Draining Memories
Celestia sat on the shore, looking out over the choppy waves surrounding the Isle of Insofar. The rocky crags swallowed the waves before they could reach land, sending a constant mist spraying through the air. It was a sensation, an atmosphere, unmatched in all of Libertas. She looked over at the tall man standing a short distance away, his injured leg perched on a stone. His magic’s healing touch removed the pain and strengthened the joint that had been blow apart by a stray shot. He stared out across the sea, his steel-like face calm and introspective.
She closed her eyes against the brief flash of memory. Screaming. Blood. Death. Her time in the infirmary caring for the injured soldiers left a mark on her. One she didn’t usually feel comfortable admitting. But here, back where she’d experienced the horrors…
She opened her eyes to bring Sombra back in focus. Meeting him was the only good thing about the war. The only good part of living in Hell for years.
But she’d still left.
She frowned and turned back to the open sea. After her little vacation was over, she’d do it all over again. Leave Sombra behind and run back to Libertas. Despite the fact that the spark remained. Despite the fact that now that Raven was dead, they needed each other to heal. Despite the fact that they’d lost enough time already.
“How long are you staying in the Isles?” Sombra asked, his voice just above the surf. He could not read her mind. She’d asked, once she found out the capabilities of the students. Even so, he retained his magnificent ability to read her mood.
His tone of voice was weighted. Nearly as much as her heart was. She didn’t want to face cold reality so soon after being reunited. Nearly thirty years they’d been apart, separated by time and their own life goals. “A month. Maybe two. I’m not sure how long Sunset intends to stay, but at least as long as her.”
The corner of Sombra’s mouth twitched. He turned a knowing glance to her. “Your dream continues to pay dividends.”
She gave him a halfhearted smirk. The sunset regained her focus as it shifted from orange to purple, seagulls calling across the water. “She was nearly the one that got away. Without her friends stepping in…”
Sombra sat on the rock, his back to the sea. He cast a long shadow across the shore as the sun lowered itself behind him. “Do not forget, Celestia. You created the environment that she needed to find herself. You’ve stood by her side over the years. You fostered her growth as much as anybody else. Do not discount your contribution.”
He bowed his head to look at the dirt beneath his shoes. “Do not discredit the beauty of your dream.”
Her smirk fell away the instant his eyes left her. “Nor you yours, Dr. Relámpago.”
He laughed once, in the back of his throat. “Would that more of my success stories were Sunset Shimmer rather than Prince Blueblood.”
He lifted his head ever so slightly to bring her into view. He stood with a slow, agonizing climb to his full height. He offered her a hand, and they both spent a moment getting her to her feet. She pressed a hand against her lower back as it twinged. “Oh, God, I hate getting old.”
Sombra’s strong grip offered her a great deal of support while she braced herself for walking back to the compound. His fingers slid across the soft skin on the back of her hand. He waited until she could stand freely on her own before speaking. “We both have our own kingdoms to attend to, Celestia. But I am glad, if even for this brief period, that we can be together.”
Celestia looked up at him, an easy smile coating the surface of her face. The twinge in her back was outpaced by the one in her heart. She took his hand, and the two of them walked back to the warehouse with a slow, steady pace. “We have done good things. Both of us.”
“Quite.”
“And I have… missed good things…” She gave him a solid nod. “I’m glad we can see each other.”
Sombra’s frown hovered beneath somber eyes. “But?”
But… she had still left. Despite how they both felt, she had still left.
And he hadn’t come after her.
“No buts.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “And no regrets.”
Her words seemed to relax him. They continued on in silence until they reached the school itself, where Sunset Shimmer could be seen speaking on her cell phone. She waved, and Celestia waved back.
They stopped inside the building, in the middle of the central “courtyard.” Sombra bowed his head to her and spoke in a low voice. “Until we meet again, my dear. Tomorrow, perhaps you can learn something of magic.”
“I look forward to it.” They shared a soft, quick embrace, and he headed for the men’s sleeping area. Celestia made as if to go to the women’s area, but paused at the door. She looked to the front, where she could still see Shimmer walking back and forth, probably talking with her husband.
She walked towards Sunset, keeping her distance so as to not pry into the conversation. She waited just on the edge of Sunset’s voice and focused on the crashing waves. Even so, some bits of the conversation seeped through.
“—can’t tell you much more than that so far.” Sunset laughed, though not very heartily. “I don’t really know right now. This could be amazing. World-changing. But only if we do it—Yeah, sure, ‘the Sunset Way.’ Sounds good to me.”
Sunset looked at the sun’s position on the horizon and sighed. “I’ll let you go, Shining. We’ve both got our work cut out for us, huh? Yeah. I love you, too. Kiss Sunny for me. Bye.”
She tucked her phone away and turned to Celestia. “So? Enjoy yourself this evening?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.” Celestia snorted as she moved beside her former student. “Things are good. Feels like nothing’s changed in… in thirty years…”
Sunset furrowed her brow. She caught Celestia’s eye contact and folded her arms over her stomach. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Celestia’s eyes shot for the horizon and the last glimmer of sunlight. “Talk about what?”
Shimmer shrugged. “Anything. The school, you, Dr. Sombra…”
The principal let out a titter she didn’t quite feel. “I’m too old to be gossiping about my drama like a middle schooler.”
“You’re too young to have given up on figuring yourself out.”
Celestia’s mask of congeniality fell away. The weight in her heart caused her arms to ache. “Am I that easy to read?”
Sunset shook her head. She chanced a glance at the warehouse, which remained silent. She gave Celestia an uneasy grin. “No, you’re not. But I know when you get that easygoing, it’s because you’re hiding something.”
“Remind me never to play poker with you.” Celestia tried to stuff her hands in her pockets, but found them too meager. She settled for resting them on her hips. “I’m just… dealing with thoughts that have simmered beneath the surface until now. I’m forced to focus on them. And I feel like there’s no good answer.” Without giving Sunset enough of a pause to respond, she continued: “How do you and Shining make it work?”
As expected, the question caught Sunset off guard and magicked away whatever clarification she was going to request. Although it was tactically applied to steer the conversation, it was still something she wanted to know. Sunset gathered her thoughts back together in record time. “How do you mean?” she asked.
“He was in Special Forces for years before and during your marriage.” Celestia rubbed her hands together as a chilly wind blew across the sea. “He only resigned, what? Two years ago?”
“Yeah.”
“So how did you make it work with him being so far away for years at a time?” Celestia kicked idly at a loose stone in the path. “He left you alone for so long, with so much on your plate.”
“He didn’t leave me alone.” Sunsets voice was firm and decisive, brooking no argument whatsoever. “I had a whole support network in my friends and his family.” She continued in a much softer voice, and laid a gentle hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “We both had our dreams, Celestia. I wanted to teach the students of Canterlot City, to bring them the same kind of hope that I found. He wanted to defend our country and our security with his life. We knew we’d be pulled apart… but we still wanted each other.” She laughed as a blush touched her cheeks. “Sunny was… a welcome surprise. We both… we both spent some time reexamining our dreams after that.”
Celestia nodded. She examined the stone path, because it hopefully protected her from Sunset’s apparent ability to see into her soul. “So he left the military for Sunny?”
“For Sunny, for me… and for himself.” Sunset frowned towards Libertas, though the curvature of the Earth hid it from view. “After Sunny was kidnapped, he knew things couldn’t be the way they were before.”
“But you stayed at the school.”
“Well, circumstances were in our favor, as far as that’s concerned.” Sunset rubbed her arms to quell the goosebumps. “It helped that it was our only source of income for a while.”
Celestia closed her eyes. A small laugh escaped; a more genuine emotion than she’d allowed for far too long. “That it would.” She peered at Sunset, who looked at her expectantly. “So do you have your new dreams sorted out?”
“We… have a shared dream,” Sunset said. “To give Sunny the best life, the best family, he could possibly hope for.”
Celestia sighed. “And Shining completely gave up on his dream?”
“It wasn’t given up, it was—” Sunset turned around as the front doors of the school opened. “—it was reexamined,” she finished in a rush.
Starlight Glimmer exited the school with another woman close behind her. “Sunset! I’ve been looking for you!”
“Sorry.” Sunset Shimmer waved a hand at the sea. “Just watching the awe-inspiring sunset.”
“No need to apologize.” Starlight looked to Celestia with a smile. “Ah, and you, too, Miss Celestia. You haven’t been formally introduced to our head teacher: Dr. Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight Sparkle? Was it a common name? Celestia looked down to see a woman with an uncanny resemblance to another Twilight Sparkle she knew; Sunset’s sister-in-law. An odd coincidence if it was one, but she’d seen stranger things where Sunset Shimmer was concerned. “Hello, Dr. Sparkle. A pleasure.”
Dr. Twilight took her hand with a polite shake. Her eyes shimmered in the low light of the evening. Magic, perhaps? “The pleasure is mine, Miss Celestia.”
“Please, just Celestia.” Celestia placed a hand over her heart. “‘Miss’ makes me feel like either a grade schooler or somebody’s granny.”
“Very well, Celestia.” The doctor seemed to have some trouble getting the name out, judging from the way her jaw tightened ever-so-slightly. The doctor then turned to Sunset, and the nearly-invisible tension faded. “I would like to request the both of you attend our first class tomorrow morning. The Awakening.”
“Awakening?” Sunset asked, voicing the question on Celestia’s mind. “What’s that?”
Starlight Glimmer smiled brighter than before. Celestia suspected it was because the joy finally reached her eyes. “Every time we get new students, we gather them together and help them to connect to their innate magic for the first time. I believe you wouldn’t have that in Equestria due to magic simply being part of the upbringing there, but for humans it’s quite helpful to have the proper environment and instruction before magic comes within their grasp.”
Celestia looked down at her open palm. Her skin lay looser over the years. Thinner, too. She couldn’t imagine magic shooting forth from the tips of her fingernails.
But if Sombra could do it… “I suppose you’ll get the chance to teach me after all, Sunset.”
Dr. Twilight’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “You haven’t learned magic from her, yet?”
“I never asked for it.” Celestia smiled at the doctor. “But they say you’re never too old to learn.”
“That’s the spirit!” Starlight Glimmer led the four of them back into the school, out of the night chill. “Once you try magic, there’s nothing better.”
Celestia caught a sigh of relief from Sunset. Was it due to the conversation being interrupted, or something else? She couldn’t begin to guess.
Honestly, she was also glad to end the conversation.
***
If Twilight Sparkle had to describe the Party Favor in a word, it would be “stifling.” A mush of bodies, soundwaves, and colors that would have been overwhelming had she been alone. She felt overdressed and underdressed at the same time, wearing her usual button-up shirt and jeans among the silky finery and gaudy revelry of the other patrons. The only one of their group who stood out more than she did was Big Mac, whose red plaid shirt was muted among the glowing neon of the club.
Just ahead, Skyhook seemed to melt into the shadows as he trailed the princess. No one gave him a glance, because there was nothing to focus on. Just another face in the crowd doing whatever he pleased.
Princess Twilight followed close behind Shining Armor as he searched for Flash Sentry. He was taller than most present, aside from Big Mac, but it was still far too easy to get lost in the crowd.
Little Spike waited outside in the car with Applejack—animals weren’t allowed in the Party Favor at all, whether they were magical talking “animals” or not. Applejack remained behind so that at least somebody with a cell phone was on the outside.
Someone who had too much to drink stumbled into Big Mac, who helped the patron to his feet. Muted apologies were exchanged briefly before the man was escorted out by his party. Big Mac found Twilight’s hand and held it tight. He muttered something that she couldn’t catch above the thrum of the music.
“Hey, hey, Shining!”
“Flash!”
Twilight’s attention was drawn to her older brother as he met Flash Sentry near the bar. The two of them clasped hands and exchanged a few words while Twilight was still out of hearing range. She and Mac closed the gap in short order and stood beside Shining.
“It’s been ages, Shining!” Flash’s easygoing smile greeted the rest of them as they gathered around. “Mac, how’s it goin’? Nice to see you again, Twilight.”
With Skyhook remaining incognito, Twilight still detected an omission from his greetings. She turned her head to see the princess hiding behind Shining’s body, her head hunched and her eyes wide. She met Twilight’s gaze with a smile that bordered on panic.
Twilight was saved from making the decision to reveal or conceal when Shining Armor turned his profile to expose the princess to view. “Flash, I don’t suppose you remember Princess Twilight, do you?”
Splashing her with cold water would have shocked her less. The princess froze like a deer staring down an oncoming freight train.
Flash narrowed his eyes as she came into view. “Princess—?” His eyes widened with realization. They widened further as he took in the sight before him. “God, of course! Twilight! It’s been, like, a decade.”
“Twelve years…” Princess Twilight’s voice trailed off into a weak putter. “Actually.”
Flash’s eyes snapped to Twilight, then back to the princess. “So I’m not actually crazy.”
Twilight crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. “No moreso than any of us are.”
He laughed at that. He extended a hand, which the princess shook—despite her knees shaking all the more. “Wow. I almost thought I’d never… Well, it’s cool to see you again. You’re looking like you’re taking care of yourself.”
“You look—yeah.” Princess Twilight chuckled weakly as she absently pawed at her bejeweled necklace. “I’m… I’m doing my best. Taking care of Equestria and doing… research…”
When the princess let his hand go, hers immediately clasped in front of her stomach with a white-knuckle grip. Twilight supposed she could be thankful that the colorful lights of the club’s interior hid the unmitigated reddish discoloration in her face.
“Flaaaash—” Another voice rose above the sound wall of the Party Favor. It was slightly raspy, but undoubtedly full of energy. It was familiar to Twilight in a way that made her stomach twist. “Is this another one of your old girlfriends?”
Her concerns were confirmed when a lady bounded up to Flash Sentry and slipped her arms around his. She balanced on the tips of her feet, as if she was ready to spiral onto the dance floor then and there. The beads on her top sparkled in the light and drew the eye to places Twilight had no intention of looking.
“Old buddies, Zesty.” Flash grinned as he turned to Shining. “Have I introduced any of you to my fiancé, Lemon Zest?”
Lemon Zest’s eyes immediately drew to Twilight. Her mouth popped open as a smile spread like wildfire. “Oh my literal God, Sci-Twi! Is that really you? You haven’t changed a bit!”
Twilight Sparkle frowned at the woman. Considering how long ago high school—the cussable Crystal Prep Academy—actually was, she believed she’d changed quite a bit, thank you very much. “Zest. Hi.”
Lemon Zest grabbed Twilight in a quick, but decidedly unwelcome, embrace. “You’re adorable! Did you guys know Sci-Twi was a super-genius? There wasn’t a single bigger brain in the entire Academy!”
The hug caused the headphones hanging from Lemon’s neck to press against Twilight’s cheek. She gently pushed both the hugger and her accessories aside. “Yep. That’s me. Crystal Prep Academy’s resident mad scientist.”
Lemon Zest gave the princess a double-take. A sly smile crawled across her face as she turned back to Flash. “Oh, and this girl is—”
“A friend from Canterlot High.” Flash Sentry’s easy smile faltered for a brief second. “Twi… Light…”
The princess’ eyes remained wide, her mouth dipping open in a slack-jawed pout. A stuttering “uh-uh-uh” was all she was able to give to the equally speechless Flash.
Twilight stepped in, seeing as how both the princess and Flash were borderline catatonic. “The name Twilight runs in the family.”
“Yeah, I know how that is.” Lemon Zest leaned against Flash again as he resumed his comfortable expression. Her forehead furrowed as she bent closer to Twilight. “So, hey, we kinda didn’t see you a whole lot after you got real sick that one time. Thought you were gonna win us the Acadecathlon. Did you have the flu, or—”
“I’d rather not discuss it, thank you very much.” Twilight’s words surprised her with their venom. Although, she supposed she had no real wish to soften them. Not when looking at one of the Shadowbolts of yesteryear. At least it wasn’t somebody really terrible, like Sour Sweet or Sugarcoat. Just somebody with a little too much energy and not enough respect for personal space… or personal privacy. “I don’t suppose we could save the pleasantries for after we see Party Favor?”
Skyhook appeared at the princess’ side like a ghost out of fog. He whispered in her ear, and she turned towards the door. When Twilight followed her gaze, she saw Officer Caution Tape striding confidently through the crowd, Moondancer scampering on his heels. Moondancer held one of the magic-detecting devices in her right hand, raising it above her head on occasion.
“Skyhook’s right,” the princess said, her voice strained with a light marinade of stress. “We should get to Party Favor before we become the ones answering questions.”
Lemon Zest nodded, her face downcast. “I just had a talk with Night Glider. She said she and Party are ready for us.” She turned on the balls of her feet and walked with Flash towards the back of the club. With a little hustling, the group of them were out of sight, leaving Caution and Moondancer alone in the crowd.
***
Caution rubbed his forehead as he turned this way and that. “Son of a—The hell did she go?”
The needle on the magic detector fluctuated wildly, with little rhyme or reason no matter where Moondancer held it. “No clue. I saw a bunch of them all talking near the bar, but…”
Caution swore with a mouth that would have a sailor faint dead away. “Keep lookin’. She couldn’t ’ave just left.”
“There might be more important things to investigate than Twilight Sparkle.”
Caution looked over his shoulder, his sour mood unfitting for the lively atmosphere. “Such as?”
She turned the detector’s readout towards his face. “Whatever radiation was coating Raven’s body, this whole place is swimming in it.”
***
Twilight found the office to be inexpensively lush, if such a thing were possible. The walls and seats were a vibrant red, though the quality of the threads was a little bare. The desk was mahogany, though perhaps a few decades old, chipped at the edges. Party Favor’s suit was as lively as his club, made up of stripes and colors that would make Pinkie Pie squeal with glee. He was a shorter man, only taller than Twilight due to the towering crown of curls he molded his hair into. He smiled congenially as the lot of them piled into his office.
The woman sitting in the corner was less inviting. She stared at them with dark, suspicious eyes, only softening the heat of her glare when Lemon stepped inside. Threads of her short, white hair stood out of alignment as sweat trickled down her forehead. She and Lemon Zest exchanged kisses on the cheek, after which Twilight’s old schoolmate remained at Night Glider’s side.
“Soooo—” Party Favor leaned an elbow on his desk and grinned at the group. “How do you like the club? Pumpin’ tunes? Tantalizing drink? Magical atmosphere? Eh? Eh?”
The princess cleared her throat and took a seat across the desk. “Yeah. It’s a… very nice place.”
Skyhook rubbed his chin as he took up position next to the door. “Reminds me of the Keen Bean back home.”
“Yeah, that’s an appropriate comparison.” Princess Twilight’s eyes jumped to Flash before she deliberately tore them away. “You know we’re here to talk about Raven?”
“Lady Relámpago, yeah.” Party Favor’s smile revealed itself to be a shallow ditch dug through his face, easily obliterated with a brush of the hand. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Yeah. She was gonna stop by sooner or later, but…” His breath hitched, the sigh becoming a low whine. He spoke in a hushed rush. “Dr. Sparkle?”
Night Glider rose from her seat, taking an aggressive stance with one shoulder forward. Her hand disappeared behind her body, possibly grabbing something pain-inflicting.
It took Twilight a second to realize they were referring to her. It took Shining and Big Mac slightly less time, and they moved between her and the interrogees within a breath. Twilight Sparkle took a step towards the door, her hand reaching for the handle.
“No, she’s not. No more than I am.” Princess Twilight spread her empty hands toward each of the club owners. She sought their gaze, one after the other, until both of them had their attention on her. “If you know the doctor, you know that similar people can be found across the boundaries of the multiverse. Dr. Sparkle came from one world, I came from another, and this Twilight is from yours.”
Night Glider brought her hand back into view, unarmed. “Can you prove you’re not the doctor?”
Twilight Sparkle blew a breath through her nose. “Logical loop-de-loops aside, I can pre-tty concretely prove I’m this world’s Twilight.”
Party Favor looked at his friend. “She sounds like the doctor…”
Twilight bent over to look around Big Mac’s arm. She spied Lemon Zest and gave her a sardonic smirk. “You and Indigo stole my gym clothes during the first week of our second year. I later found them frozen stiff in the cafeteria freezer. I believe Indigo’s exact words were ‘We thought you needed to chill out.’”
Lemon’s already very-pink face blazed as bright as a sunburn. “I think she’s the real deal, guys.”
“Aside from that, I’ve got identification, papers back home—” She jerked her thumb at the other people in the room. “—and several witnesses willing to corroborate my claim.”
Party Favor sank back in his seat. He turned to Night Glider and shrugged. She returned the gesture with a grimace. He pushed aside a stack of papers, folded his hands across the desk, and looked to the princess. “What do you wanna know?”
Twilight gave his wild hair a double-take and found it to be sagging more than a little bit. Comical under normal circumstances, but now she just found it distracting. She pulled out a notepad and licked the tip of her pen out of habit. Without Little Spike to serve as minute-taker, the task had fallen to the only one in the room who knew shorthand. With Big Mac’s comforting hand on her shoulder, and the ever-present Shining just off to the side, she felt a little stronger as she took on the trappings of her chosen profession.
Princess Twilight offered Party a sad smile. “Would you start with telling us about your relationship with Miss Relámpago?”
“Woof.” Party Favor let out a weak chuckle. His hands fiddled with something on the desk while he talked. “We were two of the first students the doctor had… Students of magic. We were with Starlight Glimmer when she found Doc. A couple years later, when the school was still young, Raven joined up. We all took some of the duties of teaching her, but the doctor was the one she worked the closest with.”
Night Glider bobbed her head. “Dr. Sparkle took a real shine to Raven. Before any of us knew it, she had pretty much overtook the progress of almost everybody else at the school, except the ‘first class.’ We thought Raven was gonna become a new teacher.”
“But if you knew anything about Raven,” Party Favor interjected, “you knew she had a wanderlust streak a mile wide. Didn’t want to keep in one place too long. I think it shook the doctor up pretty bad.”
“Right?” Night Glider reached down beside the desk and pulled out a bottle of something club-related and poured it into a glass. “I guess you could say we were a mix between student-teacher and coworker. Close enough that we were pretty hyped to meet up with her again when she came to Libertas.”
Princess Twilight nibbled on the tip of her hair. She sent another nigh-missable glance at Flash before continuing. “What brings the two of you to Libertas? I believe you were born and raised in the Highborn Isles?”
Night Glider swished her drink around, taking a tiny sip. “You wanna get into it, or should I?”
Party leaned so far back that Twilight thought he might tip over. “Ugh. Yeah, I guess.” He spun his chair in a gentle circle before stopping himself with a hand on the wall. “Long story short, we just didn’t care for the politics of the Isles. Night Glider, Starlight, and the rest of us tried for years to change… anything. But injustice is still the byword, the social structure is still unbalanced, and Prince Blueblood is still a moron.”
Flash Sentry crossed his arms over his chest. “Score one for President Cadence.”
Night Glider choked on her drink. After clearing her throat with a series of sputtering coughs, she sulked against the wall. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get cocky, G.I. Joe. After years of fighting for reform, Blueblood was still in line for the throne, and Fancy Pants was still throwing around his power like he owned the place. I… I gave up. I got out.” She shared a look with Party that Twilight suspected held the weight of a conversation. “We got out. Starlight figured we abandoned her. So we ended up burning a couple bridges.”
“Best decision of my life.” Party Favor finally found a smile that went to his eyes. He threw his hands out and swiveled to look at his office. “God, I love free enterprise.”
Night Glider hid a smirk behind a mild growl. “We had free enterprise back in the Isles.”
“Yeah, but the money flows better here.”
Princess Twilight’s shoulders relaxed ever-so-slightly. “So Raven left a while before you guys?”
“Two years, at least,” Party Favor said.
“And you hadn’t met with her since?”
“Nope.” Night Glider stretched her arms skyward and yawned. “First we heard from her was when she sent us that phone call saying she wanted to meet up. I guess she had a bunch of old friends living in the area.”
Princess Twilight tapped her fingers against her knee. “Did Raven have any enemies at the academy? People jealous of her achievements, perhaps?”
“Not that I can think of?” Night Glider scratched the side of her head. “Everybody was pretty cool with her. She even tutored a couple of the newbies before she left. Everybody was sad to see her go… nobody was mad. Not even the doctor.”
The princess clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “Is the doctor normally an angry person?”
“Perpetually irritated.” Party Favor tapped a finger against his lips. “She’s pissed, but she’s usually polite. She seemed more resigned to see Raven go than anything.”
Twilight Sparkle narrowed her eyes at the last note. Before the princess could voice another question, she spoke up. “May I ask why you panicked when I stepped into the room?”
Party Favor and Night Glider exchanged a silent conversation, just as weighty as the last. Party Favor’s foot tapped in time with the rumble of distant music. “Raven left on good terms. We didn’t. Starlight about freaked out when she found out we were leaving. She and the Doc, they’re pretty tight. You hurt Starlight, you’ve gotta go through Twilight.”
“I don’t think she’s been outside the Highborn Isles since she came to our world.” Night Glider hugged herself, turning her eyes downward. “Seeing you… thinking it was her… I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know whether to be afraid or angry or what.”
The princess looked over her shoulder at Twilight. When she saw her counterpart didn’t have anything to add, the princess continued. “Does she seem like a violent person?”
“Violent, nah.” Party Favor grinned at his friend. She did not return the favor. “Machiavellian, maybe. She’s smarter than a roomful of computers, and I really don’t wanna know what sorta schemes that mind can concoct.”
“What?” Night Glider scowled, tilting her head at an inquisitive angle. “You think she’s behind Raven’s death?”
“We’re investigating every possibility.” Princess Twilight leveled her gaze at Night Glider. “And we’ve ruled nothing out.”
Night Glider rolled her eyes. “So we’re under suspicion, too, huh?”
A slight upward twitch of the princess’ eyebrows presented a complete lack of reassurance, feigned or otherwise. “No moreso than anybody else.”
Night Glider accepted a comforting side-hug from Lemon Zest. “Alright. Keep asking the questions so we can get back to work.”
***
Moondancer could do no better than wander aimlessly through the club. The detector’s needle rose and fell, the information as useless as a broken thermometer. She extracted herself from a cluster of bodies and moved closer to the wall. She and a few others held a vantage point to observe the dance floor and nurse drinks. She wasn’t about to drink on the job, and she had a feeling drinking alone in this place wasn’t the safest venture for her.
She spotted Caution Tape a few steps away, still peering over heads in his mission to locate and interrogate Twilight Sparkle. Moondancer grumbled beneath her breath. They were getting nowhere, and were likely to miss Sparkle’s party as they walked right out the front door.
Something changed in the atmosphere. The constant crackle in her hand shifted pitch. She lifted the thaumometer—the name she’d just coined in a fit of brilliance—and observed the display. The needle held steady on the highest measurement the device was capable of.
Just like it’d done when Twilight Sparkle held it.
She shifted it to her left hand. The needle went down. Back to her right, the signal was once again at full strength. She had her back to the wall, so looking down her right shoulder she had a clear view of the other patrons hanging back from the dance floor. The closest one was leaning against the wall, a glass held with both hands. It was an adult woman, mid-twenties, with long, green tresses of unrestrained hair. Her face was plain as could be, with little makeup of any sort being used to enhance her unremarkable features. Not to say she was bad-looking, just… hard to pick out of a crowd.
The same could be said for the rest of her apparel. A striped sweatshirt looked out of place in the Party Favor, just as much as the lack of makeup was an oddity. Loose-fitting jeans were obviously more for comfort than style.
The more Moondancer thought about it, the more she decided the woman should have stuck out like a sore thumb. But here, at the wall, she was barely noticeable.
Caution drew closer. Moondancer caught his attention with a wave of the hand. She jiggled her thaumometer and tilted her head towards the plain woman. Caution pursed his lips and nodded. He approached the woman from one angle as Moondancer took the other.
Caution tipped his hat to the woman. “Miss.”
She raised her head slowly, her eyes half-lidded. The main defining feature, Moondancer decided, was the freckles on her cheeks. “What?”
“The name’s Caution Tape, officer of the CCPD. This here’s moi partner, Moondancer.” He pulled his badge out of his pocket to show the woman, and her eyes widened to full alertness. “Oi’m investigatin’ some suspicious occurrences roundabout these parts. Hopin’ you’d be willin’ to answer a few questions.”
The thaumometer crackled as it got closer to the woman. Moondancer thumbed it off, but not before the woman sent a glance towards it. “Perhaps we could go somewhere more quiet, miss—?”
“Wallflower,” the woman said quietly, her face grim. “Wallflower Blush.”
Moondancer thought she saw the woman’s fingernails glow, but it must have been a trick of the light. Caution led the three of them towards a door to the outside. He nodded to the bouncer as they passed. Moondancer stuffed the thaumometer in her bag.
When Caution turned to begin the questioning, Wallflower interrupted with a raised hand. “Officer, since I was about to leave anyway, could we just walk to my car?”
A renewed gloom descended upon Caution’s demeanor. “It should only take a few minutes.”
Wallflower blew a breath through pursed lips. “Sir, it’s been a really, really long day, and I’d just like to go forget about it, you know? Believe me, being questioned by police isn’t even the roughest thing today.”
Caution rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Awroit, awroit, s’fine. Lead the way, miss.”
“It’s just around the corner.” Wallflower Blush walked around the side of the Party Favor, to the darker portion of the parking lot. Moondancer noted with some dismay that the sun had sunk below the city skyline; it was well past eight. They’d spent the entire day on their silly stakeout and found little to show for it.
Little, that is, save for this strange woman.
“Do you come to the Party Favor frequently?” Caution Tape asked.
“Not really.” Wallflower sent a glance Moondancer’s way. Something caused her cheek to twitch. Moondancer couldn’t know for sure, but she was developing a theory as to what. “Wanted to try something new. Don’t think it worked out.”
“Fair dues, mate.” Caution nodded. “Noticed anythin’ strange around here lately? Anythin’ out of the ordinary?”
Wallflower gave him a side-eye. “Not really.”
A car came into view. Wallflower pulled a set of keys from her pocket and unlocked it from afar. Moondancer knew their time was dwindling. Detaining a woman for setting off untested, unstudied technology would be a hard sell to the higher-ups and any passing reporters. Still, it was their best lead by far.
Maybe, Moondancer thought, they could entice her to stay.
“Excuse me, Wallflower?” Moondancer earned a raised eyebrow and a grimace from Caution, but he held his tongue. “What do you know about magic?”
Wallflower Blush stopped dead in her tracks. She breathed lightly, facing away from the two of them. Her car hummed as the automatic starter kicked in.
Wallflower spun on her heel and stretched her hand towards Moondancer. Her fingernails blazed a brilliant green. Energy shot forth and enveloped Moondancer from head to foot. She stood poleaxed, indefensible. Her life flashed before her eyes. Images of her coworkers at the police station, her high school friendship with Twilight Sparkle, her investigation into crimes the city over.
As she watched, her memories peeled away.
It fell away in streams, one thought at a time. First to go was the afternoon, which vanished into Wallflower’s palm. The thaumometer became nameless and worthless in her sight. The memory of Caution Tape was torn apart, piece by piece, until he was barely an afterthought in Moondancer’s head.
The name “Moony!” was shouted, and she didn’t know who it belonged to or who was shouting it. The city rose around her, large and scary. She knew she wanted her mommy, but she couldn’t bring her image to mind. Where once was a comforting face and warm words was an empty void. She fell to her knees as the glasses fell from her face. The lenses shattered on the concrete.
Twilight. Twilight could save her. She didn’t know who “Twilight” was, but she knew she was important. She was smart. She always knew what to do.
She reached inside her bag for her phone. Instinct drove her, muscle memory filling in gaps where her mind could not. She typed an SOS into her phone and sent it just before she curled up in a helpless, thoughtless lump.
Twilight would figure it out.
She was the best.
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Hm...
She has a habit of blaming herself when things go wrong. Possibly a leftover from Nightmare Moon.
What's he got to do with this?
Wait, so which Celestia is this? The Principal?
Indeed not...
The Principal, gotcha.
She knows you and she knows a Princess who's many times your senior who likely shares many mannerisms.
Amazing what that can do, huh?
Wait what? Did, did I miss something?
You were watching yourself?
I suppose so, yes.
Sounds like a drug.
This should be fun.
Eh...
Not quite.
I'm sure they know.
At least one of you is a half decent liar.
Teleporting's a thing.
Magic then.
So you're familiar with the good Doctor.
They ARE counterparts across dimensions, so...
I see.
Right, right, I forget that's a thing.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Ah, I getcha.
Oh boy.
Ah. So that's where the title comes in. Wallflower motherfucking Blush.
So she still has the Memory Stone...
Oh she knows.
Oh that is terrifying.
Oh. That's worse.
Let me see what I can predict Angry Twilight wants revenge on Celestia for what happened to good Sombra. All Celestias. She’s convinced herself that it’s in their nature to ruin everything they touch. She’s going to have human Celestia awaken her magic then try to steal her fairy strings. Then use that power to kill Pony and Mirror Celestia
I feel like framing that somewhere.
Red flag?
Red flag.
Ah, so this is a trend. I rather like it.
But hey, who's counting?
She always was a smart one.
I'ma just hope they mean plain old magic, because if there's some evil-magic going around...
First it was "fishy". Now it's this. You're good, mate.
So they know her... but do they know-know her?
There's something really not right about this doctor...
Aww... poor thing. High school's rough.
They should've brought Pinkie along, seriously.
I'd love to know what Sunset Shimmer might answer.
And poor Wally. Life didn't even get easier after high school, huh?
They say that's what happens before you die...
Also, I suddenly realize why this chapter's named what it's named. Clever.
More shards!
I'll sound like a broken record, but this honestly is one of my favorite stories, on this entire site. I love the writing, the storyline, the characters, this whole little world. It's inspiring, really, and I think you should be proud. Really excited to see where you'll take this!
This chapter shows us a lot about relationships. Celestia and Sombra's past is explored more, and we can see why someone in love would have to leave them if the environment was traumatizing enough. It does seem like their relationship was similar in some ways to Sunset and Shinings'. Both women loved noble soldiers, but Sunset and Shining were able to make distance work, while Celestia and Sombra weren't.
We see Flash ended up with another music lover, who I wouldn't be surprised if she plays the drums in Flash Drive (which I am sure is still around as a Dad-band). We even get some insight into Starlight's early relationship with her students. (I was worried Party Favor would turn out to be a drug dealer or something).
And of course, looks like we find another magic user who's not part of Starlight's school after all. I'm excited for future chapters, since I feel like this will lead to more SciTwi-Moondancer interaction, which I love.
10312918 I think you nailed it.
So on top of everything else, Wallflower is still using the memory stone? I guess it makes sense if this series diverges after Rainbow Rocks, but that was still a surprise. I thought I had a pretty good idea in my head for who the killer is and how all of this is connected, but this little revelation really throws a wrench into everything. Kudos for keeping the surprises coming!
10312486
There are more similarities than either Celestia knows, and both would probably be really embarrassed to find out.
At the end of In the Absence of Sunset Shimmer, Sonata Dusk kidnapped Sunny, which is what prompted Shining to quit the service.
Wouldn't you, if you were Sunset?
It's also a reference to how everybody is sharing some memories that are very draining on their spirits. But yeah, Wallflower makes subtext into text.
Ladies and gentlemen, the patent-pending MyHobby Cliffhanger! Here to give you existential dread and put your butts on the edge of your seat in equal measure!
10312918
I can't really comment without either completely spoiling the truth or leading you astray with needless misdirection. That's what the story is for! But I can say with all the bad blood flowing through Dr. Twilight's veins, it's a wonder her heart is still beating.
10317068
It's applicable to all ages and credos, and I stand by it!
Life doesn't end at thirty. Or fifty. Or ninety!
Yeah, plain old magic. Twilight's Magic Detectortm can only detect ambient magic at a very basic level.
Well, right now I know how well they know and/or know-know her, you know? But there's no telling how well even the ones who know-know her know her now.
High school in general just isn't the greatest place to grow up, I feel. Certainly not for introverts like our magical buddies here. And worse when the atmosphere is created by a woman like Abacus Cinch.
Sadly, Wallflower's high school experience put her in a situation where she could be manipulated, as we'll see in a chapter or two...
Memories can be draining on our soul, but I rather that than have them drained from my soul.
Yikes.
I do like me some prosaic leitmotifs, so to speak. Recurring themes and symbols. It makes me feel like the story connects on a deeper level.
Thank you very much for the kind words! I will do my absolute best to deserve them!
10317791
It's one of the most important ideas in this story, one that I'm hoping works and comes through. There's a lot of characters who can be said to touch upon this. Not all romance is fluffy, I'm afraid, but it can come out stronger in the end.
Ha! I guarantee it! Flash Drive's latest hit, "Sixty-four Megabytes (And I Still Can't Download All my Pictures of You)," is a hit at all the bars and small-town gazebos they can get a gig at. Sandalwood is on the base, Flash is lead singer and guitar, Lemon's got the drums, and my main man Micro Chips is on the keys when he's not doing his one-man show.
I thought about having him be something a little more skeevy than "club owner," but I'm predispositioned to think that anybody with their own version of Pinkie/Cheese Sense is generally a force for good to those around them. Party Sense has kept him on the straight and narrow.
Aaaas "straight and narrow" as being the owner of a dance club that sells liquor can be!
Perhaps reconciliation is in order! Or maybe it will lead to Midnight Dancer, where the science will last forever!
Or maybe I'm just messing with you either way.
I see you adding yarn to your wall, connecting Dark Lord Peachy Pie to that roller skate salesman I mentioned last chapter! I see it!
10318137
This is a thriller, after all, with all the action, twists and turns that implies! There is a web of intrigue surrounding our heroes, tangling in their hair and freaking them out with thoughts of plot-spiders!
I hope to keep them coming, at least until everything is laid out in the open. Which it isn't. Because heaven help me, I cannot seem to write a straightforward story.
10331126
They haven't really had any distance in their relationship luckily (well, not physical distance). Though I could see it argued that Twilight's secrets have added a distance of their own.
You know what happens when he is doing his one-man show? He sends a robotic double he built and people think Flash-Drive is doing a Daft Punk tribute.
10332288
The most physical their distance has been is simply due to them not living with each other, which Big Mac explained earlier (chapter 3 I think) is because he doesn't feel the time is right to pop the question, on account of her being a magic science cop and he being a full-time farmboy. Which perhaps is another aspect to the distance. Though, they have their share of things to work out in the coming chapters.
Oh, er, wait! What I actually unsuspiciously mean to say is don't read too heavily into the emotiponies I selected to illustrate that particular comment. Certainly nothing deeper was meant! Nothing to be implied, no sir!
First of all, it's nice that Rarity is getting work providing costumes for the world-famous small-town musicians she's pals with.
Second of all, what's stopping him from having two robotic duplicates? One to play with Flash Drive, and one to accompany him on the whatevertheheck he uses in his live shows, thus making the reference complete?
Third of all, what's stopping him from having an army of robot duplicates to have live shows in cities across the nation, for his literal dozens of fans!?
He has a musical empire lurking just out of reach, if only he seizes the opportunity!
Wow Moondancer got mind freaked!!!!