The mare of the night laughed maniacally as her pony guards surrounded the team. They knew this was really their friend, Princess Luna, only being dominated by the spirit if NightMara, but that still didn't change the fact that this was still a force to be reckoned with. The alicorn flew off of her throne and stood before her guests.

Asami's eyes shimmered in horror at the sight. So, this was the monstrosity who had taken control of her body not too long ago. She was even more frightening in person. Was she like this when she was under her control? Just when they thought these timelines couldn't get any worse, they did.

"Tell me how you came by this magic to travel through time!" the dark colored alicorn demanded to know, speaking in such a dark yet authoritative tone.

Twilight was hesitant to reply, but when she didn't a familiar voice called her out. "The Princess asked you a question!" one of NightMare Moon's soldiers removed her helmet, revealing to be Rainbow Dash, now with an even shorter haircut, lowering her ears angrily as she ordered the younger alicorn to answer their leader, "And unless you wanna end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know!"

"Nopony in my kingdom but me should possess a magic powerful enough to change time."

"Your kingdom?" Bolin asked, right before receiving some 'shushes' from the others. They didn't need this pony getting angry.

NightMare Moon's aquamarine eyes shrunk in hour at the mention of her name, "How do you know that name?!"

"We know her." Bolin replied, "She's your mom. Alicorn, about your height, sparkly hair that moves on its own and looks a lot like you…only less scary."

The group, and the guards, all looked at one another in fear. Bolin had really struck a nerve there. However, NightMare Moon simply laughed and pointed her hoof towards the glass window, where they saw the bright full moon with the image of an alicorn on it. The moon glowed brightly blue but had various colors depicting of white and pink, resembling both Celestia's and Leilani's mane colors. This couldn't be what they thought it meant, could it?

"My sister and my mother have been imprisoned in the moon for years! But it is no less a fate than they'd sentence me to!"

"You don't scare us!" Flash stated fearlessly, stomping his hoof before her. "We've faced you once, we can do it again!"

The princess's eyes darted towards the raven haired woman with lime green eyes, which appeared to have shrunk in terror at her presence. She looked as if she was seeing a ghost. This amused the princess.

"You may not be afraid of me, but she is." NightMare Moon gained up on the heiress, her fangs sticking out, looking like razor sharp knifes, making Asami reel back in terror, shielding herself from the creature's presence. She laughed at her terrified victim.

"You leave her alone, Luna!" Bolin exclaimed, fists clenched and gaze dead on the night creature.

NightMare Moon arched an eyebrow at him, "Luna? I am NightMare Moon! Princess of the Eternal Night!"

"No, you're not! You're Princess Luna, sister of Celestia and daughter of Leilani and White! You only think you're NightMare Moon because she's controlling you!" as he spoke, something began to shimmer in the princess's eyes. Something Asami was able to catch. "You were jealous of Celestia so NightMara took advantage of that jealousy and turned you into this!"

"Silence!" the alicorn's booming voice echoed all around the castle, bouncing off the walls which caused the building itself to shake from the intense volume. Bolin's efforts to get through to her weren't enough, but seeing him acting so brave gave Asami some motivation not to be afraid.

She was once controlled by NightMara, therefor she knew what was going on within Luna's body. She knew the struggle she was going through.

"Now, reveal to me the source of this time magic!" NightMare Moon demanded the group. They couldn't give her the secrets to the spell, but what else could they do. Simply speaking to her wouldn't be enough. But Asami, had an idea.

"We have no other choice, Mako." she said before addressing to the princess, "We can take you to it, but you'll have to get past the timberwolves."

"I am the ruler of all of Equestria. Do you think I can't deal with timberwolves?"

"No. I know you can." Asami's tone sounded rather serious, almost as if she knew something else. The others were able to catch onto this rather quickly. If they were going to outsmart NightMare Moon they had to think like her. And Asami already was her for a short amount of time. But long enough to know her tricks.

Nightmare Moon's horn glowed brightly and a magical blue aura surrounded Spike's body, "And if you were thinking of trying to escape…" chains were levitated around Spike and also wrapped around the others, minus Asami. Mako, Bolin, Twilight and Flash struggled to break free of their bounds while NightMare Moon only smiled. "…it will be very unfortunate for your friends."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Asami." Spike said hopefully. All he received as an answer was a subtle glare from the heiress.

Magical zaps and whimpering timberwolves was like music for the cold empty forest. Mainly because it was the only sound available. There were hardly any cricket noises, or the fluttering wings of birds, no doubt they had all left this dreadful place while the timberwolves remained. No wonder they were so hungry for a pony/human/dragon buffet.

Asami walked side by side with NightMare Moon, her heart pounding the whole time but she held her head high. If there was anything Asami was good at it was putting on a brave face, no matter what she was feeling inside. Apparently, all that time of hiding her hurt, envy and pride was about to pay off. Or it was a trait she inherited from her father. A trait she would put to good use.

The group was being levitated by the alicorn, who continuously zapped at each timberwolf, who whimpered before exploding in a million twigs and leaves. They were already caught up with the fact that Asami had a plan. She had dealt with this creature before, so she must know how to confront her. Especially now with Twilight subdued, and being unable to teleport them away from her. Their fate was in Asami's hands now.

Finally, they reached to where the map was. The rounded table rested exactly where they had arrived, untouched and unharmed by the timberwolves themselves. The alicorn's eyes sparkled with delight.

"A pony from our time used this spell to travel back and change the past." Asami explained once the princess now stood before the magical table.

"And now you will give this spell to me! With it, I will ensure that the Elements of Harmony are never found, and my reign lasts forever!

"What?!" NightMare Moon clenched her teeth tightly in anger at the cowardly human's reply.

"Your hold on Princess Luna may be strong, NightMara. But I know something that is even stronger."

"I know you're in there, Luna! I know how easy it is to give into your darkest desires, and I know you're doing your hardest to break free."

"Silence you fool!" the dark alicorn exclaimed, but her eyes still shimmered. Asami knew this was the true princess trying to break free of her chains. "One more word and I will destroy your friends!"

"I know what you really want because I've been there! You want to be with your family again, you want to feel whole again, but NightMara is holding you back!"

"I said be quiet!!" the alicorn screamed, almost as if she was trying to convince herself rather than Asami that she was the mare of nightmares and not that goody-goody princess. She knew this was the real NightMara talking and not her using Luna like a puppet. Luna was trying to gain control but NightMare Moon was still too powerful. But Asami wasn't giving up.

"You can break free, Luna. You just have to reach deep down inside yourself. Remember your mother and your sister, think about the good memories you've shared. I know they've made mistakes in the past but everypony does. They still love you despite what you've done. Remember their love, use that to fight back NightMara! You are Princess Luna, don't let her take that away from you!"

"You little--AH!" suddenly, the dark alicorn began to struggle, her eyes closed shut and twitching as if something inside of her was eating her up. She struggled and struggled, her guards backing away in fear of what might happen. The princess shook her head like a rabid dog, stomping her hooves anxiously before finally opening her eyes. For a moment they did not look cat-like nor where they filled with rage and furry, but kindness and innocence. This was Luna, the princess of the night they knew and loved.

Her horn glowed, which magically released the others. Luna continued to struggle, "Go!" she ordered, "I don't know if I can hold her back much longer!"

The group hesitantly complied, they didn't want to leave Luna like this, but it was the only way to guarantee her safety. The group reached for the map and Twilight turned to face the struggling princess.

"Don't worry, Luna. In my world, my friends and I found the Elements, and used them to defeat NightMare Moon! And I will do everything in my power to bring that world back!"

"No!" NightMare Moon managed to gain control once more, but it was already too late. Twilight had activated the spell using the prophesy book and the vortex sucked them all in once more.

The group once more fell onto hard ground, only this time they were ready and tuck and rolled once they landed. Minus Spike, who still fell flat on his face. Twilight and Flash were in anthro form again, signaling they were once again in the Four Nations timeline.

Bolin hugged Asami tightly, lifting her up from the ground. "Babe, that was amazing! I never doubted you for a second!"

"It was easy to relate." she replied once he lowered her down and she wrapped her arms around his neck, "After all, Luna's not the only one who got possessed by a parodistic demon."

Spike dusted his scales after getting back up. "So, who's in charge now? We've seen King Sombra, Amon, Chrysalis, Unalaq, NightMare Moon, what's next? Zaheer and the Red Lotus managed to eliminate the Earth Queen and bring chaos to Ba Sing Se?"

The group only stood there, their eyes wide in horror as they all simultaniously pointed to behind the little dragon. Spike turned around, seeing a nearly broken stone wall, with a spray painted image of the Red Lotus's emblem on it. Large and tinted with bloody red color. Despite the sight, Spike remained unfazed.

The group looked at their surroundings, and just as they suspected, it was Ba Sing Se…in complete chaos!

It was just like when the Red Lotus took over, only this time it appeared as if they had been here longer. Houses were already burned to the ground, people ran all around, either screaming or running into any place they wanted in order to take whatever they pleased. If this was the Red Lotus's idea of "freedom" they were even more twisted than Unalaq or even Amon. At least they still had some shred of sanity left in them.

"Suddenly, eternal night doesn't seem so bad." Flash said, cringing at the horrifying sight. "How are we supposed to find Korra now?"

"Every time the book sent us to this world Korra was already there." Twilight explained.

"I get that, but this is the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom! Not to mention with all this chaos running around, we couldn't even find a full grown sky bison in this place!"

The two ponies were shoved aside when some random person came dashing by, knocking Bolin down in the process. The earthbender picked up something that had fallen to the ground. "Excuse me, miss! You dropped…my wallet?"

"I suggest we find a safer place to talk." Asami suggested, "Before these people take the shirts off of our backs."

The grin faded once he saw what had become of his family's apartment. Both he and Mako were devastated to see the place completely torn and burned to the ground. Not a trace of what was before remained. Not even the pictures or any traces of their family.

Mako rushed over to the rubble, frantically removing the wooden planks, bricks and pieces of broken furniture, calling out the names of his relatives.

"Grandma! Chow! Tu! Meng-Meng!" but to his dismay, there was no reply. It didn't appear that anyone had lived her for so long. Not even traces of clothing could be seen. The firebender got down on his knees, his hands shaking as his brother approached him.

"I don't think they're here, Mako." he said sadly, his tone dead and serious. What other emotion could he feel but pain. Flash approached the two and squatted down to comfort the firebender just as Bolin did. The three wrapped their arms around each other, moaning over the loss of their family. What happened to them? What had the Red Lotus done?

"I think we've seen enough." Asami said, her voice breaking, feeling the devastation the boys were feeling. She knew what it was like to loose one's family. She had lost hers both to death and revenge. She turned to the alicorn princess, "Just take us back to the past, Twilight. There's no other reason for us to stay here."

Twilight looked on at the heartbroken boys before her. Asami and Spike were right, they couldn't waste anymore time now. They had to get back, it was the only way to reverse this. Whatever reason the book had for bringing them here, seeing this wasn't worth it.

She rummaged through the satchel to get the book. Only, once she did, she didn't feel anything. "Oh, no." she said, frantically reaching into the bag as deep as she could, "No! No, no, no, no, no! The book's gone!"

The boys wiped away their tears and approached the princess. "What do you mean it's gone?!" Mako asked in horror.

"I don't know?!" suddenly, Twilight felt something tingling on her chest. Before her eyes, her Element of Harmony manifested, blinking repetitively as if trying to tell her something. "My Element. I can sense where the book is!"

Twilight pressed her hand against the gemstone, feeling the book calling to her. "This way!" the princess ran ahead with the group following close behind her. But the journey was not easy. With the great Earth Kingdom capitol in ruins, roofs and remaining buildings crumbled and collapsed, so they had to race against the clock in order to escape the insanity. Flash grabbed onto Spike as they made it by several thrives that would come out, taking what didn't belong to them or just plain acting crazy. They never knew a kingdom without a queen could become such a place of destruction. They had to find that book, and fast.

Twilight followed to where the Element of Harmony led her until it finally stopped and dissolved back into her skin. The princess looked up and tilted her head skeptically. The group shared the same reaction.

The shop was, to say the least, not in the best shape. Like most of the buildings, its doors and windows were beaten, broken or just plain torn off. The sign hung loosely from the front of the roof before falling at their feet, breaking to pieces which in such caused the saw dust to rise up, making the group back away from the impact.

"You sure this is it?" Spike asked, feeling just as skeptical as the rest of them.

"The Element wouldn't have called us here if it wasn't." Twilight said as she made her way into the shop, slowly trying to move the door, which was only partly ripped off. Once she made contact it fell off and broke at her feet. "Well, you guys coming?"

The princess bravely walked in, leaving the others to look at one another before walking in with her. The shop inside didn't look any better. Nearly everything was taken, save for a few broken vases, shelves and the counter. Aside from that, several of the items still remained. Some didn't even seem to belong in an antique shop, which was strange. Even stranger, some of these things were still pretty nicely placed, not as nicely as they would be in a normal shop but still.

"That's strange." Mako said as he walked deeper inside, "Almost looks as if this place was being used."

"Let's find the book before somebody shows up." Flash said before he got started on searching. He inspected behind the counter while Bolin looked at a book shelf, tossing aside any book he knew wasn't the one they were looking for. Not like anyone would care if they left a mess.

Asami's feet stepped on broken glass, which were actually broken shards from a mirror. She gazed at her reflection in the various pieces of the now sharp reflective surfaces. "I still can't believe P'li was ever with these maniacs." she said.

"Well, they do say love is blind." Mako said while inspecting a drawer filled with an assortment of jewels, no doubt stolen. For a moment, he felt he was being watched. He turned his head but realized there was nothing behind him aside from his friends. He went back to searching the second drawer, which had more jewels, but mainly bracelets and rings. One, in particular, caught his eye. It was a simple old golden one with what appeared to be a base carved to represent yin and yang, but it seemed to be missing the gemstones that were supposed to go in the slots.

"Found anything you like?" a voice spoke, causing the others to gasp and drop whatever it was they were holding. A figure moved in the shadows before coming into what little bit of light entered the nearly deserted shop. A woman with dark brown hair styled into a spiky pixie cut, save for one long strand on the left side of her face, braided with several beads. Her outfit consisted of a black tank top with a crimson red undershirt with long sleeves that reached her elbows, golden bracelets around her wrists and ankles, black pants with a waist belt that carried knives, and was barefoot. The one thing that clashed with her red clothing were her sparkly cyan colored eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Twilight exclaimed in annoyance at, once again, seeing their dear friend Korra completely different from what they knew. First, she was a war hero who isolated her heart, then a deceptive ice queen with a wounded soul, and now she looked as if she was some kind of rebel punk girl with an even shorter haircut than from the first alternate future.

"What has this place come to? I leave for a few minutes and I see you guys trying to take my stuff." she said, placing her hands on her hips and smiling confidently. At least they recognized that from their old Korra.

"Yeah, but I stole it first. So, maybe you guys could take your heist somewhere else. Like, maybe not around me, and maybe not in my house. I'm telling you to go!"

"You kids aren't from around here, are you?" Korra said, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow. "Well, hate to burst your bubble but this ain't no hotel resort, so if you're not here to steal anything… beat it!" she extended her hand and pointed her finger to the exit, which had its door ripped off and broken to bits. This Korra was even more hostile than the previous versions.

"We will." Mako said, trying not to arise her. They didn't know what this version of Korra was capable of, "We just have to ask you some questions and we'll be out of your hair."

"We're looking for a book. Brown, writing on the covers with a blue heart shaped stone on the center."

Korra paused for a brief moment before replying, "Well, hate to break it to you, pretty boy, but I don't have it."

Mako narrowed his eyes at her, studying her body language. There was definitely something off about this. "You're lying."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Korra said defensively, clenching her fists in anger.

"How do you know my name?" her eyes widened in horror, "Wait, did Zaheer sent you?"

"What? No!" Mako replied, but Korra didn't have have to reply back. The young woman was already rushing to the counter, grabbing a bag and started stuffing all of her belongings into it in a frantic rush.

"Look, I'm sorry for causing you any trouble but I have to leave!" Korra flung the bag over her shoulder but was quickly stopped when Mako grabbed her wrist.

"Korra, wait!" he cried out, making Korra stop in her tracks. She felt a strange sensation coursing through her arm when he touched it. It felt so…familiar in a way, but she didn't recall having ever seen this handsome man. She slowly stopped but did not face him.

"What's going on?" he asked, "Why are you running?" that was a very good question. The Korra they knew would never run, but this poor girl, regardless of her rebel-like clothing, apparently had gone through a terrible ordeal.

Hesitantly, Korra turned to face them. The compassion in their eyes was something she had never seen before. Not like the false compassion she received from those whom she had once regarded as her family.

"No, you don't have to be scared." Twilight said, reaching out to grab the girl's arm sympathetically. She too had experienced first hand how terrifying those people could be, so she could empathize with this Korra. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

"It's not what they did…" Korra said, lowering her gaze in sadness, "…it's what they planned to do with me."

The group remained silent, which was their way of allowing Korra to continue explaining why she was running away. She had been unable to trust so many people before now, but she didn't know who else to turn to at this point. She was scared and angry. She needed somebody to at least listen, even if they couldn't help her.

"When I was a kid, I was adopted by the Red Lotus. Zaheer, P'li, Ming-Hua and Ghazan, they were my family. They trained me, taught me everything they knew. We were part of a secret society dedicated to restoring freedom to the world. For many years I believed in their cause and fought just as strongly as they did to make that dream a reality." she paused, closing her eyes as tears began to roll down her face, "But I recently uncovered it was all a just a big fat lie. I thought we were about inspiring others to fight against corrupted world leaders, but they weren't interested in freedom at all. All they wanted was to kill. They had no remorse over eliminating innocent people, or anyone who didn't believe in what they did. When I got older they raised me to do the same thing, but I never had the guts. I could never take away someone's life. When I refused to kill the Earth Queen they did it themselves…right in front of me."

The cracking in her voice made this story all the more heartbreaking. With each timeline, Korra's future was worse than the last. And now, she was being forced to kill people in the name of "freedom". Not only was her life in disarray, but the Red Lotus's as well, especially P'li, who in this world never found true happiness with Tenzin's family. And Zaheer….that poor man…

"Since then, I managed to escape and I've been on the run for months now. It's easy to hide in a large city surrounded by chaos. But it's not pretty."

"I know the feeling." Mako said sadly, "I just got my family back only to have them be taken away again."

"I'm so sorry." Korra replied, her eyes still teary as she placed her hand over her heart. "This is all my fault. I should have stopped them!"

"Well, not anymore." Korra wiped away her tears and adjusted her bag, but not before rummaging through it and pulled something from inside. The group gasped in awe once she handed the prophesy book towards Mako. "I think this belongs to you. I'm sorry for stealing it, I saw the sparkling gemstone and thought I could make a bundle by selling it once I got out of the city."

"Far away as possible." Korra turned around, ready to leave but stopped once Mako grabbed her shoulder.

"No, you can't! With them running loose the world needs you now more than ever. You're the Avatar!"

"How did you know that?" she asked in shock. Mako opened the book to showcase the image of herself in one of the pages. Her eyes widened in amazement at the image. "Is that…Raava?"

"Yes. They taught me about her and Avatar Wan and the spirit portals. Where did you get this book?"

"Believe it or not, we're from the future. Well, a different future from this one." he explained, confusing the Avatar even more. "I know it's hard to believe and I don't blame you if you don't, but you can't just run away from your fears."

"Only I have. I had to watch my family be cut down by a firebender right in front of me. I was only eight-years-old and me and my brother were left alone on the streets. I've seen things a child should never have to see, the same way you did. The same way a lot of people are going through right now in that city!" he pointed his finger to the outside, making his point. "I understand your first instinct is to get away from here but hiding for the rest of your life isn't the answer!"

"You don't get it! They don't just want to kill world leaders, they want to end the Avatar Cycle. They want to kill me so I will never be reborn again. That's why I have to hide. I have nowhere else and no one else to turn to. I'm all alone."

"But you're not." Mako insisted, gripping her hand tightly, which she allowed. "We're here for you. We've always been and we still are."

"Except you do." Mako pulled from his pocket the one picture he always kept in his wallet. A picture of him and Korra in the Glacier Spirits festival with their heads in the cardboard cutouts. "I know it's easy to run and hope things will get better on their own. But that's the fear talking. Sometimes, you have to face reality even when you're scared."

Korra's eyes widened in amazement and gazed down at the picture. Could there really be a possibility where she could actually be as happy as the girl in the picture? The shimmer in her eyes was a freedom she never knew. The Red Lotus fought for a false, selfish freedom, but was she being any better by running away to save her own skin. She may not agree with killing, but that didn't mean they didn't teach her something. They did teach her to be selfish, and that was something she needed to walk away from. She knew that now.

Korra gasped in horror when a familiar voice spoke form behind her. She spun around and her irises seemed to have shrunk in terror when two long water tentacles stretched out and wrapped themselves around her body before freezing in ice. The arms lifted her upwards, destroying what remained of the entrance to the shop, and Korra struggled to break free.

"Making new friends, Korra?" the raven haired woman taunted as she held the child upwards.

The rest of the group was, once again, face to face with the Red Lotus. Only, this Zaheer wasn't an airbender, this P'li wasn't reformed and Ghazan and Ming-Hu were still alive. The sight of these two in particular stroked something inside Twilight Sparkle. Flashes of them beating her to a pulp replayed in her mind as if they had happened only yesterday. She just froze in place, her gaze dead on the two, not blinking or even flinching, only trembling.

"You shouldn't have run away like that, Korra." Zaheer said, sounding as arrogant and cocky as he always did, yet still carrying a relaxed composure while the child only struggled more.

"Let her go!" Mako yelled as he threw several fire punches at the armless waterbender, vaporizing the water and Flash quickly caught Korra before she fell. Landing her safely she punched the ice off of herself.

"Who are you kids?" Ghazan asked the group of heroes while taking a fighting stance.

Bolin stepped forward, ready to fight his worthy opponent. "Your worst nightmare." rising his arms and stomping the ground in front of him, creating a river of lava before the opposing lavabender and launched several lava attacks at the man, who jumped away and began attacking with his own lava.

"Not bad, kid." the long haired man replied with a cocky grin, "But it's gonna take a lot more than--Ah!"

Before Ghazan could continue, he suddenly felt his body glow a bright magenta color, and the same went for the rest of the Red Lotus. Twilight Sparkle had managed to break out of her frozen state and now carried an expression on her face that would even bring Tirek down to his knees. Her gaze was dead on the anarchist group, leaving the heroes to watch in awe as the princess single handedly shielded herself and everyone from one of P'li's incoming blasts and sent a magic bullet right at her tattooed eye, sending her flying back so fast she collided with an already crumbling house, which brook down around her, knocking her unconscious with amazing ease. Zaheer pulled out a sword to fight her off, but the princess managed to counter the attack by, quite literally, flicking the sword away with one swipe of her hands and grabbed Zaheer by the collar before tossing him aside and levitated the sword before taking it into her hands.

She threw a punch with her free hand, which sent both Ghazan and Ming-Hua towards a brick wall. The two were completely frozen in place, gazing into the deadly glare of the alicorn princess. With her horn glowing bright, she held the two criminals steady, before flying up to see them eye to eye. She pulled out the sword, the sunlight hitting the blade, creating a bright light that nearly blinded the two, and they awaited for her to bring on the final blow. They closed their eyes, ready to meet their demise…

They heard the sound of the sword shattering against the stone, aided by Twilight's powerful magic, and the two looked at her in confusion. She had been waiting a long, long time for this moment. And now, it finally arrived.

"You two broke me." she said, her dead glare never looking away from the two, not even for a second, "You beat me. Tossed me around as if I was worthless. Since then, I asked myself…why? Why would anyone be so cold and merciless? Why treat someone as if their lives didn't matter? Why did you do that to me when I never did anything to you!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." said Ming-Hua, "But if you're going to finish us why didn't you do it?"

Twilight was silent for a moment before responding, "…Because you are not worth it."

The two looked at the strange girl and at each other in confusion. Even Team Avatar was amazed to see this. They knew Twilight was never going to kill them, but they were still just as astonished that she was being so…hard core with them right now.

"I'll admit, I would have loved to see you both suffer the same way I did, the same way you made my friend suffer. But what good would that do? It won't change anything, it won't erase what you did and it certainly won't make me better than you. You made a free choice to hurt somebody, well I made a free choice too…. I choose to move on. I'd rather go forward with my scars than spend the rest of my life wallowing in your mistake. I don't feel hatred for you, not anymore." tears began to roll down from her eyes, "My only regret, is that you never had a chance to really be free. And that, is more heartbreaking than any wound you ever could have given me."

For the first time in so long, Ming-Hua and Ghazan…looked devastated and confused. They didn't know this girl, and yet her tears and her voice indicated she had gone through a terrible ordeal. One that wounded her both physically and mentally. And yet, she was willing to spare their lives and say that the fact that they voluntarily wounded her was what depressed her more than her own wounds. She was indicating that she…actually cared about them. Cared about what they choose, they…they had never known anyone who would do that before. This was indeed a very strange girl, but even so, her eyes slowly softened, feeling more at peace with herself than she did when she froze them to the wall.

"You think freedom is doing whatever you want without having to feel the consequences of your actions, where your only alliance is to yourself. Tell me, do you still fell free now?

"Yes." Ghazan replied, despite what this girl said, despite what she had done he didn't what to change his point of view. He refused to let it go.

"Really? Because, last time I checked…I'm not the one frozen to a wall. And you're not the one leaving."

With the book magically in hand, the vortex opened once more and Korra watched as the group were sucked upwards into the spiraling hole in the sky before it closed. She looked around, seeing her former teachers looking at her in awe. They didn't know how to respond to what they had just seen, but Korra had an idea.

Her response, was to bend all four elements at the four Red Lotus members at once.

The vortex opened once more, allowing the humans to land on their respected clouds, and Twilight quickly spotted Starlight coming at her. With a zap from her horn, she froze the unicorn in the same crystal prison she had trapped her and her friends in.

But even from her icy prison, Starlight's horn was able to blast the crystal away, breaking her free as she levitated herself upwards, her mane raising upwards like a flame as she did, smiling ever so arrogantly and maniacally at the princess.

And so, it began. The two ponies battled it out in a race against time to change the future the way they saw fit. Only, while Twilight was doing it for her friends, Starlight was doing it for herself.

Again and again, time shifted back and forth with the group. Twilight did her very best to stop Starlight from keeping the Rainboom from happening, but the crafty unicorn managed to stay one step ahead of her. At one point, she simply tripped Rainbow Dash during the race which sent the group to a future where Tirek had won and was destroying Equestria. In the human world, they witnessed dark spirits running amok, destroying everything in their path.

Next, Twilight tried to freeze Starlight, only to accidentally freeze Rainbow Dash when the unicorn stepped back. She clapped humorously at her attempt, which in turn sent the group to a future where they landed on several fluffy toys and witnessed Discord chasing Luna, Celestia and Leilani, all wearing clown outfits, but a happy Discord wearing a king's crown and cape while holding a scepter and chasing them on a unicycle. In the human world, it was that the fire nation managed to win the hundred year war….

Back in the past, before they could even do anything, Starlight used her magic to make Fluttershy fly through the obstacle coarse, which once again sent the group back to the future, where they saw the Flim Flam brothers of all ponies destroying all the trees of the land with a bulldozer, and finally the human world was taken over by Hiroshi Sato's maniacal inventions to eliminate benders, where he was the new Amon, alongside an evil Varrick.

"This is ridiculous!" Asami exclaimed impatiently, "No matter what we do she's always one step ahead of us!"

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way!" Flash said, "Think about it, every time we tried to fight her she just zaps us back in time again. Only, we haven't seen her in any of the timelines we've been to."

"I'm saying, what if Starlight has no idea what she's really doing? All she cares about is getting back at us, never once did she say she wanted to alter everything."

"No offense, but how is this helping us?" Bolin asked, already growing as impatient and anxious as the rest of them.

"It's just like when Mako's kiss helped Korra discover her airbending, or when Asami talked Luna into overpowering NightMare Moon, or when Twilight spared Ming-Hua and Ghazan. You guys all did it by trying to get through to them, yet every time we faced Starlight we did it by force."

Twilight's eyes shimmered in realization. "Flash…I think you're onto something."

The vortex led the group once more back to the past, where the humans rested on clouds and the two winged ponies flew with Spike on Twilight's back.

"Up for another race-ending fight, Twilight?" Starlight taunted while resting on a cloud. Twilight took in a deep breath and rested on a secondary cloud, facing her.

"No. You were right. I can't stop you." seeing her chance, Starlight's horn glowed, ready to attack the alicorn, only to be deflected by one of her force fields. "But you can't stop me from trying, and we could be stuck doing this for all eternity!"

"If that's what it takes to keep you and your friends from getting your cutie mark connection, then I'm game!" Starlight's eyes shimmered with such maliciousness when she sent another blast at Twilight, who once again deflected it with her force field. She had to take Flash's advice and talk to her just as she did for Korra, and just as Asami did for NightMare Moon, or Mako for the Red Lotus Korra. Starlight had to know the truth.

"What you're doing goes way beyond cutie marks!" she levitated a cloud, forming a small hill with a house at the end and created a small snowball which grew and grew as it slid down and crashed into the house, destroying it. "Everything we do here in the past, even the smallest change, can snowball into an avalanche of trouble for the future!"

Starlight Glimmer only rolled her eyes as she zapped the cloud away, "Oh, next I suppose you'll tell me that "the fate of all of Equestria hangs in the balance"!"

"Spare me your overblown ego! No group of friends, not even Princess Twilight's, is that important!"

With another zap from her horn, Starlight blasted Rainbow Dash off coarse, which caused her the race, and triggered the spell once more. Just as the group was being sucked into the portal once more, Twilight had now fully learned what she needed to do.

"I don't know how important other ponies' friendships are to the future, but I can show you what the world is like without mine!"

Lunging herself forward, Twilight grabbed hold of Starlight Glimmer just in time for the vortex to suck them all inside once more. Only this time, Starlight was along for the ride.

In a blinding flash of white Starlight landed on the ground, shoving Twilight Sparkle off of her before getting ready to fight again. Only, she realized where they had landed. The wind was blowing strongly, making her mane and tail move in sync with the wind currents, and realized there wasn't any sunlight, no plant life, no nothing. All around her was nothing but emptiness, there wasn't even any color. The sky had a strange color of blue, purples and greens unlike anything she had ever seen. Stranger still, the land itself looked like a painting, just as it did before Starlight and the rest of Equestria's physical appearances changed and she got her bending powers. She looked at her body, realizing she had not changed at all with the environment while the rest of the world did.

"The future." Twilight replied, her hair flapping against the harsh winds while placing a hoof on the map, "Or rather, the present."

"I wish I could say I was surprised. Tell me Starlight, how much do you really known about the Great Change?"

"The day you received your bending. When our world changed forever. You already learned of Amon, but you didn't bother to learn what happened on that day. What really happened."

Mako walked over to the unicorn, showing her the prophesy book, which she angrily took from him with her magic. Curiously, she read the pages, flipping by rather quickly before slowing down. One by one she read the words, saw the images, especially the one depicting both Equestria and the human world dissolving into planes of nothingness, no life, no color, no nothing. Just darkness for them both. This was all a prophesy, even the words and images depicted things she had heard happened, like Korra and her pony friends. Only, this appeared to have been written down thousands of years ago, which could only mean the prophesies in this book were indeed true. And they had already happened.

"On that day, our worlds became bonded forever." Mako explained, "But only when the Seven Hearts united and brought the magic back. If they hadn't, this is what became of us." Mako gestured to their bleak surroundings, "By stopping the girls from getting their Cutie Mark bond they never met Korra, and thus she never bonded with the Elements of Harmony, which never bonded with our friends. Every world we come back to is worse than the last. You may not think our friendship with Korra and the Mane Six are important to Equestria, or to us, but they are."

Starlight hesitated before slamming the book closed and tossed it to him. "I don't believe you!"

"Come on, Starlight, look around!" Flash pointed with his hoof at the barren wasteland before them.

"Everything in the past affects the future, even the tiniest act." Twilight said, "And what you're doing leads here."

Even Starlight had to admit, she never wanted any of this. All she wanted was to get back at Twilight and Korra, not destroy all of Equestria. How could this be true? How could her desire to get back what she had lost ever caused something as large as this? This was her choice, her choices weren't supposed to effect another person's life, that's not how it works. Her life was her life, so by that logic her choices shouldn't have these consequences. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. She refused to believe it.

"I know I can't stop you, but I thought showing you this might change your mind."

"Change my mind?" the angry unicorn gained up on the alicorn, angrily yelling at her, "You don't know anything about me! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined what I built!"

"I don't know what happened that led you to make your village without cutie marks, and I'm sorry my friends and I had to take it away." the princess replied sincerely, not showing any signs of anger or hatred towards the pony.

This only infuriated Starlight even more. She would think this princess would reply with the same amount of hatred Starlight had in her heart, but no. She and the rest of her posy were being so merciful and compassionate. It made her go nuts!

Starlight levitated her body upwards, hovering over the map before zapping it with her time travel spell. The map itself glowed once she hit a specific spot and the group was sucked into the map alongside Starlight Glimmer.

The group arrived in what appeared to be a quaint little village with lovely houses and happy ponies all around. It was daylight and the world seemed as bright and colorful as it did.

"That map of yours is connected to every part of Equestria, and this part is my home." the way she said 'my home' didn't sound as inviting as it should have. It sounded more as if this place was like poison in her mouth to even say this was where she grew up. The unicorn led the group to one house in particular. The three humans crunched down to peek alongside the three ponies and dragon.

Inside, they spotted a pair of little unicorns. One was a young filly and another a young colt. The colt had an orange colored coat with white legs and a single white spot on his forehead, just bellow his unicorn horn. His hair was brownish red and styled into an adorable mow hawk. His eyes were bright blue and he smiled his felly unicorn friend, who clapped happily when he levitated a book to the very top of a stack of books on the table. Both ponies were blank flanks

Bolin could not believe what he was seeing. That filly looked incredibly familiar. "Starlight, is that…?"

"Awww, you were so cute!" Bolin couldn't help but gush over the adorableness of the little unicorn…regardless of what she grew up to become. "And who's the little guy?"

"His name was Sunburst." Starlight replied, her voice softening as she explained her past. "He and I did everything together. In fact, I don't remember us ever being apart." her voice shifted back to her normal harsh, vengeful one, "Until today."

The group watched as little Starlight struggled to levitate one book from the pile, but panted and gave up. "Come on, Starlight! Give it another try!" Sunburst insisted.

"I don't know, I'm not as good as you are." the young filly replied, her voice was so sweet and innocent it made the idea of her future self all the more depressing to think about.

"Don't sell yourself short. You're the smarted unicorn I know, don't ever forget that, okay?"

Sunburst truly was a good friend. He was the one who gave Starlight her confidence to begin with. Just by witnessing this they could all see just how much he really meant to her. In a lot of ways, Bolin, Asami and Mako could relate.

"You really think I can do this?" Starlight asked, blushing in embarrassment for even asking such a thing.

Present day Starlight smiled softly at the memory. Sunburst truly was the only friend she ever had, there was hardly any other pony like him in the village. That's what made him so special. He understood her better than anypony else.

With her tongue sticking out to the side of her mouth, and her determined gaze on the one book, she used her horn to levitate it without tumbling the pile. At first. After a few short seconds, the pile did tumble and the tall tower of books was about to collapse right on top of her. Starlight shielded her eyes, bracing herself for the impact…which never came.

Sunburst managed to save his best friend before the pile could squash her, each one glowing in his sunny bright aura which matched the one coming form his horn. His body began to rise and so did the books. In an effort to save his best friend, something triggered within Sunburst. His entire body began to glow while the books all circled around him, spiraling rapidly before being placed perfectly on the shelves one by one. Sunburst looked exhausted as he landed, his body glow slowly diminishing before something tingled on his flank.

Right before their eyes, a cutie mark depicting a bright shimmering light with stars around it appeared on Sunburst. He could not believe his eyes, and neither could Starlight.

"I--I don't believe it!" the young colt leaped for joy while whinnying excitedly, "Starlight, can you believe it? Oh, wait! Are you okay?"

Then, the door bursted open and Sunburst's parents walked inside, looking at their son with worry. "Sunburst, is everything alright?" his father asked.

"Mom, dad! Look!" Sunburst showed them his flank, and the two parents leaped for joy.

"A cutie mark!" they cheered happily. They always knew their son was talented, and today was the proof. Using their magic, the parents led Sunburst out of the room and into the open, where they shouted to the townsponies, "Everypony! Sunburst got his cutie mark!"

The ponies all cheered happily for the young colt, lifting him up and celebrating around town…all the while leaving Starlight Glimmer alone to watch. In all the excitement they had forgotten about her. This was a common thing in her village, any new cutie mark was a celebration.

"At first, I was happy for him." Starlight explained as the scene unfolded before their eyes, "But as the years passed, Sunburst and I grew farther and farther apart. He hung out with the other ponies who had their cutie marks, and when he wasn't playing he was at home studying."

A young Starlight Glimmer walked over to Sunburst's house, calling out to him. "Hey, Sunburst!"

The young colt answered the door and looked out his window, "Hey, Starlight!" he greeted her happily.

"Want to play hopscotch?" she asked happily, excited to spend time with him again. But, much to her disappointment, he looked down at her in regret.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I've still got some studying to do. But, we can play tomorrow!"

For months, Starlight played by herself, unwilling to play with anypony else because nopony understood her the way Sunburst did. And day by day, she watched as Sunburst made more friends, watch with a cutie mark. She realized she had been replayed. What she didn't know was that Sunburst never truly forgot her. The rest of the group could see that he still longed for her to come back, but she became isolated and never gave him a chance. Even the present day Starlight didn't see that.

Then the day came where Sunburst would leave. Once she heard the news she ran as fast as she could to beg him not to go, but by the time she arrived, it was too late. Sunburst had left, and he didn't even tell her. The poor pony was left all alone, and heartbroken.

"And just like that, my friend was gone. His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again."

Bolin wiped away the tears from his eyes, "That's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard."

"Because of his cutie mark!" Starlight's sadness faded, only to be morphed into anger once again. But even so, tears still shed from her eyes. "He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!"

"That's ridiculous." Twilight said, "A cutie mark can't take your friends away!"

Starlight wiped her tears, "Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!" using her magic, she activated the vortex once more and took herself and the rest of the group with her. They once again ended up to the time of the Rainboom, landing on clouds once more.

"You don't know what it's like to lose a friend because of a cutie mark. But once I stop the rainboom, you will!" Starlight's magic levitated the scroll from Twilight's satchel, holding it in front of her enemies, her eyes wide and her irises shrinking, indicating her growing insanity.

The team watched in horror as the paper was slowly being torn apart by the rage filled unicorn. Without the scroll, not even the prophesy book could set things right. The idea of them having to live with such horrible futures was just too devastating to even think about. They couldn't allow Starlight to do this.

"Starlight, please!" Flash Sentry entreated, "Think about what you're doing! We've seen where this leads, and so have you! If you alter the future everyone, including yourself, will suffer!"

"I do!" Asami voiced out loudly enough to get the unicorn to briefly stop her attempts at ripping the paper up. "Sunburst was more than just your best friend, wasn't he?…you were in love with him." Starlight gasped, her eyes shaking and her whole body trembling as the heiress continued, "Don't deny it, I saw the look in your eyes. He was your first love, that's why it was even harder for you to see him leave."

Starlight closed her eyes shut, fighting back the tears. "It doesn't matter! You humans don't have any cutie mark to tear you away from somebody!"

"You're right. We don't have cutie marks, not in the same way you ponies do. But we do have our own destinies and talents, and someone I care deeply about just discovered his."

The heiress took in a deep breath and spoke to the unicorn, "I know how painful it is to lose someone you love and growing up is even scarier. But even with his cutie mark Sunburst never forgot you. He was still your friend and wanted you to know his new ones. He still wanted you in his life. You were so caught up in your own insecurities to realize that! But that's still no excuse to destroy the friendships of others because you didn't try hard enough to save yours!"

"She's right!" Bolin said, standing up on his cloud, "Just because he discovered his talent and made new friends didn't mean there wasn't room for you in his life. Sometimes, things have to change, what really matters is how you adapt to those changes."

But even with this, Starlight still refused to believe any of them. "Oh, spare me your romance parallels! You're just saying all of this so you can have your precious cutie mark bond and annoying Avatar back!"

"It's not just them we're fighting for, Starlight!" Mako stated, also standing up, "We're fighting for you too! If you break that scroll you'll doom all of us, including yourself! Things won't turn out well in Equestria or anywhere without our friends!"

"Ugh, what's so special about your friends?!" she asked, while ripping the scroll even further, "How can a group of ponies and a human who are so different be so important?!"

"The differences between us and our friends are the very things that make our friendship strong!" Flash said, "I found a new family with Mako and Bolin even though I'm a pony. They love me like their own brother and I love them the same way."

Starlight's eyes closed shut as tears rolled down her face, "I thought Sunburst and I were the same. But we turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart!"

"So try again!" Mako said, sharing his own experiences with the unicorn, "Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together. That's what friendship is."

Twilight continued, "And it's not just my friendships that are important, everybody's is! When yours ended, it led us here, but just imagine all the others that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance…or give us a chance."

"You? You'd be friends with me?!" the unicorn was so confused, and angry and…just plain torn. "After I just tried to destroy your friendships you're actually asking to be my friends?! Why?!"

"Because we want to give you your best chance. There have been many others who didn't accept our friendship, so I'm hoping you will."

More tears fell from Starlight's eyes. She couldn't believe they were offering this to her, of all ponies. "But…if I do give others a chance, how do I know they won't all end the same way?"

"I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't. I can't guarantee you won't get hurt again…but that's the risk of friendship, and in the end it's worth it because those tribulations can help you grow, just as it did for us and for Korra." the princess extended her hoof to the crying unicorn, who looked away with uncertainty, "Please, Starlight…will you accept our friendship?"

Starlight Glimmer looked back and forth from the hoof to the scroll. She looked upon their faces, seeing them all eagerly hoping she would take the offer. Asami kept her hands close to her heart, she had once tried to offer the same forgiveness to her father, but he disowned her. She realized now, maybe Hiroshi Sato was too far gone to accept her hand. But, that didn't mean there couldn't be any hope for Starlight. Hiroshi may not have gotten a happy ending, or Amon, or Tarlokk or even Ghazan and Ming-Hua, heck even the firebender who murdered Mako and Bolin's parents because they didn't have the courage to walk through that door that was being opened for them.

Hesitantly, she placed her hoof on Twilight's, smiling shyly as the princess warmly welcomed her into her circle of friends, dropping the scroll for Spike to grab it. Then, right above their heads, a booming sound was heard and a beautiful rainbow arched over their heads, its beautiful colors shimmering in the sunlight. Starlight couldn't believe she was trying to prevent this beautiful event from happening. And this would only bring more friends together.

Fluttershy realized her talent for animals, Applejack returned home, Rarity found the gems she had been missing, Pinkie Pie found her smile and Twilight Sparkle's magic was activated. The Tree of Harmony shimmered brighter than ever, the Elements of Harmony reacting to the strong bond that would form from these six individual ponies, and one young Avatar had dream after dream about a magical world that kept her inner child alive, only to one day have those very dreams become a reality.

The vortex opened once more, Twilight held her new friends close as she and the group were sucked in once more. This time, it would be the last.

The vortex opened once more and, once again, the ground landed on the ground. Only, this wasn't just any ground. It wasn't dirt, or snow or even a desolate wasteland. No, it was a floor. A perfectly shinny floor. With the floor came walls. Walls made out of shimmering rainbow crystals. Before them was the Cutie Map, which depicted all of Equestria, only how it looked now. There was even a portal in Ponyville, which was the portal that led to their world.

The vortex closed, taking the scroll along with it before disappearing int a blinding light of white, never to be seen, or used, again. The worst was over. The castle had returned and the present was back as it was.

Bolin couldn't help but jump for joy as he gazed at the map before him, "Alright! One magical map of Equestria, check!"

The doors opened and a certain young woman, with wings on her back, entered. The moment she did, the group couldn't help but flip for joy upon seeing her.

The Princess Avatar was nearly tackled to the ground by her friends, who hugged her as if she had been gone for years. Mako kissed her full on the lips, followed by kissing her cheek where her cutie mark was. "One Princess Avatar, check! I love this cutie mark and I love you!"

"I love you too. Is everything okay? Whoa!" Korra was surprised once more when Asami hugged her neck.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you! Word of advice; Never get a bob cut."

"Oooookay? Thanks for the tip?" she gently removed the happy heiress from her neck, and got yet another hug from Bolin, who lifted her up into the air. "Seriously, did I miss something?"

"More like everything!" Flash said, "Starlight Glimmer cast a spell that sent us back in time which stopped the Rainboom from happening, and we saw alternate futures where Eqeustria was run by Sombra, then Chrysalis, then NightMare Moon, and in your world Amon took over, then Unalaq and the Red Lotus, and you kept changing your hair!"

The doors opened once more and in entered the rest of the Mane Six, having heard a strange explosion outside. "What in Equestria was that?" Rarity asked.

"You tell me." Korra replied, arching an eyebrow in confusion by what had just happened.

"One group of amazing friends, check!" Spike said happily upon seeing the rest of the group.

Twilight giggled as she hugged the dragon and her boyfriend, "Yeah, Spike, it looks like we're home!"

"Uh… what's she doin' here?" Applejack asked, glaring at the unicorn in the room. Starlight looked down in regret, she knew she had to face the music at some point, and that point was now.

"Hold on, let me see if I follow." Korra began to recap everything Twilight had just explained, "You mean to tell me, Starlight Glimmer managed to alter the very fabric of time and space, stop the Rainboom from ever happening which prevented any of us from meeting, which in turn caused an assortment of insane alternate futures to happen in the process?…and Varrick was selling fish?!"

"That about sums it up." Twilight said casually, leaning against the wall of Air Temple Island in her anthro form.

She, and the rest of Team Avatar, along with Tenzin and the airbenders, Lin, Opal and P'li in order to explain everything that had happened. Even while Korra knew this wasn't all pretend, she still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Rainbow Dash was beyond amazed "Wow! I mean, I knew my rainboom was awesome, but I never thought all of Equestria depended on it!"

"I think it's more than that." Twilight explained, "Even when we didn't become friends, Korra never met Mako, Bolin or even Asami, and many other friendships either never came to be or just disappeared. Friendship connects all of us."

"Just imagine how things would have turned out if Aang never met his friends." Korra said, "Republic City wouldn't even exist, and the war would still be going on. Heck, Tenzin and his family probably wouldn't even be here."

"Like I said, the Magic of Friendship doesn't just exist in Eqeustria…it's everywhere. Undoing one group of friends made its magic less powerful. Especially from one group that was destined to prevent Armageddon."

"And the Rainboom was what kept me believing in the dreams of Equestria I had growing up." Korra explained.

"I can't believe you were all were able to travel through time like that." Jinora said, sounding very fascinated by the subject.

"True, though not at the same level as Twilight." Mako stated, "I'd say her biggest strength is her intelligence. I mean, she managed to stay one jump ahead of all of us."

"Swift and cunning." Tenzin said while stroking his beard, "Kind of like someone else I know." his eyes shifted to a particular male airbender, Kai, who blushed. He was a crafty airbender indeed.

"But even with my powerful magic, that wasn't what we had to use to stop her." said Twilight, "We had to convince her to stop on her own. Once we realized that, everything fell into place."

"But what are we supposed to do with her now?" Lin asked, "If you ask me, altering the past and nearly destroying our homes sounds like a punishable crime to me."

Korra stood up, holding her hand up in defense, "Hold on, Lin. I think I have something else in mind."

Starlight Glimmer fiddled with her new fingers. This was the first time she had turned into anthro form. It was all so new to her, but she couldn't fully enjoy it. She still had to answer to what she did. They were taking an awfully long time discussing her punishment. Whatever it was, she would accept it maturely. But that still didn't ease her nerves.

Her ears perked upwards when Spike walked out and asked her to come inside. She gulped and exhaled before getting up and walking inside. Once there, she was met with gazes from Team Avatar, the chief of police and half of the air nation. She stepped forward, holding her hands together while bowing her head in shame.

"I know there's no excuse for what I did, but I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair."

Both Twilight and Korra stood before her. The purple alicorn spoke first, "We've been thinking a lot about how badly Equestria fared without just one group of friends, because even when one friendship dies, the results can be disastrous."

"Especially when one friend looses sight that any decision we make can have a consequence latter on. And that consequence can grow, effecting other friends as well."

"And that's why we've asked you here. Chief Beifong suggested you be arrested for your crimes, considering your time looping did effect Republic City." at the sound of this, Starlight lowered her ears even further in regret. "However, we also know that you have amazing talent. Your magic may not be at the same level as Twilight, but I'd say you have incredible skills none the less. Don't even get me started on your brain power and your airbending, which from what I hear could use some shaping up. So instead, we're offering you a choice. You can either face your sentence in jail or… you can stay here on Air Temple Island as the newest member of the Air Nation."

Starlight's ears perked up as she gasped, looking at all the happily eager airbenders ready to accept her as their own. "Me? Really?"

Tenzin nodded his head, "You are welcome to stay if you decide to, Starlight. I would be more than happy to teach you what we know."

"We all would." Twilight said, "You can learn to use your power to make the world an even better place. But that's up to you."

Starlight couldn't believe it. This island was filled with airbenders, and so many new friends to meet. She had a feeling she would fit right in. Finally, she gave her answer.

"I'd love to stay with all of you!" the unicorn was surprised when Ikki, Jinora, Meelo and even Kai rushed to welcome her into their family.

"I hope you don't mind, since we're a little short on single rooms, you'll be sharing yours." Korra nodded her head and the combustion woman, P'li approached the newest pony airbender.

"Welcome to the family, Starlight Glimmer. I think you and me are going to have a lot to talk about."

Despite her tall intimidating stature, Starlight felt at ease. Everyone here was so welcoming she couldn't believe it. They treated her like an equal…even if she wasn't exactly like them. Maybe, this was the friendship she had been missing out on but denied to have even needed to begin with.

"Starting is easy!" said Twilight with a smile, "All you have to do is make a friend! And you've got a whole lot of them right here."

As she gazed at all the happy, welcoming and loving faces in the room, Starlight Glimmer knew, at long last, what true friendship really was.

The soft ocean breeze made Asami's raven locks move like ocean waves. While everyone else was celebrating the new arrival to the Air Nation, she was outside gazing at the wide open seas. So many new adventures awaited out there, this much she was certain of. Her loneliness came to an end when Bolin walked over and stood beside her. He had a hunch there was something on her mind.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he said. Asami nodded her head, giving him permission to do so. "About, what you said back in Cloudsdale with Starlight…it got me thinking and…I'm sorry."

"For putting you on the spot like that. I said I wouldn't leave until you made a decision, and I shouldn't have done that. This is hard for me too. I realized I really do want to take the job. A chance to be part of something bigger than myself. Just like the tribal ponies against the changelings, I won't feel right with myself if It just left them hanging. You know?"

"I do know." Asami replied, gazing into his eyes and smiling. "That's what I love about you, Bolin. You're always so eager to help people. I know you've already done so much for me, even before we got together. Now, it's time I did the same for you. As long as you're fighting for the right thing, I will always support you."

"So, you're going to be okay? You know what people say about long distance relationships."

"Yeah, but then again…we're not most people." she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You'll always be my hero, Bolin."

As the sun slowly began to sent over the horizon, the ocean reflecting its heavenly glow against the clear ocean waters, the two young lovers shared a true love's kiss. Despite the distance between them, one thing was certain. No matter what obstacles came their way, be it natural or supernatural, their love, one way or another, found a way to bring them back together.

Everything was packed and ready. The day for Bolin's leave had finally arrived. Though, for some, it came a bit too fast. The earthbender looked around his side of the room, all of his belongings absent from where they once were. He had to admit, it looked a lot cleaner than it normally did. He heard a soft squeak and saw Pabu resting his head on the suitcase. He smiled and petted his furry buddy.

"You take good care of the boys, okay Pabu?" he said, the ferret nay squeaked a reply.

A knock came from the door and in walked in his two brothers, and nieces and nephew. Ali, Mika and San circled around their uncle Bolin, giving him a hug goodbye.

"We're going to miss you, Uncle Bolin!" they all said sadly, and Bolin tried his hardest to fight the tears.

"I'm gonna miss you too. Now, be good to daddy and uncle Flash, okay? And San, no more dipping Pabu's paw in hot water, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Bo." the little spirit child said before they flew out of the room, leaving the three brothers to themselves.

Mako took a moment to observe the empty side of the room. This was really happening. His brother really was leaving home. He suspected this way would come, only now it felt too soon. He even felt tears threatening to come out.

"Mako? You okay?" Bolin asked his brother in concern. He wasn't expecting Mako to be this effected by him leaving.

Mako turned around, not ashamed of the tears rolling from his eyes. "Bet you never pegged your big bro as a cryer, hu?" he said, trying to soften the mood, despite his sadness.

"Oh, come here you leaky lug!" Bolin didn't hesitate to hug his older brother, and Flash joined in the embrace, crying alongside the boys. "I'm gonna miss you both so much." once the hug ended, Bolin wiped away his tears, despite more on the way, "Mako, I want to thank you."

"For everything. I know it wasn't easy to raise me while we were out on the streets, but you never gave up. You were always a survivor, you inspired me to be a survivor too. Thank you. Thank you for being the best big brother a guy could ask for."

Mako hugged his younger brother one last time, this time actually sobbing as they held each other tighter. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. I love you, little bro."

"I love you too, big bro." Bolin then patted Flash Sentry on the back, "Flash, you are the most amazing pony brother a guy could ask for."

Bolin couldn't help but laugh at Flash actually using his nickname. The two embraced once more. Flash was so grateful to have the most amazing brothers in the world.

Kuvira and Korra said their goodbyes before the metalbender boarded the ship, which would take them to the Earth Kingdom. Bolin hugged each and every member of his family, his grandma Yin crying so much she soiled her red scarf. He bid farewell to all of his friends, including Kai, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, the Crusaders, P'li, Starlight Glimmer, Tenzin, Pema, who gave him food for the trip, and Tenzin gave him a pat on the back. He was going to miss this lad. Spike cried as he hugged his friend goodbye, handing him Pabu, who licked his face.

Naga licked him as well, nearly messing up his hair. Only to be fixed by Rarity herself with her magic. "Oh, things won't be the same without you, Boly."

"Never stop creating, Rarity." Bolin winked and hugged the unicorn, who cried sadly, running her mascara and needing to blow her nose in a hankie.

Applejack gave her fellow earthbender a great big hug, "Don't forget to write, partner."

"I won't." next, he received a great big hug from Pinkie Pie…who was crying waterfalls from her eyes.

"I don't want you to go!!" she whipped loudly, practically wetting the young man.

"Hey, there there, Pinkie. I'll be back before you know it." he patted her head and handed her a cupcake to make her feel better, which did but it didn't stop the tears. "Never stop making smiles, okay?"

Next, was Fluttershy, whom Bolin smiled proudly at, "Fluttershy. Sweet, lovable Fluttershy. Never change." he said before hugging her as well.

Next, was Rainbow Dash, who was trying her best not to get too sentimental. Bolin extended his arms, ready for a hug. "Come on, Rainbow Dash."

"I'm not crying!" she stated defensively. "I just…I got something in my eye and…oh, who am I kidding!" she hugged the earthbender as tightly as she could, crying and sobbing almost as much as she did when Tank had to hibernate.

"Well, she's handling it better than last time." Korra said to Mako, who nodded in agreement.

Finally, weeping pegasus released her friend, who wiped away her tears. "Keep up the good work, Rainbow Dash. You're going places, kid."

Next, Bolin was to say goodbye to his ex-girlfriend. "Opal, I know our relationship didn't last long, but despite what happened, you're still one of the coolest girls I know and you are going to be an amazing airbender."

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were next. "Now, I want you both to play nice while I'm away. No more of this time travel business…unless you go back to a time where I can meet Toph Beifong, then give me a call ASAP!"

The two magical ponies laughed at the joke and welcomed him in a group hug. "I'm going to miss you, Bolin." Twilight said, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I'll miss you too, princess. Take care of Flash while I'm gone." he placed a hand on Starlight's shoulder, "Do good."

She may have only known him for a short amount of time, but Starlight could already safely say she had a good friend in him. Next was Korra, and Bolin had plenty to say to her.

"Princess Korra. When you first arrived in Republic City I had no idea my life would change forever. You're the most amazing, most talented and supper magical girl in the world! And the best friend a guy could ask for. Thank you…for everything."

Korra couldn't help but tear up. "Thank you, Bolin. You were the first friend I ever made here."

Korra chuckled and shook her head, "I'm very proud of you and everything you've accomplished. You're not the same guy I met at the pro-bending arena. You've really grown up. I wish you the best of luck out there. Never forget, the best way to make a friend…is to be a friend."

"Thanks. I won't forget." Bolin cried once more as he and Korra hugged one last time. She was the first real friend he had made, and because of that she will always have a special place in his heart.

Last, but certainly not least, was Asami Sato. They had already said their goodbyes beforehand in private, so they didn't need to repeat them here. Bolin grabbed her hands, gazed into her eyes and she in his as they pressed their foreheads together.

They both shared one last passionate kiss before they parted ways. Their hands still holding onto one another before he got onto the boat. The horn sounded and the group watched in silence as their dear friend Bolin waved goodbye to his family. His diverse, brightly colorful, sometimes abnormal, but incredibly close family.

He knew this wasn't goodbye forever, but it wouldn't be like before. Still, one day they would all be together again once Bolin's mission was done. As the boat sailed away farther and farther from the deck, Asami ran towards the pier, catching up with the ship if only to see Bolin up close once more. She stopped once she reached the end and the boat was off, now entering the vast ocean that lied ahead, and new adventures for the man she loved, who she knew would come back one day. Even with the distance growing more and more, Asami did not leave the pier, refusing to leave until the boat was completely gone from view. Bolin always remained on deck, gazing at the pier, refusing to look away until the sight of the woman he loved was gone. Which both would have taken a while.

The group of friends left one by one, not saying a word. What more could they say? Bolin was off on his own adventure now. A new chapter had opened for them. Times were changing.

He couldn't imagine the last time the arena was this silent. It had been a long time since he walked into this place. Mako leaned against the railing of the locker room, admiring the decor of the place, still was jaw droopingly beautiful as ever. It had been hours since Bolin left, night had fallen and everyone was off doing what they did best. Flash was out with Twilight and he wanted to spend some time to himself. He felt another presence enter the arena, resting beside him against the railing.

"No. Just thought about taking a stroll down memory lane too." she replied. The Avatar's gaze met the empty arena before her. It looked exactly as it did the day she came to the city. She chuckled as a memory came to her mind.

Mako chuckled at the memory as well, "You were supposed to knock them off the back."

"Well, I know that now!" Korra laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder as he laughed along with her. They laughed for a while longer before it slowly died down. Both of their gazes solemnly on the arena before them.

They could almost hear the sound of the adoring crowds, the ringing of the bells and the extremely detailed descriptions of the announcer. Korra especially remembered all the times the Mane Six cheered the team on during their games, or the time Rarity was a substitute waterbender for the charity game Bolin practically begged her to be a part of. And the girly unicorn actually ended up not only enjoying it, but winning as well. So many things happened in this one arena. Good memories, bad memories. Some funny, some awkward. Nearly, all of their first adventures together happened here.

Korra gently shook her head, which still rested on his shoulder, "No. Not really. It's funny, at the same time…it also feels like nothing's changed. Does that make sense?"

"That crazy girl who barged into the arena that night and became your replacement waterbender?"

Mako smiled as he caressed her face, the which which had her cutie mark. "Yes. Her, and so much more." he replied, making her blush. "What about you? You still see that Mr. Hat Trick who didn't realize what he was getting himself into?"

The two young lovers gazed into each other eyes and shared yet another loving kiss. A lot has changed since they first met in this very spot. Especially their love for one another. Once they parted, they simply stood there, enjoying the other's embrace while their forehead rested against one another. Their moment was interrupted when Asami entered the room. A long time ago, this would have been awkward, but tonight the young heiress just needed some company.

The young couple looked at their friend with worry, who then began to shed her tears before sobbing. The departure was harder than she expected. Korra and Mako did not hesitate to embrace the weeping heiress, allowing her to cry on their shoulders. She didn't have her mother or her father for this.

Several weeks had passed and things were returning to normal. Starlight Glimmer had made wonderful friends with the airbenders and became acquainted with the rest of the Mane Six. On this particular day, Starlight received a surprise invitation from Mako and Flash Sentry, who asked her to meet them at Narooks for lunch. She was a tad surprised they would have asked her to come here, but she was learning how to make friends so she complied. Once she arrived she saw them waving at her from across the room at a rounded table.

"Hey, guys." she greeted them happily. "So, what's the big surprise you wanted to show me?"

The boys, however, didn't reply, but instead they smiled almost excitedly. Starlight tilted her head curiously at their reactions until a voice spoke form behind her.

Hesitantly, she turned her head to see an anthro male unicorn standing before her. His eyes were clear blue and his coat-skin was a bright orange. His hair was styled downwards now, with edgy bangs combed to the left side of his face, and had a white marking on his forehead, just bellow his unicorn horn. He wore a traditional Republic City Police uniform.

When she couldn't find the words to speak, Mako spoke for her. "Starlight, meet our newest deputy…Sunburst."

She couldn't believe her eyes, It was really him! Her long last friend was back. Her first reaction was to cry tears of joy before hugging him tightly. Sunburst happily returned the embrace, ecstatic to see his old friend again.

"I can't believe it!" she said in between her happy sobs. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Me neither!" he replied, crying tears of happiness as well. Once they ended the hug, he wiped away the tears with his thumb. "I can't believe I finally found you!"

"Before I left for Canterlot I wanted to say goodbye and ask if we could keep in touch. But, I overslept and my parents were in such a rush they put me on the next train before I could talk to you. I tried sending you letters but you never answered. When I went back to find you everypony said you left."

Starlight couldn't believe what she was hearing. So, Asami and the others were right, Sunburst hadn't forgotten her. He really did try to reconnect with her. Just because they grew up didn't necessarily mean they would grow apart. She blushed as he caressed her cheek with the marking on it.

Mako and Flash happily got up from their seats and made their way to the door. "We'll let you guys catch up." Flash said as he and Mako left the two alone in the restaurant, where they happily shared a bowl of noodles and told one another of their adventures, pasts and experiences. Sunburst even confessed he dropped out of magic school because, despite his vast knowledge of magic, he couldn't do anything with it until he realized his magic was at its strongest when he helped others, the same way he did so with Starlight Glimmer when they were young, which is why he pursued a job in law enforcement until he signed up to join the Republic City police force.

Starlight was hesitant to confess her past sins for a while, but after much encouraging, she eventually did. To her surprise, Sunburst didn't think any less of her. If anything, he apologized for not having tried harder to find her, Starlight admitted she was the one who shouldn't have doubted their friendship to begin with due to her own insecurities which were what led her to her downfall into darkness. Ironically, this confession didn't damage their friendship, but made it even stronger. She realized you really can be friends even if you think differently. Since then, the two had become closer than ever.

From that day on, everyone carried on with their lives. Friendships were formed, dreams were made reality, big or small, Team Avatar and all of their friends would have more adventures awaiting for them. But, no matter what they were, one thing was always certain…

Starlight Glimmer not only had her old friend back, but had an entire assortment of friends by her side. She had never felt happier, and neither have the Mane Six.

As time passed on, the group of friends never stopped being close. No matter what the distance, their bonds never faltered.

Rarity had Starlight and Opal be her new models for the new line of airbender flying suites she had been planning for quite some time, and even Tenzin found them to be suitable for the airbenders.

Fluttershy introduced Starlight to her all of her furry animals friends and Jinora introduced her to her spirit friends. Naga took a liking to Starlight…judging by the way she practically slobbered her in drool every time she licked her.

She even learned to master her new glider with the airbender children, while flying across the sky with Rainbow Dash, and even Moon Dancer. Starlight helped Applejack buck her apples, assisted Pinkie Pie in making her delicious cupcakes, and even had reading sections with Twilight Sparkle and even Moon Dancer, who had become one of her new best friends since arriving. They both had so much in common, and Moon Dancer helped Starlight in not to hold a grudge.

She especially becomes close with P'li, a kindred spirit who she looked up to like a big sister at this point. She even got Korra to teach her how to meditate, although she couldn't help but laugh when a butterfly land in Starlight's nose.

One day, Starlight even payed a visit to her old village, where she encountered Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, Party Favor and Night Glider. She sincerely apologized for her mistakes and accepted if they never forgave her. To her surprise, and relief, they did.

But Starlight wasn't the only one moving on. Bolin himself was adjusting well. In only a few weeks, he was already helping starving villagers and making new friends everywhere he went. Kuvria knew she made the right choice in asking him to join them. Asami continued working on her company, even assisting with constructing some new statues for the park, which would latter be called Harmony Park, named after the Mane Seven themselves. She received a few letters from Bolin, happy to see he was doing alright. When she wasn't working she would be with her friends, going shopping with Rarity, watching pro-bending matches with Korra and Rainbow Dash or shooting some hoops with Mako. Who would often give her the occasional noogie on the head.

All around the world, friendships blossomed like never before. The Earth Queen was making more friends than ever before with her subjects, thanks to Bolin. Suyin and Lin's relationship had never been better. Rarity and Huan would still come together to create art and Rainbow Dash could beat Wei and Wing at any sport, except metal disk.

Gommu the hobo was living happily with his spirit friends, the former Equalist protestor was happy as a professional events organizer, even the former Lieutenant left the city and met a lovely woman. Ironically enough, she was a waterbender!

Tahno and the Wolf Bats had become more humble and even players, and friendlier with Team Avatar. Eska and Desna were…kind of happy. Varrick was happy helping Bolin with uniting the Earth Kingdom, and Aiwei continued traveling across the spirit world with his scorpion spider companion. They two would occasionally encounter Iroh, who happily shared his tea with them.

Leilani was happiest as could be to finally be with her daughters once more. Shinning Armor and Cadance continued to wait for the arrival of their future baby…and the mother-to-be was already having the occasional mood swings. After many months, their daughter was born. A natural born alicorn named Flurry Heart. Needless to say, she was quite the handful.

Even Wan-Shi-Tong, the spirit owl himself, became kinder to his foxy knowledge seekers, and to the other spirits in general.

Trouble Shoes was happy with his new career as a rodeo clown, and the CMC and airbenders visited him every time there was a rodeo in town. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon became best friends with the CMC and the airbenders. Coco Pommel was as happy as could be with her job, and even the griffon Gilda was making more and more friends by the day at Griffonstone. Things were really looking up.

Big Mac's bond with Apple Bloom was stronger than ever, and Applejack couldn't be prouder. The Han and Guans were as tight nit family now and Coloratura, once again going by Rara, had concerts sold out around all of Equestria. No longer did she need a spell to make her voice sound good, because it was beautiful just the way it was.

Discord became more sociable, making more and more friends outside of the Mane Six, he was a real hoot during karaoke night, that was for sure. Teo and Erika grew closer and closer as well, eventually becoming a couple and, in due time, Teo's addition to stealing began to diminish until the day came where he no longer felt the urge to steal. He had never been happier.

Human world Twilight Sparkle was adapting wonderfully in her new high school, and she and Sunset Shimmer became as close as sisters. She had never been happier with her new gal pals, and new boyfriend Flash Sentry, who inspired her to join music class. Sunset Shimmer also began visiting the human world, making new friends and learning new firebending skills. At one point, she even met Starlight Glimmer and became fast friends!

As for Mako, he was slowly growing accustomed to not having his brother around, and was happy with his job, life, family and relationship. However, when Double Diamond finally asked Applejack out on a date, he couldn't help but get into 'big brother' mode.

Flash was as happy as could be as well, and even Asami wad adapting. Rarity's business grew and grew, Pinkie Pie brought a smile everywhere she went, Rainbow Dash was moving up the ranks in her police career, Fluttershy became a stronger airbender, eventually becoming one of their scouts.

As for Korra, well, her happiness was really seeing other's happiness flourish. That was all she really needed to see.

As the pages of time kept on turning, and the stories kept on writing. Friendships grew and grew, one by one, creating more magic with every heart they touched. It's hard to imagine how so many friendships came to be. One would ask, how did they come to be?

Well, that my friends is how the story began. It all started with a man, a pony, a spirit…and Love.

The purple pony panted as the hot sun continued beaming down upon them. The three four legged creatures had been traveling for hours on end.

"Adagio, how much longer do we have to keep this up?!" the purple one asked impatiently.

"Why did we come to this place again?" The blue one asked, her tongue sticking out in exhaustion.

"Quit complaining!" the yellow pony yelled in anger, "Unless you want to go back to that pathetic mirror world you better keep moving!"

"But what else is there for us to take here?" The purple pony asked, "We don't have our magic anymore, remember!"

"No, but this place has plenty of untapped magic. We just need to know where to find it. And once we do…then we'll have our revenge on that meddling little Princess!"

What will these ponies do with the magic once they have found it? That, my dear friends…

*(~)*
Romans 8:24-30~
"For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
*(~)*

The Little Pony Legend: A Kingdom of Friendship

by MaggiesHeartLove

The Cutie Re-Mark part 4