Rainbow 8

by Koiyuki

Twilight's Workout Journal: Week 12(Confronting the Dream)

There I was, in my best Snake Plissken get up, watching the two people who've been there with me all these months being taken away by an army of Raritys. With Tonfa firmly in hand, I rushed after the azure short shorts and white and azure hoodie wearing horde as fast my legs could carry me, slipping between the closing doors to find them crystalizing Pinkie with their magic. I was too focused to hear what Pinkie was trying to yell out, because if I wanted to rescue her, I had to slash, smash and thrust through everyone in my way, each one going up in a puff of smoke the moment I made solid impact.

All the defense and evasion Dash taught me let me weave through them towards Pinkie, but when I got close enough, someone shouted, "Swarm that ruffian!" Raritys soon piling on me from every direction. I felt myself get slower and slower the more they piled on, triggering something deep inside to fling them off and smash the crystal with a mighty overhead. Pinkie burst out of there in her Flashdance-like gym outfit, an extendable red staff in hand. She twirled it and swung it about like she was holding a hurricane, the mob flying with each swing. One them flew through the door on the other side and opened the way to the castle's spiral staircase. We worked in tandem for every step we made up that staircase, the close quarters forcing me to dodge their attacks like my-or in this case someone else's life depended on it while they laughed and let out a "Wa ha ha!" every time one of 'em landed a significant shot, as one did when Pinkie caught a magic blast point blank.

I could hear yelling coming from the door at the top, and judging from the voice saying things like, "Is that all you got? Angel bites harder than that!" I knew it was Dash. One of the mob tried to block the door, but I reared back an overhead hook, smashing not only through them, but also through the door. Quickly, it revealed that Dash was tied up and hung on the ceiling, a squadron of Flutterflys patrolling the skies. Their oversized cream yellow shirts and pale pink sweats flowed through the air when they spotted us and immediately zeroed in. When I jumped out of the way of one, I felt something strange, like the air, itself, was trying to cut at me as she passed. Pinkie, as only she could, offered to sling me onto the chandeliers near Dash so I could try and free her. With few other plausible plans in mind, I put my weapons in their hip holsters, got on the tip of her staff and let myself get chucked through the Fluttershy's working to prevent my landing.

Each time I leapt closer, I saw them barrel at me, leading to split second aerial battles before I grabbed onto the next chandelier closer to Dash. As I saw them swarm around her and wait for me to make my move, I realized that the only way to get her free was to somehow cut the rope to where the knot wasn't a factor in binding Dash. That in mind, I jumped towards her and watched as one of the Fluttershys flew into the rope below the knot, cutting through it to get to me, and not expecting me to simply fall past the person I was trying to save. As I saw the ground below grow ever closer, I felt someone grab me from behind, saying, "Have you lost it!? I thought eggheads had more sense than that!" I saw from the shield, short sword and powder blue tracksuit that Dash had broken free, setting me down near Pinkie and returning to the skies for battle.

It was amazing, the way Dash floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee while we were figuring out where the way out was. She cut through them like they were warm butter, but even she couldn't keep her frantic pace for long, so Pinkie and I had to move fast. As I looked around the room, it seemed like there was no door in sight any of us could get to, and the Fluttershys just kept on coming from seemingly thin air, when Dash called out, "Hey, come on, guys, it's time to move!" I saw her fly to the back of the room, then dart through the mob and into a small opening in the roof, bursting it wide enough open for Pinkie and I to ride her pole up to. In that room were a legion of the two combatants filling it to near capacity, leaving an opening at the back of the room. It was almost like they wanted me to see the open doors, like they wanted me to see Applejack and someone behind her standing there.

I looked to my trainers, and with a nod of approval, I rushed in the room, the doors slamming shut as soon as I was inside and face to face to Applejack. Just as I was taking my stance, Applejack walked past me and said, "I don't got time for this jibber jabber. Take care of you, won'cha, sugarcube?" revealing that person behind her...was me, dressed up in my purple plaid PJs, with her hair as messy as if she just rolled out of bed, and a wide, psychotic smile on her face. Before I could even blink, she teleported behind me and fired a magic blast right at me, continuing to fire the more I dodged and weaved her barrage, her laughter filling the air. Everything Dash taught me about movement kept me away from those blasts, but even with her training, I couldn't hold up forever, and when I hesitated for a split second, I felt my feet being blasted, then being covered in crystal. The crystal inched its way up my body as she walked towards me, and said this: "So how does it feel to know you couldn't beat me? How does it feel to know you've let your friends down? How does it feel to know you that you will never have enough to beat Applejack? I mean you know how your genetic coding put you together, shouldn't it have told you something about how pointless your training was?"

When she got in my face, I swiped at her with my Tonfa, the other me knocking them away with two effortless swipes and continuing, "Think about it logically. She's been training her body her whole life, and you've only been training it for 3 months, if that. She's faster, stronger, and far more experienced than you ever will be, and because of that, you never stood a chance, and should've given up when you had the chance. You going up against her is like an ant fighting against a Griffin, and will end with you being thoroughly crushed. Maybe if you take a dive, she'll let you walk away under your own power to consider how foolish you've been. Then again, maybe she'll do the same thing she would've done if you came at her with all you have: pound your face into a pile of-"

Normally, that would be where the dream ends, but I felt something different flowing through me. As I sat there is the stillness of the cave, I could feel a surge of power coursing into my muscles and giving me the strength to burst out of the crystal and punch her right in the mush, as Dash would put it. She flew smack into the door behind her and burst through it, revealing someone tied to a chair, with Applejack standing beside it. I rushed in after her as Applejack did the same, greeting me with an air moving hook to the head. I ducked and shot a drilling straight into her gut, pushing her closer to the person in the chair and revealing her under the lamp above her head. The closer I got, the more I saw her royal pink dress, the sapphire hair with violet and pink streaks, and the crown that looks straight from the Elements of Harmony.

Before I could ponder what that could've been, the other Twilight was back on her feet, and coming at me in tandem with Applejack. The bobbing and weaving Dash drilled into me allowed me to hold them off long enough to think of a strategy for fighting multiple assailants...for which I was drawing a complete blank, while they were happy to wail away. Thankfully, though, I saw Dash blow past me and right at Applejack, Pinkie not far behind with her staff. Just I thought the odds were about to swing in my favor, the other Twilight runs away, towards the person in the chair as she said, "Guess I'll settle for the second place prize" I ran after her, dodging every magic blast flying at me, every spike rising up from the floor, and every rock that rained down on me to try and close the gap. The floor fell away all around me the close I got, and when I felt that person was close enough to reach, I leaped and reached my hand out to meet hers, only to have the dream end as I opened my eyes, finding myself back in the cave, with Dash standing over me.

***

"So, you ready to rock, Twi?" she asked as she helped me up. I shot her a nod and told her I was ready to put everything I had into the fight, because in that moment, I thought I was fighting for my family, for Sugarcube Corner, for the trainers who believed me enough to spend 3 months of their lives building my skills and physical ability up. She laughed, giving me a lift home to pack for Las Pegasus as she said, "C'mon, Twi, you've become something amazing because you committed to the program and put yourself through all that hard work and study. Stop trying to prove things to "us". There shouldn't be just an "us". You're more important to yourself than we are or ever will be. You're ultimately who matters when you step into that ring. Pinkie and I care about you, sure, but there's no need to get our seal of approval for the crap you choose to do, because we'd be there for you, even you weren't the best at it. In the end, you're getting in that ring for yourself, Twi, not just for us. You've already proven to me and Pinkie you're willing to throw down and make the sacrifice, now it's time to prove to yourself you've got the right stuff to leave it in the ring"

Those words echoed in my head as Spike, my trusty assistant, nutritionist and part time sparring partner, helped me get packed for the trip, asking, "So Twi, now that you've gone through all that stuff, do you think you're ready to throw down against someone like Applejack?" The only thing I could say was, "I don't know if I'm fully prepared for her, but I'm fully prepared to spend all 10 rounds proving that I belong in that ring, and can give her the hardest fight of her life. I owe myself that much after all the time I've put in honing my skills."

Progress for the Month: This the best shape I've ever been in, and no matter what, I'll walk away knowing I've gotten stronger, faster and more healthy than at any point in my life, something I plan to maintain and improve as long as I live

Progress for the Week: Physically, I feel like I have a better sense of rhythm and can stay looser for longer, which I attribute to Pinkie's methodology. Mentally, I feel far more certain about what lies ahead, and know that whatever happens, I'll be ready to show Applejack every last ounce of my strength. This certainly won't be easy, but I know, if nothing else, it will prove quite interesting, if the incredible shape my body's in is of any indication. Perhaps now I can run to Canterlot in one trip?

Goal for Next Week: Win. That's all there's left to do after 3 months of rigorous work, deep research and carefully measured eating regiments, and I won't stop until I know everything in me was put towards getting the decisive result. Hopefully, though, I fight hard enough to not leave my fate in the judge's hands. As Dash puts it, "Never Let the Judges Decide How Hard You Fought"

Song of the Moment: "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler
This one I heard during one of my workouts with Pinkie. Very high energy and makes me wanna get up and move, a feeling I also saw in the crowd that gathered. Ms. Cheerilee, especially, was deeply into the groove, as she, at points, was even sweating harder than I was! Maybe people are deeply connected to the retro feel than I thought?

Author's Note:

And thus, 3 months of training come to a close. Now it's time to get involved with the pre fight press event and show how much each of them wants to go at the other, with Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo watching from their hotel room. What will they say to each other after all this time spent preparing for combat? What will the press goad them into doing? Will things get even more heated? Tune in next time and find out!

Comments

[Koiyuki]

3159142 How so?

Also read it again with the song I added playing in the background. It should add nicely to the atmosphere of the piece(and was actually the song that inspired this portion!)