18.

Lilly felt her wings grow tired as she flew, she never flew this far before. Most of the times she used her magic to get her from one point to another and usually she liked showing off the fact that she knew more spells than Paradox did. She was crying when she had left the castle and she felt like her heart was being torn in half followed by loss and emptiness spreading over her whole entire body.

She flew towards the Crystal Mountains and she was determined to get to them that day and she faltered when her wings weakened slightly so she flew down towards a waterfall that she saw below her. When she landed she felt all her emotions flood around her as she fell down onto the damp grass. “I… cannot do this.”

“Do what?” A voice asked from the water.

Lilly looked up and saw a pony looking at her from the water. The pony blinked at her curiously and suddenly disappeared below the water. Lilly blinked and crawled to the edge of the water and looked for the pony. “Hello?”

“Hello?” The voice echoed from down the stream.

Lilly stood up slowly and looked down the stream trying to see the pony before. “Who are you? Where are you?”

“Hello?” A voice said right next to Lilly. Lilly looked back down to the stream and saw the pony she saw before in the water her mane looked very damp and was red and her coat was orange with strange iridescent colors that shined as she moved in the sun light in certain ways . The pony smiled up at her. “What are you?”

Lilly backed away from the water. “Come out of the water and talk to me.”

“That is impossible. What are you? I have seen a lot of ponies here, but you… you are different. I don’t talk to any other ponies, but you made me very curious.” The pony said as it looked at Lilly curiously.

“What do you mean impossible, just step out of the water.” Lilly flapped her wings in irritation.

“No can do.” The pony whispered as she slowly sank back down into the water. “I am beginning to think I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Wait, I’m sorry. I’m not a pony.” Lilly said suddenly.

The pony in the water was just looking at her. She put her muzzle up slowly. “Not a pony? I knew it. What is she then?”

Lilly was thinking the same thing. “I’m a draconequus. What are you?”

“I’m a kelpie.” The pony in the water said proudly. “I come from a long lineage of kelpies. I cannot live out of the water though, my great, great, great, great, great… so many greats grandfather was able to come out of the water, but now we kelpies cannot.” She suddenly moved as her tail came up out of the water and made a splash.

“A kelpie…” Lilly mused. “How long have you been here? Wherever here is.”

The kelpie sunk below the surface of the water while still watching Lilly. Lilly saw her swim in the clear water and she actually looked like a fish, when she resurfaced she was a closer to the waterfall. “I have been here as long as the waterfall has been here.” She then swam back to Lilly. “Come into the water… It is nice.”

“No thank you.” Lilly said as she walked away from the water’s edge.

The kelpie lifted slightly out of the water and looked at her. “Why won’t you swim with me? I just want to hold you down so you can live with me forever.”

“Sorry, not interested.” Lilly growled.

“I love you though. You have pretty horns on your head and your long tail reminds me of a dragon.” The kelpie pouted.

“No.” Lilly said as she spread out her wings.

“Oh! Wings!” The kelpie looked at them and suddenly dived back down into the water then came back up and spit water toward Lilly. “Come swim before leaving… It will relax you; the water is nice and warm.”

“Sorry, but I am leaving.” Lilly jumped up into the sky and flew off.

“I shouldn’t have told her I wanted to drown her.” The kelpie muttered and dived back into the clear water.

Lilly shook her head as she flapped her wings tiredly; she changed her trajectory as she flew more towards the northwest where she had heard about gryphons. She paused in midair though when she remembered her mother telling her about a gryphon that yelled at her for no reason than just being in the way. She decided to just fly that way and see what happened when she got there. “I need to rest though, and I’m hungry.” She murmured to herself.