Chapters “I only met you once… when you yelled at me at the games...”
That was what Twilight had said, and it was true. As far as she could remember, the only time Sunset Shimmer had ever interacted with her, had even spoken to her, was back at the Friendship Games, yelling at her for how she was using magic. Her friends all shared those memories, and not one of them had a good thing to say about Sunset.
Then why did what she say bother her? Why did it feel like something was out of place? The more that she thought about it, recalling how the flame haired girl had reacted, how she claimed about being ‘erased’, the more did her old thoughts stick out in her mind. Some of them didn’t make sense… not when she looked at them again. But that just couldn’t happen, could it? Magic was capable of many things, but erasing someone completely from your memories? Making you think that they weren’t your friend? Was that even possible?
“Twilight, Darling? Are you alright there? You’ve been frowning like that for some time now.” Rarity’s voice came, breaking the young woman out of her thoughts. The pale skinned woman had closed her tanning mirror, gazing directly at her. It only took Twilight a moment to realize she hadn’t been tinkering with her little selfie sensor for several minutes now, lost in thought. Few things had even been able to stop Twilight when she was focused on a project.
Twilight gave all her friends an uneasy smile, noting that Rarity’s observation had drawn all their attention to her. It made a bit of guilt well up in her chest that her own internal issues had disrupted the girl’s enjoyment, even if most of them were just relaxing and enjoying the sun. The bookworm shook her head, trying to push away at the worries that were eating away at her mind. “I’m sure it’s nothing… just something that got me thinking.”
“About what, if ya don’ mind me askin’?” Applejack said, tilting her head at the bespectacled girl. Out of all her friends, Applejack was the one who was probably the closest to the entire group. If Twilight had to guess, it was probably owed to the girls large extensive family, making the farm girl go out of her way to help those she cared about. “Ya don’ really get that scrunchy look on yer face unless somethings bothering ya, Twi.”
The girl blushed at the comment, even as a small smile crossed her face. It was still so hard to believe sometimes that these five girls had become such close and dear friends to her, having helped her through so much. To be able to pick up on her slightest facial cues and read her emotions, it was something that she had only ever heard about. But that’s what made her worries stick out all the more. For a girl she had supposedly never talked to outside of the Friendship Games months ago, Twilight could see just how anguished and worried Sunset had been when they had denied ever being friends with her. “Really, it’s ok, I’m probably just worrying over nothing.”
“Oh, just come out and say what’s bothering you!” Rainbow Dash said, sitting up from her relaxed position against the lawn chair that she and the rest of the girls had put out to enjoy the sun on the beach. The blue skinned girl raised an eyebrow as she smirked at her friend, crossing her arms. “You know we’re not going to leave you alone about it until you tell us anyway.”
“She’s right you know… I mean, we’ll be kind about it and try not to push you, but we’ll want to make sure you’re ok…um… if that’s alright.” Fluttershy added, giving her best encouraging smile to Twilight.
It was with a heavy sigh that the lavender skinned woman straightened up a bit, looking at her five friends before nodding lightly at them. “I think… Sunset Shimmer might have not been lying...”
“WHAT?!” Pinkie yelled, startling the rest of the girls with her sudden and loud exclamation. The party girl then gave Twilight a long hard look, one eye stretching open wide as she rubbed her chin. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Twilight Sparkle?! Why would you believe anything that meanie says?”
“Yeah, she’s like the worst person ever!” Rainbow Dash added in, throwing out her arms for emphasis. “We’ve told you all about how she’s treated us, right? What she’s done? Why would you think she wasn’t lying about being our friends?”
“Now hold on there, sally, let the gal finish,” Applejack said, placing a hand on both of her loud friends shoulders, giving them a firm but calming squeeze. It got the two looking back at the farmer, who then nodded over to Twilight. “Y’all know just as well as Ah do that Twilight ain’t the one to just believe some sack of hooey like that without reason.”
That put Twilight on the spot again, as each girl now looked at her with curious eyes and expectant faces. It reminded the young bookworm why she hated public speaking, feeling her nerves get the better of her. She didn’t want to disappoint her friends or upset them, but her analytical mind just wouldn’t let her concerns go. It was like ignoring an incorrect math problem, it just wouldn’t leave her mind until she fixed it. “It’s not the friends thing that got me thinking about what Sunset said… but about her being erased...” She finally admitted, looking at the girls in turn.
“You don’t really think that could actually happen… do you?” Fluttershy asked, clutching her arms a little closer to her, like she might be the next victim, eyes darting left to right as if to hopefully catch the monster who could do it before she was attacked.
“Honestly, a lot of what I expected in life has been kinda upended once I learned about magic.” Twilight pointed out, even if she gave a comforting smile to her friend. It felt weird to comfort someone who at times could even be more timid than she tended to be, but it was worth it to make Fluttershy feel better. “But yeah… when I think about it? I think she might have been telling the truth.”
“And what, pray tell, convinced you of that, Darling?” Rarity asked, the fashionista clearly confused. She wasn’t the only one, as the rest of Twilight’s circle were all wearing faces of disbelief and concern.
Closing her eyes, Twilight Sparkle thought back through her memories, of all the things she’s done since meeting her friends to her first meeting with Sunset Shimmer. It was as she was reviewing what had happened to her that it really stood out. She opened her eyes and looked at her friends, worry coloring her amethyst irises. “Girls… do you remember what stopped me from being Midnight Sparkle?”
That got the rest of her friends turning to each other, each one with raised eyebrows. It was Pinkie that turned back first, confusion obvious on her face as she responded. “Didn’t you just come back down and go back to normal after your power ran out?”
Twilight shook her head, her brow coming together as she remembered what it was like to be Midnight Sparkle, the sensation of power and the overwhelming desire to learn everything, no matter what the cost. She hadn’t cared who got in her way, be it the Shadowbolts, Principal Cinch, or even her current friends. If she had to take everything apart molecule by molecule, she would have done it. There was no ‘coming down’ from that. “No… I didn’t. I wouldn’t have stopped, not of my own power. Something stopped me… And I think it has something to do with Sunset.”
“But that doesn’t even make sense!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, throwing her hands out before her in exaggeration. “I get it, we’ve got all this weird magic stuff going on. But us? Being friends with Sunset Shimmer? Really? The girl literally tried to break up our friendship! She’s the anti-friendship!”
Twilight wilted as she watched her friends agree with the athlete, each of them voicing memories in turn about Sunset Shimmer and the horrible things that she had done. The young woman heard some of these before, but had never really thought about it. Now, though, it served as a barrier to ward off the one girl that none of them trusted. It struck her as profoundly wrong, something that went against the very grain of what her friends stood for.
Standing a bit straighter, eyes narrowing, Twilight looked at each of the other girls in turn. “You girls told me before that the magic of friendship is nothing like anything else in the world, that it should be cherished and celebrated. If Sunset’s right… if she’s truly been erased from our memories and lives… do you really want her to be left all alone, without anyone?”
Her question hit home. Everyone looked uncomfortable, from Fluttershy appearing horrified at the thought to Applejack pulling off her hat, her brow creased. Even Rainbow Dash, for all of her words against the flame-haired woman, was rubbing her arm and looking away in guilt. They all stood there for a moment and it was then that Twilight realized, they knew what it felt like. Sunset had been the cause of their broken friendship before, from what she had learned.
“But… what if she’s not like that? What if this is all just a trick?” Pinkie Pie asked finally to break the silence, a heavy frown twisting her face. It was rare to see the party planning girl like that, the ever present smile vanished with the seriousness of the discussion, her hair losing some of it’s normal vibrant curls.
“She has done stuff like this before, Twilight. Do y’all really want to take that risk?” Applejack said, drawing the bookworm’s attention back to farm girl.
“I do, Applejack.” Twilight said, breathing softly. She clutched her hand close, pressing it against her heart as she reviewed her memories one last time. She straightened up once more, convinced now that there was something very wrong here. “Regardless of what’s going on, I’m wanting to get to the bottom of this!”
Her friends, wonderful girls all, looked uncertain to each other for a few moments. One after another, they all gave reluctant nods. The pain and trouble Sunset Shimmer had caused them in the past hung like a dark cloud over their thoughts, but denying Twilight wasn’t something they could do. She was her friend. They had to help her out… and be there to protect her when everything went wrong.
~oOo~
The girls spent the rest of the day trying to find Sunset, combing the beach for the flame-haired girl with little luck. Everyone else they talked to that knew of the girl held the same low opinion, thinking her little more than a bully. It was something that made the others a little bit more confident that she was just trying to trick them again, but Twilight wouldn’t let the matter drop.
Still, the sun was going down by the time the six friends all gathered again at the Sweet Shoppe, having turned up nothing. The girls were all sitting around their normal table, annoyance and exhaustion on their faces. Twilight herself had pulled off her glasses, rubbing her eyelids. “How could one girl be so hard to find?!” She asked her friends.
“Maybe she got while the getting was good?” Rainbow suggested, stabbing at her sundae with a plastic spoon. “I mean, if I thought everyone hated my guts, I probably wouldn’t stick around for very long. Not sure where the heck she’d go though.”
“Oh, I really hope not. I don’t think I could bear it if we left her all alone, without any friends because of some magic spell.” Fluttershy said, shrinking in on herself. Out of all of her friends, the animal lover seem to be the only one who truly believed that Sunset had been erased, though whether the idea of being forgotten frightened the shy girl or made her feel sorry for Sunset, Twilight wasn’t certain.
“Ah still think this is all a mighty big waste of our time...” Applejack said, leaning back against her seat. “Ah mean, Ah get yer worried that we’re letting down a possible friend, Twi, but Ah still trust Sunset Shimmer about as much as Ah trust dem Flimflam brothers.”
“Oh, please, don’t speak of those beastly men. If the power of erasing memories truly is a thing, I’d rather it be them that were forgotten.” Rarity said, pausing from her sketch book to shudder a bit and give the farmer a small look. She turned back to the thick pad almost immediately afterwards, resuming her work on the most recent design.
“Well, it could always be worst! At least we don’t have the entire school fighting again like when the Sirens had cast their spell. I still remember all those faces they were making. You know, like rawr!” Pinke said, ending her example by sticking two straws into her mouth, using them as fangs and curling her fingers to make claws, putting on her best ‘evil monster’ face.
That comment got Twilight’s eyebrows up, a frown on her face as she looked over to the party girl. “Sirens? Like the mythical creatures?”
“Oh yeah, we never told you about that, did we?” Dash said, grinning a bit at her friend. “You don’t have to worry about those three, we took care of them good.”
“Just what were they, if you don’t mind me asking?” Twilight asked, curiosity piqued. Despite the Friendship Games and her time at Camp Everfree, the young woman’s exposure to magic had been fairly limited. As someone who prized herself on knowledge and learning, to be so inexperienced in a field was a sore point for the girl and Twilight was more than determined to learn as much as she could, even about past experiences.
“They were a trio of girls, all of them comin’ from Princess Twilight’s world.” Applejack explained, resting her chin on her right fist as she recalled the experience. “Nasty little varmints, too. Got control of the entire school just by singing a few notes. Even Principal Celestia was all tied up in their spell tighter than a cow in a rodeo. If it wasn’t for the Princess, who knows what might of happened.”
Twilight blinked at that, a little surprised. She knew her Pony Dimensional Counterpart had come to CHS before, she had been told as much to explain why everyone already knew so much about her but this was the first time she had heard anything about these ‘sirens’. “Sounds like it was quite an adventure.”
“Oh by the stars, Darling, you just had to be there!” Rarity exclaimed, suddenly grinning ear to ear as she started to flip through her sketchpad. “In fact, I think I’ve got the design for your counterpart’s dress somewhere in here. I’m sure with some of the right modifications, I can make it shine for your own figure!”
The lavender-haired woman couldn’t help but smile at the fashionista, shaking her head. She was about to tell the girl not to worry about it when Rarity’s already pale skin turned a grayish shade, her hands shaking. The sudden change in demeanor didn’t go unnoticed by the others. “Rares? Something the matter?” Applejack asked, her voice tinged with concern.
Gulping audibly, the alabaster woman turned over her sketchpad, showing off the dress on the page. It was a bright ensemble, with flashy trim and vibrant colors of red and gold with just a hint of blue decorating the very hem of the dress. This, combined with boyish cut of the dress and the pose of the figure in the drawing itself, didn’t fit anyone of Twilight’s friends.
“I remember every single dress I’ve ever designed. I can recall every single stitch, cut, and baste right down to the inseam.” She said softly, her voice quavering lightly. She tapped the dress shown with a manicured nail. “I don’t remember ever doing this one at all. And that could only mean...”
“That Sunset is telling the truth and that she’s been erased from our memories.” Twilight said, feeling a bit vindicated now that she had visible proof to the tampering done to their minds.
Silence reigned over the group, Applejack and Rainbow Dash visibly shaken by the revelation. The farmer in particular was chewing at her lip, as if she still didn’t want to admit it, to agree that the girl that had caused them so much abuse was telling them the truth.
It was Pinkie who was the first to found her voice again, tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. She was looking down at a tablet, the bright pink handheld at odds with the sorrow in her voice. “That’s not all girls… I’ve got her information here in my party planner… her birthday, her favorite things, even past presents I’ve gotten her. I wouldn’t do that for someone like Sunset… not unless they were really close friends of mine.”
Applejack let out a low sigh, pulling off her hat and rubbing her fingers through her hair. She opened her mouth for a moment, paused, and closed it again. Shaking her head, she looked up at Twilight, before speaking. “Ah still don’t like it, but not even Sunset could fake all this.”
“Exactly.” Twilight said, slapping her hand against the table and getting the attention of her friends. She stood up from her seat, making sure they all understood how serious she was about this. “We need to find Sunset and figure out how to get our memories back. I’m not going to let a friend of mine just be forgotten because of some Equestrian magic!”
Her friends nodded, some more reluctantly than others. The lavender-haired woman chose to ignore that as she began to go over their plans for the next day, knowing that whatever happened, they were going to make things between them and Sunset right!
Author's Note
Forgotten Friendship is a rather odd piece of media for me. While on the one hand it has some of the most powerful moments in all of Equestria Girls, such as Sunset’s Reunion with Celestia and her Sacrifice, it’s also full of plot holes and a lot of meandering that really takes away from the special.
This story was written in particular not only to really poke at those mistakes in the original special and a little bit of practice for me since I’ve not been doing much writing at all as of late, but also the fact that I feel like there could have been a bit more of an interesting story by having Twilight acting a bit closer to her character.
Twilight woke up early the next morning, shutting off her alarm before it even went off and slipping out of bed. A grim line of determination crossed her lips as she went about her daily ritual to get ready, dressing in her casual outfit, tucking in her blue blouse and making sure that her purple skirt was on tight. A small sigh escaped her when she finished putting her hair in its customary ponytail before looking over at the side of her dresser where the locket that held her geode lay.
It was that geode that had been one of the major parts of Twilight’s focus the night before. After she and her friends had finished making plans, the young scientist had spent the majority of her time before bed writing down each and every part of her memory that she couldn’t recall. The Friendship games, of course, had been the start of the blank spots, but it extended out so much further than that.
Twilight had been terrified of Midnight Sparkle to the point of nightmares and withdrawing away from her friends. But that was all gone by the end of her time at Camp Everfree, when they had gotten the geodes and their new ‘pony up’ forms. And yet, how she was able to get over those feelings, to find the strength to face those fears… it was all gone. All that she could remember clearly was spending a lot of time in her tent, alone, and the eventual fight against Gloriosia.
And that wasn’t even the end of it. There were solid chunks of her life in the last few months that were just erased from her mind. There were entire days that her brain told her she had gone out that day, but couldn’t recall a single event after that until she had returned home later that night. There were small pockets of things she could recall, usually when it involved her friends, but other than that, they were simply gone. It was like someone had taken a portion of her mind and just cut it free.
The sound of a cars horn blaring outside her normally quiet neighborhood brought Twilight out of her thoughts, drawing her attention to the rattling old truck sitting outside the curb of her house. It’s engine gave a small little puttering sound while it’s owner, Applejack, sat in the drivers seat and waved down her friend. Twilight was soon rushing out the door, though she spared a quick glance at her neighbors just in case the farmers loud vehicle woke them.
“Thanks for picking me up, Aj.” Twilight told her, hopping into the passenger seat and smiling at her friend.
“Aw, tain’t nothing, Twi.” The farmer responded with a grin of her own, clutching the stick of the truck and putting it into the next gear before pulling back out onto the road. “Ah’m an early riser as is, so it didn’t bother me none ta come out and get ya. So, what’s the plan today?”
“More searching, though I think we should be using our powers a bit more this time around,” Twilight said, her face becoming serious once more as she pulled up a map on her phone. “We stuck mostly around the beach and none of us really used the geodes at all. With Rainbow Dash’s super speed, Fluttershy’s animal empathy, and my telekinesis, I’m certain we can cover a lot more ground.”
Applejack nodded, humming to herself, flipping the turn signal before moving onto the main road. “Sounds like a plan. Ah’m pretty sure Rarity and Pinkie Pie are also callin’ up everyone they know ta see if they’ve seen Sunset, and between those two social butterflies, that’s a lot of folks ta talk to.”
“I’m just hoping we find her before she does something drastic...” Twilight muttered, clutching her phone a bit harder as she recalled Sunset’s face from the previous day. It had been a near heartbroken look, eyes glossy with tears and a quaver in her voice. It was something Twilight had seen many times before in her mirror when the days at Crystal Prep had been at their hardest, with only Spike to really confide into. The lavender skinned girl recalled just what state her mind had been in, how she had done her best to hide her anguish and despair behind her intellect.
But Sunset’s situation was different. Instead of never having friends and being abused by those she knew, the girl ended up losing all the friends she had ever known in a single day. To have everyone you cared for turn against you and act like you didn’t exist… it just made Twilight hope that their search didn’t end at the bottom of a river or at the end of a knife.
Applejack remained silent for the rest of the car ride, clearly not willing to add her own thoughts into the mix. The farmer, even after the night before, still had reservations about helping the girl that she could only remember as a bully. From what Twilight had been able to learn by being Aj’s friend, the blonde woman considered everyone of their group to be family. And for the Apples, family was more important than anyone else. Sunset had ruined that family, once upon a time.
As the pair pulled into the parking lot of Central Canterlot Park, a wide open area roughly 3 miles in length, Twilight pulled out her phone and turned it on. The locked screen’s image was that of Sunset, another piece of physical evidence (Along with all the other pictures in her phone) that things weren’t as they were meant to be. “We’ve got roughly an hour or so before school starts,” Twilight said, pulling out the stack of papers from her bag and handing half of them to Applejack. The girl’s Super Strength, while a useful ability, would do little and less to help them track down Sunset. “You take the west side of the Park and I’ll take the east. We’ll meet in the middle and see if anyone has seen her. With luck, we can at least get a lead before the first bell.”
The farmer nodded, grabbing the stack before turning about and heading into the park proper. From the quiet way she held herself, Twilight couldn’t help but worry about Applejack. There wasn’t anything to do about it now, though. The girls had a more important task on hand. Taking what remained of the fliers, Twilight grabbed at her pendant and focused.
Almost immediately, her geode lit up with a pale purple light, the aura flowing around the papers before her. Each slip quickly hovered before her, allowing Twilight to see Sunset’s face plastered on each one. With an effort of will, all of the papers flew out into the park, adhering themselves to trees, telephone poles, and at least one large truck. With that task done, it was time for the scientist to test out her magic in a new way. She wasn’t certain if it was going to even work but desperate times called for new strategies. Focusing on the levitation power once more, Twilight let out a small gasp as she felt her feet leave the ground, her entire body floating a solid half foot off in the air.
“Looks like I can lift myself…” The girl whispered to herself, frowning as she focused a bit more. She could feel the strain on her magic growing as she raised herself into the air, even wobbling to and fro as she forced past the limits of her power. It became almost unbearable by the time she reached the treetops and Twilight decided not to push it anymore. Testing her skills further, Twilight was happy to find that she could move through the air, albeit slowly.
Floating through the sky now, Twilight began her search for Sunset, using her vantage point in the air see as much of the land as possible. When her power began to wane, the scientist landed on the strongest branch of the nearest tree, letting her mind and magic recover. She sent off texts to her friends to gauge their own progress when she landed on the tree at the edge of the park. The results were lackluster to say the least.
Even with Rainbow Dash possessing super speed, Canterlot was among the biggest cities in the country, making it incredibly hard to find a single girl even at her top speeds. Fluttershy’s animal empathy had also turned up negative, with none of the animals the pink-haired teen had talked to had seen Sunset in the last few days. Pinkie and Rarity also reported no luck on their side of things, their own contacts having either not seen the girl at all or having no interest in helping the girls once they learned who they were looking for.
With a small grunt of annoyance, Twilight continued her slow levitation through the trees for the rest of her allotted hour, using her vantage point as best as she could. In the end, though, she ended up just gliding down to where Aj had parked her truck, rubbing her temples at the throbbing headache that had set in from using her powers too much.
“Ah take it from the look on yer face y’all didn’t have any luck neither?” Aj asked, her tone rough and agitated from the other side of the car. The farmer tossed what remained of her fliers into the passenger seat, not really caring as several them landed on the floor instead.
Twilight shook her head, letting out a small whine as she did. “Not even a single clue. I just don’t understand it.”
Applejack gave a small grunt, shrugging her broad shoulders as she leaned against her truck. “Ah don’t think there’s much ta understand. After yesterday, Ah’m sure as sugar wouldn’t want ta deal with anyone, much less the girls that Ah thought were my friends turning on me.”
Biting her lip, Twilight couldn’t stop the unsettled knot of worry in her stomach from growing. Were they really too late to do anything for Sunset? Had she gone and left Canterlot never to return? Or had she resorted to a more permanent means of solving her issues? Twilight just wasn’t sure if she could stand not knowing.
Opening the door to the driver side of the truck, Applejack shook her head to her friend, a frown twisting her lips. “We should probably get a move on, Twilight. If we dawdle around any longer, we’re going to be late for class.”
Nodding, Twilight took one last look to the park behind her, hoping to see some glimpse of Sunset before stepping into the truck.
~oOo~
Classes for the day went by at a snails pace. It didn’t matter how important the subjects were or how much she enjoyed her normal day of learning, Twilight just didn’t have the heart to focus at all. Instead, she sat in the back of the class brooding, trying to think of other ways to find Sunset. More than one of her teachers took notice of the girls change in demeanor and even approached her about it, though luckily they all accepted the excuse that Twilight simply didn’t feel well.
Except… it wasn’t just an excuse. There was this constant sick feeling in Twilight’s body that grew with each passing hour and it only became worse when she thought of Sunset. It felt like a horrible combination of worry, confusion, and a bit of fear. She knew it wasn’t just the possibility of losing a friend she once had either. Something more resided within her, locked away within the erased memories. Not knowing what was slowing driving her crazy!
She had been halfway towards the cafeteria when she heard the shouting coming from the hall she passed, one voice she recognized in an instant. Spinning around on the spot, Twilight dashed back to find Sunset Shimmer sitting on the floor, the girls face twisted with anguish as she talked to Trixie of all people. “Sunset!” She cried, running over to the pair.
The flame-haired woman’s head shot up as she heard the call, staring right at Twilight. Standing straight, a small smile crossed her face before returning to that hurt frown, Sunset grabbing one arm with her hand, looking away. Beside her Trixie looked back and forth between the two, tilting her head in confusion. “Hey, Twilight...” Sunset said at last.
“Sunset, We’ve been looking all over for you!” Twilight exclaimed, feeling relieved for the first time in over a day. To see the girl healthy and whole before her, it made that sick sensation evaporate.
“You have?” Sunset asked, confusion filling her tone. A light in her eyes shown as she took a trembling step forward, hand reaching out. “Wait, does that mean… Twilight, do you remember me?”
Twilight winced at the question, even more so at that hopeful look in the girls face. “I’m sorry, Sunset, but I don’t. But that doesn’t mean we don’t believe you. After you left, we realized we couldn’t remember things like the Friendship Games or Camp Everfree. We found proof in Rarity’s Sketchpad and Pinkie's planner that something isn’t right.” Twilight explained in a rush, wanting to do anything to prevent the pained look in Sunset’s eyes from returning. “We believe you. Something did mess with our memories.”
Sunset remained quiet for a long moment before closing her eyes. A pair of tears made their way down her cheeks before she swiped at them with the back of her hand. “I can’t tell you… how much that means to me.” The girl choked out, giving an extra large sniff.
“If I didn’t believe you before...” Trixie said, her tone subdued, the haughty gaze she normally wore being replaced by quiet shock. “I believe you now. The Sunset I knew would have never cried like this.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. There was no way that the girl that had yelled at her at the beginning of the games would be acting so frail. The girl in her memories was haughty, angry and forceful. “And now we’re here to help you out, Sunset. Tell me what you need us to do to fix this.”
“For now? I want you and the girls to be careful.” Sunset stated, her brow furrowing. “Whoever is causing all this has an Equestrian artifact known as the Memory Stone. They’ve used it to take away every memory of all the good I’ve ever done and they can also use it to erase the memory of us ever chasing them in the first place. I want you girls to keep low profile. I don’t want whose ever doing this to erase even more of your memories.”
“But what about you? We can’t just leave you to fix this all by yourself.” Twilight pointed out, even as that sick filling she had in her body returned. It screamed out to her, demanding that she should do anything but let Sunset out of her sight and find the memory thief on her own.
“Have no fear, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie spoke up suddenly, waving her arms before her in a dramatic faction. The magician gave then gave wide grin before pointing to the sky in heartfelt proclamation. “Your friend shall not go onto this mission alone for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have pledged my aid in recovering the lost memories!”
The entire thing left the scientist gaping. From what little she knew of Trixie, the girl had never exactly been friendly to Sunset… or the rest of the girls for that matter. Mostly it seemed to her that the magician was mostly focused on getting people to come to her shows and often shouting at the top of her lungs just how great and powerful she was. “Are… you sure?” She asked eventually, turning to Sunset.
“She did offer. And for all of her… flair, there is more to her than I thought.” Sunset admitted with a small grin. It left as quickly as it came, the flame-haired teen taking a small breath before looking straight at Twilight. “More than anything else, I want you and the girls safe. Alright?”
Twilight nodded to her friend, offering a small smile even as her innards rebelled against the idea, nearly overwhelming her with the sheer strength of the sensation. Her will was strong, though, and she pushed it down and hid it. “Just make sure you be careful too, Sunset.” Twilight responded, keeping her voice calm. “I don’t want to forget anymore about you.”
That odd emotion flicked in Sunset’s eyes once more and before Twilight knew it she found herself captured in a tight hug. The smell of well worn leather and floral shampoo filled her nose, making her yearn for… something. It should mean something to her, she knew… but what? A blush had settled on Sunset’s face when she finally pulled away, her hand reaching up for a moment before pulling away. “Please… Stay safe.” she whispered.
She stood motionless, watching as Trixie and Sunset headed down the hall and out of sight, not at all caring that the bell had rung. Twilight found her legs working automatically, taking off to her next class, even as her inner emotions fought against it. One thing had been clear to her, the thoughts running constantly through her intelligent mind. The way Sunset had said those final words sounded like a goodbye…
Twilight could only hope that she was wrong.
Author's Note
Author’s Notes: As one might figure from having the entire story being told from Twilight’s point of view, we don’t really get to see things from Sunset’s side. The reason for this is, other than it being pretty clear what Sunset’s going through right now, I felt that most of the stuff handled in Equestria was actually pretty damn solid in the special. It’s the human side that was the problem.
In reworking this to try and kill my overuse of LUS, I actually rewrote the part with Trixie, since what I originally had didn’t feel as true to the character. While I might not like the character as much as others do, I still feel like she deserved something more than I originally had.
As always, I thank you all for reading and I hope to see you all in the next chapter.
Twilight let out a small sigh of relief once she heard back from Fluttershy, the last of the girls to respond to the text informing them of everything that Sunset had told her. While Rainbow Dash wanted to skip class to immediately start searching for the Memory Stone, the rest of the girls were able to cool the speedsters heel. The possibility of losing more memories just because she decided to ask the wrong person about the magical artifact was enough to make even the hot headed girl think twice. That, of course, left Twilight suffering through her next class with the knowledge that Sunset was out there with only Trixie as help.
It wasn’t like Twilight didn’t trust the blue haired magician, but her overall impression of the girl had mostly been that of a showboating ego case than anything else. But then again, with their very memories in question, whose to say that Trixie’s own good deeds hadn’t been erased from everyone's thoughts just like Sunsets? Regardless, it left Twilight even more distracted from her class than before, now wanting nothing more than to be with Sunset and help her.
But what do I feel like that? Twilight asked herself, biting her lip as she stared down blankly at the unfinished history essay, her pencil tapping at the blank lines. Why does it feel like I should be skipping class and doing everything I can to be with Sunset right now? It doesn’t make any sense! With a rough groan of annoyance, the scientist simply put down her pencil and gave up her assignment as a bad job. She’d just have to finish it tomorrow instead of turning it in the day it was given out to the class like she normally did. Hopefully the teacher wouldn’t mind too much about that, even if the essay was due in two weeks.
Pulling out a fresh sheet of paper, she instead wrote down all the people likely to use the magic of Equestria against Sunset. The list was, sadly, both very long and very short. Just about everyone that Twilight could think of would likely do something against Sunset, but nearly every reason they had for wanting to erase the flame-haired woman from peoples memory all dated back to the Fall Formal, right when Sunset said she had turned over a new leaf.
That left the number of people that Twilight knew in the school who might still have some kind of grudge against the girl down to only a few. Even then, the data she had wasn’t perfect either. Trixie had been on that list of the few people who would use the Memory Stone, and now she was helping Sunset in her search. Did that mean everyone else was likely as innocent or was it just Trixie?
Twilight made absolutely no progress on her lists by the time the period had ended, leaving it as nothing more than a crumpled paper in the trash. She shoved her books deep into her backpack before heading out of the class room, ignorant of everything else as she sat down at the girls normal table for lunch, rubbing her temples lightly.
Fluttershy sat down beside her about a minute later, her lips twisted in a small frown. “Are you alright, Twilight?”
Shaking her head, Twilight looked over at her friend. Out of all the girls, Fluttershy was the one that was most like herself. Soft spoken, socially awkward, and only really becoming more out going once her friends came into the equation. It was only because of their naturally passive personalities that they hadn’t become closer. “It’s… this whole thing with Sunset. I just feel weird about it,” she paused, biting her lip. “It’s almost like there’s something that just keeps nagging at me, almost screaming at me to go to Sunset. Have you had anything like that?”
Her frown deepening, Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I haven’t. I felt bad when we found out that Sunset was erased from our memories… and that I want to help her as much as possible, but I’ve not felt anything like that.” Fluttershy scooted a little closer, placing her hand on her friends shoulder. “How long have you been feeling like this, Twilight?”
A blush covered her face, looking away from her quiet friend. “Ever since I figured out that Sunset had a point about us not remembering her, it’s been like I’ve been scrambling to do anything to help. And it’s getting worse, Fluttershy. I couldn’t even focus on any of the work I was given in class. Does that sound like me?”
“Not really, Twi… It does sound like you’re taking this a lot harder than the rest of us,” Fluttershy said, squeezing her friends shoulder softly. “I’m not sure what it means. Do you think there’s something with the magic that’s effecting you? Like maybe it’s making you feel things different from the rest of us?”
Twilight let out a small breath through her nose before giving a small shrug. Was she right? Was there something different about Twilight that was causing her to feel this way? Maybe it had something to do with how she gained her magic in the first place. It would be all too easy to put the blame at the feet of Midnight Sparkle again. But that was it, wasn’t it? It was too easy… “I wish I knew for sure,” she finally said, closing her eyes.
Fluttershy wrapped her arm around Twilight’s shoulder, bringing the girl into a small hug. It brought a smile to the scientists lips for the first time since the whole mess started, melting away some of her fears and anxiety. It was this that made the her so glad to have friends now, that they were able to soothe her fears and make her feel better by their simple presence.
The rest of the girls joined the pair soon enough, Rainbow Dash even slamming her food down on the table once the everyone else was seated, drawing everyone’s focus. “Alright, so tell me, what the fuck are we going to do to fix this?” The multi-chromatic girl growled.
“Rainbow, language!” Rarity snapped, lips twisting into a harsh frown. “I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason to utter such obscene words!”
“Then figure out something for me to do, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash fired back, anger tinging her cerulean skin into a deep azure. “I’m not going to just sit on my ass to ‘stay safe’ while some two-bit magician is the one helping out our friend!”
The fashionista looked ready to escalate the issue with Dash when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, Fluttershy giving her a gentle squeeze before looking over to her best friend. “Rainbow, please calm down.”
Huffing in anger, Rainbow crossed her arms with all the subtly of a scolded child and dropped down into her seat, not even looking at the other girls. Twilight just shook her head, a little surprised about the change in attitude that she had seen in the girl in just a single day. When this entire thing had started, Dash didn’t believe a single word that Sunset had said, believing it all to just be another trick by a bully who tried to split up her and her friends over a year ago. The discovery that she had been telling the truth had struck her hardest, making Rainbow willing to do anything in her power to make things right.
“Dashie does have a point, though,” AJ said, looking at the rest of her friends. The farmer’s gaze was hard, showing her own anger at the situation. “We need ta do something other than just sittin’ on our heals like trained farm dogs.”
“But we can’t just go around asking everyone!” Pinkie spoke up, her hair straighter than Twilight had ever seen it, it coming down in in soft rivers about the party girls face. “The meanie pants with the stone would just erase our memories again and we’d be right back where we started! And forgetting one persons birthday is one person too many!”
“Not to mention the trouble it would cause with the school faculty.” Rarity pointed out in a defeated tone. “A few of the teachers I’ve asked only remember Sunset as we did; a bully and a demon. If that’s what they think, I could only guess what Principal Celestia might be thinking of our friend right now.”
Rainbow Dash let out another growl, slamming a clenched fist into the hard plastic of the table. “So then we’re just right back where we started! This is just so stupid! We need to be able to do something, find some way to get around the fact that this asshole can just rip our thoughts from our heads! We need to put the entire school on red alert for this creep!”
Twilight’s head shot up at the words, eyes going wide before slapping herself across the forehead. “Of course! Why didn’t think of this before!?!” The girl near shouted to herself, immediately pulling out her phone, fingers flying across the screen. It would just take a simple algorithm, a little program that Twilight could write in her sleep, but it would fit exactly with what the girls needed.
“You figure something out there, Twi?” Applejack said, the farm girls straightening from her own slumped posture of defeat. The rest of the girls all turned to their friend, watching her frantic work.
Nodding to her friends, the Twilight smirked as she sent the program to her friends phones, watching each of them grab at their devices as they went off. “We’ve been going about this all wrong! We’ve already got proof that who ever is erasing our memories isn’t doing it perfectly. I was still able to tell that something wasn’t right and Rarity and Pinkie Pie both had proof on them that we were friends with Sunset right? Well now all we need is an alert system, something to remind us of what we’re doing.”
“Is that what you sent us, Darling?” Rarity asked, tapping the program sent to her with a single manicured fingernail, the girls around her all doing the same.
“Exactly. With this program, it’ll send out a regular alert to all of our phones every ten minutes that we can respond to with an answer to a simple question: Is Sunset Shimmer our friend? If one of us doesn’t respond or answers it with a no, then it will send an alert to the rest of us while pinpointing their exact location, allowing us to help the girl that was hit and be that much closer to finding the memory thief!” Twilight explained, a grin stretching her face wide.
“Boy howdy, this is amazing! What you girls say about us getting started right now?” Applejack said, gripping her phone tight and smiling at her friends.
“Way ahead of you, AJ! Come on girls, we’ve got ourselves a magical villain to catch!” Rainbow Dash shouted, instantly blitzing out of the cafeteria with her Super speed, leaving her namesake trail behind her. The rest of the girls quickly followed suit, each one heading out to different corners of the school, ready to use up the rest of their free time to help their friend.
Don’t worry, Sunset! Twilight thought. We’re going to help you and get our memories back!
~oOo~
The end of the school day came swiftly for the Rainbooms, and all to their sorrow. While Twilight’s little program had gone off without a hitch, making sure that none of them had been hit again by the Memory Stone, all six of the girls had come up empty. Not only had most of the students hadn’t even seen such a thing, which made sense given the fact that Twilight and her friends were the only ones who were constantly exposed to magic, but the Wondercolt spirit seemed in short supply when it came to doing anything in favor of Sunset.
Now Twilight sat on the blacktop of the high school’s parking lot, knees curled up against her chest while her back rested against the back tire of AJ’s beat up pick up. Fluttershy was next to her, rubbing her shoulder softly, offering what little comfort she could even as she looked over to her friends, lost as to what to do next. Pinkie was hanging off the side of the cargo bed of the truck. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were brooding at the front while Rarity shook her head after staring at her phone, having used the last of her contacts to no avail.
Never before had Twilight ever failed so miserably at something she had set her mind to. Before, even back when she was still at Crystal Prep and had to deal with all the horrible experiences at that school, the young genius had been able to overcome anything with a little hard work and a lot of intelligence. But today, she and her friends had come up with nothing. No clues, no answers, just the knowledge that they had lost their memories. It was a torture unlike anything Twilight had ever gone through.
And that was part of the problem too. For some unknown reason, the very thought of not remembering, of having failed Sunset… it tore at Twilight. A squeezing sensation continued to crush at her heart as guilt weighed down her mind, not leaving her be for a second. The other girls all felt some form of guilt at their inability to help their forgotten friend, but it was on another level for Twilight. It had been that way since the start. A small, defeated groan escaped her, arms squeezing her legs tighter to her body as she closing her eyes, just wishing for it all to be over.
“Wallflower! Wallflower, stop!”
Twilight rose her head at the shout, knowing Sunset’s voice anywhere. She looked on in confusion as her friend chased after a girl with green hair and skin, This Wallflower person looking shocked for a moment.
“You remember me?” The new girl asked, taking a wary step back.
“I remember everything! The Memory Stone, how I acted, all of it!” Sunset said, her voice pleading.
“How?!” Wallflower snarled back. She took another step back, clutching her backpack close to her body like a shield. “I erased the entire afternoon!”
“Wait, so you’re the one that took our memories?!” Rainbow yelled, clenching her fists in anger. Applejack and Rarity were right behind her, each one glaring down at the green haired girl. Twilight just looked on in surprise at their villain. She was shorter than the scientist herself, looked even meeker than Fluttershy, and seemed to be the kind of girl you’d forget the moment you stopped looking at her. This was the girl that was responsible for everything?
Wallflower eyes went wide, snapping over to the Rainbow Dash in surprise. Then the anger in her face returned in force. “You all remember too?! Of course you did! Because Sunset Shimmer just has to be the focus of everything and win all the time, doesn’t she?! You haven’t changed! You’re still the same mean queen of the school you’ve always been!”
“Just what in the sam hill is that girl talking about?!” Applejack asked.
She got no answer as Wallflower shoved her hand into her pack and pulled out a small rounded stone. It would be an unimpressive rock under any other circumstances, a simple thing carved with a rune that was the shape of an eye on its center. For the magic to erase memories being locked away in such a tiny little container.
“I wanted to teach you a lesson by erasing all of your friends good memories of you… make it so that they saw how you acted when they had nothing to tie you to them,” Wallflower stated, glaring down at her artifact before leveling that same harsh gaze towards Sunset. “But that didn’t work. So what if I removed ALL their memories of you and each other?”
“You can’t!” Sunset shouted, sparing the smallest of glances to Twilight and the others. She held a look of terror that Twilight had only ever seen before on a horror movie, a wide eyed terror that would leave most screaming and running for their lives. “You’d be taking years worth of their memories! You’d take away the very thing that makes them who they are!”
Wallflower’s face turned cold and lifeless after that, the green haired girl raising the Memory Stone up high. “And then you’ll know exactly how it feels. Being powerless to do anything while someone else decides what’s going to happen in this school! Then you’ll know what it’s like to be me, Sunset.”
It was with that abeam of light shot out of the Memory Stone and all Twilight could do was watch it. It had all escalated so fast with the girl she knew next to nothing about. And now more magic was coming to rob her of even more memories, removing the few friends in this world that she had finally found after so long. For a crazed second, she thought to throw herself into the beams way, making sure she was the only one to lose her memories. The chance never came as Sunset leaped into the stone’s path, taking in the entire blast.
Falling to the ground with a green aura coating her body, Sunset Shimmer glared up at Wallflower, her voice determined as she spoke. “I ruined their friendship once before. I’d rather lose my own memories then to ever let that happen again!”
It was a simple statement, but it was one that Twilight felt right down to her heart. Even if she hadn’t been convinced before with her own lacking memories or the proof they had found, this proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sunset was their friend.
And then the magic started.
Twilight stood in abject horror as she watched the magic rip out the memories Sunset had of the Rainbooms one by one. Each removed collection of thoughts, symbolized as a strip of film with her friends faces dotted along its length, brought that girls name in a scream to Sunset’s lips. She tried at points to grab at the magic, only for them to slip through her hands like sand. All too soon, there was only one girl left that hadn’t been erased.
Sunset Shimmer turned to Twilight, tears trailing down her face. That same look from before, the one with emotion that the young genius couldn’t understand, filled up Sunset’s eyes. A small sob broke past the girls lips, uttering her last words before her memories were fully stripped away from her. “Twilight… I love you…”
Her eyes went dead after that, fogging over as Sunset toppled down onto the ground, remaining still. In her state of shock, Twilight stared dumbfounded at the prone girl. Sunset said she loved her and in a way that left no doubt that she had meant them. The very words made the genius tremble, her heart aching. Was this why she had been so obsessed with helping her former friend? Was her body remembering their previous romance, yearning for something she couldn’t recall? What even was going on anymore?
Wallflower Blush looked down from her position at the edge of the parking lot, her own face twisted in uncertainty and shock. It wasn’t something Twilight expected from a girl who had been so cold mere moments ago. Not that the growing anger in her belly was going to be quelled by her sudden remorse. Taking a step forward, Twilight was about to call on her friends, to ready the righteous rainbow to strike down Wallflower and somehow set things right like they always had before.
And that’s when the screaming started.
Author's Note
Wallflower Blush is an odd character for me to say the least. I felt partly that they were trying to make her a twist villain, what with her being a background character that’s absent for half the movie, but then failed on giving her sufficient motivation for why she’d want to do this. I think her focusing more on just how cruel Sunset was when she was evil and not believing that she’s changed is a stronger motivation than ‘you never noticed me’.
I thought about adding Trixie into the ending here as well, since the whole ‘splitting her and Sunset up’ bit was kinda stupid, but I can understand why they did, since the magician doesn’t really add much to the ending, especially with the level of super powers the girls display otherwise. Add in my own luke warm feelings to the girl and I decided to leave her out.
It was a scream unlike anything Twilight had ever heard before. A high pitched, pain filled wail that held nothing back and eclipsed any other noise in the parking lot. She thought at first that some other kind of Equestrian creature had come, perhaps to aid Wallflower in the fight that was about to happen. The girl never expected it to come from Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset’s body buckled, arching up like a cat as her scream continued, her fingers digging into the ground beneath her. A shock wave of red magic burst out of Sunset, the near physical aura of power knocking down Twilight, her friends, and even Wallflower with how powerful it was. It rose the Equestrian into the air, her scream unending before flame wrapped about her form, the sun marked pendant around her neck flashing with dark power.
Dark, bat like wings burst out from the cocoon of fire, flapping in their new found freedom. Sharp talon like hands the color of rust thrust forward, pushing away the magic that was surrounding her. The piercing scream was replaced by a dark laughter, small at first but coming stronger as the magic dissipated. The girl that Twilight knew as Sunset Shimmer was gone, replaced instead by a demon with dark eyes and a snarl on her lips.
“W-what in the world?” Wallflower squeaked out while she pushed herself up from the ground, eyes wide.
“Ain’t from our world,” Applejack whispered, moving with Rainbow Dash to make sure that the less aggressive of the girls were well defended.
The demon landed on the ground, head snapping back and forth in confusion. She glared down at Wallflower, the girls, and then Twilight in turn. It was with the her that Sunset stopped, baring sharp teeth and flames leaping up from her hands. “You!” She snarled out, her voice tinged with such hatred that made white hot fear run through Twilight’s blood. The demon’s wings beat once, sending her back into the air. “I don’t know how you’ve changed the world around us, Princess, but it’s not going to help you at all!”
“Change? What in the hell is she talking about?” Rainbow asked, sparing a confused glance to her friends.
“My stars…” Rarity gasped, eyes wide. “It’s her memory. She doesn’t remember anything after the Fall Formal.”
“Oooooh, so that’s why she’s all demony!” Pinkie said in sudden understanding. The pink skinned girl even crossed her arms and nodded, making a show of having figured everything out. “She isn’t good anymore and has access to magic like she did with the crown! So now she’s all powered up without it! Annnnd… that’s not a good thing, is it?”
Her answer came with Sunset dropping down with all the force of a meteor between the girls, blasting the six of them back with another shock wave of her landing alone. Twilight rolled as she landed on the hard blacktop, pain flaring up in her left shoulder. She barely got herself upright before her vision was filled with the demonic wings of her attacker. “Wait... Sunset!” Twilight said, trying to raise her hand to stop her forgotten friend.
Snarling in answer, Sunset coated her claws in fire once more, bringing it down on Twilight’s head. A white diamond forming out of thin air was the only thing that saved the genius girl from a quick death, blocking the attack entirely.
“Girls, we’ve got to get Sunset under control!” Rarity shouted out, her pendant alight with power. She used her magic to push Sunset back away from Twilight, even as the enraged girl started clawing and punching at the magical shield.
Rainbow, of course, was the first to respond to her friends call for aid. Where as her speed had done nothing in the search for the stone before, now the sporty teen could use it in a fight, something she was much better equipped to deal with. “Sorry, Sunset, but this is for your own good!” Dash yelled, running circles around the demon to the point of looking little more than a swirling rainbow. The girls fists flew, faster than anything that Twilight had ever seen, each one connecting and pushing back the demon girl.
It took another wave of pure magic to push back the speedster, Sunset’s eyes wide and crazed with anger. “How do you have magic?! I should be the only one!” she demanded. Her answer was a bunch of birds dive bombing her, pigeons, robins and at least one seagull pecking at her head. She swiped and clawed at the avians, forcing them off her scalp. A sharp whistle from Fluttershy called them back as Sunset’s hands burst into flames once more.
“It doesn’t matter WHAT you little cretins do!” The demon snarled, throwing another ball of fire at the birds, missing the scattered animals by scant inches. “None of your powers compare to mine! I will get my revenge! I WILL conquer Equestria!”
“You WILL get your face full of cupcakes!”
Sunset turned in complete confusion to the follow up to her rant, being greeted with sight of Pinkie Pie. The party planner was grinning wide as she sat in Applejacks palm, curled up like a ball. With a mighty heave, Aj threw her friend, Pinkie screaming “FASTBALL SPECIAL!” at the top of her lungs. She slammed with all of her sizable weight against the demon, shoving a pair of cupcakes into her face and using Sunset’s body as a springboard to leap off her and roll onto the ground. An explosion followed up soon after as her magic took place, sending the demon crashing into the ground.
Throughout all of this, Twilight watched, torn in her emotions. Part of the genius wanted nothing more to stop her friends, to help the poor girl that had been transformed against her will. Another part wanted to join in the fight, to stop Sunset before she did something she couldn’t take back. But the emotion that warred the most in her heart was anguish. It tore at her gut and made her sick to see her friend while her heart ached. Was it the love that Sunset herself confessed, Twilight’s heart remembering despite being unable to recall the memories? She felt paralyzed by indecision, unable to decide the best course.
A small growl escaped the prone demon, claws digging into the blacktop beneath her. She forced herself up with a wobble, clearly worn down by the battle. “Y-you… little…” She gasped, holding one arm close to her frame, blood trailing down the elbow. Eyes blackened by magic searched each face of her foes before landing on Wallflower, the girl closest to where she had been struck down. A feral grin full of sharp teeth lined her mouth as she leaped, covering the distance in a single bound.
Wallflower let out the smallest of squeaks as she was lifted up by the neck, demonic claw tips just barely digging into the flesh. Sunset turned to taunt the girls, about to use her hostage when her black eyes went a solid white, standing stock still.
“Now! While she’s distracted!” Rainbow growled.
“Wait, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted, throwing her hand in front of her friend before she could blitz into another fight. “I think Sunset’s reading Wallflowers memories!”
A loud gasp escaped the she-demon, releasing the green skinned girl and letting her drop like a sack of potatoes. Her body shook and her breath came out in shuddering, pain laced pants, barely able to contain the rage that contorted her face. Wallflower was crying at her feet, edging away from Sunset as best she could.
“You… did this…” Sunset hissed through gritted teeth, the trembling of her arms and fists shaking her entire body. Flames leaped from her hands, creating a head sized crater beside the trembling girl, the enraged demon taking another step closer. “You… ERASED EVERYTHING! ” She screamed, ready to strike Wallflower down when the Memory Stone caught her eye. Sunset turned immediately to the magical artifact, hands filling with a fireball the size of her torso. She screamed her next words as she brought down the magic. “And you’ll NEVER erase anything ever again!”
There was the sound of a large crack as the super heated flame washed over the Memory Stone. Magic tore at the artifact, overpowering it before the entire thing exploded with disrupted power. From the crater that had once been a source of Equestrian magic flew out magical strips of film, each one being a string of stolen memories. Red strips with Sunset Shimmer’s face flew through the air, returning to their original owners. One in particular found it’s way to Twilight’s mind.
In a flash, everything she had ever forgotten about Sunset filled her mind. How Sunset had transformed into an angel to save her when Twilight had surrendered to magic and created Midnight. Sunset holding her tight, whispering soft words when her fears about that very same magic had nearly overwhelmed her at Camp Everfree. The heart filling, overwhelming joy when the two had finally confessed their feelings for each other at the lone tree atop the hill on the outskirts of town. Secret kisses and warm hugs during school and the embarrassment when their friends found out that the two were dating. Twilight remembered it all.
But the elation of regaining her lost memories didn’t last long. The soft sound of crying broke through the haze of having almost half a year returned to her. Sunset sat now, curled up in a ball on the ground near Wallflower, still locked in her demonic form.
“Sunset!” Twilight called out, heart and mind joined as one once more. She ran towards her friend, her lover, wanting nothing more than to hug her, kiss her, and banish those tears away.
“Get away, Twilight!” Sunset shouted out, her voice strained and just barely muffled by her legs. It was the pain in it that stopped Twilight in her tracks. The transformed woman curled up even tighter, wings and tail forming a weak shield around her altered state. Clawed hands came to her head, grasping it tight. “Even after all I’ve done… trying to put it behind me… I’m still a demon.”
She flinched as she felt a hand against her own, grasping it softly. Sunset dared a glance upward, being greeted with Twilight’s smiling face, her lavender fingers gripping around her hellfire red ones. An ache filled her heart when she saw the pain filling her girlfriends magically blackened eyes.Five other hands reached out and joined Twilight’s hand before she was even able to speak, each one gripping tight in friendship, lending their strength.
“Yer sure as shooting are not, Sunset. Ya had no control over yerself at all here.” Applejack, her voice rough but strong.
“Aj’s right! Besides, look at all the good you’ve done since the last time you were like this. That’s gotta count for something!” Rainbow Dash, closest of the girls outside Twilight.
“You did everything you could to try to help us with our memories, darling. A demon wouldn’t have cared at all about what we remembered.” Rarity, tears streaked down her face, not at all caring about how she looked.
“I don’t think just anyone would have jump in the way of the magic blast for us.” Fluttershy, her tone barely above a whisper.
“You didn’t even think of yourself, you wanted nothing more than to protect us…” Pinkie Pie, trying to get as much of a hug out of the group as possible.
Twilight smiled softly, pressing her forehead against Sunsets, breathing softly as she looked into her girlfriends eyes. They held no fear for her. “More than ever before, we know one thing, Sunset. That you’re our friend. Nothing will ever change that.”
A small smile broke past Sunset’s anguished face, the girl burrowing close to Twilight’s body. The rest of the girls all came in, offering the warmth of their bonds and the strength of friendship. None of them noticed the light glowing off their pendants until it overtook their friend.
Unlike all the times before, there was no powerful rainbow, no transformation of wings, pony ears, or longer hair. It was just a soft, warm light that flowed out from the six girls towards the girl in their circle. Hell-burnt skin quickly returned to it’s natural amber hue, eyes dyed black becoming purified with white, leathery wings fading away into nothingness. Soon, all that remained was Sunset Shimmer, holding tightly to her friends.
The girls broke from Sunset, helping her stand up. Twilight could see the elated look on her girlfriends face, making a hot warmth fill her chest. In any other situation, she would have kissed the girl right then and there. Instead, she brought Sunset into another hug, holding her tight while she turned her attention to Wallflower, seeing her curled up at the edge of the blacktop.
Part of her wanted nothing to do with the girl that had caused so much trouble, to forget about the person who had sought out to erase Sunset from their memories. Twilight also couldn’t deny there was also an angry pit in her core that wanted to lash out at the girl. She soon saw that she wasn’t the only one harboring such emotions.
“Now… what to do with this slimy, yellow-bellied salamander?” Applejack said, standing straight and breaking away from her friends. The farmers tone was stone cold, unlike anything Twilight had ever heard before from her normally cheerful friend. From the way that Wallflower flinched, the girl heard it too, even edging back a bit on her hands and knees.
Cracking her knuckles one at a time, Rainbow Dash walked along side AJ, the sporty girl glaring daggers at the prone girl. “She’s got a thing for memory, right? I say we make it so no one forgets her or what she did for a long damn time!” She snapped.
Sunset struggled, pulling out of Twilight’s grasp before she could even blink. Even as exhausted as she was, the Equestrian ran before her angry friends. She flung her arms out before the prone girl, acting as a shield for Wallflower. Confusion swirled in Twilight’s head, wondering for what reason her girlfriend would defend this… witch.
“I don’t get it…” Wallflower said, just as confused as the rest of them. “Why are you defending me? Why are you protecting me?”
Turning to Wallflower, Sunset offered a small smile as she knelt down and offered the prone girl her hand. “Because I’ve changed. I’m different from how I was when I first came to Canterlot High. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from everything we’ve been through, it’s that people and ponies aren’t static. Our experiences shape us and change us. And I think you can see that now, can’t you?”
Wallflower hesitated before nodding, taking Sunset’s hand, being pulled up gently onto her feet. She let out a small sigh before looking at the only thing that remained of the Memory stone, a tiny pebble that had a single carving on it. “I… think that I changed for the worst myself. I used to only erase the little things. Awkward hellos, wrong answers… any form of public speaking… I just let everything get away from me.”
“You’re damn right you let things get away from you!” Twilight snarled, finally finding her voice and words. The young genius stomped over to the pair, glaring the entire way at Wallflower. She stopped right before them and took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping as she worked to cool her emotions and put a more neutral look on her face. “But… Sunset isn’t wrong. We’ve all done things we’ve regretted, or that we wanted to take back. And while I’m still furious about you making me forget everything about my girlfriend… If Sunset wants to give you a chance…”
Sunset gave her an honest smile, a small lopsided thing that Twilight had come to love in their time together. It chased away some of the burning anger that smoldered in her gut and replaced it with happiness. “I do, Twilight. Besides, can you really say that what I did wasn’t just as bad? And you girls still all forgave me.”
“It’s true that we tend to forgive a lot of the villains we’ve had,” Pinkie Pie pointed out with a shrug. That got most of the others all agreeing, remembering how most of the magical mishaps they’ve gone up against was usually the result of someone getting a hold of and being overwhelmed by Equestrian magic.
A deep, heavy sigh came from Applejack as she nodded, finally relaxing herself. “Ah guess we can’t really do less considering,” She said softly. She turned her head to Sunset, looking at the girl with a warm smile. “Just know this, sugarcube, should any of this malarkey happen again. Yer kin to the Apples, ya hear?”
“Thanks, Applejack.” Sunset responded, that happy smile growing all the wider. It was the one thing, Twilight knew, that her girlfriend had always really wanted out of life. A family.
“So… what happens now?” Wallflower asked, shoulders hunched and looking worriedly back and forth between the magical girls.
“What happens next is that we keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t pull this shit again,” Rainbow Dash stated plainly, crossing her arms against her chest. The sporty teen broke into a smirk a moment later and let out a small chuckle. “But other than that? We treat you like a friend.”
No longer feeling threatened, Wallflower straightened up and smiled at the other girls. Rarity took that moment to clap her hands, speaking up. “Well, I don’t know about you, darlings, but I think we should perhaps just all head home for the day. After all this mess, I very much think some relaxation is in order.”
A chorus of agreement went up among the girls, leading to a round of goodbyes as each one of them went their respective ways. Twilight reached out for Sunset and held her hand, keeping the girl from leaving. Soon, it was just the two of them alone, only the setting sun in the mountains keeping them company.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Sunset asked, squeezing her girlfriend’s hand softly.
Twilight shook her head, taking a moment to settle her breath before wrapping her arms tight around the other girls middle, squeezing. The genius buried her face against Sunset’s chest and focused on the warmth coming from the other woman, her scent. It let all those memories, the thoughts that had been so carelessly removed come rushing back to the forefront. “I… I’m so sorry, Sunset…” she whispered, clutching that jacket tightly. “I should have… done something more.”
A soft kiss against her forehead brought her attention back up to Sunset’s face, that lopsided smile once again on her lips. “Twilight… It’s ok…” she whispered, holding the smaller girl close. She rocked back and forth, the simple movement curving Twilight’s lips into a smile, remembering the time the amber skinned woman had done this before to calm her down from a small panic attack. “You can’t blame yourself for something Equestrian magic did.”
Nodding in agreement, Twilight moved her arms from her girlfriends middle to her neck, gazing up into those aqua eyes. Seeing the love and care in them soothed Twilight’s nerves, making her muscles relax. She brought Sunset in for a kiss, pressing tightly against the other girl, wanting to never let go. Sunset responded in kind, one hand pressing against the back of Twilight’s head to keep the kiss locked.
They broke it a moment later, both girls gasping for air. “I… will always… fight for you…” Twilight whispered, recalling that sensation… that feeling of something missing when her memories were gone. It was here now, that feeling of love for this wonderful woman holding her. Nothing would ever take that away.
“I know you will… and I’d do the same…” Sunset answered, pressing their foreheads together. It made Twilight feel warm all the way down to her toes, knowing that she could count on her girlfriend to do just that.
The two lovers kissed each other once more, holding onto one another tightly. It would be something they would hold tight in their minds and hearts, knowing that no matter what, their love for each other would never be forgotten.
Author's Note
Author’s Notes: And this is the end of this short little story, setting out what I wanted to do, rewriting the human side of Forgotten Friendship. The original lesson that the show offered, that you should treat folks nice even when you don’t know them is a decent lesson to be sure, but it’s one that I felt just fell flat with the story that was offered to us. The lesson that folks can change and that everyone should be given a chance? That rings a lot more true for the story I felt they were going for and is something of a central theme to Equestria Girls as a whole. It’s also an extremely hard lesson to learn and one that I don’t think is given out often enough.
As for the shipping, while I will admit part of it is me wanting to put these two together, I honestly think that the way Sci-Twi and Sunset are portrayed, they would have hooked up. Add in the fact that Timber Spruce, while not a bad character in his own right outside of the whole questionable age bit, feels like he was put in just so that Twilight could have a heterosexual romantic interest.
With all that said, I thank you all for reading this little story of mine. I’m glad that it was so well received and that you all enjoyed it and even had a few discussions thanks to it. I’m also glad for the few folks who pointed out my writing issues that I can work on and improve. As for if I’ll be doing any more EG or MLP focused stories in the future, I’m uncertain between the other stories I’m wanting to work on or get back to as well as the streaming/youtubing I’m doing. We’ll see though. Regardless, I wish you all the best in the world, to stay safe, and until then, Stay frosty.
