Both Celestia and Luna were forced to decline the Main Six's request.
"I'm sorry everypony but neither my sister nor I know the slightest thing about ki. We cannot help you." They were going to leave disappointed, when Luna remembered someone else.
"Wait," Rainbow Dash and Twilight both turned around, keen to hear what was next. "There might be someone who can help." Twilight noticed something odd about what Luna had said.
"Princess, don’t you mean 'somepony'?"
"No, I’m not talking about a pony. I believe Zecora may help you. She stays in the mountains every year for around six months, practicing and honing her magic abilities, and she's there now. Odds are she's seen the same visions as you Rainbow Dash, if not more. If there's anyone who can help you, it'll have to be her, because it certainly isn’t us." The Main Six thanked the princesses, and turned to leave.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, all of you, be careful; she trains on one of the highest mountains in the range; it's a long journey."
The Main 6 headed back to their respective homes first, then met up in Ponyville. They gathered supplies they would need for the journey to, and up, the mountains. They decided to stay at the Castle of Friendship for a few more days, giving Rainbow Dash the perfect opportunity to teach the others about ki.
"Everypony paying attention? If so, then we can begin." Rainbow Dash wasn't the smartest pony in the world by traditional definitions, but she knew quite a bit in regards to physical activity - including fighting. She was also the only one who knew about ki.
"Now, obviously I don't have a lot of time to teach you what little I know, but I think in the next day or two, you can learn how to access your ki, sense the ki of others, and create basic ki blasts," Rainbow Dash believed that was a realistic goal, even if it did sound like a bit too much.
"Ki is a dormant energy inside of us which, unlike magic, every race of equine pony has. It seems the energy from the dragon balls awakened it in those who had enough to begin with.
"I need everypony to take a seat, and focus - concentrate. It'll well up inside of you after a while, it'll make its way to the surface, and then... it'll explode, forcing its way into your body. But you’ll have to find it first." Rainbow Dash and the others were sat there for nearly half an hour but nopony had accessed their ki yet. Rainbow Dash let them take a ten minute break before getting back to the meditation.
It was another hour before anypony unlocked their ki. The first one to do it was Fluttershy. She was surprised by it, but quickly regained control. Then followed Twilight and Applejack. Finally came Rarity, then Pinkie Pie. Everypony was amazed at the sudden power increase from their ki.
"I know it's a rush, but try and control it. When you first unlock your ki it could be very overwhelming. It's a good start, but we still have more training to do. Tomorrow." Rainbow Dash got up and stretched.
"My body had about 12 hours to get used to my ki before I first used it, so I should give you time to adjust too." Everypony said their goodbyes, and headed their separate ways.
Rainbow Dash commenced training in the morning, at approximately 7 o’clock, this time in a recently felled section of Sweet Apple Acres. She began to explain sensing other ki signatures to her friends, as best as she could with words.
"It's a bit tricky at first, but it becomes second nature after a while. To sense the ki of another pony, you have to first radiate yours off of them. Eventually you'll learn to sense it as either vibrations in the body, or a sound of varying pitch and intensity. The weaker the other pony's ki is, the further you will have to extend your own." Everypony took this in quite well.
"Let's try it out. A little game of hide and seek. You all hide, I try to find you using ki, and you try to avoid me.
"I'll count to thirty. 1... 2... 3... " Everypony quickly realised she wasn't kidding, and ran to find a suitable hiding place. There were rustling sounds from a few bushes, and sounds of trees being climbed. Rainbow Dash was almost done.
"27...28...29..30!!" Her eyes shot open immediately. She looked around and saw no signs of anypony; they all hid pretty well. Rainbow Dash concentrated, and tried to sense the others' ki. She felt Pinkie Pie's immediately. She walked quietly over to the bush she hid behind, and spread apart the branches and leaves. The grin she saw was from ear to ear, and she jumped back, startled.
"Woah! Jesus, Pinkie!!"
"We don't have Him here." Pinkie added in quickly.
"How are you always so happy?! Can’t you contain yourself even for a minute?" Pinkie looked genuinely lost in thought for a few seconds.
"I don't know, good question." She kept her smile the whole way through. Rainbow Dash let out an exacerbated sigh.
"Ok. But try and learn to suppress your ki by keeping calm and concentrating." Pinkie nodded rapidly, and went back to where they had originally started out. Rainbow Dash searched for the others. She found Rarity next, then Applejack. She had to search around much harder for Twilight; she could've been using an invisibility spell too. Rainbow concentrated, and noticed the tiniest flare in Twilight's ki. She extended her hand out, and shot a small beam next to Twilight. She yelped and her concentration broke, deactivating the spell.
Everypony was gathered back in the garden, except for Fluttershy. It had been about an hour, but try as she might, Rainbow Dash couldn't find Fluttershy's ki. She was beginning to get worried, when there was a rustle from a bush. Fluttershy's head popped out.
"Is everything alright?" she inquired. "Sorry if I missed anything." Rainbow Dash smiled.
"No, no. Well done Fluttershy, you did it. I couldn't sense your ki once. Good job."
"Oh, thank you... it was quite fun." Fluttershy sounded happy, yet still timid and kind.
"Ok, that went pretty well. I thought of something else though; everypony, bring out as much ki as you can right now." An aura enveloped everypony, and Rainbow could feel their power increase.
"You can sense each other's ki now, right?" Everypony nodded.
"Alright, great. Then I only have one thing left to teach you." She was talking about creating ki blasts. It still wasn’t noon, but Rainbow Dash decided to end the training for that morning. They would continue later in the day. The break worked out quite well, as Rarity apparently had something 'highly important' to get at the Boutique. Everypony had a couple hours to get used to their new capabilities whilst Rarity was retrieving whatever it was she needed.
Rarity's excitement finally made sense to her friends. She had finished making the training clothes for them all. Rainbow Dash had an orange gi, under which she wore a blue top. She also had weighted wristbands, a blue belt, and navy blue boots. Twilight wore a baggy dark blue top and close fitting trousers, with white boots. Pinkie wore a dark green gi, the top only covering one shoulder, with black boots and a red belt. Rarity and Fluttershy had rather similar outfits. They both wore dark purple gi with black boots, the only difference was that whereas Rarity's belt and wristbands were blue, Fluttershy's were red and she wore a white headband. On top of that, Rarity also wore a white cloak adorned with her cutie mark. Applejack wore a pair of dark grey jeans and a grey vest; she had brown boots and a normal belt.
Everypony appreciated the new clothes, but they had work to do.
"Alright everypony, this part is a bit simpler in my experience. What you need to do is focus some ki into the front of your hand, not too much, and a ball should appear." Everypony followed Rainbow Dash's instructions, and as she said, a ball did form even if it took hours for some.
"Now, when you think it's powerful enough tense the muscles in your hand a bit, and it should fire. Let’s aim it up at the sky for now, don’t wanna damage anything." The ki blasts flew quite fast, and didn't take up a lot of energy. It was clear that they would hinder an opponent, but not hurt them very much. Everypony practiced firing the blasts for another hour or so, and it became natural. Rainbow Dash thought they were ready enough to go train with Zecora; so she decided that after they had repacked, they would leave for the mountains immediately. In total, they had spent two days learning under Rainbow Dash.
The loads they carried were a decent size and weight; nothing too fancy, just the essentials like food, water, spare training clothes, sleeping bags, pillows and - in Rarity’s case - lots of soft blankets. Everypony wore an extra insulating layer under their training clothes, seeing as the mountainous regions were very prone to snowstorms. Spike was left in care of Fluttershy's animals, and they set off on their journey.
The first leg wasn't too bad; the stony groves that led up to the mountains were easy enough to navigate, that was, until the first storm hit. It was just wind, but it was so fierce that it was nearly impossible for them to even jog! The storm did eventually let up, but the group's progress had been massively slowed. They stopped for food and rest once for that day, then immediately resumed the journey. By the time the sun had set, the main six could already see near the base of the mountains. Twilight had to persuade Rainbow Dash that they needed to rest and set up camp. They had a basic campfire, and sleeping equipment; good enough. Twilight set an invisibility field around them, and an awakening spell; if somepony crossed through the barrier, it would instantly wake them all. They all wished each other a goodnight, and went to sleep early.
It took them just over two days to ascend a quarter of the tallest mountain. There was another storm, a snowstorm, and Rarity and Twilight had to set up another barrier spell to protect their friends from the environment. They didn't go to sleep fully, they just meditated and waited it out. The hardest part was the cold; it gnawed away at their souls, destroying their will from the inside, threatening to leave nothing. The snowstorm settled after approximately two hours, and the group continued the arduous climb. Applejack was first to point out that they were getting low on food, and also that the water was all frozen. After a little time, Twilight had a solution; she focused some ki in her hands, and the water slowly started to defrost. Everypony followed suit quickly, and the ice was no longer a problem.
Rainbow Dash decided to quickly teach the group how to fly without wings, but using ki instead.
It didn't take long to teach and practice, and the group's speed more than doubled. They carried on for a few more kilometres, and set up camp for the night.
In the morning, the sun peaked out over the horizon, signalling the beginning of the day. Rainbow Dash's eyes crept open, and were met with the sunlight blazing in her eyes. She woke to find Fluttershy doing extra training. She felt that she was making up for her initial lack of strength by training harder. Rainbow Dash slowly got up, and woke all her friends. They all changed into a spare set of training clothes, and then continued their ascent of the mountain.
One week in, and they were nearing the peak of the mountain, where the plateau was. The air was somehow getting easier to breathe as they got closer to it, the complete opposite of what should've been happening; there must have been a spell active, creating more air to inhale. Twilight was the first to reach the plateau. What she saw surprised her. She was expecting a dojo and everything, but all she saw was a small, fortified house, a campfire, and Zecora sitting in front of the house, meditating. Everypony else reached the plateau shortly after. They noticed that the instant they got to the top, their fatigue became less and less noticeable, until eventually it was gone. Twilight was the one who decided to speak to Zecora, and state their purpose of being there.
"Uum, excuse me Ze-" Suddenly she vanished, and reappeared behind Twilight. It left her in complete shock, they could all now see Rainbow Dash at her fastest speed; how could there be somepony faster?!
"I appreciate the visit, but why here?" The zebra said with her estranged accent. "It is a perilous journey at this time of year."
"Zecora, we came here to train with you," It was Rainbow Dash who spoke. "Please, we need your help." Zecora thought about the request, taking her time. She finally responded.
"I am aware of the threat you seek to dispel, but I may not be able to teach you well." Fluttershy decided to chime in now.
”Well, we thought that... you've probably seen all the same things that Rainbow Dash has, if not more, and you could know more about ki than any of us."
"This power is still quite new to me, and I've never taught more than one you see."
"C'mon, you can’t be doubting yourself at a time like this," Pinkie had joined in now too. "You said you knew what we're up against, so you also know that we need the right teacher." Zecora looked away from the party pony, clearly weighing the options.
"Prove you are worthy of my time and respect, and I may consider this prospect." Her statement was a foundation for something at least.
"Out of you six before me, which has the strongest ki?" They all stood there in silence, until Rainbow Dash stepped out.
"That would be me." She answered. The zebra smiled, and took a fighting stance.
"Fight me, give all you have to give. I must see what I am working with." Rainbow heard this, and didn't hesitate. She rushed straight for Zecora and threw a telegraphed punch. The zebra dodged, making Rainbow Dash overshoot her attack. She landed and immediately prepared to go in for another strike. She vanished in front of Zecora and tried to uppercut her in the jaw. She jumped back quickly, waiting for another attack. Rainbow Dash changed her offensive tactic, and fired a barrage of ki blasts at her. Zecora fired back, matching them shot for shot. The collisions of ki blasts kicked up a thick cloud of snow, which Rainbow Dash took advantage of. She dashed through it and threw a rapid volley of kicks at Zecora. She dodged the assault with ease, and finally threw a punch back. Rainbow Dash dodged and manoeuvred behind Zecora. She wasted no time, unleashing a swift barrage of punches and kicks. She finished her assault with a two-handed smash, sending the zebra backwards. She smiled, taking mental notes. She appeared close to Rainbow Dash before she could react and kicked her square in the jaw. The hit staggered her, but recovered she quickly. Then she had an idea. Rainbow Dash vanished, appearing behind Zecora, but instead of striking she vanished again. She vanished and reappeared five times before attacking. She was right in front of Zecora. She kicked her in the jaw, sending her upwards; Rainbow Dash flew above her and punched her in the spine. Zecora fell back toward the ground, and stopped her descent a metre above it. She'd seen what she needed to see, and decided to end the fight swiftly. She flew up towards Rainbow Dash and kicked her in the torso; she followed up quickly with a strong punch also to the chest. Rainbow was sent backwards, in shock. The zebra reappeared above her, and kicked her back downwards. Rainbow Dash hit the ground hard and knew she had lost. Zecora slowly came back down to the ground. Rainbow Dash got to her feet slowly; she looked disappointed, in herself. There followed an eerie silence. Zecora finally made her decision.
"If I do not try, I will never know. I say we should at least give this a go." Whereas the others were delighted to hear it, Rainbow Dash was confused.
"Wait... but I lost. Why would you want to train us?" The zebra smiled, as if she’d expected that from Rainbow Dash.
"Your current power matters not to me, when compared to the potential I see." She turned to face the others. "Twilight, you noticed and seemed intrigued that up here you will not be fatigued. Due to a spell I have in place, hunger, thirst, and tiredness won’t rear their face. You will be able to use all your time to train, sun, snow or rain." Twilight spoke next.
"When can we start?" Zecora replied quickly.
"I have my methods, don’t you remember how? Quick, efficient. Your training starts now."
The first thing Zecora taught everypony were the physical aspects of fighting, including the correct punching techniques, kicks, proper blocks, and efficient exercises to rapidly increase speed, stamina, and strength. In total, all of that took just over a week to complete and master. The next thing Zecora wanted to focus on was ki based attacks.
"Now to see if you are as capable as you seem. Can you all fire a basic ki beam?" Her question was answered quickly with everypony firing once into the sky. It didn't really surprise Zecora that they could do it, but the next level was much more difficult.
"Today you will learn a technique I devised on my own, which I will help you to hone."
"Clear your mind of everything in these lands, and focus ki into your hands." The group didn't waste any time, following the instruction immediately.
"Put your hands together in front of you. A small ball of ki should form too." Zecora waited for everypony's kamehameha to form.
"Bring your hands down to your side, and bring them closer to your shoulder, nice and high." The action felt odd at first, but they all got used to it.
"As you let the time flow, the attack will continue to grow." The training was going well up until that point. When they got to that step the ki balls just disappeared, even Rainbow Dash was having trouble. Zecora started off with the notion that their ki capacity was the problem, but decided against it. If they didn't have enough ki, then the ball wouldn't form in the first place. She worked out that it must've been their ki control. She changed the training around, focusing instead on enhancing physical attacks using ki. This involved concentrating varying amounts of ki into certain parts of the body. If they could do that properly, they could easily keep a large ki ball together.
Zecora and the others flew over to the largest mountain in the whole range, which loomed over them like a ravenous chimera. They approached the side of the mountain and stopped. Zecora instructed them to hit the mountain as hard as they could, no holding back at all. The impacts shook the ground, but only created a large crater in the mountain. They meditated, as Zecora instructed, whilst trying to focus their ki into the same limb they hit the mountain with at first.
It took them just under two days to learn to properly focus their ki into their extremities. They all went back to the mountainside, and tried again. They each calmed themselves before taking the hits. They felt their hands tense up slightly, and knew they were ready. They all drew an arm back and struck the mountain again. This time the result was much different. The mountaintop shattered like diamond, fragments falling down the slopes! Everypony - even Zecora - was shocked at how much their striking power was increased when using ki. They flew back to the plateau in awe of their own power, but as far as Zecora was concerned, they were only just ready to learn the kamehameha.
"If you thought it would take long, quell your fears, it only took me one small year." As usual, the blue ki ball formed in front of their hands; they bought their hands down to one side, and hoped to Celestia that it would keep its form; even Zecora. Thankfully, the ball grew larger instead of disappearing. Everypony was surprised, especially Fluttershy; she’d doubted she would’ve pulled it off.
"The mountain to he east, you can all see it at least?" They looked to the mountain, which had a jagged peak due to their milestone earlier. They had to make sure they kept their hands in the same position, otherwise the attack would disperse.
"It’ll make sense how, fire above it when I say..." The attacks were fully charged, and they waited for Zecora's command.
"Now!" They all knew what do. Everypony pushed their hands back in front of their chests, and the beams all fired at once! The six blue beams lit up the sky gloriously. Surprisingly, their was no recoil at all from them. The beams shrunk and disappeared after a while. Zecora was impressed that they learned it in just one week. They truly were prodigies.
Another week passed, and the main six started sparring with each other. The first match was Twilight against Applejack. It was early when they started; Celestia hadn't even risen the sun yet! Most of them had learnt to adapt and refine the kamehameha into their own attacks. Twilight was the first to do this with her Galick Gun. Rarity figured it out pretty soon after as well, and created the Masenko, which she had decided to teach Fluttershy too. Rainbow Dash decided to stick to the kamehameha, and created a completely different attack; the Spirit Bomb. Pinkie Pie created a much smaller, but faster and more focused attack called the Dodon Ray. Applejack hadn't yet perfected her own attack when Zecora started the sparring matches. The sun just began peeking over the horizon as Applejack and Twilight stepped into the ring, which was just a larger, empty plateau higher up in the mountains. The rules Zecora had set were simple: a win was obtained by concession or ring out. They took their stances, and Zecora fired a ki beam into the sky, signalling the beginning of the match.
Applejack rushed towards Twilight and launched a kick at her chest. Twilight jumped back, easily dodging the hit. This fight could go either way really. Twilight was tactical and highly intelligent, whereas Applejack was tenacious, stubborn, and very strong, and her aggressive nature and fighting style didn't leave Twilight any time to formulate a possible strategy. Applejack followed up swiftly with a barrage of punches and kicks enhanced with ki. Twilight blocked all the hits, except the last punch. Applejack had paused slightly on purpose and raised a leg, fooling Twilight into changing her block; she simply waited and threw the final punch. It hit Twilight directly in the face, and as she recoiled from the hit, a purple aura sphere began circulating around her. It pulsated, and Twilight moved her hands behind her right side. It was her Galick Gun. Applejack prepared to either dodge or block the blast. She charged up her ki and flew higher up, so the beam wouldn't damage the mountain. Twilight grunted now, and spoke.
"Galick Gun..." Applejack suddenly had an idea, and decided to try it anyway.
"Fire!!" At the last possible second Applejack vanished in front of Twilight and unleashed a flurry of blows. No one thought she had successfully refined her ki attack yet. She ended her combo with a hand very near Twilight's chest. She screamed, and a short range ki explosion surrounded Twilght. Applejack must have just finished the attack recently, as nopony had ever seen it before. She decided to name it the Burning Blast. Twilight flew backwards, and ringed-out. She began healing herself, and the next match began.
"Rarity and Pinkie Pie. You must be excited, don’t lie." They stepped into the ring, one, an unpredictable party animal, and the other, a proud and generous seamstress. Zecora raised her hand into the air, and fired the ki ball. Rarity charged up suddenly, and started focusing her ki into one attack. Pinkie Pie noticed this, and oddly became serious. She took a defensive stance, and thought of a plan. She started vanishing and reappearing wildly across the ring. Rarity was puzzled now; she had no idea how to respond. Pinkie appeared in front of Rarity, and punched her in the face at near enough full strength. Rarity was knocked back, and returned a swift frenzy of kicks. Pinkie Pie blocked or dodged all of them; Rarity's attacks were a bit slower because she had no ki left, but it was all Pinkie needed. She landed an uppercut and grabbed Rarity's legs; she spun her around, but Rarity powered up, and stopped the rotation. She spun out of her grip, and landed a kick on Pinkie Pie's shoulder; she then, all whilst charging more ki, flew upward. In a few seconds Rarity had a masenko ready and fired it down at Pinkie Pie. She vanished behind Rarity and punched her back down towards the ground; she landed hard, making a crater in the ring. Pinkie landed shortly after, and they continued their fight. Rarity started with a powerful kick, breaking Pinkie's guard; she wasted no time, vanishing behind her, and elbowing her in the spine. Pinkie stumbled forward, but regained her balance after a while. She turned around quickly with a hand out in front of her chest; she fired the Dodon Ray at Rarity multiple times over, to which she had to react extremely quickly to dodge. She dashed toward Pinkie and vanished behind her at the last second. Pinkie noticed and turned around, but she was already too late. Rarity hit her with an uppercut, sending her into the air; she appeared behind her again and kicked her in the back. She vanished once more and appeared in Pinkie's path. Rarity let loose a barrage of hits, then quickly fired a masenko down toward the ground. Pinkie had no time to react, and was hit fully by the blast. It sent her down, and she hit the ground hard. Zecora waited for a bit, to see if Pinkie Pie could continue. But she knew it was over.
"Rarity, well done. Hope you both had fun." Fluttershy went to help Pinkie off of the ring, and Twilight began to heal her friend. Zecora announced the final matchup.
"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, don’t go too high."
Fluttershy knew it was coming, but still, her blood froze the instant she heard her name. She looked to Zecora as if to say 'Wait, really? Are you sure?' and she received a nod in response. Fluttershy turned to the ring and saw Rainbow Dash already waiting for her. She calmed herself, and slowly walked into the ring.
"Ready, I hope so?" Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took their stances. Zecora raised her hand slowly into the air. "Alright then, go!" She shot the ki beam into the sky. They waited, each trying to anticipate other's first move. Rainbow Dash vanished as soon as possible, but Fluttershy hesitated; when Rainbow appeared in the air in front of her, she could only block the kick. She realised her mistake, but kept her cool. Fluttershy kicked at Rainbow Dash's leg the moment she landed, making her lose her balance; she quickly followed with a spinning backhand to the face, which Rainbow avoided, and dashed backwards quickly. They sized each other up from a distance; Fluttershy vanished behind Rainbow Dash, kicked her in the spine, then punched her in the jaw as she turned around. Rainbow Dash stumbled back, looking disappointed.
"You're holding back. Why?" Fluttershy remained silent.
"You don't want to hurt me, do you? That's fair enough, but when you’re fighting for your life, or more importantly somepony else’s, you can’t afford mercy. If you're not willing to fight me properly now, how do you know you won’t hesitate to fight Omega at full power? She’ll continue to murder and destroy as she sees fit." Rainbow Dash started slowly walking towards Fluttershy.
"That would be our fault... your fault. And if you had a chance but failed to stop her in because you held back, the blood of those innocent ponies would be on your hands" At that moment, Fluttershy snapped, boiling over with rage and fury. She flew forward elbowed Rainbow Dash in the stomach so hard, she doubled over in pain. She hit her hard with an uppercut, sending Rainbow Dash into the air. Fluttershy appeared above her and fired a masenko downward. Rainbow Dash hit the ground hard, cracking the ground beneath her. Fluttershy was breathing heavily from her sudden outburst, and as she calmed down, she realised her actions. She descended quickly.
"Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash are you ok?!!" She groaned in mild pain, and rolled onto her back.
"Where the hell do ya get that from?"
"I'm sorry, I- I lost my tem-"
"No, it's... it’s alright," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "You didn't hold back after that, well done." That lightened Fluttershy's mood, and Zecora praised her for her victory. She and the main six flew back to her plateau, and she addressed them as a group.
"You have all trained remarkably well, even ignoring the rejuvenation spell. You are ready to fight Omega. That much is true, but there is one more technique I must teach you."