Rarity stepped out onto the stage and gazed over the crowd of ponies. There was the general din of talking, none of them really seemed to be too focused on her. They feigned it well enough, keeping their eyes forward, but she could see the way most of them looked away from time to time or seemed to be staring off slightly to the side. Also, so many ponies together couldn't hope to keep their 'whispers' quiet for long. There was just too much noise. But, she didn't need their attention yet. For now she just moved onto the stage and watched. Soon there would be a new dawn, in more ways than one.
Her speech formed in her mind as she took a deep, slow breath. She had to shape and mold these ponies for Twilight. She had to make them see. Make them understand. Make them stand up and rebel. She had to show them they could take back their home, that their foals didn't have to live in fear of having their horns removed. That the fire benders could return.
The sun began to rise and she smiled. Her horn glowed and she sent a small orb of water into the air, exploding it. It wasn't loud, but the movement was enough to draw attention from the barely focused. She regathered the pieces of water and drew them back to their container, knowing better than to waste such a resource.
Slowly the whispers and talking gave way to silence, the only sound was the wind as it blew through the sand. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Beams of light spread down through the sky, allowing all to see her. “Ponies of the Fire Tribes!” she yelled, booming the words as loud as she could before pausing.
To her surprise, there was no outcry to calling them that. They just kept staring at her. Actually, now that she really focused on it, they seemed to be staring at her very, very intently. Almost as if they were trying to see through her. It made her feel a bit awkward, but she did her best to ignore it. They were focusing on her, that was all that mattered. Her plan was working. “You have been under the control of the Water Nation for... for a hundred years and...” She trailed off and frowned. She was now quite certain they were looking past her. Had she already lost their attention? Here she was, planning a big dramatic speech about their freedom and they ignore her. What was wrong with these ponies? What could possibly be so important for them to ignore her?
She turned around and, slowly, her eyes went up as her mouth went down. “Buh...” she managed to say with all the intelligence she could muster. “That's not... but... but my plan and... it was going to be but... but this, that's not, it's...” She sat down roughly and stared. A moment later Twilight and Applejack joined her in a group stare.
“The Great Dragon!” one of the ponies in the crowd finally managed to yell out.
Indeed it was. The great dragon, its red scales glimmering in the sunlight, flew high above the desert and was coming right for them. Behind and besides it flew at least a dozen air ships, bearing an assembly of flags ranging from pirate to Cloudsdale. Rarity couldn't imagine a more brilliant sign, if this couldn't get the ponies to stand up for themselves, nothing would.
“Your highness, what do we do?” one of the guards called out, holding his spear nervously as the encroaching force came ever closer.
“What do we do?” she asked, cocking her eye. “Is it not obvious? We surrender.”
“What? But, but they, they, the Water Nation will be furious! They'll execute us!”
“They'll do no such thing,” Rarity yelled before gesturing back. “For you see, as of this moment, the Water Nation no longer lays any claim on the Fire Tribe lands. I hereby surrender them to the Avatar!” She elbowed the alicorn.
“What, now?” Twilight asked softly.
“Yes, now!”
The Avatar nodded and cast off her cloak and spread her wings, posing dramatically. Sadly, barely anypony seemed to notice, instead focusing on the encroaching ships and dragon. Rarity put a hoof to her forehead and sighed. “I don't even know why I bother with these plans. Everything just gets bucked in the end.”
“Your highness, you can't mean, but, but what about us!” A few of the pegasi flew forward, clutching their spears.
“Ask the avatar,” Rarity said before gesturing towards the alicorn.
“Oh, right! Those that surrender will be treated nicely. Members of the Water Nation will be imprisoned until after this war, those who are members of the Fire Tribe may return to service in our armies and--”
“Look, it's the avatar!” a pony yelled out from the crowd, quite late to the realization it seemed.
“I think the dragon has pretty much trumped anything we're going to do,” Rarity said with a sigh before looking back at it. She then glanced to the pegasus soldier. “Well? Spread the word to the other soldiers. Manehatten has fallen back to the Fire Tribes. As per the orders of Princess Rarity and Avatar Twilight.”
The pegasus flew off and Rarity glanced back to the avatar. “I think we've won. I can't imagine a sign greater than one of the most powerful creatures in all of the world.” She paused for a second. “The... Great Dragon is still on your side, right? I mean, there is no chance he'll try to eat me or anything, is there?”
Twilight stared for a moment and shook her head. “No. I think he just eats jewels. So you really think this will be enough?”
“Oh yes. The Great Dragon is a sign beyond any I could imagine. For the last hundred years we've been able to do nothing but look at it and pretend we were keeping it locked away. As long as it's here, I think everything will be fine.” She paused again. “But really, he won't eat me, right? I really cannot stress enough how badly I do not wish to be eaten.”
Twilight let out a soft chuckle. “Don't worry. Fluttershy would be furious if he tried and he knows better than to mess with her.”
“Right. As if you're little yellow companion could do anything about it,” she muttered before sitting down.
“Ummm, ladies? Ah think it might be time for Rarity tah get gone,” Applejack said softly.
The two horned ponies turned and stared. The crowd was focused on the princess again, except this time with far more hostile looks.
“Burn the Water Nation commander!” a pony near the back yelled. The crowd raised their voices in agreement, yelling and shouting as they began tossing dirt clumps at her. Fortunately, the ground was so dry most of the dirt fell apart before it could reach her.
Rarity gulped and took a step back. “I... must admit I didn't think about this. In retrospect, it really should have-- eep!” A clump of dirt slammed into her back hooves, making her jump forward. She was distressingly aware that the stage had ponies on all sides, who were now pushing against it and trying to climb on.
“H-hey, stop that!” Twilight yelled out, shaking her head. “She's a good pony, she's on our side! Stop!” The crowds ignored her, shaking the stage as the projectiles increased in speed.
Rarity lowered down to her stomach, pulling her cloak over herself to dampen the blows. “ENOUGH!” Applejack roared before stomping a hoof and sending a ripple through the crowd as the ground shook under them. Many even toppled over. For the moment it brought silence. “Ah can't believe yah ponies, yah otta be ashamed! Rarity may have been our enemy once, but she's been steppin' in an' doing her right hardest tah help us along on this road. She's been breakin' her head, tryin' tah find ways tah save alla yah all without getting' any of yah hurt, an' what is it yah do the moment it all comes tagether? Yah turn on her like a buncha timber wolves after a wounded rabbit!”
“Applejack--” Twilight started, but was quickly silenced.
“No, ah'm gonna give these ponies a piece of mah mind. Ah've had it up tah here with the lotta you! Rarity may not have always been makin' the right choices, but ah doubt there is a pony amongst you who can claim that. She's been tryin' her plum hardest tah make up for all that she's done, even givin' up her family an' home tah join us on this rebellion.”
“Ummm, Applejack--” Rarity tried, but was silenced as well.
“Yah all actin' like children! No, worse 'an children. Children at least don't know any better, mosta yah are supposed tah be settin' an example for those youngins. Is that the lesson yah wanna teach 'em? Tah hurt and threaten them ponies who try an' help yah?”
Silence hung in the air like a ripe fruit as the earth pony scanned over the crowd. None could match her gaze for long, quickly turning away in shame.
“Applejack, your throat,” Twilight said.
“Huh?” The earth pony looked down and gasped. Dangling around her throat was the golden necklace with red apple shaped gem. Her element. “Well, ah'll be. Guess that was all there was to it.” She looked up again. “Rarity is comin' with us, if yah want tah try an' do anythin' to her, you'll have tah go through me.”
“A-and me!” Twilight added quickly.
“Ohhh, and me! And me!” Pinkie suddenly hopped out from the crowd and landed on the stage, giggling.
“Oh, I ummm, and me,” Fluttershy said nervously as she made her way to the stage. Angel made sure to clear any ponies who tried to block her. Sometimes viciously.
The princess smiled and slowly got to her hooves. Together, they walked off the stage and headed towards the dragon. It was time to meet their backup.
------
“Are you quite certain I cannot eat her?” The Great Dragon asked as he held a terrified Rarity in between two fingers. “It could well save us a lot of--”
“NO!” Fluttershy yelled angrily, glaring up at him.
The dragon sighed and tossed the mare aside, making her shriek before she was caught by Rainbow. “Easy now, I got yah. So, everything went smooth down here, eh?”
“Not in the slightest,” Rarity said huffily with a shake of her head. “I created two brilliant plans and, in both cases, they got derailed before we could finish them.” She paused and glanced to the pegasus with annoyance. “In fact, you ruined the first one with your little antics.”
“Hey, that was not my fault! Oops!” Rainbow dropped the princess and cringed. “Sorry. But hey, he was threatening to cut off my wings. How could I NOT slam him into the ground after that? Or, well, foal nap him. Hah, you should have seen his face as I blazed across the desert! He was this close to wetting himself!”
Rarity groaned from the ground. “Hate you. How did you get this...” She looked to the ponies getting off the dragon as well as the ships coming in for landings. “Army?”
“It was awesome!” Rainbow said before flying higher into the air and gesturing to herself with one hoof and the dragon with the other. “So there I am just blazing past the dunes like, well, me. Being my normal awesome and spectacular self. I'm pretty far from the city at this point, so I decide to just stop. Oh man, you should have seen that unicorn's face when I dropped him. Such a wuss. So, next thing I know some pegasi come racing after me. I was my normal self, of course, barely even breathing hard. But these ponies were exhausted. Turns out they'd been planning an assault on the city for a while now. Had everypony ready, were just waiting to finish gathering up.” She paused for a second. “Rest of the forces should be here in a few days or so, once the ships go and pick them up, but I figure this is enough. You aren't going to believe this though.”
“What?” Twilight asked, watching the hyper pegasus fly about.
“Vinyl and Octavia got out, they're fine. Not only that.” The pegasus turned to grin at Rarity. “Apparently a certain water bender named Celestia helped them. Sound--”
“My aunt? She's here? She's okay?” Rarity stood up lightning fast. “Where is she? Is she on one of those?” She motioned to the air ships.
“I'd severely doubt it. Most of the ponies on that assault are coming in the next group, and I think I'd remember a pony like that,” a familiar voice said as an all to familiar pony walked towards them.
Twilight stared, wide eyed. “Emperor Fancy Pants! You're alive!”
The white earth pony chuckled before running a hoof through his blue mane. “Was there ever any doubt? Though, I won't deny I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get out of that dreadful cell. I've been hearing that you've been quite busy since you left my home. Is it true you destroyed Canterlot all on your own?”
The Avatar shook her head and blushed. “W-well, I mean. Kinda? But... it was more the Avatar State than anything else. I didn't really do much aside from... mess everything up.”
“Nonsense!” Fancy said with a shake of his head. “Why, I've heard all about your exploits from those who have been coming into our little hideout. You know, you weren't the only pony launching an attack that day. In fact, Phot... I mean, Mare Do Well worked alongside her army to free me and most of the other prisoners of that dreadful nation. Sadly, she and most of her knights were wounded in the attack, but I gathered all the ponies I could to come and help.” He glanced up and smiled to Applejack. “Ah, you must be Miss Applejack, correct?”
The mare gulped and gave a slow nod. “Err, yes, your highness. Ah can't help but feel flattered yah know mah name. Ah mean--”
“Nonsense. Why, as a matter of fact one of my rescuers mentioned you quite often. Is it true that you have developed, how was it put, metal bending? Its made quite the stir.”
Applejack poked at the ground, her face red. “Well, ah kinda did, yeah. Ah didn't have any choice, if ah didn't ah woulda been stuck still. Mah friends were countin' on me.”
“Marvelous! Once all this destruction and war is over, I would be honored if you would be able to teach other ponies the skill. Imagine, metal bending. Such a thing was thought to be impossible for so long. It would be quite a useful tool for our benders.”
“Well, thank yah kindly, your highness. Ah uhhh, ah'd be proud tah. Maybe ah'll open a school once all this is over. Could even...” She trailed off. “Wait, one of your rescuers? Who?”
“Oh, big fella. Went by the name Blood Knight. Most fascinating story, actually. Apparently he got the nickname because a bunch of ponies saw him eating an apple and they thought it was a heart and...” She tuned the emperor out and stared past him at the large red stallion getting off the air ship.
“Big Mac!” she yelled, before galloping forward. She nearly toppled him over when she leaped up to give him a hug, her arms wrapping around his head. “What in tarnation are yah doin' here? What about the farm? You got some explainin' tah do.”
The stallion sighed and shook his head.
“Water Nation?”
He nodded.
“Granny okay?”
He nodded again.
“Joined rebellion?”
Yet another nod.
“Been workin' behind the lines tah stick it to the Water Nation an' show them what us Apples can do?”
“Eeyup.”
“Missed your lil sister?”
He chuckled and gave another nod, before frowning. “We gotta talk.” He motioned back towards the ship.
She snorted and gave a little nod. “Twilight, ah'll be back! Ah'm guessin' yah got all this handled so ah'll see yah later!” She then trotted after her brother into the ship.
Twilight nodded before glancing back to the emperor. “Well, it seems we've got a lot to talk about, but first...” She looked to the city and the mass of ponies still outside it, watching the approaching forces with interest. “I believe we still have a lot of work to do. This may be mostly peaceful, but I fully expect a few fights to break out.” She paused and glanced back. “Not to sound... unappreciative, your highness. But why are you here? Don't you have your own country to save?”
The emperor gave a slow nod and smiled. “Indeed I do. However, when I was imprisoned it wasn't just earth benders who came to help me. It was fire benders as well. I'm no foal, I know I have to take back my home and, soon, I will. But for now I can offer you aid in taking back your home before I leave. Besides, considering how many ponies were wounded trying to rescue me, offering my hooves where theirs would have been placed is the least I could do. Shall we?”
She nodded and headed towards the city. She could see the frightened soldiers who had already tossed their spears away and the crowd of ponies who watched her with reverence. The city was huge but, once again, they had an army. They weren't out numbered or marching into a trap, either. She wished all their missions were this easy.
------
“Ow, ow ow, ow ow owwwwww!” Twilight whined as needle after needle was plucked from her skin.
“Relax, I'm almost done Avatar,” the earth pony said as he put a hoof over each fresh hole and quickly healed it back up.
“C-can't believe t-they threw a cactus at me,” the alicorn said with a soft whimper.
“Hey, it was still pretty funny,” Rainbow said with a snicker. “It's what happens when you get too cocky. 'Surrender now! There, see? They give up. Come on girls, what's the worst that can happen?' then BAM!”
“I-it really hurt...” she said with another soft whine.
“You'll be fine in a few minutes,” the nurse said as he plucked out a few more. His hoof wandered over the red marks and they disappeared. “There. Good as new.”
“T-thank you,” Twilight said before getting to her hooves. “S-so, what now?” She stared pitifully at the pile of needles.
“Now? Defenses are being prepared,” Fancy said with a smile. “My soldiers are combing the city for any sign of resistance, but there doesn't appear to be much, if any. We're getting a record of where everypony lived before allowing them to return, with supplies. Soon the rest of the resistance groups will return to the city and Manehatten will, once again, be a fully independent city. Congratulations, Avatar, your country is officially free.”
Twilight looked back and sighed. “Well, that was startlingly easy.”
“Yeah, all we had to do was destroy the Water Nation's home city, nearly kill their ruler and then wait for them to over extend themselves too much,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. “Easiest thing in the world.”
“I'm afraid the difficult part will be coming soon, Avatar,” Fancy said with a sigh. “I will offer what aid I can, but I've already done the most I can. I must return to my home, my ponies still need me.”
Rainbow sighed and gave a nod. “Same with the Wonderbolts. Most our forces are currently comprised of, well...” She let out a groan and face hoofed. “The soldiers that used to hold this place captive.”
Twilight stared for a moment. “Wait, so we don't have any air benders or earth benders?”
“I will leave a few of my soldiers here to aid you, but this is only temporary,” Fancy said with a shake of his head. “Once my country is free, I will offer what I can.”
“Pretty much the same thing the Wonderbolts said before they headed out,” Rainbow said, imitating the shake. “There is some good news, though.”
“What?” Twilight asked warily.
“We have enough pegasi to keep a watch out for any trouble,” the pegasus said with a smirk. “We'll be sending them off south to keep patrols over the border. If the Water Nation tries anything, they'll be spotted quickly.”
Fancy nodded. “Indeed. If there are any more attacks, I will send what help I can. The Water Nation is weak now, vulnerable. They'd have to be insane to try and attack. Once my country is freed our own assault will begin.”
Twilight gasped. “You mean--”
“Indeed. The Water Nation has performed its greatest mistake. With all three countries working together, I have no doubt that we'll win this war.”
The alicorn nodded. “I... I see.”
“We're not completely cut off from each other, either,” Rainbow said with a nod. “The Air Nomads have left enough air benders to act as messengers. We'll be able to keep up to date on exactly what's going on all over the world.”
Twilight nodded and slowly got to her hooves. “Very well then.” She bowed her head. “Thank you, Emperor Fancy Pants. All your help has been much appreciated. We--”
“Don't mention it,” the stallion said with a grin. “I always repay my debts. Now I m--”
The door was slammed open suddenly as Applejack stormed into the room. “Twilight!”
“What is it? What? Are we under attack?” She put her wings up in an aggressive stance.
“What? No! Ah have tah go. The air ships will be headin' back to the hide out to gather the rest of the ponies who weren't able tah make the trip. Ah'm goin' with them. Ah had tah let yah know.”
“What? Why?” Twilight asked as she looked the earth pony up and down. “Why are you so pale? Applejack?”
“Ah can't, it's just, ah gotta...” She looked off to the side and shook her head. “It's... it's personal.”
Twilight nodded and then smiled. “Very well. But... we're coming with you.”
“W-what?”
“I want to see the rest of my ponies too and, for the moment, I need to see everything we have,” Twilight said as she looked out the window. “Besides, I don't think we should separate right now. We're too close to victory, I don't want to risk anything bad happening.”
The mare blinked a few times before nodding. “Fine. But... jus' don't... ah don't wanna talk about this, okay?”
“It's fine. You're our friend, I'm sure whatever it is, you have good reasons to keep it private,” the alicorn said with a nod. She then glanced to Rainbow. “Can you go get everypony together? Applejack and I can go talk to the captains and let them know we're coming. I need to talk to the Great Dragon before I leave, too. If I don't, I'm sure he'll be furious.” She then looked to the emperor and bowed her head. “Your highness, it was a pleasure. Thank you for all your help.”
“Any time, Avatar,” the stallion said before bowing his head as well. “I wish you luck on your journey.”
Twilight nodded and galloped from the room. She hoped they'd have enough luck, too.
------
Rarity frowned as she nervously pawed at the floor. She'd taken up residence in the large tower at the center of the city, where Twilight was operating out of. Ponies had been going in and out all day, though she'd tried her hardest to stay out of everypony's way. Like it or not, she knew she was still seen as a member of the Water Nation. After the earlier reaction, she knew better than to appear out in the open where everypony might riot and try to kill her.
However, her stay in the tower was proving to be quite disheartening. On the few occasions she did see other ponies, it usually went one of two ways. They ignored her or they stared at her for a few seconds, realization would dawn on them and then a look of disgust, followed by quickly leaving. Despite her given aid, she knew she was hardly the most popular mare here.
Then again, she was used to it, so it barely bothered her. Tensions were high, after all a rebellion had just occurred, albeit a weak one. Many ponies were likely frightened or trying to decide which side would still win, her presence here was just another thing to remind them of what they were fighting against. It was only natural that they wouldn't trust her. Heck, the fact the Avatar was so willing to trust her was nothing short of a miracle, and they interacted on a personal level almost daily. From a distance, it likely looked as if she was tricking the alicorn into believing she was good. Ponies needed something they could distrust, somepony they could lash out at and hate without feeling guilty. If it made the conversion that much easier, then she had no problem being that pony.
The problem that worried her the most was every instinct she had was going off. Every time she walked down a hallway she swore she could hear somepony walking behind her. She'd seen shadows under doorways a dozen times, but by the time she got to it they were already gone. She'd seen ponies disappear behind corners the moment she turned around. Somepony was following her and she was pretty sure she knew why.
Somepony was planning to assassinate her. It made sense, honestly. She couldn't blame them. She was a Water Nation princess, killing her would be a huge morale boost for the rebellion. Or it could be somepony from her own country. She was a traitor, killing her could, in theory, bring a pony power. It wouldn't, since her mother would likely kill them anyway, but they wouldn't know that. Still, she was on high alert and doing her best to keep calm as she waited for whatever assault would come. She'd checked the room she'd chosen as her own, there would be no way in aside from the front door. She had plenty of water. Ponies had walked by her door dozens of time, though a few times a pony had stopped outside. But they always moved on. Really, the worst part of any assassination attempt was the waiting. Knowing they'd come soon to try and slip a blade between your ribs, but you never knew when.
She sat up as a shadow went by her door. It stopped again and she readied a small orb of water. A firm smack to the head to disorient her attacker, then some ice binds to disable them. She'd done it before, though not very often. She hadn't started having many assassination attempts until she'd returned home.
She held her breath as her door jiggled, just a bit, before the shadow disappeared. The door remained closed and she began to relax. Maybe not to--
“Hey Rarity we--” The door swung open and she launched her attack. “Whoa! Watch it!” Rainbow barely avoided the club of ice aimed at her head, ducking as it shattered against the wall. “What's gotten into you?”
“I-I'm sorry, I thought you were an assassin and...” Her face turned scarlet as she realized how silly she sounded.
Rainbow cocked an eye and looked her up and down. “Really? An assassin? You're wayyyy too paranoid. Come on, we're going.”
“Going? Going where?” She got to her hooves and trotted after the mare. She felt that chill go down her spine again, she was certain somepony was watching them. She looked around but didn't see anypony aside from a few ponies walking down the hall.
“To pick up the others at the hideout. You know what this means, don't you? More dragons. Trust me, you'll think it's awesome.” A cocky grin formed on the pegasus' face. “Your aunt will be there too.”
“Huh? Oh... sure.” Rarity looked back down the hall, but there was nopony suspicious there. “Did you see anypony on the way here?”
“Hmmm? Nah, just a buncha soldiers and bureaucrats. Why, looking for somepony?”
“No. Just... paranoid I guess.”
“Heh. Don't worry, this trip is going to be awesome, we're...” Rarity could barely listen to the pegasus as she glanced back. Ponies moved around them and into different rooms and, while she couldn't see anypony that stood out, she was certain she was being followed. Would this trip be the perfect time to do it? She quickly tried to stifle such thoughts. Even if somepony tried, Rainbow would still be there to catch her. Unless she was in on it.
Okay, now she was certain she was just being paranoid.