//------------------------------// // 02 : Breaking News // Story: The Journal // by TropicalWings //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle. The name echoed in my head for hours. It was no ordinary name. I owned it; It was my name, my very identity. The six ponies had left my room a few hours ago. I found myself lying down on the wooden bed alone again, left to let my aching mind wander about again on what had happened a few hours ago. The orange cowpony with the apple cutie mark was Applejack. The ivory-colored unicorn was Rarity. The brash rainbow-haired pegasus was Rainbow Dash. The shy timid yellow pegasus was Fluttershy. The hyperactive party-addicted pony was Pinkie Pie. The blonde stallion was Applejack’s cousin, Braeburn. Apparently, I’m also right in his town right now, a quaint little desert pony settlement named Appleloosa. We’ve actually been here multiple times, as per Applejack’s request. They didn’t care to explain why, though. I repeated their names out again quietly, trying to get my mouth to get used to the feel of the words. They were my friends apparently, especially the 5 mares. Yet for some reason, I couldn’t really understand why I couldn’t remember them. They also said that they, no, we were heroes, not just to Appleloosa, but all throughout the land we know as Equestria. We were known as the bearers of something called the Elements of Harmony, a powerful set of supernatural artifacts once held by the rulers of Equestria itself until its powers went to us. Applejack possessed one known as the “Element of Honesty”, Rainbow Dash owned the “Element of Loyalty”, Rarity held the “Element of Generosity”, Fluttershy beared the “Element of Kindness” and Pinkie Pie had the “Element of Laughter”(figures.) For me, on the other hand, I owned “the most elusive element” among the others; the “Element of Magic”. Wow, talk about being cheesy. It was kind of hard for me to digest what they just told me. Lunar mares, chimeras, dragons, Eternal Night, Chaos, it sounded kind of far-fetched if you ask me. I mean, who would believe a story about the princess’s personal student, out in a desert town? What if they’re really just feeding me lies? Or am I just too skeptical? No, something deep inside me is telling me that they’re sincere about what they’re saying. But I still wonder, why keep me here? Why not bring me back to our hometown named Ponyville? Why not treat me in a proper hospital? Why stay here? I really should ask them that later when they come back to visit me, I was told I’m not allowed to go out yet for my own safety. For some reason, I’m getting tired all of a sudden. Well, I am in the process of recovering from that accident by the way, probably just normal. I made a mental note to ask them my questions later. Once that was all done, I closed my eyes and slept. I awoke to the sound of hooves trotting out in the hallway heading to my direction. Still sleepy, I turned my head to the other hide and suddenly my eyes met Pinkie’s face. I was suddenly startled awake, with her laughing on the floor. I found Rarity behind her, giving her an annoyed look. If her looks could kill, Pinkie would have probably been already dead a few hours ago. “Pinkie, do you honestly wanna frighten our badly injured friend here? We’ve talked about this a million times already.” she said, with a serious tone in her voice. “I can’t help it. TWILIGHT’S FINALLY AWAKE!!” she screamed. I don’t understand what goes on inside that pony’s mind. Rarity letted out a sigh and turned her attention towards me. “Please excuse her, Twilight, she’s just kind of over excited that’s all.” she told me, shooing away Pinkie Pie out of the room. “She was pretty quiet during the time you were in that dreadful coma, simply waiting for you to at least move. And when you did, what a fuss she made of it. She really wasn’t acting herself for once, I thought I was looking at some other pony...” Her voice trailed off. “Anyway, how are you feeling?” she asked me, quickly changing the topic. “Well sadly, my headache is still here,” I replied. “the pain lessened though.” I added. A look of relief filled the white unicorn’s face, “That’s a good start.” she said. “At least we know you can get up and trotting in no time.” “Yeah.” said a voice from the door, which turned out to be Applejack’s. “We’re actually pretty amazed yer in this kind of condition right now”. she added, “‘Specially since ya’ looked awfully banged up back there where we found ya.” “Back there”? What could she be talking about? Now that I think about it, they never actually told me yet why I ended up like this “Oh yes,” said Rarity, “you looked most injured. You had so many cuts and bruises when we found you.” “But... what happened?” I asked. “Why was I like that?” Dead silence hung in the room again “Darling, don’t you... right. You don’t.”, said Rarity. “...What?” “We don’t know why, but we found you outside in the middle of the desert.” “And...?” “Well... that’s it, to be honest,” Rarity replied. “...We actually don’t know why you were in the desert in the first place.” “So what you’re saying is...” I asked “...We’ll never find what really happened to me unless I jog my memory back?” “Maybe, just maybe.” said Rarity. “They say some ponies recover their memory from seeing certain important things in their life. In your case, your journal.” My journal? What could she mean? My mind tried to think, but it was distracted by Applejack’s talking. “Whatever it is,” she said, “Twilight might be the only way we can be able to know what exactly happened. Maybe if that ‘sudden memory recovery’ hee-haw of yours is true, we might be able to get the truth.” “Now wait just a minute,” Rarity replied, ”We can’t just get Twilight out of bed, she’s still injured.” “But we need to get her moving soon. So that by the time the train comes tomorrow, we could go back to Ponyville ASAP. We each have our own stuff to do. You’ve got your dresses, I’ve got my apples, Pinkie’s got her cakes and cupcakes and pastries, so I do think we should get her moving if we want to get back to business as usual.” “Good point, she has been in bed for quite awhile now, hasn’t she?” Rarity replied. “Alrighty, then. Twilight, think you can get up?” said Applejack. “I... I think so...” Slowly I moved my legs so that I could sit up on the edge of the bed. My body still felt sore. I realized it was also covered in bandages. Was my accident really this bad? “Excellent!” said Rarity, as I stood up on my four hooves. I was still trembling, but Applejack appeared beside me and said, “Here. I’ll help you.” “Ready to get back to Ponyville, sugarcube?” “Sure, I’m rea-” Before I could finish my answer, something crashed through the window, it was Rainbow Dash. Judging by the sweat trickling down her face, she must’ve been flying around for a while. “...Terrible...news....guys.” she said, trying to catch her breath while speaking. “The train station...” “Yes? Oh, speaking of which, prepare yourself, we’re going home. I’ll just tell Braeburn.” said Rarity. “No use.” interrupted the pegasus. “The train station, it's... it's...” “It has what, darling?” Rarity asked, her smile slowly turning into a frown. “It's been destroyed. We can’t get home, much less communicate with Ponyville. We’re trapped here.”