Chapter 2
“... so, Twilight is going to be in hospital for a few days, and she’s left me in charge of the library!” Spike puffed his chest out proudly.
“Who?” The owl replied, shifting himself slightly upon the bookshelf.
“Twilight. You know, the pony who lives here?” Spike said as he gestured to the mess of books strewn around the room. He had meant to clean it up when he returned last night, however, he had found sleep to be far more entertaining.
“Who.”
Spike threw his hands in the air with an exasperated groan, “the point is, you have to do what I say, because I’m in charge now! Understand?”
As if in answer, Owlowiscious stretched out a wing and a foot and yawned. Without a further word, he turned his head on to his back, and closed his eyes.
“Fine!” Spike snapped, pivoting around on his foot, to both further investigate the mess and ignore the unhelpful avian.
The library’s floor was covered in piles of books, multiple sets of ink and quills, and various scrolls, which was normal for one of Twilight’s study sessions. There was very little out of the ordinary, aside from where he had found Twilight lying on the floor when he’d returned home that afternoon.
The scene flashed briefly in his mind: Twilight lay on her back, her head propped up slightly by the wall. There was no blood, to his relief, although her unconscious form had sent him in to a panicked shock.
Spike shook his head, walking over to where he had found his friend. His imagination played on what might have happened based on the mess before him. He pictured her careening in to a pile of books, sliding to a halt as her head hit the wall. The scene reversed itself, logic placing the trajectory towards her desk.
The dragon righted a spilled candle before investigating the rest of the cluttered mess spread across the desk. It was very normal for Twilight to ignore basic organisational skills during her study sessions, something which Spike had managed to accept. He glanced over the illegible scrawl of Twilight’s swift writing and various reference materials, finding very little to comprehend. ‘Paradigms of Magic’ seemed to be last night’s subject, something he had heard Twilight murmur briefly as he completed the morning’s chores. Granted, he had tuned out on the explanation.
The one legible sheet he noticed had been covered in various drawings of various symbols. The bottom quarter of the page had been completely dedicated to a particular symbol, which seemed to represent a star inside of a ring, with various markings written around it. He studied it quietly, as his wild mind drew conclusions for the events.
His mind played his imagined scene once more. A large, powerful flash of magic emitted from the papers on her desk, throwing the unicorn backwards towards the wall. She landed on her back, sliding through a pile of books to a halt as she head hit the wall.
The thought chilled him to the bone.
*
Spike had just finished packing a bag of cookies, and the new Daring Do novel, as a knock sounded from the door, “Owlowiscious, get the door!” He shouted from the kitchen. The amount of mess that he had cleaned up over the course of the morning had left him in a slightly fouler mood, with the owl, as he hadn’t lifted a single feather to help, despite his demands.
When the knock sounded thrice more, Spike stormed out with a glare at the sleeping owl. With a deep breath, he opened the door to see Rainbow Dash. Spike snorted a stifled giggle as he moved aside, “Hey... Rainbow Dash!” He snickered at the sight before him, “how’s the weather?”
“Just fine. Thanks.” She replied flatly.
Spike let out a huge guffaw at the sight in front of him, falling backwards with a fit of laughter.
Rainbow Dash dressed in a pink raincoat, and mismatched boots, glared at him behind a bright blush, “I lost mine, alright?! This was all I could find!”
“Sure you did.” Spike righted himself off the floor, snorting once again behind a twisted smile, “Is that Pinkie’s?”
Rainbow Dash sighed grumpily, “Yeah. She was the only pony close to where we were preparing the storm.”
Spike grinned, “It suits you!”
Rainbow Dash removed her attire, glancing at it spitefully. Her smile widened as she moved the topic along, “So, did the new book arrive?” She had obviously been looking forward to it as much as Twilight.
Spike nodded with a smile, “Yeah. Hardcover, too.” He gestured to the kitchen, “I’ve got it all packed up and ready to go.”
The air between the two went flat at the mere inference of returning to the hospital. Spike could feel his heart clench for a moment as he exchanged an understanding expression with the mare. He took a sharp, deep breath, as he glanced out the window at the storm.
“Hey,” Dash prompted tentatively, sitting herself beside the dragon, “how are you holding up?”
The sullen seriousness in Rainbow Dash took Spike by surprise. He hadn’t expected anything like that from her of all ponies, “Well... I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. The fact they had her head, horn and back in bandages is... scary, Dash. I don’t want anything to change!” He lowered his gaze to the ground, “maybe there’s nothing to worry about... but what if there is? What if she can’t walk, or can’t use magic anymore?! I don’t want her to change!”
A wing wrapped around the dragon, as he heard hushing sounds from his friend, “That’s not the Twilight we know, is it? She’s been through worse." Spike looked up to see Dash smiling down at him, “after all, Twilight wouldn’t let herself change for anything.”
Spike buried himself in the side of the Pegasus, quietly sniffing in to her side. Quiet moments passed, as the thoughts of Twilight hung in the air. Rainbow Dash was right; Twilight was tougher than most ponies would give her credit for. That was something Spike knew he could count on.
“The storm’ll be over in about an hour. I’ve been given leave to look after Twilight until the end of the week.” She smiled, “good thing it’s only Tuesday.”
Spike let go of Dash and looked up at her quickly, “Tuesday?”
“Yeah? What about it?” Dash inquired as Spike ran Twilight’s desk.
Spike hurriedly grabbed a scroll and quill set, before stuffing them in his bag, “Twilight still likes to send letters to Princess Celestia on Tuesdays. She’s fine with you guys doing it, but...” Spike trailed off, trying to think of a less direct way to explain this.
“It’s Twilight?”
The two shared a laugh before Spike nodded, “Yeah. It’s Twilight.”
*
The door opened wide, followed by the simultaneous greetings of the pegasus and dragon. Twilight stirred groggily in her bed as she turned to face the noise.
Before coming to the hospital, Rainbow Dash had detoured back home to don her Daring Do hat, which she wore proudly as they waltzed in to the room. Between her and Spike, they had decided that acting normal would be the best course of action when coming to see their friend. The sterile setting of the hospital was depressing enough, rather than to add their own worries on top of it.
Rainbow Dash snatched the bag from Spike, excitedly slumping it on the ground, “How’s it going, Twi’? They treating you alright?” With expert finesse, she threw a second Daring Do hat in the air, pumping the air with a hoof as it landed on Twilight’s head. Spike shot her a rather unimpressed look.
Twilight muttered something blearily under her breath.
“Sounds good!” Rainbow Dash replied, taking the book from the bag “You ready to hear the next awesome tale of Daring Do?” She sat down in the chair next to the bed heavily, forcing a loud creek as it slid back slightly. “The cover looks so cool; it could be the best one yet!”
Twilight sat up in her bed, placing a hoof on her forehead, “Uh... I guess. What time is it?”
“2pm.” Spike replied, pouring Twilight a glass of water before offering it to her.
Twilight smiled appreciatively, lifting it up carefully between her hooves. Rainbow Dash watched in amazement, as she finished the entire glass in one long swallow.
Spike returned the glass to the desk, looking at the white flowers that accompanied it, “Who’s the flowers from?”
“Flowers?” Twilight asked, turning toward Spike.
“Yeah. They’re white, and closed. They haven’t even bloomed yet. Who would give these to you?” Spike carefully inspected one with a claw, sniffing at it.
“Somepony visited you? Nice.” Rainbow Dash said in a manner that suggested she wanted to return the subject to the book she held in her hooves.
“I don’t think so...” Twilight replied thoughtfully, she directed herself towards the blue pony, “I had dinner, and went to sleep. If anypony visited me last night, they didn’t wake me up. And only Rarity and Sweetie Belle visited me this morning.” She smiled, “Sweetie Belle drew me a picture.”
Twilight frowned as her hoof waved to various point in the room. Spike grabbed her hoof, lightly directing it towards where a crudely drawn picture of stick-ponies were covered in various glitter and craft materials, with the words ‘GET WELL SOON’ written in glitter-glue. Twilight seemed uncomfortable at Spike’s help.
“Sweetie Belle was so proud of her work, I can’t wait to see it.” Twilight said. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. She rested her hooves on the blanket in front of her, going quiet for a moment.
Rainbow Dash opened the book to the prologue, her hoof raised in the air dramatically. She opened her mouth to begin, as Spike interjected once again, “Any news on when you can get out?”
Twilight shook her head, “I have an appointment for certain tests later today. The doctor says the only certain damage was to my back,” she touched the bandages around her torso, “however, it’s only bruising. It’ll go away soon. From what they saw before they applied the bandages, and when they changed them this morning, he said that my... He...” The air in the room grew dense as Twilight swallowed hard, “he said that there may be severe damage to my eyes.”
Rainbow and Spike shared the same slack-jawed expression, both unable to find anything to say. They could only stare at the unicorn with a worried shock. The quiet air hung sickly, as if the one who controlled fate, was standing in the room with them.
The blue pegasus had gone silent, the opened book hanging limply on her lap. The news chilled her to the core, “Y-you mean... you... but won’t that mea--” She stammered, trying to find any way to ask the question that hung in her mind.
Twilight let out a shuddered breath as she hung her head. Her shoulders trembled as her breaths quickened with the sound of sobbing.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes filled up sympathetically as she moved over, sitting on the bed to embrace her friend quietly, pulling the unicorn to her chest. Twilight lay against her sideways, two wet patches forming on the bandage around her head.
She barely noticed Spike joining the embrace as she gently held the unicorn in her arms, making an excruciating effort to keep her own tears in check. Her own mind raced at what would be going through Twilight’s, at the very danger of the worst-case scenario. She hoped quietly, that luck would prevail, and maybe, just maybe, Twilight’s disadvantage wouldn't be as severe as it could be. For now, she would simply be there for her friend, and allow nothing to come between them. She could not be left to feel alone.
“I don’t know what to do,” Twilight gagged breathlessly through her sobbing, “I just don’t know.”
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This took a little longer than expected. Snags suck.
Speaking of snags, if I may direct your attentions to this.
Cool story bro- wait... 21 views... 27 likes...........
. Seems lgeit
A few typos this time around. Allow me~
Spike shook his head, walking over to where he had found her friend. her should be his
She landed on her back, sliding through a pile of books to a halt as he head hit the wall. he should be her
The doctor says the only certain damage was too my back, - one too many <O>'s there
There might be a few more in there somewhere, but this is what I noticed. Keep up the good work.
Bright eyyyyes burning like fire. Briiight eyyyes how can you close a fail? How can the light that burned so brightly suddenly turn so pale? Briight eyyes.
Thats what poped into my head
981319
Thank you, it's much appreciated!
981325
Oh no! Someone caught the reference to my horrendously uncreative title!
981327 No problem.
DH TOO SAD SAD OVERLOAD *ded*
when I clicked like it went from 29 to 40, I have the power of 11 bronys!
Great story so far, hopefully twilight wont be blind!
I cried a little, Little manly tears!
Please update soon!
981299
View count ALWAYS updates slower than likes.
(I think the site refreshes views on a timer, while likes update on the button press; but that's just my guess based on my observations....)
This is an amazing story. Track!
It got turned right upside down?
Did she get in one little fight and celestia got scared and she said "You're moving to your auntie and your uncle in canterlot."
Twilight, possibly going blind...Oh, man...
Okay people are gonna look at me like I'm some kind of psycho but I have actually been loking for a fic where a pony hurts their eyes, and I finaly found one! And it's really well written to boot!
Faving and thumbing up.
981428
I ma not looking at you weirdly at all. Not at all. I actaully find this to be a big wonder since like humans i believe the sense's horse really on most are sight. So it is very interesting, well.. since ya know. a human without sight is worse than hearing or sound, since we DO most things based on sight.
You are an unbelievable tease, these short chapters combined with nervous waiting makes you downright evil.
I shall follow and see what happens next.
you got a like, watch and a read later place ! i hope this story end with some kind of happy end...
Aw... Blinding Twilight is possibly the meanest thing you can do to her... Even if they have a version of Braille it's not like obscure manuscripts and tomes will have been translated into it. Judging from the synopsis, I don't expect the best for her, but I'm eager to see where the story goes.
Surely she could read manuscripts with a spell?
Yeah, Twilight going blind is going to be high up there in her worst nightmares spot. Losing Celestia, her family, Spike, who counts as family, POSSIBLY Cadence, maybe probably, not sure, her magic, her eyes, and her friends. That just about covers the whole list for the Best Pony, I think.
GOOD SHOW!
favorited!
981264 Great story, I really hope you continue it. Just please don't give Twilight cancer! That'd be so sad.
And I'm not sure if that was your question on the link, but a horse's hooves are not sensitive. They're basically toenails.
AWSOME!!! love it
981517
I never understood the point of this. I mean, if ONE non-pony was in that group, you'd be wrong.
The most likely scenario is that Spike is included, and thusly "everyone" or "everybody" is actually correct (because Spike =/= pony).
Off-Topic: Rarity's "duck face" ruins everything it touches. Including your comment.
poor Twilight, someone get the Princess!
This can't be good... Faved and upvoted this, I really like this story. I can only imagine what'd be coursing through Twilight's mind right now.
981327 Those poor rabbits
So, it's probably not an error...I don't know. I just don't get it.
Rainbow Dash dressed in a pink raincoat, and mismatched boots, glared at him behind a bright blush, “I lost mine, alright?! This was all I could find!”
“Sure they did.” Spike righted himself off the floor, snorting once again behind a twisted smile, “Is that Pinkie’s?”
Who/what is Spike referring to when he says "they?"
994593
Ah ha, you're not mistaken. That's a typo.
Thank you, kindly.
Interesting. Wait! Twilight's eyes were bandaged? She could see pretty fine in the last chapter! Couldn't she?
Gosh darn it! You've got my man tears flowing. Curse you and your well-written tragedy.
981264 I knew it. I knew this fic was based on that song. Somehow...
So she's potentially blind or severely impaired vision? Hmmm
Just a few things:
Watch out for repetitive words. In the paragraph beginning "The one legible sheet..." you have the word "various" three times.
Also, when Dash says, “I lost mine, alright?! This was all I could find!” Spike replies with "Sure they did." A little weird wording there.
Then, “I have an appointment for certain tests later today. The doctor says the only certain damage was too my back,” Maybe change the first "certain" to "some" and fix "too" into "to".
That's it for the critiques. Keep up the good work
Twilight’s disadvantage won’t be as severe as it could be should be 'wouldn't'
good chapter, great premise. I can see twilight not wanting to seem weak or unable to deal with things, hence the secrets. And reading? that's gonna suck.
Title's a Watership Down reference, I knew it! Love that book and movie!
Man... poor Twilight...
I assume this fanfic is sort of based off of that picture at the top of the Fimfiction page where Twilight is in bed with bandages around her eyes, holding Smarty Pants, and Rainbow Dash is reading a book next to the bed?
Funny, I always thought she was reading the book TO Twilight. Then I noticed Dash was just reading it herself.
Nice fic.
981327
Just quickly check the beginnings of your speeches As some start without Capitals - "the point is, you have to do what I say, because I’m in charge now! Understand?”
nice chapter bro, but i didnt really feel sad though cuz a. she doesnt have cancer, she's just blind, and although i realize how much she reads, i read ALL THE TIME and i wouldnt be all sad like that, and b: its 7am and im never emotional until like 5 or 6ish
1290914
That's some weird logic there, pal.
I'm liking this more and more with every paragraph. The writing is good, everyone is in character, the pacing is good. I'm enjoying it.
1290914 dude, she is blind. she cant read, direct magic, or even see color for the rest of her life. imagine seeing solid black for the rest of your life.
Doc, will she ever read again? Please tell me she will!
Well...
Tune in next week to see what happens next! Or you could... you know, click on the next chapter right now.
Why don't you ask your god-like mentor, who already changed Cadence into an alicorn by now, to help you? I'm sure a trip to the "celestial plain" can fix this right up. Of course, there is the question of how the accident happened if the first place. So, maybe it'll make that not possible? We'll see anyway.
hold up white flowers that aren't blooming that suddenly where appeared over night? I think a certain princess of the night came by and gave Twi some moon lilies.
Also twi becoming blind well this could be interesting I know only one with twi being blind and she seemed to get around it just fine granted it was more she was born blind but details.
Very interesting so far, a nice part about it is that you made sure that we are about as in the dark as Twilight is, not about where she is, but why.
Pun absolutely intended and totally not accidental.