• Published 16th Dec 2013
  • 1,491 Views, 81 Comments

Limited - Cynical



It didn't exactly start out as the best day for Twilight Sparkle, and that trend doesn't seem to be improving anytime soon.

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Prologue : The Magic Phrase

“What would you do if you had two days to live?”

The doctor looked up from his paperwork and sighed. “The results from the tests haven’t come back from the lab yet, Miss Sparkle,” he said patiently, “There’s still a chance that you’re completely fine.”

Twilight Sparkle was sat on the edge of the only other chair in a nondescript office. She sat back and sighed, “And there is a much more likely chance that the initial diagnosis was correct and that I have two days left to live,” she said as despondently as if she was reading from a textbook. “So… what would you do?”

“Numbers are just that, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor continued, moving a few sheets around the desk until only one was in front of him, “A way to completely overlook all the complexities… real ponies are not divided into groups of personalities.”

“I know…” Twilight said morosely, “I took that into account and rolled back the odds.”

The doctor looked at her soundlessly for a few moments until he was interrupted by a knocking at the door. He looked up as a nurse pushed it open and smiled briefly. “Speak of the devil,” he said, reaching out and taking the envelope from the nurse and thanking her quietly before she left. He slit it open with the edge of his hoof and took the piece of paper from inside, his smile quickly becoming forced.

“So…” Twilight said conversationally, “What would you do?”

He sighed and put the sheet on the table in front of him. It was a lonely affair with simply the patient name, Twilight Sparkle, the disease they’d tested for, advanced magical hyperactivity flux disorder, and the verdict.

“I’d probably spend about a day on lamenting the fact that I had two days left to live,” the doctor said, smiling weakly, “But that’s me… two days is still a lot of time, if you know what to do with it.” He stood up uncertainly, “Would you like me to book you in with a counsellor?”

Twilight glanced up at him before looking back at the floorboards. “No… it’s fine.”

The doctor kept looking at her and Twilight could almost hear the cogs whirring around inside his head. “If you're sure...” he said finally, stepping out from behind his desk and lending her a hoof.

She took it and pulled herself up. “I'm sure,” she confirmed resolutely. She knew that the doctor was concerned about her... she'd just brushed off her inevitable death in as carefree manner as she could after all. Yet worrying about it wasn't for him to do. “Thank you, doctor,” she said, working on automatic as she let go of his hoof. “I'll...” she broke off, her voice hitching in the back of her throat before she coughed. “I'll see you later,” she finished, pushing past him into the hall.

For a moment, she thought that the doctor was going to follow her, yet the door simply slid shut behind her. She sighed, shutting her eyes and breathing deeply, trying to compose herself. She hadn't actually told anyone about the possibility of this happening yet... it had all been too sudden and she hadn't wanted to worry any of them.

No matter... it seemed that she'd have to worry them now.

She wondered where it had all gone wrong... one moment she was able to hop to and fro without a care in the world; able to use her magic as she'd pleased. Then… she didn’t know what had changed. She’d been in Ponyville for nearly five years, and then it had taking more and more effort to do simple acts of magic, then it started to hurt. Teleportation gave her a headache, transfiguration gave her a migraine and transmogrification started inflicting harm on her own body.

It was just her luck; of all the conditions- of all the diseases… she had managed to land the jackpot; the one-in-a-trillion condition. There was no known cure and no survivors of the disease which, in Twilight’s opinion, was just brilliant.

Grimacing to herself, she started walking down the hallway towards the exit. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to tell her friends. She was going to have to tell Spike, her parents. She was going to have to tell Princess Celestia… The list just kept growing the more she thought about it.

She’d have to put her will in order, maybe even pay a visit home… to her old home in Canterlot. There were her affairs to sort out too; how many ponies were depending on her to do something this week? This month? She’d have to see all of them and tell them that she wasn’t going to be able to help them.

To cap it off… she’d been warned off using any more magic as a precaution earlier… not that it’d helped. She nodded to the receptionist and the ghost of a smile flickered across her features as she waved back.

The doors were pushed open and she left the hospital, breathing in the cool air and looking around. The sun was low in the sky and the faint warble of the birds could just be heard. It was too late in the evening to expect that other ponies would be out and about, yet it was so easy- too easy- to believe that absolutely nothing was wrong; that the world was going to keep turning and she’d live to see it turn more and more.

Not easy enough though…

She cast a look back at the hospital and sighed. “It’s not like it can get much worse…” she muttered to herself, wincing as her horn came to life. “Lots to do…” she said out loud before winking out of existence in a flash of magenta and scarlet.

Pain.

Twilight cried out as she slipped through reality. She swore she could feel the fabric of reality tearing at her, ripping off her skin and burrowing through her body. She couldn’t see anything- everything hurt- she couldn’t move- she couldn’t do anything- she-

She was shot out of the folds of reality, faintly aware of someone screaming. Maybe it was her? It was probably reasonable considering how battered she felt… yet the screaming was muffled. Maybe it wasn’t her after all.

It got further and further away… she couldn’t hear anything now- just a buzzing in her head; the white-noise of her mind.

Then even that faded away and the world went silent for her.