Chapter 16

It happened again the next morning.

It was now Friday.

Fluttershy was acting very distant when she woke up, like the day before. Only worse this time. She didn’t even make it to the couch, but instead ended up standing at the end of the table, staring off into space.

I had turned around on the couch to look at her, trying to get her attention.

“Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”

She responded only with a slow shake of her head.

I stood and walked around the couch toward her. “Hey,” I said, reaching out to rub her back.

She blinked a couple times, but that was it, so I waved my hand in front of her face.

Fluttershy didn’t react at all. She just kept staring.

This began to worry me. “What’s wrong with her?” My mind started racing. “Maybe she hit her head harder than I thought…maybe she has brain damage. What will her friends think? They’ll blame it on me!”

I finally gripped her by the shoulders and shook her gently. Finally, her eyes slowly focused on me. “Hi,” was all she said.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again.

The shy girl looked into my eyes for a few seconds, and I could see that she was worried again about something; same as the day before.

“What's she so afraid of?” I wondered. “What’s going on with you?” I asked.

She finally spoke slowly. “I, um…haven’t been sleeping.”

“Oh,” I said. “Well it’s been a crazy week, you know?”

She shook her head. “At all,” she said flatly.

“Well,” I said, “if you’re tired, you can go back to bed. I’ll be fine out here.”

She slowly shook her head again. “I’m not tired.”

I looked at her sideways, furrowing my brows. “When did you sleep last?” I asked.

“F-four days ago,” she answered. “When I slept for a really long time, um…Monday night.”

feel a twinge of uneasiness in my gut. ”That’s not right…” I thought to myself before speaking to her again. “…And you’re not tired?”

She shook her head again. Her eyes were still blank, staring off into space. “I’ve been awake for three days and I’m not tired. I can’t fall asleep, just like yo-“

She stopped suddenly, and her eyes went wide, looking directly into mine. After a few seconds, she turned her head to one side and raised a hand to her forehead, touching the band-aid on her temple; gently at first, but then she pressed on it quite firmly.

She glanced back at me with a look of terror in her eyes, and then turned and hurried down the hall towards her room.

I quickly followed her, finding her in the bathroom leaning over the vanity, looking at herself in the mirror. I couldn’t see her face because her left side was facing me and her hair was hanging down in a way that blocked her face from my view.

Fluttershy reached up, peeled off the band-aid and looked at herself again in the mirror, her hands beginning to tremble as I saw the spent band-aid fall from her fingers and land in the sink. She suddenly cupped her hands over her mouth and then turned to me; her eyes wide as saucers, and with pupils like pinpoints. Her hands trembled over her mouth, letting out small whimpers as her shaky breaths escaped between her fingers.

Then I saw it.

I looked at her forehead where the band-aid had been.

The wound was gone. Completely gone; like it was never there.

I couldn’t move.

I stood there and looked at Fluttershy, standing in her bathroom, trembling with panic.

“Whoa,” I thought. “What the fuck is happening?”

She suddenly charged out of the bathroom, shoving past me and heading back to the main room. Then, I heard the familiar sound of the gas stove turning on; the clicking of the igniter followed by the whoosh of the flame.

“What the hell is she doing?”

I walked back down the hall to the counter in the main room to find her doing something strange, something that filled me with shock and confusion.

She was bent over the stove, with the burner on high. The tall ring of blue fire was dancing around through the iron bars, and Fluttershy was holding a lock of her soft, pink hair in the flame.

“Whoa, what the hell are you–“ I shouted as I stepped forward to grab her and pull her back.

But then I stopped.

I looked at Fluttershy's hair as she continued to hold it directly in the flame.

It wasn’t burning.

The blue flames were simply fluttering around it. There was no smoke, her hair didn’t become charred or black; there was no effect at all. It was completely unharmed.

Finally, she stood straight, letting her hair drape back against her body as she stared into the dancing flames. Her face was emotionless. Her breathing was rhythmic.

Fluttershy then reached her hand out slowly, cautiously moving her slender, yellow fingers directly into the flames.

I instinctively reached to stop her, but again I paused when I saw her calmly watching the flames wrap and dance around her fingers; no burning, and no smoke whatsoever. She didn’t scream or react in the slightest.

I looked at her face, unsure of what to say as I watched her staring at her hand in a daze.

“How is this happening?” I thought. ”Has she become…like me?”

With the intention of keeping her calm, I slowly reached my hand into the fire with hers, slowly caressing her slender fingers as the blue flames licked both of our hands. I could feel the intense heat, but there was no pain.

There was never pain.

I slowly pulled her hand from the fire and held it between us. As I caressed her fingers, I could feel the heat that had been absorbed into her hand; hot enough to scald a normal person’s skin if she touched them at that moment.

Her eyes were locked on mine. ”W-what’s happening to me?” she whispered.

I stared back at her, with the answer to her question escaping me. I was the only one. Ever. That’s how it always was.

Why had this happened?

“Am I…l-like you?” she asked, her eyes widening as her thoughts began to race again.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “This isn’t possible. It’s never happened before.”

Next, I could see her jaw clenching, her eyes narrowing. “Did you do this to me?” she said in a harsh tone.

Nervousness started to creep up my spine, and I quickly shook my head. “No, listen–“

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” she yelled suddenly, catching me off-guard.

I’d never heard Fluttershy's voice like this before. It was her voice, the same voice that I fell in love with, but it was growly, and loud. It was frightening to hear her like this, especially when her rage was directed at me.

She suddenly swung her fist at me in a feeble attempt to hit me in the chest. I caught it with my hand easily, stopping the attack.

“At least she doesn’t have her strength yet,” I thought, relieved.

I pulled her against me, pinning her arms at her sides as I wrapped my arms around her. “Stop, Flutters,” I said, “I didn’t do this to you; at least, I didn’t mean to, if I did.” I said, hoping she was listening.

Her body was trembling, and she began to sob on my shoulder, soaking my shirt as her worried eyes released a wave of tears that gushed down her cheeks like waterfalls.

“Listen to me,” I said. “This has never happened before. I don't know how it's even possible.”

Fluttershy shook her head in disbelief, her cheeks wet with tears; her mind racing.

“Let’s just sit down for a minute,” I suggested, not knowing what else to do. What do you say to someone who just found out they might be alive forever?

I started to turn us around to walk to the couch, but unexpectedly, she snaked loose from my arms and darted towards the hall to her bedroom.

“Dammit,” I whispered, rubbing my face in frustration, before following the shy girl to her room where I found her curled up, hiding under the covers on her bed.

I sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to rub what I think was her back, through the covers. “Listen…” I tried to think of something comforting to say. “Maybe it’s just temporary.”

She didn’t respond.

I lifted the covers and poked my head underneath, where I met her pretty face; her moist, worried eyes shining in the dark. “What are you scared of?”

“Am I…going to be alive…f-forever?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

It immediately broke my heart to hear the terror in her voice, to hear her breath quivering after she asked such a profound question with an innocence that would normally be sweet, but at this moment was painful to hear.

“What have I done?” I asked myself, feeling guilty for turning this poor girl's world upside down.

Sighing, I looked down at the mattress for a moment, then looked up at her again. “I don’t know,” I replied, “I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you that I knew what was going on, but I can't.”

She wiped her cheeks and sniffled a bit.

“Why don’t we sit up and talk?" I asked, reaching out to gently sweep away a lock of hair that had stuck to the moisture on her face. "We'll just talk, OK?”

She stared at me for a moment, and then finally nodded.

So, we lifted the covers off and sat next to each other, leaning with our backs against her headboard.

“I know this is probably the most, umm...insane thing to you right now,” I said, lacing my fingers together with hers to squeeze her hand tightly. “But…why are you afraid? Nothing can hurt you now.”

She stared at the ceiling, pursing her lips as a fresh tear ran down her left cheek. “I’m scared…o-of things changing; i-in the future. Everything’s going to be different, and I’m afraid I w-won’t be able to handle it,” she said, her voice quivering.

I glanced at her, taking in the sight of her beautiful, tear-soaked cheeks, then I looked down at the bed. “It’s OK, Flutters. Things change slowly. You’ll be fine. You're stronger than you think,” I told her.

“H-how do you know?” she asked, looking away from me.

“Because I was fine,” I answered, releasing her hand to wrap my arm around her shoulder. “I’ve been through it myself -- for a very long time -- and I’ll be here with you. You won’t have do this alone.”

The shy girl looked at me, finally showing a sense of comfort on her face. “R-really?”

“I won’t leave you alone,” I said, reassuringly. “I promise. I know it’s probably scary, but you’ll just live one day at a time, just like before.”

She sighed. “W-what should we do?”

“Let’s just relax and calm down for a bit. OK?” I suggested.

“..Um, O-OK” she said, resting her head on my shoulder.

We sat for a few minutes, listening to each other's soft breathing.

“Sunset is coming tomorrow morning to bring my keys,” I explained. “We should tell her.”

Fluttershy looked up at me again, surprised by the suggestion. “You think we should?”

I nodded.

I really didn’t know what else to do. I needed help to deal with this, and Sunset obviously seemed like she was their leader. Maybe she could help me…somehow.

I felt Fluttershy tense up next to me again. “A-are my friends going to…get old…and die?”

I closed my eyes tightly. This was a question that I was really hoping she wouldn't ask, especially since I knew that she already knew the answer. I looked away for a few moments, before finally nodding reluctantly.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears, sending them streaming down her cheeks once again as she buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing hard against me. I rested my head against the headboard, staring at the ceiling while she wept against me for what seemed like an eternity.

I genuinely felt bad for her. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking; what her mind must have been going through.

Her world was about to change in a big way.

It had happened. Fluttershy had become immortal, and I had no idea how or why. It was strange to see; she still looked the same, acted the same, still had the same sweet voice, beautiful teal eyes, long, soft pink hair and pretty face. Except now, she would remain like this for all time, and could now survive things that an ordinary person's mind couldn't even begin to fathom.

As her sobs began to subside, I gave her a comforting, tight hug. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know it’s hard thinking about your friends. It’s how I was feeling about you, not being around one day.”

She sniffled, her moist eyes staring down the hallway to the main room.

“You’ve gotta make the most of your time with them,” I said. “But, I know it’s hard; knowing what’s going to eventually happen with them.”

She squinted her eyes shut again, squeezing more tears down her cheeks, her lips trembling as they curled down under the weight of her sadness for her friends.

We sat there for close to an hour, not moving or speaking. I just wanted to let her think, to let her process it. Maybe it would be temporary like I thought earlier. Maybe not. Who knows?

She let out a shaky sigh. “Will you always be with me?” she finally asked.

I looked at her, then gave her a comforting smile. “Yeah. I can’t think of anything I would like more than spending eternity with you.”

Fluttershy finally smiled.

It was a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless. Reaching around my waist, she pulled herself tighter against my side, seeking comfort from my body heat.

Then she said it.

“I love you, Goldie.”