Complications
Why do I still feel so cold? Twilight thought, flipping over onto her other side as a rough cough forced itself past her lips. Even though she had loads of blankets on top of her, her wings and the tips of her hooves felt as if she’d stuck them in snow for an hour. She blearily cracked her eyes open and felt her head throb as light streamed in through the windows, reminding her of that dull pain that had been with her for the last day; at least it didn’t feel like somepony was driving a nail into her horn anymore. “R-Rainbow?” she croaked out.
Twilight tensed up as she felt Rainbow twitch against her side. But... she’s snuggling with me. Why don’t I feel her against my wing? She threw the sheets off of her and rolled out of bed, wobbling on her hooves before she collapsed, the side of her head smacking against the nightstand. Tears erupted in her eyes as she cried out in pain. Her vision filled with stars as she curled up into a ball, her left wing pinned in an awkward position between her and the hard, crystal floor. “Why, why, why?!” she groaned, hitting the bed frame with her right front hoof. Twilight expected pain but felt a light tingly numbness instead. Her eyebrows furrowed as she held her hoof in front of her, staring at it as if it had changed in some way. Hearing Rainbow move around on the bed above her, she glanced up to see a concerned look on her marefriend’s face.
“What’re you doin’ down there, Twi?” Rainbow asked with a sleepy-sounding giggle, cocking her head to the side. “If my snuggling skills needed some work, you coulda just...” She blinked a few times as her vision came into focus, noticing that tears were streaming down Twilight’s face. Rainbow felt her heart drop into her stomach. She flapped her wings once and lay down around her marefriend, wrapping her in her forelegs. Rainbow rocked back and forth, feeling Twilight go limp in her grasp. “Everything okay?” she asked softly, feeling Twilight bury her muzzle into her neck. Yeah... that’d be a no. “Let’s get you back up on the bed and then I’ll go find Cadence, okay? I’m sure that she can help.” She felt Twilight nod, so she tightened her grasp on her and lifted them back up onto the bed. She placed a few pillows around Twilight’s back, and as she stood up and turned around to go fetch Cadence, she felt Twilight weakly wrap a hoof around her hind leg.
“W-Wait.”
“...Ok.” Rainbow flopped back down on the bed, then dragged the blankets back over them with her teeth. “Uh... what’s up?” she tentatively asked. “Were my snuggles pretty bad?” she asked with a nervous laugh, hoping to dissolve the tension hanging in the air. “I hope I didn’t kick you out of bed in my sleep.” She felt something tickle her stomach, so she rolled over and reached down with a hoof, pulling out a couple of large, purple feathers. Hold on a minute...
Twilight slowly shook her head. “No, Rainbow, it’s... something else.” She licked her dry lips, and as her ears flicked back, she locked eyes with Rainbow and wrapped a hoof around hers, praying for any semblance of feeling. She hoped that the mere touch would restore the sensation of Rainbow’s soft fur gracing hers, but all she felt was a cold numbness. She spread her wings wide, hoping to feel the cool touch of the air tickling her feathers, but felt nothing.
“Twilight, your wing!” Rainbow exclaimed, her eyes going wide.
“What about it?” Twilight looked to the left and gasped. Her wing was missing more than a few feathers, and the rest were tattered or out of place. She struggled to find her voice again, and when she did, she pushed herself towards Rainbow and awkwardly wrapped her forelegs around her neck, her wings limply laying out at her sides. “I... I can’t feel my hooves or wings, Dash,” Twilight croaked out in between sobs. “I’m so scared; I don’t know what to do!”
As much as she wanted to stay by Twilight’s side and comfort her as much as possible, Rainbow knew she had to get her help, and fast. “Twilight, I promise I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll be gone a minute tops!” she said, nuzzling Twilight’s cheek. “Okay?” she asked again, a little more forcefully this time. Twilight nodded, then wrapped her forelegs around a pillow and laid her head on top of it. Rainbow galloped out of the room, their bedroom door slamming against the wall. Where the heck is Cadence’s bedroom?! she thought, her head whipping every which way. She slowed down to a trot, every fiber of her being screaming at her to go faster. Oh, there it is! she thought as she recognized a large wood door. She darted past the two guards keeping watch outside the royal bedchambers, ignoring their cries of protest as she burst inside a short hallway with a single door at the other end, making her take pause; she expected to find Cadence’s bed, not some empty hallway.
“Are you mad?” one of the guards asked as they grabbed Rainbow’s right foreleg. “The princess and her husband are not to be disturbed!”
Rainbow fought to rip her leg from the guard’s grasp, but it only tightened. “You don’t understand! Twilight’s in trouble, and we need Cadence right now!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Cadence!” The door at the end of the hallway creaked open, revealing none other than the pony she so desperately needed. “Cadence, it’s Twilight! Something’s wrong!” she said as the princess trotted up to them.
Cadence’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean?” she asked as she nodded at the guard to release Rainbow.
As the guard’s grasp loosened, Rainbow pulled her leg free and huffed at him. “I don’t know what’s wrong. She’s been feeling a little off, and I think she’s getting worse!” Rainbow turned and galloped down the hallway, ignoring Cadence’s next question. She heard Cadence and the guards follow close behind. Rainbow slowed down to a trot, then walked inside her bedroom, her tail flicking from side to side as her heart raced in her chest. “She told me she can’t feel her hooves or her wings,” she said as Cadence trotted inside the room. “And she’s lost some feathers, too!”
Cadence’s throat tightened as she took in Twilight’s pale appearance. “Oh dear...” she quickly whispered, lifting a trembling hoof to her lips. Time seemed to slow down before she heard hoofsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Shining pause inside the doorway, his mane a complete mess. “Shining, go fetch the doctor. Twilight needs him!”
“Wait, what’s wrong? She was fine when I brought her here last night!” Shining said, puzzled as he rubbed his eyes with a hoof.
“There’s no time, dear!” Cadence snapped, pushing him out of the room with a wing. “Go, run!”
“Fine, I’m going, I’m going!” Shining said before lighting his horn, disappearing in a bright flash of magic.
“Guards! Notify the nurses that we need the infirmary wing prepped at once!” Cadence looked back towards Twilight and trotted up to the bed, brushing some of Twilight’s mane back behind her ear as she lay down next to her. “Good morning, little one...” she said with a soft smile, hoping to project an overwhelming feeling of calmness, something that she felt little of herself. “You have nothing to worry about; we have the best doctors around.” She rubbed Twilight’s back with a hoof, right in between her wings. “Can you feel this?” she asked softly.
“Y-Yes,” Twilight whispered, lifting her head from the pillow as she heard a magical pop, like somepony had just teleported around them. Her vision immediately grew blurry and her headache doubled in intensity. She flicked her ears up, hoping to hear the comforting voice of her marefriend again, but she had no such luck. “Rainbow? I-I’m... so cold,” she murmured, fairly certain that she’d heard her speak a few moments ago. She closed her eyes as she fought to stay awake, but it was all for naught as every sensation slipped away.
Rainbow's eyes went wide as she watched Twilight collapse. She ran over to the bed and placed her forelegs on the edge of the bed, fearing the worst. “Is... Is she—” Her eyes darted between Twilight and Cadence, the tips of her wings bristling in dread.
“No, she just passed out,” Cadence said, holding a hoof against the side of Twilight’s neck. Her ears perked up as she heard somepony arguing with her husband. As the sounds of squeaky wheels came ever closer, her head whipped up just in time to see Shining push a gurney inside the room at breakneck speed, a startled stallion still in his pajamas gripping the sheets for dear life.
“I got the doctor!” Shining said as they screeched to a halt beside Twilight’s bed. “So can anypony fill me in with what’s happening?” he asked, sitting down beside the bed.
The doctor rolled off of the gurney with a groan, but after a couple of moments, he straightened up and gave a quick bow to Cadence. “Princess, I came as soon as I heard I was needed,” he said, staring daggers at Shining for a couple seconds. “While I don’t appreciate being dragged out of bed and teleported to the other side of town, I give you my word that I will do everything I can to ensure Princess Twilight’s health.” He lit his horn and lifted Twilight onto the gurney and promptly pushed it out of the room with a couple of guards following him.
Cadence let out a deep sigh as she rubbed her temple with a hoof. “Did you really drag him out of bed?” she asked, lifting a sole eyebrow as she eyed her husband.
“Well... yeah.” Shining rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “You said to get the doctor and pushed me out of the room! I thought it was a life and death situation!” he said, gesturing about in the air with his front hooves. “And this is my little sister we’re talking about here; there was no way I was going to gallop all the way across town and back with a half-awake pony. That would have taken way too long!”
“I see your point, but I would appreciate it if you would use a little more tact next time,” Cadence said, her shoulders slumping. “Did you at least explain to him what’s going on?”
“Uh... no? How could I? I still have no idea what’s going on; all I know is that Twilight is sick, and you told me to get the doctor.” Shining stood up and held his head high. “I’m sorry that I acted without thinking, dear...” he spoke softly, leaning forward to nuzzle Cadence’s cheek. “My military training just took over; I promise I’ll do better next time.”
“Let’s hope there’s not going to be a next time,” Cadence said with a light smile, giving into Shining’s insistent nuzzles.
“Yeah, definitely.”
Rainbow cleared her throat. “So... what now?”
Cadence slipped off of the bed and nodded towards the door. “Now we wait. Come on, the infirmary is this way.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Rainbow fell into step behind Cadence and Shining, following them out into the hallway.
“Only time will tell.”
“You know I’m not going to leave her side, right?” Rainbow asked.
Cadence grinned and pulled Rainbow close with a wing. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Where am I? Twilight thought, trying to remember the last thing she saw before everything went dark. Her headache wasn’t as bad as before; in fact, she barely felt any sort of pain whatsoever, save for her horribly dry throat. A blissful warmth surrounded her entire being in contrast to the numbness that she’d past felt. She tensed her neck muscles, pushing her head back only to realize that it was tucked in the nook of Rainbow’s neck. Is she... Twilight moved her right foreleg outwards, but felt a warm leg kept her forelegs tucked gently against her chest. Heh, she is, just like when we were back in Scootaloo’s hospital room...
Twilight let loose a soft huff as she shifted about, rolling over so that she and Rainbow were muzzle to muzzle. Feeling Rainbow’s wing tighten its grasp on her back, she nuzzled the tip of Rainbow’s nose, mostly certain that her marefriend was already awake. “Hey, you...” she murmured with a soft smile.
Rainbow’s eyes snapped open wide, then she relaxed. “Hey...” Rainbow said, letting her hoof come to rest on the side of Twilight’s face. She tilted her head and swooped in, stealing a quick, tender kiss from Twilight’s lips. “I’m glad that you’re finally up,” she said as she folded her wing back against her side.
“How long have I been asleep?” Twilight asked, feeling Rainbow rub her side with a hoof. “And what time is it?”
“Almost three days, and it’s ten in the morning. You’ve had everyone worried sick, me most of all.”
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. “I’ve been asleep for almost three days? Seriously?” Rainbow nodded. “Sweet Celestia... Was it really that bad?” she asked, noticing the look of concern that sat plainly on Rainbow’s face. Rainbow nodded again.
“...Yeah, kinda.”
“Do they know what’s wrong with me?” Twilight breathlessly asked.
“I think. The doctor said some mumbo-jumbo that I didn’t really understand, but Cadence broke it down for me. Since you used that spell teleporting us out of danger, your immune system was pretty weak, and you caught some sort of infection or disease... somehow.”
“O-Oh. Am I infectious? You just kissed me, and you could catch what I—”
“No, it’s not infectious, that’s why I kissed you just now,” Rainbow said with a quick laugh. “Have you ever been sick like this before?”
“No, I haven’t, and I don’t remember reading about anything like this.”
Rainbow glanced off to the side. “Do you think it’s due to you not being able to use magic right now?”
Twilight wilted. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to think about that.”
Rainbow wrapped her front hooves around Twilight’s and held them tightly. “Hey, don’t worry; it’ll come back! In the meantime, your wing is still a little messed up, but I can fix that in a jiffy.” She pushed the sheets off of them and slid down the bed a little bit until she sat near Twilight’s rump. “Wing please,” she said with a soft smile, holding out her hooves.
Twilight carefully extended her left wing for Rainbow, her eyes lighting up as she felt Rainbow’s soft touch grace her feathers. “Hey, I felt that!” she said, perking up a bit. Her ears flicked up as a nervous, though excited, grin broke out on her face.
“Yeah? That’s great!” Rainbow ran her hoof along the leading edge of Twilight’s wing, feeling her heart throb with joy. “What about that?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“Mhm! It still feels a little tingly, but it’s not numb like it used to be.” Twilight fell silent as Rainbow went to work, placing her feathers back in order and licking them clean. She wrapped her hooves around a pillow and pulled it close, laying her head upon it and letting her eyes drift shut.
After a couple minutes, Rainbow paused. “Can I pluck broken feathers out if I need to?” she hesitantly asked, eyeing a feather broken halfway down its length.
“Is it absolutely necessary?” Twilight asked, cracking her eyes open.
“...Yeah. They have to come out so new ones can grow back.” Rainbow’s tail swished around, knowing that she was about to make her hurt.
“They? As in more than one?” Twilight took a deep breath, then nodded. “I know they have to come out, but... please do so as gently as you can. Plucking feathers hurts...” She ran her hooves over her face as she groaned. “Ugh... Why didn’t you do this when I was passed out?” she asked with a terse laugh.
“Because the doctor said it wasn’t a good idea.” Rainbow rubbed Twilight’s back with a hoof, then leaned in close to the base of the broken feather. “You ready? This is a large flight feather, so it’ll hurt a little.”
Twilight nodded once and gripped the pillow tightly. “You know you’re an awesome marefriend for doing this, right?” she asked, hoping to delay the inevitable.
“Mhm...” Rainbow took great care in biting down near the base of the feather, then plucked it out with a quick jerk of her head. She winced at Twilight’s soft gasp, spat the feather out, then held her hoof over the small hole until it stopped bleeding. “We’ve still got a couple more to go, Twi... I know it hurts, but I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
“I know you will... Anyways, I was wondering why I was so warm when I woke up,” Twilight whispered as she blushed a little, feeling Rainbow wrap her lips around another broken feather. “You were snuggling with me like when we first brought Scootaloo to the—”
“Hospital,” Rainbow said, finishing Twilight’s sentence as she spat out the feather. “I thought you’d appreciate it.” Huh, no blood this time...
Twilight bit down on her bottom lip she felt Rainbow latch onto the base of the last feather that had to come out. “You sure this is the last one?”
Rainbow sat back. “As far as I can tell, yeah. I don’t see any other broken feathers. Your other wing looked fine, so I preened that one while you were out.” Rainbow felt Twilight’s wing trembling in her hooves. “This is just a small one, so it shouldn’t hurt that bad. You ready?”
“Yeah, do it.” A second passed before she felt Rainbow’s hot breath grace her wing, her eyes clenching shut as the feather was yanked out.
“There we go...” Rainbow rubbed Twilight’s back again, then gently folded Twilight’s wing back against her side. “It’ll take some time for the feathers to grow back, so just be careful if you have to fly; your balance might be a little off.” She flopped back down next to Twilight and shot her a comforting grin. “So... you hung—” She let loose a surprised squeak as Twilight darted forward, planting her lips against hers. As Twilight’s tongue teased her lips, silently begging entrance, Rainbow’s eyes drifted shut as she felt Twilight’s hoof drift around to the back of her head. She melted into the kiss, feeling her heart pulse with pure, unbridled love as Twilight’s warm breath tickled her muzzle. Parting her lips, their tongues danced to a silent tango, one that sent a furious blush to Rainbow’s cheeks and made her mind go all fuzzy.
Their lips eventually parted, a small bridge of saliva connecting them for the briefest of moments. Twilight panted softly, her cheeks matching Rainbow’s deep blush. She wrapped her freshly-preened wing around Rainbow, tugged her close, then tucked her head underneath Rainbow’s chin. “I love you, Rainbow. I have no idea what I’d do without you...” she whispered.
Rainbow’s blush doubled as her heart pulsed even harder, almost to the point where, if she looked down, she’d be able to see it throbbing against her chest. “I love you too, Twilight,” she said, her voice filled with as much adoration, love, and affection as she could put into it.
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Woo! Update! Aww. TwiDash is so cute. Here's hoping it's not an Alicorn level case of the Feather Flu.
Another sweet chapter!
Poor sick Twiggles! Glad to see she's getting better!
She better be..
Man that chapter was awesome, as I said before I think it takes a story to the next level to have a dramatic change of tone, and you did really well writing this chapter. Personally when you said 'Its not a happy chapter', I thought it was going to be way darker but thats how I would have taken it and I think what you did fits the story much better. Keep writing the story, it rocks!
Run not teleport Shiny... sorry for breaking the tension in the moment
Preening?
Scootaloo and Spike must be worried sick this whole time. hmm I'm wondering if this disease will be the new antagonist for Rainbow and Twilight. I mean sure it's cured but maybe it'll lack onto Scootaloo? Idnno, I'm just curious what'll happen next
Wow Twilight must still be out of it, she isn't asking a million questions about what she is sick with. Still I hope to see some quality time with the kids in the next chapter!
so adorable its almost to adorable
As long as no one opens the door during this intense make out.
The Fic uses Fluff. It's super effective.
Seriously, this fic is pure fluff (whether it be romantic or family) and I love it.
Hmmm, it seems like the worst of that is over. Or I could be wrong. Is there going to be an explanation of what it was? It might sound sadistic, but I kinda want to see them deal with whatever illness this is for a bit longer. Snuggly, scared Twi and protective Rainbow holding her is so cute.
Yes finally another chapter.
And omg what a start. Keep it up.
Glad to see another chapter of this excellent story. Please keep them coming!
This was a great chapter abyss! I wish I could get on and read more often but my new job is very demanding . Ill try to get on as much as possible. I hope everything is going well for you on the home front! Keep up the good work!
Also I wonder what this disease is? It could be nothing. Or it could be the start of a cancer like illness....oh Jesus plz no xD The amount of trials ahead of the new little family are going to be numerous if its something like that.
Maybe...A fluke? someone else catches it? maybe it sticks around and basically cripples twilight for a while?
I can see this being a really great segway to a marriage proposal though. like DAMN
Love it man. as always another great chapter full of effective fluff and cuteness
This is unneeded.
This was a good chapter. It was a little confusing at the beginning. I forgot what happened previously, but that can only be expected with a three month wait between chapters. I eventually remembered, however.
I look forward to the next chapter. No rush, it is always fun to read this.
~KBO.
I am glad to see this story is coming back to life. Keep it up!
I can't favorite a story more than once.
Knighty! Y u do dis?!!
9056118
Preening is when birds/pegasi clean their feathers. Look it up, derpi has some cute pics of pegasi preening.
9056137
Oh, they're definitely gonna be in the next chapter for sure.
9056184
Like a chapter or two ago when Twilight's mom interrupted their little make-out session, right?
9056444
The illness plays a large role in the next few chapters.
9056663
Fixed that, thanks!
As for the wait, yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. I just can't shake the feeling wondering if it's worth it to spend 8 hours writing a chapter only to get a few comments in return. I wish the fandom hasn't been dying out like it's been these past couple of years; I remember getting 100+ comments on the first story in a day whenever I put up a new chapter of I'll Always be Here for You.
Man... those were the good 'ol days.
9056601
Nah, it's not cancer.
It's not an infectious disease; that's why Rainbow made out with her near the end of the chapter.
Shhh.... don't spoil it for others!
Thanks dude!
9057073
Is this Before or After Flurry Heart?
9057093
This is before Flurry Heart, but she's REDACTED INFO FROM NEXT CHAPTER. :P
I.......didn't really like this chapter, I'm sorry to say. The moments when Rainbow and Twi were alone were cute, but I wasn't a fan of how the major tension and its resolution of the chapter had a single scene between them. I feel like this didn't really...add anything. I guess Twilight and Rainbow can be considered to have gotten closer because of this, but they're already in love and have already adopted Scootaloo. This chapter felt kinda....arbitrary. A thing happened, but now it's fine? Cool? I guess?
That was a very enjoyable chapter to read. Enjoyed Shining and his antics hehe
9057144
Lol she's not fine. Nowhere close.
9057234
I'll take you at your word, but that wasn't the impression I got from the chapter.
9057238
Very well. The way I see it, Twilight was passed out for three days. While she doesn't feel as bad before she passed out, you just don't wake up after being passed out for that long and feel like you're already back at 100%. The next chapter will go more in depth.
9057253
That makes sense. I look forward to the next chapter, then.
Is great, but things better be alright in the end.
Oh god, I hope Twilight;s okay. Now I'm really starting to worry for her, if this gets any worse, imagine what Scootaloo's former father could do to take advantage of this!
9057255
And her strange illness is going to play a large theme for the next few chapters, too.
9057259
If you've read any of my other stories, you would see that I end all my stories happy/on a good note.
9057266
Fuck. I get so invested in stories that I love that, when shit hits the fan, I actually lose myself in it and feel excited/anxious, and that's certainly happening now that Twilight's down, especially since we don't know what's happening to her! Here's to the several week long suspense! Thank god you just said you like the happy endings, no need to worry about the tragedy tag applying! right?
Isn't Scoots' mother still on the loose? Between whatever she is up to, and this mysterious illness, I'd say Twi, Dash & Family aren't out of the woods yet.
9057348
Father. The mother was caught being a dumbass in a cloud
The last update was so long ago, I had to re-read the whole story... and the previous one, to reaquaint myself with what's going on. Lol.
Though I have to say, this mysterious illness had me a bit worried. I hope whatever it is is treatable.
Well, hopefully the worst of it is over. Although we'll have to wait and see.
Yeah... I had the perfect reply to Shining Armor's mad dash to get the doctor in mind... and the clip I needed cannot be found. Maybe if I had a decent program for ripping DVDs...
dammit
I wonder if Dash would see the couple engaging in "certain activities" if she would have been able to free herself.
9058145
What, snuggling? Lol probably. :P
Please let Twilight be OK. I wanna know what's wrong with her.
Great chapter I wish it would have been a little longer but it was still much appreciated I've been waiting for this chapter for a while now.
Another good chapter please Keep up the good work. Much love
Yay! Twilight gonna be oki
9060673
Yeah... About that...
9059393
It was longer than the previous chapters, so... better than 2k words.
I love the way you describe their exact positions, it makes visualizing so much more fun, like it's an episode in my head