Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Avator shorty 1: Rise of the Shadowbolts

Author's Note:

So, it's the return of the Avatar series! I have a bunch of mini stories coming up, then it is time for the next Avatar series! Wooooo! Legend of Diamond Tiara!

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she looked through the wide assortment of scrolls strewn across her desk. Her inbox was almost a foot tall, but her outbox was so full she'd had to start three more. Even so, she was still drowning in so much paperwork that she could barely stand it.

Then again, starting a new city, no, a new country like this was never going to be easy. It had been hard enough convincing all of the countries to allow her their claims of land. But gaining the resources, setting up the laws and trade routes that had to be maintained was becoming a bit much even for her.

She was feeling overwhelmed and she knew she could call on her friends, but they had their own lives to live. Rarity had her own country to run. Rainbow was a Wonderbolt and had students and duties in her home country. Applejack had a farm to tend to, though she tried to come by whenever she could. Fluttershy and Pinkie were both here, but they weren't quite as skilled as she'd hoped in the matters of paperwork. The latter often had to disappear on her own adventures, too. Vinyl and Octavia helped, of course. Once she got the council worked out, she was sure most of this paperwork would disappear. But for now, it was her responsibility.

The new city of Harmony stood out as a beacon of peace and hospitality to ponies of all countries, benders and non-benders alike. More ponies (as well as zebras, negasi, minotaurs, buffalo, and quite a few other species she'd never even heard of) had been showing up every day, hoping to make a new life in what was hoped to be the newest, most peaceful of nation.

Unfortunately, they had no might to enforce such peace. Octavia and Vinyl had some forces, but there was only so much they could do with their limited numbers. Pinkie was doing an excellent job of maintaining morale and the Earth Kingdom and Air Nomads had sent a few soldiers to help aid in the protection of the city, but all of the countries were still recovering from the last hundred years of war and none of them wanted to send too many resources to help aid in the protection of the city. Too many hooves were needed at home.

Then again, she didn't want them to. Harmony was a new city, one that needed to stand on its own hooves, so to speak. It couldn't survive if it had to depend on hoof outs from the other nations and right now that's all they were getting. She needed to find a military force that suited their own. She considered calling on the Fire Tribes, but they were possibly hurting the most, even with the boosted help of the pirates who decided to stay and aid after the battle of Discord. Besides, a few benders were good, but she wasn't sure benders were what Harmony needed.

She pushed herself away from her desk and trotted to the mirror, staring into it. She was starting to feel old. It hadn't been long since the defeat of Discord, but that time had been so full of chaos and constant movement that the peace now felt... awkward. She was busy, of course, but she felt like a different pony than the one she had been before the war. She reached out a hoof and touched the mirror.

She'd had her rest; in fact she had so much she felt restless. As busy as she was, she didn't feel like she was doing enough. There weren't any more big bad guys to fight, no more monsters to defeat. No more kingdoms to free. She loved maintaining the city; there was no doubt about that. But she felt she should have been doing more. That there had to still be something she could do to help the whole world.

Her hoof reached up to her head, where her crown had once sat. Of course, the source of her doubts and worries fluttered across her mind. She was the destroyer of the Elements of Harmony. Even if it was Discord's plan, she was the one who had fallen for it. Not only that, the Alicorn amulet was still missing. The next Avatar would have nothing they could use to give them the extra power they might need in the event of a true catastrophe.

She paused and looked back towards her desk, her eyes drawn to the top right drawer. She pulled it open and an envelope slowly rose up into the air, landing on the desk. The letter was a bit dusty and covered in little marks from the hundreds of times she'd opened it. She spread it across the desk and sighed.

It was a report from the border, sent from the Fire Tribes. A pony matching Trixie's description had been seen heading north, into the Badlands. They had attempted pursuit, but in all the chaos she was lost and they didn't have the resources to find her. She longed to go after the mare. If she could find the alicorn amulet, maybe it would be useful to whoever next gained her mantle. The next Avatar. Maybe it could help make up for her mistakes.

She then looked towards the in box and sighed, folding the letter up and putting it back in her desk. Such thoughts and adventures could wait. There was still so much work to do. For now, the city needed her. Besides, it wasn't like she was the only one working on the city. Octavia, Vinyl, Zecora, Fluttershy. All had offered their help. Octavia had been a necessity in organizing the earth benders to help keep the city safe.

She lowered her head on the desk with a heavy sigh. But this was all just the beginning, the start. More ponies were arriving by the day and the city was growing rapidly. There had already been plenty of little scuffles and the fact they were doing everything they could to force the four nations to mesh and swirl together meant that fights were breaking out almost daily. She couldn't depend on the other nations to keep sending them troops, they needed their own forces and they needed it badly. She just wished more of the refuges were ponies looking to protect this new peace, rather than trying to find protection.

“AVATAR TWILIGHT!” a voice called moments before her door slammed open. She looked up, confusion on her face, as well as one of her papers.

“Ashmane? What's wrong?” she asked the red coated earth pony.

“It's the Water Nation. There's an entire fleet of ships approaching from the south. They're invading!”

Twilight's eyes widened and she wiped the paper off her face before galloping out the door, leaving her friend behind. It wasn't possible; Rarity would never approve such actions.

But then again, she'd heard of unrest in the Water Nation. Not every pony agreed with the peace and harmony between the four nations. Some still offered their loyalty to Nightmare Moon (although, ironically, the mare had offered her full loyalty to the current ruler of the nation, Rarity). If they were invading, that could only mean one of two things. Her friend had fallen, or they were trying to get a hoof hold to wage a civil war on the Water Nation.

She made it to the top of the building, staring out over her city. It wasn't much, yet, most of the buildings were made through earth bending with only a few having been crafted with actual wood. But it was a start and she'd be bucked if she'd allow it to fall now when they'd only just begun. Below she could see ponies gathering, readying themselves. The pier to the south of the city was already guarded by Vinyl's water benders, though she had no idea how effective those ponies would be.

A full fleet of air ships now flew towards them. Each bore the mark of the Water Nation. As much as she wanted to believe it was just a visit from her friend, she knew it was unlikely. Why would she possibly bring such a large force? An invasion was imminent. She took a deep breath and spread her wings as she leapt from the roof.

Almost instantly the feelings of air bending returned to her and she cut through the wind like a knife, racing towards the ships at breakneck speeds. As she came closer, her heart chilled slightly when she saw the ponies on deck.

Almost all were pegasi, wearing black and purple uniforms with skulls over their cutie marks. The Shadowbolts. No wonder; if anypony was unpleased with the new ruler, it would be them. She soared towards the nearest ship and skidded to a stop on the deck. “I demand to speak to--” The words caught in her throat as all of the Shadowbolts on the deck lowered their heads and pulled up a hoof, bowing to her. “Errr... I... demand to... speak with whoever is in charge here.” Why was the invasion fleet bowing to her? This was not in any of her books on proper battle procedures.

“Twilight!” a voice called out. She turned towards the back of the ship and her eyes widened at the sight of the little white mare that came running up the stairs to meet her.

“Sweetie? What is the meaning of this? Why are the Shadowbolts here? Why are you invading Harmony?”

The unicorn looked confused for a few seconds before her eyes widened. “No! No no no! Not at all!” She stepped forward and offered a quick bow, startling the alicorn even further. “I've come to meet with you, Avatar Twilight. The South Pole base has been decommissioned and the prisoners held there released. My sister has sent me along with the Shadowbolts to offer you aid.”

“Offer me aid?” Twilight asked, her eyes looking over the bowing pegasi. Even offering themselves in such a way, she couldn't help feeling a little intimidated. She'd faced off against them enough times to know how deadly they could be.

“Yes. I came since... well, I've heard Scootaloo is aiding in the city, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I'd love to see her again. Now, every Shadowbolt here has agreed to offer their services and give up their citizenship to the Water Nation in order to become full members of Harmony.”

Twilight's eyes widened slightly as she looked between them again. “The Shadowbolts?”

“Of course. They are anti-benders, trained in how to defeat benders of all kinds. Your nation is one set to house ponies of all nationalities. Benders of all kinds. There is bound to be fighting and arguments amongst the ponies.” Sweetie motioned over them. “They are a force that would be unique to Harmony. Any pony of any nationality could strive to join them. Even the non-fliers could learn their arts to aid.”

Twilight just stared at them. It was true; they had no bending so there would be nothing to divide them. Most were Water Nation ponies, but there could be others from other countries. Thanks to the invasion, some of them probably were from other nations. And she'd heard stories, how many of the Shadowbolts hadn't been accepted back in their home countries. In a generation from now, there was no telling how mixed they could be.

More importantly, they could be a force of Harmony's alone. Anti-benders to protect a city of all bender types. She slowly nodded. “I... I see. While I do think your approach and introduction could have done with a bit more warning,” Sweetie at least had the grace to look sheepish. “There's a lot of potential in this. There's... logic to it.” She turned towards the city. Her city. She motioned to the right. “Land outside the city, please. It will take time, but I will have housing prepared immediately before we get the paperwork started.” Internally she groaned. To think, with all these new ponies there would be more paperwork than ever.

But it wasn't so bad, now that she thought about it. The Shadowbolts were an efficient, military outfit. If they were willing to serve Harmony, they could be just what the city needed. A defensive force that was all their own. They could train other ponies, too. More ponies that could protect the city against just about any bender.

She took a slow breath as the ship began to lower. She could hardly believe it. Only a few years ago the Shadowbolts were one of their most dangerous enemies. Now they would become their most useful ally. She just hoped she could find the right ponies to lead and organize them. She glanced back to Sweetie. Perhaps her friend, Scootaloo, would be an interesting candidate.

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

Ah, and so begins the origins of the Metal Corp...I mean the kyoshi warriors. I mean, the equalist's precursors, I mean (Pony Wu, lie down before you hurt yourself. ) Ok pinkie. Whatever you say.

Anyways, starting a nation from the ground up wasn't easy. Kinda like what happened with Israel. And in working through it all, she mused that she wasn't getting it easy at all. Kindness and Laughter were helping out, but unfortunately, Pinkie's organizational skills from canon didn't translate over. (aw, nuts!) But Bumi and Jeong Jeong were also there, helping to get the government together, hoping to get....uh oh. The council. You might have wanted a team of wise elites to help Twilight, but after your death, they will call that elitist and detached from the problems of the city. So be ready for even more unintended consequences.

Still, Harmony was highly populated now with all kinds of beings. Even if they were having issues with the police force. Oh, and it seems the pirates folded into the fire tribes. Hmm, you get off lucky you skalliwags! In any other situation, you'd be hunted down for being thieves and murderers.

And it seems that paperwork makes twilight feel old. Then again, she's been asleep for years of her existence, so it's not like she hasn't already burned through a lot of her "avatar years". She was...slightly bored, wanting some new monster to fight, and still stewing on the fact that the elements were cut off from her generation. I still refuse to believe they're gone forever. That feels waaayyy too much like season 2 of TLOK (which of course was....controversial). And besides, what about the Avatar State? I know that once she got the elements, that state was tethered to them, but what about afterwards? Surely the spirit that allows the avatar to be reincarnated is distinct from the EOH now!

Trixie was also MIA with the amulet. No doubt out to become Yakone, even if "amon" and "tarrlock" are bound to be unrelated. But as Twilight wished for more defenders, she got a lucky break. She charged up to face what seemed to be an invading force (possibly of splinter cells), but instead, she was bowed to, and little Azula came up to explain herself. It seems the ice prison was decomissioned. I sure hope most of those criminals were political prisoners rather than looters or killers, otherwise I'd expect a spike in crime with the release. Whatever the case, any shadowbolt willing to change loyalty from the crown was shipped out, with Sweetie leading the flight, wanting to see Scoots again. (who apparently was in town) Twilight admitted it was a good idea. An equal opportunity employer for a city built on unity and tolerance. And it seems that Scoots little nightmare back during the war is about to get a slap in its face. For so long, she was told she could never be a full shadowbolt because she can't fully fly. But if the avatar commands, she gets the last laugh being put in charge of the shadowbolts defending the new world order.

Well, that's the origin for Lin's division in this universe. What's next?

[GMZ_Casper]

Interesting use of the Shadowbolts. Will they stick with the ol' skull logo or the new 'S' logo from the Friendship Games?

C&Cs will be PM.

[Blaster M]

So... will they be called ... Guardians of Harmony?