The Little Pony Legend: Shadow of Ronin

by MyEcho4

A New Ally

A New Ally

The grown ups surrounded the two children, either having angry, each visibly displeased with the rebellious act of the two young princesses. Akari and Iris sat on separate chairs, bowing their heads in regret. Akari's pony ears were lowered and Iris fiddled with her fingers, daring to look directly at her parents.

"What were you thinking?!" Korra said angrily to the two girls. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?! This isn't some field trip, it's serious business!"

"But-" Iris tried to protest but was stopped by her Aunt.

"We are very disappointed in you." Twilight said, who had her hands on her hips. "Akari, I honestly can not believe-well, actually yes I can believe you would do something like this, but to drag Iris along?"

"I just wanted to help." Akari said, hanging her head in regret, "I'm sorry, Mom. Please don't be mad at Iris, it was all my idea."

Iris looked at her friend with regret. Akari was taking all of the blame here. She knew the alicorn princess would take a lightning strike for Iris if given the chance.

"No." Iris spoke up, "It's my fault too. I wanted to come."

"It's not her fault." Iris said, "I wanted to come too."

"No, Iris. It's okay, I'll take responsibility." Akari replied, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"But you agreed to do this because of me."

"What are you talking about?" Mako asked.

"I told Akari about the dreams I've been having. I really wanted to know what they meant. If I hadn't told her what I wanted she wouldn't have gotten the idea in the first place. I'm sorry."

Akari shook her head, "Iris, don't take the blame for me. It really was my idea. Besides, I wanted to come along as much as you did."

Mako, who had his arms crossed, sighed. "While we admire you sticking up for each other, that doesn't excuse the fact that you both disobeyed us."

"I'm sorry, daddy." Iris said sadly, looking up at her father. "But I just couldn't stay behind this time."

Chi then stood beside the two princesses, trying to defend them. "Please, don't be so hard on them. Sure they snuck into an airship without your permission, but…." the wisp's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find a more reasonable reply. She dropped her shoulders. "Okay yeah, I've got nothing that can make this any less bad than it already is. Sorry, guys." she said to the two princesses.

"You knew about this?!" Nova exclaimed in shock. Chi flinched, closing her eyes at the volume of his voice. Her arms were pressed to her side and her toes curled up. She managed to open at least one eye to look at him.

"Um….maybe?"

Nova face palmed himself, while Sunset stood perfectly still, calm and unfazed at the whole thing.

"Please don't be mad." Chi practically begged, "That looks like a "mad" face."

The male unicorn sighed, his hand sliding down his face. "Oy...okay." he took in a deep breath. "I'm calm. I'm calm."

"Sooooo you're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm always mad." Nova replied.

Rainbow whispered to Fluttershy, "There's a shock."

"Just, why did you hide them from us?"

"I was just trying to look out for them." Chi confessed, "I know, it's irresponsible, I get it, but if Iris believes her dreams led her to come here, then I believe her. I mean, she's Korra's daughter for crying out loud, she's bound to get herself wrapped up in some magical world ending crisis at some point. Might as well teach her while she's fresh, right?" she said giving everyone a reassuring smile.

The room was silent, and all she was met with was stern looks from the adults. She should have known none of them would buy into this. She lowered her shoulders in defeat and frowned. "I just can't win today, can I?"

"Chi, take a seat." Nova said with a deadpan tone. She complied, giving an apologetic look to the girls before doing so.

"We're sorry, Chi." Iris said.

"It's okay, kiddo."

"How exactly did you get in here?" Flash asked.

"Well, remember that spell I was working on a couple months ago?"

"You mean that Puppet/Illusion spell?" Spike said. "I thought you gave up?"

"You know I never give up on anything." Akari said rather smugly, only to receive a glare from her mom and reeled back. "Anyway, I decided to give it another try."

"Did it work?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah it did." Iris answered. "And we had Hiro and Mai become the 'puppeteers' while we were away. Then Akari teleported us onto the ship and here we are." she finished.

"Wait, you got Hiro and Mai on this too?!" Bolin exclaimed as he just recovered from his blackout. Iris and Akari nodded.

"Don't worry, Uncle Bo. They've got this." Akari said with confidence.

(~)

The duo could only look as they saw two exact replicas of their cousins looking at them. Along with them were the spirit children. All the kids were in a guest room, just staring at their friend's copies. It looked like them, talked like them, even smelled like them, but it wasn't them. After a while, Rohan finally spoke up.

"So, you just whisper in their ear and they'll do something?"

"Yeah, that's what Akari said." Mai answered.

"You can tell them anything?" Mika asked.

"Yep." Hiro answered.

"And they'll just do it?"

"Uh huh." The siblings said in unision.

"I don't like this." Ali said, crossing her lizard arms then narrowed her eyes at San, "I can't believe you lost our sister!"

"Me?!" San exclaimed in shock, "Mika was the one watching her!"

"Hey! Don't drag me into this!" Mika yelled back.

"Mom and Dad are going to kill us!" Ali exclaimed. If she had hair, she'd be pulling it right about now.

"Okay, okay, let's not panic." Mai said, trying to calm the little spirits down. "Hiro, let's try this out."

"Wait, what?!" Ali exclaimed, only for Mai to place her index finger near her mouth, "Shush! We'll just play along and hopefully no one will know."

"Hopefully?" Gallant asked, his voice getting a bit high due to anxiety.

"Well, you guys are going to have to talk for the puppets."

"Us?!" Gallant exclaimed, pointing to himself and Hiro.

"Yes you! You know I'm bad at lying!"

Gallant was already hyperventilating, while Hiro was patting his back. "Okay, get a hold of yourself man!"

"Sorry! You know I don't do well in crisis!"

"Okay, we just need to be careful with what we say. Easy as pie." said San

"He's got a point." Ali agreed. "They're not toys and we can't let anyone else realize Akari and Iris are gone. So we need to be-"

"Do a triple air backflip." Hiro whispered in the copy Iris's ear.

"Smart."

"No!" Mai exclaimed but it was too late. Iris opened up her wings and did the backflip. The force of her wings knocked over shelves and tables in its wake. The puppet Iris hit her head on the roof and fell down landing on her behind, dazed from the impact. The kids were shocked at the mess she just made. They all glared at Hiro.

"What? I was testing it!"

"Bro. Not Cool." Mai said.

"Kids?" Starlight called on the other side of the door. The kids gasped and quickly tried to clean up as much as they could. They quickly got Iris back up on her feet and told her and Akari to act like their real casual. Hiro whispered into their ears. "Okay, don't say anything unless she asks how you're doing. You just say "Fine", that's it." Just as soon they finished cleaning the room the door opened up and Sunburst and Starlight walked in to see the kids acting as relaxed as they could.

"Kids? Is everything alright in here?" Starlight asked. "We heard some banging noises."

"Oh, that was just Gallant practicing his airbending." said Mika, which made the younger unicorn airbender glare at the lizard spirit. The couple simultaneously raised an eyebrow and the kids just smiled, hoping they would just leave.

"Are you okay, honey?" Starlight asked, petting her son on the head.

"I'm okay, mom. I've got a thick skull, remember?"

"Just try to calm down a little bit, ok son?" Sunburst asked.

"Yes, dad."

The two smiled at them before leaving the room and closing the door. Once for sure they were both gone, the kids, even the puppets, gave out a sigh of relief.

"That was too close." said Hiro, only to receive glares from the others. "What?"

(~)

"Wow." Nova said, a crooked smile formed on his face. "I'm impressed."

"Well, I'm not!" Korra exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at the children, "What you did was reckless and irresponsible! You can't just run off because you want a little taste of adventure!"

"Isn't that what you did when you came to Republic City?" Bolin pointed out, earning him a glare from his sister-in-law. He quickly turned his head, placed his hands behind his back and started whistling the "winter wrap up" tune.

"Don't be so hard on them, Korra." The team turned around to see Chi stepping forward looking down in regret. "Besides, I think Iris is more capable than you realize."

"You just met her!" Korra stated.

"I know, but I just think she's capable of more than you think. I think she and Akari has just as much reason to be here as any of you do."

Korra looked over at Nova who simply raised his hands. "Hey, don't look at me. She goes to the beat of her own drum."

Korra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. A habit she had gained from her husband. She turned around to face her daughter. "Iris, I know you want to feel included, I get that, but you have to understand this isn't a game."

"Your mother's right." Mako said as he stepped forward, looking down at his little girl with a compassionate look in his eyes. "I'm sorry you got upset about us leaving, but we're only doing this to protect you. To protect everyone."

"I know." Iris said, her wings drooping sadly, matching her mood and her eyes darted to her feet. "That's what you do. You're heroes." she looked back up, her violet eyes sparkling with determination. "But, you told me that if there was anything that I didn't understand I would come to you guys. Well, I don't understand these dreams. And, the more I hear about this Ronin the more I feel like they're getting stronger. I'm seeing them even when I'm awake now." At the mention of this, everyone shared the same surprise and concerned expressions.

Nova slowly turned his head and looked down at the young princess. "What are these visions like?" he asked, now interested.

"The same, every time. A shadow, a sword, some epic battle between you guys and the shadow monsters."

Nova gasped, "The Umbra. How could you have possibly known about them?"

"I heard you guys talking about them, but I've been seeing them in my dreams before then." Nova couldn't believe what he was hearing, neither could anyone else. The child hugged herself, trembling at the memory. "And, then there's….the big one. I heard his laughter. It was so...evil." Her eyes closed tightly before looking up at her parents. Her eyes shimmering as if tears would shed. Without warning, she sprung from her chair and ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist, already sobbing.

"I didn't want anything to happen to you and daddy! I want these dreams to stop! I need you, Mommy! I need you!"

Korra completely forgot how upset she was that Iris had snuck into the ship and simply wrapped her arms around her child. Mako stroked Iris's hair in an attempt to calm her down.

As the parents hugged their only daughter, Nova pondered on this new information. This girl, only seven years old, was already having visions of the future? He had heard of very few having this ability, Leilani and Korra included, but a child? Then again, she was a child born of two worlds. Equestrian and human as well as the mysterious yet still powerful spirit of the Avatar, so the chances of her being gifted and talented beyond her years was a very high possibility. Still, it was dangerous to have her tag along, but she was here already, and there were more than one adult on this trip, and at least there were only two children, so it wouldn't be that big of a handful.

"How long has this been going on, if I may ask?" Nova asked.

Iris wiped away her tears to look at Nova, "A few months." She replied. "I haven't told anyone except my parents and my friends."

Nova then turned to Akari, "And you must be a very powerful pony to make pull off something as advanced as a puppet/illusion spell."

"I prefer the term "super-awesomely-gifted-alicorn-warrior-princess-in-training", but thank you." Akari answered.

"Duly noted."

Rainbow Dash raised her hand to speak, "Yeah, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but what are we gonna do about the kids? You're not really thinking about letting them tag along are you?"

"Absolutely not!" Twilight stated firmly, "We're transporting them back to the island."

"But Mom!" Akari whined.

"No protests, Akari! You and Iris are going back home where it's safe!"

Iris gripped Korra's shirt, "Mom, Daddy, please! I know I disobeyed you, but I want to help. I don't want to just sit and do nothing! I'll never be able to sleep again!"

The young girl was not making this any easier for both parents. Those words were the exact same ones Korra used to say. She most definitely had her mother's determination. Even though she was scared, she had set her sights on her mission to understand her visions and be there for her parents.

"I agree with your parents, Iris." Nova said firmly, "This is too dangerous for you and Akari." his eyes darted from the distraught princesses to the wisp, who held her hands close to her heart, pleading for her brother to reconsider. He sighed. "But, speaking from my own experiences…maybe they should stay."

"Nova, you can't be serious." Korra exclaimed in anger, while everyone else looked on in either confusion or anger.

"Look, I know this may be a dumb idea, but Chi is right. There's something about her that's...different. I think her visions could be of use to us. And there hasn't been a time that I wouldn't doubt Chi's gut. All I'm saying is give her a chance. Besides, these dreams she's having are far too accurate to be ignored or brushed aside just because you don't want to put her in harm's way."

Korra clenched her fists at his words, while Mako bared his teeth, wanting to singe the pony's hair right then and there.

"And they got me as well to protect them!" said Chi, pointing a thumb at herself.

"Did you two get hit on the head when you were a child?!" Korra said to the two. "Besides, I thought you didn't want anyone else on this mission, Nova!"

"That was before Iris told us about her dreams. Now things have changed."

"Are you serious?! We're facing an ancient evil whose pet takes away lives without so much as batting an eye, and you expect me to put my only child on the battlefield when she can't even control her own magic yet?!" realizing what she just said, Korra turned to face Iris. The child looked at her mother with great sadness and the Avatar reeled back.

"Iris...I didn't mean-that is, I-"

Mako squatted down to try and ease up the situation, placing a hand on Iris's shoulder. "What your mother is trying to say, sweetie, is that you're still learning and-"

"It's okay, daddy. I know what she meant. I know I'm not I'm not powerful enough, or strong enough, but just reading books in the library and staying on the island isn't helping me become a better Alicorn." Iris turned to look at her mother, "When you left the South Pole you did it because you knew in your heart you needed to leave even when everybody else told you to stay."

"That was different." Korra said.

"How? Daddy, aren't you the one who always said when you love someone you fight with all of your might to protect them? I don't want anything to happen to you. Don't you know what it's like to have this feeling in your stomach telling you to do something and both your head and heart are telling you to do the same thing?"

Korra and Mako both opened their mouths to say something...but came out empty. They glanced at one another, hoping the other would say something, but no.

Pinkie Pie turned to the screen and whispered to the audience, "Like mother, like daughter!" She winked.

"She has guts. I'll give her that." Nova whispered to Chi.

"Remind you of someone?"

Nova thought about this for a second. "So what do we do? It's your call." he asked the still silent parents.

Korra's maternal instincts were telling her to take the girls back home...but her experiences from the past were saying let her stay. Even she didn't know why Iris was having these dreams, and even now she still didn't. She recognized the look in her daughter's eyes…Ambition. Determination. Curiosity. Thrive.

Even when she was her age Korra felt she was destined for something greater, even if she didn't know it at the time. She had been deprived of discovering her truest self as a child, she didn't want the same for Iris. She was torn between her instincts and her conscious. She wanted to protect her, but keeping her from knowing what her visions meant was wrong too.

"Mako, Twilight, Flash, a moment please." Korra gently released Iris and gathered her husband and friends in a small huddle.

"I still think it's risky." Mako said, almost immediately once they were farther away from the children.

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Korra said.

"You think taking Iris along will help her figure things out no matter how much your maternal instincts are screaming "it's a bad idea!"." Her husband said.

Twilight continued, "And because you know how it feels to want answers, but you don't want to deprive Iris of that just like you were at her age when you lived at the compound."

"And you're most likely going to suggest we let Akari tag along too because she's talented at magic and because you know she won't even dream about leaving her best friend to go on this life or death journey alone." Flash finished.

Korra blinked twice. She should have expected as much, these guys know her almost as well as she knew herself. "Okay, you guys pretty much summed up everything. Look, I know taking them along is risky, and dangerous and stressful and we've already got enough on our plates as it is, but if there is a connection with Iris's dreams and Ronin then we owe it to her to find out the truth. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Nova is right. We've been brushing off her dreams for a while now, maybe we shouldn't anymore. Maybe Madam Alpha can give her the answers she needs."

The pairs of parents looked at one another, pondering the situation. They, really, really didn't want their kids to come out of parental protection. But, if it was true and Iris did play a role in this then...who were they to question fate. After all, wasn't it fate that brought Korra and the Ponies together? Wasn't it written that they were the only ones who would unite two separate worlds? While they still believed everyone had the choice to choose, some things in life are just beyond their control and the more they tried to fight the current it won't get them any farther away and it won't stop the current from moving until it decided to. Much like with the Friendship map, they didn't always know why it called on them, but when they trusted it the answers would reveal themselves if they just swam with the current for it would lead them safely to shore. Sometimes, wise leaders know when to fight back and say "no" and when to allow nature to take its course. This was one of those times.

With a multi sigh, the two couples turned to their respected daughters, only to be greeted by Iris's infamous puppy dog eyes. No one can resist the young princess's power weapon. Korra was the first to speak. "You girls...go get some rest. We've got a long trip and you need your energy."

Akari and Iris blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Mom, are you serious?" Iris asked surprisingly.

Korra slowly nodded her head, indicating her answer. The three girls gasped, ready to scream happily until the Avatar raised her hand. "However, if you go sneaking off again you're both heading straight back. Understand?"

"Yes, totally!" Iris replied with a nod and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. "Thank you, Mom."

Korra bit her bottom lip as she returned the hug. "Don't thank me just yet. You're still grounded when we get home after all this is over."

"I figured."

Flash looked towards Chi. "Can I trust you to help look after our daughters?"

Chi stood straight like she was at attention, even manifesting a guard outfit and giving him a salute. "You can count on me! They're in good hands."

"Aunt Asami will take you to your room."

Asami's jaw dropped, "Say what now!?"

"I'll do it!" requested Chi. "Just tell me where to go."

"Down the hall, and it's the door on your right."

Mako ruffled his daughter's hair, "Alright, go get some rest you two. It's been a long day."

"Thank you, Daddy!"

"Thanks, Mom and Dad!" Akari hugged both of her parents who shared uncertain looks before allowing her and Iris to be led by Chi to their rooms.

"Why the sudden change of tone?" Applejack asked, arching an eyebrow.

Korra sighed, "I'm not too happy about this but...I've been where Iris is. She may be young but she is special. Who am I to deprive of her of figuring out who she's supposed to be?"

"She's only seven!" Bolin stated.

"And I started bending elements and seeing premonitions when I was five, apparently it runs in the family! Or my family anyway."

The other said nothing. What more could they say? They knew well enough that when it came to visions, it wasn't always wise to ignore them. Korra's visions always meant something, and with Iris being her daughter.

Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Before they could say anything else, they all heard the screams of three young girls, all gleaming with joy.

(~)

"I can't believe our parents actually let us stay!" said Akari as she was jumped on her bed. "You did it, Iris!"

"It took a lot of courage to step up to your parents, like that." said Chi as she patted Iris on her back.

"Well it was nothing.." Iris said, before looking up and smiling at her. "But I'm glad you stood up for us."

"Aww,It was nothing!" She said her face and body turning pink. "I just did what I thought was right."

"But what took a lot of guts was you standing up to Aunt Korra." Akari said. "If someone ever did something like that, well, bad stuff will happen in their future."

"Eh, she's honestly not that bad." Chi admitted. "I dunno why people are so scared of her."

"You haven't been around for a while." Iris said before she did something that surprised the wisp. She hugged her. "But thank you, Chi."

At first she was a bit surprised at her sudden action but she gladly returned the gesture with Akari joining the two.

"What are friends for?" She said with a small smile. Deep down, she had a funny feeling. like she just met these two not even a day ago and it feels like she knew them forever. A new friendship was blooming. and these three were all for it.

(~)

Later that night, Iris and Akari slept on the same bed. Akari had morphed into her pony form and slept soundly beside her best friend, mirroring the times the Mane Six used to sleep with Korra during their first time in her world. As for the others, nobody else dared to fall asleep, not now. However, several of the ponies did doze off, minus Twilight and Flash to remain awake alongside Korra and Mako. Nova, Sunset, Leilani, Asami and Bolin were awake as well, with Bolin steering the ship this time.

"How much further?" Asami asked, turning her head around to look at her husband.

"Not long now. At this rate we'll be there by sunrise." Bolin replied.

"That's good." Korra said, happy to finally hear some good news. A yawn escaped her lips and Mako wrapped his arms around her.

"You should get some rest." He suggested, his voice filled with compassion.

"No, I'll be fine."

"Korra." Mako's tone shifted to a slight firm one. He knew his wife would never slack off when lives were on the line but he also knew it wasn't wise for her to exhaust herself. The fact that their daughter was now tagging along for the ride would only add more emotional baggage and Mako knew just how much their only child meant to them.

Korra knew her husband was not going to let her go off so easily. He was always persistent, even after all these years. But, that was one of the many things she loved about him. She was getting tired, and she couldn't get Iris out of her mind.

"You guys go ahead." Asami said, smiling warmly before turning to the pony couple beside them, "You four get some rest. We'll let you know if anything happens."

"Thanks, Sami." Flash said gratefully and led his wife to their room, while Mako also led Korra to theirs. They could certainly use the rest.

Before they did so, they quietly entered Iris and Akari's room, smiling at the two best friend sleeping soundly. For Korra and Twilight, it was like going back in time. The human Alicorn and pony were like two halves of the same heart. Practically inseparable and happiest when together. Both mothers kissed their respected child's foreheads before exiting the room and getting some rest themselves.

(~)

Shade was deep in thought as he looked at the airship softly fly above his head. A soft growl escaped his throat at the thought of seeing her again. He faced her once back in Canterlot, and was ready to face her again. He knew she would never stop until she got him back. Her brother.

"I think its time to wake our friends up." Kage said, petting his wolf head. "Don't you think?"

(~)

Meanwhile, Nova, who had Chi sleeping on his lap in her fox form and stroking her fur, was pondering what the little princess said about her visions and what she said to her parents. Something was...different about her, but he couldn't put his tongue on it. Why does it feel like that she has some sort of part to play in this quest. Like this was her destiny to help defeat Ronin? And Sunset, oh there was something about her that edged him the wrong way. Her eyes, her hair...her voice. Its reminded him alot of someone. A lot of her. Before he could ponder on this any further, Chi let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"AHHH!" The wisp and fell to the floor, clutching her head in pain.

"Chi!" Nova shouted as he knelt down to her height and placed a hand on her shoulders. The scream was enough to wake everybody else up. The ponies quickly morphed into their anthro forms and rushed to her aid. Korra and Mako awoke from their slumber and darted out with Twilight and Flash in tow. Iris and Akari awoke as well, peeking in through the door and running after their parents to see what all the commotion was about.

The group quickly rushed to Chi's side. The symbol on her dress started to glow a sickly red.

"She needs CPR!" Pinkie said putting on her nurse outfit. "Don't worry! I am a licensed nurse! Remain calm!"

"What's wrong with her?" Iris asked as she and Akari ran to her side

"Chi!" Nova shouted to his friend. "Are you ok?"

"It...it hurts!" Exclaimed Chi "He's stronger!"

Nova eyes opened wide in horror.

"Who's stronger?" Bolin asked as his wife gripped his arm tightly.

"He's here!"

"Who is?!" Flash asked.

"They found us…" Nova said. "That's impossible!"

"What's impossible?" Asami said. "Nova, what is going on?!"

"Who found us?!" Akari exclaimed.

Leilani and Korra quickly caught up to what Nova was saying. "Asami, how long till we reach the destination?" Nova asked.

"Still several hours." Asami answered.

"That's not enough time." Nova said. "We need to get there faster!" Nova felt Sunset grip his arm and for a brief moment he froze.

"Nova, you're not making any sense. Who found us? Is it Ronin?"

"No, it's-" before Nova could answer, the airship suddenly rapidly shook, causing everyone to lose their balance. Korra and Mako protectively wrapped their arms around Iris while Twilight and Flash gripped Akari. Asami rushed towards the wheel. She noticed that the airship was losing altitude fast. Asami tried to pull the wheel back, but quickly realized that it had no effect on the movement of the ship.

"Pull it up!" Bolin exclaimed, rushing towards the controls.

"I'm trying, it's not working!"

Bolin tampered with the controls, but several sparks of blue electrical currents coursed through the surface, causing both him and his wife to step away and several components bursted, emitting smoke.

"The controls are dead!"

Applejack looked out to the window, seeing several of the propellers dented and some even ripped right off. "The propellers are damaged!"

Sunset Shimmer opened a control panel and saw several wires of multiple colors completely ripped or destroyed. She looked in various places inside the control room of the airship, but everything was either fried or completely dismantled, which was impossible seeing as Sunset and Asami were the only ones with access to any of this, and there was no possible way anyone could have snuck onto the ship and waited until now to sabotage it.

"It's no good!" she said, "Everything is completely fried!"

"There's no way any ordinary person did this." Mako said, his eyes shifting towards Nova.

"Hey! I had nothing to do with it!" Nova said defensively.

"I wasn't going to blame you, I was going to ask do you know who did this?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" but he was cut short once more once they felt the airship suddenly begin to land. Except, it wasn't the typical soft gentle type. No, it felt as if they were on a roller coaster ride and they were about to go rapidly downwards.

Spike began bitings the tips of his claws. "That doesn't sound good."

Nova looked up at the ceiling, noticing the chandelier above their heads was dangling. The wires holding it gave way and Nova saw it about to crush Sunset Shimmer. He rushed forward and pushed her out of the way. The two rolled across the floor, the impact of the crashing chandelier caused several others to either jump away in fear or to stumble and fall backwards.

Bolin gripped his hair and screamed dramatically. "NO! That was a wedding present!"

"Varrick gave us that." Asami reminded him, and Bolin calmed down.

"Oh. So, nothing was really lost then."

(~)

Varrick lowered the newspaper down and looked at the camera. "You know, that's just plain cold." he said and went back to reading the paper.

(~)

The dangers did not stop there. All around them, more electrical currents coursed through the airship. Korra sensed that these were not any normal currents. They were obviously magic in origin.

The currents began to move, almost like snakes, and before anyone had the time to even blink, the currents wrapped around either their ankles or wrists, electrocuting them, including the children. Everyone screamed in pain as the currents coursed through their bodies, draining them of their energy and slowly lost consciousness. One by one, they fell to the ground, but out of everyone, the currents did not affect Nova or Chi. This didn't make any sense, why would this spell not affect them?

"What do we do?" Chi asked, distracting Nova from his earlier question.

Nova pondered on what to do. With Korra and Twilight out for the count, not to mention the other unicorns, he was the only one with the magic to save everyone. Instantly, the solution came to him.

Nova looked towards his blue companion, who already knew what he was thinking about. They both nodded their heads and reached out to each other. Instantly when their hands clasped together, Chi was sucked into Nova's body and a blue aura surrounded him. Nova could feel his strength increasing. His horn glowed brighter and the glowing orb on Chi's dress appeared on Nova's chest. A pair of crystallized wings manifested on his back, hovering mere two inches from his back. His entire body glowed a bright radiant cyan blue, matching Chi's skin. His eyes opened, his violet pupils still the same but were more vibrant and gave off a glow. With his fist, he hit the floor with crushing force.

A blue aura spread across the airship, engulfing it in an enchanting blue glow. Nova grunted as he struggled to maintain his concentration, pressing both hands on the floor. His teeth clenched and drops of sweat dripped down his face all the way to his neck. The ship slowed down and began to descend carefully towards a cliffside, in a wide open field big enough for the massive machine.

Nova took in deep breaths. "Chi...you can't-"

"I'm fine, Nova!" the wisp replied, her voice echoing inside his mind. "Keep going!"

Nova complied with her wishes and continued levitating the airship down until it landed safely on the field. Nova breathed a sigh of relief and the force field disappeared in a patch of sparkling blue particles. Each one landed on the faces of the heroes, waking them up from their slumber.

Leilani's eyes fluttered open and sat upright, groaning and rubbing her head. Nova looked over to her. His first instinct was to walk up and help her, but he knew that it wasn't exactly his instinct talking at the moment.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice having a mixture of both his and Chi's. The alicorn groaned as her vision became clear and looked to see Nova helping her up.

"I'm alright. I haven't felt a magical punch like that in a long time. Thank you, Nova."

"Don't thank me." he said, now speaking normally. "That was Chi being nice."

Leilani still gave a soft smile and her ears perked when she head Korra groan. The Avatar rubbed her head as she sat upright. Everyone slowly but surely got back up again, still feeling rather dazed from the experience. However, they were not as stunned by the accident as they were of Nova's new…set of wings.

"Surprised?" Nova asked, smiling cockily at their jaw dropped reactions.

Did they see this correctly? Did Nova actually grow wings? But these did not look like normal Pegasus wings. Yes, they had the same proportion and feathery appearance, but were transparent and iridescent, giving the appearance they were almost made of glass and didn't appear to flap like a bird's.

"How did you do that?" Korra asked in awe.

"It's a long story." Nova replied.

Iris then noticed someone was missing. "Wait, where's Chi?"

"Right here!" She said...through Nova's mouth. Iris was quite surprised from her answer. "Hi, Iris!" She said as she waved to the princess.

"Uhhh...Hey?" Iris said. Korra had seen some strange things in her life, and while this didn't rank the top ten exactly, it was still disturbing to hear a girl's voice coming out of this male pony's mouth.

Twilight was still trying to process how and why he has wings. "How are you-"

"Sorry, a sorcerer never reveals their secrets." Nova's body glowed and Chi phased right out of his body, losing the wings and the glowing orb returned back to Chi.

"Can this thing still fly?" Nova asked, looking at the airship with its damaged propellers.

Asami went over to check on the damage. She shook her head. "No. The propeller's pretty banged up, and whatever that was it completely destroyed the controls."

"You said it was powered by magic also, can't spell work?"

Sunset Shimmer inspected the wreckage and started using her magic to scan the thing. "I'm afraid a spell won't cut it." she replied. "Whatever those electrical currents were, they were clearly magic in nature. We can fix it, but with literally everything in shambles, not to mention almost all of the propellers destroyed, it'll delay our mission."

"And we're still too far off from where we're going." Twilight said in dismay, "Too far off to teleport us there."

Spike winced upon seeing the now destroyed airship, "Sorry about your airship, you guys." He said to Bolin and Asami.

Asami only sighed, "That's fine. An airship can always be replaced. Though guess it's back to the drawing board. I'll add "outside magic proof" button on the list of updates."

"There's no such thing." Sunset said with a deadpan stone.

"Small thinking, Sunny. Small thinking."

As they talked, Chi placed her hand on her forehead, suddenly feeling weak. She wobbled side to side to try to keep her balance. Her sol began to flicker and her skin looked very pale.

"Nova." she groaned. "I don't feel so…" she fell to ground and began to breath short breaths. Nova quickly crouched down and picked her up.

"You did great, kid." he said with a smile before holding out his hand. "Now rest. You've earned it."

The wisp gave him a small smile before retreating into his cutie mark. He looks towards the others who had faces of concern.

"Don't worry. This ability is pretty powerful. Takes a lot out of her." he lied. But not everyone was fooled.

"So, what do we do now?" Rarity asked. "Without the airship it'll take us longer to get to our destination."

"Well, depending on our location.." Nova said as he pulled out his map and took a quick glance only to frown. "Were about a day's walk away."

Hearing this, Rarity whined, "I was afraid you'd say that. Now we're going to have to travel in the dead of night with the pesky insects and the one time I don't pack extra scarfs!" The unicorn shivered as the winds blew.

Akari skipped ahead, "Come on, Aunt Rarity. I thought you loved adventure."

"Oh, I do, darling. I just also happen to enjoy traveling with the required necessities. Like chairs or a restroom."

Iris giggled and joined her friend, "Don't worry, Rarity. Not even a little bit of cold wind can stop you. They don't call you the "Radiant Defender" for nothing."

Rarity couldn't help but smile at her old nickname. She and the others all had them, but hearing hers never got old. "Well, it's been a long time but I do see your point."

"Well, you won't have to worry about walking, Rare." Asami said and pulled something from her pocket. "Looks like the volts didn't get everything." she tossed the small box into the air and with her magic, Sunset caused the object to open and three jeeps suddenly appeared, landing in front of everyone, perfectly in tact.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, possibly lower than the others. Asami and Sunset slid towards her, both with hands behind their backs and smiling smugly. "Say it." they both said simultaneously.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Okay, okay. You two are awesome!"

Asami and Sunset answered to that -obvious- statement by fist bumping. Nova smirked at the unicorn. He had to admit, Sunset Shimmer definitely had some skill. At the corner of her eye, Rarity noticed the way Nova was looking at Sunset. A sly smirk formed on her lips.

(~)

Asami drove one of the jeeps, which had both her and Bolin on the front seat, while Rarity, Applejack and Leilani rode on the back. Sunset Shimmer drove the second jeep, with Fluttershy on the passenger seat and Pinkie Pie sitting on the back with Rainbow Dash and Spike. The third jeep was driven by Mako, with Korra beside him while Akari and Iris sat on the back with Nova. Twilight and Flash, reverting into their pony forms, sat on their respected human's laps. Twilight on Korra's, and Flash on Mako's.

The sound of a roaring engine filled the forest as they drove farther and farther. Bolin looked down at the map, tracing his finger over the pattern he had drawn to indicate their location.

"We're making good time. Just continue on this route." he instructed his wife, who nodded in agreement and pressed onto the gas pedal, accelerating her speed. The others followed suit, which prompted Nova grip tightly onto the seat.

"I'm not used to this kind of travel!" he said, grinding his teeth. Mako managed to avoid a bump in the road, slightly tilting the jeep, but successfully managed to regain his balance. Akari and Iris were waving their hands in the air, cheering happily at the excitement, while Nova felt like he was about to throw up his lunch.

"Just to be clear, you do have a license right?"

Mako gave a haughty laugh. "I'm a prince. I don't need a license."

Nova narrowed his eyes in annoyance. These humans could be so full of themselves, it's no wonder their world went to Tartarus before their worlds connected. And even then, they could still be such a pain to deal with.

"So, how exactly did you do that?" Flash asked, turning his head back to look at Nova.

"Do what?"

"How did you get Chi to give you wings?" the pegasus stallion asked. Nova managed to catch a hint of suspicion in his tonality.

Nova crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat. "You still don't fully trust me, do you? I saved your lives!"

"It's not that we don't trust you." Flash clarified, "But if we're going to work together then you can't continue keeping secrets. Your magic is clearly unlike anything we've ever seen, and we've seen a lot over the years."

"Plus, you know more about Ronin more than any of us." Korra said, "If you don't want to be our friend, that's your choice. But, for the sake of everyone involved, please Nova. No more secrets."

The unicorn's ears lowered softly against his head, then noticing somebody reach out and touch his hand. He slightly jolted in reaction and saw Iris smiling at him. Nova sighed in defeat. He couldn't say no to an innocent child, regardless of who her parents were. Besides, wether he would admit it out loud or not, the Avatar did make a good point. If they were going to stop Ronin, it would be wise not to keep too many secrets from them. Even though he saw no real reason why they would care, after all they weren't really close friends. But, the stakes were high now. Secrets were things they couldn't have right now.

However, before Nova could answer any of their questions, something spontaneously emerged from the shadows of the trees and lunged itself right onto the hood of the jeep. Everyone screamed at the sight of a rabid wolf snapping its jaws at the group. Its eyes a piercing red and dripping foam coming from its mouth. Using her magic, Korra levitated the creature right off of the car, only for more to suddenly start chasing after them. More wolves started appearing, chasing after the jeeps, barking aggressively at the humans and ponies.

One wolf jumped at Bolin, only to get blasted away by Leilani's magic. "What in the flipping Hog Monkeys is that?!"

"I'm gonna go with wolves!" said Applejack, gripping the side of the jeep.

Sunset Shimmer hit the breaks as did Asami and Mako, trying to outrun the canines. Iris and Akari held onto each other and Twilight Sparkle started blasting the wolves with her magic alongside Korra. Rarity unbuckled her seatbelt and bended water from her diamond broach, which contained water inside it, and started water wiping the creatures away. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sent blasts of air while standing on their seats, while the drivers spun rapidly, taking rough turns at every chance in an effort to outrun the creatures.

Nova nearly jumped out of his chair, but was thankful of the invention of the seat belt. "What is going on?!" he exclaimed, "Why are wolves chasing us?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Korra replied, unbuckling her seatbelt and flew upwards into the air, with Twilight in tow. The pony changed into her anthro form and the two started shooting blasts of fire at the creatures, trying to scare them off and giving the jeep time to escape.

Asami's jeep was ahead of the others. Every now and again, Asami would look back to check if everyone was still behind her. Unfortunately, another wolf managed to catch up to her and land on the hood of the car. Asami pulled out her electric glove and electrocuted the creature. The wolf whimpered as he was rolled down from the jeep and down onto the forest floor.

Nova stood from his seat and followed Korra and Twilight's example and attacked the creatures with his magic. But no matter how hard they tried, the wolves just kept coming at them with no end in sight. One wolf in particular snuck up from behind Nova and, much to his horror, snatched Iris right off of the seat, carrying her by the shirt with his mouth.

"Iris!"

"Help!"

Korra witnessed this and immediately chased after the wolf, with Twilight and Flash flying behind her. Mako rapidly turned the wheel and followed his wife, ignoring the other wolves that came at him. But when one just so happened to try and attack him again by jumping at him with jaws wide open, Mako didn't even flinch or look directly at it, but instead send a blast of fire at the beast, sending it back down, its fur burning, without so much as looking back. His eyes were focused solely on the wolf who kidnapped his daughter.

Meanwhile, Sunset's jeep's wheel hit a sharp piece of a broken log in the path. She had been distracted by the wolves she completely missed it. The jeep spiraled out of control, only to crash into a tree trunk. The hood popped up and smoke rose up from the now damaged engine. Sunset and the others jumped out of the jeep, ready to fight the wolves, who had them cornered. Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike all share the same confident smirks and started attacking the creatures with their respected bending. Both Flutters and Pinkie nimbly avoided the snapping jaws of the wolves and blasted them back, making them collide with various trees and rocks. The wolves whimpered and ran off in fear, some even limping due to the impact they had taken.

Spike ran up, jumped onto one wolf's head and flipped above him, landing onto the other side, took in a deep breath and unleashed his green colored flames from his mouth….right into the wolf's rear end. The canine howled in pain and ran away with its heiney still burning red. Spike crossed his arms and leaned against the rock, checking his claws.

"I'm hot and I know it!"

Leilani flew from her seat and unleashed a powerful blast of magic at the creatures. Asami's jeep eventually met the same demise as Sunset's when in an effort to avoid another incoming wolf, she accidentally hit the jeep against a rock, destroying one of the wheels and leaving everyone to fly right off once it skidded across the floor before coming to a stop. The others rubbed their heads from the impact and saw more wolves surrounding them. Asami, Bolin, Applejack and Rarity took their stances, as did Leilani. Bolin stepped in and created a pool of lava, separating them from the wolves, who growled in anger. Leilani sent more blasts of magic at them, and even sent one down to the pool of molten lava, causing it to rise up and droplets of lava fell, some nearly burning the paws of the wolves. Seeing they could no longer fight, the wolves retreated back to the forest.

Mako was still on the trail of the wolf who had Iris, with Nova now on the passenger seat and Korra, Twilight and Flash flying at top speed after the creature. They finally came to a stop at a high hill, and the wolf stopped on the edge of a waterfall. The creature growled, still holding Iris in its mouth. Several more wolves appeared, surrounding the group. The child was trembling in fear, pleading for her parents.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Mako and Korra simultaneously growled in anger. The firebender having jumped out of the jeep and had two intense flames burning on both of his palms, while Korra had magical energy coursing back and forth from her hands.

"Let her go you mutt!" Mako demanded, his teeth clenched and his muscles tensed. If he so much as dropped his daughter over the edge, he would gladly put aside his respect for wildlife and rip that wolf's head clear off its neck.

The wolf stepped back, nearly dangling Iris over the edge of the waterfall, which was so high it could kill her in an instant. She was too scared to even fly. She tried to do magic, but she had hit a block. She couldn't concentrate.

Akari stood beside her dad, clenching her fists, ready fight the beast. Nova pulled out his sword and looked at the creature. Then, the creature suddenly started to whimper when an arrow which came flying from the air hit it directly on the ribcage. The creature instinctively released Iris, who managed to land on the ground. She watched in astonishment as more arrows came shooting from the sky, hitting each and every wolf directly. The creatures whimpered and howled in agony as more and more came down, one by one but so fast one would think there were multiple people shooting them.

The wolves retreated back into the woods and Iris hurried back to her parents, who extinguished any attack they had planned and hugged their daughter tightly. Nova blinked and looked for the source of the arrows. He looked up above the waterfall, and perched on one of the stones stood a hooded figure. His clothes torn, worn and dirty, most likely from being out in the wilderness for so long.

He leaped down, using some form of levitation spell to soften his landing. Judging by his light mint-green skin, he was not a human, but a pony. A unicorn to be exact. The unicorn removed his hood, showcasing his masculine features, single unicorn horn and hair of green gold color and vibrant cobalt green eyes. Scars spread across his cheeks and one of his eyes appeared slightly swollen.

He got down on his knees and bowed his head in respect. "Your Highnesses, I apologise for my ragged presence. Is the child alright?" he asked. His voice sounded worn and exhausted.

Korra blinked, "Y-Yes. And you are?"

The unicorn stood back up, though with some struggle. Judging by his slim figure, the poor thing hadn't had much to eat in a long while, as well as judging by the surprisingly noticeable cheekbones he had, which looked more like a face who was lacking in solid nutrition.

"My name is Avon."

(~)