The Cutie Mark Clash (Tournament)

[[File:CutieMarkClashTournament.png|thumb|300px|A clash taking place in the Fields of Discord.

Event: The Cutie Mark Clash

Held: Annually

Location: Changes every year (Story takes place in Ponyville)

No. of participants: No limit ]]

The Cutie Mark Clash is an annual fighting tournament and a Clopperfield tradition. The tournament is presided over by Lady Aremis and refereed by Hayley. Lady Aremis chooses a region of Equestria to host the first round of fighting. This forces non-local competitors to travel, as evidenced by the arrival of Gil.

The tournament consists of three rounds, according to Hayley. The first round has no brackets, allowing the fighters to travel free-range around the selected location and find each other for fights. This is only a formality since Gil, Braeburn, and Little Strongheart were able to engage Bison Bison on a train between Appleloosa and Ponyville.

The latter two rounds take place in Clopperfield itself and consists of predetermined fights. The second round places the fighters in pairs while the third and final round is a strict one-on-one elimination bracket until a single winner is crowned.

The prize for the tournament is a purse of money and the opportunity for the winner to face off against the reigning champion of the Cutie Mark Clash. This champion has yet to be revealed.

Rules

 * Fights may only be conducted under the effect of the Hoof of War, a sort of magic that boosts a wearer's abilities and prevents serious injury.
 * Though a match generally ends when one fighter is knocked out, the Hoof of War always has the final say. Often the loser of a fight has not really been knocked out.
 * In the first round, fighters earn one "merit" from victory and one "demerit" for loss. Advancing to the semifinals requires a certain undefined merit count.
 * In team fights with equal teams, the merits and demerits at stake are equal to the number of opponents regardless of who gets knocked out.
 * In unequal team fights, merits are given depending on who knocked who out in the events of the fight. It is possible for a smaller team to earn more merits and ultimately lose a fight such as Bison Bison did in Chapter 5.
 * The tournament is not restricted to only ponies. So far also Zecora, Little Strongheart, and Gilda (A zebra, buffalo, and griffon, respectively) have been able to join. Hayley even mentions at one point that an octopus was part of one tournament.

Trivia

 * The Cutie Mark Clash was named by a previous ruler of Clopperfield, Trotts Clopperfield. The tournament was named after the fact that he earned his Cutie Mark in the field of battle. The nature of this battle is up to debate. Hayley described it as being part of a civil war, but he didn't sound so sure of himself.