//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Parents // Story: Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 3: Tirek // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Silver paced back and forth, her patience being cut dangerously thin as she eyed the horizon. She tried to keep herself annoyed, angry. But slowly worry was beginning to win out. The ship was supposed to have been here by now. In fact, it was already twenty minutes late. Not unheard of for airships, but this airship had her daddy. It wouldn't be unheard of for him to have accidentally blown something up. Including the airship itself, or the Fire Tribes. She wouldn't put it past him to have blown up their capital. However, finally the airship came into view and she took off into the air, zooming off toward it, her metallic wings flapping quickly. The gem over her chest hummed a little, warning her that she was going quite fast, but she didn't care. It took her only a moment to land on the deck amidst the stunned crew. “Err, Lady Silve--” “Where is he?” she asked, her eyes narrowed. The pony just motioned down below deck. She started trotting down the steps, looking around. It was one of their ship designs, so it only took her a few minutes to find his room and she reached out, tapping on it. After a moment the door opened and Alicity smiled. “Have we landed-- oh, dear! You're here! Did we land already?” he asked. She stared for a few moments before she chewed on her lower lip. She then shrugged. “Oh, buck it.” She stepped forward and gave him a big hug. “Hi daddy.” He chuckled and hugged her back, his hooves wrapping around her. “Oh Silver, my little girl. How have you been faring without me?” “Fine. Everything is fine, I went through all the paperwork that had piled up while we were gone.” She said proudly before pulling back. She peeped into the room and chuckled when she saw Secretary at the desk, pretending to be engrossed in paperwork but her twitching ears giving away that she was listening. “How was your trip?” “Marvelous! Why, at this rate we'll have the Badlands completely tamed within a few months!” “Years,” Secretary corrected. “Years!” he said again. “At best, if it's even possible.” “Yes, that,” he said with a nod. “But we do have ships traveling between Manehatten and that little city... what was it called again?” “Sanctuary,” Silver said quickly. “Yes, there,” he said before pulling back and trotting towards the desk. “Now, it's time to get back to the hard work. Our ship models have been taking the world by storm. Already I have quite a few requests and I'm working on developing a brand new vessel that integrates the cannons and shielding we've developed, along with the new long distance audio and visual equipment we've been releasing. Secretary?” The mare's horn glowed and a blueprint glided up into the air, revealing a small, tiny vessel with a single balloon. “Now, I'm still working on the name,” he said before motioning towards the name that had been written in and crossed out nearly a dozen times. “But this vessel will be perfect. It can be crewed by only a hoofful of ponies, it will have advanced communication systems that will allow it to send messages back to bases with ease and little time. More importantly, with its shields it will be protected from most magical attacks, including bending. Its cannons will allow it to fight back, as well.” Silver nodded. “Really? And what would that mean?” “Downsizing,” Alicity said with a grin. “... Downsizing?” He nodded, tapping the blueprint. “Yes. Imagine it. Patrols that would only have to be a tenth the size of a normal patrol. Four or five ships able to do the job of dozens of other ponies. Rather than having to dedicate hoofpower to patrols, instead they could put the hooves where they were really needed, disaster relief and the kind.” He gave a nod. “Less pony lives at stake, less ponies being forced to work overtime, less cost. Sure, the initial cost will be a tad bit... excessive, but that's what our research is for!” he said proudly, before tapping the blueprint. Silver nodded, eying it for a few moments. “But they didn't really... hold up well against air bending.” “The initial ones didn't hold up well,” he said quickly. “However, I am certain, with more fine tuning, even a sonic rainboom will be unable to break through them. Even then, the blast taken was up close and the shields still managed to hold up enough not to get you all killed.” He paused for a moment and looked back to her. For the first time, the smile of his wavered. “I... really shouldn't have let you go off on your own, it--” “Oh don't even start,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “I had Rainbow Dash and the Avatar with me. I was safer than any pony had any right to be,” she said flatly. “Not to mention I was the one in charge of the expedition to begin with, so it kind of was my decision.” She rolled her eyes. “So really, you didn't have much of a choice in the matter.” He nodded and then gave her a big hug. “Oh, my big, strong little girl. I understand, it can't have been easy for you, having to take care of this whole expedition on your own and putting yourself at risk. Don't worry, next time this happens I'll make sure to return on the ship with you.” She rolled her eyes. “Daddy! That's not at all what I meant! Besides, it's not like we're going back to the Badlands anytime soon!” She managed to tug herself free from his grasp and fall on her flank, shaking her head. She then glared up at him. “Ugh, I was fine, really. The Avatar had everything handled. She still does.” He blinked a few times, before nodding. “Very well. But next time you run into these ruffians, I'll make sure to be with you.” He reached out and tapped the gem over her chest. “Is that a six gem core?” She nodded, glancing down. “Yeah. I've been working on it. With our newer models, the magic through the systems is far more stable with less surges.” He nodded. “Really? So they don't get disrupted anymore?” “Occasionally they do when I do a harder move, but on straight runs they work wonderfully and the speed increase is great. If we can work out the surges during sharp turns, I think the six gem core will really help us up the speed on our models and hit their peak. I think research and development has managed to make some headway on our dual core system, too.” He nodded. “Really? Fascinating! If we could get the dual core system to work, that could really add more viability to a ten gem system.” She nodded. “Exactly. Ponies would be able to go through the--” She paused and looked to Secretary, who just stood there eying the two of them. “Oh, I'm sorry. We aren't boring you, are we?” The unicorn blinked and shook her head. “No, of course not, Lady Silver. I may not quite have the same grasp you and your father do on all this, but I know enough to follow along.” She paused. “However, Doctor? I think there is one other matter that you've neglected to discuss with your daughter?” Alicity blinked, before giving a shrug. “No, there's no need to worry about that,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “Sir...” Silver frowned. “Daddy? What is it?” Alicity gave a sigh before closing his eyes. “Your... grandparents will be coming for a visit. It is... one of the reasons I decided to come back so quickly.” She froze in place, her eyes going to little pin pricks. She quickly shook her head. “I... see. And when, exactly? I mean, I'm really quite busy and I don't think I'll really have time to be around them right now. Perhaps in a few months... or years?” Alicity gave a sigh and shook his head. “I tried. They insisted...” The two earth ponies shared a look before giving exasperated sighs. ------ Button laid on his stomach, face buried in his hooves as his entire body quivered. He tried not to cry, but it was just so hard. The frustration was almost too much to bear. The little rock of metal just sat in front of him, unmoving, unrelenting, ignoring him no matter how hard he tried to bend it. When he tapped it, he was now able to feel the dirt inside it. But it was no use. It refused to respond to his touch, refused to yield to his bending. It just stood there, a big, stupid, annoying rock. “Button?” a voice called out from behind him, making him freeze. He recognized the voice and didn't need to turn around. “Errr, hi mom,” he said nervously, quickly wiping his eyes. He then stood up and turned back, smiling to her. “Just taking a break, hit my hoof pretty bad and all that. You know how it is.” Octavia stared at him, concern on her face. She stepped forward and reached out, gently brushing his hair back out of his eyes. She then reached out and her hoof wrapped around his neck before she pulled him in for a hug. “My dear little boy.” Red flooded his cheeks and he squeaked. “M-mom! W-what are you doing?” She glanced down at him. “I think it's time you stop this.” “What? No! I've almost got it, I--” “No, you don't,” she said firmly, gently patting his back. “And that's okay. You're a marvelous earth bender, even if you can't metal bend. There's no need to be so focused on this.” “If I'm not a metal bender, then I can't join!” he said softly, shaking. “It's in the name! Metal bender!” He stared up at her. “Mom. I... I have to. I can't just... I can't just be Button. I'm—” “You're not just Button,” she said softly, staring down at him. “You're an amazing bender. A lava bender. And even if you weren't, that wouldn't mean you were any less talented. You can do many, many things, metal bending just happens to not be one of them.” She reached out and patted his head. “You're pushing yourself to the breaking point, hurting yourself. This... is not something you should do. This is not something you need to do.” She leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. “I am so sorry.” He froze. “Mom?” “I... never should have pushed you so hard. Were I not so... demanding, perhaps you wouldn't feel this way.” Button blinked, his mouth falling open. He quickly shook his head. “No, mom, of course not! You were never demanding, I just...” His eyes lowered and he nudged the ground. “I just... I wanna be awesome. Like you and Vinyl were when... you were our ages.” She gave another soft sigh. “Oh, darling. That was a different time, a different place.” She gently brushed the hair from his eyes. “And I was a different pony. I was not the leader of the metal benders then, nor was I particularly awesome.” “Of course you were! I've heard all the stories, the way you fought in the wars and stuff, you helped the Avatar and--” “And how is what I did different than what you do? Are you not friends with the Avatar? Do you not aid her in her battles?” He blinked a few times, before lowering his eyes. “I... I did. But now...” “But now she has Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity,” she said softly. “But she won't, not forever. You, however, are her friend. She will always have a need for you.” She looked to the metal stone. “And that will mean you will need to be, as you say, awesome. It is... time you stopped focusing on what you can't do, and instead learned to harness what you can.” He cringed. “Mom...” She tapped her hoof and the metal rock flew to her, she caught it in one hoof. “It is time for you to focus on your lava bending, to develop it properly.” “I can't give up on metal bending, I--” “Don't have the talent for it,” Octavia said firmly, her voice cold. “There is no shame in that. Many ponies cannot metal bend. Even though there are many of us now, we still only make up a fraction of the world's earth benders. But that doesn't make you any less my child, or any less strong. Nor does it make you any less awesome. Now, come. It's time for us to practice.” He gave a soft sigh before nodding. “Yes, mother.” “... After we're done we'll go get ice cream.” His eyes lit up. “Really? Yay!” He froze. “Err, I mean, I guess. If you want.” ------ Acrylic laid in bed, clutching his head. Life sucked. Oh, life sucked so, so much. He ground his horn into the pillow, trying to use the extra pressure to draw his attention away from the pain. He didn't know why he'd even done such a thing, he was such an idiot. Nothing was worth this pain, nothing. There was a gentle knock on the door and he groaned before looking over. An earth pony stood there, giving him a nervous smile. “H-hi,” she said softly. “Hi,” he said softly, staring at her. She had a silver coat and a blue mane. “Are you one of the nurses?” Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “N-no. I uhhh... I mean, I-I don't know if you remember me, but uhhh...” She slowly stepped inside and he could see she had a fruit basket on her back. She gingerly reached back and grabbed it, putting it on the table besides him. “I ummmm... I mean, it's kind of... my fault you're here.” “Huh?” he asked softly, blinking in confusion. “Did... you hit me with a hammer?” She stared at him for a few moments before giving a small burst of giggles, covering her mouth. “Oh, you're so silly,” she said, before nervously looking away. “No... I uhhh... I was the... pony you saved. You uhhh... teleported to save me. I uhhh... I just... I wanted to say thank you. My uhhh... my name's Pearl.” “Pearl?” he asked softly, before reaching up and rubbing his horn with his hoof, wishing the pain would just dampen. “Listen,” he said softly. “It was just a job, no need to thank me. I uhhhh... well, it's what I had to do. I couldn't let a pony die.” She nodded, moving besides him. “I-I know. I uhhh... well, I mean, it's not every day that... a pony just...” She took a slow, deep breath. “I just wanted to say thank you and uhhh... well...” she then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks a lot and I really appreciate you saving me!” She then galloped from the room. Acrylic just stared, his mouth falling open in shock before a little red moved into his cheeks. If nothing else, it made his pain momentarily forgotten and reconsider if maybe the pain was worth it. Just a little. ------ Ironwing gave a low yawn as he looked over the reports, licking his lips before he began filling them out. Toughwing was doing a pretty good job, he couldn't deny. The stallion had a keen eye when it came to pick pockets, he suspected it had something to do with his his life before the Shadowbolts. He'd make an excellent partner for Artemis, the latter who was a rookie but probably one of the fastest bat ponies he'd ever seen. He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he worked, failing to keep his trademark glare in place. Directing from the sidelines, rather than the front, was actually quite nice. He was really starting to feel like he'd found his true calling. More importantly, he was feeling the tension starting to leak off his body. Buck, he felt so relaxed, he was considering going to see Prism after work today. Maybe catch up on old times. Dump a bucket on his big annoying face. That just made his smile get wider.