Starlight seizes an opportunity to allow herself some revenge on Rarity, and thus Princess Twilight Sparkle herself.

Contains weight gain.

Spike gets blasted by a magical spell that wasn't meant for him. It makes it impossible for ponies to realize things are different about him. He takes advantage. Weight gain ensues.

The air rushed past her ears with a howl, the currents cutting at her skin as she dived towards the earth. An irrepressible smile spread across her face as her mane waved behind her in the wind, only to have the smile wiped away as what awaited her on the ground made itself known.

Inspired by this image by tassadoul.

I have something I want to tell you.

It's a very simple thing. A short little phrase.

I wonder if it still matters, though, in a world like this.

It matters to me, but I'd like to know if it'll matter to you.

Audio Reading by journcy!
Featured on EqD! - 10/09/2012
Inspired by the image "Twilight's Library" by SpyroConspirator. Cover used with the artist's permission.
Also featured on the Pony Fiction Vault! - 11/03/2012
Spotlit by The Royal Guard! - 02/04/2014

The friends we take for granted are often the ones that leave the largest impact on our lives. When Spike falls seriously ill with a mysterious disease and the ponies strive to nurse him back to health, Twilight Sparkle comes to grips with this very realization about her number one assistant--and friend.

EDIT: So this little story made it on Equestria Daily on 10/8/12. Now please excuse me while I pass out on Rarity's fainting couch while murmuring a soft Fluttershy "...yay."

Twilight is beyond the title protege. Prodigies are merely brilliant. Twilight has surpassed most of the greatest mages in history before the age of thirty. Twilight's research has changed the landscape itself. She is a living legend who some whisper may be the greatest user of magic to ever exist... perhaps even an equal one day to the semi-divine princesses.

But Twilight's knowledge is not infinite. She has one final lesson to learn. Twilight must learn the Final Law of Magic.

Twilight's life is treading on very thin ice, and the only hope is for her to open her eyes, tonight. After a conversation with the doctor about Twilight's condition, Celestia enters her room and talks to her. After all, it might be their last night together.

When her mother passes away unexpectedly, Twilight Sparkle reflects on a parent she neglected in pursuit of her own dreams. With only a little time left before the funeral, she returns home to piece together what she can of a life she barely remembers, hoping to make peace with the memories of a pony she took for granted.

Princess Celestia writes a report to her teacher on what she has learned about mortality.

On EQD Sept. 7, 2012.
Hungarian translation by Shidotoku
Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI

Play this song first!

Twilight Sparkle has always been looking forward to her 21st birthday. It's the day that she's finally recognized as an adult mare, but also the day she's finally able to learn magic on the highest level. What should have been a great day though, turns out to be the most horrific day in her life. She finds a prophesy talking about the next great evil in Equestria, and it's HER! Now she's falling, slowly becoming the very evil she swore to fight against, and not even her closest friends can pick her up in time. In the end, she may even...

Apple Bloom is tired of being the last in her class to not have her Cutie Mark, but her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo aren't going in the right direction to get their Cutie Marks, and she knows it. In order to get her Cutie Mark the right way, Apple Bloom begins to have thoughts of separating from her friends, and getting her Cutie Mark on her own. But her search for her Cutie Mark opens up to a major mystery in Equestria, and Apple Bloom will discover much more than just her special talent...

friends become enemies...

destinies are revealed...

light fades into the darkness...

and through it all, a hero is born...

This is the first main story in the series.

New cover art by my friend The Spectralist.

Link to the TV Tropes page!