Twilight Sparkle hummed cheerfully as she briskly trotted down the stairs leading to the main room. A delicious aroma filled the air, and the sound of her assistant, Spike, singing in the kitchen as he cooked a delectable breakfast reached her ears.
Twilight smiled, amused, as she walked in the kitchen to find Spike holding a wooden mixing spoon up to his mouth, imitating a microphone. He sang slightly off-key. "Jewels! Ya gotta love 'em! They're tasty and fine! They gotta be mine! There's nothing quite as tasty as a jewel..."
"Lovely singing, Spike," Twilight commented cleverly, interrupting Spike's song.
"Gah! Twilight! What... what are you doing here?" Spike stammered, fumbling for words as his cheeks turned a deep crimson.
"Well, Spike," Twilight giggled, "I was just having a terrible nightmare when the most melodic voice I had ever heard saved me from my horrifying dreams."
"Um... a voice?" Spike said, embarrassed, "I didn't hear a voice... are you sure you heard a voice? 'Cause I sure didn't..." The baby dragon looked down, ashamed.
Twilight grinned. "Oh, come on, Spike," she laughed, "I was only joking!"
"Oh... heh. I knew that," Spike smiled weakly, chuckling at his own expense. "So, Twilight, want some breakfast?" he quickly changed the subject, not wanting to remain the center of ridicule for much longer. He held up an enticing meal. The polished plate displayed a variety of mouth-watering breakfast foods, such as steaming, boiled eggs, and delicious toast smothered with butter.
Twilight's stomach growled suddenly. Embarrassed, she quickly took the steaming platter from the eager cook. "This looks delicious, Spike," she said as she licked her lips, eager to consume the appetizing breakfast. A purple aura surrounded the plate, and she levitated the meal over to the dining table. Spike reached into a nearby cupboard, grabbing several sparkling gemstones for himself, before sitting down across from her.
"So, Twilight," Spike garbled between bites of his own meal, "what are we doing today?"
Twilight frowned at the dragon's crude manner, but decided to brush it off. She could lecture him about it later, anyway. "Today is Cleaning Day, Spike!" the lavender unicorn announced with excitement, clopping her hooves together.
Spike groaned and rolled his eyes, annoyed. "But Twilight!" he protested, "we cleaned the library just three days ago!"
"I know, Spike," Twilight said soberly, "we've been putting it off far too long. We really need to clean more often. A clean library is a happy library."
This earned another eye roll from her assistant. "Fine..." Spike relented. "I'll go get my broom..." he mumbled as he skulked slowly towards the broom closet to retrieve his cleaning tools.
Twilight smiled at the dragon. Spike could be a bother at times, but overall, he was a great assistant. Well, she thought, I might as well go help. I don't want him to work himself to sleep! She grinned inwardly at the amusing scene that popped into her head, then trotted upstairs to get her cleaning rag.
Twilight opened the drawer that contained the rag happily. She couldn't wait to clean her books again. After she was done, all of her tomes would be fresh and new again, ready to read. She reached into the drawer, searching for her desired cloth. She ruffled around in the drawer for a minute, confused on why she couldn't find the surprisingly elusive cleaning item. After a while, she threw her hooves up in frustration. "Ugh!" Twilight groaned, "where is it?"
Suddenly, a glint caught Twilight's eye. The subtle sparkle had come from under her bed. She bent down, curious. Looking around intently, she located the source of the twinkling. She grabbed it, noting its soft and silky texture. Removing her hoof from under the bed, she studied the mystery object.
It was a silvery cloth, embroidered with green lace. It smelled clean and fresh. Attached to the corner was a torn note.
Twilight took the note off the cloth, bringing it closer to her face. The hoofwriting was small and faded, so she read each word carefully.
Forget to Remember.
Twilight mouthed the words silently, pondering the meaning of the mysterious message. It carried a certain foreboding, as if it were giving her an obscure warning.
"Twilight! I could use your help down here!"
Spike's call of annoyance snapped Twilight into focus. The cloth had intrigued her, and she had found herself staring at it intently, as if she were in a trance.
"Coming, Spike!" Twilight called back. She glanced at the shiny cloth for a second, then shrugged nonchalantly. The note was probably just a part of some sort of silly prank, Twilight thought to herself. Satisfied with her theory, she went downstairs to help Spike.
She found the baby dragon dusting the floor indignantly . "Come on, Twilight!" he said with resentment, "I've been cleaning up this whole mess myself!" Spike's frown deepened, as if his own comment had finally helped him realize that he really had been doing the majority of the work.
"Sorry, Spike," Twilight apologized, "I got distracted."
Spike grumbled in retort, then carried his broom across the area, sweeping in a methodical motion.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she watched Spike walk off, then turned to the nearest shelf to commence Cleaning Day.
She levitated a thick book off the bottom shelf, placing it neatly in front of her. She immediately recognized the cover. Hey! she thought, overjoyed, its my old photo album! She sighed happily as she flipped through the book, every picture releasing a flood of nostalgia and good feelings into her mind. A broad smile warmed her face as she relived all of the fun experiences she had accumulated with her friends here in Ponyville.
Twilight turned the page again. As she scanned the page for more happy photos of her and her friends, her eyes landed on a certain photo. Her smile wilted. It depicted her dancing clumsily next to a record player, wearing her birthday dress and sticking her tongue out obnoxiously. Unconsciously, the studious mare blushed.
Hmm, Twilight thought, I don't recall looking that silly at the party. Memories of the party at Canterlot Castle returned: surprising Rarity, her unfinished birthday dress, her humiliating lack of self-awareness as she celebrated, and Rarity's confession and subsequent apology about deceiving her friends to attend a high-class event.
The longer she looked at the photo, the more embarrassed she got. Without thinking, she rubbed the silvery cloth she had been holding on the photo in frustration. After she had gotten all her consternation out, she removed the cloth from the picture.
She gasped.
The photo was no longer there. A completely blank picture frame remained in its place.
Spike, noticing Twilight's expression of confusion, wandered over. "What are you looking at, Twilight?" Spike inquired, following her line of sight. He saw the empty picture. "Is there a reason you're looking at a blank photo?"
Twilight looked over at Spike, flustered. "Oh, Spike, I'm sorry," she apologized, "I was browsing our photo album, and I came across an embarrassing picture. I got frustrated and rubbed this cloth on it. And now it looks like I've... 'erased' it, somehow."
"Well, what was it a photo of?" Spike asked.
"Oh, it was a picture of me dancing that one time we had my birthday at Canterlot Castle so Rarity could attend, and Rarity had choose between my party and that fancy affair," Twilight recounted, "I was just so happy to be with my friends, that I started moving around the castle grounds like Dash after Cider Season." Twilight blushed.
Spike gave her a strange look. His eyebrows were raised and his mouth frowned with doubt.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, confused at Spike's reaction.
Spike looked at Twilight, worried. "Have you been staying up all night reading again?" he questioned.
"Why would you ask that?" Twilight said, getting more and more perplexed.
"Uh... it's just that I think you're starting to imagine things from your books," Spike said quickly.
"What do you mean?" Twilight replied, an unbidden feeling of dread creeping through her veins.
Spike looked Twilight directly in the eyes.
"Because you never went to Celestia's castle for your birthday party. And neither did Rarity."