//------------------------------//
// Old Wounds 
// Story: The Little Pony Legend 3: The Great Change 
// by MaggiesHeartLove 
//------------------------------//



*(~)*

Proverbs 12:18 ~

Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.

*(~)*


Old wounds



The next morning, Team Avatar and Suyin's family happily ate their breakfast at the dinning area. Princess Luna sat with them as well. Korra and Fluttershy were still pretty upset with Lin for the way she behaved towards Opal. What she did was just not right, especially since all Opal wanted was to get to know her aunt. Mako noticed his boss's absence and became curious.

"Hey, has anyone seen Chief Beifong?" he asked.

"I think she's still sulking in her room." Korra responded, somewhat bitterly at the thought of the woman actually going on with herself after what she did. But even she wasn't nearly as upset as her sister was.

"I know she has a problem with me, but she had no right to yell at Opal last night."

Asami then realized that someone from their group wasn't present. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Rarity either."

"She said she had to do some last minute adjustments to her latest creation." Korra said with a slight humor in her tone. She knew that once Rarity gets inspired there is only so much one can do to get her to do something else. That pony was dedicated to what she did. Mako rolled his eyes, he knew that whenever Rarity made something new she just had to show it off in a big way.

"Knowing that pony she's trying to come up with some grand entrance." Mako said. Applejack smirked as an idea crossed her mind.

"Bet ya five yuans she comes in here being carried by the twins."

"You're on, country gal."

Mako and Applejack fist pumped, the bet was set. Of course, it really didn't take long for you-know-who to come bursting through the door.

"Ta-da!!"

Rarity was sitting on a chair, being lifted by Wei and Wing. The anthro unicorn now wore a stylish Metal Clan inspired outfit; added with the metallic jewelry on her wrists designed to look like diamonds, and a silver rounded neckless with a diamond shaped emerald on the center. She wore a dark forest green corset-like shirt and tight above the elbow sleeves with two holes that exposed her shoulders. Her skirt was more like a cape around her waist and wore long dark green slim fitting pants and platform silvery open-toed sandals. Her hair was styled in a similar fashion as from her crystal form, with silvery metallic accessories holding it up. Applejack smiled at the firebender beside her.

"Told ya. Pay up."

Mako hesitantly gave the country pony her money. He should have known better than to make a bet with her. Rarity jumped from the chair, striking a sassy pose. "Thank you, boys."

"Wow Rare, rocking the Metal Clan look." Korra said. "But I don't think it was fair using the boys as props like that."

"Oh, heavens no. They were more than happy to assist me." she happily placed her arms around both of their shoulders.

"And besides, we needed to stretch our muscles." Wing said, showing off his biceps. The two brothers ran towards the table and grabbed their breakfast to go, taking a few fruits from a basket.

"All set for your power disc game, guys?" their mother asked.

"Yeah, all set to kick Wei's butt." Wing said, teasing his brother while snatching an apple.

"I'm gonna power disc your face." Wei smacked his brother right in the stomach, causing him to choke on the apple he had taken a bite out of.

Wei then realized that Korra was sitting right beside him, her baby blue eyes sparkled like diamonds and her dark brown locks and single blue strand cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. She smiled politely at the twins. Wei cleared his throat and placed his free hand on the table, smiling flirtatiously at the Princess Avatar.

"You know, you're more welcome to come play with us." the way he spoke grabbed Mako's attention. While he knew Korra would never flirt back, he still didn't like the idea of other guys hitting on his girlfriend. He trusted Korra, it was just the guys he didn't trust. But then again, knowing Korra, there was no way she would allow herself to be taken advantage of. Then, Wing began teasing his brother.

"Way to kiss us, Wei."

"Shut up!"

Korra politely turned down the offer. "Um. I don't think I'd be much competition, since I can't metalbend."

Su was actually very surprised to hear this. "Really. Lin never offered to train you?"

"Nope. And I guess I never thought to bring it up because I was learning to airbend, then there was the pro-bending, then I got tied up fighting Equalists."

Pinkie Pie then zipped on by, "Not to mention fighting off against evil dark spirits and demented uncle who tried to wipe out the whole world and our homeland with it." she zipped away.

"In summery, it was a busy few months."

Su shrugged her shoulders, "Well, it's probably for the best. I'm sure Lin would be a horrible teacher." she chuckled along with Korra. "As the Avatar, you should have mastery over all the elements. I'd be happy to show you the basics."

"Really? That would be great!"

Rainbow Dash spoke to Applejack from across the table. "Hey, A.J maybe you should try metalbending too. You are an earthbender pony after all."

"Well, I've never really thought about it but it might be fun. I'm in!"

Even Rarity was excited about her two best friends learning a new skill. "How exciting!"

Twilight arced an eyebrow. "Wow, I didn't think you'd be so interested, Rarity."

"Well, with metalbending who knows what other fabulous jewelry can be created."

"Of course." Twilight rolled her eyes.

Opal turned to Bolin with a smiled. "You should try it, too." she suggested.

Bolin visibly flinched at the suggestion, his food still in his mouth. He swallowed before speaking with a nervous look on his face. While he spoke, Asami glared at the two with an envious look.

"Uh, nah. I'm more of an earth guy. The dirt, rocks; y'know, maybe some light gravel. That's kinda where my heart is."

Su could tell that this boy was shy in learning a new skill, but like with her own children, she was not a pusher, she was more of a supporter. "Okay, Earth Guy. Well, let me know if you change your mind."

Suddenly, Su's necklace began to be pulled off by some kind of invisible force. The cutlery on the table began shaking, as well as Rarity's metallic accessories, and the spoon in Bolin's mouth was vibrating. The cutlery was then spontaneously pulled away, causing everyone to duck for cover. The metal made it all the way to the door frame, becoming attacked to a person in a large bulky suit and wearing a helmet. The person in the suit removed the helmet cover, revealing to be Varrick.

"It worked!" he quickly took out a pencil an notebook and wrote something down. "Magnet suit test successful."

Everyone peered out of the table. Twilight scowled at the man. "Varrick! What's the big idea?"

"Morning, Princess Twilight! I was just testing my latest creation. Pretty effective isn't it?"

"Yeah, great." she said with obvious sarcasm, for which Varrick did not get.

"I know right!"

(~)

Lin was now walking outside of her room, her green eyes scanning the area, making sure there wasn't any funny business going on. She couldn't help but feel uneasy about everything. The Avatar was being stubborn and refused to leave, claiming Zaofu was safe and they could use some fun. Fun? Was she being serious? Three criminals were after her for who knows what and she was focused on having fun? Lin would never understand teenagers. Especially if they were half pony. As she walked she noticed two guards leaning against a wall and chatting causally. The chief's blood boiled, her police cops would never take their job so likely.

"How many push-ups did you do last night? 'Cause I did like fifty." one guard asked his female co-worker. Lin approached them, fuming.

"What do you two think you're doing?! Get back to work!" then, she suddenly groaned uncomfortably and placed her hand on her face.

"Is everything all right here?"

LIn turned around to see Aiwei, Su's truth seer, standing behind her. "The Princess Avatar is in danger, and these two knuckleheads are just standing around chit-chatting."

"Don't worry, Zaofu is the most secure city in the world." Aiwei said calmly.

"I'll be the judge of that. I'm going to check every inch of this place." as she tried to walk away,Aiwei blocked her path.

"Lin, you do not have to work while you are here. You need to relax."

"I'm fine!" she said before groaning uncomfortably again. Aiwei could tell there was something bothering her.

"It doesn't take a truth seer to know that you are under a dangerous amount of stress. If you don't deal with your suppressed feelings, there will be severe consequences to your health ... and your job."

"I'm not interested in talking about my feelings."

"You won't have to say a word. I know a great acupuncturist in town who will be able to help you." he reached into a pocket in his robe and handed Lin a card with the acupuncturist's name, number and address. Lin looked at the card, pondering in thought. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea. Once Aiwei left, Lin returned to her guesthouse, where unbeknownst to her, an familiar blueish mist sinked into the sides of her guesthouse. Lin opened the door and was surprised to see Princess Luna standing there.

"Your highness, is there something wrong?"

"Indeed there is."

At the mention of this, Lin quickly got into work mode. "What is it? Are the criminals here? Did something happen to Korra?"

"No, no nothing like that. This isn't about Korra at all. This is about you."


(~)


Meanwhile, in a vine-infested Republic City apartment, Zaheer, Ghazan, Ming-Hua, and P'Li were gathered, pondering on what their next move will be. With Zaheer blowing his cover, there was no way now they could stay in Republic City undetected.

"Seems like you made quite the stir on Air Temple Island." P'Li said to her boyfriend. "The cops are swarming the city looking for us."

"You still want to try to take out the president?" Ghazan asked. Zaheer was sitting cross-legged on the floor, thinking.

"No, he'll have to wait. We leave today."

The group left their hideout and walked among the shadows of the streets. The city was filthy, with the smell of smoke, burned rubber, cheep perfume from women, and people wore the most disgraceful of clothing. What ever happened to old fashion wardrobes? These people made Zaheer sick. They were all so corrupted and spoiled, it was pathetic. The group found a truck driver lifting boxes into the back of his truck.

"There's our ticket out of here." said the airbender. The man was doing his job, minding his own business, when suddenly a water whip appeared and grabbed hold of him, bent by Ming-Hua, and pulled him to the side of his truck. Terrified, he looked at Zaheer and P'Li, who were standing in front of him, glaring. Directly behind the driver, Ming-Hua subdued him with an ice claw in one hand and holding an ice dagger at his neck.

"There's no money! I just made my last delivery!"

Ming-Hua held the dagger even closer, smiling wickedly. "We don't want money."


(~)


Inside Lin's guesthouse, the woman was now in her undershirt, lying on a bed, looking upwards as the alicorn princess of the moon was bending glowing sparkling water.

"This is pointless." Lin said. "Why are you doing this, anyway?"

"Because you need help. You have not been well, I could see that. Lin, I understand as well as anyone or anypony what it is like to be in conflict with your sister. But the answer is not running from your troubles, rather facing them." Lin scoffed at this and Luna continued to bend the water. "You will be placed in a dream-like state where you will face the most repressed memories of your past."

"And you're going to come into my dreams?" Lin asked somewhat bitterly as usual. She had heard of Luna's ability to enter people's dreams.

"Yes. But do not worry, I know what I am doing."

Lin had had just about enough of this magic mumbo jumbo, and she sat up. "This is ridiculous." then, Lin groaned once again and felt weak. Luna rushed to her side and laid her down. "Lin, please. This is for your own good. You need to calm down."

Lin hesitantly obeyed her orders and laid down. Luna bended the water around her wrists and approached Lin, she stood over her and began bending the water around her head. "My mother taught this to me a while back. This water shall help you relax, and tap into your most buried memories. These memories can sometimes be difficult to process."

Lin closed her eyes. "Huh, buried memories. Uh-huh." Lin did her best to relax, the soothing and cool sensation of the water did its work. She could feel her consciousness slipping as she slowly drifted away. Once she was out, Luna stopped bending the water and her horn glowed. Time to get to work.


………


Lin opened her eyes, surprised to find herself no longer laying in bed, but standing up. All around her was what looked like outer space, and she stood on a transparent sparkly floating bridge. A figure then manifested before her eyes.

"Princess Luna? What is this place?"

"This is the path to your mind Lin. Follow me."

Lin followed the princess to what appeared to be a wooden door. Lin arched her eyebrow skeptically and Luna gestured to her to open it. The chief approached it, her hand rose up, shaking in hesitation. She was curious to see what was behind this door, but at the same time she was scared. She swallowed her fear and opened it. A pure white light blinded her temporarily, once it dimmed she looked around. She was no longer in space, but in a completely different setting. She was inside a house, a simple one complete with a living room, sofas, a table, book shelves with photos of family, plants in vases near the window. But while this house looked lively, at the same time it looked…familiar.

Her eyes widened when she heard giggling. A familiar young and carefree giggle. In the living room where three teenagers, all wore individualized styled green clothing. There were two boys and one girl. The girl was around fourteen, with tan skin, green eyes and dark short wavy hair with a longer bang styled to the side. Her smile was so innocent looking with an aura of mischief. Lin recognized the girl immediately.

"Su?"

"You remember."

Lin looked beside her, to see Princess Luna. However, there was something different about her; she still looked physically the same, but she was now see-through and had a white aura outline. Lin looked down at herself, and she too was in the exact same state as Luna.

"Wha--What's going on here?"

"We are visiting your memories Lin. Do you remember this one?"

Lin continued looking at the scene before her. This was a moment in time she had tried so many times to try and not remember. The door opened and Lin's eyes widened. Walking pass her was a younger version of herself. Unlike her sister, her skin was paler, her hair was darker in color compared to how it was now, and her scars were not present on her face. The younger Lin wore one of the really old female police uniforms from back in the day. It was similar to a long trench coat. She was only a detective at the time, but she was moving up the ranks. Once she saw her little sister home, she crossed her arms.

"Su, what are you doing home?"

"Wow, you almost look like a real cop!" she said with a laugh.

"You're supposed to be in school."

"Oh no, are you going to tell Mom?" she said sarcastically. "It's not like she's going to care."

The present Lin could feel her heart ace. She remembered how difficult her sister was. But at the same time, she was mad. The younger Lin watched one of Su's guy friends rummaging inside of a backpack. "Where'd you get all that stuff?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, it fell off the back of a truck." the boy said with a sly grin. Lin hatted these boys, they were nothing but no good slackers and they were a terrible influence on Su.

"What are you doing hanging out with these losers?"

"They're my friends and you have no right to call them that!" Su stood up from the sofa and grabbed her backpack. "Come on guys, let's get out of here." she said as and her friends walked out.

"Su, stop." Lin placed a hand on little sister's shoulder, which prompted her to stop and turn around. Su slapped Lin's hand away.

"Get your hands off of me!"

"You have so much potential. You're ruining your life!"

"At least I have a life!" Su turned and left with her friends, as Lin looked on with a glare. The present Lin clenched her fists in anger. Luna watched the scene, shaking her head in disapproval.

"I've seen enough."

"No, I don't think you have,"

"You saw the way she behaved! She's always been a selfish, immature brat with no regards over anyone's feelings!"

"That's your problem Lin. You only see things through your own perspective. Now, why don't you try and see them through another's."

With a wave of her hand, the scene shifted and changed. She and Lin now stood in front of her house, and saw Su and her friends outside chatting.

"Man, your sister is such a kill-joy." one of the boys said, earning a chuckle from Su.

"I know right."

"Man, I don't know what you were thinking when you said you use to look up to her."

Lin's eyes widened in shock. What did the boy mean by this? Su hardly wanted anything to do with Lin. Could this be true?

"Yeah well, I was just a kid. Besides, all she cares about is what mom thinks. Me, I want to shape my own destiny."

Su and her friends walked along the streets of the old Republic City. Lin stood there, watching as her sister grew farther and farther away. Even though she was not physically there, it still felt like this was happening all over again.

"You see? Your sister did care about you." Luna spoke, "You just never took the time to see that. You were too focused on what you wanted, just like she was."

Deep down, Lin knew the princess was right…but this wasn't enough to convince her otherwise. "So what? She may have looked up to me at some point but she already made her choice about what she wanted."

"Yes she did. But Lin, since when does anyone have a real clue about what they truly want?"

Lin opened her mouth to protest, but quickly realized she couldn't.


(~)


Su led Korra and Applejack to an area in the garden surrounded by various low pedestals with grey meteorites on top of them. "These meteorites are perfect for beginning metalbenders. The metals have a unique property, making them easier to bend." Su broke off a piece of the meteorite and placed it in her palm. With a wave of her hand, Su bended it into a star shape, followed by a diamond. Korra and the girls all watched in awe.

"That's amazing!" Korra said, her blue eyes shimmering. Su then handed both Korra and Applejack a piece of the meteorite.

"Here, try it!"

Korra and Applejack both shared determined looks before replying, "Okay."

The two both held their respected meteorite with one hand, while waving their free hand above them. They both concentrated for a while, but neither of them was able to do anything with their meteorites. Suddenly, a noise in the distance broke their concentration. Korra, Applejack and Su looked for the source, and spotted a certain earthbender and fire ferret watching them, while hiding behind a large rock.

"Bolin? Is that you, hon?" Applejack asked.

"No!" Bolin responded nervously, making Applejack arch an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" Korra asked. Bolin eventually stepped out from behind the rock.

"Oh, hey ladies. Just uh ... I was just looking for Pabu. Pabu!"

"He's on your shoulder." Korra said with a smile, silently amused by her friend's humor. Bolin's eyes shifted to his shoulder, where Pabu was.

"Oh, look there you are! You know, I thought something was chewing on my ear. Probably need to get a shot. Pabu has sort of a… a venom. Anyways, so what are you guys doing? You metalbending over here or something?"

"Want to give it a shot?" Su asked. Bolin shook his head.

"Nah, it's okay. I mean, only like one earthbender in a hundred can metalbend."

"Well, don't believe everything you hear. The only thing limiting you is your attitude."

"Words to live by." said Applejack. Bolin looked downcast, his eyes shifting from side to side in uncertainty.

"Well, maybe I'll just ... I'll just stay and watch." he made a rock stump for himself, and sat down.

"You sure you don't wanna try it, hon?" the country pony asked, hoping he would change his mind. Bolin had so much potential, she didn't want him to pass it by out of insecurities. Bolin waved with his hand.

"No, no, no you go right ahead."

Korra and Applejack then turned back to their meteorites as Su instructed them, "Try to focus on the fine pieces of earth within the metal."

The girls took her advice, Korra's eyes were focused on the invisible earth pieces within the metal as did Applejack. Then, the meteorite Korra held began to vibrate and changed shape, looking like a wave. Korra's eyes widened in wonder.

"I can't believe it! I'm metalbending!"

Applejack gasped, even though the results were not entirely the same, her meteorite managed to slightly change shape as well. "Wow."

"A.J, you did it!"

"Eh, not as good as you but, hey at least I managed somethin'"

Seeing his friends fast learning made Bolin feel even worst about himself. He looked downcast and spoke with a catch in his voice. "Wow, you picked that up really, really quick. Guess you're that one in a hundred."

Su placed her hand on Korra's shoulder. "Great job, Korra."

Applejack in return placed a had on Bolin. "Cheer up, Bo. Why don't you give it a try. Who knows, you might get lucky." she generously offered Bolin her meteorite. The young man took one look at it and stood up.

"I…gotta go." Bolin walked away from the three women, who looked on at him with sympathy.

(~)

Back to Lin's room, her body was still in the dream-like state.

Within her dreams, Lin and Luna now skipped ahead a few years. Lin and Luna both floated high above looking down at a street where a police carriage was being driven by a twenty-year-old Lin. An officer's voice came out of the radio.

"Calling all units. Property reported on the corner of 5th and Harbor. Suspect's vehicle headed south on Hallow Boulevard. Units responding, identify."

Lin picked up the radio and replied, "Unit three responding."

Present Lin knew this memory, she already knew what would happen and she didn't want to relieve it. "Can we go somewhere else?" she asked the princess, who shook her head.

"No, you need to see this."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

Suddenly, the criminal carriage drove by and alley and twenty-year-old Lin quickly turned around. Lin fired her cables at one of the wheels and ripped it off, causing the carriage to swerve to the stop at the side of the road. Two people came out from the back and tried to escape, but Lin trapped them with her cables, glaring at them, until she heard a familiar voice coming from the car.

"Leave them alone!"

A sixteen-year-old girl came out of the car, looking on pleadingly at Lin. The young woman's eyes widened in horror and shock.

"Su?"

Lin couldn't take it anymore….

With a gasp, the woman awoke from her trance, sitting upwards as the Moon Princess manifested beside her. Lin breathed in deeply, drenched in sweat, and turned to get up. Luna attempted to stop her, "Lin, wait! This procedure is very powerful, if you stop in the middle of it it could be disastrous for your health."

"I"m done here. Leave me alone."

Luna couldn't leave Lin like this, the spell was indeed powerful and if she did not finish what she needed to do, then she would become severally ill. Luna could not let that happen. Lin nimbly got up from her bed and made her way to her living room. Luna tried to reason with the woman but she was far too stubborn. She just couldn't face what happened, she just couldn't. Then, the door opened. Lin looked at who had entered, in her eyes she saw her teenage sister with her hand on her hip, smiling her signature charming smile.

"Are you going to stay in your room feeling sorry for yourself all day?" she heard her say. Lin shut her eyes and tried to focus, causing her image of Su to fade to the Princess Avatar. "You owe Opal an apology for the way you treated her last night." Korra then noticed how sickly Lin looked as she entered the house. "Are you okay? You don't look good."

"Ask her." Lin responded bitterly.

"Ask who?"

Lin turned around, surprised to see that Princess Luna was gone. The woman placed her hand on her face and gestured to Korra to leave. "I'm fine! Just leave me alone."

Without even saying a word, Korra obeyed her orders and left. Lin walked towards her door, stumbling as she did, groaning uncomfortably, and locked the door so no one would bother her. She turned around, pressed her back against the door for support as the princess reappeared.

"What did you do to me?"

"I tried to warn you. Come with me."

Luna assisted Lin to her bed and began to bend the water just as she did the first time. "Just relax and breathe."


……….


Twenty-year-old Lin slammed her fist to the side of the police carriage, fuming with anger. "So, you're robbing stores with the Terra Triad now?"

"I didn't steal anything." Su said in defense. "I just drove the car. I owed my friends a favor. It's not a big deal."

"I'm not letting you get away with this."

Su just laughed, "Oh, what are you going to do, Officer? Arrest me?" with a smug smile, Su started to walk away from her sister.

"Don't even think about taking one more step!" Lin demanded. Su stopped momentarily, but ignored her and kept on walking. That was the last straw!

Enraged, Lin send one of her cables directly at her sister, which wrapped around her wrist. Su took out a knife and broke free, breaking the cables, which were sent back at Lin….she screamed in pain as she clenched her right cheek, which was sliced by the cables. Her little sister looked on in shock.

As did the present day Lin.


(~)


At the Republic City bridge, a metalbending officer went up to the truck that drove by. He greeted the driver. "Good afternoon. Where are you off to today?"

"I, uh, got a delivery to make at Bao Yu." he said, somewhat nervously. The officer noticed the drops of sweat on his brow and his hands clenched tightly on the wheel. "I should be back later today." he handed the officer some papers, the frightened driver could feel the armless woman's ice dragger only meters way from his head. The officer knew that this man was hiding something.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tired. One more pick-up, then I'm clocking out."

"I thought you said you had a delivery?"

The driver was now sweating even more. "Did I?"

"I'm going to need you to step out of the vehicle and open the back of the truck."

The driver hesitantly stepped out and spontaneously ran away screaming in terror, while another cop chased after him. The interrogating cop opened the back of the truck, and was blasted backward with powerful wind. Zaheer turned to his comrades.

"Let's get out of here!"

Using her water arms, Ming-Hua drove the truck away, while the police stayed hard on its tail. P'Li blew up one of them with her combustion, but the rest were able to avoid it, and kept on chasing the truck. Ghazan stood up and bended the rocks bellow, transforming it into lava which stopped the cops and the group escaped. They were now out of the city and well on their way to finding the Avatar.


(~)


Back to Zaofu, Bolin was casually whistling as he snuck beside a pedestal with a meteorite. His eyes scanned the area, making sure no one was watching. He then took the meteorite from its pedestal and attempted to bend it, grunting and grinding his teeth as he did.

"Hey, Bolin."

The sound of Opal's voice made Bolin jump in shock, he turned and hid the meteorite behind his back. "Opal! Oh, wow, you ... really know how to sneak up on someone."

"What are you doing?"

As he tried to come up with a good lie, Bolin attempted to place the meteorite back on its pedestal from behind him. "Oh nothing, you know, just… just thinking about my body and mustaches that I might have in the future." the meteorite fell off the pedestal.

"You're acting weird again." Opal said, arching an eyebrow.

"Sorry. I wasn't really thinking about all my mustaches. I'm just frustrated. I've been trying to metalbend and I can't figure it out. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because it's embarrassing. This isn't the first time I've tried, and I've been wanting to metalbend ever since I heard about Toph. Your grandmother is my biggest hero!"

Opal walked over and placed her hand on Bolin's shoulder. "My mom grew up learning from Toph. Just go train with her. Stop being so scared."

"You know what? Maybe I am scared. But what about you? I know that you want to go to the Northern Air Temple to train with Tenzin, but you haven't done it, because you're afraid too!"

Opal turned away, overlooking the rest of the city before her. "You know what? You're right. I don't want to leave my family and disappoint my mom."

Bolin then smiled and nudged her arm. "Look at us! Talking about our feelings, supporting each other."

"It's nice."

The two then embraced in a warm and loving hug, both looking out at the city. But not everyone was enjoying the moment, for a certain raven-haired young woman watched from afar and though she could not entirely explain why, she felt a real burning unsatisfying feeling in her stomach.

Just what was happening here?


(~)


Lin and Luna now stood inside a police office…her mother's office. There she saw her younger self and her younger sister glaring at each other. Lin had a bandage over her cheek where her scars would soon emit from. Before them stood their mother, Toph. She was exactly as depicted in her pictures and statues; a woman with dark hair styled into a big bun with strands of uneven bangs hanging down from her forehead as well as the sides of her face. She wore the same police uniform as she did in the statue outside of Police Headquarters in Republic City and her eyes were misty, a sure sign she was blind. Over the years, she had grown more wrinkles and had more worry lines and bangs under her eyes, signaling her years of fighting crime would soon come to an end.

She spoke angrily to her two daughters. "What were you thinking?" she said to her youngest, followed by her eldest. "And what were you thinking? You two have put me in an impossible position."

"You're mad at me? She's the one who was running around with criminals!"

"This is all your fault!"

"I was doing my job!"

"All right, enough!" Toph sighed before speaking once again. "Here's what we're going to do. Su, you need to leave the city as soon as possible."

Su was shocked by this, "What?! Where am I supposed to go?"

"You'll go stay with your grandparents. Lin, give me the arrest report."

Lin obeyed and gave the papers to her mother. To her shock and horror, Toph ripped the papers apart.

"Mom, what are you doing?! You can't cover this up! There were witnesses."

"I'm the Chief of Police! I can't have a daughter in jail!"

"So, once again, Su gets to do whatever she wants and there are no consequences."

Toph sat down and placed her head in her hands. "This is the only option."

Lin could take no more. She opened her eyes, she was no longer dreaming but now wide awake. She slowly sat up as Princess Luna handed her a glass of water. The woman took the glass and drank it, the cold liquid sledding down her throat. Luna sat beside her on the bed, looking down on her with sympathy. Lin still felt a little weak.

"The effects might leave you a bit fragile for a while, especially from when you previously interrupted it. It is probably best if you take it easy for a while."

But Lin, as stubborn as always, ignored her and got up. "I don't need to rest. I need to do something I should've done a long time ago."

"Lin, please. I understand how upset you are with reliving your past, but you mustn't push yourself."

"I'm fine. I need to talk with my sister."

Luna couldn't do much, Lin had made her choice.


(~)


The rest of the Mane Six, along with Mako came by to watch Korra and Applejack's progress. The Avatar managed to bend the meteorite into various perfect shapes. Applejack had finally managed to bend her meteorite into a few objects, but they were not as neat and clean cut as Korra's, but surprisingly, the pony wasn't ashamed of it. The ponies happily clapped for their progress while Fluttershy placed a hand on Applejack's shoulder.

"Don't feel sad, Applejack."

The country pony simply shrugged. "Eh, it's fine. Guess I'm just more in tune with good old fashioned earth. But it was fun learning to metalbend."

"You're really better than I thought, A.J." Korra said proudly.

"Well, not half as good as you apparently. Still, I wouldn't mind to keep practicin'. Who knows, maybe I'll fully get it eventually."

"I'm sure you will." Korra was taken by surprise when her boyfriend kissed her cheek.

"You did great, honey."

"Congratulations. You're the first metalbending Avatar." Su said proudly.

"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot." Korra took something from her pocket and handed them to Rarity. The unicorn gasped in awe; Korra had made her a pair of meteorite earrings styled in the shape of her cutie mark; three diamond designed into a triangle. "These are for you, Rare."

The unicorn graciously accepted the generous gifts. "They're beautiful! Thank you Korra, you're always so thoughtful to me."

Then, a certain young earthbender walked up to them, his hands were behind his back and he couldn't bare to look directly at them.

"Hey, bro!" Mako greeted, his brother waved back.

"Hey. So, umm, I've been thinking, and I'd like to try to learn metalbending." he said to Su. "I mean, I'm sure you have a waiting list or something of a couple years so."

Su smiled as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get started."

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's tail began to twitch. "Um, guys, you'll might want to--"

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground cracked beneath them and a meteorite fell from its pedestal and broke. The group saw a panting and sweating Lin. They had never seen her look this angry…or this exhausted.

"Never mind." said Pinkie, even she was stunned to see Lin like this.

"I think Lin is mad about something." Bolin said, somewhat nervously.

"Su, it's time we talk."

Su placed he'd hands behind her back, calmly speaking to her sister. "After thirty years, you're finally ready to talk?"

"Okay, maybe it's best if we backed away a bit." Mako said, as he led both his girlfriend and a fearful Fluttershy further away from the two sisters as Lin spoke angrily.

"When we were in Mom's office that day, you could've taken responsibility for what you did. But instead, you stayed quiet and let Mom throw her whole career away."

"Mom didn't throw her career away. She retired the next year. She was a hero."

"You think she wanted to retire? She was so guilt-ridden about what she did to protect you that she didn't feel worthy of her badge."

"Look, I admit that I was not a perfect kid and I've made some mistakes in the past but-"

Lin scoffed at this. "You made some mistakes?"

Su understood why her sister was upset but even so she still felt deeply hurt. "Lin, Mom and I already talked about this years ago and worked things out. If you had gotten together with us like we'd asked, you would know that I'm a different person now. I've been a different person for a long time."

"You think that just because you live in a big, fancy house, and have a chef who cooks you fancy food, that you're a different person? Maybe you could fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. I see right through you."

Su's heart ached at her words. Her own sister was still as pigheaded as ever, she hadn't learned anything in her life. Now it was Su's turn to be angry. "You know what, Lin? You're the one who hasn't changed. You're still a bitter loner who only cares about herself. No wonder Tenzin ended things with you years ago."

The Ponies all gasped in shock! Pinkie Pie waved her index finger in a disapproving manner, "Oh, no she didn't!"

Out of pure furry, Lin bended a rock towards her sister, which she deflect using her wrist. "Okay, I guess this is how it's going to be."

Su tripped Lin with a fissure, before knocking her off with a meteorite. Lin got back up and earthbended a staircase, while Su metalbended a metal panel. The sisters where now in a full on metalbending battle, and neither one was holding back. Despite her week state, Lin gave it her all. There was no way she was going to let her sister get away with this, not just with that Tenzin remark but what she had done to their mother. She made a selfish and stupid mistake in the past, and now she had to suffer the consequences, even if Lin herself would have to be the one to deliver it.

Su bended the panel toward Lin, which she evaded by using a backflip. Lin then earthbended many fragments of small rocks towards Su, who evaded the attacks by weaving through. Korra, Mako, Bolin and the ponies all stood by the side, unsure on what to do, while Bolin was perfectly calm. Fluttershy flinched every time either one of the sisters threw something at the other.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Korra asked.

Bolin shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have any siblings, fighting is all part of the healing process."

"Well that's one heck of a process." said Applejack.

"My money's on Lin." Rainbow Dash whispered to A.J's ear.

The fight scene carried on with Lin earthbending four rocks toward Su, which she dodged with a cartwheel. Then, her husband Baatar, Huan, and the twins ran to a pavilion, witnessing their mother and wife battling it out with her sister. Wei shouldered Wing to the side to get a better view and waved his fist into the air.

"Go Mom!"

The two of them continued to fight, each becoming more and more determined with taking the other out. Fluttershy covered her eyes with Bolin's shoulder. "I can't look."

Lin then metalbended one of Huan's Harmonic Convergence sculpture from the plaza, one of which he did not improve yet, and threw it at Su, which she deflected and smashed it into a metal wall. Huan watched in alarm. "My sculpture!" he dashed over to survey the damage. "Actually, it looks ... kinda better now."

Su metalbended three metal panels towards Lin, which she then deflected and began to earthbend rocks from beneath Su. The eldest sister earthbended a large boulder towards her littler sister and she in defense used a part of the metal wall to shield herself before deflecting it out, which knocked Lin into the pavilion nearby. She grunted and sneered at her sister.

"You've got it out of your system?"

"Not quite yet!"

Lin quickly got back up and earthbended a part of the staircase leading to the pavilion, while Su earthbended a boulder from the ground. The two of them began to charge at each other, but their ammo was then blown away by a gust of wind from which Opal blew from both her hands. The young woman had jumped in between her mother and aunt to stop the pointless fighting. She yelled at them both,

"What are you two doing! You're sisters! Why would you want to hurt each other?"

All of Su's frustration left her system as she and Lin panted in exhaustion. Suddenly, Lin's vision became hazy, her sister and niece looked blurry and she couldn't make them out. Before long, everything went black and Lin lost the feeling in her legs. She began to fall to the ground, but Korra managed to slide over, saving her head from hitting the ground. Mako kneeled down to examine his boss.

"She's okay, she just fainted."

"She looks so exhausted." said Rarity with concern.

Then, Huan and the twins gasped at the sight of Princess Luna. Even though they had already seen her, her presence was still a breathtaking sight. Mako and the girls cleared the path as the moon princess approached the exhausted chief of police. Her horn glowed as she levitated Lin's unconscious body with her magical sparkly aura.

"I shall take Lin to her room. I will see to it she receives enough bed rest." her eyes then shifted to Sun, scowling in disapproval. "I believe one of you has a lot to think about."

As she levitated the sick Lin back to her guesthouse, Su looked downcast in regret. How could she have let her anger get the better of her like that?


(~)


After a few hours, Lin finally woke up. Her vision cleared up as she saw Luna watching over her. Her beautiful teal eyes looked stoic and mysterious and Lin knew why. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"You are forgiven."

"I need to know…why did you want me to relive all of those moments?"

"I believe the best pony who could answer that…" Luna's horn magically glowed, only this time instead of its usual blueish color, it was bright gold, it shot a pale yellow ray to the floor like a projector, and from the light, appeared a transparent image of a certain white alicorn. "..is my sister."

Lin slowly sat up from her bed. "Princess Celestia? But how?"

"This is how Luna and I have been keeping in touch with one another." said the eldest alicorn. "She has told me what happened. And I can relate."

Lin's eye widened in surprise. "You can?"

"Lin, I understand what it's like to have a sister who is, well, not always easy to get along with at times." she sent her sister an apologetic look, for which she simply smiled. "After I imprisoned her, for years, I blamed myself for not realizing just how much she needed me before. I was blinded by my own problems and my own responsibilities to notice. I realized I should have done more to help her from meeting the fate she did. I should have been a better sister."

Lin felt her eyes swell up with tears. Everything Celestia said perfectly reflected what happened with herself and Su. Maybe if she had been a better sister then Su wouldn't have turned out the way she did.

"I wanted so badly to please my mother that I never realized how much Su really needed me. She was right, I did only care about myself. And while I was angry with her for what happened, I guess part of that anger was aimed at me for not being there enough. How could I have been so blind?"

Celestia simply smiled kindly. "One of the best ways to fix your mistakes, is admitting them."

"That's not always easy for me."

"We've noticed." Celestia said with a slight chuckle.

"I've been so stuck in the past I never gave Su a chance to show me she changed. And she has." Suddenly, to Lin's surprise…Luna waked her upside the head. "OW! What was that for?!"

"It doesn't matter, it's in the past now." Luna said with a cheeky smile and Lin rubbed her head.

"Yeah, but it still hurts."

"True, things from the past can hurt." Celestia said, "But you have a choice; you and either run from it…or learn from it."

Luna attempted to whack Lin once more, only to have her grab her wrist.

"You see?"

Lin released the princess's wrist and smiled. "Thank you. Both of you."

"Get some rest now. You've been through quite an event."

"I will."

Luna and the hologram Celestia exited Lin's guesthouse. "Thank you, sister." Luna said.

"Anytime Luna."

"How are you and mother?"

"Mother had to return home to keep an eye on Canterlot. I will be assisting Tonraq and Lord Zuko and I will inform her on any news about their whereabouts. Be safe, little sister."

"You as well."


(~)


Hours passed, and Lin had yet to leave her room. Luna informed the others she simply needed some rest, that's all she said, but even so, they couldn't help but worry. Korra, Mako and Bolin stood outside of her quarters, unsure on what to do.

"Uhh, Whose going to knock?" Korra asked…she then pushed Bolin closer to the door and he quickly backed away.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Not me! You're the Avatar, why can't you do it?"

"Uhh, I can. But I just thought that …"

Mako rolled his eyes and walked to the door. "I'll do it." he confidently knocked on the door, but after he did he slowly started to regret it. He leaned in closer to see if he could hear any noises from inside and asked his boss if she was alright, though there was a tint of fear and nervousness in his voice. "Uhh, Chief, you've been sleeping for sixteen hours. We just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

Then, the door opened and Mako fell down. He looked up see his boss…who was now in Metal Clan attire. She yawned and stretched her arms before walking over Mako, smiling cheerfully at Korra and Bolin as she walked out.

"Good morning."

Korra and Bolin looked surprised after what happened before and Mako got back on his feet, equally surprised. "You guys saw that too, right?"

"Uh-hu."


(~)


Lin was now in the dinning area, where the chef placed a green colored rink before her. She looked down on it. "What's this?"

"I call it the kale nutsco. It's a mixture of kale coconut water and walnuts."

Lin took the drink and took a small sip. Seeing it was actually really good, she drank the whole thing. "Not bad!" then, she spotted her niece Opal standing by the door. The young girl began to walk away, leaving her aunt alone, until, to her surprise, she called out for her.

"Opal, don't go. Please sit down, I want to talk to you."

Opal was quite surprised by this sudden change in character. She did not hesitate to approach her aunt and sat beside her, though she did her best to not show or feel any enthusiasm. She would not get her hopes up for a heart-to-heart moment with Lin. Lin began talking, doing her best to find the right words to say. This was all pretty new to her.

"Look, I'm just not really comfortable talking about these kinds of things, and ... well, I wanted to say that I'm sorry about the other night."

"It's okay."

"Your mother and I have a complicated relationship and …"

"It's probably difficult for you to be here."

Lin smiled at her niece, a genuine sweet, kind and loving smile. "You're a smart young woman, and an excellent airbender. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to train with the other airbenders at the Northern Air Temple."

"There's a part of me that wants to go, but ... I don't want to upset my mom."

Lin could relate. "When I was younger, all I wanted to do was please my mother. I became a police chief because I thought it would make her happy ... but it didn't. You need to make your decisions based on what you want. Don't make the same mistakes as I did."

Opal heart swelled up with so much happiness, her aunt was actually speaking to her and supporting her. She didn't care that she yelled at her before, she was just happy to have her part of her family. She wrapped her arms around Lin, hugging her. Lin returned the hug, feeling all the love and forgiveness that came with it. By the door, she saw Princess Luna, smiling and winking.


(~)


Lin now stood before another statue of her mother, unlike the one in Republic City, this one was more elegant and showed off her mother's calm and composed side. She heard footsteps and saw he sister approaching.

"Opal has decided to go to the Northern Air Temple. I guess you had something to do with her decision."

"Well, I was just …"

"It's okay. I'm glad she was honest with me. I want her to do what makes her happy. Mom gave us too much freedom, but I feel like I made the mistake of giving Opal too little. I think it's about time I let her choose her own way. I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time when we were younger. I can't imagine what my life would've been like if Mom hadn't sent me away, if I had stayed in the city …"

"You'd probably be in prison." Lin said half-jokingly, making Su giggle.

"You're probably right."

"But you know, maybe if I were a better sister and had been there for you when you needed me, things could have turned out differently. Can you…forgive me?"

"Of course I do. Mako told me that you're an excellent police chief. Republic City is lucky to have you. I know Mom is proud."

Lin looked up at Toph's statue. She really would be proud. Lin smiled at her sister.

"Can we move on? I'd love for you to be part of my life again. There's plenty of space in the house, and the kids would love having their aunt around. I do need a new co-director for my new dance performance."

"Whoa! Slow it down. How about for now, I just promise not to show up at your house and attack you again?"

"Deal!"

The two sisters shook hands as they smiled. After Thirty years, a sisterly bond was rekindled.


(~)


Korra and Mako sat together in the gardens, he strum on his father's guitar while Korra sat calmly beside him listening in silence, simply enjoying the other's company, along with their trio of spirits. They were surprised to see a happier and more relaxed Lin approach them.

"Korra, I was wondering if…do you think, that…I could maybe…write something on that friendship journal you and the girls have?"

The Princess Avatar smiled as the star on her forehead began to glow, and the journal manifested right before Lin, placing it in her hands. In her room, she started writing, all the while the ponies and Team Avatar played in the yard as she observed through her window.

"My time in Zaofu really has been a life-changing experience. I got to see my long-lost sister again, though our reunion wasn't exactly the best. But after some helpful advice from some wise friends, I realized that whatever happened between us in the past should never come between what we could have in the future. Just because someone made a mistake it doesn't mean they should always pay for it. I've learned that people really can change, especially if you give them the chance to. Who knows, you might even find a change in yourself along the way."

(~)

But while things were becoming much more tranquil and happy in Zaofu, a certain group of criminals gathered together around a campfire. Three of them sat by the fire while their leader sat cross-legged a few feet away, meditating.

"We should've grabbed one of those cops." said Ming-Hua. "Maybe they know something about where the Avatar is hiding."

"She could be anywhere." said Ghazan.

"We'll find her." P'Li said, looking towards her boyfriend. "It's just a matter of time."

Zaheer finally opened his eyes and spoke.

"She's with the Metal Clan."

(~)