Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 3: Tirek

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 25: Common enemy

“About time,” Shining said when she heard the hoofs making their way towards them. They were so obvious, she desperately hoped they weren’t considering stealth. With the sound of that ship flying overhead, anypony could have noticed them. Especially as they were just blindly running towards them, she spread out her wings. “Okay then, Meadowbrook. Mind if I let them know we’re here?”

“Do not hurt any of them… yet. But yes,” she said, giving a nod.

“Good.” She flapped her wings three times, sending a burst of air forward. It tore through the forest, stripping away branches, leaves and bushes, even toppling over a few of the less stable trees. They could hear the shriek from the soon to be arriving ponies, but she followed orders. None of them were hurt from the assault. She gave a snort when she counted over their members. “Only eight of you? And here I thought you were taking us seriously. Or did my old teacher really underestimate that much?”

“Frankly, it’s four too many,” Rainbow said with a snort of her own. “Or have you forgotten how many times I smacked your face into the ground?”

“That was then, this is now,” Shining snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Can we--”

A loud hum filled the air, cutting her off. She cocked her head to the side moments before a purple dome flowed out, over them. “What… was that?”

Meadowbrook tapped her hoof on the ground. “It’s no ma--” She then stopped. A moment later her voice came out, cold and angry. “What… did you do?” she asked.

“Just made sure you can’t run away this time,” Diamond said, landing on the ground in front of them. “We’re not without our mercy, however. You have nowhere to flee. Surrender, and we’ll take you prisoner. You will be well treated, as you were before.”

Meadowbrook sighed, shaking his head. “I see. So then, I suppose we have no choice. I had hoped we would have a more…” She trailed off, counting them once again. “No. I suppose this will work. I was expecting dozens of you. Eight is a far more manageable number. You three have your orders. Once you’ve finished with them, wait for me.” She adjusted her mask, before motioning behind herself. Deeper into the woods. “Avatar, you may pass. The others… well… you’ll need to fight through my guards. I think we have much to discuss.” She then turned tail, racing into the woods.

Diamond froze, staring at the retreating form. She then looked to the three guarding the woods. “I...”

“We’ll handle them. Just go!” Rainbow snapped. “We’ll catch up!”

The alicorn nodded, before racing forward. True to their words, the three didn’t move to impede her way. Once her pink and white tail disappeared, however, Shining gave a light chuckle. “You know she doesn’t have a chance, right?”

“She will once we finish with all of yah,” Applejack said with a snort. “Besides, she’s a lot tougher ‘an she looks.”

“Heh… I suppose that’s right. You would think you had a shot. You all plan to fight us now, don’t you? Well...” A wicked grin formed on Shining’s face. “To be honest, there’s only one of you I care about. So then… Rainbow. Shall we? Ah, who am I kidding. You’re the big, tough hero, aren’t you? You’ll follow me anywhere… So… race you to those mountains,” she said, pointing towards the east. “And well… if you don’t… I guess I’ll just keep going. Have a bit more fun.” With those words, she took off like a bolt. The force of her takeoff sent a rush of air so strong it nearly toppled the other ponies.

Rainbow glared, taking off a moment later. The force of that takeoff forcing Sweetie to grip onto her sister to stop from falling over. Scootaloo took off a second later, her mechanical wings aiding her in her movements, though she couldn’t keep up with the two.

“So much for guarding the area,” Dazzling said with a shake of his head. “I guess that leaves Hothoof and I to deal with the four of you,” he said.

“I’m here too!” Silver objected.

“The four who matter, then.”

Hothoof shrugged. “Nah. I only want those two,” he said, grinning towards the Apples. “It looks like it’s just two on one this time, huh? No big brother to save you?” He stepped forward, stretching out his neck. “This is gonna be fun.”

“There ain’t a lot of civilians here for us tah protect this time, either,” Applejack said coldly. “Yah are only gettin’ one shot at this, Hothoof. Yah can come with us. Or we can put yah in the ground an’ then yah comin’ with us.”

The stallion snorted. “You really think that? Well… How about I just SHOW you what I can do then?!” he yelled, before galloping forward. Every step of his hooves made the ground turn to lava around him, the molten liquid thrashing around him and threatening to get to the other ponies.

“Silver, get out of here. Up!” Applejack yelled. Silver nodded, adjusting the controls on the small vessel while Rarity and Sweetie jumped off. Moments later, the vessel flew high into the sky. She then glanced to her sister, the two sharing a nod. Together, they then skidded their hooves forward. The ground under Hothoof shifted forward as well, making him stumble forward. A moment later, a dull pillar of stone rose from the ground, crashing into his stomach and sending him flying through the air, west. The two earth ponies galloped after him. “We’ll keep ‘im away from the machine. Rarity, yah handle Dazzling!”

“Of course, darling,” Rarity said, before turning to face the other water bender. “Dazzling… its been a long time.”

“It has.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to see reason?”

“I saw reason long ago,” he said, slowly stepping forward. “You know as well as I do, that I am correct.”

“How are you correct? How does killing and destroying ponies serve any purpose?” Rarity asked.

“They were enemies. YOUR enemies,” Dazzling said, his voice cold as ice. “Ponies who wanted to usurp you. Who wanted you dead. Who wanted to DESTROY you. They had to be removed. They WILL be removed. You--”

“They are ponies,” Rarity snapped. “Just like you, or I. They may not agree with all of my methods, and yes, some of them are foals. Given the chance, they would usurp me. But they do not have that opportunity. And those who commit crimes will be punished accordingly. But disagreeing with me, even openly, is NOT worthy of a death sentence!”

“You call what those ponies did merely ‘disagreeing’?!” the unicorn said with a growl. “They insulted you. SPIT on you. Called you a… your mother would have never agreed with this.” He then glanced to Sweetie. “Your sister would have never agreed with this. As you were. When you were true ponies of the Water Nation. Not these… pretenders. I know that side of you still exists. The true icy core of the Water Nation.”

“That was a different time,” Sweetie said, moving forward. “That Water Nation doesn’t exist any more. We are not those ponies. We do not rule with a cruel, iron hoof that smashes any who would stand against us. We negotiate. We talk. We--”

“And look at our nation now!” he roared back. “We were once feared. The future rulers of the world. We had ALL of the nations crumbling before us. The Fire Tribes were ours. The Air Nomads soon to follow. All ponies were going to bend at our hooves and if you had just. Kept. Pushing. They would have. We would have stood as the rulers of all.” He shook his head before getting to his hooves. “Instead, you decided to oppose the great Nightmare Moon. You decided to create a council. To allow the stupider ponies a chance to fight. To allow rebellions. To allow FACTIONS. Rather than all bending knee to you, they bend knees to each other.”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, some do. And there will always be ponies who want to undermine me. Undermine our family. Our nation has made it an art form. But that does not mean we eliminate any and all who have differing views from us. Who disagree with us. I am not a tyrant. I--”

“You are a weak ruler...” he said, shaking his head. “And you never should have ascended the throne. I… was weak, back then. I hesitated. I saw you as the ruler. I saw you as the daughter of a great pony. A pony unmatched by any other. I assumed that she would have rubbed off on you. That you would eventually see the light of the moon. Instead… you tainted your sister with your… mercy. You made our nation weak. Perhaps if, back then, I had struck, I could have stopped this...”

He stretched out, before shaking his head. He forced a hoof forward and the ground begin to rumble. Moments later, two geysers of water burst out from the dirt, on either side of him. “But there is no other method now. I never wanted to do this. My Water Lord. I wanted you to see the light. To understand what must be done. What our nation truly was. But… this time I will not hesitate. I will kill you, as I should have then...” His eyes drifted to Sweetie. “And… I will snuff out the remainder of the disease. The Water Nation will be strong again… even if I have to train your children myself.”

The two geysers then shifted their angle, turning to shards of purple ice and flying at the two ponies.

Far above the battle, Silver stared and watched. Three fights. The vessel was now safe. Her eyes then shifted towards where Diamond had run. There was only one thing to do, now.

She leaped from the vessel and tucked in her mechanical wings, diving straight into the forest below. It was time she joined her friend and helped her defeat Tirek, once and for all. She sped through the woods, the branches moving by so fast they were nothing more than blurs.

------

Shining relaxed, sitting on a large boulder at the foot of the mountain, watching Rainbow fly after her. She gave a light snicker when the aged pegasus landed. “Heh. You’re getting slower. When you were training me, you would have lapped me twice at that speed.”

“I didn’t see much reason to go all out against a rookie,” Rainbow shot back, shaking her head. “I’m only going to ask this once. Surrender, and I’ll go easy on you. Fight, and I’ll end you. That’s--”

“Oh, don’t even start with me,” Shining said with a roll of her eyes. “’Oh no, I have to fight the great and amazing Rainbow Dash? Eeeee! Sooooo scary.’ I’m not a foal any more. You’re not my master, I’m not your apprentice. And you’re definitely not my idol anymore. You’re just an old, washed up mare who nopony has had the gumption to put out to pasture.”

“I was your master once. If you were smart, you’d--”

“What? Fall over my hooves talking about how awesome you WERE? That’s the key word there, Rainbow. WERE. You WERE amazing. You WERE incredible. You WERE the only pony who could do the sonic rainboom. And maybe, once. You WERE as good as I am. But that was then. This is now. Now you’re old, blind and decrepit. Nothing more than a washed up, useless pony. A shadow of her former self. I’m not going to fight you. I’m going to CRUSH you. Because now? Now I’m the best there ever was. I’m the one who ponies will stare at and go ‘Oh my gosh, nopony has ever been like her’. I’m the one who will cast a shadow that everypony else struggles to find their way under,” she said with a growl, her eyes narrowing. “I’m better than you ever were.”

“I… see. Then… I’m sorry. You really won’t see reason… will you?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow!” Scootaloo cried out, skidding to a stop behind the other mare. “I’m here! I’m ready to--”

“No,” Rainbow said, shaking her head. “This is my fight. Shining is my problem. And… I have to deal with her.”

“Not a chance! I came here to fight with you.”

“Scootaloo, I’m serious. I need to do this. Alone.”

“I can help!”

“You’re NOT an air bender. You can’t do this. Even if you were, I’m the only pony who can beat her. She’s not just a normal bender. She--”

“I’m not a bender. But I know how to fight them. I can help.”

Rainbow sighed. “This is my responsibility. I’m sorry.”

“She’s just as much my--” A sudden crack filled the air when Rainbow bucked her back right hoof back, smashing the gem of Scootaloo’s artificial wings, shattering it. The orange pegasus stumbled back, falling to the ground. Her eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the gem. Then at Rainbow. “Y-you… how… why…?”

“… I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” Rainbow repeated softly. “I can’t… let you get involved. This is my mess. I’ll clean it up.”

Shining laughed, shaking her head. “See? This is how it ALWAYS is with you, isn’t it? The moment there’s a bit of glory, you have to take it all for yourself. You can’t let anypony else even help you, can you? You have to always take the spotlight. Well, fine.” Her wings spread out. “If you want a noble death so much? Then I’ll give it to you.” She took up into the air, leaving a trail in her wake.

Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “There’s nothing noble about this… Scootaloo. I’m sorry. Make your way back to the others. I’ll… I’ll be back, once I deal with this.”

“Rainbow! You can’t capture her alone! You need--”

“I know.” The pegasus took off.

Scootaloo stared in shock, her mouth falling open. “Y-you… Rainbow! RAINBOW!” she yelled, taking a step towards the quickly disappearing trail left in the pony’s wake. “You idiot! You big, stupid IDIOT!”

------

Hothoof hit the ground and skidded, the dirt softening on impact from his bending. He slowly stood up and wobbled a bit, shaking his head. “Ow. Heh. You still hit pretty hard.”

“And you’re as hard headed as ever,” Applejack said before stepping from the trees. “Yah know this won’t go well for you.”

“Ain’t nopony alive who can take on both of us an’ hope tah win,” Applebloom said with a smirk. “Ah know yah weren’t always the smartest pony around, but ah thought yah at least had that beaten inta yer skull.”

“Well, I was never the best learner. And you were always terrible teachers!” he snapped, before shoving his hooves forward. A wave of lava formed in front of him, flowing out at the pair.

The two dove to the sides, narrowly avoiding the assault. “If yah’d have jus’ learned some patience!” Applejack yelled back. “Instead, yah always were pickin’ fights an’ challengin’ the older students!” She stomped a hoof and a wave of rock shot out, at the stallion’s right side. On the left, Applebloom stomped her own hoof, sending shards of stone at the stallion.

Hothoof snorted, stomping his hooves. Both attacks stopped in mid motion, before reversing direction and shooting back at the two mares. They tried to shove them away, redirect them with their own bending, but they refused to yield. Applebloom shrieked when the shards cut into her, while Applejack let out a grunt of pain when the wave sent her hurtling back, burying her in rocks. “I was better than them. I was better than ANY of you! I was bigger and stronger. And I’m a LOT stronger now. Stronger than both of you,” he said with a laugh. “You two can’t win. I don’t just have my power. I have the power of a dozen other earth benders inside me. Strengthening me.” He stomped a hoof, raising up two tree-sized boulders from the ground and sending them flying at the pair. “You two are too weak!”

Applejack pulled herself from the rubble, before stomping a hoof. A wave of rocks flew out, filling the lava pit the stallion had made. Applebloom raced across the sudden bridge, leaping into the air to land near her sister. Hothoof tried to veer the boulders at the two, but they smashed into each other and bounced off, flying to either side of the mares. He let out a growl at the two. “You don’t think you can actually win, do you?”

Applejack glanced down at her sister, before nodding. “Together… yes. Yah might be stronger than the two of us individually. But there’s NOPONY who can beat us like this.”

The stallion stomped his hooves, a wave of rocks flowing out towards them. The two sisters moved in unison, tapping both their front hooves to the ground and making a rock wall form, crashing it down against the wave. The two pushed back, finally shoving the wave back at the stallion. “S-see?” Applejack said, panting from the exertion.

“Heh… you two are pretty strong, I guess,” Hothoof said, before stomping his hooves again. A wave of lava flowed out towards them. “But you two can’t lava bend!”

Applejack and Applebloom stared at the wave of lava, before turning tail and fleeing from the assault in opposite directions, raising platforms of rock to carry them out of its range, though their tails were singed by the heat. “We’re in trouble, ain’t we?” Applebloom asked.

“We’ll get through this. Somehow,” Applejack said, turning to look at the laughing pony. There had to be a way to beat him. Somehow. No matter how much stronger he’d become.

------

Rarity couldn’t move. She watched the jagged tips of poisoned needles flying at her, but she couldn’t move. Blood bending. How he could shift from poison to blood bending so quickly, she didn’t know. But she had no way to escape now. No way to avoid the attack.

Sweetie dove in front of her, her horn and eyes glowing with a dark, purple light. The needles of poison were blocked by a barrier of ice, which she then flung at the other unicorn. He had no choice but to leap to the right, barely avoiding the frozen mass and leaving Rarity with the ability to move again.

“Thank you,” she said, giving her little sister a small smile.

“Always. You’re good, Dazzling. But no matter how good you are, you can’t blood bend both of us at once,” Sweetie said firmly.

The stallion sighed and gave a nod. “No. You’re right. I have the power to do it… but even I don’t have the kind of talent. At least, not outside the full moon. I was hoping you’d fail to notice and I could end this quickly,” he said with a shake of his head. “This is why I prefer assassination. It’s so much more… troublesome, when ponies know you are there.”

“Well, it’s going to be even more troublesome once we kick your butt,” Sweetie said coldly. “Do you really think you can beat both of us?”

“… Yes. I do,” he said. He thrust his hooves forward and four more geysers of water rose up around them. “My power… is incredible. You have no idea.” The water turned to shards of ice, descending on the two mares in a flurry.

Rarity and Sweetie stuck their horns up, gathering the water around them into a dome. When the ice shards hit against it, most of them turned to water and added to the dome. Unfortunately, a few pierced through, cutting across the mare’s and drawing blood. The dome began to shrink while the bladed hail pierced down on them. “He’s… powerful...” Rarity groaned, struggling to maintain standing.

“He is… but so are we!” Sweetie said with a growl. “Can you hold this for a second?”

“Yes!”

The younger mare nodded and stepped forward, shoving her hooves forward. Tentacles of water lashed out in front of her, crashing down on the stallion and sending him flying back into a tree with a pained crunch. Instantly, the assault stopped.

Sweetie smirked. “You’re strong, Dazzling! But you’re an assassin. Your defense is terrible! You can’t hope to beat us!”

The stallion slowly got to his hooves, shaking his head. “…. You’re right. I’m nowhere near as good defensively. But...” His hooves moved forward once again, a thick mist beginning to rise from the water around them. Within moments, they could barely see their hooves in front of their faces. “Striking from the shadows? That… is my specialty.”

------

Shining laughed, zooming away, only to suddenly perform a quick U-turn and race straight at Rainbow, the other mare having to dive down hard in order to avoid getting her chest smashed in. “You can’t win, you idiot! Aren’t you able to see that?!” she asked, before spinning through the air, diving down, then coming up in tight loops, zooming in from all directions to try and smash the multi-colored pegasus. “You’re old, slow and weak!”

Rainbow didn’t say a word, weaving through the air, narrowly avoiding the darting pegasus.

“You’re just so WEAK!” Shining yelled, before swiping her wings out. The winds darted out when she did, catching Rainbow and smashing her into the nearby rockface. She then zoomed off, laughing back at the mare. “Come on! Try and at least PRETEND you can challenge me!”

Rainbow groaned, slowly stepping out from the hole she left in the stone and dirt. She spread out her wings and took off after the mare.

“Well?! Why don’t you just give up already? Accept your death with some dignity?” Shining asked, flicking her silver mane back. She then flew back, racing at the other mare.

This time, Rainbow didn’t dodge. Her hooves reached out and caught the other mare’s, spinning twice and then throwing her into the rocky terrain.

Shining let out a soft groan, seeing stars for a moment before shaking her head. “Heh. As good as ever. I do hope you don’t think that’s all it will take to beat me, though. You’ll just get sma--” She didn’t get a chance to finish before Rainbow slammed into her, driving her along the mountain wall and plowing through the stones and dirt until they were back over open air. Then, with a buck, she sent the mare down at the ground as hard as she could.

Shining spread out her wings, catching herself in freefall and taking off. She spat, a little blood leaking from her nose. She quickly wiped it with a hoof. “D-damn. You still got a bit of kick to you! Heh! Guess you’re not entirely dead air! Why don’t you say something? No cocky words? No quick wit, today? No--” When Rainbow dove at her, she was ready this time, ducking to the right and then lashing out with all four hooves when the pegasus flew past her. She flapped her wings hard, hitting the careening pegasus with a burst of air bending at the same time the hooves connected, slamming her into the mountains yet again. “At least give me an ow! Something. Don’t tell me the great Rainbow Dash is going to let her last fight be a silent affair?”

Rainbow got to her hooves, shaking her head and then turning to face the other pegasus. She flew back up and raced at the other mare, putting on a burst of speed with a flap of her wings.

“Fine. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll just make you scream before I kill you.”

------

Diamond raced through the forest, brushing trees and branches aside with each gallop, trying to catch up to the mare. She wasn’t going to lose. Not to her. Not again. She had to stop her, somehow. She trusted the others, she knew they could and would defeat them. And then they would join her to defeat Meadowbrook. She just had to make sure that the mare didn’t get out of the field before they did.

Her eyes widened when the other mare stepped into a small clearing in the woods and stopped, turning around to face her. Diamond skidded to a stop herself, her eyes narrowing. “Meadowbrook. It’s time to end this. We--”

“Yes… it is. I believe this has all gone on long enough.” Her horn glimmered and then her form and colorations shifted. Her form altered itself, as if it was melting away to reveal the true pony beneath. The mask fell away and Diamond stared, her mouth falling open. The mare was now a stallion with an orange coat, white hooves and a dark orange mane.

“S-sunburst? H-how… you? You disappeared. You were… how were you… how?” she asked. “You’re not...”

“I’m sorry, Avatar,” he said, bowing his whole body before her. “I am sorry for my deceit. My lies. I am sorry for all I have put you through. And I am sorry that I was forced to go through such measures. And I hope you will forgive me. And accept that this was all necessary, for the continuation of us all.”

“What… are you talking about?”

He slowly raised himself. “There is a threat. A threat unlike any other, and I can feel it coming now. For you see… Discord has returned.” His eyes lowered. “And there is but one way to defeat him. For good. You and I must work together.”

“You’ve… been attacking ponies. Stealing their magic?! You attacked me. You ambushed me! Because you think--”

“Yes! Because I know! What I have done is terrible. And I may never be forgiven. But know this, I have always, always supported you. Even if it may not have seemed like it. Once I realized what a threat we faced… I knew I couldn’t face it alone. I knew you couldn’t either. It would take a hundred, a thousand ponies to defeat such a threat.” He held out his hoof to her. “And only we can do that. Hate me if you like. Once we have defeated Discord and returned the magic to the ponies I was… forced to take it from, I will accept any penalties you deem worthy.”

“You’ve killed ponies over this!”

“An accident,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve tried, I swear, to avoid letting those three take lives where I could. But they are difficult to control. And I am but one pony. I needed strong ponies to get us here. To the point we can win. And this threat we face? Is more dangerous than anything else we ever have. And if we are to have any hope… we must work together.”

Diamond stared at him, her mouth falling open. There was no way he could be speaking the truth. Was he even Sunburst? He’d disappeared right before she’d headed to the badlands. But soon after, Meadowbrook had appeared again. Had he really done all of this? Just to defeat Discord? Was Discord really, truly here? Alive? “I...” Was what she had felt before true? Did his foul magic truly exist?

Sunburst sighed, nodding. “I understand. I’ve done terrible things. Awful things. But you’ll understand why, soon. Discord is here… now.”

Silver broke through the tree line, skidding to a stop. She looked over them. “Diamond! I’m here to-- Sunburst?!” she asked, her eyes widening.

“May I present, the Avatar of Discord and the true enemy of pony kind. Silver Spoon,” Sunburst said.

Diamond stared, her eyes on her best friend. It couldn’t be… possible. It had to be a lie. It had to.

Author's Note:

And here we go. The moment of destiny. I hope you're all ready for tomorrow... Only a few chapters left, and everything is finished.

Hopefully you got the whole seat, but you only use the edge!