Remembered Relations
It was a scream unlike anything Twilight had ever heard before. A high pitched, pain filled wail that held nothing back and eclipsed any other noise in the parking lot. She thought at first that some other kind of Equestrian creature had come, perhaps to aid Wallflower in the fight that was about to happen. The girl never expected it to come from Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset’s body buckled, arching up like a cat as her scream continued, her fingers digging into the ground beneath her. A shock wave of red magic burst out of Sunset, the near physical aura of power knocking down Twilight, her friends, and even Wallflower with how powerful it was. It rose the Equestrian into the air, her scream unending before flame wrapped about her form, the sun marked pendant around her neck flashing with dark power.
Dark, bat like wings burst out from the cocoon of fire, flapping in their new found freedom. Sharp talon like hands the color of rust thrust forward, pushing away the magic that was surrounding her. The piercing scream was replaced by a dark laughter, small at first but coming stronger as the magic dissipated. The girl that Twilight knew as Sunset Shimmer was gone, replaced instead by a demon with dark eyes and a snarl on her lips.
“W-what in the world?” Wallflower squeaked out while she pushed herself up from the ground, eyes wide.
“Ain’t from our world,” Applejack whispered, moving with Rainbow Dash to make sure that the less aggressive of the girls were well defended.
The demon landed on the ground, head snapping back and forth in confusion. She glared down at Wallflower, the girls, and then Twilight in turn. It was with the her that Sunset stopped, baring sharp teeth and flames leaping up from her hands. “You!” She snarled out, her voice tinged with such hatred that made white hot fear run through Twilight’s blood. The demon’s wings beat once, sending her back into the air. “I don’t know how you’ve changed the world around us, Princess, but it’s not going to help you at all!”
“Change? What in the hell is she talking about?” Rainbow asked, sparing a confused glance to her friends.
“My stars…” Rarity gasped, eyes wide. “It’s her memory. She doesn’t remember anything after the Fall Formal.”
“Oooooh, so that’s why she’s all demony!” Pinkie said in sudden understanding. The pink skinned girl even crossed her arms and nodded, making a show of having figured everything out. “She isn’t good anymore and has access to magic like she did with the crown! So now she’s all powered up without it! Annnnd… that’s not a good thing, is it?”
Her answer came with Sunset dropping down with all the force of a meteor between the girls, blasting the six of them back with another shock wave of her landing alone. Twilight rolled as she landed on the hard blacktop, pain flaring up in her left shoulder. She barely got herself upright before her vision was filled with the demonic wings of her attacker. “Wait... Sunset!” Twilight said, trying to raise her hand to stop her forgotten friend.
Snarling in answer, Sunset coated her claws in fire once more, bringing it down on Twilight’s head. A white diamond forming out of thin air was the only thing that saved the genius girl from a quick death, blocking the attack entirely.
“Girls, we’ve got to get Sunset under control!” Rarity shouted out, her pendant alight with power. She used her magic to push Sunset back away from Twilight, even as the enraged girl started clawing and punching at the magical shield.
Rainbow, of course, was the first to respond to her friends call for aid. Where as her speed had done nothing in the search for the stone before, now the sporty teen could use it in a fight, something she was much better equipped to deal with. “Sorry, Sunset, but this is for your own good!” Dash yelled, running circles around the demon to the point of looking little more than a swirling rainbow. The girls fists flew, faster than anything that Twilight had ever seen, each one connecting and pushing back the demon girl.
It took another wave of pure magic to push back the speedster, Sunset’s eyes wide and crazed with anger. “How do you have magic?! I should be the only one!” she demanded. Her answer was a bunch of birds dive bombing her, pigeons, robins and at least one seagull pecking at her head. She swiped and clawed at the avians, forcing them off her scalp. A sharp whistle from Fluttershy called them back as Sunset’s hands burst into flames once more.
“It doesn’t matter WHAT you little cretins do!” The demon snarled, throwing another ball of fire at the birds, missing the scattered animals by scant inches. “None of your powers compare to mine! I will get my revenge! I WILL conquer Equestria!”
“You WILL get your face full of cupcakes!”
Sunset turned in complete confusion to the follow up to her rant, being greeted with sight of Pinkie Pie. The party planner was grinning wide as she sat in Applejacks palm, curled up like a ball. With a mighty heave, Aj threw her friend, Pinkie screaming “FASTBALL SPECIAL!” at the top of her lungs. She slammed with all of her sizable weight against the demon, shoving a pair of cupcakes into her face and using Sunset’s body as a springboard to leap off her and roll onto the ground. An explosion followed up soon after as her magic took place, sending the demon crashing into the ground.
Throughout all of this, Twilight watched, torn in her emotions. Part of the genius wanted nothing more to stop her friends, to help the poor girl that had been transformed against her will. Another part wanted to join in the fight, to stop Sunset before she did something she couldn’t take back. But the emotion that warred the most in her heart was anguish. It tore at her gut and made her sick to see her friend while her heart ached. Was it the love that Sunset herself confessed, Twilight’s heart remembering despite being unable to recall the memories? She felt paralyzed by indecision, unable to decide the best course.
A small growl escaped the prone demon, claws digging into the blacktop beneath her. She forced herself up with a wobble, clearly worn down by the battle. “Y-you… little…” She gasped, holding one arm close to her frame, blood trailing down the elbow. Eyes blackened by magic searched each face of her foes before landing on Wallflower, the girl closest to where she had been struck down. A feral grin full of sharp teeth lined her mouth as she leaped, covering the distance in a single bound.
Wallflower let out the smallest of squeaks as she was lifted up by the neck, demonic claw tips just barely digging into the flesh. Sunset turned to taunt the girls, about to use her hostage when her black eyes went a solid white, standing stock still.
“Now! While she’s distracted!” Rainbow growled.
“Wait, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted, throwing her hand in front of her friend before she could blitz into another fight. “I think Sunset’s reading Wallflowers memories!”
A loud gasp escaped the she-demon, releasing the green skinned girl and letting her drop like a sack of potatoes. Her body shook and her breath came out in shuddering, pain laced pants, barely able to contain the rage that contorted her face. Wallflower was crying at her feet, edging away from Sunset as best she could.
“You… did this…” Sunset hissed through gritted teeth, the trembling of her arms and fists shaking her entire body. Flames leaped from her hands, creating a head sized crater beside the trembling girl, the enraged demon taking another step closer. “You… ERASED EVERYTHING!” She screamed, ready to strike Wallflower down when the Memory Stone caught her eye. Sunset turned immediately to the magical artifact, hands filling with a fireball the size of her torso. She screamed her next words as she brought down the magic. “And you’ll NEVER erase anything ever again!”
There was the sound of a large crack as the super heated flame washed over the Memory Stone. Magic tore at the artifact, overpowering it before the entire thing exploded with disrupted power. From the crater that had once been a source of Equestrian magic flew out magical strips of film, each one being a string of stolen memories. Red strips with Sunset Shimmer’s face flew through the air, returning to their original owners. One in particular found it’s way to Twilight’s mind.
In a flash, everything she had ever forgotten about Sunset filled her mind. How Sunset had transformed into an angel to save her when Twilight had surrendered to magic and created Midnight. Sunset holding her tight, whispering soft words when her fears about that very same magic had nearly overwhelmed her at Camp Everfree. The heart filling, overwhelming joy when the two had finally confessed their feelings for each other at the lone tree atop the hill on the outskirts of town. Secret kisses and warm hugs during school and the embarrassment when their friends found out that the two were dating. Twilight remembered it all.
But the elation of regaining her lost memories didn’t last long. The soft sound of crying broke through the haze of having almost half a year returned to her. Sunset sat now, curled up in a ball on the ground near Wallflower, still locked in her demonic form.
“Sunset!” Twilight called out, heart and mind joined as one once more. She ran towards her friend, her lover, wanting nothing more than to hug her, kiss her, and banish those tears away.
“Get away, Twilight!” Sunset shouted out, her voice strained and just barely muffled by her legs. It was the pain in it that stopped Twilight in her tracks. The transformed woman curled up even tighter, wings and tail forming a weak shield around her altered state. Clawed hands came to her head, grasping it tight. “Even after all I’ve done… trying to put it behind me… I’m still a demon.”
She flinched as she felt a hand against her own, grasping it softly. Sunset dared a glance upward, being greeted with Twilight’s smiling face, her lavender fingers gripping around her hellfire red ones. An ache filled her heart when she saw the pain filling her girlfriends magically blackened eyes.Five other hands reached out and joined Twilight’s hand before she was even able to speak, each one gripping tight in friendship, lending their strength.
“Yer sure as shooting are not, Sunset. Ya had no control over yerself at all here.” Applejack, her voice rough but strong.
“Aj’s right! Besides, look at all the good you’ve done since the last time you were like this. That’s gotta count for something!” Rainbow Dash, closest of the girls outside Twilight.
“You did everything you could to try to help us with our memories, darling. A demon wouldn’t have cared at all about what we remembered.” Rarity, tears streaked down her face, not at all caring about how she looked.
“I don’t think just anyone would have jump in the way of the magic blast for us.” Fluttershy, her tone barely above a whisper.
“You didn’t even think of yourself, you wanted nothing more than to protect us…” Pinkie Pie, trying to get as much of a hug out of the group as possible.
Twilight smiled softly, pressing her forehead against Sunsets, breathing softly as she looked into her girlfriends eyes. They held no fear for her. “More than ever before, we know one thing, Sunset. That you’re our friend. Nothing will ever change that.”
A small smile broke past Sunset’s anguished face, the girl burrowing close to Twilight’s body. The rest of the girls all came in, offering the warmth of their bonds and the strength of friendship. None of them noticed the light glowing off their pendants until it overtook their friend.
Unlike all the times before, there was no powerful rainbow, no transformation of wings, pony ears, or longer hair. It was just a soft, warm light that flowed out from the six girls towards the girl in their circle. Hell-burnt skin quickly returned to it’s natural amber hue, eyes dyed black becoming purified with white, leathery wings fading away into nothingness. Soon, all that remained was Sunset Shimmer, holding tightly to her friends.
The girls broke from Sunset, helping her stand up. Twilight could see the elated look on her girlfriends face, making a hot warmth fill her chest. In any other situation, she would have kissed the girl right then and there. Instead, she brought Sunset into another hug, holding her tight while she turned her attention to Wallflower, seeing her curled up at the edge of the blacktop.
Part of her wanted nothing to do with the girl that had caused so much trouble, to forget about the person who had sought out to erase Sunset from their memories. Twilight also couldn’t deny there was also an angry pit in her core that wanted to lash out at the girl. She soon saw that she wasn’t the only one harboring such emotions.
“Now… what to do with this slimy, yellow-bellied salamander?” Applejack said, standing straight and breaking away from her friends. The farmers tone was stone cold, unlike anything Twilight had ever heard before from her normally cheerful friend. From the way that Wallflower flinched, the girl heard it too, even edging back a bit on her hands and knees.
Cracking her knuckles one at a time, Rainbow Dash walked along side AJ, the sporty girl glaring daggers at the prone girl. “She’s got a thing for memory, right? I say we make it so no one forgets her or what she did for a long damn time!” She snapped.
Sunset struggled, pulling out of Twilight’s grasp before she could even blink. Even as exhausted as she was, the Equestrian ran before her angry friends. She flung her arms out before the prone girl, acting as a shield for Wallflower. Confusion swirled in Twilight’s head, wondering for what reason her girlfriend would defend this… witch.
“I don’t get it…” Wallflower said, just as confused as the rest of them. “Why are you defending me? Why are you protecting me?”
Turning to Wallflower, Sunset offered a small smile as she knelt down and offered the prone girl her hand. “Because I’ve changed. I’m different from how I was when I first came to Canterlot High. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from everything we’ve been through, it’s that people and ponies aren’t static. Our experiences shape us and change us. And I think you can see that now, can’t you?”
Wallflower hesitated before nodding, taking Sunset’s hand, being pulled up gently onto her feet. She let out a small sigh before looking at the only thing that remained of the Memory stone, a tiny pebble that had a single carving on it. “I… think that I changed for the worst myself. I used to only erase the little things. Awkward hellos, wrong answers… any form of public speaking… I just let everything get away from me.”
“You’re damn right you let things get away from you!” Twilight snarled, finally finding her voice and words. The young genius stomped over to the pair, glaring the entire way at Wallflower. She stopped right before them and took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping as she worked to cool her emotions and put a more neutral look on her face. “But… Sunset isn’t wrong. We’ve all done things we’ve regretted, or that we wanted to take back. And while I’m still furious about you making me forget everything about my girlfriend… If Sunset wants to give you a chance…”
Sunset gave her an honest smile, a small lopsided thing that Twilight had come to love in their time together. It chased away some of the burning anger that smoldered in her gut and replaced it with happiness. “I do, Twilight. Besides, can you really say that what I did wasn’t just as bad? And you girls still all forgave me.”
“It’s true that we tend to forgive a lot of the villains we’ve had,” Pinkie Pie pointed out with a shrug. That got most of the others all agreeing, remembering how most of the magical mishaps they’ve gone up against was usually the result of someone getting a hold of and being overwhelmed by Equestrian magic.
A deep, heavy sigh came from Applejack as she nodded, finally relaxing herself. “Ah guess we can’t really do less considering,” She said softly. She turned her head to Sunset, looking at the girl with a warm smile. “Just know this, sugarcube, should any of this malarkey happen again. Yer kin to the Apples, ya hear?”
“Thanks, Applejack.” Sunset responded, that happy smile growing all the wider. It was the one thing, Twilight knew, that her girlfriend had always really wanted out of life. A family.
“So… what happens now?” Wallflower asked, shoulders hunched and looking worriedly back and forth between the magical girls.
“What happens next is that we keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t pull this shit again,” Rainbow Dash stated plainly, crossing her arms against her chest. The sporty teen broke into a smirk a moment later and let out a small chuckle. “But other than that? We treat you like a friend.”
No longer feeling threatened, Wallflower straightened up and smiled at the other girls. Rarity took that moment to clap her hands, speaking up. “Well, I don’t know about you, darlings, but I think we should perhaps just all head home for the day. After all this mess, I very much think some relaxation is in order.”
A chorus of agreement went up among the girls, leading to a round of goodbyes as each one of them went their respective ways. Twilight reached out for Sunset and held her hand, keeping the girl from leaving. Soon, it was just the two of them alone, only the setting sun in the mountains keeping them company.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Sunset asked, squeezing her girlfriend’s hand softly.
Twilight shook her head, taking a moment to settle her breath before wrapping her arms tight around the other girls middle, squeezing. The genius buried her face against Sunset’s chest and focused on the warmth coming from the other woman, her scent. It let all those memories, the thoughts that had been so carelessly removed come rushing back to the forefront. “I… I’m so sorry, Sunset…” she whispered, clutching that jacket tightly. “I should have… done something more.”
A soft kiss against her forehead brought her attention back up to Sunset’s face, that lopsided smile once again on her lips. “Twilight… It’s ok…” she whispered, holding the smaller girl close. She rocked back and forth, the simple movement curving Twilight’s lips into a smile, remembering the time the amber skinned woman had done this before to calm her down from a small panic attack. “You can’t blame yourself for something Equestrian magic did.”
Nodding in agreement, Twilight moved her arms from her girlfriends middle to her neck, gazing up into those aqua eyes. Seeing the love and care in them soothed Twilight’s nerves, making her muscles relax. She brought Sunset in for a kiss, pressing tightly against the other girl, wanting to never let go. Sunset responded in kind, one hand pressing against the back of Twilight’s head to keep the kiss locked.
They broke it a moment later, both girls gasping for air. “I… will always… fight for you…” Twilight whispered, recalling that sensation… that feeling of something missing when her memories were gone. It was here now, that feeling of love for this wonderful woman holding her. Nothing would ever take that away.
“I know you will… and I’d do the same…” Sunset answered, pressing their foreheads together. It made Twilight feel warm all the way down to her toes, knowing that she could count on her girlfriend to do just that.
The two lovers kissed each other once more, holding onto one another tightly. It would be something they would hold tight in their minds and hearts, knowing that no matter what, their love for each other would never be forgotten.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- LunaEclipsed15 · 1k words · 108 5 · 2.9k views
- LunaEclipsed15 · 1.6k words · 82 9 · 3.1k views
- LunaEclipsed15 · 1.2k words · 98 4 · 4.1k views
- Dalek-Galvo · 1.1k words · 45 8 · 2.6k views
- Luminous Comet · 8.7k words · 110 3 · 2k views
- twience · 4.9k words · 75 6 · 3.4k views
- Saviors Sun · 1.1k words · 40 1 · 2.1k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.125 seconds
Total duration
1,129 users online
1,762,059 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
All's well that ends well.
I agree. And that right there is one of the reasons I have such a problem with SciSpruce: it served no purpose other than to try killing the SciSet shipping. It was like they were trying to say "Oh, you want to ship her and Sunset. Well, too bad! We're putting her in a relationship to put an end to that."
I mean, they pulled the same thing with Rollercoaster of Friendship and Spring Breakdown: "Oh, there was a ton of HoYay between AJ and Rare? Make Rare crush on a boy next episode."
Wasn't expecting to see Sunset turn into a demon but despite that I ended the ending and I really enjoy the sciset moments especially when in the show that I still hope gets a proper ending but that's not important now. And hope to see more great stories in the future
Loved this story! Glad it's finished!
meanwhile...
back with everyone else...
(in all seriousness, great job on the story 😁 )
An interesting alternative place for Sunset's mind to reset to in that situation. I agree that this is a much more show consistent message.
Thanks for sharing your take.
This is a very powerful image: demon Sunset full of regret.
Proving that being a demon is not about appearance, but a state of mind.
Shorter than I was expecting, but I quite enjoyed it. Was not expecting Demon Sunset at the end there. All in all, good stuff. Kudos.
10289416
Well, I felt like the idea of exploring the whole 'Forgotten Memories' bit when it came to the girls was something that has been explored often enough by other authors that I felt like I'd be doing stuff folks have done a lot of already. That and I really wanted to change how the final confrontation played out, since we always see them do the whole magical girl transformation once they got their gems. I felt the shortness of it was made up by the fact that the girls actually got to use their powers in a fight ontop of the fact that they healed Sunset without having to go super.
10289096
We have so many stories about Demonset Shimmer being like a little evil voice or what have you. I thought the idea of Sunset, with all of her character development and what not, being stuck in a demon form was a rather potent image.
10288860
Hehe, that's actually why I had Wallflower specify that she was going to remove the girls memories of Sunset and each other in the previous chapter. Not only is it less insane than erasing ALL of high school, a step that I think even at that point Wallflower would reconsider, but it also allows me to bring Sunset back to herself from the start of the series and, in a way, would actually make this story a nice cap off to Equestria Girls in its entirety.
10288532
Yeah, pretty much. As a character on his own? I actually like Timber Spruce. He's funny, capable, and overall feels like more of an actual character than Flash ever did. But it's also clear, as you said, that he was put into the series just so folks would stop pairing Sci-Twi with Sunset. Which not only isn't going to happen, it also causes the problem when folks remember that the job and position Timber has is something normally reserved for in their mid 20s if not even later in life. And he's hitting on a girl still in HIGH SCHOOL. So yeah... that's a relationship I'll never be supporting, thanks.
I agree, a fun little rewrite. I think you made something enjoyable and I agree that Sunset and Twilight had excellent chemistry and would have been a great couple. Look forward to anything you make in the future.
10289585
To be frank, as transparent as Timber's purpose was, I don't think it would have been so bad if not for the way they went about pairing them, i.e. by having him come across as an incredibly skeevy creep. Seriously, when the first things out of a character's mouth on screen is a pickup line directed at someone that literally every variation of professional ethics and possibly several laws say you should not be flirting with? That creates what we in the writing business call a very bad look.
As for the ending... if I'm honest, I'm not sure about just leaving Wallflower without any real penance. I mean, don't get me wrong, the girls pledging to keep their eye on her for a long time? That's absolutely a good idea and better than nothing. And I can say that for certain since nothing is exactly what the actual special gave us. And I'm certainly not advocating for some draconian or excessive punishment. But this does still feel a little "off scot-free" and I would have preferred her of experience some consequences to her actions.
That said, it's not actually as much of a problem as I thought at first because after finishing this, I realized something. Something neither the story nor the special seem to have realized:
When the Memory Stone got destroyed, it restored all the memories that had been stolen. Wallflower admits how many times she used it in minor and frivolous ways on many, many people. And, from what we've seen, when a memory returns to its owner, it's not subtle about it. Everyone around the owner knows, the owner themselves know and they remember the exact thing that was taken.
In other words, half the school now does and all the school soon will know exactly what Wallflower did. Which means she's going to be going through some pretty hard times, as Sunset can attest from first-hand experience.
So, Wallflower, you deserve a second chance and you've got one. And, with those seven in your corner, I'd say you're likely to get through it. But don't expect things to change in an instant. You should definitely have this chance at redemption, but that doesn't mean it'll be quick, it doesn't mean it'll be easy and it doesn't mean it'll be painless.
Because redemption is a powerful thing, but it's not a magic wand, a switch or just a word. It's a process. A long, difficult process of becoming a better person. So, let's see how you manage it.
...
Wow, that got sinister in a hurry, I do apologize.
Leaving that aside for a moment, I... really liked the story. It did what, in my mind, a "fix-fic" should. It didn't throw around accusations, insults, blame or strawmen, it simply presented what the author thinks (and what, in this case, I agree) is a better version of a events. Something rarely done and ever rarer done well. Very, very well done.
Also, apologies for another lengthy comment. I seem to be on a roll with them at the moment. Sorry, it's just... I have a lot of thoughts. If I'm lucky, one or two might even be good.
Edit: Also, just realized I should mention: I don't actually expect you to write a continuation showing Wallflower's life afterwards. If nothing else, it'd be difficult to make it distinct enough from Sunset's arc to be worth it. I just thought that closing line to the hypothetical version of her sounded suitably weighty.
10298153
Never apologize for long comments. That's more the fun for me to read and see your thoughts. Besides, it's sometimes better to just get the ideas out of your head. That's how this particular story came about.
Yeah, Timber's issues are all that and more. I'd still argue he's a better and more well rounded character compared to Flash, whose problems mostly come from the fact that he doesn't have any personality outside of 'good-natured dweeb' and hot and bothered for Pony Twi. He's just kinda there.
I'll also admit, I had some issues with ending this and I myself questioned if I was just letting Wallflower off scot-free. My thought process, eventually came down to this: Unlike in the original special, Wallflower was exposed to just what made Sunset who she was back before her friends. She got up nice and close to the demon that Sunset used to be and, had Sunset's empathy powers not kicked in, would have likely gotten injured if not killed. Not only that I tried to make the point that the girls, baring Sunset, were more than a little miffed at her to the point where they want anything BUT to become her friend. It's only because Sunset wanting to prove the point of her changing and the fact that this is the world of MLP where folks have done much worse and yet are still forgiven (Starlight) that I felt the story needed to still needed to end with the girls willing to give Wallflower a chance. I don't think Twilight and Applejack in particular are going to be trusting of her for a long time, but they're willing to do it for Sunset.
As far as the 'everyone getting their memories back' idea, On the one hand? I like it. The idea that the entire bloody school now knows what Wallflower did is prime for ideas of having an interesting story to tell with her. On the other hands? You're right, it's something we've told before with Sunset... And that's not even covering the fact that the Memories stolen have that 3 day timer in the original story. So all the memories stolen by Wallflower are LONG since gone. That and you're not wrong that it would be hard to write a story for Wallflower in that situation that wasn't just a retread of Sunset's.
Regardless, I'm so glad that you think so highly of this story. I just felt the drive to fix a story that had so many issues and yet was rife with such wonderful possibilities. Here's hoping to future ideas and stories I might produce are just as well received. My only issue, I think, is I'm not sure what else MLP or EQ that I would be writing here... I've had ideas for crossovers, but that's a LOT of dedication. This was more something that spun out of control from my head.
10298299
Ah, I did forget the three-day timer, my bad. Though, to be honest, I don't really think it added much to the story anyway - the real drama was Sunset's trials with everyone hating her again, I don't think the story needed the ticking clock element at all. If it went longer than three days, her suffering would be bad enough. Still, I did make a mistake - it wouldn't work in the original story and the potential for Wallflower's actions to have consequences is neatly dismissed. But then again, that's about as satisfying as the rest of it, so I don't think it's that much of a loss.
Still, I do like to think of it happening in this story. Again, though, I'm happy with it remaining in my head... canon? I mean, can you have headcanon for an inherently non-canon fanfic? Well, I'm happy for it to stay in my imagination, at any rate.
Overall I enjoyed the story, and I'm generally a big fan of SunLight shipping; but in this case, I felt it was pretty unneeded, and even detracted from the flow of the story a bit. I still loved it though.
On another note, where was Spike in all of this?
10321268
I find it funny that you said that the shipping took away from the story when it's kinda the central plot of the entire thing. Twilight's near obsessed with trying to figure things out (Which I feel is much more in line with her character regardless when something she doesn't know comes up) and it's clear that the reasons she's so focused on Sunset and trying to recall her is different from everyone else, even if she doesn't remember it. It may seem like it comes up at the end, but if you focus on just how Twi's feeling throughout the entire story, it's pretty easy to see she can tell she's missing something big in her life, thus the title of the story.
As for Spike, the part he played in the original special was near absent and honestly I felt like he didn't add much, if anything at all, to the story itself. It's part of the reason why I didn't focus that much on Trixie either, for that matter, since the parts with her in it were good as is and I didn't feel like just writing what we've already seen does anything to entertain the reader.
10451998
arguably you treat this as knowingly being intoxicated, but far more than intended, and go from there
the intoxication defense would be possible, however it would depend on what Equestria's stance on Voluntary/Involuntary Intoxication is, and whether becoming more intoxicated than intended could sway a court to call it involuntary
of course, if she is unaware of the intoxication upon acquisition, one could argue guilt would fall to whomever she acquired the amulet from, or that she should have diminished responsibility if she simply found it