Nothing but Fear Itself

[microstar245]

Standard Legal Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY. If I did, the fanfiction Through The Eyes of Another Pony would be an official My Little Pony movie. SERIOUSLY, go check it out. Laugh-a-minute was never so accurate.
-------------------
Feel free to leave comments about how I can improve upon the posts I make! In fact, this is encouraged, and I really would like you to help me with this. I hope to get this fanfiction on Equestria Daily, and that requires some darn good writing, so please help. This is a thread for MY WRITING, though, so NO spam. Srsly. NO SPAM. Take it to the Shoutbox or Chatbox or PM, just don't spam this thread. Mkay? Mkay.
-------------------
On to the story!
-------------------
Twilight's eyes snapped open, wide and alarmed. Her hoof went to her chest, trying to calm her frantically pounding heartbeat. What was I dreaming about? she wondered, frowning in confusion. No, not a dream; it had been a nightmare. Something that didn't often happen.

She could remember flashes and clips of the haunting dream, but not many, and they didn't explain why she was so scared. Terrified, more like. Habitually, she smacked her lips and instantly grimaced. Ugh. Morning breath taste was so, so gross. She yawned, then threw back the blankets, freeing her legs from their soft, tangling prison. Her knees wobbled, and for a moment she had to steady herself on the edge of her bed and regain her balance.

Slowly, she trotted into the bathroom to splash a bit of water on her face. Again, she needed to steady herself, this time on the doorframe. Why do I feel so Celestia-awful? she moaned inwardly. She turned the faucet handle with her clumsy telekinetic grip and raised a large, dripping globule of water to her muzzle and immersed her face in it. Now fully awake, Twilight looked up, into the mirror.

Her immediate reaction was to scream. Luckily, she was able to slap her hoof over her mouth before more than a small squeak escaped. She looked terrible. The usually-neat mass of her pink-and-purple-streaked navy-blue mane was bedraggled, frayed, and messy. She had only seen it in this state once before, during the incident that had been jokingly dubbed by her friends as Lesson Zero. Twilight shuddered at the memory. It had definitely not been one of her finer days. Her attention turned back to the mirror, and she peered at her reflection, inspecting her appearance.

Dark bags had gathered under her eyes, making her look tired and stressed. The whites of her striking purple eyes were bloodshot, giving the impression that she hadn't slept in a while, as well as that she had been crying a lot. Her abnormally messy mane was plastered to her head by sweat."Some nightmare," Twilight muttered, turning her head from side to side."What was it about, though?" She shook her head, mumbling,"Silly me, talking to myself," she mumbled ruefully, rifling around for a brush with which to comb her unruly hair back into obedience.

Quite a while later, Twilight trotted down the stairs to the main part of the library, calling,"Spike! Spiiiiiiiike!" When she got no answer, she looked around. The library was empty."Spike?" she asked, even though she knew he was gone."That's...... weird. I wonder where-" she stopped as she spotted a small note on her book stand. Her magic picked it up, and her eyes scanned over it."Ah. That explains it," she stated, smiling. The note read:
Twilight, I'm going to Rarity's. She needs help around the shop- excuse me, Boutique, and of course I'm the perfect dragon for the job! Breakfast is on the counter. Expect me to be gone for a while.

It was simultaneously cute and annoying that he was so eager to help Rarity with the work he so dreaded. Cute because he jumped at every opportunity to be around Rarity, and annoying because he hated work and whined incessantly about the amount of work he had to do in the library."Typical Spike," she sighed, crumpling up the note and tossing it into the wastebasket.

Sure enough, Twilight found two golden-brown pancakes on the kitchen counter, still slightly warm. Spike must've left not too long ago, she concluded. A bottle of maple syrup sat beside the plate, and she promptly upended it over the delicious-smelling pancakes. She grabbed a fork from its drawer and began cutting the pancakes into bite-sized pieces, letting the plate float along behind her as she went back into the main part of the library and picked out a book.

Twilight had just lifted the first bite to her lips when a knock sounded on the thick wood of the tree library's door."Oh, come on," she huffed, getting to her hooves and leaving her breakfast behind. She placed a small, slightly strained smile on her muzzle and opened the door."Hello?" she asked, looking around in confusion. Nopony was near. Then, a small moan drew her gaze down, and she gasped.

Somepony had collapsed on her doorstep, and he was grievously injured.