Sunset Shimmer stalked into the library. Sunlight filtered through the windows at an almost-horizontal angle and a thick coffee aroma hit her in the face as she entered.
She stopped in the doorway and glanced around; everyone was there. Moondancer, Starlight Glimmer, Starswirl, and Sunburst gathered at the table with the coffee pot, leaning over a set of papers and occasionally pointing to specific passages. Spike, meanwhile, delivered a fresh cup to Crystal Faire in a corner of the room before sitting down himself.
Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia stood together, the both of them speaking in hushed tones in front of a chalkboard. The chalkboard itself had very little on it, sporting nothing of note but eraser smears and some half-erased diagrams and sentences.
Celestia and Twilight looked over and met Sunset’s gaze. After a few moments, which included an exchange of glances and solemn nods, Celestia waved Sunset over.
Sunset sucked in a breath and trotted to them. “Morning,” she said.
“Good morning, Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia replied. “How are you feeling?”
Sunset examined herself without expecting to actually find anything. “Uh… same. I guess?”
Twilight nodded solemnly. “Did you sleep okay?”
Sunset thought about what she had seen the night prior and then observed the bags under Twilight’s eyes. “Did you?”
Twilight groaned. “I… slept. I know I did.”
Sunset frowned. “Spike told me you didn’t want to. I’m glad you did.”
“I told him to wake me if I fell asleep,” Twilight half-growled. “And he didn’t. I’m not very happy right now.”
“Well, I agree with his call.” Sunset motioned over her withers. “So does everypony else.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes and stalked up to Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer… you don’t understand. I want to do everything that I can to get your memories back.”
Sunset snorted. “That’s fine and all, but don’t kill yourself doing it. I don’t exactly want to be known as the reason a Princess keeled over, even if it was to help me.”
Twilight shuddered. “Please.”
Celestia inched forward just enough to tower over them—over Twilight in particular. “Twilight,” she said with hints of a stern tone.
Twilight glanced up at Celestia and then sighed and straightened up. “Sunset… you know what today is, right?”
Sunset considered Twilight for a few moments more and then she straightened up as well. “Yeah, today makes three days.”
“Yes,” Celestia said. “If the memories are still in that memory stone somewhere, today is the last day they will remain there. And if they are not…”
“That’s if you’re even able to put it back together,” Sunset said.
“No, we will put it back together,” Twilight said with the stamp of her hoof. “We will get your memories back.”
Out of the corners of her eyes, Sunset spotted several of the others looking up. Twilight wore a determined expression but everyone else’s worn and empty expressions contrasted that. Even Princess Celestia didn’t look so sure.
And yet Celestia nodded all the same. “Yes. We will certainly try.”
Sunset shrugged and looked back at Twilight. “Well, uh, anyway, I’m here. Is there anything that you want me to do?”
Twilight and Celestia exchanged glances.
Celestia scratched her head. “I do believe that’s what we were talking about.”
Twilight nodded and sucked in a breath. “Yes, we were. Uh, truth is, Sunset, I don’t have anything for you to do today.”
Sunset frowned. “...No?”
Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Most of the work is already done and we don’t need everypony anymore. I myself have to do some things in Canterlot today; I’ll be back this afternoon to check on things.”
“And they,” Twilight said as the motioned toward the table, “will be compiling the modified Relic Reconstitution Spell. I’ll be trying to figure out stuff related to your geode.”
“So where does that put me?” Sunset asked.
Twilight shrugged. “Well… you’re free to stay if you want, but you don’t have to. You could always go explore the rest of the castle, or you could go into Ponyville if you wanted. I mean, obviously, don’t go too far because we’ll need you around if we want to restore your memories.”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah. I get it.”
“But, it’s up to you what you want to do for the next few hours,” Twilight said. “I do want to know about it though so I know where to find you.”
I can go wherever I want, huh? Sunset thought, rubbing her chin in the process. Well, I could go into Ponyville if I wanted to, but there really isn’t any point. I don’t live here and, honestly, I don’t care. I could explore the rest of the castle… but I’ve already been here for two days.
Sunset’s muzzle twitched as her eyes drifted toward the mirror portal. “Well… Twilight, would you be okay if I went to the other world for a while?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The other world? You want to go there?”
“Yeah,” Sunset replied. She shrugged. “I mean, apparently that’s where I live these days, right? I mean… I’m not going to have another chance to explore it for the first time. I can’t think of a better way to kill a few hours.”
Celestia frowned and nodded. “That is very true.”
“You should… let Principal Celestia know that you are there,” Twilight said.
Princess Celestia’s expression twitched at the mention of her counterpart but she ended up nodding in agreement.
“In fact, if at all possible, you should stick as close to her as you can. Or anyone else that she can trust. I don’t want you going anywhere alone, okay?”
Sunset frowned. “Twilight.”
Twilight approached Sunset and poked her in the chest. “The last thing we need is you wandering off somewhere and getting lost. Right now, you just don’t know your way around this place. I’m not opposed to you exploring, but I need you to do so with someone who knows the place.”
“And perhaps it would be wise to have that message journal handy,” Celestia suggested.
“Message journal?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow. “Like the one you and I used to use?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes! It would be a good idea to find that. It… it will have a slightly different cover than you remember, but you shouldn’t have any trouble recognizing it otherwise. In fact… why don’t you make finding out where you left that the first thing that you do when you get over there?”
Sunset scratched her head. “Uh, where would I find that?”
Twilight groaned and scratched her head. “Well, I don’t know. Your locker? Your usual hangout places?”
Sunset’s expression scrunched up. “Uh… my apartment, maybe?”
Twilight giggled. “No. It wasn’t there, for sure. Uh… You’re part of a band, so it could be in the music room. Or… I think you told me you were in the yearbook club, so maybe it’s in the yearbook room?”
Sunset shrugged. “I’ll ask around.”
Twilight approached Sunset and lay a hoof on Sunset’s withers. “Just remember, the timer expires this afternoon. If what I heard is right, that’s right after school gets out. Which is about 3 p.m. You should plan on being at the school’s front steps then. In fact, be there a half-hour before then.”
“Okay.”
“And I will write to you in the journal before then to let you know that I am coming.”
“Okay.”
Celestia smiled. “We will be right back here if you need us for anything,” she said.
Sunset looked up at Celestia and smiled back. “Sure. I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?
Twilight nodded and stepped back and grinned for herself. “Yes. We will see you in a few hours.”
Sunset nodded. She turned and walked toward the portal.
* * *
Trixie sat in class, not really paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying. She had been having trouble maintaining her attention in class for the past few days, which would surely come back to bite her on the math test she had taken the day prior. Her thoughts were left to wander, thinking about what had happened earlier in the week; when, for but a brief few hours, she had a friend.
It wasn’t as if she had no friends prior to the Wallflower incident, but they were a little distant as of late. Trixie only briefly wondered why that would be the case; she was the greatest and most powerful friend out there. She shook away those thoughts more often than not, as she didn’t really see the point. She sort of preferred being alone anyway; it left her more opportunities to practice her magic tricks.
So why was it that Sunset’s loss of memory made her feel so empty inside?
It’s not like we were friends for very long, she thought. We were really only friends because she couldn’t spend time with her actual friends. We were only friends because of that dumb Memory Stone!
Despite telling herself this, and then reminding herself of this fact, it still hurt. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself that their friendship was one of circumstance, and not of a genuine bond, Trixie still felt hollow. The fact of her friend forgetting who she was stung more than the laughter of her peers at a failed trick, and the embarrassment that followed.
Why do I care so much?
That question haunted her mind and she couldn’t shake it. No amount of convincing herself of the objective truth, that they had only been friends for maybe a combined total of four hours, could dismiss the lingering problem: why did Trixie care? She shouldn’t care about a brief friendship ending, right? It didn’t make sense to her, no matter how she tried to spin it in her mind.
Trixie’s thoughts went to one of the last things Sunset Shimmer had said to her that fateful day: “At least when the sun goes down and everyone hates me forever, I’ll still have one friend.”
And for whatever reason, those words cut Trixie deep.
At the time, Trixie had been taken aback and then elated by the fact that Sunset considered a friend. She had never thought in a million years that the former “Biggest Meanie” would ever consider Trixie, an extremely braggadocious stage magician, a friend of hers. She didn’t think she would ever find common ground with Sunset Shimmer, of all people, yet she did.
After Sunset had left the scene to go stop Wallflower, she couldn’t help but wonder if Sunset said what she had said to get her to try the Magician’s Exit one more time. She wondered if Sunset was casually manipulating her, and those thoughts stung. Sunset was once the school’s biggest bully, so it would make sense for her to be a bit manipulative. Despite this, she couldn’t believe it to be true no matter how logical it seemed. Sunset had changed a lot since the Twilight from the other world came in and stopped her.
She didn’t want to believe that Sunset was playing her like a fiddle. The way she had called Trixie her friend seemed genuine; the pain of losing her friends that had been in her voice was the real deal, and the gratitude that at least someone would see her as a friend was there too.
I just wish we could have been friends for a little longer.
The bell rang, signifying the end of the last class before lunch. She snapped back to reality, shook her head for a second, and then gathered her things. Trixie watched as Rainbow Dash gathered her things, and instead of the usual way she darted out of the class, Rainbow left the class with a melancholic stride. Trixie felt herself frowning at the sight.
If it’s bothering me as much as it is... then it’s probably way worse for those girls.
Five of the six girls had been Sunset’s friends since she had renounced her wicked ways, with Twilight being her friend since the end of the Friendship Games. They had all been inseparable prior to Wallflower erasing their memories, and it had taken the loss of Sunset’s memory to get theirs back. Trixie could only imagine how much the loss of the Sunset they had loved hurt them.
I wonder if I’d have become friends with them if Sunset didn’t lose her memory?
Trixie sighed as she left the classroom and headed to her locker. As she walked, she noticed the six of them had gathered at Rainbow’s locker and were probably discussing what to do. Before she could stop herself, Trixie found herself standing about an arm’s length away from the group.
I’m not sure if they’ll let me... but I want to be there for Sunset, even if she doesn’t remember me.
* * *
Sunset watched as the houses went by. This was the same truck she had ridden in a couple of days ago but while she herself sat in the same seat, it was Principal Celestia who sat in the driver’s seat. As opposed to having a few yearbooks in her lap like last time, she now held onto a journal. The image on the cover has half of her cutie mark and, from what she gathered, half of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark.
Her eyes drifted to the dashboard. The clock in the center display read 12:06. Time was less than three hours away. The music had been turned off this time around, leaving Sunset and Principal Celestia to silence.
Sunset flipped to the next page in the journal. Most were simple correspondences, although one of the entries had mentioned Starlight Glimmer. That told her that Starlight had come to visit once already. What she couldn’t say was it that was the only time or if it was just the first.
She flipped to the next page and noticed that while the left sheet was full, the right one stopped half-way and contained a short conversation. She had reached the end of the journal.
So these were the last things we wrote to each other before I lost my memories, huh? Sunset thought. Her eyes skimmed over the conversation but it was basically a call for help. It said nothing new. She instead turned her eyes toward the previous entry.
Dear Princess Twilight,
I thought you'd be happy to hear that the girls and I were voted "Best Friends" in the yearbook today. After all, if you hadn't forgiven me, I'd still be the arrogant student I was when I left Equestria. You gave me the second chance I didn't deserve, and I'll never forget it.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer
Sunset sat in silence, staring holes in the page all the while. She forced herself to read it again and then did so a third time. Her eyes lingered on particular sentences, namely where it spoke of best friends, of arrogance, and the notion of her never forgetting what she had received. One line, in particular, caught her eye and sent her mind reeling.
You gave me the second chance that I didn’t deserve.
Celestia took the truck around the corner and Sunset looked up to see that the buildings had changed from houses to businesses, just like it had a couple days ago. Sunset watched these buildings with greater scrutiny, spotting an eyewear shop and a shoe store. Unlike the suburbs where Canterlot High stood, cars practically owned these streets with how many there were. Pedestrians similarly dotted the sidewalks; she hadn’t seen a single soul in the suburbs.
They pulled into a parking lot. Celestia found a parking space and, after putting the truck into park, shut it off.
“Here we are,” Celestia said.
Sunset pushed the button that unbuckled her seatbelt, pulled the lever that allowed her to push the door open, and then stepped out. “Thank you, Principal Celestia. For bringing me out for lunch, I mean.”
Celestia stepped out of the truck for herself and walked around the front. “Don’t worry about it, Sunset Shimmer. You did want to explore, did you not?”
“Yeah.”
Celestia led Sunset toward the sidewalk. “Besides. I was planning on having lunch somewhere around here anyway, so this is no problem at all.”
Sunset tucked the journal under her sleeve as she followed. “Cool.”
The two walked toward the intersection, weaving through a few oncoming pedestrians as they went. While Celestia paid them no mind, Sunset regarded each one that they passed, noting their choices in clothing and hairstyles; it seemed like the females of this world wore their hair long and had far more variety in their clothing; the males generally had their hair short and played closer and tighter with their wardrobes. There were the odd few exceptions, of course, but not many.
They arrived at the corner where Celestia set her eyes on a white two-story building in the intersection’s adjacent corner. The traffic lights switched colors and the symbols on a sign across the way changed from a red hand to a white human (who appeared to be walking). Celestia led Sunset across the crosswalk then.
They entered the building which turned out to be a cafe. A few older people sat at the circular tables placed at the wedge-shaped room’s edges, enjoying cups of coffee, some smoothies, and, most prominently, baked items. They approached the counter where a plump woman with cupcake-like hair whistled as she worked.
And she turned at their approach with a jolly smile. “Oh, Miss Celestia. And Sunset Shimmer. How do you do?”
“Hello, Mrs. Cake,” Celestia greeted.
Sunset meekly waved.
Mrs. Cake glanced between the two of them again and then placed her hands on her hips. “Are you two out on a student-teacher luncheon?”
Celestia chuckled. “Something like that. I’ll have a slice of devil’s food cake, a pretzel, and a vanilla smoothie.” She looked down. “Sunset, what would you like?”
After taking a moment to consider the menu, Sunset shrugged. “Uh, same, I guess. Uh, can you make mine strawberry instead of vanilla?”
“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Cake said and turned around and rummaged through the various shelves and machines behind the counter, working to complete the order.
She knows who I am. Maybe I come here a lot with those girls? Sunset thought.
By the time Mrs. Cake arrived back with all of the food, Celestia had already set the money on the counter. And then, once she got her change back, Celestia led Sunset to one of the tables. The two took a seat.
While Celestia immediately dove into her cake, Sunset couldn’t help but sigh. She rested her head on her fist and gazed out the window, tentatively grabbing the pretzel in the process and chewing on that in silence.
Celestia downed her bit and then wiped some bits of brown cake off her face. “Are you okay, Sunset?”
Sunset’s expression swished from side to side. “I dunno. I mean, I’m just thinking about things.”
“I see.” Celestia cut off another bite of cake with her plastic fork and brought it toward her mouth. “I’m sure you’re probably wondering if you will get your memories back this afternoon.”
“Yeah. But it’s a bit more than that, I think,” she said before taking another bit of her pretzel.
“How so?”
“Well… these past couple of hours have been pretty neat. Because, I mean,” she said with the shake of her head, “I get to see a bunch of new things for the first time and it’s like… it’s amazing. Like that… uh… that thing that told you it was okay to cross the street here just a bit ago, that stuff is cool. And I’m sitting here going ‘What is that?’ and all.”
Celestia laughed. “Well, this whole rediscovering your home was your idea, wasn’t it?”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah, I know. But… now I’m thinking about this prospect that I might have to rediscover it because I’ll have to.”
Celestia hummed thoughtfully and, after opening her mouth to speak and closing it again, took a sip of her smoothie. “Didn’t you say that they would fix this Memory Stone by the time this afternoon came around?”
“Yeah. I did. And I don’t doubt that.”
Now Celestia raised an eyebrow and set her plastic fork back down. She lay both of her arms on the table and leaned forward in her seat. After a moment’s consideration, she sucked in a breath. “You… you don’t think that they will be able to restore your memories, even with the Memory Stone?”
“Uh,” Sunset began, now actually meeting Celestia in the eyes. “Well…”
“You can be honest with me, Sunset.”
Cutting off a bite of cake for herself, Sunset turned her thoughts to what she had seen in the past few days. The talk had always been reforming the Memory Stone. Never once had the topic of it containing her memories once it was reformed been discussed at length. It almost sounded like the mere idea was an afterthought.
And, as she thought about it, the reason was that there was no control over that. Whether or not those memories would still be there was likely decided the moment the stone shattered.
But a single thought crept into her mind that caused her to frown: everyone else’s memories had returned when the stone shattered. That would have been the moment for it to happen.
And so Sunset, with a grim face, folded her hands together and looked Celestia square in the eyes. “Well… if I am being honest… I think…”
* * *
Whether or not it was because of her lack of sleep, or the stress of the situation, Twilight had a headache. Her head had been throbbing for the better part of the day at this point and showed no signs of stopping. It was only made worse each time the chalk was used on the nearby chalkboard, each one adding to the equations therein. She knew she should probably lie down, or briefly leave the room to get some kind of medicine to dull the pain, but she was just as stubborn to stay and see this through to the end.
After all, this was for Sunset; it was for one of the most important figures in her life.
“Here, you look like you could use it,” a voice said, as two dull-yellow tablets and a glass of water entered her gaze. Twilight took hold of it with her magic, before turning to look at the speaker. She was met by Moondancer’s soft, tired-looking smile, who had likely just woken up from a short nap. Last Twilight had checked, Moondancer had fallen asleep with her face in a book on the theories of how magic could affect memory from the restricted section. “Your head is probably killing you, isn’t it?”
Twilight smiled. “It is... how could you tell?” she asked before washing the pills down with the provided water.
“I’ve had several stressful all-nighters doing research in the past. I’ve seen my face in the mirror afterward enough times to know the signs when I see them.”
Twilight giggled. “Well, you’ve always been my equal when it comes to the sheer amount of time spent reading about complex theories and systems.”
“Please, I’ve probably surpassed you with how much reading I did after you first left for Ponyville,” Moondancer jabbed with playful sarcasm. “I had a lot of time to read before somepony broke me out of my shell.”
“Gee, I wonder who that could have been? They sound pretty rude to interrupt you with your studies.”
The two briefly shared a laugh before Twilight turned her attention back to the chalkboard and what she had been working on for the past few hours. Starswirl had since begun working with Starlight and Sunburst to finish their modified version of the Relic Reconstitution spell. This had left her to work out the specifics that had caused Sunset’s geode to shatter, and how it was connected to her subsequent memory loss. That, and try to formulate some kind of backup plan, should their initial plan fail.
That wasn’t a thought Twilight enjoyed entertaining.
“Do you know how’s the Relic Reconstitution spell coming along?” Twilight asked, her eyes not leaving the board.
Moondancer shook her head. “Not really, I haven’t checked since I woke up.” She looked at the board and hummed. “Looks like you’ve been pretty busy though.”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out the specifics for hours now, and I’m still no closer to figuring it out.”
“Sounds frustrating.”
“Oh, it’s very frustrating.” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “All we have for ideas is fixing an ancient relic, and hoping that fixes things. What’s worse is we only have maybe an hour left to fix the Memory Stone.”
“I’m kind of surprised that is our only option so far.” Moondancer sighed. “I mean, we have some of the smartest ponies alive in the room, including the legendary Starswirl the Bearded.”
“I know... and I still have no idea what Sunset’s geode has to do with any of this!” Twilight all but yelled. Her magic’s grip on the half-full glass of water tightened, but not enough to break the glass. “It’s probably the key to figuring this out, but I know next to nothing about the geodes, and the only pony that could help doesn’t remember anything about them.”
“Wouldn’t one of those... parallel world versions of our friends know how they worked?” Moondancer asked. “I mean, they all have their own, right? Wouldn’t Sunset have shared her findings on how the stones work with at least one of those girls?”
Twilight could feel a scream coming on but pushed it down before it could escape. The only visible sign of her frustration being her left eye twitching, but Moondancer wasn’t paying enough attention to notice.
“...I hadn’t thought of that...” Twilight said softly, lightly smacking herself in the forehead just below her horn. She had been too caught up in everything going on and hadn’t thought to ask one of the girls for anything they knew about the magic of the geodes.
Moondancer grimaced. “Well... I guess it’s too late now?”
“...Yeah.” Twilight sighed. “I just wish I had thought to ask.”
“Yeah, but there’s no use in focusing on ‘what ifs’ now, right?” Moondancer asked. “We should be focussing on what we do know, and work from there. We can always ask if we fail, right?”
Twilight’s grip on the glass tightening as she spoke. “Only if we fail.”
“Which is still a possibility,” Moondancer sighed. She looked at her friend and frowned. “There is a chance that her memories were utterly destroyed when her geode shattered. If I had to guess, the magical feedback may have—”
“She’ll get her memories back!” Twilight yelled, the glass in her magic’s grip shattering as she finished the sentence. Thankfully, the pieces of glass just fell to the floor, her magic not allowing the pieces to splinter in random directions. “Don’t you dare suggest that Sunset won’t get her memories back! We’re going to get them back, no matter what!”
Moondancer recoiled, not sure how to react. She sheepishly took a step back and hung her head. “Sorry...”
The sight of her friend looking so dejected at her words caused her guilt to flare up, and she placed a hoof on Moondancer’s withers. “No... I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I just...”
“Want Sunset to get her memories back.”
“...Yeah. She just... means a lot to me.” Twilight said, blushing. “Still, that’s no excuse for snapping at you like that. You were just pointing out a... very likely possibility.”
“It’s okay... I can tell how important this is to you,” Moondancer said, smiling sheepishly. “You have been working harder than any of us, after all.”
“Thanks for understanding, Moondancer.” The two friends shared a brief hug. “What were you about to say before I lost my temper?”
“Oh, I was going to suggest that Sunset’s geode itself may have caused magical feedback, which caused her memories to be lost forever.”
“Even if we fix the geode too?” Twilight asked.
Moondancer shrugged. “I don’t know, it could go either way, really. We don’t really get how they work, so I can’t say for certain if fixing it would do anything.”
Before the conversation could persist further, however, they heard the sound of hooves approaching them. Starlight held up a few papers.
“We’ve finished the spell,” Starlight said. “How’s the work on the geode stuff?”
Twilight frowned. “I don’t have a complete understanding of it. I’ve scratched the surface but that’s all I have.”
Starlight nodded.
“I have enough that I can incorporate what I have into our Reconstitution Spell. Hopefully, it will help.”
Starlight glanced back toward the table, to which Starswirl and Sunburst intently watched her in return. “Well, you should make it quick. It’s almost time,” she said.
Twilight shuddered and glanced back at her own work. She truthfully did not know if understanding the geode and how it had interacted would have helped. But if it would have helped… if it would have meant the difference between Sunset getting her memories back or not, that thought shook her to her very core.
This was not the best case scenario. Twilight frowned. But it’s where we’re at.
Twilight nodded and levitated the papers into her own magic. She looked down the pages, humming thoughtfully as she went. At certain points, she turned back to the board and, after scrutinizing what she had written down, she took a quill and jotted some things onto the spell sheet.
She eventually reached the end of the papers, read through it all a second time, and then nodded. “This is it, then.”
Sunburst and Starswirl stood up and trotted to meet them in the center of the room; Sunburst, in particular, floated the fragments of the Memory Stone over.
Twilight watched as they set the fragments into the middle and then scanned the four faces looking back at her. And then she sucked in a breath and nodded. “Let’s put this Memory Stone back together.”
* * *
Sunset stared at the statue down the front lawn. Her friends sat on the steps with her. Their eyes remained on her and each other. At this moment they all lay silent. While six of them packed in closely to her, Trixie Lulamoon sat at a larger distance, hovering just outside the group. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna stood even further back, hanging in the doorway.
Three days was almost up. Now it was mere minutes away.
And they were mere minutes away from having an answer, whether they wanted it or not.
Fluttershy pulled out her phone to look at the time and then whimpered on seeing it. She glanced at the rest of them and they regarded her with growing frowns.
Dark clouds hung overhead, casting the entire courtyard in a shadow. The air itself felt rather cool which was decisively not-so-warm. As such, the girls all huddled together without actually touching.
The statue’s surface glimmered and a figure stepped out of it. Twilight stood fully upright and unflinching. She clinched what looked like a roundish stone with both hands. It had to be the Memory Stone, fully reformed and ready for use. She wore a ghastly expression on her face and her posture was withdrawn.
And, all at once, the seven with Sunset shot to their feet. Sunset, after a moment’s hesitation, followed suit and then walked down the steps. It was when Twilight started in their direction as well that she decided to stop at the bottom of the steps.
Twilight shuffled up to them with her eyes glued to the ground. Only when she came near them did she look up and meet Sunset in the eyes. Twilight’s hair had several split ends and she had a bit of puffiness around her eyes. Her hands trembled around the Memory Stone which she gripped so tightly that Sunset wondered she would crush it.
This was the moment for her to get her memories back. So why did Twilight look so disturbed?
Sunset frowned. “Twilight? You okay?”
Twilight shuddered and somehow gripped the Memory Stone even tighter. “We did everything we could,” she said. “So… all that’s left to do is to try.”
Sunset nodded and stood up as tall as she could. “Okay. Then go ahead. I am ready.”
Twilight stared into Sunset’s eyes for a few moments and then straightened up and took a deep breath. Cautiously, she held up the Memory Stone. She held it with both hands, stretched her arms as far forward as she could. Her expression remained unchanged.
The Memory Stone lit up with a greenish glow as magic flowed through its leylines. It audibly hummed as its inner working twisted and churned and otherwise worked. It was, evidently, building up to whatever it did whenever it returned someone’s memories.
Everyone held their breaths as they watched it pulsate with energy. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie grabbed a hold of each other. Rainbow Dash lay her hands across her own head. Trixie folded her hands together in a pleading gesture.
Twilight closed her eyes as she waited for it to do its thing. And Sunset continued watching it intently.
And then the light in the Memory Stone died, leaving it silent and still one more.
A flurry of quiet gasps passed over the group behind Sunset. Celestia and Luna exchanged wide-eyed glances. Applejack’s jaw dropped, followed by Rarity’s. And Sunset herself could feel something drop within her chest.
Twilight made a quiet squeak and looked down at the now-inert stone. Her eyes flickered between it and Sunset and, after taking a moment to readjust her grip and her stance, she held it up again.
The Memory Stone flickered to life again with the same greenish glow as before. Magic flowed through it just like before. It audibly hummed as it worked just like before.
And then the Stone died the same as before. And nothing happened still.
Now Twilight herself gasped, looking at the object in her hands with wide-eyed shock and increasingly sharp breaths. Her eyes shook between it and Sunset now. She made sounds like she was in the earliest attempts at forming words.
Rarity squealed as she latched herself onto the closest living thing that she could find, which turned out to be Sci-Twi who didn’t (and couldn’t) flinch in response.
Twilight took two steps forward. She held the stone up again and powered it up again. It worked for a few instants again and then died again.
A loud bang destroyed the relative silence as all of the air rushed out of Pinkie Pie’s hair. She collapsed to the ground, dragging a now-quietly-sobbing Fluttershy down with her.
Twilight continued inching forward with tears now starting to make their way down her face. The stone in her hands lit up, hummed, and then died again.
Trixie remained standing there with her hands stuck hiding her expression of teary-eyed shock. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, stood there shaking like a leaf. Both her hands had balled into impossibly tight fists and, with the way she bared her teeth, she looked ready to fight something or someone to the death. And Applejack removed her hat and held it in silence. Her own face looked wet now.
Twilight sniffled as she tried the stone again. It lit up and died again, just like before.
And Sunset continued staring at her.
And Twilight tried again. And nothing happened again.
Now Twilight was mere inches away from Sunset and her expression intensified as she pointed the stone right at Sunset, but when nothing happened yet again, her arms went limp. Twilight broke down into sobs. The Memory Stone itself remained clasped in one hand but her grip loosened on it by the second.
And then, finally, the Memory Stone dropped out of Twilight’s hand entirely. It bounced across the pavement and rolled to a halt a short distance away.
Twilight looked up to meet Sunset’s eyes for a moment, her expression apologetic, and then, with a punctuating wail, she flung herself onto Sunset. She wrapped her arms around Sunset, bawling into Sunset’s shoulder.
The girls behind Sunset similarly broke down, grabbing a hold of each other and crying into each other. The two adults in the doorway looked at each other and wiped some tears from their eyes but otherwise kept straight faces and held themselves high.
And, meanwhile, Sunset herself didn’t even react.
Sunset couldn’t even react; she didn’t even know how to react.
She stood there unmoving and unthinking, staring at someplace infinitely far away. She comprehended nothing and yet she comprehended everything. She didn’t know what she had lost and yet, through them, she knew what she had lost. She didn’t know what came next and yet she knew what came next.
Because this was it. This was the outcome. The terrible, incomprehensible outcome.
Someone, somewhere out there, had somehow won. Years now did not exist. An entire life was gone just like that. Sunset wondered if this was what it was like to die.
Because, for all intents and purposes, to many people, she had. And here she was. And here they were.
And then, finally, Sunset reciprocated and allowed her head to rest on Twilight’s shoulders.