//------------------------------// // 6 - Erase Me // Story: Retrograde // by RQK //------------------------------// The front steps of Canterlot High School sat in deathly silence. Several human girls sat on those steps, all surrounding two solitary figures in the center. Two adults stood watching over them from the tops of the steps. Thousands of thoughts swam through Sunset Shimmer’s head; thoughts she knew she did not fully appreciate. Some of them were on the minute details such as what she had seen and what she had considered. But surely the past implied the future; the problem was that she did not have that past. And she never would again. Not by her own account, anyway. She returned to the thoughts that made her most shudder. What was to happen now? Where were things to go from here? By now, most of the sobs had faded into the afternoon. The impact had worn off but still no one made any moves to suggest the next steps (if there were any steps to make at all). Twilight Sparkle, who sat next to Sunset, balled her fists even tighter. She finally sucked in a breath. “Sunset…” Everyone stirred to look at her. “Huh?” Sunset said. Twilight kept staring at the ground and pressed her fists further into her lap. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” Sunset frowned. “For what?” “I should have done more. I should have worked harder. M-maybe if we had done the tests over here, or…” Twilight swallowed. “There must be a piece that I’m still missing. Maybe we designed the integration matrix wrong.” Sci-Twi pursed her lips. Trixie crossed her arms. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna exchanged glances. Twilight snarled. “I knew I should have done more to resolve your geode with the Memory Stone. I knew that was the key to all this!” She then gasped and sat up straight. She grabbed Sunset by both of her shoulders. “Maybe I can still do that. I can finish what I had and incorporate it into a new spell. Y-yes. I-I could bring the spell up to a state the fully resolves both. Maybe we’ll get your memories back that way.” Sunset swallowed and noted how red and wet Twilight was still in the face (although everyone present was in a way). “I know it will work. I know it will,” Twilight continued. She glanced at the others. “Would you believe me if I said it would work? Because I would—” “Twilight,” Sunset said, simultaneously brushing Twilight’s hands off of her shoulders, “stop.” Twilight did a double take, blinking in the process. “W-what? Sunset?” “It doesn’t matter anymore.” “Yes it does,” Twilight quickly replied. “No, it doesn’t. It’s done. It’s over.” Twilight smacked the steps. “I don’t take that. There’s gotta be something that I can do. There has to be more.” “Twilight… it doesn’t matter.” Tears started welling in Twilight’s eyes again. “Sunset… you don’t understand…” Sunset sighed. Now it was her turn to place a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Look, Twilight… I know you care about me. I’ve seen it myself these past couple days. I don’t… know what it was like between us before this all happened, so I don’t know why. I mean… Twilight, you seem really cool and smart and… you know.” She sighed again. “I do understand, I think. But this is it, Twilight. I’m not getting my memories back.” Twilight shook her head but said nothing. Principal Celestia cleared her throat. “Princess Twilight,” she half-croaked. Twilight and the rest of them looked up. “We have to start talking about where we are going to go from here,” Principal Celestia said. “We have some decisions to make.” Vice Principal Luna nodded. “I am sure there are others back in Equestria who also worked quite hard on this. I think they deserve to know what has happened.” Sunset nodded and turned. “Yeah… Twilight… You should probably go and tell them.” Twilight glanced toward the Wondercolt statue. She stared at it in silence. “I…” Sunset glanced around, making eye contact with several others in the circle, and then she stood up. That prompted her friends to stand up as well. And now everyone was standing over Twilight. “You should go tell them, Twilight,” Sunset repeated. Twilight looked up, swallowed, and then stood up herself. She wiped her face clean and then nodded. “Okay. Alright. Let’s go, Sunset,” she said as she started down the steps. Sunset scanned everyone else’s faces again. They, just like Twilight, looked like all the life had been sucked out of them. They looked at her in much the same way Twilight did. Twilight had them beaten, yes, but they were still distraught. She thought about all that she had seen over the past few days. She thought about they had initially reacted when she had lost her memories. She thought about the memories captured in yearbooks. She thought about her apartment and the leopard gecko waiting for her there. Sunset finally shook her head. “No. I’m not going.” Twilight, who had reached a few feet across the lawn, turned. “What?” Sunset turned to Twilight. “I think I’m going to stay here, Twilight.” Twilight opened her mouth and closed it again several times as she tried to find words. “You’re… you’re not going to come home to Equestria?” Sunset sighed. “The way I see it… this is my home now. This is where I made my life. So, I think… maybe… I should stay here.” Twilight again went silent. A knot moved up and down in her throat. Sunset’s friends closed in around her, laying their hands on her in support. The two adults still watched from the top of the stairs, nodding sagely all the while. Sunset herself found the strength to smile at them (and she even touched someone’s hand—Rarity, it turned out—in return). And then Sunset, now standing taller, looked back at Twilight. Twilight watched from her position, but as she ran her eyes over them and their features, she also loosened and straightened up. Finally, she nodded too. * * * Moondancer watched the face of the mirror portal in silence. They all did. Twilight had been gone for several minutes. And there had been no news. She considered it. Certainly, she had gone through it herself just a couple of days prior. It had been a strange experience, yes, but it was doable. She could very well go and check herself. But, nonetheless, if it had succeeded, then it had succeeded. And if it had failed, then it had failed. Starswirl and Sunburst had since returned to the table and had taken their seats. They took those moments to simply breathe. Starlight Glimmer, on the other hoof, stood with Moondancer and watched the face of the portal with her. The double doors at the foot of the room opened and three more bodies entered. The first, Crystal Faire, with some papers floating in her magic, retained a relatively straight face. The other two, Spike and Princess Celestia, contrasted her with colorless expressions. Spike held his claws together and Celestia’s mane, eternally flowing in some ethereal wind, seemed somewhat stagnant. Starlight, for her part, turned, examined them, and then gasped under her breath and likewise lost a bit of her color. Finally, the mirror portal shimmered and Twilight appeared out of its face. She bore a similarly lifeless expression. She teetered off the platform and into the room proper. And that said it all. They had failed. Celestia trotted forward to meet Twilight, followed closely by Spike. Sunburst and Starswirl stood up and angled themselves toward them. Starlight fell to her haunches are let her gaze fall to the floor. They had failed. While Celestia and Spike gathered around Twilight, Crystal came up alongside Starlight and Moondancer and looked on in silence. Twilight finally looked up and glanced around the room. “Everypony… Listen…” She paused as she examined the faces. “I’m… sure that there is more that can be done. I just know it. I wasn’t able to reconcile Sunset’s geode with the Memory Stone, so I have a feeling like that’s the next step. I think I’m going to start working on that, and—” “Twilight,” Crystal said with a stern voice. Twilight flinched. She slowly but surely looked up. Crystal straightened up. “It is folly. Don’t waste your time.” Twilight blinked. “B-b-but…” Celestia swallowed. “Do you really believe so? Is there really nothing that can be done now?” “I’ve more or less been saying that for the past few days,” Crystal replied. “Sorry.” “W-wait,” Starlight stammered. “I just…” “No, I agree,” Starswirl said. “If she isn’t getting her memories back, then that is that. It’s time we move on.” Twilight looked over at him with wide-eyed shock. She considered him and his words in full. In fact, the whole room did. She eventually looked up at Celestia. “P-princess?” Celestia’s eyes remained on Starswirl but she eventually nodded vacantly. “Yes… I think he’s right.” It was only then that she hazarded a look down at Twilight. And Twilight took a step back, took another, but on seeing no change in Celestia’s expression, she nodded solemnly. “Okay… okay…” “Twilight,” Moondancer said, stepping forward, “I think it might be a good idea if you went and laid down for a while.” “But what about here?” Twilight asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Moondancer scratched her head. “Well. We could probably clean up and everything. And then we’ll just try and figure out what to do next.” Starlight wiped her face clean and stood up. “Yeah. Yeah. We can… we can do that. Moondancer and I can get that going.” “Indeed. Go rest, Twilight,” Celestia said. “We will take care of things.” “Yeah,” Spike said. “Come on, Twilight.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak but ended up sighing instead. She nodded again. “You’re right. You’re all right. I’ll… I’ll come back later.” The others nodded. Twilight started slinking toward the door. She took a long time between steps as she was in no hurry. She let her head hang because she found no reason to hold it high. She peered over at Sunburst and Starswirl who watched her from the table. She peered at Spike who walked right beside her. She looked at Starlight and Moondancer who watched her with solemn frowns. Twilight stopped in front of Crystal and met her in the eyes. The two stared at each other for several moments before Twilight’s eyes flashed toward the papers in Crystal’s magical grasp. Crystal looked at those papers as well and smiled. “Ah, yes. If it makes you feel any better, the plans for your school have been approved,” she said. “Especially considering all of the bureaucratic obstacles which have so far prevented it.” Twilight didn’t even react aside from a solitary sigh. With a solemn, wordless nod, she pressed on, eventually exiting the room. Crystal’s smile completely disappeared as she watched Twilight depart. Her muzzle scrunched into a confused frown and she even found herself looking around the room, looking at the rest of them for answers. She found none. And the room hung in silence even after Twilight’s hoofsteps faded away. * * * Vice Principal Luna stuck the car keys into the door and twisted. She then opened the door to the red pickup, pressed a button in the door’s handle that unlocked the other side, and then closed the door. She then walked around the front of the side and opened the passenger side door. She opened the glove compartment and fished around, eventually claiming her prize: a stack of blank bank checks. She counted out two of them—one for herself and one for her sister—and then shut the glove compartment. Her hand then made its way underneath the passenger side of the seat and she fished out a couple of elastic cables. It was as she was bent over that she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She transferred the bank checks to the same hand carrying the elastic cables. She then fished her phone out and read the text she had received. After humming thoughtfully, she reached under the seat again and fished out another elastic cable. She frowned. Sister’s text said four. Can we find another one please? she asked herself as she rummaged through the supplies down under. Surely there had to be at least one more. Her frown deepened with every second her search turned up nothing. She then stood up and sighed. It was only then that she spotted something moving through the cab’s back window. She glanced through it to find it to be a girl emerging from the nearby trees. And Luna frowned. Such as thing was not only odd for this time of the morning, it was odd period. And then Luna, through that window, discerned the green hair and the green skin and had enough to determine who it was. By the look on the girl’s face, she had not noticed her yet. Luna threw the items to the floor and made a mental note to close the door later. She then crouched and skittered her way to the back of the truck. She then passed a few more cars, watching the girl through the gaps. Once Luna was sure she had gained some ground, she finally dipped between two cars and right into the girl’s path. And Wallflower Blush gasped. But before she could turn and run, Luna had already jumped on her and grabbed her by the arm. “Hey!” Wallflower screeched as she fruitlessly tried to wrest herself free. “Let me go!” “Wallflower Blush,” Luna said with a stern tone. “First of all, skipping school is against the rules. Second of all,” she leaned in and said, with a palpable sharpness in her voice, “we have been looking for you.” All color disappeared from Wallflower’s face and she looked into Luna’s eyes. And then she shrunk down. * * * Sunset Shimmer gripped the straps on her backpack as she stared up at the school’s front entrance. She had seen this building on prior days, but now she was going to spend her day here. Today, after all, would be her first day of school. And this was a time when there were no first days of school. Everyone in that building knew so much more than she did and were much further ahead than she was. And they lived in this world, so that head-start was likely on the order of years. Sunset wondered how it had played out the first time. She wondered how she had handled it the first time. She glanced behind her to see Trixie Lulamoon leaned into a compact car, speaking with her father (who was nearly her splitting image) in the driver’s seat. They said a few more words, and then Trixie stood up straight and then skipping toward Sunset. The car, meanwhile, pulled away. “Thanks again for the ride,” Sunset said as Trixie caught up. “Trixie is the most greatest and most powerful friend! A simple ride to school is no big deal,” Trixie said with a dismissive wave. Sunset nodded and returned to staring at the school’s front. Trixie also looked at its front and she sighed. “So… are you ready?” Sunset’s mind replayed the various scenarios that could possibly play out. For all she knew, the entire building had long ago made up their minds about her (and that meant trying to make a good first impression was out the window). She was at their mercy, and while she had been assured that she was on good terms with the school, there were those lingering demons from years ago she had also been told about. What if there were more people who felt about her the way Wallflower Blush (whoever she was) did? She solemnly shook her head. “I don’t know.” “Nervous?” Sunset nodded. “Yeah…” Trixie cracked a smile, shrugged, and then lay a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Relax. You will be in the company of The Great and Powerful Trixie! There is no better person to spend the first hour of the day with you. Trixie promises that you will get through this,” she said, holding her hand up as if making a vow. Sunset grinned. “Well, if you say so. Let’s go then.” The two walked up the lawn and up the stairs. They could see silhouettes of teenagers through the school’s glass entry doors. Sunset paused on the last step, prompting Trixie to pull her the last bit of way. Finally, they entered the school. The school’s circular foyer greeted them. Some balconies hinted at an upstairs, further solidified by the staircases flanking the main entrance. Countless students walked this way and that, engaged in hushed conversations. Two hallways branched off of this floor of the foyer and several more branched off of the upstairs portion. She had no idea where she was going. She looked at Trixie. And Trixie motioned toward the hallway to the right. “Come on,” she said. As Sunset followed Trixie into the hallway, several of the students stopped to look at her as the two of them passed by. Their conversations died on their lips (although, in some cases, they turned into shared murmurs). Some even started in her direction but never made it more than a few token steps. Some clutched their books to their chests as the sight of her left them breathless. And all she could do was smile and wave. As they rounded the corner, a group of boys near the lockers looked over. One of them, with short blue hair, wearing a leather jacket over his white shirt and some blue jeans, immediately frowned and started jogging toward them. Trixie made a noise and stepped to the side. The boy approached Sunset. “Hey,” he said. Sunset looked him up and down. This was someone saying hello. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Sunset Shimmer.” She inwardly cringed; of course they knew that, but it had just come out so automatically. “What’s your name?” The blue-haired male before her cracked a crooked smile. “H-hi… I’m Flash Sentry. You don’t remember me… do you?” Sunset solemnly shook her head. “I’m… sorry. I don’t.” She gripped her backpack straps even tighter. One of the boys that Flash Sentry had been talking to also sidled up. He had rowed hair and a pin with a bunch of green arrows on his vest. “Hi. I’m Sandalwood.” A girl wearing a large red beret and black gloves also approached, stashing a notebook under one of her arms. “Watermelody,” she said, extending her hand. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you two… again,” Sunset replied as she shook hands with Watermelody. She then did the same with Sandalwood. Another boy walked up at that moment. He adjusted his large square glasses and sighed through his nose. “Hi, Sunset. I’m Microchips. Did they… you know, did they say anything about your memories? Is there any chance you can get them back?” Several more eyes fell on her now. And it was at that point that Sunset noticed that several more students had entered this hallway and had since joined the growing crowd. “Sunset,” Trixie whispered, “I think we should go.” Sunset glanced at all the people again. They looked so interested to hear what she had to say now. And, for many of them, their first reaction was to come up and say hello. And now they were asking about her well-being. She straightened up. She was at their mercy. She had told herself that much a few minutes ago. They meant well. And that meant they thought of her well. They cared. The knot in her chest loosened up. And she finally shook her head. “Actually, Trixie, wait.” Trixie frowned. Sunset faced the crowd, scanning everyone’s concerned frowns. “Listen…” she said at length. “I’m sure that I knew all of you at one point. At least, before I lost my memories. But…” She shook her head. “I’m not getting my memories back,” she said. Many in the crowd visibly wilted at that. Sunset shook her head and sheepishly kicked the ground. “I know I’ve lost the last few years of my life with this. I know I have a lot to catch up on. I… gosh, I know I’m going to stumble for a while. I just… hope you can all bear with me for a while. Okay?” Flash Sentry nodded. “Sure thing. We’re all here for you if you need us, Sunset.” Several people in the crowd nodded in agreement, flashing smiles of their own. Sunset smiled and glanced over to Trixie. Trixie grinned in response and then nodded in the direction “Thanks, everyone. I should probably get to class,” she said as she pushed through the crowd behind Trixie. She made it a few steps before turning and saying, “I look forward to filling in the blanks with all of you!” The crowd shot back various affirmatives and began to disperse. Sunset and Trixie continued down the hall. But now Sunset held herself much higher and that prompted Trixie to walk just as tall. Maybe this won’t be so bad, Sunset thought. Maybe I’ll get through this okay after all. * * * Starlight stared blankly at the chalkboard covered in equations. It was a complex formula for the spell matrix required for the spell they had used earlier that day; the results of her teacher’s days-long attempt to save their friend’s memories. The spell that had ultimately failed, and the Sunset they knew was gone. Despite her assurances to Twilight the previous day that she and Moondancer would get started on what they would do next, they had called it a day not long after the Princess of Friendship had made it to her room. The two of them had indeed tried, but after talking it over with the others, they had come to the conclusion that they couldn’t really get anywhere in their current states. The whole of the group had been both physically and/or emotionally exhausted, and had opted to reconvene the following day. The remainder of the day had been very quiet. The group had splintered off one by one, each heading back to their respective rooms, sans Celestia, who had to return to Canterlot, and sans Crystal who lived elsewhere in Ponyville anyway. Starlight was pretty sure Moondancer was the last one to leave, but she had been too tired to really know for sure. Although, given what she knew about Moondancer, it was a pretty likely possibility. “Oh, Starlight. I didn’t think you’d be up yet.” Pulling her gaze from the chalk-covered board, Starlight noticed Moondancer walking into the room with a mug ensnared by her magic. “Yeah,” Starlight replied. “I’ve always been an early riser. What about you?” “Same, though I usually wake up a little earlier than this,” Moondancer replied, sipping at her coffee. “Did you want any coffee? I just made a pot.” Starlight smiled but nonetheless shook her head. “No thanks, I’m not really much of a coffee drinker. I have to be in the mood for it.” “Ah, alright.” Moondancer glanced at the board. “Still trying to figure out went wrong?” Starlight shook her head. “Sort of. To be honest, I’m barely even registering what’s on the board right now. I’m still processing the past few days.” Moondancer nodded, understanding what her friend meant. “Ah, yeah, that makes sense...” she commented, trailing off a bit before taking another sip of her warm beverage. “...Have you heard any word on Twilight?” “Not really. Spike’s not awake yet, and I don’t really want to see her right now.” The response caused Moondancer to cock an eyebrow as she took another swig of her coffee. “You don’t want to face her right now?” “Is it really that surprising?” Starlight asked, her face falling. “After everything we did to try and help Sunset... it just doesn’t feel right to go see her without something to raise her spirits, y’know?” Moondancer hummed. “Yeah, that does make sense. But even still, someone should probably check on her.” “I know, but I’m still not sure what I’d even say to her,” Starlight remarked. Hanging her head, she continued, “I’m not exactly the best pony to ask when it comes to dealing with a loss of a friend. Last time I lost a friend, I kind of started a cult.” Moondancer rested a hoof on her friend’s withers. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not exactly the best with this sort of situation either. Last time I lost a friend, I just became a shut-in.” Starlight chuckled, bringing a hoof up to meet Moondancer’s. “Heh, I guess neither of us handle loss well... even if I handled it much worse than you did. Still, it’s nice to know that somepony else knows what it’s like losing a friend.” “I imagine a lot of ponies know the feeling. It’s just... some are better at handling it than others,” Moondancer said, a knowing, melancholic smile gracing her face. The sad grin was something that Starlight mirrored, happy that someone else understood how she was feeling. “And I think it’s safe to say we’re both pretty bad at it.” The two shared a chuckle before Moondancer freed her hoof from her friend’s withers. Smiling, the pair returned their attention to the chalkboard, opting to at least try and get something done before Spike woke up. That way, they could maybe offer some kind of good news to pass along to Twilight later. An hour passed by in the blink of an eye for the two of them as they talked out hypotheticals and offered theories as to what they could do next. Starlight found the whole process a lot easier to work through than what had been done for the past few days. At first, she thought it was because now that they didn’t have a time limit hovering over their heads; the lack of a ticking clock really did make it feel less stressful than it actually was. Eventually, however, she had found that the reason the process was less taxing was more due to who she was working with. Working with Moondancer alone on something brought her back to her time as a filly; working on various simple spells with Sunburst. As a foal, she had spent countless hours with him studying spells and coming up with fun little combinations. Said combinations weren’t anything special, or even that efficient when it came to practical application, but it was fun. It was something that had been missing from the spell crafting she did later in her life. It was relaxing, in a sort of nostalgic way. The sound of the library doors rushing open caused jolted the two from their work, bringing their attention to the source of the disturbance. They were met with the sight of Twilight, an expression on her face that had taken them aback. It wasn’t as though the two of them had never seen Twilight get mad. Through their various interactions with the Princess of Friendship over their collective lifetimes, the two had certainly witnessed Twilight upset. They had seen her annoyed with the way a book she was reading had ended, or when she had lost her cool when doing her job as the Element of Magic. This, however, was different than any of those experiences. Twilight seemed to be sparking with barely contained magical feedback. Her expression was empty, but her eyes spoke more with a single glance than any expression could. If there was ever a time the expression “if looks could kill” would ever fit the purple alicorn, it was in that very instant. “... Twilight?” Starlight managed to squeak out. “What are you doing here? You should be resting.” Twilight didn’t answer; she simply walked toward the mirror. Before she could set foot onto its base, she heard Starlight call out to her again. “Twilight, what are you doing?” Twilight turned to look at her former pupil, her expression blank. “They found her.” Before Starlight could ask what Twilight meant, her former teacher had disappeared into the glowing swirl of the portal’s surface. All words seemed to die in Starlight’s throat as Twilight’s words finally made sense to her. “...Oh,” Moondancer croaked. Starlight shot to her hooves. She stared at the face of the portal for a bit more as a dread crept and crawled down her spine. She shivered. Her imagination gave her several versions of what was about to happen, but they all had a common theme. And it was bad. She backpedaled a few steps toward the door now. “Starlight?” Moondancer asked. “Where are you going?” Starlight swallowed. “I’m going into town. I think I need to get help right now.” * * * Sitting in the chair in the Canterlot High staff room was something that Sci-Twi never really saw herself doing at her current age. It wasn’t as if she had never been in a staff room before, as she had gotten the privilege to eat with Cadance several times in the Crystal Prep staff room in the past. Unfortunately, this was far from the pleasant student-dean lunches she had enjoyed with her soon-to-be sister-in-law. As such, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. There was a thick tension in the air, and her ears felt like they were ringing. The pit forming in her stomach was making her wish she could be anywhere else but here. But she knew she had to be here; for Sunset’s sake. The past few days had been quite the ordeal. She had lost her memory of a person, only for that person to lose their memories of the past few years of their life. It was the kind of situation that Sci-Twi had read about in fantasy novels, but that could be said about a lot of stuff in her life after she learned about the existence of magic. The whole thing had really flipped the script on how she understood the world, but being the curious scientist she was, she took to it pretty quickly. Of course, that wasn’t why she felt as tense as she did. She had long gotten over the fact that magic did things that she, at one point, would have categorically denied the possibilities of. No, she was on edge because of one simple, yet important fact about her present situation. Wallflower Blush was sitting on a chair not two meters from her. The rush of emotions running through her at that moment had left Sci-Twi conflicted as to how to feel, so her body had more or less just settled on ‘extremely high strung;’ it was akin to the way she felt whenever she was forced to engage with Principal Cinch. Of course, this feeling was a lot more bittersweet with greater emphasis on bitter. On one hand, Sci-Twi knew what it was like to end up doing something horrible, and immediately regretting it once the dust had settled. Wallflower’s actions, while not directly paralleling her own, did seem almost pitiable. While Sci-Twi couldn’t pin down the girl’s motives as anything but ‘self-serving,’ she could at least understand part of it. It sucked feeling alone, which was something she herself could relate to. She was sure that if Sunset could remember her own, similar situation, then they likely would have forgiven her already. As Pinkie had pointed out after the magical mirror incident with Juniper Montage, they were a really forgiving bunch. However, she was also furious with Wallflower for what she had done. Sure, while Sci-Twi could find herself sympathizing with Wallflower, she also found herself wishing she could have her put in jail for murder. While she knew it was a little bit hyperbolic to think of someone being afflicted with retrograde amnesia as ‘murder,’ it didn’t stop her from thinking that she had watched Sunset Shimmer die that day. And the one that had held the hypothetical pipe in the foyer (or in this case, magical stone in the parking lot) that day was within walking distance from her. Clearing her head with a shake, she turned to look at Sunset, who was sitting in her own chair with the Journal on her lap and a fountain pen in her hand. She seemed to be unsure as to what to do, or at least that’s the impression her expression gave. Sunset was absentmindedly flicking her pen back and forth, clearly anxious. She had written something in the Journal a few minutes ago. “Anything yet?” Sci-Twi asked. Sunset jumped in her chair, nearly causing the open book resting on her thighs to fall to the floor. It seemed like it took Sunset a minute to register who had broken the silence. “No, not yet.” “Ugh, seriously?” Rainbow Dash groaned, earning a glare from Applejack. “She’s, like, the Princess of Punctuality! How is she not here yet?” “Well, hold yer horses, Rainbow.” Applejack answers. “You saw the way she was when she left. She probably took it the hardest outta all of us.” “Well, yeah, but still...” Rainbow muttered, hanging her head. Sunset frowned and looked down at the journal. “She might not show up. I was there for most of the time she spent trying to fix the Memory Stone; she barely slept at all, so she must be extremely tired.” “If that’s the case, perhaps it would be best to proceed without her?” Vice-Principal Luna asked, looking to the clock. “Time is short, and you all have classes to attend.” “As much as I’m sure we appreciate the sentiment, Vice-Principal Luna, I think I speak for all of us when I say we wouldn’t be able to focus on our classes.” Rarity replied, smiling sadly. “It wouldn’t be fair to Princess Twilight to not include her in this.” Principal Celestia nods in agreement with a small smile. “My thoughts exactly, Rarity. Of course, there’s also the more... pragmatic reason for waiting for the Princess.” “Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, sitting up in her seat. “Is it because we’re dealing with something caused by an ancient Equestrian artifact, and Princess Twilight is a princess over there?” “That’s precisely the reason.” Principal Celestia replied. “While I’m not sure if her world has any laws regarding this sort of situation, it’s better to be safe and have her present, just in case.” “Yeah! The last thing we need is to start an interdimensional war with talking magic ponies over this…” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Although that does sound kinda awesome.” Fluttershy shook her head and frowned. “Oh, no, I don’t think that sounds awesome at all.” “C’mon Fluttershy, doesn’t this sound like one of your weird overseas cartoons or something?” Rainbow asked, nudging Fluttershy with her elbow. “I thought you liked that sort of stuff.” “I don’t like action anime...” Before Rainbow can offer any kind of rebuttal, the door to the room all but slams open. Sci-Twi nearly jumped out of her chair, but she managed to catch herself before turning to the source of the sound. Standing in the doorway was a figure akin to the one she saw in the mirror every morning. The girl was her double in more or less every way, save for a few small differences like hairstyle and the lack of glasses. Princess Twilight had arrived. But something was off about her. In the few times that the two Twilights shared each other’s company, the pony princess had an air of kindness, understanding, and whether she intended to or not, royalty. She was the Princess of Friendship after all, so it was to be expected that she had that kind of presence about her. Right now, however, the Princess’s normally warm and inviting aura was missing. To anybody but Sci-Twi, Princess Twilight probably looked about as normal as she usually was, if a little annoyed at something. For Sci-Twi though, the little things stuck out like a blister on an otherwise perfect complexion. She could only surmise it was because they were, at least on some metaphysical, multiversal level, the same person, and as such, had similar ticks and quirks. From the minute she laid her eyes on her double, Sci-Twi picked up on a number of small things. The way her eyes ever-so-slightly seemed to twitch, and how her lips creased into a very hard to notice scowl were the most apparent. Even the small difference in the way she clenched her fists conveyed how she was feeling, despite it being more like how Sunset’s hands clenched when she was upset, didn’t make it past her. Princess Twilight was peeved. Extremely peeved at that. “Hey, Twilight, you made it,” Sunset said, snapping Sci-Twi away from her frustrated parallel world counterpart. Sunset’s expression held a tiny, and quite sad, smile. “I didn’t think you got my message.” “Where is she?” When the words had left Princess Twilight’s mouth, Sci-Twi felt a chill run up her spine. There was no warmth in her words, no hints of the usual self present. “Where is Wallflower Blush?” The only thing Sci-Twi could feel in the princess’ words... was cold, bitter contempt. As if in answer, the sound of someone falling off their chair all but yanked everyone’s attention away from the Equestrian visitor. Wallflower Blush’s eyes were wide in disbelief. She seemed to have muttered something under her breath, but Sci-Twi couldn’t make out what it was. She could only assume it was something to the effect of ‘what the heck is going on?’ The next thing she knew, though, Sci-Twi felt something stir within her. It wasn’t an alien sensation; in fact, it was something that had more or less become normal in the past several months. It was something that she had once been afraid of, due to how she had first experienced it. Her geode magic was active. Looking down at her geode, she saw it giving off a dim glow. This meant it was obviously channeling magic, though in a way that was different than how it usually worked. The feeling was very different than it usually was. Normally, when the geode’s power was active, it felt like an extension of herself; like a phantom limb that allowed her to do the impossible feats that her magic afforded her. Given that her magic was more or less a form of telekinesis, it required a decent amount of concentration to use effectively, so it was always very apparent when the magic was flowing through her. This time, however, the sense of flow was off. Like it was just flowing past her, instead of going through her like it usually did. She could still feel her geode’s magic grabbing something, but it was oddly distant. The sense of detachment from her powers made panic shoot through her mind at Rainbow Dash-like speed, and she focused as hard as she could on the direction of the flow. While her senses weren’t as sharp as, say, something who had been using magic for most of their lives, like Sunset, she could at least pinpoint the direction of where it was going. Her eyes snapped to her double, and Sci-Twi saw something that made her blood run cold: Princess Twilight’s eyes had flashed a color that was all too familiar to the eyes she often saw in her nightmares. For that brief moment, which only seemed to last for a fraction of a second, her Equestrian counterpart’s eyes were the same as the part of herself that Sci-Twi hated. They were the eyes of Midnight Sparkle. The burning anger those eyes held in that instant was something she hadn’t felt in months; the fear of the monster living within. But instead of being a figment of her nightmares, it was here, physically staring her in the face. “Twilight?” Fluttershy called out, her voice filled with concern. She wasn’t quite sure if Fluttershy was calling out of her or her peeved reflection. It didn’t take long to figure out who she was reaching out to, as she had quite literally reached out and placed a supportive hand on Sci-Twi’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” Glancing over at Fluttershy, she gave a hesitant nod and smiled as best she could. “I’m fine...” “Princess Twilight, we’ve been expecting you.” Vice-Principal Luna greeted. “You didn’t write back, so we had begun to worry you wouldn’t show.” “Sorry, I just wanted to get here as soon as possible.” The words rang somewhat hollow in the ears of Sci-Twi, but she didn’t think it’d be wise to call out the Princess of Friendship; the last thing she wanted was to have the other Twilight’s frustration redirected at her. “It’s okay Princess, please take a seat so we may get started,” Celestia says, a hand casually gesturing toward the seat across from her. Twilight wordlessly took her seat, her eyes pulling themselves away from the target of her ire, and softening slightly as she adjusted her skirt. “Now, shall we begin this meeting?” Everyone nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, Sci-Twi could see Rainbow struggling to not let out a cry of relief. “First thing’s first, I would like to ask if there has been any headway made on any alternative efforts on repairing the damage done to Sunset Shimmer’s memories?” Vice Principal Luna asked. “I understand it has only been a short time, but you have shown to be ever resourceful in situations like this, Princess.” “I’m not sure,” Twilight replied, frowning. Her voice, while still somewhat distant, still carried with it a sense of weariness. “Everyone who helped with the Memory Stone’s repairs, including Princess Celestia, told me to get some rest shortly after I got back.” “Ah, I see,” Luna hummed. “You did look quite tired when you arrived the other day with the stone. If your world’s Celestia is anything like my sister, then she would certainly all but force you to rest.” Celestia chuckled. “That certainly does sound like me. I would like to meet my royal counterpart... but that can wait until another time.” “I’m sure it could be arranged.” Twilight nodded. “But you’re right, this isn’t the time for that. We have much more...” she paused and directed her gaze back at Wallflower Blush who was trying to be as un-noticeable as her namesake, “... pressing matters to deal with.” “Indeed, we do,” Luna affirmed. “So, I have a question,” Rainbow started, looking around at the others. “Not that I don’t want to be here, but do we need to be here? I mean, this is about figuring out how you’re gonna punish Wallflower, right? Why do we need to be here for this?” “Well,” Celestia hummed with a thoughtful expression. “You are all directly involved in this incident, and given the... special circumstances surrounding it, Vice-Principal Luna and I feel it necessary.” “So... does this mean we’re gonna have say in how she is gonna get punished?” Rainbow asked. “Cause while I do like the sound of that, I don’t think you’d wanna hear what I have in mind.” Sci-Twi couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are we here to help paint a better picture of what happened?” “No, we have a pretty good idea in regards to what transpired,” Luna replied. “We simply wish for you to be here because it involves magic.” “We also want to help devise a system to help prevent things like this from happening again,” Celestia added. “Luna and I know that the seven of you are the only ones capable of outright stopping magic, and we can no longer ignore the risks it poses to the students. Especially so given the school’s proximity to a portal.” Sci-Twi nodded. “We’re here to help come up with ways to prevent similar incidents, right?” “That’s correct.” “Seems a little late for that...” Rainbow scoffed. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity yelled. “What? I’m just saying, we should have done something about this sooner.” “She does have a point,” Applejack said, reaffirming Rainbow’s stance. “This is the fifth magic-based crisis our school has had to deal with. Why the heck’ve we not had this conversation already?” Celestia sighed, a somber smile forming on her lips. “The two of us have discussed this during staff meetings. But those conversations tend to not go anywhere. The topic of ‘magic’ tends to be very divisive amongst the other faculty members.” Vice-Principal Luna nodded. “Indeed, but in any case, we can continue this part of the conversation after we address the main reason why we’re here.” “Wallflower Blush,” Twilight said, her voice returning to its previously cold tone. Sci-Twi watched as the previously mentioned girl sunk deeper into her seat, still trying desperately to appear as invisible as possible. She watched the girl freeze in place when Sci-Twi’s royal counterpart’s glare met hers. If she hadn’t known any better, she’d assume the world that Twilight came from was inhabited by gorgons, or at the very least, cockatrices. She made a mental note to ask Sunset about the existence of such creatures should the opportunity present itself. “Yes, which brings us to why we asked Sunset Shimmer to summon you,” Celestia said, clearing her throat a little before continuing. “We want to know if there are any laws in your world about foreign lands being affected by your magic or relics.” “You didn’t ask Sunset?” Twilight asked, not taking her eyes off Wallflower. Sci-Twi couldn’t help but notice the uncharacteristic rudeness of her double. “She should be well versed on the laws of Equestria, given that she was a student of Princess of Celestia.” “They did, but because I haven’t been there in several years for longer than a few days, I wasn’t sure if anything had changed on that front,” Sunset replied. “The only new things I know right now are what you and Princess Celestia have told me, and that wasn’t a lot.” “While we understand that only a few years of difference between what Sunset knows and the present is likely very small, we don’t want to step on the toes of another nation,” Luna said before pausing to drink from her coffee cup. “How laws are governed varies from nation to nation, let alone between different worlds.” Twilight shook her head. “There have only been a few laws that have been introduced in recent times, but none of them say anything about foreign countries per say. They’re more based around my duties as the Princess of Friendship. The most these laws really do is make it so my friends and I can do our jobs.” “And of the laws that existed prior to the most recent changes?” Luna asks. “There aren’t any laws that can apply to parallel worlds, due to the specific phrasing. Even then, laws of that nature tend to be based around treaties signed. Equestria isn’t really the type of country to claim authority over foreign issues, unless it is a threat to their security. And to be blunt,” Twilight said, turning to Wallflower now, “you should be incredibly grateful for that fact.” Wallflower shuddered. “W-why… should I be grateful?” A crooked grin spread onto Twilight’s face as she now turned to face Wallflower fully. “Let me tell you something about Equestria, Wallflower Blush. There are many powerful creatures over there, the likes of which you could never hope of facing. And we Equestrians… we like to practice a doctrine of peace and friendship. So… I am fine with allowing chaos gods to roam freely among us, I am fine with breaking bread with a race of shapeshifters who invaded our country not too long ago, and I am fine with making friends with a pony who would try to erase my friendships by going through time.” Wallflower swallowed. Twilight’s hands balled into fists and she rose to her feet. “But you?” Her voice was shaking now. “If I had my way, you would be left to rot in a cell next to the monsters of Tartarus for the rest of your days,” she said, her voice coated in a thick layer of venom. “If you had been in Equestria when you stole Sunset’s memory, I would have made sure you regretted being born.” The room went silent as looks of surprise and horror melted their way through all other emotions on the faces of those present. Nobody could say anything to that. Sci-Twi watched as Twilight stood up and walked the short distance between herself and the object of her contempt. Panic filled Sci-Twi as she felt the magic drain from her, her geode glowing in a more obvious way than before. The color of its light, however, wasn’t that of a gem shining brilliantly in the light. It was instead glowing in a way similar to that of the eyes of her dark side. Air seemed to not enter her lungs as she saw Twilight’s eyes take on that teal hue she feared seeing in the worst of her nightmares. It was then that she realized that it wasn’t just her geode that was active. The other five girls that still held geodes seemed to lose all their energy, looking as though they had run a marathon. Their geodes shone a dull teal light, and it was clear what was happening. Twilight didn’t move her arms, or even so much as a finger as the magic that flowed through her found its target. The energy of the magic sparked through the air, causing the two elders in the room to take several measured steps back. Wallflower’s eyes couldn’t help but stare into the glow of the eyes that reached their way into her soul. Her throat refused to let out a scream of any kind. “Of course,” Twilight said, her tone now somewhat otherworldly, “that isn’t stopping me from dragging you there myself.” With those words, the magic flowing through the geodes sparked, and a dull, magenta light appeared around the princess’ hands. They didn’t move, but Sci-Twi knew exactly what was happening. It was obvious, given both the color of the light, and the fact that she had seen something similar whilst in Equestria shortly after this had all started. Princess Twilight was intending to use her magic to drag Wallflower back to Equestria with her. Sure enough, Wallflower’s clothes were ensnared by the grip of the spell that Sci-Twi knew all too well. The girl couldn’t help but kick the air in her panic, but it was met with her legs being stopped. The grip of her clothes kept her from moving, and Twilight simply smiled. Sci-Twi was at a loss, not sure what to do as the energy seemed to leave her body. And that was when the doorway suddenly flew open and two figures raced into the room. Starlight Glimmer, the first of them, let her eyes go wide. “Oh my goodness!” The second, an unfamiliar woman in a business suit with a scar over one eye, observed the scene and then let her eyes narrow. “Twilight! Stop!” “Sunset!” Starlight cried. “Grab her!” Sunset shot to her feet and even started scooting around the table toward Twilight. “Twilight, stop! Please!” A loud cracking sound filled the room, followed by silence. Sci-Twi felt like she got hit in the gut, all the air in her lungs pouring out. The sound of several small objects hitting the floor marked the end of the brief period of silence. Her entire body felt numb, but she was able to look to where her double had been standing as Wallflower fell to the floor with a thud. A second thud followed, which lead into the sounds of someone sobbing. On the floor, two feet from where Wallflower lay, struggling to catch her breath, were two girls on their knees. Twilight sat on her knees, crying as she leaned into Sunset, who was holding her. That was the last thing Sci-Twi saw before consciousness began to slip from her grasp.