Diamond let out a soft sigh while she stared into the flames of their fire pit. The sun had gone down hours ago, long after they'd returned from the Spirit World. Sunset was avoiding her, not really surprising after their little spat. The others were staying around Button and Luna, though it seemed the two would be okay. In fact, Button seemed super excited, having learned how to lava bend. He couldn't wait to tell his mom.
Diamond kept staring at the fire, giving a soft sigh. “Is something wrong, Diamond?” a voice asked, making her jump. She glanced back to Silver and smiled.
“No... no, I'm fine. I just... have a lot on my mind.”
“It's been a difficult day, I'm not surprised.” She sat down besides the alicorn. “I... really expected you to go after the spirit. After all, he had the amulet. What if he gets away?”
Diamond dug her hoof into the ground. “I... wanted to. I really did. I...” She leaned against the earth pony's side. “Silver? I'm sorry. I'm... so, so, so sorry.”
“What? Why?” the earth pony asked, cocking an eye. “You didn't do anything wrong, I was the one who made you lose the amulet. If I hadn't gotten captured, he never would have escaped with it.”
Diamond took a deep breath, before shaking her head. “When... when you were captured... I... when I saw my cutie mark I almost... I...” She shuddered, tears welling up in her eyes. “I'm so sorry...”
Silver blinked, reaching out to wrap her friend in a hug. “Diamond?”
“I hesitated. I was so excited, for a moment. I actually didn't even... for a second, I didn't care that you were captured. That you were... in danger. I just knew my cutie mark, the last cutie mark, was there. Waiting for me to grab it. I was going to be a full Avatar again. Then... then it turned into me.”
The earth pony gulped. “You... were just becoming yourself, you--”
“No, I wasn't,” the mare said softly. “You... you always say I'm supposed to be the hero, right? But... what kind of hero cares more about their own abilities, cares more about their own power, than their friends? When Sunset said to go after him, I almost did. I knew if I left, you guys would be vulnerable. I didn't want to stay. I wanted to grab the strongest and go after him, to chase him down. To get the amulet back. I mean, I'd almost lost you, Button and Luna, yet all I could think about was that the amulet was there, waiting for me. That I might finally get the power I wanted.” She shuddered, the tears flowing slightly. “What kind of... I'm not...”
“Diamond...”
“I'm not a hero. I'm nothing like Twilight. How can I do any of this? I'm slow, stupid, I'm not even that good a bender, not like I thought I was. I care... I care more about myself than I do my friends. How can any of you ponies even stand to be near me? I thought that... I thought I was over that part of myself. I thought I was--”
Silver covered the alicorn's mouth with her hoof. “Diamond, enough. Stop this. Look at me.” Slowly the alicorn turned to her. “You ARE the Avatar. You have strange thoughts sometimes, but you are still the Avatar. You are a hero. It is your destiny, your very nature. Harmony flows through your veins, or at least her remnants do.” She drew the hoof down, placing it to her heart. “You may have times where you... break against it at times, but it changes nothing. It is who you are, no matter what.”
“But I--”
“You still chose us in the end, right? You ignored the amulet for us. Because that is what you are. The hero. The chosen one. I know you don't feel like you can do it now, but that's fine. It's your destiny, you can't change it. More importantly, it's a good destiny. Why would you want to go against it?”
Diamond sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Do... do you really think so?”
“I know so,” Silver said with a smile, patting her head. “You're the Avatar, the savior of the lands. You'll always make the right decision, even if it takes a little work to get there.”
The alicorn sighed and gave a nod. “You... know, you're pretty good at this. I uhhh... I'm happy my destiny involved you.”
That made the smile falter on Silver's face, though she gave a nod. “Y-yeah. It... uhhh... definitely does. So uhhh... what do you want to do now? We still have two days.”
Diamond sighed. “I don't know. I need to go after the amulet, but I have no idea if I'll be able to find it. I... also need to get Twilight out of there. I... don't know if I can do that or not. I mean, Button was able to move it back but uhhhh... I can't ask him to try that again.”
“Really?” Silver asked with a cocked eye. “But what if it's the only way?”
“I tried... bending the earth around it. Around that creature. It hurt, so much. I can't ask him to do that. The fact he was able to lava bend like that at all must have been incredibly painful. Sure, he seems fine now, but... that's just Button. He always laughs that stuff off. Besides. I... don't want to make my friends have to do any of that anymore. It was so... dangerous. I almost lost him. This is my problem, my responsibility and I can't put him through it.”
Silver nodded slowly. “R-right. I... I'm sure that...” She gave her a pat on the shoulders. “We'll figure it out, okay? Maybe I can make something to get her out. Or, well, my dad can. We have some stuff here. Maybe some kind of... arm grabbing thing. Oh! Or my dad's cannons! I'm sure he can build up a portable version.”
“Oh buck no,” Diamond said with a shake of her head. “Just, no. I think I'll stick to bending on this. Less chances of explosions and somepony getting killed.”
Silver chuckled and gave a nod. “Okay. But... don't worry. I know it might be hard, but I know you can get Twilight back. This... Smooze doesn't have anything on you.” She then gulped. “Sunset seemed a bit... well...”
Diamond groaned. “Furious at me? Yeah, I noticed. Do you think I was too harsh? I just...”
“No, I think you did the right thing. She's just... her mom taught her to do all these things, but that doesn't mean she's doing them right,” the earth pony said with a smile before patting her head again. “You're the Avatar, after all. In the end, you need to do what you think is best. Others can just guide you. We can't control you.”
Diamond chuckled softly. “Yeah. You know, though, I used to think my way was the best way and only way. I kind of miss those days.” She frowned and looked to Silver. “Do... you ever feel like... well, everything you're doing is kind of... out of your control? Like there's things you have to do, no matter what? And if you fail them, horrible things will happen?”
Silver blinked a few times, before nodding and looking away. “Yeah. I think... I think everypony feels that way. But... I guess being an Avatar would make it worse. A-after all, you have a really... big destiny. A destiny that... no other pony could really have. One you can't really stop.”
The alicorn nodded and slowly got to her hooves. “Yeah. I uhhh... do you think I could ever be like Twilight?”
Silver looked to the ground. “If... it came down to it, if you had to... I think you could. I think you'd destroy Discord given the chance. I think you'd be the hero everypony wants,” the earth pony said softly.
“Thanks, Silver. I uhhh... I'm going to go get some sleep, okay? Got a long day of searching tomorrow. Night.”
Silver nodded, a hoof gently rubbing her neck. It was her turn to stare into the fire.
------
“I can't believe this,” Acrylic muttered to himself as he flipped through his fire bending book, his frustration mounting. “Lava bending, he actually learned lava bending. Maybe if I could learn poison bending, I would have been able to do something.” He flipped the pages again before sighing.
He shook his head. He'd been taught about poison bending and the darkness one had to let into their hearts in order to use it. Even if he had the capability to use such a type, he wasn't sure he'd want to. His mother wasn't too happy about the fact she could use it.
He sighed and closed the book, dropping it on the ground. “This is all just so... stupid. There has to be something I'm missing,” he muttered before holding up his hooves. “I've seen earth bending, it's nothing like my style. Fire bending isn't either. All that's really left is air bending and I can't fly. Maybe... I'm just not cut out to be a bender at all.” He closed his eyes and pulled his blanket over himself before reaching out to put out his lamp. “Wouldn't that be wonderful, one of the greatest water benders in history, and her son the useless... non-bender.” He froze, midway to his lamp.
“Wait. A non-bender. That's... that's it!” He started to slide out of bed and let out a yelp as his hooves got tangled in the blankets. He wiggled about a bit, before jumping back up. “Of course! A non-bender, that's the answer!” He galloped out of the tent, a wide grin on his face.
------
Daring banged her head on the cloud. “She never listens to anything I say, at all,” the pegasus snapped.
“Mmmm hmm,” Rainbow said with a shrug.
“See, if she'd listened to me from the start, there wouldn't have been any problems. We would have dealt with the big monkey, would have the amulet, the Smooze wouldn't have been a problem. But noooo, Sunset, as always, had to take over and act like she knew everything.”
“Hey, sometimes things go wrong, it happens,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Don't sweat the small stuff.”
“It's just so, so, SO annoying!” she snapped again. “I knew EXACTLY what to do and she wouldn't listen to a word I said! And even now, she doesn't care. She never even apologized about disbelieving me. I told her that spirit was there, but noooooo, she never saw it so it couldn't possibly exist!”
The air bender chuckled. “You need to relax, take some deep breaths. We got a few knocks, but hey, nothing too bad happened. We found... well... your mom. Maybe. And we at least know where the amulet is. Diamond got her last bending back, too. All in all, not the worst day ever.”
“Ugh, but if she had just listened to me from the beginning, we might have gotten the amulet, too. Aren't you annoyed at all?”
“Eh. I'll be honest, when I was with Twilight we had some pretty rough days. I mean, like wow. This isn't even really in our top ten. Buck, at one point your mom actually DIED. Then there was the whole me going blind thing. Fillydelphia falling. Cloudsdale getting absolutely wrecked. Discord waking up... you know, a whole wide list of things that just went bad, one after the other. Sure, today sucked, but we've had worse and we'll get through this just fine, trust me.”
Daring sighed and laid back down. “Fine, I guess. It's still so annoying, though. We should have won this one.”
“Nopony died, we came out pretty far ahead. All in all, more of a tie. Heck, we might have won a bit, too,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Trust me, Daring. Any day when a pony doesn't die, you're doing good.” The smile fell from her face. “Believe me. I'd know.”
------
Sunset spun and twirled, flames surrounding her as she practiced. She sent out bursts of fire from her horn and hooves, pounding imaginary enemies as she went through all of her forms one by one.
“Stupid Avatar. Mom trained me for this, I KNOW what I'm doing,” she muttered darkly. She spun around and kicked a burst of flame into the air. “Mom worked hard for that stupid amulet and we'd have it now if she'd just listened to me. Mom would have never lost her cutie marks to begin with, none of this would have happened.” She whirled her head around, forming lightning from the tip and sending it crashing down.
“In a foul mood?” a voice called out, making her jump. She turned back, her cheeks red, and looked at Ironwing.
“What? No, I'm just... training.”
“Mmmm hm,” the stallion said as he walked forward, glancing at the destruction. “Quite loudly, I might add. I couldn't really make out everything you said, but I got enough. You know, if you're frustrated with the Avatar, you can always tell her. Stars know I've told her more than a few times how annoyed she makes me.”
The unicorn hmphed, but merely shrugged. “Whatever. She's just... she doesn't understand anything that she's doing. The amulet--”
“May have made the Avatar stronger, yes. But Twilight got by without it for years, thanks to her friends. This Avatar will be no different,” Ironwing said with a shrug. “Don't tell her I said that.”
Sunset dug a hoof into the ground. “It's really none of your business, I--”
“Are throwing a tantrum, something I'm sure your mother tried to avoid letting you do,” Ironwing said with a shrug. “Also, you're making so much noise it's hard to sleep.”
“Then go back to your lodging area, it'll be quieter there,” Sunset said coldly.
Ironwing sighed and shook his head. “You didn't fail, you know.”
The unicorn froze. “O-of course I didn't, I--”
“What happened wasn't your fault. Silver got captured, the Avatar's last cutie mark was being held captive by that spirit. Button and Luna almost got killed falling into that gunk. Just about everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Nopony would possibly blame you for anything that happened.”
Sunset's face turned even redder. “I don't--”
“Your mom wouldn't, either.”
The unicorn dug her hoof in deeper. “I-I'm not--”
“I know what it's like to live in your parent's shadows,” he said firmly. “Trying to be... as good as them. Or better. But you can't control everything, either. What Diamond does, she'll do. You can try to guide her, try to give her advice, but I can tell you now. Half the time, she will likely ignore you. She barely even listens to Prism and he's been training her for... well, not very long, honestly. But from what I've seen, she doesn't listen to anypony.”
“It has nothing to do with that,” Sunset snapped. “I'm fine. I--”
He stepped forward and smiled at her. “What Diamond does, Diamond does. We lost the amulet today, but we can get it later.” He paused and looked her over. “And... we can find out what happened to your mother, too.”
Sunset froze, before turning away. “Go... away. I want to practice in peace.”
He sighed. “Sunset--”
“GO AWAY!” she shrieked. “You know nothing, Ironwing.”
He sighed and turned away. “If that's what you wish, very well.” He shook his head as he trotted off. He paused a few feet away. “I wouldn't push everypony away, though. It'll just make things a lot harder for you in the long run. Trust me, I know.” He then continued on.
Sunset sent out another burst of flame from her hoof, before taking a slow, deep breath. “You all know nothing.” She turned and trotted towards the village, veering towards the forest.
------
Silver gulped and pulled her blankets over herself, closing her eyes. She looked around nervously, her eyes glowing yellow for a moment before the tent flap sealed itself. She then laid back, closing her eyes. “It's... okay. No one will know. You can do this. It's safe.” She still reached down and touched her throat, before pulling her hoof back.
Slowly, she reached out and opened the connections between her and Trixie, letting the past life flow into her.
------
Trixie groaned and limped forward, panting weakly with exhaustion. Despite the fact the sun had been down for hours, she still walked on. As powerful as she was, she'd underestimated just how dangerous the pirates were. The long wound down her right leg was proof of that.
Still, she'd managed to get supplies out of it and there was no way the survivors would find her now. She only barely managed to avoid scarfing down all her food in hunger, though. She reached down and scratched her leg again, frowning slightly at it. It was getting worse, she wondered if it was infected. Probably. She didn't have the supplies to tend to it and it was deep. Every step she took sent more pain through it.
“Stupid Discord,” she grumbled to herself. “If I was still an alicorn, I could have just flown away. Left all of this behind, or blown up those pirates without any of them getting close. This is all your fault, you know,” she muttered darkly.
Still, she felt that pull to the north, drawing her further and further. She then glanced back. “Stupid ponies and griffons. I would have let them live. None of them had to die. If they had just... done what I said, given me what I demanded...” She sighed and shook her head again. “This is all Twilight's fault. I shouldn't even be here. I should be in the capital, being waited on by-- AYEEEEE!” She let out a loud shriek when the weather suddenly shifted again and icy cold water streaked from above. Her horn glowed and the water flew off her body, gathering around her to form a barrier against the cold. “Stupid bucking weather. I don't deserve any of this, you hear me? None! I'm the most powerful... bender to ever live,” she mumbled softly. She shook her head again, the pain in her leg getting worse. She brought some of the water to her mouth, taking a deep drink of it.
Her stomach at least wasn't empty now, so it wasn't so bad. She just kept walking.
Then froze, her ears twitching. Years of combat training set off every alarm she had. She quickly started walking again, trying to be as subtle as she could.
Somepony was watching her, she could feel it. She wondered if it was those pirates. She had thought they would have learned their lesson the hard way after the last encounter. The rain cleared away and she let it fall to the side, keeping her head forward, but ready for the attack. The ground was soaked now, it would be simple to slaughter whoever came.
But nopony did. She finally stopped, glancing up. She wondered if it was all in her imagination. She swore she could feel it though, somepony watching her. Something still seemed off. She looked around and--
She heard a small rustle from the nearby bushes. Her horn whipped around and she gathered up the water, forming it into a dozen small blades of ice before hurtling them at the bushes. She heard a yipe, but not the pained sound of a pony being impaled. She gathered more water and charged at the bushes, lifting a blade up.
She froze when she saw the figure, cowering back, having narrowly avoided the ice blades. A zebra. He lifted a hoof, shaking his head. “W-wait, please, don't!”
Trixie felt the urge to slam the blade forward and skewer the zebra, but he was the only one here as far as she could tell. He also seemed to be unarmed. Slowly she lowered the blade at him, but didn't pierce his hide. “Are you another one of those pirates?”
He quickly shook his head. “N-no, I'm not.”
She eyed him for a few more moments before, slowly, drawing the blade back. “Are you... sure?” she asked again.
“Yes, I'm sure. I'm not a pirate, I swear. I'm just--” The words died in his throat when his eyes lowered. “You're... hurt.”
“What? This? It is but a scratch to the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Are... ummm... are you a pirate?”
The unicorn laughed, drawing her hoof to her mouth. “Oh ho ho h...” She sighed, before shaking her head. “No. I am the greatest water bender the world has ever known. I would not... associate myself with such creatures.” She lowered her hoof, cringing.
The zebra slowly got up and walked towards her. He then smiled. “You're hurt. Please, I'll help you,” he said before holding his hoof out.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't need YOUR help.” The blade went forward, in front of his face. “If she did, she would demand it!”
He gulped, slowly nodding as his eyes eyed the tip. “I... I see. Would... you... allow me to aid you, then?” he asked softly.
Trixie stared for a moment, before slowly lowering the blade and then dropping it, letting it fall to the ground. “Very... well. If you insist, the Great and Powerful Trixie will permit you to aid her. Just this once. But only because she is as generous as she is powerful.”
He nodded. “Thank you. My name is Presca. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, yes. I'm sure for you it is.”
“My village is this way. Sanctuary. I can clean out your wound and tend to it.”
------
Silver's eyes opened and she sat up, breathing heavily. She looked down at her hoof, the same one that had been infected. She looked around, before collapsing and closing her eyes. “D-dang it, Trixie. So you did pass through here, huh?” she asked softly, before groaning. “You went and caused a lot of trouble for everypony, didn't you? Twilight... me... Diamond... I guess I caused most of that, huh?” she asked softly, before reaching up to touch the amulet. She then rolled onto her side and curled up into a little ball. “I... I want to know, though. What happened to you two? Did you... kill her?”
She felt the answers there, just on the edge of her mind. All she had to do was reach out and touch them and she could see the visions a second time.
She shook her head. “Being you once a night is enough. Maybe... tomorrow. Or maybe...” She tapped the amulet. “I'll just have the Smooze let her go. Let... my friends win for once. I mean, let the Avatar win.” He cheeks went red and she rolled over again. “Ugh, I'm monologuing again, aren't I? I'm as bad as you are, you giant wind bag.”