Ahuizotl took a deep breath before starting, looking over the mare. He could barely believe such a small, fragile thing held the essence of his once glorious master. But then, Discord always did have a sense of humor. “I cannot tell the birth of either my master, or the treacherous Harmony. Or even how our two worlds became connected. I was the third of Discord's creations, after the conniving Chrysalis and treasonous Tirek. Before he changed me, I was but a spirit lemur, barely aware of the world around me.”
Silver blinked. “Tirek? Who is that?”
“A foolish, wicked creature, Discord's first creation. He was the strongest of us and, when Discord was at his weakest, he tried to take his power for his own.”
The earth pony cocked an eye. “I take it he didn't succeed?”
“Our master turned him to stone with barely a wave of his hand, binding the creature for an eternity.”
Silver nodded. “That seems about right. I'd like to know more about him after. Why were you created?”
“To be a guide to... ponies,” he said disdainfully. “Their sort were always wandering into our lands. Discord wanted to toy with them, and often he would. But that foolish Harmony liked them for some reason. I can't imagine why. Dreadful, short lived creatures, better off dead and buried. Err, present company excluded.”
“You are on thin ice, general. I'd be more careful of your words.”
“A... a thousand apologies.”
“If Discord didn't care for them, why make you?”
“To placate Harmony. But that was all that ever happened,” he grumbled before turning to the tree. “The ponies came to our world, so she traveled to theirs to protect them and guide them. She granted them boon after boon, and they just kept taking more and more.”
“I heard of a spirit war, what was that about?”
He sneered. “Ponies! They found a way to bind my brethren to them, to enslave them. It made them live longer, made them stronger, made them heal. They took one of us, then two, then three, then entire armies of them came, binding us away!” He growled and shook his head. “Discord punished them, but Harmony demanded mercy! MERCY! For what they did to us, they deserved to be destroyed! Then... then the ultimate betrayal by that... by that spirit!” His eyes turned to Harmony. “Her... Avatar. That... Nyx.” He said the name as if he was spitting out something foul.
Silver felt that cold rush of hatred through her again. “Who... was Nyx?”
“The creator of the spells that bound us to them. Discord should have destroyed her, instead he merely toyed with her and let her free.” All three of his fists clenched.
The earth pony shuddered. “Wait. The first Avatar was the one who bound the spirits to them? She... she created the spells after she became the Avatar?”
“No. That was before. Harmony... chose her, once the war was over.”
“And... that was when Discord destroyed her?”
“Harmony was weak! She gave so much of her power to aid these filthy ponies even after they harmed us so! When Discord had his opportunity, he moved in and destroyed her! We should have been there!” He punched the ground. “Once Harmony was gone, he moved to destroy the Avatar, but Harmony was tricky. These... ponies managed to drive him back. They forced him back to the Spirit World and then divided our world!” He gave another roar, punching the ground.
“Divided the world? How?”
“She sealed us and Discord into one part of the Spirit World, closed off all the entrances. She only left this area open." He scoffed. "To add insult to injury, the Avatar and other despi... ponies could still enter our world through other means, but we were trapped here. It remained as such until the...” He frowned. “The purple pony. The one who sealed away Harmony's corpse came. She released the seal so we could access the portal. But it was already too late.”
Silver looked around, a cold chill going through her before she looked around. “Where... are the spirits?”
“Bound. Drained. Gone,” Ahuizotl said with a shake of his head. “I don't know. But those spirits were connected with the pony world. Whatever happened to them could not have been good. Perhaps the pony... mortality infected them and they died off.”
Silver sighed, shaking her head. “So Discord destroyed Harmony because of Nyx,” she mumbled before glancing to the tree. “But why would Harmony choose a pony like that?” she asked before walking to the corpse and reaching out, putting a hoof to it. “Why is it for every answer I get, another dozen questions come up?” She then glanced back to the monkey. She wondered if she could even trust him, after all, he obviously hated Harmony. For all she knew everything he said was a lie. “Tell me about my generals. Tell me about... Tirek.”
The monkey growled. “A traitorous creature. He was once the most powerful of us, able to absorb the magic of other spirits and the ponies. However, when our master, Discord, returned from destroying Harmony, Tirek rose up against him. Using the Amulet of the Pact--”
“The Alicorn Amulet,” Silver corrected.
“... The Alicorn Amulet, he tried to absorb our master's power while he was weak. The master defeated him with ease, sealing him away in a statue where he could spend an eternity, thinking over the great horror he had committed.” He then sneered. “Perhaps if he hadn't betrayed the master, the Avatar would have been defeated then, rather than trapping the master.”
Silver nodded. “I... want to see this statue. I want to see Tirek. Maybe he'll be useful and--”
“Mistress, no,” the creature said. “He was powerful and wicked, his tongue his second strongest weapon after his magic. Even if you could unseal him, he would do nothing but trick and deceive you until you were at your weakest, then he would strike.”
The earth pony nodded. “That... may be so. But... I have to know. I have to see.” She held out her hoof to him. “And you will take me.”
“But I--”
“You WILL take me,” she reiterated.
The giant monkey dug his fist into the ground, before nodding. He turned, gripping her in his tail-hand, before lumbering off with her. “As... you wish.”
------
Diamond groaned, panting softly as she laid on the ground, bruised and battered. “S-Sunset, how do you do that?”
“Do what?” the mare asked, staring down at her.
“Get... so good? I just...”
“My mother left me with a task to perform, to train you. I've taken it very seriously.”
The alicorn sighed, closing her eyes. “Do... you mind me asking you something? It's a little... well... personal.”
“What?”
“How old were you and Daring when Twilight... left?”
The other mare went silent for a moment, staring at the alicorn. Finally, with a great sigh, she spoke up. “You... can see the difference in your age and mine. Must you really ask?”
“You were just a foal then, weren't you?”
Sunset didn't answer.
“Then how did Twilight teach you all of this?”
The unicorn took a slow, deep breath. “I was... a filly, not a foal. My sister was a foal. And my mother took great pains to teach me. From the day my horn first sparked to the day she left, she trained me in these arts. She taught me everything she could about how to bend, how to fight. She made sure that not only did I know what my destiny held, but that I would be ready to face it.” She stepped forward and sat down by her. “My mother never managed to complete my training, but she left me plenty of information on how to do it. Tomes and tomes of it. Once she was gone, I studied and I studied. I practiced. I learned. Every day, every hour I dedicated myself to what she knew I would one day need. That is how I became this 'good'.”
“That sounds boring and tedious,” Diamond grumbled.
“It is my destiny to lead you, and I intend to fulfill it.”
“What about Daring? Did she ever--”
“She did nothing of the sort!” Sunset said bitterly. “She is a lazy, uncouth, ragged pegasus who would rather spend her days sleeping than pursuing anything mom wanted.”
Diamond cringed. “I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I mean, she seems pretty... okay. I know she's been working pretty hard with Ironwing.”
“Oh, of course she is. But where was she when mother was training us, hm? When we had to learn of the history of the Avatar, when we had to train? Nowhere to be found! She's a selfish, spoiled mare who cares nothing about our mother's legacy. She only cares about what she can do to further her own little adventures and have fun.” The unicorn snorted to the left. “Do not take any lessons from her, Avatar. It will only lead you to ruin.”
Diamond sighed and gave a nod. “Right, sorry. I uhhh... just...”
“You are the Avatar, the guardian of our world. A protector. It is a task filled with danger and responsibility. You cannot ignore it, cannot play around it, cannot push it aside when it is inconvenient. It is a heavy burden to bare, but you must. Because if you fail, there won't be any other pony around to pick up the pieces. Do you understand?”
The alicorn nodded slowly before getting to her hooves. “R-right. Yeah, I get it. Let's... let's go again.”
“Very well.”
------
“So Pinkie goes, 'I took the secret cave up here'! Can you believe it? I swear, Pinkie was always doing stuff like that,” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “Then, before we knew it, the entire place starts coming down. And there it was, the egg holding your mom. Well, the rock. But it was like an egg. Huh, you know, I wonder how she just... stopped aging in it and whatever. Eh, unicorn Avatar magic I guess.”
Daring chuckled and nodded before taking a bite of her cucumber. “Oh man, you've got the coolest stories.”
“Hey, you've got a few of your own, you know,” Rainbow said with a snicker. “I bet a lot of ponies would be interested in those little adventures of yours.”
“Oh, please. They're nothing compared to the stuff you and mom went on,” the pegasus said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “She used to tell us all about them, every night.”
“Hmm? Which ones?”
“Any of them she could. She wrote down everything, you know. At least, what she could remember.” She gave a sigh. “I used to read them all the time. I... I kind of hoped, if she ever came back, I could tell her about my adventures and stuff. Maybe... you know. Do the things she used to do.”
Rainbow snickered. “I'll be honest, I didn't think Twilight even LIKED those adventures.”
“Well... I don't know how much she did. But I know she loved you guys. Being with everypony. She always told us it was tough, but...” She gave a sad sigh. “I... really wish I could have gone on one with her. Been like her. But she never would have wanted that,” Daring said softly.
“Daring... I'm sure she--”
“I wasn't a bender,” Daring said softly. “She wouldn't have wanted me to do anything, I'd have just gotten in the way. At... least, that's what she thought. I just...”
Rainbow reached out and patted her on the head. “Hey, take it easy. I knew Twilight and, trust me, she wouldn't have cared. Bender or not, you've been on some awesome adventures. She'd have loved hearing about them.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Now, how about you tell me about the golden chalice again? The one you showed me?”
“Oh yeah. So, there I am, with a sprained wing and...”
------
Acrylic sighed as he slowly flicked through the book, shaking his head. He'd tried doing some of the training exercises that Celestia had taught him, but they didn't seem right. For one, he already knew how to breathe. He didn't need an exercise to teach him how to do it slower. He'd tried to imitate her style, her force, but it hadn't worked either. If anything, it made him worse. Unlike Button, he didn't have that aggressive stance or power, he couldn't turn his water into a raging river, like Celestia called it.
He was half tempted to ask Diamond what she thought now. The mare had been the one to teach Button how to do it, but even she was having trouble now. She liked fire bending, that was probably why she was able to see the fire bending inherent in Button's style.
But he wasn't a fire bender. Worse, he was starting not to feel like a water bender. He couldn't help but feel like it was right under his nose, the answer was just waiting there for him.
“Hey, Acrylic? You up?” Prism's voice came from outside his tent, startling the stallion.
“Uhhh... yeah. Come in,” he said softly.
The tent flap opened and the stallion stepped inside. “Hey... uhhhh... just... errr...”
“What?”
“Have you seen my mom? Been trying to find her for a while and she seems to have just vanished.”
“Probably with Daring again. Those two have been hanging out a lot lately,” Acrylic said before flipping the page.
“Maybe. I just... is that a book on fire bending?”
“Yeah,” Acrylic mumbled, before shaking his head. “It's just... studying.”
“I never imagined you would show interest in that. Your style isn't really compatible with theirs.”
“I'm starting to see that,” the stallion muttered.
“It's no problem, most water benders tend to be less direct, coming at things from different angles and knocking stuff away,” he said with a smile. “Heck, as light on your hooves as you are, you'd have a lot more in common with air benders than fire benders.”
“Probably,” Acrylic mumbled as he flipped through the page. “But I've gotta at least try. I mean, look at Button. Ever since he started training in fire bending, he's been getting leagues better.”
“True enough. Getting a feel for the other elements can't hurt, anyway.”
“Yeah. So uhhh, I heard about what your mom and Button did. So are you and Ironwing okay?”
Prism stopped, lowering his eyes. “Okay is... a strong word. I wouldn't use it. But... I think... I think we're done. I still can't... really...” He closed his eyes. “It still hurts for now. But... I think my mom was right. It was time to let it go.”
“That why you're trying to find her?”
“Kinda. I just can't really... sleep. I think it's going through the camp, honestly.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I saw Silver wander off towards the village earlier. Diamond headed off to that burnt field, too. Button and Luna are off on their lonesome as well.”
Acrylic chuckled. “Well, I'm happy for him. He deserves a bit of romance in his life.”
Prism frowned. “He... does know that... well...”
“What?”
“Luna is a prince... right?”
Acrylic blinked. “Of... course he does?”
“I mean more... well... Luna is royalty. It's all well and good to have a little fun now, but there's a lot that goes into a relationship like that. There... might not be a place for Button back in the Water Nation.”
The unicorn paused and looked up. “What do you mean? I... heard that the Water Lord married a member of the Fire Tribes. Can't get much different from that, can you?”
Prism shook his head. “In many ways, their marriage was political. It showed that the Water Nation had changed, that the new rulers were trying to save the Fire Tribes now, that they would be allies. Rarity also had the perks of being a war hero, one of the saviors of the world and a personal friend to the Avatar. It did help that both she and her sister worked effortlessly to tear apart the old regime and instate a newer, far friendlier version. To talk out against her would have been political suicide. Luna... probably won't have that.”
Acrylic nodded. “I uhhh... hadn't actually thought about that.” He closed the book, before sighing. “I'll try to have a talk with him tomorrow.”
“That's probably for the best,” Prism said before turning and trotting out. “I'll try looking in the clouds again. Maybe she went and hid inside one this time.”
Acrylic nodded and focused once again on his book. He wished he could figure this out. He just knew he could find the right mix if thought about it long enough, he was sure it was dangling just out of reach. He wished he had somepony who could just come out and tell him what his style was.
------
Button nuzzled Luna affectionately as the two sat and stared out into the Badlands. “It's a beautiful moon tonight,” he mumbled affectionately. “The one in the sky is pretty nice, too.”
Luna snickered. “You know, that's the third time you've used that joke on me.”
“Do you dislike it?”
The stallion shook his head. “No. I... don't know why, but when you say it, it is mildly endearing.”
He gave a little sqwee and nuzzled her again.
He stared out into the world and then gave a soft sigh. “Dear Button?”
“Yes, oh Radiant Luna?”
“I... think it is time we... discussed things.”
“Hm?”
“This journey is... well, not nearly as long as I first imagined it would be. I imagined we would be here for months, but... I believe we are almost finished. The Avatar has discovered what happened to Twilight and will likely wish to return, soon. Once we travel into the Spirit World after her. The deranged doctor friend of yours has almost perfected his little shield system.”
“Mmmm hmm,” Button said as he kept nuzzling his throat.
“Once we return... I do not know how long it will be until I will see you again.”
That made the earth pony stop. “Huh?”
“The... Water Nation has changed quite a bit in my mother's reign. But it is still far from perfect. While... it would no longer be deadly, it would be quite difficult for you there.”
“I'm not sure I understand,” Button said softly.
Luna gave a sigh. “While... I have found your affections quite... enjoyable, I cannot guarantee there will be a future for us, back home. Or that you could be happy there.”
Button blinked. “O-oh. I... uhhh, I get it. It's the uhhh... it's not you, it's my country talk, right?”
Luna nodded slowly. “Indeed.”
He took a deep breath, before shrugging. “Eh, so what? How about we worry about that when we come to it?”
The prince gaped. “Button?”
“Well, it's not yet, is it? We have a while before we return, and who knows? Maybe you'll get tired of me by then,” he said with a grin. “Buuuuut... for now, I really like you, and you really like me. We're here together, enjoying ourselves. So why let what's all the way back there get in the way of us being happy for now?”
Luna blinked, before nodding. “You... know you have the most delightful way of thinking about things, Dear Button,” he said before resting his head on Button's shoulder. “And... who knows? As a prince, I am expected to have a few consorts. Even... long distance ones. It may not be a full relationship, but it could be part of one.”
Button nodded. “Mmmm hmm. Being a prince is--” He paused a few times, blinking. He then looked down at the other stallion. His eyes widened for a moment before he gulped.
“Is something wrong?” Luna asked.
“Hmmm? Oh, uhh, nothing,” he said softly, laying his head on his. “Just, errr, thinking. I uhhhh...” He blinked, then sighed. “Besides, there's no such thing as a perfect relationship. So why worry too much?”
“Mmmm hmm,” the prince said before giving another nuzzle. “The stars truly are beautiful today. And you, Dear Button, are charming as ever.”
“And you're just as beautiful.”
------
“Impossible,” Ahuizotl said as he stared at the fragments of stone buried deep, deep below the earth in a cave. They'd even had to travel outside the Spirit World to find it, but now it seemed it was all for naught.
“So this is where he is supposed to reside?” Silver asked before she trotted up, kicking a piece of stone. “It seems... lackluster.”
“He should be here. He MUST be here,” the spirit said before stepping forward. “He couldn't be moved, he couldn't be destroyed! Discord's magic was all powerful! None could destroy it!”
“Discord's magic is gone,” Silver said coldly, shaking her head. “Aside from what resides in me. Whatever enchantment or... magic he wrought has likely been weakened.”
“If... Tirek has escaped...” The creature looked down at her. “He will come for you and the Avatar. He will try to steal the magical essence that makes you strong. He is a treacherous, conniving creature of evil. Greedy and selfish. Mistress, you cannot--”
“What is he?”
“I'm sorry?”
“What does he look like?”
“He has the lower half of a pony, but the upper half of--”
“Yeah, a centaur. Seen it. We've got a few legends about them.” She frowned, then her eyes widened. “Can... he steal cutie marks?”
“Cutie marks?”
“The marks on a ponies flank. Can he steal them?”
“He has the power to steal all magic from other creatures. Both spirits AND ponies. If these marks are a source of that, then they would be stolen as well.”
Silver nodded, rubbing her chin. “Then... maybe Meadowbrook... but the unicorns still had their magic, so maybe not? But she did learn that spell from...” Her eyes widened. “HAH! I knew there was something off about him! I bucking knew it! Ohhhh, he thought he had everypony fooled, but not me, I--” Her eyes widened. “Wait, does he know about me? Maybe he's plotting to... buck. This could be annoying. If he comes back, I'll need to strike first and--” She paused and glanced to the spirit, who was just watching her with confusion. “I might have already met Tirek, though his form was that of a pony. Would he be able to do that?”
“It would be simple enough.”
Silver nodded, glowering at the stone fragments. “This will make things a... little more difficult, but it doesn't change what I need to do now. The Alicorn Amulet is the goal of this mission and I have to get it.” She looked to him. “And you're going to help me.”
“Mistress?”
“If we need Diamond to break open the seal on the place... then I know just how to make her do it. After all, friends help each other.” A grin formed on her lips. “Now, here's what we'll do...”
------
Acrylic glared at the book, about ten seconds from just throwing it at the wall and wishing he could light it on fire. Ironically. He couldn't understand why this was so hard. There had to be something he was missing.
“Hey, Acrylic?” Button's voice came.
The unicorn sighed. He wasn't in the mood. “Button, I'm kind of busy, can it wait?”
“I... errr, it's kind of important. I... I just need to ask you a question.”
Acrylic let out a frustrated growl, before nodding. “Fine, make it quick. Just the one, right?”
Button stepped inside and nodded. “Yeah, just the one question... it's kind of... well... errr... I know it's kind of stupid, but uhhh...”
“Just spit it out already!” Acrylic snapped.
“Is Luna a guy?”
The unicorn blinked. Slowly his horn glowed and he closed the book, putting it on the ground besides his cot. He then took a slow, deep breath. “O... kay then. You now have my complete attention. Come again?”
“Is... err, is Luna a guy? You know... ummm... The... prince or... princess?”
Acrylic slowly nodded. “Yes, he is. You... err... you didn't know?”
“No! How could I know?”
“You're... dating... him, sorta.”
“Not really dating, but, ugh,” Button face hoofed, before looking to Acrylic. “I... I'm an idiot, aren't I? I mean... first the Avatar, now her. I mean, him. I mean, Luna just... he looks like and I thought...”
“I... I see. So you didn't know? So... ummm, are you going to break up with him, then?”
Button blinked, before trotting over and sitting at the foot of Acrylic's bed. “I... I really don't know. I mean, I was... I thought I was going to... be... I mean...” He closed his eyes. “I don't know what I'm going to do. I thought Luna was a mare and this is really shocking. But... err... I just...”
“Yes?”
“I... still don't want to break up with her. Him. I... I like him. I really, really almost said something stupid when I found out, but I managed to catch myself and now... I don't know what I want to do. I mean, I don't like guys. Or... or I thought I didn't. But I know I like Luna. I... really, really like Luna. A lot. And I... I kinda think I still want to make this work out. But if I can't, I mean... what if I can't? What if it's all just a stupid, silly idea and me... doing that is...” He face hoofed. “I don't know. What would you do?”
Acrylic took a deep breath. “If you don't like stallions, that's fine. But... if you like Luna, that's fine, too. As long as you're you and you're happy, it doesn't matter what you do.”
Button groaned and fell back, laying on the bed. “I just don't knowwwww. I wanna wallow in something, but I don't know what ponies wallow in! Uggggggh! Ugh, how did I miss something so... like that?”
“I really don't know,” the unicorn mumbled with a shrug. “But hey, if he makes you happy, why ruin it?”
Button blinked, then perked up. “You know what? You're right.”
“Huh?”
“When we go home, we might have to break up anyway. I've been imagining he's a mare all this time anyway, why worry about it?”
“Errr...”
“Things might not end up working out in the end anyway, so uhhh... why stress? For now I'm happy, he's happy, we're both happy. Let's just enjoy ourselves.”
“Ummm, Button, I didn't mean it like--”
“Thanks, Acrylic, it really helped to talk it out,” the stallion said before trotting off. Acrylic face hoofed.
“I didn't mean go into denial... ugh. Dang it, Button.”
------
Silver hummed happily as she trotted back towards her tent, a grin on her face. She had a plan, she had a goal. She finally had an idea of who Sunburst really was. She felt so good she wasn't even going to monologue to herself despite the fact nopony was around. She let out a yipe when suddenly a smoking, smouldering Diamond landed in front of her. “D-Diamond? Are you okay? What happened?”
“Sunset... is... evil...” the mare said with a groan. “My everything hurts...”
“Want me to go get the medics? Or... haul you of to the medics?”
“Avatar, are you okay?” Sunset called out as she galloped up. “I didn't realize you, well, I thought you were more focused! I didn't mean to... oh dear heavens I thought I killed you!”
“I... I think I'll be fine,” Diamond groaned. “I... think something broke, though.”
Silver sighed. “Come on, let's get you to the healers,” she said before leaning down and helping to scoop her friend up. “Sometimes I worry about you, you know. You need to be more careful.”
“S-sorry,” Diamond said, cringing as the two mares supported her and hauled her towards the healers.