Soon

Hi! I've been... um.. busy. Like, really busy. I may have gotten so busy that I forgot about this site for a while. And the story I was am working on. I'm currently working, going back to school, hunting for a better job, taking some training to get me in better shape to actually get that better job when I find it, working on a webcomic, preparing to move out, and filling more than the remaining time with spending time with my girlfriend.

I don't get enough sleep.

So, first thing, if you want to see what I've been up to creatively lately:
My latest webcomic.
My webcomic's Facebook page: please like it!
My webcomic's Patreon page: rewards subject to change upon feedback or actually getting any patrons.

But really, I haven't totally forgotten about the story I said I'd write, and I have made progress. No, it's not done yet, and "Soon" is probably a bit optimistic, but I do have 8 chapters and the epilogue on this site. I just have to finish the bit between chapter 8 and that epilogue and I'll be ready to publish it. And now, without any further ado, here's chapter 1 of Memories Best Forgotten.

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Twilight blinked and looked around. She was standing on a road in Ponyville. Everypony was going about their day as normal, talking happily with each other and greeting Twilight with a smile. A few clouds spotted the sky. Twilight chuckled quietly to herself and wondered which one Rainbow Dash was sleeping on. She could hear the sounds of the marketplace nearby, and there was a faint aroma of food in the air.

She trotted happily down the road, greeting the ponies she saw. The smell of food got stronger. Her stomach grumbled. She was close to one of her favorite restaurants, so she went that direction.

As she drew near to the restaurant, she could hear the chatter of the lunch crowd. There was a line of ponies waiting to be seated. I hope I don’t have to wait too long, I’m starving.

She stepped up to the back of the line and her stomach growled loudly, echoing her thoughts. A few ponies in line glanced back at her, gasped, and began whispering urgently with those near them. After a few seconds everypony stood aside, gesturing her to the front of the line.

"Oh, thank you, but you were here first," Twilight said, shaking her head. "I can wait."

The mare just ahead of her swallowed and tried to smile. "Actually, I’m n-not even that hungry anymore, you go on ahead," she said, backing away from the line.

"Are you sure? It shouldn’t be much longer before you can get a table," Twilight said.

"I’m sure!" She shouted. She turned and galloped away. The other ponies in line all started stuttering similar statements signifying sudden satiation before swiftly scattering, leaving Twilight standing alone. Her jaw dropped as she watched them all run, disappearing into alleyways and around corners of houses.

"What was all that about?" Twilight wondered out loud. Her stomach didn’t provide a useful answer, but it did remind her why she was there in the first place. She walked to the entrance, not noticing a pair of cyan eyes watching her from the darkness of a nearby alley.

"One, please," she said to the host, who didn’t look up.

"There should be a table for you in about fifteen minutes," he replied with a bored voice, still not looking up.

"Okay, I can wait," Twilight said, trying not to sound disappointed.

The host glanced up at her and froze, his eyes widening. "I-I'll go find a table for you right now!" Before Twilight could say anything, the host spun around and ran into the dining area. A couple minutes later he returned, pushing a pony out the door.

"But I didn’t even get my—" The patron stopped arguing when she saw Twilight. She galloped away without either a word or a backwards glance.

The host forced a smile and fixed his messy mane. "Please, right this way, miss. A table has just opened up for you." He led Twilight—increasingly confused—to the empty table.

Twilight hesitantly sat down."Did you just—"

The host interrupted her by presenting her with a menu. "What would you like to eat today, miss?"

At that moment, a server walked by carrying a tray which held a daffodil and daisy sandwich with hay fries.

"Actually," Twilight said, gesturing to the tray, "that looks perfect."

"Of course, miss. Here you are." He swept the tray from the server’s back and set the food on Twilight’s table.

The server turned, glaring, but when he saw Twilight he gave a bow and retreated to the kitchen to replace the stolen order.

“Enjoy your lunch,” the host said. He picked up the unneeded menu and the empty tray and he left the dining area.

This is getting really weird. Twilight’s stomach growled again. I’ll figure it out after I eat.

She took a bite of her sandwich and sighed happily. It was exactly what she had wanted. While she chewed, she looked around at the other tables. She caught a few ponies glaring at her, but when they realized she saw them they quickly looked away. Twilight frowned and took a bite of her hay fries. They were crunchy, not too greasy, and perfectly hot, but something was wrong with them. As far as Twilight could tell, they were perfect, but they were completely unsatisfying.

Twilight looked around again and saw that several ponies were leaving, most without having eaten more than a few bites. All of them were avoiding looking at her, even the ones she knew.

She didn’t look up from her plate again until she was halfway through her sandwich. When she did look around again, she was alone; everyone else had left. She didn’t feel so hungry anymore. She slowly walked to the door to find the host, but he was gone too.

“What is the matter with everypony today?” Dejected, Twilight placed the money for her food on the podium and trudged away from the restaurant.

A flash of color in the air caught her attention.

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash took one look at her, glared, and flew away.

“Rainbow? Come back!”

Twilight chased after her, teleporting from rooftop to rooftop to keep up. After a few houses, she made it onto a rooftop directly in Rainbow Dash’s path. Instead of stopping, Rainbow made a sharp turn and continued to fly away. Twilight teleported again and grabbed Rainbow’s tail with her magic, freezing her in place.

“Rainbow! Stop, I want to talk to you!” She released Rainbow, who spun to face her, furious.

“You don’t deserve to talk to me.” Rainbow spat, landing on the rooftop. “Only my friends are worth my time.” She stomped across the roof and leaned in close to Twilight. “You’re no friend of mine after what you did.”

Twilight felt like she’d been struck in the face, something Rainbow looked like she wanted to do. “What did I do?”

Rainbow’s expression was one of pure hatred. “You ruined everything! Thanks to you I’ll never be a Wonderbolt!”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Oh, you still don’t remember? Maybe this will jog your memory!” In an instant, Rainbow Dash was gone. On the roof where she had been standing was a book with a cover the exact shade of her coat, and her cutie mark in place of a title.

Twilight heard a shout from behind her. “Twilight! What did you do to Dashie?”

Twilight whipped around to find Pinkie Pie had joined her on the roof. “Pinkie! What’s going on? How did you get up here?”

Pinkie Pie raised a hoof and opened her mouth as though she was about to explain, then closed her mouth again with a confused look on her face. A split second later she was gone, replaced by a pair of books; one with Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, and one with hers.

“Pinkie Pie! What did you do? What just happened?”

Twilight heard a voice answer her from the road below. “She didn’t do nothin’ an’ you know it, sugar cube.”

Twilight teleported down to join Applejack.

“Applejack! Do you know what’s going on? Why did—” Before she finished her sentence, Applejack disappeared as well. The road in front of Twilight suddenly had three books on it, one with Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, one with Pinkie Pie’s, and one with Applejack’s.

A quiet voice spoke from behind Twilight. “Oh, hello, Twilight.”

Twilight turned around to see four books on the road: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy.

In a panic, Twilight ran through town, trying to find somepony who could help her. A dark figure watched her go, unnoticed.

The first ponies Twilight found glared at her, but they didn’t move when she approached them. Before she could ask them for help, they disappeared, and the pile of books was larger than before. Every pony she found wound up the same way; added to the pile of books that wouldn’t leave her alone.

Twilight ran back toward the library, tears streaking her cheeks. Rarity stepped out in front of her and Twilight ran into the pile of books that appeared in her place. Desperate, Twilight climbed over the pile and kept running to the library. Twilight just reached the door when Cheerilee opened it. Twilight crashed through the pile of books inside the library entrance.

“Spike! Spiiike!”

Twilight didn’t get an answer, so she took a moment to look around the room. The pile of books was gone from the floor, but they had replaced the books on the shelves.

She saw Spike. He was standing at the desk, writing a letter. He seemed to be ignoring her. Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself and went to him. He kept writing and didn’t look up. She tried to read the letter. All the symbols on the page swirled around while she watched, leaving her dizzy and unable to read anything it said. She shut her eyes and reached out a hoof to touch Spike’s shoulder.

“Spike?” Her hoof hit something solid, and it wasn’t scales. She opened her eyes. Both Spike and the letter were gone. Her hoof was resting instead on a purple and green book on the desk. Twilight shrieked and scrambled backwards. She braced herself up against the far wall, hyperventilating.

The same figure who was watching earlier stepped into the library, her dark blue mane billowing in nonexistent wind. “Do you desire my assistance, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight looked at the new arrival, terrified that she would become a book as well. “Yes! Yes, please, help me, Princess!”

Princess Luna smiled. Twilight gasped.

“I already have,” Luna said softly. “That you have asked me for help is proof.”

“Can you help my fr—”

You’re no friend of mine after what you did.

Twilight flinched at the thought and tried again. “—the others?”

“I can help your friends,” Princess Luna said, with a slight emphasis on the word. “Observe.”

Twilight looked away from Luna to watch the library shelves. Rainbow Dash’s book disappeared, and she appeared in her natural form in the middle of the room. Dash smiled and waved at Twilight before walking out the front door. One by one, the same thing happened to all the other books on the shelves.

“It is fortunate I arrived when I did,” Luna said, distracting Twilight from the nearly endless line of ponies leaving the library. “Even a single day more and it would have been too late to restore Rainbow Dash.”

“How did you know, Princess? I didn’t tell anypony, and—” She couldn’t bring herself to say out loud what she had done to stop Spike from asking for help.

“I do not need a letter to tell me when dozens of ponies have stopped dreaming,” Luna said.

They watched ponies appear and walk out the door for a moment before Twilight spoke up again. “What now?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well I—” Twilight gestured helplessly at the books.

“They will not remember. I have made sure of that. This time things will be fine.”

“What do you mean, ‘this time’?”

“Twilight Sparkle, have you never wondered why there are so many autobiographies in the Canterlot Library? Particularly so many from the same time periods?”

“You mean this has happened before? How many times?”

“It has,” Luna answered sadly. “How often, I know not for sure, but I do know that this spell has been used many times while I was not here to stop it. Worse still, no one attempted to restore them before the enchantment had become permanent.” She looked away from Twilight. “Not that I am surprised,” she added bitterly.

“Why not, Princess?”

Luna flinched as though she hadn’t expected Twilight to say anything. She turned and regarded Twilight thoughtfully. “Consider the following,” she said slowly. “Who gave you the spell?”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said quietly, hoping Princess Luna wasn’t taking her line of thought where it seemed she was.

“Who could have given the spell to many other ponies during my long absence from Equestria?”

“She wouldn’t—”

“Who could—nay, should—have prevented the spell from ever being used?”

“But—”

Luna stomped a forehoof. “My sister is the one who has caused this! All of this!” Luna yelled with a sweeping gesture at the library shelves. Twilight recoiled and the shelves—and Luna—started to drift away. Luna looked back at Twilight, almost panicked. “Twilight Sparkle! You must speak of this to no one… will explain every…” Luna disappeared as everything faded into blackness.

“Twilight?” The library came back into focus as Twilight opened her eyes. Spike stood in front of her with a smirk. “Why are you—”

Twilight cut him off with an almost bone-cracking hug. “Oh, Spike! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Gah!” Spike squirmed and pushed at Twilight. “Can’t… breathe…”

“Oh!” Twilight let go of Spike, who fell down gasping for breath. “Sorry!”

Spike stood up and raised one eyebrow at Twilight. “You’re acting really weird. Are you okay?”

Twilight sniffled. “Yeah, I just…” She looked away and took a breath before looking back at Spike with a smile. “I just had a bad dream, I guess. I’m fine.”