//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Defense // Story: Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 1: Harmony // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Diamond struggled to maintain her balance, three books on her head and her only standing on two hooves. “I... I'm not sure how this helps.” “To use one's spirit in their quest, they must hone it to its very best,” Zecora said as she slowly flipped through her book. “Anger and arrogance are your greatest weakness, a task must be difficult and teach you meekness.” “What?” she asked, wobbling forward a bit, then eeking as she went too far. “No no no no!” She fell over and the books flew through the air, landing on her back. “Ow.” She then blinked. “Wait, are you saying I NEED to fail and be humble? How will THAT help me?” “You believe that the past Avatar spoke to you when you were in need? Then her wisdom you must heed. Blocking it off with pride and glory, will do nothing but in the end ruin your story.” The mare blinked a few times as she tried processing this. “So you're saying that the reason I can't talk to my past lives is because... I'm too arrogant?” The zebra nodded. “But that's not fair! I'm getting a lot better at that! Even Blaze said so! Sorta! And...” She blinked a few times and thought back. “And... since... then... I've kind of felt as if somepony has been talking to me. Guiding me. Helping me.” The zebra gave a smile and a nod. “So... you think...” She poked her hooves together. “You think Avatar Twilight wants to talk with me?” That made the zebra pause, before nodding. “Your past life was one of violence and strife, but she was not a pony who would just use a knife. A helping hoof was what she offered and often desired, so even now I doubt she's retired.” Diamond nodded and looked at the mare. She gulped softly. “So... I uhhhh... so... Zecora. You knew Twilight. Right? Do you... I mean, do you think I can do what she did? Well, not exactly, but, be like her?” The mare nodded. “With time and work I don't see why not, already you've become far less of a little snot.” Her face turned red. “H-hey, you barely knew me when I first arrived here and... Oh. Wait. You mean the whole... speech thing I did when we first met, don't you?” The zebra gave a nod before holding out the books. “Now we have talked much, to humble yourself you must continue as such.” Diamond grumbled and took the books, slowly getting back into position. “Avatar!” a bat pony yelled, running into the room. Diamond yelped and fell back over, this time onto her back. The books landed on her stomach, making her clutch it and roll over. “Owwww... w-what?” “We have a message, you need to come hear this! Hurry!” the pony yelled, racing back out. She looked to Zecora. The mare nodded before following after the other pony as well. Diamond sighed and raced after them. She hoped it was important. ------ It was important. So very, very important. “It came just a little bit ago,” Sunburst muttered, pacing back and forth. “This is a disaster. A true disaster. This could mean war.” Diamond gulped and stared at the static filled radio. “So... what exactly did they say?” “It was a warning,” Sunburst muttered. “The Pheonix, one of the Fire Tribe's patrol ships, is making its way here to burn the city to the ground. To 'purge' these unmarked from the world.” Diamond gulped and nodded. She could already imagine it now. Fiery death raining from the sky. Hundreds, possibly thousands of the unmarked would die. They'd never have a chance. Meadowbrook would probably take the ship down, eventually, but the damage would be done. So many innocent ponies, killed. Their lives destroyed. There weren't any benders above anymore to fight off the flames, either. The entire city could go up. “Meadowbrook has defenses though, right? She can fight it off?” “She has a bunch of unmarked fliers,” Sunburst muttered. “They might be able to stop the ship before it gets there, but there aren't any benders. Hundreds, possibly thousands of them would die.” Diamond nodded slowly. She could feel it in the air. A silent, though dreadful thought. The thought that they should just let the unmarked die. She took a deep breath and shook her head. “We can't let them. Those ponies aren't... not all of the unmarked are bad. They aren't killers and they don't deserve to be executed. We have no idea how many of them are being forced into this, anyway. How many innocent ponies will be there. We have to stop the ship before it arrives.” There was a released breath. “Our rescue team hasn't arrived yet with the lost council members,” Sunburst mumbled. “But I don't imagine it would matter much. This is an air strike. We need pegasi.” His eyes slowly raised up to Blaze. “We need Prism.” “We'll need more than just Prism,” Blaze muttered. “I'll go too. We have a few Shadowbolts. They can go. And--” “I'm going,” Diamond added quickly. “You don't have wings,” Blaze said quickly. “We--” “I'm going. I'm a fire bender, I can face their fire benders. You'll need somepony like me,” Diamond said firmly. “Besides, I might be able to stop them. Not everypony wants to fight the Avatar after all.” “Diamond...” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “I am going whether you like it or not. I have friends up there with the unmarked. I'm not going to just sit around and hope you all manage to stop this mad pony before they get somepony I care about killed.” The pegasus sighed before giving a nod. “Fine. But you will listen to me when we're up there, okay? No taking chances. This ship is... dangerous. Fire benders can be deadly.” “I'll be careful, I promise.” Sunburst nodded. “Blaze, gather a team. You'll need to leave within the hour. There's no telling when they'll arrive, but we need you to meet them outside the city. Before they can attack Meadowbrook. If she knows and intercepts, the blood bath will be all the worse.” “I know,” Blaze muttered. “I'll be ready before you know it.” She turned and walked out of the room. Diamond watched her go, her heart beating faster than before. She could hardly believe it. Wasn't it bad enough that they had to fight off the unmarked? Now the fire benders were going to try to kill them, too? ------ Diamond stared at the few gathered ponies. Blaze, Prism, a few Shadowbolts and diamond dogs. She was the only pony engaging the ship who didn't have wings. “So, do we know where it'll be coming from?” “The east,” Blaze muttered. “That's about it. It could be coming from anywhere in the Fire Nation and the lands of Harmony aren't extended too far in. We'll need to keep an eye out for it and then move fast when we find it.” Diamond nodded, then backed away as one of the diamond dogs moved to grab her. “I'll bend my way through the ground myself, thank you very much. I'm an earth bender too!” she said, before pausing. “Well, I guess... I am. I'm not actually sure what it is that you guys do. It's not really... it's very confusing.” The dogs snorted, before grabbing a pony each and then disappearing into the ground. She charged after them, still wishing she had some idea WHAT their weird bending thing was. Maybe it was some form of natural bending? Or like a mole? It didn't really feel like a mole. She swore there had to be some kind of magic to it. They went through cement, after all. She'd never seen a mole do that. Granted, she'd never actually seen a mole anyway, just in her books. But it was the same thing. Probably. Maybe. Close enough. She shrugged and dug through the dirt quickly, following after the dogs and her comrades. They traveled so deep under the city she couldn't even feel the ponies as they walked around on the surface. She didn't know how long they traveled, but finally the dogs went up and out of the ground and she followed after them, bursting from the dirt. To see all of the pegasi on their backs, swirls for eyes. She face palmed. “You didn't make sure they had air bubbles or anything, did you?” “Ponies need air bubbles?” one of the dogs asked. Diamond rolled her eyes and moved besides them, gently nudging Blaze first. “I don't wanna go to school, mommy,” the mare said faintly. “I wanna stay home and play with my blocks.” Diamond chuckled and nudged her again. “Come on, Blaze. We've got a mission to do. Up, up.” The dogs started waking up the others, nudging and shaking them. It took a few more minutes but, finally, the pegasi got to their hooves. “What happened?” Blaze asked with a groan. “They didn't stop to let you guys breath,” Diamond said with a shake of her head. “I thought they'd have learned after... well, anyway. We're out of the city.” She looked around. There was nothing but trees, grass and hills as far as the eye could see. Lots of trees to the north east. “What's that place?” she asked, motioning towards it. “The Everfree Forest. We are not going there,” Blaze grumbled. She stretched out and groaned. “How far out of the city are we?” “Not far,” one of the dogs said. “No see us while on ground. But see airship if come here.” The pegasus nodded before looking around. “Well, we're out of the ground, at least. We're heading further east. We'll head over the Everfree Forest and then look around. No matter what you do, don't go in it. That place is suicide if you land there. And don't go under it, either,” she warned the dogs. She then started walking. “What's so bad about that place?” Diamond asked as she walked up besides the mare. “You make it sound all like... evil and stuff.” “It is evil,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “There are monsters and creatures there that can't be found anywhere else in Equestria. Massive bears the size of buildings. Eels made entirely of electricity. I hear even the grass there will attack you, give you a thousand cuts until you bleed out.” Diamond shivered and looked at the trees. They suddenly looked a lot more ominous. “R-really? That's uhhh... that doesn't sound very nice.” “It's not a nice place. Nopony goes there anymore,” Prism muttered. “Even my mom steered clear of it. Fire bender tribes made their home there once while hiding from the Water Nation. The Water Nation could barely make their way in to it, even with their armies.” Diamond nodded, wishing they didn't have to go quite so close to it. “So ummm... those things. They don't come out much, do they?” “No, not really. In the woods where there's the trees and the magic, they thrive. But outside it, I don't think they survive long. I've heard of one or two timber wolves making their way out, but they tend to go back quickly. It's a place different from the rest of the world.” “Well... that's good, at least,” the avatar said with a chuckle. Still, as they made their way closer, none of them seemed to want to talk anymore. They traveled in silence, watching the trees and waiting for something, anything to come out. Like a giant bear, or a eel made of electricity, or a pink pony with a cannon. Diamond blinked and wondered where THAT idea came from. She hoped she wasn't finally cracking. Now was not the time for it. They stopped a few yards from the edge. “We'll set up camp here,” Blaze said, before spreading her wings. “Prism and I will scan the area. Shadowbolts, keep close and keep an eye on what's around here. Make sure the camp isn't caught unaware. Diamond dogs, Diamond brat, wait here for now and set up camp.” Diamond nodded, before blinking. “HEY!” The pegasus snickered before taking to the air and flying off, over the trees with Prism. Diamond glared at the both of them. The avatar crossed her legs and glared at the trees. 'I bet it's not even that bad. She probably just told me those things to...' the words in her head trailed off as she realized something else. Even the dogs were staying as far from the woods as they could, one keeping an eye on it at all times and not daring to go any closer to it than they had to. It seemed whatever fear it brought, ponies weren't the only ones it affected. ------ “Diamond! Diamond!” the voice echoed through her mind, making her slowly open her eyes and groan. She'd been so comfortable and-- “GAH! BACK OFF!” she yelled at Prism. The stallion rolled his eyes and pulled his head back, mere inches from hers. “That is NOT the first thing I want to see when I wake up!” “Fine, whatever,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “We're going.” “Wait, we're going? You found the ship? Where is it?” she asked, quickly getting to her hooves. It wasn't even night time yet. She hadn't meant to nod off, she'd just been so comfortable. Well, not comfortable. So extremely bored. The stallion pointed south. “I saw the ship, it's skirting along the southern edge of the forest, moving slowly,” Prism said. “We're going to go in and take the ponies down.” She nodded. “Sweet, so we're going to crash the ship?” “Over the Everfree Forest? Are you crazy?” he asked, his mouth falling open. “No. We're going in and taking the ponies down. Come on, take my hoof.” She gulped and did so. Then let out a yelp as he pulled her close, wrapping a hoof around her, and flew up into the air. “Is this really necessary?!” “You'd rather I drop you?” he asked flatly. She yelped and latched on, shaking her head. “No, no, this is good!” she said with a squeak. They flew through the air, the Shadowbolts moving behind them. It only took a few moments before she saw the airship, just a small, brown dot at first. But it quickly got larger as they flew closer. She let out a soft gasp as she stared in awe. It had sails on either side with multiple balloons attached to the top, the Fire Tribe symbol painted on the side. “Wow... are we going to pop it?” “Probably not,” he muttered. “Air ship technology has advanced a lot in the last decade or so. Those balloons up there? Each one is nearly a dozen smaller balloons, all linked together. It would take us forever to penetrate them all. Even if they weren't, the reinforced fabric would take forever to break.” “Really?” “Oh, yeah. Avatar Twilight herself was a huge supporter of advancing the technology. She wanted to make it so nopony had to deal with their airship crashing again.” “Wow.” “Sadly, when she tried one of the first of the new models, it was hit with lightning and exploded. Nopony even knows how. Wasn't a cloud in the sky. Someponies suspect Rainbow was behind it, but there was never any proof. It was like she was cursed or something. But she was okay.” Diamond let out a low snort. “I've been keeping an eye on them,” Blaze said as she flew up to meet with them. “I don't think they know we're here, but when we get closer, they will.” “Guess we'd better move fast then,” Prism said, flapping his wings again as the air around them parted. “Get ready, Diamond, I'm going to throw you on the ship when we get closer.” “Okay,” she said, gulping. They flew low toward the ship, then did a fierce up turn straight at it. She held on loosely, waiting for the moment she'd be tossed. She felt his hooves tense as they passed the bottom. Then a wall of fire formed ahead of them. “Throw me!” she yelled. He did, throwing her up. She reached out her hooves, swirling as best she could as she wrapped the flames around herself and then shot them back out, launching herself onto the deck and parting the way for the fliers to go through. She quickly went into her ready stance, deflecting bursts of flame as she swirled around. She couldn't help but feel this was easy. The fire was pretty weak, especially for a fire bender. She kicked back against one of the bursts, sending the pony back. A second was hit by a sudden burst of wind, courtesy of Prism. She barely had time to look as she deflected more bursts of fire, but what she saw made her eyes widen. They weren't bending the fire at all. They were all wearing alicorn armor and had tanks of... something on their back. The flames were coming out of little leg and side cannons. She yelped and skidded around to the right, looking around frantically. “It's a trap!” she shrieked. “Prism!” Blaze's voice called out. Diamond managed to see through the burst of flames as the air bender narrowly avoided a burst of light blue magic. He landed on the deck and kicked his legs out, sending a burst of wind at two of the unmarked. The ship shuddered and suddenly there were dozens of them, the unmarked flying through the air. Diamond's eyes fell on one in particular, standing at the helm of the ship. Meadowbrook. “How nice of you to join us, Avatar,” the mare said with a chuckle. “I was expecting to capture your precious council mare. I didn't think I'd get you, too.” Diamond ground a hoof into the ground, looking around. The sky was filled with the unmarked. The Shadowbolts were trying to fight them, but they were being overwhelmed. Prism and Blaze as well. “Did you really think that your little message wouldn't be known? I have Dr. Alicity under my hoof,” the mare said with a chuckle. “Now, Avatar. Surrender. This ends today.” “NO!” Diamond screamed, running forward. She leaped up, fire erupting from her hooves to help propel her over to the helm. She spun, sending a torrent of flame at the mare. That staff swirled in front of her, slicing the flame and parting it around her. “It's over, Avatar Diamond.” The bottom shot up at Diamond's face. The Avatar shot a bit of flame to the left, sending herself into a spin and narrowly avoiding the staff. “Yes. It is,” the unicorn said before charging forward, sending out a burst of flame at the mare's face. Meadowbrook moved to the side with ease, using the staff to deflect the hoof away with a solid smack. “You don't believe you can actually defeat me, do you?” “I'm going to break you!” Diamond yelled, thrusting a hoof forward. Once again the other mare knocked it away with the staff. But this time the Avatar went with it, she let the staff move her, twisting her body with it, slamming her back hooves from the side. They slammed straight into Meadowbrook's face, sending the mare stumbling back and shattering the mask. The mare clutched at her face, blood pouring from her pink nose. “You... you didn't... you...” “I've had it with you, Meadowbrook,” Diamond said, grinding her hoof into the ground. “This ends now!” She blazed forward, unleashing flame after flame on the mare, using them to power each of her strikes. Again and again, never relenting, making herself the same avalanche that she had taught Button. Never leaving an opening, a chance to counter. She finished up with a powerful, double back hoofed buck. Meadowbrook caught the strike with her staff, yet again. There was a sharp crack that filled the air. “W-what have you done?” the mare asked, backing away. Diamond looked back. A long crack had formed along the staff. It wasn't broken, but it was close. Her eyes widened and she charged forward. She raised both her front hooves. The staff was yanked back by Meadowbrook's magic, barely in time. It then swirled around while the Avatar was off balance, slamming the back end into her skull. “It's okay, it's okay. The Staff of Sameness can't be destroyed so easily,” the mare said softly. “You, on the other hoof, can be.” The dual pronged end of the staff jammed at Diamond's head and she quickly ducked, before trying to send another burst of flame out at her opponent. Meadowbrook leaped to the side, taking cover behind the steering wheel. Diamond turned around and bucked, her hooves sending out a massive burst of flame, enveloping the wheel and the mare behind it. The flames swirled around into an sphere of fire, before launching back at Diamond. She yelped and thrust her hooves out, splitting the fire. Meadowbrook smiled at her, the prongs of the staff aimed through the parting flame. “Game over.” The blue magic shot out from it. Diamond tried to move away, to push herself out of range. But she was too slow as the light enveloped her. She let out a shriek as the magic flowed over her, before it focused on her cutie mark. She felt it tear away, as if it was pulling away a part of her very being. Three times, the little crown on her flank was torn away, finally leaving nothing but a blank, pink flank. The three duplicate cutie marks soared through the air before flowing under Meadowbrook's cloak. The mare panted, but slowly a grin formed across her bleeding face. “It's... over. Finally. It's over. The Avatar is no more.” The unicorn stared at her blank flank, her mind slowing down as if it was being pulled through a muddy bog. All she could do was stare. She tried to form some fire on her horn, but nothing happened. She had lost her cutie mark. She had lost her bending. She had lost what made her special. What made her the Avatar. In a moment, in one small misstep, she had lost everything.