My Friends

The group arrived in Manehattan the next morning. All four of them quickly entered the house, with Achilles falling back to see if they were tailed.

They weren’t.

The four sat in the living room in silence, Fluttershy had taken her robes off and snuggled up with a blanket and pillow next to Pinkie Pie in a large leather chair, silently snoring. Pinkie still was awake, slowly running her hoof through the hair in Fluttershy’s mane. Achilles sat on rocking chair, across from him was Lance, who sat on a small loveseat.

“Oh great, nopony to sit next to me.” Lance said, breaking the silence.

‘Just like every other day in my life.’ Lance continued in his mind.

“Don’t think the girls trust you yet.” Achilles said with a chuckle, getting out of his seat. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Can you make a Grasshopper?” Lance asked.

“Yes, I can make coffee just fine,” Achilles said with a wrinkled smile. “I’ll be right back.”

“A Grasshopper is an alcoholic drink, pansy.” Lance said after Achilles left the room, “So, what’s your name, raspberry?”

The pink mare looked over with an unreadable look on her face. “Pinkamena Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie Pie.”

“Well Pinkie, how were you thrown into this conundrum?” He asked, getting out of his loveseat, “You don’t seem to be the fighting type.”

“Fluttershy is a friend, I don’t abandon friends.” Pinkie said with a light smile, looking down at the mare who Lance assumed to be Fluttershy.

“Good...” Lance said, holding out a hoof, “Call me Hawkeye.”

Pinkie leaned up and shook his hoof, “Sounds like a superhero.” she said, drawing back and moving into a more comfortable position for the stirring mare.

Lance chuckled, “Never heard that one before. What is that stallion’s name, I never caught it.”

“Achilles...” Fluttershy mumbled, opening her cerulean eyes.

“I’m gonna guess that’s his name.” He said, “Not much to do here, is there?”

“He’s an older pony, we don’t expect much, but he has these things ‘Shy calls ‘Rope Darts’ in our room, she ends up hitting a wall or something with them though.” Pinkie explained, “Or we’ll go out and about, usually in the forest.”

“Hmm, haven’t seen rope darts in a long time, the forest sounds good.” Lance said, touching his forest camouflage mane, “What would YOU like to do?”

“The forest sounds good today.” Pinkie said, turning to Fluttershy, who smiled and nodded up at her.

The three ponies walked outside and into the woods. The trees were larger than most in Manehattan, being in a more private area of the city. The sky was a bright blue and the sun was just bursting over the horizon, casting a golden glow on all of the landscape. The light was refracted from the many pools of water in the forest, as well as the eyes of the ponies who walked through the delicate, elegant piece of land.

“It’s beautiful.” Fluttershy said, staring off into the sunset.

“It’s not the only beautiful thing here.” Lance said, nudging the two mares.

Fluttershy had a streak of pink under her eyes and across her muzzle, Pinkie was grateful to have pink fur.

“Um... I’m gonna go help Achilles around the house, you two... have fun...” Pinkie said, returning inside.

Fluttershy tightened her leather bracer that housed a hidden blade on her right foreleg, walking off into the forest.

“Where are you going?” Lance said, “It’s so scary in the woods alone.”

“Fear is the worst enemy for an Assassin, it’s what stops them from acting, and what pushes them to keep going.” The mare quoted, turning her head to see Lance.

“Being an assassin isn’t the only thing in life, you know.” Lance said, “And not all assassins have to use hidden blades.”

“It’s traditional to the order.” Fluttershy said, letting Lance follow her through the forest.

“So are the robes, but it makes you stand out like a caterpillar in a flock of butterflies now.” Lance countered, “Assassin’s have to adapt to their environment, Fluttershy.”

The mare giggled. “I don’t always wear the robes, Canterlot is the best place for them, everypony has some kind of clothing on.”

“And I’m not an assassin.” Lance said with sarcasm, “I just have everything of theirs’.”

The mare giggled again, “C’mon, I wanna see the sunrise.” She said, climbing one of the trees.

“Then follow me.” Lance said, spreading his wings.

The mare didn’t resist spreading her wings, flying above the treetops with Lance at her side, finding a perch on a high rock. The mare laid down, watching the sun peek over the horizon.

“Celestia is great with that ball of fire.” Lance said, “I don’t care if you’re supposed to hate her.”

“I don’t hate Celestia, I never will hate Celestia, she was once a great leader, a great pony on the inside.” Fluttershy said, “She made bad decisions.”

The mare scooted closer to the stallion, feeling a bit more comfortable around him as she talked to him.

“You know, I don’t see my friends very often.” Lance said, “I hardly even get to touch another pony, because it’d be considered assault as long as it was in the Store, and nopony likes sompony they don’t know touching them outside the Store.”

Fluttershy pressed her hoof to his nose “Boop.” She giggled, taking her hoof away.

Fluttershy noticed something off about the stallion, something in the way he spoke, or the way he moved around her. She recognized the look, it was something that cut deep, something that had stuck with him over a long period of time. She tried to remember who she’d seen it in before.

Rainbow Dash.

The mare gasped, and moved away from the stallion.

She had seen it in that rainbow pegasus so many years ago, through Rainbow’s ego and reputation, was a lonely, heartbroken mare. She’d never known much of her parents, she hadn’t met anypony that would look through that shell, she’d never been loved by another pony, that’s why she had been so happy when Twilight came along, she had a group of friends that cared for her like they were sisters.

The mare was pulled back into reality when a tree branch snapped, she noticed that her right foreleg was around the stallion and had pulled him close, she stared into his confused eyes for a few seconds, then flew away, back down into the trees. The buttery yellow mare leaned against a tree as she sat in it’s branches, cursing herself for thinking of Rainbow Dash, and cried to herself at the same time, thinking of the mare who used to be her best friend.

“Did I do something wrong?” Lance asked himself.

Lance flew down to the mare, finding her crying at the forest floor.

“What’s the matter?” Lance said, patting her back.

The yellow mare jerked away and slammed her hoof into the tree, the hidden blade sinking into the tree an inch from Lance’s hoof.

“Leave me alone...” She said in a cold tone.

“”I’m sorry if I did anything to upset you,” Lance said, pulling his hoofs back but I can’t leave you in worse shape than I got you in.”

The mare stood up on her hind legs and jumped from tree to tree with perfect balance, not saying a word to the stallion who followed her.

“Was I being creepy?” Lance asked, mimicking her path through the trees.

The mare stopped, looking back at the stallion with teary eyes, “No... I-” She stopped. “You remind me of somepony.”

“One of the two you went to yesterday?” Lance asked, “Those are the only ones I know, except for Pinkie.”

“Y-yes... Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said, trying to hide her eyes and face behind her mane like she used to.

“I’m going to assume that’s the seven color-maned mare.” Lance said, not sure what to do.

“That’s her.” Fluttershy said from behind her mane. “She and I used to be friends, all six of us were, we made up the Elements of Harmony.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Lance said.

“It was... a long time ago...” Fluttershy said. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

The mare let herself drop to the forest floor, trotting back in the direction of the house. Lance followed her a few paces behind.

“Why do you call me beautiful?” Fluttershy asked, stopping. It seemed like all the noises in the forest stopped with her.

“Be-because I wanted to be friends.” Lance said.

“Nopony has called me beautiful... not in a long time.” Fluttershy said, looking over her shoulder with an odd look in her eye.

“Well, then it was good I said it.” Lance said.

The mare turned to face the stallion, staring deep into his extravagant blue eyes, the next thing she knew, she embraced the stallion with a tight grip, clinging to him like a foal to their teddy bear. She felt his warm fur against her own, it felt so good to hug somepony, she felt his muscles tighten underneath his skin and felt his steady heartbeat speed up, he smelled like the air near the ocean, so fresh and clean. Lance put his head on her shoulder and wrapped around her tightly.

The mare let go first and left him standing there without saying a word.

“...Should we head back?” Lance asked, “Whatever he want’s to show us sounded important.”

“I’ll meet you there.” Fluttershy said quietly, sprinting through the brush.

The Stallion spread his wings and flew above the forest towards the house.