Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 3: Tirek

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 16: Message

Vinyl slowly bounced a little rubber ball up and down, occasionally tossing it against the wall so it bounced back to her. Octavia glared at her. “Do you mind?”

“Not really, it's a lot of fun. Wanna try?” Vinyl asked with a snarky grin.

Octavia rolled her eyes before stomping a hoof. The ground under the unicorn shot up, shooting her into the air with a shriek. She flailed wildly for a few moments before landing on her stomach, her ball bouncing off. She laid there with little swirls for eyes. “I... guess that's a no.”

“Truly you are the mistress of subtlety,” the earth pony said sarcastically. She tapped the ground and her ears perked up. “They're here.”

Vinyl got to her hooves and tried to look as dignified as she could, though the smile never left her lips. After a few moments Tittering and Copper trotted in.

“So, then I said 'Oatmeal, are you crazy?'” Tittering said with a chuckle.

Copper just stared blankly at her, slowly blinking. “Charming.”

“I know! To be honest, though, I think she was onto something. Now, if we'd used banana cream pudding? It would have been guaranteed to work! You know what they say about--” Tittering froze when she realized Octavia and Vinyl were watching. “Oh! Err, right, sorry. Heh heh. Councilmare Octavia, Councilmare Vinyl, a pleasure to see you two.” She bowed politely and a moment later Copper did the same.

“Hey, I kinda wanted to know where that was going,” Vinyl said before she trotted up besides Octavia, who elbowed her in the side. “Ouch! Right, okay, business first. Pudding after.” She took a deep breath. “So! We've invited the two of you here for a very important reason. As leaders of the Moon Raisers and metal benders, I'm sure you're beginning to understand the responsibilities we've held over the years.”

“Quite,” Copper said flatly.

“Ohhhh, it's totally awesome. I haven't had fun like this in sooooo long,” Tittering said with a light chuckle. “You literally have NO idea.”

“Of course,” Octavia said with a nod. “But there are other duties that we've... failed to inform you about. You were both quite young when you first came to us--” Tittering snorted at that. “But you were both quite talented in your fields and we were very happy to discover you were both more than up to the task. The last few months especially have been... hectic. What with Meadowbrook, the return of the Avatar, just about everything. And you both have risen to the occasion. Copper, you handled taking over most of the city's defenses during the attack quite admirably and Tittering, I've heard nothing but good things from you after the Moon Raisers were forced to retreat to the Water Nation. So we're decided that it is time.” She took a slow, deep breath. “Have you two ever heard of the Yellow Daisy?”

“No,” Copper said with a shake of her head.

“Oh yeah, the totally secret organization that just about everypony has heard about? Here and there,” Tittering said with a light snicker.

Octavia blinked a few times. “Err... truly?”

“Oh yeah. It's quite the little gossip number back in the Water Nation. The world's worst kept secret,” Tittering said with a nod.

Octavia turned back and glared at Vinyl.

“What? I didn't tell anypony!” the unicorn said defensively.

Tittering chuckled. “Well, okay, not everypony knows. But a lot of them know. It wasn't THAT hard to find out about after the whole war and everything, since they kept popping up and everypony was keeping an eye out for things.”

Octavia sighed and shook her head. “Of course. We were... hoping information about it was less common. But, anyway. Vinyl and I are both prominent members of the organization. The Yellow Daisy is an organization designed to help facilitate peace between all of the nations. We have members stretching out clear across the world, amongst both high and low fields of office. Many of the... smoother transitions after the war can be accredited to the tireless efforts of those of us in power, along with the help of the Avatar and her friends. We would like the two of you to join.”

“Sweeeeet, I'm in!” Tittering said with a raised hoof. “I'm all for that whole peaceful world thing. Harmony everywhere, wooo!”

Copper stared, blinking slowly. She then frowned. “What would be my duties?”

Octavia smiled. “Of course, ever the cautious one. That's wise, Copper. As I said, our organization is designed towards keeping the peace between all nations. At times, it can be quite difficult.” She glanced towards Vinyl. “In fact, it can be downright dangerous. Many of our operatives who served in the Water Nation during the hundred year war found themselves either exiled, killed or forced to run. My cohort here was one of them.” She then turned back to them. “This is not an easy life, I won't deny. At any time you may be asked to risk your life in order to protect the world around you. Or you may be asked to abandon those you believe you can save. More than a few of us have found ourselves forced to do things and make choices we... never wanted to. It's not easy, it will require sacrifice. But... in the end, it will be worth it. For all the lives you can keep safe.”

Copper just stared for a few moments before nodding. “I see. And have you made Button and Acrylic members?”

Both of the two cringed, before shaking their heads. “They're not ready, yet,” Octavia said softly. “They still have a long way to go before they're ready for this kind of responsibility.”

“I don't know, being friends with the Avatar is a pretty big responsibility on its own,” Tittering said with a shrug.

“Anyway, this isn't about them,” Vinyl said with a shake of her head. “The fact of the matter is, Octy and me, well, we're not as young and spry as we used to be. There's just a lot of stuff we can't do anymore. I mean, sure, we're still awesome and can kick flank, but we're getting slower, our knees act up, sometimes I don't even wanna get up in the morning. We've been putting this off for a long time, finding our replacements. But it's time and you two are the best candidates we've got. So what do you say?”

Copper eyed both of them for a few moments, her eyes slowly drifting from side to side. Then she finally closed them and gave a single, short nod.

“Perfect!” Vinyl said with a big grin. “If we had paperwork, I'd tell you to sign something, but really we just need to give you a few details of the inner workings of the organization, our calling cards and signs. Frankly, you'll be pretty amazed when you find out just how many little groups of us are out there.”

------

Diamond paced back and forth nervously as the airship slowly descended into Harmony. She had no idea how long it would take before Rarity returned, so now she supposed she just had to train and wait. But she honestly didn't feel like training, not now at least. A part of her just felt off. She just couldn't put her hoof on it, though. She was plagued with indecision, but as the ship finally came to a stop she frowned and made up her mind.

The alicorn took to the air and burst off, flying through the sky with ease as she made her way over the city and then over the lake. She landed outside the house on the island and took a deep breath. She reached up and gently knocked. Then realized how silly she was being and pushed the door open, shaking her head. She lived here, after all. She trotted up the stairs. “Prism! You home?” she called out. She called a few more times, before finally getting an answer.

“Sleeping,” he groaned from his room. “Leave me alone...”

She blinked a few times, before lowering her eyes. “O-oh. Right... I uhhh... I'm sorry. I... never mind,” she said softly before turning and trotting to her room. She opened the door and walked inside, closing the door gingerly behind herself and then collapsing on her bed. She closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh.

The door opened after a few moments and Prism stood in it, his mane disheveled. “Diamond? What's wrong?”

“What? Oh, uhhh, nothing, I was just--”

“Don't lie to me,” he said before trotting over and sitting by her. “Something's wrong. Even I can see that.”

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the room. “Do... you think it's possible I wasn't meant to be chosen?”

“What?”

“I mean... like...” She frowned. “There haven't ever really been too many bad avatars, right? Or... really any. That we know of, at least. But there have been plenty who just... died. Too young to actually do anything. What if that's what I was supposed to be? Just a place holder before a pegasus became one?”

“Diamond, don't be silly. Why would you even think this?”

She was silent for a few moments before looking up at him. “Meadowbrook... or... or whoever this pony is. She foalnapped my daddy.”

His eyes widened and he reached out, pulling her into a hug. “Oh, Diamond. I'm so sorry. But believe me now. This is NOT your fault. We'll save him, don't you worry.”

“I... I know we will,” she said with a shake of her head. “I mean, we have to. But that's not...” She sighed again. “I went home. I was back... home. And I remembered everything. Who I was. What I said. What I used to think. How I used to... feel about everypony else. How I believed I was the best and greatest and...” She shook slightly. “I just... I...”

“Diamond,” he said softly.

“I... kind of miss it. When I first came here, I thought I was the greatest. I thought I was already a master, that I knew how everything worked. But now? Now I just feel like a rookie. Like I'm only beginning to learn, that everypony out there is just... so much better than I could ever hope to be. How can I possibly hope to live up to Twilight if I can't even get beyond rookie levels? How can I do anything right?”

He sighed and then patted her on the head. “You're doing fine. Twilight wasn't... you know what? How about you and I go have a little match. Like old times, okay?”

She blinked, then sighed. “So like... me ending up in the lake, you chuckling?”

“Yeah, it'll be fun,” he said before trotting towards the door. “Diamond, you know you're doing fine, though. I've seen you practice, I've seen how hard you try.”

“I... I know. I know I should feel better. Stronger. I know ponies believe in me, but I just... I...” Her gaze lowered to the ground. “I've talked with others about this. Even Water Lord Rarity. But I just... I just can't shake it. I can't help feeling like I'm going to screw up and then everything is going to go wrong because of me. That it's all going to be my fault.”

He nodded. “Well, I'm sorry to say, but things are going to go wrong. Eventually. You can only work so hard and even then, stuff still might go bad. All you can do is try your hardest. You aren't the mare you were back then. I know I've told you that. You're a fine, strong young mare who, frankly, I'd be happy to fight with anytime.”

She nodded. “I know...”

“In fact, if I didn't know you better I'd think you were fishing for compliments.”

She snorted. “If I wanted that, I'd just... I don't know.”

He stopped outside of the training section and turned to her. “You're probably always going to have some doubt, Diamond. Not because you're the Avatar, but because you're a pony. That's just what life IS. We live, we go, we fight, we die. Through it all, we worry. We become afraid that we're making the wrong choices. That we're just going to make things worse in the end. But as long as we keep trying to fix things, to make things at least a little better, then we haven't failed.” He trotted a bit more and spread his wings. “Now, standard air bending. Let's see what my mom taught you.”

She nodded and slowly spread out her wings, stretching them out a little bit. She then darted forward, flapping at a rapid pace as she parted the air around herself and swung back, swinging her back hooves at him in a wide kick. He stepped back and spread his own wings, preparing to launch a counter attack. But before he could, her wings flared out and sent a burst of wind at him, toppling him back. He rolled back to his hooves, but she was already on him, her hooves striking out with a deadly precision while she rotated her body using her wings and hooves with each strike.

Prism spread his own wings out and tried to move around her, spinning in a tight circle to try and come at her right. However, she was already down, trying to sweep his leg. He yiped and took to the air, barely avoiding the kick. He flapped his wings once, forcing her back a few inches but she braced herself, before surging forward and sending a blast of wind. He spun back, gasping slightly before his eyes widened. She slammed into his stomach, her horn barely missing him when she head butted him in the gut. He dropped down, hitting the ground and spinning back. She was already moving in, her front hooves on the ground as she bucked out, sending a stream of air at him. He ducked under and spun, sending out a stream of air to knock her front hooves out from under her and then with a second spin, sent her flying back.

Diamond hit the ground and rolled a few feet, before springing back to her hooves and eying him, her eyes narrowed into little slits as she sized him up. Prism grinned before galloping straight at her. He feinted for the left, before jumping up and intending to strike her from above. To his surprise, she was already spinning and sent out a burst of air above her, sending him flying back and out. He hovered in the air for a few moments and watched her, before gliding back down. “Well, Diamond, I am sufficiently impressed.”

She stared for a moment before slowly lowering her stance. “Prism?”

“That was quite impressive. When we first fought each other, you couldn't land a hoof on me. You were just so... well, obvious where ever you'd strike, not to mention you fell for just about anything I'd do. But now?” he said before shaking his head. “You've gotten faster, stronger, you think your attacks through. So much more precision and cunning as well. You even got a good, solid hit on me. Had you used your horn, it really would have left a mark.”

Her cheeks flared up. “I-I didn't want to gore you.”

“And I appreciate it.” He trotted over and put a hoof on her head. “But you are improving, dramatically. I see you're taking my mother's lessons to heart.”

She paled. “Your mom is trying to kill me! I'm not sure who's worse, her or Applejack!”

“Exactly. Buuuut, you're surviving. Not all ponies could say that,” he said with a grin. “And both at once, an even tougher feat.”

Her cheeks flared. “I... I guess. But you were holding back and--”

“No I wasn't.”

She blinked. “Wait... really?”

“Well... okay, I was a little. But that doesn't mean you haven't improved. Your air bending is far, far superior to what it was when we first met. Had you been this good when I first started training you... well, you probably would have knocked me into the river a couple of times.”

She blinked a few times. “You really think so?”

“I know so.”

She smiled and reached up to hug him. He smiled and reached back.

Then she leaned down and tapped a hoof on the ground. The ground shot out from under him and sent him hurtling into the lake with a shriek. He popped up a moment later, dripping water. “DIAMOND!”

“Payback!” she said with a giggle. She then eeped when he scowled at her. “It... err... was funny?”

He pounded his hoof into his other hoof.

She squeaked and ran. “It was funny! You know it was, don't beat me!”

“Get back here!”

------

Silver scowled, her head resting on the table as she listened to her grandparents and dad arguing. “Now, son, if you'd just meet with her, I'm sure you'd have plenty in common,” Jet said with a nod.

“Exactly,” Crust agreed. “She comes from a very good family. One hundred percent water benders, down to the last second cousin. More importantly, she is skilled in both magic AND water bending. A true proper unicorn.”

“Mmmm hmm,” Alicity mumbled as he chewed on some oatmeal, his eyes focused on the blueprint Secretary had stretched out in front of him. He swallowed and then pointed towards the right wing. “Perhaps if we put a two core matrix there, with a mixture of flight and telekinesis?”

“Sir, I believe last time we did that we accidentally ended up trapping a bunch of ponies on the ceiling until it wore off.”

“Oh, right. Hmmmm... maybe a nice targeting array. It might be useful with the airships, though. Reduce weight. But then in heavier weather they might not be heavy enough to survive the winds.”

“Son, are you even listening?” Crust asked, glaring at him.

“Of course, mother,” he said flatly before pointing towards the sail. “Did we ever manage to get that zebra silk to work?”

“Only as side sails. It just wasn't able to endure the treatment as a main sail. However, we did find that the pegasi loved garments made of it and it protects very well against lightning.”

“Really? Perhaps something with the balloons, then. Extra protection during the Badland travels would be good.”

“So you'll meet with her then?” Jet asked.

“Sure, just have her come by during normal business hours. If I'm in the office, she can just come in. Otherwise Silver will deal with it.”

Silver snorted into her hoof.

“... Son, we're talking about a date,” Crust said with a glower.

“Oh? Well, if you two want to start a herd I don't see why you need to ask me. I'm not calling her mom, though.”

“FOR YOU!” Jet roared. Silver tried not to laugh and just managed to keep it in, a smile on her face.

“Huh?” Alicity looked up, confusion etched on his features. He then burst into laughter. “Oh, I don't have TIME to date! There's farrrr too much work to do.” He looked back at the blueprint. “Did we ever manage to expand the array on the cannons?”

“Not yet, sir, but research and development is working on it. They should have some prototypes on your desk by the end of the month.”

“Excellent.”

“But what about the family line? You have an obligation to continue it!”

“And I did, with a beautiful daughter who I am very proud of,” he said before tapping the blueprint. “Secretary, what if we replaced the bearings with gold, do you think that would help?”

“It would make the magic flow better, sir. But it would be so expensive that it would be impossible to mass produce them.”

“Ah, right, of course.”

Jet and Crust growled a little, before glancing to Silver. She irked. “I suppose. We have been looking for a... proper stallion who--”

“Aaaaand I have a lot of work to do bye!” Silver said quickly before galloping out of the room, toppling her chair over in the process. She made her way to the door and quickly stepped out. To her surprise, Diamond was standing there. She paused. “Back already?”

“Yeah. Sorta. Things... didn't go well,” she said softly, nudging the ground.

“Really? Didn't catch them?”

“They foalnapped my dad.”

Silver blinked, her mouth falling open. She then charged forward and wrapped her hooves around the other mare. “Oh. Oh Diamond, I'm so sorry. I... I don't... I can't imagine what that feels like. You poor dear.”

“It's... it's fine, really,” she muttered softly. “I just... you know. We'll get him back, I'll beat Meadowbrook and...” She shook her head. “Can we talk?”

“Yes, but not here.” Silver took the other mare's hoof and dragged her off, away from the house. Once they were on one of the warehouse roofs she nodded and turned to her. “Okay, go on.”

Diamond looked around in confusion, before shrugging and looking to Silver. “Well... you remember Meadowbrook, right? When we fought her?”

“Yeah. Well, when you fought her.”

“Right. I... don't think that's Meadowbrook. I mean, this pony who is claiming to be her.”

“Oh? Then who would it be?”

“I don't have any idea. I mean, even the spells seem... different. When it was used on me, I felt so... numb. Strange. I mean, I could feel anger and stuff, but it was all distant. I had trouble focusing or well... anything. But these ponies? They don't seem like that. They still seem to be... themselves. They have their personalities, but they don't have their magic anymore. I think it's a new spell that just happens to be similar. That's all.”

Silver nodded. “Truly? I couldn't imagine a second pony knowing a spell like that. But why pretend to be Meadowbrook? She doesn't have any followers left now. Or at least, I don't think she does.”

“I don't know. Maybe she needs Meadowbrook for something? I'm more concerned about how Meadowbrook escaped if this mare isn't her.”

“Well, Diamond, I'm sure you'll figure it out. After all, you are the Avatar.” She reached out and patted her hoof. “How long are you going to be back for?”

“Well, Rarity is working to set up a meeting with the Earth Kingdom Empress, then I'll go and speak with her about allowing us to have the other militaries in her country to try and catch them.”

“Oh? Do you think that'll work?”

“I don't know. Maybe? I hope? I mean, nothing else seems to work and this whole... running after them whenever they pop their heads up thing is NOT going to work anytime soon. We've tried it, but trying to pen them in when they can just get in and get out so fast is near impossible.” She paused. “To be honest, even if we DID find them, I'm not sure there's much we could do. Meadowbrook and Dazzling attacked us. Once the tables turned, they managed to just teleport away. How are we supposed to catch them when they can do that?”

Silver blinked a few times. “Wait... what? They just up and... poof?”

“Yes! She knows that kind of magic and it's just... so frustrating. I don't really know what to do. It doesn't matter how strong I get, how much I practice, if she can just escape every time I have her on the ropes.” She paused a moment. “Also, blood bending sucks. Like, so much.”

Silver nodded. “Actually... maybe we can do something about that.”

“Really? Like what? Separate the four of them? Yeah, I guess that'd work but have to find them and catch them, first.”

“No. I mean nullify her ability to teleport.”

Diamond blinked a few times. “That's... doable?”

“Of course. Just about any spell can be nullified or countered. Even simple telekinesis can be disrupted when you know how. A spell like teleportation, however, requires very precise and powerful magic, the kind that takes years to master. Disrupting it should be actually fairly simple.”

The alicorn's eyes practically glowed with excitement. “You... you can do that? Really?”

Silver cringed. “W-well... I can't.” Her friend deflated. “But daddy can, I'm sure!”

“Really?”

“Of course. Daddy's special talent is dissecting and finding out all the little parts and pieces that go into magic, it's how he's been able to develop so many of these different suits.” She spread her wings. “Thanks to his work it's been a lot easier for other ponies to figure out how they function and copy them, but he did most of the front end work. If something like this was easy, well, they'd have done it hundreds of years ago.” She gave a light chuckle. “If anypony can develop such a device, daddy can. I bet Acrylic could help, too.”

“Really? After the whole... hospital thing, are you sure that's wise? What if he ends up hurting himself again?”

“I don't think daddy would require him to do anything more difficult than teleporting an orange, so I think he'll be fine. Besides, there are hundreds of books on spells like that, so he'll have plenty to draw on. He won't put Acrylic through too much unless he gets carried away.” Diamond just stared at her. “Secretary will be there to make sure he doesn't.”

The alicorn nodded. “I guess that'll work then. Do you really think he can develop something?”

“Of course. Now, I can't guarantee that the range on it will be good, or that it'll be the most effective, easy to move thing. But I know if anypony can make such a thing, daddy can.”

“Great! Let's go talk to him about it!”

“Err... how about later?”

“What? Why?”

“Grandma and grandpa are down there trying to set the two of us up on dates. It's... not pretty.”

Diamond cringed. “Yeah... I wouldn't want that either. Wanna go for a fly? Maybe we can go see Button and Acrylic.”

“Sure! I bet we can find Daring, too. I think she's been feeling a bit lonely. Doesn't have a lot of friends aside from Ironwing.”

“Really? I think anypony would feel lonely if he was their only friend,” Diamond said with a shudder. “Not that I totally don't respect him or anything,” she said with a snicker. “He's just kinda a... well...”

“Has a stick up his flank he likes to beat people with?”

“That's a way to say it,” the alicorn said with a grin before spreading her wings. “Let's go get the others and have like... some kinda thing then. How about we go get something to eat?”

“Sure. I suppose I'll be paying, hmmm?” Silver said with a light tease.

“Well, you are the one with the multi-billion bit company...” Diamond teased right back.

“You know, last time I checked your family wasn't exactly struggling with bits, either.”

The alicorn blinked and froze. Her mouth fell open slightly. “Oh. You know... I never really thought about it. I mean... I never really buy anything.”

“Really?” Silver asked before spreading her wings and rising slightly into the air.

“No. I guess I do have bits, but... I never really buy anything. All of my meals and lodging are just taken care of,” Diamond said as she flew besides Silver. “We have servants on the island that do all that stuff, though sometimes Prism or Blaze will cook. Well, or True now.” A frown crept across her face. “I never really thought about it. You know what? I'll get it this time.”

Silver glanced over to her. “Diamond, you're the Avatar. I mean, nopony is going to expect you to work an actual job or worry about meals or sleeping arrangements. You have a whole world to look after and guide. Buck, your job is already full time, nopony could expect you to take a second one on top of it.”

Diamond blushed and nodded. “I-I know. I just never really... thought about it. It was just kind of there and I...” She shook her head. “I'm probably just over thinking things too much. I do that a lot lately.”

The earth pony nodded. “I know how that feels...”

------

Diamond nibbled on her noodles, eying Acrylic across the counter. He looked a lot better, though he seemed oddly paranoid. He kept looking around and staring at the door. Button and Daring seemed to be having some kind of... eating contest, so they didn't seem to notice. Silver seemed focused on writing stuff onto a napkin, apparently trying to get a head start on the anti-teleportation device. The five had met up at a small diner just on the outskirts of the city.

“Acrylic, what's wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You keep looking around. Something bothering you?”

“No. Yes. Kinda,” he muttered before shaking his head. “It's... weird. I think somepony's been following me.”

That made Silver glance up, though Daring and Button were too focused on trying to out eat each other to notice. “What? Why?”

“Well... I got this weird package the other day. Cookies, a basket of them. And I keep getting weird little packages like that. But... well... they're just weird ones. The cookies were okay. But then I got medicine for stomach aches, some bandages, a box set of chess. Just... a lot of weird stuff,” he said with a wave of his hoof. “And half the time when I leave the house, I swear I can just... feel somepony watching me. Spying on me. I thought I was being paranoid, but the feeling just won't go away. I keep looking out the door and expecting to see somepony. But I don't have any idea who this pony would even be.”

“You don't think it's Meadowbrook, do you?” Diamond asked, her voice filled with worry.

“I don't see why she'd be watching me of all ponies. You'd be the one she'd be spying on.”

“Did you piss off any ponies?” Silver asked. “Maybe someone like... hired a private investigator. Maybe your mom did. Those gifts do seem kind of... weird.”

“Exactly,” he muttered before giving a sigh. “Maybe I'm just being too paranoid though. I just... can't shake this feeling. Like somepony is always watching me. Waiting for the moment to strike and-- AYEEEE!” He jumped almost a foot, banging his knees on the table before his cheeks burned red and he turned to glare at Daring, who had reached out to tap his shoulder.

“Whag?” she asked, her mouth full of food. “Padd a nabkin?”

Acrylic glared at her, before reaching over to grab a napkin and hand it to her. “I'm just a little... stressed about it.”

“Maybe you have a secret admirer,” Diamond sad with a grin.

“Let's at least try to stay in the realm of possibilities, okay?” Acrylic said with a roll of his eyes. He then shuddered and looked over to the door when a small group of ponies walked in. “Okay, there it is again. I swear, somepony is out there, watching me.”

Diamond looked around, eying the group that walked in. A few unicorns and an earth pony trotted by. “Yeah. I think you might just be being paranoid.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Maybe... I don't know. Let's just... talk about something else. Diamond, how's your training going?”

“I think I'm getting better. Can't metal bend or anything like that. But my air bending is getting a lot better and I am actually able to avoid some of Applejack's attacks now. Sweetie says I'm getting a lot better at deflection, too.”

He nodded. “I'd imagine she's the nicest then, huh?”

“Ehhhhhh...” Diamond said with a shake of her head. “Kinda? But... not really. Like... Rainbow pushes me a lot harder, but as I feel like I'm getting my stamina up it doesn't feel so bad. I just have to make a mad dash whenever I'm around her. Applejack doesn't really hold back, but as I get better I'm getting a lot less bruises. But Sweetie... well... she's...” She rubbed her chin. “I don't really know how to put it aside from... she's a great teacher. But every time I train with her, I keep getting these little... flashes. These feelings that if she actually tried, she'd kill me. No, not if she tried. If she wanted. So often I just feel this little hint that she's suppressing something and that she's only one bad moment from killing me. The sessions themselves aren't bad, it's just very... mentally exhausting. I haven't told her, though. I don't want to upset her.”

“Well, she was really powerful during the war,” Silver said with a shrug. “Have you ever heard any of the stories about her?”

“Her? No. I mostly just heard the ones about Twilight.”

“She was the one who destroyed the Earth Kingdom. It took her less than a year to do it, after she became the commander of the Water Nation's armies. Even now she's widely regarded as one of the most deadly water benders in the world, though there haven't been any records of her killing anypony since it ended.”

Diamond blinked a few times. “Wait, really? But she's so... well...”

“What?”

“Young. She doesn't even look that much older than us.”

“She's only a few years younger than Water Lord Rarity,” Silver said with a shake of her head. “She was barely even a full mare when she took over as the Water Nation's commander. I'd hate to have to fight her now, after all these years. I hear she was a real prodigy, learned poison bending as a filly and killed her first assassin before she even got her cutie mark.”

Diamond gasped. “Assassin?”

“Oh, yes. Assassins used to be quite popular in the Water Nation. Just about every noble family had them and it was considered almost good practice to assassinate your enemies. I think there were at least twenty attempts on the royal family's lives a month, possibly more during the start of Rarity's reign. However, things have really gotten better since then and most of the assassins have been removed. Either imprisoned or brought into the new nation.”

Diamond shuddered. “The Water Nation doesn't sound like the nicest place.”

“It really isn't depending on where you go. That's one of the reasons daddy had us move up here. There are still plenty of ponies who miss the old ways, even if they know better than to admit it in public.”

“Why would somepony miss that?”

“Because it was a lot easier to have power when all you had to do was kill those who opposed you. At least, if you had that power. Some ponies often find the desire to go back on old times when they find their methods or desires don't line up with what other ponies want.”

“I'd heard stories of the nation back then,” Acrylic muttered, shaking his head. “Mom told me it was horrible. She tried to reduce the damage, but even as commander there was only so much she could do when most of the other ponies in power had gotten that way by killing all of their comrades. Even then, she saw that Trixie was going to eventually usurp her.”

“I'd hate to have imagined what Trixie was back then,” Diamond muttered softly. “I wonder what leads a pony to do things like that?”

“Our nation thrived on it,” Silver said softly. “It became stronger the more it destroyed. Sucking the life out of all who dwelt in it.” She gave a shudder. “Daddy was alive during the changes. He says Rarity taking over was one of the greatest things to ever happen to the nation, though he still didn't want to raise me there. That's why we came here. Where anypony can be anything.” She gave a little grin. “And who knows? With all of daddy's inventions, one day that might be completely true. We'll hopefully have bending down in ten years or so.”

The alicorn chuckled. “Oh? So in ten years I'll be dealing with a whole host of other Avatars, right? I shudder to think that that would be like.”

“A whole army of Diamond Tiara's?” Acrylic asked with a shudder. “I don't think the world is ready for that. I don't think ANYPONY is ready for that.”

Diamond glowered and kicked him under the table. “Hey!”

He snickered. “You're the one who's always causing trouble. I bet--”

The world exploded around them, the windows outside shooting in and showering the ponies with shards of glass. Diamond and her friends were shielded by their booth, but other ponies weren't so lucky and after a few moments there was screaming from the wounded ponies. The after wave of the sonic rainboom spread through the city, rippling through and destroying windows as it went.

The alicorn got to her hooves and stared at the window, Shining stood in the frame and smirked knowingly at her. “Shining! What are you doing here? I--”

“Save it, Avatar. Let's make this quick.” The pegasus flared out her wings. “I've got a message for you and your friends, if you want to see your daddy again.”

Diamond's eyes widened and she galloped forward. “Shining!”

“Head out of town to the east. The Everfree Forest. Your daddy is in there, waiting. Make it quick, we won't wait long.” With that, the pegasus took off into the sky, leaving them behind.

Diamond looked around at the wrecked building and all the screaming ponies. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before looking to her friends. “I have to go. My daddy is--”

“We know, we're coming with you,” Acrylic said quickly.

“But--”

“No buts,” Silver said with a shake of her head. “None of us are medically trained, we can't help here. But this is a trap and we'll all be bucked if you think we're letting you go off on your own.”

Diamond sighed, before giving a nod. “Thank you.” She then looked to Daring. “I hate to ask, but can you get Rainbow and the others? You're the fastest flier and we need them.”

“Fine. But make sure to save me a piece!” the pegasus yelled before taking off.

Diamond nodded before galloping out of the shop. To her delight, she could see ponies were already arriving on the scene, racing into the buildings to help the ponies get out. Nopony seemed at all focused on her or her three friends as they galloped out of the city, towards the Everfree forest.

Comments

[Angel_Bunny]

9208412
Doubt is a powerful thing.

It doesn't help that every time she seems to build up that thought, she speaks to Trixie or someone makes a comment.