While Twilight Velvet was talking to the timid pegasus mare, Twilight Sparkle and her father were heading to check on the final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration; namely the food. Twilight had to lean against her father the whole trip, for her legs felt like they were going to fall out from under her.
“I know Twilight; I’m scared too.” Her father said in an attempt to alleviate the pain his daughter was going through. While he hadn’t said it to his wife or daughter, Night Light knew that what was killing his daughter was not botulism. Botulism was in its own right deadly, but in no way did it cause one to vomit up blood, or weaken the ponies magic. At times he wished he could go back in time and find what caused his daughters illness and buck it to the moon.
Twilight wheezed out some words he couldn’t make out, though he was pretty sure it was only due to the coughing fit she had after the left Velvet.
Cresting a small hill, Night Light and Twilight stared in awe at the vast apple orchard on the horizon. Upon hearing a solid *thunk* of something hitting the wood with force, followed by a bunch of smaller *thunks* told the duo that the pony they were looking for was in the orchard.
Coming over the final hill, the duo saw the source of the thumping noise. A large bright red stock stallion was currently hitching himself to the cart loaded with apples, after hitching a smaller cart loaded with various foods to the back.
Night Light stood with his daughter leaning against him on top of the hill for just a moment. Then they slowly made their way on down the slope as Night Light called out, “Excuse me! We’re here to check on the food preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. We were sent here by the Princess herself. My name’s Night Light and this is my daughter, Twilight,” Night Light said as he pointed to his daughter and himself. “Though from the looks of things, it looks like the food preparations are complete.”
“Eeyup,” the stallion replied, before sticking a leg out and catching Twilight before she fell face first to the ground, “easy there miss,” he said, expecting a small chuckle of embarrassment over the fantasizing most mare had of him. What he got however caused him to worry, as the mare was gasping hard, even holding her hooves to her chest.
“Twilight!” Night Light shouted, rushing to scoop his daughter in his forelegs, “What’s wrong?!.” he said, very worried that she wouldn’t get to see tomorrow, tears forming in his eyes.
“Can’t…...Breath…...Chest... Hurts.” Twilight wheezed out, just barely from the sounds of her labored breathing.
Night Light held her close to his chest as he cradled her, “I’m so sorry Twilight! I’ll see what I can do to make it easier for you.” He concentrated on casting a spell that would hopefully ease up the pressure on her chest so she could breathe a bit easier. The spell would also dull the pain if he were doubly lucky. His horn lit up with light as he accessed the spell with his thoughts. Touching his horn to Twilight’s chest, he unleashed the spell and watched as his magic washed through her. Sure enough, Twilight’s breathing started to ease up. Though it was far from clear, it was sufficient enough that she now could breath easier.
Night Light sigh in relief as he saw the effects, before pulling Twilight closer and breaking down, worried he’d end up watching her die before the day was done. He continued crying before he heard somepony singing.
“Just when you think
Hope is lost
And giving up
Is all you’ve got,”
Night Light was startled when he saw a mare walking towards them coming from the town. Her orange and gold mane and tail were giving a feeling of warmth, even if it didn’t give off real heat.
“And blue turns black
your confidence is cracked
There seems no turning back
from here,”
Night Light felt mesmerized by the singer, unaware that his eyes were glowing, as was the stallions.
“Sometimes there isn’t an obvious explanation,
While the holiest hearts can feel the strongest palpitations,”
She sang before kneeling down to scoop of Twilight, who had passed out a few minutes after the spell was completed.
“That’s when you can build a bridge of light,
That’s what turns the wrongs all right
That’s when you can’t give up the fight,”
She sang as both stallions watched the scene in a trance as Twilight glowed brighter and brighter.
“That’s when nighttime turns into day,
That’s when loneliness goes away,
That’s why you gotta be strong tonight.”
She sang as she lowered Twilight back down to Night Light, the glow dimming down revealing Twilight sleeping peacefully as if her body wasn’t on the verge of total collapse.
“Only love can build you a bridge of light.” The mare finished with a flash, vanishing before the stallions could wake up from the spell she placed on them ended. Had anypony looked up, they would have seen a phoenix flying back towards canterlot castle. When the spell ended, the stallions couldn’t recall what they had been doing, until they shook their heads and remembered the food preparations needed to be delivered.
Night Light looked down at his peacefully sleeping daughter and carefully picked her up before setting her down on his back. He then nodded to the big red stallion, “I hope you don’t mind if I come along for now.” he asked as he made sure Twilight wouldn’t fall off his back.
The stallion nodded after a few seconds and started on down along the trail leading towards the farmhouse that Night Light could see in the distance. They walked on along in companionable silence not needing to say anything.
The stallion looked at the sleeping mare with a frown as he could swear that she looked like the filly that caused his parents death, though he knew that it couldn’t be true as the foal had died on the operating table. He just wished that he had been able to comfort his sister before she lashed out at Applebloom when she was only six months old. He was glad she calmed down before she did anything she regretted. But at the same time, he had to hide his tears as he knew what the mare’s father was going through.
By the time the two reached the farmhouse, the sun had already started to dip below the horizon, bringing Night Light a small smile, and a fresh batch of tears as the sky was now bathed in twilight. It saddened him that soon, Twilight would forever be part of the sunset in the heavens.