Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 4: Immortals

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 9: Metal Orchard

Vinyl lifted up a bit of water, idly humming to herself before lashing out with it, forming an icy club to concuss the changeling trying to dash in through one of the holes in the wall. She then shifted the water into a wall of ice over the hall. One down, only a dozen or so more to go. The ground bounced underhoof, setting the beat to this assault. She bobbed her head with it, the world tinted by her purple glasses. It wouldn’t be long now, judging by that beat.

She didn’t even move when she saw the pair of changeling dive at her, that wasn’t for her to worry about. She twisted around, forming a small rope of water and sending it flying forward, snagging a collapsed earth pony and then yanking him away before the changelings could get a hold of him and drag him out through a hole.

The changelings diving at her were getting closer, but were still not her problem. She formed a blade of ice a moment before her eyes turned purple. The blade followed suit a moment later, rippling with toxin. Would it be enough?

Not even close. She sent it hurtling forward at the Immortal, the strange spirit comprised of so many cutie marks. The blade struck true and there was an angry cry, but it only made its assault stop for a moment.

It was never enough. It turned and launched a wave of earthen spikes at her.

The changelings were getting closer and, right on time, the ground stopped shaking. Suddenly a wall of dirt rose up in front of her, blocking both the spikes and the diving changelings. A moment later a wall of metal flew overhead, catching the changelings and tossing them out through the hole in the wall, before sealing over it.

“How many?” Octavia asked.

“Three,” Vinyl said before glancing towards the pair trotting towards her. They certainly were a fine sight, Octavia and Big Mac. Right on time, as always. Two of the greatest earth ponies there ever were. “How about on your end?”

“We lost two more,” Octavia said with a soft sigh. “The Immortal?”

“I managed to annoy it, but that’s all,” Vinyl said before glancing towards the sealed dome. “Could really use an avatar right about now.”

The sounds of the creature striking the dome echoed through the protected city.

“Mmmm hm,” Big Mac said before glancing towards the dome. “Almost time.”

Octavia gave a nod. “Vinyl, are you going to be okay?”

“I’m not so old yet that I can’t help with a civilian escape,” Vinyl said before stretching out a little. “Nngggg… still. Thought I’d be retiring before something like this would happen. Thought that was the whole reason to have kids.”

“Oh please, Vinyl,” Octavia said with a roll of her eyes. “As if you’d ever let retirement stop you from getting involved.”

“Heh, a comeback tour is always a lot more fun though,” Vinyl said before she started walking after them.

She didn’t like that beat, though. The sound of the Immortal pounding on their walls. It was only a matter of time before another hole was made and they’d lose a few more of their defenders. She wondered how long until they wouldn’t be able to reseal after an assault.

------

Vinyl tapped her hoof and her horn glowed. The enchanted water in the soil obeyed her once more, parting and allowing a small passage for the earth benders to create. It wasn’t much, but they couldn’t make it too big if they wanted to have any chance of slipping the ponies out from under Stony Brace’s nose.

She just hoped Octavia could keep up her efforts long enough. It had worked up to this point, but she couldn’t help but wonder how much longer until their luck ran out. A few days? A week? Would this be it?

Big Mac stomped his hooves and the tunnel formed. Almost instantly the ponies designated to leave ran forward, galloping through the tunnel while he kept a hoof to the ground. After a few moments he tapped his hoof again and it sealed itself, right before she made the water close over the ground once more.

It was out of their hooves, now. Just up to Octavia to keep Stony distracted.

“Big Mac!” an angry voice yelled out.

Oh for buck’s sake. Vinyl turned to see a small swarm of ponies stomping towards them. She rolled her eyes. She wondered what the complaints were going to be this time.

“I can’t believe you’d allow something so… so foul! Such traitorous behavior is befitting one of the Water Nation!” the earth pony yelled, stomping his hooves and making the ground shake slightly when he did.

Ah, of course. She wondered for a moment which pony this was. Rockhead. Obnoxious little rabble rouser. “Ahem?” Vinyl asked, cocking an eye behind her glasses.

“Exactly!” Rockhead yelled, stomping a hoof down. “Every day fewer and fewer Earth Kingdom ponies are sent out from the city! Today only ONE! How can you value the lives of foreign ponies more than your own flesh and blood?”

Big Mac sighed. “Now, listen here--”

“I will not!” Rockhead yelled. “This borders on treason! Our ponies MUST be made a priority in these situations! Every day we lose more and more proud Earth Kingdom ponies to these attacks, for what? To defend the ponies of other nations? When have any of them ever done ANYTHING to help us?”

Vinyl just lowered her glasses a little so her cocked eye could be seen. “Really?”

“Err, present company excluded,” Rockhead said. “We must put Earth Kingdom ponies first. Every day our glorious kingdom loses another pony, we--”

“ENOUGH!” Big Mac yelled, stomping his hoof down. “Now you listen here, Pebblebrain.”

“Rockhead,” he corrected.

“I know yer name,” Big Mac snapped. “Earth Kingdom, Air Nomads, Water Nation, Fire Tribes and Harmony. Ain’t a single one of them matter when, at the end of the day, we’re all ponies. Now, we’re sending ponies out who need tah get out. It don’t matter where they’re from.”

“You can’t truly mean to imply that the ponies from other nations are the same as us,” Rockhead said. “They--”

“I ain’t implying nothin’,” Big Mac said. “I’m SAYIN’ they are.”

“But… but this is a time for us to stick together, to--”

“A time for all us ponies to work together,” Big Mac said. “No matter where we’re from or where we’re goin’. It wasn’t the Earth Kingdom who beat Discord all those years ago an’ it ain’t gonna be the Earth Kingdom that does it today. It took every last pony workin’ together to take down that blasted spirit and focusin’ on where we’re all from don’t mean a darn thing when we otta be lookin’ at each other and seein’ we’re all supposed to be on the same side!”

“If the Earth Kingdom had faced Discord alone, I’m sure--”

“Yah weren’t there then, Pebblebrain,” Big Mac said. “Ah was. An’ it wasn’t one kingdom standin’ up tah Discord with the Avatar. It took all of us realizin’ what truly mattered to defeat that vile spirit. And it ain’t gonna be no different this time. So it don’t matter where a pony is from when it comes time to determine who sneaks out each day. All that matters is the only thing that should matter. If they’re the highest priority tah get out, then civilians from outside the kingdom have priority. The end.” The earth pony gave a derisive harumph before storming off, Vinyl snickering as she followed behind him.

It really was nice to seeing him actually get bent out of shape every once in a while. “Feel better?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“Mmmm hm,” Big Mac said with a nod.

Vinyl glanced towards the south side of the city, where the main entrance was. She couldn’t see it from here, but well… she could imagine how it was going. “Worried?”

“Mmmm hm,” Big Mac said.

“Wish the Avatar and her friends were here?” Vinyl asked.

Big Mac walked in silence for a few long moments before giving a nod.

“Think Silver is still among those friends?” Vinyl asked.

“I don’t rightly know,” Big Mac said with a sigh.

“Yeah, me either,” Vinyl said before giving a sigh of her own. “This really puts a snag in any plans for Acrylic and Silver to get together. Alas, I suppose the world may never know what the descendants of Vinyl and Alicity could have been.”

Big Mac gave a light shudder before glancing back at her with a cocked eye.

“What? I’m not getting any younger,” Vinyl said. “And unlike a certain somepony I don’t have a few dozen kids spread out across the nations to continue the awesome that is my line.” She managed to keep her face entirely serious… for about five seconds before she started snickering.

Big Mac gave a light snort and rolled his eyes.

------

“Please, Octavia, see reason,” Stony pleaded, his brown coat and metal armor coated in mud.

Octavia just stared at him, her face a stony mask. He could beg, plead, tear out every hair from that silver mane of his if he liked. It wouldn’t change anything. “We do see reason.”

“Every day more and more ponies fall,” Stony said. “You can’t hope to hold out forever.”

“We can and we will,” Octavia said. “No matter how much the wind howls, the mountain does now bow.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Stony said. “But the mountain that refuses to yield eventually crumbles, even if just one stone at a time. The Earth Kingdom will fall. Join us, stand besides us. Be our ally, not our enemy.”

Octavia gave a soft sigh before shaking her head. “Each time you come here, the answer is always the same. We won’t yield. The Metal Orchard will stand for its ideals, even if it must be cut down in opposition to this tyrant.”

“Imagine the good you could do,” Stony said. “How many ponies wouldn’t have to lose their cutie marks.”

“Better to fall fighting for what we believe in than to stand for this chaos you and your lot have wrought,” Octavia said before glancing towards the host of changelings that had come with him. “You trained under Big Mac. Do you truly believe he will ever give in to your demands?”

Stony gave a sigh before shaking his head. “No, not really. But just because I know he won’t doesn’t mean I won’t try. It just wouldn’t feel right.”

Octavia shook her head. “And you believe this does? This… disgusting assault of our homes?”

“Sometimes we’ve got to do things we don’t want to do in order to make things better,” Stony said. “Are you sure you won’t consider it?”

“We will not surrender,” Octavia said firmly.

“Fine,” Stony said before getting to his hooves and looking down at his cup. He picked it up and drank the rest of the tea before turning his back to her. “I guess I’ll see you again in a few days. Just remember, my offer is always open.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Octavia said while she watched him leave. Once he walked out from the gate it was sealed behind him once more. A few moments later the pounding began again.

“Went about as well as expected?” Vinyl asked as she and Big Mac trotted up.

“Indeed,” Octavia said. “Sadly, he’s not wrong. Every day we get a little weaker.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl said. “But hey, it’s not like we have to hold out forever.”

“Mmmm hm,” Big Mac said.

“Of course not,” Octavia said before before glancing up at the metal ceiling of the city. “But… I do hope whatever Diamond has planned, whatever she is doing… I hope she is ready before it’s too late.”

“Please,” Vinyl said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the avatar, it’s this. There’s no such thing as too late.”

“Says the unicorn who couldn’t show up on time if her life depended on it,” Octavia said with a small, good natured smile on her lips.

Despite the gentle teasing, one thought still lingered in the air for the three.

Would the Avatar really be able to put a stop to all of this before it was too late? Or was it possibly too late already?

Author's Note:

And so the avatar series begins again... I know its been a while, but here's hoping that, this time, I can finish the story. It'll be a journey, I think. But hopefully a good one. And here's hoping I can avoid burnout.

Not sure how often I'll update, though, as this'll be a side project besides my original works. But it'll hopefully be worked on more. Thanks for your patience.