Stealthy Corruption

by KarmasHoofprint

The Aftermath

"Why is my head hurting, Princess?" I asked, gazing up at the elegant beauty of the one and only Princess Celestia.
Her eyes rippled with doubt and regret, but cleared into pools of warmth and affection.
"I'm sure.. I'm sure it's just a passing headache," she remarked, wrapping her wing around me, flooding me with energy.
"But what if you're wrong?" I said, my voice quivering with sadness.
She sighed and looked around the room.
"Look around, Twilight. What do you see?"
I raised my head and gazed upon the many royal guards surrounding us, their postures sturdy and rigid.
"I see.. pegasi in costumes."
Celestia shook her head slowly.
"No, my faithful student. They're here to protect us, our citizens and Equestria against evil."
I looked up at Celestia. Her face showed no sign of any emotion. It worried me.
"Cel- Princess Celestia?"
She gazed down at me and smiled a pure smile.
"Yes?"
My eyes flickered with depression and my mind flooded with questions.
"What if it's more than a headache? My head's been in pain ever since you made me a Princess like you.."
She opened her mouth to speak then shook her head slowly.
"I'm sure you'll be fine.." Her mouth spoke positively but her eyes looked grave.

Lying down on my queen sized bed, I drowned in my thoughts. What if I'm dying? What if I'm turning back into a unicorn? What if Celestia got the spell wrong?
A knock shattered my solace and I trotted over to the door.
"Who is it?" I remarked slowly. I hoped it wasn't a doctor.
"It's us, sugarcube!" A cheerful voice replied.
"Applejack!"
Swinging the door open, my five best friends came galloping into the room. Rarity tipped her head to one side and murmured something about my dress lacking diamonds, Pinkie Pie went looting through my jewellery box, Applejack got stuck under my bed, Fluttershy was hiding in a corner and Rainbow Dash was admiring the guard next to my wardrobe.
"EVERYPONY, SHUT UP!" I snapped, instantly regretting it.
The five mares' expressions went from excited to sad.
"We.. We just wanted to see you before.. Before.." Fluttershy started but was interrupted by Rainbow.
"Before you kick the bucket."
I shook my head.
"Celestia said I'll be fine.."
Rainbow crossed her arms and flew alongside me.
"Do you believe everything she says? Last time she performed that spell on poor Snowdrop, as heard of in the legends, she died just a week later from unknown causes."

My eyes flew open.
"No.. No.. That can't be true!" I shouted, diving for my bookcase.
Pulling out a book labelled "The Great Legends of Equestria", I flicked through to the page about Snowdrop, the legendary blind pegasus that made the first snowflake.
"Her heart was as big as her sense of generosity. One day, on her death bed, Celestia tried to turn her into an Alicorn. It sustained her momentarily but one week later, she left Equestria a blind pegasus once again."
Eyes clouding with tears, I looked up to see my worried expression reflected in my friends' faces.
"I.. I need to be alone." I muttered.
Fluttershy whimpered and spoke up quietly.
"Uhmm.. It's been six days since the spell's been cast. You don't have long left. We should hang out, just one last time."
I stomped my hoof on the ground in anger.
"NO! I need to.. I need to find out how to stop it!" I shouted, dashing away from my friends towards Celestia's throne room.

Author's Note:

I'll post more if need be but for now I'm just experimenting! Please follow my Instagram account @the_official_fluttershy if you have any questions or ideas for the storyline :)