//------------------------------//
// Chapter 31 
// Story: Torn Between Two Worlds 
// by Alex Barkhorn 
//------------------------------//

That following week was rather hectic. The girls all had to get dresses- not cheap, mind you. And very time consuming. Ever spent three and a half hours inside of a clothing store? It isn't very fun.

It was the Friday before prom, when everything was finally settled, and I was a nervous wreck. To be honest, I don't know why. Oh, wait, maybe it was because I finally had a chance to be in a relationship with someone who really cared for me, and was on the verge of being ripped out of my life! Silly me, how could I forget that?

Man, I need to lay off the sarcasm...

Anyway, they were really making a big deal of prom, and were now charging nearly fifty bucks for tickets- for couples. You don't wanna know what the price for singles were.

Going back to me, and pardon my narcissism, I had been wigging out the whole week. I managed to coax my mom into getting me money, but, that didn't go as expected. I guess you could say I really didn't coax her, she just...She was same old mom. Helpful and selfless.

I called her up Monday night, asking for extra gas money from my account, because I said I wanted to go on a trip instead of going to prom, like back up to the lake. But...I didn't feel right. It didn't feel good lying to my mother like that. It was nauseating. So, I told her the truth- not the obvious truth. I'm not sure how my mom would take to me telling her that six magical girls entered our home. It's safe to assume it wouldn't go well. So, I stretched the truth. Said some really good friends of mine couldn't go, and I even had a date that couldn't make it. My mom, this wonderful woman, she totally understood. In fact, she was proud of me for being so selfless and wanting to help those close to me.

Also, we caught the tickets the day before the prices skyrocketed. Call us lucky.

It's crazy, because as these thoughts all rolled through my head, I didn't notice as the fifth period bell rang. And I especially didn't notice as a fluff of bright pink hair was draped over my head. It isn't very fun, having a pink ball of fluff block your airways.

"Gah! Dammit, Patience!" I sputtered, shaking my head. Pinkie and Fluttershy both giggled, before the former grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me up.

"Come on, silly! We gotta get home!" She laughed, skipping out of class. I smiled in amusement, and looked over at Fluttershy. We instinctively grabbed at each other's hands, walking out together.

"Never expected this..." I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Fluttershy asked curiously, looking up at me.

"This," I replied, bringing out interlocked hands up to explain. "When you all came here, I never would have thought we'd get this close. I thought it'd be, like, you're here for one day, then, bam. Gone...Out of my life."

"Oh, Alex..." She sighed. "Well, it's a good thing we didn't, right?" She then said with another smile.

"Yeah. Right." I replied, heading to the truck to meet the others. The drive home was rather noisy, as they all began talking about their plans for prom. There was the occasional 'subtle' compliment at mine and Fluttershy's choice of dates, especially from Pinkie- the little spy that interrupted Shy and I the weekend before- but they were all in good nature, so I didn't mind much. Returning home felt good after a long, stressful week of school, and it made me feel much better that I only had a few more weeks until I graduated.

"So, are you excited?" Twilight asked me later that night, as we sat down to watch television.

"Excited? For what?" I asked, glancing over at her. She clicked her tongue and playfully gave me a shove.

"For graduating, silly." She replied, smiling at me.

"Oh," I chuckled, shrugging. "I s'pose I am."

"You suppose?" She muttered, raising a curious brow.

"Well, I mean, look at it this way. I've been going to school for twelve years now, I've been waking up early, been worried about assignments and projects, dealt with bad teachers or lame grades, and, on the other hand, I've had lifelong experiences and met people that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It's kinda hard to swallow, so, it'll probably hit me during graduation, or a little after." After I said my piece, I sighed heavily, slouching against the couch and crossing my arms.

"Aren't you going to college?" Rainbow asked, turning around from her spot on the floor to get a better look at me.

"Well, yeah. But that's totally different." I retorted.

"How?" Fluttershy asked quietly, from her spot right next to me.

"...I dunno, it just is." I stammered, scratching the back of my neck and ignoring the feeling of sounding like an utter fool. "Because, think about it. I'm going to be living on campus - on my own - the workload is gonna be bigger, different class schedules..."

"People have been tellin' me it ain't that bad. Heck, some say they've heard it's better than high school." AJ pointed out.

"She's right, I hear a lot of students our age talking about some relative of theirs who say they love the college experience." Rarity added.

"Whoa, hey now, no need to attack me all at once!" I joked, trying to change the subject, and ignoring a slight headache that was heading my way.

"Who's attacking you? They're just all proving you wrong!" Pinkie said, avoiding any tact whatsoever.

"...Thanks, Pinkie Pie. You're a pal." I muttered, completely deadpan.

"Anytime, Alex!" She exclaimed joyfully. I rolled my eyes in amusement, before standing up.

"I'm gonna get some air," I said, walking outside without another word. I stepped outside into the cool night air, and plopping down onto a patio chair. I stared up at the crescent moon, and threw my legs up onto the patio table to make myself a bit more comfortable.

Why is everything about the future so...Mysterious? Suspenseful? It's horrible. I hate it. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I graduate. I don't know if graduation is gonna really effect me, anyway. I don't know what college I wanna go to, if Gray or Dana will go to the same school, or even stay in touch. And I especially don't know how I'll react when the girls leave me.

That's the thought that always haunts me the most. When, where, how...It's all up in the air. Will it be late at night, when I'm asleep? Will it be a tearful goodbye? Or will Celestia be so pissed, she'll send me off to the moon? I couldn't stand the thought of it. A monster headache came my way, and I literally had to hold my head in my hands and clench my teeth, hard. I felt hot. Very hot, it was incredibly uncomfortable. I felt like I was dying.

A hand found itself on my shoulder, and I yelped in surprise, nearly having a heart attack.

"Gah! Ah'm sorry, Alex!" I must not have noticed Applejack come outside, I was probably too caught up in the pounding headache I was suffering through. "Alex, are y'alright?" She asked, sitting on the chair next to me and placing a hand on my forehead. "Yer burnin' up..." She breathed.

"I-I'm fine..." I choked, turning in the other direction so she didn't have to see my pained face. My breathing became fast, and very erratic.

"Ya sure don' look fine tah me, Alex!" She said, fear beginning to take her over. "Girls! Git out here!" She called inside. I was now curled up on the pavers below me, and I began to panic.

It felt like I was dying.

"Oh my gosh, Alex!" I heard Fluttershy cry, running over to my side and kneeling next to me. "What's wrong?" She asked, grabbing me and looking into my eyes.

"I-I...I dunno, I just...I..." I couldn't speak at all, I was just stunned, struggling to breathe. It felt like a huge pressure made it's way into my chest, pushing against my lungs, refusing to let me get any oxygen.

"Quick, get him inside!" Twilight ordered, as she, AJ, and Rainbow helped me up, leaving Pinkie and Rarity tended to a panicked Fluttershy. The girls hefted me into my room, trying to calm me down, telling me to breathe, everything was alright, and all that crap. When they got me to my room, they set me on my bed, where I curled up on my side, staring into space with wide eyes. The three of them looked at me in fear.

"What do we do?" Twilight whispered.

"More importantly, what's wrong with him?" Rainbow said.

"Who cares? First thing's first, Rainbow, get me a cool washcloth, now!" Applejack ordered. "Twi, I need you to get him something to drink, somethin' like juice." Twilight nodded, walking out the door. She then turned to look at me, and I stared back at her in utter fear. "Alex, I need you to try to calm down."

"I-I can't, AJ, I can't, I-I" She cut me off by looking forcefully at me, lightly grasping me by the shoulder.

"Yes you can, Alex. Look at me. Breathe. With me. In," She began, exhaling. "And out," She exhaled. I tried copying her, but my breaths were too shaky to control. A few minutes later, after she placed the cool washcloth on my head and tried to get me to take a drink of some apple juice, she began speaking to me again. "Alex, look at me." This time, I was able to look her in the eyes. "You're gonna be alright, sugar. Nothin's gonna hurt you, Ah'm right here. Okay?"

I nodded, and tried to speak. "...O-okay."

"Good. Now, try to tell me what happened before you began to panic."

"I-I dunno...I started to feel sick just before I went outside..." I whispered, trembling.

"Then what?"

"Then, I...I just sat there."

"Did anything happen? Did you see anything?" She asked.

"No," I shook my head, and I noticed the other girls come in my room, just before squeezing my eyes shut. "I mean, I just sat there and thought..."

"About what?"

"About...About everything. School, my friends...All of you..."

Right then, for the next five minutes, I was able to vent all of my pent up fears. Every little thing that has been haunting me the past couple of weeks, just let out, right then and there. Mind you, it took a long damn time because I had to pause every minute so AJ could calm me down, with Fluttershy's help, but I managed to get it all out.

"Oh, Alex..." Rarity sighed when I finished.

"I never knew how worried you were...You poor thing..." Twilight chimed in.

"Alex, don't you worry none. You're our friend, now, and we'll always be together." AJ said with a confident smile.

"No," I said, shaking my head quickly. "That's a lie. I know it is."

"Alex!" Rarity gasped.

"No, Rarity. It's true. You know it, and I know it." I cut in. I looked at all of them, and they didn't have any reply, nothing to comfort me.

Except Fluttershy.

"Alex..." She said gently, sitting down next to me. I began to scramble away from here, but I couldn't get any farther, because my back touched the wall, blocking my escape. She placed a hand on mine, and looked me dead in the eyes. "You're right." Right then, five jaws dropped, but she continued anyway. "There is no way we can be sure that we will or won't stay here. Sooner or later, Princess Celestia will come for us..." She began to cry, grabbing onto my hand with both of hers now. "But I promise you, we will always be your friend. We all promise." She said, and the others nodded their heads with small smiles. "When we're gone, I can promise that we may be away, but we will never be gone. You'll always be in our hearts. I promise you." She then practically jumped on me, pulling me into an embrace and crying silently.

"She's right, darling. She's completely right." Rarity said, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

I didn't reply to anyone. I didn't say anything. I just sat there, stroking Fluttershy's hair as she cried, trying to digest what they all told me. I knew it was true. I just...I couldn't just yet. I knew I'd have to let it sink in. But, for the time being, I just sat there, holding the crying girl, and looking around at the other girls that were sitting around my room.



( No, I am not dead.
Yes, I haven't updated here in a while.
No, I have not forgotten about this fic.
I just update more constantly on fanfiction because people on there are a bit less snobbish or dickish when it comes to criticism.
That's not to say I can't handle criticism. I just don't like when my story is straight up called out without some words of wisdom, or maybe even advice. 
....Anyway, I'll be posting the remaining nine chapters here, and I have about three or four more in planning before...Yeah.
Anywho, once again, sorry for the absence. Hopefully things will be back to normal.
Don't forget to check out my tumblr. I'll give a link below, as I changed the url. 

TUMBLR: remixedwriter.tumblr.com