The minute Spike arrived home with Scootaloo was the minute they noticed something was seriously wrong. Twilight had fallen off the couch they had taken ages to put her on and was withering around on the floor. She seemed to be chocking, and Spike, in a panicked frenzy, dropped the potion Zecora had given him and rushed to the alicorn's aid. Scootaloo caught the glass bottle before it could shatter on the crystal floor and gently set it aside on a coffee table before following the dragon.
"Twilight?" Spike called, trying to shake her awake. "Twilight? Wake up, Twilight, wake up!" In his moment of panic, his senses had been dulled and he hardly noticed the alicorn's outer body temperature until Scootaloo, who tried to wake the princess up with him, gave a cry of pain and declared that Twi's fur felt like lava. Spike looked at the young pegasus like she was crazy, giving him just the distraction he needed to feel the mare's lava-like body heat. He gasped and drew his hands away, then looked at Scootaloo. "Go get a bucket of water." He instructed, "make sure it's ice cold. Maybe that'll help cool her down..." He added the last part to himself as his attention was drawn back to his care taker.
Scootaloo quickly ran to the kitchen, fetched a pale pink bucket, and filled it halfway full with freezing water. She then lifted it out of the sink, staggering a little under the extra weight, and brought it back to where Twilight was. Spike took it gratefully and splashed every single drop onto the mare's torso. That causes her hooves to move as if she were jumping up and down, but nothing much else. Spike handed the bucket back to the pegasus and asked her to refill it. "Do you really think this'll work?" Scootaloo asked him before she left.
Spike shrugged helplessly. "I dunno," he sighed, "but it's the best we can do for now."
Icy cold air hit Twilight square on as she somehow stayed alive in the massive pool of burning lava. Her oxygen supply was dead, and she was having trouble keeping what little she caught before it all disappeared. But when the blast of air hit her, it shocked her, making her gasp and the little amount of oxygen she had floated away.
She was terrified. A very sad and sudden realization hit her square i n the chest. Even if this was in her mental state, she was going to die here, and nopony would be able to save her.
Another icy blast of air blasted her on her back, not startling her this time, but getting her slightly annoyed. It's not going to help she thought, they're wasting they're time...but...at least they're trying... as she thought this, ice started to form around her torso. She recognized the helpful cold in seconds and looked back to see what was going on. The second she looked back, they melted, and the unbearable heat met her once again. She struggled and tried to bring the ice back with her thoughts, but it wouldn't work. She figured the cold air was the key and prayed for another surge to come her way.
It seemed like ages, but one finally did, stronger than the last two. Twilight tried to keep her mind on positive thoughts about Spike and 'Scootaloo' and the ice crystals formed around her torso, legs, neck, head, and finally, muzzle.
She, with help from her friends, had fought the heat. Now all that was left to do was wake up before the lava seeped in again.
Scootaloo was ready to pour the fourth bucket full of water on the alicorn, avoiding the puddle that surrounded her, when Spike raised his claw in a way that told her to stop. She set the bucket down and quickly came over to him to see what was wrong.
She saw Twilight's eyelid flutter, as if it were trying to open, and got the jist. The water was surprisingly working.
After a minute or so, Spike got up, got the bucket, and dumped it on the mare's face, shocking her awake. Twilight started gasping for air, hurriedly muttering something about a evil presence in between her wild breaths.
"Whoa, whoa, Twi, what's wrong?" Spike asked, grabbing a nearby towel for her. "Calm down first, we can't understand you."
Twilight gratefully took the towel and wrapped herself up so she'd be warm and dry. Before she could finish, however, her usual pink aura turned a menacing black and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. "Eid tsum ekips." Spike and Scootaloo took a step back, unnerved from what was happening. Twilight's wings spread out and her horn started to ignite, lifting poor Spike up by his tail. "Eid tsum ekips."
Spike swung to and fro and tried desperately to escape the aura, but was useless against the strong pull. "Twilight!" He cried, "Twilight, stop! You're scaring me!!!" Luckily, Scootaloo, who was frozen with bewilderment, took action and ran up the the alicorn and clapped her muzzle, causing her to get out of her trance.
She blinked, dropped Spike, and stared at the two. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo scowled, "you went all crazy and started speaking gibberish or something."
Twilight cocked her head, as she didn't seem to recall that. "I did?" She asked, receiving nods and irritated looks from the two. She paused, then added "do I normally do that?"
"NO!" They chorused.
Spike took a step forward, still slightly shaken from the experience, and asked Twilight what she had seen. She closed her eyes and tried to grab the memory the best she could. "I saw five rooms, one orange, one pink, one white, one blue, and one yellow. I saw we were flying to Canterlot and saw Celestia tied... something else happened, but, I saw..." she paused, the memory getting fuzzier and fuzzier with every passing second. "I---I saw...."
Scootlaoo was the one to step forward this time. "What did you see?" She asked eagerly.
"My--my friends." Twilight finished. "Was...was that a memory, or...?
Spike gasped and exchanged a look with Scootaloo. "The spell must be wearing of..." he muttered to her; then turned to his caretaker. "That must be a clue to solving this whole fiasco." He thought aloud, "I think we should go over to Canterlot...maybe Princess Celestia will be there and send us to where the mares are!"
"Has she responded to that letter you've sent her yet?" Scootaloo asked, in case she might have missed it.
He shook his head and sighed. "I'm a little upset she hasn't responded, really worried, actually, but I'm sure she's just really busy right now....she might have found out about all this already and is trying to figure out how to fix it, like us!" He turned to Twilight again and eagerly asked her if she remembered how to fly.
"Uh....." she unfurled and looked at her wings uncertainly. "...kind....of...? Uhm....I don't think that well, actually, but, does this place have a...a...a train station?"
"Of course," Spike proclaimed, heading towards the door. "That was my back up plan. Flying is usually a lot faster, is all." Twilight looked a bit disappointed that she couldn't help out, but Spike kept reassuring her that they'd make it work and that it wasn't something to stress about. Once everypony was out the door, Spike made sure to lock it before catching up with them.
Left unattended and forgotten on a coffee table in the entry way was the hoof-made magenta potion.