Following Athena's duel with Sunny, Flurry and her friends left. They were about to leave the dueling arena when they stopped as Mario was shown leaning against the doorway with his hands crossed. The boy opened his eyes and stood to face his cousin and her crew.

"I know what your plan was, prima."

"Mario," smiled Flurry. "Go on, guys. I'll catch up."

The others all had confused looks as they looked at their leader. Ultimately, they took Flurry's word as they slipped past Mario, leaving the two cousins to talk. The boy looked at the girl who approached him and immediately hugged him. The teen didn't do anything to push her off but instead put his left arm around her body while tapping her head with his right. Eventually, she broke the hug to look at her cousin.

"You know that's how we do things at Crystal Prep. Always come up with a plan to evaluate and study your opponent. The more insight we have into our objective, the better prepared we are to develop a plan. You can't fault me for wanting to learn more about your friend."

"No, I can't. And if they're smart, they'll realize you let them off easy," the boy responded.

"Thank your friend over there for wanting to start something she knows she can't finish. You warned her, but her ego isn't big enough for her head. Remind you of someone?" asked the girl with a smile.

"In any case… I'll admit, your crew is good."

"Sombra only picks the best to represent our school. Plus, Mom was proud to know I made the team. Even Dad and Aunty Twily called me to say congrats. By the way… have you or Roll told your friends about your…"

"Yeah, they know," said Mario, as he knew what his cousin was referring to about who their parents were.

"And how'd they take it?" asked the girl.

"Surprisingly… they didn't mind."

"I knew it. They are a good band of friends if they're willing to accept despite who your parents are. Plus… you have options between two of them. Seems you inherited your charming personality from Uncle Isaac." teased Flurry at her cousin's love life.

"Believe what you want, prima," said Mario, as he wasn't going to entertain the idea of what his cousin was instigating lest she continue to make fun of him.

"Come on. Give me some juicy details," said Flurry as she immediately put her arm around Mario's neck and began to rub his head.

"No!" said Mario, breaking free from Flurry's grip and looking to leave.

"Tell me!" shouted Flurry as she immediately jumped onto her cousin's back and pretended to put him in a sleeper holder.

"No!" said the boy as he walked out, put his hands under the girl's legs, and gave her a piggyback ride like when they were little.

Flurry laughed as she enjoyed the ride her cousin gave her as they returned to their dorm. The boy had a small smile on his face as he recalled some of the fun times they had when they were kids.

"Alright, last stop! Everybody get off!"

"Aww!" said Flurry Heart, as she didn't want the ride to end. The girl got off her cousin's back reluctantly as he stretched his back out. "So, cousin… you free tomorrow?"

"Why?" asked Mario. "Let me guess, you're going to one of your hotshot places that Crystal Prep students always go to."

"Actually, I was wondering if you and your friends were down for some fun. There's an old carnival by the whaft, and I'd figured why not cut loose?"

"And you expect me to ask my friends, who you just wrecked to hang out with your crew?"

"Exactly. I knew you'd understand, primo," said Flurry Heart as she looked to go inside.

"And why would they agree to that?" asked Mario as he grabbed his cousin's wrist.

"Because, like you said, they're your friends. If they didn't mind, you and Roll, given who your parents are, they wouldn't mind hanging out with me."

"You really have that much faith that they don't, let alone Zipp wants to put her hands on you."

"They have faith in you. That should be enough," said the girl as she entered the dorm.

Mario sighed as he dreaded the other's reactions to what he was about to tell them.

Speaking of the others, the four friends were in the outside lunch courtyard as they were gathering their bearings following their duels with Flurry and her gang.

"Guys, I'm sorry. It's my fault."

"Zipp…"

"Because of my stupid ass, I wasn't thinking straight. And you three paid the price for my impulsiveness!" stated the heiress as she sat on a bench across from them. "I'm sorry. I let my anger and ego get the best of me."

"It's okay, Zipp. It's not your fault. I think we should have expected Crystal Prep to be on another level," said Sunny.

"Still. I'm sorry. I just…. Aghh! I just wanted to make them pay for what they did to my sister!" said Zipp as she bawled her fists.

"We understand," said Sunny as she sat beside her friend. "But we don't hold anything against you."

"Man, I haven't been hit that hard since Coach Spitfire's workouts," said Hitch as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Well, at least we got a win," stated Izzy.

"No, we didn't," responded Sunny.

"What do you mean?" asked Zipp.

"She means she let you win."

The four turned their heads as they saw Mario. The boy stood with his arms crossed as he approached his friends.

"What do you want, lover boy?"

"Well, nice to see you too, rich girl. Sunny's right. My cousin played you all like a fiddle. Do you think Athena told Sunny that she shouldn't try to destroy her Orichalcum Chain and let her do it when she could have countered it? Face the facts, rich girl. My cousin had a plan, and she executed it to perfection. Now she knows Sunny's strengths and weaknesses."

"That son of a bitch! God, she makes me angry I wanna punch her in the face!" growled Zipp.

"Yeah, do that, and you gotta go through me!" said Mario as he was going to stand up for his cousin against his friend.

"What's your deal?! Are you with us or not?!" shouted Zipp as she couldn't figure out the boy's intentions.

"I told you, I'm not much of a team player."

"Yeah, well, not choosing sides is still a choice!" responded the heiress.

"I'm willing to live with that. Can you live knowing you tried to start a war with my cousin, and they paid the price?" said Mario. "You fired the first shot when you disrespected my cousin. And like I told you before: When you disrespect her, you disrespect me."

The two teens glared at each other as the tension was so high that it could be cut with a knife.

"Zipp, don't," said Sunny, as she didn't want to see her own friends fighting against each other.

"Fine," scoffed the girl as she looked at the boy.

"I warned you, rich girl!" stated Mario.

"Why are you here, bud?" asked Hitch.

"My cousin wants us all to hang out."

"What?!" said the group.

"Okay, you're kidding, right."

"No," said Mario toward Zipp. "Tomorrow, down at the whaft."

With that, Mario left as the group processed what was said.

"He's lying, right? She wants to hang out?" said Zipp.

"I don't think he or she is," said Izzy as they had dreadful expressions on their face.

Flurry Heart was in her room at their dorm as she sat at the desk. The girl was leaning back with her arms crossed as her duel disk was in front of her on the table.

"How's the plan going?' asked Sombra as he spoke with his prized pupil.

"All according to plan. We got a first-hand look at our opponents and know what to expect."

"Excellent. I knew I could count on you. You're so much like your father, Ms. Flurry Heart." stated the Principal of Crystal Prep as he saw a piece of the girl's father in her.

"Well… if that's all, then I'll…"

"One more thing, my prized pupil. I've received word of your little 'hang out' concerning our opponents."

"How did you know?" asked the girl.

"My dear, I have my ways."

"So, are you against it?"

"Not at all. Enjoy yourselves," smiled Sombra as the call ended.

Flurry Heart sighed, surprised to see her principal sided with her proposal. Regardless, she reached for her duel disk and made another call.

"Hi, Daddy."

Roll was shown entering a room with a flashlight. The girl found the light switch as he made the room light up a bit; she proceeded to a file cabinet in the corner of the room as she was looking for something. The girl was rummaging through the files before discovering something that caught her mind. There was a file section that was labeled: Friendship Games as she pulled it out. The folder was massive, divided into several subsections, with each Friendship Game documented between CHS and Crystal Prep. The teen breezed through it as she hoped to get some questions answered, and she did as she came across a certain Friendship Game. Roll noticed a picture in the folder and pulled it out to look at it.

"It's true," said the girl.

"Mario! Mario!"

The boy looked from behind his open locker door as he saw his sister taking the corner tightly and rushing toward him.

"What do you want, sis?" asked the boy.

"It's about the Friendship Games. I…"

"I already told you, I'm not a part of it!" shouted Mario as he slammed his locker with a loud echo.

"But…"

"I said no!" shouted the boy as he began to walk away.

"Mom and Dad were on opposite sides!" shouted Roll.

Mario immediately stopped in his tracks as he turned his head to look at his little sister.

"What?"

"I spoke with Dad, and… he told me something that he or Mom didn't tell us. He and Mom fought against each other."

"He's lying!" growled Mario as he didn't buy his father's word.

"She's not."

The two siblings turned forward, and standing before Mario was Celestia.

"Principal Celestia!" said Roll.

"Follow me, you two. There's something I want to show you," stated the woman as she walked away.

Both siblings looked at each other with curious looks before following their principal. Celestia led the pair to the screening room as she flipped a switch to dim the lights. The two looked about as they saw their principal approach a drawer and began to dig around in it.

"Your father is right. He and your mother faced each other during their Friendship Games, but that's not the whole story," stated Celestia as she found what she was looking for.

The woman pulled out a flash drive as she approached the projector and plugged it in. She grabbed the remote and pushed a button as the thing turned on. The two siblings looked at the screen as an image of CHS from back in the day was shown.

"Your father actually met your mother well before the Games. It all started when she was sneaking around the school grounds. Your father happened to be late that day and had just made it. However, he noticed your mother sneaking about and chased her down, forcing her to duel him."

On the screen, a video was playing that showed the kids' parents as they activated their duel disks and prepared to duel.

"Unfortunately, they didn't get a chance to finish their first encounter as your mother ran away in the middle of it upon learning of your father's identity. It was around that same time that I approached him and asked him to be the captain for CHS." said the woman as they watched the next video that played.

"I want you to be team captain."

"Look, Celestia. I appreciate the offer. I really do, but I just can't. I know about the rivalry between our two schools. Not to mention the disdain that the students have for Crystal Prep. But I can't bring myself to a competition if it won't be fun. I duel because I love this game, not to get some revenge or be bitter about losing to someone. That's not what Duel Monsters is all about to me; if I can't experience the joy the game brings me, then I don't want to be a part of it."

"Isaac, I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think it was in your best interest. Everybody here is grateful for all you've done; you've helped elevate the level of competition and raised the bar on what it means to have a good duel. There was a torch sitting here, and you took the damn thing and ran with it; I couldn't be more proud of you as an individual and as a student. I can say it's been an honor to be your principal. If you won't do it for me, then at least do it for your peers who are rooting and speaking out to have you on the team."

The two kids watched the video of their father speaking with their principal with interest. Especially Mario as he listened to the words said by his father. It amazed the boy to hear that his own father had a similar experience. To think he expected his old man to jump at the chance to compete, but instead, he initially refused due to his beliefs.

"I literally had to get down on my knees and beg your father to join. But it was worth it," smiled Celestia as the next part of the video showed Celestia begging in front of the kids' father and giving him a CHS cap with the words: Captain, written on the front. The boy accepted as Celestia stood up and hugged him. "Over the next few weeks, your father worked tirelessly with his friends to prepare for the Games. He even upgraded their decks to stand a chance against Crystal Prep. However, Crystal Prep had its own agenda at the time. For you see, Sombra had devised a plan during the welcome party. He had your father partake in an exhibition duel. He told his student facing your father to throw the duel as a way for them to study him. And it worked."

"Just like with Flurry," said Mario as he could see that Flurry used a tactic that Sombra had taught her, and it was based on when he had done it to their father.

"We didn't know this then, but Principal Sombra was consumed and corrupted by Shadow magic. In fact, he was looking to use the Friendship Games as a way to destroy Canterlot High for good. And so everything hinged on your father and his friends winning." Celestia said as the next parts of the video showed the actual events themselves.

The two kids watched as it showed the events of what happened in a blur.

"Due to this event, your father had his first run-in with your uncle. Who would push your father to his limits and become his greatest rival."

"I summon Dark Magician!"

"Prepare yourself, Isaac. I summon all three of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

The video showed three massive dragons that emerged and roared as they placed beside Flurry's father, who smiled smugly while staring down at the kids' father.

"Your father and uncle managed to end their duel in a draw. As such, it forced the Games to go for one final duel. Each side was to select one duelist for the final round. Naturally, your father stepped up. However, Sombra began to put his plan in place. He knew your father was special and that some magic resided in him and his friends. So he corrupted your mother's mind with evil magic to do his bidding.

"The honor of your school, your team, and yourself has been damaged. They must be redeemed. And Isaac must be made to understand he cannot do as he pleases without retribution finding him, one way or the other. I need to know you are capable of this, Twilight. I need you to defeat Isaac for me. Will you do this for me?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful. I knew I could count on you."

Sombra was shown patting Twilight's shoulder as his hand glowed. The girl felt her mind becoming corrupt and her head faint, with Sombra grinning evilly. His eyes glowed green as soon Twiligtht's eyes did the same.

"Yes… Principal Sombra…."

"And so your father and mother engaged in a Shadow duel that had the world hanging in the balance. The magic Sombra corrupted your mother and transformed her into a she-demon who was set on destroying your father. However, your father was able to tap into his own magic and summon a powerful monster to free your mother," said Celestia.

"Get ready, Twilight. I play the card… Harmonious Friendship! I call upon a powerful monster. Chromatic Paladin! Attack!"

"Ultimately, your father freed your mother and won the duel. However, it was far from over. Sombra appeared, showcasing his magic as he looked to wipe out your parents himself. And with his dark powers at their most powerful, he nearly succeeded." stated Celestia.

"Disappointing. But, I must admit, not surprising. I granted her the benefit of the doubt that with my aid, her magic may surpass yours. A mistake on my part."

"You're gonna pay for hurting Twilight!"

"I shared with her a sample of my power to awaken her own. It so easily overwhelmed and consumed her thoughts, proving her inadequacies. I overestimated her capabilities and underestimated yours. My sincere apologies for that. You are indeed something special, Isaac. A duelist with abilities like nothing I've ever seen. My interest is in acquiring duelists with magic to serve at Crystal Prep. I sincerely say your magic is unlike any other I have encountered. And I cannot allow such a gift to stagnate at Canterlot. I will explore the limits of its potential on my own. And perhaps it shall be gifted to another of my students, one with ambition enough to use it properly."

"You? You did that to me? Why? I told you everything I knew. I did everything you asked of me."

"Know your limits, Twilight. This duel has reached a point beyond what you can grasp. I pushed you to see if you could handle it, to allow you a chance to redeem yourself, but you were still incapable. There was no choice but for me to intervene."

"You're dueling them?"

"I will finish what you could not. Power like theirs will be mine to control one way or the other."

"Their power? Is that all you care about? Was I just a pawn you could use to get to them?"

"Yes, and now you have reached the end of the board and can go no further. We will discuss your future at Crystal Prep later. For the moment, you may watch and observe a further demonstration of what magic can achieve in the hands of those able to wield it properly."

"Your father and your mother worked together to defeat Sombra. It was a fierce fight, but in the end, your father took Sombra's magic and freed him from its corrupt power. Following that, the Games came to an end, and CHS was declared the winner. And soon after that, your mother transferred to CHS. And well… you know the rest. She fell in love with your father. They became high school sweethearts. He even asked your mother to marry him during their graduation duel. Just as he was about to leave to start his pro career well out of high school, he promised your mother he'd come back for her. And he did… because they produced you two."

Celestia ended the video by turning off the projector and looking at the teens. Both had many things running through their minds after seeing the video of their father and mother.

"So… it's all true," said Roll, that their parents indeed opposed rival schools. The girl pulled out the photo she found in the archives room. It showed her father wearing his medal, and in the background was their mother looking on, as she was still in her Crystal Prep attire.

"Yes," confirmed Celestia.

Mario was left in a state of disbelief. The video he had watched plagued his mind with so many new thoughts that he didn't expect.

"Are we sure about this?" said Athena.

"Apparently, Flurry is dead set on the idea," responded JD as he tossed a deck of cards into a hat.

"And what does Principal Sombra think of this?" asked Roxanne.

"It seems he's on board as well," responded Phin.

"What the hell…" stated Axiom.

"Guys!" shouted Flurry Heart as she approached her inner circle. "What's up? Why are you all skeptical? Tonight's a night to have fun!"

"Yeah, that's the thing, Cap," responded Shirai.

"Guys! Lighten up! We already have all the data we need on our opponents. Tonight, we be kids. We have fun. Save the fighting for the battlefield." assured Flurry to her crew.

"How do we know they ain't gonna want to throw hands?" asked Axiom.

"Trust me. I have my cousins to keep their friends in line. Now, come on! Get changed! We're going out in less than fifteen minutes!" shouted the girl as she left to go dressed for the scheduled hangout.

"Does anybody else feel like this is… weird?" asked Roxanne as the others all had similar thoughts.

"Are we sure about this?" said Zipp as she paced about the living room of the Synchro dorm.

"I mean, it's not like we have a choice," said Hitch, as he, Izzy, and Sunny sat on the couches facing their friend.

"Um, yes, we do. We could just not attend!" responded the heiress.

"But we don't want to be rude."

"Really, Sunny?"

"They took the time to ask us out to hang out, and we should at least honor their request," responded the girl nervously to the heiress.

"I just don't trust that Flurry Heart. Maybe this is another one of her plans. If she threw that last duel to study Sunny and her tactics, who's to say this isn't another plan for them to learn about us!"

"She could be right," responded Izzy.

"I know… but… it doesn't seem like that. Have a little hope, Zipp. Maybe she really does want to hang out."

"Speaking of which, is Pipp going to come with us?" asked Hitch.

"No, she's uh… still feeling it," said the heiress as her little sister's condition was not improving.

"I hope she gets better. 'Cause right now we are down bad, even without Mario and Roll," said Sunny as the pressure started getting to her.

The four then got a text on their phones; they looked to see that Mario had texted them in their group chat that they were on their way. They all held nervous looks as the time had come upon them.

"They're on their way," said Roll as she held her phone to inform her brother of their friends' status.

Mario leaned against a lamppost as the two siblings were in the parking lot. The boy was dealing with tons of things following the discovery of his parents. He understood why his father probably never told them, probably another aspect of him being a junkie, but… his mom. Why didn't she tell them?

"Hey, bro. How are you feeling?" asked Roll, knowing her sibling was trying to process what was revealed to them.

"I don't know, sis. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel," confessed the boy as he leaned his head back and sighed heavily.

Soon, the sound of footprints was heard as the two turned their heads, and behind Mario were their friends. Another set of footprints was heard, and behind Roll was Flurry Heart and her crew. The two sides looked at each other with all three cousins smacked in the middle in a triangle formation. Nothing was said briefly as both schools looked at their opponents.

"Gees, so tense!" stated Flurry Heart as she spoke first. "Come on, now. We're not here for any trouble. We'll save that for the Friendship Games."

"How do we know we can trust you?!" demanded Zipp.

"You have my word that neither of my comrades will engage in any confrontations or fights. Isn't that right… guys!" said Flurry as she looked at her crew seriously.

The six looked at their captain and nodded, and she smiled before turning to look at her cousins' friends.

"See. You can trust us, but… can we trust you?"

"Yes. We promise," said Sunny as she looked at Zipp, knowing she was the one who was against the idea. "Zipp?"

"Yeah, alright," said the heiress, as she was willing to comply for Sunny's sake.

"Wonderful. Now then, Mario. Did you handle transportation?" asked Flurry to her cousin.

Mario got up, walked forward, and stood before some cars with headlights turned on. The boy turned as he tossed a set of keys toward Hitch, Flurry, and JD.

"The school let me rent these. Hop in!" said the boy as the group chose which vehicle to ride in.

"I'm driving, lover boy!" stated Zipp.

"Fat chance, rich girl. I'm the one that paid; I'm driving. But you can ride shotgun if you want." said Mario as he got in the driver's seat. Zipp got in the passenger seat as Roll hopped in the backseat.

Hitch, Sunny, and Izzy got in the car on their left, while Flurry, Roxanne, and Axiom got in the car on their right, and next to her were the rest of their friends. Mario started the engine up as he began to exit the parking lot, with the other three cars following him as they headed downtown toward the whaft.

Down at the whaft, tons of festive music was playing. The carnival was filled with many people as the sight of games, food smells, and patrons' laughter and cheer were heard. The group stood at the entrance as they took in the many attractions.

"Let's go have some fun!" said Flurry, walking forward with her crew following behind.

"Guys!" said Zipp.

"Zipp, you promised!" said Sunny.

The heiress sighed as they soon entered the whaft. Over the next few hours, the group began to enjoy themselves from the many attractions and games.

"Alright, Hitch, show us that strength!" said Sunny as she encouraged her best friend.

The boy stepped up to a carnival game called Muscle Up. Hitch picked up the hammer the game owner handed him as he stood before the thing. The teen took a deep breath and saw Sunny cheering him on while Izzy was stuffing her face full of popcorn.

"Alright, Hitch. No pressure. Sunny is just watching. Impress her." said the boy to himself as he cracked his neck and swung the hammer down as hard as he could on the pad.

The power of the boy's attempt caused the small object to go up the pole as it managed to reach the touch and dinged the bell. Hitch smiled after seeing he reached the top as Izzy and Sunny applauded his efforts. Zipp watched from another booth as the girl still had doubts swirling in her mind.

"Zipp! Zipp!"

"Huh?"

"I said, are you ready?" Mario asked as he waited for Zipp to sit down so they could begin their water shooting gun race.

"Uh, right," said the heiress as she sat beside her friend and grabbed the handles of the blaster.

"Alright, rules are simple. Be the first to complete the swirl!" said the booth owner as he stepped to the side and activated the game.

Zipp and Mario gave each other a competitive glare and smile before pushing the buttons on the handles as their blasters fired. The pair aimed them at their respective bullseye before they began to move about as they tracked them down. The balloons they were attached to began filling up as both teens tried to beat the other. It came to a close finish as Mario managed to pop his balloon, and the alarm went off to signal he had won.

"We have a winner!" said the man.

"Yes!" shouted Mario.

"Come on!" said Zipp as she couldn't believe she lost.

The man handed Mario his prize, which was a pegasus plushie, and he was surprised. He looked at the other prizes: a unicorn one and an earth pony plushie. Before he could question the plushies any further, Mario was immediately pelted with water in his face.

"Hey!" shouted the boy as he put one of his hands out to try and block the water.

Zipp, who had fired her blaster, the boy merely chuckled as she enjoyed getting her revenge for losing. She then acted innocent while looking away as Mario looked at her. Soon, she was blasted in the face.

"Hey!" shouted the girl as she raised her hands to protect herself.

Now it was Mario's turn to chuckle as he ceased firing and looked at the girl he doused.

"You look good with wet hair," commented Mario with a smile.

The heiress and the boy chuckled as they enjoyed their little fun with each other. Zipp began to shake herself when Mario approached her; he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the girl's face off. The heiress looked at the boy, and she couldn't help but turn a bit red as he wiped her down. She also admitted that he looked good with his wet hair. Zipp shook her hair to get the last bit of water out of it while Mario wiped down his face and shook his hair. The boy then presented the plushie to the girl; to his surprise, Zipp accepted the pegasus plushie as she found it cool-looking.

Watching the pair was Flurry Heart as she couldn't help but smile at her cousin and the heiress' interactions. She didn't need her mother's talent to see there was chemistry between the pair as she had another way to tease her relative. The two then moved on as they looked to play some games and win more prizes.

"Come one, come all! Get a sneak peek of the future!" said the barker who stood outside a massive building.

"What do you think, prima? You down?" asked Roll.

"Why not," responded Flurry.

The two cousins approached the barker, and he handed the two girls special headphones as they walked to the doors. It opened with a blinding green light as they walked in. Roll found herself in a dark room all by herself. Soon, lights began to turn on, and she was now in a hallway with a red carpet and posters on the walls. She walked forward, and her attire began to change as she reached the end of the hall. The girl came to a console, and in front of her was a screen. It asked her to input some things as she inputted the information.

"Anayalsis compelte. Beginning scenario."

The girl then began to be surrounded in green swirls as she was teleported and was now onstage in front of a live crowd. Roll took a moment to realize her surroundings as she saw they changed too, as it was a concert. She saw several posters of her face as a turntable was before her. The teen then began to mess with the controls as the music began to play.

"Alright, let's get it!" shouted Roll as she began to get the beat pumping and everybody moving at her concert as music blared.

A disco ball appeared as Roll saw it and timed it so that the beats matched in time; she managed to smoothly transition chords as it amped up the atmosphere and vibe of the party altogether.

"Now, we outside, outside!" shouted the girl as she began to let her music skills take over as she spun the records on the turntables while flipping switches and buttons.

Eventually, the simulation ended as Roll exited the building just as Flurry Heart came out of her fantasy.

"So, did you enjoy yours?" asked Roll.

"Oh, yeah!" shouted the Crystal Prep girl as she filled with adrenaline.

"Hyah!" shouted Mario as he threw his last ball and tried to get it into a narrow bottle hole at the top, but it didn't go in.

"Alright, I think this shit is rigged!" exclaimed Mario as he hadn't been able to land one in.

"Or you just suck," mocked Zipp with a smile.

"Alright, rich girl. You try," said Mario as he paid for the girl's attempt.

"Hold this!" said Zipp as she handed the plushie to her friend and approached the counter.

She grabbed the balls, turned her back to the counter, and looked at Mario. The girl tossed a ball over her shoulder as it headed straight for the top but bounced off. She threw her second ball, and it missed completely. She threw her final ball, and to Mario's shock, it went inside. He gasped, which caused Zipp to smirk as she got even with her friend from the blaster game.

"We have a winner!" said the booth owner.

"You were saying?" asked Zipp smugly.

"Pfff. Beginner's luck," scoffed Mario, as he didn't want to give the girl the benefit of the doubt.

"Just stick with me, lover boy, and I'll teach you how to beat the odds," smirked Zipp as she patted Mario's right side of his face while looking at him. The heiress winked at the boy before grabbing the pegasus plushie from his hands and walking off with a tease. The boy chuckled as he went after the girl.

"Hey! Don't you want your prize!" shouted the booth owner to the kids.

The sound of screaming was heard as the clattered wheels on the rails echoed. The moving coaster zoomed by in blue as the sounds trailed off around a bend. Hitch was holding onto the gate as he didn't want to go one step closer.

"Come on, Hitch!" said Sunny as she pulled her best friend's arm to get him to go on the rollercoaster.

"I don't know about this, Sunny. These things don't seem to follow rules and regulations!" the boy said as he heard more shouting and saw how fast the thing was going.

"It's not as bad as you're making it out to be," said the girl.

"What's the matter, sheriff? Don't tell me you're a scaredy cat!" shouted JD as he was with Phin and Shirai, waiting for them to pass through the gate so they could all board.

"I'm not! I just… don't like things going too fast, is all!" said Hitch, trying to devise a reason not to make himself look weak.

"Don't be a bitch now, stud!" exclaimed Phin.

"Please, Hitch. For me," pleaded Sunny as she batted her eyes and put on a set of cute puppy dog eyes at her best friend.

Hitch hated that Sunny had to resort to the puppy dog eyes as he found that they made her look even cuter. The boy glanced over at the Crystal Prep gang as they made snickers. Eventually, he took a deep breath and overcame his fear.

"A-Alright, fine. For you," said the boy as he was willing to get on for Sunny's sake.

"Simp!" said all three Crystal Prep students among themselves as they snickered at Hitch for how easy he fell for Sunny's act.

"Keep your arms and limbs inside the cart at all times! And most importantly, hold on!" said the operator as he flipped the switch to move the cart forward slowly.

"Why did I agree to this?!" shouted Hitch, already having second thoughts.

"Don't worry, Hitch. It's gonna be fine," said Sunny as she sat beside her best friend.

"Just remember, Sheriff. If you throw up, turn to your left!" said Shirai, as he didn't want her hair to be a mess.

"That's why I always have my trusty barg bag," said Izzy as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a colorfully decorated bag with tons of flowers; the word Izzy was embedded with glitter.

"You just carry that with you everywhere you go?" asked Phin as she was stuck beside the girl.

"Of course, this has been handed by the great Moonbow family for generations," said Izzy dramatically as the Crystal Prep rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hand as this was gonna be a long ride next to Izzy.

The coaster then climbed up as Hitch's fears escalated a bit. Izzy managed to quiet down as she saw the ride summit coming up. She stuck her tongue out like a panting dog as she couldn't wait for the thrill ride to start. Bit by bit, the coaster climbed and climbed as Hitch saw how high they were and gulped. Soon, they stopped at the top for a moment. The boy looked down and was about to faint when the ride quickly raced down the track.

"Oh shi-!" said Hitch as he didn't finish his sentence.

The others all let out sounds of excitement as the coaster raced down the hill and rounded the bend at a tight curve, causing them to hold onto the handlebar. Round and round, it went and eventually came to some loop-de-loops as Hitch tried his best not to scream. They soon came to another hill as they quickly raced up and then dropped down. Hitch felt the rush of the wind in his face as he felt something around his body. Sunny had instinctively grabbed a hold of Hitch as she wrapped her arms around him while they raced down.

Soon, the ride came to an end as they pulled in.

"Wahoo!" said Izzy as she had the most fun and jumped out with adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Sunny! You can let go of me!"

"Sorry, Hitch!" said the girl as she released her hold on her best friend. She didn't notice she'd been holding onto him for most of the ride.

"Nothing beats carnival food," said Roll as she and Mario received their food from the vendor and approached the lunch area, where the others were all seated at different tables.

"Izzy, that's like your sixth one!" said Sunny as Izzy was munching down on a platter of donuts.

"But they're so good!" said the girl as she reached for more donuts.

"Gees, she always like this?" asked Athena as she had to clean some jelly near her food from all of Izzy's munchies.

Eventually, the group of teenagers all headed to one of the biggest attractions at the whaft, and they all entered into a go-kart race. The competitive spirit between all of them came out as, to everyone's surprise, the top 3 racers to finish were Flurry Heart, Mario, and Roll.

"Easy first place," boasted Flurry.

"I let you win, alright, prima," said Mario as he rolled up from behind his cousin, saying he slowed down on the last turn to allow Flurry Heart to cross the finish line first.

"I want a rematch!" shouted Roxanne as she didn't like that she finished 5th.

"You know, surprisingly, I agree! Let's go another race!" shouted Zipp, who didn't want to be outdone by the trio.

And so, race after race, the group competed in. And despite how often they raced, the results remained the same. The family members' trio finished in the top 3 places, with Mario and Flurry trading in first and second place.

"Alright, there's something wrong with my kart!" exclaimed Zipp as she couldn't believe she couldn't catch up to the boy and felt like her kart was defective.

"Skill issue, rich girl. Get good!" barked Mario as Zipp immediately exited her kart to strangle the boy for saying that.

Mario knew he'd get a rise from Zipp with that comment as he was already out of his kart and running with the girl chasing after him. The others all watched on as Flurry laughed, seeing the girl trying to get her hands on her cousin to kill him.

The giant Ferris wheel was shown, and on it was the group. In one booth, Mario, Roll, and Flurry Heart were all in as they were taking in the sight of the city and the whaft. While the girls were enjoying the view, Mario sat on the bench as he had time to collect his thoughts. The boy was thinking about what was revealed to him by his principal about his mother and father.

Your father and mother were on opposite sides… Your father saved your mother when she was corrupted by evil shadow magic… Following the Friendship Games, your mother transferred to CHS, and well, the rest is history….

"Mario, Mario!"

"Mmm."

"What's the matter, primo? You don't look happy?" asked Flurry as she noticed her cousin wasn't having fun.

"No es nada, prima," responded Mario.

"Vamos, no puedes engañarme," said Flurry Heart as she sat beside her cousin. "What's up?"

Mario glanced at his older cousin before looking at his little sister. Roll knew what was on her brother's mind as she gave him a look. The boy let out a sigh as he looked at Flurry.

"Let me ask you something… did your dad ever tell you about the time he competed in the Friendship Games?"

Flurry Heart already knew what her cousin was saying.

"Is this about your parents?" asked the girl.

Mario and Roll looked at her with curious looks.

"You mean…" started off Roll.

"Yeah…" confirmed the girl.

Mario sighed as he put his head in his hands.

"Why?"

"I don't know, primo. All Dad said was that it pained him to see Aunty Twily being corrupt. But… he was glad Uncle Isaac was able to save her. He'd figured if there were anybody to look after her, it'd be him." said Flurry Heart.

"It's just… why didn't Mom tell us?" said Mario as he got up, approached the railing, and had his back to his family.

"I can guess why," responded Flurry Heart as she stood up and stood beside her cousin. "Aunty Twiliy probably didn't want you to see her in a horrible light."

"But she's our Mom. We could never see her as evil," said Roll.

"So, how'd you find out about this?" asked Flurry.

"Principal Celestia. She said… she begged Dad to be a part of the team. And that… he faced Mom in a Shadow Duel." stated the boy.

"I see," said Flurry as she patted Mario's shoulder. The boy kept looking as fireworks went off and exploded in the sky as it lit up.

Author's Note: It seems Mario and Roll have learned a bit about their parents' secret. One has to wonder is this going to change this for either of them, especially Mario. And speaking of the siblings, it seems Flurry ain't as bad as she's been as of late. She might be Crystal Prep bond, but even she loves to have fun every now and then and is willing to put aside her tactical side to bond with her cousins and their friends. And it seems she knows a certain girl might be interested in her cousin.