Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 2: Discord

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 14: Origins

Silver let out a soft sigh of relief while she walked through the halls of the vessel. Perhaps she had been a bit too worried. The hull of the ship was totaled, there was no doubt. But the majority of the components were safe. If damaged. It would take a week or two to get everything out and ready, but that wouldn't be the real problem.

The biggest problem was that every single balloon had been damaged. They couldn't even try to move the ship if they wanted. Not only that, almost half of the emergency crafts had been lost, shattered along with so many other supplies when they'd been tossed about. Fortunately the village wasn't very far and they had already managed to move all of the wounded under proper shelter, so there wouldn't be any unnecessary deaths.

But, perhaps the most important thing, was one of the jars holding the Avatar's elements had been damaged. It hadn't broke, but it had been cracked. She was tempted to try switching it to a new jar, but it was acting strangely now. Ever since they'd come to these strange lands, it had pulsated and fought against its containment. Letting it free now might cause her more trouble than she dared risk.

If she wanted to use it, she'd have to use it soon. She'd managed to store them in with one of the crates to be hauled, she just hoped it would remain trapped for now.

As she walked the halls of her ruined vessel, she couldn't help but mentally count every broken component. So many bits down the drain. After deducting the price of what could be salvaged it wasn't too horrifying(although it still made her want to blanch), but that wasn't what made it so horrible.

She rested her head against the wall and sighed softly, sitting down and letting her head sink. “I'm a failure. All my planning, all my hard work, and I couldn't even get us to our destination without crashing. Why? I did everything right! At... least I thought I did,” she said softly, before lightly banging her head on the wall, then kicking it. “You stupid hunk of junk! I put everything I--”

A panel above came down, slamming into her head and making her collapse, a small trail of blood dripping down her head. “W-what?” she said softly, her head rolling from side to side. She shoved it off and shook her head, sending a spark of pain through it. “O-ow. S-stupid, vengeful ship...”

She rubbed her head and started walking down the hall again, giving a sad sigh when she passed a shattered light. Just like so many others, destroyed and expensive.

A scream tore through the ship, making her freeze. The screaming didn't stop, either, allowing her to quickly locate the source. She galloped down the hall towards the cargo hold eight, quickly poking her head inside.

It only took her a moment to locate who was screaming. A pony was in there. The floor had collapsed and some of the crates had broken, sending broken pieces of equipment all over the place and turning the floor into a veritable death trap, with shards of metal sticking out. Her eyes then turned up and she paled.

The pony moving the equipment was up above. It looked like he had been moving things, judging by how he was dangling from one of the off tilt crates. He was wearing the same metal wings she did, except the left one was sparking and misshapen. His left side was covered in bruises and when she looked down she could see where one of the crates had slid off, smashing against the ground, breaking its contents and sending the broken shards of metal and glass across the ground.

“It's okay!” she called out before stepping into the room. “I'm here, others should be on the way,” she called out.

“Help me!” the stallion shrieked as he tried to hold on, his hooves struggling to keep a grip. He was sliding though, slowly but surely.

Her heart nearly froze when she realized something else. There were more crates on the stack he was on and they were sliding down towards him. He'd be crushed.

“No no,” she whispered, taking a step forward, before leaping into the air and spreading her robotic wings. The crates were closer than her and sliding nearly as fast. Despite what she wanted to believe, she couldn't make it in time. The poor pony was going to be crushed.

“Buck that,” she whispered.

Her eyes glowed yellow for a moment, then a loud crack filled the room. On the opposite end of the crate the stallion was clinging to, the wood of the crates gave way and the sliding crates fell into the new groove. The sounds of expensive equipment shattering into a thousand pieces filled the room, but she tuned it out as she flew forward, wrapping her hooves around the stallion. Her wings hummed as more energy flowed through them, before she pushed off and hauled him back towards the entrance.

Behind her she could hear it all collapsing. So many destroyed bits. So much money gone in an instant. She gently dropped him and took a slow, deep breath. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, I think so,” he said weakly. “It just... came out of nowhere. They weren't moving at all, then the next moment they all came flying at me.”

“Yeah, just... happy you're okay,” Silver said. A lever flew by her head and she yelped. “Actually let's get out of here before something explodes,” she said quickly before pushing him ahead. They stood outside the room for a moment and she cringed as every smashing, crushing, destroying sound echoed out of the room. Once it finally stopped she gave a smile to him. “So, you'd better go see the healers, get that side looked at. Then see about replacing those wings.”

“Right, of course,” the pony said, though he didn't take his eyes off her for a few moments. Finally, he coughed. “Thank you, Lady Spoon. I... I think... no, I know I'd be dead now if not for you.”

“Yeah, if not for me you wouldn't even be here, either,” she muttered. “Just go get yourself looked at, okay? There's still a lot of work to be done and I don't want anypony getting killed out here. Oh, and make sure you have a partner next time! No solo work.”

“Of course,” he said before giving her a bow and limping off.

Silver watched him for a moment, before slowly looking back into the room. The crates and their contents laid spilled across the floor, shattered, busted, broken. The cost ever growing. She still felt relieved, though. At least a body hadn't been added to them. She turned and trotted down the hall. “Going to have to have a talk with the captain. This is wayyyy too dangerous for ponies to be working alone.”

------

The earth pony frowned when she stepped out of the ship and caught sight of Diamond. “What is it now?” she asked a lot more coldly than she'd meant to.

The mare cringed. “I'm really, really sorry about your ship. I... I know it meant a lot to you. But I have good news!”

Silver blinked. “Really?”

“Yes! You're never going to guess who we met!”

“Twilight's daughter?”

“Well, yeah. But she had a SECOND daughter!”

“Okay?”

“And she may know the origins of the Elements of Harmony and possibly even Discord!”

Silver's heart thumped and she had to struggle to keep herself from showing too much excitement as she quickly changed her tone. “R-really? That does sound interesting.” She glanced back towards the ship. “But I really need to focus on this for now. There's still a lot of gathering we need to do.”

Diamond nodded. “I had a feeling you'd say that. But, you are the funder of this little excavation so I think you should be there when we get the rewards,” she said with a grin. “So, I'm here to help. Put me to use, boss!” She gave a mock salute.

Silver blinked a few times. “I'm sorry? What about the origins?”

“I told her I'd wait until my friends were ready to hear it, too. So that's what I'm going to do.”

Silver gave a soft smile before nodding. “Thank you, then. You know, I think I might have some things you can help with. It... shouldn't take too long now, I think.” She gave a sad look towards the ship. “Especially since we lost almost all of cargo hold eight now. But I'll see what I can use you for.”

------

It took one more day before, finally, everything had been transferred to the safety of the village. The once beautiful Promise now lay as an empty, sad husk in the Badlands, a sad reminder that in this place, there was no such thing as 'safe' and 'foal proof'.

Still, true to her word, Diamond waited patiently until Silver was able to come with them, aiding in the gathering and transfer of equipment. Ponies from the village came as well, helping to gather what they could and haul it back to the village. They lost two more of their escape vessels in the move due to sudden weather shifts, but aside from a few broken bones there wasn't too much destruction to the crew.

It was finally done. Silver couldn't help but give a sad smile as she stared at the small base they'd set up. A few dozen or so tents had been set up, allowing the ponies to sleep and plan. They were assured that the location was safe and secure, so now it was time for everypony to relax and figure out what to do next.

A backup radio had been set up(the main one had been destroyed in the crash), though they'd been unable to contact home. The weather was having too much of an effect on their broadcasts. But they had food, they had shelter and they had ponies who knew the area now. They were going to be fine, probably.

They also had hundreds of thousands of bits in lost assets, laying spread out across the Badlands, but she was doing her best to ignore that part.

“Are you ready?” Diamond asked as she trotted up. “I mean, do you want to go now? Or do you wanna get some rest first?” There was a bit of an edge to her voice, though she seemed to be trying to keep it calm and steady, Silver could tell the mare didn't want to wait.

The earth pony was tempted to make her, but slowly gave a nod. “Honestly? I've wanted to hear what she has to say since you told me. Let's go.” She turned and followed the alicorn into the village.

Before long, all of the ponies were gathered who were going to listen and they were brought to the council chamber that Diamond had been to recently. Anypony who wanted was free to come, but only Alicity, Secretary, Luna, Button, Celestia, Prism, Rainbow and Silver seemed to be interested. Though Diamond suspected Acrylic didn't want to come because he was scared to face Silver right now. She couldn't imagine why Ironwing didn't want to come, but she never really understood what went on in that stallion's mind anyway.

Sunset glanced over the gathered ponies before sighing. “Is there anypony else you'd like to invite? Perhaps you have a nice batch of children you normally foalsit? Or maybe some of the elderly?”

Diamond cringed. “I'm sorry?”

“This is supposed to be between you and I, Avatar. There is no need for an audience.”

The alicorn huffed. “They're my friends, they're the only reason I'm here.”

“You're here because you need to be here,” the unicorn said with a sigh. “They're merely here to aid you. But very well.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “If the Avatar wishes for me to explain this to all of you, then I will. But do try to keep your questions to a minimum and don't interrupt. My mother spent years gathering this knowledge.” Her horn glowed and she lifted up a small book in her magic. On the cover were six small circles, one housing a six point star, one with three balloons, one with a lightning bolt, one with three diamonds, one with three apples and the final one having three butterflies. “This book is for you, Avatar. All of the knowledge here is... well, special. While all of the information has been gathered in her many, many, many, many, many, MANY other tomes, this is the one she had made for me to one day pass on to you.” She gently placed it down. “I have read it a... hundred times,” she said with just a hint of sadness to her tone. “But it will be far easier to just tell you this story than have you read it. My mother has been known to go into... excessive detail, at times.”

“Ain't that the truth,” Rainbow said with a snicker.

“And while she was brilliant, she tended... this is the kind of book you'd want to study, slowly. Not rush through,” Sunset said, ignoring the pegasus. “Now, first I should mention this. Most of what she discovered was just... belief. Our people have had a long, long history with Discord and Harmony, but it is millenia old. How true or accurate it is is up to debate, something my mother informed me often. But these are her findings and beliefs using a mix of old records she found in the Forest of Spirits as well as our own records and histories.” She took a slow, deep breath. “The first thing I suppose we should start with, are the spirits of Discord and Harmony.”

Both Silver and Diamond tensed.

“According to our legends, the two were the guardians of the worlds. Harmony was the guardian of this world. Ponies were her chosen ones and she granted us bending. Fire and water bending to the unicorns, earth bending to the earth ponies and air bending to the pegasi. Now, before you ask I don't know why it is the four nations came into being, or why only the pegasi of the air nation are able to bend. In fact, according to our legends, ALL of those ponies should have been able to bend. At least, the ones that left the Badlands.”

“Wait, all of them? But what about the nations?” Diamond asked.

“I don't know,” Sunset said with a shrug. “Neither did mom. But she did have theories. One that Discord's power was involved, after the destruction of Harmony, the magic that granted ponies their bending was... dampened and weakened. When the ponies divided themselves, it's possible their bending went with it. It's also possible that they can, in fact, bend. But that there's some kind of block on them, again, likely caused by Discord or the divide that initially created the four nations.”

“So then the creation of the four nations...”

Sunset shook her head. “Unfortunately, mom had no idea and we have next to no records of the four nations. Whatever caused it must have been quite severe, however, as long ago all of the ponies lived together.” She smiled. “You see, Harmony was the guardian and protector of all in this world. Ponies like us were her chosen, meant to guide and protect it. All of the races have their own magic to them, as I'm sure you've noticed, but our magic helped us get more in touch with Harmony than any of the others could.” She then frowned. “However, it also led to great destruction in the Spirit World.”

Sunset glanced down to the book. “As Harmony was the guardian of this world, Discord protected the Spirit World. There are rumors, even, that he created it. Though I imagine that is unlikely. But he was the most powerful of all the spirits, aside from Harmony. He... created a strange, chaotic world, unlike the one us ponies were used to. One that, most of us, couldn't survive in. But then, spirits are a different breed entirely. In fact, the majority of them are immortal. Or, at least, they don't die from age or easily.” She gave a soft sigh, before flipping open the book and showing a picture that took up two pages.

“These are the generals of Discord. Four spirits that were said to be extremely powerful, if not invincible. They served him well.” She motioned to the two on the left. “This was the Shifter.” It looked like a pony mixed with a bug. “I believe my mom had met her. It was said that she and her armies could take any form.”

“Chrysalis? Oh yeah, we all became acquainted. Had to beat her out of Twilight, once,” Rainbow said with a chuckle.

“Quite. The next is the Never ending.” She motioned to a drawing of a small blob. “Now, he doesn't look like much, but it is said he was immune to magic itself and could devour anything, nothing could stop him aside from Discord. There were rumors that he could devour a ponies... spirit, if they were lost in the Spirit World. Leaving them empty, cold husks in ours. The next...” She motioned to the other page, a picture of a centaur with great horns stood. “The Devourer. It is said he had the power to steal the magic and power of any creature, ponies especially. Including their cutie marks.”

“W-wait, what?” Diamond asked. “He could steal cutie marks? I knew it! Discord was behind that staff!”

Silver cringed. “Y-yeah. Discord... must have made it. Using his general, right?”

“Perhaps,” Sunset said before motioning down to the last one. It looked like a great monkey with an extra hand sprouted from its tail. “And the guide. This one was the one that ponies met with the most. He would lead them into and out of the Spirit World, at Discord and Harmony's request.”

Diamond nodded. “So... these four are still around, then?”

“Possibly. If one survived, it is likely that the other three survived as well.” Sunset closed the book again. “Now, Discord is... well, he was a strange creature. We still don't know why he did what he did, but we can guess. You see, ponies and spirits didn't always get along. Discord especially was... known to... well...”

“Be evil, sadistic, cruel, monstrous, pretty much everything wrong with the world?” Rainbow asked with a snort.

“Yes, I suppose,” Sunset said with a shrug. “He was a creature of pure chaos. Not... so much evil and cruel, as just uncaring. To a being like him, ponies were seen as little more than play things and toys. Even then, there were apparently stories and warnings about going to his realm. Some ponies survived, just shaken. Others were... changed for his amusement. They were often turned back, it seems, but I hear it still left scars. The only thing that truly curbed him was Harmony. In fact, were it not for her... the events of the last Avatar's fights may have very well been the only history we'd ever known. A world eternally ruled by his chaos.”

“Now there's a nightmare for you,” Rainbow muttered.

“But curb him, she did. Discord remained in his Spirit World and rarely came to ours, never interfering with it aside from when his aid was needed.”

“Wait, what?” Diamond asked, stomping a hoof down. “But he invaded us! Even I know that, that's what the whole fight with Twilight was about!”

“In modern times, yes. But then there were checks to his power. Harmony protected this world. The ponies who traveled into his... well, they were toyed with for his amusement. Of course...” She tapped the book. “Then the War of the Spirits happened.”

“The what?”

“Before the Avatar came, ponies tried to develop new magics. Why they did this, I cannot say. But they found ways to trap and bind spirits, absorbing and enslaving them to their will. This was said to grant the pony great power, as well as extend their life span. It apparently started small, but ended with a great war against the Spirit World, where hundreds of ponies invaded and absorbed thousands of spirits, binding and capturing them. This is one of the things we are... most certain of, as when the spirits still came to our village, they would sometimes talk of this war. It was why many spirits didn't trust ponies even long after the war.”

Diamond gasped, a hoof coming up to her mouth. “T-that's not... r-really? But... how? Why?”

“For power and immortality many ponies would give up much,” Sunset said, before shaking her head. “What happened to those ponies there are very few records of. We know the war happened, and that it ended, but the details we have little info of. The ruins my mother found state that they were defeated, but how or what happened to those spirits bound to them, I can't say. What I can say is that it was after this that things changed. It was then that Harmony created the first Avatar.”

“R-really?” Diamond asked softly.

Sunset nodded, before glancing to the alicorn. “Indeed. A young mare by the name of Nyx.”

Diamond froze and felt a soft tug at her heart. That name seemed to echo through her mind, tearing and scratching through her, as if it was a torn off band aid yanked through her body. But it felt good, as if something was there, just beneath the surface, waiting to come out. But it faded quickly. “W-wow. Who was she?”

Silver sat there, huddled and trying to control her breathing. That name had sent ripples through her as well, but they were not pleasant. A cold, dark feeling went through her. Hatred. Cold, unrelenting hatred. She tried to keep her face steady, to not show it, but she was forced to lift a hoof up to rub her forehead, hiding behind it.

“Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about her. The Avatar was given the elements and many other great powers by Harmony, but in doing so she weakened herself. It was then that Discord struck. He destroyed her, breaking her to pieces and absorbing her powers for himself. Were it not for the Avatar, the world may have been destroyed then. Instead, after those events the portals connecting the two worlds were closed, with only the one in the Forest of Spirits remaining. All of the spirits of the world were sent back to there. Discord was defeated, albeit not permanently, and locked away in that world.” She glanced down to the book. “After that, what happened is unknown but my mother had many theories. The Avatar was a guide and leader to the ponies, without the spirit of Harmony to watch over them anymore, fear and chaos likely spread. That is likely why the ponies abandoned the Badlands, heading to the south, away from their home, to settle new lands. Then as time went on, the four elements divided themselves and history forgot about Discord and these great battles. Leaving it poised and ready for his return over a hundred years ago.”

Diamond nodded. “I... I see.”

“Of course, my mother has mentioned she had found records of Discord, even before his return. Previous Avatars had encountered him, it seems. However, his true power and abilities seemed lost to them. It wasn't until Starswirl the Bearded that he finally made his move. Before then, he played himself as just another spirit.”

“Why did he wait so long?” Diamond asked softly.

“As I said, spirits don't age like we do. But they can be hurt. When Harmony was weakened, the two fought. Even though he destroyed her, I don't imagine it was an easy battle. After that, he was defeated by the Elements of Harmony and the first Avatar. There is no telling how long he was lying in wait, plotting and scheming.” She glanced down at the tome. “In fact... my mother believed that he had been lying in wait for Starswirl and his friends.”

“What do you mean?”

“Discord had met many other Avatars, according to records. But he had hidden his true power, appearing as little more than a powerful and benign, if chaotic, spirit. But he struck during Starswirl's era, where he was sealed in a comet. She believed he had been waiting for all these millennia to find an Element with a weakness. Someone he could shift and corrupt. He knew facing the Elements again was impossible, they'd beaten him once and it was quite possible he'd never fully recovered after his battle with Harmony. So he waited, seeing each new Avatar after a time, once the world had forgotten about him. Then he saw his opening and struck. He cast our world into chaos and torment, all in an effort to get his freedom and destroy the last vestiges of Harmony.”

Diamond sighed and lowered her eyes. “So... Twilight never discovered how to repair the Elements of Harmony, did she?”

“No, I'm afraid not,” Sunset said with a shake of her head. “Discord and Harmony are both gone, for good. My mother made sure of that. But that power is gone as well. There should never again be a need for it. She told me what happened, in that final battle. He had been imprisoned before, but she worked hard to destroy him for good, this time."

“And good riddance,” Rainbow muttered. “I barely even knew him, but that pony never did anything good. I really wish I could have given him a firm smack in the face.”

Sunset nodded. “Fortunately, he is gone and there will no longer be... well, there is at least one more known trace of him.” She glanced towards Diamond. “You've come here for the Alicorn Amulet, have you not?”

“Well, partially. It would be nice if we could find it.”

“I should warn you, the amulet is a tool of Discord AND Harmony. Created even before the Avatar existed. For what purpose, my mother could never discover. She had her theories, but they were just that. It is a powerful object that can be used by both pony and spirit, making them extremely powerful.”

“So, it's not just something to give a pony the power of the Avatar?” Diamond asked softly.

“No. Though it has been used to that effect. It... is quite possible that if you were able to get a hold of it, that it could amplify your power enough to restore your... well, connection. Maybe even return your elements.” Sunset then pointed towards the book. “I'll give you this to study. It has everything my mother wanted you, the next Avatar, to know. It should hopefully help you along your path.”

“Of course,” Diamond said before slowly stepping forward and picking up the book. “So you know a lot about... all this then? I mean, if Twilight taught you...”

“I probably know more about the Avatar than any pony alive,” Sunset said firmly. “My mother made sure of that. Perhaps sometime you and I can practice together and I can show you exactly what I'm capable of.”

“That'd be wonderful,” Diamond said with a grin.

“Now, that is just the legend of Discord to our people, there are others of course. Is there any questions you have?”

“Well... did she ever find the amulet? Because that could make things a lot easier if you know where it is, now.”

Sunset shook her head. “No. She had theories but... Trixie traveled through our lands, with the amulet. But she headed into the forest. My mother searched for her often, but never did manage to find her. The... last time I saw her, the last time any of us saw her, she was... going to try to find her again. If she did find her... I cannot say. But if you're here, that means whatever happened on that journey was...” She took a slow breath. “Likely more than she could handle. If you'll excuse me.” She briskly turned and headed towards the exit.

“W-wait,” Silver asked suddenly, making the other mare pause. “I uhhh... I actually do have one question, it's probably silly, but...”

“Yes?” Sunset asked, glancing back.

“The Avatar, well, if Twilight studied them, was there ever a case of like a... bad Avatar?”

Diamond cringed. “O-ow, I'm not that bad, am I?”

“No!” Silver said with a shake of her head. “I mean like, an Avatar that... went against the balance of the world. That didn't try to... well, you know. Just a bad pony.”

Sunset paused, before shaking her head. “No, not that I'm aware of. However, my mother did often state that many ponies who were the Avatar did die at very young ages, judging by how sometimes the cycles didn't match up right. It is very possible that one of them may have grown up to be bad ponies. However, she held to the theory that the Avatar was chosen because they were needed. That they embodied the spirit of Harmony, in one way or another, and would become protectors and guardians of the world due to their very nature.”

Silver nodded, before giving a grin to Diamond. “See? I told you. You're destined to be the hero.”

The alicorn blushed and poked at the ground. “O-oh. I guess. Just... y-yeah. I guess sometimes...” She then gulped when she realized everypony was eying her. “S-shush you!” She grabbed the book and headed towards the exit as well.

------

Daring hummed softly as she flipped through her journal, writing a little on the pages and occasionally giving a small yawn. She then gave a soft, sad sigh.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, making the mare jump and nearly drop her book.

“W-what? When? How long have you been there? I-it's just a diary, you didn't--” She paused, looking into the other pegasus' slashed eyes. “Ah. Right. You can't... yeah.”

“See? Nope. So, why are you up here writing? I figured you'd be trying to get to know Diamond now. You know, being the Avatar and all.”

Daring gave a soft sigh and flipped over her book, writing again. “Yeah... I guess. But hey, she's with Sunset now. She'll be able to deal with it.”

Rainbow sat down besides the other mare. “Uh huh. So... you're really Twilight's daughter? I mean... yeah. I never really thought she'd... you know...”

“What?”

“Procreate,” Rainbow said with a shudder. “Are you sure she didn't grow you in a vial or something?”

“Well... to be honest, I can't remember anything aside from when I woke up inside that big plant in the Spirit World. But mom promised me I was definitely her daughter and that I did have a dad. Totally didn't grow me or anything.”

Rainbow coughed into her hoof. “Sooo... you're smiling now, right? Cause I could reallllllly see Twilight doing that.”

Daring giggled and gave a nod. “Yeah, you can meet my dad later if you want. I'm her daughter, trust me.” She gave another sigh. “I'm not a bender though, if that's what you're hoping. Sunset's the only one with THAT particular honor,” she grumbled darkly.

“Really? Not even a bit of air bender in you?”

“Not even the tiniest bit. Sunset is the only one in the village who can bend and just...” She gave a sad sigh. “Did you need something?”

“Well, I just thought we could talk. Sunset seems pretty... well, focused at the moment. Besides, you were pretty awesome fighting off that big worm. And trust me, I KNOW awesome. Did Twilight teach you that?”

Daring snorted. “Pfft. No. Not a bender, mom never taught me any of those kinds of moves.” She glanced over to the pegasus. “It's a really, really small village. There's not a whole lot to do here, so from time to time I go... exploring. First time I met one of those worms, nearly got eaten. I picked up a few things.”

“Oh? How'd you pick out that trick?”

“Oh, it's a pretty funny story. Dad always made me these sandwiches whenever I went around, one day I was just eating in a nice field. Next thing I know, BAM! The tatzlwurm attacks!” She flew up into the air, lifting her hooves high. “I, of course, flew out of range quickly, but my lunch wasn't so lucky. It got my lunch all over its face! Here I am, glaring down at it and ready to beat it down, then it starts sneezing and coughing. You should have seen it, it was hilarious. I started working on it then, after a few weeks I got the brew down. Haven't had any problems since.”

Rainbow snickered. “Really? Wish I could have seen that. Well, or seen much of anything, honestly. How long ago was that?”

“Oh, a long, long time ago. I was just a filly, then.”

That made the pegasus freeze. “Wait, Twilight let you go out into the badlands when you were a filly?”

Daring shook her head. “Nah. But she really never noticed what I did. Besides, I was always a strong flier, so I never met anything I couldn't handle. Dad would have freaked out, though. But I always told him I was just out in the clouds.”

“That was very dangerous,” Rainbow said, scolding the mare. “This place is... freaky. It's like Discord is everywhere.”

“So? I've lived here my whole life,” Daring said before landing on the cloud. “Trust me, it would have been a lot more dangerous for me if I had to lay cooped up in the village all the time. Besides, trust me. It's really not THAT dangerous. You just have to be careful, then you're fine.”

“Our air ship was destroyed.”

“Yeah, your big, clumsy, awkward air ship. Of course it was wrecked. But I'm fast, agile and awesome.” A wide grin formed on Daring's face. “You know, I've even been to the Spirit World a few times.”

Rainbow froze. “Wait... you have? When? How?”

“The portal, silly. Don't tell anypony, though. Even Sunset doesn't go there, ever since mom... well, you know. But I go in there all the time. You know those little pictures of the generals in mom's book? I've met one of them. The guide.”

Rainbow froze. “Wait... really? You have?”

“Oh yeah. His real name is Ahuizotl.”

“Achoitle?”

“Ahuizotl. Though I call him sneezy. He really, really, really hates ponies. I mean, like wow. First time I met him, he tried to toss me into this river of slime,” she said with a big snicker. “I meet him every so often, but he's never been able to catch me. He's still pretty fun, though.”

Rainbow snickered. “You know, you should talk with the Avatar about this kind of stuff. I bet she'd find it fascinating.”

Daring blinked, then gave a sigh and shook her head. “Yeah... no thanks. Trust me, she's got Sunset, she's better off.”

“What? Why?”

“Sunset has... been to the Spirit World too. But mom took her. Buck, mom took her everywhere. Trained her to guide and help the next Avatar out when the time came.” She held up a hoof. “Besides, I can't even do any of that fancy bending stuff.”

“So? Lots of ponies can't bend.”

“Yeah, but you can. I know you can, mom always talked about you. Said you and Applejack were the toughest in their team. Well... and Fluttershy. Is it true that she once stared down a dragon?”

Rainbow blinked, before nodding. “Oh yeah. It was awesome. I ran up, bucked the Great Dragon right in the face. It barely even flinched, aside from getting mad. Then BOOM! Fluttershy is right there in its face, glaring at it, telling it to knock that stuff off. You should have seen it, I'd never seen anything so big and tough try to look apologetic,” she said with a big grin. “But... Fluttershy was like that. She was... always like that. She was kind of... weak. A lot. Scared. Buck, I once saw her hide from her own shadow. But when the time came... when she needed to act, when she had to fight, she would be there right besides the rest of us.”

“She died, didn't she?”

The air bender froze at the sudden question. She then took a deep breath before nodding. “Yeah. I... wasn't there for it. But... I could feel it. It was like... well...”

“Like the world suddenly became a sadder, less kind place,” Daring muttered. “Mom... knew.”

“She knew? But she never--”

“She said she could feel it. It was... before she left. Just one day she... said she could feel it. Something was wrong. She was... she hid away a lot that week. That's when she started that book. The one your Avatar has by now. After that she...”

“What?”

“That's when she started really looking for Trixie. Before that she'd done a little bit of looking. But I think she settled here. I think she was happy. She had a family, she had the bender she always wanted. She always used to talk about taking us to meet the rest of her friends when we grew up. But... all that stopped once that happened. She'd disappear for days at a time. She wouldn't take Sunset with her any more. Then one day... she just never came back. We waited but... we knew. We always knew it could happen but...” She took another soft, deep breath. “It sucked, you know? I mean, we knew, but we never really knew. Not until... well... now. I always... kind of hoped I'd find her out there. That I'd one day turn over a leaf and there she'd be, maybe hurt, but alive. But... yeah, I guess that's not going to happen.”

Rainbow nodded, before slowly her wing reached out and went over Daring's back. “Yeah. I... know that feeling. But... hey, I mean, you're still awesome, right? And I know Diamond may not seem like much and she flies like a drunk brick with a parachute, but she's not half bad. I'm sure your mom would be proud of you if she had stuck around..”

Daring chuckled softly.

“So, you've been to the Spirit World? What's it like? How was it your first time?”

That made the pegasus perk up. “Ohhhh, I could tell you stories.” She held up her book. “In fact, I've kept whole journals of them. I always kept them in case... well, in case mom ever came back. She always like to read more than talk. First time though? Almost got eaten by this weird plant, the size of a building. Slow, too. It was like stepping on glue, while I was on it. But fortunately, we were in the forest and I had my hat. So I...”

------

When night fell, Silver stood by the crates, slowly unpacking supplies and checking to make sure the jars were still there. The crack on the one housing the fire mark had gotten larger. She stared at it wistfully for a moment, her eyes getting watery. She then shook her head. “Embodied the spirit of Harmony, huh? Fine then.” She stared intently at the fire mark. “If this is our destiny, at least I'll make sure I win. If the last Avatar wanted Diamond to have that book so bad, then I guess I want to make sure she doesn't.”

She looked around to make sure there was nopony around, though fortunately most were still asleep and the rest were in their tents and homes. Slowly, she pulled the top off the jar, making the cutie mark inside sizzle.

Comments

[Jeweled Pen]

7065690 Thanks! Happy you're liking it. Sadly, Blaze doesn't have too big a part in this book, yet. I have plans, of course, but the plans must be followed!
7067920 I have a lot of connections planned, but most will likely take place in book 3.
7074319 *Button makes squeak noise.*
7075332 Diamond could piss ponies off just by breathing. Also *Button makes second squeak noise.*
7080913 I promise nothing.
7085751 Oh, Button will be Button, that's all I can say.
7088518 Button does have the... most interesting luck.
7103431 I regret nothing. Nopony may know Secretary's name. For if they did, it would destroy the universe. Dun dun duuuuun.
7116125 The true legacy of the Avatar. Air ship repair bills.
7120817 Eh, it makes sense. In order to read and fully grasp this story there are FIVE whole books leading up to it. Some of which are pretty bucking long. By the end, there will be 7-8 books for people to catch up on, just to read new chapters in this one story. It is the problem with writing such a long spanning story. It doesn't help that, frankly, the story was never that popular to begin with so now any new readers have to go 'well, this premise looks fun, I guess I'll read the first five books just to see how it turns out'. By the end, I'll be amazed if I ever break 20 thumbs up on the last book. But honestly? The few readers I have on this story do make it worth while. And I've made a few pretty good friends off it, too, so I can never regret it.

Okay, sorry for the delay, everyone. I normally try to post quickly and respond but... well, I've been a tiny bit exhausted and regularly burnt out, so doing anything past my required writing each day has just been... blehs. I'll try to keep up better this time and I hope you're enjoying the series.

[RBronyReader446]

Ha Nyx does make an appearance. Looks like Pinkie got here wish, she just missed it