//------------------------------//
// Monstrous Magic 
// Story: The Little Pony Legend: Friendship Games 
// by MaggiesHeartLove 
//------------------------------//


Monstrous Magic


After the incident, Fluttershy explained the entire situation to her friends as they all walked down the hallways together. "All I did was hand Twilight a bunny. Then I ponied up. Next thing I knew, Naga and Pabu were talking."
"Still can't wrap my head around that." said Naga, still feeling uncomfortable with her new abilities. She never had a problem with communicating with others before, so her talking now felt…very out of place for her personally. 
"I just don't get it." Sunset said, "Rarity's magic came out when she made us outfits. Pinkie's when she fixed the party, Mako when he comforted Korra, Asami after she talked to Twilight and now Fluttershy."
"Rarity, Pinkie and Flutters I can understand," Korra said, "But I don't get how you guys were able to pony up when you couldn't before."
"I still haven't ponied up!" Bolin said, "Unless you count when I played the drums."
Fluttershy continued explaining what had happened, "And then Twilight's pendant thingy just pulled the magic right out of me. I couldn't even stand up."
"Like me at the party!" Pinkie said.
"Or me right before we met Twilight!" said Rarity.
"Or me after I spoke to her." Asami said.
"Twilight was with each of you when that happened." Mako concluded. 
"So she really is stealing magic like Korra said?" Sunset asked.
Applejack shook her head with uncertainty, "I dunno. She doesn't seem like the magic-stealin' type."
"Yeah, but she had something to do with closing the portal. If her pendant can pull in magic, maybe it stole the portal, too."
"That's debatable at this point." Korra said, "Don't get me wrong, I know she's responsible for whatever is happening. But even after she took the magic from the portal I realized I still had my bending."
"Yeah. Same here." Sunset said.
Bolin shook his head in confusion. "Wait, if this Twilight is stealing magic how come she didn't take your bending when it's technically magic too."
Mako placed his knuckles under his chin in thought. "Maybe that's not how her device works." he said.
"What do you mean?" Asami asked.
"Twilight was able to have a conversation with Fluttershy without any problems. But the minute she ponies up the device stole her magic."
Sunset's eyes widened in realization, "He's right. It's just like with the portal. If Twilight hasn't been there it'd probably still be working."
Korra connected the dots in her mind. "I was trying to get in touch with Twilight, so the device stole the magic from the portal which allowed us to stay in touch with Equestria."
"Exactly." Mako said, lowering his hand. "The magic from the portal is immense, and since that device wasn't as powerful due to being human made, it probably took up more space thus sparing your bending but still managed to take some of your magic with it. Mainly your original Equestrian magic. So far, it's only stolen magic when it revealed itself. If this keeps up there's no telling what that thing might do."
Korra crossed her arms, "In other words, we need to be extra careful around her from now on or else she'll soak all of us dry like a raisin."
"So, we know how Twilight can take magic wether she knows it or not." Asami said, "Question now is, how do we get it back?"
"I don't know." Sunset's shoulders lowered in dismay, "And the other pony or person or princess who could help us figure this out is completely unreachable now."
Pinkie Pie then popped up from behind her and Korra, hugging them both, "Which is too bad, because Twilight knows everything about magic--" she reappeared behind Rainbow and Asami, "--and portals--" she reappeared from inside a locker, "--and magical portals--" she reappeared once again from the ventilation system, throwing confetti, "--and portable magics!"
She walked out the door that lead to the playing field outside but tripped and fell on her face. Rainbow walked up and helped her stand back up. "For now, let's just focus on beating the Shadowbolts. And as long as this event puts me in a playing field, I don't think we've got anything to worry about."
"Oh, it puts you on a playin' field, alright." Applejack pointed towards the field, the scene made Pinkie gasp loudly while Team Avatar smiled proudly.
The entire field had been entirely rearranged just for the events, complete with a track race road, archery field and various dirt hills were risen upwards and various ramps for the motocross race.
"Pretty sweet, hu?" Bolin asked with a big broody smile on his face, "I think Korra and I really outdid ourselves."
"You guys made all of this?!" Sunset asked in disbelief.
"Mostly the motocross race." The Avatar reminded, crossing her arms and smiling confidently. "Being a bender has its perks."
Sunset and Mako both blinked, "Am I the only one who thinks this is overkill?" Sunset asked.
"You get used to it." Mako replied, rather dryly. This kind of thing was nothing new when it came to Korra and Bolin.
Applejack kicked one of the mountains with her boot, testing their stability, which was very firm. "I don't suppose you've made motocross outfits." she said to Rarity.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous…Of course I did!" right off the back, Rarity pulled off two beautiful motocross costumes, one for Rainbow Dash and one for Sunset Shimmer.
Mako placed his hands on both Sunset and Rainbow's shoulders, "Better get your helmets on, ladies, cause it's game time!"


(~) 


On the other side of the field, Principal Cinch was having a strict word with her six remaining students. The other six had failed her miserably so she made it very clear she did not want them to disappoint her this time. 
"You will race in pairs. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat will handle the motocross."
"Yes!" Indigo pounded her fist in victory. 
"Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare have requested the short track. Since archery is a standard requirement at our school, any of you should be able to do it. Twilight and Sour Sweet will start us off."
"Well, that's just marvelous!" Sour Sweet said very sweetly, right before shifting to her sour attitude, "If you wanna lose before we even start!"
Her fellow Shadowbolts shared her thoughts. Twilight was the least athletic out of all of them, she would cost them the game for sure.
Even Twilight had to agree. She knew she wasn't the sports type, why would she be picked? Then again, there weren't that many options left.
"Given that Twilight won the last event single-handedly, I have every confidence that she will be able to pull her weight here. Won't you?" 
The cold-hearted woman leaned in further, frightening the young girl to the core. None the less, she nodded her head in response. 
"Good. Now get yourselves ready. And don't disappoint me again. Because if you do, this will go on each of your permanent records. Is that clear?"
For once, each of the Shadowbolts demonstrated genuine fear and uneasiness, mirroring that of Twilight's. There was a reason this woman was so cold towards all of them, she had their futures wrapped around her finger. Every grade, every academic accomplishment they ever made at Crystal Prep was carefully and strictly monitored by Principal Cinch. She made it her business to see to it that each and every single one of her students had a good reputation. Thus, she would have a good reputation. After all, her reputation was all she really had. 
Once she left, the Shadowbolts noticed one of the opposing team's coaches appear. He was the green eyed guy with the fuzzy ferret for a pet. 
"What do you want?" Suguarcoat asked bitterly while crossing her arms, trying not to let him realize she was still shaking from the threat by her principal.
"I came over to get the roller skates for the speed-race." he said, demonstrating the skates in his hands, "I couldn't help but overhear what happened. That lady is nasty."
"She's our principal!" Sunny Flare exclaimed in defense, "She's just making sure we don't look like losers."
"Yeah but, threatening your academic futures like that? Correct me if I'm wrong but, aren't principals suppose to encourage their students and not intimidate them?"
"Why are you even talking to us?" Sugarcoat asked, "You're on the opposing team."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be nice."
Sugarcoat blinked before saying, "You're weird."
"Hey, just because Cinch is a jerk, that doesn't mean you got to be. I mean, you're all really smart right? So, shouldn't you be smart enough to make up your own minds?"
For a moment, the Shadowbolts looked at one another in surprise. Something about this guy's words actually made sense somehow. Still, they couldn't risk disappointing their principal. Besides, he was on the opposing team, he could just be trying to give them a sense of false security before plating dirty. Still, his happy-go-lucky smile didn't falter at all.
"Well, good luck!" he waved and head off. As he walked behind the bleachers, Bolin's body began to glow and rise up. A pair of pony ears appeared on his head. "No way! This is so cool!"
Just like all the other times, Twilight's pendent opened up and began absorbing Bolin's magic. The device dragged Twilight with great force, but she managed to remain firm as the device slowly closed and Bolin practically passed out. He felt so woozy he needed help standing up. Luckily, Mako was passing by and caught him.
"Bolin! You too?"
"I…I think so." he said, rather deliriously. "Don't tell Korra."
"Too late." Mako turned his head, showcasing the angry Avatar behind him. Bolin was still too exhausted to feel scared.
"I'm sorry, Kors. I didn't expect that to happen."
"It's not you I'm angry with." her blue eyes narrowed at the glasses wearing girl and her fists half clenched. Only the stern and strong voice of her boyfriend brought her back to her senses. 
"Korra." 
Mako's serious yet still caring glance held more words than any sentence could. He was telling her to calm down for now was not the best time. She understood that perfectly. Deep down inside, this anger was exhausting. She hatted feeling this way, she didn't want to feel angry anymore. She was so sick and tired, it drained her emotionally far too much. She took in a slow deep breath and calmed herself. She was done being angry. No matter what happened next, she would do so without anger, because so far, anger was getting her nowhere.


(~)


Principal Cinch took her seat on the judges table next to Dean Cadance to her left, with Luna and Celestia to her right. Cadance rose up and adjusted the microphone. 
"Welcome, everyone to the Friendship Games Tricross Relay! In this event, our qualified competitors will face off in archery, speed skating, and finally, motocross."
Fluttershy and Applejack adjusted their great, now wearing beautiful archery outfits Rarity had made for them, while Sour Sweet and Twilight adjusted their bows. Twilight struggled with keeping her balance, due to how nervous she was. 
Rarity and Pinkie Pie stood opposite Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest in the speed-race starting line. Next to it was a light that would go green and buzz, signaling their call to start racing around the track. 
Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer adjusted their helmets while on their bikes, opposite Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap. 
Team Avatar stood near the bleachers, sending cheers, waves and thumbs up to their team. Asami recorded the whole thing with the phone, even took various pictures of the crowd, competitors and her friends. 
"So if the competitors are ready…" Cadance blew an airhorn, which caused the three principals to cover their ears. The game began with the archery course. First up were Sour Sweet and Fluttershy. The girls needed to jump over stacks of hay and shoot arrows at the moving targets. Fluttershy did something not many of her classmates thought she would do. She did a summersault and flipped over the stacks of hay like a martial artist expert. This shocked Sour Sweet, she had no idea this meek girl could be so nimble.
Asami smiled proudly while shouting, "Go Fluttershy! I taught her that!"
"Each competitor must hit a bullseye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay." Cadance explained
Still, Sour Sweet was just as nimble and fast. She managed to leap over the stacks, grab the arrows and swung to the otherside over a mudpit, roll over and shoot not one, but three arrows. Two missed the bullseye, but the third one managed to hit it perfectly. Crystal Prep cheered for their team, making Sour Sweet smile proudly. 
Twilight ran up and tried to jump over the stacks, but the poor girl tripped and landed hard on her face, making Sour Sweet growl in anger.
Fluttershy was rather nervous and kept dropping the arrows. Asami watched and whispered to herself, "Just breath. Keep your eyes on the bullseye."
Fluttershy took in a deep breath and rephrase what her coach said to her during practices. "Deep breath…"
Twilight swung herself over the mudpit, her foot touching the tip of where Sour Sweet stood. The impatient girl was practically pulling her eyelids off.
"…eye on the…" in one hit, Fluttershy hit the target straight on the dot. "Bullseye!" Fluttershy gave her team a thumbs up as the crowd cheered for her win.
Asami leaped for joy, "That's my girl!"
Flim and Flam scoffed bitterly at their loss. They dare not cross these people again. Not after the last time.
Now it was Applejack's turn to jump over the hays, swing across and hit a bullseye. Twilight managed to make it to the other side, albeit with struggle, and A.J shot one arrow, but missed the bullseye. Fluttershy still clapped at the good hit.
Twilight took the bow and arrow and readied to shoot, but her first arrow didn't even hit the target but the wall. Sour Sweet growled angrily. She knew having this egghead on their team was a terrible idea. 
On the sidelines, Korra watched the scene and as she did…she began to feel sympathy for the child. Here she was, trying her hardest, but her teammate didn't show any support or offered assistance. She just growled angrily as if she would rather do the whole thing herself than have Twilight with her. 
Applejack took in a deep breath and recalled another one of Asami's teachings. The heiress watched the scene, zooming in on the blond-haired archer. She took a deep breath and studied the movement of the target as it circled around. She waited for the right moment and…
"Bullseye!" Asami shouted once the arrow hit its target perfectly. 
The bell dinged, turning the red light green and Rarity and Pinkie Pie skated down the track, leaving Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare behind. If Twilight didn't hit the target they couldn't move. Cinch was not going to like this.
"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!" Cadance narrated through the microphone as the two girls skated as fast as they could. They had to go five times around the track.
Korra kept her hands close to her heart whispering to herself, "Push the water, Rarity. Push the water." was the name of the skating move she taught her.
Rarity had taken the teachings to heart and did just that. She bended her knees in the perfect formation, and using the strength in her legs, pushed ahead receptively as if she was pushing the waters to get to the shore. Pinkie Pie used the exact same skill and the girls were speeding like never before. 
Poor Twilight couldn't stop her knees from buckling. Every arrow she got didn't hit the target at all. Only the wall. To make matters worse for Crystal Prep, Rarity and Pinkie skated right pass Sour Sweet, who growled in anger once more. 
"Well, that's just fantastic!"
Fluttershy and Applejack watched sadly as the poor Twilight continued to put up with her teammate's abuse. She was trying, but that other girl was just sour.
"I'm sure glad I don't go to Crystal Prep." Fluttershy said while tugging her hair.
Applejack agreed, "You said it."
"Whee!" Pinkie Pie spun around with glee as she and Rarity made it past the first of the eight rounds around the track. Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare would be pulling their hair out if they hadn't had their helmets on. Twilight was costing them the game.
From the zoom in on the phone, Asami felt pity for the young girl. "You know, she may be stealing our magic, but I can't help and fell bad for her."
"I know," said Bolin, "The poor kid's trying her hardest but her teammates can't cut her some slack."
"I've known Triads with better manners." Mako said.
Korra was the only one who didn't say anything. Once she relinquished her anger she could now see Twilight for what she really was…an innocent child. Maybe she had been too hard on her before. She was so heartbroken about the portal she forgot to realize the kid had feelings too. Perhaps, in a strange subconscious way, this Twilight unknowingly harming her and her friends made her think of how devastating it would be if her Twilight ever did something like this, which would never happen but the thought alone was painful to even think about. Maybe seeing Twilight on an opposing team was more of an impact on Korra than she thought.
"If CPA can't hit another bullseye soon, they'll be out of this race." Cadance announced. So far, the Wondercolts had two points going for them, while the Shadowbolts remained in zero. 
Twilight tried and tried, but she just couldn't get it right. Her whole future was depending on this event, and if she failed she would loose everything. The very idea brought tears to her eyes, making it even harder for her to see where the target would be.
"You're really bad at this!" Sugarcoat shouted from where she and the motocross racers stood. Sunset and Rainbow narrowed their eyes at her. It wouldn't kill her to be a bit more supportive.
"Shut up!!" a loud yell was enough to make Sugarcoat shrink down in fear. The yell was from Korra herself, much to the surprise of her fellow coaches. She just crossed her arms, not even trying to deny what she just did. "Yeah, you heard me."
This really didn't come as that much of a surprise. They knew it was only a matter of time before Korra would feel sympathy for this Twilight. She may be fiery and headstrong, but she certainly was not heartless or uncaring.
But she wasn't the only done annoyed by the situation. Applejack groaned in frustration, "Ugh! I can't take anymore!" she handed Fluttershy her bow and walked on over to the opposing side, standing beside Twilight, speaking in a comforting voice which was rare for her to hear at this point. 
"Ya hafta stop aimin' at the target."
"That makes perfect sense! Don't aim at the target! Thanks so much!" Sour Sweet said, using her trademark sweet sarcasm. 
Applejack just ignored her and continued helping the poor girl, "Look, my coach taught me that ya hafta stop aimin' at where the target is an' aim at where the target's gonna be."
"Yeah! Definitely take advice from a person you're competing against!!!" 
Applejack rolled her eyes and ignored the sour girl, "Do you wanna hit the bullseye or not?"
Twilight didn't know why this girl was doing this, but what other choice did she have. She blinked once, wiping away her tears in the process, and nodded her head. Applejack smiled and place her hand on Twilight's shoulder, giving her a sense of calmness and security. 
"Then trust me. Take a deep breath."
Twilight did as she instructed and relaxed, listening to Applejack's instructions. 
"And let the arrow go…riiiiight….now!"
Crystal Prep, Canterlot High and Principal Cinch all watched with anticipation as the arrow went flying…right into the target!
The bell dinged and turned green, allowing Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare to skate. From the sidelines, Team Avatar (all four of them) jumped up and cheered happily for Twilight's win. Even if it was on the opposing team. This surprised Flim and Flam. Just why were they cheering for their rivals? It made no sense at all.
Spike wagged his tail and jumped into Twilight's arms. "Yeah! That's my girl!"
Sour Sweet had probably got sun fever or something, because she could have sworn she just heard a dog talk. Slowly, she backed away, not wanting anything to do with whatever just happened. Her team wasn't out of the games, that was enough for now.
Twilight's heart swelled up with such joy, not only because she didn't lose…but because somebody was kind enough to take the time and show her the right way to shoot. Everyone here at CHS was so remarkably kind, it was almost…magical.
Applejack raised her hand to high five her comrade, but was surprised when instead, Twilight gave her a hug. She was just feeling so wonderful right now. Applejack smiled and patted her on the back.
"See? I was tellin' ya the truth."
Indeed she was. And it was that very honesty that caused her body to magically glow, grow pony ears and her hair to expand in length. Twilight knew what happened next. Once somebody transformed, her device would activate and take away whatever she had. She couldn't let that happen again. 
She tried to keep her device to take away what this nice girl had, but it was too strong ever for her. The lip flew open and Applejack already could feel her powers draining. 
"Eh…what…are…you…doing?!"
"I don't know!"
Applejack's pony traits disappeared and she fell to the ground, exhausted. Asami and the rest of Team Avatar watched the whole thing via the phone.
"Oh no!"
Twilight quickly closed the device but accidentally tripped and the object flew right out from the string around her neck, landing on the ground and opening up on its own. The energy released a purple colored ring around her, creating another vortex on the ground. From within, emerged what appeared to be some kind of growing plant-like creature.
Twilight gasped in horror, asking herself; "What have I done?"


(~)


Rarity and Pinkie Pie were ahead of Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare, already their team had five points, while Crystal Prep only had four, which was pretty close. 
"Canterlot has only two laps to go!" Cadance narrated, "But it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time!"
The Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare were able to skate pass Rarity and Pinkie Pie, earning their school five more points. Now they were tied in with CHS. 
In their rush, Sunny Flare did not notice the device in her way and kicked it. Twilight quickly ran towards it and Team Avatar did the same. "We have to help them!" Korra said, only to be stopped when Bolin placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I thought we couldn't use our bending in front of her." Bolin said, only to have Korra roughly pull away from him.
"I'd rather risk my bending than risk their lives!"
Bolin, Asami and Mako exchanged looked and simultaneously nodded in agreement. They needed to help this girl, she was not aware of the forces she had unleashed. As Team Avatar ran out into the field, Flim and Flam were left baffled by their actions. "Hey, you're not allowed to help your students during the race!" Flam exclaimed.
"Can it!" the four younger coaches shouted at the twin brothers, making them reeled back in fear. 
Twilight tried to reach for her device, but was stopped when one of the gigantic moving plants blocked her path. Words could not describe the confusion and fear she was feeling right now. She ducked in cover as the creature came at her, its thick large tentacle ready to wrap around her body and squeeze her to death. Thankfully, she was pushed out of the way by a blur of red and black.
"Come on!" Rarity extended her leg for Pinkie Pie to grab. They were fast behind the two Shadowbolts but were not going down without a fight. Pinkie grabbed her friend's leg and Rarity swung her with all of her might, giving the pink girl more speed. She slightly crunched down, closed her fists and outstretched her arms behind her, looking like a ninja as she skated down with great speed. She bypassed Lemon and Sunny and won her school another point. The Wondercolts and other CHS students cheered for their friends, winning them the race. Even Cadance was impressed. 
"What a finish!" she exclaimed joyfully, but Principal Cinch did not feel the same. The green lights beside the motocross team lit up and the four revved up their engines, ridding down the ramps and up the dirt piled hills. 
Twilight was literally quivering when she realized the strong masculine arms protectively shielding her. Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing the amber eyed coach of CHS. 
"You saved me?"
"You sound surprised." Mako said with a reassuring smile before another vine came at them. He stretched out his hand, releasing a fire bullet at the creature causing it to go back and shocking Twilight even more. Thinking fast, Mako picked the girl up bridal style and carried her away from the vines, hiding her underneath the bleachers. 
"Stay here." he ordered, "We'll explain everything latter." seeing her practically hyperventilating, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, calming her down like a protective older brother. Shinning Armor used to do the exact same thing whenever she got scared. "Don't worry. It's gonna be okay." he smiled before running off to fight the monsters and Twilight observed in wonder as his body glowed once more and his pony ears emerged. 
However, while the race continued, various other portals began appearing around the field. Two appeared near the ramps as more of the vines began to crossover. Another portal opened right in the middle of the path, blocking the racers who were speeding up more and more. Rainbow Dash caught sight of it, hard not to, and maneuvered pass the arc-formation of the plant. Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Cinch observed the whole thing and were all equally astonished to see such a strange, if not supernatural, occurrence happen right in the middle of the relay. 
Asami took her stance, ready to fight the creature that opened its mouth wide, ready to take a bite out of her. She extended her hand but quickly remembered she didn't have her glove here. "Oh, come on!"
She was immediately pushed out of the way by Korra once the plant came at her. "Asami, try and get the students out of here as fast as you can!" Korra ordered, "Me and the boys will fend off the plants!"
All Asami could do was nod and do as her friend asked. At least she could do something. Rainbow Dash leaped over the ramp, flying across the sky on her bike, feeling the wind on her rainbow-colored hair. 
"Awesome!"
Sunset Shimmer revved up her bike, now neck in neck with Sugarcoat until she spotted the large plant. Its giant-jaw-like mouth opening wide to take a large bite out of whatever was in its reach. It was just as Sunset feared would happen. The magic was going crazy and was aiming right at her opponent. She didn't know how or why, but something inside of her just snapped. Stretching out her hand, a blast of fire came shooting out like a rocket and hit the creature right in the mouth, but this only caused it to screech in pain and move its tentacles like crazy. The attack managed to allow Sugarcoat to drive pass easily, but Sunset had to maneuver underneath the vine, causing her bike to trip and her to fall off of the seat. 
The crowd gasped as Indigo Zap zoomed upwards onto the vine and flew over its head, now making it angry. Indigo managed to land right in front of Rainbow Dash and Sugarcoat was now neck in neck with them. However, another one of the plants came at them, crashing into Sugarcoat and taking her bike, with her hanging onto it. The girl screamed in terror until large chunks of rock hit it straight in the face. Sugarcoat was astonished at seeing two of the CHS coaches, Bolin and Korra, suddenly manipulate the earth around them to attack the plant.  Rainbow Dash saw Sunset down on the ground and quickly turned her bike around, ignoring the race. 
Sugarcoat released the bike and was cushioned down by some kind of wind blast by the blue-eyed girl. "Go! Take cover!" Korra ordered. Normally, Sugarcoat wouldn't take orders from the competition, but she would make an exception in this case. 
Sunset watched in horror as the plant monster was about to eat her whole, until a hand reached out and grabbed her just in time once the plant's mouth hit the ground. Sunset sighed in relief, hugging her rescuer. 
"Dash, you saved me!"
"I wasn't about to let my friend become plant food."
Rainbow slowly stopped her bike once her body started to glow in a magical blue aura. She removed her helmet and her pony ears appeared, latter her pony tail and finally her wings. As beautiful as the sight was, Cinch was very skeptical. Where the students as CHS using some kind of special effects for some reason? As if so, why? Celestia didn't know how to explain all of this, especially the monstrous plants or the magical girl with wings.
"We can still win this!" Rainbow said. While she flew, Sunset drove on her bike, since hers was most likely torn to pieces by the plants. 
Because she did not have her electric glove, there wasn't much Asami could do against the plants. She attempted to attack but they were far too fast for her and they needed direct attacks in order to defeat them. With that, instead she got to the judges table, "We have to stop the race, now!" she pleaded, in hopes of getting the students to safety before things got worse. 
"No." Cinch said, "The race shall continue on as planed."
"Are you crazy?! Those kids are getting hurt out there!"
"I will not allow my students to forfeit because of your school's special effects."
"It's not special effects!"
Celestia stood from her seat, "I agree, this race needs to stop."
"I refuse to succumb to your petty attempts." Cinch replied, standing up as well.
"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Asami forcibly took the microphone away from Cinch, only for the older woman to try and pull it back away from her. 
"Foolish girl!"
"Don't you care about your students at all?!"
"My students care about our reputation as much as I do!"
"You're insane!"
As the two fought, Twilight watched as Mako, Korra and Bolin hit the plants with all they had. Naga and Spike joined in the fight, bitting onto the plants. Twilight spotted her device close by and attempted to sneak towards it to close the contraption, in hopes of stoping this madness. She didn't get the chance once one of the plants wrapped itself around he ankle. 
Indigo Zap fell into a crater, falling off of her bike as one of the plants aimed at her. Rainbow Dash flew down and, not wanting this girl to get hurt, got the creature to attack her instead and leave Indigo alone. Sunset revved the bike, picking up more speed as she flew over the ramps into the air. The crowd cheered at her successful jump and Indigo Zap managed to drive out of the crater. The plant came up from behind the two bikers but Rainbow Dash ramped herself into the creature, causing it to slam right into the ground. Rainbow placed her foot onto the unmoving creature, smiling in victory.
"Let…go!" Asami finally took hold of the mic by shoving Cinch down to the ground. She knew she was going to get in trouble for that latter but proceeded to warn the students through the microphone but it was already too late for Sunset Shimmer had already crossed the finish line in the nick of time, earning a win for her school.
"Yes!" Asami shouted with joy.
"No!" Cinch exclaimed angrily before taking the mic away from the girl…and then slapping her right across the face!
Cadance quickly caught Asami, who rubbed her cheek. The heiress was now fuming with anger and attempted to attack the principal for what she had done. She couldn't hit a moving giant plant, but she could hit this lady. She was held back by Cadance, who knew violence wasn't going to help them now. It didn't change anything thought, Canterlot still won and Crystal Prep was loosing fast.
Cadance took the mic and spoke to the students. "Attention, students, please proceed to the gym."
Asami only narrowed her eyes at the woman before roughly leaving the scene. Her bitterness towards this woman grew more and more. She was as cold as her tone.
Korra heard the other Twilight screaming and rushed over to burn the plant that grabbed her. "My device!" she shouted, pointing towards the object. Thinking fast, Pabu ran in and took it with his mouth. He tossed it towards Korra, and with her strength, managed to close the thing which in return made all of the vortexes disappear, along with the plants. Mako and Bolin stopped their bending, sighing in relief now that the fight was over.
Korra turned over to the other Twilight, who quivered in fear. She knew this woman didn't like her very much, so she prepared for the worst. To her amazement, Korra did none of the things she thought she would do. She did not look angry at all. Instead, Korra kneeled down to the girl's level and gently placed a hand on her cheek, almost in a motherly fashion. She must have either had siblings of her own or was good with kids because there was a familiarity with the way she did this. Slowly, Twilight's nerves calmed down.
"It's okay. You're safe now." Korra said in a gentle voice before handing her the device. "Make sure you keep the lock on this. I don't know if you've noticed, but it's been causing a lot of problems lately."
Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer gathered together, inspecting if the other wasn't hurt. 
"Is everybody all right?" Applejack asked. 
Rainbow Dash flew down, her feathers ruffling with excitement. "Better than all right! We won!"
"Yeah, we won, but somebody could've been seriously hurt." Sunset stated as she removed her helmet, "The magic is going haywire and I have no idea how to fix it!"
The girls all spun around to see Mako, Bolin and Korra with the alternate Twilight. Korra had her hands placed on her shoulders while the young girl explained everything to the others. 
"Um, excuse me, I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to learn about the strange energy coming from your school. I didn't know that it was magic or...how it works."
"That's okay. Neither do we." Rainbow said as she approached her. But once she did, Twilight's device began humming again. 
"Oh, no! Oh, no no no! Not again!" 
Against her own power, the device opened and began absorbing the magic out of Rainbow Dash. 
"Rainbow!" Mako tried to pull her out of the way, only to be caught in the effects as well. Korra and Bolin suddenly felt their energies being drained as well, what remained of their magic was now sucked into the device. They had exposed their bending, and now…now it was gone.
The three nearly passed out. Asami helped Bolin keep his balance, while Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer helped Korra and Mako. The male firebender clenched his hand, open and closed, trying to get a small flicker of fire to appear. Once he realized nothing came out, he sighed in defeat. His pony features, as well as Rainbow Dash's were completely gone.
"My bending…it's gone." he said in a whisper. Their energy completely drained while Twilight struggled to close the ding dang contraption.
"I'm sorry! It just started absorbing energy on its own! But I'm not sure how!"
"What do you mean you don't know how?!" Sunset began to forcibly close the object only for it to shoot some kind of energy beam up into the sky, creating yet another rift. Only instead of plants appearing, it was a beautiful starry sky with a full moon. Team Avatar recognized this scenery immediately. It was a gateway to their home.
Asami rushed on over once this happened. "What's going on?!" she asked. Meanwhile, Principal Cinch, her hair rather messed up from Asami pushing her down, hid behind the bleachers as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. This didn't look like any special effect. This looked…real.
"It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear!" Twilight said, while still struggling to close the contraption, "I don't know how that works either."
At this point, Sunset Shimmer had reached her boiling point. Her patience with this girl had worn out, the fire within her was through the roof.
"Is there anything you do know?! Like how to get our magic back?! Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?!"
"Equestria?"
"You're supposed to be so smart, but did you ever think you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand?!" angrily, Sunset closed the contraption which in return caused the portal to close as well.
"But I wanna understand!" Twilight insisted. 
"But you don't! And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!"
The anger in her eyes, the hurt in her voice and the obvious internal struggle of her wanting to either burn something or punch a wall was enough to make Twilight cry. This all happened because of her. She was the one who wouldn't keep her nose out of anybody's business, and now it seemed these people were paying the price for her foolishness. Her voice cracked and tears formed in her eyes, making her vision blurry. 
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." the poor girl ran off, crying while her loyal dog followed her. 
"Twilight, wait!"
Sunset's fists clenched tightly, her anger still fuming. But once Korra and Mako placed their hands on her shoulders, her mind became clear. She realized what she had done. She snapped and hurt the poor girl's feelings. This wasn't going to help anybody, how could she let this happen?
Bolin turned to Pabu, who rested on his shoulder. "Got anything to add, buddy?"
"It…could have gone better? I don't know, this talking stuff is tiresome, I don't know how you do it!"
Principal Cinch watched the scene with interest. So, there was indeed something supernatural happening here. This was beyond anything she could have imagined. Her school, discovering the existence of magic would be far greater than anything. However, she wasn't going to let that get in the way of the games. She refused to let anything halfway. She would not quit these games and she most certainly would not let this opportunity go to waste. Principal Celestia cleared her throat to get the woman's attention. 
"You can't possibly call that a fair race."
"Principal Cinch, we all saw what happened. You can't think CHS had some kind of advantage."
"Can't I? Even without your trained attack plants, your students have wings! Not to mention, one of your coaches assaulted me!"
"She was only looking out for the students." said Cadance, "I was half tempted to do so myself."
"Dean Cadance, remember where your loyalties lie." Cinch warned her, "Or have you forgotten?"
"I'm beginning to question that myself." said the young Dean, narrowing her eyes at the older woman.
"Well, the race certainly had some...extenuating circumstances." Celestia said, "Perhaps we should end the games now and declare a tie."
"A tie?" Principal Cinch was disgusted by even the mere thought or it, "Was this your strategy all along? To force us into accepting you as equals? I think not. The games will continue and Crystal Prep will prevail despite your antics and whatever performance-enhancing regimen your students are on."
With her nose held up high, she walked away as the Rainbooms and Team Avatar glared in her direction. Asami and Bolin were especially peeved at her for what she did previously. Sunset Shimmer approached her principal, bowing her head in regret. 
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop all this from happening."
"We are all." Korra said, stepping up to face the music as well. "You trusted us to keep the magic under control and we couldn't even do that."
"It's not your fault, Korra." Celestia said kindly.
"She's right." said Sunset, "It's mine. I should know how to control the magic I brought here. But I don't. I let everyone down. And now Principal Cinch thinks we're cheating."
"It doesn't matter what Principal Cinch thinks."
"But it does. The students here at CHS don't just wanna win. They wanna beat Crystal Prep. It isn't gonna count if the other side doesn't really think they lost. Crystal Prep is never gonna believe we won fair and square if there's magic around. And that magic is only around...because of me."


(~)


Twilight hid her face with her arms as she held her legs close. She felt terrible after what happened. This was all her fault. How could she be so stupid? And now, everybody hatted her.
"Twilight? Are you okay?"
A voice got her to look up and wipe away a few of her tears when she saw Flash Sentry, looking at her with concern in his beautiful blue eyes. "I saw what happened. Are you hurt?" he asked as he squatted down to check her for any injuries.
"No. I'm okay."
"Oh, thank goodness." he reached out to pat her on the back but the girl stood up before he could.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't want to talk right now."
"Hey, it wasn't your fault."
"But it was!" she shouted back at him tears still streaming down from her eyes, "I caused those monster plants to appear and now everybody hates me!"
"That's not true!" he insisted.
"You're an amazing guy, Flash Sentry, but…I just don't belong here." 
The saddened Twilight couldn't spend another minute standing beside him. Before, being around him brought her joy, but now it only brought her nothing but sorrow. 
(~)
Sunset Shimmer was also having her own problems. She didn't know where else to be, so she went to the library. Mainly to be alone. She sigh sadly as she flipped the pages of unicorns and dragons and hydras. She heard footsteps approach her and she looked up. 
"Let me guess, you're going to say I shouldn't be hard on myself, it's not my fault, I'll figure this out with time? That last one is highly unlikely since tonight's the last event and I've basically ran out of time."
The older woman just stood there with her arms crossed not saying anything.
"Well? Why won't you say any of that?"
"Why bother? You're right." Korra bluntly said, taking the younger girl by surprise, "We don't have anymore time to find out what the magic is doing and Crystal Prep will most likely believe we cheated."
"How is that suppose to be helpful?"
"It's not, I'm stating the reality of the situation."
"Well, good job." Sunset said sarcastically before groaning in exasperation.  
Korra took a seat beside her, "Now that that's out of the way, that's not why I'm here. Believe if you want, but I can relate to what you're going through."
"Where have I heard that before?"
Korra chuckled, "I'm serious. The first time we met, people were expecting you to mess up. And now, they expect you to succeed in something even you don't fully understand."
"I just want to be useful." Sunset said, practically pulling her hair, "I mean, I know I'm suppose to be learning about friendship, but there's got to be more that I can do. I want to put my lessons to the test and actually do what I'm suppose to do. Problem is, I'm not a hundred percent sure what that is!"
Korra smiled and tapped her chin in thought, "You know, me and Twilight asked ourselves the exact same questions before I was poisoned."
This intrigued Sunset, "You did?"
"Even with our crowns we weren't a hundred percent sure if we were ready to be royals. Heck, we didn't even know what our role as princesses was suppose to be. I guess, when it comes to what role we're all suppose to play, that answer doesn't come so easily. But that doesn't mean it never will. I've learned the hard way that, if you have the right kind of guidance in your life, your destiny will reveal itself when we need it most, not when we want it most. You may not get wings and a crown of your own, but that doesn't mean your part will be any less important. And once you do find it, well, I'm positive you'll accept it with an open mind, and an open heart." 
The Avatar's wise words brought so much peace to Sunset's heart. At her lowest point, her friends were always there to bring her back up. She smiled. "Thanks, Korra."


*(~)*
Proverbs 21:1~
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
*(~)*