Chapter 9: The Elements Of Balance Part 2: Mental combat and Ranged combat

Applejack had walked to the Canterlot train station and boarded one of the trains to Ponyville. "huh.... i wonder how she'll train Twi in the mornin'..." AJ asked herself but decided not to dwell on it and just inform Twilight to stop by the training hall when she woke up. about a half hour later and Applejack got off the train and walked over to Twilight's place. she knocked on the door three times and checked her watch to see what time it was. it was eleven thirty p.m. Twilight opened the door and smiled. "Back so soon AJ?" Twi asked. "yeah, she said that i didn't need to train my muscles because i have a trait called Brute Force." Applejack said and shrugged. "wait, did you say Brute Force?" Twi asked her friend as she sat down. "yeah i did is it something important?" AJ asked her. "the only thing i know about it is that it's one of the six legendary traits possessed by the original bearers of the elements of balance. i dont know much about the six but all i know is that each of them are ancient, and extraordinarily powerful when used properly." Twilight said as she rubbed her chin in thought. "so what are the other five traits?" Rainbow dash asked. all six of them were now in the room since AJ had arrived. "the six elements are: Offensive, Defensive, Speed, Ranged, Melee, and Mental Combat. the six traits are: Stone Heart, Brute Force, Limber Bones, Hawk Eye, Steel Bones, and Calm Mind." Twilight said with a shiver. "when they are used on their own they can be very powerful and dangerous if used improperly. but when used together AND improperly?" Twilight stopped and shuddered. everyone looked at each other and then back at Twi. "so can you tell right now who is who?" Dash asked. "well all i know is that Applejack is the element of Defense because the trait she has belongs to that element." Twilight said and everyone looked at her. "and i think we ALL know Rainbow's the element of speed." Applejack said sarcastically. "oh right, then Dash, you have the trait limber wings. and before anyone asks each of them has a very special effect on the possessors of the traits. Limber Wings makes it so that when your flying you can fly at a minimum speed of around 200 miles per hour. Brute Force makes it so that even BREATHING makes the possessor stronger. Calm Mind makes the possessor immune to distractions as to be able to do anything with magic. Stone Heart makes the possessor very emotionally strong and they can,t be distracted by anything in their past that can hinder their combat abilities. Hawk Eye makes the possessor be able to see up to fifty miles away and be able to aim and shoot farther than anyone alive. Steel Bones makes the possessors fists and feet stronger than steel." Twilight said as her friends listened in awe at her words. "the only one's out of all of us i know which they are are Dash and AJ." Twilight said. "the elements of balance are the strongest force of power, peace, and good that has ever been created. they are far more powerful than both of the princess's and any other alicorns in existence combined. the elements of balance were the force of power that was used to end the very first war in the history of the world. if they were to fall into the wrong hands the world could very well end." Twilight said with a shudder as everyone gasped. "that is why we were chosen by fate to be the holders of the Elements of Harmony and Balance. right now we are the greatest force of good in all of equestria. but when our training is complete and we discover each of our second elements we will be the greatest force of power in the history of the universe!" Twilight said with a half-shout. everyone was paying extreme attention as she finished speaking. "but the reason i came here was to let you know that Silver wants ya to head up to her training hall as soon as you wake up." AJ said as she stood to leave with the other four. "thanks for the information AJ i guess i'll see you guys when my training's finished tomorrow." she said as she waved goodbye and went to go get into bed.

she woke up at around seven thirty and ate breakfast. she teleported into the training hall and saw silver standing there with a sword pointed at the ground staring at her. "you are early." Silver said calmly. "Early? it's-" She was cut off by Silver's voice. "i know very well what time it is..... i had just expected you to arrive later than this. although i should have expected as much from my half-sister's star pupil." she said with a smile. Twilight blushed and walked towards her. "well i am here and ready to learn." Twilight said as she felt the cold of something rest on her head. she opened her eyes to see a sword resting on her head. she started shaking. "be calm Twilight Sparkle, i wish not to harm you, this is the beginning of your training." she said still smiling. "and what d-does this have to do with training?" Twilight asked with a scared tone. "it is training you to be calm no matter what, even in the face of mortal danger." Silver said, her smile fading. "m-m-m-mortal d-danger?!" Twilight shuddered. "i will train you to master the trait of Calm Mind....." Silver said and breathed inwards and closed her eyes. Twilight gasped and stared as her eyes widened. then they shrank back as the sword lift and started flying back towards her. she barely dodged the blade as it hit the ground where she sat. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" Twilight screamed. "training you to keep calm in even the most dangerous of situations. now i want you to avoid all blows i throw at you using just your mind and body." Silver said. "and HOW am i supposed to dodge a big sword with my MIND?!"Twilight asked. "mental combat is the greatest form of magic, young one. it has been mastered by many powerful mages over the eons of existence. you will be the next to be able to do it. see, you are the strongest magic user in equestrian history that wasn't an alicorn. if anyone can use her mind to do battle, it will be you." Silver said. "just focus all of your magic into your mind and concentrate. if you truly are the element of Mental combat then you can do this task with ease. go ahead and try." Silver said placing her broad sword into a sheathe. "try what?" Twilight asked. "focus all of your magic into your mind and use it to levitate your body off the ground. first take a position like this." Silver said as she sat down and crossed her legs. Twilight did the same. "now hold your arms away from your body and close your eyes. then hold your pointer finger and thumb together and concentrate. this process is called Meditation." Silver said as she began to think. "first you must clear your mind of all thought, and focus on nothing but your mind and transferring all of your magic to it." Silver said as her body began to glow. the glow moved through her body until only her head was glowing. "once you feel your magic inside your mind use it to levitate yourself." Silver said as she began to float off the ground as her horn stopped glowing. Twilight watched as she began to circle the room without using her magic. her eyes opened and looked at Twilight. "go ahead and try it for yourself, it truly is exhilarating to be like this." Silver said as she watched Twilight begin to focus. Silver smiled as Twilight began to slowly float off the ground. she opened her eyes and saw herself floating above the ground without using magic. Twilight smiled to herself, still focusing she began to float around the room alongside with Silver. "excellent, Twilight your advancing faster than i had hoped. i think you may be ready for the next level of this exercise." Silver said spreading her legs and landing on the ground. "and what is that?" Twilight asked as she landed. "avoiding being hit by physical objects. this exercise involves mental teleportation." Silver said as she warped behind twilight using her mind. Twilight was dumbstruck at this. "how did you do that?" Twilight asked silver as she followed her into the courtyard. "simple when that much magic is focused into your mind at one time all you have to do is think about something for a moment and it can become reality." Silver said as they walked. "wow..... so if i were to do that and imagine spike inside of a rock it would happen?" Twilight asked Sarcastically. "yes actually that would happen if you focused on it hard enough." Silver said. "wait your serious?" Twilight asked. "of course i am. anything you imagine when in that state can and will become reality." Silver said as they stopped. "alright twilight focus your magic again and be ready to warp out of the way of the attacks i throw at you." Silver said as she unsheathed her sword and held it up. Twilight focused her magic into her mind. "alright im ready." she said as silver lunged at her. Twilight opened her eyes and saw she was standing behind silver. she kept warping away from Silver's attacks until they both got tired. "well done Twilight, you have done very well so far. now there is one final test you must pass before you can leave." Silver said. "and that would be...." Twilight said and stopped as silver threw a sword into the air and levitated it onto Twilights hands with her mind. "fight me using your new abilities." Silver said as her sword flew into the air from her hands and started waving back and forth in the air. "just fight my sword with yours until i say stop alright?" Silver said. "sure thing Silver." Twilight said and her sword flew up and did the same. the two had gone back and forth for about maybe twenty five minutes before they stopped. "well Twilight your training is complete, go back to ponyville and send up fluttershy." Silver said as she smiled. Twilight left and fluttershy came in about twenty minutes later. "aah, Fluttershy, you have arrived." Silver said mystically. "y-yes, Twilight told me you wanted to see me?" Fluttershy said as if she was in trouble. "calm down dear child there is no need to be afraid here. i assume twilight told you of our training exercises then?" Silver asked with her eyes closed. "y-yes thats a bit of the reason im nervous." Fluttershy said. "oh Fluttershy don't worry the training you are going to receive includes nothing dangerous, in fact your training is the safest of all. even a bunny could pull it off with the right attitude and strength!" Silver said with a chuckle and a smile. this made Fluttershy smile. "oh thank goodness, i was worried it was going to be dangerous." She said with a sigh of relief. "yes Fluttershy this will be very safe for you to train, but when in combat it will be very VERY real and in the right position, will be very dangerous. im not going to hold anything back, war isn't pretty, and it is far more dangerous than people like rainbow dash realize. some people assume it's all fun and games until they experience it for themselves." this brought a tear to Silver's eye. "but anyway, the dangers of war are very real and VERY dangerous. i want you to be prepared fluttershy, but you need to toughed up." Silver said kneeling next to her friend with her arm around her. "i'm not trying to be mean to you Shy, but you do need to toughen up." Silver said hugging her friend. "thank you Silver..... i've been waiting so long to hear that from one of my friends when it's not out of anger. thank you." Shy said to silver while hugging her. the two smiled and looked out the window together. "well, we should get started then." Silver said as she walked over and grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows. "here take these, you will need them for your training." Silver said. "and why do i need a bow and arrow?" Fluttershy asked. "because i am going to be training you to harness the power of YOUR trait, Hawk Eye." Silver said as Shy's eyes lit up and she smiled. "i knew that would be your reaction. now lets get stared, first tell me, how strong are you?" Silver asked her friend. "oh im not sure i really never try to lift anything more than a couple of bunnies. so i doubt i'm that strong." Shy said truthfully. "well lets just see about that." Silver said as she grabbed a large black bow off of a rack and handed it to Fluttershy. "don't try to lift this as hard as you can, this is an incredibly heavy bow which is unbreakable and hand crafted." Silver said as she handed the bow to Shy. Silver nearly fainted at what she saw next. Fluttershy gripped the bow and held it as if it was nothing more than a baby bird. "b-b-but h-how is that even p-possible?!" Silver half shouted as Fluttershy took aim with the bow and fired an arrow at a target and ripped a hole in the middle. "i had no idea i was this strong, i wonder what else i can do!" Fluttershy said as she concentrated on something in the distance. "hey i can see that bunny over there! and that deer and those birds!" Fluttershy began calling out different types of animals and Silver looked to see the animals. "i can't see anything all i see is little moving-" Silver stopped and looked at Fluttershy's eyes. she had the eyes of a hawk. the eyes of a hawk are a bit different from a dragons eyes a dragons eyes were naturally only four different colors. a dragons eyes were, as far as anyone knew from sight, only Red, Green, Grey, White, and Blue. they also had the features of having a lighter or darker shade of the color the eyes were with dagger shaped pupils. a hawks eyes were similar to a dragons but with the whites of their eyes actually...... white. and thicker pupils. Shy had the eyes of a hawk and she could apparently see everything that Silver couldn't. "aah, you have realized your potential and you have unlocked your traits ability." Silver said and Shy's eyes returned to normal. "what do you mean?" Shy asked. "i mean you unlocked the ability to use your trait, Hawk Eye." Silver said. "here one second use the traits ability and follow me with your eyes." Silver said as she grabbed a target post and flew it down about fifty miles away and telepathically communicated with Fluttershy. "alright Shy it's me, Silver, if you can see me shoot an arrow at the target." Fluttershy heard and grabbed the bow and fired a bulls eye with it. it landed right next to Silver and she jumped. "DAMN! NICE AIM SHY!" Fluttershy heard Silver say and began firing arrows to spell out tree. "GREAT JOB SHY!! alright im comin' back over there." Silver said and grabbed all the arrows and the target and flew back to the castle. she landed next to Fluttershy an placed all the arrows in the quiver. "that was a damn nice job Shy, i don't think anyone in all of equestria could have shot better than that." Silver said and Fluttershy blushed and looked away. "alright Shy, your training is almost complete there is just one more test to complete." Silver said. "and what would that be?...." Shy said and looked in another direction. "a little competition between you and me, an archery competition." Silver said with a smile. "and there WILL be a prize, otherwise i wouldn't even bring up the competition." Silver said and she grabbed her bow and arrow. "and the prize is?" Fluttershy asked a bit interested now. "that will come later. on it will be determined by choice of the winner." Silver said to Fluttershy. "alright then let's get started!" Shy said and grabbed her bow. Silver grabbed her bow and the two aimed and fired ten arrows each. the score ended with Fluttershy as the winner. Silver scored four bulls eyes, three red rings, and three blue rings ending with a score of: sixty seven points. Fluttershy scored seven bulls eyes and three red rings ending with a score of: eighty four points. Fluttershy obviously won the match. "alright Shy, you beat me fair and square what do you want as a prize?" Silver asked with a smile as she took a sip of cider. Fluttershy had to think carefully about what she was going to say. "hmm....... i want......" she stopped,  shrugged and looked at Silver while she took another drink of cider. "after this whole Discord business is over with i want you, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna to have a sleepover with me and my friends." she said to Silver. Silver's eyes shot open, shrank down and she spit out the cider she was drinking. "excuse me?" Silver said gasping for breath. "alright Silver, i know you heard me." Fluttershy said with a sarcastic look on her face. "i know, i did hear you, i just think i misunderstood you. is that seriously what you want?" Silver said. "yes it is, can you do that?" Shy asked. "umm, probably i think i can get that to work. Luna and Celestia have always been fun, open minded people. yeah sure i can get that." Silver said and hugged Fluttershy. "alright i'll get that arranged go ahead and get some rest at home, tell everyone the news and tell Rarity to come up when she wakes up in the morning." Silver said and walked off.