Avatar: Legend of Diamond Tiara. Book 4: Immortals

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 4: Prepare for her return

Button slowly walked through the small camp, glancing left and right. Ponies were tending to the wounded, training, eating a few bites of what they could or resting. He didn’t blame them. The small camp was nothing more than just enough tents for those who would be resting. They’d all be back on the move first thing tomorrow, trying to get as far from Tittering’s forces as they could.

He glanced over to Luna, eyeing the look of concern on his face. He then glanced to Celestia. The twins couldn’t be much different than in their movements. He’d spent quite a bit of time with them, ever since Diamond’s departure, and he was beginning to pick up all their little signs and tells. They were both nervous, but showing it in different ways.

Luna was worried, though he kept his face calm. A steely facade, only betrayed by how tense he was. Each step seemed overly precise, overly fluid. Carefully measured. So smooth he barely disturbed the grass and could have easily avoided being noticed at all. Button supposed that was what it meant to be a member of the royal family, always certain to walk with care and grace, to not let anything slip under the mask. To be able to melt away when needed.

But he’d seen Luna when he was truly relaxed. Truly calm. When he wasn’t worried about being watched and judged. At those times the unicorn was truly breathtaking, he moved with a natural grace and smoothness that flowed like the water he used so perfectly. He felt honored to be able to see that side of the prince as often as he did.

Celestia? Celestia was something else entirely. She seemed almost carefree by comparison. While Luna was the graceful spring, Celestia was the wild flame. Each step she took was her way of announcing ‘I AM HERE!’ to the world and no small amount of ponies glanced up at the regal, powerful mare.

But Button knew it was an act. The way she tossed her mane back, took each step firmly and roughly, digging her hooves into the ground. Pretending she wasn’t anxious or worried at all. She was just as nervous as Luna, hiding it under a mask of confidence and power.

In a way, it was the same. While the twins expressed themselves in different ways, he’d been with them long enough to know just how in tune their emotions were. If one was worried, the other probably was as well.

“Princess Celestia! Prince Luna!” a voice called out. Button’s thoughts were shattered by the presence of a red unicorn stallion galloping forward. He noticed Luna tensed a little bit more. The unicorn quickly bowed his head. “It… it was an honor to be rescued by you two,” he said firmly.

Luna stared at the stallion. Finally, he spoke up. “Captain Bubbledash, we did nothing more than our duty. It wasn’t us who rescued you, it was--”

“You may not have been there, but it was only thanks to your efforts that we were freed. We all know about the battle of Canterlot. I was there and, while I didn’t see the final fight, I still heard from those who did,” he said, raising his head and staring at the two. “If not for your efforts, the Immortal of Water would have never been defeated. Our cutie marks would have been stolen. On top of that, you put yourselves at great risk to rescue us. I… I can never thank you enough for all you have done for us. You truly are your mother’s children.”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. We only did our duty, nothing more, nothing less. Now, if you don’t mind, we need to meet with Commander Greendye. If you’ll excuse us?”

“Of course,” he said, moving aside.

After a few moments of walking, Button noticed Luna relaxing. “Feeling better?” he asked. “Did you know him?”

“I made an effort to know most of our higher ranking officers,” Luna offered.

“But you knew him personally,” Button asked, already knowing and dreading the answer.

“… Yes,” the stallion said softly. “He was… not… my biggest supporter.”

Celestia snorted. “He was one of those idiots who believed that Luna would one day try to rise up and kill all of us or something,” she said flatly. “Even helped organize one of the rallies.”

Button stumbled. “There… were rallies? I… didn’t know that.”

“They were foalish things,” Luna said firmly. “I have no claim to the throne, anyway. That... honor lies with Colgate. Celestia and I were never...” He gave another sigh. “Were either of us to ever ascend to the throne, it would be disastrous.”

Button nodded. “I… see… I think he was an idiot.”

“He was just one of many, Dear Button,” Luna mumbled.

“Yeah. Apparently the fact we were born as twins kind of freaked a lot of ponies out,” Celestia muttered. “You should hear some of the things said about us. Apparently it’s a ‘bad omen’ and we’re destined to follow in Nightmare Moon’s hoofsteps or something. It’s a load of brain dead fears is what it is.” She gave another shake of her head. “I tried to never put much worry into it. Neither of us would ever want the throne, anyway. Talk about boring. You can never do ANYTHING fun.”

Button chuckled. “Yeah, seems like it’d be a lot of work. I think you two do quite enough for the nation just as the prince and princess, let alone running it.”

“Besides...” Luna said softly, before inching just a little closer and leaning his head in, gently rubbing it against Button’s and drawing a light squeak from the earth pony. “If… I was the heir? I would not be allowed to enjoy myself in such manners.”

Celestia snorted. “Oh come on, Luna. You call that a public display of affection? You didn’t even give him tongue.”

Button flushed. From the stoic water bender it had all but been one. “I-I think it was plenty...” he mumbled, his heart pounding. He could see the bright glow of pleasure in the other stallion’s eyes. “Besides...” He then leaned in and kissed the unicorn on the lips, drawing a small hint of red to the dark coated cheeks. “That’s usually for me to do.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “I will never understand you two.”

The three then stopped, staring up at a small collapsible table that made up the current ‘base’ of their operations. They would be moving soon and there wasn’t much time to worry about setting up a full tent, when that time could be better spent setting up personal tents for those who needed to rest. By dusk, even the table would likely be gone.

Three ponies were discussing things in front of the table, though only one truly drew their attention. A green unicorn in full Water Nation armor. Greendye. Button didn’t know him very well, but apparently he had originally been a designer before all of this, focusing on using his bending with different dyes to create all kinds of designs. He couldn’t imagine how he’d ended up becoming a commander of the rebellion, though.

“Princess Celestia, Prince Luna… Noblepony… Button Mash,” the stallion offered, looking up from the map.

Button barely suppressed a chuckle at the unicorn trying to come up with a title for him.

“Commander Greendye,” Luna said calmly. “I see the operation was a success.”

He nodded. “They had light resistance, but we were able to get everypony out. It was thanks to the risk you took. However...”

“Yes?” the prince asked.

“… Has there been any news from Princess Colgate?”

The twins each shared a sigh. Celestia spoke up this time. “Not yet, but we’re waiting for now. You have a plan on where to spread those rescued?”

“We do, but...” he said, before chewing on his lip. After a few moments he spoke up. “With all due respect, your highnesses...”

“Yes?” Celestia asked.

“This plan is foolhardy. With this, our forces are stronger than ever. Many of these ponies were the ones captured during the invasion of Canterlot. Now is the time to take this fight to Tittering and to Discord, if we gathered our hidden forces we would--”

“Would be foals to rush in, now. Our greatest weapon hasn’t returned yet,” Celestia said firmly.

“What if the Avatar DOESN’T come back? We all know the stories. Her lost cutie mark. Discord beat her! If we want to strike, we have to strike while she’s at her weakest, while--”

“Attacking now would only result in us being destroyed,” Luna cut him off, staring intently into the stallion’s eyes. “I will be direct. We have no chance against her. Against the power she currently wields. We barely managed to damage, not destroy, one of her immortals. There are three more.”

“And they are constantly getting stronger! With every cutie mark they steal, they become more and more dangerous!”

“Even now they have more power than we could hope to defeat in a head on conflict,” Luna said before trotting forward, placing a hoof on the map. “If we were to gather every single pony with a cutie mark into one spot and attack them? We would likely still lose.”

The stallion paled. “But… we have more numbers than--”

“So?” Luna asked. “In the last generation, Discord turned this world to chaos with a flick of his wrist. Do you really believe if we attack Silver with raw power we’ll, somehow, miraculously win? We need the Avatar to face this foe. The Immortals alone are dangerous. The changelings? Unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. We aren’t in the world of power and might, commander. We’re fighting a foe who is different than anything we’ve ever fought. Nopony, save the Avatar, can hope to stand against them as they are now. On top of that, we know very little about what she is. If we kill her, what then? A new Discord takes her place? Or maybe she just comes back?” He shook his head and tapped the map. “For now, we must be patient. We must trust the Avatar. We must trust Diamond.”

The stallion sighed and shook his head. “If Twilight Sparkle were still the avatar, then--”

“Diamond was chosen for a reason,” Luna said firmly, cutting him off again. “I’ve seen her. I’ve fought alongside her. More importantly, I trust her. Not just with my life, but with the future of the Water Nation. Of all the nations.”

The stallion gulped. “But… she should be here, helping--”

“She is where she needs to be,” Luna cut him off again. “For now, our task is simple. We prepare. We ready ourselves. We fight and dodge and weave and do everything we can to slow this tide as long as we can. We buy Diamond the time she needs. We make sure that when she returns, she has ponies ready to fight by her side. To fight for her. Because when she goes up against Discord, like her predecessor did before her, then she will need all the help she can get. That is our duty. That is what we must do. My sister understands that. That is why she is preparing. That is why we are here, why we are fighting. Tell me, what do you fight for?” he asked, staring at the stallion with a gaze that could pierce iron.

Slowly, the commander lowered his eyes back to the map. Finally, he spoke up. “Do you really believe she’ll come back?”

“Yes,” Celestia said. “But we don’t trust her because she’s the Avatar. We trust her because we’ve met her. We’ve seen what she’s like, who she is. We know she’s the pony who has taken on the mantle of the Avatar. And we know she is worthy of it.”

The stallion sighed. “But without her cutie mark, how can she possibly win?”

“The same way she always has,” Button said with a shrug. “Hard work, dedication and a whole lot of luck. Besides, it’s Silver. If anypony can get her to shake off Discord’s influence, it’s Diamond.”

The commander sighed. “Very well. If you’re so certain… I will spread the word. We will continue to prepare for the final fight,” Greendye said firmly. “I… hope you’re right.”

“Of course we’re right,” Luna said firmly. “After all, she’s the Avatar. If anypony can fix things, she can.” He turned around. “We’ll be heading out again, drawing a different trail from your group. Get them away as fast and quietly as you can. We’ll send more messages as needed. As always, be prepared and be ready.”

The stallion nodded. “I will. We will. You can count on that,” he said softly. His eyes lingered on the three when they turned and slowly walked away, before once again his eyes were drawn to the map before them. Could Diamond really, truly save them?

------

“You were certainly vocal there, Luna,” Celestia teased. “I’m guessing you must trust Diamond a lot more than even I thought.”

Luna sighed. “Now is not the time to be silent and watch, Dear Sister. We stand on the edge of a ship sailing towards an iceberg. Diamond is our only hope, we can only trust that she knows what she’s doing. As small a chance as it may be, it is all we have.”

“So… you aren’t certain she’ll succeed?” Button asked softly.

“Of course not. We may all fall,” Luna said softly. “Despite your hopes, Silver may be irredeemable. She may be the true personification of Discord. All of the belief you have in her may be ill placed. Worse, Diamond may not be up to this task. She has lost her cutie mark and already fallen, once.”

“But… you said...” Button mumbled gently.

“If we fight her now, there is no chance. We lose. Discord wins. That is the sum total,” Luna said firmly. “Her immortals, all four of them together? Would crush any force we could muster. Our only hope now is Diamond. And it is a small, tiny chance. But it IS a chance. Right now? Our ponies need to believe in that chance. They need to believe that Diamond can and will solve this. That there is no doubt, no question that she will win. But...”

The earth pony nodded. “I know. But… I still think we can save Silver, too. And I believe in Diamond. She’s out there, working. So…”

Luna nodded. “I believe she will do her best. That whatever she has planned will be our best chance. But… I cannot be certain. Our world has been shattered and I do not know if one pony can fix this.”

Celestia shrugged. “Hey. I for one believe in her.”

“Oh?” Luna asked, glancing over to her.

“She’s stubborn. She’s not going to take ANY of this lying down. If she’s got a plan, then I trust she’ll figure it out. Cutie mark or no. Besides, she lost her cutie mark once.”

“This time is different,” Button mumbled softly.

“I mean, sure, she hasn’t regained a new one with a new bending, but--”

“No, not that,” the earth pony mumbled. “This time… she was still Diamond. She was still… herself. Last time was different. When ponies lost their cutie marks before, they ended up so… broken. They weren’t themselves. But Diamond, she was...”

“She seemed broken to me,” Celestia said softly. “Until she decided to go, though. Then she seemed...”

“That’s just it. Her powers are gone, but she’s still Diamond. That’s the difference, now,” Button said with a smile. “So, bending or no, she’s still the Avatar. That’s why we have to trust her. Believe in her. Know she’ll set everything right.” He then glanced off to the right. “It’s also why I know Silver will be okay in the end. Because, Discord or no, I know she’s still herself, somewhere in there. And we’ll show her.”

Celestia let out a sigh of exasperation. “Ugh. I swear, Luna. You picked the weirdest stallion to fall for.”

“Technically, he picked me,” Luna said with a shrug. “I was just… not… ill disposed to his advances.”

“Blegh,” the fire bender said with a roll of her eyes. “Gag me with a spoon. Okay then, Button. What about Acrylic? He’s out there, now. What if Silver gets a hold of him? Do you still think she’ll be ‘good’ and not hurt him?”

Button snickered. “Oh, I’m not worried about him at all. He’s Acrylic, one of the best benders I know! Besides, with Pearl and Pinkie there keeping an eye on him? No way they’ll be in much danger.”

Celestia sighed. “Do you ever have an answer other than ‘everything will be okay in the end’?”

“Not really. Things will be okay in the end. Because we’re all going to make them okay. Besides. There’s a whole bunch of things I can’t do. Like, I’m not a ruler or an avatar or a spirit or any of that stuff. But… what I can do? I can believe in all of them. I can believe in them no matter what, no matter how dark things get. Because Silver and Diamond are my friends, you know? And somepony has to believe in them. Always.”

“I wish I could have your boundless optimism.”

“If it wasn’t for that boundless optimism, I wouldn’t have Luna. Don’t tell him, but he’s way outside of my league,” he mock whispered, smiling to the water bender.

Luna snorted, shaking his head and glancing over at the stallion. “I for one like his boundless optimism. It’s… refreshing on some of those darker days. So never change, Dear Button.”

The earth pony snickered and glanced away, his cheeks red. “For you? I’ll be the same forever...”

“Ughhhhhh...” Celestia said with yet another roll of her eyes.

Author's Note:

And here we go, the final chapter of Button and the twin's adventure! Well, at least until I come back to them. Next week, we're moving onto the next group! Hope you're all ready!

Friends like Button are the best. Ones who believe in you, no matter how often you screw up and make mistakes. Here's hoping he was right in the end.

Comments

[CrystalMaster76]

This was not my favorite chapter mostly becasue it felt like a lot of reaffirming stuff we already knew. At least in regards to how our three arc protagonsits feel about Silver. Luna and Celestia do get to show some good leadership points here by keeping things realistic so that's nice. i do like the dynamic the three have but i am worried that we have all three of the best young hero supporting cast right here. The continued different reactions of water nation soilders to Celestia and Luna does remain a nice point of flavor.
The biggest take away from this chapter is that Diamond has something of a long shot plan, and that she was in a funk for a bit. That and the fact that not everyone is thrilled to be betting on such a longshot. Decent chapter but the weakest of the 3 parter.