I moved to the kitchen before I was truly awake. I didn't remember leaving my darling, or why I would ever want to. But, before I knew it, I was in the kitchen, holding another care package from Princess Celestia. In this box was a half dozen eggs, a pack of vegetarian bacon, and other little bits and bobs for breakfast. There was also a note, which read: "Only the whites. Yolks can upset one's stomach". Obvious, but not everypony knew that.

I separated the yolks from the whites and carefully threw them into a pan. I added salt, pepper, spinach, and cheese before folding it into an omelette. Meanwhile, I fried up the bacon and toasted some bread. Soon enough, when breakfast was finished, I plated it and put it on a tray. I set a kettle on the stove and grabbed the tray with a smile.

"I can be so thoughtful." I said to myself. I thought about last night, how warm and comforting it felt curled up against Twilight. It was the best sleepless night I'd ever had, and I hoped that there would be more nights like them coming.

By the time I reached the top of the stairs, Twilight was already sitting up and clumsily brushing her mane. I grabbed the brush with magic and aided her while I sat the tray of food on her bedside dresser, sitting myself at the foot of her bed.

"Good morning, darling." I said. "I hope you slept well last night."

"I did indeed, thanks to you. I really do appreciate your doing that." said Twilight brightly. "Not many people would do something so silly for me. You're a good friend, Rarity."

"You mustn't paint me out to be a hero. I am just trying to make sure you get better as soon as possible." I said modestly. "I'm sure you'd do the same for me."

"Of course." She sniffed the air deeply. "Ooh! Did you make eggs?"

"Open wide." I said, smiling at the almost childish way she complied. I fed her a small bite of egg, which she swallowed immediately. In less than a minute, she had eaten half of her plate, much to my shock.

"I'm not sure you should be eating so fast, Twilight." I said, although I shoveled food into her mouth as fast as she could consume it. "So much food in such a short period of time could hurt your stomach. Especially since you're sick."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on, but I'm starving." she said through a mouthful of omelette. "Normally, I'd say my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I can't exactly see it."

"So your eyes are still failing?" I felt a pang of pity. I hadn't noticed how dull her eyes were, how they stared and stared but saw nothing. It was horrifying, seeing her blank expression. Even worse than her former hopelessness was her gaze of blankness.

"They're getting better. I'm able to see shadows now." said Twilight. She sat up slightly straighter. "What's that sound?"

"What sound?" I asked. I placed the plate on her lap and listened, straining my ears to catch any sound in the house. After a few moments of concentration, I heard the tiny, faint whistling of the kettle downstairs.

"It's the tea." I said. "How did you hear that?" Twilight shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess my brain spent all the energy that I'd normally use on seeing for hearing." said Twilight. She picked the plate from her lap and slowly started feeding herself.

"I'm going to go check the kettle. Will you be okay?" I asked. Twilight nodded, grunting out an "Uh-huh" through a mouthful of egg. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Twilight wasn't exactly tiny, but she didn't look like she could eat like a stallion twice her size, either. Which she could. The trips to The Hay Burger still manage to baffle me.

I bustled downstairs, making a cup of tea for Twilight and, after a second of thought, a cup of coffee for myself. I was no stranger to "all-nighters", but I needed to be as alert as possible in order to care for Twilight. Just as I took a sip of my scalding, black coffee, I heard a strange, almost metallic PING!

"What in the world?" I asked nopony.

PING!

PING!

"Rarity, I would like to speak to you." called Princess Celestia. "Please come to the door at once." I took another sip and hurriedly made my way to the door. I pulled it open and smiled at Princess Celestia. She didn't return my smile. To the contrary, she looked rather grim.

"Hello, Princess." I said, sipping my coffee.

"How is Twilight doing?" asked Celestia, wasting no time. The way she spoke made it seem as if she had no time to waste.

"It's hard to say. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but her eyesight hasn't returned." I reported. "She said that it's coming back slowly, but I don't know how much I believe that. She's eating quite a bit, so that's a good sign, right?"

"No. That's a terrible sign." groaned Celestia. She began pacing back and forth, running her fingers over her temples. "That most likely means that the virus is mutating. The virus is going to either sap Twilight of her nutrients to try and kill her through malnutrition or trick her into thinking she needs more nutrients to kill her through hyperalimentation."

"That's overnutrition, correct?" Celestia nodded. "Well, those are both problems that could be solved rather easily. We have to either feed her more or less."

"Yes, except we do not know which is happening. We won't know until the autopsy. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I cannot see any reason why the virus would mutate other than to kill Twilight." said Celestia. She stopped her pacing and dropped her hands to the side. "I have an idea, but neither of you will be very keen for it."

"I will do anything to make Twilight feel better." I said.

"You have to starve her, and then draw her blood. I might be able to check her plasma and decide from there. It is of the utmost importance that you do not feed her anything but room-temperature water for the next two days." said Celestia. "Has she eaten yet today?"

"Yes. I cooked those eggs you sent us."

"I was hoping that I'd make it here before the package." said Celestia angrily. "Definitely starve her until sunset, two days from now. No food at all, and the water should be warm. That will help her digest anything she already has in her and it will help blood circulation, so I get a more average vial of plasma."

"Okay. I don't think Twilight will be very happy with me, though." I said.

"Twilight's temporary, minor annoyance with you is far better than her death, is it not?" asked Celestia, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course! I'm sure I can handle it, and make it tolerable for her in some way. Is there anything else I should be doing for her?"

"I will be sending a package shortly, containing another dose of medication for Twilight." said Celestia. "This syringe is slightly larger, and Twilight will likely resist. It is imperative that you get the medicine into her before sunset, no matter how hard you have to fight her."

I nodded and turned for the stairs. Something stopped me before I took a step, something about Princess Celestia. The princess normally was powerful to the point of intimidation, and always level-headed and placid. However, something was off about her.

"Princess Celestia?" I asked. "Are you worried?" Celestia chuckled darkly.

"Worried? Not the word I would have used, but I suppose you are rather close." she said.

"You're afraid. Is that it? You're scared." I said.

"Twilight is the closest thing to a daughter that I will ever be able to have. Ever since I found her, she has looked up to me. In her eyes, I do not have a concept of fear." said Celestia. "But, oh yes. I am terrified. I have not eaten or slept since her she fell ill. Even my magic is suffering. Every second of the day, I am waiting for the letter saying that Twilight has finally passed, with nopony able to do anything for her. Not even myself."

"Even if worst comes to worst, you did all you could do." I said. I felt bad for Celestia, and pity was not something I thought I would ever feel for the powerful Princess of Equestria. I turned back to face her and gasped; Tears silently ran down her face.

"Rarity, I understand that you and I have never been especially close. Our relationship has always been that of worker and her employer." said Celestia. "If I were not who I am, I am sure we would be the closest of friends. But this is not the case, unfortunately. I think what I am trying to say is that I appreciate your efforts to comfort me. I appreciate it enough to save you the trouble by telling you to stop. I will not be at peace until Twilight has recovered."

"And I promise you, Princess, I promise that she will." I said firmly. I was almost scolding Celestia. "I swear to you that I will make sure Twilight survives this." She choked out a laugh, masked by a sob.

"Don't tell her I was here." said Celestia. "If she asks, tell her… I don't even know. I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out. Just don't let her know I spoke to you, okay?"

I nodded obediently, although I couldn't imagine why Celestia would ask me to conceal such information. Still, it wasn't my place to question her; Princess Celestia most likely knew what she was doing. Princess Celestia smiled sadly at me before turning and flapping her wings, rising into the air. A dozen or so feathers fell to the ground gently. I grabbed one with my magic and lifted it through the barrier and into my palm. I gripped it tightly before closing the front door.

"This entire situation is getting rather strange." I muttered. I pocketed the feather and set off to return to my darling Twilight. When I made it to her room, I found her sitting quietly with her eyes closed.

"Sorry about that." I said. "Somepony was at the door."

"And who was that?" asked Twilight, her eyes still clamped shut. Her tone was cold and sharp, nothing at all like I expected from her.

"Nopony, really. It was just somepony who wanted to know about the quarantine." I lied. "I didn't catch their name."

"What did they look like? Was it a mare or a stallion?" she asked.

"Uh… She was a mare." I said uneasily. "It isn't important. Let's just-"

"What race was she? Unicorn? Pegasus? Earth Pony?"

"Unicorn, I'd say." I said cautiously. Twilight sounded very untrusting, as if everything I was saying was under investigation. I tried again to change the subject, but Twilight refused to leave it alone.

"Was she a white unicorn?" asked Twilight. "We have a few here in Ponyville."

"Yes." I said.

"Well, that narrows it down. Was it Fleur? Fleur Dis Lee?" asked Twilight. "Or was it Black Marble? Vinyl Scratch?"

"No. It wasn't any of them. Is there something you'd like to-"

"Or perhaps it was Princess Celestia." said Twilight. I froze in place, confirming Twilight's suspicions. "I'm going to ask you once, and please, don't lie to me any more. Why was Princess Celestia here?"

"I… How did you know?" I asked.

"Don't dodge the question. What was Celestia doing here?" asked Twilight again, but far sterner this time.

"She was checking on you, and giving me instructions. She told me not to tell you that she came." I admitted.

"I just asked you not to lie to me, Rarity. I was hoping that you would listen." said Twilight in disappointment.

"I'm not lying!"

"Funnily enough, almost every liar says that after a lie."

"I swear, Twilight, I'm not lying to you. I would never-" I stopped myself before I lied again.

"You would never what? Never lie to me twice in the same day? Look, Rarity, I can't take anything you say for gospel anymore. You have to prove to me that you're capable of telling the truth. Until you do, I'll treat everything you say as if it were a lie."

"If you assume that I'm lying, how will I prove that I'm being honest?" I asked.

"Exactly. The point, Rarity, is not to lie. You really should know this by now. We've been friends with Aj for how long?"

"I'm sorry, but what did you want me to do? Princess Celestia herself as good as ordered me not to tell you." I said. "Is it just okay for me to start disobeying Celestia now?"

"Rarity, I'm too tired to argue with you over what is morally acceptable. Just tell me why Celestia decided to drop in." said Twilight, slumping down in her bed. I sighed and ran my hand through my mane.

"She wanted to see how you were doing. She said that I have to starve you until tomorrow and then draw your blood."

"She's afraid of overnutrition?" asked Twilight. "Impossible. I'm starving, so I need something in me."

"She thinks it might be the Horn Bane." I said. "Apparently, it's mutating. She needs a blood sample tomorrow and she's going to deliver another dose of medicine. Please don't fight me when I give it to you."

"I won't. Or maybe I'm lying." grumbled Twilight. She rolled to her side, putting her back towards me.

"Do you know why she had me lie?" I asked, finally understanding it myself. "She thinks that you're going to die. No, she doesn't think so. She knows it. She knows that you're going to die, but she doesn't know when. It's driving her mad."

"Well, it's no secret that my survival would be against the odds." said Twilight.

"I expect that this means the odds are stacked against you even more. And she didn't want you to know. She wanted you to die brainlessly and at peace." I choked.

"And what makes you say that?"

"She's molting. That's not normal for pegasi, is it? For about twelve feathers to fall out for no reason?" I asked. "It's stress, isn't it? She doesn't think you have long. She doesn't want you to think about it."

She stayed silent, feigning sleep. I let out a sigh and pressed the feather into Twilight's hand before departing for the sofa, where I let myself fall into a deep, comfortable sleep.

I sat in darkness, twirling my battered, dented crown around my finger. The formerly shining crown was dull and faded, and the gem of a six-point star, my Cutie Mark, was cracked down the middle. The gold melted in my hands, puddling on the floor, as feathers and dust rained from the sky. I coughed and sputtered, flapping into the air to get away from the filth. I shrouded my horn in lavender light, teleporting away. More dust fell from the sky, sticking to my skin, coating my lungs. I fell to the ground, laying on my back. Then, Rarity's trembling white hand gripped the lid of my casket and slammed it shut.