“Princess Celestia is still doing her best in order to find a cure for my ailment, still with no results.”
Those were the written words of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of friendship, specialist in magic, who was writing her daily report on her investigation, Celestia’s Investigation and her routine which she needed to adjust because of her new condition.
Holding the quill with her mouth, she proceeded to write in her notebook her report, as she used to do before going to sleep.
“Today I was set to cook by myself, without the help of Spike or my friend’s for the first time since what happened. Pinkie let me borrow some useful tools for earth ponies.
It was something simple, a lettuce and carrot salad”
That noon, after arranging the library with Spike, she went out to the market, in order to get the groceries for lunch.
She roamed by the different booths, getting what was necessary to prepare it.
“Everypony greeted me cordially live every day. Some of them praised my mane. The most devoted bowed in my presence. I’m still not used to those gestures, but it’s an occupational hazard.”
Her mouth writing was pretty unreadable. She still needed to practice more with her mouth.
Upon returning to her home, she saw Spike going out. He said he needed to pick up something and that he would be back by lunch.
She deposited the bags in the kitchen table and took out everything needed to cook. She went by the countertop bringing with her a few carrots and a chopping board.
It was a weird tool; it had some kind of harness to fit in whichever hoof that could be used to grip any cooking tool.
She held her knife with the harness, tightening it enough to avoid it from slipping and put one of the carrots on the board. The blade was bare millimeters from cutting. She trembled. Over thought. In her head she went over everything like an instructive made of all the lessons Pinkie gave her on handling that tool.
“My friends supported me since the first day. This week was even-minded. Applejack helps me with exercises to hold things with my muzzle. Pinkie is helping me with basic cooking skills; and emotional support with her cheerfulness. Rainbow Dash and her flying lessons keep me together with this new alicorn side of mine. Even Rarity proved to be humble in her magic use.”
With utmost care, she cut the tip of the carrot, turned it around and cut the stem and threw both of them to the bin.
“Easy enough, it’s not a big thing,” she told herself.
She proceeded to slice the carrot, slowly to avoid unwanted cuts. At the end she pushed the slices to the side and brought the second one. With more confidence and speed she cut the second one, this time with a triumphing smile. With a movement of her hoof she swept the board, leaving the vegetables to the side with the rest.
However, her enthusiasm played a trick on her, making a gash in her hoof.
She screamed. She took off her harness and ran to the bathroom in search of her emergency medical kit, where she improvised a bandage after disinfecting her wound in alcohol, causing a burning sensation and a tear that ran down her cheek.
Twilight remained sitting, looking her reflection on the bathroom’s mirror, looking abreast the bandage in her hoof, asking how she could make such a mistake, like a teenager trying to cook for the first time.
She opened the tap and cleaned the blood stains in her right hoof and her mouth, as well a small droplet on her cheek.
Twilight combed her disheveled mane slowly, treating it with gentleness. She wanted everything to be normal again.
Her face showed a bitter depression while she carried a bucket with water and a mop to clean the trail of scarlet droplets she left during her haste.
It was hard to clean, but it kept her mind still.
Arriving at the kitchen, she saw the carrots she sliced covered in blood and a feeling of impotence took over her, along with an anger she could not contain, causing her to throw the carrots, the table and the knife on the harness to the garbage bin.
Her eyes were dampening and she tumbled onto the floor not knowing what to do. Her sorrow would have turned into a deep bawl were it not for Spike, who opened the door, bringing a pizza with him.
Twilight got up and washed her face to suppress her sadness.
“Hi Twilight, I brought lunch. I hope you don’t mind,” Spike said showing the pizza with extra cheese.
“It’s ok. I have been cleaning a bit and wasn’t paying attention to the time. Thanks for getting ahead on that,” Twilight thanked smiling. “I’m going to set the table, help me with the glasses.”
“Right away.”
Spike got on the countertop in order to reach the cupboard and get to glasses, but something in the corner of his sight got his attention. Upon a closer inspection, he got a big surprise when he found the slightly bloodstained knife in the garbage bin.
Perplexed, he poked his head to the dining room and saw the bandage on Twilights foreleg.
“Poor Twilight, she struggles so hard” Spike thought.
“During lunch he asked me why did I had a bandage in my hoof and I responded something simple, like that I had tripped on a puddle.
Lying to him like that was almost as painful as that cut because he’s among the ones who helped me the most when i needed it, but it was so instinctive… I’m not sure how to describe it really.
I see my wound and I remember every time I failed with simple tasks, like lifting a teapot, eating with special silverware for not magical ponies, taking a shower or carrying several objects at the same time.
I feed disabled. No, that’s what I am. It’s everything a unicorn without magic like me is.”
Her eyes moistened before the light of a candle that illuminated the part of the desk where she was writing her report.
Not being able to handle it any more, she went out to the balcony to cry. Fresh air caressed her mane and her tears while her weeping and wailing escaped without control, cursing her unfortunate life, cursing how her biggest gift was stolen from her.
Twilight thought that no one was going to be able to hear her crying, but she didn0t notice that the door was open, allowing her little assistant to hear everything. His little heart crushed just by hearing Twilight like that.
Slowly, he approached the unicorn, afraid as never before seeing in that state whom he considered an older sister
“Twilight?”
But she did not answer. She didn’t want to.
“Twilight, are you OK? “
She was vulnerable.
“Twilight… Talk to me… Answer me, please” he begged.
“I feel like a nopony! A failure! Useless! Somepony who cannot even cut a simple carrot without having to cry like an apple-brained!”
She finally blew up.
“A nopony? Who are you talking about? You’re Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn Princess of Friendship and bearer of the element of magic!”
“Not anymore, Spike,” Twilight said heartbreakingly. “You know perfectly that my magic disappeared long time ago,” her throat was choking on sadness, making it difficult to articulate words. “My cutie mark is only a cursed brand that’s going to haunt me for my whole life! I can’t take it anymore!”
Twilight threw herself on the dragon arms holding her for several minutes, letting her venting off in his shoulder while he stroked her back.
Once he felt her breathing stabilizing, he decided to continue with the conversation.
“Maybe your cutie mark reminds you the loss of your magic, but I believe that you’re focusing only on a single side on magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way I see it, magic is not only that which helps you on the everyday life and shows itself in a shining aura with shining sparks. It’s also that spark inside of you that makes us special. You’re smart, a good friend, organized, and I could go on all night telling every single thing that makes you unique.”
Twilight was moved and speechless with Spike’s words.
“Besides, you said it yourself that time when you faced Nightmare Moon. You felt a different kind of spark inside of you, because everyone has their own spark that connects us with each other and makes us friends. If our cutie mark represents something, it’s the magic of friendship, the one you project upon ponies to be nice to each other, and that’s something that you will never lose.”
“But what about my magic?” She asked more serene.
“If you keep hanging out with Rainbow Dash to practice your flying skills, soon you will be as fast as when you used to teleport, and Applejack can lend you a cart to load lots of things. If you want we can even paint an orange so it looks like a frog, like that time with pinkie and the mirror pool.”
Twilight laughed at that last remark.
“But please, Twilight, smile again.”
With that, she felt relieve enough to lounge over spike to hug him and give him a tender kiss in his forehead as gratitude.
“Thanks Spike, I don’t know what I would do without you on my side.”
“Don’t bother about it.”
Without being able to say another word, the baby dragon sneezed due to the cold breeze.
“Let’s go to sleep before you have to take one of those cough syrups that you hate so much.”
“No, anything but that!”
And both of them returned to the warmth of the room they shared, ready to fall asleep, but not without first finishing her report. Or rather, make a new one.
“100th day
Princess Celestia is still doing her best in order to find a cure for my ailment, still with no results.
I’m ready to face a new day. A shiny new day with my friends.”
Author's Note
You might be asking how Twilight lost her magic. I actually don't really know how.
The bases in the competition didn't allowed me to expand myself more that what you've already read here, and If I explain what happened I'll need to do more chapters or another fanfic for it.
