My Faithful Student

Chapters

My Little Pony
Ursa Aftermath
The Following Day
In The Shadow of Death
Darkest Before The Dawn
My Faithful Student

My Little Pony

"Princess!" Yelled a very excited Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight! How was your trip?" Princess Celestia had to suppress her own excitement at finally seeing her favorite student after so long. She couldn't think of a better way to spend her spare time than by catching up with Twilight.

The last time they had seen each other was just after Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. That time, Twilight and her friends had stood their ground against the army of changelings that attacked Canterlot, saved Princess Cadence, and revealed Queen Chrysalis before her plans came to fruition. And before that, they defeated Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony. As Princess Celestia and Twilight walked out into the garden, the princess couldn't help but be proud of how far her little filly had come.

Of course, Twilight had long since stopped being a filly. But that didn't stop the Princess from remembering their early years as student and teacher.

"Twilight, do you remember the night you got lost in the garden labyrinth, and all the guards got lost looking for you?"

"Princess, please! That was so long ago!" said a very red-faced Twilight.

This was one of Celestia's favorite memories, and not only because her silly guards didn't have the foresight to simply fly over the maze to look for Twilight. She loved this memory because it was one of the first times that Twilight showed her cleverness and problem-solving skills.

"Do you remember how you got out, my little pony?" asked the princess.

"Of course, princess! I was there! I got my bearings from the position of the stars that night, and I headed East, toward the exit." Twilight recalled with more pride in her voice than she meant to use.

"And what about the time you opened the gates of Tartarus?" Princess Celestia still had night terrors about this story, but she liked to remember it because only the most powerful witches and warlocks had managed to open the gates, and Twilight had done it accidentally, as a filly.

"Princess, that was an accident! I've apologized at least hundred times! And we managed to rebuild the orphanage!" Twilight was red with embarrassment.

"...I'll never regret the day you took the entrance exam for my school. I would never have gained such a special, talented student." The princess extended a wing, and Twilight moved in close for a hug she and her mentor shared since she was little.

And just like those old days, the princess levitated the crown off her head and placed it on Twilight's. Celestia could endure months of politics and the royal duties she needed to attend to as ruler of Equestria, as long as she could spend a day with Twilight once in a while. She had filled the void that Luna left for a thousand years, and if anyone could succeed the throne from Celestia, she was confident that Twilight would steer Equestria on the right path, always.

"Oh, Princess! I just remembered! I've been practicing Shining Armor's shield spell! Would you mind?"

"Of course not, go right ahead." Shining Armor's shield spell was one of the strongest among any Celestia had seen.

In fact, not since Star Swirl the Bearded had Celestia seen a sturdier wall of magic. Celestia wondered if talent for magic just happened to run in Twilight's family, but quickly snapped her attention back to Twilight, who was preparing for the spell. After quick breath, Twilight pointed her horn skyward and shot a beam of magical energy up into the air. It cascaded in every direction, forming a protective barrier around the castle. Celestia was thoroughly impressed with her student's amazing ability for magic. She was so young, and yet she was able to copy her brother's famous defensive spell.

"TWILY, THAT'S AMAZING!" shouted a very familiar-sounding stallion.

"Shining!" Twilight was elated to see her brother, since they hadn't seen each other for almost a year. "Where's Cadence?" she asked.

"She wasn't feeling well, so she just went to bed. I guess being heavily pregnant will do that to ya." said Shining, very nonchalantly.

The instant the words left his lips though, Shining Armor wished he knew a time-reversal spell as both Twilight and Her Majesty let loose on the poor horse.

"Are you insane? Don't you know how young she is?!" yelled a very angry sun goddess.

"When were you gonna tell me? Or were you just going to wait until the kid's first birthday to send me an invitation?!" yelled Twilight.

As they unleashed their wrath on him, Shining could swear both his sister and the princess were about to burst into flames, as they usually did when they got this angry.

"Well congratulations, I'm happy for you both." said the princess.

"So when is the baby due, Shining?" asked Twilight as if she and the princess hadn't just ripped Shining Armor a new one.

"Uhh...sometime next month." said Shining.

Twilight thought for a moment and smiled. "I can't wait to be an auntie."

Celestia accompanied Twilight to lunch with her parents, and was there to welcome Princess Cadence at the end of Shining Armor's shift. Several hours later, the time had come for the last train bound for Ponyville to depart.

"Well, I've got to get back to Ponyville now." said Twilight. "Princess, I'll send you a letter once I'm home."

"Please do, Twilight. And remember to keep up with your friendship reports." said the Princess with a hug.

"I will." Twilight replied confidently. "And Shining, if I find out the baby was born from a piece of parchment, I'll hunt you down, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, little sis." said Shining Armor, a bead of sweat stealthily sliding down the side of his face.

As the train departed, Twilight waved goodbye to her parents, her brother, her pregnant sister-in-law, and of course her teacher. They all parted ways, and Princess Celestia got herself ready for another day of paper-pushing and meetings with foreign ambassadors that would be sure to follow the next morning.

Just as she was recounting her wonderful day with her favorite pupil, a flash of sparkly green smoke came through the window and materialized as a sheet of parchment, obviously the note Twilight promised to send once she had safely returned to Ponyville. Celestia opened the letter expecting Spike's pleasant cursive handwriting with a message from Twilight. But scrawled hastily and incredibly messy, was a message Celestia was barely able to make out:

URSA MJOR ATTCK PNYVIL

TWILIT HURT

HELP!!!

Ursa Aftermath

Princess Celestia flew as fast as her massive alicorn wings could take her. She didn't have time to wait for any guards to bring her royal chariot around. An Ursa Major, arguably the biggest creature in Equestria, had attacked Ponyville. And according to Spike's hastily-written message, it had hurt Twilight. The Princess had bragged to many of her peers that Twilight was a formidable magic-user, proven by the fact that she had saved Ponyville from an Ursa Minor. An Ursa Major on the other hand, was a completely different story. Even the Princess herself would think twice about challenging one. But she had her subjects to protect, just as Twilight had her fellow Ponyvillians. She could sympathize.

As Ponyville appeared on what passed for the horizon at that time of night, she saw the beast tethered down and subdued several miles away. Even at that distance, its size was mind-boggling. The Princess saw its paw-prints on the ground around Ponyville, but the rustic town was in one piece. As she descended, the Princess noticed a very large ring around the entire town, as if a gigantic circular cookie-cutter had tried to take Ponyville out of the earth. Something had stopped the Ursa Minor, and Celestia knew she'd seen this before, recently in fact! But she couldn't put her hoof on it... one thing was for certain, at least. If Twilight had so much as a misplaced hair because of this Ursa Major, Celestia would very soon be enjoying a new bear-skin carpet in her room, and Canterlot would be enjoying a a boom in authentic Ursa Major fur coats...

"PRINCESS!" Yelled a voice as Celestia touched down in Ponyville. She recognized the accent instantly, it was Twilight's friend Applejack.

"Applejack, where is-"

"They took Twilight to the hospital" Applejack said, predicting the Princess' question.

"Which way-"

"That way." she gestured.

Ponyville was in one piece and nopony seemed to be anything more than shaken with fear. Celestia addressed the gathered ponies to reassure them of their safety. "Citizens of Ponyville! The Ursa Major has been subdued within the Everfree Forest. There is no longer any cause for alarm." said the Princess. The townsponies breathed a sigh of relief at their monarch's reassurance.

The Princess quickly headed in the direction Applejack had pointed, her path to Ponyville's hospital lined with bowing ponies.

When she finally reached the Ponyville Hospital, Princess Celestia found an empty waiting room, which was a good sign. Empty, except for a shaking Fluttershy. That pony had a knack for being invisible.

"P-Princess..." whispered Fluttershy. Since their first meeting, Celestia knew Fluttershy was very soft-spoken. But something in her voice and the expression on her face were as if she was apologizing for something. What could such a sweet little pony have done to warrant forgiveness from Her Highness?

Celestia didn't have time to ponder Fluttershy's intentions as Rarity came through the door to the emergency rooms.

"Princess! Twilight is this way!" She said.

Celestia wasted no time in following Rarity through the corridors, keeping her eyes peeled for an injured purple unicorn.

"Over here," said Rarity as she turned into a different hall. The Princess had to catch herself so as not to slip on the slick hospital floor.

For an emergencies wing in the wake of an attack from a giant bear, it was eerily empty of any doctors, nurses, and patients. That was, until The Princess found herself standing behind Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They were watching as an army of nurses, led by several doctors, rushed in and out of one room. Twilight was in this room, and the hospital staff was doing everything in their power to keep her alive. Celestia had to see. She had to know that Twilight was alright.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, you can't go in there" said one of the nurses.

"I am your Princess. Stand aside, I must see the condition my child is in!" Ordered Celestia. In her flustered state, she hadn't noticed she'd just referred to Twilight as her "child" not "student", a sentiment she would have smiled about, if the circumstances were different.

"I'm sorry Princess, but this is my hospital and I make the rules." Said a very serious-looking doctor.

Celestia didn't have a comeback, because the doctor was right. The staff was obviously doing the best it could to help Twilight.

"Please understand, Your Highness. We have a very seriously injured pony in that room, if you persist, you'll only get in our way of helping Ms. Sparkle to recover. If you really want to help, follow her friend's examples and let us do our job." The doctor treated The Princess with the same amount of respect he gave everypony. He'd handled this same situation a hundred times before.

The Princess did as she was told, and sat down next to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Rarity had most likely gone back to console Fluttershy for whatever crime it was that she'd committed.

"Princess...?" Asked Rainbow Dash in a very uncharacteristically scared voice.

"What is it, my little pony?" Asked Celestia in deadpan tone, only half-paying attention to the rainbow-maned pegasus. The Princess was too busy worrying over Twilight to bother with Rainbow's silly questi-

"What happens when a unicorn breaks their horn?"

Celestia's heart stopped and sunk, her eyes widened and she nearly broke her neck as she swiveled her head to face Rainbow Dash.

"What...?" The Princess had to fight hard to suppress a whimper beneath her quivering lip.

"Twilight...broke her horn." Replied Rainbow Dash. The Princess' efforts to hide her fears about Twilight's condition had failed, as Rainbow Dash started to feel her fear for Twilight's safety as well.

"Did it...is it still attached...?" Celestia asked, begging for the best possible answer in this situation.

But as she expected, Rainbow gave her the worst.

"No...it broke off..." she said.

...Part of being ruler of the land, and goddess to your people, was never showing weakness. If her subjects saw Celestia in any weakness, their faith in her would be shaken and her kingdom would slowly start to come apart at its seams. But this was one instance in which she would be forced to make an exception. Celestia sobbed quietly as tears fell from her face. Rainbow closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth as she punched the wall of the hallway and stormed off. The only sound that came from Pinkie Pie during the entire exchange was the sound of her mane deflating.

"Pinkie, what happened?" asked The Princess. There was nothing to do but wait, so Celestia wanted to hear the whole story.

"Well...you remember that obnoxious unicorn that came to Ponyville, bragging about how she'd defeated an Ursa Major?"

The Princess did remember. Spike had boasted about Twilight proving that she was the most talented magic user by defeating an Ursa Minor some colts had lured to Ponyville. They had meant for the other unicorn, Trixie, to vanquish it. But in the end she was exposed as a fraud and ran away.

"She actually went out and captured a real Ursa Major, and brought it here to show off to Twilight. I wasn't close enough to hear exactly what they were saying but Twilight said something about draggin' around the Ursa with a collar not being good or something..." recalled Pinkie.

Something in that sentence caught the Princess, dragging around the Ursa? No, not draggin'...dragon! Those collars forced dragons to submit to the will of wizards! And that fool Trixie had placed a Dragon Binding Chain on a monster it had no effect on!

"Then it took the collar off and everyone started going crazy! And then Twilight shot some light into the air before the Ursa could attack and blocked it from attacking Ponyville!" continued Pinkie.

Shining Armor's spell. That was what caused the ring around Ponyville, and Celestia remembered that it had left a mark around the perimeter of Canterlot after the wedding as well, that's where she'd seen it before. But Twilight wasn't as experienced with the spell as her brother, and where he could blast it with magic and keep it stable for long periods of time, Twilight didn't have that sort of magic style. The way Twilight used magic, she must have been connected to the shield the entire time, constantly funneling magic into it.

As Pinkie continued with the story, Celestia started to piece together what had happened. Twilight had placed a protective shield around Ponyville, and the Ursa, not understanding what was blocking it, had kept attacking it. But since Twilight was connected to the shield, the recoil of every hit on it would bounce back onto her. Taking into account the amount of force the shield itself absorbed, from a beast the size of the Ursa Major that would feel similar to being repeatedly battered with a sledgehammer. It was a miracle she was able to withstand even one blow, but Pinkie said Twilight held the beast off for roughly half an hour before she couldn't take anymore.

"I asked Twilight if there was anything I could do to help, but she just turned around and yelled at me to get everyone to safety." Pinkie was tearing up, and Celestia knew the story was reaching its climax.

"So while I was helping some fillies onto a cart so they could get away, I heard Twilight scream, and the barrier around Ponyville came crashing down! I turned around and she was on the ground convulsing! Oh if the Wonderbolts hadn't shown up to lure the Ursa away when they did, we woulda been toast!" recalling the story obviously caused Pinkie a lot of pain, but Celestia had to know what had happened.

"Rainbow Dash and I went over to help her up and I carried her here to the hospital. When the doctors put her on the gurney, they asked me where her horn was and I didn't know! But Rainbow had it and she gave it to the doctors before they carted her away...and now we're here."

"We've stabilized her, Princess. All we can do now is wait." said the doctor, emerging from the room exhausted. "You should be proud...this hospital was expecting everypony in town to come through these halls, but thanks to Twilight Sparkle we only have one patient tonight, and the entire town owes her thanks. We promise we will do everything we can to help her."

The Princess wanted to stay with Twilight until she could be sure she was alright, but she knew Twilight wouldn't want her to dwell on her condition. The Princess stood up, excused herself, and headed back to Canterlot under the escort of a few guards that had caught up with her. Every one of Twilight's friends would be praying to Celestia that she would be alright. And just then it occurred to the Princess, when everypony prays to you, who do you pray to?

The Following Day

Princess Celestia lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't slept at all since returning from Ponyville, but she still had her royal duties to attend to. She'd placed a guard at the hospital to deliver news about Twilight's condition to Spike, who was ordered to send the Princess a letter immediately. But that message wouldn't be coming any time soon. So grudgingly, she got up, raised the Sun, and went to take a shower like she did every morning. She stood motionless as water fell on her head.

"Celestia! You've been in there for an hour! Other ponies have to use the bathroom to, you know!" yelled Luna as she banged on the door.

Celestia paid her no mind as she slowly scrubbed herself in the same spot she'd been scrubbing for the past ten minutes. She came out of the bathroom sopping wet, her mane still dangling out the side of the towel she had on her head. Luna could see her sister was in no mood to meet with ambassadors of foreign countries or look at any new laws.

"Sister, I know Twilight Sparkle is the only thing on your mind right now, but there's nothing we can do to help her. She wouldn't want you to worry about her when you have responsibilities to attend to. The best thing you can do is go on with your day, and visit her once everything is taken care of." Luna placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder, trying hard to make her feel well enough to handle her business for the day.

Celestia simply nodded, and with a sigh she got up, dried herself off and put on her crown, her boots, and chest armor thingy. She met with the Minotaur and Centaur liaisons about a new trading deal between their countries that would reduce cost and increase benefits of bla bla bla bla.....the Princess' thoughts were elsewhere as she mindlessly signed the documents she was given. Later in the day while signing a set of new laws approved by the Equestrian Congress, Luna came bursting through the door.

"Celestia! Twilight is in the hospital, I KNOW THAT, but that is NO EXCUSE to legalize prostitution!" Luna said as she slammed a piece of parchment on Celestia's desk.

"Oh my," said Celestia as she noticed her signature on the document. "When did I sign that?"

"Just now. You're lucky I took it from those moronic guards high-hoofing each other before it was sent out." Celestia just stared at her sister with no excuse for her behavior. Luna had had enough. "That does it! Don't you know I'm just as concerned for Twilight's safety as you are?! I owe her my life, and there isn't anything I can do to help her when she needs it the most! Get out of here, go see Twilight Sparkle. If you stay here, you'll end up causing a war".

"...Thank you Luna." said Celestia with a smile as she galloped off.

"...GET BACK TO WORK!" Luna yelled at the guards that were at their door eavesdropping. "Prostitution, unbelievable..." she grumbled.

"Guards, ready my chariot; we're going to Ponyville." ordered Celestia.

"Of course, Your Highness." several guards responded.

Just as she gave the order however, a sparkly wisp of green smoke came from outside, it sped toward the Princess and stopped just in front of her face before materializing as a letter from Spike. Celesia was caught off guard, what had happened to Twilight? Given the circumstances, Spike's message wasn't a formally written letter, just a notification on Twilight's condition.

"Princess, the doctors decided to transfer Twilight to Canterlot."

That made sense. Ponyville was almost nothing but earth ponies, whereas Canterlot was majority unicorns. The hospital here had much more experience tending to unicorn injuries, not to mention better equipped with magic at their disposal. So Twilight was coming to Canterlot.

"Guard, cancel my chariot and inform Twilight's family that she's being transferred to Canterlot Hospital."

"Yes Ma'am." he responded.

Word of Twilight Sparkle's transfer to Canterlot Hospital spread quickly. Shining Armor had gone to get his family and a rotund Princess Cadence. Celestia could see they were all as scared for Twilight's life as she was. Twilight's mother had puffy red eyes as she sobbed in her seat, she had most likely been crying all day. The Princess could feel their pain...

"Your Majesty," said the nurse at the reception desk. "Twilight Sparkle is here, as soon as the doctors are done, you can go in and see her."

"Thank you." said the Princess.

"She says Twilight is here and when the doctors are done, we can see her." Celestia said to the others as she sat down next to them.

"When did she get here?" asked Cadence. She hadn't noticed any activity or noises that could imply they were transferring a severely injured patient.

"They teleported her here." Shining explained to his wife. Hundreds of years before, Celestia herself had established an efficient injured patient transfer system, which consisted of a team of four-to-six ponies either carrying, airlifting, or magically teleporting injured ponies to and from hospitals. The team of unicorns that had teleported Twilight from Ponyville to Canterlot had used a strong teleportation spell, using their combined magic to travel long distances instantly.

Time seemed to pass by slower than ever as Twilight's family waited for any news on her condition. Celestia wanted desperately to push the Sun a little faster, but she knew that wouldn't help Twilight in the slightest. After what seemed like days, the nurse finally called them in.

All of them walked hurriedly to Twilight's room, hoping that she was alright. Celestia and the rest of Twilight's family hadn't seen her since the night of the attack, and they'd been itching to be by her side helping in any way they could. After a maze of corridors and injured ponies, they finally arrived at her door. Through the window, they could see a curtain was blocking Twilight from view. The nurse that led them there opened the door and led them inside, asking them to be quiet, but the only sound that could be heard was a pony's raspy breathing. As she pulled back the curtain, Twilight's mother let out a painful, heart-breaking moan as she sobbed onto her husband's shoulder. Princess Cadence let out a whimper and looked away. Shining gritted his teeth and faced the ground as he felt a lump grow in his throat. And as tears ran down her face, Celestia felt her stomach turn at the pony that lay in that bed.

Her eyes were covered in bandages, oxygen tubes had been inserted into her nose, and a drip slowly fed liquid into her veins. Her mane had been parted away from her horn, and every bandage that held it to her forehead was visible. Celestia wanted more than anything to believe that the pony lying there was not her, but there was no denying it. Sorrow filled the room as they looked down at Twilight Sparkle.

In The Shadow of Death

Princess Celestia couldn't believe it. How could she let this happen? Twilight Sparkle was now lying in a hospital bed with wounds that may never heal. Although every pony felt they could have done something to help prevent this, the Princess kept torturing herself with thoughts like "I should have sent guards to escort her" or "I should have asked her to stay in Canterlot for the night!" But hindsight wouldn't help any pony now. Twilight was in a coma, and all they could do was wait for her to wake up.

Twilight's parents were inconsolable at their daughter's condition. Her mother covered her eyes with her hooves while shaking her head wearily, mumbling things like "my poor baby..." and "no no no no...." between her sobbing. Twilight's father just held her close, shushing her and telling her that Twilight was a strong girl and that she would make it. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were outside in the hallway. They had been arguing about something, and Celestia wanted to know whether or not the Captain of the Royal Guard was about to do something idiotic in his rage-filled state. The Princess couldn't bear to see Twilight like this any longer anyway.

As she opened the door, Celestia found Princess Cadence fairly close by. She had a defeated expression on her face, obviously having lost the argument she had had with her husband. Cadence saw Celestia and nodded her head to show where Shining Armor had gone. He was standing by a window at the end of the hall, and the Princess could feel darkness radiating off him in waves as she got closer.

Celestia stopped next to him and saw his face was completely rigid and serious. He was looking out as far as he could see from the view of this hospital window, and it seemed to the Princess he was searching for something. Or rather, some pony.

"I'm going to find her, Princess." said Shining Armor. "The fiend that did this to my sister will pay dearly, I swear it."

"Don't let your hate consume your thoughts, Shining Armor. Twilight wouldn't want this, she wouldn't want you to go out seeking revenge."said the Princess, but she could see her words fell on deaf ears as he magically picked up his helmet and walked down the hall towards the exit.

"I'm only doing my job, Your Highness. I've got a criminal to catch, and she has to take responsibility for the crimes she's committed. I'd do the same for any pony, not just my sister." said Shining Armor.

But Princess Celestia rarely saw this kind of determination in any pony, and she could still feel Shining's rage even as he walked away. Shining Armor was hunting down the pony who had caused Twilight's injuries, and no pony was going to stop him. Not even Celestia. Realizing this, she called out to him as he reached the exit, hoping to spare the pony who'd incurred his wrath.

"I want her alive, Shining Armor." said the Princess. The white unicorn donned his helmet without turning to face the Princess.

"No promises." he said as he galloped into the night.

Once Princess Luna was done with her (and her sister's) royal duties, she went to see Twilight Sparkle. Celestia greeted her sister, and thanked her for taking care of business in the kingdom in her stead. The two went into Twilight's room, and Luna moaned with sadness at the pony who'd saved her life and Equestria from eternal night such a short time ago.

"Oh Twilight Sparkle...you're a strong pony, you can't leave us like this!" said Luna with tears in her eyes. She had the same habit Celestia had of holding back emotion, since as rulers of the kingdom they were not allowed to show weakness at any time. Of course, seeing one of her friends in the hospital pushed Luna over the edge as she wept for the unicorn.

She couldn't stay long, however. As long as Twilight was incapacitated, Celestia would not be able to perform her duties as Princess. The burden of ruling Equestria 24/7 had fallen to Luna, and her country wouldn't wait while she visited a unicorn in the hospital, no matter how special she was.

As the Sun came up, the hospital staff started to move around the hospital at a faster pace. Celestia had received word that all of Twilight's friends were coming to visit her, and they would arrive shortly. So she went out into the hall, waiting for the first of Twilight's friends to show up. Cadence had gone home, and even though she'd refused to leave her daughter's side, eventually Twilight's mother let her husband take her home. Celestia was used to staying awake for days. She was ready to stay until Twilight woke up, if she ever did.

At that thought the Princess shed a tear for her student, but found that she quickly had to wipe it away as a familiar streak of rainbows flew down the hall.

"Princess! Is Twilight alright?!" asked a frantic Rainbow Dash as she skidded to a halt in front of the Princess, her saddlebag almost flying off.

"Yes, she's fine. The doctors say she's stable but all we can do is wait." said Celestia. She lied, Twilight wasn't fine. But what else could she say to a pony as sensitive as Rainbow Dash?

"Can we go in and see her?" asked Rainbow. The Princess could see how much she cared for her friend.

"Yes, let's go in. I'm sure Twilight would be happy to hear your voice." said the Princess warmly. Twilight was truly blessed to have friends who cared so much for her.

"Twilight, your friend Rainbow Dash is here to see you." said the Princess to the unconscious pony in the hospital bed. Twilight might not be able to hear her, but believing she could helped her deal with the pain.

"Twilight...?" asked Rainbow Dash. No response. Celestia had hoped that hearing her friend's voice might snap her out of her coma, but of course the chances were slim. Rainbow Dash looked at Celestia with uncertainty, not sure of what to do. The Princess simply nodded for her to continue.

"Hey, um...I know you wanted to get the new Daring Do book that came out so I went out and got it for ya!" said Rainbow Dash with a smile as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled it out. Still no response from Twilight. "I'll...leave it here and come back to read it to you later." she said. Twilight's silence made Rainbow Dash feel like her friend wasn't there. She knew Twilight wasn't just sleeping, but the fact that Twilight was hurt made a lump grow in Rainbow's throat as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Come on, egghead...say something..." Rainbow whimpered as she got closer to Twilight. All she could hear was her raspy breathing. Celestia knew Rainbow Dash was as strong as they come, but she couldn't picture the tomboyish mare shedding tears until today.

They heard the rest of Twilight's friends in the hallway. Through sobs and sniffles, Rainbow Dash excused herself from the room. "I'm not the only pony who came to see her." she said walking out of the room. As Rainbow opened the door, Celestia was slightly shocked to see just how many ponies had gathered in the hallway. Every one of Twilight's friends from Ponyville had shown up to the hospital, and the nurses were trying to keep every pony from barging in at once. Spike slipped past the nurse and rushed to the Princess's side.

"Princess, how's Twilight?" the little dragon asked worriedly. Celestia just looked at her student as Spike hopped up onto the bed. "Twilight...?" asked Spike, waiting for a response. Celestia knew this would be the case for everyone who came into the room. Call Twilight's name and see if she responds. No response would follow, and they would turn to look at the Princess as if asking what to do next.

"Talk to her, Spike. Maybe she can hear you." said the Princess.

Spike gulped as he looked at Twilight. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, and it felt as if she was expecting Spike to say something.

"Um...well Twilight, I...uh, was gonna organize the books in the library but...well I was just so worried about you! I worried so much I fell asleep and I almost missed the train coming to Canterlot!" No response. The Princess had stopped expecting Twilight to say anything. To her, it felt like Twilight's body was here, but her mind was elsewhere. Could Twilight be trapped inside her own mind? There were many stories of unicorns seeing incredible things while in a comatose state, claiming they had traveled long distances through strange realms to return to the real world. If any pony could pull this off, it was Twilight Sparkle. The Princess had been lost in thought for a moment, but found a heartwarming image waiting for her to return.

Spike was hugging Twilight and crying into her bosom, much like a child to its mother. Spike was just a baby, after all. Celestia herself had helped Twilight raise him years before. She vividly remembered Spike's first bath, and their trip to the hospital's burn ward after Spike discovered he could breathe fire. She remembered when Spike started chewing on Twilight's books, and the hilarious tug of war between filly Twilight and her pet dragon that always followed. "Spike! Let go!". Potty training him had been an ordeal, and even though Celestia had never managed to wash the stains out of her expensive imported carpets, each stain held a different memory. Little Twilight would yell "Bad Spike! We don't do that on the Princess's carpets!" as she smacked his nose with a rolled up newspaper. Spike would always have the last laugh though, as he turned the newspaper into ash. Seeing Twilight's little assistant weep for her broke Celestia's heart, and she wished she could just undo everything and they could all go back to living happily.

Celestia managed to get Spike off of Twilight so her friends could come in and see her. He sobbed under the Princess's wing as Fluttershy walked into the room.

"...Hello Princess..." Fluttershy said nervously. Something had been bothering Fluttershy since the night of the attack and Celestia had to know what it was.

"What's bothering you, my little pony? You know Twilight is in the hands of capable doctors who are giving her the best care in Equestria, don't you?" asked the Princess.

"Yes but, you see, um..." Fluttershy couldn't look the Princess in the eye. "Princess, when Trixie brought the Ursa to Ponyville, I could see it was mad! When it took the collar off, I tried to calm it down! But I've never handled a creature as large as an Ursa Major, and I think I made it even madder!" Fluttershy's face was wet with tears as she tried to get her point across to the Princess. "It's my fault Twilight got hurt!" she sobbed. Some butterflies that were hiding in Fluttershy's mane flew out and fluttered onto Twilight's unconscious body. "Butterfly kisses..." said Fluttershy with a quivering smile.

Celestia couldn't believe Fluttershy was torturing herself like this, making believe that Twilight's condition was her fault. The Princess couldn't blame her though, she had been doing the same just hours before.

"Fluttershy..." said the Princess, "None of this is your fault. If Twilight hadn't been in Ponyville you all would have been in terrible danger. I'm sure Twilight doesn't regret protecting the town, and she wouldn't want you to feel like any of this is your fault either...We all could have done a little more that night, but that's just not how things went. All you can do is be here for her when she needs you."

Fluttershy hugged Twilight and cried, knowing no amount of her experience in helping animals could help her now.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity came in together. Pinkie's hair was still straight and as long as Twilight was in a coma, it wouldn't be returning to its regular cotton candy shape anytime soon. They both had to hold back tears as they walked up to Twilight's side.

"Hey sleepy head..." said Pinkie Pie. "You better get well soon, because I'm throwing you a great big welcome back party, and every pony in Equestria is invited..." Pinkie was trying to smile as she pulled out a cupcake with the words "Get well soon" written on it in frosting and put it on the table next to the bed.

"And when you come back I'll have a wonderful dress made for you." said Rarity. Her make up ran and smeared as she wiped her tears away. "Look on the bright side, you're going to lose so much weight. Lucky..." Rarity said, trying to lighten the mood before a fresh wave of sadness caught her and she couldn't continue.

The last ponies to come in were the Apple family. Applejack, her brother Big Macintosh, the family matriarch Granny Smith, and little Apple Bloom and her two friends had shown up to see Twilight, one carrying a saddlebag. The Princess was expecting Applejack to say something to Twilight, but all she did was remove her hat as Granny Smith walked up to Twilight's side.

"Twilight Sparkle, I've lived fer a very long time. You've become a part of our family, and nothin' would hurt this old ticker o' mine more than you leavin' us. I'd hate to have to out-live such a talented and special little filly like yerself." said Granny Smith, her wisdom showing in her old age. She stepped aside as the three little fillies that had accompanied them stood on their hind legs to see Twilight.

"Didja bring it?" asked Scootaloo.

"I got it." said Sweetie Bell.

The little unicorn pulled a drawing out of her saddlebag and gave it to Apple Bloom, who was closest to Twilight.

"But she can't see it!" said Scootaloo.

"Doesn't matter." said Apple Bloom. "Twilight, if ya don't git well soon, then please keep lookin' after us while we look for our cutie marks..." Celestia felt a lump in her throat as she got a better look at the drawing. It was a drawing of the three fillies, all wearing capes, and Twilight watching over them with angel wings and a halo. "Hope ya can see our cutie marks from heaven..." Apple Bloom whimpered.

The Princess was relieved when all the ponies in the hall had had their chance to see Twilight. She felt her heart had been ripped to shreds, and she was dehydrated from crying so much. Celestia was happy that Twilight had made so many wonderful friends, and all of them would be there for her when she woke up...if she woke up...

"It's all that stupid goblin's fault! If he hadn't sold me that worthless chain, I wouldn't be in this situation!" Trixie said to herself. It was late night, and her coach-puller Horatio had been pulling her stagecoach for hours. The Great and Powerful Trixie had finally achieved the country-wide fame she'd been seeking, but for the worst possible reasons. She was now Equestria's most wanted mare, for putting Twilight Sparkle in the hospital and endangering Ponyville.

She had been bragging to every pony that she'd wrestled and captured and Ursa Major when in actuality, she'd sneaked into its cave while it slept and tied the collar she'd bought (with every last bit she had) around its gargantuan neck. To the goblin's credit, the chain had worked for a while. It was common knowledge that Dragon Binding Chains gave witches and wizards control over dragons, but Trixie was a pioneer. She had been the first to try it on an Ursa Major, and for the first few hours the beast was under Trixie's control. However, the effect had worn off by the time she had brought it to Ponyville.

"And now Twilight Sparkle is in a coma for breaking her horn, trying to protect her precious little town." sneered Trixie with crossed hooves. She had to admit, she was somewhat worried about Twilight Sparkle. Not many unicorns survived a broken horn. But Twilight had grown incredibly powerful since their last encounter, and while Trixie had used tricks on the Ursa Major, Twilight faced it head on. She was truly worthy to be Trixie's rival. She shook off her concern and regained her usual narcissistic attitude.

"Well, she may have stood her ground against an Ursa Major, but she will never have the show-stopping abilities of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRI-"

Trixie was cut short as her coach came to a stop. Worried, she called out to her driver.

"Horatio? Is everything alright?" She could hear him talking to some other ponies. "Hora-"

Her coach door suddenly swung open, and Trixie let out a surprised yell. An armored unicorn stood there silently before he walked in. Trixie had been found by the royal guard. As she sat there, scared to move a muscle, the unicorn walked up to her and looked her dead in the eye. If looks could kill, Trixie would have been in thousand pieces.

"Trixie Lulamoon, you are under arrest for criminal negligence, maiming a government official and member of the royal family, and endangering the lives of thousands of citizens in the town of Ponyville." said the unicorn. As he approached Trixie, she realized this wasn't just a royal guard, it was the Captain. Twilight Sparkle's brother had found her and Trixie had never been filled with more fear, not even when the Ursa Major slipped out of her control.

"You know," said Shining Armor letting his formal guard attitude go, "my 'special talent' is defending the weak. That's what my cutie mark represents, and that's why I'm Captain of the royal guard." He leaned in close so he and Trixie were face-to-face. "But if I ever decide to change that, you're at the top of my list." he growled.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..." said one of the guards as they placed a brace on Trixie. Two guards escorted her onto an armored coach and Shining Armor himself closed the door after her. Through the window, she could see a guard giving Horatio a large bag of bits to repay him for helping them turn her in. She probably should have paid him.

Celestia had been dozing off in Twilight's room as Rainbow Dash read her book to Twilight and her friends when the doctor came in and asked to speak with the Princess privately.

"What is it doctor?" asked the Princess.

"Well Your Majesty, I don't quite know how to say this. Twilight's injuries are much more severe than what we're used to, and quite frankly, we've done everything we can to keep her alive. She might wake up in a few minutes, a few days, a few weeks, months, or even years, there's no way for us to know. But I'm afraid her chances for recovery are slim. Unicorns with just fractured horns have a hard time recovering, and Twilight's is the absolute worst case I've ever seen. Usually, a unicorn's horn breaks from an external force, but Twilight's horn broke through the spontaneous combustion of her own magic, and that's causing us a variety of problems we've never seen...I'm sorry Your Highness. There's nothing else we can do for her now. Twilight Sparkle's survival will have to be through her own will to live, and she'll need all of her friends and family to be there for her."

"...Thank you, doctor." said the Princess. As the doctor left, Celestia looked through the window of Twilight's room to see friends and family gathered around her, talking and laughing, waiting for Twilight to wake up. The Princess steeled herself before she went back in and told every pony the news. She considered getting something to eat. Twilight could take her time reviving because unlike other ponies, Celestia could wait forever.

Darkest Before The Dawn

"Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!", cried the rooster perched on Applejack's back.

No response from Twilight. All the ponies in the room sighed in disappointment at their latest attempt to wake her. Celestia looked at the clock on the wall -it read 11:32 PM- and grudgingly sent the Sun back under the horizon.

"Sorry it didn't work out every pony..." said Applejack.

They'd been trying for days to get Twilight out of her stupor. Pinkie Pie brought a box full of what seemed to be the loudest things in Ponyville, and somehow managed to play them all in horrible unison. After that, she talked to Twilight about every kind of cake she'd never eaten but wanted to try, causing Celestia's sweet tooth to act up. Rarity told her about the progress she was making on Twilight's dress for her Welcome Back Party, about how beautiful which diamonds were and how Opalescence had set her back by unraveling a string that stuck out. Fluttershy told her about a strange sickness that was afflicting some of her animals, causing them to get "a bit grumpy". She vividly recalled all the fierce monsters they'd encountered, like the dragon and the hydra, the manticore, and even the recent Ursa incident.

Twilight's friends all had jobs to do in Ponyville, so they couldn't stay long. As they all left, Celestia stayed by Twilight's side, thinking of a way to help her and what she might be going through in her sleep. The Princess wasn't able to keep her thoughts afloat for long as she gave in to her exhaustion, and she fell asleep waiting for her faithful student to do just the opposite.

"...incess...Princess...! Can...u hear...e..?!....PRINCESS!!!**"

Celestia woke with a gasp. She looked around the room for any sign of trouble, but the scenery hadn't changed in the time she'd been asleep. She had heard Twilight calling, clear as day. Yet here she was, still lying in the hospital bed with bandaged eyes and ragged breathing. Had she just had a nightmare, or worse, was Twilight trapped in one?!

Through the days that followed, Rainbow Dash read Daring Do and the Bandits of the Forgotten Relic to Twilight as every pony else listened and asked questions or commented periodically. And that morning, she performed a Sonic Rainboom right over the hospital to see if the sound would snap Twilight out of her coma. Though the blast shook the entire hospital, Twilight's condition remained unchanged. Applejack had come in with a rooster just minutes ago, and now that that plan had failed, the ponies were out of ideas. They all went home, knowing Twilight would be upset if they abandoned their own responsibilities just to wait for her to wake up.

Celestia stayed in Twilight's room again that night. She'd been worried sick for days about what she'd heard the other night. Was Twilight trying to communicate with her? Could she do that? Maybe they could help her escape if she could talk to them! But she hadn't slept since that night and no matter how hard the Princess tried, she couldn't go to sleep waiting for the sound of Twilight's voice.

Visiting hours started up again and along with the usual visitors came an earth pony with a silver gray mane and glasses, the mayor of Ponyville.

Princess Celestia knew the Mayor wasn't exactly the most qualified pony for her position, since she asked Twilight often to help her organize their schedule of events. She had judged from Twilight's letters that they'd actually become good friends and wasn't surprised to see her visiting. The Princess had never really been interested, but now that the Mayor was here with no political business to attend to, she noticed she wasn't as old as her gray mane made you believe. Celestia remembered that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had published an article about the Mayor dyeing her mane, and she smiled thinking about all the silly things that just seemed to happen in Ponyville regularly. The Mayor just looked at Twilight solemnly before turning her attention back to the Princess.

"Your Majesty, I desperately want to believe Twilight will wake up soon but if she doesn't..." the Mayor trailed off with sadness in her voice. "If she doesn't, we'll...we'll name the library the 'Twilight Sparkle Memorial Library' and...and we'll have a statue of her, and...and...". The Mayor wiped her tears away sniffling, "excuse me, it's just...she did more for our little town in the short time she's been with us than I have in my entire office term. And not just the Ursa thing, she helped us with the Winter Wrap Up and...well I can't imagine Ponyville anymore without it's precious librarian...all the little colts and fillies actually took an interest in reading when Twilight came to town, and we've come to count on her for a lot of our big decisions. It just wouldn't be the same, walking through town and not see Twilight and Spike dragging around a ton of books and a checklist 20-feet long...hehe..." The Mayor chuckled and Celestia smiled too, remembering they did the same thing in Canterlot.

The Mayor couldn't stay long at all, she had a very convoluted schedule now that Twilight wasn't organizing it. She said goodbye to everyone and went on her way. A few hours passed by with the same routine that had been going on for the past few weeks, every pony telling Twilight about their day and reminiscing about other fun times they'd had. That day, Applejack had brought an apple pie, hoping the smell would remind Twilight of Sweet Apple Acres before the friends split it among themselves saving a piece for Twilight. Just as the Princess finished her slice, the door opened and a zebra walked into the room!

"Hello Zecora" said Fluttershy.

"Didja have any trouble findin' the place?" asked Applejack.

"The hospital staff kindly led me to the door, but has the rest of Canterlot never seen a zebra before?" Zecora said. Celestia had to stifle a laugh, apart from her unusual style, this Zebra spoke in rhymes, something the Princess found particularly hilarious.

The ponies all shared a laugh before Zecora introduced herself to the Princess.

"Hello Your Majesty, Zecora is my name. What has happened to Twilight is truly a shame." said Zecora.

"I'm sure she appreciates you coming to visit her. I just wish there was some way we could know how she's doing." said the Princess.

"Fear not, I am not a zebra of the ordinary kind, for I know techniques to see inside her mind." rhymed the zebra.

"Zecora helped Apple Bloom when she had nightmares, Princess. Maybe she can help Twilight too." said Applejack.

Could it be true? Could this zebra's foreign techniques look inside Twilight's mind? They had tried waking her up with a rooster, for Celestia's sake! They had to give this a chance.

"Zecora, I think Twilight might have tried to contact me a few days ago, but I'm not sure." said Celestia.

Zecora gave her a quizzical look. "It is not uncommon for those close to hear, the voices of others - though not always by ear."

"What happened, Princess?" asked Rainbow Dash. The other ponies were staring at her waiting for a response.

"Once you all left, I stayed here like I do every night. Only that time, I fell asleep...and I heard Twilight call out to me."

"Are you sure it wasn't a dream?" asked Rarity.

"I thought it was, but it was much too loud and vivid for me to have just imagined it." said the Princess. It was noticeably hard to explain her experience to the others, but she didn't have a lot to go on either way.

"Twilight Sparkle is talented, and powerful too. I would not be surprised if she found a way through." said Zecora. "Step aside ponies, this dream infiltration requires focus and complete concentration..." Zecora walked up to Twilight and placed a hoof on her forehead, careful not to agitate her horn. She closed her eyes and started mumbling in a foreign language. Princess Celestia was able to speak fluent Mohawk-Zebratic, but the language Zecora was mumbling in was unfamiliar. She couldn't help but notice how this language rhymed fluidly, as opposed to the rhymes Zecora concocted in Equestrian.

Zecora continued mumbling for a while longer before staying silent for a few seconds. The abrupt pause caught the attention of every pony in the room. They watched as her face changed from calm serenity to fear and worry. It was as if Zecora herself was having a nightmare, and the ponies felt their hearts sink. What could she be seeing? They didn't need to wait long for an answer as Zecora broke out of her trance hyperventilating and placed both hooves on Twilight.

"Twilight! You cannot give up! Fight them!" sobbed Zecora, not bothering with rhymes.

"What's going on? What did you see? Who is she fighting?!" asked the Princess.

Zecora was hesitant to speak to them. "I fear that you will start to weep, if you know what Twilight goes through in her sleep."

"Tell me, that is an order." said Celestia. Zecora gathered what composure she still had before telling them what she saw.

"Twilight is trapped within her dreams, no pony can hear her screams.

She calls out desperately to her friends, but her journey may have reached its end...I'm sorry..." said Zecora sorrowfully.

The ponies were all dumbstruck. They turned to look at Princess Celestia, but she had already left the room. She ran down the halls and reached the stairs, where she climbed to the last door at the top and emerged onto the roof. The Sun had been shining the entire day, but rain clouds were quickly forming, blocking out the Sun. Twilight was screaming for help? Where was she? Why couldn't the Princess do anything to help? No doubt one of the others would show up any minute and ask if she was alright, and she would tell them she just needed some air. She was their ruler, and she had to stay calm and collected at all times. She breathed, trying to get out of her stressful mood. Composed, calm, and collected. Calm, calm...

"Princess, are you alright?" asked Rainbow Dash from the door.

"NO, I'M NOT ALRIGHT!" she screamed. Rainbow was taken aback, she'd never seen the Princess like this.

"Twilight is trapped in a coma, and all I can do is wait! Look at your Goddess! Look at how glorious and magnificent she is now! See how her radiant Sun shines in the sky!" she pointed towards where the Sun would be, if it was visible through the thick rainclouds that had gathered. Zecora and the others were on the roof, watching a side of the Princess they'd never even imagined before.

"...what good is being immortal when every pony you love grows old and dies?! All the wonderful and amazing things I can do, and I can't help Twilight when she needs me the most! I would give it all if she would just wake up..." Celestia's tears were flowing freely now as rain started to fall. "I'm an embarrassment to this crown, to this entire country! I've worn this crown for a thousand years! LOOK HOW FUCKING USEFUL IT IS NOW!" she screamed as she tossed her crown on the ground and stomped on it repeatedly, denting it.

The others wished more than anything that Twilight would wake up and comfort the Princess. They were afraid to go near her in the state she was in. Celestia kicked her mangled crown aside and lied on the ground, sobbing. The rain had ruined her flowing hair, and her coat and feathers lost their sparkly white sheen. She didn't know what she was doing, or who she was talking to, but if any pony could help Twilight, it was not Princess Celestia.

"Please..." she sobbed. "Please don't take her from me..."

The ponies let her stay this way for a short time before going to her side. They gave their ruler a long, comforting hug, letting her cry all her frustrations out before helping her back on her hooves and back inside the hospital. If by some miracle Fate had heard Celestia's words, it had blatantly ignored them. When they came back to the hallway where Twilight's room was, they found the doctor yelling commands to the nurses as they rushed into Twilight's room. One nurse stopped them in front of the door.

"Your Majesty, please wait out here." she said.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Twilight?" asked the Princess.

"CLEAR!" they heard the doctor say from inside the room.

"She's gone into cardiac arrest."

My Faithful Student

Celestia held Twilight's hoof in hers as the night wore on. The doctors had managed to get her heart pumping again, but she was still comatose. Now that the incident was over, the hospital staff went into the room to check on Twilight's condition every hour. Her friends decided they would stay the night, and Celestia took the opportunity to go back to Canterlot Castle and speak with Luna. She was convinced that the reason Twilight went into cardiac arrest was because all of her friends left her alone and went to the roof to try and calm the Princess down. Celestia couldn't forgive herself for leaving Twilight alone like that, and before leaving for the castle, she made the ponies promise they wouldn't leave Twilight alone for a second.

"You can count on us, Princess." said Rainbow Dash.

The Princess flew over Canterlot, weary and drained from the days she'd been awake. She had neglected her body's need for food, water, and sleep while worrying over Twilight. Perhaps the incident had scared all the worry out of her system, or maybe she felt Twilight was safe surrounded by her friends, but she felt that she could leave Twilight for just a while to deal with any lingering royal affairs back at the castle.

The guards saluted her as she approached the castle and headed toward the balcony of her chambers. It had been just under a month since she last set hoof in her room, but to her it seemed like only a few days had passed. The maids had cleaned it for her as usual, and with a relieved sigh she lay down on her bed and let her weariness envelop her as she drifted off to sleep.

"Alright every pony, we're going to remove the bandages from Ms. Sparkle's horn. If it's healed, it should look good as new. However, if it wasn't able to reattach itself, we'll have no choice but to remove her magic support..." The doctor was addressing Twilight's friends and family.

The Princess felt a storm of emotions in her heart as the doctor delicately unwrapped Twilight's horn. She felt like she was about to explode with suspense and excitement if Twilight's horn had healed. But she also prepared herself, in case Twilight's horn hadn't healed. If that was the case, there was no hope for her. Celestia couldn't imagine what she would do...Twilight had to make it, she had to!

The doctor was now on the last layer of bandages. His face grew grim, dark and defeated as Twilight's horn became visible. He unwrapped it faster now, not bothering with delicacy on something that was clearly just a husk of bone. Twilight's horn had turned gray white, and it was filled with holes. Cracks decorated its rough, dusty surface.

"I'm sorry..." said the doctor.

The Princess's eyes widened as Twilight's horn cracked and fell from her head. Her world seemed to slow down as she watched it fall. Twilight didn't have a chance now. It was all over...

Crash!

Celestia opened her eyes to find herself staring at the canopy over her bed. Her heart was beating rapidly as she tried to calm herself down with deep breaths. She noticed she had been flailing around in her sleep and had knocked over the vase on the nightstand. It had all been a terrible dream...

She had only meant to sleep for a few minutes, but judging by her sweaty mane she could swear she'd slept for a few days! And even though she'd just woken up from a nightmare, she had the energy she needed to face the day. She felt confidence and determination building as she got in the shower, cleaned herself thoroughly, dried herself off and got ready to return to the hospital. But first, she had to speak with Luna.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." said the guards.

"Good morning, have either of you seen my sister?" she asked them.

They gave each other a questioning glance.

"Your Highness, Princess Luna has gone to Saddle Arabia to speak with the Llama leaders." said one guard.

"Saddle Arabia? That meeting isn't scheduled for another five days..." said Celestia.

"It's...been five days, Your Majesty." replied the other guard. "You returned from the castle five days ago and this is the first time we've seen you since."

Celestia's heart sank. She really had slept for days? On any other day, she would have laughed it off and rescheduled her appointments and meetings, but who knows how Twilight's condition might have changed in such a small amount of time! And so, she had no time to waste.

"Just tell Princess Luna that I will not leave Canterlot Hospital until Twilight Sparkle emerges from her coma." she ordered.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

The Princess returned to the hospital to find Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in Twilight's room. Fluttershy was sitting in a chair on the right side of Twilight's bed. She was sleeping, resting her head on Twilight's shoulder. Pinkie Pie mirrored her on the other side of the bed, only snoring quite loudly. They had obviously both tried to stay up the entire night, and were now feeling the repercussions. The Princess walked over to Fluttershy and nudged her gently. The yellow pegasus woke up and stretched her legs and wings.

"Good morning Princess." said Fluttershy.

"Good morning my little pony." whispered the Princess. "I'm sorry I was away for so long, I got caught up at the castle. Thank you for staying with Twilight like I asked."

"Oh we wouldn't dream of leaving Twilight alone after what happened." said Fluttershy.

"Well you can take Pinkie Pie and go home now, I'll take it from here." said Celestia.

"Thank you, Princess. We'll see you tomorrow." said Fluttershy. "Come on Pinkie..."

"Huh...sea pony's got my money..." mumbled Pinkie Pie, still half asleep.

It was mid morning, and the Princess pulled up a chair and sat at Twilight's bedside. The doctor had removed the bandages from her eyes, but the sight wasn't pretty. Celestia hadn't seen her student's eyes in so long, she couldn't resist the urge to look. Using her magic, she gently pried Twilight's eyelids apart. The crust that had formed at the edges shifted and split open, mucus covered Twilight's bloodshot eyes, and her irises were pale and lackluster. As she let go, Twilight's eye closed gently and slowly with no effort on her part. The Princess sighed and got comfortable, Twilight could take years to wake up.

Days passed by as Celestia waited for Twilight to wake up. Luna returned from Saddle Arabia and payed them a visit.

"You stay here as long as you need to, sister." said Luna.

"Thank you, Luna. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here." replied Celestia, hugging her sister. Luna looked over at Twilight.

"We'll be waiting for you, Twilight Spakle."

A week passed by slowly, and another...and another. Twilight's friends and family came and went, even though they all had business to attend to. Celestia reminisced with Twilight's parents about her years of teaching the talented purple pony. Shining Armor regularly visited when he wasn't on duty, and Cadence's foal was due any day. Whenever other ponies would come by, Celestia would take the chance to eat something or use the restroom. But at all other times she was right next to Twilight, holding her hoof and hoping she would wake up. The Princess's lustrous coat had dulled, her magnificent mane no longer flowed freely, but was instead a frizzy, tangled mess. Celestia's eyes even seemed to resemble her student's, tired and red with worry. She wished she could fall asleep right there next to Twilight, but every time she tried her ears would stay alert for the sound of Twilight's voice, and she couldn't sleep. She had stopped expecting any surprises until one day...

"Your Majesty!" called a nurse from the hallway. Celestia turned, surprised.

"What is it?" said the Princess.

"Princess Cadence is going into labor."

"What?" squawked Celestia.

"Would you like me to take you to the maternity ward?" asked the nurse. She knew the Princess didn't want to leave Twilight's side for a second, but nopony was around to keep her company.

Celestia looked at the nurse, then back to Twilight and back to the nurse, trying to decide what to do. What if she left Twilight alone and something happened? What if she went into cardiac arrest again? But her niece was about to give birth!

"I...I can't...!" Celestia stuttered.

"Your Highness, Twilight will be fine. What happened last time was a fluke, just coincidence! We'll take care of her while you're away." said the nurse.

Celestia looked at the nurse, her professionalism shining bright. She could trust the staff, they were experienced enough to take care of Twilight. That was the type of professionalism she taxed her subjects for, after all. Celestia turned to face Twilight and whispered in her ear.

"Twilight, I'm going to be away for a while, Cadence is going into labor. Please, hang on while I'm gone." said Celestia as she let go of Twilight's hoof and followed the nurse down the corridors.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUGH!!!" cried Princess Cadence as they wheeled her into the room she would give birth in. Celestia followed them into the room after she sent a guard to notify Shining Armor of the situation, but she knew he was on duty and wouldn't arrive for some time, even if he galloped as fast as he could.

"Aunt Tia, it hurts!" moaned Cadence after a contraction.

"It's alright sweetie, I'm here. Just breathe, it'll all be over soon." said Celestia, holding Cadence's hoof and stroking her mane.

Cadence yelled with pain as another contraction reared its ugly head. Celestia just held her hoof tight, her mind focused squarely on her niece. Twilight had momentarily left her thoughts.

"Let's go Princess, another big push." said the doctor as he popped his head up from between Cadence's thighs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGH!!!"

Shining Armor paced anxiously back and forth in the waiting room. He had just gotten there minutes before, but to him it felt like hours were passing by. No doubt Cadence was feeling the same minutes last even longer. The worst possible scenarios of how the birth could go kept running through his mind:

"What if it's not mine? What if our whole marriage is a lie? What if she was impregnated by a changeling disguised as me and it explodes out of her stomach and kills everyone?! What if it's a zebra?!?!"

Just before Shining had a mental breakdown, the door opened and a nurse waved for him to come inside. His heart felt like it was doing double backflips trying to jump out of his chest as he walked in. Celestia looked over at him with a smile as warm as the Sun as she got out of the way, giving him a clear view of his wife holding a little bundled up blanket. Cadence gave him a sideways glance.

"Say hello to your daddy..." whispered Cadence before she handed the bundle to him.

Shining held it in his hooves and used his magic to pull the blanket back from his newborn daughter's face. The little filly's coat was a very light shade of pink, and her baby blue mane -with just a sliver of green running through it- lightly covered her fragile little horn.

"She's perfect..." said Shining Armor. "She's beautiful." He had never felt such a strong mix of pride and happiness, not even when he was promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard. The only other time he had ever even felt close to such elation was when Twilight was still around...

And then the realization hit Shining like a ton of bricks: the newborn filly in his hooves shared an eerie resembelance to another filly he had held when she was born.

"Cadence..." said Shining.

"What is it?" replied Cadence, thinking something might be wrong with the baby.

"She...looks just like Twilight..." said Shining, fighting hard -and failing- to keep his composure. He surrendered his filly to Cadence and wept silently for his comatose sister in another wing of the hospital.

"There there Shining, let it out." said Celestia, enveloping him in her wings. Though she'd just shared the miracle of foalbirth with her niece, grim reality brought their mood back down to earth as their thoughts drifted back to Twilight.

Celestia returned to Twilight's room and found no change in her condition. She felt her hope slowly dwindling as she looked upon her student. She pulled up a chair and resmed the position she'd held for the past two weeks. She looked out the window at the setting Sun and caught a glimpse of her reflection. She couldn't believe she looked to be in worse condition than Twilight and more tired than Cadence. But there was no point point in looking pretty now, especially if she was just waiting for Twilight to either wake up or drift away... The Princess held Twilight's hoof close as tears came to her eyes.

"Please Twilight...I lost Luna for a thousand years, but if you go I'll lose you forever! I can't bring you back, Twilight! *Please, you have to wake up!***"

As the Princess's tears fell on Twilight's cheek, she saw Twilight wince. Celestia's brain seemed to skip, thinking Twilight's movement was just her eyes playing tricks on her. Twilight's eyes fluttered apart wearily as her hoof felt Celestia's royal boots.

"Princess...?"

"TWILIGHT!" yelled Pinkie Pie as she ran into the room followed by all of Twilight's friends.

"Hello everypony..." said Twilight. She sounded like death with the worst cold in the world and her eyes were bloodshot, but she was noticably happy to see all her friends.

The entire day, Twilight was met with an unending line of crying ponies happy to see her alive. She went with her parents to the maternity ward to see Shining's newborn filly. Twilight sat in her wheelchair with her IV drip in tow, and pressed her hooves against the glass window into a room filled with foals. She finally spotted her niece near the middle of the room and her eyes seemed to gain a little more life as she stared at the little pink filly.

"She's beautiful Shining..." said Twilight, with wonder in her voice.

"Of course she is, and she has this handsome stallion to thank for that." said Shining, smugly pointing a hoof at himself.

"Of course." said Twilight as she rolled her eyes. Shining looked at her for a few seconds. "What?" she asked.

"Heh...just glad to have you back Twily." said Shining as he wrapped a hoof around his sister.

Twilight said her goodbyes to all her friends and family as they headed back home. Twilight had been asleep for a solid two months, but she still felt tired. Now that she was awake, her body would react differently to the treatment she was given. Over the week that followed, Twilight readjusted herself to walking around and eating solid food. Having spent so much time without moving a muscle, she was terribly weak and still required help from the nurses. But slowly, Twilight regained her independence. Her horn had reattached itself, and she spent time with the Princess trying to get back into practice. They were outside the hospital.

"Oh, I just remembered Princess! I learned a new spell!" said Twilight excitedly.

"A new spell? When did you have time to learn that?" asked Celestia.

"While I was asleep! I don't remember anything really, but I have a very clear image of a powerful spell that I'd like to try." said Twilight. Celestia couldn't say no to those eyes, not when they were so vivid with life.

"Alright my little pony, show me what you've learned." said the Princess.

Twilight got into position and looked straight at a tree, marking it as her target for the spell. The Princess watched as Twilight ran toward the tree, funneling magic into her horn as she went. As she approached the tree, she picked up speed. The Princess saw what looked to be a very fuzzy shield form in front of Twilight as she hit the tree face first, impaling it with her horn.

"Twilight!" yelled the Princess worriedly. Twilight's horn had just finished healing, and she was worried Twilight had just broken it off again.

"Oww..." said the purple unicorn as she rubbed her horn. She looked disappointedly at the tree. "It didn't work..." she groaned.

"Come on, let's go inside. We'll try again later." said Celestia as she led Twilight back into the hospital.

As they walked away, the Princess looked back at the tree Twilight had just headbutted. She saw Twilight's horn mark surrounded by a large number of small cuts, and she also felt the life drain out of the tree. Whatever spell Twilight had learned in her sleep, even as a failure it was dangerous. She was afraid to see this spell performed perfectly, and even more afraid of knowing what Twilight had to go through to concoct something so dangerous...

After a few days, Twilight was finally released from Canterlot Hospital. She spent that night at the castle, catching up with Princess Luna on all the royal business she had attended to in Celestia's absence. Twilight was upset that the Princess had neglected her duties just to watch over her, but Celestia didn't care. She was just happy to have Twilight back. The next morning, Twilght prepared herself for the return to Ponyville.

"Princess you don't have to send an escort, I'll be fine." said Twilight.

"That's what I thought the last time you left here Twilight. I won't make the same mistake twice." replied the Princess.

"Well alright...I'll be back next week so we can get my magic skills back into shape." said Twilight. Her horn was still weak, and she could hardly levitate objects.

"Of course. Take care of yourself, be safe." said Celestia. It pained her to see Twilight go, but this entire ordeal had taught her that Twilight was incredibly strong. She may still be her student, but she wasn't a filly anymore. She had her whole life to live now, and Celestia had to let her go and live it.

"Hurry now, Twilight! Pinkie Pie has organized a great big party for your return and I have a dress for you that is just dazzling!" said Rarity.

"Goodbye Princess!" yelled Twilight from the window of the train.

"...goodbye, my little pony." Celestia said softly.

"Hey, didja hear? Twilight Sparkle woke up from her coma." said one guard to another as he did his rounds at Canterlot Mare's Correctional Institute.

"Really? You think we should tell The Great and Powerful Prisoner Number 28463?"

"Haha, hahahahaha!" the two guards chortled as they walked down the halls.

"...so, Twilight Sparkle is alive and well?" Trixie whipsered to herself as she continued to crawl through the prison's drain system. "It looks like we have some unfinished business."

Trixie had spent weeks carefully planning her escape and if her calculations were correct, she had precious minutes to crawl out of the prison's sewer system into the sweet freedom of the world outside these concrete walls, just like in one of her favorite movies, The Flaw Flank Redemption.

"Just you wait, Twilight Sparkle..." she said as she crawled through weeks of her fellow inmates' collective filth. "No pony can rival my magic skill! The next time we meet, we will have a duel to the death!"

She finally emerged out of a large pipe and landed in a wretched-smelling puddle. Unlike in the movie, there was no rain to wash her off. But at least now she was free.

"She may have protected her town from an Ursa Major and come back from a coma, but she will never have the incredible prison-escaping abilities of The Great and Powerful -"

"HALT! ESCAPED PRISONER!"

"Dwaaooh!" squawked Trixie, as the prison guards chased her into the night.

Twilight returned to her library that night with a very tired baby dragon on her back. Her welcome back party had been the biggest of Pinkie Pie's party that she'd been to, and she was also worn out from all the fun. She let Spike down gently into his bed and tucked him in. Suddenly, he burped out a message from the Princess. Twilight wasn't expecting a letter at that time of night, so thought it might be urgent. As she opened it and started reading, she felt Princess Celestia's warmth radiate from the words she'd so lovingly written to her.

Twilight,

Ever since you went to my school and became my personal apprentice, I've watched you grow and learn at a phenomenal rate. Sometimes I feel like our time has come and gone too quickly, and I wish I could relive those times. But you've grown, you have your own business to attend to. Someday soon you'll find a nice stallion and settle down, have a family, and you and I will drift apart. But I want you to know that I will cherish every second I have with you until you go your own way. Of all the students I've taken under my wing, you are without a doubt the most talented and special one I've ever had the pleasure of teaching, and you've taught me more than I could ever teach you. I love you like a daughter, and my life will never be better for knowing you.

My pride, my joy, my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle...