Silver Spoon stared out over her kingdom, her home, her world.

Harmony, the great city in the middle of the four kingdoms, a place of unity and power. A place where all ponies could come and be safe. Be secure. Be happy. Now the very seat of Discord herself. A city where her armies had sprung from, washing over the other nations. Capturing them. Binding them. Enslaving them.

Over the lake that had once held the Avatar was a single massive portal to the Spirit World. A testament to her power. It had been difficult to create as it had required not only her power, but the power she had stolen from Diamond. But it was necessary. She was Discord. She ruled both worlds now. It was her destiny. What she HAD to do. Just like Diamond had to try and stop her, like Harmony had directed. She felt yet another burst of frustration at her frie-- rival.

Diamond had lost. Silver now ruled. Her magic had rippled across the Spirit World, destroying every binding, every hindrance, every barrier. Everything the past avatars had done to contain and control the Spirit World was now undone. Gone. Crushed beneath her might. And now this world felt it was well. Harmony had been the first to fall. The first to taste her hoof.

A soft pang of regret echoed across her heart, but she ignored it. Her moment of victory. No! Her moment of triumph. So many ponies had come to her and knelt before her. Sided with her.

And yet, her own father had gone and disappeared. Somehow, Acrylic and Button had escaped their binds as well. Of all the ponies she’d expected to disappear, they hadn’t been one of them. She understood why, of course. But her own father…

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “No matter. All of you fear me. All of you fear Discord,” she whispered, glaring down at the city. “No wonder you flee. No wonder you hide. You cower. I’m the monster of legends. The pony you held festivals celebrating the demise of. Well? Celebrate this. Celebrate the fact I came and I won,” she said bitterly.

The world had fallen beneath her hoof. Without Diamond to stop her, without an Avatar, it seemed nopony could stand in her way. She’d left her friends behind, taken their cutie marks and left. The ponies who opposed her, who fought her, met a similar fate. Were she a normal pony, what she had done would have been impossible. The countries could not be defeated so quickly.

But she was Discord. Her powers were beyond them. And she had what nopony else expected. She had unleashed an army on the world, the forces by which she now ruled. Her march on Harmony had been something different. She had wielded the power of some of the most powerful benders in Equestria. None of them had been able to stop her from creating the portal to the Spirit World. Stopped her from exerting her power over HER realm.

They couldn't stop her from calling on the spirits, all of the spirits, that had so long not had a master. And the changelings had answered. Thousands of them. Millions of them. An army of spirits that had washed over Harmony and then slowly spread out over the land. Spirits unlike anything normal ponies had been able to deal with.

Granted, it took more than just that to stop ponies. An army of spirits couldn’t do it alone… It had taken her touch. Her eyes wavered to a creature made of writhing, swirling water, that slowly moved around the lake. Her greatest creation. Her ‘Immortals’. One of four changelings, each one molded with one of the four aspects of Diamond’s cutie mark. Then infused with a small fraction of her own considerable power and finally, fused with cutie marks from all the different ponies and benders who had had their marks stolen by her. With every battle, more marks of those who opposed her were taken. With every battle, they grew ever stronger.

With every battle, her victory became more and more assured.

Some ponies had flocked to her side, she told herself again. Powerful ponies. It seemed almost too easy. The first ones had seemed to come to her on their own, almost as if they were seeking her out. But then more and more joined her. They were not foals. They knew there was no Diamond to save them. No great Avatar to rescue them. The Immortals marched on every battle, the Avatar’s mark emblazoned on their hip. More cutie marks stolen. More power drawn to her side. More ponies surrendered or joined her. Fell under her hoof.

In a few short months she had managed to do what the Water Nation had attempted for decades.

Then again, she supposed the original Discord had managed the same feat in a few days. Chaos magic truly was cheating. But this time there was nothing left to chance. There were no ‘Elements’ to save them, the past Discord had tended to that. Diamond was powerless. ALL of her magic stolen. There was nothing more to be done. She’d won, the words repeated through her mind over and over. All that remained, now, was to sweep away the last remnants of rebellion that kept managing to appear underhoof. She had generals for that, of course. And her army. She’d won. She’d won. She’d won.

Her eyes were brought back to a pair of changelings flying by, focused ahead. Chaotic, strange creatures. They were the only spirits that had come at her call. She wondered where the others were hiding, or perhaps they hadn’t desired to fight back against the ponies, to come to their master? But perhaps she had been gone too long.

Or maybe the changelings saw much of themselves in her. The kind of creatures that would turn on their friends. The kinds of creatures that would betray them and trick them and hurt them and--

“Your highness?” a voice called out, making her jump. She quickly wiped the flowing tears from her eyes before turning around. A green coated unicorn with a blue mane stood in the doorway. Gracious Warmth, one of the first to join her. One of the ponies who saw her fight. Saw her win. Because she had won. She had.

“W-what?” Silver asked softly, choking on the words.

“News from the Earth Kingdom. The siege on Metal Orchard has begun.”

“Metal Orchard?”

“The primary outpost of the rebellion remaining in the Earth Kingdom. Where councilmare Octavia and Vinyl retreated,” the mare answered, giving a small, gentle smile. Of course she was smiling. She was following Silver. And Silver had won. No matter what, she was on the winning side.

“Y-yes. They did. Right,” Silver said, shaking her head. Acrylic and Button’s mothers. She wondered how they felt. Scared? Angry? Hurt? Hatred, she suspected. They’d known her. Been close to her. She wondered if they ever suspected how close they were to pure evil. That if they had just struck, when she was weak and vulnerable, all the misery they could have prevented. Ended her before she had risen to power.

But no. This was her destiny. Her victory. She’d played her part perfectly. Played everypony else for foals, made them believe that she was the good, kind, obedient little heiress who just wanted to help them. Made them think she was a friend. Capable of being a friend. And it had worked.

She turned back towards the portal. Then, she found her eyes lowering towards her Immortal. Her creation. Crafted using her best friend’s cutie mark. She felt tears rise in her eyes.

“Your highness?” Gracious asked, walking up behind the mare and softly placing a hoof on her back. “Are you not feeling well? Are you worried about your Immortal? The wounds the rebellion did will fade soon. Your power is too much to weaken it for long.”

“It’s fine. I just… I have a headache.” Sometimes victory came with headaches, she was sure. But she had won. Wounded or not, there was nothing that could truly stand against her Immortal. Even if it was taking a lot longer to heal than she suspected it should have, it was nothing she had to worry about. Because she had won, she reminded herself once more.

“I see. You should take better care of yourself. You are the only Avatar of Discord, are you not? Every eye in the world is on you now. Watching you. Waiting for their moment to strike. You must keep yourself strong.”

Silver nodded, before closing her eyes. “Things are never going to be the same, are they?” She knew it was a stupid question. She won, why would she want things to go back to the way they were?

“No, they will not,” the mare said soothingly. “But is that truly so bad? You’re creating something new and special, your highness. A brand new world.”

She tried to keep the words contained, but they refused. “So did Discord, and we all know how well that turned out.”

Gracious was silent for a moment, staring out over the world. “No. You’re doing something far, far greater than he. He changed the world, altered it. But you, your highness. Are making it kneel to you. You are doing something even the previous Avatar couldn’t do. Something even Twilight couldn’t do. You are the most powerful pony in the world. This is your destiny. This is your right.”

Silver ground her hoof into the ground. She’d won. “I… you’re right.” But it still didn’t feel right. No matter how hard she tried, there was one thing she couldn’t deny. “I just… I miss my friends.”

“Were they ever truly your friends? Would they have accepted you? No. You’re Discord. But now, you have us. We understand you,” Gracious said, gently patting her withers. “We are friends, are we not?”

“… Yes. Yes we are.” She reached up and gently rubbed the amulet around her neck. The alicorn amulet. She still couldn’t believe she had come to this point. She’d had so many plans. So many schemes. She’d always intended to ‘defeat’ the Avatar. She’d been so certain it was her destiny to fight her and, win or lose, things would end there. Yet, she had always suspected it would be ‘lose’. But...

She was the big, scary, terrifying Discord. The spirit that ponies threw celebrations about defeating. The pony that everypony hated. The one creature, in all the world, that could never, ever, EVER be forgiven. And, for just a moment, she’d forgotten that. She’d allowed herself to believe that friendship would win. That she didn’t need plans. That she didn’t have to fight. That Diamond would still…

Would forgive her.

‘I trusted you.’ Diamond’s words played back in her mind. The fire on her horn. The look of betrayal. It was fair, though. Maybe, just maybe, Silver could have earned their forgiveness. If she had admitted to Diamond what she was. Who she was. If she could go back, back before they went to the Badlands. Back when they were fighting Meadowbrook. Back when they first met. If she could go back to the very beginning and just tell her the truth. Tell her everything. Undo everything.

Instead she had lied. Instead she had betrayed. Instead she had been so focused on following her ‘destiny’ that she had cut off and hurt so many ponies around her. It was no wonder that Diamond had found that revelation to be too much to forgive. She truly was just like Discord, in the end. All she had cared about was victory. And she’d won a victory that made her sick.

“Your highness?”

“R-right, sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. Has there been any news about… my… about...”

“Alicity’s airship hasn’t been found. Tittering believes it’s still in the Water Nation, however. But...”

“But there’s an entire kingdom of water benders there. Islands they could hide on. And a whole world of ponies who would like nothing more than to see us all fail?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. She took a long, slow breath. Steeling herself for what she knew she had to do.

She’d been stupid. She’d hesitated. She’d messed up again and again. But there was no forgiveness, now. There never had been. This was her destiny, and she would face it with strength and confidence. With authority. With the iron resolve that she had once held. The world was hers. She had won. All of the nations had fallen to her hoof and were being united under a single banner. Soon, the rebellions would fall as well. “Will I be needed on any of the fronts?”

“Against the rebellion? No. You have won. We have this handled, your highness.”

“Then… go. Please.”

“Your highness?”

“I just wish to be alone.”

“As you wish,” the mare said before bowing her head and turning, trotting away.

Silver sighed, watching the other mare until the door was closed behind her. She then slowly dragged herself to her bed, tossing herself into it. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. Tried to peer ahead.

She had altered the ‘story’ once, as Discord would put it. She had been able to see the words. But now, she couldn’t. She had healed. The headache from her overuse of power was now gone.

But she still couldn’t see anymore. There was something blocking it. Something changing things around her in a way even she couldn’t understand.

Had she thrown everything so off? In such a wild direction that even she couldn’t make sense out of the chaos any more? Tirek was gone. Harmony was gone. The elements were gone. The Avatar was gone. There weren’t any more threats to her. There wasn’t anything that could stand against her. And yet, it felt as if there was just something so, so wrong. Like there was something obvious that she was missing. Something in her path, blocking her. Something that was changing everything. And yet, she’d won. She’d fulfilled her destiny. Perhaps she had shattered the ‘story’ entirely. Perhaps there was nothing left for her to see. Or maybe it was something else. Something she missed.

If it was something she missed, she suspected that Diamond was at the center of it. As much as she hoped she’d never see her friend again, she couldn’t help dreading that, before long, their paths would cross one final time.

Somehow, the thought made her both happy and sad.

What if she had to win again?

I'll be honest. This book is likely going to be the most difficult one I've written so far. The grand finale. I'm terrified of letting all of you down, but I'm going to try my hardest to make it as good as I wanted it to be when I first started Diamond Tiara. In order to do this, the entirety of the outline for book 4 has been re-written in preparation. Angel had to work a TON of overtime on this. So please, enjoy.

Also, in an attempt to avoid the current 'Feast or famine' thing I seem to be having going on, I'm switching to a weekly update process. Every monday, a new chapter of Avatar will be released(pending IRL blockades).

Finally, I am still taking commissions, so please take a look at my page if you're interested! Also, I've re-released one of my original works, Landasy Reality Angel's Escape. If you'd like to help support my writing, please pick it up and leave a review, thank you.

Secretary lightly hummed while she worked, slowly stirring the pot while eyeing the delicious smelling soup within. Made of a mix of seaweed, potatoes and a few other odds and ends they’d managed to scrounge together, she was quite proud of her concoction.

Of course, she wasn’t the only pony working in the kitchen. Behind her, working on the other stoves were a unicorn and a pegasus, preparing the food for the majority of their forces. On the one hoof, she was a bit sad that they had to make such a small amount of food. On the other hoof, she supposed it was for the best. If they’d managed to gather too large a force, then their rations would have quickly been depleted.

Besides. Quality over quantity, she supposed. She sipped the soup and gave a nod. “Perfect.” She quickly poured some into a bowl, before turning to leave the kitchen.

“Hey, St--”

“Please, call me Secretary,” she interrupted, glancing towards the pegasus.

“Right. You know, you don’t have to make his meals for him. You have a lot more important things to--”

“I have been preparing Dr. Alicity’s meals as far back as I can remember,” she said firmly. “And, the world falling apart or not, it is STILL of the utmost importance. I will not allow such a trifle to come between me and my duty.” With those words, she started towards the door again, only pausing a moment before walking out. “This should be sufficient for him. If you so desire, you may do with the rest as you please.”

The pegasus nodded with a chuckle, glancing to the unicorn once the mare disappeared around the corner. “Buck. I wish half of the Shadowbolts had her kind of work ethic.”

The unicorn snorted but shook her head. “If half the moon raisers in training had it, we wouldn’t have to be so careful about losing any of them.”

Secretary sighed, shaking her head at their words while she continued down the cold, icy halls of the hideout. The walls themselves were crafted of ice, though so dark they almost seemed black. Candle holders had been recently embedded deep in the walls, all lit with enchanted candles.

It did little to lessen the cold, icy feeling of isolation. She did have to give it to the Water Nation of old. When they created an outpost of despair, they didn’t hold back. The cold chill that always seemed to linger in the air was terrible. But ever worse was the darkness that seemed to close in on them from all sides. It wasn’t magic, of course. They’d checked many, many times.

No, the former home of the Shadowbolts, once the Water Nations most dangerous and impenetrable prison, had a dark magic all its own. Deep under the ice of the South Pole, light couldn’t penetrate these icy halls. Giving it the impression of a frozen, impregnatable tomb. No matter how many lights they put up, there was nothing they could do to brighten the place.

Even after years of being abandoned, the prison stood almost empty. Animals seemed unwilling to seek shelter within its dark, cold walls. Not that it would have been easy for them. But even so, she could see the effect such a place was having on the ponies here. Tower watch had become the most requested duty amongst all of their soldiers, even the Shadowbolts of Harmony seemed to despise being in the home of their ancestors.

She couldn’t blame them though. The light reflections in the ice and the darkness always gave her the odd impression she was being watched. That there were eyes out there in the darkness, waiting for her to turn her back. She knew it was preposterous. They had defenses setup. There were ponies EVERYWHERE, many of them water benders who had made sure that there was NOTHING else here with them. They did multiple checks throughout the day to ensure that EVERYPONY was accounted for. Passwords and extra passwords to ensure that there were no changelings that could sneak in, either.

They were safe. Protected.

But, despite all that, she couldn’t feel secure… except in one place. One place where, despite all of the darkness and gloom, light seemed to shine without being stifled. Already she could hear the gentle buzzing sound. She trotted a little faster, a small smile flickering onto her lips. She pushed open the door…

And entered somewhere new entirely. What had once been one of the many rooms for the Shadowbolts had been converted into a workshop for Alicity. The earth pony was wearing his lab coat, a pair of goggles over his head. He seemed completely lost in thought, tapping away at some strange… cube. It seemed to be buzzing, though she didn’t worry. Years as his assistant had taught her the difference between ‘According to plans’ buzzing and ‘Time to erect a barrier NOW!’ buzzing.

She paused when the buzzing shifted. Her horn glowed with a greater light and the stallion was enveloped in a small, magical shield. Sparks shot from the cube, bouncing off of the shield to land harmlessly on the ground. She gave a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Doctor? Your food is ready. Please be careful, you don’t wish to lose your eyebrows again.”

“Huh? Is it dinner already?” he asked, glancing back at her.

“Breakfast, sir.” She couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. The world could fall apart entirely, no, it WAS falling apart entirely. And yet, he still refused to be anything but himself. To be that same, warm glow she had grown so accustomed to over the years. Even knowing what his daughter was doing seemed to do little to stifle his energy. Though he had seemed just a little more serious of late.

“But didn’t we just have lunch? I remember these delicious cauliflower bites.”

“That was yesterday, sir,” she said, walking over to him. “Remember? You fell asleep at your desk again.”

“I did? Oh, right, yes,” he said, before glancing back towards his cube. Idly, she trotted besides him and her magic pulled him back.

“Sir, it’s time for a break.”

“But I think I have it. If I can just re-calibrate the--”

“Eat, and I’ll take notes,” she said firmly. “Now.”

He sighed and gave a nod. “Very well, I need to re-calibrate the gorgenal adixtes,” he said, speaking through the soup.

Secretary nodded, pulling out her notepad and pen and beginning to write. She’d spent years learning all of his little quirks, deciphering what he said while he ate was easy for her. She listened along, quickly jotting down all of his notes. However, after a few minutes she frowned. “Sir? Are you sure you want to use a double five-point array, there? Considering the output, wouldn’t a triple array using topaz be more stable?”

“No, no, it--” He stopped, staring at her. “SECRETARY! You are a GENIUS! I don’t know WHY I didn’t think of that! Secretary, get the thing,” he said with a wave of his hoof, his eyes glimmering with excitement. “I know how to--”

“Notes are taken, but you have a meeting.”

“But--”

“I will drag you, if I have to,” she said firmly, glaring at him.

He gave a soft sigh, before nodding. “Fine. Let’s go take care of things,” he mumbled softly, turning around. Secretary eyed the half-eaten bowl of soup and picked it up in her magic, moving it in front of him.

“Eat, first. THEN the meeting.”

The doctor gave another sigh, before relenting.

------

“As you can see,” Colgate said, slowly moving a hoof along the map of the four nations. A dozen small pins had been pushed throughout it. The blue unicorn tapped on the city of Harmony. “Her forces are growing ever stronger. While… her Water Immortal was damaged in the attack on Canterlot, the other three are still out there. As dangerous as ever.”

Colgate’s eyes wandered to the southern pins. Her Water Nation. She still couldn’t believe that it had fallen. How close SHE had been to falling with it. If it hadn’t been for Luna and Celestia, she would have met a fate similar to so many of her soldiers. “The resistance is gaining new members every day. However...”

She motioned a hoof to the Earth Kingdom. She placed a hoof down, against the pins that made up the majority of the ones in the Earth Kingdom. “Metal Orchard is under siege. Vinyl has sent a message that they will be trying to get as many ponies out as they can, but...” She gave a soft, gentle sigh. “There is no reason to expect their resistance will do any better than the others. For time being, they’ll be delaying as long as they can.” She glanced over at the three other ponies in the room.

Copper Shield, the red-coated leader of the metal benders. She found it almost humorously funny that SHE was the only military leader of the Harmony forces to have escaped, considering the metal benders who had escaped had been moved to Metal Orchard, leaving their gathered forces as only the Moon Raisers and Shadowbolts. No, she supposed only Stratios had fallen of the three leaders. Tittering had turned out to be a traitor.

She felt a small burst of anger at that thought. She had KNOWN Tittering. She trusted her. The mare had always been so chipper and full of… well, terrible humor. But this? Turning on Harmony? No, not just on Harmony, but the Water Nation entirely? The world? Joining DISCORD of all ponies? Had somepony told her a year ago that the once happy, chipper water bender was capable of such a deed, she’d have politely snorted at the audacity of such a comment.

Yet, there was no denying what had happened. That it had been Tittering leading the forces against Canterlot. That it had been a pony she had once trusted as one of her soldiers directing the powerful spirit to steal the cutie marks of her soldiers, of HER.

She stared at the map, willing her tears to not form. How did her mother do this? How could Rarity rule over her nation through times like these? How could she stay strong even as everything fell apart around them? She felt overwhelmed. She felt like everything was going to come crashing down. No, that everything was crashing down. She was just trying to pick up the pieces and hold things together, to stop as many things from breaking as possible. She wasn’t the Water Lord, not yet. But now she was forced to bear that title and it was far, far heavier than she had ever imagined.

“They might wound it,” Copper finally said, shaking her from her thoughts.

“Huh?” Colgate asked, glancing to the other mare. “The Earth Immortal?”

“Possible.”

“Unlikely, however,” Alicity said, eyeing the map. “Possible, but highly unlikely. It’s not just that spirit that they have to contend with. There’s an army of changelings, as well as the defectors. Not to mention Stony. He’s been to the Metal Orchard and trained under Big Mac,” the stallion said, motioning back to the city. “The wounds that were inflicted on the Water Immortal were earlier, as well. Near the beginning of this campaign. With every attack, with every stolen mark, they grow stronger and stronger. On top of it, well...”

“Their forces grow as well,” Colgate said, keeping her voice calm and even. Not allowing the despair she felt, the hopelessness, to enter her voice. She was the ruler of the Water Nation, deposed or not. Without her mother to lead them, she was the only pony her people had to turn to. “The chances of them being able to isolate the spirit, like we did back in Canterlot, are very slim.”

“At least during a siege,” Alicity said with a shake of his head. “For now, we just have to hope they can sneak ponies out through their lines. However… They have three of the greatest benders the world knows in that city. It won’t be a quick fight. And if anypony could get ponies out, it’s those three. But...”

“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” Copper offered, her eyes on the map. Colgate eyed the other mare’s neutral face. She had to admire the earth pony’s resolve. Of all of them, the Metal Orchard falling had to be the roughest. Yet, as always, she seemed as calm and peaceful as could be. Truly she lived up to her parent’s legacy.

“Exactly,” Alicity mumbled. “This attack is quite brilliant,” he mumbled. “Forcing so many of the resistance to pull back to the Metal Orchard, then close the trap down on it. Their leadership is quite impressive. Silver truly is learning, she must have excellent advisers. Or maybe it’s one of her generals. Either way, it’s quite impressive. Turning the impenetrable fortress into an inescapable cage.”

Colgate glanced to the stallion. “You sound almost proud, Alicity.”

“Of course I’m proud,” he said with a laugh.

That managed to snap the unicorn’s calm facade, making her stare at him with a mixture of fury and annoyance. “What?! Our world is falling apart and you are PROUD?”

“Why, yes,” he said with a smile. “To imagine, my little girl eventually trying for world domination. And succeeding! Well, for the most part. What parent wouldn’t be proud?” he asked.

Colgate started to step forward, but Secretary quickly interposed herself between the two, her eyes narrowed on the ruler. She idly wondered if she could take the assistant. Logically, she knew the mare wasn’t a bender and would have been easy to defeat. After all, Colgate WAS the ruler of the Water Nation and one of the most powerful water benders in the world, now that her mother and aunt were missing. But, for some reason she didn’t feel confident about going against the mare when she was guarding the doctor.

“Of course she’s wrong,” Alicity said with another laugh, shaking his head. “Who would want to rule the world? So much work,” he said with a wave of his hoof. “Bad enough running a company. But even a city would just be so… heh. Silly! But yes, of course I’m proud of her. When she’s trying so hard, how can I NOT be proud of her?” He then idly tapped on the pins of the city again. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to stop her, if that’s what you’re worried about. She is my daughter, after all. It’s my responsibility. After all, is it not a father’s duty to guide their child? Especially when they’re being unruly.”

“Unruly?” Colgate asked, letting out a low growl, her eyes narrowed to slits. “My nation is collapsing and you dare to… to be proud of her? To call this merely ‘unruly’? To support this… this madness?”

“She’s my daughter. I’ll always support her. Otherwise, who will?” he asked. “In this case, though, support means stopping her before she goes too far.”

“GOES TOO FAR?!” Colgate asked, her front hooves leaping onto the table, making the pins quiver. “My ponies are losing their marks, being ENSLAVED by a SPIRIT OF CHAOS, and you dare to NOT call this too far?!” she screamed.

Alicity sighed. “Yes, I do. She’s making mistake after mistake. Children often do. But--”

“She’s not a child! She’s a DEMON! No. Worse. She’s DISCORD!” the water bender yelled, her fury raising. She didn’t know if she could get through Secretary to him, but she was quickly beginning to be willing to take the risk.

“Nonsense. Foalish mistake or not, she’s still Silver,” he said with a small shake of his head. “She’ll come to her senses eventually. Now, is there any more news from the rebellions?”

Colgate slowly pulled herself back, slowly adapting her calm, careful mask. She had to give Copper credit. The mare had kept herself as calm as ever. She envied that ability. The earth pony hadn’t even offered a word, one way or the other. “Of course. Other than the siege, there haven’t been any new updates. Luna and Celestia have been trying to make headway against the forces of Tittering’s, but… it hasn’t proved to be easy.”

“I see… oh. That reminds me! Button is with them, correct? What has he been up to?”

Colgate blinked a few times. She glanced off to the side, a small blush on her cheeks. How could he even ask such a thing? “They are… Luna and Button are… They are fine.”

“Oh, that’s good. If anything were to happen to Button or Acrylic, Silver would never forgive me,” he said with a light laugh.

Colgate lunged across the table.

And so, another chapter! Woo! Also, I swear Dr. Alicity would be dead a dozen times over if not for Secretary's hard work...

Also, keeping up on my weekly updates, yay! I'm a good girl! :D Now let's see if I can keep this up...

Button’s eyes slowly opened and for a small moment, he panicked. He flailed his hooves out. Where was--

A familiar warmth pressed against his back and he urked. “Button? What’s wrong?” Luna asked.

The brown earth pony flushed and rolled over, giving the dark blue stallion a worried look. “I uhhhh… didn’t… err… You weren’t next to me.”

“You were tossing and turning last night,” the unicorn said with a small, calm smile. “I merely re-positioned myself behind you so I could rub your back. It seemed to help you calm down.”

“R-right. Yes. It’s… right,” he said, staring at the other pony. He still didn’t get it, all of it. All of his feelings. He’d never even looked at a stallion before. But Luna…

Luna was special. Having him here just felt right to him. It didn’t hurt that Luna was probably one of the most feminine stallions he’d ever met. But there was more to it than that. There was just… something special about him. About everything about him. The thought of waking up without Luna being there just filled him with dread.

Button couldn’t stop himself. He pushed forward, catching Luna’s mouth with his and kissing him.

Luna didn’t object, closing his eyes and relaxing into it.

“Oh my gosh, you two, get a room,” Celestia’s voice rang through the tent, making Button jump and pull back.

“Dear sister, we have a tent. It is effectively a room. On top of that, the entrance is closed.”

“I can HEAR it,” the mare’s voice rang out. “Will you two hurry it up. We’re leaving soon. Ugh.”

Luna gave a soft, gently laugh before slowly pulling himself to his hooves and walking out of the tent, pushing the flap aside with a delicate, gentle grace.

Button followed a moment later, though he was far less graceful and ended up tripping over the entrance, tumbling down in front of it. “Ow!”

“Do be careful, dear Button,” Luna said, glancing back. “I am quite attached to your face.”

Celestia rolled her eyes, gently turning the vegetables roasting over an open fire pit. “Ugh. Bad enough I have to sleep next to you two when you’re all snuggly. Do you have to do it first thing in the morning?”

The water bender cocked an eye. “Oh, my. Dear sister, whenever did you become so prudish? Was it not you who would often awaken me with… rather risque tales of your own… frolics?”

“I NEVER called them frolics. And that was different. They never...”

“Yes?”

“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “I hope you two are ready, though. Today isn’t going to be easy,” she mumbled, lightly spinning the vegetables again. She gripped a carrot from the assortment, bringing it to her lips and taking a nibble, before re-adding it to the pile. “Should be ready soon. Luna, can you take care of the tent?”

“Of course,” he said, before turning back to the tent. His horn glowed and slowly their supplies were moved out from the tent and into the small campsite. The tent then began to fold itself back up, neatly sliding into Button’s saddlebag. Satisfied, he nodded and moved back to the fire, sitting down. “Button, how are you feeling?”

“Nervous, mostly,” he said with a soft chuckle. “I mean. I know we’ve been preparing for this for… weeks now. But… well...”

“Meh, it’ll be fine,” Celestia said before splitting the vegetables onto three separate plates and then sliding them in front of the assorted ponies. “We’ll kick flank. And if Tittering shows her face, we’ll crush her. Easy.”

“Do not be so cocky, sister,” Luna said softly. “It is only natural that we’d be nervous. I know I certainly am.”

Button glanced over. The unicorn was, as always, the epitome of refinement. Despite having woken up, he’d already straightened his mane and coat. He looked as if there wasn’t a single worry on his mind. Except there were the small, tiny signs that Button was getting better at noticing. The way his withers were tightened. The way his jaw was set. The way his tail was just a little bit limp. In a way, it almost felt like earth bending. Noticing all the small, tiny movements the unicorn made, in order to determine a far greater meaning.

“We’re three of the best benders here,” Celestia said with a shrug. “We’re going to crush their lines. Changelings or not.”

“Do remember that there will be more than just changelings,” Luna said carefully. “There will be many water benders who have joined under Discord’s banner.”

“Bah. You’re worth ten of them,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

“And there may be twenty or thirty of them. Fifty. Possibly even more. Then there will be those who can’t fight. Those who are civilians. Those it is our duty to protect. While it is unlikely our mission will involve them, there is always the possibility they will become involved.”

The fire bender gave an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, I know...”

“And if we succeed… Tittering, and who knows how many other ponies, will be following us. Fighting against us. It is distinctly possible that we will be captured. Or worse, if they don’t fall for the bait, then all of this is for naught.”

“Well, congratulations. Now I’M nervous as buck,” Celestia muttered, moving a brussel sprout along on her plate. “It’s going to be fine, though. The two of us? Nothing we can’t handle. And now that we’ve got your… well, Button,” she said, her tone shifting to a teasing tone. “There’s nothing we can’t handle.”

“So long as we are all very careful and exercise due caution, I agree.” He then glanced to Button. “We’re going to be depending heavily on you, Button. We couldn’t do this without you. So… if you need anything. Please, let us know.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my part. I won’t let either of you down, no matter what.” He stared at the plate in front of him. He wasn’t hungry, but he knew he had to eat. Chances were he wouldn’t get another meal until a lot later in the day.

------

“There it is,” Celestia said gently, holding a hoof out towards a small, walled off town. Besides it there had once been a lake.

Now the lake was entirely frozen, turned into a massive ice prison. Inside the icy structure were dozens, possibly hundreds of ponies. Tied, bound, who knew what else?

All awaiting the return of the Water Immortal. With it, their cutie marks could be removed as punishment for their crimes. There was no telling how much longer they had. If they were going to rescue the ponies, they had to do it and soon.

Worse yet, it was an obvious move. Anypony with half a brain would be able to tell that an attack from the rebellion would come through here. Which was why the general, Tittering, was residing in that city. A direct attack wouldn’t work. Their best option was simple. Lure as many of the forces away as they could with a bait they couldn’t resist. Primarily, Celestia and Luna.

Which meant attacking close enough that Tittering would come herself, but far enough away that they could still escape when she made her move. It wasn’t going to be easy. They could see their target, off in the distance. A small outpost, up in the mountains. The primary source of materials for one of the few towns in the Water Nation that were land locked. Airships came through often, delivering food and supplies to the town as needed.

“Are they ready?” Button asked softly, staring at the prison. If they didn’t buy enough time, everything would come crashing down. But if they stayed too long, there was a good chance THEY would be captured and imprisoned. If they were, there was no chance they’d be able to escape. The twins were too big a target to risk escaping and would likely be moved quickly. The rebellion still hadn’t managed to find the location where all of the captured leaders were being held and it was unlikely a rescue would be able to arrive in time even if they could.

“As ready as they can be,” Celestia mumbled, before beginning a light trot towards the outpost. “Remember, we go in and out. The moment there’s any sign of Tittering, we get ready to move. Luna, Button, you know your jobs.”

Button nodded. “Of course. Luna, will you be okay?”

The unicorn gave a nod in response. “Yes. Enchanted water such as… that, will be difficult. But not impossible to deal with,” he said firmly. “I’ll be able to stop it from hindering your bending at least. Escape should be possible.”

Sharing one last, final look, the three began their walk towards the outpost, keeping hidden under the treeline. They walked with heavy hearts, knowing this could be their final fight.

“Do you think this is how our mother felt when they went up against Discord before?” Luna asked, glancing to Button.

The stallion stumbled, before shrugging. “I don’t know. I doubt it. I mean, Discord was evil.”

Celestia let out a low groan. “You’ve GOT to be kidding me. You STILL don’t think Silver is evil? I mean, look at what she’s doing,” she said, motioning towards the prison. “Not to mention her little Immortals. How could anything NOT evil make such a… a monster? An abomination? It steals cutie marks. It steals the very essence of a pony. That’s as evil as evil can be,” she said firmly.

“I… know it’s wrong. But it’s Silver. I’ve known her since I was a colt. There’s absolutely no way that this is her.”

“It didn’t stop her from locking you away,” Celestia said firmly. “She played you, that’s all there is to it. Discord is an evil abomination. His little ‘avatar’ is just as bad, if not worse.”

Button sighed and shook his head. “Discord may be evil, but Silver isn’t. Trust me. I know her as well as anypony. She’s bucked up, sure, but--”

“Bucked up? She’s destroying the world! You can’t just go ‘oops’ when you imprison and torture ponies!”

The earth pony cringed. “I-I don’t think she tortures--”

“Stealing a cutie mark IS torture. Why are you even trying to fight her if you like her so much? Luna, aren’t you going to say anything?” Celestia asked, glancing to her brother.

Luna shook his head. “No. I do not have much to add.”

“Wait, YOU don’t trust her too, do you?! Oh come ON! Listen, we’re about to go and do… well. THIS. Enough of your little quiet mood. I wanna know the truth. Do you trust her, too?”

“Of course not,” he said with a shake of his head. He didn’t react to the look of triumph on his sister’s face, or the look of hurt on Button’s. Though he firmly desired to reach out and nuzzle the wounded stallion. “But I do trust Button. I had only known Silver for a very, very short time and, if not for this, I would have assumed she was a kind, generous soul. However, you are correct. She has brought the world to its knees and shattered so many of the bonds us ponies hold dear, as well as stolen many, many cutie marks.”

“See? Evil!” Celestia said with a smirk.

“And destroying lives, ruining countries was something that, before our mother’s hard work, was something that our country held a firm grip on,” Luna added.

“… Oh. That’s… that’s different,” Celestia mumbled. “It was under Discord’s influence, too, that--”

“The ruler, yes,” Luna said quickly. “The ponies under her? The ones who refused to oppose her? The ones who fought against those trying to stop it? They had no such excuse. Our country is one drowning in bloodshed, dear sister. The water benders in particular are, again and again, the focus of many stories of hate and suffering. Removing horns, wings, all in an effort to control and destroy. If we had the ability, removing cutie marks would have been something we would have done without hesitation.”

Celestia cringed again. “W-well, I mean. Yeah. But… but that was then. Besides, we never did that stuff. We’d never--”

“Can you be quite so sure?” Luna asked, glancing to his sister. “It must be nice to be so good, to know that you would remain untainted by a world of such darkness. I, however, am not so certain of myself. Were I to be surrounded by ponies of such blood thirstyness, if I were to have grown up in such a place? I cannot guarantee I wouldn’t have become like that. I may have become even worse, in fact. After all… I have two sisters I’d have wanted to remove from succession in order to achieve power.”

Celestia blanched. “You’d… have never hurt me. Besides, you wouldn’t want to rule, anyway. Colgate’s always--”

“Colgate will make a fine ruler. She is caring and kind, but firm. She will not allow herself to yield to pettiness or cruelty. And her path ahead will be quite difficult, one I imagine she would cast aside if she could. But that is to be a kind ruler. That is difficult, something I would never desire. But to be cruel? To be cold? To only care for power? To be like the Nightmare Moon of old, who rules through fear and might? That is far easier. Even a complete foal could do it. And, were our situations to be different, were Discord’s taint to have afflicted me? There is no telling what I could or would be willing to do. To care is difficult, but to not is easy.”

“I don’t… see what this has to do with anything,” Celestia mumbled, her voice unsure. “That was then. We cast aside his taint and… now we’re just normal ponies again. We’re trying to fight Discord, right? And he’s evil.”

“Discord IS evil,” Luna said. “But that does not mean that Silver is. The atrocities that our mother has seen. Those she committed herself. Not to mention our aunt. Many of them were evil. But that does not mean they are. We have no way of knowing what control over Silver currently exists. In fact, we know very, very little about her to begin with, aside from the fact she is powerful. It is entirely possible that the Silver that Button knows is still in there. That we can remove this… piece of Discord from her. That it is all just a terrible, horrible corruption that we can purge like the disease it is.”

Button nodded, slowly smiling. “Exactly! There’s no way that Silver is behind--”

“However, we must accept the possibility that this is, in fact, the true Silver,” Luna said, cutting him off.

“B-but you just said--”

“Discord was a master manipulator, working for generations, millenia even, to destroy the Elements of Harmony. He tricked, trapped, divided, corrupted and altered so, so many. Were we able to know for certain, we’d probably find his tainted claws stirring the chaos and destruction across all of history. How many events do you think he caused through his own touch and machinations? How many whispered words or false guidances? He always played with us as if we were toys. It is quite possible that Silver is what we’ve all heard. The true Spirit of Discord. And if she was… pretending to be a good pony? Pretending to be kind and sweet, tricking all of us? That would likely be easy for one such as her.”

Button flushed, glancing away. “I-I… guess she could. But this is Silver we’re talking about. She’d never hurt a fly. She--”

“The Silver shown to us? Perhaps she wouldn’t. But the true Silver? We have no way of currently knowing. As it is, we can only act on what we know. And, what we currently know, is she is a tyrant and ruining the world around her. If this is her own machinations or corruption from Discord himself, we have no way of knowing. When the time comes, when we have the Avatar again, we can only hope we’ll know what to do then. But we must remain flexible. Willing to strike her down, or show her mercy, regardless.”

Button and Celestia sighed, shaking their heads in unison. After a moment, the mare spoke up. “Spoken like a true water bender. Just keep putting it off.”

“Being flexible in a situation where you lack information is the best way to create the ideal outcome,” Luna said firmly. “Rushing in blindly, without care, would make us no different than our predecessors, dear sister. On the other hoof, denying the evidence in front of us and refusing to act when the time comes, standing firm in what we believe is ideal despite the consequences? That, dear Button, would be foalish.”

The stallion grumbled before shaking his head. “I know. I still don’t believe this is what she wants for a second, though. We’ll show her, somehow. Get all this fixed. I know we will,” he mumbled. He then glanced to Celestia. “Is he always like this?”

The mare groaned and gave a nod. “Yeah. It’s why I hate having arguments with him. He’s just so… ugh.”

“Patience, dear sister,” Luna said firmly. “It is one of the finest tools at our disposal. It has served me well throughout my life, after all.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Patience sucks. Patience is why we’re running around with our tails between our legs, waiting for Diamond to finish whatever she has cooked up in that brain of hers. I’d much rather just take the fight to Silver and end this now. If I could...”

Luna gave a soft, gentle chuckle. “Oh, dear sister. The best things in life are worth waiting for,” he said, before his eyes flickered to Button. Then, slowly, he looked ahead. “We’re here...” The three stopped and turned, glancing up at the outpost. He closed his eyes and his horn began to glow. Slowly, a frown formed on his face. “This… doesn’t make any sense.”

“What is it?” Button asked. “Can you not break it?”

“No. It’s not that,” he whispered. “There’s nothing to break.”

Celestia paused before glancing back to her brother. “Wait, what? There’s no enchanted water? Are you sure? Shouldn’t the ground be filled with it?”

“Yes, it should. But… it’s not. It’s just...” Luna dug his hooves deep into the ground, before shaking his head. “No. There’s nothing. This… doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe they didn’t suspect there’d be any earth benders? Or maybe Tittering can’t use the spell?” Button offered.

“It’s… possible. But foalish. Tittering knows that there are a few earth benders amongst the rebels operating in this region. The idea of her being unable to perform such a simple spell is laughable. We’ve all seen her poison bend. If she can do such a technique, she can use this spell to create such water. Even if she couldn’t, she would have soldiers who could. It’s not a difficult spell for a unicorn to cast.” Luna shook his head again. “But there is nothing. Why would Tittering leave such an obvious hole in their defenses?”

“Maybe she’s just not as smart as you think,” Button said. “Either way, that means I’m good to bend without any issues, right?”

“Indeed. Just… be careful. Sister?” Luna asked, glancing over.

“On it. Remember, you two. Move quick, hard and fast. Attack, attack, then we get out of here.”

The three shared a nod, before galloping forward, breaking cover and racing towards the outpost.

This always makes me wonder, and a little worried about myself. It's easy to go 'Well, if I was in X time/situation, I wouldn't have done Y'. But honestly, I really worry sometimes how quickly I would yield to the general crowd mentality, if I had been growing up in a environment of such darkness. It honestly makes me pity some people who just spread nothing but hate, imagining what kind of life and home they had to lead to this moment.

Alarms filled the air as Button felt the rush of adrenaline surge through him. The three had been spotted as they had intended.

Granted, even he was starting to feel like this was a terrible idea. They were vastly outnumbered, but the three of them were good. They could do this. No, would do this.

The outpost was simple enough. Surrounded by a thick wooden wall, with a three story tall building built into the mountains itself. At the top of the building, the pier jutted out from the mountain, where the airships would dock and bring more supplies in. Destroying the pier was up to Celestia and Luna.

He was their entrance and exit, as well as delaying tactic.

A buzzing sound filled the air, though he paid it no heed, yet. He had one goal. Destroy the wall so the other two could run inside. He leaped forward and then landed hard, driving his hooves into the ground. There was a sickening crunch when stone and dirt rushed up, shoving at the bottom of the wall. The buzzing got louder and he glanced up.

His heart raced faster. There were dozens of black, buzzing ponies. The changelings reminded him of bugs.

Then a moment later they flashed green and they were splitting images of him, Luna and Celestia. Fire shot up, blocking them from view a second later, when Celestia galloped past. “Less gawking more breaking!” she yelled at him.

“R-right!” he yelled. He took a deep breath, digging his hooves in as hard as he could. Sweat started to form on his body while he shoved with all his might, the ground imitating his movements. “Come on… come on… THERE!” he yelled.

With a much louder crunch, part of the wall gave way and a hole big enough for three or four ponies to get through was made, one of the massive posts of the wall flying away from the fort and crashing to the ground. He panted with exertion, watching the twins disappear inside.

He wiped the sweat from his brow before glancing up. Some of the changelings had disappeared, but there were still a dozen or so, who flew down at him. No telling how many more would be coming out to fight him, too. He gulped and raced away from the hole he made, heading towards the main towers that stood on either side of the primary entrance. He growled and then shoved both his hooves forward with all his might.

Lava formed in front of him, a veritable river of it. It shot out over the road and then under the main gate and tower. More angry buzzing filled the air when more of the changelings shot out from the, now burning, tower.

Button then turned, the lava at his back, while the changelings landed behind him. Now all images of Celestia and Luna. “Come on, guys,” he mumbled, narrowing his eyes. “Do you have to wear my coltfriend’s face? You’re just making this awk-- eep!” He leaped to the left, narrowly avoiding a blast of green magic from one of their horns. “Okay, fine!” He then tapped his hooves, forming a wall of rock in front of him, blocking more magical beams.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you! I’ll kick ALL your flanks!” he yelled, before turning and bucking. The wall shot out, striking two of the changelings and sending them toppling back. He then whipped around to face the veritable horde.

He really hoped Celestia and Luna were doing better. He leaped up, the ground rising to help shoot him into the air, moments before his prior position was enveloped in green magic beams. He landed, skidding along the ground, before sending more stones hurtling at the crowd. At least with so many, he didn’t have to worry about aiming.

------

Celestia let out a giddy laugh when she burst into the outpost. Her eyes narrowed on the large, metal door of the main building and she quickly leaped into the air, sending out a powerful, crashing burst of flame at the door.

The door crumbled like paper, bursting in and taking out a few of the ponies inside. Luna raced in, ahead of her, his horn glowing. Spikes of ice raced at him, but he quickly turned in a tight circle, turning the spikes to water and then forming a whip in front of himself. The whip lashed out at the nearest unicorn, gripping the pony’s front hooves and yanking him forward in time for Celestia to race forward and swirl into a powerful buck to the pony’s chest. He sailed through the air.

Luna saw three more unicorns and two copies of himself and his sister. The unicorns were staring at the two in shock, however. He didn’t blame them. It wasn’t everyday you saw the prince and princess of your nation burst in through your front door. While he would have preferred to take his time and talk with them, time was something they had in very limited supplies. His whip lashed out, gripping the withers of the other two unicorns and slamming them together, sending them toppling to the ground.

Celestia sent a firm stream of fire forward, forcing their duplicates to scatter from the heat and open the stairway to them, before she galloped up it. Luna followed closely behind, tossing the limited water he’d gathered onto the steps behind them and quickly freezing it solid. He was rewarded by the sound of a startled shriek, then a few scattered thumps and shrieks.

He smiled, galloping after his sister, who slowed down just enough so he could pass her. Her horn lit up once again and she lit the wall behind them aflame, blocking off their pursuers.

“You never were one for subtlety, dear sister. Are you not worried you’ll burn the place to the ground?”

“There are water benders EVERYWHERE here,” she said quickly.

“Point.” He burst up to the top of the steps as well and quickly ducked and rolled. A changeling flew over where he had been, crashing into the wall by the steps. Celestia stomped on the poor creature’s body on her way up, moving to his side.

The hallway had three more ponies, two unicorns and a pegasus. Thankfully they didn’t look like the twins. Luna readied her horn, but the two unicorns bowed their head. “Y-your highnesses! What are you doing here? You’re in grave danger!”

Celestia’s left hoof was raised, fire in it, but it was paused. “We’re here for the pier. Which way is up?”

“Down this hall, on the left. But you can’t be here. Tittering will--”

“Don’t worry about that. We kicked your butts, okay?” Celestia said, before galloping past the three. They moved aside, not raising any objections.

Luna raced after his sister, sparring only a small glance back. Fortunately, it seemed not all ponies were so easily beaten. No matter what Silver did, she was just one pony. She couldn’t control every individual pony and many of them still knew where their loyalties lie.

Of course, when he raced up the steps behind his sister he was forced to remember that, while some would still side with them, it didn’t apply to all of them. A veritable wall of water came surging down the steps at the two. He barely had time to step in and hold it back, forming a wall of rushing water in front of the two. He could feel another bender, possibly more than one, shoving at the top of the steps to try and shove them back down.

“S-sister...”

“On it,” Celestia said, backing up. “Let it go when I say. You ready?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. Fire erupted from her horn. She dug her hooves firmly into the wood. Red fire formed on the tip of her horn. She took a deep breath before, slowly, the fire got hotter and hotter. Shifting from red to orange, yellow and then blue. The heat radiating off it gave even Luna pause, especially in the tight stairway.

“NOW!” Celestia yelled, thrusting her horn forward.

Luna let the water go and focused all of her efforts on the steam that filled the stairway. Or rather, would have filled the stairway and killed the two of them. He forced it up and above, redirecting it away from them. It wasn’t easy, as the super heated water wanted to escape and fill the area and it took all his efforts to stop it from burning them, redirecting it back behind them while they made their way up the tunnel.

They burst through the water at the top of the stairwell and a jet of Celestia’s flame shot forward, burning a hole through the wall of the compound and searing the stone behind it. The pair of water benders at the top of the steps stared at the pair, unwilling to come closer. Four changelings stared at the two, seemingly unsure now if they should transform or not.

Celestia didn’t give them time to recover, her horn flame quickly fading out moments before she leaped forward, slamming her front hoof into the nearest bender, crashing them to the ground. She then charged two of the changelings, spinning around and bucking with enough power that two of them were sent flying across the room to crash into the wall.

Luna flicked his head, gathering the small remaining dregs of water. It fashioned quickly into a dull hook, before reaching forward, gripping around the remaining water bender’s neck and drawing him down, slamming his head against the ground. He then melted the hook back into water and formed a small swirl of water, which moved up to deflect one of the charging changelings past him. The first skidded to a halt, whipping around to rush at him, while the second charged from ahead.

Luna sighed and, with practiced ease, he stepped towards the one in front of him. The water he held moved in front of the changelings vision for a second to distract him, before he gripped the changeling’s front hoof and spun, sending the changeling into its partner. The two crashed to the ground a second later.

Celestia galloped past him, a grin on her lips. “You know, this is kind of fun! We haven’t had a workout like this in ages!”

Luna gave a soft chuckle, following besides his sister. “Quite. I will admit it is a bit… exhilarating.”

“How do you think Button’s doing?”

“I’m certain he’s doing fine. Come along, we still have a bit left to go, and we must be out of here before Tittering shows her face.”

------

Button shrieked and galloped as fast as he could, the sound of angry buzzing behind him. He leaped forward, hitting the ground and skidding along it. Behind him, a wall of stone rose up and he was rewarded by a loud, satisfying splatting sound when the changelings slammed into it. He whipped around, quickly sending the stone wall toppling back onto them, burying the creatures in rubble. He panted with exhilaration, before digging his hooves back into the ground.

There were at least a dozen changelings, two, maybe more, water benders. He saw a few unicorns who he’d seen water bend, but with the changelings mixed in and taking on different forms, it was near impossible for him to determine what everypony was.

A scream, LUNA’S scream tore his attention. He turned back to face the hole in the wall he’d made, and saw Luna fly out from it, crashing to the ground.

His heart almost stopped and he stared with abject horror. 'No no no no. Have they failed?' he thought as a water bender raced towards Luna, lifting her horn up and formed spears of ice overhead.

Button galloped towards them.

Unstopping. Punching through everything. His eyes narrowed and stone formed around him. He wasn’t a rock or dirt or stone or any of that.

He was the avalanche.

The water bender glanced up at the earth pony. Her eyes widened and she had only a split second to try and re-direct the spears, but she was too slow. Button slammed into the unicorn and sent her soaring back through the air, making the spears fall to the ground. He then turned towards Luna. “Luna, Luna are you okay?” Behind him, a ditch had been dug into the ground from his unstoppable charge.

The stallion whimpered. “B-Button. It’s… Celestia. She’s in danger. Y-you have to help her. S-she’s… ugh… She’s hurt, they captured her.”

Button nodded. “On it.” He lifted his right hoof up and turned towards the hole. “I--”

Luna smirked, her horn glowing with a green light and sending a blast of changeling magic at the earth pony.

A wall of stone rose up between the two when he put his hoof down. “-- am not dumb enough to fall for such a silly trick. You actually had me for a second when you came crashing out. But you’re not nearly as good a pretender as you think you are.”

The changeling let out a shriek when the stone wall fell on top of him, leaving him groaning in a pile of rubble.

Button snickered, rolling his eyes. “They really think low of me, don’t they? As if I’d ever be fooled by a fake Luna.” He whipped around, narrowing his eyes on the encroaching forces. “Come on, everypony! Let’s--”

The words stopped in his mouth. Off in the distance, he could see the town. A few dozen changelings were already in the air, some of them pulling chariots. Reinforcements were coming.

Which likely meant Tittering. He gulped. “WAIT!” he yelled, giving the slowly advancing forces pause. “Before we continue on, I need to ask you one very, very important question.”

The changelings buzzed, staring at him. Finally, one of the water benders spoke up. “Err… yes?”

“Are you ready to rock?” he asked.

“Huh?”

Button grinned and then sat down. He started rotating his front left and right hooves, tapping them on the ground. The confused ponies shared looks, before charging forward.

The earth pony smirked, digging his hooves in harder and harder with each tap. The ground around him began to shake and rumble. “You reallllllly should have enchanted the ground,” he said softly. Moments later, the ground around him erupted, sending a veritable tidal wave of dirt and rock out at the encroaching ponies. There were shrieks while the ponies tried to reverse course, but they were too slow.

The earth pony gulped, staring at the destruction he’d wrought. Slowly, a grin formed on his lips. “Oh yeah! That’s how I-- GAHHHHH!” He stumbled forward, moments before a second and third blast of green magic struck him in the back, sending him toppling forward. He groaned, his body feeling numb. He stared at the hole in the fort, seeing more changelings and possible ponies. Three of the changelings shot more blasts of their magic at him, but he quickly tapped a hoof and formed a wall of dirt, before rolling to his feet.

“I’m… not done yet...” he mumbled, staring at the ponies. It hurt, though. He could feel the numbness slowly beginning to spread from the blast, somehow worse than the pain they were taking. Still, he couldn’t fall here. The others were depending on him. “Come on, let’s go!” he yelled, before shoving his hooves forward and sending more rocks at the crowd.

------

Luna’s horn dipped forward and the small whip of water he’d made lashed out, gripping the hoof of the changeling blocking their way and yanking, bringing the creature down to the ground. A quick strike from his sister and the changeling went flying. The twins then burst through the last door, the bright light outside almost blinding them.

But the pair had made it. They stepped out onto the docks. There were four unicorns there, along with dozens of changelings. One of the unicorns spoke up. “Princess Celestia. Prince Luna. Cease this destruction. Please, I’m begging you. Surrender peacefully.”

Celestia snorted. “Why would I ever do that? You’re barely making this a challenge for us.”

The stallion bristled. “I am Commander Icyveil, this is my outpost you’ve been damaging. We’ve all heard tales of your… rebellion,” the stallion said, shaking his head. “It’s foolhardy. Discord has won, he rules now. All you’re doing is making foals of yourselves and putting ponies at risk.”

Luna sighed. “And you would rather us take it lying down?” he asked. He glanced off to the left, however, before turning back to the unicorn. He could see the reinforcements quickly making their way towards them. They didn’t have much time left.

“Yes. You two have already caused enough disgrace for our nation, need you add a hopeless rebellion to your list?” he asked, his voice cold and hard.

The twins froze. “Disgrace?” Celestia asked. “How could standing up to a tyrant possibly be a disgrace?”

The stallion shook his head, his cold facade breaking and anger covering his features. “Truly? You ask me of disgrace? Your whole history is nothing but a cycle of disgrace. A fire bender in line for the throne of the WATER nation?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “A colt who shares the appearance of the great Nightmare Moon and yet shares none of the traits that made her the powerful ruler she was? And then there’s the heir and your mother. So timid and frightened to act when it is required. So frightened of disturbing the other nations that they refuse to show the strength our nation once held. It is far, far better that our kingdom fall now, under the hoof of this abomination. Than letting it crumble to pieces from the weakness of your family’s disgrace. The Water Nation can recover its former glory, but not if it rots from the inside out.”

Celestia took a slow, deep breath. “Ah. So you’re one of those types, then?” she asked, fire forming at the tip of her horn. “You know what I have to say to that?”

“What? You still wish to fight? You can’t possibly believe you can defeat all of us,” he asked with an amused smirk.

“One, so what if I’m a fire bender? My mother taught me that there’s not much difference between the benders, different nations or not. A pony is still a pony.” The fire on her horn glowed brighter, slowly growing. “Two, my brother is one of the greatest ponies you’ll EVER have the honor of meeting. His traits are incredible and you’d wish you were half the pony he was if you could see out through your own tail hole!” The flame shifted colors again, until settling on blue. The opposing unicorns took a small step back. “Three, my mother and big sister? They’re trying to heal the damage the Water Nation did. Who cares if we’re seen as weak? They aren’t. Anypony with half a brain can see they aren’t. You have no idea how hard they are working to fix everything.” She then smirked. “And four...”

“Y-yes?” the stallion asked, his eyes locked on the fire on her horn.

“I don’t need to beat any of you to destroy this pier.” She then whipped her head forward. The fire shot out, scorching forward and searing the docks, instantly incinerating the boards it touched. The changelings and ponies scattered aside, trying to avoid the inferno. Celestia soon stumbled back, the fire on her horn going out. However, the damage was done. The fire quickly began to spread through the dock and they could see the supports catching alight through the holes in the wood. “Whew… think I over did it a bit?” she asked with a soft chuckle. “Come on, let’s go back.”

“We can’t,” Luna mumbled. “Tittering is almost upon us.”

“W-what?” the unicorn asked, glancing towards the town. She paled at the sight of the fast approaching forces. “O-oh...”

“… How much do you trust Button?” Luna asked.

“Huh? Wh-- EEEEEEE!” the mare shrieked when she was shoved OFF the burning pier. Luna followed a moment later. “LUNA WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!” she shrieked, staring at the fast approaching ground. Down below, she could see Button facing off against a hoard of changelings.

The stallion shrugged. “I believe this is called a trust fall. BUTTON!” he yelled.

The earth pony glanced up and his heart almost stopped. “LUNA!” He stumbled back when another blast of changeling magic hit him. He shook his head and then glared. “OH BUCK THIS!” he yelled. He thrust his hooves forward and the ground rose up around him, dirt and rock swirling around him in a protective barrier. He then surged forward, the green blasts bouncing off the armor. He raced towards the twins, pushing everything he had into it.

He snagged the two, barely, out of the air and quickly made the dirt give way, slowing their fall while the earth carried them forward. The three tumbled forward, before bursting into and then through one of the outer walls of the outpost, making the thick wall post crack with a mighty crash.

The three ponies were sent toppling out from the wave of stone, hitting the ground and rolling forward, laying still. After a few moments, Celestia spoke up. “Trust. Fall. My. Little. White. Flank. Ow.”

“I-I don’t… wanna do that… again...” Button mumbled, shaking his head. “Luna?”

“Yes… Button?” he asked, slowly getting to his hooves. “Dear sister… you’d best… get up. It is time for us to… depart...” he said, before reaching a hoof up to his forehead and shaking it.

“That’s my Luna. We should… oh buck,” he said softly. The changelings were almost upon them. He could make out Tittering on one of the chariots, her eyes locked on them. “Time to go! Sorry!” he said before tapping the ground again. The dirt under them opened up, swallowing the three.

------

Celestia hacked up dirt, laying on her side. Luna didn’t fare much better, the stallion laying opposite her and coughing up a small bit of dirt as well.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Button said for the thousandth time, bowing his head profusely. “They were right there! I had to move fast! I’m so, so sorry!”

“It’s… quite alright...” Luna muttered, before coughing up a few more specks of dirt. “Emergency situations call for… emergency reactions. You… got us out under… Tittering’s nose. That, in and of itself, is a success… Even if the methods had to be a bit… harsh...” he mumbled, before slowly getting to his hooves. He then shook his head, sitting back down. Slowly, he reached a hoof out and placed it on Button’s withers, giving the stallion a small smile. “There are… dozens of different methods that… water benders have to stop earth benders when they flee. You got us out before they could--” He was cut off by another fit of coughing. “-- before they could unleash any of them on us. A rough trip is far, far preferable to being captured.”

“Ugh… I swear I swallowed some rocks,” Celestia groaned, before snorting. “And it’s up my nose… but yeah. What Luna said. You did good, Button. Got us out of there. Ready to go meet with the rebels?”

Button nodded. “Yeah. Here’s hoping they succeeded. We’ve… still got quite the road ahead of us, don’t we?”

Luna nodded. “Yes. Indeed we do. But...” He gently moved besides Button and bumped his flank against the other stallion’s. “So long as we face it together, I know we’ll succeed. Now come, Dear Button. Sister. Our people require our presence.”

------

“They escaped. I can’t believe you let them escape!” Icyveil said, storming back and forth across his office. His outpost had been nearly destroyed. The pier was in tatters, the lower floors had been burned as well. It would take weeks to repair the damage.

“I wasn’t here,” Tittering said with a light giggle. “I never really mastered teleportation, my bad. Still, you have to admire their courage. Charging in, wiping out the pier like that? Especially with the main force so close? Impressive.”

“Do you find this FUNNY?” Icyveil asked. “Her highness is going to be furious with us!”

“Oh, relax,” Tittering said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “So a small outpost got wrecked. The rebels do stuff like that all the time. She won’t even care.”

“The prince and princess were there! And that other one, Button. He was one of the Avatar’s friends! If you’d just let me lay down the poisoned water like I asked, they never would have escaped. I would have caught them here and now!”

“Hmmm. Probably. Totally my bad, sorry, big guy,” Tittering said with a shrug.

“How can you be so--” He was cut off when the door burst open. A changeling burst in, glancing to Tittering.

“General Tittering. The ponies, while you were here, they launched an attack on the prison. All of the prisoners, they’re gone.”

Tittering blinked, her eyes widening. She nodded before motioning the changeling to leave. “I… see. Thank you. Bye bye now!” She waited for the changeling to leave, before she leaned back in her seat and giggled into her hoof.

Icyveil stared at the mare. He’d heard of her, of course he had. Lots of ponies assumed she was mad, but he had never believed it until now. How could she be laughing at this? Prisoners had escaped. They were going to be in so much trouble! Slowly, his mouth fell open. “W-why… why are you laughing?”

“Oh, it’s just so funny! The perfect joke! Come here, draw us off. Then, BAM! The perfect punchline. I really have to give it to them. If Silver heard about this, we’d look like total idiots,” she said with a giggle.

He narrowed his eyes. “If? How do you expect to keep it from her?”

Tittering shrugged. “I just won’t tell her. Well, not everything. Still, they got us good. Smart ponies, them. Amazing delivery,” she said with another giggle.

Icyveil glared. He could see it now. She truly was mad. There was only one way to deal with a pony such as this. His left hoof shot forward. Water shot from a nearby decanter, turning to shards of ice and flying at the general.

They stopped centimeter’s from her throat and she gave a soft sigh, shaking her head. “Now now, commander. I wasn’t going to make you take the fall for this… but if you insist? I’ll oblige,” she said with a little giggle. Her right hoof slid gently forward while the water from the decanter rose up into the air.

He gulped, taking a step back. “G-general, wait, I wasn’t, I didn’t mean to-- AGHHHHHHHHH!”

Not gonna lie. Celestia and Luna hear things like that alllll that time. It's almost like having a few generations filled with ponies who only cared about power and the glory of the nation had lasting effects. Oh dear.

Also, silly or not, there's a reason that Luna and Celestia aren't keen on fighting Tittering. Should be one more chapter of the Water Nation crew, then moving onto the next batch, woo! Hope you're all excited!

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.

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.

Acrylic paced back and forth, trying to keep himself calm and unfortunately failing. “Where is she? She’s taking too long. We should go check on her!” he said firmly, wiping his sweaty yellow mane back. His blue coat was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and sand, unfortunately making each step mildly uncomfortable even without his panic. Even the sand colored cloak he wore could only do so much in such intense heat.

“Calm down,” the pink mare lounging on a rock nearby said with a shake of her head. “It’s only been like, an hour. Even I wouldn’t be done this fast,” Pinkie Pie said with a light giggle. “Well, okay. I guess if I was planning a party, maybe. Or if it was an emergency, but--”

“How is this not an emergency, Pinkie?!” Acrylic asked, before shaking his head. He then turned, glancing out over the sandy dunes and towards the massive city off in the distance. Manehatten. Heart of the Fire Tribe nation. Hanging above it was, for lack of a better word, a second sun. The Fire Immortal. Housing dozens, possibly hundreds of fire bender cutie marks.

“Because, for the moment, nopony is dying, or about to die, or about to be captured, or--”

“EVERYPONY is about to be captured! Every moment we’re waiting is another moment that--”

“That’s war,” Pinkie said with a shake of her head. “It sucks. It’s terrible. Nopony likes it. But when it happens? You need to be careful and pick your battles.” She reached out and put a hoof on Acrylic’s chest. “Trust me. We were doing this for years. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sweetie. If you burn yourself out and spend all your time worrying about what might happen, then you’ll never be able to fight when there’s something you CAN do. Remember that, okay?” she said with a gentle smile. “Now, we’ve still got a lot of work to do. There’s a lot of things we CAN’T do yet. So we have to be patient and calm.”

Acrylic let out a frustrated growl and shook his head. “Fine. But… but I STILL hate this. We should be out there, with her. What if she’s in danger?”

“Then she’s in danger and there isn’t much we can do from here. Unless you want to run in and challenge Scorched to a hoof fight, we have to trust her,” Pinkie said dismissively, before giving a light yawn. “Besides. You’re kiiiiind of recognizable. So am I. She’s the best pony for this job.”

Acrylic nodded before giving a soft sigh. He KNEW the elder mare was right. But he hated standing here and waiting. He stared at the massive city, that knot of dread in his stomach refusing to leave.

There were changelings occasionally flying in and out of the city, with guards posted on the entrances, stopping anypony who was too recognizable from getting in without notice. Were it just food and water, it would have been easy for them to acquire them by other means.

Instead, they needed traders. Ponies who could get them supplies that were just not very common anywhere BUT the capital. So instead they were stuck, here, in the very heart of the Fire Tribes, where the majority of Silver’s forces were waiting. The only positive was that trade was still going on in the nation, so ponies could get in and out of the city so long as they weren’t identified as rebels.

“I hate this...” Acrylic mumbled.

“So do I,” Pinkie mumbled, glancing back towards the city. “That, unfortunately, won’t go away. Even if you know they’ll be okay, you’ll always worry. Same as you worry about Button or Diamond or Silver. You never stop worrying until you know with a hundred percent certainty that they’re safe. And even then? You still worry. You worry that they’re not eating enough, or that they’re pushing themselves too hard, or that some assassin will get the drop on them, or that they’ll decide to wander off alone and do something foalish like trying to reason with Trixie, or--”

“I get it,” Acrylic mumbled, shaking his head. “And I am NOT worried about Silver. She’s the one who’s caused this whole mess. If it wasn’t for her, she’d… there wouldn’t be anything like this going on,” he muttered.

“Really?” Pinkie asked, eyeing him. “You’re not worried about her at all?”

“I’m… not… maybe...” he trailed off, shifting nervously from side to side. He hated talking about Silver. If he hadn’t seen first hoof what she was capable of, he would have never believed it.

But he had. He’d been trapped, locked away in that weird form by her. By somepony he had considered a friend. He felt a light, burning pain in his heart. By somepony he’d had more than just friend feelings for. He wanted to hate her. Wanted to be one of the many who wanted her defeated. But despite his words, he still couldn’t bring himself to really believe that Silver was doing all this. That she’d stolen Diamond’s cutie mark and was terrorizing the world, binding it to her will. That she had summoned the changelings and was now using them to wage war. He wanted to deny it. But he knew he couldn’t. The facts were staring him in the face. With every battle, ponies got hurt and it was entirely her fault. No matter how much he wanted to believe it wasn’t her, locking himself in denial helped nopony. He glanced to Pinkie. “Well… you met her. What do you think?”

“I mean, it’s Silver, she seemed nice enough,” the earth pony said with a shrug. “And she’s got Diamond of all ponies trying to save her. DIAMOND!” She gave a light giggle. “If anypony can kick her out of this bratty mood, she can. She’s a good friend, after all. She’s got a bit of Twilight and everypony else in her. How could she fail? If anypony can change this script, she can,” Pinkie said before glancing back out over the city. “Besides. Good friends are friends forever, even if they’re Discord.”

Acrylic sighed and shook his head. “Maybe...” he muttered. He wished they could talk about something else. He really wanted to believe in those words, that they could save Silver. But it was impossible. She’d gone bad, there was nothing he could do about it.

But that same part of him wondered if maybe she was right. He didn’t want to believe he was being too quick to judge, but he’d been hurt by her. In more ways than one. His hoof reached up to his heart. What if he was letting old hurts color his judgment? What if she could be saved and he just wasn’t giving her the chance? What if rather than being foalish and melting in denial by wanting to believe in her, he was actually doing the same thing by believing she HAD to be evil? He let out another soft growl, shaking his head. “I… hope you’re right. But I don’t think Diamond is looking for a way to ‘fix’ Silver, just beat her.”

“Eh,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “It can be the same thing in some cases. Sometimes, your friends just need a firm and solid slap to the face.”

“I think we’d all like to give her one of those,” Acrylic muttered. He glanced back out over the city and his heart jumped when he saw a pony step off the main road. “Is that her?”

“… No. Give her some time,” Pinkie said with a light giggle once the pony turned back around and started on the road again. “Trust her. She’s smart and capable. Besides, she’s like an honorary member of Team Avatar. It’s a very important position which you don’t get by not being able to be careful and sneaky.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, wiping more sweat away. “Fine. I just don’t like her being out there...” Once again he found his gaze drawn to the immortal hovering over the city. His heart jumped when he saw it was beginning to move, panic beginning to course through him.

Movement at the main city gates made him freeze, his heart pounding in his ears. “Oh no...” he whispered.

Armored ponies were walking out from the city, at least a few dozen of them. He suspected that most of them were changelings in other forms. Walking in the center of them was a unicorn in golden fire tribe armor that covered their entire body. General Scorched Legacy. One of the most powerful fire benders they’d ever seen. Acrylic doubted even Diamond in her prime or Sunset herself could have out fire bent the master. Maybe Twilight could have, with luck.

However, to make it even worse, the general controlled the Fire Immortal. They’d run into her a few times, though the general never spoke. She moved with ruthless precision and wielded power that would have crushed them, had they not been careful and retreated when they did.

“The general is moving again,” he whispered softly, staring at the general. “You don’t think he knows, do you?”

“No. He’s not coming at us. He’s probably going on patrol,” Pinkie said, before shaking her head.

His heart beat heavier when the forces came to a turn in the road. North or south.

His breath calmed when they went south. “See? Patrol,” Pinkie said, before reaching out and lightly patting his withers. “He’s not heading towards the dragons at all. He doesn’t know.”

“No, he’s not...” Acrylic muttered. “Good. He must not have found Pearl. But...”

“Still not done worrying, are you?”

“… Nope.”

------

“There she is!” Acrylic said, nearly hopping in place at the sight of the silver coated pony making her way from the city. While the majority of her body was hidden by the cloak she wore and her large supply bag on her back, he would have recognized her anywhere. Namely because a bit of her coat peaked out from under the cloak.

“Okay then, let’s go,” Pinkie said before slowly getting to her hooves and stretching out. “Nnnnnngggg… I’m getting way too old for this...” she said with a soft yawn.

Acrylic blinked and eyed the mare. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought the mare wasn’t much older than him. He often found himself barely able to keep up with her energy. ‘Too old for this’ his flank. He turned and started walking away from their vantage point, making his way towards a large rock off in the distance.

Pinkie suddenly dashed past him. “Come on, race yah!” she yelled after him. He rolled his eyes, but refused to move any faster. It was hot and he had no desire to push himself too hard when they had a long trip ahead of them.

Of course, soon after he arrived, he saw Pearl walking around the edges of one of the dunes. The hood she had down hid all but her mouth, which was curled in a small smile. “I got everything we need. We can go.”

“Are you okay? Did you run into any trouble? Do you need a rest? Did--” Acrylic was cut off by the earth pony raising a hoof.

“I’m fine and no. It wasn’t too hard. The capital has more than a few sympathizers, it was mostly just an issue of going through the right channels,” she said, before stepping forward and rubbing her nose against his, drawing a blush from the stallion. “The general was out and about, though, so I had to be careful. Once she left the city, it was a lot easier.”

“Did you get any information on where she was going?” Acrylic asked.

The earth pony shook her head. “Not this time, sorry. I think it’s just a normal patrol. There weren’t any rumors about… well. You know. Dragons. I don’t think she has any idea what they’re planning. Now, let’s go. The sooner we get away from there, the better off we’ll be.”

“Good,” Acrylic mumbled. His horn glowed and a moment later the bag disappeared off her back, only to reappear onto his a moment later. “If we’re going, I’ll carry this.”

“I can--”

“You had to do all the work. At least let me take care of this. Please?” he asked, eyeing her.

“… Fine,” she said with a small, knowing smile. “Just be ready in case anything happens, okay?” She turned and started walking towards Pinkie. “Shall we?”

The earth pony nodded. “Of course! Spike is going to be giddy when he sees what we’ve brought!”

Acrylic nodded, following after the two mares. Once again, he felt that bit of dread in his stomach. He eyed Pearl again, feeling that knot in his stomach. In the end, she was just an earth pony. Where they were going was dangerous. If she’d been a bender, it would have been different. At least she hadn’t run into any trouble, though.

“That move you taught me, Miss Pinkie? The flip? It was really useful. Thank you.”

“Please, just call me Aunt Pie,” the pink mare said with a laugh. “Really? What happened?”

“Oh, I ran into this one pony who tried to mug me,” she said with a shake of her head. “A fire bender. She didn’t expect that at all.”

“Benders never do,” Pinkie said with a giggle.

“Wait, somepony tried to mug you?” Acrylic asked, his heart plummeting. “Were you hurt? Did you--”

“I was fine,” Pearl said with a shake of her head. “One quick thump to the head and the pony was on the ground begging for mercy. She barely even knew what hit her. Honestly? I feel a bit bad for her. I left her some bread, but well… we needed these supplies a lot more. I couldn’t let her have them.”

Acrylic stared. “You gave her FOOD after she tried to mug you?”

“It’s tough times in there,” she said with a shake of her head. “Lots of ponies are scared. Anypony who even whispers the notion of rebellion is imprisoned and loses their cutie mark. Ponies are losing jobs, struggling to make ends meet. It’s, frankly, a disaster. On top of that, with the changelings shifting into other ponies all the time? It’s hard for anypony to trust anypony else. Some ponies are surviving. Others are just trying to survive. I can’t fault them for that.”

“You can’t reward people who try to hurt you.”

“Eh. They were doing a terrible job of it, anyway,” she said flatly. “Their stance was awful. I’ve seen proper fire benders, they were not that. Not to mention the fire they tried to use was more like a tiny fire cracker. They weren’t going to come close to hurting me.”

“But they were going to try and--”

“If I was in their position, I might do the same thing,” she said with a shrug.

“You could have been hurt!”

“If I was afraid of getting a bit hurt, I wouldn’t be here,” she said flatly, before glancing back at him. “Besides. I know if anything happens I can’t handle, you’ll save me. My hero,” she said with a small, teasing grin.

He stumbled and almost fell over, lowering his eyes. “I-I wasn’t there...”

“And I didn’t need you. But when I did? You were. Obviously this just means I didn’t need you to be there today.”

His mouth fell open, then closed. Finally, he glanced to Pinkie. “You taught her that bit of logic, didn’t you?”

“What? Me? No. No no no no. Yes. But it is a good piece of advice! Very logical.”

Acrylic face hoofed. “How in the world is that logical? I can’t just… appear because she needs me!”

“Of course you can. You can teleport now.”

“That’s not what I mean! I mean, if I don’t know she needs me, then I won’t be able to appear and save her.”

“Ah, but if you don’t know, then she wouldn’t need you.”

“But what if she does need me and I don’t know she needs me!” he asked, feeling his temper rising.

“Then obviously she has it handled.”

“… That… that’s not...” Acrylic shook his head. He didn’t understand how this mare could call ANY of that logic. It was like arguing with a donut. Circular and yet, somehow, in the end you felt silly, annoyed and somewhat sticky.

“Besides, I can handle myself. I’ve taken care of myself for years, Acrylic,” Pearl said firmly. “Both before and after you. Besides. You have enough things to worry about as it is.” She slowed down a little so she could walk besides him and gently push up against him. “I’m okay, Acrylic. Relax,” she said soothingly. “You don’t need to protect me just because I can’t bend. Pinkie has been teaching me all kinds of different things. Even before that, I’ve had more than a few years of training. I worked on the pier, I saw all kinds of trouble all the time. Unless somepony tries to drop a five ton crate on my head, I’ll be fine. Okay?”

He nodded slowly, before sighing. “Fine. I just… worry about you, is all.”

She nodded and then leaned up, kissing his cheek and drawing another small blush from him. “I know. But trust me. Just because you had to save me the first time we met, doesn’t mean you always need to protect me from everything. I can handle myself, promise.”

He nodded, giving a small smile and nuzzling her back. He idly wondered if this was how the prior avatar and her friends felt when they traveled with Pinkie. He really wanted to believe that she could be okay.

He frowned when his mind traveled back to Silver. She’d always been the non-bender of their group before. She too had wanted to jump into everything, even when it was dangerous. Now? She was the most dangerous pony he knew, having brought the world down around her. Ruling with a tyrannical hoof.

How could he have been so stupid? If only he had let himself see the true danger that was in front of him. He couldn’t allow himself to fall for it again. He had to see Silver as the threat she truly was. A danger to ponies. To ALL ponies. Not his friend. Not the earth pony without any magic. The smart, clever mare who fought using tools rather than any kind of bending. Who’d always been generous and supported them no matter what. She was an enemy, now.

She was an enemy of all of them. No matter how much he found his mind drawn back to their childhood together. The games they’d played. The support she offered them in their pro bending. How scared or worried she seemed for them. All of it was lies, a trick to make them trust her.

All so she could turn on them in the end, betray them. No matter what Button or Pinkie said, he couldn’t allow himself to hope that she would turn out to be okay in the end. That, somehow, she wouldn’t just trick them again.

But he wished he could believe, just for a moment, that the Silver he knew would come back. He wished so, so badly it hurt.

And here we get to the Fire Tribe lands group! Acrylic, if not obvious, is fairly torn by everything that's going on. Pinkie, of course, is Pinkie. However, they still have a lot of work to do. Especially with the dragons... Prepare for a few weeks of this group, enjoy!

“There it is...” Pinkie mumbled, her eyes locking on the cave in the distance.

Acrylic and Pearl quickly lifted their hoods, covering themselves as much as possible and blending in with the sand. Slowly, they made their way towards the cave.

The entrance was tiny, barely big enough for them to walk into the cave one by one. In the end, it was less a ‘cave’ so much as a crevice in the desert. Easy to miss, leading deep into the darkness. Pinkie went in first, followed by Pearl and Acrylic in the very back. Slowly they walked down the dark stuffy tunnel, their hoofsteps light on the ground.

Before long, they were enveloped entirely in darkness and they had to move ever slower. Careful to reach out and make sure they didn’t slam into a wall. It was incredibly claustrophobic, even moreso whenever Acrylic let his mind wander to the fact that, above them, were thousands of pounds of sand and stone. That they could all come falling down on their heads, trapping them.

He shuddered at that mental image. He felt intense relief when the narrow gap they walked through opened up considerably. The heat began to get more intense and a dim, red glow could be seen off in the distance.

He saw Pinkie and Pearl pick up the pace and he couldn’t help but join them, walking a little faster towards the main, opened chamber. They walked around the last corner and were hit by the intense heat, enough to almost make them stumble back.

Even with the heat however, it was at least safer feeling. They were inside a massive cavern, housing great steaming pools of boiling water, as well as lava. Inside many of these pools were the very creatures they’d been tasked with getting the items for. Dragons. Ponies, mostly fire benders were working along with the dragons, however the appearance of the three brought a few looks of concern.

“You’ve come,” one of the unicorns whispered, stepping forward. He was wearing colorful garments of the fire tribes. “Have… you had any success?”

“Yes,” Acrylic said, slowly lifting the bag and placing it onto the ground, he pulled it open, revealing the plants within.

The unicorn gave a sigh of relief, taking the bag. “Thank you for your assistance,” he said gently. “Please continue on to Spike. I will have these prepared.”

Acrylic nodded, glancing over to the largest pool of lava, which housed Spike. Easily the largest dragon here. Though, he couldn’t help but notice a few of the dragons were growing well, one of the largest was easily the size of four or five minotaurs now.

The three stepped forward, towards the massive pool. While the fire benders who tended the dragons were able to deal with the heat, primarily through their bending, the three of them had no such luck. Instead, they were forced to slowly make their way through the pools, feeling the thick layers of sweat flowing across their coats. Even though they dared not get too close to the pools of magma, Acrylic swore he could feel himself burning.

The massive, dark purple dragon turned to them, slowly rising from the lava and giving them a concerned look. “Are you three okay? Did you run into any problems sneaking past the barriers?”

“Not at all, silly!” Pinkie said with a light giggle. “We have those hidden paths for a reason. Have you had anymore trouble with the changelings?”

The dragon shook his head, though his gaze wandered over towards the exit of the caverns. Fortunately for them, the dragons had been spared most of the dangers of this new war. Primarily because the Fire Tribes were quick to surrender. However, it did mean that the majority of the entrances to these caverns were now locked tightly, with changeling guards watching over it closely.

The heat managed to keep them from coming too deep inside, as the spirits seemed to be incredibly sensitive to the heat. Only the keepers of the dragons now remained within the caves, doing what they could to aid the dragons in preparations.

In this case, the preparations were for a mass exodus. The dragons stood as a symbol of the fire tribes and nopony wanted to see them become almost extinct again. Escaping, however, wasn’t quite that easy. Dragons were massive and powerful, but they required a specific type of location to survive. Volcanoes and the like. Finding a place like that, where they couldn’t be trapped, was difficult. It required special preparations, special medicines. Things they couldn’t get by themselves without the guards noticing that something was up.

So for now, they plotted, schemed and prepared. The crevice they came from was not the only secret entrance into these caverns, nor were the dragons the only creatures that now resided in them. “Did you get everything you were sent for?”

“Yes, it’s being prepared now,” Acrylic said quickly, before wiping his brow.

The dragon nodded, before motioning behind himself. “Go on, then. Thank you,” he said.

The three nodded and made their way around the pool housing the massive dragon. Behind it, tucked away and easily hidden behind the massive dragon’s bathing form, was a hard to see crevice in the wall. One by one the three ponies headed inside.

Instantly the temperature dropped considerably and they let out a sigh of relief. The hidden cavern went deeper into the ground, surrounding them on all side with rock. He let out a soft, gentle sigh of relief when he felt cool air for the first time in days, closing his eyes. There was moisture as well, a nice damp feeling washing over him. Eventually, the winding path down into the earth opened up, letting them step out into a well-lit, massive chamber.

Housing the majority of the Fire Tribe resistance. It hadn’t been easy to make such a place, now maintained by a few teams of earth benders working around the clock in order to create it. There were also a few water benders who worked to draw water needed from the ground, often working with the earth benders to locate it and the fire benders to ensure they stayed as far from the lava flows above as they could.

“Mom!” a voice yelled, making them look up at the blue coated, white maned unicorn stallion galloping forward, a clipboard suspended in his magic. “We heard there was an issue, that the general was on the move. Did you--”

“Just a patrol, Coral,” Pinkie said with a light smile, before giving her son a tight hug. “Don’t be such a silly goose! I wouldn’t let myself get captured THAT easily. Where would everypony be if I wasn’t here?” she asked with a snicker.

The stallion blushed, but gave her a one hoofed hug back. “Right. Sorry. I just… worry, sometimes. When you go out like that. You could have warned us. Err, thanks for watching over her for us,” he said to the pair.

Acrylic nodded. “Of… course,” he said sheepishly. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember which one of Pinkie’s kids he was. Even the name Coral didn’t help his confusion either. At least a dozen of Pinkie’s children were helping to maintain the resistance hideout, not even including the dozen or so who were hiding out throughout the country as well. He wondered how old the stallion was, he looked older than Pinkie. Then again, some days Acrylic did, too. “We didn’t run into any trouble. Has there been any news from the other teams?”

Coral nodded. “Yes. We haven’t had any losses today, fortunately. Rose’s team is currently hiding out and waiting for some changeling forces to abandon the area, but they’re good. Did you get everything needed?”

“Yes,” he said smoothly. “Manehatten wasn’t any issue. Pearl got everything as requested,” he said, giving the mare a small smile.

“It really wasn’t hard,” she said sheepishly, lightly tapping the ground with her hoof.

Coral nodded, before coughing. “Um… mom? You can let go. Err...”

The pink mare snickered, pulling back from the hug. “You feel better, then?”

He chuckled. “Y-yeah. I just… we just wish you wouldn’t go out like that. What if there was a fight? You--”

“Oh, please,” the mare said with a light giggle. “I wouldn’t get in a fight.”

“But--”

“This is Acrylic and Pearl’s time to shine! I can’t just show them up!” she said before turning and trotting deeper into the compound. “You worry too much. I’m gonna go help with cooking, bye bye!”

Coral sighed, before glancing back to the two of them. “Thank you. I really hope she wasn’t too much trouble. I just...”

“She’s your mom, it’s normal to worry about your mom,” Acrylic said with a shrug.

The unicorn paused, before coughing. “Speaking… of that. Have… you talked to anypony yet?”

“… No? We just got back. Why? What’s wrong?” he asked, his heart beating faster.

“Well… we got news a little bit ago. Metal Orchard is under siege by Discord’s forces.”

Acrylic felt the floor fall out of his stomach and barely managed to contain himself. “I-I see,” he managed to choke out, keeping his face as calm as possible, though his suddenly dry mouth made him stutter.

“Acrylic...” Pearl whispered softly.

“It’s fine. My mother knows what she’s doing,” he said firmly, shoving down the worry bubbling inside. He tried to ignore all the times he’d seen her act recklessly, or almost get herself killed, or ignored all the consequences. That was during peace. There was a war going on, now. There was no way she’d mess up now. She was once commander of the entire Water Nation military, she was amazing at this kind of thing. She had to be able to handle herself. He hoped.

“Indeed,” Coral said softly. “We haven’t heard any news yet, aside from the fact it has started. But the moment we do, we’ll inform you. In the mean time, it might be best that you rest and relax. Its been a long trip and we may need you to go out again before long.”

He nodded and started walking away from them. “Noted...”

“Acrylic...” Pearl mumbled, following after him. “You should rest.”

“Huh?” he asked, glancing back. “I will. I just need to--” A hoof covered his mouth.

“No,” she said firmly. “Allow me to rephrase. You are GOING to go rest.”

His eyes widened. “W-what?”

“I see that look in your eyes. You’re planning to burn yourself out on more spell casting, aren’t you?”

“I wasn’t going to--”

“You’re literally walking towards the training cavern right now.”

He paused and looked up. Sure enough, he was walking straight towards the cavern they’d set up to allow ponies to practice, out of the way of the main camp. His cheeks went red. “I just… need to work on that for a little--”

“You need to rest. We’ve been out all day, running around, through the desert. We all need rest.”

“Pinkie’s not--”

“Pinkie’s a statistical anomaly,” Pearl said flatly, giving him an unamused look. “She’s probably twice our age and I SWEAR sometimes she moves and acts as if she’s half it. But you are not her. You are a pony who does a lot of work, will have to do more work and needs to be rested to, again, do said work.”

He ground his hoof into the stone floor. “Pearl, it’s fine, I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, the buck you can,” she said flatly. “You’re getting some sleep if I have to carry you to the cots myself.”

His cheeks turned scarlet when the memory flashed of the last time she’d done that. He choked softly. “Y-you can’t… tell me what to--”

“Can to. Marefriend. In matters that concern your health and safety, I have special veto powers to make you take care of yourself.”

“… That’s… you can’t… what? I never agreed to that, I--”

“Don’t make me carry you off,” she warned.

He stared at her, before shaking his head with exasperation. “Fine! Whatever! If you want me to take a nap I’ll take a nap! Just give me a minute to clean off first, sheesh...” he muttered before storming off.

She slowly followed after him, shaking her own head.

------

Acrylic woke with a start, staring up, into the darkness in confusion. He could faintly make out the other beds in the room, many filled with lightly snoring ponies.

As much as he hated to admit it, Pearl was right. He’d been exhausted. After he’d finished rinsing off and came to bed, he’d fallen asleep almost instantly. He’d been exhausted and trying to practice likely would have been stupid.

But now he was up. He glanced towards the exit, another tunnel. Light could be seen illuminating from down the hall, where the main forces were. He closed his eyes and, with a soft flash, appeared in the entrance.

He shook his head, the light feeling of wooziness disorienting him for a moment. Once everything cleared, however, he started to walk down the dim hall.

His mother was in danger, every bit of him wanted to run after her, to rescue her. He knew that was foalish. She was a far, far better bender than he’d ever be. He’d likely only get in her way.

Another part of him wanted to believe that Silver would show mercy. That if she won, she wouldn’t take Vinyl’s cutie mark. After all, Vinyl had been friends with Silver for years, practically a mother, or at least an aunt, to the filly.

But then, Diamond had been one of her best friends. He’d always thought he and Button were her best friends. If she had no qualms, no guilt about hurting them, how could he ever expect her to show mercy to his mother? Besides, Vinyl had been a leader, one of the few that Silver hadn’t yet captured and taken to who knew where.

If the Metal Orchard fell, then there would be nothing he could do about it. Even if his magic was ten times better than it was now, there was no way he could cross over two countries in order to get to her in time to make any difference. He’d need an airship for that. Which would only draw more attention towards them, likely resulting in him being captured and putting them all at risk.

He knew the plan. Wait. Just wait. Trust Diamond and wait. But it didn’t make him any less frustrated. He wanted to be out there, fighting. But they couldn’t, yet. They had to be careful. If they rushed off, there wouldn’t be enough of them to help Diamond when the time came. Anypony who was captured lost their marks almost instantly, making the Fire Immortal all the stronger. Making defeating it seemingly more impossible.

He grabbed a few apples in his magic when he passed by the dining section of their cave. He supposed, in the end, they were lucky. They weren’t hurting for supplies, while more than a few ponies in different sections of the resistance were.

Wait. It was all they could do now. He wanted to believe in Diamond, he really did. She was incredible.

But he didn’t see how any of this could be fixed. So much had been lost and destroyed. Silver had played them all for foals.

He glanced down at the cores of the apples. He couldn’t even remember eating them. With a small flash of magic, the two cores disappeared and reappeared in the disposal containers, before he trotted lightly towards the training dummies. Gathering some water from one of the jars, he began to practice.

She’d played them all for fools. It was his fault. He played it over and over in his head.

There were three of them who had been closest to her. Who had known her and seen her for so long. But it wasn’t fair to have expected Diamond to have noticed. She was the avatar, she had enough duties without noticing every little subtle thing that could or would go wrong. Moreso, she hadn’t even known Silver that long, how could she have expected to notice things like that?

Then there was Button. Button had known her just as long as Acrylic had. But he’d always been the kind of colt to forgive and forget. Even now he still swore up and down that Silver would turn around and become the pony they knew. He trusted, unceasingly, in his friends. It was part of what made him Button. Lying to him, tricking him? That was easy.

But Acrylic stopped, closing his eyes and willing the tears to not fall, trying to force his eyes to dry themselves.

‘I lov--’ he thought to himself, stopping. ‘I thought I loved her. And I let it blind me. I let myself believe that she was a friend. That she cared about us. I was an idiot. I was a foal...’

Yet, despite all of that, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. He couldn’t wish her dead, no matter how much he tried. The thought of fighting her, of hurting her, made his heart feel like it was being torn in two. He shook his head again.

He refused to admit it, though he knew it was true. He still loved her. Despite everything that happened, the first thoughts that sprang to mind were of who she had been. Who she had pretended to be. The kind, sweet, gentle mare that he’d known for so long. Trusted so much. The mare who, over the years, had always been by their side and supported them.

No matter how much he told himself that he hated her, that she had only been tricking them. Lying to them. No matter what she did, all he could see was the pony who he’d fallen in love with. He teleported the water through the air, trying to hold his pain in and bury it deep.

He felt hooves suddenly wrap around him from behind. He jumped and glanced back, his eyes widening when he saw Pearl. “W-what?”

“It’s okay...” she whispered softly.

“I...” He stopped when he realized that, despite his best efforts, some of the tears had fallen. “I just...”

“It’s okay...” she whispered. “I understand.”

“I’m not… I don’t...” he whispered, his body quivering against the warm mare. He tried to deny it, but with her words, even more of the tears fell. “I just...”

“You don’t need to explain. You don’t...” she whispered. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to cry...” she whispered softly to him. “It’s okay. Everyone needs to cry sometime. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

He couldn’t stop himself. He buried his head in her withers and did just that, letting the tears fall while his thoughts flew to everything he felt destroying him from the inside.

The betrayal from the pony he loved. Knowing his mother was in danger and might lose her cutie mark, or worse. The feeling of helplessness while they waited for Diamond, without any idea how long she would take or even if she could succeed. Not knowing if Button was really safe without him to look over him. The very state the world was in. It refused to stay stifled and, slowly, he found himself wrapping his hooves around the other mare, holding on. Using her as a rock in this storm of pain.

Eventually, however, the tears faded and he pulled back, staring up at her. His horn glowed and his magic wiped the tears across his face away, before doing the same to her coat. “S-sorry. I… I just...”

“It’s fine. We all need to cry sometimes,” she reeated with a light chuckle. “I cry all the time! Well, used to. Everyone needs it sometimes. We all get overwhelmed,” she said before reaching out to gently pat his head. “Feel better?”

“A bit...”

“Good. Then it was worth it.”

He nodded, slowly pulling back. If anypony else had noticed his little breakdown, he couldn’t tell. None of the other practicing ponies were looking at him. He suspected it was out of courtesy, though.

He was thankful for it.

“Now. Do you want to join me for breakfast?” she asked with a small smile.

“I already ate...”

“Not what I asked.”

He gave a soft chuckle, before nodding. “I’d… love to. Thank you.”

She nodded before turning around and trotting away. “Good! We’re hoping to hear from Cloudsdale soon, it’s about time for them to report in. Do you want to go there for the briefing?”

He shrugged. “Eh. Maybe. I mean, they’ve got Scootaloo and Prism. If anypony knows what they’re doing, it’s those two.”

“What about Daring?” she asked, glancing back.

“Eh. Ironwing can keep her in line. Sorta. As good as anypony else can. Probably. As long as they stay together, they’ll be fine.”

And here it is, the new chapter. And... yeah. Sometimes, we all fall apart. As a great man once said 'Everyone falls apart sometimes. Tacos fall apart all the time, we still love them.'

Sometimes, the weight of the world is just too much and we just need a moment to let go. That's okay.

So, I'll be writing a chapter every other week for a bit, things are a bit wild, I'm doing job interviews, trying to get a book out, etc etc. Until things settle down, I'll be a bit slow.

Ironwing paced back and forth across the soft clouds, his eyes focused on the cloud. His red coated hooves dug deep into the soft surface, pulling free with an unsatisfying boing sound when the clouds just bounced back. That was one of the many, many things he hated about being in a cloud city. Everything was so soft that it just bounced back into position. On the ground, if you bucked a wall, it STAYED bucked.

“He’s going to be fine,” a mare said. He glanced over to a chair where a brown coated pony with a streaked, gray mane was sitting. Her wide rimmed hat was resting over her eyes while she leaned back, hiding her face.

“Not when I get my hooves on him, Daring,” Ironwing said through gritted teeth. “It was stupid and reckless. He KNEW better,” he snapped.

“He got away, didn’t he?” Daring offered. “If you know you can get away, then--”

“He almost got his wings snapped! If it hadn’t been for Blaze, he’d be captured right now. He--”

“You’re just mad you weren’t the one to rescue him, aren’t you?” the mare asked with a teasing grin. “Or are you mad you didn’t get to take a few swings at True yourself?”

The shadowbolt froze in place, barely shoving down his anger. He’d have loved to get a chance to tear the traitor to the Wonderbolts apart. To imagine the stallion had actually been Prism’s student not too long ago. He couldn’t imagine HOW Prism had allowed himself to get beaten so soundly. He had to have let down his guard.

The main door opened and a brown pegasus with a light red mane walked in. Her wings had thin, metal attachments over them, which connected in a brace that went around her neck. In the center of the brace was a small jewel. “How’s he holding up?”

“We’re not sure, yet,” Daring offered. “Blaze is in there with him, but they’re not sure when he’ll wake up, Miss Scootaloo. They don’t want us going in until he does.”

The mare sighed and shook her head. “Please, stop calling me miss. You’re making me feel old,” she said before glancing towards the door. “He’s... alive though, right?”

“Yeah. Still a stubborn idiot. But he’ll survive.”

“Good. If he died on my watch, his mom would kill me. Which would really put a damper on me killing her when I get my hooves on her,” Scootaloo said flatly. “How’s Blaze?”

“She’s been with him since he got out,” Ironwing said. “She said she’d have someone get us when he woke up. That we should get some rest.” The pegasus rolled his eyes at that. “As if we could sleep right now.”

“Tell me about it...” the elder mare said with a yawn. “If I could sleep, I’d be in bed now.”

“So… how’s it looking?” Daring asked softly.

“Not too good,” Scootaloo muttered. “Our little gamble paid off. The last remaining grounded ponies are outside of these lands, at least. Unfortunately, it looks like Metal Orchard is under siege.”

“WHAT?!” Ironwing said, digging a hoof deep into the ground. “We need to go--”

“And trust them to handle their forces? Exactly,” Scootaloo cut him off, silencing him with a glare. He gulped and lowered his eyes. “Metal Orchard is where we sent most of the grounded forces in the first month of this war. Trust me, I know as well as anypony just how important they are and, more importantly, what it means if they fall.”

Daring sighed and lifted her head. “Then you know we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Mom would--”

“Twilight would understand that, sometimes, things go poorly. You have to pick and choose your battles. Octavia and Vinyl are working with them, they’ll do the best they can. But they’re in the Earth Kingdom. Our duty is down here, dealing with True and the Air Immortal. Two or three of us won’t make a difference against this siege, but we can make a difference here.”

Ironwing sighed and turned his back. “If Metal Orchard wasn’t the destination, where have the ponies been sent?”

“Some to different Earth Kingdom areas, a few hundred to the Water Nation. It’s ironic, in a way,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Silver’s trying to unite the whole world under her hoof. She’s coming close to uniting it against her. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll see an encore of that power that wiped out Discord the first time.”

“I doubt it,” Daring muttered.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“It took almost everypony in the world uniting against him to bring whatever… that was,” the mare said gently. “But almost everypony hated him. There’s more than a few ponies working for her, under her. That and it’s not like we can gather everypony in the world again. Mom told me about that. If Discord hadn’t BROUGHT everypony together, if he hadn’t been so over confident, so certain he’d won already? He wouldn’t have lost. I don’t think Silver will make the same mistake.”

“Well, we can certainly hope she’ll make the same mistake. Or whatever Diamond’s got cooking in that head of hers will be what we need to get out of this mess,” Scootaloo muttered.

“Silver isn’t stupid,” Ironwing muttered, glancing back towards the doorway. “She won’t make the same mistake Discord made...” He stared at the door, willing it to open and have one of the medical ponies come out to retrieve them, alas, it remained closed. “They’ll solve this, somehow. Once Diamond figures it all out.”

Daring sighed. “I really wanna believe that. But… mom had a tough time against Discord and, not to be mean or anything, Diamond is definitely not my mom.”

“No, she’s not,” Ironwing mumbled, finally taking his eyes off the door. “But Silver isn’t Discord, either. She’s Silver. This is an entirely different situation.”

The two mares shared looks, before finally Scootaloo sighed. “Ironwing, I know you want to… believe that Silver is still good, but… we saw what she did. She turned on Diamond. Took Rainbow and the others. She--”

“Is still Silver, regardless,” Ironwing said with a shrug. “She’s messed up, yes. She’s messed up horribly,” he said before turning his head to meet his mother’s gaze. “But I watched the two. Diamond? She was a little obnoxious brat. Silver was… no, is a good influence on her. I don’t know why she’s done this. But I trust Diamond to figure it out.”

“Because she’s the Avatar?” Daring asked.

“No. Because she’s Diamond. I’ve watched her grow a lot since she came to Harmony and, while I could still dump her in the lake without hesitation or a hint of guilt, she’s… good at what she does. She’s persistent, obnoxious, hard working, incredibly obnoxious, stubborn and did I mention just how mind boggling obnoxious she is?” he asked flatly. “But… when it comes to her friends? I’d always gamble on those four, even against Discord.”

Scootaloo sighed. “Listen, I want to believe in her, too. But she--”

“Gave you flight,” Ironwing said firmly.

“… A trick. To make us trust her.”

“In that case, she’s done a lot of tricks,” the shadowbolt said, his tone cold as ice.

“Yeah, she has. Fine, looking at all the good she’s done doesn’t overshadow the fact she’s destroying our world!” Scootaloo snapped, grinding her own hoof into the cloud.

“And her actions now don’t nullify the good she’s done in the past,” he said calmly. “She’s done both. She’s helped countless ponies and now she’s hurt countless ponies. I’m not saying I’ll ignore what she’s done. But I’m not willing to give up on her, either. Especially not with Diamond, Acrylic and Button all working together.”

Scootaloo growled for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head. “Fine. I still think you’re insane. You know, the Ironwing from not too long ago would have been ready to lock her away and break the key.”

“Maybe I’ve grown up,” he said calmly. “Sometimes? A pony just needs a bit of forgiveness...” He closed his eyes. “Sometimes, a pony needs a lot of forgiveness...”

The elder mare paused, her gaze softening. “Ironwing… you don’t--”

The door to the inner rooms and a pegasus stepped out. “Ironwing, Daring, Miss Scootaloo? Prism has woken up. You may come and--”

She was cut off by the three ponies dashing by her so fast she spun in place with a shriek, barely managing to keep herself from falling over. “H-how rude!”

That weird moment when it's IRONWING who's rooting for you... Also, Prism continues the proud family tradition of flying off recklessly. Yayyyy!

Prism groaned, his eyes slowly opening. He tried to spread out his wings and instantly regretted the motion, the bandages wrapped around them stopping them from moving and sending bursts of pain through the damaged limbs. “Ow ow...” he whispered.

“YOU IDIOT!” Blaze roared, stomping her hooves down besides the bed. He glanced over to his annoyed wife looking and gave a small smile.

“Hey honey...” he said with a sheepish smile. “You look as radiant as ever. Your mane looks extra orange and fiery today.”

“And your mane looks like a lemon that’s been left in the lab after one of Alicity’s ‘accidents’. You’re lucky you’re already in the hospital bed or I’d put you in one. What were you thinking?”

“Oh, you know. Heh… ow. I distracted him, didn’t I? And stuff? So… totally worth.”

Blaze let out a frustrated growl. “You truly are your mother’s child. You should--”

The door to the room opened and Daring, Scootaloo and Ironwing ran into the room.

“You idiot!” Ironwing said the moment he was in.

“Already told him,” Blaze said with a light chuckle.

“Did you tell him it was--”

“Was about to,” she cut him off, before glaring at Prism. “That was reckless. What in the world would possess you to fight him like that?”

“He was my student, weird powers from Discord or not, I figured I could take him,” Prism said with a cringe, before shaking his head.

“He was OUR student,” Blaze snapped.

“Still, a bit of extra power wasn’t enough to beat me. I just--”

“You just ran into him like an idiot. The generals have who knows what extra abilities from Discord. You cannot just run in like that. You know this!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Prism said with a weak smile. “… Did I at least look cool?”

“GAHHH! I swear! You’re just like your mother!”

“… I mean, you did look pretty cool,” Daring offered, earning a glare from Ironwing and Blaze as well as a snort from Scootaloo. “What? He did. Besides, I thought he’d be fine. He did train True, right?”

Prism closed his eyes. “I… did. But that whole thing was kind of weird.”

“Yeah, he is a general,” Ironwing muttered before walking up to sit by the bed. “Who knows how much strength they’ve gotten from Silver?”

“It’s not… that...” Prism muttered before, slowly, stretching out his hooves. “There’s more to it than that.”

Blaze sighed and leaned in, shaking her head. “Yeah? What?”

“… Just… I’ve been fighting air benders since I was a kid. Buck, mom trained me. There isn’t anypony better than her. I KNOW a good air bender when I see it.”

“And?”

“… He was not just good. His power was incredible, yeah. But there was a lot of… he was skilled. Very skilled. His precision, his movements. Everything. They were perfect. There were no flaws. It was like fighting my mom again,” he muttered. “No. It was… different than that. He was better than my mom. Well. Almost as good. Maybe a little off point. She would have had trouble, that’s all I’m saying.”

Ironwing frowned, tapping a hoof on his chin. “Wait… you trained him, right? How good was he back then?”

“He was… good. I mean… he wasn’t anything super special when I got a hold of him,” Prism muttered. “Blaze?”

“He was good enough to be a Wonderbolt, but he was hardly a stand out amongst us,” Blaze said with a sigh, shaking her head. “I trained with him enough, I’d know. There were a few times he pulled off some impressive stunts. But nothing like you used to do.”

“Exactly,” Prism muttered, shaking his head. “He’s not… he was nowhere near this good. It was like...”

“You think he was as good as your mom, then? Really?” Ironwing asked, closing his eyes.

“Maybe...”

“Rainbow’s cutie mark is in the Air Immortal. If… True is able to draw from that, if he has access to your mom’s skills...”

Prism groaned and closed his eyes. “Yeah. That's what I’ve been thinking.”

“Well… buck,” Scootaloo muttered. “The Earth Immortal has Applejack AND Applebloom inside it. The Water Immortal has Rarity and Sweetie. If their generals can draw on ALL of their abilities now, too?”

“Yup...” Prism sad. “Bad enough we don’t have them to help us fight. But if they’re actually against us?”

“Good thing we’ve got an avatar then, huh?” Daring asked with a light chuckle. “Though we’ve… got some bad news, Prism.”

“What now?” Prism muttered with a groan.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Ironwing said quickly, shaking his head. “For now, you need to recover. You’re still healing and--”

“Just tell me,” Prism snapped, glaring at the stallion. “Things are already bucked to the skies, what else could be going wrong?”

Scootaloo sighed and then glanced to Blaze, who nodded. “Very well. Blaze, you’ll want to know this too. Metal Orchard is under siege.”

Blaze’s eyes widened. “W-what? We need to help them! We--”

“Are staying here for the time being. The last thing we need is to draw all of our forces to the Earth Kingdom. If the immortals team up? There’s no way we can defeat them like this. We have to trust them to deal with this.”

Prism let out a soft groan, but nodded. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right. But what if they get Big Mac, Octavia and Vinyl?”

“We’ll be even worse off,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “But there’s nothing we can do to help them right now. All we can do by rushing in is make things worse. So we have to wait here and do what we can. Aid the war effort in whatever way we can, without getting ourselves captured. We need to come up with a plan to take down the immortal here. They damaged the Water Immortal, so it can be done. A plan is being worked on for it now, hopefully we’ll have something soon.”

“And what about me?” Prism asked before trying to sit up, only to have Blaze put a hoof to his chest.

“You need to rest,” Blaze said firmly.

“What? But--”

“We won’t be making a move until everypony, including you, has had a chance to recover. You aren’t the only pony to get hurt by this assault,” Blaze snapped. “With those changelings of theirs, we’re already outnumbered. We’ve already lost a sizable percentage of the Wonderbolts as it is. We can’t afford to make a move while so many are laid up in bed. Right, Scootaloo?”

“Exactly.”

Prism sighed and closed his eyes. “Right… how many were lost to this?”

“… Less than we would have if you hadn’t made a move on True,” Blaze admitted. “We lost three more to the immortal, but we did our duty. You should have grabbed one of us to come with you, not ran off alone.”

Scootaloo nodded. “The result could have been far worse. We were lucky. But we’re still on the run. We have ponies on constant patrols, keeping an eye out for any sign of Discord’s forces. We’re keeping the skies filled with clouds for the time being, but our forces won’t be able to keep these clouds up forever. On the up side, our ground forces have now been fully extracted. The Air Nomads now have nothing more than pegasi in their borders. It’s… not an ideal situation, but it’s the best we can do for now. But Prism, please listen to Blaze. You’ll get your chance to fight back, eventually. For now, we need to recover and plan. We--”

“Need to wait for Diamond, I know,” Prism said softly, shaking his head. “I still don’t like it. True was my student and--”

“And is not your responsibility now. He is all of our responsibility. Running off and doing things on your own is how we end up in situations where we need you and don’t have you. On that note. While, what you did was brave, if Blaze HADN’T come in to save you when she did, we would have lost you as well.”

“If I hadn’t run off when I did, True would have intercepted the refuges. I had a split second to move, I made my choice,” Prism muttered.

“You should have signaled me,” Ironwing said.

“I thought I could take him alone, they needed you against the immortal.”

“Judging by the shape you’re in now, you needed me against him.”

Prism sighed and pulled the blanket up over his face. “I’m sorry, okay? I won’t run off on my own again, okay? I know it was reckless, I shouldn’t have gone alone. Thank you for saving me, Blaze. Can we stop the ‘pick on Prism’ hour, please?” he asked.

“One last thing,” Blaze said firmly, before smiling. “How badly would you have scolded Diamond if she’d done something like that?”

“I’m not her teacher anymore. Mom took over.”

“The position defaulted to you until we find out what happened to her,” Blaze said firmly. “So, what would you have done?”

The pegasus groaned. “Scolded her. Fine. But that’s not the same as… I’m sorry. I’ve learned my lesson. Okay?”

“Good,” Blaze said before getting to her hooves. She glanced over to Ironwing for a moment. She then turned and started to walk towards the door. “Scootaloo? Daring? Do you mind if we go and work on that thing for a bit?”

Daring glanced up. “Huh? You mean the… oh. Right. Right right. You two have fun now! Don’t kill each other!” she called before racing out the door ahead of the air bender.

Scootaloo sighed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t kill him, Ironwing. Bye,” she said, before trotting lightly after Blaze.

Once the two were alone in the room Ironwing rolled his eyes. “Your wife is subtle.”

Prism snickered and shook his head. “It could be worse. You know, last time it was you in the hospital and me worried sick.”

“You could have died, you know.”

“Doubt it.”

“You might have never flown again. You wing was broken in two places.”

“They have good healers here.”

“I had to help haul you here, Prism. Your chest was partially caved. You almost died.”

“And yet I didn’t. What’s this about, Ironwing?”

The stallion sighed and turned, leaning his back against the bed. “I feel… guilty. I guess. I should have been there, by your side. But I wasn’t. You ran off like a… well, an idiot.”

“I know, I--”

“You ran off like your mother.”

That made Prism freeze.

“You know how that turned out. You know what happened.”

“I’m not--”

“You are like her. You’re cocky, arrogant, a pain in the rear. You’re good, but you’re not perfect. You can make mistakes. Do you think I don’t notice that? That was why you and I were a team for so long. Why--”

“That was then, this was something I had to--”

“Deal with on your own? Like Shining Blast?”

“… He wasn’t as--”

“You don’t know what he’s capable of. You don’t know what the immortal is, either. They have more than just your mother’s mark in them. They have power, control, precision. They are far, far beyond just normal ponies now. Taking them on by yourself is nothing more than reckless arrogance.”

“I was--”

“You almost weren’t. You should have brought me with you. Or Blaze, even. Somepony. If Blaze hadn’t taken him by surprise, you might be dead now.”

Prism let out a soft groan. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I thought I had it handled, I--”

“You’re your mother’s child. But Rainbow is gone. The Air Nomads need every Wonderbolt they have. You’re not just putting yourself at risk when you get hurt. Just… next time… don’t. You need someone to watch your back.” Ironwing lightly tapped his hooves on the ground. “And… maybe… I need someone to watch my back. Sometimes. Too.”

“Wait… what? You mean...”

“Last time I almost died. I needed YOUR help to get out of the city before Silver got there. In that turmoil, I could have been killed by any number of…” Ironwing trailed off, before giving a sigh. “The Wonderbolts are in shambles. Most of the few remaining ponies in the Shadowbolts are in hiding. We have to use every edge we have. And you and I are...”

Prism sighed. “Just like old days, then?”

“If we work together, even your mom would have a rough time against us.”

“She’d have probably still kicked our flanks, though.”

“Probably. Your mom was merciless.”

“But… fine. I wouldn’t mind that. I guess. Kinda. Maybe. It… About mom. I didn’t mean to--”

“You didn’t try to break anypony’s wings before flying off to do something stupid and reckless. You’re not your mom.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re just an idiot.”

Prism frowned. “Gee, thanks.”

“Anytime,” Ironwing said before getting to his hooves. “Get back to your hooves when you can. We’ve got a lot of old techniques to work on.”

“I will. About the Metal Orchard. Do you think they’ll--”

“They’ll hold out as long as they can,” Ironwing cut him off. “We… just have to hope that whatever Diamond has planned, whatever she’s working on, will pay off in the end.”

“What do you think the chances are of that happening?”

“I’m willing to take that gamble.”

“Good enough for me.”

Not everyone approves of the 'Run off and beat everyone up' strategy that Rainbow employed so well. Eh, not like it ever really backfired on her, though. Well. Except that one time...