Don't Leave Me Now

by Harmony_Charmer

Mistakes

When light returned to Twilight's eyes, she blinked. As her eyes adjusted, she rose to her hooves, and shook her head to clear it from the dots that danced in her vision. When she looked around, she realized she was in the library, sitting in the middle of the floor.

"Twilight! Oh darling! You're awake!" Rarity slowly trotted over to her fellow unicorn, and helped Twilight steady herself. The rest of the group and Zecora was sitting in the corner, having burned Rainbow Dash's body and were mourning over the ashes. Seeing Rainbows remains, Twilight remembered the events of the night before, with the pain, the blood, the death.

"Where are the wings?" She asked, numbly. Zecora motioned to a small wooden box near the door. Twilight leaned her weight onto Rarity's flank and stumbled to her friends. Sitting down, Twilight began silently crying, tears sliding down her face. Everyone did the same, crying over the loss of their friend. The Element of Loyalty was gone. Almost an hour went by when she was reminded of her promise to Princess Luna.

"I have to go to Canterlot!" She said, jolting up from her spot. Grabbing the two bloody wings, she darted out the door. Running through the streets, her satchel bag, which carried the blue pegasus wings, felt heavier and heavier with every step. When she arrived at the train station, it felt as if Twilight was carrying a full grown stallion in her bag. Casting a magic spell on the wings to keep them as fresh as possible, she hopped on the train.

Arriving in Canterlot, Twilight ran as quickly as her legs would carry her until she was at the large dorm. Bursting open the large wooden doors, she trotted over to the bed.

Princess Celestia had gotten worse in the hours Twilight had been away. Her eyes now bulged, their violet eyes had a slight gray haze, and a glazed look in her dilated pupils. The skin around her scalp had shrunk, giving her once graceful face a horrifying look. Her body was all bones, with a thin film of flesh covering it loosely. Clumps of rainbow hair lay around the bed, having disconnected from other hairs long ago, her mane now falling to her jaw, framing her face against the red pillow. Her wings, once large and majestic were now spindly, weak, and pale. Her chest rose and fell like it was full of cotton; choppy and quick.

Twilight had made it to the large castle in a daze, and it was only when she spoke did Twilight realize Zecora had followed her. The zebra silently walked to the skeletal princess, and hovered her hoof over the princess's stomach. Zecora opened her eyes and trotted to her saddle bags, muttering under her breath.

"Twilight, the wings?" She said after a couple minutes of pulling out multiple bottles of elixirs. Twilight floated over the wings, biting her lower lip and blinking away stinging tears. Zecora took them, drunk a small blue bottle of clear liquid and grimaced. Her eyes glazed over and her movements were almost robotic.

Zecora poured a round bottle of pink, thick syrup into a large cylinder filled halfway with dark fluid, and shook it until it turned a shiny white. Twilight turned and let the zebra mix and brew her potion. She walked over to Luna, who's eyes had dark circles around them, and were swollen red from crying. Twilight was about to tell her something, when the door slammed open, with Twilight's mouth hanging agape. In walked in Prince Blueblood. Twilight scowled. Why is he here? She thought to herself. Princess Luna rose, and hugged the broad stallion. Twilight closed her hanging mouth.

The prince trudged over to where Twilight was sitting with hunched shoulders. Twilight sighed. This was Princess Celestia's nephew, she remembered. She patted his back awkwardly, and he sat in a daze, looking past the princess's body and out the window. He turned to the purple, friendly unicorn beside him.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. Twilight was shocked. Wasn't this the rude, stubborn prince Rarity told her about? She had read about him in the Daily Wings, which made him look like a huge jerk.

"Pardon me, Your Highness?" She asked, but faltered when he shook his head with a weak chuckle.

"You need not call me 'Your Highness'. I was apologizing because I am quite sure your stunning friend Rarity --"

"Stunning? But she said you treated her like shi --"

"Don't interrupt me," Twilight blushed. "I'm sure she told you how utterly absurd I was, but I was just pushing her away. I push everypony away, as I am vulnerable. As a prince, ponies assume I have everything. Respect, money, mares. Things like that. So, they might use me. It has happened before. Your mentor, my friend, was the only pony who actually saw me as a pony who was lonely. Princess Celestia cracked my weak shell, and befriended me.

"Offence is not intended, but Rarity did not care enough. She did not try hard enough. I almost decided to break down to her, she seemed determined, putting up with my attitude with attitude of her own. Then she was the one who broke. And here I am. Sitting beside my only friend. My idol. She taught me how to accept. She taught me how to forgive." His words were cut off by a choking sound. Twilight realized he was crying. He had turned and was hiding his muzzle behind his long hay-coloured mane. His cheeks lifted in a smile. Prince Blueblood turned, and his cheeks were streaked with tears. Twilight's heart shattered, and she wrapped her forehooves around his neck. Blueblood tensed, unsure how to react.

Finally, after Twilight squeezed his shoulders, Blueblood relaxed and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. He buried his face into the soft fur in her shoulder and cried. This is the first time someone has tried to calm me down in such an affectionate way. I never was in such a state around Princess Celestia. And yet I am here allowing a mare, whom I had just met, comfort me. And it doesn't feel... bad. Blueblood thought, smiling shortly through his tears into the unicorn's shoulder.

*~*~*

After a while, the two ponies fell asleep in each others embrace, and awoke when Zecora nudged them with a large bottle.

"Twilight, only the killer shall complete my brew. That means it must be you." She pushed the large, wide bottle towards the purple pony. The fluid inside couldn't decide what colour it was, shifting from red, to blue, to green. Prince Blueblood went to sit beside Princess Celestia. Twilight looked at the cyan wings at the edge of the room. Each one had 32 ripped out, which was 64 of Rainbow Dash's feathers in this bottle. Twilight's stomach twisted at the thought. She picked up a small stick with a leaf on it from Zecora's bag, and just before it hit the potion, Zecora handed her a feather. The feather was a light blue, and belonged to the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. Twilight felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes. Slowly, she dropped the stick, and dipped the tip of the feather into the bottle. The stem was sticking out of the bottle's mouth, gripped with Twilight's magic. The feather spun around in the glass container and spun until the colour changed from inconsistent to red, a small puff of black smoke lifted from the surface..

"It is done." Zecora said simply. She picked it up, and brought it to the bedside, quickly asking the royal white earth pony to move. She sat, and poured the elixir over the princess. As soon as the liquid left the bottle, it became heavy vapor, pouring over the princess's frail body and spreading over it like fog. The vapor did not dissipate. It lay like a blanket on the Princess, until the red vapor covered the bed. Twilight was unable to see Celestia's body for multiple minutes, until the fog began to disappear from the edges.

The fog had disappeared entirely, but the princess's body still lay on the bed, ribs showing, legs ready to snap, and eyes closed. Twilight spun on Zecora, who stood with wide eyes.

"Why didn't it work, Zecora? Why didn't it work?" The fire in her eyes was intense, and angry. Zecora simply shrugged, unsure what to say or what to do. The spell didn't work. Princess Celestia was dying, and there was nothing anypony could do.

Twilight ran to the bed side and cradled Celestia's head in her lap. The rosy eyes opened slowly, and started filling up with tears. She had heard and grasped the situation immediately. She flopped her head to look at Twilight.

"Twilight, you understand I am dying." Twilight nodded. Princess Celestia looked at her will eyes full of goodbyes.

"I don't want it to be time for goodbyes," Twilight whispered.

Author's Note:

I am not mixing a Twiblood romance into this. They are just comforting each other. Just clearing that up.

I realized I don't have an editor... Do I need one? I would be glad to have one. Although I am not entirely sure how the whole Editor thing works... :)