Diamond hummed softly as she stood outside the door, checking the address one last time before leaning up and giving it a small knock. It took a few minutes before the door was pulled open, revealing an orange pony within. Applejack grinned down at her. “Well howdy there, Avatar. Fanceh seein' yah here.”
“I uhhh... was curious if you'd like to start the lessons?” she asked with a little smile. “Sorry if I'm bothering you, I know it's still early and--”
Applejack burst into laughter. “Early? Sunrise happened almost a day ago! Yah didn't think ah'd still be in bed, did yah? It's past noon!”
“Well... I guess not. I mean, Rainbow is still probably--”
“Rainbow ain't the type tah get up 'fore somepony comes an' bucks the cloud out from under her,” she said with a snicker. “Me? Ah rise with the rooster. Years of workin' on the farm. Ah gotta say, though. Ah didn't expect tah see yah for a while. Ah figured yah'd want a few days tah rest an' relax 'fore yah got to the heavy work.”
Diamond blinked and then gave a nod. “I... wanted to. I guess. But I just... well, Meadowbrook is out there and--” To her surprise, her mouth was covered by the other mare's hoof. Applejack stared down at her with a serious look on her face.
“Ah think yah'd best come inside. Come on.” She turned and trotted inside, directing Diamond to a small table to the side. The room had been a rather nice, heavily decorated suite. Now all the fancy rugs and blankets had been gathered up and tossed in the corner, leaving the room a bit plain looking. Diamond walked to the table and sat down.
“So, uhhhh...”
Applejack soon joined her, with a pair of mugs on her back. She tossed one to the table, before joining her. “Now, Diamond. Ah think it's time you an' ah had the talk.”
The alicorn blinked a few times, before her cheeks flared red. “W-wow, errr, I-I'm sorry, but I mean, y-you're not really my parent and--”
“Not that talk yah dunderhead!” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes. “Bad enough ah had tah give it tah Applebloom. Shoulda heard her whinin' 'Ah'm old enough tah know this, yah don't need tah talk about it! Please stop!' Anyway. It's about Twilight.”
Diamond blinked a few times and gave a nod. “O-oh. Right. Yeah, I know, she's... she was awesome.” She sipped the drink, then blinked a few times. “This... is really good.”
“Mmmm hmm! Sweet apple cider, ol' family recipe. Got a few barrels of the stuff now,” Applejack said before taking a quick gulp of hers and leaning back, letting out a soft sigh. “Ah, brings back memories. Yah know, the Apples still got some of the best farms out there, bring about some of the best apples yah ever tasted.”
“Do you still work the farms?”
“Nah. Ah wanna, but well... after what happened tah Sweet Apple Acres...” Applejack shook her head. “Jus' wasn't the same. Went tah teachin' full time, yah know? Been doin' it ever since.”
Diamond looked the mare up and down. She was old, with plenty of wrinkles. But she still had the body of a fighter, well toned and with powerful muscles. “I see.”
“Mmmmm. You're smart, kid. Mos' ponies make the mistake of sayin' 'At your age?' an' ah gotta teach 'em a lesson about respectin' their elders,” she said with a grin.
“I've learned my lesson lately. Besides, Rainbow's probably just as old and... well, she can kick my flank from here to Manehatten.”
The earth pony snickered and gave a nod. “Eeyup. Probably laughin' the whole way there, too.” She then gave a sigh. “Well, Diamond, ah jus' wanna let yah know. Hard work is important. Very important.”
The alicorn nodded. “I know. I'm trying my best and--”
“But it ain't the only thing.”
“Huh?”
“Ah know what you're thinkin' an', buck, ah used tah be the same way. Workin' mah flank off, tryin' tah get everythin' done. Always afraid ah'd fail.” She glanced down at her drink. “Tryin' tah make up for past mistakes. Blamin' mahself for stuff that ain't mah fault... but ah also saw Twilight do the same thing. That gal had it nearly as bad as ah did. Buck, she might 'ave had it worse. Sure, she wouldn't do much of the physical labor, she jus' wasn't the type. But she always had her nose buried in some book, always had tah be workin' tah bring peace an' prosperity tah all the ponies around her. As if the whole world would come tah a stop if she suddenly took a few hours tah rest.”
Diamond nodded a few times. “Yeah. She was really impressive...”
“Not as impressive as you're likely thinkin'. Mah advice for yah, kid, is learn tah pace yourself. Ah know yah probably think this whole Meadowbrook thing falls on your shoulders, that yah gotta train and push yourself tah the limit, fixin' ever pony else's mistakes. But that ain't what yah gotta do. Yah are allowed tah ask for help, you're allowed tah EXPECT help. Ah mean, jus' look at yah, you're still practically a filly.”
Diamond's cheeks flared. “I-I am not a child! I am a grown mare and have been one for years!”
“Ah please. Yah may be considered an adult, but yah still got that youth about yah.” Applejack snickered. “Yah should be out there, flirtin' with colts, playin' lil games with your friends. Tryin' tah find a job an' still livin' with your parents. Instead yah got the whole world watchin' your every move, holdin' their breath to see what yah gonna do next. Then blamin' yah when yah go an' don't do it right the first time.”
The alicorn's eyes lowered. “I... I need to do it right. I'm the Avatar. It's my--”
“Yeah, it's your responsibility. But that don't mean yah gotta do it alone. In fact, it means yah shouldn't.” She swirled her cup around a few times. “Twilight liked tah do that, yah know.”
“Huh?”
“Run off on her own. Every so often she'd get the idea in her head that if she brought us along, somepony might get hurt. Somepony might die. She was right, of course. Some of us did die. But... some of us came back, too.” She closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. “But yah know what it almost got her? Dead. Again an' again, runnin' off on her own would jus' push her to the breakin' point. Drive her tah where she couldn't take care of herself. Drive her tah where she needed us an' if we didn't try so hard tah save her daft flank, she'd have gotten herself plum killed. An' a dead Avatar ain't gonna do nopony any good.”
Diamond nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know. I need everypony around me. Why... uhhh, why bring this up? I mean... Rarity and Rainbow kinda... they've given me similar talks.”
“Well... yah tol' meh yah been trainin' a bunch taday, right?”
“Well, yes. Fire bending.”
“Ah jus' wanna make sure yah takin' a proper bit of rest between sessions. Ain't gonna do anypony any good if yah end up gettin' yourself all sprained and laid up in bed.”
The alicorn giggled into her hoof. “Oh, no. It's nothing like that. I'm really not that tired at all, it was mostly the basics. I recover fast, too.”
“Mmmm hm. It'd be that earth pony side of yah. Ah mean, ah loved Twilight like a sister an' all, but she got plum tuckered out far too quick for mah likin'. Ah swear half the time she was standin' on nothin' but sheer stubbornness.” She got to her hooves. “Well, come on. Let's go see if ah can teach yah a few new earth bendin' tricks.”
“O-okay,” Diamond said before getting up. She paused before drinking down the rest of her cider, then leaving the mug on the table, trotting after the mare.
“Yah know how tah metal bend yet, kid?”
“Errr... no, not really.”
“How about ah go an' teach yah, then. Ah tried teachin' Twilight, but she wasn't ever really able tah get it. Maybe yah'll have a bit more luck.”
Diamond blinked a few times before a grin formed on her lips. “That'd be awesome!”
------
Diamond shrieked as she flew through the air, her hooves and wings flailing wildly before her downward trajectory was stopped by another dirt pillar that shot up, hitting her back into the air, then a third catching her one last time before, finally, letting her hit the ground. She groaned, swirls in her eyes as Applejack just laughed into her hoof.
------
Diamond wailed as she galloped for her life, the wave of mud and dirt flowing behind her, before finally crashing down on her and burying her up to her neck. Applejack laughed out, shaking her head as she watched the Avatar struggle to get free.
------
Diamond screamed and ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, tears in her eyes as she bent the air around her and the ground under her to try and give her a bit of an edge. Large boulders came crashing down behind her, threatening to crush her. Finally, she was too slow and one crashed down ON her, slamming her into the mud for a moment before rolling off.
The alicorn groaned and shook her head, a bit dazed before her eyes finally fell on Applejack. The earth pony was laughing so hard she could barely stand.
“You're... enjoying this... aren't you?” she asked with a groan.
“Yah know how long it's been since ah been able tah really let go?” Applejack asked with a snicker. Before stretching a bit. “Half mah students are always 'wahhhh, Applejack, yah gonna break us!' ah mean, come on? Yah ever see a boulder cry for its momma?”
The alicorn shook her head. She yelped when the ground shot up, shoving her into the air, she spread her wings and barely managed to land on the ground before giving a sigh. “You're a uhhhh... pretty tough mare.”
“Of course ah am,” she said with a smirk. “Now, yah wanna go again?”
Diamond squeaked and shook her head. “No! I mean, yes, but, errr, h-how about we practice a little metal bending?”
Applejack snickered and gave a nod. “Very well.” She then grinned down at Diamond. “Yah ain't half bad, yah know. Ah mean, yah need a bit more polish on your earth bendin', but you're passable.”
She gave a sigh and nodded. “I try.” She then frowned. “Though... I can't imagine what you and Rainbow were like in your prime. If this is how you are now... how in the world did Twilight keep up with you two?”
She snickered. “What makes yah think she did?”
The alicorn blinked. “W-what? But she was the Avatar! She was the best at... well, all of the elements!”
“Now who gone an' told yah somethin' like that? Jus' a load of horsewash. When it comes tah earth bendin', ah was far better. Air bendin', well, Rainbow had her beat ten times in five seconds. An' water bendin'? Yah had Celestia, Rarity an' even Luna was a better fighter after her whole purgin' of Nightmare Moon. Now fire bendin'... well, she didn't exactly have a lot of competition.”
“But... but she was the Avatar.”
“So? Twilight was somethin' special, but that didn't make her the best.” She paused. “Though, she was a might bit stronger than yah are right now. Ah mean, yah seem tah be able tah go a bit harder, but she at least managed tah land a strike or two on me.”
Diamond sighed and lowered her gaze. “I'm sorry.”
“Aw, now don't yah go an' mope none. If landin' hits on meh was easy then everypony would go an' do it. Stars know ah'd deserve most of 'em. Come on, let's go ahead an' get yah a bit of practice.” She reached out and grabbed a small metal block in the corner of the room. “Now, how's your earth sensin'?”
“Not the best.” She walked over and sat down. “I'll be honest, my earth bending just... isn't that good. I always kind of focused on fire bending.”
“Really? Ah can't say ah'm really surprised.”
“What? Why?”
“Yah... well, yah fight a lot like Twilight. Not... all the way like her. But enough. Yah toss a lot of power inta your strikes. Unfortunately, yah ain't got nearly the precision an' control needed for them. It don't do yah no good tah be able tah take down a pony in one strike, if yah can't hit them ever.”
Diamond's cheeks flared. “Y-yeah. Sunset told me something... similar.”
“That's Twilight's daughter, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah wish ah coulda met her. Ah'll need tah go an' visit Manehatten someday soon, meet up with her. Ah'd love tah meet both her daughters.” She gave a snicker. “Ah bet Twilight was pleased as punch tah have a fire bender for her daughter.”
Diamond sighed. “Yeah. Probably. But she didn't really get to... spend a lot of time with her.”
The smile quickly died from Applejack's mouth. She held up the small metal orb and sighed. “Here. The basis of metal bendin' is a simple one. Yah need tah feel the earth inside the metal. Now, it ain't gonna work with all metals. Some are jus' too darn pure. But the stuff that ain't, yah can often bend. If yah get good enough, yah won't even need tah touch the metal, yah can feel it from a distance. But that's a pretty advanced technique so best yah start simple.”
The alicorn nodded and reached out, closing her eyes and tapping the metal with her hoof. Sadly, she didn't feel anything. “Sorry, I don't--”
“Ain't nopony able tah feel it on their first time,” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes. “Buck, ah invented the art an' only reason ah was able tah probably learn it was cause if ah didn't, all ah mah friends were gonna die!” She put the metal orb down. “Jus' keep tryin' an' don't get upset if yah fail a lil bit. It happens.”
Diamond nodded and tapped the metal a few more times.
------
Daring sighed and sat in the locker room, grinding her hoof into the bench. She couldn't help feeling a tiny bit annoyed and her eyes were leveled on the cause of her annoyance. Pinionwing. Smoothglide sighed as he closed his locker before grinning to the two of them.
“Good job, everypony. A nice, quiet day and a relaxing shift. You both did pretty great today. I know there was a bit of trouble with that water bender, but as you saw, most of the ponies here don't really want to fight with us.”
She nodded absentmindedly. She just focused on Pinionwing as the stallion seemed to be having a few troubles getting his rather soaking wet uniform off.
“I'll see you both here tomorrow, get a good night's rest,” Smoothglide said before trotting out the door.
“I know I will,” Pinionwing said with a chuckle before finally tugging his uniform off. “I don't think I've had to fly that hard in years! How about you, Daring? Exciting, huh?”
“I noticed,” she said with annoyance.
“Huh?”
“You were so... well...” She ground her hoof into the ground and sighed. “You have got to be one of the slowest fliers I've ever seen. I mean, that water bender was practically standing still and you just got walloped! What the buck?”
He cringed, his eyes lowering. “I... I just wasn't... I mean...”
“Not to mention our patrols. You get exhausted and we're barely going at a quick dash. Have you ever even FLOWN before?”
He nudged the ground a few more times with his hoof. “Yes, I just... I-I've never been the strongest flier and... I'm trying my best.”
“Yeah, I know. And it's incredibly frustrating. You're holding us all back, you know?” she said with a shake of her head before getting to her hooves. “Seriously, after that easy day I'm going to have to go for a real fly just to make sure my wings don't get all flimsy and brittle. You should come with me, get some actual exercise.”
He gulped, before giving a nod. “O-okay. If you... if you want.”
“Good, come on,” she said with a huff before trotting towards the door. He was all but hopeless, but MAYBE if she worked hard she could get him to a passable level. She shuddered and couldn't help but imagine having to work with a pony that slow for weeks at a time. She'd go mad with the sheer boredom. She didn't imagine how Smoothglide had put up with it, she'd been watching him. He had kept slowing himself down to allow Pinionwing to keep up. All she could feel was annoyance and frustration.
------
Button lowered his eyes as he hung his uniform up, sighing before resting his head against the locker. He hadn't been able to bend the smallest little metal pebble, let alone anything of substance. He'd failed. Horribly. It was all he could do to keep from bursting into tears as he stood there, his eyes clamped shut.
It wasn't fair. He'd tried so hard. He'd become a much better bender than before. Far better. He was possibly even better than a lot of the benders who he used to train with. Buck, he could even beat a bunch of the ponies who used to train him.
But they were metal benders now. And he was just a stupid, normal earth bender. He lifted his head up and thumped it against the locker, reveling in the irony that it was yet another bit of metal that he couldn't bend. At least, judging by how his head was starting to hurt a little bit. He didn't know what he was going to tell his mother.
He then shook his head before trotting to the mirror and smiling. “No. I'm not going to tell her anything. Button, you're GOING to figure this out. You're awesome. You're skilled. You're a bucking lava bender. Metal bending? You've got this. Heck, dozens of ponies, no, hundreds have it. You CAN learn it. You will learn it. You're just... taking a bit to find your groove. That's it. Learning as you go. Developing. But you WILL figure this out.” He then nodded and gave a grin. “Yeah. You've got this all figured out. You're awesome. You WILL do this. You CAN do this.” He nodded. “So tonight, you're going to go meet up with your friends, have a bit of fun and... brush today off. Tomorrow, you'll come back and learn how to metal bend. Yeah.” He smiled at himself, before giving a sigh and turning around, trotting off.
------
Acrylic hummed softly as he put his uniform away, before turning to look at himself in the mirror. He walked over and stared intently into his own face, before sighing.
“You know, you shouldn't be so vain,” Icytouch said with a chuckle.
“What?” he said, jumping before shaking his head. “No. It's not that. Just... thinking.”
“Oh? What about?”
“How I'm going to develop...”
“Well, you might get an inch taller or so, but I think you're probably done growing by now.”
“Not like that! I mean--” He stopped when he saw the smirk on her lips. “Oh. Right. A joke. No, I just mean...” He sighed and washed his hooves, splashing water on his face. “I need to get better at bending. I need to... find out how.”
“Tired of working with me already, eh? Can't say I blame you. I could be worse. Tittering would make you spend an entire shift listening to bad puns.”
He shuddered. “I've lived with my mother for most of my life. I've heard more bad puns than anypony should ever have to endure. That's not what I mean, though. I just... I need to get better.”
She snickered. “Don't worry about it so much. Why are you in such a rush?”
“I need to become a Moon Raiser. A real one. A pony who can... who can be depended on.”
“Uh huh. But aren't ponies already depending on you?”
“I... I guess, but I just...” He put a hoof to his forehead and shook it. “I don't mean like that. I mean depend on me to... do the right thing. To get the job done. I need to master my bending. Become a master. Like mom.”
“Uh huh,” she said flatly, before reaching out and patting his back. “Well, don't focus too much on it, kid. You're still young, go ahead and enjoy yourself! You don't need to be so serious.”
“Sure,” he muttered. “You can go ahead and go. I wanna get a bit more practice in.”
She sighed and nodded. “Fine. But you should try to go meet with your friends or something. Have some fun. Enjoy yourself. You don't want to turn into some old pony who spent their whole life training and never enjoying themselves,” she said before trotting away.
He sighed and shook his head, before leaning forward and resting his head on the counter. He didn't feel as if he'd learned anything today, even with all the practice. Most of it had been simple. He'd been able to teleport an orange at one point, but that wasn't quite as impressive as he'd hoped. He thought about what Icytouch said and glanced towards the door. “Maybe seeing the others would be a good idea. I'm sure they're probably at Silver's by--” He froze and paled, before shaking his head. “Maybe a bit of practice wouldn't be such a bad thing.”
------
Silver smiled and tossed the last stack of her paperwork on the out tray, a big grin on her face. Her little project was going perfectly, not surprising. They'd already had plenty of things they could use for the initial tests. For now it was just making a few alterations. She didn't know why they hadn't thought of it before.
It wouldn't be that profitable, she supposed. More of a charity thing now that she thought about it. There weren't many ponies who would benefit from it. She reached up and touched the invisible amulet around her throat. Maybe doing a bit of charity would be good for her, for now. They'd find a way to profit from it, she was sure. For now, she got to her hooves and stretched out.
Then frowned when she heard somepony knock on the door. She sighed and shook her head, trotting to it and glancing out the window. Just about dusk, she wondered who it would be at this hour. She had a few sneaking suspicions. When she opened the door she couldn't help but grin.
“Hi Diamond, Button, Acry--” She froze when she realized her third guess wasn't with them. She leaned forward and looked around, trying to catch sight of him but he was nowhere around. “Where's Acrylic?”
“Huh? We didn't see him,” Diamond said with a shake of her head. “Were you expecting him?”
“I just figured he would be with you two...” she said softly, before grinning. “I was, however, expecting you two,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose it's my own fault. Being the only pony of our group who has a house all to her self. Prism and Blaze still putting on a show?”
“I have no idea. I'm not sure if he'll kick us out again tonight. Those trainees didn't come back, so maybe,” Diamond said with a chuckle. “You mind if I stay here again tonight?”
“Very well,” Silver said with a shrug. “You're practically moving in at this point.” She turned to Button. “How was your day?”
Button gave a sigh, lowering his gaze. “I... didn't really do anything. Completely failed,” he said softly.
Diamond sighed and reached out, patting him on the back. “It's okay, Button. You're still a lava bender, right? That means you've got a pretty cool talent! I mean, I'm the Avatar and I can't do that!”
Silver nodded. “Exactly. Come on in, you two. I just finished my work and was about to make something to eat. You're welcome to join me.” She turned and trotted off, towards the kitchen while the others followed her. “So, Diamond, how goes your training?”
“I did some fire bending practice and earth bending. I didn't actually see Rarity or Rainbow today.”
“Oh? How'd those two sessions go?”
Diamond blinked and hummed for a moment. “Oddly. My first was with Plasmahoof and... oh, right. Um, he was a really good fire bender my dad hired to train me back when... before I came here. He was really good but... well, he said he was having trouble training me. He wasn't really prepared for... how I am now.”
“How you are now?” Button asked.
“The fact I actually listen to what he tells me to do, instead of running off and saying I know better,” she mumbled with red cheeks. “I-I have gotten a lot better, I think. I don't... snap as much or anything.”
“You've gotten fine,” Silver said with a soft chuckle. “You've become a great pony, Diamond. A... real hero.”
“Yeah!” Button said with a nod. “Before you used to have like... this really hot, 'I'm better than you and I know it' attitude. But now you have this really hot 'It's okay, I'll save your butt and we'll be friends' attitude.”
Diamond snickered softly. “I appreciate the thought, but are you sure Luna will be okay with you calling other ponies hot?”
He blinked a few times, his eyes lowering again. “I... actually haven't thought about him all day...”
Silence reigned for a few moments and Silver gave another mental sigh. “So, Diamond, how about earth bending?”
“Applejack is brutal,” Diamond said with a shudder. “I thought Rainbow was bad, but Applejack might be worse.”
“Really? How?”
“Well, Rainbow likes to push you, make you keep up, runs off a lot. But Applejack... she likes to beat you up. She was tossing me around like a rag doll and I think she liked it. I don't know HOW Twilight survived her.”
Button snickered. “Well, she does have a bit of a reputation.”
“She almost broke my back at one point,” Diamond said with a shudder. “I can't imagine what being her student full time would be like. I don't think I'd survive more than a week.”
“How'd she say you were doing?” Silver asked before placing a few mugs of cocoa on the table before trotting back to the fridge.
The alicorn blinked and, slowly, a smile spread on her lips. “As... much as I hate to admit it, she said I was actually pretty good. Too much aggression, not enough not moving, but she said I was beyond a rookie.” She then gave a sigh. “But she tried to teach me metal bending, too. I didn't have any luck with that. I managed to get better with my earth sensing, though. But well... even when I could feel the earth in the metal, I just couldn't bend it. You know? It just like... wouldn't listen to me.” She glanced to Button. “How about you?”
“Me? I... w-well, I'm going great! Awesome, even, a total metal bending...” He then sighed. “Horribly. I can only catch the barest glimmer of earth in the metal. I don't know why I'm so bad at this! My mom can do it, why can't I?”
Silver sighed and reached out, patting his head. “Well, you're a lava bender. One of the only ones in the world. That has to mean something, right? Maybe you were just never meant to never be a metal bender. Maybe only a lava bender.”
Button grumbled and sipped his cocoa. “But I don't want to just be a lava bender. I mean, don't get me wrong. Lava bending is AWESOME! Like, the coolest thing ever! But... metal bending is what I'm supposed to do. Like... Diamond, imagine if you could lava bend, but you couldn't ummmm... water bend. How much would that suck? Being the Avatar without your elements?”
Diamond cringed. “Y-yeah. I guess that would be kind of... awful,” she mumbled gently. “I mean... it was. Remember when I got here? Couldn't air bend at all, kept feeling like...” She blinked a few times, before reaching out and putting a hoof on Button's hoof. “I'm sorry. You're right, that must be horrible for you.”
“Yeah, it is,” he said softly. “I just... I'd give almost anything if I could metal bend.”
Silver tossed a few things in a pot and turned up the heat, before walking over to sit by them. “Button, I understand. But... I'm sure you have these powers for a reason. You probably have a great destiny ahead, something you're meant to do that nopony else can do. Something... good and noble. I know it might not sound like the most reassuring thing, but there are plenty of ponies who'd give just about anything to be like you.” She smiled reassuringly to him. “And so what if you can't metal bend? Most earth benders can't. You're still an awesome earth bender.”
Button snickered. “I doubt I'm destined for anything good and noble. I mean, of the three of us I think I'm the LAST one who'd do that. I have the Avatar on one side, and the...” He paused for a moment. “Whatever your rank in Tomorrow Industries is across from me. You've both got a lot of better things ahead of yourselves than I ever will.”
Silver froze, almost dropping her mug. “I-I'd hardly call myself destined for anything good. I run a business. In fact, some ponies would call me the epitome of evil,” she said with a knowing grin, swirling her mug around.
Diamond rolled her eyes. “Oh please. EVERYPONY loves Tomorrow Industries. Your dad was blamed for half of what happened with Meadowbrook and just about everypony loves him again now. I don't think most could get away with that. ”
“That's because daddy is just... good with ponies. And we have a huge public relations department and try to take good care of them. Daddy knows how to get them to do whatever he wants,” Silver said with a snicker. “Me on the other hoof? I just make sure the lights stay on. With some help from Secretary.”
“You know what? I think we should stop talking about this stuff,” Diamond said with a wave of her hoof. “What we should do is try to cheer ourselves up. It's a... well, nice night out, the sky is clear, ponies are having fun. There's no sign of Meadowbrook yet. We've all had a long, tough day of work.” A grin formed on her lips. “I say... we go foal nap Acrylic and go out on the town. Have a real best buddies night out.”
Silver blinked a few times. “What? How? We don't even know where Acrylic IS.”
The three shared a look, before sighing in unison. “Training.”
Silence reigned for a moment, before Silver got to her hooves and trotted to the stove, shutting it off. “I suppose this can wait. Eating out again would be quite delightful.”
“I know how to break into the Moon Raiser facility,” Button said with a grin, before every eye fell on him. “What? Vinyl taught me.”
“Why?” Diamond asked. “I mean, I know she would do it. But why?”
“She said in the event he ever gets married and tries to skip his bachelor party.” He paused. “Which she threatened that she'd throw if I didn't.”
Silver and Diamond shared looks, their cheeks turning red. “Let's... just go foalnap him,” Diamond said before getting to her hooves.
------
Ironwing gave a soft, gentle yawn as he looked out over his paperwork, reaching out and marking down a few things. The frown on his face darkened as he came to the end and a small little section. He'd seen so many little mistakes today, but did it really matter? He wasn't in charge anymore. He was just a lower member. It wouldn't do for him to be filing complaints against his superiors. His squad mates would likely be changing often, too, so he might not even work with them again.
He chewed on his lower lip and stared at the comment section, his mind struggling and weighing all the pros and cons. He wasn't in control anymore, it wasn't his responsibility to monitor them. To control them. Both his hooves rose up and were placed to his forehead before he gave a soft sigh.
------
“And that's how I fly!” Daring said with a smirk on her face. Pinionwing panted with exhaustion, sweat puddling around him as he laid limp on the ground, unable to move. “Oh, stop being so dramatic,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “It wasn't THAT bad.”
“H... h...” he struggled to speak through gasps of air, but his parched throat made it all the worse.
“You're just really out of shape. I swear, you're just barely trying,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But come on, I'll make a real flier out of you, one way or another. We're doing another lap.”
He gurgled something but didn't move. She just shook her head and chuckled. “Fine, fly home. I'm going to go for a little flight of my own, burn off this energy. We can do the rest tomorrow.”
------
Prism nuzzled his wife as the two came in for a soft landing on their island. They started trotting inside when he caught sight of True sitting outside on a small bench, eyes closed and seemingly asleep. “Hey. Leadwing kick you out?”
“What?” True asked, his eyes popping open. “O-oh, no. Just... have a lot on my mind.”
“Oh? Heh, sorry about kicking you out. Sometimes... well, a couple just needs a little alone time.”
“It's fine. It's been a very informative day. We met the Avatar and her friend, spent some time with them.” True's gaze wandered away from the two, towards the moon. “Her friends are... quite interesting.”
“Hm?”
Blaze snickered. “I think somepony is getting a crush on one of them. Please tell me it's Button.”
True blinked a few times, before getting to his hooves. “Do you require Leadwing and I to vacate again tonight?” he asked, ignoring the question.
“No, you two are fine,” Prism said with a shake of his head. “We had a very nice night and I think we're going to turn in early.”
“Thank you, sir. I look forward to continuing my training tomorrow,” he said before trotting inside.
Blaze watched him go inside, before snickering. “So, do you think he has a crush on Diamond or Silver?”
“Depends, which do you think?” Prism asked with a smile. “You've known him longer than I have.”
“Mmmmm... I'd say Silver. She's a lot quieter and less... wild than Diamond. Less arrogant, too,” Blaze said with a nod. “He doesn't strike me as the kind going for glory, either.”
“He hasn't really met her father yet, has he?”
“Noooope.”
“That'll be fun. Now, how about we go take a nice soak, then get some sleep,” Prism said with another nuzzle. “We had a pretty busy day today... something we should do far more often.”
She chuckled and nodded. “Fine. But I do have to get to council work tomorrow. Who knows how much paperwork has piled up while I was gone? I could--”
“You could do a lot of things. It can wait until tomorrow,” Prism said before gently steering her into the house, nibbling her ears as they walked.
------
Acrylic took a slow, deep breath before lifting the water up and gently forming a blade of ice with it. He focused on the target across the room. He then sent the knife flying to the left, far off in the wrong direction. After a few moments his horn glowed and the icy blade disappeared, reappearing by the target's left side. It flew off wildly, missing the target by a mile. “Dang it...” he muttered softly, sitting down and panting with exertion. He wiped the sweat off his brow.
“Come on, you can do this,” he muttered softly. “You're strong enough. Fast enough. Skilled enough. You CAN do this. Just--”
The door to the room burst open and he heard galloping steps behind him. He turned and readied himself, drawing a blade of ice from the nearby bucket. However, it melted quickly and he let out a yelp before suddenly he was picked up by Button, Diamond and Silver. “What? HEY! Put me down!”
“Night out!” the three yelled in unison, before hauling him off, bouncing him around. He flailed his hooves wildly, trying to roll off them but the three just kept tossing him around.
“Stop it! Put me down! STOP IT!” he yelled.
“Night out! Night out! Night out!” they chanted back. His face burned and he could see a few members of the Moon Raisers standing in the halls, watching them with humor in their eyes, shaking their heads and laughing.
“Put me dooooown!”
“Nope!”
It wasn't long before they made it out of the building and right on queue the three disappeared from under him. He yelped and flailed his hooves wildly in the empty air, before landing on the ground with an oof. He laid there for a few moments on his back, too stunned for words. Finally, he managed to slowly get up and stare at the three ponies who just smiled at him. “What was that?” he asked.
“We're having a night out!” Diamond said with a raised hoof. “All four of us!”
“I have work and--”
“You always have work and training and all that. We went on a big sailing voyage to the Badlands and you STILL had a bunch of training,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “You act like you have more to do than me AND Silver. And I'm the Avatar, she helps run Tomorrow Industries and deals with her father. If we have to take a night off to just relax, so do you.”
“I'm busy, I--”
“I will tell your mother,” Diamond said, her voice cold as ice.
“S-so? I don't--”
“I'll tell her all you're doing is training. AND ignoring your friends.”
He shuddered, before lowering his eyes. “Fine. I yield. ONE time. Got it? Just this once. So, where are we going?”
“In style!” Diamond said happily.
Acrylic blinked a few times, before staring at her freely. “We're going to in style?”
“I... I thought you were going to say how we were going.” She then pointed towards the road.
Acrylic's mouth fell open and he face palmed. “YOU BROUGHT THE TANK?!”
“Silver let me drive!” Button said happily.
“Hey guys,” Daring yelled, making the four jump before the mare landed besides them. “What are you all doing out this late?”
“Partying!” Diamond said with a raised hoof. “Well, sorta. We're going to go have a night out! Wanna join?”
Daring cocked an eye. “I... think I might pa--”
“Silver will let you drive the tank,” Button said quickly, before pointing towards the tank.
Daring stared at it, her mouth falling open. She then coughed into her hoof. “After careful consideration, I have decided to join you on this adventure of rest and relaxation. In an attempt to... have fun. Yes.”
Acrylic sighed and face hoofed. “Silver... you won't really let them... will you?”
“I-I'll monitor it! It doesn't go that fast, it'll be fine,” Silver said nervously. “I hope...”
------
Shining groaned as she bounced a bouncy ball off the wall, making it rebound up to the ceiling and then bounce back to her. She repeated this motion again and again, the boredom practically overwhelming her. She finally caught the ball one last time and just held it, before looking over to the small cell holding Starlight. “So, princess. How you feeling?”
“Chaos...” the mare mumbled, rocking back and forth.
“Yeah, yeah. Truly the epitome of exciting conversation,” Shining said before getting to her hooves and walking to the edge of the cave. She stared at the pink mare, before grunting. “I wonder what he'd do if I killed you. Would it ruin all of his plans?” A low grin formed on her lips before she reached out and stroked the bars. “It'd be easy, too. A little thing like you? I wouldn't even need the sonic rainboom. Could do it with my bare hooves.” She then closed her eyes and sighed. “Then have him probably drain my magic, just like he did those others. Ugh, no thanks.” She turned and started to walk off.
“Bunny...” Starlight mumbled, making the pegasus freeze. She paused and looked back, her mouth falling open when she saw the little bunny suddenly pop out from a small hole in the wall.
“The buck did you come from?” Shining asked, before grinning. “Welp, guess I get to have a little fun after all.” She lifted her bouncy ball up.
“Shining,” Dazzling said as he trotted inside, making the mare jump.
“Gahhhh, what is it now?” she asked, glaring back at him.
“Meadowbrook desires your presence.”
“Well Meadowbrook can go buck herself. I'm tired of taking orders from her, she--”
“If you don't listen, she'll take your magic. Or just make us kill you.” His eyes narrowed. “After all, the only thing saving you right now is her interference.”
Shining grinned wickedly. “Oh? You want to go, water boy? You could only BARELY hold Rainbow with your bending, do you really think you'll be able to hold me? Do you think you can even get a grip on me before I'm close enough to snap your little horn?”
The two stared at each other, eyes narrowed as they measured each other up. Dazzling finally moved to the side. “Meadowbrook requires your assistance. You'd best not keep her waiting. A pegasus can always be replaced.”
Shining snorted, but trotted by him. “Yeah yeah. So can a little water bender,” she muttered. “She better finish her junk soon, I'm getting tired of waiting here forever.”
“Patience is something you'd do well to learn,” Dazzling muttered, before his eyes fell on Starlight. The prisoner was sitting, with a bunny in her hooves who she was gently rubbing the tummy of. “Did you put that rabbit in there?”
“What? Oh, no, came in through a hole. Heh,” Shining kicked her ball. It flew through the bars, bounced off the roof and came crashing down, hitting the bunny on the side. It darted off, disappearing back into its hole a moment later. The pegasus trotted out, laughing the full way.
Starlight whimpered, her eyes drawn towards the bunny hole. “Bunny...”