Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 2: Earth Pony

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 22: Perilous Heights

“Careful!” Applejack shrieked as she held onto the heavily damaged assortment of curtains. She and Pinkie were now flying hundreds of feet above the ground, though her face was losing color by the second. “A-ah think that's far enough!”

“We've barely made it out the window,” Rainbow growled as she held onto her third of the makeshift carrier. “Just hold on and relax. We'll be out of here in no time. If you really want us to put you down, get Twilight and Fluttershy to fly faster.”

“I'm flying as carefully, and quickly as I can!” the alicorn snapped. “We can't all be super barrier breaking flyers like you. Besides, if we go faster, we might tear the curtains.”

“Don't go faster!” the nervous earth bender squealed as she held on.

Meanwhile, Pinkie hopped up and down a little as they went. “Weeee! It's like a trampoline! Or a giant flying hammock! Ohhhh! I can see my house from here! Well, not really. But I bet I could if we didn't have all the mountains in the way! Hey, you don't think this will turn out like one of our hot air balloons, will it?”

“Don't say that!” Twilight squeaked.

“W-why? What happened to all your hot air b-balloons?” Applejack asked with a squeak.

“Oh, my tail was a twitching and then they crashed! Well, fell. Or got hit by lightning. Or fire. Or arrows. Or-”

“Pinkie! She gets the point! We're not a balloon though, so don't worry,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes.

Applejack stared up, her face almost as white as a ghosts. “A-ah'm goin' tah fall to mah death... no pony auta d-die like that. D-deserve tah die with the dirt an' grass under mah hooves like any pony else...”

“Oh, don't worry, that only happens if my tail is twitching!” Pinkie said with a giggle as she held up her tail, the pink puff gently blowing in the breeze.

“It's twitching!” the orange mare screamed as she gripped the cloth as tightly as she could.

“No, silly! It's just billowing. There's a biiiiiig difference. Mmmm hmm! Here, see? Twitching is like this!” Her tail twitched from side to side. “Billowing is like this!” Her tail gently moved around in the breeze, the air circulating around it. “See?”

“S-so we're n-not going to fall to our- AHHHHH!” the earth pony screamed as a loud crash echoed through the air. “Lightning!”

“Actually, that's the wurm,” Rainbow said with a snicker as she looked down. “Don't worry, it didn't come close to getting us.”

“Ahhhh! I don't wanna dieeee like this!” Applejack whined as she tightened her legs around the cloth. The sound of a light tear filled the air, making her freeze.

“Careful, you keep tugging on it like that and you will break it,” Rainbow growled.

“Hee hee! Ohhhh, you should pull on it and toss us into the air, it would be like we're flying! Weeee!” Pinkie squealed with delight.

“If yah do I swear ah'll break every bone in your wings the moment ah touch the ground!” Applejack screamed as she tightened her grip on the cloth, trying to ignore the occasional sound of tearing fabric.

“Don't worry, Applejack. Nothing will happen, I promise,” Twilight said as the worm below lunged once again, though it came nowhere near reaching.

------

“Mgggl?” Rarity grumbled as the light scent of daisies assaulted her nostrils. She slowly opened her eyes and stared in bewilderment at the pile of flowers that laid on the ground in front of her. “What are... huh?”

“I-I'm really sorry,” Blueblood said gently as he hung his head, standing behind a nearby tree.

“What?”

“I'm sorry for what I've done. What I've said. You're right, you and your mother have done so much for me, and I've been continuously rude. I... I just wanted to give you a gift. I've noticed you staring at flowers a lot when we travel so... I went and grabbed some for you.”

“I... what? Oh, thank you,” the princess mumbled as she glanced at the flowers, her horn glowing as she tossed some of them aside. “These ones are poisonous.”

“O-oh... that... explains the rash. I really am sorry for what I said before. You're right. You two have been nothing but kind to me, and I've thrown it in your face repeatedly. I just... I'm going to try harder. I really am. I may not... I may not be the best at it, but I'll do my best not to be a bother to you. I'm sorry...”

“I see,” she mumbled softly before frowning. “Wait a moment. Rash? Blueblood, come out from behind that tree.”

“I'd really rather not,” he squeaked.

“Blueblood! Come out here, now!” she snapped. The stallion galloped forward, standing at attention. His front legs were covered in bright red welts, making her pale. She face hoofed and shook her head. “You daft stallion. Jademane, wake up!”

“Huh?” the elder unicorn grumbled as she sat up. “W-what's going on? I was dreaming of little bunnies...”

“Of course you were. Look at Blueblood's legs. He's covered in... things.”

Celestia yawned, but slowly glanced down at the hooves. Her brow creased as she shook her head. “It'll be fine. Just head down to the stream and wash your legs. It'll be itchy for the next day or so, but as long as you don't scratch it, there won't be any permanent marks.”

“A-are you sure?” he squeaked.

“Yes. It's just some poison daisies, causing a mild irritation. By tomorrow, most of the red marks should be gone. Just make sure you clean it thoroughly, in cool water. Understand?”

“Yes ma'am!” he said as he galloped away, soon the sound of splashing water could be heard.

The elder mare glanced to her niece and cocked an eye. “Where did all those flowers come from?”

“These? Oh, they were just... a gift. From him. He was apologizing for his earlier behavior,” Rarity mumbled as she looked off to the side and blushed.

“I see,” Celestia said with a gentle smile. “Believe you have scared him straight with your nice fury?”

“He was being rude, and I was merely expressing my discontent. Go back to bed, it'll be dawn soon,” the princess grumbled.

“Mmmm hmm. Indeed it will. Night, Diamondeye... he's not quite so bad, when he's apologetic, is he?” A loud crack filled the air as pain shot through Celestia's flank. “Ow!”

“Oh, I'm sorry, I was merely testing how much water I could gather from the grass,” Rarity said with an innocent smile as she let the water whip melt into the grass.

“Very well, niece. If you wish to play such a violent game,” the elder unicorn said as she got to her hooves. “We shall play.”

“Huh? Errr... what are you doing?” the young princess squeaked as she got up and backed away.

“Vengeance!” Celestia cried as she jumped on top of her niece, pinning her for a moment. Her hooves lashed out rapidly. “Tickly vengeance!”

“NOOOO! Eeee hee hee hee! Stop! No! Please stop! Eeee hee hee hee!” Rarity giggled helplessly as she wiggled about. “Stop, I'll do whatever you want! You can even have your kazoo back! Just stooooooop!”

------

“Oh thank you thank you thank you! So beautiful, so wonderful, so soft and loving...” Applejack squealed with delight as she hugged, kissed and stroked the grass under her. She even rolled onto her back and wiggled against it. “Never flying again. Nuh uh. I don't care what the reasons are, just no. Ponies weren't meant to be in the air!”

“Some of us are. We weren't flying that long,” Rainbow grumbled with a roll of her eyes. “Come on, it'll be dawn soon and we need to get going. Twilight, which way?”

The alicorn frowned as she looked off into the distance. After a few moments she nodded, and pointed. “Okay. I believe it should be... south-east. It'll likely have moved slightly, but we should be able to track it around that direction. Let's go.”

The group began their walk, leaving the wrecked curtains on the ground behind. “What if they didn't head there?” Rainbow asked.

The alicorn stumbled, her hoof catching on the grass. “I... I don't know. Ask around? Pay them? Oh, wait. We don't really have much money. How do we never have any money?” she grumbled.

“Because ponies keep giving us everything we need?” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Not like we'd keep it for long. We barely make it a few miles before we have a crash or something and everything is lost.”

“That's... not... what happens... every time,” Twilight grumbled as she lowered her gaze. “We do crash once in a while though...”

“Name one mode of transport, aside from walking, that has lasted more than three days,” the pegasus said with a snicker.

“Fiiiine! We crash every time, but nopony ever gets hurt! I mean, three of us have wings now, and two don't. So we can always catch each other.”

“Ah'm never goin' on any hot air balloon, blimp or any other mode of flyin' transportation with you lot,” Applejack grumbled.

“We're getting better! I mean, we... oh. You don't think the captain will still be mad that we kinda got his ship blown up, do you?” Twilight asked nervously.

“After Spitfire talked to him about compensation? I don't think he cared. I think his eyes actually turned into bits for a moment there,” Rainbow said with a snicker. “How long should it take to get there, anyway?”

“I don't know... a day? Two? Maybe three? We'll get there when we get there... then we'll save Spike and everything will be okay.”

“Well, if we can find out how to save him from the element of... which was that?”

“Generosity...” Twilight said with a soft sigh. “I kinda wish it had just... disappeared like the others did,” she grumbled as she rubbed her forehead, the crown long gone. Even if she could still feel it within her, waiting for her to call it out.

“Don't worry,” Fluttershy said as she walked over and gently put her wing over the alicorn. “We'll find him, and we'll fix him. It's what we do.”

“Yes, yes it is,” Twilight said with a happy smile. “Don't worry, Spike. We're coming for you.”

------

Days passed quickly, until Rarity and her group stared up at the massive wall of Fillydelphia. “There it is,” she said with a gentle sigh. “Behind that, lies our new home, and the avatar. Blueblood, I can hear you scratching your legs, if you do it one more time I'm going to tie them together and drag you through the dirt. We're close enough now.”

“B-but they're so itchyyyy!” the stallion whined. “I thought you said it would go away quickly?”

“I suppose you just didn't clean it properly,” Celestia said as she cocked an eye. “The redness is mostly gone at least. If you hadn't spent the last two days constantly scratching it, it would be completely gone by now.”

“Guhhhh!” the stallion groaned as he tried trotting ahead. He froze as his eyes looked down at the large line that stood in front of the wall. “Oh... my... I think this could take... a while.”

The line stretched out from the wall and past many of the fields. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of ponies pulling carts and other transports stood in a line and were being examined by a number of earth ponies. “I guess we'd best get in line,” Rarity grumbled as she trotted forward. “Today marks the first day of our arrival in Fillydelphia. Let's not waste it gawking at a long line.” The three made their way to the end and waited.

The line was moving, fortunately, quickly. Every few minutes it would move forward a few ponies lengths. Unfortunately, it was still very long. The sun slowly crossed the sky, starting at high noon and, as the wall finally began to tower over them, beginning the first signs of dusk.

A brown earth pony, with a yellow mane, was examining one of the many ponies contents before shaking her head and marking it off on her clipboard. “I told you, no outside food! We are a self-sustaining fortress, anything your food brings in could cause untold damages. HIYA!” she slammed her hoof down, as a pillar of dirt shot up and sent the cart of muffins flying into the air. It crashed down a few yards from Rarity, eliciting a gasp from the mare.

It's owner, a gray pegasus with wide, yellow eyes and a yellow mane, galloped forward with a cry as her eyes crossed in two random directions. “My muffins!”

“Don't worry, Derpy,” a brown earth pony with a dark brown mane said besides her. “It'll be okay. We'll make new muffins.”

The mare with the clipboard finally let the two in, before turning towards Rarity and friends. The three ponies cringed. “Now, my name is Ms. Harshwhinny. I'll be evaluating you today. I trust you have your identifications?”

The two mares froze, but the stallion smirked. “Leave this to me,” Blueblood said as he moved forward and took the mare's hoof, gently drawing it to his lips and kissing it. “Hello, Madam Harshwhinney. A shame such a beautiful mare such as yourself is stuck out here in the searing heat.”

“I-I, what?” she squeaked with bright red cheeks.

“I'm afraid I do not have any sort of identification. You see, I'm a member of the fire tribes,” his horn burst into flame for a moment as he smiled gently to her. It burnt out after a second. “However, I'm sure we could work something out? I'd be more than happy to discuss it with such a fine, radiant pony such as yourself.”

She turned bright red and lowered her gaze. “I-I see. Err, j-just mark down your n-names and, ummm, m-make sure you don't have any f-food. W-we're a-allowing special e-exceptions for fire benders. You may g-go. Just, err, y-yes...”

“Why thank you,” Blueblood said as he signed their names and blew the mare a little kiss, before they trotted inside.

“I'm going to pretend I didn't see that,” Rarity grumbled.

“It got us in, didn't it?” the stallion asked nervously. “I was just trying to help...”

“You did wonderfully,” Celestia said with a soft chuckle. “Which was good, because I don't believe any of us have any form of identification. Now, let us try to find a place we can stay. Our new lives begin now.”

------

“By the stars,” Twilight whispered as her hoof covered her mouth. “I... I can't believe this...”

The setting sun cast its light across the shattered, torn land. Shattered ships, buildings and roads covered the ground, littered as well by the bodies of fallen ponies and griffons. Puddles of water had formed over every hole, ditch and crevice. The alicorn gulped as she stepped forward, a light splash under her hoof. She looked down and let out a shriek, the puddle she stepped in dyed red with blood. “GAHHHH!” the mare screamed as she stepped back, shaking her hoof back and forth.

“What... what happened here?” Fluttershy squeaked as she covered her eyes with one hoof, Angel's with the other.

“The Water Nation,” Rainbow said as she flew over to one of the armor covered corpses, nudging it off the remains of a tank. Its lifeless body collapsed to the ground. Her eyes went wide as she began circling the area quickly. “Gilda!” she screamed out.

“Rainbow has the right idea,” Twilight said as she glanced back. “Spread out, search for survivors. We need to know exactly what happened here.”

“On it,” Pinkie said with a salute as she trotted off, steering clear of the bloodier areas.

“Wait, where did Applejack go?” the avatar asked as she looked around. The earth pony was nowhere in sight. “Applejack!” She flew into the air and quickly scanned the area. She caught sight of the farmer hiding by some trees, her head rested against the trunk with a small pool of... evacuated stomach contests under her. The alicorn landed behind the mare. “Applejack, what's wrong? Are you sick? Did something happen?”

“S-sick? How can yah all not be affected by that... by all that? It's a slaughter out there! Yah know how many ponies probably died there? It's worse 'an... worse 'an... back home...”

“Back home? What do you...” Twilight trailed off as realization dawned on her. “You mean... because of what happened at... oh...” She trotted to the mare and placed a wing over her shoulder. “I'm sorry... these... I mean. We've seen... the Water Nation has destroyed a lot. We've seen...” she trailed off as she hung her head. “You're right. We've never seen one quite like this. It's usually far more... we've heard of it. Seen smaller amounts of death. But... I guess... I don't know.”

“Yah all act like this is a common occurrence! Yah know how many dead there are down there?”

“No. And, we really don't want to know. We can't... we need to act. Quickly. That's why we do what we do. We aren't really allowing ourselves to... to notice all of it. I guess. Even Fluttershy has been training herself to push through. Because if we don't, more will die.”

“W-what? Yah all need-”

“We need to find the wounded,” Twilight interrupted. “We need to find out where the Water Nation is heading next. We need to warn ponies. Because if we don't, no pony else will. We're the only ones here who can save these ponies... and griffons. It's horrible that any of them had to die, but we can't allow ourselves to notice. To focus on it... not... not yet.”

“Yah all are a lot more stubborn than I gave yah credit for...” Applejack grumbled as she shook her head. “Ah guess ah-”

“No,” the avatar said as she patted the earth pony on the back. “Leave this to us. You.... well, you need to rest. You aren't... things are just going to get worse from here, probably. You haven't been through... all we have yet. You need to acclimate. Otherwise-”

The farmer knocked the hoof away. “Ah ain't gonna waste time wid that. You're right. Ponies need us, an' ah ain't gonna let 'em down just because ah got a lil jumpity in the stomach. Come on, let's git.”

Twilight smiled and nodded.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Rainbow's voice suddenly echoed through the air. The two ponies looked at each other, before galloping towards the voice. They soon found the blue pegasus, now covered in dirt and mud, standing over an all too familiar griffon.

“Gilda,” Twilight whispered as she stared at the wounded bounty hunter. A large chip was missing from the creature's beak and a hole had been pierced through her right wing. One of her legs was bent at an awkward angle, obviously broken. However, she was breathing and her eyes were opened into narrow slits.

Fluttershy arrived a second later, her hooves moving over the griffon. “Heh... long time no see,” Gilda rasped.

“Heya slowpoke,” Rainbow said as she looked down at the wounded pirate. “Heard you were causing a bunch of trouble when I was gone. What was that all about, sad because I wasn't there to visit you?”

“Pfft. I woulda d-done a lot w-worse if your... your ugly mug had been there,” the griffon rasped. She coughed a few times, sending saliva over the yellow pegasus. To her credit, Fluttershy didn't flinch. “W-what... brings the... lot of you mangy ponies h-here?”

“Pirates,” Twilight said softly as she stepped forward. “They foalnapped Spike. He was wounded and... Gilda?”

The griffon broke into a coughing and wheezing fit, her body convulsing wildly. She went still a moment later. Rainbow whimpered as her ears went flat. “Is... is she dead?”

“No,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “She's hurt, badly. But she'll live. She needs rest. We should move her away from all of...” she trailed off as she looked around, her face paling. She looked down at her hooves, covered in mud, dirt and blood. The pegasus's eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed backwards.

Pinkie caught her with a cringe. “I'll get her out of here. You two move the big ol' mean griffon, okay?”

“Ah'll do it,” Applejack said as she tapped the ground and a small table of dirt shot up and began moving the creature. “You two jus' see if yah can find any more wounded.”

“But-” Rainbow started, but was cut off by Twilight shaking her head.

“Come on,” the alicorn said. “It'll be dark soon, and it'll be a lot harder to find any hurt ponies then. Let's go.” She took off into the air, the pegasus grudgingly following a moment later.

------

“They came outa nowhere,” Gilda growled as she gently sipped water from a cup. “Was clear skies, then all of sudden pegasi were flying at us and the clouds were disappearing under our claws. Within moments the city was crashing down. I managed to get out in time, but a spike of ice pierced my wing and I got slammed from behind. I crashed to the ground then. Lost consciousness after that.”

The five ponies and griffon sat around a large campfire, holding the nights coldness at bay. “How many got away?” Twilight asked.

“No idea,” the griffon said with a shrug. “I suppose any ships that were prepped to leave had a decent chance. Really not much we coulda done. I saw the size of that force, there was no way we could have hoped to fight them. Running was our only chance”

“They headed north, towards Fillydelphia,” Applejack grumbled.

“Huh? How could you tell?” the alicorn asked.

“Trust me, ah know stampede tracks when ah see 'em. Only reason we didn't see the signs is we came in from a completely different angle.”

“They won't be able to get through that wall,” Twilight mumbled. She then glanced to Gilda. “The dragon. Did any pirates arrive with a baby dragon?”

“Possibly, but I don't think so,” the griffon grumbled. “They'd have probably headed to Fillydelphia or to the Water Nation. Only real places to sell cargo like that. Find a zoo or something. Might have got caught up in this assault, too. Recognize any of those ships?” She motioned towards the assortment of crashed vehicles.

“No, but it could be,” Twilight mumbled. “We'll head to Fillydelphia then. We have to warn them of this attack. If Spike is there, we'll find him there.”

“And if he was taken to the Water Nation, or captured by that force?” Rainbow asked.

“We'll head to Fillydelphia in the morning,” the avatar repeated as she rolled over, placing her back to the flame.

“I wouldn't worry too much about your dragon,” the griffon mumbled. “Your chances of finding him are next to impossible. Best to just leave him.”

------

Far from the sleeping ponies, a small earth pony cowered in the corner of a metal cage. Flowerbloom glanced around nervously, occasionally nibbling on her lower lip as she watched the shadowbolts that pulled her cage across the ground. The massive army of the Water Nation stood ready on either side of the cage, watching her as she passed them by. Many stared at her in confusion, wondering what was going on.

The cage eventually stopped, deep in the heart of the Water Nation forces, in front of a tank. Sweetie Belle quickly appeared in the top, her eyes narrowed. “Shadowblade, what is the meaning of this? Why is Flowerbloom imprisoned, release her immediately!”

“It would do me no greater pleasure, your highness. Except, I cannot,” the shadowbolt said as she bowed her head. “This earth pony stands accused of high treason against the Water Nation.”

“I... what?” the unicorn asked as confusion clouded her face. “She is my friend. She would never betray me, or the Water Nation.”

“If only that was true. However,” the pegasus turned and motioned towards the earth pony with a single hoof. “You see, your highness. Flowerbloom has been hiding what she is for a very long time. Lying to you and all of our great nation. Because, your highness, Flowerbloom is an earth bender!” she yelled out the final words as the crowd erupted into cries of disbelief.

Comments

[RBronyReader446]

oh shit! Well, that just happened.

[Jeweled Pen]

4251279 Ayes. She done goofed a lot v.v Siwwy pony, elements are for ponies!

4269435 Eeyup! :) Actually, most of the giant key points in the books were decided before I finished a lot of things in the first book. That's why I chose Colgate to be 'banished'. Since I knew she'd need to give something up(in this case, the tooth brush), I'd need her to be semi popular, and finally she had to be developed enough in the fandom that people would likely be able to remember 'Wait, she was the one who was banished! Ohmahgosh, she's alive!' There's a lot of little continuity and foreshadowing peeks in the first two books, hinting at what's to come. :) And it's sooooo hard to resist not giving in and spoiling them

4277769 Eeyup. Hopefully everything will work out in the end.

[eric-emanwu]

Oh, so it appears that we've returned to camp water nation at the end. So, "flowerbloom" stands accused of treason, and of being an earthbender. Evidence! The evidence is growing.

Meanwhile, AJ had some comedy regarding her fear of heights, and we got another reminder that team avatar gets her transportation crashed quite a bit. That bit on bit eyes also gave me a chuckle. Though what I like the best about their part and trying to chase down spike was coming upon the massacre, and twilight talking to AJ about how they manage to go on. They know the tragedy is around them. They know that this is horrible suffering. Yet they can't give themselves time to have disgust, horror and grief. Not yet. Not until the war is won, the nightmare stopped, and the team victorious. That's great that you touched on the horrors of war here, addressing the dangers of the fear and paralysis in their search.

Oh, and....Derpy Camo!! My Muffins!

[Adixon524]

famous last words Nothing will happen, I promise,” Twilight said right before something terrible happens

[Adixon524]

yes why because it impossible shes a little to young to be able to earth bend i mean sure her parents were earth benders who died trying to save her but shes had a preety relaxin time at that cherry ranch

[DualKitsune]

......so just being an Earthbender is treason? Wow, Flowerbloom! How could you decide to be born an earthbender after a great Water Nation family adopted you!