//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: The Number 22 // by Blazing Shadows //------------------------------// Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I just hope I'm doing okay with this. Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic or The Number 23, the cool movie this story is based on. THE NUMBER 22 Chapter 9 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 February 6 I awoke the next morning, the book clutched against my chest. I guess it didn't want to be seperated from me.....It wanted to keep an eye on me at all times. "Ugh....What time is it?...10:22 A.M....Wonderful." KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "Twilight! I know you're in there!!...AND...I know you have the book as well!!" "Well,....there's Rarity with my wake-up call." I started to plan another escape plan from my house, but, this time, I shook those thoughts away. "No...I'm tired of running away from my friends. It's just convincing them more and more that I'm crazy...Which, I'm not!!" It was then that I realized that I had spoken 22 words in that last full statement. "AAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH! "HA! I knew you were in there, Twilight! You just come on out right now and maybe I'll go easy on you!" Ha....What a laugh. "Okay, Rarity. You win. I'll come out." As I opened the door, I felt the warm touch of sunlight hit my face....It had been a while since I had really taken the time to actually feel it. And it felt wonderful....for the five seconds I felt it. For, not long after I came out, a knapsack was pulled down over my head, robbing me of my vision. "What the hell?! Who-" But, before I could ask, I felt a needle being jabbed into my flank by an unseen wielder. I suddenly began to lose all feeling in my legs. As I began to fall, another unseen one caught me from my fall, picked me up, and started to carry me. We walked for what seemed like hours until I was finally put down. However, it didn't fell like the ground.....It felt soft,...cushiony. The sack was taken off my head. Bright lights immediately flashed in my eyes, temporarily blinding me. When I regained vision, I noticed I was in a house, lying on a couch. I was not restrained in any way, as I still couldn't move. "Alright, Doctor! We have her!" I recognized Rarity's voice yelling. She stepped out of the shadows, along with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack (probably the one who carried me.) Their facial expressions all differed. Rarity had a look of concern, Dash's was one of dissapointment, Fluttershy's was sad, Pinkie's was confused, and Applejack's was, of course, angry. "Girls!...What's the meaning of this?! Why are you-" "Shut up!" yelled Rainbow Dash, suddenly changing her mood to Applejack's. "Now, now, Dash, we don't need to yell at her....just yet," spoke Rarity. "Please, girls. Why have you brought me here?....Where exactly is here?!" "Why, they've brought you here to get help....in my hospital!" said an unknown voice. I looked up to see Doctor Whooves step out of the shadows. I hadn't been around him since the delivery.....that fateful delivery. As soon as I saw him, and the memories of that day came back to my mind, I immediately felt angry at him....and his dog. If they hadn't made me late,...I wouldn't have been in this mess. "Doctor Whooves, what are you talking about?! What do you mean "help"? "What he means, Twilight," answered Fluttershy, "Is that we couldn't stand to see you in this condition any longer,.....so...we kinda...." "Kinda what, Fluttershy?" "....Um....We...." Like she would do a lot of times when put in a stressful situation, she burst into tears. Pinkie Pie went over to comfort her, giving me an angry glare as she did.....As if she thought it was my fault! "....We decided to bring you to Doctor Whooves for some psychiatric help," finished Rarity, "We thought he was the best person to turn to since that other doctor of yours was on...your side." I knew immediately that she was talking about Lori...but why did she have a bad tone when she said "your side"? Was I now their enemy or something?! "Listen, I'll have you know that Lori has been a bigger help to me than any of you have!" That statement was completely out of anger...I didn't mean it, but I just wanted to let my mixed emotions out. It got a few frowns from some of them, but Rarity kept her composure and kept staring at me like she had before. "You see, Twilight, this ridiculous obsession of yours has brought you nothing but mental stress.....and we simply will not stand for it! It's time you got the help you need!" "But, you guys, I keep trying to tell you that-" "What you should be telling us is "Thank you." For we, despite having to put up with your absurd attitude over the past few days, have still, from the kindness of our hearts, tried our best to help you." "Help me?.....You really want to know how to help me?" "Yes, dear. We do." "Well, you can start by BELIEVING WHAT I'M TELLING YOU!!" "That's it! I can't stand listening to you anymore, Twilight!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "Doctor Whooves, please take your next patient to the hospital!" "Yes, ma'am. Come with me, Twilight." I don't know why he botherd to say that, for the drug was still in my system. He picked me up and placed me on a hospital bed on wheels, brought out only moments before by Pinkie Pie. "NO! You can't do this to me! I'm not crazy....Trust me!" Did I forget to mention that the drug also effected my magic? Well, it did. For, no matter how many times I tried, I could get nothing more than a mere spark from my horn. I finally gave up resisting and just let him roll me to my future fate....the loony bin. I looked back to see Rainbow Dash picking up the book and handing it to Rarity. "Hey, Rare, I think you need to hang on to this a little better." "Well, I would've still had it if somepony hadn't came in the middle of the night and stole it while I was sleeping!" It was over. My fate was sealed. I was headed off to the white room for sure......At least,...that's what I thought at first. As I was being wheeled to the ambulance parked outside, Doctor Whooves began grunting. I first assumed it was just joint pains and ignored it, but I continued to hear it more and more. Finally, the bed stopped rolling. The ambulance was still a good 10 feet away, so it wasn't time to stop. I looked behind me to see what was going on.....and froze. Doctor Whooves was on the ground, clutching his chest in pain. He started coughing uncontrollably,....but that's not what scared me. What he was coughing up made me sick. It was some kind of green slime....and he was choking up about a pint of it every time he coughed. My eyes were glued on him, unable to look away from the gruesome scene.....Then, I heard somepony scream. I looked up to see the girls, Rarity being the one who yelled. They, like me, watched in horror as the Doctor choked on this stuff for about a minute until he fell still, allowing his hoof to drop to the ground. The girls ran over to me, their hearts probably beating as fast as mine. "Twilight," yelled Applejack, "What the hay happened to him?! Is he..." "I'm afraid so....And, to tell you the truth, I don't know exactly what happened to him..." Then I saw it. A line was slowly burning itself into Doctor Whooves' head. We all looked as it twisted around into the number 2. Then, another line began burning right beside the other. When they were done, a big, fiery 22 was burned onto his head. The curse had got him....just like Zecora. "Tw-Twilight," studdered Pinkie Pie, "Wh-What is that?" "That.....is my curse...." The girls began staring at me again. But, not like a crazy individual.....Like an injured friend. They jerked me out of the bed and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever gotten. The drug was finally wearing off, so I could feel the warmth of it coming onto my body. When we were done, they had so many things to tell me. "Oh, we're so sorry for not believing you!" "Please forgive us!" "We should've been there for ya', but we weren't!" "How could we have been such fools?!" "We feel absolutely terrible!" "Guys! It's okay! I forgive each and every one of you. In fact,....I think I'm the one who should be apologizing. I've acted like a jerk for the past few days, avoiding you and yelling at you every time I saw you!....Guys,....I'm so sorry...." "Twilight," replied Appplejack, "When one of us is in trouble, we're all in trouble. We stick through situations like PB&J....Together!" We shared one more group hug, letting our emotions spill out in it. When we got done, I explained to them the whole situation. After I was done, they all had horrified expressions. "This sounds absolutely dreadful, Twilight!" spoke Rarity, "What are you going to do?!" "I'm going to continue making appointments with Dr. Lori. I believe she will harness her mother's abilities someday...and I'm gonna make sure I'm there when she does! But, more important than that, I'm gonna keep reading." "You sure about that, Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I mean, if something's causing me trouble, I don't just let it keep on bothering me. I face it head-on!" "But that's just it. It know I can't and the more I try to resist it, the more suffering I'm gonna go through. The end of the book could possibly provide a way to get rid of the curse,....but, until then, I'm gonna keep reading!" "Well, we're all gonna help you, sugarcube," confirmed Applejack, "And that's a promise." "No, Applejack! You guys can't help me. You saw what the curse did to Doctor Whooves and you know what it did to Zecora! It will eliminate anyone who gets in its way!" "But, what about the Doc?" asked Pinkie Pie, "I mean, she is your doctor! She's pretty close to you." "Supposedly, according to her, when Zecora died, she passed on a shield of protection for her. It now surrounds her and protects her from evil spirits. Everyone in whatever culture she was from recites the traditional rhyme for it over every newborn child. After a while in your life, though, it begins to wear off.....like Zecora's." "Wow.....That's incredible." whispered Fluttershy. "And, since you aren't protected, you shouldn't be interfering." "Now look, sugarcube! I just said that we do things together. So, if one of us is in trouble, we're all in trouble! Ain't that right, girls?!" "RIGHT!" ".....Thanks, girls. I'm glad you haven't given up on me. I'll allow you to help me,...BUT,..only if you keep your distance. As long as you don't mess too badly with the curse's plans, you should be fine." They accepted and we all parted ways. I called the hospital to come get the Doctor's body. It was sad to see him get carried away, unable to put up any kind of fight like I was. But, I shook off those feelings and continued my walk home. Rarity let me have my book back. I had it placed in my satchel for safe-keeping,....not that I cared about its well-being. I just didn't want anypony else to take it from me. When I got home, I started reading. Chapter 9 Progress I was slowly going crazy. The madness began to take over......In a way, you could say I was making progress on two levels. I had learned more about the number by finishing the Doctor's book. That was the good progress. The bad progress was the fact that my madness was slowly consuming me. It grew more every day as I struggled to keep it from taking over my mind. The hallucinations would usually start at night. I would lie in bed, looking up at the ceiling, when I would see shadows of a figure stabbing another figure with a butcher knife. I tried my best to ignore them and get to sleep,....but I couldn't stop thinking about them. The next few days, Orlando kept his distance. He would scarcely speak to me, except for things like "Good morning." and "I'm going out. See ya later." I began to doubt his love for me more and more every day.....But, then again, maybe it was because of my growing obsession with the number. I had sort of pushed him away over the past few days without so much as an apology. My mind raced as I pondered on the subject. "Well, I tried to explain it, but he wouldn't ever listen! He had his chance and he failed me! Why do I still even love him?!... "Why would I even say things like that?! Of couse I still love him! He's my whole world!....My only friend.....No, more than that.....He's my family." Actually, forget what I just called it. It wasn't "pondering". It was arguing. I was literally arguing with myself. I had split myself into two halves: the psychotic one who had succumbed to the curse, and the normal-thinking one who was still willing to hold on and fight against it......But, with it, there was no fighting......There was only delaying. End of Chapter 9! Author's Note: Well, at least her friends finally believe her....But not even the rest of the Mane Six can help prevent the upcoming tragedy that will shake Twilight's life forever!! 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222