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The Seventh Element: The Element of Hope

Chapter 15

Hopeful Kindness

Lavender squared her shoulders and walked to the door that had suddenly appeared once Pinkie had left. The door seemed to be made of some type of foliage. Once through the door Lavender saw a dirty decaying tree cottage home. Inside the room Fluttershy her bright hair dull and her face shallow looking as though she had not eaten in quite some time. Around Fluttershy seemed to be broken pieces of furniture for pets. Lavender recognized a bird perch and a small animal bed in tatters.

"Fluttershy," Lavender said approaching the pegasus. Fluttershy whipped around and faced Lavender on her face was a look of pure anger and hatred which cause Lavender to stumble backwards. "F-Fluttershy?" Fluttershy smirked coldly at the unicorn.

"That's my name don't wear it out," Fluttershy told her harshly.

"Fluttershy what happened to you?"

"What do you mean? I think it's an improvement don't you?" Fluttershy stalked forward toward Lavender like a predator towards prey. Lavender attempted to back up but hit a wall where the door had been. "Why are you here Heart?"

"What do you mean? You're my friend why wouldn't I be here?" Fluttershy laughed cruelly at the words.

"You?! My friend?! I don't have friends! Who needs them when all they do is take advantage of your kindness! Fluttershy can you do this? Fluttershy can you do that? Fluttershy can you care for Opal? Fluttershy can you clean Tank? Always Fluttershy my pet this! Or Fluttershy this animal that! But what about Fluttershy?! What about me?! Huh?! But that wasn't even the worst no! My ex friends found you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? What am I talking about?! What do you mean?! It's your fault! They found you so they didn't need me!" As Fluttershy spoke the room shifted to a meadow like area with the elements and Lavender. Though the elements and Lavender were on one side facing Fluttershy as though they were ganging up on her.

"I should have let those bullies keep at you. Maybe then you wouldn't be so pathetic," the Rainbow Dash in the image said.

"Had we not had to deal with your cowardice the dragon would have been dealt with sooner," the image Rarity said.

"You aren't fit to be the element of kindness. How can you be any use when you are scared of your own shadow," The fake Twilight said.

"See I told you girls she wouldn't even do anything," the fake pinkie said.

"How pathetic can one pony be," the Lavender said harshly.

"Wh-why are you doing this," the image Fluttershy asked crying on the ground.

"Because we see how useless you are to us. Why deal with you when we can find somepony better," the image Applejack said. The real Lavender watched horrified at what she was witnessing. As she watched she saw Fluttershy turn cold and cruel thanks to Demonica's shadow minions. The cold pegasus caused all her animals to run off leaving her alone.

"Fluttershy… What you saw what they said… it's not true." Lavender moved and stepped toward her fallen friend. Fluttershy glared at the unicorn before her.

"Yeah right. And being kind to others helps you in life. Thanks but no thanks! I've made that mistake! Not doing it again!" Fluttershy's voice echoed a bit in the abandoned cottage a sign to both how empty it was.

"No its not. And I'll prove it to you!" Lavender had been watching how the other two rooms brought forth images and she wanted to try herself. She took a breath and began to focus her magic her horn glowed pink. She focused on the first time the elements had been together that Twilight had shown her. As Lavender focused on the scene unbeknownst to her one of Demonica's Shadow minions appeared behind her specifically the fake Lavender. The fake used her own magic to shoot Lavender in the back with a blast that sent the real Lavender into a wall across the room. Watching Lavender get hit caused Fluttershy's cold heart to jump.

"Lavender," Fluttershy cried out as the real Lavender slumped to the ground. Seeing the unicorn on the ground cause a memory to pull at Fluttershy's mind. An image of Lavender unconscious at the base of a stone structure. Slowly the image became clearer and Fluttershy remembered Lavender jumping in front of her to save her from Demonica. Fluttershy moved to help the fallen Lavender.

"No," the fake Lavender said as she popped up in front of Fluttershy. "Remember we don't want you. We don't need you. We despise you." The words brought hesitation upon Fluttershy's face as she listened. "Yes that's right. Why help somepony who hates you? Why show any pony kindness ever again?" At the wall Lavender slowly began to move. As her senses returned to her she saw what the fake Lavender was trying to do. She tried to weild her body to move faster but the damage of her body protested. Lavender then focused her magic to heal her body as quickly as possible. Meanwhile across the room the fake Lavender was succeeding in her progress turning Fluttershy cold again.

"Maybe you are right… why should I help her. One who hates me." As she spoke her eyes and heart began to once again harden

"You're kind…" A voice said almost to quietly to hear. Fluttershy and the fake Lavender turned to the wall where the real Lavender stood albeit shaky. "You are the Element of Kindness. That's why you should help others. And I don't hate you. How could I? You faced a chimera to save your friends. You stared down a cockatrice to save three young fillies. If I hated you I wouldn't have jumped in front of you to save you." Lavender moved to the fake Lavender her horn glowing. "This Lavender isn't real. She is nothing but a trick. A lie created from one of Demonica's shadow minions." Lavender shot the fake and the glamour it wore vanished revealing its true form. Fluttershy turned to the minion her anger boiling as she glared at it.

"How dare you? How dare you?! Using me to separate my friends! Lavender is right I am the Element of Kindness! I shouldn't give up hope on who I am! I am not giving up on my friends! Never again," Fluttershy shouted at the minion causing it to shrink down as much as it could. Lavender had backed up a bit knowing of Fluttershy's anger thanks to the story of the Grand Galloping Gala. The minion had enough and vanished from sight. The cottage reorganized itself and become new once more. Fluttershy threw herself at Lavender knocking them over. Neither noticed the two glowing as before with the others Fluttershy's bracelet glowed pink before fading just as quickly. "I'm so sorry Lavender! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay Flutters how about you?"

"I'm fine. Now what?" The two stood and watched the room become a plain stone room once more with a single door.

"You go through that door. I get the rest of our friends. It seems I'm the only one who can seeing as every time one of you leave the room a door appears that I can go through."

"Okay. Good Luck Lavender." Fluttershy exited the room and a cloud like door appeared before Lavender. She enetered the room wondering who she would find inside. When Fluttershy made it out into the room she and the others had first entered she saw Rarity and Pinkie.

"Girls," Fluttershy said happily. Before any could move Fluttershyed glowed brightly and once it was done the Element of Kindness was around her neck like Rarity and Pinkie's elements.

"Fluttershy," The two others said rushing to hug her.

"What happened?"

"We don't know darling," Rarity said

"Yeah all we know is Lavender found us, saved us, and we somehow got our elements back," Pinkie told her.

"Sounds about what Lavender said without the element part. She seems to think she is the only one to get the others. I wonder why Demonica set it up this way."

"Who knows," Rarity said.

"I hope lavender can get the others."

"Of course she can Flutters Lavender got us didn't she?"

"Mhmm. But what do we do now?"

"Wait for the others. It seems Demonica still thinks we are trapped in our individual nightmare worlds."