Chapter 1

It was supposed to be another normal day. Or, as far as normal gets in this world anyway.

But then again, there's not a day that passes without something magical happening.

But it had been several months since the fiasco that was the Musical Showcase. And I hardly ever thought about it anymore. I had already forgotten about it, and I threw out my old clothes. It's safe to say that I was determined to start over with a clean slate.

And I'm getting thrown off here.

The day started off just like this....

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Dear Princess Twilight,

Another letter.

I don't know if that sounded bad. Don't get me wrong, I like talking to you this way. I guess I wish I could actually talk to you in real life. But I know you're happy back in Equestria, after all. That's your home. And I can understand that you're happier there than you could ever be here.

Anywho, not much has happened here since the Battle of the Bands. But it's probably a good thing. I'm sure everyone has been trying to wrap their heads around what happened that night. Honestly though, I would do anything to forget about that whole thing. I know you probably didn't notice, but I was just mis-

I would have gone further, but I got interrupted.

"SUNSET SHIMMER!!!!!!!" I heard a high pitched voice call out. It was so loud that it made me drop my book and the pen with it.

"Yes, Pinkie Pie?" I asked.

"I was looking all over the school for you! I went to the field, and the cafeteria, and the band room, and every other room, and I couldn't find you. But I didn't think to look for you by the statue!"

"That makes no sense. I mean, I spend most of my time here. Doing so does help me feel closer to home after all."

"I know that, silly!" She started. "But Rarity sent me off to look for you, she said that she needs you in her secret hiding place ASAP. I didn't know what that means, but she told me that it means as soon as possible!"

I lifted myself up with both legs, and then picked up the items that I had dropped. I can finish this later. If Rarity needs me, I wouldn't want to keep her waiting.

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I was very busy sewing this dress on the mannequin in front of me, when I heard a knock on the the door. It definitely took forever to find Sunset. I won't complain though.

And I was sure that it was Sunset, because this is the secret work room that I had set up, and I go here during my free periods. Also, the only people who know that this room exists is me, and both the principals, and my five other friends.

And the only thing that keeps others out is the fact that there's a sign on the door that says this room belongs to the janitor. Principal Celestia already said that was OK, as long as none of us got into any trouble.

And all of us were very careful, mainly because she said if we were to get in trouble, then she really would give the room to the janitor, even though he already has an office. And my friends were sure that I didn't want that. I keep all of my backup materials in this room, but it isn't cluttered. I did make sure that there was a cozy couch (or two) for my friends to sent on whenever they spent time here as well.

I finally got to the door, although I didn't have to.

"Oh, Sunset. I was expecting you to drop by." I said, as I got out of her way.

"I know, Pinkie already told me all about it."

"What are you waiting for, darling? I insist, come in."

I wasn't quite sure why she was hesitant about coming inside, but eventually she did walk in, and then she plopped down on the couch when I shut the door.

"I forgot how comfy this couch was. I haven't been here in a while." She said.

"Ah... that's right. The last time you were here was when I gave you your new outfit, correct?" I asked.

All she did was nod.

"Thought so." I said. It had been a while ago, but I remembered it perfectly.

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"Rarity? Are you in there?" I heard that same voice, the person that belonged to it I had been scared of several months back, and I now called her my friend. If that's not proof that people can change, I don't know what is.

"Yes, this is the right room. Didn't Applejack guide you here?" I asked.

"No, she was busy. She just gave me the room number." She said.

I sighed. "I'm going to have to have a talk with her the next time I see her. But still, come in."

And she did so. She had come here to try on the clothes that I had been working on for about a month now. It only took that long because I wanted to make sure they were absolutely perfect. I am an artist after all. And the clothes I make have to be pretty or else no one would even want them. And to ensure that everything I make is absolutely amazing, that just takes time.

"Is it done yet?" She asked.

"I just have a few loose ends to sew together, and then yes."

And there was silence while I finished up my work. Sunset, along with the rest of my friends, knew very well not to interrupt me when I'm working. That only causes me to mess up. And when I mess up with an outfit, then I have to start all over again.

"And... I'm finished!" I said.

"That didn't take near as long as I thought it would."

"Well, what can I say? I work faster when I can think about things. But that doesn't effect the quality of course." I said. "Are you ready yet?"

She nodded. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Do you have a bathroom or something that I could change in?"

I thought for a minute as I took the dress off the mannequin. "No... but I do have a screen. I know it's not the same as in my boutique, but it's all I have since we're at the school."

So I pulled her and the dress behind the screen, and then went back on the other side to give her some privacy. I was good at waiting though, so this wasn't a problem for me.

"Are you okay behind there?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time getting the top over my head, that's all. It's really hard."

I suddenly felt the need to help her with this, mainly because I knew that she could handle it on her own. "Darling, you're doing it wrong. You were supposed to put it on starting at the other end."

I heard her sigh. "Why didn't I see that?"

"It's fine. I'll help you get it on properly, if you want me to that is."

She sighed again. "Yes please. I would appreciate the help."

So I went behind the screen with Sunset, and tried to help her get it off her head. But she had really got herself stuck.

"You do realize that you could have asked me for help with getting this on, don't you?" I said.

Sunset kept struggling. "Yes, I do. But I really thought I could have done it by myself."

"It's fine, Darling. Just hold still and this will be so much easier."

Now, if it wasn't for years and years of spending time with clothes and all the knowledge that I picked up in that time, I would have been clueless. But I did get experience, and now I make clothes for all my friends.

Eventually I managed to help Sunset get her clothes on properly. It was a relief that she didn't tear it.

There we go. How do you like it?" I asked.

She quickly walked over to the mirror. I wasn't surprised when I saw the look on her face. "I- I love it Rarity!"

"You do?"

"Yes! It's so me! It's more me than my old clothes ever were! Thanks so much Rarity! I'll never forget this act of kindness!" She said, as she gave me a hug. I loved the fact that something I did made one of my friends so happy.

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"Rarity, why are you staring off into space?" I asked.

She hadn't been talking for a while actually. She was just standing there, and it looked like she was staring at the wall. But I knew what she was really doing. She always gets this way when she's designing clothes.

I would have tried to get her attention more, but that was when I heard someone knocking on the door.

"I'll continue trying to get your attention later." I said, to the now stuck in her mind Rarity.

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"Ouch! My head!" I said. The portal kept getting worse and worse every single time I went through it. And this time was as bad, maybe worse, then all the others.

But that didn't matter. I just needed to escape from my Princess duties. It was hard work, and I hadn't been able to solve a problem in weeks. And I really did think this was the only answer to get rid of all this stress.

But then again, I had second thoughts about staying here because I knew it would look pretty bad if the ponies found out the the Princess of Friendship just left and the only thing that she left behind was a measly note.

It's fine Twilight. Your friends here will help you through this.

I just hope they understand.

Chapter 2 (Edited)

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"I thought you'd be in here." I said, as I walked in to the room where Sunset and Rarity were in. But it looked like Sunset was the only one who wasn't distracted right now.
"Let me guess, Rarity got caught up in her thoughts in the middle of making a dress again." I said.
Sunset nodded.
"Figures. There's not a time that I know of that she hasn't gotten like this when she's making a dress for somebody."
The redhead that I was talking to sat down on the couch. "So this is normal for her?"
I nodded as I sat down on the couch that was on facing the one that Sunset was sitting on.
We talked for a little bit longer until there was another knock on the door.
"That's strange. I didn't expect anyone else to come here right now. I'm pretty sure the others don't have they're free periods yet." I said, as I approached the door.
I admit that I was slightly cautious about whether or not to open the door, but I didn't wanna be rude either.
That was probably the reason why I opened it slowly, just to be safe.
But when I did open the door, I felt my eyes practically bug out of my head at the sight of who was standing there.
It was.... Twilight!
"Hi... Applejack."

I was surprised that I had managed to make it to this room. The first person that I had gone to was Pinkie Pie, and she wasn't much help at first. All she did when she first saw me here was hug me endlessly. I'm not saying that I didn't understand it, because I had been away in another world for so long and she hadn't seen me in several months, but I thought that this Pinkie Pie would have been able to control herself a little better than she did.
And now here I was, standing in front of Applejack, and let me tell you, she sure looked like she was shocked. She didn't even respond when I talked to her.
And that was when Sunset came up and grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and guided her into the room safely. I found it weird that she wasn't surprised to see me here. I didn't say anything about coming here to her, or anypony for that matter.
"You can come in, Twilight. I'm sure Rarity wouldn't mind if you came in, you are a close friend after all."
I hesitated for a bit. "What do you mean you're sure?"
She walked back over to the door. "Well I'm not quite sure how to explain it. But if you come inside, I'll try to get Applejack to get with it again so she can tell you." And she walked over to the couch that she had sat Applejack down on.
I slowly walked in, and I knew that I hadn't been in this room before. There was rolls of fabric laying everywhere around the room. And there was two tables, they were standing side by side on the left side of the room. And those tables had all sorts of sewing stuff on them. And it looked like the excess stuff that the tables didn't have any room for was sat on some shelves nearby. And on the right side of the room, conveniently cut off from the very cluttered left side, was two couches and a table to set drinks on.
I was amazed at how well this room was sectioned off. Although, I didn't expect anything less from Rarity. She was good with this kind of thing after all.
"Twilight, don't you wanna sit down?" I heard.
"Uhh... yeah. I was just lost in thought for a minute."
When I sat down, I was once again amazed. The couches that had been brought in here felt like they would be perfect for sleeping on. But I wasn't here to sleep. I was here to get my mind off things.
"I'm guessing this one wasn't expecting your visit." Sunset said, as she started pinching Applejack's cheeks in an effort to wake her up.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either."
Sunset looked at me confused. "Wait... Equestria isn't in serious danger and you didn't come here to avoid it did you? Because that doesn't sound very princessy if you ask me."
I shook my head. "No. I would never do that."
"Is... is something troubling you?"
How in the world did she figure it out?
I could only stare at her. "How did you know that?"
She shrugged. "Oh... I just figure that being a princess is really hard. From your letters, it sure sounds like it is."
I was already sitting on the other couch by now. "You don't know the half of it, Sunset."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I wasn't sure at first. "I guess so."
"Well, I've got nothing but time."
"Fine." I started. "It's my princess duties. I don't know why, but they're really getting to me."
She looked at me again. "Why's that?"
"I literally don't know! They just get so stressful sometimes!" I said, as I put my head in my hoo- I mean... Hands.
And then I felt a gentle hand land on my shoulder. "I may not understand what's it's like living with the pressures of royal life, but I do understand having lots of stress. It's not royal stress, but it's just regular stress. But I still can't understand why you came here." By now, I had gotten used to actually hearing Sunset being sweet and caring instead of cold and menacing. And, if you asked me, I liked nice Sunset much better than mean Sunset. But I never would have said that to her face. I think if I did, she would probably find it really offensive considering how much she's changed since the.... erm... little incident with my crown. But I knew that she was fully changed now. She didn't even sound like the kind of person that would manipulate anyone anymore. It was almost hard to believe she was the same person.
"Are you distracted now, too?"
I shook my head. "Um... no." I said.
"Then can I ask why you came here?" I could tell that she anxious to know the reason I was here. The tone of her voice made it sound like she wanted me to be back in Equestria.
And that's when old memories came flooding back all at once. "Are you trying to tell me I don't belong here like you did before?!" I jumped up as I said this.
"What? Twilight... I wouldn't. That was a long time ago."
Even though she said that, I was still on edge. "Well I wasn't here at all was I? I was in Equestria where everypony's problems rest on my shoulders! And it's stressful for me! And there's so many problems that I have issues with solving them because I get confused when I try because there's just too many ponies!" I didn't realize it, but I had raised my voice just a little too much there.
I leaned up against the wall and slid down. "I... I didn't mean to lash out at you. I'm so sorry." I hid my face in my hands once again. I was ashamed of myself now. And that was the last thing I planned on doing when I came back in the first place.
Maybe... maybe I should just run out now. Maybe I should run out of Canterlot and go where no one will ever find me so I don't hurt anyone's feelings again. Yeah.
I got back up on my feet and walked out of the room, quickly and quietly.

I could barely believe what had just happened. Things were going well, but before I knew what was going on, Twilight exploded. And I was sure that I hadn't done anything wrong.
And the strangest thing was that Twilight walked out immediately after that happened. She didn't say where she went or anything.
It was a few minutes after that happened that Rarity and Applejack both came to.
"Sunset, darling, are you okay?! You look like you saw a ghost!"
The only thing I could manage to do was shake my head. "I'm not okay Rarity. Something really bad just happened and I'm not even sure I understand it."
Applejack stood up. "Well could you explain it?"
Right when she said that, the bell rang. I knew that wasn't good news, because it meant that we had to get back in class and we wouldn't get another free period for the rest of the day.
"I guess I'll have to tell you once school lets out."

I didn't know where I wanted to go yet, but I knew that I wasn't going back home. Not now.
I honestly didn't care if I had to hide out from everyone here for a while. I was determined to not hurt anymore feelings starting now.
But even so, I still felt like I stuck out too much with these clothes.
I need to change. But there isn't a store anywhere near me.
But that was when I ran right into a pole. And then I fell.
There wasn't very many people around at the time, so I massaged my head and then stood up again.
And just my luck, I turned around and I was at the same place I wanted to be at. A clothing store! Perfect!

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I had forgotten that the next period was lunch.

But that actually worked out really well with the current situation. It was probably the only way that I could have gotten everyone's attention without getting in trouble.

"Can you please tell us what happened with Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Wait?! Twilight came back and no one told me?! I COULD HAVE THROWN A WELCOME BACK PARTY!"

Pinkie yelling like that really drew some unnecessary attention to our table. I knew that we didn't need it quite yet.

And she got hushed by all of us.

"Okay, well, it started out like this. I was talking to Applejack and--"

"I REMEMBER NOW!" Pinkie shouted.

"Shhhhhh!!!" Was the only thing that came from our table.

"Now if I can explain without being interrupted," I started. "This whole thing started when I was invited to the secret place with Rarity, and then she got distracted like she always does, and then Applejack came along and we talked for... I don't know how long. And then Twilight came, and Applejack got all surprised and then she became just like Rarity was at the time, which I didn't think anything of it at the time but now it seems a bit odd to me... But that's besides the point. I welcomed her inside, and we started talking. And that went well until I started getting nosy about why she was here. And then Twilight got all defensive about her reasons, and she said she thought I was trying to say that she didn't belong here, which I wasn't, and then she started ranting about her problems... very loudly. And then she got upset. I don't know what could have been going on in that mind of hers, but after that she walked off after she apologized for lashing out at me. And now I don't know what to make of what happened."

Pinkie was the first one to speak up.

"Okay. First of all, talking in super long paragraphs and talking about stuff that has happened or has yet to happen is my thing!" She started. "Secondly, I can't believe that happened! That doesn't sound like Twilight at all!"

I nodded.

"Are ya sure that really happened?" I swear, it sounded like Applejack was doubting me.

"Yes, it did. I don't know if you remember it, but you were there." I said.

"I can't say I do. You've got me there. I do remember coming to the room and talking to you though, but after that it gets gray."

"But I want to give a little announcement, if you girls would be willing to help. It's for Princess Twilight after all."

I could tell that all of them didn't know how we could find her. They all stayed quiet.

"Come on! This is our friend I'm talking about." I started. I thought back on all the nice things she had done for me in the past. "I know she's been a really good friend to all of you, and there's no question that I'm very grateful for being so nice to me. If she hadn't come back here to get her crown, I don't know what might've happened to me. I would probably still be cold and bitter." I stood up on the table, not caring if I knocked my friends plates off the table. I was determined to get the point across.

But no one noticed. They were all too busy eating.

"Oh... I'll help Sunset." Fluttershy said. I knew that if she was helping, it would probably take forever, and I wouldn't be able to do what I wanted to while everyone was in one room.

And then, Rainbow Dash blew a whistle, as if she knew that would do it. And let me tell you, that thing was loud. So loud the sound of it bounced off the walls. It was really bad for me especially, because I was so close to it.

"Um now that we have your--"

"Everyone! My friend has something important to tell all of you! So quit stuffing your mouths with yummy food and listen for a second!"

I sighed. That wasn't really the way I wanted to get people's attention. Sure, the whistle thing was nice. But she didn't have to be so rude about it.

"Okay. Have any of you seen Princess Twilight?"

Five or six, maybe seven, hands raised up. And then a few more. Apparently people don't think having a pony princess from another dimension is such a big deal anymore.

"Well, I was talking to her during my free period, and that ended in her running out because of stress. Did anyone see where she ran off to?"

There was silence for a few minutes.

"I saw her run out of the front doors. It looked like she was crying." It sounded like that came from a guy, but I couldn't tell who because the table he was sitting at was really far away.

She was crying? I made her cry? That's awful.

That was the only thing I could think of, but I did hide my face in shame. I really thought this whole thing was my fault.

Chapter 3

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I had done well with getting some new clothes to wear. I was sure to be absolutely certain that what I got didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Twilight, what are you doing to yourself? The Princess of Friendship shouldn't hide from her friends.

I held my head with both hands. The last thing I wanted was to be hassled by my Princess duties.

Being here isn't making things any better.

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"Okay, so. Someone said they saw Twilight run out out to the courtyard. If that's true, then that means she could be just about anywhere right now." I said, as I paced back and forth in front of the couches that my friends were sitting on. They looked like they were all thinking hard about figuring out where Twilight could be. All except Sunset, she looked like she was guilty. I already told her she didn't have to think about this if she didn't want to.

"I'm very much stumped, Applejack. I guess she could have gone to a book store, but then again that's too obvious." Rarity said.

"How so?"

"Well Sunset specifically said that she apologized for... whatever happened, I'm still not sure. But if she did feel bad for what happened, then that means she probably wants to hide from us to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone again! That's what I would do if I was in her shoes, anyway." Rarity said.

"So you're saying that we won't be able to find her if she's hiding herself really well?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's it."

"Okay... does anyone have a good picture of Twilight on their phone? I'm not sure if I do, but I'll check." I said.

And after that, there was silence. I looked over at Sunset. She wasn't saying anything or doing anything. But she did look really upset.

I walked over to where she was sitting, she was near the others, but she wasn't on the either of the couches. She was sitting on a tall stool with her hands on her lap.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Not much. I wish I had never been so nosy with her. I didn't have to know why she was here, and if I hadn't insisted, she would still be with us."

"Now Sunset, you know that's not the truth." I started. "Something like this could have happened to any of us. Not just you, and not just me either. I'm sure that you shouldn't blame yourself too." I said.

"I know you're saying that to make me feel better." She said.

"I am, but that ain't no crime."

"You really don't think it's my fault?"

I shook my head.

"Well, I admit that helps, but I did push her to do this. And it was none of my business."

I didn't know what to say after that. I hugged her, but that was about it.

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I had gone to great lengths just so I could protect my identity. Although it was really hard considering I was the same person who saved this world twice. And I kept getting noticed even when I got some other clothes on.

This isn't enough. I need to do more. My hair is a dead giveaway. Wait... my hair is the only thing that's keeping me from not being noticed. So... if I changed it, then I would be completely safe.

And so it was decided. I knew exactly what I had to do next.

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"Has anyone found anything yet?" I asked.

"None of us have. Twilight isn't here very much, and none of us even thought to take pictures of her!" Dash said.

"I know that! But keep looking! We have to get the word out that someone is missing!"

And they did keep looking. We all knew that the situation was critical. Twilight had ran off without word to anybody. I was worried about her. We all were. And there was no way to tell if she was back in Equestria. But if she had been stressed out like Sunset said, then there's a good chance that she didn't go back.

"Oooh!!! I found something! But it's blurry." Pinkie said.

I sighed. "I don't want blurry! I want a good picture so people can see her face to give us a hint on where she is. I know that can't be hard."

"Um... I have a good picture of Twilight on my phone if you want to--" Fluttershy tried to talk, but she got interrupted.

"Applejack, none of us have taken pictures of Twilight!" Dash said.

"It's a good picture of me and her. We took a bunch of them on my phone, and maybe we could--"

"It ain't possible that no one hasn't takin' pictures of her or group pictures with her." I said.

"Um... girls? I really think we should use one of the pictures I took of the two of us. There are some really good ones, and--"

"Hey! Fluttershy has a thousand pictures of her and Twilight on her phone!" Dash said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and one of these has gotta work for the poster."

"Girls, that's exactly what I was trying to tell you just now."

I looked over at Fluttershy. "Speak up, girl. I can barely hear you, you're speaking so quietly."

She sighed. "I said, I was trying to tell you girls that--"

"Well now that we have a picture of Twilight, it should be easy to make the posters." Dash interrupted. "Does anyone want to help me with that?"

"I will, since I am the artist of the bunch, I'll gladly give my artistic sense to the project. I would do anything for Twilight."

"I can help too. I'm good at making cute art." I heard Fluttershy say. She was lucky that I could hear her.

"Well, I'm not quite sure what I would help out with." I said.

That was when Pinkie jumped on me out of nowhere. "You can help me print out stuff! Rarity and Fluttershy don't have to paint anything, silly billies! But they could design the posters instead! I think that would work much better!"

Rainbow stood up on the couch. "Well I'm going to manage Rarity and Fluttershy to make sure the posters aren't ugly."

"Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy never said anything about painting." Rarity said, looking confused.

"I know that already! And neither did you, Rare!" She giggled.

"Pinkie Pie, do not call me "Rare." My name is Rarity."

"I know that too!"

"Well then. Why are we wasting time? I say we get to work on getting those posters out there."

And then, one by one, all of us left the room. And right before I did, I turned around to face Sunset.

"Do you want to come with me and help out with the printing?" I asked.

She was silent for a minute. "Oh... I've got some things to catch up on, but when I'm done I'll meet up with you." I knew that she was trying to assure me that she was fine, but I was having a hard time believing that.

Relax Applejack. If she says she's fine, then she's fine.

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I don't know if Applejack thought that my saying that I had something else to do was bad.

Although, truth be told, I did kinda want to be alone for a little while. I needed to think things over. But I didn't want her to worry too much about me. And I wasn't quite sure how else to avoid this situation.

Is it going to be a crime if you actually talk to them about this? They could atleast help you feel better.

I shook my head. They were stressed out enough without me adding to the list of problems they already had. I knew that it would be much better for everyone if I kept my guilt a secret.

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I really wish I didn't have to do this. I always did like my mane, or in this case my hair, but all it was doing for me now was telling people: "Hey! I'm the magical princess that saved this world from evil! Notice me, why don't you?! I am a hero after all!" And that's not what I needed. If I knew my friends here, then they were probably using all the resources they could get they're hands on to find me. And if my hair didn't look the same, that would make the search that much harder.

Do you really think you're doing the right thing? Twilight, you need your friends right now. And surely Sunset doesn't care that you snapped at her accidentally. She probably understands and she might be worried about you right now. But there's no way you can know for sure because you ran out.

I wasn't very happy with my conscience's bad attitude lately. It was determined to get me back with my friends, but I knew better.

I am not going to let my conscience win by making me feel bad. And I will get my hair done different so no one will ever find me again.

Chapter 4

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I spent most of my time alone flipping through the pages of the book that I had once used to communicate with Twilight.

I admit that a part of me wanted to finish the letter that I had begun to write just this morning. But at the same time, I knew that wasn't going to help things because she wasn't in Equestria to get to see the letter, so it would have been pretty useless to write the last of it. I had already forgotten what I wanted to say to her anyway.

But as I was looking through her letters and mine, never, not once, did Twilight say anything about being so stressed out to the point where she couldn't solve a single problem.

I sighed. "If she had just told me that she was having trouble, I would have atleast tried to help her. Maybe if she had done that, she wouldn't have ran out and disappeared. Maybe I wouldn't blame myself."

It was more than obvious to me that I would have done anything just so I could feel better about things.

"Sunset... are you in there?" I heard someone ask.

"Yes. I never left the room." I said.

Applejack walked through the door, and she had a container with several posters laying in it.

"Rarity insisted that I come check on you, even though I haven't filled my container yet." She said.

"Did she?" I asked.

"Yeah." Applejack said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just looking through my book." I said.

"I know you miss Twilight."

"How?" I asked.

"Because you're flipping through the pages of the very book that you've been using to communicate with Twilight. I would be doin' the same if I was you."

"Are you implying that you can understand what I'm going through?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. But I do feel for ya. And I don't have to understand to be a supportive friend."

I put my book down on the couch and rested my hands on my lap. "I know."

She gently put a hand on my shoulder. "Sunset, I know Twilight. We're really close. And I know that when she's had time to think about things, she'll realize how much she needs us. And she will come back. But until then, we're going to get these posters printed up and get them around town. So that way, someone will see her and get word to us."

I nodded. "I admit that does help."

"Then do you feel like helping me with all these posters?" She asked.

"I do now. Just give me enough time to put my book back in my locker and then I'll come straight to the library. That's where your doing the printing right?" I asked.

"Yep!" She said.

"Okay then. I'll be there as soon as possible."

--------------

"My hair.... it's so different now." I said.

"Well, different is what you asked for. I wasn't quite sure what to go with because you only said you wanted to look different. And of course, I had to work around the bangs, but I still hope you like it." The hairdresser said.

"I'm sure I will once I get used to it not being purple and pretty." I said.

And then I left the salon.

This means that I'm no longer Twilight. I guess I'm just another normal human if anyone asks.

-----------------

"Okay, so how are we going to put these posters up?" Rarity asked.

"I don't have an idea, but I gotta ask, how did you get the posters ready so fast?" I asked.

"Sunset, darling, if you have a computer and a printer, anything is possible. I suppose that's the magic of this world, it's been here long before the Equestrian magic arrived." Rarity said.

I nodded. "I know. This world is very modern."

"But that doesn't mean that we suddenly know how we're going to get these posters around Canterlot." Rarity sighed.

We were all still stumped.

"Ooh! I know!" Pinkie started. "How about we split up? That way we can cover more ground!"

"How did you come up with that?" Rarity asked.

"It's simple! That's what my sisters did when Maud lost Boulder! We found him in six minutes! But I have a feeling that'll work for this too!"

And then we figured out where each of us would go, and then we split up, just like Pinkie suggested.

------------------

I was in the corner of the city that Rarity told me to go to. You know, the one with all the stores and stuff. But I could understand why she sent me. If it had been Pinkie Pie, she probably wouldn't have been able to get any posters up because all she would think about is going straight to the party store. But Rarity wouldn't have been much better, seeing as she's always looking for excuses to buy more materials.

I, on the other hand, couldn't care less about shopping. The only way I do it is if I need new equipment. And it just so happened that I got replacements not too long ago. So I could easily do without.

And then I went back to putting up all the 100 posters that I had to hang up everywhere.

And I admit I was doing well, up until my stapler ran out of staples.

What? Rarity said they were all full! It shouldn't have ran out like that!

And then I put the stapler in my container, and went to find Rarity.

But that was when I got sidetracked.

I passed by a girl, and something about her seemed familiar. Her hair was black, and her skin was purple. I thought it clashed, but then again, what would I know about that kind of stuff?

That was when it hit me.

Purple skin? The only person I know that has purple skin is Twilight! I found her!

I knew that I didn't have much time to celebrate this, because Twilight was walking farther away the more time I wasted. And if I had celebrated it, I probably would have lost her.

So I walked behind her as quietly as I possibly could. I was determined to see where she was going.

------------------

"Has Rainbow texted back yet?" Pinkie asked me.

All I could do was shake my head. "No, and I've already tried getting a hold of her three times!"

"Well she has to be somewhere! There's no way she could have up and disappeared just like Twilight did. It just ain't right!" Applejack said.

Right now, we were sitting in the cafe waiting for Rainbow to get word to us. I was getting antsy though. And to make things worse, my nerves were already shot.

"I'm starting to think something is wrong, in the magical sense." Sunset spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know... Honestly I'm just thinking out loud. But Twilight ran off and no one has heard from her since, so if Rainbow does the same thing, then maybe something happened to make them disappear. And I'm positive that neither of them are in Equestria, and I say that because Twilight seemed like she didn't want to be there when I talked to her. And as for Rainbow, she's never been in Equestria before, and I don't think she'd do it without Twilight around." She said.

And then we spent time thinking about it, how long it was I'm not sure, but it felt like it was a long time.

Ironically, just as we were thinking about Rainbow, all of our phones went off at the same time. Even mine.

"Ooh! I got a group text!" Pinkie shouted.

"So did I, darling. It says sent to five other people." I said.

"I think those five other people are us, Rarity. And by the way, the text is from Rainbow Dash." Applejack said.

"Well I know that now." I started. I then looked back at the screen of my phone so I could read the text. It looked like this:

girls, I need backup asap. I'm walking behind a girl who has purple skin, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's Twilight. but I can't be too sure. if it is, then she changed her hair because it's all black and not purple. I think she dyed it. but that means she's further gone then I originally thought. so wherever you are, come to my part of town quickly. I don't want her to get away.

And then, before I even knew what was going on, Pinkie Pie fell over in her chair and ran out the door. And of course the rest of us followed, but not near as fast as Pinkie herself.

-----------------

Where are they? They really should be here by now but they aren't. And I've already almost got caught like three times now.

It was a good thing that I happen to be really good at spying, otherwise I would have really sucked at doing this.

Also I did have to put my phone on vibrate to make sure I could stay safe, even though there was other people around.

"Pssst! Rainbow Dash!" I heard someone whisper. Twilight was far enough away for her not to hear us, luckily.

"What do you want?" I asked. All my friends were standing between two buildings.

"Can you still see Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

I sighed. "Yes, but that's gonna change really fast if you don't let me spy on her so I can see where she's going! If I lose her then we'll really need the posters to find her!"

"What're we supposed to do?" Pinkie asked.

"Just stay here. If we all do this at once, then that'll draw too much attention to us. And we don't need that now." I said.

I slid back around the corner and walked as quietly as I could manage, and that was not easy. Sure, I'm an athlete and I'm light on my feet, but given the circumstances, I was actually really nervous.

But that didn't stop me.

And then the whole process finally ended, when she went into another store.

And then I ran back to my friends. We were going to confront Twilight and get her to come back. That was the only way.

---------------------

I wasn't quite sure what I was doing right now, but I knew that I noticed a few stores with "help wanted" signs in the windows. I didn't know what that meant, but I wanted to find out.

But right now, I was looking at some clothes. And then I heard the door open.

"Twilight! What are you doing?! And what in the world happened to your hair?!" And then I froze in place.

How did they find me?

Chapter 5

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I can't believe it actually happened. We found Twilight.

But at the same time, I was shocked because Twilight looked so different. I mean, by her hair. Her skin was still the same as it always was.

But after the shock subdued, and the fact that Twilight had gotten her hair died black, I noticed that she didn't look happy to see us at all. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Twilight," I started. "I'm not trying to pressure you in any way, but... Why did you run off like you did?"

She was silent for several minutes before she actually spoke up. "I... I don't know if you would understand why I did what I did."

I slowly took a step toward her. I didn't want to make it look like I was coming on too strong. "Darling, if you had stuck around long enough to explain things to us, I'm sure we would have tried our hardest to understand the situation. But what you're doing isn't the answer. And I know that deep down inside you know it too." I said.

She shook her head and got closer to the rack of clothes she was standing by now. "No... what I did was awful! None of you could forgive me."

"Twilight, I-" I started to speak, but I got cut off when Sunset slowly approached.

"I think I know what to do here." She said.

I slowly backed away. I knew that this could only make the situation better or make it worse.

--------------------

You can do this, Sunset. All you gotta do is reassure her that everything will be fine, and then maybe, just maybe, she'll come out.

"Twilight, I know you're in there." I said.

"Sunset, please. I don't want to hurt you anymore. You should stay as far away from me as you can." She said, as she sunk farther into the clothes.

"What in the world of Eques-" I started to say, but then I remembered that I wasn't in Equestria anymore. "What would make you think that?" I asked.

"Because I yelled at you! And you didn't do anything to me. I was a jerk to you, and I don't blame you if you never want to see my face again." She said.

"Twilight, I don't mean to be offensive when I say this but... You're being silly. I know it might've seemed really bad at first, and it probably still does, but it's not a big deal. I get why you did it. You were really stressed. I've definitely been there. But if you come out now, we can get this worked out." I said.

It was quiet from behind the clothes. I wasn't quite sure if she was going to come out or not.

But somehow, I had a feeling that if I stayed there long enough, she'd eventually come out.

"...Sunset?" Twilight asked.

"I'm here." I said.

"Are you absolutely sure about this? I still feel like I hurt your feelings." She said.

"I'm positive." I said.

"Okay, fine." Twilight said, as she finally came out.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

She nodded. But I admit I found it odd that she wasn't looking at any of us. Is she... avoiding the subject? I'm not sure, but I know who could find out.

"Twilight, are you sure you're telling the truth?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am." She said absentmindedly, and there still wasn't any eye contact.

"Applejack," I started. "You're honest, right?"

"Sure am. I'm the most honest person there is." She said.

"So that would mean that you can tell when somebody is lying, am I right?" I asked.

"Uhh... yes." She said. She sounded slightly confused.

"Well then. I suppose that you wouldn't mind doing a friend a favor and doing something for me, would you?" I asked.

Naturally, she did hesitate at first. And then I gave her a quick little wink, just as my way of letting her know that it was okay.

"Oh, sure. Anythin' to help a friend. Just tell me what you want me to do. and I'll do it." She said.

------------------------

There was a plan now, and I knew what I had to do.

Twilight said she was tellin' the truth, but Sunset thought was wasn't. And I saw it too. Twilight was... different somehow. But I was having a hard time putting a finger on it.

"Hey, Twilight," I said.

"Uh, yes. What do you need Applejack?" She asked.

"You told Sunset you were being honest, right?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Well can you look me in the eyes and tell me you were sincere?" I said.

And then there was silence.

It didn't seem like she wanted to say anything.

"Twilight?" I asked.

She then got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around her waist. I wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but just looking at her, it felt wrong to me.

And then she went on to take her hair down. It was considerably shorter now, maybe an inch below her shoulders? I wouldn't know for sure.

"You girls were right. It was foolish of me to run out like I did. I don't know what I was thinking when I did that. I shouldn't have done this to my hair either. I wasn't thinking straight, and I'm sorry." She said.

"Twilight, darling. We don't blame you for any of this. Some people do things in they're haste that wouldn't do otherwise. We've all been there." Rarity said.

"That's right. And if you come back with us, we can get the whole thing sorted out and you can get back to Equestria when you're good and ready." I said.

She nodded.

"WAIT A MINUTE! I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING!" Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs. And naturally, that did draw some unnecessary attention to us, but considering how loud Pinkie gets when she yells in public, it's become a normal thing.

"Come here girls! Don't be shy! I want to tell you of what I thought of just now!" She said.

Twilight stayed on the floor. She hadn't moved any since she actually got down on the floor, unless you count when she took her hair down.

"Okay! I know that-" Pinkie said, but she was still really loud.

"Pinkie Pie, can you be any quieter than that?" Rarity asked.

"Hmmm.... Nope!" She said.

"Okay, I have a better idea. How about you text us what you want to say, and then we'll work from there. Can you do that?" Rarity asked.

"I think, but that's the boring way!" She said.

"Well, it's the more quiet way. Just do it, Pinkie Pie." Rarity insisted.

"Fiiiiine." She whined.

And then the next few minutes were quiet, except for the noise of the keyboard on Pinkie's phone clicking as she typed.

And eventually, she finally got the message sent. But I couldn't understand why it took so long.

And then there was buzzing all around, as the message slowly found it's way to all of our phones.

The text read like this:

OH MY GOSH! HI GIRLS! HOW ARE YA DOIN'? HA, THAT'S A STUPID QUESTION ISN'T IT?!

ANYWHO, I FORGOT WHAT I WAS DOING WITH THIS!

oh wait. I think I remember! It was about Twilight, right? I think that was it!

well, like I was saying, before rarity rudely interrupted me, I think we should have a slumber partaaaayyyy at my house! that probably doesn't sound like a good idea, but hear me out.

if we go to my house, then we'll be all alone in my room! my sisters won't bother us! and if they do, it'll probably be just so they can tell us if food's here, but that might be about it.

so, if you're with me, text back:

partaaaayyyy

PARTAAAAYYYY

FROM PINKIE PIE

------------------------

I admit that the idea that Pinkie suggested did sound interesting. But I did not appreciate when she said I rudely interrupted her. There is a difference between interrupting and making a friendly suggestion.

And that was when my phone buzzed once again.

will there be video games at this partaaaayyyy?

I could only assume that text came from Applejack or Rainbow Dash. I have known them long enough to know that they can't live without video games. But Applejack was staring at Twilight with a worried look on her face, so that meant it wasn't her.

hehe! yes dashie! there's gonna be lots of video games at my house! does that mean you'll come?! does it?!?!

It might have looked weird to an adult to see 5 teenagers and one magical unicorn turned human standing by a wall, and one magical Alicorn princess, also human, with her hair, or mane, or whatever you'd call it, died black, sitting next to a rack of clothes.

then sure. i'll come to the party.

I admit I kinda wanted to come as well, but at the same time, I thought it would have been too much of a distraction while we figured things out with Twilight.

um. i wanna come too.

That was obviously Fluttershy.

heya aj! aren't you coming to my party?!

I wasn't even looking at Applejack at this point. I was too caught up in what was happening on my phone to notice anything else.

uh.... sure why not?

I was surprised that the others were agreeing to this.

But I knew that I couldn't have gone without agreeing, so I eventually decided that I wanted to come to this little get together as well.

Chapter 6

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If I'm being honest, I thought I gave in too easily. I was shocked that my friends found me so easily. Maybe because I really hadn't planned on coming back to them. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I still felt bad about what I did to my friends. To Sunset.

And now here I was, at Pinkie Pie's house. That was the last place I wanted to be. And it wasn't because I had a few bad memories there either. But that was a long time ago, during the battle of the bands.

"Girls!" Rarity said. "Are we all forgetting why we're here in the first place?" She asked.

"Nope! I know exactly why! Our little Twilight here took an unexpected trip without telling us!" Pinkie said.

"I'd say we're all pretty lucky that I happened to be in the same place as she was." Rainbow Dash said.

The others nodded.

I really didn't want to deal with this right now. I was too upset. Although, that was probably my guilty conscience causing it. I knew for a fact that what I did was awful. And somehow, they still wanted me back. I didn't get it.
"Twilight," Sunset started. "Would you care to tell us what happened?" She asked.
In all honesty, no. I would be much happier if I didn't have to spill the beans. That was what I wanted to say, but I knew saying that would only make things worse.
"I guess I could say what really happened, if you want me to." I said.
"This whole thing started when I came here. The first place I went to was to see Pinkie Pie. She told me where the secret room was, after hugging me a whole bunch, and I went to where she told me to. After I knocked on the door, Applejack answered it. She went into shock shortly after seeing me." I said. Applejack blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sunset tried to get her to come back to Earth, but it didn't work. So we started talking for a while, but that didn't end well, because I had a misunderstanding and that caused me to have a fit of rage that wasn't necessary. And now I feel bad about it, that's the only reason why I ran off. I'm really sorry, to all of you." I said, as I put my head in my hands.
"Twilight, I don't know what made you feel like that, but you don't have to. I don't blame you for what happened. If anything, I blame myself. I'm the one that pushed you too far. I shouldn't have done that." She said. "You're not the one who should be sorry."
I shook my head. "I am. And I know that now."
Sunset didn't say anything after that, although she did hug me.
"You all are being party poopers! And if I were you, I would get off the bed because I'm going to jump on it!" Pinkie shouted.
And she did, although some of them didn't get out of the way.
-------------------
I didn't know whether or not the fact that I walked out while my friends were busy laughing was a bad thing, but I needed some fresh air.
I was sitting on the porch of Pinkie Pie's house, holding a rock in my hand.
But I didn't have any intention on running off again. I already learned my lesson.
Your friends. Don't make them worry about you again.
Now, before my friends found me and I came to my senses, I probably would have thought that my conscience was just rambling on about nothing important. But now... I wasn't feeling that way anymore. My conscience wasn't trying to be a bother, it was trying to help me.
"Twilight? What are you doing out here?" I heard that familiar voice ask. It was the same voice that I heard while I was trying to get my crown back. The same voice that I heard during the Battle of the Bands, and then again when we had a late night conversation, which I actually enjoyed even though I was struggling at the time.
I had a feeling that one of them would come out here to check up on me. I just didn't think it would be Sunset herself.
"I felt like I could barely breathe in that room. That's the only reason why I'm here."
I heard her walk over to where I was sitting, and then she sat down.
Sitting here now, the moonlight shined down on both of us. I imagined it was a beautiful sight.
"You know, if there was any grass here, I would lay down on it and stare up at the sky. That's what I do at Fluttershy's anyway." Sunset started. "I have to say, the sky here is beautiful, but it's nothing like the one Equestria has."
"I'd rather not talk about Equestria right now." I said.
"I know, I was just making friendly conversation." She said.
"I do agree though. I enjoy looking at stars." I said.
"Yeah."
And then we sat there a little while longer, not saying anything. Even though it was quiet, I still enjoyed sitting there on the porch.
And it probably would have lasted longer, but that was when a car slowly pulled into the driveway, and then stopped.
I've been in this world for... I don't know how long. But I have a feeling it's been a while, and I still haven't gotten used to cars.
And then the door slowly opened and a boy climbed out. He then got three boxes from the back seat and then started to walk towards us.
Sunset walked over to the guy and pulled some money out of her pocket and gave it to him. He gave her the boxes once she paid.
"Twilight, do you want to come back inside? I would stay out with you but it is kinda chilly out here and I don't want the pizzas getting cold." She said.
I nodded. "I'll be there in a minute."
She then went inside, quickly might I add. But I figured she only did that to prevent a lot of cool air from getting inside.
-------------------------
"Dinner's here!" I shouted.
And then, there was a bunch of yelling coming from upstairs.
But the whole thing got strange when a shoe fell down the stairs.
"Is... is everything okay up there?" I asked.
"Everything's fine, Sunset!"
"Are you sure? Because someone lost they're shoe!" I shouted back.
That was apparently enough to make the yelling quit. I assume they were trying to figure out who lost a shoe and how.
"Okay, who's the joker that threw my shoe down the staircase?" Rainbow accused.
And so the yelling started up again.
"I didn't do it Dashie!"
"Rainbow Dash, get off me! You're smashing my legs!"
"All of you get off the bed! You're only messing up the sheets!" Rarity screeched.
"Applejack, get out of my way if you don't want to be layed on!"
As entertaining as hearing them fight over a shoe was, I figured that they were still hungry.
"You better get down here before the pizza gets cold!" I shouted.
"I'm coming asaapgc!" Pinkie said, also considering how loud she speaks, it might as well been her yelling.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means "As soon as a pizza gets cut!" obviously!" Pinkie "shouted" back.
That's Pinkie Pie alright.
"That sure smells good. I'm walking down the stairs Rainbow Dash. I'm gonna get your shoe and some pizza before you do!"
"SNEAK ATTACK! I GOTCHA!" I heard a raspy voice mock. "Now you gotta carry me down the stairs and into the kitchen, and get me some food. I'm staying on your back as long as possible!"
"Grrrr. Fine. But I get to do it to you next time." Applejack muttered.
"Hey, no promises!" Rainbow warned.
And somehow Rainbow stayed on Applejack's back the whole time. I thought that it looked really uncomfortable though. But them messing with each other like this is normal.
------------------
I was out here for much longer than I intended on being. And I was surprised that I was out here this long, because it wasn't very warm. It was just cool.
So I got back up on my feet and turned to go inside. It already smelled like pizza.
"TWILIGHT! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Pinkie asked.
"I was outside on the porch." I said.
"I was wondering where you went off too again!"
"Yeah, I know." I said.
"Um... Twilight doesn't have a plate in front of her." Fluttershy said.
She was right. The spot on the table in front of me was plate-less and pizza-less.
"OH MY GOSH! I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT!" Pinkie shouted as she ran over to the boxes of pizza, got a plate, and put some pizza on the plate, and then ran back to her seat, putting the plate on the table perfectly in the process.
"Pinkie, do calm down. If you run like that anymore you could hurt yourself. Is that what you want?" Rarity asked.
"Nope! But I was in a hurry to get Twilight her food and get back to mine, so I could continue to fill my mouth with that delicious pizza." She said, as her mouth started watering.
"Okay then." Rarity said.
I admit that I was hungry, but when I went to actually take a bite, I noticed that there was brown stuff on it.
"Girls, what is this?" I asked, as I pointed at it.
And the whole table grew quiet after that.
"Pinkie Pie, you were supposed to get a piece without any pepperoni!" Rarity whispered scoldingly.
"I'm sorry! I was in a hurry!" She shouted.
"Well could you atleast get some from the vegetarian pizza we got for Twilight and Sunset? And slowly this time?" She asked.
"Fiiiiiiiine. But that takes all the fun out of it!" She whined.
So she went back over to the counter, and with a fresh plate, got a slice of vegetarian pizza.
"Here Twilight! I finally got your order right!" She said, as she bowed and went back to her seat.
Finally I can eat something without being labeled as a cannibal.
----------------
I'm not sure how it happened, but I finished my food first.
Although, it was probably a good thing that I did. Rainbow Dash and Applejack really messed up the bed when they were hopping all over it and on each other. And even though it wasn't my bed, I still wanted it to be neat and nice for the person it actually belonged to.
After I did that, I went back downstairs, but only so I could have an actual seat to sit on instead of the floor.
"Where did you go off to Rarity?" I heard Rainbow taunt.
"That's none of your business is it?" I asked.
"You made the bed again didn't you? I know you did." She asked as she chomped on her piece of pizza.
"No, I most certainly did not." I said, as I crossed my arms.
"So... you're saying that if I went up there right now, the bed wouldn't be made right now?" She asked.
"It would not." I started, as I went to the staircase as discreetly as I could. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." I said, as I slowly walked up the stairs.
"Oh no you don't!" I heard Rainbow Dash shout from behind me.
"Get out of my way, Rainbow Dash! I really have to use the bathroom!" I said, as I blocked her from getting ahead of me.
"Rarity! Let me through!" She said.
"No can do, Rainbow Dash." I said. "I'm getting in Pinkie's room before you do."
Eventually I got to the top of the stairs. I knew that now was the hard part because now Rainbow could easily get to the room. And I could barely run because I was wearing my fancy house shoes.
"Rainbow Dash! I can't keep up!" I said.
"I knew you made the bed again!" She said.
"Don't you dare mess it up!" I warned.
"You aren't the boss of me!" She mocked.
And then she did plop on the bed, much to my annoyance.
"Are you serious? I have to make the bed again because of you." I said.
I sighed. I had a feeling that she was messing with me.
I probably would have made Rainbow get off the bed, but I got distracted by the sound of footsteps on the staircase, and they were loud ones.
"I'm done with my pizza!" Applejack said, as she jumped on the bed, near Rainbow Dash.
"AJ! You're laying on my throwing arm! I need it for sports!" Rainbow scolded.
"Well you're ALSO laying on the bed I just made!" I yelled.
"Relax, Rarity. You can't be so uptight all the time." Rainbow said.
I sighed before I spoke. "It's not uptight if you want things to be neat and tidy, now is it?"
"I don't know what that word means, but I do know that everything doesn't have to be so nice and pretty like you like things."
"Yes I do!" I said.
And then the other girls came up, Twilight too.
And the rest of the night went pretty smoothly.
---------------------
I would be lying if I said I wasn't still concerned about Twilight. She did run off after all, and for her to just come back with us after all that happened? It didn't feel right.
I know that I couldn't possibly know what she was thinking when she took off, but it doesn't seem right that she didn't put up a bigger fight than she did.
Twilight is fine. And there's no reason for you to worry about her anymore.

Chapter 7

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The rest of the "slumber party" was okay. And I was glad that the others were having fun, because I wasn't. The night had been pretty much ruined for me because the only reason why they all gathered here originally was so I could tell then what actually happened, and I did even though I didn't want to.

So now I was sitting by myself, while no one here noticed how I was feeling.

----------------------

Right now, I was busy fluffing up the pillows. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had finally got off the bed so they could play video games.

And it's probably a good thing too. If they had stayed on that bed any longer, I would have had a caniption fit. And if I did, it would clearly be they're fault.

After I got done doing that, I sat down on my sleeping bag. I know that I'm not a big fan of sleeping, much less sitting, on the floor. But I will do it if absolutely necessary.

Then I went to grab my hairbrush from the nightstand so I could give my hair it's nightly brushing, as I always do. I figured now would be the best time to do it while Applejack and Rainbow Dash are distracted, because I knew that if I waited until they weren't doing anything, Rainbow would have probably tried to steal my brush so I couldn't.

Apart from the video games, Sunset and Fluttershy were watching a movie, and Pinkie Pie was laying on the floor and swinging her feet around in the air. I could tell she was bored.

And then there was Twilight. She was sitting in the corner, not saying or doing anything.

And then my curiosity was sparked.

"Twilight," I said, as I scooted closer to her. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong." She said.

"Hmmm... Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm positive." She said.

I sighed. "Alright."

From the another part of the room, I could hear Rainbow Dash and Applejack arguing over the video game they were playing.

"You better not cheat again!" Applejack warned.

"Who said I cheat?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nobody. But everytime we play ANY video game, ya always cheat." Applejack said.

Rainbow gasped. "Such accusations! I can't believe that you would accuse me of cheating!"

"It ain't wrong if it's true." Applejack spat back.

"Hey!" She said. "You can't say that you haven't cheated!"

"You two calm down." I said. "Fighting isn't worth it."

"I'll stop tellin' her she's cheatin' when she really stops. For good." Applejack said.

"Oh Applejack. Whoever put those ideas in your head?" Rainbow asked.

"You did! When you cheated!" Applejack shouted.

All this fighting was really getting on my nerves, as one could probably imagine.

"I'm not going to say it again to either of you. Quit it with the fighting or else I'll unplug the game. And I am not bluffing." I said.

"Fine." Rainbow Dash said. "I never knew you could be so... What's the word?"

"Stern?" I asked.

She was silent. Probably because she said I was so straightforward.

"Uh..." She said. "Yeah. Stern."

And they didn't fight anymore after that.

---------------------

I need sleep. That's probably the only thing that'll get me to thinking straight again.

That was the only thing on my mind right now. I had no idea how I was going to get to sleep tonight. There was so many thoughts running through my mind that I was surprised I didn't have a headache.

But if I did get one, I no doubt deserved it. Considering the worry I put my friends through, and all the guilt on top of that, I had a feeling that I was going to get one any minute.

And I admit that I considered going back on the porch, but it would probably be too cold for someone to sit out there by now.

And that was when my body finally gave into sleep.

Chapter 8

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I would be lying if I said it wasn't awkward when everyone woke up and became aware of the situation again. I could feel it just like the others, maybe even more.

Sure, Pinkie Pie tried to get us to perk up. But that didn't work out well.

Sure, Rarity tried to make Twilight happy by offering to make her a new outfit when she found out she had given her old clothes away. But that wasn't successful either.

And I didn't have any good ideas that could have helped the slump that my friends were in. That's not something I've been good at, whether it was here or in Equestria. I guess that's the one thing that didn't change about me even though I was defeated.

The first thing I did when I woke up was get dressed. I probably would have eaten, but the breakfast was rock tarts, so I decided to eat my breakfast at the school. Besides, that kind of breakfast sounds like it could actually break some teeth.

"Sunset... Are you sure you don't want any rock tarts? They're delicious!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Well, while that offer is very tempting, I'll have to pass." I said.

"Oh alright!" She said. "You know, I can eat these because I have super strong Pie teeth!"

"That's a thing?" Applejack asked.

"It is in my family!" Pinkie said. "All the Pies have strong teeth so we can eat rocks!"

"That's an... interesting fact." I said.

"I started cutting teeth on a rock." Maud said.

"Um... how nice for you." I said. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

And then then others finally came downstairs.

Pinkie tried to do the same thing for them as she did for me. And they refused too. Apparently they were just as scared of losing they're teeth as I was.

"I think it's time for us to head off." Rarity said.

"Can I have just 5 more minutes?" Pinkie said. "I'm in the middle of a rock tart!"

"It can't wait Pinkie Pie." Applejack said. "We gotta go right now or else we'll be late."

"Oh, fine. I'll just eat it on the bus." Pinkie said.

"We're not goin' on the bus. It's gettin' repaired, remember?" Applejack asked.

"Riiight. Well I guess I'll eat it as we walk to school." She said, as she grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

"Are ya sure that's a good idea?" Applejack asked.

"Yes! There's nothing wrong with eating outside! I do it all the time!" Pinkie said. And then she hopped out the door, rock tart in hand.

"Well, she's probably gonna make an animal chip a tooth if she drops any rocks." Applejack said.

"What?!?!" Fluttershy said. "That can't happen! PINKIE PIE DON'T DROP ANY ROCKS!"

Now, I haven't been friends with Fluttershy for very long, but it's been long enough for me to know that she's not very loud. And if she is, then it's probably because she's worried about one of her many animal friends.

"So... they're probably running to school." I said, as I walked outside.

"Yeah. But I'd rather take my time to enjoy the walk to school." Applejack said. "I'm not really in a hurry."

"Yeah, me too." I said.

Now that we we're outside, I could here Fluttershy yelling at Pinkie Pie, even though they were at a distance. They still hadn't gotten out of earshot.

----------------------

"Pinkie Pie!" I said. She had finally slowed down by now.

"Yes, Fluttershy?" She said, as she turned around to face me.

"I was shouting at... you the whole way from your house to this... city bus stop..." I said.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh.. because you were going too fast for me to keep up." I said.

"Were you walking behind me?" Pinkie asked.

"No. I was running as fast as I could, but you run a lot faster than I do." I said.

"Well it's not my fault! I wanted to get to school and it's still two blocks away!"

I looked in front of me. I couldn't see the school in the distance, but I had a feeling we were close.

"You know, if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to keep up with me. But I would be worried about getting to school on time." Pinkie said.

"Well, I wouldn't have been chasing you if you weren't eating that rock tart and possibly dropping rocks that little animals could get hurt on." I said.

"Fluttershy! We have to time for explanations! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" Pinkie shouted, as she ran down the street again.

Now I understand why she said I shouldn't try to catch up with her. She is going too fast.

So I got off the bench and started to walk down the street. My friends caught up not long after that.

------------------

"Ahhh! Pretty sun!" I said. I was laying on the front yard of the school. Mainly because I was waiting for my friends, but also because I was bored out of my mind.

I wasn't looking at it though. I knew better than to do that. I've been told that it's blinding, and I didn't try looking into it after that.

But I was enjoying laying in the sun. It probably doesn't sound like something I would do, but I actually do enjoy it from time to time. It's relaxing.

"Pinkie Pie?" I heard someone with a southern accent ask.

"Hi Applejack." I said.

"How the hay did ya know it was me?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, I know you're voice anywhere!" I said.

"Right. Well I think we've got a few minutes to spare, so..." Applejack said. "Any ideas on what we could do?"

There was a bunch of thinking sounds after Applejack asked that.

And then, the inside bell rang.

"Well, whatever we do, it'll have to be inside." Sunset said.

I almost didn't want to get up from the yard, but I knew I had to. If I tried to stay here all day, I would have gotten into trouble.

"Pinkie Pie, are you coming?" Rainbow asked.

I shot up as fast as I could. "Yes! Wait for me, Dashie!" I shouted.

And before I knew it, I was inside.

----------------------------

I hadn't said anything to anybody all day. Not even my friends. In fact, I was too upset with myself.

And sweaty. Really sweaty.

I pulled the sleeves up on the hoodie I was wearing. I hoped that would be enough to cool off.

And then I felt something cold run down my arm. It kinda hurt too.

I looked down, and on my right arm, there was a long cut.

Oh no... my friends can't see that. They're gonna think I did it on purpose! I know I didn't though.

I looked over at the locker I walked past when the cold and hurt started. It was wide open, and there was a piece of metal sticking out.

I knew immediately that if my friends saw that, they would think I hurt myself as some sort of punishment. I have heard of people doing that, but that wasn't the case for me. I didn't intend on hurting myself that way. It just happened.

I pulled the sleeve down over my now injured arm, and I went off to find my friends.

Chapter 9 (Edited)

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I was standing in the hallway, leaning up against my locker, talking to my friends, when Twilight came walking down the hall.

"Hey. I was wondering where you went off to." I said.

"I kinda got lost, but I'm fine." She said. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Ah. We're just talking before class starts. Nothin' important though." Applejack said.

Twilight nodded.

And then it was quiet. And not the good kind of quiet either. It was the uncomfortable kind.

I doubt it'll stay that way. Someone is bound to have something to say that'll end the silence. I'm sure of it.

That was when I started to look at the floor. All the lines on it were so inticritly placed.

Then there was the drops of red near Twilight's feet.

"Twilight, what is that?" I asked.

"What is what?" She asked back.

Rainbow Dash walked up to the drops.

"Do ya know what it is, Dash?" Applejack asked.

"It looks like blood." Rainbow said.

"Blood?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've seen people on my sports teams get hurt countless times. And either someone was here earlier that was hurt or Twilight is." Rainbow insisted. Then she took her hand and looked at it. "Twilight, is your hand bleeding?" She asked.

"What?" Twilight asked. "No... why would it be?"

"Then why is there blood on it?" Rainbow asked.

"I wouldn't know. I definitely didn't- OUCH!" Twilight shouted, as Rainbow yanked the sleeve up.

There was a long cut that stretched up and down her right arm.

"How did that happen?" Applejack asked.

"Did you harm yourself?" I asked.

"No." She said.

"Then why are you bleeding?" Applejack asked.

"I don't think you should know." Twilight said.

That immediately got me curious.

"What does that mean?" Rarity asked.

"It means I don't know if I should say." Twilight said.

That made me look down. And when I did, I saw my arms wrapped around me and my hands on my sides. And under that was my clothes.

"Twilight," I said, as I walked away from my locker. "If something happened, you really should tell us."

The others nodded.

"I... I can't." She said.

I turned to face her. "Do you have something to hide?"

"No, Sunset." Twilight said.

I kept my eyes on her, even though she wasn't looking at me. "Then why can't you tell us?" I asked.

"I just can't!" She said, as she slammed against the locker and slid down to the floor.

I can't believe what I'm seeing. Twilight is sitting in front of me, and she's making a face I know all too well. She's guilty. She's feeling the same way I did not too long ago.

Then I did the only thing I could do right now. I walked over to her and sat down, knowing that she needed support more than anything.

And I wasn't doing this to get her to talk either. I was doing it to be a friend.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Twilight asked.

"Because you would do the same if it was me that was guilty." I said.

Her eyes went wide. I knew that she was surprised by what I said.

But it was nothing but honest.

"Twilight?" I asked. I didn't want to get serious with her, but I knew I had to.

"Yeah?" She said.

"Will you be honest with me?" I asked.

She was quiet for a minute, but then she nodded.

"Why did you really get hurt?" I asked.

And then she was quiet for more than a minute. Either she was trying to find her words or she still didn't want to say.

"I... It was an accident." She said.

"An accident?" I asked.

"Yeah. I got cut on a piece of metal from a locker." She said.

"You did?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Why didn't you say so before, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because I thought you would hate me for it." Twilight said.

"We could never hate you." I said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because we are friends. We don't think any less of you even after what happened." Rarity said.

A faint smile grew on Twilight's face. "You learned that lesson when I was in Equestria, didn't you?" She asked.

"Yes, darling." Rarity said. "How did you know?"

"Because the you in Equestria went through the same thing." Twilight said.

"Uh... Girls?" Applejack asked. "Don't ya think we should be gettin' Twilight to the nurse's office?"

"Why? 'Cause of her arm?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Applejack shot daggers at Rainbow Dash. "Yes. You ARE the one who noticed it after all."

She looked down at Twilight's arm and studied it for a few minutes. She didn't say anything while she did so either.

"Alright, fine." Rainbow said, as she wiped the blood that had got on her fingers off on the floor. "We'll take her to the nurse. She'll be able to help Twilight better than we could."

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed. "You got the floor dirty!"

"Eh. It'll wash." Rainbow said.

"You don't know that!" Rarity shouted.

"C'mon Rarity! There ain't no time for fussin' about blood on the floor." Applejack said.

I didn't look behind me after that, but the sound of footsteps behind me was proof enough that Rarity had caught up with us.

--------------------------

"Hello, girls." The nurse said. "What can I do for you?"

"How does she know you so well?" I asked.

"Well, there's a lot of good throwers in gym class, and Fluttershy here ain't so good, so she gets hit by accident a lot." Applejack said.

"It's true." Fluttershy said. "It hurts, but I forgive them."

"Fluttershy didn't get hit with another dodgeball did she?" The nurse asked.

"No. This time it's about Twilight." Rainbow said.

"Come here." The nurse said.

Don't.

I kept myself on the other side of the room.

"Come on, dearie! I don't have all day." The nurse said.

I can't. I just can't do it.

"Twilight? Are you scared or something?" I heard someone ask, but my brain wasn't working properly.

"I can't." I said.

"What do you mean by you can't?" I heard someone ask again.

But I didn't hear the answer, because everything went dark.

Chapter 10

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"Is she okay?"
"She's been asleep for a while now."
"I wanna jump on her bed!"
"NO!"
It didn't seem like it had been that long since Twilight hit her head on the supplies cabinet in the nurse's office. It might've been because I was shocked while it happened, and also on the ride to the hospital.
I'm not even sure what happened.
"Hmm..." I heard someone say.
"I'll get the nurse." Applejack said.
"Where am I?" Twilight asked.
I was the first one to approach her. "You're in the hospital."
"I'm sorry... do I know you?" She asked.
"Yes you do... Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Not that I know of." Twilight said. "But I don't think I've met any of you."
I can't believe this. Why did this happen?
"Hey! I overheard the doctor talkin' to the nurses! Apparently, Twilight has amnesia and-" Applejack started, as she ran in. "Oh hey, Twilight's awake."
"Okay, I don't get it. Who is Twilight? Or better yet, who are you?" Twilight asked.
Oh no. This can't be good.
And then I heard a knock on the door.
"Ahem." The doctor said.
"Is Twilight okay, doctor?" Rainbow asked.
"Despite the amnesia? Yes. She needs time to heal and get her memory back, then she'll be good to go." The doctor said. I knew that he was trying to assure us that everything was fine. But it wasn't. In fact, things just got from bad to worse.
"Thanks, doctor." Applejack said. Then he left really fast.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Okay, first. I still don't know who you all are. Should I know?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. We're your friends." Rarity said.
Twilight pointed ar her. "You're pretty."
Rarity grinned. "I know that already, darling."
Twilight gasped. "My name is darling?!"
"Uh. No. That's just a nickname." Rarity said.
"Oh." Twilight said.
Then there was silence.
And then the sound of a phone's keybord clicking.
Buzz! That was the noise that went all around the room. Except for Rarity's phone.
Girls, she's worse than I thought. I know you saw her. She thought her name was Darling. What are we going to do?
I sat there, and took a brief glance at Twilight. She was looking at her now bandaged arm.
Buzz! Went our phones.
I know. I'm not sure how we should handle this. I ain't comin' up with any good ideas.
That was obviously Applejack.
I think I know what we should do. We can be a friend to her. And maybe, just maybe, that'll be enough to help her remember. It definitely couldn't hurt.
I looked up at the others. A few of them looked down at their phones, and then at me. Some of them were shocked that I said that.
Sunset... are you sure about that? I know for a fact that none of us can say for sure if that'll bring her memories back. Rainbow texted.
Rainbow Dash, I know that the thought of it seems somewhat obvious, but we can't do nothing about the situation. Rarity texted.
I then leaned my back against the wall.
I honestly didn't know what to do about this. Twilight couldn't remember anything from our time together. It was like everything that happened... didn't. I knew that I wanted to help her somehow, but this seemed like it was going to be a challenge.
girls? i know your there, and i feel like theres something i need to say. twilight losing her memories and all? well i know that never would have happened if i had stayed out of things. i only asked her why she was here because i was curious, but now i realize i should have kept my mouth shut. im sorry i mess things up all the time.
------------------
If I'm being honest, there was a lot of things I didn't know about that apparently I should have.
For example, where was I? Or... who am I? Or... Who were these strange people that claimed they knew me?
And then my leg fell asleep.
My leg? These other girls have legs. They're using them. I should do the same!
So I got out from under the sheets of the bed I was laying in and let myself touch the floor. It was cold at first, but I still slowly got up off the bed.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" The girl with red and yellow hair, although the yellow looked almost white to me, asked.
My name is Twilight? That's pretty.
"I'm trying to be like you. We're the same, so I should be doing what you're doing." I said.
"What do you mean?"
I looked at the girl who's hair looked like the mints the nurses had given to me. "I mean... I'm the same as you are. I have limbs, and these things with little limbs attached to them. I should be acting like you!" I said, as I pointed to what I was putting all my weight on.
"You mean your feet?" The girl asked.
But I didn't pay any attention to that. I was looking at her hair.
But the girl in front of me looked down, and the skin below her eyes turned pink. "What are you staring at?" She asked.
"Your hair. It looks so minty. Is that your name? Minty?" I asked.
She looked at me again. "No. My name is Sunset Shimmer."
I looked at her. "That's really pretty. Like Twilight."
"Thanks." Sunset said. "Now let's get you back in bed before the rest of us introduce ourselves."

Chapter 11

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"Well, that's all of us. Although I don't understand why I had to introduce Fluttershy, she coulda done it herself." Applejack said. "She has met Twilight before. This ain't any different."
"Oh... Well she can't remember me... it's like I'm meeting someone new, but not really because she looks like someone I know." Fluttershy said.
That immediately caught my attention. I wasn't listening to the other girls when they were introducing themselves, or even when Applejack apparently had to introduce Fluttershy, but what Fluttershy said about that got me thinking.
Twilight is still Twilight. She just got a clean slate. She doesn't remember anything about her old life, and she'll be happy here until she gets her memories back. Then she'll probably get depressed again. That's the last thing I want to happen to her. I hate seeing a friend sad.
"Um... Can any of you tell me about myself before I lost my memories? I must have had it pretty good to have people like you with me." Twilight asked.
I can't tell her. It's not that I don't want to, but my telling her would only make her remember faster. My mouth has already caused enough trouble.
"Can you tell me where I lived? Did I go to school? Was I a good student? Or was I like one of those that can barely pass? I think that's a thing... I'm not very sure." Twilight said. "But I want to hear all about where I lived!"
I know you're happy back in Equestria, after all. That's your home. And I can understand that you're happier there than you could ever be here.
"How can I say this...?" Rainbow Dash started. "You... You're not from here."
"I'm not?" Twilight asked.
"Unfortunately, that's the truth dar- I mean Twilight." Rarity said. I was impressed that she caught herself before she actually said darling. Although she technically did, she didn't let herself finish.
"I didn't have to go far just to get to school did I?" Twilight asked. "That seems pretty hard to do if you ask me."
"You misunderstood us." Rarity said. "I think what Rainbow Dash meant to say is that you were visiting us."
Twilight looked more confused than ever. "Am I a world traveler like a guy I saw on TV not too long ago?" She asked. "I wonder what that would be like. Twilight the World Traveler... that has a nice ring to it."
Applejack laughed to herself. "Ya don't know how true that is, Twilight. You sure traveled to this world several times."
"What did you say... Applejack?" Twilight asked.
Applejack shrugged. "I just... I meant... You aren't... You belong in..."
And then Rainbow Dash stepped in front of Applejack.
"Why can't you tell her that she lived in Equestria?! It's not that hard Applejack!" She shouted.
No one noticed the importance of what Rainbow said, until Twilight asked,
"What's Equestria?"
Well now I don't have to tell her. Someone did it for me.

Chapter 12

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I sat up in my bed, interested to know what Equestria was. Apparently, I lived there.
Atleast, that was what Rainbow Dash said.
"Are the six of you just going to stand there like statues?" I asked.
"No!" The pink haired one shouted. I had already forgotten her name by now.
"Girls... this is a very delicate situation." Rarity started. "We need to talk this out, but not in front of Twilight."
"Yeah, no thanks to Rainbow Dash for blurtin' it out." Applejack accused.
"Says the girl who was all like: "I can't... Find a... Way to... Tell you... You're from... Another world!" What was up with that?!" Rainbow asked.
And then they started to butt heads. Literally.
"I was tryin' to tell her in a way that wouldn't scare her! What's your excuse?!" Applejack spat.
"Oh please! You could barely talk!" Rainbow spat back.
"You two stop pulling apart each other's ways of handling this!" Rarity scolded.
"Fine." Both of them said in unison.
"Now, there has to be someplace private where we can talk." Rarity said.
"If you don't want me to hear what you're talking about, then I could go somewhere else." I said.
"No, Twilight, you should stay in here." Sunset insisted. "It would probably look weird if you weren't in your room."
"But I really want to get out of bed! My legs fell asleep!" I said.
"But if you leave your room now, the doctors would send you back." Sunset said.
"Why? There's nothing wrong with me." I said.
"Amnesia, Twilight." Sunset said.
I sighed as I leaned back in my bed. "I forgot about that."
"Now," Sunset said, as she turned towards the others. "Is there anything we need to talk about? Twilight already knows about Equestria."
The others didn't say anything.
"I'm just being honest here. I mean, maybe Rainbow did blurt out that Twilight isn't from here and that she belongs in Equestria. But that only means that we can help her get her memories back faster."
"She's right." Applejack said.
"Can I finally find out what you're talking about? I'm confused about all this." I said.
The others stood still for a few minutes.
"Am I going to have to do this?" Sunset asked.
"Well," Applejack started. "Pony to pony sounds like it would go better than human to pony. We don't know about Equestria like you do."
"Are you kidding me? I haven't been a pony in forever! Besides, the last time I went to Equestria, I didn't do any sight seeing!" Sunset insisted.
"Sight seein' has nothin' to do with it." Applejack said.
"That doesn't matter." Sunset said. "I may have been born a pony, but I'm just as human as the five of you."
"Not on the inside." Applejack said.
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.
"I mean that you're the best person, or in this case, pony, to help out here." Applejack said.
The other girls nodded in agreement.
"Fine." Sunset said. "But peer pressure is a nice way to imprint on me."
And then she slowly came over to my bed.
"Twilight?" Sunset asked.
"Are you coming over to explain all this to me?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes. It's a long story, but they thought I was the best one to do it."
"I know. I heard everything." I said.
"Were we that loud?" Sunset asked.
I shrugged. "No, but it is a small room."
Sunset took a deep breath. "Okay... where do you want me to start?"
I didn't even have to think about that. "I want to know what Equestria is."
"That's what I thought you'd say." Sunset said. "Equestria is this other world. You lived there, and I did too, at one point in my life."
"What's it like?" I asked.
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "I couldn't tell you. It's been years since I've been there."
"Oh." I said.
"But I can say that it was really beautiful." Sunset said.
"Why did you leave?" I asked.
She gave a faint laugh. "That story? It's as long as it is painful."
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.
"I can, just for you." Sunset said. "It was a long time ago, when I was still in Equestria. You know, when I was still a pony?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Well, I wasn't any ordinary pony, I thought I was this amazingly talented Unicorn. I showed off a whole bunch, and people did offer to be my friend, but I turned them down because I wanted to study instead. They hated me for showing off my magic skills though."
"What happened then?" I asked.
"My skills got royal attention. And by that I mean, Princess Celestia noticed that talent I had. I guess I was good, because she took me in to be her student."
Celestia?
"Say that again." I said.
"...She took me in to be her student? What's so important about that?" Sunset asked.
"No!" I said. "I meant when you mentioned that princess."
"Ohhh... Princess Celestia?" Sunset asked.
My eyes were closed as she said that, and I could see a light blue blob floating in the middle of darkness.
"I can see something!" I shouted.
"What is it? Sunset asked.
"It looks like hair." I said. "I don't know, that's probably crazy talk." I said.
"I don't think so Twilight." Sunset said. "Do you feel like you've seen it before?"
I shook my head. "No. It doesn't look familiar."
"Well we're going to have to work on that, but not now. Should I keep telling my story?" Sunset asked.
"I guess." I said.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. You can keep going with the story." I said.
"Alright." Sunset said. "Well, being Celestia's student went well at first, but eventually it all went downhill. The whole thing started when she showed me this mirror. She told me to look into it and tell her what I saw. It was me as a princess."
"Wow." I said.
"It doesn't stop there." Sunset said. "After seeing myself in that mirror, my ambitions took over. I thought I was something so special. I got so conceited so fast, more than I already was. My ambition drove me to demand to learn more about the mirror, and she told me I wasn't ready to know. And then I got angry because I thought that she wasn't seeing me for my potential."
"I'm still listening." I said.
"One night... I snuck into the library to find a book about that mirror. I did find it, and I got caught after I found out that the mirror was a portal to another world. Celestia tried to escort me out of the castle, but I managed to get back to get back to portal, and then I went through." Sunset said.
I looked at her. "And what about the time you spent here?"
"Twilight, I was a really mean bully when I first came to this world. If someone did something I didn't like, they would've been told about it." Sunset said. She looked sad after she did.
"...After I left Equestria, she replaced me with you. I admit that it hurt knowing that she moved on from me so easily. I guess that was because I hadn't moved on. I was still focused on the past, and I was plotting some kind of revenge. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, until..." Sunset said, but she cut herself off.
"Until what?" I asked.
Sunset sighed, and then her shoulders slumped. "Until you became a princess. You got what I wanted. But unlike me, you deserved it."
"A princess?!" I asked.
"Yes." Sunset said. "After that happened, I became jealous of you, on top of being angry and ambitious."
"I feel bad for you." I said.
"You shouldn't... I was in the wrong. The whole thing is my fault. I messed it up, like I do everything else."
And then Applejack came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I think she's done for now."
They left shortly after that, because the doctor said I needed a nap.

Chapter 13

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It felt like it had been forever since my possible friends left, even though it just happened yesterday.
But ironically, they didn't come back yesterday, and they hadn't arrived yet today.
I was hoping they would get here eventually though, because the doctor said that I would be able to go home. I didn't necessarily know if my home was here or in Equestria, but it was still good news.
And then one of the nurses came through the door, and another girl followed.
"Twilight," The nurse said in a calming voice. "Can you remember who this is?"
"Yes... but I can't remember her name. What is it?" I asked.
"Applejack. My name is Applejack." The girl said.
"I'm still bad with names." I said.
"It's okay, Twilight. I can and will help ya get better. And the others will too. They already promised before I left the school." Applejack said.
"Wait... are you here alone? Where's fire hair girl?" I asked.
"Do ya mean Sunset?"
I sighed. "Yes."
"Well... she was really upset last night. I haven't seen her that sad since... well that's another story that we don't have time to get into right now. But Sunset stayed behind because she didn't want to get into talkin' about herself. She ain't in no shape to do it either." Applejack said.
"...You mean I did that to her? I didn't mean to." I said.
"It's not your fault, Twilight. Now let's get you ready to leave."
------------------
"I feel like I should have gone with her... I know Twilight probably would have asked me questions about myself, but she deserves to know about where she came from." I said.
"I understand, darling." Rarity said. "But your emotions are working in full force right now. This always happens when you have to talk about what happened."
"But that was a long time ago. Everyone has forgiven me, I earned their trust. It should be over and done. And yet, I'm still sad about it." I said.
Rarity then came closer. "And you deserve to feel however you want to about the matter."
"I don't think that way. I don't deserve that, I don't deserve to have such good friends with me, after being a humongous jerk to you." I said.
"Darling, I want you to take this piece of advice, and think on it for a while. The past doesn't matter as much as what's happening right now." Rarity said.
"You're right. And I'm really sorry for being a sad sack." I said.
"It's fine. Now we better decide what we're going to do when Twilight gets here."
-------------------------
"Are we there yet, Applejack?" I asked.
"Well, not yet. The school is in a highly populated part of Canterlot, so it might take a while to get there. Just more proof that traffic is shitty." Applejack said. "Excuse my language, traffic makes me angry."
"It's fine." I said.
And then, the space to the left of the car cleared out.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"We get to go really soon." Applejack said.
And sure enough, the cars in front of us started to move forward.
"That's it!" Applejack said.
As we neared the part of the street when the other cars turned off, though, a car that was going the other way flew past. It almost hit the car we were in, too.
"Twilight, cover your ears." Applejack said.
I did so. I had a feeling things were going to get ugly.
"HEY! FUCK YOU YA STUPID ASS!"
"Sorry! I thought I had the right of way!" The guy who was apparently in the car said.
"Who do you think you are, buddy?! My friend Twilight here has amnesia, and I'm tryin' to get her to her friends so they can help, then you go flyin' down a busy intersection! That was really stupid of you!" Applejack scolded.
"I know... I apologize sincerely." He said.
"Pfft. I heard that excuse a million times before." Applejack said.
"Is there anything I can do?" The guy asked.
"Well, look at that. Ya dinged my bumper." Applejack said.
"I can pay to have it repaired."
"Well, alright. I'll call a shop." Applejack said.
And then Applejack got back in the car and grabbed her phone, which had fallen on the floorboards.
And all the while she was muttering curse words.
---------------------
"Where are they?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I've told you a million times already, and I'm going to tell you once more. I don't know where they are or when they'll be here." I said.
"Well that doesn't help me any!" Rainbow shouted.
"Can you please... just calm down for five minutes? That's all I ask, and it's not very much." I said.
"Fine." Rainbow said.
Then it finally happened.
Buzz!
"Ooh! Applejack texted you Rarity!" Pinkie said.
"I know that." I said.
"What does it say?" Sunset asked.
"I want to apologize, Rarity. I was on my way to the school, and I was goin' to turn on the road that leads to the school, and then some ....ing idiot ran right past my car and dinged up the bumper. I promise I'll be there as soon as possible, I already have a ride.
See ya when I get there,
Applejack."
No one spoke after that. I suppose they were all shocked over that news.
"So... she doesn't know when she'll be here?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"That's what she said."
"It's not like she said she can't come back." I said.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!"
And that made all of us jump.
"Look!" Pinkie said, as she pointed to the street.
She had pointed in the direction of one of those fancy sports cars I see driving past my house all the time.
What is someone who drives that kind of car doing in this part of Canterlot?
And then it slowly turned into the parking lot we were standing in.
I looked through the window, and there was a blonde girl sitting in the passenger seat.
I only know one blonde haired girl. And that's...
"Alright. Thanks for giving us a ride, ya know, after I cursed at ya and told ya to fuck and called ya an ass." Applejack said.
"It's fine... I deserved it." The guy said.
"Yeah well... I might've been outta line." Applejack said.
"What happened to you two?" I asked.
"Oh... hey y'all." Applejack said. "Didn't you get my message?"
The others were slack jawed at this point, even Sunset.
"Well, yes. But I don't think any of us expected you to be back this soon." I said.
"Yeah, I sent the text as we were near the school, and that's only because it took so long just to write it." Applejack said, as she shrugged.
"Where's Twilight?" Sunset managed to say.
"Oh... uh. Hang on. I forgot to help her with the seat belt." Applejack said, as she went around to the right side of the car.
"Applejack? I can't get this undone." I heard Twilight say.
"I know. Just hold still. I'll do it for you." Applejack said.
"Okay." Twilight said.
"And there we go!" Applejack said, after what felt like forever.
"Thanks. I was worried I was going to be trapped in that seat." Twilight said.
"Are you safety out of the vehicle?" The guy asked.
"I think so. Are you gonna pull out slowly?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, yeah." He said.
And then he slowly drove away, the car getting smaller and smaller the further he went, until he turned the corner that is.
"Well you definitely had an adventure." I said.
"It wasn't a good thing though." Applejack insisted. "I would've had to pay fifty dollars to get my bumper replaced, but that guy did it for me. It's a good thing too. I only have 26 dollars and 17 cents on me right now."
"Well you're both safe and sound now." I said. "Where's your car, by the way?"
"It's gettin' repaired as we speak." Applejack said.
I noticed that Twilight was staying near Applejack, and they're arms were interlocked. They looked inseparable.
"Was the car ride to school alright, Twilight?" I asked.
"I guess." Twilight said. "Applejack, will you stay with me while I'm in class?"
"Sure. Why not?" Applejack asked.
"Yay! That's great news!" Twilight said.
Is it just me or are Twilight and Applejack getting really close?

Chapter 14

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I really couldn't understand what had happened between Twilight and Applejack. I mean, one ride and one accident in a car later and they're best friends.
But at the same time, I blamed myself for not being there.
I can never learn better. I messed things up again.
If I'm being honest with myself, I was used to being sad all the time. I mean, the times that I spent being happy are nice, but I'd like to think that it's even with the time I spend sad.
But at the same time, I was relieved that the reason had nothing to do with people not trusting me.
The past doesn't matter as much as what's happening right now. Rarity's voice kept echoing that in my head over and over again. And I knew she was right about it.
And I also knew that if I didn't let myself forget that, then maybe, just maybe, I would be okay.
I looked over at Applejack, and Twilight was still by her side.
Now that I think about it, I'm glad they're bonding. And I'm sure I'll get my chance eventually.
------------
I wasn't trying to be mean to the other girls, but I felt like Applejack was the only one that actually cared. She was the only one who showed up to come get me after all.
And the other girls didn't even show themselves.
But when I was with Applejack right now, I felt safe and secure. I couldn't explain the feeling though.
"Twilight, you know when you asked me if I would stay with you?" Applejack asked.
I nodded.
"Well I don't have a problem with that, if you wanted to do that for a few weeks. And if you need more time, that's fine too. But I have a feeling that you're at a higher learning level than I am." Applejack said.
"Well I don't know how smart I am yet." I said. "Do I look like a brainiac to you?"
"Well... no. But you do look like you're really smart. I wouldn't be surprised if your learning isn't more advanced than mine. I am just a simple farm girl ya know."
I nodded again.
"And now that we're here, Twilight," Applejack started. "There's something you should see. I'm hopin' it will jog your memory a bit."
"Oh... well what is it?" I asked.
"You'll see." She said.
"So... you're not going to tell me?" I asked.
"Listen, Twilight." Applejack said. "If I told you now, that would ruin the surprise. Is that what you want?"
I sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am. Now follow me. It's just around this corner, in the front yard."
"I trust you." I said.
And then none of us spoke till we got there.
Although I admit I was a little confused when I found myself standing in front of a weird looking statue.
"What is that?" I asked.
"It's the portal to Equestria. It leads to where you live." Sunset said. "Or so I've been told."
"It's just out in the open like this?" I asked.
"Yes, and I'll tell you why." Sunset said. "To an ordinary person, it's just a statue. But to me, and my friends, and you before you lost your memories, it's more than just a statue."
"Can I touch it?" I asked.
"Well you did leave the portal open to come back whenever you needed to, so I guess you could." Sunset said.
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do at this point. Half of me was hesitant, but the other half wanted to touch it.
"Do you not want to do touch it yet?"
"I'm thinking." I said.
"Girls," Applejack said. "I really think we should give Twilight some space."
And then they all stepped back, atleast I think they did. I was only focused on the statue in front of me that had some strange significance.
Before I knew what was happening, I felt something brush past my hand. It was weird but at the same time, natural.
Not to mention the purple hoof that I could faintly see in the reflection.
Then all at once, I pulled back. I didn't know why, but all of this was just too much for me.
"Are you okay Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"I can't do it!" I said, as I ran off.
-----------------
My mind was reeling as I ran to the nearest bathroom to hide.
How can they expect me to believe that I'm some sort of magical princess from another world? That's not exactly normal.
But I couldn't help but wonder if it was true.
No... It can't be. You woke up as a normal person, and you still are.
"Am I going crazy?" I asked. I knew there was no one around, but deep down inside me I still wanted an answer.
"...Great. Just great. She ran off again." I heard someone say from outside the bathroom.
"There's no need to worry Rainbow Dash. We found her once, and I'm sure we can do it again."
"You know, even when she has amnesia, she has a habit of running off so we can't find her."
"Wait, hush for a second." Rainbow said.
"Rainbow Dash, you can't just-" Rarity started.
"I said hush! I heard something!" Rainbow said.
I immediately started to hold my breath. I thought I might've breathed just a little too loud.
I hope I didn't blow it.
Then I heard the sound of someone walking around, although this time it was inside the bathroom.
"Now, if there's someone in here, I'm hoping they would say something." Rainbow said. It looked like she was standing in front of the stall I was in.
The worst part was that I was getting to where I couldn't hold my breath anymore.
"I'm giving whoever is in here five minutes to show themselves." Rainbow said.
And then I finally gave up. Mainly because I couldn't hold out any longer, but also I thought if I held it any longer, I would have gone blue in the face.
"How did you know that would work?" I asked.
"Twilight, you were sitting on the floor. It wasn't hard to find out that you were in here." Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, now you know where I hid myself." I said, as I slowly walked out of the stall.
"Yeah, but I think we should get out ASAP, because this is the boy's bathroom." Rainbow said.
"What are boys?" I asked.
Rainbow just shrugged. "They... aren't girls."
"Okay... but what are girls?" I asked.
"Twilight, you're a girl, I'm a girl. Understand?" Rainbow asked.
I nodded. "I still don't know what boys are."
"Ugh! Wait." Rainbow said.
She then pulled a thing out of her pocket, and began to wipe on it with her thumb. Applejack told me all about thumbs and fingers.
"This. This is a boy right here." Rainbow said, as she lifted the thing to where I could see it.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's a phone, Twilight." Rainbow said.
"Applejack told me about those." I said.
"Did Applejack tell you about everything in your little car ride?" Rainbow asked.
I shook my head. "No... just hands, and phones, and cars, and why she hates traffic."
"I think we're done with talking about all the stuff the people of this world have. Now why did you run off?" Rainbow asked.
"Well that's obvious to me. I was overwhelmed by the whole being-from-another-world thing. It's a little unbelievable." I said.
"Yeah, I guess I should have seen that coming." Rainbow said.
"I think I might need some time to accept all this." I said.
"Are you two done in there? You're in the boy's room and class should be out any minute!" Applejack warned.
"C'mon, Twilight! We gotta hurry!" Rainbow said, as she pulled me by the arm.
"I'm literally right behind you." I said.
Then, as if we got out at just the right time, the loudest noise I ever heard filled the area.
"My ears!" I shouted.
"Oh... I guess that means a few of us have to get to class." Fluttershy said. "I have my schedule in my backpack."
"Really? Me too." Sunset said.
"I always come prepared." Fluttershy said. "Whether it's school, or a picnic, or helping out at the animal shelter, I make sure I have everything I need."
"Me too!" Sunset exclaimed.
"Wow, it looks like both of you are two peas in a pod when it comes to bein' prepared." Applejack said.
"It's nothing, really." Sunset said. "I just put in the extra effort for the teachers to prove that I'm no longer a alpha-bitch."
...I have magic, and you have nothing! I heard a faint voice say.
"Why am I hearing voices?!" I asked myself.
"Twilight... what do you mean by "hearing voices?" Are you alright?" Sunset asked.
I held my head with both hands. "I heard a voice tell me something. It was really quiet, but it was definitely a voice."
"What did it say?" Sunset asked.
I shrugged. "I can't say what it was exactly, but the voice said it had magic and I didn't... I'm not sure."
Sunset then grew quiet.
"What did I say?" I asked.
"Nothing..." Sunset said. "But your definitely trying to remember. The only thing is that the memory behind that voice isn't a good one. I should know."
I looked at Sunset. "Do you know what the voice said?"
"Yes. And I know because that voice... it was me. Or better yet, it was me before I knew better. Before you took me down." Sunset said.
"I did what?" I asked.
Sunset sighed. "Right. I forgot you have amnesia."
"I really wish I didn't have... whatever you call it. Then maybe I would remember all of you." I said.
"Twilight, none of this is your fault." Rarity said. "You can't help that you have amnesia."
"I know." I said. "But it seems like I should remember you a little better than I do. From what you've told me, we've been through a lot together."
"Yeah... but we will do everything in our power to-" Sunset started.
And then that awful bell rang again.
"Oh no... I'm late for-" Fluttershy started.
"Miss Fluttershy, Miss Shimmer, you're late for class." The teacher said.
Sunset sighed as she picked up her backpack. "Alpha-bitch strikes again."
"Excuse me, Miss Shimmer. I will not tolerate any foul mouthing in my classroom." The teacher said.
Sunset turned around to face us one last time. "See what I mean?"
Then she followed Fluttershy into the classroom.
"You girls better get off to class too." The teacher warned, as she shut the door.
"Aah!! Let me in Math class!" Pinkie Pie shouted. She was pulling on the door with her hands and her feet were pushing against it.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie!" The math teacher scolded.
"What did you call me?" Pinkie asked.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie. Now get off my door this instant!"
"I hate that name." Pinkie said, as her hair poofed down.
And then she did get off the door, only so she could go inside the classroom.
"Do we have somewhere to go like the others?" I asked.
"Oh good." Rainbow Dash said. "The math teacher didn't see me! I'm free!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack scolded. "Why did you secretly hide behind me?"
"Because I hate math class, AJ. I thought you knew that." Rainbow said.
"Doesn't matter. You should be in class." Applejack said, as she pulled Rainbow in front of her and knocked on the door.
"Miss Dash, you're late." The teacher said.
Rainbow moaned.
"Aaand off ya go! See ya after class!" Applejack said, as she shoved Rainbow through the door.
"I'm gonna get you for this, AJ!" Rainbow shouted before the door shut again.
"Is that all?" I asked.
"Yep," Applejack said. "Sunset woulda been with us too, but like she said, she works really hard to make up with the teachers. But we have a free period."
"I have an idea!" Rarity exclaimed. "Come on Applejack! You too, Twilight!"

*Update

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I want to apologize for taking sooo long to update this, my phone is being stupid and it keeps deleting the chapters after I work SO HARD on them. I'm going to try to finish if it will let me! Promise!

Chapter 15

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"I can't believe that just happened." I said, as I stormed out of the classroom.
"Sunset... slow down! I can't keep up with you!" Fluttershy said, but I really wasn't paying attention to that right now.
"Honestly! Is it coincidence for a teacher to pick on the same girl that turned into a raging she-demon not too long ago? I don't think so!" I said.
"Um... what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.
"Who does she think she is, anyway?" I asked, still focused on ranting. "I bet she was thinking: "Ooh, I'll just give Sunset Shimmer the hardest work I can get by with giving out, just to be MEAN! Why? Because I like picking on my students!"
"Sunset?" Fluttershy asked.
"Especially Sunset Shimmer! I don't care if I'm giving her harder work then EVERYBODY ELSE!"
"Sunset... you're raging."
I exhaled almost immediately. "I didn't realize."
"Are you alright? I haven't heard you yell like that since.... since what should have been the Musical Showcase." Fluttershy said.
I sighed. "I'm sorry. I just had to get that off my chest."
"It's fine, Sunset." Fluttershy assured.
"Is it?" I asked.
"Yes, everyone has to let a little emotion free sometimes." Fluttershy said.
"Well it's not "a little emotion" with me. It's a whole lot of emotion. And it comes on all at once." I said.
"I know." Fluttershy said.
"Do you have any idea why my emotions have to be so much stronger than anyone else's?" I asked.
"All I can say is... that's just who you are." Fluttershy responded.
"Thanks." I said.
And then the bell rang. Of course.
"Um... do you want to go to the library? We could talk more there." I said, as I started to take my boots off.
"What are you doing?" Fluttershy asked.
"I gotta take these bad boys off." I said. "It hurts to run in them."
"Are we having a race to the library?" Fluttershy asked.
"No... but I want to get there before we get in trouble. Again." I said.
"Okay. But I have to warn you, I don't run very fast." Fluttershy said.
Then, having finally gotten by boots off, I stood back up on my feet. "Tell you what: I'll run ahead and get my stuff safely inside the library. Then I'll come back to get you, so I won't have to worry about the hassle of carrying books and shoes, and stuff like that. Alright?" I asked.
Fluttershy nodded.
I didn't even think to notice the wordless response, I just took off.
--------------------
"Cold floor, cold floor!" I shouted.
I admit that I regretted taking off my boots now. But then again, if I had to choose between running on a cold floor and getting sore feet, I would pick the cold floor.
"Sunset?" I heard a quiet voice ask.
"Fluttershy?" I asked.
"Where did you go?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hang on, I'll come to you. Just talk or sing or something. Whatever you do, don't stop till I get there!" I said.
"Alright, I know a song." Fluttershy said.
And then I heard a faint clearing of a delicate throat.
"Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now-"
"It's time to go to BEEEEEEEEEEE-OOF!" I heard someone try to sing. I assumed it was Sweetie Belle.
"Did that help?" Fluttershy asked.
"Not really." I said. "Now I think I'm even more lost."
"Let me try again." Fluttershy said.
"Okay." I said. By some miracle, I was completely calm, even though I was lost.
"There's music in the treetops."
I admit that her singing voice was louder than her speaking voice. That's probably why I could hear her so well.
"And there's music in the vale."
Suddenly, my clouded mind started to clear up. I could realize where I was.
"And all around the music fills the sky!"
"Keep going." I whispered to myself.
"There's music by the river,"
"I can make it." I whispered.
"And there's music in the grass!
And the music makes your heart soar in reply!"
And then she finally came into sight.
"Sunset!" Fluttershy said, as she ran up to me. "Oh, I was so worried!"
"I know." I said, as she hugged me. "I'm sorry I got lost on you."
"It's alright, but will you promise me that you won't run off like that again?" Fluttershy asked.
"I promise." I said. "That wasn't one of my best ideas."
"It's... fine. It's all fine." Fluttershy assured. "Now can we go to the library? Together this time?"
"Sure." I said.
------------------------
"How can you be a backup singer for the band when you have such a beautiful voice?" I asked.
"Well I am really shy." Fluttershy said. "I think I could do lead if I wasn't, but because I am shy, I can't imagine getting on a stage by myself."
"Do you want to be able to sing more?" I asked.
Fluttershy shrugged. "I do like singing, and it's like a way to express myself."
"Yeah?" I asked.
"But the way I see it, my name is Fluttershy, and if you take the bottom half out, I would just be Flutter."
Fluttershy said.
"I can see what your getting at." I said. "Your shyness is what makes you Fluttershy. It would be wrong to take that away." I said.
"The same is true for you." Fluttershy said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well... it's like you were saying earlier. You're emotions, as firey as they may be, are a part of you." Fluttershy said.
"I'm not sure." I said, as I looked down at my hands.
And then a pair of light yellow ones took hold of one of them.
And that sparked my curiosity. "What are you doing?"
"I want you to see something." Fluttershy said.
Fluttershy gently placed a hand, my hand, on my chest. Right about where my heart should be.
"Can you feel your heart?" Fluttershy asked.
I shrugged. "A little bit."
"Well, if it wasn't for that, you would probably still be heartless, like you were before Twilight showed you friendship." Fluttershy said. "What would you want? To have too much emotion, or none at all?"

Chapter 16

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It was a really long time until school ended.
Although it was nice that the teachers allowed me to stay with Applejack. Although I wasn't sure if that had something to do with the fact that I had amnesia, but I still appreciated it.
"That wasn't easy." Rarity said. "I had to focus on school when I wanted to focus more on fashion!"
Applejack scoffed. "Says Miss "School ain't fun." Ya remember when ya said that?"
"Yes." Rarity deadpanned.
"Awe, lighten up." Applejack said. "Ya just can't be so uptight all the time."
"I am not uptight. I am a serious fashion designer. My work is no joke." Rarity insisted.
"Of course it ain't." Applejack said.
"I'm being serious here, I can't overdo it, I'm improving all the- Wait... what?" Rarity asked.
"I said the work you do for us and everyone else for that matter, it's somethin' real special." Applejack said.
It looked like Rarity's eyes were bugging out of her head. "I... I never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Why?" Applejack asked. "Is it because I haven't before?"
"Well, yes." Rarity said.
"Listen, Rarity." Applejack said. "Just 'cause I'm not fancy like the people you call neighbors, it doesn't mean that I can't respect the finer things."
"You're getting rather... sentimental, aren't you?"
"Eh. It is a little cheesy." Rainbow said.
Then there was silence.
"Well," Rarity said. "Fluttershy, did something happen while we were in class?"
"Yeah." Fluttershy said. "Long story short, Sunset got lost and I had to sing songs so she could find me."
"I can vouch for that." Sunset said. "And I think Sweetie Belle might've gotten in on it at one point."
"How so?" Rarity asked.
At that, Fluttershy started to sing. A lullaby, to be precise. She sang the first few lines with ease, but when she started on the... fourth one, I think it was, a young girl with pink and purple hair and white skin came running down the hall, shouting about bed.
"What was that for?" I asked.
Rarity walked up to me. "That was my sister, Twilight."
"Ohhh..." I said. "Wait... I don't know what a sister is."
"She's related to me." Rarity said.
"What's related?" I asked.
"Oh great! You got her started, Rarity!" Rainbow said.
"What are you talking about? I was just telling Twilight about my family." Rarity said.
"What's family?" I asked.
And then, out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash started laughing, but she ended up on the floor.
"Rainbow Dash. In what way is it funny that Twilight ain't able to understand basic stuff?" Applejack asked.
"I... I can't!" Was all Rainbow could say.
"Talk about insensitive." Applejack said.
"What's insensitive?" I asked.
"Twilight... I promise that you'll learn what all those words mean, and maybe even more words, but for right now, can ya just stop givin' Dash laughin' fuel?" Applejack asked.
"What's laughing fuel?" I asked. The only reason why I did that was because my brain wanted to learn, and when I heard something I didn't know about, I just had to ask what it was. But I don't see what's funny about that.
"Twilight... please?" Applejack asked.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." I said.
And so we stayed silent until Rainbow stopped laughing, and then got back up on her feet.
"Have ya got that inappropriate laughter outta your system?" Applejack asked.
"I'll be fine as long as Twilight doesn't ask what a word means." Rainbow said.
"Um... girls?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes, darling?" Rarity asked.
"I think there might be something someone needs to talk about." Fluttershy said.
"What do you mean?" Applejack asked.
"Well, the person that I spent my free period with would know what I mean." Fluttershy said.
Then all eyes shifted to Sunset.
--------------------
"Why are you all staring at me?" I asked.
"You know why, darling." Rarity said.
"You know I asked you if you'd rather be heartless or filled with emotion?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ya asked her that?" Applejack asked.
"Yes, I was feeling bold enough to do that." Fluttershy responded.
"Sunset," Rarity started. "How did this come about?"
I sighed. "I'm not even sure how. It was all a blur to me. All I know is that I got lost, and then I wasn't lost, and then Fluttershy put my hand on my chest so I could feel my heart beating..."
And then, just like that, all eyes weren't on me anymore. My friends were too surprised by what Fluttershy did.
"I told you I was feeling bold." Fluttershy said.
"That doesn't sound like something you'd do at all, darling." Rarity said.
"I know." Fluttershy said.
But of course, everyone turned their attention back on me. I hated getting all this attention, even though it wasn't bad. I still felt small and insignificant.
"Sunset, is there anything that's bothering you?" Rarity asked.
"Me?" I asked. "No..."
I just lied straight through my teeth. That's something I haven't done in so long.
"Are you sure?" Rarity asked.
"No, I'm not sure." I said.
"I think we need to have a nice long chat." Applejack said.
I don't want to refuse this, but I don't want them to be sad over someone as unimportant and undeserving as I am.
"Twilight, why don't you take my map of CHS, and go look around the school a little bit?" Fluttershy asked.
"Alright." Twilight said. "Wait... Am I going to get lost?"
"No, darling." Rarity said. "The very purpose of this piece of paper is so you don't get lost."
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"It's called a map." Rarity said. "See? You're learning already."
"Thanks." Twilight said.
And then she turned around and started to walk away from us.
"Sunset?" Rarity asked.
I couldn't bring myself to respond, so I just crossed my arms.
"Alright, if you're going to stay quiet, then we're going to the library to talk there. That should give you plenty of time to think things over." Rarity said.

Chapter 17

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They had all surrounded me at this point. We were walking to the library, and all five of my friends were somehow walking in a perfect circle around me.
And I did feel trapped. I knew I had no way to get out of doing this.
Sunset, you're friends are doing this for your own good. So the least you could do is tell them how you feel.
But deep down, I knew I couldn't. For no reason might I add.
And now I felt trapped in a bubble. No, it was worse than that. It felt like they were punishing me for making them hate each other.
No doubt I deserve that much. I was a bitch to them. I deserve for them to punish me in whatever way they choose.
"Are we almost at the library?" I asked.
"We aren't going to the library, darling." Rarity said.
More like bitchling. "Why not?" I asked.
"Because, Rainbow reminded me that there's probably a lot of students there, so I thought it would be better if we went to the band room instead." Rarity said. "Is that okay with you?"
"Sure." I said.
"Pfft. Now she talks." Rainbow muttered.
"Rainbow, hush up!" Applejack said, as she jabbed Rainbow in the side.
"II'm not a dog AJ!" Rainbow said.
"Well, ya don't need to be talkin' bad about Sunset." Applejack said.
"Fine." Rainbow said.
And then there was silence until we got there.
That only made me more uncomfortable though. I had no idea where this was going to go. And honestly, I didn't want to know either. I wanted to curl up in a little ball and hide where no one would ever find me.
But I can't do that. They'd probably find me.
"We're here." Rarity said.
She didn't have to though. I wasn't dumb. I knew I was in familiar territory.
"Sit down." Applejack said, as she pointed to a spot on the floor.
"NOT ON THE FLOOR!" Rarity screeched. "Um... I mean. The floor is dirty."
"Alright then." Applejack said.
Then, without asking, I climbed up onto the piano. I figured sitting on that would be better then the floor. "Now you've got me right where you want me." I said.
"Yes, and...?" Rarity asked.
"And what?" I asked. "There is no and to this if you ask me."
"No?" Rarity asked.
"No, because I'm a mess up." I said.
"What in the world makes you think that?" Rarity asked.
"I don't think that. I know that." I said. "Everything bad that happens here has something to do with me, and this is no different."
"It is." Rarity insisted.
"How?" I asked.
"Because now is not then." Rarity said.
"You keep saying that to me." I said.
"Because it's true." Rarity said.
I sighed, as I crossed my arms. I couldn't understand why I had to go through this. And I also couldn't understand why my friends cared so much about me. I knew I wasn't that special. I've known that since the very day Princess Twilight defeated me. It definitely wasn't anything new.
"Sunset, we're only doing this because we care about ya." Applejack said. "We're not tryin' to make you mad. We just want you to talk to us."
"I know." I said.
"Then can you please open up?" Rarity asked.
I didn't want to resist the friendship that I was being given anymore. Sure, that might've been what I did at first, but now it seemed silly. It would be foolish to separate myself from them.
"I do want to talk to you." I said. "But I don't even know where to start."
"I do." Rarity said, as she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You know we think you're not a mess up, right?"
I nodded. "Do you want to know why I feel this way?"
The others nodded this time.
"Well... I feel like Twilight running off was my fault. It started off so innocently, but that was before she started telling me how pressured she was." I said.
"Darling, that was Twilight. Not you." Rarity assured.
You really should listen to them.
"You're right. I should stop being upset about my past. Twilight doesn't need to see that." I said.
"We should all help her." Rarity said.
"Is it okay if I start... tonight?" I asked. "I don't mind spending the night with her."
"Sure," Rarity said.
And then I hopped off the piano and ran towards the door.
Somehow I have a much better outlook on things now.

"Sunset, are you still there?" Twilight asked.
"Yes." I said. "Are you having issues with the pajamas I gave you?"
"Not really. It's pretty obvious how I should do it." Twilight said.
"Yeah." I said. I had never really thought about something like that, how easy it was.
And then she slowly came out. She didn't change her shirt, mainly because I couldn't find one that she liked, but I did manage to find a pair of red shorts just laying around in my possessions. They didn't look all that good on her, but I guess it didn't matter. It's just us here.
"You really live here, huh?" Twilight asked.
I nodded.
"And you sleep on books?" Twilight asked.
I nodded again. I wasn't really sure what to say.
"It kinda looks familiar to me." Twilight said.
"Kinda?" I asked.
"Yeah." Twilight said. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've seen it before."
"You have." I whispered.
"What did you say?" Twilight asked.
I had to take some time to weigh my options. On one hand, I could explain to her that the feeling she had was true, but there was a part of me that knew what would happen if I did.
"You have seen this before." I said, slightly louder so she could hear me. "Not only that, you've slept on it before too."
"Really?" Twilight asked.
I nodded. "It was a while ago."
"But why would I sleep on books?" Twilight asked.
"It was because you didn't have a home, and you didn't have time to get one in three days." I said.
"...Three days." Twilight said.
"Yeah, you only had three days to come here, get you're crown back after I stole it, and then you went back to Equestria." I said. And almost immediately, I could see unwanted flashbacks of my old life. Making people cry, torturing them. Having to go through this was really taking it's toll on me.
"You mean where I'm a princess?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, that's the one." I said.
"I still don't think that's had time to sink in." Twilight said.
"I'm sure it will, eventually." I said.
"Yeah, but... is the fact that I'm this magical horse princess from another world make stuck up and conceited?" Twilight asked.
"It didn't." I said. "In my honest opinion, you acted like you hated the idea of others looking up to you." I said.
"Did you know why?" Twilight asked.
"Well, not at first. But I do remember you writing me a letter about being a princess. Should I read it to you?" I asked.
"If it's purely for the means of getting my memory back, then yes!" Twilight said.
"Alright." I said, as I started to dig around in my bag.
"It's not in here." I said.
"What's not in here?" Twilight asked.
"My book! Princess Celestia gave it to me, it was the last thing I had from my life in Equestria, and some fucking idiot stole it!" I shouted.
And then that rage turned into sadness. I got down on my knees and cried.
Then Twilight, as if by instinct, walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
The lonely feeling left my body just as fast.

Chapter 18

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Daylight slowly started to peak through the dome. The dome above the bed of books that Twilight was sleeping on. I had agreed to sleep on the floor, however, because I thought it would have been weird if we slept together.
But I didn't mind. The floor was probably better for my posture anyway.
I glanced over at Twilight, as an attempt to see if she was awake yet. And what I saw on the book bed surprised me.
Twilight was sleeping like a horse would. Apparently, her subconscious hadn't forgotten about being a pony. It was kinda cute, seeing a human sleeping like that.
Anyway, I got up off the floor slowly and quietly after seeing Twilight still asleep, because that would have been uncalled for. It would have been something stupid that the old me would have done. And the me I used to be vanished from existence at the Fall Formal. She was gone for good.
But the she-demon still haunted me.
Sunset, relax. You don't need to have an unnecessary burst of anger right now. Especially since it would be around the very pony-human-princess that reformed you. Sure she doesn't remember, but she wouldn't forget when she does get her memories back.
Then I got dressed as quietly as I could physically manage. Even though I decided to do it behind a bookcase in case she did wake up.
But it seemed like it was easy for me to get dressed this time around. And that was weird because I usually have to put up a struggle.
Twilight was still asleep after I got fully clothed again, so I had some time to myself, even if it was brief.
But what I didn't realize is how loud the door to the library is. And it wasn't open right now because Principal Celestia assumed that there was no one here.
Although I understand it. The fact that I live in the library is a well kept secret.
Then, I tiptoed over to the door. I wasn't very confident in myself, but I still pushed myself to exit the library.
Crrr- The door tried to squeak.
"I can't be so careless." I whispered.
Because of that, I opened the door slowly, but at the same time, just enough for me to get out on my hands and knees.
And doing so brought back memories. Memories of when walking that way was normal for me.
That was probably why I stayed like that even when when I didn't have to.
You must look ridiculous doing this as a human. I thought, as I got back up on my feet, even though it felt natural.

Wow. That was actually really peaceful. I didn't know what I was supposed to expect when Sunset said night was a time to sleep, but I do now!
I admit that I was surprised that sleeping on hard books wasn't more uncomfortable, but the sleep I did get was peaceful all the same.
And then I put my feet down on the floor, as I stretched out my body.
"Sunset's not here." I said, thinking nothing of it at first.
"SUNSET'S NOT HERE!" I shouted.
Can a magical human just disappear into thin air? That doesn't sound quite right. That was the only thing I could think that might've happened.
But at the same time, it didn't seem possible.
It's okay. There should be a map of the school somewhere around... the school.

After I managed to sneak out of the library unnoticed, I realized there wasn't much for me to do. I mean, it was too dark for me to see any of the pages. And the same would be true for my magic book if I had it.
But I didn't.
And the fact that someone would be so idiotic as to steal something as prescious as that book was to me, I could feel the anger burning inside me. That's how bad it was.
But that anger wasn't anywhere near as strong as it had been just last night. I suppose the sleep I had helped it die down a little.
I knew though, that after Twilight got her memories back and she returned to Equestria, that I was going to find that little fool that got my book and give him a piece of my mind. And maybe even something worse than that. It all depended on who it was and how I feel towards said person.
No... that's not the answer. If I've learned one thing, it's that no matter how good revenge might feel, it only hurts people.
So now I was sitting in the band room, messing with my guitar. It was all I could think of, because my friends weren't awake. And odds were, neither was Twilight.
I was probably lucky that the door wasn't locked.
And more so that a student forgot to lock the door when they left, and that they blantantly ignored the sign that says not to leave the door unlocked.
I can't be too picky. I'm technically one of them. I thought, as I played my guitar just a little bit so I could test it after the thousandth time of attempting to tune it.
I knew what I was doing wrong, though. I had never tried to retune it this early before. Not even on a weekend.
Then I decided to give up for now. I could always undo how I messed it up when I was with it a little more. But right now, all I could think of was the bed I had on the floor.
"...Sunset?!" I heard someone shout from further down the hall after I opened the door. "Sunset where are you?!"
I wasn't sure who wanted me.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"I thought I was the one with amnesia. Not you." The voice said.
"Twilight? What the heck are you doing out of the library?" I asked.
"Well I woke up. And you weren't there. I thought... I thought you had abandoned me."
"Abandon you?" I asked. "Why on Earth would I do that?"
I'm actually surprised I didn't slip up. I could have just as easily said Equestria.
"Well, I was searching for you ever since I woke up." Twilight said.
"You were?" I asked.
"Yeah. Let's just say I got a little worried." Twilight said.
"I feel like I'm a jerk for worrying you." I said. Oh joy. My mind can process guilt again.
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"Because I always do the wrong thing. If I had just stayed in the library..." I trailed off.
My eyes weren't open at this point, so I couldn't see when Twilight came up to me.
"Sunset, you remember when you were telling me about yourself?" Twilight asked, catching me off guard.
I looked at her. "Yeah."
"Is there something you left out by any chance?" Twilight asked.
I had to think back. "I think there might have been something I didn't get to."
And then Twilight walked over to a group of lockers, and sat down against them. "I'll listen."
I didn't hesitate after hearing her say that. I walked over to where she was sitting, only to get down next to her.
"So... you already know about where you became a princess, and that at the time you did, I was in this world, plotting revenge against Celestia, right?" I asked.
Twilight nodded.
"Well, you see. After you became a princess, I knew I could use your newfound status to my advantage, even though you were just the middle man- er... pony, in all this." I said. "And you know how I did that, I'm sure."
Twilight nodded. I knew she was intent with listening. "What happened after I came here?"
"Long story short, I played dirty, and you played clean." I said.
"How did you get to where you are now?" Twilight asked.
"Well I couldn't have done that by myself. I was heartless back then." I said. "I went too far when I had my minions capture your dragon assistant, which when he crossed over to this world, he became a dog, but either way, my minions had him."
"What are minions?" Twilight asked.
"They did whatever I asked them to. They did it even if it hurt others. It didn't matter to me, as long as everyone else knew that I was meant to be on top." I said.
"Did I ever get my dragon back?" Twilight asked.
"You did. He's probably safe and sound inside your castle as we speak." I said. "But that's besides the point."
"A little bit." Twilight said.
"Going back on what you said. The only reason why I'm in a good position with the students here is because of you." I said.
"Me?" Twilight asked. "What did I do for you?"
"You defeated me. You did something that no one else had the guts to do." I said. "And by doing so, I saw how powerful the friendship you made with total look-alike strangers was."
"Wow." Twilight said.
"I know, I'm still surprised that you did more in three days than I did in my time here." I said.
"I must've been something really special." Twilight said.
I nodded. "You were. And we did get to be close friends before you got amnesia."
"Can you tell me those stories?" Twilight asked.
I nodded. But before I could speak, another voice could be heard from down the hall.
"...I'm trying to unlock the door! I can't find my- oh there they are." The voice said.
There was some pounding on the door too.
"Calm down, sister! I'm doing the best I can!"
"That must be Vice Principal Luna." I said, as I ran down the hallway to help.
"Vice Principal what now?" Twilight shouted.

Chapter 19

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"I need in!" Celestia shouted.
"I'm... trying... my hardest! You just have to be patient, sister!" I shouted back.
I heard Celestia huff. "I don't have time for being patient. I have a very important call to take from the school board and it's at eight o'clock sharp!"
"Woo, someone woke up on the wrong side of the mattress this morning." I joked.
"Luna!" Celestia scolded.
"Fine, fine. Just trying to lighten the mood." I said.
"Vice Principal Luna! Do you need help?!" A voice shouted.
"No... I-" I said, but that was before I turned around. "...Sunset Shimmer?"
"Yeah... It's me." Sunset said.
"I would have expected to see you here this early." I said.
"There isn't anything wrong with being punctual." Sunset said.
"15 minutes from now, mind you." I said.
"LUNA!" Celestia said.
"Fine, but you're not very sunshiney like you normally are." I said.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Sunset asked.
"No. It's perfectly fine, Sunset. My sister is just being a grump." I said.
"SUNSET! WHO VICE PRINCIPAL LU- Oh." Twilight said.
"Twilight Sparkle? Is that you?" I asked.
"Who are you?" Twilight asked.
"...Sunset?" I asked.
"Twilight can't remember you. She has amnesia now." Sunset said.
"Oh... that's a pity." I said. "Well, after I let my very impatient sister in, I will gladly reintroduce myself to Twilight."
"Get the keys, Luna." Celestia said.
"Alright, miss grumpy pants." I said
And then I heard her mumble a few curse words.
"That kind of language is not necessary." I said.
"Well, we both know why I did it." Celestia said, as she folded her arms over her stomach.
"And... it's unlocked." I said.
Then, out of nowhere, my sister ran into the school as quickly as she could, and that caught me by surprise.
"That's taken care of, I suppose." I said.
"Now can we talk?" Sunset asked.
"Yes, of course." I said. "I'm kinda confused about the whole thing as it is."
"Where do I start?"
"Well, can you tell me how Twilight got amnesia?" I asked.
"It... it was my fault." Sunset said.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well... that's a long story." Sunset said, as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"We have time." I said.
"But you said-"
"I know what I said, Sunset. But I will give you a note explaining why you were late, and you can give it to the teacher. Now, with that out of the way, can you please tell me about Twilight?" I asked.
Sunset nodded. "I still think it was my fault."
"Can you tell me why?" I asked.
"I feel like I told the story a thousand times already." Sunset said.
"If you don't want to, I don't mind."
"No... You deserve to know about this. You are my superior after all."
"What's superior?" Twilight asked. The first thing that popped into my head was that she was asking questions the way a little kid would, but it didn't take long to remember that she had amnesia.
"Twilight... I will explain it to you later. Right now, though, I think we should go somewhere private." Sunset said.
"We could go to my office. No one ever comes in there." I offered.
"What's privacy?" Twilight asked.
I could tell that Sunset was getting annoyed by the constant questions coming from Twilight. She didn't have to say anything about it though, I already knew just by looking at her.
"Come girls, let's go before someone does something they'll regret." I said, as I started to head to my office.
"What's regret?"

hai aj. hru?
I had been thinkin' about that one message, nothin' more, for... maybe thirty minutes? I can't be sure. That bad spellin' just rattled my brain.
listen, rainbow dash. i dont like it when you text like that, so can ya please explain what ya just said in simple terms?
I found it ironic how that was probably the thousandth time I've had to tell her that, and she still doesn't listen.
Hello, my dearest friend Applejack. What endeavor shall you be doing today? Picking apples out of trees, I presume? ...yeah. im not rarity. wats up?
"Again with the spellin'." I said, as I rolled my eyes.
we have school, dash.
It was silent on the other end for what felt like forever.
you know i hate school. by the way, your lucky i dont spam text you.
I didn't respond after that, because I knew she was going to do it anyway.

"So... where do I start, again?" I asked, as we finally got inside the office of Vice Principal Luna.
"Well," Luna started. "When we were in the hallway, you told me that Twilight had amnesia. How did that come about?"
"Because of me. I think I was the first one she came to, but that can't be very reliable because I'm confused about it. From what I can understand, she came here to get some peace and quiet from the life of a princess, and-" I said, but I got cut off when Twilight started to play with a stapler.
"Twilight, sweetie, don't mess with that. You could very easily puncture your fingers!" Luna warned, as she took the stapler away.
"What's puncture?" Twilight asked.
Great. Another awful reminder about what I did to Twilight. She doesn't know what anything is or means. I really wish this hadn't happened. If I hadn't opened my big mouth-
"Sunset, are you alright? Your looking awfully pale." Luna said.
"Huh? Oh... I'm fine. What were we talking about?" I asked.
"Twilight. Can you continue with your story?" Luna asked.
"Sure." I said. "So, Twilight came here so she-"
"Not trying to be mean, Sunset, but you already said that." Luna said.
"...Right. Sorry." I said.
"It's quite alright."
"So, after Twilight came to me and Applejack, who had somehow slipped into shock because she was unresponsive for a while even though I was pinching her cheeks, but that's not really the point of this." I said.
"Not really." Luna said.
"After we were both inside the room, I started asking a bunch of questions. I was just being nosy, and I had no right to do so." I said. "It wasn't any of my business why she was here."
Luna nodded.
"But I didn't know that then, because she got all stressed over her life in Equestria, and then she lashed out, and it was all on me." I said.
"I see. And what happened after she lashed out?" Luna asked.
"She walked out of the school. She was ashamed over what had happened." I said.
"I don't mean to intrude, but it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong." Luna said.
"How?" I asked.
"There isn't anything wrong with being curious, Sunset." Luna said.
"Oh... but I'm not done." I said. "I haven't explained why Twilight's hair isn't purple like it normally is."
"I noticed." Luna said.
"She dyed it so no one could find her." I said. "She was feeling guilty and she didn't want to face us."
"Wow... really?" Luna asked.
"I'm not a liar. Not anymore." I said.
"I know, Sunset." Luna said.
"It just sounded like that was what you were implying." I said.
"I wouldn't." Luna said.
"Getting back on track," I started. "It didn't take that long to find her, even though she looked different."
"Oh?" Luna asked.
"It was actually easier than you'd think. Twilight wasn't very good at hiding herself." I said. "I can't take credit for finding her, though. We split up and went to different parts of town, that was Pinkie's idea, and then Rainbow Dash was the one that actually found her. I... did nothing in finding her or bringing her back here."
"I see." Luna said. She didn't sound or look surprised.
"And then we had a sleepover at Pinkie's, but nothing very important happened there." I said.
"Do you want to skip ahead to when Twilight got amnesia?" Luna asked.
"Yeah." I said. "Twilight got hurt on a piece of metal from a broken locker."
"Hmm. That's alarming." Luna said.
"That's how my arm got like this?" Twilight asked.
"Pretty much." Sunset said. "How is broken metal alarming?"
"Well, it's easy for someone to get hurt on it." Luna said.
"Oh." I said.
"Yes, I'm going to have to see about getting that fixed." Luna said. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"I think so." I said. "After Twilight got injured, she tried to hide it from us. But as I said before, she's not good at it."
"Some people aren't." Luna said.
"We took her to the nurse's office immediately after we found out. And that... that was when it actually happened."
"Do you need a break?" Luna asked.
"No..." I said. "She didn't want to come to the nurse, and then she passed out for some reason, and she hit her head on the supply cabinet. And what happened after that, I couldn't say for sure, it's all a blur."
"It sounds like you've been through a serious ordeal." Luna said.
"Well, it's nothing new to me. I'm always messing something up." I said.
"That isn't true." Luna assured, or tried to assure me.
"Everyone says that." I said.
"Well, I wouldn't lie to you either." Luna said.
"I know." I said.
Riiiiiiiiing!
"It's time for class." I said.
"Very well. You may be dismissed." Luna said, as we headed out.

The Princess Escapes

by adorablesmiles

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 (Edited)

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 (Edited)

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

*Update

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19