*(~)*

1 Peter 1:13~

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

*(~)*

A New Chapter Begins

"Nova! Sunset! We have a problem! Huh?" Chi floated back into her apartment building, alongside Iris, Akari and Nori. The entire place was destroyed, with several picture frames cracked on the floor, the carpet shredded and traces of the same green good were on the walls and destroyed furniture.

Nori reluctantly tapped the surface of the goop, which in turn got stuck on her finger. She shuddered and flapped it away wither hands. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!"

"That's the same stuff the creature spit on us." Akari said, fearlessly pulling a sample from the carpet and placing it inside a random empty jar nearby.

"Which means the same monster was here too!" Iris concluded, her voice partly cracking.

Chi began to tremble in fear at the worst case scenario happening to her adopted sibling and sister-in-law, only for the same goop to land on her head. She and the others looked up to see an unconscious Sunset Shimmer stuck inside a cocoon on the ceiling!

Pulling out a sword from her backpack (originally her saddle bag), Akari sliced the cocoon open and Sunset Shimmer fell right off, with Chi catching her bridal style before gently lowering her down. Sunset Shimmer came to, her cloths, hair and, pretty much everything, dripping with the green slime.

Sunset blinked a few times, regaining her vision. "I.. I think so." she then gasped in realization. "Where's Nova?"

"I don't know. We were just having dinner and then the door bursted open, next thing I knew I was covered in green slime and, the rest if a blur."

"Um, guys…" Nori turned towards the wisp and unicorn, pulling out a huge torn of Nova's jacket, covered in the same green goop. The two girls gasped and Sunset, with a trembling hand, held the cloth in her hands, ignoring the slime dripping onto her fingers.

"You're not the only one." Mai said through the other line, her eyes set on the now destroyed apartment of Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. Gallant Steed has just returned from their bedroom and regretfully shook his head, with tears already beginning to form in his eyes.

The following morning, while bright and sunny in weather, was overwrought for many. City Hall was overrun by all of the guests who had attended the Harmony Celebration. Airbenders, both of pony and human variety, as well as guards from Canterlot, the Police Force, led by Ali and her siblings, and many known friends and family members.

Iris and the rest of her friends stood beside Tenzin and Iris's spirit siblings. While everyone else was frantically speaking with one another, the children remained in their corner. Gallant was comforting Chi and Sunset Shimmer, while Mai and Hiro comforted Iris and Akari. Nori was with her father in the audience.

With Asami, Bolin and Kuvira beside him, President Iroh addressed to the frantic crowd. "Everyone, please calm down!" Iroh cried out, rising his hands and lowering them to the public. "I understand we are all deeply concerned right now but--"

Bolin stepped up to intervene, "Yes, thank you for that already stablished information, Mr…whatever your name is, I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with spears."

The doors bursted open and the changeling guards hurried inside. "King Thorax is missing!" the crowd gasped. "He never returned from his evening with Lady Fluttershy!"

"Fluttershy never came back either." Zephyr Breeze cried out, with his distraught parents beside him. "I flew by her cabin this morning, and the entire place looked like a tornado flew by. A tornado with slimy green goop."

"Wait, that same goop was around when Applejack was taken last night." said Double Diamond. The rest of the Apple Family, which included Grand Pear. Big Mac was already crying, as was Granny Smith, while Sweet Gala and Half Pipe were being comforted by their Aunt Apple Bloom.

"My sugar-dumpling, Pinkie Pie is gone too!" Cheese Sandwich cried, getting down on his knees, brawling like a baby, literally tears spewed from his eyes like water hoses. "I'll never be the same super-duper-party-pony ever again!"

"Rainbow Dash was taken too!" Soarin said, holding his infant daughter in his warms, while Windy Whistle was being comforted by her husband.

"So was Rarity!" Nori said, standing beside her father, who had both hands on her shoulder. "She wasn't at her boutique, and the entire place looked like it had been ransacked." she pulled out a piece of torn fabric from her pocket. "Look! This is a hand woven organza scarf, and it's torn to shreds! Rarity would never leave this kind of murder against fashion go uncorrected."

"My parents, Twilight and Flash were taken as well." Akari said, stepping forward to address the crowd.

"Nova was taken too!" Chi exclaimed, with Sunset placing her hands on her shoulders.

The doors of were bursted opened again, this time P'Li and the long since reformed Zaheer barged into the room. The man removed his white lotus helmet, looking as distressed as everybody else inside. "We just got back from the Four Elements Hotel. Queen Cadance, King Shinning Armor and Princess Flurry Heart are all missing."

The poor young alicorn couldn't contain anymore of her sadness. Iris and Gallant rushed to her side, embracing her in a comforting embrace. Timber Spruce rubbed the side of her legs, whimpering sadly. First her parents, now her aunt, uncle and cousin were gone as well?

"This doesn't make any sense." Maisaid, "The alicorns and the Elements of Harmony are the most powerful known magic users in the three worlds. How could they possibly be kidnapped so easily?"

"Not to mention, who would kidnap Nova, Starlight and Sunburst?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "And for what reason?"

"Something like this hasn't happened since the changeling innovation." Ikki said, her eyes widened in realization. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken." the number of changelings all replied in unison, genuinely taking no offense in the matter.

Akari's pony ears perked upwards in realization. She pulled the jar from her bag and rushed towards the two changeling guards. "Excuse me, but would you happen to recognize this?"

The changelings politely took the jar and their eyes widened in terror. They recognized the familiar green substance, and their hands trembled, still they managed to hold onto the jar long enough. "Where did you find this?"

"Right after our parents went missing, this substance was all over the place. In my castle, Nova and Sunset's apartment, and Iris's castle too."

Asami, Bolin, Iroh and Kuvira approached the two, who handed them the jar. Bolin and Asami knew they had seen this before. P'Li also immediately recognized it. "How is this possible?"

Before they could give a conclusive answer, the doors opened again and Varrick, alongside his wife Zhu Li and their son, VJ, entered the building. "Sorry we're late people, but you would not believe the traffic! Hey, we can't all have airbending, wings or magical teleporting powers now can we?" Varrick said. Despite his growing age, he still carried that same flamboyant and charismatic attitude he always had.

Everybody else stepped back in terror once the man suddenly pulled out what appeared to be a riffle gun from his long jacket pocket, and by the looks of it, it was packing heavy.

Zhu Li gently lowered the weapon and pried it from her husband's hands. "Sweetie, what did we agree on on the way here?"

Varrick dropped his shoulders in disappointment. "No shooting until the guy is proven guilty."

"So, no shooting, Pops?" ten-year-old VJ asked. He bared a striking resemblance to his mother, except with his father's skin tone and eye color.

"I know, but you'll get used to it, trust me." Varrick said while proudly ruffling his son's hair.

The adults and children only blinked a couple times at the unexpected, and completely unnecessary interruption, and reverted their attention back to the jar.

P'Li stared at the substance, still struggling to believe any of this. "This… this stuff looks exactly like the substance the changelings used to capture everyone last time."

"But, they don't use this anymore." Bolin said, "At least, not in this green color. It's more of a bright, sparkly aquamarine, and you use it as a surprisingly effective fertilizer."

"I don't think changelings are the culprits here." Iris said, stepping in for the two changeling guards. "Last night we were attacked by this wolf-like creature who used the same slime to try and capture me and Akari."

Hiro then stepped in, his voice being a lot louder and, in a lot of ways, more expressive than that of his now serious cousin. He began to explain the creature by using over the top hand gestures. "Yeah, it black and hairy, well maybe not that hairy, it looked like those really sick looking dogs with the nearly visible ribcages, very unpleasant to look at, with these torn up bug-wings and sharp teeth and freaky bug eyes and every time it opened it's mouth this gross limy stuff came spewing out like the stuff in the jar!"

"We have seen a lot of creatures during our diplomatic travels with Thorax, but never of this variety." said the changeling guard. "I have never even heard of a… wolf-changeling."

"I think it's more of a werewolf-changeling actually." Hiro said. "A Wereling… no, no, doesn't have the same ring to it, you know what let's just go with what you just said. Wolf-changeling. Not every inspiring, but it's straightforward so--"

"Wait a minute!" Wu rose his hand, getting their attention. "We're missing someone here. Discord!"

At the mention of his name, Akari gasped, "That's a great idea! If anybody can figure out what's going it's him!"

"Akari's right." Jinora said, "He can sense if there is a magical imbalance, and he's lived almost as long as the Alicorns have, so he's got to know something."

"Not to worry, I got him on speed dial." Wu said, with geo-phone already in hand. Kuvira, Asami, Bolin, Jinora and Kai all looked at him in surprise. "What? We have karaoke nights together."

The phone started to ring, and Wu had it placed on speaker. After a few rings, Discord's voice was heard.

"So sorry to disappoint you but I'm not home at the moment. But, if anyone of my friends, you know who you are you lucky scamps, is hearing this, I was hoping, if you could maybe find the time to, oh I don't know- HELP ME!!!!"

Everybody reeled back at the incredibly loud, and uncharacteristically desperate scream, that came from the voice message. Anybody who knew Discord could already say with confidence that this was NOT his original recording.

Wu blinked a few times before hanging up. "Well, there goes that last lingering thread of hope."

"Discord's been captured too?!" Kai exclaimed in shock, "How is that even possible?! The guy can zap in and out whenever he wants!"

A blood curling girlish scream broke out, leaving everybody nearly def. Most eyes fell on either the ladies of the room, then to the younger female generation, only for all of them to point directly towards Ryu, who was the one screaming like a little girl. He eventually stopped once he saw everyone's confused and very disturbed expressions all aimed at him.

Jinora stepped forward, taking notice of the now distressed, and very, very anxious expressions both Asami and Bolin currently wore on their faces. "Okay, okay, everybody stay calm. I know this looks bad, but--"

"Bad? Bad?!" Varrick intervened, "Bad is when I get that itchy rash that won't go away and I run out of my special ointment imported from Saddle Arabia. This is beyond bad, this is devastating! Not only are the primary four known alicorns of Equestria MIA, but so are the Seven Elements of Harmony and one chaotic reality warping spirit! Face it, everypony with powerful magic is gone! Poof! Out of order! Adios! Sayonara! Don't ask me how I know those words! The point is, we're all doomed!"

"We are not doomed!" Asami said firmly, "We just have to work together to figure out exactly who is behind all of this and why."

"Mrs. Sato is right." Iroh said. "Once we have all the information we'll know where to find them." he turned towards the police force. "Ali, you and the rest of the police force carry on the investigation. Any new information you find, report back to us immediately."

"I'll send Airbender troops to scout the globe. We'll immediately alert you if we find anything." Jinora said, earning a nod from Asami.

"In that, you'll have the dragon's help." said the Dragon Lord Ember to the airbender, offering her claw in assistance.

"The changelings will offer our assistance as well." they said, bowing in respect.

Iroh nodded in gratitude. "Thank you. As of now, all further events of the Harmony Celebration, I regret to say, have been postponed until further notice." the president announced with great remorse. It truly was tragic when a time for celebration turns into one of despair and fear.

With that, everyone one by one exited the building. Jinora and her family left with the airbenders and the dragons, while Ali led the police force. Iris rushed outside to catch up with her older sister.

"You can help by staying with Aunt Asami and Uncle Bolin while we figure this out."

Ali looked around before leading Iris away from everyone else, speaking in a hushed tone. "Keeping the Avatar safe is how you will be helping."

"Iris, you just found out, literally, yesterday! You have no idea how to control your powers, like at all, and with everything else that's going on we can't risk loosing another alicorn, let alone another Avatar."

"Iris, she's right." Mika said as she, along with San, walked on over. The female winged lizard spirit looked down at her younger sister with sympathetic eyes. She crunched down and placed a reassuring hand on Iris's shoulder. "As much as I believe in you, little sis, this is something you just can't participate it. At least, not right now."

"And you know I hate to agree with Ali, but it's a big fat ditto for me." San said, arms crossed.

Iris only turned her head away in bitter annoyance. "Just great. I find out I'm the Avatar on the same day my parents get kidnapped and I can't do anything about it."

"We're sorry, kid." Ali said with genuine regret. "But, I promise, we'll do everything we can to bring Mom and Dad back."

"Besides, you won't be alone." San said, trying to better the mood. "You've got your friends!"

Iris's expression softened a little bit, though barely. The young princess was surprised when all three of her older adopted siblings embraced her. Ali cupped Iris's cheek with her lizard hands. "Promise me you'll stay safe."

Both Ali and Mika kissed Iris on the forehead, while San playfully ruffled her hair before parting. Once they did, Akari and Chi walked on over to Iris. Neither said a word, they simply stood beside her, each with one arm over their shoulders.

Tenzin walked out of the building, with the rest of the kids, Timber and Akhlut. "Come along, Iris." he said. The children walked out into the sunlight, where the rest of the audience from inside either dispersed, or spoke amongst themselves. The children, Tenzin and the canines all came to an abrupt halt when a familiar white unicorn rushed over to greet them.

"Hey, guys! I was hoping I'd find you here." she said, holding up her notebook and pencil in hand.

"News Caster? What are you doing here?" Akari asked, eying the unicorn with disinterest.

"I heard about what happen. I wanted to know if you were all doing alright, and to know if you have already thought of a plan of action to retrieve the everyone."

"All you need to know is that we have everything under control." Tenzin said, while simultaneously trying to casually walk by her with the children. News Caster leaped in their path, stoping them.

"So, do you have any leads as to who could have this?" she asked eagerly, her pencil hovering over her notebook. "How long do you believe this investigation will take? Is it possible anyone attending had some kind of anterior motive to kidnap our heroes?"

Tenzin politely rose his hand. "I'm sorry, but right now the children are not doing any interviews. All you need to know is that we are working tirelessly to retrieve our friends. If you have any further questions, take it with the Police Force."

"What about President Iroh? Is he available to--?" before she could proceed any further, both Akhlut and Timber started to growl at the unicorn, causing her to take a step back in alarm.

"Akhlut, what's gotten into you?" Iris said, pulling her loyal orca wolf back, while Akari did the same with Timber.

News Caster ignored them, but never got to ask another question when Tenzin stepped in. "Miss Caster, I hate to be blunt, but I must politely ask you to leave the premises at once." Tenzin said, his voice now firmer than before.

To his luck, several police officers were nearby, overhearing the commotion a few feet away. They eyed the white unicorn who reluctantly placed her notebook back into her pocket and pencil over her ear.

"Very well. I'm sorry for being so discourteous. If, by any chance, I uncover anything I will let you know."

News Caster bowed her head in respect, but not before shooting a glance at Iris, ignoring Akhlut still growling. The alicorn human couldn't tell if it was an angry glare, a confused glare, a neutral one, or even a sad one. It was incredibly hard to read, but before she could make a conclusion, News Caster walked away, one of her fists party clenching.

Tenzin led the children away from the scene, however, once they were out of sight, News Caster hurried into an alleyway, making sure nobody else had spotted her.

Iris continuously paced back and forth inside Mai's large bedroom. The young Sato instead sat cross legged on the floor, googles over her eyes as she tampered with some kind of invention of hers. Judging by the looks of it, it was nearly finished. Nori, meanwhile was brushing her tail on Mai's bed while Akari read a book on the small cushion chair to distract her. Sadly, it wasn't working and she wounded up having to re-read the same paragraph over and over again.

When Iris walked past Mai once more, she briefly lost her focus and one of the pieces flew right off when she was trying to place it back in. She groaned and placed it back on the floor, removing her googles to face her older cousin. "Iris, I know you're stressed right now but if you keep pacing around like that my room's gonna have an indoor moat."

Iris did finally stop, if not solemnly to growl in frustration. "It's not fair that I just sit idly by while everybody else is working to find our parents.

"I agree." Akari said with a bubbling determination that was already starting to rise. "We should do something. We're the next generation of alicorns, it's our duty to fight for the greater good."

"I hate to sound like the wet blanket here, but what can we you?" Mai said. "I know you guys are skilled at magic, but we have no idea what we're up against. We still don't know why that wolf thing, or whatever took Aunt Korra and Uncle Mako or the other Elements, alicorns, Thorax and Discord."

"Not to mention, this kind of crime is way too large in scale to be calculated by only one person." Nori said as she brushed her tail once more, only to accidentally go too hard at one point. "Ouch!"

"I'm stress brushing. This is a very stressful situation and this serves as a form of personal meditation for me. What are you doing?"

"A Geo-Slate. It's kind of like a geo-phone but, thanks to a few modifications with the implanted geodes, this baby will be able to scan any surface and incorporate it to memory."

"Then who would want to kidnap our parents and friends?" Akari asked. "Some bad dude from their past they never told us about?"

Iris shook her head, still pacing. "No. They've told is all of the stories, we would have had at least a hunch on who it was, or at the very least Aunt Asami and Uncle Bolin would have had known of someone. The only clues we have is that they clearly only captured the most powerful beings in the world, no doubt for a reason, and that wolf changeling committed the kidnapping. There is no one else who has those types of minions or pets."

"Unless Chrysalis somehow survived that fall." Mai theorized with dry sarcasm. She noticed Iris, Akari and Nori all looked directly at her in horror. "Oh, come on, I was being sarcastic! There's no way she's still alive. They saw her head decapitated from her body and every single limp cracked into tiny pieces and her eyes rolled right out of her sockets."

Nori shuddered at the description. "Thank you so much for the nightmare fuels, Mai!"

"My point is, nobody could survive that, not even an alicorn. Maybe somebody else found these undiscovered subspecies of changeling animals and somehow got them to do their dirty work. The one from last night had his sights solemnly on Iris and Akari, remember?"

Iris and Akari both nodded in agreement. The creature did come after them. So, if it did then… would that mean it would come after them again?

Mai reached for something beside her, only to find it absent. "Shoot, where is that thing?" Mai scanned the room, only to find that the missing piece had rolled down under her bed. "Oh, great." she muttered and outstretched her hand to reach for it. She struggled due to how far it was and the space between the bed and herself was relatively small.

"No it's okay, I got it." Mai insisted. She thought if she stretched out a tiny bit more then she would reach it. Nori, still brushing her tail, suddenly felt the bed stir and…rise into the air.

The merpony ceased her brushing and looked down, only to shriek on horror to see that the bed, and herself on it, had risen up from the floor. Mai absentmindedly pushed underneath the bed with her free arm upwards to give herself some room and was finally able to grab her missing piece.

"MAI!!" Nori screamed, snapping Mai back to reality and the young firebender yelped in shock. She was actually lifting up her own king sized bed with only one hand, which was emitting a bright pale pink glow from the tips of her fingers. Gently, Mai grabbed the bed with both hands and lowered it down, where Nori was trembling, hugging her legs close to her body, while Iris and Akari only stared with widened eyes and dropped jaws.

"Mai, what did you just do?!" Nori exclaimed in frustration, her body still trembling.

"I--I have no idea!" Mai stepped back, staring frightfully at her own hands, the glowing having disappeared.

"That's a king sized bed! How did you lift it like that?" Akari exclaimed, still in shock.

Iris assisted the still petrified Nori down from the bed, while she hyperventilated. "I was scared half to death! You know I hate heights!"

"I'm fine!" Nori outreached her hand towards Mai, telling her she was indeed alright and didn't need her help, at least not after the near heart arrack she had caused the poor merpony. But, the moment she outreached her hand, her fingertips glowed and from her palm manifested what appeared to be a large pearl-like shield, the same side as Mai, which pushed her back with incredible force and the young Sato heiress was thrown into her book shelve. The books themselves fell all over her, but thankfully Mai came out completely unharmed. One book fell open on her head.

"What the heck just happened?" Iris asked with concern as she rushed to her younger cousin's aid.

Nori stared at her hands in shock. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry! I think? Did I just do…whatever that was?"

"Yeah. That…barely even hurt. Seriously, I hardly felt a thing." Mai inspected herself. She didn't feel any bruises or anything. Getting hit by the book shelf felt no less painful than actually colliding with a wooden surface.

The four girls flinched, with the two alicorns instinctively stretching their wings in reaction to a medium, yet still loud booming sound coming from downstairs, followed by a girlish scream.

"Gallant!" Akari exclaimed and rushed out the door, with the rest of her friends close behind, at the same time running into Tenzin and Pema who also heard the noise.

They quickly arrived at the kitchen at the same time…which had looked as if an explosion of cheese, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard and lettuce had just occurred. The confidants had been splattered on the wall, counters, utensils and floor.

"What happened in here?" Iris asked the moment they saw the mess. The two boys, Gallant and Hiro, were covered in the same ingredients.

"I don't know! We were just making some sandwiches when--" Gallant began, only to get cut off by Hiro.

"Then I told Gallant we should be more generous with the mayonnaise, but he said "no, that's too much", but I said, "Dude, you can never have too much mayonnaise", but then he said--" he quickly stopped when he saw the girls's impatient glares. "Right, okay, anyway, my hand started glowing green and suddenly--"

"Don't!" Gallant tried to reach out and beg Hiro not to place his hand back onto the surface of a bottle of juice, only for it to blow up and in pieces of glass and the mayonnaise itself splattered all over the two already messy boys. Akari had acted fast and shielded herself and the others with a small force field.

Hiro shook his head like a dog to whip away at least some bit of the mess from himself. "Yeah, just like that!"

"Okay, how's about you lay off the touching stuff for a while." Akari said as she took both Hiro's hands and led them away from anything else he could possibly touch.

Gallant used his magic to remove the mess from himself. "Eh, we better clean this up before something else happens." he said and began searching for some of the paper towels in the cabinets. "Hiro, where do you guys keep the paper towels?"

Before Hiro could answer, Pabu came rushing inside and climbed up on Gallant's shoulder. He squeaked in his native ferret language and Gallant turned his eyes to the fourth cabinet on his left, where he levitated it open and lowered down the towels he had been looking for.

"Thanks, Pabu." he said. The ferret squeaked at him again. "Sure, I think I saw some nuts somewhere--Gah!" Gallant jumped in fear and teleported himself right behind Iris, poking his head over her shoulder while starring down at a confused Pabu. "Did--did you just…talk?"

Pabu squeaked again and, just like before, Gallant understood the words as if he were speaking like any other human being, even though they were not actual human words.

"But, I don't speak ferret!" Gallant replied, still freaking out over this discovery while Pabu squeaked again. "I don't know if you're the only ferret I can understand."

"Uh, Gallant? What are you doing?" Iris asked in surprise, arching an eyebrow at the unicorn hiding behind her.

"Are you saying you can understand him?" Hiro asked in disbelief. "If so, what's the one secret only Pabu would know about me? Go ahead, ask him."

"I can't because you made Pabu Pinkie Promise never to utter a word about it after he walked in on you when it happened."

"What's going on…in…here?" Tenzin exclaimed once he arrived at the scene, his eyes widening upon seeing the huge mess inside the kitchen. He had remained with the children while their parents were still at City Hall with the others.

"Tenzin, you'll never guess what just happened!" Hiro said rather excitedly, "I made stuff exploded and Gallant can speak fluent fire ferret!"

"That's not all." Mai continued, and explained with a far less enthusiastic tone in comparison to her brother. "A few moments ago, I lifted up my bed like it was nothing. It's like, I had a lot more strength that I usually do."

"And I made a pearl thing appear out of nowhere!" Nori mentioned, "Which normally I would be excited about, I mean the texture was just perfect, and the--"

"Last I saw her she was heading to the bathroom." Akari replied…not even a second went by and a blur of bright sky blue came speeding into the kitchen, creating a gust of wind before slamming right into the wall. The blurry image revealed to be Chi, now rubbing her ribcage.

"I don't know! After I went to the bathroom, I dashed down the stairs but the next thing I knew I was on the race track in a matter of seconds!"

"But, if you had some kind of supper speed, why were you gone for so long?" Nori asked.

"I couldn't control it. Whenever I tried to go in one direction, I kept going too fast for me to stop. I think I ran like twenty laps around the mansion in three minutes." Chi then turned to Mai and Hiro, "By the way, your family room needs a new vase…and lamp…and couch." the wisp said, subtly shrinking a bit as she nervously tapped her fingers.

Hiro then gasped in realization. "Wait, guys, do you know what this means? We've developed kind of super powers!" he said while flexing his arms to create a dramatic, heroic pose.

Akari snapped her fingers. "That's right! You went into some kind of trance like state and when you reached out and touched the symbol of or Moms's cutie marks, the branches glowed and shot magic beams at each of us."

"Wait, what powers?" Chi asked, having only recently joined the party and thus was not fully aware of what was happening.

"Mai managed to lift her bed up with one hand, Nori created some kind of pearl-like force field, Hiro makes stuff explode, and I was able to understand Pabu like he were talking plain english." Gallant explained.

"No, I mean, those sound… bizarrely familiar." Her entire body flashed yellow, resembling that of a lightbulb. "That's right! Those are the same powers Sunset Shimmer's Canterlot friends from the mirror world achieved during their second trip at Camp Everfree."

"But, those powers were caused by the geodes there." Iris said. "How in the heck--"

Iris suddenly felt something tickle her chin. She scratched it, but when it didn't go away she noticed it felt…unusually warm. She gasped when she heard a faint chiming sound coming from the side of her face…right where her cutie mark was.

Akari felt the same tingle on her cheek, and noticed that her mark was glowing as well. Nori and Gallant's were shimmering as well, and Chi, Hiro and Mai felt it on their arms. The same symbols that had appeared on them last night had reappeared, emitting a repeating glowing pattern.

Mai groaned in frustration. "Oh, great. As if things weren't weird enough already, now we've got this!"

"Perhaps this holds the answer to your problems." Tenzin said, looking… surprisingly calm despite the incredibly confusing situation.

"I've been around long enough to recognize a Cutie Mark calling when I see one."

Chi, Mai and Hiro looked down at their respected markings, which were still giving off that glowing pattern, while Iris and the other ponies placed their hands over their respected cutie marks, with Gallant gripping the symbol on his left arm, which was often covered by his long sleeve.

Tenzin leaned in close to the young princess, giving her a sly grin. "Is there something you want to hear?"

Iris then shared the same grin, while Akari spoke. "He's acting weird…I like it."

While ridding on an equally elderly Oogie, Tenzin and the children mounted off and approached Iris's palace home. "Why did you bring us back to my place?" Iris asked in confusion.

"Does your mother still have that mini portal that leads directly to Twilight's castle in Ponyville?"

Tenzin approached the door and opened it, revealing that the majority of the wreckage had been cleared, with the airbenders having cleaned up beforehand and the police having collected any and all evidence. Iris was a bit hesitant to go back inside, especially after what she had seen last night.

Tenzin kindly offered his hand, in his eyes he silently promised he wouldn't let it go until Iris felt comfortable. She took in a seep sight and took her mother's former teacher's hand and walked inside, with the rest of the group following suit.

Mai stared at the airbender suspiciously. "What exactly are you up to now, Uncle Tenzin?"

The group retreated upstairs where Iris led Tenzin to her parent's bedroom. She gestured to the closet door and, with a magical wave of her hand, the knob glowed brightly before changing to look like an alicorn. She gently pushed the door forward and rather than a room filled with cloths, what they saw was Twilight and Flash's bedroom in Equestria.

One by one, they stepped inside, once Akari, Gallant and Nori crossed over, immediately their anthro formed shifted back into their pony forms, a common occurrence whenever ponies entered back into their homeland.

Tenzin, surprisingly, took the lead this time until they arrived at the throne room, which still looked as wrecked as this morning. Thankfully, the magical map remained perfectly in tact. Iris and the rest of the children circled the unactivated magical map. The crystal-like surface was clear and crisp as if it had just been polished, but in reality it was mainly due to it supernatural origins.

Akari placed her hoof onto the surface. "The Friendship Map? I don't understand, this hasn't been active in years." she said, while Nori began admiring her reflection on its surface.

"Works pretty good to me." said the merpony, batting her eyelashes at the self image of herself, which only made Akari roll her eyes.

The kids all groaned, face palmed or just gave Tenzin an 'are you kidding me?' gesture.

"Tenzin, not to sound rude, but we really don't have time for this." Chi said, hovering over Rainbow Dash's throne.

"Give me a minute, it'll come to me." Tenzin said, still pondering while stroking his now white beard.

Iris only gave him a confused look then at Akari, who only shrugged her shoulders, equally perplexed. It was then when Iris noticed something peculiar. Chi was now sitting on the arm of Rainbow Dash's throne, but something seemed different about it. On the chair was Rainbow's cutie mark, and from Iris's perspective…it was somewhat glowing.

The wisp pouted her lips in curiosity but never the less complied. "Uh, sure, I guess." she said, taking her seat directly on Rainbow's old throne. Then, just as Iris has suspected, the cutie mark symbol started to glow, brighter than before!

Everyone else noticed this as well, and they all simultaneously gasped, much to Chi's confusion. "What? She told me take a seat."

"Look up!" Hiro pointed to the symbol on the throne which Chi currently sat on, and she looked up. She too gasped upon seeing the symbol glow. So surprised in fact that she floated right off out of shock, only to realize the glowing had stopped. When she sat again, it glowed once more.

Mai leaned against Applejack's throne, only to realize the three apples on the chair started to glow when she got near it. The Sato child shrieked in shock, getting Iris's attention. Seeing her cousin's hesitation, Iris gently gestured to Mai to sit on the throne.

Mai unsurely did so and, just like with Chi, the three apples's glow intensified once she saw fully seated. It was then, the pieces started to fit together.

As if by some hardwired subconscious guidance, each of Iris's friends sat on a specific throne. Gallant Steed sat on Fluttershy's throne, Hiro sat on Pinkie Pie's, Nori sat on Rarity's, and Akari sat on her mother's throne. One by one, each of the cutie marks were engulfed in a shimmering bright glow.

Finally, all that was left was Korra's throne. Iris gulped before taking her place, and the cutie mark symbol above her head glowed. She suddenly felt that tingling in her cheek again. Her cutie mark was glowing.

Akari noticed the symbol on her own flank glowed with shimmering white sparkles. The same event happened to Gallant Steed and Nori. Mai, Hiro and Chi suddenly felt a tingling sensation on their right forearms where the three symbols flashed before their eyes.

The glow of the cutie marks above them suddenly emitted an even more powerful glow, one as white as snow and as blazing as the sun, which aimed directly at the surface of the still slumbering map before engulfing the entire room in a blinding light, to which they all shielded their eyes from. The surface radiated with a rainbow hue.

For the first time in fourteen years, the Cutie Map was fully active once again! This time, showcasing the human world. The children blinked, their eyes widened and jaws dropped, while Tenzin was simply smiling contently.

Gallant reached out his hoof to touch the map, only to jump back on Fluttershy's throne in alarm once it suddenly reacted. The Cutie Marks symbols had suddenly separated themselves from the chairs they were attached to and flew up into the air, radiating in bright neon sparkles that fell upon the children like soft snow during winter time. Korra's symbol hovered in the center, while the other six danced eternally around it. In unison, the Cutie Marks lowered down, shrinking a bit in size while floating all across the human world until it reached the golden colored spirit portal at the Spirit Wilds in Harmony City.

The scenery shifted to reveal the spirit world itself, so vast and large it was hard to tell if this was the entire realm or only one half of it. The sceneries began to rapidly move forward, with the Cutie Marks hovering farther and farther, bypassing many already documented areas in the Spirit World, such as the Hai-Riyo Peak, where the dragon spirits lived, a familiar lake, a small swamp and various other locations, including a neon-like forest.

The locations continued to rapidly pass before their eyes, until they reached on what appeared to be some kind of large dark cloud encircling a dead forest-like area, where the Cutie Marks finally rested.

"Uh, did you guys just see that?" Hiro said, being the first to actually say anything.

"Did we just…activate the Cutie Map?" Nori asked, before excitedly clapping her hooves. "The Legendary, all Powerful Cutie Map! We, actually activated the legendary Cutie Map for the first time in years!" she then gasped. "Wait, how did we do that?"

"The Cutie Marks are hovering over this one specific area in the Spirit World." Gallant said, pointing his hoof onto the specific area. "And, the castle is still connected to the Tree of Harmony, which is connected to the Elements, which are Korra and the Mane Six! So, this must be where they were taken!"

"But, how did we do this?" Mai asked, leaning forward, gently tapping the holographic surface. "Only the Elements of Harmony could ever make this map to work!"

Iris managed to put the pieces together. Tenzin was never one to just troll around with everyone without having something up his sleeve. It was for this reason she found it very hard to believe he used to be more serious and uptight when her mother was a teenager.

The older airbender only smiled. "Well, it was more of a hunch really. Turns out, my instincts have been right all these years."

Tenzin kept his calm smile as he walked around the table, passing by each of the children sitting on the thrones. "When Korra was first discovered to be the Avatar, my mother always knew there was something special about her. Before she passed, I asked her how she had always known that Korra was different from other Avatars. She merely said this; "Once you finally learned to see, you will." For years, I questioned what she meant by that. Of course, the answer became clear on the day little Iris was born."

Tenzin stopped beside Korra's old throne, placing a loving hand over Iris's shoulder. "You all remember the story of Harmonic Convergence, correct?"

"Yes, but I'm not referring to the final Harmonic Convergence, Gallant. I'm talking about the one that started it all."

"The one where Wan, White and Leilani trapped Vaatu, became the first alicons and Avatar in existence then disconnected their worlds which would eventually start the chain reaction that was the end of the world, leading up to when the Elements of Harmony would defeat Vaatu for good?" Akari said, saying all in one single breath. She panted once she finished.

"But, that still doesn't explain--" Iris began, only to be stooped when Tenzin continued to speak, once again walking around the table.

"After the two worlds became severed, there were still two pieces of each world that contained magic from the other. The Tree of Harmony, created by Raava's light and the Elements of Harmony were physical manifestations of Wan's spirit. While, in our world, the Avatar carried Equestrian magic within him or herself."

"Do you? Tell me, what do the Avatar and the Elements of Harmony have in common?"

"They're one in the same." Iris said. Once she said the words out loud, just like before, the dots connected. What happened last night, when Iris felt drawn to the tree, and each of the Element's former locations beamed at each of her friends, making their bodies and cutie marks glow, and manifest the three symbols on Mai, Hiro and Chi.

The Tree has called out to her, and just as the original Elements of Harmony chose the respected bearers to the Elements…. Iris's breath caught in her throat.

"The Elements of Harmony, the extensions of Avatar Wan's spirit, choose the Mane Six to become their wielders long ago." Tenzin explained, "The same way you, as the new Avatar, choose your friends to become the New Elements of Harmony."

"Total Shock Wave!" Nori said, rubbing her head with her hoof, already feeling overwhelmed to the point her vision became a tad blurry.

Out of everyone, Iris was the most speechless. She didn't even know what would be the proper reaction to such a find. "I'm…we're…huh?!"

"That explains why the map hasn't worked in so long!" Akari concluded, "Maybe it was waiting for all of us to activate it again!"

Chi gasped in realization. "Of course! Sunset Shimmer said that the reason why her friends from the Mirror World were literally reflections of those said elements. Just as Equestrian magic works as somewhat of a reflective manifestation of who a person is within."

"Like when Sunset Shimmer turned into that winged demon lady when she put on my mother's crown." Akari said, pointing at her head. "At that point in her life, within herself, she was a raging she-demon."

"Exactly! Each of those powers was another manifestation of their respected Elements, which mirror the ones we know here."

"I don't know, maybe Sunset Shimmer will. So, so far, it makes sense! They were reflections of the Elements of Harmony, and each of their powers were given to each one of us specifically. Applejack got super strength, so did Mai, who is sitting on Applejack's throne. You see what I'm getting at here?"

Gallant looked up at the still glowing three butterfly cutie mark above his throne. "But, Master Tenzin, how could you have possibly known any of this? Why were we chosen as the new Elements? No offense but, I'm not fully convinced we're qualified for the job."

"On the contrary." Tenzin explained. "I kept a close eye on you children whenever you came to the Island. At first, I wasn't entirely certain, but in time I came to realize you all have exhibited traits that align with the Elements themselves."

"Well, at least Hiro being the Element of Laughter makes perfect sense." Mai said, folding her arms while smiling smugly at her brother.

"Thank you, sis." Hiro said proudly, only to come to the realization to what she really meant. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"So, I'm the Element of Kindness?" Gallant said, feeling a tiny bit embarrassed. Not about the Element and its meaning, but the fact that he was chosen to wield the butterfly-styled Element. He wasn't always the most masculine of his circle of friends (not excluding the girls), and having the butterfly certainly didn't help.

Chi, out of spontaneous reaction, couldn't help but giggle. She tried hard not to, but Gallant still noticed. Even as the wisp sucked in her lips, the unicorn still narrowed his eyes, which was enough for the wisp to finally control herself.

Nori, on the other hand, was literally jumping up and down the throne. "I'm the Element of Generosity! AAH! I can't wait to tell Rarity!" the reality of the situation hit her hard like a tsunami. They still needed to uncover where the original Elements of Harmony were. Nori's eyes immediately fell upon the map. "And now, we know exactly where she and the others are! Only, where exactly is that place?"

Iris and Akari gasped upon seeing the location where the Cutie Marks had landed on. The dark cloud over the forest area. When examined closer, they could see the trees completely dead, lifeless and creepy looking, almost as if they were bony black hands reaching out to grab whoever was foolish enough to cross their path.

"That place where Korra throws in all of those nasty evil spirit criminals?" Hiro asked.

"And where she locked up Koh the Face Stealer?" Gallant also asked, shivering at the thought of the disturbingly horrifying spirit with the constantly changing face. "That dude was creepy with a capital C! I still have nightmares."

"The very same. Though, he hasn't been called that ever since mom stripped him of his powers during their last fight."

"So, Mom, Dad and the others are trapped in the Dark Realm?" Akari said. "Why? It's protected by a magical barrier, and nobody can get in except for the Avatar or anyone with a Zanith stone."

"I don't know." said Iris, still looking at the three dimensional image on the map. "But, it's the only lead we've got so far. Besides, I can think of plenty of spirits who would hold a grudge against my mom and her friends."

"And Nova has tangled with a few baddies back when we traveled the Spirit World in the old days." said Chi, "But, that still doesn't explain the changeling wolf." said Chi.

"Okay, back up the truck here." Mai said, finally standing up from Applejack's throne. "So, we're just supposed to openly accept that we're apparently the New Elements of Harmony and, from the looks of it, this mystical map, which hasn't been active in fourteen years, is now basically telling us to go to the Spirit World Equivalent of Tartarus to find our family? Even if was the case, only Korra and the Mane Six know how to open up the gateway that leads to that prison."

"All the more reason why we should go." Akari said, placing her hooves on the table, addressing to the rest of her friends and Tenzin. "Think about it. Iris unlocking her Avatar powers, the Tree of Harmony, our cutie marks glowing, your symbols--" she pointed to Chi, Hiro and Mai, "-- these powers, and now the map. How can we just ignore all of this?" she then turned to her best friend, "Iris, you've always said you believed you were meant for something more. This is it! We're the only ones who can save our family!"

Iris fiddled with the ends of her long hair that fell over her shoulders, bitting her bottom lip. Everything, in her head, made perfect sense. The pieces were set and ready to be moved, but even so Iris felt as if her feet were now frozen to the floor. This was all happening so fast, it was overwhelming.

Iris felt Tenzin grip her shoulder gently and squatted down beside her. "I know a lot has happened in such a short amount of time, but I wouldn't have brought you children here if I wasn't certain. My mother saw the magic within Korra long ago, and it's the same magic you and your friends carry within yourselves. The map wouldn't have reacted to just anyone. It reacted to all of you. Together."

Iris pondered on this for a moment, staring at all of her friends who, aside from Akari and Chi, still looked rather baffled and uncertain about this reveal. Still, the thrones would never have glowed as powerfully as they did had it not been from anybody. Also, they glowed before Iris even sat in her mother's throne, so it wasn't just her magic.

As she studied everyone's faces, she began to notice something peculiar. Their eyes began to shimmer with rainbow colors in a way Iris had never seen before. Or, had she? She always knew her friends were special, but could they really be the next generation of heroes destined to save the world yet again?

With a rising determination, Iris stood up from her chair. "Tenzin's right. This Map has showed the original Elements of Harmony the way on hundreds of their adventures. If it wasn't for this map, the girls never would have met Starlight Glimmer, and she never would have changed. Heck, Gallant wouldn't even be here with us today." Iris stated, making the young unicorn blush. "Akari's right, we have to follow it."

"Count me in!" Chi said, placing one foot over the surface of the map. "Don't worry, big bro. I'm commin' for ya!"

All eyes turned to Mai, who sighed in defeat. "I still think it's a suicide mission, but kind of hard to argue with all of this. Plus, I'm outnumbered, so yeah."

Hiro jumped up onto Pinkie's throne, "Alright! Our first real mission to save the world! Somebody pinch me!--YEAOCH!" Hiro leaped out of the throne when Chi literally pinched him. He rubbed his arm and stuck his tongue out at her. Chi only laughed.

"I've never been to the Spirit World before. I hear in some places its very humid, and humidity doesn't do my complexion any favors." Nori said, right before dawning a serious demeanor. "But, if this is what it takes to save Rarity and the others, then count me in too!"

"And me!" Gallant said, looking braver than before, which Akari most definitely noticed. "Nobody takes my family and gets away with it!"

"Oh, this so exciting! Spirit World Road Trip!" Hiro couldn't contain himself as he wrapped his arm around Gallant's shoulder, squeezing him tightly. The unicorn's horn glowed and he teleported himself away from his friend's grasp, taking in heavy breaths.

"Hold your yuans, bro." Gallant said once he regained all of the needed oxygen. "We still don't know what your folks will say about all of this. We have to lay it down gently."

"Relax, buddy. Once Mom and Dad find out that we're the new Elements of Harmony, they're totally gonna say…"

"Not gonna lie, I really didn't see that coming." Hiro said, scratching the back of his head.

The children, along with Tenzin, informed Asami and Bolin about the whole thing, with Sunset Shimmer, once they returned to the estate.

"You kids seriously expect us to let you go to the Dark Spirit Realm?!" Asami exclaimed, her voice already rising and her eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that place is?"

"Not to mention, it holds all of the known rebel spirits!" Bolin pointed out, extended his arms wide to empathize his point before pointing sharply at the children. "They'll eat you up alive! Well, not technically eat you because, they're spirits they don't eat human flesh, but you get my point!"

"But, if they're really in the Dark Realm, then how did they even get access to the gateway?" Sunset asked.

"They probably had Zanith stones, and with Korra already in their clutches, her presence alone is enough to active it." Bolin concluded.

"So, you guys now have the same powers my Canterlot friends had back at Camp Everfree?" Sunset Shimmer asked, still in a state of shock after learning about this.

Sunset Shimmer stroked her red and yellow hair as memories came flooding back. "You know, now that I remember, when you first met them as a baby you sucked on their fingers."

"Yeah, but that was the only time you did. Maybe, somehow, you sensed their energy as the same the Elements of Harmony, absorbed remaining traces of their magic, and when you and your friends were in front of the Tree of Harmony that was when you transferred those powers to them."

"Probably because Human Twilight's magic was levitation, and you pretty much already do that." Sunset said.

"Back to the subject at hand." Asami said her voice stern. "You kids seriously think we'll let you go into the Dark Realm on your own?"

"Well, we won't technically be by ourselves." Iris said, already nervously tugging on her long raven hair. "I mean, we could send a search party, and since we already know the location we can lead the way." judging by the looks on her aunt and uncle, they were not one hundred percent convinced. "I know it's dangerous, and I totally understand your concerns, but our magic is the only thing can unlock the gateway spell that leads to the Dark Spirit Realm."

Asami and Bolin became stiff, their eyes darting back and forth towards the other, while Sunset Shimmer nervously scratched the back of her neck.

"Actually. That's… not… entirely… true." Bolin said, his voice having gone high pitched at the word "not" while slowly lowering in pitch upon the last word "true". Asami approached her desk drawer and pulled out a shimmering stone that illuminated the entire room. It looked like any ordinary gemstone, only it was pure white, but created shimmering patterns that looked like the sunlight being reflected on the crystal clear waters of a swimming pool.

"Ooooh, it's gorgeous!" Nori said, gushing over the stunning treasure. As a merpony, she would find all kinds of priceless treasures under the sea, it was one of the many things she and Rarity bonded over.

"What is it?" Mai asked in a slightly more serious and intrigued tone compared to her friend.

"Korra enchanted this geode with traces of her magic to unlock the gateway to the Dark Spirit Realm in case of an emergency." Asami explained.

"It was Mako's idea." Bolin said, "Korra told him it was unnecessary but she eventually caved…. mostly to shut him up, but still."

"And now, with this new information, we can organize a search party to go and bring them back." Asami said. "You kids are staying right here."

"No, we can't!" Iris stepped forward. "Everything that has happened points to us being the New Elements of Harmony. And…" she hung her head in regret. "I feel like a lot of this is my fault. If i hadn't snuck out I--"

"You would have been captured along with your parents." Asami said, her voice somewhat softening. "And even when you were out, both you and Akari still got attacked by the same creature that took Korra, Twilight and the others. If they really are in the Dark Realm, then if you go you'll be handing yourselves over to whoever is behind all of this."

Iris hung her head in regret and her uncle place a hand on her shoulder. "What happened isn't your fault, Iris."

Despite his words, Iris didn't feel very reassured. Asami did make a good point, if they did go to the Dark Realm where their parents are being held captive, then they could be walking into a trap. Still, at lest trying to rescue her parents, especially when they had the magic to do so, was better than hiding in a mansion. She would rather take that risk to bring her family back. Something inside of her saw saying, screaming, shouting, burning within her saying she needed to go. They needed to do this.

"But, what will you do once you get there? That place hold every dark spirit criminal there is, and the energy there is incredibly powerful and even dangerous if your don't have magic."

"We already know." Asami said, nodding her head to Sunset Shimmer who, using her horn, levitated a full body suit from the wall. The suit was almost entirely a dark crimson red, adorned with a detailed utility belt, and outlines that radiated with a bright neon-like color in a similar fashion as the geode. The lights were designed in eloquent supernatural markings, native to Equestria.

"That's why we'll be using these prototype protection suits Sunset and I have been designing months. The fabric is made with Zanith stone dust mixed with a shielding spell from one of Nova's old scrolls, specifically for these types of spirit world expeditions."

"Rarity came up with the patterns." Sunset said, tracing her fingers over the elegant patterns.

"I swear, that unicorn is a genius." Nori said, smiling proudly. How she missed Rarity so much.

"Your brother and sisters will lead us safely through the realm." Asami said. "We leave tomorrow morning. In the mean time, you kids will stay here under strict surveillance."

Asami's outburst finally got the children to become silent. Neither one so much as dared to even try and reason with the two. When even the normally calm and optimistic shouted at your face they knew he meant business. His eyes still carried the same softness he was known for, but his posture and tone indicated he would be as still as a stone in his decision. The same went for Asami, who was understandably even scarier when angry in comparison to her husband.

She eyes softened, gently cupping her niece's cheek. "Please, try to understand. Bolin and I have already lost so much of our family over the years… we can't loose you guys too."

With that, the two exited the kitchen, not even bothering to tell them to clean up the mess. Once their backs were turned, both Asami and Bolin's faces began to soften, the stinging feeling of regret already boiling inside of them but they continued walking.

Back inside her temporary room inside the estate, Iris just couldn't rest. She envied how easily both Naga and Akhlut could sleep so soundly on the floor beside her bed. Finally, after a long internal struggle, Iris sat upright on the bed. She looked down on the floor for a few more moments until her eyes turned to the red velvet scarf that rested on her nightstand. Voices of the past echoed in her mind.

"Gotta be faster than that, daddy!" little six-year-old Iris giggled as she swooped away from her father. She managed to outmaneuver him quite easily and hid behind a tree. Her father looked around, still with that big smile on his face. He stroked his chin in thought.

Iris covered her mouth, trying to keep herself from laughing. She was so focused on her father trying to find her behind other trees that she was completely unaware of the looming shadow over her.

"Mako, I found her!" Korra laughed as she carried the giggling child in her arms. Mako came by laughing.

"Well, honey, that's how it is with me and your father. We're a team no matter what."

"That's right." Mako said, lovingly tickling underneath his daughter's chin. "And wether together or apart, me and Mommy will always find you."

A soft breeze blew and Iris began to shiver. Mako quickly took off his red scarf and wrapped it around Iris's shoulder. Immediately, she felt warm, but not just because of the soft fabric, but also because of her parents loving embrace.

Her violet eyes burned with a scorching determination unlike anything she had ever felt before as she reached for the scarf and wrapped it around her neck. She opened the window, looking out into the night sky as the cool breeze blew in her long hair. She gently nudged Akhlut and Naga awake. Judging by the look in her eyes, they realized her mind was made up. With Akhlut and Naga's help, Iris packed all of her necessities into her backpack and snuck into the kitchen to grab some more food, but not without leaving a note behind.

Just as she was about to leave, she was stopped when Mai, Akari, Hiro and Gallant appeared at the kitchen door. Iris froze in place, accidentally dropping her backpack and the food rolled out. She expected Mai to say something in protest to her rebellious action. Instead, much to her surprise and delight, Mai handed her back the backpack, food and all, and gave a smile.

The two shared one final embrace and worked together to gather their things without making a sound. Hiro wore gloves in his hands to protect them from his unpredictable powers, which surprisingly worked.

Several White Lotus Sentries marched the perimeter, and the kids observed from the window. Once the coast was clear, Iris hugged her beloved Akhlut and Naga farewell. As much as they wished to come, it was best not to endanger them as well, and the spirit world might not be the best place for them right now.

With Akari hoisting Hiro and Iris hosting Mai, while Gallant levitated himself downwards, they hurried out of the estate unnoticed, bypassing the sentries. Once they were at the main gate, Hiro and Mai put on their skateboards and rode off with Iris and Akari, while Gallant rode alongside Mai. On their way, Akari texted to two more people on her geo-phone.

They rose into the city in the dead of night, going through Harmony City Park, where Iris stopped before her mother's statue. She was about to embark on a journey for the first time without her mother and father beside her. Iris gently gripped the red scarf around her shoulders. She could already hear both her mother and father's voices. Her heart ached.

Then, she saw a soft white light suddenly appear and land on the statue Korra's shoulder. Upon closer examination, Iris immediately identified the light as a winged insect. A butterfly with white and blue wings.

Just like that, all of her fears and worried disappeared and she smiled, with a single tear rolling down her cheek. With this knowledge, Iris and her friends once again took off, her eyes set on the golden spirit portal not too far away, and with the butterfly flying beside her, leaving a trail of sparkling white dust in her wake.

The group arrived at the entrance to the Spirit Wilds. Not much of it has changed over the years, except the main entrance got a paint job and some floral decorations were now enwrapped around the poles. A few smaller spirits floated about but Iris payed very little mind as she and the others walked right in. She stopped by the large vine and floral covered arc where the Spirit Portal was.

When it was first created a crater surrounded the area, but the spirits had the vines grow around it, making it appear somewhat of a doorway. While the spirit portal was still visible, vines wrapped around the middle, making it appear like a tall vine covered pole, with the rest of the portal's glow extending upwards into the sky. The entrance was adorned with flowers of the exotic and rare kind, resembling the flower field where Korra managed to finally reach Kuvira and help her crossover back to the path of good.

A sound caused the group to whip around in alarm. From the bushes, bit Chi and Nori appeared. "Nori, are you sure you want to do this?" Iris asked, "I don't want you getting in trouble with your dad."

"Come on, Iris. We've been traveling the oceans for years and he taught me how to punch a tiger shark square in the nostrils. Besides… he caught me on my way out anyways."

"And Sunset's still working with Asami and Bolin on those suits. She thinks I'm already in bed." Chi said, winking.

The kids all screamed and jumped in horror upon seeing Tenzin himself standing before them, hands behind his back and a very unreadable expression on his face.

"Busted before we even got started." Hiro said, scratching the back of his neck. "First time for us."

Iris breathed in deeply. "Uncle Tenzin, I know this is risky… okay, very risky but, we have to go. It's--"

"It's your destiny as the Elements of Harmony. I know." Tenzin gave the princess a soft smile, which placed her troubled mind at ease. "There comes a time in every Avatar's life where she needs to decide when her story begins. Your mother's started when she left the compound and came to Republic City, and now your starts when you go through that portal. It's time for you and your generation to take on the responsibility of keeping harmony and balance in the world."

Tenzin placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes filled with such wisdom, warmth and love. "I have no doubt about that."

Tears started to form in Iris's eyes as well as she embraced her airbending godfather. "I love you, Uncle Tenzin."

With that final farewell, the children each, one by one entered through the shimmering portal, becoming engulfed in its heavenly light, all the while Tenzin observed, while a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Once once the other side, the kids entered a familiar field of beautiful flowers. "So, where do we start?" Iris asked. The sound of something large approaching caught their attention. A large scorpion-spider spirit arrived at the scene, with a middle aged man, around sixty, to seventy, or perhaps eighty or so, with Zaofu inspired clothing and glasses ridding above it.

*(~)*

1 Peter 1:13~

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

*(~)*

The Little Pony Legend: A New Beginning

by MaggiesHeartLove

A New chapter begins