Chapter 1
Awakening
There was only white.
The world itself came rushing into every fiber of existence, with nothing but light pressing to the forefront of the mind. Time had no meaning. Only an eternity of blindness. Then the ringing began, followed by a shift to red as the cosmos became actuality.
Slowly, shapes began to take form in her vision as the ringing subsided. Squares came into view; an endless pattern that took the form of both white and sterile. Tilting her head, the surroundings became reality. Various machines and wires were strewn about, with many attached to her being; the most prominent being the intravenous tube feeding into a purple forearm. A window was on one side of the bed in which she lay, the evening sun casting the room in an amber glow; a picturesque castle atop a mountainside in the distance. The occasional potted plant and arm chairs filled the remainder of the room, creating an almost scenic atmosphere. The only remaining feature was a solid wood door opposite the window, filling a space in the pale blue walls that surrounded her.
Then came the beeping that never seemed to stop. After listening in a near comatose state for what seemed like hours as time gradually became tangible, the rhythm was broken. High pitched chirping rang from the machine responsible for the beeping, following its own pattern, though not occurring as frequently as the current repetition that originally greeted her ears.
As this new sound took root, another accompanied it. Silent at first, this new addition was getting louder, and coming from outside the room. Eventually, it stopped, only to be replaced by the movement of the door handle, and the wooden barrier swung inwards.
A young, tan unicorn with a brown mane, outfitted glasses and a white coat stood on the other side. Taking a moment to observe the current state of the pony lying in the bed, he offered a warm smile.
“Good to see you’re finally awake,” the stallion offered, voice calm and gentle. “You’re a pretty lucky mare to have such great friends. They’ve all been here these past few days. Just left about a half an hour ago for the evening.”
All that greeted the stallion was a quizzical look on the purple unicorn’s face. “Twilight, how are you feeling,” the stallion inquired, walking over, looking closely at the EKG machine next to her.
“Do you know where you are right now?” Noting her lack of response, he turned to face her. A single tear rolled down the mare’s cheek.
“Do you remember how you got here?” More tears started freeing themselves, silently streaking down her face onto the white sheets covering her.
“Do you remember anything before waking up here?”
The dam broke. The tears that were previously being poorly held back began to flow as the mare began to silently weep. Time lost meaning again to her, as the world faded to black.
-----
Evening had finally taken hold of Canterlot. The moon was slowly rising into the night sky as the final wisps of twilight evaporated into the darkness. A calm, autumn breeze lulled through the air, sweeping the occasional leaves from the now fading trees that scattered the courtyard of the castle. In its usual state, the inside of its walls would have been all but abandoned, with the exception of the occasional member of the Royal Night Guard patrolling through. Tonight, the pattern was broken. Standing on the threshold, the diarchs of Equestria stood together, gaze set on Ponyville.
“The letter from the girls just came about ten minute ago. She woke up just before sunset.” Celestia spoke, voice weary. “She doesn’t remember anything.”
Unable to break her gaze directed towards the small village in the distance, Luna found her voice amongst the mental turmoil that was ravaging her mind. “Do you think she freed herself, sister?”
“I don’t know Lulu. She’s going to need you to help piece this together,” Celestia replied, her voice weak. “It took three days to find her in there. How bad was it?”
“I cannot say. We never even knew this plane was able to be crossed. It’s all unexplored, and I was only able to enter through her dreams that manifested.”
“Even understanding how my student entered the mana pool isn’t much to go off of." Celestia murmured, her strength waning. "We know so little of what consists of the soul of a pony sister. I just hope that’s not what’s on the line here.”
Before Luna could reply, the pair’s focus shifted to a dark blue spec coming from over the castle, and gliding towards them. With well-practiced precision, a lunar chariot was brought to rest in front of the princesses; two members of the Royal Night Guard standing at attention.
“We’re ready to depart when you are, you highness,” one of the stallions stated, training not letting a sliver of emotion show through the guard’s being.
Turning to face one other, the two embraced, each extending their wings to envelop the other. “Bring her back, Luna,” Celestia whispered, a single tear rolling down her face. Pulling back, Luna left her sister’s side, and mounted the chariot.
“Take me to her.”
-----
“She’s right this way, your highness.”
Nurse Redheart was a longtime member of Ponyville Hospital, but this past week has been anything but ordinary for the mare. It all started when Rarity and Applejack came bursting through the hospital doors in a panic early one morning, with a dread stricken dragon in tow. Over their withers, an unconscious Twilight Sparkle was slumped over, her coat much lighter than normal. Their information wasn’t much help either. Something about a spell gone wrong late last night and she wouldn’t wake up.
Before she knew it, all of Twilight’s closest friends were in the waiting room, constantly probing for information. Sadly, despite all of their initial tests, everything came up inconclusive. The best they could do was answer what little they could, and let them see her as she was hooked up and pronounced stable by Dr. Horse. By mid-morning, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had joined them, while nearly sending the hospital into a riot to make the facility appropriate for their presence.
The past week these faces have become the normal visitors who could be seen lingering around the halls and haunting the room of Twilight Sparkle, with the exception of Princess Celestia, who left shortly after arriving. Princess Luna had remained for the first few days of Twilight’s stay, but her departure two days ago was apparently a sight to behold, according to the night staff. A burst of bright light emanated from the unicorn’s room for what seemed like hours, only to have the lunar princess sprinting out of the hospital and taking flight towards Canterlot after the light seeping through the door seams finally extinguished. The unicorn on night watch wasn’t even able to get close. The magic coming from the room was overwhelming.
“Thank you Ms. Redheart. Please, lead the way.”
The walk between the two was swift as they started making their way through the hospital, the sheer size difference between the two being a contributing factor. Noticing the nurse next to her seemed rather uneasy, Luna decided to break the silence. “How has she been since she woke up, Ms. Redheart?”
Jumping a bit at the introduction of the voice, the nurse found hers. “She’s been in and out of it as the evening progressed, your highness. Her memory is gone,” Nurse Redheart stated, voice shaky. “I’m sorry if I’m a bit silent Princess. It’s just been a very long week for us. This whole case with Twilight is just turned the whole town upside down, and we still don’t know what to do!”
The sudden outburst from the nurse left her to turn a few shades pinker. Luna was able to muster a chuckle from the change in tone, finally having something to break her thoughts over the past week. Stopping, she turned to the nurse and offered a gentle smile. “You and everyone else here has done everything they could have for her, and you have all our thanks. I realize I have left on rather short notice a few days ago, but hopefully we’ll be able to help her now.”
After a week’s worth of frustration and confusion, Nurse Redheart was able to offer her first genuine smile in what seemed like years. “I think we should get going to see Twilight. The others are waiting.”
The rest of the walk continue in silence. After rounding a corner, Twilight’s room awaited them, the only lighted room in the wing. Stopping outside the door, Nurse Redheart turned towards the lunar princess, smile still on her face. “Thank you for earlier Princess Luna. They’re all waiting for you.” Returning the smile to the white earth pony, Nurse Redheart turned back towards the foyer of the hospital.
Inhaling, Luna placed her hoof on the knob, and opened the door. Inside, she was greeted by a myriad of colors. All of the elements, along with Spike was gazing upon her, the emotions in their eyes were all mixed. Even Pinkie's usually bright and curly mane seemed to have lost all of its lift. It was clear that many of them have not been taking this most recent turn of events well. The only eyes that remained locked with Luna’s gaze were Twilight’s, whose expression reflected confusion, eyes glassed over.
Taking a breath, the silence was broken.
“Welcome back, Twilight.”