Cadence had really enjoyed that duel but found his behavior odd. Still, the second match was about to begin. A young man with black feathers around his collar entered the arena. His long black hair and golden eyes were quite the contrast, striking a measure of fear into Twilight. He was so intense. Even as he opened his duel disk he said, "I'll try to make this as quick as I can. My friend is waiting for me."

Twilight chuckled and drew her hand, trying to look strong for the crowd, "Well, don't worry. I will send you right along to him. You begin and show me how you fight."

Griff nodded, drawing his cards. Looking them over he held up a spell card, "Destiny Draw! This card allows me to discard one of my Destiny HERO monsters and draw two cards. I will start with Dasher. It is a sacrifice but no hero sacrifices for nothing. As for the rest of my turn, I place a card face down in defense mode and set one card face down. It's on you now, teach."

It was here that Twilight adjusted her glasses, "So, from your accent you are an exchange student. You wield Destiny Heroes and are too confident for someone who doesn't know what they are facing. Not boding well for you, I'm afraid." She drew her card and spoke quickly and efficiently, "I start with Spell Economics. This lets me activate spell cards without having to worry about life point costs. That being said, I activate Dark Magic Curtain."

The curtain pulled up just like in a magic show, dropping to reveal the Dark Magician. His smirk grew as he twirled his staff. Twilight smiled along with him, "Alright, Magician, Destroy his face down monster." The magician did just that, holding out his hand and shattering the card. Twilight looked over her hand as she went on, and nodded, placing two cards face down. She had a few plans but she needed to be careful not to give away her entire deck. She wanted to still have some tricks should the worst happen further down the road.

Griff snorted, drawing his card. He then chuckled, "I use Dasher's effect to summon Destiny HERO Captain Tenacious in attack mode!" The hero rose slowly looking ready for a brawl. He then growled with joy, "And then during the standby phase, Fear Monger's ability activates. This allows me to summon Dasher from my Graveyard." The wheeled monster rose again, this time as if he was coming from the grave. Griff nodded, "And now you can see what I had planned for you. I summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude." The diamond encrusted hero rose, his cape fluttering in the breeze. "This card allows me to look at the top card of my deck. If it is a spell card, I can send it to the graveyard and activate it next turn. If it isn't, I can put that card at the bottom of my deck." He flipped it to reveal Monster Reborn. "Well, not really what I was hoping for, but I'll make due. Now, Dasher's other ability. By sacrificing Diamond Dude, I can increase his attack to 3100." Dasher punched Diamond Dude out, looking rather upset. After a motion from Griff, the wheeled hero charged the magician. He hesitated slightly when hats popped up out of nowhere.

Twilight nodded, "Magical Hats. You have to pick one of the hats to attack. Guess wrong and my magician lives. Since your only monster that can beat him is attacking, I suspect that missing will end your turn." Griff said nothing, motioning again. Dasher attacked one of the hats and hit nothing but fabric.

When Dasher returned, Griff placed another card down and said, "Since Dasher attacked, he is changed to defense mode. It is your turn now."

She nodded drawing. She looked over her hand as the hats disappeared, "Well, I will have to take care of a few things but I will start by playing Abyssal Designator. Thanks to Spell Economics I don't have to pay for it. I choose dark attribute warrior. Select one of these monsters to send to the graveyard."

Griff smirked, "Done." He slipped the monster quietly into his graveyard.

She then sighed, "And then I use the power of monster reborn to bring your Fear Monger back to life for my side. Don't worry, he isn't staying long. I sacrifice him to summon my Dark Magician Girl." As the female mage came twirling cutely to the field, Twilight was bothered that Griff still hadn't reacted to her. She declared, "Dark Magician Girl, attack his Dasher." The wheeled hero disappeared in a ball of black magic. "And then, destroy Captain Tenatious."

Griff flipped up his card, "D – Shield. It switches my captain to defense mode and prevents him from being destroyed by combat." Twilight grumbled, not sure exactly what his next move would be, though he didn't have a doubt. "Since you look done, I'll just take over from here. I draw! And since Dasher has returned to the graveyard, I can use his ability again. I use it to summon Doom Lord!" The caped monstrosity landed next to tenacious. He then nodded, "And then during my standby phase, Tenacious' effect activates. It allows me to bring Dasher back from the graveyard!" The wheeled monster returned yet again. "And then I sacrifice Doom Lord to summon Double Dude in defense mode. As for your magician, I would love to try my hand again." Dasher charged towards the man, bashing him in the face with a wheeled foot. Upon returning to Griff's side of the field, he slid into defense mode.

He smirked and then announced, "By the way, your mage is joining my side. You see, true heroes inspire others. I activate the effect of my Diamond Dude to use Monster Reborn and bring back your Dark Magician!"

Twilight shook her finger, "In case you forgot your Diamond Dude is in the graveyard. You can't use his ability."

Griff smirked, "I already did. You see, the second half of his ability can be activated even if he isn't on the field. Now, rise, Dark Magician!" The robed mage rose from the grave, Standing stock still as it glared down it's former master. Griff nodded, "I end my turn. Show me what you have, miss."

Twilight drew, and smiled, "We will see. I start by playing Brain Control! With this I can control one of your monsters. Again, my Spell Economics prevents me from paying for it. And I take control of your Doom Lord!" As the demon switched sides she nodded, "And now I activate your monster's effect! As I'm sure you know, it allows me to remove one of your monsters from play for two of my standby phases. I choose your Dasher!" A dark portal opened up behind Dasher, sucking him inside.

Griff nodded, "And you can't conduct your battle phase this turn. I take it you have a different plan though."

Twilight adjusted her glasses and nodded, "I activate my second facedown card, Mystic Box! This magic card allows me to destroy one of your monsters and give you control of one of mine! I will return your Doom Lord and destroy your Dark Magician!" The boxes enclosed the two monsters, blades piercing both, Doom Lord stepping out unharmed on Griffs side of the field.

The arena went silent as it was clear Griff was in a tough spot. Yet, he was smiling, his golden eyes watching her like a predator and its prey. Twilight nodded, ending her turn. "I draw. Now, before I play, I would like to boil this down for you. You have no cards in your hand, no trap cards on your field, and one monster on the battlefield. I have you outnumbered but not outgunned by a long shot. My Dasher is out of play, the magician is gone. What if I told you I can turn this around this turn?"

Twilight smirked, "If you can turn this around with what you have, then I would applaud you. I may not have much left on the field, but Dark Magician Girl gets a 300 point attack increase from my Dark Magician being in the grave. As far as I know, your Dasher is the only thing you could summon in these conditions to stop it."

Griff smirked, tapping a button on his disk. Suddenly, Destiny Hero Malicious appeared on the field as another version of himself spun into oblivion. "Guess who I threw away when you demanded it of me. That makes my total monsters equal 3. I sacrifice them all to summon Destiny Hero Dogma." As the winged hero dropped to the ground Griff nodded, "I place another card face down and end my turn. I would hate to leave you as the only one with no cards in their hand."

Twilight chuckled, "And also to make the most of Dogma's ability." She drew, an after image of Dogma appearing behind her and slashing her, knocking her life points to 2000. She nodded, "You truly are skilled. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." She seemed to hesitate for a moment and the silent arena was enthralled by the match. She drew and looked at the cards, a smile crossing her face. "You have been putting up a good fight, but I'm about to bring an end to this. I start by activating Sage's Stone! With this card I can summon a Dark Magician from my deck or hand as long as I have my Dark Magician Girl on the field." The female spellcaster pulled out a gem and threw it into the air, the crystal shattering and a crimson armored Dark Magician appearing on the field. "And then I activate Knight's Title! This allows me to change my magician to Dark Magician Knight!" The crimson armored mage was enveloped with light, emerging in crimson knight armor.

She took off her glasses and shook them at her opponent, "You see, my knight can target one of your cards and destroy it. I choose your Dogma!" The Magician pointed the sword at Dogma and beam of light struck him in the center of his chest. Twilight paused a moment as it only seemed to put a crack in Dogma.

Griff shook his finger at her, his golden eyes striking her again, "I activate my facedown card, Destiny Mirage! Since you destroyed my Dogma via card effect, I can bring him back." The crack grew, shattering to reveal an undamaged Dogma.

Twilight looked him over to see if there was some other way around this. He clearly wasn't going to leave her knight on the field, but she would do what she had to in order to defeat him. She sighed and ended her turn.

Griff laughed as he drew, "You should have changed them to defense mode. Still, I guess it is faster this way. My friend has been waiting for his match for awhile now." Twlight looked over her field and face palmed. He held up a finger, "Don't worry. I won't even need the card I drew. This being the main reason. Go, D – Chain!" his trap card flipped up, a chain wrapping around Dogma's arm. His attack increasing by 500. Griff held out his hand, Twilight smiling as he attacked her Dark Magician Girl.

Twilight applauded, "Attack the Dark Magician Girl, 1900 points of damage are done by damage. The effect of your chain ends the match." She put her hand on her deck, the image fading. "Welcome to my house. You are very strategic and have a mind for the numbers."

Griff nodded, "I was hoping for that. It will be a pleasure working with you." The two shook hands and then Griff ran out of the arena. It was only now that Cadence realized that Masq was in the stands over her arena. In a few moments, Griff ran up to sit next to him.

She could hear from up the tunnel, "I'm sorry for the delay, but we didn't want to miss each other's matches. You have no idea how pumped up I am. This is gonna be an amazing duel. And with my friends cheering me on, I don't know how I could lose."

Cadence laughed, "Oh, really, Button Mash? If you are that certain, then don't hold anything back. I want to see your best." She activated her disk, feeling like Shining and Twilight were there beside her. She glanced into the stands to see both of them sitting next to each other and shouting support.

Button Mash laughed, a doofy smile crossing his face as he waved hi to his two friends that were both looking rather stern. Masq called down to him, "Remember to think out there, Button. You can't just move on instinct! Make her play to you. Don't play to her."

Button brushed him off, "I'll be fine. This is just a trial match. She wouldn't show everything against a newbie like me."

Cadence shot him a curious look, "You're new?"

Button nodded, "This will only be my third duel. I practiced with my friends a bit, but I am coming here to learn how to play." He activated his disk, drawing his hand. Cadence motioned him to take the first turn. He nodded, "Thanks for that. Alright, so here we go! I activate Neo Space Pathfinder! If I send her to the graveyard I can add a Neo Space card to my hand. And then I summon Elemental Hero Prisma!" The crystallized monster arrived on the field, "Now, I use his ability! I can pick one of my elemental hero fusion cards and send one of the cards that are listed as material to the graveyard to make Prisma have the same name. I choose my Elemental Hero Neos!" The Crystalized being took on a gemlike form of Neos.

Button then looked over his hand and face palmed. He had clearly forgotten to do something. Even his friends were groaning. Masq shouted, "I told you to think this stuff through! If you get so excited by the first card you see in your hand, you end up missing a bigger move."

Button shook his head, "It is fine, Masq. I've got this. I will just have to make sure I didn't need it is all." He coughed and said, "I then use the spell card Common Soul. By doing this, I can special summon one of my Neo-spacian monsters to the field and share its attack points with Neos. I choose Neo-spacian Air Hummingbird." As the bird landed on the battlefield Button called out, "I use Air Hummingbird's ability to increase my life points by 500 for every card in your hand. That is a total increase of 2500."

Cadence waited patiently as Button chuckled to himself, "Oh, Button, you are a genius. I now use contact fusion to fuse my Air Hummingbird and Prisma, who in case you've forgotten is treated as Neos this turn. Together they form, Air Neos!" The two combined, a scarlet winged hero descending to the field. Button laughed, "I end my turn."

Cadence chuckled, "And your Neos goes back to your extra deck at the end of the turn." Button nodded as his monster disappeared. How could he be so calm when his only line of defense was gone? Still she drew and began her own play. "I will start by summoning Skilled Dark Magician!" The black cloaked figure rose to the field and she smirked, "And then I will play Double Summon! This allows me to summon another monster this turn, and because of playing a spell card, my dark magician gets a spell counter." Button looked a bit nervous at this, but tried to keep a strong show.

Cadence smirked, "I now play my Skilled White Magician." A cloaked figure similar to the first but with white robes appeared on the field. "I then activate Spell Power Grasp. With this I can add one spell counter to one of my monsters. I choose Skilled White Magician. With that, both of my magicians gain a spell counter on top of that and I can add another Spell Power Grasp to my hand."

Button called out, "Oh, god, don't use it again!"

Cadence laughed innocently, "Oh, I can't. But that won't matter. I activate my Arcane Barrier card. I'll explain it when it matters but for now, that adds another spell counter to both of my magicians, allowing me to send them to the grave to bring out their counterparts." The two magicans threw off their attire, revealing a Buster Blader and a Dark Magician. Cadence shook her finger, "You shouldn't have let your Neos leave the field. Now, they both attack you directly!" As they both struck him with their weapons Cadence applauded him, "If it hadn't been for that trick with Air Hummingbird, you would have lost right there. As it stands, you are at 1400 life points. And I guess I'll end my turn now."

Button drew and sighed, "Well, there goes showing up Griff." The kid in black scoffed as Button began his turn, "I start by playing Convert Contact. By sending my Flare Scarab to the graveyard along with my Grand Mole from my deck, I can draw two cards." Button drew and laughed lightly, "Alright, this is looking good. I will start this turn by activating Miracle Contact! With this card, I can shuffle cards from my field, deck, or graveyard into my deck to summon a Neos Fusion monster. I choose, Elemental Hero Grand Neos!" Button shuffled Grand Mole and Neos into his deck, the stone armored hero appearing on the battle field. Button cackled again to himself, "With his ability, I can send one of the monsters on your field back to your hand and I choose Buster Blader." Neos' drill began to spin, generating a tornado that send the swordsman flying backwards and into her hand.

Cadence nodded, waiting for his next move but not wanting to give him any help. He had to do this himself. His friends were cheering him on despite this. "Alright, and for my next move, I equip Instant Neo Space onto Grand Neos!" Cadence wasn't sure what he had planned until she saw his next move. "Then I activate Contact Out! With this I can summon all the components involved with Grand Neos from the deck to the field. This means Instant Neo Space goes to the graveyard and activates, allowing me to summon another Neos!" In a single instant, Grand Mole and two Neos appeared in a warp of space. Button smirked, "And now I play Neo Space! With this field spell, any Neos Fusion card doesn't have to return to the extra deck at the end of the turn. It also increases the attack points of my Neos by 500. But I'm not done. I can use contact fusion again on my Grand Mole and resummon Grand Neos!"

The two leapt up, and with a thud, Neos landed again on the field, covered in stone armor, "And since he has been resummoned, I can use his effect again to return your magician to your hand." Again the drill whirled, returning the magician. "And now I will attack you directly with both Neos! 6000 damage means you lose." The attack hit and the holograms faded.

Cadence applauded as the entire arena let out a loud cheer. "That was either incredibly skilled or incredibly lucky. Either way, you have the raw talent to get into my house." Button laughed nervously, color crossing his face as he waved to a cheering Sweetie Belle. Cadence giggled to herself and looked up to Shining Armor who was cheering for her still, saying how wonderful she had done.

Celestia stood and announced, "All matches have been had. All duelists have been sorted. We look forward to seeing you all at the academy. Please note the boat will be leaving for the island tomorrow morning. Even if you earned your way into the academy, if you are not on the boat before it arrives at the island, you will be considered truant and thus expelled."

Cadence followed Button out who met up with his friends. Griff began, "What was that about out doing me? Was it really worth risking your chance in after all Masq went through to get you those cards just to show me up?"

Button pushed his fingers together awkwardly, "Well, I just wanted to look cool for her. You didn't even get hurt, so I figured I would be the big hero."

Masq sighed, "We are all the big heroes. I didn't break under the pressure so I'm a hero to all shy people everywhere. Griff didn't get hurt against someone who is a genius with their cards, making a major hero for all of his people, no offense."

Griff shrugged him off, "None taken."

Masq ended with, "And you are one of the few to beat Cadence today, even if dumb luck was involved. I know for a fact you hadn't thought it that far through until that draw. You need to focus more, Button."

Button laughed and rubbed his neck, "But, I mean, we are playing to have fun, right? If we get too caught up on winning or losing instead of just having fun, why play?"

Griff shrugged, "I just have a point to prove… and Masq does too. Still," Griff grumbled, smacking Button upside the head, "Don't you ever throw a match just to show me up! That is moronic and it will always end poorly for you. My deck is built to last while yours is built to strike. Remember that."

Button cried a bit as he rubbed his head, "Alright… At least we all got into the houses the girls did."

Cadence asked, "You are aware that you won't be having classes together for the most part, right?"

Masq and Griff nodded while Button replied, "But we will still have some together and it isn't like we have different lunches. We will hang and it will be good."

Griff snorted, "Class distinctions are for the weak. No one defines who we are for us."

Masq just stood there quietly but Cadence was impressed. These kids along with those Crusaders were going to be Celestia's favorites. She could tell.