The Little Pony Legend 4: Balance of the Heart

by MaggiesHeartLove

The Calling

*(~)*

2 Corinthians 3:17 ~

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom

*(~)*

The Calling

Korra's crystal clear castle shimmered in the sunlight. The majestic royal home stood proudly on the left side of Air Temple Island. The Mane Six, including Spike, Flash, Mako, Asami and Sunset Shimmer were helping Tenzin's children in loading the bags onto Pepper, Jinora's sky bison. Ikki stood on the top, catching the bags that were tossed her way. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy agreed to go with the kids on their mission to locate Korra. They figured with two of the Elements of Harmony, and Jinora's spiritual powers, they might be able to get a reading on her.

Applejack turned to Twilight, "Sure we can't go?"

"Better not. We all want Korra back, but Raiko asked me and Tenzin to stay here to help figure out a diplomatic solution to this Kuvira problem."

Sunset Shimmer intervened as she handed the map to Rainbow Dash, "Besides, the less people know about the Avatar missing, the better." Sunset rolled the map and handed it to Rainbow Dash. "Be careful."

"You can count on us to find her." Rainbow said with a salute.

Fluttershy approached Tenzin and Pema, and P'Li who was standing beside them holding a bag, "Don't worry, I promise we'll take good care of the kids." said the pegasus.

Ikki walked up to them while hugging Fluttershy's arm, "We'll be fine. Grandpa Aang and his friends were around our age when they traveled the world."

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you starving out there." said the combustion bender, patting a bag with food for the children.

"P'Li, we're going to be out in the wild, living off the land!" Meelo said proudly, trying to sound all macho. His pet lemur resting on his shoulder, "We don't need your food!"

Pema simply giggled, "But we made your favorite treat …" she said, catching Meelo's attention.

"Sweet buns with happy faces on them?"

"That's right."

"Well, I guess we're not officially on the road yet." he took one of the treats from the bag and opened it, only to discover that it had a smudge over the smily face, "Aww, this one is smudged. I can't eat this."

Pema tapped her son's nose. "You know, sometimes things get smudged in the wild."

Jinora jumped off of Pepper to hug Tenzin, "Were you able to get a read on Korra yet?" he asked.

"No, but once we're further out, I'll be able to hone in on her spiritual energy. We should be able to find her within a few days."

Rainbow and Fluttershy hugged their friends farewell. "Be careful out there." Asami said with concern.

"Don't' worry about us, Sami." said Rainbow, "We'll be back before you know it."

The children hugged their parents one last time and also gave a farewell hug to P'Li. She really did love these kids, it was always her secret dream to one day have children of her own. And, in a small way, she kind of got that wish. As the children mounted on the bison, their father called out to them, "Good luck! And be careful! Remember, Rainbow and Fluttershy are charge!"

"I answer to no man." Meelo said, "Or girl, even if they are ponies." the young boy received twins glares from the pegasus anthro ponies as well as more glares from the rest of the mares down bellow.

"Meelo …" his father lectured.

"Now let's move out, soldiers!" Meelo commanded.

Jinora sighed, "Ugh ... Pepper, yip-yip!"

As they took off, the others waved goodbye. "Good luck!" Pinkie Pie shouted, as the others all looked on with hope in their eyes. Twilight Sparkle turned away as she walked towards the gazebo where Korra would meditate by herself at times. She could still hear her laughter and feel her warm hugs. Twilight hugged her body as the wind blew on her face.

(~)

The group continued to fly across the sky while Rainbow Dash looked down at the map, her eyes scanning all the places Sunset Shimmer had marked which led to where Korra would be located. "If we follow the path Sunset marked, we should be able to reach Korra soon." she rolled the map and placed it on the belt of her waist.

"That's good to hear." Fluttershy said.

So far, the flight was very peaceful…until Rainbow spotted something in the distance. "What's that?"

Jinora squinted her eyes for a better look, "No worries, it's just a flock of geese….which are coming at us really, really fast." before Jinroa could steer Pepper away, the birds were already flying past them, their wings flapping and feathers landing everywhere. The ponies and children tried to shoo the birds away, causing their bags to get torn by their feet and beaks. Once the birds where gone Rainbow felt something was off. She looked down at her waist and saw the piece of paper flying downwards, being blown away by the wind.

"The map!"

Rainbow spread her wings and flew up at high speed to retrieve the paper, but the wind was just as quick. In only a few seconds, she was already in hands reach as the map began to slowly decent into the ocean bellow. Suddenly, Rainbow heard something strange coming from the waters bellow. "Hu?"

Right from underneath her, a large sea serpent rose up from the ocean, its long snout with whiskers, sharp teeth, black eyes and a long scaly neck.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

Rainbow's first instinct was to flee when the creature snapped its mighty jaws at her. She then attempted to firebend at the thing but it only made the creature angry. For a moment it dove back into the water, making Rainbow smile in triumph, "That's right, you better run!"

"Rainbow Dash" Jinora called out, "Don't make it angry!"

"What are you talking…a..bout?" Rainbow's cute pony ears lowered down as she felt a shadow hover over her. She hesitantly turned her head and saw the creature rising up, water dripping from its skin. Rainbow gave it her signature crocked smile and waved her fingers at it, "How ya doin?"

The creature opened its jaws and Rainbow quickly zipped on out of there, following the sky bison as they flew higher and higher, away from the creature. Pepper managed to land on the top of a small tower near a village where the children and two ponies got off.

Meelo speeded away, crying out, "Finally! I've been holding my pee for an hour!"

Rainbow Dash sat on the saddle in distraught, "I can't believe it. I lost the map."

Fluttershy placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and turned to the eldest airbender, "Jinora, why don't you try to see if you can find Korra anywhere."

Jinora nodded before getting behind the tower and sat down in a lotus position, closing her eyes as she began to meditate. Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, "This stinks! How in the heck did we run into a flock of birds and a giant sea serpent?! How?!"

"Sometimes unplanned things happened." Fluttershy said in reassurance.

"Are you kidding me? What were the chances?"

For a moment the two briefly looked on curiously at the screen….

"Well, you've seen the map already." said Flutters, "You can remember the path, right?"

"I do remember all the places Sunset Shimmer marked, but aside from that I don't remember in which order they were in. Even my memory's not that good."

"Well then, we'll just stop at those places and ask if anyone has seen Korra. We'll find her, I know it."

While Jinora was meditating, Ikki peaked her head from behind the wall, "If you get through to Korra, tell her I said hi….You feel anything yet?" Jinora groaned in frustration, until Ikki asked a final time. "What's taking so long?"

"Ikki, I can't concentrate if you keep talking." her sister replied in annoyance, "Why don't you go play with some of those spirits?"

Ikki sighed, dangled her arms and rested her back against the tower. Meelo then finally arrived , "Jinora's spirity powers are broken and she doesn't know where Korra is." Ikki said.

"My powers are not broken!" Jinora protested, "I just need more than two seconds and some quiet."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy approached the children, "Well since we don't have the map anymore, we're going to have to do things the old fashioned way." Rainbow instructed, "Meelo, you and Ikki go into town and find out if anyone has seen Korra."

Ikki bounced in front of her, "Sounds like a good plan to me!"

Meelo pointed a finger to silence his hyperactive sister, "Enough chit-chat, you can hold the picture of Korra I drew." he took from his pocket a piece of paper and handed it to Ikki. Neither her nor the ponies could believe what they were looking at; this was an extremely well drawn life-like picture of Korra, complete with her wings, cutie mark and all.

"Wow, I didn't know you could draw!" Fluttershy said in amazement.

Meelo crossed his arms, smiling proudly, "You don't know a lot of things about me sister. Let's roll!"

Meelo and Ikki opened up their wingsuites and jumped off of the ledge, flying towards the nearby village down bellow. They walked around the place, which already had posters of Kuvira hanging off the side of buildings. The two children, along with Meelo's pet lemur, walked up to an elderly woman near a fruit stand.

"Have you seen this woman?" Meelo asked her while pointing to the drawing of Korra, which Ikki held up for the woman to see. But the lady was paying more attention to the little boy in front of her.

"Well, aren't you an adorable little thing."

"I'm not adorable! I'm dangerous."

The elderly woman began pinching Meelo's cheeks, "Dangerously cute with those cheeks." she said before walking away, and Meelo rubbed his cheeks, blushing in embarrassment.

Ikki found this just the best way to tease her little brother. "Aww."

"This. Never. Happened. Let's split."

(~)

The following day, the group arrived at yet another village and encountered a man with golden earrings, and one on his nose, in a tavern.

"The Princess Avatar?" he asked, "We still have one of those?"

Rainbow Dash placed her hand on her hips, "Yeah. She shouldn't be that hard to spot. Tall, with wings, has supernaturally long hair, possibly a few animals circling around her."

"She does have a way with them." Fluttershy mentioned to the man with a smile, "She gets it from me."

"Sorry lady, haven't seen her."

With much disappointment, the group walked on out. They struck out again.

(~)

That night, they found a place to set up camp. Jinora handed them all their share of the food their mother and P'Li had packed for them. Rainbow Dash didn't feel in the mood to eat. Fluttershy placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, "I know…I miss her too."

Ikki and Meelo exchanged concerned looks before looking back at the ponies, "Don't worry. We'll find her." Ikki promised.

"Yeah!" Meelo agreed as he stood up and pounded his fist into the air, "With Raava as my witness, we will never be Korra-less again!"

This funny little gesture was enough to make the ponies giggle. Fluttershy looked up at the sky, seeing the moon in between the leaves. "I wonder if she's looking up at the moon, just like we are."

Jinora smiled as she too looked up at the moon, missing her big sister. "I'm sure she is."

Meanwhile, Korra was sitting on a tree root, looking up as the rays of the moon peaked through the leaves of the trees. She jolted upwards and grunted in frustration. Why was she doing any of this anyway? What was the point?

(Parody of My Best Friend Back, from Sofia the First)

Korra;

I don't know what I'm doing here

I wish that I could just disappear

But then how long would I have to roam?

Till I found my way back home?

Why did I go?

How could I go?

I didn't know I'd miss home so

But I'm an Avatar who's now a slack

No help could bring my spirits back.

Back at Air Temple Island, Twilight was looking at some old photos of her and her friends. Missing Korra even more.

Twilight;

When you have made a friend so true

She cheers you up when you feel blue

You never think you'd see the day

She picks up and goes away

Why did she go?

How could she go?

Doesn't she know we need her so?

Rainbow;

We'll search in every woods and shack

Until we bring our best friend back

Even in his home, Mako couldn't help but sing about his missing bride as he looked up at the same moon.

Mako;

How long must they look to find her?

And what will I say when they do?

How long will it take to remind her

Of all the good times we've been through?

Twilight, Mako, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash;

Why did she go?

Korra;

(How could I go?)

Others;

How could she go?

Korra;

(How could I go?)

I didn't know I'd miss home so!

Fluttershy;

We'll search in every coast and dock

As soon as we can to beat the clock

Korra;

I gotta get things back on track

And somehow find a way

Jinora;

We'll keep on searching come what may

Everyone;

Until I get my…best…friend…

Back

Korra hugged her legs and cried. As if anyone out there was listening to her silent prayers.

(~)

The next day, Meelo was perched on a rooftop, looking around for any signs of Korra. And that was when he saw her…

She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her skin was creamy white, her eyes brown like sweet chocolate, and her long dark hair was curled and styled in a low ponytail tied with a green ribbon. Her bangs were straight and had two long curly strands of hair on both sides of her face, bellowing down her shoulders. Her long green robe with a dark green sash and long white sleeves fit her perfectly. She held a basket of orange colored flowers and was handing them to various people who passed her by.

Rainbow Dash landed beside him, "Hey, little buddy, find anything?"

Meelo placed his index finger near his lips as in to shush her. Without saying another word, he fell down gently and landed beside the girl. He wanted to make a good first impression, and he knew just what to do.

"Can I trust you?" he asked in a somewhat suspicious tone. But the girl simply took it as a little child playing a game.

"I guess so." she said.

Meelo began to whisper as they leaned in closer, and the girl listened attentively. "I'm on a top secret mission to find the Princess Avatar." he held his picture of Korra up, "Have you seen her?"

The girl, admired the drawing, "Wow, she's beautiful!" she then looked at Meelo with an apologetic look, "I haven't, sorry." then she smiled, "Top secret mission, huh?"

"Yeah, it's been pretty dangerous." Meelo bragged, "I've seen some things."

"Really? What kind of things?"

"Craaazy things."

"Cool."

While they talked, Rainbow Dash was enjoying the show from high above, "This should be good."

"I'm Meelo. What should I call you, other than "beautiful"?" he said flirtatiously.

"I'm Tuyen. Nice to meet you."

Rainbow Dash then jerked back when she heard Ikki from behind her, "Ooh! Meelo's got a girlfriend!"

Meelo and Tuyen both turned around to see Ikki sitting on a roof, with Rainbow Dash hovering beside her. Meelo yelled angrily at his sister, "Go away Ikki!"

Both Rainbow Dash and Ikki landed down before them, "Jinora and Fluttershy have been looking for you. We're moving on."

Rainbow Dash smiled at the young girl, "Thanks for your help anyways, kid. Nice flowers."

"Here, you can have one." Tuyen kindly gave Rainbow Dash a pretty orange flower.

"Aww, aren't you a little sweetie. C'on, Meelo."

Tuyen turned to Meelo once last time, "Looks like you got to get back to your mission." she took yet another flower from her basket and handed it to her new friend, "Good luck, Meelo." the young boy took the flower and Tuyen ruffled his hair as she walked away. Her lovely hair bellowed in the gentle breeze as Meelo looked on with a big smile on his face, his blushing. He then turned around to Ikki and Rainbow Dash, visibly annoyed.

"Thanks a lot, guys. You drove away the love of my life!"

Rainbow Dash ruffled his hair, "Hey, I'm sure you'll see her again."

"You really think so?"

"…..sure."

(~)

Their final stop was at a dock along the beach. Rainbow Dash allowed the sand to hit against her boots once she landed. "This is the last place Sunset Shimmer marked. Korra must have been here."

Meelo walked past a familiar fish monger and spotted something on the wall of his shop. The young boy smiled, "Hey, guys! It's Korra!"

The girls quickly ran up towards Meelo, all looking at where he was pointing at.

"Where?! Where?! Where?! Ikki asked as she rushed on over, stopping herself by clinging onto Meelo's shoulders.

But much to their disappointment, it wasn't really Korra. Just a picture next to one of Aang when he was alive. Jinora lowered her shoulders in disappointment, "It's just a photo of Korra."

"At least it's something." Meelo said.

But Rainbow and Fluttershy knew something was very off with this picture. Korra did not look the same. She did not have her wings, or cutie mark, her hair wasn't even longer anymore. But the strangest thing of all was that, unlike the rest of the picture, which was in black and white, Korra's eyes were the only things with color. But not their normal blue, for some strange reason…they were green.

Fluttershy spoke to the fishmonger, "Excuse me sir, but where did you get that photo?"

"Pretty neat, huh? She came by here, about uh, six months ago."

Meelo smiled in satisfaction, "Looks like someone just strummed up a good-old-fashioned lead."

"Can we take a closer look at it, please?" Rainbow asked politely and the man handed her the picture. The kids also noticed the abnormalities of the photo.

"Where are her wings?" Ikki asked.

"And her cutie mark?" Jinora asked, "And why are her eyes green while the rest of the picture is grey?"

The two ponies kept their stern eyes fixated on the very oddly looking photo before them. "Something's not right here." Fluttershy said suspiciously.

"I agree." said Rainbow Dash before turning back to the fishmonger, "Where did she go after you took this?"

"Oh, I don't know. But she wasn't looking too good. I was curious as to why she couldn't fly anymore."

While the two mares continued to look on skeptically at the photo, Meelo suddenly yelled at his sister, "Ikki, this is all your fault!"

"What? I didn't do anything."

"Exactly!" he pointed a finger at her, "You need to start pulling your weight!" he turned to Jinora, "That goes for you too, so-called leader!" with that, he walked off in a huff.

"Remember when he used to be so nice and sweet?" Ikki asked.

"No." Jinora replied with a deadpan stare.

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

She nodded, "Maybe Korra's disappearance wasn't just a coincidence."

"Not maybe. There is definitely something else at work here. We have to move."

(~)

At the Foggy Swamp, Korra tried to make the most of her situation. For the past few days, she hardly did much, except explore the swamp with the breezies. She climbed the tress, collected unique flowers, skipped rocks down the steam, even found some interesting flora and fauna. Interestingly enough, most of the animals liked her. Heck, even these large alligator-cat-fish things took a liking to her. It was as if they could tell she was as spirited and wild as they were. While Korra rested her bending most of the time, she did like moving her body while seeing new things about the swamp. She even managed to make herself a shoulder bag out of some strong and sturdy vines she found. She had no idea she was so good with crafts. She didn't remember having learned it from anyone. As an added bonus, she found a cute little flower and placed it on the bag, simply because it looked cute. Also, the flower's pink petals reminded her of something…or someone?

In short, the swamp wasn't all that bad. The Breezies and animals as well as the trees were good company, and she managed to make some food for her and Toph out of some nutritious plants and fruits she found. Even if she would never say it out loud, Toph did enjoy having Korra around to make her meals. The kid was good, she will admit. However, there was one thing that bugged her about the Avatar.

She sang!

No joke, she would either hum a tune or break all out into song at random moments at the drop of a hat. The elderly woman had no idea why she did that. Maybe it was from spending all that time with her pony friends. And today, was no different. Korra had just returned from exploring the swamp some more, as usual she was accompanied by the breezies. She removed the bag from her shoulder and began singing….again.

There's music in the tree tops

And there's music in the veil

And all around the music fills the sky.

There's music by the river

And there's music in the grass

And the music makes your heart soar in reply.

But what was worse….the breezies harmonized alongside with her.

Breezies;

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

Korra;

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

Toph couldn't even get back to her second afternoon nap as she laid on a tree root. After a while, she finally snapped, "Enough already! You know, when I said you could stay here I didn't meat it so you could perform a concert every five minutes."

Korra stopped harmonizing and rubbed her left arm in embarrassment, "Sorry. It relaxes me."

"Well, if you're gonna sing do it while I'm not around." Toph then returned to lounging around as Korra walked up to her.

"So ... What's the plan for today?"

"You're looking at it."

"We didn't do anything yesterday, or the day before that."

"Why don't you go explore the swamp some more."

"I've been doing that for days. I'm pretty sure I know this place like the back of my hand by now."

"Sweetheart, you haven't seen squat of this place."

Korra grunted before sitting down on another tree root, placing her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on her palm. She had already explored the swamp, she wanted to do something else. She was restless. The young woman reverted back to her upbeat self once a suggestion sparked in her mind. "I know! Tell me the story of how you taught Aang how to earthbend."

"What's there to tell? I threw some rocks at the Avatar, he got all whiny and Sokka fell in a hole."

Korra looked away, dejected, "I thought there'd be more to it than that." she became excited once more when another story came to mind. Her favorite one. "What about the time you took down the Fire Lord? That must have been epic!"

"Oh yeah. It was hot. I was on a blimp. And I think a giant turtle showed up. Wow. What a day."

Korra pouted in annoyance. "Okay, you're terrible at telling stories."

"You're terrible at listening to them!"

Korra sighed and began tapping her foot on the ground. Toph bended a rock up underneath her feet to make her stop. "Quit making all that racket! I think I liked you better when you were singing. If you're so anxious to do something, why don't you collect some mushrooms for dinner?"

"You got it." Korra said while standing up.

"Take the path until you see the boulder with the hole in it. The breezies will show you the rest of the way. Oh, and make sure you get the big, slimy ones! They're the tastiest!" she said with a chuckle.

(~)

The group stopped at a small forest clearing, where Jinora meditated peacefully. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat beside her, both in the same position. Their respected Elements of Harmony glowed on their chests, hoping to get some reading as to where Korra could be. At the same time, Ikki was rummaging through their bags, searching for food. "Hey, where's all the food Mom gave us?"

"I threw it in the river." Meelo said, while playing with Poki.

Ikki stopped rummaging and practically threw the new empty bag at her reckless little brother. "You did what?! That food was supposed to last us two weeks!"

"Hey, keep it down!" Jinora said, aggravatingly turning around to look at her siblings, "We're trying to meditate."

"Yeah, keep it down, Ikki." Meelo exclaimed.

"Meelo threw away all our food!" Ikki said.

"From now on, we hunt for our meals."

"Meelo, we're vegetarians. We don't hunt!"

"Enough whining. Poki and I will go find some grub." Meelo marched into the forest with nothing but a stick in hand and Ikki let out an angry yell. Nobody ever listened to her. She stomped away from the group, but Fluttershy opened an eye to see where she was going.

(~)

The young girl began walking into the forest. She had to get away from all of this. Normally, Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash would support her, but they were too focused on this weird Korra mystery to even give her a second glance. She always got the short end of the stick. As she continued to walk, she began to imitate her brother and sister, mocking them.

" 'My name is Meelo. I like to throw away food and fart at inappropriate moments.' 'I'm Jinora, I'm above it all because I'm meditating all the time.' " in her frustration, Ikki blasted air at some random bushes in front of her, blasting the leafs away, only to reveal a scared little creature. A furry, gray looking squirrel animal with a long bushy tail and a membranous structure around its front arms while carrying a berry in its tiny paws. It was a sugar glider, and he was trembling in fear due to the young airbender's frustration.

Ikki immediately felt regret and compassion for the little one, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

The sugar glider dropped the berry it held and sprinted up a tree at rapid speed before gilding away.

"Wait! You dropped your breakfast!" Ikki called out as she picked up the berry and flew after it, opening her wingsuit. She managed to caught up to the little creature, trying to return its food back, after foolishly causing the poor thing to drop it in the first place. The sugar glider flew off and Ikki slammed right into a tree. She yelped as she rolled down to the ground, dust covering her before landing on an almost barren looking part of the forest. She came to a stop near a large tree trunk which had fallen and sat upright, groaning and feeling the wet sticking substance of the berry remains squished on her cheek. The sugar glider landed on her head before climbing down her shoulder, licking the fruity remains off the girl's face, making her giggle.

"Does this mean we're friends?"

The creature chirped and then Ikki finally took notice of what was in front of her. She had not realized it until now, but a great portion of the forest trees had been cut door, hence the trunk that broke her fall. Being the lover of nature that she was, the scene was a devastating sight.

"Ikki!"

The young girl looked up and saw Fluttershy land before her. The anthro pony hugged her friend tightly. "Don't run off like that! You had me worried." she then gasped in shock once she noticed the destruction of the forest. Her hands clapped in front of her mouth and her eyes began to water. "Oh no.."

The two girls were startled once more when they heard a masculine voice behind them. They spun around to see two men, one short and slightly weedier with a mustache, and another taller and thinner, both wearing matching green uniforms. Uniforms of the Earth Empire. In other words, they worked for Kuvira.

"You're trespassing! Hold it right there."

The girls immediately ran away from the sight, and the thiner soldier attempted to restrain them with his earthbending, causing several rocks to rise up from the ground in an attempt to trip them. The girls attempted to fly away but were both caught by the earth rising upwards, grabbing hold of their ankles. Once on the ground, the rising ground also grabbed hold of their arms, preventing them from airbending. Fluttershy grunted as she tried to break free but it was no use. They were trapped.

(~)

The girls were taken to the soldiers' outpost, somewhere in the forest. They were both tied up in separate chairs in front of a table, a plate of macaroons rested on the far side. The wider soldier stood next Fluttershy while the taller one stood next to Ikki.

"All right, ladies." the wider one began, "Tell us what you're doing in the Earth Empire. Are you spying?"

Fluttershy flared her nostrils at him like any horse would, and Ikki tried to reason with them, "No! I swear we're not spies. We've been traveling with my brother and sister and our friend Rainbow Dash. It's our first big mission and my dad Tenzin is counting on us. But if we don't find the Princess Avatar, he's gonna be really disappointed." she said with tears forming in her eyes.

"And I am Lady Fluttershy." she said in an authoritative voice, "One of The Elements of Harmony, I speak on behalf of the Princess. If you do not release us this instant you can be sure that kindness will be the last thing you'll see from me."

The wider soldier looked over at his partner, "Can I talk to you for a second?" They walked a short distance away from Ikki and Fluttershy, but thanks to her pony ears, Fluttershy could hear what they were saying. As they talked, Ikki managed to free one of her arms from the ropes, just so she could scratch her nose, only to effortlessly place it back.

"This girl, is Tenzin's kid and the pony is one of The Elements of Harmony, they're looking for the Princess Avatar. Do you know what that means?"

"No, but try this macaroon!" said the second solider while handing his partner the treat. The first soldier angrily slapped it out of his friend's hand. He still took it from the floor and ate it without hesitation.

"Get that out of my face! Look, if we capture these three airbender kids and this pony and bring them to Kuvira, I bet we get a big-time promotion."

"You mean we get out of this dump?"

The first soldier nodded with a wink and the two turned around to face the girls. "Sorry little ladies, it looks like we got off on the wrong foot." he said, trying a different technique to get them to talk freely. After all, children and ponies responded well to kindness, at least that's what he heard. "So, you're out here with your brother and sister and this, Rainbow Dash person, hu? Where's your campsite?"

Ikki and Fluttershy both exchanged serious glances before looking back at the men. "Why do you want to know?" Fluttershy asked suspiciously. They both knew the kind of game these men were playing, and they weren't falling for it.

"We just wanna get the family back together again." said the taller soldier, "Maybe we can sit everybody down and have a nice plate of macaroons." he grabbed the plate of macaroons and placed it in front of the girls.

"Where did you get those?" Ikki asked, looking suspiciously at the familiar treats before her.

"I found a whole sack of food down by the river!" the tall soldier said as he showed them the said sack, "And with each delicious snack, comes a lovely hand-written note." he took one of the notes from the bag and read it out loud, "This one says: "You're my handsome little man." That is so touching!"

"My mom wrote those notes! That's our sack of food!"

But the wider soldier gave himself a double face palm, already growing impatient with all this talk about macaroons and letters. "Enough with the cute notes! Where are your friends?"

But clever little Fluttershy already had a plan of her own, "Who cares."

The soldier blinked in surprise, "What are you talking about?"

"Why would we want to go back with them? I'm glad I got away from Rainbow Dash, she's such a nightmare to work with." she gave Ikki a sly smile and the young girl quickly caught up with what she was trying to do.

"Yeah, she's right. I don't wanna see my brother and sister anyways, either. I'd rather hang out here with you guys. Hit me with one of those macaroons." Ikki opened her mouth and the tall soldier threw a macaroon in it, much to the displeasure of his partner.

(~)

Back in the swamp, Seabreeze led the way. "We're here." he said, pointing towards the boulder with the hole in it. But as Korra continued to walk, she felt a strange sensation around her. Almost like there was something or someone breathing down her neck. It couldn't be the breezies since they were flying in front of her. She briefly stopped in front of some vines and could see a light on the other side. The other breezies attempted to follow, but Seabreeze stopped them, gesturing she needed to go through alone.

As Korra brushed the vines aside she stopped. Right in front of her eyes, she saw herself, but not a reflection. She saw how she was three years ago. Her hair long and separated into three ponytails while wearing an Equalist uniform as her former masked foe had her bloodbended into submission while taking her bending away. Even after all these years, the memory still haunted her.

Korra turned away from the vision but was stopped to see yet another version of herself. This time, her hair was down and she wore her water tribe clothing, along with her parka. She saw Unalaq, now as the Dark Avatar, ripping Raava right out of her. This was all too much. Korra gasped and tripped back, only to see a third vision of herself.

Like the previous one, her hair was down, but she was strung up in a familiar looking cave....it was the moment the Red Lotus tried to end her life. Her legacy. Everything she ever was. Even now, the sting of the poison was too much for her. She screamed in fear once Zaheer and the two Red Lotus sentries turned around to face her, causing the present Korra to snap back to reality, only to discover that she had knelt down into a stream.

The breezes circled around her and Korra looked down at her hands. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't shake that horrible memory away.

Then, suddenly, she heard something in the distance. It sounded like…laughter. For a moment, Korra forgot about her fears as she stood up, looking for the source of the noise. First she walked slowly across the shallow pond, the water splashing against her feet, until the noises grew stronger. Louder. With each step, she could hear them. First it was laughing, then she heard the actual voices speaking. The words were faint but they sounded so warm and comforting. The louder and stronger the voices became the more Korra's feet speeded up, slowly, step by step, she went faster. She went from walking to straight up running like there was no tomorrow. Those voices, she had to reach them. She ran further and further into the swamp, bypassing more and more vines, roughly removing them from her way. The voices began to shift from speaking to singing. Beautiful voices harmonizing in perfect unity that filled Korra's heart with joy and peace. Tears formed in her eyes as she went until she finally reached her destination, a wide smile planted on her face as she came to a stop.

…Nothing. There was nothing.

Korra looked around, she was no longer where she was before. Even the vines she bypassed where no longer there. Those voices, those beautiful voices, that joy, that peace.… it was all gone.

Korra got down on her knees and weeped. Why was this happening to her? Why was she suffering?

"Dont cry."

Korra wiped away a single tear and was surprised to see Seabreeze and the other breezies before her, "How?…How did you get here?"

"We know this swamp better than you do. We've been living here since after Harmonic Convergence."

"Harmonic Convergence?"

"Yes. You see, we Breezies come from a different land, but once you opened the portals, ours led to this swamp. The small magic within us mixed with the magical energy of the swamp, giving our bodies more strength to fly on our own rather than needing to rely on the winds to help us. We are far happier here than we have ever been before."

Korra shook her head in confusion, "Wait, magic? How is that even possible?"

"Magic, spirits, bending, energy, it's all like water and rain. They may work and look differently but at the end of the day it's all the same thing!"

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because it's something you need to know. You need to remember who you are."

"I know who I am. I'm Korra, I'm the Avatar who has been nothing but a failure for the last three years because I allowed some crazy man to poison me!"

"That is where you are wrong!" for a small creature, Seabreeze had a powerful voice as he closed in on Korra's face, looking at her sternly. "Your problem is that you are defying your success based on what others think about you!"

For a moment, Korra was silent. Was this true? Was she really that insecure?

"I bet there was a time where you didn't even care what others said."

"If that's true then why don't I remember? Because of that spell you talked about?"

"I think it might be more than just the spell, Korra."

Suddenly, Korra felt her head began to pound. She looked down at her hands, and for a brief moment, she thinks she could see the metallic poison creeping up on her nails. She screamed and leaned against a tree root. Seabreeze remained calm as he witnessed this.

"What brought you here?" he asked.

"I told you; a spirit said I would find someone."

"No, I mean what brought you here. To this very spot."

"I…I heard voices."

"What kind of voices?"

"…I don't know. I don't remember."

"Try."

Korra took in slow deep breaths to calm her beating heart. She tried to sooth herself in order to try and see if she could hear the voices again. "Please." she hushed to herself, "Show me. Who are you?"

She slowly kneeled down as the images flashed before her eyes. She saw clear blue skies, white fluffy clouds, pure and white and a rainbow in the sky. Only this rainbow was moving. A multicolored stream soaring through the sky before it landed in front of her, to reveal a blue colored four legged creature with rainbow hair and tail and feathered wings with a symbol on her flank. She smiled at the Avatar with her rosy eyes, sparkling with glee.

All around, Korra saw her friends and family. She saw her parents waving happily, Tenzin and his family, she even spotted Asami and Bolin…holding hands? How was that possible? When did that happened, and wasn't Bolin suppose to be with Opal? Korra suddenly felt something on her leg. She spotted an adorable little purple creature with green scales who handed her a flower. Korra extended her hand and received the gift. She saw even more creatures, all on four legs, smiling happily. Some had wings, some had horns, and all had marks on their flanks. They were all so bright and colorful, so joyful and happy. It was like they were spiritually sharing that love and happiness with her. Korra then felt a warmth in her hand. She looked up to see the amber eyes she missed so much. The eyes of the man she loved but needed to let go. Only now, he looked at her with even more love than he ever did before. She looked down at the hand that he held and spotted a ring on her singer. A white creature with a horn on her forehead and a stylish purple hairstyle suddenly began to glow and her body changed. She no longer walked on all fours, but was now a human with white silver skin but maintained her animal ears and horn and placed a flower on Korra's hair.

Then, Korra finally saw herself. She was happy. She was content. She didn't look as different as she did now, minus the hair, but she was fuller and stronger. The last and final creature came towards her. It had both a horn and wings. Like the previous one, she changed into a half human with purple skin. Her purple eyes sparkled with such intelligence and beauty. Korra embraced the creature like she was a younger sibling.

Until she spotted her arm.

A burned mark nearly covered her entire lower right arm. Suddenly, the image faded and she saw the poor creature screaming in pain and agony due to a fire blast.

That came out of Korra's mouth.

Korra snapped her eyes open, sweat beaming down her brows and her body was shaking.

"Don't fight it." said Seabreeze, "Let it flow."

"I can't!" Korra protested.

"You can! The only one holding you back is yourself. You have the key to finding your happiness right in front of you."

Korra did want to be happy. She wanted what she had in that dream. But even amongst the happiness there was still sadness and torture. Still, she didn't want to let go of that moment. She didn't know if it was real or not. Logically speaking, it couldn't have been. But, in her heart…it was real. Weather this was a dream or not, she wanted it back. She needed to remember it. Anything to make her remember there was more to life than suffering.

(Wake me up by Avicii. But more ballad)

Korra;

Feeling my way through the darkness

Guided by a beating heart

I can't tell where the journey will end

"But…I think…"

I know where to start

As she sang, the Breezies all gathered around her as more and more animals from the swamp emerged from their hiding places to listen to Korra's beautiful voice.

They tell me I'm too young to understand

They say I'm caught up in a dream

Life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes

Well that's fine by me

The animals approached Korra as she petted each of them with her gentle hands

So wake me up when it's all over

When I'm wiser and I'm older

All this time I was finding myself, and I

I didn't know I was lost

She stood up and began walking along the swamp as the creatures listened on

I tried carrying the weight of the world

But I only have tow hands

Hope I get a chance to mend my mistakes

But I don't have any plans

Wish that I could stay forever this young

Not afraid to close my eyes

Life's a game made for everyone

And love is a prize

So wake me up when it's all over

When I'm wiser and I'm older

All this time I was finding myself, and I

I didn't know I was lost

As Korra hit the hight note, the flowers all around her opened up their petals as the yellow pollen emerged and began creating silhouettes of the creatures from her dreams. First on four legs before transforming into half humans as they danced around her like she was the princess of the gala.

So wake me up

(when it's all over)

When it's all over

When I'm wiser and I'm older

All this time I was finding myself, and I

I didn't know I was lost

More figures formed to look like her parents, Tenzin, Bolin and Asami, and finally Mako. Korra danced across the swamp as the pollen figures danced beside her.

Didn't know I was lost

I didn't know I was lost

I didn't know I was lost

The figure of Mako closed in as if to kiss her.

I didn't know I was lost

So wake me up…

Just as they came, the figures disappeared into thin air as the pollen fell all around her. Korra felt like she had been dreaming this whole time, but yet it felt so real.

Was it?

Korra reached into her pockets and pulled out two items.

A neckless with a heart shaped pendent and a ring with a yin and yang symbol on it. She had been carrying these objects for a while now, but she had no memory to how or when she got them.

Could this be the key?

(~)

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Jinora, who was still meditating behind a large statue, covered in green musk. "I haven't found Fluttershy or Ikki anywhere." she said, but Jinora did not respond, "Are you still at it?"

The bushes rustled and Poki and Meelo walked out, looking very miserable while dragging along a purple stained sack, and his mouth was also purple. This was enough to get Jinora's attention.

"Are you okay?"

Meelo tried his best to fake his current state, giving them a thumbs up, "Yep, totally fine! I hope your hungry, because we found some …" Meelo quickly covered his mouth, his cheeks bloating, indicating he was about to vomit, but managed to swallow it before it came out. "We found some berries!"

Jinora examined what was inside the sack, only to see Poki vomiting some kind of purple substance. Shortly, Meelo followed his pet's example and puked into the bushes. Rainbow and Jinora crinkled their noses in disgust.

"Looks like you got some bad berries." said his sister as she threw away the sack. Berries and all. "So much for living off the land."

"They're fine, I just ate too many of them because they're so ... so delicious." Meelo smiled while wiping away the purple from his face. Even his teeth were purple.

"Did you run into Ikki or Fluttershy while you were picking your poisonous berries?" Rainbow asked.

"No, why? Did she run off or something?"

"Yes. Ikki did and Fluttershy and I went to look for her while miss, "Spirit Master" here kept meditating." at the mention of 'spirit master' she did jazz hands for sarcastic emphasis.

Jinora stood up and glared at the pony, "Hey! It's not my fault Ikki ran off!"

"But did you do something to stop her?"

"I didn't think she'd go that far."

"Well she did. I want to find Korra just as much as you, but this is a team effort. Something you two obviously forgot about."

The two kids did not say a word. They knew Rainbow Dash was right….

Shocking.

(~)

Back at the outpost, Ikki was engaged on a nice conversation with the two men, who were now sitting on chairs as well. "It seems pretty lonely out here. Where's everybody else?"

"I ... don't want to talk about it." said the rounded soldier with the mustache.

"He's just upset because Kuvira's taking all the troops to Zaofu and we had to stay here." said the second soldier.

The first one stood up, waving his arms in frustration, "Well it's the last city left and then the whole empire will be united! And you know there's gonna be a huge party afterwards."

"It's tough to be left out, huh?" Ikki asked, "I know exactly what you're going through."

The soldier looked at her in surprise, "You do?"

"Yeah. My brother and sister are always leaving me out of fun stuff. I mean, we're supposed to be looking for the Avatar together, but they won't even let me help."

"I'm sorry you felt that way Ikki" said Fluttershy, "But you know running away from your troubles isn't the answer."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for worrying you."

To show her there were no hard feelings, Fluttershy nuzzled her cheek against Ikki's face like she would always do in pony form. The second soldier sympathized with them, "Awww. Hey, maybe we can help you out!" he stood up and grabbed the map, placing it on the table in front of the girls, "So, where have you looked for her?"

Ikki pulled her arms from the ropes with ease once more, and pointed her finger to all the places they have been so far. "We've been traveling down the west coast and the only lead we have is some guy who said he saw her six months ago."

"Well, we have troops ... pretty much everywhere." said the first soldier, "If anyone saw her, they would have reported it."

Ikki then pointed to a large, green area on the map, "What about this place?"

"Well, that's the swamp. No one goes there."

"Why not?" Fluttershy asked.

"Rumor has it that it's infected with strange creatures and plants that come to life."

"I've seen worse. I've experienced crazy nightmares, chimeras, blunder seeds, gigantic centaurs who steal magic, a group of insane anarchists, dark spirits, the list goes on."

The second soldier's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow…you must be the bravest of your group."

Fluttershy blushed, "Well, I wouldn't go that far but it's nice of you to say."

"At least the others let you have the fun." Ikki said sadly.

"Don't get discouraged Ikki." said the second soldier, "You're a valuable member of the team and you have a big heart! I know you're gonna find her. Now let's get you girls out of those ropes." the kind guard stood up to untie them.

Fluttershy smiled with glee, "Oh, thank you! You're very kind."

But before he could free them, the door was blasted down by a powerful kick from Rainbow Dash and Jinora blew the soldiers against the far wall, knocking them unconscious.

"You're welcome!" Meelo saluted.

Ikki stood up from the chair, freeing herself from the ropes and glared angrily at her siblings as she untied Fluttershy, "Why did you do that?"

"We're saving you." Jinora said, annoyed at her sister's ungratefulness, "Let's go."

"We had everything under control." Ikki said as she freed Fluttershy, who rubbed her wrists. "We just found our food, and we have an idea where Korra is."

Rainbow Dash was shocked to hear this, "You do? Then lets get going!"

"Hold on." Ikki took two snacks from her bag and placed them on either one of the soldiers' knees, who were still sitting against the wall. They really weren't so bad after all, "Sorry my brother and sister knocked you out. Nice chatting with you!"

Fluttershy walked over and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead, "Thanks anyway." the walked off and the sugar glider Ikki had found flew after them, landing on her head.

(~)

Korra sat dejectedly on a tree root above the water with the breezies and the animals keeping her company, trying their best to console her in her hour of sadness and confusion. Korra jolted her head up as Toph approached her while shooing the animals away.

"Shoo! Git! Get out of here!" The alligator-cat-fish snarled at her, but Toph remained unfazed. "Don't you snap your jaws at me!" The creature whimpered before walking away in fear. "So, you got my dinner yet? Or where you too busy happy singing with your animal friends?"

"No ... This swamp ... It did crazy things to my mind. I had visions, of all the times my enemies hurt me. Then, I started seeing these dreams. Or, I don't really know what they were. They seemed so real but at the same time, too good to be true. But now that they're gone…I feel alone again."

"Yeah, I figured something like that might happen." Toph said nonchalantly while sticking her finger into her ear.

"What?! You wanted me to see those visions?" Korra asked in surprise before turning to Seabreeze, "Did you know about this?"

The little breezie simply shrugged, "Eh. Pretty much."

"You two are seriously twisted, you know that?" Korra furrowed her brows as she hugged her legs and Toph took a seat beside her while the Breezies rested around them.

"Look, I know you want to get better. And so does the swamp! It can sense you're out of balance. It will teach you what you need to learn, if you're open to listening."

Korra sat in a lotus position and sighed in defeat. "Okay swamp, I'm all ears."

"You said you saw your past enemies. Now why do you think that is?"

"I don't know. Because they made me and a lot of other people suffer."

"Sounds like you're carrying around your former enemies, the same way you're still carrying around that metal poison with those rocks. You maybe consider you could learn something from them?"

"Sounds like the swamp is messing with your mind too." Korra said sarcastically.

"My mind is just fine, thank you. Listen, what did Amon want? Equality for all. Unalaq? He brought back the spirits. And Zaheer believed in freedom."

Korra looked down in thought. "I guess …"

"The problem was, those guys were totally out of balance and they took their ideologies too far."

"Okay, fine. But that doesn't explain why they keep haunting me."

"Because you need to face your fears. You can't expect to deal with future enemies if you're still fighting the old ones. You managed to do so once, now you need to do it again if you want to break this spell."

Korra groaned in frustration. "Er! Again with the spell and the magic! What does any of this have to do with me moving on?"

"Boy, you Avatars sure need a lot of hand-holding." the elderly earthbender stood up, "Get up! We're going to the banyan-grove tree."

"The where?" Korra was then yanked by the shirt by the Breezies and was forced on her to stand. "Okay, okay! I'm going."

(~)

The group of friends were now flying over the swamp. It sure did look as creepy as the soldiers explained. "Those soldiers said there weren't any troops here and I figure, if Korra's not feeling good, she might come to a spiritual place like this to get better." Ikki explained.

Both the ponies could feel a powerful energy coming form down bellow. "This swamp…" Fluttershy began, "I can feel it's energy."

"Me too." said Rainbow Dash, "Kind of creepy."

Jinora briefly let go of the reins to meditate for a moment, "There is an enormous amount of spiritual activity here, but I don't feel Korra."

"Well, that's what we get for listening to Ikki." Meelo said.

Before they could bicker again, Rainbow Dash intervened, "Hey! We just got here. Let's at least look around."

Suddenly, Fluttershy's ear perked upwards, "What's that sound?"

She gasped when suddenly a bunch of vines came shooting up out of the swamp with remarkable speed, entangling the bison's legs and began pulling her down. The group screamed in terror, holding on to their lives as the plants, apparently with minds of their own, managed to pull the gigantic beast down to the ground, landing in a musky lake. Rainbow Dash managed to free Pepper by cutting some of the vines with her fire. "Okay, that…was…freaky!"

"Why did those stupid vines pull us in here anyway?" Meelo asked, while Fluttershy held the two sisters close for protection.

"Because they want us here." Ikki said, "I'm telling you, Korra has got to be close."

Jinora turned to her sister, "I don't know Ikki, I still don't sense Korra." she looked up at the yellow pegasus, "Fluttershy?"

"I can't sense anything around here."

Ikki grew frustrated with her sister, "Well, you haven't sensed her the entire time we've been looking for her!"

"Next time I go on a mission, it's going to be boys only." Meelo said, "Just Poki and me."

Ikki lets out a tiresome grunt while Rainbow Dash flew upwards, scanning the area. Fluttershy flew up next to her. "Maybe this wasn't the swamp that was on the map."

"I'm telling you, it is. That I know I remember. Don't tell me you don't feel something about this place."

"The only thing I feel right now is a growing migraine." she said while turning her head towards the bickering siblings.

(~)

Toph and Korra climbed up the gigantic roots until they reached the top, facing the tree's gigantic trunk. It rested in the very heart of the swamp. A large tree with roots entangled all around its gigantic trunk, connecting all of the vines and trees of the entire swamp together as one. The branches were spread out far and wide and the leaves above looked like the strong sturdy roof of a house with vines hanging down on various sides of the tree. Korra had never seen such a sight.

"It's beautiful."

"The roots of the banyan-grove tree spread out for miles in every direction, connecting this whole swamp." Toph explained, she gestured to Korra to sit down, which she did. "Let me tell you a little story. Close your eyes, and visualize what I say."

Realizing she didn't have any other choice, Korra did as Toph said as she began telling the story.

"Once Upon a time, in a land of ice and snow, there was a young woman who's spirit was as fervid a flame, and her heart as pure as gold. She had a very big destiny in store for her. But her greatest victory was not one she would have expected. She didn't change the world simply by kicking bad guys' butts, but by changing the hearts of those around her. And she did, thanks to the friends who changed her heart."

As Toph spoke, Korra could see the visions again. She saw when Amon took away her bending, but also when she unlocked her airbending by thinking about Mako before herself. But before that, she was willing to give up her bending…

For her friend.

That purple creature who she had hurt in a previous memory. She stood by Korra throughout it all.

"After a while, the woman discovered that she was so much more than what others claimed her to be. She grew wings and became a Princess. All by putting the needs of her friends before herself, and sharing what she had learned with those who were lost."

Korra saw herself manifesting into her spirit self, only this time she had wings on her back and a horn on her forehead as well as longer hair that almost looked like a tail. Her body was constantly changing colors and she felt free. Raava was no longer bonded to her like before, she was free and so was Korra. That era of the Avatar was over, and a new era had begun.

"When things were bad, her friendships gave her the strength to continue on. Even when she had her ups and downs, she never lost Faith. Faith is a fragile thing, sometimes easy to lose…but very hard to kill."

Korra furrowed her brows as the images replayed in her mind. The red Lotus, the poison, the creature screaming. It all seemed so real. But even when she could see the images perfectly, she couldn't remember when they all happened. They seemed more like figments of her imagination, like what she would have wished would have happened instead of the reality of it all. But no, there had to be something real to them.

"Your problem is, while you may be under a spell, it's what you allowed the spell to do to you. You allowed yourself to be disconnected for too long. Disconnected from the people who love you and disconnected from who you’re supposed to be."

Korra opened her eyes and once again took out the necklace and the ring. She placed the two accessories around her neck and on her finger, already feeling a familiar sensation once they made contact with her skin. Korra placed her hand on the root of the tree she was sitting on. Her palm glowed bright gold and a shimmering gold stream carried across the roots, sending Korra's energy through the swamp. It flowed through the vines all across the land, reaching towards some familiar faces.

(~)

"I'm tired of listening to you!" Meelo said to Ikki. Suddenly, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's Elements of Harmony manifested onto their chests. They felt their friend reaching out to them. The two pegasus ponies smiled.

"Korra!"

Jinora smiled as well for she too could feel Korra's energy, "I feel her too! We know where she is!'

Meelo and Ikki cheered in synchronized, "Yeah!"

(~)

Korra opened her eyes and gasped with delight. "I can't believe it! I saw Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, they're here!"

"Good." Toph said, once again reverting back to her grumpy self, "Hopefully they're here to take you home."

Korra looked up at the sky and saw the most beautiful sight. She saw a young sky bison flying towards the tree, and on the saddle were three children. Two girls and a boy. She knew these kids. Tenzin's kids.

Jinora, Ikki and Meelo. They had grown up so much, but their innocent and loving smiles remained the same.

Korra also spotted two more people with them. One was yellow and the other was blue. The yellow one had pink hair styled into a ponytail with a long strand of hair styled to the side of her face and wore a green and pink colored version of the kid's new outfits. The blue one had rainbow streaked hair and wore blue clothing, similar to her skin with lightning prints. Her eyes were rosy in color, just like the creature from her dream. But what was even more surprising was that these two girls had wings on their backs and were flying beside the bison. They all happily waved at the young Avatar.

"Korra!"

The airbenders jumped off Pepper and unfolded their wingsuits, flying towards Korra and Toph, accompanied by Rainbow and Fluttershy.

Korra couldn't begin to describe how happy and relieved she felt to see her younger siblings. Tears of joy rolled down her eyes and she wiped them away, but her smile remained. The children landed and embraced Korra in a warm loving hug. Oh, how good did it feel to have them in her arms again.

Ikki looked up with tears of her own, "I missed you so much, Korra."

"I missed you so much, too." Korra then looked up in confusion to see the two winged girls before her. The way they looked at Korra, with such admiration and love, it was like they had found their long lost sister or mother. The yellow one cried first and lunged towards Korra, welcoming her in a tight embrace so filled with love.

"Korra! You're okay!"

Her voice. Her voice was so gentle and demure, it brought even more tears to Korra's eyes. Once the hug ended, the pink haired girl took a good look at the Avatar, her cyan eyes shimmering. Finally, Korra found her mouth and spoke to the mysterious young woman with wings and pointed ears.

"F…Flutter….shy?…." the name sounded so foreign for Korra.

"It's me, Korra. And Rainbow Dash."

The multi-colored haired girl approached Korra and hugged her tightly. Her hug was slightly more rough compared to Fluttershy's. No doubt this one was an athlete. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

Korra was still very confused by all of this. They looked so much like the ones from her dreams, only now they were standing right in front of her. In her heart, she did know them. "How did you find me all the way out here?"

"We lost the map and then we had to keep stopping at random places."

"Until finally Jinora, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sensed your energy." said Ikki

"But we never would have been here if it weren't for Ikki and Fluttershy." Jinora said proudly.

"We never would have stormed off and run into those soldiers if it weren't for Meelo."

Meelo smiled proudly while crossing his arms. "I was trying to toughen up these ladies, but I guess it was a team effort."

"Well, glad to see you finally learned something." said Rainbow, "Now that that's taken care of, can you explain what the heck happened to you?! " Rainbow gestured to Korra's entire body, baffled at her new appearance. "Your wings are gone, your cutie mark's gone, your hair's short---oh, boy! Rarity's not gonna be happy about this."

"She's right," said Fluttershy, "What happened?"

"Ahem! I believe we can answer that."

Fluttershy turned her head and she beamed with delight, "Seabreeze!" the little breezie hugged the anthro pony's face. "It's so good to see you, old friend. How did you get here?"

"I will explain latter."

Toph coughed, reminding Korra of her presence as well. "Oh, I'm so sorry. This is Meelo, Jinora, and Ikki. Aang and Katara's grandchildren. And this is Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy."

"Your grandpa was a real pain in my butt." the elderly woman said to the children. Then, Meelo recognized the woman.

"Wait a minute. Cranky? Old? Blind? You must be Toph!"

Toph chuckled in amusement, "Oh, I like this one."

"Wait a second!" Rainbow Dash gently shoved her way through and stood closer in front of the blind woman. "Toph? As in, Beifong? Toph…Beifong?"

"The one and only, kid."

The anthro pony gasped in awe before placing her palms on her cheeks and her wings flapped rapidly with excitement as she hovered inches from where she stood.

"OhMyGoshOhMyGoshOhMyGoshOhMyGoshOhMyGosh!! I've read sooooooo much about you!!! I know your daughters! And your grandkids! One of them use to date my friend! Why did I say that?"

Toph arced an eyebrow, "Now I know where Korra gets her perkiness from."

While Rainbow Dash was fan-girling over Toph, Jinora turned to Korra, "You need to come home, Korra. Kuvira is taking over the Earth Kingdom."

"You have to stop her." Ikki stated.

Korra looked at them with uncertainty, "I don't know ... I'm not the Avatar I used to be. I can't even go into the Avatar State."

"You mean you can't activate your magic?" Fluttershy asked.

It was then, Korra finally gave in. "Every person I've met has been telling the same crazy things over and over. At first, I thought this place was just messing with me but now…" she looked down at the ring in her hand. Her eyes shimmering as rainbow lights appeared on the object, and manifested into her eyes. That's when reality hit her.

"Maybe it's not a dream. Maybe this is all real."

Seabreeze rolled his eyes, "Well, it was about time you figured that out!"

Now, with more determination than ever, Korra placed the necklace around her neck and placed the ring on her finger. It was now…

Or never.

(~)

Back in Toph's hollow tree, where Korra stood facing the fire that burned in the center of the place. The amber flew around her, making her brown locks dance in sync with the burning flames. These flames were like her spirit. Restless. Driven. Powerful. Her emotions of uncertainty faded and shifted to feelings of determination as she turned to face Toph, who was accompanied by the children and the two ponies.

"All right. I'm ready."

"I'm not bending it out of you. You've got to do this on your own."

After a few seconds, Korra nodded her head before taking a firm stance, inhaling slowly while the others watched in anticipation. Toph remained clam with her hands behind her back, instructing Korra.

"Close your eyes. Clear your mind. And don't freak out, like last time! Now, focus. Find the stones. Let it move through you body."

With her eyes closed, Korra began moving her arms in an attempt to bend the stones and metal within her, but just as she felt them, her mind went. She saw Zaheer, suffocating her. The image frightened Korra to her core and she lost her concentration, breaking her stance as she screamed. Beams of sweat dripped from her face.

"That fight is over." Toph said, "Release the fear."

But Korra was unsure if she could. Until Fluttershy spoke. "You've got this, Korra. We're here for you."

"We're not going anyhwere." Rainbow vowed. Korra's eyebrow twitched. "Just let it go. We're here."

Korra felt their words at her core. Their pressense soothed her comfort and she found a newfound strenght she didnt know she had before.

Toph smiled proudly, "You're not alone, Korra. Let it go."

Korra got back in her stance, took in slow deep breaths and proceeded, once again, to bend the metallic poison out of her. Her heart rate calmed down, her mind clear, allowing the fear to flow. She extended her arms as tiny droplets of green metallic looking liquids, with tiny shimmering green stones inside, came out from the sides of her arms. It was the mercury poison mixed with the stones. She moved them downwards across her arm to form a larger drop that floated in front of her. She repeated the process one more time, as more of this liquid transcended from her arm all the way to her fingernails and levitating away from her.

With one last swift of her hands, Korra removed the last bit of the stones and levitated them forwards, where Toph bended two hemispheres and locked them inside. She smiled proudly at her pupil.

"Well done, Korra."

Suddenly, Korra grunted and fell to her knees. Her body felt strange, like something dormant had just reawaken and was coursing through her body. The others watched with worry, but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash knew what was happening. This was a good thing.

She couldn't explain it. It was like Korra was seeing clearly for the first time in so long. Her memories were not like the ones she had before. No, she remembered her past.

Her real past!

She saw the day she met the Mane Six. The first time they bonded. Her summoning the Elements of Harmony, sacrificing her bending for Twilight, becoming the Element of Unity. Her adventures in Equestria, even the first time she met the Breezies, and Fluttershy learned her lesson about true kindness. The time she was with Rarity in ManeHathan, Rainbow Falls, the Equestria Games, the Glacier Spirits Festival, her and the Mane Six defeating UnaVaatu, her becoming an alicorn, her and Mako reuniting. Leilani, Luna, Celestia, Cadance, even Shinning Armor. Discord, Flash Sentry, the Apple Family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Asami and Bolin, her and Twilight stopping Tirek, Sunset Shimmer, Canterlot Hight, Twilight's castle.

Her castle!

Everything came flowing back to her like a waterfall. Korra's body began to glow brightly within the cave as the others, minus Toph, shielded their eyes. Korra's body was lifted up into the air, levitating a couple feet above the ground. Her eyes snapped open, revealing the brilliant white glow of the Avatar State. The same glow appeared on her back, and two pearl white wings emerged!

A symbol appeared on the left side of her cheek, and her hair, began to grow. Instead of being chin-length, it reached her shoulders from the front, while the back of the hair grew longer and longer into a low ponytail. A pale blue streak appeared on the left side of her hair and two more streaks grew in place. On her right side was now a darker blue streak and behind her head was an aqua-green streak that reached from the tip of her head all the way down to her ponytail's end. Her green outfit was now brighter in color and small little sparkles adored the edges of her shirt, pants and waist ribbon belt, and the scratches disappeared.

Once the glow diminished, Korra's eyes stopped their glowing and so did her wings. She gasped in a awe, feeling like she had just woken up from a dream. She looked behind her back and her heart leaped for joy.

Her wings were back!

Her hair was longer again, a different style as before but still somewhat different from her previous bob cut. She opened her fists, allowing a single sparkly snowflake to emerge. Her magic was back as well.

Meelo cheered happily, "The Avatar is back in business!"

The kids ran up to Korra, who still couldn't believe what had just happened. "I feel so much lighter." she said as she look down upon her hands. Then, she took another look at Rainbow Dash and Flutershy. Not only did she now fully recognize them, but she now remembered how much they meant to her. Korra's eyes teared up as she smiled.

"Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash!"

The three girls spread their arm wide open and embraced in a tight hug, screaming like hyperactive teenage girls. Korra was so happy to have her little ponies back in her life. And in her mind.

"I missed you!" Korra exclaimed with exhilarating happiness.

"We missed you!" Rainbow said, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.

"I couldn't remember you, or anything, that's why I lost my magic!"

"But you're okay now." Fluttershy said.

"I am, and I'm so happy to have you guys back. Oh, I love you so much!"

"We love you too!"

The girls continued to laugh and cry tears of joy as they embraced and the Avatar kissed their foreheads. Korra felt at peace again. She felt at home. Even the breezies joined in the love.

"I knew you could do it!" Seabreeze said proudly.

"Thank you, old friend." Korra then turned to Toph, "And thank you, so much for helping me. I'd like to give you a hug now, if that's okay."

Toph was reluctant at first, but quickly caved in. "All right, you earned it."

And so, Korra gave Toph a warm deserving hug as the elderly woman pattered her on the back. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, very gleefully, joined in the hug as well. And so did the breezies and the kids.

"Okay, that's enough!"

(~)

Outside of Toph's home, the kids mounted on Pepper, while Korra and the Ponies, with linking arms, bid their farewells to Toph.

"It was really great meeting you in person, Toph." Rainbow said, "Not exactly the meeting I imagined but, still."

"You got good friends there, Korra." Toph said with a smile, "Never loose sight of that."

"I won't." Korra assured. And this was a promise she was sure to keep. Seabreeze and the other Brezeeis nuzzled against Korra's face.

"It was good to see you again, Korra." Seabreeze said.

"You too. Take care."

The three girls flew up onto the saddle, waving goodbye to their friends before flying off, leaving Toph and the breezies behind. The elderly woman walked back into her home.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

Seabreeze followed her, "You know, I haven't seen you smile like that before she showed up."

"Yeah well…she's a good kid. A bit too perky, but good."

*(~)*

2 Corinthians 3:17 ~

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom

*(~)*

Author's Note:

In the next chapter you will see more of Kuvira's past.

Comments

[Wildcard25]

Awesome chapter. Glad to see Korra's got her mojo back.

[chrisharte97]

This is awesome.

[Epicdiscord214]

5511817 When was that?

[MaggiesHeartLove]

5511817 Please don't spoil anything for discordneal14. Can't activate fanfiction.net on the laptop! Please don't spoil the ending for those who haven't read the rest! I want them to be surprised!