Forgotten

Twilight raced into Rarity's boutique, out of breath. The past thirty minutes of her life had been completely transformative, only the transformations weren't good ones. On the contrary, they had taken the purple pony's very existence and thrown it into a tornadic tailspin that saw her wide eyed and panicked as she entered her friend's shop. She felt like nothing would ever be the same again, and she knew that if Rarity had forgotten who she was, then all her worst fears would be realized.

She walked up to where Rarity was helping somepony with a dress. She knew that helping clients was the most important thing Rarity did, but this was urgent. After all, in a relatively small sliver of time, she seemed to have been erased from existence! She had to know if Rarity remembered her. So she tapped the pretty mare on the shoulder.

She was met with bright blue eyes that were rather upset at being interrupted, but showed a strong level of inquisition and uncertainty. Oh, no, Twilight said to herself, she doesn't remember me! Externally, she smiled and said, "hi, Rarity!"

"Um, hello, darling. If you'll excuse me, I'll be with you in a moment."

She turned back and resumed helping her client. Twilight's face fell. There was no bright eyed recognition of their friendship, no reaffirmation of their sisterhood. It seemed as if all the wonderful memories the two had made together had been dashed to pieces, and Twilight could not reassemble them. Her lip quivered a bit. None of her friends knew who she was. But she had to keep a stalwart face. She would just befriend them all over again! Then she remembered the evil look Rainbow Dash had given her and that idea flew out the window like a beautiful bird that was just out of reach.

When Rarity had finished her business, she turned back and faced Twilight. "Yes, darling. I'm sorry for being so short with you, but that was one of my most important clients: Sassy Saddles, the brilliant fashion designer. Now, how may I be of service to you?"

"Wait…Sassy Saddles is one of your clients?"

"Yes! OH, it's wonderful! She even said that I make amazing gowns, and that, if I work really hard, someday I might be able to open my own boutique in Canterlot!"

Twilight's mouth fell open. The entire world had gone backwards! Rarity's shop in Canterlot had been whisked away by the wind thanks to whatever was in that magic wave. The smiling fashionista had no idea that she was once the proud owner of a fashion empire. Now, she was back to being simply Rarity, the generous designer from Ponyville.

"Um…uh…"

"Is something wrong, darling?"

"No, I mean, yes," Twilight stumbled through her words, "look, I know this is gonna sound utterly and completely insane, but…we're friends, Rarity."

"Friends? Oh, I'm sure you're a lovely pony and whatnot, but I don't have time for frivolities like that. Sweetie, I'm building a glorious fashion wonderland here, and I just don't have the schedule for things like friendship and trust. It's a fashionable world out there, and I'm gonna take it over! Soon, I'll be the fashion queen of Equestria!"

Her eyes sparkled as she praised herself. That's not the Rarity I know, Twilight said to herself, she always talked about her employees over herself. She gave them a lot of credit. I mean, true, it's because of her vision that her fashion empire was built in the first place, but still. She's never been so self-serving! Come to think of it, all of my friends were acting like the opposite of their Elements of Harmony. Applejack was mistrusting, Rainbow Dash was mean and disloyal, and Rarity's selfish! Holy Celestia! Does that mean Fluttershy is a cruel animal hater…and does that mean Pinkie Pie is a grouch? Oh, not that again!

She flashed back to their battle with Discord when her friends had become corrupted. She relived the pain she went through when she realized that her friendships had been destroyed and there was nothing she could do about it. Her tears were many as she had allowed his evil spirit to mess with her mind. Then she smiled as she remembered the Elements of Harmony and how they had rescued them. But now the Elements were gone and the Tree of Harmony had been destroyed, thanks to King Sombra. But, friendship itself is magic! So…why has its magic been erased?

"Darling," Rarity said, breaking into Twilight's thoughts. The purple pony snapped back into reality. "Yes?"

"I adore those wings," Rarity said, "they are well fit for any Pegasus, but…it's about your horn."

"My horn?"

"Indeed. Only unicorns are allowed to use magic. Anypony knows that. You'd better get rid of it, you imposter, or I shall have to report you to Queen Celestia's secret police! Now, get out of my shop, you horrendous doppelganger!" Rarity screamed the final words at Twilight as the purple pony bolted from the store. The fashion obsessed mare had even dared to nip at her a little bit. Twilight was shocked. She had never seen Rarity get so angry. I have to get to the bottom of this, she told herself, but first…I have to see if my assumptions are correct. I have to get to Fluttershy's cottage!

So she ran off towards the edge of town, and the small home that the quiet Pegasus had built for herself. When she got there, she stopped and her mouth fell open once again. It was one of the most disgusting sights she had ever seen. The front flowerbeds were badly in need of weeding, and not a single flower blossomed. The front lawn was overgrown, and Twilight noticed multiple clumps of poison ivy and oak growing freely.

The cottage itself was even worse. Vines climbed the face of the tree that Fluttershy lived in, and the windows were broken. The front door had been knocked off its hinges, and was in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. What was worse, the entire thing seemed to sag on its foundation. Twilight stepped lightly as she made her way over the weed covered front walk and knocked on the door. "Fluttershy?"

Suddenly, a sleazy, yet angry stallion's voice answered. "Who is it?!"

"Um…Twilight Sparkle?"

Suddenly, a blue pony came running down the stairs and stopped short when he saw the rather pretty young mare before him. His eyes bugged out and he slicked his mane back. Twilight recoiled with a groan. It wasn't Fluttershy, but her lazy younger brother, Zephyr Breeze.

"Oh, I see we have a new mare in town…and, if I may say so, she is as hot as the fires that burn in-"

"Save it," Twilight growled, "I'm not in the mood for cheesy pick-up lines. Now, where is Fluttershy?"

"My sister? Why? What has she done this time?"

"Done?"

"Yeah, you don't know? The other day, she killed some baby birds because she got angry at their chirping. Then, she took a raccoon to task for getting into the trash that's piled up in back."

"What?!" Twilight asked in shock. The Fluttershy she knew would never be so heartless. Killing baby birds? She wouldn't expect something so evil out of Equestria's worst villains. She didn't think even Sombra or Chrysalis, nasty as they were, would slaughter small animals like that.

"So…has she done something?"

"No, no…I was just looking for her to ask her something, but never mind. Thanks, Zephyr."

"Hey…how'd you know my name?"

She thought about explaining the entire situation to him, but decided against it. After all, he wouldn't understand a word that came out of her mouth. So she simply told him that she had heard of him from his brilliant mane styling, and he immediately began thanking her. In fact, he thanked her so much, that she had to physically pull herself away from him.

That stallion needs to learn how to respect mares, she told herself, …and then get himself a marefriend, and a better life.

She trotted through town, despairing at the situation. The skies were their normal blue, and everypony else seemed to be acting like their usual selves. She saw Big Mac selling apples, Lyra and Bon-Bon were still stuck like glue, and Derpy Hooves was still…running into things. Am I the only pony here who has no idea what's going on? She asked herself. She even walked by Pinkie Pie, and noticed that her assumptions about her had been correct as well. The pink mare walked by some school foals but, instead of cracking a joke or bouncing around in delight, she began bullying the poor things.

Twilight had to step in, so she ran and stood in front of them. "Hey! Pick on somepony your own size!"

"Like you?" Pinkie growled back, "you know, your horn and your wings look hilarious! What are you?! A demented mash-up?! A failed science experiment?!"

Pinkie began laughing as Twilight recoiled at her insults. The joviality was still there, but it was all funneled into cruel slanderous phrases. "No," Twilight said, trying to keep her composure, "I am an Alicorn."

"What the hay's an Alicorn?!"

"I am!"

"Sorry, never heard of one. But I don't think I'd want to, anyway. You look like you're the dumbest pony in Equestria!"

Twilight stepped backwards a bit, ears drooping. She never knew Pinkie had such a harsh tongue. She decided the best thing to do was to get out of there, so she walked away. Thankfully, the foals had been able to scamper on their way and avoid more of Pinkie's bullying. All of my friends…are gone, Twilight thought sadly, but then she perked up. "Starlight!" She said out loud.

This caught the attention of a passing mare. "Pardon me, but did you say, 'Starlight?'"

"Yes! Starlight Glimmer!"

"Oh, I wouldn't go around saying that name…"

"Why not?" Twilight asked. Surely, the guidance counselor of the School of Friendship hadn't changed. But then again, this day had been completely crazy. So Twilight prepared herself to hear what she didn't want to hear.

"Starlight's been in jail for a long time. They say she ran a village that taught the values of friendship and individuality to ponies."

"What?! But…isn't friendship still important?"

"Yeah, but only if ponies want to be friends. Queen Celestia stresses the importance of not forcing friendship on anypony."

"But…but friendship isn't something that needs to be forced! It's an amazing thing that celebrates the differences between ponies while bringing them together! It's a magnet, and opposites always attract!"

"Eh…now, we just look at the differences and move on. There's members of every pony race that hate others because they don't have a horn or wings or they can't pull a plow. There's really no coexistence between any of the three groups. By the way, I'd lose either the horn or the wings. It just isn't natural. Besides, it's illegal. I would report you, but…I kinda like you. You seem to have a level head."

The mare turned and walked off, muttering to herself. Twilight was in complete shock. The impossible had happened. Everything had been torn asunder in the blink of an eye. Equestria had become a place that had forgotten, not only her, but the true values of friendship. I've gotta get to the bottom of this, Twilight said to herself, and then stopped short. Mayor Mare's office! I can look up the records of everypony who's ever lived in Ponyville! With this idea fresh in her mind, she dashed off towards the town hall.