//------------------------------//
// A Breath of Fresh Air 
// Story: The Little Pony Legend 3: The Great Change 
// by MaggiesHeartLove 
//------------------------------//


*(~)*

Romans 8:28~

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

*(~)*

A Breath of Fresh Air.


"Come back, Bum-Jun!"

Bumi cried out as he ran after his little Bunny spirit friend across Air Temple Island. The sun shown brightly overhead, the sky was a perfect clear blue and all was peaceful on the island. Or, as peaceful as it was for some, since Bumi was nearly out of breath due to his constant chasing after his little companion. The littler spirit flew over a cliff near the shore and hovered over a branch from a tree. Bumi climbed the tree and onto the branch, holding it tightly as much as he could.

"If you don't want to wear the sweater I made you, that's fine." he said while showing him a small pink sweater in his hand before placing it back in his pocket, "I'm sorry I got mad!"

While still holding onto the the branch, he crawled forwards in an attempt to reach his little friend. He shrieked in fear as he felt the branch topple over due to his weight. "Bum-Jun, I'm running out of tree. Can we go down now?"

Unfortunately for him, the branch broke and Bumi now dangled from the tree, his feet hovering just over the shoreline of the island. It really was a long way down, and only an airbender would be able to survive that kind of all.

"Bum-Jun! A little help!"

The bunny spirit figured his friend had learned his lesson and made an honest attempt to help his friend by bitting his jacket to pull him back. Sadly, even Bum-Jun wasn't strong enough and the the jacket eventually slid off of Bumi's back at the same time his hands finally slipped from the branch and the man yelled in terror as he plummeted to the ground bellow.

"AHHHHH!"

As he fell, Bumi placed forward his hands, bracing for the impact, his eyes closed shut. Suddenly, he realized he was no longer falling and he had yet to hit the ground. He felt a sudden strong breeze against his face. He opened his eyes hesitantly, fearing the worst, but once he saw what was happening his eyes widened in wonder. From his hands, came gusts of wind that sustained him in mid air, feet above his head, only a few meters from the ground. Even Bum-Jun couldn't believe it as he flew down and saw his friend's new ability.

"Look! I'm airbending!"

The wind from his hands stopped blowing, and Bumi landed face first into the sand.

"Wow, that still hurt a lot."


(~)


Ever since I was little, I was told I'd be destined for greatness.

And for the longest time, I believed that.

I never knew much about the world.

Or how it would affect me in ways I couldn't even imagine.

One of the many things I've learned…was Friendship.

And how it is the most powerful magic of all.

Through that, I discovered more and more not only about who I was…but who I would become.

Among the clouds, rose a female figure with blue eyes and brown hair streaked with blue and long light brown wings, nearly matching her brown skin tone, dipped in blue and green colors.

This was the new half-alicorn princess, Avatar Korra and she was loving every second she had with her new wings. Never in her life had she felt more free. A wide smile was evident on her face as she zoomed downwards, seeing the ocean appear before her. She flew near the waters where she spotted a familiar butterfly with white wings and blue patterns.

Thanks to my friends, my world has never looked brighter.

The magic of Equestria now flows through every inch of my world, and spirits now roam free with humans once more.

At first, things were wonderful. Like the feeling of being in a new relationship with someone. It's so wonderful you feel like you're on cloud nine. "The Honeymoon phase", as my friend Asami would call it.

These past two weeks, however…

The honeymoon was over…

Korra's dazzling smile faded, shifting into a frown as she looked down upon the devastating sight before her. Parts of the majestic city was now covered in vines, blocking roads, homes and stretching onwards. After the portals had opened she knew there would be consequences.

This was one of them.


(~)



MaggiesHeartLove presents:

The Little Pony Legend 3: The Great Change.

The Little Pony Legend.

I use to wonder what friendship could be.

(The Little Pony Legend.)

Until you all shared its magic with me

(The Little Pony Legend)

(legend, legend, legend, legend…)

It's an easy be.

And Magic makes it all complete

(The Little Pony Legend)

You know you're all my very best

Friends!

(~)


Korra, Tenzin, Mako, Jinora, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy all made their way through the large vine forrest around them. A couple of adorable innocent spirits followed behind the young airbender girl. Mako was wearing his new police/royal cop uniform while the ponies were in their anthro form. Korra stood in front of a large tangled vine that trapped an entire building.

Ever since Harmonic Convergence, now whenever ponies entered the human world they had the ability to morph into a half-human form, while still maintaining their pony features, such as their ears, wings, horns and tails. Many ponies even began to rediscover their bending powers, which they had inherited from their ancestors from centuries ago.

The magic from Equestria now flowed through both worlds, and some of the exotic plants from the magical land eventually began growing in the human world as well. The Princesses, Luna and Celestia no longer rose the sun and moon, because now they shared it with the sun and moon of their new human friends. It was like a world within a world, much like the world of the spirits. But this did not sadden the Royal Pony Sisters. Luna still visited people's dreams, helping them whenever she could. Her mother taught her more bending tricks, as well as healing. Leilani always had a good memory of her times as a bender. Celestia discovered she inherited her father's fire abilities, and even though she was no longer in control of the sun, she could still use it as somewhat of a telescope to see how things are going and know whenever she was truly needed. Luna did the same with the moon. Pegasus ponies could still control the weather, mainly in Equestria and only assisted on smaller things in the human world.

But those were not the only changes. Since the attack from UnaVaatu, large spirit vines had grown all around Republic City.

The vines were the homes of various spirits. And while they seemed happy, the people of the city, were not. They kept on nagging at Korra, or the President to fix it and fast. Even some ponies, who had made a living in the city already by getting jobs, were also frustrated. Korra and the ponies feared that this would make others change their minds about this new change. But thankfully, the Princesses, and a newly-changed at heart President Raiko did their best to help, but not even magic could get the vines to leave. The girls had to come up with another way.

"Just how in Equestria are we suppose to get rid of all these vines?" Rainbow asked.

Mako stood in front of the plants and unleashed a powerful fire blast which burned the vines, leaving the entrance to the building bare. He smiled in satisfaction, until the plants grew back and covered the entrance once more. The young man sighed and hung his head in defeat, "Well, that's all I got."

Twilight Sparkle and Korra both simultaneously groaned in exasperation. "I don't get it!" said Twilight, "We can vanquish Vaatu but not a bunch of vines?! Uh!"

"What I don't get is why this is happening now?" Mako asked. "Everything was fine the first few days, and now this huge jungle grows and covers up nearly half of the city in less than two weeks?"

"With the magic of Equestria settling in normally with our world, the spiritual energy and side affects from Harmonic Convergence is now taking it's full toll." Korra explained, "Though to be frank, I didn't expect it to happen…well, like this."

She arced an eyebrow as she saw Rainbow Dash already getting tangled up in the vines, while being suspended in mid air. "Okay, I have no idea how this happened. Little help!"

"You know you can firebend, right?" Twilight said while narrowing her brows and speaking in her usual sarcastic tone.

"Oh. Right."

The pegasus created a flame from her palm and used her fire power to break free from the vines holding her. Once she was free, the vines grew once again. She face palmed herself in frustration, "This is gonna take forever!"

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Tenzin said encouragingly.

"Why do you wanna get rid of them?" Jinora asked as she petted one of the three spirits beside her, "You guys changed the world. We're connected with the spirits again. The wilds are their home."

"Get off!"

All heads turned to Mako as he swatted away three small spirits with dragonfly wings that looked surprisingly like baby lizards. They were each identical in appearance with light green scales and transparent dragon-fly wings. However, while see-through, each set of wings had their own distinct colors. One's wings were silvery with a tint of green, the other one's were a pale-sea pearl color while the last had pinkish/white wings. They circled around Mako's head, until finally one rested on his head while two more on his shoulders for a brief moment before Mako grunted and swatted them away with much furry.

"Will you stop it! I'm not your mother!"

Jinora couldn't help but giggle as one spirit rested on Mako's head…again.

"Jinora's right." said Fluttershy, having been in her pony form for most of the time, "Getting rid of the vines wouldn't go well with the spirits."

"I don't think the people who used to live here are as excited about it as you are." Korra said as she removed some of the vines in her way…to reveal a nearly infested and deserted street.

The buildings were all completely covered in vines growing from the windows, doors, roofs, even the bottom half of the buildings. Korra sighted in disappointment once she and the rest of her friends walked out. "I gotta go face the press and tell them I still don't have a way to get rid of the vines."

Korra spread her wings open, and with only one flap rose up only a few feet above the ground. She had became a master at flying in such a short mount of time, it was like she was born to fly. She turned to look at her friends, more specifically her pony friends.

"You coming?"

"No, you go on ahead." Twilight insisted while rubbing her left arm, ears lowering. Korra knew all to well that something was bothering her friend. She lowered down and placed her hand on Twilight's shoulder.

"You okay? You've been pretty down lately." Twilight didn't answer, she simply looked downwards at her feet, like she would always do when she was deeply upset. This worried the Avatar even more. "Is this about Flash Sentry, again?" she asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not Flash." the alicorn princess forced a smile, "I'll talk about it latter, you go and talk to the press. I'll wait till you get back."

"You sure? We usually do this kind of stuff together. We're the Avatar and the Elements of Harmony."

"You'll be fine." Applejack assured her, "We'll catch up with you in a bit. Maybe Mako can accompany ya."

"Actually, I think he's rather busy at the moment." Rarity pointed her thumb to Mako, still trying to shake away the spirits.

Korra sighed in disappointment, "Okay. Guess I'll talk to them myself…this should be fun." she said sarcastically under her breath as she flew up into the air and disappeared from sight, leaving behind a powerful gust of wind, that messed up the ponies' manes.

"Twilight, why won't you tell Korra what's bothering you?" Jinora asked, "You always tell her everything."

Twilight turned to face her friends, "It's because, what's bothering me is Korra."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock at what Twilight had just said. They never in a million years would have imagined something like that to come out of her mouth.

"Twilight, why would you say something like that?" Mako asked, the spirits still on his head and shoulders. "You love Korra, even more than I do." Tenzin, Jinora and the Ponies all looked at Mako with curious expressions. The firebender simply crossed his arms. "It's true but I'm okay with it."

"I don't mean it like that, Mako." Twilight said, "Korra is the Avatar, and she's an Alicorn now. A Princess Alicorn. She's hasn't had her crown for no more than two minutes and she's already contributing to her role. Even if they don't raise the sun and moon anymore, Celestia and Luna still rule over Equestria. Even Cadance has her job protecting the Crystal Empire. And all I seem to do is…smile and wave." the alicorn unenthusiastically waved her hoof for emphasis.

"I had no idea you felt that way." Jinora said sympathetically.

"It's not that I'm not proud of her, I am. But now that she's a princess, what if there isn't much for me to do for her anymore?"

Applejack approached Twilight and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder as she smiled. "Come on now, you're one of her best friends, and we're all her bonded ponies. United by the Avatar spirit and the Elements of Harmony. She's always gonna have time for each of us."

Twilight sadly turned away from the others. "Maybe. But even so, it doesn't change the fact that my part as a princess doesn't contribute as much as I hoped. Not in Equestria at least."


(~)


City Hall was now completely overgrown with spirit vines. On the side of the building grew a large majestic tree which, interestingly enough, its roots were growing out of the Raiko's office. The president himself stood in front of a podium, his browns twitched at the array or questions that kept pouring in. The entire entrance of City Hall was swaming with reporters, photographers, and ordinary angry citizens either yelling out their frustrations or voicing their problems at Raiko.

"Mr President, are you concerned that your approval ratings are now nearly as low as the Avatar's?"

As the reporter spoke, a certain raven haired, green-eyed beauty sadly watched from among the crowd. Asami had attended the meeting, hoping to support her friend. She knew Korra would appear soon in hopes she would have some news that would sooth the frantic crowed of people.

Raiko leaned a bit further to the microphone, "I'm not concern with snappy put-downs in the press. I'm facing this calamity just like every other citizen." he said, then pointed his finger towards the vegetation growing out from his window, "There's a tree growing right through my office. You think I'm not doing everything I can to get rid of it?"

Raiko felt a sudden gust of wind, his eyes looked upwards to see two feathered wings flapping. Korra landed a few feet next to Raiko, her flapping having ruffled his hair in the process and loosened his glasses, which he quickly adjusted, all the while narrowing his eyes at the newly crowned princess.

Korra stood facing the press, eyes widened and sounds of gasps could be heard from all around. They were still getting used seeing their Avatar with wings, and her new tittle as a Princess. Since becoming an alicorn, Korra's physical appearance had changed slightly. While she still remained physically the same, she had grown two inches taller, her hair remained in the same hairstyle it always did, only a few inches longer, the tip end of her top ponytail nearly reaching past her shoulders. A single grey/blue streak ran across the left side of her hair near her face, a star on her forehead indicating the source of her magic, and her signature cutie mark rested on the left side of her cheek. She still had her crown, a stunning silvering thin tiara with three blue heart-shaped gems, but she preferred to only wear it during very important occasions. Today, however, she didn't wear it, the wings alone were enough to make her look stunning and even regal.

"Princess Avatar Korra, do you regret the way you handled the Unalaq crisis?" another reporter asked.

"Why are you forcing the integration of spirits in Republic City?" Another asked.

"Listen, I've been trying everything I can think of to get rid of these vines, but--" Korra was interrupted when another reporter rose his hand.

"Why can't you fix this?"

"Can't your new magic do anything?" Another asked. More questions kept coming at her.

"Are the vines here to stay?"

"Is this part of your Magical new world order?"

How Korra hated when they did that. Asking a whole bunch of questions, not giving her even a split second to answer them. None the less, Korra maintained her composure and addressed the crowd calmly.

"Look, Harmonic Convergence was just a couple weeks ago. I just need a little more time to get everything back to normal."

"Princess Avatar." Korra turned her gaze to President Raiko, who did not look at all happy about the current situation. "With all due respect, you have placed us all in a very difficult position."

Korra felt deeply insulted by this. She narrowed her eyes and spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I put you in a difficult position by fighting the giant force of pure evil that was going to destroy the whole world?"

Raiko lowered his gaze, "Forgive me for the misunderstanding, and for insulting you, your highness. I was simply stating that while I am alright with humans and ponies living together, I have yet to see the reason why spirits should too."

"They're just as a part of our world as we are." Korra stated confidently. While Raiko had grown to respect the new princess, and realize he had been wrong to ignore her previous cries for help during the whole Civil War crisis, that still didn't mean he didn't have a lot more to learn. He was perfectly fine with ponies living with humans, after all, ponies were smart intelligent beings who were not really all that different from humans. Spirits however, were a different matter entirely. They were like pests in a kitchen you couldn't get rid off. And the longer they stayed, the more they distrusted their way of life.

"I'm sorry, but we can't live with these vines anymore. Spirits are not like ponies. They can't be negotiated with."

At the back of Korra's mind, she began to seriously question Raiko's statement. Spirits weren't that easy to negotiate with? Had he ever met a human being?

(Stop the Bast parody song)

Raiko;

I will confess, I took your side

Of humans and ponies being of similar kind

But these spirits are a different story

They've caused half of my people to flee

They don't care about anyone

Not zilch, no, nothing

Except bringing about our city's destruction

Asami looked with worry as reporters and bystanders all yelled out in agreement to Raiko's words. Korra had to put a stop to this.

Korra;

Now wait just a minute!

There's another side to this

And if I did not defend them

Then I would be remiss

As Korra sang, Mako made his way through the crowd and stood next to his good friend Asami. His little spirit friends flying off from his head and shoulder to spin around Korra as she sang.

These spirits have friends and families too

They care for one another, like we humans do

The lizard spirits nuzzled Korra's cheek, making her smile. Raiko face palmed himself.

Raiko;

Oh, give me a break, you're bring too kind

These creatures have a one-track mind

This city is not their restaurant

But do they ever think about what others may want?

No! They don't!

And that is just a fact

These pests, they simply don't know how to act

The three spirits circled around Raiko's head, only to have the man angrily swat them away. The frightened little spirits hid behind Korra in fear.

Korra;

That's where I have to disagree

They're loyal to their families

Spreading beauty far and wide

Raiko;

You see one coming you better run and hide!

The president sang strongly through his microphone, the crowd only agreeing with him more

They're big, and ugly, and mean as sin

Will you look at the state our home is in?

Korra;

If you let me speak, we can solve this faster

Raiko;

They've turned my life into a total disaster!

A female reporter sang from among the crowd;

Well I for one don't have a doubt

These vermin must be stamped right out!

A male reporter sang in agreement;

I second that, they've got to go.

These pests have got to hit the road!

The angry singing from everyone began to concern Mako and Asami.

Raiko;

It comes down to just one simple fact

They've crossed the line, it's time to end this!

Crowd;

Stop the pests!

Stop the pests!

Make them go and not come back!

Stop the pests!

Stop the pests!

Make them go and not come back!

Stop the pests!

Stop the pests!

Make them go and not come back!

Raiko;

Yes, it comes down to just one simple fact.

They've crossed the line, it's time that they went back!

Raiko once again turned to the Avatar, "If you wish for spirits to live in this city, I suggest you figure out some way to make it work or else my administration will have no choice but to--"

"But to what? You'll cut them down like you tried to do before?" Korra snapped, grabbing Raiko by the chin, "Yeah, we'll see just how well that works out the third time around!"

The chief of police, Lin Beifong placed her hand in between the two, separating them from one another before their arguing got any further. "That's all, no more questions." Lin said to the press. Raiko stormed back into his office, while the crowd dispersed one by one. Asami and Mako walked up to Korra, the three spirits tried to console her.

"This is a disaster." said the Avatar, looking downcasted. Mako placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Asami smiled, trying to console her friend.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have my poll numbers. Eight percent approval? Who are they asking?"

"You shouldn't take what they say to heart." Mako said sweetly, "The people are just frustrated."

"I don't blame them. I should be able to fix this. I'm the Avatar."

"And a Princess Alicorn." Asami pointed out.

The Avatar's wings lowered down in sadness and she groaned, "Don't remind me."

"Sorry, I know you're still getting used to the whole 'princess' thing."

"Sometimes I wonder if I ever will."

"What are you talking about?" Mako asked.

"Life was hard enough when I was just the Avatar, now I'm this all magical royal creature and I often question if I really did anything to deserve this. Sure I saved the world, but only after I messed things up in the first place. Even now, people are still hatting me for the choices I've made. Heck, Twilight doesn't even have her own kingdom like the others but she's still an even smarter and stronger princess than I am."

Asami placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come on, Korra. Both you and Twilight are wonderful."

"And you do deserve your crown." Mako said as he held Korra close. "You wouldn't have these powers if you didn't. Okay, so you messed up in the beginning." both Korra and Asami scowled at the firebender, "But in the end you came through. Just like Wan did. You're an inspiration to the world."

"I appreciate the encouragement, but Raiko sure doesn't think so. And neither does anyone else."

"He's just under a lot of stress. I'm sure he'll come around just like before." Mako said confidently, as one of the lizard spirits rested on his head. The firebender lowered his brows in annoyance. "Do you mind?" the firebender waved his arms around, angrily swatting the spirits off of him. "I would like to have a moment with the girl if that's alright with you!"

Both women couldn't help but laugh at Mako's outburst. Those spirits sure did get on his nerves, but none the less it was pretty fun to watch.


(~)


"Oh, Pabu don't you simply look just adorable!"

Rarity smiled in satisfaction at the new adorable green jacket she had made for the fire ferret. Surprisingly, Pabu didn't mind the gift at all. He showed his appreciating the same way he always does…by licking himself.

"He likes it!" Pinkie Pie said happily. She, Rarity, and the rest of the ponies were all at Air Temple island playing with Pabu, Ikki and Meelo. Overtime, Pabu had come to like Ikki, who happily petted his head.

Currently, the ponies were in their anthro forms, they had learned to like these forms, but they still reverted back to their pony selves whenever they felt like it. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, did it pretty often, switching from pony to anthro in the blink of an eye just for the heck of it. It is Pinkie Pie after all.

They then spotted Bumi running towards them, panting and sweating. "Bumi, what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked. The man placed his hands on his knees as he took in deep breaths.

"You're not gonna believe this. Where's your father?" he asked his niece and nephew. Ikki turned to face the temple and called our for her father…screaming very loudly.

"DAD!"

The ponies had to cover up their ears from her loud call and Tenzin barged the doors open, looking visibly worried. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." said Applejack as she wiggled her finger in her ear to stop the ringing. Bumi ran to his brother and began to explain what had happened.

"The most amazing, wondrous, fantastical thing just occurred. Okay, Bum-Ju and I had a little fight." Bumi explained while punching his fists and then pretending to knit something out of thin air, "I made him this sweater, and he didn't seem to like it, and I'll admit, it might need work, but it was my first attempt at knitting, so I was a little hurt." he said, placing his hand over his heart while looking visibly saddened.

Tenzin, his family, and the Ponies all looked at Bumi blankly. They should have known that whatever the man had to say would be as silly as anything Pinkie Pie would come up with.

"Hilarious." Tenzin said blankly before turning to his family, leading them inside. "Time for dinner, everyone."

Pinkie Pie, Ikki and Meelo stayed behind and smiled at Bumi, hoping in place excitedly.

"And then what happened? Tell me, tell me tell, me!" the pink pony asked.

"Look! I can airbend." Bumi placed his hands facing each other in an attempt to airbend. But so far, nothing happened. He kept on trying multiple times, but was unable to replicate what he had done a few moments before. "No wait, seriously, I was doing it." he continued to airbend but to no avail, while Ikki and Meelo walked away, no longer interested in Bumi's crazy claim. Even Pinkie Pie lost her interest.

"Weeeeeellllll, keep trying." the anthro pony happily skilled ahead following the kids, while Bumi kept on trying to airbend.

"No hold on, I just uh, maybe if I--" he kicked his leg up, but when nothing happened he hung his head, "No."


(~)


"I swear, I'm not making it up." Bumi said as he continued waving his arms around, trying to airbend again, but so far nothing was happening.

Everyone else was gathered around the table, the ponies having reverted back to their pony forms again and happily ate Pema's delicious food.

"Stop waving your arms around the table." Tenzin said sternly, watching Bumi waving his hand over and over. "It's not funny anymore."

"It's not a joke--Oh!" by accident, Bumi waved his arm once more, knocking down the plate Flash Sentry was carrying in his mouth as he flew by.

Luckily, Twilight Sparkle levitated it to the table before it hit the floor. Flash smiled, silently thanking Twilight, before taking his seat. Twilight waited for him to sit beside her, but to her disappointment, he didn't. Instead, he took a seat next to Kya. Twilight pouted angrily.

For the past week her boyfriend had been avoiding her and she didn't even know why. Was it something she said? Something she forgot? Was he having some personal dilemma? Whatever it was, why wouldn't he talk to her about it? The alicorn's ears perked up when Spike came into the room with his own plate.

"The newlyweds are home! And Asami too." the dragon shouted jokingly, making the three teens chuckle.

"Spike, was that really necessary?" Korra asked.

"Hey, ever since you and Mako got back together, you've been all lovey dovey again. Seriously, how long does the honeymoon last?" to shut him up, Korra used her magic to levitate a piece of carrot stick into Spike's mouth. The star on Korra's forehead glowed as it happened.

"Sit down and eat." she said rather sternly with a playful smile.

Spike spit out the carrot stick and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, mom."

Unlike the ponies, Spike couldn't' morph into anthro form. Just like what happened with the humans' pony forms after Harmonic Convergence, his was only temporary. While with the ponies, it somehow became a new power. However, there was one change in their anthro states, before they did not have their tails, instead their hairs were so long they resembled tails from the front. Only now, after the effects on humans and other non-pony beings wore off, their hairs were pretty much the same length as humans', and they had their tails sticking out from their behinds through the backs of their outfits. It was unknown why this was so, most probably a side affect from Harmonic Convergence itself. Even after the events, it still held many mysteries.

Korra spotted Bumi waving his hands like a crazy person as she took her seat on the table next to Bolin, who was already eating rice from a bowl with his chopsticks.

"What's with him?" Korra asked.

Bolin leaned in forward a bit and explained to the Avatar, "Bumi says he airbended earlier, but he can't now."

Bolin was taken by surprise, except for Korra who wasn't fazed at all, when Pinkie Pie's pony head lowered down from the ceiling and whispered to Korra, somewhat loudly. "And he's not very good at knitting either." she said before jumping down and going back to her seat.

"I gotta say, I love being a part of this family." Bolin said, being his usual upbeat self. "You got the grumpy dad,"

He gestured to Tenzin, who was fuming with anger.

"The wacky uncle," he gestured to Bumi, still trying to aribend.

"The put-upon mom," he gestured to a fatigued Pema, while Rohan cried.

And finally, he gestured to Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, the latter placing a chopstick on either side of his mouth. "crazy kids. Well that's just great."

"I have to admit, this family sure is one of a kind." said Applejack, before taking a bite out of her apple. Pinkie Pie appeared next to her.

"I'll say!" Without warning, the pink pony took out a large bite out of her salad, earning a scowl from the country pony.

"Yep. One of a kind." said A.J.

Korra noticed that the alicorn sitting next to her was as quiet as a mouse. Or as quiet as Fluttershy. Korra gently smiled and placed her hand on her head lovingly. "Hey, Twiliy."

"Hey." she responded sadly. Korra hatted seeing her best friend like this. An angry grunt caught both their attention and Mako finally managed to grab hold of the three spirits circling around him. He now held all three of them in his hands.

"That's it! Here Asami!" the firebender handed the creatures to the heiress, who was forced to take them into her own hands.

"Wait, why me? They're your kids."

"They're not my kids! They're just three little spirits I just so happened to have found in my apartment before it turned into a vine habitat!"

"Mako, they're baby dragon-fly spirits." Korra said.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, once they bond with someone, they grow attached to them. It's something they can't shake off. You might as well give them names and call yourself, 'papa'."

"Well maybe I don't want to be bonded to a supernatural creature." Mako said as he crossed his arms.

"Don't knock it till you tried it." Korra said as she petted Twilight's head, earning a smile from the alicorn. Mako knew where his girlfriend was coming from, but still, Korra's bond with the ponies was different. They bonded at first sight, it wasn't exactly the same with Mako and these spirits. The connection wasn't entirely mutual, not to mention Korra and the ponies had some kind of destined history, so of course their connection was powerful. He saw the lizard spirits whimpering and giving him the puppy eyes with their big brown orbs. Surprisingly for reptiles, their were kind of adorable.

He sighed before saying, "Okay fine, I'll think about what to do with them. In the mean time, Flash and I have got some last minute paper work to file back at the police station."

"Again?" Korra asked sadly. This had been the fifth time this week that Mako had to stay late at work, including Flash, who was new to the station, along with a few other pony guards who transferred to the Republic City police force as the first step to humans and ponies coexisting. Something that was agreed on by both Celestia and Raiko.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't stay as late this time." Mako said sweetly before kissing his girlfriend on the forehead. "Love you." he turned towards Twilight and also kissed her on the head. "And you." he walked over to Flash Sentry, "And you--are coming with me." Mako forcibly grabbed Flash by the tail and dragged him out.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Mako! My--tail--is--attached--to--my body!"

"Wait, what do I do about these guys?" Asami asked as Mako and Flash made their way out. The spirits wiggling in her grasp.

"Give them a time out!" Mako responded.

Before Asami could respond, she heard the door slam, and the heiress narrowed her eyes and groaned in frustration. The lizard spirits chirped in her hands. "Your daddy is a real meanie. Yes he is. Yes he is!" she cooed at the creatures, for which she found pretty adorable.

Bumi gasped. "Oh, did you see that? I think the napkin moved."

"You blew on it." Kya said in annoyance.

"Wait. Maybe I can only do it when my life is in danger." he pondered before turning to Bolin. "Bolin, bend a giant boulder at me."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea."

He turned to the orange pony, "Applejack?"

"I think your head has suffered from enough impacts." said the orange pony.

Rainbow Dash rose her hoof enthusiastically, "Oh, oh maybe I can throw a fire ball at him?" she suggested with equal enthusiasm. She loved any excuse to use her firebending. The pony was soon surrounded by nothing but disapproving eyes. She lowered her ears and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oooooooooorrrr not."

"If you're going to be bending giant boulders and shooting fire balls, you can do it outside." Pema said irritatedly.

Tenzin slammed his hands onto the table, "No one is bending giant boulders or shooting fire blasts!"

Meelo slammed his hand in the table, causing a plate to rise up from the impact, and the young airbender threw it at his uncle. "Look alive, Uncle Bumi!"

Bumi looked in fear as the plate flew towards him. He closed his eyes shut and stretched out his hands, stopping the plate from hitting him. Once he opened his eyes, he saw he had managed to stop the plate…by trapping it in a ball of air.

"I told you!"

Everyone at the table looked at the scene in total surprise. They eyes wide open like dinner plates, their mouths hung open, so wide they could literally catch flies. Even the spirits in Asami's grip were shocked. Pinkie Pie was smiling while shouting,

"Wow-we!"

"I can't believe my eyes" Applejack said, not blinking at all.

Rainbow Dash was literally baffled by this, "What--how--when--how--why--what?"

Rarity placed her hoof on her forehead and fainted from the shock.

"Unbelievable." Tenzin said, his breath nearly caught in his throat. "You're actually an airbender."

Twilight shook her head rapidly to try and make any logical sense out of this. "How is this even possible? This isn't scientifically possible! How is this happening?!"

Bumi was smiling widely as he continued airbending the plate. "Wait 'till I tell Mom, she's gonna love this."

Finally, Bumi lost control of his bending, causing the plate to drop onto the floor and shattered.

"I'm not cleaning that up." Spike said.


(~)


After four long hours, Mako and Flash were finally done with their paper work. The young firebender placed the documents into the drawer and sighed in relief. "Glad that's over." he said to his friend and fellow partner. Flash was in his anthro form, his pony ears, wings and tail remained, and his Cutie mark on his left shoulder. Male ponies had their on their arms in anthro forms, while female ponies had theirs on their cheeks like Korra. Ever since they came to the police station, Flash had been so quiet. Almost as quiet as Twilight when he got back to the air temple. He looked at his friend with worry.

"Hey, Sentry, you okay? You haven't said a word since we got here."

"It's nothing." he said. But Mako could tell when Flash was lying.

"I know you're lying."

"How can you even tell?"

"You're not looking at me in the eye."

Flash hung his head in embarrassment. Since he was a young colt, Flash was never that good at lying. It was one of the many things that made him such a good palace guard. His effortless honesty.

"Okay, okay you caught me. It's about--" before Flash could tell Mako his problem, the phone on his desk rang. Mako knew that interrogating Flash would have to wait.

"It's probably Korra. But this talk isn't over." he said in a tone of voice only a big brother would use. Mako placed the phone near his ear. "Hey honey, I know it's late but I---" Mako suddenly blushed in embarrassment when he heard not the feminine voice of his girlfriend, but a masculine one he did not recognize. "Oh! Sorry sir, I thought you were someone else!" Flash tried his best to contain his laughter. As the man on the other line continued to speak, Mako's face grew concerned, "He what? Slow down. Okay, We're on our way." with that he hung up the phone and Flash stood up from his chair.

"Trouble?"

"I guess so."


(~)


The boys arrived at small shop owned by a young man, who was the one who called the police. Mako opened the door and the two were surprised to see the place completely trashed. The whole store was filled with shattered glassware, bits and pieces scattered all across the floor and shelves, which were also kind of wrecked. They wondered what might have caused this.

"What the heck did this?" Flash asked. The shop keeper walked to the boys, still a bit shaken from the experience.

"It was my brother. He's out of control."

Mako pulled out a notepad and Flash simply observed. He was still learning the ways of the human police force, and he had yet to fully master writing without using his mouth.

"Okay, just tell me what happened." Mako said as to the shop keeper as he wrote on the notepad. The shopkeeper began explaining.

"We were arguing about the books, and Daw was yelling at me. And all of a sudden, things started flying around. He was creating this storm, like--"

"Like what?" Mako asked.

"Well, like he was airbending."

At the sound of 'airbending', Mako put down his pen and notepad. Both he and Flash exchanged confused looks before looking back at the shop keeper.

"Sir, that's impossible." Mako said. "Aside from some ponies in Equestria, there are only five aribenders in the entire world, and your brother is not one of them."

"I know what I saw. He was freaking out yelling: "What's happening to me?" Then he ran into the back room and locked himself in." the shop keeper pointed to the said door at the far back of the room. Mako approached it and knocked on the door.

"Police. Open up."

"Go away!" The man on the other said cried out in distraught. But Mako stood before the door and spoke authoritatively.

"Get out of here, sir, or I'm knocking this door down."

"Mako wait." Flash said, "If this guy really can airbend, by the looks of things, he doesn't seem to have any control over it. Maybe we should ask him calmly to step out. The poor guy's probably scared."

Mako shook his head and placed his hand on Flash's shoddier. "Sentry, you're new to this, so just watch and learn from the expert." Mako turned towards the door once more and knocked on it hard. "Sir, I'm giving you three seconds to come out. One. Two."

Flash flinched as his friend was literally blown away by a gust of wind, getting slammed by the door that was knocked off its hinges and pined Mako down. A distraught looking man with shaking hands, dark hair and a mustache stood by the door. His cloths were rather messed up due to the constant wind blasts he had unintentionally created. He quickly ran out of the shop screaming.

"I'm so sorry!" Daw ran out before airbending away. Flash helped Mako toss the door on top of him aside. His hair was messed up and his face was bright red from the impact.

"I told you. Airbending!" said the shop keeper.

Flash Sentry crossed his arms while arching an eyebrow at his partner and asked sarcastically, "So, 'Mister Expert' what did I learn?"

Mako stared at him in annoyance, before slumping down with a sigh.


(~)


The next morning at Air Temple island, Bumi was still trying to airbend while his family and friends looked at him. The man waved his arms constantly, but no matter what he did, no air came out.

"Ugh, I can't figure this thing out!"

"You're telling me." said Twilight as she continued to look through her notes. Both in her hands and being levitated by her magic around her. "I've been up all night trying to find some logical reason to Bumi's new powers."

"And what've you got?" Korra asked. The Avatar flinched when her friend groaned in frustration and threw the papers everywhere.

"Nothing! That's what I got."

The hyperactive Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere behind her friends, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. "Or maybe it's some kind of new Airbender disease! And I could be next!"

Korra and Twilight shared the same 'are you kidding me' stares. "Pinkie, you already have airbending." said Korra. The pink pony gasped in horror.

"Oh, no! It's already spreading! Everypony for herself!"

Twilight groaned as she face palmed herself. "Pinkie, Bumi is not sick! Besides, I highly doubt a virus is the culprit here."

Korra turned towards her airbending master, "Do you think being in the Spirit World during Harmonic Convergence could have given him bending?" she asked.

Tenzin pondered on the possibility, "I suppose it's possible."

"Maybe Uncle Bumi is just a late bloomer." Ikki said.

"Very late." Rarity replied.

Kya closed her eyes and waved her hands around Bumi, feeling his energies, "I have been noticing a change in your aura lately."

"And you didn't bother to tell me?" Bumi asked with a pout as he continued to airbend. At that moment, Mako, Lin and Flash Sentry approached the group. Mako rushed towards Korra and happily embraced her.

"Sorry, I know I promised I wouldn't stay late at work again."

"It's fine. Besides, we've been pretty busy with something else." Korra gestured towards Bumi, who was still trying to airbend. In Mako, Lin and Flash's points of view, the man looked like he had lost his marbles. Twilight sweetly waved at Flash. He smiled in return, but didn't say a word. The princess lowered her ears in sadness.

"Invisible spirit monster attack?" Lin asked as she watched Bumi's crazy antics.

"Lin, you won't believe this." Tenzin said. "Bumi just started airbending."

Lin, Mako and Flash's eyes widened in surprise. Did they hear him right? Pinkie Pie, in her pony form hopped in front of Lin, "I saw it with my own little pony eyes." she said.

"I'm afraid he's not the only one." Lin said, shocking Tenzin, Korra and the Ponies.

"What?"

"Flash Sentry and I got a call last night." Mako said. "About a guy who just started airbending out of nowhere."

This news was incredibly shocking for everyone, especially Tenzin. It was remarkable that his non-bender brother could now airbend, but now another could too? Was all of this even real, or was he simply dreaming?

"You mean there's another one?" Rarity asked, she placed her knuckles on her chin in thought. "Two new airbenders in one day?"

Rainbow Dash rubbed her temples, trying to prevent a growing headache. "Okay, this is all just too weird. I thought Tenzin and his family were the last airbenders on the planet. Not counting the airbender ponies, of course."

Twilight's ears perked up, "Wait a sec, maybe this is just like what happened with us."

"What do you mean?" Korra asked.

"Maybe somehow the effects of Harmonic Convergence caused new airbenders to pop up out of nowhere. Kind of like how ponies can turn anthro whenever we come into your world."

Fluttershy stepped in, "You said so yourself, Korra; Harmonic Convergence caused a change in the earth's energy."

The Avatar placed her indeed finger on her chin in thought. "You're right. It does sound like the most logical explanation at this point."

"Where is the airbender now?" Tenzin asked Mako. The firebender's eyes looked away from him and down at the ground, embarrassed to look at anyone in the eye.

"He…blew a door down on me and got away." the firebender scowled at the anthro pegasus with blue hair, who was chucking with his hands in his pocket. Flash stopped his laughing when he noticed the amber eyes staring daggers at him.

"Glare all you want, man. It was funny."

Mako sighed before speaking, "Anyway, we got an all-points bulletin out on him right now."

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and was now hovering three feet above the ground. "We can help you look for him." she said enthusiastically.

The firebender smiled at the anthro rainbow-haired pegasus. "Great, we could use the extra hands. Or hooves, whichever you guys decide."

"Slow down! Quit it!"

Everyone's head turned to see poor Asami, being literally dragged by her heels across the courtyard, holding on to three little winged lizard spirits by their tails, grunting as she tried to maintain her grip on them.

"For little guys, you sure got a lot of muscle." her green eyes fell on the tall dark haired man standing next to the Avatar and the heiress smiled mischievously. "Look kids, daddy's home!"

The three spirits let out adorable little chirpy sounds and Asami released the three energetic lizards, who all rushed towards Mako, who screamed in terror as they came closer.

"AH!" the young man was immediately tumbled down to the floor and the spirits were on his head and shoulders. The girls all laughed at this cute little scene. Mako sat up, pouting and crossing his arms in bitterness. He should have known Asami would get him back for this. The sweet heiress was not without a back bone, and ever since she fully got over all of her infatuation feelings towards him, their relationship developed into that of the classic brother and sister kind. Which surprisingly, they were much happier with.

Asami walked over while dusting off her hands. "That's what you get for making me babysit."

"Mako! Stop playing around!" Lin shouted authoritatively at her fellow officer. "We've got an airbender to find."

Mako sat back up, still wearing his angry expression, with the spirits on his head and shoulders. Jinora tapped on Mako's leg to get his attention. "If you'd like, I could take care of them while you---"

"Great, thanks!"

Mako didn't waste a second in handing Jinora the three spirits. The cute little creatures chirped and attempted to fly back to Mako, who waved his index finger in front of them. "Ah, ah, stay!" the three hesitantly obeyed his orders and remained in Jinora's arms. Mako turned to his girlfriend with a smile, "Me and the police will help with the search while you guys look around downtown. If we split up we might find him faster."

Korra smirked, "Well, we'll see who finds him first."

Her boyfriend smirked in return, "We'll see."

The two chuckled and Korra kissed Mako's cheek.

"Good luck."

"You too."

For extra good luck, the two embraced and kissed one another passionately. Both Tenzin and Jinora exchanged bored looks before sticking out their tongues and sliding off. Once the two ended the kiss Mako walked ahead to where Lin had walked off to. Flash Sentry followed him, but flinched and came to a halt when he heard his girlfriend calling him.

"Flash, wait. You want to come and help us find the airbender?" she asked sweetly. Flash lowered his ears nervously and turned to face her.

"Oh, well, I could but, I should probably go with the police, so I can, y'know….learn the ropes…and stuff."

Korra, Asami and the Mane Six all exchanged skeptical looks with one another, even Twilight looked at her boyfriend the same way they all did. "Are you okay? It almost feels like you've been avoiding me lately."

"No, I'm fine. I should just, get going." he was quiet for two seconds before saluting. "So, as you were….ladies." with that, her awkwardly marched off following Mako, while the girls all looked at each other in confusion.

Fluttershy whispered to Pinkie Pie, "That was weird, wasn't it?"

"I know weird, and that was it!"

Twilight sadly watched her boyfriend leave and felt the warmth of Korra's hand on her shoulder, smiling in consolation.


(~)


The girls all headed to Asami's Satomobile near a parking spot in the city. The Avatar and Alicorn both rushed to the vehicle.

"This is so exciting!" Korra said enthusiastically, which was shared with Rainbow Dash.

"I know! New airbenders in the city? How awesome can that get?" Rainbow exclaimed enthusiastically.

"It would be nice to meet another human airbender." said Fluttershy.

"Bet we can find that guy before the boys do." Korra said to her fellow princess with a wink. She smirked in return.

"Yeah, and maybe Flash and I will finally have something to talk about." Twiloght said, right before she flinched at something fly right past her. Korra quickly grabbed something in her hand which was thrown by Asami. Once the Avatar opened her hand, she realized her heiress friend had just given her the car keys. She looked at her with an arched eyebrow. Was Asami being serious?

Rarity tapped on Asami's shoulder, chuckling nervously, "Ha, ha, um, Asami darling, did you just give Korra the car keys?"

"Yep." The raven hair heiress said with a smile. Korra and the ponies all exchanged worried expressions, even Pinkie Pie, surprisingly.

Korra looked at the keys and then at Asami, "You know I'm not very good at this."

"The last time she drove one of your cars, she rammed it into a lamp post." Rainbow Dash said, sitting cross-legged on the side of the car. But Asami maintained her smile.

"Come on, you're the Avatar, master of all the elements. You should learn how to drive." she flipped her hair casually, "Besides, it's relaxing."

Rainbow Dash sat up and flew a few feet up, "Well, I'm flying while you're driving."

Asami crossed her arms and shook her head, "Oh, no, no, no, all of you are staying in the car. Show some support."

"Sweetie, we always show support for our dear Korra-kins." Rarity said, as she too flipped her hair the same way Asami did, followed by a furrowed brows and serious glare. "Just not with driving."

"I gotta agree with Rarity on this one." Korra said.

"Come on, I'll show you the basics. It'll be fun." Asami insisted

"Shutgun!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the front seat.

Korra eventually gave in. "Okay, but we should probably have some barf bags at the ready."

"I'm not gonna get sick." Asami assured playfully.

"I meant for Fluttershy." the Avatar pointed downwards, to the anthro Fluttershy crunched down shaking and hiding behind Asami's legs.

The heiress arched an eyebrow, "Wow she's good, I didn't even feel her behind me."

Applejack jumped onto the back seat, "Come all ya'll. Might be fun."


(~)


"Not fun! Not fun!"

The Mane Six were all in their pony forms, their eyes widened in fear and distress, clinging on to the back seats for their dear lives, while some sat on the backseat floor. If they didn't know any better, they would say Korra's driving was even worse than they imagined. The Avatar was trying to get the hang of this contraption, but these labels and buttons were a bit confusing for her. Asami's hair flipped in the wind, her visibly distressed expression mirroring that of the ponies as she panick-ly instructed the Avatar.

"Clutch! Clutch!"

Korra constantly jerked the vehicle, the ponies jumping and landing again on their seats. "This is why I wanted to fly!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Fluttershy had her eyes shut and covered the whole time. "Stop the ride, I wanna get off!"

The only one actually having fun was Pinkie Pie, who waved her hooves in the air. "Weeeeee!"

Finally, Korra braked the car, while another car roughly stopped behind them. "That's the break." Asami said, catching her breath and trying to calm her beating heart. While the other ponies were all in shock, Pinkie Pie was jumping happily.

"That was fun! Let's go again!"

Rarity felt the whole world spinning. Her face was even paler than usual, "Let's not and say we did." she quickly covered her mouth as the vomit made its way up. The poor pony leaned to the side of the vehicle and puked. Asami finally managed to calm her nerves.

"Okay, let's try again. You ready?"

The car behind them honked, and Korra saluted to Asami mimicking Flash Sentry. The gesture made the two girls, and even ponies laugh. Rarity finally regained her composure, and sat calmly on her seat as Korra restarted the engine.

"I wonder if the boys have had any luck so far." Korra said lightheartedly.

"Who knows." said Asami. "Mako's probably lecturing Flash as they go along. You know what a perfectionist he is."

Korra chuckled, "Tell me about it." as the girls joked, the car behind them turned and stopped next to them, the driver glaring at them as he drove by. Twilight lowered her ears sadly.

"Why the long face, suguarcube?" Applejack asked. She always knew when something was wrong with her friends.

"Do you girls think Flash might want to break up with me?" she asked. The rest of the girls were silent for a moment…before they all bursted out laughing. The alicorn glared at them all. "Gee, thanks for the encouragement." she said sarcastically.

Korra slowly stopped her laughing, "Sorry, Twiliy, I just find that hard to believe. Flash is crazy about you."

"Then why hasn't he talked to me? All he's done lately is come up with some lame excuse to avoid me." she began mimicking Flash's male voice as she re-enacted all of his excuses, "'Can't talk, gotta work.' 'Mako's showing me this new police thing'. 'We got another case, can't talk.' 'More paperwork, can't talk.' Uh! One is as stupid as the last."

"Well, maybe it's time you stopped waiting for him to say something and confront him about it." Korra suggested. "As his girlfriend, you should know if something's troubling him."

"Korra's right." Asami said. "You at least deserve an explanation."

The alicorn nodded in agreement, "I know but…I guess I'm…"

"What?" Korra asked.

"What if I confront him about and he gets mad?"

Korra's eyes widened as she placed the pieces together, "Twilight Sparkle, is this about what happened between me and Mako?"

The alicorn slightly turned her gaze away, "Yeah. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want--"

"To go through what we went through?" Korra finished for her friend. She saw the alicorn nod from the review mirror and sighed. "Twilight, what happened with me and Mako, yes it was painful, but our mistake was that we didn't handle it correctly. We were both mad and proud and we didn't listen to each other. But that doesn't mean that we loved each other any less. I mean, I hurt Tenzin when I decided to train with Unalaq, but that didn't lessen his love for me. No matter how many times we fight or disagree, or even hurt each other, if you love someone you'll look past any mistake. The same goes for friends." The ponies all smiled at Korra's wisdom. "Just talk to him. Don't just be his girlfriend. Be his friend."

"Thanks Korra." the alicorn smiled in gratitude. Asami felt so lucky to have such good friends with her. But then, she remembered one incident that almost happened in the past when Korra was gone. It didn't seem like a big deal because it didn't happen but still, Asami felt the need to at least let Korra know. She looked down at her lap, her hands intertwined together.

"Korra, since we're being honest here, I need to tell you something about Mako, and I probably should have told you this sooner but…while you were gone….I….almost…kissed him. I'm sorry."

The ponies and Korra's eyes all widened in surprise at this. Asami ALMOST kissed Mako?

"You what?!" Rainbow shouted, "When did that happen?!"

"When Discord returned my stolen meca tanks that night at Mako's sting operation. I was close to doing it, but Discord showed up and stopped me. I don't think Mako even knew what I was doing, it happened too quickly. But, I still kind of wanted to. I'm so, so sorry."

The heiress prepared to get an scowl from the Avatar and her pony friends. Things were going so well right now, why did she had to ruin it with that stupid confession. To her surprise, her friends laughed.

"Ha, ha! I have to admit, I did not see that coming." Korra said in between laughs.

The ponies in the back continued to laugh as well and Applejack wiped away a single tear, "Oh, the irony!"

"You're not mad?" Asami asked in surprise.

The Avatar maintained her smile, "No! I mean, I kissed Mako when he was still going out with you, so…"

"You what?" Asami glared at the Avatar in annoyance. Korra was shocked by her reaction.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you knew!"

To Korra's surprise, Asami smiled. "I'm just kidding I knew a long time ago."

Korra chuckled in relief. "Well, whatever happened with Mako, I'm really glad it hasn't come between our friendship."

"Totally." Twilight agreed. "You're a great friend Asami. We don't know where we would be without you."

The heiress blushed at the kind words. "Thanks. And I actually like being friends with Mako. Surprisingly, even more than when we were dating. Is that weird?"

"Na, of course not." Korra said. "He told me he felt the same way." this news brought a smile to Asami's face. "And for what it's worth, I just know you'll find someone someday. You deserve it."

"Thanks. But for now, I'm just happy with my friends."

"What about Bolin?" Pinkie Pie asked as she rose her hoof.

"What about him?" Korra asked.

"He could be a good possible match for Asami. Why not?"

All the girls arched an eyebrow at the idea. Asami and Bolin? Really? The heiress pondered at the idea.

"Me and Bo? Seriously?….mmmm….well…."

Rarity poked her head in between the two front seats, "I hate to interrupt this sparkling conversation but; VINE!!"

The girls screamed in horror as Korra slammed hard on the brakes of the car, swerving the vehicle, narrowly missing the large spirit vines in the middle of the road. The girls all sighed in relief when a hedgehog-like plant spirit phased towards the car. Asami gasped at the sight of the creature, this was the first time seeing a large spirit.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the spirit snapped at the ladies in the car.

Rainbow Dash flew upwards near the spirit's face, her stern expression matching his. "What are you doing living in the middle of the road in the first place?!"

"Don't ask me, pony! You and your Avatar friend made the world this way we're just living in it!"

Korra stood up from her seat and looked up at the spirit sternly. "Look, I don't have anything against spirits, but these vines are causing major problems all over the city!"

The spirit, however, simply turned his head with his nose up high in a snotty manner. "Spirits, vines. We're are all of the same energy after all." He turned his back to them, "Seems like the Avatar would know that." the spirit walked away into the forest of vines. Once he was gone, Korra sat back into her seat, starring into blank space. Asami looked on at her with concern, but the ponies could sense that the Avatar was pondering something.

"Korra, you okay?" Asami asked and Pinkie Pie stood up from behind her seat.

"Oh! I know that look! That's 'Korra's thinking' look!".

Korra's eyes widened slightly in realization. "I think that spirit just gave me an idea how to get rid of these vines…" she placed her knuckles near her chin as she pondered. "but I'm gonna need a lot of water."


(~)


At Air Temple Island, Tenzin sat, meditating before the statue of his father, Avatar Aang, atop Aang Memorial Island. After the attack from UnaVaatu, the statue was restored to its rightful glory, standing nearby the crystal tree with the Equestian portal hovering over it.

"It's like a dream, Dad." he said to the statue, "After a hundred and seventy years, new airbenders."

"Dad."

He was interrupted from his 'conversation' when his youngest daughter called out for him. She ran towards her father with Jinora and Meelo. Ikki kneeled onto his leg, while Meelo leaped onto his shoulders.

"When that new guy's airbending, does that make him our brother?" she asked.

"Well, in a way, all airbenders are a family." her father said.

"Does that mean I have to share my room because I like my personal space."

Tenzin smiled at his younger daughter's question. "Of course not. But we might have to get used to not being the only airbenders around anymore."

"I hope we have enough for an army." Meelo said and he leaped off, his hands on his hips as he looked on at the statue of his grandfather. "I want to be Commander like Uncle Bumi."

"Air Nomads don't have armies, Meelo." Jinora pointed out mater-a-fact to her little brother.

"But maybe, there will be enough to fill the temples again." Tenzin said. The very idea of new airbenders appearing all around truly was a dream come true. For years, he believed his father's culture was gone forever after the original airbenders were all wiped out during the Hundred Year War. But now, as if by a true miracle, or work of magic, a long-lost nation was slowly coming back to life. Tears began form in his eyes.

What's wrong, Daddy?" Jinora asked in concern, she had only seen her father cry very few times. But the smile on Tenzin's face gave her comfort.

"I just wish your grandfather was here to see this." he wiped away the tears, the smile still on his face.

"Will you be airbender President?" Meelo asked.

"No, but I think the new airbenders will need lots of help and guidance to understand what it means to be part of our nation. That's a big responsibility."

Meelo outstretched his arms, "Don't worry Dad, we'll help you." Meelo walked towards his father and embraced him in a warm hug, while his sisters follow suit.

"I know you will." Tenzin said as he hugged his children in return. They maybe be young, but his children were as brave, smart, and loyal as their late grandfather was.

Even if they didn't know it, a single white butterfly with blue patterns watched the scene from afar in a nearby bush. The butterfly knew that Avatar Aang would have been very proud of his family.


(~)


Korra and the Mane Six, accompanied by Lin and Bolin, all stood on a bridge before a large building, completely overgrown with spirit vines.

"I hope this works." Korra said, looking up at the building.

"Um, guys. Look who's here" Rainbow Dash pointed her thumb to behind her back. The girls all narrowed their eyes when they saw Raiko and the press approach them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Korra asked in annoyance.

"I was alerted that you had a new plan to wipe out these noxious weed." Raiko said, "So I thought you'd want everyone to be here to watch."

Rarity placed her hands on her hips in a sassy manner and scowled at the man. "How exactly is this suppose to help Korra?"

"I hoped this would motivate her." The president answered honestly…surprisingly. The reporters already began asking questions. Korra was already fuming with anger.

"Princess Avatar Korra, do you really think-" the reporter was interrupted when Korra stretched out her hand.

"No questions! Just stand there. Silently!" she said sharply.

The Avatar approached the vines and closed her eyes. The ponies knew she was focusing her energy. Her wings spread open wide and glowed brightly. Her eyes opened, revealing two glowing white orbs. She was in the Avatar State. The ponies, though their eyes were not glowing, their elements shimmered dimly. They could sense Korra's Avatar Spirit, for which they shared, but at the moment they were allowing her to use its full power. They would only aid her if they were truly needed, but they all agreed this was something Korra had to do on her own. She began bending out the water from the bellow the bridge into swirled forms around the vines. As she closed the loops, she infused positive spiritual energies to the water, causing them to glow gold. Before everyone's eyes, the vines slowly retreated, releasing the building they had entrapped and slowly grew downwards into the water. The press looked on in awe while the Ponies looked on proudly. When the vines fully retreated, Korra stopped bending and bows in respect. Her wings and eyes no longer glowing, with her right fist on her left palm she bowed her head.

"Go in peace."

The crowd clapped and Korra was quickly surrounded by her friends who embraced her in a congratulatory hug. "You were awesome!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Simply divine. As always." Rarity said with a wave of her hand. Fluttershy clasped her hands together, giving her famous soft. "Yay!"

Unfortunately, the reporters approached them and began bombarding the Avatar with questions. The girls looked at them in annoyance.

"How did you know what to do?"

"Will you send the spirits away now?"

"How soon can we expect public water service to resume?"

Suddenly, a loud splash was heard and the ground beneath them began to shake. The girls all gasped and their eyes widened in horror. The large spirit vines began to emerge from the water, once again entrapping the building in its coils. Everyone was startled by this, Korra's spirit technique didn't work. The vines grew denser than before as they spread rapidly around the building from which they were previously released from. They also grew to inundate the opposite block, entrapping another building. A young boy standing by the window recoiled in shock at the state of the growth. The vines grew, breaking the windows and concealing all of the exit doors. The weight of the powerful vines caused the building to tilt toward the bridge, everyone inside screamed in horror.

"Look out!" Korra shouted as she spread out her wings and flew upwards. The guards escorted the worried Raiko away while Bolin, Applejack and Lin ran forward and bend out a rock pillar to stop the building from toppling over. Korra barged open the door with airbending and looked at the worried occupants. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood by her side.

"Let's go, people! Hurry." Rainbow exclaimed to the worried folk and they all obeyed her, running out the building in panic while Twilight and Rarity lead them out. Korra looked on as the people evacuated and turned to the ponies.

"Stay with them" she ordered before flying up to the window where the boy was trapped. She reached out to grab the child when rumbling caused her to gasp. She grabbed the child as the tip of the building collapsed. "Hang on." with her powerful wings, Korra dove down and landed safely on the ground, releasing the boy who quickly ran towards Rarity, who held him close. Korra flipped and stopped the tip of the roof from crashing into the ground with airbending while the remaining occupants fled the danger. The boy spotted his mother and ran towards her. She embraced her son in a warm hug. The boy turned to look at his savior who strained herself and slowly let the tip land softly, her stunning feathered wings spread wide open as she stood up straight. Bolin, Lin and the ponies walked up to her.

"I think that could've gone better." Bolin said. Korra lowered her gaze in shame. She had failed in getting rid of the vines. Now everyone was going to blame her. Some princess she turned out to be.


(~)


Twilight Sparkle landed perfectly near the pavilion. Her best friend was sitting cross-legged a few feet away from her. Korra immediately sense her presence.

"Can't talk. Meditating." she said, not even turning around to face her.

"Somepony's at the end of her rope. You hate meditating." Twilight said, trying to prevent herself from chuckling. Korra opened her eyes and stopped meditating, lowering her arms.

"I thought if I really tried I might be able to contact my past Avatars, someone who knows something to help me, but I can't. They're gone." while remaining seated, Twilight walked by and sat next to her, hugging her legs. Korra turned to look at her. "Did I ruin everything by leaving the spirit portals open?"

"You didn't ruin anything. You did what you thought was best for the world, and now things have changed."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Korra, I know things are hard now, but you'll get through it. You always do." the alicorn smiled at her friend, but that smile quickly faded when Korra didn't return the gesture. She simply looked onward at the sea.

"I've tried everything I could think of to get rid of the vines but now I'm stumped. Some princess I turned out to be."

"Korra, you're a great princess and a great Avatar."

"Oh yeah? Then why can't I fix this? It seems no matter how hard I try to do things on my own, it keeps blowing up in my face. I have all of these responsibilities, I'm the Avatar, I'm a princess, it's…it's just too much."

"Well at least you're actually doing something!"

Korra was taken back by this. Twilight had never responded to Korra in that manner before. The alicorn lowered her pony ears and looked away.

"Sorry. That came out wrong."

"Twilight, this isn't just about the vines anymore, is it?" Korra asked. She could sense that this was indeed the fact. Twilight took in a deep breath before she opened her mouth.

"When I first met you, I knew that all you ever really needed was a friend. In your world, I felt like I was a part of something." her smiled then faded and she looked on at the ocean in front of her. Her chin resting on her knees. "But back in Equestria, I don't feel like my role as a princess amounts to much. All of the other alicorns, including Queen Leilani, all do something important. You've only been a princess for two weeks and you already know what your purpose. While all I ever seem to do is…smile and wave."

Korra felt awful, even though she knew Twilight was feeling down in the dumps, she didn't entirely know the complete reason for it. She knew it was partly because Flash Sentry wasn't exactly talking to her, but she didn't know she was having second doubts about her position as a princess of Equestria. But the next thing she said really stroked her heart.

"Now that you have wings and magic you're so much wiser now…I sometimes feel like you won't need me and the girls anymore."

Korra wrapped her arm around the alicorn princess into a warm embrace. "No, Twily. I'll always need you. Always. No matter how busy my life gets, I'll never push you guys away. I wouldn't even be here is it wasn't for you. You helped me become the person I am now. And I will always be grateful for that." Twilight smiled and rested her head on Korra's shoulder like a younger sister finding comfort from her big sister.

"Thanks."

"Besides, I'm still not even sure if I did anything to really deserve becoming a princess."

Twilight removed her head from Korra's shoulder to face her. "What do you mean? You defeated the dark spirit."

"Yeah, right after I started a civil war, and Vaatu would never had gotten free if I hadn't been so stupid. Ow!" the Avatar rubbed her arm from which Twilight had just punched her.

"You're not stupid. You're one of the smartest humans I know. And you've done plenty to prove you do deserve to wear your crown."

"Maybe you should take your own advice." Korra said lightheartedly, earning a chuckle from Twilight. "You're an amazing princess too, Twilight. You'll play your part soon enough. And I'll be right there when you do."

The Avatar stood up and overlooked at the ocean, the sun was nearly setting and the blue sky was now turning bright gold.

("One Dream" from Tom Sayer 200 animated film)

Korra;

Somewhere in our hearts

Somewhere deep inside, lives a dream

That's worth dreaming

Twilight;

Every now and then

I get a glimpse of where I could fly

But you and I share--

Korra and Twilight;

One dream

One hope

We're heading down the same road

Even though we don't know where it leads

We follow the same star

Staying true to who we are

Twilight;

Till I find the path that's meant for me, we share--

Korra and Twilight;

One dream!

The two girls spread out their wings and flew across the temple island.

Twilight;

I've imagined what would be

A magical fate is waiting for me

It's still out there

Korra;

Our vision is the same

Even though we see the world through different eyes

You and I, share--

Korra and Twilight;

One dream

One hope

We're heading down the same road

Even though we don't know where it leads

We follow the same star

Staying true to who we are

Korra;

Till you find the path that's meant for you

We share--

Korra and Twilight;

One dream!

One dream

One hope

We're heading down the same road

Even though we don't know where it leads

We follow the same star

Staying true to who we are

Till I find the path that's meant for me

We share--

One dream!

One dream!

The girls landed once again underneath the pavilion, high five each other. No matter what they went through, they always had each other's backs. The girls gasped in surprise when they heard clapping from behind.

"Nice song."

The girls sighed in relief once they realized who it was. "Tenzin, you scared the feathers off of us!" Korra exclaimed in slight annoyance.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

"Wait, just how long have you been here?" Twilight asked.

"Long enough. And I understand what you girls are going through."

The girls lowered their shoulders sadly as the air nomad walked up to both and placed each hand on one of their shoulders. "For what it's worth you are both remarkable princesses. And I couldn't be prouder."

Both girls smiled graciously. "Thanks Tenzin." Korra smiled changed into a frown, "But that still doesn't change the fact that I couldn't fix this problem. I've changed everything."

"Just like Twilight said, you did what was best for the world. By restoring the magic you saved everyone. But, for a lot of people, changes can be hard to accept."

Korra sighed sadly, "Well, from the people's perspective, it's bad."

"You're not the President, Korra. Your job isn't to fix the daily problems of every person in Republic City. Your responsibility is to bring balance to the entire world, and that means no matter what you do, some people are not going to be happy about it."

"Right." Korra dropped onto the ground and Twilight and Tenzin joined her.

"On the other hand, some people will be very happy. Like me." The air nomad said proudly. "What you both did during Harmonic Convergence not only in uniting our world with Equestria, but also may have brought back the Air Nation, and that can only be good for restoring balance. That is the act of a great Avatar. And a great Princess."

Korra placed her chin on her knees. "It's scary. I have all this power and all these people depending on me, but I don't know what I am supposed to be doing half the time. It seems like I should be ... wiser."

"True wisdom begins when we accept things as they are. Including our own mistakes."

"He's right." Twilight said, "You've help start a new age Korra. There's no going back."

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted when Bolin, Spike and Rainbow Dash all came running in, breathing for air. Korra, Twilight and Tenzin turned their attention to them.

"Mako called!" Spike said.

"The cops found a new airbender guy." Bolin said while pointing his fingers upwards, "but when they tried to bring him in, he ran away and climbed to the top of Kyoshi Bridge and won't come down…Ooh sorry, did I interrupt an Avatar wisdom session?"

Korra simply chucked as she stood up, Twilight and Tenzin followed behind her. "Avatar wisdom is a thing of the past, Bolin." she said as she tapped Bolin on the shoulder. "Come on."

Bolin scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Oh, okay. Is that a good thing?"

"Depends on who you ask."


(~)


Oogi flew down and landed onto Kyoshi Bridge, which was already swamped with police cars and officers, both pony and human, all around. Up on the highest part of the bridge, the airbender Daw was shaking in fear while holding onto the bridge, looking around wondrously. Tenzin, and Bolin jumped off Oogi as did Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity and Spike. Korra, Twilight, Rainbow flew down on their wings and walked up between Lin, Mako and Flash Sentry. Lin spoke via a loud-hailer.

"Come down immediately, or we will be forced to take action."

Daw saw the metalbenders hoist themselves up to the top of the bridge, using their metal cables, and approach the frightened man while taking fighting stances.

"Stay back! I'm dangerous." Daw cried out, but the metalbenders ignored his warnings and attacked him by unleashing their cables at him. Daw defended himself by spreading his arm wide, unleashing a powerful air dome, knocking off all of the metalbenders from the side of the bridge. Daw cried out to them in shock.

"Sorry!"

The metalbenders quickly fired their cables toward the bridge before swinging back to the ground. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and pounded her fists.

"Alright, looks like we're doing this the hard way." the pegasus pony flew up into the air, leaving behind a rainbow trail and a powerful gust of wind, from which the other shielded themselves, their hair and cloths bellowing in the wind. Rainbow Dash flew up and hovered in front of Daw, who was still shaking in fear.

"Alright pal, you better get down from this bridge right now or I'll---" but before she could finish, Daw, out of pure fear, accidentally unleashed another wind blow from his hand, which stroked the anthro pony and she blew backwards, falling from the sky. Luckily, she was caught in time by Twilight and Fluttershy who both lowered her down gently. She rubbed her head, dazed from the impact. "Okay, that didn't work."

Korra looked up at the man, he looked so scared and confused, and it looked like he was having a hard time keeping calm. If he got any more anxious he could fall off the bridge. With fierce determination, Korra spread out her wings and flew up towards Daw, landing on the top of the bridge, near where he stood near the pretty steep ledge.

"Don't panic, I'm here to talk." she said calmly, squatting down from where she was, her wings half open to maintain her balance.

"Please, I don't know what I'm doing and I don't want to hurt anyone." said the frightened man.

Korra sympathized with his situation. "Tell me about it. Rough day huh? I'm kinda having a rough day myself. You mind if I sit down here?" she asked, pointing to her current sitting place. Daw nodded hesitantly, while trying to keep himself from falling. Korra sat down straight on her spot, her wings now partly closed, and spoke to the man in a kind, compassionate voice.

"Look, I know you're scared. You've gone through a big change and it's kinda my fault. But you're not alone, there are other airbenders and they want to help you, actually they are really excited to meet you."

"I don't want to be an airbender." Daw took a few steps closer to the avatar, pleadingly. "Please, you are the Avatar, make it stop. Ahh!" realizing how close he was to the ledge, Daw screamed and pressed his back against the bridge.

"I'm sorry, I can't." seeing the man was still anxious, Korra decided to try a different approach, "Listen, I've never told this to anyone besides my friends but, when I first became an alicorn, I was pretty scared too."

"You? But you're the Avatar and a Princess now. I thought being an alicorn would be great."

Korra chuckled at this, "Ha, oh yeah, sure. New crown and magical powers which I'm still trying to figure out, it's loads of fun. Why, just a few weeks ago I literally froze my boyfriend's office in ice." Korra said with a humorously sarcastic tone, "And you try sleeping with two huge wings on your back. Believe me, it's no picnic."

Hearing the way she described her previous struggle to adapting to her new form made Daw feel a bit better. And her kind-hearted smile and lighthearted attitude made him feel safer. The ponies, Mako and Tenzin all proudly watched from above as Korra talked with Daw, the man visibly looked more calm.

"So you see? Change hasn't been easy for me either. But I managed because I had my friends to help me. And you can too. I promise, things will get better if you just give it a chance. Let me take you over to Air Temple Island and we can talk this through. Okay?"

Korra reached out her hand in a welcoming manner, showing Daw that just like her, he didn't have to face this fear alone. Daw began reaching for Korra's hand, but as he took a step, he lost his footing. He screamed in terror as he was plunging down the bridge.

"Ohh Ahh!"

Korra dove down after him, opened her wings and grabbed Daw in mid air. The crowd cheered as Korra landed him safely on the ground. Daw bowed in gratitude at the princess avatar and Tenzin approached them.

"Daw, this is Tenzin. He is going to help you."

Tenzin bowed before the new airbender. "It is an absolutely pleasure to meet you Daw. I have never met a new airbender before. Well, at least one whose diapers I didn't have to change."

"Actually, I just fell off a bridge so I could use a fresh diaper right about now. "

Tenzin arched an eyebrow while Korra looked at the man with sympathy. He really was terrified. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were the two first to surprise Korra with a proud hug, but their happiness was cut short when Raiko approached them.

"So, is this the deal?" he asked angrily, "We have crisis every other day now thanks to you."

Rainbow Dash growled angrily and attempted to march right up to Raiko and give him a piece of her mind, but Korra quickly stopped her by placing her arm in her path. The Avatar instead walked up and stood face to face with the president. "Listen, I know you're having a tough time getting used to these changes and I'm sorry for that, but you and everyone else are going to have to learn to live with it. The vines and the spirits are here to stay."

Raiko opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when a shinning ray of light descended from above. The light shined bright like a dozen suns, many shielded their eyes from the blinding rays. As the light diminished, three figures appeared before them all. It was Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and their mother, Queen Leilani, all in their anthro forms. The majestic alicorns stood before them all, their eyes gleaming with wisdom and patience. Everyone instantly bowed before them, their presence had that affect on people. Celestia looked around in curiosity.

"Apparently, we missed all of the excitement."

"Celestia! Luna. Leilani!" Korra rushed to her fellow alicorns and embraced them in a warm hug.

"Korra, my favorite Avatar." Leilani said kindly.

"What are you guys doing here?" Korra asked as she released from the hug.

"We heard from a very reliable source that there were airbenders appearing around. So we decided to see for ourselves." said Princess Luna, her eyes then shifted to a certain firebender cop who nervously was scratching the back of his neck. Korra arced an eyebrow.

"Mako? Wait, how did you even get in touch with them?"

"Dragon mail." he said while lifting up Spike by the tail, who flashed her a goofy grin and waved.

"You asked them to come here?" Korra asked in surprise.

"Well, not exactly. I just figured they had the right to at least know about the new airbenders too. I'm the royal confident, it's my job."

"And you did very well." said Celestia, and Mako bowed in gratitude. The royals saw Raiko also bow before them in respect, while the princesses and their mother placed their hands on their hips and arched their eyebrows at the man.

"President Raiko."

"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. Queen Leilani. Good to see you again."

"I see you have yet to be rid of the vines around the city." said the queen in a serious tone, which made the president flinch.

"I apologize, I had tried everything I could think of and so has the Avatar, but those spirits refuse to leave."

"Good."

Raiko's eyes widened in shock, and saw the queen smiling. "What?"

"Did it ever occur to any of you if the vines were meant to leave, they would have by now?"

Everyone in the crowed behind the president began to chatter with one another in question to the Queen's words. "What do you mean?" Raiko asked.

"I mean, that Princess Avatar Korra was right."

"She was?"

"I was?" Korra asked in surprise.

Leilani nodded, "Take a better look." she pointed her finger to the city behind them, at the vines that desecrated some of the building roofs, creating beautiful forests, even flowers began to grow. And even the spirits that soared all around looked lovely, their bright colors shimmering in the rays of the sunset, spreading beauty and light all around their once damp looking city. Many had to admit, in many was, the vines and spirits did make their city more beautiful. Heck, even some of their children began playing with the cute little spirits as if they were friends for years. Maybe this change wasn't so bad after all. Raiko began to reexamine his previous methods in getting rid of the vines when the crowed began to mutter to one another.

"You know, maybe she's right."

"The spirits really aren't that bad."

"My flower shop has gotten more variety thanks to them."

"But that still doesn't change that the vines infected my home!" one angry bystander shouted, while others exclaimed angrily in agreement.

"Yeah, I had to leave my home!"

"And the vines keep blocking up the roads!"

Everyone remained quiet, when Leilani raised her hand while wearing a soft smile on her face. "I am well aware that there had been pros and cons to this, but I also understand there is a purpose for everything."

"What's the purpose for these vines, your highness?" Raiko asked, "Aside from causing trouble."

"Perhaps, Princess Korra might have the answer to that."

Korra's eyes widened in surprise. "Me?!"

"You were the one who saw a reason for them to be here. What do you think that reason is?"

Korra pondered for a moment over what Leilani had just said. In a lot of ways, the vines were not all that bad. They did make some buildings look more beautiful, and the spirits were happy. The main problems were the public water, the vines in the roads, and some buildings were people lived. Korra was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard Mako shouting again.

"Will you get off of me!" Mako was once again behind harassed by the lizard spirits that swarmed around his head. Finally, Mako took in a deep breath before speaking, "Okay, will you three please stop flying on my head?" suddenly, Mako no longer heard the sound of flapping wings near his ears or over his head. The three spirits were now hovering only three feet in front of him, perfectly alined like well behaved pets. Even Korra was surprised by this act. All Mako had to do was ask nicely and the spirits listened. The light hit their wings, which emitted a rainbow glow, which manifested in Korra's eyes.

That's when it hit her.

"Mister President, I think I might have found the answer to all of our problems."


(~)


Raiko stood before the large vines that intersected the road, the same vines where Korra, Asami and the Ponies encountered that hedgehog spirt. The main pouted in annoyance, he believed this idea the Avatar had was a complete waste of time. He didn't think it would work.

"Do you really think this will work at all?"

Korra, along with her friends, including Tenzin, Lin, Mako and Bolin all stood behind him, arms crossed and stern looks. It was time this president stopped being so stubborn and actually listened to another's ideas besides his own. "Just ask them nicely to come out and talk." Korra said in a stern tone of voice that sounded vaguely similar to that of a mother disciplining her child. Raiko sighed sadly and called out for the spirits.

"Um, hello? Spirits? I'm President Raiko and I would like to speak with you….please?"

To his surprise, the same hedgehog spirit that appeared before the girls manifested before the man. The creature shared the same stern expression as the rest of them. "Well, well, well, looks like the human leader finally decided to pay us a visit?" he said sarcastically. "Let me guess, you want to order us in person to remove the vines and leave the city, right?"

"Actually…no, that's not the reason at all. I'm not ordering you to do absolutely anything."

The hedgehog was very surprised by this. This human almost looked as his he meant what he was saying, but none the less, he stood his ground. "Very well. What do you want to talk about?"

"I understand the vines are your home and, it wasn't right for me to try and get rid of you." Raiko said, though he felt his pride become severally damaged as he spoke. "And I, and the city….apologize." Korra and the others smiled at the scene as the president continued to speak to the spirit, as more and more smaller ones began manifesting beside the hedgehog. "My attempts were nearsighted and stubborn. I am sorry if we had offended you."

The spirit arched an eyebrow at the president as he pondered at all the things he had said. "This is very new to see in a human, but I guess we can forgive you." then, the hedgehog's glance shifted to the side, his once stern expression changing into one of guilt, "And I suppose we are to blame as well."

Raiko was very surprised by this act. He never realized that spirits actually had a conscience. He began to repent all of the horrible things he believed about them before. "I now see this change hasn't been very easy for you and it hasn't been very easy for us either."

Raiko hung his head in shame. He had no idea that the spirits were having just as a hard time as the humans were, just as they were becoming upset with the spirits invading their homes, the spirits felt the same way. He realized they were not so different after all. "Perhaps we can help one another with that." Raiko suggested. "We humans will, at the very least, try and learn to adapt with the way things are now, and perhaps in return, you will allow the public water service to continue. We really need it."

"That sounds reasonable enough. The vines actually help clean and purify waters anyways."

"So, are we agreed?" Raiko stretched out his hand to the spirit who, to everyone's surprise, smiled in return and firmly shook Raiko's hand.

"We are agreed, Mister President."

"Please, call me Raiko."

Korra and her friends all jumped up and cheered happily. While things still weren't exactly, peachy keen yet, but at least humans and spirits in Republic City were starting to head in the right direction. Korra felt so relieved, now spirits and humans could work out their situations, they didn't need her anymore….

They didn't need her.


(~)


Another press conference was held the next day, in order to publicity inform that the President has decided to work on compromises with the spirits rather can bee in conflict with them. Korra and the rest of her friends attended. Korra felt so proud that things were looking up in the city. The process would not be that easy, obviously, but at the very least Raiko and the spirits were seeing eye to eye, so that alone would help with compromises in the future. Many people even began to like the vines, saying that the 'jungle theme' in their apartments was nice and stylish. She couldn't say everyone, everyone still agreed, but she knew that every one's minds could be changed. At least she managed to change Raiko's and that's a pretty good start. This was a great entry for the Friendship Journal.

"A lot has changed since Harmonic Convergence. For a lot of people, change can be scary. But, if given the chance, you may come to realize that some changes have a greater purpose behind them, even if you can't see it at first. Plus, with a little patience and great friends, the answers to any problem, big or small, are closer than they appear."

Raiko approached Korra, shaking her hand in gratitude…before placing something on her wrist. The Avatar was surprised to see that Raiko has placed a lovely silvery bracelet on her wrist. It was a simple platinum band, which in the sunlight shimmered, reflecting beautiful colors. "My wife picked it out just for you. It's our way of saying thank you." Korra bowed in gratitude, "I am well aware you have greater responsibilities than just in our city, so whatever you decided to do, just know you are always welcome here."


(~)


As Korra sat on the very top of Kyoshi Bridge, overlooking the city, she played with the bracelet on her wrist. Vines would not be growing more anytime soon, the wilds had already fully settled in the city, so that was another less thing to worry about. But now, with Raiko now with a more clear view on how to handle the problems in Republic City, what use was there for her now? Since she came to this city the most she had done was defeat Amon and Unalaq. After that, what else?

She now fully understood how Twilight felt. But Raiko was right, as was Tenzin, she did have other responsibilities elsewhere, her ties were not limited to the city.

Sure it would not be perfect, but it was improving, she felt she had done her job. She didn't feel like she hand any unfinished business here anymore. As she looked out into the horizon, she could feel the outside world calling to her, the same way it did when she decided to leave the safety of her home and move to Republic City. Like an invisible force calling out to her, saying "Go. Get up. Fly." She had a good instinct that told her when to take action. And today, it was calling to her again. She heard the flapping of wings as her fellow alicorn sat beside her.

"Tenzin said I'd find you here."

"It's over, Twily…I don't think there's any more I can do here."

"Funny, you don't sound to upset about it."

"I know. You'd think I would be, but I'm not." then, Korra's frown slowly turned into a smile. "And now I know why."

"Hu?"

"I don't think this is the end, it's just a new beginning." she spread out her wings, flew up and hovered in front of Twilight, who remained seated on the top of the bridge. The Avatar wore a content smile on her face. "I can see my path now. There are new airbenders out there and I'm going to find them and rebuild the Air Nation."

Twilight smiled proudly as she stood up, her wings spread wide open and her hands on her hips. "Don't think I'm not going with you. It's so exciting. Who knows who's out there now, discovering the gift of airbending for the first time? And Tenzin, he would be so proud to hear this!"

"I know! And Twily, I know you haven't been feeling like much of a princess lately, but I have a feeling you'll find your purpose soon enough. And I'm going to help you find it. The same way you helped me find mine."

The alicorn tried her best to fight the tears of joy that threatened to come out of her eyes and the two friends embraced in a warm hug before flying off into the sky. A new adventure awaited them.

One dream

One hope

We're heading down the same road

Even though we don't knot where it leads

We follow the same star

Staying true to who we now

No we found the path for you and me

We share

One dream

One dream!

As the two friends soared into the clouds, Korra's bracelet emitted a Rainbow Colored glow.


(~)


In a pagoda-like mountain top enclosed in the middle of a remote mountain range, stood a come-like structure made entirely out of metal. An adjacent mountain formation with a large metal watchtower served as the main access point to the dome, with a mechanical rectangle bridge. The bridge extended from one mountain, where the watchtower stood, as Several White Lotus sentries walked towards the building on the second mountain ahead, and the bridge retracted while they took on fighting stances. They all stood in front of the metal dome A sentry walked forward and metalbended the octagonal shaped door open, revealing an octagonal prison cell with an inmate sitting calmly on the floor. The inmate was a man with long gray hair and beard, so long the beard covered nearly half of his front body. One of the sentries called out to him.

"You know the drill, Zaheer."

"Of course." the man turned to face the wall, his hands behind his head as the sentry slid a food tray with a single bowl of rise and two chopsticks.

"Hope you still like rice." the sentry said, half mockingly. They had been watching this man for so long they had lost all fear of making contact with him. Even though he had no bending of his own, in early years, he was a formidable foe. But now, after thirteen years of being help prisoner, his once frightening demeanor soon faded over time. While he maintained a stern face most of the time, the other sentries didn't even arc an eyebrow in his direction. He was getting older and he hardly ever practiced any fighting, and he was held in the most secure prison there was. He wasn't going anywhere, and he was no threat as long as he remained sealed up. But today, Zaheer had other plans.

"Have you ever read the poetry of the great airbending guru, Laghima?" he asked the sentry who had given him his food.

"What?"

"Guru Laghima lived four thousand years ago in the Northern Air Temple. It is said that he unlocked the secret of weightlessness and became untethered from the earth, living his final forty years without ever touching the ground."

The Sentry mentally laughed at the prisoner's silliness. "Is that how you plan to escape? With something you picked up from an old airbender children's story."

"Like all great children's tales, it contains truth within the myth. Laghima once wrote: "Instinct is a lie, told by a fearful body, hoping to be wrong.""

"What's that supposed to mean?" the sentry asked, curious as to what this crazy man was talking about. Zaheer slowly moved his hands down.

"It means that when you base your expectations only on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality."

They had no idea how, but it happened. Right before their eyes, Zaheer moved his arms and body around in swift movements and one of the sentries was pulled in by an unseen force, causing him to slam against the prison bars. Zaheer didn't even make contact with him. His only weapon of choice...was the wind. Zaheer ran forward and turned the sentry's body around, grabbing him by the neck through the bars. The remaining sentries prepared to attack until Zaheer spoke.

"Uh, uh, uh. You wouldn't want to singe your friend, would you?" the inmate mocked.

"How? You're not a ... bender." another sentry asked in disbelief.

"Nature is constantly changing. Like the wind." Zaheer pulled the keys off from the sentry he held hostage. On unlocking the door, he once again made his swift but also powerfully aggressive movements controlling the winds around him, slamming the sentry against the wall. He slid out of his cell, narrowly avoiding another sentry's firebending attack, before sending a powerful wind blast which knocked them right off their feet. The whole time he used, not only his hands, but his whole body in creating the wind blasts that were far more powerful than the attacks from his opponents. He leaped up, avoiding the firebender's blasts, and grabbed him by the collar once he landed behind him. The sentry yelled as Zaheer tossed him into the cell along with his companion. He ran up a wall, avoiding the earthbending attacks from the remaining two sentries. He blasted them off their feet and blowed them into the cell and quickly locked it with the keys he had stolen. The sentry who had mocked Zaheer looked at the man from the other side, his long hair and beard bellowing in the wind.

"Now you might want to ration that bowl of rice. You've got three weeks till the next shift change. It's the dawning of a New Age. The end of the White Lotus, and soon, the end of the Avatar."

Zaheer walked toward the edge of the cliff and leaped down, using his wind powers to jump from ledge to ledge. The sentries could not believe it if they had not seen it with their own eyes.

Zaheer was now an airbender!

As the new airbender finally reached the ground, his wicked grin grew wider. Now he could finally finish what he started a long time ago.


(~)


Leilani awoke from her slumber, gasping in horror. She was thankful that her daughters did not hear her. She rose from her bed and looked out the window. She saw a vision, a vision that was much to horrifying even for her.

She quickly levitated a quile and began to write on a piece of paper. The new Era has begun…as a new evil has begun to rise.


(~)