Paradox in Equestria

I awoke to a humming sound in my ear, I felt as if I had been asleep for so long. It was strange because it felt like it was only a few seconds ago that I saw Princess Celestia's horn glowing and I felt that strange warmth. I opened one eye, what I saw was not Princess Celestia, but a clubbed, wooden hoof.

"Girls," I heard, the voice was familiar.

Twilight?

"Girls, she's coming to!"

What was going on, I pushed myself up from the ground, feeling pain all over my body as I got up. I raised my hoof to my head to try and ease the throbbing pain in my head. That's when I stopped and screamed, a mechanical hoof came up to my head. I stopped when I realized it was mine.

"What's going on?" I said terrified. "What's wrong with my voice?" It sounded strange it had some sort of metal like humming to it.

"Fluttershy... we have to talk." Twilight began, "And you're not going to like it..."

As I sat there listening to my friend, I couldn't help but cry out of my one non-mechanical eye. After the encounter with Parydan I was frozen in Celestia's magic. It seemed odd because I felt warm, not cold, then again I wasn't one to explain how magic worked. She had used the last of her strength to preserve me so that my friends could one day– either by magic or other means– bring me back.

Parydan had taken over Equestria with his strange powers to bend the will of spacial matter at his command. His magic had turned the laws of physics so upside down that only his magic was able to work. So that just left the "other means" part as my only chance. It had been twenty five long years.

My friends had fended off Parydan as long as they could, but most of them now close to, or at their fifties, they didn't have much fight left in them.

The Elements of Harmony were the only magic that seemed to be unaffected. Everything else, even my friends were changed by this war.

Rainbow Dash was now a cold blooded killer, Twilight explained that she lost her eye in the battle with Parydan. That's why she wore an eyepatch, she also had many scars and was even missing an ear from fights with NineVoltz, they called them. Once ponies but now cyborgs that ran on electricity. They once were ponies, but due to a factory that Parydan had built, they were now ravenous machines with only two things to consume. One being electricity, and the other one being other anything with a heart. It didn't have to beat either as long as it was flesh.

Twilight explained that it was how they were able to repair the damage to my body with scrap parts from the NineVoltz.

Rarity, her usually well kept mane was now mangled and filthy, she seemed to not even mind it. I asked where Spike was and apparently Rarity heard me, she burst into tears. I looked at Twilight, she teared also, Spike died protecting Rarity from a swarm of NineVoltz.

"All I have from him," Rarity sobbed, "is this," she held up a single purple dragon scale hanging by a thread on her neck. I began to cry, I never even got to say goodbye.

Pinkie Pie seemed to be the most miserable, her once poofy mane now lays flat. She had scars all over her body, she even sat in a corner with a switch blade making more cuts on herself. Apparently she totally lost it, the happiness compleatly drained, she felt she could never smile again and could never make anypony else smile either. Several years earlier she had severed the cutie marks on either side of her flank.

Nowadays she lies in a mess on the floor.

Applejack was in another part of the room, with a photo album. The entire Apple family had been slaughtered in front of her, Big Mac, Granny Smith, they even killed Apple Bloom and Winona. All she ever seemed to do was talk to herself and look through the album over and over again.

Twilight told me that only the two of us were left untouched by this war. Technology kept Twilight sane, only the continuous work or testing to bring me back kept her from suffering the same insane fate as our friends. It seemed that Haymill was now a refugee camp. It was the only place in all of Equestria that seemed to be untouched by Parydan's reign. Although it had been ravaged many times by NineVoltz, the residents here had done their best to fend them off. It seemed hopeless to even attempt to salvage this losing battle.

But we had to.

I may not be the pony I was twenty five years ago, at least on the outside, but I knew in my metal heart that I was still Fluttershy. I was still the Element of Kindness, and I knew the same was for all of my friends. For twenty five years I had slept, while my friends endured this terrible cataclysm. I had to rise up now, before I was small, weak, and shy. But if there was one thing I learned from facing that dragon that terrorized my friends all those years ago, is that you don't mess with my friends.

"So, what do you say Fluttershy?" Twilight said, "Can you help us?

I paused, "No." I said.

It took Twilight away.

"Fluttershy please, we've waited for twenty five years for this moment and now it's finally here."

"Twilight, I wish I could help everypony," I told her begining to cry, "but look at them. Parydan has broken them, he's just too strong. There's just no way we can beat him."

"There is Fluttershy," I looked at her, confused, "you, you have to show our friends the kindness they haven't seen in twenty five years of existing in this desolate future. Luna has even gone into hiding, she hasn't been able to take over the sun and moon, Parydan won't let her, he'll kill her too."

Equestria had apparently been stuck in an eternal day, even though the sky was blocked out by giant cloud of smoke. I nodded, I would do my best, for my friends.

As time passed by, I watched as my friends pulled on with their routines. I had to find out how I could help them. Every day (or what I would consider to be a day, there really was no way for me to tell) Rainbow Dash would perk up her head, never say anything, and bolt out the door. I tried to follow her a few times but I wasn't fast enough to keep up. Pinkie only sat in the corner, cutting her body and licking the wounds until they stopped bleeding.

Rarity was always on the lookout for food, although we had a small garden we still needed other things for when food ran scarce. Rarity wouldn't talk to me. She would only turn up her nose and walk away, I didn't blame her, I had left them to this.

Applejack wouldn't even respond to anypony, Twilight had said she tried many times but never gotten an answer that made sense.

I sat down next to the orange mare, "AJ?" I said.

"Oh, hey there sugar cube," she said, "come to try some Zap Apple Jam." She held out an empty hoof.

I decided to play along, "Oh, yes I'd love some." I pretended to take the jar from her.

"Um... AJ" I said to her.

"Watcha need partner?" she said cheerfully, she looked insane.

I put on my best Apple Bloom impression, "Ah miss ya sis." I said tearfully.

I didn't like impersonating Apple Bloom, I felt like I was lying to her but I didn't know any other way.

"AB..." She began to tear up and grew to a normal size.

Twilight's mouth dropped in astonishment.

"Ya ain't gotta cry no more lil' sis, big ol' Applejack is here for ya." Apple Jack put her hooves around my shoulders and stroked my mane.

"Ah know sis, I don't blame you fer anythin'. Neither does Big Mac or Granny Smith." I continued in my best friends sisters voice.

There were more tears. "Everythin' 'll be better in the mornin' lil' sis. Ah promise..."

As she drifted off to sleep I heard her mumble "It'll always git better"

As she began to snore I sang my lullaby.

Hush now quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head

"Ah know this one" AJ said in her sleep, she sang along.

Hush now quiet now, it's time to go to bed.

I hummed along as she fell into a deep sleep, Twilight watched as she slept for several hours. When she awoke her eyes futtered open.

"Mmmmm" she groaned, "Wuh happened?" Apple Jack said, "Is everythin' all right Twi, ya look a little down."

Twilight's eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around her friend.