The Great Unicorn Battle Torunament

“What is it, Twilight?  It’s not like Princess Celestia to deliver a letter without using me,” the small purple dragon tried to get a view of the letter Twilight Sparkle was turning over and over with her magic.

“It doesn’t look like it’s from the princess, Spike.  I couldn’t even open it with my hooves; it only responded when I used magic on it.”

“Well, what’s it say?” Spike asked eagerly.

“It looks like some cookie-cutter letter that they just filled with information about me.  It appears I’ve been invited to some tournament.”

“But what does it say?” the dragon pestered.  Twilight sighed and read the letter:

“Dear PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE,

Congratulations!  You have been selected to participate in the 308th Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  You are one of 64 unicorns from all over Equestria chosen to compete in this prestigious event.  You have been recognized for your incredible ability to MASTER SPELLS AND INVENT NEW MAGICAL METHODS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.  We believe this ability will make you an excellent combatant.  No RSVP is required; simply show up to the Canterlot Sport Complex in one month with this letter and be ready to test your mettle.  We hope to see you there.

The Great Unicorn Council.”

Twilight blinked.  Where had she heard of this tournament before?  She wasn’t very big on Equestrian sports, though she had read all about them in the past.  Her home in Canterlot flashed in her mind.

“Hey!  This is the same tournament that my parents met at!  I remember now!  Mom has her silver medal in her study!”

“Was that the medal I almost ate the year before we came to Ponyville?  I haven’t been able to down anything silver since then,” Spike grimaced, rubbing his stomach at the thought of the upset the precious metal caused him.

“Well, it is an enchanted medal, Spike.  Still, I’m surprised to see that these ponies wanted me to come.  I mean, I just became a—”

“Hold on, Twilight!  There’s a second page!” Spike interrupted the alicorn.  Twilight whisked the first page away and peered at the second one, which seemed hoof-written rather than printed like the one before.  Twilight’s smile faded as she recognized the writing style and royal seal that adorned the parchment.

My Dearest Twilight,

Congratulations on your selection to be in the Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  I’m sure you will be more than capable of carrying yourself to victory, and I look forward to hopefully presenting you with this year’s gold medal.

That said, I am afraid these letters also hold some bad news.  The Great Unicorn Council is an influential group of ponies, and as such their opinions and suggestions are valuable even to me.  They have brought forward an issue that I am ashamed to have neglected to tell you about when you ascended to alicorn-hood.

When a princess takes reign over a kingdom, she is expected to lead her subjects in all affairs of a nation.  This includes battle and war if need be.  You and your friends have displayed excellent skill in defeating great evils with courage, cunning, and minimal violence.  However, you are yet untested in a situation where violence is, unfortunate as it may be, the only option.  In lieu of waiting for a military conflict to befall Equestria and endangering your life, which may be tomorrow or decades from now, the council has made the assertion that this tournament is the best place for me, and therefore all of Equestria, to gauge your combat capabilities.  With your future in mind, I am inclined to agree.

This is such an important aspect of ruling that I am prepared to administer the harshest punishment for you if you do not win the tournament.  Twilight, if you cannot win, I will revoke you of your title and magically remove your wings.

I am sorry this cannot be done another way.  Both Luna and I wish you the best of luck.

Your mentor, Princess Celestia.

Twilight felt tears welling up in her eyes.  How could Celestia deliver such a huge ultimatum out of nowhere like this?  It almost felt like betrayal.

No, Twilight thought.  Celestia would not agree to a challenge for me from some random ponies unless she was certain I could prevail.  I can do this!

The alicorn flared her wings and wiped her eyes, working up a confident smile on her face.

“Spike, I’ve got some training to do.”

“Grr!  What is up with this letter?” A cream colored earth pony with a two-toned mane and a cutie mark of three candies attempted to slide a letter opener under the flap of the mysterious envelope that had arrived hours before the mail was supposed to arrive.  She tried again and again, becoming more frustrated each time the simple blade literally invented only to open letters, no matter how stubborn, just didn’t.  Finally, she threw the metal blade to the floor where it stuck in the wood.

“Lyra!  Come help me with this thing!” she called.  Lyra Heartstrings, the pony in question, could be heard shuffling through a mountain of papers upstairs.  The minty unicorn didn’t actually live here, but she had unofficially claimed a room or two over the years through countless visits to her best friend’s house.  She would stay for a day at a time, maybe two.  Sometimes she’d hole up there for weeks or a month or three.  Really whatever struck her fancy.  She had her own place, but despite her quirks that might suggest otherwise, she disliked being alone.  Lyra tripped over some of her stray documents and tumbled down the stairs, landing face first.

“Hey, Bon Bon.  What’s up?” she winced.  Bon Bon rolled her eyes and sighed,

“Get up, clumsy.  There’s this letter that arrived but I can’t seem to get it open.”  Lyra heaved herself up to her hooves and dusted herself off with her tail,

“Did you try using the letter opener?” she asked.  Bon Bon snorted and glanced at the sharp object still stuck in the floor.  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I really don’t get it.  It’s just paper and a wax seal.  A little foal could rip this open easily,” the earth pony huffed.  Lyra’s eyes sparked,

“Y’know what might help—”

“Lyra, no, that’s not—”

“Fingers!” Bon Bon dragged her hoof down her face.  Lyra and her humans.  One day while the two were in college at Manehattan University, Lyra claimed to have encountered one of these extra-Equestrian beings on a drunk night.  Most of that night she could not remember, but the human she did, and from that day on Bon Bon and Lyra’s other friends had to put up with ramblings about these “human” creatures often for hours on end.  She even began drawing them and writing complex papers on the feasibility of their existence.  Her obsession found its way into her magic, too.  She began developing spells that formed light constructs of human body parts—limbs, mostly—and while these proved to be useful for many reasons, the ponies around her just could not get used to the odd spells and other human-related things, and Lyra soon found herself with only Bon Bon remaining at her side.

“Oh come on, Bon Bon, just lemme try!” Lyra pleaded.

“Ugh, fine.” Bon Bon gave in.  That unicorn wouldn’t shut up about it if she hadn’t.

Lyra concentrated and her horn glowed its signature golden-yellow—almost like Princess Celestia’s.  In the air near the letter, first two amorphous blobs of magic energy formed, then they solidified into palms and five digits extended out of each of them.  The hands flexed and grabbed the letter, opening it deftly.  Bon Bon’s eyes grew wide.  Not at the feat of magic—she had seen it enough times before—but at the ease with which the letter opened for Lyra when herself found it to be more troubling than a jar of mayonnaise that had been screwed too tightly.

“Booyah!” Lyra cheered.  “Hey, this thing’s addressed to me.  What’re you doing going through my mail?”  Bon Bon shifted her eyes,

“W-Well, since you don’t exactly live here I thought it was weird that I got a letter addressed to you.  Never mind that!  What does the letter say?” Lyra’s gaze moved to the letter floating in the disembodied hands before her.

“Aw, sweet!  Bon Bon, listen to this:

Dear LYRA HEARTSTRINGS,

Congratulations!  You have been selected to participate in the 308th Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  You are one of 64 unicorns from all over Equestria chosen to compete in this prestigious event.  You have been recognized for your incredible ability to CREATE AND USE INVENTIVE LIGHT CONSTRUCTS.  We believe this ability will make you an excellent combatant.  No RSVP is required; simply show up to the Canterlot Sport Complex in one month with this letter and be ready to test your mettle.  We hope to see you there.

The Great Unicorn Council.”

“Lyra, that’s great!  I knew you were good with magic, but I didn’t know you were that good!” Bon Bon hugged her friend.

“Yeah, it’s a huge honor!  It’s well known that humans are awesome fighters, so if I combine their martial arts with my magic, I’ll be sure to win!”  Lyra’s floating hands threw a couple of punches at nothing as she spoke before finally fading away.

“Bon Bon, help me find some money in my room, ‘cause this mare needs a gym membership!”

“So if I make this reverb here and put the whistle effect four measures later…” Vinyl Scratch’s goggles rested just above her horn as she pored over a display that she was writing her latest dance beat on.  It was a hot day, so she had the one small window that sat at the top of the wall on the far end of her basement studio wide open.  After writing down the last bar, she leaned back in her rolling chair and let out a massive sigh.

“Whew!  Man, if there ever comes a day where we can cool our own houses with some machine that conditions air or something, it won’t be soon enough!  My babies’ magical circuits are gettin’ fried up in here!” Vinyl’s “babies” were actually her inventions: machines made with a method of magical circuitry that she invented herself.  She used them to create music unlike anything Equestria had ever heard.

Aside from being in love with music, as is the nature of her cutie mark, Vinyl has always been a tinkerer.  While still in high school, she created the first magical circuit when she observed that when she used magic on certain materials such as gold, copper, and iron, it flowed in a uniform path rather than suspending itself around the object it was used on.  She devised a way to use the flow to power a light.  The magic passed through a resistor, causing the bulb to luminesce, and returned to a reservoir that needed to be filled only once by a unicorn’s horn.  One light circuit became many, and then she build a speaker.  One speaker became four, and Vinyl had made her first stereo.  Over time she built many inventions, most having to do with music playing and production.  A few of her machines were patented, and while there are a few DJs in Equestria who can make music with them, nopony’s music was like that of DJ P0n-3.

Vinyl breathed another sigh, only to have her inhale interrupted by an envelope slapping over her mouth.  It had blown in from her open window.

“Ah!  Octavia!  Paper attack!” she spat the assailant away.  As the envelope drifted harmlessly to the floor, Vinyl realized she was not in danger.

“Never mind, ‘Tavi!  It’s just a creepy letter!  Wait, creepy letter?  OCTAVIA!”  Vinyl Scratch was a smart mare, but that did not mean she was beyond occasional lapses in reason.

Octavia, a gray earth pony who is Vinyl’s best friend and housemate, trotted into Vinyl’s studio.  The two bonded as long ago as fillies over a love of music.  While their tastes—and personalities—were very different, it did not stop them from remaining the best of friends even after Octavia went to Trottingham for college while Vinyl stayed in Ponyville.  She did come back with one heck of an accent, though.

“Vinyl, what is it?  I was just settling down for a nap,” Octavia said, exasperated.

“You wouldn’t have been sleeping long; I just finished a new song and the bass on it is sick!”  Vinyl pumped her forehooves in triumph.  Octavia rolled her eyes,

“Spare me the details.  Now what is it you were yelling about down here?”

“Oh, yeah!  This crazy envelope just flew in my window and tried to strangle me!  It’s like, some weird paper, or something,” Vinyl reenacted her harrowing ordeal with the correspondence by pretending to choke herself.  After she was done, the two mares stared at the unassuming envelope sitting motionless on the floor.

“Vinyl, it’s just a normal letter.  Look, it’s addressed to you.  It must have been dropped by the mailpony while she was delivering the other mail.  She can be a tad ditzy at times, you know.”  Vinyl was a little disappointed that Octavia wouldn’t go along with her fun just a little bit.

“Whatever.  Let’s see what we got here:

Dear VINYL SCRATCH,

Congratulations!  You have been selected to participate in the 308th Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  You are one of 64 unicorns from all over Equestria chosen to compete in this prestigious event.  You have been recognized for your incredible ability to USE MUSIC AND MAGIC TO INFLUENCE PONIES.  We believe this ability will make you an excellent combatant.  No RSVP is required; simply show up to the Canterlot Sport Complex in one month with this letter and be ready to test your mettle.  We hope to see you there.

The Great Unicorn Council.”

Octavia’s eyes were wide, but Vinyl seemed unenthused.  She tossed the letter aside,

“Meh, sounds like junk.”  Octavia caught it before it hit the ground,

“Vinyl, no!  Don’t you know how big of a deal this is?”

“Nah, not really.  I’ve got better things to do than beat up other ponies in an arena.  I get into enough fights at nightclubs, like, every week.”

“But this is the Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  Winning this, hay, just showing up to one match could make you rich!  It could make you famous!  Think of the publicity!” Octavia’s eyes shined.  Vinyl raised an eyebrow,

“Jeez, ‘Tavi you’re more worked up about this than I should be.  I know what the tournament is—I went to it once when I was younger.  Sure, it’s awesome and all, but I’ve already got what I need.  I’m famous enough as a DJ, I make a good living, and I get to be with my best friend every day.  I don’t think a pony could want anything else.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Octavia sighed, “I got a little excited, is all.  I’m actually quite a big fan of this.  I’ve gone to every tournament that’s taken place in my lifetime.  Watching you take part in it, and maybe even win the thing, would be a dream come true.  If you don’t think that’s best, though, I’ll support your decision.”

Vinyl put one of her forehooves around her friend,

“Thanks, ‘Tavi.  If they invite me again in five years, I’ll go just because you want me to.”

After that, Octavia turned in for her nap, but wasn’t disturbed by Vinyl’s new song like she said she would be.  When she woke up, Celestia’s lowering of the sun had just begun so Octavia’s room was bathed in an orange-red glow that reflected off of her oaken cello, sitting in its open case in the corner of the room.  In fact, it was one of the most peaceful naps the gray earth pony had ever had.  Octavia trotted downstairs, searching for her housemate.

“Vinyl!” she called.  A muffled voice came from the studio,

“In here!”  Vinyl must have gotten started on another project right away, Octavia thought.  Has she even left the entire time I was asleep?

The mare pushed open Vinyl’s studio door.  The white unicorn was staring at something under a tarp.  Her hoof was stroking it like it was a crying foal that needed to be consoled.  Octavia had seen this thing before.  Vinyl had been working on it since before they moved in together almost seven years ago.  After a while she had printed the letters “B.A.S.S.” on it, but Octavia never asked what it meant.  With a slightly somber look, Vinyl turned to her friend,

“What is it, ‘Tavi?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you had gone anywhere since my nap was surprisingly… calm.  No offense,” she laughed sheepishly.

“No, it’s cool.  Look, I’ve been thinking, and I think you’re right.  I should try this tournament out,”

“Vinyl, you don’t have to—”

“Nope, I want to.  I may have been invited now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll invite me again.  It’s a huge honor, and I shouldn’t pass it up, especially if it means that my best friend can also become my biggest fan.”  Octavia teared up a little and hugged Vinyl tightly.

“Oh, Vinyl, don’t be silly.  I’m already your biggest fan.”  The two shared a laugh.

“By the way,” Octavia said, “What’s under the tarp?”

Night was falling as Sweetie Belle snuck inside Carousel Boutique.  She was supposed to be back before dinner, but some hardcore Cutie Mark Crusader Bunny Wrangling took longer than she thought.

She did not get a cutie mark in bunny wrangling.

In her saddlebag was the strange, small black box that she had found earlier.  It looked like an eye, so she had pretended to be a triclops pony when playing with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo earlier.  The joke did not go over well.  She quickly lost interest in it and stashed it back in her bag to return it to the windowsill where she had swiped it from Rarity.  Her mission now was to return it without being seen so Rarity wouldn’t scold her even more.  Her sister would want to show it to Twilight to find out exactly what it is.

The door to Rarity’s room creaked open.  The seamstress mare was asleep at her desk, a half-finished dress design under her hoof.  Fabric and sewing tools littered the ground, part of Rarity’s system that Sweetie Belle still failed to understand.

“Great, I’m in the clear,” she whispered to herself.  She clandestinely placed the odd box back in its location.  As she was leaving the room, she spotted something on Rarity’s nightstand.  It was the day’s mail.  On the top of the usual magazine subscriptions and clothing orders was an envelope that looked to be made of the parchment Twilight was fond of writing on.

“Ooh, juicy girl gossip!” Sweetie Belle said.  She grabbed the letter with her mouth and sped off to her own room.  She lit a few candles and set the letter in front of her on the bed.  She attempted to open it with her hooves, but the wax seal wouldn’t break.

“Drat!  This is tougher than I thought.  Who makes a letter hard to open?  Aren’t letters made to be opened?”  The filly tried poking it with a sewing pin, ripping through it with a fork, and even attempting to turn a non-existent lock with a music box key.

“For pony’s sake, nothing’s working!  Maybe if I…”  Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and concentrated hard.  She had used magic very little in her life, and most of what she did use was accidental or otherwise unintentional.  She didn’t know exactly what it took to use magic, especially on the level that Rarity and Twilight could use it, but hey, she thought, everypony had to start somewhere.  The young Crusader grunted as she pushed for just a spark, just a little bit of assistance to open this stubborn envelope.  There were a few sparks, then a green glow made her eyes shoot open.

The surprise almost made her lose her spell, but she had done it.  She had levitated something on her own—on purpose—for the first time.  Sticking her tongue out for extra focus, she manipulated the aura around the letter to finally crack the seal and force the letter open.  It wasn’t the scandalous secrets between mares that she assumed it was, but it was just as interesting:

Dear RARITY,

Congratulations!  You have been selected to participate in the 308th Great Unicorn Battle Tournament.  You are one of 64 unicorns from all over Equestria chosen to compete in this prestigious event.  You have been recognized for your incredible ability to USE HUGE AMOUNTS OF MAGIC FOR PRACTICALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY.  We believe this ability will make you an excellent combatant.  No RSVP is required, simply show up to the Canterlot Sport Complex in one month with this letter and be ready to test your mettle.  We hope to see you there.

The Great Unicorn Council.

The Great Unicorn Battle Tournament?  Sweetie Belle had never heard of this before.  If it was sports, Rarity certainly wouldn’t want any part of it, so why would she get a letter asking her to come to join them?  Maybe this “Great Unicorn Council” didn’t know Rarity that well.  Word only gets so far of a pony’s deeds in Equestria, even if those deeds include saving the entire country, like, a bajillion times over.  Was “bajillion” a number?  Sweetie Belle made a point to ask Cheerilee about that tomorrow at school.

Her thoughts came back to the letter.  These ponies that contacted Rarity seemed like they knew a lot about magic, while Sweetie knew very little.  She had only just used her first levitation spell a few minutes ago.  While she didn’t fret on this, just as Scootaloo didn’t often mind not being able to fly yet, she knew it was something she’d have to be able to do pretty soon.  Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon might resort to making fun of her horn if she got her cutie mark before she learned how to use her magic to write.  It would be better to assuage this problem now before it became more difficult to deal with.

“Maybe this Unicorn Council can help me!” the filly thought out loud.  Who better to learn magic from than a council of great unicorns?  Sure there was Twilight Sparkle and Rarity she could study under, but Rarity was almost always busy, and Twilight was a princess now.  There’s no way she could have time for little Sweetie Belle when all of Equestria was on her big purple brain.

“That’s it, I’ve made up my mind!” Sweetie Belle stood on her bed triumphant, “Look out, Great Unicorn Council, ‘cause Sweetie Belle’s coming to be a magic master!  I might even get my cutie mark in sorcery!” She must have been a bit too loud, because Rarity knocked on her door, calling for her.  In a panic she slid the letter under her bed.

“Sweetie Belle, were you just getting home?  You know I told you to be back hours ago!  Your leftover casserole is in the fridge, so you’d better eat it or you won’t be crusading for an entire month!”

“Yes, Rarity!” Sweetie called back.

The next day on the playground, Sweetie Belle told Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all about her plan.

“Sweetie Belle, y’all are nuts if ya think we’re goin’ all the way to Canterlot so you can study under some unicorn gurus for Celestia knows how long,” Apple Bloom snorted at the idea.

“Yeah, and there’s nothing in it for us.  Sure, you could get a cutie mark in being good at magic, but what about our destinies?  It seems like a lot of work for a whole bunch of nothing,” Scootaloo added.

“Come on, girls, this could be really big for me!  Plus, it’s in Canterlot!  Don’t you want to see more of that city than what we saw during Princess Cadance’s wedding and Twilight’s coronation?  It could be just us three girls on the town taking whatever Canterlot’s got to throw at us!  And maybe my cutie mark will come from me being with the council, and maybe it won’t, but even if it doesn’t, with all there is to do over there one of us could find something we’re good at,” Sweetie Belle pleaded.  The other two Crusaders exchanged glances, contemplating the proposition, then smiled.

“Fine, then.  At least we’ll be together.  Can’t have y’all goin’ alone on such a big trip, now can we?” Apple Bloom said.

“Just think of the look on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s faces when even just one of us comes back with a cutie mark!  I’m in!” Scootaloo added.

“Yay!  Thanks, girls!” Sweetie hugged her pals, “You’re the best!”

“I’ll just hafta leave Applejack and mah family a note sayin’ where I’ve gone.  I’d ask her outright, but there’s no way she’d let us go without a full grown pony watchin’ over us every second of the day.  Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?”  Apple Bloom said.

“Rainbow Dash will want to know if I’m gone, too, but I don’t think she’ll care if we’re on our own.  She’s cool like that,” Scootaloo said.

“And I’ll leave Rarity a note when we go,” Sweetie Belle nodded.

“So,” Apple Bloom asked, “When’re we leavin’?”