Diamond gave a happy little purr as she lay nestled up in her nice, warm bed. Sure, it wasn't as soft as the silk beddings back home, but after roughing it all over the country. Having to stay at inns and sometimes dreadfully in tents, she was enjoying the feeling of a soft, warm bed that was all hers. At least the air benders knew how to prepare comfy ones.
“Time to get up!” a voice boomed. Before she could react, the door blew open and, for lack of a better term, a tornado tore through her room. She let out a shriek as the blanket was torn off and she was tossed to the ground.
“Owwwwww...” she groaned. “Go away... I'll burn yah...” she warned groggily, reaching out to grab the bed and climb back in. Another burst of air knocked her hoof away.
“Nope, it's time to get up and get to your training,” Prism said as he stepped into the room, trotting in place. “Now, if you had your wings we'd start with flying, but this'll have to do. Three laps around the island.”
“Go. Away,” she said with a growl, glaring at him. He glared right back.
“Today is all about training, you gave me your word yesterday.”
“Today hasn't even started yet!”
“Well, it has now!” He flapped his wings again and she was lifted up, before being hurtled out the window. Fortunately, it was open. She rolled on the ground a few times before landing on her back, swirls in her eyes. “Up up up!” he called as he landed besides her, still trotting in place. “Time to wake them lazy bones and start the day!”
“Noooooo!” she whined.
“Yeeeeeees,” he whined right back. “Now, you can trot across the whole island, or I can toss you all the way around three times. Your choice. Or you can try taking another swing at me, see where that gets you.”
Diamond growled, flames flickering around the tip of her horn. She stared into his eyes, before finally getting to her hooves. “Fine! Whatever! I was going to get up anyway!” She jumped to her hooves and started lightly trotting.
He ran up besides her. “Oh no, I said trot! Not meander! Go go go!”
“I am go go going!” she snapped, slowly picking up the pace. “You're intolerable!”
“No, I'm a morning pony!”
“Same thing!” She ground her teeth and considered trying to light him on fire. It would be so easy, she was sure. She was the Avatar, that automatically meant she was a better bender than him. Her dad told her all the time that she was destined to be the greatest ever, that's what the Avatar WAS. There were all kinds of things that the Avatar could do that other ponies couldn't.
Okay, right, she'd just turn around, skid a bit and launch a fire ball at him. Not enough to hurt him. He was just a common bender after all. Just enough to singe him. She dug her hooves into the ground and let out a shriek as she started spinning out of control. It took her a moment to realize she was caught in a whirlwind that just kept spinning her around and around and around, before launching her into the air and making her land on the sand with a groan, her eyes little swirls again.
“You really give far too many tells when you plan to attack a pony,” Prism said with a sigh. “My mother could have seen it from a mile away. And she's blind now.”
“Hate... you... every... fiber... of my being...”
“Well, best get to it,” he said, his voice far too chipper. “Breakfast will be ready soon, but we have plenty of training to do before that. And after that, even.”
“You and all of your ilk should die in fire,” Diamond grumbled before slowly getting to her hooves, galloping ahead. Three laps, that was all she had to do. And he was there, a little behind her. Again and again she tried to assault him, but each time he deflected it with ease and sent her into another spin, flying into the air or even once tossed her off the island entirely. It didn't matter how she did it. She tried using a sneak attack with the water, he easily moved around them. She tried to spin and launch a fire ball, he was already one step ahead. She even tried grabbing him with the ground when he landed, but he was so light on his hooves that it was impossible.
By the time she was done with the three laps she was soaking wet, sore and exhausted. She dropped on the ground with a groan. “My my, Avatar, so tired after only three laps? You really are out of shape.”
“I am not!” she snapped angrily, standing up and glaring at him. “I'm ready to take whatever you can dish out!” Everything hurt, her pride most of all.
He gave a soft chuckle. “Oh? I should warn you. My mother was one of the greatest air benders to ever live and my father was a Wonderbolt as well. By the time I was half your age I could fly from here to the outer edges of Harmony in under a minute. Keeping up with me now won't be easy.”
“I will break you,” she said venomously.
He smirked. “Good. You're cocky. I like that. Now... back to your leaf training. Let's see if you can keep it afloat this time.”
------
“So, how did the training go?” Blaze asked nervously. She received another dirty look from Diamond.
“It went fine. Everything is super duper fine. How about you? Enjoying yourself over there?” she asked bitterly.
“The child is merely annoyed because she's having difficulty with the training,” Prism said with a shrug. “She'll get the hang of it, eventually. It's just a shame she doesn't have wings. With those, we could do so much more.”
“I don't need any stupid wings,” Diamond grumbled. “I can do all the best bending without them.”
“Of course you can,” Blaze said with a smile. “Just relax. Diamond, I know it might seem worrisome that you're not picking it up quickly, but don't worry. Prism is a great teacher and I'm sure you'll be picking up air bending before you know it.”
The unicorn gave a shrug before nibbling at her porridge. “When's the festival, anyway?”
“A few days,” Prism said smoothly. “If you wish to attend, I'm sure we can find some time to go.”
“What was it she said about pro bending? Is it--”
“It's a useless frivolity,” Prism said with a roll of his eyes. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
Blaze chuckled softly, a hoof over her mouth.
“What? Why? What is it?”
“It's a competition using benders,” Blaze said with a smile. “Three versus three at a time, with any of the four benders, so long as each one is different. It's become quite big in the last few years. As a matter of fact, I believe--”
“It's a waste of time,” Prism grumbled before nibbling his porridge, his mood drastically darkened. “Don't concern yourself with it, your time should be spent training.”
“It sounds like it is training,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “What flew up your butt and fire bent?”
He just stared at her flatly, not saying a word. She smirked back.
“Maybe I can find a better air bending trainer there. One who's competent. This leaf thing of yours isn't working, it's just wasting our time and making me sneeze a lot.”
He gave a soft sigh. “Perhaps. I suppose we could try other methods of training. Perhaps working on helping you move with the wind, rather than controlling the wind.”
She groaned. “That sounds soooooo boring!”
------
Diamond whimpered as she stared down at the ground. She was a mile up, at least. On a little tiny platform barely big enough to let her move on. Strange paper fans surrounded her on all sides, making the powerful gusts around her come at her from all different angles. Well, at least now she knew what that big stone pillar had been for. How could ANYPONY think this was okay?
“Just try to let the air flow with you,” Prism said as he lightly hovered above her, the wind making his mane dance wildly as he flew against it. “Don't fight it, just let it flow around you.”
“Go WITH it? Are you trying to make me fall to my death?!” she shrieked.
“Of course not. I'd catch you if it came to that. Just let it flow around you.”
“Buck you!” she shrieked, but she did try what he said. She closed her eyes and let the air flow around her. Relaxed into it.
She promptly let out a shriek as a sudden powerful burst sent her sliding off the pillar. Her hoof shot out and the rock shifted under her, spreading out to grab her before she could fall. “That's it, NO! I am NOT doing this!”
“But--”
“NO!” She screamed, before stomping a hoof down. The pillar of earth started to crumble, the platform she was on quickly sinking back down towards the ground and shattering the rest of the pillar as it went.
“What are you doing?!” Prism yelled, his eyes wide. “STOP THAT! STOP IT!”
She ignored him, not caring as she continued towards the ground. Once she was down, she stormed off.
He landed in front of her, glaring. “Do you have any idea what you've done? That pillar was a specially made training--”
“I. Don't. CARE!” she screamed back at him. “You're a horrible teacher! Trying to get me killed, leaves, this is all so BORING!”
He shook, his eyes narrowed on her before gritting his teeth. “This is the same kind of training--”
“What, that you learned? Well I'm sure your trainer was a horrible teacher too!”
His eyes widened and then, slowly, narrowed. “My mother was one of the greatest air benders to ever live. You'd be lucky to have ever even met her. She--”
“Well, then it's a shame you're not her,” Diamond said before stomping by him, turning towards the shore. “I'm going into the town.”
He stood there, his eyes wide for a moment. He then took a deep breath. “Very well, Avatar. If you--”
“Prism,” Blaze said, making him jump.
He looked back and cringed, before pointing towards the Avatar. “What? I was just going to teach her a lesson about... about...”
She just glowered at him.
He sighed, before giving a nod. He took to the air and darted after the unicorn, landing in front of her. “You're not going to stop,” he said matter of factly.
“I'm finding a new teacher,” she said with a glare. “A GOOD teacher.”
“I'm the best you're going to find.” He took a deep breath. “But... perhaps you're right.”
She stopped then, giving him a cocked eye. “Right?”
“Indeed. I've been training you the way I was taught. But there was one basic difference.” He spread out his wings. “I had these. I could feel the wind and magic as it flowed around my feathers. You, on the other hoof, still don't even have little wings. All you have is your horn. So perhaps... I'd best try different methods.”
She cocked her eye again. “I'm... listening.”
He smiled. “We'll try a different method my mother used to teach me. It's a bit harsh, but I think it'll suit a pony without wings just fine.”
Diamond gave a small nod, eying him suspiciously. “Okay. I'm listening...”
------
Diamond let out a yelp as she struggled not to die. She swore he wasn't holding back, not in the slightest! The two were standing in a small, round arena. It was absolutely filled with leaves, twigs and all manner of other things that she was finding very, very annoying.
Her teacher had his wings tied tightly to his side, making it impossible for him to use them to bend. Unfortunately, it seemed he still knew how to air bend with his hooves and mouth. But, as much as she abhorred having to admit it, she was finding it a lot easier to mimic some of his forms and get the general idea of it. Though she kept wanting to switch to the other styles.
Prism danced around the mare with ease, his hooves barely touching the ground as he went, launching half hearted attacks from different angles that, to his surprise, she was getting better at avoiding. Not much, but a little. It was a bit aggressive as training went, but it seemed to be working. She walked far too heavily to be an air bender, she applied her weight to her front hooves too often and it made her easily off balance. Air bending was all about moving quick and light, barely touching the ground. Dodging and weaving.
But, as much as he hated to admit it, she was picking it up. Quickly. She still wasn't any good and had a long, long way to go before she'd have even the basics down, but the form was working out quite well for her. She was mimicking his movements decently, even if she couldn't do the air bending that went with it. He gave another thrust with his hoof, sending a burst of wind towards her face. The fallen leaves and twigs showed the air's path clearly, allowing her plenty of time to avoid the burst.
He counted down from three. On one, her hooves locked, her forward weight worked against her and she let out a shriek as she toppled over.
“Better that time,” he said with a sigh. “You managed to stay standing almost forty seconds.” She was definitely getting better. But still nowhere near good. He wondered how long it would be before her wings began to sprout.
“Oh, shut up,” she snapped angrily, waving a hoof at him. The hoof position was... close to being good and he readied himself. However, no burst of air came at him.
“You need to work on your form, but at least you're catching on, better.”
“It's a lot better than that stupid leaf training you were having me do,” she said with a shake of her head. “How could anypony learn anything doing that?”
“Everypony has a different method of learning,” Prism said firmly. “When I started learning, I already knew how to do a little bit of air bending, so it was mostly an act of refining it and learning how to use my powers. I... figured you would have at least a little capability to use air bending. My mother said Twilight learned it as her second element and had very little trouble mastering it. Well... perhaps not mastering it, but getting the idea. You're... learning the stances quite well. You still have plenty to work on, your hoofwork isn't very strong, for example.”
She frowned and snorted. “My hoofwork is perfect! You couldn't knock me on my flank if you tried!”
“Your hoofwork may be good for an earth bender, but to an air bender it is that of a novice. At best. You've mastered fire bending and water bending, haven't you? Would you say the hoof work between the two is the same?”
She snorted. “Of course not. Fire bending has a lot more push and stability needs, to make sure you get the right power in. Water bending has more...” She blinked a few times before glaring at him.
“Exactly. This has more in common with water bending, than earth bending. A water bender will try to redirect the attack, move the strike away from them and swirl around their opponent, avoiding and moving each strike. An air bender, however, will try to never be there to begin with. They make their body flow around each strike, making them miss and then coming out from different angles to take their opponent down. You still very much fight like an earth bender. You'll need to work on that.”
She huffed and started to storm off.
“You're still doing quite good, for only one day.”
She gave a light chuckle. “Well, of course I am. I am the Avatar after all. The greatest bender of all time. I'll have these stances down in like two, three days, tops. Then I'll have all the little air things learned, too. My wings'll be here before you know it.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hoof and trotted towards the building.
He gave a soft sigh, shaking his head. She still had a long, long way to go. But who knew? Maybe she'd pick it up, eventually. He then looked towards the remains of the tower. They'd need to see if Octavia could repair it. How could she just destroy things like that? This is why earth benders shouldn't train with air benders.
------
Diamond nibbled on her oat paddies, looking up at the two air benders. “Sooooo. What's this festival like?”
“It's marvelous,” Blaze said with a smile, grinning down at her. “You can get all sorts of delightful treats and the floats are amazing. Then at the end they have an exhibition match with last years pro bending winners and some members of the council.”
There was a light groan from Prism.
“What's he upset about?” Diamond asked, cocking an eye.
“Oh, you'll find out eventually,” Blaze said with a knowing grin. She received a glare from Prism, but didn't seem to mind. “Are you enjoying your oat paddies?”
“Yeah, the syrup is pretty good,” she mumbled softly. “So, this festival. I'm going to be a guest of honor, right? I mean, I am the Avatar and these ponies have been waiting years to see me.”
“Thanks to Filthy,” Prism grumbled darkly.
“Ugh, let it go,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “Daddy just wanted to make sure I was as awesome as could be when I finally made my debut.”
Prism gave an annoyed snort.
“Anyway, moving on,” Blaze said before smiling to her. “We're not sure, honestly. I know Sunburst wants to make a big deal about your arrival, but not all members of the council are okay with that. This year it would probably be best if you stayed as just a tourist. What with all the anti-bending movements and--”
“Ughhh, why do you ponies even let those go on? They aren't even benders! Just go in, blow up their little meetings and send them packing!”
Prism glared at her. “You are the Avatar. How can you even speak of such things? These ponies have just as much right to voice their concerns as anypony else.”
“Not when their concerns are so stupid. They hate bending. Bend-ing. You might as well hate magic, or flying, or swimming. Just because THEY can't do it doesn't mean that others shouldn't.” She rolled her eyes. “It's just so stupid.”
“While we may not agree with everything that they say,” Blaze said diplomatically. “It is the job of the council to listen and try to aid all of its citizens, regardless of their affiliations. And it's not as if non-benders make up the minority of the city, you know. In fact, with all the different species, they make up the majority.”
That made Diamond pause and she looked at her food. “And they all feel that way?”
“Fortunately, no,” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “Ironically, most of the non-bending species seem more or less fine with the idea of benders. They have expressed concern with just how many ponies make up the council, but they rarely differentiate between benders and non-benders. That we've seen. According to our last records, the zebras make up the majority of non-pony anti-benders and even their contributions are minuscule in the grand scheme of things.”
“See? Even the non-ponies see how stupid it is,” Diamond said with a shrug. “Some of us are just born better than them. It happens, get over it.”
Prism sighed and rubbed his forehead. “The ability to bend does not make us better than anypony. Being the Avatar most definitely doesn't.”
“Oh, come on,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “I'm the Avatar. What in the world could possibly even come close to being as important as me?”
The stallion gave an exasperated sigh and covered his face with both hooves. “Stars give me strength. Anyway!” He lowered his hooves. “You still have a long way to go, Avatar, before you're better than anypony. You've got a lot of practice to do before your air bending is anywhere near competent.”
She shrugged. “Easy. I'll have it mastered before you know it.”
He glowered at her. “We'll see.” He was not looking forward to the next few days. But who knew, maybe she would be right and would master the bending super fast and he'd never have to deal with her again. The thought was just too delightful to ignore.