Chapter 7: A Secret Revealed and a Broken Heart Healed
As the seven friends were on their way back to Ponyville, Queen Frostbite had some decisions to make. Should she tell her? She had originally hoped she would never remember it. I mean, what harm would it do? It would just be a silly shock. But what if it jogged her memory? She couldn't take that risk. But on the other hand, what harm could it possibly do? All it would cause was some harmless heartbreak, terror, and confusion. But, if you once again remember the fact that her whole memory is at stake, she might remember what she was capable of. But that wasn't likely. And even if she remembered, she probably wouldn't be able to stop her. She would tell her. But what about her friends? They most likely would figure out how to stop her. She knew what they were capable of, and what the other princesses were capable of. That was why she took extreme measures; kidnapping the princesses. But it was not yet necessary to take Twilight. In fact, she would take care of her when she took care of her friends. She would have to bring out her most powerful spell yet to keep them from stopping her. But should she use the spell on Auquasia? After all, she would seem more cruel if she did because of the secret she had kept from her. But she would be powerless without her friends. There was no need to use the spell on her. Now that Queen Frostbite had organized her thoughts, she was ready to face the ponies she had been waiting for.
Once the friends had arrived, they charged through the center of Ponyville. Suddenly Queen Frostbite appeared in front of them. "Greetings, ponies," she said in a menacing voice.
"What do you want, Frostbite?" Rainbow Dash yelled back.
"Oh, nothing much. Just to share some information. Some information that concerns your new little friend here. Did I ever tell you how much you've grown, cousin?!" The seven friends gasped.
"W-what?!" Auquasia said in shock. "Oh, did I not tell you? Oh, I must have forgotten. But really, you must excuse a little fact like that. It really doesn't matter."
"But how are you my cousin? How am I related to such a cruel pony? And you must be lying, because you acted like you didn't know me before."
"Oh, sweetie. I acted like I didn't know you so you wouldn't find out what I didn't want you to know. But I decided reminding you of our relationship wouldn't reveal what needed to remain hidden from you."
"And what was that?"
"Oh, come now. I can't tell you everything. I have my secrets too, you know. But I really must be going. And I'm sure you have a lot to do..." With that Queen Frostbite disappeared with a flash.
The seven friends stood for a while in silence, in shock of the recent conversation. Finally Auquasia spoke. "Let's go find the forgotten element," she said. As the ponies once again galloped into the Everfree Forest, the white mist once again followed them into the glistening trees.
"Where do we start?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"I guess we should start by returning to the castle of the two sisters. That is the most likely place to find it," Twilight responded.
To hinder the group, the white mist went hissing through the trees, changing the path ever so slightly so that the others wouldn't notice. It moved them just far enough for the ponies to get stuck in an area unknown to anypony there ever was, except the royal sisters and the pony who guarded the place.
The ponies drew nearer and nearer to the place without even knowing it. As they drew near, though, they could see the shadows of a gate nearby. "I don't remember there being a gate here. Especially one so... old fashioned, to say the least," Rarity commented.
"I hate to say this, but she's right. That gate needs a major makeover. Stat. One touch would make it fall off its hinges," said Rainbow Dash.
"Hmm... Maybe we took the wrong path," Twilight suggested.
Suddenly there was a loud booming voice. "Who goes there?!" it shouted.
"What was that?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Who goes there?" Suddenly a figure landed right in front of the group. He was a pegasus with a key and lock as a cutie mark. He had a dark grey coat and a whit mane. He appeared to be very old."What are all of you doing here?" the figure exclaimed.
"Oh, hello. I'm Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and these are my friends; Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Auquasia. We were just trying to get to the castle of the two sisters. Would you please let us through?" Twilight said to the pegasus.
"No! Never in a thousand years has anyone been let through this gate. I am the Gatekeeper. My family has guarded this gate for generations. Even when the castle was abandoned, my family guarded it. I'm not letting you go through," the Gatekeeper said sternly.
"But the entire fate of Eqestria depends on us getting to the castle! Let us through, will ya?" Rainbow Dash said, obviously annoyed.
"Never will I let anyone through this gate for as long as I live!" shouted the Gatekeeper.
"Oh, ok. I guess we'll go," Fluttershy said as she turned to leave.
"Come back, Fluttershy," the group called.
"Mr. Gatekeeper, may I ask why you never let anyone through?" Auquasia asked.
"No one has ever appreciated me. My own family despised me. And one day I woke up, and my family was gone. They left my to live on my own when I was just a colt. I had friends at the time, and they comforted me. But then my friends began to avoid me, and one day they told me that they didn't want to be my friends. I was heartbroken. Ever since then I have vowed not to be kind of friendly towards anypony."
"That is terrible. And, believe it or not, I know how you feel. I have no idea if I have a family, and only recently did I gain these ponies as friends. And I'm sure under that seemingly cold attitude lies a loving heart. I'll be your friend, if you like. I know you can be a better pony. And no matter what anyone else thinks, you are a very lovable, likeable pony." Everyone stared at Auquasia, for the voice was hers.
"Wow... I... No pony has ever said such a thing... I've never been loved before... I... Thank you,... Friend," the Gatekeeper said in disbelief.
"The pleasure's mine for gaining such a wonderful friend."
"Well, come on through. I don't know what happened to the other trail, but this one will meet up with the path you should have been on in the first place. Good luck!" The Gatekeeper opened the gate and let the ponies through.
"How could you see the good in such a grumpy pony?" asked Twilight.
"I thought of how good it felt to be loved and to have friends. Before I had friends I was the saddest pony you'd ever meet. Everypony wants to be loved, and everypony needs to be loved. No matter what. Love is kind and understands others. Sometimes just showing a little bit of love makes all the difference. And I've learned a lot from the Element of Kindness," Auquasia replied with a smile as she glanced at Fluttershy. As they followed the path, the white mist followed close behind.