Chapter 2 - Recovery
"Uhhhh... ow."
Spike rolled onto his side, rubbing his head gently and wincing as a sudden sharp burst of pain swept across his brow.
"Arrrghhh! Wait! What the-"
He leaned to one side, only to hit something cold and solid, making him instinctively recoil his hand. Stretching out again slowly, still not used to the darkness of his surroundings, he came into contact with the same obstacle. Cautiously, this time he felt around it. It was a metal wall.
He followed the smooth texture up and above his head. It gave him barely enough room to stand in. His reptilian eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, meaning he could now see his claws in front of him. Puzzled for a moment and still trying to ignore the pain in his head that had dulled to a throbbing, he snapped his head round to find a small gap in what he now believed was a cage.
It was just above his eye line where a flicker of light passed through, just enough to light a small portion of the ice cold, grey wall that surrounded him. He returned to his claws, realising that something felt different. Hoisting them up into the meagre light, he inspected them closely. They were encrusted with a deep crimson substance.
Spike shouted in surprise, realising what he was covered with. He quickly took to peeling away at the dried blood, keeping his face as far away as he possibly could in the cramped confinement.
"Urgh."
He drooped down again, resting the back of his head on the hard wall and letting his arms fall to his side in defeat. His stomach growled at him, the sound reverberating around his little metal box in protest, reminding his that as he hadn't eaten anything this morning at that a ruby or two certainly wouldn't go amiss. Was it only the next morning? He wasn't even sure.
How long have I been here? What happened?, he mused to himself, lifting his claws again and running them over each other, feeling for any specks of red he had missed.
Spike sighed, closed his eyes and tried to focus on what had happened before this. Breathing in and out deeply, his head continued to throb as he concentrated. Strange images flashed before his mind's eye.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
"Leave. Us. Alone!" Twilight roared behind him as arcs of electricity flared from her horn. Spike heard her cry, only it wasn't her voice. It sounded like 4 different ponies had all called out at once in perfect unison. The way it resonated around the small clearing was... unnerving. Their attackers stopped in their tracks momentarily, unsure of what to do about the sudden change in scenario.
Even Spike cowered slightly at the sight of his closest friend with her eyes glowing white and body emanating power. He knew she was powerful, she was Princess Celestia's personal student, but this was very different to anything he'd seen from his friend before. The burning white of her eyes, more piercing than staring at the sun on a summer's day, held only malice and fury. It was a paralysing sight to behold, and something he definitely hadn't expected to witness from the usually friendly unicorn.
He ducked out of the way as a burning flash shot from the tip of her horn and hit an encroaching earth pony right in the chest, sending him smoking and flying towards the other end of the clearing. Spike watched in horrified awe as another was lifted helplessly from the ground, legs flailing beneath him, only to be smashed back down. Hard. He didn't get back up.
He didn't move at all.
Spike simply stared at the body of the broken pony, completely motionless. His eyes widened in horror and realisation at what had happened. He was dead. He lay, unmoving and fractured as his companions regrouped, seemingly ignoring him.
Twilight, the pony who had cared for him for as long as he could remember, who had read him bedtimes stories long into the night, well after he had fallen asleep and who he had shared his best memories with had killed another pony.
He couldn't look away from the chilling sight, even as a the ground shook violently beneath him and a deep voice screamed over the sound of crackling from her horn. She had killed somepony. Spike stood as still as the dead body, ignoring the noise continuing around him. Until it suddenly ended.
He turned to his friend, tears in his eyes he hadn't realised had begun, to see her fall limply to one side. Her eyes rolling back in her head as more of those nasty spikey-things stuck out of her shoulder and forelegs. He snapped out of his dreamlike state and tried to catch her.
Then, nothing.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Spike opened his eyes and returned to the cold dark that was reality. The tiny metal cage he was in seemed to press down on him even more, like it was determined to crush any hope he had left.
"Twilight... how could-" He shook his head violently and stood upright again, fighting back the oppression of the metal walls.
"No. She was protecting me! They were gonna get me!" He slammed his fist into the side of his metal prison in anger. He was tired and he knew that this wasn't fair. Spike had no idea what they'd done to deserve being ambushed like that, he'd fought back as hard as he could to protect Twilight, but his best wasn't good enough. At the moment, the little dragon just didn't have any more fight left in him. He slid down the side of the cage to sit again, staring at the darkness of the floor.
The tears had returned.
"Let's just go home, Twi..."
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
A monotonous beeping brought Twilight back to her senses.
He eyes strained against the excessive white light that surrounded her. She closed them again, her studious mind deciding to take note of her surroundings by what she could feel and smell.
Matress, comfy but worn. Small indentation at the centre, just below the back. Could be used to fold the bed in some way. A fold away mattress? A bunk? No, feels like I'm elevated off the ground, it would be on the floor. Two pillows behind my head, soft, but thin, could use a bit of fluffing. What are those? Bars?
She shifted slightly, brushing a hoof against a cold metal bar, rewarded with a quiet 'ding'. Getting more comfortable, she sighed before continuing.
Okay, bars. Smells, what can I smell?
She tilted her back into the pillow, positioning her muzzle in the air.
Sanitizer, too strong to be for cosmetic use, maybe for cleaning? Have I smelt that before? Yes, Lysol, after Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo attempted to be 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Artists! YAY!' in my precious library. I was still trying to get the stains out days later, silly fillies. Could it be Lysol? Usually used to clean...
She started to add the clues together in her mind. Her subconscious piecing together a picture that might have been her surroundings.
Thin pillows, mattress with movable points beneath, metal bars along the side of the bed, just tolerable smell of cleaning chemicals... hospital?
Twilight squinted her eyes open, taking in the light again, but this time, waiting for her eyes to settle before risking them to any more exposure. She was right. A small sterile room surrounded her. There were things she was surprised she hadn't noticed at first. A long, thin tube protruded from her right foreleg, rising and making its way up to a dialysis machine, slowly pumping fluids down the tube and into her arm. On the other side, quietly beeping away, was an ECG, attached to her by pads down her coat.
A small window covered most of the right wall, but the curtains were closed to keep out the intense sun that lay just beyond. However, it must have been open as occasionally a breeze would move the light blue drapes apart and small rays of sunlight would flutter in between the gap, reaching out with warm tendrils to touch her cheek before retreating away again behind the cover of the curtains.
Observing the area just next to her bed, she saw bare white tables with a nary a colourful flower to contrast the stark likeness of the rest of the room. In fact, there was nothing colourful in the room other than her and the curtains. No 'Get Well Soon' cards, no bunches of flowers. Not even a few pictures on the walls.
Either she hadn't been here very long, or none of her friends realised she was in hospital.
Twilight wondered what her friends were thinking, if they even noticed she was gone. She had no idea how long it had been. A small clock on the wall had stop ticking a long time ago, and was stuck at 11:43.
Would Rarity bring her tons of gifts over? Would Pinkie Pie burst through the door at any moment, a new song ready to serenade her and make her feel better? What about Spike? Would he be able to watch the li-
Spike.
"Spike!"
Twilight jumped up in her bed, frantically looking around for the little purple dragon who usually stood so vigilant at her side. The ECG next to her increased its rate of beeping dramatically.
"Spike! I gotta... I gotta save him Spike!"
The sudden outburst of noise from Twilight had attracted the attention of several passing nurses, who rushed in and tried to stop her from tearing the tubes out of her arm and try to calm her.
"Stop it! I've got to find him, he needs me! They... they..."
The nurses ignored her continued outbursts as the tried to hold her down. She was starting to thrash underneath their struggling hold.
"Stop it! Let go!" Twilight screamed again, kicking out against the nurses surrounding her. Energy started to build up inside of her again, a similar feeling. A level of power she had felt recently.
"Get off of me!”
Twilight screamed again, but not in her own voice. A wave of force pushed away the nurses and equipment next to her, ripping the tube out of her arm and leaving it to dangle uselessly, the machine still pumping fluid out onto the floor.
Some of the nurses screamed in horror as the violet unicorn thrashed in her bed, fighting with the sheets covering her still that clung to the undersides of the mattress in a last ditch attempt to restrain her. Twilight's eyes glowed white hot again, dark tendrils of electricity flaring off of her horn, twisting and scorching the pristine white walls.
“Spike!” called the voices again, in pain and in anger. She would find him. She would find those who took him away from her and they would regret the day they ever imagined removing him from her side.
"Twilight Sparkle. Stop."
An elegant voice suppressed the noise from Twilight's uncontrolled outburst, but fiercely fiery eyes glared at the source of the voice.
A tall, regal alicorn with a coat more pristinely white than the walls that surrounded her, a flowing multi-hued mane and a blazing sun marking her flank, stared back into the burning eyes. Her expression was stern, but those gentle orbs held years of understanding and pity.
"Twilight, please. Control yourself. You're better than this."
Twilight continued to glare daggers at the majestic figure, pain and hatred still flaring inside of her for anybody who would stand in her way. Then her eyes met those of the glorious alicorn. Deep, caring eyes that revealed more hurt and love than Twilight could ever comprehend emanated love that Twilight had felt more than anybody in her brief lifetime, being nurtured under the princess' wing.
"I-"
Twilight collapsed back into the mattress, the powerful aura dissipating from around her, replaced by shaking as the young violet unicorn curled up and started to sob into her forelegs quietly. The nurses who had entered to help stared on in disbelief, unsure of what to do next.
"Please, leave us."
They didn't need to be told twice. They bowed quickly and scurried out of the door behind the princess.
Celestia took in her surroundings. The white walls were now littered with black scorch marks and papers had been flung about the room in Twilight's fit of rage. Lifeless equipment was tossed to one side.
Her expression remained unfaltering, as it had been for many years. But her heart was gripped with sorrow for the pony who lay on the bed in front of her. Her student, a pony she had treated like a daughter since she took her under her wing.
Her demeanour cracked slightly as the Sun Princess fought to hold back tears of her own. 'Not now,' she thought. Right now, Twilight needed her to be strong for her sake, someone who her student could look up to.
"Twilight..." Celestia spoke compassionately as she approached, draping a wing over the sobbing form of her student. Twilight shuddered at the touch and continued to sob.
"Twilight, look at me."
Celestia brought her head down to nuzzle her student as Twilight lifted hers slowly. Her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffed and stifled tears once again as she gazed into the understanding eyes of Princess Celestia.
"Princess, I-I'm so sorry. I-"
"Hush, Twilight." The princess nuzzled her student again affectionately, causing Twilight to whimper slightly before wholeheartedly throwing her legs around her mentor and crying into her neck.
"Twilight, tell me what happened."
Twilight held the hug for a little while longer before she removed her legs from the comforting embrace and fell back onto her haunches, looking solemn but holding back any more tears. She retold her story to the princess as best she could remember, starting with her day at Sweet Apple Acres to where she tried to respond to the cry for help.
She continued until she got to the point where she had tried to fight back.
"It was just like now, but this time I lost control and ended up hurting them. Badly." Twilight resisted the urge to break down once more before she spoke again.
"They were going to hurt him, and I couldn't let them happen. I-I got angry. I picked one of them up with my telekinesis, but it was much, much stronger I-"
Twilight looked away from the Princess's eyes this time, before almost whispering out her next words.
"I-I think I killed him."
A pregnant silence coated the room as Twilight waited for a reaction from her mentor. When none came, she continued.
Twilight hurriedly finished her tale including her remembrance of the stallion's roulette cutie mark, her waking up here and the princess eventually calming her down. The princess however, simply stood and listened, her beautiful features unchanged.
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No, that's all."
The princess sighed deeply, drawing herself down to eye level with her student.
"Twilight, listen to me carefully. We will find Spike. I promise you. For now though, I need you to remain here."
"But Princess! I-"
The princess flared her wings, cutting Twilight's objection off immediately. She had known this was coming. Before continuing once more, she returned her wings to her sides and looked down with a saddened expression.
"No. I know how close you and Spike are, but you need to rest. That amount of magic exerted in one go is dangerous, you could simply faint if you tried to use any more."
"Then I won't! I can just go without! I don't need to use ma-"
"No, Twilight. Please, I'm asking you to stay here."
The princess's face changed to a stern look once again.
"We will find Spike. I'll have my best guards on it right away, but I need you to stay here. If you were to get hurt again..." the princess pleaded with Twilight.
The unicorn turned her gaze up towards her mentor again. "Okay... I'll stay here for now..." There was no conviction in Twilight's response.
"Thank you, my faithful student, I knew you'd understand." Celestia nuzzled her cheek gently before moving towards the door of the small, cluttered room. "I'll inform your friends of your whereabouts, but please, do not mention this to them. I don't want anybody else dragged into this and I'm afraid they will charge head-first into a rescue mission without knowing any solid details."
Celestia smiled at her student as she began to close the door behind her. "I'll return to see you soon, and I'm sure my sister will want to check on you before the day is out."
Twilight sighed heavily, collapsing back into the soft bed and almost returning to tears.
"Oh Spike... what have they done to you?"
Twilight lay back in the now slightly charred mattress, staring at the ceiling above her. What could she do? She had tried her best to fight back, but Spike was still lost. They wouldn't have been able to handle her like that if it wasn't for those blasted darts.
Wait... The darts!
Twilight shot up in her bed again.
"They're still on the grass! If I can find them... maybe I can find out where they're from!" She clopped her forehooves together excitedly.
She stopped however. She'd told the princess that she'd remain here to rest. Her friends were surely going to rush over once they'd learned of her hospitalisation. She'd love to see them, but if they'd found out what she'd done...
Now there was no way she could stay here. She had a chance -however small -to find the terrible ponies who had stolen Spike from her.
Furious anger started to rise again inside Twilight, spreading to all of her body as at once, she had a single goal. She hopped down off of the bed and moved towards the window, brushing aside scattered papers and medical equipment as she pulled open the curtains.
"I'll make them pay..."
A flash of purple light illuminated the room briefly, before Twilight appeared outside on the ground. She glanced around to make sure she hadn't been noticed before she began galloping towards to dirt road leading out of town.
A small breeze moved the drapes on the window apart and small rays of sunlight crept in between the gap. Reaching out with warmth once more, they fell upon a blackened, empty bed before retreating once more behind the cover of the now slightly seared light blue curtains.