> Dangers
>  by James Pwyll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Dangers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was anything that could be called a typically gorgeous morning, it was this. Twilight smiled as she stepped outside the Golden Oak for the first time today, breathing in that first lungful of cool, early-hours air before exhaling with a sense of contentment. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and her mentor's bright sun was shining well upon everypony and everything in the village. It was perfect, all of it. Birds singing in the air as they flew by, the other early-risers of Ponyville walking the streets and greeting each other fondly, even the first signs of the town market being set up for later. All of it was just a pleasant and comfortable image for the young unicorn to see first thing today, and she was confident that the rest of the day would be just as good. Turning, she looked within her new home, having been sorted out to her exact way of wanting it, as any would expect of her, and saw Spike too coming down the stairs. "Care to join me through town, Spike?" she asked happily.

But Spike, after smiling back, raised a hand as a silent, but polite decline of her offer. "Thanks, but I've got a busy day ahead of me and I'd like to get started."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Your new comic?"

Spike beamed as he held up the issue in question, jumping with clear glee and giddiness. "It just came in yesterday and I've been looking forward to it all month! Finally, I'll be able to see if The Power Ponies escape the clutches of the evil Silverhoof!"

Twilight shook her head, but nevertheless maintained her smile as she looked to her number one assistant. "Well, enjoy. I'll be with the girls having breakfast today."

Spike gave her an enthusiastic wave as he set up a chair for himself for his reading. "Have fun! Say 'hi' to them for me!"

Twilight nodded, accepting that request before making her way out and closing the door behind her with her magic. Her early moments strolling through the town only reinforced her earlier belief in how lovely a day this was, and not even the slight chill in the air as a gust of wind rolled down the path was enough to deter her enjoyment of it. A few more of the locals were about, giving her silent greetings and nods as she continued onwards, which she was always sure to return, but in the end she spotted those she came out here to meet in the first place. "Good morning!"

Four of her recently-made friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, were there at the café, having already secured a table for themselves. They smiled right back as Twilight approached, with Applejack being the first to greet her. "Howdy, sugarcube. Y'all doin' okay today?"

Taking her seat, Twilight looked to her warmly. "I am. And I look forward to everything we're doing today."

Rarity, who had been busy taking her first sips of a cup of tea she'd apparently already ordered for herself, set her cup down for a moment to chime in. "Oh, and what a grand day it will be too. Helping Applejack prepare her family's evening meal, watching Rainbow with her latest Wonderbolt-impressing stunt, going to my boutique for some measurements, it'll be a most enjoyable time."

Pinkie giggled happily. "It'll be a super-awesome-spectacular day between friends! I already have my balloons primed and ready to go for the big after-day get-together we're going to have over at Sugar Cube Corner when it's all over!" She looked to Rainbow. "And a big cake already baked to celebrate what's probably going to be an exciting and successful stunt by Rainbow!"

Rainbow chuckled. "She's not wrong. My new move will knock the socks off ya!" She paused then, shrugged. "Well, it would if any of us actually wore any socks.

Twilight was happy to speak to them all again, but suddenly realised that they were one pony short. "Wait, where's Fluttershy?"

Rainbow took on a look of slight concern. "Dunno. Haven't seen her all morning."

Then, before she could say anything else, she was given a quick nudge by Rarity, who nodded ahead. "Speak of the devil..."

All turned to see that he had the right of it. Fluttershy was indeed approaching, flying in from what Twilight had to assume was the direction of her home. She made a mental note to go to her friends' residences later on just to know where to go to find them in future before putting on her smile from earlier. "Good morning, Fluttershy."

Her other pegasus friend smiled back, giving her a slight nod in response, and it was here when Twilight noted that something was slightly off about her. But it wasn't until she was right at the table before any of them got a good look at her. Her mane was slightly unkempt and she had noticeable bags under her eyes. All telltale signs of having had a terrible night's sleep. Leaning forward, Applejack was the first to address this, her voice showing just as much worry as the rest of them. "Are...are ya doin' okay there, Fluttershy?"

Even as much of a novice as she was at social cues, Twilight could still recognise a forced smile when Fluttershy responded. "Oh, I'm fine."

Nopony believed her, but in an attempt to at least somewhat alleviate the mood, Rarity cleared her throat before she too spoke to their newly-arrived companion. "Well...erm...shall I order you some tea?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, thank you. I'll have coffee today."

"My, how adventurous we are today," Rarity remarked, with no small amount of unease.

Rainbow got up from her chair, frowning and pointing to Fluttershy. "Okay, that does it! What's up, Flutters?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie added. "I know you're not always the most energetic pony around, but this is pretty low-down even by your standards!"

Her friend, clearly not wanting to talk, turned her head just enough so that her long, pink mane was obscuring her eyes, presumably so she couldn't look directly at Rainbow. "I'm...I'm fine."

But Rainbow was having none of it. "Oh no, you're not getting out that easy! I've known you since we were fillies, Fluttershy, and I know a rotten night's sleep when I see one. So..." She stepped forward, making it abundantly clear that she wasn't going to let this point go. "What's been eatin' ya?"

Twilight, though clearly not as in-your-face about it as Rainbow, still looked to Fluttershy with a curiosity about all this. "Fluttershy, we're your friends. If something's bothering you...you can tell us."

Fluttershy knew her friends were only looking out for her, and as she internally struggled on what to say to them, her fears began to lessen as she saw the way they looked to her, so full of earnestness about their desire to help her out. So, after hesitating for a good long while, she took a deep breath and then started to speak in that usual quiet way of hers. "Well...I was just falling asleep, and having a really comfortable one too. But then..." She grimaced. "I started...to dream."

Pinkie grinned. "Oooooh! Was it a nice one?" After seeing the others frown to her, realisation came to her. "Oh, right, probably wouldn't bring Fluttershy down if it was."

Fluttershy, grateful that Pinkie had given her the floor again, continued. "It was our win over Nightmare Moon. There was celebration, joy from everypony. We were heroes." Whatever comfort she might have had over reliving that moment faded in the next few seconds. "But then, we were told something else had come up, Some ancient monster that needed us to go out and fight it."

"Oh my!" Rarity said. "How dreadful!"

Fluttershy nodded. "So, we went out to fight it." She squinted her eyes, as if to remember something. "I think we used the Elements of Harmony, but I'm not sure." She shook her head. "But then, after winning, we got called out again, and then again, and again and again and again and again and..." She shut her eyes tightly. "It just kept going. Every time we won, every time it looked like we'd saved the day for the last time, something else came up that we had go out and fix. It was like...like fighting evil had become our entire lives. That facing down monsters and horrors from the past, all across the world, was the only thing we could ever expect in our future." Slowly, Fluttershy hung her head. "I...I was so overwhelmed by that...I woke up. It was barely one in the morning when it happened."

Rarity gasped. "Waking up that early?! Good heavens! I shudder to think what such a wake would do to my beauty sleep!"

Ignoring her fashionista friend, Twilight reached over to gently place her hoof upon Fluttershy's shoulder. "I'm sorry you went through that, Fluttershy. It sounds like a terrifying experience."

Applejack took off her hat and set it on the table. "Ah'll say. Spendin' our whole lives doin' nothin' but fightin' monsters? That ain't no life."

Rainbow looked to her with an arched eyebrow. "Yeah, it was a bad dream, but come on! We were heroes after we fought Nightmare Moon! And if we go on to fight and win even more, then hey, that just means we'll be even more famous!"

Fluttershy seemed to have silently guessed that this would be her childhood friend's reaction, but her confidence didn't maker her feel any better. "But...I don't want that to be our lives, Rainbow. I don't want it to be my life!" She stared down at the table. "I'm glad things with Nightmare Moon turned out as successful as they did, but it was still the most harrowing time of my entire life. When I stop and think that there may be other days like that for me, for all of us, I...I can't cope."

Rainbow calmed down from her earlier bravado, recognising the difficulty her friend was going through. Getting up from her chair, she moved over to her and, in a move of gentleness Twilight had not yet come to expect from her, held her in a hug. Fluttershy returned it soon afterwards, and after some moments of silence, the aspiring Wonderbolt-to-be spoke softly to her. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I know how hard things like that are for you. I should never have suggested that you come into the Everfree Forest with us."

Still holding her friend, Fluttershy shook her head. "No, it's alright. We were all needed for that journey. The Elements wouldn't have worked without me. Or any of us." Her ears drooped. "But...I still worry about things like that happening again one day." Moving away from Rainbow, Fluttershy still looked like her fears had their claws in her. "If anything were to happen to me...I don't want to think what will happen to my parents, or my brother."

Rarity stared down at her tea, suddenly looking like she was far less happy with the taste. "Indeed. When I stop and think how my mother, my father..." She sighed. "Or my sister. What they would have gone through if even one thing on our journey the other day had gone wrong, I...I..."

She didn't finish, but Applejack, looking over to her, offered a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Ah know. We all do."

There was a moment of shared understanding between the two, and Twilight too considered just how devastating things would have been had success not been the outcome of their little quest. They might have been lucky that night, but luck, as any will tell you, never lasts forever. Fluttershy had every right to feel what she did, and so, after taking a deep breath and getting her thoughts in order, Celestia's prized pupil looked to her timid friend. "Fluttershy, there's likely nothing I can say that will make that prospect any easier for you. Yes, dangers may lie ahead of us, and yes it will not be a desirable path for any of us." A brief pause. "I cannot guarantee victory, nor peace. But what I can promise you..." In spite of everything, she smiled. "Is that we face those dangers together."

Fluttershy knew deep down that these concerns of hers would likely plague her for some time. But even so, she too found it in herself to smile back to her newest friend. "Thank you, Twilight. The future may be difficult for me...but at least I know I won't be facing it alone."