//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Regular Horse. // by beau101023 //------------------------------// Spike and Twilight stared at the stallion with shock. “What…” Twilight said, her jaw going slack. “How?” Her breathing suddenly quickened. The room slowly grew darker. The white horse turned a sickly black. It looked at her with dead eyes, glaring at her with unholy malevolence. Twilight was falling. And then there was nothing. “Twilight! Are you alright?” Spike said fearfully. “What…” Twilight said drowsily. “What happened?” she asked slowly. “You were staring at that guy over there, then you passed out!” Spike sputtered. “I… What?” Twilight said, her speech slurred. “You passed out!” Spike said, still jittery. Twilight tried to process this information as she lay on her side. I… Passed out? she thought drowsily. She was suddenly brought out of her stupor by a gentle shaking. “Twilight! Stay awake!” Spike said with alarm. “I know,” he said hurriedly, “I’ll go get a book, one of the books here is bound to help!” “Just stay here, Twilight,” Spike said with more confidence, “I’ll have you back on your feet in no time.” He rushed over to one of the lower bookshelves and scanned it quickly. “Not here,” he muttered, and rushed to another shelf. “Not here either!” he said with dread edging into his voice. As he perused shelf after shelf, he got more and more anxious for Twilight’s well being. “Aha!” he finally said with relief, “The Encyclopedia of Pony Ailments!” “Loss of consciousness,” he read aloud. “For a pony who has become unconscious, the most important thing is to make sure they’re still breathing. If they are not, immediately perform CPR to clear their airways.” Spike quickly put a hand on Twilight’s chest and found, with great relief, that it was steadily moving up and down. Spike read from the book yet again, “If the pony is breathing, elevate the hindquarters about six inches, and keep them warm.” “Alright, seems easy enough,” Spike said, finally calming down. “I just need a few pillows and a blanket.” Spike ran up the stairs to the room where he and Twilight slept and grabbed a quilt and several pillows. As he ran down the stairs, he wondered what had caused Twilight to faint in the first place. Maybe she has diabetes like Pinkie, he thought. As he entered the living room, he noticed the stallion standing near a wall. Is he really still here? he thought with mild contempt. When he came back into the kitchen, Twilight was still laying on the linoleum of the kitchen floor. He lifted up her head and slid a pillow gently under it, doing the same for the rest of her body until her tail end was awkwardly positioned above the rest of her. Then he threw the blanket over her, pulled up a chair, and waited uneasily for her to awaken. Blackness. Nothing but unending blackness. A pink flash, bouncing just out of sight. A point of light. The light grew larger, until it filled the void. Vague shapes, wild colors. Slowly, everything began to take shape. “Twilight?” Spike asked. “Are you awake?” “Wha…” “I can’t understand you Twilight,” Spike said with worry. “Don’t worry Twily, Aunty Pinkie is here to help!” “Wait, Pinkie Pie?” Spike said. “When did you get here?” he asked with incredulity “A few seconds ago!” Pinkie said brightly, smiling unnaturally wide. “Well okay then…” Spike said nervously. “So how is she?” Pinkie asked, suddenly looking abnormally sober. “Well… I think she’ll be alright,” Spike said uncertainly. “She hit her head when she fell, and I think that’s why she hasn’t woken up till now.” “I see,” Pinkie said, strangely calm. “Ugh… My head,” Twilight said weakly, reminding Spike and Pinkie she was still awake. “Oh! Twilight! Are you alright?” Spike asked, his eyes wide with concern. “I think so… Just a little dizzy,” she said weakly, “but who’s this Twilight you’re both talking about?” “So you mean you don’t remember anything?” Rarity said, the most shocked from the whole event. “Pretty much,” Twilight said. The five element bearers clustered close to Twilight, each trying to figure out what could’ve possibly happened. “What made you pass out?” Rainbow Dash said, looking puffed up. “I bet I could beat it into the ground in ten seconds flat,” she boasted, doing a small loop through the air. “Now Rainbow Dash, we shouldn’t speak of such things while Twilight is still weak,” Rarity said, putting an end to Rainbow Dash’s incessant boasting. “No Rarity, it’s alright, I’m fine, really,” Twilight said tiredly, “but it might be best if I just go get a little rest, I still have a bit of a headache.” “You get some sleep Twilight,” Applejack said reassuringly, “we’ll do our best to find a way to get your memory back.” “Couldn’t we just call Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “We can’t do that!” Spike said in alarm. “I don’t want her to know Twilight has lost her memory, what if she decides Twilight can’t use her element of harmony and sends her back to Canterlot!” Spike said in a panic. “Now, Spike, I doubt she would do anything like that,” Applejack said reasonably. “She isn’t some sort of cruel dictator, I’m sure she would be just as concerned for Twilight as we are.” “I still think it would be a bad idea,” Spike said nervously. “I don’t want the princess to think I let Twilight get hurt.” “I don’t think the princess would blame you, but if it makes you feel better, we don’t have to call her,” Applejack said hesitantly. “Yes, I’m sure we can manage without her help,” Rarity said confidently. “Alright,” Spike said with relief, “now how are we going to get her memory back?” “With a spell of course!” Pinkie said, bouncing in a circle. “Magic solves everything!” “Now, Pinkie, magic doesn’t solve everything, just most things,” Applejack said rationally. “Actually, it pretty much does solve everything,” Spike said, “at least whenever Twilight is around.” “B-but,” Applejack said haltingly. “It’s kind of true Applejack,” Rarity cut her off. “especially when Twilight’s around, like Spike said.” “W-well nevermind that, Twilight doesn’t remember how to use magic,” Applejack said. “Oh, that’s right, I never thought of that…” Rarity said thoughtfully. “We’ll have to get someone else to cast the spell on her.” “But we don’t even have a memory spell to use!” Applejack said. “Found one!” Spike said from across the room.” “Well that settles it,” Rainbow said. “Besides,” Rarity said, “what else could we use to bring Twilight’s memory back?” “Umm…” Applejack said slowly. “We could… hit her on the head again?” she said sheepishly. Everyone groaned, and Rarity facehoofed. “Let’s just go look for someone powerful enough to cast this spell,” Rainbow Dash said impatiently. As the five ponies trotted out the front door, no one seemed to notice the stallion standing in the doorway. After they had gone, he wandered up the stairs into Twilight’s room. He stared blankly at her sleeping form. He slowly moved, closing the gap between them. His muzzle was mere inches from her’s. Closer. Closer… He opened his mouth. His tongue shot out and licked her right on the nose. “AHH!” Twilight screamed. “What the hay?” she shouted at the stallion. “I’m not that kind of mare you stupid stallion!” she cried in alarm as she beat him out of her room. That moron licked me while I was sleeping! Twilight thought angrily. Does he have a crush on me? she blushed. “No No NO, Twilight, keep it together, he isn’t your type,” she said to herself, pushing all thoughts of the stallion out of her mind. He is kinda hot though… she thought, the thoughts of the stallion rushing back. “No, Twilight, get a grip, you don’t like him,” and with that, Twilight locked her door to keep any unwanted visitors out, and went back to sleep.