The Tragic Story of Twilight Sparkle, or Twilight

by A Fistful of Apples

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Revelations

"You said she was depressed, not that she was dyin'!" shouted Applejack. Spike worriedly moved from the bedroom to the kitchen bringing in pots of warm water and small towels to try and make Twilight more comfortable.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had left to fetch Zecora. Rarity had gone to call a nurse. And Pinkie was off... doing whatever Pinkie did. Only Applejack and Spike remained to keep watch over Twilight.

When Spike returned with Twilight's five friends, he can come to find her collapsed on her bedroom floor, mumbling nonsense every now and then. He had no idea what had happened, and nothing they would wake Twilight. She was also running a high fever, and sweating heavily.

"Do you think we should tell the Princess?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," said Spike. "She's just a little sick, we don't need to bother the princess over something like this. I'm sure she'll be fine if we just give her some rest."

Spike swallowed hard. He hoped she would be all right. Truth is, he was scared, and would have liked nothing more than to run to the princess for help. She'd know what to do. But he also knew that the Princess was busy and shouldn't be bothered with every little thing. Maybe if Twilight didn't get better after a long time. Then he'd send a letter.

Twilight suddenly shook.

"All Xi flows are defined by two properties, "frequency" and "charge," while the...," she said, before beginning to mumble again.

"What is it she's saying?"

"I don't know," said Spike.

Soon later, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy arrived with Zecora, carrying a bunch of bags filled with strange plants and containers. Silently they watched as Zecora set to work, boiling stuff, and feeling around Twilight for who knows what sort of signs. Then Rarity returned, bringing one of the nurses from the Ponyville Urgent Care Centre. She took a worried glance at Zecora, who merely ignored the nurse, before also checking signs.

"So?" asked Spike. "What's wrong with her?"

"The atomic make up of standard terrestrial silver is 12^4w, 3^6f, 4^8e, 32^4w, 64^2a...."

Both Zecora and the nurse stood still as they listened to Twilight's incoherent ramblings. They waited a few more minutes to see if Twilight would say anything else, before the nurse finally answered Spike.

"I'm... not really sure," she said. "She's not sleeping. I'd say she's in a coma, except she's talking, and coma patients don't talk. She also has a fever, but by all other appearances she's fine. I just don't understand it."

Zecora nodded. "There's nothing more to say, so as you see, with this pony, I must agree.

"Oh, there must be something one of you can do," said Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry... we don't know much about comas. Since she's talking, I'd hold out hope that she'll just wake up from it soon. If not... there's nothing I can do. Just keep watch over her."

Zecora nodded again. "Maybe if you talk to her, and keep her company, that will help her make a quick recovery?"

"Well of course we weren't just going to leave her here!" said Rarity. "If that's all we can do, that we'll do it!"

As Zecora and the nurse left, Spike and the three ponies couldn't help but wonder where Pinkie had gone off to. Though they had learned to trust Pinkie, sometimes they still worried that she didn't take anything seriously.

"Ponies are a subset of the genus Equus, a genus which also includes Zebras and Donkeys...."

"Well, either that's just a coincidence or there's hope yet that Twilight'll be okay," said Applejack.

"All I understood out of that was 'Zebra' and 'Donkey,'" said Rainbow Dash.

"Me too. But Zecora was just here, so maybe she has some idea of what's going on around her."

Later that day, Pinkie returned. She was carrying a gigantic amount of flowers and balloons and decorations, and immediately set to work decorating Twilight's library with them.

"If we make everything look super fun, Twilight's sure to want to join us, and then she'll have to wake up!" said Pinkie.

Everyone else smiled and nodded as they began to help Pinkie decorate, happy at the sentiment. When they were done though, Twilight continued to lay in bed, saying all sorts of strange things randomly.

As the day went on, ponies filtered in and out to see Twilight and give their well wishes. Twilight was a well known and respected pony in Ponyville, so when word got around that she was ill, she had no end to the visitors and well-wishers. But by the end of the day, when the visitors began to finally dwindle, the five friends had to finally leave.

"We'll come visit every day," said Rarity. "It's the least we can do."

"I just hope she snaps out of it soon," said Applejack. "I just hate seeing her like this."

Spike kept the decorations up, hoping the good will would help.

"I hate to worry them," said Twilight. She was floating, looking down at herself and Spike, aware of everything that was going.

"It is necessary for safe and quick absorption of so much information. Your body will remain undamaged. It is merely suffering from the absence of the air aspect of your pnuema, and a subsequent overabundance of choleric humour which is throwing your overall Xi out of alignment. If you were not here, your pnuema not removed, you'd go insane from hyperclarity and the overabundance of sanguine."

He was always emotionless. His face never changed, but was forever locked into a state of passive stoicism. It was unnerving in its way, but Twilight found she was becoming used to it.

"I can't believe I understood that."

"And much more you have left. Let us continue."

For seven days, Spike, along with Twilight's five friends, cared for Twilight. They changed her bed sheets, spoon-fed her soup and gave her water to drink, turned her over so she wouldn't develop bedsores, washed her, brushed her tail and mane, and kept her company. Far worse than the chores was seeing a previously wonderful and energetic pony reduced to such a state. Each one of her friends couldn't help but think long about all the time spent with Twilight, fearing that they were the last they'd get before Twilight simply died in her never-ending sleep.

Spike worst of all. He remembered the day she had hatched him. He remembered living with her as a hatchling, before he knew anything. He remembered all the chores and errands he had to do for her, but which he took great pride in. All the fun they had together playing, when neither had to work or study. She was his best friend, closer and more important to him than anybody, and the fear of losing her was unbearable.

The others had taken notice but couldn't do much to help. They understood. They all suffered.

Finally, Spike cracked and sent a letter to the princess. She was the princess, if anybody knew what to do, she would.

She arrived personally. No guards, no chariots. She just showed up at the library. Ponies from around town stood in wonder at the princess's sudden appearance.

"Take me to her," said Princess Celestia. Spike and Twilight's friends bowed and did so, eyes full of worry.

The princess looked at Twilight for a moment, before her horn glowed. Magic enveloped Twilight, and for a moment everyone thought it was going to be as simple as that. But several seconds later, the magic died away and Twilight remained as still as ever.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. There's no life in her. No spirit. I know of no way this could have happened."

"There's nothing you can do for her princess?" asked Fluttershy. She knelt her head down as she spoke a forlorn expression on her face.

"Not at the moment," said Princess Celestia, a fierce expression on her face. Her entire body was stiff and proud, determined. "I'll find some way. There's got to be something, somewhere, that can she some light on this. If not here in Equestria, maybe somewhere else, in other lands."

"That won't be necessary princess," came a familiar voice.

All except for the princess gasped. Celestia merely looked shocked.

Twilight was awake.

Comments

[Biker_Dash]

I just wish to ask...
The mumblings that Twilight was doing while she was asleep for the week, were they by any chance inspired by the hybred Cylons that controlled the functioning of the Cylon basestars in Battlestar Galactica? Or more like Starbuck's husband after he had been shot, and hooked up to the Galactica?

Sorry if that seems random, but that is exactly what I thought of while I was reading this.