Fluttershy hid in the corner of the Doctor's office, slowly shrinking away from the pony who was getting closer and closer to her. It wasn't a surprise to Applejack that when she was told to bring Fluttershy to the Doctor's that she'd have problems, but this was out of control. The Pegasus has been under the influence of serious migraines for the past few weeks, ever since The Royal Wedding. At first, it only lasted a day. Then it lasted two. Then five. And the number kept going up. Eventually it got to the point where the animals were needing to take care of the poor Pegasus, as she could not walk nor fly, or even speak.
Twilight had begged Applejack to take her to the Doctor's Office, in worries that Fluttershy could be experiencing side effects of the Changeling invasion. And as Applejack took Fluttershy to a large, blue building she had never seen before, Fluttershy lost it when she realized it was the Doctor's office.
She hid behind every counter she could see, challenged Foals and Fillies to doggie pile on top of her, in hopes she could become invisible, so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of the Doctor's Office. Applejack was sympathetic for the poor doormat, and understood why she would be spooked by the place. But it was quite obvious Fluttershy's destructive mood was caused by the migraines.
The Pegasus had finally snapped, and began to swing chairs around and smash them into walls, counters, or even other ponies. She shouted at the top of her lungs as she destroyed the office, so loud that the words were barely comprehendable. Eventually, one of the doctors got a sedation needle and swiftly injected it into the Pegasus' thigh, calming down the raging pony and putting her to sleep.
“Is she 'right, Doc?” Applejack asked, sitting across from the table where the sleeping Pegasus was laying. The bland, white room was obviously a Doctor's Office, with posters of xrays and catscans, and layouts of a Pony Body.
“She's perfectly fine, physically.” The doctor mumbled, distracted by his fancy papers. “If not, better than usual. The Xray shows that she's growing, slowly streching upwards. If she was still young, I'd say she was going through puberty.”
Applejack thought. She had to agree, Fluttershy had been getting taller lately, almost starting to look as lanky as the Pegasus looked as a Filly. Extremely long legs, and extremely thin body.
“There is one thing though.” The doctor said, letting go of the papers, and laying them on the counter behind him with his magic. “She's experiencing even more growth near her forehead. Directly above the snout. The Xray shows that there's a small lump forming. Whether it could be a simple bump or a tumor, we don't know. I'll take the results in to the lab, you keep an eye on her.”
“Will do, 'Doc. Glad yah could halp.” Applejack responded, getting up and bending over so the Pegasus could be slipped on to her back. She kept a decently slow trot back to Fluttershy's home, careful not to wake the cranky doormat on her back. She kept thinking about what the doctor said, how it could be a simple bump or a tumor. If it was a tumor, Fluttershy would most likely have no hope for living, as the easily-frightened doormat probably wouldn't let them near her with a popsicle.
When Applejack got in close proximity of Fluttershy's Animal Farm, the animals slowly surrounded her, and some birds began to pick the Pegasus up off of Applejack's back, and into the house.
“Tha' was easy.” Applejack said, to nopony in particular, then started to gallop back to Sweet Apple Acres. If anything, Applejack didn't want to be anywhere near the nuclear Fluttershy radius when she woke up.
Fluttershy slept peacefully, resting her wings around her body and letting her mane get incredibly scrunchy. The curvy pink mane was now frizzy and jutting out everywhere, almost like Twilight on a bad hair day. But the Pegasus kept sleeping, and slept through the next day and night.
Fluttershy dreamt of Canterlot, the beautiful animals in the Castle Garden, the Alicorns living in the majestic castle, performing grand duties and bestowing the wishes of their people, raising the sun and the moon per night. The dream was happy, peaceful, neutral. Luna rose the moon, Celestia rose the sun.
But slowly everything began to fade. The Royal Court closed, the castle burned, and the sun and moon collided in the sky, creating fiery infernos raining from above and chaos slowly destroying both celestial objects. Alicorns slowly ascended from the heavens, bringing with them mass destruction and death.
Fluttershy tossed and turned as the scenes only got worse, the land slowly flooding and flattening from rains of fire and rock, and Equestria began to fall apart. Mountain ranges slowly sank into the ground, leaving gaping ravines to slowly fill with lava and eject plumes of smoke out towards the sky. And in the middle, of all the chaos, stood a cream colored Alicorn, her pink flowing mane rippling in the wind generated by the destruction.
This Alicorn stood, watching the kingdom of Equestria destroy itself. Tears flowed freely from the face of the brave Alicorn, as her species slowly destroyed Equestria. They were bringing back Hevana, the Land of the Alicorns. Fluttershy didn't know what this knowlege flowing into her mind meant, or what Hevana was, but she continued to dream.
The land quickly flourished with tree growth and terraformation, as it began to turn into a giant, forested valley, with tips of mountains touching the edge of their atmosphere, to the deepest of the valleys reaching to the depths of the known world. And slowly, as the cream Alicorn continued to weep, a mountain was erected around her, keeping her locked up as lava slowly flowed up from under the plateau she stood on.
The Alicorn continued to weep, as slowly she was consumed by magma.
Fluttershy's dream went black, yet she continued to toss and turn in her sleep. A voice, warm and friendly, yet female, and strangely familiar, began to speak to her mind.
“Fluttershy, my daughter. It's beginning. I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am to finally be able to claim you. Become your destiny. Do not let your dreams come true. For this is a dream that will destroy you and all you love.”
Fluttershy woke abruptly after the voice finished speaking. She didn't know what it meant, who it was, or where it came from, but she felt strangely... Calm. She was not enraged, she was not scared, she didn't want to find a jar and hide in it for the rest of her life, she was just, calm. Her head no longer pounded from migraines, and she saw a small note, sitting beside the bed she woke in.
Dear Fluttershy,
When you read this it will mean you finally woke up. Which is great! Hopefully you're not still getting those pesky migraines, and feeling pretty calm. We got word back from the doctor the other day, about your strange growth in sizes and lump forming on your head.
“What.” Fluttershy asked blankly. She reached for her face and felt the bump in her forehead.
He said it's almost impossible, and only a 0.01% chance, but he seems to believe you indeed have a tumor growing there, if the 0.01% chance is correct. If it isn't, it's a fluke and you shouldn't worry about it.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle.
Fluttershy sat there and continued to stare at the parchment.
“A tumor.” She said out loud, her head slowly beginning to pound at her skull once again.
PS: Princess Celestia wanted a personal audience with you whenever you woke up. Just ask one of the Royal Guards hanging around town to give you a ride, and they'll be sure to let you.
Fluttershy quickly burst out of her home with gusto. She tore around Ponyville, looking for a Royal Guard. All she could see was Pegasus, Pegasus, Pony, Unicorn, Pony, no Royal Guards. Fluttershy was overwhelmed at the moment, unable to think, letting the pounding against her skull do the work and searching for her, while she felt like she was mentally asleep.
Finally, she found a Royal Guard, and let her usual Fluttershy kick in. She sunk down to her lowest height and slowly tapped the Colt on the shoulder, revealing that the man in the armor was actually Shining Armor, Twilight's brother.
“H-h-hello, Shining Armor.” She stammered. Even after meeting the Colt at the Royal Wedding, she was still very nervous around the newlywed.
“Oh, hey Fluttershy! Twilight told me you'd be needing a ride to Canterlot, for a private audience with Princess Celestia. You should feel pretty honored, in my opinion. Are you ready to go?” He asked, joyfully smiling at the shrinking Mare.
“Yes...” Fluttershy squeaked, and then was gently placed into a chariot and flown off into the direction of Canterlot, without even a “Goodbye” from Shining Armor.
It took a long time, but finally Fluttershy was standing in the Royal Canterlot Garden, where a very nervous Princess Celestia was waiting for her.
“Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy asked. She wasn't nervous around the Princess, as the Princess knew her better than anyone. They had many conversations in the dark confines of Non-Society, and therefore were quite close compared to most other ponies.
“Hello... Niece.” Princess Celestia said, turning around with a smile. Her eyes teared up as she waited for the words to sink in to Fluttershy. “Welcome to The Royal Canterlot Castle. This will be your new home, Alicorn.”