Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 2: Discord

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 1: A fresh start

Fresheye took a slow, deep breath as he looked at his assignment for the day. Right off the bat, throwing him to the wolves. He didn't know WHY he kept getting this assignment. He didn't deserve it. NOPONY deserved it. He wondered if his boss was just mad at him? Was it because he'd been one of the unmarked? It wasn't his fault. He'd gone to prison willingly. Maybe it was because he was a bat pony. Probably that. Darn them pegasi and their bat pony hate. Ugh, he missed the days when Ironwing was in charge. Now there was a pegasus who would have made sure to deal with this, no problem. Wouldn't have dumped it on the lower ranks.

Instead, Fresheye took a deep breath, adjusted his Shadowbolt uniform, and made his way through the halls of the complex towards the holding cells. Outside it were two very familiar mares, looking in. He barely glanced at them as he pushed open the door and stepped inside. To his doom.

There the pony sat, sipping his tea. With that straight faced, unmoving unicorn right behind him. He didn't know who was worse. The mad pony, or the assistant. She wasn't even under arrest, he didn't know why she demanded to be here with him all the bucking time!

He sat across from the pony and glared. “Dr. Alicity. This is your... oh buck. FIFTH escape? This month? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Technically it hasn't been determined if I actually belong in prison,” the earth pony said happily. “For all you ponies know, I'm completely innocent.”

“We have a confession.”

“Extorted under duress, extreme duress. And the only one who heard it was Sunburst and he has... well, disappeared.”

Fresheye gave another sigh. Yup, it was going to be one of those days. “We have proof.”

“You have proof that some unnamed pony was helping these horrible terrorists, but no proof as to who it was. And I am sure whoever this pony was, they were smart enough to cover all of their tracks. Or at least enough to form a reasonable doubt.”

The bat pony ground a hoof into the ground. “The council has been more than willing to give you... certain privileges thanks to your cooperation, but the case against you is still quite large. You can NOT break yourself out whenever you feel like it!”

“But it wasn't because I felt like it! Today was the most momentous of occasions!”

Fresheye face desked. “Really? And what was it this time?”

“We have perfected the hoof free can-opener! No longer will non unicorns have to use the awkward, magic based can-openers with their hooves!” he said proudly.

“Be that as it may, we-- wait, what? Really? How does it work?”

“Simple, my good pony! Secretary, can! And opener!”

The unicorn behind him stepped forward, her horn glowing and a small metal can and weird little disk landed on the table.

“Now, I'm sure you know the problems with modern can openers, correct? How they all seem to be designed for unicorns or creatures with, well, opposable thumbs?”

Fresheye nodded. “Yeah, I end up slipping and cutting myself on them all the time.”

“Exactly! But with this amazing invention!” Dr. Alicity reached out, grabbed the disk and put it on the can. He tapped it twice and it rattled, before latching onto the can and spinning around a few times. It then popped off, taking the lid with it. “And presto, easy peasy. No more cut hoofs for us less magically inclined! Now, it does require one of our patented mana crystals every few weeks, but I don't see why that would be a problem.” He then tossed it to the bat pony. “Here, take a prototype. They'll be on the market in a few days.”

“Wow, thanks! I can--” Fresheye blinked, then glared. “Hey, stop that! You're still in trouble!”

“Really? For what?” Dr. Alicity asked with the most innocent of smiles.

“BREAKING OUT!”

“Are we still on that? Really, that's old news. Now, in two weeks--”

------

Silver Spoon, a small little gray earth pony mare with a white mane, rested her head on the window. She was covered almost hoof to head in metal armor, with metallic wings across her side and a silver horn thrusting from her forehead. “Daddy... do you have to do this every time? Why, why does he do this to me? He's going to end up getting in real trouble one of these days,” she said, glancing to her companion. Her companion was a bit different from other ponies.

Her name was Diamond Tiara, the Avatar. Her coat was a light pink and her mane a mix of pink and white. From her head sprouted a small horn and across her sides were two little wings, about half the size of an average pegasi's. “I can't believe he broke out. Again,” the alicorn said with a shake of her head. “Didn't Secretary promise to keep him out of trouble this time?”

“She's probably the only reason he was back before they managed to find him,” Silver said with a groan.

Diamond moved over and patted her on the back. “There there. I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, after all the help your family and company has been providing, it's not like the council is in any rush to really punish him.”

“Yet!” Silver said with another shake of her head. “He's going to get us both in a lot of trouble at this rate.” She smiled to her friend. “Thanks for coming with me for this. It's... just not easy to talk with him alone. You know?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I'm pretty happy to get out of the house for a while.” She shook her head.

“Ironwing and Prism going at it again?”

“Every. Bucking. Morning,” Diamond said with a shudder. “He really, really needs to get a new place set up soon. Or a new job. A new anything. I think they may eventually kill each other. Why would they have him move in there, anyway?”

“Well... Blaze did suggest it... along with the council...”

“And I think she's about this close to snapping both their necks, too. This whole... temporary housing thing is just not...” She rubbed her head. “I can't wait for all the repairs to the city to be done.”

The door to the room opened and Fresheye stepped out, looking as annoyed as possible. He took a deep breath and then forced a smile, looking to the two. “Miss Spoon. Avatar. The... prisoner will see you now.” He turned and walked off, grumbling under his breath. “Prisoner my flank. Might as well be a low security resort at this point. Let me dangle him out a window for half an hour, see him make escape attempts then...”

Silver chuckled nervously. “I think he might be pushing a bit too much...”

“Hey, the can opener almost won the guard over,” Diamond said with a grin. “I for one approve of such an item. Maybe I'll get one for Ironwing, he seems to love cooking.” She paused. “Though it might just be because the frying pans and knives are close. I've seen the way he eyes Prism when his back is turned...”

“It's only a matter of time,” Silver said with a nod as she stepped into the room. “Daddy!”

The stallion perked up. “Oh, Silver my darling little girl, how is my little--”

“Oh don't you even start,” the earth pony snapped as she walked forward and stood on her hind legs, driving her fore hooves into the table. “You broke out. AGAIN! Do you have ANY idea what it's like to have your work ruined by hearing that? I was in the middle of setting up another contract!”

The stallion wilted. “B-but, angel. My little darling girl, I was merely--”

“You were merely, once AGAIN, stomping your way into the business and looking over my shoulder to make sure that I did EVERYTHING right! Do you really trust me that little?”

“W-what? No! Of course I do! Oh, my little baby--”

“Don't you try sweet talking me!” Silver snapped, going back to the floor. “I'm tired of this. Just, please. You can't keep testing the council like this. Sooner or later there is going to be real consequences.”

“Now dear, they wouldn't dare--”

“You don't know that! Daddy, I can't... I can't keep going through this. I just...” She wiped her eyes, the tears welling up in them. “I just... I just want to... I don't know if I can keep doing this.”

“Darling...”

“Every time they come to find me, I'm terrified something bad has happened. If you keep pushing the council, something WILL happen. Why can't you just trust me? I won't destroy the company, I can manage it until you're out. I'll be fine. I just...” She reached out and put her hoof on his. “I just want... my daddy to be safe...”

“Oh Silver...” he said with a soft sigh, lowering his gaze.

“Just one month,” she asked softly.

“Dear?”

“One month. Promise you won't cause any trouble for the next month. No escapes, no running, nothing.”

His eyes widened. “B-but in one month is the final unveiling of the--”

“Yes. And I have everything under control. If it comes down to it, Secretary can help me,” she said, motioning to the unicorn. “But for now, just stay here, where it's safe. Where you won't get in trouble. Please. For me? It's our last open project for a while, let me prove that I can handle this. Please.”

The stallion looked up into his daughter's eyes, before slowly lowering them again. “Very well. For you, my dear, anything. But I want reports. If there are any problems--”

“I have a long list of contacts and helpers I can call on. Daddy, I'll handle this. It'll be fine, you'll see. Promise?”

He sighed. “I promise.”

She nodded before walking around the table and giving him a hug. “Thank you, daddy.” She rested her head in the crook of his neck. “And... thank you for everything. I know you've officially not been proven guilty... but I know you did it all for me.”

“I'd do anything for my little girl,” he said firmly. “Not that I did do anything, but if I did, I would, for you.”

Diamond rolled her eyes and face hoofed, before looking to the Secretary. “He does know we all know he's guilty as sin, right?”

“Nothing has been proven yet,” Secretary said firmly.

The Avatar sighed again. “I'm going to go check on Meadowbrook, see if there's any new developments. Enjoy your time together,” she said before walking out of the room. She did give a sad glance back, however.

Whatever the doctor had done, she knew it had been for Silver. She couldn't hate him for it. Even if his help had nearly gotten her and who knew how many others unmarked.

------

Diamond slowly walked deep into the tower, down past the ground floor and into the underground layers. The halls were darker and she swore she could feel ponies watching her, staring out from the shadows. For all she knew, they were. The Shadowbolt costumes made them almost invisible in the darkness. There were thick, metal doors here. The prisons of the city's greatest villains.

At least, they would be if they ever actually HAD many villains. As it was, only two or three of them were in use. However, one housed probably the greatest threat to the city. Two guards were stationed outside it, both pegasi and wearing matching uniforms. They glared at her for a moment.

“Has there been any change?”

“No, Avatar,” the one on the right said. “Would you like to see her, again?”

“Please,” Diamond said. The door was slowly unlatched, three locks clicking open. Then it slowly swung open. In the back of the room was a single pony, wrapped in a straight jacket. She had a light pink coat with a purple and white streaked mane. However, both her coat and mane were unkept and wild. She rocked back and forth in the corner, her blank flank just barely visible from the angle. Her eyes were completely glazed over, as if she couldn't see anything that was in front of her. “Meadowbrook?”

The mare didn't respond, she just kept rocking back and forth, muttering under her breath. Diamond slowly stepped closer until she was about halfway to the mare, finally able to hear it.

“Unmarked, save, equality, chaos, unmarked, save, equality...” Over and over she said it.

The alicorn sighed and slowly backed up again, unwilling to get any closer. The door shut with a resounding echo. She walked forward and rested her head on the wall, groaning. “Yep, no changes. I wish I could figure out what happened to her...”

“There's no question of what happened to her, Avatar,” one of the guards said. “She snapped. She was humiliated and dishonored in front of all the ponies who tried to follow her. She obviously unmarked herself and just wasn't able to handle it.”

Diamond glanced back to the doors. She could still remember what that mare was. How powerful and dangerous. The way she looked down on her. The feeling of having her cutie mark removed. She then glanced down at her own cutie mark, at least her new one. The one fourth of it that she managed to not lose. “I just... wish I knew exactly what happened...”

“Your cutie marks will be found, Avatar,” the pony said with a smile. “Whereever they are, the whole world is looking for them. They can't remain hidden forever.”

She sighed and then gave a weak smile. “Yeah. I... I suppose. Thank you,” she mumbled before turning and walking away. She wished she could feel as confident as they did. After all, it wasn't THEIR cutie marks that were still missing. She slowly spread out her wings and felt the air flow around them. She'd felt bad enough being an Avatar with only three elements, how could she possibly be one with just one?

She stopped and took a deep breath, gently tapping herself on the head. “Bad Diamond,” she muttered under her breath. “Not going down that line again. Productive thoughts, productive. Just... go talk to Zecora. Do what you can do.” She then blinked and looked around. The stairways were empty, though she couldn't shake the feeling she was still being watched. She quickly scampered up the steps and away from the darkness.

------

Button let out a yelp as he rolled backwards, the dirt and stone molding around him to knock the water blast away. The young brown earth pony then thrust a hoof forward, lunging with it as the dirt and rocks shot through the air at his opponent, a blue unicorn with a yellow mane. Acrylic.

Acrylic rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast before sending a burst of water out, forming little blades of ice as they went. Button stomped a hoof down and a wall of stone rose up, before thrusting it forward and sending the stone wall streaking at the unicorn.

Acrylic yiped and jumped to the right. However, before he could land the ground beneath him rippled. “Oh bu--” Pillars of stone rose up and caught him in the stomach, tossing him into the air like a rag doll. He landed on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning. He tapped the ground a few moments later. “G-give.”

“Wooo! I did it!” Button yelled cheerfully as he did a little victory dance. “What does it make it now? Seven to ten? I'm catching up!”

Acrylic wheezed a little and gave a nod. “Y-yep. Ow. That was... that was a pretty good shot.”

The earth pony nodded and walked over, holding out a hoof to his friend. “Well, of course. After all, if I'm going to be the coltfriend of the Avatar I have to really work on my bending, don't I?”

The unicorn groaned and took the hoof, slowly getting to his hooves. “Y-yeah, I suppose,” he said nervously. “Listen, Button... you haven't really been... well...”

“What?”

“Well... I mean... I know the Avatar confessed her love to you and all but... are you sure she's really...”

“Oh, don't worry about that at all,” Button said with a smirk. “I already talked with her, we have a date this weekend and everything!”

“Oh? Really?” the unicorn asked, his eyes going wide with surprise. “I didn't... wow. Well, congrats buddy. Go get her.”

“I will!” Button said before moving forward and patting his friend on the shoulders. “And don't worry. Even when me and the Avatar eventually get married, we'll still always be bros. If you ever need me, I will be there for you. Okay?”

Acrylic rolled his eyes. “I wouldn't get ahead of yourself...” He shuddered to think of a life time married to Diamond of all ponies would be like. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially not Button.

“Oh, come on. It's perfect! We can have a duo wedding! Me and Diamond, you and Silver!”

Acrylic's cheeks turned bright red. Maybe Button did deserve it a little bit. “I-I didn't, we haven't, we've never, s-shut up!”

The earth pony snickered. “Oh come on, you just need to have a little confidence. If you need me to, I could ask her out for you. Even--” The stallion let out a yipe as his hooves were yanked out from under him, sending him sprawling onto his back. “Ow.”

“Let's do a bit more training, okay?” Acrylic muttered darkly. “I think I have a few new moves I want to... test.”

“W-whimper...”

------

Vinyl groaned and she held her face in her hooves. She almost longed for the days of Cadence, or even running for their lives from the Water Nation. Buck, having Nightmare Moon appear in the room would have been preferable to this. She gave a wilting smile to Octavia. “H-how much longer?”

“Oh, relax dear. We still have three more hours,” the earth pony said calmly.

The unicorn moaned and slammed her head down on the table. Just about anything would have been preferable to this. War. Death. Taxes. Sunburst, the fire bending representative, was gone. That meant it was election time and a new candidate would have to be decided. That, in and of itself, wasn't so bad. The fire bending ponies could choose their candidate, a few weeks of voting, done. Or a month. Or months. Either way, it was just a small thing.

But he had also been the head of the council. The voting for THAT would take much longer. Weeks. Months. Hours of each day wasted as the fifteen(currently fourteen) member council weighed the decisions of who they'd vote for. They had to judge each and every one of them, as WELL as all the fire bending candidates.

But it wasn't only that. The Moon Raisers had been gone for a while, so all of her paperwork as the water bending representative had been delayed until her return. Sure, she could dump a lot of it on Tittering, the Moon Raiser's current leader, but she still had to do most of it herself.

Then, on top of THAT, the unmarked had done a number on the city. So much property had been destroyed, homes wrecked. So many ponies trying to reform their lives and struggling to make ends meet and it fell to them to try and find these ponies homes. Repairs were going quickly, but not nearly as quickly as they needed to be. It would be a few more months before the city became less crowded.

Council sessions tended to last eight to twelve hours a day now, six days a week. Sometimes even seven. Vinyl could feel herself aging five years with every week that passed. She could only hope for the cold, sweet hands of death at this point to release her from her torment.

“Vinyl, pay attention,” Octavia said with a sigh. “This is important.”

The unicorn groaned, but slowly listened as the pony in the middle of the room droned on and on about a point two percent tax increase to help pay for all of the repairs.

Maybe she could make a run for it. Hide in the Fire Tribe lands again. They'd never find her.

------

Two pegasi glared at each other from across the table, their eyes locked in a great struggle for dominance. A light blue pegasus with a dark blue mane, Prism. And his current housemate, a red coated pegasus with a dark purple mane, Ironwing.

Their eyes refused to waver. A contest of wills.

“You ate the last of the cheddar,” Ironwing growled.

“I wanted a nacho,” Prism rebuttaled.

“It had my name on it! I was saving it!”

“Is that what that was? I thought somepony had a stroke and stabbed it with their pen.”

“AHHHHH!” Ironwing jumped the table.

“RAHHHHH!” Prism did as well.

The two fierce warriors met in the middle, both their hooves lashing out wildly as they drew their heads back and proceeded to try to slap the every loving buck out of each other.

------

Diamond gently reached out and tapped on the door to the tree house. She didn't understand why the zebras liked homes like this, crafted directly into a tree. Though she felt oddly comfortable whenever she came here. She felt there needed to be more books, though. The door opened and a zebra greeted her.

“Ah, young Avatar of the air, please, please come in if you dare,” she said before moving aside.

A large cauldron was set up in the middle of the room, bubbling and filling the air with a thin, green mist. Diamond was tempted to comment on the rhymes, but she knew better than to antagonize the zebra. She walked inside and sat down on a small cushion.

“I did not expect to see you again so soon, to what do I owe this boon?” Zecora asked as she walked over to the cauldron and poured some herbs in it.

“I needed to get out of the house again.”

“Ah, those of wings still hold much strife? At least the young Shadowbolt gets along with Prism's wife.”

“Oh, yeah, Blaze and Ironwing are getting along just peachily,” Diamond said curtly. “Probably because Prism and Ironwing are at each other's throats so much that there's no room for a second feud. I can't wait until all this is settled and he can move... anywhere else!”

“Mmmm, indeed. I figured the bat ponies would have welcomed him in this time of need.”

“Yeah, that's what Blaze said too. But apparently there's a bunch of things about favoritism and just... ugh. Technically the building is owned by the council so there's really nothing that can be done about it until everything is settled. Besides, she was the one who suggested it, thought it would help break their feud. Not pour oil on the fire. But I swear, one of these days I'm going to come home and they're going to have killed each other.”

------

Ironwing lunged forward with the spatula as Prism parried with the egg beater.

------

“How is your training going young Avatar? I trust that it has risen, the new bar.”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, the wings are nice. I actually managed to glide a full three feet today,” she said proudly, before sighing. “Air bending is going pretty good too. It's... easy, even.” She held her hooves together, before drifting them apart and forming a little ball of wind. “As easy as the other elements were. It was so hard before, you know? I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. Now it's as easy as breathing.”

“Mmmmm?”

Diamond sighed and shook her head. “I know what you're going to ask. I can't... feel Twilight any more. Or, well, I can. But it's like... I just... ugh!” She face hoofed again. “It's like she's there but not there? I could hear her, so clearly. It was as if she was right there when I needed her. But... the connection broke so quickly. I had so many questions I wanted to ask her. So many things I needed to know!”

“Perhaps all of your questions will be answered in time,” Zecora said before walking to a small dangling basket. “Avatar, friend, would you like a lime?” She held out a small green fruit.

Diamond chuckled. “No. Thank you. It's just not... right. I'm only a fourth of an Avator. One small fragment of one. How can I possibly hope to protect the world if I can't... properly bend?”

“Indeed this is a conundrum most fierce, but I believe to the heart of the matter we should pierce. Your desires to go to the lands of the bad, have you told all of your friends including the lad?”

The alicorn shook her head. “No. It's stupid. It's just...” She looked to Zecora, who remained quiet as she cut up some lime slices. “When I called to her, when I needed her, I formed a connection. I got the help I needed. I think she's still out there, trying to help me. But... somethings stopping her. If I could just... go to her. If I could see what she saw...”

Zecora nodded. “The old Avatar felt much the same, she desired to go after her foe who would maim. The loss of the elements was quite painful, a connection severed most disdainful.”

Diamond nodded and gave another sigh. “I... guess. It's just... you told me she had trouble connecting with her past lives after they were broken, but it just doesn't feel right. She at least knew what it was like before the elements were broken. She knew what a proper connection felt like. I don't have that. I don't know if I'm trying to connect correctly and it's the connection that isn't working, or if I'm doing it wrong and I just need to find the right way.”

“You have practiced and learned much in these sessions, so I believe the fault is not in these lessons.”

Diamond eyed the zebra for a moment. Just once she wished she could have a straight talk with the mare. “I'm not sure I'm doing any of this right, though.”

“To the world of the spirits you have gone a few times. Perhaps you're worried about past crimes?”

The Avatar flushed. “I-I've... I mean, I-I've gotten a lot better. A lot better. Since... everything. A-and I said I was sorry! Really, really sorry. I just...”

“Overconfident you held in much abundance and carried with zeal, to abandon it all will not help you heal. Better than others you are not, but there are things in this world that you must do, lest it rot.”

Diamond groaned and leaned back, banging her head on the wall slightly. “I swear sometimes I just want to... it's just hard, you know? I thought I was the biggest, the toughest, the best. Now... now I'm not even sure I'm in the top ten,” she muttered. “How do you go from being the number one to... being just like everypony else?”

Zecora didn't answer. Instead she walked over and held out a small bowl filled with green goo. The alicorn sighed and gave a nod. “Yeah, yeah. Look into myself, connections, all that. I'll figure it out, I'm sure. Rhymes and mystic talk, blah blah,” she grumbled darkly before sitting down and taking the bowl. “Did Twilight ever get mad at you for this?”

“Your past life had much more patience and always desired that she learned. But then, when I helped her, her greatest enemies had all been beaten or turned.”

Diamond nodded and looked at the goo. “I hope mine have been, too. Well, bottoms up.” She brought the goo to her lips and downed it. It tasted nasty and stuck in her throat a little, but she downed it all. She slowly put the bowl down and closed her eyes, already feeling the numbness spread across her body. She looked forward to the day she could do this without having to use the potion.

She slowly felt herself pull away from her body and lift up, into the air. The world gently flowed around her, sending tingling sensations through her body. She didn't open her eyes again until she felt it stop.

She slowly took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Hello?” she called out. She stood in the middle of a rocky, barren wasteland. “Anypony here?”

There was no response. She didn't know what she expected, but just once she wished she'd hear something answer her back. She started walking again. She wished Zecora could enter with her, too, but the zebra said she just didn't have the skill. The potion only helped with the transfer, it couldn't give somepony the ability if they didn't have it. Most ponies, sadly, lacked the ability. Zebras too, it seemed.

It would have made things so much easier if she could. Twilight had left written records of the spirit world. Great, massive trees, flowing lakes and creatures of all kinds. Nothing like the bleak and empty void she now walked through. She wondered if maybe there was a second Spirit World and she'd somehow come through that.

That made her snicker. A few months ago that would have made her super excited. The first pony to ever come to the second Spirit World, a feat most impressive. Now all she felt was doubt that she was doing any of this right. She'd probably screwed up, somehow. There had to be some kind of life here.

She kept walking until she came to a large clearing with strange colored stones. She sat down on it and closed her eyes, slowly meditating.

“Twilight, can you hear me? I need you,” she whispered softly. “I need your help. I need your guidance. Something... I feel something is happening. Something big. And I need you to help me fight it. I can't... do this on my own. I'm not like you. I'm not... as strong as you. Or smart. I don't... know all those things you did. I couldn't fight all those ponies you did. Buck, the only reason I beat Meadowbrook was due to luck. Sheer stupid luck. If my friends hadn't...” She shuddered and lowered her head. “I... don't want to fail any more. Not for me, but for them. They... the world needs me. They need me. They need a pony who's strong, who's capable. One who can keep them safe. They need a pony like you.”

She swore she could feel something there, just on the edge of her mind. Calling to her. Directing her. Trying to speak with her. But something was holding it back. Something was always holding it back. She sat there for hours, or at least it felt like it. Her legs were cramping and she groaned, shaking her body out. “Not even a real body, not fair that it can--” Her mane stood on end and she heard something fall behind her. She held her breath, listening for whatever the source was.

There.

She turned and ran, galloping after the source. A black shadow darted away, quickly leaping into the air and beginning to fly off. She grinned and jumped up after it, her small wings spreading out. She still couldn't fly in the real world, but in this one the rules worked differently and she had long since learned that it was less about being able to fly and more about believing she could fly. It was also the number one reason she kept face planting when she returned to the real world and forgot she couldn't quite do it there, yet.

She flew at the creature and tackled it from the sky, knocking it down and slamming them both to the ground, her hooves holding it down. It let out a pained squeak and lifted its strange, hole-filled hooves to cover its face.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. Like a bug mixed with a pony, having a black, chitin hide. But its body was filled with holes and its gossamer wings were as well. It trembled under her for a few moments as she stared. “Can you... understand me?” she asked softly.

It merely whimpered, but didn't answer.

“Hey, I'm sorry for hurting you, I just needed to...” Alarms went off in her head. She remembered hearing about these creatures. They'd been mentioned in Twilight's notes. Changelings. She jumped off it, looking around wildly for any sign of danger. The creatures traveled in packs, with their queen.

The single changeling just laid there, cowering weakly as it kept its face hidden.

She waited a few more minutes before moving closer. “You're a changeling, right?”

It didn't answer. As she came closer she could see it was all skin and bones. Odd, she didn't know they had bones in the spirit world. Its body just seemed odd, too. Now that she looked at it, it was smaller than her and she was hardly the largest pony. There was no buzzing of others, either. She looked around worriedly. “There are more of you, aren't there?”

It didn't respond. It just shook. Then, slowly, it lowered its hooves and looked at her. It cocked its head to the side. She waved back slowly. “H-hi. My name is Diamond. It's nice to meet you.”

It slowly got up, eying her cautiously.

“I'm not going to hurt you, honest. I'm just... looking around. You're the first spirit I've seen here. Have you lived here long?” She then blinked. “Of... course you have. I'm in the Spirit World and you're a spirit. You've lived here your whole life. Or... well... whatever... spirits have for life times. Anyway. You're here, right? So... ummm, where's the rest of your... hive? I think they have hives?”

The changeling just stared at her blankly.

She slowly held out a hoof. “So, I'm going to call you... ummmm... Onyx. Yeah, Onyx I think suits you. Since you're with all the rocks and... do you know what happened here? Why is it so barren? Where are the other spirits?”

Slowly the changeling lifted a hoof and pointed it at her. A green glow formed around it, but it sputtered a little and the changeling fell back, whimpering.

Diamond cringed and moved forward, reaching a hoof out to touch it. The creature recoiled and rolled back, getting to its hooves and running away. She sighed, but didn't pursue it this time. “Well... at least I know there's something here. This is definitely the Spirit World then.” She looked around. “But what happened here?”

Her eyes widened. The changeling had pointed right at her. Was it trying to say this was HER fault?

She shook her head. “Okay, no. There's no way this could possibly be your fault. Just... no.” She looked around none the less. “Onyx, I'm going home now! If... you need me, I'll be back! All you have to do is ask! Or... sign me. Or whatever. Something.”

------

Silver sighed as she looked over the reports lining her desk. Despite her father's problems with jail and the shareholder's panic following the event, their company was doing quite well. Enormously well, in fact.

It most likely had to do with the fact they were the premier creators of the horns and wings that everypony wanted to get their hooves on. That, and they had most of the repair contracts in the city, the connections to get them done quickly and efficiently and the council's current willingness to work with them during these trying times. They'd likely come out of this whole ordeal stronger than ever. But then, war always was good for business. Even a minor war. Granted, she'd of course cheated as well. But nopony had to know that.

She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, a small smile forming on her lips. One month. That was all she needed. She slowly climbed out of her chair and moved to the right wall, pulling on a little statue, which caused a small door to open. Inside was just a tiny little closet, holding three large jars.

In each jar was a small cutie mark. Diamond's cutie marks. She hummed before slowly picking up the blue one and eying it. “Yes. I think you'll do nicely.” Her eyes glowed with a green wispy light. “Oh Diamond, it's time we both got what we wanted, isn't it? You've been a one element show for just far too long...”

Comments

[CrystalMaster76]

Yeah, new Book.
Well this chapter certainly has New Season Fallout syndrome, in that over half of it felt like it was more of an epilogue to the last season than the start of a new one, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Korra season 2 suffered hugely from sweeping the previous season under the rug, heck the only season that didn't suffer that was Balance.

By far my favorite parts of this chapter were Silver Spoon's, having a villain protagonist (or at least one we presumably will follow regularly) makes for a good change of pace, and Silver pulls out the manipulative bitch card very well here. I wonder of the fact that both DT and SS have loving overprotective and not all that good fathers will play a part in their interactions down the line after the inevitable villain revel.

Button and Acrylic's romance stuff was fine, i just hope it doesn't bog the season down.
I didn't find Prism and Ironwing's particularly compelling, Blaze was my fav character last book, so i hope this doesn't end up a comic relief subplot.

Diamond's stuff sets up the mystery of the book nicely, and i like seeing her post break the haughty, nice she hasn't completely lost her condescending attitude, just knows to keep it in check, i also hope we get to see more of the other races interact with Diamond.

Solid start, looking forward to this series moving forward.

[eric-emanwu]

Welcome to the next stage of the journey.

We begin not with Dark Spirits leading the first strike, but with a pony forcing himself to deal with a tough job. And surprisingly, grumbling about how Ironwing was seen as a more fair leader back in the day. Sure, he might have gotten the post in part due to nepotism, but he was still thoughtful and well balanced as a lead, even if it did kinda take up all his time.

And so Fresheye was forced into the undesirable position of playing interrogator to Dr. Alicity. Who was definitely showing more of his Varrick stripes with this. The eccentricities showing a will that isn't constrained by any will of any government. Even if he's out there to help others through his work.

Though seriously dude, take some responsibility for what you did. I mean come on! Although, I have to admit, it's kinda cool that Alicity invented the automatic can opener. Even if that was a distraction.

Anyway, Silver Spoon wasn't happy at all about her dad doing these things, and she said as much to our old pal DT. Who admittedly is in a very different place compared to Korra. In part because since she hasn't activated the avatar state at will yet can't cheat in airbending races, and so is still in a position of relative weakness rather than strength. The wings are new though. Guess overcoming her airbending block did help her out in one way.

Meanwhile, it seems DT's also struggling with their houseguest. Ironwing's moved onto air temple island for now, and it's not exactly making things easy for Anyone there. Not Prism, not Blaze, and certainly not the avatar.

In a way, Silver is voicing my complaints that with him evading responsibility like this, Alicity is...wee bit annoying right now. And Silver is in Asami's place at the moment with being frustrated about the company. Not over her competitors shunning her like in Korra Canon, but because her father can be a bit of a control freak. Seems that despite it all, there are still people interested in working with the tech head of the avatar world. Interesting. You'd think after everything, they'd be like poison, but I suppose like say...Ford in early days, what they make is too valuable to really get fully cut out.

As for the other part, Diamond visited the lower parts of the Vault. Where "the city's greatest villains" were kept. Something tells me it's going to start filling up like bosses in a video game before long. And for now, the one relevant to the story is...well, discorded. In a madness mantra. And yet, there's one word in her words that provides a clue if anyone would dig far enough: Chaos. Why would a mare trying set up a new world ORDER be ranting about Chaos? It's a clue. Just, one that nobody can see yet.

Meanwhile, the best friends were practicing. Button feeling the power of being a "firebending" earthbender, and walking forward in his relationship to be. I also had to give a chuckle that even after all this, Acrylic lost to Button in making a move in the dating game. And that the Bolin totally knew he had the hots for Silver.

Meanwhile, the old lady Vinyl was feeling oddly nostalgic. Because a republican government can be a real strain sometimes. Even though the outlook of nations was worse at the time, at least being under a monarchy or on the run was less tedious. Seems that Octy for her part was taking this far better. Seems Bumi Sr. is doing much better thanks to her leadership background.

See, the problem is that when Sunburst disappeared, it left 2 open spots! Fire bending leader, and council leader. That means that it takes a lot of time reviewing possible candidates to work out. I'm reminded of Supreme Court appointments with the length and problems, like if they wanted to appoint a supreme court member and a president at the same time. It's a headache to do at the same time. Then there was Vinyl's personal load of trying to deal with Moon Raiser backlog orders after their return from exile, which she couldn't pass onto Ikki...er, tittering. But THEN there's also cleanup from the last crisis they have to deal with. And now it seems they're working overtime a lot more. And being a mare of action even at this age (waterbending and all that), Vinyl chafed under the heavy load. Maybe she needs a vacation in time.

But for all Vinyl was dealing with, at least she wasn't being forced to be with a frenemy for weeks now. Which is what Prism and Ironwing were going through. Where all the "roommate" problems are getting on their nerves. But at least Ironwing is ok with his Ex girlfriend.

Meanwhile, DT was getting spirit training under Zecora. Where she was comfy in the atmosphere, but not necessarily with the mare. But it did give her another person to serve as confidant during home troubles. I have to like the image of the 2 housemates sparring with nonlethal weapons though. Nice Gilligan Cut.

DT was finding the 2nd stage of Airbending much easier with both wings and the bending block getting out, but Avatar contact? The presence is just out of reach. Kinda like how some feel about a Christian God. You know God's walking alongside you so often and can feel his presence on good days, but hearing? Not as easy.

It seems that having The Elements nominally crushed created something akin to the Korra Conundrum. That there were issues with reception to the past. And DT, don't be so hard on yourself. Twilight probably felt acute loss much more than you feel acute longing. And for DT's personal journey, she felt her failings strongly, repented from her past view...in part at least. But repentance isn't enough. She is still special and responsible for greater things than just "another pony".

So, DT went on a little trip out to the spirit realm. Only in this place, rather than giant water horses, jungles, swamps or any of the spots Twilight visited, it was a rocky world. Without tree or grass. And DT, you don't have to be Twilight. You just have to be you. No avatar should take directly after a previous one, cause the problems are always changing. So she talked to the void, searching out for her "mom" metaphorically. And the wind and attacks wasn't luck. It was destiny. After all, the author would never write a sequel series about a loser avatar who couldn't even beat her first enemy.

It wasn't any success in her searches, with things being just out, just blocked, but as for other developments, DT managed to catch a changeling. Flying like Shy could heal in the spirit world. And weirdly enough, it was just 1 changeling too. where's the swarm? Where's Crysalis? And what was the changeling pointing at? Did killing Discord mess up the spirit realm somehow? Was he trying to tell her about something near her that she needs to look out for? After all, Crysalis did mention that the spirits for all their feelings had little love for Discord overall. They bowed to him as the strongest, but some like her were all too glad to have him out of the way in the meantime.

But what does silver have in mind for a month? What is it that she really wants? Profit was good for her, but at the same time she has some kind of spirit of chaos edging her on, and...what is Silver's main goal anyways?