Feeding Darkness

by Toraka

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Sad, Main 6
Length: 1106

My name is Twilight Sparkle, I think. I'm surrounded by ponies who say things I don't understand. I don't seem to be able to move. And I can't tell them that. I may have a slight problem.

Okay, focus. We've been through worse before. We'll figure out what's wrong and we'll deal with it. If only I wasn't so tired...

Published 2013-02-23 18:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-23 18:00:01 UTC

The Dusk

Okay, Twilight, focus. I've been in worse situations. I think. I can't exactly remember, but I think I have. Stay calm, collect the facts that we have, and we'll be out of here in a tad. As soon as I figure out what's wrong, anyhow.

I'm so tired. But I need to keep going. I need to stay focused. I need to stick to the facts. I'm in a well-lit room, fit mostly in white with but a single picture along the visible walls. A card stands on a table to my side, but I can't read it. I can't feel nor move a limb. Multiple ponies sit and stand around me. I remember that I know them, but not much else. They've been here for some time, for as far as I can think back. No idea how long that is. I'm guessing a few days. There is darkness encroaching from the border of my vision, but it's tame for now. Whenever it fully envelops me, I sleep. Each time I sleep, I wake up with different ponies surrounding me. Of course I tried to talk to them, but they never seem to react.

A sky blue pegasus just flew in through the window. The earth pony let her in. They briefly kiss. They've been doing that often when I woke up with them around. I suppose they must be in love. How wonderful for them. The pegasus says something, quickly looking at me before going back to her friend, but it's too far away for me to understand.

All three of them, including a white unicorn, approach me. I like that, it means that I'll be able to listen to what they're saying. "But surely, she is going to come back to us?" said unicorn asks, in a tone whose meaning I cannot comprehend. Coming to think of it, the entirety of her sentence escapes me. Have I ever left them? I can't remember anything like that.

They look at me in silence. Certainly, they can see that I'm here, it was just a rhetorical question. Eventually, they retreat again. A few minutes later, the door opens and three foals enter, followed by another pegasus. I think I remember her. She's been here often, I'd recognise her pink mane anywhere, or at least within this room, given that I don't really have any other places to check. I don't recognise the fillies, though the others seem to do. Not much of a loss, really. I've never had much for foals.

Two of them come right up to me, whispering things into my ears which I quickly decide I could hardly care less about. Why does everypony insist on me coming back? However, the yellow filly's staying out of range, at the side of the earth pony. After only briefly exchanging words I may be able to understand if it weren't for those still occupying my ears, the young one begins to weep. I had hoped it'd be avoidable, but that kind of pony always seems to find a reason to. Simply a justification as to why exactly ponies claiming to like foals are liars, nothing more.

Eventually, she manages to be calmed, only to join those to whose blabbering I still have to listen. Aside from that, it's fairly quiet in the room again. That is, until the unicorn talks to the buttery mare and she bursts out in tears. Granted, while my vision gets a bit blurry with distance, I think I've seen a few tears out of her before, but never such an outburst. It seems that the white pony almost expected that, as she utters sounds with a calming tone while leading whom I presume to be her - crying - friend outside.

Time passes. I hate that. Not because I'd be bored, I seem to have limitless patience, but because seconds seem to take eternities and vice versa. I need to find out what's wrong and fix it. I think that a few minutes have passed until a pony composed entirely of pink enters. I remember this one. Surely the others have been with me often, but I can hardly recall a waking phase when she wasn't here. Something seems to have worn her down. I don't know how she originally looked, but I know for absolute certain that it cannot have been like that. Her eyes are dark and swollen, her mane is hangy and unkempt, she seems to be generally missing colour, all of which clashes horribly with her literally being inked in two shades of pink.

She whispers something to the orange earth pony and everyone but her leaves. I suppose I may care for a reason, but I'm currently too busy enjoying relief from the foals. She comes up close, where I can hear and see her clearly. I'm not sure if that's an improvement. Even in my current state, I can't help but feel heartbroken at the sight. She begins to talk to me, "Um, hey Twilight, I'd throw you a party for speedy recovery, but you couldn't come, so I brought the party to you." From somewhere, she pulls forth some streamers, two balloons and a cupcake. "If you come back to Sugarcube Corner with me now, I promise you can have everything in it. Twilight, please come back, I don't know what to do without you. Please, Twilight, please." The earth pony begins to quietly weep into the white sheet that's covering me.

All throughout, I replied, tried to soothe her, but to no avail. She doesn't react in the slightest, continuing to soak the cloth which I'm certain somepony would appreciate being dry, even if it is not me. Eventually, the flow ceases, she steps down, breathes a wet goodbye, shuts off the light, and leaves.

I'm alone. No ponies around me. None of my friends.

They've left me.

The darkness creeps in.

It's time to sleep.

The Dawn

I wake up after yet another dip into the endless darkness. There's a lot of white around and the light is blinding me until my eyes adjust. I sit up and look around. Then, suddenly, a gasp from the side takes my attention. I look over and see one pony, the unicorn from before. Behind her, black fills out the windows. Darkness has come. It must be night, yet I feel more awake than ever. As I try to ask her what's going on, all that results is a meaningless blurb, but it's something. She races to my side. I finally understand. I'm back. No more time to sleep.