The days before Aurora was supposed to challenge Twilight Sparkle dwindle, soon making the small mare crazy with frustration. Her training became unstable and the spells that she could use probably wouldn't even make a difference. She started to unwind from what she learned and the thought of failure scared her. She didn't want to be the laughingstock of all Equestria. The thoughts were making her focus on training hard. Blythe one day watched her train, tilting her heard to and fro as Aurora seemed to be getting the same spell wrong over and over again
"I don't want to seem mean or anything Aurora, but you should think about what this is doing to you. So what if you didn't get into the academy and get to be Celestia's apprentice. What is so important?" Aurora stopped dead in her tracks before turning around and starting to walk towards her "You don't get it do you Blythe? Twilight stole my chance at impressing the Princess, she the reason why most of us couldn't get into the Academy, and she got to be a Princess! What exactly did she do to deserve this? She didn't have her cutie mark, she only impressed her because of a rain boom that happened, and she didn't even have to try. The rest of us should have gotten an equal chance. All. Of. Us." Blythe nodded quickly, very scared right then "Yes, yes I understand now!...but if you want to be in top physical condition tomorrow, I think you should stop this and sleep. The best things come out of a good day's rest"
Aurora rolled her eyes "Whatever...let's just go so I can take the spell off. Zecora has been suspicious of why she can't enter this area now so the best we can do right now i-" she stopped at the sudden sound of whirring, the force field becoming visible now, her eyes widening "What? How did this happen?!"
Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened, stepping back from where she was standing "Whoa. It seems like somepony has put a force field around this part of the Everfree forest. Somepony didn't want you seeing something... I'll take down this force field now so you can go about your business and we can go investigate" she used a spell only an Alicorn could know. Soon, the force field was taken down and the Zebra could now roam around freely once again "A spell cast on me? Something is not right, something is unkindly. Only once you seek the deadly force, you can discover the the unkindly source" Twilight Sparkle then started to think "Huh...maybe you're right Zecora. Something isn't right here and we have to find out what it is. All we have to do is freeze whoever made the spell"
Twilight sparkle smiled, her horn glowing again only to trace the magic back to whoever made it. "Once we do that, then it won't be so hard to find out whoever didn't want you to be in the forest!
Aurora sat down "I know I'm being a little bit passive aggressive but you would be too if you were stress out about defeating the one pony whose stood in your way" she sat down and sighed "We better get out of here now. Somepony has taken down the force field and I don't want anypony to know about what I did here these past few weeks" Blythe smiled "Okay! Let's go now and get you a dandelion and daisy sandwich and some sleep" Blythe walked towards the trail Aurora had made before she heard her struggling and grunting "Ah...um...Blythe...I'm kind of stuck...like frozen stuck" Blythe tilted her head and walked back over to her, pulling at her friend that was now stuck in a sitting position "Wha? What they hay happened to you?!" She grabbed her mane with her mouth and desperately started to tug at her mane as if she were going to move but she was as stuck as could ever be. She head butted her and that made her fall over but nothing seemed to make her move at all.
"It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to do this Aurora. You're stuck and way too heavy for me to pull. Err...we need to figure this out and quick!" She said and started to push her towards the trail, only to hear some noises coming behind them. She started to hurry but the light brown made could only push her so much without hurting herself. Eventually, she collapsed onto her friend in exhaustion, panting from her activity "B-Blythe! Hurry! Somepony's coming! Get me out of here!" She squeaked but it was already too late for her. Twilight Sparkle and Zecora trotted through the opening, surprised when they found the two ponies on the ground "Its you two! What is the meaning of putting a force field around Zecora's house? What are you two doing"
Blythe looked down at Aurora and then back to Twilight and Zecora "It is a travesty when you don't listen to your Majesty" Aurora rolled her eyes "I would love to tell miss thinks-she's-all-that but I'm still frozen in place" Twilight was surprised by the unicorn's response but didn't flinch at all when she said it. She lifted the spell and Aurora got up, shaking the dirt off of her before positioning her self. She made herself seem much more intimidating than she would've been normally "Princess Twilight Sparkle, somepony's whose never been more unfit for her crown" she snarled, standing up straighter and growling at her "You are despicable...do you know why some ponies still think you're unfit? You're clumsy, you cause more trouble than needed, and, oh yeah! You don't even know the first thing about being Princess" Twilight backed away, readying for a fight "And what do you know? You're a unicorn making false accusations with knowledge you don't even have proof of" Aurora chuckled "Denying only because you know its true"
Zecora stepped forward "With what are you trying to prove? Perhaps you should say it and make the first move" Aurora flipped her mane back "Well then I will. You remember the auditions for the academy right? Its was you that stole the heart of Celestia. And what did you think happened to us? We didn't even have a chance to perform after you. We all wanted to get in and to impress her but no. The minute she saw you, we were all gone. But you don't deserve a thing. You don't deserve this crown, not your title, not even the attention of all the Princesses. Because I remember what happened that day. You and only you happened to perform during that rain boom. You were startled and your magic grew because of your reaction! And what if it didn't? Well we wouldn't be in this position right now." Twilight stepped forward and got into her face "What are you trying to say, Unicorn?!" Aurora pushed her away and snorted "I, Aurora Unicorn, challenge Princess Twilight Sparkle to a duel for the crown, the title, everything! For the reason as I see you unfit of being a Princess and ruling over everypony when you clearly didn't deserve it"
Twilight Sparkle looked at Zecora "Can she do this?" Zecora shrugged "If you want answers, seek the pony of the sun, for she can tell you and help you in a long run" Twilight nodded, looking back at Aurora "Okay fine Aurora. But don't be shocked when Celestia says you can't. Its not like you can actually do something like this" She smirked "How do you think Celestia and Luna came into power? Oh that's right, they defeated Discord and became rulers of Equestria. I'll see you in Canterlot with the Princesses at noon tomorrow. I don't want any mistake of anypony missing it" Twilight nodded "And l'll make sure of it too"
"Goodbye for now Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'll be seeing you shortly. Come on Blythe. I need food and sleep" Blythe looked back at the two ponies "Good bye your majesty" she said quickly and ran off to join Aurora "I don't mean to sound really negative Aurora, but an Alicorn's magic is very powerful" the white mare scoffed "Tell me something I don't know. I have a counter spell that cuts it's power in half, only known to some of the great ponies. And soon, I'll be one of the great ponies. I just have to hit her at her weakest point" she smirked, knowing exactly how tomorrow was going to go down