My Friends

Fluttershy opened her eyes.

Her room surrounded her, she looked to the door, which slowly crept open.

Rainbow Dash stuck her head in.

Fluttershy felt herself frown.

“Uh, hey, Shy.” Rainbow said, scratching behind her neck.

The yellow pegasus rolled over in her covers, turning her back to Rainbow Dash and pulling up the blankets on her.

“Go away.” She choked out.

“But I-”

“Go away, Rainbow Dash.” She said.

She heard hoofsteps, then the door closed.

The mare felt tears come to her eyes again, quickly streaming down her cheeks. As much as she wanted somepony with her, she didn’t want to be around Rainbow Dash, she hated herself for talking that way to a friend, but she didn’t want to talk to her.

The door clicked again, opening back up.

“I told you to-”

“It’s me, Shy.” Pinkie said, trotting over to Fluttershy and putting a hoof on her back. “I wanted to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk right now, Pinkie.” Fluttershy said, curling up and feeling pain go through her mind. “I just want to be left alone.”

Pinkie climbed up on the bed with Fluttershy, laying down behind her. “You don’t have to talk,” The pink mare said, “just listen.”

Fluttershy rolled over and faced the normally outrageous and crazy pony, meeting with a serious faced, and tired looking mare.

“Did you get any sleep?” Fluttershy asked in a worried tone.

Pinkie chuckled a bit, “No, I wanted to help you.”

Fluttershy blushed.

Pinkie looked up at the ceiling with teary eyes. “Things have been different... y’know?”

She knew.

The pink earth pony looked like she was in a losing battle of fighting off tears. “Dashie’s been so angry, Applejack won’t speak, Rarity is constantly arguing with somepony, Spike won’t listen and has outbursts, Twilight is being so bossy and mean, and I...”

Fluttershy stared at the pink mare in disbelief, she hadn’t seen her cry in ages.

“I’m just a mess, aren’t I?” She asked with a weak chuckle.

Fluttershy frowned and put a tender arm around Pinkie, trying to give her some comfort.

She hadn’t known half of it, she knew her friends had changed, but she only thought Dash had something wrong, she thought to herself about the night before, about the lack of reactions Dash got.

“Pinkie...”

“No, I am, I can’t sleep, I won’t eat, I can barely stand being around the girls...” Pinkie said, nodding her head from side to side.

“You need to sleep Pinkie...” Fluttershy said, holding her hoof to Pinkie’s forehead, “You’re going to get yourself sick.”

“I... I can’t.” Pinkie said.

“Just try.” Fluttershy said, pushing Pinkie’s head down onto a pillow beside her.

“Can you stay here?” Pinkie asked, looking up at Fluttershy as she stretched.

Fluttershy giggled for a few seconds. “Of course, as long as you get some rest.”

The pink pony looked at Fluttershy for a few seconds, then closed her eyes, snuggling close to the other mare, holding her like she was her last friend in Equestria. Fluttershy welcomed the touch, holding Pinkie just as she would to Angel bunny or any other animal of hers.

“Fluttershy...”

“Hm?”

“Fluttershy...”

“Pinkie, what do you-”

When the eyes of the mare opened, a giant, glowing bipedal creature stood before her. What Fluttershy assumed to be her face was a pale white, she almost looked... transparent. Her hair was black as night, she wore what looked to be a plain white wedding gown. Where her hooves should have been, was a large mass with five other smaller, more lengthy things. The mare assumed the features to be some kind of claws.

“Wh-who are you?!” Fluttershy asked, backing up.

When the mare looked around her, she saw nothing, she stood on nothing, she saw nothing in the distance, except for the creature, what looked to be the floor shattered and put itself back together like glass, reflecting off of other, unseeable lights.

“My name, is Juno, I come from the First Civilization, from a world much different than yours.” It spoke.

“What do you want?” Fluttershy asked, looking around for anywhere to run.

“Do not think of running young one,” Juno said, waving her hand around her, showing the landscape, “there is nowhere to go.”

Fluttershy looked back up at the creature, which slowly kneeled towards her running her claws through the pink mane of the pegasus, who cowered at the alien touch.

“I only want to help save you, and your world, just like my own.” Juno said with a slight, reassuring smile.

“What is wrong with my world?” Fluttershy asked, feeling the creatures hand in her hoof. Twilight would have gone crazy for something like this.

“A group of ponies, threatens to destroy it.” Juno said.

Fluttershy gasped, “Why would somepony want to do that?!” she squeaked.

“They want to make a perfect world,” Juno said, “although their interpretation thereof - emphasizing purpose, order, and control over the freedom of individuals.”

“Isn’t that what our princess’ are for?”

“No, Fluttershy, your princess’ grant you peace and freedom in Equestria, giving you the right to do what you want, when you want. These ponies will steal your lives from you, almost quite literally, all the choices in your life, will be made by them.”  Juno explained, “That is, unless somepony makes a stand.” She said, looking down at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy knew what she was aiming towards. “Oh, oh, no, I couldn’t, I don’t have any experience with politics.”

“That isn’t what I mean.” She said, pulling something from her dress and throwing it in front of the pony.

What landed in front of the mare, frightened her beyond belief.

It was an axe, a smaller version of one through, one that could be held in one hoof, it had a long and sturdy wooden handle, with a lone feather, attached by a small string with three red beads, it had a leather piece for a handle guard, what intrigued the mare the most was the shape of the blade, it had been carved out in the middle, but it resembled an uppercase A, with the middle piece removed and put as the handle going through the top half of the blade.

“Wha- No! No! No!” Fluttershy squeaked, backing away from the weapon.

“Seek out this symbol... a house in Manehattan” Juno said, a large symbol, the same as the blade appeared by her side for a few seconds, then faded off into the landscape.

“But-”

“Or watch your world burn.” She said, “I know how they have changed, Fluttershy, it’s time you get them back, so you don’t have to remember them like this, like Templars.”

The world around Fluttershy faded into pink, she realized she was staring into Pinkie Pie’s mane.

She rolled over, staring at the wall.

It wasn’t a dream. She knew that, something had been different, the touch in her mane, the words passing through her lips, it was like she had really been there.

She made up her mind.