//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Calculations // Story: Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 3: Unicorn // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Twilight found that a fresh horror awaited her in this new city. She was borderline... comfortable. She had separated from the others to walk through the city, alone, and it all felt so nostalgic. As she ate a small pastry Pinkie had gotten her, from a new 'friend' she said, she couldn't help but observe and notice the strangeness around her. Nearly everypony wore clothing, just like hers, that brought back memories of her home. It hadn't taken her long to find out why they all wore it. Being so close to the ocean made the city quite cool and light drizzles appeared sporadically, the pegasi above doing little to stop them and just letting nature run its course. Her own country had tended to be much warmer. Everypony she saw dressed in the garments made her want to scream and yell, to gather them at her side to fight the Water Nation. Something she knew would end in her death. The unicorns were the worst. Even though they wore the garments of her people, she knew they couldn't be fire benders, most were likely from the Earth Kingdom. That, or water benders who were not part of the military. On more than one occasion she imagined she saw someone from her home, but all second glances removed such thoughts and picked little cracks in her heart. This new torture was almost more than she could bear. She stood surrounded on all sides by ponies who were likely her kinsmen. And yet, they were all members of the Water Nation. Either non-benders who betrayed their home country to serve the nation, or ponies descended from the forces stationed in the country. In a way, it was worse than when she hadn't known if any of her people had survived, instead she had to look at them as if they were enemies. She hung her head, barely paying attention as she walked. She paid no heed to what was following her, her once alert senses dulled. “Show up to my class late, expect that I'll berate!” an angry, loud voice said from behind her. “Huh?” she asked, turning around. Her mouth lowered at the same speed her eyes were raised. A rather unique creature, she'd never seen aside from in books before, towered over her. It stood on two hoofs, with dark purple up to its waist. Above its waist it had a massive torso and arms, so massive they were almost comical compared to the small lower part of the creature's body. It had thin, gray-blue fur over its upper portions. Two large horns stuck out from its bull-like head. A minotaur. “Clean out your ear before I show you something to fear!” the minotaur yelled, glowering down at her. She gulped and took a few steps back. “I-I'm sorry, there must be some mistake. I didn't-- eek!” Twilight thrashed about once she was picked up by both the creature's massive hands and held, face to face. “Planning to play hookey, eh? Iron Will knows just what to do with--” “Oh, there you are!” a male's voice suddenly said, drawing both their attention. An orange stallion, with a blue mane stared up at them, wearing the same exact red uniform she did. “Errr, hello Iron Will, sir. We were just on our way to class, running a bit late. Err, sorry sir.” The minotaur huffed, but dropped Twilight, eliciting another shriek from the mare when she hit the ground. “Very well! But don't you dare be tardy, or I'll make you sorry!” “Of course sir,” the stallion said, taking her hoof and tugging her along. Too confused to object, she followed after him. “I ummm... thanks.” “No problem. Heh, if you're going to play hookey from class, you shouldn't do it in uniform. You're just asking for trouble.” Twilight looked down at her clothing and her cheeks turned red. No wonder it seemed so similar to what she had worn during her days as a fire bender student. It was almost the exact same outfit! “Oh... yeah. I ummm, I guess that was silly of me. Heh.” “So, are you new?” the stallion asked, looking her over. “You don't seem like a water bender.” “Oh! No, I'm not! I'm from the Earth Kingdom, my parents joined the Water Nation once Fillydelphia fell. My name is Amethyst. We are pretty new, I doubt you've seen us,” Twilight recited, feeling proud of herself for remembering all the details. “Oh, most of us are pretty new too. My name's Flash Sentry, a pleasure to meet you,” the stallion said with a smile. “I'm from the Fire Tribe colonies.” She stumbled, letting out a soft gasp. “Y-you're from the Fire Tribes? Are... are you a descendant of them? Or are you part of th--” She was silenced by a hoof covering her mouth. The stallion glared into her eyes, she could see the faint glimmer of fear within. “Listen, you're new here. You need to understand something. As far as anypony is concerned, any pony from the Fire Tribes who lives in the Water Nation is a born and bred member of the nation. Don't go asking any of us about our heritage.” “What? But I thought all the Fire Tribe ponies who were here de--” “No. It's not... it's not the same for us as it is for you Earth Kingdom ponies. If there is even a hint of us not being completely loyal, then we disappear. If you go challenging ponies descent, you're going to end up in the middle of a fight, or worse.” Twilight gulped and slowly nodded. She longed to ask more, but the way the stallion's eyes kept nervously shifting from side to side, as if he expected somepony to be listening in, made her decide against it. Instead, she decided to gather more information. “So... I ummm, I don't know what it's like here. I mean, I'm new and--” “Don't worry. We get a few new students every couple of weeks. They move in and out so fast the teachers barely notice. Just keep your head low and you'll be fine.” Flash said, his voice soft but firm. “Iron Will back there is pretty intense, but he's not as bad as some of the teachers. He helps all the new students go where they belong. The other teachers, well... a few of them will try to break you if you... well...” Twilight thought back to many of the Water Nation ponies she'd met in the past. Ones who seemed to delight in torment and pain. Some who worked with a focused, nearly mindless fervor to get a specific task done, be it for the good, or bad, of their nation. She felt a knot of dread in her stomach as she realized she was about to experience the base of those pony's behavior, first hoof. ------ Rarity kept her smile on her face as she walked from guest to guest, following conversations as best she could. Everypony was a unicorn, many powerful water benders. The few who weren't very good benders, made up for it with other talents or magics. Aside from the guards and the general, no non-unicorns could even dream of coming to such an event. This particular event was being held in the courtyard outside the palace. The benders milled about like a great mass, most wearing bright, loud clothing that gave her a headache. Despite the number of ponies, she knew very few of them mattered. Even if only unicorns could attend, this was only a pre-event, the main wouldn't be occurring for a while longer. Everypony here was both important enough not to be ignored, but not important enough to be invited to the main event. She occasionally glanced to her mother, who wore black armor that filled her ponies with dread. Unsurprisingly, the narrowed eyes and scowl she wore ensured only the bravest of position seeking ponies dared bother her. Rarity and Sweetie, on the other hoof, had no such luck. Ponies by the dozens fought amongst themselves for a chance to talk with the princesses, usually using it to direct the two's attentions how they saw fit. More than a few ponies brought up the 'good old days', under General Trixie, back before they allowed an earth pony to have such an important position. Talk about how under a proper unicorn, their great army would be able to easily deal with all the ambushes and attacks throughout the Great Water Nation. The Great Water Nation was another minor annoyance to the princess. It became the term ponies used to speak of the complete unified nation, including all four countries. She found it all very confusing when ponies switched between the new and old territory borders. Worst of all though, she longed for sleep. Each long winded politician threatened to lull her into a deep slumber, their tedious stories and complaints making her eyes heavy. But she had to maintain control, not allowing herself a seconds slumber. Instead, she tried to imagine what it was her mother was plotting. While the capital had always had a large population of water benders, now it seemed to an almost extreme degree. Nearly every unicorn in their military was being called to the palace, though what for she could not imagine. Her mother hadn't spoken a word of it to her, and Sweetie swore she had no idea. She'd imagined it had something to do with the war, but that was impossible. The war was over, they'd won. There were a few ponies who still resisted them, but they were more a minor annoyance than a true threat. Small chunks of sand trying to dry out the ocean. No, her mother had something in mind and was drawing every unicorn she could for it, and her silence on the matter worried Rarity to the core. It likely had something to do with Discord, and that could be disastrous. It was almost enough to make her reconsider her plans. Stars knew it chilled her to the bone and she'd be all to happy to abandon it. But, if she did and the avatar was still alive, somehow, then she would lose everything. Including any chance to help her sister and, possibly, her mother. It required her to wait until night fell, however. When ponies slept and were their most vulnerable. A time when she knew she could get through the castle, undisturbed. For now though, she just had to wait and talk to the unicorns that made their way to her. Each as hungry for her words and attentions as the last. She knew she should have felt thrilled, but she knew none of these ponies truly cared one bit for her. They wished only to curry favor with a member of the royal family. If she was to be banished tomorrow, the lot of them would just shake their heads and state how they knew the princess had it coming, if only they'd been able to act and warn the rulers sooner. Fortunately, that would not happen. The avatar would fall if she hadn't already. If not by her hooves, then by the... thing, that resided deep under the castle. ------ Twilight kept her head low, as she was told. However, her heart fluttered at the sight of the dozens of ponies loitering about the school yard, some even sitting on the edge of the chipped and aged fountain that resided there. Most, but not all, were wearing the same garments as hers. It took her a few moments, but she began to notice the small cliques that filled the yard. At first she thought it was separated by earth ponies and unicorns, but longer observation allowed her to see that some of the earth ponies had cuts and folds in their garments against their sides, and almost all ponies with them stuck together. Pegasi. The plain earth ponies stuck together as well. The unicorns had formed two separate cliques, one that resided near the fountain and one which stood across the field. Finally, there was a much smaller, fifth group, composed of all sorts. Twilight glanced back to Flash's sides and noticed the same folds and cuts in his garments, a pegasus. She expected him to abandon her the moment she saw the separations, but instead he motioned towards the fifth group. “You're still new, right? Come on, I'll introduce you to some of the others.” “Why is everypony separated like this? I mean, I know sometimes different ponies tend to...” she trailed off once the pegasus stopped cold. “It's not... just... okay. Those ponies by the fountain?” He motioned towards the center. “They're water benders. Don't go near them. Once they realize you're just a unicorn, not a bender, they'll cause you a lot of trouble. The teachers give them a lot more leeway, so don't try going to them for help. Just don't rise to the bait, and they'll ignore you.” He motioned to the other unicorns. “Those are non-benders. Mostly from the Earth Kingdom, like you, but I think there's one or two from the Air Nomads.” That made Twilight gasp. “From the Air Nomads? But I thought they were still at war with the Water Nation! Why would they be here?” Flash sighed and shook his head. “Technically, so is the Earth Kingdom. The Water Nation has won though, most ponies realize absorption is better than destruction at this point, and they'd rather be second-hoof citizens than six hooves underground. I'm guessing your parents figured that out already, right?” “O-oh, yes. Sorry...” “Listen, I understand. Just, don't talk about things like that.” He looked around nervously, before moving back to whisper. “Trust me. Bad things happen to ponies who question the Water Nation. They have more than enough numbers to not notice a pony or two disappearing.” “I... I see. So does that mean I'll be taking classes with them?” “Eventually. But, you're still pretty new, so for now you'll be in orientation. They, uhhh, have it for all new ponies. Especially ones from other countries. Even ones that have been occupied for the last hundred years,” he said those last words with a touch of bitterness, his face creased in an angry scowel. It disappeared quickly though, and he smiled at her. “Though, uhhh, it's fine. You'll get used to it. Once you get used to how things work around here.” “So, why the garments? I mean, they're pretty... fire tribey. Don't the water benders get mad about them?” “A few did, at first. But we have them out numbered enough. For every one pony native to the Water Nation, there's about ten from the Fire Tribe settlements. The cloths came with them. This... isn't our home, even if we are members of the Water Nation. These help us to remember what it was. A few of the ponies here tried to stop it but... well, not everypony reacted in a pleasant manner. They quickly gave up on it and accepted it as the norm.” Twilight watched him for a moment, her own eyes misting softly. His words echoed her own feelings, her own desire to be home. She wondered what the Fire Tribe lands were like now. Would she even recognize them? She'd been there only once, but seen so little and, what she had seen, was so horrible she could barely think of it. How many of her people were there and how many of them were truly her people any more? “I think they're nice. Great for movement. The colors stand out nicely against the rather... plain buildings. What was this city like before the war ended?” “Well, I wasn't here for it, but I hear it was namely used for supplies. Not too many benders then, either, but lots of earth ponies to work the fields and pegasi to do everything in the sky. Shipments went through here to get to the front lines. Now though... well...” “Now it's just held for the sake of being held?” Twilight said dryly. “Once the pirates are cleared away, I'm sure it will be used for farming again!” Flash said defensively, before letting out a sigh. “But yeah, right now it's just kind of a buffer, I guess. Too expensive to just abandon, but not useful enough to actually use. Great place to send ponies like us,” he said bitterly. Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Would you rather be at the capital?” “I'd rather--” he was interrupted by the sound of the bell. He looked up and smiled. “Just be careful, okay? I'll show you to your class, just don't cause any problems. I'll introduce you to everyone after, when we can meet up again.” “Okay,” she said with a smile, before following after him. She entered the large, wooden building and looked into each room as they passed. True enough, each one seemed to be divided by race and ability, the same as they had outside. It gave her a strange sense of unease, watching them. Even back at the bending school she attended, they hadn't been separated in such a way. The benders did have their own, special classes of course. But the pegasi and earth ponies were never looked down on for their lack of bending. Everypony knew that without the pegasi, the weather would run rampant. Without the earth ponies, the fields would wither and die. All three were needed, regardless of bending talent or not. She was so lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed the start of class. That was, until the teacher barged into the room. “Are you all ready to LEARN?” Iron Will announced, so loud the room nearly shook. Twilight looked up with wide eyes, her mouth falling open yet again. “Now I'm sure all of you are thinking to yourself 'how can we possibly help the Water Nation after all they've done for us'?” the minotaur asked, waving his arms and walking sideways down the room. He spoke with a performers gusto, wildly waving his arms with each movement and posing. Twilight had to suppress being swept up in his energy, though she couldn't suppress a smile. “Well, I have great news for the lot of you! Your chance is coming! Though none of you are water benders, the Water Nation forces are always looking for fresh blood. Some of you pegasi may become shadowbolts, some of you unicorns may find yourself in Nightmare Moon's personal mage guard, if you're talented enough. Some of you earth ponies may even go on to become great warriors for the Water Nation! The moon IS the limit! Even if you don't want to be a soldier, for the glorious Water Nation there is always room for a pony willing to work at what they do well!” Ponies started stomping their hooves in excitement. “You want to become the best? To have your names spread throughout the Great Water Nation? To have every pony know who you are and admire you?” Even more stomping now, Twilight couldn't resist being swept up by the minotaur's charisma any more, even if she didn't agree with his words. Her hooves joined the stomping. “Well I can show you! I'll be teaching you everything you need to know, find out what makes you tick, what skills you have, then we'll put you where you belong! You'll work tirelessly for your glorious motherland! Can I get a buck yeah?!” “Buck yeah!” the ponies yelled, stamping their hooves in excitement. “I can't hear you!” “BUCK YEAH!” Suddenly the door slammed over and a unicorn stood in the doorway, glaring at them. “Iron Will, we've told you! Keep it down!” The minotaur was suddenly in front of the pony, glaring down. “You dare to try to silence the great Iron Will and the glory of the Water Nation?!” The pony shook his head and held a hoof between his eyes. “Just... just keep it down. You're disturbing the other classrooms.” “The love of my nation will not be silenced! Silence my cheers, and I'll move you to tears!” He shoved the pony back, eliciting a cry from the startled pony, before slamming the door shut. “NOW! Who's ready to SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO?!” “BUCK YEAH!” the class erupted, stomping their hooves in excitement. ------ Twilight was finding that, unfortunately, the next part of class was nowhere near as fun as the introduction. It began with the history of the nation, forcing the alicorn to listen about the Water Nation's 'glorious past' and how they had defeated the evil Fire Tribes in one fell swoop. Using arcane magics that allowed them to control the night itself and bring the stars down on the fire benders in the night. Having been there when the stars fell, Twilight found the description he gave was nowhere near as terrifying as the actual event. After that, he talked of how their tyrannical abuse of the sun's power brought this on them, and it became the sole responsibility of the Water Nation to take over all the countries to guide them to enlightenment. To the avatar, it was nothing but hogwash. She'd interrupted a few times to point out key details that were so blatantly false they made her sick, but the minotaur shook them off with catchy saying like 'If you weren't there, don't you dare' and 'the books don't lie, shut up or I'll make you cry.' Frankly, she was getting a bit miffed. The Fire Tribes NEVER sacrificed ponies to 'spirits' or attempted a global war to... well, okay. But so had most of the other countries at one time or another, the avatar had always stopped them! The one upside was the minotaur was fun to watch. He jumped and gestured constantly, as if he was putting on a show. She wondered how many others were as wild and exciting as him. The way he put it, she could almost imagine all the other countries were filled with backwards ponies who they were 'saving' from themselves by absorbing them into the glorious Water Nation. To her surprise, an occasional glance around the room showed that, when the ponies weren't cheering and caught up in the energy of the minotaur, they looked none too excited about any of it. In fact, they seemed quite confused at times, annoyed at others. Then again, she imagined most had been born outside the country and seen just how 'savage' the other countries were. After the far too long 'history' of the Water Nation and introductions, he began making them all undergo small tests, to determine where they belonged. Seconds after they were done, he took the entire stack of written notes and looked to the class. “Do you know what these are?!” he yelled. “Tests!” a few ponies said in excitement, sitting up in their chairs. Something was about to happen and they looked excited. Though, a few like Twilight, looked confused and worried. “These hold your future! They determine where you belong in the Water Nation! A bunch of pencil pushers who've never seen anything aside from a desk and stacks of paper have decided long ago THEY know where YOU belong, based on if you see a duck or a house in your ink splots! You know what I think of that?!” The minotaur gripped the stacks of paper and tore them in half, sending the pieces of paper into the air, scattering all over. “I think that's a load of horse wash! Ain't no pony knows where they belong, except them! YOU!” He slammed both hooves down on the nearest desk and leaned down, face inches from a very frightened white earth pony. “What do YOU want to do with your life? WELL?!” The mare gulped nervously, staring up at him with wide eyed fear. “I... I don't know. I never really--” “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE?!” he roared, the sheer volume making the mare's mane shoot back and nearly toppled her over. “I-I want to be a d-doctor!” she shrieked, covering her eyes and shaking. “I-I k-know I can't b-bend or d-do any of the healing magic, b-but I want to be a doctor!” She nearly burst into tears, her entire body shaking from the brute's intense glare. “GOOD!” Iron Will yelled, slamming a powerful arm down. “What's your name?!” “R-redheart, s-sir.” “Well, we're going to start calling you DOCTOR REDHEART!” She quivered even more. “But... but I-I'm just an earth pony. T-they say I can't be one because I just--” “WHO DARES TO SAY YOU CAN'T BE A DOCTOR?!” A few ponies toppled out of their desks from that roar. “Ummm... p-ponies. They laugh and--” “When ponies try to block, show them that you rock!” He slammed a hoof down, making the desk crack. “They wanna mock your dream, beat them into CREAM!” She gulped softly. “I... A-are you sure? I mean--” “DID I BUCKING STUTTER?!” the minotaur asked with another mighty roar. “N-no...” “Then are you calling me a liar?!” he growled. The mare shook her head. “Then say it!” She squeaked and cowered in her chair, nodding. “I-I can be a doctor...” “Louder!” “I...I can be a doctor!” “LOUDER!” He slammed his fists down on the desk so hard it broke under his arms. “I'LL BE A DOCTOR! THE GREATEST DOCTOR EVER!” “YEAH! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO PONIES WHO TRY TO BLOCK YOUR DREAM?!” “I... I'M GOING TO SHOW THEM THAT I ROCK!” the mare screamed, closing her eyes and shoving the minotaur as hard as she could. He toppled back, though Twilight imagined he was exaggerating, before standing up and giving the mare a thumbs up. Many ponies in the room were trembling with suppressed laughter. “That's what I like to hear! You!” He moved to the next pony, slamming a hand down on the desk and making the pony jump. One by one the minotaur yelled and berated the ponies into revealing what they wanted to be, only to tell them to just do it, and not let anypony stand in their way. Many ponies had obviously been through this a few times, quickly giving their answers and smiling, though the fresh blood like her tended to be far more timid. Twilight felt in awe, watching the creature move. It was nowhere near what she'd expected a Water Nation class to be like. Though, judging by how many times the door opened and the minotaur got yelled at by the same pony from before, only to be sent running from a thrown desk or an angry yell, the school didn't expect it either. Or at least, didn't like it. By the time it was her turn, the class room had a few healers, weather ponies, a writer, a carpenter(who Iron Will put on repair duty), a baker and countless other jobs she never would have imagined these war torn ponies would even dream of. Then the fist slammed down on her desk and the wide, powerful eyes stared down at her. “Well, what do YOU want to be?!” She looked up for a moment, before looking around at the other ponies here. A horrible, terrifying thought occurred to her, making her entire body tremble. Despite the minotaur's words, how many of these ponies would grow up to be absorbed into the military? Their ages varied wildly, some barely past the age of foals and others even older than her, but they all had dreams and hopes. Just like everypony else. How many of the soldiers she now had to fight, how many of them who had died, had been like these ponies once? Who still were? She felt light headed, her stomach rumbling uneasily. She imagined all those ponies, wearing their terrifying armor, so covered it was easy to forget they were ponies. Ones she had managed to suppress feelings for, under the veil of 'they're evil', to just mourn the ones on her side. Allowing her to keep her emotional distance. She couldn't do that now. She felt the walls lift, like a veil. Her stomach wobbled uncomfortably, the dread and previous excitement mixing within. The minotaur slammed his arms down onto the table and got in her face, eyes wide and angry. “WELL?!” Her stomach recoiled at that last harsh movement and, with an angry lurch, the contents of her last lunch spewed up.