Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 3: Unicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 35: Rebellion

What had she done? Twilight stared at the guard, unable to breath. Her mind raced with profanities as she tried to process what happened. Her chest felt super tight and her throat refused to let the air in. She stared at the guard who still had a spear raised.

Said guard took a look at the fire, the alicorn and then his spear. He slowly lowered it to the ground and took a slow, nervous step back. The crowd stared, confusion, hope, fear, almost every emotion imaginable on their faces. Some even seemed to think this was part of the show.

“Twilight, you know there's no going back after this, right?” Rainbow asked softly.

She tried to answer, but all she could do was give a nod. She couldn't speak, she was so terrified. Everything depended on what happened next. Would the ponies welcome her arrival? Would they try to attack her? Her mind reeled as she tried to process what was going on but, for the first time since she could remember, she couldn't think. All she could do was react. Sadly, everything was so still and quiet there was nothing to react to.

A low hushed hum seemed to spread through the crowd as ponies started whispering to each other. Disbelief mixed with hope. Even the guards seemed unsure of what to do, staring at the mare. Finally, they broke the moment by throwing down their spears and trying to fly away.

“Oh buck that,” Rainbow said before she took off. The pegasi barely made it ten feet before they were sent hurtling down to the ground, a gust of air slamming them down. She then landed on the stage. “Okay, everypony! The avatar is here! For all of you ponies! Are you going to just stand there?” She then turned to Pony Wu. “You. We're going to have a major talk later about... about...” She waved a hoof in front of his face. “Are you okay?”

“I... the avatar is... is actually here. I-I was just, I never thought she, I wanted to make a...” The stallion stared. “I-I just wanted t-to call to arms. I-I didn't think she'd see. Did... did you like it?”

“Parts of it. We'll fix the play later. Anyway!” Rainbow turned to the crowd. “You've got the avatar here to help you ponies! Do you want to just stand around, or are you going to help? It's time we take this town back from the Water Nation!” The crowd erupted into a cheer, the pegasus' energy washing over them. “Good! That's what I want to hear! Twilight, come on! Lead your ponies!”

The alicorn nodded as the world finally snapped back into place and she could breath again. She glanced at Rainbow with a thankful look before giving a swift nod. “Okay everypony! This is what we're going to do!” She flew up into the air. “Show us to where the Water Nation soldiers are! We're taking them prisoner! No killing!” She said quickly. “Those who want to join us, can! Don't let any of them escape, we need them for questioning!”

The crowd roared their approval before charging forward, scattering the coverings to the wind.

Rarity walked with the others, glancing to Pinkie. “Is this normal? Do you ponies usually cause riots wherever you go?”

“Nope! Only on good days,” the earth pony said happily.

------

“Oh gosh, oh gosh, I-I don't have any idea of what I'm doing!” Twilight said as softly as her panicky voice would allow.

“Calm down, sugarcube,” Applejack said comfortingly. “You're doin' fine. Everything is goin' fine so far.”

“So far! But what happens when the other soldiers find out? We'll be put under siege!” the alicorn whined. It had gone wonderful, so far. The mob had embraced the rebellion and surged across the city. There had been plenty of broken property and a few injuries, but no deaths. She attributed that to two things. One, the Water Nation forces were so weak here that the ponies immediately surrendered. Two, most of the soldiers here were technically members of the Fire Tribes. They'd grown up alongside many of these ponies and knew half of them by name. One of the unluckier soldiers actually had their mother in the mob and nothing deflates a soldier's will to fight like having their mother telling them to put down that spear before they hurt themselves. In the end, most of the soldiers had agreed to join their little make shift force, claiming to have only joined the Water Nation because they had no choice and could do better from inside. Granted, not all pegasi would claim such honorable intentions and that's where quite a few of the injuries had come from.

But now the town was theirs and she had no idea what to do. Some of the ponies here were talking about marching onto Manehatten, but these ponies were just civilians. Even if the city only had twice her current numbers, there was no proof those ponies would be quite as accepting of her as these ponies. Heck, half of hers were already talking about heading home to get back to their lives, that the avatar would handle everything. She didn't know if she could, not now. She didn't know if these ponies would even want her to once they found out what she was really like.

“Siege? With what army?” Rainbow asked with a roll of her eyes. “You heard the same things we did. The Water Nation called back all of their unicorns and their air ships. There's only a fraction of their forces here now, most of whom grew up in this country. At least half of them would probably follow you if you showed up.”

She didn't know how she'd even gotten to this point. She played the scene out again and again in her head. The playwright was talking, calling for ponies to rise up in her name. She was being called out, her arrival was being proclaimed. Then the soldier was going to stab the stallion and she just couldn't accept it. These were her ponies. This was her home. She couldn't just let them stay trapped. So she'd risen up and attacked. Drawing her friends into the conflict, a conflict they didn't have the time to be involved with.

Guilt enveloped the mare as those thoughts flooded in. Didn't have time to save her people? What kind of pony was she? Saving her people should be the first thing on her mind, not worrying about if she 'had time'. Besides, if the other cities and towns were as easy as this, they could do it practically overnight. She was certain it wouldn't be anywhere near this easy.

“And if they don't?” Twilight asked softly before sitting down. “What if they decide to capture us? Fight us? The entire world is waiting for us to save them. What if we try to save this place and we... and I... fail? What then? What happens when everypony is let down because I'm not strong enough?”

Rarity shook her head. “Enough. You aren't in this alone. Besides, we still have time. The ritual won't take place for a while, so we can at least fan the flames. If a rebellion occurs here, my mother will have no choice but to send her forces to try to stop it. If she doesn't, this country will be freed. If that happens, it'll end up creating a domino effect. If a country inhabited by the Water Nation for a hundred years can shake off their oppression, what hope will they have of holding the other nations?”

Twilight gave a slow nod. “I... I guess.”

“Besides, the majority of the Water Nation's military strength comes from, well. Okay, not the majority. But a sizable force comes from this country. If they rise up in rebellion, chances are those forces may desert. At least, a piece of them will. That'll make it all the easier when we come to defeat my mother.”

“But... but we... if we don't...”

“You're just one pony,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “You just do your best, try to start a rebellion. If it fails, well, we can at least stir up some trouble. Maybe enough that the Water Nation is left vulnerable. Then we can strike. We don't have to free them overnight, we just have to cause enough trouble that it can be done and we can get in to end this.”

“Why don't you get mad at me?” the alicorn shrieked, stomping her hooves down. “I blew our cover, after all the times I said to keep calm, not cause a scene, not get us noticed, it was me! Me! I was the one who ruined everything. I was the one who showed where we were. W-why won't you yell at me? Scold me? Anything?”

The ponies shared looks for a few moments. Rarity raised a hoof. “Allow me.” She then turned to the avatar. “Twilight, darling. Frankly, you've done nothing wrong. You saw your ponies suffering and you rose up to help them. No pony can expect anything else from the mare who calls herself the avatar. If any of our families were suffering, well... I doubt we could resist doing the same. Especially with it happening right in front of us. You reacted in passion, but you reacted to the right thing. None of us blame you for it.”

The alicorn lowered herself to the ground and sighed. “I wish you would. I feel lower than dirt. Lower than... lower than the lowest scum. We have a... a job. A duty. I dragged all of you into this...”

“Eh,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “If you hadn't, I probably would have. I was about to jump up there as it was, so don't worry about it.” She waved a hoof. “It always works out in the end, right? It's not like freeing this country wasn't on our to do list anyway.”

“We've only saved the one town so far...” Twilight muttered.

“Yeah, but once Pinkie gets done helping that pony make the real story, ponies will be lining up to help you take back the country.”

“It won't be that easy!” Twilight wailed. “There was only a token guard here, a fraction! We can't just march into Manehatten, throw the play and then hope the ponies there will be willing to throw the Water Nation out! These ponies are just civilians, living their lives. It's not right to draw them into any of this. They--”

“They were drawn into this the moment the first star fell from the sky,” Fluttershy said suddenly, interrupting the alicorn. “They have just as much right to fight for themselves as we do. We can't force them to fight, but we can give them the option. Give them direction. Give them something worth fighting for.” She smiled at the alicorn. “You may just be one pony, but you're so much more. You're a symbol for all the ponies who can't form the strength to fight against them. You've traveled all across this world, touching lives everywhere and fighting as hard as you can. As we all can. We can't do this alone, they'll have to fight with us.” The pegasus slowly lowered her gaze. “Even if it's scary or dangerous, we can't just give up. We have to keep trying, keep working at it. Never... ever giving up. That's... that's what I believe.”

Twilight looked at her friend for a few moment before lowering her gaze. “You're... you're right. All of you. I-I'm sorry. I just, I've been so panicked, so frightened. I... I just thought, I thought I'd ruined everything, that--”

“Nothing's ruined,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Just a slight detour. Not like we can just ignore the ponies suffering right in front of us, right? What kind of awesome heroes would we be then?” She snorted and sat up. “Anyway, not like we can do much now. This little plan of Pinkie's might work, but we can't do anything until those reinforcements get here. Might as well make the best of it while we can.”

“What do you suggest?” Twilight asked, cocking an eye.

The pegasus grinned wickedly. “What else? Training.”

------

“I-I want the name of the cart t-that hit me,” Twilight said from her position on the ground, dazed and confused.

Rarity shook her head and dusted her hoof off. “I told you. Redirection. Water bending is all about moving things away, just a little bit. You don't block it, you don't dodge it. You make it dodge you.”

“Owie...”

“I don't know how you've managed to survive so long without it. How do you fire benders defend yourselves?”

“B-best defense i-is a good offense...” the avatar whimpered before getting to her hooves, shakily. She took a deep breath. “O-okay, rea--” The hoof was already sailing towards her face. She lifted a hoof up as she moved slightly to the left, a small stream of water shooting up and redirecting the attack just past her face on the right.

“Good, finally,” Rarity said with a shake of her head.

“Shouldn't we be moving onto more... bigger things? Ice? Big water explosions? Tidal wave blocking?”

“Perhaps eventually,” the water bender said with a sigh. “But you're a long way from that. There are... two ways to water bend and they both require you to remain calm and careful. There's being cold and being cool. My... mother favored the first, my aunt favored the second.”

“Yes, yes. I know. I'm not a sociopath like your mother. I feel when I hurt a pony.”

“Yes, that is the problem. You have to maintain your composure at all times. Because, well...” A small blob of water flew up besides the unicorn's face. “Water is the most... flexible of the elements. Water, ice, mist, so many things. It can be drawn from almost anywhere. That flexibility can be deadly, however. What happens when you try to grab a pony in a tendril of water, but accidentally embrace them in jagged shards of ice?”

The alicorn cringed. “Have... you ever--”

“Yes. I have. I was frightened and tried to defend myself against a pony who was... not good. He was impaled and died within moments. Had I... more control, I could have protected myself by sending him flying back. But I wasn't. Water has many different forms and you must be able to control them all, lest you accidentally use the wrong one at the wrong time. That is why we're starting with the basics, defense. Maintaining calm even when being attacked. Unless you prefer the idea of accidentally leaving a trail of bodies in your wake?”

Twilight closed her eyes and thought back to all the water benders she'd met in her travels. One in particular who had fallen to a quick, violent death hung in her mind the longest. “No. I... I think control is an excellent thing to start with.”

“Good,” Rarity said as she struck out again, the water barely knocking it away in time. “Remember, calm. A water bender depends on being calm and collected. Clear thinking. Your art is about skill and precision. Not using power, but directing a strike where the most damage can be dealt. Once a pony is down, disabling is easy. A good water bender will use any means they can to throw you off your game.” She launched strike after strike, sometimes just grazing the alicorn as she stepped back. “They'll use words. Threats, promises, trickery. They'll say things like how they'll kill your friends or offer them sanctuary if you surrender. Then, when there's a moment of hesitation, they'll strike. But you have one advantage they'll never have.”

“What's that?” Twilight asked as she kept backing up, her eyes focusing intently on the mare as she struck.

“You're the avatar. You can mix all the elements. Once you know water bending, you'll understand how to fight a water bender. My mother fights with a heart of ice. That's what makes her so terrifying. All she will focus on, all she will think about is how to kill you. How to end you. She will enjoy making you suffer, but that won't be the end of it. The moment she gets a chance, the moment you leave yourself open, she will kill you. Even if that opportunity meant a member of her family had to die, she would strike and end you.”

Twilight locked up then, allowing a blow to sink through. She stumbled back and rubbed her face. “W-what? She... she'd even k-kill you to--”

“A heart of ice. She doesn't care, she just strikes. Perhaps after she'd... feel regret. But in the moment she would let nothing distract her from what must be done. What she sees as must be done. That means...” Rarity reached a hoof out and pointed towards the alicorn's heart. “If the time comes, you must strike faster.”

“Are you telling me to kill your mother?”

The princess closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “If... if there was no other choice? If it came down to you, or her? Yes. My mother... my mother isn't the mare she once was. She is nothing like the pony she'd want to be. She is not the kind of pony that should be ruling the nation.”

“Oh, then who should? You?” Rainbow asked with a snort.

“Me? Are you kidding?” Rarity asked, motioning a hoof to herself. “Just look at me! Look at how many times I've messed up. I've spent years tracking down and trying to capture the hope of the world. I've nearly gotten myself and those closest to me killed almost a dozen times. I'm the cause of death of... so many ponies who didn't deserve to die.” A haunted look filled her eyes as her gaze lowered. “No. There is only one pony fit to rule the nation. That is my aunt, Celestia.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment. “Then... what would you do?”

“Whatever I must to correct for my mistakes. Now, Avatar, keep your guard up. Remember, parry. Let it flow around you. Don't stop it, redirect it. Use your enemies momentum against them. Motion is your ally, your friend.”

“G-got it,” Twilight said softly as she held her small stream of water up, waiting for the next strike.

------

The alicorn laid on a thick, soft pillow. A donation from one of the many ponies living in the town. Her friends laid in a circle around her. They were inside one of the few available houses, another offering from those who admired them. The remains of their meal, a few fruit cores, were laying in a small heap on the ground.

The sun had gone down a while ago and the water bender training had been a success. For now. Twilight still had a while to go before she could parry all attacks, but she'd learned enough to start. Once Pinkie returned with dinner, they had gathered up the pillows and prepared for their group practice.

Namely, summoning the elements.

“Okay then,” Twilight said as she looked around. “Each element has an associated strength with them. Fluttershy is kindness. Rainbow Dash is loyalty. Rarity is generosity.” There was a snort from the blue-coated pegasus, but they ignored it. “Applejack is honesty. Pinkie is laughter. As for me, I seem to be the bond that holds everypony together. So what I think that means is when your elements activate, they get directed to me and allow me to tap into that power, like the avatar state. It also seems to give you powers as well, though I'm not sure how those work. But all in all, easy to activate. Easier anyways, so try to activate them. I know we don't know how yet, but just try to do whatever you can.”

The ponies closed their eyes and focused, digging deep within themselves as they tried to draw out the elements. Rarity had even taken off her necklace and given it to Spike for safekeeping, leaving her neck free for the coming element.

“We've done it a few times already,” Twilight said softly. “We should be able to call them at will. I think so.”

“Mine's not coming out,” Fluttershy mumbled softly. The others soon echoed her words.

The avatar sighed. “Okay, we need to think of something. Fluttershy, you were the last one to use your element. How did it feel when you used it? Can you remember? What triggered it?”

The pegasus looked down and put a hoof to her throat. “I... I can't remember. Not... everything. I mean, it was all happening so fast. I remember seeing Rarity suffering and I just... I tried to do what Pinkie said. I tried to heal again. Even though I knew I couldn't, I wanted to so bad. To help. To get rid of the evil and just... it came. The element came forward and it... it helped me.”

Twilight nodded slowly and rubbed her own throat. “I... guess that could be it. It was a kindness to help Rarity, especially after all she'd done for us. Maybe it's that that'll allow us to access our elements? I mean, it seems kind of... simple. But okay. Try thinking... thoughts like that. Rainbow, think loyal thoughts, Applejack, think honest thoughts, and so on and so forth.” She gave a wave of her hoof before closing her eyes.

Her element wasn't tied to one of those, though. Hers was different. It was tied to her friends, the bond they all shared. Their connection. She focused on that, focusing on her friends. She thought of every time they saved her or she saved them. The small talks, the big talks. The happiness, the sadness. All the experiences they'd shared in such a short time. It shook her a bit to realize just how deeply she cared for them.

Before she'd been in this time, she'd never really had friends. She'd had teachers and fellow students, so many she'd known, even if just in passing. But she'd never really been close with any of them. She'd been close with her teacher, but they weren't really friends. But these ponies? She felt close to them. Closer than she'd ever felt to any pony before.

She loved them. Not romantically, but as family. She'd do anything and everything to protect them, even if it cost her her life, her mind, her powers. She reached a hoof up to her heart and sighed. Even Rarity, who she didn't know that well and still didn't really trust, she still felt a deep bond with. As if she was somepony who could understand much of the pain and grief she had been through. The loss. These ponies were her family, if not in name then in every other way imaginable. She shook again as she realized something else.

She was certain she'd even kill and destroy to keep them safe. She didn't want to, but if that was the only way to protect her friends, she thought she could. She'd give more than her life, more than her strength. She'd give even her kindness and gentleness away to protect them. They'd already given up so much to help her, suffered through so much pain and loss. How could she not? She pushed harder against her heart. All she wished for was the power to keep their bond alive, to keep it strong. To keep them all safe.

She opened her eyes to find the others staring at her. “W-what?”

“You're element,” Fluttershy said softly before motioning up.

Twilight reached up with a hoof and felt the gentle click of her hoof connecting with the crown. She blushed. “It... it works. It works! All we have to do is focus on our elements and they'll come to us! That's it!”

“What were you focusing on?” Rainbow asked, staring at the ground.

“The thing my element stands for. Us. The bond we all share. Things like that. I guess it just... that must be what mine is aligned to. Well... I guess that's all there is to it. Come on girls, let's get to it. Focus!”

------

Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie stood outside the building a few hours later, chewing on a few fruits as they glanced off towards the bustling town. The other three in their group had already gone to sleep as they had been able to summon their elements. The first three had offered to stay up later, with mixed results.

“You don't think somethings wrong with ours, do you?” Rarity finally asked.

“What? No. Ah'm sure there's nothin' wrong with alla ours. Ah mean...” Applejack trailed off and shook her head. “If it was broken, ah'm sure Twilight would know. We jus' must be doin' somethin' wrong.”

“Don't let it get you down, girls!” Pinkie said happily as she juggled her apple cores. “I'm sure we'll figure it out in no time. How hard could it be?”

“Ah, you three are the avatar's companions, right?” an earth pony asked as he trotted forward. Rarity quickly huddled into her cloak, hiding her face.

“Huh? Eeyup. How can we help yah, pardner?” Applejack asked with a smile.

The pony blinked. “Oh... you're Applejack, right?”

“Eeyup!” the earth pony said, puffing her chest out.

“Err... no offense, I'd rather have somepony more... oh. That's Pinkie, isn't it? Is there anypony else available?”

Both the earth pony's deflated. “Yah know, that play didn't exactly give sound representations of us,” the earth bender snapped. “Ah know how tah count past three and Pinkie here can speak more than her name.”

“W-wow, I didn't think you could use such big wor--” The stallion paused due to the massively hostile glare he was getting from both mares. “Errr, anyway. I'd just wish for you to inform the avatar of something.”

“What is it?” Pinkie asked with a smile, the hostility melting.

“Listen, I appreciate all you ponies are doing, really I do. But I've got a farm to run back home.” The stallion shuffled from hoof to hoof. “And a family to look out for. Half of us have already lost our horns to the Water Nation, but we need each other if we're going to farm through the season. Not to mention I've noticed supplies are pretty low as it is, especially for all the mouths you'll have to feed. You don't really need a bunch of ponies who don't know what they're doing, I'm sure you've got this all under control so... we're gonna go ahead and head back home. Yup.”

Applejack glared. “Yah mean tah tell me you're jus' gonna run away when we need yah? Where's your sense of pride? Your desire tah make a better home for your family? Where's your will tah fight?”

“Hey, I've got to look out for my family. Listen, had the avatar shown up ten years ago or so, I'd be right there besides you. But I have a family I need to look out for, ponies I care for. I can't just risk fighting and dying for this. Besides, even if I did, what's going to happen? I'm going to have to go back and work my farm. At least if I do it now, there will still be crops to live on.”

“But--” Applejack started, but was silenced by one of Pinkie's hooves.

“If that's what you have to do, then we wish you the best of luck,” the pink mare said with a wave. The stallion gave a curt nod before trotting off.

“What was that about? Yah really plan tah let that lily-livered coward run off with his tail between his legs?” Applejack asked with a snarl.

“We can't force him to fight with us,” Pinkie said with a shake of her head. “If we do that, we'll be just as bad as the Water Nation, enslaving ponies to our side.”

“But he... we're fightin' tah free him and 'is family!”

“It doesn't work that way, though,” Rarity said with a sigh. “I know what Pinkie means. It's one thing when there's dozens of them, even hundreds being led around by one charismatic pony. Then they feel that everything is good and golden, that they're doing the right thing. But the longer they wait in one place, the more time they have to think, the more they'll start to decide that maybe living under the Water Nation isn't so bad. They get food, free time, can live their lives. None of them probably have experience with their horns so they don't realize what they're missing. If their family doesn't have any unicorns, they'll see even less reason to fight with us.”

Applejack frowned. “What, yah mean the lotta them will jus' turn on us like that?”

“Oh, of course not,” Rarity said with a smile. “They just won't fight for either side. Taking the path of least resistance, so to speak. To be honest, for most ponies their lives won't change in a sizable way once they fight off the Water Nation. In fact, some of them might lose things. Plenty won't feel a reason to support a mare who was gone for a hundred years and only now reappeared. If we start holding ponies here against their will, make them fight, well... their discontent will spread. Eventually we'll only have a fraction of our numbers. Pinkie, how many have left already?”

The mare sighed. “We've lost about a tenth of the ponies here...”

“The longer we wait here, the more ponies we'll lose,” Rarity said with a shrug. “Plenty who will want to stay here when we leave, too. I hope those reinforcements get here soon, otherwise we may have to march straight into them.”

Applejack snorted. “What makes yah such an expert on all this stuff? Yah act like yah been dealin' with it for... oh.”

“Yep,” the princess said. “I have been. My aunt made sure to teach me all things like that. A pony will endure a lot so long as, in the end, they feel safe and secure. They won't want to risk losing everything, especially when all they'll get is what they had before. As much as I hate to say it, our best bet is a mob mentality. The more ponies we can get together who believe the avatar is there to save them, the more will get swept up and we can use to our advantage. We aren't equipped or supplied for a long drawn out war, but the Water Nation will likely never be this weak again. If we move fast enough, strike hard enough, we may be able to win back this country before it has any time to prepare. It'll be a lot harder to win it back than it would be to defend it, after all.”

“Yah sound more like a general than a princess there, Rarity.”

“In the eyes of the Water Nation, that's what we tend to be. Pinkie, how goes your work on the play?”

The pink earth pony perked up quickly. “Oh, it's much, much, muuuuuch better. I fixed a lot of the errors and Pony Wu has been more than happy to have my help. In fact, I think he's still kind of star struck that he even gets to talk to us. Hee hee. It should be ready by the time we get to Manehatten.”

The princess nodded. “Hopefully there's enough time for the ponies to practice. A lousy play won't do any good.” She glanced around. “I'll be honest. I doubt there are very many ponies who would be willing to fight, outside of a mob. Most I think would be too frightened or quick to run off. But we may have other ways to put them to use. Ways that could lead to them not being in actual danger. So long as they believe we're the ones doing the real fighting, that may stem the tides on those wishing to run away. If the Water Nation is treating them the way I suspect... well...”

“What yah got in mind?” Applejack asked with a cocked eye.

“Well... it's not much, but I think if we use Pinkie's plan with a few additions, well, we might have a chance. Here's my idea...”

Comments

[SRXwarrior]

And Rarity starts to think like a leader without even realizing it.

[eric-emanwu]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new dimension of the last airbender mixed with friendship is magic. In this case, instead of just waiting around for their next try against Nightmare Moon, due to their proximity to rebel lands, it's now time to do some...political wrangling. And continue with the fusion episodes, as we're now transitioning into a mix of the firebending masters with the play's other story, and even a little bit of Sozin's comet as well, with the discussion over killing.

But, let's get going on the story itself. And it begins with Twilight realizing just what she did. She blew their cover. But then, as she was pondering what should happen next, the guards reacted first, trying to flee the fearsome avatar. And since twilight wasn't able to make a move first, RD went for it, rallying the crowd so as to get the revolution going. Also, I found a nice chuckle regarding the way the director actually fanboyed for a second there. Oh, and RD, word of advise, when a person asks if you liked their show, you say it was "fine" in the initial time. Any criticism right afterwards just makes you seem like a jerk and hurts self esteem. But, twilight recomposed herself, and with a cry, the theater crowd surged forward, leading a revolution in town. Also, this line. “Is this normal? Do you ponies usually cause riots wherever you go?” (well, only on crazy days.)

The battle went swimmingly, with most of it being merely a clean sweep of the old native guard, knocking over most of the water nation presence as they went. There was a bit of rioting, , but no death yet. Although, that bit with having your mother tell you to surrender..mmph...

So, with the town in their hands, it was now time to plan, make decisions on what to do. They got the information from the soldiers regarding the water nation's withdrawal from the land, so what do they do with their new mob?
Although, at least they're avoiding the issues Zuko had back in the original big show, with Rarity letting twilight know they have extra time before the discord ritual happens. And if the water nation tries to respond, there's issues of mass rebellion, loyalty, and cutting of the water nation's legs by upending the fire tribes. Although, it seems Twilight wanted them to be mad at them because she blew their cover, brought the war home to people she didn't want to get involved. But, the rest of team avatar harmony knew there were bigger things than that going on here. This was Twilight's instinct to help the helpless. This was getting a new story going to spread freedom's cry to the fire tribes. This was fluttershy stepping up to give her The Art Of War treatment that as much as we want to fight like champions, war involves everyone so there are no innocent bystanders before long. This was about being a symbol. Something inspiring, something that can be incorruptible so long as she keeps living. It's the quest they've created, and if they're going to have an army behind them, then so be it. But more importantly, it was time for a new round of training.

Indeed, this is where we finally get the water training that twilight needed all this time. It seems this is what Vinyl was talking about where fire and water bending don't mix. Fire is about seizing yourself in passion to create the fire to plow forward. Wind also is about seizing, but with a bit more finesse needed since it involves wings. Earth bending is about being strong and grounded. Really forcing your element to move, and be plowed through. Water on the other hand is about moving things away from you kinda like wind, but with a physical material rather than immaterial wind. It's the hardest parts of air and earth bending, mixed with some more philisophical ideas about keeping a cool head in battle. It's the difference between ice coldness, or simple cool headedness. Rarity should know, since she used that to throw trixie off way back in book 1. And knowing about the need for focus from her killing littlewing. That is why we're starting with the basics, defense. Maintaining calm even when being attacked. About precision fighting.

But it also seems you're cutting straight to the chase regarding the issue of killing the national leader. Not to mention that pinpoint desire would mean she'd even go through rarity to do it. Although, oddly enough, if the cards fall right, we might end up with a triarchy of monarchs on the water nation when this is over. Her mother became cold and evil. She made mistakes against the rocks. But her aunt admits to her own cowardice and mistakes in not standing up to her dad, her sister, and trying to keep rarity going when she could have stepped up to save her nation. So, I foresee a 3 way throne, with all of them as princesses so as not to allow for the evils of a solo queen to ruin the nations ever again.

Well, meanwhile, team avatar harmony got a nice rest, while they also trained together. Trained to find the elements of harmony that now lie deep within them. Though it wasn't easy, twilight, tapped into the magic she felt being around her team avatar harmony. That connection, the strengths, the love. Not romantically, but as family. (take that shipping) She shook again as she realized something else. She was certain she'd even kill and destroy to keep them safe. That's...kinda scary actually. Because it means that she'd even go take a life to protect the last family she has left, but lose her moral standing to do so. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it is a marked difference from Aang who wanted to fight, but never to directly kill in the end.

Wait, so Rainbow was able to summon the element of loyalty? And we didn't even get to see her do it? Awwww. Well, that's halfway done with the elements. Anyways, so next comes the competing views between AJ, Pinkie and Rarity on how to deal with civilians in war. And a chuckle on the play negatively affecting AJ's reputation.

Oddly enough, AJ's view seems like a reaction to what Big Mac pushed her to do. That the best way to help home is to get out there and help the avatar. Yet Pinkie sees the joy that needs to be in being the heroes, and rarity remarked that many people want the easiest path out of the war, so they'll try to retire from the conflict, so the team needs to act fast if they want any mini army to use due to waiting creating doubt. Thinking like a general, because water nation royalty was trained to be both. Warrior and statespony. Oh, and it seems the party pony finally helped Pony Wu get a final edit to his play In fact, I think he's still kind of star struck that he even gets to talk to us. Well, next stop is Manehatten....but that's where scootaloo is stationed right now. I think if this series goes on long enough, we might have EVERYONE joining up for the final battle. All the major, minor and cameo characters coming together for the final war.

Yet still I hold those missing hours with trixie in fear, for discord probably knows the scripts just like pinkie does, so the question remains. Whose interpretation of both stories is going to win out? Victory at Sozin's comet? Or the day of discordance for an extra book? Let's find out what happens as they move out from town, and twilight tries to deal with the danger of killing. Hmm, if she eventually gets good enough for ice, tentacles and the like, I wonder if rarity would eventually do the blood and poison bending thing with her? Well, that's all for later.

[Iamawesome]

“You're element,” Fluttershy said softly before motioning up.

Enope. I seriously doubt that. Otherewise great chapter!