The Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee
Chapter 14: Forgetfulness
The group of friends sat in silence around the table. There was only four of them left, and the whole room felt much emptier. They had lost Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie over the past couple months, but really it only felt like a couple days.
They knew that it was pointless to go through their normal fit of anger, guilt, blame, and sorrow for the third time in a row over Pinkie. Even though Twilight felt awful, she knew that she saved Pinkie’s life. If they succeeded in overthrowing Emerald, they would be able to get Applejack and Pinkie back. Fluttershy, however, was a different story…
“You know,” Rarity spoke up, “I’ve been thinking. When Applejack went to dabble in black magic, why couldn’t she wish for something more practical? Why couldn’t she wish Fluttershy back to life, or Emerald dead, or that none of this ever happened?”
“Love is weird,” Rainbow replied simply. She didn’t need to say anything else to get her point across. The others nodded their heads.
“Sorry, I just felt like it needed asking…” Rarity apologized, although she knew that everyone was grateful that they could talk about something that wasn’t related to Pinkie’s suicide attempt.
“So, I suppose that we really need to get our rears in gear if we want any chance in getting this rebellion underway,” Aquamarine said. “I don’t want our numbers to dwindle any more than they already have…”
“What’s stopping us from storming in the castle, anyway?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, finding magical old books is cool and all, but we don’t have time to carefully plan this stuff out. If we want freedom, we have to take it with brute force!”
“While I don’t completely agree with you there,” Twilight said, “you do have a point. What exactly is holding us back?”
“I have been in that building,” Rarity stated, “and I can assure you that getting in without Emerald wanting you there is nearly impossible. There are myriads of guards guarding every door, so even if you get past the ones guarding the front entrance, you’ll still have to get through even more if you want to actually get anywhere.” The others contemplated her words as she paused. “Also, there’s some sort of passcode that the guards have to enter to let you inside the building, and I have absolutely no idea what that code could be.”
“So we just need to focus our efforts on how to get inside?” Aquamarine asked for confirmation.
“But wait, how will we know what to do once we get in?” Twilight inquired. “I don’t know my way around there, and how will we defeat Emerald?”
“I can help you with getting around the vicinity,” Rarity offered. “As for fighting… I won’t be as much help to you there.”
“I can totally beat that Emerald Joy to a pulp!” Rainbow shouted excitedly, smashing one hoof into the other. “She won’t even know what hit her!”
“And I’m sure that Twilight and I can use our magic against her,” Aquamarine added.
“Will she give up once she’s down, though?” Twilight asked. “She doesn’t seem to be the type that would surrender when pushed into a corner.”
“But if we threaten to kill her if she doesn’t restore things back to the way they were and she declines, then we can just kill her and restore everything ourselves,” Rainbow pointed out. Rarity fidgeted awkwardly. She didn’t like this conversation about killing people, considering her ladylike, civil upbringing.
“Well, I suppose,” Twilight said. “I’m just worried about fighting her, but I guess we shouldn’t worry about that until the time comes…”
“May I propose a change in subject?” Rarity spoke up. “We all have our memories back completely, right? I mean, last night I seemed able to remember a bit more than I could earlier in the day. Is there anything to discuss that could help us in figuring something out?” Everyone turned their gaze to Rainbow, still intrigued with what she had to say before about them defeating someone.
“Look, if you’re asking for a continuation on my story from yesterday, I can’t help you. Everything that I remembered more of had nothing to do with that,” Rainbow explained. Everyone deflated a little and sighed.
“Still, is there anything important that we can speak of?” Rarity asked hopefully.
“Well, I did remember something earlier,” Aquamarine spoke up. “It was…” She trailed off. “That’s strange, I can’t seem remember what it is…” Twilight quickly tried to remember something about her past also, but had a similar experience. All of her new memories seemed to disappear.
“Ah? It’s happening to me, too,” Rarity added.
“Me too!” Rainbow chimed in.
“What could this mean?” Twilight asked worriedly. “Why are we all experiencing collective amnesia?” Everyone seemed to come to the same conclusion.
“It was all… her doing,” Rainbow cried. “I can’t seem to remember her name, though. Was it even a girl? Suddenly I’m not so sure…”
“Who are you talking about?” Rarity asked. “More importantly, why are we all in this dusty room? Why don’t we go outside for some fresh air?”
“Yeah, I agree…” Twilight said. She tried to flap her wings to stand up, then realized that she didn’t have any. “Huh? I could’ve sworn I was a pegasus…”
The room began to swirl as her memories scattered around throughout her head, until she blacked out entirely, along with the others.
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“Gyah! Who are you ponies?!” Twilight shouted once she woke. She found herself in a dusty old room lit only with a couple dozen candles, and sleeping on the floor were three other mares about her age that she had never seen in her whole life. She couldn’t remember how she got there, or anything, really. One of them woke up. She had rainbow colored hair and wings on her back. Wait, she had wings?! Twilight screeched at the sight, and the other mare screamed as well once they made eye contact.
“Who the hell are you, and where the hell did you take me?!” the mare insisted. “I expect answers, missy!” She grabbed Twilight by the throat and raised a hoof, aiming towards her face.
“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, frightened now more than ever. “You’re the one who kidnapped me! Unless it was one of those other two who did it!” Twilight pointed towards the purple haired mare and the blue haired one, who were still out cold. Neither had wings—they had horns, just like Twilight—but she didn’t doubt that one of them must have kidnapped her. Maybe this winged pony was just playing dumb?
“It’s possible…” the girl said, slowly lowering Twilight and letting go of her. Twilight gasped for air. “My name is Rainbow Dash, by the way. Might as well know each others’ names, huh?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight responded, not breaking eye contact with the unmoving girls on the floor. She wanted to be sure that neither of them got up suddenly and attacked.
“Yo! You two!” Rainbow shouted, much to Twilight’s dismay. “Get up before I break you so much you won’t be able to!” Twilight took a step away from Rainbow. This girl seemed violent, and she definitely didn’t want to get on her bad side.
The two who were unconscious on the floor got up with a start at Rainbow’s loud voice. Confusingly, both seemed just as lost as Twilight and Rainbow were when they woke up.
“Gyah! Who are you? Where am I?” they both cried in unison. Twilight smacked her forehead. So much for them being the kidnappers.
“So wait,” Twilight interjected. “You weren’t the ones who kidnapped us and brought us here?”
“What are you talking about?” the purple haired unicorn asked. “Aren't you the ones who kidnapped us?”
“Well, one of us here is a filthy liar, then. And it isn’t me,” Rainbow said.
“Maybe it isn’t any of us, though,” the blue haired pony observed. “I mean, maybe we all just fainted or something?”
“Either way, I’m going to go out there and try and figure out where we are,” Twilight stated, scooting around the table and chairs and towards the door. She exited the building and waited for the others to follow.
“Where should we go, though?” Rainbow asked. “I have no idea where we are right now.”
“Well, we should start—” Twilight was cut off as she suddenly fazed through the ground along with the other three mares. It wasn’t like falling into a hole, it literally felt like being transported through the stone of the pavement and the earth and deep underground. It was totally surreal, but she had no choice but to believe it right then. There was no other explanation for how she suddenly appeared in an underground cavern.
“Where on Earth are we?” the purple haired unicorn wailed.
“I think a more appropriate question would be ‘Where in Earth are we?’ Don’t you agree?” The voice didn’t have any host that the group of girls could see, and it instead felt like it was coming from everywhere at once as if the room was alive. Everyone tensed at the sound of the disembodied voice.
“Goodness, are you scared of me already?” the voice asked, its owner coming into view. Before them stood a white unicorn pony with short purple hair—which was almost a pink color—and matching purple eyes. Her messy hair had a black headband in it with a lone yellow heart on it, but the band did little to keep the hair out of her face. She wore a blue shirt with yellow buttons shaped to match the yellow heart on her headband, and she sported a pink skirt with a faint floral pattern. As for shoes, she just wore some pink slippers. However, her most striking asset was the red eye positioned over her heart, which was connected to her wrists and headband with red and yellow cords. “Usually I have to tell people of my abilities before they’re terrified of me.”
“Who… what are you?” Twilight asked. “How did we get here? We were just on the street a moment ago…” The strange mare raised a hoof asking for her silence.
“Let me explain,” she started. “First of all, the reason you are here is because I have summoned you, of course. I need you just as much as you need me, but none of you know that yet. I teleported you using magic, as I am a unicorn along with the rest of you, not counting Rainbow, who is a pegasus.”
“Hey! How did you—” Rainbow shouted, but she was cut off quickly.
“The reason I know your name brings me to my next point. I have the ability to read one’s conscious and subconscious. This has driven me to be outcased by my people, as nobody wants to be friends with someone who can easily access their darkest secrets.”
“How does this concern any of us?” the blue haired pony cut in.
“You’re lucky that I am benevolent enough to let you speak as opposed to just reading your thoughts and knowing what you have to say, Aquamarine, therefore constantly cutting you off. This concerns you all because, as I have the power to read minds, I am also capable of retrieving the memories that none of you know that you lost.”
“What even is your name?” Twilight spoke up.
“I don’t have one, nor do I need one, but since your kind loves to label things, I will let you refer to me as Satori, as that is my species. Not to be confused with the Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment, although considering it can also be interpreted as looking into one’s nature, even if you interpreted my name as that way you wouldn’t be very far from the truth.”
“Whatever, just explain what you mean. What lost memories?” Rainbow asked, getting more agitated as she lost her patience with every passing second.
“Perhaps it would make more sense if I demonstrated my abilities first?” Satori proposed. The others exchanged glances. “Excellent! Now, if I can have a volunteer?” She surveyed the small group for a moment. “Rarity, how about you?”
The long, purple-blue haired pony stepped forward reluctantly to meet Satori. The psychic pony took Rarity by the shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes. Suddenly Satori’s eyes glowed brightly, along with the third eye over her heart, and Rarity’s did the same. After a few moments, their eyes lost their illumination and Rarity blinked a few times. She turned to the others and her face brightened.
“Twilight! Rainbow! Aquamarine!” she shouted gleefully. “You’re alright!” She ran up to them and hugged them all at once, dropping her usual civil manner. The three all gave her looks suggesting that they thought that she was crazy. Satori placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder, and another mental connection occurred between the two.
“...I’m sorry?” Aquamarine asked. “What kind of memories are these that she’s getting?”
“Oh, I see.” Rarity deflated a little. “We lost our memories, and now only I have them…” Satori nodded.
“Now, if you can let me help restore the rest of your memories, this conversation might be a bit easier,” Satori said, moving things along.
“Hold on,” Twilight cut in. “I thought that you said that you have the power to read minds, and I suppose by extension communicate telepathically, and I suppose even plant ideas in our heads without us knowing, but how are you able to restore memories that we’ve lost?” Satori nodded, processing the inquiry.
“An excellent question,” Satori affirmed. “Even without your memories of your past self, you’re very observant, and therefore I will grace you with an answer.” She turned, paced back a few steps, then abruptly spun around to face the group again.
“When someone loses their memories, they are not actually lost at all. The memory just gets blocked off from the conscious. However, the subconscious cannot be restricted at all, and therefore can access everything, even if magic is obstructing the conscious. However, as the subconscious can rarely be tapped into on purpose, the memories might as well be lost. The same rule applies for any memory loss, really, whether it’s natural or brought upon by magic.
“I have the power to tap into both the conscious and the subconscious, so I can duplicate the memories I find in the subconscious and bring them to the conscious. Essentially I’m just copying and pasting any memories that I find in the subconscious, so I probably gave you even more than you lost due to the spell. The original memory is still blocked off in the conscious, but now you also have a duplicate memory that isn’t corrupted by magic.” Twilight was amazed at how much sense the explanation made, considering she knew next to nothing about psychology.
“Alright, then, I trust you. You can restore my memories,” Twilight decided, stepping forward towards the psychic pony.
“Are you crazy?” Aquamarine asked, yanking her back a little. “Even though her explanation makes sense, how do we know that she isn’t just giving us false memories so we can fulfill any duties that she wants us to? I mean, she did say that we need her just as she needs us, right?”
“I can understand your hesitation,” Satori answered, “but really, can you not trust me? Just ask your friend Rarity, who I’m sure you don’t even remember is your friend, if I have done something as immoral as giving her false memories.”
“She really is telling the truth!” Rarity insisted. “I felt a great sense of deja vu when she restored my memories, as if they really were there the whole time! You have to trust her! Don’t be so impertinent now!” There was a tense silence as the three others exchanged glances holding varying degrees of acceptance.
“Well, I don’t know what you all think, but I’m going to trust her,” Twilight announced confidently, stepping forward once again. The corners Satori’s lips didn’t curl into a smile, but Twilight could tell that there was a glimmer of appreciation in her soul piercing eyes.
“Very well then,” Satori said, grabbing Twilight by the shoulders as she did with Rarity. Twilight felt a sudden jolt as they made contact, and the feeling didn’t get any more pleasant as Satori stared straight into her eyes. Twilight lost the ability to see for a moment, so her full focus was on her thoughts, but she could tell that both of their eyes must have been glowing at this point.
After a moment or two of random meaningless images appearing in her mind’s eye as a result of Satori poking around in her subconscious, at least that’s what she figured, she suddenly felt another presence. It was like she was no longer able to control her own mind, which was probably because she couldn’t. The one who had full control of Twilight’s mind was a mysterious pony who Twilight had only known for a few minutes now.
After another few moments, which dragged on for forever, she abruptly got a sudden rush of memories. The magic, her friends, her personality, her hardships, her accomplishments, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Emerald Joy, the Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee…
She wanted to shout and cry and laugh all at the same time, but Satori had thought ahead and locked all of her motor skills for the time being, allowing her only the ability to keep herself upright. The vast amount of information being flown at her all at once was overwhelming, but it wasn’t like she was learning something new extremely fast. It was more like a major sense of nostalgia, as if she couldn’t believe that she really forgot everything.
She turned to her friends and saw them all in a new light. Rainbow wasn’t just the mare with wings who had low self control and a tendency for violence, but instead the loyal friend who was headstrong and would give up her own hopes and dreams for them. Twilight had to fight the urge to run up and hug them the same way that Rarity did, and it was made even more difficult to resist when Satori restored her ability to move. Instead she walked up to the two who remained—Rainbow and Aquamarine—and urged that they believe Satori and let her override the spell. After lots of convincing, they finally agreed, and eventually all of the group members were free from the enchantment’s clutches.
“So when you said that you needed us just as much as we needed you…” Twilight began once everyone was situated, “you were referring to us needing to rebel, right? We needed you to get our memories back and you needed us to rebel because…?”
“As I was saying earlier,” Satori responded, “the satori species is one of the most feared. It’s not because we are hostile towards ponies. In fact, in theory we could easily coexist together peacefully, but what works in theory doesn’t always work in practice. We are outcasted for our ability to lay bare the hearts of others at a moment’s notice. When it comes to ponies, death is not the scariest thing in the world, but instead having their secrets accessed so easily. And I must admit, some of the satori are well deserving of such a reputation, but making it a stereotype that all use their powers for evil is completely unjust. However, if you overthrow this tyranny with the help of a satori, then word will get out that my species isn’t all bad.” Out of thin air formed a glass of tea, which she took a minute to sip calmly. She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and then continued.
“My sister longed for friends, so she decided, foolish she was, to permanently close her third eye and relieve herself of her powers so others would trust her. However, in doing so, she closed her own heart, so not only is she unable to read the hearts of others, but she also made it unable for others to read her own heart.” Satori sipped her tea tentatively again.
“Ah, um…” Twilight mumbled. There really was no way to effectively follow up any depressing tale of that sort. Satori ignored her.
“But now is not the time to dwell on the past,” the psychic unicorn announced, setting her tea aside and straightening confidently with renewed spirit. “Now is the time for everyone to push forward! While I cherish your company, it seems that it is the time for your departure.”
“Ah! Thank you for your company, Miss Satori,” Twilight said, with Rarity following suit in a similar manner. Satori turned to show them the exit, but Twilight was sure she could see the nearly emotionless pony’s face redden.
“I hope that you all succeed in your ventures! I wish the best of luck to you!” Satori exclaimed as the four exited, climbing the stairs back to the surface. She shot Aquamarine and Rarity a shady look before finally closing the door.
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“Erm, guys? Can I ask something?” Rainbow spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence of the group. “That whole memory gaining and then suddenly losing thing… What was that all about? I mean, she said she would give us our memories back, which she did, but how did she take them away right after we got them all? Didn’t Twilight say that that kind of spell couldn’t be casted on us without us knowing?” The three unicorns tapped their chins for a moment in thought.
“I think… that spell she casted… it was all one big spell…” Aquamarine said, still trying to form her thoughts into coherent sentences as she spoke. “I mean, I know there are spells that can restore memory and I know there are spells that can take it away, and both are immensely difficult, but to make a spell that does both in a certain amount of time? That takes massive amounts of skill to pull off.”
“Well that doesn’t make things any more reassuring for when we actually have to fight her…” Twilight sighed. “But there is something that I’ve been thinking about for a bit that I would like to address.”
“Oh? What would that be?” Rarity asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“Well,” Twilight explained, “do you remember how Satori said that her memory restoration was likely to give us more memories than we had lost from that spell? Doesn’t that mean that we now have memories that were either taken away from us through other mind loss spells, or we had just downright forgotten?” Rainbow’s face brightened with realization.
“Oh my gosh, Twilight, you’re right!” she cried with glee. This is great! Now we’ll definitely find out something new!”
“Mind you,” Aquamarine spoke up, “it’s unlikely that we can remember literally everything about our past like we have photographic memory.”
“A start is a start,” Rainbow affirmed. “Now we just have to think, try to remember, and pick up the shattered shards of our past and paste them back together to fit in the final piece of the puzzle.”
“That was awful poetic for someone like you, Rainbow,” Rarity complimented. Rainbow folded her forelegs in a huff.
“Whatever. Let’s just get to work, already!” she responded, raising her voice a little. The room fell into a tense and excited silence as everyone shoveled through the piles of resurfaced memories for something, anything that could be even remotely helpful. The four remaining members of The Rebellion Bureau felt, no, they knew that they were just on the verge of something.
“I have a confession to make…” Rarity mumbled suddenly. The other three snapped out of their concentration and turned to her expectantly. She fidgeted a little and tensed up even more than she was before. “Well… you see…”
“What is it, Rarity?” Rainbow asked. Rarity flinched at the interruption in her stuttering.
“I… I think I know the code to get inside The Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee’s headquarters building.”
“Are you serious?!” Twilight shouted in giddy excitement, slamming her hooves on the table as she abruptly leaned in towards Rarity. “How do you know it? I thought you said that only the guards knew!” Rarity swallowed.
“This is true…” she agreed, still a little hesitant, “but apparently one day Emerald asked me to go out and fetch something while the guards were off who knows where, and she told me the code. But once she got back she wiped it clean out of my mind.”
“But now that Satori performed that spell on you…” Aquamarine started incredulously.
“...You remember the code!” Twilight finished. She threw her forelegs around her friend. “This is amazing! Now we can finally get inside! I mean, we still have to figure out that whole getting around the guards business and how we’re actually going to take down Emerald, but…” She paused, at a lost for words. She opted instead to fling herself onto Rarity again, overwhelmed with glee.