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// Mmm... now that's a sandwich! 
// Story: The Thing On Your Forehead 
// by AppleZapJam 
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Chapter 1: Mmmm… That’s a tasty Sandwich

“Mmmm… Now that’s a tasty sandwich!” Twilight Sparkle trotted up to her dining room table. On the table there was a sandwich that would make your mouth water by just looking at it. This was what was happening to Twilight. She looked down onto the sandwich. Pickles, onions, dandelions, olives, alfalfa, and orange slices were flowing from the two slices of thick whole wheat bread. Orange slices on a sandwich was Twilight’s favorite, they added that extra kick that sandwiches sometimes lacked. “Oranges…” Twilight’s mouth began to water more. 

If there was a bucket under Twilight’s mouth, it would be full. She sat down at the table and carefully put a white napkin around her neck. She never took her eyes off the sandwich, in fear it would run away. She reached down with her hooves to take up the massive sandwich. She put it to her mouth, but she stopped.

“What if Spike wants a bite?” She pondered for a moment, but only for a moment. “Oh well, I’m sure he won’t mind. This sandwich is all mine! And I'm gonna eat it!” She then tried to attempt another bite, but stopped again. “Besides my element isn’t generosity, so I’m good!” 

Twilight took a bite of the sandwich. Her mind began to picture the tastes as she chewed. "Mmmm... Onions, orange slices... Feathers..." Wait what?

Twilight woke up, her eyes shot open. She had a rather feathery pillow in her mouth. She took the pillow and placed it back behind her head, which was a little wet from the drool she had made during her dream. The sun was rising in Ponyville just like any other day. Twilight got up and stretched, careful not to make too many noises while doing so. In fear that she would wake the baby purple dragon next to her bed. 

"Sleep a few more minutes Spike. We got a lot to do today." Twilight whispered as she leaned over and kissed the young Dragon's forehead. She smiled and trotted down into the kitchen. That sandwich dream really made her hungry. 
She tugged gently on the fridge door. Immense portions of food were stockpiled in there. Each different type of food was put in a specific spot. Dairy products on one side, meat on the other, etc. With all the food in the fridge, the possibilities for a meal were endless. 

Unless you are Twilight Sparkle. She tapped her hoof on her chin. 

Hmm... What to eat, what to eat.

When it came to selecting meals, Twilight Sparkle was the worst. It usually takes her twenty minutes to decide a meal at a restaurant. Which is why she never really goes with Rarity too dinners anymore. 

Spike usually helps Twilight choose the meals, but since he was asleep she was on her own. She picked up a cookbook and began flipping through it. "Aha! I'll just make some hay pancakes. They aren't that hard to cook." The rather large cookbook sat on the table as she went to the cupboard and opened it with her hoof. Inside sat all the ingredients to make hay pancakes. She took them out and carried them over to the table in her hooves. 

Twilight didn't know why, but she was using her hooves and mouth more than ever today. She shrugged it off and continued to work on her hay pancakes.

It didn't take long to mix up the batter, Twilight had gotten very good at mixing things with her hooves. She usually imagined herself stirring a massive vat of rainbows whenever she would stir ingredients together. She picked up the bowl with the batter and set it near her stove. 

She picked up her cookbook and began to read. "Alright, open the door on the stove to let more air in too heat up the wood. Seems simple enough. But I need some more wood for later. I guess I'll let it warm up for a bit." She closed her eyes and concentrated on the little door as she willed it to open. She turned and didn't glance back. She trotted out the door and grabbed an extra log with her mouth. 

Twilight Sparkle was one of the few ponies that still enjoyed a wood furnace. For cooking anyway. Most ponies use an electric stove, because it is easier to turn on and off. But Twilight loved the smell of burning wood, and it burned much hotter than an electric stove. 

Twilight walked back into the room with the wood in her mouth. She sat it down next to the stove and picked up the batter bowl with her mouth. She gently poured three small circles into the pan that she had put out earlier. She smiled at how perfect the circles were and then waited for the pancakes to be flipped. She waited, and waited, and waited. The pancakes never seemed to golden, they just stayed the same gooey mess. 

"Now that's odd. I remember using my magic to open the door of the stove to let in more heat." Twilight looked over to the side of the stove where the door is. It was shut. 

"That's not possible! I remember concentrating on the stove door with my magic to open it! Quick! I must put the other log in there to get the heat up! 

Twilight concentrated on the wood. It didn't move. 

"What?!"
She tried to concentrate harder. It still didn't move. Her face turned a much darker purple then her coat as she concentrated harder on the wood. 

"Move you stupid wood!" Twilight growled from behind her gritted teeth.

Twilight collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. All she got from trying to make breakfast was a splitting headache from trying to move a simple piece of wood. She rubbed her forehead with her hoof. Twilight's eyes began to grow wider as she rubbed her head. She was able to make full contact with her forehead, which wasn't normal. Usually something stopped her from 
doing that.

Her horn.

"My horn!" Twilight yelled as she ran into her bathroom. She stopped at the mirror. She looked desperately into the reflective glass. Her mane sat lightly on her head and it swayed as she was moving, like a tree in a soft breeze. Although the horn that once sat on her head was gone. As if someone had stolen it during the night. Twilight's head almost exploded. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" She scream at the top of her lungs. A scream that everypony in Ponyville heard. Especially a small purple dragon, just upstairs. 

Spike awoke with a jump as the glass shattering scream entered his ears. 

"What?" Spike said as he rubbed his eyes. "Twilight!"

He rushed down the stairs or he at least he tried too. He tripped on the second step and tumbled down the rest of the way. 
He got up with a groan, "Ow..." He quickly snapped back to reality and rushed towards the source of the scream. He poked his head into the bathroom. 

"You okay Twilight? I heard you scream..." He stepped farther in so he could get a better look at Twilight's condition. "Oh my..." he said as he pointed a finger towards her forehead.  "Your... Your horn! It's gone!"

"I know! I don't know what happened!" Twilight collapsed on the floor and started to cry. Spike walked over to the sobbing lavender pony. He placed a claw on her shoulder and sat down next to her. 

"Now tell me everything that happened Twilight, maybe we can figure it out together." Spike was a little concerned for his friend, because he knew that she might go into shock if she was not looked after. 

Twilight sniffed, "Well, it was like any other morning." She stood up and began pacing, but she continued her story. "I woke up and then I started to make breakfast." She stopped and then sat down. "My dream... I never used my magic. I used my hooves."

"What do you mean you didn't use magic?" Spike asked as he scratched his head in confusion. Twilight never usually told him about her dreams. The last he heard about one of her dreams was when she was dreaming. He heard her talking in her sleep about "Apples" and "A very special Stallion." Yeah he didn't want too think much more about that. He shook his head to recollect his thoughts. 

He shrugged, "So you didn't use magic in your sleep, big deal." 

Twilight raced over to spike inches from his face. "You don't understand Spike! A unicorn doesn't have a dream about not using magic! They don't start using magic in their dreams until they can do magic! Before that they dream like everypony else! And let me remind you. My horn is missing!" She tapped her bare forehead to prove her point. She turned away and put her determined face on. "We've got to figure out what happened to me."

Spike knew the drill. He walked over to the book cases and started to look at the books. "I'm already on it Twilight."

"Good! Now let me just picked up some books from over there." She tried to move a book by concentrating, but of course nothing happened. 

"Umm... Twilight? You might want to use your hooves." Spike was in front of Twilight holding a rather large book. 

Twilight blushed before she took the book. "Thanks Spike, now let's get to work!"

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"Twilight, it's been six hours and we've gone through every book twice." Spike was exhausted, his body was slumped over on one of the bookshelves. They had been searching for a answer or a clue for that matter. So far all they found out was that unicorns sometimes have a tendency to lose magic for a bit, but not a disappearing horn. "Please Twilight? Just five minutes."

Twilight looked up from her book. Her eyes were red and baggy, her mane was unkempt, and she was tired. She sighed, 

"Alright five minutes, but only five minutes. We've still got a lot more..."

Her speech was interrupted from a gentle snoring coming from the bookshelf. She smiled as she turned back to her book. But she frowned as she still found nothing. After six hours of researching they found nothing. Although not being able to use magic did make it a little hard to pick up and read books, but that didn't stop Twilight. 

A burst of green flame came from the bookshelf and a letter plopped on the floor. Spike climbed down from the shelf and picked up the letter. "Ahem!" Spike began reading the letter in his usual fake 'Royal Canterlot voice.' Which didn't do much, because his voice wasn't that deep. 

"Twilight  Sparkle, you are invited to spend this weekend in Canterlot. A dinner will be held in Canterlot with Princess Celestia tonight, Please come at 7:00 pm." 

Twilight's mouth hung open, "Tonight? Why this weekend? Why did she have to choose this weekend?"

"Spike stopped her before she could say anything else. "Wait there's more. There's a side note from Princess Celestia herself. 

Dear Twilight, I wanted you to come to Canterlot tonight to discuss your adventures in Ponyville.  We haven't been able to talk face to face in awhile so I wanted us to catchup. You may also bring Spike, I'm sure he will enjoy himself as well. Signed Princess Celestia."

Spike folded up the letter and set it up on the table. "Well looks as if we're going to Canterlot tonight."

Twilight trotted to the window and then looked out towards the ever slowly descending sun. "We can't go." She set her chin on the window sill. 

Spike jumped up next to her on the window sill. "We can't just forget about Princess Celestia's summons!" He got off the sill and walked out of the room. He return with two rather large suitcases. One green and one lavender. After placing a few items of his choosing into his suitcase he turned his attention to Twilight's. 

Twilight jumped over to him. "Spike!"

Spike looked up his packing, he loved to pack. "What?"

"We can't go," Twilight hung her head and began to walk to her bed. "We just can't."
Spike followed after her. He had seen Twilight sad, but when she thought she failed her mentor, that was when she was really sad. Now though her face looked like disappointment, as if she had failed Equestria. Spike hopped onto her back and hugged her neck. 

"Oh shucks Twilight, I know that the Princess will understand." He tried his best to sound reassuring. "Besides, maybe she can tell us what happened to your horn?" He said as he pointed to her forehead. 

Twilight stopped suddenly, throwing Spike off her back. "We still can't go!" She began to pace around her favorite table. The floor around the table had a slightly dented circle worn into it. "If she finds out that I can't do magic anymore she'll reject me as her personal student!"

"Twilight."

She continued to pace, "What if she finds a way to get my magic to return? But then I will have to learn how to do it all over again. Which means I have to go back too..." Her eyes narrowed, "Magic Kindergarten..." 

"Twilight..."

"But she might even banish me! For not being a good student. Letting my horn disappear like that! A responsible unicorn would keep track of her horn, but not me! No not me!

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight turned around to see the purple dragon panting from his sudden exertion of speech. "Huh?"

Spike took a few moments to catch his breath. "I doubt she will do anything like that; I mean taking you away from being her personal student for not having a horn? Please, your over reacting."

He hopped back onto her back, "Come on Twilight! A weekend in Canterlot? What's more fun then that?" Spike put on his best grin. Hoping that would be enough to persuade Twilight. 

Twilight sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's get ready to go." 

"Alright!" Spike jumped back over to the two suitcases. Spike began to count with his fingers, making sure everything was there. "Lets see... we got my toothbrush and yours, shampoo, and your 'Special Chest.'" Spike shuddered as he thought of the 'Special Chest.' Ever since Twilight and Spike came to Ponyville, this special chest came out of nowhere after their first week of living at Ponyville. Wherever they would travel, she would insist on bringing it. Spike respected her and brought it every time, but he never looked in it. All he remembers was that one time he and Twilight were camping out. And he heard a noise coming from Twilight's tent, so he peeked out of his. He heard giggling coming from the tent. The thing that left him dumbfounded was that Twilight had her "Special Chest" open and it was emitting a soft red light.

Spike shrugged and placed the chest into the suitcase, not wanting to remember what he knows about it. He closed Twilight's suitcase and picked it up. 

He started out the door, "Let's go!" 

"Wait a minute Spike, I need to do something first." Twilight was walking over to a drawer. Spike sat down and rolled his eyes. Twilight turned towards Spike, "Where's the construction paper?"

"Third drawer, second bookshelf from the stairs." Twilight rushed over to the described drawer and opened it up. "Thanks Spike!" She took out a piece of lavender construction paper and set it on the table. She looked around her, "Spike where are the scissors and tape?"
Spiked sighed, "Same bookshelf, one drawer down. Seriously Twilight you need to memorize the library. It would help you out a lot."

Twilight ignored Spike's comment and opened the drawer. Sure enough there they were, sitting neatly next to the glue. 
Twilight grabbed the scissors and tape and trotted back to the table. She picked up the scissors with her teeth and tried to cut the paper. Which was rather hard, because one, she had no magic and two, she had never used scissors before without magic. Twilight looked over towards Spike with the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster. 

Spike sighed and began to walk over. "I guess I'm going to have to get used to this." He picked up the scissors and held them out, ready to cut the paper. "What would you like me to cut out?"
Twilight beamed, "A cone."

"Why a cone?" Spike asked confused.

"Just cut it out please?"

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Spike mutter under his breath as he began to cut out a cone. He cut it with precise accuracy. He held it up to the light admiring his craftsmanship. Before he could admire it anymore Twilight snatched it with her mouth and brought it over to the tape. She carefully folded the 2D cone into a 3D cone. She placed a piece of tape on the cone to hold its 3D shape. She held up her masterpiece for Spike to see. 

Spike's eyes widened in the realization of what Twilight was doing. "You have got to be kidding me," Spike said as he claw faced. 

Twilight then proceeded to take two more pieces of tape and put them on two edges of the makeshift horn. She lifted her mane and placed the horn on her forehead. She gently padded down the pieces of tape to keep the cone in place. She let her mane fall down over the cone. Twilight now had, what it appeared to be, a horn again. She beamed towards Spike, seeing what his reaction would be to her new horn.

Spike crossed his arms, "She's never going to believe that. She's gonna see right through your disguise. Besides what if she wants you to use magic? What are you gonna do then?"

Twilight's smile seemed to fade. "I will try my best to make it look real. Also I will try my best not to try to use magic. If she asks me to do some magic, I'll tell her that I have a splitting horn ache whenever I try to do magic." Twilight started to rub her hooves in a evil maniac way.

"Well seeing there is no changing your mind Twilight, I'll go along with your plan." Spike picked up the two suitcases. "Alright, now can we go?"

Twilight trotted out of the door in front of Spike. "Yes, yes we can."

Spiked followed after her, "Canterlot here we come!"