I can't sleep.
No matter how hard I try, I can't sleep. All I can do is stare at the cold, unforgiving ceiling as my imagination runs wild with varying scenarios - all ending with Rainbow Dash's death. I don't even know her that well, and yet...I care for her so much. To know she's in a coma...
I take a deep breath. I need to go for a walk.
I silently dress and slip my shoes on before stealthily exiting the library. With a single shiver in the cold night air, I begin to walk without aim. I simply follow the path.
I eventually see a grassy hill a few meters to my right. Acting upon a whim, I walk to its crests, hands stowed in my pockets as I watch the stars. I stay like that for a few moments before an exclamation rings out from behind me.
"You! Trixie the Great and Powerful has finally found you, coward!" I hear hoofsteps from behind me. "No more hiding behind a mare's tail! You will be defeated tonight!"
I turn to look at her over my shoulder. I consider responding, but decide to just shake my head and return to stargazing.
"How dare you ignore Trixie! Trixie will -"
"My friend is in a coma," I announce. "I'm not ignoring you. I'm just trying to get my thoughts straight."
The unicorn's words stop as suddenly as they had started. After a few moments of silence, dull thuds announce her movements. I look down in surprise as she sits down next to me.
"Then Trixie shall watch the stars with you," she announces. "She hopes your friend recovers soon."
I nod in appreciation as I return my attention to the stars. A few moments of silence pass, during which Trixie simply stares at the night's light.
In a sudden moment of thought, I extend my arm and hold out my thumb. I place the digit over the small sparkle of a distnat star, causing it to disappear from my vision.
"What are you doing?"
"Have you ever noticed how bright the stars are, Trixie?"
Silence. I continue.
"So bright...each one full of its own life, energy, and soul..." I take a deep breath. My thumb remains. "And yet with a single finger, you can snuff out that light. You can end that life; and all it takes is a single finger." I blow air out through my nose as I return my hand to my pocket. "All it takes is a single finger..."
A moment of silence as I stare into the night sky. I begin to speak again after a few seconds.
"Back where I come from, a life can be ended by a single word. A single mis-step; a single mistake could put you right in the epicenter of a fluctuation..." I smile dryly as I remember. "A single minute spent in your study staring at a particle rather than getting a beer..." I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
A few more moments of silence pass. Once I've collected myself, I turn to look directly at Trixie.
"You should spend your minutes more wisely," I announce. "You never know how many you have left."
With that, I turn and continue my journey. Trixie remains on our hill, looking up at the stars with bent ears and wide eyes.
All it takes is a single minute...