The Little Pony Legend 4: Balance of the Heart

by MaggiesHeartLove

Enemy at the Gates

*(~)*

Proverbs 15:13 ~

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit

*(~)*

Enemy at the Gates

Birds flew through the crack of a cliffside, punctuated by a narrow cleft as a massive Earth Empire airship entered through. In the not too far distance, stood the city of Zaofu, the city from which Kuvira had once regarded as her home. An entire fleet of airships rounded the bend and steered towards the city. One of the Zaofu guards saw the incoming fleet from his post. Quickly, he picked up the radio, warning his comrades of the incoming threat.

"We have an emergency!"

(~)

Suyin sat with a stern expression as the train rushed through the metallic tunnel. The lights faded in an out into the windows as it went. She was accompanied by her husband and twin sons. Baatar grabbed hold of a bar for balance, "I'll contact President Raiko. He'll send the United Forces."

The train came to a full stop, the light of the outside shined so bright it nearly blinded the man. Su stood from her seat, having sat with her back towards the window, and looked at the horizon, her expression unwavering as she witnessed the airships, and the ground troops making their way towards the city. There were long lines of tanks and mecha suites marching along in perfect formation, stretching out from behind the mountain.

"Call whomever you want, but they'll never make it in time. Kuvira's already here and she brought her entire army." Su said, and by the looks of it...

The army was almost as large as the city itself.

(~)

Kuvira stood at the window of the moving train, her eyes locked on the view before her. She was so close. So close to achieving her goal. She was doing the right thing, she knew it. However, at the back of her mind, there was a very small little speck of guilt. Nobody knew this, but to get where she was…she had to cheat.

……..

"Please! Have mercy on our village!" a poor man begged on his knees in front of Kuvira. It had been almost two years and she had accomplished so much. She was uniting the Earth Kingdom.

"Pledge your loyalty to me and I will see to it that your village has what it needs to survive."

"But give you our land? What good will that do?"

"I am only doing what is best for the Earth Empire. The Earth Queen is no longer on the throne and she has bestowed her power onto me. Now, do as I say or--"

"Kuvira, stop!"

All eyes looked up and the entire village burst out into applauds as The Princess Avatar descending from the sky. As always, she was a stunning sight. Her long elegant wings flapped gently as she landed and her long lose ponytail bellowed behind her. Her blue eyes sparkled like gemstones. The mere sight of her would make anyone swoon.

"It's Princess Korra!"

"All hail the Princess!"

All the townsfolk, children included, rushed over to greet the princess with wide smiles and happy cheers. But there was one person who was not happy to see her. And that was Kuvira.

The two women began speaking to one another inside the train. "Will all due respect, your highness, you should not have interfered."

"I received word about how you've been taking advantage of your position." Korra responded. She sounded so much wiser and more confident now than she did in her past. "I'm not here to be angry or to school you, but I will say you need to stop."

"Stop? Stop trying to make my nation a better place for everyone? I am only doing what I was assigned to do."

"I understand, and you've done a great job, but recently your way of "helping" people is treating them like property instead of equals and friends."

"I am treating them as equals!"

"By threatening their lives just so you can have your way?"

"And what would you rather do? Give some lesson about friendship? How well has that worked for you so far? You should know by now that not everyone is easily moved by your speeches and songs, Korra."

Korra was taken aback by this. "Is that what you think of me? Some perfect princess who sings to solve everyday problems?"

"What problems have you solved, recently?" Kuvira asked with an arc eyebrow.

"For your information, I've been working my butt going to every single town you conquered and cleaning up every mess you made."

Kuvira's stoic expression shifted to one of shock, "How could you have known about the cities I've been to?"

"I've had airbenders and pegasi scouting the Earth Kingdom, sending progress reports back to me."

"So, you've been spying on me?!"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. I know I should have told you, and I did. I sent letters explaining every---"

"Letters? You didn't have the decency to tell me in person? I thought you---" suddenly, Kuvira noticed something on Korra's finger. "What's that?"

Korra looked down at her engagement ring and slightly blushed, but she did not smile. "Oh, that's, um…my engagement ring."

"Your what?"

"I'm…getting married."

This revelation came as a shock to Kuvira, "Are you serious? I've been working nonstop to help my nation while you're off cuddling with some firebending street-rat?!"

"He's not a street-rat! He's a respected officer!"

"I can't believe you! So, this whole time I've been nothing but an errand girl for you?!"

"No, that's not--"

"Oh, it's not? You never even trusted me!"

"I did trust you."

"Did? As in past tense?"

Korra slowly backed away, "I didn't mean it like that."

Kuvira scoffed, "Well, whatever you say, I have no regrets. I have done a far better job than you ever could."

"What's happened to you?" Korra asked, "You're not the same Kuvira I remember."

"You're right. I'm not, now are you satisfied?"

"No. Just disappointed."

"You know, you're really starting to sound just like Su."

"Good. At least one of us does."

Kuvira slammed her fists onto the table, but Korra did not flinch. Not even a little. "You think you can just waltz right in here and tell me how to do my job while flaunting your precious ring? You were suppose to support me!"

"I do support you, I just don't support what you've been doing." The room fell silent as Korra slowly regained her composure. Taking in slow deep breaths to calm her nerves. "I used to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders my entire life. But I soon realized that nobody can do everything on their own, no matter who or what you are. My role is not just solving other people's problems, but showing them they can solve it for themselves. That's why I had faith in you. I was proud of you for taking charge and learning to make a change. I felt the world was making progress until you turned into…this! Queen Hou-Ting's nephew will soon take the throne and when he does, you will renounce your position."

Kuvira was taken aback by this, "And who says I will?"

"You will. I'll make sure you do, even if I have to remove you myself."

"You can't do that! You may be a princess but you have no right to fire me!"

"Technically, I do. I was one of the people who agreed to assign you this position." with that, Korra walked out of the room, leaving a very, very angry metalbender behind, "I'm sorry." she said with a voice of regret. But Kuvira, was sneering.

"You will be."

………

Kuvira's mind returned to the present as her fiance approached her from behind. The two looked out at the world, seeing the countryside passing by.

"By this time tomorrow, my mother will have signed the treaty, and the Earth Empire will finally be united."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Securing your hometown won't be like every other city." Kuvira said as she walked over to the map.

Baatar Jr. only narrowed his eyes, turning his back away from the view outside. "Zaofu stopped being my home long ago." he said bitterly, his fists clenching tightly, "I'm ready to take it by force."

"No. The eyes of the world are on us now. We must do this right. That's why we need Bolin."

"Do you really think we can rely on him?" her fiance asked with concern, "He was once ally to those wannabe princesses."

"Su trusts him. She'll listen to him."

(~)

Melody was stirring her index finger into the clear water of her glass cup. She was so board. It was like this every single day; encourage Kuvira, sing if necessary, toy with people's minds and emotions. Everyday, the same old thing. It's been like that for years. Now, for the first time ever, she realized she was bored of it.

She, along with her sister Starblaze, were lounging in their private room in the the train until their leader, Dazzle entered the room. "We're nearing Zaofu."

Starblaze jolted up and jumped onto her feet. "Finally, I've been board out of my mind all day. I'm ready for some action."

Melody, on the other hand, simply sighed, "Yeah. Great. Woo-hoo." she said with complete lack of enthusiasm, which concerned her sisters.

"What's with you?" Starblaze asked.

"It's just…aren't you guys tired of all of this? It's the same thing each and every time; sing, cause trouble, sing, cause trouble blah, blah, blah, after a few years it gets really old. Epp!" Melody flinched when Dazzle aggressively slapped her drink right out of her hand and glared at her younger sister.

"Are you saying you want out? Because if you are, I will not hesitate to throw you off of this train."

"But, we're still moving." Melody said fearfully.

"Exactly." Dazzle slowly stepped back, and Melody lowered her ears in fear. "If you try anything to sabotage all we've worked for till now, your friendship necklace isn't the only thing I'll crush. Have I made myself clear?"

Despite the threat, there still seemed to be somewhat of restrain in Dazzle's tone of voice. But even that wasn't enough for the younger pony to gulp in fear before transforming into her pony form, still shaking in fear.

"Crystal clear."

The brunette pony smiled in triumph when they heard a knock at the door and Bolin entered with a salute. "Ladies, Kuvira wants to see us right away."

"We'll be right there." Dazzle said. She and Starblaze shot Melody matching angry glares before walking pass Bolin. The earthbender noticed the frightened pony on the floor.

"Melody? You okay?"

She immediately morphed back into her anthro form. "Y--Yeah, just um…nothing."

Ever since he worked for Kuvira, Bolin had developed a soft spot for the bubbly little pony. She was always so sweet and a delight, and listened to his stories of when he was a pro-bender and a mover star and when he traveled the world. To him, she was a good friend.

"Hey, I've got something that'll make you feel better." he said so in a sing-song voice before revealing a small palm sized apple pie on a small tin just for her.

Melody smiled with glee, "Cherry Pie! My favorite!"

"I snuck it out of the fridge while no one was looking."

Melody graciously accepted the sugary pastry. "Thanks Bolin. Wait, isn't this the last one? You said you had dibs."

"I did, but I figured you deserved it more."

Melody was surprised by this, "Really? Why?"

Bolin's eyes fell to the ground in sadness, "After the way I treated Asami, I don't deserve that delicious treat." he then smiled at the pony, "You on the other hand, you've been nothing but a good supportive friend to me. You always know just what to say to make me feel better bout myself."

Melody's eyes looked away from Bolin and down at the apple pie. Suddenly, she no longer felt so hungry. "Thanks. And, I'm sorry about Asami."

"It's probably for the best. She didn't appreciate what I did."

"I don't think that's entirely true."

"Of course it is. We're making a difference and she looked at me like I was a criminal. Maybe this break up was a smart move. Ah!" Bolin suddenly felt a painful jab on his head, like a needle picking at his brain.

"Are you okay?" Melody asked with worry.

Bolin managed to regain his composure, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go, we can't keep Kuvira waiting."

Once he left, the young pony noticed her pendent was glowing. Now she felt even more guilty than before.

(~)

As Jinora steered Pepper through the sky, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat beside Korra, catching up with their best friend. The rainbow pegasus tried to process everything the Avatar had just revealed to them. "Okay, so let me get this straight." Rainbow began, "You somehow drank some strange potion that made you forget all about Equestria, us and your powers?"

"Basically, yeah." Korra responded, "Everything that happened since I arrived at Republic City, I remembered a lot of the same things, but it would have been so different if I had never met any of you."

"Then, how did you defeat UnaVaatu?" Fluttershy asked.

"I still turned into that spirit version of myself, only I didn't have wings, or my horn, and Equestria was never bonded with our world. Heck, I don't think it even existed. It was like, my mind was trapped in some kind of alternate universe. And the saddest part, after the Red Lotus poisoned me, it took me three years to get better."

"Three years?!" The ponies exclaimed in unison.

"I was away at the South Pole recuperating for two of them, and the past six months I was traveling the world to rediscover myself. Since I never had my magic, of course I couldn't have removed the poison to begin with."

Rainbow Dash blinked in awe, "Whoa. Anything else that was out of whack?"

"Well, me and Mako never got back together and he and Asami had a fling while I had amnesia after that dark spirit attacked me."

For a moment, the three were silent…before they bursted out laughing. Rainbow Dash literally fell off of the saddle, only to fly back up, still hugging her stomach and laughing out loud.

"Yeah right! Asami would never be dumb enough to do that!"

"Not even Mako!" Fluttershy said between laughs.

"I know, I have no idea where that would come from." Korra said as her laughs died down, "I mean, sure she almost kissed him that one time but, still, she's way smarter than that."

Rainbow Dash lowered down and sat beside Korra as both she and Fluttershy held her hands tightly like the sisters they were. "Well, the important thing is you're okay. Now, we can go back home and finally put this whole Kuvira situation to rest."

"Not quite." Korra said, catching Rainbow by surprise, "You said she was heading to Zaofu, right?"

"Right."

"Then so am I."

"Are you sure?" Jinora asked with concern, "Dad wanted us to bring you back to Republic City."

"And Mako's been worried sick about you." Ikki said.

Korra looked down at her engagement ring. Nothing would make her happier than to see her friends and family again, but she had some unfinished business to take care of. "Kuvira needs to know that the Avatar is back." Korra said, looking to her left, away from the others, "The world needs to know."

Meelo then jumped to his feet, yelling as he balanced himself on the saddle, "Woo-hoo! Avatar fight! This is going to be awesome!"

Korra smiled in amusement at the boy's antics, "Meelo, there's not gonna be a fight. I'm going to try and reason with, Kuvira. After all, she was a captain os Su's guard and was the Earth Queen's leading troop. Plus, she saved my dad, I think she can be reasoned with."

"What? No fight? Why did we go through all that trouble to save you if you're not going to beat someone up?"

Fluttershy assured the boy, "Now Meelo, we need to respect Korra's choice." the yellow pegasus then whispered to the Avatar, "But you are still going to teach her a lesson, right?"

"Hopefully it won't have to resort to that." Korra said as she looked down at her hands in worry. "The last thing I want to do is fight my friend."

(~)

While everyone else was preparing for what awaited them in Zaofu, Varrick was hard at work on his latest invention. The eccentric billionaire was surrounded by pods of spirit vine samples all across his laboratory, located in the rear car of the train. Varrick tapped on the lens of a recording camera, looking at it in confusion. "Zhu Li! Is this thing on?" he asked as he stepped back, taking his position.

"We're rolling, sir." Zhu-Li said from the other side, recording.

"Okay. I'm Varrick, of Varrick Industries, International, and this is Spirit Vine Experiment 3-02." Varrick took a step to his left, showcasing the machine behind him. He outstretched his hands to Zhu Li, "Hand me the thing!"

Zhu Li walked on over, now visible through the camera lens. Unlike her boss, she was wearing a lab coat with protective googles over her eyes. In her arms, she carried one of the glass tubes with the spirit vine inside. She handed it to Varrick. He staggered a bit in his effort to hold it up before placing the tube in between two metallic slides that sustained it in place. Electrical wires spread across the floor like snakes. Zhu Li piked up the proper wires and connected them to the machine while Varrick continued narrating to the camera to document his work. Or because he simply wanted to brag and commemorate the occasion. Either way, really.

"In this stasis capsule is a preserved spirit vine sample weighing approximately two "Zhu Lis"."

Even if he couldn't tell because of the goggles, or his obliviousness, Zhu Li cast the man an annoyed glance. Varrick walked to the right side of the machine and pulled a long lever. The machine started to make a humming sound and the vine inside the capsule immediately became engulfed a bright purple glow, while also releasing streams of purple electric pulses from within. The lights bounced off of the plant in a rhythmic fashion while Varrick turned back to face the camera.

"I have postulated that these spirit vines are a form of pure energy that's unstable in what we call, "typical earth conditions"." Varrick said, making quoting signs with his fingers. "This machine should transfer the energy from the vine into a battery using electrical currents, reverse magnetic polarity, and a little-known phenomenon I like to call---the Varri-Effect!"

If Zhu Li wasn't so professional, she'd be face palming herself right about now. As much as she admired her boss's work, there were times in which he could be rather egotistical. An yet, she still stayed with him.

Inside the capsule, the vine began to crackle and its energy was sent from the capsule through the power conduit, which led to the battery, a separate glass tube above which began to glow in the same purple energy as the vine.

Varrick smiled excitedly at the scene, "It's working! It's registering five "Varricks" of power. Now seven Varricks!"

The glow was intensifying at an alarmingly rate, and the power conduit began to overload, as well as overheat. The energy dial rapidly shoot to the top of the scale and the light bulbs on the side of the machine shattered into pieces. Alarms sounded off shortly after.

"Whoa! What is this? What's going on?" Varrick asked, griping his hair in horror at his beautiful machine breaking apart right in front of him. The purple energy flared from the machine, the vine now radiating a blinding glow, making it appear almost white, and even a few sparkles arched over it. If the two scientists hadn't been so terrified, they would almost admire the beauty of the sparkles, but the machine acting haywire, and the immense uncontrollable energy that surrounded the lab made that rather difficult.

The energy flared, knocking Zhu Li against the wall while Varrick dove down. "Zhu Li! Shut it down! There are too many Varricks!"

Zhu Li quickly pulled the lever downwards in a desperate attempt to shut the machine off. But, much to her horror, nothing happened. She tried desperately to pull the lever a few more times but still had no effect on the machine.

With horror etched on her face, the glowing battery exploded, sending a blast of purple energy right through the back of the train, breaking it apart like a wet tissue paper. Varrick and Zhu Li screamed in terror as they were both thrown backwards. Zhu Li was not lucky enough to gab hold of a piece of wall like her boss was, and slid towards the large gapping hole at the back of their train car. With the train moving so fast, the woman would no doubt be crushed upon falling to the ground. Thankfully, Zhu Li did manage to grab the side of the wreckage, screaming as she dangled over the racks rapidly moving by.

"Sir!"

Varrick crawled towards the hole and grabbed both of his assistance's hands. He strained, his arms trembling as he tried with all of his might to pull the woman back. "You're too heavy! You know, you could stand to lose a few Zhu Lis!"

"I think you're just weak, sir!" Zhu Li said in desperation, "Pull harder!"

Varrick grunted as he gave one last mighty pull. To his surprise, he finally managed to pull Zhu Li back onto the train. He fell backwards, landing on his back, and Zhi Li landed on top of him. For a moment, the two looked at each other, comprehending what had just occurred. Zhu Li adjusted herself, removing her goggles, and looking at Varrick in surprise. A small smile formed on her face, her eyes softening.

"Varrick ... you saved me." Zhu Li said softly. It was very rare for her to actually say his name, and so sweetly to boot.

"Of course I saved you." Varrick said, speaking just as softly. It was also extremely rare for him to talk to his assistant like this. He cupped her face with both his hands… and redirected her face towards the wreckage caused by the machine. "I can't clean this place up by myself! Grab a broom!" he exclaimed, reverting back to his old self in the time it took to flip a witch, as he sat upright, shoving Zhu Li away. She pouted in annoyances and picked up a broom. So much for the special moment.

Kuvira, Baatar Jr., as well as the three ponies, looking visibly alarmed. "What happened? Were we attacked?" Kuvira asked.

"No! We were spirit-vined!" Varrik replied as he dusted himself off once he was back on his feet. "But don't worry, I--..."

Suddenly, Varrick stopped on his tracks when he spotted something from the corner of the room. Without even thinking, his eyes fixated on the object, he shoved his bosses out of the way and approached it, picking up the treasure from the floor, and gently dusting it off. It was the country hat that a certain pony had given him long ago. He would keep it around wherever he worked, to remind him of his newfound humility. The hat must have fallen from where it was hung due to the blast. Varrick caressed the hat with his thumb, cherished memories seeping back into his subconscious.

"A.J." Varrick said softly while caressing the hat with his thumb. Cherished memories began seeping back into his subconscious. He began to remember everything his dear friends the Apple Family have taught him. About putting other's first and yourself second. That's when it all became clear to him. It was like, a veil was being lifted from his eyes and he could see just how foolish this all was. Withfirm grip on the hat, Varrick sharply turned to his boss, his eyes narrowing tensely.

"That's it! I'm putting the kibosh on this project." he said with confidence as he pulled down a lever on the wall and the greenish light that came from each of the capsules diminished, revealing the natural beauty of the vines once more. Seeing these plants in their natural wonder, and the travesty that was to take them from their original home, only made Varrick all the more certain he was making the right choice.

Starblaze walked up to the man, taking his hat away from him by force, "No, you're not. Do you realize what we could do with this kind of magic?"

"Yes! I do!" Varrick simply took his hat back from the anthro pony, with equal aggression, and went on around the room, shutting off everything one by one. "And that's why we gotta put an end to it! What if it fell into the wrong hands?"

Baatar Jr. crossed his arms, "Since when does that matter to you?"

"Since now. I know it's not like me, right? Usually I look at a project like this and think, "Wow! I could make a ton of money off this!" But recently, I've been having these strange feelings ... inside." he placed his hand over his heart, "Then I remember the lessons my Apple Family taught me. That money doesn't bring you happiness, only good will, hard work, and being concerned for others. And recently, there's this nagging voice in my head constantly telling me what's right from wrong!"

"I believe that voice is your conscience, sir." Zhu Li said as she swiped the floor.

Melody smiled at the Varrick's honor, but quickly made herself frown once she received a glare from her two sisters. Kuvira approached Varrick, not looking at all amused. "Well, I'm the other voice in your head, and I'm telling you you will continue with this project."

Varrick placed his country hat over his head, firmly placings his hands on his hips. "Sorry, no. I just really gotta stand my ground on this one-- Whoa!"

Melody gasped in shock once Starblaze used her metalbending to make the metal plates from the shoulders of Varrick's outfit tightened around his neck, lifting him into the air. His hat falling off in the process, landing at Melody's feet. Kuvira watched, unwavering, as Starblaze moved forward towards the gigantic hole, lifting Varrick over the tracks. The man screamed, moving his feet frantically while trying without success to free himself from the metallic plates around his neck, but even if he did manage to do so, he would still fall to his doom.

"And now there's a voice in my head telling me to drop you on the tracks." Starblaze said, smiling back to her superior. "What do you think, Kuvira? Should I listen?"

Kuvira did not react to this twisted act, she didn't even flinch. She simply looked at Varrick with her stern emerald orbs before saying, "Drop him."

Out of pure terror, Varrick began pleading for his life, "No! No! Head voices are liars, what do head voices know? I'll work on the project! Please don't drop me!"

Starblaze smiled in satisfaction and pulled Varrick back inside the train and released him. The man stumbled to the floor and the anthro pony stepped over his body, chuckling. "A wise choice." she said smugly.

While Kuvira, Baatar Jr. and Starblaze exited the lab, Dazzle remained. Kneeling down, she took Varrick by the chin, "Let this be a lesson to you, if you ever choose to deny us again. Though, I doubt you will if you care for your own life."

Varrick narrowed his eyes after Dazzle gave him a taunting pat on the head and walked away. Melody looked on with worry. She still couldn't believe that a simple hat managed to make Varrick see the truth.

"Melody!" Dazzle angry cry was enough to prompt Melody to leave as well. She looked back, seeing Zhu Li helping Varrick to his feet, both looking on at her and her sister.

She never felt a more unpleasant feeling in her life when she saw the anger in their eyes.

(~)

Asami was beginning to have second thoughts about this. After her breakup with Bolin, she rummaged through her drawers, finding a lot of folders from the letters he had last sent her. It had been a long while since Bolin wrote anything back to her, she was half temped to throw them away. But, upon seeing another stack of letters she had long since neglected, she stood frozen in place. The memory was still fresh in her mind. The letters were still sealed, their wax seals unbroken. Since today was a slow day for her, and after the argument she had with Bolin, she felt these letters were taunting her. So, she decided to do what she should have done long ago.

She sat uneasily on a table, looking down at the stack of letters in front of her. She had to rid herself of them, and what they meant. She didn't want to be reminded of the fact the one person whom she wanted to receive letters from broke her heart, while the one person she wanted nothing to do with had sent her hundreds in the recent year. She had been hurt before, mostly by those she trusted, but now it was time for her to show some backbone. A voice broke the silence and she looked up.

"Asami, you came."

The man pulled out the chair, opposite to where the woman and sat. After three years, Hiroshi Sato has grown older. His hair was now completely gray and he looked on at Asami with his downfallen wrinkled face. His new white beard covered his entire chin, leaving only his lower lip visible. A moment of silence passed between them as they sat facing each other. Asami pushed the stack of letters across the table toward Hiroshi.

"I came to return these." she said coldly.

Hiroshi looked down at the letters, "You never opened them." he said sadly, though in all honesty she should have expected as much.

"Stop writing me." Asami said sternly. She did not raise her voice, nor did she sound distress or on the verge of tears. She kept her emotions in. "You haven't spoken to me in almost three years and now you're sending me letters for nine months? I think you made your point very clearly the last time I came to visit you."

"Please, just let me say one thing, then I'll never contact you again." Hiroshi desperately pleaded. Asami was still for a moment before turning her gaze away, never once looking her father in the eye as he spoke, "I can't forgive myself for all the horrible things I've done. And I never expect you to forgive me. You gave me so many chances to come back and I rejected them all." a look of pure regret flashed on his face, "I tore our family apart, and destroyed our good name. I was even cowardly enough to disown you as my daughter, which is the biggest mistake I ever made. But in a life of regret, you're still the one thing I look back on that makes me smile." Asami averted her head even more, but she could already feel herself tearing up. "You have so much strength and courage in your heart. When I went down, you only moved froward. You didn't let the past keep you from doing what was right. You've grown into a wonderful woman and have achieved so much more than I ever could. In spite of myself, you are the greatest treasure I ever had, and one I don't deserve. I'm sorry for not having told you that in so long."

She didn't need to look at her father to fully realize that he meant every word. How was it possible, that the man she trusted with her heart pushed her aside like she wasn't important, and now her own father --who had long disowned her and vice versa-- was trying to reach out to her. It was like everything was turning upside down. This wasn't how she expected this visit to go. She hoped she'd return the letters and leave with the satisfaction of ridding this burden from her back. Only now, it seemed to be heavier than ever.

Asami tried so hard to keep her emotions in, but they finally caved. A single tear rolled down her cheek and quickly rose up, running for the door, never once looking back. Hiroshi watched her leave, hanging his head in sadness once the door slammed shut. He should have known she would never forgive him. He wouldn't either after all he had done.

Asami ran out of the building only to encounter Sunset Shimmer, who immediately welcomed her in a tight hug as the heiress weeped on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay." the pony assured as her friend continued to cry.

This was much harder for her than she could have ever imagined. First she broke up with her boyfriend, now this. Why was she torturing herself?

(~)

Bolin tapped the tips of his index fingers nervously as he sat in a chair facing his superiors, and their three pony companions. Baatar Jr. sat casually on the sofa, Starblaze was filling her nails, not entirely invested in the situation at all, and Melody appeared to be just as uncomfortable and frightened as Bolin was. Kuvira and Dazzle were the only ones who stood on their feet, facing Bolin. It was really hard for him to tell if she was happy, or not.

"Am ... I in trouble?" Bolin asked, slightly sinking back in his chair.

"No. In fact, I have good news." Kuvira said, "We want you to be a part of our inner circle." as soon as the words left her mouth, Melody looked at Bolin with worry.

"Inner circle?" Bolin repeated, a wide grin spread across his face and pumped his fist into the hair in victory like he used to do in his pro-bending days, "No way! Yes!" he said excitedly before quickly clearing his throat to speak more professionally, placing his hands together on his lap. "That is a great honor. What does it mean, exactly?"

"It means you've proven your worth. We're so close to uniting the Empire, but Su has some resentment towards me and Baatar that might cloud her judgment and stop her from making a wise decision. We believe you can help her see clearly."

"I can do that!" Bolin said eagerly. After all, Su was an old friend, why wouldn't he be able to get through to her. "By the time I'm finished telling her all the great things we've done, she'll be begging to join!"

"Good." Dazzle said with a smirk, "Because we're here."

Kuvira metalbended the shades on the windows up, which had been hiding the view of the outside world, and the sunlight nearly blinded Bolin before he adjusted. He saw Kuvira's entire military army marching their way across the valley. For some reason, this sight made Bolin feel...uneasy.

"Aren't all these troops gonna send the wrong message?" he asked Kuvira. It was a fair question, all of those scary looking machines did seem more intimidating that welcoming.

"The army is here to present strength. You're here to present peace."

Dazzle walked up and stood next to Bolin, wrapping her arm around his shoulder in reassurance, "Relax, Bolin. You've got this. After all, this is what you wanted, right? To prove to everyone you've done a good job?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a mist emitted from her pendent, which was absorbed into Bolin's eyes, and the earthbender stood up, saluting to Kuvira.

"I am at your service, Great Uniter."

Kuvira smiled in triumph, "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

But while the others were content, Melody was filled with regret and despair. This was not the Bolin she had come to know. This was not….

Her friend.

(~)

Bataar Jr. opened a set of double doors, allowing for him, Kuvira, Bolin and the three ponies to enter the room...where his entire family awaited them. Though, their expressions were far from welcoming.

Su stood alongside her husband while her three sons, Wei, Wing and Huan stood on the right side of the room. The twins were still identical in every aspect, including cloths, and Huan had grown his hair more and had parts of his bang dyed green. Opal was there as well, sitting on the large table in the center of the room. Upon their entrance, she stood up, folding her arms over her chest.

Bolin smiled nervously at them all, "Hey, Su, Baatar, Wei, Wing, Huan, and Opal, you're here too, that's great!"

Opal angrily turned away from him. "No! You've chosen your side."

"Sides? There shouldn't be sides!" Bolin said, and addressed to both opposing parties, "I know, why don't we all stand in a circle, huh? Maybe hold hands and sing a song, like the good old days, remember?"

Suyin ignored Bolin, her angry eyes fixated on her eldest son and his fiance. "I'm not giving up Zaofu. I don't care if you brought your entire army."

"Su, I didn't bring my army to threaten you." Kuvira said.

"Though it would be fun." Starblaze pounded her fists together, only to have Dazzle elbow her roughly with a scorn.

"Will you let the Great Uniter talk!" Dazzle exclaimed angrily before smiling at her leader, "Go ahead, Vira."

Kuvira nodded in gratitude before she proceeded to speak with Su, "I wanted to show you all that your son and I have accomplished."

Suyin tried to reason with her son, "You must realize what you're doing goes against everything your father and I tried to teach you."

"Son, you belong here." said her husband.

Baatar Jr. looked at father with nothing but scorn in his eyes. "Why? So that I could go on living in your shadow?" he said bitterly, earning a look of astonishment from his father.

"Don't say that! You know she's brainwashed you!" Suyin exclaimed in anger.

Kuvira smirked while her fiance smugly crossed his arms. "Ha! I didn't brainwash him! I set him free. And now he's accomplished more with me than he ever could with you."

"Too bad for you, old lady." Starblaze mocked, making Su even angrier. Opal stood before the dark and red haired pony, clenching her fists.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to my mother like that!"

"Or else what, cupcake? You'll blast me? Ha! I'd like to see you try."

Bolin quickly came in between the two, laughing awkwardly, "Okay, guys, obviously, there's a lot of personal, painful history here, so what do you say we just all forget about that stuff, huh? I mean, that's the past!" he then appeared from behind the twins, "Right Wing? Right Wei? You guys know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right? High five!" he stood in between them, offering his hand to both. When he didn't get a high five, he smoothly slid away from their identical disapproving glares.

"All right. No, that's cool. You know what I think we need to do? Focus on the future! And the future is bright, let me tell you! I've seen it!" he said to the Beifong clan, "Yeah! Saw it last month! We went to this town that had nothing. Most of the people there had never seen a Satomobile before. Bu now, they have two Satomobiles, running water, and a magnet train that goes right through their town! I mean, how awesome is that?"

"They might have been happy when you first arrived, but I've seen what happens after you leave." Opal said, "Citizens are forced to work as slave labor, dissenters are sent off to who-knows-where!"

Bolin's eyes widened in surprise. That was exactly what Asami said to him. "Wait a sec, when did you talk with Asami?"

"Why are you bringing her into this? You should feel terrible after the way you broke her heart!"

While Bolin was trying to process this, Suyin advanced on Kuvira, "I can't believe you brought Bolin here to try and sway us. Leave! Zaofu will never accept you as their leader!"

"Then you leave me no choice." Kuvira said, matter-of-factly, "You have twenty-four hours to agree to join the Empire, or we take the city by force."

Bolin didn't say a word. He just stood there, astonished at Kuvira's sudden ultimatum. This did not go as he had hoped.

(~)

Meelo looked into the distance with a spyglass, perching onto the saddle. "I see it! Zaofu! We made it!" he exclaimed excitedly, and the bison crossed over the ridge into the valley. His optimism quickly evaporated at the sigh,t "And a bunch of other people are here, too." he said with worry and concern.

Korra, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked on, and sure enough, down bellow was Kuvira's entire Earth Empire army, right at the gates of Zaofu.

"Oh, no. I hope we're not too late." said Korra.

(~)

Upon arriving, Korra, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and the airbender kids entered the room where Su and her family were gathered. They all silently stared in astonishment until Su stood up, her eyes blinking several times, making sure she wasn't imagining things.

"Korra?" Su regained her senses and walked over to the Avatar, warmly embracing her. "I can't believe it, where have you been? You disappeared, everyone was so worried!"

"I'll tell you the whole story later. Right now, I want to help you stop Kuvira."

Rainbow Dash greeted the two twins with fist pumps, "Hey, Wei, Wing! How my favorite twins?"

"Great to see you again, R.D!" Wing greeted, hugging the pegasus.

Wei, however, slid away from view and approached Korra, leaning in close, smiling flirtatiously. "Hey, Korra. It's been a while. Still lookin' good." he said, giving the woman a sly brow. He was then brushed aside by Huan, who introduced himself formally to the princess, taking her by the hand.

"Princess Korra, I apologize for my brother's behavior. But you really do look as stunning as ever." he said, though Korra had no reaction whatsoever and simply looked at him with a deadpan stare. Over the years, receiving adoration and compliments from men wasn't anything new to her. Not anymore, anyways.

Huan was then shoved aside by the strength of Wei, who returned his attention to the still unfazed princess. "Anyway, you still seeing anyone?"

Korra smiled smugly while crossing her arms. "Actually, yes…my fiance." she said as she showed off her engagement ring.

Wei's eyes widened in surprise, blinking twice. "Oh…congratulations." he said before blushing in embarrassment and slid away from view. Huan's eyes also widened at the sight of the jewelry.

"Ooooh! It's stunning! That lucky guy gets my stamp of approval."

Korra rolled her eyes, "I wasn't looking for it, but thanks anyway." she shoved him aside before returning to speak with his mother, "So, what can I do about Kuvira?"

(~)

Mecha suits were positioned all around the metallic tent, positioned in the encampment in the valley. The woman herself sat at her desk while her fiance and Bolin stood in front of her. Dazzle and Starblaze stood on Kuvira's left, while Melody stood by her right. The two older sisters kept their hands behind their backs, but Melody kept hers in front, her ears pressed down against her head and her shoulders slightly rising up.

"You were just bluffing, right?" Bolin asked, feeling a bit on edge by Kuvira's earlier threats to Su and her family. "I mean, you're not really gonna attack Zaofu ... are you?"

"When people don't cooperate, we must find other ways of convincing them to join." Kuvira stated, her hands placed on the surface of the desk in a professional manner and a subtle smile on her face.

"Other ... ways?" Bolin repeated with visible discomfort, "How many ... times have we used these "other ways" in the past?"

Dazzle rotated her wrist without a care, "It's not for you to worry about." she said arrogantly.

"So, uh ... what does happen to all those towns and villages after we leave?" Bolin asked timidly, his eyes darting to the side, avoiding eye contact with Kuvira. A bold move on his part. "I just realized I'd never really ... gone back and ... checked on them."

Kuvira then rose up from her seat and walked around the table to face Bolin. "Those people are my loyal subjects, and they contribute to the Empire however I see fit. Now that you're in the inner circle, you're going to have to accept some hard truths."

Earlier, Bolin felt an undying loyalty towards Kuvira. He trusted her and believed in her cause, but now he could feel that trust fading quickly. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he began to question who he was being loyal to. Why was he agreeing to everything Kuvira had told him? Was it because she said things he wanted to hear? Was it because he was so happy with the work he was doing that he wanted to believe she was doing the right thing? No, there had to be a way to reason with her, right? This was Kuvira, Korra's friend, who she trusted completely. While one part of him wanted to fix the situation, another part of him was telling him to get out of there as fast as he could.

"Maybe ... I'm not really an "inner circle" kind of guy. Or--or maybe, we don't take over Zaofu! Maybe we can just--let them be on their own, and then, "Yay! The Empire's united! Congratulations to us!"

Bolin's hopeful enthusiasm faltered once Kuvira began to advance on him. The earthbender cowered and started backing away as she got closer. Her emerald green eyes were like daggers piercing through his soul, forcing him to shrink down and fall on a wooden crate.

"I didn't know your personal feelings for your so called "friends" were stronger than your loyalty to me." she practically spitted at the "f" word. "Zaofu will join us. The only thing I'm second-guessing is my decision to bring you along. Maybe you need to spend some time in a reeducation camp."

"I ... thought that's where we sent people to learn new trade skills." Bolin's eyes darted to Baatar Jr., who had his arms crossed, looking completely unfazed at his fiance's threatening attitude.

"Hard truths, Bolin." said Baatar Jr. in an cold, heartless manner while arching an eyebrow.

"Besides, what do you care?" Starblaze asked while inspecting her nails, "You're still doing the right thing. Some folks just don't appreciate good help when they see it." her attention drifted from her nails and back to Bolin. "Unless…you have a problem with the way Vira is running things?" she asked in an icy cold tone, mirroring Baatar Jr's.

Kuvira looked on at Bolin with the same menacing look in her eyes as Starblaze, "It does appear that your loyalty is wavering."

Bolin started to panic. "No--no, I'm totally on your side, completely, one-hundred-percent loyal." he gave her a hearty salute for emphasis. However, Kuvira glared down at him, still skeptical about his supposed devotion to her and her cause.

Thankfully, wether she knew it or not, her ponies had a way of making sure Bolin didn't slither away from their grasp. Dazzle and Starblaze began to vocalize, but while they could hear it, Kuvira, Baatar Jr. and even Bolin couldn't. At least not entirely. It was a very faint song, the same one they have used over and over. It was a 'silent song', nearly unheard but still powerful. As they sang, the mist emitted from Kuvira's pendent, transferring their spell which was absorbed not only into Bolin's eyes, but Baatar's as well.

"I pledge my loyalty to you, Great Uniter." Bolin felt his loyalty grow as did Kuvira's smile. But Melody could only look away in regret.

(~)

Korra remembered this place. The metalbending courtyard outside of Su's estate. The place where she first learned metalbending, among other things. Even with the place now on lockdown for the night, the meteors still emitted a beautiful natural shine that reflected off of their surface in the light of the lanterns.

"I'm sorry things became so rough with you and Kuvira." Korra said to the younger Beifong sister, "I know she was your protégé."

"She was more than that." Su briefly turned away with a look of regret, "She was like a daughter to me. I took her in when she was eight years old and nourished her talents. Kuvira was smart, a natural leader, and quickly rose through the ranks. I saw myself in her." Suyin turned her face to Korra, "Do you remember what happened three years ago?"

Korra turned her gaze away, also with regret, "I do. Me, Raiko, Tenzin and the Earth Queen came to see you."

…………

Korra sat beside Tenzin on a sofa, while Raiko and the Earth Queen sat opposite them. Suyin and Kuvira stood before them.

"I'm sorry to intrude like this, miss Beifong." the Earth Queen said politely.

"It's perfectly alright, your Majesty." Su replied politely. After what the woman had been through, and being humbled after turning int a mouse, she grew sympathy for he woman she once felt nothing but scorn for. "What do you need?"

"Ever since I was assumed dead, the Earth Kingdom fell into chaos. But once I regained my throne, I still lost most of the loyalty of my subjects. Not that I blame them. Rebellions are growing and bandits still run a mock. I'm trying the best I can, but perhaps I am not fit to be queen anymore."

"You shouldn't give up." Korra encouraged, "Yes you made mistakes, but only you can make things right again."

"I appreciate your optimism and your faith, Princess Korra, but the truth of the matter is that many do not wish for a former tyrant like me to rule. But more importantly, I am more concerned about what will happen if things get too out of control."

"And you think I should be the one to help?" Su asked.

"You're the perfect person to help take charge." Tenzin stated, "The world leaders trust you, and, as a Beifong, you have credibility in the Earth Kingdom."

"I know this is much to ask of you," said the Earth Queen, "I sincerely wish to mend my mistakes, but I know I can not do it alone. If you wish, you can help me make the Earth Kingdom better, so I don't have to keep throwing people in prison again. I need someone to be my right hand, to help me move our nation into the future. A better future for all of us."

"I'm honored that you thought of me, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to say, no."

Kuvira's stoic expression morphed into a look of genuine concern upon hearing the matriarch's refusal. She turned to Su, speaking up. "Suyin, I know this isn't my place, but I think you should do this. Zaofu has always been a beacon of modern progress, and now you can share that with everyone. Our nation was nearly destroyed by greed and pride--no offense, your Majesty."

"None taken. the queen replied awkwardly.

"This is our opportunity to change things."

But Suyin remained firm, "It's not going to happen." she turned to the queen, "I'm sorry your Majesty. I wish you the best of luck, but I'm not interested in imposing my ideals on an entire nation."

Korra stood up and tried to reason with the woman, "We're trying to stop wars, not start them. Su, please reconsider. You'll be helping the Earth Kingdom, not conquering it."

"I'm sorry, Korra. My answer is final."

Korra lowered her gaze and her shoulders, her face filled with hurt, while Kuvira's was iced over with resolve.

(~)

Latter that same day, Korra was metalbending a meteorite in Su's courtyard when she heard footsteps approaching. It was Kuvira.

"I'm sorry for what Su said. I used to feel nothing but disgust for the Earth Queen, but now I see she truly wants to help. Suyin would have been the perfect second in command."

Korra smiled, "I appreciate the encouragement, but we shouldn't force Su to do this. Even if it is kind of stupid."

Kuvira sighed sadly, "Yeah well, Su always was pretty stubborn. She prefers we'd all stay here in a safe haven than share our progress with the world. The world is changing constantly, she says, and we should change with it."

Korra bended the meteorite into the form of a lotus flower, similar to the structures around Zaofu. Korra then took Kuvira's hand and placed the metal flower on her palm. "That's what I admire about you, Kuvira. You have such thrive to make things better. Su's very lucky to have you."

Kuvira thankfully accepted the gift from the princess and humorously scoffed, "Please, you're the one who's lucky. You're a princess. I'm just some average earthbender guard who dances in her spare time."

Now it was Korra's turn to scoff, "You are anything but some average earthbender, Kuvira. I can say, with complete confidence, that you are destined for great things. No doubt about that."

Kuvira's eyes slightly widened and her emerald orbs sparkled. But while past Korra was happy, the present Korra was filled with regret.

……….

"After that, she and I kept touch. She send me progress reports and I would come over whenever she asked. But most of the time she had the situation under control. I never would have imagined she'd take my words into such a twisted direction."

"You don't know what happened right after that night, do you?" Su asked.

"What do you mean? Kuvira proved herself by stabilizing Ba Sing Se, and Hou-Ting and the other world leaders made her the provisional head of the Earth Kingdom alongside the Queen. I was there."

"But you never knew what happened the day she left Zaofu."

.……………

Suyin walked across a large platform toward a line of awaiting airships, where she spotted Kuvira and a young Baatar Jr. standing near the airships, taking boxes on board. Su's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. She did not approach of this, and the fact that her son, protegee and loyal guards doing something behind her back. And something this bold and reckless.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suyin asked angrily as she approached Kuvira, who didn't even turn around to face the older woman and continued packing her things into the metal case.

"We're doing what you don't have the guts to do: We're going to Ba Sing Se to help bring order back to the Earth Kingdom."

"NO! You will stay here!" Su replied furiously.

Kuvira calmly turned to face her mentor, "And who's going to stop me? Your security force was more than happy to join my cause. They're some of the best fighters in the world, and they are tired of being treated like exotic birds in your cage."

"If you leave now, you will never be welcomed back."

"When I choose to return, it'll be on my own terms." with that, Kuvira walked into the airship which then took off. The sight of it broke Su's heart.

………..

"After that, Kuvira and Baatar left that day with Varrick, my security force, and a few of Zaofu's wealthiest citizens. I will admit, she did a wonderful job at first and for a while I started to believe I was wrong and placed what happened behind us. I thought we could start over again. But as time went on she somehow…"

"Changed." Korra interrupted, "She changed. She went from a great leader with good intentions and a great vision, into…this."

"Exactly. When she refused to step down, I knew it was only a matter of time before she made her way back here."

"I want to fix this." Korra said surely.

"You can. Use your Alicorn magic and demolish her entire army. Remove Kuvira from power once and for all."

"…No." Korra replied softly.

"What?"

"I didn't know she would take my words in another direction, but now that I know what I'm dealing with maybe if I talk with her now and she'll come to her senses."

"Kuvira doesn't listen to reason. I'm afraid she's changed far to much for you to reach her."

"People can change, Su. Isn't that what you always told me?" Su's eyes slightly widened in realization. Korra was using her own words of wisdom to prove a point. "Just let me talk to her. I've seen the kind of person she was, I want to believe our Kuvira is still in there…please."

Su was hesitant. She knew how stubborn and proud Kuvira was. But, Korra seemed so certain she could reason with her so…maybe it was worth a shot.

"Aright. We'll do it your way."

Korra smiled, "Thank you, Su."

"But, if she goes out of line, promise me you will do what you can to protect Zaofu."

Korra stood up and looked at the woman with stern eyes. "If it resorts to fighting, I'll do what I can." as she prepared to walk off she turned her head towards Su, "And Su…promise me you won't do anything until I come back."

"I promise."

(~)

Melody made sure no one was around before knocking on the door, and a certain earthbender walked out. "Melody? What are you doing here?" Bolin asked. But before she could answer, Melody rushed inside, protectively holding a strange box. "And now you're in my room." he said, still confused.

"Quick, close the door! I can't let them know I'm here." she said frantically while placing the box on Bolin's personal desk.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked after he closed the door and walked towards his pony friend, who had already opened the box and was ruffling through the papers inside. "What is all that?"

"They're letters….from Asami."

Bolin looked at her in confusion and took the papers into his hands. He skimmed through the words, recognizing them immediately, "These are...all the ones she sent me right after I left. But, why are there more? She hasn't sent me any new letters in months."

"No, that's not true! Look, just read one or two and then I'll explain." Melody began shoving the papers in his face, "Please, you have to read them!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down." Bolin took the load of papers and one by one. His expression softened. "It is Asami. This is her hand writing." he then took a whiff of one of the papers, intoxicated by the undeniable aroma of roses and cinnamon. "And it still smells like her too." he sat down on his bed and started reading the first letter out loud.

"Dear Bolin.

I hope you're doing okay out there with your new job. I want you to know how proud I am of you. While the distance may be hard, and I won't deny there are times I wish you were still here, I would never stop you from doing what you love. Just so long as you promise to write me, even if you get busy. It doesn't have to be a long paragraph or even a poem, heck you don't even have to write anything, I'm fine with a simple smiley face, just knowing you're still there is enough for me. I can't wait to hear about your progress.

Love you, always,

-Asami. XOXO."

Melody stood by, happily watching as Bolin read the letters one by one.

"Dear Bolin.

You're probably way to busy to write me back, but I don't want you to worry. I'm pretty pilled up here on my end too. Work is crazy busy, but I'm sure you know how that feels by now. It's always nice to talk to you about this kind of stuff. One of the many things I love about you is that you're always willing to listen to me. Even if you don't always understand me when I talk about cars.

Hope you write back soon,

Love you, always,

-Asami. XOXO"

The young man continued to read letter by letter, each one more heartfelt than the last, until they suddenly became more and more brief and simple, but even so, she still managed to leave the 'Love you, always' and "XOXO" at the end of each one.

"She wrote all of these?" he said in a faint whisper, practically frozen.

"I'm sorry." Melody finally said, "My sisters and I hid them from you."

Bolin looked up at her with confusion, "But why? Melody why would you do this?"

The young pony looked at her friend with sincere regret, "Because we know how strong your love for Asami is. We couldn't risk anything."

"I don't understand."

"Bolin, you have to believe me when I say you can't keep working for my sisters."

"Your sisters? I work for Kuvira, we all do."

"That's not entirely true."

The room fell into silence and Bolin looked at Melody with a stern face as he held her shoulders, looking firmly into her eyes.

"Melody, what's really going on?"

(~)

Korra remained at the courtyard, bending meteorites into random objects, as memories flashed in her mind. The real memories.

……….

Korra had just finished her morning workout. It felt good to open up her wings after so long. She looked around and arced an eyebrow when she noticed Huan looking at her weird. Then, her eyes shifted to one of Suyin's guards. A female. She was just standing there, leaning against the wall outside. Korra recalled seeing her before. Then she remembered; she was one of Su's dancers. The young princess approached the guard. She looked to be in her early twenties, proximately twenty one or twenty two. She was lovely with sharp features and sleek emerald colored eyes and a beauty mark underneath her left eye. Korra waved and smiled.

"Hello."

The guard bowed before Korra with her hands behind her back. Like the other guards, she wore a metal uniform and a helmet over her head. "Good day, Princess Avatar. Do you need anything?" she spoke in a dignified voice, but yet there seemed to be an aura of…coldness in there too. Korra looked at the woman curiously.

"Um, no not really. I wanted to say "hello" since I saw you just standing there by yourself."

"Like the other guards I was assigned to see your safety is assured."

"Well, thank you very much, but you don't have to worry about me. Not that I'm not grateful or anything, it's just--"

"I understand." the woman said with a smile, "I have heard great things about you. You truly have a remarkable life."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. I mean, yeah I did save the world but I couldn't have done it without my friends."

"I'm sure you would have. I can tell, just by looking at you, that you have a lot of strength and power. I mean, you only gained those things a few weeks prior and you're already a natural at them."

"Thanks, that's so sweet. But really, I never would have gotten these things without my team. They helped me become what I am today."

"It's really touching how much faith you put in your allies."

"Do you have any? Friends, I mean." The woman's eyes slightly widened a bit and looked away from Korra's gaze. The princess realized she may have crossed a line. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"No, it's fine. I guess I've never really bothered with friends before."

This news really made Korra feel sorry for the woman. It was then she realized it wasn't strange for her to approach this person. Maybe she needed a friend after all.

"Well, maybe you could start."

The woman arced an eyebrow in curiosity. Was Korra actually asking to be her friend? Really?

Korra extended her hand to greet her formally, "Hi, my name's Korra. What's yours?"

The woman looked down at the Princess's before shaking it firmly.

"Kuvira. My name's Kuvira."

(~)

Korra and Kuvira sat on a bench and chatted about their lives, their childhoods, their hopes and dreams. Korra never realized how much she and Kuvira had in common. She was a lot like herself. She was determined, driven and dreamed of doing so much more than staying in Zaofu. As they spoke, Kuvira had removed her helmet to reveal her long dark raven hair styled into a braid.

"So even though I love dancing, what I really want to do is travel. See more of the Earth Kingdom, expand my horizons, you know?"

"I completely understand. I felt the same way back at the compound. Sure it was to protect me but, I wanted nothing more than to have my own adventures, like Aang did."

"Looks like you finally got the chance. Now look at you; you're a princess, you saved the world and you have a handsome man who loves you."

"What about you? Is there anyone special in your life?"

Kuvira began to nervously fiddle with her free strand of hair and blushed in embarrassment.

Korra smirked, "I know that look, there is someone special, isn't there?"

"Well, he's more of an acquaintance, actually. We don't talk all that much with him being so busy and me with my job and all."

"Is he cute?"

"Korra!"

"What? I'm just asking."

"Well…yes, he is pretty cute. Especially with his glasses."

"Oh, a mart guy, hu?" Korra smirked while arching an eyebrow.

"What can I say, I like the nerdy type."

The two girls giggled when a male guard approached them, catching them by surprise. "Kuvira! What are you doing? You're suppose to be at your post."

"Oh, well I, um."

"It was my fault." Korra said as she stood up to face the guard, much to both him and Kuvira's surprise. "We were talking and we lost track of time. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Oh, no your highness. If you requested it then it's no problem." he said with a bow before turning to Kuvira, "But seriously Kuvira, you should get back to work."

Kuvira stood up and placed her helmet back on but not before smiling graciously at Korra, "Thanks for the talk, Prin---Korra."

"No problem. I'll see you around?"

"Of course you will. I work here."

(~)

And Korra did see Kuvira again. Various times in Zaofu. She saw her a few moments before Wei and Huan wrecked Flash's picnic date for Twilight. She even saw her at Pinkie Pie's Rainbow themed party. Though, she didn't participate in the activities. She just stood there, smiling from afar. Korra gestured to her to join in the dancing, but Kuvira politely turned down the offer with a polite smile. For the past couple of days, Korra and Kuvira would speak whenever they ran into each other. Kuvira even taught Korra a few metalbending tricks for which she used to surprise Su during her training. Kuvira was a nice person. She was smart, talented, driven and, even if some didn't know it, a bit of a dreamer. With Korra, Kuvira felt comfortable speaking to her. They were a lot a like after all. But whenever Korra tried to get her to talk to her other friends, Kuvira would turn the offer down.

All of that changed the night the Red Lotus took Korra hostage. Kuvira and the other guards fought with all of their might to save the Princess. Kuvira did it to save her friend. Korra still managed to come out alive and in one piece. The following morning, Kuvira knocked on the door of Korra's room.

"Come in."

Kuvira used her upper torso to open the door while she held a tray of food for the Avatar. "Hey, Kuvira. That for me?"

"Yes. Su wanted me to hand it to you."

Korra graciously accepted the tray, "Thanks, that's so nice. I hope I didn't give the others too much of a scare last night."

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but it was, without a doubt, the most thrilling night of my life. Not the part about you getting kidnapped but, the other part about fighting those criminals."

"Well then, you're welcome. Glad I could bring a little thrill into a person's life."

The two women giggled at the joke. "The others will be waiting for you outside when you're done." Kuvira said before turning away to leave until she was stopped by Korra.

"Hey, Kuvira…thanks."

The metalbender smiled, "Don't mention it."

Yep. Kuvira was a good friend. But sadly, that friendship had to end.

(~)

The following night, Kuvira heard a knock on the window of her room, which was on the second floor, and saw Korra flying in front of her. The Avatar placed her index finger in front of her lips as in telling Kuvira to keep quiet.

"Korra? What are you doing here?"

"I came to say goodbye."

"What? Why?"

"Su tasked me and the others to track down Aiwei and hopefully we'll find Zaheer. I'm sorry I had to leave like this, but--"

"You don't have to explain. I understand. Just…be careful. Okay?"

"I will. But, Kuvira, I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"I know, we haven't been friends for very long, and I don't know what's going to happen, but remember this; I am not your only friend. The world is filled with friends you haven't met yet, but you'll never find them if you stay hidden underneath your helmet. So go for it, don't be afraid to open up and take a risk. Promise me you'll remember that. I won't leave until you do."

Kuvira was silent for a moment. Her first, and so far only friend, was leaving. But maybe she was right. Maybe she should be more bold and go for what she wanted instead of waiting for it to come. Not everyone is going to just walk right up to her and smile like Korra did, but that didn't mean she shouldn't try it either. She can have friends, she just needed to be brave enough to go and find them. The woman and Korra clapped hands.

"I promise."

Korra and Kuvira embraced in a farewell hug before the alicorn princess flew away from the window.

(~)

The girls did not see each other after that….until Korra was captured once again by the Red Lotus. This time, after she was poisoned and crippled. Kuvira was one of the people who approached her after Jinora's ceremony. Kuvira didn't know what to say, since she's never had to deal with this sort of thing before. She didn't need to say any words, she simply took Korra by the hand and said;

"You'll get through this. You're too strong to be kept down."

Despite her weakened state, Korra still managed to smile at Kuvira. "Thank you. For everything."

Even when Korra was ill and at the South Pole, she received a letter from Kuvira.

"Drear Korra.

I'm not good at this sentimental stuff, as you are aware, but I just want you to know that if there is anything I can do to help you while you're away, do not hesitate to ask.

Your friend, Kuvira."

And of course, who could ever forget that one day. The day that changed everything.

The day Kuvira proved her worth to the Queen and was appointed her second in command. Kuvira smiled at the cheering crowd, as well as Korra, who smiled proudly at her friend. Her crown made her look all the more regal. After the ceremony, the Princess Avatar approached her and handed her a book. It was a special kind of book.

"Remember, anything you write here will appear in a book I have back home." Korra explained to her friend, "If you're ever in a jam, just let me know."

"Thank you Korra. I honestly couldn't have made it this far without you." then, Kuvira was surprised when Korra embraced her in a hug. This princess was like the supportive little sister she never had. Once the ended the hug, Korra waved goodbye as Kuvira mounted her train, ready to change the world.

(~)

For a long period of time, things ran smoothly. Kuvira wrote to Korra, informing her of her progress.

"Dear Princess Korra.

I am happy to inform you that we are making excellent progress with restoring the Earth Kingdom. Queen Hou-Ting is, surprisingly, very nice to work with. She really has changed. Between her new kind-heart and my modern ideas, we're making a better future for our nation. We have you to thank for that.

Your friend, Kuvira."

The letters kept on coming, some were progress reports, others were simply to say hello, while others were urgent requests to come over and assist with a situation. These hardly happened but the few that were sent to Korra she assisted without hesitation. Most of the time, Kuvira and the Earth Queen had most of it covered. This kept going for the next two years. One day she sent a letter to Korra which brought her great joy.

"Hello, Korra.

You will never believe what happened. We recently rescued three wounded earth ponies. They're still asleep and look like they've been starving. They must have gotten lost and had a run in with some vandals. Don't worry, I will inform you of their progress.

Your friend, Kuvira."

But strangely, that was when the letters suddenly stopped. It was also when Kuvira started to change. The letter was sent not long after Hou-Ting resigned her throne due to her elderly age, and said her nephew would take charge when ready. Korra did not like what she had been hearing recently, so she took matters into her own hands and went to see for herself.

She was shocked. Shocked to see what Kuvira had done. People kept reporting to Kuvira about the horrible way she was enforcing the law. Some believed she was doing a wonderful job, while others said she was a monster. Forcing people to join her cause, even if it was by force. She was no longer that selfless woman she met in Zaofu three years ago. She had changed.

Things took a drastic turn when Korra confronted Kuvira.

"I can't believe you! So, this whole time, I've been nothing but an errand girl for you?!"

"What? No, that's not--"

"Oh, it's not? You never even trusted me!"

"I did trust you."

"Did? As in past tense?"

"I didn't meant it like that."

"Well, whatever you say I have no regrets. I have done a far better job than you ever could."

"What's happened to you? You're not the same Kuvira I remember."

"You're right. I'm not, now are you satisfied?"

"No. Just disappointed."

"You know, you're really starting to sound just like Su."

"Good. At least one of us does."

Kuvira slammed her fists onto the table, "You think you can just waltz right in here and tell me how to do my job while flaunting your precious ring? You were suppose to support me!"

"I had faith in you. I was proud of you for taking charge and learning to make a change. I felt the world was making progress until you turned into…this!. Queen Hou-Ting's nephew will soon take the throne and when he does, you will renounce your position."

"And who says I will."

"You will. I'll mark sure you do."

"You can't do that! You may be a princess but you have no right to fire me!"

"Technically, I do. I was one of the people who agreed to assign you this position….I'm sorry."

That was the last thing she ever said to her. Korra felt awful for what had happened. But one day, she believed things were turning out better.

(~)

"Kuvira? What are you doing here?" Korra asked, surprised that the metalbender was visiting her at her palace.

"May I come in? Unless you still feel resentment towards me."

"No, no. Come in." The two women sat down around Korra's table, "I'll go make us some tea."

"No, I'll do it."

Korra was surprised that Kuvira volunteered to make it, "Really?"

"It's just my way of saying 'I'm sorry'." after making the tea, the two sat down and talked like the old friends that they were, "I thought long and hard about what you said to me before and, I realized you were right. I shouldn't have abused my power the way I did, and I really shouldn't have insulted your fiance."

"It's okay, Kuvira. Things seem to be getting back on track now. Thanks to you, I bet."

"Please, you don't have to flatter me. I hope this means we can still be friends."

"Of course we can. I wouldn't be the Princess of Friendship if I said otherwise." Korra then took a sip of her tea at the same time Kuvira did.

"I hope you don't mind me saying that; I…am engaged as well."

Korra gasped and smiled, "Really?"

"Yes. Bataar proposed to me a week ago."

"That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you," then, out of the blue, Korra started to cough.

"Are you okay?" Kuvira asked with concern.

Korra pated her chest, "Yeah. Probably chocked in my own tea, there."

"You should really slow down."

After a nice chat, the two parted ways once again. Korra bid farewell to Kuvira as she left Air Temple Island. It was so nice to have her friend back. However, that happiness soon faded when she walked back into her palace.

The metallic lotus flower she had given Kuvira was not resting on the table. Why would she leave it? Did she forget it? What could this mean?

Well, Korra would have to put that on hold for now, on account of she was late for her wedding dress fitting with Rarity.

……….

Korra looked down upon her hand, seeing how she created an exact replica of the lotus flower she gave Kuvira. She couldn't help but feel this was all her fault. Maybe she placed too much trust in Kuvira too soon. Maybe she wasn't clear enough, or smart enough to teach her the ways of Friendship, considering how she was willing to give them all up just to maintain order in the Earth Kingdom.

She knew she couldn't fight Kuvira. She'd seen the good in her, so she had to believe there still was. She had to get the woman back on the right side again.

And fix what she started. That was a promise.

(~)

Asami Sato sighed, blowing a piece of stray hair from her forehead. The young engineer sat hunched over on a bench, her face resting on her palms. It was a beautiful day, and at Harmony Park a variety of people and ponies were going about their daily lives. Wether it be playing with their children, doing outdoor exercises on mats, or simply talking about whatever came to mind. Their conversations were nothing but distant mumbles for Asami, because she was too focused on her own problems to even care about what other people said or did.

"You look gloomy."

Asami looked up to see Sunset Shimmer, with two drinks in hand, and sat next to her friend. Asami accepted the drink that was offered to her. "Thanks, Sunset."

The pony looked at her friend with concern, "Still thinking about your dad?"

Asami sighed, "It's so crazy. Over the years I was able to forgive so many people who were just as bad as he was, if not worse. P'li, Starlight Glimmer, the Earth Queen, but with my dad it's...Err!" Asami growled in frustration, face palming herself in dismay.

"That's because none of them were the man who raised you." Sunset said, speaking in a compassionate tone. "The deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal."

"When he tried to kill me all those years ago, it was like I was seeing a stranger in my dad's body." Asami voice became cold and harsh as she recalled the events from her past. "I tried to forgive him once and he disowned me for it. After that, I wasn't sure if my father even existed anymore…until today." her face fell, her gaze on the ground. Her voice softer. "I'm scared to get my hopes up again. I made that mistake one too many times, I couldn't do it again."

Sunset leaned her head up, looking at the clear blue sky before looking back at her friend. "Asami, I understand you would feel a lot of resentment towards your father, but I think I can vouch for him." Asami looked at her friend in confusion. "Speaking as a former power-hungry she-demon, I know what it's like to feel incredibly guilty over what you've done. After Twilight and the Rainbooms brought me back from my own darkness, I hatted myself. I used to look in the mirror and have this urge to throw a rock at myself."

"Ouch."

"Exactly. I hatted myself, but the thing that hurt me even more was that no one gave me a chance to prove I had changed." And that was when Sunset had Asami's full attention. "I wanted so badly to show them I really regretted my actions, but they only saw my mistakes and not the person I had become. I'm not forcing you to forgive your dad, you have every right to choose. But I am saying, if you only see him for who he was and not who he can be, then you'll never know what you can have in the future. And the only way to find out, is by giving him a chance to prove it."

Asami heard the sound of a man laughing. She turned her head, seeing a father and daughter playing a game of Pai Sho. The little girl moved the tile, then smiled proudly, indicating she had won the game. Her father took the child into his arms, making her giggle with joy. The scene flashed and Asami could see her younger self in place of the little girl, and Hiroshi in place of the father. They used to have such a strong bond before his downfall into darkness. Could it be possible she could have that back? A long time has passed, and if folks like a former terrorist, pony cult leader, spirit of chaos and disharmony, and even the once deceiving changelings can walk away from a dark past...maybe there was hope for Hiroshi yet.

"Thank you, Sunset Shimmer."

"Hey, I'm here for you."

The two girls wrapped their arms around each other and hugged. True friends help each other see the light. Now, if only one could help another friend see it too.

(~)

"I can't believe Kuvira locked me in here like a prisoner!" Varrick exclaimed while leaning over the railing of the upper level of his workshop. The man was sweating up a storm, growing more and more anxious by the minute. He wasn't used to being confounded in one place, especially against his will, and now with his very life on the line, Varrick might as well be a hyperactive chicken with its head cut off.

"I'm not feeling well!" he said, placing his two index fingers on his neck to check on his pulse before clenching his throat as if he were suffocating. "I think I'm running out of air! Zhu Li, hold your breath!"

"I'm not holding my breath." Zhu Li said calmly while pouring the tea, completely unperturbed.

"Great! Now we're both gonna die!" Varrick exasperated as he hung his head, already giving up all hope of escaping.

"Varrick? Varrick?!" said a sudden whispering voice, along with the sound of creaking metal.

"Ahh! And the head voices are back!" Varrick said fearfully, his eyes darting back and forth anxiously. Zhu Li simply pointed her finger towards the ceiling, without even looking up. Varrick turned his head in the direction to where she pointed, only to see Bolin and Melody's head poking through a hatch in the top of the car.

"Bolin! Melody! Thank goodness you're here! Where did that hatch come from? Forget the hatch! There's something important I gotta tell ya!"

"Well, there's something important we gotta tell you, too!" Bolin fell through the hatch, followed shortly by Melody. Once he landed, both men gripped each other's shirt collars.

"Kuvira's crazy!" They exclaimed simultaneously in complete and utter panic.

"How'd you find out?" Bolin asked.

"When I refused to build her a super weapon, one of her ponies threatened my life!"

"She threatened me, too! And she's been hiding my letters from Asami so the spell wouldn't be broken."

"Spell? What spell?" Varrick asked bewilderedly, releasing Bolin.

"The spell cast on by Melody and her sisters."

Varrick blinked twice. A brief silence followed before he replied, "You lost me."

Bolin face palmed himself in frustration before proceeding to explain. "Melody told to me that she and her sisters have magical music that can brainwash anyone who hears it which is manifested into those stones they and Kuvira are always wearing."

"No wonder she never takes that gaudy thing off!" Varrick concluded, "So, we've been under a spell this whole time?"

"Well, not a 100%." Melody corrected, "You see, three years ago Kuvira discovered the stones in a cave and when she found me and my sisters she used the rocks to make us our friendship necklaces. We quickly realized they held some kind of magic within them. Kuvira's own negative emotions seemed to give the stone its power, and that in turn was slowly restoring the magic we lost. Ever since, we've been using Kuvira to absorb more negative energy from others, including you. But since our magic is still regenerating you would still, technically, have your free wills, just not enough so you'd still be influenced to follow Kuvira."

"You're saying...I kind of did mean all those horrible things I said to Asami and everybody else, didn't I?" Bolin said sadly, his shoulders lowering in regret.

"It wasn't all your fault. The magic still blinded you to the truth."

"Then how did Varrick break free?" Zhu Li asked.

"Love." Melody responded, "Love weakens our magic. The hat Varrick's friend gave him was enough for him to break free of our hold, the same way Asami's letters did for Bolin."

Varrick's eyes widened at this, "Let me see if I got this right. Your sisters are really the ones holding the reigns in this whole shebang while using Kuvira as a battery charger for your voodoo magic?"

"I'm not proud of it, but yeah."

"Then, Kuvira's under the spell too?"

"No. Unlike you, she's perfectly in control of her will. It's her own choices that are increasing our magic. All of that pride and desire for power is like a buffet for my sisters. If she keeps this up, soon they will have enough magic to take control of her entire army."

"And what will happen to Kuvira if they do?" Bolin asked with fear.

To his disappointment, Melody lowered her gaze in shame as her pony ears lowered, "I'd rather not say."

"That settles it! We gotta get outta here."

"I couldn't agree more, kid." Varrick said. He motioned to Zhu Li with his finger. She stood on a table and jumped up through the hatch. Extending her hands outwards, she pulled Varrick up in a flash. Bolin followed her example and too made his own escape, offering his hand to Melody in oder to assist her up.

(~)

Accompanied by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, Korra walked alongside Baatar Jr., who led them to his fiance, currently speaking to a few guards. As the three Elements of Harmony approached the military woman, Korra noticed the two anthro ponies beside Kuvira. She couldn't quite make out who they were, but she had a very powerful feeling she had seen them somewhere before.

"We have an unexpected guest." Baatar said, stopping halfway. "Princess Korra, Officer Rainbow Dash and Miss Fluttershy are here to see you."

Kuvira's cool composure slightly faltered. At the mention of the name her entire body became stiff and her eyes subtly narrowed. Dazzle and Starblaze were equally surprised, though they did a rather splendid job in hiding their indisputable shock. How was it even possible that the Princess was still up and about?

Kuvira nodded to her guards to leave and took in a deep breath before turning to face the Princess Avatar and her two pegasus ponies. Despite her earth kingdom attire, Korra did not change at all. She still carried an aura of dignity, elegance and strength in her appearance. Her hair remained supernaturally long, and her wings remained as clean and sturdy as ever. Kuvira felt her envy bubbling up from inside, but masked it to near perfection. The two pegasus ponies looked at the metalbender with scorn. Kuvira herself smiled as genuinely as she could in their presence.

"Princess Korra, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, it's such an honor to see you all again. The last I heard, you were still healing in the South Pole." she said looking at Korra.

"Well, I'm feeling much better now." Korra said, though her expression remained firm as she spoke with Kuvira. She was well aware of what she had become, but she was not giving up on her.

"That's wonderful news." Kuvira said. Though deep inside, she wanted to literally strangle someone. The feeling was mutual in the case of Dazzle and Starblaze. How could Korra be back? How in the world was she back? The two ponies looked at one another with inconspicuous worry. With their dyed hair and coat-colored skins, no way Korra would be able to recognize them. They did look as different from their old selves as possible.

"How have you been?" Korra asked, trying to lessen the obvious tension between them.

"Fine." Kuvira responded blankly.

"Are you and Baatar still...?"

"Yes. Yes we are. Are you and Mako...?"

"Yes. Yes we are."

"Well, good….nice hair."

"Thanks. Nice…metal plates." Korra said rather unsurely, the metal around Kuvira's armor was so sharp it could cut through skin like tissue.

"Thanks."

The other ponies on the opposite sides fiddled with their fingers awkwardly. The two girls had not seen each other, or spoke properly to one another in a long time, and the last time they did speak was not on the best of terms. Kuvira looked and seemed very different than the woman Korra once knew, but she refused to give up.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" Korra asked, gesturing to the two ponies beside the earthbender.

"Ah, yes. Korra, meet Dazzle Song and Starblaze. Two ponies I found stranded in the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom."

Korra politely greeted them, "Nice to meet you both."

The two ponies did not smile, nor did they wave. They did, however, folded their arms and scorned at the Princess, as if she were a threat of some kind.

"Why exactly are you here?" Kuvira asked, "I have a feeling it wasn't just to catch up on old times."

Korra stood before Kuvira, looking as confident and strong as a Princess could. "I'm just here to talk, not fight or argue with you."

Kuvira already knew exactly what Korra was really asking for, "You want me to leave Zaofu, don't you? I bet Su asked you to speak on her behalf?"

Korra maintained her composure, but her voice held compassion and understanding, "Kuvira, please. I'm asking you to be reasonable here. Just take your army and leave in peace."

"I think we both know that's not going to happen." Kuvira replied.

Korra felt a familiar sting in her chest, one she had felt the last time she tried to reason with the earthbender. Still, she made sure not to allow her hurt show. "I can't let you take Zaofu. There is really no reason for you to do so." Korra said firmly, yet calmly.

"Look, I was tasked with bringing stability to the Earth Kingdom. Zaofu is the last holdout. Why should I treat it differently than any other state?"

Rainbow stepped forward, "What you're doing isn't right!" she said strongly, but Korra gestured to her to step back.

"I understand you're just trying to do Su a favor, but you can't come to me as I am on the verge of reuniting my nation and tell me to stop."

"You were tasked with helping restore the Earth Kingdom. To restore Harmony. This isn't harmony." Korra stated, showcasing the rest of Kuvira's menacing looking army.

"Look Korra, your method of handling conflict is a noble one, I won't deny that. But it hasn't always been the most effective. You and I solved a lot of difficult crisis together, but with every good act we did, another problem rose not too long after. And with you gone for the past six months, things did not get any better. In order to fix it, I had to make some tough decisions."

Despite the obvious hurt Korra felt from those words, her wings instinctively spread out wide, giving her a much more demanding presence, like an eagle-hawk trying to intimidate its opponent. Reasoning didn't seem to get through to her, it was time for some tough love.

"You call intimidating and conquering villages 'tough choices'? If you truly cared about the people you would treat them as actual living beings, not some property you can control and manipulate! You want so badly to believe your values are the right ones when deep down you know it's not true so you try and force others into believing it is!"

Kuvira maintained her composure, but on the inside she was fuming with anger.

"How dare you?!" Dazzle said as she stepped forward. Korra's eyes widened when she saw the way the two anthro female ponies stand by Kuvira. It was like looking in a mirror. They stood by and protected the human woman just like The Mane Six always did with Korra. "You have got some nerve to come waltzing in here and talk that way about The Great Uniter!"

Starblaze scoffed arrogantly, "She's just jealous because while she was off planing her fairytale wedding, Kuvira was working her butt off to fix the Earth Kingdom. If you ask me, Korra isn't even fit to be called a Princess."

"I totally agree." said Dazzle, "If anything, Kuvira is the one who rightfully deserves a crown of her own."

The more these girls praised and complimented Kuvira for all she had done, the smirk on her face only grew. It was a sinister smirk. But that wasn't the worse part. Korra noticed the pendent around Kuvira's neck. She knew she had seen that stone somewhere before. The Avatar narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"Where did you get that necklace?"

Kuvira instinctively gripped her precious stone, "Something I found." she responded bluntly, while Korra's eyes were still fixated on the green gem…

Then, it it her.

Korra remembered the day she was captured by the Red Lotus. Those green glowing stones that surrounded the cave where she was held, and the one where Twilight was tied to. She recalled her friend having felt a boost of energy from it. There were similar green stones in the liquids she removed from her body, and…

In her tea the day Kuvira came to visit.

She never thought much about them before, she figured it was just powder from the tea leaves, but now they were oddly similar to color of the rocks from both the cave and back in the swamp. Those rocks where what caused her to forget who she truly was, what caused her to get sick, which started to happened not long after Kuvira came to visit her.

Everything finally came together and Korra's anger boiled over inside of her. Her fists clenching and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Kuvira with scorn.

"It was you. You did this to me!"

Kuvira slightly backed away from Korra's outburst, "What are you talking about?"

"That day we had tea at my palace. You put something in mine, didn't you?"

Kuvira's eyes slightly widened. Korra was onto her. Starblaze stood protectively beside her human friend. "Please, you're crazy."

"No! I remember. Not long after you left I got sick and was sent to the South Pole. After that, I lost my magic and my real memories. I wondered the earth kingdom for months, alone and broken! Torturing myself over a past that didn't even happen!"

Kuvira scoffed at the accusation, "And you think I had something to do with it?"

"You did!" Korra spatted in a blazing furry. "That stone around your neck is identical to the ones from the cave where the Red Lotus poisoned me. And they're the same color as the stone I got out of my body. Only then did I get my memories and my magic back. You really think that's just a coincidence?" Kuvira was never a woman to show true emotion, and today was no different. She stood her ground, firm and true. But Korra's anger only grew. "How could you do this to me?…" her fists clenched, ready to attack this woman, "Do you have any idea what you put me through?!!!"

Kuvira actually flinched when Korra took a step forward, fists risen and ready for the punch, until to be held back by her friends.

"Wait Korra!" Fluttershy exclaimed, gripping Korra's raised arm. "You're in no position to threaten her."

"She's right." said Rainbow Dash, "She's not technically breaking any laws. So long as her army doesn't attack Zaofu, she's in the clear." and she should know, she was a cop now.

Their words cleared Korra's mind. She couldn't make a brash decision. Her anger could wait, right now she needed to focus on the bigger picture. Kuvira walked up to Korra, but the princess kept her glare on her. "Look, I'm a reasonable person. Let's call a temporary truce. I won't make a move until you talk with Su and get back to me."

But Korra was not buying this. She couldn't believe the once selfless guard she had come to know would do something like this. It was so unlike her. Korra took in a deep breath, "I will give you twenty four hours to make your choice. You can leave Zaofu peacefully, or you and I can settle this…permanently."

Kuvira remained stoic. She knew what Korra was trying to do. And to think, she once believed they were so much alike, but this Avatar was far too soft for her own good. Dazzle and Starblaze kept their glares on Korra. So far, she did not seem to recognize them, but they still had to keep a low profile. Good thing Melody was absent for some reason, three of them would have turned Korra off if she saw them. The younger sister was far too stubborn, and dimwitted, to want to change her bangs and ponytail hairstyle.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Kuvira spoke. "Very well. We shall do things your way, Princess. I won't make any moves until you talk to Su and get back to me."

Korra did not say a word to the woman. Her disapproving eyes said everything for her. With that, she and her two ponies walked in the opposite direction, leaving Kuvira alone with her ponies.

"I thought you said that potion would keep her down."

"It was supposed to." Dazzle said with a glare, "I don't know how this happened. Clearly, I underestimated her. But you're not seriously backing out now, are you?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes still on the Princess and her comrades as they disappeared from view by flying off.

"Don't worry, ladies." Kuvira said with a smirk. "You know me…I'm always one step ahead of the game."

(~)

Baatar Jr. walked up to the door of Varrick's cart, which was being guarded by two soldiers. "Have you seen Bolin and Melody?" he asked.

"They came by to see Varrick," one guard responded, "but we turned them away."

"Open the door." Baatar Jr. ordered. Once the three men entered the cart they looked up and saw the ceiling hatch…which was still open.

"We have some fugitives to catch."

(~)

Meanwhile, three mecha tanks made their way uphill, away from the army camp. From inside one of the machines, Bolin operated the controls. Melody, in her pony form, sat beside him. He opened the helmet hatchet of the cockpit, allowing for the pony to inhale oxygen. Droplets of sweat rolling down her face.

"Advanced technology and they can't build a mecha suit with a built in air conditioner? I was dying there!"

"Melody, don't get me wrong, I still like you, but after everything you and your sisters have done, you kind of deserve this." Bolin said.

The pony did not protest, "Point taken."

The young earthbender turned to the other two mecas, controlled by Varrick and Zhu Li respectively. They too opened their respected helmets, listening to Bolin's plan. "Okay, I say we go up and around the mountains and sneak into Zaofu from the rear."

"We're not going to Zaofu, that place is doomed!" Varrick exclaimed, "We gotta head to Republic City!"

"What? No, no no no, we gotta help here."

"Bolin's right." Melody said, "We can't let Kuvira and my sisters hurt this place and those nice people."

"We'll be helping by warning the world about Kuvira's potential super weapon!" Varrick replied, lifting his upper torso from the cockpit, in contrast to the others who only revealed their heads.

Bolin and Melody both looked at one another with concern. "Well, that's helping, but it's a completely different type of helping." Bolin tried to ponder on another plan, bringing the arm of the mecha tank up to his chin. "Hmm. Let me think about this."

Melody's eyes then widened, "Um, could you think a little faster?"

"Why?"

Suddenly, a blast of lighting came shooting from behind Bolin, knocking him hard onto the ground. Melody groaned from inside. "That's why…"

Zhu Li and Varrick witnessed three more mecha suits heading directly towards them. From inside, one of the suits was being piloted by Baatar Jr., who clenched his jaw once he had set his sights on the escapees.

He charged at Varrick, who screamed and cowered inside the cockpit, wrapping his arms over his head in protection. Zhu Li stepped in the way with her arms upwards in a defensive position, shielding her boss. Baatar Jr. leaped forward, landing with crushing force, creating a massive cloud of dust. Once it cleared, Zhu Li had gripped Baatar Jr's metallic fist with her own. As she pushed him back, Bolin came charging in, tackling Baatar Jr. away from his friends.

Melody felt woozy inside the machine."Being the good guy isn't easy." she said, her pale purple/blue dyed coat now turning green from the sickness.

THe other mecha tanks unleashed streams of lighting at the group. Slamming her helmet shut, Zhu Li punched the incoming mecha tank, knocking it to the ground and unleashed a bola at another one who was coming for Varrick. The bolas wrapped around the machine, sending it down.

Meanwhile, Varrick was struggling with controlling the mecha suit. The helmet opening and closing rapidly, much to his frustration. "That's not the flamethrower! What idiot designed these things?"

"You did, sir!" Zhu Li replied.

"Less lecturing, more saving my life!"

Not sooner when the words left his mouth, Zhu Li received a punch from her opponent. She grunted from within her suit and the hard impact caused her to fly backwards and slid down a hill. She jammed a spike into the ground to stop herself and used her momentum to swing around on one leg, kicking the other mecha suit in the chest, sending it right into a tree.

Baatar Jr.'s anger flared as he used the piston to punch Bolin's tank, sending his flying and landing on his face. Bolin screamed and grunted once he landed, only to gasp in fear when his former boss came leaping at him, his hands emitting electrical currents, ready to end him.

Thinking fast, Bolin grabbed Melody into his arms and rolled out of the mecha suit right before Baatar Jr. landed the blow, crushing the machine in the process.

Placing Melody safely on the ground, Bolin earthbender at Baatar Jr., who used his own cables to wrap around some trees and jumped right out of the way before the rocks hit him. While in midair, Baatar Jr. retracted one of his cables, and with his now free arm he used his flamethrower to shoot blasts of fire at Bolin, who rolled out of the way.

Melody shielded herself, bracing for the impact, only for Bolin to come to her air, shielding her not only with his body, but with a rock he rose from the ground to block the flames. Melody immediately felt a pang of regret in her chest. Is only she had some way to waterbed, she could have helped.

Zhu Li faces off against the two pilots, all the while Varrick had climbed up a tree…stroll having trouble with trying to get one of his own inventions to work in his favor. With one hand holding onto the branch, his free arm was coursing with electrical currents. "Hey! I think I figured it out!" he said.

With his electrically charged arm, he aimed at one of the pilots, who had been thrown aside by Zhu Li. Varrick had timed it wrong and instead it was his own assistant who got the shock treatment.

The woman groaned from the impact, "Sir, you're making this very difficult." she said before getting picked up by one of the pilots and thrown to the side.

Bolin continuously covered him and Melody form the incoming flames. Bolin managed to shape his own stone into a large boulder and forced it towards Baatar Jr. Seeing their change, Bolin and Melody rushed to a tree, which Bolin then shook the ground underneath it, uprooting and forcing it upwards Baatar Jr.

Bolin was still covering from Baatar Jr.'s flamethrower. Bolin launched the boulder at his former boss, giving him and Melody time to roll away and uproot a big tree, bringing it down on Baatar Jr.

Varrick was forced to escape from his own suit once another pilot had entangled with a bola. He rolled out in time, screaming in terror as the pilot threw his former suit over his shoulder, landing hard on the ground with crushing force.

He ran towards a rock mountain, his eyes wide in fear as the mecha came at him. A boulder came flying at the suit, knocking it away from Varrick. Zhu Li had launched the boulder by shooting a cable and using it to launch the rock in an effort to save her boss's life. She moves in to finish the job, only to be knocked right off her feet due to an electric blast.

Bolin leaped into the air from a small cliff, Melody close behind him. With a powerful angry yell, Bolin rolled onto the ground, pointed his fists onto the surface of the earth, which began to turn a scorching hot red. The ground turned into lava, which spread out like a tsunami wave, stopping the two remaining pilots in their tracks. The burning hot substance melted the suits and the men quickly escaped before getting burned themselves.

But Bolin wasn't finished yet. With a fierce look of determination, he bended the earth upwards to incarcerate the two against a stone wall.

"Stop!" a voice called from upwards. Standing on the cliff, Bolin gasped upon seeing Baatar Jr., still completely in tact, holding Varrick by the head, dangling him over the edge. The nonbender had his arms folded and a disappointed look on his father, rather than one of fear.

"Turn yourself over, or else …" the man in the suit threatened, while also pointing hie electrically charged free hand at Varrick.

"Thanks a lot, Zhu Li." Varrick exclaimed angrily. Bolin lowered his arms, willingly giving inwhile Zhu Li only clenched her jaw in anger, averting her gaze. This fight was over. Melody now felt even worse than before as Baatar Jr. looked down upon her. She was going to be in so much trouble with her sisters.

And Kuvira.

(~)

Asami sat on a table, waiting. Her wait ended when a guard escorted Hiroshi into the room and the man sat opposite her, "You came back." he said. Asami could sense an air of hope in his tone. But the woman maintained her composure…for now.

"The first time I came here those years ago, I was hoping we could start again. I gave you a chance and you threw it away. For so long I could only see the monster and not my father and gave up hope you would ever want to change. When I came here yesterday, it was because I wanted my words to hurt you so that you would know how you hurt me."

Hiroshi lowered his gaze in shame, "I'm sorry."

It was then, that Asami's face softened as well. "But when I saw you, it wasn't anger I felt. It was sadness. You tainted our past and destroyed our future together. But, I can't say I don't understand." this caught Hiroshi's attention, "I wasn't always so strong. I almost fell into darkness once too. But, my friends helped me realize who I really was. Something I tried to do for you but you didn't give me a chance."

"I want to change that. I want to make amends."

"At this point, I wasn't sure I would be able to forgive you that easily. But, a good friend helped me realize that it doesn't mean I shouldn't try." she reached down to her bag and pulled out a small Pai Sho board game board. "I thought we could play some Pai Sho. Like we used to."

For the first time in so many years, a smile of happiness and relief appeared on her father's face. A genuine smile.

"Nothing ... would make me happier."

While the two played, Sunset Shimmer watched from afar, smiling proudly. "Are you here to see anyone, miss?" A guard asked.

Sunset shook her head, "Nah. I just came to drop off a friend." before she would leave, she turned once more and saw Asami, winking in her direction.

(~)

Baatar Jr. lead Varrick, Zhu Li, Melody and Bolin through a doorway. The troopers pushed them through the entrance and they trembled upon seeing the Great Uniter, and two of her ponies, staring at them with cold, unfeeling, and furious eyes. Bolin's knees buckled, his hands cuffed together, as it was for the rest of the prisoners. Melody had changed into her intro form and shrunk in the presence of her sisters.

"Don't ... torture us." Bolin said, his voice shaking due to his fear.

Kuvira stood up from her desk, her eyes narrowing as her fiance stood beside her. Her eyes first landed on Melody, and a look or hurt and disappointment dawned on her face. "Melody. How could you do this to me? To your sisters?"

But the pony was done playing games, "I'm sorry, Kuvira. I did this for your own good."

Dazzle and Starblaze gasped, realizing that their little sister had gone rogue. She had been tainted with 'friendship' and joined their enemies. This could only spell trouble for them.

"What are you talking about?" Kuvira asked.

"She's delusional!" Starblaze stepped up to say, "It was only a matter of time before she finally cracked. She never did support you the way we do, Kuvira."

"No!" Melody protested, "Kuvira, listen to me, you're in danger! You can't listen to what they say! Everything they tell you is a lie!"

"How dare you!" Dazzle exclaimed, her voice creaking as if she would cry, "Starblaze may have lacked faith in you but I never did. I now see how foolish I was." she turned to Kuvira, her eyes shimmering as if she were about to cry, "Vira, I am so, so sorry about this. But please know that me and Starblaze would never betray you. You're our friend, our leader, we owe everything to you. She may not appreciate your kindness and courage but we do. But I do ask you to please go easy on her. She's just a child."

Kuvira could not deny her friend's plea. Even she knew Melody was not as strong as her sisters. Loosing her wouldn't be that much of a loss.

"Send these four away on the next train. Bolin, Melody and Zhu Li will be going to the reeducation camp for our most severe dissenters." she walked on over to the prisoners, narrowing her eyes at Varrick as she stepped closer. "And you will continue to work on the spirit-energy project, under close, armed supervision. I want it weaponized immediately." she turned her back on the four as she made her way back to her desk. She only stopped when Zhu Li suddenly fell to her knees before Kuvira, rising her cuffed hands up.

"Please! Have mercy on me!" she pleaded, "Don't send me away! Take me back!"

Kuvira turned, feeling every bit the powerful and intimidating ruler she knew she was while looking down at the woman kneeling before her. "Why would I?"

"Because my only mistake was being loyal to the wrong person." Zhu Li said penitently, narrowing her eyes at Varrick before looking down in regret. "I was blindly devoted to Varrick, and I looked past all the times he ridiculed me, or ordered me around, or made me clean his disgusting feet, because I thought he possessed the most brilliant mind in the world. But when I met you, I realized I was wrong. Compared to you, Varrick's a fool."

"Hey, come on! I'm right here!" Varrick exclaimed, feeling a mixture of annoyed, angry, hurt, downright dumbfounded and betrayed.

"I believe in everything you've done, and I believe in your vision. I want to devote my life to you." Zhu Li bowed her head, "I pledge my allegiance to you, Great Uniter."

"No!" Melody protested, "Zhu Li, you can't!"

"Be quiet, traitor!" Dazzle exclaimed angrily, before breaking out into false tears, "You're making this hard enough as it is."

But Melody's face remained firm, "You do realize you can't accomplish what you want without me now!"

Dazzle wiped away a single tear and looked at her younger sister, "An arrogant traitor too." she clung onto Kuvira's arm, still crying.

Kuvira looked over at Varrick, Melody and Bolin. "You three could learn something from her." she said before diverting her attention back to her once again loyal subject. "Rise, Zhu Li. I'll give you another chance."

Once Zhu Li stood back up, Varrick tried to reason with his assistant. "Think about what you're doing! We're partners! We have history!"

Zhu Li turned around, glaring angrily at her former boss. "I did everything you ever asked of me, and you never appreciated it!" she pointed toward the exit, her hands still cuffed, "Guards, do the thing!"

The troopers grabbed Varrick by the arms, forcibly dragging him outside, all the while he cried out in mercy, outstretching his arms to Zhu Li, hoping he would reach out and grab them, but it never happened.

"No! Not the thing! Zhu Li!" he cried out before the doors slammed shut.

(~)

That night in Suyin's garden in Zaofu, Baatar was anxiously pacing back and forth until Korra, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ran up to him.

"Where's Su?" Korra asked, "I have to talk to her."

"She's not here." Baatar said with worry.

"What do you mean she's not here?" Rainbow asked with concern.

"She took Wing and Wei. They're going to sneak into Kuvira's camp and put an end to this."

The two ponies and Korra gasped in horror. "No!"

This was bad. Suyin was going unintentionally to cause an all out war on her own city.

*(~)*

Proverbs 15:13 ~

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit

*(~)*

Author's Note:

Thanks to Atea1793 for a great background story for Melody, Starblaze and Dazzle, which will come up latter on. Thanks girl, you rock!!

Comments

[chrisharte97]

Awesome!

[Wildcard25]

Another great chapter. I can't wait for the next one.

[Epicdiscord214]

GLOOOOOORIOUS!