Sunset, Trixie, Wallflower, and the yeti peeked their heads out of a bush near an apple store, with Vignette serving as the woman behind the counter.
"Everybody come in to Sweet Apple Confectionery!" she shouted, feigning an excited tone. "Apple pies! Apple cakes! You want something with apples in it, we got it!"
"How about Appletini!" yelled a female voice.
"For crying out loud, Pinkie Pie, I've told you a dozen times already: we're not that kind of store!"
"It's so surreal seeing her working after the Equestrialand disaster," Sunset Shimmer remarked, Trixie and Wallflower nodding in agreement. "I thought the next time I saw her, she'd be desperately looking for job, or I don't know, doing something a bit more... humiliating."
"The human world is a bizarre one indeed," the yeti spoke. "Which only makes you more incredible for surviving it, Your Highness."
"To be fair, I was born on this world, but that's besides the point," Wallflower turned to Sunset. "You're the only one of us who's met this Vignette before, Sunset, think you could convince her to help us out?"
Sunset hummed. "To be honest, I never really interacted with her that much. It was mostly Applejack and Rarity who spent time with her, but I could still give it a shot."
"Trixie suggests you lead the way, then."
Nodding in agreement, Sunset was the first of the group to leave her hiding spot, the rest of the group following her as she entered the store and headed for the counter.
And somehow, on their way there, nobody even made a comment about the furry interdimensional creature accompanying them. Nor Wallflower's markings.
"Welcome to Sweet Apple Confectionery, how may I help-" Vignette greeted cheerfully, her tone revealing her true colors once she saw Sunset's face. "-you..."
"Hello, Vignette," Sunset lowered her eyelids. "We meet again."
Vignette paused, then raised an eyebrow. "I believe we have, but I honestly can't remember who you're supposed to be. You're one of Rarity's friends, though, right?"
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, the one who's a pony from a dimension of talking ponies."
Vignette paused, and the longer she remained silent, the more awkward the atmosphere between her and Sunset felt.
"Alright, let's change topics to something I need to know; how did you land a job with Applejack's family?" Sunset folded her arms. "In fact, how did you get a job at all after the Equestrialand fiasco?!"
Vignette shrugged. "Eh, it wasn't as hard as you probably think; sure, most people wanted nothing to do with me after the incident, mostly those who got teleported and their families, but once a couple months passed, everybody decided to just forgive and forget."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Including Applejack's family?"
"Oh no, they are never going to forgive me for what happened, especially what I did to Rarity," Vignette took a deep breath. "So, as a show of both compassion and also to keep an eye on me, they gave me this job."
"Um, good?" Sunset said, trying to muster anger but being too confused by the circumstances to really express it. "That's what you deserve?"
"Again, it's not as bad as you think it is, most of the customers are actually pretty nice," Vignette turned to Wallflower. "But jumping from me to one of you, what's up with that facepaint?"
"Trixie thinks we might need to come at a later date, there's way too many people around here."
"As much as I hate to say this, Trixie's right," Wallflower spoke, earning a betrayed look from the magician. "I can't explain what's up with my face with all these people around."
"Why not?" Vignette inquired. "It's not like they're paying attention to you or that giant furry beast behind you."
Wallflower eyed the yeti. "Yeah, I guess nowadays, the weird has become almost normal. Still, I'd rather tell you what's going on in private, so how long do you have left on your shift?"
"You're gonna have to ask my boss for that one, they like to keep the schedule flexible," Vignette replied. "She's at the kitchen right now, but I wouldn't bother her. She doesn't like it when people interrupt her while she's cooking."
Sunset leaned close to Wallflower's ear and whispered with a scared tone, "She really doesn't like it."
"Well, guess there's only one thing left to do," Wallflower pointed at one of the cakes. "Give us a chocolate apple cake."
"To eat here or to go?"
"To go, I guess."
Vignette wrote down the order, and the group went to a table to wait for their order. Between the yeti not being given much attention, Wallflower's facepaint likewise going unmentioned, and the return of an old "friend" of Sunset, this was starting to feel like a very weird off day.
"Okay, while we wait, I think there's something we need to discuss," Wallflower blurted, getting the team's attention. "That is, before we go to the memory kingdom or what's it called, could we go to Equestria?"
"What's the meaning of this suggestion, Your Highness?" the yeti asked.
"Yeah, Wallflower, what gives?" Sunset folded her arms and tilted her head. "I mean, I expected you'd want to see where I come from eventually, but why would you wanna see it over your own kingdom?"
"Well, I still wanna see my kingdom, but I just thought of something: I don't know how to be a princess," Wallflower clasped her hands and twiddled her fingers. "And since I'm dealing with an entirely different definition of it, I need to learn from an actual princess."
Sunset smiled. "And I know just the princess to ask: Princess Twilight."
"Then, we will head to Equestria to meet this Princess Twilight," the yeti blurted. "Once you finish training, how do you plan to reach your kingdom, Your Highness? It's not anywhere in the maps of Equestria, and taking a trip back to the human world just to reach it might anger the portalkeeper."
"Trixie doesn't see the issue: she's the one who's been banished, and Wallflower's her boss now. Wouldn't she have to just deal with it?"
"Even if that's the case, I don't think we should abuse of her power to open portals," Wallflower stated, folding her arms. "I'd rather keep her on the "friendly" side of "neutral ally" if possible."
"Are you talking about me?"
The group turned around, and Vignette stood nearby, holding the bag that contained the cake they ordered. "That'll be fifteen bits."
"Fifteen bits?!" Sunset shouted, glancing at Wallflower's apologetic gesture before she took out the money and paid. "Applejack's lucky she's one of my friends, otherwise I'd be throwing complaints at her right now!"
"Those would fall in deaf ears, darling," Vignette answered, then turned to Wallflower. "Now, I believe you mentioned me. Is there something you need?"
Wallflower turned to the yeti, who gave her a single nod of approval. Returning the nod, Wallflower put her hand on Vignette's forehead and said:
"Remember your job as the portalkeeper."
Wallflower kept her hand on Vignette's forehead for a short moment, until Vignette gently grabbed it and put it on the table, holding a neutral expression. And after a couple more seconds, Wallflower realized what this meant:
"I don't get it, why didn't it work?" Wallflower scratched her head. "No glow, no memories flying off me and into you, why didn't my magic work?"
Vignette shook her head. "Silly little thing, there's nothing for me to remember."
Wallflower raised an eyebrow, and Vignette took the moment to lean close to her, catch a glimpse of a shocked Sunset, then whisper to the princess's ear:
"There's nothing for me to remember... because I never forgot my role as portalkeeper."