Alt. Ending 2: Forgetting

Alternate Ending #2: Forgetting

The farm pony was silent for a moment. “...I'd sure like for everything to go back to normal,” she said quietly.

Tears of joy filled Twilight's eyes. This whole thing would be like it never happened. Just a bad dream. “Okay,” she said hoarsely as she felt herself lowered to the ground. “Just give me a moment to remember how it goes...” A steady glow began to form at the tip of her horn.

Violet eyes fluttered open, but saw nothing but blurry shapes for a while. Twilight Sparkle's head felt like it had been turned inside out. The sharp pain of cuts and burns simmered across her skin, complemented by a dull aching throb in each of her joints. Every time she breathed, something wrapped tight around her chest sent needles through her ribs.

Twilight moaned, and tried to lift her head.

An orange hoof pressed against her forehead, gently lowering her back down onto the pillow. “Whoah there, hon,” a voice said softly, “you don't wanna pull your stitches.”

Twilight squinted. “Applejack? Why... where am I?”

“Yer in the hospital,” she replied. “You've been here for a couple days now.” The earth pony's brows furrowed as she looked at Twilight. “...Do ya remember what happened?”

The unicorn shut her eyes. She recalled seeing the ground fall away beneath her. “Rainbow Dash took me flying, and then...” A moan built up in her throat. “Oh, Celestia, she dropped me, didn't she?”

A strange smile crossed Applejack's lips. “No, sugar, Rainbow didn't drop you. She set ya down at the edge of my farm, and you must've decided to walk back. But the rainstorm opened up a sinkhole and ya fell right in.”

Twilight shifted in her uncomfortable hospital gown. It felt itchy.

“I'm just glad I happened to have walked by that day. You were hurt pretty bad.” The farm pony idly stroked Twilight's mane. “Big Mac is out there fillin' it back in now. We don't want nopony else to stumble into that thing.”

Twilight tried to remember the sinkhole, but her mind came up blank. Well, with a combination of traumatic experience and head injuries, that's probably no surprise, she supposed. I guess I'm lucky that's the only thing I can't remember. She smiled at her friend. “So you saved me?”

Applejack turned to stare out the window. “Yeah... I s'pose I did.”

The librarian's eyebrows raised in curiosity. There was something strange in the tone of her friend's voice. Sadness, perhaps, or guilt. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the loud crash of the door swinging open.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash rushed inside, wrapping the bandaged unicorn up in a big hug before being angrily swatted away by Applejack.

“Hey! She don't need yer help poppin' her stitches. She's already had a go at it herself!” The orange earth pony flicked her ears back.

The blue pegasus took a step back and adopted more gentle movements, but did not dampen the enthusiasm in her voice. “When I heard what happened, I was so—I mean I'm so sorry! I should've walked with you back to the Apples' place, or flown you back to town, or... or something!”

Twilight coughed a bit as she recovered from Rainbow's hug. “It's okay,” she said, “there's no way you could have known what was going to happen.”

The rest of Twilight's friends filed into the room. The concern on their faces washed away into relief as they learned she would be okay. The six ponies filled the air with laughter and well-wishing. Some of their questions Twilight found herself unable to answer, but a simple assurance that she would be better soon was always enough to deflect them.

Finally the doctor came in to shoo her friends out. “Miss Sparkle needs her rest,” he said, nudging the five toward the door.

Applejack was the last to leave. Twilight called after her. “Applejack?”

“Yeah, hon?”

“Thank you.”

The orange pony stood still for a moment. “...Good night, Twilight.”

A few weeks later, when she was strong enough to go out on her own again, Twilight decided she would go visit the place where she had nearly died. She packed herself a small lunch and set out for Sweet Apple Acres.

She considered dropping by the farmhouse to visit with Applejack before having a look at the sinkhole, but she decided against it. Applejack had seemed to get prickly whenever she asked for details about the sinkhole. The farm pony would probably insist she not go.

Twilight ducked under the fence and trotted off into the eastern field. Rows of apple trees whistled in the breeze as she passed beneath their green canopies. Water gurgled and sparkled in the sunlight as it churned its way through the irrigation ditch.

After a few minutes walking, the unicorn came to a patch of freshly-turned dirt. I suppose this must be it, she thought to herself, idly pawing at the earth. It suddenly struck her as funny that she would expect to recognize it. After all, even if she could somehow remember the sinkhole, it was all filled in now.

Twilight sat down and dug a carrot-and-daisy sandwich out of her pack. This place held none of her lost memories, but it was as good a place as any to have lunch. The carrots gave a sweet crunch as she chewed, her eyes lazily drifting over to the shadows cast by the Everfree Forest.

The wind shifted, bringing the musky scent of mint and reeds and meadow grass to Twilight. Her stomach turned, and suddenly she was not hungry for lunch. She put her sandwich away, and started back towards the farmhouse. She was not sure why, but Twilight did not like being in this place anymore.

A pair of green eyes watched the purple unicorn as she trotted away from the edge of the forest. Everything would go back to normal.