//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Wagon // Story: Forgotten Bygones // by Catpaw616 //------------------------------// Night had fallen upon Ponyville and the streets had little light sources. The only thing lighting up the town is the lights that came from the houses. Without them, then the town would be very difficult to navigate in the dark. Two ponies appeared from the bushes, wearing black capes and wearing a hood over their heads. They both gazed at Trixie's wagon that she left near Twilight's castle. "Ah, there is my sweet wagon!" Trixie gazed at it from afar. "I'm surprised the 'Princess' and her friends didn't do anything to it yet." "Wouldn't it be ok if I just teleported it to our area in the woods?" Starlight asked her friend. "It would be no trouble at all-" "Tut tut." Trixie shushed her. "My wagon is a heavy wagon, Starlight. If you were to teleport it, then it would take up a lot of magical energy." "Fair point." Starlight eventually agreed. She stared at the wagon and then back at Trixie. "Can we get it without getting caught?" "Starlight, we have the entire night to our advantage. These capes make us invisible! I'm sure we'll be fine." Before her friend responded, she dashed out of the bushes. After Starlight caught up to her, she helped her look inside the wagon. Nothing looked like had changed. "It's all good inside." Starlight said to Trixie, who was putting the wagon's latch onto her body. "Good, I think we'll get out of this-" "Trixie?" Trixie and Starlight gasped when they heard the sound of Twilight's voice. The alicorn looked over them from the balcony and flew down to their ground level. "What are you doing here?" Twilight asked in a genuine confused manner. But hostility shown in her eyes when she saw the second pony. "Who's this?" "Uh..." Trixie stammered. "My... friend." "Well, mind if you took off your cape?" Twilight asked Starlight, who was starting to sweat nervously. "Run." Trixie whispered when she lightly kicked her hind leg. But Starlight straightened herself. "No." She said in a firm voice. When she stepped out, she used her magic to reveal her face by lifting the hood. "Starlight!" Twilight gasped when she saw her again. She both looked at them with suspicion. "What are you two doing together?" Trixie stepped in and stood side by side with Starlight. "Why would we tell you, Princess? Or should I say, Twilight?" she spat. "Well, Trixie, I'm not surprised to see you again." Twilight responded back with disgust, and she looked at Starlight with a narrowed gaze, but Trixie noticed that Twilight had fear in her eyes. Why? "And why are you here?" Twilight asked Starlight coldly. "I thought I told you that I don't want to see you around unless you have come to forgiveness, and according to what I am seeing, you are not doing that." "Twilight I may have my old style back but I am still the reformed mare that I am." Starlight said to Twilight calmly, but from the look of her, Trixie could tell that she was trying her best to hold her anger in. "You are?" Twilight didn't believe her words one bit. "If you have been reformed, you should've known to not sleep in anyone's house, or castle in this case, without their permission." "Sorry?" "You don't look sorry!" Trixie and Starlight looked at each other with confused expressions. This can't be the real Twilight. She would never act like this, would she? "Twilight, you may not remember... somehow, but, I am a different pony than the last time that I had this mane style." "You may not believe her, or us," Trixie butted in this time. Maybe this Twilight would soon have a realization? "But you have shown to forgive villains who did many corrupt things. You may not give me a chance, but could you at least give her a chance?" Twilight looked like she couldn't believe what she just heard. "I've reformed villains?" she whispered to herself, but Trixie heard it too. She lifted her head and stared at the two mares. "You two are starting to go insane. I think I should take the two of you to Celestia and she would probably put you two in some kind of therapy..." "Therapy?!" Trixie had enough of Twilight's oblivious statements. But Starlight took her words in utter shock. "Wait, you don't remember reforming any villains? Luna? Discord? Tempest? No one?" "I only remember reforming Princess Luna. But Discord? He's still running amok? And besides, she's the only one who deserved it anyway." Trixie immediately saw the hurt in Starlight's expression as she lowered her ears and put her hood over her head. "Ok, I've had enough of your stupidness." Trixie said to the alicorn. "Me and Starlight are leaving to go find answers as to why you are in this trance. And we are going whether you like it or not." "As if!" Twilight stopped her. "I'm taking you two to Canterlot right this instant." "Oh, really?" Starlight lifted her head and had scorn edged into her voice. "And how exactly are you going to take us there anyway?" Flashing a knowing look at Trixie, her horn glowed, and soon, with all her might, she teleported herself, Trixie, and the wagon to some parts of the woods. "I thought you didn't want to do that." Trixie looked at Starlight, who was panting a little bit from the spell. "Under normal circumstances, no." Starlight explained to her. "But like I said, I did it, and it worn me out just a little bit. I just really needed to get away from her..." "I can't blame you. That is hard to watch." Trixie agreed. "So what now?" "We find answers." Starlight responded. "But we need to get far away from the town as possible. There is a chance that Twilight will find us." "Good plan." After walking for at least hours, they finally found a spot where the wagon was hidden. Trixie drank water in a cup, while Starlight stood by the bonfire in deep thought. "Anything yet?" "I'm trying to think." Starlight said to her friend. "But I remember a time where a similar situation happened with Sunset in the human world. Her friend's good memories of her were snatched away by a memory stone, thanks to a human called Wallflower Blush." "So I must be it! Another memory stone!" Trixie exclaimed. "It must be it!" "But it doesn't add up." Starlight stopped her. "According to Twilight, only one memory stone was known in existence. And it traveled to Sunset's world. So how can there be two when this said memory stone was destroyed? And besides, who hates the two of us enough to erase their memories?" "I guess... but maybe the second memory stone was hidden from the puplic?" "I don't know, but it is most likely, but wait-" Starlight looked like she had a new thought. "Twilight said that she only remembered reforming Princess Luna... does that mean that Discord and Tempest has been affected like us too?" "So are you saying we should find Discord? I mean, with a snap of his claws, he can pretty much do anything that he wants." Trixie with an annoyed eyeroll. "And with his magic he can revert the spell." Starlight finished. "Ok, I think we know what we have to do." "But will it work?" Trixie reconsidered. "And what if he forgets us too?" Starlight simply sighed. "I have no clue of what's going to happen next, but we now have a goal set in mind. So at least that is something." When Starlight walked into Trixie's wagon to get some sleep, Trixie rushed up to her with one more question. "Ok, but how do we even find Discord? We don't really know where he lives, and we can't summon him or anything." Starlight put a hoof on her chin, but before she could think, she heard hoofsteps that surrounded the two mares. "There you are." Twilight appeared from the trees. "You think that you could hide from me for long?" "Ok, you are definitely a fake Twilight." Trixie said to the purple alicorn as she backed away. "A changeling, perhaps?" "A changeling?" Starlight and Trixie jumped when she recognized the voice. "If Chrysalis were smart, she and her soldiers would step away from me as far as possible." Celestia herself arrived at the scene, with her guards at her side. "You two better have a better chance to explain yourselves."