Fragments of Memories
By Starwin
Chapter 07 – Strangers
“Sister!” bellowed Luna in outrage. A torrent of swirling magic leapt from her horn and flung open the ancient oaken doors to Celestia’s chambers with an ear splitting crack. Luna didn’t even slow down as she entered. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Luna?” asked Celestia sleepily. She rose slightly from her gold and white sheets to squint at the angry mare charging across her room. “What is wrong, my sister?”
“You know what is wrong,” shouted Luna. A cloud of dark mists began to swirl into existence behind her, forming like an ominous storm. “How could you conceal the truth about Twilight Dash from their families?”
“Be calm sister,” commanded Celestia, a powerful authority coming to her voice. With a flap of her wings she sent her sheets flying, soared from her bed, and landed lightly upon the marble floor, all in a single graceful motion. Luna came to an abrupt halt. The swirling darkness broke upon her back and dissipated out into the air.
Standing before her much taller sister Luna felt small and filly-like. Her fury became fear; fear that her sister would cast her away. Fear that her sister would lock her within the moon for another thousand years. Fear that her sister had lied to her.
Luna’s bravery returned and she glared up at Celestia.
“I have not lied to either you or Twilight Dash,” continued Celestia calmly. “Nor have I hidden them away from anypony.”
“But you had their medical records sealed,” explained Luna, presenting the evidence she had heard from Rainbow Sky. “And you have not informed their families!”
“You are correct on both accounts,” answered Celestia, her expression stern but her voice calm.
“Then you admit to hiding the truth!” exclaimed Luna, her eyes widening in shock. She thought she knew her sister, knew what she was capable of, but that didn’t seem the case. How much else had her sister concealed from her.
“No,” said Celestia with a slight shake of her head. “I have not hidden anything. The medical records - in addition to being private - are a matter of state security, where my protégé is concerned. They still exist, but are just not readily accessible.
“As to informing the families, I left that up to Twilight Dash. I did not forbid her from contacting her parents or siblings. If she has said nothing, then that is her choice.”
“Their choice,” corrected Luna. “You seem content to do nothing for them. To abandon them when they need us the most! But I have done my best to help…” Luna suddenly broke off , realizing that she had said too much. The briefest flicker of something that Luna thought might be anger moved through her sister’s eyes. It took all of Luna’s willpower not to take a step away.
“It would seem that it is you sister, not I, that has not been honest about your involvement in their life,” said Celestia dangerously. Her eyes narrowed and her tone sharpened, indicating that she was not pleased by what she was hearing. “You promised me that you would stay away from Twilight Dash. We were to let her come to us when she was ready.”
“They were never going to be ready!” cried Luna at last taking a step towards her sister so that they were face to face. “You have not seen the things I have seen. Their dreams, their nightmares, grow worse every night. What little coherence is left in their waking world slips away from them with each passing moment. Soon there won’t be a Twilight or a Dash or anything else!”
“I did not know it had become so bad,” said Celestia. Her voice was much softer and her intense gaze faded away to be replaced by a look of sorrow. “Even still,” continued Celestia, her collected calm tone returning, “you should have spoken with me first. We could have faced this together.”
“I’m not sure how Twilight Dash would have reacted to seeing the both of us again,” whispered Luna, turning her head away in shame and breaking eye contact with Celestia. “The last time we stole away the element of magic.”
“We did not steal it!” exclaimed Celestia loudly. Her hoof struck the ground, sending out a shower of sparks. She closed her eyes briefly and gathered herself before speaking again. “For the moment, we are simply safeguarding it for her. When she is ready, it will be returned.”
“Will they ever be ready?” asked Luna.
“That is up to them,” answered Celestia. “Turmoil in the heart of an element bearer can be incredibly dangerous, as you well know.”
“Yes,” replied Luna thoughtfully. “But I kept three elements, not two. And things only started to go bad when Silver Aurora—”
“Princess!” exclaimed a voice from the door. Although not as loud as Luna’s entrance, the pegasus hurried into the room without knocking. “And, uh, Princess.” He added, nodding to Luna, obviously not expecting to find her here. “An urgent message has just arrived.”
“From Ponyville?” asked Luna, fearing that something terrible had happened after her departure.
“No, your majesty,” replied the guardspony with a shake of his head. “From the Southern region of Equestria, the messenger only just arrived.” He turned his head and fished out a rolled up parchment from his saddlebag. Princess Celestia’s horn glowed; she took hold of the scroll, broke its seal and unfurled the message.
“No,” whispered Celestia, a dark expression shadowing her face as she read the words before her. “The crystal mist… has returned.”
“What!” exclaimed Luna in horror. All the troubles of Twilight Dash were whisked away in five simple words. Celestia looked up from the parchment, a worry deep upon her brow. “Sister, they must be mistaken. We destroyed that abomination of magic and shadows centuries ago. Surely it cannot have come back!”
“We can only hope it is a mistake,” said Celestia quietly. “However, we cannot assume that. I must ensure our kingdom’s safety. Such a thing could not have come at a worse time. Our greatest defense is unusable. And if it is truly the crystal mist…” her words trailed off and her eyes moved to the pegasus that had brought the message. “Wake the unicorns.”
“Which ones?” asked the guardspony.
“All of them,” instructed Celestia. “Have them assemble in the courtyard as quickly as possible, we will depart at once.”
“Yes, your highness,” said the pegasus with a slight bow. He charged off to carry out his orders without delay.
“Come,” commanded Celestia. She hurried out into the hall, making straight for the courtyard. Luna followed.
“What will we do sister?” asked Luna.
“I will take an army to hold it back,” said Celestia. “Hopefully, our combined magic will be enough to destroy the crystal mist once again.”
“And… and if it is not?” asked Luna timidly.
“Then you, my sister, must stand your ground here,” answered Celestia. They emerged from the castle into the main courtyard. Already it was filling with unicorns, dressed in golden armor.
It was still night but the enormous white disc of the moon blazed in the sky like the sun. It cast its bright light down upon them, making everypony glow slightly with a halo of soft white.
“And, Twilight Dash?” asked Luna, she felt almost silly asking about it at a time like this.
“As you have taken an interest in her, I suggest you continue to guide her,” replied Celestia. “She, and her friends, may very well be our last hope… if I fail.”
“But what if they aren’t ready?” asked Luna.
“My sister,” answered Celestia. She came to a halt and looked seriously upon her younger sister. “I have faith in you and in them. I know you will find a way to do what needs to be done. To safeguard everypony, to defend our kingdom and our home.” She turned her attention out towards the ranks of unicorns gathered before her.
It did indeed seem to be every unicorn in the palace. The whole courtyard was filled from front to back with huge groups standing in file. There was a low whispering among them, asking if anypony knew what was going on.
“My loyal soldiers,” said Celestia, her voice carrying through the still night air and silencing everypony. “A threat approaches from the South. A dark shadow called the crystal mist returns to our lands…” a mummer passed through the unicorns. “Magic, is our only defense against it. I will need every one of you to defeat it.
“I shall contact you when I can,” said Celestia more quietly to her sister. “I can only hope we are not too late already.” Celestia’s horn glowed with radiant golden energy. “The kingdom is in your hooves until I return. I know you will keep it safe.” A field of magic spread out over the courtyard. As Celestia’s light touched each unicorn, their horns hummed with golden energy.
All Luna could manage was a nod but this seemed to be enough for Celestia. The princess of the sun raised her head high, looking into the sky. Her eyes flared with blazing white magic that shone brighter than the moon. In an instant, she and all of the gathered unicorns were swept away in a torrent of intense whirling sun light. The spell swirled upwards into a roaring ball of energy that tossed Luna’s mane with a powerful wind.
A thunderous boom shook the ground. Luna flinched as a wall of air slammed into her. The enormous glowing orb spun faster and faster until at last it blasted outwards, racing across the sky. It moved so fast that within moments, it was little more than a dot upon the distant horizon.
The wind died into an unnatural silence. No crickets chirped, no owls hooted. There was simply complete and utter silence - with Luna at its center.
“Good luck, my sister,” whispered Luna.
Applejack woke well before the morning sun. Out her window, the stars glittered in the veiled black sky, but the moon had already set. She jostled the firefly lantern beside her bed and the little bugs sprung to life, casting the room in a greenish glow. The ticking clock drew her attention and in the dim light she read the very early morning hour.
Perhaps it might be too early to be called morning for most ponies, but not for Applejack. She was always the first one to wake and the last one to sleep in this house.
Still, it was earlier than she was used to. She was planning - yet again - to spend most of the day at the library, being with her friends. While she knew the library was where she needed to be; she couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty about piling her chores onto her brother.
Rolling out of bed, Applejack started her morning routine. She straightened her bed sheets before heading to the bathroom to wash up. Absently she went through the morning motions of brushing her teeth and combing her hair.
She paused, gazing at her own worn-out reflection in the mirror. Applejack could feel her thoughts trying to wander back into the strangeness of the past week. She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to relive it.
Her hair half brushed, she turned and left the bathroom. She didn’t really feel awake. It was like all of this, all that had happened to her - and her friends - had just been some terrible dream. One that she tried to wake from every morning, only to be greeted by more of the nightmare.
Applejack lifted her hat from her dresser and placed it upon her head. She closed her eyes for a long moment, listening to the sound of her own breathing in the darkness. She could do this, she could face this. Her friend… friends, needed her. She wouldn’t let them down, no matter how much it hurt to...
The clamor of falling pans and raised voices interrupted her moment. Abruptly, she was forced back into reality.
“What now?” grumbled Applejack under her breath.
It had come from downstairs. Nopony else should be awake at this hour. That either meant intruders, varmints or her brother rummaging for a morning snack. And just now, she didn’t care to find any of those waiting for her.
Turning, she left her room and made her way downstairs. The voices got louder as she approached. A strange sugery smell wafted through the air. Somepony was cooking.
Breakfast was usually Applejack’s job. Of all the chores she had to do on the farm, breakfast was the one she enjoyed most. There was nothing quite like seeing her little sisters joyce smile or hearing her brothers emphatic ‘yep’ when she asked if they liked their meals.
Apparently somepony else had decided to try their hoof at it this morning. And Applejack had a pretty good idea who it might be.
As she entered the kitchen, her front hoof planted itself in a bag of flour. She was indeed correct, somepony else was attempting to make breakfast… or possibly start a war. It was hard to tell.
“Good morning sis!” cried Apple Bloom. The filly was currently standing on the back of her friend so that she could reach the cast iron pan atop stove. Scootaloo was working the bellows, hopping up and down as her tiny wings buzzed, with an excited grin upon her face. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, didn’t seem to be too pleased about her role as a stool.
Applejack navigated her way across the disaster of the kitchen, trying not to look angry at the mess all around her. Her little sister was obsessed with earning a cutie mark. She desperately wanted to discover what she was meant to do. However, she always seemed to go about it the wrong way.
“Just what is going on here?” demanded Applejack.
“We’re making breakfast!” exclaimed Scootaloo, as she cannonballed onto the bellows, sending a rush of flames around the pan.
“Careful Scootaloo!” cried Apple Bloom. “And we ain’t just making breakfast! We’re making pancakes! Apple pancakes! From our own recipe!” The filly held out a hoof, pointing to a very tall stack of pancakes placed in the center of the table.
“Is that… is that right?” asked Applejack, eyeing the pancakes with suspicion.
“Yeah! I bet they taste amazing!” chimed in Sweetie Belle.
“Then ya’ll haven’t tried them yet?” asked Applejack a little nervously, taking a step back from the table as if she half expected the food to suddenly lunge at her.
“Nope, we were going to let you have the first bite!” said Scootaloo proudly, hopping on the bellows again and sending up another jet of flame.
“Terrific,” mumbled Applejack, taking a deep breath to give her courage. Carefully she made her way around the table and sat before the towering mountain of breakfast.
They sure had managed to make a lot of pancakes. But Apple Bloom and her friends rarely ever did anything halfway. The group’s plans never seemed to work out how they wanted.
Today cooking seemed to be their goal - or mess making - it was hard to tell. Most days their plans ended with things exploding. Applejack was really hoping this would not be one of those days.
Apple Bloom flipped the top most pancake off the stack. It land neatly on Applejack’s plate with a soft thump. The three fillies waited at the edge of the table, with just their hooves and heads peaking over the edge. They watched Applejack expectantly with eager eyes.
Applejack smiled uneasily at them before turning her attention to the uncertain breakfast that sat before her. The small round cake looked fine. She could see bits of sliced up apple poking through the top and sides.
Cautiously she sniffed at it. It smelled fine too.
She looked back to the three fillies who smiled and nodded encouragingly at her. Well, this thing wasn’t going to eat itself. Not delaying another moment, Applejack took a big bite out of the pancake.
“Hey, that’s actually not bad at all,” said Applejack after a few chews. She swallowed. “I recon you three did a pretty good job with these.”
“Yay! My sister likes it! She likes it!” cried Apple Bloom exuberantly.
“Yes! We are totally going to be Cutie Mark Crusader Chefs!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“Wait, you said that like you expected them to be horrible,” pointed out Sweetie Belle.
“Daw stavs on fur,” said Applejack, her mouth full with a second bite.
“What?” asked Apple Bloom, looking to her friends who both shrugged. Applejack lifted a hoof and pointed over their heads to the stove. They had left their pan unattended and flames now blazed from it. “AH! The stove’s on fire!”
In a panic the three fillies sprang into action, running in circles and colliding with each other. Scootaloo managed to break away from the others and resume her post at the bellows, however, her efforts only made things worse.
Calmly, swallowing the last of her breakfast, Applejack made her way over to the stove. While the three fillies panicked and shouted, Applejack pulled the fire blanket from the shelf beside the stove and tossed it over the flames.
The panic died as the fire was smothered under the heavy cloth. A moment later she pulled the blanket off. The fire had been extinguished, but nasty black smoke still rose from the pan. Inside the pan, only the smoldering ashes of their final pancake remained. The three fillies looked at it as though they had lost a dear friend.
“Well, you all did a great job cooking,” said Applejack. “Right up until the end there. But now comes the real challenge.”
“Finding something even better than pancakes?” asked Scootaloo eagerly.
“No, cleaning,” answered Applejack with a shake of her head. “I’ve gotta get going, but when I get back, I expect this kitchen to be spotless.”
Applejack was not the first to arrive at the library. Despite getting up before dawn, she had been delayed by her sister-and-friends’ antics. It was also a fair hike from Sweet Apple Acres to town.
Fluttershy and Rarity were already waiting inside, talking quietly with each other. They turned to greet Applejack as the tinkle of the door chime sounded.
“Spike says that TD will be out shortly,” said Rarity with a little wave. “Apparently they had quite the late night after we departed.”
“I thought they said they were going to turn in early after all that flying around,” said Applejack in confusion.
“Oh, they were, but one visitor after another kept showing up,” chimed in Fluttershy. “At least, that’s what Spike said before he ran off.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and ask them,” said Applejack. “Hey, where’s Pinkie at anyhow? I thought she would have been the first one here.”
“It’s funny you should say that,” said Rarity. “She and I arrived at the same time. But just as we walked through the door she raced off, shouting something incomprehensible about packing enough sweets. I honestly can’t understand what gets into that pony sometimes.”
“It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie I suppose,” answered Applejack with a shrug.
A noise from upstairs drew their attention away from their conversation. Ever so slowly, a pony emerged from the upper bedroom. Each step directed by Spike, each step shaky.
After what felt like several minutes, Twilight Dash at last reached the landing at the top of the stairs, where she could easily see the ponies below her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Spike cut her off before she could.
“Hey, wait a minute, where did Pinkie go?” asked Spike, looking around the room, as though he expected her to be hiding behind something.
“I don’t—“ began Rarity.
“I’m back!” cried Pinkie. “Sorry that took so long!” She was lugging behind her what looked like a large pink travel trunk, covered in stickers of smiling flowers, balloons and of course candy. She dropped it by the door before bouncing over to the rest of the group without an explanation.
“Do I even want to ask?” asked Applejack, glancing over at the trunk.
“Ask about what?” replied Pinkie, tilting her head to the side in honest confusion.
“The trunk, Pinkie,” said Applejack.
“Yeah, that’s my travel trunk! It can fit all kinds of awesome stuff, including party stuff,” said Pinkie.
“No, I mean… you know what, never mind,” said Applejack shaking her head.
“Spike, I can’t do this,” came a whisper from the top of the stairs, drawing the attention of the room below. Spike whispered something back that Applejack couldn’t quite make out.
"And you’re sure?” replied Twilight Dash. She shot a nervous glance at Applejack and the others. “Because they don’t look like my friends.”
“They are,” whispered Spike more loudly than he probably intended. “Look, they need to hear it from you. Alright?”
“Alright,” said Twilight Dash with a nod. Finally she raised her voice to address the others. “We’re glad you could all come.” “We have something important to tell you.” “Yes, we were getting to that.” “Last night, Luna came to visit us.”
“Luna!” cried Applejack in surprise. “What did she want now? She didn’t come to take away your other element did she?”
“What? No, no nothing like that,” answered Twilight Dash. Something about the way she looked at Applejack made the earth pony feel… uncomfortable. “Luna has been watching our dreams and—“
“Watching your dreams!” exclaimed Rarity in horror. “She’s been spying on you?”
“No, well, yes,” answered Twilight Dash uncertainly. “But that isn’t the point.” “Yeah! You guys keep interrupting! Just let us finish!”
“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Pinkie waving her hoof in the air exuberantly. “Have you decided where you want to stay?” Applejack gave Pinkie a strange glance. What was she on about now?
“Uh… no,” answered Twilight Dash. “We—“ “Wait, how did you know about that? Spike, did you tell her?”
“No,” protested Spike raising his claws. “I didn’t even get to talk to her this morning.”
“Just what are y’all talking about? What happened?” demanded Applejack, the frustration in her voice making the room silent.
“Like we were saying. Luna came to see us last night,” explained Twilight Dash. “Not long after Doctor Red Cross left.” “But Luna didn’t come alone, she brought an Aetheralist with her.”
“What is that?” asked Fluttershy.
“Not what, who,” corrected Twilight Dash. “She’s a doctor, from Canterlot. A specialist in… uh… our sort of problem, we guess.” There was a long silence in which no pony seemed to want to ask the unspoken question.
“What problem is that?” asked Pinkie, raising her hoof again as though she was in school answering questions. Although she wasn’t waiting to be called on. Rarity gave the pink pony a disapproving shake of her head at her tactlessness.
Twilight Dash took a long breath, trying to delay the moment of having to answer. Then she whispered something so quietly that by comparison Fluttershy sounded like an air-horn. The mixed-up pony looked away embarrassed.
“Um, could you speak up a little please?” asked Fluttershy.
“We,” began Twilight Dash. They shut their eyes so they wouldn’t have to look at the ponies while they said it. “We don’t remember you!”
A shocked silence pressed down on the room. None of them even dared to breathe. Applejack’s mind was still attempting to process what she had just heard.
“You don’t… remember us?” asked Rarity, her tone indicating that she didn’t quite believe what she had heard.
“No,” answered Twilight Dash, still not able to bring herself to look at them. “We see you, standing there, and Spike says that you’re our friends…” “But when we look at you, you’re strangers.”
“But… but… how can you not remember us?!” cried Pinkie, still waving her hoof in the air. “We’re all going to Canterlot together!”
The unsettling feeling of the moment was eased slightly by Pinkie’s odd statement. What did Canterlot have to do with anything? None of them were planning to go to… A sudden strange realization flitted through Applejack’s thoughts. She suddenly understood Pinkie’s strange behavior, even if Pinkie might not know it yet herself.
“That’s why Luna was here last night, wasn’t it?” asked Applejack softly. “She wants you to move to Canterlot.”
“Yes” “Well, not Luna—” “But we’re sure Luna does want us there—“ “It was actually Doctor Heart that asked us,” explained Twilight Dash. “She thinks it will be easier to treat us there.”
“And you think she can fix whatever is happening to you?” asked Rarity. “That she can help you remember us again?”
“She doesn’t know,” answered Twilight Dash. “But she wants to try.” “So we’ve decided, we’ll only go, if you want us to.” “And we want you all to come with us.” “If you want to that is.” “Even though we don’t… you know… know who any of you are…”
“Of course we’ll go with you,” said Rarity.
“Absolutely,” agreed Fluttershy. “We’ll be right there beside you.”
“I’m already packed!” cried Pinkie. “Wait, where are we going again?”
Applejack retrieved the cart they had used the previous day from its resting spot behind the library. As she arrived, Twilight Dash and the others emerged from inside. She wasn’t entirely sure, but by the looks of it, Twilight Dash seemed to be arguing with, herself.
“We could just fly to the train station,” said Twilight Dash. “Don’t be ridiculous, we barely managed to land the last time.” “That was just a minor hiccup, because I—we—haven’t flown in such a long time.” “No, we take the cart, like…” her eyes turned to Applejack, studying her, looking for some clue that wasn’t there.
“Applejack,” said Applejack with a weak smile.
“Yes, like she said,” finished Twilight Dash. Then she rolled her eyes. “What?” “We didn’t say anything!”
Applejack pulled the cart up next to them and she heard Pinkie offer to help them climb into the back. She could feel the cart move and shift with the weight of her passenger before settling as the pony seated herself.
“Are we all set then?” asked Applejack, looking back over her shoulder.
“I really think I should pack something,” said Rarity in a worried tone. “I mean, we are going to meet with Celestia. Oh, no! No! I must go grab a few of my finest dresses before we depart!”
“But the next train to Canterlot departs in fifteen minutes,” said Pinkie. “You’d need some kind of pinkie-powers to make it home, pack and get back to the train station on time! Also, I already packed some of your dresses.” She tapped the large trunk she was pulling along behind her.
“Wait,” said Fluttershy. “We are still waiting on Spike.” As if on cue, the young dragon emerged from the library, flipping the sign on the door form open to closed, before locking it behind him.
“Alright,” said Spike. “I’ve sent the letter off to Celestia, so she should be expecting us when we arrive. But we really should get going, TD is going to need some extra time to get aboard the train.”
“We’ll be fine!” said Twilight Dash, sounding a little irritated.
“Off we go then!” said Applejack. She pulled the cart forward with only the slightest strain and quickened her pace to a fast trot.
The train station wasn’t far from the library, and they reached it in nearly record time. Pinkie bounced on ahead to buy them all tickets while Rarity and Fluttershy helped Twilight Dash out of the cart. Once the pony was clear, Applejack found a spot to leave the cart where it would be out of the way before returning to her friends.
Spike was helping Twilight Dash slowly climb the stairs to the platform, while Rarity and Fluttershy waited above. They were only two steps from the top when things went sideways. Twilight Dash lost her balance. She swayed dangerously to one side. Spike tried to adjust and catch her. But it was no good, he simply wasn’t strong enough to hold her up.
Applejack stood frozen in place. Her brain screamed at her to move, to help, to do anything but watch! She was close enough to hurry forward and catch her friend. But that also meant she would have to touch her. And the last time that had happened…
Applejack shook her head, throwing off the fear. She made to rush in. However, she hadn’t taken even a single step towards the falling pony, when Twilight Dash suddenly halted mid fall.
A light-ish blue aura wrapped around the pony, holding her aloft.
“Woah, great catch Rarity!” complimented Spike. The white coated mare smiled at him under the strain of keeping Twilight Dash from falling over. Carefully, she set her friend upright once more.
“Yeah, we have enough problems without adding a sprained hoof to our list,” said Twilight Dash. “If we had just flown—“ “Then we might have crashed into a building instead!”
Spike helped them the last couple of steps up to the platform. Applejack hurried up behind them just in time to see the train roll into the station.
“I’ve got our tickets,” sang Pinkie happily as she hopped towards the train.
Excitedly Pinkie led the way. Twilight Dash followed at a much slower pace. Rarity and Fluttershy trotted along on either side while Spike helped her along. Applejack brought up the rear, keeping her distance.
It was a slow, painful process getting onto the train. They hadn’t even made it to their seats when the train began to move. Twilight Dash wobbled unstably as the floor jerked beneath them, but managed to stay upright, with the help of Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy.
After a minute or so they finally reached their seats. Each bench could only seat two across. Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike and Twilight Dash all sat facing each other. Applejack and Pinkie sat right across the isle.
Pinkie was oddly quiet for a long while, which Applejack was thankful for. She liked Pinkie, but sometimes, she just didn’t feel like talking. Their friends across the way didn’t seem much chattier. After all, the train wasn’t a great place to talk about many of the things they wanted to talk about.
Hills and trees and towns and lakes all passed by outside the window, one after the other. Applejack watched them without really seeing them. Her thoughts were elsewhere, thinking about the things Twilight Dash had told them.
How could her friend, one of her best friends, not even remember her? How much else was missing from their mind? And how much more would go missing? Applejack didn’t know, but it was all leading towards a question she had been trying not to think about. A question, she didn’t want to answer.
Was Twilight Dash even her friend anymore?