Through the Mirror, Off the Wall
Early one morning, several girls gathered around their usual hangout spot, the plinth of Canterlot High's still-demolished Wondercolt statue. Though not as many girls as one might expect.
"No Rainbow Dash?" said Wallflower Blush.
"Dashie doesn't believe in getting up before noon during summer vacation if she can help it," said Pinkie Pie. "Actually getting near the school building?" She snickered and shook her head. "You'd have an easier time getting me to tag along with Maud on one of her dates."
"I..." Wallflower looked at Sunset Shimmer and felt her cheeks heat up. Then Sunset smiled at her, and Wallflower thought it a miracle that she didn't burst into flame there and then. "Yeah." It was crazy, sure, but it was a good kind of crazy.
"Hmm," hummed Rarity as she tapped out a text message. "Fluttershy can't make it either. She's helping Applejack deal with some manner of swine ailment. That will likely consume their whole morning."
"Oh, entirely understandable," said Twilight, fidgeting at least as much as Pinkie Pie. "That's clearly on par with what we're witnessing today."
Sunset gave her a sympathetic look, though with more than a hint of a smirk. "Jealous?"
"Extremely."
Rarity nodded. "So is at least half the school, now that Sunset's spoken for."
"Not that. I mean, yes, Sunset is quite attractive by the aesthetic metrics of our society, but Timber and I are quite happy together. I meant Wallflower getting to see Equestria before me!" After a moment with everyone's eyes on her, Twilight coughed and added, "Or, you know, anyone else."
Wallflower Blush looked at the ground, grasping an arm with the opposite hand. "Sorry..."
"No, Wallflower, I didn't mean anything by it! It's just..." Twilight trailed off and matched Wallflower's pose. "Sorry."
Both gave matching yelps as Pinkie Pie snagged each one's elbow and dragged them together. "Cheer up, you two! Just because Twilight likes the taste of her own foot doesn't mean any of us aren't friends anymore!"
Twilight and Wallflower's heads had darted up from the sudden motion. Their eyes met and, both blushing, they nodded and gave affirmative noises.
"Anyway, I do have a few good reasons why Wallflower's coming with me," said Sunset. Her smirk returned. "For one, she actually asked."
"Oh. Right." Twilight cleared her throat. "I suppose that would have some bearing on the matter."
"If we're... you know... dating," Wallflower said with more than a touch of disbelief, her hand finding Sunset's and gripping tight, "I want to know about where Sunset came from."
Sunset squeezed back. "It's kind of appropriate. If it weren't for Wallflower, I don't think I'd have ever gotten the guts to go back to Equestria for anything more than little errands with Princess Twilight. And that's one of the other reasons why I have to ask you guys to stay here."
Twilight nodded. "Our analogues."
"Exactly. Your pony selves are all kind of a big deal at this point. You showing up is going to lead to all kinds of awkward questions. But Princess Twilight looked into the matter, and she couldn't find any sign of a pony version of Wallflower."
"Really?" said Rarity.
Twilight straightened up and adjusted her glasses. "It's not that surprising. Sunset's homeworld simply doesn't have the infrastructure to support billions of sophonts. Thus, mathematically speaking, the majority of humans won't have Equestrian counterparts."
"Also, having more than a few people from one universe in another could upset the balance of the multiverse or something, but Princess Celestia is being really vague about the specifics there." Sunset rolled her eyes and muttered, "No surprise there."
"But you're bringing a camera, right?" said Pinkie. "I wanna see all of the pony us-es!"
Sunset smiled and tugged at one of her backpack's straps. "It's in the bag."
"And you're sure I can't convince you to bring one of my selfie drones?" Twilight held up the latest iteration of the device, this one with a purple paint job to match its creator.
"Can you guarantee it won't go crazy and try to conquer Equestria?"
Twilight was silent for several seconds, eyes darting and mouth moving as she thought. She opened an access panel on the drone, frowned, and said, "Mostly?"
"Yeah, I'm going with 'no,' there."
After a disappointed sigh, Twilight put on the best smile she could. "Have fun, then."
Rarity nodded. "Have a delightful time, you two."
"Have enough fun for all of us!" added Pinkie.
"Not sure if that's possible if you're involved, but we'll try." Sunset turned to Wallflower. "Ready?"
Wallflower swallowed. "As I'll ever be."
Sunset patted her on the back, then approached the statue. "Lean forward as you go in. It'll help you land on your hooves."
Wallflower blinked as she processed that and watched Sunset vanish into the marble. "Wait, how many hooves am I ending up with again?"
"You get to find out!" Pinkie said from behind her. One shove later, and Wallflower found herself staggering towards the statue, unable to stop.
Then everything somehow went even more insane.
Once the universe stopped trying to turn her inside-out, the first thing Wallflower noticed was that she was still moving very quickly, and that that wall was getting very close. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Only after she came skidding to a stop did she realize that she'd planted four feet to stop her momentum. Four hooved feet. Then she registered the green muzzle that filled the bottom of her vision as she tried to look down.
"Well, that's a more graceful arrival than I've ever managed."
The voice drew Wallflower's attention. Sunset was...
Different thoughts all came in at the same time. Cute. A unicorn. Huggable. Still kind of hot actually. Was that weird? And the backpack had become saddlebags...
Which drew attention to what wasn't there. Wallflower looked down, looked behind her, then folded in on herself and said, "No pants?"
Sunset walked to her, gently pushing Wallflower to her hooves with her head and managing to keep the horn from poking anything. Her closeness made everything just a bit less terrifying. "Ponies don't really do pants most of the time. Honestly, you'd draw more attention with them than without them." Then she may have given Wallflower's body a once-over. Wallflower wasn't sure if someone doing that was possible in any universe. Certainly not if the other person seemed to actually like what they saw.
"It's the cutie mark, mostly."
Wallflower blinked, only then noticing the other pony in the room. A pony with a horn, wings, and a familiar voice. "Princess Twilight! H-how long were you there? Oh goodness, I can't believe I'm saying that."
"Don't worry about it. I know this can be a lot to take in."
"So, uh, what's this... 'cutie mark'?" Wallflower's own eyes drifted, then locked onto Sunset's hindquarters. "Oh. Oh!" She turned to her own rear end. "Huh?" She tilted her head. The flowerpot didn't change.
Princess Twilight followed her gaze. "Um... Huh. Well, Sunset did tell me you like gardening. Makes sense that you'd get flowers, especially since you're an earth pony."
Wallflower shook her head and sighed. "That's not what it means." She pointed at the wilting flowers. "Those are forget-me-nots. Dying forget-me-nots."
"Wallflower..." Sunset chewed her lip.
Before she could say anything, Wallflower trudged towards for the door, head hung low. "Let's go outside."
"Wallflower, wait!" Rapid clip-clops approached from behind her. Wallflower felt her ears turn to the sound of Sunset without even thinking about it. "Only half of them are wilting!"
"Yeah. On the right. So they're dying as you watch."
"Did you check the other side?"
"Other side?" Wallflower turned to look at her right hip. One where the wilting forget-me-nots on the left side gave way to thriving ones on the right. "Oh." She wilted along with the back halves of her cutie marks. "We should just go back. I—"
Sudden contact made her flinch for a moment. Then she registered it as Sunset hugging her, and she relaxed into it. "You're remembered. And you're loved," said Sunset. She rubbed her cheek against Wallflower's.
Wallflower made a happy little horse noise of some kind. "I don't know what that was, but it was nice."
"It's a nuzzle."
A clearing throat drew the couple's attention to a flushing Princess Twilight, who was looking up at the ceiling. "So, did you two want to go out on the town, or should I go check the castle for a room for two?"
Wallflower tried for words. She got something between a squeak and a whinny.
Sunset guided her up and out with a few gentle magical tugs. "I think we'll go check out Ponyville. Thanks again, Twilight."
"Any time! Oh, but before you head out..." The princess's horn lit up, and a box floated towards Wallflower, wrapped in the same light. "Here you go."
Wallflower poked at it. The light tingled a little, but it did nothing to keep her from prodding the ribbon holding the box shut. "What is this?" She poked it again. The light also did nothing to help her remove that ribbon.
Sunset took the box in her own magic, the ribbon untying itself. "I figured you'd be uncomfortable with the whole 'portal eating your clothes' thing, so I asked pony Rarity to make this for you." The lid came off, revealing a wonderfully familiar striped sweater. "You wouldn't believe what Princess Twilight and I went through to keep her from putting ten pounds of jewels on it."
"Sunset..." Wallflower gave a nuzzle of her own. "It's perfect. Thank you." She took the box in her hooves.
Then, since only her back legs were supporting her, she promptly fell on her face. Fortunately, the sweater was there to cushion the blow.
A few moments of silence stretched out for what felt like eternity. "How about I help you with that?" said Sunset.
"Thanks," Wallflower grumbled. "That would be nice."
"And then there was that time when I didn't realize clothing was mandatory, even on the hottest days—"
Wallflower rolled her eyes, though she couldn't keep from smiling. "Sunset, really, it's okay. You don't have to embarrass yourself just to make me feel better."
"Just want you to know that everyone has an adjustment period."
"I got that after the time you panicked because there was still snow on the ground after the spring equinox." Wallflower frowned at the crystalline walls. "How big is this place? Equestria isn't just some giant castle, is it?"
"No, Twilight's castle is just stupid huge. I'm pretty sure the place rearranges itself when you're not look— Here's the foyer!" Sunset raced ahead, Wallflower stumbling after her.
After a close call at the stairs, they stood before a set of double doors. "Okay, finally," said Sunset, pushing them open with her magic and revealing...
Wallflower's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes just saw a dirt path along a grassy field, but her other senses...
"Uh, Wallflower?"
She stepped out, away from the sterile crystal and onto the packed earth, which hummed against the pressure of her hooves. A few steps more brought her in contact with the grass, and she could feel it welcoming her. Smells and sounds and sensations she couldn't name flooded her, telling her that this place was alive in a way she had only ever sensed in the faintest way in her own garden.
"Wallflower? Equestria to Wallflower Blush, please respond."
She looked up to Sunset with wide eyes. "Why did you ever leave this place?"
Sunset looked away. "Because I was a nasty little brat who didn't know how good she had it."
Wallflower rose reluctantly. The grass didn't want her to go, but Sunset needed her more. She nuzzled her girlfriend. "But now you're not."
That got a smile. "Come on. Let's go see the town. Unless you'd rather just bliss out on... whatever it was you were doing."
"Can't you feel it? How much life there is here?"
Sunset tapped her horn. "Not how I work. I can feel the energy radiating off of Twilight's castle-tree, but the only difference I can tell between this grass and the stuff back at CHS is that this tastes better."
Wallflower leaned down and sniffed the blades.
"Uh, not actually a suggestion." Sunset gave Wallflower a light tug with her magic. "Come on, only drifters and desperate ponies graze off the ground. I can get you something a lot better in town later."
"Oh. Sure." The two set off. "Anything else I should avoid?" said Wallflower.
"Well, you're going to want to watch your pronouns..."
The resulting discussion of whether or not "everypony" qualified as an actual word consumed the trot into Ponyville proper, where Wallflower let the conversation trail off as she ponywatched.
"It's bizarre," she said softly. "I can recognize so many people from school. There's Lyra, Bonbon, Cloud Kicker... Holy crap, Ditzy has wings?"
"I know," said Sunset, seemingly as enraptured.
"Didn't you already know about this?"
"Yeah, but I haven't had many chances to actually see it for myself. The first time I spotted pony Flash Sentry, I thought my eyes were going to bug out of my head. I don't think I'll ever get used to this." After a moment, Sunset added, "Except maybe the Twilights."
They kept walking for a while. Ponies looked at them. Ponies smiled at them. Ponies waved at Wallflower Blush. She would've waved back if she thought she could get away with walking on three legs right now. She still smiled and nodded. "They actually notice me."
"You're new in town." Sunset gasped and stopped. Wallflower turned and saw a haunted look on her girlfriend's face. "You're new in town!" Sunset hissed. Her horn lit up, and Wallflower found herself floating just off the ground, the world taking on a reddish tint.
Wallflower thrashed in the magic as Sunset started galloping. "Sunset, what the crap!?"
"It's only a matter of time before—"
"Aw, I'm hurt, Sunny-Bunny." Sunset screeched to a halt before the pink pony who suddenly stood before them. There was no mistaking Pinkie Pie no matter what universe she was in, though the pout in place of her usual smile might have thrown off a few people for a moment. "You really think Twilight wouldn't tell me one of her best friends from the human world only not really 'cause she was born here was coming for a visit? Or that I'd interrupt a romantic ren-dezz-voose with a welcome party?"
"Firstly, rendezvous."
"Gesundheit!"
"Secondly..." Sunset's eyes flicked about as she thought. "Is that last part a trick question?"
Wallflower cleared her throat as she saw the pout intensify. "I appreciate the thought, Pinkie, but maybe next time? I'm still kind of worn out from the 'Have Fun on Your Date' party the other Pinkie threw us last night."
"Aw, shucks." Pinkie snapped her hoof. Somehow. Wallflower told herself she imagined it. "We really need to coordinate better on things like this. Isn't that always the way with different versions of yourself?"
Sunset shrugged. That or she did a push-up; Wallflower wasn't sure. "We wouldn't know."
"Oh. Huh." Pinkie's head tilted a few degrees too far for comfort. It snapped back and she shrugged. "Weird. Well, you two have fun. Together." She waggled her eyebrows.
Wallflower shuddered. "Please don't do that. It's like a kid's toy is making double entendres."
"That does seem pretty advanced for goats. Plus, my morning greeting-new-ponies break is almost up. Bye, Sunset! Bye, Wallflower!" Pinkie pronked away.
"So are you going to put me down or what?"
Sunset did. "Sorry."
The couple resumed their walk for a few steps before Wallflower said, "Wait, we never told her my name."
"It's Pinkie Pie. Are you really that surprised?"
"It's me. Aren't you?"
Sunset nudged Wallflower with a shoulder, or whatever ponies had instead. "Well, I know I'll never forget you again. Besides, Twilight probably told her. Come on; if the town knocked your socks off, you're going to love Whitetail Woods."
Sunset groaned. "I hate Whitetail Woods."
Wallflower snorted as she held back her laughter. "It's okay, Sunset."
Sunset gritted her teeth until she ground out an "I know." After a deep breath, she said, "It's just... how the hay are you not lost? This whole place looks the same!"
"The sycamore grove's a quarter mile back that way, the red oak thins out further ahead and gives way to red maples, the undergrowth's basically arranged to act like street signs for the different paths, and... Well, I guess you can't feel how the whole thing comes together, but it's this warm... green..." Wallflower trailed off and gave a push-up-shrug. "I don't have the words."
"Wow. I have a new reason to wish I could kick the brat I used to be. I used to think earth ponies were boring."
A comfortable silence came and went. "You know what the weirdest part about all this is?" said Wallflower.
Sunset smirked. "There's a lot to choose from."
Wallflower looked at her own hooves and nearly stumbled as she tried to consciously control twice as many legs as usual. Red magic steadied her, and her burning cheeks told her she hadn't been able to hold back a blush. The whispers of life around her turned concerned, as did Sunset's expression. "Thanks."
"Any time." Sunset sat next to her, tucking in her hind legs like some kind of horse-puppy. "Is that what you meant?"
"No. It's not the pony thing, or the magic, or even the pony versions of people I recognize. It's that I'm doing this all with you."
"What do you mean?"
"I... I hated you for so long." The blush intensified, and Wallflower went down on her belly, the better to cover her face with her forehooves. "Oh gosh, that was a terrible way to start. Just forget I said anything."
She felt Sunset run a hoof through her hair. "Take it from me, Wallflower, making mistakes is the best way to learn. And I figure you're going somewhere with this."
Wallflower smiled up at her. "Yeah." After a deep breath, she pushed herself up to a sitting position like Sunset's. "I hated you for so long, but in the end it turned out I hated the idea of you, this image of you I'd built up in my head even after you'd turned your life around."
Sunset gave her a wry grin. "So, you weren't in hate with me, you were in hate with hatred?"
"Something like that. But now that I've let that go? There's this incredible, smart, funny, artistic, beautiful girl who thinks I'm worth her time now that she finally notices me." Wallflower looked away, feeling her ears droop. "And all it took to do that was almost ruining her life."
"And I forgave you for that." The gentle press of a hoof made Wallflower face Sunset again, see the smile on her muzzle and the love in her eyes. "And I'll keep forgiving you until you believe it." Sunset shook her head. "I know it took the girls a couple dozen tries for me to believe them."
Wallflower sighed. "Listen to me. I'm not the one who had to live down turning into a literal monster. No offense."
Sunset just smiled wider. "It's not a competition. And even if it were, I only spent a couple months as a social pariah. You spent years. And the fact that you didn't turn into some kind of memory demon at the end speaks to your strength of will."
"Really?"
"I got swept away in the magic of the crown. I forgot why I took the power and just reveled in it." Sunset raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think I was really planning on invading this place with a bunch of brainwashed teenagers, did you?"
Wallflower chewed her lip. "I... Is there a right answer to that question?"
"Probably not. But remember one thing."
"What?"
Sunset pecked Wallflower on the forehead. "I'm the one who asked you out. Not out of pity, not out of obligation, but because I somehow hadn't noticed an amazing, dedicated, sensitive girl for so long, and I'm not wasting another second without her." She chuckled. "Also, you're basically my only friend who isn't completely crazy in one way or another."
"What about Applejack?"
"Applejack named every tree on her farm." Sunset got back to her hooves. "Come on, let's keep walking. Between reliving past mistakes and walking through a beautiful forest with a beautiful mare, I know what I'd rather do." Sunset's smile took on a shade of desperation. "Besides, if you don't guide me out of here, I'm probably going to be lost until after dark."
Wallflower laughed at that, and took a one-step lead on their way back to Ponyville.
"So, where were you thinking for lunch?"
"Well, I know Sugarcube Corner exists. I'm just not sure where." Sunset looked around, then walked to a familiar earth pony with a two-tone mane and a tray of golden cubes hanging from her neck. "Excuse me, we're new in town. Could you tell us how to get to Sugarcube Corner?"
Pony Bonbon nodded. "Sure thing! But first, can I interest you in some free samples? Sugarcube Corner may have the pastry market cornered, but you'll never find a better caramel in Ponyville than what I have to offer."
"Sure!" Sunset lit her horn and brought two over, floating one into Wallflower's mouth. Creamy caramel flooded her taste buds, good enough to make her eyelids flutter.
Then she found she was having trouble keeping them open.
"Oh no," said the local Bonbon, her voice growing distant in Wallflower's ears. She went inside, leaving the door open behind her. "Lyra must have experimented with a batch again. Come in, you two, come in."
Wallflower stumbled through. A weight on her side nearly dragged her to the ground. Turning her head nearly send her sprawling, but she could see Sunset leaning against her, blank-eyed and barely moving her legs. Then Sunset went slumping to the floor. Wallflower bent down to pick her up and ended up following her into oblivion.
Wallflower came to in near-darkness, lying on her side, hearing chains clank and a familiar voice mutter. "Wha... ?"
That voice bit back a curse, then said, "She just had to be a unicorn, didn't she? Not that I'm one to judge there."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Wallflower stumbled into a sitting position. More chains clattered as she moved. She felt unusual weights just above her hooves.
"Oh, don't play coy. We've both dealt with these sorts of issues. Less mass than an earth pony, slower metabolism than a pegasus..." A click, and Wallflower winced in the harsh light. "Threw the dosage completely off. I either had to risk doing permanent harm to her or have you come to too early." Wallflower's eyes adjusted enough for the apparent spotlight, but now everything outside the circle of harshly lit concrete lay in impenetrable shadow. Bonbon walked into view in front of her with a disdainful look so unlike the salesgirl smile she'd been wearing. "Thanks for cooperating that much."
Wallflower realized she should probably be afraid right now, but it was like getting threatened by a stuffed animal. "I seriously don't understand what you're talking about."
Bonbon rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. This is all just some big accident or misunderstanding. We'll sing a song, learn a friendship lesson, and laugh about it over drinks." Her eyes narrowed. "We both know that's not the world we live in."
"I don't live in this world at all!" Wallflower threw her arms into the air, then flinched back when one of the chains came close to whipping her on the muzzle. "You have the wrong girl!"
"Don't try to confuse me, Agent Forget-Me-Do. After I helped take down the bugbear at the Doodles' wedding, I knew it was only a matter of time before the Assassinorum processed me. Or did they authorize full extirpation?" Bonbon shuddered. "Celestia knows I have enough walnuts in this place..."
"All I'm getting out of this is that I'm chained to the floor of some crazy horse's basement. Are you going to let us out or what?"
Bonbon snorted. "Fine. Play your game all you like." She gave a cruel grin, then walked back into the darkness. "But you made one critical miscalculation."
"I assumed some random candy maker wouldn't kidnap me?"
"No. You didn't come alone." Another click, another circle of light.
It turned out that smile became a lot more menacing when Bonbon looked down at a still-unconscious Sunset, the unicorn in chains with a thick iron ring wrapped around her horn.
Wallflower shot up to her hooves. "No." She lunged forward, her chains drawing taut a good foot away from either other pony. She still strained forward. "No, damn it! She has nothing to do with this!"
Bonbon gave a humorless laugh. "Oh, I'm sure you'd love me to believe that—"
"Because it's true! She just wanted to show me her home! She just..." Wallflower stopped struggling forward. "We just..." She wilted. She should've known something like this was going to happen. It was too perfect. "It was just supposed to be a date."
"A date." Bonbon scoffed. "I suppose if you're desperate enough to call parading what's left of Celestia's rogue student 'a date,' then I won't stop you. I'd always wondered what happened to her." She shook her head. "You know, you had me concerned for a bit there, Do. I thought Shimmer might have undermined you, gotten you to help her stay in hiding while she plotted her revenge. But seeing her today, all happiness and light? I see you just got attached to a target after you neutralized her. Classic reverse Stockhorse syndrome."
"Sure, fine. Whatever. Just... Just let her go, and you can keep me in here for as long as you want." Wallflower sighed, her vision blurring. "It's not like anyone's going to miss me."
Bonbon's voice softened just a touch. "Not even her?"
"Oh." Wallflower looked up, blinking back the tears. "I... guess one person will."
"Yeah. I would."
"Sunset?" Wallflower gasped. She turned to look at the unicorn.
It wasn't a pretty sight. Sunset's head waved about drunkenly, her eyelids struggling to stay open. Her horn gave off a few fitful sparks now and again, doing nothing but lighting up lines etched in the ring. She tried to stagger to her hooves, only to slump back down. "You," Sunset mumbled in Bonbon's general direction. "If you've done anything to her, I'm gonna... Gonna set you on fire and then..." The others waited a few seconds as her brain strung together the next few thoughts. "Then I'm gonna set the fire on fire."
Bonbon gave a low whistle. "Wow, Do. When you wrap a pony around your fetlock, you don’t mess around."
Wallflower felt herself blush. "I don’t have anyone wrapped around my fetlock! I don’t even know what a fetlock is!"
"Context clues, Wally," said Sunset, swaying on her rump.
"Okay, yeah, it’s probably like a finger or a wrist or something, but look at these things, Sunset!" Wallflower waved her forelegs. "These aren’t arms, they’re pool noodles with hooves on the end! Where’s the wrist?"
Bonbon looked back and forth between her captives. "Uh…"
Wallflower glared at her. "Look, I have two ways of coping with stress. I either dismiss it or I obsess over it. And you aren’t worth obsessing over."
Bonbon winced. "Ouch."
"Seri'sly, Wally, low blow."
"Sorry, but I'm not going to be nice to the crazy woman who abducted us off the street!"
"Hey, Bonnie?" All eyes turned to the source of the sound. A rectangle of light pierced the gloom beyond the spotlights, silhouetting a unicorn. "Have you seen my—" Lyra cut herself off as she took in the scene. She groaned and facehoofed. "Oh, Bonbon, not again."
"This isn't what it looks like," Bonbon said immediately.
Wallflower held up one of her cuffed hooves. "This is exactly what it looks like."
Bonbon jabbed a hoof at her. "That mare is a highly dangerous trained assassin."
"This mare is a teenager who is officially having the worst date of her life."
"Will you knock it off?"
Wallflower gave Bonbon a flat look. "Why? You didn't."
"I am so sorry," Lyra said as she trotted down the stairs. Golden magic released shackles, removed Sunset's horn ring, and flipped on more lights until Wallflower could see the entire basement.
"Lyra!" Bonbon tensed and reared up into a combat stance that didn't look at all comfortable for a pony. "What... how did you—"
"This isn't the first case of mistaken identity we've gone through," Lyra said to Wallflower. "I made sure the restraints were keyed to my magic after somepony threw the mailmare in here a few months ago." She gave Bonbon a look weighted with meaning.
"That mare is a known collaborator with forces from outside our universe!"
Lyra shook her head. "The point is, Bonnie had a really stressful career before she became a confectioner. I really hope you can forgive her for—" Her head wrenched to the side, jaw dropping. "Sunset Shimmer? Is that you?"
Sunset blinked, rubbing her head. "Sorry, have we met? Everything's still kind of fuzzy."
"You probably don't remember me. I was barely out of magic kindergarten when you vanished from Canterlot. But believe me, everypony knew you. And you look amazing! I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were my age."
"It's complicated. And I think we can forgive your marefriend this time." Sunset stood and glared at Bonbon. "I was serious about setting the fire on fire."
Bonbon matched the glare. "You could try."
"Uh..." said Wallflower, taking a step back from them.
Lyra moved next to her and patted her on the pony-shoulders. "Don't worry," she said. "In my experience, every relationship has a crazy pony and a sane pony. And which is which changes at times. Though between you and me, I think green ponies tend to be the sane ones."
"That's... is that chromist?"
"Chromism isn't really a thing in this world," Sunset said, not looking away from Bonbon. "We have much more obvious differences to stereotype than fur or skin color. And you're definitely more level-headed than I am right now."
Lyra nodded. "Told you. Green means sane."
Bonbon spared her a glance. "You’re convinced ponies are the bioengineered playthings of a precursor race."
"And you abducted and imprisoned two tourists because you thought one of them looked like a trained killer."
"Agent Forget-Me-Do only assassinates memories."
Lyra just gave Bonbon a long look, as did everyone else in the room.
"Okay, fine, I guess you have a point." After a moment, Bonbon facehoofed. "And if I don't want her visiting, I should probably be more careful about confidential information."
"To be fair," said Sunset, "I'm pretty sure my clearance has never been revoked."
"I think I am confidential information in this world," added Wallflower.
"Wait, if Sunset's here... Oh, of course!" Lyra beamed. "You're a human! Nah, you're not classified or anything; you're just obscure. Pretty sure Twilight buried your world in academia on purpose."
"Hang on, you know where Sunset's been?" Wallflower turned to Bonbon. Or where she'd been anyway. Wallflower spotted the other earth mare trying to sneak upstairs. "What the actual crap?"
Bonbon cringed. "Look, Lyra's the one with the subscription to the Canterlot Journal of Xenocultural Studies, not me."
Lyra glared up at her and tapped a forehoof against the floor. "Bonnie? What do we say?"
Bonbon sighed. "Sorry I kidnapped you."
"And?"
Bonbon gritted her teeth. "As per store policy, you are entitled to twenty bits store credit here at Bonbon's Bonbons."
"You actually have a store policy for this?" said Wallflower.
"I made her put it into place after last time," said Lyra. She headed for the stairs herself. "And that's twenty bits each. Come on, I'll show you the best stuff!"
Several minutes later, the couple left the shop as Sunset put a bag of Bonbon's finest in her saddlebags. "Can you believe that?" she said.
"Honestly, I'm having a hard time believing that I'm some kind of super-scary assassin in this world."
"I like to think I'm not that bad."
Sunset and Wallflower jumped and turned. That is, a Wallflower jumped and turned. The Wallflower behind them just smiled. And despite small scars marring her coat, more defined muscle tone, and an easy confidence the human Wallflower could only dream of, she was clearly an instance of Wallflower Blush, down to the cutie mark.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Agent Forget-Me-Do, I presume?"
"Only when I'm on duty."
Wallflower managed to look her counterpart in the eye. It wasn't easy. She'd never seen her own face look so sure of itself, human or pony. "Are you on duty now?"
"Hang on." The agent dug into her mane and produced a paper pouch. She tore it open with her mouth, then flicked her hoof in a practiced motion that spread the contents in a circle around the three ponies. "Privacy powder. Quick and dirty circle of 'ignore us.' Now, to answer your question, it depends. Can we agree that it's best you two don't go blabbing about my job to all and sundry?"
Sunset narrowed her eyes. "We aren't usually in the area."
"I know all about the portal, Sunset Shimmer," said... Wallflower decided to think of her counterpart as Forget-Me-Do for sake of ease. "Among other things, I was in the room listening to Agent... Well, let's give her some semblance of cover and call her Bonbon."
"That... seems really unlikely," said Wallflower.
"I was in the area for an unrelated reason, but when you see an ex-agent of S.M.I.L.E. dragging your own nearly unconscious body inside, it gets you wondering."
Wallflower bristled. "So you were there the whole time and you didn't do anything?"
"I know me. You had the situation well in hoof." Forget-Me-Do smirked. "Honestly, Bonbon's lucky Lyra came in when she did. You were a few seconds from breaking those cuffs, then her face."
"I... I mean..."
"For the record?" said Sunset. "I would've been flattered."
"And I'm jealous," added Do.
"Jealous? But... you're this super-cool, super-confident killer spy lady... horse... thing!" Wallflower cried, flailing her forelimbs so much that she forgot about gravity for a few seconds. Then Sunset caught her.
Forget-Me-Do stared at her for a moment, then threw back her head in laughter. "Oh! Oh wow, it's nice to know the facade even works on me." She settled back down and then some, settling into a weary slouch that Wallflower easily recognized. "Wallflower, I am a wreck. My life is a vast web of lies. This is the most open social interaction I've had in moons, and that was with my boss. But you? You have your whole life ahead of you and a smoking hot unicorn by your side as you make it your own."
"Really?"
"Really. If I were ten years younger..." Forget-Me-Do shook her head and straightened up, fluffing her mane. "But we can't change the past. All we can do is weed out the bits we don't like."
Wallflower found her eyes going to the half-wilted pot of forget-me-nots on her counterpart's rear. "That... didn't work too well for me."
"You'll learn with experience. There really are some things better off forgotten, just not as many as you may think." Forget-Me-Do smiled. "Good luck, you two. Go make something that's worth preserving." Then she threw the object she'd pulled out of her mane at the ground. Smoke filled the area.
"You're as immune to this mix as I am." Wallflower tensed as she heard the words whispered into her ear. "She's not going to remember the last few minutes. Be good to her." By the time the smoke cleared, there was no sign of her other self or the circle of privacy powder.
Sunset blinked and looked around. "What the... Did we run into pony Trixie? I know she drives the princess nuts."
Wallflower chewed her lip. "Maybe she just lost track of a smoke bomb?"
"Apparently she's selling back-alley fireworks in this world." Sunset huffed out a laugh. "Wouldn't surprise me if those were for sale too."
"So, uh, how about that lunch? Unless ponies can live on candy."
Sunset shook her head. "Not last I checked. Come on, between the two of us, we should be able to find Sugarcube Corner. Spotting a life-sized gingerbread house can't be that hard."
"Righ—" Wallflower thought she spotted a bushy green mane in the corner of her eye. She tried to look, only to catch one leg on another and nearly smack into the ground. Once again, red magic saved her. "Ugh. Sorry."
Sunset just smiled. "Like I've been saying, you're still doing better than I did with two legs at first." Her eyes went half-lidded. "And there is one thing you've mastered."
"R-really? What?"
Sunset tossed her head back. Wallflower looked behind them and saw their tails had become entangled in one another. Even as she watched, the green hairs wove themselves more into the red and yellow.
A nuzzle drew her attention back to the front. "Earth ponies have crazy hair magic," Sunset said, her smile wider than ever. "Love you too, Wallflower."
Feeling like her face was about to burst into flame, Wallflower darted in for a quick peck on Sunset's lips. "Love you. Too. Also. I..."
Sunset lunged back. It was another several minutes before they got lunch.
Author's Note
Sunset encounters pony Flash in one of the bits of "Forgotten Friendship"/"Most Likely to be Forgotten" that was cut from the broadcast.
The process of extirpation is lovingly stolen from Skin Horse. I'm not sure how the walnuts factor into the process. Frankly, I'm afraid to ask.
The opposite of Stockholm syndrome, i.e. abductors developing sympathy for their hostages, actually has a name: Lima syndrome. However, I figured it was best to go for recognition value.
Credit for chromism, stereotyping behavior based on the color of someone's skin within the much wider spectrum afforded to EqG humanoids, goes to MythrilMoth in Just Girls Talking. Be advised that the collection is very much more Teen-rated than this story.
The Royal Assassinorum does not exist, and Agent Forget-Me-Do is not one of its premiere amnestic operatives. As an earth pony, she would lack the magical and alchemical knowledge to prepare all manner of compounds for eliminating memories that threaten national security if she did exist. There is no assassin right behind you.
