Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 1: Harmony

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 8: Meadowbrook

Diamond cringed with each step as she appeared on the street, looking around. Her eyes narrowed when she saw them.

Five unicorns, collapsed on the ground. They were all wearing red cloaks. In front of them was a single unicorn wearing a white cloak and a matching mask. Hovering over the pony was a wooden staff that seemed to twirl around itself and end in two prongs. Behind that pony was an earth pony mare and a little filly, huddled in her hooves.

“W-what did you do?” the earth pony asked, her eyes never leaving the unicorn. She slowly backed away, pulling her child with her.

“These ponies wished to abuse their superiority to take what they wanted,” the unicorn said before slowly turning towards the other mare. “I saved you. Should you not be thankful?”

“You... you t-took their... cutie marks. H-how?”

Diamond glanced down at the ponies a second time. Most of them had their flanks partially covered, but a quick glance revealed they had no cutie marks now. How?

“You do not understand,” the pony said sadly, before turning on the two. “I am afraid I will... have to show you.” She lifted the staff up. “We must all be equal.”

“N-no!” she screamed, pushing her baby behind herself.

“HEY!” Diamond yelled, racing forward with her horn aflame. “What do you think you're doing? What's going on here?”

The unicorn stopped, the staff lowering. She turned towards the unicorn. “Ah. The Avatar. I was hoping it would be longer before we met.” She then motioned towards the five. “You're late. Here I thought you were going to do such great things, yet here I am left to clean up your mess.”

Diamond looked down at the ponies. They were groaning, but not moving much. “What are you talking about? What did you do? Take off that mask!”

“I'm afraid I can't do that. I couldn't have you recognize me, after all,” the mare said. She paused and glanced back. The earth pony and filly were running. “Ah. A shame. No matter.” She then turned towards Diamond. “I've come to bring a gift to this city, young Avatar. One you predecessor failed to give sufficiently.”

“What are you talking about?” Diamond asked, slowly stepping forward.

She paused, before grinning. “Equality.” She stepped to the right, suddenly. At first Diamond didn't understand why. Then the Shadowbolt slammed into the ground, barely missing the mare. The staff lanced out, striking across the negasi's head, before the prongs were aimed at it. Before the pony could react, he was enveloped in a light green aura.

Before Diamond's eyes, the negasi writhed as the green light pulsed for a few seconds. Then a small red heart flowed out from the Shadowbolt's uniform, flowing into the staff.

The negasi dropped to the ground, unmoving. Diamond charged forward, though her body objected. Fire formed around her hooves and she lanced out.

The mare merely walked past the unicorn, barely moving as she stepped around her attacks. The staff struck once, knocking Diamond's back hooves out from under her and dropping her face down on the ground.

“Please, don't make a foal of yourself, Avatar. It's not time for you, yet.” She gave a low chuckle. “This is only just beginning.” She started to trot away.

“H-hey, get back here!” Diamond said before jumping back to her hooves. “Who are you?”

The mare paused, before glancing back. “Meadowbrook. My job for the night is over. I expect the others will be found soon.” She turned back and kept walking.

“W-what? Get back here!”

The unicorn just kept walking. Diamond growled and raced after her. She leaped into the air and flung her horn forward, sending a wave of flame outward in a wave of fiery destruction. Meadowbrook jumped back over the attack, twirling through the air and bringing her staff crashing down on Diamond's skull, driving her down into the street. She laid there, dazed and confused as her head wobbled from side to side.

“Avatar, it's not your time yet. Ponies need to know who we are before anything. It's still too early to take your cutie mark.”

Diamond tried to get back up, but pain shot through her skull and she fell back over, watching the retreating mare. 'Just who the buck was that?'

------

“You don't remember anything else?” the unicorn stallion asked as he stared at her from across the table.

“I'm sorry, I don't,” she said softly. She cringed as the cool, shooting water washed over her head again. The metal benders had been the ones to find her, which she found confusing enough. Except she'd been brought to the Shadowbolt tower, again, where a Moon Raiser had started going about the task of healing her bruises and questioning her. The main room seemed far more hectic than last time she'd been here. Ponies were running in and out, as well as zebras. All of the desks were being ponied and a loud din had filled the air. “What's going on?”

The pony sighed. “I can't say. There's--”

The doors slammed open and a very, very angry looking Ironwing entered the main room. His eyes settled on her. “Of course. You would be in on this. Well, Avatar, what is going on?”

“I-I don't know, I just--”

“Sir, we've only just finished the questioning,” the unicorn said quickly, dropping the water onto the ground. “It's all in my report.” He held up the paper and gulped.

Ironwing looked to it, before glaring. “Give me the cliffnotes.”

“Apparently it's the work of a mare known as Meadowbrook, using some weird staff. Judging by the other reports we've received, I believe the Avatar is the only pony to have fought with this mare and...” He trailed off and glanced back to her.

“And what?” Ironwing asked, tapping a hoof impatiently.

“Kept her... cutie mark,” the stallion said, eyes lowering.

“W-wait, so she really was stealing cutie marks?” Diamond asked.

Ironwing nodded. “It seems so. You're coming with me, Avatar. We have to make a report to the council.”

The unicorn's eyes widened. “Wait, we? But I just--”

“You're the only pony currently of sufficient mental capabilities who has seen her up close. Come on,” he said, before turning and walking away. “NOW!”

“NO!” Diamond said before stomping her hooves. “I'm not going anywhere until somepony tells me what's going on! Who was that pony? Why is there so much panic going on?”

Ironwing glared. “There's no time for--”

“Then MAKE time! That mare was... she just seemed... I want answers.”

He growled and stopped his hooves, before turning to her. “We don't know. Frankly, that mare appeared a few weeks ago and we've been trying to stop her ever since. Tonight was the largest attack we've ever seen.”

“Wait, largest attack?” she asked softly, her eyes widening. “But... it was... just five--”

“Follow me,” Ironwing said, before trotting down the hall. She followed after, nervously. “We've tried to keep this quiet, but after tonight there's no chance of that. Whoever this pony is has decided there's no more time to play around.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those five are just a few from dozens of ponies. Over the last few months, a few ponies disappeared, only to reappear days later, without a cutie mark. We've tried to keep it quiet. Tonight changes everything. Dozens of ponies have disappeared, foalnapped as far as we can tell. Rather than disappearing for days, most are popping up now, minus their cutie marks.”

Diamond shivered. “I... saw it happen. The negasi she did it to. It only took a few seconds for her to steal his cutie mark.”

“Then she's gotten stronger. Do you think you could remember her voice if you heard it again?”

“Maybe? I don't know. She was wearing a mask, she could have been distorted or something.”

“Tomorrow, there will be an announcement made throughout the city. The council is deciding what it'll be.”

Diamond nodded slowly. She gulped as she was led to the bottom floor of the tower and then into a large room filled with desks. There they were, the full council. Fourteen seats filled, as well as their aides and guards around them. Not a single pony had been left out. When they stepped inside, the room went quiet and she felt every eye on her.

“Avatar, how good of you to join us,” Sunburst said with a smile. “I am sorry that you got mixed up in all this, but I am happy to see you were able to fight this villain off.”

“I didn't,” Diamond said with a cringe. “She... managed to get the drop on me and get me when I was vulnerable. But she said it wasn't time yet.”

The unicorn frowned, before looking around. “Ah! Do hold that thought, one moment. Allow me to introduce the rest of the council. For the Yaks, Council yak Rutherford.”

A big, brown yak glared down at her. “If we were in charge, this threat would have been dealt with long ago. There is no need to bring your special bender in.”

Sunburst nodded. “Yes, yes. For the buffalo, Council buffalo Strongheart.”

A light brown buffalo stood up, smiling down at the Avatar. “Welcome, Avatar. It is wonderful to meet you. Your predecessor was greatly revered by my people and I do hope you will prove to be just as wonderful as she was. A pleasure to meet you at last.”

Diamond blinked, before smiling at her. Well, at least one of them seemed happy to see her.

“Representing the donkeys, Cranky.”

“Cranky Doodle Donkey!” a gray donkey with black and gray hair said. “And I agree with the old whiner. There's absolutely no need to involve your fancy bender in this. This pony is a threat to all of us.”

“Of course she is,” Sunburst said with a nod. “But, as she is removing cutie marks, the ponies are the most damaged by this. The Avatar may be of help. Please, keep this debate on hold for a moment until after the introductions.” He was greeted with grumbling, but nopony spoke up. “Now, for the diamond dogs, council dog Rover.”

A gray diamond dog in a red vest popped up from behind the desk, glaring. “This is pony problem! Dogs should not have been bothered! Dogs deal with dog problems, ponies deal with pony problems! Use your fancy bender magic pony to fix butt mark problems.”

Sunburst sighed and gestured to the last seat. A great minotaur stood there, with a light brown mane. Something about him seemed... oddly familiar. “Representing the minotaurs, council minotaur Legond.”

He looked down at her and smiled. “Ah am greatly pleased to see you. Now, get to dah meeting,” he said with a firm nod.

Diamond's eyes widened. “Wait, haven't I seen you on a book cover before?”

The minotaur flashed a dazzling smile. Okay, she knew she'd seen him before. Legond Squeezeapotato! He was on a ton of books and in all kinds of plays. She'd never seen any of the plays, but apparently he had been pretty big. She wondered how he ended up becoming a council member though.

“Ahem, moving on,” Sunburst said. “Now, before we continue. Avatar Diamond Tiara, have you been informed of what it is we're facing?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I know a little bit, but not much.”

“Then, for our first order of business I move we inform the Avatar of what we know of this threat and get her help. We--”

“I object!” Blaze said, standing up. Diamond glared at her. How could she? “The Avatar has only recently arrived and her training is nowhere near complete. We can't just send her into this and hope she can stop it. It's our job to keep the city safe, not hers.”

Sunburst nodded. “Indeed, it is. But she is a powerful tool in this situation. We may need her to defeat this villain.”

“She's too young and untested,” Blaze said. “We--”

“Am I allowed to speak for myself?” Diamond asked, stomping a hoof down and scorching the ground slightly.

Sunburst smiled. “I think that is an excellent idea. Avatar, if you would?”

“I am untested, that's true. But I'm also one of the best benders here. I've practiced my entire life to be the Avatar.” She could already see Blaze opening her mouth to object, so she quickly raised her voice. “I HAVE. My father made sure he could find the best benders available to teach me. I may not have the training YOU want, but I have plenty of training. I am only untested because there has been nothing to test me with. This is exactly the kind of thing the Avatar is supposed to deal with. You can't just hide me away. I'm the Avatar. It's my job to protect the world.”

“You're not ready,” Blaze objected. “We can--”

“How will you ever know if I'm ready if you don't give me a chance?” she asked, glaring back.

“The young mare has a point,” Zecora said suddenly. “Perhaps to this task, she we should appoint? A threat to all ponies is this Meadowbrook, all opportunities to stop her must be took.”

“I've got to agree with Zecora,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “Nopony expected Twilight to be able to do it, but look how she turned out. It's not like we're asking her to do it all on her own. Besides, she looks like a stubborn little filly. She'll probably do something stupid if we tell her no. So better she does the stupid thing we want her to do.”

Octavia gave a sigh. “As lax as I am to agree with my water bending cohort, this does seem like the kind of thing that the Avatar is needed for. I would rather she work with us, than away from us on this.”

“I'm all for it!” Scootaloo added, raising a hoof.

Sassy Saddles shook her head. “I for one, don't like it. Blaze is right, she's still young and naive. She has a lot more training to do before we dump our duties onto her. She should stay away, where it's safe.” Diamond couldn't believe it. Her own aunt was betraying her! She growled and glared.

“I can handle this! It's not like you're sending me off to fight some tyrant.” She then paused. Actually, she had no idea what they were asking her to do.

Sunburst sighed. “Moving on to the vote. Who is for telling the Avatar what we know so far?”

One by one the votes were tallied and, while there were a few who said no, the majority said yes. She smirked at her aunt and Blaze. That'd show them. The two bit their tongues, at least.

Sunburst smiled at her. “Now, as it has been agreed, Avatar, it's time you learn about this new threat.”

Diamond perked her ears, a grin on her lips. She didn't care who this pony was, she'd show them for hitting her like that. If she had been at her peak, she would have crushed her.

“If the name she told you is to be trusted, her name is Meadowbrook. As far as we know, she's a unicorn, likely of the Air Nomads or Earth Kingdom. She has displayed no ability to bend.”

The Avatar nodded, watching and waiting. There had to be more.

“We first learned of her about three months ago. A few ponies, which we have since called the unmarked, appeared in the city. They claimed to be members of the anti-bender movement, but they seemed... strange. For one, they had no cutie marks and all seemed more or less the same. Quite pitiful, honestly.” He shook his head. “They seemed to be clumsy and awkward at everything they did. But they told others of a great unity, of a mare calling herself the 'Equalizer' who would make all equal. Benders and non-benders alike.”

Diamond's eyes widened. “Wait, all equal? That kind of sounds like what Tomorrow Industries is doing. Are they a part of the anti-bender movement?”

Sunburst chuckled and shook his head. “No. These ponies... operated on a different method. As far as I can tell, Tomorrow Industries is looking to bring everypony to equal levels of magic and flight. Or at least, allow everypony to have magic and flight. These ponies...” He frowned and rubbed his chin. “They... wanted to take away, it seemed. A few joined their movement, but the numbers were never really big. We kept an eye on them, but they weren't deemed a threat. After all, every member that joined and lost their cutie mark seemed quite willing. We tried to find this Equalizer, but there has never been any sign.”

Diamond nodded. “So what next? If that's her, I can tell you that she's far from harmless.”

He nodded. “Two months ago the first attacks happened. Ponies were reported missing, but it didn't raise many alarms. That is, until a month ago when all these ponies appeared again, minus their cutie marks. They were all criminals and we managed to suppress the information about their cutie marks disappearing, but we've been unable to make any headway towards finding this Equalizer and what method she uses to tear away their cutie marks.”

“It's some kind of magical staff,” Diamond said with a nod.

“Excuse me?” Sunburst asked.

“I saw her use it. There's some kind of staff she used to blast the Shadowbolt with and take his cutie mark. It just flew right off him, then.”

There were a few muttered whispers from the council, but none talked to her directly. She just stood there and waited, tapping her hoof impatiently. Sunburst whispered to a few of his aids and, finally after she thought she'd go mad from boredom, he looked to her and nodded. “A magical artifact is definitely possible. Perhaps something Discord had crafted during his... reign. Tonight, unfortunately, changes everything.”

“Why?” Diamond asked. “There were just five of them, and the Shadowbolt.”

“That was the final attack. I'm sure you've noticed the hustle amongst the Shadowbolts. There have been at least a dozen, likely more, attacks in the night. Anypony, nobles to commoner, have been targeted and stripped of their cutie marks. There will be no denying this attack and, unfortunately, we'll have to make an official response come tomorrow. The Equalizer must be stopped at any cost. She is no longer allowing ponies the choice and is instead forcing it on them.”

Diamond nodded and looked between them. “What do you plan to say?”

A grin formed on his lips. “I would love to be able to say that we are working in conjunction with the Avatar to defeat this unmarked movement.”

“No!” Blaze snapped, stomping her front hooves down. “She's too young! She's not ready!”

“I am ready!” Diamond snapped, stomping a hoof. “So what if I can't air bend yet? I still have two more bendings than anypony else! Three more than this crazy pony. I can do this!”

Sunburst nodded. “There is still much to discuss. But all of it is a moot point if not for one thing. Avatar Diamond Tiara, if we request your aid, will you give it?” He paused for a moment and looked towards Blaze, who was fuming. “And will you adhere to the rulings of the council, in such a situation? Follow our orders as such?”

Diamond ground a hoof into the ground, before nodding. “Of course. I'll kick Meadowbrook's flank so deep into the ground she won't know what hit her.”

“Very well. The council has much to discuss. Avatar, you are free to return home. We will have a message sent to you in the morning, when we make our announcement.”

She nodded and turned, trotting out of the room. She took a deep breath when she heard it close behind her. The moment it did she could hear the yelling begin inside. She hated these political things. “They should just let me handle it. I'd have that mare begging for mercy. She just took me by surprise last time, that's all.”

She kept her head low as she walked out from the building. The streets were filled with the defense forces of the city, but they allowed her to pass to the island without any trouble. To think, only a few hours ago she had been enjoying herself with her team.

Now she couldn't help but wonder, what was going to happen now?

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

AMON!!

So, as Diamond ran up, we found Amon! A cutie mark stealer! You speak of equality and protection, yet you now turn on civilians?? You disgust me Meadowbrook.

Although, I also liked how you played homage to Amon's "challenge" with Korra, with the step arounds, and saying "it's not time for us yet." Though, is she Starlight Glimmer? Or a servant...of Tirek???

And DT already could see that there was something odd going on if all 3 main corps were part of rescue, interrogation and supervison. Which leads into the reveal that Amon has been at work for a while, and this is the big one! A big attack. And with this sudden rush, well, suddenly the young avatar was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Especially with EVERYONE ready to talk about this new menace to Harmony. (double pun!)

So, from the other sections of harmony, we have....the yaks of season 5 (aggressive and dismissive as ever), The buffalo of season 1 complete with strong heart, (travels of twilight in the badlands?), Cranky (oh boy!), The Diamond Dogs (defanged I hope? And in a truce with the dragons? Diamond competition and all that), and Legend. (No doubt the son of Iron Will)

Also, I raised an eyebrow at Blaze objecting, but then again, she does have Tenzin's other side. And if this is part of episode 4 of Korra, (voice in the night), there's also that fear of pushing the avatar into something too quickly.
Though Tool Sunburst? Suspiiiiciousssss.

And....DT speaking of training and untesting. Even though she might be a glory hound, there is one thing she has brushed up on: her history. And that avatars are made to protect the world. She is drawing it to herself, but she's right. Like Twilight, she was made to defend the world. All the world. And Harmony is part of that.

Also, I got a serious chuckle on the old guard standing up for the new avatar. Zecora seeing potential, Octavia seeing collaboration, and Vinyl seeing inevitability. "She's a stubborn little filly. She'll probably do something stupid if we tell her no. So better she does the stupid thing we want her to do.”

There also seems to be an old/new guard split. The old guard thinks an avatar can handle it, the new guard is less sure.

At the least, they did give DT information. For 3 months, meadowbrook has created a cult of The Unmarked, anti bender, but untalented lot, speaking of the equalizer: that's her. And...thankfully, Sunburst seems to be saying that Future's on the level. Bringing ponies up rather than down like the equalizer. Then a month later, attacks began. Ponies went missing, and then a month later: no cutie marks. It began with criinals, so less public care about it, but there's nothing on how the marks get taken. Diamond gave a new step forward with the staff..Oh if only you knew. The lies in that staff, unless Discord twisted the story as a parting "gift".

And with no rug sweeps, what's next? Say that the avatar is with them? To stop this attacking team? Blaze was...less than happy about this, but in a bluff, Diamond said she was ready to say, "If gondor calls for aid, I'll be there." And to answer the nonponies, this could be a national isssue. Thus, you need all members present.

Diamond said she was in. She strode out, realizing that times are changing. And now, it's two goals: win the tournament, and defeat the equalizer. Save the ponies of Harmony, and show her stuff. Make some friends, and prove her worth. We have a story moving to high gear with the introduction of an antagonist. Let's go!