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Galatians 5:16-18~

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

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Lessons of the Past

After the encounter with Koh, Iris and the group continued their way across the Dark Realm. The environment had changed from a forest to a vast desert, with abnormally colored sand with brownish green hues on the surface. The spirit winds started to pick up. It didn't feel cool or refreshing, just… a simple gust of wind that if it weren't for their cloths and hair moving they wouldn't have even known the breeze was there.

The team carried on for what felt like an hour or two, with Iris picking up the pace. She couldn't get Koh's words out of her mind. Everything about the once powerful spirit infuriated her. On top of that, Iris was beating herself up for not having fought him to begin with. She should have been stronger. She should have held her ground more, but instead she allowed this infuriating, egomaniacal spirit to taunt her. To mess with her mind. There was no possible way that any of the stuff he said were true.

Iris's goal was to save her parents and return them safely home. What was so selfish about that? And what was wrong with Iris wanting to be the Avatar? She would be doing a lot of good and helping people. There was nothing selfish about that mentality. She would be doing exactly what she was meant to do, and she wanted that.

Then, the second issue rose up in her mind. The fact that, throughout this entire journey, Iris barely showcased any of her Avatar powers, save for that one time with the Nogitsune. The entire time, it was her friends who did more than she did.

Chi was the one who saved Hiro and Gallant from being eaten. Nori was the one who managed to belfried Uta, freeing the trapped spirits and themselves in the process. Gallant was the one who managed to get them to the entrance simply by kindness alone. Mai found a way to free them from the sinking tar pit. Hiro got the three spirits to change their ways, and Akari unlocked more of their Elements magic before she did.

She should be happy and proud for what they had done, but Iris couldn't help but feel that, as the Avatar, the Element of Unity, and the supposed leader, she hadn't done much of it. Iris shook her head, trying to ignore those horrible thoughts as best she could.

Akari, who was trailing behind her, finally caught up and blocked Iris's path. "Okay, what's your problem?"

"Nothing. I said nothing. Can we just get going, please?" Iris lightly shoved Akari aside, only to be stopped when the alicorn gripped her arm. "Akari, let me go!" Iris angrily removed her friend's arm from her. The violent motion startled Akari in ways she never would have expected.

Iris clenched her fists tightly and growled in frustration. "Koh just… he said some things that got me mad, alright. End of story."

"He was just taunting me, alright!" Iris exclaimed, her anger startling everyone present.

"Iris, calm down." Chi said, slowly floating towards the two. "You shouldn't believe anything Koh says."

"Yes he is! Throughout this entire trip, the only time in which I used the Avatar State was to fight off the Nogitsune, but other than that I couldn't hold my own against anything else. I could have fought Koh. I could have defeated him, but I just… I just froze! I have all this power and yet you guys managed to master yours better and faster than I ever have!"

Akari approached Iris, trying to talk some sense into her. "Iris, we have these powers because of you. You were the one who gave them to us. We're the Elements of Harmony, we're supposed to work together."

"Aside form giving you these powers, what have I done for you guys? I couldn't fight the dragonfly, I couldn't stop Uta, or those three spirits, I couldn't even face Koh!"

"But if you and Akari hadn't blasted those pipes where the tar was coming from, we wouldn't have broken out." Mai said, trying to make her cousin feel better.

"Okay, so maybe you haven't done a huge amount of things with your powers," Akari continued, "that doesn't mean you're not a good Avatar."

"Then explain how come you've all managed to master your powers in two days while I can only do beginner's firebending tricks?"

"Why is it so important just how much you can or can't do?" Akari's voice rose, her pony ears pressing down against her head. "You don't have to be the hero all the time, Iris!"

Iris's eyes widened and she reeled back, realizing her slip up. Akari and the others stared at her in shock. Akari's eyes narrowed. "Is that all you really care about?"

"None of us asked for these powers, but we stuck by you because we're your friends. You can't even be grateful for what we've done for you?"

"You just want to be like your mother." Akari concluded, which only made Iris feel even worse. "You always have."

Iris wanted to say more, but her mouth ran dry. If Koh were here he would be smiling gleefully to himself.

Iris looked at the rest of her friends, all of which weren't sure what else to say. None of them seemed angry, hurt maybe, but not angry. All save for Akari, who looked the most betrayed. Iris could sense the pain becoming her own.

The sound of flapping wings and hissing were heard from all around. The children got into formation, seeing the changeling wolves appearing all around them.

"It's okay, we can take these guys." Akari reassured everyone. "It's seven against five.

Hiro blinked, seeing more and more shadows behind the five changeling wolves that surrounded them.

"Make that seven." Hiro counted, only for more and more wolves to start appearing around them, and above them, flapping their wings. "Eight. Nine. Ten. Thirteen. Nineteen!"

The hissing and flapping and snarling increased, and before long, those sounds were all the children could hear. Never had the kids seen a large pack of wolves in their lives, even animal expert Fluttershy would be astounded by such a large number of wolves.

There were twenty, twenty five at the least, and by the looks of it…. they were starving.

Akari was the first to lead, wielding her sword and charged at one of the wolves that came at her at the same time. She sliced her way through, cutting in half each of the slimy goop they spit from their mouths, using her own magic to shield herself from the incoming blasts.

Hiro and Mai flipped away from a pouncing wolf. Mai rolled on the sand before stopping at a three point landing, punching and kicking streams of fire at the wolves, which caused them to whimper in pain at the scorching heat. One wolf leaped on top of her, followed by another, and another. The wolves whimpered in alarm when they felt their tails being grabbed and dragged around. Using her supper strength, Mai grabbed each wolf by the tail, spun around and threw them over her head across the desert. Another wolf came up form behind, only to get knocked known by a stream of sand, curtesy of Hiro.

Hiro bended rocks from the ground, and holding them in his hands, he threw them at the wolves, causing them to explode right in their faces, blinding them before proceeding to bend the sand around them to trap them underneath.

Nori leaped and dodged the incoming goop spits with her pearl shields, while Gallant Steed airbended them away with a tornado, followed by magical blasts and spells that knocked the wolves back. Using her arms as blades, Chi charged at full speed towards the wolves, slicing her arms around before stopping.

"Hey, wait a minute!" without a moment to waste, Chi changed herself back into her wolf form. "Now we're talkin'!" the now wolf wisp charged at the wolves, snapping her jaws and clawing them like a raved beast.

Pushing their argument aside, Iris joined in the fight, using a combination of her magic and firebending against the creature, which kept leaping at her, while trying to subdue her wings with their slimy goop.

Hiro was knocked down by one of the changeling wolves, who spit at his ankles, sticking him to the ground. Hiro tapped on it with his hand, but nothing happened. "Come on, come on! Why aren't you blowing up?" he exclaimed, trying desperately to make the slimy stuff explode, only to have his hand stuck to it.

His sister came in and punched the creature away, square in the nostrils. The creature rolled on the sandy ground, whimpering, but Mai's victory was short lived when that same goop wrapped around her upper torso, covering her arms and hands. She fell to the ground beside her brother, the changelings looming over them.

Akari and Gallant fought, back to back, the incoming changelings, shielding themselves from the goop. Iris swooped in, only to get knocked over by another changeling, and seeing her two cousins being dragged away.

"No!" Iris blasted at the changelings and tried to reach them, but was stopped by a few more changelings, which Chi charged at and bite right on their haunches. Iris saw the chance and tried to break the goop, but it proved to be too strong, and fire proof. She instead created a blade out of magic and sliced the stuff open, freeing the two, only for Iris to get thrown off when another changeling knocked her down, snarling before coming at her. Iris blocked it with a magical shield. Mai and Hiro tried to help her, but were blocked by even more changelings.

All around her, Iris saw her friends try and try again and again to best the changeling wolves, but no matter how many strikes they made, they just kept on coming. Nori sent pearl shield after pearl shield, blocking every incoming attack. They were vastly outnumbered, and Iris wasn't sure how long they could be able to keep this up. Chi wasn't looking so good, getting hit and thrown around by unexpected changelings, while Gallant and Akari could barely keep their shields up, smoke emitting from their horns as a sign that they were using a huge amount of their magic, and if they didn't defeat the changelings soon, it would all be over.

Iris clenched her fists and stood up. She was not about to let her friends suffer anymore. She wanted to be the Avatar? Then, it was time to be one.

Closing her eyes, and appending her fists together, Iris focused all of her energy into her bending. All of her thoughts into her magic. She didn't hold back.

When her eyes opened, the rest of the changelings ceased and her friends stared in awe upon seeing Iris's eyes glowing white, the winds picking up and a ring of fire encircling her, along with water that manifested around her and rocks from the surrounding area. Her long hair rapidly whipped in the wind an she rose up into the sky. For a moment, the changelings stared in fear, only for the winds to suddenly pick up even more than before.

A look of concern formed on Iris's face. Her hands partly clenching and electrical currents began to course through her entire body. The fire around her intensified, and blasts of the same fire came shooting down like comets, causing the ground to shake. Iris's eyes continued to glow, but something didn't feel right. This power, it didn't feel at all like last time. Akari and the others noticed that their cutie marks and symbols were flickering. Not glowing, but going in and out like a worn out light-bulb. Something didn't feel right at all. Iris began to feel overwhelmed by all this power. She couldn't control it. It felt like she was trying to lift up sixty pounds of metal and if she continued her bones would crack.

Iris shook her head. She could do this. She had to. She had to protect her friends. These were her powers, she had to know how to control them.

The more she thought of this, the more out of hand it became. Iris let out a painful scream and lightning, fire, ice shards and rocks came raining down all around them. The ground began to tremble and split apart. Seeing their chance, the changelings spit their goop onto the children, trapping their ankles and wrists. Nori almost fell onto the growing abyss, only to get pulled back by the changelings webbing that had shot from its mouth.

The same electrical current strike Iris's wing and her eyes stopped glowing. Her lost consciousness and her body fell into the abyss her powers had unintentionally created.

Akari, being the last one standing, called out her name and attempted to fly down and retrieve her, only to be stopped when the changelings shot its webbing, wrapping her and pulling her back along with the other captives.

Iris cringed and cried out in pain as she tried to sit back up. Her eyes were still closed, completely engulfed in darkness, yet she willed herself to sit back up. It hurt to even open her eyelids. Even the tinniest movement felt like a million needles piecing into her skin. Looking at her surroundings, Iris realized she had fallen into a pit, seeing the desert winds whooshing above her.

Despite her entire body aching, Iris stubbornly got on her two legs, ignoring the wobbling of her knees which quickly proved to her her undoing and she fell again, palms pressed against the rocky hard ground.

She dared to move her wings, only to gasp in horror to see one of them crocked. She couldn't even move an inch of it without yelling in pain. The star on her forehead glowed, but her magic felt heavily weak. Looking up at the opening of the pit, the pit she was unintentionally created, she cupped her hands around her mouth and cried out to her friends.

There were no voices. No flapping of the incest wings of the wolf changelings. No sound of a rumble of any sort. Just the ghostly echoes of the desert winds. Iris gasped when she saw a piece of Nori's skirt, torn up and hanging off the tip of a sharp rock. Iris hung her head, hugging herself as she cried. The tears felt so hot they stung her skin. Her face crinkled, the salty tears seeping into her lips as she sobbed unpleasantly loudly.

"You were right, Akari." Iris muttered to herself and gripped her father's scarf, only to realize it was gone. It must had fallen off when she landed. She frantically searched all around for the red scarf, but found no trace of it. Now, she was lost, alone, injured, powerless, and guilt ridden.

The heartbroken princess leaned against the side of the stone wall, curling up with her injured wing hanging limply behind her. Koh was right all along. In her foolishness to finally prove to herself that she could be the hero she always wanted to be, she lost control of her powers and she brought herself to this place.

Maybe she wasn't the good-hearted princess everyone thought she was. Maybe she really didn't want to find her destiny to help people, but simply so she could proudly say she was like her mother. She had been lying to herself all these years. Now she knew why her mother never told her she was the Avatar until now.

It was to prevent this from happening. Korra was trying to show Iris that she shouldn't defy herself based on the Avatar name, or what the world perceived it as… only, that is exactly what she did. All because she was envious of her mother. She knew it wasn't Korra's fault, she did everything in her power to give Iris the childhood Korra herself had been deprived of. To grow up with friends and the freedom to be herself.

The tears temporarily stopped when Iris heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She turned her head around, picking up a nearby stick as a last line of defense. A light began to manifest on the corner of a rock, followed by the shadow of a human. The sound of sandals hitting against small pebbles was heard, and seen when she saw said pebbles rolling all around, yet the light only grew stronger. It was white, and serene and powerful, yet it didn't blind her.

The stranger walked closer to the princess, wearing a hood to cover his face from view. "Who… who are you?" Iris asked, her voice trembling.

The stranger than removed his hood, revealing to be a young man with light skin, warm brown eyes and long black hair and beard. He looked to be in his twenties, handsome and fit. He wore old and somewhat ragged clothing and a red scarf in his left hand.

"Just a wander. Looking for folks who might need help. From the looks of it, you seem like you need it."

Iris blinked several times, her mouth hung agape as the man crunched down before her. "Avatar Wan?"

"Hello, Iris. It's been a long time." Wan then wrapped the scarf around Iris's shoulders. "I believe this belongs to you."

Iris hung her head in shame, feeling unworthy to look at the ancient Avatar in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Wan. I ruined everything. I was just so… so stupid!"

Wan gently cupped her face, similar to how her father did it. "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself."

"My friends have been captured and it's all because of me!" Iris looked away again. "Koh was right. I was being selfish. All this time, I thought I wanted to help people, but really all I cared about was being a hero like my mom. She warned me about letting this Avatar stuff go to my head and I didn't listen! I was so focused on my own need for glory that I couldn't apreciate everything my friends had done for me! I never would have gotten this far without them and now, because of my recklessness I'll probably never see them again!"

"Come on, now. That's not true." Wan said, seeming surprisingly calm despite the circumstances.

"Yes, I did. And you're right. You did mess up. Big time. Very big time. Very, very, very, very, very--"

"Didn't I already establish that?" Iris said, giving a deadpan, unamused look at the older Avatar.

Wan gave a good-hearted chuckle as he stood back up. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Taking his hand, Iris managed to stand back up. Her pain had diapered, and despite her injured wing, it didn't feel as painful as before. Iris followed Wan across the long pit, realizing that lush green grass and flowers began to grow around them.

Iris gasped in awe upon seeing a small garden, surrounding a tall oak tree, with leafs that shimmered and sparkled like the branches of the Tree of Harmony.

"So is the Tree of Harmony. So is the Tree of Time. What do they have in common?" Wan asked before winking. "They are connected. Just as you are connected to your friends." Wan motioned for Iris to step closer. "Go ahead. See for yourself."

Iris slowly approached the tree, tracing her fingers over its soft trunk. She noticed a pattern carved onto the wood and traced it down, all the way to the bottom, seeing traces of the roots. She was startled when she noticed that the ground around the tree became transparent, and saw every detail of the tree's roots that outstretched far and wide, all united by a single shimmering orb that radiated with a multitude of colors in such a way that rivaled even Queen Celestia's own mane. It illuminated the garden itself. Iris was even more astounded when she realized that she was now, in a way, upside down.

She was still standing upright, only now the roots were over her head, while the leafs were beneath her, yet the garden and everything else around her remained the same, the shimmering rainbow orb radiating above her head.

"That's why I'm here." Wan said, his hands behind his back. "Those roots… those are the lives of everyone I ever knew during my time, and even long before that. That light above… that's Creation." he pointed towards two orbs, closest to the rainbow above. "See those two? Those are Raava and Vaatu."

"If you recall the story, Vaatu wasn't always the spirit of darkness he's known as today. He and Raava were once both warriors of Light." Wan's expression fell, as did his upbeat tone. "Until Vaatu decided for himself he didn't want to be a messenger, but a master."

Iris observed as the white light that was once Vaatu began to change color, turning into a bloody red, which in turn caused several other roots to become tainted with the same color, as if blood were being splattered all over the place. This traced down all the way down, until Iris caught a glimpse of another light. Three, in fact.

Upon closer inspection, Iris saw that the three lights changed into the form of a human male, a stallion earth pony, and a female unicorn. "That's you! And Prince White and Leilani!"

"Yes. My old friends." Wan smiled, light tears forming in his eyes, seeing the three of them together again.

A fourth light joined them, it being Raava. The images continued, and Iris realized that the further downwards she went, it became clear that each root was a story. Every individual's story. Some roots were closer together, other separated, while others were close but down down the line they separated. So many had changed to various colors, shapes and sizes. Then, when a few of those light began to dim, they changed into the leafs of the top of the tree, where they all radiated with the same heavenly colorful orb above. In fact, a lot of those leafs remained on the ground, while a large assortment of others had fallen off and flew upwards towards the orb, where they remained. In fact, the leafs looked more like butterflies, swarming around the orb, adding even more colors that moved in an eternal dance.

"These roots… they're everyone's story." Iris concluded. "You're showing me life itself."

"Clever girl." Wan said with a proud nod. "Now, this root in particular, is one of my favorites."

Wan motioned to one, where Iris immediately recognized who it was. The figure was that of a young boy, bald with nomadic clothing. As the scenes played out, she saw him belfried numerous people throughout his life, even a water tribe girl and her older brother, a banished fire nation prince, and a blind earthbender woman. Their bodies, though dim at first, at times began to radiate with a golden outline around their bodies. At times, it was strong, but other times, it was dim.

Trailing down even further, Iris caught sight of another figure. It was that of a woman, her hair styled into a ponytail, bending three of the known elements.

"It's my mom." Iris said. Not too far from her mother's root, she saw a red body, of a man, standing beside a green body, also a man, fighting what appeared to be street thugs given the silhouette of their clothing.

"Dad…" Iris whispered. Both of her parents roots looked so far from each other, yet compared to others, they were getting closer. She was even astonished to find her Aunt Asami's roots, even farther away from her parents and Uncle Bolin.

The roots continued on, and Iris watched as her mother's root became closer and closer to one where a purple alicorn was reading a book, alongside her colorful pony friends. The roots played out the history of how they met, how each of those separate roots bounded together, merged as one, creating an even stronger and sturdier root that seemed to almost make up the entire tree. More and more roots merged with that of Team Avatar's, and somehow, the tree itself became more and more beautiful. Stronger than ever before.

Iris could see the roots glowing with a golden outline around her parents, The Mane Six, and every new friend they had ever encounters. Iris realized she saw the same golden outline around Wan, White and Leilani after they had become the Avatar and Alicorns, and especially on Avatar Aang and his friends' though theirs seemed to flicker. Theirs came and went.

This shimmering light appeared to be the stronghold that kept all of these roots connected, and when they gained that golden outline, merging together, it gave the tree its strength. But, it wasn't just them. While the roots did become intertwined, the golden light served as the supernatural glue that really held them all together. Upon closer inspection, she could see traces of the colors from the orb above.

It was that very same glue that connected Korra and each of the Elements of Harmony. And, the farther Iris went down, she saw that same light was what found her and her friends. Yet, while their roots were merging together, Iris's form only had a dim light.

This dimness was seen in others. It was a lukewarm light that made her feel uneasy and saddened, unlike the bloody red lights that made her feel horrified and angry, yet brought her great joy when they started to change into gold and merge with the roots that formed around her family.

They were Sunset Shimmer, Kuvira, Nova Nightshade, P'Li, Discord, Zaheer, The Earth Queen, Starlight Glimmer, Hiroshi Sator, even those from the mirror world like Gloriosa Daisy and the human Twilight Sparkle. These had been the friends who had reformed and found their way back to the light.

Looking at it all, tears formed in Iris's eyes, her heart feeling so full she couldn't find the words to explain the sensation.

"I think I understand now." Iris said, letting the tears fall as Wan placed his hands over her shoulder.

"Raava and Vaatu were meant to share that light with the world, but we are all free to chose our own paths." Wan said, "Your mother learned that lesson a long time ago, even during her most traumatic moments in her life. It was Light that created the Magic of Friendship, and it's friendship that saved the world. It wasn't your mother's physical strength, nor was it my own."

"That's why I couldn't control the Avatar State." Iris said. She was trying to control it all by herself, forgetting that she was at her strongest when with her friends. Their magic was a part of all of them, not just herself.

Wan whipped away her tears as he crunched down to her level. "The Magic of Friendship created the Avatar and the Alicorns. That is a reality that was lost for so long until your mother, and her friends brought it back. We're not heroes because of our powers, Iris. We're heroes because we are fulfilling the mission that was Raava's long ago… to direct people back to the Light, so that we can become whole again." he said, motioning to the part of the tree that was stronger, sturdier, and surrounded by people with the shimmering colorful light around them.

Iris hung her head in shame. "I wish I had listened to her more." she sobbed, and Wan cleaned her tears with his thumbs. "What do I do now?"

Wan wrapped his arms around Iris, making her feel protected and safe as she witnessed the smaller details of her mother's adventures. From the big ones, to the smaller ones, especially the not so lovely ones.

As Wan hit the high note, light bursted from the tree, and the two were engulfed in a blinding light. Their surroundings changed into an astral plane, where stars with moving images of the past circled around them. Iris took in the beauty of it all, looking at her entire family history playing before her very eyes.

Iris felt a breeze kiss her cheek as she stared at a reflection of herself in one single star. It was herself in the present. The star glowed and hovered over her outstretched palms.

Iris's spirit rose as she observe the star in her palm shine brighter and brighter as it floated away to join the others.

More of the stars soared above her, seeing images of the previous Avatars, including Roku who bowed his head in respect.

The stars of the Avatars began to encircle around Iris, specifically her injured wing, healing it in an instant. For the first time since this journey began, Iris felt whole. She felt wiser, lighter, still with that lingering pain, but more modest than she ever was before. She soared across the astral plane, seeing all of the stars spiraling around her like a dream.

Iris landed before Avatar Wan, and he welcomed her in a fatherly embrace, thanking him for having shown her the truth. She spread her wings open again, taking in the beauty of the scene,

Iris turned around, hoping to see Wan smiling at her, only to realize that he was gone. As was the astral plane, and the tree. She was back in the desert pit, the whooshing sound of the sands had disappeared and all that was left were the light, fading light specks that hovered in the same spot where Wan once stood.

Iris flapped her wings, seeing that they were still healed, and any physical pain she had was now gone. She bowed her head and whispered, "Thank you."

She wasted no time in flying out of the pit, only to lose her balance once she hit the ground again, but not due to a rough landing, but when a familiar giant dragonfly spirit landed before her. Riding on its back were five adult humans, one unicorn and three lizards.

The grown ups quickly mounted off of the dragonfly and tackled the teenager in a tight group hug. Ali and Mika were showering their adopted younger sister with kisses on the forehead and on her cheeks, which San gave her a noogie, messing up her hair.

Bolin wrapped his arms around Iris, lifting her up from the ground and kissing her cheek. "Oh, Iris! We were so worried! Are you okay? Are you hurt? How's your blood pressure? Are you feeling faint?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Bolin released his niece, followed by Asami and Sunset Shimmer wrapping their arms around her.

Asami pulled out the geode Korra had enchanted. "When we got in here, this little thing led us straight to you."

"And this big guy was just waiting outside the entrance and offered us a ride." Ali said, petting the dragonfly. "Thankfully, we knew a shortcut that's accessible only to spirits."

Iris hung her head in regret. "They've been captured by the wolf changelings. I used my Avatar State to try and stop them, but I made a mistake. It's my fault."

"I'll explain on the way." Iris said, mounting onto the dragonfly, motioning everyone else to hop on. "Let's go!"

On her command, the dragonfly soared through the skies, with Iris using her connection to the Elements to pinpoint their exact location.

*(~)*

Galatians 5:16-18~

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The Little Pony Legend: A New Beginning

by MaggiesHeartLove

Lessons of the past