“Alright Spike, if we move the bookcase there we should *COUGH HACK COUGH* be able to *WHEEZE HACK HACK* to *COUGH WHEEZE HACK*”
Spike looked at his unicorn friend with concern. “Um, you ok there Twi?”
“No! This cough has been persisting ever since last week! Damn it all.” Twilight suddenly collapsed, holder her stomach. “Ugh... and my whole body has been weak and hurting! Spike, please get me to the hospital, I think-” Twilight coughed again, so hard she nearly stopped breathing.
“Oh gosh!” Spike helped Twilight to her hooves.
“I... *huff*... think I can *wheeze* walk now...” Twilight slowly trotted off to the door, then collapsed.
After Spike finished freaking out and got ahold of Twilight’s friends, they rushed her to the hospital. The doctors were able to get her help immediately and started running tests.
“Is she going to be ok?” Rainbow Dash asked, anxious to get an answer. “Yes, doctor, is she going to be ok?” Rarity was also worried about the state of her friend. Fluttershy was fighting back tears, and Applejack was speechless.
“Of course she’s going to be ok! She’ll make a full recovery, and we’ll have a ‘you’re not sick anymore’ party! It’ll be fun, with games and cake and-” Pinkie was stopped by the doctor.
“Actually, she’s not going to be fine.”
Pinkie’s hair deflated faster than Rainbow Dash hitting a rainboom. “What?” “Well, we don’t know yet. but she’s developed severe Motifonian Delirium, a type of disease similar to cancer, but it causes headaches, coughing, and severe hallucinations. She could die.”
“Die?” Twilight’s six friends all said in unison. Spike and Fluttershy began to tear up.
“But Twilight cahn’t die!” Applejack hoofed the ground. “She just cahn’t!”
“I’m sorry. We’ll do the best we can.” The doctor turned and left. The five ponies and dragon were left to soak in the shock.
“How could this happen to us? How could this happen to her?” Fluttershy spoke for the first time, her eyes spilling over with tears.
“No! We’ll get her through this! Look, we can ask Princess Celestia to help! She’ll be able to, and she will, she’s her favorite student!” Spike ran off to grab some parchment to write down the letter.
“He’s right, you know. We’ll be able to get her through this while we wait for the Princess to come! Isn’t Spiky-wiky the best?” Rarity said happily, her mood restored. The five friends hugged each other, then went inside the hospital to go talk to their sick friend.
***
Spike rushed back to Twilight’s house, and quickly wrote down the letter.
Dear Princess Celestia, Hi! This is Spike writing to you. Twilight has gotten very sick from something called “Mortifonian Delirium.” Knowing you, you could probably fix her up real quick! Please come help your favorite student, Love, Spike.
Spike sent the letter, then skipped back to the hospital, very happy with himself. Twilight was going to be fine!
***
Twilight opened her eyes slowly. Looking around, the room was spinning. She was in a bed, but the covers were soaked in a warm liquid. Was it blood? It tasted like blood, because the taste was filling her mouth, as she spewed the blood into her sheets. Was it her blood? She bet it was...
Getting out of the sticky mess of a bed, she fell to the floor, where she saw her friends. They were laughing? Why were they laughing? She was dying, couldn’t they see? What the hell was wrong with them?
She tried to talk, but she threw up more blood. Spinning around, she took a look in the mirror. She was very thin. Very, very thin, nearly a skeleton. Her horn was chipped and cracked, and her hair was ragged and thin, fallen out in some places. She resisted the urge to throw up again, and immediately regretted it as it spurted from her nostrils. She nearly drowned in the blood.
Crawling slowly to the door, she passed her laughing friends. She was dying! they should be sobbing, weeping, or comforting her, not laughing! Why were they doing this? Then she realized it. Of course they would laugh! They weren’t her friends! She had always been trouble for them, a constant thorn in their side with all her crazy antics. She wouldn’t blame them if they were laughing. In fact, she encouraged their smiles! She knew they wouldn’t cry!
But she did. She cried. She wasn’t sure if it was blood, or tears, or a mixture of both. She just cried. she cried until she was shaking and throwing up more blood. She felt weaker then she had ever been. Her thoughts slowly left her.
I never did want to be anything when I grew up, anyway... I just hope they don’t laugh at my funeral...
And the black grasp of sweet relief enveloped her.
***
“Shit! We’re losing her!” The doctor had been alerted by Fluttershy, who had been the first to notice that Twilight had stopped breathing. Fortunately, there was another patient in the same room as Twilight who the doctor was dealing with, so he was able to reach her right away.
Jabbing her with an adrenaline needle, he pushed on Twilight’s chest. Slowly, a weak heartbeat pushed back ever so softly against his hooves.
“She’s back!” The doctor cheered. Twilight’s friends all cheered and laughed from joy. Twilight was going to have a chance!
“Ok, we need to put her on Watch to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and I think I’ll assign Nurse Redheart to keep an eye on her.”
Twilight’s friends all breathed a sigh of relief.
The other patient grumbled and rolled over in his sleep, disturbed by something no pony could place except Twilight, had she been conscious.
Twilight felt the darkness fall off of her, like a warm blanket being forcibly ripped off in the morning by a rude intruder who then went on to shove a knife to your throat.
Opening her eyes, she looked around. She was in another hospital room, but this one was brighter, and had a window. Another cot lay beside her, a white coated male, who was too old to be a foal but too young to be a stallion slept. Looking around some more, she saw Nurse Redheart staring down at her.
"Ah good, you're awake. You have some visitors."
The door opened, and Rainbow Dash shot in, huggin her friend. The places where her hooves touched her purple fur screamed in agony, but she ignored it.
"Twilight! Thank Celestia! We thought we had lost you!"
Pinkie Pie bounced in through the window. "Yay! Let's throw a 'you didn't die from heart failure' party! I'll get the balloons!"
Rarity, Spike, Applejack and Fluttershy all walked in, and gathered around the sick mare.
"Well, you look... alive," Rarity said, grimacing. Twilight frowned. Did she really look that bad? She looked around for a mirror, but couldn't find one.
"Oh, I'm so happy you're awake! They were afraid you died a few days ago, but now you seem to be fine... sort of," Fluttershy said, smiling softly.
"Twilight! I sent out a letter to the Princess! You're going to be fine!" Spike smiled the biggest he had ever before. Twilight tried to smile back, but it ended up looking more like a grimace.
"Well, sugarcube, did th' doctors tell yah anythang?" Applejack inquired, looking right into the purple unicorn's eyes.
"Wait... a few days? What's wrong with me?" Twilight's voice sounded like somepony trying to talk through a rusty drainpipe.
"You have something called "Motifonian Delirium" but the Princess will be able to fix it!" Spike said cheerily.
"Yes! And then we can have a 'Welcome home from the hospital' party and-"
"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?" shouted the white teenaged colt laying down on the cot next to Twilight.
"Sorry, if the a patient is being disturbed, then you guys have to leave," Nurse Redheart said apologetically, leading the mares and the baby dragon out of the room.
"We'll send you cards! Get better Twi!"
"Why did you do that?" Twilight asked the colt.
"Because they were giving us false hope. We're already dead."
Twilight's eyes opened in shock.
"What? We died?"
"Not yet. but we have the same condition. And it's fatal. Princess Celestia won't be able to help. Sometimes ponies get over it... but mostly..."
The colt sighed and closed his eyes. Twilight had just noticed his mane was mostly gone.
"Is my-"
"Mane going to fall out? Probably."
Twilight gulped in fear. She didn't want to die!
Suddenly, the room began to spin. The lights flickered, then went out. Twilight was thrown out of her cot, landing on the floor with a hard smack.
She was lying in a field, with a group of colts and fillies throwing rocks and paper balls at the white coated one. He looked younger, but not by a lot.
"Atlas, why don't you just leave? No pony likes you!" A brown coated one near the center shouted.
"Yeah! You don't have any friends! Just go and leave us alone you freak!" This was a pink maned filly shouting at him.
"Fine! Maybe I wil! But there's one thing I'm certain of! You guys will miss me when I'm gone!" The white maned one was crying, and he ran off.
"Man, he's so lame."
"I know. I hope he gets cancer and dies."
"Wow, that's a little harsh."
"Whatever. No pony would miss him."
Twilight's eyes shot open. Had she just been in the colt's head?
She looked over at him. He was crying in his sleep, tears slowly sliding down to land softly on the sheets of his cot. Twilight felt so bad for him. He must have had a very rough foalhood.
"Hey... what's your name?"
His eyes opened, and he looked at Twilight, who tried to smile again, but knew she probably was failing horribly at it.
"I'm Atlas."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle."
***
Twilight had a good night's sleep, mostly devoid of nightmares. She looked over at Atlas, who was coughing rather loudly.
"Are you ok?"
Atlas hacked a few more times, then smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you sleep well?"
"Mostly."
"Well that's good. I'm sorry I snapped at your friends earlier, I was just tired."
"It's ok. I don't blame you, Pinkie Pie was rather loud," Twilight said, smiling, this time with more energy.
"Oh my gosh... you're tooth..."
Twilight looked down, and saw one of her teeth laying on the bed covers. "Oh no!"
"Yeah, I lost a few of mine a couple of weeks ago... it sucks."
"When were you diagnosed?"
"Eight months ago..."
Twilight felt her headache get worse. Could she handle eight months of nightmare like the one she had just witnessed? She didn't know if she could even handle just one month of that!
"Wow... I'm sorry."
"It's ok... they say I haven't much longer anyway."
"How long?"
"Two weeks."
Twilight's jaw dropped open, exposing her tooth hole. "ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS?"
"Yeah. I guess I'm dead."
***
The doctor looked over Twilight's medical results and cringed. This was not looking good.
"I don't know how I can break this to her. But... I think I may be able to get some results from this next operation."
The doctor walked into Twilight and Atlas's hospital room, and he along with Nurse Redheart carted the two out.
"Where are we going?" Twilight asked the doctor.
"To the operating room. I think I may be able to cure you two!"
Twilight looked at Atlas. Atlas had a dead look to his eyes that had nothing to do with his illness.
The four ponies entered the operating room.
"Alright, I'm going to put you guys to sleep..."
The doctor put injected the two patients, and they drifted off to sleep.
"Ok... this will be tricky."
The doctor, who due to budget cuts, was also the surgeon, began to open Twilight's chest. He went past the rib cage, and exposed her heart.
"Oh no. This is not good."
Her heart was plagued by small blue streaks and small lumps. The disease had already spread here.
"I can't just replace her whole heart... she's not going to make it."
The doctor sewed her up, and moved over to Atlas. His heart was in similar condition, but without the lumps. The doctor sewed him back up, and ordered them to be carted away.
"I must be able to do something!"
***
Twilight awoke to be back in her room. Her friends were there, crying.
"What happened?"
"Oh... Twilight... it's terrible," Rarity said, then started to sob very hard.
"Am I..."
The others nodded, and Twilight felt her heart stop for a moment. Except it lasted longer then a moment, and her vision filled with spots. Head falling to pillow, Twilight punched herself in the chest and she felt it beat again.
She looked up to see her Applejack grinning.
"What? Why are you smiling? I nearly died!"
"Ah just realized somethin'!" Applejack was smiling wider than anypony had seen her smile before.
"What would that be?"
"Life's just a joke!"
Everypony looked at her with confusion. Was she crazy?
"If life ain't a joke, then why am ah laughing?" Applejack was giggling, which soon erupted into full laughter.
"Yeah!" Pinkie said, laughing too. "If life ain't a joke, then why am I laughing?"
Together the two friends laughed so loudly they could be heard outside of the hospital.
"If life ain't a joke, then why are we laughing?" They chorused.
"If life ain't a joke, then why am I dead?" Twilight screamed at the two.
Applejack felt bad about what she had done. She had just... lost it. She knew she had hurt Twilight's feelings. Pinkie Pie wasn't as remorseful about what had happened, she still had an optimistic view on life and the fact that Twilight would get better. So, to make up for it, Applejack decided to surprise Twilight the next day.
"Heya Twilight!" Applebloom rushed into the hospital room where Twilight and Atlas were playing cards.
"Hey Applebloom!" Twilight picked up Applebloom, but dropped her again after her arms gave out. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed into the room, along with Applejack and Rarity.
"How are yah doin' today, Twilight? Better Ah hope." Applejack pulled up the blanket on Twilight's cot to cover the sick unicorn better, and fluffed her pillow a a bit. Twilight and Atlas both giggled.
"I'm doing better today, it doesn't hurt as much."
"Hey! We could be nurses!" Scootaloo hovered in the air for a second when she got the idea. "We could help Twilight get better! Then we'd get our nurse cutie marks!"
Atlas smiled and patted the orange filly's head. "Oh, I don't think you'd be able to pull that off. Me and Twilight are both very sick, and even the doctors aren't sure if they can help us."
Sweetie Belle gasped. "Oh no! Are you going to die?"
Rarity looked at her sister, shocked. "Sweetie Belle! What a rude thing to say! Of course they aren't going to-"
"Oh no, I'm going to die." Atlas laughed heartily, which soon degraded into hacking coughs. "The doctors say I'm gonna die in twelve days."
Everpony was quiet, except for the occasional hack or wheeze from either of the two dying unicorns. Finally, Applejack broke the tension.
"So, uh, Twilight! What did the doctors say on your condition?"
Twilight yawned, and covered a cough. "Well, they aren't sure as of now. I could be getting better, I could be getting worse, they have to run some more tests first." She giggled, the coughed again. "That rhymed! Sorta."
The fillies laughed, and Applejack and Rarity joined in the laughter. Of course, it wasn't overly funny, but just seeing their friend in such high spirits as she withered before their eyes brought their attitudes up considerably.
The visitors soon left, leaving Twilight and Atlas alone again. Atlas sighed. "You sure are lucky to have friends who care about you enough to visit you almost every day."
Twilight looked at the dying stallion. He looked weaker, gaunter, paler. One could tell just by looking at him that he had only twelve days left. Atlas coughed a bit, the rolled over. "I'm going to get some sleep, ok?"
Twilight too drifted off into the realm of dreams.
Atlas lay on his back, staring at the sky. He couldn't move, but heard voices behind him.
"Atlas? Atlas!"
Atlas's eyes widened. "Mom?"
"Atlas honey, everything's going to be ok, just-" A sickly stabbing noise filled Atlas's ears, and he felt something warm splatter the top of his head. The horrors came back to him as he heard another voice pierced the air.
"Mommy? Mommy!" That was his voice... from ages ago...
Footsteps, yes, definitely made from feet, not hooves, were heard as there was a thud from a body hitting the floor.
"Here's your dad. Give him a decent funeral." That voice...
Atlas cringed as he heard his younger self crying. The other voice started up again.
"Hey, don't cry... I'm sure if you hurry, you can drag your mother to the hospital and save her... wouldn't count on it though..."
Atlas heard the cries become muffled as a dragging sound became audible. This memory had haunted him forever...
Atlas screamed and shot up out of his bed. "Huh? What's wrong?" Twilight blinked sleepily. Atlas curled up into a ball. Three miles... and she was dead the whole time...
Twilight put her head back on the pillow, and fell asleep once more.
"Do you think she'll be ok?"
"What do I care?"
"Aren't you trying to save her?"
"Pfff. Please. She's too close to my mother, that bitch never shuts up about her. If her survival weren't crucial to Equestria's future, then I could care less and just let her die."
"Hey! She's waking up!"
Twilight blinked and looked around. The sky was a pale orange, and a hot wind blew all around her, blowing up dust into her face. She tried to use her hoof to wipe the dust from her eyes, but found it, along with her other limbs and indeed, her entire body, were chained down to a large rock.
"Let me go!"
The figure who was talking earlier laughed. "Boy, do you have an attitude." Twilight blinked, and tears ran down her cheeks as a result from the dust. Soon, her vision began to clear, and the person standing before her became obvious.
A blonde human, about the age of nineteen stood in a black shirt, jeans, and a green over jacket. She was instantly glad she had not disregarded Lyra's rants, as she otherwise would have no idea what humans were or looked like.
"Who are you human, and why have you captured me? Princess Celestia will rescue me if you try anything!" The human laughed.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Twily," Twilight ground her teeth when the human used her brother's pet name for her "Princess Celestia isn't too keen on coming here."
"Let me go!"
The human put his hand up to his chin as if he were thinking about it. "Well, since you asked so nicely, no."
Twilight tried to use her horn to break free, but found that her magic was useless.
"Uh uh uh! You mustn't try that here, you'll tire yourself out! Only chaos magic works here!" The human created a ball of fire, and shot it at Twilight. Bracing herself for the heat, she was taken by surprise when she felt the shock of electricity hit her, and saw several flowers blooming and withering almost immediately from the spot where the odd magic hit her.
"What do you want with me?"
The blonde human inspected his nails, then said "Nothing, really, just wanted to show you my little sanctum I've carved out in Hell."
Twilight felt fear fill her up. "This is... Hell? I died? But I can't go to Hell! I-"
"You aren't dead yet, this is a dream! I've taken you from your normal dreamstate and brought you here. While you're here, I think I'll have some fun with you..."
The scene in front of Twilight changed, and she saw Spike and Fluttershy crying over something. Upon closer inspection, it was a pile of books.
"Why are they-" Twilight began, but as she started to talk, Spike took a deep breath and lit the books on fire. "MY BOOKS!"
Fluttershy and Spike hugged each other and sobbed. Twilight didn't understand anything that was going on.
"What was the point in showing me that?" she yelled angrily at the blonde human who was now holding an electric guitar and playing a few chords.
"You'll find out soon enough. Now, wake up."
"Wait! Who are you?"
The human smiled. "Don't worry, I'm just a ghost. I can't hurt you anymore."
Twilight opened her eyes. The sun was shining in her face, Atlas was fast asleep, and Spike was standing at the foot of the bed.
Twilight was taken aback by this, but then hugged the little dragon back.
Spike hugged Twilight harder. "Seriously, don't die. Without you is how I'd disappear. You'd be gone, and so would I. You've been here my whole life... I couldn't bare to lose you."
Twilight hugged her assistant as hard as she could. "I won't. I promise." She looked up, and gasped. The human stood in the corner of the room, tuning the guitar.
Twilight lay in her cot, reading a book about Sea Ponies when she heard the hospital window open.
"Psst! Twilight!" Pinkie Pie slipped in through the window.
"Oh. Hey, Pinkie."
"I heard you're doing better! Let's go out and celebrate!"
Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't think a part would be the best course of action to take... while they did say I'm improving, I probably want to get a lot of bed rest that will-"
"Oh, come on, Silly-Twilly! One party isn't going to hurt you!"
Twilight Sparkle sighed, and put her book away. "Alright... let's go!"
***
Twilight awoke on the Pinkie Pie's couch, a burning sensation in her stomach, and a pounding pain in her head. Running to the bathroom, she threw up a large amount of bile, and felt herself collapse. Memories of last night flooded through her mind...
"Come on, Twilight, it's just one shot. It's not going to kill you," Berry Punch said, rolling her eyes as she poured Twilight a shotglass of a dark brown lager.
"I dunno... isn't 'daterape' a bit strong?"
Berry Punch laughed at Twilight's skepticism.
"Silly girl. It'll be fine! Loosen you up a bit." Twilight shrugged, and downed the drink. It burned her throat, but at the same time, filled her up with energy. This place that Pinkie was throwing the party... it was different, to say the least. Had a changeling theme, built like a hive, and some ponies were dressed up like the monsters. Leave it to Pinkie to make party fodder out of a horrible experience like that. Of course, the nightclub wasn't hers, but the idea behind it was. And Twilight was pretty impressed with how it had turned out.
Twilight looked heard the music beats electronically assile her eardrums, and saw Vinyl Scratch working her magic. She also saw another being which she cringed at the mere image of.
The human from her nightmare was tuning a guitar and getting ready to go onstage. Twilight ran over to confront the monster.
"What are you doing here? Why hasn't anypony noticed you?"
The human gave Twilight an unconcerned shrug. "Maybe it's because you're imagining me. You are supposed to be sick with a disease that grants dementia."
"Oh ha ha. We both know I'm not imagining this. The delusions went down three days ago," Twilight hissed.
"This pony bothering you, Eli?" Twilight turned to see Vinyl Scratch head over.
"See! I knew somepony else could see you!"
Vinyl smiled, showing off sharp incisors. "Well yes, but that's because I'm... different."
Twilight's jaw dropped. "You're a vampony!"
"Indeed. And me and several of my friends use this place as a convenient blood bank. We take some of the drunks and pop 'em down to the Beast Lair down below and relieve them of some blood. Never to kill, though. We have ourselves a little cult..."
"Does Octavia know?"
Vinyl Scratch shifted uncomfortably. "Well... not yet. Don't go telling her, or else I'll taste your magic-spiked blood. One bleeds the lusty commands, drop the dagger and laugh at the blood on your hands..."
Twilight slowly slid back into the crowd, away from this creepy spectacle. Those last words... she knew it had to be done. Twilight could feel the alcohol messing with her brain... and that stallion over there by himself looked fairly cute...
Pulling her head up from the toilet, Twilight realised what she had done. She had sex with that stallion, and she had done... other things... and she was experiencing the worst hangover of her life.
Pinkie bounced in. "Oh good, Twilight! You're ok! I was scared that you might have died! Partying is fun, but sometimes even I have to draw the limits!"
Twilight wondered how Pinkie Pie could stay so light throughout all the hardships that hit her.
"Anyway, shouldn't you go back to the hospital? I hear that they're pretty worried you're gone..."
At the word "hospital", Twilight remembered that today was Atlas's last day before he finally died. Rushing out of Sugarcube Corner, she ran to the hospital, and made it just in time to see Atlas flatline.
"No!" Twilight hugged the stallion, his lifeless body unmoving. She sobbed, having gotten to know him over the last few weeks, and these sobs were not enough to convey her sorrow.
"Atlas... I'm so sorry..." Then, the burning in her stomach reached a peak, and she fell to the floor. Looking up, her vision blurry, she saw Elijah standing over her.
"W-what..."
"Shh... even the sharpest lives, Twilight..." Elijah put a finger up to her lips. Twilight found it very hard to breath, and suddenly, she couldn't. At all.
Atlas's heart monitor started up again, and the stallion awoke. The Doctor rushed in. "Damn, Atlas, don't- Twilight?"
***
"Well, it's official."
"I'm so proud! I think we should tell Twilight right away!"
Cadenza kissed Shining Armour on his snout. "Yes, you wouldn't want the future aunt to be upset at you like she was about the wedding, now do you?"
Shining laughed. "Definitely don't need that again." He turned around to see a messenger staring at him.
