The Butterfly and the Star: An MLP Apocalypse Story (closed for Aussie_Wolf)

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy wakes up with a start, shaking as she looks around, her hand on the short sword beside her. She sighed, releasing her grip on it and sat up straight, her once long neat pink hair now medium-length and choppy, tied with a ponytail. Her large yellow wings fold against her back, her pink tail matching her hair. She wore a black shirt and pants, her soft peach skin covered in spots of dirt.
She had just woken from a nightmare about her time as a captive to the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. Equestria had fallen when Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and Lord Tyrek came back to full power and laid siege to the land together, and Fluttershy had been captured while trying to escape. She had been subjected to torture and violence, and only a few months ago did she escape, but she still had nightmares about it.
She picked herself up, grabbing the satchel she had found, and picking up the sword, strapping it's belt around her waist. She called over the fireflies she had found, since it was night time, and in their glow made her way through the castle ruins she was in. It wasn't long until she found the exit, but she saw a dark figure running through it, and she hid behind a pillar. Looking, she saw it was a Changeling boy, running from a girl with purple hair. She saw in the fireflies' glow her face, and she gasped softly, thinking. 'It can't be.' She didn't realize the fireflies' faint glow revealed her to the girl, who ran past the pillar but stopped suddenly.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight had been living in the ruins of Canterlot ever since the three powerful villains had taken over the land of Equestria and laid siege to it.

All her friends had been scattered to the winds and even her best friend Spike had disappeared. Queen Celeste had been captured and taken who new where but Twilight was sure she was being horribly tortured somewhere and it was up to her to find her friends and save the land like they always did.

Of course that had proven difficult, well actually impossible. She couldn't remember how long it had been, but she was no closer to finding any of them and she was starting to loose hope. The only good thing was that her magic was getting stronger. Having to constantly fight Changelings had given her greater control and usage of it.

She had been chasing after one near her regular camp when she saw something strange. As she ran past a pillar she caught sight of a large group of fireflies gathered near it. She had not seen that trick in a long time but what stunned her more was the brief glimpse of the girl with Pink hair and tail.

Twilight came to a screeching halt and circled back towards the pillar, immediately forgetting about the changeling and letting it run off. Could this be Fluttershy after so long? She just had to find out.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy looks up when she hears the sound of footsteps heading her way. "Hide, my little friends." She whispered to the fireflies, grabbing the hilt of her short sword as they stopped glowing and hid in her hair. When she heard the sound get closer, she called out in that soft voice of hers. "S-Stop where you are." She was trying to keep her fear and hope out of her voice: fear this could just be a Changeling in the guise of her friend, hope it could really be Twilight. She bit her lip as she stood there, her hand that held her sword trembling as she gripped it, waiting for a response. She hadn't seen her friends since before the tyrants took control of Equestria, before she got captured. She had only survived the past few months after her escape thanks to her animal friends. She has been searching for her friends since her escape, including her adorable little bunny, Angel. She was worried about him being alone. But she returned to the present and the figure approaching the pillar, gripping her short sword more.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight had been approaching the pillar as quietly as she could with an attack spell ready on her lips. It was only a simple stun spell. She wanted to know why a changeling would be wearing the guise of one of her friends. Still walking silent in ruins like this was impossible and she winced every time she made noise.

Suddenly the glow behind the pillar disappeared. It was strange though, it had not looked like it had been a fire more like a glow. Starting to get her hopes up a little she moved forward a little more and then a voice called out.

"S-Stop where you are."

Twilight knew that voice. That shy, soft, stuttering, voice was etched into her mind and she had been looking for the person that went with it for oh so long.

"Fluttershy is that you?" she called out in hope not quite believing it was her friend after all this time.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy's breath caught and her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't believe her hope yet. Being a prisoner to the Changeling Queen for over a year practically changed her, and she forgot how her own friends sounded. Taking a calming breath, she tried to project some confidence in her voice. "T-Tell me something only the real Twilight would know about me. W-What animal am I afraid?" She knew only the real Twilight would know this, cause she never told anyone else except her other friends. She held onto her sword with a shaky grip, ready to spring out if she was really dealing with a Changeling. Her wings shifted on her back as she waited, biting her lower lip.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight had to think a little as Fluttershy had been friends with all animals. Then she finally remembered. "If your the real Fluttershy then your only afraid of Dragons. Well except for cute little Spike of course." Her voice skipped a bit when she thought of Spike. Just where was he and was he okay. Sure he was a dragon but he was only a kid, and he was Twilight's responsibility.

"So do you believe it is me now?"

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy's eyes widened and she dropped the sword, resulting in a loud clang of metal striking stone. Without hesitating, she darted from behind the pillar and threw her arms around Twilight, hugging her and crying out in relief. "Twilight! It's really you!" She backed up, smiling in relief and wiping the tears off her cheks. "Come out, my little ones." The fireflies flew out of her hair and lit up, revealing the two girls to each other. Fluttershy was more worn from surviving alone in what was ledt of Equestria. Her hair short and choppy, her skin covered in spots of dirt, her clothes torn in several places. Visible on her wrists and ankles was healed torn skin from shackles, and there were bags under her eyes, which had a different look in them but still held a bit of kindness.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight hugged her friend back and cried tears of joy. Finally she had found one of them. Well technically they had found each other but what did it matter. They were together again and she finally had one of her friends again.

As she stepped back she finally saw what kind of state she was in and gasped. "Fluttershy what happened to you?" she said looking at the marks the shackles had made. "No don't tell me now, let's get you home and get some food into you before you tell me anything."

She let her gather her things then led her quickly through passageways and stairs to a blank wall, then pressing a certain spot the wall opened revealing a room with a large bed and several cupboards and boxes and things. Twilight quickly pushed her friend in and closed the door. As she did a faint glow came up then faded.

"Welcome to castle Twilight," she said smiling and gesturing around. "We Re relatively safe here. There is a powerful warding spell on this room that should make it invisible, and I haven't had any visitors yet so it seems to be working."

Twilight began rummaging in one of the trunks and pulled out some meat and vegetables. "Simple chill spell. Keeps things fresh. I will make us a stew while you tell me what happened to you."

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy looked at the meat and hid half her face behind what was left of her hair before she said. "Twilight, I'm a vegetarian, remember? I care for animals. I don't eat them." She sat down on the bed, her wings shifting as she looked at Twilight, who seemed pretty uneffected by the destruction of Equestria. Fluttershy nearly jumped when she heard Queen Chrysalis laughing, but in a distant, far away place, and she sat there shaking. Ever since Chrysalis had tortured her, she could feel the Changeling Queen's emotions or hear her voice somehow, but she didn't know what it was, thinking it was just her memories.
As she sat there, she recalled everything since Equestria fell to the three tyrants. She told Twilight about her captivity to the Changeling Queen, the torment she suffered, and eventually her escape. She told of how she struggled to survive, and how her animal friends helped her. But she left out the nightmares she had, and feeling the Queen's emotions faintly or hearing her voice briefly. It was clear she was hiding something, but the pain of recalling the last year and a half was evident on her face.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

twilight blushed in embarrasment when Fluttershy reminded her about her eating habits. "Sorry Shy it has just been so long." She put the meat back in the cooler and added more vegetables to the cauldron.

Listening to her story she shuddered at everything her friend had been through. She herself had been through a little but no where near as much as that. In fact compared to that her trials were nothing. She was sure Flutter was still holding things back as well but she wouldn't pry for now. What her friend needed was some hot food and a good long sleep. Perhaps she could also do something about those scars as well.

"Look Shy I can't even begin to imagine what you have been through and if I could have rescued you sooner I would have. I have been searching for you guys all this time but all I have are rumors and fifth hand information to go on. The only thing I can do for you is be your friend now and try to nurse you back to health and maybe take those physical scars away."

Twilight rummaged in another box and came up with a small bottle. "This is a cream I developed. It is a powerful healing elixir and should be able to heal your skin. Just put a few drops on for a couple of days and rub it in. Do it every night and it should be healed in a week."

She checked the stew then ladled two big bowlfuls and brought one over to Fluttershy. "Here eat this then get some sleep, it sure looks like you could use it."

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy nodded and put some on her wrists and ankles before she started eating, her tail flicking briefly. She thought about telling Twilight about her nightmares, but didn't want hrer to worry. As she ate, she heard the faint laughter of Queen Chrysalis again, but ignored it, though she did d-shake a bit from fear. 'Why is she laughing?' Fluttershy though to herself. She knew she could hear the Changeling Queen sometimes, but denied it. She was concerned as to why she was laughing.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight looked at her friend covertly from below her long hair. It had grown out a lot in the time she had been hiding out and she had not had the time to cut it yet. Her usually shortish purple hair was now all the way down to her buttocks and almost flowed into her tail. She tried to keep it in a neat pony tail, tying it up with a piece of leather, but it always ended up looking messy by the end of the day. Her Natural pink and light purple stripes flowing this way and that in her hair instead of straight like they should.

She watched as Fluttershy ate her meal and noted just how bad she looked compared to her. She had definitely had it a lot worse than she had and she started to feel a little guilty. What if the others were in the same boat as Fluttershy was? What if right now they too were being tortured somewhere by one of the tyrants? That could explain why with all the scrying she had done she was unable to find them.

Twilight began to cry quietly at that thought but made sure Fluttershy did not see her. She did not want her to be burdened with any of her problems, especially now.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy continues eating, her tail flicking a bit, and soon she finished eating. Without much thought, she set the bowl down and laid her head on Twilight's shoulder, her eyes starting to drift close. "I'm so glad I found you, Twilight. I was scared being alone, but now I have you." She smiled and with that she fell asleep, her choppy pink hair falling in her face as she kept her head on Twilight's shoulder, clearly exhausted from sleepless nights, though the reason for them was still unknown to Twilight.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight looked down at her friend and smiled. It had been a long time since they had slept together like this. In fact the last time they had done so was a slumber party with all six of them together, swapping stories, eating chips and dip and laughing a lot. It had only been days before the Tyrants had invaded and the last time they had all seen each other.

She cuddled into her friend and wrapped her up in her arms, taking as much comfort from having her there as she was from being there. Then planting a kiss on her head she laid down herself. "I am glad you are here too Shy. I was beginning to go crazy with worry, but now with you here everything is going to get better."

Twilight sighed and soon drifted off into one of the most peaceful sleeps she had had in a long time.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy's sleep was all but peaceful. She saw her torment at the hands of the Changeling Queen, feeling the same pain she endured, then her dream shifted into something else. She saw Chrysalis sitting on the throne in Canterlot, talking with King Sombra and Lord Tyrek. "It seems fate is on our side." Chrysalis said with a smirk. "How do we know she'll lead her to us?" King Sombra said, crossing his arms. "Don't be a coward, Sombra. She will do it. And soon the Princess of Friendship will be in our clutches." Lord Tyrek glared at Sombra. Their conversation continued but Fluttershy didn't catch it cause at that point she jerked awake with a start, breathing heavily as she sat there, trying to figure out what just happened.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight awoke with a start as she felt Fluttershy jerk awake. She looked all around trying to spot what was wrong, then looked at her friends face and saw the fear on it. Oh she must have been having a nightmare she thought as she leaned over and hugged her.

"Are you okay Fluttershy? You are safe here you know, nobody can find us here."

She continued to stroke her friends hair trying to calm her down and remind her of where she was.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Fluttershy nearly jumped when she felt Twilight touch her, forgetting she was there, but she calmed down. "N-No, it's nothing. I'm fine." Fluttershy couldn't let Twilight know of her dreams, or whatever they were. She felt this one was somehow a vision of current events, and decided she would try not to lead Twilight anywhere. [COLOR="Pink]"Thanks Twi. I'm fine."[/COLOR With that she laid back down and started falling asleep again.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Twilight held her until she had fallen back into a deep sleep, rocking her gently as she did. Finally her friend was again sleeping peacefully and all the new worry lines and pain seemed to fall off from her face and she was once again the beautiful carefree and shy friend she had been searching for.

A tear dropped down onto Fluttershy's face and Twilight looked at it in shock before another one joined it and she realized she was crying. Quickly she turned away and reached up with her free hand to wipe away the flow of tears. She wasn't even sure why she was crying.

Finally they stopped and she felt exhausted, but also better. Snuggling down again beside Shy she smiled and began to fall asleep, hope beginning to form that the two of them would soon be able to find their other friends.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Meanwhile, in Manehattan
Applejack hides behind a wall, muttering softly. Rainbow Dash had, once again, provoked Changelings they ran into. "That girl needs to stop or we're in trouble." She said softly. She wore a simple cowgirl outfit, her hair tied back as she had on a cowboy hat. She saw Rainbow pass by and called out. "You got us in a heap o' trouble, darlin'!"After being hit by a Changeling's spell a few months back, AJ had been acting more like Rarity, even talking like her a bit.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Rainbow just smiled at her friend as she ran by. Changelings were so slow that they were no bother to her. Sure they sometimes crept up and surprised her, but that was half the fun. If there wasn't some danger involved what was the point.

She led the twenty changelings she had attracted on a merry dance as they tried to hit her with their spells, but time and again she zipped past them and appeared somewhere else. Finally she had them all in one group and right where she wanted them and she ran to the top of the building and knocked off the large refrigeration unit that had been ready to topple over into the street.

With a resounding thud and splat there were twenty less changelings in the world. Running back to AJ she smiled. "See no need to worry Apple, those guys are just too slow to catch me."

Ever since the fall Rainbow had been getting steadily more reckless and if it hadn't been for Applejack's steadying influence she probably would have been killed by now. "So where too now?"

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

AJ wiped the speck of black Changeling blood that landed on her cheek off and straightened her shirt, glancing at Rainbow. "Your always are reckless, darlin'. You need to just calm down." It was strange how she acted like Rarity and not her normal self, but that Changeling's spell affected her differently. Instead of putting her in a nightmare like intended, it changed her personality, though not entirely. The real AJ was still inside, coming out from time to time. "We need to find somewhere to stay fo' the night, dear."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Rainbow sighed. Ever since that spell it was amazing the change that had come over her friend. They had started out fighting the changelings together, AJ being the steady one and usually making the plans, and her rushing off and being a little reckless but getting the job done.

Now though, Apple had stopped fighting and was acting all uppity. If Rainbow didn't know better she would swear she was traveling with Rarity. Still she pulled her own weight which was something Rarity hardly did so that was something.

"I found a room in a building just down the street. It is in good condition, has no windows and only one door. It is as good as we are going to find. It is back inside a ways as well so we can light a fire without being seen."

Rainbow began to lead the way and sighed as she remembered when it didn't used to be this way and ponies used to roam these streets in peace.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

AJ followed, glancing around at the streets. She remembered relatives who lived here, and sighed. The apple family was, by far, the largest family in Equestria, and she had not found a singal relative. She and Rainbow had been looking for their friends, as well as Rainbow's adopted sister, Scootaloo, as well as Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac. If they were together, she knew Big Mac would protect the others. With a sigh, she said. "I know we're not alone, darlin'. We'll find our friends and families, I know it."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Rainbow Dash sighed as well. They had been searching for a long time with no sight of any of them. They had seen a few other ponies, but they had run off at the first sight of them. She didn't understand that either. She would have thought they would have wanted the company, heck she sure did.

"Yeah we will find them. It is just a big place, that is why we are having trouble that's all. We are just going to have to have a bit of luck."

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

AJ nodded, and soon they were inside. Looking around, she didn't see much in the empty room, and she saw it was dirty. She fought the urge to tidy up, figuring it would give them away if Changelings came while they were out and saw it clean.