Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 3: Tirek

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 18: Pieces in motion

Diamond sighed softly as she patted her father's back. There were a few bruises, but the medical ponies weren't able to find any lasting damage. She just hoped there wouldn't be any lasting damage on her once her teachers got a hold of her.

Getting out of the cave had been far easier than getting in. The creatures that had attacked them on the way in had apparently left. She'd been as quiet as she could when she cleared out the collapse she'd made and they hadn't seemed to notice.

Escaping the forest on the other hoof, had been a more arduous and annoying task. Considering their first encounter traveling through it, they hadn't had any desire to repeat the experience. Instead she and Button had made a pillar of rock and sat on it, waiting to be saved.

It hadn't taken long for an airship to arrive, with a furious Applejack, Sweetie and Rainbow. Daring had been more annoyed that she'd missed all the action. Apparently Shining had gone through the city, setting off more sonic rainbooms and keeping them distracted while they tried to keep casualties to a minimum.

The were at least giving her time to make sure her daddy was okay before screaming at her, so she supposed that was lucky. She gave him one last hug before smiling. “I'll be back later, okay daddy?”

He nodded. “Okay. Be safe. Promise me?”

“Of course,” she said with a nod before turning and trotting out the door into the waiting room. The moment the door was closed, it began.

“Gotta be one of the most foal hardy things yah coulda done!” Applejack snapped. “Ah thought we went an' taught yah better 'an that!”

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head. “You should have waited for the rest of us.”

“If Rarity was here she'd be furious. Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself and your friends in?” Sweetie asked.

Diamond sighed as the three of them tore into her. She didn't even try to defend herself, merely nodding along.

“With all due respect, I think Diamond made the right decision,” a voice called out. All of the ponies looked shocked and turned to the doorway. Prism stood there. “Diamond, I just got the full report and came as soon as I could tear myself away. I'm happy you're okay.”

“T-thanks,” Diamond said softly, staring at him. She was sure she had to have imagined what she'd just heard.

“She ran off alone and nearly got herself killed,” Rainbow snapped. “I wouldn't...” She paused. “Okay, I'd totally have done that but that's a good reason why she SHOULDN'T have done it.”

“No,” Prism said before shaking his head. “The Avatar ran off with her friends and managed to save her father, even though it involved going into one of the most dangerous locales the world now knows. Possibly only second to the Badlands.”

“Yah can't possibly mean that this sorta behavior--”

“Is exactly the kind of thing the Avatar is known for doing? Yes, I am. I'm not going to say that it was a perfect decision, but judging by what her friends have reported, I believe she made the correct decision given the circumstances. She took her friends with her, most of which are competent benders. Maybe not as strong as the three of you, but still quite talented. It was a trap, most assuredly, but I've heard enough stories about what Twilight did on her adventures to know that avoiding traps was not something you guys did often. A poor situation came up, she handled it to the best of her ability, using her judgment.” He trotted forward and patted her head. “She didn't run off alone, did her best to keep everypony safe and managed to succeed.” He paused. “I'm not saying it wasn't incredibly dangerous and foalish. But Diamond is the Avatar and we can't coddle and keep her safe forever. There are going to be plenty of times where she has to make tough decisions like this. As much as we'd want to, we can't make them for her. We just have to trust her to make the correct ones.”

The alicorn just stared, her mouth falling open. She wasn't sure who was more dumbstruck. Her, or them. Finally she spoke up. “You're... you're defending me? You? Me?”

“Yes, I am. I'm not going to lie, I don't LIKE what you did. Frankly I think you should have waited for help to arrive, or gone searching for the others.” Prism took a slow, deep breath. “But I know if Blaze had been foalnapped, or my mother, I probably wouldn't have waited and risked them getting hurt either so I can't judge you for that. You did the best you could and you came out on top, I'm proud of you.”

Her cheeks turned red and she looked down, biting her lips. “T-thanks, Prism. That... that means a lot to me.”

Applejack gave a sigh. “Well... fine. Ah guess when yah put it like that, ah can understand. If mah lil sis or big bro were in trouble... well, ah'd move mountains tah keep 'em safe. Ah doubt ah'd have waited around either. An' yah did keep your friends close, so that was smart. Ah gotta admit, ah'm a lil surprised those two pals of yours managed tah hold off Hothoof an' Dazzlin'. They must have a lot more talent than ah initially thought.”

Diamond nodded quickly. “Oh, they're both VERY good. They've been fighting side by side for years.” She smiled and looked between them. “I found out some other stuff, too. That's... definitely not Meadowbrook. I don't know who it is, but she's definitely somepony different. She was... talking about a lot of weird stuff and she seemed pretty odd, but she said she was on my side. I... really don't know what she meant by that.”

“Probably tryin' tah trick yah,” Applejack said with a shrug. “Ah can't imagine anypony tryin' tah control those three as bein' on our side.”

Diamond nodded. “Probably. I just wish I knew exactly what it was she was up to.” She gave a little frown. “I didn't say anything to the others, but... something did feel odd when I was there. When she was talking, it was like there was... something else there. Something... bad.”

“Probably her,” Rainbow said with a snort.

“I don't know. It felt like... something else,” Diamond said before rubbing her chest. “Like... something that was just... pure bad. I don't know.” She gave a light shudder. “I don't know. It just... didn't feel right at all.”

Sweetie rubbed her chin. “Well... can you try to remember exactly what she said? Maybe we can try to piece together what she meant.” She then gave a soft sigh. “Though, I must be honest. I'm amazed she was able to teleport out of there. Alternate means of transport... don't usually work in the Everfree Forest.”

“They don't?”

“No. That place is dangerous. The fact you were able to even find them was a miracle. Breaking out of the tree line on that pillar of rock... well, that was another miracle. That place is weird, the magic doesn't work right. The fact she could teleport herself and the others out of there concerns me. If she was actually able to absorb the magic from that place...”

“It seemed to make her pretty sick, though. It might not be so bad.”

“Well, ah for one hope it makes her sick as a dog for a few months,” Applejack grumbled, shaking her head. “As much trouble as she's causin' us, it'd serve her right.”

------

Tirek groaned as he sat in the cave, in his full centaur form. Occasionally misty vapors would escape his mouth while he tried to rest off the effects of absorbing that power. The three benders were doing their best to avoid being near him, sticking to another room of the cavern so only Starlight was left in the room with him.

The unicorn hugged her bunny to her chest, occasionally rubbing his head. “Sunburst...” she mumbled softly.

“Hm?” the spirit asked, looking over to her.

“What... happened to Sunburst?” she asked softly.

He gave a soft chuckle, before belching out another stream of mist. “Your little... friend?” He shrugged. “I don't know. Probably somewhere in the Water Nation now. His form was easy enough to imitate,” he muttered before holding his stomach.

“Sunburst... what happened to Sunburst...” Starlight said softly.

Tirek sighed, eying the mare. “It seems you're not fully capable yet. No matter,” he said before slowly getting to his hooves. His form began to once again shift, moments before a burst of magic came from his mouth. “Ugh...” Once again as Meadowbrook, she trotted to the next room.

“I can't believe you two got trounced by a couple of rookies,” Shining said with a laugh. “You're pathetic!”

“The two were far more competent than I initially imagined,” Dazzling said with a shake of his head. “Were it a one on one fight, neither of them would have had a chance. However, the two in unison were... quite strong.”

“Ohhhh, but here I thought you were sooooo invincible, mr. blood bender,” Shining taunted.

“Blood bending is a difficult art. The more powerful a bender, the more power I have to expend in order to keep them in control. It makes a... quick kill difficult.”

“Yeah, and that little water bender wasn't no slouch. That whole teleporting trick of his was annoying. What kind of pony even uses something like that? It's cheating!” Hothoof said with a snort.

“It's no matter,” Meadowbrook said before she looked around. “We got what we came for.”

“You look like plop, boss,” Shining said with a snicker. “If that's what you were trying for, well, you definitely succeeded.”

The mare frowned. “No. I have... identified Discord's host. Unfortunately, she is stronger than I expected and absorbing the powers from the Everfree Forest did not... quite have the desired effect.”

“What was the point of that, anyway?” Hothoof asked. “What, ponies aren't good enough for you?”

“It was chaos magic,” the spirit said with a sneer. “I had to... acclimate myself. I just didn't understand how powerful it would be, or how it would feel.” She took a deep breath. “But it is no matter. The first stage is complete. I now know how much stronger I'll need to become before I can make my move.” His eyes flashed over them. “As well as how much stronger you'll need to be.”

“Us?” Shining asked.

“Yes,” Meadowbrook said before her staff flew over to her side. “After all, there's four countries filled with ponies with magic. Plenty enough to share, wouldn't you agree?”

------

Silver laid on her back, her eyes closed as she tried to focus. The Alicorn Amulet weighed heavily on her throat. She tried to focus, but she couldn't. All she could think about was what happened there, how close things had come to being very, very bad. It felt like forever before she began to lift out from her body and found herself in the Spirit World. “Trixie? TRIXIE! I don't have time for games, I don't have time for...” She started walking back and forth, chewing on her lip while she walked.

After a few minutes, the unicorn appeared. Her eye was cocked. “You called?”

“We need to talk. Now.”

“My my, somepony is in a mood. Whatever--”

“Not now!” she shrieked.

Trixie's eyes narrowed. “If you're going to treat me in such a matter, perhaps we should talk another time.”

“N-no. Please. Trixie. I... I need to...” Silver took a slow, deep breath. “Diamond almost found out. That... that we're still here. Possibly that I am Discord.”

“Oh?” Trixie asked. “Is she stronger than you now?”

The earth pony stared at the ground. Slowly, she shook her head. “No. As long as I have the Alicorn Amulet, if it came down to it... if we fought, I could crush her. With ease.”

“Then I fail to see the problem.”

Silver closed her eyes. “Why did you kill Twilight?”

Trixie blinked. “What?”

“She offered you forgiveness. A home. A life. She offered you a way to return to the world. And you killed her for it. Why?”

The unicorn stared for a few moments before she laughed. She got to her hooves and circled the earth pony. “Oh. Now I see. Now I understand. The little earth pony is getting cold hooves, isn't she?” She leaned in close. “Is that it?”

“...”

“The reason is simple. In the end, everything Twilight spouted was a lie.”

“W-what? But she meant--”

“Oh, I have no doubt that she meant it. I'm sure, for a time, she would have even kept her word. A week, a month, maybe even a year. But then she'd crack.” She leaned in closer. “That's the way the world works, child. I spent my whole life being the bad guy to so many. The ruthless, cold general of the Water Nation. Then Discord's general. Do you really think the other ponies would forget that?” She chuckled softly. “I bet they still hold celebrations honoring my defeat. If I had surrendered, given in to Twilight, do you think they would have forgiven me? No. The world would have called for my blood. Everypony who had felt the sting of Discord's magic would demand that I meet the same fate that he had. That Twilight end me. And eventually she would have caved.” She turned away. “She offered redemption, but it was nothing more than a trap. Ponies like us... we don't get redemption. We're destined to be the bad ponies. We're destined to be the ones that... everypony hates. That everypony loathes.” She glanced back to Silver. “Is that what you hope, though? Are you hoping 'if I just try hard enough, surely Diamond will forgive the things I've done! I'm sure they all will! Gee golly, I'll have friends and live in a big house and eat ice cream allllll day'.” Trixie snorted. “No. If they find out, they'll treat you like they would Discord. With fear and contempt. Maybe for a brief moment you'll have their love. ButtThen, eventually, they'll turn on you.”

Silver grit her teeth and dug a hoof into the ground, closing her eyes. She took a slow, deep breath before shaking her head. “You're... you're wrong. Diamond won't... she wouldn't. My friends won't. If I told them they--”

“Then why haven't you? Then why do you have the Alicorn Amulet? Why do you continue to plot and scheme, to make up all these little plans? To talk with me?” Trixie asked, putting a hoof to the mare's chest. “You know it in here. From the moment you felt Discord's touch on you. There's no hope of you becoming good. No hope of you being 'saved'.” She leaned in close. “From the moment you heard his voice in your ear, you also heard the voice of the world. Condemning you. Calling you a monster. You know that no matter what you do, that's all they'll ever see. That's all you'll ever have the chance to be. That's why you won't tell Diamond. Because the moment you do, the moment you share that secret with her... she'll turn on you just like everypony else.”

“D-Diamond won't. She... she's my--”

“Then tell her. Go on, let her know who you are. What you are. Let her know that the creature that her past life worked so hard and long to destroy still lives in you. That Twilight failed. Let her know. Then watch as her compassion turns to hate. As she stands aside to allow the world to tear you apart, or maybe even does it herself. Go on. Do it. And know that when the whole world stands around her, when they tell her to strike you down... she will.”

Silver shook, staring into the mare's eyes. “NO!” she screamed, before turning and running away.

She rolled off of the bed, covered in a cold sweat and gasping for air. She looked around her room in confusion as she tried to remember where she was. Slowly she reached up, crawling back into her bed and laying on her back. She stared at the room and reached up, touching the amulet.

“It's... it's not right. She won't... we're friends. We're... we're friends. She won't hurt me. She... she won't.” She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.

Despite her words, she knew that Trixie was right. She was the Avatar of Discord. There would never be redemption for a monster like her. Only victory.

Author's Note:

And so, the first half of the book is done. If this was a series, the season would stop for like. A month or three before continuing. As it is... *Collapses*. I've been gone too long as it is. I suck.

Comments

[theoldenbrony]

No, You don't suck. You just took an extended hiatus. It's good to have you back!

[Blaster M]

The first ATLA is quite the underrated series.