Twilight smiled, then looked around the ponies seated awkwardly in front of her. Who's going first? she asked in a sing-song voice. Her mind remained awkwardly silent, until Pinkie spoke up with a falsely cheery voice.
I'll do it! she exclaimed mentally, and Twilight shot her a thankful look.
If you'll just put your forehooves here, and wear this hat, and put this on your tongue, and your face, and your tail, and... that's it! Twilight gave a broad, desparing smile, then began to speak aloud.
"Girls, please leave the room for now. I need to speak out loud to Pinkie." Her voice echoed in her head six times, but the others left, leaving Twilight and Pinkie alone. "Now Pinkie. I want you to tell me everything you can remember, from the rainbow. Preferably before it, maybe after. What can you remember? Say it aloud," she added with a small wince as her voice echoed twice.
"All I remember is that I lived on a rock farm, and was really sad. Then I saw the rainbow, and I was so... so happy. It felt like I was alive, if you know what I mean. Really, truly, abso-positutely alive!"
Twilight was scrawling rapidly across the page, until she realized the quill was writing for itself. With a small blush, she let it work. "The rainbow... brought you to life?" she asked, hoping to clarify.
"It did! Before that, everything was sad, but you made it happy!" Twilght nodded, then quickly teleported a few hooves away. This time, her friends were ready and landed squarely on their hooves.
"Girls, this time I'd like to work with Rainbow Dash or Rarity. Which one?" The two mares shot each other looks, as if saying it was the others' turn, but finally Rarity stepped forward. "The rest of you, please leave," said Twilight, with no regard to manners. Pinkie squeezed her hooves out of their hold, and Rarity trotted nervously over.
"Twilight, dear, what ever is the matter?"
"I think you all are imaginary friends, but what's more... you all keep mentioning a rainbow. I... I can remember a rainbow," she said quietly, caught in thought. "Anyways, just fit those to comfort and I'll ask a few questions."
Rarity complied, sliding her hooves in, and began to speak. "I know what you'll ask, so I'll just begin. No, I cannot remember anything prior to the rainbow besides what I told the Cutie Mark Crusaders a bit ago. The rainbow... brought me to life," she said dreamily, and Twilight rolled her eyes, but nodded.
"So... you'd say the rainbow pulled you out of something?"
"Precisely, dear! I can barely remember a strange room, talking to a young filly not too different from you, and everything being grey. When the rainbow came, everything changed. You came to Ponyville, and I did as well. I was born here, of course," she added quickly, "but I had never felt like I was truly here."
"Thank you then," said Twilight, letting Rarity leave. She approached the machine, which held two small vials of what should have been blood. Instead, a painfully bright light reflected through the prism-vials. Twilight hastened to open the lid of the vial, but inside was an ugly mixture of brown. She turned her gaze to the vial, and white shone instead.
She turned away, then looked back. The same properties applied. With a dramatically long inhale, she let out a small string of curses, then teleported her friends in. Ignoring the unavoidable echo, she spoke.
"Girls, I believe you are made of rainbow."
~*~*~
Princess Celestia had dozed off again, remembering little things, when she saw her student's eyelids flutter. She was on her hooves in mere moments, leaning over her student as if she were a gold-miner who had just found a literal river. Twilight was moving. On her own.
Princess Celestia fell back to her haunches, staring almost blankly at the student, as she began to remember once again.
~*~*~
When Twilight had first slipped into her coma, her family had been there constantly. I've mentioned that. She had only been in a lighter coma; still an astonishingly deep one, but a lighter coma than she had been in two years ago. She would move, mumble, and her horn flared occasionally. Then her family stopped coming, and she fell apart.
It was almost as if she could tell who was there. When I was around, she seemed to straighten up, act as composed as one could in a coma. When Luna was around, she almost flinched, but not as if she were truly afraid. When her family was around though... it brought her to life. She'd be relaxed, nodding, gentle movements or mumblings. She could have stepped out of it, she was so close. Until those damned idiots stopped coming. I'm determined to get them back for that.
Someday, she'd make sure they were around. Possibly the day she attacked them, or threw them in the dungeons for all long eternity.
~*~*~
Princess Celestia looked down at her student, whose state seemed closer to when she had first slipped in than ever. With a small sigh of relief, she looked around the room for the millionth time. Her eyes became fixed to the window, where a flyer fluttered down. She was tempted to ignore it, but instead used her magic to lift it.
Wonderbolts in Canterlot!
Image
Featuring Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Soarin', Misty, and More~!
**Costumes designed by Sapphire Shores
Jewelry designed by Rarity, with assistance
from Pinkamena Pie**
Celestia let it flutter tiredly to the ground, turning back towards her student. "I know you'll be okay. You are my student, and I never take on quitters or losers."
