//------------------------------//
// Ch.2: Collective Amnesia 
// Story: Forgotten Love 
// by Nordryd 
//------------------------------//

Midday on a sunny Saturday. A perfect day for the beach. The shoreline was filled with beachgoers talking, playing volleyball, surfing, swimming, boating, and more, enjoying the sun-filled day. It was also a perfect day to take the Best Friends Superlative yearbook photo. Twilight prepared and tested her brand-new selfie drone while her friends hung out and got ready nearby. Twilight walked out in front of her idly hovering drone and struck a cute pose. The drone beeped, capturing a photo with a flash before flying over to Twilight's hands so she could examine it.

"Group picture, practice run number 36-A attempt 7: success!" Twilight exclaimed, letting go of the drone, only for it to beep and start randomly spazzing out. "Oh no!" She frantically tried to get the drone under control again, and the ruckus attracted Applejack's attention. "Your eyes do not deceive you," Twilight said like a saleswoman, noticing Applejack looking her way, still trying to get the drone under control. "I finally invented a selfie-sensing camera. It hovers into position whenever it detects a selfie opportunity!" she said, as the drone attempted to fly away. She grunted as she pulled it back.

Applejack looked a little unsure. "I prefer to take selfies myself… ie."

Nearby, Rainbow stood by Rarity as she examined some blankets in front of her, seemingly all white.

"Which beach blanket should we use for the photograph, Dashie?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow looked at her quizzically. "You mean the white one… or the white one?"

Rarity gasped, grabbing a blanket. "This is Toasted Oat. That one is Linen Lamb's Wool. Eggshell, Warm Frost, Pale Nimbus, and… well… this one is white, I suppose."

"Yeah… that's the one I was talking about," Rainbow said.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew one of the blankets out of Rarity's hand. It flew right by Spike, who was busy digging.

"Don't worry, Rarity! I got it!" Spike cried, running after the blanket.

"No, I got it! I got it!" Pinkie cried, running with Spike.

Pinkie and Spike ran as the blanket fluttered over to the ocean. As it landed on the water, Pinkie tripped over Spike, landing right on top of him. They both looked dejectedly at the blanket floating on the waves, becoming soaked with saltwater and kelp.

"I don't got it…" they both groaned. Suddenly, the blanket from the ocean, making Pinkie gasp.

"Ocean monster! Ocean monster!!!" she screamed, running away with spike back towards Rarity and Rainbow as the creature approached shore. The figure stopped when it was completely out of the water, removing the blanket and revealing that it was just Fluttershy emerging from snorkeling.

"Quincy the sea turtle says the tide's coming in," Fluttershy said, joining her friends. "We should take the picture soon or risk having damp ankles. Oh, he's so thoughtful." She tried handing the blanket back to Rarity, who looked like she didn't want it anymore.

Fluttershy looked around the beach, whimpering when she saw no sign of her boyfriend. She walked over to her stuff and checked her phone. No response.

"Hmm… I wonder where he is," Fluttershy muttered. She tried calling him, but it went to voicemail after a few rings. Her confusion turned to worry as she tried again. Again, no answer. She whimpered, sending him a text message instead, seeing that her friends were gathering for a picture. "Please answer, Coppermane," she mumbled, rushing over to join the girls. She stood next to Applejack as the selfie drone flew over to take a picture. She tried to smile and cover up that she was incredibly worried about her boyfriend's whereabouts. The drone flew over to Rarity, and she blew a kiss at it. Then, it flew over to… Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh, Twilight! You got the Selfie Sensor working?" Sunset asked, posing for the camera, only to have the drone fly away behind Twilight. "O…kay… so, who's ready to take a Best Friends picture?"

Sunset was surprised when everyone suddenly turned defensive. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight looked at her confusingly, Applejack and Rarity scowled, and Fluttershy hid behind Applejack.

"Uh oh, what did I do?" Sunset asked, trying to rub it off. Pinkie and Applejack shared a look, and Pinkie just shrugged.

"Should we do it now, or… did you want to swim first?" Sunset asked. "How's the water?"

"Sunset Shimmer? Asking to be in our Best Friends picture?" Applejack said with a smirk.

"Am I missing a joke here?" Sunset asked.

"The only joke is whatever this is you're playing on us," Rarity said. "Acting all nice like you're our friend."

"And it's not funny," Fluttershy said.

"Because you aren't nice," Rainbow sneered, folding her arms.

"And we ain't friends," Applejack said.

"Wait… what?" Sunset beckoned.

"You got applesauce in your ears?" Applejack remarked. "I said, we ain't fr— whoa!" Sunset suddenly grabbed Applejack's arm, and her eyes went bright white as Applejack's memories flooded her mind. The memory of them transforming at Camp Everfree… with Sunset not present where she was supposed to be. When Twilight was accepted at Canterlot High… with Sunset absent again. When Twilight and Sunset turned back to normal after being Daydream and Midnight… with Sunset gone. When Sunset helped the Rainbooms against the Dazzlings… without Sunset there. The sleepover when Princess Twilight was here… again, Sunset was nowhere to be seen.

Sunset came out of Applejack's mind, letting go of her hand, with Applejack looking extremely offended at being touched.

"No… this has to be a bad dream!" Sunset cried. "It's like I've been… erased! Wake up, Sunset! Wake up!"

Pinkie poked Sunset, making her wince.

"Nope, you're awake!" Pinkie said, giving herself a pinch too. "Ow! Ha ha! Me too!"

"I can see your memories, and I’m not in them!" Sunset cried.

"And exactly how is it you can see our memories, if you don't mind me askin'?" Applejack sneered.

"With this!" Sunset said, showing them her necklace that matched theirs.

"Oh, pfft!" Rarity grunted. "It's obviously a cheap knockoff of ours."

"We got them together!" Sunset said. "You were all there! Remember?"

Awkward silence fell over the group as Sunset grew more and more worried.

"Why is she still talking to us?" Fluttershy whispered.

"Pinkie Pie!" Sunset said. "What about when I came to your sleepover before the Battle of the Bands?"

"Ha!" Pinkie grunted. "The closest you've ever come to a party of mine is freshman year, when you pretended to be Applejack and texted me, 'Your party is lamer than a hungry duck in snow boots.'"

"Like I'd ever say that," Applejack said.

"It really hurt my feelings," Pinkie whimpered, folding her arms.

"And it wasn't very nice to the ducks either," Fluttershy said.

"That was a long time ago!" Sunset said. "Twilight, you remember me, right? We've been through so much together. Please…"

"I only met you once… when you yelled at me at the games," Twilight said, looking away.

"Doesn't anyone remember that I've changed?!" Sunset cried, only to have everyone shake their heads. "Fluttershy, I helped you at the animal shelter a few times! You have to remember that, right?"

"How can you say that after you yelled at me in the hallway and swatted the flyers out of my hand?" Fluttershy said as Rarity came to comfort her. "The only person who's ever helped me regularly is my boyfriend!"

Suddenly, everyone gasped. Their expressions went from shocked to excited.

"Boyfriend?!" Pinkie cheered. "Fluttershy has a boyfriend?! Eeeee!!!"

"Darling, that's wonderful!" Rarity said.

"The shyest of us all is the first to get a guy," Rainbow said. "Go figure."

"We should run a compatibility test right away!" Twilight said.

"What's his name, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy just looked curiously at her friends, raising her eyebrow.

"Girls… you know him," Fluttershy said. "We've been dating for a year."

"Fluttershy… I don't remember you having a boyfriend," Sunset said.

Fluttershy stared right at Sunset, her gaze turning ice cold, making Sunset flinch.

"Are you the reason why he's not responding to my texts?" Fluttershy said. "Don't you dare hurt my Coppermane, Sunset Shimmer or I'll… I'll… well, I don't know what I'll do, but you'll regret it!"

"Coppermane?" Sunset said. "I-I don't know a Coppermane."

"You just want him for yourself, don't you?" Fluttershy accused. "Coppermane is mine, and you can't have him!"

"And why are y'all still here?" Applejack said. "I said we ain't friends. How many times do we have to say that?"

"But we are! I… I… arrggghhh!!!" Sunset cried, gripping her head in frustration. "Why does nobody remember?! What's happening?!" Sunset bit her lip. Was there anything she could do? "Wait… maybe not anybody… I'll be right back!" Sunset said, running off to the lifeguard tower.

"Don't hurry back, darling!" Rarity called out. "Now then, Fluttershy! Tell us more about your boyfriend!"

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "What did you say his name was?"

"Girls, what are you talking about?" Fluttershy said. "Coppermane. My boyfriend. We won Cutest Couple in the yearbook. Remember?"

The girls looked around at each other, shrugging and shaking their head.

"Coppermane?" Applejack asked. "I've never heard of a Coppermane at CHS."

"What?" Fluttershy beckoned. "But… we've been dating for over a year!"

"A year?" Twilight asked. "Was it maybe before I came to CHS?"

"I don't know anyone named Coppermane," Pinkie said. "And I know everyone at school!"

"But how?" Fluttershy asked. "How do you not know him. He got injured at camp and was hospitalized for weeks! You all were there for both of us while he recovered!"

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked. "I think I'd remember something like that."

"You sure y'all aren't just making this up, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not making anything up, Applejack!" Fluttershy cried. "You and Rarity helped me talk to him that one day! I got his number! I sat with him at lunch! It was the first time I ever talked to him! How do you girls not remember this?!"

"Darling, calm down," Rarity said.

"But… but…" Fluttershy stammered.

"If he's real, do you have any pictures?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Maybe some… corroboration?"

"Of course, I have plenty of pictures," Fluttershy said. She walked over to grab her phone, further dismayed that her replies were still empty. She pulled up her album of photos with Coppermane and showed the girls.

"See? I'm not crazy," Fluttershy said. "Here we are at the beach. This is us during the musical showcase. This was the formal. And here's us at camp! I took this one of us yesterday! Do you remember now?"

Fluttershy was further shocked to see confused looks on her friends' faces.

"I-I'm sorry, darling," Rarity said. "I'm afraid I don't remember."

"Me neither!" Pinkie said. "Though, you look super cute together."

The girls nodded in agreement.

"How can you not remember? H-He's so important to me," Fluttershy said. "You girls know how much I love him."

"Love?" Rainbow said. "Let's not get carried away…"

"I do love him!" Fluttershy said. "I-Is this a prank? Girls, it's not funny anymore! I haven't heard from him all day! He won't respond to my texts and he won't answer when I call! I… I… what's happening?! Did I do something wrong? Is he mad at me?"

"Take it easy, sugarcube," Applejack said, giving Fluttershy a hug. "I promise, it's no prank. We're being completely honest." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"I… I don't understand…" Fluttershy said, tears running down her cheek. "He's been our best friend ever since we started dating."

"Fluttershy, I swear I have no clue who this Coppermane guy is," Rainbow said.

Fluttershy's friend attempted to explain themselves, but to no avail. Fluttershy couldn't find it in herself to believe them. How could they not remember after all they've seen Fluttershy and Coppermane go through? Even more concerning… why was Coppermane not responding to her? She couldn't stop herself from checking her phone ever few seconds, even though she didn't feel it buzz. Worried didn't come close to describing how Fluttershy felt. Where was Coppermane? Why wasn't he responding? Did he randomly decide he didn't love her anymore? That thought alone was enough to make Fluttershy sick.

First Sunset Shimmer trying to be their friend, and now Fluttershy's real denying that she has a boyfriend. What was going on?


Sunset ran underneath the lifeguard tower, slumping down into the sand to take a breath. What was happening? Why was she deleted from her friends' memories? She sighed, pulling out her magic notebook and began to write.

Dear Princess Twilight, this is gonna sound crazy, but… are we friends? Am I… nice?

A moment passed, and no answer. Panicking, she wrote again.

Please answer…

She finished her message, letting her head fall to her knees, feeling like hope was lost. Maybe being nice was a dream and she was back in reality where everyone hated her. Suddenly the book began shimmering, and she braced herself for what Twilight's answer would be.

Of course, we're friends!

Sunset sighed with relief. At least she wasn't completely alone.

Are you okay? What's going on?

Pursing her lips, Sunset wrote her response.

Kinda hard to explain. Might be easier in person. Well, not "person", so to speak…