Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 2: Earth Pony

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 7: Mournful Nights

Twilight gingerly climbed down the steps, deep under ground. Despite the great age of the ruins, they were still in amazing shape. Aside from a few puddles of water, some dust and a hoofful of cracks, there was nothing to tell them the place had been abandoned for at least a century. Occasionally as they descended they'd pass a torch, which she'd quickly light.

The stonework on the walls was magnificent. Completely smooth, even when she rubbed her hoof along it they didn't catch. The stairway was rough underhoof, granting them perfect traction as they trotted. Finally, they came to a pair of large sliding doors, the one on the right slid halfway into the wall.

“That's weird,” Pinkie mumbled as the walked through the opening.

“Why?” Spike asked as he walked besides Twilight.

“It should have been closed, since... nothing,” Pinkie shook her head as the others made their way into the new hall. “Nevermind.”

“Wow, look at this!” Twilight said as she held her horn besides the walls. They were no longer smooth, but displayed images of ponies. “I think these are supposed to be the four nations, look!” As they traveled down the hall the walls revealed images of different ponies displaying different types of bending.

Water unicorns who parted the sea, earth ponies who lifted mountains, fire unicorns who created pillars of flame that touched the clouds and air pegasi who created massive tornados. Twilight froze as she walked past the last of the pictured pegasi and stared at the new sight. A large chunk of the wall had been destroyed, torn from it and the resulting empty space sanded down. She frowned as she kept walking passed the damaged section as her mouth fell open.

The painted ponies were there again, except now they were at war. Mountains tore through the sky, destroying cloud cities as massive tornados turned great palaces into flatland. The seas boiled as fire and ice battled for dominance, the sun and moon competing for space in the sky.

“Kinda reminds you of the way it is now, huh?” Rainbow grumbled.

“This is... horrible,” Twilight whispered as she reached out a hoof to stroke the drawing of one of the fire unicorns. “I remember hearing about wars like this when I was a foal, but none had occurred like this for a milennia. Not once the... once the... oh...”

“Once the avatar came?” Spike offered.

“Yes,” Twilight mumbled as she kept walking. “Part of this story is missing though. I think whatever caused this has been erased.” The next part of the wall showed six ponies, of varying descent. They stood together, Their backs to the raging war. She was so absorbed in the images that she failed to see ahead as her hoof hit a small rock. She let out a shriek as she crashed to the ground, before letting out a gasp.

The ground ahead was covered in stone fragments. The walls had been cut to pieces, the largest barely the size of her hoof, and the chunks littered the floor. She quickly got to her hooves and galloped forward, but all she could find was broken wall. “How... who could do this?! This is history! These told about the previous... why would some pony do this?” she asked as she finally came to the end of the hall. A massive stone slab blocked the way.

She frowned as she nudged it with her hoof. It didn't move.

“Twilight, what's going on?” Rainbow called up the hall. A moment later she let out a shriek of pain. “Dang it! You have the only light, do you mind shedding some?!”

“Sorry!” the avatar yelled as she trotted back, the glow of her horn lighting the way. Soon they all stood before the large slab. There were a few cuts in it, but it was in far greater repair than the rest of the stone.

“So, what is it?” Rainbow asked as she nudged the stone as well.

“The last door, I think,” Twilight mumbled as she lightly tapped it across the surface. After a few taps she heard a light clang. “Metal,” she whispered with a smile. “That's why it's still here. The gate had to be opened, it couldn't be torn down. Earth bending wasn't enough.”

“So someone came down here, got locked out and just tore the place apart?” Spike asked as he kicked a small stone.

“It seems so... I'm not sure how to open it though,” the alicorn mumbled as she closed her eyes.

“Try burning it,” Rainbow suggested.

“How in... no,” she grumbled as put a hoof to it. “Only the avatar is supposed to be able to come here. Maybe if I try reaching out to the spirits,” the alicorn whispered as she tried focusing and her horn glowed with purple magic.

After a few seconds, light spread through the stone. It slowly began to roll to the side, rumbling loudly as it went.

“Huh,” Rainbow mumbled as she watched it go. “That's... well, that was easy. Real easy. Things are usually a lot harder for us.”

Inside the room was a single pillar with a large purple jewelry box sitting on top. Twilight let out a giggle of glee as she charged into the room. “You worry too-Ahhh!” Her hooves were suddenly pulled from under her as she tripped over something. A moment later a loud boom echoed throughout the chamber, followed by the rumble of falling rocks. “Go back!” she screamed as she got to her hooves and made a beeline towards the hall, her friends quickly backing into it as well. As she came closer the door of rock slammed shut in front of her, trapping her in the room as stones began to fall from above.

------

“Now, we're going to try this again,” Sweetie Belle said as she paced back and forth through an empty field. The plants and food in the field had been flattened and every pony of the small village gathered before the princess. “Where is the avatar?” Scootaloo and Flowerbloom stood with the rest of the soldiers, watching with wide, fearful eyes.

Rosebush laid on her side, struggling for air as a thick purple liquid oozed from a wound in her side. “W-we... we a-already t-told you... w-we don't know...” she groaned as she struggled to hold up a hoof. “P-please...”

“I already told you, you will tell me,” the unicorn mumbled as her horn glowed and a small ball of water flew up over her horn. After a moment the liquid turned a dark purple color before being splattered across the wounded unicorn's side.

The red-coated mare let out a loud scream as the mixture bubbled a little. After a few seconds a number of the Water Nation's unicorns came galloping back from the town. “We've searched it, your highness. There's no pony else there. If the avatar was here, she isn't now.”

“Of course she isn't,” Sweetie mumbled before moving to the unicorn and raising a hoof to stroke Rosebush's cheek. “Very well. I understand. You wish to protect her, she's important to you, correct? Don't think I don't understand,” she said with a gentle coo. “You see, I'm trying to protect some pony too. She needs my protection, but she just doesn't realize it. Unfortunately, finding the avatar is the best way to protect her. So, if you won't tell me... I'll move onto the next. But first,” she leaned down and whispered into the mare's ear. “Which one of these ponies are your parents?”

“W-what? W-why?” Rosebush asked as her body trembled with pain. The poison burned through her veins like fire, making every movement hurt.

“I'm not a killer,” the princess mumbled as she continued to gently stroke her mane. “It's such a waste. Once a pony dies there's nothing more I can do to them.” Her eyes, completely purple, stared into the wounded ponies eyes. “But, it seems you're pushing me too hard. I'll have to...” a grin formed across her lips, “dispose of you. Ah hah hah hah hah, ah hah hah hah hah hah!” She threw her head back and laughed as she lifted her hoof over the other mare's neck, a shard of ice materializing on the tip.

“STOP!” Flowerbloom yelled as she galloped up to the two. “Sweetie, s-stop!”

“We can find the avatar another way!” Scootaloo yelled as she joined her friend.

Sweetie turned to the two interrupting her as her eyes glowed. “YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT ME?!” she yelled. Her horn glimmered with magic as the water turned to spikes over her head and her friends stopped short. A moment later the unicorn's grin disappeared as the ice turned to water. “W-what? I mean... I...” The purple leaked from her eyes, replaced by a gentle green. She chewed on her lip as she gazed down at the sobbing mare at her hooves. “I... I was just... it was a bluff, okay?” she grumbled as she pulled away. “Just... guards! Gather every one of them and keep them under watch. Clean the mare's wounds as well. The poison isn't fatal, it'll fade soon after the wound is cleaned. Just... do it.” The princess turned and trotted away. Her two friends quickly looked to each other before trotting after her.

“Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo mumbled as soon as they were out of hearing range of the others. “What was that all about?”

“I just... I... I want the avatar so bad!” the unicorn snapped as she stomped her hooves. “Once I have her, Rarity will come back to me and she'll be my BSBFF!” she growled as she kicked a clump of dirt. “But they're making it all so hard and keeping us apart! I just... I just want to kill them all!” she growled as her eyes flashed purple again for a second.

“Sweetie,” Flowerbloom mumbled as she gave the princess a hug. “Yah don't have tah... kill any pony. They're jus' scared an' tryin' tah protect what gives them hope. They aren't trying tah keep yah apart from Rarity, honest.”

“... Really?” the princess mumbled as she poked the ground. “Then why won't they just tell me? Don't they know I could kill them with a wave of my hoof if I really wanted? They can't really be dumb enough to think they have any chance at all of being able to oppose me.”

“Well... probably not,” Scootaloo mumbled. “But they could be afraid that you might... errrr... anyway. Just leave it to me and Flowerbloom, okay? We'll find out where the avatar went.”

“Y-you will?” Sweetie asked with a soft gulp. “Even though I yelled... at you?”

“Of course!” Flowerbloom said as the two ponies bumped cutie marks with the unicorn's. “We're best friends, right? That means we're here for yah. You'll never have tah do any of this alone.”

The unicorn smiled as she nuzzled her two friends. “Thank you,” she whispered. “It has been so long since I've had some pony to help me. I'd almost forgotten what it was like...”

------

Twilight groaned as she slowly got to her hooves. Rocks and dust covered her but, fortunately, none of them were too big to shake off. She was surrounded on all sides by rocks as her horn slowly came to life to light the room in her flame. “Guys?” she yelled out. “Fluttershy? Pinkie? Rainbow? Spike? Any pony?” she yelled, but received no response. “Are you okay?” She took a step before letting out a shriek of pain. Her front right hoof was bent slightly wrong and, whenever she touched it, pain shot through. “Agh...” she groaned.

She looked to the left and saw the small purple box, still on the pedestal. With an annoyed sigh she gripped it in her magic. “You better be worth it,” she grumbled. She popped the box open and stared.

It was empty. Completely and utterly empty. “WHAT?!” she screamed as she tipped it upside down and shook. “No. No no no. NO!” she yelled again before slamming it on the pillar and snapping it in half. There was nothing. “GAHHHHH! How could you be empty?! I just, it just... I... AGHHHH!” she screamed again as she looked around the room. Rocks surrounded her on all sides and the roof above was solid stone.

Finally she turned around towards where she thought the tunnel she came from was. “Fine. Twilight, you can do this. You are the avatar. You are not going to let one little rock slide stop you.” She limped over and started moving some of the rocks aside as she attempted to make her way out. Within a few moments more stones slid down from above, peppering and cutting her with their sharp edges as she was forced to retreat from the much smaller rock slide.

She coughed and sputtered as she watched the rocks settle a second time. She sighed as she moved towards it again, wobbling slightly from the hurt hoof and the number of cuts across her backside, and tried digging. Dust and sweat coated her body as she slowly made her way through the rocks, this time more carefully. She let out a startled cry as her other hoof was suddenly burned. She pulled away and stared at the small black stone, smoking hot and coated in powder. She gulped as she leaned in close and her mouth fell open. “Buck boom powder? Why would somepony... is this what caused the avalanche? But who would put such a thing here?” She frowned as she shoved it away, using another, much cooler rock. It didn't take long before she came to a large rock blocking her way. No matter how she kicked, bucked or shoved, it refused to move. Even when she used her hurt hoof she could not exert enough force, and the efforts made her almost throw up from the pain.

With a defeated scream she finally dropped down. “Stupid amulet... ugh. If I could just earth bend I could get out of here, easy! Or if I had the stupid amulet. GAHHH!” she kicked a nearby stone. It bounced off another before conking her in the head. She let out a pained cry before finally letting the flame in her horn give out. “Stupid... amulet. Stupid rocks.”

She gulped as she looked around the darkness, before lowering her head into her hooves. “W-what if I can't get out?” she whispered to herself. “No! Bad Twilight. Your friends are out there. They're probably working to get you out right now. They're... o-oh no. W-what if they're buried? What if... no! NO!” she shrieked as she shook her head. “I don't... I'm not going to... huh?” a small glimmer caught her eye. Across the room a small gleam of orange and white light peered through some rocks. She quickly got to her hooves as her horn came alive with flame. The glow disappeared, but her eyes were trained on where it had been. A large pile of rocks, up against the wall.

The alicorn limped over and tugged on the rocks with her magic. “There must be light coming in from the other side. I just need to dig my way out,” she mumbled as she started digging, yet again. The room was getting hotter and stuffier as she worked, so she slowly turned the light to a dim ember, just enough to see.

After a few minutes of digging she broke through, revealing a staircase that went further underground. “What?” she mumbled softly as she looked down. “But I saw a light. I... I thought I did... What was... huh?”

Farther down the stairs she heard a giggle and caught sight of an orange pony. The pony seemed to glow as she turned back to smile at the avatar, a moment before galloping off down the stairs. “Wait! Come back!” Twilight yelled as she galloped after the pony. The quick movement made her scream as pain shot through her hoof and she teetered forward, rolling down the stairs. It took a few steps and many bruises, before she caught herself and slowly got up. She gulped and slowly limped down the stairway again, her hurt hoof held to her side. After a few moments the orange pony was joined by a glowing white pony, and the two continued trotting down the stairs.

------

Flowerbloom slowly trotted past the Water Nation guards and towards a number of makeshift wooden cages. The prisoners were all trapped, a max of three per cage. She moved to the one holding Rosebush. The young unicorn was laying limp on her side, barely breathing as two other unicorns, a mare and a stallion, did their best to help her. They slowly gave her water from a small cup.

The earth pony lightly tapped on the bars and smiled to them. “Hello again. Ah think we need tah talk.”

“Go away!” the stallion snapped as he glared at her. “Haven't you monsters done enough?! We don't know where the avatar is, and we'd never tell you even if we did!”

“Oh, don't give me that,” the earth pony said as she sat down. “We all know yah had the avatar here. We questioned a numbah of yah prisoners and they were more than happy tah spill everythang. Unfortunately, they didn't know where the lil alicorn gone ran off to. That's why we have ta ask yah. Yah all are gonna tell us.”

“We won't tell y-”

“That's your daughter, ain't she?” Flowerbloom asked as she pointed towards the hurt unicorn. “Mah friend was bein' nice. Didn't wanna kill her. But... if yah don't tell us, she'll just bring her back for more, again and again. How many different poisons yah think she can handle? Do yah really wanna watch your daughter die cause yah were too stubborn?”

“I... I'm not... my daughter is brave. She told us not to... she's...” the stallion struggled as tears formed in his eyes. “W-we'll... we'll never break. We'll never tell you or your queen anything!”

Flowerbloom sighed as she moved towards the pony. She looked left and right, once she was sure no pony could hear she spoke up. “Listen... ah know you're all scared. But Sweetie doesn't want yah. None of yah are benders. At worst, she'll just imprison yah. She won't kill any of yah unless yah make her... please don't.”

“W-what do you care? She's a monster! A demon!”

“She just wants tah be with her sister,” the earth pony said with a shake of her head. “All yah need tah do is tell her where the avatar went off to. Is it really worth watchin' your family be tortured and die? Can yah really live with that on your conscience?”

The stallion gulped before looking down to his daughter. He let out a sigh and shook his head. “I... I give up.”

“N-no...” Rosebush said weakly as she struggled to get up. “D-don't tell them... the... the avatar... she... she gave us... she... she helped us.”

“I just...” the stallion sighed before shaking his head. He fell to his knees and stroked his daughter's mane as tears went down his face. “I just... I can't watch you endure that again. I'll... I'll tell her at... at sunset.”

Flowerbloom rolled her eyes. “Ah give yah credit for bein' so brave. Tryin' tah stall us so maybeh the avatar can get ahead.” The pony glanced down at the wounded unicorn and let out a sigh. “Fine. Ah'll be back at sunset. If yah don't tell meh, we'll have to resort to other measures. Ah'm sorry,” she grumbled as she turned and walked away from the cage.

“How'd it go?” Scootaloo asked as she trotted over. “Get them to tell you?”

“Soon,” she mumbled as she looked back to the cage. “We should know bah sunset. Ah hope they spill though. Ah dun ever wanna see Sweetie like that again.”

“Yeah,” the pegasus mumbled. “She is a bit... scary. But hey! We're all together now. I'm sure if anypony can help her with this stuff, we can.” She held out her hoof for a hoofbump.

The earth pony snickered and lifted her own hoof to connect. “Ah bet we can distract her if we have her sing. Maybe ninety-nine buckets of oats on the wall?”

Scootaloo cringed. “Oy. Haven't these ponies suffered enough?”

“She isn't THAT bad when she doesn't try to deafen yah,” Flowerbloom said with a snicker. “She used tah have a mighty fine singing voice back when she was in the choir.”

The pegasus burst into laughter. “Ohhhh yeah. Remember when she sang and danced over Mr. Trumpey? I thought she was going to cry when he told her she was only allowed to march in place.”

“Remember the prank we pulled after?” Flowerbloom snickered. “I still don't think he has any idea how those chickens got all the way up there.”

“Hee hee," Scootaloo chuckled, "I remember him struggling to get up the ladder as they kept crowing. I bet those birds were just as tired of him as we were.”

“Ha ha, remember when the ladder fell over and he flew out the window into the water tubs outside?” the earth pony said with happy giggles as her entire body shook with laughter. “Ah don't think ah ever saw Sweetie freeze so much water so fast. We got in sooooo much trouble for that one.”

“Totally worth it,” the pegasus said with a snicker. “I still remember him trying to climb out from the water, his entire lower half stuck.”

“I was grounded for a month,” a voice said from behind them. The two ponies jumped as they whipped around, seeing Sweetie standing there. “Are you two okay?”

“What? Oh! No! We're fine, you just, s-startled us,” Scootaloo said quickly as she looked off to the side. “Eh, heh heh heh.”

The unicorn frowned as she moved closer towards them. “Is this about earlier? I-I'm really sorry I got so mad back there. I didn't mean to snap at you two. You're my friends. I'd never do anything to hurt you two,” she mumbled as she moved closer and looked up at them with wide eyes. “Please forgive me?”

“Ah course we do, Sweetie,” Flowerbloom said with a smile. “We know yah just stressed and wanna find the avatar so yah can find yah sister. Jus' leave it tah us. We'll find out where dah avatar ran off tah. Jus' go an' get some rest.”

“Okay,” the princess mumbled as she trotted off. She stopped for a moment and gave the two another glance, before shaking her head and leaving them.

“You don't think she would have actually impaled us, do you?” Scootaloo asked nervously.

“Ah... ah certainly hope not,” Flowerbloom mumbled. “Ah'm sure she's just under a lotta stress. She's been the princess for a long time now, who knows what things she's been stuck doin' all this time? Sides, if I had a sister I'm sure I'd be jus' as keen tah find her as Sweetie.”

“Well, who knows?” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “Maybe one day your parents will have another little girl and you can have a sister. Or maybe even a brother.”

Flowerbloom rolled her eyes, “Now why would ah want a brother? Probably end up bein' some loud mouthed little brat that neva shuts up,” the earth pony said with a snicker.

Scootaloo snickered as she trotted back towards the camp. “I'm gonna go get something to eat. After that we can go question them some more, or at least stall until night comes.”

------

Twilight kept limping, deeper into the earth. The two ponies always kept ahead, just barely within view as she struggled to keep up. “Slow down!” she yelled. “Please, I just want to talk! Who are you?” The air was thin and musty, making it difficult to move as she struggled for air.

The two ponies just kept trotting off before finally disappearing completely. The avatar soon caught up to where they disappeared, a small landing that entered a large circular room. She gulped and slowly walked inside.

An image of the sun took up the majority of the floor, though the crescent moon and a cloud were overlapping it. There were no other exits in the room, aside from the way she'd come in. “Hello? Is anypony here?” she asked as she tried catching her breath.

No response came. She began to slowly trot around the room and looked at the walls. Images of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies were carved into the wall. Almost the entire wall was covered in them, hundreds. She circled the room, but couldn't recognize any of them. That is, until she came near the end and froze.

“Starswirl?” she whispered as she stared at his face, carved into the stone. He was a unicorn in the image, lacking his wings. She slowly reached out and placed her hoof on his face.

“AVATAR!” his voice suddenly tore through her mind. She quickly stepped back as her eyes went wide.

“S-starswirl? Is that you? Can you hear me?” she asked. She looked around, but she saw and heard nothing. She then glanced back towards the image in the center of the room. With slight reluctance she slowly trotted into the middle of the room and sat down. Her eyes closed as she once again reached out, attempting to feel the spirit world around her.

She felt hooves on her back as she was pulled up. As she opened her eyes, the world was gone. Or rather, far below her as she flew high in the sky. She turned around and saw him.

He was a large stallion, with a dark gray coat and a gray beard and mane that were so long they nearly touched the ground. He wore a blue cloak and hat, each etched with the stars and moon. Bells were sewn around the hems, making each movement of his jingle. Despite his age the stallion stood strong, his legs refusing to bend and his gaze fierce as he stared at her. “Twilight Sparkle, I see you've returned.”

“Starswirl! I could feel you, but I didn't know if... what's happening?” she asked as she looked around. “I tried to find the alicorn amulet, but it's gone. Did you take it and not return it?”

“No,” the stallion said firmly. “I did use it, but I returned it when I defeated Discord. Well, when I thought I... listen. I have little time and I must speak with you.” He reached out and put a hoof against her horn. “It is now time for me to teach you about the avatar state and the power it grants you, and of the Elements of Harmony.”

------

The sky turned a beautiful purple as the sun slowly began its descent across the sky. The three young mares of the Water Nation force laid in the grass as they stared at the beautiful display of coloration. “Can you believe the sky used to be like that every day?” Flowerbloom asked.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo mumbled. “It's hard to believe all these colors we can see now. Remember that rainbow the guards made earlier?”

Sweetie chuckled as she shook her head. “Yes, I won't deny it is beautiful. It'll almost be a shame when the sun is put down to rest for good. Who knows, though? Perhaps we will find new ways to harness it when night returns. For good.”

“Maybe,” Flowerbloom mumbled. “Ah should get back tah questionin' the prisoners. Yah two just relax,” she said as she rolled onto her hooves and trotted off. Before long she found herself back in front of the cage and smiled. “How yah all doin'?”

“Fine,” the stallion mumbled.

“Yah said yah had the information ah needed. Ah trust you're gonna keep your word?”

The stallion frowned as he looked down at his daughter, now asleep but still breathing raggedly. “Yes. But first, answer me this. Why did you give me this time? I mean... why... err...”

The earth pony looked around before smiling to the pony. “Ah see no reason tah hurt yah. If yah give us the information we need, we can go an' just leave yah alone. Ah'd be more than happy tah get Sweetie Belle back on the road and away from all this.”

The stallion nodded before looking down the road. “She headed along the north road. Her next stop would be at Drowsy Void. The road goes around the forest and right to it. Just follow where it is more traveled and ignore the splits, no pony has gone down those roads in a hundred years. I don't know where else she'd try going.”

“Thanks, that's all ah needed,” Flowerbloom said as she trotted off, back towards her friends. “Got it! The avatar is headed north tah a place called Drowsy Void. We just have to follow the road and, if we're fast, we'll maybe catch up tah her.”

“Perfect. We leave immediately,” Sweetie said as she waved a hoof towards one of the soldiers to come closer. “Prepare the soldiers to leave. Execute the prisoners and burn the village to the ground.”

“WHAT?!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned to the unicorn. “They are defenseless and innocent! We can't just execute them all!”

“Sweetie, please tell me yah don't mean that,” Flowerbloom asked as she moved a hoof up to her mouth, eyes wide with horror.

“N-no,” the unicorn said as she blinked a few times, her purple eyes turning green again. “J-just a joke. Hah hah. Leave them in the cages when we leave. They can break out eventually, by then it will be too long to stop us.” The soldier stood there and stared, confusion on his face. “I gave you your orders, move it!” she snapped.

“Yes ma'am!” the soldier said quickly as he galloped off.

Sweetie turned to her friends, who kept staring at her. “What?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I told you, it was a joke! I wasn't going to, I wouldn't have... I wouldn't have killed them. Honest. W-why would I do that?”

“I don't know,” Scootaloo mumbled. “You seemed awfully sure though.”

“You two know me. You know I'd never, ever do something like that. Don't you believe me?” she asked innocently.

“Princess Sweetie Belle!” a unicorn yelled as he galloped up. “We have a pony here who wishes to speak to you, he just arrived.”

“What? Why would I care about them? Just add the pony with the others. I'm busy with my friends.”

“Your highness,” the unicorn said as he lowered his head. “This pony isn't from the Earth Kingdom. He's a fire bender. He says his name is Prince Blueblood. He requested an audience with you.”

Comments

[Gamble]

of freakin' course

[eric-emanwu]

Oh my. I'm still not entirely sure what the whole alicorn amulet business is going towards, particularly since the swamp in Avatar wasn't nearly this mystical. On the other hand, it did have the visions of rarity and AJ, so that's definitely a part of it, but I'm still not sure.

At the very least, twilight did get a history lesson of the 6 elements of harmony at least in part. And, well, I don't know where the amulet is now, but there's a chance it's in the hands of evil. Well, let's see what Twilight can learn.

Meanwhile, team cutie mark avatar hunters was starting to show stress lines. Also, I find Sweetie's motivation here to be pretty compelling compared to azula's. Azula just wanted some affirmation from her mother or father, a sign that she was valued thanks to her great skill. Yet having sweetie's entire motive to be around rarity becoming her big sister best friend forever again? Interesting. And it's also interesting to see there's something of a battle between her discord side and her other side going on. The discord side seems to be taking murder as the best solution, while the other side is seeking to hold onto her friends and not get in too much trouble

Yet using her earth pony wisdom, Apple, er, I mean flowerbloom managed to find a way to get information without killing anyone. And they reminisced over the good old days. Of course, that was before an old rival stepped into the scene. It appears that prince blueblood is about to become a player again. Uh oh. Inside fire bender information.

[Crack-Fic Casey]

Is Pinkie Pie responding to a specific change to from the Last Airbender to what this is?

[Adixon524]

applejack canon is obvios earthbender however im doubtin youd make her blind like toph or something

[DualKitsune]

DAMMIT BLUEBLOOD!

[General Lemarc]

Wow. You made Sweetie both scarier(since she's a foal) and more sympathetic than Azula. Almost like she's been possessed by Azula herself, instead of a piece of Discord

[Bahamut Omega]

Blueblood you son of bitch!

[Victoria]

This chapter brings a lot of questions.
How Sweetie Belle knew that Twilight visited this small village in the Earth Kingdom. It happened a few days ago. There's no way anyone would report it to her except for Flim and Flam who would stumble upon her by chance. I wonder if they were involved?
Another question is how Sweetie Belle able to travel the land with a light force of soldiers. Does Earth Kingdom have no army that they let enemy forces to just roam freely?
Also, I remember Sweetie said that she doesn't want to use an airship since it would bring attention, but I imagine driving around in a tank and attacking the villages would be pretty noticable too.