The next morning, in the Crystal Palace, where Shining Armor and Cadance treated their guests to a full spread of breakfast, things were discussed at a round table.
"What is this... Trinity Cup thing Spike announced yesterday?" asked Twilight, as she and the rest of looked on at the other alicorns, their eyes full of curiosity.
"Well, Twily, it was me and Midnight's idea," Shining Armor was the first to answer, "See, we both weren't allowed to participate in the Equestria Games."
"So Shining and I came up with an exhibition competition and invited Sombra to participate," Midnight added.
"I was a little off-put by the idea at first," Sombra admitted with a shrug, "but seeing as I was able to return to my old empire and my former subjects have apparently moved on, I figured perhaps so should I. Which convinced me to take them up on their offer."
"Whoa... So the three alicorn princes are gonna duke it out in their own competition!" Soarin had the look of a fanboy, and the others were beginning to feel equally at awe.
"Wowzalotapalooza!!" Cheese Sandwich bounced in his seat while smiling like a colt on Hearths Warming Morning, "A competition between three of the biggest, toughest, and coolest ponies in all of Equestria!"
"But what exactly is the competition?" asked Thunderlane, his eyes widened with fascination. "Didn't Spike say it was three events yesterday in the stadium?"
"It is, but there's more to it than that," Sombra confirmed, "the three events in which Shining Armor, Midnight, and I will all compete are challenges that both honor and represent the original three pony tribes."
"I think I understand what you're saying," Blueblood spoke up, "each one of the challenges is a type of contest suitable for earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns respectively. Is that correct?"
"It is indeed, nephew," Celestia nodded with a serious look, "and what is a competition without a prize?"
All eyes turned to Celestia as she declared, "The winner of the Trinity Cup will be offered the title 'War Chief' of Equestria and all responsibilities that come with it. Should the winner accept the office of War Chief, he will be highest ranking leader of Equestria's military forces, sworn to protect our nation and its citizens overall, and charged to lead the EUP in times of war."
The manner in which Celestia spoke and this announcement itself, everypony was speechless although Big Mac did whistle lowly in response.
"In all honesty, I have been mulling over this for some time," Celestia went on, "and it coincides with my plans to abolish the Aristocracy and recreate the council where its members are elected, by democratic vote. Duke Firestorm is a great leader and his part in the battle with the changelings was just one of many times he has proven himself. Even so, he cannot last forever and in time, whether anypony likes it or not, he will have to step down and retire from active service.
"While the announcement last night of this Trinity Cup was as much a surprise to me as it was to the rest of you, I have spoken to my husband, Shining Armor, and Midnight about this, and they have agreed that the winner of this competition should be offered this title of responsibility. I believe that the three of you" - she looked to the three alicorn stallions - "are in all likilhood the best candidates possible to become War Chief of Equestria. But such responsibility must be earned, not freely given."
"Uh, excuse me, Princess," Applejack spoke up with a respectful tone, "but... didja just say th' winner gets offered t' be War Chief?"
"It is a great responsibility, Applejack," Celestia nodded sagely, "and I would never force such a burden upon somepony if they did not feel ready to bear it, much less have no desire to assume such duty in the first place. Although, to an extent, I would find such a candidate who is reluctant more suitable. I learned long ago that those best suited for power are those who do not seek it."
"Lessons we learned the hard way," Luna looked to Sombra, the both of them recalling the monsters they once were.
"Um, what time does the competition begin? That is, if you don't mind me asking..." Fluttershy timidly brought up.
"At 11 am sharp," Spike hopped onto the table, "and I have been chosen to be the master of ceremonies for the Trinity Cup. This is gonna be sweet!"
The Crystal Empire Stadium was filling up again with spectators. Although not everyone had stayed to watch the Cup, the chance to see a competition between three alicorn princes was still too big an opportunity to pass up, so the stadium seats filled up quite nicely with plenty of ponies and other creatures. Since the visiting dignitaries had to leave, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance invited the rest of Twilight and Midnight's friends to sit with them in the VIP box. The Crusaders were the most excited, most of them squirming in their seats.
"When's th' competition gonna start?" Apple Bloom practically bounced on her haunches as she sat next to Applejack.
"This is gonna be sooo cool!" Button felt as giddy as he did whenever his game-screens read 'loading', Big Mac chuckling at him.
"Midnight's gonna kick plot!" Sweetie Belle said to Button who nodded.
"Sweetie Belle! That's no way to speak around royalty!" Rarity looked disapprovingly at her sister.
"It's fine, Rarity, they're just foals, after all," Cadance assuaged.
"Let them be foals while they still are foals, my muse," Blueblood chuckled as he teasingly nudged Rarity's shoulder with his own.
Sitting closer to the Royal Sisters, Twinken and Twilight looked over to Celestia and the lavender alicorn asked, "So, it's three contests, and each one is a kind of challenge appropriate for one of the three pony tribes, right?"
"That is the idea," Celestia nodded, an excited glimmer in her eyes that looked out to the field, "but other than that, I don't know what else is going to happen, except that the stadium staff and Spike are the ones preparing the challenges."
"Where is Spike, anyway?" Cadance brought up and everypony looked around, not seeing spine nor scale of the little dragon.
"I bet Spike's getting ready and helping set things up," Cheese suggested, "he's supposed to be the... master of ceremonies in this, right?"
In the backroom, somewhere in the stadium, Spike was happily lounging on a sofa as a crystal stallion fanned him with a large palm leaf, while a crystal mare fed him gemstones. Apparently, saving a stadium of spectators during a high-profile event like the Equestria Games was grounds to be hailed as a hero, and somehow Sombra's calling Spike 'Brave and Glorious' somehow got around and the crystal ponies among the staff were treating the little dragon practically like royalty!
"Finally... true recognition!" Spike chuckled before saying to the mare, "Oh, more of the green ones, please."
"Uh, Great and Honorable Spike?" the mare spoke respectfully, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the Trinity Cup? As I understand it, His Majesty K- I mean Prince Sombra, requested you to be the master of ceremonies, yes?"
"Relax! I'm just getting my... mellowness out of the way," Spike waved off her concern as he enjoyed another gem. Mmming at the succulent taste before gulping it down, he sighed and said, "Besides, the Cup's not for another... Uh, remind me again?"
"The Trinity Cup starts at exactly 11'o clock, of Brave and Glorious one," the mare reminded before nervously pointing towards a nearby clock, "And..."
Spike followed her hoof to the clock and YIPE'd at the time, "Augh! Ten minutes?! Wh-why didn't anypony tell me?!"
Spike leapt off the sofa and started running around frantic, "I-I gotta get out to the field- The field! Is everything ready? Are the challenges set up?!"
"Uh, no need to worry, Great and Honorable Spike," the fan-waving stallion assured after setting the palm leaf down, "the staff has everything set up, and really, we're all just waiting on you, heh-heh."
"Oh, good, I... Ahem!" Spike straightened up, and took a regal poise, "Then, let's get these games started! Thanks for the pampering, guys, go find some good seats, because I bet you this competition is gonna be AWESOME!!"
Making his way out onto the field, Spike was a little overwhelmed like he had been for the torch-lighting at the opening ceremony of the Equestria Games. But it wasn't nearly as bad as then, as he took a deep breath, grasped his microphone, and made his way out to his position, the echoing chatters of the spectators beginning to die down as the jumbo-tron showed a close-up of Spike. Clearing his breath, he began.
"Fillies and gentlecolts! Visitors from near and far! Let me start by saying 'Welcome'! You are here to witness a competition like no other, a competition that you will most surely remember for many years to come! As Master of Ceremonies, I welcome each and every one of you... to the TRINITYYYYYY CUP!!!"
Spike smiled as he was answered with a wild applause that echoed throughout the stadium walls, and after basking in it for a few moments, he politely held up his hands, and the cheering died down.
"And now... It's time to introduce our competitors! I think it's only fair to introduce first... he's the former Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, he earned his wings not through violence but through love! He is hailed as the Sword and Shield of Equestria, and is now Emperor of our generous host, the Crystal Empire, and High General of the Crystal Empire Praetorian Guard! Give a big welcome to... Prince Shining Armor!"
Stepping out of one of the vomitorium entrances to the field, Shining Armor made himself known, standing dutiful and displaying a visage of strength, as he had done for all his years in the Royal Guard. He marched to the designated circle Spike pointed him towards and then pumped a hoof into the air, the crystal ponies cheering loudest for their emperor, and he smiled as he could make out his wife sitting in the VIP box seats.
"Our next competitor, he is the Element of Faith, leader of the Guardians of Harmony, the Cloak and Dagger of Equestria, and a national hero, give it up for... Prince Midnight Blaze!!"
A blue streak zoomed out of the vomitorium and then veered skyward until it exploded with a fiery blaze of magical lights, as Midnight put on a show that caused many more spectators to go wild, and he floated down like a feather until he was standing next to Shining Armor, who gave him an accusatory stink eye and smirked, "Show-off..."
Midnight just shrugged and said, "Just smile and wave, pal, smile and wave."
"And last, but most certainly not least, he is the founder and former ruler of this empire! He was lost but found his way back to the light of his one true love, and has earned his wings not only as a prince but a true defender of this nation, fillies and gentlecolts, I give you the hero of the Battle of Mount Canterhorn! I give you... Prince Sombra!!!"
The crowd whispered at first but all too quickly rose up in wild adulation as the dark gray alicorn walked out with the regal repose of a king, and took his place in the circle with his fellow competitors, giving them a fatherly smile.
"And now that we have our competitors, it's time to explain the Trinity Cup!" Spike went on, "There will be three challenges in which Their Majesties compete, and based on how well they do in each one, they will be scored based on first, second, or third place! Once all three challenges are finished, the lowest-scoring prince will be eliminated from the competition, leaving the remaining two princes to settle things with one more event! Your Highnesses! Are you ready?"
Spike gave a challenging smile to the three alicorn stallions and their bold gazes were all the answer Spike needed as he chuckled, and then declared, "The let the games begin!!!"
Whispers were shared among the crowd as hatches opened on the field and HUGE pillars of solid marble rose up via platform, along with crane-like machines with long lines of chain. The pillars were about a yard in diameter and resembled the types of pillars found in old Olymponyan ruins, the style of which was still used by modern architects. Spike and the three princes stood before these mighty monoliths and watched as the stadium staff worked in connected the chains of the cranes to the pillars, and then Spike signaled to the crane operators, and the operators pulled the lever on their cranes, retracting the chains and ever so carefully raising each pillar up by a full storey of height, the pillars just slightly swaying.
"Do you know what this event is, Princess Celestia?" Twilight whispered to the elder alicorn and she got a gentle shush.
"I would say we're about to find out."
Indeed, Spike stepped closer towards the bottom stands in the crowd, and raised his microphone, "It's time for our competitors to face their first challenge! As you all can plainly see behind me, there are three pillars of solid and hea-vy marble! I've been informed that each pillar weighs an approximate fifteen-hundred pounds!!"
Already, the crowd was beginning to whisper and marvel as they quickly suspected what the challenge was going to be.
"Like the earth beneath their hooves, earth ponies have shouldered many a heavy burden in the long history of ponykind! In honor of earth ponies everywhere, we shall see which of our three alicorn princes is most in tune with the earth pony inside of him. The challenge here, is each prince must hold up their pillar with the strength of their body and will alone. No magic, no wings, nothing except solid muscle and a stubborn streak. Your Majesties, take your positions beneath the pillars."
The three alicorn stallions nodded before looking at each other.
"May the best stallion win."
"And no hard feelings afterwards."
"So let's give it everything we've got!"
They all slowly took their places beneath the suspended pillars as Spike continued, "The pillars will slowly ease down and be lowered upon each of you. How you hold them is up to you, as long as you don't use magic or your wings. If at any point you can't take it anymore, yield, and the pillar will be lifted off, and don't worry! Each pillar has been properly secured and charmed so that nopony accidentally gets crushed. Once the pillar makes physical contact with you, you must bear its weight for as long as you can! Any questions?"
When no prince responded, Spike got the message and declared, "Then let the competition begin! Lower the pillars!"
The crane-operators nodded and worked the controls, the pillars slowly lowering down onto each prince, and each prince stood tall and ready, awaiting for the pressure to mount. They didn't wait long, Sombra felt his first as he was the tallest, followed by Shining Armor, and finally Midnight. Almost right away, all three alicorn princes were unprepared for the immense burdens being laid upon their shoulders, but they forced their resolves and bore with it.
Seconds stretched into minutes, and by the fifth, all three princes were straining and groaning with pain as the pillars began to wear them down, and they found it growing even more difficult as they began to sweat over their backs and shoulders, which made it harder to keep a steady foundation. Not to mention knowing a whole stadium of spectators was waiting to see who would be the first to crack urged each of them to hold on.
"Eesh, it's only been a few minutes and I bet my primaries that they're feeling the pressure, so to speak," Thunderlane commented, to which Big Mac responded with his trademarked 'Eeyup'.
"What say you, sister?" Luna looked to Celestia, "Whom amongst the princes do you believe shall emerge victorious?"
"It's difficult to say," Celestia responded and for some reason, everypony in the VIP box gazed up at her as she gazed out to the field, her eyes on each of the competitors.
"Shining Armor has spent many years of his life training his body and mind to be the ideal guardspony. My husband has had similar training but decades of experience to go with it. In all honesty, I believe one of them will win, but Midnight-"
"OHHHhhhh....!!" interrupted Spike over the PA and everypony gasped to see that Midnight had flopped!
The sapphire blue alicorn had given out with a pained grunt and collapsed, while his pillar was suspended by its chain reinforced by magic, insuring there was no mess.
"And it looks like the first to fall is Prince Midnight Blaze," Spike commented, "good try though, Midnight. Anything to say?"
As Spike came closer, Midnight was helped up to his hooves by a couple staff ponies, and was panting with a disappointed look on his face but shrugged as he spoke into Spike's microphone, "I am going to the Crystal spa and i hope they have a chiropractor. As for this challenge? Well, in the end, it's just a competition. Sombra? Shining Armor? Good luck."
"Whatta sport, am I right?! Give it up for Midnight, everypony!" Spike cheered and Midnight appreciated the applause he was given as he made his way to the locker room.
"Oh, I can't believe Midnight lost first," Sweetie Belle felt bad for him.
"Yes, I had a feeling this would happen," Celestia commented, almost sounding like a weary parent, and all eyes turned to her again. "Midnight is most certainly very strong in body, but he just doesn't have the years of training and experience in improving his physical might and endurance to the same level as Sombra or Shining Armor. This is because during his years of training, Midnight was learning and studying all kinds of different disciplines, and he couldn't dedicate himself to just one.
"In other words, Midnight is an expert in a variety of skills and arts, but he's mastered less than half of them."
"Come to think of it..." Rainbow Dash spoke up as she contemplated, "I think I remember Midnight saying he got Wonderbolt training but only for a few months!"
"I remember him saying that, too!" Soarin added, "And the Wonderbolt who trained him was Hellfire, along with his squadron."
"Yes, Hellfire and his squad-mates were tough teachers on Midnight but it paid off," Celestia confirmed, "which I'm fairly certain you will all see soon enough."
Twilight considered what she'd just heard, and what had just happened, and although he'd seemed okay, Twilight couldn't help but feel she should go see her coltfriend, and slipped away.
At the Crystal Spa, the employees were happy to welcome Twilight but a little disappointed when she kindly declined a complementary round of pampering. After asking, she was pointed towards Midnight, who was lying on a table while a crystal stallion carefully worked on the prince's back, and apparently the masseuse was that good as Midnight was making some very relaxed groans, "Ahhh.... a little higher... Yeah, that's it..."
He was so relaxed he didn't even hear her walk up to him until she cleared her throat and he opened his eyes to see, "Twilight?"
"I see you're enjoying yourself," Twilight giggled as she levitated a chair over and sat down in front of her betrothed, "Sorry about what happened."
"Ugh, I didn't expect to win, but..." Midnight sighed. He was feeling better in body, but the bruise to his ego would take a little time. "Well, I guess it makes sense. I haven't spent near as much time as Shining Armor bulking up or have even a fraction of the experience my master must have."
"You still held an immense amount of weight for an impressive amount of time," Twilight assured, "and it's only the first challenge. I'm certain that before all of this is over, you'll show everypony what you're made of!"
The emotions behind the words reached Midnight as he gazed into those amethyst eyes he loved so much, seeing his doubt fading away as he asked, "You really believe that?"
"You're the Element of Faith, how can I not?" Twilight teased as she moved forward to nuzzle him cheek to cheek, which he warmly reciprocated. Then she pulled away to give Midnight a smile before she leaned forward again, slowly closing her eyes.
He did the same, positioning his face as their lips drew closer-
"And the winner is Prince Shining Armorrrrrr!!"
"Wha-/Huh?!" The couple looked to see a television nearby that showed Shining Armor, his wings spread, and smiling proud as the crowd cheered. Some of the spa-goers and the spa employees followed suit with more subdued cheers for the prince of the Crystal Empire, before the camera turned to Spike.
"And so with the first challenge in the Trinity Cup over, our competitors are gonna take a well-deserved break. Join us again at 12:30 for the next challenge, and you can bet your bottom bit it's just gonna get more exciting!"
Then the coverage went to commercial, featuring an ad for for Iron Horse, the most successful locomotive company in Equestria, and then Twilight and Midnight looked at each other again, and Midnight suggested, "Why don't you get a little pampering while you're here? It'll be a while before we have to head back to the stadium for the next challenge, anyway."
"You know, I think I'll take you up on that," Twilight smiled at her beau before speaking with one of the spa ponies.
The stadium was filling up even more as more of the Crystal Empire citizens took a break from their daily lives to personally witness this amazing spectacle. It still wasn't quite as full as it had been during the Equestria Games but it was getting there.
The three alicorn princes stood boldly on the field, awaiting the next challenge as Spike stepped out with his microphone, "Welcome back, everyone, and I hope you had a chance to use the restroom because you won't wanna miss out on this next event! Your Majesties! It's time to spread your wings for your next challenge! Everyone, look up!"
Spike pointed upwards and everyone in the stadium followed his claw. At first, they weren't seeing it, but before long they made out a tiny red dot skyward, and curious murmurs rippled throughout the crowds.
"What you're seeing, way-way-waaaaay up there, everyone," Spike explained, "is a flag set into a cloud. The next challenge for our three royal competitors is a flying race, and here's how it goes! Once the race begins, the three princes must fly straight up towards that high-in-the-sky flag and then... drop. No, I am not kidding -They must free-fall, dropping thousands of hooves before pulling up and making one clockwise lap around the exterior of the stadium, and fly right back here where they're starting from. The circle in which you stand, Your Majesties, is both the starting point and the finish line. There is a medical team and a team of pegasi standing by just in case something happens.
"Any questions?"
The three princes answered by hunkering down and spreading their wings, their eyes gazing upwards beneath their furrowed brows.
"Okay then! When the firework explodes, take to the air!"
And then Spike went silent, as did the rest of the stadium as everyone awaited a firework to go off. Even in those tenuous moments was the suspense near unbearable-
*SSHHHHHHEEEeeewww...Ka-CRACK/FLA-WHOOMPH*
"AND THERE THEY GOOOOO!!!!!" Spike yelled over his microphone and everypony watched as the three princes took flight, and steadily climbed higher and higher with every beat of their wings.
Eyes gazed ever upward as everyone craned their necks to see the competitors become smaller and smaller with every passing second, and in the royal box seats, Rainbow whooped, "YEAAHHHH!! GO MIDNNIIIIGGGHHHTT!!"
"COME ON, SHININNNNG!!!" Cadance yelled as loudly, trying to drown out Rainbow Dash.
More cheers and shouts of encouragement rang through the stadium, that the three princes could hear even as they approached the flag-marked cloud, just a few yards shy of the thermal barrier that protected the Crystal Empire from the extreme temperatures of the Frozen North. As they'd ascended, Sombra had noticed Shining Armor lagging behind and appearing to be in pain. But the white prince refused to stop and gave it everything he got as he and his rivals made it higher than the flag... and then Shining Armor and Sombra both gaped in wide-eyed shock to see Midnight close his eyes.
And drop.
They followed after, diving rather than merely dropping like a ragdoll, but even as he spun round and round in the air, Midnight appeared placid and without worry. The wind screaming past them as they tore through it in diving acceleration made it too difficult for Sombra or Shining Armor to exchange words on Midnight but they were both curious, and perhaps a tad worried. But the Crystal Empire below was getting closer and closer, and any second now they would have to pull up to lap around the stadium.
Sombra was the first to spread his wings to slow his descent. Out of all the alicorn princes, he had the least experience flying, and he didn't trust himself to dive any further than he had.
Shining Armor held out a little longer but his nerve swayed for just a moment, and his wings spread in instinctive reflex, a twinge of pain bothering him as he pulled up.
But Midnight kept going, free-falling headfirst in slow yet intense rotation. In all that time he'd let himself drop, he'd reflected on the words and training he'd recieved years ago from Hellfire's squadron. He'd hated the training, but Silver Lining was able to spur Midnight through it, and the young alicorn would forever be grateful to that ornery old `Bolt.
His eyes snapped open and his wings spread, not to pull up, but to angle his trajectory. He took full advantage of the acceleration from his long free-fall, and ZOOMED along the street surrounding the stadium, making the full lap well before Sombra and Shining Armor, before angling upwards and launching himself high into the air right above the stadium. Everyone gasped in awe when Spike got excited, "Superhero landing... I think he's gonna do a superhero landing!!"
And Midnight came down with a thunderous THUD, landing on his left hind hoof, his right extended behind him, while his right forehoof kept him balanced, and his left forehoof extended out, as were his wings.
"WHOOO!!!" Spike cheered while clapping, "Superhero landing! Totally impractical but even more totally AWESOME!!! The winner of the race is Prince Midnight Blaze!"
The crowd cheered and in came tuckered Sombra, followed by a panting Shining Armor, Midnight coming over to extend a hoof to them. They graciously accepted, and gave Midnight their kudos.
Once again, the princes were given an hour-long break before their next and final event together. But Cadance had insisted Shining Armor get checked out because his behavior during the race had caught her attention. Standing in a lounge room in the stadium, the Harmonic Twelve, along with Cadance, awaited the doctor's diagnosis as he gave Shining Armor a quick checkup and asked a few questions in the next room.
Before long, the Shining Armor and the doctor rejoined the others and he explained, "Prince Shining Armor's injuries he recovered from after the Battle of Mount Canterhorn have acted up somewhat in light of these strenuous challenges. Now, there's nothing to worry about, it's just some lingering aches from wounds that have only recently recovered. Even so, I must recommend, Your Majesty, that you not overexert yourself further. In fact, I even suggest you take some leave of absence for some rest and relaxation."
The others mumbled among themselves while Shining Armor responded, "Your opinion is noted, doctor, but I'm not backing down."
"Shiny..." Cadance gave her husband a look only a wife could.
"Cady, if I back out now, the crystal ponies will lose faith in me," Shining Armor explained, holding his wife's hooves in his own, "I owe it to them to see this competition through and to do my very best. Besides, if I quit every competition just because I got a sore muscle or something, I couldn't look myself in the mirror. Please understand, Cadance. I have to do this."
"Oh, Twilight say something!" Cadance gave a pleading look to her sister-in-law, and Twilight looked between Cadance and Shining Armor, feeling put on the spot.
On one hoof, she was just as worried as Cadance was for Shining Armor, but on the other she'd grown up admiring her big brother's dedication to doing his best and seeing things through.
"Cadance, Twily, neither of you need to worry," Shining Armor assured, "the next challenge is about magic, nothing physical."
"It's true, everypony," Midnight stepped forward to stand by his oldest friend, "for our next challenge, we'll be competing against in a contest of magic. It'll certainly leave us exhausted but it won't exert Shining Armor physically."
"How do you know that?" asked Twilight, a brow raised.
Shining Armor and Midnight shared a sheepish look, the former rubbing the back of his head with his hoof, the latter clearing his throat before he said, "Well, never mind that. The point is, there's really nothing to worry about... but let's change that. Shining Armor?"
"Hmm?" Shining looked at Midnight curiously.
"Let's make this a tad more interesting," Midnight suggested, "Whichever of us places higher in the next event gets to pile a week of his royal duties onto the other."
"...What?" Shining Armor was taken aback by Midnight's bet, the look on his face stirring a few chuckles among their friends.
"Ha-ha, just kidding," Midnight waved it off, "But even so, the one who places lower has to treat the other to a banquet."
"Oh, well that's different," Shining Armor gave a chuckle while making a mental 'phew' in his mind.
The hour was up and the stadium reveled in anticipation for the next challenge three alicorn princes would face, and in the center of the field there they stood, each of them facing a small crystal, set upon the ground, equidistant from each other and the competitors. Finally, Spike stepped forward, microphone in hand.
"Alright, everyone, it's time for the third event! You've seen them test their strength, their agility, but now it's time to test their power! Those crystal you see before our competitors are very special crystals. They have the ability to absorb and crystalize raw mana, and add that crystalized mana to its own mass! For those of you who don't know, these are known simply as Power Crystals.
"While any crystal or gem can be used to house or focus mana, Power Crystals, especially natural samples like these, can be charged with mana and its properties can increase its magical output a hundred times over, creating one of the most powerful energy sources in Equestria! These are often used to fuel the power grids of larger cities, like Manehatten or Las Pegasus. Your Majesties!
"For this next challenge, you must channel your mana into your crystal, which will cause the crystal to grow based on how much you imbue into them. You will have exactly fifteen minutes to grow your Power Crystal as big as you can! Once the time limit is up, the winner will be the prince who grew the largest crystal, and the winner's crystal will be donated to the Crystal Empire to aid in the Empire's modernization project!"
Excited chatters spread amongst the spectators, and in the royal box, Twilight looked to Cadance and asked, "Modernization project?"
"The Crystal Empire was gone for over a thousand years, Twilight," Cadance explained, "so modern technologies and conveniences are still quite new to the crystal ponies. Recently, we've begun the modernization project to modernize the empire with things like indoor plumbing, electricity, and introducing the crystal ponies to modern technology. The cinema week we had was a fun experience that my subjects enjoyed, and we even had to hire some instructors and experts to show many crystal ponies how things like radio, electrical wiring, and even toilets work."
"Oh! And a power crystal with a substantial amount of mana will be an excellent leap in your progress," realized Twilight, and she smiled down at the field. She thought to herself, So this challenge here isn't just a simple contest, but it's also an effort to help the crystal ponies!
"Your Majesties! Are you ready?!" Spike challenged them, and the three alicorns responded by lighting up their horns with mana, and boring their indomitable gazes into their respective crystals.
"Ready!
"Aim...
"CHANNEL!!!"
Three streams of mana, one magenta, one red, the last turquoise, almost instantly connected with the power crystals, and the crystals flared with life! Each crystal radiated with the mana of the prince channeling their magic into them. Each stream of mana behaved differently. Shining Armor's magenta mana stream flowed while sparkles and glimmers flew out like sparklers. Sombra's red stream of mana behaved like smoke while embers crackled and popped to and fro. Midnight's turquoise mana looked like a cord of rippling water, drops of it flying about like a wild garden hose.
All the while, each power crystal surely began to grow. It was difficult to see whose crystal was growing faster as each one radiated with such intensity hardly anyone could even discern the crystals' outlines. Even so, the sources of light grew larger and larger!
But with each passing second, the mana channeling began to take its toll on the competitors, as Sombra, Shining Armor, and Midnight all felt it. The intensifying light from the crystal certainly didn't help, but their visions were getting blurry, it was becoming harder to focus, and each of them felt the base of their horns begin to throb with pain.
They couldn't afford to even peer towards the timer on the jumbo-tron, for even a split-second distraction could disrupt their mana flow, and slow their progress.
As the seconds stretched into minutes, each prince was really feeling it. The mana output was wearing them down, causing them to feel weaker and weaker, and the migraine-like pain they all felt at the bases of their horns was becoming almost unbearable! The crystal were now each at least as big as a two-story house, but still they kept going.
"Oh my, it's been ten minutes, and the poor dears look positively exhausted!" Rarity was looking straight at the princes via a pair of opera glasses.
"The fact they're all still channeling mana after this long is astounding," agreed Blueblood, "I'm reluctant to even imagine how much their horns hurt!"
"And those crystals are posolutely TITANYMO!" Cheese Sandwich added while Pinkie was munching intensely into a bag of popcorn.
"Oh, I hope it ends soon, I don't know how much more of this I can take...!" Fluttershy didn't like suspense.
"Princess Celestia... I'm really getting worried here," Twilight whispered to her old teacher. "I mean, I know they have a lot of magic but even they have limits! If this keeps up, they might even wind up using their own life energies!"
"Don't worry, Twilight," Celestia placed a comforting wing around her old student, "our boys might be a little meatheaded, but they're not foolis-"
"And Shining Armor is the first to bow out!"
Spike's timely interruption caused Twilight and Celestia gaze back out and they saw Shining Armor had stopped channeling mana, was panting like a dog, and his crystal was dimming to reveal a VAST magenta jewel of power with a noticeable likeness to the six-pointed star he and his sister shared on their cutie-marks, and it stood well over three stories tall.
"And so that leaves Midnight and Sombra, with just over four minutes left on the clock! Who's gonna win this thing?!"
The mounting pressure and hearing that time was running out struck a chord of worry in Midnight. Oh how his horn begged for mercy! The flow of his mana-channeling burned like an open fire, while the base felt like his head was in danger of splitting open, and the harsh and blinding light of his crystal seared right through his scrunched-shut eyelids.
I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
Midnight released the channeling spell, stopping the flow, and fell back onto his haunches, while clutching the base of his aching horn with his forehooves, moaning with pain.
"Midnight has stopped, and by outlasting his competition that makes Sombra the winner! And with only seconds to spare!"
No sooner did Spike finish his announcement did the timer on the jumbo-tron reach zero and a buzzing sound reverberated around the stadium, while Midnight and Sombra's power crystals dimmed for everyone to see.
Midnight's power crystal looked like a turquoise-colored tower of flowing water frozen not in ice but like in the instant captured in a photograph. There were no facets, but smooth or rippling surfaces that flowed upwards, reaching almost five stories high!
But Sombra's crystal... Like the three-pointed cluster of red crystal that was his cutie-mark, his power crystal resembled a towering cluster of the purest red, clear yet reflecting facets of each thorn spiking out, odd dark wisps resembling curls of smoke forever frozen inside each cut, and the gargantuan conjuration stood so high it reached above the stadium itself!
Everyone marveled at Sombra's creation, a source of power that he had striven through incredible intensity to gift his former subjects, and ever so slowly did the applause begin and become a roar that could be heard throughout the entire empire!
It took a while the applause to die down, but finally Spike was able to announce, "And that's it, everyone! The three challenges are over, and now it's time to tally up the scores! Please direct your attention to the jumbo-tron!"
All eyes turned to the giant screen, which displayed the cutie-marks of each prince, Sombra's three-pointed cluster of red crystal, Shining Armor's blue shield with a mangenta six-pointed star with three smaller light blue five-pointed stars above it, and Midnight's pale bluish-white crescent moon facing upwards, enclosing around a five-point star surrounded by five twinkles.
"As I said before, each prince is scored based on coming in first, second, or third place. Third Place is 1 point, Second Place is 5 points, and 1st is 10! So now, it's time to measure our competitors' scores and find out which of them will be dropped."
Everyone watched as the words 'First Challenge' displayed above the cutie-marks, and showed how Midnight came in 3rd, awarding him one point, Sombra in 2nd, giving him five points, and Shining Armor in 1st, putting him in the lead with 10. Then the same thing happened, 'Second Challenge'. Midnight came in 1st, bringing his score up to 11. Sombra had been in 2nd, giving him another five points, bringing his score up to 10, and Shining Armor had come in last, so he got only one point, tying him with Midnight at 11.
The Third Challenge: Sombra had won, giving him ten points, bringing him up to 20. Midnight had come in 2nd, giving him 16 points. And again, Shining Armor had been 3rd, giving him only one more point, for a total of 12.
"Well, everyone, the numbers don't lie. I'm sorry, Shining Armor, but you have been eliminated. So would you please head back into the locker room, and pack up your bag."
Shining Armor lowered his head a little, disappointed that he'd fallen short, but as he slowly turned around, there was a scattered applause that grew and he gazed up to see everyone looking at him with admiration and respect, and the praise lifted his spirit like none before it. He'd been applauded before, but this felt special. This had been earned not because of who he was but because he'd given his all and he'd shown what he was made of. He smiled with deep appreciation and well-earned pride, waving at his admirers, before looking back to Midnight and Sombra, and was touched to see they were applauding him as well.
"Midnight! Sombra! You guys give the next event your all!"
They both nodded with a look of determination and smiling at Shining Armor with respect, and he made his way to the locker room, and Spike spoke up again.
"Now everyone, the Trinity Cup isn't over! Even though Sombra scored highest, he is not the winner, because there is one more challenge that he and Midnight must face. And that challenge is... each other!"
Almost instantly did murmurs of confusion ripple amongst the crowds before Spike explained, "Fillies & gentlcolts, and all creatures great and small. The final event of the Trinity Cup is a duel:
"Prince Sombra versus Prince Midnight Blaze!"