Forgotten

They decided to make camp for the night. The sun was being lowered, and the moon quickly took its place in the darkened sky. Its pale light shone down upon them, and Twilight couldn't help but think that it was some type of memoir left by Princess Luna. The purple pony shuddered as she thought of her dear friend, killed by the hooves of somepony who once loved her so much. She realized that she had no idea if Luna would return were the spell to be reversed and Equestria set right again. Innocent blood had been spilled, thanks to Sombra turning the gears of fate, and she hadn't the slightest clue what awaited them when they returned to their old lives.

So, she sat alone that evening, looking up at the moon and trying to picture what it would be like to drive her horn through Sombra's black heart. She relished the opportunity, despite being the Princess of Friendship. She wanted to see justice served more than anything, and she had a healthy dose bottled up in her small body. She felt ready to explode with it. After all, part of friendship was seeing your companions through to the very end and making sure that whoever hurt them was given their just comeuppance.

She was so lost in angry thought that she didn't notice Flame Mane walk up beside her. He looked at the mare who meant more to him than life itself and noticed a very familiar faraway look in her eyes. He pressed in to her and nuzzled her head. At this affectionate gesture, she turned and smiled. "Hi, Flame," she said as she gave him a loving kiss on the cheek, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Twi, everything's fine…everything, that is, except you."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked in confusion. She thought she was the one who had the most level head through all of this.

"Well, everypony else is sound asleep, and you're out here thinking. While it does give me a great excuse to be alone with you for a while, it concerns me as well. You just stalked out of your tent and looked furious with the world. Come on, Twilight. I'm your special somepony now, and if you ever wanna talk, my door's always open."

"I know, Flame," Twilight responded quietly, "and that's one of the many reasons why I love you so much. You do genuinely care about what I have to say. But, frankly, I'm not upset at anything or anypony except Sombra. Flame, he caused all of this, and I know he's waiting for an opportunity to spill Celestia's blood. I just want him gone and I want Equestria back the way it was."

"I think we all share that same aspiration, my love. It's only a question of how best to go about doing that."

"I'm thinking I'll go public with everything," Twilight said, "I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of running through the forest and masking my true self. I'm tired of having to deal with the rifts between Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies. The old Equestria must be returned, and we must be willing to battle for it."

Flame Mane smiled and nodded as he gave Twilight a tender lick about the ear. She giggled a bit and suddenly her mind was at ease. Flame had that effect on her. She could lose her head completely and he'd reel her back in. He was incredibly down to Earth, and she loved that about him. She knew once Equestria was back in order, this was the stallion she would marry. She smiled up at him and the lovers embraced with a kiss. Before either of them knew it, they had fallen asleep under the stars.

The next morning, Applejack was the first out of her tent. She yawned and stretched and made sure that the tent was sturdy enough to make it through anything the day might throw at it. After all, these were makeshift tents, and everypony had pitched in the night before to help create them. Seems sturdy enough, she said to herself, but Cloudsdale might declare a squall for the day. I'd better reinforce this, otherwise it's a-gonna be gallivantin' around here worse than Apple Bloom at bath time!

So she went towards the forest to try and locate some more solid branches to help strengthen her tent. But she stopped when she caught Twilight and Flame out cold in each other's embrace. She smiled at the rather sweet nature of the scene and decided that the branches could wait. She didn't want to wake the two of them. Would ya look at that? She asked herself, love in real life.

One by one, the other ponies emerged and saw what Applejack did. They stood there for a minute, marveling at the quiet love that their two friends shared. Starlight couldn't help but feel a tad bit envious. Her secret crush, Sunburst, had never once asked her out, even though she had silently begged him to for years. But seeing Twilight and Flame happy together made her rethink the entire situation. When this is all over, she thought, I'm gonna make a move and surprise him!

Unfortunately, Pinkie was the final pony out of her tent and she squealed, "GOOD MORNING, EVERYPONY!"

"SHHHHHHH!" The others hushed her, but it was too late. The beautiful scene had been preempted by Pinkie's shriek of joyous greeting and Flame and Twilight were startled awake. They noticed just where they were and pulled away from each other, smiling through intense blushes.

"Somethin' tells me y'all were plum tuckered out," Applejack said.

"We were," Twilight responded, "but thankfully, the carpet of the forest proved just as soft as any blanket."

"I think you mean Flame's coat," Rainbow Dash said, "after all, you were cuddling so tightly, I doubt you ever caught any hint of the forest floor."

Twilight and Flame smiled as they joined their friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were assigned to breakfast duty, and they quickly whipped up some stuff from an apple tree they had located the night before. "Mm," Twilight said as she ate her apple crisp, "these are delicious!"

Everypony agreed that it was one of the greatest breakfasts they had ever tasted. "You ever see that TV show Chef Pony?" Rarity asked.

"No," Rainbow said, "why?"

"Well, darling, you're a natural! You and Applejack both! I think you should try out."

As Applejack and Rainbow Dash mulled over Rarity's words, a sudden chill came over the forest. The ponies all shivered and huddled close together, trying to keep warm. "What the hay?!" Applejack asked.

"It's magic!" Twilight responded, "and I think I know where it's coming from…"

"Where?" Fluttershy asked.

"Him!" Twilight shouted as she pointed at a new figure that emerged into their campsite. It was a tall, mean looking black and silver unicorn with a bent horn. His sharp teeth and evil glare screamed his name. His mane was pure purple flame, and fire leapt from his very soul. Twilight gritted her teeth as she redirected her feelings into spitting anger. It was Sombra himself.