“For Equestria to last! We must preserve our past!”
That was the chant repeated time and time again by a large group of members from “Mares for a Better Equestria”. They had gathered in front of a hospital located in Fillydelphia, holding signs denouncing the use of spells used to erase a pony’s memories, specifically of the Fall, and amongst the group was Trixie herself.
After the incident in Canterlot, Trixie didn’t really see herself being part of any more public activities, but this time was a bit different. This time, both Sunset Shimmer and Starlight were present, and Sunset promised that she wouldn’t allow any outbursts of violence to happen like before. That assurance, along with Sunset’s request that Trixie participate to help support the group, was enough to get the blue mare out of the club for the day.
As she marched around the hospital chanting, lifting up a sign that said “If we erase the past, we lose our future”, she recalled bits the information told her about this gathering, and its purpose. For some time now, Celestia’s appointed Committee of Ponies had gone back and forth on weather or not the general populous should be allowed to simply forget all the things the caribou did to them, not coming to a decision one way or another. This left the concept of using such spells as a focus of public debate, because so many ponies would have loved to be rid of the bad memories of the Fall, but were being denied the quick solution to their problem, only because those given power over their lives couldn't come to a decision about it.
To add further frustration to this failure to come to a resolution about the matter, the memory removing spells were already approved for use, but only on purple collars and foals, as the Committee near unanimously decided that ponies that fit those two categories didn’t deserve to suffered the horrific trauma the Fall burdened them with, with some needing their memories removed to be mentally functional. When the spell and its intended purpose was explained to Trixie, she initially thought it was a great idea, because it might be a big help to ponies like herself that found it hard to have endured what could have been up to a year of nonstop sexual abuse, but then Sunset explained that if ponies were allowed to remove those memories just because it was convenient, it would drastically lessen the severity of the threat creatures like the caribou posed, as without the firsthand experience of their depravity, it was possible they could be treated with the same dismissive attitude other major enemies to Equestria had been given by the populous.
Not only that, but to delete those experiences had other consequences that Sunset stated as even more dangerous, including the removal of important information a pony might have that could lead to the arrest of those mares and stallions who collaborated with the caribou, or even allow such individuals a way out of the consequences of their actions by resetting their minds to a version of themselves that did not recall their betrayal of those around them, making it virtually impossible to prosecute them for their crimes, as there would be little ways to determine if the pony in question was under mind control, or was a co-conspirator with the caribou. Most dangerously of all, in Sunset’s opinion, was that memory spells had terrible political implications too, as the nature of the spells removed any poor opinions of certain ponies acquired during the Fall, such as those focused towards the red collared princesses. Because of all these reasons, Trixie had to concede that memory removal was not a very good thing to let the general public have access too.
Thus, the mare, along with more than a hundred other ponies from across Equestria, encircled the hospital where the spells were being used, letting their stance be heard by both those inside, and the common citizens of the city who passed by. They were making enough of a scene that royal guards from inside the facility had to come out and tell Sunset that the picket line was disturbing those recovering inside, with the orange unicorn replying that the assembly was peacefully protesting, and that the guards had no right to disperse them off of the sidewalk around the hospital, as it was public property. As much as the guards hated to admit it, Sunset was right on the matter, and thus they could do little but protect the gate from any unlawful entry into the facility. Each time Trixie had to pass by them, they would send the blue mare a glare that filled her with equal parts embarrassment and resentment. She wasn’t trying to cause a scene, but what they were doing was for a good cause, and the guards should have understood that and left them be.
Still, it did look like the message was being received, as occasionally Trixie would spot ponies stopping to watch them from across the street, and when that happened Starlight would go right to them and hand out a pamphlet on the dangerous implications of allowing anypony access to memory erasing. The day went on, with the picketing ponies walking around for hours, swapping their slogans to other ones that further expressed the views of the group like “Erase a mind, a traitor hides” and “Forget the foes, invite more woes”, until the group concluded their activities, with Sunset stopping at the front gate with a megaphone in hand.
“Let Celestia and her Committee know that Equestria will not stand for any policies that would allow traitors to the kingdom to go unpunished, and that all of Equestria needs to remember what it is we’re up against." With those final words, Sunset handed the megaphone to Starlight, and lead those of her group away from the hospital. The protest was, from all visible accounts, a success. This was reaffirmed when Sunset slowed down enough to join with Trixie as they headed to the train station to return home, the orange unicorn saying to the blue mare, “See, everything went according to plan this time. Nothing to worry about when I’m around.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Trixie replied, relieved with how smoothly things went, “I feel kinda silly now that it’s over and nothing happened.”
“Well, you never know. Speaking of,” Sunset said, getting a little closer, “Did you remember to bring your knife?”
“Yes…” Trixie answered, gripping a pocket on her dress, taking hold of something solid within the cloth, “I’ve got it on me.”
The knife that Trixie had on her was not one of the practice knives from the self defense class, but a real one given to her the night before, Sunset believing it would make her feel safer. In all honesty, it made her more nervous, the mere thought of using the weapon making her cringe.
“And you didn’t have to use it,” Sunset replied, “Like I said, it was only to make you feel safer.”
“Yeah, I was just really nervous,” said Trixie, “The group made me feel more safe than the knife though.”
“Well, then I’m glad you trust in your fellow members.” Sunset replied.
As the group of ponies made their way to the train station, several of the ponies disbanded from it, being part of a local chapter. As they got into the station, even more ponies separated from the protestors, as they boarded trains to a several different cities, until all that was left were ponies from Trixie’s group, and when that happened those that remained had to learn why they were not themselves boarding a train to return home.
“What do you mean our train has already left?!” Sunset yelled at the stallion stationed at the ticket counter.
The stallion, who was put there simply to keep track of who was using the trains, as the stations had been deemed a “public resource” by the Committee of Ponies, thus made free to use for the time being, didn’t have much of a response for the angry mare on the other side of his window.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he started, “But it left thirty minutes ago. I can't really do anything about a train that's left already.”
Sunset growled, Trixie seeing for the first time a negative expression from the mare. “And when does the next one come in?”
“That’s going to be roughly three hours from its departure,” replied the ticket stallion, “So…”
“Two and a half hours…” Sunset said, annoyed.
“This is my fault,” Starlight said, looking at her clipboard, “I had written down that all our returning trains were going to leave at the same time. I should have suspected something when we had arrived thirty minutes before everypony else.”
Sunset, hearing her associate take the blame, calmed herself, “Okay, then I suppose we have nothing to do but wait. This is really going to cut into our schedule though.”
“I know,” Starlight said, “It’s the first mistake I’ve made in a while. I’ll make up the time when we get back by staying up later tonight. I know how much you want our next big project finished.”
Having no other recourse, Sunset Shimmer faced the remaining members of the protest group, and announced the situation. “Attention! Due to an error in our scheduling, I regrettably have to inform you all that we will be stuck here for a while, until the next train back to town arrives.”
The remaining ponies all expressed shock or disappointment at the news, but ultimately accepted that this was what was happening, each unable to do anything about it. Even if some of the pegasi could fly back faster than that, it was still a long and tiring trip to do so.
“For the time being, I would suggest that you all spend the next two hours doing whatever you want. Just make sure to get back after that much time.”
“Doing what?” Carrot Top asked, being one of the ponies stuck at the station, “Fillydelphia might be one of the few cities that’s close to being restored, but the stores are still closed and I don’t think any of us are up for site seeing.”
A few of the others shared Carrot’s concerns, as there was little the metropolitan city had to offer them. Besides, they were already exhausted from all the walking they had done, and many didn’t feel they had it in them to do anything but sit after all the activist work they dd to further the cause.
“We understand that this situation isn’t exactly desirable,” Starlight said, “And I take full responsibility for the mistake, but for now when need to kill some time. Exploring the city will make this go faster for you. On a plus side, your continued presence in the city will spread more awareness of our group, and besides that, we’re currently missing one of our members.”
“Oh right,” Carrot Top commented, looking around at everypony present, “Didn’t Lyra leave the group before the picketing started?”
“Yeah,” Sunset replied, shifting her body to the side as her arms went cross, “She said something about remembering something important that she had to take care of here, and ran off before explaining anything. I haven’t seen so much as a piece of fur from her since.”
“So if some of you could at least go around and look for her, we’d appreciate it.” Starlight said in conclusion.
“Wait a minute,” said the ticket booth stallion, being close enough to listen in on the conversation, “You’re missing one of your party? There was a mare here earlier that was asking about you, I think.”
Sunset turned back towards the male pony, “Can you describe her?”
“Umm.. I think so,” he answered, scratching his head to jog his memory, “Unicorn, light blue fur, had bits of white in her mane.”
“That’s her,” Sunset replied, “What happen with her?”
“She was looking for you all, then looked at the train schedule and walked off. From the looks of it, she was heading back into the city.”
“Well then that confirms it.” Sunset said, “She must have thought we left without her. Now we really need to send out a search party.”
“I’ll go look for her,” Carrot Top said, “If no pony else wants to help, that’s fine.”
“No, it’s not,” said Sunset, “Fillydelphia is a big place, and we all should go look if we want to find her in time.”
Some of the group groaned at this, wishing they were sitting in their comfy train seats on the way back home, but few wanted to outright refuse to look for Lyra. Still, Sunset understood the position they all were coming from.
The orange unicorn grabbed a map from the small rack at the ticket booth, “I’m gonna borrow this for a sec, ok?” She didn’t wait for the stallion inside the booth’s permission before readdressing the group. “If we all take a small part of the city, we can do a detailed enough search without too much work. It should only take an hour, tops, and we will go in pairs. Starlight and I will look back near the hospital. Carrot, would you and Trixie take this block here?” She said, pointing to one adjacent to where the hospital was at.
“We’re on it,” Carrot Top said, grabbing Trixie by the arm, pulling her along as the much stronger earth mare walked out of the station before another pair could be announced. Within seconds, Trixie found herself back on the streets of Fillydelphia, and only then was she released.
“You didn’t have to drag me out,” said the unicorn, rubbing her arm where the earth mare had gripped her.
“Yeah, I did,” Carrot Top replied, “I see how you are when it comes to public interaction. You hardly leave the club house, if ever. If I had given you enough time to say anything, I know you would have begged Sunset to let you stay at the station.”
“If you think that,” Trixie responded with a hint of detest, “Then why didn’t you leave me behind? I’m not gonna be much help if my heart isn’t into this.”
“Cause I’m getting tired of watching you take advantage of the club’s services and only giving back the bare minimum.” Carrot Top explained, “You’re always quiet unless we’re talking about your problems, and never help unless you’re asked. I’m not sure you get this, but this group is not just for getting over our own issues. We are trying to help Equestria as much as ourselves, and that’s gonna take all of us to do.”
“Doesn’t me coming today count for anything?” Trixie asked.
“It might,” said Carrot Top, “If that wasn’t the attitude you had towards it. Helping others shouldn’t be treated like an obligation, especially when it comes to mares. Equestria forbid Lyra actually be in trouble right now, while you’re here complaining about looking for her.”
“Ok, ok,” Trixie said, the other mare managing to guilt the unicorn into seeing her way, “Where are we supposed to look again?”
“This way,” Carrot Top said curtly, waving her hand in the direction of their assigned searching area, leading the way as Trixie followed right behind.
For a little while the two mares walked in silence, but somewhere between the station and their destination, Trixie spoke up, “Do you really think that badly about me?”
“Trixie… We don’t have time for that.” Carrot answered, keeping her eyes peeled in case Lyra popped up along the way.
“No, you brought up that you think I don’t pull my weight in the group, but I went to Celestia’s speech, I didn’t rat out anypony when we were arrested, and I’ve been helping clean up around the club house lately. I’m not trying to be some sort of mooch. It’s just… difficult for me to do things on my own. The past three times I did, they all ended up terribly.”
Carrot didn’t really want to get into this conversation, thinking that it was just another attempt to spout off her long list of life problems, but she could feel that Trixie wouldn’t let up. “Ok, you want to know if I think badly about you, then… kinda, but I can sympathize that you were raped and enslaved, just like me.”
“Then what’s wrong? You’re not still holding what happened in Ponyville against me, are you?” Carrot top stayed silent, almost making it a whole block before Trixie spoke up again. “That’s really it, isn’t it?!”
“Look, it’s not easy to forgive you for you’re take over of Ponyville when what you did was really close to what the caribou did.” Carrot Top went on to explain, “I know Sunset said it wasn’t really you that was in control of your actions, but if I just ‘let that go’, then I’d have to let go some other grudges I have, like some of those red collars who claim they were brainwashed by the Crystal Heart, and I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“But…” Trixie started, a little confused, “If you still see me like that, then why didn’t you tell Sunset you wanted another partner?”
“I don’t know,” Carrot Top said, honestly not having an answer to that question, “Maybe I don’t feel as strongly about you as I think I do. Maybe I do see that you’re sorry for what you did, and pushing you like this is my way of seeing if you’re serious about not making that mistake again.”
“I guess that’s a start the- Hey, isn’t that Lyra?!” Trixie spotted a familiar shade of blue down the street, heading the same way she and Carrot Top were.
It took Carrot a moment to spot the missing mare herself, but she managed to see their associate through the other the ponies walking along the sidewalk. “I think you’re right. Hey! Lyra!”
The mare the two spotted didn’t stop when called out to, and turned a corner out of their line of sight.
“Crap, I don’t think she heard us,” Carrot Top said, as she picked up speed, “Come on, if that’s her then we can’t let her get away.
Trixie followed right behind, but wasn’t as physically fit as the earth pony. She was several feet behind Carrot Top as they turned the corner, and loosing ground fast. Carrot Top wasn’t stopping though, and went on ahead without so much as a glance behind her to see if Trixie was still there. When Trixie felt it would be impossible to catch up, she slowed down to a stop to catch her breath, lungs desperately inhaling and exhaling as she did more exercise in that short period of time than she had done since her enslavement.
Luck was on her side though, as while she stood there, hands on bent knees, taking breath after breath, the pony she was looking for stepped out from between two buildings right in front of her.
“Good, she went right past me,” the unicorn said softly to herself, looking in the direction Carrot Top ran off to.
“Ly… ra…” Trixie said, still recovering from the running.
Turning her head to see Trixie, Lyra’s eyes went narrow. She hadn’t looked back, and was unaware that Carrot Top wasn’t alone. “Shoot,” she said aloud, not hiding in the slightest her displeasure at this turn of events.
“Where you… running from us?” Trixie asked, to which she got a sheepish look from the other unicorn.
“Yes,” Lyra replied, admitting that she was trying to avoid them, “But it’s not what you think.”
“I’m… not thinking anything right now.” Trixie explained, not having the first clue why the mare would want to run. She had done nothing wrong to Trixie’s knowledge, and there was no reason for Lyra to want to run or hide that the blue unicorn was aware of. “Me and Carrot were just sent to find you because our train left earlier, and we’re gonna have to wait for the next one.”
“Oh, is that why you came after me?” Lyra said, “I already knew that, and I promise that I’ll be back to the train on time, so if you want you can go tell Sunset that.”
Trixie saw nothing wrong with what Lyra was suggesting. If the other mare was going to be at the station at the time everypony was supposed to be, then Trixie had completed her task and all she’d have to do was get Carrot and go back. However, the way Lyra was acting showed that there was something else to this, and for that reason she didn’t feel it was right to just let the mare do as she pleased.
“Hold up,” Trixie said, finally able to stand up straight, “After what you just did, you expect me to just let you go? You were avoiding us for a reason, and after all that we have done together, I think I at least deserve an explanation.”
Lyra, not being as assertive or capable of dealing with confrontation as Carrot Top, bit her lip as she thought about the request of her fellow support group member. “I-It’s really not…” Not even finishing her weak rebuttal, Lyra let her shoulders and neck slink down limply as she accepted defeat, “Ok, you really want to know what I was doing? Then come with me.”
Lyra started walking, and Trixie followed behind. The two traveled through the city in silence, one not having anything to say, while the other assumed any answers she might have would be answered once they reached their destination. It didn't take long after they started walking before they arrived to that place.
“We’re here.” Lyra said meekly, stopping in front of the gate for the hospital, the very one that Trixie and the others had just left. The one where the protest took place.
“Wait, this is where you were trying to go?” Trixie asked, “Why didn’t you just come here with us earlier?”
“Because the reason I’m here is not the same reason you were all here.” Lyra went to the gate, and pressed a button at its wall. A short time later, one of the guards came out to see what was going on.
“You again?” The guard said, their annoyance evident in every part of their mannerisms, “Hasn’t your group disturbed our patients enough for one day?”
“I’m not here for that,” Lyra said, pulling out a card and handing it over to the guard.
“That’s right, I remember you now,” said the guard pony, opening the gate for the unicorn, “You’re lucky, we’re on our last hour for visitations today.”
Visitations? Trixie wondered to herself, watching Lyra step beyond the previously locked gate, and following in after.
The guard saw Trixie take one step past the gate, and then stepped in front of her. “Not you,” they said sternly.
“It’s ok,” Lyra said, knowing that leaving Trixie like this would only raise more questions and cause more problems. “She won’t cause any trouble, and I’ll take responsibility for her if she does.”
The guard gave it a moment of thought, and stepped aside. “Do anything to upset our patients, and I’ll personally throw you both out.”
Trixie nodded, and then hastily went to Lyra to walk aside her, following the light blue mare inside the building, a little nervous as to what she’d find inside.
After some form filling from Lyra at the front desk, the two mares were roaming the halls of the hospital. Trixie was both surprised and embarrassed at what she was found inside the walls that she had just spent hours protesting outside of, seeing that it was pretty much just a normal hospital. To be fair, she didn’t really think about what was going on inside the building, except that it was where the memory erasure spells were being done, but the very fact that her support group was so adamant against the place, combined with a gate to keep ponies out, made it seem like the inside would hold something far more insidious.
Yet, as she passed through the halls, she saw little that suggested anything nefarious going on inside. The place was running like a proper health facility, tending to those recovering from sickness or injury, as Trixie saw as they passed by some of the rooms. The strangest thing about the place was that along with the normal nurse and doctor ponies, there were roughly the same amount of zebra on staff helping patients with their alchemical remedies, just like the zebra Amale had been doing with her in order to correct the physical changes the caribou had done to her.
“So… Am I just going to have to wonder why you’re allowed in this place?” Trixie asked, Lyra not yet informing her of how she came across the card that let here enter so easily.
“It’s a public hospital,” Lyra said, “Anypony is allowed here if they have a reason. Just because it’s used as the place where the memory wiping spells are conducted doesn’t change that. The only reason they put a gate up around the place is because there are a lot of foals being kept here that need protected if something bad should happen to the city.”
“Maybe,” Trixie replied, “But you know that doesn’t answer the question. What’s the reason that you’re allowed to go to where they are keeping the patients?”
Lyra sighed, “Just follow me. You’ll figure it out easier than if I explain, cause we’re almost there.”
Trixie did as she was told, walking along with the other unicorn until they made it to the room Lyra was looking for. The light blue mare gave the frame of the doorway a small knock, then entered in without pause.
“Knock, knock,” she said, entering the room, “I hope you didn’t go to sleep already.”
Trixie took a peek inside, and as expected the room looked like a typical hospital room for recovering patients, with a white earth pony mare with blue and pink hair occupying the provided bed. The mare was, fortunately for Lyra, awake, though surprised to see that she got a visitor.
“Lyra!” said the mare, “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon. Did something happen?”
“No, no,” Lyra reassured, “I just happen to be in the area, and thought I should check in on you again.”
“You worry about me too much,” said the mare, “You know the doctors are taking good care of me.”
“That’s cause they know that if they didn’t, I’d ram my fist down their throats.” Lyra said, balling her hand into a fist to emphasize her point.
“You know I don’t enjoy you talking about violence,” said the earth mare.
“I’m sorry, Bon Bon,” Lyra replied, “I’m just protective of you is all, after… you know.”
The earth mare closed her eyes, and let loose a small huff through her nose, “Protective or not, that’s not the mare I love.”
“Excuse me,” Trixie said, staying just outside the room as she interrupted the two, “Did you want me to stand out here, or…”
“Oh, right,” Lyra said, “I brought a guest with me today. I’m sure you remember Trixie.”
“Hard to forget a pony who took over your hometown,” Bon Bon said, recognizing Trixie immediately, “The doctors didn’t go that far back when removing my memories.” Once again, Trixie was struck by her past, the blow stinging so much that she tried to back out of sight, until the earth pony went on to say, “Aren’t you coming in?”
“Do you.. want me to?” Trixie asked, concerned that her presence was bothering the mare.
“There’s no reason to make you leave,” Bon Bon said, “Lyra told me that you went to the same support meetings as her, and that you’ve turned over a new leaf. Besides, it’s nice to have a guest that isn’t Lyra for a change,”
“Hey!” Lyra yelled jokingly, knowing that the earth pony was just kidding around. From the look of it, the unicorn was doing everything she could to get a smile out of the hospitalized mare, and it looked like she didn’t have to try hard to get those results.
Having been invited in, Trixie entered the room, though her mind was filled with questions. That being the case, she knew that it was more important to be polite, so she only said “Thank you”, before finding a seat.
“So, what made you want to come and see me?” Bon Bon asked Trixie, understandably curious to the mare’s presence. “I don’t think we’ve even talked that much those few times you were in Ponyville.”
“She came here to make sure I’d be safe,” Lyra said, covering for the mare, “The mares in the group are big on safety.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Bon Bon said, “Those caribou creatures could try to attack again, and it’s probably best to move in groups.”
“You know about the caribou?” Trixie asked, showing her surprise.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Bon Bon replied.
“Well… you said your memories were erased.” Trixie answered.
“My memories were erased,” said Bon Bon, “But it’s not like they didn’t tell me what happened. I know about the caribou takeover of Equestria, the enslavement, and their defeat. I pretty much know all the cliff notes of the time I’ve forgotten.”
“Then what’s the point of you having them removed?” Trixie asked, not understanding why you’d tell somepony something right after removing it from their mind.
“Trixie,” Lyra started, suddenly sounding a bit more serious than she usually did, “Bon Bon had something terrible happen to her, something so awful that she became a purple collar. Her memories were removed to bring back her sanity, but you could have guessed that. It’s the only reason she was even allowed to have her memories removed as an adult, after all, and other ponies aren’t approved for that treatment yet.”
Trixie, of course, knew this from the picketing earlier, but that information seemed to have slipped her mind in the moment.
“And it would be strange for me to have a portion of my memory removed without somepony telling me why.” Bon Bon added, “So in order to fill in the gaps, the doctors gave me some basic information of what happened, and then gradually gave me more details whenever I asked for them. For the most part, I know what the caribou did to all of us mares, and while I’m not happy about it, I know it’s something I’ll have to live with, even if my understanding of it is second hand.”
“Oh…” Trixie said, not realizing beforehand that this was how the memory spells were being handled. "From the way Sunset put it, it sounded like you’d have your memories removed and that was that."
As Trixie pondered this new understanding of the process, another knock came to the door, this time coming from one of the stallion doctors working in the hospital. “Ms. Bon Bon, it’s time for your medicine.”
The doctor, who was holding a slightly glowing container of zebra potion, went aside Bon Bon’s bed and put the fluid to her lips. “You know the drill, drink it all down.”
Bon Bon nodded, then put her lips to the glass, prompting the doctor to tip the container upwards while she tilted her head back. As instructed, the earth mare drunk the entire potion without breaking for a breath. Once the whole thing was downed, Bon Bon’s face begun contorting, the potion causing her a deal of discomfort as it did whatever it was doing.
Trixie assumed that the potion was changing something about the earth mare’s body, based on her own experience with the zebra’s alchemy, and that she too must have been feeling a bit of undesired pleasure that came with certain parts of the body being changed to absurdly exaggerated proportions. She didn’t inquire though, as she knew that whatever it was that Zebra were reverting on the mare was a personal matter, and wasn’t any of her business.
“Good,” said the doctor as he tossed the now empty vial into the trash, “A few more of those and you’ll be back to your old self.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Bon Bon replied.
“For now though, you need to get some rest.” the doctor said, “Which means your visitors should be heading back home.”
Lyra didn’t want to leave, but the unicorn was already aware that she had come in late. Getting up from her seat, she gave Bon Bon a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I’ll come see you again as soon as I can.”
“Lyra,” Bon Bon replied, “You worry too much. I’ll be fine. Just take care of yourself for now, okay?”
“Okay,” Lyra reluctantly agreed, “But you know I only worry because I care.”
With those last words, Lyra made her way out of the room, Trixie following right behind her. For a moment, the two mares remained silent as they made their way to the exit, but once they got a little ways away from Bon Bon’s room, Trixie spoke up.
“A purple collar, huh?” Trixie said, “I met a few when I was a black collar, but I think this is the first time I’ve met one after being freed.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Lyra said, “Because purples had to have their memories of the Fall erased, a lot of them are more stable than your average black collar. To them, they went to sleep one day, and the next they woke up in a changed world. Because of that, they could more easily return to their normal lives, unless they had nothing to return to.”
Once more Trixie was facing the good aspects of the memory removal spell, and while she agreed with most of what Sunset said about the bad parts of it, she was still wishing that a mare like herself could reap the benefits of it.
“So is this why you decided to skip the protests earlier?” Trixie asked, believing she already knew the answer.
“I can’t really try to get something banned that’s been so useful for somepony I care about,” Lyra replied, “It would be hypocritical, and it wouldn’t feel right walking a picket line in front of a hospital while my… my friend was trying to rest inside.”
“I get it,” Trixie said, “But if that’s the case, then why didn’t you tell Sunset that somepony important to you was in here?”
“Would it change anything?” Lyra asked, “As much as I believe Sunset has a good grip on how things are going these days, I think we both know that she can be a bit extreme.”
“You mean about the self defense thing?” Trixie asked, remembering that Lyra openly expressed concerns about possibly killing somepony, questioning Starlight on the matter publicly.
“That, and other things.” Lyra commented, “What I’m getting at though is that it wouldn’t have mattered to Sunset why I didn’t want to join the protest, all that matters is that I didn’t. If I told her the truth, then at best she would have acted sympathetic, but in the end she wasn’t going to cancel the protests just because something good came out of using memory spells.”
“I guess you’re right.” Trixie said, knowing that Sunset always did what she set out to do.
“I’m not even saying that she’s wrong when it comes to red collars or stallions who might have been caribou collaborators,” Lyra said, supporting the reasons Sunset was against the practice of magical memory removal, “But any pony that is a purple collar needs it, along with foals who didn’t deserve what the caribou made them live through. I even think that black collared mares should have a choice if they want to remember all the things that happened to them, because while a pony you me or you can handle it, I don’t really think all mares can.”
“Right, we can handle it…” Trixie falsely agreed, as she wouldn’t mind resetting her mind back to before the caribou, and would do so with little hesitation if it were offered to her.
The two mares made their way back to the train station, flagging down every member of the support group they saw along the way to let them know Lyra had been found. They were the first to make it back, but it wasn’t long after that every other mare and stallion arrived behind them.
“You had us worried about you,” Sunset said to Lyra on sight, lightly scolding the missing unicorn.
“I know,” Lyra apologized, “Trixie told me you all were looking for me. I didn’t mean to worry you all with my little walk.”
“It’s not that big a deal,” Sunset replied, “I didn’t really think anything bad happened to you, but it would have been awful if the trains came back and we had to leave you behind. Maybe next time you should stick with the group, just so we don’t have to hunt you down.”
“Yeah, you might be right,” Lyra said, feigning ignorance about the whole situation, not wanting to let her stance on the protests to be common knowledge.
“I’m just surprised that you didn’t hear me when I called out to you,” said Carrot Top, who was standing close by, “I guess it’s a good thing Trixie decided to split off from me after I lost you in the crowd.”
“Yes, you did a good job finding her.” said Sunset in congratulation towards Trixie.
“It was no trouble at all,” Trixie answered, Lyra having concocted a story to keep what they had done at the hospital a secret. To go against it would have been to betray Lyra’s trust, and while she was on the fence about the matter, it was not her place to expose Lyra’s actions against her wishes.
The rest of the evening went fairly predictably, no pony wanting to go out into the city again as they waited for their train to arrive. When it got there, they all were happy to finally get on after the delay, considering Starlight’s flub on the schedule to have been pretty awful, but that overall the trip was enjoyable.
Only Trixie had any long lasting negative thoughts, as she dwelled on what Lyra had said on the authorization of memory spells for the public, compared to what Sunset had told her on the matter. Sunset’s approach was an absolute, which when it came down to it was probably safer for everypony, but Lyra’s opinion was more in line with what Trixie wanted.
Was she being selfish for wanting Sunset to be wrong on this matter? It felt like it, since the only reason she agreed with Lyra’s take was so she could take advantage of it. If her own personal want for her life to go back to what she considered ‘normal’ wasn’t part of the equation, to forget about all the bad things that happened in the Fall, then would she agree with Lyra at all? She couldn’t say anything with certainty.
In the end, she simply had to tell herself that this was a grey area, and while Sunset usually had the right idea about things, this was one point that some leeway could be taken. Not that it really mattered, since it was up to the Committee of Ponies to make the spells available, so she could conveniently declare a stalemate for the time being and wait on what they had to say. For now, she would follow Sunset’s lead while silently agreeing with Lyra, believing that was the best way to avoid conflict, and thus the best move a mare could make when all they wanted was for their life to remain quiet and peaceful.