Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 2: Earth Pony

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 9: Quiet Reminders

“I-it's not there,” Pinkie said, her eyes wide with shock as she descended down the stairs.

“I know, that's what I said,” Twilight grumbled. Rainbow had returned with a number of long, thin sticks so Fluttershy was finishing the brace. “Why would you think it was there?”

“But, but it was supposed to be. That's not fair...” the pink earth pony grumbled as she glared upwards. “I'm sure we'll find it though... we better,” she growled.

The avatar sighed and shook her head. “There is no way this Pinkie sense can explain all this...”

“How does your leg feel?” Fluttershy asked gently as she got up.

The alicorn moved the leg to the side and smiled. “No pain. Just AYYYYYEEEEEEE!” she screamed as she tried to get up using it. She fell onto her side as tears streaked down her face.

“Twilight! D-don't try walking on it!” the pegasus said quickly as she put her hooves over the leg and softly breathed on it. After a few moments the pain subsided. “It'll take a while to heal. For now, just let us help you, okay?”

“O-of course,” the alicorn squeaked softly as her friends slowly helped her up. She leaned heavily on the yellow pegasus.

“When we get outside, you can even fly,” Spike offered.

“Pfft, it would be faster to drag her everywhere,” Rainbow said with a snicker.

“I don't fly that slowly!” Twilight shrieked in protest. “I just... don't quite have the skill you do.”

The blue pegasus smiled and moved to the alicorn's side. “Relax, I'm just teasing. Come on, we'll get you back to town.”

The avatar nodded and sighed as they began the slow ascent up the newly revealed stairs. “I saw Starswirl again. He told me what I have to do now.”

“Oh?” Spike asked with a chuckle. “Let me guess. Find an earth bending teacher?”

“No!” Twilight objected. “Well... okay, yes. But there's more to it than that. He told me there are five others out there who I have a special connection with. Who, when I go into the avatar state, will grant me the power I need to fight our enemies. I think four of the five are all of you.”

“Oh?” Spike asked, as a grin formed on his lips.

“Yes. Laughter, loyalty, kindness, generosity and honesty,” the avatar said with a nod. “Though, the only ones I'm sure of is that Fluttershy is generosity and Pinkie is laughter.”

“W-what?” Fluttershy squeaked. “B-but I'm not that, I mean, I-I've never, but...”

“You're the most giving mare I've ever met, who else could it possibly be?” Twilight asked with a smile.

“B-but, I ummm... I-I don't think I'm really... any of those... but...” the meek mare squeaked as she chewed on her lower lip.

Pinkie raised a hoof and opened her mouth, before quickly shaking her head.

“Nonsense. I'm still not sure which elements Rainbow and Spike represent though,” Twilight mumbled.

“Pfft, I'd be honesty,” Rainbow said with a snicker. “Because I'm honestly awesome!” She started to dash off again, but stopped as she realized she was still supporting the alicorn.

“Maybe,” Twilight snickered and glanced to Spike. “I imagine you'd be loyalty. You've stuck with me far longer than you needed to, even though I... well...”

The dragon shrugged, “Whatever. You'd be lost without me anyway. Besides, if I left, the Great Dragon would be super mad.”

She snickered, “Sure. That still leaves one element to be found though,” the alicorn mumbled as they finally came to the top of the stairs. The fresh, clean air of the forest filled their lungs as they let out a soft sigh. The dusty underground no longer surrounded them as the dim light of the moon cast its soft glow on them. “How long was I down there?”

“A few hours,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “We can probably make it back to Drowsy Void before dawn.” The young mare let out a soft yawn.

“Okay,” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “We can get there, and then take a few hours nap. I don't wanna be too hard of a task driver.”

“Pfft, right,” the blue pegasus smirked. “I could stay up for days if I really wanted to. No problem.”

“You're not the only one in our group,” the avatar mumbled as she glanced to Spike and Fluttershy. The two were starting to look quite tired as well, their eyes drooping. She couldn't see Pinkie, as the earth pony was behind them. But she was certain the other mare was getting just as tired, or hopping up and down as if sugar flowed through her veins. “Maybe we can get some nice, relaxing beds to sleep in, too.”

------

Sweetie sighed as she lounged on her cot. The gentle hum of the tank vibrated around her, the gentle rumbling attempting to lull her to sleep. Unfortunately, her mind was too busy thinking of other things. The snores of the soldiers who were off duty weren't helping matters either. She rolled onto her stomach as she struggled to let sleep take her. Thoughts of her sister continued to spill into her head.

She imagined them back home again, together. Designing new outfits for the soldiers. Going camping. Maybe, just maybe, they'd even be able to share relationship advice! She certainly hoped that her sister didn't already have a colt friend. Having him executed would put a damper on their relationship, but she just had to make sure that she saw any such relationship from the beginning.

The tank suddenly ground to a halt as she let out a groan and pulled the blanket close. Soon, her fears were answered as she felt somepony nudging her leg. “Your highness,” one of the soldiers whispered. “There is... are... well... you'll want to see this.”

Sweetie groaned as she crawled out from bed, already missing its warmth as she trotted to the tanks hatch and slowly climbed out. Her eyes went wide as she saw the ponies that stood before her. “What... why are... all you soldiers out this far?”

A large force of the Water Nation's soldiers stood before the tank, a number of unicorns in front. The closest one saluted. “Your highness, we are an advance invasion force. We regret to inform you that the town of Drowsy Void has not been captured. Even with your reinforcements we- yipe!” he let out a yelp as a narrow shard of ice landed by his hoof.

“We are not your reinforcements,” the mare growled. “You did, however, mention the next town? How far is it from here?”

“About a day and a half,” the stallion said nervously.

“And the avatar, was she there?” Sweetie asked with a gleam in her eye.

“The... avatar? I am not aware. We were driven off by... monsters, your highness.”

The unicorn froze as her eyes narrowed. “Monsters? What sort of monsters?”

“H-horrible fire breathing monsters! Large dogs from the pits of tartarus that spit flame and EEK!” he shrieked as another shard of ice shot past him, just barely missing his eye.

“That was obviously the avatar, you foal!” she screamed as she slammed her hooves down on the tank's metal frame. The powerful blow sent an echo through the gathered ponies as they kept their gazes lowered. “Her fire bending obviously had the lot of you hiding and wetting yourself like frightened fillies!” Steam began to fill the air as her rage boiled the water around her. “You useless, pathetic, whimpering foal! You're lucky I don't have the lot of you executed!” she growled. “You will take us to this town. I swear, if your foalishness has cost me my chance to capture my prize, I will make you beg for death.”

The unicorn nodded slowly as his hooves shook. Slowly he turned back the way he came and began to quickly march. Though he was tired from spending the last two days running from the monsters that resided in the forest, the demon that commanded the tank frightened him far more.

------

Twilight groaned as the five made their way towards the village. The sun was only beginning to rise, but already she could hear ponies yelling at each other. It didn't take her long to find out why.

Velveteye was standing outside his home, the door barred behind him with a few boxs he was sitting on. A number of ponies were outside the home, yelling at him. “He's a water bender, we can't let his kind stay here!”

“He's not a water bender,” the earth pony said with a shake of his head. “He's just a unicorn. The avatar trusts him and I gave my word I would keep him safe until her return.”

“It's been a whole day, she should be back by now. I bet he's behind it! We should string him up and find out what he knows!” another pony hollered. “The avatar could be in danger!”

“Enough!” the mayor yelled. “I will hear no more of this! Go back to your homes! I will not allow this stallion to be harmed, I have given my word!”

The crowd ignored his orders as they continued to yell, push and shove towards the house, but fortunately none seemed willing to force their way past the older stallion. Twilight shook her head. “I should have known. At least the mayor is a pony of his word.” She continued limping forward, supported by her friends, as a ball of flame gathered at the tip of her horn. After a few seconds it shot up, into the air, and exploded with a loud boom.

The crowd shrieked as the ponies turned in fear. “Avatar, you're alive!” a pony yelled.

“Yes, I'm alive!” she snapped angrily. “What do you think you're doing? That pony helped me drive off the soldiers preparing to attack all of you, not to mention warning us about them. Yes, he did steal from you, useing underhoofed means, but he also saved your lives. After all that, you decide to turn to torture and attack the moment I'm not here?”

The ponies sheepishly turned their gazes to the ground, unable and unwilling to look her in the eyes. Twilight let out a sigh and sat down. “Listen. I know he's from the Water Nation, but that doesn't make him bad. They are ponies, just like us. I'm sure there are plenty there who want this war to end just as badly as all of us. I'm asking you to give this pony a chance. Please. He should be judged based on his own acts, not on where he was born.”

Rainbow leaned in and whispered. “Weren't his own acts stealing a bunch of food and terrifying all the ponies here by making them think he was a necromancer?”

Twilight sighed and face hoofed. Unfortunately, she used her broken hoof. Her scream cut through the air so viciously that the crowd ducked down and cowered in fright.

------

Sweetie was shaken awake as the tank was suddenly jarring left and right, flinging her and a number of others from their cots. She shrieked as she ended up in the middle of a painful pile of panicking ponies. “GET OFF ME!” she screamed as she struggled to shove them off her. “What is going on?!” There was a sudden crack as the tank jerked up one more time, then stopped. Outside she could hear screams and howls of pain as another explosion tore through the air. Finally, she managed to crawl out from the pile and run to the exit of the tank, crawling out.

The scent of burnt fur and metal filled her nostrils instantly. The scene in front of her was so confusing she couldn't understand it for a few moments. Many of her soldiers were laying on the ground, their bodies charred. Many more were trying to hide near the front of the tank. She turned towards the back as her mouth fell open.

Blueblood was running. A number of her soldiers were laying on the ground, screaming or unmoving. The rest were too busy cowering to give chase. “What are you doing?! After him!” Sweetie yelled as she motioned towards the stallion.

A pony called up from his cowering spot at the front of the tank “Your highness, he, he threw lightning! The back of the tank, he-” the pony let out a scream as a shard of ice seemed to materialize through his leg.

“I ordered you to go after him, not make excuses! Any pony who is not wounded, pursue!” she ordered as she started to climb from the tank. She let out a shriek as she quickly leaped off about halfway down. Her hooves sizzled slightly as she stamped them out and stared at the tank. The entire back end had been blown clear off and parts of the wheels were melted into thick slag. She let out an angry cry of frustration as she turned to examine the wounded. Others were crawling from the tank as she started pacing. “Gather the wounded. I want a status report. How many casualties and how long until the tank will be moving?”

The soldiers instantly got to work as soon as they climbed from the damaged vehicle. Flowerbloom and Scootaloo moved to their friend and smiled nervously. “Easy,” the pegasus said. “Don't worry. We still have all the information we need, right? No point in getting super upset. He's just one fire bender, right?”

“ONE FIRE BENDER?! He needs to be... no,” the unicorn said as she took deep breaths. Purple slowly began to leak from her eyes. “Y-you're right. He's just one. I know where that entire village is,” she mumbled.

“How do you know he wasn't lying?” Flowerbloom asked.

Sweetie whipped her head around and glowered at the earth pony. “Oh, trust me. I am very good at telling when a pony is lying to me. Just call it a talent...” A chill ran down Flowerbloom's back as she nervously gulped.

“Princess Sweetie Belle,” a mare said as she walked up and bowed. “The damage is severe. It will take at least a day before the tank will be operational. Three soldiers died and a few dozen are suffering from second degree burns or worse. Without the tank operational, there will be no way to move them. We'll have to wait here pleasedon'tstabme!” the mare shrieked as she closed her eyes.

The princess stared at the cowering mare, her eyes glowing purple for a moment. She dug her hooves into the ground. “Would we have enough to take the town if we left all the wounded behind?”

“SWEETIE!” Scootaloo snapped. “You can't actually mean to just abandon our soldiers. They're hurt, they need medical aid.”

“But they-”

“They'll die if we leave them here,” the pegasus snapped as she glared back into the princess's eyes. Sweetie stared back, anger in them, but after a moment the purple leaked away.

“You... are right,” the unicorn said with an annoyed sigh. “Get working on the tank immediately and tend to the wounded. Also, we need to get it off the road. If any ponies come looking about, capture or kill them.” She paused for a moment as she stared at the back of the tank. “What happened here, anyway?”

“Apparently the prisoner blew his way out,” the mare said with a nervous gulp. “Some of the wounded were yelling about lightning. The container was well insulated from fire but.... errr... electricity and lightning would have been another issue entirely.” She let out a fearful squeak and took a step back. “B-but I'm certain we'll catch him! Whatever he used to escape from there, h-he likely received a lot of damage as well! He won't be able to flee forever, and I'm certain we'll catch him!” the mare repeated as she took a step back.

Sweetie growled and then turned away. “Very well. Tend to the wounded and have the tank operational as soon as possible. As soon as it is, we depart to the village. No more stops, no more rest until we arrive. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes your highness,” the mare said as she bowed and galloped off, soon tending to the wounded leg of the last pony to speak with the angry princess.

------

Twilight took slow, steady breaths as she watched Fluttershy work on properly bandaging the leg. The pegasus made sure to take extra care as she used small pieces of metal to lock the leg firmly in place. Soon the cast was finished as the nervous yellow pony gulped. “H-how does it feel?” she asked with a squeak.

“It feels fine. Will I be able to walk with it?” the alicorn asked as she looked her friend over. The others had already retired and small bags were beginning to form under her healing friend's eyes.

“No. You'll need us to... ummm...” the tired mare struggled as she spoke. “Help carry you. Leaning. You'll need to lean on us. Maybe fly a bit, though I'd advise against it. Landing could be dangerous without all four legs. Ummmm...”

“Thank you, Fluttershy. You can go to bed now,” the avatar said with a smile. The pegasus gave a grateful nod before trotting off, soon dropping onto a small cot the mayor had offered them. Unfortunately, Twilight still had a lot of work to do. She limped towards the front door and slowly pushed it open. Outside, she could see the ponies working and performing their daily tasks.

Shadowhoof was... attempting to help. He had tried helping in the fields, but the stallion was completely useless at any garden work. They now had him hauling and pulling produce about for them, a task he seemed to lack the stamina for. Twilight shook her head as she looked around. “Velveteye!” she yelled when she finally caught sight of the stallion. He looked up from a small stack of produce and began to trot over.

“Yes, avatar?” he asked with a smile. “Is your leg doing better?”

“It's fine for now. I need to speak with you and everypony else. We need to settle the matter with him,” she motioned towards the unpatriotic soldier as she tried to blink away the drowsiness. “After we're done with that, I really need to get some sleep. How long would it take to get every pony together?”

“Not long, avatar. To be honest, most ponies were hoping to speak with you,” the mayor glanced around. “If you look, you'll see most of them keep staring at you when they think you aren't looking.”

“Wonderful,” Twilight mumbled as she did do a quick glance. Most of the ponies were pretending to be working on their tasks, though most of their attention was focused on her. She even saw one pony 'examining' a piece of fruit over and over, as his eyes kept shifting to the avatar. “Please get every pony together so...” she was cut off as she let out a yawn, shaking her head as she tried to focus. “Just, get them together.”

The stallion nodded as he trotted off. Within a few moments nearly the entire village was sitting before her, staring up as if she was their teacher. She cleared her voice before motioning Shadowhoof up besides her. “Okay, this needs to be settled now,” she said quickly. “I will be leaving soon after I wake up. This pony can help you, especially if the Water Nation comes back. He knows their methods, their orders and even knows a few of them personally.” She then took a deep breath before shaking her head. “If you don't wish for him to, or he does not wish to stay, I am more than willing to take him with me when I head north.”

A pony raised his hoof into the air before yelling out. “But he's a-”

“A what? A member of the Water Nation?” she snapped. “Do you know who is raising and keeping the moon moving every night? The ponies that are risking themselves in order to return the cycle of the sun and moon to how they belong? The leader of those ponies is named Vinyl Scratch. She's not only a water bender, she was at one time the general of the Water Nation's forces.” The crowd let out a collective, frightened gasp. “She is a great pony who saw the horrible things that her country was doing and opposed them as best she could... sure, that method involved running away but... anyway! She and her other water benders are great ponies. They aren't emotionless monsters waiting to snatch you up and kill you the moment they get a chance. They live, breath, fight and die just like the rest of us. If I knew where they were right now, I'd even send this pony there.” She gestured to Shadowhoof, who was keeping his head hung. Many in the crowd were reacting in a similar manner.

“How do we know he won't turn on us?” a pony yelled.

Twilight looked to the stallion and then looked to the side. “Well... to be completely honest. I'm pretty sure they'd execute him if he tried. I mean, he's driven off a number of their forces and he-” she was cut off as a loud, high pitched squeal filled the air. It took her a moment to realize it was the Water Nation pony. He was on the ground now, his hooves over his head. “Errr, are you okay?”

“Oh, by the stars you're right! They're going to kill me! They're going to find me and torture me and tear off my hooves and kill me!” the pony wailed.

The alicorn stared, barely managing to resist face hoofing. “You're afraid of this?!” she asked as she pointed a hoof towards the simpering stallion. “He whimpers more than Fluttershy!” She then turned and lightly patted the unicorn on the head. “There there. No pony is going to get you. The Water Nation has already been driven off, so there shouldn't be any more attacks, at least for a while.” She then turned back to the crowd. “Does anypony else have objections to him? Feel he's too dangerous a threat?”

The crowd slowly murmured their acceptance of him remaining. She let out a sigh as she turned and limped away. She then stopped before looking to Shadowhoof. “It'll be fine, really. There shouldn't be any more attacks here for at least a while. The earth benders and your illusions should be more than enough to keep anything from getting too bad. So just relax, and try to make friends. If you wish to come with us, just tell me and you are welcome.” She then turned and headed back into the house. She collapsed on the nearest piece of furniture she could find, a chair, and soon lost consciousness as she sunk into its padded embrace.

------

Rarity stood over Littlewing, glaring down at him as the little colt cowered. “P-please, m-mercy...” he begged.

The unicorn hmphed as she stomped a hoof down, snapping his wing to pieces as he screamed. “There can be no mercy,” she growled as she ground her hoof into the crushed bones.

“S-stop!” the pegasus howled as tears flowed down his face. “Please stop! I-I surrender!”

“It's time for you to die!” the fallen princess yelled as water formed around her and then slashed down in the form of shards of ice. They impaled the colt... just as he turned from a small pegasus into a very familiar unicorn.

“S-sister...” Sweetie choked out as she stared up, the shards of ice impaled through her body.

Rarity shot up, her body coated in sweat. She looked around in confusion at the world around her. She was laying on a bed of grass, her aunt nestled besides her. The grass was so tall it managed to hide their sleeping forms from the road, not that she expected anypony to find them. They hadn't seen a single pony since they started down this road.

“Hmmm?” Celestia groaned as her head slowly rose. “Niece? What's wrong?”

“I... I just...” she chewed on her bottom lip as she slowly got up, letting out a groan as her sore body objected to the movements. “I had a dream about... about Sweetie Belle. I... I attacked her...”

The aged unicorn slowly got up, her own body objecting after the night of sleeping on rough ground. “Now, niece. I know this must be difficult for you. You remember your little sister as she once was. Not... not as she is now. She's gone now, and nothing you do will ever bring her back.”

“How can you keep saying that?!” Rarity screamed as she stomped a hoof down. “After... after what I've done. How can I get forgiveness, yet she is beyond redemption?”

“Because that is no longer her!” Celestia yelled. “I've seen it! I've experienced it! That is no longer my sister, that is a monster that has taken over and destroyed everything you ever knew and loved about her!”

“Your sister?”

“I-I meant... your sister. She... she's no longer the sister you knew. She... I...”

Rarity turned her head and started walking through the tall grass, back onto the road. “Come on. We have a lot of ground to cover. Who knows how long until this road brings us to another town?”

Her aunt slowly nodded and followed after the unicorn. The two walked in silence, their minds focused on their own matters. The young princess gave her aunt a nervous look before shaking her head and lowering her gaze.

------

Twilight groaned as her eyes slowly opened. A thin blanket now laid over her, warming her in its gentle embrace. She felt so snug and comfortable that she never wanted to move again. So of course she tried to crawl out of the chair and fell out with a shriek. “Ahhhhh!”

“Smooth,” Spike said as he walked by, sipping a glass of water. “Want some lunch?”

“I want to sleep another twelve hours,” the alicorn grumbled as she got up, teetering slightly on her good leg. “I'm not sure I could move enough to eat. What time is it?”

The little dragon shrugged. “A little after noon, I guess? The others already woke up and are getting everything ready to go.” A small drop of drool oozed from the dragons lips, though he quickly licked it away. “They even had some spare gemstones they gave us for the trip. I'm going to get a nice, proper meal for once...”

Twilight nodded as she tried hobbling towards the door. Each step made her nearly fall over as she struggled to balance on her single front hoof, forced to take short, quick steps with it each time. She made it a couple feet before the dragon moved over and hooked an arm under her broken one. “Here. Don't want you breaking anything else,” he mumbled as he slowly helped her to the door.

She smiled as she glanced outside. “Thanks. You're an excellent assistant” Her friends were talking with the mayor. Well, Rainbow and Pinkie were. Fluttershy was too busy trying to make herself as small as possible while simultaneously pretending to be extremely interested in the contents of the large wagon she was sitting in. “Everything going smoothly?” Twilight yelled as she was slowly guided towards the group.

“Huh? Yeah,” the blue-coated pegasus said as she waved. “Just getting some last minute directions. Mayor says we should just keep heading north. Next town isn't too far off, apparently close enough they were able to travel there during the eternal night. Called Sweet Apple Acres. Supposedly some of the best apples in the Earth Kingdom.”

The avatar nodded as she chuckled softly and glanced into the wagon that was filled to the brim with hay, corn, apples and a small bundle of gems. “I think we have plenty as it is. How long will it take to get there?”

“Normally? About a day at a quick pace,” Velveteye said as he glanced to the mare. “But with your leg, it'll probably take a bit longer.”

“Hmph, we'll see about that,” Rainbow said as she smirked. “I'm the fastest in all the countries, with me pulling the cart we'll get there in half the time it would take a normal pony.”

The mayor shook his head. “I'd advise against that! This old carts not the best. You go running around at max speed, you'll likely lose a wheel or something. It should be more than capable of getting you and your friends to the capital though, if you walk slow and steady.”

“Ugh, fine...” the pegasus grumbled as she motioned into the wagon. “Hop in, Twilight. We got a long way ahead of us.”

“W-what?” the alicorn squeaked. “I couldn't possibly ask you to pull me around, I-”

“You're not asking, I'm telling. Besides, you need to give your leg a chance to heal. This is the easiest way. Fluttershy, can you help me get hooked up?”

The other pegasus nodded as she moved forward and began to harness the other mare. Spike and Pinkie moved to either side of the avatar and slowly helped her inside. She then glanced around. “Where is the Water Nation pony?”

“I'm here,” Shadowhoof said as he stepped forward from the gathering ponies. “I... I've decided to stay. They'll need me if they are attacked again and I want to make it up to them for what I did... also I figure there's probably less of a chance of the Water Nation coming here than there is them coming after you.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Can't argue with that. I wish you the best of luck,” she said as the cart began to move The gathered crowd of ponies waved and cheered as they departed.

“Good bye, Avatar!”

“Be strong! We'll never forget you!”

“We know you'll defeat the Water Nation!”

“We'll miss you avatar Chickenwings!”

The last one made Twilight freeze and then glare at Rainbow. “How could you?!”

The pegasus merely snickered as she continued trotting down the road, the cart pulled slowly behind her.

Comments

[Gamble]

*reads through chapter, then laughs* *reads through hilarious scene once more, and laughs even harder* Oh, Twilight, if you only knew like Pinkie thinks she knew

[eric-emanwu]

Aha! I got it! When discord rescued trixie's soul from certain death, he then gave her the alicorn amulet to be her harbinger. And the problem here was that the avatar was supposed to get her power boost here so that she'd have the strength to fight off the enemies when they get to the capital of Ba Sing Se. Er, whatever it's called in this fusion universe.

Anyhow, it also it appears that "canon knowledge" is beginning to work against pinkie in some ways. Though there's a possibility that twilight is indeed misinterpreting the ways that her friends are part of the elements, it's also possible that thanks to character subtraits that fluttershy IS the element of generosity. That spike Is the element of loyalty and Rainbow is the honest one. It's possible, but I just don't know. It's too soon to tell.

Anyhow, so twilight needed to get back to the village, take care of some housecleaning issues. And make certain that they wouldn't kill the illusionist. A call to see the common horsemanity they have. And a promise with supplies yet again moving north. Next stop? Sweet Apple Acres, and a date with destiny and the blind farmer. (at least, that's what I suspect, depending on how closely you're going to be following the story) Finding the earth bender that they needed, and perhaps even the one they wanted. Though is AJ an orange in this world? Or is Big Mac the overprotective one? And why is it that I get the feeling we're going to see a secret subplot about flowerbloom developing in this next stop?

However, there's even more interesting things starting to develop for the villains as well. For one, they're in route to the city the heroes just left, creating a cruel irony of the town going to be attacked right when the avatar wasn't there to help them. I just hope the illusionist can find a way to at least get sweetie off their heels. Although the more interesting of the developments is that though blueblood lost his firebending, he could still lightning bend. Hmmm, fascinating. Like that level 2 bending is actually immune to level 1 restrictions. But what is this loose cannon going to do? He can't exactly go back to his old tribe, since he's been cast out from them. And come to think of it, we still haven't seen gilda at all this book, have we?

And, there's actually some character building for CELESTIA with her guilt over her sister, not just rarity's sister. Very fascinating. Almost like she doesn't fully believe in the avatar's powers to save her sister's soul. Very interesting indeed.

Well, onto the next avatar adventure. Whether that's the murder charge, the tournament, the reveal of the white lotus (or how about the royal sisters) organization, or so forth. Let the journey continue.

[Adixon524]

good try at the humor iv gotta say

[TheCommunistDog]

Oh yeah i remember what will happen to this town