A couple of days later, Princess Celestia tried to shake off a nauseous feeling she got from refusing to sleep for the past few days, but she had felt a need to stay awake in case Twilight tried to connect telepathically with her again. She had told Twilight's family and friends what the nurse told her, and despite their despair and heartbreak, she had not given up hope for Twilight's recovery, despite the solemn looks the doctors and nurses would give her when they popped in and out of the room. Within these past few days, Princess Luna had managed to find a space between her appointments and meetings to visit the hospital and see Twilight for the first time since the accident.
"Oh, Twilight," she had said sorrowfully, "Whatever happened in the world to make you deserve this kind of fate?" Princess Celestia told her younger sister about hearing Twilight's voice during their visit; she also asked if she could do anything to help with Twilight's condition.
"I'm sorry, dear sister," Luna had said to Celestia, "I can enter the dream world fairly easily, as it is my duty, but the world of a comatose patient is quite different. Tampering with it might make the condition worse, and, potentially, have fatal side effects." She bowed her head in dismay, "I'm truly sorry that I cannot help; I would certainly give my life to save the pony who had saved mine." Princess Celestia had taken Luna into her arms and comforted her as she used to when they were both younger alicorns.
Now, Celestia continued to wait for a response to the letter she had sent the same night she heard Twilight; she just hoped that Zecora, the loner zebra of the Everfree Forest, had received it by now. Twilight's friends were supposed to visit again today, so at least Celestia had something to look forward to while she waited. When they arrived, Princess Celestia greeted them warmly and they went to the bed to greet Twilight. Soon, Rainbow Dash started reading Twilight's new book to her; Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike started playing board games; and Rarity and Fluttershy discussed various topics regarding fashion. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a hooded figure wearing lots of jewelry and a saddlebag entered; Princess Celestia was ecstatic that the figure before them received her letter.
"Zecora," Princess Celestia greeted the elusive zebra, "I'm pleased you could make it; I was beginning to worry that you hadn't received my letter."
"Alas, there was a slight delay," Zecora replied in her rhymed speech, "but I hope it has not spoiled your day."
"Zecora?" Rarity acknowledged her presence, and everypony turned to see, "What are you doing here? And what letter are you talking about, your Highness?"
"Princess Celestia sent me a letter of worry," Zecora responded, "and that I come here in a hurry. She has heard calls from beyond, and wishes that I explore this extraterrestrial bond."
"Uh, come again?" Applejack asked, clearly confused.
"A couple of nights ago, I heard Twilight trying to communicate with me in my head," Princess Celestia confessed, "It was clear as day, as if she were standing right next to me. I thought, since the doctors here cannot enter the minds of other ponies, I contacted Zecora in hopes that she can tell us more about what Twilight is going through."
"Are you sure it will work?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"The business of entering the mind of another is indeed risky," Zecora says mysteriously, "but, if done correctly, it can certainly be very nifty."
"Will you please try it?' Princess Celestia pleaded with Zecora, "I'm not sure what else to do, who else I can go to for help."
"Calm yourself, you Highness," Zecora said soothingly, "I will help, but I require complete silence." Everypony moved aside and stood quietly nearby as Zecora prepared for some sort of ritual around Twilight's bed. She lighted a few candles and began speaking in a foreign dialect that nopony else was able to recognize; she then placed her hooves on Twilight's head and whispered to her in various languages. After a little while, nothing happened; suddenly, Zecora's expression started to change from peaceful to confused and then to panicked. She spoke more hurried than before, but it did nothing to change her expression; all of a sudden, she started to sob and released her grasp on Twilight's head.
"No, Twilight!" Zecora exclaimed in an exasperated tone, not bothering with her usual rhymes, "You must fight back! Don't give in!"
"What's happened?" Princess Celestia asked desperately, "What did you see, Zecora?"
Zecora caught her breath before responding, "Twilight is trapped in her own mind, my friends; she tries to run, but I believe this might be her end."
All of Twilight's friends gasped as sorrow crept upon their faces; Princess Celestia, on the other hand, simply stared at Zecora before barging out of the room and galloping down the hallway. Twilight's friends chased after her as she barreled through the hospital in a fit of emotional rage. Eventually, she found herself on the roof, rain clouds starting to form as a result of her connection to the sky. She inhaled and exhaled quickly and sharply, considering for a moment what she just did. As one of the rulers of Equestria, she could not let her enemies nor her subjects see her express extreme emotion. She had to calm herself down before. . .
"Princess Celestia!" The rest of Twilight's friends appeared on the roof just behind her, "What happened, what's wrong?" Applejack asked innocently; Celestia could no longer contain herself.
"WHAT'S WRONG?!" she screamed in anger and desperation, "Look up - see that? I am a royal princess of Equestria, the ruler of these lands; I can make rain clouds appear out of thin air, yet I can't even save let alone help the ONE PONY I TRUELY CARE ABOUT?!"
Everypony just stared; Celestia did not care, however. Days and days of emotional torment and turmoil was unleashing itself in its purest form; painful agony. "When ponies see this crown," she continued shouting as rain began to fall around them, "they expect that all of the problems and issues in the world will be solved just like that," she said as she stomped her hooves violently on the roof, "WELL GUESS WHAT - I can do amazing things with the power invested in me, but LOOK HOW FREAKING USEFUL IT IS NOW!!" she screamed and collapsed on the ground, letting the emotional strain she internalized for so long break free as fierce sobs wracked her frame. The other ponies on the roof felt sorry for the princess' suffering and trotted over to console her, surrounding her on all sides and comforting their royal figurehead who had been reduced to a scared and tormented pony in a matter of minutes.
Soon, Zecora appeared on the rooftop with the other ponies; "I beg pardon, to interrupt this heart-breaking sight," she said, getting back into her rhyming mannerisms, "but something terrible has happened to Twilight." Soon after, Spike arrived behind Zecora, "Guys, not long after you left, Twilight started convulsing and her monitor stopped beeping. The doctors say she's gone into cardiac arrest!" Princess Celestia bolted up and raced back down to Twilight's room, with the rest of the group hot on her hooves. As soon as they screeched to a halt in the hallway leading to Twilight's room, they saw doctors rushing in and out of the room, carrying all sorts of equipment to try and wake Twilight up; when they refused the others entrance into the room, they were forced to sit outside and wait for the doctors' approval that everything was alright. As they waited, Princess Celestia continued to sob, no longer concerned with keeping up appearances; all she wanted was her faithful student returned to her.