Everyone was leaving Town Hall to go home for the night and prepare for the tournament in the morning. Many were still left in shock at such an intense battle, and from what was supposed to be a small exhibition no less. However, it seemed that one person was affected more than everyone else.

Spike helped Twilight back to Fluttershy’s shop/home and sat her down on the couch. Twilight was still in awe at the battle she had seen her mentor partake in. “I never could have imagined Celestia would be that powerful,” she said almost breathlessly. “I’ve seen her battle some of the royal guards, but they’re usually over before they get more than a few moves in.”

“Honestly,” said Spike, “I’m more impressed at that Nightmare Moon chick for being able to give Celestia that kind of run for her money.” He then pulled out his bey and gripped it excitedly. “I’m looking forward to that tournament even more now than ever. And I’m gonna win along with my Omega Dragonis.”

Twilight then shot a determined smile at her brother. “We’ll see about that, little brother,” she declared. “After all, I may still be a newbie, but Light Striker and I won’t go down without a fight.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Spike as he locked arms with his sister.

It was early in the morning, as evidenced by the still-rising sun. Twilight stood in the registration line with invigoration while Spike was still feeling a bit tired. They all saw a wide variety of participants and spectators, most with distinct features that allowed them to stand out amongst the crowd.

Soon it was Twilight’s turn as she approached the desk and presented her bey. She was then given an registration form to fill out that asked for her full name, hometown, as well as details about her bey. Upon filling it out, she was given a sort or ticket with the number 15 printed on it. Despite her confusion, she took back Striker and waited in the designated common area along with the others. Spike joined soon after and took a moment to look at the others in the crowd.

It wasn’t long before everyone heard slight microphone feedback and saw the Mayor at the town hall entrance. “Good morning everyone,” she announced, “So lovely to see you all again and I hope you all are prepared for the festivities to begin!” The crowd cheered in confirmation and a smile was put on Maybel’s face. “Well then, let’s go over the rules, shall we?” She snapped her fingers as a large digital counter was brought up behind her with the number 100 displayed on it. “The preliminary round of the tournament will be held as a battle royale between everyone who signed up,” Maybel explained. “From the 100 bladers who initially signed up, only 16 will be chosen to move onto the main tournament. And those 16 bladers will be determined through this mass battle!”

The others gasped at such a steep drop in competitors while Twilight placed a hand to her chin in contemplation. “A mass battle,” she echoed to herself. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“The battleground for this contest will be the town of Ponyville itself,” continued the mayor as she gestured to the town. “Please make good use of the terrain in this battle! But please note that while there are no stadium outs, you will be disqualified if you or your bey step outside the town boundaries.” The bladers took a moment to observe the area as they were instructed to take their starting positions. “The battle will proceed for two hours,” explained the mayor.“Once you have defeated a blader holding one of the tickets, you have the right to claim it for yourself. Upon conclusion of the battle, the sixteen bladers who have a ticket in their possession will advance to the main tournament.” Once everything was in place, the countdown began and the bladers sprinted into town.

Twilight and Spike were racing side-by-side down the streets and through the town. “Let’s work together, Spike,” proposed Twilight. “With your raw power and my knowledge, we’ll no doubt get into the main tournament.”

“That makes sense,” said Spike. “I feel like we should also look for one or two other bladers to bring along with us.”

“That might be a good idea,” said Twilight after a brief moment of thought. “It would be prudent to include an additional ally with practical knowledge.” She and Spike then noticed some bright flashes nearby and looked to see Rarity and her Virgo knocking away the other beys with relative ease.

“Well done, Virgo,” Rarity cheered as she turned her attention to her opponents. “What’s the matter darlings? Are you done already?” She received her answer when her opponents picked up their motionless beys and ran off in defeat. More beys then began to surround Virgo, much to Rarity’s surprise. “Oh my!” she exclaimed. “It seems this may prove a bit more challenging than I initially thought.”

“Well it doesn’t have to be,” said a familiar voice as two beys swooped in and sent the opposing beys flying.

Rarity looked to see Twilight and Spike waving at her. “I suppose I should be grateful,” decided Rarity as she retrieved Virgo and walked up to them. She listened to what they had to say, but declined their offer explaining that she wanted to avoid clashing with any future opponents too soon. With that, she took her leave with Spike and Twilight being forced to fend for themselves.

Separate from them, another alliance had been formed between two bladers that seemed to be doing quite well together. “Charge, Storm Pegasus!” shouted Rainbow Dash as her bey in question plowed through others that were in its path with a flash of blue. “Come on, is that the best you’ve got?” she taunted, wanting a real challenge. Unfortunately, she had neglected to watch her own back and another group of bladers gathered, ready to attack.

However, almost immediately upon launching their beys, they were all sent flying with a flash of red that seemed to bounce wildly around the battlefield. “That’s the way Capricorn!” cheered Pinkie. “Let’s have fun together.” She then turned to Rainbow. “You really need to be more careful, Dashie,” she said warningly. “Otherwise, you might not have a chance for some real fun in this thing.”

“I’m not here for fun, Pinkie,” said Dash adamantly. “I’m here to push myself to the next level along with Pegasus. We’re gonna soar to new heights and defeat anyone and everyone who gets in our way.” Pegasus then charged ahead and knocked out a few other beys.

Meanwhile, a dark red bey was racing aggressively throughout the area while taking out several beys on its own. “Yee haw!” cried Applejack. “This rodeo’s in the bag.” Other beys tried to close in from behind, but Bull easily outran them all and came back around to knock them all out. As she continued to walk around, Applejack found herself back at the town hall where she saw a lone blader who seemed to be seated in a meditative position as his bey spun a ways in front of him.

The blader’s attire seemed to be that of someone who had seen their fair share of adventures due to the wear and tear on their clothes. She also noticed that the blader was wearing a metallic mask with orange tints where his eyes likely were and what looked like yellow hair coming out of the top. Meanwhile, the blader’s bey remained stationary with no hints of wobble in its rotation. Neighboring bladers saw him and tried to take him out, but they were all brushed aside like flies against a swatter.

Deciding to save her strength for the actual tournament, Applejack chose to avoid the mysterious blader and continue to eliminate the competition.

Before long, an alarm sounded throughout the square as Mayor Maybel took to the podium once again. “That concludes the preliminary battle royale,” she announced. “All bladers please return to the square to hear the results of the battle.” Everyone did so, though many had dejected looks on their faces. Once everyone arrived, Mayor Maybel instructed those with tickets to come up and insert them into a machine that was standing next to her. As the machine took everyone’s tickets, it also took their photo to be displayed on the bracket.

Once everyone had inserted their tickets, their pictures were displayed on the board for all to see. Twilight saw that she was facing Rainbow Dash and Spike was up against someone named Scootaloo. With the pairings decided, everyone waited for their names to be called so they could start the battle. Until then, they were free to wander about the festival grounds and enjoy themselves.

Spike and Twilight were at the food stalls with the former emphasizing the need to fuel up before a big match. Twilight agreed, and they both went off to find something to eat. As Twilight waited in line for her meal, she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind and turned to see the very girl she was set to face in the tournament.

“Hi,” she greeted casually. “Rainbow Dash, remember?”

After recovering from the initial shock, Twilight turned back towards Rainbow and nodded. “Yes, I remember,” she confirmed politely. “You were the coach at the beyblade gym I visited the other day.”

“Hell yeah,” she said enthusiastically. “I love coaching young bladers and helping them to realize their full potential. And it helps motivate me to get stronger myself, so it’s kinda like they coach me in return.”

“Interesting,” said Twilight. “I have heard that assisting others is a way of gaining more knowledge in that given subject, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it applied.”

“Well you’re gonna feel that power during our battle,” promised Rainbow. “Can’t wait to see what you’ve got.” She and Twilight then found themselves at the front of the line and placed their orders. Upon receiving them, Dash went off on her own. “I gotta get back to my trainees, but I’m really looking forward to our battle later.”

Twilight soon left and found an empty table to wait for her brother. He soon returned with what looked like a pulled pork sandwich drenched in Bar-B-Que sauce with fries on the side as well as a large cup of root beer. “Honestly Spike,” sighed Twilight, “how can you even stand that garbage?”

“Pretty easily actually,” Spike shrugged as he bit into his sandwich, causing some of the pork to fall into the paper tray it was originally in.

Twilight then watched with regret as he scooped up the lost pork with his finger and popped it into his mouth. “At least use a napkin, for pete’s sake,” said Twilight with mild disgust as she offered Spike one of her napkins.

“No need,” dismissed Spike as he wiped the residual sauce off his face with a fry before eating that as well. Twilight rolled her eyes and simply dug into her ramen.

After a few minutes, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that the first round was beginning soon and that the bladers were to make their way back to the town hall. Spike and Twilight discarded their trash before doing so and soon arrived at the large building.

“Welcome back everyone,” greeted the mayor. “I hope you all got some good refreshment in, because the tournament is about to start!” The doors then opened behind her and revealed the stadium that Twilight and Spike had seen last night. The crowd was quick to get to their seats as an apparatus descened and lit up to be an omnidirectional monitor. “And now we will kick things off round one of the Beyblade Summer Festival Tournament,” Announced the mayor as the two bladers walked in.

Twilight sat in the stands and recognized the one of the bladers as Rarity. The other girl seemed similar to her, but wore a different outfit that consisted of a yellow sleeveless shirt and a light, pink jacket as well as a flowing skirt.

“The first round will be a battle between siblings with Rarity Belle against her sister, Sweetie Belle,” announced the mayor as both sisters took their positions.

“Get ready to Rarity,” warned Sweetie Belle. “Today’s the day I finally win against you.”

“I applaud your self-confidence, dear sister,” said Rarity respectfully. “However, you need much more than that to win a bey battle.” Once the bladers were set, the town hall’s roof split open, allowing the sun to shine down on the arena.

The countdown started and Rarity and Sweetie launched as soon as the signal was given. Virgo was quick to take the center as Sweetie’s bey raced along the outside. “Go now, Spiral Lyre!” said Sweetie as her bey proceeded to attack Virgo relentlessly.

“It seems that you still have much to learn, Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity as Virgo charged in for a counterattack.

Unfortunately, Virgo’s attack seemed to slide off Lyre as if it were water passing over a smooth stone. “And you’ve got a bit to learn about my bey,” retorted Sweetie as she explained. “Lyre’s spin track is an Eternal Defense 145. As long as I have that, you won’t be able to lay a single attack on me.”

Twilight watched with interest as she made a note of that feature in her notebook. Meanwhile, Rarity seemed rather amused at the situation. “Well now,” she said, “it seems that you’ve improved quite a bit, dear sister.” Her look then became more determined. “But you should know that it takes more than dodging to win a battle.” Virgo then proceeded to attack Lyre again, only for the latter to avoid it again.

“Of course I know that,” said Sweetie Belle. “That’s why I’m not done yet.” Lyre dodged another of Virgo’s attacks and soon struck back with its own attack. Seeing that her sister was taken aback, Sweetie explained further. “You see, Lyre’s fusion wheel has an offset center of gravity that allows it to move totally unpredictably.” Lyre glided past Virgo again and suddenly double backed to strike Virgo head-on.

“My oh my,” exclaimed the mayor, “it seems that Sweetie is slowly but surely backing her sister into a corner. How will Rarity respond?” Twilight was wondering the same question as Virgo continued to be at Lyre’s apparent mercy.

“I shall respond how I always do,” she declared. “I shall give my opponent what they have been so kind as to give me. Let’s go, Virgo!” Virgo then charged at Lyre again and began to build rotation speed as it did so.

Sweetie Belle smirked and said, “Don’t worry Rarity, you don’t have to give me anything. All I ask is that you take this. Now Lyre!” Lyre’s emblem then flashed as Sweetie spoke again. “Special move: String Crusher!” Lyre was soon enveloped in a bright silver aura as it raced wildly around the stadium, attacking Virgo from seemingly all directions at once before sending it flying into the air. “Oh yeah!” cheered Sweetie. “I won!”

“I’m afraid you are mistaken, dear sister,” said Rarity. Sweetie Belle looked at her older sister in confusion until she looked up and saw Virgo falling towards Lyre as its rotation speed seemed to be increasing and it became enveloped in a bright light. Twilight recognized this technique and tried to warn Sweetie, but it was too late. “Special move: Flashing Brilliant Star!” Rarity announced as Virgo’s light crashed into the stadium and caused a massive shockwave that came close to shaking the building. Once the light had died down, Virgo was seen to still be spinning while Lyre lay on its side with its rotation having been stopped.

Sweetie belle fell to her knees in frustration until Rarity came up to her and held out her hand while congratulating her on a hard fought battle. Sweetie smiled and respectfully accepted her sister’s hand. The next two battles were equally intense, though not as flashy with Pinkie Pie winning easily thanks to her Capricorn’s wild movements and a young purple-haired blader winning with brute force.

It was soon time for Twilight’s battle against Rainbow. As the two approached the stadium, a cluster of kids in the front row cheered loudly for Rainbow. Rainbow simply responded with a salute to them. Twilight started to feel a few butterflies enter her stomach both a tthe rousing display and the fact that she was competing for the first time in her life. She was able to calm down after a deep breath and considered the situation. ‘From the way she was acting at the gym,’ Twilight reflected, ‘Rainbow seems like the type of blader to go on the offensive right from the start.’ She then attached her Striker to her launcher and prepared for battle while Rainbow did the same.

The countdown proceeded and Twilight and Rainbow released their beys into the stadium with Striker taking the center and Rainbow’s bey racing along the edge. “Let’s win this with one shot,” said Rainbow decisively. “Go Storm Pegasus!” As if responding to its blader, Pegasus charged into the stadium and attacked Striker head-on. Upon contact, Pegasus began to push Striker bit by bit as the shock created a small wind storm. “Looks like you can take a hit,” observed Rainbow. “Guess that just means we’ve gotta pour on the pressure.” With that, Pegasus proceeded to hit Striker with a fierce and steady barrage of attacks.

Twilight winced as the force of each blow pushed Striker back bit by bit. “Amazing,” she said in awe. “Even with Striker’s rubber spin track I’m having a tough time standing up to this kind of attack. Guess there’s no other choice.” Twilight then told Striker to go on the offensive and it soon began trading blows with Rainbow’s Pegasus.

“Oh yeah, now we’re talking!” said Rainbow excitedly. “This is what beyblade is supposed to be about. Clashing head-to-head, putting your spirit on the line, this is the kind of action I love.”

“I admit, you have much more power than I anticipated,” said Twilight, “but I can still put my strategy to good use. Do it now, Striker!” Striker continued to clash with Rainbow’s Pegasus, delivering its own steady barrage of attacks.

“Not bad, rookie,” said Rainbow. “You’re putting up one hell of a fight. This is gonna make victory taste all the sweeter.”

“I may have only had this beyblade a short time,” said Twilight, “but I still know enough to implement some effective strategies against all manner of opponents.”

“Really now,” said Rainbow challengingly. “In that case, let’s see how well you stand up to this!” Pegasus then pulled away and charged at Striker again while enveloped in a bright blue light and surrounded by light winds. Twilight had a guess as to what Rainbow was up to and told Striker to brace itself. “Special move: Cloudburst Crash!”

Twilight flinched as Pegasus made contact with Striker, causing an explosion of force that rocked the entire stadium. The crowd watched with anticipation as the smoke steadily dissipated. Once it had, Pegasus was revealed to still be spinning in the stadium, but Striker was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh no!” shouted Twilight worriedly. “Striker, where are you?!”

Even Rainbow seemed a bit concerned and worried that she went too far in using her special move the way she did. Everyone then noticed a flash coming from above and saw Striker falling from the sky and hitting the stadium with a thud before landing upright and still spinning, though it had lost a considerable amount of stamina as evidenced by its wobbling.

Everyone was amazed at how Twilight’s bey had survived Rainbow’s special move, including Rainbow herself. “Holy shit,” she said in astonishment. “I can’t believe you actually lived through my special move.” She then smiled proudly at Twilight and shot her a thumbs up. “Guess you’re made of tougher stuff than I first thought. Not bad, Sparkle.”

“Thanks,” said Twilight as her mind began to process. ‘Though I’m honestly not sure what I can do at this point.’ She looked at Rainbow’s Pegasus and then back to Striker. ‘There’s not doubt that Pegasus lost quite a bit of power when using that move, but it’s nowhere near the amount that Striker lost.’ She then closed her eyes in fear. ‘What else can I do?’

“Come now, is that any way to act in a battle?” asked a kind, feminine voice. Twilight opened her eyes in surprise as she looked for the source. “Down here, sweetheart,” guided the voice as Twilight looked down to where her Striker was spinning and her eyes widened in shock.

“Striker,” said Twilight softly, “is that you?”

“Who else could it be?” Striker asked rhetorically. “Listen, I know things seem bad now, but there’s still a chance for you to win this. All you have to do is awaken your blader’s spirit.”

“But how do I do that?” asked Twilight, sounding somewhat desperate.

“It’s simple,” said Striker. “All you have to do is refuse to give up until the very end. As long as I’m still spinning, this battle is far from over.”

Striker’s words seemed to resonate with Twilight as she took a deep breath and calmed herself before looking up to face Rainbow again. “Get ready, Rainbow,” declared Twilight. “The real battle starts right now. Go, Striker!” With newfound power, Striker began another assault on Pegasus and steadily pushed it back.

“Okay,” said Rainbow with a smile. “Good to see you’ve still got some confidence in you.” Her eyes then steeled in determination. “But don’t think I’m gonna just roll over and let you win. Fight back, Pegasus!” Pegasus responded and held its ground against Striker.

As the two beys continued to clash, Twilight continued to focus one her bey. ‘Striker is doing everything it can to fight off Rainbow’s Pegasus,’ she thought. ‘I have to follow its lead and put everything I have into this battle.’ She then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Once she opened her eyes again, her steeled gaze was locked on the battle as Striker began to become enveloped in a faint purple aura. Rainbow raised an eyebrow as Striker proceeded to charge again and hit Pegasus again with each attack having more force behind it than the last. “Let’s win this,” said Twilight softly before yelling and expelling her pent-up energy. “Do it now, Striker!” With one final clash and a brilliant explosion of light, Striker blew Rainbow’s Pegasus through the air and out of the stadium.

Everyone was in shock at what had happened, but still cheered as Mayor Maybel pronounced Twilight the winner. Twilight seemed to snap out of her daze as she watched Striker’s rotation come to a gradual stop. She then saw Rainbow coming towards her with a proud expression on her face and a hand stretched out towards Twilight.

“Gotta say,” Rainbow admitted, “that was some comeback. I thought I had you for sure with my special move. Guess I have a bit more training to do.” Twilight smiled and took Rainbow’s hand before congratulating her on a hard-fought battle. “That reminds me,” Rainbow added, “what was that move you used. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Twilight paused as she turned to look at her Striker still in the stadium. “I’m... not sure to be honest,” she admitted. “I guess I ended up wanting to win so bad that I stopped thinking and just went for it.”

Dash smirked and said, “Yeah, that happens with a lot of new bladers.” She then placed a comforting hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “All you need is some practice and you’ll get the hang of it.”

Twilight nodded as she went to pick up her bey and exited the arena. After a brief intermission, the battles continued with renewed ferocity. Applejack won her battle easily thanks to her Bull’s rampaging power. Another girl Twilight recognized as Applejack’s sister was up after her and she won just as quickly thanks to a similar method. Once the next battle ended, it was time For Spike’s battle. He was up against a blader by the name of ‘Masquerade’.

Both bladers soon entered the arena and looked at each other. Masquerade wore a silver jacket with a black shirt underneath. He also wore blue corduroy pants and black boots with grey laces. “Personally, I would have preferred someone a bit more on my level,” He said in a distorted voice. “But I guess I’ll get to them soon enough.”

“You act like you’ve already won,” said Spike as he reached for his bey and launcher. “Don’t forget that big things come in small packages.”

“True, but bigger doesn’t mean better,” Masquerade retorted. “Unless, of course, you happen to mean me and my Typhoon Crane.” As he spoke, he held up his bey to show to everyone. The outer wheel seemed to be separated into 8 sections and the inner wheel was silver with a crane carved into each side with its wings outstretched.* The center image seemed to resemble that of a crane racing along a field.

Twilight had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as Spike and Masquerade attached their beys to their launchers. After the countdown, the two released their beys into the stadium with Crane racing along the bank ahead of Dragonis

“Okay,” said Spike. “First I need to know exactly what I’m up against here. And there’s only one way to do that. Come on Dragonis, let’s say hello to our new friend.” Dragonis soon sped up and struck Crane only for the former to be repelled while the latter remained stationary. “What the hell?!” shouted Spike in surprise. “Grr, try again Dragonins.” Dragonis soon regained its balance and proceeded to strike Crane again and again only for the results to remain the same.

“Nice try shrimp,” said Masquerade, “but my Crane won’t even budge with those pathetic excuses for attacks.” Crane then raced ahead again and prepared to counterattack from behind Dragonis. “Now let me show you what a real attack looks like.” Crane then struck Dragonis, sending it flying through the air before landing in the stadium with its balance having been disturbed.

“Damn,” grunted Spike. “That bey is like a tank running on liquid nitrogen. How the hell is it able to do all this?”

“It’s quite simple, really,” said Masquerade. “Crane’s 8-bladed fusion wheel has a smooth surface with rough yet fine edges that allow it to attack and defend at the same time.”

In the stands, Twilight seemed impressed that such a feature existed on a bey and made sure to study the battle closely.

“Alright then,” said Spike. “Let’s see how you handle this kind of attack. Now Dragonis!” Time seemed to move in slow motion as Dragonis’ fusion wheel shifted positions. After doing so, Dragonis proceeded to race wildly around the stadium, delivering a series of attacks seemingly from all sides. “A bey with that kind of power has to have a limit on how much punishment it can take,” observed Spike. “Let’s see what your limit is, shall we?”

Dragonis soon delivered one final blow that was able to send Crane flying. However, it landed safely in the stadium again with only a minor wobble. Spike was shocked that it had survived his intense barrage, as was the audience. “Apparently, my limit is much higher than you think,” said Masquerade tauntingly. “Thanks to Crane’s Eternal Coated Sharp performance tip, I was able to handle your little slapfest no problem.”

Spike grunted as Twilight observed with interest. “So that’s it,” she said in realization. “Because Crane’s performance tip spins independently, it was able to withstand Dragonis’ attacks with stamina to spare. And the rubber coating is what allowed it to move around so quickly.” She then wrote down her observations in her notebook.

“In that case,” said Spike, “guess we’re gonna have to go all out at this point.” Dragonis reeled back and charged at Crane while intense flames began to surround Spike’s bey. “Special move: Fire Wing Fury!” Dragonis’ symbol flashed as the flames intensified and it drew ever closer to Crane.

Masquerade however seemed unimpressed. “Guess this is what I get for expecting this much from a first round opponent,” he said boredly. “Let’s end this now, Crane.” Crane then charged to meet Dragonis’ special move head on, an action that confused almost everyone in the room until the wind began to build around Crane. “Go, Wing Sword Rush!” announced Masquerade as Crane clashed with Dragonis, causing a wave of heat to blow past the audience.

Once everything had settled down, Dragonis was seen lying motionless on its side while Crane continued to spin steadily. After snapping out of her stupor, Maybel declared Masquerade the winner with the blader in question walking off after taking back Crane. Meanwhile, Spike was left speechless at what had happened and picked up Dragonis before turning to leave the stadium himself. With that, the first round of the tournament had drawn to a close and everyone left to go home for the night while Twilight went to console her brother.

Author's Note

*Picture Eagle's energy ring, except with Cranes instead.

Hope you guys enjoyed the action in this chapter. I wasn't sure what direction to go with Twilight's battle, but I'd say I'm satisfied with what I came up with. Please leave any thoughts you have in the comments below.

Credit for Masquerade goes to DakariKingMykan.