Twilight's Dusk - One Shot
It was late at night, and the moon still sat high up in the sky, shining through the window and casting its light over Twilight Sparkle. She slept soundly, her blue, star-patterned blanket mirroring her chest rising and falling, with the occasional ragged breath or yawn. Her soft snores filled the silent, crisp night air.
Suddenly, she sprang out from her bed, wheezing and coughing. This promptly awoke Spike, who quickly tossed off his blue blanket and rushed over to his companion's bedside, holding her head.
"Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike whispered.
Twilight only nodded as she continued coughing. She held her hoof over Spike's head and slowly pushed him away from her, not wanting him to catch whatever she had. When her coughing finally subsided, she took her opportunity to speak.
"Don't worry, Spike. I'll be okay," Twilight said with a raspy voice.
Spike looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt pity for her… so much pity, and he didn't even know why. Spike knew she'd be okay, but there was just something he couldn't brush off. Something, an idea, that just festered in the very back of his mind.
"Twilight… Twilight, I think we need to get you to a doctor. You haven't been okay. You've been acting sick since the Summer Sun Celebration!" Spike said, trying to hide the panic building up in his voice.
"Spike," Twilight chuckled. "I'll be fine! Don't worry so much. If I was truly so sick, why would the Princess send me to Ponyville knowing I wasn't okay? You're overthinking too much, silly. And that's normally my job!" she said.
Spike hung his head, revealing tears streaming down his face and dripping off his chin onto his feet. Twilight took immediate notice and lifted his chin up with her hoof, then kissed him on the forehead.
"Don't worry, Spike. I'll be okay, I promise,” she said softly. “Tell you what—you can sleep with me, okay?"
A smile crept up his face, and he immediately climbed onto the bed with her, falling asleep shortly thereafter.
This was the first time Twilight had ever been woken up by her cough. It had never been so bad, either. For a moment she thought to herself, Could something actually be wrong? No. It can't be. I'll be fine! I know it!
Her last thoughts left her mind as she slowly closed her eyes and fell back into a peaceful slumber.
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Princess Twilight Sparkle, Twilight thought to herself, still having trouble believing it. She had always been the type to doubt herself, but sometimes it could get out of hoof. She stood alone in front of her bedroom mirror just staring, then let out a sigh and hung her head.
"Am I actually worthy?"
A small part of her was expecting a response, but nothing came. Nopony spoke. All she could hear was her hitched breathing and soft, quiet sobbing. She raised a hoof to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes as she looked back up at herself in the mirror, letting out another sigh. Suddenly, her coughing returned; it was almost like she was choking. It took her by surprise, and she fell back on her behind, holding her throat as the coughing continued. She laid there for what seemed like forever, just coughing and wheezing, desperately gasping for air. Eventually, Twilight managed to get back up as her cough began to die down.
"I… I am… okay. I can do this. I can hold on, it's f-fine…” she said, as she began to wobble. Standing up on all fours again, she did nothing but stare into her reflection.
This illness—it changed her. She wasn't Twilight Sparkle anymore; she wasn't the happy and adorkable pony everypony knew and loved. No, she was just a pony.
"I'm the pony who fell ill and never made any significant impact!" Twilight yelled, walking slowly toward her mirror.
This illness had taken a toll on her. She was stressed and constantly anxious, always managing to cause herself panic attacks. She had fallen into the deep depths of depression, desperately trying to climb up from those depths.
She spoke once more, "I can't give up just yet."
You can give up whenever you'd like, her mind said, beginning an argument.
"What? No, I couldn't do such a thing! What about my friends? Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack?"
You think they care about you, Twilight? You're just a sick pony who happens to be a princess now, and they’re taking advantage of that.
Twilight pulled on her mane and fell to the floor, trembling in both fear and anger.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" she shouted, promptly getting up again.
You are worthless, Twilight Sparkle, the voice in her head sneered.
She couldn't take it. She levitated a nearby book that was sitting on her nightstand and swung it as hard as she could at the mirror, shattering it. She let out a final sigh before calming herself down and dropping the book.
The loud shattering of the glass alerted Spike, who happened to be organizing the broom closet 3 doors away. Dropping his supplies, he rushed over to Twilight's bedroom, swinging the door open to reveal his companion staring blankly at the broken mirror.
"Twilight? Are you okay?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
She broke from her trance and turned to Spike. "I'm fine, Spike. It was just another breakdown," she replied quickly.
"Second time this week, Twi."
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The pit-pat of hooves echoed through the huge halls of Twilight's castle. The loneliness made her anxious. Ever since she had been struck with her "illness," she hadn't been the same. The change was gradual, but noticeable.
The day she was crowned princess, her mood hit its highest, no doubt being the happiest pony alive, even if her coughs had disrupted her speech. At that point, Twilight didn't care anymore. She didn't care about her "illness." It wouldn't stop her from being herself, and being the Princess of Friendship. Even if she was sick, she wouldn't stop.
In her solitude, thoughts ran through Twilight's head. She didn't know if she was okay, but forced herself to dismiss it.
Another coughing fit hit her. It was almost like a routine—yet again falling to the ground, going through her coughing fit, and finally recovering. She couldn't take it anymore. It hurt both emotionally and physically, but she knew she had to keep going. Twilight felt weak, and ended up turning on her hooves and heading back to her bedroom.
She eagerly opened the door and took a glance out the window, noticing the sun was ever so slowly creeping down. I have nothing to do today. I need to take a break… she thought to herself before closing her blinds with her magic and climbing into her bed.
"I can't give up just yet."
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The night sky filled Twilight’s bedroom with darkness, the only illumination the crescent moon shining through her window. Twilight seemed to be at peace, quietly sleeping in her bed. This was the first night she hadn't been awoken by her coughing and wheezing.
Spike slowly entered the room, where his nice, comfy basket-bed sat near the foot of Twilight’s own bed. He could've easily gotten a room all to himself, but being with Twilight was all too comforting. Twilight did everything to take care of Spike, and the two had always been extremely close.
Spike had come back after a night of watching hoofball with Big Mac. He even brought back home his giant foam finger and soda-drinking hat loaded with cola. He turned to see Twilight, peacefully sleeping in her bed. Smiling, he turned back to walk toward his bed and knocked over a lamp with his foam finger. The loud, shattering glass made Spike flinch.
"Augh… I hope she didn't hear that," Spike mumbled, expecting Twilight to spring out of her bed and scold him, but she didn't.
Twilight was still seemingly sound asleep in her bed, with not a bother in the world. Her ragged breathing could be seen thanks to the blanket lifting itself up and down.
Spike let out a sigh. Not of relief or sadness, but of happiness. Happy to see Twilight so… peaceful-looking.
"Good night, Twilight," Spike whispered.
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It was early in the morning, the sun barely creeping above the mountains. Its light rays shined through Twilight's windows and onto her calm face. Spike was oddly awoken. He never woke up so early in the morning, but something felt wrong. He quickly raised his head and scanned the room. Twilight hadn't gotten up yet, which was unusual for her.
Oh, Twilight. You're oversleeping! You have duties to attend to! Spike thought, hoping somehow Twilight would hear him.
He slowly approached Twilight and nudged her a bit. No reaction. Spike let out a sigh as he nudged her with more force. Still no reaction. Spike's claws began to tremble as he crept onto the bed and nudged her harder one last time. Twilight slumped off the side of her bed and onto the ground, motionless.
"Twilight! Twilight, are you okay?!" Spike exclaimed, jumping off the bed and onto the ground near her body.
Spike began shaking, and a sense of panic began to build up in his body. Tears began streaming down his face, and he couldn't stop them. They fell from his chin and dripped onto Twilight, who had no reaction to them. Spike wanted to say something. He wanted to scream, but nothing escaped his lips.