She was missing again.
That was all Spike needed to tell Rarity when she arrived at Canterlot Castle. It was unclear how she had gotten out, but the combination of her mental state and the unpredictable nature of her magic made it a simple matter of guessing.
The darkness of night covered the sky, the moon having been set hours earlier. It was silent except for the wind rustling the leaves of the trees and the crunching of the grass underhoof. Rarity shivered. A coldness rippled across her body as a breeze went up her spine. She pulled her fur coat tight to her chest and twisted her head to scan the castle grounds once more. Her horn glittered light blue in the darkness, sending out a faint beam of light as its owner methodically examined the gardens. She knew the pony she was searching for couldn’t be far... just how it had been before.
This was unfortunately a frequent occurrence, and it had only become more increasingly common. For herself, this was Rarity’s third time of having to search the Canterlot gardens, though she had mentally noted that the pony had been a bit closer each time.
A sudden crunch from a nearby hedge made Rarity swivel around, the light of her horn quickly catching the sight of the pony that had been lurking in the darkness.
Twilight Sparkle, the former princess of Equestria, stood still in shock as pinpointed pupils met that of Rarity’s. Bare of her regalia, the alicorn stood frozen in place. Her emaciated frame was only highlighted by the lean physique her alicorn magic had given her over the years. Her mane and tail were messy and unkempt, the shine on them long gone, her magic making them only twitch slightly in the light rather than flow. The princess’s mouth was open, looking at the unicorn standing before her in slack jawed horror.
“No no no, get away!” Twilight cried as she stumbled backwards, colliding with the hedge, “I… I, who are you?” she stammered. She fell down, putting up a hoof to shield her face from the stranger.
Rarity remained still for a moment, quietly sighing to herself. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’m here for you.” She lifted a hoof and held it out to the alicorn. Twilight stopped scampering at the ground and looked at Rarity in the eyes.
Rarity looked back with an air of sadness that the alicorn didn’t recognize. Twilight’s eyes were that of a stranger’s, her memories of her family and friends having long gone to a blurry mush in her mind, any sparks of intelligence and kindness vanished, replaced with the dismal depths of fear. Shattered shadows of the princess that once were.
It had begun slowly, with small quirks as all illnesses did. Sometimes Twilight would forget why she came into a room, misplace objects, or forget where doors led. Small things that could be misconstrued as mere accidents.
But then it continued. She would forget names, dates, important things to the point of noticeable detriment.
Eventually they all learned the answer. Twilight had R.O.A.M. disorder. Short for Rapid Onset Alicorn Memory disorder, it was a mental ailment unique to ponies granted with alicornhood. The magic put stress on the pony’s body and mind, causing deterioration over time, and there was no cure. At the time, Twilight assured her friends she would find a solution, willingly taking off the crown so she could devote time to her well-being.
But that was then. The R.O.A.M. progressed quickly, faster than anyone had expected. Her memory became worse, her notes became unintelligible, and her speech became mumbly. Quickly the princess became unable to care for herself, becoming confined to her quarters, a prisoner in the castle. A prisoner of her own mind rather than others.
Twilight’s friends began taking turns taking care of Twilight as her mental aptitude worsened to the point she became unable to feed herself. Unfortunately, taking care of the alicorn became difficult as her alicorn magic began to reflect her mind, flaring out randomly to detrimental effect.
Her memories becoming a distant fog, Twilight would roam randomly, becoming lost in the familiar grounds of the castle.
“Come now, darling,” Rarity said gently to the pony that towered over her, “Let’s take you back somewhere safe.” She used a hoof to lead the alicorn along, using her horn to light the path back to the castle.
Twilight didn’t answer, instead breathlessly murmuring to herself as she glanced about in wide-eyed confusion, failing to recognize her surroundings or the pony leading her. The lanky purple pony stumbled in her steps, the full-grown mare occasionally failing to walk as if she were a foal taking her first steps.
The walk back to her quarters was long and silent. Twilight had long stopped replying to conversation, and when she did talk, it lacked any of the cognisance that had graced the alicorn’s speech for so many years, instead being reduced to rudimentary phases as the pony struggled to recall any memories of her past.
Eventually they reached their destination. Twilight looked up, a brief spark of life shimmered in her eyes as she recognized one of the few creatures she could briefly remember. “Sp-Spike? Is that you? You’re so… so big.”
The burly dragon stood outside her room, looking over the two ponies. He didn’t answer Twilight, who only remembered him as a hatchling and would always forget everything else. Her surprise was not a surprise to him, rather a constant of Twilight in their new lives together.
“She got into the gardens again,” Rarity said to Spike as she released Twilight and let the alicorn step forward, “Only about twenty feet from the castle this time.” She shook her head. Twilight had wandered out a hundred feet previously. It was a sign her range of capability was becoming smaller
“Thanks Rarity,” replied Spike, putting a claw on Twilight’s shivering back, “I can take her from here.”
Rarity nodded. “You wouldn’t mind if I stayed and watched, would you?”
Spike didn’t answer but gave a brief nod to the unicorn. The trio of creatures entered the room. Most of Twilight’s belongings had been put into storage, so the room was mostly bare. A shelf, a desk, stacks of paper, and a bed. The paper was for Twilight’s notes, as occasionally a spark of the pony’s studious habits would shine through the fog of her mind. Of course, these notes were a habit to keep Twilight occupied, as reading them was an exercise in the futility of deciphering random scribblings and loose doodles of immediate sensation.
Twilight was led to her bed to get some rest. Spike fluffed the pillow to make sure the alicorn was comfortable.
Twilight shakily glanced around the room, taking in her surroundings. She turned her head, noticing Spike standing next to her. “Sp-Spike?” Twilight asked again, “How did you get so- get so big?”
She looked over to catch the eyes of Rarity again, who was standing next to the door. Any familiarity in her eyes that had appeared during their walk together had vanished like a breeze in the night. “And who… who are you?” Twilight asked as she had so many times previously.
Rarity couldn’t hold it in. She had to run out the room.
She sniffed, trying to keep in the tears that welled in her eyes. She and her friends were spread thin enough trying to keep Equestria operational while two of the alicorns became senile, and seeing the state of Twilight was just too much for her. But she couldn’t leave her. Even though Twilight had forgotten it all, she was still her friend, and she would always keep her safe.
Rarity knew it wasn’t Twilight’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault as a thing such as R.O.A.M. disorder was an unknown and an inevitability. The only thing they could do was keep Twilight safe.
For the mind was fragile and magic had its quirks. And the two combined was not a thing that could be repaired.