Meadowbrook parried a blast of water with her staff, using it to split the water, before spinning it around and sending it right back at the duo of benders. This fight was already over, her unmarked were on their way. All she had to do was delay the two. The final fall of Harmony was at hoof.
She let out a yipe as suddenly the air behind her exploded, sending the water surrounding her billowing up into the air and plummeting down at her. She mentally cursed and tried to gather it up before it could get near her cutie mark. She turned around and then her eyes widened. “Im... impossible.”
Diamond was standing in the middle of the courtyard, her eyes glowing white, her flank as well. A green cutie mark, shaped like the tiara that had adorned her flank, appeared emblazoned across the once blank space.
Most annoying of all, Meadowbrook's unmarked were just standing there, gaping in awe. “What are you doing? Get her!” she yelled.
Diamond bucked her back hooves out, sending a burst of air back, scattering the unmarked and destroying the stage, sending the wood toppling through the air. She then glared at Meadowbrook, before charging forward.
The unicorn cursed and brought up her staff, narrowly parrying a hoof strike from the mare. “So you had another trick up-- eep!” Meadowbrook stumbled back, her hooves almost swept out from under her by a burst of air. Fire enveloped the staff and she aimed it at the other mare. Only for the Avatar to thrust out a hoof and blow the flames out, before spinning and sending another burst of wind straight into the unicorn's chest.
Meadowbrook stumbled back and gasped, cringing. She didn't like this. The Avatar wasn't fighting like normal. She was being too precise, too methodical, too... good. She didn't see any flaws or weaknesses in her form to exploit. She was forced to take another step back, narrowly avoiding a hoof from the mare.
Diamond's eyes stopped glowing. The Avatar nearly fell flat on her face as she felt as if whatever had been holding her up was just snipped.
The connection had felt weak to begin with, but it had been there. With it she'd felt so strong. Almost invincible. Now, whoever that was, was gone. She looked at Meadowbrook.
The other mare realized and slowly began to grin. “All done, Avatar? Well, I'm just getting started.”
Diamond squeaked and jumped back, narrowly avoiding a burst of flame. 'No no no no! I can't do this on my own! I need you! Where are you? Hello? I need help! I need... I need somepony!'
“Gah!” Meadowbrook yelled, stumbling back and narrowly bursting free as rocks tried to wrap around her. She twirled around, sending her staff out and deflecting two more blades of water.
The Avatar's eyes widened and a grin formed on her lips. She wasn't alone. “Meadowbrook, block this!” the mare yelled, before racing at the mare. She raised her front hoof up and went in for a punch. The unicorn brought her staff up, deflecting it.
Diamond went with the deflection, swirling her whole body with it and lunging in, slamming herself up, over the staff and straight into Meadowbrook's chest. As she went, she thrust her hoof out, sending it into the staff and knocking it away, using a burst of air.
The staff flew through the air as Meadowbrook toppled back with the Avatar on her. “Get off--”
“ACRYLIC, NOW!” Diamond screamed.
Meadowbrook's eyes widened and she looked towards the staff. “NO!”
The Staff of Sameness flew end over end through the air, straight at Acrylic. He thrust his hooves forward and formed a curved blade in the air. It sailed forward, slicing the staff clean in half.
The staff hovered in the air for a moment, in two pieces. Then light seemed to form between it, red and yellow magic flowing along the wood. Then, just as quickly as it began, the light disappeared and the staff fell to the ground.
Button stared. “Well, that was anti--”
The remains of the staff exploded like a second sun, sending a brilliant light high into the air, blinding the ponies present. Diamond shrieked and covered her eyes, before getting bucked firmly in the chest and sent flying off the mare. She landed on the ground and rolled a few feet, before slowly stopping. “Ow... heh. We... we win,” she said with a soft chuckle, blinking blearily as she tried to see.
And she saw a doozy. Meadowbrook was standing there, her entire body shaking with rage. “You... you foal! Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you... do you... what are you staring at?”
Diamond slowly pointed towards the mare's flank.
Meadowbrook looked back. Her flank was wet from all the water, washing away the coat coloring and revealing a partial cutie mark. Diamond wasn't the only pony to see it, either. More and more ponies were getting their sight back and now staring, the battle forgot.
The mare took a step back. “Wait, wait wait. It's not true. It's a trick, you see. The Avatar, she--”
“Give it up, Meadowbrook,” Diamond said, her eyes narrowing. “Nopony is going to believe your lies anymore. You've had your cutie mark all along. I totally called it! Hah!”
Meadowbrook gulped, before shaking her head. “I... I had to. The Staff of Sameness, it's not... it only let me use the marks, it doesn't do the spell. It makes the spell stronger, but it can't do it.” She then smiled and her horn glowed. “That's me.”
Diamond yelped and narrowly avoided the beam of green magic that lanced out from the mare's horn. “What? HEY! Stop!”
The unicorn ignored her, racing towards the west side of the courtyard. The unmarked just stared at her, gaping. Then Diamond realized something else.
The magic she'd drained from the diamond dog was no longer surrounding the unicorn or the staff. It was flying towards the west. “STOP!” the Avatar yelled, before running after her. “She's going after the cutie marks!”
Fire blazed from the unicorn's back legs and she launched herself forward, racing past the magical light, before sending out a fire ball in her wake. It exploded, making Diamond quickly avert her eyes, but she kept running none the less. She blinked and cleared them, Meadowbrook was gone.
But she could still see the magic light of the dog traveling through the air. She galloped after it. Behind her she could hear others moving too, though if they were returning to the fight or following after, she didn't know and didn't care. This could be her only chance and she would not let it go.
She raced after the light with everything she had, even parting the air ahead of herself as she went. She chased it out of the city, her legs beginning to burn and sweat glistening across her body, but she couldn't give up. Not when she was so close. Meadowbrook had chased this, so it had to be important.
Pain shot through her legs as she galloped, exhaustion threatening to take over. She ran up one of the hills of the city, but it just kept going, kept traveling away. Never stopping. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She didn't think she could do it. Maybe it didn't matter if--
She thought about Silver. No matter what, the mare had believed she'd succeed. She shook her head and galloped forward, racing after it, sending a burst of air behind herself. She would not give up.
Finally, the little piece of diamond dog magic swirled over into a cave in a small valley. The entrance had been sealed, but the boulder that had done it was now shattered to pieces. There was only one pony Diamond could think of who would have done that. Well, about fifty. But one in particular she was chasing. She stopped at the entrance, panting from exertion as she watched the magic disappear into the darkness. She took a slow, deep breath and stepped forward. “You can do this, Diamond. Sure, you don't have bending, but you'll be fine. There's just a psychotic terrorist in there. A fire bending terrorist,” she said softly, before looking back the way she'd come. Ugh, where was everypony? Didn't any of them follow her?
She shook her head and stepped further in. She'd just do this herself if she had to. Or... maybe with a little help. “Twilight? Are you there? Any past lives? I'd... like to not be alone here,” she mumbled softly. “Please?”
She didn't feel, or hear, anything. She trotted forward as quietly as she could, looking around with each step, waiting for Meadowbrook to pop out at any time.
She soon heard the sound of broken glass ahead and picked up the pace, though she still tried to keep quiet.
She came to a massive cavern filled with little tunnels. The wall was covered with little boxes, each one housing cutie marks. So many cutie marks that some of them seemed almost bulging. A few even had swirling magic inside, as opposed to the cutie marks.
There on the bottom was Meadowbrook, holding a jar. Inside the jar swirled three cutie marks.
Diamond's cutie marks.
“Meadowbrook!” the Avatar yelled. “It's over! You've lost!”
The unicorn froze, before turning around. Slowly, she lowered her head. “You're right. I have lost.”
“Yes, yes ha-- wait, what? You're not going to argue?” Diamond asked softly.
The mare nodded. “No. You've won. I... can't defeat you. Not now. Even if I go back... nopony will listen. I'll have to find a new way to create equality.”
Diamond narrowed her eyes. “Equality is not made by dragging everypony down! It's by raising all ponies up! It's over. I'm not letting you go anywhere.”
Meadowbrook chuckled softly and then shook her head. “Oh Avatar,” the grin on her face slowly turned cruel. “You've beaten me. But I can accept that.” She held up the jar. “You've taken my equality from me. So I'm taking your cutie mark.”
Diamond slowly moved forward, eyes narrowing. “Just try it.”
“We can fight, but I can't risk you winning,” Meadowbrook said before glancing back .”But, I wonder. Why are you fighting me alone?”
The Avatar froze in place.
“The others haven't caught up yet, have they?” A ball of fire formed on the tip of her horn. “So how about you make a choice?” The cutie mark jar lowered to her side. “Your cutie mark, or your life?”
“What does that mea--”
The fire shot out, crashing against the walls of the cavern, making it rumble. Diamond yelped and charged at the mare, but she merely blasted herself back, before sending more bursts rumbling through the cavern. Diamond yiped and jumped back, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a boulder.
“Good bye, Avatar!” Meadowbrook yelled before galloping down one of the tunnels, moments before it collapsed behind her.
“MEADOWBROOK!” Diamond screamed, before jumping back to avoid another boulder. She mentally cursed, before looking towards the wall of cutie marks.
She couldn't let them be buried. Lost forever. She had to do something. She raced to the wall, turned and gave it a firm buck. 'I just have to--'
To her amazement, a long crack formed in the wall. “Wait, really? I don't have to-- eek!” She sent up a burst of wind as the glass erupted out, pushed by the cutie marks. She barely managed to keep the glass from erupting around her as the cutie marks surged out from the case, flying out into the world again. More and more of the glass shattered, the marks pushing out through the weakened container with ever second.
“Right, you got this handled, I'm out!” she yelled, galloping back the way she came.
A boulder came crashing down and collapsing the exit. She stared, her mouth falling open. “No. No no no no. Come on, no!” she shrieked, pushing against it. “Come on, come on!” She shoved with all her might. “MOVE!”
It did not. More and more boulders fell around her, making her jump back to avoid being crushed. She looked up, before looking around. Most of the tunnels were now blocked off or collapsed. She ran towards the nearest open one, but it too fell apart. She stopped before letting out a soft whimper.
She was going to die here. She knew it. She shivered and looked up at the collapsing cave. There was nothing she could do. She sent out a burst of air, knocking some of the rocks aside, though it was only delaying the inevitable. She leaped onto one of the larger boulders, trembling. “Please... Twilight. Help me. I don't... I don't want to die,” she said softly, looking around. “I can't do this. I need earth bending, I need--”
A pair of hooves wrapped around her and pulled her into the rock, making her yelp. The ground around her rumbled, but that didn't matter now, she was wrapped in a protective cocoon of stone. “Who?”
“Hey Diamond,” Button said from the darkness. “Sorry I'm late, but we kinda lost track of you. Acrylic said you had to be in the cave, though. Since it was collapsing an-- mffff!” the stallion was cut off as she firmly wrapped her hooves around his neck and kissed him.
“Button, do not take this the wrong way. You are my hero and I love you.”
He gave a little squeak. “O-okay...”