Discord gazed at hi-- “Oh no you don't.” Snap.
------
Flowerbloom thrust a hoof down and the ground rumbled under Nightmare Moon. The unicorn didn't even flinch, she just turned her head and three spikes of ice shot at the earth pony. Sweetie held out a hoof and stopped the shards of ice for a few seconds, before they rocketed out again. The earth pony barely ducked in time, the shards cutting a chunk from her ribbon.
“You think to test your water bending against mine, child?” Nightmare Moon asked, glaring at her daughter.
“Y-yes I do!” the mare said before stepping to the side and sending a small batch of ice shards at the elder mare. The ruler merely snorted and the ice turned to water and swirled around her. She then ducked, barely in time as a ball of flame shot overhead.
“You aren't just fighting an earth or water bender, Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said, her horn glowing red hot as fire swirled around. “You're fighting us all.”
The ruler chuckled. “Then you will all fall.”
“Get her!” Twilight said, thrusting her horn forward as fire surged out. Flowerbloom stomped her hooves and sent a ripple through the ground, before spikes of earth rose up and tried to hit the mare. Sweetie gathered what water she could, struggling to strike and trip up the ruler when she was distracted.
Nightmare Moon moved with perfect precision. Even with the ground rumbling she was easily able to avoid their attacks, swirling the water around her head and deflecting them with perfected grace. No matter how they struck, the mare was always just out of range, barely avoiding the attack. She only used the barest amount of water to try and deflect the assaults she couldn't dodge. Within a few minutes the three were exhausted, panting and on their knees. Nightmare merely chuckled, shaking her head. “Your bending is weak and expends too much energy. Perhaps I should show you how a true master fights?” Her eyes began to glow green.
Flowerbloom wheezed and stepped back. “W-we need tah run!”
Shards of poisonous ice skewered through the air, making the ponies shriek and roll back, struggling to get away from the attacks. Twilight flapped her wings and sent a sudden burst of wind racing at the mare, as strong as she could. Nightmare Moon growled and narrowed her eyes, a leg moving up to cover her face. When she lowered them, the three were already running.
“Go go go!” Twilight yelled, galloping just behind the other two.
Nightmare Moon chuckled and shook her head. “Foals. Flee all you want, I'll catch you anyw--” She let out a yelp as her hooves refused to move. She looked down at the ground where it had managed to not only turn to quick sand, the moisture in it had frozen solid. “FOALS! I WILL FIND YOU!” she roared. She yanked on her hooves, her magic turning the ice to water.
Twilight ran at the head of the pack, panting for air. They soon came back upon the others, their chests heaving and barely able to stand. Scootaloo took one look at them and motioned into the cart. “Get in. Come on.” They were too tired to object.
“Ah knew she was good, but... ah didn't think she was... like that,” Flowerbloom mumbled.
Twilight nodded, before glancing to Sweetie. The mare just stared at the ground, still breathing heavy. “It doesn't help that none of us really want to hurt her. But... I think she was just toying with us,” she said softly.
“Why?” Scootaloo asked softly, glancing back they way they had come.
“She didn't attack much. She spent more time just avoiding our attacks. And the attacks she launched, well, she sent a bunch of little spikes. Last time I fought her she was more about... well, striking you or disabling you with one small strike. But that was...” She shivered. “I don't know. I just have a bad feeling. We'd best keep going as fast as we can.”
“What if she knows we're headed tah Cloudsdale?” Flowerbloom asked with a nervous chuckle.
Twilight stared back at the ground and shivered. “I... don't know what, then. I think we'll just need to be... careful.” She closed her eyes and buried her head in her hooves. “I'm sorry, Sweetie. I didn't--”
“It's not your fault.”
“But you finally got your mother back and now she's--”
“We'll just rescue her again,” she said softly. “It doesn't matter. You've saved her once, you can save her again. Once all this is over.” Sweetie looked towards the horizon. “Are you two going to be okay pulling the cart?”
“We're fine,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “I've trained my whole life, but It's a shame this isn't an air cart. We could make a lot more time then.”
Twilight nodded and glanced down the road. They were going at a fairly fast pace, but she was a little surprised that Nightmare Moon wasn't catching up with them. Though, that just made her more nervous.
The ruler probably did know where they were headed if she ambushed them on this road. So why wasn't she following them?
------
Nightmare Moon growled, stomping her hooves to the ground. She had to chase after them, she had to. Her eyes glowed a dark, malevolent green.
But she didn't want to. She resisted as hard as she could. Bad enough she was being forced to take orders from that airbag Trixie and that other creature. That it was her daughter she had to fight, her other one. But no, she was nopony's slave. If she caught the avatar it would be her doing, after Discord was returned to stone.
She growled and closed her eyes tightly, trying to suppress the commands that echoed in her mind. That told her to do these things. That said she had to find and capture them. She refused. But still her hoof lifted and slowly went back down, drawing her after them.
She was Nightmare Moon, ruler of the Water Nation. She was nopony's servant. If only her body would listen to that.
------
Twilight let out a yawn before glancing towards the giant orb of cheese in the sky. “Does that mean it's day or night?” she asked softly.
“Well... I think the moon is supposed tah be made of cheese,” Flowerbloom said with a shrug. “But it's yellow like the sun and it is pretty bright out. So... day?”
Twilight stared up at the bright, orange sky. “I hate Discord so much.” Her new mantra was, sadly, starting to lose its spark. She gave another gentle sigh and looked to the others. “I think we're almost there.”
“Do you hear that?” Fluttershy asked softly before glancing up, still holding Angel in her hooves and feeding him a small carrot.
“Hmmm? Hear what?” Twilight asked, though she listened closely. Sure enough, she soon heard yelling off in the distance. Angry yelling. People were screaming and fighting. She gulped. “I think there might be a battle going on.”
Sweetie nodded. “Should we go around?”
Twilight thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No. We have to at least see what it's about.” She jumped from the cart and pulled her cloak back over herself. “But maybe I should go alone. Keep our numbers smaller and--”
“Buck no. I'm coming with you,” Scootaloo said as she dropped down.
“What? But--”
“I'm a pegasus so I'll blend in here,” the mare said with a smile. “Besides, I had to sit out the last fight. If there's another, I'm going to be right there with you. Got it?”
The alicorn sighed again before giving a nod. “Fine. The rest of you, hide. If we come running... well, Flowerbloom, go underground. I don't think many air benders will be able to follow that.” She then started trotting forward.
As they climbed over the next hill, the scene was clear for them to see. Twilight's eyes widened and a hoof covered her mouth. “W-what in blazes... what are they doing?”
“Burn the traitor! You will perish for your crimes!” a pegasus in a blue flightsuit with a yellow thunderbolt yelled. She had an orange and yellow mane. Twilight recognized her as Spitfire.
There was another pony, tied to a post, struggling against it. He was wearing the same uniform and had a dark blue mane. She recognized him as Soarin. She also recognized that there were other ponies in the same getup, flying about and putting kindling under him. “Spitfire, please. I'm not a traitor! You know me, we're friends. Partners. Let me go!”
“You are a traitorous scum, no friend of mine. You will perish along with those other foals!”
Twilight just stared, her mouth falling open. A match was tossed onto the kindling and the flames started as the stallion shrieked.
“Aren't those the Wonderbolts? Shouldn't we do something?” Scootaloo asked.
“What? OH! Yes!” She stomped her hooves down and sent a batch of dirt and rocks over the flames, snuffing them out. The ponies around the flames looked around, before focusing on her. “What's the meaning of this? What are you doing to Soarin?”
“He is a traitor and will pay for his crimes, earth po--” Spitfire paused for a second, before her eyes went wide. “Wait a moment. You're... a unicorn. How did you earth bend?”
Twilight gulped and stepped forward, shaking the cloak off. Too late for disguises now. “Spitfire, it's me, Twilight. What's the meaning of this?”
Spitfire growled. “Avatar. Of course, you're a member of those traitors too, aren't you?”
“Traitors? What traitors? What are you talking about!”
“Don't act like you don't know,” the mare said with a snort.
“She probably doesn't! I still don't!” Soarin yelled, shaking in his binds. “Avatar, please, help me! They've gone mad! They keep talking about the--”
“Silence, traitor! You've already sealed your fate with your crimes against the sky lords!” She then turned to Twilight. “Avatar, you are strong. I will give you one chance. Abandon your loyalties to those... ground walkers and join our side. Together, we will purge this land of all those lesser beings!”
Twilight just stared. “Purge... this land? Ground walkers? What are you talking about?”
“They've gone mad, Twilight!” Soarin yelled as he struggled in his bindings. “It's Discord's magic, whatever he's done!”
“Ignore him! Twilight, join us!” the mare held out a hoof. “You're either for us, or against us.”
The alicorn looked around for a moment before narrowing her eyes. “I think I know exactly what's going on here. You're trying to start another war.” She slid her hoof forward and the ground began to rumble. “The answer is no. I will not join you or help you in whatever foalish dreams of conquest you have.”
“Then you will die!” Spitfire roared before charging forward. Or rather, she tried to. The ground now had a firm grip on her hooves and refused to let go. “Hey! What trickery is this? Avatar! You think to defeat us with-- GUHHH!” Suddenly Scootaloo was on the mare and a few quick taps made her drop like a rock.
“Sorry,” Scootaloo said with a grin as she galloped towards the ones closest to Soarin. “I'm not much for war, either!” A few quick taps and the pony went limp, who she then threw into the next one. She jumped onto the pile of kindling and started working on the binds.
“Stop her! Stop them!” Spitfire yelled into the ground, her voice muffled by the dirt.
“That's not going to happen,” Twilight said as she stomped her hoof again. The ground erupted, peppering the other Wonderbolts in rocks as she took the chance to fly forward, joining the other two. Her wings spread out. “Don't think I won't crush you if I have to!”
Spitfire growled and tried moving, before letting out a sigh. “Get me, you foals! Help me up! We're pulling back!”
The Wonderbolts gave each other worried looks, before quickly flying over to grab their fallen comrades. Twilight watched and waited for an attack, but it didn't come. They were soon flying off as she watched, letting them escape. “Well, that was... definitely something. Do you mind explaining what was going on, Soarin?”
The stallion let out a yelp when he was untied, collapsing onto Scootaloo. “S-sorry. I've been tied up and hauled around for quite a while now.”
The mare shrugged. “It's cool, come on.” She helped him sit down and tried rubbing feeling back into his limbs. “Tell us what happened.”
“Wait, hold on,” Twilight said. “I'm going to get the others. This way you only have to tell us once.” She jumped into the air and flew off.
------
The group was soon gathered, with Soarin sitting in the cart and rubbing his hooves. “I'm not completely sure what happened. Just... well. I was late arriving back home. I had things to attend to, ponies I had to help. I sent them off ahead. Then when I got back, I found out Discord had been there and dropped off a statue of Rainbow.”
Twilight nodded. “That would be what we're after. How did you end up there?”
“It was... well... ummm...” He sighed and shook his head. “It doesn't make any sense. I knew these ponies, I had for years. They were, are, good ponies. I trusted almost any of them with my life. But then... bad things started happening. The sun was back in its place, so Cloudsdale was going from city to town, offering aid and helping each of our settlements re-expand. At least, that's what we had been doing. But when I got back they were talking about the pegasus master race and how all the ground ponies didn't deserve what they had. That only the air benders deserved anything. They'd dropped off all non-pegasi weeks before I got back, fortunately. By the time I arrived they were getting ready to toss any non-pegasi they found out of the clouds. I tried asking Spitfire what was going on.” He took a slow, deep breath. “She betrayed me, said I was becoming one of them, next thing I know I'm being questioned and ponies are demanding to know where my loyalties lie. I eventually managed to convince them that I was with them, but everything was wrong. I couldn't trust any of the ponies. Then... Trixie arrived.”
Twilight's eyes widened. “Wait, Trixie is there?”
“Oh, yes. She arrived yesterday. But, well... I asked what was going on, why we would trust them. They were talking about... purging all the non-benders. Starting there before the rest of the non-pegasi. I tried to talk with Spitfire, to make her see what she was doing was wrong. But it was like she was a completely different pony. Not my friend at all. She just... turned on me. Next thing I know I'm being swarmed by my one time friends and they're threatening to burn me at the stake for being a ground walker sympathizer. You should have seen them chanting for my head. It was... horrifying. And not just because it was my head they wanted.”
Twilight nodded and glanced off in the distance. “If Trixie is here, that's going to make everything a bit harder. But we need to get into Cloudsdale.” She smiled down at him. “The same thing happened at Ponyville. The ponies there had completely changed. They were... just, well, mean. Angry. But once we rescued Fluttershy, they returned to normal.” She paused. “Sadly, the rest of the world didn't. But if we can save Rainbow, I think it will return Cloudsdale to normal.”
“If it doesn't?” Soarin asked nervously.
“Rainbow fly real good,” Twilight said with a nod, before pausing. “Err, I mean we'll run away. I swear that was Discord's influence. Probably.”
“You can't go there yourself, though,” Soarin muttered. “The moment you show your head, they'll be all over you. You can't hope to fight off that many air benders. Especially now that they're expecting you. That's not even including the fleet Trixie has.”
Twilight nodded. “I know. I'll have to think of something, though. I can't just leave Rainbow trapped there. She--”
“I... may have an idea,” Sweetie said nervously. The ponies turned to her. “Well, they're after Twilight, right? They know she's on the way? What if we gave her to them?”
“WHAT?” many voices asked in unison.
“I don't mean like imprisoning her! I mean, letting them see her, so they chase her.”
“How can I get to Rainbow's statue if I have half a fleet chasing me, not to mention the Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked with a sigh.
“Easy, it won't be you. I still know the spells I used in Fillydelphia, afterall,” Sweetie said before her horn began to glow. There was a flash and she was gone, in her place Twilight stood. “This spell isn't too hard, though it won't hold up to much damage. As long as we're just running, it'll be easy.”
Twilight shook her head. “Not a chance, I'm not risking--”
“I'll do it,” Soarin said quickly.
“Me too,” Scootaloo said with a nod.
“Ah'm in,” Flowerbloom added, grinning from ear to ear. “Yah might need an earth bender, afta all.”
Twilight glared. “No! Absolutely not! It's too dangerous, you could all get hurt, or worse! What if Trixie caught you? They--”
“I'm one of the fastest fliers in the Wonderbolts,” Soarin said with a shake of his head. “And a master air bender. I won't be fighting, I'll just be running. They'll have no chance.”
“On the ground they'll have no chance of matching us,” Sweetie said as she stood besides her two friends. “With my water bending, Flowerbloom's earth bending and Scootaloo's anti-bending, they won't come close. We'll be in and out before they have any idea what's going on.”
Twilight gave another sigh and shook her head. “But... but what if you get hurt?”
“You're going to have to fight off Discord, aren't you?” Soarin asked. “I think that's a lot more dangerous than this. So don't worry so much, we'll be fine.”
The alicorn sighed again, before slowly nodding. “Fine. Just... be careful.”
“Of course,” the ponies said in unison.
------
Riftwing grumbled as she laid on the edge of the clouds. Guard duty again, she couldn't believe it. She was an amazing flier, she shouldn't be stuck doing this lousy, useless watch duty. They were wasting her talents. She bunched up a bit of the cloud cover and made a pillow.
She was a Wonderbolt for goodness sake. But did any of them even notice how amazing she was? She should just join the Water Nation. Yeah, they paid really well. Then she'd get the respect she deserved. The Wonderbolts were just holding her back, jealous of how--
Something blurred by and she looked up, confusion on her face. She lifted a hoof up to call the alarm, but shrugged. If it was nothing, she'd just get grief for it. If it was something, well, it served them right for wasting her up here.
Her eyes caught sight of something else below and she gasped. A purple pony was slowly sneaking across the landscape. She pulled out her binoculars and grinned.
A purple alicorn. It was the avatar. She kicked her hoof out, gonging the nearby bell before diving after the avatar. This was her catch, her prize!
Sweetie yelped and looked up as the first bell went off. One pony was already diving off the clouds, but she could already see others following close behind. More bells filled the air and she knew it would be only moments before the full fleet was gathered and pursuing her. She barely managed to keep her smile back before she turned tail and ran towards the tree cover.
Twilight looked down from her position directly under Cloudsdale. She was wrapped entirely in a, thankfully normal, cloud and hovering just a few feet under the edge. A small hole allowed her to see out. The hiding spot was stuffy, but it gave her all the camouflage she needed to watch and wait. It started off as a trickle of ponies leaping from the city, but before long there were dozens of them flying off, straight towards where the 'Avatar' had fled. Then there were airships and she swore she even saw Trixie, struggling to keep up with the better fliers.
The alicorn held her breath and just watched, waiting for them to slowly trickle down to only a fraction of their numbers. She shook her head. “Wow, they really do want me. Do you think they'll be okay?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I-I think so. Ummmm... Will... Spike and Angel be okay, do you think?”
“Spike is very mature for his age, he'll be fine. Besides, they shouldn't be going anywhere near them. I'm more worried about the others. Now, give me a hoof.” Their wings pushed out from the cloud and, slowly, they began flapping about towards the center of the cloud, pulling to a slow stop. “He said it's at the center of the town, right?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy said softly.
“Okay, keep the cloud here, I'm going up,” Twilight whispered as she slowly pushed open the top of their cloud and began digging into the bottom of Cloudsdale. Inch by inch she broke through the white, puffy surface.
“Is it there?” Fluttershy called up softly.
“I don't know yet. The clouds are getting thicker, though. I think I'm almost there. I think--” She pushed open the final layer, revealing the stone pedestal. It wobbled on what little cloud cover it had. “Oh bu--” It then fell through, crashing into Twilight and sending them bother flying down the hole. Twilight landed first, the cloud cushioning her fall. Unfortunately, the pedestal landed a second later on her chest.
Fluttershy eeked, her eyes going wide. “A-are, are you okay?”
“F-fine,” Twilight said with a whimper, clutching her chest. “N-never... b-better. Wwie...” She rolled onto her side and held her chest. “N-never... a-again...” she groaned.
“You got it,” Fluttershy said happily as she looked up. “Should we close the hole?”
“Y-yes. Go do that. I-I'll keep... a-an eye on the statue,” Twilight said from her position on the bottom of the cloud. All her world was pain. It didn't help that Rainbow's statue was right by her head, with that big, confident grin on her face. As always. “I-I bet you find this funny, don't you?”
“What was that?” Fluttershy called down.
“Nothing! Just let me know when you're done!”
After a few minutes the hole was once again cleared and the two fliers slowly drew the cloud down towards the ground. Twilight kept an eye out, but as far as she could see, there were still no signs of them being noticed. She just hoped the others were faring as well. When the ground finally touched down she spread out her hooves and the ground covered them, wrapping the cloud in complete darkness. She tapped her hoof again and small air holes formed throughout the wall. She then glanced to Fluttershy with a nervous smile. “This... well, this'll be dangerous. There's no telling what'll happen. Are you sure you want to come with me and risk it?”
Fluttershy gave a small nod. “Of course. I'm...” She looked to the statue of Rainbow. “She'd do the same for me. I can't leave it for you to do alone.”
Twilight nodded and took her friend's hoof. She put her horn to the statue and it began to glow. After a moment the world disappeared yet again.