Irreversible

by Trick Question

Ponyville General

Twilight squirmed where she lay in darkness. It felt like there were sandbags glued to her eyelids, but with great effort she pried them open. It was dimly lit in... the hospital room?

"What... where am I?" she said, coughing. Looking around, she saw that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were standing by her side, along with an unfamiliar nurse who was currently taking her vitals. An IV was in one of her legs, and whatever had recently been injected into it was burning through her veins.

"Oh thank Celestia!" said Pinkie, leaping onto the hospital bed. The nurse stared daggers at her, but Pinkie ignored it as she gave Twilight an awkward cuddle-hug. "We were so worried about you!"

"We came as soon as we heard, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, we knew it wasn't anything you couldn't handle—"

"Why am I here? I don't remember any of this." Twilight looked around the room, her muzzle scrunched up.

Three other pairs of eyes glanced back and forth. "Twilight, your chest was injected with a gargantuan dose of platypus poison," said the nurse, finishing up his measurement of Twilight's blood pressure. "Even an enormous dose like the one you received is unlikely to be fatal, but the pain simply wasn't manageable. It didn't respond to morphine, which is typical for this kind of poison. We needed to place you into an artificial coma until we could prepare a remedy, so you've been unconscious for several hours. Fortunately, Zecora brought us a drug to counteract the poison, which saved us another day of wait time."

"But my memory... Holy cow. The pain must have been so terrible it caused anterograde amnesia!" said Twilight.

"It appears so. Those memories are unlikely to come back, but you're honestly better off without them," said the nurse. "Pinkie Pie, please get off the patient."

Pinkie rolled off the bed with a gentle shove from the nurse, then hopped back to her feet. "We just got here while they were administering the antidote thingie, and then mister nurse here said he could wake you up after the doctor gave him permission."

"You should be fine, but that wound will require care over the next few weeks to keep it from festering," he said, motioning to Twilight's chest. Beneath her hospital gown she could feel a large, thick gauze bandage on top of the spot, which still ached slightly. "Platypi aren't native to this area. How in Equestria did this happen?"

"It was Discord," said Twilight, with a sigh. Seeing the look of rage on Rainbow Dash's face, she added, "He already apologized for it, and it wasn't exactly his fault. It's a long story, but the short version is that it took place in the distant past."

Dash rolled her eyes. "Twi, you have got to quit this time-travelling nonsense." An incredulous look crossed the nurse's face.

"It wasn't time travel this time—er, not exactly, anyway. Nurse, could we have some privacy?"

The nurse nodded in response. "As you wish, Princess. Your vitals are normal, but it will take a few more hours before you can walk again. The doctor will be checking in with you shortly," he said, then left the room and shut the door behind him.

Twilight waited for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone. "Girls, I had another potion vision. I was inside Celestia's memories, but somehow I was able to affect the past through the vision," she said. "It doesn't make any sense, but I suspect it was Discord's weird abilities, not the potion itself. He could tell that I'd be looking through Celestia's memories in the future, and he took that opportunity to attack me through time."

"Well, I still plan to give that jack a piece of my mind!" grumbled Rainbow Dash. "Not to mention my rear hooves."

"Wait, this was before he was reformed, right? We can't blame him for that," said Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Okay, but why didn't he remember meeting you in the past? He should have warned you about it after he became our friend!"

"I don't know. Maybe he had to let it happen to avoid a paradox, or maybe he just felt embarrassed about it," said Twilight. "He doesn't want to talk about it yet, but I'm still going to ask Fluttershy to contact him as soon as possible. Where is she?"

"Applejack and my sister went to get Rockhoof, and Fluttershy went to see Meadowlark with the same plan. She's not going to tell her anything, just ask about the past," said Pinkie.

"It figures that Discord would be involved in this," said Dash. "At least he's not likely to tell Celestia, I guess."

"I'm not sure he is involved, to be honest. I'll write down a summary of my experience and let everypony read it later, but I haven't had time to completely digest it myself."

The door to the room opened, and Spike rushed inside, shutting it behind him. He leaned back against it, panting heavily. "Whew. Oh, Twilight! Thank Celestia you're okay! You're okay, right?"

"Yes, Spike. What's going on?" asked Twilight.

"Princess Luna just showed up at the Castle of Friendship. She wants to talk to you. I told her you were out running errands and then I rushed over here to check up on you," he explained, then stopped a moment to catch his breath. "If, uh, if you're okay to walk, you should head down to see her. It seems important, and she wasn't keen on the idea of coming back later."

"She met with me in my dreams last night," said Twilight. "She was concerned that Amethyst Eclipse wasn't appearing in the dream realm when he slept. If she's here in person, something new must have come up. Open that cabinet, could you? I need a bandage and cotton ball because I'm going to pull out this IV."

"Maaaaybe you should wait for the doctor, Twily," said Pinkie Pie, grimacing.

Twilight shook her head. "No time, and they'll understand. Pinkie, stay here to get the doctor's orders in case there's anything I should know. I'm sure there isn't anything vital, but maybe they have a prescription for antibiotics or something. Spike, I'm going to teleport the two of us to the Castle."

"Twilight, I really think you should listen to Pinkie on this one," said Spike.

Rainbow Dash retrieved a small adhesive bandage. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

Deftly, Twilight used her magic to slip out the IV and clamp the tiny wound, then apply the cotton ball and bandage. Her magenta aura lingered over her leg as she applied pressure. With a hoof, she threw off the covers, then leaped out of bed and crashed right onto the floor. A partially-filled bag of urine plopped gently beside her.

Spike ran over and grabbed her, helping her to her hooves. "You're not in any condition to teleport, Twilight." He hugged her tightly.

"I'm okay! I need everypony to know I'm okay," she said, her head wobbling. "Nopony can know—I mean, I'm perfectly capable of whatever we were going to do, to do. Anything. That. Let me go. And help me take off this ridiculous gown, it makes me look like an invalid."

Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment, and it looked as though she were about to vomit onto the floor. Rainbow Dash quickly lifted Twilight back into the bed and put the covers back on her. "New plan. Princess Luna's coming here," she said. "We'll just tell her you got stung by a platypus, which is basically true."

Twilight's face grew angry, but it was met by three sympathetic stares. "Okay! Fine! I don't need to be here, but whatever. I just need a few minutes, and I have to pull out this stupid catheter."

"Pinkie Promise me, Twilight," said Pinkie Pie. "While we're gone, you will not try to get out of bed or remove that catheter unless the doctor tells you to."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but half-heartedly responded with the motions of a Pinkie Promise. "I won't leave my bed until I talk to the doctor. Happy now?"

Spike breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Pinkie and Dash out of the room and shut the door.

Twilight frowned and snorted. She waited a few moments, then cast a spell to eavesdrop on her friends. The mere act of casting a spell gave her a brief but painful headache.

"...always acts like this when she's incapacitated. It's really, really important to Twilight that she has the ability to steer everything around her. She can't stand feeling like she's out of control," whispered Spike.

"I guess that makes sense," said Dash. "She didn't bother to make friends growing up, and she was probably under a ton of pressure as Celestia's student."

Twilight brushed aside a tear, wondering if what they were saying were actually true. Horsefeathers, Spike. Why can't you keep your mouth shut?

"Exactly. It's almost like she needs to prove to Princess Celestia that she deserves to be her student, even when Celestia isn't around," said Spike. "I don't think she's ever been able to accept the fact that she's a success."

"That's so super-sad!" said Pinkie Pie. "Can't we help her?"

"I can hear you!" shouted Twilight, and the voices went silent.

Twilight sighed again and cancelled the spell. She closed her eyes to rest them for just a moment, and fell asleep almost instantly.

---

A gentle nuzzle to Twilight's chin roused her from her nap. Her eyes fluttered open. Princess Luna was standing over her. Behind Luna stood Rainbow Dash and a doctor.

"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. I am sorry for your recent misfortune, though I am curious how a platypus could have stabbed you in the chest," said Luna. "Are you right?"

Twilight nodded. "I am. I was, um, tending some of Fluttershy's animals while she's away from Ponyville," she said, punctuating it with a yawn and a stretch of her legs. "I feel much better now. Wait, the catheter's out? Wow. If I slept through that I must have been really tired. I'm not sure why, given that I've been asleep all day."

"A medically induced coma isn't quite the same as sedation, princess. We didn't know how long you'd need to be kept under, so we decided not to take any chances with the health of your brain," said the doctor. "Anyway, you should be good to leave whenever you feel stable enough to walk. I'll release you to the care of your friends, who should take you home straight away. I'd like you to stay there for the day and keep yourself to minimal activity until tomorrow, and no strenuous activities for the remainder of the week."

"Thanks. I think I'll try to get up now," said Twilight, and Rainbow Dash and the doctor helped her out of the bed. She stood on slightly-shaky hooves.

The doctor nodded. "Excellent. By the way, don't ever remove your own IV again. Being a Princess doesn't mean you can do everything by yourself, you know. I'll leave the three of you alone."

"Make that the two of you," said Dash. "I have, um... a thing. Glad to see you're okay, Twi." Rainbow Dash and the doctor left and shut the door behind them.

"Do you need to talk to me in private, or can we talk as we walk?" asked Twilight, stretching her back.

"Walking is fine, provided you are able, Twilight. We may have sensitive matters to discuss, but I do not think anypony overhearing us would be able to pick up on the subjects absent of context," said Luna.

The princesses made their way out of the hospital and began walking to the castle, initially making small talk.

"Now that pleasantries are concluded," said Luna, "there are unusual matters to discuss which can wait no longer. Princess Celestia is in Manehattan at the moment, personally investigating reports of a predator targeting foals."

Twilight paused, winced, and placed a hoof over her face. Starlight!

"Is everything alright?" asked Luna.

"Y-yes, sorry. Mild headache for a moment there. That sounds terrible, though. I hope they catch whoever's responsible," she lied.

"Indeed. It is not known whether a threat actually exists, but the reports are troubling. Several foals in the area have exhibited a transient loss of short-term memory, and there have been reports of a few suspicious strangers who may, in fact, be the same pony in disguise," said Luna. "The Manehattan Museum of Equulogical History appears to be the location of interest, though this seems odd, as it is not a place where foals frequent—except on field trips, in which case they are closely monitored."

"Well, hopefully it's just a false alarm," said Twilight, turning her head to smell a freshly-baked pie as they passed through the market. "I take it that's not why you came to talk to me, though."

"Neigh," said Luna. "The primary purpose of my meeting is that my sister's bedchambers have been ransacked in her absence."

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. "You're kidding. Are you kidding? Her room should be guarded even when she's not there, shouldn't it?"

"It is. An intruder managed to enter a magically-warded, guarded room without leaving a trace. By all rights, it should be impossible," said Luna, and the two resumed walking. "I have not yet informed my sister, as it would be a distraction from her trip."

"Are there any more details?"

Princess Luna nodded. "It happened in the middle of the night, last evening, around the time you and I met in the dream realm. After hearing some noises in the room, the two door guards opened the door and entered. As yet, they are unable to describe what they witnessed," said Luna. "They are being treated for minor mental trauma. I arrived not long afterwards and found them staring transfixed at the ravaged but unoccupied room."

"There weren't sparkly hoofprints by any chance, were there...?" asked Twilight, then silently cursed herself for impulsively revealing the datum.

Luna bore a curious look on her muzzle. "Why, yes, there were. Are you familiar with the beast responsible?"

Twilight Sparkle sighed. "Well... maybe. I didn't want to tell anypony until I knew more, but I think the same creature toppled most of the books in my castle library," she said. "It seemed to be searching for something, and it stole two books: the one we published recently that included your journal, and a foal's story of no notable importance. Neither one is rare, so I'm guessing it didn't find what it was actually looking for, or maybe it isn't intelligent and the missing books were taken at random."

"Most concerning. May I see your library?" said Luna, as they approached the castle.

"Of course."

When Twilight opened the castle door, Spike was standing on the other side. "Oh! Um, hi ladies. I'll just head upstairs."

"We are headed that way as well, I believe?" said Luna.

"Spike, Princess Luna wanted to see the library. Would you come with us?"

"Sure thing, Twilight. Heh, I'll lead the way," he said, with a wink.

Reaching the library, Twilight opened the door and motioned inward with a sweeping leg. "Here we are."

The three friends stepped inside and Princess Luna began walking around, casually eyeing the books. "One would not know this place was victim to an intruder," she said. "How much time has passed since the event?"

"It happened the night before last. I've told you all the details already. Spike and my other friends helped clean up before I..." said Twilight, and then she paused.

Do I want Luna to know I was in Canterlot?

"Before you...?" said Luna.

"Um, before I ended up in the hospital. I'd rather not think about it at the moment," said Twilight.

Luna turned to focus her attention on the little dragon. "Spike, is there anything you observed other than the hoofprints? In what manner were the books disturbed?"

"Uh, Twilight?" said Spike, sweating.

"You can tell her all the details," said Twilight, and then she waggled her brow outside of Luna's range of vision, adding, "just omit any... unnecessary details, like anything that happened outside of the library."

"No, please. Provide as much detail as you can," said Luna. "I will not be bored."

"Right, I understand. Ahem. Well, I don't know what Twilight told you, but it's pretty cut and dried. The books were everywhere, but there was no damage to the bookcases or walls or anything. Two books ended up missing," said Spike. "One was an awesome storybook, and the other was one of the copies of Twilight's journal, which included the old journal notes from you and your sister."

"Spike was the one who found the sparkly hoofprints. Then I went to get Zecora, right Spike?"

"No, I think... oh, right, right," said Spike, and then his eyes widened. "Um, so Twilight went to get her. Zecora took a look around and said there was residual magic where the hoofprints used to be. She took one of the books with her to perform some tests on it. Other than proving the creature was inherently magical, she wasn't able to figure out anything new."

"And what size were these hoofprints?" asked Luna.

"Huge. Like, Rockhoof-sized," said Spike, gesturing with his arms.

Luna nodded solemnly. "It would seem to be the same creature, though it has apparently become more destructive," she said. "My apologies, Twilight, but my stay must be short—I need to return to Canterlot before my shift begins. It is regrettable I had to wait several hours for you to awaken, but I thought it best not to invade your dreams given your need to recuperate. Nonetheless, I am most heartened I came to visit this afternoon. These facts have been quite illuminating."

"Speaking of illuminating," said Spike. Twilight turned her head and noticed her butt was glowing.

"Now?" said Twilight, and she sighed. "Well, let's head downstairs and see where I'm supposed to go."

They walked downstairs and Twilight opened the door to the throne room. Twilight's cutie mark was hovering directly over Applejack's throne. In an instant she teleported across the room.

"The Cutie Map," said Luna, as she and Spike entered the room. "It has been so long since..." she said, and her voice trailed off.

"Twilight, why are you sitting in Applejack's throne?" asked Spike, jogging over to meet her. "And, um, your chest..." Twilight shot Spike a warning glare, and he pinched his lips tightly together.

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat noisily. "Oh, you know, just for a change of pace, heh."

"Your chest appears to be glowing," said Luna as she approached Twilight. "And I do not see your cutie mark on the Map."

"Oh, well, I guess the Map's just taking its time, heh. Nothing too weird about that." Twilight looked down at her chest. The light shining out through her flesh looked vaguely like her body was a dim lantern.

"Is it not odd that your chest is glowing from within? The Cutie Map should only signal you with your cutie mark," said Luna. She reached out and pointed at the gauze bandage covering the center of Twilight's chest. "We must return you to the hospital at once! Perhaps this 'platypus' injury is magical in nature."

Wincing, Twilight stepped down off the throne. "Oh! Well, that's strange," she said. "I guess I was sitting on... my own cutie mark? Wow, what a funny coincidence." The glowing image of her cutie mark spun in the air almost directly over Applejack's seat.

Spike opened his mouth to speak, then quickly shut it. He mopped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"This is most unusual, Twilight. Your mark is not hovering over Equestria or the outlying lands at all," said Princess Luna. "Why would the Map do this?"

"It... oh! I think it means I need to speak with Applejack," she said. "I mean, obviously, because it's hovering over her throne and all."

"Perhaps. But why would it not simply place your cutie mark alongside hers, here in Ponyville?" asked Luna.

"Heh, well, you know the Tree of Harmony! It can be as unpredictable as—"

The sound of the castle doorbell rang out, and the tension left Twilight's face. Thank goodness.

"I'll get it," said Spike.

"Hay! Let's all go together," said Twilight, quickly ushering Luna and Spike out of the throne room.

The trio returned to the castle entrance, where Spike opened the door. Standing outside was Moondancer, wearing her sweater and saddlebags.

"Twilight!" said Moondancer, and ran forward for an embrace. Twilight Sparkle leaned back away from the hug and blushed.

The look on Moondancer's face went from confusion, to embarrassment, then sadness. "Oh... oh," she said.

Twilight blinked a few times. "No! It's not like that..."

"I can't blame you," said Moondancer, gritting her teeth as her eyes began to water.

"I just... I didn't want Luna to see."

"Of course you don't want her to see," said Moondancer, eyes closed with her neck hung low.

Twilight Sparkle reached forward and grasped Moondancer by the shoulders. "Moondancer, think. We don't want Celestia to know about this yet."

"It doesn't matter! Why would you want anyone to—"

Twilight leaned forward and firmly kissed Moondancer on the lips, pulling her close in her forelegs.

"Oh, wow," said Spike. "This is... wow. Wow."

"Perhaps now would be an appropriate time to make my departure," said Princess Luna. "I hope the two of you fare well..."

Moondancer broke the kiss and wiped her eyes. "I... I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, Twi. Does she know?" she asked Twilight, motioning with her head toward Luna.

Twilight turned around to face Luna. "Okay, um... here's the deal," she said. "Princess Celestia doesn't know that Moondancer and I are seeing each other. I mean, figuratively, like this. We'd like to keep it a secret for now."

"We might as well lay our hoof on the table," said Moondancer. "Princess Luna, your sister is very worried about Twilight. She thinks she's being controlled by some evil force or something, so she ordered me to spy on her," she said. "I woke up one morning in the throne room, apparently having blacked out and lost my memories. She told me that Twilight was responsible for my memory loss, but Twilight wasn't anywhere around."

"We'd rather Celestia believe Moondancer is still spying on me than to know we're... um, in a relationship, I guess? Wow, it feels weird saying that," said Twilight, looking over at Moondancer. "But good! Weird, but good. A good weird."

"Ah. You suspect my sister is the one who knocked you unconscious," said Luna. "This is very troubling. She spoke nothing to me of this matter, which suggests she is hiding something from all of us."

"Can you keep this a secret for now, Luna?" asked Moondancer. "All of Twilight's close friends know about it, so we'll be able to intervene if there really is something wrong with Twilight. But we don't want to take a chance talking to Celestia if she might end up blanking our memories again."

Princess Luna nodded. "I will refrain from discussing this with her, but I shall probe in subtle ways to see if I can learn what she is hiding. Hopefully it is not my sister herself who is under the influence of disharmony."

"Okay. Just... please contact us before you decide to speak with her about any of this," asked Twilight. "Could you do that for me?"

"Certainly, Twilight. You have my word," said Luna. "Do have Spike send news my way if you learn anything more," she said. "I apologize again for my short stay, but I must return to Canterlot now." Luna's horn glowed, and then she disappeared in a cloak of shimmering shadow.

"I'm guessing we both have a lot of information to share," said Moondancer. "What happened to your chest?"

"Long story, which I'll tell you over a late dinner. Hope you're hungry," said Twilight. "The short version is I had a vision, and in the vision a past version of Discord attacked me. So he knows we're looking into that place whose name I can't remember again, but I don't think he'll tell Celestia." Twilight walked Moondancer and Spike into the castle and back into the throne room.

Moondancer looked at her hoof, which she had written on in permanent marker. "It's Quifons. Oh, look. Your cutie mark is... wait, it's hovering off the table, isn't it?" she said. "Oh no. I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"It means you're going to Quifons, doesn't it?" asked Spike. "Oh, I read her journal, Moondancer—we all did."

"Huh. Well I guess it's not a secret what happened between us," said Moondancer.

Twilight smiled. "It's okay. I was kind of freaking out about it at first, but I'm not ashamed of you Moonie. I want you to know that."

Moondancer smiled back with shining eyes. "Thanks, Twi. So, about the Map..."

"Spike's right, of course. It looks like the Map wants me to go to Quifons, which is the last place I should be," she said. "I'm tempted to go but I don't know how to get there, and I'm kind of scared that I wouldn't want to come back..."

"Then don't go," said Spike. "Seriously, forget the Map."

"I agree with Spike," said Moondancer. "But I have an additional reason."

"What's that?" asked Twilight.

"Remember your vision? Look closely at the terrain of the Map."

Twilight walked over to the Map and looked at it, eyes narrowed. "Oh! You're right!"

"What is it?" asked Spike.

Twilight laughed. "Applejack's throne is past the Dragonlands. It's not the Quifons side of the Map! That means the Cutie Map is sending me to... Tartarus?" she said, and gulped a mouthful of air. "Well, I'm not sure that's any better, but I'm still relieved. Funny, I never imagined that going to Tartarus would be a relief."

Moondancer sat down in Twilight's throne and set her saddlebags on the Map. "Maybe it would make more sense for me to tell my story first," she said. "I've got a whopper of a datum to share."

The edge of Twilight's jaw twitched. "Wow, I can't wait," she said, then turned to Spike. "Spike, I need you to bring me my journal, the one everypony was reading from. Once I'm up-to-date with Moondancer, I need to write down everything I've seen over the past twenty-four hours. Before you go to sleep, I'd like you to make two copies of the entire journal so that the others can keep current."

"You're the boss," said Spike, and he ran out the door.

"So what's the news?" asked Twilight, sitting awkwardly on the floor near the base of her own throne. She looked up to Moondancer with the intensity of a puppy waiting to be fed.

"It's the stars, Twi. They've moved."

Comments

[Love Moth]

Hell yeah, story updated right when i was looking at my Reading List. Great job!

[DDDDDDDDD23]

Will twilight destroy quiffons by going to it.
She is so high strung that she was more like a grownup even as a foal.

[toxbox]

I have to admit I'm pretty excited to see your interpretation of Tartarus! Great chapter as always.

[FanOfMostEverything]

I'm not in the least bit surprised that Discord has platypus poison glands. If anything, I wish I'd come up with that one myself.

I get the feeling that Twilight's desperate need for control will ultimately be Quifons's downfall. After all, it's what's driving this quest for the truth in the first place. Twilight doesn't want to be controlled by some bleak prophecy, even as she likely works to fulfill it.

Hmm. Short-term memory loss among foals. Cover story, ripples in Quifons, or Celestia justifying her own presence?

The sparkly hooves raise several questions, as does Luna's apparent ignorance of Celestia's actions. The left hoof doesn't seem to know what the right is doing, and while that could be good news for Twilight and company, it only makes me even more concerned than before. A rogue Celestia is a disturbing thought.

And romantic gestures definitely wipe knowledge of Quifons from a lover's mind. Can't say I'm surprised. The moving stars and Twilight going to Pony Hell, on the other hand...

Definitely looking forward to the next installment.

[Trick Question]

8672996

Hmm. Short-term memory loss among foals. Cover story, ripples in Quifons, or Celestia justifying her own presence?

Starlight using memory charms on foals in Manehattan (see previous chapters).

[mishun]

The Manehattan Museum of Equulogical History appears to be the location of interest, though this seems odd...

Starlight, you lazy ass!
You're supposed to be good at villainy.