Twilight, Soldier of War

One maybe two days, Twilight couldn’t be sure how many days it had been since she left her room. Spike brought her meals, but she could hardly eat anything. Her last attempt still lay on her nightstand, barely touched. She wasn’t sure if she was burning up or freezing, and she didn’t think her body knew either. She sweet socked her body and she shook uncontrollable, almost painfully so.

Her blankets laid over her like shackles, it were the only thing that held her to the bed and not flying off to get her only source of relief— Anzion. Even as she laid there and gripped the side of the bad like a life raft, her eyes never left that drawer. If she got up now she wouldn’t have the strength to resist its call, so she laid there and waited.

She just needed to go a few more days. Just a few more days without using that sweet nectar of life then she would be able to stretch out her supply for the near future. To what end? She didn’t know and that was too far into the future to think about.

***

Rarity let herself into Applejacks house; the screen door opened with a groan and slammed shut behind her. “We’re in the kitchen, Rarits!” she followed Applejack’s voice to where the other girls and Spike were sitting around the kitchen table, with the notable exception of Twilight.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rarity explained as she took the last open chair. “My mother came by this morning and declared it Granny Day, so I needed to pack Citrine an overnight bag, plus her favorite toys, and her formula … you get the picture, I believe,”

Everypony looked a bit on the grim side, Rarity noted. She wondered if she had missed something in her prompt invitation to this secret gathering. Pinkie Pie, in her usual way, had jumped out of her closet and told her that everypony was meeting at Applejacks for a ‘super-secret spy meeting’, and said we should all ware black. Rarity was going to tell her that black was not an acceptable fashion option in the certain season, but a few smoke bombs on the ground and she was gone.

“No worries, ah didn’t think you could just drop everything and head over here,” Applejack took one of the many bottles of cider in the centre of the table and offered it to Rarity.

Rarity shook her head and turned down the offer. “Oh no thank you, darling, a lady never drinks before noon,”

Rainbow Dash looked at the open bottle of cider in her hooves for a moment, before shrugging and taking another gulp.

Applejack looked to Spike next to her and asked, “So how’s Twilight,”

Spike rubbed his forehead with a tiered sigh, “Not great. She won’t leave her room and she’s barely eating. I think she’s sick,”

Oh Twilight was the topic behind this meeting. Rarity wasn’t surprised. It was hard to go more than a day without bringing her up in one way or the other. Not helped by the matter that Twilight barely interacted with anypony but them, and that included the princesses. When she did speak to other ponies it was like she was just going through the motion so they would leave. Now rumors about how Twilight hasn’t left her castle in days was starting to spread.

“Have you told a doctor or Celestia perhaps?” asked Fluttershy.

“I don’t think Twilight is going to let a doctor anywhere near her right now. When I suggested getting a doctor she nearly yelled me out of the room. I did send a message to Celestia, however…”

“However?”

Spike opened his mouth a few times like he was searching for the right words. “I don’t think she knows what to do. She just told me to message her if Twilight gets any worse,”

Rainbow Dash slammed her drink on the table drawing everyone’s attention. She wiped her mouth with a hoof as she spoke, “As much as I’m worried about Twilight, can we talk about that pink dragon in the room?”

Everypony gave her a questioning look. Spike couldn’t resist looking at his purple scales.

“The case!” Rainbow explained. “The one that she always keeps near her, and refuses to answer any questions about, no matter how many times I ask,”

‘So I wasn’t the only one who saw it’, Rarity realized. A quick glance around the room showed that everyone was now on the same page. Clearing her throat Rarity spoke up, “Yes, Rainbow, I’ve seen it as well. It was on her first day back and I had just finished making Twilight that dreadful outfit— that she requested, mind you— I was making my way back into the showroom when I…well that is to say, I think I saw her put a needle into her arm. I couldn’t be certain because of the angle, but I did see the case that she slipped into her pocket,”

Pinkie Pie shot a hoof into the air. Her head was uncovered but the rest of her was covered in a skin tight black outfit. “I saw it too!” she through a hoof around Fluttershy. “I mean we saw it, and I’m pretty sure it was candy,”

“It wasn’t candy,” Fluttershy said with a tired voice. “Twilight said as much,”

Pinkie turned until she was nose to nose with Fluttershy. “But what if due to the lack of frosting in the other world Twilight has become a sugar addict, and needs to inject sugar straight into her vain just to get her fix!”

“I really don’t thing that’s what happened,”

“She told me it was medicine,” Applejack added. “Course she wouldn’t tell me more than that. Ah don’t think she was lying, but ah got the feeling ah wasn’t being told everything either,”

Rarity remembered something Coco Pommel warned her about when she opened her store in Manehattan. One of the things that made Manehattan different from her home was how there were always shady ponies willing that sell you drugs, but very few of them were to treat the sick. “What if it was a medicine just not something to treat an illness,” Rarity spoke aloud.

Applejack’s hoof hit the table. “Are ya trying the say that Twilight is on drugs? Twilight would never do something like that,”

“Three years ago I would have said that she would never fight in a war. I’m not saying it is drugs. I’m just putting it out there as a possibility, and it is currently plausible that Twilight could have a sickness that she hasn’t told us about. She hasn’t be the most forthcoming as of late,”

“How would we know if it was drugs or just medicine she needs?” asked Spike.

“We could ask Celestia or Luna,” Rainbow suggested. “Surely they have to know some way to tell. All we need to do is take a little bit of this ‘medicine’, Twilight will be none the wiser,”

“Ah don’t like it. We shouldn’t be plotting behind our friends back,” said Applejack.

Spike kept his eyes on his hands as he spoke, “I think we should do it,”

“Come again?”

“Twilight hasn’t been the same since she got back—“

“Now you can’t expect her to be right as rain after what she’s been through,”

“That’s not what I mean!” Spike yelled and quickly regained control of the conversation. “She doesn’t talk to me anymore, not really. She always so distant, and when I ask her what’s wrong all she will say is ‘she’s fine’, but I know she’s not. I don’t know if it’s drugs or if she’s sick, but something is wrong with Twilight!”

Applejack’s head hit the table, her hoof on her hat to keep it from falling off. She groaned in frustration. “Ah can’t believe Ah’m considering this,”

“Twilight is normally asleep when I take her food. She was still asleep before I left,”

Rarity grinned and rose from her chair. “Well then, who’s up for a trip to see Twilight?”

Pinkie Pie pulled a matching black mask from her mane and pulled it over her head. Her mane seemed to disappear underneath it. “Just follow my led everypony, Master Spy Pinkie Pie will teach you the act of the spy,”

***

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike had been elected to retrieve the case from Twilight’s room while the others would wait downstairs. Pinkie had volunteered to keep a lookout for Twilight’s minions, and last Rarity saw she was leaping from darkened corners while swiping the air with her hooves.

Spike put a finger to his mouth as they neared the door. He had that cute little expression he gets when he thought he was in charge. Rarity didn’t care how old Spike got, that look always made her want to squeeze his cheeks. Spike pulled the door open without a sound and stepped back for them to enter. Rainbow halfway through the room by the time Rarity got a good look inside. Twilight was on the bed, only her hair could be seen from under the sheets.

Rarity almost let out a gasp, but managed to cover her mouth with a hoof in time, when she saw the custom, and one of a kind, outfits she had made for Twilight strewn about on the floor. This was more seairue then than she thought. Seeing the fashion emergency at hoof, Rarity gathered up the discarded clothing’s and began to neatly fold them before placing them at the foot of her bed. She was interrupted from this by Rainbow tapping her on the shoulder.

Rainbow threw her hooves into the air in a ‘what are you doing’ gesture. She gave a sheepish smile and dropped the clothing. She could always come back and help with that later, but now may not be the best time. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She flitted over to the desk and reached for the top drawer.

In the stillness of the room every groan of wood on wood was like a bundle of fireworks going off. Rarity kept her eyes on Twilight who remained motionless. A moment later and Rainbow was waving a metallic case around with a victorious smile on her face. Rarity pointed to the door and Rainbow nodded. They had both just reached the doorway when they were stopped dead in their tracks.

“Where do you think you are taking that?”

All three of them swung around. Twilight was sitting up on the side of her bed, her eyes locked on Rainbow Dash. Twilight face was pale and clammy. She rose from her spot on two legs and in three long steps looked inside the now open drawer, as if she was confirming the crime for herself. Her eyes went back to Rainbow with a sharpness Rarity had never seen before. She stretched out a single trembling arm, palm face up.

“Give it to me now!” There was not a single ounce of gentleness in her words.

Rarity swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped to Rainbows side. “Twilight, darling, I know this looks bad, but you need to understand that we are trying to help you,” Rarity spoke each word calmly and slowly. The last thing she wanted was to say the wrong thing in this rather volatile situation.

Twilight didn’t take her eyes off Rainbow. “You can help me by returning my medicine and getting the fuck out!”

“Twilight, look at yourself! You’re sick and you look like you are going to collapse at any moment,” Rainbow yelled, moving her hooves adamantly as she spoke. Twilight’s eyes followed the case like a predator following its prey. She lashed out with an arm and grabbed for the case, but Rainbow managed to evade with the quick flap of her wings.

Twilight grabbed her hair like she was going to pull it out, gritting her teeth in frustration. This was bad, Twilight was on the verge of losing it, and if they couldn’t calm her down Rarity feared the worse. “Twilight, listen to me,” once again Rarity made sure her voice was calm and to speak each word clearly. “You need to calm down and talk to us. What is this medicine?”

Rarity wasn’t even sure if Twilight had heard her. She was muttering incoherently to herself. “I can’t…I can’t do this. I was so stupid. I tried to go without it but I can’t…I can’t! I need it! I need it!”

Twilight stumbled back to her desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. Rarity knew to be worried when she heard Rainbow whisper, “Oh buck me,” Rarity had heard enough stories from other world to recognize that the object Twilight now held was a pistol. And it was now pointed at Rainbow.

She tried to step in front of her friend to block the path, but Rainbow stopped her with a raised wing. Rainbow narrowed her eyes in challenge. “So that’s your answer. You’re going to shoot me! Your Friend!”

“Friends don’t steel from each other! Friends don’t let each other suffer like this. I’m only going to ask this one more time,” Twilight pulled a lever back on the gun. “Give me my medicine back now!”

Rarity wouldn’t call herself anything resembling the word knowledgeable when it came to guns, but she did understand two very important things. The first was that they fired a piece of metal, in the same vein as crossbows without the need to reload between shots. Second, it would kill whatever it was pointing at, but only what it was pointing at.

Rarity grabbed the barrel of the weapon with a blue aura of magic and jerked it to the right. A shot fired and an impact hit the wall. “Rainbow, run!” Rainbow didn’t question her chance and was out of the room in a blur.

Twilight abandoned the gun rather than fight Rarity’s hold for it. She rushed out the door and knocked both Rarity and Spike out of her way. For once Rarity wasn’t concerned with how that fall may have damaged her mane and was quick to help Spike to his feet. “Spike, listen to me. I’m going after them. Get a massage to Celestia, do you understand,” Spike looked a bit shaken but gave a confident nod.

Rarity raced up the stairs to the third floor. It wasn’t hard to follow them all she needed to do was listen for Twilight’s cry of ‘give it back’. She rounded the first corner just in time to see Rainbow throw a chair through a hall window with Twilight barreling down on her. Rainbow leaped through and spread her wings for flight.

She thought Twilight would give up the chase with Rainbow now out of reach. She thought wrong. Twilight didn’t hesitate as she leaped through the window, her arms covering her head to protect herself from the glass. “NO!” Rarity cried. She galloped to the window. Twilight reached out with a hand and grabbed one of Rainbow’s back hooves. Rainbow gave a cry of alarm at the unexpected weight. They both tumbled end over end toward the ground.

“Oh Celestia no!” Rarity turned on her hooves and galloped as fast as she could go back down the stairs. Spike was with the others by the time she reached the main floor, and by the looks their faces Spike had told them what happened.

“What in tarnation is going on?” asked Applejack.

Rarity didn’t stop she just called out as she past them, “Outside!” everypony followed her led. They ran to the back of the castle where the two door guards where trying to get Rainbow to lie still. Applejack and the others raced to her side.

“Oh buck me this hurts,” Rainbow whined. She tried to reach for her back hoof but was stopped by one of the guards.

“Miss, please, you need to lay still so not to aggravate your injuries,” one guard said.

“You try lying still with a broken hoof,”

Twilight was on her hands and knees. If she had any injuries they were either not as severe or she was simply good at hiding it. Before her the case, she was so desperate to get, laid open, its contents broken. Twilight was lifting one broken glass vile after the other out of the case and shaking her head in disbelieve. Apart of Rarity wanted to go comfort her, but by the way the others were giving her a wide berth she decided against it.

A white flash momentarily blinded everypony, and as if she was there form the start, Princess Celestia stood before them. She spared only a quick glance for everypony before turning her attention solely on Twilight. Twilight held up one of the broken vile for Celestia to see. Tears were running down her face and her voice cracked as she spoke, “It’s gone, Celestia, it’s all gone. What am I going to do?”

In that moment Rarity could almost swear that Celestia aged another thousand years. “I am so sorry, Twilight Sparkle,” With a single spell Twilight collapsed to the ground unconscious.