Twilight's hooves echo slightly as they trod upon the silent streets of Ponyville. She smiles as she lifts her head and gazes at the stars that sparkle like diamonds on velvet in the night sky. The moon casts a beautiful silvery radiance, softly illuminating her path. She loves nights like this, with just a hint of a cool breeze and the gentle quiet.
In the distance, a large tree appears. When she sees the lights which glow from it, she realizes with delight that it is no mere tree.
"It's my old library!" Twilight gallops to it like a foal on Hearths Warming Eve towards the waiting presents. With a broad smile, she opens the door with a nudge of magic and steps inside. Everything is exactly as it was before Tirek destroyed it.
"I wonder how this happened," Twilight says in wonder. "It even has all the books I remember. I can't wait to tell Spike!"
She starts to pull a book from a shelf when she hears a slide of hoof across wood. "Oh! Somepony is here."
Twilight steps towards one of the reading nooks that surround the main room. She trots around a corner and stops short with a small gasp.
Princess Luna looks up from her book and smiles. "Good evening, Twilight."
"I'm so happy that you're the first one to find the library," Twilight gushes. "Isn't this wonderful! Can you tell me how this happened?"
Luna sets aside the book and stands. "I can. This is a dream, Twilight."
Twilight's smile fades. "Oh." She looks around. "Well, that's too bad. At least it's a pleasant dream."
Luna approachers her. "Please, Twilight, would you walk with me?"
"Of course."
"I admit, I conjured this dream on purpose," says Luna as they step into the night. "I wished a calm atmosphere in which to confer with you since I didn't receive any further word from you after my note."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to take the chance Celestia would intercept it."
Luna lowers her head. "It is terrible that is has come to this, that we must engage in such subterfuge against one who has been nothing but a benevolent ruler towards her ponies."
"I know," Twilight says. "But I'm holding out hope that she has a very good reason for what she did, even if ..." She swallows. "Even if I could easily hate her for what she's done."
Luna raises her gaze to Twilight's. "What has she done to earn such enmity from even you?"
Twilight frowns. "She made somepony from my family disappear not only from history, but from ponies' minds."
Luna stares in shock. "Is ... is that even possible?"
"It is when you use dark magic."
"This is one time, Twilight, where I hope you are dead wrong."
"I wish I were," says Twilight. "I touched the dark magic spell myself, Luna. It's imbued into the pages of her journal. She corrupted even her own DIARY to hide this!"
Luna is silent for a few moments, "Do you have any idea what this pony could have done to warrant such treatment?"
"I have no idea," says Twilight. "All I have is a name: Sunset Shimmer."
Luna abruptly stops and turns towards Twilight. "That name ... are you sure?"
Twilight's eyes widen. "Yes! Have you heard it? Oh, please tell me you have!"
"I have," Luna says in a soft voice, her eyes glistening. "In your grandparents' dreams."
"Sunset Glow and Shimmering Light?"
"Yes."
"Those are the ponies I theorized are her parents!"
"I am curious," says Luna. "What led you in that direction? True, Canterlot traditions as they are would suggest they could name a foal as such, but Equestria is a big place."
"Yes, I know," says Twilight in a low voice. "In retrospect, it seems odd I would jump right to that conclusion. But if the spell was weakened by my prodding, perhaps that was some of my own suppressed memories finding a way to slip out. But, please, Luna, tell me of their dreams if you can."
Luna lowers her gaze. "Their dreams are ... so very sad."
"Well, of course! If they've been made to forget that--"
"No," says Luna. "For the daughter they WISHED they had."
Twilight shivers. "Then this affects their dreams as well."
"My sister would not banish a pony to obscurity unless she believed that pony did something heinous. Forgive me for the implied disparagement of a family member, Twilight."
"It's fine," Twilight says. "You're not saying anything I haven't already thought of."
"If this is true, then your grandparents could instead be dreaming of how they wished their daughter had turned out. Every dream starts off so very happy, with their precious Sunset making them very proud. She goes off to seek her final fortune, and then ..." Luna takes a deep breath. "They are informed she is dead."
"Of what?"
"It is never revealed. In their wailing sorrow, they realize they have been fooling themselves, and they never really had a daughter. Even I cannot comfort them."
Twilight's mind races. "Luna, you can connect dreams, right?"
"Yes, I can. Why do you ask?"
"If either of them starts dreaming tonight, can you link me into it?"
Luna's eyes widen. "Twilight, I must insist on knowing what you intend to do."
"This dark magic spell is too complex for me to break in one go," says Twilight. "I have to weaken it. I already managed it by making my father briefly remember he really had a sister. If I can get her parents resisting it, too--"
Luna frowns. "What you intend to do, Twilight Sparkle, is very dangerous. If there is any chance you're wrong, you could traumatize them, make them believe things that are not true."
Twilight takes a deep breath. "Nothing is safe about this, Luna, no matter what route I take to fight it."
Luna pauses a moment before saying, "All right, I will do it."
A pale red unicorn mare with a dark orange mane turns from the stove, a pan of eggs held in her magical grip. "Sunset, dear! Come down to breakfast."
"In a minute, Mommy!" comes a cry from upstairs. "I almost got this spell working!"
Sunset Glow sighs but smiles and shakes her head. At the table, a blue unicorn stallion with a dark cyan mane lowers his newspaper and chuckles. "Oh, she's your daughter through and through, you know," says Shimmering Light.
Glow sticks her tongue out at her husband before calling out again, "That's nice, Sunset, but you don't want your eggs to get cold, do you?"
"Oh, all right," says the voice in defeat.
Just outside the perception of the family gathering, Luna and Twilight approach. "The dream has already started," says Luna. "My apologies for not linking you in sooner, but all you missed was Sunset's birth."
"It's all right." Twilight looks towards the table again and jabs a hoof. "Look! Sitting at the other side of the table!"
A light blue unicorn colt, about ten years old, hums to himself and uses his magic to draw on a piece of paper.
"That's my father," says Twilight. She giggles. "I have to admit, he does look adorable as a foal."
Luna smiles.
The next moment, a yellow-and-red bundle of energy with hooves and a horn comes barreling into the room. The little yellow five-year-old unicorn filly skids to an ungainly stop, her red and yellow mane flopping over an eye. "Mommy! Mommy! I'm soooo close! I'm gonna have this spell done in no time after breakfast."
Twilight stares. "That must be her ..."
Glow smiles. "You mean after school."
Sunset Shimmer pouts and drops to her haunches. She tries to blow her mane out of her eyes, but it just falls back again. "Aw, do I hafta? I wanna finish this spell!"
"Wow," Twilight breathes. "She's so young, and she can already craft spells?"
Luna chuckles. "I seem to recall Celestia telling me of a certain filly who was quite accomplished as well at an early age."
Twilight blushes. "Well, I suppose this just proves it runs in the family."
"Now, sit down, Sunset, so I can serve breakfast," says Glow.
Sunset smirks. "But I am sitting."
"You know what I mean, dear," Glow says in a patient voice.
Night Light looks up. "Yeah, Sunny, I wanna eat, too, I'm starved."
Twilight's eyes widen. "My father ... she called her Sunny ..."
Shimmering sets aside his paper and smiles as Sunset hops into her chair. "And how's my little princess this morning?"
Sunset giggles. "Daddy, stop being silly! Princesses have a horn AND wings!"
Night readies a blank page in his art notebook. "I'll draw ya some wings, Sunny. You'll be a princess in no time!"
"Breakfast first, wings later," Glow says gently as she serves breakfast.
"Make 'em biiig wings!" Sunset says. "Like Princess Celestia's wings!"
Shimmering grins and taps his chin with a hoof. "Hmm, not sure if you should do that. Might get in trouble. Princess Celestia always has the Royal Guard out looking for Celestia-impersonators."
Night's pupils shrink. "R-really?"
Sunset laughs. "Oh, Nighty, you're so gullible sometimes!"
Night blushes.
"Now, honey, be nice to your brother," says Glow.
The scene wavers and dissolves, and Luna and Twilight now find themselves looking into what appears to be a magic lab. Yet when Twilight looks around, she sees a window high on one wall, and a furnace tucked in the back. Her eyes widen as she sees a now ten year old Sunset standing before a set of glass tubes, vials, and flasks arranged in one large array.
"She had her own LAB?!" Twilight cries. "In her HOUSE?! Even I never had that!"
"Now, please observe," says Sunset, her muzzle elevated, looking as if she is already an instructor teaching a class. She does indeed have an audience, namely her parents. "I am about to complete the experiment I have been working on for the last four months."
Glow smiles. "I'm really excited about this, Sunset."
"We both are!" says Shimmering. "Please, do go ahead."
Sunset beams at the praise and begins opening valves with her magic, letting chemicals flow into each other. They pass over magical flames of different colors burning at specific locations along the fluids' paths, then through crystals that alternately compress and expand the fluids, which glow more intensely as they traverse their circuitous path.
Twilight blinks. "I have no idea what she's doing."
"Realize that if these are indeed memories as you theorize," says Luna. "Her parents might not have the technical details right."
"But still, I should have some idea what she's trying to accomplish."
The chemicals come together in a glass sphere at the top of the array. Sunset casually turns to it as they start to froth and roil. "And now, the spell to finish it!"
Sunset's horn blazes. The beam strikes the sphere, and the chemicals within seem almost to fold in on themselves before exploding into a blinding light. The glass shatters, but this is expected, given how quickly and casually Sunset raises a shield to protect her and her parents. The light remains suspended in the air like a miniature sun, yellow and red energy roiling within.
"This can't be right," says Twilight. "It looks like she just created some sort of dense magical plasma, the same kind that's theorized to make the sun glow!"
"This is why I always assumed these were dreams of a daughter who never was," Luna says.
"But if this is true, this is a breakthrough!" Twilight cries. "She found a way to actually generate magical plasma by concentrating energy at a single point! There are SO many applications for--!"
"Oh, Sunset, I'm so proud of you!" Glow suddenly cries.
"Great Celestia, this is wonderful!" Shimmering declares.
Sunset's smile becomes a touch smug. "Yes, I know, this is such an accomplishment."
Glow's eyes fill with tears. "I don't mean that!"
"Sunny, l-look at your flank!" says Shimmering.
Sunset's eyes widen, and she cranes her neck. There upon her flank is the symbol of a yellow and red sun, looking very much like her creation.
Her parents surge forward and hug Sunset tightly. Sunset hugs them back, her smile now a mixture of happiness and self-satisfaction, even as the light from her miniature sun starts to fade.
"She got her cutie mark in a similar way I did, by doing a feat of magic," Twilight says in a quavering voice. "We would've had so much in common."
The scene again shifts. Sunset is in her room, packing, a smile gracing her muzzle. She is twelve or thirteen, her horn glowing as she moves her things about with practiced ease. She turns her head as hoofsteps stop at her door. Her smile widens. "Nighty! You're here!"
Night Light stands at the door, smiling broadly. "Think I would miss giving my sis a send-off?"
Sunset gives him a hug as he steps into the room. Behind him stand their parents who are smiling as well, but Glow's eyes mist. She lets out a quavering breath. "I'm really going to miss you, Sunset."
Sunset smiles at her. "Aw, come on, Mom, I'm still going to be in Canterlot."
"Yes, but you'll be in the palace. I'm not sure--"
Night chuckles. "You don't seriously think Princess Celestia is going to keep us all away from Sunny? I mean, she's the Princess' student, not a prisoner."
"WHAT?!" Twilight explodes. "Sunset Shimmer was Celestia's STUDENT?!"
"Yes, I know," says Luna. "This makes your revelations all the more troubling."
"Celestia had a student this incredibly talented, and she wiped all memory of her? This makes no sense!"
"Are you just about packed?" Shimmering says. "I know it's not far to the palace, but we wanted to trot over there with you."
Sunset places the last items into her saddlebags and is about to close them when she smiles at Night. "I have one more thing to pack." She turns her head towards a dresser and opens a drawer with her magic. She levitates out a set of paper wings.
Night gasps. "Those are the wings I made for you when you were little."
Sunset smiles and turns back towards him. She lays them carefully on her back. "They, um, don't quite fit as much as they used to but--"
Her words are cut off when Night hugs her fiercely. "I c-can't believe you kept them all this time," he says in a shaky voice.
Sunset rolls her eyes but chuckles. "Now don't get all sappy on me, Night."
"I'm your brother, I'll get as sappy as I please, Sunny."
"Th-that's my Dad all right," Twilight says. "H-he said the same thing to me on my send-off. 'I'll get as sappy as I please, Twily.'"
Sunset smiles as she draws back from the embrace. She levitates the wings carefully from her back and delicately folds them. "Who knows? Maybe they'll serve as inspiration." She tucks them into a notebook and closes her bags before levitating them onto her barrel. "I'm ready."
"Good luck, Sunset," says Glow.
"We're so very proud of you," says Shimmering.
"Just try not to burn down the palace, okay?" says Night.
Sunset smirks. "I'll do my best, but no promises."
The scene starts to fade as the family shares one last hug. "If this proceeds as it normally does, there will be one more scene before the end," Luna says in a solemn voice.
They peer into a room that Twilight knows all too well. It is the very same room where she and Celestia shared so many meals together, sometimes with Twilight's family in attendance. Despite containing the trappings of royalty, the room has a casual atmosphere that made Twilight feel more comfortable in her mentor's presence.
Twilight gazes upon a pony who seems to need no such solace. Sunset Shimmer, now at least 18 years old, radiates a confidence in the presence of Celestia that Twilight could have only hoped for.
Next to Sunset, Celestia gazes across the table and smiles fondly at Sunset's family. "It is always an honor to host my student's family. Thank you for coming."
"Really, Princess, it's we who are honored," says Shimmering.
Glow smiles. "We're just so happy to see Sunset flourishing so well here."
Celestia's smile widens. "You have every reason to be proud of your daughter. She has not only been one of my most capable students, she has grown into a confident young mare."
Celestia had said the very same thing about Twilight once, and Twilight had demurred furiously. Instead, Sunset remains quiet and drinks in the praise, her smile widening a touch. In every way, Sunset is the perfect daughter: smart, strong, confident, and with virtually limitless possibilities lying at her hooves.
"But may I ask where Night Light is?" says Celestia.
"Oh, well, he's, ah, otherwise occupied, Princess," says Shimmering.
Sunset leans over to Celestia. "That means he's off making puppy dog eyes at his marefriend Twilight Velvet."
"Sunset!" Glow cries, blushing.
"Well, it's true," says Sunset.
"Yes, but ... a little discretion, dear," says Shimmering.
Celestia laughs, and Twilight adds another attribute to the perfect daughter: witty.
Luna steps alongside Twilight. "Prepare yourself. The mood is about to change abruptly."
Suddenly, the scene morphs. Celestia, Glow, and Shimmering seem not to move while the world around them becomes so shockingly different that Twilight gasps. They stand inside Glow and Shimmering's home, but Sunset is nowhere to be seen. It is nighttime, and rain pounds against the windows. The lights are on but illuminate only a short radius from their flickering flames. Glow and Shimmering are stricken, staring at Celestia, who stands in the door with rain running off her body.
"It can't be," Glow says, tears trickling down her face. "No ... n-not Sunset ..."
"Please, Princess!" Shimmering wails. "Please tell us you're mistaken!"
Celestia looks on with glistening eyes that seem to be on the verge of tears themselves. "I wish it were not true."
"OUR DAUGHTER CAN'T BE DEAD!" Glow screams.
Twilight swallows hard, letting out her breath as a ragged sigh. She remembers the fight with Tirek, the one and only enemy to whom she truly worried she could lose her life. The very idea of Celestia having to go to her parents and give them this horrible news ...
Celestia squeezes her eyes shut and turns away. "I am very sorry. More than you will ever know."
Luna steps forward. "Get ready, Twilight," she says as her eyes start to glow.
Twilight almost doesn't hear her. She feels as if her own heart has been gutted just as badly as those of Sunset's parents, who now huddle together and weep openly after Celestia leaves.
"Sh-shimmering ..." Glow says in a choked voice. "This can't be happening."
"Y-you heard the Princess," Shimmering says as he wipes his eyes with the back of a hoof. "She's gone. Oh, heavens, she's gone! What are we ever going to tell Night?!"
"Sunset Glow is the first to deny this tragedy," Luna says as she slides a hoof forward. Her horn and eyes blaze as she lifts her hoof, opening a tear before her. "This is her dream."
Glow bolts to her hooves. "NO! I won't accept this! I ... no, this is not real."
Shimmering looks up and tries to blink away tears. "What are you talking about?"
Luna opens the tear fully. "Go, Twilight!"
Twilight surges forward.
"We never had a daughter!" Glow cries. "We tried and tried and tried and never--"
"You're wrong!" Twilight shouts.
Glow whirls around and nearly falls off her hooves in shock. Shimmering is swallowed up by the darkness and vanishes. "Who--?? What are ... w-wait ... Twilight?"
"Yes, it's me, your granddaughter," says Twilight.
"But what are you doing here?"
"Trying to uncover the truth," says Twilight. "And the truth is that you had a daughter named Sunset Shimmer!"
Glow shakes her head, tears flowing again. "No, I-I didn't ... I couldn't have!"
Twilight sighs. "I know, losing her was hard, but--"
"I can't lose what I never had!" Glow wails.
"--but what if she may still be alive somewhere?!"
Twilight has no idea if this is true. She feels sick for even giving such potentially false hope, but she needs every weapon in her arsenal to fight this dark magic.
Glow stares at Twilight for a long moment. "But ... Princess Celestia said ... she wouldn't lie to us. Why would she lie to us?"
"Twilight, hurry!" Luna says. "I sense the dream coming to an end!"
"I don't have time to explain," Twilight says. "You have to fight this! You--"
"Why did she lie to us?!" Glow demands.
"Please! Listen to me! You've been made to forget! You have to hold on to--!"
"WHY DID SUNSET LIE TO US?!"
"I don't--" Twilight stares, eyes wide. "Wh-what did you just say?? What do you mean? What did Sunset--"
Glow and the house vanish. Twilight stands upon a starry expanse in a dark blue sky. "What happened?"
Luna sighs and steps forward. "She has woken up from her dream."
Twilight falls back on her haunches and hangs her head. "Likely crying or screaming."
"That is the chance we take when we attempt to manipulate dreams, Twilight," says Luna in a heavy voice.
"I'm so sorry for her," says Twilight. "But I'm not sorry I did it. I think I got through to her, Luna. Something really bad happened concerning Sunset Shimmer." She draws herself up and turns to face Luna. "And I'm going to find out what it is."
"In the end, I hope Celestia will be grateful."
Twilight frowns. "I'm not doing this for her. I'm doing it for Sunset. I don't care what she did, she doesn't deserve to be forgotten."
Sunset Glow stared morosely at her tea cup, the contents of which had gone cold some time ago. Her mane was an unkempt mess, and the skin under her eyes sagged. She propped her head up with a fore-hoof.
From across the table, Shimmering Light gave her a troubled look. He had no idea what to say. They had resigned themselves to this occasional repeating nightmare, as it proceeded with such regularity that they had inured themselves to it. That uneasy acceptance had been shattered in the middle of the night.
"Dear?" Shimmering finally prompted in a soft voice.
Glow heaved a sigh. "What is it?" she said without raising her eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it some more?"
Glow leveled her gaze at her husband. "What more is there to say, Shimmy?"
"What about Twilight Sparkle?"
Glow frowned. "What about her?"
"What if she really was in your dream?"
Glow stared as if he had grown a second horn. "What?"
Shimmering glanced to the side. "Well, I just thought--"
"How can you even suggest that?!" Glow exploded. "Do you know what that means?!"
Shimmering swallowed and met his wife's eyes. "That we really do have a daughter."
"Did," Glow said. "Did have a daughter. Except we never did. Both can't be true at the same time."
"But what if--?"
Glow thumped her hoof on the table, knocking over her teacup and spilling cold tea. "Do you really want to believe we sired a daughter who's dead? The disappointment over never conceiving one in the first place was bad enough, you want to make it worse!"
"You told me yourself Twilight said she could still be alive," said Shimmering.
Glow's turned her head to grab a cleaning cloth with her magic. She started mopping up the mess. "An image in my head of Twilight said that, Shimmy," said Glow in a softer voice. "It was just my own wishful thinking. We agreed from the start that was the cause of these stupid dreams. We accepted a long time ago that we would never have another foal. Why do you want to dredge this up again?"
Shimmering usually deferred to his wife when she was this adamant. Instead, he rubbed his mane with a hoof and turned to Glow again. "I'm really sorry, dear, it's just something about this feels off somehow."
Glow tilted her head as she set the cloth aside. "What do you mean?"
"Well, haven't you ever questioned why that dream was so predictable? Why it never varied?"
"That's not for us to ponder. That's ... that's for somepony like Princess Luna to--"
"Except she never did!" Shimmering said. "She was never able to alter it. She's supposed to help ponies with their nightmares. Why was she never able to help us?"
Glow uttered an exasperated sigh. "I really don't want to hear this. I just want to forget this ever--"
The doorbell chimed.
Glow groaned and lowered her head. "Will you get that, please? I must look a fright."
Shimmering smiled faintly and hopped off his chair. He gave his wife a kiss on the head before heading out of the room.
Glow shivered as she recalled how she had abruptly awoken from that dream, calling out the name of a pony who should not exist, despairing not just for her passing but what she had done, even if she could not remember what it had been.
She heard her husband express surprise, then heard muffled conversation. Her ears perked up when she realized who Shimmering was talking to. "Nighty??"
A weary Night Light slowly trudged into the kitchen, his tail tucked between his hind legs, his ears drooping. He gave Glow a faint smile. "H-hi, Mom."
"As glad as I am to see you, what are you doing here this early?" said Glow.
Night looked uncertain, and he glanced at his father.
"Go on, son," said Shimmering. "Tell her."
Glow's eyes widened. "Tell me what?" she said in a wary voice.
"I, um, I've come to talk to you about something." He took a deep breath and lowered his gaze. "About Sunny."
Glow's lower lip trembled.
"You see, yesterday, um, my daughter Twilight came to visit me, along with her friend Starlight Glimmer."
Glow swallowed hard, her eyes glistening.
"She said ... she insisted ... that Sunny m-may be real. That I really had a sister. That--" Night raised his head and gasped. "Mom! You okay?"
Glow had squeezed her eyes shut, and tears dripped to the table. Shimmering rushed to her side and threw a fore-leg around her, drawing her close.
"Mom, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," said Night.
Glow shook her head and took a deep breath before opening her eyes. "No, Nighty, don't apologize. Your mother is just a foolish old mare sometimes. Shimmy, please, get me a tissue. I don't trust my magic to remain steady."
"Sure thing, dear," said Shimmering as he parted from her.
"You are not a foolish old mare, Mom," Night said softly as he took a seat at the table. "But I do want to know what happened that has you so upset."
"Let's just say I had a dream about ... a-about Sunny, and Twilight was in it." She paused a long moment. "As in I think she visited me."
Night nodded. "In the middle of her visit with us, she received a personal letter from Princess Luna. They must be working together. And if that's the case, Mom, we really need to talk."
Glow nodded as Shimmering returned with some tissues which he gently placed beside her. "Yes, we do."
An uneasy silence settled over the Council Room after Twilight finished her explanation of what had happened over the past few days. Applejack was the first to break the silence. "I jus' don't get it. This ain't like Princess Celestia at all."
Rainbow Dash dropped her fore-hooves to the table. "That's what I think! Twilight, you sure she isn't having her head messed up by that spell you said Starlight found in her diary?"
Twilight sighed. "I wish that were the case, Rainbow, but all signs point to Celestia being the one who cast it."
"But, dear, the dark magic!" said Rarity. "Surely she could not have--"
"She's the only one who was capable of it at the time," said Twilight. "The only pony in all of Equestria who had the ability to channel this much power."
"I don't like this," said Fluttershy. "It means anypony who forgot Sunset Shimmer has been touched by the same dark magic."
Twilight frowned. "I know. That includes my grandparents, my parents, my brother, Cadance, even me!" She left her chair and turned to Starlight. "Get the book, please."
Starlight nodded and cantered towards the door.
Pinkie smiled. "If it helps any, Twilight, you don't seem all dark and icky like Sombra was."
Twilight smiled faintly. "It doesn't quite work that way, but, thank you."
"Ya mean ya don't have no actual dark magic in yer head?" asked Applejack.
"Not quite. I would've sensed that a long time ago if that were the case."
"Well, that's a relief."
"I don't get it," said Rainbow. "Then how did it wipe your memories of Sunset Shimmer?"
Starlight returned, Celestia's diary held in her magic.
"Hold it over the center of the table, please," said Twilight.
"Well, sure," said Starlight. "But what are you going to do?"
"I'll show you in a moment." She turned to Rainbow. "It's very clever how it works. I figured it out this morning. The dark magic spell is anchored to several of Celestia's journals, the ones that chronicle Sunset's time as her student. The effect radiates from there into all documents containing any information on Sunset, and into the minds of anypony who once knew her. So only the effect winds up in ponies' heads and not the dark magic itself. It had to be done that way or the presence of the dark magic in a pony's mind risks corrupting it over time."
Rainbow frowned and folded her fore-legs. "I still don't like the idea of using dark magic to mess with somepony's head."
Twilight approached the table. "Nor do I." Her horn glowed, and where an even crystal surface had been before, a map of the world shimmered into existence as the Cutie Map activated. "This spell needs to be destroyed, but first I need to know how far its effect extends."
Starlight stepped forward, her horn still glowing as she kept the book steadily floating roughly above Canterlot on the map. "How are you going to do that?"
"With a spell I crafted to briefly interface the book with the map."
Pinkie gasped. "But isn't that going to let the icky dark thingies into the map?"
"No, this will largely be only a projection," said Twilight. "Also, right now the spell is straining to keep working properly and doesn't have enough energy to corrupt the map."
Starlight smiled. "You mean your visit to your grandmother's dream worked?"
"I wasn't sure until my father sent me a brief letter just a short time ago," said Twilight. "It's like he and Grandma Glow are starting to remember. They're just shadows of memories right now, but it means the spell has weakened."
"Um, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked tentatively. "A-are you going to need us to help break this spell? Because I'm not sure how we can."
"Darling, I'm afraid I must echo Fluttershy's concerns," said Rarity. "As much as I want to help, this is out of my league."
"No, it isn't!" said Rainbow. "Not if we go all Rainbow Power on somepony's flank!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ya do realize that the flank in question would be Princess Celestia's, right?"
"Not to mention how big her flanks are if she eats as much cake as I hear she does," piped Pinkie.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let's not worry about those details yet. Now, please, let me concentrate."
Starlight backed up a step as Twilight closed her eyes. When she reopened them after a few seconds, they glowed brilliant green, and dark ichor bubbled over her horn.
Pinkie's eyes widened. "O-kay, now she looks an eensy bit dark and icky."
A collective gasp arose as a black beam of energy erupted from Twilight's horn and enveloped the book. Starlight shivered hard as a sudden deep chill radiated back up the flow of her magic and into her body. For a brief moment, she was sure her blood would freeze solid.
A rivulet of black ichor oozed down from the book and touched the map. It concentrated in a dense blob around Canterlot before tendrils shot out and dotted other towns and cities across Equestria.
"What's goin' on?" Applejack asked.
"I think it's showing where those affected by the spell are right now," said Starlight in a slightly shaky voice. She pointed a hoof. "See? Most are in Canterlot, but some moved away to other--"
"What the hay?!" Rainbow cried. She jabbed a hoof towards a far edge of the map. "Look over there!"
"Oo, let's see!" said Pinkie as she jumped up onto the map.
Rarity's eyes widened. "Pinkie, dear, perhaps that's not the best idea!"
Yet as she trotted across the map, Pinkie unerringly stepped around the globs of ichor until she reached the spot Rainbow indicated, lowering her face until her muzzle almost touched a rather large blob. "I know this place! It's where Dashie and I went to help the griffons and -- aw, where'd it go?"
The black blob had vanished, along with the other black markers on the map. Twilight's beam stopped when she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were back to normal.
"You okay?" Starlight asked as she withdrew the book.
Twilight nodded. "That was nowhere near the power I was channeling last time. But did you see? Even the Griffon Kingdom is affected. They've been made to forget, too."
"Almost," said Rainbow. "Remember what I told you about Gilda's father?"
"Yes, I do," said Twilight. "And I would not be the least bit surprised if that envoy that nopony can remember the name of was Sunset Shimmer."
"Now that we know the extent of this," said Rarity as Pinkie trotted back across the table and hopped into her seat. "Can we come back to Fluttershy's question?"
"Yes, we can. Rainbow Dash was not too far from the truth. Our combined Rainbow Power would be enough to destroy the spell. There's just one problem. We need physical access to all the anchor points of this spell, and that means all of Celestia's journals."
Pinkie smiled. "Oo, does that mean we're gonna be ninjas again like we did that time you went after the time travel spell?"
"Whoa, now hold on a dang minute!" said Applejack. "Ya ain't sayin' we gotta go in an' steal 'em, are ya?"
"That sounds dangerous," Fluttershy murmured.
"Which is why I love it!" Rainbow said.
"Has anypony mebbe thought we could talk ta Princess Celestia first?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, that'll work. Oh, excuse me, Princess! Can we have your personal diaries so we can reveal the deep dark secret you've been keeping from even your best student?"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Ya know that ain't what I meant."
"We've done all the talking we possibly can!" Starlight declared. "She won't listen. She'll just keep brushing it off as nothing to worry about."
"But Twilight was Celestia's student for so many years," said Rarity. "Surely that counts for something."
"Not ta mention we know her entire plan," said Applejack. "How she gonna stand there and still claim she don't know nothin'?"
"Look, Twilight and I already hashed this out," said Starlight. "If the Princess is this desperate to keep her secrets, what's confronting her going to accomplish? We have to take matters into our own hooves. Right, Twilight?"
Twilight remained silent, her gaze lowered.
Starlight stepped towards her. "Um, Twilight?"
"I know we talked about this, Starlight," said Twilight softly. "But I ... maybe ... maybe I'm taking the wrong approach. Maybe I'm being blinded by my anger."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Anger?"
Twilight's head snapped up. Her eyes misted even as her lips curled into a frown. "Yes, I'm angry, Fluttershy. Angry that Celestia put me into this position, making me doubt the trust I put in her. The fact that I even thought of having us break into Celestia's private archive to retrieve those spell anchors makes me feel sick."
"I must admit, Twilight," said Rarity. "Going against Princess Celestia does not exactly fill me with elation. I would much prefer another solution."
"I wish I had more time," said Twilight. "The morning after tomorrow, I'm supposed to be on my way to a changeling peace conference. I'm positive that she wants me away so she can renew the dark magic spell without me sensing it. We have to do something before then."
"That's plenty of time ta go have a little heart-ta-heart talk with Princess Celestia," said Applejack.
"I know, but Starlight raised a good point. She's already deferred on this before. I need a way to make it so she can't go back on whatever she says and renew that spell anyway. If there wasn't an unknown and potentially dangerous anomaly in Canterlot, I'd have more options."
"So what are we going to do?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know yet," said Twilight. "Let me speak with Luna tonight."