//------------------------------// // An Odd Predicament // Story: Oh... // by Arbiter Balemead //------------------------------// It was pretty much an average day in Ponyville. Seriously, nothing special. Twilight was studying, Pinkie was baking, Rarity was designing, Applejack was bucking, Rainbow was crashing, and Fluttershy was...shying... Anyways, the day was going as they usually did between friendship report-worthy events. In fact, Rainbow even crashed in threw Twilight's window at exactly ten thirty-eight, as usual. Twilight heard the cries of the incoming daredevil and barely glanced from her book as she magically unlatched her window to avoid shattering. Once she heard the *thud* and "Umph!" of Rainbow's daily visit, she closed her book and looked up, eyes bright and hopeful for possibilities she'd told herself were improbable. She watched Rainbow stand back up, shake herself, and stretch out the usual sore muscles. "Sup, Twi?" She asked without looking. "Not much more than yesterday. You?" She answered as Rainbow performed a stretch of her back, her front hooves spread out before her and her posterior promptly in the air. Twilight quickly looked away, blushing madly. Rainbow finished her stretches and walked over to sit on Twilight's bed, rubbing the shoulder she always hit, although it never seemed to bother her before. "Meh... Not much." She glanced at her shoulder, rubbing it a bit more. " 'cept I tried to land differently, and now my shoulder hurts..." "Oh... Is it very bad?" Twilight asked with genuine worry. "Nah. You know me; nothing ever hurts that bad." Rainbow answered, holding her head up a little bit higher. "Oh, right." Twilight replied, grinning wittily. Rainbow smiled and rolled her eyes. "Shut up." She said, using her good hoof to shove Twilight onto her back on the bed. The librarian laughed and rolled out of the bed. "Okay, did you wanna do anything today, or did you just happen to crash like every other day?" She asked, again grinning at Dash. She received a roll of the eyes in response, but still got a smile out of the daredevil. "Nah. Just wanted to hang out." Rainbow said nonchalantly. "Although I did hear that you got a copy of the newest Daring Do..." She trailed off. "Oh I see how it is." Twilight laughed. "Yeah, I got a copy. I haven't read it yet. I figured you'd want to. Wanna go read it?" "You bet!" Rainbow answered. She followed Twilight out of her room and down the stairs to the main entry area of the library, where Spike was lazing on the couch. He opened one eye at the sound of hoof beats, saw them, and 'randomly' decided to quietly move to a different room. Twilight levitated the newest Daring Do book over from where it rested on the table. They laid down on the couch next to each other as the book floated in front of them and opened to the first page. They read together as Daring Do explored the ruins of a dead desert nation. It was truly an epic tale. Rainbow kept getting excited, causing Twilight to simultaneously take mental note of how cute the excited daredevil was, and blush madly while looking away. Once they finished the last of the first few chapters -leaving Do in a rather suggestive romantic situation with a stallion whom she knew from a previous book in the series- Rainbow got up from the couch, immediately limping and falling back against the couch. Twilight sat up worriedly, concern contorting her face. "Are you alright?" She asked, hurriedly getting up to examine the shoulder Rainbow had just stepped on. "Uh... maybe? I don't know. It hurts a lot, suddenly." Rainbow said weakly as Twilight squinted at her shoulder. "It doesn't look that bad..."A memory flashed through Twilight's head. Something she'd read before Rainbow got here... a "renewal" spell that supposedly "rejuvenates and refreshes everything in a pony." Why not try it out? "Hey, uh... Lemme try something." Rainbow quirked an eyebrow, but nodded consent. Twilight tilted her head forward, placing her horn near Rainbow's shoulder. She took a deep breath, then her horn began to glow a shade of lavender. There was a brief silence, followed by Rainbow saying, "Wow... that feels good. Don't stop." Then something happened; Twilight got the odd sensation she only felt when she exerted too much energy and overshot a teleport, then there was a quick flash, and when Twilight looked up, the cyan pegasus in front of her was awfully small. Foal-sized in fact... Twilight stared in shock as the foal-form of Rainbow Dash slept on her couch in the very spot where the adult Rainbow had just been sitting. Now, usually, in a stressful situation Twilight was very calm and collected. In fact, she's only really freaked out once over writing a friendship letter late. She'd also freaked out when she had received a visit from her future self, but that had been a wild goose chase for something that never happened. Aside from all that, she really was calm and collected at all times. But right now, she was staring at the mare she had a crush on, except that that mare was now a tiny little filly, sleeping on her couch. She couldn't be more than ten by the looks of it. She looked so peaceful that the first coherent thought to finally cross Twilight's brain was that she shouldn't make any noise that would wake her. So she walked out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom where she promptly levitated a pillow to her face, then screamed into it as loudly as she could before collapsing forward, landing unconscious on the pillow. Twilight woke up to the site of familiar magenta eyes very close to her own. For a moment, she thought something very special had happened under the influence of alcohol, but then she remembered that Rainbow doesn't drink, and neither does she. Then, she remembered the events of earlier that day. She immediately recoiled from the face that was pressed against her own. "Oh good, you're awake. Can you tell me where I am? I don't know, and I don't know where I live, or who I live with. I don't even remember anything." The little filly looked terribly frightened. She kept looking around, but never let her eyes drift from Twilight's face for more than a few seconds. Twilight, for her part, managed to keep herself calm now that Rainbow was looking scared. She sat up and took a deep breath. "Wh-wha-" She stammered for a second, then took another deep breath. "Wh-*ahem* What do y-" "Do you know my name?" The little filly interrupted. "Uh- Yeah. It's Rainbow Dash." "What's your name?" "Twilight Sparkle." "Where are we?" "The Ponyville library. I live and work here." "Are you my mommy?" "No! Er- No. You're my... friend." "You're twice my age. How'd we get to be frie-" "Okay, you're working yourself up. What you need is something to drink. Some nice, cool water will do you some good." Twilight interrupted. Rainbow nodded silently and sat down on the floor. Twilight walked downstairs, repeatedly taking deep breaths, and walked into the kitchen. Spike was asleep on the floor, curled up under a blanket. If he's still napping from this morning then it could be midnight by now. No wait... she glanced up at the clock. It was almost two. She'd been out for about two hours. She quickly used her magic to pour a glass of water from the tap whilst simultaneously kicking Spike to wake him. "Ah! I'm up! I'm up! What is it?" He sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Go get the girls. NOW." Spike looked on confusedly for a moment as Twilight got some bread out and made a daisy sandwich quickly. When she glanced over and saw him still standing there, she levitated a broom near him up and whacked him in the head. "Now!" "Ow! Okay!" He ran out of the library quickly. Ten minutes later, Rainbow was upstairs eating her sandwich while Twilight was downstairs, waiting for the others to arrive. There was a tap on the door, and it flew open before the pony could even finish knocking. Pinkie Pie tumbled through the doorway, quickly followed by Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike. They all sat down in the room, probably wondering why Rainbow wasn't present. "What's wrong Twi?" Applejack spoke up first. "Yeah, and where's Rainbow?" Pinkie added. Twilight took a deep breath, staring at the floor. "Okay. So uhm...Rainbow came by today, like she always does, but this time she hurt her shoulder. I tried out this renewal spell and...Uh-" "Did you make it worse?" Pinkie asked. "No." "Did you teleport 'er?" Applejack asked. "And now ya can' find 'er?" "No." "Did you- oh please tell me you didn't-" Twilight interrupted Rarity. "No, she's fine. She's upstairs, but-... Look I'll just show you, but don't look surprised. She doesn't know anything is wrong, and I don't want her to freak out." They all nodded their understanding, so she led the way up the stairs, then stopped at the door to tell them to take a deep breath. They did, then she opened the door. They promptly gasped.