Chapter 8: A Day in Canterlot

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 , you were excited about it because you not only got to hang out with your friends but you were also going to explore the city of Canterlot. As you and the girls made your way out of the building, all of you 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." I 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 us just rolled our eyes. We then all headed to The Sweet Shoppe to get a bite to eat. While we were there we talked about the duel me and Fluttershy had against Emerald and Ember. I was happy that Fluttershy had finally gotten over her confidence issue, also I 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 me happy to know that I made a deck for her that she was comfortable time went on I 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 I had experience with music, while they insisted that once their band formed they wanted me to be a part of it but I declined politely. Eventually I 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 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?" I 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?" I asked.

"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 entering 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 we all decided it was best for us to depart. We all agreed to meet up at Rarity's boutique which thankfully she told me where she lived so I didn't have to worry about getting lost. I then said goodbye to the girls and made my way home. Once I got home I told my parents about my plans to explore the city tomorrow with the girls. They told me to have fun and to not arrive too late. I was a bit scared exploring a new place but I felt comfortable having the girls show me around also I really was looking forward to relaxing a bit after all that has happened at school.

The next day came by faster than expected and once I awoke I got myself ready and began walking to Rarity's house. I was expecting to be the last one but was surprised to see nobody else there. I decided to knock on Rarity's door to see if she was home to which my reply was a cheering 'come in'. Once I entered the place I saw tons of model stands as well as dresses. As I explored more of the place I saw Rarity didn't just make dresses but every so often she would get a request from someone to make them a suit. I was so enthralled by the amazing designs that I didn't notice Rarity behind me 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" I 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 we then headed out of the place and began our 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 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 me around. We stopped at a mall that was very popular. Once inside they started to drag me to check out the other stores inside to which I had no control over. Overall I had a fun time; I got to see new sides of these girls I didn't know. Whenever we stopped by a candy stand, we would constantly have to drag Pinkie away to avoid being there forever. Rarity was persistent in having us shop for clothes mainly because she needed someone to carry her bags to which I had to the pleasure of being her pack mule. Thankfully, Aj had offered to help me so I didn't have to strain myself. By the time we had left the mall, we had begun to make our way towards the amusement park. We played a lot of games and even went on some rides though we had to take breaks in between due to Fluttershy's uneasy stomach. After that we tried some food to which Pinkie was able to fit 10 cotton candy her mouth in 1 swallow. I swear she must have 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 me to was the pier in which we walked on the boardwalk which overlooked the ocean. I saw thousands of people sailing on the water in their boats and we even waved to a few. By that time the sun was starting to go down and we 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 myself to discuss duel tactics. I 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 telling 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 your 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."

I will admit there was a lot of information that Rainbow was throwing my way and it made my head hurt. Applejack saw it and put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"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 we started to head back to Rarity's house. Once we got there we took a moment to talk about how the day went and for me 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 us soon followed. Just as I was about to leave, I felt a tug on the sleeve of my shirt. I turned around and saw that it was Aj. She seemed to have something on her mind.

"Is something the matter, Applejack?"

"Actually there's something I wanted to talk to you about. I've been having a hard time trying 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."

I was a bit confused at what AJ was telling me.

"What she didn't tell you is that there's someone she's trying to defeat or rather all of us are trying?"

"No offense Aj but you're not making any sense."

"I promise to tell you everything on Monday; I just didn't want to ruin our day. You were having so much fun that it would have felt wrong to thrust this upon you suddenly."

"How is this any different?"

"I understand, just trust me, everything will be made clear in time."

All of this was so sudden that I couldn't figure what the hell she was saying. So my only response was a simple nod.

"I appreciate it, sugar. Also I've been meaning 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 my family is having a small get together. It's full of fun, food, and some good old fashion mingling. This time I'm the one planning the gathering, but I could use some help setting up. Everybody else seems to be busy that day, so would you mind letting me a hand?"

The amount of information that was thrown in my face in the past 2 minutes was a giant cluster. One minute she's telling me that she and the girls only wanted to meet me because of the upcoming tournament. The next minute she's asking my help as if we hadn't talked about the previous topic. Honestly, I didn't know what to do. I 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."

"I understand, you have my 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 in my arm before she started walking home. I took a couple of minutes to register what had transpired. To think that Rainbow only wanted to meet with me because she needed my help taking someone down. I thought she was impressed with my skills as a duelist but clearly that was wrong. This really has been an interesting day. Nighttime was starting to arrive and I needed to get home to avoid my parents worrying. I figured I needed to have some more time to think about this so I made my way home. Little did I know that it would only get worse.

The weekend had ended and I was preparing for school. Ever since my talk with Aj, I had a whole day to lull over what she said. I had some lingering thoughts and some unanswered questions; my best bet was to wait for the girls to tell me, especially Rainbow Dash. I arrived at school and began to make my way to class. As I was walking I noticed two people blocking my path; they weren't tall in fact they were both short, one of them was a slight pudgey.

"Excuse 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 I soon followed them. They led me 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 I said that, they turned around and faced me. Sensing a bad feeling, I started to reach for my deck when I heard a voice behind me that caused me to stop.

"Don't even think about it!" came an evil voice.

I turned around and I 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."