Rainbow groaned and rolled around in her hammock. Her eyes itched, her face itched, everything itched above her neck. But she couldn't poke or scratch it or anything. If she did, she might just make it worse, something she really, really didn't want to do. But it was so frustrating. Being told she couldn't do something just made her want to do it more.
Even worse, for the first time in her life she had to be slow and cautious. She could barely even eat anymore, since it was such a hassle trying to find the bowl and not land a leg or hoof in it. She'd rather have died than become completely helpless, so she refused to let anypony feed her now that she could move around. But it made every meal a humiliating mess.
She rolled onto her back and let out a soft sigh. The worst thing about it though, was that she wasn't as frustrated as she was afraid. If this was permanent, she could kiss any chance of joining the Wonderbolts away. Heck, she'd barely even be able to help in this invasion. Flying would forever be dangerous and near impossible, at least at any decent speed. She could still teach air bending, but even that would be far more difficult than she'd ever had it. She felt pathetic and useless. Once this was all over, she didn't know what she'd do.
She was the most awesome pony of all time, she couldn't let a little thing like possibly permanent blindness hold her back. Dozens of ponies lived through such things every day, heck, there were plenty with worse. If they could get through it, so could she. Just as soon as she figured out how. Possibly.
The door to her room was pushed open, making her sit up. “Who's there?” She couldn't help feeling foolish at having to ask, but she knew that was silly.
“It's me, Applejack,” the earth mare said loudly. “How yah feelin'?”
“Good. We're moving now, right? How's Twilight holding up?”
“She's doing her best, but she needs some time alone. The Great Dragon kinda... hit her hard.”
Rainbow nodded and let out a sigh. “How about about our travels? Any news on how long until we arrive?”
“According to all the information we have, we'll arrive near the beginning of the ritual, tomorrow night. We'll need to hit hard and fast to interrupt it. The uhhhh... the green light is getting bigger each night. It's a lil smaller than the moon now. Tomorrow it'll... well, be quite the sight. No offense.”
“We'll get there in plenty of time,” Rainbow mumbled. “Then Twilight'll zap it back and everything will be fine, we'll have kicked its butt and everything'll be settled. Nothing to worry about, right?”
“Right. So, how yah holdin' up?”
“I said I was fine.”
“Ah know, but before yah got on here yah hadn't been outta bed since--”
“I needed to get on the ship, so I got on the ship. I'll do whatever I need to do to make sure we succeed. Don't worry about me.”
“Worry about yah? Sugarcube, ah was worryin' about yah long before this happened. It jus' gone an' made it worse. Ah wanted tah talk with yah about... well. Ah thought ah might be able tah help yah. See, ah mean. Or... kinda see. It's like...”
“You aren't a healer, you can't help. Even if you were, the healers back there already did what they could. There's nothing more that can be done now. It's just, ugh, waiting now. In a few months or so, either I'll see or I won't see. Nothing else we can do about it.”
“No, we can't fix your sight. What we can do is help yah develop somethin' new. A lil trick earth benders use, ah don't know if it'll work for your air bendin', but it might.”
“I'm not interested in some--”
“If it worked, yah'd be able tah fly again without any fear of crashin' inta ponies,” Applejack interrupted.
Rainbow paused for a second, before giving a slow nod. “Fine, I am... mildly interested. Tell me more.”
“Well, as yah know us earth benders are known tah go underground a lot. It can be awfully dangerous if yah don't know what you're doin', so we all have tah work on bein' able tah sense what's there, what's comin' up. Otherwise yah end up fallin' down inta some cavern an' break a leg. Or yah run inta somethin' yah can't bend, like water. Or lava. Or yah try tah come up an' yah end up runnin' inta somethin' hard an' metal. All in all, yah gotta be careful. Some ponies develop differently, of course. Most only learn the basics, but if yah master it yah can practically see anythin' touchin' the ground, or under it. Even things yah can't see with your eyes. That's why it's so hard tah ambush me.”
“And you can teach me this? I don't think any air benders can do something like that,” Rainbow snorted. “We don't really... feel our element like you do.”
“Not many air benders who can do a sonic rainboom, either. Accordin' tah Pinkie, at least. Ain't no earth bender who can bend metal, but this skill is what lead tah me bein' able tah do it. Now, if yah are interested, ah'd be happy tah try. However, if yah'd rather mope around the ship, wait in the back while we do all the work then go about poutin' for the rest of your life, ah can leave yah alone. But then again, you're Rainbow Dash. Ah figured yah'd be all for doin' somethin' no other pony can.”
The pegasus slowly sat up, before shaking her head. “No. I can't. I thought I could, but I'm too weak and helpless. Life is nothing more than misery and pain. There's no point to me even trying, I'll just inevitably fail.”
“O-oh... really? Ah guess... well, yah been through a--”
“Bwa ha ha! You actually bought that?” Rainbow asked as she fell back laughing. “Come on, Applejack. Don't be so gullible! I am wayyyy too awesome to let something like this get me down. So, how do we start?”
Applejack scowled and rolled her eyes. “Yah can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes at yah. Now come on yah lazy flier.” She grabbed the mare's hoof and led her outside the room. She barely managed to resist 'accidentally' walking the mare into the walls as they went.
------
Rarity gulped and slowly paced outside the room, chewing on her lower lip. She could do this. She would do this. It wasn't so hard, really. It was just a little talk, an easy talk. About the future and... oh gosh she wanted to run and hide. But no, she had to do this. If she didn't, she'd regret it forever. Besides, this was the perfect pony to discuss it with. Nervously, she reached out and gently knocked on the door. There was no sound. She knocked again and again, over and over.
“I-I said c-come in,” a soft, gentle voice called out.
Rarity took another deep breath and pushed the door open. Inside, Fluttershy was laying on the hammock, a small bowl of carrots and lettuce in her lap. She was nibbling a few and feeding a few to Angel, who was nestled up against her wings. “S-sorry, I couldn't get up. Angel's comfy...”
“I understand completely, Fluttershy. I... just wanted to talk with you about some things.” She moved forward and sat down on the floor besides the hammock. “Is... it okay if we talk? If you're busy, I understand. I can go.”
The pegasus shook her head and smiled. “No, it's no problem. What's on your mind? I... I can't promise I'll be much help, b-but I'll try my best. I'm sorry if I don't do it right...”
“It's fine, it's nothing really major. Well, it is a little bit. Just... I want to ask...” The princess took a deep breath and shook her head. “I've been thinking about this coming battle, a lot.”
“O-oh? I... I try not to think about it.”
“I know. It's scary, and dangerous. Chances are more of us will die,” Rarity said gently as she leaned her head back against the hammock, making it sway slightly. “I've been thinking about my mother. All the things she's done, all the ponies who have died by her hoof. Under her orders. I... I don't think we should purify her.”
The pegasus stared for a few moments. “You... you want us to give up? But sh--”
“No. Not give up. Never give up.” Rarity took another deep breath, trying to build the words up within herself. “I think... I think we should execute her.”
Fluttershy gasped, knocking the veggie bowl aside. Angel leaped and barely managed to catch it, dangling over the side of the hammock and using the bowl to catch the falling vegetables. “Y-you want to kill her? But she's your mother, she--”
“She's done so many horrible, awful things. She's killed thousands, made millions suffer. Even if Discord's taint is... partially responsible for it, my mother still did those things. I was under the same taint, I know what it's like. But there is still at least some part of her that thought this was okay. That... thought this was the right thing.” Tears slowly welled up in her eyes. “Even if we free her... my mother will never return. Too much has happened. She will never, ever be the mare she once was. She... I don't even know if she'll be able to live with herself. Not after the horrible, awful things she's done.”
“Rarity...”
The princess felt a few tears streaming down her face. “I think... execution is the merciful thing to do, now. Father is gone, our country is in shambles. The whole world is in pieces. So much of it falls on her hooves. So many horrible, awful things that she has done. How could she... possibly live with herself after this?”
Fluttershy took a slow, steady breath before spreading out her wings. She gently flew up and landed besides the princess. She leaned in close and gave the mare a hug. “It's okay. I know what you mean. I know... why you want to do this. I also know you don't... really want to.”
“She's... not my mother anymore. It's been so long, so many years. What if she doesn't remember what it was like before she was... this?”
“Then you'll remind her.” Her words were soft and comforting.
“What if we purify her, but she doesn't change?”
“What if we purify her, and she changes completely?”
Rarity whimpered and closed her eyes. She gently leaned into the soft, gentle pony. “I... I don't know. Things will never return to normal for her. Even if she... becomes who she was, no pony will ever... very few will be able to forgive her. She's destroyed so much, killed so many.”
Fluttershy nodded and pulled the princess in for a tighter hug, her hoof gently rubbing her back. “Yes, she has... but...” She took a slow, steady breath. “Don't you want to give her the opportunity to make up for her mistakes? To fix what she's done? She may not be able to make up for everything, but shouldn't she have the chance to try?”
Rarity blinked and then slowly gave a nod. “T-thank you. I... I guess she should. I just... Fluttershy, I'm afraid. Ponies are terrified of my sister, even now. She was far less... deadly. Caused far less damage. But I wouldn't feel safe leaving her behind if it wasn't for my aunt watching over her. My mother though, she'll be... there will be entire countries calling for her head. Wishing to destroy her, for real. Execute her. What if we... can't stop them? What if we can't save her?”
Fluttershy took another deep breath before smiling. “We'll try our best, just like we always do. If... we have to, we'll kill her. I know it's horrible, sad and uncomfortable. But sometimes it has to be done. But that has never, even at our worst, been our goal. Our goal is the safety of all, the protection of all. Your mother has done... horrible things. Things she'll have to spend the rest of her life making up for. But we'll try to give her that chance.”
The princess slowly nodded. “I... I guess. You're right. I just... I really needed to hear this. I had to know if...” She trailed off and lowered her eyes. “I don't... want to lose my mother too.”
“I know,” Fluttershy said before giving another gentle rub of the back. “I know it's hard, but trust Twilight. She's gotten us through all this, I know she'll see us through to the finish line. She's strong and amazing. Trust in her to make the right decision.”
The unicorn nodded before looking up. “You're... right. Of course. I knew coming to you was the right choice. Would... it be okay if I bunked in here tonight? I ummm...”
Fluttershy blinked and looked to the other hammocks in the room. She gave a slow nod. “I suppose. Pinkie's claimed the one over me, but I'm sure you can take one of the others.”
“Thank you. I just... want to sleep near a friend tonight.”
------
The moon hung high in the sky, though there were still very few stars in it. Instead, a green tinge flowed over the great tapestry of the night, a glowing green comet slowly making its way through the sky. Before long it would be within range, only one more day. They'd barely make it in time if they were fast. A few of their ships had lagged behind, though the ponies had no choice but to ignore them and continue on. Too much depended on them getting to the Water Nation to allow for any stalling.
Applejack stood on the bow, staring out over the world ahead of them. It looked sickly, almost toxic. The hint of green traveling everywhere in the land, tainting the ground with its glow. A constant reminder of how close the danger was and how much they had to lose. She was almost thankful that Twilight hadn't left her room since they'd arrived on the ship. Seeing the world like this would probably just make her sadder and ruin whatever hope the mare had managed to gather over the last day. The alicorn knew what was on the line and had lost enough, she didn't need to have it rubbed in her face. She glanced over towards Pinkie, who was leaning against the bow. Rainbow was standing a few feet away.
“Well then, ah don't really know how wind bendin' works, but ah figure if we work together, we'll figure out some common ground. Ah know your air bendin' is all about dodgin' an' weavin' and stuff, but we'll work on that later. First, how much can yah feel in the wind? How about your wings, they have tah feel the wind an' stuff, right? They touch it well enough when yah fly.”
“Well, actually that's a common misconception,” Rainbow said with a smile. “You see, as a pegasus I don't actually use the wind much when I fly. Well, it can disrupt my flight or throw me off course, but the majority of my weight is held by the magic in the air. You know how we can stand on clouds even though they aren't solid? It's a lot like that. Almost exactly like that, actually. The magic just gathers up in our hooves when we stand on them and it allows them to support our weight. Now, flight basically works by us using our wings to cut through the magic in the air.” She spread one of them out and gently wiggled it about.
Applejack blinked a few times and rubbed her chin. “Well, ah'll be. Ah always wondered how come some of the giant ones of yah were able tah fly, even though they didn't have much wing size. Well, that could be useful then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, yah got some kinda senses or somethin'. Yah can feel the magic in the air with your wings. That could be what we need. If yah know how tah do that, maybe yah can use it tah feel what's goin' on around yah. Maybe use your wind bendin' tah mess with the air on a lower level, yah know?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Not a clue. I mean, just because I can touch it doesn't mean I can feel through it. It would be like touching the ground and trying to see through... oh. Yeah. Hey! Maybe you're right, maybe I can do this!”
“If anypony can do this, ah think yah can. So, start tryin' tah feel Pinkie.”
The pink earth pony withheld her giggles and waved her hooves about wildly, wiggling about by the bow and barely managing to keep her excited squeals suppressed. Rainbow sat down and spread out her wings, biting her lower lip. After a few moments she gave a soft sigh. “I don't feel anything. All I feel is the wind ruffling my feathers. I don't think I'll be able to do anything with that.”
“Well, yah ain't gonna be able tah do anything if yah just give up in two seconds. It can take months, even years tah master this skill as an earth bender, that's with proper trainin'. You're doin' something nopony ever has, it won't be easy. But if yah don't give up, who knows? Yah could be the first air bender tah be able tah see the wind. Or however it would be said. Besides, we got tonight an' tomorrow. Yah already know how tah air bend like a master, so that'll probably cut some time off.”
Rainbow took a deep breath, before nodding. “Well... I guess that would be kind of awesome. Let's keep trying.”
“Good,” Applejack said before sitting down. At least they were making progress, or attempting to. For now, that might be all they could do. Hopefully it would be enough to help their friend until her sight returned.
------
Twilight tossed and turned in her bed, a small glassed off candle dangling across the room. She vaguely wondered what time it was, but didn't care enough to find out. She wasn't even really tired, but there wasn't much else to do aside from sleep. That, and think about what happened. The falling of the stars, the destruction of Manehatten. Well, not total destruction but pretty close. The deaths of so many ponies and her last connection to her old world.
She was alone. Not completely, her friends were still there. But there were things they could never understand, would never understand. It was now up to her to keep the world of a hundred years ago alive. Her and her alone. She wouldn't get any help, nopony would be there to tell her when something was wrong, or help her remember things she'd forgotten. She couldn't even talk to anypony to relive ancient memories. Now there was just her, the only beacon of what the world once was.
It hurt. It felt like a knife had been driven into her stomach. The Great Dragon had been so much more to her and she'd never realized. She'd just assumed he'd always be there, that nothing could hurt him. He survived the last hundred years, why would this year be any different? She'd figured he'd be around another hundred and they would talk. They would laugh. After everything was over and the world was saved they could go over everything that happened and talk about how to make it better.
But now that would never happen. Nightmare Moon had taken it from her. Discord had taken it from her. The Water Nation had taken it from her. Everything she had, everything she was, they took and destroyed. It didn't matter that she was running out of things to give. It didn't matter that she was working to help everypony. All that mattered to any of them was that they got what they wanted, that the world bow to their whims. Not anymore, not now. She would end this, she swore.
She slowly sat up and closed her eyes. She couldn't be alone, but she couldn't talk with the others. Not now. The alicorn rolled out of her bed and sat on the ground. Now was as good a time as any. They might need her, so she couldn't disappear into the Spirit Realm. But she needed to talk with the other avatars. She needed to tell them how she felt.
She reached out for them, her eyes closing tighter as she reached deep within herself. Then he was there. Starswirl. “Avatar Twilight! This is quite the surprise, what has led you to summon me again?” He looked around. “You have developed, I see.”
Twilight took another slow, steady breath before opening her eyes. The bond was weak and he occasionally seemed to flicker out for a second, but he was there. She'd done it. “I... I needed to talk with somepony. The Great Dragon, he's... he's dead.”
He went still before slowly nodding. “I know. There was nothing you could do.”
“I know. I don't think there ever was. What... did you and the other avatars do? How did you take over like that? I didn't even know you could do that.”
“The might of the elements is powerful. Things that seemed impossible can be done almost easily with them.” He looked her over. “However, they are not limitless. They are fueled by you and your friends. They are only ever as strong as the bond you share. Even then, your body will suffer the damage of having to wield such might. It is never easy.”
She shook her head. “There's so much... I've lost so much now. I don't know what I can do now. I just... I didn't think he could die. What am I supposed to do?”
“The only thing you can do. Your duty. It--”
“Buck my duty!” Twilight yelled, stomping a hoof down. He flickered for a few seconds, before the bond reformed. The moment of anger felt good, driving the pain away. She embraced it. “They've broken everything, destroyed everything. I can't just... it's my fault, do you understand that?”
“You couldn't have known, they--”
“I couldn't have known, but I could have stopped this! If I hadn't hesitated, if I had just eliminated them when I had the chance, the Great Dragon would still be alive. All those ponies would still be alive!”
“Twilight, you're angry, don't--”
“Don't what? Let it control me? Manipulate me? How many ponies have to die because of my decisions?” It hurt to say the words, but the anger dulled the pain. She let it flow out and envelop her, dampen every second of agony. “Because I hesitate? It's my duty to protect them, but I've failed, again and again. Every time there's always an excuse, some reason why I can't or won't do something. This is the final battle though, the last fight on the Water Nation. Everything comes to this. What if I fail again? What if I hesitate? The world gets destroyed? Hundreds more die? Thousands? Millions?”
“Twilight, you cannot allow your anger to--”
“I can allow my anger to do whatever I want!” she screamed, her mane bursting into flames. “Ponies die because of my actions. Ponies I was supposed to protect. I had to protect. If I had just ended this during the Summer Sun Celebration, all of them would still be alive. I wouldn't have had to go through all that work to get the country back, either. It would have fallen to us, it--”
“Do not raise your voice to me, child. You are an avatar, you--”
She waved a hoof. “No. I am THE Avatar. This is my responsibility. My decision. The ponies here depend on me to make the right one. Not you. I want to know, can you even begin to understand how this feels? To know how close you came to ending all this, then having it slip through your hooves and so many of your friends dying? So many ponies who needed you? Discord would have been helpless to escape. The Water Nation would have been defeated. All this death and misery would be over. Now more ponies have to go and fight and they are fighting because of me. Because of my failure, because of my hesitation.”
The ancient pony took a deep breath. “Yes. I know exactl--”
“Oh give it up.” She snapped, the words colder and harsher than she intended, but she couldn't suppress them. It made the pain stop, if just for a second. “You made a mistake, a hundred years ago. It happened, you couldn't do anything about it. So it's on my shoulders now. You know what? I'm done failing.” She slammed a hoof down. “The Water Nation falls this time. We've practiced. We've trained. Discord will be defeated. Nightmare Moon will fall one way or another. I will not fail again!” she screamed, before closing her eyes.
“Twilight, you--”
“GO!” she screamed. A moment later the ancient bearded pony disappeared. However, after a second a pink alicorn appeared in his place.
“Young Twilight, so we meet at last.”
She sighed softly and opened her eyes. She felt exhausted and ready to collapse, but empty. It was better than the pain. “Cadence. I was wondering when you and I would meet. If you and I would meet. Your... city was nice. Sorry about it getting... wrecked.”
The pink mare shook her head. “It is of no matter. A city is nothing more than stones and roads by itself, it is the ponies who live in it that make it a city. I am grateful that they managed to escape and find their way. However, I am greatly concerned for--”
“How did you feel when your love was taken from you?”
“W-what?” the ancient alicorn asked, taken aback.
“How did it feel? When you lost him, what did you do? To know that... you'd never see him again? To know somepony that meant so much to you was gone?”
Cadence slowly shook her head. “I do understand that you are hurting, but I would hardly compare the love you had for your dragon as what Shining and I had. We--”
“No, it's not the same. I know that. But it still hurts. It still burns inside me. I can feel that loss, like a piece of me was torn away. He was the last thing from a hundred years ago, the last connection I had. The last... the last sign of home. He wasn't much, but he was something. Now I've lost even him. I barely even noticed my home when I was there. I never thought I'd lose it, so why should I have spent time on it? But now it's gone. All gone. I don't even have one living thing I can talk about it with. What about my friends? What if I lose them next? This is war, it would be so easy. If one of those stars had veered the wrong way, if the Great Dragon hadn't sacrificed himself. So many things could have happened and... and I truly would have been alone. How did you deal with that?”
Cadence took a slow, steady breath. “I... am not the one to answer that. I was--”
“TELL ME!” Twilight screamed. “How do you deal with knowing you'll lose your ponies at any second? HOW?” She stomped her hooves, but the pink alicorn just kept her eyes closed and slowly faded from existence. The younger avatar considered diving deep, to call out the past avatars. She then shook her head. She especially didn't want to deal with Clover and listen about how wrong she had been to get friends. How they would have been safer without her. She got to her hooves and crawled into the hammock and closed her eyes.
It hurt, she fell so alone. She didn't know if she'd ever stop feeling this alone. At least there was one small bit of hope. So long as she had her friends, it would be bearable. She truly didn't know what she would do if she ever lost them.
------
“GAH! Bucking little bucket!” Rainbow growled as she tripped over yet another bucket.
“Well, you're doing better at least,” Applejack said with a smile. “You managed to avoid the crate.”
“This isn't working,” the pegasus said with a shake of her head. “There's just... it's not like air bending.”
The earth pony mare sighed and shook her head. They'd been trying for most of the trip, all through the previous day and into the night. They'd be arriving at Canterlot soon and the air bender wasn't nearly close enough to being ready. Which wasn't surprising, but she'd hoped the fact Rainbow was such a master air bender would make this easier. So far she could only really sense things about her size that weren't moving, even that was hard for her. It might not even be her bending so much as just the reflected wind. The fight would start very soon and the pegasus would be doing nothing but getting in the way.
Tensions were extremely tight on the ship as it was. The green glow filled the sky now, almost completely. A great orb of power radiating its toxic light across the world and illuminating the lands before them. A reminder they'd be to Canterlot soon, as well as the final battle. It was a miracle they hadn't been attacked yet. Everypony was ready, standing on the deck with their weapons loosed. The final fight would begin soon and they were all just waiting for the first sign to signal the war.
Trying to help Rainbow learn this art was the only thing keeping her distracted enough not to have an anxiety attack while they searched for the coming attack. “Jus' keep tryin', you'll have it. Yah can feel the big things, all yah gotta do is feel the small things next.”
“Ship on the port... false alarm!” a voice rang out. There was a collective sigh from the crew. It was at least the fifth false alarm in the last twenty minutes. They were going at max speed, any ambushes that they happened upon would have to blow past. They didn't have the opportunity to be slow and steady. Not this time.
Rainbow growled. “Just get me out of the way, this'll start in--”
“We got nothin' better tah do right now. Keep on tryin' while yah can,” Applejack mumbled before her eyes wandered up. For once she wished she was a pegasus so she could fly up to the top of that balloon. Twilight was up there, alone. Waiting and watching. Once the assault began, well... who knew what would happen?
“Ugh, fine, just a waste of time,” Rainbow muttered before flapping her wings and then trying to walk around the narrow bit of deck they had to themselves. A bucket, broom and crate had been moved onto it, to give her something to try to focus on. A lack of solid progress was doing nothing but annoying her.
“Ships! Lots of them, ahead!” a voice rang out. Applejack stuck her head up and listened, hoping for some sign of it being a mistake. But there was none, not this time. She took Rainbow's hoof and guided her to the side of the ship, out of the way.
“Come on,” the earth pony said as she looked ahead. The other ships didn't have any fires to light them, but they didn't need to. In the green glow of the night even their black hulls and masts were clearly visible. The fleet was there, the whole remainder. Behind it, Canterlot could be seen off in the distance. There was no question where the ritual was being done, a single domed building could be seen, glowing with a bright, purple light. “It looks like everythin' is about tah start. Stay close.”
“Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Not like I could even if I wanted to.” Rainbow couldn't keep the anger and bitterness from her voice, no matter how she tried. She should have been out there, leading the assault.
Applejack nodded. “Don't worry. We got our elements. Ah'm sure Twilight will be down here any moment tah activate 'em an'... the... what the buck?”
“What's going on?”
“Ah... ah don't rightly know.” Twilight had taken off from the balloon and was now flying straight at the enemy fleet. Alone. Pegasi flew out to ambush her, but quickly pulled back as her body erupted into flame. Enemy pegasi who came too close found themselves suddenly trapped in blazing winds of swirling air bending and fire bending, before being hurtled into their allies, slightly charred. Within seconds the pegasi around her quickly got out of her way in a panic. That was their first mistake.
Twilight blew straight to the nearest ship and rained fire down on it, balls of compressed fire raining down, vaporizing the balloons and shattering the ship. Pegasi were forced to leap from the doomed vessels, though the most unfortunate found themselves caught in Twilight's bending and flung straight into the other ships or their allies. Applejack just stared, her mouth falling open.
“What's going on? Where's Twilight?” Rainbow asked, stomping her hooves impatiently.
“Ah... ah don't know. She's... ah've never seen her fight like that.” Applejack cringed as a few pegasi were sent hurtling to the ground. The rest of the Fire Tribe vessels moved within range and the battle began. Pegasi and griffon flew through the air, fighting with each other as other vessels moved to board the Water Nation ships and allow the grounded members of their fleet to join in the battle.
Yet, Applejack couldn't look away from the fiery, burning alicorn. The mare fought with a brutality she'd never seen before, smashing her enemies into each other and sending massive balls of fire down on the ships. She didn't seem to care if they would fall to their deaths or were burned. She just fought, her powers destroying all in her path.
During all this, Discord's power moved quickly across the horizon, marking the coming time of its release. The clock to the end of all they knew ticked faster and faster.
. . .
Oh . . .
. . . I'm speechless
Yes, I'm sure this new attitude of Twilight's won't come to bite her and her friends in the ass later. Nope, not one bit.
Man, Discord's going to have a field day when he comes out.
Rainbow was frustrated. Her independent side made this whole blindness thing frustrating. Not only because it forced her to use her other senses more carefully, but because she didn't know how to handle trying to make it better. Not to mention this threw her whole "post war" plans into chaos. Without eyes, how could she be a soldier, or even a teacher. And from there, how could she even help since it's all she knows how to do.
It's into this setting that the element of honesty and RD's gym buddy stepped in. There's a certain irony here. That instead of the earthbending Toph, it was Katara's warrior side that was handicapped with blindness. Although, it's also a kind of dramatic foolishness that while AJ risked so much more emotionally to join this war, she's actually the one who gained the most from all this. Shy found her courage, Pinkie found a party cannon, Twilight found true friends, and Rairty her truth, but it's AJ who actually ended up sacrificing the least to go on this trip. Sure, the farm's in ruins, but that can be replanted. But she found her sister and a new bending, and that's kinda lucky that while her friends had to give up things for new experiences, AJ risked a lot and actually gained from this experience without needing to sacrifice per se.
So here, it seems that she's trying to actually bring in the Toph sense for RD and actually challenging RD's ambition to make it work. Nice. And using a kind of magic to figure out how to have omnipresent vision of the world around her. Because if she can feel the magic in the air, there's nothing that could escape her sight. It was a slight move forward, but just not enough time yet to make RD a master mage as well as a master airbender.
As for Zuko, she went in to talk with Shy. She wanted to talk about what to do about Luna. She hurt a lot thinking about how Discord's taint is only partially responsible for her actions, so she thought perhaps it would be better to just kill her, call down judgment on her for doing so much to the nations. But, at the same time, her best friend appealed to what Rarity went through. Yes, their family is the devil of the world right now, but the best thing to do is to give Luna a chance to redeem herself. Just like her daughters have been trying to do. Seeking the best, even if the worst could happen. Because that's what friends and the elements do: They restore harmony, and bring peace to the world.
Twilight though was in trouble. While RD was dealing with a new physical handicap, and Rarity was dealing with an emotional handicap, Twilight's issue was a spiritual handicap. Unable to shake that feeling of being overwhelmed by the responsibility to remember what the world was like before war descended. She thought this was too much, and she really didn't feel like talking to anyone about it, but she sighed and went back to herself to talk.
Starting with her old pal starswirl, and then bringing up Cadence who helped her back in book 1 deal with the changelings and protect manehatten. Although, it seems that twilight's falling into despair. And worst of all, she doesn't want to listen. And perhaps talk with the 1 avatar who might actually understand much better than you might think. Clover. She would understand what it meant to close yourself off, to feel like you took on a job you didn't want. And weirdly enough, she would even understand what it was like to lose people she actually considered close to yourself. Truth be told, twilight's big problem at this moment is that she wanted someone to listen, but she didn't want to listen herself,. Like a child who wants to bemon how short shifted she feels, but doesn't want to actually hear how the world's stronger and more faithful than you might think. To know that the pain doesn't fade. It just becomes bearable. She felt like she couldn't talk with anyone, even though it was imperative that she do. Do you know what empathy is twilight? It's suffering with someone. And it makes burdens just a little lighter. Don't let your self pity destroy you. For you need to have strength to face the end. And not lash out in blind rage. After all, isn't this precisely what the yellow daisy was afraid of? That you'd go off the deep end as you went forward? You can't let your depression and your rage turn the pain dull, or you risk going down the path of Sweetie Belle.
And Avatars have always been cleaning up messes from the avatar before. It is the way of the cycle, and the way of all generations to clean up the messes the last ones left. Don't let your guilt destroy the optimism and thirst for discovery you had within you, just as starswirl advised. .
You know, does this count as the "Twilight talking to the avatars before confronting Ozai" part of the story? Only reversed since she didn't listen when they were giving good advise instead of just necessary advise?
And then....Ah
I think Twilight's snapped. And that's bad. Because it doesn't matter how much she might accomplish, or how effective it might be, she.......she has forgotten. She has forgotten all that she's learned along her journey. She forgot that she's fighting for something and not just against something like she learned at ponyville or Cloudsdale or so many of the other nations she's visited. She's forgotten about the morality and the mercy she's carried with her for so many steps of her journey. That no matter how bad the war gets, you can be better than all of them. Like when she accidentally killed that bender over appleossa, or how she took mercy on the illusionist from the water nation, or her not wanting to see anyone die during her many travels, or her finally finding a way to connect to rarity through her friends, or her seeing how she's not alone through the yellow daisy, or her being willing to see that just because you're a great person doesn't give you the right to destroy all you touch like her brief hesitation on summer celebration. The consequences of your actions are important, but it should be truth and goodness before you take the path of evil of indiscriminate killing. But perhaps most importantly, she's forgotten Flash Sentry. She's forgotten that for all the trouble the nation gave her, her time in school, or her experiences with Flash sentry, Applebloom, Scootaloo and with Rarity showed that there are good ponies in their ranks. They just got stuck in a bad situation. And with this wanton destruction, avatar twilight is treating them all as 1 unified force rather than a collection of individual. This is driving her to brutality and hatred. And hate is a fuel that will never burn itself off no matter what evidence you see against it. It can only be let go of. And if twilight takes the path of hatred, then she'll become the very thing she swore to stop.
Twilight. Aang would never take this path. This path of hatred. Even at his worst, he would lash out, but never viciously. Oddly enough, this actually does put you in a similar boat with Avatar Korra though. In that all that aggression can make hurting others much easier for her. And worst of all, this is going to put you at odds with your opposite, who actually has become you. While Rarity was the one with so many hurts from her past, she learned to move on, and choose truth, mercy and love over her bitterness and desire to return home. Now she is the mare who'll help on all levels rather than just blow through to an end. If you take this path, the element of generosity will not stand for it. No matter what you might tell yourself. Neither will laughter, or kindness. Honesty and loyalty might accept the necessity of it to try and succeed, but if you push this too far too fast, you'll doom yourself and your mission before you reach nightmare moon. After all, your team could fight those balloons. Vinyl, Octavia, Blueblood, Maud. All of them could fight as best as they could and help in the war. It's nice that you were trying to take things out of their hand, but to do this? To try and burn them all before it's too late? This is wrong. And too vicious in execution.
Like I said. Discord's going to have a field day if he gets out, because every one of the elements have a weak spot now.
He's got two angles to work on Twilight. He could amplify that rage, to the point where she'll go for everyone, blame them for things she shouldn't just like she does to herself. Or amplify her loneliness, make her forget the magic of friendship and paralyze her from ending the war.
For Rainbow, he can play on her fear of losing gilda and her terror on losing her sight, while also presenting her with an impossible choice if necessary to get her perfect life instead of her imperfect reality. Test her loyalty.
Rarity he'll move on her insecurity and guilt, pointing that she'll never truly change, and that she'll never be accepted after the war. That the only way to get anything is to think of yourself. Challenge her generosity.
AJ he'll dig into her guilt for leaving her farm, and for playing along with a lie to Twilight. Attack her honesty.
Shy, he'll go after the fact that she lost so much, and wasn't able to fight. That kindness has no place in war, and therefore, her work is meaningless and she needs cruelty if she wants to win the war.
And Pinkie? Pinkie's optimism is precisely what makes her hard to work, and the fact that she knows what happened to her in discord's last attack will make her resilient to attacks by big D. However, the one angle discord can get to is the fact that he read ahead as well, and so he's going to rub in pinkie's face that this story is too far off course to have a happy pony or a happy avatar ending. And isn't that nothing to laugh at?
Yes, team avatar harmony seems to be reaching their final battle, but the fact is that there's a final challenge that awaits them. A challenge of their souls. And only if they can overcome that, can they restore harmony to the nations and save the world. Oh twilight. Your final trial begins. Be the best avatar. Not the strongest. And elements crew, try and get over there. For the fate of the world and your friendship rests in your hooves. (Oh don't worry. We're team avatar harmony. It always works out in the end. ) I just wish I had your optimism Pinkie. Let's finish this. After all, Trixie is Discord's ace, and although he's played it once, he's still got 1 more use of it to go.
...Oh boy, fighting Nightmare Moon in that state will be one thing, which will not be pretty, but doing so against the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony...oh yeah, this will not end well, not at all. On the other side, at least poor Dash might be able to overcome her weakness...once she figured out how to apply what she learned correctly. And poor Rarity, to be force to consider killing her mother in order to save her is something no one should have to dealt with. Once again, I can only hope everything will end well at the finish line of this whole situation.
C&Cs [PM you the previous chapter's C&Cs]:
Rainbow paused for a second, before giving a slow now.
> Replace ‘now’ with ‘nod’.
She's... not my mother any more.
> Correction: ‘anymore’.