Zecora bore down on me, her staff blocked against my own. The shockwave of my block, made me yell out in pain, my body still not close to being repaired. With my thoughts on my pain, she already pulled her staff away and slapped it against my wound. I silently yelled out and fell to the ground, dropping the staff and holding my chest.
"Get back up, right this instant! Your enemy will attack your weakness, you must survive their torment," Zecora yelled at me before moving back and waiting for me to get up.
Struggling to move, I got the staff in my mouth and leaned against the wall to get up. Dropping the staff back in a hoof, I coughed out in pain.
"Why-?" I began to ask before seeing the blunt end of the staff prepared to strike my head.
Ducking from the staff, it hit the wall, but Zecora had followed up with a hoof punch to the back of my head and made me hit the ground again.
"In times of war, zebras learned quickly by nearly dying and forcing themselves beyond limits. Should they have died there, they were of no use as they could not use their wits," Zecora explained, again backing away for me to get up again. "Focus and reaction are the two things all fighters need. Now get up, Quentin! Prove to me you can succeed!"
Pushing back up, I tried to keep my sight on Zecora as she started shuffling around. She circled to my right, and I unconsciously blocked her attack with the staff. More surprisingly so, I had jumped and twisted with the staff to wheel my back legs to try and hit Zecora. I missed, but after landing back on my hooves, Zecora had a small smile on her face.
"Pushing through pain is a hard task to do. Now to try and take me down, if you can go through," Zecora taunted, flipping her hoof to me and motioning to come to her.
With a push into the air, I lifted the staff in my hooves up and prepared to bring it down on her. With a fast block and wheeling kick into my side before I hit the ground, Zecora moved away as I hit the ground again. She shook her forehoof before speaking again.
"You believe power is key in winning fights. But if that power can't be used, you can expect your last rites," she explained as I finally kept to the floor. My gasps of air were met with the shadow of Zecora now looming over me.
"I can't-" I had started before receiving a whack of Zecora's staff into my side.
"There is never a can't when you are in war," Zecora angrily scolded. "Wills and Won'ts are what dictates victories and defeats, never a can't."
I had barely noticed, but Zecora had not rhymed in her usual way when she said that to me.
With little thought, I had began to waylay hard into Zecora. She was blocking each blow I had attempted, but I was forcing her back and soon she was trapped in a corner as I began smashing down on her. She then spun past me and tripped up my rear hooves and on my back, her staff now brought down on my throat. She kept it there as her eyes, showing every intent to bring the duel to an end, kept to mine.
"You will not leave this place without first bringing me to my knees," she challenged. "With tomorrow's battle over your head, you must do so or your life will end with ease."
She again moved back and allowed me some time to think. What did I learn from being in Equestria to begin with?
The first fight with the timberwolves had the hard lesson that if I got too excited or confident, I would very easily be overtaken. Each mental hurdle with Discord taught me that his ego was his biggest strength and weakness. Nightmare Moon's very strength came from negativity that was stored in the mind of her possessed. The attack with Nightmare Moon also let me know that despite my resistance to magic, she was still able to throw me around like a ragdoll.
It finally began to click as I began focusing on breaking the strengths. We all had wings, and should they get broken for any of us, we'd lose a heavy amount of offensive and evasive maneuvers. Breaking a leg or arm would further ground any attacks, and finally after being knocked to the ground, the final blow could be made.
I got back up and played scenarios in my mind as I swept my fallen staff back up and focused on Zecora. With the speed needed from my wings, instead of directly attacking, I began circling her repeatedly. After a few quick circles and causing Zecora to become dizzy, I stopped in place and wound up the gem side of the staff.
The attack was just barely halted by Zecora as she began regaining her sense of balance. Back to the ground, I had started spinning the staff with a hoof, my eyes still on Zecora as she had her composure back. I kept the staff moving before suddenly throwing it forward and causing her to jump. In her jump, the speed I had pushed forward with managed to get me under her. Gripping her lower body, I rotated so her back was to the ground before she hit the floor.
Pushing forward after the fall, I kept on top of her, my right hoof raised up to knock her senseless and the left hoof restricting her weapon and hoof. It was then I found out that I was bleeding on her and prompted me to get off and grip my chest.
"What you've done is show the capability to go beyond," Zecora grunted as she got back up. "The only question remaining, is how you'll face your friends and if you can break their bond."
She was right. If Discord had full control over them, what's to say that he wouldn't use them to stop me? Would I be able to even fight against the friends that I had? My mind tussled between the lie and truth. They wouldn't be my friends if they are under the control of Discord, but it wasn't there decision to begin with! I would be able to punch one of them in the face, but I don't really want to hurt them.
The confliction kept going as I sat between the floor and the wall. What is Discord going to do with them?
***
"The concert hall is currently in use for rehearsal, Lord Discord," Ditzy announced, wearing a formal gown that glittered with gold thread.
"Why, that is the best news I've heard of tonight, Wild Card," Discord answered, turning to her as he readjusted his sleeve and powdered wig. "Tell me, have the invitations been sent out for tomorrow's affair?"
Ditzy gave a nod and looked out to the grand hall. Everything was bright, shining, and eloquently placed for just the guests that Discord would want. The stairs gleamed, no dust or look of wear on them. At the stairs peak before they split to the left and right was an oil painting of Discord's upper body, a look of seriousness about him.
"Very good, they should be receiving them shortly," Discord said, putting his hands behind his back before letting up a smirk at the sudden explosion of noise outside the castle walls.
SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! COME TO DISCORD'S WAR PARTY! AT THE CANTERLOT CASTLE! You are cordially invited to BLOW, YOUR, MIND! MUSIC! FOOD! BLOOD-LETTING! BLOOD-LETTING! DOORS OPEN WHEN THE SUN RISES TOMORROW MORNING! But, Discord, the moon is still ou-. SHOVE IT! WE GET BOTH MOON AND SUN IN THE SKY FOR THE MADNESS! DISCORD'S WAR PARTY! YOU BETTER MAKE IT OR THE END OF THE EARTH IS GOING TO BE PLAIN OLD BORING!
Discord cleared his throat after the obnoxious advertisement that had been heard all around Equestria and began moving away to the stairs. "Do tell Trigger that she will need to make at least twenty barrels of the finest drink she can make, and also be sure to notify Messenger that she will be at the door greeting the guests as they come for tomorrow."
Ditzy gave a bow as best she could before accidentally plopping forward with her head on the floor and rear in the air.
***
"What... is that?" Trixie asked us, looking at the staff I laid down on the table.
I gave a slight shrug, "It's a jewel on a stick, basically."
"More of a colored rock," Time Turner observed. "It's so cut up and scratched, it's practically worthless."
It was true, the wooden part of the staff was tough and the red look of it made it seem intimidating in some variety. The green gem though was complete crap. Not even a cloth and cleaning gear would make the jewel redeemable.
"Well, if its that bad, then we might as well get it off," I sighed.
Trixie's face brightened as she shut her eyes and focused her energies into the staff, ready to separate the wood and rock. It then tensed up as she kept trying, finding out that it was still stuck to it.
As she kept trying, the gem started to shine like it did when I first saw it. It also began growing in shape.
"Tell me that's supposed to be normal," I said, watching the lump begin to smooth out into a spherical shape. Trixie finally stopped as the gem turned orb completed itself and slid off the spiked pole.
"A-ha!" Trixie exclaimed, her eyes still closed. "No rock is a match for-" she started, her eyes now staring through the green orb to me. "-or-or-or- or that's not what I just pulled out!"
The four of us stared at the ball as Trixie set it on the table beside the staff.
"Can we put that back on the staff?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Because, seriously, that looks cool."
"We all just witness a phenomenon before our eyes and your first thought is to put it on a stick?" Time Turner asked me.
"Both rock and wood are Fix's alone. His choices with both are his very own," Zecora advised.
Time Turner rotated the orb in his hoof, seeing that it still had the hole for the staff. Moving the hole to the staff, he slipped it into place. "It's curious that a giant timberwolf would have something like this inside it," he postulated, putting his two hooves together and leaning forward on them.
"We're talkin' a thing made of trees, branches, and sticks from a large and dangerous forest," I responded, briefly moving the staff around and making sure the orb didn't pop out. "I'm pretty sure there may have been more than wood that made it up, but you don't pay attention to what's inside when it tries to brutally murder you."
"So you're not at all curious about what that rock can do?" Trixie asked, annoyance in her tone.
"Not really," I casually responded, now briefly giving little swipes at the table. "I'm learning that by this point, everything is fair game. Gods, talking creatures, becoming one, magic, self-flight, I can go on. I'm more curious-" I was stopped as one swipe had let out a green spark past Time Turner's ear.
"What the devil?" Time Turner exclaimed, reaching to his ear to feel if it was okay. "Was that a spark that came out of that?"
I was dumbstruck, now realizing that something had just landed in my hooves that I had a power to apparently shoot electricity from. "Uhhh... magic?"
I set the staff to the side, hoping it wouldn't suddenly discharge and fry a pony.
"Let's focus on tomorrow," I quickly said, my eyes still wide at what could happen now.
Time Turner sighed and revealed a overhead map of Canterlot, laying it out on the table. "Well, since you've been away in the asylum, we've had to rethink our strategy about allying ourselves with the citizens of Ponyville. We let ourselves known, we cause a panic, we all die."
Pulling out a marker he began making a line on the map. "We're using the tunnel to Ponyville as an extension to Canterlot." His eyes went up to me, "Tyrone's been making it a personal mission since your capture, if he wants to, he's probably going to finish that tunnel and then turn right over to the asylum and pull you out."
"So, let him know I'm out and alive," I muttered before I nodded. "Got it. I'll do it after this thing we've got going."
Trixie continued on, "There is only one real entrance to the castle, which is the front gate. With Nightmare Moon now added into this pile-up, we should all expect a crowd. So the only other ways through is in the air or in the garden."
"From the garden, we'll rise like plants," Zecora continued. "And through the back door, we begin our war chants."
I gave a few nods and looked to the overhead map again. "So, this railroad tunnel, is this the main entrance to the town in general?"
"Right," Time Turner confirmed. "The railway's been shut down because of the incident and what Discord and Nightmare Moon will expect any resistance to come from."
All of us finished up and I had started going down through the tunnel entrance. I would hopefully find Tyrone and explain to him about what happened in the asylum, keeping him from doing anything extreme. It was during the trip I had begun to wonder what Tyrone had been doing since I had been gone. Every time I seen him, he matured to a degree. I stopped for a moment and began asking myself if I really was maturing from this as well, or if it was just the same stubbornness that I had been accustomed to.