"Looking back, it becomes clear that Twilight Sparkle was the culmination of centuries of House Burgundy seeking to create the perfect creature via eugenics and soul modification. For their efforts, they were successful beyond their wildest dreams.”
― Sapphire Snowflake ( Famed Historian and U.C alumni.)
Twilight Sparkle was a seven-foot-tall angelic giantess that towered over everyone in height and magical might. Her posture was as stiff and strong as diamonds, with her hands folded behind her back and legs spread out as if to dare and egg on any fool dumb enough to attack the prodigal daughter of the highest Heavenly Queen. She wore a form-fitting Void-Purple suit with gold accents as bright as the sun, making her look like the personification of the cosmos. Her face was as white as the bones of Death himself, and her glowing purple eyes radiated divine power purrer than that of Celestia herself. Her hair was the same royal purple as her eyes, except for a single strip of blood-red hair, and it was short but sharp, like a dagger.
It was, however, her aura, not her appearance, that was her most intimidating attribute. All living creatures exuded a varying level of rejuvenating natural energy dependent on their POWER outward like a lighthouse in a dark-starless Sea; all living creatures except Twilight Sparkle.
She was akin to an artificial Supermassive blackhole, consuming all the energy of the stars and souls around her until the universe became a dark, dead graveyard. Every second that Sunset stood in the presence of this magical abomination/anomaly, she could feel a piece of her very soul whiter away into nothingness.
"I see that my mere presence is causing all of you great discomfort," Twilight Sparkle spoke in a monotone and disappointed voice as she looked at the entire group, except for Sunny and Tempest Shadow, who was kneeling at Twilight like a priest to their god, of the empire's strongest prodigies shaking in fear at her simply existing in the same room as her.
" My apologies; I shall make sure to keep my unique aura in check," Twilight spoke in a condescending tone before unleashing a massive burst of Queel that masked her eldritch aura, allowing Sunset and the rest to catch their breaths and think properly again. "You have permission to rise, my loyal bodyguard Tempest Shadow, "Twilight added after realizing that Tempest was still kneeling on the white-marble floor.
"So you are the invincible girl that I have heard so much about," stated Sunset Shimmer, trying to understand the secret to Twilight Sparkles' power as she threw off the white blanket and began to put on her booths. "Would you like to enlighten us on how you best Sunny over here while the rest of us failed?"
In response to the question, Twilight Sparkle slowly began to turn her head from facing the other contestants to stare at Sunset Shimmer with a look of curiosity. Twilight eyes narrowed and were engulfed by a bright teal flame as she bore into Sunset's soul with her heavenly eyes. Sunset Shimmer and the rest of the contestants began to feel a cool chill down their spines as they sensed Twilight's magic flare up like a neutron star, yet only guess what Twilight was planning.
Twilight's neutral expression contorted and twisted into a sly grin before saying," You . . . Intrigue me, Sunset Shimmer," as the flaming teal dissipated from her eyes and her magic faded into the aether. "To answer your question, Time Magic makes attacks that travel only at the speed of light slow and easy to dodge, and no, you may not ask more questions regarding my powers. You will learn about all my abilities during the tournament matches, "Twilight Sparkle finished in an attempt to end the conversation before it truly began.
"Ahem, regarding the tournament, I had another reason to bring all of you here besides to introduce you to each other," Sunny stated, trying to take back control of the conversation from Twilight Sparkle.
"I believe it would be prudent for us to review the relative strength of all the contestants to determine what matchups will occur," she continued before pulling out a small white tablet with a blue screen and pushing a red button, which caused a holographic numbered list of competitors to appear.
"In the first place, surprising no one is Twilight Sparkle, who had a higher CE, by my calculations, than the rest of this list combined. Second place is comfortably in the hands of Rarity Marigold, while Fluttershy Francisca is in third. Tempest Shadow is in fourth place due to having a small amount more CE than Sunset Shimmer, who is in fifth place. Miss Trixi Lunamoon, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare are in sixth, seventh, and eight place, respectively."
"Only fifth place, "thought Sunset grimly. "I had known I wasn't on the same level as Twilight, but I never realized that I had to surpass four other people before even having the possibility of facing Twilight herself. I need to train and study till I break myself to win this tournament, but I believe it should be feasible if I work harder than anyone else."
Amidst Sunsets' inner monologue, Sunny continued, "Now that the rankings got settled, we can get to the matchups. Firstly, does anyone want to face the frontrunner Twilight Sparkle in the first round?"
"Face Twilight in the first round," thought Sunset Shimmer incredulously."I might be a bit arrogant, but even I can ascertain that fighting Twilight at this time without any training would be suicidal. Only an insane, stupid, arrogant, ill-bread, delusional, and narcissistic moron would even entertain such an..."
"I volunteer as Tribute," screeched the light blue-haired Karen in a goofy, oversized magician outfit known as Trixie Lunamoon to the visible dumfounding of everyone in the room sans Sunny.
"It seems that we found the class clown," Sunset muttered, loud enough for everyone but Trixie herself, causing the room to descend into a howl of giggles and laughter. After a few seconds, Sunset herself joined in the laughter.
"What is everyone laughing about," whines Trixie, causing everyone in the els in the room to laugh even harder. In the chaos and confusion of the laughter Twilight Sparkle leaned over and whispered something in Tempest's ear that no one except Sunny, Tempest, and Twilight heard.
As the laughter fell to silence, Tempest Shadow raised her hand to set the instructor's attention.
"You may speak Tempest Shadow," stated Sunny.
"I wish to fight Sunset Shimmer in the first round," replied Tempest.
"What!" Sunset exclaims, completely taken aback by Tempest's Shadows' sudden comment.
"May I ask why you want to fight Sunset?" Sunny questioned, although Sunset Shimmer had a sneaking suspicion in her gut that Sunny already knew the answer and just wanted Tempest to say it out loud herself.
Tempest folded her very muscular arms in discomfort before speaking as if she were reading off a teleprompter" I merely believe that since Sunset and I were said to be very close in Combat Effective, it will be beneficial for both of us to test our abilities against each other in the first round. No one learns anything from a one-sided massacre; a battle of equals ensures that both combatants must be at peak efficiency to win and helps mistakes get identified and corrected later on." As Tempest Shadow spoke, Sunset Shimmer could see a sly, smug smile form on Twilight Sparkle's lips as she watched whatever plan she made unfold before her velvet eyes.
"What do you say, Sunset?" Sunny asked as she moved to face the bacon-haired orphan. "Do you agree with Tempest Shadows' proposal?"
" Should I accept?" thought Sunset." On the one hand, Tempest Shadow is more powerful than me, but on the other, if I disagree with Tempest's proposal, then I have a 50 percent chance of fighting someone much more deadly than Tempest. Tempest may be stronger than me, but she only is slightly more powerful, and I must get multiple times more powerful than I am now to beat Twilight anyway; the bodyguard could act as a warm-up to get me ready for the more challenging fights in the second and third rounds. Twilight did seem to force Tempest to ask for the first match with Sunset, but Twilight has shown no visible signs of hostility, so her motives can't be taken into account when deciding what choice to make, as they are still unknown."
"I will accept your challenge Tempest Shadow," proclaimed Sunset Shimmer as she extended her arm toward her opponent in the first round.
" Good," Shadow bluntly replied as she shook Sunstes's hand, and Twilight's sly grin widened into a full-fledged smile in response to the completion of step 1 of her plot.
"Now that four of our competitors have their first match, Fluttershy and Rarity, who do you want to be your first match?" Sunny asked.
It was the far more confident Rarity who answered first. "It is unbecoming for a proper lady to break a sweat or dress in the first fight, so I choose Sunny Flare, the weakest, as my first opponent."
"Do you concur, Sunny Flare?" asked Sunny Skies.
"We'll I fucked either way, so I guess it is less humiliating to lose to the sexy dominatrix than fatso over there," replied Sunny Flare as she pointed toward the chubby Fluttershy.
" Now that all other slots have gotten filled, Fluttershy, are you okay with fighting Sour Sweet in the first round?" asked Sunny.
Neither Fluttershy nor Sour Sweet responded.
"I will just take that as a yes," replied Sunny with a deadpan expression.
"Well, now that we have finished determining the first matches, I can finally give out the room cards," states Sunny as she conjures five sets of cards of the same color. "Twilight and her bodyguard, Tempest Shadow, will get the purple cards and go to room A444, next to the library. The dramatic duo of Trixie and Rarity will take the light blue cards and go to room C222, next to the school theater. Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet will be gifted the black cards and go to room D111, just to the side of the kitchen. Finally, Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy Francisca will take the Orange card and move into room B333, in front of the training arena."
As Sunny explained the groups and the rooms they needed to go to, the contestants quickly began to take their cards and leave to see their residences. Sunset was the last one going out the door when Sunny called her.
"Do you mind a quick word with you before you leave?" Sunny asked.
"I don't see why not," replied Sunset hesitantly as she walked away from the exit door the others had just passed through. "What do you want to talk about?"
" It is about your potential. I am..." Sunny started but got cut off by Sunset's interruption.
"Look, I know I am only one of two non-nobles competing in this tournament, but that doesn't mean I don't belong here. You said I passed your test, and my CE ranks above thousands of noble children. My competitor's advanced magic and training might be challenging to overcome, but I believe I can win this tournament," Sunset began.
"I believe you," Sunny simply stated.
"Furthermore.... you what?" Sunset began only to falter in confusion.
" I know you have more potential than any other student, bar Twilight. I only want to help you reach that potential. The more I understand your abilities and shortcomings, the more I can help you grow and overcome them. Now, may I ask what was with that red ruby spell? It glowed red, but I didn't see it do anything," continued Sunny Skies.
"You should know about it, given your magical knowledge and expertise. I used the flame Calamity spell Meltdown. The rubies suck up and store Quelle's waste from the fire spells I cast. When the Rubies are full of power, I can cast a massive flaming vortex that can disintegrate any opponent." replied Sunset.
"You created a Calamity spell?" said a very impressed Sunny. " Creating a Calamity Spell is no simple task. In the past, the ability to create a Calamity spell was the right of passage for noble heirs and royalty to become adults as they required an enormous amount of magical control, power, and intellect to cast. The main difference between the nobility and the commoners was that the nobility could cast Calamity level spells and above, while the commoners could not. My only question is, why aren't I a smoldering pile of ashes right now if you can cast a flame Calamity spell."
"As I said, the Meltdown Calamity spell requires a certain amount of stored magic to work, and I got impaled before I could gather enough excess magic to use it," said Sunset Shimmer bitterly as the taste of defeat again washed over her mouth.
" So you have a Calamity spell that requires the match to last for a relatively long time, but your fighting style is orientated to quickly beating enemies because you have a weak defense and can go down in a few hits." Sunny analyzed." Do I understand the situation correctly?"
"What could I possibly do?" Sunset snaps in agitation. "The only flame Calamity spell that is easy enough for me to cast requires me to last long, but flame magic itself is highly offensive and lacks any defensive spells. I am good at enhancing my body to be more durable with Quelle, but I can't effectively heal any wounds I get."
" You are wrong about flame magic being inherently offensive," Sunny said bluntly.
"Would you care to explain?" asked Sunset dryly.
"Gladly," began Sunny. "While many assume evoker flame magic to be solely offensive, that is only true for lower-level flame magic practiced by inexperienced Elves. The vast majority of those with flame-evoker magic don't have the hard work or talent to improve their skills beyond that of a novice, so the stereotype continues. Some of the most effective flame spells are solely expensive. There is a spell called Phoenix Fire, which replicates the healing flames of the Phoenix that allow it to survive even the most lethal injuries. If you were to learn this spell, Sunset Shimmer, you could pair it with your Calamity spell to make yourself a rival to Twilight."
"That is amazing!" proclaimed Sunset, overjoyed that she had found the spell she needed to surpass her rivals. "Where could I learn the spell? Is there a book on it in the library?"
"There is a book on the spell in the royal library, but I doubt that simply reading a book would help you master the spell in time to face your opponents." began Sunny Skies.
"What are you trying to say?" asked Sunset with a mix of wariness and excitement.
"Sunset Shimmer, I am asking if you want me to be your mentor for this tournament," stated Sunny as she held her hand out to Sunset.
There was a stunned silence for a minute before Sunset Shimmer finally responded to Sunny's offer. "HELL, YES!" she excitedly proclaimed as she vigorously shook Sunny's arm.