Feeling confident in his abilities, Ness went straight past the roadblock that had been opened for him, ready to head to Twoson. The path there led through a grassy area between two dense areas of forest, and the only creatures on the path proved to be the Antoids they had encountered in the caverns leading to Giant Step, which continued to flee from them. Eventually, the path turned past a small house before continuing south, leaving a long, wide area with no obstacles or other hurdles to worry about.
"This place will be good," Moondancer decided firmly as she slipped the Borange Ray into her pocket space.
"Good for what?" Ness asked curiously.
"Remember how I said I wanted to find somewhere clear on the way to Twoson?" Moondancer reminded him. "Because of something I thought you were ready for?" As she spoke, she slipped off her Star Charm, adding it to her pocket space as well.
"Oh yeah," Ness confirmed as he turned to face her completely. "What was it you thought I was ready for?"
"To challenge me," Moondancer responded readily.
"What?" Ness and Buzz Buzz demanded in shock.
"After you beat Titanic Ant, I said I would help train you until I felt confident in your skills and leadership," Moondancer explained simply. "However...when we both became attuned to Giant Step, you immediately declared it was because fate still had a chance for me to save my Father. I'd been losing hope on that...but you restored it. Plainly, you are a far more capable leader than I had believed." She turned firmly to face him. "So now I will test your skills with a simple challenge. I will unleash my powers against you, and not use them to protect or heal myself. If you are able to hit me enough to make me yield before you are unable to battle, then I will know you are ready to lead me...and then I will follow you, and help you in all your battles."
Ness swallowed nervously. "Are...are you sure I am ready?" he asked worriedly.
"No, I'm not," Moondancer allowed. "But that doesn't matter. If you don't succeed here, I will fully restore us both, and you may try again whenever you feel you are ready, with the aid of anyone else who has chosen to follow you by that point. However, the more allies you have gathered and the stronger you have become, the more of my own power I will unleash."
Ness nodded, steeling himself as he took a stance. "Buzz Buzz, you should head to that house over there," he instructed. "Out of the line of fire."
"A...alright," Buzz Buzz allowed worriedly before zooming off where instructed.
"Whenever you are ready," Moondancer offered, glad to see Ness thinking clearly even now.
Ness stared Moondancer down for a time, taking several deep, calming breaths...and then charged in swinging.
Moondancer quickly spun and lashed out with both hind hooves, striking the bat and knocking it out of Ness's grip. "I never said my power was only PSI!" she snapped as she seized the bat with her magical energy and brought it back down to try and strike Ness...only to bounce off a focused wall of light Ness created at exactly the spot the bat was coming in on. "Eh?" Moondancer asked in shock as the wall of light instantly vanished.
"I just figured out how to make Shields!" Ness explained as he caught Moondancer off guard by lashing out with a kick to her face, making her stagger back. "It's kinda weak, enough to slow several incoming impacts...but I saw you using PSI focused at specific points back when we were dealing with the Sharks, so I figured if I put the full energy into an attack I could see coming, I could stop it completely-" As he'd spoken, he'd caught the bat coming down and swung again...only to see it stop on a similar tiny wall of light.
"You should save explanations for after combat!" Moondancer explained as the bat bounced off her shield, sending Ness sprawling as the force of the swing recoiled on him. "It could give your opponent ideas." Lunging forward, she tried to bring her hooves down on his stomach, only to feel her breath woosh out of her as Ness pistoned his legs into her barrel to send her flying back over his head.
"KIAI!" Ness screamed as he rolled to his feet, gathering the released wave of energy into his hands and managing - somewhat - to focus it directionally at Moondancer. While it wasn't focused enough to increase the damage too much, this resulted in it still having a wide area of effect that was difficult to dodge or block. Moondancer was forced to brace herself and let the blast hit her, gritting her teeth as the energy rolled over and through her body and sapped her strength. As the wave passed, she heard a wooshing sound...and then silence. When her eyes opened fully, she found the 'sweet spot' of the bat millimeters from her horn. "Yield," Ness requested politely.
Moondancer blinked. "Why'd you not finish the swing?" she asked curiously.
"I noticed your horn glows whenever you use your abilities," he explained softly. "Not as much when you use PSI...but when you do the other things, much more. Figured it was...important, and possibly fragile. Am I right?"
Moondancer hesitated. "...I don't know about fragile, but I do know I need it intact, and getting hit there hurts a lot. Even if it's just bumping accidentally into a wall when you aren't looking where you're floating."
"So hitting you like this would have disabled you?" Ness asked curiously.
"Entirely possible," Moondancer allowed. "Enough that...I can accept your victory here. Besides, I broke my own rules." She grinned sheepishly. "I was so excited by your description of PSI Spot Shield that I just had to try it, forgetting that I'd said I wouldn't use my PSI to protect myself."
Ness chuckled as he withdrew his bat. "I'm just glad I don't have to do that again," he added with a grin. He started to gather his PSI to restore himself, only to clutch at his head. "Ow..."
"You overused your PSI," Buzz Buzz observed as he flew over. "You don't have any energy left to exert it just now. When we get to Twoson, we should stop at the hotel for a rest. Wouldn't you say, Moondancer?"
Moondancer smiled up at Buzz Buzz. "I'd say that's up to Ness," she offered impishly. "What do you say, fearless leader?"
Ness rubbed his aching head for a bit. "...will the enemies in Twoson run from us?" he asked curiously.
"Unlikely," Buzz Buzz allowed. "They're likely to be much stronger than the ones here."
"In that case, I think we should go rest at home," Ness suggested. "It'll be a lot more comfortable than some hotel, after all." With that, he turned to lead the way back up to Onett and the hills beyond.