//------------------------------// // A love letter from a broken heart // Story: Equestria's chain of conflicts // by Dranz_89 //------------------------------// The colossal waterfalls from Neighagra Falls were considered as one of the most magnificent wonders ever crafted by nature, so majestic that not even chaos could take away the beauty of the falls. However, the waterfalls were going upwards instead of actually falling, the salmons were swimming against the current, which means they were dropping from the falls, and there were some bears around, literally wrestling against each other, some of them were even disguised as masked wrestlers. Sweetie Belle followed Fluttershy and Skyclaw all the way from Canterlot, the silence became more awkward with each step, only the sound of the falls broke the silence. The young unicorn stared at Fluttershy, but the pegasus avoided any chat with her. Everytime Sweetie Belle tried to speak out, Fluttershy turned her attention to something else. It was like that the whole trip from Canterlot to Neighagra Falls. "Umm... Fluttershy... Can I...?" Sweetie Belle gathered courage to speak. "Twilight said the element was behind one of the falls...", the pegasus interrupted again, and walked to the shore of the river. "can you see something, Skyclaw?" "There are many caves behind the falls", said the dragon, "but the current is strong, how can we get inside them?" They walked on a rocky trail on the right side of the falls, looking for a way behind the falls, but it didn't seem to be any way inside. Sweetie Belle tried jumping through one of the falls to try to reach the cave behind it, but the current took her away. Sweetie Belle was lifted by the current all the way up and thrown around ten feet to the air as if she was in some kind of catapult. "Sweetie Belle!" Fluttershy gasped, but a fast blue-green stripe flew by and took Sweetie Belle so quickly that Fluttershy couldn't even follow her with her sight, until a pegasus landed on the other side of river, she was blue-green like an algae, and her violet mane was a little unkept. The mare didn't speak much, she let Sweetie Belle down and completely ignored her, she turned her attention to Fluttershy, inspecting her with a serious face. However she noticed the dragon flying next to Fluttershy and she smiled. "I can't believe you are the so called Element of Kindness. Are you sure is not the Element of Cowardly?", said the pegasus. Fluttershy hid her face under her mane. "Hey! Fluttershy is not the fastest pegasus around! But she is not a coward!" Sweetie Belle didn't like the pegasus' comment. "If she had time to gasp and be scared, she could have saved you before I did." The pegasus replied, smiling with satisfaction, as if she was trying to make Sweetie Belle angry. "Well, she came all the way here despite the danger!" Sweetie Belle yelled at the pegasus, and her face turned red with anger. The pegasus stared at the unicorn upon hearing that. "You're right. And I'm sorry, Fluttershy", said the pegasus, with more satisfaction, she began to walk to the forest nearby, "are you coming or what?", she said, and Sweetie Belle and Fluttershy were confused, while Skyclaw looked like he was having a good time. They followed the pegasus into a cave hidden in the forest by the waterfall's wall, it was rocky and dark and wet, and visibility was almost imposible if not were for Sweetie Belle's light spell, waterdrops echoed along mazy paths of the cave, and the sounds of the waterfalls became louder. "Sorry for being mean before, my name is Windy Violet", the pegasus suddenly broke the silence, "I just can't believe that such an important position as the Element of Kindness goes to.... err... you", she looked at Fluttershy with despicable eyes and a disaproval tone in her voice. "Do you know where is it?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Somewhere in this caves", said Windy Violet, with a sarcastic smile, "I bet that little filly is plotting something at this point. I have to say, I'm glad that she is your enemy and not mine." "Little filly?" Sweetie Belle wondered, lifting one of her eyebrows, "you mean Discord's daughter? Is she that terrifying?", the young unicorn's voice was trembling. They walked deeper into the caves, until they reached a large rocky chamber, and the road splitted from there. Fluttershy stopped and held Sweetie Belle by the tail, Windy Violet stopped too, and began to examine the chamber from a safe distance. Meanwhile, Fluttershy grabbed a stone nearby and threw it at the center of the chamber. The stone rolled like a dice on the ground, and shortly after, the small stone was buried by boulders and rocks that fell from the ceiling. "Impressive..." said Windy Violet, she turned her sight at the shy pegasus next to her, but what she saw was a serious pegasus who was apparently prepared for anything. "How did you know?", she asked, but Fluttershy stood silent and didn't answer and turned around to look for another path. Sweetie Belle followed her to illuminate the walk, she was watching Fluttershy from behind, thinking, like rehearsing the next conversation she wanted to start, but the words didn't came out as easily as when she composed a song. Fluttershy kept walking forward, serious, Windy Violet knew that there was something distracting both ponies, she also noticed that Fluttershy was taking them to higher grounds. Every time the road splitted, Fluttershy decided for the ascending path. "You're not looking for the Element of Kindness", Windy Violet realised, "what is your plan?" "Never reveal the plan", Fluttershy answered, "not until it has already been executed." "Do I detect an evil mind?", said Windy Violet, "you knew about that trap, because you have used it before, right? You remind me of my younger self. It's hard to trust anypony when you've been so long traveling on your own, so many trying to take advantage of you, the only difference between you and me, is that I still trust my friends." "I am not evil!" Fluttershy turned around and yelled at Windy Violet, "and I still trust my friends too!" "Is there something you want to speak with Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle?" Windy asked. Sweetie Belle looked at an angry Fluttershy and gulped, but after a short sigh she finally spoke, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you, Fluttershy." "I know...", Fluttershy closed her eyes, calming herself. "Did you find the pony you were looking for?" asked Sweetie Belle, a little doubtful. "How did you know...?" Fluttershy opened her eyes, that was not the question she was expecting at all. "Pinkie Pie said... you were sad when you left", Sweetie Belle added, "she said that you had the eyes of somepony who lost somepony important to you..." "His name is Scout Flag..." said Fluttershy, with sadness in her eyes, "he arrived Ponyville hungry and tired, one day. I gave him shelter in my cottage... he was, sweet and kind, but he was also really bad with the little creatures", Fluttershy remembered with a smooth smile, she pictured the leaf green earth pony and his messy sky blue mane. "I remember him..." Sweetie Belle was surprised, "what happened to him?" "One night... he left, he didn't say anything, he just left", Fluttershy looked down, "but on his bed, I found a note... it only said I hope we meet again. He told me how he felt, he told me I was special... that he loved me... but I rejected him. It was until he left when I realised I loved him too. I thought it was too late, but an old donkey told me that it's never too late to find your true love. That's why I left Ponyville, just like Pinkie said, I wanted to find the stallion I love, but then I met Skyclaw and..." Fluttershy stopped talking and hid her face with her mane once again. "Finally, there you are!" Windy Violet expressed with relief, "the Element of Kindness, you weren't acting as such at all, I started to doubt it was really you. This is yours", the pegasus handed over a small and pink butterfly shaped jewel. "You had it all this time?" asked Fluttershy, very confused, and as soon as he grabbed the jewel, the cave started to crumble under. Both pegasi reacted fast and grabbed the unicorn and the dragon as fast as they could to the exit. Windy Violet led the way and Fluttershy followed her, they turned several times before they could see the light of the surface, and rushed to it. They stood just outside the Neighagra Falls to witness the crumble, and just after them, the little filly came out laughing out loud. Soon after that, she raised her arms, the crystal clear water of the falls began to turn orange, and the temperature around began to raise very quickly. The water was turned into lava. "Do you see how terrifying I can be?", Screwball laughed at the ponies, "you disarmed my trap, that's impressive, but you didn't see this one coming, right?" "We already have the element!", said Sweetie Belle, "you are too late!" "No, you don't", Screwball turned the jewel that Fluttershy was holding into a common stone, "see? it was fake, one of your friends played this prank on me, but I learn from my mistakes." "Give me the real one", Fluttershy flew closer to Screwball, she was adamant. Screwball mocked her at first, but then she saw Fluttershy's eyes, the chaos pony was paralyzed. "What's this I'm feeling?" Screwball couldn't ignore the imposing pegasus coming to her, "I could easily beat you up but... something tells me... I should listen to you" she extended her shaking hoof to hand over the Element of Kindness, she couldn't turn away from Fluttershy's eyes, until she finally gave up the jewel. "You poor little thing", Fluttershy caressed Screwball's head and hugged her as she cried on the pegasus shoulder, "you were dragged into this, but you only want some quality time with your father." "So is this the power of the Element of Kindness?", Windy Violet was a bit confused. "Yes, I do not understand all of it...", Skyclaw explained "it works on us dragons, too. She has this authority as I call it. Even if you try it, you can not fight it back, you can not disobey, and once you surrender to her... it just feels good. Like there is one who understands how you feel, and can help you." "You speak like an old and wise dragon", Windy Violet smiled, "but you look like an old purple lizard with wings." "No!" Screwball, then, pushed Fluttershy back violently, "I'm not... I won't...", Screwball didn't find any words to say, and just left crying. The ponies and the dragon regrouped somewhere in the forest, where Windy Violet had set a tent camp. Fluttershy thanked Windy Violet for reminding her how the Element of Kindness should behave, and apologized to Sweetie Belle for hiding the truth, Windy Violet did her best to hide her blushing, but failed. "That was your plan all along?", said Windy Violet, turning serious. "Screwball may be Discord's daughter", Fluttershy replied, "but is still a young creature, she is mad and confused, but also powerful, and her love for her father makes her really dangerous. I couldn't reform Discord, but his daughter, she is still young, I think we can still show her the light." "I wonder about that..." Windy Violet packed her things from the tent, preparing to leave, "we'll meet again", she smiled again and took off waving her hoof at Fluttershy and her friends until they lost sight of her. Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle and Skyclaw turned around and headed southeast, back to Canterlot. Meanwhile, somewhere above the skies, there were two mysterious bodies looking at the events taking place in Equestria like a crowd. One of them had the shape of a young woman, she was watching with anger and impotence. However, the other one was wearing a dark cloak, watching and judging silently. "Please! Let me go!" said the female one. "Nothing is keeping you here", replied the other, with a polite male voice, "you are free to go whenever you want." "I meant down there!" protested the female, "I just leave and then this happens! They need me!" "Suppose I let you go down there", said the cloaked one, "what would you do, then? You are dead, Megan. Your family and friends are waiting for you in the afterlife. You should go with them and rest in peace." "If I leave like this, I wouldn't rest in peace", said Megan, "there has to be a way!" "There is a way...", the cloaked one turned his sight at Megan, "but there are rules. And trust me, the punishment you just went through was a stand in the corner, compared to the consequences of breaking this rules. Do you still wish to go down there?"