Chapter 2
Return to Equestria
Sunset had quickly returned to her hotel room, changed back into her new standard outfit, and headed out into the hallway with her satchel slung over her right shoulder, making sure to leave her magic journal behind so the interdimensional portal to Equestria could remain open. Using the Jump-Gate return device she had “borrowed” from Twilight, she intended to make the long journey to that portal in only a matter of seconds. However, due to the limitations of the Jump-Gate system, she would first have to travel to a place that actually had a Jump-Gate set up, and then from there would she be able to access the interdimensional portal’s location.
Sunset decided to have the return device take her to the region of Ninjago City, since it was practically on the other side of the planet, meaning that it was currently the middle of night there and thus there would unlikely be anyone to notice her brief visit. She still wasn’t yet sure if what had affected the memories of her friends had also affected anyone else in the Lego World, but considering her past life as one of the most wanted criminals in the world, she didn’t want to take any chances.
Sunset opened a Jump-Gate doorway in the hallway and stepped through the large doorway into the Ninjago Region’s LEGO Team Headquarters. Just as she had hoped, the room where the Jump-Gate was located was currently dark with no one around. Not wasting any time, she entered the coordinates of City Park in Canterlot City into the console beside the gate and hit the green activation button. The gateway back to the hotel closed, the machine made its usual low whooshing noise, and the gate reopened to reveal the large park in the middle of Canterlot City. She quickly stepped through, and seconds later, the gateway closed and vanished behind her.
As Sunset walked over to the empty pedestal that held the interdimensional portal to Equestria, she glanced around and was relieved to see virtually no one around to witness her movement. Whatever hesitation she had about passing beyond this point, it was more than overcome with her determination to save her friends from whatever had happened to them. She pressed her hand against the mirror-like side of the pedestal, and once her hand passed through the now shimmering surface, she immediately stepped through the rest of the way. Once again, she saw nothing but a bright swirl of all the colors of the rainbow as she was pulled around the vortex, her body being stretched and twisted out of shape.
On the other side of the interdimensional portal, Princess Twilight Sparkle waited beside the Crystal Mirror inside her castle. As soon as she had received the latest response from Sunset, she had gone over to the hidden room where the portal to the Lego World was held, opened the secret door, and activated the contraption to force the portal open. Although Sunset had promised to arrive as soon as possible, there was no telling how long that could actually take, especially considering that she was currently in a completely different city than the one where the portal on her side was located.
Twilight was pleasantly surprised when, after waiting for only a few minutes, the mirror’s surface suddenly flashed brightly, which she knew signaled the arrival of someone through that portal. Sure enough, once the bright glare faded, she grinned when she saw standing in front of her was a unicorn with an amber coat, a wavy mane and tail of faded red and yellow, and a Cutie Mark of a half red and half yellow sun.
Sunset Shimmer had returned to Equestria.
Sunset, standing on only her hind legs, turned away from the mirror and smiled as she saw that, unlike last time, Princess Twilight was actually there to greet her. “Twilight!” greeted Sunset happily, only to suddenly start wobbling around as she attempted to take a step forward.
“Sunset?” asked Twilight with concern as Sunset lost her balance and soon fell forward. Fortunately, Twilight was there to catch her and prevent her from hitting the floor.
As Twilight helped her up into the proper four-legged stance, Sunset laughed nervously and said, “Sorry. I was trying to hug you. Kinda forgot how to do it as a pony.” After a light chuckle, she and Twilight hugged each other with a single foreleg.
After breaking the hug, Twilight’s smile fell as she asked, “So what’s been happening?”
Sunset sighed sadly and explained, “As far as I know, everything was perfectly fine when I went to bed last night. I kinda slept in this morning, so I didn’t really get a chance to see any of my friends until I got out onto the beach. But when I went over to meet them, they were just hostile to me, as if I was one of their greatest enemies! I used my magical geode powers to look into some of their memories, and the ones where I know for a fact that I’m there… I’m just completely missing… as if I was somehow erased from existence. Well, I guess I haven’t been completely erased, since they still recognized me, but it’s like they’ve completely forgotten everything about me over the past year, about how I’m now a much better person who happens to be best friends with all of them. Even Twilight can’t remember anything good about me, and seems to only know me from her final days as a Shadowbolt agent, when she and I were practically fighting on opposite sides.”
Once Sunset finished speaking, Twilight used her magic to shut off the contraption powering the portal through the Crystal Mirror. “Follow me, Sunset,” she said as she began to walk out of the room.
“You actually know what’s going on?” asked Sunset with hope as she followed Twilight out into the hallway.
“Not quite…” admitted Twilight. Once they were both out in the hallway, Twilight tapped her hoof twice on a thick black line on the floor, triggering the room’s secret door to close. They both watched as the stone blocks shifted around, grinding against each other as they reformed themselves into a seemingly plain wall with no indication there was a room hidden behind it.
Twilight turned left and began walking down the hallway, with Sunset following right behind. “This is bad, Sunset,” continued Twilight worriedly. “It’s way beyond anything I’ve ever heard of. Although…”
“Although, what?” asked Sunset.
“I’ve just had an idea,” replied Twilight hesitantly as she stopped and turned to face Sunset. “But you might not like it.”
Sunset stopped in front of Twilight and pleaded, “I’ll do anything to get my friends back, Twilight.”
Twilight hesitated for a moment before she said, “There is one pony who might be able to help, but I don’t know if you two wanna see each other…”
“Who?” asked Sunset desperately. She tried to think of any possible pony who could possess knowledge that even Twilight lacked, yet might also not be interested in seeing her, nor somepony she would want to see either. It didn’t take long for her to realize there was only one pony in all of Equestria who could fit such a description, and her expression immediately fell. “Oh… right…” she muttered sadly.
“Are you really sure you wanna talk to her?” asked Twilight with concern. “I could just go myself and speak on your behalf, if that would make you feel better.”
Sunset sighed and replied, “Well, I did say I’d do anything to get my friends back… Might as well put my money where my mouth is.” She began walking forward as she continued, “Besides, I’ve been putting this off for too long. I guess I’ll just get it over with while I have an excuse to do so.”
Twilight walked beside Sunset and said, “You don’t have to do this alone. I’ll go with you to Canterlot and support you the whole way.”
Sunset smiled and said, “Thanks, Twilight. It’s good to know that, even after a big mess like this, I can still count on you to be there for me.”
The two mares walked in silence for a few seconds before Twilight spoke up, “By the way, what’s that thing on your foreleg?”
Sunset glanced down and noticed that she was still wearing the Jump-Gate return device, albeit slightly differently shaped to fit on her foreleg. “Oh! That’s a return device used for the Jump-Gate system,” replied Sunset as she stopped walking and held up her foreleg. “It’s how I was able to reach the interdimensional portal so quickly after I wrote you that message.”
“Fascinating…” muttered Twilight in awe as she looked closely at the device. Thanks to the journal entries she had exchanged with Sunset, she was well aware about how her counterpart in the Lego World had created numerous inventions — the most prominent of which being the Jump-Gate, which essentially could open a doorway to virtually any location in the universe to provide instantaneous travel across vast distances. Even for an alicorn like herself who could easily teleport anywhere, the concept of such a machine really intrigued her.
“I doubt I could give you a demonstration, since there aren’t exactly any Jump-Gates on this side of the portal,” noted Sunset with a smirk as she used her unicorn magic to levitate the device off her leg and into her bag — formerly a satchel, but now a saddlebag. “Besides,” she added reluctantly, “I kinda had to borrow it from the other Twilight without her permission. Normally, I wouldn’t do such a thing to one of my best friends, but…”
“Emergency circumstances,” finished Twilight with a nod of understanding as she and Sunset resumed walking.
It wasn’t long until they reached the main entrance to Twilight’s castle and stepped outside. By the time Twilight reached the bottom of the front steps, she realized Sunset was no longer walking beside her, so she glanced back and saw her standing at the top of the steps, staring up at the sky. “Sunset?” asked Twilight.
Sunset shook her head and glanced down at Twilight. As she proceeded down the steps, she responded, “Sorry. It’s just that… the last time I ever saw that particular sun in the sky… I was still Princess Celestia’s personal student.”
“Is that really true?” asked Twilight as she and Sunset resumed walking side by side.
Sunset nodded and continued, “Both of my previous visits to Equestria were brief, and I never even set hoof outdoors. And prior to that, during my final days as Princess Celestia’s personal student, I had become so obsessed with the Crystal Mirror that the vast majority of my time was spent on studying restricted documents in an effort to understand everything I could about it.” She became increasingly saddened as she continued, “When she found out about my ambitions and had me expelled from her castle, some guards were supposed to escort me out, but… we never even got close to the main door before I resisted them and jumped through the mirror.” She sighed sadly. “I don’t think I can even recall the last time when I really did experience the light and warmth of Celestia’s sun.”
As a gesture of assurance, Twilight unfurled one of her wings and let it rest on Sunset’s back. Sunset looked up at Twilight and saw the smile on her face, so she smiled back. Nothing needed to be said between them in this moment, for they both knew they would always have each other’s support.
After a train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot, Sunset and Princess Twilight walked over to Canterlot Castle. For Sunset, entering that castle for the first time in years was a bittersweet moment. She had spent many years of her early life inside this castle, and when she had last been here, she was a very different pony from who she was now. In fact, the arrogant pony she when she left this castle was the same person that her friends back in the Lego World now believed she still was, and that little reminder was what she needed to summon the courage for what she was about to face next.
While Twilight spoke briefly with the guards to confirm that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were available to speak with, Sunset noticed a sign posted on the throne room doors which stated that major renovations would begin sometime next week. As soon as Twilight finished speaking with the guards, Sunset pointed up at the sign as she turned to Twilight and asked, “Renovations?”
“It’s been a couple years since Princess Luna returned,” explained Twilight, “but as I’m sure you recall, the throne room has just the one throne for Celestia. Among other ways this room is due to be redecorated, the most significant change will be that there will be two thrones, side by side for both princesses. Needless to say, this project has been long overdue, but it’ll soon be finally underway. If all goes according to schedule, this remodeling effort should be completed in time for the first ever Friendship Festival.”
“Friendship Festival?” asked Sunset.
“It’s going to be a new national holiday that will be held in honor of me, the Princess of Friendship,” replied Twilight. “I’m still trying to plan out how we would celebrate it. The input I’ve received from my friends has helped, but it’s still a huge responsibility.”
“I’m sure everything will turn out fine,” assured Sunset. “I mean, it’s not like some new mighty force of evil is suddenly gonna show up on that particular day.”
Twilight and Sunset shared a brief giggle at that remark. They then turned their attention ahead towards the doors.
“Well… now or never,” mumbled Sunset.
Twilight used her magic to open the doors, then she and Sunset walked side by side into the throne room. Sunset glanced at Twilight with a worried expression, so Twilight glanced back with an uneasy smile.
At the other end of the room, Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, with Princess Luna standing to her left. Both of them stared down at their visitors with serious looks on their faces. Neither of them spoke a word as Celestia stood up and spread out her wings.
As the two smaller mares continued walking forward, Sunset couldn’t help but lower her head in shame. Finally, they stopped just before the ramp leading up to the throne. While Sunset kept her head down, Twilight grinned awkwardly as the Princesses of the Sun and Moon continued to silently stare down at them.
The uncomfortable silence lasted for almost a full minute before Twilight decided to break the ice. “Sooo, Princess Celestia…” she began awkwardly with a nervous laugh. “You’ll never guess who’s back! Actually, maybe you can guess, ‘cause she’s right here. But, um…”
Celestia’s stern expression remained completely unchanged.
After another awkward silence, Twilight leaned close to Sunset and whispered, “Am I helping?”
Sunset chose not to respond. This was her own past she was facing, so she knew she had to confront it herself. She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then raised her head and stepped forward as she spoke up, “Princess Celestia, the last time we saw each other, I was your snide little pupil who betrayed and abandoned you.”
Twilight quickly leaned close to Sunset and nervously whispered, “I wouldn’t have said it that way.” She then cleared her throat and spoke up, “What Sunset means to say is—”
Sunset held out her foreleg to cut off Twilight, then continued, “I mean that I come before you as a changed pony, humbly asking for forgiveness, guidance, and knowledge.”
After another moment of tense silence, Celestia brought her wings back down to her sides and walked down to ramp to stand directly in front of Sunset, but not once did her facial expression change.
As she stared up at Princess Celestia, Sunset began to lose what little confidence she had. She slowly began to back off and lowered her head again as she muttered, “Or… I can just go, and… you never have to see me again.”
Princess Celestia placed her hoof under Sunset’s chin and gently lifted her head so they could look each other in the eye. Finally, Celestia smiled and calmly said, “I’ve missed you, Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset was momentarily left speechless, astonished that after all the hurt feelings between them, Celestia had chosen to simply forgive her on the spot. It finally occurred to her that Celestia had been not only just as hurt and angered as she was, but also shared her willingness to put the past behind them and mend their old bond of friendship. That thought made Sunset smile in genuine happiness in front of Princess Celestia for the first time in years. With tears in her eyes and sadness in her voice, she quietly said, “I… I’m so sorry…”
Princess Celestia wrapped a foreleg around Sunset’s neck and pulled her into a hug, which Sunset gladly returned. Once they broke their hug, Sunset stepped back and wiped away her tears, keeping her smile up at Celestia.
Behind Sunset, Twilight was so excited to see Sunset and Princess Celestia finally reconcile after so many years that she couldn’t help but grin widely and let out a quiet squeal.
With the tender moment between mentor and former student seemingly over, Princess Luna decided to walk down the ramp to join with the other ponies.
Sunset glanced over at the dark blue alicorn and asked, “Princess Luna, I presume?”
“Indeed,” confirmed Luna with a nod. Because Sunset had left Equestria a few years before Luna had returned from her thousand-year exile, this was the very first time they had met each other. “Celestia has told me much about you, Sunset Shimmer. Truthfully, I feel a kinship with you, for we both know what it is like to betray Celestia and later come to regret our misguided actions.”
“Twilight told me all about Nightmare Moon a while ago,” said Sunset, referring to the evil alter-ego that once possessed Luna. She chuckled and remarked, “Now that you mention it, I guess we really do understand each other better than most ponies.”
“The road to redemption is never an easy one,” noted Luna wisely, “but with the right friends by your side along the way, you’ll realize that reaching the destination ahead of you is more than worth the effort.” As she spoke the last part, she looked to Celestia with a smile, who looked back at her with a smile of her own.
“Can’t argue with that,” remarked Sunset. “My friends sure played a huge part in helping me become a much better pony.” Her smile fell as she added, “Speaking of my friends… they’re kind of the reason why I came back to Equestria.”
“Has something happened to them?” asked Celestia as she and Luna turned to Sunset with their expressions growing slightly worried.
“I honestly don’t know,” replied Sunset with uncertainty.
“Walk with us,” said Celestia as she and Luna stepped past Sunset and Twilight towards the doors out of the throne room. “You can explain everything to us along the way.”
Sunset nodded in agreement before she and Twilight caught up to them and started walking alongside them.
By the time Sunset had finished explaining her situation to the princesses, the four ponies were walking through a corridor that was lined with lavender flowers hanging from the scones between each of the windows. Sunset didn’t recall ever seeing this corridor decorated in such a way, so she assumed this was probably the work of Princess Luna. As curious as she was to ask about that, she knew she currently had more important issues that needed to be resolved.
“I am not familiar with the exact spell that could have erased your friends’ memories,” said Celestia with concern, “but it sounds like Equestrian magic is at work in your world.”
“Hmm, indeed,” pondered Luna. “The toilings of this nefarious enchantment could portend unimaginable catastrophe if left unchecked.”
As Luna spoke, Sunset increasingly struggled to not burst out laughing. The noise of her stifled giggles didn’t go unnoticed by Twilight walking beside her, so she responded by slapping her wing against Sunset’s face, the noise of which caught the attention of both Luna and Celestia.
“Sorry,” apologized Sunset with a smile as she briefly rubbed the sore spot on her cheek. She then explained, “It’s just that I’m more familiar with your counterpart in the Lego World, and I never expected to hear your voice speaking in such an archaic way that I’d normally expect to hear in the Castle Region. The other Luna works mostly in the Space Region, talking more about things like aliens and laser and spaceships…”
Princess Luna raised an eyebrow, but maintained her frown and didn’t say anything.
“Of course you’re not familiar with any of that,” muttered Sunset as she rolled her eyes. She kept her smile as she continued, “Then again, I couldn’t believe just how excited she was when she was granted partial control over the Super Secret Police, especially when she got to ride around in one of those dropships they use.”
“This ‘Super Secret Police’ you speak of sounds like quite the formidable military force,” responded Luna with a tone of seriousness.
“Well, they are a bunch of robots, so it really depends on who’s in charge of them,” remarked Sunset dismissively. “Anyway, back on topic…” She turned to Princess Celestia and asked, “Do you know where we could find out what kind of Equestrian magic might’ve affected my friends?”
Celestia nodded and replied, “The answers you seek are in the Canterlot Library.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Twilight excitedly. “Let’s go!”
Sunset chuckled and playfully asked, “You’re just excited to be visiting the library, aren’t you?”
“What? No! Of course not!” Twilight quickly defended. When Sunset kept her look of amusement focused on her, she conceded, “Okay, maybe a little.”
Sunset giggled and muttered, “Somehow, I feel like that will soon prove to be a huge understatement.”
Although she wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about libraries as Twilight was, Sunset remembered visiting Canterlot Library numerous times back when she was Princess Celestia’s personal student, so she couldn’t help but feel yet another sense of nostalgia as she followed Celestia, Luna, and Twilight up the steps towards the main doors into the library.
At the top of the steps, the four ponies passed by a royal guard who was posted at the front door. While the first three payed him almost no attention as they walked by, Sunset suddenly stopped and glanced over at him. Beneath his golden royal guard armor, this pegasus had a light orange coat and a medium blue mane and tail.
“Sunset?” asked Twilight as she stood in front of the opened door and looked back at Sunset.
Sunset shook her head and followed Twilight to the library doors as she replied, “Sorry. It’s just… that guard right there somehow looked very familiar…”
Twilight glanced back at the guard outside and quietly remarked, “Huh… looks like Flash Sentry got reassigned.”
Sunset did a double-take at the guard in question, then quickly turned back to Twilight and quietly asked, “That’s Flash Sentry?”
“Equestria’s Flash Sentry, yes,” confirmed Twilight as she turned away and walked into the library.
“Huh…” mumbled Sunset as she took one last glance at the guard — motionless and expressionless as ever — then followed Twilight inside and closed the door.
The four mares walked into the main room of the library, which was a massive circular room lined with bookshelves that were packed full of books on all three floors, topped off with a glass dome high above. There were a few ponies browsing the shelves or reading a book while seated at one of the tables on the main floor in the middle.
“There’s over a million books in here…” muttered Sunset, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the building.
“I wish!” remarked Twilight excitedly. She turned to Sunset and proudly added, “But don’t worry. You’re looking at somepony who knows this place like the back of her hoof.”
Sunset responded with only a smile as she rolled her eyes. It then suddenly occurred to her that she and Twilight were standing alone. She glanced around for any sign of Princesses Celestia and Luna and once she looked just past Twilight, she noticed them walking away.
Twilight followed Sunset’s gaze over her shoulder and asked, “Where are you going, Princess Celestia?”
“To the restricted section,” answered Celestia as she and Luna continued walking towards the back of the library.
Twilight was momentarily frozen in shock before shakily spoke, “There’s a… a re… a re… a re…” her panting became increasingly labored as she struggled to get the next syllable out.
“Breathe, Twilight,” remarked Sunset with a smile as she rubbed Twilight’s side.
Twilight finally took a deep breath and nodded before she and Sunset followed after Celestia and Luna. They soon arrived at a small alcove, where among various other books were two in particular right next to each other — one was yellow with Celestia’s Cutie Mark on the spine and the other was blue with Luna’s Cutie Mark on the spine. Celestia and Luna used their magic on their respective books to tip them off the shelf, triggering the entire bookshelf to slide upwards, revealing a secret passage.
While Sunset looked mildly impressed, Twilight had gone stiff and her jaw was practically on the floor. With an amused smiled on her face, Sunset placed her hoof under Twilight’s jaw and closed her gaping mouth. As Sunset walked ahead behind Celestia and Luna, Twilight was shaken out of her stupor and immediately followed after the others.
The four ponies walked down the secret passage, lit only by torches mounted on the walls. Uncertain about how far the passage went, Sunset decided to pass the time with a little idle conversation with Twilight. “So, Twilight…” began Sunset. “About that guard outside…”
“What about him?” asked Twilight.
“C’mon, Twilight,” continued Sunset slyly, “it was hard not to see how much you liked his counterpart in the Lego World. So tell me, have you considered having a better chance with the one here in Equestria?”
“Well…” began Twilight hesitantly. “I have given it some thought — mostly because Cadance wouldn’t stop pestering me about it.”
Sunset giggled and muttered, “No surprises there.”
“But yes,” continued Twilight, “we did eventually give it a try, but… I just never felt that spark I had felt for his Lego counterpart. Not to mention, he also didn’t quite have that spark for me either, so we both agreed to just go our separate ways.”
“Well, in any case, I’m glad both of you were okay with how things turned out,” said Sunset.
“Believe me, Cadance was quite upset when she found out,” remarked Twilight with a giggle, “but she got over it soon enough. At the very least, Flash and I are still on quite friendly terms, so every now and then, we might bump into each other and have a little friendly chat, but not much more than that.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Sunset. “Be sure to let me know if you ever meet a stallion named Timber Spruce.”
“Why?” asked Twilight in confusion.
Sunset just giggled and dismissively remarked, “Oh, no reason.”
It wasn’t much longer before the four ponies finally reached the end of the corridor, marked with a giant pair of double doors. Celestia and Luna used their magic to push the doors open, then walked through the doorway, followed closely by Sunset and Twilight.
Canterlot Library’s restricted section was built into a massive underground cavern. Much of the cavern’s floor was surrounded by a stone structure that provided a second level, with most of the bookshelves carved right into the cavern walls. There was a single large table in the middle of the room, and the cavern was illuminated by a large fire inside the hearth at the opposite side of the room from the entrance.
As Celestia and Luna walked off in opposite directions, Sunset and Twilight stopped just past the doorway, both of them looking around the room in awe.
Twilight let out a prolonged gasp before she excitedly squealed, “Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh! So many books, all unread! Ancient historical artifacts!” She magically grasped a few random books and levitated them towards her as she gasped and continued, “I just…! I thought…! I can’t…!” In her absurd excitement, she began to hyperventilate again, practically wheezing her next long breath.
Sunset smiled and playfully asked, “You sure you’re up for helping me go through all this stuff?”
“Don’t take this away from me!” Twilight desperately shouted as she suddenly grabbed Sunset and shook her around.
Sunset shoved Twilight away and took a step back as she chuckled and retorted, “Whoa, take it easy! I’d like to keep my head attached to my body!” She suddenly paused and her smile fell as a thought occurred to her, then she muttered under her breath, “That sounded less morbid when it was used in the Lego World.”
“I should warn you, however,” cautioned Princess Celestia, drawing the attention of both Sunset and Twilight. “The archives’ mechanical catalog has not been… well-maintained.” She was standing next to a contraption that consisted of levers, belts, gears, and cylinders with writing on them. However, the contraption was also covered in dust and a few cobwebs.
Figuring it was worth a shot, Sunset walked over to the catalog and pulled one of the levers. Almost immediately, the contraption spewed dust everywhere, forcing her and Celestia to cough as they also heard the noise of grinding gears. The catalog rattled loudly for a few seconds, then just as the dust had cleared enough for Sunset and Celestia to open their eyes again, they watched as the contraption fell apart.
As Sunset looked over the broken parts scattered on the floor in front of her, she grumbled, “Aw, shoot! If only it was made of Lego…”
Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked, “How so?”
“If this was the Lego World,” explained Sunset, “it would’ve been easy for me to just reassemble all the pieces to get it working again. I may be one of the best Master Builders in that world, but this right here is a little beyond me, I’m afraid.”
“Oh well!” Twilight cheerfully exclaimed with a huge smile as she suddenly ran up to stand right next to Sunset. “Guess we’ll just have to read everything! C’mon!” Without any hesitation, she flew up onto the upper level and levitated a few random books off the shelves. As she glanced at the title of one of those books, she looked back over the railing and excitedly exclaimed, “No way! Can you believe they have ‘Canterlot Cantabiles Volume Thirty-One’? You heard me! Thirty-One! Sunset, that’s when it gets goooooooood!” She started hugging the book in question as she said that last part.
“Wait, hold on,” Sunset spoke up in confusion. “Did you just say cannibals?”
“No! Cantabiles!” clarified Twilight forcefully. “It’s a form of creative writing, like poetry!”
“Oh, sorry, must’ve misheard you,” replied Sunset with a chuckle. She then jokingly added, “Or maybe you were just so overly excited that you mispronounced it and didn’t even realize it.”
Twilight immediately scoffed and retorted, “I’m not that overly excited!” Just a split second later, she suddenly gasped and flew to another bookshelf as she excitedly exclaimed, “Over here! An original ‘Windigo Weather Warning’ from the pre-Equestrian era! Oh, my goodness! I can’t! I just can’t!”
As Twilight spoke, Sunset turned to Celestia and shrugged, then the two of them shared a laugh. As Sunset turned and began walking away from the destroyed catalog, she remarked, “While Twilight has her fun searching everything at random, I think I’ll take a more practical approach, starting with trying to figure out which sections could be the most promising for the kind of answers I need.”
Celestia nodded in agreement and said, “A wise decision, Sunset. And with all of us working together, I am confident we will soon find what you are looking for.”
Despite Sunset’s best efforts to make the research more manageable, she and Twilight spent many hours looking through countless books, tomes, and scrolls. Celestia and Luna had helped out for a little while, but they eventually had to leave to attend to royal duties. Before leaving, Celestia had even offered to let Sunset spend the night in her old room in Canterlot Castle, if necessary.
As the afternoon passed by and night descended over Equestria, Sunset and Twilight were still busy with their research efforts. They had certainly covered a significant percentage of the restricted section — as evidenced by the numerous piles of books on the table and the floor all around it — but still hadn’t found anything relevant to solving the issue Sunset was faced with in the Lego World.
Sunset closed an enormous book, let out a yawn, and tiredly mumbled, “Did you know Chancellor Puddinghead tried to pass a law mandating earth ponies drink carrot juice at every meal? I do… know that… now…”
“Aww, sounds like you got to read all the fun books,” remarked Twilight contently. She let out a yawn before she added, “We should probably take a break from looking…”
Sunset sighed in disappointment and cleared the table, magically moving more books and scrolls to the growing piles on the floor.
“Because I found something!” Twilight suddenly declared excitedly as she levitated an old chest onto the table in front of Sunset.
Sunset stared briefly at the chest, then turned to Twilight and raised an eyebrow as she asked, “How long ago did you find this?”
Twilight rubbed the back of her head and glanced away as she replied, “Probably must’ve been about an hour or two ago.”
Sunset furrowed her brow and asked, “And you didn’t tell me right away because…?”
Twilight giggled nervously and replied, “I, uh, kinda got a little sidetracked by all the other things I’ve found interesting. I mean, I’ve just been given unprecedented access to a source of knowledge that few ponies know even exists! How can I resist?”
While Twilight grinned uneasily and Sunset glared at her, there was an awkward silence between the two mares for a few seconds. Eventually, Sunset flatly grumbled, “I’d smack you in the face right now, but that would accomplish nothing.” She turned her attention to the old chest on the table and asked, “So what did you find?”
Twilight cleared her throat and, as she opened the chest, responded, “Uh, you’re familiar with ‘The Seven Trials of Clover the Clever’?”
“Obviously,” replied Sunset. “Why?”
Twilight levitated an ancient scroll out of the chest and unrolled it as she explained, “Well, first of all, this dates back to before the founding of Equestria. Look at this.”
Sunset looked at the writing on the scroll and noticed an illustration of a rounded rock with what appeared to be a blue eye etched onto the face of it. She skimmed through the writing beside that image and noted, “The Memory Stone… That sounds promising.”
Twilight traced her hoof across the ancient writings and illustrations on the scroll as she explained, “It belonged to an evil sorceress who was practically invincible. With the Memory Stone, she could erase any memory from anypony, even fragments of memories.”
“Fragments like… memories of me being nice?” asked Sunset.
Twilight nodded in confirmation and continued, “Clover the Clever knew the sorceress had to be stopped and the stone destroyed, so he chased her across land and sea. But every time he got close, the sorceress would erase his memory and escape, but he kept finding her.”
“How?” asked Sunset.
“These scraps of parchment,” answered Twilight as she levitated out some of the scraps inside the chest. “He secretly wrote everything down so he’d know what had happened and where to go next, like a trail of breadcrumbs.”
“Clever,” remarked Sunset. Saying that aloud made her realize something, so she then muttered, “Ohhh, Clover the— Yeah, got it…” she returned her gaze back onto the scroll and saw the last revealed illustration seemed to depict Clover chasing the sorceress through some kind of swirling vortex. She pointed at the illustration and asked, “What happened on the other side of this portal?”
Twilight further unrolled the scroll, but it suddenly ended right after that illustration, marked with a roughly torn edge. “The last page is missing,” she noted in shock. “Clover must’ve hid it to keep anypony else from finding the Memory Stone.” Twilight carefully looked over that final illustration and, noting how Sunset had referred to it as a depiction of a portal, soon came to a startling conclusion. She slowly asked, “Sunset… what if the Memory Stone ended up in the Lego World?”
Sunset quickly reached the same conclusion and added in shock, “If that’s true, someone over there must’ve found it and is now using it to make everyone hate me again!”
With the information provided by that scroll, Sunset finally had some answers about what could very likely have happened to her friends in the Lego World. Despite being ancient history, it certainly fit most of the details she had been confused by earlier that day. But even if this magical artifact really was responsible for the partial memory loss of virtually everyone in the Lego World, that still left one big question in the minds of both Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight.
Who used the Memory Stone?