Twilight Sparkle hummed cheerfully as she briskly trotted down the stairs leading to the main room. A delicious aroma filled the air, and the sound of her assistant, Spike, singing in the kitchen as he cooked a delectable breakfast reached her ears.
Twilight smiled, amused, as she walked in the kitchen to find Spike holding a wooden mixing spoon up to his mouth, imitating a microphone. He sang slightly off-key. "Jewels! Ya gotta love 'em! They're tasty and fine! They gotta be mine! There's nothing quite as tasty as a jewel..."
"Lovely singing, Spike," Twilight commented cleverly, interrupting Spike's song.
"Gah! Twilight! What... what are you doing here?" Spike stammered, fumbling for words as his cheeks turned a deep crimson.
"Well, Spike," Twilight giggled, "I was just having a terrible nightmare when the most melodic voice I had ever heard saved me from my horrifying dreams."
"Um... a voice?" Spike said, embarrassed, "I didn't hear a voice... are you sure you heard a voice? 'Cause I sure didn't..." The baby dragon looked down, ashamed.
Twilight grinned. "Oh, come on, Spike," she laughed, "I was only joking!"
"Oh... heh. I knew that," Spike smiled weakly, chuckling at his own expense. "So, Twilight, want some breakfast?" he quickly changed the subject, not wanting to remain the center of ridicule for much longer. He held up an enticing meal. The polished plate displayed a variety of mouth-watering breakfast foods, such as steaming, boiled eggs, and delicious toast smothered with butter.
Twilight's stomach growled suddenly. Embarrassed, she quickly took the steaming platter from the eager cook. "This looks delicious, Spike," she said as she licked her lips, eager to consume the appetizing breakfast. A purple aura surrounded the plate, and she levitated the meal over to the dining table. Spike reached into a nearby cupboard, grabbing several sparkling gemstones for himself, before sitting down across from her.
"So, Twilight," Spike garbled between bites of his own meal, "what are we doing today?"
Twilight frowned at the dragon's crude manner, but decided to brush it off. She could lecture him about it later, anyway. "Today is Cleaning Day, Spike!" the lavender unicorn announced with excitement, clopping her hooves together.
Spike groaned and rolled his eyes, annoyed. "But Twilight!" he protested, "we cleaned the library just three days ago!"
"I know, Spike," Twilight said soberly, "we've been putting it off far too long. We really need to clean more often. A clean library is a happy library."
This earned another eye roll from her assistant. "Fine..." Spike relented. "I'll go get my broom..." he mumbled as he skulked slowly towards the broom closet to retrieve his cleaning tools.
Twilight smiled at the dragon. Spike could be a bother at times, but overall, he was a great assistant. Well, she thought, I might as well go help. I don't want him to work himself to sleep! She grinned inwardly at the amusing scene that popped into her head, then trotted upstairs to get her cleaning rag.
Twilight opened the drawer that contained the rag happily. She couldn't wait to clean her books again. After she was done, all of her tomes would be fresh and new again, ready to read. She reached into the drawer, searching for her desired cloth. She ruffled around in the drawer for a minute, confused on why she couldn't find the surprisingly elusive cleaning item. After a while, she threw her hooves up in frustration. "Ugh!" Twilight groaned, "where is it?"
Suddenly, a glint caught Twilight's eye. The subtle sparkle had come from under her bed. She bent down, curious. Looking around intently, she located the source of the twinkling. She grabbed it, noting its soft and silky texture. Removing her hoof from under the bed, she studied the mystery object.
It was a silvery cloth, embroidered with green lace. It smelled clean and fresh. Attached to the corner was a torn note.
Twilight took the note off the cloth, bringing it closer to her face. The hoofwriting was small and faded, so she read each word carefully.
Forget to Remember.
Twilight mouthed the words silently, pondering the meaning of the mysterious message. It carried a certain foreboding, as if it were giving her an obscure warning.
"Twilight! I could use your help down here!"
Spike's call of annoyance snapped Twilight into focus. The cloth had intrigued her, and she had found herself staring at it intently, as if she were in a trance.
"Coming, Spike!" Twilight called back. She glanced at the shiny cloth for a second, then shrugged nonchalantly. The note was probably just a part of some sort of silly prank, Twilight thought to herself. Satisfied with her theory, she went downstairs to help Spike.
She found the baby dragon dusting the floor indignantly . "Come on, Twilight!" he said with resentment, "I've been cleaning up this whole mess myself!" Spike's frown deepened, as if his own comment had finally helped him realize that he really had been doing the majority of the work.
"Sorry, Spike," Twilight apologized, "I got distracted."
Spike grumbled in retort, then carried his broom across the area, sweeping in a methodical motion.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she watched Spike walk off, then turned to the nearest shelf to commence Cleaning Day.
She levitated a thick book off the bottom shelf, placing it neatly in front of her. She immediately recognized the cover. Hey! she thought, overjoyed, its my old photo album! She sighed happily as she flipped through the book, every picture releasing a flood of nostalgia and good feelings into her mind. A broad smile warmed her face as she relived all of the fun experiences she had accumulated with her friends here in Ponyville.
Twilight turned the page again. As she scanned the page for more happy photos of her and her friends, her eyes landed on a certain photo. Her smile wilted. It depicted her dancing clumsily next to a record player, wearing her birthday dress and sticking her tongue out obnoxiously. Unconsciously, the studious mare blushed.
Hmm, Twilight thought, I don't recall looking that silly at the party. Memories of the party at Canterlot Castle returned: surprising Rarity, her unfinished birthday dress, her humiliating lack of self-awareness as she celebrated, and Rarity's confession and subsequent apology about deceiving her friends to attend a high-class event.
The longer she looked at the photo, the more embarrassed she got. Without thinking, she rubbed the silvery cloth she had been holding on the photo in frustration. After she had gotten all her consternation out, she removed the cloth from the picture.
She gasped.
The photo was no longer there. A completely blank picture frame remained in its place.
Spike, noticing Twilight's expression of confusion, wandered over. "What are you looking at, Twilight?" Spike inquired, following her line of sight. He saw the empty picture. "Is there a reason you're looking at a blank photo?"
Twilight looked over at Spike, flustered. "Oh, Spike, I'm sorry," she apologized, "I was browsing our photo album, and I came across an embarrassing picture. I got frustrated and rubbed this cloth on it. And now it looks like I've... 'erased' it, somehow."
"Well, what was it a photo of?" Spike asked.
"Oh, it was a picture of me dancing that one time we had my birthday at Canterlot Castle so Rarity could attend, and Rarity had choose between my party and that fancy affair," Twilight recounted, "I was just so happy to be with my friends, that I started moving around the castle grounds like Dash after Cider Season." Twilight blushed.
Spike gave her a strange look. His eyebrows were raised and his mouth frowned with doubt.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, confused at Spike's reaction.
Spike looked at Twilight, worried. "Have you been staying up all night reading again?" he questioned.
"Why would you ask that?" Twilight said, getting more and more perplexed.
"Uh... it's just that I think you're starting to imagine things from your books," Spike said quickly.
"What do you mean?" Twilight replied, an unbidden feeling of dread creeping through her veins.
Spike looked Twilight directly in the eyes.
"Because you never went to Celestia's castle for your birthday party. And neither did Rarity."
Twilight blinked. "Wh-what?" she stammered.
"You never went to Canterlot Castle for your birthday party, and neither did any of your friends," Spike repeated seriously.
The perplexed mare narrowed her eyes. "This isn't some sort of joke, is it?" she asked suspiciously.
"O-of course not!" Spike said, claws raised in a disarming gesture, "we had your last birthday at Sugarcube Corner!"
Twilight looked back at the blank photograph, questions and theories rushing through her head. She quickly flipped through the rest of the photo album, searching for other pictures of her party. She came up empty-hooved. She thought for a minute, running certain scenarios through her head. A prank? No, too inane. A mistake? No, the photo had been there, plain as day. Suddenly, she remembered the silver cloth in her hoof.
Forget to Remember.
The words tugged at Twilight's mind, urging her to think deeper. Then, something clicked. She had an idea. A vague one, but an idea nonetheless. But first, she had to test it.
"Spike, I want you to wait right here for a moment," Twilight commanded her assistant, frantically flipping back through the album again.
The baby dragon raised his eyebrows doubtfully. "Okay, Twilight," he said, confused, "whatever you say..."
The purple unicorn quickly searched the book for another embarrassing photograph. Turning the page, she quickly located a certain picture, one that portrayed an especially shameful memory. In the photo was a distraught Twilight, her mane messy and ruffled and her fur matted with sweat. A disconcerting grin split the unicorn's jaw, and the dark bags under her lavender eyes creased her face unnaturally. Her horn was glowing bright, emitting hearts that were being absorbed by her old, worn-out doll, Smartypants.
The 'Want It, Need It' incident.
"Ah! There we go," Twilight exclaimed and quickly rubbed the smooth cloth over it, erasing the photo's contents. The she turned to Spike. Time to test her hypothesis.
"Spike," Twilight said excitedly, "do you remember the 'Want It, Need It' fiasco?"
"The want-what, who-now fiasco?" Spike asked, thoroughly confused.
"You know!" Twilight could barely hold her excitement. "That one time I was late with my friendship report to Princess Celestia, and I lost my mind trying to help ponies with their problems! I was so stressed, that I desperately cast the 'Want It, Need It' spell on Smartypants as a last-ditch effort to cause a friendship problem I could report on, but it backfired and caused everypony to go mad! Are you sure you don't remember that?" Twilight huffed out in one gigantic breath.
Spike's expression of concern ascended considerably. "Honestly, Twilight," he said, "you've got to chill with your late night study sessions. I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Twilight exploded with glee.
"Yes, Spike! Yes!" Twilight shouted, dragging the dragon into an enormous hug. She danced around excitedly, tightly squeezing the baby dragon against her fur.
"Um... Twilight...?" Spike wheezed, out of breath, "could you hug me a... a little less hard?"
Twilight screeched to a halt, realizing how childish she'd been acting. Glad there wasn't a camera around, she set Spike down carefully, a red tint spreading on her visage. "Oh! Uh... sorry, Spike," she gushed, "it's just that... it's just... amazing!" she looked as if she were ready to burst yet again.
Spike, fearing another smothering hug, quickly said, "What's amazing, Twilight?"
Twilight thought for a moment, considering informing her assistant of her discovery, but decided to wait for a while. She wanted to test this cloth out, so that she could be absolutely sure that this wasn't some sort of fluke.
"Oh, it's nothing, Spike," she said joyously, "why don't you finish up your dusting over there?" Twilight gestured toward the opposite side of the room.
Spike looked at Twilight, genuinely worried. He considered digging deeper into her sudden outburst, but decided to finish his dusting first. This was pretty standard Twilight behavior, after all. She looked too distracted to try, anyway. He picked up his duster and started to walk across the room. He could host her intervention later.
Twilight waited until Spike was out of range, then giggled gleefully. This is amazing! she thought, a cloth that can erase memories! With this, everyone will forget all of my embarrassing moments!
Twilight started to flip through the album, erasing anything she deemed as awkward or embarrassing. At first, she stuck just to these two categories, but as she progressed through the book, she strayed further from her initial standards. She would erase anything that reminded her of something bad or uncomfortable from her past, and soon she started getting rid of photos she just didn't like. That was an unflattering angle. She was mid-blink in this one. And why did she look so pudgy in this one?
A tiny voice in her head recited its mantra as Twilight erased more and more, growing in intensity with each reiteration.
Forget to Remember.
Shaking her head, she shoved the note's warning to the back of her mind. Eventually, Twilight reached the back cover of the album. She located a picture of Spike and her riding on a chariot pulled by Celestia's royal guards. It had been her transport to Ponyville. Twilight smiled, memories of when she had first met her friends running through her brain.
Suddenly, she frowned.
Twilight thought back to the chariot ride again. It had been extremely uncomfortable. She remembered her flank aching for hours after the ride. After a moment of deliberation, she started to erase the photo.
She had almost completed her task, when she heard Spike calling.
"Twilight?" he called, "where are you?"
"Huh?" Twilight wondered. Why she couldn't he see her? After all, she hadn't moved from her spot since she had started erasing photographs.
Spike started to wander over, looking confused.
Twilight decided to wave to him in order to let her know she was there. She raised her hoof to call to Spike.
She froze. Her eyes focused on her hoof. Or rather, looked right through it. The bookshelf that should have been obscured by her limb was definitely visible.
Her hoof was almost completely transparent.
Twilight screamed, backing up quickly until her back hit a wall. A frantic inspection revealed the rest of her body in a similar state. As she stared, transfixed and horrified, she noticed that it was getting harder and harder to make out her figure. Her body was continually fading away, and it was doing so with worrying speed.
Twilight's mind raced as she started to hyperventilate, trying to figure out why she was disappearing. Suddenly, she remembered something.
The silver cloth.
Forget to Remember.
She had erased so much of her life, that she barely existed anymore.
By then, Spike had approached the photo album. He spotted the chariot photo Twilight had been erasing. At this point, it was basically just a splotch on the otherwise empty picture frame. He glanced around, then noticed the silver cloth lying silently on the floor. He picked it up, glancing at it and the photo. "Hmm," he thought aloud, "Twilight wouldn't like this blotch getting her book dirty. I think I'll clean it up for her."
Twilight's pupils shrunk.
"Spike, no!" she screamed, yanked from her frozen state on the floor as Spike grabbed the album. She swiped desperately at the cloth, but her hoof phased right through it. The only proof that she still existed was the slight fluttering of the cloth, waving as if a sudden breeze had slipped in through a window. Tears streamed down her face as she helplessly watched her assistant ball up the glittery rag.
The cloth gently graced the picture.
* * *
Spike gazed forlornly out of Canterlot Library's enormous window, the rural town of Ponyville a blip in the distance.
He sighed and turned away to continue re-shelving books, the monotony of his job weighing heavily on his psyche.
He was so lonely.
So very lonely.
If only he had a friend.
