Twilight sat with rapt attention as Star Swirl the Bearded droned on about teleportation and its applications to everyday life. Her quill scratching across the page and punctuating each new bullet with a beep sound Between the sound of Starswirl’s southern accent and the beep of each new bullet she found herself falling into a rhythm. Beep, scratch scratch, beep, scratch, beep beep. Twilight shook her head as her focus was broken and tried to remember what she missed. Another double beep broke her train of thought then a whoosh sound. Twilight looked around at all the dancing apples that were riding off into the sunset as her head started to ache and the world seemed to collapse around her.
A beeping sound to her right seemed to call to her as it grew steadily louder and louder and her eyelids fluttered. Hazy shapes began swimming at the corner of her eyes as a glaring white light blinded her forcing her to close her eyes for a moment and squint upwards. Hazy shapes swam around her as her eyes worked open wider, a rainbow streak blossoming to her right followed by two twin thuds echoing around the room.
Twilight tried to call out to the blur as it blossomed, but choked slightly on something lodged in her throat. Her pupils dilated and darted about the room as she panicked. thoughts of suffocation and what it did to a pony flashing across her mind. She closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten before opening her eye’s to look around from her recumbent position. Twilight noted that she laid in a large bed, IV needles poking out from her fetlocks. The walls were all a stark white color that exuded a feel of sterility. The beeping sound from her dream came from a heart monitor to her right side and to her other side she noted a breathing assistant.
Twilight’s attentioned snapped back towards the far end of the room as she heard a squeaking sound followed by the soft tapping of hooves on linoleum. “Miss Sparkle, it is a pleasure to see you awake at long last. Please hold a moment while I take out the endotracheal tube.” A white mare with a pink mane gently approached and leaned over Twilight, adjusting tubes and peeling tape off gingerly.
Twilight lay still, her mind swirling as she dug for name. She knew this mare, of that she had no doubt but for the life of her she couldn’t remember. Her brow furrowed and she started gagging a little, loosing track of what she was thinking as the tube slid from her throat. suddenly it hit her. “REDHEART!” She exclaimed excitedly as the tube slid completely from her throat. “Sorry,” she lowered her ears and blushed slightly. “Nurse Redheart, what's going on? Why am I in the hospital?”
Nurse Redheart smiled and placed the tube on top of the machine it was connected to. “Miss Dash will be in shortly, she will answer your questions.” She smiled a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she grabbed the chart at the end of Twilight's bed and left. Rainbow held the door for her as she approached, both exchanging a small nod.
Rainbow let the door swing closed behind her as she walked up and took a spot beside Twilight's bed her hoof. Smiling weakly she squeezed Twilight’s hoof shakily, almost like she could hardly believe there would be a response like Twilight gave by squeezing back lightly “How do you feel Twi? Do you remember anything, anything at all? Maybe, where you are or why you might be here?”
Twilight furrowed her brow and frowned at Rainbow. “What are you talking about?” Twilight looked at Rainbow with a worried expression. “Did something happen that I should know about?” Rainbow was shaking slightly, her eyes downcast and ears flattened against her skull. Twilight searched for any sign of the brash pony she remembered and all she could find was a shell of that pony, it scared and worried her immensely.
“Twi...” Rainbow's lip quivered and she chewed at it as she spoke, “there was a lab accident and...” She paused, her grip tightening on Twilight’s hoof. “You, me and Applejack were caught in it. I, being the amazing and awesome pony I am, recovered the quickest.” Rainbow stopped, releasing Twilight’s hoof she rubbed her forehooves together as her eyes darted around room, desperate for something to look at other than Twilight.
“Okay, so how is everypony else?” Rainbow’s head dropped lower and she pulled in on herself a little trying to avoid Twilight’s question. “Are they here in the hospital too?” Rainbow continued to avoid Twilight’s gaze. “How long have I been here?” Still no answer from Rainbow. Twilight furrowed her brow, something was off about Rainbow. “Rainbow, when did that accident happen? I...”Twilight trailed off unsure of what to say. “I...I...why am I here and where is everypony else?” Twilight’s voice shook with worry. “Where is everpony else,!” Twilight;s voice rose a little and she tried to move towards Rainbow, reaching her hoof out and pulling at Rainbow’s shoulder. “I want to talk to others, where are they?” She shook Rainbow’s shoulder as panic started to well up in her chest, bleeding into her words and eyes.
Rainbow looked away, her eyes downcast and body shaking back and forth limply as Twilight shook her. “Twi...” Rainbow bit her lips and took deep shuddering breath. “Twilight, you have been...out, for a while, and the others are off in -umm- Canterlot, yea that's it, they're in Canterlot, with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for hearts and hooves day.”
Twilight’s eyes dilated and she inhaled sharply before freezing solid, her lips moving slowly. “Hearts and Hooves day, but that was...” Twilight trailed off for a second as she did some quick math silently in her head. She turned her head to Dash slowly and spoke clearly and sternly. “Rainbow Dash, how long have I been here? Be completely honest because if it’s hearts and hooves day then it has been at least a year.” Rainbow fidgeted as she felt Twilight's stare bore into her but couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth. Instead she opted for agreeing with her, telling her it had been a little over a year. Rainbow’s discomfort over the lie was cut short as a tan earth pony wearing a white lab coat walked in.
“Hello Miss Sparkle. My name Horse MD, I have been your physician since the accident. It's wonderful to see you awake again. Do you have any headaches or pains, any nausea or disorientation? Do you remember anything about how you landed yourself here?” Horse MD efficiently checked her vitals and swung a small penlight in front of Twilight’s eyes as he spoke.
“No Doctor, I don't. My head hurts a little and I feel a little sluggish, but beyond that I feel fine. Most of what I feel can be explained by the year long bed rest I think.” Twilight missed Rainbow motioning to Horse MD to keep quiet as the penlight swung over to her right eye, blocking her vision on that side momentarily.
“We have sent a message to the Princesses to let them know that you have woken up. I imagine they will be—” Horse MD was interrupted by a blinding flash as Luna and Celestia appeared in the room with a loud bang. In a tangle of limbs and joyous cries Twilight was buried alive by the princesses as they threw themselves over her and wrapped her in a bone crushing hug.
“Verily I am most pleased to see you have awakened young Twilight, today is indeed a most joyous occasion.” Luna said in between her tears, Celestia merely held Twilight tight as she silently sobbed and thanked the Cosmic Matriarch that Twilight had awakened.
“As happy as I am to see both of you, could someone tell me what is happening. I want answers and that’s proven to be very difficult.” As the two alicorns disentangled themselves from Twilight they shared a worried look. Twilight was grinding her teeth slightly as her tail swished around under the covers. “Everypony seems to be dodging all my questions if they bother to acknowledge them at all. I can assume Rainbow lied about everypony else being in Canterlot since you two just arrived here.”
“My dear Twilight,” Celestia began, “do you not remember what happened in your lab, the explosion—” She was cut of as Twilight sat straight up and was caught by Rainbow and Horse MD who pushed her back down gently.
Twilight let her head fall against the pillow. For several seconds she lay in silence and when she spoke up it was slow and careful. “What explosion, did it hurt anypony?” Everypony in the room flinched and turned their eyes to the floor. Each of them actively tried to avoid Twilight’s eyes in whatever way they could. Luna shrank down and tried to hide behind her sister while Rainbow and Celestia hung their heads. Horse MD busied himself checking over her chart and the machines she was still attached to.“Oh no who was hurt? What exploded?” As she tried to use magic to help herself up in a panic, a migraine made itself known to her. Her head felt like it had been split in two and it caused her vision to double and swim. She fell back nauseated and in extreme pain. “Nnnngh...” was all Twilight could muster as she squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths. Celestia gently put a hoof on her chest and began weeping anew as everypony else averted their eyes.
“My dear Twilight, please be careful. We still aren’t one hundred percent sure what happened but...your injuries.” Celestia paused and her eyes flicked to Twilight’s horn for a moment before she locked her pink iris with the lavender ones as the peaked opened. “Among the extensive list of injuries there were a few to your horn.” Celestia paused, closing her eyes and taking a long calming breath. “Between the explosion and collapse your horn was...damaged. It cracked along it’s full length and...the leyline inside was fractured.” Twilight stopped nursing her horn, now looking at her mentor with a mixture of horror and sadness. Celestia looked away a little before pulling Twi close again. “I am so sorry, we tried everything we could but the leyline in a unicorns horn is very sensitive. The damage has healed and the leyline itself has even repaired grown back together slightly but there was nothing we could do to restore it completely.”
The air in the room grew tense for a moment before the lavender pony seemed to break and fall in on herself. With a barely audible whisper she asked if she could be alone, curling up as best she could and turning her back towards everypony else. She pulled her pillow close and buried her face in it to cover the sobs that she couldn’t hold at bay. Her pillow rapidly turned to a darker color as her tears flooded into the fabric, staining it with the knowledge that she had lost her identity that her cutie mark was now just a simple meaningless tattoo.
~ ~ ~
Twilight groaned and rolled over, the events from just before she drifted off flooded her mind. She pulled a hoof over her eyes and stared at the lavender coat. It still looked the same, nothing had changed and yet everything had. All the magic hidden inside the leg was forever beyond her reach, no longer could she reach inside herself and pull out great feats of magical strength. There was nothing left of the world she remembered, in the short time she had been asleep everything had changed. Celesti only knows what had happened to her friends, let alone why Rainbow Dash was the only one there to see her wake up.
Twilight rolled her head to the side with a heavy sigh. A small smile tugged at her lips as she saw Rainbow Dash by her bedside, sleeping with a Daring Do book in her lap and a small line of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. Twilight gently sat up and looked around and noticed she was in a new room. Much like the first room it was clinical white but now there were fewer machines and moonlight streamed in through a window on the wall to her left.
Twilight leaned her head back against the wall and tried to remember everything she could about the days leading up to the blank spot in her memory. There had been the big reveal and then Rainbow had gone missing. After weeks of searching nothing had turned up and she had met Applejack at the library. After that everything was hazy. She remembered screaming and fear and sadness but nothing to tie the emotions to. She couldn’t figure out why Rainbow was here and not AJ. It didn't make sense, something was off. Twilight started rubbing her temples to relieve the building pressure that was building the more she thoguht about it.It felt as if her mind was trying to tell her not to dwell on the matter and just let it go.
She tossed thoughts around in her head, trying to remember anything until she fell asleep, her eyes fixed on Dash as she gently snored in the chair at her bedside. The last thought that crossed her mind before sleep claimed her was wondering where her friends were and why they were not there for her.
~ ~ ~
Two weeks had passed and Twilight had settled into the routine of the hospital. Mostly it involved sleeping or reading with the occasional check up from a nurse or doctor. She was hurt that nopony had visited her but the doctor said it was for health reasons that they had been turned away. The routine had continued unabated until one night, while reading one of the Daring Do novels she had missed out on, she had heard a hushed argument bleeding in from the hallway.
“Rainbow Dash we need to tell her, she deserves to know how long it's really been, she deserves to know why no pony but you and the princesses have come to see her. We can't keep her in the dark much longer, it's not right.”
Twilight couldn’t be sure what they were talking about but she was sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing it. She thought about saying something so they would know she was up, but her curiosity won out and she stayed silent hoping to hear more. Her curiosity would remain unsated though as Rainbow came trotting in slowly looking over her shoulder at who she assumed was Horse MD. “I will tell her, but not until I am sure she’s ready.” She turned her head and smiled when she saw Twilight awake.
“Hey Twi I just got permission to take you out, I was thinking we could hit Sugarcube corner and get some cupcakes, maybe see Pinkie while we're there. We will leave in the morning, catch breakfast and get you some sunshine. You should go to bed and get some sleep, if you need anything I will be in my usual spot.” With that Rainbow trotted to small cot the nurses had set up for her and curled up. Twilight drifted off, the conversation she had overheard replaying in her mind over and over.
~ ~ ~
The next morning Rainbow shook her awake gently with a massive smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. Twilight really didn't want to go but Rainbow’s face melted her resolve and she reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t see the harm in getting out a little, get some sun, something that she probably needed.
“Well if it's okay with Horse MD and Nurse Redheart I guess that sounds okay, but are you sure? I just woke up and they usually want to check up on me first thing when I get up.” Twilight gave a halfhearted rebuttal and shook her head. “I can’t believe you got them to agree.”
Rainbow Dash just smiled. “It’ll be fine, I have some stuff to talk to you about and I don’t think this is a good place to talk about it.” Rainbow walked to the closest in the room and pulled out a wheelchair and wheeled it over to Twilight’s bedside. “Ummm do you need help getting in the chair, I mean if you want I can help.”
“I should be fine Rainbow, it's not like I lost my legs or something.” Rainbow grimaced a bit but held her composure as Twilight slowly removed herself from the blanket, “I doubt I even really need a wheelchair to get around.” Twilight swung her back hooves over the bedside and lowered them to the floor. Shifting her weight she dropped to the floor and pitched forward onto her chin.”Oof! What the?” She pushed her hooves against the floor and rose to a sitting position. Her brow furrowed and her back end shook but stayed on the floor. She looked to Rainbow with a quizzical expression and then at her back legs.
Her eyes misted over as she reached back towards her plot with a hoof. She traced a large scar on her flank that marred her cutie mark with the removal of one of the five smaller stars. She traced a jagged line over the missing star to a mass of scar tissue in the small of her back. "Rainbow, could you leave me alone for a bit. I... just leave me alone please." Her head dropped and her body started shaking uncontrollably.
Rainbow stepped forward hesitantly to offer help and paused. She looked at Twilight sitting on the floor shaking in a mass of emotions she understood all too well. Turning from Twilight her head fell and she shuffled quietly out of the room, leaving Twilight to herself.
Twilight’s sobs assaulted Rainbow’s ears as the door clicked shut and she slumped against it. For a second she considered going back to Twilight’s side but quickly dismissed the idea. The life Twilight found herself in, all alone with no pony but Rainbow visiting her. She looked at her back where her wings once sat and shuddered at the stump that was left of one and the mangled remains of the other one. Old haunting thoughts began swimming to the surface of her mind, thoughts she had tried to put out of her mind ever since the accident. Would I have left like the others did if I had my wings still, if my dream hadn't been shattered like our lives on that fateful day. As she sat outside Twilight's door thinking to herself she saw Pinkie approach. “Hey Pinkie hows the bakery and the twins?”
“Things are good Dashie, Mr and Ms Cake are out of town so I am in charge of it, so how is she doing in there? Have you told her anything yet?” Rainbow cast her head down and shook it slowly from side to side. “Well silly you should, you said you would be there for her when she woke up soooooo,” She advanced towards Rainbow and kicked her through the door, following her in with a trill of, “let's get in there and cheer her up.” She quickly bounced over Rainbow and over to Twilight, flipping her onto the bed while shouting, “WELCOME BACK TWILIGHT! How were the dreams? Were they pleasant? I remember a dream I had yesterday about this giant cupcake made entirely from chocolate milk." Twilight just stared at her before breaking down into tears of laughter.
“What are you talking about Pinkie? Really that's the first thing you say to me?” She looked over at Rainbow Dash and motioned her over. “You know, Dash here was about to help me over to sugar cube corner, if it's truly been a year then I'll bet your baking has improved some if it could at all.” Pinkie started bouncing around.
“Really? Oooh I have this new carrot cake recipe with a banana frosting I know you'll love it, lets go.” Rainbow walked over silently and began helping Twilight into the wheelchair, and almost dropped her as Twilight's hoof came close to what was left of her wings. Rainbow looked back sheepishly before apologizing and quickly reaching down to help Twilight up again. “Rainbow don't drop Twilight, we don't want her going back to sleep again silly.” Pinkie quipped in before she bounced back and helped Rainbow get Twilight into the chair.
“Dash...” Twilight paused and shook her head. “Sorry, I guess you still don’t like to be touched.” She was looking imploringly at Rainbow Dash who could only sigh.
“Twilight, let's not talk about that now, lets get you some Pinkie Pie cupcakes and talk about the last year.” Pinkie looked at Rainbow Dash a little funny causing Twilight to furrow her brow in confusion. They then proceeded out of the hospital and onto Sugarcube Corner.
As they made their way to sugarcube corner, everypony they met stopped them to give Twilight congratulations and condolences, neither of which were accompanied by a reason, which served to irk Twilight further. She met a lot of ponies who looked familiar but she couldn't place any of them. Twilight noticed that all the faces she could place looked older, and not just one year older. She also noted that some ponies seemed to avoid her or look at her with disdain. Twilight felt as though the town wasn’t seeing her but something else, something they had tried to forget and was now being flaunted in front of them.
The three mares took their time moving across town and arrived at their destination just after the breakfast rush cleared out, leaving the place fairly empty and plenty of places for them to choose from. Rainbow looked around and spied a yellow pony with a red ribbon and quickly chose a table as far from her as she could. Pinkie darted off to the kitchen while Rainbow took a seat across from Twilight facing Apple Bloom and watching her in hopes that she would leave them alone, sadly though this just caught her attention.
A quizzical look crossed her face and she slowly stood up and made her way across the cafe. Rainbow tried to motion her away without drawing Twi’s attention but it was nearly impossible because of where she was sitting and Apple Bloom was walking. With a gasp Apple Bloom sped up her approach, her eyes wide and mouth open slightly. “Oh by Celestia's wings, is that you Twilight, is that really you?”
Twilight turned to look for whoever had spoken and stared for a second before asking. “Umm do I know you? I consider myself fairly well informed about the ponies around, though I have been out of the loop for a year now and I imagine some ponies may have moved in while I was out of the loop.”
Apple Bloom paused for a second before getting teary eyed and grabbing her in a massive hug, “It's me Twilight, Apple Bloom. Sister to Applejack.” She choked up as she introduced herself to Twilight who was thoroughly confused.
“Apple Bloom? It's only been a year how, could you have possibly grown so much in just one year? You can't be little Apple Bloom” Twilight was trying to grasp what she was seeing, AppleBloom looked like she was in her teens now at least, she had a cutie mark that looked like it meant construction.
“Twilight really, it's been eight years-” she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash jumping up and trying to shush her only to fall into Twilight's lap. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash's back for the first time, completely unprepared for what she saw she gingerly brought her hoof up and touched the stump. Tracing the mangled wing with her eyes as her mouth silently moved in horror and sorrow.
“Twilight, please calm down I can explain, just don't panic. Apple Bloom why did you have to blurt that out?” She was interrupted by Twilight's panicked scream as everything finally sunk in. The reason details were vague, the reason no pony wanted to let her see the paper or tell her how long she had been out.
“Rainbow your wings! Apple Bloom your growth! What- what did that accident do? Have I really been in a coma for eight years?” She began to wheel herself slowly backwards as the panic set in. “What did I do to you Rainbow? What have I done to Ponyville? And my friends?” She suddenly spun the wheelchair around and took off towards the library, the one place she had always found comfort and safety in times of trouble. the last place she had called home.
“Twilight no come back! We can explain. Please don't go to the library.” Rainbow took off galloping after her as Twilight booked it to the library in tears. When she finally caught up she expected to see Twilight in hysterics but instead found her sitting limp in her wheelchair, staring at what had become of the library.
She opened and closed her mouth for a moment before the words materialized. "Rainbow, what is that? What happened to the library?" Both she and Rainbow looked at where the library was, and Rainbow read out what now occupied that space. "Here we commemorate honest Applejack. She gave everything to her friends and this town. May we never forget her last acts and forever remember her for teaching us that honesty is not always about telling the truth but an action truer than any words can ever say."
Twilight slumped back, Rainbow barely hearing her request. "Take me back to the hospital Rainbow. Please."