Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 2: Discord

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 17: Rusty bolts

Silver stared at the pages before her, shaking while she held the book open. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she read over Twilight's message for the Avatar. The message about Trixie.

'Avatar, I will try to find Trixie and recover the Alicorn Amulet. I know she's in the Spirit World, hiding. I don't know where, yet, but I've found signs of her. So many signs. If I fail, I'm sorry. I really want to do this, to give you something to face the world with.

The Elements are gone and it's my fault, I know it's my fault. I should have suspected Discord had something up his sleeve, he always did. He could have stopped us. So many times he could have stopped us. But he didn't. He let us continue, let us keep going. And like a foal, I walked right into his trap. He was a monster like no other, and I don't regret what I did. He had to be stopped, permanently. If I could have stripped him of his powers, I may have done that. But I couldn't. I had to destroy him, I had to end his reign, so he could never rise again.

Trixie isn't that powerful. Not only that, I think she can still be saved. She has been closer to Discord than any pony I know. His corruption probably traveled through her for... so many years. For all we know, he infected her like he had Nightmare Moon. He hurt her, just like he hurt everypony else.

I hope I can help her. I can heal her. But... if it comes down to it, I'll do what has to be done. I'll kill her if I have to, just like I did to Discord. Because I am the Avatar, and this is what I have to do. Never forget that. We are of the world. It is our job to protect it. To save it. There will be times where you'll fight things, horrible monsters. Possibly even fragments of Discord himself. When the time comes, you'll have to strike. You'll have to kill and choke that part of yourself that says to show mercy, to show forgiveness. It hurts me to say this, but I've seen his power, the destruction it can cause. Worse than anything, you'll have to accept that not everypony can be saved. Just as in every nation there are good ponies, even amongst your enemies, there are still bad ones who have to be stopped by any means.

You are the Avatar. When the time comes, you must act. Even if it hurts.'

Silver closed the book and wiped the tears off her face. “You killed Trixie too, didn't you?” she asked the book softly. “You... were right. We are horrible monsters. But... Diamond won't strike. I won't let her. I'll be stronger.” The book disappeared. “I'll win. Discord and Trixie failed, but I won't. If... if I have to be the bad pony, then I will be the ruler. And I won't let anypony stop me.”

------

Diamond nodded as she listened intently to Sunset. “So... Twilight really said that?”

“Yes,” Sunset said before taking a sip of her drink. “She denied it, but I do believe she was still... quite upset about her fight with Discord. She never wanted to have to kill anything. Or anypony. She said she and her friends had killed many, but she never took pride in it. Were Discord not so powerful, she likely would have spared him. But she knew at the time, if she spared him, she doomed the world. The power she had then may have only worked once, she couldn't risk giving him a second chance. Not after all the destruction he'd already caused.”

She nodded. “Really? I always imagined... well, she was so powerful. So... tough. I figured she'd barely bat an eye at killing a pony.”

The unicorn snickered. “Oh, as if. My mother felt guilty about killing anything aside from book worms. Those she could with fire. But even bugs she'd usually just catch and toss outside. She... well, she always told me before her journey, when she'd been training, they'd always been taught that life was precious and she believed that. Fire is life, after all.” She held up a hoof, the flames forming on it. Diamond cringed. “Oh, relax. Our practice is done, I'm not going to light you up again.”

“R-right, sorry. It's life?”

“Of course. From the ashes of death, new life will spring up. Mother... always told us, what happens, happens for a reason. For every life lost, a new one should be made. While it may seem horrible, sometimes one life must be taken to save thousands, even millions. But that never made it easy for her. It sometimes even made her hesitate. Tell me, have you ever taken a life?”

“No. I don't think I'd want to, though. I... never really thought about it.”

“It's not something most ponies want to think about. Well, I imagine some ponies would enjoy it, even revel in it. But I doubt they'd have become the Avatar. But, as my mother said, it is only something you should do if you must. To save the world, strike them down if you have to. But... if you're strong enough, you won't need to.”

Diamond nodded, staring at her lunch, a nice bowl of soup. “I... don't know. What if one day I had to do something like... fight one of my friends? Or... kill one of them? What if something like... that happened?”

Sunset snickered into her hoof. “Oh, don't be preposterous. They are your friends, why would you ever need to do something like that? My mother's warnings were only about threats. TRUE threats to the world. Ponies who wished to destroy it. Could you imagine any of them doing that?”

The alicorn blinked, and then giggled. “Well, I could see Button doing it accidentally. But no, you're right. I worry too much. Did your mom ever do that?”

“Allll the time. In fact, for a while she tried doing this... weekly lesson thing with me and Daring. Every week she'd try to teach us something new. One week she forgot, spent the whole day fretting and worrying that she had no life lesson, nearly burned the village down in a panic. Ironically, taught us a lesson about schedules being fine, but don't chain yourselves to them,” she said with a smirk. “Mom was... great at what she did. When she really set herself to something, she'd be amazing at it. She'd worry a bit too much about failing, have a few panic attacks, but always come through in the end.”

“Yeah,” Diamond said before taking a small sip of her soup. “I'm starting to see that. I mean... everypony I've talked to who has met her, talks about how amazing she was. How great. How...” She sighed. “You know, I'm starting to wonder if I'll measure up.”

“Oh, you won't,” Sunset said with a shrug. “Mom was amazing, but that was because she had to grow into it. She had to stop a world spanning war, free her ponies from imprisonment, re-raise the sun and a moon and then, after all that, defeat one of the greatest forces in the history of the world. I mean... what did you have to do? Fight some pony who had a fancy stick?”

“There... there was a bit more to it than that,” she said softly.

“My point is, my mom had to rise to a world ending circumstance. You, on the other hoof, don't. You're lucky, life should be a lot easier for you, accordingly. Don't worry about it, don't get upset. Enjoy it. You'll have to face some challenges, but nothing like she did. There's no great evil waiting to destroy the nations, everypony has had their fill of war for now. You'll probably have to deal with a few crazies here and there, but that's it. So... enjoy yourself. Be thankful you have it easy.”

Diamond nodded, glancing to her soup. “I... guess I never really thought about it like that.” She chuckled. “Maybe... you know, maybe it's just my job to find the Alicorn Amulet, so the cycle can be fixed. Or... as near fixed as it can be.”

“You'll have to travel into the Forest of Spirits to do that.”

“Then that's where I'll go. Once I'm prepared and we're all ready. I want to make sure we're settled and there's no more need to fix things, before I do. I'd also like to see if we can get some kind of connection back home.”

“Your radios are still not working?”

“Our main one was destroyed,” Diamond said with a sigh. “The backups aren't working in the slightest. Rainbow and Prism tried taking them out, but even outside the... whatever field this place has, didn't help. They still won't work.”

“The Badlands are a strange place. I'm hardly surprised none of your stuff works,” Sunset said before glancing towards the camp. “It's been almost a week since you've arrived, how has... everypony been handling our home”

“For the most part, good. I mean... well, good. Alicity is working on something to try and get some of us back home. I mean, we've found what we came for. Sorta. Without a ship, we don't need most of the crew. I know a lot of them would probably be happy to get back to their families.”

“Some of us could escort them home. It might be dangerous, but they'd have a decent shot.”

“If we're going to do that, we're going all at once.”

“Then you'd best prepare for the long haul. This... world is not safe. This area, in fact, is the only place that truly is.”

Diamond nodded, then looked up. “I've been meaning to ask about that. I noticed, well... the weather here. It's always so... nice and sunny. Comfortable, even. Why? It's nothing like the rest of the Badlands.”

“I believe it is the Forest of Spirits. Whatever it is that keeps us hidden, it also keeps the area safe and hospitable. In fact, your group is the largest group we've had arrive in... likely a few hundred years.”

“Really? What about pirates?”

“Those are few and far between. I don't think a full ship has ever come over the boundaries into the village itself. We've had a few who got lost and found their way in, but... unless you live here, this place can be hard to find. Impossible even. Some of the pirates stay, others leave and never return and some try to bring their brethren here and fail miserably.”

“You said you're the guardian, what exactly do you guard, then?”

Sunset sighed and lowered her eyes. “Nothing, to be honest. Mother... always had plans for me. For us. When she recovered the Alicorn Amulet, she wanted to take me with her to the Fire Tribe lands and re-establish contact with the outside world. She felt we were... too isolated here. The village doesn't really need either of us, despite what they may say. But then she disappeared and there was nothing left to be done. Daring and I were stuck here.”

Diamond nodded. “When we go, do you want to come with us? I'm sure the Fire Tribes would be happy to have you. I hear Twilight is kind of a hero to them. For obvious reasons. Not to mention you could meet an actual dragon.”

The unicorn chuckled. “Mom talked about dragons all the time. Especially... one in particular. A... Spike, I believe?”

“He is huge!”

“Really? She told us he was only about the size of a large melon.”

Diamond snickered. “Well, if he was, he grew up fast. He is... well, one of the biggest I've ever seen. And his hide glimmers like jewels. It's pretty amazing to see.”

“I'd like to see that,” Sunset said. “I also need to help you on your training. Mother always wanted me to take care of that.”

The alicorn sighed. “Yeah, I know. But I already have teachers, they--”

“Then they have failed. Your form is sloppy.”

Diamond blanched. “I-it's not--”

“It is atrocious. You left a dozen weaknesses across your form. You fail to mix any of the other elements together, in fact in all bending you act just short of a novice fire bender. You are an earth bender by nature, correct? You know earth, water and air bending, yet your defenses are atrocious. You don't know how to properly block, dodge OR parry. Frankly, I am a little ashamed to even call you a bender. Even by fire bending standards you are far, far too aggressive.”

“T-the best defense is a good offense, it--”

“That is a stupid saying. The best defense is a good defense. If you're too offensive and you miss, you'll be crushed. Being able to attack is good, but if you can't defend yourself, all you'll do is get yourself and others around you hurt.”

Diamond sighed and lowered her eyes. “I... I guess I could use a bit more... training. I'm mostly just out of practice. I mean, I only just got fire bending back, so I--”

“And you favor it over the other elements, even when you're using the others. You are the Avatar. You have the unique ability to use ALL the elements, something nopony else can claim. You can develop styles and techniques nopony else can even begin to try. Yet you fight like a sloppy fire bender.”

Diamond grumbled and nudged her plate around. As much as she hated the words, she hadn't managed to land a hoof on the other mare, so she knew there was at least a little truth to her words. “Fine then. What would... your mother have had me do?”

“That much is simple. We will practice. You will learn.”

The alicorn gave an exasperated sigh.

------

“Ah ha! It is perfect!” Alicity yelled, lifting a hoof to the air. He stared down at the emergency craft, one of the few they had left, before patting the small glowing box he had attached to it. Secretary stood a good five feet away, ready to shield them in the event it exploded.

Silver was there almost instantly. “Daddy, what are you doing to the ships? I told you not to break anything, you promised me!”

He nodded. “Of course! And I haven't broken anything! Well, I haven't broken the ships!” He pushed the button on the box. “In fact, I have improved it!” It began to hum ominously. “It'll take a moment to charge up.”

Silver backed up nervously. “I... see. Improved it how, exactly?”

“Well, on the way here we got hit by how many lightning bolts? Far, far too many!” He said before tapping the box a few more times. “But what are they? Energy! Remember my generators back home?”

Silver sighed. “Yeah, the ones you used to charge those special batteries? It was a failed invention, daddy. While... lightning isn't a bad energy source, magical batteries are far more easier to charge, any unicorn can power them.”

“Yes, yes. Buuuuut--” A purple bubble formed around them. “If we combine the two, we can do this!”

Silver blinked and reached out, but her hoof went right through the bubble. “What... is this?”

“A magical barrier! Now, it won't protect against solid things, but lightning? Oh yes, it protects against that just fine! In fact, it'll absorb the power of a lightning strike to keep itself charged! Even better, the majority of the charge, once it's been hit once, will be supplied by the lightning itself, with only a fragment of it coming from the mana gem, or even a novice unicorn.”

Silver stared at it nervously. “I... don't know. That seems... kind of dangerous.”

“Bah, it'll be fine! Now, just to test it.” He jumped into the cockpit. “Come, we--”

“No no no no!” Silver yelled, shaking her head. “Daddy, you are NOT taking that out there, buck no! If that thing fails, you'd be killed!”

“It won't fail, it--”

“I said no!” She sighed. “Let's... go ask Celestia if she'll fling lightning at it, or something. That'll be a test AND you won't need anypony to be inside the thing in case it explodes.”

He frowned, but slowly nodded. “I... suppose that will work.”

“I'll go get her,” the earth pony said, before glancing back to Secretary. “Don't let him go anywhere, okay?”

“Of course,” the mare said, before turning to the doctor. Once the other mare was gone, she sighed. “You didn't tell her about your cannons, either.”

“Bah, those are just to help discharge the excess energy from a lightning bolt,” he said before frowning. “Though I'd better make sure they are ready. Besides, they aren't REALLY guns.”

“And you made them shoot magical blasts just because that's the most beneficial way to release the excess energy then, sir?” she said flatly.

Alicity coughed. “Well, once these barriers are complete, it will take the air ship world by storm. No longer will ponies need to have crude lightning rods. In fact, if I'm correct, it will protect against magical energy itself. Everypony will want them for their ships. Combine the cannons and the shields and you'll have vessels that can't even harm each other. A perfect combination.”

“Mmmm hmm,” Secretary muttered, taking a few notes.

Silver galloped back, panting heavily. “S-she's... on her... way... don't you... dare try... to leave.”

“Of course not, darling, I made a promise,” Alicity said with a nod, before hopping off the ship and trotting out of the barrier. “Fantastic though, isn't it? With such a thing, we may finally be able to tame these wild lands.”

“Knowing our luck, we just won't hit any lightning storms anymore, just hail,” Secretary muttered.

“Is this the device?” Celestia asked as she lightly trotted up, an eye cocked. “Such a fascinating barrier. And you wish me to strike it with lightning?”

“As hard as you can!” Alicity said with a nod.

Celestia glanced to Silver, who nodded. She shrugged before pulling her head back, slowly spinning it in a tight circle until lightning crackled from the tip of her horn. She then shot it forward. The lightning hit the barrier and for a moment the color began to fade. Then it went a dark purple, the lightning sparking off the barrier.

“It works! Marvelous!” Alicity yelled.

Then a loud hum filled the air.

“Oh buck.”

A ball of purple energy shot out of the side of the ship, crashing through two of the other emergency vessels and turning them to scrap wood. The ponies just stared.

“S-spectacular!” Alicity said softly, before turning to Celestia. “Amazing! Truly, truly amazing. You must be a very powerful bender!”

“D-daddy,” Silver said softly.

“I mean, to overcharge the shields so much that the energy release was THAT powerful!”

“Daddy.”

“Just imagine what a REAL lightning bolt could do! I'll need to work on the containment a bit more, though. Larger batteries to store it, but--”

“DADDY!” Silver screamed, cutting the stallion off.

“Errr... yes, darling?”

“YOU DESTROYED TWO OF OUR SHIPS!”

“W-well, I errr... it was for a good cause!”

“WE NEEDED THOSE SHIPS!”

“But think about it! Once I get these shields fully prepared, we'll be able to travel home without fear!”

“WITH TWO LESS SHIPS!”

“Well, the first voyage will be... smaller, but we can get more ships! A-and, err...”

“What the BUCK WAS THAT THING?!”

“The uhhh... emergency... charge release...”

“It looked like a cannon!”

“It... well, was the most efficient way to release the energy... and... and it has practical uses...”

Silver narrowed her eyes to slits. “Like... what?”

“W-well, with these new vessels, we can, errr, with the cannons... errr...”

“Pirates,” Secretary offered.

“Right! We can use them to help fend off pirates! Yes! I can create some kind of... power storage unit, to store the energy. And, err, then discharge it in the event of a pirate attack. I mean, one good shot of that would deter even the most... errr... violent of... criminals,” he said with a squeak, cowering from his daughter's gaze.

Silver glowered at him, eyes narrowed to slits. But, finally, she shook her head and pulled back. “Fine. You know what? That's okay. Just... no more exploding the other ships. AIM that thing properly.” She glanced to the ship. “What would have happened if the emergency release hadn't worked?”

“Well, it would have exploded, likely taking us with it judging by the destructive force the cannons unleashed.” His daughter glared. “I-I mean the emergency release unleashed.”

The earth pony sighed, but gave a nod. “Fine, fine. Do what you want. I... actually, I don't trust you. Secretary? Please keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't blow up any MORE of our ships?”

“Of course,” Secretary said as she watched the other mare walk off. She then turned towards Alicity. “I thought you said you had the emergency release aimed towards the sky?”

“It seems it still requires a bit of fine tuning. I'll--”

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” Celestia finally shrieked, before running towards the ship and jumping into it. “How do you do it? Can I try again? Mom is going to flip when she finds out about this! Alicity, we'll take a dozen, no, buck that, I'LL take a dozen! The Water Nation will probably take a few, too. So, how does it work?”

Alicity blinked, before grinning wide. “Of course! I'll explain everything!”

------

“I... really thought I had you this time,” Daring muttered from her position on the ground, her entire body numb and paralyzed.

Ironwing shook his head, though his own wings were laying limp on his sides and his front right hoof was twitching. “You've improved dramatically in the last week, I'll give you that. You seem to have a natural talent, even. But talent is not enough. You're far too cocky. When you got my wings, you thought you had me beat and it made you careless, reckless. You should have pulled back, used your extra maneuverability to put me at a disadvantage.” He paused. “Though... still, not bad for a rookie. I wish I had more students like you,” he said before sitting down. “You've managed to learn most the of key points already. In a few months, you'll be a true terror on the battlefield. You'll need a better teacher then, too.”

Daring nodded before, slowly, getting to her hooves. Feeling was slowly returning and she could already feel parts of her body coming under control, albeit with difficulty. “T-thanks. It's not as hard as I thought it'd be, though. It's pretty fun!”

“It seems you have your mothers ability to learn, at least,” Ironwing said with a nod. “I... am impressed at how flexible and agile you are, though.”

“Spend your life dodging pirates and tatzlewurms and you'll be pretty quick, too,” she said with a chuckle. “Wanna go get a drink?”

Ironwing gave a nod. “You know what? That sounds kind of nice. Wanna lean on me?”

“Hah! No, I'm not THAT helpless,” she said with a snicker before lightly walking behind him, with a heavy limp. Slowly they made their way towards the village.

When they passed a small house, she caught sight of Button chatting it up with Luna. Their eyes met and they shared a small nod. She moved forward, onto his left side. “So uhhh... did you know my mother well?”

“No. Honestly, she left before I was even born. My mother spoke of her often, though.”

“Mmmm, that's cool. You know... you really are a good teacher.”

“Thanks.”

“But... well...” When they passed a house, she gave him a firm shove. He let out a yelp, toppling in. “Sorry!” She slammed the door shut and stepped back, moments before Button jumped forward, hitting the ground. Stone rose up and covered the whole building, even the roof.

Ironwing groaned and got to his hooves, before glaring back. “What the bu--”

“You!” Prism snapped.

Ironwing turned back and saw Rainbow and Prism sitting at a table with drinks. “You...” Ironwing said back.

“Yes, yes, you, you and me, that's nice,” Rainbow said before taking a drink. “So! It's time to work this out.”

“Mom? What's the meaning of this? You said you just wanted to chat!”

“I do. Well, I want you two to chat. And we're settling this, now.”

“We've already settled it,” Prism snapped. “Ironwing can go--”

“ENOUGH!” Rainbow roared, slamming her cup down and making them both jump. “I have had it up to HERE with you two! Seriously, what is this about? You two used to be thick as thieves, now you're like... oh my gosh. If Discord was still around, I'd think the two of you got discorded or something.”

“I've had enough with this,” Ironwing said, before kicking the door.

“There's only two ways out of here. You two make up, or you two manage to beat me,” Rainbow said before picking up her glass and taking another drink. “So what's it going to be? Talking, or getting your flank beat by an old blind mare?”

Ironwing grumbled, but slowly came and sat at the table.

“Good, so you're at least smart enough to not try fighting me. You know, if you two could work together like the old days, you might even have a shot. A small shot, but one none the less,” the mare said with a snicker before pouring him a glass. “Now drink up, it's good apple juice.”

Ironwing sighed and picked his up, taking a drink and then choking. “T-that's n-not apples.”

“Yeah, they just have cucumber juice. Tastes nasty, but what can you do?” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Just pretend it's apple juice and talk it up.”

Neither of them said a word.

“Do it or I'll make you two KISS and make up.”

Both of them paled. Prism sighed. “He... screwed up and--”

“Yeah, no, we're not doing that again,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head. “I know you two. There's a lot more to this than just thinking the other messed up. Shining Blash was my student, my responsibility. Buck, she is the only other mare who can do the sonic rainboom, do either of you really believe you would have had even the slightest chance against her?”

“If the Wonderbolts had let us know what she was capable of,” Ironwing mumbled softly. “Maybe--”

“No, you couldn't have,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head. “Ironwing, I told you already, you were young. Well, younger. There was literally NOTHING you could have done. The Shadowbolts just weren't built for such a thing. She would have taken you down like flies. None of you should have even been involved.” She then glanced to Prism. “Prism, look me in the eyes.”

“Mom--”

“Do it.”

He sighed and did. It always made him cringe as he stared into those empty, white voids, the pupils so faded and cut they were almost non-existent. “There. I'm doing it.”

“Now, tell me. Do you really think the Shadowbolts could have done anything? You trained with Shining. You knew what she was capable of. Buck, she was almost like a daug--” She choked on those words. “She... was very important to me. As powerful as she was, do you really think she could have been stopped by them?”

“Maybe if they had acted--”

“Do you. Think. They could have. Stopped. Her?”

“... No,” Prism said softly, lowering his eyes.

“Do you think they would have even slowed her down?”

“No.”

Ironwing cringed. “But you said--”

“I know what I said!” Prism said, closing his eyes. “I had just lost my dad and my mother, been betrayed by a pony I saw as a friend, lost so many others, okay? I was hurt, I was angry and I just... I lashed out at you. I needed somepony to blame and you were... you were just there. I'm sorry, okay?” He grabbed his drink and downed it, cringing. “Buck, mom. Why do you always have to be so... so...”

“A bitch?” Rainbow asked with a shrug. “It's that hard headed side of me. Now, Ironwing. You well... you never really met Shining before then. I'm sure you heard about her, but you still didn't have any idea what she was capable of. The Shadowbolts got involved, and I am sorry about that. But if anypony is to blame, it's me. I was the one who tried to take this myself. I got the team together. More importantly... when it came down to it, I hesitated. I had her beat, if I had just... ended it there, none of this would have happened. Nopony would have died. I did that, not Prism.”

“Lady Rainbow,” Ironwing said softly. “You cared for her, it--”

“So? I made mistakes. Other... ponies paid the price for it,” she said softly. “Innocent ponies. I was the one who saw her potential. I was the one who pushed her again and again to be the strongest, to be the fastest. I fed her ego, I ignored the signs of her getting... too cocky. Of believing she was too good. Me. If I had used a bit more... control. If I had taught her better, none of this would have happened. But I didn't. If Prism had been there, I would have lost another kid that day and... I don't know if I could have handled that. Do you really believe a pony who did THAT to me, would have lost to Prism? Especially how he was back then?”

Slowly Ironwing shook his head.

“Then why do you blame him?”

Ironwing lowered his eyes and buried his head in his hooves. “I just... I was...”

“Ironwing, answer the question,” Rainbow said softly.

“I... I was hurt then. I... tried to help. Each and every pony who I sent out there, who I told to go after her, their blood is on my hooves. I... was foalish. I thought the Wonderbolts had just bucked up, that she was just another bender gone bad. I thought... a large team would be enough. I thought if they were careful, they...” He took a slow, deep breath. “You... know what a sonic rainboom does to ponies when they're that close to it? When it... unleashes on them? I saw it. I had to look at each and every one of those ponies as they laid there on the ground. I had to go to their families and... and tell them what happened. How my mistake had cost them their lives. If I had just... If I hadn't sent them, if I'd gone myself I...” He shuddered. “When... when I came to you then, Prism, I wasn't... I wasn't trying to get... I wasn't trying to cheer you up. I didn't even know about Rainbow then. I... I wanted you to help me. I couldn't take it. I wanted to leave the Shadowbolts, to give command to somepony better... more...” The tears welled up in his eyes. “But then... when you blamed me I just... I...”

Prism stared, the tears in his eyes starting to fall. “I... I didn't know... I thought... I thought you...”

“O-of course you didn't,” Ironwing whispered softly. “When you... when you just... I just--”

“And that's why you don't lash out at each other when you're hurting. Now, hug you two,” Rainbow said. They both glared at her. “Do it, or I will follow through on my kissing threat.”

Slowly, the two got to their hooves and hugged, before quickly pulling apart and looking off to the side. Prism took a slow, deep breath. “I... I'm sorry, Ironwing. I didn't... I never even thought about how you felt. When they'd... How much you were... hurting over... I just thought...” He shook his head.

“Really, you two should have blamed me if you were going to blame anypony,” Rainbow muttered. “We all know it was my fault. I mean, buck, she was my student. Can't get much more responsible for what happened.” She got to her hooves and trotted to the door. “I... think you two have a lot to talk about and you don't need some old mare looming over you. But you're not getting out for a while, so try to actually talk it out and see where you can go from here. You don't have to be friends, but you DO have to be able to tolerate each other. Friendship comes after,” she said before knocking on the door. “Go ahead, let me out!” she called out.

The door opened and Rainbow stepped out, moments before closing it herself. “Okay, lock it back up. I fully intend for them to be in there for a while, like it or not. So, Daring, Button, thanks for the help.”

“Any time, Miss Rainbow!” Button said with a salute.

“Yeah. It uhhh... well, it was good training. I'd been watching him for a while, found the perfect way to get under his guard,” Daring said with a smirk. “So, what now?”

“Now? They try and see if there's any fuel left in that friendship of theirs. If they're lucky, things can go back to normal. Or, at least, close to it. Time has passed, they're different ponies now. But... well, friendship isn't something you should just let die.” She gave a soft sigh. “Wanna practice against me for a bit? I'll go easy on you,” she said with a teasing tone.

“You're on,” Daring said with a smirk. “Just a warning, I am a lot tougher!”

“Oh please, I could take your teacher with one hoof behind my back,” she said with a snicker before trotting off towards the field.

Comments

[Rhanoa]

Silver closed the book and wiped the tears off her face. “You killed Trixie too, didn't you?” she asked the book softly. “You... were right. We are horrible monsters. But... Diamond won't strike. I won't let her. I'll be stronger.”

But the Avatar gets her ass kicked by almost every one. If I was Silver, I be more worried by the others, like Sunset of Rainbow.

I'd like to see that,” Sunset said. “I also need to help you on your training. Mother always wanted me to take care of that.”

And the group keeps growing. That is a lot of characters.

That is a stupid saying. The best defense is a good defense. If you're too offensive and you miss, you'll be crushed.

Sunset actually made a good point.

Silver galloped back, panting heavily. “S-she's... on her... way... don't you... dare try... to leave.”

Awwwwww, that was cute, even evil mastermind cares deeply about her daddy.