Juniper Montage tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Pinkie to arrive. She sighed. Out of all seven of her possible new... friends? She had only recently started hanging out with them, and she wasn't sure she was quite ready to call them the f-word. Anyway...
Fluttershy had to volunteer at the animal shelter, Applejack was busy doing farm chores (seriously, who does hard labor during the weekend?), Rarity, Sunset and Rainbow were at work. Twilight had a date, which left her with Pinkie. The one she could hardly take seriously even before... She sighed heavily as the videos played through her head yet again. The videos that showed her as a giant monstrosity under the delusions of magic. Ugh, she'd have to work off that damned property damage for the rest of her life! Those thoughts caused her to put her hand to her head in shame. She'd never live that incident down.
"Juniper!" A voice called out from a distance as a pink blur rapidly approached.
"Oh, shi-" Juniper was immediately caught in a vice-grip hug as Pinkie held her tightly. "H-H-Hi...P-Pinkie..." Her voice came out strained.
Pinkie let go, and Juniper inhaled sharply, catching her breath. "Hiya," Pinkie said cheerfully.
Juniper smiled awkwardly. She might as well give Pinkie a chance, she means well. "Let's go in, shall we?"
Juniper led Pinkie into her room, and the latter gasped.
The off-white walls of Juniper's room were filled with various movie posters, some from another country, which depicted stylized costumes Pinkie could've sworn she'd seen on television as a kid. There was a dresser with five figurines with similar stylized heroes on top. A red hero with a spade theme, a green hero with a clover theme, a blue hero with a diamond theme, a pink hero with a heart theme, and a white hero wielding a staff.
"I wouldn't touch those," Juniper said in a warning tone while wagging a finger, as though she could sense Pinkie's intent. "They're far too valuable to me." Pinkie shrugged, then continued taking in her new surroundings.
Next to the dresser was a flatscreen television with a console to play games and watch TV on. Pinkie glanced into Juniper's closet, noticing a crazy amount of figurines and toys similar to the ones displayed on her dresser. "Wow, you're really into this stuff, aren't you?"
Juniper beamed with pride. "I've spent a lot of time collecting them," she said with a wide grin. "Those babies had to be imported. You can't find 'em at just any old toy store, you know!"
"I bet," Pinkie said in astonishment. She directed her attention to Juniper's dark green bed with a comforter depicting various classic cinema stars she recognized from some of the movies Rarity had shown her. On top of her pillow were three smaller pillows, shaped like film reels. "Love your room!" Pinkie grinned widely, then tilted her head slightly. "What's that?"
Pinkie walked over to a mirror that was facing the wall, failing to notice Juniper's apprehension. "Pinkie..."
"Yeeeeeesssss?"
"I... I don't think..."
Pinkie walked towards Juniper. "Is something wrong?"
Several thoughts ran through Juniper's mind as Pinkie looked at her, patiently waiting for an answer. Should she tell her the truth? What would Pinkie think of her? Would she laugh at her? Feel sorry for her?
"Juniper," Pinkie said as she put a hand on the theater usher's shoulder. "If something's wrong, you can tell me."
Juniper took a deep breath, then exhaled. If she was going to get into this friendship thing, she'd have to be totally honest. "I don't think you'd understand."
Pinkie blinked. "Why wouldn't I," she asked, tilting her head.
Juniper sighed. "Because, well... You're so happy-go-lucky. Always cheerful, always laughing. To be honest, I'm a little jealous of that."
"So what you're saying is that you have a hard time taking me seriously," Pinkie said, folding her arms but still keeping her smile.
Juniper's eyes widened. "H-How did you-"
"You wouldn't be the first to say so, Juniper."
Juniper grabbed hold of one her arms in shame. "I hope you didn't take any offense to that."
"It hurt just a little, but I'm willing to forgive you," Pinkie said with a warm smile. "Come on, now. You can tell me anything. I promise I won't laugh."
Juniper began to feel a bit more comfortable with Pinkie. "I think it'd be better to show you rather than tell you," she said as she began walking toward the mirror. Once in front of it, she reached out to turn the mirror around, then stopped in her tracks. She grit her teeth as anxiety began to take hold of her. Her breathing became uneven as chills surged through her until she felt a warmth on her arms, snapping her out of it.
"It's okay," Pinkie said reassuringly as she held Juniper's arms. "I'm here for you." Juniper swallowed nervously, then clenched her teeth in determination. She grabbed the mirror, turned it around, then looked away as Pinkie gasped. "What happened to your mirror?"
Juniper sniffled as she hugged herself, not willing to look back. "I..." she sniffled again.
"Juniper," Pinkie said softly. "It's okay. I'm here for you."
Feeling encouraged by Pinkie's presence, Juniper steeled herself as she turned around. She shuddered as she saw the shattered mirror before her. Several large chunks of glass were missing, making it impossible to see one's full reflection. Juniper was so ashamed of herself for breaking it. She looked at Pinkie, almost positive she'd receive some sort of rebuke until the pink girl slowly approached her, causing her to flinch. She got within an inch of Juniper...
...then hugged her. "It's okay," Pinkie whispered. "I'm here for you."
Juniper sniffled as she felt the love and warmth radiate from Pinkie, then broke. Tears she had held back for so long poured out of her. Shame. Regret. Anxiety. Those feelings and more were concentrated into this single moment as she sobbed uncontrollably while Pinkie held her tightly. After what felt like an eternity, she shuddered as she had no more tears to cry.
"Feel better," Pinkie asked softly as she ran a hand through Juniper's hair.
Juniper took a deep breath, exhaled, then nodded.
"Great," Pinkie said, still keeping her tone soft. She looked at the broken mirror with a sad smile. "Believe it or not, I actually know how you feel."
Juniper's eyes widened in shock. "You do?"
Pinkie nodded, then turned around. "All that many people know about you is that you became a monster and terrorized the mall."
"Gee, thanks," Juniper said sarcastically.
"I'm not finished," Pinkie said. "What I'm saying is that those people have only seen one side of you. They only know the 'monster' you, not the real you."
Juniper blinked, uncertain of where Pinkie was going.
"Kind of like how many people only know the 'happy' me."
"But you're always-" Juniper stopped as realization dawned on her. "...oh."
Pinkie nodded again. "So many people have only seen this one side of you, and it gets to the point where you start seeing it in your own reflection..." She paused for a moment. "And you hate it. You start hating yourself for it."
"Pinkie..."
"So you avoid looking into mirrors and other reflective surfaces to keep the self-loathing at bay... But they're everywhere. Bodies of water and glass..."
Juniper could have sworn she heard a sniffle.
"Y-You can hardly even look at yourself in the mirror for daily maintenance, so you smash all the glass in your h-house..."
Juniper ran up to Pinkie Pie and hugged her tightly. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm here for you." Pinkie wrapped her arms around the usher, then broke. As she felt her friend sob into her... friend. Yes. Juniper was definitely ready to call at least one on them her friends. Maybe over time she'd warm up to the rest, but for now, Pinkie Pie was her only real friend.
Several minutes later, Pinkie looked up at Juniper once she finished crying. "I feel better," she said with a genuine smile.
"Pinkie Pie...I-I had no idea."
"I don't tell that to just anyone, ya know," Pinkie said with a wink, back to her usual cheery self. "I tell that to my friends." She smiled warmly. "And it was my friends that got me out of that dark place in my life."
Scratch that previous thought, I have got to get to know the rest of those girls. "They sound like an amazing group of friends... and I'd love to be one of yours." Pinkie Pie squealed in delight and hugged Juniper tightly again. "New... friend... needs to... breathe!"
Pinkie broke the hug with a sheepish giggle. "Sorry. Got carried away there."
"No worries." An idea formed in Juniper's head. "Hey, would you like to watch a show where five heroes fight using the power of dance from different countries?"
"Oooh, that sounds cool and fun-usual!"
Juniper laughed. "Pinkie Pie, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Author's Note
It occurred to me that I mentioned in my first story that Juniper and Pinkie were hanging out together, but I haven't shown them doing so! This was their first time. I hope you enjoyed! 
