Peach gave a soft yawn as she rested on her cloud, glancing up at the clear sky. Her morning had been pretty rough, being the sole weather maintainer for the town was a tough job. But now the skies were clear and she could hear the farmers working the land below. It was going to be a beautiful, lovely day and she couldn't imagine anything would ruin it. Now she got to rest on her cloud hovering just over the trees and keep an eye out for any wandering clouds.
She blinked a few times and cocked her head to the side when she saw another pegasus flying through the air. She squinted and tried to make out who the pony was, but it wasn't any of the ponies from town. Yet the pony was making a beeline right for her. She stood up and stretched, lifting a hoof. “Hey! Can I--”
Shining didn't stop, slamming down into the pony and sending her hurtling through the cloud and into the ground below. It was only about a ten foot drop, but with the force from Shining's hooves it was powerful enough to break bones. She grinned down at the whimpering, moaning mare. “Awwww, did that hurt? Well, don't worry. This is going to hurt a lot more.” Her hoof lashed out, grabbing her head and slamming it twice into the ground.
“Was that really necessary?” Dazzling asked when he broke through the tree cover, eyes narrowed. “Meadowbrook said disable, don't kill.”
“What? She's not dead,” the pegasus said with a shrug. “Besides, I was quick. She barely even knew what hit her. Buck, when she wakes up she probably still won't know what hit her.”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course. Was that all of them, or do they have any other aerial defenses?”
“Nahhhh, this was it. There's a bunch of ponies out in the field, but she was the only pegasus I saw in the air. Tell him to hit the town, first. Might be a few first responders there. We're way too deep in Air Nomad lands for there to just be one pegasus here.”
Dazzling sighed before his horn glowed for a moment and he closed his eyes. Once he was done he opened them again and turned towards the town. “Come on. You and I are on round up duty. If any of them make a break for it, we're to stop them. Gently.”
Shining gave a low moan, but followed after him. “I swear, this is all just a waste of our time. We should be blowing these little places up, not capturing a bunch of no-name ponies. I have more magic in my front right hoof than this whole place has in their whole bodies.”
“That's probably true. But would you rather have Meadowbrook drain them, or acquire it from you?”
The color drained slightly from Shining's face and she bit her tongue. After a few moments she turned back to him. “How much power do you think she really has?”
“The ponies who were protecting my cage were not weak. If Meadowbrook truly has access to all of their power... it would make her a formidable adversary, but perhaps one I could defeat.” He paused. “But with access to the powers of all the ponies who were guarding all three of us? Those are not odds I'd wish to test.”
“Ohhhhh? Is little blood bender scared?”
“Only a fool fears nothing,” he said before glancing towards her. “Which I imagine is why you are so fearless.”
She gave a grin. “Yeah, you know it. Nothing scares--” She paused, then glared at him. “HEY!”
“Meadowbrook needs us, for now. I'd prefer to use my considerable powers to aid her and be free, rather than be drained away to the dregs and left to the mercy of the nations. Or would you so happily give up your flight?”
Shining blinked and then shuddered. “I'm just biding my time before I strike. I don't let anypony control me,” she said with a snort.
“Truly,” he said flatly.
------
Diamond paced back and forth on the airship's deck, occasionally glancing over the side. Rainbow was flying besides them while she, Scootaloo, Rarity, Sweetie, Applebloom and Applejack(who was looking slightly worse for the wear) rode on it. “There it is!” Sweetie called out and pointed down.
The alicorn jumped off the side of the ship and started to lower herself towards the town. It wasn't looking good in the slightest. The fields were torn up, with much of the vegetation burned away. The buildings(the few that still stood) were heavily damaged and cracked all the way down to their foundations. Wonderbolts were swarming the area, but they had arrived far too late as well. There were also a great deal of ponies wearing yellow neck bands with three pink butterflies on them who were doing their best to hand out blankets and food to the unmarked ponies, while also tending to the wounded.
The ponies who had been affected were gathered into a small herd in the center of the town, all of them missing their cutie marks. She landed on the ground a moment after Rainbow.
“Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash! Avatar Diamond Tiara!” a voice called out and the two looked over to see a pegasus stallion trotting over to them. He was wearing one of the yellow neck bands. “It's an honor,” he said, bowing his head. “I'm Goldenglow of Legacy. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Legacy?” Diamond asked, cocking an eye.
“Short for Fluttershy's Legacy,” a Wonderbolt said before she trotted up. “Goldenglow is in charge of the Legacy relief here, I'm in charge of trying to track down the ponies that did this. I'm Wonderbolt Redburst.” She paused and then nervously coughed to the side. “Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash... it's a... uhhhh... it's an honor. I never actually thought I'd... see you.”
Rainbow nodded. “Not happy in the slightest to be here, but that's not your fault,” the mare said with a frown. “So Meadowbrook did this?”
“As far as we can tell,” Redburst said. “It was a quick attack. This town is pretty small, just a few dozen ponies. Buck, they only had the one weather pony and a hoofful of civilian air benders. Took them all out in a few seconds, rounded everypony up.”
“Were any of them killed?” Rarity asked as she trotted up.
“As far as we can tell, no,” Redburst said with a shake of her head. “Their homes were destroyed, however.”
Applejack nodded as she trotted up. “Ah can see Hothoof's hoof prints all over this place. He always liked makin' a buncha explosions.”
“So Shining was here?” Rainbow asked.
Redburst gave a nod. “A pony matching her description took out the only weather pony they had. Mare said it was quick and brutal, though, so she could only give the colors.”
“That'd be her,” Rainbow muttered. “The weather pony is still alive?”
“A few broken rips, but yes. No pony was killed, just beat up and drained.” Redburst looked around. “It was a slaughter. Once Meadowbrook attacked a few first responders came out, but they were only trained to deal with a few petty bandits. Nothing to this extent. They were drained and left helpless within a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, the draining process knocked the majority of them out and none of them know where the ponies retreated to.”
Diamond gave a small nod before looking to the ship as it touched down. The others started to make their way over. “Always in a rush, eh?” Applejack asked as she looked around. “What yah find out?”
“A big deal of nothing,” Rainbow muttered, kicking the ground. “Why would they pop out here? There's like...” She glanced over to the ponies. “Like thirty ponies here. There can't be that much magic to gain from it.”
“Perhaps the purpose wasn't to gain magic,” Rarity said with a shake of her head. “Or at least, not a large amount. A small town like this may not have a lot of strategic importance in a war effort, but it is still an amount of magic. Draining it will no doubt make this Meadowbrook stronger and, more importantly, it lacks the danger of attacking a larger town and risking a sizable response.”
Rainbow gave a snort. “Well, at least we know Shining isn't leading this operation. She'd have gone straight for Cloudsdale if she was.”
“Ah think it's fair tah assume that Meadowbrook is still the pony in charge,” Applejack said with a shake of her head. “Ain't no way a normal pony could keep Hothoof under control an' stop him from hurtin' a buncha ponies in a situation like this.” She looked over. “Ah guess we should all be grateful. No deaths is still somethin' we can be happy about. We can always get their cutie marks back.”
“Hopefully it's easier this time,” Diamond muttered, looking around. She then looked to the three. “What would you do in a situation like this?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Find them. It's all we can do at this point. But we already have all four countries tearing about and looking for any sign of them. It's not like when we were fighting Discord or the Water Nation. With them, we always knew where they were going and well buck, we were in their position before. It's a lot easier to hide a few ponies than it is to find them, if you know how.”
“Slightly easier for us than them of course,” Applejack said with a shrug. “At least two of the nations didn't want us captured. But on the other hoof, ah don't think these ponies really care if they go an' hurt anypony, so they are a might more dangerous.” She shook her head. “Any guesses?”
Rarity rubbed her chin. “Well... to be honest, a thought does occur.”
“Oh?” Diamond asked, looking to her.
“We have no idea what they have planned at this point. As much as I hate to say it, there may be nothing we can do aside from hoping for some sign of tracks or marks as to where they went.”
“Ah wouldn't count on it,” Applejack muttered. “They got Hothoof an' if this Meadowbrook can do some earth bendin' thanks tah that fancy stick of hers, there's no tellin' if they'll leave any kind of mark. All in all, it's frankly... well...”
“A complete bucking waste of time,” Rainbow said through gritted teeth. “Buck, this is ridiculous. We can't just pop up after they do a bunch of damage and then go 'oh, sorry guys, we were a bit too slow'. There has to be something we can do!”
There was a soft cough and Goldenglow slowly raised a hoof. “Err... if... if I may be so bold?” the pony asked, giving a nervous smile.
“Go right ahead,” Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof. “Not like things could get much worse.”
“Most of the ponies here are... well, their morale is low. They're scared, they don't know what's happening. Some of them are hurt and terrified they may never have their cutie marks back.” His eyes then moved down to Diamond. “You, however... are the Avatar. I know it might sound silly, but... a few words from you, any words from you, could do these ponies a world of good.” He then looked to the others. “You're also the heroes of legend. Most ponies here have grown up hearing the tales of your amazing defeat of Discord and the Water Nation. It might not do much to stop this from happening again, but anything you'd have to say would mean the world to these ponies and if nothing else, calm their nerves.”
Diamond froze, her eyes lowering. “I... I don't know what I'd say. To be honest, I don't even know if there will be anything I CAN do for them. I have no way to track Meadowbrook, or--”
“It's not about knowing what you can do,” Goldenglow said with a shake of his head. “It's about knowing what you intend to do.”
Diamond chewed on her lower lip for a few moments before glancing back to the others.
“Well, ah don't see any harm in it,” Applejack said with a shrug. “We all beaten these ponies once before an' stars know we don't intend tah stop until we do it again. So ain't gonna be nothin' but the truth from meh.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Meh. We took down Discord, we can take down some weird unicorn with a fancy stick.”
Rarity gave a nod. “Indeed. And as dangerous as their combined might may be, I assure you ours is far, far stronger. These ruffians will have to learn the hard way not to cause problems with our nations. We're with you, Diamond.”
Diamond gulped and gave a nod. “I uhhh... I guess we'll say something then.” She looked to all the ponies before slowly stepping forward. To her relief, she could hear the others walking behind her and following in her steps. As she moved forward, the relief ponies stopped and moved aside while those missing their marks turned to face her. She took a deep breath before trying to steel herself. She mentally called out to Twilight to aid her if she could. She then stomped her hooves down and glowered at the ponies. “Hello!” she called out and, to her shock, her voice was suddenly EXTREMELY loud, making her take a step back. She looked around in confusion and saw Rarity's horn was glowing.
“Carry on, dear,” the unicorn said.
Diamond gulped and looked back to the ponies. “Hello. My name is Diamond Tiara. Most of you will more likely know me as the Avatar.” She paused for a moment. “I am very, very sorry for what happened to you here. However, I want you to all know, I WILL get your cutie marks back. I will not stop, I will not rest until they are returned where they need to be.” She looked left and right over the crowd of ponies. “I know you're scared, I know you feel helpless and weak. Like your very core has been stripped from you.” She paused for a second and thought back to how she felt when her cutie mark had been stolen. “I know because I have been where you've been. I've fought Meadowbrook and, unfortunately, at first I lost. I was stripped of my cutie mark. However, that didn't stop me and it won't stop you. With my friends besides me, I continued to fight, I continued to oppose her. That won't change now. Meadowbrook has lost before, as have all of her companions. This time will be no different. The full force of all five nations are working together to capture these criminals and rest assured, when they are captured you will have your cutie marks and magic back.” She then looked back. “It's not just me, either, who will be doing this. I... know you have all heard of Avatar Twilight Sparkle, likely one of the greatest Avatars of all time. Her friends have joined me on this quest and I know, together with them, there is no way we can fail.” She turned back to the crowd. “I just ask that you please be patient and wait. Before you know it, you'll be back to your normal lives.”
“What are we going to do for our harvest?” a pony yelled out.
Diamond blinked and froze. “Err... I'm sorry?” she asked, staring at the ponies.
One of the earth ponies stood up. “Our harvest! We depend on the bits our fields bring in every year to survive, but without our magic to tend the fields, how will they prosper? We can't put our lives on hold until this pony is captured, we need our magic!”
Diamond froze, her eyes widening. “I... uhhh... I mean, I'm sure there's ponies who can help you. Give you bits to last through the winter, even--”
“I don't need no bucking hoof out!” a pony yelled, jumping to her hooves. “I've been working these fields since before you were just a sparkle in your pa's eyes! I can take care of them myself, cause it's my job and my duty! Just like it's your job and duty to protect us from crazy ponies like this!”
Diamond froze, lowering her eyes. “I'm... I'm sorry. We're working to--”
“Now you jus' hold on a darn minute!” Applejack snapped before she took a step forward, glaring down at the pony in front of her. “Now ah ain't gonna blame yah for not wantin' a hoof out. But ah was workin' fields like this jus' before YAH were a sparkle in your pa's eyes an' if yah think ah'm gonna stand around an' let yah bad mouth the Avatar due tah this situation, yah got another thing comin',” she snapped, stomping a hoof down. “Yah all got a bad lot, ah ain't gonna lie. Frankly, losin' your cutie mark at a time like this plum stinks worse'n a pig pen that ain't been cleaned all summer, but that ain't Diamond's fault. It's the ponies that attacked yah all's fault an' don't yah eva forget it. Now, ain't nopony tellin' yah tah take a hoof out, star's know hardly a pony alive who'd want somethin' like that. But yah all had a buncha bad luck an' your right, tendin' tah your fields right now is jus' not in the picture. Frankly, with the way things are goin' yah probably gonna be dependin' on charity more than yah like.” She then turned to Goldenglow. “But that's why Fluttershy's Legacy was founded. Tah help ponies that got hurt in the war or situations like this. Tah help yah all stay on your hooves so yah don't end up jammed in the mud.” She took a deep breath. “Ah know how it feels, ah'm sure yah all put your heart an' soul intah this land, but as much as ah hate tah say it, it ain't worth dyin' over. More'n that, yah all make it sound like you're gonna miss a few years worth of harvest. The las' time Meadowbrook showed her head the whole thing was over in a few months, brutal as it was, an' ah doubt now will be any change. That means jus' one harvest season, maybe not even a whole harvest. It's rough, your pride is gonna take a bit of a blow, but now's the time for all of us tah stick tagether, not bite at the hoof offerin' yah aid.”
She glanced to Rainbow. “Now, ah don't know about how your country operates, but back in the Earth Kingdom stuff like this can happen from time tah time. In times like that, our Empress makes sure that the ponies are taken care of. Ah don't know how you Air Nomads do it, but if it's anythin' like it was durin' the war, yah all will be fine.” She then turned back to them. “Ah'm sorry, it sucks, but yah all are ponies for buck's sake. Yah are gettin' a stiff blow tah the chin, ain't nopony gonna say yah ain't. But that ain't no reason tah throw a tantrum an' go blamin' the Avatar for somethin' she didn't cause yah an' she sure as buck is doin' her very best tah help yah with.”
Rainbow gave a nod before stepping forward, giving a nod. “Exactly, Applejack's right. The Air Nomads have resources in place for situations like that and Fluttershy's Legacy is already popping up to give you the aid you need.” She motioned to the other ponies. “It sucks, fine. But if you're going to be mad, at least be mad at the right pony.”
The ponies slowly sat down and grumbled a bit amongst themselves, but quickly went quiet. Diamond smiled before she and the others turned around, heading back towards the ship. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“Ain't nothin',” Applejack said with a shrug. “Them ponies jus' wanted somepony tah lash out at an' yah made a good target. Ah ain't gonna stick around for that.”
“Did uhh...” Diamond gave a soft sigh. “Did Twilight ever have... ponies who blamed her for what happened?”
There was a long moment of silence before Rainbow spoke up. “Yes. A few ponies. Most of them understood, of course. But there were plenty who blamed her for what happened. As if it was her fault, personally, that the Water Nation went to war, that Discord showed up, just about everything was laid at her hooves by one pony or another. Frankly, it was just bucking stupid. I mean, I get it, she's the Avatar. Was the Avatar. But there's only so much one pony can do. There were a bunch of idiots who apparently thought she should have trotted straight into the Water Nation on day one of her appearance and just dethroned Nightmare Moon. You know what would have happened then?”
“What?” Diamond asked softly.
“We'd have had a new Avatar a good deal sooner an' Discord would still be runnin' about,” Applejack said with a shake of her head. “Buck, ah wasn't with her for most of the journey but even ah could see jus' how hard she was workin'. The sad truth of the matter is, there will always be ponies like that. When bad stuff happens, they look for somepony tah blame. Try tah find some quick an' easy way tah jus' make everything better. Sayin' things like 'well, if ah was Avatar, ah'd have won this war already.' Fact of the matter is, yah are the Avatar. Yah were chosen for a reason an' ain't up tah us tah tell yah how tah do your job. All we can do is guide yah an' train yah, ain't none of us who can do it for yah an' ah sure as buck doubt there's any of us who can do it better.”
Rarity shuddered. “I quiver in dread at the thought of anypony but Twilight having been the last Avatar. So many things could have gone so much worse.”
Rainbow snickered softly. “Yeah. Imagine if I had been the Avatar.”
The three froze in place for a moment, before bursting into laughter.
Diamond couldn't help but join in with their laughter a few moments later, a smile forming on her lips. What happened to those ponies was horrible, she couldn't deny. But they were right. They'd beaten Meadowbrook and the others before, they could do it again. Even if she did have a new trick, it would still be the same old Meadowbrook and she'd break her again.
------
Meadowbrook frowned as she eyed the small town from the mountain overlooking it. A small, white glow surrounded them, hiding them from view. The staff held in her magic barely glimmered and she felt the annoyance grow.
“Are we almost done here?” Shining asked, pacing back and forth. “I'm so freaking bored. Look, there's Rainbow and the others, we should take them out.”
“No, she's not with them,” Meadowbrook muttered, before lowering the staff. “I don't know why, but she hasn't joined the Avatar on this adventure.”
“She? She who?” Shining asked, cocking an eye.
Meadowbrook didn't answer, instead she trotted back into the cave. “Come on, we're leaving.”
Shining sighed and glanced to Dazzling. “Isn't being a minion just soooo delightful?” she asked, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.
“It beats being one of the unmarked,” he said with a shrug as he trotted back.
“You only say that because you always were just a little pet,” Shining taunted as she trotted besides him. “Just the little water bending pet who nopony wanted.”
He shrugged. “Better a loyal pet than a rabid dog.”
Shining froze, her eyes narrowing. “Unlike you, I'm free. I fly where I want, I fight who I want, I kill who I want, I--”
“Obey Meadowbrook or find yourself amongst the unmarked,” Dazzling said coldly. “You are too loud and obnoxious, you should try to be like Hothoof. Even if he is as dumb as you, he manages to at least keep himself entertained.” He trotted into a small red circle that Meadowbrook had created. Hothoof was standing behind them, knocking a small rock back and forth between his hooves.
Shining let out a low growl before stepping into the circle, it glowed a second later and the four disappeared.