, but it just came out. Not to mention that my chest feels like it's heating up, maybe I should check in the nurse's office after the social gathering." Isaac then continued on his way.

The little social gathering was full of tension. Both schools were separated as they were on opposite sides of the room. The only time they would cross paths was when they went for refreshments and food at the table. The girls had arrived as they saw Celestia on the stage as she was speaking with Principal Sombra. They saw the expressions of the Crystal Prep students as they had looks of disgusted.

"Well this certainly is a living party." said Sunset as she was eating a cookie.

"Seriously? It's boring if you ask me, this party is dead." Rainbow had crumpled up her napkin as she shot a basket into the trash can.

"If there was only a way to liven this up." said Rarity as she was fixing her earrings.

"Leave it to me, everybody." In a flash, Pinkie appeared and reappeared as she had huge presents on front of her. Once she opened them up, inside were two huge party cannons. "Let it rip!" Pinkie pulled the strings as hard as she can and a huge blast of confetti came out. It was such a huge amount that it transformed the entire room. Now there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, balloons had appeared and streamers were now hanging all over the place. Even music started to play as everybody started to lighten up and get in the groove of the music. Now there were a bit more conversations happening between the two schools. It was then Twilight had made her way into the room as she noticed the party happening. She was about to join her team when she was spotted by the rest of the girls.

"Hey, you're from Crystal Prep, right."

"Yeah."

"I'm Sunset Shimmer. And these are my friends: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"So, what's your name?"

Before Twilight could say she felt something on her shoulder as a person had suddenly appeared beside her.

"Who wants to know?!" shouted Indigo Zap as she was getting in the face of Sunset.

"Um, we do." replied Dash as she returned with the same fury in her voice. This caused both Indigo and Dash to stare at each other as they pressed their foreheads together getting ready to fight.

Applejack saw her that Dash was about to do something terrible, so she decided to defuse the situation to avoid seeing her friend get hurt. "All right, everyone. Let's not get too competitive before the games even start."

Sugarcoat now made her presence know as she bluntly stated the fact while looking at Applejack with an intense stare. "Please. The games aren't really competitive since we've never lost."

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Fluttershy was hoping that everybody would get along to avoid any physical violence.

"Sorry, dearie, but these games aren't about being nice." said Sunny Flare as she had a bit of uptightness in her voice.

"Well, you might use a little tact." replied Rarity as she was trying to defend her friend.

The girls all then began to look at each other as they were waiting to see what would happen next. They even managed to separate both Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap as they pulled them back. Before anything else could happen their was the feedback from the mic as Celestia and Sombra had gained everybody's attention.

"Students of Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy, I hope that you'll have been enjoying themselves. As you know this cross-school tournament has been held in the spirit of friendly competition, to unite our schools in their love for the game of Duel Monsters and their drive to better themselves and be the best. Friendship Games is an event that is beloved by many people. For those who have not attended the tournament before, I will briefly explain the rules. Duelists will be randomly matched and hold a single-elimination duel. We will hold four tomorrow and the other three the day after; the first team to score 4 points will ultimately be named the winner. In the event of a tied score after all seven duels have been held, an eighth tie-breaker duel will be held with each school allowed to choose their duelist secretly.”

Celestia turned her head. “And now I will hand the microphone over to Principal Sombra.”

Sombra took the offered microphone and cleared his throat before raising it. “Good morning, students and duelists of Canterlot High. Today, your chosen representatives will face the seven best duelists that Crystal Prep Academy can offer. Disregard your school’s history in this tournament or our school’s reputation. As each duel is a new opportunity to better one’s understanding of the game, so this tournament yours to lose, or win, will show if you are good enough to be considered the best. There can be no doubts or hesitation moving forward. There is only what is to come, and how we each, as schools and as individuals, handle it."

Surprisingly enough, the students from both school agreed with what Principal Sombra was saying as they applauded him and Celestia's speech.

Sombra then spoke once again, "Now that we've got the formalities and rules out the way, let's introduce the participants who will be representing our schools and will do battle for brand supremacy."

Luna then pushed a remote control as a screen lowered down and turned on. She then handed the remote to Sombra who pushed another button and the portraits and names of the competitors appeared for all to see.

"The duelists representing Crystal Prep Academy will be: Shining Armor, Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Indigo Zap, Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, and the last member being Twilight Sparkle." Sombra introduced his team as they made their way onto the stage. They received cheers from their fellow classmates while the students of CHS just had disdained looks while they showed their respect for their competitors by also clapping.

Just then the door to the auditorium opened and Isaac had stepped in. Nobody noticed him as they were listening to Sombra speak. "Looks like I made it just in time. Huh, is it me or am I seeing double?" Isaac then slowly made his way to the stage as Sombra was wrapping up and passed it over to Celestia.

"Now that I've introduced the duelists from CPA, time to see who you have selected for your team, Celestia."

"Thank you, Principal Sombra. Now then our beloved student body has all voted on who they want to see represent their school." Celestia then took the remote from Sombra and pushed the same button and now it the portraits/names of the duelist competing for CHS. "The seven individuals who will be part of team Canterlot High are: Fluttershy Breeze, Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity Belle, Jacklyn Apple, Pinkamena Pie, and leading them will be none other than the captain of Team CHS and currently ranked as the champion: Isaac!" Celestia then introduced her team as the girls made their way onto the stage. Once they were standing by Celestia they immediately shot intense glares as the girls from CPA.

Celestia then noticed that Isaac wasn't there and she quickly whispered to Sunset. "Pardon me, Sunset. But where is Isaac?"

Just as she was about to speak, they heard a voice coming from the crowd.

"I'm here!" Isaac then made his way onto the stage as he was trying to catch his breath. "Sorry about that, but traffic was bad today. Ha Ha." Isaac smiled sheepishly as he did his best to lighten up the situation.

Sombra and the other students on the stage were now looking at Isaac as they finally got a good look at who the final member/champion was. Safe to say that each of the girls had their own opinions on Isaac while Shining Armor just kept his glance at Isaac. Principal Sombra had a smile on his face as he noticed something about the boy that made him special.

Dean Cadance then made her presence known as she was now standing between the two teams. "Now as tradition, we'll have the captains of each team shake hands and say a few words before promising to entertain us with some amazing duels."

Isaac and Shining Armor then stepped forward as they stared at each other. Shining Armor was a fair bit taller than Isaac as he had to look up to look him in the eyes. Each of their teammates were standing behind them a few meters as they prepared themselves in case things took a turn for the worse.

"So you're the guy? Well I hope that you and your team can bring the fight to us."

"Believe me, Crystal Prep prides itself on providing quality matches and showing why we're the dominant school. The question is are you and your team going to at least make things fun before we destroy you?" smirked Shining Armor.

"You'll find out when we get on the dueling field." Isaac then stuck his hand out to which Shining Armor did the same and they shook. They still had their eyes locked on each other as they tried to see if one would flinch. Isaac then quickly looked out of the corner of his eyes and noticed Twilight standing there.

Shining Armor didn't let that go unnoticed as he addressed it so that only he and Isaac could hear what he was saying. "Oh, you seem to know my sister? Well me tell you something, you should keep your eyes focused on me and not on my little sis. You should be more concerned with what's going to be left of your team after we get done chewing you out, and if you ever harm my sister I promise it will not be a pretty site. I will gladly kick your ass should you do anything to hurt her. Am I clear!"

"I have no intentions. And as far as you kicking my ass, I'd like to see you try!" Isaac tighten his grip on his hand as he looked at Shining Armor.

They soon let go as they stepped back. Sombra then stepped forward as he had something to say. "Now that we've seen who will be participating, it's time for the little proposition that I was talking with you about Celestia. Seeing as how this year is probably the biggest diversity of talent in terms of dueling, I'd figured why not have a special preview duel to showcase what kinds of battling we expect to happen at the event."

"Like I said Sombra, while it would be nice to have it. It would need to be the duelist's consent on whether or not they want to agree to that. I won't risk the health and safety of my students just for your pleasing view."

"I completely understand, Celestia. But you know how dueling is so beloved by the everybody here that it would be a crime not to give them something special. Besides, my team is all for it. Would you really want to deprive these fine young folks from seeing a classic?"

Celestia still held her resolved as Sunset tapped her arm. "It's alright, Principal Celestia. If Sombra wants to get an inside look at what's going to happen when we win, then I say lets give it to him."

"Alright then. It seems my team accepts your proposition."

Sombra smiled as his plan worked. "Wonderful, now then allow me to introduce the person who will be battling."

Sour Sweet then stepped forward as she put on her duel disk and looked at CHS. "Now then which one of you nice folks will face me, so that I can make an example for the others as I make them watch."

It took awhile but before they could come up with a decision, Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "You want to make an example out of us, then lets see you try to do that against me!" Rainbow was eager as she wanted to send a message to the stuck snobs at CPA that they weren't someone to take lightly.

"Please you're not the one I want; I want to face him." She then pointed her finger at Isaac.

Rainbow was displeased at the disrespect Sour Sweet was showing her. But before she could swing her fists, she was pulled by her friends as they didn't want her to get in trouble with Celestia. Sour Sweet had a sly smile on her face as she enjoyed the way Rainbow was acting. She then turned her attention back to Isaac with cunning eyes. "So how about Mr. Champion? Care to show me a good time or are you afraid that a girl will publicly embrass the captain that this school is relying on."

Isaac then stepped forward and had a smile on his face as he slipped on his duel disk. "If you think that's an insult, then you really need to come up with something original. I'll have no problem beating a woman's ass, especially if she's a total bitch!"

That comment really ticked of Sour Sweet as she had a pissed off look full of fury. The rest of the Crystal Prep girls just had surprised looks as they were surprised that Isaac would address one of their own with that kind of attitude, but soon warmed up as they looked forward to seeing what kind of skills he possessed.

While this was going on, Sombra was in the back as he had the biggest smile on his face. Not only was he going to see what kind of duelist Isaac was, but he would enjoy seeing Canterlot High watch their inspiration leader be humiliated before the big event. "Everything is going according to plan." said Sombra with a bit of sinister in her voice.

Comments

[Mlpfan2]

Can't wait for the next chapter and duel

[Fluffy-Boi]

The Friendship Games have started~

[Wargod642]

"To them their motto was: that they were the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."

And thats the bottom line 'cause Stone Cold said so