//------------------------------// // Memory Part II: Body // Story: Ashes to Inferno // by Sun Aura //------------------------------// Sun set stepped forward, Pinkie stepping with her. The feeling of going through the portal was all too familiar, the way it pulled and stretched her. It didn’t hurt, of course. This transformation never hurt. Even so, there was a moment of terror. Pinkie’s hand slipped out of hers. She knew it was because you can’t hold hands when you have hooves, but after all that happened, it scared her for a moment. Sunset wasn’t sure she could breathe until her hooves touched crystal, and she could see pink in her peripheral vision. As Pinkie reattached herself to Sunset’s side,her heart caught in her throat as she saw her hair-her mane and tail laying far flatter than should be possible without a straightener. It was not fully straight yet, but enough that Sunset couldn't brush it off as 'imagination'. “I’m so glad you’re here!” Pushing aside her questions about Pinkie's mane, it took her a moment to register Twilight’s voice, and another to realize that she’d been pulled into a hug. Sunset looked around, glad to see that they were already in a library. “What’s going on?” Twilight asked, looking to Pinkie as she realized she was there. “I-is Pinkie… are you okay?” “Not really,” Pinkie answered. “But we’re getting there.” “But what-” she began. Her question was cut off by the sound of Rarity and the other Twilight, who they all agreed to nickname ‘Sci-Twi’ when the pair were together. Both had, quite literally, fallen out of the portal. Just as they began to get up, Rainbow and Fluttershy fell on top of them and all four went down. “That’s why I told y’all to wait,” Applejack said, having only stuck her head in. “Shut it!” Rainbow retorted. “As long as you hurry out of the way,” she said. “Being half-in this thing is weirding me out, but I ain’t going to stay standing around alone back here.” The four of them scrambled out of the way as best they could. If it were any other day, Sunset might’ve laughed at them a little. Good natured laughing of course, but still. Seeing a bunch of Humans trying to figure out walking on four legs in a matter of seconds is pretty hilarious. While Applejack came through and took her turn testing out her legs, Twilight was already inspecting the group. As nothing seemed wrong, she looked to the necklaces. Thankfully, all seven Crystals had made it across fine. As had the bracelet Sunset wore, on it’s first ‘adventure’ into Equestria. “As much as I’d love to believe you all came here just to say hi,” Twilight began, “What’s going on?” “Someone or something’s been messing with our memories,” Applejack answered. “What?” she asked. “Exactly what she said,” Rainbow said, giving up on ‘legs’ and deciding to hover in the air. “To be fair, she can’t really be much clearer,” Rarity added. “But sometime between leaving school yesterday and arriving at the beach, we all somehow forgot Sunset was our friend.” “How do you ‘forget’ a friend?” Twilight asked. “Well, it’s not like we forgot,” Sci-Twi answered. “It’s more like any instance of her being our friend was erased from our memories.” Twilight stared at them in some combination of shock and confusion before rubbing her face in exasperation. “Okay…” she sighed. “This is going to be a long day, so start at the beginning. You said Sunset was erased from your memory?” “Not all of her,” Fluttershy said. “Just the, uh, good parts. We can remember the bad well enough.” “But everything since the Formal,” Applejack added. “It’s just gone.” “Or doesn’t match up,” Rainbow said. “Sci-Twi remembers Sunset competing in the Friendship Games, but we don’t.” “We’ve narrowed it down somewhat,” Sunset said. “Whatever this is, it only erased memories of me being their friend. And it’s not just them. I talked to Flash before we got here, and he couldn’t remember us making up or anything.” “So everything after the Fall Formal is gone?” Twilight said. “Wouldn’t that leave large gaps in memory?” “No, it’s like she’s been taken out of it,” Rarity said. “We remember things happening the same, but she doesn’t exist when we recall it!” “That’s how she got us to believe her,” Applejack said. “Because we couldn’t answer questions like how we got the journal to talk to you, or why we went up to Hollow Shades to look for Shimmer.” “You remember Shimmer, but not Sunset,” Twilight mused. “And it only took memories of our friendship,” Sci-Twi said. “That’s why I can remember her during the Games, but not when she… I have no idea what you did to stop me, I mean, ‘Midnight’.” “You’ll remember,” Sunset said, giving as reassuring a smile as she could. “But they also don’t remember anything from before the Formal that involved me being a friend. Well, mostly Pinkie, since she was the only one I was relatively ‘close’ to and she considered us friends.” “Is that why she’s…” Twilight wondered, gesturing to the pink mare. “If I let go of Sunset I might forget again,” Pinkie said, shuddering a little. “Have you ever forgotten a friend?” “Not like this, no,” she answered honestly. “I’ve had moments of ignorance, or in some cases outright stupidity, where I didn’t realize I had friends. But nothing like this. I’m sorry.” “I didn’t expect you to,” Sunset said. “I was hoping that maybe there’s some kind of spell like this in your library.” “Not that I…” she trailed off, and it was easy to see the gears turning in her head. “Not in my library, no.” “Did you think of a spell?” Fluttershy asked. “Please tell me it’s an easy one,” Rainbow near-begged. “Maybe,” Twilight said. “But I need to know one more thing. When you remember something that involves Sunset, how ‘erased’ is she?” “Hold on,” Sunset said, before turning to the mare at her side. “Pinkie, I don’t want you to think about it again, but do you mind if I show her?” “I-it’s fine,” Pinkie nodded. “As long as it helps.” As Pinkie had yet to let go of her, that already provided some physical contact. However, on the other end, Twilight was a bit too far to reach. She offered her hoof, which was taken with a raised eyebrow. Sunset took her into a Memory, one of their Midsummer Night’s Dream performances. While Pinkie played her part well, entertaining the audience and feeling exhilaration at the laughs she got, she spoke to an empty throne. All of her movements were as if someone were there, poking and pointing and even stretching across the seat as if in someone’s lap, yet no one was in the chair with her. She jumped forward to Pinkie’s memory of the Friendship Games. Everyone was in their places, just as they should be. Except the Wondercolts seemed down a teammate. Rainbow stood with two Shadowbolts, waiting for the first two rounds to finish. Yet there was no second Wondercolt bike. Jumping forward even more, she saw Camp Everfree. Sunset was still nowhere to be found. No one helping them learn their Magic, no one talking sense into Sci-Twi to help her get over Midnight. Seven crystals were taken from ‘Gaia Everfree’, but one disappears. And then they were back, hooves touching crystal. Pinke held her tighter, while Twilight’s face had already become a thoughtful frown. “I think I know what spell did this,” Twilight said. “But I don’t know it well enough myself to help you.” “Do you have a book on it?” Sunset asked. “It’s better than nothing.” “I don’t have a book,” she said. “But I do have something better. Someone, actually. Do you mind if I get her?” “Should we come along?” Rarity asked. “I don’t think anyone wants anyone disappearing just yet,” Applejack explained. “I understand,” Twilight said. “But walking through town might cause confusion. Besides, it’ll take me only seconds to teleport to her and bring her back. I promise it’ll only be ten seconds at most.” Hesitantly, they agreed. Despite fear in the back of their minds, it was the best option. Promising once more to be quick, Twilight lit her horn and teleported. Keeping her breath even, Sunset counted out the seconds. It felt like longer, but she’d made it to ‘three’ in her countdown before Twilight appeared back. She wasn’t alone however. A very familiar mare had appeared by her side, though she looked as if teleportation didn’t quite sit well with her. “Twilight, dear, you know I love you,” she said, using a chair to stabilize herself. “But I was in the middle of something. You can’t just pop in, shout at me, and then teleport me! Not to mention that I still get dizzy when I’m prepared to teleport and-” She stopped, finally taking in the audience around her. An audience that includes two Twilights, and another her. The confusion was only momentary, as she put the pieces together when she saw Sunset. “And now you’ve got me seeing double,” she joked, with a pointed look at Twilight. “Hello, er, everyone.” “Hello, Rarity,” Sunset said, being the first to find her voice. It was at this point that the Human Rarity seemed to figure out how to function again. She quickly walked forward, investigating her Counterpart. The Unicorn did the same, the two almost circling one another. Thankfully, while identical in every basic aspect, they could tell the pair apart. The Unicorn had her mane tied back and a pair of red glasses, a telltale sign that she had been sewing an outfit together before Twilight dragged her out. “This is incredibly odd,” both Raritys sighed. “Yeah,” Sunset smiled at them. “No matter how prepared you are, it’s always strange to meet the other you.” “I have an idea,” Rainbow said. “How about we start with the nicknames now instead of going in circles with ‘this Rarity’ and ‘That Rarity’?” “An excellent idea,” the Unicorn smiled at her. “Anyone have any ideas?” “Pinkie chooses,” the other five Humans-turned Ponies said. “Hm,” Pinkie said, staring at both Raritys. “We’re still taking turns with it, so we’re back to ‘your Dimension, your name’.” “So the Unicorn Rarity keeps her name?” Twilight asked. “Wait, shouldn’t we be on the ‘Guest’ turn?” “You and Sci-Twi don’t count because I didn’t pick the name,” she answered. “Rarity’s difficult though, because you only have the one name. So it has to be a full nickname.” “I’m not opposed to it,” the Human Rarity agreed. “Just don’t make it ridiculous.” “Hmm…” she thought. “Have a choice, Elusive, Ivory, or Clarity.” “All wonderful choices,” she said. “However, I believe I’ll go with Ivory. Clarity sounds a bit too close, and Elusive, while mysterious, doesn’t fit me quite as well, don’t you think?” “It’s great,” Applejack said. “However, we are here for a reason.” “I can tell,” Rarity said, her eyes flicking to Pinkie for a moment before looking to Twilight again. “Although, I still don’t know with what.” “Someone erased me from their memory,” Sunset explained. “Not completely, but just memory from when they thought of me as a friend.” “I think it’s the spell you used for the chandelier,” Twilight said. “Chandelier?” Ivory asked. “Actually, that might have done it,” Rarity mused. “So, would you like me to imitate you and explain how it works?” “Yeah, just ‘imitate me’,” Twilight said, giving a sarcastic laugh. Rarity only rolled her eyes, and gave her a soft smile. Her horn lit, and summoned a crystal. Some sort of spell was cast on it in that moment, but Sunset couldn’t tell what it was. Instead, the crystal was held up and displayed, shown to all of them. As it neared her muzzle, she saw an image inside. It looked like Sci-Twi-no, this was Twilight. She could tell by the body language, but it was Twilight as a Unicorn, wearing a blue dress with several stars, and walking around a familiar ballroom. “Is that the Grand Galloping Gala?” Sunset asked. “What!” Twilight gasped, tugging the crystal out of Rarity’s Magic grip. “Rarity!” “Sorry dear,” Rarity smiled a bit too innocently. “I had designs on the mind, and I assumed that this would be a beautiful way to show off the spell.” Twilight didn’t have a proper response. She mostly just turned red, shuffled her wings awkwardly, and attempted to form a sentence. Not changing her expression, Rarity moved her gaze to Sunset, and suddenly she understood Twilight’s reaction all too well. “A-Anyway,” Sunset said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a spell like that before, and I know a lot of spells.” “There’s a good reason for that,” Rarity said. “I found it a while back, when the Crystal Empire first appeared. We had been searching through the Crystal Library for- actually, that’s too long of a story. But the spell isn’t truly a Unicorn Spell, it’s a Crystal Pony spell.” “‘Crystal Ponies’?” Ivory gasped, looking awed at the thought. “But-how-oh stars!” “I had the same reaction,” she laughed. “However, this spell is supposed to be like a moving picture. It is supposed to copy a Pony’s Memory, using Light and Emotional Magics to form the image in a crystal.” “Wait,” Sci-Twi interrupted. “If it’s a Crystal Pony Spell, how can you use it?” Twilight began to ramble, but found that her mouth was being held closed by Rarity’s Magic. “I believe they are in a hurry, so if you could go for the short, simple version, please?” Rarity asked. Twilight rolled her eyes, but nodded all the same. “This is what I get for surprise teleportation,” Twilight grumbled. “But the short version, is that Unicorn Magic is one of the most versatile of Magics. A talented Spellcaster can mimic a lot of other Active Magics, and even some Passive Magics if they know the spell.” “I’m more concerned about the power it takes up,” Sunset frowned. “Not to mention the trial and error of transferring one of those spells.” “Oddly enough, it doesn’t take much energy,” Rarity said. “Really, the Backlash from the incomplete spell was worse than actually using it. Don’t misunderstand, it is a very complicated spell, but the complication comes from the actual casting than the power needed. If you do it incorrectly-” “You can erase memories?” Pinkie guessed. “And y’all went through testing it out anyway?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “For a chandelier?” “It was a beautiful gift and perfect for a place called the ‘Castle of Friendship’,” Rarity defended. “While I might not be as naturally talented in spellcasting as Twilight or Sunset, I'm still a Unicorn. I know the basics of learning a spell and how to be careful with it." “How?” Fluttershy asked. “Er, wait, I’m sorry. Did that come out wrong?” “I understand,” she smiled. “But to answer your question, I did ask for volunteers, and Rainbow, this world’s Rainbow, agreed. I only tested it out on memories she would be alright with losing. In her own words, she said she didn’t mind losing the memory of the Daring Do books so she could read them for the first time again.” “You know what, I take back what I said,” Rainbow grinned. “Maybe some amnesia isn’t that bad.” Most of the group glared, waiting for her to realize exactly what she said. To her credit, she did look sheepish. “So…” Pinkie searched for something to ask. “Are you sure this is the spell?” “From what you described, yes,” Twilight said. “Sunset is the only thing missing from your memory, but it’s more like she was taken out of it. And she’s the only thing altered.” “This spell is very specific,” Rarity said. “When I tested it with Rainbow, I saw a few variations. Sometimes it took her memory of the books entirely, sometimes it took her memory of Daring Do the Pony, and leaving gaps in her memory during those adventures.” “Wait, Daring Do is real here?” Rainbow gasped. “Long story,” Twilight said. “Other times it could be more specific,” Rarity said. “Since the Chandelier was for Twilight, I the memories I copied were related to her. However, the spell could tell the difference between memory of Twilight as a Unicorn, and as an Alicorn. Each form was treated as two different beings, because I was thinking of her as she is now or how she was before.” “That makes a lot of sense,” Sunset mused. “The spell didn’t erase memory of Shimmer, my Counterpart. We’re both ‘Sunset Shimmer’, and anyone else going through our Memory wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I wonder-” “This is interesting and all,” Applejack cut them off. “But since you know the spell, can you fix it?” “I...,” Rarity sighed, her posture dropping a little. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything for it.” “Why not?” Pinkie asked, voice wavering a little as Sunset held her tighter. “Because I don’t have your Memories,” she answered. “The Spell put your Memories in a crystal of some kind. If I don’t have them, I can’t give them back to you. You would need to ask whoever took them, or at least get the crystal to me.” “Well, we needed to find whoever did this anyway,” Rainbow shrugged. “But…” Fluttershy spoke up. “What if-what if the crystal with our memory breaks?” “Can they-” Pinkie swallowed. “Can they be erased completely?” “Don’t worry,” Rarity said. “I don’t know of a way to erase the memory completely, only transfer it to crystal. And I doubt anyone in your world has the know-how to change that. And if the crystal breaks… well, the memories should be fine.” “Should?” Ivory asked. “Yes,” she answered. “A few crystals broke when making the chandelier, and the memories seemed to go back to their origins. But that was the complete version of the spell. I’m not sure what the incomplete version would do. I can’t promise they’d go back correctly without someone’s Magic to guide them.” “We’ll deal with that if we have to,” Sunset nodded. “Now we just have to figure out who did it.” “You can narrow it down,” Twilight said. “It has to be a Counterpart to either a Unicorn or Crystal Pony, decently powerful considering the spell’s complication. It’s also likely someone at Canterlot High. I mean, it could be coincidence, but you do have a history…” “Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “And you’re right, that’s likely. They’re also likely in the same year. Sure, someone younger might hate me, but it’s only the Senior Class that really knew my bad times firsthand. Unless I hurt an underclassmen personally, I don’t think they’d do something. But narrowing it down more…” “This may sound strange,” Rarity said. “But you need to look for someone you don’t remember.” “Your right, that does sound strange,” Ivory agreed. “Sarcasm aside,” she said “This is a complicated spell, and whoever is doing this is using the unfinished version against you. It’s likely that they tested it out before, and also likely that their first uses were accidental. Most who wish to erase memory usually erase personal things, embarrassing moments and such. But without a proper handle on it-” “They’d erase a lot of Memory,” Sunset mused. “Okay, so a student we can’t remember. But we have to find them.” “Most schools keep records,” Sci-Twi pointed out. “Most schools also frown on breaking and entering,” Rainbow pointed out. “Weren’t you the one who suggested breaking and entering last time we had to find someone?” Twilight deadpanned. “Not the point,” she said. “Besides, we don’t need breaking and entering,” Pinkie said. “I-I remember everyone. At least everyone who wasn’t… erased. Just get me last year’s yearbook, and we’ll be good.” “Good idea,” Sunset said. “I don’t have one, but the closest would be the school’s library. They have yearbooks archived.” “Didn’t we just agree on not breaking and entering?” Applejack sighed. “Teleportation spells don’t count,” she said. “What are they going to say? Seven girls just appeared in the school library? Besides, do you really think Principal Celestia would call the cops on us for fixing Magical Shenanigans?” Nearly everyone gave a noncommittal shrug accompanied by a noise Sunset could only describe as ‘fair enough’. Twilight and Rarity however, stepped forward. “You say that like we’re not coming with you,” Twilight said, intention obvious. “Because you’re not,” Sunset said. “Before you protest, yes, I know you want to help. Hell, I’ll probably be paranoid that I’ll forget you while we do this. But if something goes wrong, you’re the backup plan. If whoever did this erases the progress we made, you two can tell us what we already figured out.” “Fine,” she sighed, wings shuffling with concern. “But update us. If you find a name, write it in the journal. Check in often, until you find them.” “I will,” she nodded. “Come on, everyone. Back through.” Though all were hesitant to leave, they did go back through the portal. On the other side, once she’d firmly taken Sunset’s hand again, Pinkie did try to lighten the mood by pointing out that at least they didn’t need nicknames. It didn’t help much, though it was mostly due to Pinkie’s own mood. Her hair had gotten a little of its curl back, but it was still far from her usual bounce. Sunset made a mental note to ask Twilight about that. Maybe it was just the rule of ‘don’t question Pinkie’, but neither Pony had seemed surprised that her hair was flat. Shoving that thought out of her mind, Sunset focused on her Magic. Thankfully the portal had returned her still in her ‘Pony Up’ form. Warning them all of teleportation, she conjured up an image of the school library and took hold of them all in her Magic. “Is it strange to say that I think I’m getting used to that?” Rarity asked, holding onto the nearest bookshelf. “It’s your third teleportation,” Sunset said. “And the only one I really warned you about. Again, sorry.” “We’ll find the book while you stabilize,” Pinkie said. Finding old yearbooks was easy. They were kept on a shelf near the front, organized by year. And, for a moment, she was a little in awe of how much history was there. Perhaps she should be used to it, as she was used to history books in general. Yet, there was something about old yearbooks. Perhaps it is because it was focused on one year at one place. Or perhaps it was because, unlike history, these were created by the people who were there, their view of the year colored by their experiences. Thankfully, they only needed one. Last year’s yearbook had most of the current Senior Class, save for the handful of transfer students that would have only heard rumor of her past problems. The rest of the girls had recovered by the time they got back. Pinkie sat in a chair, opening up the book to their class and scanning down the pages. The difficult part was waiting. Every photo her eyes passed over, every line she ran her fingers down, every page she turned. Any of those faces could be the culprit. And the worst part was that Sunset couldn’t eliminate any of them. There were too many people she didn’t know. Sure, some she knew a little bit about through either mutual friends, eavesdropping, or her former actions against them. And most faces looked familiar enough to put a name to, but she never stopped to learn the names and basic likes or dislikes or birthdays of every person. Sunset didn’t really think that was a bad thing. Not out of malice, but because she couldn’t comprehend it. Oddly enough, memory was the problem there. She didn’t know how Pinkie could remember all of that about everyone she meets, even if she doesn’t know literally everything about them. As nice as Sunset was now, if she wanted to learn and remember that sort of thing, she’d have to spend a lot longer interacting with them. “This one!” Pinkie shouted, tapping her finger against the book. “Wallflower Blush?” Rarity read over her shoulder. “With a name like that, you sure you just didn’t forget her?” Applejack asked. “She knows Fluttershy,” Rainbow pointed out. “I feel like I should be upset at that,” Fluttershy sighed. “But as good a point it is, she did meet me through you.” “I know what I’m talking about,” Pinkie said, looking through her phone. “See! I have her info written down! But I don’t remember her face or even getting her number!” “To be fair, I still have no idea how you got my number,” Sunset said. “But you’re sure it’s her and not just someone you met but don’t remember?” “Trust me,” she said, gesturing to her phone. “If someone’s in this, I’ll remember them. Even if it’s just a name and face, I’ll remember.” That look on her face was back. Determination with a fierceness that could match Rainbow’s anger. Once more, it somehow made her happy and broke her heart at the same time. Instead, Sunset focused on the yearbook, on ‘Wallflower’. The picture was more than a year old, but it wasn’t likely that the girl had changed all that much. Both skin and hair were green, the hair being a few shades darker, and face splashed with freckles. “You said you had her number?” Sunset asked. “Yeah,” Pinkie nodded. “Do you want me to call her?” “Once we get back outside,” Sunset said. “Let everyone recover from teleporting. Just… don’t confront her on the phone, and don’t mention me. Ask to meet somewhere. Are you ready?” There were various murmurs of agreement, though none really wanted to teleport again. They seemed to do better this time around, as no one felt the need to lie down or hold on to a chair. Though, Applejack still looked worse off than the rest. Earth Ponies usually were hit worst, as they don’t like not having their hooves on the ground. Well, usually, as some seemed unaffected. Pinkie was already on the phone, her voice far too chipper for her expression. Trying not to think about that, Sunset took out the journal to update their friends through the mirror. We think it’s a girl named Wallflower Blush. Any chance you know her? Sorry, I don’t know her. Or her Counterpart. I think I have a dress order for someone by a similar name, but she’s yet to come in for a fitting. Thanks anyway. “Okay,” Pinkie nodded, hanging up the phone. “She suggested meeting us at the school’s garden.” “The school has a garden?” Rainbow asked. “It’s by the trees,” Applejack answered. “What did you tell her?” Twilight wondered. “Not much,” Pinkie admitted. “I said we were done at the beach and wanted to have a small party, but I figured I should invite people I hadn’t talked to in a while.” “How’d she sound?” Sunset asked. “Was she suspicious or anything?” “Not suspicious,” she said. “Maybe confused, but I don’t know if it was regular confusion or the ‘me-related’ confusion.” Everyone could agree to that, so they let Applejack lead them to the garden area. When asked how she knew about the place, she admitted she wasn’t sure. There was a vague remembrance of a gardening club that had once asked her for tips, but she couldn’t remember more than that. Likely more Memory Interference. The garden itself was beautiful. Flowers of every color were arranged around the stones and trees. It was well taken care of. No weeds or fallen petals in sight. Honestly, with the scenery and open space, it’d be a nice place for a picnic with friends. Or maybe a date. Sunset tried to come up with a plan. Something foolproof, something that would keep them all safe. Yet there wasn’t much to plan, not much to do except talk. Because, sometimes, that’s all there is left to do. Even so, there was some of a plan. “You’re not going to like this idea,” Sunset began. “You’re good at plans,” Twilight said. “I mean, probably. I honestly can’t remember if you ar or not, but you seem like you should be and-” “We get it,” Rainbow cut her off. “What’s the plan?” “Surprise,” Sunset said. “If she sees me with you, she might just zap us and run. So I need to be hidden, just long enough to get the upper hand. Keep her here. But if I’m hiding, you won’t be able to see me either.” For a moment, Pinkie’s grip on her hand tightened. Then, ever so slowly, she untangled their fingers. Sunset had forgotten how cold a hand could feel. “I trust you,” Pinkie said, swallowing her fears. “It’s not random events, it’s a person doing this. You won’t disappear at random. And-and if we do forget again, you can fix it!” “Don’t worry,” Sunset nodded. “As long as I’m here, I won’t stop trying to get back to you all. And don’t worry, I’ll only use an invisibility spell. I’ll still be here, and if you get too worried, you can still hear and feel me.” “It’s alright,” Rarity assured her. “As Pinkie said, the unknown is terrifying. But having something to focus on, to fight against, is far better.” Sunset nodded, and lit her horn. Within moments, she disappeared. Invisibility spells were always strange. One never realized how much of oneself they could see until it wasn’t there. Her nose, the hair framing her face, her hands, all invisible. Just to assure them that she was still there, she took a bit of Pinkie’s hair. It was harder than usual, as she couldn’t completely tell where her hand was. Curling the pink strands around her fingers, she watched the group relax a moment. Now, she just had to wait. The girls talked amongst each other, but Sunset kept quiet unless called. She tried focusing on anything else, and ended up trying to guess all the flowers. She didn’t have to wait long. She heard a lot of loud, almost over exaggerated, hellos from the girls. Turning her attention to them, she then followed their gazes to the girl in question. Despite anger running through her, she tried her best to remember that the girl was likely not evil, despite what she might’ve done. Wallflower looked a lot like her old picture. Her hair was longer, and she had grown out of her gangly teenage phase, but there hadn’t been any drastic appearance changes. The only odd thing was her sweater, though that was likely just due to the juxtaposition to the girls still in beachwear. “Hi,” Wallflower greeted, coming to a stop still a few feet away. “Why, uh, why am I here?” “Well, we did ask you to come,” Applejack said. “Yeah,” she nodded. “But how…” “If you’re wondering how Pinkie got your number, we have no idea,” Rainbow said. “Pinkie tends to do her own thing.” “You get used to it after a while,” Fluttershy assured. “No, it’s not…” Wallflower paused, looking over their faces. Sunset decided it would be better to do this quick. As quietly as possible, she stepped beside Wallflower. Dropping the spell, she took the girl’s hand and activated another before she could realize what happened. The colors shifted as usual, when she fell into Memory. While sometimes Sunset was led directly to a memory, she saw small flashes of other scenes, going back a while. Yet, all were so similar. A girl so alone, no one to talk to. Sure, she interacted with a handful of people, yet they never talk about anything real. They don’t know her. Do they want to? After all, most people tend to forget about her unless they have to talk to her often. Usually classmates, the few who joined the gardening club, but none of them stayed. Then, it became literal. Sunset watched as no gardeners showed up one week. When Wallflower had gotten the courage to ask why they weren’t there, their answers confused her. None of them knew a gardening club existed, they thought she had just set it up, even though they had just come last week. And then… “We could text to find a date that works for all of us!” one girl, Roseluck, smiled. “What’s your number? Er, actually, what’s your name? I don’t think we’ve met before?” Wallflower had run. At first, she was hurt, furious even. It had to be some cruel prank. They pretended to be her friend, just to drop her and laugh at the whole thing. And it seemed almost like the whole school was in on it. Then, a teacher had asked her name. The hurt had paused, replaced by confusion. A teacher wouldn’t be in on a prank. And as she went through more, even people who she had met in elementary school couldn’t even remember her. The only saving grace was her parents. They still knew her, they hadn’t forgotten about her. Perhaps, because she’d never wanted them to? How many times had she wished ‘I wish I could erase awkward moments, when I say the wrong thing or screw up somehow’? In some ways she had wanted to disappear, but not like this. Never like this. The answer that it was caused by ‘Magic’ was easy enough. All things considering, it was a logical jump. But to practice, to figure out how she was doing it and how to stop it, that was almost hellish. It wasn’t a tingle, not in the way Sunset felt it. It was more like when your leg fell asleep, cold pinpricks. Wallflower could feel the energy as she took the memory now, and it answered more questions than she realized. Pain, an ache in her body that had she had brushed off as too much time bent over in the garden. Wallflower thought it was just a part of Magic. Sunset knew it was Backlash from an unfinished spell. But now that she had this, why not use it? Having seen enough, Sunset came out of the Memory. She decided anything more could be asked directly. Even so, she tried to keep her glares and bristling rage in check. Wallflower, on the other hand, was not as good at keeping her emotion from showing on her face. She quickly went from surprise, to confusion, to shock. All of it quickly turned into terror as she took in Sunset’s ears and horn. “You erased their memories,” Sunset said, barely keeping her words from a growl. “Uh…” Wallflower’s face hardened as she jerked her hand out of Sunset’s. “Yes. Fine. No use pretending.” “Why?” Rainbow demanded. “I don’t even know you!” Sunset exclaimed. “Exactly!” Wallflower snapped. “No one does!” She backed up glaring at all of them.  It didn’t take Magic for Sunset to know what she was feeling. Pain and anger were plastered on her face. The way she grit her teeth and let tears drip down her face. “Wallflower, we can fix this,” Fluttershy said, taking a small step. “No, you can’t!” Wallflower said, backing up more. “Even without the Magic, no one knows me!” “I understand that,” Sunset said. “I know what it’s like to be alone, and I-” “You’re nothing like me!” she shouted. “You-you were horrible! To everyone! Sure, you’re not now, but why does everyone love you? I’ve always- I was always nice! As nice as I could be! But you got to be popular and loved, while no one even cares about me! I don’t have anyone!” “What about me?!” Pinkie said, stepping in front of everyone. “I considered you a friend! You could’ve talked to me!” “You don’t count!” she snapped. “You call everyone a friend! But you’re only ever around a few people! You can’t just call someone a friend because you know their name!” “Do you think I don’t know that?!” she cried, her own tears starting up again. “I wish I could know everyone and be just as close as I am with the girls! But it takes time! I know I can do things that seem impossible, but I’m just one person! I can’t do everything! I can’t be everywhere at once! “But I do what I can,” she continued, shaking as she spoke. “I-I try to be friends. I open the door for them, let them decide to be my friend or not! And I keep that door open, because even if I don’t know someone as well as I'd like, I want to be there for them! Because other than memorizing a list of names and favorites, it’s all I can do! Wallflower’s face seemed to soften a little. Yet no one dared to move. What little curl had returned to Pinkie’s hair earlier was quickly fading out. “Y-you could’ve come to me,” Pinkie said, far more quietly as she choked back a sob. “I would’ve been more of a friend, learned about you, invited you to personal parties. Or-or if you didn’t want to be closer to me specifically, I could’ve found someone you would like. But I couldn’t- I couldn’t help you.” “You have to want help to get it,” Wallflower said, averting her gaze. “I-It’s not your fault. I didn’t think-" “I get it,” she nodded. “But you need to fix this. Please. Please give the memories back. I-I want to remember the good times with Sunny. Please.” “I-I can’t,” she said. “If I could, I would’ve done it when I started this, when everyone forgot me. I-I’m sorry. But… I can still fix this. We can start over. And maybe it’ll be better.” Sunset felt it, the shift in the air pressure around them. Instinct took over, lurching forward, trying to stop it. All she could do was tackle Pinkie out of the way. Magic washed over her, sending that cold pinprick feeling through her body. Sunset fell hard, rolling over the grass and into a patch of pink flowers. As she pulled herself into a sitting position, tears fell and quickly turned to sobs.