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Darkness. He was there, somewhere in the darkness, laying on the ground. Pain, he should feel pain? No, wait, he did, but why was there so little of it? He should be dead by now, and, well - if he wouldn't feel anything, darkness obviously showed that he was deceased. But dead ponies don't feel pain, do they? Wait, there's light, somewhere above... faint, but still, light... someone's lifting me... faint light, give me more light, I don't want to stay in darkness...
'Hey, Spike! He's waking up!'
Spike? Didn't he hear that name before?
He tried to open his eyelids, but in vain, he was too weak to do even that. He tried again, only exhausting himself. He took a deep breath, and tried again, successfully.
'Hello! Can you hear me?' the same voice asked.
He saw wood. Wooden roof, to be exact, bookshelves around him, and round windows. He had enough strength to do something that was barely called a nod.
'Oh my, you must be very weak! Wait, let me get you something...' the voice went off. He managed to tilt his head to the right, and there he saw a wooden railing, the main room, filled with bookshelves as well, althrough some books were laying on the ground, not shelved yet. He holded his breath for a short moment, and listened.
Hoofsteps. Birds chirping. Magic. Magic...?
'Ah, there!' he heard, then "magical" sound again. And again the same noise, when the unicorn appeared before him. He breathed in an out again, preparing for the question.
'Let me give you some food, as I don't think you are strong enough to take it on your own.' He felt rather than saw a spoon, going in his direction. He opened his mouth, ate the contents, and swallowed. Tasted like oatmeal... funny. Oatmeal was easy, quick, and cheap to make, and he had enough of it in his life, why couldn't they give him, say, hay fries?
After he finished eating, he felt a bit stronger, but just barely.
'Are you feeling better now? At least a tiny bit?' voice asked worried
He weakly moved his head in direction of the voice, and saw her.
Purple-coated unicorn, indigo hair with pink and purple highlights. Purple eyes, staring at him with almost motherly care, a lot of curiosity, and several questions. He tried to say something, but his mouth was too dry, and he coughed instead.
'Oh, silly me, let me get you some water.' she lifted a glass filled with the liquid, and moved it towards his mouth. He slowly, and carefully took a sip. ugh... the first sip is always the worst, he almost spat it out. After he finished drinking, he coughed again, but it was better than the hacking cough a minute ago. He licked his lips, and let out weak words.
'Who... are you?' the unicorn smiled a little
'My name is Twilight Sparkle' she replied 'I'm the librarian in Ponyville I found you at my doorsteps, you were very injured and tired, so I looked after you.'
'Pony..ville? Library..?'
'Yes, I moved in few months ago, I was pretty surprised that the library was situated in a tree, too.' unicorn smiled 'but I guess I got used to it.'
That could be correct, it's been some time since he was here, and he never entered the village from this side. Mayor Mare told him that library was in an "unusual" place in Ponyville, but he had plenty of books on himself back then, so he didn't care. Still, something was familiar in that unicorn... way of speaking? How she casts her spells? Care for an unconsious, injured stallion on her doorstep, waking her up before dawn?
'Who... are you?' her face switched from a smile to a frown.
'I.. told you, my name is Twilight Sparkle' her voice was filled with worry 'Ponyville's librarian, remember?' oh yes, she thinks I have an amnesia.
'Yes, but... who exactly are.. you? Why are... you.. familiar to me?'
'Hmm... I do not know, maybe we've met somewhere before, but I cant quite recall that...' she scratched her head 'No, I don't remember you from anywhere.'
'Okay... do you.. have a parchment.. and a quill? I need... to write... a letter.' he coughed again. He had to write to her, she must know about the danger. Actually, he managed to delay it - at a cost - but she need to be told about it anyway.
'Yes, I do have a lot of parchments, and some quills. Who do you need to write to?' she already went towards a shelf, on which the items were laying. Then, he realized that there was no need to hurry, and he was too weak anyway.
'Nevermind that, the letter... can wait.'
'Do you need anything else?'
'No, just... rest.' he put his head on the floor, and closed his eyes. Adventure, journeys and danger were his bread and butter, they followed him on every step of his life. He always wanted to just sit down for a moment, have a well-deserved vacation, but he would never get one. Why does he feel so incomplete, now that he is resting? He opened his eyes again, to look at the unicorn that saved him. She was laying on a couch, reading a book. She saved him... if not for her, he would probably bleed out and die - he realized. He was too tired to think about that few moments ago, but now it came to him. He looked at her again, and sighed. In his journeys, he made a lot of friends, some of them were good friends, while others were... "partners in the buisness", he would call them. He never met a mare that he would like more than the others, and he sometimes thought about it, then realized he can't - he is always travelling, always on the road, a relationship like that wouldn't hold for long. Well, now? He was grounded for at least a month, and that was plenty of time.
'Uh... Twilight?' he said.
'Yes? Do you need anything? Something hurts?' she immeadietly stood up and trotted over to him.
'No. My name... is Qui-'
His statement was cut short by the doors slamming open against the wall.
'Howdy, Twi!'
'Hey there, Twilight!
'Uh, hello?'
'You look as good as always, darling!'
'Well hellloooooo there, Twilight! Why did you guys stop? huh huh huh?! Oh I know! You must be playing a ga-'
All five mares froze, looking at the stallion. He couldn't help but grin at their shock.
'Hi there.'