The Only Twilight

by Tranquil Serenity

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Drama, Spike, Rarity
Length: 2278

A broken-spirited Spike waits for news of Twilight after an accident lands her in the hospital, dancing on the fine line between recovery and the unspeakable.

A broken-spirited Spike waits for news of Twilight after an accident lands her in the hospital, dancing on the fine line between recovery and the unspeakable.

Published 2019-07-01 16:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-07-01 16:20:01 UTC

The Only Twilight

Spike the dragon hugged his knees and rocked feverishly to and fro atop the bed sheets. His eyes stung with the threat of tears, and he only paused his rocking to briefly wipe his nose with the back of his claw. She had to be alright, she just had to. He'd wanted to stay at the hospital, to be right there waiting for her to wake up... but earlier, back at Ponyville General, a certain apple farmer would have none of it.

"No, Sugarcube," Applejack had said softly, but firmly. "You've been at 'er side for days now. You've barely eaten or slept, and ya haven't showered since the accident. Now I get where yer comin' from, Ah really do. But Twi wouldn't want ya makin' yerself sick on her account."

Spike loosened the grip on his knees and ceased rocking.

"But I gotta stay with Twilight!" he'd insisted. "I need to be here when she wakes up!"

"You can't do anything for 'er, Spike. Once she's awake we'll bring you word."

"But she can't be alone. Somepony's gotta be here!"

"And there will be, Spike," the farm pony told him, touching a reassuring hoof to his shoulder. "We'll take turns, she'll never be without somepony at 'er side... but ya gotta take care of yerself too."

He let go of his legs and slowly eased onto his back, commencing to stare up at the naturally curving wood ceiling of the Golden Oak Library from his place on Twilight's bed, his vision blurring with moisture.

Twilight.

The sickening events began to play through his mind again.

"You need any help, Twilight?" Spike yelled back to the mare from the loft, his gaze not leaving the Power Ponies comic he was reading.

"No thanks, Spike!" came the cheery reply of the purple unicorn. "It's only one shelf. I can reorganize it by myself, no problem!"

"Okay! But if you need anything just give a shout!"

"Will do!"

Spike couldn't even remember what that comic had been about now, what events he'd been so engrossed in when he heard the sound. That horrible, horrible sound...

Crash!

Spike's head shot up from the page he'd been leaning over. "Twilight?"

There was no answer.

His claws tightened their grip on the bed cover, his every muscle stiffening as he braced himself for the scene all over again.

The little dragon stood up and stepped over the rim of his basket, walking over to the edge of the loft, only for his breath to catch at the horrifying sight of his beloved guardian lying senseless on the library floor at the base of the stepladder.

"Twilight!"

He darted down the stairs, nearly tripping and falling himself in his haste. He ran across the floor to where she lay, collapsing to his knees at her side and taking hold of her foreleg.

"Twilight? Can you hear me? Twilight?!"

"Spike?"

He knew who the voice belonged to, but he made no attempt to move. The sound of steps across wood flooring and stairs grew increasingly nearer in proximity, then stopped.

"Spike." The tone was gentle, sympathetic.

He pivoted his head to lift it only slightly, his gaze meeting the white unicorn's for a brief moment before limply falling back onto the soft mattress. "Hi, Rarity," he murmured listlessly.

The fashionista stepped closer gingerly, carrying a tray. "I brought you a bowl of gems, darling."

"Thanks... just set it on the side-table."

"You need to eat." Her voice was quiet, serious.

"Later," he replied simply.

He heard the clack of the metal tray as it was carefully set on the small oak dresser, then felt the mattress beneath him sloop ever so slightly as Rarity eased herself to sit on the edge of it. There was silence for some long moments, then the unicorn spoke.

"We're all worried about you, Spike." Her tone was pensive, hushed. "We all care about Twilight, but you've known her the longest... I can't even imagine the kind of pain you're going through."

"I'm not the one who's unconscious."

"No... no, I suppose you're not."

Silence reigned a while longer, neither of the two saying a word. A lonesome bird's twittering was audible through the open window, a gentle breeze blowing wistfully through the mauve curtains.

"Y'know," Spike said suddenly, his voice even, "I think I know how it happened. I think I know why she climbed that stepladder in the first place and it was all so stupid."

Rarity said nothing, knowing that an explanation was soon to follow.

"She was organizing one of the top shelves at the time. She could've just brought them down with her horn, alphabetized them on the table, and then levitated them up a few at a time afterwards. But she didn't. She decided to climb that stupid stepladder and rearrange the jumble of books where she could see them without moving them. She probably tried to stretch herself too far to the side to make out a title at the far end and then she..." he trailed off.

A heaviness hung in the air, and the little dragon didn't need to finish his sentence for his friend to know exactly what events had followed.

"It was my fault," he said suddenly, surprising the fashionista with his declaration. "If I had just pulled my nose out of that dumb comic and helped her, I could've convinced her to organize the books on the table instead. I could've prevented the whole thing, or at the very least made sure that I was the one that climbed up there so she didn't end up..." he trailed off again.

"Now, now you listen to me, Spike," Rarity said firmly, her voice tensing. "You and Twilight have been up and down that stepladder hundreds, no—thousands of times. Nopony would even think that a fall from that height would be serious in the first place. The stepladder didn't even break, she just lost her balance and... and she fell too fast to catch herself. It was insane odds that she landed in such a way that she got hurt so badly. It was a fluke, Spike—a one in a million." Rarity wiped at her filled eyes, sniffling, she hadn't even realizing she'd been crying. She forced herself to swallow down the lump in her throat and concluded her point, "It just happened, Spike... so don't you dare go blaming yourself for it!"

Spike turned his gaze from the ceiling to face the wall opposite Rarity. Objectively he knew she was right, but he just couldn't stop feeling that the event had somehow been all his own doing. It was just him wishing he could've done something to prevent things, to stop her from falling.

The little dragon released a sob, the first in a string of mournful sounds. His chest was wracked with a weighty pain that seemed to spread through his whole body, making his limbs feel weak. Suddenly, without warning, he shot up at the waist and threw his trembling arms around his beloved Rarity, who after a moment of shocked surprise responded by wordlessly returning the embrace. He cried into her comforting form, the smooth downy softness of her milk-white coat tickling his scaly cheek. He felt an occasional teardrop fall from above onto his shoulder, knowing that meant that silently the unicorn was crying too.

They stayed like that for some time, just holding onto one another in the stillness of the hollowed tree - made one in their grieving the absence of their friend. Eventually, they parted, Spike being the one to pull back to look the mare in the eye.

"Rarity," he said, sniffling. "I don't know how I can go on if she doesn't... If she can't..." He fell silent, his gaze falling despondently.

A white hoof curled under his chin, lifting his head so his gaze would meet her own once more. Her eyes were filled, but she was smiling back at him warmly. "What... What do you suppose Twilight would do if she was at a loss like us?"

Spike unexpectedly chuckled through his tears, suddenly recalling something Rainbow Dash had once said. "She'd—" He laughed softly. "She'd probably sing a freakout aria."

Rarity remained solemn for a moment, but then she too burst into a few quiet chuckles, wiping a foreleg at her moistened eyes. "Y-You have a point there, Spike."

The two of them were an ironic mixture of mournful tears and amused mirth, but a few moments longer and their giggles inevitably faded into heavy silence once more. Thinking of Twilight was the source of their happy outburst, and thinking of Twilight was the reason they were so deeply saddened as well.

Wordlessly, Spike stood up and slowly walked a few paces away from the bed, Rarity watching him from her seat on the edge of the mattress. The little dragon's serious gaze fell on the spot he had last seen the purple unicorn, recalling her smiling happily as she pored through a history book on some obscure ancient figures. You'd think she'd been reading a letter from a close friend.

Spike felt his eyes beginning to form new tears, but he blinked the moisture back and sniffed harshly.

What would Twilight do if she didn't know how to fix things?

...Twilight would sing.

Spike clenched his fists and steeled his gaze, and something in his heart simply fell into place. He cleared his throat, starting off the melody in a weak warble as Rarity watched, unmoving.

♫ She's been there from the day that I broke free
From that shell enclosed around a younger me
Her smile would always brightly fill my days
And I hung on every word that she would say ♫

♫ I know sometimes she'll make a big mess
Just to realign each title she collects
Her mane in frazzles, overthinking, and so stressed
A simple problem made out to be more complex ♫

♫ Her flaws are plain, but if you look you'll see
The pony who I love, and who loves me
For me she's always made what's ruined turn out right
She's the one, and she's the only... Twi-i-light... ♫

♫ "Up and at 'em, Spike, it's time to greet the day"
"Alright one more page, but don't stay up too late"
"Oh you did your best, so I'm proud of you, okay?"
"You're becoming such a gentledrake" ♫

♫ Words like "I love you" aren't often exchanged
But that's only because we both know ♫

♫ Our bond is the constant I know will not change
That's a lesson I learned long ago ♫

♫ Yeah, I know she's not perfect
But she sure is smart
She's caring, she's worth it
And she has a big heart ♫

♫ When I need her, she's always been there
To listen, to guide me, and to show me she cares ♫

♪ For me she's always made what's ruined turn out right... ♪

♫ She's the one, and she's the only... Twi-i-lighhhht ♫

Spike finished the song softly, his shoulders slumping upon its conclusion. His gaze fell to the floor through half-lidded eyes. Abruptly, he felt the gentle touch of Rarity's hoof on his arm, and he turned to look up at her reassuring smile. And for once, he somehow found the strength to return one that really felt genuine.

BAM!

The dragon and pony instantly turned their eyes to the library entrance from where the sound had come. There, huffing and puffing violently was Rainbow Dash standing in the foyer, the door behind her having been slammed open and into the wall. "Twi—hospital—awake!" she managed between breaths.

Spike and Rarity both gasped in heartfelt delight, the color returning in a rush to their faces.

"What did the doctor say? Is she gonna be alright?" Spike asked hurriedly, his voice hopeful.

Still a bit breathless, Rainbow responded with enthusiastic nodding. "She—She wants to see you, Spike."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" the giddy dragon replied, grinning widely.

---*---

"Twi... Spike's here," a happy Southern accent voiced from the doorway.

Twilight looked up from her bed, smiling weakly but brightly in acknowledgement. "Hey there, Spike." Her bandaged head lay on a pair of white hospital pillows, and a thin off-kilter blue blanket covered her.

"Twilight!" Spike ran from Applejack's side — the rest of the gang behind him — to his beloved unicorn friend, slowing only to gentle the embrace when he threw his arms around her. The purple mare smiled and lifted her forelegs to return the hug, noticing that he emitted a few sniffles through his happy tears. "Oh, Twilight! I thought I'd lost you! I'm never ever-ever-ever-ever letting you use that stepladder again!"

The purple unicorn chuckled softly. "I think I'm getting a new one with railing once I get outta here, Spike. You couldn't pay me to use that old thing again."

Tears slid down from the little dragon's eyes. "Twi..."

"Mmmhmm?"

"...I love you."

Twilight's gaze softened. "I love you too, Spike."

Author's Note

I was inspired to write song lyrics from Spike's viewpoint about Twilight with a tone somewhat similar to the song Familiar (Cover) - by MathematicPony. Ironically, it's one of the only melodies she's released that isn't an original MLP song. :rainbowderp:

After I wrote the song lyrics I needed a story to go with it, and as much as a light-hearted fic would've been nice, I didn't think it paired very well... so I tried my hand at something more emotional. :raritydespair:

Please direct your grammar and spelling corrections to PM. Thank you. :twilightsmile: