Sparkyll & Hyde

I can only recall three other times when I have felt this same terror lingering in my heart. First, when Spike ran away because he thought that I didn't love him anymore, and almost got eaten by a huge dragon, second, when Cadence and I tried to find our way out of the Canterlot caves, while Shining Armor was about to marry that witch, Queen Chyrsalis, and third, when I raced through the Empire, desperate to find the Crystal Heart.

Spike rode on my back as Shining Armor and I ran through the moon-lit streets of Canterlot.

"I had a sent letter to your friends in Ponyville a while ago," Shining Armor says. "They're most likely at the hospital waiting for us now."

"Do you know what happened, exactly?" I ask.

"All I know is that there was an accident, and that Mom's pretty banged up."

Oh god, oh god, oh god... I shake my head in disbelief.

As we arrive at the hospital, we see Nurse Redheart, waiting outside for us.

When she sees us, she calls out, "Miss Sparkle, Captain Armor, come in, quickly." We follow her inside and through several well-lit hallways.

At least it isn't dark, like that asylum...., I think to myself.

After I came home from Princess Celestia's castle that fateful day, my Mother came to comfort me. If there was anypony that supported, comforted, and guided me more than Princess Celestia, it was her. She was the one who decided to enroll me into "Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns". She supported me when I started my journey to find a cure for the asylum ponies. Yes, she was quite firm with discipline, and was a bit impatient, but she was still a mother who loved me and Shining Armor with all her heart.

Redheart leads us to the waiting room, where Cadence and my Father are in one corner of the room, talking quietly to each other, and Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy are playing a board game. When they all see me walk in, they leave their places and give comforting words.

Nurse Redheart walks past us and into the next hallway. After she leaves, I go over to Cadence.

"Did the doctor say if Mom's okay yet?"

"No, I'm sorry," she replies. "He said that we can come to his office when he's ready." I sigh and stare at a random tile on the floor.

This is going to be a long night.

As the time that feels like endless hours passes by, we all play a couple rounds of Pinkie's board game and watch the other concerned families come and go through the doors. Finally, two hours later, Redheart, comes out.

"Twilight Sparkle?" I stand up and walk over to the nurse.

"Doctor Stable will speak to you and your family now." Immediately, Cadance, Shining Armor, and my father come up. But so do the rest of my friends.

Nurse Redheart stops the others and says firmly, "Just your family." I glance over at my friends and nod for them to sit down. Spike decides to stay behind with everypony else.

"Alright. Follow me," Redheart says. I get a twinge of fear at the way she spoke. She sounded like she was trying to sound calm, but couldn't.

Please let her be okay. Please....

We enter Doctor Stable's office and I take a quick look around the room. There are a two file cabinets, one in each corner behind his desk. Off to my right is a table with several bottles filled with various medicines. Doctor Stable had just finished writing something as we came in.

"Ah, welcome. Have a seat." He gestures toward four cushioned stools. Cadence and I sit down. Shining Armor and my Father remain standing.

"With all due respect, sir," my Father says. "I would like to get this done and over with soon."

"Of course, Mr. Night-Light," Stable says with a heartfelt voice. "It has been a long evening for all of us." He walks over to one of the cabinets, and pulls out a file with two letters on its tab; T.V. I recognize this as my Mother's initials. Twilight Velvet. He sits back down and turns to me, while opening the file.

"Now, Miss Sparkle, I'll be perfectly frank with you, all I know of what happened, is what I have read in this file. According to the report, an alarm flare went off sometime around 5 PM in the outskirts of town. The guards found your mother and two cartridge drivers on the side of the path. We believe that the cause this accident was a pack of timberwolves.

Timberwolves..... I think with hatred. Of all the creatures in Equestria.....why timberwolves?

"Unfortunately," The doctor continues. "The drivers were dead when they found them."

"A-and....and my Mother? Is she okay??" I ask.

"Fortunately, she only suffered a couple wounds along her back and legs." I look over at Shining Armor and sigh with relief. Until I hear Stable say, "But, Miss Sparkle..."

I turn back to him.

"But....what?" Stable doesn't answer. He just stares at me, sweat beading on his forehead. He almost looks like he's struggling to decide whether or not to tell us something important.

Cadence stands up.

"Sir, if there's something wrong with her, please, tell us."

Stable snaps out of his hesitation and says, "I think you should just come with me, and see for yourself." He leads us out of the office and down a hall towards a steel door with several locks. Stable pulls out a large ring holding many keys and begins unlocking the door.

"What is the meaning of this?" My Father demands, looking at the door.

"Just a precaution, Mr. Night-Light," Doctor Stable says without looking up. "Just a precaution." He opens the door and motions for us to follow. My heart stops when I see what's inside. There are several rooms closed with steel doors on either side, and in these rooms are ponies. They didn't look like the deranged ponies that I saw years ago, but something about them felt so unnerving. Most of them just have dark circles under their eyes and look half-asleep, but a couple of them looked somewhat unhinged.

I back up quickly and nearly gag. Even though the room is luminous and warm, memories of the dark asylum come rushing back to me. The moaning ponies, the cold atmosphere.....the Pegasus who tried to snap my neck. I whimper quietly and close my eyes tightly as tears begin to form in my eyes. Cadence runs to my side.

"You don't have to go through this if you don't want to. You can stay out here while we go see how Mom is."

I take slow, deep breaths and shake my head.

"No, I....I want to see her."

Cadence puts a hoof on my shoulder and leads me through the hall. Stable looks at me questionably until Shining Armor goes to him and whispers something.

"Oh, I see," Stable replies. "I can give her a shot to calm her system if she'd like." Shining looks over at me, expecting an answer. I quickly shake my head.

If I'm going to see my Mother, I'm not doing it drugged and half-conscious.

We reach a room at the end of the hall, to our left. Doctor Stable unlocks the door and leads us in. The room is decorated with a couple ropes of green tinsel hanging along the ceiling. There's a small rug, laying bunched up on the floor and a hospital bed in the right corner. On the bed, is my Mother, sleeping quietly. I now see the damage from the timberwolves' attack. There are several deep cuts across her back and legs. I look over at Stable, and he nods for me to go up to her. I take a deep breath approach the bed.

"Mom? Can you hear me?" There's no response, so I speak louder.

"Mom?" Still no answer. I gently put my hoof on her back. This time, her eyes snap open, and she looks up at me. But instead of embracing me, she shoves my hoof off her and retreats as far back away from me until she's pressed up against the corner. I glare at Doctor Stable questionably.

"What happened to her?!"

"We have reason to believe that the timberwolves' attack left your mother in a post-traumatic stress disorder." Shining Armor lowers his head and sighed. My Father joins and comforts him. I stare at the ground, while Cadence tries to approach my Mother, but is met with the same response.

"Why doesn't she recognize us?" she asks

"Sometimes, in severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder can impair one's ability to recognize even the closest of family. When she was brought here, she showed immediate signs of PTSD. At first, she wouldn't let any of us near her."

"But, she's going to be okay, right?" Shining Armor asks.

"Overall, yes, she will be just fine. Her symptoms of PTSD are stable, but most likely permanent." I bite my lip and shake my head slowly.

No....this can't be happening. It just can't be happening.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Sparkle," Stable says to me. "We've done all that we could." My eyes widen at this last statement. I glare at Stable, even though his back is turned, talking to my family.

"I can set a schedule to visit twice a week. Again, I am so sorry for-"

"Excuse me?" Doctor Stable turns to the sound of my voice.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sparkle?" he asks, feeling confused by my tone.

"You say that you did all that you could?"

"Well...yes, Miss Sparkle. There's nothing more we can do." My eyes pierce his with anger.

"No. No, I'm sorry. But this," I gesture towards my Mother. "Is the best that you can do?!"

Miss Sparkle, please calm dow-"

"No, I will NOT calm down! First of all, my name is not 'Miss Sparkle.' Second of all, it's your job to save the lives of ponies, right?" I don't even bother to let him respond.

"And third, you leave my Mother in a traumatic state, and all you can say is, 'We've done all that we can'''?!

"Twiley....," Shining Armor begins.

"No, Shining Armor," I snap back. I start to corner Doctor Stable. He backs up against the wall, politely asking me to calm down. "If my Mother's trapped in this....prison...because of some traumatic disorder, then I think that you're not doing your job!"

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE! " I freeze at the sudden outburst. I turn to see Cadence with a very stern look on her face. I never thought she could be so loud. Even the patients in the other rooms are looking at the alicorn. Cadence's expression softens to a simple stare.

"Twilight, please understand, this isn't something that can be easily fixed. Doctor Stable is doing his best to help our Mother. And taking it out on him isn't making anything better."

"I....," I felt my throat closing around my words. Cadence walks over to me and slowly strokes my mane.

"I know you're upset about all of this," she says in a hushed voice. " Nopony ever said that this sort of thing would be easy or pleasant."

"It's....it's n-not f-fair....," I whisper.

"I know, Twilight," Cadence says. I can see tears forming in her eyes as well. Then, after a long pause, she says, "I will not say do not weep. For not all tears are an evil."  By now, my whole body's shaking, and tears are pouring from my eyes. Shining Armor and my Father join us in a small circle. Eventually, we separate and clear our eyes. I go over to Doctor Stable and apologize for my outburst. He just shrugs it off like it were nothing.

"It happens, Twilight. More often than you realize." I smile and thank him for doing his best, when Nurse Redheart pokes her head in.

"Excuse me, everypony. I'm afraid visiting hours are over. One by one, we leave the room, until I'm the last one still inside. I stop at the door, and stare at my Mother, who is blankly staring at the ceiling.

"Twilight?" I turn to Doctor Stable's voice. He looks over at Nurse Redheart, whispers something to her, and turns back to me.

"I'll give you a few more minutes with her." My eyes lit up and I thank him again.

"I'll be out here if you need me," he says as he closes the door with his magic. I walk towards my Mother, who proceeds to back into the corner again. I back up a few steps, and she relaxes. I take a deep breath and speak to her.

"Mom....I'm so sorry this happened. I should have been there with you. Maybe I could have saved you. I could have done something to protect you. But I wasn't there for you.....and now you're lost in this darkness." My Mother stares at me with curiosity. I take a few steps closer.

"I guess you didn't hear, but I perfected my potion. Well, not exactly, yet. I still need to test it on somepony. I don't know who yet. It's too dangerous to use it on one of those asylum ponies. But I'll figure it out....somehow." I sigh and lower my head, knowing that my words couldn't possibly get through to her. But then, something strange happens. She gets down off of her bed and wraps her hooves around me. Not like that Pegasus in the asylum, but a gentle, motherly hug. Then, a soft voice fills the air.

"Tw.....twi.....l.....l...light...." My head shoots up, and my eyes meet hers. I see a look of determination in her eyes. She speaks again.

"Twi......twi....l...l...l...light..." But she can't finish her sentence. She tries one more time

Twi....light.....Spar.....k....k...le."  A ray of hope fills my chest. Maybe, just maybe, there's still a chance to get my mother back! I hold my Mother close to me.

"Mom, listen to me, " I say. "I promise you that I will find a way to test the potion. I won't give up until you're cured. I swear it."

"Miss Sparkle?" I look over at Doctor Stable. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I have to ask you to leave. Nurse Redheart wants the patients, your mother included, to get some rest."

"Yes, of course," I say. I look over at my Mother.

"I'll come back soon, okay?" She stares at me for a while, and then climbs back on her bed. I follow the doctor out of the room, through the halls, and into the waiting room, where all my friends are waiting. I quickly explain the situation to them. The girls and Spike sigh with relief, and Pinkie is about to shoot off a party cannon, but is stopped by Nurse Redheart. Soon, we're all out of the hospital, and on our way.

"Cadence and I are staying in Canterlot for a few weeks," Shining Armor tells me when we arrive at the train station. "Just until Mom's stable" We say our goodbyes and part ways, Shining Armor, Cadence and my Father going home, and me, Spike, and the girls board the train, prepared for our long journey home.