Heart Souls: The Loss of Harmony

Cracks formed and the abyss opened, and there the element of kindness floats alone, at the very depths of her heart.

Quilt, who was barely conscious, tried to give command to the others, but they were out cold; only Bright, Bubbles, and her remained.

The heavy weight she felt was gone and could freely move now; it doesn't feel like they were under water anymore.

As soon as she tried to move and run towards the element, she tripped. It seems fatigue has affected her body. " Damn it!" She pushed herself and struggled to move.

Meanwhile, Bubbles continued her assault on the draconicous.

Bright too was having a hard time moving, but not as badly as Quilt; seeing her predicament, it was up to him to grab the element.

The floor cracks and crumbles, descending below, leaving a crumbled mess of a path leading close to the bottom of the abyss where the element was left alone.

Bright would hop down to the stairs of crumbled flooring. As he descends, the path of debris becomes less and narrower, making it easy to slip in the bottomless abyss.

He carefully trots close and was within hoofs reach, but he would be stopped by another draconicous, trapped at the bottom of Fluttershy's abyss. "Discord!?"

The draconicous was lifeless and zombie-like, grabbing anything it could; its eyes were grey and lifeless.

He'd quickly try to yank his hoof off of him to grab the element, but the corpse would not let go. " Shit! Get off me!"

Quilt, on the other hand, was busy saving the others who fainted from falling. She'd see that Bright was in a predicament and wouldn't be fast enough to save him, so she yelled, "Bubbles! Below!!"

As she sees his love in trouble, he quickly dove down and left Fluttershy alone.

She was able to stab Discord right at the center of his head.

The impact was enough to let go of Bright, who hurriedly grabbed the element, but he couldn't yank it out as someone else had grabbed a hold of it, Fluttershy herself. "Why, sister? Why take what is mine?"

" So you won't be lonely no more."

Fluttershy's tears would fall and would let go of the element. The once dark abyss burns brightly and blinds everyone. And in a split second, the collapsed room was back to normal, and the abyss was once more closed.

Everything was back to normal, except there was no mare at the coffin, but a pendant—the element of kindness.

" I- I guess we did it?" The tired Quilt announced. The others who fainted started to wake up as well and were confused about what happened.

"Damn, mah head hurts," Treasure complained.

Meanwhile, Bluebell was crying, and Cross, Tapper, and Apple were a bit down and tired.

Bubbles would fall to her knees as the stress and fatigue of the body would take their toll. Her blade drops and she is looking for Bright to help her out. But he would instead rush towards the coffin and grab the amulet. "Bright..."

"We... We did it... We finally did it!" Quilt cried.

" What did we actually do though?" Tapper questioned. And the rest would ask the same question.

But Bright would cut everyone's celebration as they aren't out of the woods yet. "Everyone! We need to get out of here before the ghosts of every pet Fluttershy has hunt us down."

As he finished those words, the ground shakes once more. " Don't tell me she woke up again!?" Quilt worried.

" I think this is different. Hurry everyone! Let's leave!" Everyone began running back to the exit, except for Bubbles, who was still tired from the battle she had.

Perhaps they should leave me here. Her thoughts filled with miss-informed conclusions.

But a hoof would grab her by the arm; she'd look up and see Bright, lifting her up.

"Quickly!" He'd grab and place her at his back and run to the exit.

_________

The Knight's successfully acquired the element of kindness and was just on time, exiting the collapsing tree house.

" Woo wee, that was close!" Bluebell gave a sigh of relief.

Cross, on the other hand, is still confused about what just happened, as everything happened so quickly that it's giving him a headache.

Tapper would shrug it off while Apple tried to catch her breath.

Bright holds the element on one hoof and Bubbles at his back as he watches the tree collapse from the distance. " Dry your tears, lady Fluttershy; you are not alone." He hides the trinket and calls for Bubbles attention. "And you; what were you thinking?"

Bubbles was a bit flustered. "W-what do you mean?"

" You should've listened to Quilt, and let me handle it. This would've been easier if you hadn't butted in."

" B-but..." Her voice was in deep regret.

Bright would not continue his scolding and just give a sigh. " You know what? Never mind. Thanks, Bubbles, for saving me."

Everyone watched as the tree finally sank to the ground, and a giant hole has replaced its place.

" I bet there's more secrets to be found in that hole," Bluebell pondered.

"Yeah, and I'm sure there's something lurking there that's going to kill us," Tapper replied.

"When did we never have that problem though?" she asked.

" True." Now Tapper's on board at Bluebell's idea of exploring the hole as he ponders about it too.

But Quilt would suggest otherwise. " We don't have time for that. Lets move before the animals catch up to us; the birds are already here." They'd notice that there's an abnormal abundance of birds perched in the trees.

"Okay, that's kinda scary now; let's get a move on then." Treasure agreed to the idea of leaving, and so did the rest.

_____________

Everyone was a bit tired and worn down from the emotional battle they had with Fluttershy; the sorrow and fear she shared with them lingered longer as they pondered and wondered what happened to her.

" I've heard how loving and kind Fluttershy could be, and facing her was kinda scary; she never did try to attack us, right?" Bluebell asked.

" No, she didn't. Lady Fluttershy was the kindest of the guardians of harmony; she was able to tame Discord and became friends with that draconicous; a fitl no one but her could accomplish. Even at his death, he lingered at her side protecting her." Bright replied.

"But the thing is, she'd accidentally kill us by either sharing the pain and sorrow she had, or hugging us forever," he added.

" Talk about killing us by guilt and kindness, yeesh." Tapper cringed.

" I've always loved the stories my parents told me about her. Now that I've seen her, she doesn't deserve this." Cross grieved to the mare she looked up to.

Bluebell was able to know more about Cross and understand a bit about him. She'd give him a hug. "Well, she was a bit boring in my story, but seeing her now and all the pain she endured and shared with us, she was brave, and I respect her more now." Cross would smirk a bit and hug back. " Thanks... I guess?"

Treasure listened to them and wondered if they'd meet all of the guardians at this point. " So we be collectin all the elements right? That means we'll be fightin all the guardians then. And Fluttershys the kind one here, and she could've easily killed us by accident. Then what would the rest be like!?"

" There was a point I pissed her off and joined the army; she gave me the stare that could petrify anyone. So don't think she's the weakest of the group," Bubbles added.

" You knew that, and yet, you still provoked her?" Quilt was a bit miffed.

" It's just... I needed to know something... and sadly, I did." Bubbles tone became sad and lonely.

" No matter, she's not alone anymore, right?" She asked Bright.

" Yeah... I guess so, Bubbles..." He spoke with a tone of doubt, mentioning her name.

But then... A sign post would put a pause to their conversation, and there it says, " WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" A pink earth pony welcomed them with balloons and cupcakes at hoof.