This story takes place before magical mystery cure and goes off the basis that it and everything after it never happened.
Fluttershy lives a somewhat normal existence in ponyville. However, one fateful night, everything changes. Fluttershy is told she must go on a journey with her friends to find an object nopony has ever heard of, even the two alicorn princesses. On the way, newly crowned Princess Fluttershy and friends will encounter many obstacles, and meet many new ponies, some will be friendly, some will not. all the while they are followed by an ancient evil. One that has awoken very recently...
"Okay everyone. Time to go to bed! It's almost Ten o'clock!" Said a yellow Pegasus, ushering animals toward the burrows and such that They slept in The pegasus, of course, was Fluttershy, the resident animal caretaker of ponyville. She stopped to take care of a few animals on the way up, then went outside to make sure her chickens were all calm. she then went back inside her cottage, where, to her distress, the animals were wide awake. "Okay, guys, this is no time to be playing, it's time to sleep." she said as she flew around."Come on, it's time for bed!" she pleaded, frantically trying to get all the animals in bed. They didn't listen. "GUYS!" she yelled, instantly getting all the animals' attention. She then employed "The Stare." The animals got in bed. As she went up to her own room to go to bed,she made extra certain that angel bunny was tucked in. I don't want him to be crabby tomorrow, thought Fluttershy as she slowly drifted to sleep, completely unaware of the destiny that awaited her and her friends.
In another location, a teal alicorn with an ocean-like mane and tail, and a yellow pegasus with a silver mane and tail were watching what was happening. "Do you think she's the one we've been looking for?" Asked the pegasus, looking up towards the taller pony. "She's shown all the signs." "Only time will tell..." Replied the alicorn, replaying the footage.
"Ah'm so exited!" "So am I!" " Shhh!" "Sorry, Scoots." "Ah'm sorry." The small orange Pegasus sighed. "It's fine," she said, "I just don't want to get caught. We're not allowed to be here this late." "Yeah. Ah remember last time we came Here this late. We had to write an apology to Fluttershy for scarin' her." Replied a little Yellow earth pony with a bow in her mane. "Yeah. But now we're here for a different reason." Continued a small white unicorn. These ponies were, of course, the cutie Mark crusaders, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. "We're on a crusade!" Began Apple Bloom. " A mission!" Continued Sweetie Belle. "To earn our Cutie Marks!" Finished Scootaloo. " We're.... THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!!" Exclaimed all three in unison. "Shhhh!" " We're going to get our cutie marks in....PLANT IDENTIFICATION!!!!" Whispered the CMC in unison.
Golden Oaks Library 3:25am
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!" "Huh?" A green and purple baby dragon Was startled by a scream as he snuck to The lower library for a late night snack. The Dragon being spike. "Hey twilight! ... Twilight! TWILIGHT!!" "Mumpfha.... What?" Asked a dreary Twilight Sparkle, suddenly woken up by her assistant. "Did you hear that?" " hear what?" "That scream!" Answered Spike. "It sounded like it came from... The Everfree Forest!" "Spike, it's the middle of the night. Who would be in the Everfree forest at this time?" Asked twilight, before she was promptly Answered by a second scream. "See? There it is again! We should check it out," Said Spike. "That's why I'm going to the door, Spike," she replied, before continuing, " maybe you should stay here, in case whoever screamed comes." "Gladly," responded spike, who was more Than happy to stay behind.
Carousel Boutique 3:25am
Rarity was woken up by the loud scream As well. However, she just went back to Sleep, thinking that it was part of the very Strange dream she'd been having. It wasn't until the second scream that she Decided to check on Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie Belle, darling, are you alright?" No response "Sweetie Belle?" Still no response. Rarity began to worry. "I'll check her bed. Surely she'll be there," said Rarity, desperately hoping she'd be There. She was dissapointed.
Sweet Apple Acres 3:25am
Applejack had been awake when she heard the scream. She had overheard Apple Bloom and her friends talking about going to The Everfree to earn their Cutie Marks, and Didn't like the idea of it. "Ah hope that ain't Apple Bloom that just Screamed," she said, "but Ah should probably check on her, just in case." Then the second scream happened. "Now Ah'm REALLY gonna check on her," Said Applejack worriedly as she went over to Apple Bloom's bed. And saw it empty.
The Everfree Forest 3:45am
Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow,and Pinkie all found themselves at the Entrance to the Everfree Forest. It hadn't taken long to find the source of The screaming: Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, And Apple bloom. "And what, exactly, were you three doing?" demanded rarity. "Trying to get our cutie marks," said Sweetie Belle defeatedly. "In what? Screaming!?" "In plant identification. But we found Something else. Like a temple. It was guarded by some Creature. Said Scootaloo. "Where?" asked Twilight. The cmc's only response was " follow us."
Rarity was floating, the sky was green, and the ground was blue. All around her was craziness. A magenta colored boulder floated past singing "I'm a pinkish purple Platypus rock! I'm a pinkish purple platypus Rock!" And it only got stranger from there. First sweetie belle swam past. Then Scootaloo, who proceeded to turn into an Orange and purple duck, followed by apple Bloom. Next Discord and Fluttershy ice skated past, Then came back around on waterskis. Next twilight came across saying "books" Over and over. Then rainbow dash came across saying "naps" repeatedly and leaving a trail of Stormclouds behind her. Then pinkie pie came across holding the Boulder singing "I'm a pinkish purple platypus Rock" with it, and inbetween each line throwing Confetti and streamers. Then the rock discord had made her think Was a diamond came across, with a copy Of her chasing it, yelling "tom! Tom!" Then Rainbow and Fluttershy flew across With a banner that said "Princess Trollestia" And throwing chineighse hoof traps. Then Twilight and applejack went across Arguing about weather fluttercord or Celesticord was better, followed by rainbow, Who said "fluttercord is 20% cooler!" Next was the copy of her and applejack Going back and forth about the importance Of cleanliness. Next was the cmc carrying a banner That said "FLUTTERCORD 4 THE WIN!!" With Scootaloo still as a duck, followed by Twilight, who was holding a sign that said "CELESTICORD IS B3TT3R THAN U!!" Then Celestia and Luna floated across, Holding a banner that said "U SUCK!"
"We're almost there," said Scootaloo. "Good, darling. My hooves are absolutely killing me." complained Rarity. "Uh, hate to break it to ya, sugarcube, but we've only been walkin' for fifteen minutes," Said Applejack. " you'll be fine, Ah'm sure of it." "No I won't! If we have to go much further, I'll collapse of exhaustion!" countered Rarity. "We're here. Now could you two stop arguing?" said Sweetie Belle. And they were. Wow. that looks like something out of a Daring Do book, not real life, thought Twilight, who owned copies of all the Daring Do books, and had read them as well. And it did. Tall, looming spires that threatened to crumble at any minute, weathered statues of forgotten heroes, and a wide, gaping enterance, guarded by a sleeping beast that looked like it would wake up at the drop of a pin. "Maybe it's f-f-friendly..." whispered Fluttershy, slowly backing away from the temple " only one way to find out." said rainbow dash, walking toward the temple. crack fluttershy squeaked and hid behind the others.
the beast opened one golden eye, and saw a small group of ponies. it recognized the three fillies that had disturbed it before. It roared in an attempt to scare them off, but to no avail. The three fillies had attempted to run away, but were stopped by the others. Well, it was worth a try, thought the creature, approaching the group menacingly but cautiously, as one of them was a unicorn whose cutie mark was the ancient symbol for "magic," and it was wary of the pony's magical ability. "We're not afraid of you!" said one of the ponies. It was cyan with a rainbow mane, and a cutie mark that was the ancient symbol for "rainboom.' It was standing on a snapped twig, witch was probably what had woken it up. That in itself was bad, but worse was the fact that the pony it was looking for wasn't with this group. It lifted a massive paw, ready to crush the group if they tried to get closer to the temple, when all of a sudden, a faint but stern voice said "stop," and a yellow Pegasus with a cutie mark that was the ancient symbol for "kindness" flew out from behind the group. "FLUTTERSHY."
"FLUTTERSHY." "Y-yes?" asked Fluttershy nervously. "YOU MAY ENTER." "O-okay, guys. Lets go in" "ALONE.' "I-if that's what you want," said Fluttershy as she started along the dark corridor that was the enterance hallway into the temple.
Inside the Temple 4:15am
Fluttershy was confused. She had been walking for a solid fifteen minutes, but was still walking down a long, dark corridor with no sign to show she was actually going forward. "Fluttershy... Fluttershy, come to us... Fluttershy, we need you... Help us, Fluttershy... As Fluttershy went on, the voices became more and more abundant, until they overlapped so much it was impossible to make out what was being said. not that it's a bad thing I can't understand them... they sounded so desperate, she thought as she went on. Huh? There's a light in the distance... I shouldn't go to it... But why do I feel like I need to? thought Fluttershy. Why do I feel like it's my... Destiny? As fluttershy went on, she felt that she was getting closer to her destiny, until she reached her destination, and she was engulfed in light.
Outside the Temple 4:30am
Twilight was getting worried. it had been thirty minutes since Fluttershy had gone into the temple and the creature had dissapeared, and twenty since the flash of light had come from inside the ancient structure. What if she- No, don't thik about that. Think positive, Twilight. Fluttershy will be fine. she always is. she'll be careful. The only reason you want to go in is because you want to see the inside of the ancient temple. Not because you are irrationally worrying about her, because you want to see ancient history. Nothing to panic about. yeah... Nothing at all. "Twilight, darling, are you alright? "PANIC!!!!!!" "Uh, are you alright, sugarcube?" asked Applejack. "Oh... Uh... What?" Asked Twilight. "I asked if you were alright, darling, and you yelled 'panic,' so Applejack and I got worried," said Rarity. "Oh. No, I was worried about Fluttershy, and how she hasn't come out yet." explained Twilight.
Princess Celestia was confused. Her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, had sent her a letter telling her the events that had happened that morning and, try as she might, couldn't find any information on the events. A large beast guarding an ancient temple wasn't too mysterious, Equestria was probably dotted with them, but how it behaved, and the events that followed it being found were unexplainable at best, impossible at absolute worst. Twilight is my most faithful student, and I trust her judjement, but this is all very strange, and nothing adds up, she thought, sighing. If facts can't explain what's happening, perhaps legends can, she mused, levitating an ancient looking book down from a shelf. The cover read, Legends and Myths of Ancient Equestria: Separating fact and fiction. The book in itself wasn't that old, it had been added to the archives only two years prior. Celestia knew that the book had been designed to look that way, for reasons she was unsure of. No point in getting distracted. I have research to do, thought Celestia, then paused. "I'm starting to sound like Twilight," she chuckled to herself as she opened the book. It took a few minutes, but she found somethinng similar to what Twilight had described. It read: "Itis rumored that, in anient times, there was a temple guarded by a creature of large size. many ponies went to the temple to try and get in, but were stopped by the guard. It is also said that only a pony with a pure heart would be let in. ponies that met this supposed requirement were taken there, but rejected, and told the temple was looking for 'the mare with the mark of kindness.' It is unknown what was supposedly inside the temple, or who the guard was looking for. Fact or legend: final judgement: Legend" Celestia sighed and pushed the book aside. The legend had been extremely close to matching the situation, but had been proven to be just a legend. I suppose I'll just have to keep looking, She thought, defeated. "Need help?" asked a dark blue alicorn. "Oh, hello Luna. I was looking for a legend that matched this letter that Twilight sent me," explained Celestia. "Well, you seem to have something right there," said Luna, gesturing at the book, still opened to the page celestia had given up on. "What's wrong with that information?" "It mostly matches the letter, but it was proven to be only a legend," replied Celestia. "How do you know the writers hadn't just compared it to what they thought was possible, and assumed it was false?" "What makes you say that?" asked Celestia.
The Chamber of Light ?:??am
Blinding white light surrounded Fluttershy as she walked on. She didn't dare open her eyes from fear of permanent damage, and because of knowing that even if the light wasn't harmful, she wouldn't be able to see anyways. As she went further and further in, she got a nagging feeling that she was getting nowhere. Fluttershy... Open your eyes Fluttershy.. See the light Fluttershy... Trust the light... Fluttershy... Trust yourself Fluttershy... Open Your eyes... Your destiny is unfolding, Fluttershy..." "Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY! Fluttershy? Where are you! Fluttershy!" Fluttershy opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the sudden change. Looking around, fluttershy saw why she felt like she hadn't been getting anywhere. she had been on an enchanted path that kept her in place as long as she couldn't see. Well, now I can go forward. That was a tricky puzzle to solve. Hopefully I won't come across anything dangerous, she thought as she approached the door to the next chamber in the seemingly endless temple.
Outside the Temple 6:00am
Twilight Sparkle was getting more and more worried. each moment when Fluttershy didn't come out of the temple caused her to panic even more. She was so worried that she had begun pacing on the thick stone floor of the temple's entrance. "Hey Twilight! Nice groove! Where'd ya get it?" asked Pinkie Pie, walking over to Twilight.She paused to think. "No! Don't tell me! lemme guess! uhhh... You were pacing cause you're worried about Fluttershy!" "Groove? What groove?" asked Twilight, then looked around. "Oh. Yeah, you're right, Pinkie. Uh, could you help me get out?" "Sure! just let me grab my party cannon."said Pinkie, before zipping off. "Pinkie! Now is NOT the time!" groaned Twilight "Not the time for what?" asked Pinkie innocently as she lowered a rope. "My party cannon made this rope to help!" "Bu- bu- wha- huh!?!?" "Don't question the logic, darling, you'll end up with a terrible headache," said Rarity, with a tiny smile.
The teal alicorn sighed as she searched on the giant supercomputer that took up half the wall in her office. Her shared office. Her officemate, a yellow pegasus, hovered next to the door silently. Why so mysterious? she thought, I don't even know her name. Or her age, for that matter. But she's pretty young. She can't be older than fifteen. She then realized the page she opened had finished loading, and diverted her attention to it. Her and the pegasus's files. She read hers first:
Name: Open Seas Gender: Female Race: Alicorn Age: 20 Title: Head of the Aquaii Branch Current Mission: No Data Provided Other: No Data Provided
She then scrolled down to the pegasus's file. While it did have some information on the mysterious pony, there were a lot of holes in her file, a lot of questions left unanswered. It read:
Name: Silver Crescent Gender: Female Race: Pegasus Age: No Data Provided Title: Classified Current Mission: Classified Other: No Data Provided
Silver Crescent, huh? Nice name, thought Open Seas, But I didn't get much info I didn't already know. So much classified and missing information. Strange that I can't see it, being head of this branch of the orginization. "Is something wrong?" asked Silver Crescent, slowly moving towards the floor. "No, nothing at all," replied Open Seas. "Alright," Silver Crescent responded, fully aware her superior was lying.
"Well, well, well. Seems I slept longer than I thought." said a light blue creature, stretching. "At least two thousand. A nice, short, nap. Just what the conquer doctor ordered," she continued. "Alright then, let's see what the plan is. Wake up, go to the temple of Light, punch the guard in the nose, go in the temple, take it, then achieve ultimate power. Easy," she said, walking out of the chamber,then paused."If I can remember where the exit is..."
Fluttershy's cottage 6:10am
Fluttershy woke up with a strange feeling and a massive headache. She didn't understand how either got there in the first place. The memories of her time in the temple hit her like a train. The ponies whose voices she had heard sounded so desperate. The entire time she had been there she had wanted to help them, but knew she couldn't. She knew they were a test. just like she knew that the voices of her freinds had been a test, to see if she would turn around, leave the path, and be lost. Where are the others? Probably in ponyville. They must have gone in after me and come here, she thought, wondering what would have been at the center of the temple. Oh, well. Probably nothing important. Otherwise the others wouldn't have gotten me out, she figured, wich soothed her nerves and put worries about the temple to rest. "I'll just go to their houses later." she said, heading toward her room. She noticed that Angel bunny had woken up, and went over to him, confused by the strange look he gave her. "he's probably confused at why I'm up so early... Wait. It's six ten!" she gasped, panicking! "I was up most of the night!" She calmed herself, saying, "well, I can at least get a little bit of rest..."
Entrance to the Temple 6:15am
"Where's Fluttershy? Why did she go in? Why hasn't she come out? Why can't WE go in?" asked a clearly panicking Twilight Sparkle, starting toward the enterance. She didn't get very far before she was stopped by an orange earth pony, who said, "now calm down, sugarcube, Ah'm sure she's fine. why don't you send the princess a letter?" "that sounds like a good idea, I'll go to the library, write the letter, see if I can find anything, and come right back." replied Twilight, not wanting to miss if Fluttershy came out. She then turned to leave, and walked towards Ponyville.
Once she got to the library, she sat down and began writing.
Dear Princess Celestia,
It has been quite some time since Fluttershy went into the strange temple, and I'm beginning to worry about her. I would go in after her, but there is some sort of magical barrier keeping me out. After I send this letter, I will search the library for anything that will help.
I've been thinking about the strange beast guarding the temple, and now that I think about it, it very closley resembled an Ursa Major. However, there were a few differences. As opposed to being blue, with yellow eyes, it was dark gray, almost black, with blue eyes. It also lacked claws or sharp teeth, and could communicate with ponies, though it was very loud. And after Fluttershy went in the temple, the creature vanished. If I find any information, I'll send it to you. Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight sealed the letter, and set it down. Now, where to begin? I can't send the letter until tomorrow, unless Spike is awake. And he probably isn't. Hmm... I'll start in the fact section, but if I don't find anything, I'll try fiction, she thought, taking random books off the shelf and checking the covers. "Hey, Twilight. Why're you up so early?" asked an extremely tired Spike. "It's, like, six in the morning." "Has it really been six hours?" asked Twilight, startled. "Yep." "Okay... Oh! Spikecouldyousendthislettertoprincesscelestia? Please?" "Okay! Uh, could you tell me what I'm supposed to do again? Slower maybe?"
Outside the Temple 6:30am
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and the cmc were all outside the temple when they heard a loud noise. "Hey! What gives!" "What'n tarnation was that?" "Uh, what was that?" "I should be in bed right now!" "What was that?" "Ah knew we shouldn't have come here!" "Eeep!"
"Everything is going to plan. The seven at the gate are preoccupied by my illusion of a loud noise. Then I, Shaded Rose, will go and take the stupid 'Princesses of Harmony'... And deal with them, and anyone who tries to stop me in my own... unique way."
Princess Dragonfly, daughter of Queen Nymphia, crown princess, and heir to the throne of the northern changeling hive. Most of the time. At that moment, she was Dragonfly, a changeling trying to make a living in an arctic wasteland. Red sun peak. Proof that the greatest beauty can be found in the most unlikely places. She loved it because it was the perfect place to sit and forget about the tension between the northern and western hives. A place to forget about politics, famine, and all the other problems. And the perfect place to get lost in thought. Of course, we don't have to worry about Chrysalis and her army attacking. They wouldn't even be able to get to the hive, and even if they did, they would be too freezing, starving, and battered by the winds to fight. The battle would be over before it even began, She thought, since northern changelings had adapted to the cold with thick chitin and even thicker manes and tails. "Princess! The queen wants to see you!" yelled a voice in the distance. "Tell her I'll be there," she responded, going towards the source of the noise.
First pony: Dragonfly "What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked, waking over to Nymphia. "Ah, Dragonfly. Have I told you about Equestria?" she asked. "I think it's come up occasionally. After all, thy did claim the territory we live on. Why?" "Well, they want to open up a trade route, and I accepted. I think this is something you should be a part of," she explained. "It would be good for you to see other places and meet others. I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you're open minded enough." "You know I don't care for the problems of other kingdoms," I retort, "and I'd rather stay here." I tried to ignore the look she gave me, but finally gave in. "Fine. I'll go." End first pony
Shaded Rose stood still as the statue she was facing. "Hmmm... Yes, ponies now have very... Interesting tastes in art. But soon that will change. I'll show them real art. Nothing like this nimmy excuse for a sculpture. Oh, and I'll also stop the "princesses of freaking harmony" from ascending." With a swift blow, she destroyed the statue and walked off, brushing imaginary dust off her shoulders. "Actually, now that I think of it," she commented, noticing a guard nearby,"I can make a masterpiece right now..."
9:00am
"Princess! You have... to... come! Something... Something awful... Has Happened!"
The Northern Hive 9:30am
Dragonfly finished putting her things in her bag. she was travelling lightly, so as to make the walk(or fly) into equestria more bearable. On her way out, she encountered a friend, a young changeling by the name of Crystalline Shard. "Hey, Dragon. D'you know when you're going to get back from your trip?" asked shard, out of curiosity. "No, but it shouldn't take too long." replied dragonfly. "Well, good luck, and travel safe." her old friend replied, handing her a small pendant. "It's for luck," she explained, walking her to the exit of the hive.
The Changeling Empire Pre-Equestria 3500 years ago
The High Preistess Diamond Shard, normally a well respected, powerful changeling mare, could do nothing but pray. The current ruler, Queen Dragonfly I, was deathly ill, and the healer, try as he may, could do nothing. All was lost if her daughter was unwilling or unable to take over after the queen's now very likely death. She sent up prayers to their gods, but she knew that even they could not prevent the inevitable. "The Queen would like to see you." Rubbing her pendant necklace, she nodded at the servant who had walked out of the queen's room. She knew why she had been called.
Modern day Equestria Canterlot City 10:01am
As Dragonfly walked the streets, she couldn't help but notice the nervous murmurs of the ponies. "What's going on?" "Have the changelings returned?" "I wonder what they want..." She didn't like it, but at the same time, she didn't exactly blame them. After all, she had heard about the wedding invasion Chrysalis had done, and she also knew that was the only other time they had seen changelings. Plus, she was a bit intimidating, standing at a shocking 5'2 to contest the ponies 3 to 4' range. I just have to go to the castle, talk to the princesses, and go back to the hive. In and out. Simple. Nothing I can't handle. Oh, how wrong she was.
Canterlot Castle 10:00am
Celestia stared at what the guard had shown her in horror. "Do you have any idea what could have done this?" She asked the one who had taken her there. "Unfortunatley, no. Whatever did it was long gone by the time anyone found out," replied the slightly shaken guard, holding his helmet. "But I would imagine who, or what, ever did this was trying to leave a message of sorts." "Why do you say that?" She pondered, looking at the sight. "The one it did this to was one of the guards that was supposed to help greet the visitor, and, look," he pointed to a small crystal shard. "That kind of jewel is only found in the north, where our guest is from." "But what is it doing here?" She wondered, silently pondering sending it to twilight for a more thorough examining. "That's what we were trying to figure out. The crystal itself looks very old, so we didn't mess with it. It would probably be best to use magic to move it," he replied with a frown. "I've decided to send the crystal to Twilight. Perhaps she can find out how old it is, and how it got into the castle."
The Changeling Empire Red Sun Palace 3500 years ago
Diamond Shard walked into the Queen's room, fully knowing what was happening. "Shard, I feel it is safe to assume you know what is happening?" asked Dragonfly I weakly, looking at the Preistess. "I trust you to do the right thing once I'm... Gone." "I am sure that whoever takes over can handle it," she replied sadly. "No... I am talking about you. I noticed you have been focusing entirely on your work. You have not been taking care of yourself," she said, a hint of concern in her voice. "Why is that?" "...I was praying for you. But it seems they were for naught." The dying queen looked at her closest friend and confidant. "Listen to me. You must take care of yourself. It is already too late for me, but it is not for you. You still have much time in this world. As my time is ending, yours is just beginning," she smiled sadly. "I will do my best."
Modern Day Equestria Golden Oak Library, Ponyville 11:00am
Twilight was looking at all the ancient history books she had when she received a package from the Princess. She looked at the package, which was labeled with "handle this with care, please". She laughed to herself, knowing that whoever made that label was very kind. As soon as she opened the package to look inside, she was overwhelmed by the dusty smell that came out. Whatever was inside was very, very old. She read the note contained in the parcel. It read: Dearest Twilight, This is urgent. We need you and your friends to come to the castle. However, I would first like for you to determine the age of the crystal I sent you.
-Princess Celestia "I wonder what could have happened...?" Twilight wondered aloud. She pulled the crystal out of the pack with her magic, the odd object surrounded by a purple aura. "Now I just need to figure it's age..." She nearly dropped the crystal in surprise when she found out. How...? Twilight immediately started writing a response. Dear Princess Celestia, I received your letter, and I'm coming as soon as i can.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Then, using her magic, she sent the letter, and went off to get her friends.
