A hard lesson

by Kanske_2099

1. The begining of the end

Chapter one: The Beginning of the End

It was a Sunday morning. Twilight yawned, stretching her hooves, and walked slowly to the window to see the blue and clear sky.

What a beautiful day, she thought, then proceeded to walk downstairs, where her dragon assistant had already made a delicious breakfast.

"Twilight, what happened to you? It's almost ten in the morning!" Spike asked, surprised.

"Just up late, Spike," Twilight said in a calm voice. "Besides, we don't have much to do today, so we should be fine," she added with a unconcerned looked on her face.

"Oh, ok. Guess we should start by eating a good breakfast then," the dragon said with a grin.

The two sat down and ate quietly, Spike shooting concerned looks at Twilight. She's probably just tired, he thought.

After breakfast, Twilight decided to give the library a thorough check to keep everything in order. She saw a Daring Doo book in the "Magic and Potions" category, sighed, then levitated it out and put it in its proper place. Satisfied, she turned and nearly tripped on another book that was carelessly left on the floor. Introduction to Magic: Fillies and Colts Edition.

"I should give that to Sweetie Bell, before... before anything bad happens," Twilight said to herself while looking down, staring at the book.

"Are you alright Twilight? " asked Spike.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered with a fake smile.

Later on the afternoon, Twilight received a letter from Pinkie Pie inviting her to yet another party.

Twilight frowned. "Another party..." She muttered and read the letter

Dear Twilight Sparkle, you are officially invited to the "45 days 'till my birthday" party. It will be held this Friday, starting at 6 on the afternoon.

Sincerely yours,

Pinkie Pie

Twilight grinned slightly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Looking at the letter, she decided to go to the party. She should be there with her friends, for as much time as possible. After all, she couldn't see the future. The only thing she could think about were the words forever repeating in her head. Tumor... Growing... Inoperable...

It was a few weeks back, after she got back from the Crystal Empire. Everything had been going great until she started feeling a little sick and dizzy. She convinced herself that it was something she ate, and so would be better in the next morning.

She was wrong. Twilight woke up earlier than usual, her stomach feeling like she drank a lot of cider, then she ran to the bathroom and threw up. Her friends were coming over that day, so Twilight had to be in good condition. She went to her room, look through the drawer and found pills for stomach sickness.

"This ought to do it,” she said to herself.

And it did. She felt fine most of the day. Then her friends came over. First was Pinkie Pie, and a box with lots of cupcakes. Then Rainbow Dash came flying through, almost taking Twilight with her into the wall. Of course, just as that happened, Derpy was flying by and decided to try Rainbow's entrance herself. It went as well as expected; she crashed against the top of the doorframe.

"Whoowee, that had ta hurt," a southern accent was heard. "Are yah alright, sugarcube?" the mare asked.

"Ouch...” Derpy moaned. “Hi Applejack. I'm fine... I just don't know what went wrong," the wounded mare said as she rubbed her face.

“You sure you're alright?” Twilight inquired.

"It hurts, but yes, I'm ok, " the cross-eyed mare answered.

"Oh thank Celestia! My muffins are safe!" Derpy showed off her (copyrighted) 'Tastiest and Healthiest Muffins ever'. "I wouldn't want them to get destroyed before you give it a try.”

They all started talking, Rainbow schooled Derpy on her awful attempt at that move, while Pinkie and Applejack were just joking and giggling. Twilight levitated a table over to them and placed the drinks and the baked goods her friends brought onto it. They all sat down and grabbed
some cupcakes and juice. Twilight looked at the sweet, sweet cupcakes , but thought they were too much, so she opted for a wheat germ muffin because it would be better for her stomach.

"Wow! These are delicious Derpy," she said, taking another bite.

"I knew you'd like them! It's my own recipe," Derpy answered, proud of her abilities.

Time flew by, and the group ate most of the cupcakes and muffins.

"You know... We should save some of these for Fluttershy and Rarity..." Rainbow suggested

"Ah'm sure that's just because you can eat no more, " Applejack teased.

"Well... maybe..." Dash said, trying to eat just one more.

And then it happened. Twilight's stomach heaved, causing her to feel sick once more. She rushed upstairs to the bathroom, and promptly threw up. A few moments later, she felt well enough to go back and see the others.

"Uhmm.. are you alright Twilight?"Pinkie asked as the purple mare poured herself a glass of juice.

"No... No, I'm not. I think I may be coming down with something, but I don't know what." the purple pony confessed.

“That's not good,” Rainbow commented.

"I think I should go see a doctor," Twilight stated. They all gasped and frowned at the sentence.

"If you think it's that bad, then let's go!” Applejack got to her feet, urgency evident in her voice.

"Wait a second, it's not that bad. Don't worry; I'll go tomorrow, I promise. Right now, I just need some rest," Twilight said.

"Fair enough, but if you don´t go I'll come to take you myself," Rainbow Dash yelled at her.

The next day, Twilight did her usual chores around the library and then went for a consultation with Ponyville's doctor. She arrived and explained her symptoms. The doctor thought it was nothing really bad, but he still asked the nurse to take some blood for a couple tests. He gave her some medicine and made an appointment for the next week to follow up.

So she waited, and felt good for a few days. She told her friends it was nothing bad and she would be fine with the medication in no time. ...Or so she thought. The next afternoon, when Spike was out helping Rarity, she felt a little dizzy, then going down the stairs, she passed out, fell down the stairs, landed facing the door.

Two hours passed. The sound of a hoof knocking on the door was what woke her up. She felt the world spinning fast around her, then suddenly stopping. Her mane was a mess, and her nose had some blood on it. She used a little spell to make her look better and gathered up the energy to go to the door.

A brown earth pony with a spiked dark red coloured mane, slightly taller that Twilight, with big and pretty purple eyes, who had a message for her.

"Hmm Miss Twilight , good morning. I am Brave Runner. Dr. Stable sent me to give you the results on your tests," he stallion said, holding out an envelope.

She grabbed the envelope and opened it nervously. A chill ran down her spine. She was no medical expert but she was smart, and she knew those results weren't normal. She needed to go again soon, as the doctor advised on the letter. As soon as possible.

"Oh no, I have to go now!," said Twilight, running around in her library, then stared at the stallion. "Oh, I'm sorry... Thank you for your troubles," Twilight apologized, blushing a little.

"No problem miss, I think that's all for now. I have to go," explained Brave with an empty expression, turned around and started walking.

"Well, alright... Thanks again, bye.” Twilight stared at him some more, worried.

Is he... That cutie mark looks like... She looked at his flank, an art palette. Shaking her head, she left the library. I don't have time for this; I'm just distracted. She ran to the hospital.

After waiting for Dr. Stable to finish with his patient, she explained what had happened.

“I'm worried. Ponies don't just pass out randomly.” Twilight said.

"I was afraid of that.” Stable said. “It means that there is a problem in your brain. I've called a friend of mine, and he'll perform more tests and take special care of you. Least we can do, with how many times you've saved us. We're taking special measures for you.”

Hours passed and tests were performed. Twilight sat in the waiting room, staring at the ceiling. Those hours felt like days, and she didn't want to call any of her friends. They would worry too much.

Everything will be fine. Just fine... she thought. She was trying to rationalize her fears; she had to be fine, for her friends, for her land. There is no way such powerful unicorn and bearer of the element of Magic could get sick. No, something must be going wrong. She just needed some rest, a vacation. Something.

She fell asleep on the chairs, and less than an hour later she woke up. The two doctors stood in front of her, sad and worried expressions on their muzzles.

"What's wrong? How... I mean... What are the results?" she inquired.

"It doesn't look good. The dizziness and nausea were the result of a small tumor in your brain. Very small but it's growing, and is in a almost completely inaccessible, not to mention dangerous, part of your brain, so it's inoperable."

Twilight's heart stopped for a second, then began to beat faster and faster. She could only see the floor. A never ending chill swept through her, making her ice-cold. She couldn't believe those words. She could feel her hind legs trembling as she tried to retain her tears. She closed hard her eyes as she saw the wonderful life she have had, how everything had changed after she had arrived in Ponyville.

The doctors were still talking but she wasn't listening anymore.

"Twilight!" Dr. Stable yelled, getting her attention. "There could still be a chance! We'll just wait a few days and run the tests again to see how it develops. Meanwhile , this medication should suppress the symptoms while we find a solution, " he handed Twilight some pills.

She didn't answer. She was too shocked and couldn't think of anything to ask or say. She was just told her life was in danger, that their family and friends will suffer, and that soon she would be nothing.

She left the hospital, walking down the street to a park and sat on a bench, watching the sky...

Author's Note:

UPDATE: Edited by Derpy Defense Force.
I think it looks 20% cooler

Comments

[forrest yuchnitz]

Hurray im the first follower cant wait for the next chapter i like stories like this

[Agri_Yob]

That cover image just makes me want to hug Twilight and make sure she feels better.

[TurboTheGameGuy]

This was a good story, I hope Twilight will be okay.

[Kanske_2099]

4858097

Thanks for the follow :D ... this story is almost complete i just have to translate it to english and fix a few things, but the main plot is already made.

In 3-4 days i'll publish the second chapter

[NebulaNyx]

A good idea but the writing needs some serious work. Use quotation marks properly to show people are talking
"Like this" Do Not do this to show people are talking. It dose not work.
The idea has potential, but as it is this story is really going to struggle to gain any sort of serious attention unless some major changes are made. There are simply far too many errors. You need to proof read your work.
EDIT: so apparently English is not your native language. That's fair enough but still. Get someone to proof read this for you. The story needs it, badly.

[Kanske_2099]

4859075 the quotation marks are easy to change. i saw a writting guide here, i'm gonna check it out.

Thanks for the tips, i apreciate it. If you ever see another one of my fics, i can take hard criticism.

[NebulaNyx]

4860591 No problem mate. Good luck.