. . .

Fluttershy had long explored all of the castle. It all looked alike: thin white lines drawn only at the walls’ edges, which were otherwise as black as the rest of eternity. Beyond the castle, there seemed to be nothing, and now that she had finally reached her goal, she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave. She had decided to stay, at least for a few decades...

Instead of flying, she now spent her time leaning against the battlements, or sometimes strolling around in between them. It was the difference of a few lines as supposed to nothing, and she appreciated it more than she could say. Her mind seemed to feel lighter since she was here... sometimes, she even talked to herself, which she hadn’t done for at least ten years preceding her arrival. Other times, she thought about the why and the what. It seemed less certain that this was death, now that things had really, truly changed. It brought into perspective the hope for even more change, for things yet to come, whatever they might be. So far, at least, it had never changed backwards; the dot had only grown, never shrunk... although, sometimes, Fluttershy thought about what had once been... the distant past when there had been only the dot, or the even further past when there’d been nothing...

It was so long ago.

One time, she had a truly memorable experience. She was sitting on the wall, staring at the two halves of the line that made up its edge, disconnected under her hooves, when all the thoughts she usually avoided came storming in on her at once... and instead of speaking Rarity’s name, or thinking about something peaceful, she let it all in. All the panic, the horror, and the hope. And it was... nice. It didn’t consume her, it just washed over her like a wave. Once it passed, she knew she had reached a new level of acceptance. She didn’t begrudge things for how they were, instead she felt graceful for so much peace.

A few years later, she was lying in between the walls, her eyes trailing the single horizontal line she could see from her point of vision. Then, suddenly,

it

disappeared.

She tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t.
Had the castle vanished?
Had her biggest fear come true?

But she didn’t feel afraid, and she quickly realized why: yes, the castle had vanished, but other things had also changed.

Everything had changed.

For the first time in eternity,

it wasn’t cold anymore.