//------------------------------// // Meeting an Old Friend // Story: No Memories Just Disappear Forever // by pinky102368 //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer threw off her covers and sat up. She stretched and yawned. She kicked her feet to the side of her bed and stood up. Today’s the day! She thought with excitement. Immediately after waking up and getting out of bed; Sunset noticed her vision was blurry. She should probably get that checked out. She blinked it away as she walked to her kitchen. The walk to the kitchen was extremely short. She just needed to walk down a tiny hallway heck, she barely considered it a hallway at all. It was more like a rectangular room to connect her bedroom to the kitchen. After walking into her kitchen, Sunset opened up a cupboard to grab a box of cereal. She poured the cereal into a bowl and sat down at her small table; without bothering to put the cereal box back into the cupboard. Using a plastic spoon, Sunset Shimmer began to messily eat her cereal. She could’ve made herself the eggs that she bought yesterday, but she was just too excited to cook anything. Today was the day she would go to Sweet Apple Acres to talk to her old high school friend, Applejack. She just hoped Applejack wouldn’t be too surprised. She didn’t set up a meeting or call her or anything...it’s not like she could, anyway. She had zero contact information. All Sunset could think of while she devoured her cereal was meeting Applejack. What should I wear? What should I say? Does she even remember me? Sunset froze. Does Applejack remember her? I better hope she does… Sunset Shimmer finished her cereal and placed her empty bowl in the sink to wash later. Sunset made her way back into her bedroom and opened up a drawer of folded clothes. She picked out a cute-looking white shirt that had an image of her cutie-mark in the middle of a black heart. She threw the shirt onto her bed and then pulled out some simple jeans to throw onto the bed as well. Sunset Shimmer threw off her nightgown onto the ground, and then pulled on the shirt and jeans onto her body. She looked at herself in the mirror. Simple and cute. This will work. Sunset made her way into her cramped bathroom. She washed her mouth with some mouthwash, and then brushed her hair. This is what she always did every morning...the only difference this particular morning was that she was rushing. After making herself look presentable for the public, Sunset Shimmer made her way to the frontdoor. She grabbed her jacket off of the hatrack and threw on her boots. She took a quick glance at her phone to check the time. 9:00 o’clock...perfect! Since my shift doesn’t start until 12:00 o’clock on Tuesdays, I should have plenty of time to stop by Sweet Apple Acres! Sunset Shimmer opened the frontdoor and made her way to the longest stoplight in town. She was lucky enough to get there when the white stick-figure symbol was still being shown. She crossed the street and walked down the sidewalk. She followed the directions from Google Maps on her phone to get to Sweet Apple Acres. I still can’t believe this is actually happening! She thought with excitement. I am actually making my way to the farm where my old friend lives...and I’m actually going to talk to her—after all of these years! As she continued to walk to her destination, she kept thinking of all the possibilities of the meeting. Will Applejack be confused, or surprised? Or maybe relieved? Will she just shrug it off and treat Sunset like some random person that decided to stop by? So many possibilities! Whatever happened, Sunset Shimmer was excited to find out. “You have arrived at your destination,” a robotic woman’s voice said from Sunset’s phone. Sunset Shimmer smiled and looked at the beautiful, large farm of many acres of land in front of her. Sunset Shimmer couldn’t quite remember what the farm looked like before, but she assumed that it had not changed much. She walked through the archway with a sign next to it that read, ‘All visitors come by the main barn.’ The main barn, hmmm...it’s probably this large one right in the middle of the farm! Sunset thought excitedly. Sunset couldn’t help but skip to the entrance of the barn. She had planned this visit right before she went to sleep last night; and her feet practically pulled her over in anticipation. Sunset stopped at the entrance. There was a large arch in place for a door—very easy to peek inside. The ground was just flat and sandy. Fresh vegetables and fruits in baskets were lined up in rows with price tags hanging over them; probably hanging from a string attached from the ceiling. A desk with a cash register on top of it could be seen in the back of the room, a few feet away from the back wall. A young woman with red hair could be seen standing at the desk. How would she react if I asked her where Applejack was? Sunset Shimmer wondered. Sunset Shimmer just took a deep breath and entered the barn. She walked up to the woman at the desk like she would to any other cash register in a store. I think I recognize this woman… Sunset Shimmer thought. The woman had familiar short, red hair that went to her shoulders. She had a large pink bow atop her head, connected to a headband. “Hello there! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! We specialize in apples, but we have other fresh fruits and vegetables you may enjoy!” The woman said in a familiar country accent. Sunset Shimmer nodded. “Um, yes! Hi! I’m sorry, but I’m not really looking for fruits or vegetables here—” The woman interrupted. “—We also have fresh meat, if you’re interested!” she said, in an almost desperate tone. “Uh, no thanks...I’m not the biggest fan of meat. You see, I’m…” Sunset hesitated for a moment. “...I’m looking for someone.” The woman’s eyes widened. “Really? I’ve never been told that…” she muttered. “Who?” “Her name is Applejack. Is she here?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “May I ask what your name is?” the woman politely asked. “I’m one of her old friends from Canterlot High. Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset replied. A large smile appeared on the woman’s face as her eyes widened. “Sunset Shimmer? The Sunset Shimmer that helped defeat the Dazzlings? The Sunset Shimmer who ended up defeating that evil creature at the end of the Friendship Games?” Sunset smiled. She could never forget helping her friends defeat the Dazzlings, an evil band with the intent of having everyone under their control from Equestria. Forgetting the defeat of Midnight Sparkle and welcoming a new friend, this world’s Twilight Sparkle, into their little group was hard to forget, too. “Yes...that is me,” Sunset Shimmer said with slight awkwardness in her voice. The young woman smiled. “Well, don’t yah recognize me?” She spread her arms out wide. Sunset Shimmer looked up and down at the woman in front of her. She looked very familiar, but Sunset couldn’t put her finger on it. Not wanting to embarrass herself, Sunset Shimmer just nodded. The woman gave a tiny smile and slightly narrowed her eyes. She obviously knew that Sunset was lying. Sunset gave up her act. “Okay, I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.” Sunset noticed that she didn’t even sound awkward. She just sounded blunt. “You look familiar, though,” she added. The woman just gave a large smile and widened her eyes in happiness. “It’s me, Apple Bloom!” Sunset Shimmer almost face-palmed herself. Apple Bloom! It’s Apple Bloom! How could she forget Applejack’s little sister? I even looked at a picture of her yesterday! Sunset Shimmer looked at Apple Bloom’s smiling face that was probably looking for a reply. How should I respond? “Ohhhhh!” Sunset Shimmer finally said. “I can’t believe it’s you, Apple Bloom! How have you been?” Sunset almost cringed at her own sentence. It sounded so fake. Apple Bloom chuckled. “I thought I recognized you, Sunset! I’ve been great, just going to the same college that my big sis did...how are you doing?” Sunset kept her friendly posture and quickly thought of what to say. She wasn’t living the best life. She actually has to ask a friend to help pay her bills! But overall, she felt she was doing okay. Should I be completely honest and say, “I’m not doing the best,” or just say “I’m doing fine?” Sunset Shimmer wondered. “I could be doing a lot better, but I’m fine,” Sunset replied. “I have a job and a place to live, so it’s all good.” Apple Bloom nodded. “I could be doing better in my classes, I suppose. So I guess we both could we doing a lot better!” “Yeah,” Sunset Shimmer said with slight impatience in her voice. She came to talk to an old friend, not someone that she barely knew! “Are you doing anything pony related?” Apple Bloom asked. “No, not really,” Sunset responded. It was the honest truth, she hadn’t been doing anything even remotely associated with Equestria, the dimension that she originally came from. Even though the human world came off as...boring, at times, she wasn’t interested in associating herself with Equestria anymore. She had tried returning, and it didn’t turn out well. “Yeah, same with Applejack. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen her with pony ears and a tail.” That doesn’t make any sense... Sunset thought. Then again, nothing related to magic in this world makes sense. “That’s disappointing, I guess.” Sunset Shimmer looked around a little. With the most patient voice she could possibly make, she asked, “So, um...where is Applejack?” “Oh...right!” Apple Bloom said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. She turned her head around to the back door behind her. “Be right back.” Then the girl ran off into the back room. A few minutes later, Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but smile when she heard a loud voice that she recognized from six years ago coming from the back room. “Who could be so important that you have to interrupt mah chores, Apple Bloom?” It was definitely Applejack’s voice. She sounded annoyed, and Sunset was hoping to herself that she would be a lot happier when she actually spoke to Sunset. “You’ll be thankin’ me for interrupting your chores after you see who’s here!” Apple Bloom replied. Sunset held back a chuckle. Applejack replied with something inaudible to Sunset. Apple Bloom replied with a mumble. “Fine, fine!” Applejack shouted. “But don’t expect me to be impressed with who’s here.” The two sisters came through the backdoor, back into the main barn where Sunset stood. Apple Bloom put a gigantic smile on her face as she pointed her finger at Sunset. “Are you sure about that?” Sunset Shimmer just put on an awkward smile and waved. Applejack’s eyes widened. “Well I’ll be…” she muttered. Sunset Shimmer gave a perky expression. She waved towards her old friend. The only thing that looks different about her is her clothes! Sunset observed, noticing Applejack’s extremely short shorts—definitely wouldn’t be allowed in a high school—and a tank top that revealed her belly. I guess she’s been working hard and sweating a lot… “Sunset Shimmer!” Applejack exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” She approached Sunset and didn’t hold back when she gave her a tight hug. But the hug only lasted a second or two before Applejack pulled back. “You are Sunset Shimmer, right?” “Yes, yes I am, don’t worry!” She laughed. Applejack shooed her sister away, and waited until Apple Bloom was in the backroom before talking. “Well, howdy Sunset!” She put a hand on her old friend’s shoulder. “So, what brings you here?” “Well...long story short, I wanted to try and see you and the rest of the gang again. I assumed that you would still live here, so I came here first,” Sunset replied. “I see.” Applejack nodded. “I’m glad you decided to do this; I’ve kinda been missing you...well, along with our other old friends, of course.” “Missing me?” Sunset looked puzzled. “I’ve been living in the same house that I’ve been living in since high school. I just assumed you forgot about me!” Applejack laughed. “Forget about you? Unlikely! You see, we just thought that you went back to Equestria after you weren’t accepted into that fancy college you had your mind on.” “Oh…” Sunset held back a long grunt. After graduation, she had tried applying for the best college in the town. It had the best program for her skill level in most academics. Unfortunately, they didn’t accept her application. She couldn’t find any other colleges that suited her, so she just gave up finding one all together. “I did go back to Equestria. Well, tried to go back.” Applejack looked concerned. “What happened?” Sunset Shimmer sighed. “Well, I didn’t have any friends in Equestria; you know that. All of the ponies that I recognized from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns recognized me too; and just treated me like the jerk I was to them.” “Ouch.” Sunset nodded. “Princess Celestia is not how I remembered her...I can’t really explain why that is...but I think the fact that Princess Luna came back from being Nightmare Moon and is back in Equestria factored into it.” Applejack nodded, still listening to Sunset’s tale. “And…” Sunset continued, “...technology has advanced so much that it’s scary! It’s not that I didn’t understand it—this world’s technology is still much more advanced—it’s just a bit overwhelming to come back to a world that went from having flipbooks to full-length animated features.” She sighed. “There is one other reason I came back, but it’s a bit silly.” Applejack rose an eyebrow. “I doubt it; but what is it?” “Age differences.” “Elaborate on that.” “So I left Equestria when I was fourteen years old. Over here, that’s the beginning of high school or the end of middle school. In Equestria, that would be a young adult. About college age.” “Ah, I see. So when you went back as eighteen years old, you had to get used to the different ages of maturity again? That ain’t silly; don’t worry.” Sunset Shimmer nodded. “Thank you…” It feels good to be talking to Applejack again...she might look a little different, but she has the same honest kindness. “Anyway…” Sunset Shimmer looked around. “...enough about me. Let’s find some chairs, because there are some things I need to catch up with you.” Applejack pulled out some chairs from the back room that she previously argued with Apple Bloom in. She set them in a corner of the large barn, and then the two friends sat down, preparing for a long chat. “Well, I guess I should start with what happened in my university…” Applejack started. Talking with Applejack again was the best Sunset Shimmer felt all year. Sure, reminiscing was fun, but actually meeting with a friend you haven’t seen in six years—and having a friendly chat with them—was a whole new thing all together. It felt like nothing changed. Whenever Sunset laughed at some of the funny events Applejack told her; or whenever Applejack sympathized with Sunset’s everyday life during this little chat, Sunset Shimmer felt like she was in a high school classroom again; trying to catch up with what her friend did over the weekend before the bell rung. She almost couldn’t believe that she thought that Applejack would forget about her when she went to meet her. “Apple Bloom did what?!” Sunset Shimmer had a huge smile on her face as she listen to Applejack’s amusing story. “Yep; and it really pissed off Big Mac too. He got all over-protective and tried banning Tender Taps from the farm. But the ban didn’t really mean anything, since they went to the same school.” Applejack chuckled. “I’m just laughing because he’s freaking out over his sister getting a boyfriend in high school! If it was middle school I would understand, but flipping high school?!” Sunset Shimmer laughed. “That’s just how my brother is! Ridiculous, ain’t it?” Applejack agreed, laughing. They kept telling each other stories and friendly-teasing each other like most best friends would. Time flew by fast. Before they knew it, it was almost time for Sunset to get to her job. “Woah...dang, we’ve been talking for just a little less than three hours!” Applejack observed. “Yeah...I guess we just hit it off!” Sunset Shimmer was still surprised at how well this visit went. She literally just walked in, asked where Applejack was, and then started talking with her old friend. It almost felt too good to be true. Sunset Shimmer stretched and sat up out of her chair. “Well, I have to get to my shift in a half an hour or so, so I should probably get going.” Applejack sat up as well. “Yeah; wouldn’t want you to be late again. It was absolutely fantastic to see you again, Sunset Shimmer. It would be great if you could come by again this week, or somethin’.” “It was fantastic seeing you again too, Applejack. I am so glad that this visit went off without a hitch.” Sunset smiled. “But I don’t think I can visit again this week. I have my job and things like that. But I’ll definitely be seeing you again sometime this month! Maybe I can even have at least two of our old friends come by as well!” Applejack stared at her friend for a few moments before speaking. “Have at least two or our old friends come by? Unlikely.” Sunset Shimmer rose an eyebrow. “How so?” “Well…” Applejack walked up to the desk that Apple Bloom stood at hours ago to help customers and leaned against it. “...it would be next to impossible to get a hold of them again.” “Oh, don’t worry, I got Trixie to find whatever she can on the internet, and I know that Pinkie Pie moved to Olympia.” Sunset replied. “That’s not what I meant. Finding enough information to locate them should be a little on the easier side. It’s convincing them to talk to you, or anyone else in our cliche again.” “What?” Sunset asked, a bit confused. Applejack sighed. “A lot of things happened after you lost touch with us.” “What? What happened?! A group of friends who blasted rainbow lasers with their friendship and turned a she-demon back to her normal self with those lasers couldn’t have just separated because of a stupid argument!” Sunset exclaimed. “No, no. It was much worse than a stupid argument.” Applejack took a quick glance at her watch and sighed. “I guess we have to squeeze in another story before you go.” Sunset leaned on the desk. “Yes, please tell me what happened!” She knew how she got separated from the group (and seem to forget the names of the people in said group), but she couldn’t think of anything that could separate the rest of the gang from each other. “The first one to abandon us was Fluttershy,” Applejack started. Out of all of the people to abandon their friends first, Sunset least expected Fluttershy to be the one. She was such a timid girl that would beg forgiveness whenever she thought she made anyone feel anything worse than ‘just fine.’ Applejack continued. “We went on a vacation. We originally planned on doing everything together at this vacation, but felt that was unreasonable, so we decided to spend three hours doing whatever we wanted and would meet up again at a restaurant. Apparently Rainbow Dash wanted to go rock climbing. She somehow convinced Fluttershy to tag along, and got her to rock climb with her. The thing is; they didn’t have a pro watching or anything. Rainbow Dash literally just wanted to get to the top of a mountain.” “This is just getting better and better…” Sunset Shimmer mumbled, sarcastically. “Now remember, I wasn’t there, but apparently Rainbow Dash got rebellious and did something stupid, and Fluttershy ended up falling.” Sunset Shimmer gasped. “Was she okay?!” “Well...she didn’t die, if that’s what you mean. But she broke both of her legs and got put in the hospital immediately. We were all shocked and distressed for Fluttershy when we found out what happened. The doctor even said that it was a miracle that she was still alive. After she got out of the hospital, she pretty much stopped acknowledging that we existed. “ “Oh my God...did she heal correctly?” Sunset prompted. “I don’t know; she never told us anything. The worst part is that this is not the first time one of us got her seriously hurt...this must have been the breaking point. Rainbow Dash felt really guilty—and she should; I mean, she made her best friend fall off a cliff—so she started ignoring us.” Sunset rose an eyebrow. “Ignoring you because of guilt?” “She said she didn’t want to get the rest of us seriously injured because of her, so she left us.” “Oh, wow…” Sunset sighed. “What about the rest?” “Don’t worry, the rest of this story isn’t nearly as dramatic. Rarity pretty much got a whole chain of boutiques running all over the country after graduating from college, so she moved away to keep all of her businesses running,” Applejack explained. “What about phone numbers? Wouldn’t you have her cell-phone number?” Sunset asked. “Sunset; haven’t you tried calling her after graduation? Whenever I try calling, it says the number is disconnected or somethin’. She must have gotten a new phone number and didn’t tell us.” Sunset Shimmer wanted to reply with something that sounded wise or made it seem like she was more confident about contacting Rarity than she really was, but all that came out was, “That...that sucks…” Applejack nodded in agreement. “A similar thing happened with Pinkie. She moved to the state capital to do…” Applejack gazed at the ceiling, thoughtfully, “...the truth is, I don’t know why she moved to Olympia exactly, but she did, and whenever I try calling, she never answers.” “Does it say that the phone number is disconnected, or does she just not answer?” Sunset couldn’t think of why the latter would be possible for someone as bubbly as Pinkie Pie. “I think she just doesn’t answer...which is very surprising, considering…” Applejack answered. “So, since you know where I am, I think that about covers what happened to the gang. So, yeah...probably won’t be getting back together anytime soon.” Sunset Shimmer gazed at Applejack in awe. This was so much to take in! She had so many questions that Applejack probably didn’t have the answers to, and was silently panicking about the whole idea of bringing the gang back together after learning about all of this information. The worst part was that Sunset was almost positive that Applejack was not exaggerating, since Applejack is the Element of Honesty. In the few moments of Sunset’s shock and confusion, she remembered that Applejack didn’t mention a very certain person in the group. “What about Twilight?” she asked. Applejack glanced at her with a slightly confused expression on her face. “Twilight? Like, the Equestria Twilight? I think it’s obvious what happened to her…” Sunset shook her head. “No, I mean human Twilight. This world’s Twilight.” Applejack rose an eyebrow. “You don’t know what happened to Twilight? The rest of us I can understand losing touch with, but you losing touch with Twilight Sparkle?” Sunset’s patience was wearing thin. “Yes, yes, I suck. What happened to Twilight?” she prompted. “I actually don’t know. She went to this extremely fancy college that my family could never even dream of affording. We just completely lost touch with her after she went to that college.” Typical Twilight… Sunset thought. “Twilight’s story is the most believable, to be honest, despite you having the least amount of information on it…” “I tend to remember more about and care about more severe things...like a friend falling off a cliff,” Applejack implied. “That seems natural,” Sunset said. Applejack just nodded. Sunset sighed. “I don’t care that it will be difficult; I am going to get the gang back together!” “Didn’t you listen to the story? It’s pretty much impossible!” “Nothing is an impossible, Applejack. I should know; I come from a world with magical talking ponies.” Sunset said with confidence. “Magical talking ponies are different than human drama, Sunset.” “You’re missing my point!” Sunset snapped. “Then what is your point, Sunset?” Applejack asked. “My point is that it isn’t impossible to get the group back together! I know it isn’t!” Sunset exclaimed. Applejack sighed. “...Whatever you say…” The two friends just stood around awkwardly for a few moments before Applejack looked at her watch. “Oh boy...you should probably be heading to your work. If what you told me about what happened yesterday had absolutely zero exaggeration; then you should get going before you get fired for being late.” “Yeah…” Sunset muttered. Sunset Shimmer was starting to make her way out of the barn door when Applejack asked her one quick, final question. “Sunset, why are you so set on getting a high school group of friends back together?” she asked. Sunset Shimmer stared at her friend for a few moments before replying. “Because these great memories don’t deserve to be forgotten. No great memories just disappear forever; and those memories are coming back to me now. That can’t be for no reason.” “So you’re saying that this is fate?” “Essentially, yes.” Applejack hesitated a few moments before replying with, “Yeah; I get you.” Sunset nodded and then sprinted out the door to get to the supermarket as quickly as possible; repeatedly telling herself to not get distracted on the way there. But all she could think about was uncertainty about this whole thing. Applejack is probably right...my whole idea is starting to look impossible. She thought to herself. Then again...things that look the most impossible in life can sometimes be the most likely to become possible...but if that is true… ...Then why am I starting to doubt it?