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Prelude3,140 words
Waking Up1,680 words

Waking Up

The first thing the little earth pony saw when she opened her eyes was broken glass.

What happened? She wondered, looking around. The room was dark and crowded with belongings, but what kind, she didn't know.

Where am I? Wh-what’s going on…?

Surrounding her was more broken glass.

Did I do this? She wondered. She tried to think of what role she might have had, but to her horror, she couldn’t even remember what had happened before waking up. She couldn't even remember her own name...

Frightened, she took a step back, only retract her hoof when it made contact with something soft. Something alive…

The thing stirred, and the earth pony carefully maneuvered herself to get a better look at it. To her relief, it was just another filly, a pegasus. In the darkness, she could make out a pale, sea green coat and a mane with various pastel colors.

Maybe she knows what’s going on. The earth pony thought hopefully as she tentatively reached out to shake the other pony.

“Psst….wake up. Come on, wake up.” Despite not recognizing the pegasus, the earth pony could feel her concern rising as her companion was slow to come to.

“Please wake up!”

Finally, though, the pegasus lifted her head groggily.

“Oh, good! I thought you’d never wake up!” She cocked her head. “Now...who are you?”

The pegasus filly blinked up at her uncertainly.

“Do you know?” The earth pony prodded, her heart beginning to sink.

“C-Course I do! I’m...I mean...I can’t…” She stared at the ground, then admitted, “Actually, maybe not... and what about it?” She squeaked defensively. “Who are you?!”

“I was hoping you could tell me.” The earth pony admitted feeling a bit sheepish now.

“Why me? I’ve never seen you before!”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen you either! But…I feel like I should…”

The pegasus nodded. “Same here. Wanna go find out why?” She asked, gingerly fluttering into the air.

“Yeah! But how?”

“Dunno." Shrugged the pegasus, looking quite unbothered by her lack of a plan. "We should go see.”

The earth pony disagreed. “Or," She began, "We could just stay here and-” She froze.

“What? What’s wrong?” Asked the pegasus.

“Something’s wrong with my voice.”

“I don’t hear anything wrong-”

“It’s not like tha-oh, never mind. So I think we should stay here.”

“Well, I don’t know ‘bout you, but I think I’d recognize my own house, even if I can’t ‘member anything.” She looked around. “And I don’t recognize this place, so it must not be my house.”

“That’s stupid.” The earth pony whispered. “What if you forgot how to recognize stuff?”

“You don’t forget how to do that.” The pegasus scoffed.

“You might.” The earth pony countered.

“Might not! How do you know, anyway?”

“Well, how do you not know?” The earth pony stomped her hoof and immediately cried out.

“What’s wrong?” Forgetting their argument, the pegasus hastily flew over to see.

The earth pony lifted her hoof. A tiny shard of glass was lodged in the center.

“Man, it’s a good thing that you didn’t step on more of them.”

“This doesn’t feel like a good thing!” The earth pony retorted as she pulled it out with her teeth, causing it to bleed. “It hurts!”

“Don’t bleed too much.”

“I can’t help it!”

“Well, we’re lucky nobody else is here too-”

“Do you think it’s a burglar?” A worried, older mare’s voice suddenly sounded above them.

“If it is, they messed with the wrong house.” A confident stallion’s voice reassured her.

“Night, be careful!”

“Let’s get outta here!” Whispered the pegasus. “There’s gotta be a cellar door somewhere!”

The earth pony followed, trying to make her way through the broken glass without cutting herself again.

The pegasus instinctively flew back to help, but the earth pony shrugged her off.

"I got this," She muttered.

"We don't have time for this! I think I can carry you if-"

Creak- The door to the basement began to open.

"Crud! Hurr-" The earth pony slapped her good forehoof over her friend's mouth, and then silently limped towards the opening in the cellar door, splotching blood here and there on the floor.

"You're making a trail right to us," The pegasus complained, careful this time to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

"Once we get outside, we'll be good." The earth pony breathed back.

***

Eventually, they made it to the cellar door, wide open as it had been before. Neither one bothered to question how they knew where the cellar door was, as they were too relieved to have escaped their pursuers. The pegasus, having given up on offering assistance, flew up and waited for the other filly to scramble through.
Then, together, they scrambled behind a bush and lay quietly.

“Well,” They heard the stallion remark, “Whatever they were doing, they’re long gone now. I knew I should have locked that cellar door.”

“What could they possibly have wanted with our potions?”

“Eh, who knows? Probably just some foals on a dare."

"Do you think the potions did something to them?" The mare sounded worried.

If they did, they’ll probably have no choice to return to us.”

“Let’s report it first thing in the morning, just to be safe.” Velvet responded. “I hope we can help them.”

“Eh, that’s what they get for rooting around someone else’s magical substances.”

“Night Light!”

“I never said we wouldn't help them! Do you think they woke up our guests?”

"Maybe, maybe not. Let's go back to bed."

The cellar door closed and the voices faded.

The pegasus poked her head out from the bush. “Thank goodness they’re gone! If I had to be still a second longer, I was gonna-mph!”

“What if they look through the windows?!” Whispered the earth pony filly as she pulled her friend back down.

Slowly, keeping to the shadows, the two crept towards the gate leading out of the yard.

"Well, I dunno about you," Whispered the pegasus, leaning on the gate, "But I don't think we'll learn anything here..."

Though the other filly was uncertain of many things at that moment, one thing she was sure of-she did not want to be separated with the pegasus. And from the way the pegasus was hesitating, it was obvious she felt the same way.

Maybe she's right, The little earth pony thought. I don't recognize this house one bit, and I don't think I recognize those ponies very much easier. Either way...

She nodded. "A-Alright."

The pegasus smiled, unlatched the gate, and together they made their way towards the city beyond.

***

THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD Went Pinkie’s hoof on the door of Twilight’s castle.

A second later, an exhausted, bedheaded alicorn pulled the door open.

“We’re not interested in your product…” She mumbled sleepily. Then her eyes widened. “Pinkie?”

“Twilight! Thank goodness! My Pinkie sense was tingling, and flip-flopping and twitching-”

Twilight stood stunned for a moment as Pinkie finished explaining. Then,

“You woke me up because your hoof was tingling?!”

“Twilight, it was more than that! Something happened, like really really really really happened! I can feel it! Literally!” She held up her right hoof in Twilight’s face to demonstrate.

She watched Twilight’s face, which was concerned, but also very sleepy. “You don’t believe me? Not one teensy-weensy itsy bitsy eenie-beenie little bit?”

“Pinkie, you know I’m your friend and I trust you, and, as unfathomable as it is, your pinkie sense as well. But at the same time…” Twilight trailed off with a yawn. “It’s just a bit...OK...what exactly does your Pinkie sense say?”

“Either everybody will transform into a banana in five seconds…” Twilight raised an eyebrow- “Or two of our friends are in an accident of some sort!”

They waited five seconds. Nothing banana-related occurred.

Twilight looked at Pinkie. “So, what kind of accident?”

Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno.” She gasped. “Do you think it’s Applejack and Rainbow Dash? What if their train crashed? What if a giant meteorite hit your parent’s house?! What if-”

“Pinkie,” Twilight answered gently, “I presume you just got this sensation now, didn’t you?”

“Yeah…”

“And Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s train got in hours ago. So if something went wrong with the train, then why would you only have gotten the news just now?”

“Well-”

“And secondly, I’m sure if a meteorite hit any house, we would have noticed. We can see Canterlot from here! And thirdly, uh, would your Pinkie sense if told you if it were a really bad accident? Because if it didn’t-”

“Oh, you’re right Twilight. It would tell me. I’m sorry. I’m just super duper worried for two of my super duper best friends! But an accident’s an accident, even if it’s not a really really super duper ally-uper terrible accident, and I just-”

“First thing in the morning,” Twilight assured her. “I’ll send a line to them first thing in the morning and-”

“Maybe right now?” Asked Pinkie hopefully.

“Pinkie, Spike is asleep, and so are they,” Twilight answered.

“Princess Luna?”

“She’s busy with Dream Duty. Look, Pinkie, I’ve seen first hand how incredibly accurate your Pinkie sense is, but if it’s not life and death-it’s not, is it?”

Pinkie shook her head. “I guess not, but…”

“Whatever it is, we’ll probably have an easier time figuring it out in the morning,” Twilight said confidently.

“Can you at least try to get something to your parents?”

“Pinkie, they’re staying at a hotel tonight, not my parents.”

“Trust me on this. And then we can solve my pinkie sense problem in the morning...as long we can’t do it tonight?”

Twilight shook her head firmly. “Pinkie, you know how Fluttershy’s afraid of the dark! And Rarity’d throw a fit about interrupting her beauty sleep. Now is just not a great time.”

“Gotcha.” Sighed Pinkie.

“But I promise in the morning we’ll do something.” Twilight reassured her. "OK?"

"OK..."

And thus plans were made, but even as both mares went back to their beds with a worried fluttering in their hearts, neither one could know what the next week would bring...

Author's Note:

Is Twilight being out of character when she puts off Pinkie's worries 'til morning?

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