Four Walls

by Pokey the Unicorn

The doctor's office

The waiting area was typical and boring. It was small, with a few seats against a wall and not much else. The unnatural silence was enough to make somepony's ears ring, and it smelled of musty carpet and disinfectant. Visiting hours weren't for another four hours, so it was empty.

Save for Twilight Sparkle.

She stood in the middle of the room, staring at the carpet. To an outside observer, she was still. Her body was motionless, and her eyes remained fixated on the same patch of carpet in front of her hooves.

Twilight Sparkle was far from still. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could feel her chest throb. Her stomach churned with anxiety, and her mind raced. She stood there retracing her thoughts, going over events in her mind again and again, willing her desires to become reality.

If only I had seen it sooner. If only I had done something. If only...

She swallowed. Her throat was so dry, it felt clogged. She didn't deserve the love she had been shown. She didn't deserve to have these feelings for Rainbow Dash. What kind of mare has a marefriend for only one day?

It was one day, Twilight. It was. Not zero, one. She told herself.

It was all so clear in her mind. Everything made so much sense now. The right course of action was glaringly obvious.

So why hadn't she taken it?

--------------------------------

Twilight sat outside Rainbow's room, waiting. The pegasus had finally woken up, and Twilight had raced to the rehabilitation center as soon as she got the news. She felt nervous. Terrified. Sick. If Applejack wasn't here for her... well, Twilight was just glad that she was.

The doctor came out.

"Hello." He said, smiling warmly. "I'm the doctor who's handling the case. Twilight Sparkle, is it?"

"Yes, and this is Applejack. Can we see her?" Twilight asked hopefully.

"At the moment, no. We're don't know how extensive her amnesia is at this point, so we'll need to keep her overnight for observation." He said, placing a comforting hood on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm truly sorry, but you'll have to come back tomorrow. I'd suggest staying with loved ones. Is there a friend's house you can stay at for the night?"

"Yes." Applejack said. "She'll be staying with me." Twilight gave her a brief grateful smile.

"Good. Twilight, you can come in tomorrow morning to see me first-thing. We should have the results by then."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Thank you doctor." She didn't care about hiding the devastation in her voice right then. The doctor gave them one last nod before leaving. Twilight buried her face in Applejack's mane.

Applejack could feel her quivering gently. "You alright darlin'?"

"I don't know if I can do this, Applejack..." Twilight whimpered, barely audible. Applejack wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn and held her tightly.

"You can do this Twi. Just remember, you don't have to do it alone. We're all here for you. Now listen, there's nothing we can do here. I'm insisting that you stay with me tonigh-"

"No, no. I can't leave her here. I have to stay!"

"Twilight, sitting here ain't going to do anything useful. We're going home now, and you can get up bright and early tomorrow to go see her. Besides, we've got the varmints tied up in my barn, and I want some answers. Fluttershy was downright murderous when we left her and Rarity with them, and I don't wanna be gone for too long, just in case." She paused, thinking. "Then again..."

--------------------------------

"Twilight Sparkle? Thuh doctor'll see ya now."

Twilight jumped. Her head snapped up, and she swallowed reflexively. Steeling herself, she followed the receptionist down the corridor to the doctor's office. The receptionist grunted something at her when she reached the appropriate door, then left. The door was ajar, and she took a moment to calm herself before she went in.

He didn't look up when Twilight entered. He just sat at his desk reading a file.

"Hello doctor. H-how is she?" Twilight asked, terrified of the answer. The doctor muttered something inaudible, indicating for her to wait.

Twilight couldn't bear to wait. She had been waiting for four days now. Her hooves shifted anxiously as she looked around the room, hoping to find some kind of distraction. The office was fairly orderly, everything was clean and organized save for the enormous stack of papers on the desk that seemed to loom over her imposingly. She noticed that he hadn't unpacked his bags yet, which made sense, as she was the first pony there.

"So um... how are you doctor?" Twilight attempted to fill the silence. Anything would do; it was unbearable.

"Eh, good." He replied dismissively.

"I uh... I notice you're not wearing your bowtie today. It's a shame, I thought it looked good on you."

The doctor's head shot up. "What?!" He shouted, shocked. Twilight shrunk back, lowering her gaze meekly.

"I-I'm, I'm sorry." She whispered.

"I spilled coffee on it." The doctor snapped, glaring at Twilight. A second later, he switched to a genial smile.

"So what can I do for you?" He asked her cheerfully. Twilight's ears drooped. The doctor had forgotten her. Twilight had seen him only yesterday! How could he have just forgotten so easily?!

Twilight began to feel anger stab at her heart. She took umbrage at the doctor's carelessness, and it was slowly overtaking her dread. She scowled at him.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. I need to know how Rainbow Dash is." She growled, unable to keep a lid on her emotions. The doctor frowned at her, then walked over to a filing cabinet.

"Do you remember her number?"

"Rainbow Dash! Why have you put away the file?!"

"What number, miss?"

"I don't... I don't know."

...

"Ah, here it is on my desk. Patient Two-four-nine."

"Rainbow Dash." Twilight pressed.

"Patient Two-four-nine." The doctor repeated, skimming over the file. "Admitted in critical condition, stabilized in comatose state, observed over three day period, emerged with symptoms of amnesia, observed overnight. Patient shows extreme symptoms of complete retrograde amnesia plus minor anterograde with expected transience."

Twilight's anger left her instantly. Her hope had been shattered. She had assured herself that the amnesia was just a side effect of the coma. Rainbow would surely remember everything once she woke up and got back on her hooves. Twilight had waited four days to see her. She wanted nothing more than to see her smile, feel her touch...

"Did you say extreme amnesia?"

"Yes. We ran tests, and the patient has lost her memory entirely."

"No, that's... Are you sure?"

"It says so right here on the file." The doctor repeated, levitating the file over for her to read. she glared at it petulantly. She didn't want to read the words on it. She didn't want to read that Rainbow didn't remember her. The doctor simply had the wrong version of the file. Twilight wanted to read the one that said that Rainbow was fine. The one that said that Rainbow would be happy and healthy when Twilight walked in, and she'd smile when their eyes locked. They'd finally hug each other, and...

The sheet hadn't been filled out entirely. There were fields down the bottom that had been left blank. There was room for error here. Twilight could fix this.

"Hey, what about these questions? Have you asked her these yet?"

"No? What questions?"

"These questions right here at the bottom of the file! 'Question number one, what is your name?' Those questions!"

"Those questions are for staff only." He replied curtly, taking back the file.

"Well then can I please see her? I understand that visiting hours haven't begun yet, but I could help her with her memory loss, she'll recognize me!"

"No, I can't allow that. It's not visiting hours, you said so yourself. Also, based on her symptoms, it would be unwise to reveal her identity to her."

"Huh?"

"You can't tell her who she is. Her mind is... fragile, and filling in the gaps for her could be dangerous."

"Dangerous? What? How? I've read books on the subject, and they never mentioned anything about that."

"Well, this is an extreme case. Your books don't cover this."

"But how is it dangerous? What could happen?"

"Well, any number of things. Brain damage, another coma... she might not remember at all. You can't tell her. Now, I have paperwork to attend to. I'd like you to leave, please." The doctor casually returned to his paperwork.

Today was going to be the day. The last four days had left Twilight a quivering wreck, but she had held out for today. She and Rainbow were going to be reunited.

... But it wasn't going to happen. Twilight had felt the fear, the horror, the anger, the regret; now there was nothing left. She stood there staring at the table blankly. Her facial expression remained unchanged as tears streamed down her cheeks. When she spoke, her voice was flat and lifeless.

"I've been waiting four days. Four days to see her again. When I saw her three days ago, she was in a coma. It felt like I was standing over her dead body. I need to see her. I need to see her... move, look around, speak. I can't do it. I can't leave. Please doctor..." She looked up at him, tears blurring her vision. The doctor averted his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. A few seconds later, he relented.

"Fine. I'll let you see her. Go wait in the waiting area while I notify the guard. And take these questions too."

A wistful smile was all she could manage.

She returned to the waiting area reluctantly, trying not to think about anything. For the next five minutes, she waited. Then, a dark brown unicorn rounded the corner, his gaze settling on her.

"Twilight Sparkle? This way."

He led her down a long corridor lined with doors. Rainbow's room was right down the end. She stood there as he unlocked it, taking deep breaths.

Twilight knew that she wasn't going to be able to tell Rainbow that they knew each other. She'd ask too many questions. Rainbow might not even trust her.

"Two-four-nine! You have a visitor!" The guard hollered through the doorway.

Once she was sure that she felt relatively calm, she took a deep breath and walked in.

"Do you need me to stay on hoof, ma'am?" The guard asked her.

"No, that will be all, thank you sir." She replied.

Rainbow stood in the opposite corner of the room. Her stance was low and defensive, and she glared at Twilight with a mix of rage and fear.

"STAY BACK!" She screamed. "Don't come any closer! I'll tear you to bits!!"

Twilight hadn't quite been expecting this. She ignored her feelings, walked over to the middle of the room, and sat down.

"I mean it! They've got me in isolation for a reason you know! The other prisoners are all scared of me! You don't wanna push me!"

Rainbow, please don't be scared. It's me, Twilight. You're safe. I promise you I'm going to help you through this. Whatever it takes. I love you...

"Hello. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

Comments

[Pokey the Unicorn]

Chapter six is up! One more to go now.

I'm pleased with this. I got it all written up from scratch in record time.

Just a note, 249 has temporary short term memory retention problems, which is why she didn't remember any of the tests, and partly why she thinks that she was in the cell for months instead of days.

[sierra_seven_]

Wait, no!
This can't be the end!
*Sierra runs off to check if the story is completed*

1264267 Aww, only one more?

[Pokey the Unicorn]

1264276

Well, yeah. The next/last chapter will resolve the mystery and reveal everything. Do you think there could be more to write about? What do you think will happen? (< Not sarcasm, actual question.)

[sierra_seven_]

1264367 You'll probably cover this in the next chapter, but hearing about her rehabilitation into community and rediscovering lost memories and stuff would be awesome!

[werewolf435]

aw damn. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO END THERE?! I WANNA KNOW WHAT TWI WILL DO!

omgdroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RageFace.jpg

Although it's kind of interesting to see this from Twi's POV (can't believe she wrote that letter. Heh, didn't know she had it in her.)

[Pokey the Unicorn]

1264603

The end of the latest chapter leads into the events of the second. Did you forget, silly?

[werewolf435]

1264615 No, but I just saw this story today and finished reading through all the chapters. So that cliffhanger is where this story has ended so far. And it kills me . Great for storytelling, horrible for my peace of mind.

[Galicorn]

1264367 Well, I don't know how exactly everything will work out (I hope for your own health that it's gonna be an happy ending!) but Iam certain that you could expand the story a bit further.
Whatever^^, I love this story and it doesn't matter whether it is a short or a long one ^^
I await eagerly the next chapter.
Cheers
and sorry for my english, its late and Iam tired and its not my mainlanguage and I suck and school sucks and sorry for bothering you all
GN!

[Pokey the Unicorn]

1264628

Ohh, I get what you're saying. You confused me when you said "I WANNA KNOW WHAT TWI WILL DO!"

1264689

Heh, dw. It's late for me too and I'm tired too.

We'll just have to see where the story goes...

[DbzOrDie]

But.... Wut.... she's Rainbow Dash? But she was visited by Rainbow Dash.
This story isn't scientifically possible *headplosion*

[xXshaydXx]

would live for this to continue..249 trying to get her memories back in future chapters (if you do decide to make more) i dont want it to end!

[Pokey the Unicorn]

180 views and only 11 comments. Argh.

Come on guys, I wanna know what you're thinking!!

[Chengar Qordath]

It's worth noting that the visit by "Rainbow Dash" doesn't actually describe Rainbow at all, and 249 initially mistakes Fluttershy for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow's name is way too obviously fitting for a mistaken identity to crop up like that.

Perhaps "Rainbow Dash" was an effort to sneakily remind Rainbow of her name?

[Pokey the Unicorn]

1284458

I'm glad the first chapter catches your interest like that.

I'd love to know what you're thinking, so comment more!

[Pokey the Unicorn]

1284608

Oh hoof, the pinkie promise. I completely forgot about that. ARGH!!

Oh well, there was bound to be a mistake somewhere...

[James Rye]

Well, that hurts right in the feels.

And makes the sexy letter, the wonderbolt poster, the daring doo books, her old friend visits and ofc the RD fake all more horrible as the true RD never remembered anything about herself, her past or her name. Nothing. Heck, she even went AGAINST her fake self the moment it attacked Twi, which is both good and bad. Good as in seeing Twi as friend/wanting to protect her and bad as in that she dislikes RD, somepony she actually is but had forgotten it.

I still dislike that you made Pinkie of all Ponies tell her her name. Anypony would have been better than her, the pony who´s always saying "breaking a promise is the fastest way to lose a friend´s trust. FOREVER!", Well, she surely has lost Twi´s trust and that probably for forever too. I know that i would stop trusting Pinkie after this point, especially after leavin RD in her trust and care after making sure her "middle name is "responsibility"". That´s really sad.
AJ could have said it for being honest/not able to lie to her friend about it.
Rarity could have said out of pity for Twilight´s pain and wanting to see both happy again
Fluttershy could have done for the same reason or for being talked/pressued into it by 249
Even Twi could have done it after many days of fruitless ways of helping Dash to recover her memory.
But Pinkie, espically after making such a promise to twi basically twice, that´s just unbelieveable. Maybe dropping hints, like if she feels anything towards Twi or what she thinks about her, etc, but not outright telling her her name and even worse after havig Twi deceived to get some time alone.

If the doctor believes telling her her name is a bad move and if RD after all those many many hints doesn´t remember herself at all, then it is better to stay put and wait it out, at least for a while. Not telling her her name the same day she got outta the hospital when the doctor had warned about it.

I loved how you made a recap of the first/second chapter but of Twi´s POV and still leaves RD becoming grey and forgetting her memory a mystery. The next chapters gonan be very interesting, especially regarding how you will explain Pinkie´s behaviour to break her own promises.

[James Rye]

1284627

Well, you could use it for some rethinking. Why would Pinkie break her own promise, her own Pinkie rule, for what reason? What does she hope to achieve when she must be fully aware that she´s about to lose Twi´s trust in her forever? What will the others think about Pinkie´s move, how will they react? Where they all okay with Twi´s plan/agreement with the doc not to spill the beans about her name or did they thought similar like Pinkie?
How will Twilight react, seeing how what she wanted to prevent most did happen cause one of her best friends deceived her and broke the promise she had made with her? How will Rainbow react to hear she´s supposed to be that rude and arrogant pony who had hurt Twilight? Another breakdown? Coman? Hirn damage? Or worse, denial? Complet and full denial that she ever could be that Pony and its impossible and whatnot? Does she believe Pinkie or not? In both cases why and how will she react according to the reason she does believe her? What will she say to Twi afterwards, knowing she had heard something Twi didn´t wanted her to find out THIS way?

Yeah, there´s lots of thinking about to do to make this believeable/exciting/keep it interesting. But i´m pretty sure you can do it.

[Silvertie]

Hmm, this story puts me in mind of White Box, by Chromosome.

You've managed to confuse me as to who the protagonist is, really, and I half-expected an explanation in chapter 6. (Drop bombshell in Chapter A, explain why bombshell in Chapter B.)

[Cold Spike]

Ok.... you have my attention!

[Stormgnome]

Very interesting,
How are you gonna wrap this up I wonder.

[Taliesin of the Forest]

1272223 Cloud Kicker in disguise.

[indoctrination]

..is, is this incomplete or finished?

[-Brutus]

Update? :D

[BronyPonyMan]

hey, this needs to be updated! we need to know what happens next!

[thisistheusernameichose]

I really miss this story.

[MLPFiMFTW]

Abandoned on the last chapter. Hope you're ok, OP, these many years hence.