Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 13: But my little ponies

Twilight gulped as she stared out from the small hole they were in. Chunks of Rainbow's statue were all across the ground and the dirt roof they had used was now completely dug away. They were surrounded on all sides by the Wonderbolts, with Spitfire standing amidst them.

“Err, hello,” the alicorn said softly. She considered trying to fly away, but she'd be knocked down in a second. The Wonderbolt's wings were twitching too. If she tried to earth bend, they might tear her apart. They were trapped. She wondered how long it took for Discord's magic to wear off, she hoped it was soon.

“You almost got away with it, you know,” the pegasus said with a shake of her head. “We were so busy chasing your decoys, nopony noticed the disappearance at first. Did you really not think we'd look on the ground for it? It was so obvi... obvi...” She wobbled a bit and held her head. All around them the other Wonderbolts were doing the same, a few collapsing to the ground with groans. She shook her head after a few moments before her eyes went wide. “W-what in the blazes... Avatar! I was going to, you were, o-oh my goodness.” She held a hoof to her mouth. “I was going to turn you over to, I-I am so sorry!” She bowed her head. The other Wonderbolts started looking around sheepishly, quickly taking a few nervous steps back.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief and shook her head. “It's quite alright. We've encountered this a few times. And--” Her eyes widened. “Wait, Soarin! The girls! They're still being pursued, aren't they? You need to call off your forces! Trixie is probably after them too!”

“Would somepony please tell me what's going on?” Rainbow asked, frustration filling her voice. “Why do I feel so stiff? What are you all yelling about?”

Fluttershy gently put a wing over her side. “Ummm, allow me. There's a lot you need to know.”

Twilight nodded before turning to the Wonderbolts. “We need to get the others out of here. Our next goal is in the Earth Kingdom and I'm going to need their help. But if Trixie gets them--”

“Don't worry your head,” Spitfire said with a shake of her head. “I... know what we've been doing for the last few months. It's over now.” She turned to look up at Cloudsdale. “War on the other ponies, just stupid. We'll get your friends out of there and send them after you. But you need to go. We can delay Trixie, but that flash of light you sent flying up is sure to have brought her attention. She has more than enough soldiers to split her focus. We'll misdirect her as best we can.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you. If you see my friends, well... tell them we'll be with Spike. We'll wait as long as we can. If they arrive late, we'll be heading north.”

“Of course, Avatar. Go as quickly as you can. You--”

“Wait!” Rainbow said before raising a hoof. “Spitfire, I need to talk with you for a second.”

Spitfire paused, before giving the soldiers a quick nod. They rose into the air. “Yes, Rainbow?”

“I... need to ask you something, private. Err, girls?”

“Make it quick,” Twilight said before stomping the ground. The dirt rose up under them, putting them on flat ground again. She and Fluttershy started trotting back towards where Spike was hidden.

Rainbow sighed. “Spitfire. I... need to know. I've been trying something Applejack suggested. Sensing ponies and things through my air bending. I... want to know your thoughts on it.”

Spitfire stared at the mare for a few moments. “I'm... not as good an air bender as I'd like. But I'm afraid I've never heard of such thing. I've heard of some ponies having a lot of extra control with their bending, but none who could sense things through it.”

“Oh...”

“But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Before I met you, I'd never heard of anypony being able to perform the Sonic Rainboom, either. At least, outside of the Avatar. But you have used it with an ease I never thought possible. I'd say keep doing it. If anypony can develop it, I'd say you can.”

Rainbow nodded and gave a small smile. “Thank you. I will do my best. Err, about my eyes. Could... you check them again.”

“Of course.” She slowly drew the bandage off the other pegasus' eyes. She then gave a soft sigh. “I'm afraid it's still too soon to tell.”

“Well... no news is better than bad news, I guess. Give me a bit of direction?”

Spitfire nodded before giving the mare a little push towards her friends. Once the mare was gone, she rose up into the air after the other Wonderbolts.

------

The ponies huddled around the cart, their eyes glued to the sky as they waited for any sign that Trixie's ship would be coming for them. Fortunately, there had been no sign yet and they were well hidden amongst the gumdrop bushes.

“So, uhhh... all that was just fake then?” Rainbow asked once Fluttershy finally finished explaining.

“Of course,” Twilight mumbled. “What happened in your world? You seemed really mad at me.”

“Well... I found out I was going to be blind permanently. Once you knew that, you kind of tossed me aside and tried to make me live out the rest of my days eating and sleeping while servants took care of me. You refused to let me help with anything.”

Twilight paused and glanced to her friend. “What? That's ridiculous. You've been a valuable asset throughout this entire journey, why would I turn on you once we succeeded?”

Rainbow nodded. “I know. Apparently you thought I was helpless because I was blind.”

The alicorn chuckled. “Even blind I can't imagine you ever being helpless.” She paused and looked at her friend. “And... I'll admit I do feel a little protective. But I'm sure you'll be able to see eventually. It just needs to heal and... even if you can't, we still need you. We'll still need you even when all this is over. You're one of the best air benders in the world as well as one of my best friends. Being blind will never be the end.”

Rainbow nodded with a smirk. “Of course. See, I should have realized something was up from that alone. No way anypony could ever try to put me up on a shelf. I'm wayyyy too awesome to ignore.”

Twilight nodded. “Exactly. You'd probably rip it off the wall and hit them with it.”

“Exac-- HEY!”

The alicorn giggled and soon enough the other two were giggling as well.

“So, what we miss?” a voice came out from the bushes. Twilight yelped and turned, letting out a sigh of relief as four of her popped out.

“Everything go okay, then?” Twilight asked.

“Perfect,” Sweetie said before her horn glowed. A moment later the four ponies were back to being themselves. “Trixie was practically frothing at the mouth, it was hilarious.”

Twilight giggled. “I almost wish I had been able to see it. So, everything else is going well, then? I know... well...” She looked to Soarin.

He let out a sigh. “I'll be returning to help Cloudsdale once you leave. There's been a lot of damage done and my country needs the Wonderbolts now more than ever.” He looked up towards the sky. “When last I saw it, Trixie's ship was heading south, but there's no telling how long she'll be distracted.” A low grin formed on his lips. “Though, we did manage to buy you a little bit of time.”

Twilight blinked and narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

“No pony will be hurt, honest,” Soarin said with a grin. “And it wasn't so much what I did, per se. Let's just say Cloudsdale ponies know their way around an airship. There aren't that many of them left any more, it'll be a shame to lose another one.” He shook his head, though the grin never left his lips. “It should buy you enough time to get quite the head start.”

Twilight nodded before motioning into the cart. “Okay. I'll pull for a while and--”

“Oh, buck no,” Rainbow said before jumping down from it. “I'm pulling.”

“W-what? But you--”

“If you say I can't see, I'll smack you upside the head,” Rainbow snapped. “I'm going to pull, that's final. If you're really that worried, you can watch. But I've been boxed up for wayyyy too long.”

The alicorn sighed, but slowly smiled. “Very well, if you're going to be stubborn about it.” She looked to Soarin. “I wish we could stay longer, but--”

“I know, Avatar. There is still a lot of damage that must be undone,” the Wonderbolt gave a little bow. “I pray that when next we meet, it is over much better terms.”

Twilight nodded as the cart began to move. “I do as well. I wish you all well and pray that you'll be safe in the coming months. There will be...” She paused. “Hopefully in a few months this will all be settled. Maybe.”

The pegasus nodded. “Perhaps.” He gave a wave before flying off.

Rainbow called back. “So, do you think we should stay on the roads while traveling?”

“Yes, for now. I don't think Trixie will be after us for a bit, but once we get into the Earth Kingdom it'll be best if we remain unseen. We've been lucky so far, but there's no telling what we'll encounter next.” She shivered. “We already ran into Nightmare Moon once. I don't want to risk running into her again.”

Rainbow gave a low nod. “Didn't we fix her though? I'll admit I didn't actually see it happen, but I could have sworn we did. I thought it was a pretty big deal.”

“We did, sort of,” Twilight muttered before letting out another sigh. “I mean... well. Discord turned her back, I think. I'm pretty sure we purified her. But he's still out there, who knows what he'll do next?” She glanced towards Cloudsdale. “He might even turn those ponies back.”

“Shouldn't you have warned Soarin?” Rainbow asked.

“I think he already knows,” Twilight said. “This is Discord. There's no telling what he can do. There's... no longer any way we can just prepare. The rules don't make any-- Careful, we're about to go over a tongue road.”

“A what?”

“You'll understand soon.”

Rainbow just kept walking, confused. Then there was a light squishing. “Ewwww!”

------

The days passed by slowly, but the ponies were making steady progress, taking turns at the cart. Twilight was forced to spend plenty of time each day detailing the land to Rainbow, who was missing all the chaos. After having spent so much time detailing it, she was beginning to actually get bored of the strange new world. She was beginning to find small patterns in the chaos. Unfortunately, the pattern tended to be 'Discord is a jerk'. Then they came to the Earth Kingdom. She face hoofed. “Oh, come on. Discord, that's just lazy!”

“What is it?” Rainbow asked from the front of the cart, she was pulling it again.

Twilight sighed. “I think Discord just has a really big sweet tooth. That's it. Maybe he's just a child spirit of chaos. Rock candy. Rock candy EVERYWHERE.” She paused and looked over the lands. “It's... actually kind of beautiful, now that I think about it.”

The border was covered in little swirling tornadoes, with little gem like candies swirling about. The land itself sparkled and glimmered, the many different colored rock candies glimmering in the sunlight and sending up rainbows of color.

Sweetie watched it for a moment before sighing. “Does everything have to be turned back? I mean... that's actually kind of nice. It's pretty.”

Twilight nodded. The sun began to slowly move sideways across the sky, making the land come alive with wild sparkling rainbows of color. The ponies let out little gasps of awe. “I guess not everything he does has to be a hundred percent horrible. Sometimes.”

Scootaloo chuckled. “Actually, it's not all bad. Though, putting Trixie in charge of... anything was a sign of a depraved and completely evil heart.”

Twilight nodded. “True. He's definitely nuts and evil.”

Rainbow sighed. “I'm sure this is all very pretty to all of you, but as the only pony who can't see it, I just have to say. All I can smell is sugar. It's really, really annoying.”

Flowerbloom shrugged. “It could be worse. At least no matter what happens, we don't have tah worry about starvin' or anythin'. There is even stuff Spike can eat half the time.”

“Needs more gems,” the baby dragon mumbled.

“Ain't the best food, but hey, it's better than nothin'.”

Twilight nodded. “At least he's not letting the world freeze or burn, either.”

“M-maybe we c-could negotiate with him?” Fluttershy asked softly.

“WHAT?” everypony asked, turning towards the mare. The cart came to a stop.

“I-I just think, I mean, err, i-if we asked nicely a-and... tried explaining... w-what was going to happen, we could, errr, m-maybe convince him to... stop?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “While I do think it's a... noble attempt, Fluttershy, I don't think it's much of an option. Countless ponies are dead because of him. Others are being tortured. You can't just wipe any of that away. Maybe if he had just done a few destructive things, perhaps. But he has gone beyond that. He changes ponies down to their core principles. Completely alters what makes them, them. Just for his own sick amusement. He turns ponies into killers. His magic could have been a great force for good. Instead he decided it was better to use his powers for cruelty and evil.”

Fluttershy gave a soft nod. “I... I guess.”

Sweetie nodded. “I can't really... argue with that. I've been under his control. It's... he can change you without you even noticing. And he doesn't seem to feel any remorse, any pity for those he does it too. Something like that shouldn't exist.”

“Besides, he's really screwing everything up as it is,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “You know, I kind of wish all we had to deal with was the Water Nation. At least they were predictable.”

Twilight nodded and looked down the path. The roads were... clear. It was kind of a--

The cart suddenly veered to the right as Rainbow let out a shriek. Her hooves flailed wildly as she struggled to maintain her hold after the ground turned to soap. She finally flapped her wings and flew a little into the air. Unfortunately the cart kept going, pulling the pegasus with her as the riders screamed. The cart hit the edge of the road, its wheels locking before tipping over and tossing the ponies out.

Twilight groaned from the ground, buried under Sweetie and Scootaloo. “Everypony okay?”

“Yeah,” they echoed back.

“I hate Discord...”

Comments

[Twilight is the BEST]

Does this last story going to have a Flashlight romance?

[Jeweled Pen]

5757321 I hoped it was. :)
5761369 Cause Discord is a jerk.
5762420 Exactly.
5769188 Probably not. It never really fit into the previous books and I doubt it'll make sense in this one.

[eric-emanwu]

So, Rainbow woke up, and thankfully, the spell reversed rather quickly. It also seems that while Spitfire might not be a super master of airbending, she did tell RD that if she could sonic rainboom, then she can air sense.

So team avatar harmony made their retreat, with sweetie, scoots and flower getting out safely. Though, how do we know that's them and not evil discord projections? Mmmm, he's not clever enough, or tricky enough for something like that.

They moved on, talking about RD's dark world, about candy worlds without burning and freezing, and of course, about the question of negotiation. Bringing up the possibility of Keep Calm and Flutter On. Buuuuttt, given how extensive, and how cruel discord was with his work, particularly with what he did to cloudsdale, it's...implausible at this stage to "purify" discord in this sense. Well, let's keep going. Next stop, AJ.

[Zubric]

Now trending #ihatediscord