I wasted no time in trying to understand the true nature of the Alicorn blood. Not even to review my previous notes about it. The others were with Abigail and Dr. Sombra, save for Dash. Who wanted to see the next fight more than anything. She was watching me, it was really distracting.
"Dash, could you not stare at me? I'm trying to think."
"Yeah, yeah," Dash said leaning back against the counter. "But really Twi, screw Fluttershy and her problems, they're her's to deal with, not your's."
"She said Vinyl told her that I had figured out how to beat the Rage."
"For reals?"
"For reals," I answered. Letting my head rest on the counter, I knew I wasn't getting anywhere like this. The only thing I had a grasp on was that last thought I had during Fiona and Spitfire's fight. What could be another form of Magic? The other elements were straight forward enough, each element represents an attribute except Magic. The answer to my question felt just out of reach. Maybe if I still had my horn in working order, I might've already known the answer by now. The old me was so smart. And now what am I? An earth pony? Hardly. Cause even without my magic, I was built differently. Raised differently. I will always be known as a broken unicorn. And now as one who couldn't even help a friend.
"Well, whatever it is that beats the Rage, just make sure you beat it out of Fluttershy too," Dash told me. "Cause even if she's as good as Scratch, she ain't one of us, and it's the Elements of Harmony that need to dethrone Nightmare Moon, not the beast."
"So I don't have the choice to lose?" I asked Dash jokingly.
"Of course, not to mention that I also want to see Fiona eat the dirt for once."
"Always the antagonist, aren't you, Dash?"
"Not always, just when I need to be." Dash smiled at me. I didn't want to see these moments fade away. This time that I still have with my friends. Despite their faults, despite my own, I just don't want to see all of this turn to gray. Soarin came out of the kitchen, reaching up for the mic, nodding to me.
I guess I couldn't crack it in time. I thought as I stood up from the counter, making my way to the center ring. Fiona made her way through the crowd quickly enough and the introductions were already underway.
"It's the final round of the semi-finals!" Soarin announced, "and for this last match, we have the two new favorites of knuckle brick corner! On the right, her ferocious tact has gotten her this far quickly despite this being the first time here, and none of us can wait to see how she'll tear into her next opponent! She's a predator lying in wait for her prey, she's the Beast, she's Fiona Fluttershy!" Yellow and pink lights strobed above her, illuminating her colors, whilst bringing out the red hue from her eyes. Ready to fight, as always.
"And on the left, we all thought she would've kicked the bucket by now, but she's here and ready to burn her way to the finals, she's Twilight Sparkle, the Phoenix!" Purple and red lights strobed over me suddenly. A little disorienting, but my eyes settled on Fiona as Soarin held back the fight for her to offer her classic warning.
"Forfeit, Phoenix," Fiona wasn't being as polite as she had been before.
"Or what?" I asked. She just glared back. "I want you to know, that finishing this fight quickly won't be the nicest thing you can do for me, actually giving me a fight is."
"And how would you know?" Fiona interjected, "you're just a wannabe fighter."
"Ha, how appropriate," I said, laughing a little at that statement, "I try to give you a reason to fight me despite the Rage, and all you do is anger me." The time to put my actual plan into effect was now. I figured that if I couldn't come up with a cure for Fiona, I'd beat her down and force her to learn from fighting like the rest of us. Problem is, could I do it? Soarin and the crowd shouted for us to fight, we were both just waiting for the bell. My muscles were tense again like they had on the train. That stare of her's was freezing me in place, but I ignored it once the bell rang. With that resounding chime bouncing in our ears, there was little else I could think of besides this idea I had. This stupid idea that could cost me the match. I was going to let go and fight like an Alicorn. Whatever that meant. Fiona bolted, her wings boosting her forward. I got into my stance, and at the first sign of her attack forming, I began to spin around, whipping my back left leg at her just in time to kick away her first punch. Fiona was dumbstruck that I had expertly blocked one of her attacks. I considered it a feat to have shocked Fiona like that, but this was no time to celebrate. I led into a right hook, her left raised just in time to stop me. Fiona was still intent on snuffing me out, but I had a promise to fulfill. And it starts when I beat her.
I continued with my offensive, hoping to find an opening in Fiona's defense, but just like on the train, she was letting me attack, silently preparing to take me down with one hit. I started to try different moves in the hope of throwing her off, like walking backward at her, my elbows reaching back to strike her over and over. But even I knew I couldn't keep it up forever. Fiona kicked at my back, jolting me forward as she took control of the offensive.
She knew that I wasn't going to just give her the chance to knock me out cold. Her movements were targeted to my head and stomach. I dodged well enough, reminding myself to keep my distance otherwise I'd be forced to block. Her idea of kindness meant not injuring me anywhere else but the point that would most likely make me fall. And because she couldn't reach me easily, her anger was just getting kindled.
"I don't care if you're one of the best fighters in the world," I mumbled so that only we could hear, "everyone loses eventually, and if it's one thing that I know about you, it's that you hate losing more than fighting!" I struck back as she landed a hit in my gut. My stomach twisted in pain, but seeing that blood drip out of Fiona's nose was almost motivating enough to ignore the pain. She stepped back, the crowd in awe. I stepped forward, planting my front hooves to buck her next, she redirected it with a strong swipe of her right hoof, leaving me open for attack.
I knew it was going to be a big attack, and I knew that if I missed I'd pay the price for it. Fiona reached for the collar of my hoodie, bringing me close to punch me square in the head. I let her, just so that I could punch her back. I fell and she stumbled back again. Cause that was one advantage I had, Fiona thought I'd be over protective in this fight after already fighting her once. But I could hardly think straight with the Rage blinding my common sense. I wasn't winning because of it, but I was certainly keeping things even between us.
Fiona came back at me, wings carrying her fast as I ducked her first attack, another punch aimed for my face, only I was knocked to the ground as she dropped her elbow over my head. And she wasn't stopping. Grabbing my hood, Fiona swung me around to the other side of the ring. I rolled to my hooves just in time to knock back one of her punches with a kick. She was becoming predictable. Was it because of the Alicorn blood in me, helping me keep up? But one look into Fiona's eyes, and I saw tears forming. Still held back she continued to fight me blindly.
"She lied to me," she said, "she lied to me that you knew how to beat the Rage!" The force of her punch was hitting me so hard, I became scared that she'd end up breaking something. I jumped back to get at a safe distance. But the bars were there to trap me. Fiona closed in, her tears were gone now, but I could still see that she was hurting. I kicked at her to counter, she blocked and I went for a tackle. Wrapping both hooves around her waist, I succeeded in getting away from being pinned against the bars. Yet, that still didn't stop Fiona from keeping up with her attacks pursuing me.
I knew that if I was going to win, I'd need to let the Rage do it. But something inside me was stopping it. "She lied to me." Was she talking about Vinyl? I thought as we maintained our struggle to land a hit that neither of us was going to give the other. Was I really going to keep theorizing, now, of all times? Fiona was wearing me down bit by bit. And she was showing no signs of fatigue. What could I possibly do? Fiona gave me a high kick, moving into a low one, and then twisted and threw both front hooves into me. A combo forcing me back into the bars. I hit them hard, and I slumped to the ground. I heard the crowd shouting for me to get up, while Fiona stood over me in the glare of the overhead lights.
"Forfeit," she ordered me. I refused, standing up only to be blocked and knocked back down. I stood again, but it was only more of the same. Every time I tried to oppose her, it was just a reminder of the difference in our skill. It felt like my fight with Sunset. I was powerless compared to her. And all I could do was annoy her.
"Forfeit!" she said. I stood again. She slammed her hooves down onto me, pressing me to fall again. I held her hooves and kicked her away. She blocked and flew back, giving me the time charge her and take the offensive back.
"Why won't you give up!" Fiona questioned me, punching me as I met her attacks with my own. It hurt so much, but if this was the only way to fight her, I would.
"I told you my story, but I don't think you listened!" I said to her. She raised an eyebrow to me as she shot my chest with her hoof. I gritted and returned with a kick that was ultimately blocked. "I told you that Vinyl taught me how to never give up, but what I didn't tell you was that Vinyl-" Fiona interrupted me with a gut punch. Which gave me this urge to curl up and fall down.
"I don't want to hear anything about Vinyl from you! You didn't know her at all!" I threw my head up, hitting it against her chin, knocking her back.
"But I did know her!" I retorted, "I knew her as a friend, and that's what she'll always be to me!" I punched in succession, causing Fiona to block constantly as I kept up a barrage of attacks. "And if I have to beat you in order to be your's then that's what I'll do!"
"What kind of logic is that?" she shouted to me, parrying me into a low kick I dodged. "You laugh when you're hurt, you don't mind losing a fight, and you think you can solve everyone's problems because of what? You think you're still the student of the princess? You think just because Vinyl saw potential in you that you're capable of fighting the best? Potential can only go so far!" Fiona punched through my attacks, and we both started missing our intended focus, hitting each other instead of worrying about our defenses. "You don't know what I've been through because of the Rage!"
"Of course I don't!" I punched her, forcing her a few hoof steps back. "Vinyl didn't either! But instead of drowning in those feelings of regret to help you, Vinyl swam to the top and found a way to stay above all that Rage, and that was us, her friends!" Fiona stopped, listening to my answer. I didn't know how to stop the Rage, I only knew how to live with it. Because regardless of how horrible my life became because of it, I knew how to use it. And I'm pissed that I didn't figure it out sooner.
I punched Fiona again, swinging my body around to kick her, and with one last spin of momentum, I slammed both hooves into her face, knocking her out cold on the floor. The ponies around me were silent, I hadn't even been brought to my limits like I was when I fought Dash, yet I beat her. I beat Fiona Fluttershy. Her eyes were closed, unconscious. I looked back to the bar, Soarin and the others couldn't believe I had done it. So without their consent, I raised a hoof in the air cheered at my own victory.
"I won!"
This ignited the crowd to roar with me as I repeated myself. And then I turned Nightmare Moon. She refused to show any sign of surprise, only a beckoning glare.
Five elements crushed, right? She didn't even need to say for me to know. She only saw this as a means to an end. So what if I won, it wouldn't change the fact for her that I would fall at her hooves. I sat down beside Fiona, Dr. Sombra taking immediate care of her as I did, stopping the bleeding in her nose and bandaging the few bruises she had. He used his lab coat as a pillow for her head and then moved to me.
"Congrats," he told me, "you got far."
"Thanks," I said, the tone in his voice sounded a little concerned. Sure, he was a doctor who didn't want to see any permanent damage done to his patients, but this was unusual for him. He stopped bandaging my right hoof and looked off to the side, longingly. "You okay, Doc?"
"I'm never okay, Twilight," he answered me. "And I don't think I ever will if you continue with this tournament."
"It's a little too late for that," I said, "if I quit now, this was all be for nothing." Sombra glanced up at my horn.
"You'll lose it for good if you fight her again," he told me. The chances that Nightmare would exploit my horn as a weakness was inevitable. But that's a risk I was going to take.
"Well," I began, standing up to head to the bar. "If it wasn't for my broken horn, it'd probably be something else."
"If you didn't have a broken horn, you wouldn't be in this bloody mess," Sombra mumbled.
"Like I said, too late!" I raised my voice at him. And I must've been pretty loud about it. Fiona sat up, squeezing her eyes shut to the sudden pain in her head. Sombra quickly advised her to lay down. She didn't listen.
"Up already?" I asked her.
"Yes," she simply said, taking deep breaths after she did. A smile grew across her face. "You were right, I do hate losing more than fighting." That alone put me in a good mood again, but Sombra's stare left me feeling otherwise.
"Fine, I won't criticize you for your decisions," Sombra said to me, packing up his medical kit after double checking Fiona's condition.
"Good," I said.
"But, I will not watch you be broken again," Sombra finished. Walking away without another word.
"Is he another friend of your's?" Fiona asked me. I didn't know how to respond to that. I couldn't just tell her my suspicions of him. Of the connection, I think he might have with Vinyl's death. Because I wasn't sure. He wouldn't be here if he had actually killed her. And I had no proof that he was the King. But those red eyes matched what I've only seen in Vinyl or Fiona. A blood lust that was not easily subsided. I turned to Fiona, her eyes still glowed faintly too.
"Do you still feel like you're in the Rage?" I asked her.
"Somewhat, I just feel calmer," she answered. I suppose my theory worked in the end for her. I couldn't get rid of it completely, but I managed to help her in my own way. I picked her up, along with Sombra's lab coat and we walked to the bar. Dash was there to congratulate me along with Soarin.
"You made it to the finals you egghead!" Dash slapped me on the back in the exact same spot that Fiona had kicked me. I winced before laughing anyway.
"The final match isn't going to start for another hour," Soarin explained to me. "So I prepared you one last meal before you die."
"Thanks," I said, sarcastically disapproving of that notion but brightening up when I saw the over-easy daisies and fresh apple cider placed in front of me. Dash frowned that she didn't get some cider, so I slid it over to her and asked for water instead. Fiona couldn't believe that I just did that. But I couldn't believe I had just beaten her. Although, it may have just been a fluke. I had psyched her out with the one bit of truth I had on the Rage, and took that one opportunity to knock her out. Either way, I had secured my spot in the finals, and it would be me fighting Nightmare, fluke or not.
"Well, I guess you took my advice, winning that is," Abigail said, walking out of the kitchen door. She was bandaged up, still hurting but managing just fine on her own. Pinkie had found a proper eye patch for herself somewhere and Rare was now right as rain. I was surrounded by all my friends, yet, I couldn't help but feel a tense feeling coming from them.
"You want to talk about Nightmare, right?" I asked Abby. She nodded. The fact alone that there were three ponies here with knowledge on Nightmare Moon's fighting style and strategy was going to be helpful. And I wouldn't want anypony else to help me.
"Nightmare Moon is merciless," Rare started us off, "if you can match her in speed and strength, you will do just fine, however..." Rare trailed off as Abby continued.
"It's the armor that's the problem. She isn't like anyone you've fought before, but it is possible to hurt her, and I think Pinkie and I may have given you a chance." I raised an eyebrow to that, still eating as I listened.
"When I found out that I'd be up against her, I knew I was going to lose," Pinkie confessed. "So instead of trying to win, I made it my goal to at least injure Nightmare in someway before I lost."
Her right hoof! I remembered, turning to Abby.
"I managed to hurt her a ton more, but that armor still needs to go," Abby reminded me.
"So, should I wear the armor again too?" I proposed. The others shook their heads to that. Saying that the armor was in bad condition, to begin with. And to use it now might result in a similar problem Pinkie ran into. Slower movement, plus it didn't matter to Nightmare, she could make you hurt even with armor on.
"Do you have any advice for me?" I turned to Fiona, who only shrugged at all this talk of Nightmare Moon.
"Learn how to fight her as you go? That's how you beat me, isn't it?" Fiona said. I could only frown.
I beat you with a luck Fluttershy, luck! But I couldn't bring myself to tell her that. This was either going to end badly for me, or I'd figure out a way to win again. The odds were stacked against me, as they always are. I looked back at Nightmare from across the room, she was staring right back at me. If her armor was the biggest obstacle than maybe there was a way to get her to take it off herself. Make it an even fight. I half expect her to refuse that proposal, but it was worth a shot. I'd convince her into fighting barely hoofed. Or die trying.