When you open your eyes, you stare at the ceiling with a blank expression. Your limbs feel sore. Your throat feels empty. Your eyes feel heavy. The muscles in your arms and shoulders feel held down, as if a phantom clutched to them tightly, pulling you down. Breaking you down. Ripping you apart.

Grabbing your spare pillow, you pull it close to you and roll on your side. Closing your eyes, you pull the pillow close. You feel the thoughts running through your head, but refuse to give them meaning by saying them aloud.

You take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Opening your eyes again, you attempt to take a second chance at the outside world. Looking out your window, you see that the sun refuses to come out to play today. Instead, he stays at home, locked up behind an overcast sky. With the frigid winter months upon you, the room is still dark, almost as if the day were just as dark as the night.

You ponder to yourself if today is a day worth going into the outside world. All that lies out there is stress. Hardship. Pain. Not that life is about avoiding pain... it's more... how much pain are you willing to suffer through today?

There are three soft knocks at the front door, but you refuse.

No, you can't do it today.

You can't get up. You can't get out of bed. You won't do it. The inner child within you, screaming out, thrashing against the floor in protest. You scold yourself. How childish you are. How pathetic you are. Get up. Answer the door.

But you can't. Everyone needs a chance to break once in awhile. You just... can't.

You hear the door click open from downstairs and you sigh to yourself. Fluttershy's here now. Just as you knew she would. She doesn't give up. She never will give up. If only you had that sort of determination.

You do, just not today. Take a deep breath, Anon. It gets better.

Her hoofsteps echo up the stairwell as you stare outside. She stops outside of your bedroom door, quiet. She quietly trots over to your bedside.

"Go away," you croak with a dry voice.

She remains silent as she sits on the bed beside you. Fluttershy places a hoof on your shoulder and gently caresses it. You close your eyes, as a feeling runs through your body like something warm, blood-like, is trickling through your torso.

"Fine. What's your guess?" you mutter.

Fluttershy hums, not moving from your bedside.

"No guess today," she says. "Just relax."

You look down to the yellowing-white of your pillow case and exhale a breath that feels like toxin.

"Would," she says quietly, before she pulls her hoof away. "Would you prefer if I left?"

You turn your head to the mare who sits on the bedside, looking down at you. She looks down at you, biting her lip and her eyes focused on your face. She holds her hooves together, fidgeting.

"I don't want to be alone," you murmur.

She nods as you look away from her in shame. How dare you relent to her? What is your problem? Are you aware of all the things she's done to you? All the ways she's invaded your privacy?

"Then, you won't," she says gently, placing a hoof back on your shoulder. "And I won't do anything you won't tell me to. Nopony has to know about taking this morning's guess off."

A slight smile creeps on the edges of your lips as you look back outside. You feel another shiver run through your body as you pull the pillow closer.

"Thanks," you whisper.