Chapter 1
Twilight slept peacefully throughout the night, aided by the presence of Rainbow Dash sleeping beside her, and the heavy dosage of medicine the doctors had given her at some unmentionable hour during the night. It had been a rough day, and with the prognosis of being exposed to three times the lethal dose of radiation, nopony blamed her for sleeping in well past breakfast. The doctors and nurses were careful not to wake Twilight or Rainbow Dash whenever they went in to check on her throughout the night and into the morning hours.
Eventually, Twilight awoke to a tingling sensation all throughout her body, almost feeling like she was on fire. The sensation was tolerable, at least for the moment. She stirred under the covers and shifted her weight. Pain shot through her back from the movement, but she ignored it. She tentatively opened her eyes and immediately felt a dull throbbing at the base of her horn. She groaned and looked around the room. Her gaze fell on Rainbow Dash, who was still asleep beside her. She felt a smile tug on her lips at the sight, and she gently draped a hoof around her back to pull her closer but she was careful not to wake her.
She found her gaze drawn to her regalia still resting around Rainbow's neck. She smiled at the sight before frowning. She felt a cold chill run down her spine. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them and letting the worry flow away. If the regalia hadn't been enchanted to be nearly indestructible... she could have killed Rainbow Dash with it. It was a somber thought. Fortunately, she knew it was enchanted and wasn't a problem. If it had been a problem, for one, the doctors would have taken it away and disposed of it properly. She pushed the thought aside and held Rainbow Dash a little tighter.
After a few minutes of watching Rainbow sleep, her ears folded back to her head and she looked away from her. Countless thoughts flooded through her mind, thoughts of her friends, thoughts of Spike, thoughts of Equestria and Ponyville, thoughts of Rainbow and thoughts of what had happened. She found her mouth dry at all the unpleasant thoughts which outweighed any pleasant thoughts. She looked back to the table beside her bed and reached out with her magic to grab the cup of water. She grasped the plastic cup in her magic and frowned, something felt wrong. She pushed the thought aside and levitated it over to her and then wrapped her lips around the straw and quickly drank all the water in the cup. She swished the water around in her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing, then she levitated the empty cup back over to the table and set it down before staring off into space.
She wasn't sure how long passed before Rainbow Dash stirred, but she unconsciously nuzzled Twilight's arm as she started to wake up. Twilight smiled at the sensation, even if she knew it was fleeting, and that it didn't matter, and that Rainbow hadn't chosen to do it. That thought held a bite to it, and her heart ached at that. She turned away from Rainbow as she lifted her head up. "Good morning," Twilight greeted.
Rainbow blinked and then looked at the bed and ran a hoof through her mane. Her eyes fell on Twilight's golden regalia, which was still around her neck and resting against her chest. After looking at it for a few seconds she looked back at Twilight and saw her looking away from her. She felt Twilight's arm resting on her back and she shifted her weight, causing Twilight to withdraw her arm. Rainbow wanted to say something to Twilight, but she had no idea what to say. Her thoughts gradually turned to the previous day. She tentatively laid her head down on Twilight's chest, still tired and feeling dull.
Twilight looked back at Rainbow and pulled her closer with a wing and hugged her tightly for a brief second before relaxing her grip. She could have laid like that forever, but her body wouldn't let her. She felt the need to cough and turned away from Rainbow. Not a second later, she fell into a coughing fit. Rainbow lifted her head from Twilight's chest and looked at her in fear, worried that she had caused her pain as each cough wracked her body. Each time Twilight coughed, it hurt and sounded worse than the previous time. She could taste blood in her mouth before it was halfway over, and one of the doctors ran in a few seconds after she finished. Twilight clutched her chest with a hoof and whimpered.
Rainbow slid off the bed as the doctor rushed over to Twilight and helped her sit up. The pain from her body moving once more caused her to whimper. A few seconds later three nurses ran into the room. Rainbow backed away to give them room to help Twilight as she fell into another coughing fit. Each time Twilight coughed, Rainbow winced. After half a minute, another doctor joined the group in the room. He quickly looked around and met Rainbow's gaze, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave..." he said and then trotted passed her.
"W-will she be okay?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know..." the doctor muttered under his breath as he passed her. He came to a stop beside the other doctor. The pair looked at each other and talked quietly. Rainbow couldn't make out what they said, and she was afraid.
Rainbow felt herself starting to tremble, and put a stop to it. She quickly made her way out of the room. She looked to the left and then to the right side of the door as she exited, and the twin royal guards remained stoic as she walked to the other side of one so she wouldn't block the door. It felt like minutes passed, and she had to give the guards credit for not being phased by Twilight's coughing. As time progressed, the coughs became less numerous and less violent. A few minutes after the coughing stopped, the two doctors walked out of the room, followed closely behind by the three nurses. One of the doctors was scowling, and the other wore a worried expression. Rainbow stepped out in front of one of the doctors, she opened her mouth to speak but one of the doctors answered her unspoken question, "She's sleeping now. She was bleeding internally... Still is. Radiation and all that. Blood was filling her lungs. Last night it slowed after Princess Celestia used her magic on her, but it wore off this morning. It didn't help that you were there," he snapped, then immediately regretted it as Rainbow clenched her eyes shut.
Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at her hooves. She realized she was still wearing Twilight's regalia and shifted her weight from embarrassment but didn't take it off. "S-sorry..."
He sighed. "I... I'm sorry. I Didn't mean to snap at you like that... She's doing worse than she looks. We're going to give her a transfusion in about half an hour. Hopefully, that'll help her..." he trailed off with a grimace, then shook his head. "Her body is shutting down," he said flatly. "Her immune system has been compromised, so please keep your distance from her. I don't even like letting anypony aside from doctors or nurses in to see her, but Princess Celestia said that her friends could see her." He turned to leave, then looked back at Rainbow. For a second, he just stood there looking her over. "You can stay with her..." he finally said and then left.
Rainbow remained in the same spot for a minute before walking back into Twilight's room. As the doctor had said, Twilight was asleep. She wanted to smile at that, but there was too much on her mind. She watched Twilight for a few seconds before walking over to a chair and then pulling it over beside the bed and sitting down.
Twilight jerked awake a few hours after lunchtime and took a deep breath. Twilight whimpered from pain and Rainbow Dash immediately rested a hoof on her arm. Twilight's gaze shot over to her, and then she looked back at the cover over her chest. Twilight laid in silence for a few minutes before she looked back at Rainbow Dash. "You don't have to be here, you know. I'm sure you have important things to do..."
"I want to stay here..." Rainbow trailed off and shifted her weight. Twilight's gaze was drawn to her regalia still hanging around Rainbow's neck. She smiled at the sight. Rainbow glanced down at Twilight's regalia and then looked back at Twilight. "Why did you give me your regalia?"
Rainbow reached around to the back of her neck with her free hoof intending to pull her regalia off and give it back to Twilight. "I want you to have it," Twilight said. Rainbow held her hoof where it was for several seconds before Twilight spoke again, "It looks better on you than on me."
Rainbow shifted her weight, feeling uncomfortable from Twilight's complement. After a few seconds, she shook her head and undid the latch on the regalia anyway. She caught it in her wing as it fell, and then held in in her wing for a few seconds. Twilight held an even expression, she didn't want Rainbow to know how disappointed that she was about her taking it off. Rainbow stood from her chair and then sat down on the bed and then placed the regalia back to its rightful place. Twilight watched Rainbow and lifted her head slightly so she could fasten the regalia around her neck. As soon as Rainbow finished, she looked over Twilight for a few seconds and then slid off the bed and sat back down in her chair.
Twilight brought her hoof to her chest and rested it against her regalia. She sighed, and that sigh turned into a cough. Rainbow felt panic, fearing Twilight would fall into another coughing fit, but her fear did not come to pass. Twilight took a deep breath and then swallowed. "If I get out of this-"
"When," Rainbow corrected. "Don't say if..." Rainbow looked away from Twilight as she spoke, "I don't want to think about that."
After a few seconds, Twilight started again, "When I get better..." she paused, waiting for Rainbow to look back at her. Rainbow slowly turned back to look at her and she felt guilty for wanting to ask her question. She had already asked it, and Rainbow had said no. That hurt her more than she would ever admit. And now she was wanting to ask again, despite the fact that being sick could affect her answer. "Nevermind..." Twilight trailed off and looked away. She wouldn't ask that question. Not now. If she lived, maybe, but not while she was sick. She didn't want Rainbow to say yes out of pity.
"What is it?" Rainbow asked as she scooted closer.
Twilight shook her head and found herself grateful for the medicine she was on, even if it felt like it was wearing off. "It's nothing," she replied. "It's not important."
Rainbow looked over Twilight for a few seconds, but Twilight refused to look back at her. "Alright..." she reluctantly said, Twilight could tell she didn't believe her.
Silence reigned between the pair for several minutes, disturbed only by the sound of the heart rate monitor. As the minutes passed, both of them lost themselves in thought. Both of them barely noticed when the door to the room opened and Princess Celestia walked inside. She hesitated as she looked at Twilight and saw Rainbow sitting on a chair beside her bed. Neither of them had noticed her, and she didn't want to disturb them. After a few seconds of getting no reaction, she decided they were just preoccupied with their thoughts and stepped into the room in earnest. Rainbow Dash glanced at her and did a double take "Princess Celestia..." she said then stood from her chair and awkwardly bowed to her. Twilight's gaze shot towards her when Rainbow said her name.
Celestia shook her head, "That isn't necessary," she stated. Rainbow rose from her bow and Celestia shifted her gaze to Twilight. She sighed and walked over to the bed, and then sat down on her haunches. She glanced at Rainbow Dash and then looked back at Twilight. "I did not expect you to have company right now. I am surprised that Rainbow Dash is here, but I am glad you are not alone right now." After a few seconds, she spoke again, "How are you feeling?"
"The pain is getting worse," Twilight stated dryly. "I feel like if I eat something I would throw up." Celestia sighed and looked away. Twilight looked over her mentor's features. Like last night, she looked exhausted. Her coat didn't shine as bright, her mane and tail seemed to flow more slowly, and her eyes told the tale of how she felt.
After a few more seconds, Celestia met Twilight's gaze. "Is there anything I can get you?"
Twilight shook her head, "No. All we can do is sit around and wait while..." she trailed off. She knew what was coming, but she didn't want to say it out loud. Knowing what to expect to happen weighed heavily upon her mind. She didn't need to put that burden on Princess Celestia or any of her friends. She couldn't put them through that, especially not Rainbow. "I'm just... Glad you're here," she said at length.
"Luna is going through the archives... She's looking for something... anything that can help you," Celestia said absently.
"If there's a spell for curing radiation poisoning, I sure don't remember seeing it, and I've gone through that archive three times," Twilight said thoughtfully.
"Maybe you just don't remember it?" Rainbow suggested.
Twilight smiled wryly. She doubted that was the case, but maybe. "May-" she was cut off by a single cough which sent a wave of pain through her body. Both Celestia and Rainbow flinched at Twilight's cough. Twilight once more tasted blood in her mouth. The taste was revolting, she tilted her head towards the table and levitated the cup of water over to her. Again, her magic felt wrong, but she pushed it aside as a side effect of the sickness. As she pulled the cup of water towards herself, her headache intensified from using her magic. She grunted in pain, but eventually she managed to bring the cup to herself and put it in her hooves, then took the straw with her mouth and drank until the taste of blood was gone. "Maybe..."
Twilight started to levitate the cup of water back over to the table, but Celestia took it in her magic and set it on the table for her. Twilight weakly smiled her thanks. In a few minutes, one of the doctors came in to check on her. They barely said a thing while the doctor was there, not that they said a lot since Twilight had coughed. Before he left, the doctor gave her a shot in her arm. Where the needle pierced her skin it stung a little, but the pain quickly died away, being replaced by a numbness which slowly spread throughout her body. As the numbness spread, she found her ability to think clearly hampered. It wasn't long before she felt drowsy from the medicine, but she fought against the overwhelming urge to sleep for several minutes before she fell back to sleep, with both Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash watching over her. Knowing that they were both there, watching over her, made her feel a little better.
Starlight Glimmer slowed as she approached the door to Twilight's hospital room, much to her passenger's annoyance. Spike had bugged her all day about visiting Twilight. He was persistent and stubborn about the matter. Eventually, she gave in, and they left earlier than she had planned, but not before finishing several chores and duties around the castle. Life didn't stop just because your teacher and friend was in the hospital, dying. On the way to the hospital, she ran into Rarity, who had been unable to break away from her current engagement to join her. She apologized profusely, but Starlight understood her predicament. Starlight was happy Spike didn't point out her lack of teleporting them to the hospital. She had wanted to at least run into one of Twilight's friends and tell them they were visiting her earlier than they had planned. She knew that was just an excuse she told herself, though. In truth, she wasn't sure she was ready to see Twilight again.
She pushed the thought aside as she pushed open the door and stepped inside. Spike immediately jumped off her back but stood beside her. Twilight was asleep, and neither of them wanted to wake her up. Both of them were disappointed, but they didn't let that sour their moods. They turned their attention to the other two occupants of the room, Princess Celestia, and Rainbow Dash. Spike ran over to Celestia and sat down to her left, while Starlight hesitated before walking over to the trio and sitting to the right of Rainbow Dash. She still didn't feel completely comfortable around Celestia, and she felt better with Rainbow Dash sitting between them. It wasn't that she didn't like her, or that the princess had it out for her.
Rainbow Dash glanced at Starlight as she sat down beside her. "How is she doing?" Starlight asked.
Rainbow sighed and looked at the floor. "She's doing... Okay... I guess..."
Starlight sat up straighter. "You don't sound very sure about that..." she said grimly.
Rainbow groaned and her ears fell back against her head. "I don't know. I just... I don't know what to do. I can't do anything to help her. We have battled how many bad guys? And we beat them all together! And then she gets sick and... and we can't help her."
Starlight nodded absently, her thoughts turning back to when she first met Twilight and her friends. The memory left a sour taste in her mouth whenever she thought about it anymore. She pushed the thought aside with a shake of her head. "I'm sure just being here for her is helping her, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow halfway smiled at that but said nothing.
Celestia shifted her weight, "I know she is happy you are here, Rainbow Dash..." she said softly. Rainbow nervously glanced at her, then looked back at the floor. "That alone is helping her. Being alone isn't good for anypony, let alone Twilight in the state she is in right now... I know from... personal experience..." she trailed off with a strained expression, her thoughts shifting to her sister.
"Any idea when the rest of the girls are going to be here?" Rainbow asked, changing the subject to something more benign.
Starlight glanced at the clock in the room, then looked back at Rainbow Dash. "They should be here in about an hour," she said, oblivious to Rainbow's manipulation.
"Hopefully Twilight will be awake by then..." Rainbow trailed off. Twilight would be happy to see them all again. There was no doubt in her mind about that. Though, she might be unhappy if they weren't happy because she was sick. She grimaced at that.
"The medicine?" Starlight asked.
Rainbow nodded, "Yeah. They have her on all sorts of medicines... I'm surprised they don't have her on an IV or something."
"I can't imagine that's very pleasant..." Starlight trailed off as she bobbed her head about.
"Because of our accelerated metabolism, they're having to give her more medicine to keep the pain away," Princess Celestia commented.
Starlight, her curiosity piqued, turned to face Princess Celestia and frowned, "So your body would burn off the drugs faster than a normal pony?"
Celestia nodded. "Yes, and while it is very useful, making us nearly immune to the effects of poisons, it also reduces the efficiency of medicines," she grimaced.
Starlight's frown deepened. "That sounds like a bad thing."
"In this case, yes," Celestia said calmly. "Normally, we are immune to sickness and diseases... Our bodies have a very powerful ability to heal themselves. In this case, I do not know if that will help, though I imagine it will. I do not know to what extent, however."
"What is your healing ability tied into?" Starlight asked.
Celestia pursed her lips. She was approaching information that she did not wish to discuss with just anypony, and few ponies knew about. She thought for a few seconds about what she could say that didn't divulge any information that was too sensitive. "It is... Tied into our metabolism and magic," she said at length. Starlight nodded to herself at that as she went over the information in her head. "I have a spell which can help reduce the pain she is in... I used it on her last night, but I am weary about using it again in such a short period of time..."
Twilight groaned, immediately drawing everypony's attention to herself as she started to wake up. The four others present in the room quickly rose to their hooves as Twilight stirred. After a few seconds, Twilight forced her head up and winced in pain as the effort caused her headache to intensify. She felt tender and sore all over. After a few more seconds, she added nauseous to the list. The nausea quickly stomped out any desire she had to eat anything. After a few more seconds, her four visitors made their way over to her and stood by the side of her bed. Twilight glanced over all four of them and then laid back and focused on the dull, bland, white ceiling. The lack of visual stimulation made her feel better. She tried closing her eyes, but her stomach lurched at that. She fought back the urge to vomit over the next few seconds as she opened her eyes.
"How... are you feeling?" Rainbow tentatively asked, afraid of the answer. She swallowed as Twilight tilted her head to look at her. Twilight just looked at Rainbow's features for a few seconds before briefly meeting her gaze and then looking back at the ceiling. Rainbow felt the pain of guilt strike her heart at that but said nothing. Twilight had looked so lifeless when she met her gaze, it rattled her to the core.
"Twilight..." Spike's sad voice broke the silence that had taken hold of the room. Twilight clenched her eyes closed at how much pain there was in his voice. After a few seconds of getting no response, he crawled up the bed and then sat at her side. She lifted an arm and wrapped it around him before pulling him into her chest and squeezing tightly.
"I'm sorry..." Twilight whispered in a hoarse voice. The raspiness caused every pony to flinch. Twilight coughed and felt the all too familiar taste of blood return to her mouth. She turned her head away from Spike and fell into a fit of coughing. Each cough violently racked her body, causing the bed to rattle. Twilight licked her lips and reached out with her magic for the plastic cup of water. She grabbed it and quickly brought it over to her mouth and drank through the straw. She nearly vomited as soon as the blood tainted water hit her stomach. Over the next few seconds, the rising bile in her stomach became unbearable. She forced herself up and groaned from pain and forced her mouth off of the bed. Spike jumped off the bed and stood beside Starlight as Princess Celestia raced out of the room to find a doctor. Twilight's entire body heaved as she expelled the limited contents of her stomach onto the floor.
Rainbow, Spike, and Starlight all looked away in disgust, though Twilight was on the opposite side of the bed from them. When they looked back, Twilight was still resting with her head off the side of the bed, and her breathing looked labored. Rainbow put a hoof on the bed, "Do you want us to get you anything?" she asked. She bit her lip as Twilight didn't move except for breathing.
After what felt like an eternity, Twilight finally spoke, "Please leave..." she croaked out.
Rainbow opened her mouth to argue with her, but Starlight put a hoof on her shoulder. She turned around intending to give Starlight a piece of her mind, but the look on her face told her not to. She looked back at Twilight and ignored the smell starting to fill the air. She reluctantly set her hoof back onto the floor and stepped back. Her ears fell to her head as Twilight's body heaved again. Starlight levitated Spike onto her back and started to walk towards the door. She slowed as she neared it and watched Rainbow Dash look at the floor and start to approach her. As they walked out of the door they could hear Twilight whimper in pain. Unbeknownst to them, it wasn't just physical pain that caused her whimper.
"This doesn't make any sense," Doctor Taker said as his eyes trailed over the report he held in his magic. He lowered the report and looked at his colleges, "Radiation shouldn't interact with magic this way. And she's not even being exposed to anything now!" The information was infuriating him. There was no possible way that the report could be right. It had only been a day, and their data was limited, but it was pointing to something very specific, and something that would necessitate his expertise.
Doctor Manner winced and shifted his weight. "We've never had anypony exposed to the levels of radiation she was exposed to... Despite being in an underground room, she's still being exposed to low levels of background radiation regardless," he replied.
"We need more information before we can come to any conclusions about this," Doctor Taker said as he massaged his temple with a hoof. He was not going to do what was looking like was necessary unless it was absolutely necessary. He did not want to go down in history and be remembered as the doctor who rushed to conclusions with disastrous results.
"She won't last that long..." Doctor Manner replied as he looked at the floor. He hated having to be the one to voice what they all knew, but it was the truth that needed to be spoken. "She absorbed enough radiation to severely damage her DNA. She has internal bleeding, and her brain is bleeding." He looked around at everypony present, making sure they grasped the seriousness of the situation. "The fact she hasn't suffered any detectable neurological damage yet is a miracle. The fact her body is still healing itself is a miracle."
"But she is healing?" Celestia asked. She didn't want to even consider what it could mean if she wasn't healing. If she wasn't healing, she knew she wouldn't survive very long. She had ascended Twilight, she was practically her daughter. It hurt knowing what she was going through. It hurt knowing what they might have to take to save her. She wasn't sure if Twilight was willing to pay that price. Both thoughts caused her to shiver.
Doctor Manner nodded, "Yes, but it's at a reduced rate because of the genetic damage caused by the radiation, however, her body is also attempting to repair the genetic damage... to... limited success..." he trailed off, grimacing. Twilight was so young, especially in comparison to the other princesses. Even compared to him, in his fifties, she was young. She had her whole life ahead of her, but now she could have problems nopony should have to deal with. It was a sobering thought, one that reinforced the value of life.
"How bad... is it?" Rainbow Dash asked. She knew she wasn't that smart, but she knew what he said was bad. Very bad. She had some idea what genetic damage was, but only because she remembered Twilight mentioning it once before. She couldn't remember well, but she knew that genetic damage was bad.
Doctor Manner turned to face her. "We don't know a lot about alicorns, but her ability to heal herself is functioning at roughly eighty percent of what we measured last night. Even if by some miracle she survives, she will suffer permanent damage from this, even if her body manages to... completely heal itself on a physical level, there's still the genetic damage. We know of no way to repair genetic damage, and most of the time it's permanent, but she is an alicorn." He looked at Princess Celestia, "We don't know if alicorns are truly immortal, though you are very long-lived, but she isn't going to have as long of a lifespan now as she would have before..." Celestia's face contorted in pain at hearing that, as did the rest of her friends.
It hit Rainbow particularly hard, and she found her gaze drawn to the tile floor beneath her hooves. She never really thought about how long Twilight would be alive for after ascending into an alicorn. In hindsight, she felt stupid for not thinking about it. It made sense to her now why Twilight thought she was overreacting about Tank hibernating for the winter. Twilight would have to deal with something worse than her eventually. She swallowed at the thought.
The doctor looked among the mares and baby dragon present and looked at the floor. "I know this isn't what any of you wanted to hear but it's the truth."
The silence that hung in the air was deafening, broken only by somepony's hoofsteps as they approached the group. The sound of the hoofsteps slowed as they neared, and Celestia looked back to see who was bothering her. A smile crept onto her face as Luna approached, holding a scroll in her light blue magic. She turned around to give her sister her full attention, "Did you find something?" she asked. Almost immediately, everypony realized it was Princess Luna that was approaching and turned around to face her and then bowed respectfully.
Princess Luna's mane and tail were reminiscent of the night sky she was known for. Her mane and tail looked almost like nebulas, flowing away from the back of her head and body, and filled with specks of light. She was the princess of the night, and ponies knew it. Anypony who had ever touched her mane or tail would tell say it actually wasn't actually a nebula, but wouldn't be able to describe it. Luna glanced around at the bowing mares before she looked at her sister and bowed her head lightly. "Yes, sister. I believe I have indeed found the spell we are looking for." Celestia's smile widened. "It will require both of us to perform, it is a complex spell with multiple stages. It will not cure her, but it will help her body to recover."
Celestia quickly nodded joyfully. Not for the first time, her sister had brought her good news that restored her hope. She clung to that hope like a newborn foal clings to her mother. She wasn't going to let go of it. She couldn't, and not just for herself, but for Twilight and all of Equestria. "We should begin at once."
Luna bowed her head in agreement. She looked around at the hopeful expressions that each mare, dragon, and doctors carried. "I would ask that you all remain here while my sister and I perform the spell. It requires a very high level of concentration over a period of time." The ponies looked between themselves nervously but the general sentiment was agreement. Luna looked at them all one last time before turning around and leaving without saying another word. Celestia quickly left after her sister, and the pair made their way to Twilight's room.
"What now?" Starlight asked as she shifted her weight. She wanted to help. She knew she could help Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with whatever spell they were going to use, but they hadn't asked for her to help them. She had barely met with Princess Celestia during the day, and while she was polite, she didn't exactly look forward to having her as a student, she didn't say so but Starlight could tell from how she acted. She had met Princess Celestia before, and when she did, she liked her, and she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Maybe it was just that their personal meeting felt awkward and oppressed because of Twilight's condition.
"I guess we just wait..." Rarity trailed off. Though she had complete faith in the princesses, she still worried. It was her friend's life on the line after all.
"Ugh," Rainbow groaned, "I hate waiting..." Princess Luna saying she found a spell that could help Twilight made her feel better. Hearing that it wouldn't cure her outright brought back the worry she had from earlier. She hated what Twilight was going through. She couldn't imagine the pain she was in, nor did she want to. She didn't know how she felt about Twilight, but she knew how much it hurt her to see her in the state she was in. After a few minutes of dwelling on that thought, she made a promise to herself that she would at least help Twilight when she recovered. She wouldn't think about if she didn't recover.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna worked the spell Luna had found. It took a lot out of them, and after half an hour, they finished the first step, which left them exhausted. They silently agreed to take a break and come back in an hour to continue again. When they went back to the room everypony had been, it was now deserted, save for Rainbow Dash, Starlight, and Spike. The trio was asleep by now, being late into the night. Celestia and Luna didn't want to wake any of them and decided to go and grab a snack from the hospital cafeteria. They spent their hour break taking their time to eat and savor the subpar food. 'At least the cookies are good,' both of them thought. They still didn't quite match the cookies made by their own chefs, or Pinkie Pie's cookies, but they were good.
The hour passed quickly, and before they knew it they were walking back down the deserted hallways to Twilight's room. The next session took another half an hour, and before they were done with it, both of them were panting from exertion and the concentration required. They both knew the spell wasn't very efficient and that several significant improvements could be made so that a single unicorn could use the spell, but neither of them felt they had the time to rework the spell, especially given the circumstances. The food they ate had helped with keeping their energy up, but with as late into the night as it was, they were already tired from the day.
They spent the next hour resting in Twilight's room as the night waned on, and then they continued their spellwork. Much to their disappointment, neither of them could see any immediate indications that the spell was working, but they fought passed that and pushed on until the third session was done. During the next hour, several doctors stopped by to check in on all three of them to make sure they were doing okay. When the time came for Celestia and Luna to raise and lower the sun and moon, they were both exhausted from staying up all night and using their magic on Twilight. After staying with Twilight for a few more hours, the pair reluctantly departed and took a vacation day to recover from the exertion.
Twilight awoke the next morning feeling nauseous. She tried to lift her head to get a better look around the room, but even the thought of moving her head caused her world to spin. Reluctantly, she nudged her head so she could see if anypony was around. She was alone. She licked her lips and swallowed. She frowned as she realized how dry her mouth felt. She glanced at the table beside her bed and powered up her horn to grasp the bottle of water.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong as she brought the cup of water over to her mouth and drank. She pushed the feeling aside as she set the cup back down. The longer she laid there, the worse her head felt, but her stomach might have started to feel better. She wasn't sure, the change was so minimal.
The morning droned on, doctors came in and checked on her, but she barely paid attention to them, her focus being directed on her growing headache, hoping that it would distract her from the isolation and fear she felt from none of her friends being with her. Eventually, a nurse brought in breakfast, which she completely ignored. Twilight lost herself in her thoughts as medicine kicked in.
"Ugh, it's been over a full day!" Rainbow groaned in distress. "Why can't we see her yet?" she practically yelled, drawing nervous looks from the two doctors conversing across the room.
"Patience, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said calmly. "She is doing... better..." her lips contorted into a grimace. Other than the grimace, she did her best to keep the concern she had to herself. She had talked with the doctors. She knew what had happened. She knew what they were going to recommend, or more accurately what they were going to do. She had agreed to it in Twilight's place. She felt guilty about it, but she wasn't going to sacrifice her life in the off chance that she would recover without the operation. Telling the rest of her friends was merely a formality. She still felt they were jumping to conclusions, though she had no better ideas.
Rainbow looked at Celestia disrespectfully. "If she's doing better, then why can't we see her?" she asked rhetorically. She folded her arms over her chest at Celestia's lack of response.
Rarity shifted her weight as she looked between the two mares. "While I hate to admit it, I agree with Rainbow Dash, even if her..." she paused, searching for the right word, "statement-" she said in a higher pitch than usual, "-was a bit... uncouth..."
Applejack slowly walked over to them, she paused a few feet away from Rainbow Dash. "What aren't you telling us, Princess?"
Princess Celestia pursed her lips before opening her mouth to respond, only for Rarity to cut her off. "Applejack! You can't just accuse the princess of lying!"
"I didn't say she was lying, just that she isn't telling us something," Applejack replied evenly.
"I'm afraid she is correct, Rarity," Celestia said calmly. Rarity's composure broke and she looked at the princess in shock. "I do know more than I am telling you, but..." she trailed off as the two doctors walked over to the group.
"It's a sensitive matter," Doctor Manner explained. All eyes fell on him. He looked around nervously and felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. "She's... Well, she's doing better for the most part, but she has... slipped into a coma..." Everypony in the room who didn't know about Twilight being in a coma found their mouth dry. Rainbow Dash found her hooves on the floor without remembering landing, and she felt her heart pounding. "Internal bleeding is stabilizing, with the exception of her brain." He frowned and rubbed his chin with a hoof. "All data points to..." he trailed off. "We honestly have no idea," he said simply. "But, tests on her magic indicate something is wrong with her horn. It's also emitting low levels of radiation, that normally wouldn't be mentionable, but under the circumstances-"
"Her horn is killing her," Luna stated grimly.
The doctor nodded gravely. "If we don't remove the horn, I give her thirty-six hours, tops. We've already scheduled the operation for later today at the earliest possible appointment. It's possible we're already too late and she could die anyway, but we'll try our best."
"That... doesn't make sense..." Rarity said softly.
"No... It doesn't." Doctor Taker agreed. "But our knowledge about alicorns is very limited. Their ability to heal is unparalleled, as is their magic. Nopony has ever been exposed to as much radiation as Princess Twilight was, let alone another alicorn. This is all new to us, and we have a lot of data to go over."
"She'll never be able to do magic again?" Applejack asked solemnly.
Celestia shook her head, "No, there is a chance her horn could regrow, but I have no idea how long that would take. An alicorn has never lost their horn before. Many unicorns have lost their horns, but they have never regrown..." she looked away and grimaced, "with the exception of King Sombra..." she added under her breath. His name left a bitter taste in her mouth, and dread filled her mind. After a few seconds, she regained her composure and looked back at Twilight's friends, "She will still very much be an alicorn, and a princess. She may not have a horn, but she will still possess all the other traits of an alicorn."
"Most." Doctor Taker corrected, drawing Celestia's gaze. "Your accelerated healing is tied into your longevity, isn't it?" Celestia bit her lip but nodded, even if it was reluctant. "Her body is still healing itself, despite the genetic damage that should prevent it from healing itself. But, her healing is much slower. It... may affect her longevity..."
"Will it... recover?" Celestia asked tentatively. The thought of losing another friend, another student she wanted to elevate to her status struck a tender nerve in her heart that had not been struck for years. It left a bad taste in her mouth, one which she had tasted too many times before.
Doctor Taker bobbed his head. "I don't know. It's still far faster than a normal pony, and she hasn't eaten in a few days, so that could be contributing to it also."
Celestia's mind kicked into overdrive, planning Twilight's recovery, and planning countless redundancies in case something bad were to happen. It didn't change the fact that it rested on her surviving, however. She blinked when she realized she was looking at her golden shoes. She looked up and met the doctor's gaze, "How long will she need to recover after the operation before she can be released from the hospital?"
The doctor cautiously tilted his head away from Princess Celestia. He knew where that question was going, and he wasn't happy about it. "If I had my way, she'd stay in the hospital for a year, or at least until she regains her strength... But that's not going to happen, is it?"
Celestia shook her head. "I would like to have her moved to Canterlot so that my sister and myself can watch over her and take care of her," she said. She turned to Twilight's friends, all of whom were looking at her in disbelief, "You will be able to visit her whenever you wish, but I believe it would be best for her to stay in Canterlot to recover... Ponyville can be rather..." she trailed off, not sure what word to use to describe the town's chaotic history. "Busy," she finally said.
"How is she doing, doctor?" Celestia asked the second the door opened. She knew who it was without even looking.
Doctor Taker hesitated briefly before sliding into the room in with an expression of surprise plastered over his muzzle. Everypony in the room looked at him with hopeful expressions. He felt uncomfortable under the gaze of not one, but three princesses and a prince. He glanced at Flurry Heart and felt a twinge of a smile cross his lips. "She's doing well," he said after looking back at Princess Celestia. "The surgery was a complete success. It will be a couple hours before we will see any changes, but with any luck, the bleeding will stop sooner rather than later." His face scrunched up for what he said next, "We had to give her a transfusion mid-operation, but other than that, no complications." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and felt her tense body relax for the first time that day.
Shining Armor squeezed his wife's hoof in a reassuring manner. He wasn't sure whether he was doing it for her sake or his own. Hearing what had happened to Twilight nearly sent him off the deep end. Fortunately, Cadance had been there when he found out. "When can we see her?" he asked.
"I don't know," Doctor Taker said simply. "She's recovering, but she's still unconscious. There's still the chance that we're too late, but I'm willing to bet she'll pull through."
Everypony breathed a sigh of relief at that.
"How do you think she'll react?" Rainbow asked.
Starlight paused, holding the book she was putting away with her magic still. She didn't want to answer that question. She couldn't imagine living as a unicorn without a horn, let alone being an alicorn without a horn. As much as she relied on magic, Twilight's special talent was magic. Her special talent was magic too, but Twilight was still on another level compared to her. She knew it would be hard for herself to adjust to not using magic. "I... don't know..." she said at length. She hesitantly turned around to face the pegasus, who was lying upside down with her back bent over the back of the couch, her rainbow mane fell to the cushion. Rainbow looked at her curiously, though she could tell the pegasus wasn't entirely there. "I... doubt she'll be happy..."
Rainbow was pained by hearing that. She knew that was the likely outcome, that Twilight would be upset. Starlight frowned in thought, "I... imagine it would be comparable to a pegasus losing their wings..." It was the only comparison she could think of that could do it justice.
Rainbow's face paled at that. She subconsciously wiggled her wings at her sides, making sure they were still there. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a pegasus without wings, and her mind briefly wondered to Scootaloo. She felt pity for the filly, having her cutie mark but barely being able to fly, despite being a pegasus. She knew it was hard on her, despite her bravery. "She's going to have a hard time adjusting, isn't she?" Rainbow hesitantly asked.
Starlight nodded grimly. "At least she has ponies who care about her to help her..." She briefly thought back to her foalhood, though she knew it didn't compare to Twilight's situation. She pushed the thought aside with a shake of her head and she walked over to the couch and sat down. Rainbow looked at her quizzically as she slid into the couch and sat up in one graceful motion. Starlight looked at the book she was holding absently for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and setting it down on the table beside the couch.
"I want to help her," Rainbow said solemnly. Starlight slowly turned her head to look at her. "I don't know how I feel about her, but I don't like seeing her in pain..." Starlight solemnly nodded in agreement and looked away from her.
"I don't think I've ever asked..." Starlight trailed off as she looked back at Rainbow Dash, "How long have you all been friends?"
Rainbow leaned back into the couch, "About four years..." she answered. "It feels like a lifetime ago..."
Starlight tilted her head to the right, "In a way, it is..." she said under her breath. Starlight pushed the thought aside and smiled, "She'll be happy that you want to help her, even if you don't return her feelings..." Rainbow shifted her weight uncomfortably as Starlight trailed off. She had never been interested in another pony before on the level Starlight was talking about, ever.
"I do care about her..." Rainbow trailed off, not knowing what to add. "She's my friend, and... I... regret saying no to her..."
Starlight turned to look at Rainbow, who was pointedly avoiding her gaze. "I thought you said-"
"I don't know how I feel about her," she slowly answered. "But I know I shouldn't have said no. I can't help but feel like all of this could have been avoided if I just said yes, but..." Rainbow's ears fell to her head, and she looked at the floor.
Starlight sighed. "Rainbow Dash, Twilight doesn't want you to be there for her out of pity... She would want you to be there because you want to be there, not because you feel like you have to."
"I do want to be there for her, not because I feel like I have to. I just... I want to help her," Rainbow replied. "I want her to be happy... And I don't want her to die..." she trailed off softly.
Starlight grimaced. "She'll pull through... She has a habit of succeeding... Besides," she swallowed, "she's an alicorn."
Rainbow slowly looked to her, worry gripped her expression. "Is... is she, though? Without her horn, is she still-"
Starlight nodded quickly. "Yes. According to Princess Celestia, she is, and I believe her. She just... doesn't have a horn." She shifted her weight uncomfortably, her thoughts returning to what it would be like to lose her own horn and never be able to use magic again. Her own talent was magic, like Twilight's special talent, but Twilight's talent was far greater than her own. She had been as strong as Twilight, although Twilight recovered faster from their battle several months ago than she did. "It'll be hard for her, though..." She found her gaze drawn to the book resting on the table beside the couch. She looked at the book for a few seconds while they sat in silence.
The silence was broken by Rainbow Dash, "This is hard. Waiting like this... I don't like it. I hate waiting..." She swallowed and turned to Starlight Glimmer, hoping the unicorn would offer some incite she didn't know, "What am I supposed to do?"
Starlight turned to look at Rainbow and met her gaze. "Just be there for her. She'll appreciate it..." Rainbow nodded and smiled, even if it was only halfway.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes until Princess Celestia walked into the library, carrying a cup of tea in her magic. The two mares stood from the couch, intending on bowing to her, but she raised a hoof stopping it. She smiled softly at them before making her way over to the nearest bookshelf. "Doing a little late night reading, Princess?" Starlight asked as Rainbow and herself sat back down.
Princess Celestia nodded, "Yes..." She tilted her head away from the bookshelf and sighed deeply, longing for what she could not have. "I am having difficulty falling asleep." She turned around and looked at Starlight and Rainbow. To her, both of them looked exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Her smile slowly faded into solemnness and worry. "It seems we all are..."
Rainbow shifted her weight as Princess Celestia's gaze fell on her. She quickly glanced at the clock but didn't read the time. It was the middle of the night, and that was all she needed to know. "I should go..." She slid off of the couch and stretched her wings out.
"I do not believe Twilight would have a problem with you staying at the castle for the night, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said in a calm voice. Rainbow looked at her uneasily, not quite sure what to think of her suggestion. On one hoof, she would rather stay just because she didn't feel like flying back to her own home. And on the other, it didn't feel right, spending the night in Twilight's castle without her there. Especially since Twilight was in a coma and they couldn't tell her she was going to stay the night.
Starlight slid off the couch and nodded in agreement. "She'd be more than happy to let you spend the night here..." Rainbow turned to Starlight and clenched her jaw shut. Starlight smiled softly and continued, "I can show you to one of the guest rooms. The castle has hundreds," she shivered. She didn't think she would ever be able to wrap her head around how the castle managed to look so small on the outside, but be so massive on the inside.
Rainbow Dash glanced at Princess Celestia before looking back at Starlight and hesitantly nodding. "I... guess..." It didn't feel right, but she knew Twilight would forgive her. She would have to talk to Twilight about it when she woke up.
"Twilight?"
Twilight sat at her desk, skimming through the pages of the open book before her. She didn't really read anything on either of the pages, she looked at the words but didn't read them. She flipped the page with her magic and set to work on reading the next two pages. She took a deep breath, letting the musky air of the library fill her nostrils, and sighed contentedly.
"Twilight Sparkle, can you hear me?"
She rested her head against her hoof and levitated the book away before replacing it with another book. She opened it to the middle and started skimming over the words, once again not really reading anything the book said. She squinted at the words and tried to read them, but eventually gave up. The harder she focused on reading them, the blurrier the words became and the less sense they made. She eventually settled back on skimming through the words and turning the pages with her magic.
She levitated the book away and replaced it with another one. She perked up immediately and almost salivated at the title, then she frowned. The book was important to her somehow. She recognized it, and she recognized the title, but she couldn't read it or make any sense of it. It was almost like the title was a word on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't find it.
"Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Luna said as she appeared from behind the corner of one of the massive bookshelves that stretched upwards into infinity. Luna glanced over the book titles uncomfortably before turning her gaze to Twilight, who was watching her patiently.
"Princess Luna," Twilight casually acknowledged her before turning back to the book that was sitting in front of her on the oak desk. She sat back in the cushioned chair, Luna thought the chair looked like a poor imitation of classical furniture if it had modern comforts.
Luna tentatively stepped out and walked over to Twilight, "It is good to see you, Twilight Sparkle..." she trailed off and bit her lip.
Twilight grunted in acknowledgment. She was preoccupied with the book before her. It was a captivating skim. Each word held her interest for fractions of a second before she moved onto the next. It reminded her of a puzzle, one that she had already solved many times before, and knew how to put it together without even looking at it. The only problem was that it wasn't the right puzzle. None of the words made sense to her. The more she focused on trying to read the words and make sense of them, the harder they were to read, and the less exact their meaning became.
Luna walked over to Twilight's side and looked over her shoulder at the book she was reading. She squinted her eyes and skimmed over the words. They made even less sense to her than they did to Twilight. She hesitantly looked away from the book and at Twilight as she turned a page with her magic. "I... we were worried about you, Twilight..." Luna trailed off.
Twilight sat back up and paused, holding her eyes on a single word on the page where she had stopped. She turned to face Luna and looked at her in confusion. "Worried about me?"
Luna cautiously nodded. "Yes... It's... been a while since..." she trailed off and reformed her line of thought, "It has been a while since I have been able to enter your mind."
Twilight frowned at her. She was sure Luna said something important, but it didn't make any sense. It was like the books she had been skimming over. If she just repeated the words in her mind, it made perfect sense, at least it did if she didn't think about it. If she stopped to think about what Luna had said, the words became less clear in their meaning and distorted. "Been a while since..?" Twilight repeated, still unable to wrap her mind around the meaning of Luna's words.
Princess Luna swallowed and nodded. Something felt wrong, and Twilight wasn't acting right. She pushed the feelings away, "Yes... I have been trying to reach you for a week... You've been in a coma for seven days, Twilight Sparkle... None of us could reach you, nor could I enter your mind..."
Twilight frowned. "Coma..?" she repeated. That didn't sound right. She knew what a coma was. Or at least she did until she thought about it. Her frown deepened, It didn't make sense, but it was clear as day. Luna said she was in a coma. At least she thought that's what Luna said. She was kind of hard to understand at times. Sometimes she would even slip into her archaic dialect. Then it was really hard to understand her. "Seven days?" Seven was a number. She frowned and squinted, deep in thought. She knew it was a number, and a day was a measure of time. Days was plural, more than one. Seven days was more than one day, but she wasn't sure how many. How long was a day? A day was important somehow.
Luna bit her lip and nodded, "Yes... You... are doing better physically... but... mentally you seem to be... not doing well."
Not doing well. The phrase was bad. She knew it was bad. Luna said she was not doing well. That was just silly of her, she was in her library reading. Well, skimming actually, but it was similar. Twilight frowned and looked away from Luna, down the center of her library. She squinted her eyes and her frown deepened. It didn't make sense. Her library was supposed to be infinite, never ending, holding all knowledge in the universe and every possible permutation of it. She swallowed, she could only see so far before darkness took hold of her library, overshadowing the light. That wasn't right.
Luna caught sight of Twilight's fear, and slowly looked up and followed Twilight's gaze until she was looking at what Twilight was looking at. She frowned. "Twilight..? What is it?"
"No..." Twilight said quietly and firmly. She stood from her chair and took her book in her magic and teleported it away. She could sort it later, she had more serious issues at hoof. She took off at a dead gallop towards the darkness, taking Princess Luna by surprise. The chair and desk were there one second and gone the next as Twilight passed through the area they previously occupied. Princess Luna powered up her horn with magic and took off in a run after her.
It took her what felt like an eternity to catch up to Twilight, when she finally caught up to her she ran beside her. Twilight barely spared her a glance, "We have to save them, Luna... We have to save them."
"Save... who?" Luna asked. She found her curiosity, fear, and worry all growing as they approached the menacing darkness. She had plenty of experience with dreams and nightmares. She had some experience with comatose ponies, though it was limited. This felt different somehow, it didn't feel like a coma. She couldn't quite place it, and it was confusing. The library was similar to the one she was in when chasing the Tantibus, but it was different. It was like Twilight knew, but at the same time, she didn't know. Or maybe she knew and didn't want to realize she was in a coma.
They both came to a stop in front of the wall of darkness. Neither of them could see anything passed it. Luna felt a tingling sensation run down her spine, in the back of her mind something felt off. "Twilight..."
Twilight ignored her and ran to the nearest bookshelf and started levitating all the books out of the racks and teleporting them away. Luna turned her attention to the darkness. She watched it cautiously for a few seconds before she realized it was moving, and growing closer to them. Inch by inch, the darkness slowly closed in on the bookshelf Twilight was attempting to save. Luna looked up to the ceiling, the bookshelf stretched on into infinity, and Twilight still hadn't saved a fourth of the books she could make out as individual books. She quickly looked back at Twilight, her tail was mere inches away from the darkness. "Twilight... we must go, now. You need to wake up."
Twilight looked back at Luna and held her ground firmly, "I'm not leaving them, Luna."
The darkness crept closer. Luna didn't want to know what would happen if it reached her. "Twilight... books can be replaced, you cannot be replaced..." She didn't know for a fact what would happen if Twilight or herself were consumed by that darkness, but she doubted it would be good. She was doing better physically, and she was continuing to heal, but she should have awoken from the coma already. She wasn't sure what the darkness was, but she worried it had something to do with Twilight still being in the coma.
"They can't be replaced, Luna!" Twilight shouted back on the verge of tears, watching in horror as the darkness encroached upon the edge of the bookshelf. She had to save them, even if the darkness reached her.
The darkness was an inch away from Twilight. Luna lit her horn and grabbed Twilight before pulling her away from the wall of darkness. "NO!" Twilight screamed as the darkness slowly consumed the remainder of the bookshelf, preventing her from seeing the spines of the books. It was torture for her to watch, and she averted her gaze, pained by the loss. Luna wrapped her arm around Twilight and squeezed her in a comforting manner as Twilight started to sob. "I couldn't save them..."
"Shh..." Luna comforted as she eyed down the darkness, glaring at it as if daring it to attempt to stand against her. "They can be... replaced..." She trailed off and watched curiously as one of the books fell to the floor, swirling around like a feather before gently touching the blue carpet. She frowned, the shade of blue looked familiar somehow, but she couldn't place it. She pushed it aside and picked the light pink book up thinking she might obtain a better understanding of why Twilight wanted to save the literature at the potential cost of her own life.
She trailed over the unreadable title and opened the book to the first page, and her breath caught in her throat. It was a picture book, like a foal's. The first picture on the first page was of Pinkie Pie and Ponyville. The second page was the same picture, she flipped the page and saw the same pictures again. She flipped through the pages and skimmed the images until she realized each image was slightly different from the last. She stopped on a page that had words written on it. She couldn't read them, but they seemed important. She flipped through the pages again, Pinkie Pie ran off, and Spike became the center of focus.
Luna squeezed Twilight tighter for a second before releasing her grasp on the crying alicorn. She gently put the book aside and levitated Twilight onto her back, then ran back to the center of the library. The further from the darkness she ran, the calmer Twilight grew. She slowed as she approached the desk, and Twilight hopped off her back and sat down again. A book appeared in front of her and she started reading again. "Twilight..." Something was wrong.
"Yes, Luna?" Twilight said without looking away from the book she was skimming over. She ignored Princess Luna for several seconds before the alicorn walked back beside her and put a hoof on her shoulder.
"You're in a coma, you need to wake up, Twilight."
Twilight turned and looked at her blankly, "Coma..?" she repeated.
Luna ignited her horn and extended her magic out to explore Twilight's mind. Twilight looked at her blankly for several seconds before she realized what she was doing. When she realized what she was doing, she jumped out of her chair, which immediately disappeared, followed closely behind by the desk, and she fell into a defensive posture, with her body nearly touching the ground. "What are you doing?" she spat at her. She reached out to the wall of darkness and examined it in her magic.
Luna found herself grimacing, Twilight was trying to force her out of her mind. "You... are not the real Twilight Sparkle. You are a diversion... which means..." her expression hardened and she turned around. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" she shouted in the royal Canterlot voice. The dreamscape shook visibly and distorted with the force, but it wouldn't cause her any harm. She stood still for several seconds, hoping Twilight would show herself to her, to no avail. "Why do you refuse to speak to me, Twilight?" she asked. No response. She turned around and looked at Twilight's mental defense. It appeared at least two-fold, to mislead and to distract her. To draw her away from her real self and buy time to push Luna out. Luna was pained at that realization, Twilight had been intentionally blocking her out for the past week, and she was trying to force her out even now.
Twilight's mental defense still made no attempt to fight her, though it looked ready to at a moment's notice. "Twilight, I do not wish to fight you, but if I have to break your mental defense to speak with you, then I will." Her mental defense remained where it was, unmoving for several seconds. "So be it," Luna said as she flared her wings out. She prepared to strike, but hesitated at Twilight's mental defense showed signs of relenting. After a few more seconds, her mental defense stood up and faded away.
"Luna," Twilight said calmly from behind her.
Luna depowered her horn and folded her wings as she turned around to face the real Twilight Sparkle or at least the real version of her in her mind. She sighed visibly at the sight, then her expression hardened. "Twilight... I am disappointed that you were preventing me from talking to you and that you tried to force me out of your mind."
Twilight's ears folded back and she sighed. "I..."
Luna took a deep breath and sighed. She walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "But, I am relieved that you are still here..."
Twilight tentatively wrapped one of her arms around Luna's neck. "Well... Yes, I'm here." Luna cautiously tilted her head away from Twilight. She shook her head. "I don't want to wake up," she said quietly.
"Twilight... It is unhealthy for you to remain... here." Luna looked around the library again before looking back at Twilight. "It is not real, Twilight," she said as she pulled away.
"I know that, but I also know what they did to me, Luna. I can feel it. It's wrong," Twilight said calmly.
Luna frowned at her. "How can you possibly know..?"
Twilight snorted emptily, "Former alicorn princess with a special talent for magic. Former bearer of the Element of Magic. Former talented unicorn," she ended abruptly. "I can feel it, even... here. It's... difficult to describe. It's just... gone."
"Twilight... I am sorry, but it was the only way to save your life."
Twilight shook her head. "I'm not... angry... just... upset. Disappointed too, maybe. Probably." She sighed. "I don't hate you, or whoever agreed to this in my place."
"That is good to hear, Twilight..." Luna trailed off. For several seconds, neither of them said anything. "When I first tried to communicate with you after your surgery... I could not enter your mind..." she trailed off. The knowledge that Twilight had been keeping her out of her mind left a bitter taste in her mouth. She shook the thought aside. "We were all so worried. Physically, you were recovering well, but... you just... weren't there. But now I know you were blocking me out... I have to admit, I did not believe you could do that, Twilight." Twilight smiled halfway, unsure as to whether Luna meant it as a compliment or what. She chose to take it as a compliment. "Talk to me, Twilight. What is wrong, why did you keep me our of your mind?"
"I'm not an alicorn now, Luna. I'm not even a unicorn. I can't do magic, and magic is my special talent. I'm practically the princess of magic..." she trailed off grimly. "Was..." she corrected. "Now? I'm... just half an alicorn... Two-thirds, I suppose... I don't want to wake up, I don't want to..."
"Twilight... You are still an alicorn, and you shouldn't even think for a second you're not one!" Luna said sharply before continuing in a softer tone, "When my sister ascended you, you joined our family, Twilight. You are as much an alicorn as myself or Celestia... We are worried about you, Twilight. My sister, myself, your brother, your sister-in-law, your niece, your friends..." She shook her head. "If you stay here, Twilight... What would your friends say if they know you chose to stay here?"
Twilight steeled her resolve and looked at her seriously, "Luna, when I walked into that room, I knew I was going to die. I accepted that, Luna."
Luna clenched her jaw. "Twilight... If my sister of myself had been here, you wouldn't be in this position now. We will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of our lives..." She leaned over to Twilight and wrapped her arms around her neck and wrapped her wings around her back. Twilight rested her head against her chest, and she felt wetness coming from her eyes. "Losing your horn is not all that is bothering you, I can tell."
After a few seconds, Twilight responded, "It's nothing, Luna. Just go. Leave me here, please."
Luna held her tighter, "Twilight, I know I'm not my sister, but you can talk to me about anything. We're family," she said tenderly, almost as if she was attempting to mimic Celestia's motherly tone. She didn't manage to pull it off quite right, but it came close.
Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. "I know... but I don't want to talk about it, Luna. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just... I don't want to talk about it... I want to stay here."
"Twilight, there are ponies waiting to see you! Would you want one of your friends, if they were in your position, to willingly stay in a coma?" Luna chided.
Twilight took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Luna..." She pulled away from Luna and met her gaze. "No. I wouldn't want that... and I don't want them to worry about me." She lifted a hoof to her eye and wiped away a stray tear.
"If you do not wish to talk about what is bothering you with me, please talk to somepony. Your friends are all waiting for you to wake up, and we're all worried."
"I won't be able to do magic, Luna. Magic is who I am, it's-"
Luna pulled back and looked at Twilight evenly. "I thought friendship was who you were, Twilight," she said evenly.
Twilight visibly recoiled at that. For a few seconds, she stood still with her jaw parted slightly. After she realized her jaw was open, she closed it, and a few seconds later, she closed her eyes and sighed. "I... suppose I've had a long enough vacation... I have... duties... to attend to..." she said absently, her heart wasn't in it at all. It wasn't that she didn't like her princess duties. For the most part, she loved them, some of them not as much as others. Now, she just wanted to be left alone so she didn't have to deal with anything or anypony. She knew she had to, though.
Luna grimaced. "You... do not need to worry about that, Twilight. Celestia... wishes you to come live with us in Canterlot while you recover. While there, you won't have to take care of anything, instead just focus on getting better."
Twilight opened her mouth and then closed it. After a few seconds, she shook her head, "Isn't that hypocritical? Telling me how my friends are waiting for me to wake up, only to later mention that you want me to leave them to recover?"
"It should only take a few months for you to recover, and then you can return to Ponyville..."
Twilight looked at Luna blankly. "A few months to recover," she repeated. "Luna, we both know my horn isn't going to grow back in a few months. Maybe in a few centuries..." she sighed and felt on the verge of tears just thinking about it. "You know, it took a lot of effort on my part to keep you out of my mind..." She snorted and shook her head. "Keeping you out of my mind without magic is hard... If I stay here, you'll just keep coming back, wont you?" Luna smiled and nodded. "Fine," Twilight said glumly, "I'll wake up. Just... please don't tell anypony that I..."
Luna nodded, "I will not speak a word of this, Twilight."
Princess Luna opened her eyes and found everypony looking at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before standing to her hooves. The ponies surrounding her respectfully took a step back as she stood to her full height. She was surprised they didn't shower her with questions the second she opened her eyes, and she was thankful they didn't. "She should be waking soon," she said. Almost immediately, it felt like a weight had been lifted from the room. The very air felt both fresher and lighter, the oppressive atmosphere having been banished by the words she spoke. "She knows what was taken from her." The oppressive atmosphere returned, many of the mares swallowed or shifted their weight on their hooves as they glanced about themselves.
At the sound of Twilight groaning and shifting her weight, the ponies surrounding Luna quickly and quietly made their way over to her. Twilight clenched her eyes shut and brought a hoof to her head. She rested her hoof on the soft bandage which now replaced her horn. She felt a sharp pain from the injury. She winced and quickly pulled her hoof away. She groaned and again and opened her eyes. She blinked several times before her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She was staring up at the same accursed white ceiling she had grown to hate. She pushed the feeling aside and pushed herself up. She immediately felt overcome by a feeling of dizziness. She stopped and closed her eyes again. She waited for a few seconds before opening her eyes.
"How do you feel?" Princess Celestia asked.
Twilight sighed and turned to look at her- and her friends. She smiled at the sight, Rainbow Dash stood beside Starlight and Spike, all three of them, like the rest of her friends, were happy she was awake. She turned to face Princess Celestia. She scrutinized her, looking over her features. She could see happiness and joy, but she could also see worry and guilt. Her mane and tail were flowing, almost normally, and her coat seemed to shine with the same overwhelming white purity it had before the incident, but her eyes still looked dull and haunted. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. She sighed and laid her head back down.
"Twilight?" Shining Armor said. Twilight was surprised to hear his voice, and she turned towards the source. She smiled, seeing her big brother. His blue mane with light blue highlight looked disarrayed, and he looked like he had seen better days. Cadance, her sister-in-law stood beside him, only half a head taller than him, but still taller than him. Her mane was in a better shape than his, but her attention was quickly drawn to the sleeping baby alicorn she held in her magic. The light pink foal was curled up, almost in a ball, with her wings wrapped around her hooves. "Do you feel alright?"
Twilight was both surprised and pleased that that was only the second time she had been asked that since she woke up. She made a note to thank her friends later because she was sure she would have a headache if they hammered her with questions so soon. "I'm... still here..." she said tentatively. She was surprised by the roughness in her own voice. She turned to the table beside her bed and reached out with her magic to levitate the glass of water over to her. Nothing happened. It took what felt like as much effort as it had taken to keep Luna out of her mind to force herself not to break down. She methodically looked away from the glass of water and swallowed, hoping to maintain some appearance of being okay. Fortunately for her, nopony seemed to notice, or if they did they didn't say anything.
Silence reigned for several seconds before the door opened to reveal Doctor Manner walking in, followed by Princess Luna who had slipped out unnoticed. The doctor smiled at her, seeing she was awake. "Good afternoon, Princess," he chirped as he made his way over to her. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor stepped out of his way as he approached on their side of the bed. Twilight followed his approach with her eyes until he stopped beside her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like Lord Tirek stole my magic again," she replied dryly. It wasn't the perfect description of it, but it was the closest thing she could think of off the top of her head. Unlike when Lord Tirek stole her magic, she still had it, she just couldn't use it. She wasn't sure which was worse.
Doctor Manner lost his smile at that for a few seconds before he recovered. "Right well... it is to be... expected..." He reached out with a hoof and felt Twilight's forehead. She winced at the contact but said nothing. After a few seconds he pulled his hoof away and pulled the bedsheet up from her body with his magic and rested his hoof over her heart. He held his hoof over her heart for fifteen seconds before pulling it back and scrutinizing her body. She looked a little paler than when she first was brought in, but other than that she looked normal on the outside. He levitated a flashlight out and checked her pupils' dilation. She winced and blinked away the temporary blindness. "Sorry..." he apologized. "Are you in any pain?"
"A little," she replied evenly.
"I can get you something for it if you would like," Doctor Manner courteously replied.
"No, thank you," Twilight answered.
"Alright..." Doctor Manner trailed off. "So good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?"
Twilight mulled it over for several seconds. The obvious choice was good news, but then the bad news would probably make her break down. If it was bad news first, she would break down and then see hope from the good news. Unless the only good news was that she was still alive. Neither option sounded very good to her. She licked her lips as her stomach churned. It still didn't feel right, but the queasiness wasn't as bad as it had been. "Can this wait until after I eat something?"
"O-oh yes, of course, Princess. I'll... I'll get right on that," Doctor Manner replied before he turned around and walked out of the room.
Twilight pressed her head into the pillow and groaned as she laid her arm over her eyes in an attempt to block out the bright white light. She felt a pair of hooves wrap around her. When she removed her arm from over her eyes she saw Fluttershy holding onto her, silently crying. A few seconds later, Pinkie Pie joined her. The rest of her friends joined in on the group hug shortly after. Twilight didn't know how to react. It took her a few seconds to recover. When she recovered, she felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes and her vision started to blur. She happily returned the gesture as best she could, and they each tightened their grip on her. "Girls..." she choked out.
Luna calmly walked over to her sister who kept her distance from the group hug. Twilight's friends deserved it, and so did Twilight. "She will be alright, 'tia." The corner of Celestia's mouth turned upwards into a smile hearing her sister call her that name. It had been too long since she had heard it, far too long. "But perhaps she should stay here with her friends instead of coming to Canterlot with us."
Celestia felt her smile waver for a second before failing. She turned and met her sister's gaze. She could see what went unspoken in her eyes. She reluctantly nodded, but her sister was right. While taking her to Canterlot she would be closer to them and she would likely recover sooner, she wouldn't be as happy as she would if she stayed in Ponyville.
For several minutes the group of mares and baby dragon just held each other in the group hug until the doctor returned, followed by a nurse and a plate of food. Twilight's friends pulled back to give the nurse room to set the plate down on a table which slid over the bed. She closed her eyes and wiped the tears away with her hooves before turning her attention to the food. Sure it was hospital food, but when you hadn't eaten in a week hospital food looked pretty good in its own right.
She instinctually reached out with her magic to grasp the utensils before exhaling in defeat. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them and pushing herself into a sitting position. Thankfully, her head didn't immediately hurt. She slowly looked from the plate to her right wing before extending it out and tentatively grasping the fork between two of her feathers. Unlike pegasi wings, alicorn wings weren't designed for such use. They were too full in comparison to a pegasus's wings. It went about as well as she expected. It didn't help that she had no experience using her wings for picking up silverware. She reluctantly returned her wing to her side and mulled over her predicament while fighting a losing battle to keep herself from crying again.
Cadance and Shining Armor shared a pained look before Cadance levitated the fork from the bed and stabbed a cut peach with the fork and then levitated it over to Twilight's mouth. Twilight dejectedly eyed the fork and clenched her jaw. For a few seconds, she just stared at it.
The day was long and exhausting, both physically and emotionally for Twilight and her friends. She was happy to see her friends and they were glad that she was awake. She was both glad and distraught when it was time for everypony to leave for the night. Unlike before, this time, her doctors insisted nopony stay with her. She didn't have the strength to protest. Fortunately for her, her brother did.
"We would have been here sooner, but..." Shining Armor trailed off with a shiver. Bad timing, pure and simple. If the accident had occurred a week before or a week later, he would have been able to see her before the coma, even if he couldn't have done anything.
"It's not your fault," Twilight replied in an attempt to cheer him up. Flurry Heart shifted her weight beside Twilight, eliciting a smile from both of them as she snuggled closer to her aunt. Twilight gently draped a wing over her niece, who wrapped her arms around the edge of her wing like it was a blanket.
Shining Armor smiled watching his daughter and sister. Twilight was lying on her side, her head resting on a pillow and her hoof, watching Flurry contently. "You're a natural," he commented. Twilight swallowed and bit her lip. He didn't know what she knew. She forgave him for it, but it still hurt.
Her discomfort was short lived. Soon, Her sister-in-law returned. Her brother stood up as she approached them. She looked at Twilight curiously. As the sight of Flurry Heart wrapped in Twilight's wing entered her vision, she cooed and smiled of the deep, genuine love that a mother had for their foal. Twilight felt a pang of sadness and regret but forced it away. "She's sleeping," Shining Armor said softly.
Cadance walked over to her husband and levitated a chair over and sat down beside him. "You know I gave her to you to watch, right? Not to pawn her off on your sister?"
Shining laughed sheepishly, "And... deny her the opportunity to spend time with her niece?" he asked back. Cadance tilted her head and gave him a knowing look.
"Well, I'm happy to hold her," Twilight said softly as she watched the foal sleep. Flurry Heart unconsciously nuzzled her, causing her to smile again and making her forget about her problems. Twilight grasped at the covers with her magic, only to fail. She reached with her hoof and pulled them up around herself a little more. Doing things with her hooves or wings was so imprecise compared to with magic. She didn't know how earth ponies or pegasi did it.
She also didn't think adapting to it would be as hard as it had been, but it had only been a day. She still had the instinct to do everything with her now inaccessible magic. She could still feel the magic inside herself, but she couldn't feel the connection that she could use to channel it. It was torturous. Each time she tried to do something, she was painfully reminded of her missing horn.
"Twilight? You doing okay? You kind of spaced out there," Shining said.
Twilight blinked and forced a smile, "Yes..." she lied. "Just... thinking."
"Well..." Shining paused. "We'll... we'll find out who did this. Don't worry, Twilight..." he trailed off.
"Knowing you, you won't stop until whoever did this is locked away in the deepest dungeon in Equestria... Or maybe the Crystal Empire?" Cadance said. She shook her head and sighed, "Now's not the time to talk about that, though... I think you should take Flurry so Twilight can get some rest."
Shining laughed nervously as he stood up and approached the bed, still watching Cadance look at him. Twilight held Flurry Heart tighter for a second before she reluctantly drew her wing away from her niece. Flurry's muzzle scrunched up when her wing left, but she didn't wake up. Shining hesitated for a moment to just watch his daughter and sister before he smiled and picked Flurry up in his magic and walked back over to Cadance and sat down.
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Whew, it is pretty heavy going. But that's good! Emotional impact means you're doing it right!
Will they investiage how the thinsg were satoged?
More I sense greatness in this story and it must not be stopped
Is it possible to charge her with positive Magic maybe some event in the story happens that gives her back her magic I sense something like that might happen and it's not too cliche since it could happen after a lot of painful trials and errors
7557375 Well, she still has her magic, just no outlet for it. I wouldn't be surprised if she works out some kind of magitechnical solution, being the egghead she is...
7573630 Discord could give her an outlet for her magic it could be really limited and then later on she could be repaired completely
7573636 Discord could ruin a lot of plot setups, really.
7573673 I'm saying the damage could be so bad that even if discord gave her an outlet like a horn she would only be able to cast the most basic spells kinda like Lockhart from Harry potter except she actually knows the spell
7573673
I really, really badly want to reply with a clever comment about this, or commentary on it. I really want to. Unfortunately, I've got nothing.
But yes, he would ruin this plot! I already decided to handicap him so he cannot actually help with this.
He quickly looked around and met Rainbow's gaze, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave..." he said and then trotted passed her
Whether they need room to work or not, I'd stay there with my friend no matter what and nothing anyone could say would change my mind.
It didn't help that you were there," he snapped, then immediately regretted it as Rainbow clenched her eyes shut.
Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at her hooves. She realized she was still wearing Twilight's regalia and shifted her weight from embarrassment but didn't take it off. "S-sorry..."
He sighed. "I... I'm sorry. I Didn't mean to snap at you like that... She's doing worse than she looks. We're going to give her a transfusion in about half an hour. Hopefully, that'll help her..." he trailed off with a grimace, then shook his head. "Her body is shutting down," he said flatly. "Her immune system has been compromised, so please keep your distance from her. I don't even like letting anypony aside from doctors or nurses in to see her, but Princess Celestia said that her friends could see her."
This is why I hate hospitals- you have doctors who act like they know everything when some have no idea what they're doing and they only cause more emotional and mental suffering for partners both platonic and romantic. If I had a doctor who snapped at me or a friend like that, I seriously consider breaking their nose.
EMTs and Paramedics, who actually let outside people help in a situation like car crashes in whatnot, because they KNOW THEY NEED HELP and are willing to let people at least think they can do something, are much more preferable to me.
HOLY
This story is amazing so far. I've just spend the last 3-4 hours reading "Meltdown" and the first chapter of this story, and I am loving it so far.
Ponies don't have arms, they have hooves (and forelegs)
Waiver should be waver
8285096
Thanks!
That was rather sad and very compelling to read.
*Sudden realization that this was only chapter 1*
This will take a while, and it's been a long time since I've ever just sat down to read.
Forgot how nice it was, although having a good story definitely helps.
8506384
It appears most of my curiosity about the reactors is sated in chapter two, such as why there's a reactor in ponyville. Still not entirely sure why they have a reactor, will look forward to chatting with you about it.