A Tale of Something New

I can't do this. Somehow I'm supposed to hold off both Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer's continuously growing simultaneous magical blasts with my shields. I'm barely holding on, how does she expect me to do this? As I struggle, the blasts just keep getting more and more intense. Then, I notice it. It was only one, but a single bead of sweat on both the princess and my teacher was what I never expected. How are my weak shields making them even have a hint of struggle? Maybe it's not weak. Maybe I'm just holding myself back. Dig deep, Cherry Blossom, dig deep and push back! It's working! My shields are not only holding against the two, they're pushing back! Until they suddenly broke and everything went white.

=====================================================================================

"Starlight, don't you think that was a bit much?" Asked Twilight who was currently looking over an unconscious filly.

"Hey, we both agreed that if this did work, then we'd have to knock her out. At least we reached the tipping point," stated a defensive Starlight Glimmer. She was watching the filly with a worried look. "A full month. She's growing way too fast, and now she has access to all her magic."

"I don't know," said Twilight unconvinced, "I still say you put the five in the wrong place."

Starlight rolled her eyes, "Even if that were the case, that's still a full three days sooner than we expected. Three days, Twilight!"

"True, but at least she'll keep you on your hooves."

"Twilight, I swear -"

"She's waking up."

=====================================================================================

"Did any pony get the name of the pony who threw that piano?" I hear a pair of giggles. While trying to slowly open my eyes, I find myself being observed by Starlight and Princess Twilight. "I take it I failed?"

"Far from it," said Starlight with a small grin. "How do you feel? Any different?"

"I feel better," I reply while returning the grin, "while I was holding the shield, something in me changed. It was like a dam broke, and now I feel like I have a part of me I missed." Her grin widened and was joined by Princess Twilight's. "What happened?"

"Tell me have you ever heard of 'Magic Stiffness'?" I shake my head. She thinks for a minute, I assume she was trying to figure out how to explain it to me. "Think of it like a sickness that makes you limit yourself. Now, you weren't actually sick, but somehow your brain made you think you had less magic than you actually do." So I was making myself weaker? I must have been making an interesting face, because Princess Twilight was holding back a small laughter.

"Cherry Blossom," Starlight called out, "now that you've gotten over the first hurdle, I've got an entire lesson plan for the rest of the month. I expect 100% effort or I may cancel our trip to the Crystal Empire."

"Understood," I reply with a salute.

"Good, you have the rest of the day off," and I plan on spending it with my friend, "say hi to your friends for me, and don't forget to get some rest. Tomorrow starts your real training, and you'll need all the energy you can get."

=====================================================================================

When I met the Crusaders, I was baffled at the sight I found. It wasn't the fact that there was a pink filly with a tiara Cutie Mark and pale purple and white mane standing next to them. Diamond Tiara spending time with them wasn't anything new to me. It wasn't the grey filly with a fancy spoon cutie mark and grey and white mane. Silver Spoon usually spent time with them, too. What caught me off guard was the sight of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo whom were all standing on their heads while wearing increasingly odd costumes. "Do I want to know what's going on?"

"Trust us," Diamond Tiara says, "you don't want to." I then turn to Silver Spoon who can only nod as if telling me her friend isn't kidding.

"Fine, but at least tell me this: Is Apple Bloom wearing the ballerina outfit was because she won or lost?"

"Aah lost."

"See you all tomorrow," I say as I turn to go home, "I want nothing to do with the rest of this."

=====================================================================================

The Everfree Forest didn't seem too bad. It was a bit dark, and the glowing eyes are a bit unnerving, but it isn't as if I'm alone. "I thought we were heading home," Azurinne stated. Admittedly, that had been my intention, but I also wanted to meet Zecora again. She seemed like a fun mare to be around. Especially considering she rhymes every time she speaks.

"We were," I confirmed, "but I decided that I wanted to explore a bit and meet Zecora again." She seemed to have a smirk on her. "By the way, Azurinne, are you a forest cat? You know, considering you're a Cheshire cat an all."

"If you mean, am I able to navigate and survive in a forest easily because I'm a Cheshire cat?" I nod. "Then yes, the moment I stepped in the forest, I felt like I knew this place like the back of my hand."

"Then how long until we reach Zecora's hut?"

"The hut? Oh, we passed that a while ago." I deadpan her. "You never told me where we were going, Cherry Blossom, besides what's up ahead is a lot more interesting." I give her a confused look. "Cherry Blossom, look where you're going before -" Unfortunately, that was all I heard as I began my tumble down the apparent mountain of conveniently placed stairs.

"What is it with you and falling?" Said my familiar in a bemused tone that, at that moment, irritated me.

"Shut it, Azurinne, you know you could have either warned me sooner, or helped me stop," I say as I don't even try to hide my irritation at the floating cat.

"You weren't going to die, so it isn't like I had to be worried," I glare at her a bit before sighing and getting back on my hooves. "Forget it, where are we anyway?"

"Just below an old castle in deep in the forest," she says observantly. "Oh, look a cave." I look in the same direction to spot the cave she called out. "Want to go take a look?" I look between her, the cave, and the rather large number of stairs I fell from. I shrug and we head into the cave. When I stepped inside, I immediately turned around to see Azurinne sitting just outside of it. She was smiling, not grinning, smiling.

"Azurinne?" Wait, why does she seem different? Her eyes suddenly shifted from the sapphire blue that I was used to, into a blood red with yellow surrounding them.

"Honestly, you would think Starlight would have taught you to question things sooner," she says in an unfamiliar voice. It was a deep male voice that seemed quiet, but loud at the same time. "That cat of yours is quite fierce, but worry not, she's safe and sound. I left her just outside your home." I suddenly realize I'm alone, and in a cave with the only known exit being blocked by a shapeshifter in the guise of Azurinne. "Didn't think pony coats turned pale when they suddenly became afraid," he said while still in the guise of my familiar, "also didn't think fake ponies could feel fear."

"Who are you calling a fake pony, you... you... whoever you are!" I manage to shout out. The fact that I was currently trapped in a cave didn't help my confidence.

"Whoever I am?" He repeated, faking injury at the notion. He suddenly began to get thinner as his body grew. His body becoming an amalgam of different creatures. White fur at the tip of a scaly red dragon's tail. Where his tail and body connected then changed from dragon to a milk chocolate brown fur coat going right up to just past his shoulders but connected to six different limbs. A green lizard's foot, and a light brown hoof that didn't resemble a normal pony hoof are used as hind legs. Eagle Talons and a tan lion's paw used as his forelimbs. His wings are that of a pegasus and a bat, but what caught my attention is his head. Grey coat from where the brown stopped and up, and like all other limbs, his horns are mismatched. At least one of them was a horn, the other looks like it might be an antler. They're attached to a long face with a massive protruding sharp tooth. "My little pony, I am Discord!" He shouts in an over the top voice with flashing behind him and the sound of thunder.

After recovering I build up my courage, but that tooth just won't leave my sight. "Who?" I ask. He looks at me with wide eyed surprise.

"Discord," I don't respond. "Spirit of Chaos," I still don't respond. "Were you raised under a rock?" He asks with a rock suddenly appearing in his paw.

"Does a town behind a mountain count?" He deadpans me, and throws the rock behind him only for it to explode in a rainbow of colors. I start to giggle.

"I see that I can at least get a laugh out of you," he says observantly, "tell me, who made you?"

"Mom and Dad," I say only for him to deadpan me again. Whatever this Discord is, he seems to at least not be dangerous, but he is a bit rude. He begins to circle me. Once or twice, I hear a 'hmm' escape his tail. "If Azurinne is a Cheshire cat, are you a Cheshire dragon?" He raises an eye brow at me. "I mean she can do things that shouldn't be physically possible, and you seem to be able to do that too, but on a much grander scale. Are you a familiar too?"

"I am neither of those things. I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos, and as to what I am," he pauses, "I am a Draconequus."

"Draco Nekos?"

"Dra.Co.Ne.Quus!" He repeats in a louder and slower voice. "Enough of this, do you even know why I led you here?"

"If you're anything like Azurinne, then I'm assuming because you thought it would be fun," I say, and he deadpans me yet again.

"Yes, but also no," he confirms as he continues his deadpan and then denies in glee. "I brought you here for me to observe as you perform a little test." He says as he floats past me. I continue to keep my eyes on him. "You see this tree," he says as he points to a crystal tree at the end of the cave. It was quite the beautiful sight. Parts natural blue crystal and parts vibrantly pale purple crystal not unlike the kind Princess Twilight's castle was made of. What was the real sight to behold had to be the six gems that adorned the tree at different parts. I nod as I look upon it in awe. "I want to see if you can take the gems from it."

"Pardon me?"

"I would, but you haven't done anything yet," he replies in a smug tone. "Listen, it's not a very hard test. Just take each jewel out of its socket and then put it back." I raise my eye brow in the same fashion he had done so to me. "Well?"

"Two questions. First, what if I refuse?"

"I go away and leave you in the middle of a dark forest, never to be heard from again."

"Fair enough, what if I can't?"

"Then you can't," he says, "I'm not a monster. I just want to see if it's possible for some pony without a destiny to do it. Do you know how rare it is to find one of you?" I stare at him, as he smiles with that halo over his head.

"Fine, but I won't get in trouble for this, right?"

"No more than you will for the fact that you're out somewhere without your familiar."

"Point taken," I step up to the tree to the first gem, a purple six-pointed star. "Doesn't this look like Princess Twilight's Cutie Mark?"

"Does it?" He asks innocently. "I hadn't noticed." I somehow doubt that. I touch the jewel, and am suddenly thrust back to the opening of the cave. The power I had felt was strange, it felt like the jewel had imbued itself with a form of energy not unlike one of my elemental blasts.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that the jewels are the Elements of Harmony? Did I also mention that they usually tend to behave accordingly?" He asks then smiles with a squee. "One down, only five more to go." I glare a bit before approaching the tree again and climbing each limb to attempt to grab a different jewel. Each attempt ended the same way, but each jewel's backlash felt different from the last. "I see, I guess even the elements have standards on whom is allowed to handle them."

"Then this was just a waste of time?" I ask with a huff.

"Why yes! But don't look so glum. I'm sure the experience today will help you, greatly," he says in a calm manner. Then he snaps his paw, and I look at my surroundings to find I'm standing outside of my home with Azurinne sleeping in front of the door. I better not mention this to any pony.