Spike burst through the window, shattering glass and frame. “Twilight!”

She was lying on the bed, blood still coming from her neck, soaking the already soaked sheets further. Spike managed to get himself in the room. “Twilight?”

Her eyelids fluttered.

Spike looked around for something, anything, that would explain what had happened. He spotted a note tucked between her feathers and pulled it out.

Dear Spike,

If you are reading this, then that means I have gone through with my decision.

I was sad, Spike.

All my friends were dying, and are dead, and I will probably never follow them. At least, not naturally.

Even though I am a logical mare, even logical mares have to grieve. Fluttershy was my counselor, and when she died, I couldn't talk about this to anypony else — not even you, Spike. I needed everypony to think that I was strong, that I would still be able to be a princess.

I would have talked to Cadence, but she and I have become distant, far more that I might have liked, and she has her own duties and responsibilities.

I love you, Spike. You were like a brother to me. I hope you understand why I did this.

See you soon,

Twilight Sparkle

Spike’s eyes went from the paper, to Twilight, and then the floor. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the knife.

“Twilight,” he muttered to himself, “I will not let you leave this way.” Spike scooped Twilight in his arms, careful to elevate her neck, and raced off to the Ponyville Hospital.

Twilight. Twilight!

Twilight heard the voices calling through the blackness.

Twilight!

Is this what death is like? she asked herself. Where’s the light? A beam of light appeared, perfectly white, but not lighting up the whole area. There it is. She went towards the light, still hearing her name.

Twilight! Twilight, can you hear me?

Slowly, as she went farther and farther into the light, she began to feel pain in her neck and chest.

I don’t think you’re supposed to feel pain when you’re dead.

The light shut off, but now everything was starting to get brighter.

“…coming to,” a voice said.

What? Coming to what?

“Oh, thank goodness,” a familiar voice said.

Twilight breathed in, feeling the air make its way through her lungs.

Wait, air? Lungs?!

Twilight’s eyes flew open, and she sat up quickly, causing the world to spin and her to feel like vomiting.

“Easy, Princess!” the doctor said, coming back to her bedside. Twilight lay back down.

“Where am I?” she croaked.

“At the hospital,” the doctor replied. He was orange with a bright yellow mane, and wore a coat that obscured his cutie mark. “You were brought here after your incident. Spike” —he gestured to the dragon standing beside him— “was lucky to bring you when he did. Too much later and we wouldn't have been able to save you. As it was, we had a hard time finding your blood type.”

“Blood type?” Twilight glanced down, noticing a small sheet of clear, adhesive plastic on her chest, and beneath it, a needle in her skin. “I got a transfusion?”

“Yes.”

Trying to swallow with what little fluid she had in her mouth, she asked, “May I have some water, please?”

“Yes, of course.” The doctor picked up a tray with a cup of water on it in his mouth and brought it over to Twilight. She picked it up with her hooves, too tired to use magic, and took a sip. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After finishing two glasses of water, Twilight said, “I never quite got your name.”

“I’m Dr. Apple Aday “

“You’re one of Applejack’s descendants, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Twilight smiled wanly. “You don’t need to call me that. Just Twilight will do.”

“Okay, ‘Just Twilight.’ Now, I’m sure that the two of you will be wanting to talk, especially since you’ve been out for a week—”

“A WEEK?!” Twilight shouted.

“Calm down, Twi,” Spike said.

“Sorry.”

“Due to your loss of blood, and the length of time it took us to find the right type, we decided to take the liberty of putting you under for a while. Plus, you stayed unconscious longer than the average pony— but we all know you are not an average pony,” Dr. Apple Aday finished, smiling. Twilight gave a small smile back. “Well, I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll be coming in later to make sure you’re doing alright.”

“Okay.” As soon as the door was closed, Twilight turned to Spike. “Spike, I—”

Spike enveloped her in a hug. “Don’t you ever do that again,” he said into her coat. He released her. “Why wouldn’t you talk to me?”

The mare sighed. “I’m a princess, Spike. Everypony leans on me, expects me to be strong. You needed me to be strong, a shoulder to cry on. The other princesses have their own countries to run. They can't be bothered by me.”

“Twi,” Spike said, “you could have come to me. I wouldn’t have told anypony, and we would have been able to help each other grieve. The princesses would have gladly stopped everything and helped you. You forget, the whole country grieved too. You aren’t alone.”

The door opened, and Dr. Apple Aday poked his head in. “Visitor for you, Twilight. He pulled his head back, and Cadence walked it, wearing a crystal choker.

“Hi Twilight,” she said.

“Hi Cadence!” Twilight said. “That was rather quick.”

“I’ve visited every day. I’m staying at the library. I hope that’s alright with you.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s fine.”

Cadence pulled up a chair to the hospital bed and sat down. She rubbed her eyes, which had bags underneath. “Twilight, I want to talk to you.”

“Sure,” Twilight said. “Go ahead.”

Cadence took a breath. “Do you remember when Shining Armor died?”

“Of course,” Twilight softly said. “How could I? He is… was my own brother.”

“After he died, I withdrew into myself. Sure, I was able to run the country, but it was no longer happy work, or even boring; everywhere I went reminded me of him. Eventually, it got to the point where I wouldn’t come out of my room unless I was to give a speech or visit another country.

“When I was in my room, I would cry and cry for hours. The castle staff was smart enough to make sure that nothing sharp got into my room. However… however, there must have been a new pony, because…” Cadence took a shaky breath and looked down. Twilight glanced at the choker and then at Spike. He looked back worriedly.

“Cadence,” she said, “you don’t have to—”

“Because there was a knife on the food tray and I took it and… I did what you did. I didn’t talk to any pony, didn’t get out my grief. That’s why I where this choker.” The pink alicorn pointed to the crystal jewelry. “I wear it not only to hide the scars that I purposely wanted left behind, but to remind me of the mistake I made, the horrible choice I decided. The wrong choice.” Cadence looked up, tears in her eyes. “And evidently, you made the same one.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“It’s alright.” The two sisters-in-law embraced.

Cadence broke the hug and held Twilight at foreleg-length. “Don't you ever do that again.”

“I won’t. I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight winced, the promise bringing back memories of a certain pony.

The room door opened again, and a nurse came in. “We need to do some checks on you, Yo— Twilight.” The nurse said to Cadence and Spike, “You’ll have to leave the room for a few minutes.”

“Alright,” replied Cadence.

Spike took a few seconds before also saying, “Okay.”

Cadence walked out of the room first, followed by Spike, who glance back at Twilight and gave her a small smile. Twilight smiled back, and the door closed.