Chapter 4: Duels
This chapter seemed to drift further and further away from the canon universe, but that's okay! I like the direction I'm taking with this. I always wanted to write some sort of fantasy-esque story, so maybe I could do it here. I hope you all don't mind it either!
Enjoy the chapter! 
The students were in their seats watching the clock which seemed to move slower than usual. They impatiently watched the second tick away. Their focus wasn’t on the teacher, or the lecture, or even the work in front of them. No, they were all focused on the clock.
The weekend was upon them, and everypony knew what that meant.
Magic duels.
Although there wasn't any physical award for the duels, there was some merit. Pride, honor, bragging rights. Some students used it to exercise their magic, while some used it to show it off. There were a lot of reasons students participated in the duels.
“Are any of you even listening,” the teacher asked, an unamused look on her face. The students, as if they didn’t hear her, were still intently watching the clock. With a long sigh, the teacher planted herself at her desk.
“Guess I’ll get to grading then,” she mumbled to herself, levitating a stack of papers onto her desk.
Just a few minutes later, the bells rang. The students practically jumped out of their seats and ran through the halls. Their destination was the arena, an oval shaped structure in the back of the school. There was a large clearing in the center of the arena, allowing for lots of room for movement for the fighters. Seats were elevated a few feet above the clearing, surrounding the center.
The reason they rushed over was because they wanted to either get warmed up for their duel or grab the best seat possible. Any pony, with the consent of their parents, could participate in duels, regardless of their age. The battles were very exciting, thus why students wanted to watch.
The arena was quickly populated, becoming noisy and crowded. Students sat down, filling up the seats. Most of the teachers came to watch and supervise the battles, but they had their own seating section. There was even a special seat for Princess Celestia, high above the other seats. There were four extra seats, two on each side. These were for any other special ponies who wanted to watch.
Celestia would make an appearance every once in a while to watch her students battle it out. Today was one of the days she appeared, gracefully sitting on her throne. To her left was her two personal students, Twilight and Sunset, and to her right was Princess Cadence.
“Celestia’s here today!” A pony shouted out, pointing towards the princess.
“Oh my gosh!” another pony yelled out.
“Even Princess Cadence is here!” another one added.
Cheers erupted and clapping erupted from the students, calling out to them. The students were not shy to show their appreciation to the two princesses.
“You two sure are popular,” Sunset chuckled.
Cadence rolled her eyes, smiling. “I think they’re mainly cheering for Auntie Celestia.”
“No need to be humble, Cadence,” Celestia said.
“Yeah!” Twilight nodded rapidly. “You’re just as awesome as Celestia.”
“Aw, thank you Twilight,” Cadence put a hoof on her heart.
The four of them watched the crowd. It was so packed that some ponies had to stand in the back since all the seats were taken.
“There usually aren’t this many students,” Celestia said.
“Today’s battle is a special one,” Sunset explained. “It's a duel between the first and second place. I thought that’s why you wanted us to be here.”
“It must’ve slipped my mind,” Celestia brushed it off with a shrug. “I mainly wanted to introduce the dueling system to Twilight since she seemed interested.”
“Well you chose the right day to do that,” Sunset said.
“Who are the top two?” Cadence asked.
“The number one right now is Amethyst Star, followed by Twinkleshine, ” Sunset answered. “They’re both very powerful, but I’m sure I could beat them.” Sunset smirked, rubbing her forehooves together.
“Remember not to underestimate any pony,” Celestia warned.
“I’m not underestimating them,” Sunset shot back. “I’ve seen their fights before, and I just know I can.”
“Do you have any real battle experience?” Celestia cocked an eyebrow.
“N-No,” Sunset faltered a bit. “But that won’t stop me!”
“Whatever you say,” Celestia simply said with a smile.
“So are there any rules for duels?” Twilight asked.
“There are plenty of rules for both the safety of the participants and onlookers,” Celestia said. “Although they fight until the other is unable to, one cannot use mind-altering spells, large scale spells or life threatening spells. Also, participants are required to stop regardless of anything if the referee says to.”
“Obviously we want to keep the watchers safe so we have the guards erect a barrier around the middle. Watchers are free to place bets on the winner as well. We even have our own regulated system for that, so there’s no foul play there either!”
“Wait, the school has its own betting system?” Cadence wore a concerned expression. “Isn’t that illegal?”
“How could it be illegal when I’m the ruler?” Celestia chuckled. “All jokes aside, we’ve made sure to explain it all in this handy pamphlet here.” Celestia pulled out a pamphlet with the title ‘Betting Made Easy: The In’s and Out’s of Magical Duel Betting’
“Quite the wordy title,” Sunset commented.
“Can I have one?” Twilight was eager to get her hands on one.
“Of course!” Celestia handed one to Twilight. “I have extras for you two as well,” Celestia smiled, pulling out two more.
“Thanks Auntie,” Cadence smiled, taking it.
“No need,” Sunset refused. “I’ve already read it.”
Cadence read through the pamphlet but then suddenly stopped. “Wait, this is where the large majority of the school's revenue comes from?”
“Yes,” Celestia answered. “Although we do get some donations from rich ponies who want their child to attend the school, this is where most of our bits come from.”
“What percent do you take out of the bets?” Cadence asked.
“Around fifteen percent each bet,” Celestia said.
“If it’s so low, then how do you make so much money?” Cadence was confused.
“Take a look around Cadence, what do you see,” Celestia motioned to the crowd of ponies.
“A lot of ponies,” Cadence answered. “But that doesn’t explain how you get so much. I’m sure not everypony here bets.”
“I can assure you a lot of them do,” Celestia said. “Although, there is something we’re missing. What class do most of these ponies come from?”
“The upper class?” Cadence guessed, causing Celestia to smile and nod.
“I get it!” Twilight said. “Since the majority of students are of upper class or above, they make large bets and the school can profit off of them.”
“Exactly!” Celestia clapped her forehoves together. “Very good Twilight!”
“I thought this school was only for gifted unicorns though,” Cadence tilted her head. “I know for a fact that most kids of rich ponies are spoiled brats who don’t know anything about magic. How did they get in?”
“Unfortunately, some proctors take bribes from their families and pass them,” Celestia frowned. “Of course I try to crack down on these proctors and expel them, but it’s hard to find any evidence. There’s also some cases where their family donates a large sum of money to the school, making it hard to deny their child.”
“Parents know this school is prestigious and would do anything to get their kid in. It essentially guarantees them a career in magic, as long as they put in enough work to stay here. Of course, not every student is like that. I wouldn’t want to discredit any pony who worked to get into my school.”
Cadence nodded slowly.“That makes sense I guess.”
“I can’t stand ponies that paid their way into here,” Sunset sighed. “They’re all snobby and think they’re better than everypony.”
Cadence nodded her in agreement. “Even though most of the time their abilities are lackluster.”
“They all think they’re so perfect and great that they don’t even pay attention in class half the time!” Sunset frowned. “They don’t even try to get better.”
“That’s what happens when you have a big ego,” Celestia said. “I too am not a fan of these students, or even their parents, but I can’t let my disdain for them be public. Same goes for you, Cadence.”
“I know,” Cadence grumbled. “Something about them being influential and powerful families.”
Suddenly, the crowds shouting and hollering became louder than before.
“Look! There’s ponies in the middle now.” Twilight yelled, pointing to the center.
In the middle of the arena stood a guard. On one end of the arena was a pink mare with violet hair with a lavender streak. She was equipped with plate armor, covering her whole body except her tail and head. In her hoof was a sapphire spear. Stuck onto her side was a large shield, the center carved with 3 brilliant-cut diamonds.
“That’s Amethyst Star,” Sunset pointed at the mare.
Twilight looked up at Celestia, her head slightly tilted. “Why does she have armor and a spear? Isn’t this supposed to be a magic duel?”
“Some ponies prefer to imbue magic into weapons and armor,” Celestia explained. “The fighting style is a little outdated, but it can still be very powerful if the unicorn knows how to properly use it.”
“She must know if she’s number one,” Cadence said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this style of fighting,” Celestia nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be quite the interesting fight.”
On the opposite side of Amethyst stood an ivory mare with a pink mane. She, on the other hand, wore a chestplate with her cutie mark, three sparkling stars, etched in the middle. She also wore a dark brown robe with a matching witch hat. In one hoof was a wooden staff with a large jade at the top.
“Is it really necessary to dress up?” Cadence examined the two fighters.
“If it could give the advantage, ponies will do anything legal to win the duel,” Sunset chuckled. “I’m sure it provides a little protection as well.”
“How about the staff?” Cadence asked.
“See that gem at the top?” Celestia said, turning their attention to the jade. “It helps amplify their magic, thus making their spells much more powerful.”
“Isn’t that cheating?” Twilight frowned.
“Everypony has access to them in the armory,” Celestia explained. “You could buy more powerful ones outside of the school, though.”
“So it’s like a crutch,” Sunset said bluntly.
“Kind of,” Celestia nodded slowly. “Although, they do make fights more interesting.”
“That’s for sure,” Sunset agreed. “Even if it’s not their power.”
“The majority of it is their power though,” Celestia corrected. “To even use gems or crystals, one must have extensive knowledge and experience. Being able to use them to their full potential is very impressive.”
Sunset rubbed her chin. “Huh, I did not know that.”
“Is there any special reason why she chose jade?” Cadence asked, looking at the gem.
“Some gems are connected to a certain element,” Celestia explained. “For example, what do you think of when I mention a red ruby or blue sapphire?”
“Fire and water!” Twilight quickly answered.
Celestia smiled at her answer. “See? Most of the time gems’ colors are what element they associate with.”
“That’s cool,” Sunset commented.
“Indeed it is,” Celestia said. “There are a lot of ponies who study gems for a living. It is quite an interesting thing.”
Cadence put the two together. “So since she’s using a green gem, then she must specialize in some sort of earth element?”
Celestia nodded. “One can assume so, although we won’t know until the battle starts.”
“Well I think it’s about to start,” Sunset said.
As the two unicorns approached each other, the cheering and yelling quieted down till there wasn’t a sound. Amethyst and Twinkleshine stopped about a foot away from each other, staring at one another. The guard looked at the two of them. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.
“I want a clean, fair fight; absolutely no foul play! You must stop when I say so. If you do not you will be automatically disqualified and will be unable to participate in any duels until further notice.”
“You win the duel if your opponent is either unable to fight anymore or surrenders. You are free to use any magic besides spells banned in the rulebook. Medics will be on standby just in case of any accident. Do you both understand?”
“Yes sir,” Amethyst said.
“Yup!” Twinkleshine nodded.
“Good. Now return to your designated starting point,” the guard commanded. The two fighters returned back to their respective sides as the guard made his way to his station.
The referee had his own seat in the front row. It was elevated so that he could easily watch over the arena.
“On my mark, you may start,” the referee stated.
Everypony was still at the moment
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
“GO!” The referee yelled, blowing his whistle.
With that, the crowd erupted into cheers and yells. Ponies shouting the fighters names and all kinds of other things. Cheering on their favorite fighter or cursing out the other one. It was chaos.
Amethyst was the first to make a move, her horn glowing a bright blue. Both her spear’s tip and the cutie mark on her shield lit up. They were both glowing the same color as her magic. She floated both the spear and shield into the air, her magical aura surrounding both of them.
“What powerful levitation,” Celestia commented. “To both imbue magic and use it. She’s quite the talented unicorn.”
“Is it really that impressive?” Sunset asked, not taking her eyes off of Amethyst.
“It is,” Celestia said. “That takes an incredible amount of concentration, which is difficult in a battle.”
“Huh,” Sunset clicked her tongue, mentally noting that.
Following suit, Twinkleshine’s horn lit up a light pink. The cutie mark engraved on her chestplate and the gemstone were both glowing the same color. Suddenly, her horn flashed brightly.
A green bolt shot out of the staff, hurtling towards Amethyst at an impressive speed. Amethyst quickly placed her shield between her and the bolt. As it struck her shield, it sizzled out. A successful block!
The crowd cheered loudly.
“Is that all you got?” Amethyst taunted.
Twinkleshine grinned. “Not even close!”
Amethyst blinked next to Twinkleshine, closing the distance between them instantly. Raising her spear, she thrust it towards the other unicorn.
“Woah there!” Twinkleshine yelped as she leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the stab. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing!” She yelled, quickly casting another spell.
Vines appeared out of the ground, grasping at Amethyst’s hooves.They grabbed onto her, latching her in place.
“She’s in trouble!” Twilight shouted.
“That’s child's play for her,” Sunset rolled her eyes.
Amethyst’s horn got brighter, the plants suddenly decayed and fell limp onto the ground. They no longer held her in place.
“Enough playing around, Twinkleshine,” Amethyst said, her expression hardening.
“Fine.” Twinkleshine’s playful expression disappeared, replaced with a serious one.
The two stood still for a moment, carefully watching each other. Tension filled the air as the audience held their breath.
Amethyst quickly shot her spear towards, hurtling towards Twinkleshine. Twinkleshine quickly jumped out of the way, the spear flying behind her. As she landed, she held up her staff, launching three bolts in quick succession at Amethyst. They were all blocked by her shield, leaving scratches on it.
Unknown to Twinkleshine, the spear quickly redirected after passing her field of vision and flew towards her.
“Oh no!” Cadence yelped.
Twinkleshine’s head turned towards the spear, inches away from her side. She tumbled to the forward, the spear grazing her.
The crowd cheered.
“And the first hit goes to Amethyst,” Celestia said.
“That was so cool!” Twilight’s eyes were glued to battle.
“C’mon Twinkleshine!” Sunset groaned. “You should have expected something like that! She’s done it before…”
“Now I wonder if you would have dodged that,” Celestia teased.
“Guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Sunset smirked. “In all seriousness, that redirection was very smooth. I bet she practices it everyday.”
“It was impressive,” Celestia nodded in agreement. “To suddenly stop it at the speed it was moving then redirect it just as fast takes a lot of finesse.”
As they commented, the battle raged on. Twinkleshine was on the run, shooting out all kinds of spells. Amethyst kept up with her though, not giving her opponent any room to breathe. Amethyst's shield seemed impenetrable, blocking everything thrown at her.
“Amethyst is a bad matchup for Twinkleshine,” Celestia said. “Amethyst focuses mainly on defense, while Twinkleshine only takes the offense..”
“But since she’s focused on defense so much, her attacks must be weaker, right?” Twilight asked.
“Not necessarily,” Celestia said. “With a pony as talented as her, I’m sure she switches off from defense to offense quickly, leaving almost no gap for ponies to take advantage of that.”
Sunset looked at Celestia. “What do you mean by switch off?”
“Pay close attention to Amethyst’s spear and armor,” Celestia said. Sunset squinted, looking at where Celestia told her to. “Do you notice anything about the glow?”
Sunset paid attention to the glow of her spear’s tip and her shield’s cutie mark. Whenever she blocked a spell, the shield was brighter than the spear. Then, whenever Amethyst launched an attack with her spear, it was brighter than her shield.
“I see it now!” Sunset said.
“What do you see?” Celestia egged her on.
“She switches the amount of magic she uses on each item depending on what she’s doing at the moment,” Sunset answered confidently.
Celestia smiled. “That’s correct, Sunset.”
“So basically she’s stronger with whatever one she chooses?” Twilight asked.
“Exactly,” Celestia nodded. “Depending on the situation, she imbues more magic into whatever item she needs, which is impressive in itself. Being able to make quick decisions like that in the heat of battle is proof that she is very competent.”
“But wouldn’t that mean you should just attack her when she’s using her spear more?” Sunset said.
“That’s what I was talking about earlier,” Celestia explained. “She leaves very little room for ponies to attack her. From what I’ve seen so far, she quickly attacks then immediately switches back to a defense stance.”
Sunset frowned. “So are you saying it’s impossible to beat her?”
“Not impossible,” Celestia shook her head. “But very difficult.”
“I guess that’s why she’s the top fighter,” Cadence said.
The battle was still as fierce as ever. Twinkleshine was covered with cuts and bruises, her robe tattered and her chestplate filled with scratches and dents. Amethyst, on the other hand, was in way better condition, although not completely untouched. A couple scrapes on her face, as well as dents in her armor and shield showed that Twinkleshine was indeed powerful.
Amethyst stood in the middle of the arena, shield up. Twinkleshine, on the other hand, was backed up against the arena wall. She was panting heavily and slouched slightly.
“Tired?” Amethyst called out to her opponent.
“A little,” Twinkleshine admitted. “But I can keep going!”
“We’ll see about that,” Amethyst simply said, raising her spear one more time. Aiming it at Twinkleshine, she blasted it towards her.
“She’s up to something,” Celestia observed.
Sunset nodded. “She doesn’t seem worried or panicked at all. It’s almost as if she wanted this.”
The spear closed the distance between them quickly. Soon enough, it was just mere inches away from her. Twinkleshine, however, seemed unfazed. Smirking, she casted a blink spell, appearing right above Amethyst. The spear lodged itself deeply into the wall.
“It’s over!” Twinkleshine shouted as she swung her staff towards Amethyst’s head.
Celestia sighed and shook her head. “Amethyst wins.”
Amethyst’s shield came from the side, bashing Twinkleshine’s side. Her expression contorted with pain as all the air was taken out of her. She even coughed out a bit of blood. The bash caused Twinkleshine to fly across the arena and smash into the wall. Rubble and dust flew into the air on impact. She stuck to the wall for a few seconds before falling flat onto the ground. She lay there, motionless and defeated.
A brief moment of silence fell upon the crowd.
No pony could believe what just happened. It looked as if Twinkleshine was about to claim the top spot, but then it all crumbled in the blink of an eye. She was just played by Amethyst Star.
The referee blew his whistle, signifying the end of the match.
The crowd suddenly erupted into cheers and shouts, applause filling the air. Guards and medics rushed over to Twinkleshine, checking her vitals and patching her up. They hoisted her up onto a stretcher and quickly disappeared into a backdoor.
Amethyst, however, simply stood in the middle. She smiled slightly as she levitated her spear back over to her and planted it into the ground.
“The victor is Amethyst Star!” The referee announced. More applause filled the arena. It truly was a fight to see.
“I really thought Twinkleshine had her,” Sunset frowned. “She even had the jump on her!”
“Did she, though?” Celestia challenged. “Amethyst didn’t flinch at all when she blinked.
“Amethyst must’ve known something was up then,” Sunset grumbled. “What a match.”
Celestia nodded.“What a match indeed.”
“That was awesome!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled, looking up at Celestia.
“That truly was something,” Cadence said slowly.
The referee made his way down to Amethyst. It was common for there to be a little interview of the winner after the duel. The cheers and shouts slowly died down as the referee walked towards the winner.
Soon the arena was quiet, only whispers and murmurs left.
“So Amethyst, what did you think of the battle?” the referee asked.
“Twinkleshine was a very worthy opponent,” Amethyst humbly said. “I believe that I am just a bad matchup for her. Had she gone against any other pony, she would’ve been the victor for sure.”
“Why exactly are you a bad matchup for her?”
“Unfortunately I can’t answer that, as it would reveal weaknesses in both me and my opponent,” Amethyst said.
The referee frowned, but nodded. “Alright, last question then. Are you accepting any more duels?”
“As long as I am the top rank, any pony, despite your ranking, is free to challenge me,” Amethyst smiled and waved at the crowd.
“You heard it here everypony,” The referee shouted. “Anypony is able to challenge Amethyst Star!”
With that, the main event ended. Although there were still some other duels going on that day, they were nothing compared to this one. The crowd thinned out, some ponies staying to watch the next ones.
Celestia, Cadence, Twilight, and Sunset all stayed in their seats, watching ponies come and go.
“You knew Amethyst was going to win, didn’t you?” Sunset looked at Celestia.
“I didn’t know she was going to, but I believed she had a high chance at winning,” Celestia said. “What solidified the win for her was when Twinkleshine willingly got close to her.”
“And why is that?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow.
“It’s quite obvious, actually,” Celestia chuckled. “Amethyst is definitely stronger than Twinkleshine in close quarter combat. Thus why she uses a shield and spear.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Twinkleshine getting that close willingly showed desperation,” Celestia explained. “She was already worn out, so she had to do something or she would just lose. It was high risk, high reward.”
“So she baited Amethyst into sticking her spear into the wall and tried to launch a counterattack. She probably thought that Amethyst would try and get the spear unstuck, giving her an opportunity to finish her. Twinkleshine probably also assumed that she would only attack with her spear. However, she overlooked something.”
“Her shield!” Twilight quickly said.
Celestia smiled, nodding. “Exactly. Twinkleshine overlooked the fact that shields can also be used as a weapon.”
Sunset chuckled. “Kind of a big thing to overlook, don’t you think?”
“You could give props to Amethyst for that,” Celestia said. “Never once in the fight did she swing or bash her shield. She only used it for defense, and only used her spear for offense. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but that must have tricked Twinkleshine into thinking that she could only attack with the spear.”
Sunset sat silently for a second. With a sigh, she nodded. “When you put it like that, it seems plausible.”
“Regardless of who won or lost, they both fought very well,” Celestia said. “I don’t think Twinkleshine is any weaker than Amethyst. On the other hand, I believe Amethyst just has more combat experience.”
“That’s easy to believe. Believe it or not, Twinkleshine only started participating in duels a couple months ago,” Sunset informed them.
“Really?” Cadence was a bit shocked. “You’re telling me that she got the second rank in a few months? That’s quite impressive!”
Sunset nodded. “Everypony was just as surprised as you. Ever since Twinkleshine started participating, there’s been more and more duels. I guess she inspired ponies to claw their way to the top just like her.”
“I wouldn’t say she clawed her way to the top,” Celestia chuckled. “It sounds like she soared to the top.”
“She must’ve won every match,” Cadence speculated.
“She did,” Sunset confirmed almost a little too quickly. Celestia and Cadence both stared at Sunset. Rubbing the back of her neck, she avoided their eyes. “I went to almost all of her matches. ”
“Do you like her?” Cadence smirked.
Sunset glared at Cadence. “It’s nothing like that. I was just curious, that’s all. I mean think about it! If you heard somepony was tearing her way through the ranks without losing you’re bound to get curious, right?”
“Scoping out the contest, are we?” Celestia chuckled.
“I mean I do plan to participate eventually,” Sunset admitted. “Probably as soon as I can.”
“Me too!” Twilight, who was silent for a while, chimed in.
Cadence stared at Twilight, mouth slightly agape. “You want to fight too?!”
“Yup!” Twilight grinned widely.
“You’re far too young,” Cadence frowned, shaking her head. “I mean, what would your parents think? What would Shining Armor think?”
“T-They’d be fine with it,” Twilight's smile faltered. “I think?”
“No need to be so protective of her,” Sunset chuckled. “If she wants to, I’m sure they’d let her!”
“Do you know her parents?” Cadence looked amused, cocking an eyebrow.
Sunset shrugged. “No, but I’m sure she could convince them. She’s a smart kid.”
“She may be able to get away with her parents, but her brother? No way,” Cadence shook her head. “He’s way too overprotective.”
“She wouldn’t need Lieutenant Shining Armor’s permission to participate though,” Celestia reminded Cadence.
“I know,” Cadence said. Turning towards Twilight, she smiled. “But that would upset Shining, and you don’t want that, don’t you?”
“Uhhhh…” Twilight looked conflicted.
“Why does it feel like Cadence is the one who doesn’t want Twilight to fight,” Sunset whispered to Celestia.
Celestia giggled quietly. “Believe it or not, she’s just as overprotective, if not more, then Shining Armor.”
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Cadence looked back to the two of them.
“Nothing, my dear niece,” Celestia smiled.
Sunset nodded quickly. “Nothing at all.”
“Ooookay…” Cadence slowly turned back to Twilight. “You don’t want to upset Shiny or me, right?”
“No,” Twilight shook her head. “But I want to participate in the duels!”
“But you could get hurt,” Cadence tried to convince the filly.
“No! I’m going to fight!” Twilight said with a ‘hmph’, crossing her hooves and looking away.
“What a stubborn filly,” Sunset chuckled. “Looks like you won’t be able to crack her Cadence.”
With a sigh, Cadence dejectledy sat down. “I guess so. Look Twilight, I’m sorry I tried to persuade you not to. I promise I won’t do it again.”
Twilight’s expression softened, looking back at her foalsitter. “You promise?”
“I promise,” Cadence put a hoof on her heart. “I know you won’t change your mind, but I want you to promise me one thing.”
“Okay,” Twilight nodded.
“Promise me that if you feel that you’re going to get injured that you stop the duel immediately,” Cadence said. “I don’t think anypony would want to see something like that, especially not your family.”
“I promise!” Twilight said.
“I love you,” Cadence smiled, pulling Twilight into a hug.
Twilight returned the hug. “I love you too!”
The crew stayed until the last fight of the evening. Cadence and Celestia were chatting amongst themselves most of the time, while Twilight and Sunset paid close attention to different tactics ponies used. Twilight even took out a notebook at some point to jot down ideas of her own.
Cadence looked around the arena. “Ah, I think all the duels are done.”
There were only a few ponies left in the stands. Some were heading towards the exits while some stayed in their seats, talking to the others next to them.
Celestia nodded. “It would appear so.”
Duels usually ran until sunset, and today was not any different. The sun was already behind the mountains, the sky a beautiful orange.
“Shall we make our way back to the castle?” Celestia asked the group.
They all nodded in agreement, getting out of their seats. Stopping right before the exit, Twilight and Sunset stopped as the princesses kept walking. The two students took a quick glance back at the arena before looking at one another.
“I’ll be waiting for you at the top,” Sunset smirked.
Twilight smirked back. “Just you wait!”
“What’s wrong, you two?” Celestia called out. Cadence was also looking back at her.
“Nothing!” They both called back, galloping towards them, giggling. Rejoining the princesses, they continued walking.
Watching the duels together had sparked something within both Twilight and Sunset. They were both students looking for a challenge and here it was. They wanted to prove themselves to everypony, and this was their opportunity. This was the challenge that they needed to push them. The fire of competition burned deep within their hearts as they walked out of the arena.
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Is there an age restriction to these duels? Cuz honestly, with how they go and the mild injuries that can happen, I feel there should be. Sunset? Fine since she seems of age. Twilight? She may be brilliant, but her body may need to be suitable.
(Then again, if Harry Potter learned how to duel at the age of 12 in Chamber of Secrets, then...)
11178062
Near the beginning of the chapter it says that, regardless of age, anypony can participate in duels. This is as long as they have consent from their parent or guardian.
It may seem a little unethical to let children participate in the duels, but that's why they need consent. If they don't and then they can simply not participate. If they SOMEHOW cheated the system and fought, there would be severe consequences (probably expulsion) if they were ever found out.
11178090
Heh, must've skimmed over that with all the excitement
Duels are fun (to watch at least).
11177520
That’s when you know it’s gonna be good!
Just to get it out of the way ...
11178206
What a wild chapter, it was pretty awesome tho
and the fight scene was well written and clear 
I'm liking this story, thank you for writing it
11183233
Glad to hear you like it!
I love writing this story so your comment means a lot to me.
11183296
Well you're doing a great job!
Also, if you like Sunset-centric stories you may want to consider checking out mine: Frozen Hearth.
It's about a Sunset who returns to Equestria for Hearth's Warming and has a comedic tone.
So, the school gets most of its money from bets on kiddie bloodsports. Yikes. Is the education budget really that small? (Wait, it's a school, of course it is.)
Loved how you build in Amethyst