//------------------------------// // Amethyst Star and the Tournament I // Story: Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This // by MagicS //------------------------------// A road’s a road even if it’s just dirt and Amethyst Star was thankful that she could be walking down a real road right now instead of roughing it through the brush or using a worn and uneven path that was murder on her hooves. It was morning now. The previous day she had gone down the hill and taken a dunk in the first little river she came across afterwards to clean herself up. And after that she settled down for some much needed rest. Since then she’d been walking on to her current destination of those buildings and the possible town they represented, for a while she followed along the riverbank that led in their direction before eventually coming across the road she was now on. A good turn of fortune, she had to say. The weather was still nice too and she had seen plenty of birds and squirrels in the forests around here, the west seemed like a pretty nice place no different from Equestria so far. She hoped and didn’t hope it would stay that way, since she still wanted some kind of real adventure to go on and not just a nature walk. But she probably shouldn’t take such a nice and easy time for granted either. Amethyst Star was pretty close to the buildings and homes up ahead now, they looked fairly normal and it seemed like the type of place ponies would live in so that’s what she was expecting. Nothing was too large either, most were fairly squat one or two-story affairs and they all looked to be made from wood. While there wasn’t a massive amount of the buildings they were spread over a fairly large area, definitely larger than Ponyville, and enveloped a few groves of trees. The river she had been following earlier looked like it went right through the southern side of the village. Yes, she would definitely be calling it a village now that she was closer. The road she was on was probably going to take her straight to the main street or the middle of the village, depending on how it was laid out. Like Ponyville it was possible they didn’t really have official streets. “I’m so excited!~” Amethyst couldn’t help saying to herself as she trotted along, her tail swishing around behind her almost like she was a dog. “I wonder what ponies are like out here? I wonder if there’s any sort of crazy customs or cool adventures they’ll have me go on?!” She was most assuredly getting ahead of herself. But she couldn’t help it, she sped up her pace because she just wanted to get to her destination as quickly as possible and check it all out. And even if it didn’t turn out to be very exciting or anything it was still someplace new and she may very well have been the first true Equestrian, or at least one of the first, to visit it. She could totally brag about exploring new places and meeting new people now! Amethyst knew for sure at least that none of her friends or anyone else from Ponyville had been here. An extra thirty minutes of walking and she was close enough to see things in greater detail now, and could also see that the village seemed to be quite a busy place. There were a lot of ponies out and about inside it. As she had expected, the road she was walking on did take her right to the middle of it all, she ended up walking between two buildings with a large arch going from roof to roof that worked as the entryway to the town. She thought there should probably be a sign hanging from it or the name of the place painted on the arch but instead there was nothing. Not a big deal though, she just shrugged and continued on into the village and the crowd of ponies inside it. “Wonder if there’s something special going on?” She said aloud to herself. The ponies filling up the large area between the sparse buildings came in all shapes and sizes, most of them were stallions and looked to be of a martial nature. She remembered seeing the royal guards whenever Celestia visited Ponyville, and Shining Armor too on a few occasions, and a lot of the ponies here reminded her of that. Amethyst wondered if they were guards of some sort, but why were so many gathered around here? Some of them were huge, others were lithe and limber but still had a fierce look in their eyes, one thing a lot of them shared in common was it looked like they were sizing each other up and expecting a fight to break out at any moment. “This is weird...” she muttered. Some of the ponies were wearing matching outfits too, like uniforms. She saw one group that wore white cloaks, another had red bandannas tied around their heads, and she saw some that had matching tattoos on their necks even. Amethyst Star raised a confused eyebrow at it all and started drifting towards some of the buildings that lined this large open area. She could find someplace to eat and sit down for a while and then figure out what was going on here. One of the groves of trees was actually concealing a park area with several benches and some shacks set up in it, Amethyst saw some more normal looking ponies milling about in there and so she decided to check that place out first. Maybe she could ask one of them what this was all about. As soon as she made it into the grove the other ponies all perked their heads up at her, it was a far cry from how she was ignored by the other ponies in town. These ones definitely weren’t the guard or fighting looking type though, mothers with their foals and a few others working what Amethyst Star now saw to be hastily made concession stands and other kiosks. “Uh, hi?” Amethyst gave a hesitant wave to all the ponies in here. An older earth pony mare with a graying white coat and frizzy dark blue mane who had been playing with her daughter raised an eyebrow at her. She then scratched the side of her head and started walking over to Amethyst Star. “Yes? Is there something you need? If you had a question the commissioners or referees should be able to help you with anything.” “Huh?” Amethyst Star replied in confusion. “Commissioner? Referee? I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just wanted to know what’s with the huge crowd and maybe get a bite to eat or something.” “You’re not here for the tournament?” The mare asked. Amethyst Star shook her head. “I’m just passing through, I had no idea this was happening.” She then realized what had just been mentioned. “Tournament?” The mare nodded before responding. “Wow, it’s a strange coincidence that a pony from outside just wanders in at the same time the annual tournament is being held,” the mare looked to the side as she thought. “Normally we don’t get any tourists here without the tournament,” she then smiled kindly as she realized Amethyst Star had asked her a question. “Oh, sorry deary, that’s right! You see our little village of Hacksaw holds a big fighting tournament that draws hundreds of fighters from all over every year. We thought you were a participant when you walked in here.” Amethyst’s eyes widened as she heard that. A fighting tournament? And she just happened to arrive here right when it was taking place? It must be fate! Destiny was trying to tell her something, she knew it! After feeling so inadequate from all the trouble she had with that hill it’s like the world was giving her the opportunity to prove to herself that she could handle things out here and wasn’t out of shape or anything like that. Her physical prowess was put to the test by a simple walk up a hill and it made her feel horrible, time to fix that. And with how rough things could surely get out in the wild and untamed Undiscovered West what better way than to show that she could fight? Beating up some big fighting pros who came here specifically for this tournament would be a huge confidence booster. This was a great idea! “Oh, but we should’ve known that you weren’t a competitor,” the mare giggled. That snapped Amethyst Star out of her delusions. “What do you mean by that?” She asked with a slight scowl on her face. “Well, dear,” the mare held a hoof up to her mouth trying to hide her smile. “First off you’re a unicorn and there’s no magic allowed, secondly you’re a rather petite looking mare and most of the competitors are strong stallions who train all their lives for this, and third, well… you just really don’t seem like someone who’s meant to be in a ring.” Amethyst Star scoffed, insulted. “I could so be a fighter in this tournament!” The mare backpedaled, surprised and placatingly holding her hooves up in front of her. “Sweetheart, it’s not an insult, none of us here think we could be fighters either or anything.” She looked around at the other ponies in the grove, who were now watching Amethyst Star with a mixture of worry and confusion. The unicorn saw this and backed off. “Er, sorry. But I’m serious! Don’t judge a book by its cover, you know? I’m out here adventuring all on my own and I’ve survived plenty of monster attacks, I’m tough!” Rainbow Dash would jump at the opportunity to fight in a tournament like this and I bet Applejack would do great too. And I’m no different from them! Amethyst Star told herself. “There’s nothing meant by it,” A voice to their side said, both Amethyst and the mare looking over to see one of the stallions behind the nearest concession stand had spoken up. He was a lanky earth pony with a dark beige coat and dirty brown mane, he was smiling at Amethyst too and showing off some rather large buckteeth. “We was just surprised is all. You wanna sit down and have something to eat? The snacks here and everything is for locals and spectators.” “What Eager Elm said,” the mare said to Amethyst. “Oh, and I’m Cornflower, what’s your name?” “Amethyst Star,” she replied. At this point the rest of the ponies in the little park had mostly gone back to their business, Cornflower’s filly had come up behind her and was hugging her mother’s leg. “Pleased to meet you all, I guess.” She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, knowing it wasn’t the best first impression. Regardless, she took Eager Elm up on his offer and went over to his concession stand. A number of stools were set up to sit on at it. “Go play with your friends, dear. Mama’s going to talk to the nice mare for a second,” Amethyst heard Cornflower say to her daughter and was then joined by the older mare. “So is there any fighting going on today?” Was the first question Amethyst asked to the both of them. Eager Elm slid her a glass of water and let Cornflower be the one to answer her question. “No, not today. The tournament officially starts tomorrow but there aren’t any matches until the day after that,” Cornflower explained. Amethyst Star nodded, she looked around at the other stands here and saw the ponies in them cooking up a variety of fair foods. Cotton candy, corn on the cob with all kinds of toppings, churros, popcorn, and some kind of fizzy drink, it was nice. “So I could still enter the tournament if I wanted?” The cotton candy vendor, a friendly looking stallion with a mint-green coat and purple mane, overheard her and looked over, a worried grimace on his face. “Miss I really advise against that, everyone takes this tournament really seriously and there are some rough customers out there-” “Even better then,” Amethyst Star smiled with baseless confidence. “I’ll prove that I can beat anybody here.” As the local ponies all shared skeptical looks with one another, Amethyst Star continued. “By the way, what’s with the outfits and stuff some of the ponies are wearing? I saw like whole groups all wearing the same thing,” she asked. “Oh, those ponies are all part of the same fighting school then,” Cornflower told her. “Or just a gang. You see, this tournament is a great way for them to prove their superiority without going into all out war with each other. They’ll enter their best fighters into the tournament and have them duke it out.” “Meanwhile the members not fighting will usually try to bribe and sabotage other fighters in the tournament, or cheat in some other way. It’s a sad truth but there’s a lot of foul play that goes on at the tournament between these groups. Lone wolf fighters try and stay out of that mess,” Eager Elm explained. “Luckily for us all we don’t have to worry about that, no one messes with us locals, they all keep it to themselves,” Cornflower added. “It almost sounds less like a professional tournament and more like a scheduled event for a bunch of thugs to beat on each other,” Amethyst Star remarked, thinking of what it would be like if the Equestria Games were like this. “The matches themselves are very strictly organized and refereed and it makes for great entertainment for us,” Eager Elm shrugged. “All of them are still serious fighters and some matches are real intense.” Despite what she had been hearing about how this tournament was and the skill-level of the competitors, Amethyst Star was getting excited. “So how do I register to fight?” Cornflower frowned. “Well darling, if you’re really serious about this...” “I am!” Amethyst Star slammed a hoof on the stand’s counter. “You can register tomorrow morning then,” Eager Elm told her and pointed behind Amethyst Star. “See that big building back there, through the trees?” Amethyst looked, it was hard to see anything through the trees and the huge crowd of ponies but she could vaguely see a large building on the far side of the assembled fighters. It was probably the biggest building in Hacksaw and it maybe only reached three stories. She turned back to Eager Elm. “Yeah, I see it.” “That’s the registrar, just go in there and tell the receptionist you want to fight. Nothing wrong with a last minute entrant as long as you make it there before noon,” he told her. “There aren’t any real matches tomorrow but there’s a preliminary round and physical testing, so you need to make sure you register a few hours before that begins,” Cornflower added. “Also you’re in luck, there’s free room and board offered to all the fighters. Even if you aren’t registered yet it’s no problem. Hay, I’ll even show you the best inn in town after this.” Amethyst Star smiled. “Wow, thanks! And so like, you mentioned a preliminary round and some stuff? Just how does this tournament work and everything?” Cornflower and Eager Elm both shared a look that Amethyst Star couldn’t place before Cornflower responded to her. “Well… the tournament proper is pretty simple. Everyone gets divided up into brackets, there’s no set seeding or anything like that so fighters from the same school could get matched against each other early or two very strong contenders could face each other early on as well, and then we just have matches until there’s one pony left.” Cornflower shrugged. “Like I said, simple. You only ever have to fight one match a day too, everyone gets a full day of rest between matches.” “It’s a lot of fun to watch, specially early on when you’ve got dozens of matches to choose from at once,” Eager Elm said with a big smile on his face. “Some matches can be over in seconds while others can dragon on for hours. Longest match in history was seven hours long. Course that was years before any of us here were born.” “Years?” Amethyst Star was surprised. “How long have you been doing this?” Cornflower hummed to herself for a second, trying to think. “Well Hacksaw has been here in one way or another for a good century now I think? I mean, as you can tell from looking around nobody really put much thought into the town. Ponies just ended up here from time to time and settled down. Eventually someone from Hacksaw by the name of Baler, who traveled a lot, came across a small shantytown that held fights in a makeshift ring. Well he thought that was a good idea, except he was thinking a lot bigger.” “After word of mouth and a lot more traveling Baler set up the first tournament. And thanks to its success it got even bigger the next year and so on,” Eager Elm shrugged. “Cool,” Amethyst Star grinned, excited. She then decided to ask something that was bugging her. “But uh, what about the preliminary round? I asked about that but you kind of ignored me and gave each other that look. Is there something you’re not mentioning?” “Well… no...” Eager Elm licked his lips and tried to avert his gaze. Amethyst Star reached over and turned his head to face. “Out with it.” “Sweetheart, please,” Cornflower put a calming hoof on her shoulder. “The thing is, and you’re not gonna be happy to hear it, is that the testing and preliminary round exists to weed out ponies like you before the main tournament. Technically there’s no set amount of ponies allowed to participate but the commissioner likes to maintain a certain level of quality and to keep the tournament from dragging on too long. For first-timers like you, who no one knows and aren’t backed by any schools or other groups, you’re made to fight in the preliminary matches to prove you’re good enough for the real tournament. If you’re not just flatly rejected after the physical exam and test to make sure you’re healthy enough to compete in the first place.” “Everyone goes through the physicals, not just newbies,” Eager Elm said. During the explanation Amethyst Star had gotten more and more annoyed. “Oh I see. So even after I tell you how tough and determined I am you think I’m still not even gonna really get to fight, huh?” She complained. It was clear that they were banking on this foolish newcomer to fail to get in and avoid hurting herself. Cornflower and Eager Elm were disappointed she took it that pessimistically to say the least though. Really they both just weren’t convinced that she was a fighter, they were worried about this strange mare who had just wandered in today and seemed to want to fight in the tournament for no real reason other than having some chip on her shoulder. “Well if you make it through the prelims you’ll be proving us wrong. If you can really fight I guess we’ll be eating our words,” Eager Elm tried to appease her. “We’re sorry, dear,” Cornflower said, although she seemed more sorry that they had upset Amethyst rather than about what they had said that upset her in the first place. “Yeah, that’s right!” Amethyst Star huffed and folded her forelegs across her chest, looking away from them. “You better be prepared to admit you were wrong to think some dumb prelim would keep me from fighting.” She peeked an eye at Cornflower. “So, uh… can you show me to that inn?” The older mare smiled somewhat sadly. “Of course. Just let me gather up my daughter.”