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Psalm 34:17-18 ~
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
*(~)*

Finding the Truth.

In Katara's healing hut, Korra dejectedly stared down the parallel bars while Katara sat on a chair, sipping tea to her right, Naga plopped down at the end of the bars. The elderly woman lowered her cup, "Whenever you're ready."

Korra sighed hopelessly, "What's the point? We've been at this for almost six months, and I can still barely take a couple of steps without collapsing!"

At that very moment, Korra's patience had finally reached it's boiling point. She turned her head to the old woman, her eyes flaring and her voice rising.

"Of course I'm frustrated! A crazy man poisoned me, I burned my best friend, I barely survived and according to everyone else I should be okay by now but I'm not! I can't dress myself, or cook for myself, o-or do anything for myself! And this whole time, my friends have been off helping the world, living their lives while I'm stuck with you, and you can't even heal me!"

Katara simply stood there saying nothing, she only looked at Korra with a blank expression. Korra's flash of anger broke, and she realized what she had said. She quickly turning away from Katara's as she buried her face in her hand in shame and regret.

Katara set down her teacup and stood up, walking over to Korra. "It's, all right, let you anger and frustration flow like water."

Korra didn't even look at Katara, keeping her face buried into her hands. "I am trying to understand why this happened to me. Nothing makes any sense!" the Avatar leaned back on her chair, her eyes were pale blue, lacking in any shine or glow. Not even the captivating rainbow colors danced in them. She looked so…lifeless. "I'm tired, Katara. I'm so tired."

Katara kneeled in front of Korra, looking into her pale eyes. "Korra, I know you feel alone right now. But you're not the first Avatar who's had to overcome great suffering. Can you imagine how much pain Aang felt when he found out that his entire culture was taken from him?"

The young woman's eyes fell on her lap. She had heard stories about how the air nation was destroyed by the Fire Nation. She never really took the time to think about how Aang felt when that happened. "That ... must have been so awful."

"But he never let it destroy his spirit." hearing these words, Korra looked up at Katara as she continued, "He chose to find meaning in his suffering, and eventually ... found peace."

The elderly woman held Korra's hand tightly as she began to sing softly with a kind and warm voice. She sang a song that reminded her of her own past, her failures and achievements, and she hoped it would encourage Korra as well.

Having been inspired by Katara's melody, Korra decided to try again. With closed eyes, her hands grasped the bars for support as Katara stood next to her and Naga sat up at the bars' end. Her head perking up as Korra made an effort to move.

Korra struggled to stay upright, but she kept her eyes closed as she responded. "Yes."

Korra braced herself against the pain, then, slowly, she inched her right foot forward, placing it on the ground in front of her. She took another step, then another, and then another. As she took her sixth step, she inadvertently took her hand off one of the bars, and she stumbled. Fighting to stay on her feet, she forced herself back upright, taking the final few steps and stumbling over to Naga, in triumphant. She smiled, relieved as she embraced her beloved polar bear dog, who nuzzled her head against her back. Korra couldn't believe it. She did it, she got herself to walk. But once she stepped away from Naga, trying her best to stay up for a few more moments, something happened.

The memory of Twilight's Sparkle's screams of pain from when Korra had burned her.

Suddenly, Korra felt a pain in her heart which was immediately transferred to her legs. They felt as if they had never stood up on their own and she collapsed. Korra couldn't believe it, she had felt her strength again, and now it was gone. Just like that. It was almost as if the very guilt of her past had cast a spell on her lower body, enabling to her to stand up or feel her legs at all. Naga whimpered and Korra buried her face into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I can't even levitate anything anymore. I can't make any magic at all, it's been that way for weeks now. I never told you before because I was ashamed. I don't know what else to do. I can't bend, I can't walk or fly or do magic I…I can't do anything."

The Avatar buried her face into her arms once again, not even bothering to get up at all. What was the point anyway? It was pretty clear that she may not ever get better. But Katara was never one to give up hope. The woman walked towards the stand where the lamp stood and opened up a drawer. Korra rose up her head when she saw Katara place a wooden box before her.

"Something from your past. I've kept them safe for when you were ready. And I believe you are ready now."

Korra looked at the object in curiosity. Why would Katara give her an old wooden box anyway? And just what did it contain that could help her with what she was going through.

The unicorn pony landed onto the ground with a thumb, his eyes were now pale and lacking in color and his cutie mark was gone. Tirek had taken yet another victim in his clutches. His body emitted a frightening yellow glow as dark lightning surrounded his body which grew more in size, the magic taking its toll on his body. He missed this feeling. The feeling of power. He wanted more. He needed more. Lucky for him, he spotted yet another unicorn pony at the very end of an alleyway. It was grey with a black mane and tail with what appeared to be a tornado cutie mark and its horn was abnormally colored blue with stripes. The horn emitted a magical aura as he was closing a box. Tirek slowly approached the pony, reaching out his red colored hands to his neck, until…

The unicorn's head turned around to face the dark master, only to turn into the face of Discord himself. Tirek lowered his defenses and immediately recognized the creature.

"As a bird." Discord turned into a bird version of himself to emphasize the phrase.

Discord returned to his normal form and looked at Tirek in a disapproving manner, "I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual." with a snap of his fingers Tirek suddenly felt something heavy on his wrists. The spirit of chaos had chained his shackles together once more. The dark lord tried to break free but to no avail. At the top of his head stood a pair of little horns, and from them appeared a red/yellow spear with black lightning as he unleashed a ray at Discord. His face literarily 'split' apart before reconnecting again, dodging the attack.

Discord was now wearing a police officer's unicorn while twirling a baton. "Oh, I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for my friends." he leaned in closer to Tirek and whispered, "Just between the two of us, it's mostly for Fluttershy." he squealed and Tirek looked at him with a confused and surprised expression.

A large colorful birthday cake appeared out of nowhere and Discord jumped out shouting; "Surprise!"

Some of the frosting landed on Tirek, who wiped it out of his robe. "I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment." he showed him the shackles to emphasize his point. "Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces."

Discord now had a halo while playing the hard. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly threw the harp away, but forgot to remove the halo. "I have done nothing of the sort!" once he remembered the halo, he shoed it away with his chicken hand.

"Oh, please, I've seen this before. But he was always weak minded." Tirek knew that he could not gain all of the magic in Equestria alone. He needed someone to help him speed up the process before those princesses got to him first. And who better than the lord and master of chaos himself? Tirek placed his plan in motion, motivating Discord to join his side.

"You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother! Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship." His eyes glowed yellow as he said; "Freedom."

Discord was taken a back by this. Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel as free as he once did ever since he became friends with the ponies. Well, more so with Fluttershy. He knew he had to keep his powers to a minimum and to not let his dark urges overpower him. The idea of returning to his old ways was tempting.

"Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world."

As Discord pondered, a desk drawer with a lamp of himself and a picture of him and Fluttershy floated beside him. He thought about Tirek's offer, but to be honest, he did not need to think for very long.

While everyone else was looking in different books, Mako's nose was deep in the journal. He read every story that the Mane Six wrote very carefully, analyzing them and discovering some surprising discoveries. A smile appeared on his face once he was now one hundred percent sure he had found exactly what they may have been looking for.

"I've been reading this journal, and there's something interesting about the sections that Discord bookmarked." placing the book on the desk, he scanned his index finger over the page that was marked with an orange colored ribbon. "Applejack, do you remember when you had to tell everypony that the tonic Granny bought from the Flim Flam brothers didn't really work?"

The country pony replayed the memory in her mind. The Flim Flam brothers had managed to trick the townsfolk of Ponyville into believing a tonic they made could cure Granny Smith's back and make her young again. But Applejack knew the truth, and even thought she knew it was going to hurt some ponies' feelings, the truth needed to be said.

"And in that moment, I knew I had to be honest. I just knew it. But what's that got to do with openin' the chest?"

Much to the surprise of many, Mako maintained a smile on his face as he continued to explain his theory. His amber eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke. A certain sparkle they always saw in the eyes of their beloved Avatar friend.

"As I read these stories, I've found out that they all followed a similar pattern. Each of you ponies had to face a situation where living up to the Element of Harmony you represent wasn't easy." Mako flipped the page, landing on one with a yellow ribbon bookmark. "Fluttershy, it was when you realized that the way to show kindness to the Breezies was by forcing them to leave your home."

Fluttershy's expression shifted to one of sadness and regret as she recalled the moment in time. "Oh, the looks on their poor little faces!" It truly was hard for her. All she wanted to do was be kind to them. But by being too kind, she was preventing them from getting back home. She needed to be firm and do what was right, even if it was hard. Her expression then softened and she smiled, "But I knew that, as difficult as it was, pushing them away was the kindest thing I could do."

Mako flipped the page, landing on the unicorn's story. "Rarity, even after Suri took advantage of your generosity at Fashion Week in Manehattan, you didn't let it cause you to abandon your generous spirit."

"I simply couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't do something special for the friends who have always been so generous to me!"

Mako landed on Rainbow's page. "Rainbow Dash, you had the chance to fly with the Wonderbolts at the Equestria Games, but instead you chose to compete with your friends."

Mako landed on Pinkie's page, "Pinkie Pie, you realized that seeing your friend laugh was more important than proving you were a better party planner than Cheese Sandwich."

Rainbow Dash smiled as she placed a hoof around Pinkie Pie. "Best party I've ever had."

Mako then landed on one last page, one that was marked in a cyan colored ribbon. This story was the very last entry. "And when Korra showed Raiko that spirits and humans could learn to live together by working on a compromise. She got that bracelet afterwords as a thank you gift."

Rarity smiled at her friends, "It's clear we've all had our moments to shine, Mako, but I'm with Applejack. What does any of this have to do with the opening of the chest?"

"More than you know. All of you had tough choices to make. But when you made the right one and embraced your element, it helped somebody else make the right choice too. Each of you received something from the one who's life you helped change. Rarity got a spool from Coco, Rainbow Dash received a Wonderbolts pin from Spitfire, Pinkie Pie received that rubber chicken from Cheese Sandwhich, Fluttershy got a flower from the Breezies and Applejack got a bit from Silver Shill."

Bolin tapped his chin in throughout, "That's great and all but, how is that anything to go on?"

"If there is anything I learned about magic is that it doesn't always happen just by chance. I know it sounds crazy, but maybe, just maybe, there's something special about those objects that could lead us to the location of the keys."

"That's kind a pretty big if, Mako." said Asami, "But I guess it could be possible."

"I'm sure it is. The chest is connected to the Tree of Harmony, which is connected to the Elements, which are connected to all of you and Korra is technically the original embodiment of the Elements you share. After everything that's happened to you girls in the past, it wouldn't make sense for there not to be a connection. I hate to admit it, but maybe Discord was trying to be a good friend after all."

Korra continued looking through the box of items. All she could find were silly drawings made from a child and some mold sculptures she had made when she was little. The Avatar simply groaned and buried her face into her hands. Naga whimpered sadly.

"I don't get why Katara gave me this junk? It's nothing but a bunch of clay sculptures and silly little doodles. And not the best I've seen." Naga whimpered once again. "Hey, I was five, art was never really my strong suit. I'm not an artist like---" as she placed the papers back into the box, she noticed something about one of the drawings. In one paper, it almost looked like the top part of a triangle, and another was drawn on another scrubbily paper, only upside-down, and it seemed like there was a smaller triangle shape inside.

The young Avatar placed the two pieces of paper together, matching the triangle shapes...what she got startled her. The so called 'drawings' were actually a whole bunch of things drawn over one another. "Naga, I need a pen." she said. The beast took the pen from Korra's nightstand and placed it in her hand. She began tracing over the images she saw, as she looked closer she could see shapes. It was like a game of 'find it'. Among the wobbly lines and random objects drawn in, Korra squinted her eyes…then, as if by magic, the image became clear…Three diamonds.

The Avatar began searching for more papers, finding anything that made them match, she would sometimes place the papers upside-down or sideways over or under another piece of paper, finding lines that connected each and every single one together.

The next result, she saw butterflies, which reminded her of Fluttershy. She tried again, this time finding the images of both an Apple and a ballon. Again, she saw a cloud with a lightning bolt, and in another try, she got a six inch star…along with the image of a sun and moon.

With each new find, Korra's heart raced and her mind was working overtime, completely overshadowing her memories of Zaheer and her traumatic experience. She could not believe what she was finding, was this a coincidence? Was this all in her head as well?

Then, she noticed the clayed model she had made all those years ago. It almost looked like…a tree. Korra looked down on it as her mind once again worked hard in finding a match for the silhouette.

The Avatar gasped and threw the object which landed on the floor. Korra's head was pounding, this could not be a coincidence, she knew that now. However, there was one last thing in the box…a journal.

She arched an eyebrow in curiosity. She never kept a journal before. With a shaking hand, she reached for it and flipped through the pages. The handwriting was neat and clean, which reminded her of her kind-hearted waterbending master. Her blue eyes scanned the pages as she read the words out loud;

"It's only been a couple of weeks since Korra came into out custody. She's such a strong and spirited little one, I can't help but see Aang inside of her. She's clearly his reincarnation, I have no doubt. However, when I look into her eyes, I see something else…something I used to see in Aang's eyes too, only with Korra it seems…stronger somehow. I don't know what's going to happen but I have a very firm belief that Korra is going to change the world in ways even I can't imagine. I know it sounds crazy, but this child somehow brings out the dreamer in me."

Korra flipped through the pages once more, landing on a page which Katara wrote about a year latter.

"Ever since Korra arrived she had told me about these dreams she's been having. Dreams of rainbows and sparkling flowers. At first I believed they were just typical little girl dreams, but I knew Korra was not the kind of girl who liked that kind of girly stuff. Every day she would enthusiastically tell me about the dreams, different each time but still similar. The first night, she dreamt of something she described as, a sonic boom creating….a rainbow."

Korra's eyes widened as the memory of Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom replayed in her mind. She gasped in shock but continued to read. Her heart pounding once more.

"Next, she said she dreamed of a castle high on the side of a mountain, with a waterfall streaming down. The roofs were decorated with gold, and a creature with wings as white as snow, soaring through the clouds, rising up along with the sun as well as another singing beautifully at the moon with wings as dark as night."

"She began drawing her dreams on paper, however art doesn't appear to be her special skill. The Order did not believe this was healthy for her, saying she was focusing more on these fantasies than her training. I thought it was harmless fun and she needed to behave like a normal kid…but they did not listen to me. One night, Korra woke up screaming, her eyes wide in fear and sweat streaming down her brows. I held her in my arms as she sobbed and told me what had frightened her. She described seeing a large dark creature with…with long, thin, black tentacles and red markings."

The memory of Vaatu and Unalaq fusing together replayed in her mind. How was any of this possible?

"But the strangest thing was that, near her bed, I found a feather. Same color as her skin, tinted with blue. To this day, I never knew how it got there. Ever since, Korra had decided to focus solely on her Avatar training. Eventually the dreams stopped, and in time she had begun to forget she ever had them. I still keep her drawings in this box in hopes one day she can remember that while she may be the Avatar, she is still that same happy, spirited little child I saw when she first walked though the door. To some she might be just the Avatar, but to me…she is a gift."

A single tear escaped her eye and she flipped through the pages again, reaching the last page of the journal.

"Korra is seventeen now, it feels like only yesterday she was this little girl who I held in my arms. Even though she is not my child, I still see her that way. I am ashamed to have ever said she was Aang. Granted, they share so many similarities, but I never should have compared them to begin with. They may be connected, but Korra is her own person. She is so enthusiastic and full of life, she makes me forget of my sorrows. She has been a wonder to have in my life and now the time has come for her to leave. I know I will miss her, but one of the many things I have learned in my lifetime, is that in order to grow, there are some things you need to let go. I pray Korra will find her own path as the Avatar. Even after all of this time, I still believe she is destined to make a change in one's life, just as she did for me. I believe that is her purpose. For now, I will keep this journal in this box of her memories, hopefully some light from her past will one day help her overcome any future darkness she will encounter. I could tell her all of this upfront, but over the years I found it easier for me to write things down rather than just say them. She will know all of this when the time is right. Of this I am sure.

On the very last page of the book, Korra's eyes winded once more…tapped on the back corner, was a light brown colored feather with blue tips. Korra removed it from the book and looked at it. As the light from the sun entered her room, it hit the feather, emitting a rainbow-like glow…the same glow Korra has seen hundreds of times.

Everything she had just discovered dawned on her like a tidal wave. Suddenly, Korra gasped, and without even realizing it, her eyes began to glow white.

She saw her past, her young self happily informing Katara about her latest dream, her drawing them on the floor, her tongue sticking out as she concentrated. A White Lotus sentry removed the paper and crayons and told Korra she had to train, not draw. Then, the night when she had the nightmare, she screamed so loud it sounded like a Banshee. Then, her back briefly glowed, but Korra never knew about it. Katara rushed into the room and embraced the weeping child…as the feather landed on the floor. She saw herself training with her bending masters, while Katara placed her drawings and such into the box, tucking it away as the memory of what was inside it eventually faded from Korra's mind.

She saw images of the Mane Six's cutie marks, even Celestia and Luna's, The Tree of Harmony itself, Raava, Wan, the Mane Six first gaining the Elements of Harmony, when they arrived in Republic City, when she and they bonded upon first glance, her gaining the Elements of Harmony, her becoming the seventh, her times in Equestria, her bonds with Mako, Asami, Bolin, Tenzin, his children, even Lin. Loosing Raava, gaining wings, uniting two worlds, learning from her mistakes, promising to help Twilight find her purpose, Zaheer poisoning her, Leilani guiding her to fight the poison itself, Twilight's Sparkle's burn, and finally the Air Nation returning.

Her eyes stopped glowing and Korra felt woozy. So woozy she literally fell off of her bed, landing on the floor.

Back at Air Temple Island, the now anthro ponies placed their objects on the table of the dinning room. They all looked at the objects curiously, the chest was right there beside them, and yet nothing was happening. There wasn't any strange magical rainbow laser light show or anything. Asami arched an eyebrow as she looked down at the objects; a spool with rainbow thread, a pin, a rubber chicken, a flower and a bit. There really wasn't anything special looking about them. Bolin was the first to speak, "Uhhh, shouldn't there be something happening like, I don't know, magical sparkles or rainbows?"

Asami turned to her detective friend, "Maybe your theory was wrong Mako. I don't see anything on them that would give us a clue as to where the keys might be. They're just... ordinary, everyday objects."

"Looks can be deceiving, Asami." said the firebender, repeating the same words his girlfriend once said.

Pinkie Pie took hold of the rubber chicken and began shaking it like she was strangling someone. "Come on, Boneless! Give us that key!" the chicken squeaked as she shook it with much anger and passion. Mako simply pinched the bridge of his nose.

Boneless squeaked and Mako and Asami ducked in cover when Pinkie threw the toy, which made contact with the chest, and both objects landed on the ground. Due to the lack of magical goings, Mako looked downcast.

To everyone's shock and amazement, the chest reverted back to its larger size, having been shrunken down before, and then, Boneless the rubber chicken was levitated upwards, becoming surrounded by a shimmering white glow. The glow then connected with another glow which emitted from one of the keyholes around the chest. Boneless spun around and began to take on a new shape. The rubber toy had disappeared and floating in its place was a key with a curve stem and a head shaped like three balloons similar to Pinkie Pie's cutie mark. The key was suddenly pulled towards the chest and only stopped glowing once it entered a keyhole. The friends all gasped in awe, but smiled once they realized that Mako was correct all along. The rest of the ponies placed their objects on top of the chest and they all began to float up high, surrounded by a magical glow.

Rarity's spool became a key with a head shaped like three overlapping diamond shapes, an angular stem, and a square bit.

The Wonderbolts pin became a key with a cloud-shaped head and a lightning bolt-shaped stem with a jagged bit at the tip.

Applejack's bit turned into a key shaped like an apple with an elongated stem and a leaf at the tip.

Fluttershy's flower became a key shaped like a butterfly, with a pointed tip and loop at the end of its stem.

Each key was colored on pure sterling gold. The keys each were placed inside various keyholes, and once they were all in place, the glow disappeared. P'Li was at a loss for words. She had never seen anything so…amazing before.

Even Asami was speechless, "I can't believe it. You were right after all Mako. You really do know a lot about magic."

Mako smiled cockily as he crossed his arms, "Well, I am dating a half-alicorn princess after all."

But then, Flash caught their attention, his voice sounding worried and confused, "Wait you guys, there's still two keys missing." indeed, only two keyholes remained empty. "Mako, did you bring the bracelet?"

The firebender took the silver bracelet from his pocket, showing it to everyone. "Good thing she forgot to take it with her." he gently placed it on the top of the chest….but nothing happened. There was no glow or anything. The others all looked at each other, silently asking the same question. Why was nothing happening. This bracelet should have been Korra's key of Unity. Mako shook his head in disbelief.

Mako took the bracelet into his hand, frowning. "Or maybe her bracelet isn't her key after all, which means we really do only have two keys missing."

Fluttershy lowered her ears sadly, "Oh, but I'm sure that if we've gotten our keys, Korra and Twilight have too."

"Let's think for a moment." Rarity began, "When have either one of the two completed a difficult magical task, and in doing so encouraged another to do the same?"

"With Korra there's been so many times in which she changed people's lives," Mako stated, "but I can't recall a specific moment when she did something like that. And if she did, she would have wrote about it in the journal."

Spike tried his best to lift his spirits, "Don't worry, Mako. I'm sure they will get their keys eventually. But first, we've got to figure out where Twilight is."

Applejack placed her knuckle near her china and pondered in thought, "If we know Twilight, it's matter how down she's felling, there ain't no way she would want to be that far away from her friends. Come on girls, let's find her."

Korra slowly sat up, panting and sweating. She saw everything, her past, her present, she saw it all. All she did was sit there, processing it all. The words Katara wrote replayed in her mind; In order to grow, there are some things you need to let go.

What precisely did she mean? Did she mean let go of who she used to be? The whole reason why Katara gave her the box was so she could see how she truly was in the past. A pure hearted, innocent child. But even so, Korra had changed so much since then, and yet there was something from her past, from her childhood, that actually served her some good here in the present. And she now knew what it was.

Long before she met the Mane Six, Korra still had a link to Equestria…and she had forgotten it for so long because she focused more on becoming the Avatar.

She and the Mane Six had been friends even before they met. She had a close connection to Equestria, even before she knew it existed. She had the magic within her even back then and didn't even know it. She took the small mirror that was near her desk and looked at her reflection. She was still Korra, but no longer the same Korra who had left the compound to go to Republic City. And yet, there was something familiar about her now. Something she had long lost and now was starting to regain.

During the fight with Zaheer she was fighting her powers, she thought it was just her Avatar Spirit, but really it was more than what she was fighting against. She was fighting against her alicorn powers. The powers she received when she accepted the Magic of Friendship, which was really all she had ever wanted. Even more than being the Avatar. The Avatar was her old self, the alicorn was her new self, the self she had been somewhat repressing while fighting the poison.

After everything she had faced, when she was in doubt, in pain and suffering, her friends were there. They helped her see the truth when she needed it most. She might have been depressed about what happened to her, and while space was needed, maybe she was getting too much of it. Maybe, once again, she was trying to fix things on her own.

Reliving all of those past moments, despite the hardships, she still had her friends. Her blessings. Even Twilight still cared for her after what happened. She forgave her, but Korra had yet to accept her forgiveness. They gave her unconditional love.

She even began to remember those colors she would always see; the colors of the Rainbow. The Rainbow that, in a lot of ways, guided her and her friends. Raava once said the Rainbow could guide someone if they truly believed in it and were wiling to listen. It felt....like an actual living presence.

Suddenly, as she lifted up her head, she saw someone standing before her. A woman the same age as her, her long brown hair down and her arms were chained standing at the very corner of the room. Her eyes were pale white and glowing. She slowly approached Korra, who looked at her with not a look of total fear, but a look as if this woman was a complete stranger to her, even though she knew exactly who she was.

Korra was looking at a manifestation of herself from when Zaheer had poisoned her. When she entered the Avatar State, nearly dying. And the very image that injured her friend. This manifestation was as embodiment of all she now feared; death, failure, and guilt. But, after reading all Katara had written down on the journal, Korra did not feel entirely threatened when she saw this image. Korra was still afraid, she did not know why this apparition was here or what it wanted. However, she did not move, nor did she make any attempt at approaching Korra at all. Korra remained frozen on the floor, her expression stern. Her eyes shifted to the little feather beside her, seeing the rainbow glow manifesting, which then in return manifested in her own eyes.

Korra then opened and closed her fists, creating a flame before diminishing it. The young woman looked at the image of her former self, then at her beloved polar bear dog who stood at the conner side of the room, completely unaware of the Korra doubleganger. With a look of pure determination, Korra used the bed in order to support her upper body and grunted as she struggled to get up. Her mind drifted to her friends, allowing their love, their compassion and their devotion to consume her. To fill her empty heart as she sang softly.

With all of her might, she made herself stand up, her legs wobbled but she strived forward. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself reaching out for Naga and continued to sing.

Korra kept her eyes closed, trying her hardest to imagine herself reaching towards Naga. As she did, she continued to sing from her heart.

As she sang, Korra could feel her legs gaining their strength back, she moved forward, her eyes now open and only on Naga. With a wide smile and teary eyes, she embraced her beloved animal companion who nuzzled against her back. Korra couldn't believe it.

She looked down at the feather on the floor, and magically levitated it towards herself as voices echoed in her head;

"The same Light that gives the Tree of Harmony its life, the Light that helped me and my friends save Equestria from NightMare Moon, the Light that brought us all together and helped you connect with each of the Elements of Harmony."

"You have the rainbow in your eyes. That's a sign you are destined for great things. The rainbow has always been a symbol of light and unity as well as a guidance."

The Rainbow did guide Korra and her friends. Everything she ever knew about herself in the past, had to be taken down in order for her to see her true colors and what she was meant to do. She had to go through so much lost to find what it was that she truly needed to become. This may not have been the path she originally envisioned for herself, but it sure was the one she was Destined to take.

Korra was done being what she believed others wanted. Iroh was right before, she was not two different beings, she was just one. The journal, the drawings and this one little feather was the proof.

Leilani was right. Her story was not over yet. She wasn't alone on this, no matter how much she thought she was. Her muscles may ace, her heart may feel heavy, but she was going to push onward, not to prove anything, not to showcase she was the Avatar, she would get up because now she knew she was supposed to.

She looked back at her double, only to find she was gone. Well, not exactly. Korra approached the window, and saw the manifestation, only now her eyes were no longer white, but their natural blue color, and she smiled, before fading from existence. Korra had a hunch this would not be the last she would see of this image, but for now she knew what this very moment meant.

For the first time in a long time, Korra opened up the doors of the compound, walking down the plate of stairs with Naga behind her, taking a slow step each time.

She looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds taking on the shape of the Mane Six.

She then saw the sun peaking in behind some clouds, and a rainbow manifested in the sky before her very eyes.

With a smile, Korra spread out her wings and at long last….she soared across the sky, taking in the freedom that came along with it.

She stopped for a moment, hovering over the clouds, seeing a rainbow shimmering before her eyes, giving her a sense of security and enlightenment. She now knew that everything was going to be okay. Hard, but okay. She closed her eyes as she clapped her hands close to her heart, thanking the Rainbow for its guidance.

The now completely physically healed alicorn flew across the skies and flew downwards towards the forest to where the portal was. Her electric blue eyes scanning the area as if searching for someone…or somepony.

At last, she found who she was looking for. With a flap of her wings, Korra lowered downwards, landing softly on the ground. She had only now started to walk so she wobbled a bit as she tried to maintain her balance. She stood only a few feet away from the spirit portal, surrounded by forest trees that remained reserved due to the spiritual energy. Beside the crater to where the shimmering portal stood laid a lump covered in a black blanket, which was in return covered in snow. Korra started to approach the thing, but she struggled to keep her balance. Her legs were strong but she had not walked in so long so she still needed a little practice. She found a stick laying on the snowy ground and picked it up, using it as support for her to continue on. She stopped right in front of the lump.

The lump's head jerked up and the creature shook off the snow off of her body and removed the dark colored hood she had on. The violet alicorn looked up at the Avatar, her bangs were a mess, her ears remained lowered, not perking up at all, almost as if they were stuck that way, and her leg, the one with the scar, was held up at all times. She couldn't even place it down without feeling hurt. Her purple eyes were pale and lifeless. Korra's eyes slightly widened at the sight. It was like looking into a mirror.

"Not really." Twilight looked down at Korra's legs. She did not show any physical signs of joy or surprise, but also no signs of resentment either. No emotion at all. "I see you can walk again. Congratulations."

Normally, Korra would feel sympathy for Twilight whenever she was feeling down, but this time, this time her attitude was beginning to make her feel kind of annoyed. "What happened to you? You've never been like this."

The alicorn did not respond, but instead she just sat there, resting her head on her legs as she laid down once again. Korra would not stand to see her friend like this.

"You managed to save yourself when I couldn't. You managed to do everything on your own while I just stood back like a helpless pony. I let you down. You've already done so much while I've done almost nothing."

Korra could relate to this. However, she knew that was not the only thing bothering her friend. "Twilight, I know exactly what you're going through. We both went through something…horrible and frightening and we're don't know what's going to happen from this point on. But we aren't helping ourselves by staying down like this."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not myself. No matter how many times I try I can still see his face, feel Ghazan and Ming-Hua beating me." she remained silent for a moment, not wanting to mention the rest of the experience, "I'm so tired of feeling this way. There are times in which I just want to crawl up and--"

"No!" Korra refused to allow the alicorn to speak in such a way. "Don't you ever say anything like that! Ever! Do you hear me!"

Twilight was a bit startled by this, but her face remained expressionless. "…Why?…Why did this have to happen to me? Why did they have to be that way? Why did they take pleasure in hurting us? I faced a lot of foes, but none of them have hurt me the way they did. It was like my life didn't even matter...nothing makes sense to me anymore."

At that moment, it was like REALLY looking into a mirror. Twilight had gone through basically the same thing Korra had. Maybe not so much the poisoning, but she was beaten, abused and burned by a person she cared most about. She wanted to help, but found she couldn't. The pony was born and raised in an almost utopian world, and now, it was as if her innocence was taken from her. And that broke Korra's heart. There was someone else suffering just as she was, and she was far too busy pitying herself to notice. All of a sudden, her own problems didn't seem to be the only thing that mattered now. Korra did want to get better, but even more so, she wanted Twilight to get better. Seeing her best friend like this was more painful than anything else. She sat down beside her friend.

"I am so sorry for everything I put you thought." she confessed, "You're like this because of me."

"No. That's the thing. You told me not to go through with it. You told me not to get involved but I didn't listen. I only wanted to help. To prove myself. I was being foolish."

Was this really how Korra was acting? Was this really how others saw her whenever she felt she had not accomplished her goals? At this point, Korra would already be blaming herself for what Twilight had gone through but…what good would that do? She could take being the victim, but Twilight? The alicorn had done far too much good to just throw in the towel now. It was then she realized she was done blaming herself, because that was not going to help either one of them.

"You're not a failure, Twilight. You have accomplished far too much to give up now." when the alicorn showed no reaction, Korra sighed, "You know, from the very beginning, everything I ever knew about myself was taken from me. My bending, Raava. My whole identity was being the Avatar. I tried so hard to be the kind of hero others expected me to be, but along the way I lost sight of who I was really meant to be." finally, Twilight looked at her in curiosity. "Even though I eventually got my bending back, what was more fulfilling for me was discovering I was one of the Seven Elements of Harmony. It was the first time in my life where I truly felt like I was a part of something. Then I lost Raava but I became an alicorn and everything changed. I became someone new…and that was a little scary. When I was fighting off the poison, I did the best I could not to give in to the Avatar State so I wouldn't lose you guys. But I should have trusted my magic from the very start instead of trying to fight that battle on my own. I realize now, I had to lose everything I ever knew in order to get where I am now. And I'm finally seeing you had the same problem."

Hearing this, the alicorn's ears slowly, very slowly, began to perk up. Korra gently stroked the pony's messy mane, "You wanted to prove you could be a good princess, which isn't wrong, but you don't have to prove anything to the world, or to me." she gently placed both of her hands on both sides of the pony's face so she could look at her. "I'm not your idol Twilight, I'm your friend and I will always love you, no matter what. I couldn't get up because I forgot what I was fighting for, and now you need to remember what you're fighting for. Because that is where you will find your purpose, Twily. You showed me that, now it's my turn to show you. I was an idiot to think that I needed to be apart from all of you. We need each other now more than ever."

Korra's words struck Twilight right in the heart. Maybe in all her desire to find her purpose and in her guilt over what happened to Korra, and maybe even in her envy to try and be like her in the princess department, she was starting to forget what they were fighting for to begin with. She was beating herself up so badly because when she felt she had let Korra down, she let herself down as well. But she didn't let anyone down. She fought with all of her might, and now she had to remember what it was she was fighting for. Finally, tears formed in Twilight's eyes and she jumped into Korra's arms, who embraced her beloved pony friend in a warm hug.

"It's okay. It's okay." Korra gently stroked Twilight's mane as she sobbed in her arms.

"I was just so scared. I could still see their faces, beating me up, clipping my wings."

"Shush, it's okay, it's over…I'm here. Katara said we can find purpose in suffering and eventually…we'll find peace."

"I don't know…but wouldn't it be interesting to find out?" Korra released Twilight and placed her on the snow, smiling sweetly as she said. "Now, morph."

The alicorn obeyed her request and closed her eyes as the Avatar instructed her. "Now, I want you to visualize yourself changing from pony to human."

The alicorn took in a deep breath, trying her hardest to see herself transforming. However, she was haunted by the recurring visions of of the Red Lotus earth and waterbenders beating her with rocks and water.

"AH!" Twilight backed away, panting an she landed on her bump. "I told you. I can't. I'm too scared."

Korra placed a hand on Twilight's head, calming her down. "It's okay. I'm right here… I will always be here."

"I'm still scared too, but I am not going to give up and neither should you. Come on. Try again. Neither one of us leaves until you do." Korra said. The alicorn closed her eyes and tried to see herself changing once more. "Remember the good moments. Focus on them."

Twilight breathed in deeply, picturing the positive images in her mind. It took a lot of effort, but she was managing. Korra smiled as she backed a few feet away from Twilight's shimmering body. She grew in size and her pony body changed, the only things remaining were her ears, wings. The princess still had her eyes closed, and Korra gently took her shaking hand.

Slowly, Twilight opened one eye, followed by another. The first thing she saw was Korra standing before her, matching her height. The pony looked down, seeing herself standing on two legs once more, and her hands. Then she looked at her scarred arm, no longer swollen or black and blue anymore. It was now fully and utterly completely healed. The mark remained, but it was styled into a beautiful flame-like pattern, resembling more of a tattoo than a scar. It was a beautiful sight and for the first time in a long while…Twilight smiled.

With teary eyes, she and Korra welcomed one another in a warm sisterly embrace. They had taken the first step to fully getting through this ordeal.

The Little Pony Legend 3: The Great Change

by MaggiesHeartLove

Finding the Truth.