Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 5: Was too busy

Twilight walked forward, her eyes focused on what was ahead of them. Only on what was ahead of them. There was NOTHING aside from what was ahead of them. Nope. The ground was totally not red, slimy and the exact consistency of a giant tongue covering the land. Not at all. It most definitely did not squish with every step they took. Spike was riding on her back because he was tired, there was no other reason.

“Ew ew ew ewwwww,” Sweetie whined.

“We'll be out soon, look,” the alicorn said as she motioned ahead. “It looks like we'll be going through a bunch of snow though.”

“I think that's actually mashed potatoes,” Scootaloo said softly.

“I hate Discord,” Twilight muttered as they walked. It had been... she didn't know how long since they'd left. Sometimes it was daytime, then a little bit later it would be night, then later it could be anything inbetween. The lands were completely messed up. They'd been through a chocolate hurricane, a cottage cheese storm and a brier patch avalanche. The last one had actually hurt a bit. But, there was good news, they were almost to the border. They hadn't encountered much resistance at all. In the entire trip they had only seen one airship. It had fortunately been busier trying to repair the side where a giant pelican-trout had slammed into it. She really hated Discord.

The others hadn't talked much, even amongst themselves they were being quiet. There was a little good news though. “I think we're almost to the border.”

“Why do you say that?” Sweetie asked before looking forward. They looked ahead and there was a collective sigh.

The 'border' was just that. There were little tornadoes the size of ponies swirling around while rain fell up. They'd have to be blind to not know that was the border.

“What do you think he did to the Earth Kingdom border?” Scootaloo asked softly.

Twilight shivered and shook her head. “I don't want to think about it. I hope the Fire Nomad border isn't killing anypony.” She doubted it was, though. Discord didn't seem the sort, now that she'd spent more time watching his handiwork. He was sick and twisted, but he wasn't a killer. Oh no, he'd more be the type to push others to kill for him, so he could watch the way it hurt them. Everything was just a game to him, it didn't matter what he destroyed or hurt. So long as somepony was around to see it, he was happy.

It did give her a little peace of mind. At least ponies wouldn't be dying while they fought. They'd just have their lives destroyed, everything they worked for ruined and possibly have their entire personalities shifted and ruined on a whim from the sadistic monster. But hey, no deaths. They stepped through the border, the little tiny twisters ruffling their manes and the cold water coating their underbellies. The ground was now checkered, but at least it was solid and didn't squish underhoof. As they walked, they trailed mashed potatoes over the ground.

It was going to be a long walk and she only had the vaguest idea of where Ponyville was, but they were going there first. She didn't know how the Wonderbolts had been affected and she wanted to have a little extra help when she arrived. But that also meant they would be walking for a long, long time. She glanced back to the others. “So... how about we do a bit of getting to know each other? I ummm... know it's been quite a while.” She paused. “Well, that and the fact the last time I saw most of you, you were trying to kill me.”

Sweetie sighed and lowered her head. “That was my fault. They were following my commands and let's just say... I wasn't the easiest to argue with at the time. In fact, many who did argue with me had a tendency to come over with a case of being... dead.”

Twilight nodded. “I know. Discord has... ways of messing with a pony. Changing who they are. I--”

“No, it's not just that,” Sweetie said gently. “I'll admit, yes he had changed me. But a lot of that was me. It was... what I wanted to do. I... always looked up to my sister, even before Discord touched me. But after that, she was my main focus. All I wanted was to make her happy, to make her at my side. It... drove me. It wasn't long before I was using it as... an excuse to do whatever I felt had to be done. Regardless of who I hurt, or if I... killed anypony.”

There was an awkward pause as the group kept walking, pausing momentarily as some golden sheep pranced by.

“That wasn't you,” Applebloom said softly. “Ah know yah. Ah'll admit yah always been a bit obsessed, but Discord... he changed yah. That pony yah became wasn't anything like mah friend.”

Sweetie nodded. “No, it was. It was... so very much what I was capable of. In the end I might not have approved of those things, but somewhere deep in me, I was capable of that.”

“But--” Scootaloo started.

“No, she's right,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “That seems to be what he does. He... twists and corrupts you to suit his needs. With a creature like him, you can't give any ground.” She thought about her time as a statue. How close she had been to being... trapped forever. If she hadn't been able to call on the previous avatars, who knew what would have happened? “But he's not something you can fight alone. You've done some horrible things, Sweetie. But that doesn't mean that's all you'll ever do. You're making up for it now. Or at least trying to.”

Sweetie nodded, her head hanging. “I... am sorry about all I've done. I never... no, I did mean for things to happen. But I wish I hadn't.”

Twilight nodded and smiled. “It's fine. I... understand. You were with your aunt before, correct? What did you two talk about?”

Sweetie paused and smiled. “She was... it was very nice. Having my aunt to talk with.” She took a deep breath. “While I was imprisoned, she made sure to stay near me whenever she could. She wanted to make sure I was safe, of course. But, she was also very... interested. I think that's the right word? She was so happy to have her nieces back. Have them as they were.” She made a small pouting face. “She told me she had given up on me! I mean, that was so harsh. I know I was corrupted but I might have...” She trailed off and glanced to Twilight. “But you were powerful. Are powerful. You saved me.”

Twilight nodded. “Indeed. But for that to happen again, I'd have to wait almost a whole year, if that. Discord might be messing with the sun in such a way that the Summer Sun Celebration won't even happen. He-- OH COME ON!” The sun had been turned into a great disco ball, sending white glimmers of light across the land. “I don't think I'll be able to count on that particular power boost. My friends are the only way.”

Sweetie nodded. “Do you think they're after us? Know where we're going?”

Twilight looked to the sky. Cotton candy clouds hovered overhead. “To be honest, I wonder if they're trying and failing.”

“What? Why?”

“All this weird weather. If he's doing this to that, imagine what he's doing to the magical lines in the land. Extended flight and air ships... well, who knows what difficulties are occurring? But there's no telling when it'll clear up and allow them to catch up.” The group went silent again, before starting to walk a little faster.

------

“DISCORD!” Trixie screamed, stomping her hooves. “I know you can hear me! COME OUT!” She stomped back and forth across her courtyard, shaking her mane. Her soldiers nervously shuffled from hoof to hoof, hoping the rage of their ruler wouldn't descend on them.

“You called?” the spirit of chaos asked, popping out of her horn.

“Get out of my horn!” the alicorn snapped, red forming in her cheeks.

Discord rolled his eyes and appeared in front of her, lounging on a small cloud. He tore off a piece and tossed it in his mouth, before blowing it out in a small bubble. It flew off like a blimp. “Whatever is the matter?”

“You know what's the matter! Twilight has escaped, I want her now! Find her, bring her back!”

The spirit of chaos shrugged. “No.”

“What? What do you mean, 'no'? Bring her! She's--”

“She's your responsibility. If you want her so bad, get her yourself.” He pulled out a margarita and started drinking the straw.

“But... but I've tried. I've had my soldiers searching the skies, but your weather... things keep ruining everything. Tell me where she is! I demand it!”

The spirit merely chuckled before crushing the glass in his hands. “I think you're forgetting something.” He turned to her, his eyes glowing green. “Who exactly is it who gave you this power?”

Trixie's survival instincts kicked in and she let out a small gulp. “Err... I merely meant, please help me find the Avatar. If she escapes, she'll ruin everything.”

He sighed and then snapped his fingers. Two cages appeared. One held Luna, the other Celestia. “I'll help you. But I'm not going to ruin all the fun. So I'll just give you a little bit of help and you'll have to work out the rest on your own.” He paused for a second before turning towards the reader. “Now now, I think you've heard enough.

Trixie cocked an eye as the spirit raised a hand. “What are you tal--” Snap.

------

Twilight's shrieked as she tried to not fall on her butt. The ground had suddenly turned to soap and they were, unfortunately, walking through a sideways rain storm. She and the others skidded helplessly across the soap before finally getting to the safety of the grass. “I hate you Discord!” she shrieked, before managing to climb to her hooves.

“You know, this isn't so bad!” Scootaloo said as she skated around on the soap, chuckling. The others just glared at her.

“Come on, girls. Let's just keep going before something else happens,” Twilight muttered. At least it was better than the tongue ground. She glanced back to Applebloom and Scootaloo. “You know... I never really had much chance to ask you two. How did you end up getting involved in the resistance? I mean, it's not as if you two were... members of the Fire Tribes when I last saw you. In fact, you were trying to kill me.”

Scootaloo and Applebloom shared a look, before the earth pony sighed. “Ah'll go first. Yah see how... well, ah was a member of the Water Nation cause mah parents... found me when ah was young. Ah was tryin' tah find mah family in the Earth Kingdom when ah ended up gettin' captured. Ah told 'em mah story an', well, it turned out some of the ponies there were actually parta mah family. Ah didn't really have much choice at that point.” She glanced to Sweetie. “Ah... knew mah friend was in danger. Ah was pretty sure Nightmare Moon wanted me dead. So... ah joined them an' tried helpin', usin' mah earth bendin''.” She took a deep breath. “Honestly, ah was really lucky. More'n a few of 'em wanted me dead.”

Twilight nodded and glanced back to the mare. “How did... I mean, you didn't get attacked, did you?”

Applebloom grinned. “Only once. Well, mah big brother popped up an'... let's jus' say they didn't try again. Whoa nelly. Ah almost felt bad for 'em. Almost. They jus' wanted tah scare me off, though. The ones that wanted me dead, well, they never tried. Ah think they were too afraid a mah big brother.”

Twilight thought back to when she'd first met Applejack's brother, Big Mac. He was truly a mighty stallion, towering over them all. She could well imagine him being a bit intimidating. Especially if he was protective of his little sister. “Yeah, I can see why. Well, Scootaloo, what about you? How did you get involved?”

The pegasus sighed. “Well, an assassin tried to kill me, claiming Nightmare Moon sent him. I don't know if it's true, but considering her state of mind at the time it was very possible. I didn't realize there was a double-agent working for us, Hornclipper. The uhhh, stallion who helped us out. He... well, he helped us save the fire benders who were still being held prisoner. I didn't... well, they wanted us to kill the foals, rather than risking them having their bending when they grew up. We refused. He was a traitor and he helped their forces get in and take the foals back.” She coughed. “I... am sorry for my part in all that. I assure you, I didn't want the fire benders to be dehorned. I didn't have much choice and--”

“Don't,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I know how the Water Nation worked. How so many ponies didn't have any choice but to follow their orders. I'm not happy with what happened, but I'm happy you knew better than to... cared enough not to follow those orders.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yes. Once the foals were saved, I had no choice, really. If I went back to the Water Nation, chances were I'd be executed. As a traitor at worst, by a hidden assassin at best.” She glanced to Sweetie. “So... I joined them. I began teaching them the special arts of disabling bending. It wasn't easy, let me tell you. There were a lot of ponies who were scared of it, as they thought it might be permanent. But Hornclipper never wavered from my side and stood up to all those who argued against me. I had my own little squad of trained ponies in the end, too. It was... very nice.” She took another soft, gentle breath. “Then I found out Applebloom was with the resistance as well. We set out a plan then.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, before cringing as marshmallows began to rain on them. At least they were soft and not too squishy.

“Yeah,” Applebloom said with a grin. “We were gonna save Sweetie Belle. We didn't know yah'd done all the work. We were gonna stay with the resistance an' try tah separate her from her mom. But then when we finally got the chance, she'd already made the right choice. Kinda made all our plans moot. From there we jus' stuck to her side, made sure none of the Fire Tribe decided tah get... well... errr...”

Twilight nodded. “Vengeance? Don't be afraid to speak your mind. I'm not so blind as to think my own ponies are completely innocent of any cruel or evil thoughts. I'm sure there are ponies in my home who... would be thrilled to see the Water Nation crushed down to a speck. But that wouldn't be right. There are good ponies, just as there are bad ponies, in all the nations. That's why we must work so hard to achieve peace.” She glanced off in the distance and cringed. “Oh... oh dear.”

“What is it?” Sweetie asked before looking and turning pale.

“Ah think we'd better go around,” Applebloom said softly. The group quickly started moving to the left, moving at a brisk trot. A caramel ice cream volcano was smoking from above and small lines of caramel were slowly dripping down the side. “Why does everythin' he does have tah be candy related?”

“It's not all,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Maybe he wants all the children of the world to like him?”

Scootaloo yelped and shook her head. “Oh. I-I think you're on the right line of thought, but it might be worse than that. I think he wants all the kids in the world hopped up on sugar.”

The group stumbled a little as that thought flowed through their heads. Thousands, possibly millions of foals with unlimited access to easy sugary treats where ever they went.

“I hate Discord so much,” Twilight said with a moan.

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

You know, this is probably the line of questioning Twilight never got to ask back in chapter 41 of the last book. Asking more about Scoots and Bloom when she had a chance. So, now she does have a chance. A chance to talk with all 3 crusaders, find out more about how they ended up in the resistance. While dealing with an assortment of candy related issues. Oh, and the tongue road. Ew. At least Discord wasn't turning the world into a gave of hot lava monster. It's kinda sweet to see the avatar finally catching up with her cutie mark hunters. It's also cool the way the 2 crusaders had their own plan to go after sweetie, but twilight had already done their job for her.

On the villain side of things, it looks grim. Not so much that discord's holding back from instakill against twilight's crew, but more in the sense that it seems he can control the story to some degree now. Cut us away from whatever he's planning at the snap of his fingers. Keep us readers in the dark to the degree that we just don't know what to expect anymore. Though, it seems he does still hold all the power in the world, and is gifting Celestia and Luna to Trixie in order to get what she wants. Oh man.

Also, that bit on candy and kids was hilarious. Especially with them all cringing at the thought of hundreds of children high on candy.