//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Daniel's Awakening // Story: My Little Amnesia: Daniel's Story // by DaringWizard //------------------------------// The main six ran to the hospital, following the carriage holding the now unconscious human. They followed the doctors as they wheeled him into the E.R. They stitched up his wounds and put bandages all over him. They took his pack off, and set it and the blue stone ball on the table next to him. The six stared at him as he slept. "What's a human doing here? Could someone have followed you back through the crystal mirror?" Rarity asked. "No. No one followed me. And I never saw anyone dressed like this in the human world... his clothes look like they should be in a museum or something." She remarked. The man coughed. They heard a voice come from the orb, and the image of a highly disturbing deformed face appeared, being held by a human hand. They watched, fascinated and disgusted by the image. "Daniel! Turn around this instant! You are carrying the shadow with you!" It said, then the orb cleared up. Twilight blinked. Is this one of the orbs? She thought. The man coughed slightly, she turned around to face him. His eyes half-opened, then closed again. "Please tell me you guys saw that." Twilight asked, "What was that!? That was... disgusting!" Rainbow dash said, trying to wipe the image of the jawless face out of her mind. The man coughed some more, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked very confused and somewhat scared. He looked down at the girls. "Sir, are you all right?" Pinkie pie asked, the man flattened himself against the wall, amazed and rather frightened. "We aren't gonna' hurt you." Rainbow dash said, the man looked at them with even wider eyes. He closed his eyes, and spoke to himself. "Okay... calm down... your hallucinating." He whispered. "No... you really are not." Rarity said, she poked his shoulder. The man's eyes opened. "Oh, dear Lord..." He said. Twilight rolled her eyes. "You're a human. Right?" She asked, the man looked at her. "Y...yes...?" He said, still somewhat intimidated. "What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked. "You're a... talking horse, that's what's the matter!" He said, he shot up out of his bed, pain shot up his legs. "Ow!" He yelled, cringing in pain. "Stay off ya' legs! You're hurt!" Applejack said, forcing him back on his bed. Another awkward silence befell the group, Daniel stared at them now in awe. "Are you... 'Daniel'?" Fluttershy asked. Daniel looked at her very confused. "H-how do you know my name?" He asked. "When you came through, some voice said: Don't worry, Daniel. It will be all right." Twilight asked. Daniel stared, not blinking. "No, you're not hallucinating." Rarity said, trying to keep him calm. Daniel looked to his side, and saw his pack and orb sitting there. He then looked to the six girls. The cogwheels in his brain started to move- was this Agrippa's way of saving him? Wait, Agrippa! He blinked. "Did someone else besides me come through?" Daniel asked. "No." Daniel gave them a weird look, he felt his exhaustion getting a hold of him again. "Ah, you're awake." A voice said, Daniel looked up and saw a pony wearing a doctor's suit. He rolled in a wheelchair, and twisted a few gears on it- so it would fit Daniel. "Uhmm... You're probably really confused right now, you passed out when you came through that portal. Stay of your hooves- I mean- your feet until you can apply pressure without pain." he said, he looked very excited. He trotted out of the room. Daniel put his hand on his forehead, still trying to process what was going on, then he blacked out again, the doctor walked back in. "Daniel!?" Twilight exclaimed. " Don't worry, he'll be in and out of consciousness for a while, it's normal; It's the way humans heal, as I recall. Very similar to our kind, don't you think?" Daniel had a flashback of Agrippa talking to him, it was shortly before he had gone through the portal. "Listen carefully, Alexander is working on opening a gate- a door to another world. It is where he wants to go. If you could put your anger aside, let him open the portal before you take your revenge. Let me pass the gate, Daniel." Agrippa said, Daniel listened intently. "Please, find the ingredients and prepare the tonic Weyer describes. And do so before you assemble the orb. The barrier keeping you from the inner sanctum will only be breached for a short time. Unless everything is taken care of before mending the orb, you won't be able to save me." Daniel nodded, then his vision went white. He woke up sitting in a wheelchair- he was being pushed toward a library. He looked down at his legs and saw that they were covered in bandages. The orb was in one of the pockets in the sides of the wheelchair, his pack was slung over the other side. He looked behind him to see who was pushing him- it was the purple unicorn from earlier. "You awake?" She asked. "Yes... I just have a brain-splitting headache..." He said. "Forgive me, I never asked your names- who are you?" "I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle." She said, Daniel smiled. What an adorable name... He thought. "What happened to me?" He said. "You passed out again. I'm taking you back to my home." She said, she continued to push Daniel. Daniel's legs ached from not only his wounds, but also his ordeal at Brennenburg. The physical exhaustion was taking its toll on him, he almost fell asleep again, but he resisted. They came to the door, Twilight opened it and Daniel rolled himself in. She helped him onto a couch, and he laid there. "I hope you can trust me. You're safe here." She said, she walked out of the room and came back, balancing a glass of water on her back, she gave it to Daniel. "Thank you, Twilight." He said, he slowly drank from the glass, and put it down on the end table near him. "Would you mind telling me what happened- before you passed out? Before you entered the portal, I mean." She asked, Daniel looked over to her. "I... I barely remember anything... I woke up in a castle... amongst very faint memories, all I can remember now is my name... I was locked inside and I couldn't get out- so I made my way deeper into the castle..." Daniel told her his story of waking up inside Brennenburg. He didn't mention Alexander or the things he had done, otherwise she wouldn't trust him- or, more likely, have him locked up. He only told her about the horrors he went through after he drank the Damascus rose potion. How he went to extreme lengths to make his way down to the inner sanctum- how he had to hide among corpses to avoid getting attacked by a metal-armed creature. How he evaded other, horrifying monsters. How he saved and met Agrippa, how he mended the orb... and about the shadow chasing him. "Oh my Gosh, you've been through so much... Can you remember anything else?" She asked. "I don't remember anything. I have this weird taste in my mouth... it's been lingering ever since I woke up... I know it sounds silly, but, I wouldn't be surprised that its the cause of my amnesia." He said, trying to hide the fact he knew what it was. "I hope we can piece your memory back together." Twilight said, she smiled at him. "Hmmm... anyway, after I was able to help Agrippa, the shadow followed me into the orb chamber. I hurled him through the portal... but the shadow got to me before I could enter. My vision went black... That's when I saw some faint lights in the distance... I followed them, then I crashed to the ground... after that I woke up, and... I was in that hospital bed." Daniel said. "And that's how you got here?" "Yes." Daniel finished. "I've never heard something so horrifying in my life... I wish there would be something I could do, Daniel." Daniel laid his head back and groaned, he put his hand on his forehead, he exhaled, stressed. "What's wrong?" "I'm just really... really confused right now... most of the animals from the human world... don't exactly... talk." He explained. "Oh. Right, I forgot. Humans are the only species that are intelligent in your world, right?" She said. Okay, I either have gone completely mad or have been transported into some fairy-tale story... He thought. "Oh well, I should have expected this..." Daniel mumbled. Twilight gave him a weird look at first, but she then gave him a half-smile. "I need to go pick up something from the hospital- some medicine for your wounds." She said. "All right..." Daniel said, he was falling asleep again, but he resisted. Twilight trotted out of the door. Daniel reached for the blue stone orb and pulled it out of the bag. He held it in his hand as one would an apple. He saw a haze appear on the surface. As he continued to concentrate on the orb; he saw his experience at Brennenburg play before him, vibrantly as if it were a re-enactment. He focused mainly on the oblivion still left in his mind, so he might be able to unlock some new memories which he had yet to remember. Then, he heard a faint whisper: "Hazel..." and it faded away. "Hazel?" Daniel repeated, and the face of a girl showed herself on the surface of the orb with long brown hair, like Daniel's, but it quickly faded as Daniel's concentration was broken by a knock at the door, he jumped slightly at it, remembering how the last "knock" he heard was one of the monsters at Brennenburg bashing down a door. He gave a relieved exhale, when he remembered he was safe there, without the monsters chasing him. "Anyone there?" a female's voice called. "The door is open." He called. And in walked a pegasus with a rainbow colored mane- it was one of the girls from earlier. "Hey. You hangin' in okay?" She asked, Daniel hesitated to say anything- what was he supposed to say? He just left a living nightmare behind, and was now in a fairy-tale like land, though he thought he might just be losing his mind, he answered- "Yes." "You're Daniel, right? Name's Rainbow Dash." She said, Daniel smiled at her name. "Good to meet you." He replied, she walked over, and looked back at the doorway. "Fluttershy- it's all right. Come on in." Daniel heard a faint whimper, and a yellow-haired pegasus with a pink mane walked in, she hid her face behind her mane. "Did I say something?" He whispered. "No. She's just really...really...shy." she answered. Just like the name implies... Daniel thought. "It's all right. She does not have to speak to me. I have no problem with that." Fluttershy, upon hearing this, revealed her face. "Uhm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you..." She said, Daniel held up his hand dismissingly. "Believe me, miss. You've done nothing wrong." Daniel said, and she walked slowly towards him and Rainbow Dash. "By the way- there's a huge difference between a 'horse' and a 'pony', thank you very much." Rainbow Dash said, Daniel looked at her with a weird look, then, he relaxed.