Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Avatar Shorty 4: Musical Apples

Octavia grumbled darkly as she gazed over the city. From her vantage point, she could see the water benders working with the sea. Helping the boats, gathering kelp and sea weed. Also preparing traps should they ever somehow be invaded by sea. She figured it was unlikely, they were surrounded by dirt and stone on three sides and the southern side was more a great lake that connected to the ocean through wide rivers, than a true connection to the ocean.

She glanced up as a black garbed pegasus flew by, not even looking at her. No, there were three of them. Two negasi and a pegasus. She still felt uneasy with the Shadowbolts being here, even if they were considered allies now. She'd hoped her own forces would be enough to protect the city, but they just didn't have the numbers. Now that most of the buildings they could help create were finished, she was starting to feel that her earth benders were losing their place in this city.

She could always return home, rebuild Cadence. The Emperor would probably have loved to have the city back. But it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like that was where she belonged. She felt a tremble in the ground and didn't have to glance back. “Hey, Vinyl.”

“Heyyyyy, Octyyyyyyy,” the white unicorn said as she trotted up. “Why you going all 'dark and gloomy' down at the city? Planning for your eventual life as a villain?”

The earth pony merely glanced back. “I'm considering what to do next.”

“Well, not a lot you can do, is there?” Vinyl asked as she trotted over and sat down besides her. “I mean, houses are all built. Sure, we'll need more as time goes on, but we don't need that many earth benders for it. I guess you could help with harvests and all, but again, not needing that much for it.” She gave her a cocky grin. “Besides, you never struck me as a farmer.”

Octavia sighed and nodded, glancing up. “I've been considering releasing the ponies who followed me here from my service. There's... no longer a need for them. I can still aid the avatar, but my soldiers aren't needed for it. Her Shadowbolts are more than capable, it seems.”

“Right, because having just one military group worked sooooo well in the past,” Vinyl said with a chuckle. “Come ooooon. There's no need to be mopey.”

“I am not, nor am I ever, mopey.”

“Of course you're not. And you know why? I brought a surprise for you.”

She shuddered. “Oh... joy.”

“You'll say that once you see him. He's a real hunk. Mmmmm hmmm, could probably pull this entire tower on his back alone.”

Octavia rolled her eyes and started trotting back into the building. She stopped when she saw him in the door. She hadn't even heard him. How could she NOT have heard him? Or felt him through the stone? He was huge. His massive frame blocking most of the doorway. His coat was one of the reddest she'd ever seen and his mane was a nice, light brown. She'd seen plenty of earth benders in her time, but he... he was different. His body seemed as if it had been carved from stone, no. Not stone. Stone wasn't enough to just... wow.

“Howdy,” he said with a little nod. His voice deep and powerful. It made her cheeks turn red as she stared.

“Hah, told you, total-- EEEK!” Vinyl let out a scream after Octavia flicked her leg and the ground underneath shot out, flinging the unicorn off the tower. The mare listened a few seconds for the telltale sound of crashing glass from below. “Hah! Told you!”

“Err, if your friend gonna be okay?”

“Oh, don't worry,” Octavia said, a little breathy as she stared at him. “It's hardly the first time I've tossed her off a tower after she's gotten... annoying.”

“Well, if yah say so,” the stallion said before walking over and holding out his hoof. “Name's Big Mac.”

She grinned a little and shook his hoof a tad more... vigorously than she had initially intended. “Big Mac? That name sounds...” She let out a soft gasp. “Oh! You're the brother of Lady Applejack! I've heard... very little about you.”

He chuckled. “Eeyup.”

“Whatever brings you to our city? I mean, surely... well... after all that has happened, I didn't imagine you'd be so interested in being here. The last I'd heard, Applejack had settled down and started her own metal bending school in Sweet Apple Acres.”

The stallion gave a nod and another soft chuckle. “Eeyup.”

She gulped and then looked down to his hooves. They were... huge. She was starting to have a little belief in him lifting the tower himself. “So, errr, why are you here?”

“Metal bendin',” he said with a gruff nod, staring down at her.

“I'm afraid none of us are metal benders here, we...” The words trailed off as he just kept staring at her. Realization dawned on her and she stared at him. “You're... you're here to TEACH metal bending?”

He nodded. “Eeyup.”

She turned even redder. “B-but, we don't, I've never--” She took a deep breath and then gazed up at him. She let the worry and stress wash off her, before gently smiling. “Do you believe you could teach us this art?”

He gave a nod. “Eeyup.”

She smiled and looked back over the city. A whole unit of metal benders. They might not have the allure, pull or numbers of the Shadowbolts, but she could see the potential. She then glanced to him. “I, with a great deal of thankfulness, accept your kind offer.” She bowed politely. “I will do everything in my power to learn this new art.”

He nodded once again. “Eeyup.”

She smiled none the less. Metal bending. She'd considered trying to learn it, but now... well, with a member of that family teaching, it would be within her grasp. The Shadowbolts may dominate the skies, but they could dominate the ground. With Vinyl's forces in the lake, well, how could the city ever face any true threats? She eyed the stallion as he turned away to trot off. Besides, a teacher like that... who wouldn't want to be under his guidance?

------

'I am going to die I am going to die I am going to die!' Octavia thought as she leaped back, the ground helping to shoot her back. Her coat was matted and dirty, covered in a thick layer of sweat from the strenuous exercise. She barely ducked down in time as a steel beam nearly took off her head.

Across the wide sparring grounds, Big Mac stood. Blindfolded. With bars, balls, domes, pretty much every piece of scrap metal they could find. She'd learned the basics already, thanks to his firm guidance. But she could barely bend a beam, let alone one flying at her at eighty miles an hour. Unfortunately, he had a very hooves-on approach and once she had begun bending it at all, the sparring matches had started.

“Woo, you got this Octy!” Vinyl yelled.

It didn't help that her 'friend' had insisted on making the matches spectator sports. Her cheeks burned as she tried to avoid another metal beam. The stallion didn't seem to understand the concept of going easy. Or worse, he was going easy and he was just that good. She let out an eek as a flat wall of steel suddenly came flying at her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, stomping her hoof.

She could feel it, the metal moving through the air at her, gently skidding against the ground as it went. The little imperfections, the pieces of ore inside. She put both her hooves out, catching the metal and starting to bend into a ball. She pushed her hooves apart and the metal tore, the earth inside pulling the metal apart and making it part around her. She fell down on her stomach a moment later, her hooves aching from the blow from the metal wall, even if she had managed to push it aside. There was a crash from behind as the metal cleared.

A grin formed on her lips, none the less. She'd done it. She'd pushed the metal aside as it came at her. Again, it was only the beginning of her training. She knew that and he knew that. Still, she couldn't help but feel hope. Slowly she stood and smiled at her teacher, before bowing. “I give.”

He bowed as well, not saying a word. He then trotted off.

“Awwww, I really thought you had him that time,” Vinyl said with a chuckle as she trotted up.

She groaned and shook her head, watching him trot away. She gave a soft, wispy sigh. “Maybe someday.” She stood up and stretched. “I'd best go and check on the other students. See how quickly they are adapting to our... new studies.” Others were learning the arts as well, but she was getting the most hooves-on lessons from the stallion.

Vinyl snickered and trotted besides her. “Come on, you're awesome. You'll have this whole metal bending thing perfected before you know it.” She walked ahead of the earth pony, turning around to walk backwards in front of her. “I'm just curious what you plan to do once you have all your metal benders. Are you, err, staying? Going to keep spreading it?”

Octavia opened her mouth to respond, but then reached out, grabbing her friend by the face. The unicorn stopped in place and the earth pony lifted up her glasses. A smile spread across her face when she saw the hints of worry in her friend's eyes. She then let her go, leaving the unicorn to fall back with an eek.

“I am going nowhere,” Octavia said with a shrug. “Harmony is my home now. Once I have attained the skill level that master Big Mac wishes for me to have, he will leave and I will start my own school here, to help train any earth benders who wish to learn the art in our city.”

Vinyl coughed and looked away, adjusting her glasses. “Err, of course. Not like I, uhhh, I wasn't worried or anything. Silly. Heh. Just curious, that's all.”

Octavia nudged her hoof and the bricks under Vinyl lifted up, pushing the mare back to her hooves. “Of course, dear. You're my friend. Whatever would you do without me?” She started trotting. “Other than drive the poor Avatar and the rest of the council mad?”

Vinyl snickered and trotted behind her.

“Granted, I suppose perhaps we could try to convince Master Big Mac to stay. After all, I suppose we could... use a pony like him around here.”

She kept trotting, leaving the unicorn behind, dumbstruck.

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

Oh, so THAT'S how the metal corp got started! And we even have a plausible way for DT to give the line about "your mom and my previous version were best friends!" Only this time, it would be more, "I'm Applejack's niece. And whatever happened between her and Twilight is in the past."

Buuuttt, that's getting ahead of myself. So, king Bumi was grouchy. She was still getting use to the fact that the shadowbolts are now part of the team, and even more unhinged that her team couldn't hold the fort. But...even though it'd be easy for her to move on now, create Cadence 2 (or as I like to call it, DC Al Coda), she didn't feel right about it. Also, I had a fun chuckle about Jeong Jeong (I mean, Vinyl) joking about Octavia becoming a villain. Though, I actually think JJ does have some elements of Bumi, in having points despite being, a little loopy. Hence his whole "No need to overly centralize the police."

Also, who would have thought that Octavia would become infatuated with Big Macintosh from first sight. Guess Vinyl really did know what she was talking about. Life partners know their friends! Especially the big red ones made of marble.

Anyways, seems that much like her friends, AJ couldn't JUST go back to the way things were. Instead, she decided to become the herald for a new art: Metalbending. And with that power, so much new potential for the earthbenders. Moving them to the next level of construction. No doubt, her first students were Flowerbloom (Big Sister, look! Now I can bend it just like you! Cutie Mark Metal Bender!) and Big Mac. And after all that, Big Machintosh decided to go on a mission of knowledge. Traveling to Harmony to teach the art of metal bending to the city who could use a few special skills starting a new government from the ground up. Although... Who wants to bet that Flower went to Fillydelphia to teach it to Fancy Pants as well? Show no favoritism to who gets the art first.

Anyways, with the metal corps in its beginning, Harmony now has 3 different armies to work with. Shadowbolts, water defectors, metal corps. Land, Air, Sea. All points covered, and a much more balanced feel for the forces, since bender favortism/national scars were issues in the past, the 3 coming together would help make things on paper look better, even if there could be intercorp rivalries down the line.

Also, is Vinyl....Jealous? Scared of Big Mac? Well, whatever the case, looks like Bumi's putting down roots. Next!

[GMZ_Casper]

Octavia is getting the chance to learn metalbending...worth every bits. Octavia having a crush on Big Mac...worth weight in gold. Octavia leaving her friend speechless...priceless. (Heh, sorry, the last line of mine kinda reminded me of that one commercial and I couldn’t help but play with it.)

C&Cs:
Unfortunately, he had a very hooves on approach and once she had begun bending it at all...
...but she was getting the most hooves on lessons from the stallion.
> Put a dash between ‘hooves’ and ‘on’.