> Fractured Friendship > by ScisetShimmerEvan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Erased! (Edited by Echo Breeze) (Updated 1/30/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before I begin this story I’d like to give a fair warning that this story contains many spoilers from the Equestria Girls Special “Forgotten Friendship” and to be warned if you have or haven’t seen it since it first came out in 2018. But other than that enjoy the first chapter of my Equestria Girls special remake. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon at Canterlot High as another day of school was just about over. Finals had just finished up earlier in the week and with only two weeks left before summer break started, there wasn’t much time left before the new yearbooks were due to be finished! Sunset Shimmer was walking down the halls taking photos for the yearbook and saying hello to many of the students of CHS. She was the president of the Canterlot High School yearbook committee and was in charge of getting everything organized for the new yearbooks. With help from her friends and the other members of the committee. Over the last year, much had changed for her. From turning into a demon at the Fall Formal, battling three sirens weeks, the Friendship Games against their rival school, Crystal Prep Academy, and then herself and her friends getting magical geodes during their stay at Camp Everfree. Sunset was glad the school year was just about over. She wanted to spend a nice relaxing summer with her friends and her best friend, Sci Twi, after the long and tough year, they all went through. Sunset had begun developing a crush on Princess Twilight’s human counterpart but wasn’t sure how she could confess her feelings to her. But Sunset thought it is best to just wait until summer started and then confess to her that she has feelings for her and see what happens then. As Sunset rounded a corner she spotted her friends along with Spike all talking to one another before they spotted her, waving to her to join them. She smiled back, before walking towards them and taking a group selfie together! After their selfie and getting many photos for the yearbook, they went off to the computer lab to get some more editing done. Everything was going well with the work. With just a few more days left until the books were due to be completed, Sunset felt determined they could finish them in time. Within the last two days alone, they were eighty-five percent complete, which made Sunset feel very pleased in the end. If Princess Twilight was here, she would have been very proud of how much she had changed since she had been shown the importance of friendship. As Sunset went to set down some papers she bumped into someone, causing her and the other person to collapse onto the floor. When Sunset saw the girl, she didn’t recognize her at all, nor had she ever seen her before. She looked to be the same age as the rest of the girls. She had green hair and skin, brown eyes wore a light and dark brown sweater, along with a pair of gray pants and slip-on shoes. “Excuse me?” Replied the girl. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you come in,” replied Sunset as she started to pick up her papers. “I’ve been here for a while.” “I didn’t realize.” “I’ve been trying to get your attention since you got here.” “Oh, I see. I’m Sunset Shimmer. President of the Yearbook Committee and editor-in-chief. Do you want to join in? We need all the help we can get before the yearbook is due to be completed next week,” replied Sunset. “I’m Wallflower Blush,” replied the girl. “Well it's nice to meet you, Wallflower,” said a happy Sunset. “I’ve been on the yearbook committee all year for your information.” “Oh um,” Sunset said as her face went red with a blush. “We met in ninth-grade English.” “And… I was.. saying it was nice to meet you then. You didn’t let me finish actually.” This made Wallflower angry. “Anyway, I counted up all the votes for the yearbook superlatives,” replied Wallflower as she handed them to Sunset. After taking a close look Sunset’s friends were shocked by what they saw. “Most likely to succeed, Best Smile, Class Clown, gasp We won 'Best Friends!' Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and me!” This soon caused all seven of them to be happy with excitement over winning 'Best Friends!' But then the conversation went a different direction when Rainbow Dash shared her opinion on it. “It's just a yearbook?” Which caused the rest of the girls to gasp in shock! “Just a yearbook?” Said a now angry Sunset. “Great, now ya gone and done it, Rainbow Dash,” replied Applejack. “The student body has entrusted me with the responsibility of gathering their memories into the pages of this book. Thirty years from now, we might not even remember everything that happened, but we can and will remember what’s in the yearbook from our time in high school!” Replied Sunset. This made Rainbow feel a bit better until she brought up Bulk Biceps had won 'Best Muscles' and how every time someone opens and closes the yearbook, it looked like someone was kissing him. Rarity then suggested they should take their group picture for the yearbook the next day at the beach, which everyone agreed on. Rarity had just gotten done making them all swimsuits she had been wanting to show off and that it would be nice to be by the beach as summer was getting real close. But then their chat was interrupted when Trixie came barging into the computer lab. “The great and powerful Trixie demands to speak to the yearbook editor immediately!” “Unfortunately, that person is me. What can I help you with, Trixie?” Sunset said, annoyed til Trixie yanked the papers of the yearbook superlatives out of her hand. She looked through it to see if she had won 'Greatest and Most Powerful' but didn’t, which upset her, and that it wasn’t one of the superlatives when Sunset explained it to her and that she wasn’t voted for anything in the yearbook. But then Trixie had to change the subject that was downright gonna take things into a sour conversation when she pulled out an old yearbook from their freshmen year. “Neither was 'Biggest Meanie.' But that didn’t stop you from winning back in our freshman year!” Trixie replied as she showed it to Sunset, causing her to get upset. But fortunately, her friends had her back as they each mentioned that things had changed since then. Twilight even brought up an important thing to Trixie as she helped her best friend. “But we all know that Sunset doesn’t earn the right to be remembered that way. She cares about everyone she knows and loves,” Twilight said, before tossing the yearbook behind them, which was then taken by someone that no one else saw happen. “Thanks, Twilight. What would I do without you,” Sunset replied as she smiled and blushed for a split second. And so after Sunset explained to Trixie there won’t be a 'Great and Powerfullest' superlative in the yearbook Trixie grew extremely mad! “Oh, you’re the one who will be sorry Sunset Shimmer! When you least expect it! I’ll have my revenge on you, and then I’ll disappear like this! Trixie soon revealed a smoke bomb and threw it onto the floor, causing the girls to start coughing until the smoke had disappeared, revealing Trixie pulling on the doorknob that was locked. Sunset opened the door for her with the key to the computer lab as she and her friends were now leaving school for the day. Trixie was still upset as she walked away but still plotted on getting her revenge on Sunset. She figured it would be best to do it when Sunset and her friends were at the beach the next day. And when it does, she could give them a taste of their own medicine. As the seven girls exited the computer lab no one realized Wallflower was still there. “I’ll just finish up some more of wor-” “Oh I forgot to turn off the lights,” Sunset said, turning them off and leaving Wallflower Blush all alone. “In the dark.” After Sunset left school Twilight accompanied her back to her apartment. The two were discussing some last-minute edits to the yearbook as they chatted together while enjoying some tea and snacks. “Once we get this photo done tomorrow, we’ll be just about complete with the photos for the yearbook. I can’t wait to see it when it's done!” Replied Twilight, as she took a sip of her tea. “Yep and with a bit more editing, it will be ready to be set off, printed, and copied. I sure have been enjoying my time as president of this committee. And that I had help from you and the girls.” “It's the least we can offer as your friend, Sunset. We care a lot about you. We’d do anything for one of our dearest friends.” “Thanks.” But Sunset’s mood soon changed as she looked away from Twilight with a frown on her face, revealing she was hiding something. “Sunset, something wrong?” “Huh, oh um it's nothing Twilight, it isn’t important,” Sunset replied, moving her bangs out of her face. “Sunset you can tell me anything if something is bothering you. I’ll be here to help you with anything you're going through. Twilight said as she put her hands in Sunset's lap, causing the girl to get her attention. “Talk to me.” “Sigh It's about what Trixie said.” “What about her?” “She said she wants to get revenge on me all because I didn’t add her to the 'Greatest and Most Powerful' superlative in the yearbook. I simply didn't do it since there wasn’t much time left. The yearbook is due to be completed soon and I wasn’t sure what to do. But what if she wants to get revenge on me? She must've been serious about sabotaging our group photo together at the beach!” Sunset was worried now as she brought up her feet onto the couch, hugging them as a few tears showed up on her face. But Twilight knew how to help her friend. “Sunset. It's best to not worry. Trixie might have just been getting under your skin. She must've been trying to scare you.” “But what if she does want to get revenge on me? And might do it tomorrow at the beach, just so she’ll humiliate me in front of everyone!” “Sunset, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be bringing my drone tomorrow to take our photos. I’ll make sure to keep a close eye out for her if she does show up. I’ll make sure to tell Spike too so he keeps an eye out aside me.” “You’d do that. For me?” “Of course. You're my best friend Sunset. I’ll always be here to help whenever you need help, no matter the situation. I’ll be there by your side until the end.” “Thanks, Twilight. You're the best.” “It's what I can offer after everything you’ve done for me since I transferred to CHS. It proves that you're no longer that bully person fear. Because to me, you're the kindest person any friend would ask for.” “Thanks. That means a lot.” The two soon looked into each other's eyes and began getting very close to kissing. Until- Ring Ring “Oh no!” Twilight’s phone was ringing. She immediately picked it up and noticed she was getting a call from her mom, which she right away answered. “Hi, mom. I’m at Sunset’s place why? Oh darn it, I forgot. Sigh, I’ll be home in ten. Love you, bye.” “Something up?” “My mom called to remind me my aunt is in town. She wants me to be home right now, as she’s just gotten back from the airport. So I have to leave now Sunset. I’m very sorry.” “It's alright Twilight, it's getting late anyway. We can work some more of this Monday at school alright?” “Sounds good Sunset.” “And besides, let's relax with our friends on our trip to the beach tomorrow. We deserve it.” “Sounds good to me.” After Twilight grabbed her belongings, Sunset said goodbye to her friend before leaving to go home. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Sunset.” “Yeah, see you tomorrow Twilight.” Twilight could tell Sunset was still worried about the revenge Trixie wanted to give to her and once again reminded her of something important. “Don’t worry yourself too much. Everything will be alright. We’ll be there to help you in case it does happen alright?” “Ok.” Twilight gave her friend a quick hug before walking down Sunset’s driveway. That was until Sunset called her back. “Twilight!” “Yeah Sunset?” Twilight replied, looking back at her. “Thanks for the pep talk.” “Anytime Sunset, see you tomorrow.” Sunset waved back as Twilight once again before going back into her apartment to get started on dinner. That night, Sunset was sitting in her bed with her pet Ray, looking at some photos of herself and her friends from the last year at CHS. From their trip at Camp Everfree, their time with the Shadowbolts, and the time they were in the Daring Do film after stopping Juniper Montage. After taking a look at the time, seeing that it was nearly 10 pm, she decided to call it a night. She put Ray back in his cage and kissed him goodnight. But instead of crawling back into bed, she decided to write a message to Princess Twilight, as she began writing her message in her journal. Dear Princess Twilight, I thought you’d be happy to hear my friends and I were voted 'Best Friends' in the yearbook today. After all, if you hadn’t forgiven me, or shown me what Friendship is along with the girls. I’d still be that arrogant student when I left Equestria, still wanting to be a princess. But you’ve given me that second chance I thought I didn’t deserve/ And I thank you for it. And I’ll never forget it. Your Friend, Sunset Shimmer. After Sunset put her journal away she removed her slippers before turning off the lights and went off to sleep. But what Sunset didn't know as she slept away was a strange magic was swirling through the night sky. It went to the forest behind Canterlot High before everything turned back to normal. Or so we thought? Sunset didn’t realize the magic that had gone by, was a sign of trouble coming! The next morning, the girls were at the beach having fun under the sun. Sunset had just arrived after changing into her swimsuit along with her red and orange sarong around her waist. She also had her book bag on her shoulder with her journal, phone and clothes inside. When she saw her friends in the distance, she smiled, thinking about the fun day they were about to have. Twilight was working on her drone with a few modifications. Spike was playing with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow was discussing something with Rarity about towels, while Applejack watched them and Fluttershy had come out of the water with a head of seaweed on her head she caught during her swim. As Sunset got closer the girls were each posing for pictures at the drone. But as Sunset got close, the drone nearly hit her! But fortunately, she dodged it in time. “Oh, Twilight, you got the selfie sensor on your drone working?” Sunset asked. But then something weird happened. Instead of Twilight answering her, the rest of the girls were staring at her, wondering why she was there. This began making Sunset feel very confused. “O… Kay, So, who’s ready to take a 'Best Friends' picture together? But again, no one replied, even Fluttershy went to go hide behind Applejack. This was a serious red flag, as something wasn’t right. “Is everything ok girls? Is it something I said?” Sunset got her answer thankfully, but not how she expected it. “Did I just hear that Sunset Shimmer wants to be in our 'Best Friends' picture? Heh. Now I’ve heard it all!” Replied Applejack. Something wasn’t right and Sunset needed answers. “Am I missing the joke here?” This time Rarity replied. “The only joke here is whatever this is you’re playing on us. Acting all nice, like you’re our friend.” “And it's not funny,” replied Fluttershy, who continued hiding behind Applejack. “Yeah because you aren’t nice at all,” said Rainbow Dash, who crossed her arms in anger. “You're nothing but a meanie big bully!” Replied Pinkie Pie. “And we ain’t friends.” Replied Applejack “Wait what?” Sunset knew something was wrong, so she did the only thing that she thought would answer them. She immediately touches Applejack's arm to read her mind with her powers to see into her memories. And what she saw was shocking! She saw past events like the Friendship Games, the trip to Camp Everfree, and the Battle of the Bands. However, whenever she appeared in these memories she faded away like she was never there. Sunset immediately moved her hand away from Applejack, feeling speechless by what she saw. She didn’t know if this was real or not and if she should believe it. But she knew that something had caused this to happen. But the answer, she did not know! “It’s like I’ve been… Erased!” To be continued... > You remember? (Edited by Echo Breeze) (Updated 1/30/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunset couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Was this real, or was she dreaming? She honestly had no clue at all! “No. No this has to be a bad dream I’m having and I need to wake up now!” Sunset slapped herself a few times to try and wake herself up to get out of this nightmare, but nothing happened. Even when Pinkie Pie pinched her to see if she was. But she wasn’t. Applejack then proceeded to ask her an important question that she didn’t see coming. “And exactly how is it you were able to see my memories?” “With my geode,” Sunset said, grabbing a hold of it around her neck. Rarity soon comments it was likely fake, which made Sunset upset. Her geode wasn’t fake at all, as they had all gotten them together back at Camp Everfree. Sunset then tried reminding them of certain events that happened over the last year after the Fall Formal. She asked Pinkie Pie about the sleepover they had during the Battle of the Bands, to which she told her that the closest party she’d ever been invited to, was their freshman year party, and what had happened with a fake text message she sent to them. ”Yes, but that was a long time ago. Twilight, you remember right? We’ve been through so much together. Please…” Sunset was anxious Twilight had been affected too, and hoping there was at least one person who remembered her kinder self. But a part of her wasn’t sure she did. But then, a silver lining occurred. “Of course I do Sunset. Why would I forget you after everything we’ve been through together.” This brought a smile to Sunset’s face. Even Spike remembered as he ran over to Sunset, wagging his tail in excitement. Sunset was relieved to see that at least one of her friends hadn’t forgotten her, along with Spike as well. “Girls, if this is some prank, you can stop now. This isn’t funny!!” Replied Twilight. “It isn’t darling!” Replied Rarity. “What's wrong with you Twilight? Why would you say that about her? She’s never been nice. And when she does act nice, it's all just an act!” Said Fluttershy, as she continued to shiver in fear behind Applejack. “You didn’t digest any of that cupcake sunscreen Pinkie brought, did you Twilight?” Questioned Rainbow Dash. “No, I didn’t and why would I even do that? That stuff is disgusting! Shouted Twilight, which upset Pinkie Pie. “Girls, Sunset isn’t lying, she's the truth!” Twilight yelled, visibly filled with anger at this point. “Sunset isn’t our enemy, she's our friend!” Spike added, with a moan. “Don’t any of you remember that I have changed!” Said Sunset. “No, you haven’t!” Shouted the five of them. Sunset was out of ideas at this point. She didn't know how to solve this sudden mystery of what happened to her friends. Telling them what she remembered seemed to just be leading to a dead end. She had to figure out a new solution to fix this, or their Friendship would be in danger of a sour ending! “Twilight can we talk? In private.” “Of course. Come on Spike.” “We’ll be right back,” said Sunset. But the replies back weren't nice ones. “You better not be pranking us Twilight! Because if you are, I’ll eat my hat!” Yelled Rainbow Dash. “Don’t hurry back, Darling. Go back to the hole you crawled out from!” Shouted Rarity. Sunset, Twilight, and Spike headed over to the Lifeguard Tower to have their private talk. Since the sun was still out about, they decided to have their talk, in the nice cool shade of the tower. “Twilight, if you're pranking me like our friends were, say it now. The cat is out of the bag if you are too!” “Sunset, I’m not! Don’t you remember what I told you last night, that I’d be here for you? Spike and I were gonna help you in case Trixie showed up to do her revenge on you today!” Sunset went silent once again. Twilight knew her best friend was being serious about this one. She saw what their friends had said back there and knew Sunset needed to hear something positive after all the negativity she was given. “Sunset, I’m telling the truth, why would I-” Suddenly Sunset collapsed onto the sand and started to shake, startling Twilight! “Sunset! What’s the matter? Are you ok! What’s wrong?” “Um Twilight, she’s shaking a lot! What exactly did you tell me again that people often have when they’re really worried?” Questioned Spike. “Oh no! Sunset’s having a panic attack! Sunset listens to me, you need to calm down, you're having a panic attack, you need to calm down right now!” Sunset wasn’t sure what to say or do and was still thinking this was a really bad nightmare she so desperately wanted to end! “Sunset! Look at me, LOOK AT ME!” Twilight got Sunset’s attention and she did what her mom taught her in case she was ever in a situation like this. “Breath in, and out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.” Finally, Sunset had calmed down, making Twilight sigh in relief. Her efforts had paid off and we're gonna make sure to thank her mom about it the next time she sees her. “You're ok Sunset. You're gonna be ok.” Sunset looked up at Twilight. She was smiling at her, as well as Spike was sitting near her before she readily began to cry. Twilight brought her friend into a hug as she stroked Sunset’s red and golden hair very slowly while removing some of the sand that had gotten into her hair. “Oh, Sunset. It's ok. You're gonna be alright. I’m here. Spike and I aren’t going anywhere.” Sunset moved away from Twilight a bit to calm herself down and think. This day had taken a completely different turn than she expected it, as all she wanted now, was for her friends to remember she had changed. “Its… It's just like what I went through during the Anon-A-Miss incident all over again. But instead of the girls losing my trust and hating me again, they don’t remember I changed at all!” Sunset cried, before hiccupping a bit. “Sunset, I don’t know what could have caused this, but you don’t need to worry. Spike and I remember you, and haven’t forgotten anything you’ve done for us.” “But if it makes you feel better, it would be nice to have a belly rub right about now. If you don’t mind?” Sunset gives Spike a belly rub before looking back at her friend. “Sorry about what happened Twilight. I haven’t had a panic attack since the Anon-A-Miss incident. I haven’t felt this stressed, or had a lot of negativity thrown at me months before I met you. I just needed to release it and get it out of my system. I’m sorry.” “You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve done a lot for me and Spike, it's time we pay back the favor.” Sunset smiled at her best friend once more, knowing that she was back to her cheerful self. But they still had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to get their friends back. “Well, now that I got this over with, there’s only one thing left I’m still not sure what to do about. What could have caused all of this to happen and why?” “You don’t think-” Spike starts before Twilight interrupts saying. “Equestrian Magic! That has to be it! There could be no other explanation for what caused this memory crisis. But how do we know what artifacts were up against this time? And who do we tell to help us!” Twilight questioned. Sunset looked at her bag as she began removing her journal and a pen from it, knowing what she must do. But before she laid her pen on a blank page she stopped, thinking to herself if the princess might've been affected. “But, what if the Princess doesn’t remember me either? What if the magic somehow affected her too?” “We have to try. It's the only way we can try and solve this. We'll need her help to get our friends back!” Sunset knew Twilight was right, knowing they had to press on. They had no other idea what could've caused this but needed serious help. After signing to herself, gaining whatever faith she had left, Sunset proceeded to write her message in the journal. Dear Princess Twilight, this is gonna sound crazy, but... are we friends? “Am I... nice? Please answer…” Said the worried Sunset, as she slouched downward next to Twilight. After waiting a minute to see if she replied, not a single word appeared on the adjacent page. “It's no use, she must not have the journal right now. She must've been affected and doesn’t care about it. She might not even be in her castle for all we know!” “Don’t give up hope Sunset. If we wait a few minutes, maybe she will-” “Look!” Shouted Spike. A message was appearing in the journal, meaning that Princess Twilight was sending a message to Sunset! Of course we’re friends! The three of them sighed in relief. The Princess hadn’t forgotten Sunset. Are you ok? What’s going on? Sunset looked back at her Twilight, who nodded in reply before she wrote back saying it's hard to explain all of this at the moment and she’d come to Equestria to explain the rest. Sunset closed the journal once she was done, putting it back in her bag before standing back up again. “I told the Princess I’m coming to Equestria. We’ll see if we can find any clues on what we're up against. We must find a way to fix this!” “Go. Try and see if you can find anything that’ll help us get our friends back.” “But what about you and Spike? What will you do while I’m gone trying to find the cause of this mess?” Asked a worried Sunset. “Spike and I will try to see if the girls can remember anything else that involves you being good. It’ll take a while, but we have to try. Maybe they remember one or two good memories of you. I'm not gonna ignore this. My friend needs help, and that help is not going anywhere.” This made Sunset smile once more. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’ll try and find out what caused this.” “Good luck Sunset. You'll need it.” Twilight and Spike hugged Sunset, wishing her good luck in her search for clues. “We can do this if we try. We're gonna find a way to get those memories back, one way or another!” “Thanks, Twilight. You truly are my best friend.” Twilight smiled back the biggest smile she had made all morning, as she watched Sunset head on off to CHS. After Sunset left the beach and changed out of her swimsuit and into her attire, she arrived at Canterlot High to head back to Equestria. After making sure the coast was clear, Sunset entered the portal, heading back to her old home of Equestria. She still hadn’t gotten used to the twisting and turning when going through it, but now wasn't the time to be concerned about it. When she arrived in Equestria, Sunset explained everything to Princess Twilight that happened. They then headed off to Canterlot where Sunset reunited with her former teacher, Princess Celestia, for the first time in many years. Sunset was glad that Celestia had forgiven her. They then found themselves entering a restricted section of the Canterlot Library. The two sisters knew if they wanted to find answers to help Sunset, then that was the best place to start. After several hours of searching, they found the answer they were looking for in a scroll. An Equestrian artifact called the Memory Stone. The Memory Stone has the power to erase any memory, storing it inside itself. It could also erase any kind of memory from a living creature. Whether it was good, bad, embarrassing, or even a fragment. Sunset knew she needed to return home to tell Sci Twi and Spike what she found. She knew they might have an advantage at telling their friends they aren’t Sunset’s enemy. And they’d hopefully believe her with the help of Sci Twi that their good memories of Sunset have indeed been erased by someone. I it didn’t work, Sunset wasn’t sure what she’d do to solve this situation. Sunset arrives back at the beach soon after where she met up with Twilight and Spike under the Lifeguard Tower. “Well, what did you find?” “The Princess and I managed to find out the cause of this are indeed from an Equestrian artifact. An artifact known as the Memory Stone.” “The Memory Stone?” “What does it do?” Questioned Spike. “It has the power to erase any memory. Whether it's good, bad, embarrassing, or even fragments of one. We think that someone here might have found it, and used it so everyone hates me again.” “But that still leads us back to where we started?” Answered Spike. “That’s right. We may know now what caused this, but we still don’t know who has the stone and where?” Sunset replied. “But-” “Who could have done this to me/you, and why?” The two girls interrupted Spike, talking in unison. Sunset and Twilight knew this situation was gonna be tougher than they expected. Even with their friendship and proof to their friends of what caused this, they still needed to find a way so they can believe it, or else the future is in jeopardy. To be continued... > Memory fixing (Edited by Echo Breeze) (Updated 1/30/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Sunset finished explaining the information she got to Twilight and Spike, they knew this wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park, trying to tell their friends Sunset had changed. “So we now know what we're up against with this stone that erased the good memories of you. But the question remains, how do we tell our friends their memories of you were erased? And that you aren’t their enemy?” Questioned Twilight. “I don’t know Twilight. Did you and Spike manage to get anything out of them while I was gone?” “We tried telling them what had happened yesterday at school with Trixie, but they didn’t remember exactly what happened. Which is kinda a good sign at least? I think?” Twilight explained, with a fake smile. “Plus Trixie tried to beg Rarity for that 'Greatest and Most Powerful' Superlative thing in the yearbook again. Which surprisingly, Rarity thought about doing. Despite dumb Trixie doesn't deserve it,” replied Spike before he growled at the thought. “What about the Friendship Games, or our visit to Camp Everfree, or even our alliance with the Shadowbolts to win that music contest?” “I tried all of that, but none of it worked. Nothing seems to be working, not even-” Twilight’s phone went off once again, interrupting an important moment. After checking, it was just a text from her mom. “Another call I suppose?” Questioned Sunset. “No, my mom just sent me a pic of herself with my aunt, my dad, my brother, and Cadance at the mall.” Then it hit Sunset. That's it, why didn’t she think of it til now? “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that!” “Think of what?” Asked Twilight. “Maybe if we show them some photos of us together, or our text messages from the last week, maybe even a few videos too, they might believe it. It might just work!” “How are you sure about it?” Questioned Spike. “We have to try Spike. It might help our friends realize Sunset isn’t their enemy and indeed not a bully anymore. You're a genius Sunset!” Explained Twilight. “Twilight's right, this might just work. But we have to see what they think about this as well.” “I got a bad feeling about this,” said a worried Spike. “I know, Spike but we can’t just ignore this. They’re our friends. Forgotten or not, they are still the friends we all care about deeply,” said Twilight as she scratched behind her dog’s ears. “Alright, let’s do this!” As the three of them walked over to their friends, they all looked to be having a fun day at the beach. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all playing volleyball while Rarity continued to do her sun tanning, while Applejack watched her friend's volleyball game. When Rainbow Dash spotted Sunset coming their way with Twilight, her mood completely soured. “Well well well, Sunset Shimmer is back. Gonna try and continue mocking us with more fake information and lies?” “It's not fake Rainbow Dash and besides, we found a reason why you're all acting like this, and that you aren’t Sunset’s enemy!” Replied Twilight. The rest of the girls became extremely confused before Sunset started to explain it. “Someone has erased my memories of you all with an Equestrian artifact called the Memory Stone,” said Sunset as she showed the five of them a photo of the stone. “It's what caused this all to happen. Just yesterday, we all were friends and now we're acting the way we were before you all met Princess Twilight.” “Plus we have proof that we are indeed friends,” shared Twilight. Twilight and Sunset then showed them pictures on their phones from the last few months. They then showed the text messages to which the Mane five were starting to look like they understood them and believed they were indeed real proof. Until- “Oh please, are you five gonna fall for that? This is the same girl who made those photos of your princess friend trashing the school gym if you hadn’t forgotten,” replied Trixie, who was listening while enjoying her day at the beach. “They are not fake Trixie, they have shadows, dates, and everything seen in the picture proves they're real!” Yelled Sunset. But the girls seemed to believe Trixie on this one. “Yeah and besides, is this supposed to be me making such a ridiculous face? Ha! I'd never fake a face like that!” Said Pinkie Pie as she made the same exact face seen in the picture after snatching Sunset’s phone out of her hands. “But they aren’t fake you guys! You have them on your phones as well! Look for yourselves,” replied Twilight. “You know what Twilight, maybe you seem to be helping her with this because you think we're not good friends, thinking we are more trustworthy than her,” replied Applejack as she pointed at Sunset, making her mood start to turn sour. “And since you're here Sunset Shimmer, now it's time you get what you deserve. Minions!” Snips and Snails appeared and threw several rocks at Twilight’s drone before it landed in the sand. Its propellers were now dented and it was in terrible shape. Trixie grabbed ahold of the damaged drone and Twilight realized what she was about to do. “Trixie, don’t you dare what I think you're gonna do!” “Oh, I am Sparkle!” “Don’t you dare throw my drone at Sunset! I spent hours working on that drone for this weekend!” Shouted Twilight. But before Trixie could even reply, she threw the drone as hard as she could, sending it flying toward Rainbow Dash. Sunset immediately jumped in front of her and pushed Rainbow Dash out of the way, before the drone hit Fluttershy in the face, and she fell hard down into the sand. The drone was now destroyed and Fluttershy had suffered a bloody nose in the process. She gasped when she felt the blood go down her nose before letting off a gasp. “You did that on purpose so Fluttershy could get hurt!” Shouted an angry Applejack. “What! If it wasn’t for me, Rainbow Dash would have been the one who had gotten hurt! You should be thanking me!” “Leave,” said Rainbow Dash quietly after getting up and away from Sunset. “Girls please don’t-” Twilight said before she was cut off by the rest of the girls. “Leave us alone!” Shouted the Mane five. “We don’t need you!” You're nothing but a troublemaker and a waste of our time!” “You cause nothing but chaos!” “You don’t deserve any friends for who you are!” “No one should ever love you!” This caused Sunset to start to tear up over all the negative words she heard from her friends. “After everything I’ve done to prove I’m not a bully anymore, even saving Rainbow Dash to not get hit by Twilight's drone and I…I get this! You all once showed me how important friendship is and this is how you repay me after all the kindness I’ve given you and all we’ve been through! I hope you girls are happy now.” Sunset started running away in tears as the Mane five watched her, feeling glad to have her out of the picture. Trixie was even more delighted seeing Sunset running away in tears. Her plan worked, knowing she had done a perfect job as she laughed away thinking about her victory. “And my work here is done! Trixie out!” Trixie threw a smoke bomb to the ground, and she ran in the opposite direction with Snips and Snails trailing behind. “Sunset wait!” “Come back!” But Sunset was gone before she could hear Twilight and Spike’s calls. Twilight looked back at her friends and saw that they were happy to see both Sunset and Trixie gone. “About time she left,” replied Rainbow Dash. “You ok Fluttershy?” Rarity asked as she helped Fluttershy up. “I think so.” Rarity offered her a handkerchief to wipe the blood off her face after getting hit by Twilight’s drone. It wasn’t that serious, but she’d be fine. “Come on Twilight, why don’t we do that photo and get it over with? We'll use one of our phones since your drone is busted thanks to Trixie.” Rarity said. But Twilight didn’t reply. “Come on Twi, let's continue having our fun beach day now that those two are gone,” Applejack added. “I hope you're all happy.” “What?” The five girls said in unison. Twilight turned around to face them with an angry look on her face. “I hope you're happy with what you did! Sunset showed you proof and saved Rainbow Dash from getting hit by my drone! I don’t want to talk to any of you until you all realize what you’ve done! Sunset is our friend whether you remember or not! If you all understood how important friendship is as much as your counterparts in Equestria do, then you all wouldn’t have caused this to happen in the first place!” After Twilight told her friends how she felt she grabbed her broken drone out of the sand. And from what she can tell, it was damaged beyond repair. She knew she had a lot of work to do before it was going to be flying again. But for now, Sunset needed her. “Come on Spike, we're leaving.” Spike took one last look at the five girls to see them surprised by what Twilight said to them. "I hope you girls are happy. You've ruined what was supposed to be a happy day." Spike then growled at them before catching up with Twilight. The five girls knew they had gone too far now and upset their friend. They knew they had to fix this. But how, they didn’t know. “What have we done,” they all said in unison. After Sunset arrived back at her apartment, she tried to calm herself down to forget what had happened at the beach, but every time she was a step closer to feeling better, she’d hear her friends' negative comments echoing through her mind. After Twilight left the beach herself, she went back home to drop off her drone and Spike before changing into her normal attire and heading over to Sunset’s apartment. Spike wanted to come along, but Twilight wanted him to stay behind. Sunset wasn’t in the best mood right now, and she needed to help her best friend out. Spike understood his master's request, as he knew that he'd just get in the way if he tagged with her. When Twilight arrived at Sunset’s apartment, she saw Sunset’s shadow from the upstairs window of the apartment. She knocked on the front door, only to get no answer. Twilight tried again. Still nothing. But after her third try, Sunset still didn’t answer. “Sunset open up! I know you're in there!” “Go away Twilight! Just leave me alone, please!” “I’m not leaving until you open up this door! You either open this door right now or I’ll have to do it myself!” But Sunset didn’t reply. Twilight didn't want to do this but she had no choice. She brought out the spare key Sunset gave her to use in emergencies, which she was fortunate she brought along. After getting inside and locking the door, Twilight was shocked to find Sunset's apartment in a horrible mess. The couch cushions were out of place, the kitchen was a mess, the bathroom fan was on full blast, and Sunset’s bathing suit, sarong, and flip-flops were scattered on the floor. As well as her geode next to her bag with the journal peaking out. Plus one of the photos of the seven of them had fallen off the wall, and the glass had cracked a bit. After hanging the photo back onto the wall with the other photos, Twilight spotted Sunset in bed and could hear that she was still crying. Twilight grabbed Sunset’s geode from the floor and put it in her skirt pocket to not lose it. Then very slowly, Twilight walked up the stairs to Sunset’s bed. Sunset was facing the opposite direction but was still crying, with her shoes and leather vest sitting not far on the side of her bed. Twilight stopped just three feet away from Sunset before she set the geode on the nightstand. She knelt on the floor next to the bed to face her friend. “Sunset? Are you alright?” “No, Twilight. Just leave. I need to be alone right now.” “I’m not gonna just ignore what happened when you got picked on by our friends earlier. I’m not gonna ignore this situation of yours just as much as you would. You should know that.” Twilight slowly turns Sunset to face her so she can speak to her friend. When she did, Sunset was in horrible shape. Her mascara was in a mess, her shirt was wrinkled, her hair was in a nightmare state, and tears were still going down her face. “You’ve told me once what you went through during your past when you were alone. I’m not gonna watch you try and do this yourself or let what happened with Anon-A-Miss happen a third time. I care a lot about you Sunset. I'm not leaving my best friend to sorrow in dismay,” Twilight said as she began fixing Sunset’s hair. “But this is different Twilight. The memories are gone! We don’t know who could have caused this or has the Memory Stone. And worst of all, the girls now hate me even more than they did before!” “Don’t worry too much." "How is that gonna help? I've run out of ideas! What's the point now?" "Because I might've fixed it a little.....” “What do you mean?” Sunset asked as she grabbed a hairbrush from her nightstand. “After I left, they seemed to not be in a great mood that they you back there. Maybe there’s a chance that they might give you a second chance?” “That’s very unlikely Twilight. What would make them want to?” Sunset asked as she set the brush down, and hugged her legs together. Twilight knew Sunset needed to hear the full story of what happened, and she told her friend exactly what happened after she left. After Twilight finished telling her what happened, Sunset was lost for words. She was shocked Twilight did that right in front of their friends, showing how much she cares about Sunset. “And when I left, I overheard them saying 'What have we done.' This proves they went too far on you and might want to apologize.” “Well, I hope so. But for now, I just need some right space.” Twilight left Sunset alone for a few minutes and called up her mom to explain what happened today. She didn’t mention the memories being erased or the Memory Stone but understood what happened with what her daughter shared. When Twilight went to go and check up on Sunset, she had stopped crying and looked to be feeling a bit better. “Feeling any better?” “A little. You can leave if you want to Twilight. I think I just need some time to think. If our friends were affected, then I'm sure everyone else at CHS was too. It seems like when we head back to school on Monday, things aren't gonna be easy.” Sunset said while straightening her shirt a bit. “No Sunset, I’m staying. You need someone to be with you right now. Why don’t we get this place cleaned up and get you changed into a better pair of clothes that aren't wrinkled?” Sunset didn’t argue over it as she got out of bed and headed off to the bathroom with Twilight behind her, knowing that til this mess was over, her friend wouldn't be leaving her side. After nearly an hour of cleaning Sunset's apartment, and fixing her attire and hair, the apartment was looking better than ever/ This made both of them a little happier, especially Sunset. They sat down on the couch and admired the place was looking a lot more like a home than a dump. “Thanks for all the help today, Twilight. I’m sorry that you had to see this place in a mess. I was so upset after I got back I just didn’t feel like cleaning it all up.” “It's ok Sunset. We're all like that once in a while. Myself included,” Twilight replied before they shared a good-natured laugh. After taking a look at the clock that read 5:56 p.m. with the sun starting to set. Meaning it was time for Twilight to leave for the night. “It's getting late Twilight, you should probably get home before your parents start worrying.” “I got that covered already.” “What do you mean?” “After we had our talk earlier I called my mom and explained what happened today. I didn’t tell her about your memories being erased or the Memory Stone. But I did ask her if I could stay with you for a while. She said it's fine, as long as I keep her updated every few hours.” Twilight grabbed a hold of both of Sunset’s hands before bringing her friend into a hug as she whispered something into Sunset’s ear. “My life has changed so much since I met you Sunset. I don’t want to give up on seeing you like this. I care a lot about you. You're not a bully, you're my best friend. One I care for a lot, and have friends who care for you very much. Even though they currently can’t remember you, I don’t ever want to lose you anytime soon, or in the future.” “Neither do I Twilight. You're like the spark inside my heart. I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you in my life if I never met you during the Friendship Games. Despite we were on opposite sides back then.” “Well, for one thing, our friendship has been growing stronger than we thought since then.” "Yeah, it sure has." At that moment Sunset thought it would be the perfect time she'd tell Twilight about the feelings she had been hiding from her for the last few months. “Twilight, there’s something else you need to know. I’ve been keeping a secret from you for some time. Twilight, I-” But before Sunset could continue Twilight placed her finger on Sunset’s lip to stop her from what she was about to say to her. “I already know. And truth be told, I love you too Sunset.” “Re-really?” “Yes. Ever since you saved me during the Friendship Games, I started to develop feelings for you. I didn’t want to share it since I wasn’t sure if you still had feelings for Flash Sentry. But after seeing you two acting like friends lately, I knew that you two wanted to start over as friends. Even after your rough past and relationship together.” Sunset didn’t know what to say to her best friend, after helping her feel very happy after the long and hard day they had. And before she knew it they held each other in a warm, loving, embrace, before going into a kiss. After separating from the kiss, Sunset cried on Twilight’s shoulder that she still had her best friend by her side to aid her during this unexpected event she was going through. After Sunset finished her crying she looked back at Twilight. “So are you sure you don’t want to leave?” “No, you deserve to have a friend who cares about you right now. It's the least I can offer. So, I’ll be staying here for a while if you don’t mind the company. Until we get our friends back, I'm not gonna leave you. I promise we'll get them back in no time." Sunset accepted the offer, allowing Twilight to stay with her until they found the Memory Stone. “Why don’t I order us some dinner? My treat.” “That would be great Twilight.” “Almost like a date huh?” “Sorta, but not really.” “So where should we order from?” After ordering take-out, the girls watched a movie to pass the time hoping that Princess Twilight would send a message if she found anything new about the stone. But there had been no word since Sunset left Equestria earlier in the day. Twilight also made sure to check her phone in case any of their friends decide to text to talk to them or apologize. But they didn't get anything new all evening. After finishing their movie, the girls decided to call it a night after their stressful day. After they both took turns showering, Sunset lent Twilight a pair of pajamas, before they went off to sleep. But later that night, Sunset had a visit from someone she’d thought she’d never see again in a dream. “Hello there Sunset.” “Who’s there?” “Don’t you remember me Sunny?” “Who’s there? Show yourself!” Sunset turned around to come face to face with none other than someone she’d thought she’d never see again. It was her demon or commonly known as Sundown Shimmer. “No! No no no no no! Why are you here? I thought I had forgotten about you when I became good, showing how important friendship is. Especially when I transformed into Daydream Shimmer!” “Did you think you’d forget me? I’m still a part of you Sunny.” “Leave me alone and stop calling me that nickname! I’m not in the mood to be dealing with you! I already have enough to deal with my friends' memories of me erased!” “Forget those friends of yours. They hated you once and you still wanted them back, they hated you twice and you still wanted them back! Why not just go back to being the girl you once were long ago? It’ll be much better than being nice and showing everyone how good that stupid friendship you’ve been taught.” “No, I’m never going back to who I once was. I ruined people’s lives, relationships, friendships, I even got a few people at CHS to do things they’d never do! Such as fighting, and even expelled thanks to me!” “Well then, I see I’ll have to do this the hard way then.” Sundown disappeared, which caused Sunset to panic. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do to her, but Sunset got her answer soon enough. Sunset felt Sundown grab a hold of her from behind. She tried to get free, but it was no use. Sundown had grabbed her pretty tight, to not lose her grip on Sunset so she couldn't escape. “If I can’t force you to go back to being mean, then I’ll just have to do it myself! By taking over you once again so we're whole again!” Sundown started to fuse with Sunset as she fought back to gain control. Sunset just wanted this nightmare to end. She screamed in pain as her body was being taken over by Sundown. She couldn't fight back, her demon was winning1 “No. You’ll never take over me. I’ll never let you do it again!” “But you won’t, because I’m stronger now than I was last time, and prepared to feel what evil tastes like!” Sunset screamed in pain once again. She wanted this dream to end. The next thing she knew, she was back in her apartment with Twilight sleeping next to her. She was relieved. It was just a dream. But Sunset needed to calm herself down after that dream she had. After tiptoeing down to her couch, she took a few deep breaths until looking through the window as the moon shone brightly. Sunset checked the time to see it was around three in the morning. Despite wanting to go back to sleep, she needed to do some thinking about who might have the Memory Stone. The next thing she knew, she was checking her journal, seeing if there were any new messages from Princess Twilight, only to find there were no new messages from the princess. After putting the journal back on her desk, Sunset sat back down on her couch before she released a flood of tears over the nightmare she had. Where her demon self nearly took over her. Twilight woke up after hearing the noise and got up and out of bed to go help her friend. When Twilight saw Sunset, she hugged her the moment she sat next to her. “What’s the matter Sunset?” “I had a nightmare. My demon self talked to me, saying it wanted me to go back to who I was all because of what was going on with my good memories erased! I don’t ever want to do that again. I don’t ever want to be the person I once was before I was shown friendship. The next thing I knew, she tried fusing with me to take over my body!” Sunset started to cry even more. This made Twilight a little upset, as she tried to get her friend's attention again. “Sunset Shimmer. Look at me! You're not that person anymore. That demon is long gone, it's only a memory. You have nothing to worry about. You have people who care for you. Please. Let me help you with my friendship!” Then, something odd happened. Sunset’s eyes soon glowed white, like what would happen whenever she read someone's mind. But instead, the two girls realized they weren’t in an apartment anymore. Twilight was shocked at what she was seeing. But as amazing as it was, she continued her process getting Sunset’s attention, to show her what was happening. “Sunset, yo-you have to see this!” “No. I don’t want to. The demon must have taken over me!” “Sunset look!” Sunset opened her eyes and was shocked by what she saw. Somehow, they were seeing the events of the battle of the Friendship Games right in front of their eyes. They didn’t know what caused this to happen before they found themselves back in Sunset’s apartment, sitting in the dark. “Wha-What just happened?” A shocked Sunset asked. “I don’t know. But it seems like we were able to see one of your memories by holding our hands together.” “How is that possible?” “Sunset, were you thinking that in your mind just now?” Twilight asked. She got a nod in reply. Twilight wasn’t a hundred percent sure how this happened, but she thought that if Sunset thinks of a memory while holding someone’s hands, they’d be able to see those memories together. Twilight asked Sunset to think of another memory she liked before they both saw it before them. This time, it was during the Crystal Ball when Sunset and Twilight were alongside their friends on stage with an audience cheering as they played 'Be the legend you were meant to be' to help save Camp Everfree from Filthy Rich buying the camp. After the second memory ended, Twilight managed to figure it all out. “It seems like you unlocked a new power Sunset! It must be how we saw your memories at the same time when you thought of it while holding my hands!” “Wow, you thought all of that just now?” “Yes! We have a chance that our friends will believe you have indeed changed. But for now, we better get some sleep. We got a long day ahead of us, including finding the girls.” “Damn right we do Twilight.” After getting back into bed Sunset had one last request she wanted to ask Twilight. “Twilight, are you sure this might work? What if my powers don't work? What if it only works when I do it to you?” “I know Sunset, it's been worrying me too. But we have to see what happens whether they want to or not. It might help them believe you.” “Ok. Can you do me a favor?” “What that’s Sunset?” “Is it ok if you cuddle me?” Twilight smiled in reply. "Of course. Come here you.” Twilight’s arms wrapped around Sunset as she slowly started to fall asleep. Twilight started to sing a lullaby that her mom used to sing to her as a child to help Sunset fall asleep. Before she knew it, Sunset was fast asleep. “We're gonna get our friends back Sunset, I promise.” Twilight kissed Sunset’s forehead before she fell fast asleep with her friend in her arms. The next morning, Twilight was writing a message to her friends that she wanted to talk to them. After Sunset approved the message Twilight sent it to them, who all replied saying they’d be at Sunset’s place in the next hour. After waiting half an hour, and having some breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Sunset answered it and the first thing she saw was her friends with sad faces. Knowing that they indeed wanted to apologize to Sunset. And before she knew it, she was engulfed in a group hug from her friends. She was confused at first why they did so until she got her answer from them. “We're so sorry for yesterday!” “We caused you so much pain!” We know you were telling the truth!” “We are horrible friends!” “We should have listened to you!” Sunset was both happy and sad at the same time before asking for some space so they wouldn't suffocate her from the hug they gave her. “Thank you all for coming. Now if you follow me I can start where we left off after Friday.” The five girls nodded in assent as they all entered Sunset’s apartment. After a few minutes of silence, Twilight entered the room with tea. She handed them all a mug and set some snacks down on the coffee table. After another minute of silence, Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence. “Sunset Shimmer, we’d like to apologize about yesterday.” “And I’m sorry for my behavior as well. And it's just Sunset by the way. "So what made you all want to believe me all of a sudden?” Sunset asked before taking a sip of her tea Applejack replied to Sunset’s answer immediately. “After you and Twilight left us, we all went to Sugarcube Corner to discuss things. And the first thing we found was the photos and texts we had on our phones.” “We read just about all of them after realizing we did have them all along and were shocked that we were mistaken about what you told us. We were quite foolish to ignore you and Twilight yesterday,” Answered Rarity as she twirled a spoon in her cup of tea. “That’s when we decided we wanted to learn the whole story of how you had changed since the Fall Formal. We weren’t sure how you'd feel if any of us texted you so we decided to wait until Twilight gave us the signal.” Replied Fluttershy. Pinkie then shared her opinion, which was clear by the way her hair was deflated. “And that brings us to right now, here in your apartment with proof all around us you weren’t lying. So all we have left to say is,” “We want you to show us your memories of us together,” replied the five girls. Sunset wasn’t sure what to say about this but Twilight did. “Lucky we know how.” After Twilight explained what happened last night, they all agreed to give it a shot to go into Sunset’s mind to see the memories. And before they knew it they all were holding their hands together in a circle before the next thing they knew they entered Sunset’s mind. They saw many of Sunset’s memories from the Fall Formal, the Battle of the Bands, their sleepovers, the Friendship Games, Camp Everfree, and more they all had gone through together as friends. After the last memory ended they were all back in Sunset’s apartment, shocked over what they had just seen. “I can’t believe it,” replied Applejack. “You have changed so much since the Fall Formal,” said a surprised Rarity. “But why can’t we remember any of it? Who caused this to happen!” Wondered a worried Fluttershy. “That leads us to the present. After I left the beach I headed off to Equestria to find answers and found out a logical answer to what could have caused all of this.” Sunset once more showed them the drawing of the Memory Stone. “This is the Memory Stone. It can erase any memory whether it's good or bad that came from anyone just by using it. Twilight, Spike, and the Princesses somehow don’t seem to be affected by it but we still don’t know why. Which of course affected you five and everyone else who knows I changed.” “Now we know you aren’t lying, so we ask for one thing in return.” Sunset and Twilight were very confused until Rarity explained it. “Sunset Shimmer, tell us what you feel about each of us, and how much you care as a friend,” requested Rarity. Sunset got up and first headed to Rainbow Dash as she kneeled in front of her. “Rainbow Dash, while sometimes you may upset me over the things you do such as showing off and proving you're the best at almost everything when it comes to your friends you’re always the one we can count on to be there for us, being the loyal friend you are.” Next, she went over to Applejack. “Applejack, I know I’ve said a lot of mean things about you during our freshman year and about your family’s farm. But that was until I learned what it's like, to be honest to people from someone honest all the time. And you're the only person I’ve ever met who will trust anyone when listening or hearing their side of the story of what happened when you help them.” Sunset then went to Fluttershy who was a bit scared the former bully was in front of her but had to be brave. “Fluttershy, I first want to apologize for the many times I threaten you. But truth be told, you shouldn’t always bring yourself down during tough times. You're a very sweet and caring girl. And if we don’t have you in this world, it would be a much darker place. There'd be no kindness you offer to those you care for. There aren’t many people out there that are like you.” Fluttershy smiled at Sunset before hugging her. After they broke the hug Sunset next went over to Rarity. “Rarity, you're the only person I’ve met who not only makes good fashion but is the girl who’d stop every project she's working on to offer a hand to a friend in need.” “You're right Sunset, I surely would. Also, I did make the swimsuit you were wearing yesterday right? I can’t remember but I know it matched you perfectly darling.” Sunset smiled happily before heading to her last friend who makes her feel very happy. Pinkie Pie. “And Pinkie Pie, you are not just the funniest friend I’ve ever met, but also the best one that could make anyone feel happy when feeling down. It proves you are the element of laughter and great at throwing parties and sleepovers, just like the one we had during the Battle of the Bands.” This caused Pinkie to gasp in surprise as she covered her mouth before she hugged Sunset so tight her eyes were gonna pop out. “That is by far the bestest thing anyone has ever said to me! You sure have changed Sunset Shimmer!” Pinkie replied before letting her go. “It was all thanks to you five girls who showed me the important friendship after Princess Twilight brought you all together to stop me when I turned into a she-demon. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today if it wasn’t for you girls.” This soon caused them all to feel very happy with Sunset’s words. “So with that over with, does that mean-” “Yes Sunset, its means-” “We forgive you,” said the mane five before Sunset was in tears of happiness. “You don’t know how happy I feel right now. I have to thank Twilight for helping me to get you five to understand what’s going on. We’ll need your help to find that Memory Stone and put things back to normal!” “Were with you and Twilight all the way Sunset.” Replied Rainbow Dash. “Me too.” “Same too.” “You betcha.” “It’ll be the best thing you’ve done I’ll remember.” “Group hug!” Shouted Pinkie as she brought all seven of them into a group hug. “Thanks, girls, all of you. Your the best and thank you very much for forgiving me.” “So whoever erased our memories of you are in that stone?” Asked Fluttershy. “Yes, I don’t know how long we have to fix this, but I’m glad I’ll have your help to find out who did this to me. But for now, I think we deserve some fun right now.” The girls all smiled in reply to their friend. “Since we ruined yesterday at the beach for you, Twilight, and Spike, why don’t we make it for three? But this time, as the friends we are we’ve been for so long!” Said Rarity as she brought their swimsuits out of nowhere. “How did ya get a hold of our swimsuits?” Questioned Applejack. “A lady never reveals her secret.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s hit the beach!” Yelled Rainbow Dash, to which the rest of the group agreed. When they got to the beach Sunset was feeling happy, but also a bit worried at the same time. Twilight could easily see it in Sunset’s eyes. “Don’t worry Sunset. We’ll find out who did this to you. We have our friends back. That’s what counts.” “Thanks, Twilight, I wouldn’t have done it without your help.” “Now there’s the Sunset I know well!” Replied Twilight, before the two, blushed at one another. “Come on you two, the beach is calling us!” Shouted Rainbow Dash. Twilight smiled before grabbing Sunset’s hand and ran off to join their friends for a fun day at the beach. After their fun day at the beach, it was time to go home. “Well this sure was a great day,” replied Applejack. “I still want a rematch at surfing next time Applejack,” replied Rainbow Dash. “You're on Rainbow.” “Well then, guess we all better get home. Tomorrow, we can find out who has the stone,” said Sunset. “Nonsense darling. If Twilight promised to not leave you, then we won’t either. Right girls?” “Yeah!” The rest of them replied. “But what will your parents say? It's a school night?” Wondered Sunset. “They’ll understand, they all know as well,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Thank you, girls. What would I do without you.” After they all left the beach they went back to their homes to grab some stuff before returning to Sunset’s apartment to spend the night for a sleepover. Their sleepover went great with telling spooky stories, playing Tirek’s Revenge, ordering Pizza, and even a new selfie to go along with the one from Twilight’s drone after Sunset helped her repair it. After the five girls went to sleep it was just Sunset and Twilight left awake as they both got into bed. “See Sunset, what did I tell you? They would forgive you.” “Yeah. You may be a lot different from your counterpart in Equestria but I can tell you care a lot more about our friends than ever.” “That’s what friends are for.” “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow when we head back to school, but I’m hoping we’ll find that stone and who has it!” “That’s the spirit Sunset! But for now, let’s get some sleep.” After Twilight removed her glasses and turned off the lamp she turned to face her friend. “Goodnight Sunset.” “Goodnight Twilight.” As soon they both fell fast asleep with their friends sleeping not far from them the two girls slept quietly, knowing they did a job well down getting their friends back. They all weren’t sure what would happen when they’d return to school the following day, but they knew they'd solve this mystery, find the stone, and who was responsible for the mess in the first place! But for now, Sunset has her friends back, which has brought the happiest back to the girl we all love and care about. To be continued... > Wallflower's secret (Edited by Echo Breeze) (Updated 1/31/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After their rough weekend with the memory crisis, it was time to return to CHS. But even though Sunset had her friends back, they still needed to find out who had the Memory Stone, and the best guess was someone at CHS had it and was responsible for it. But who? When arriving at CHS that Monday morning, the first thing that caught Sunset and her friends' attention was many students showing looks of fear and hatred when passing and glaring at Sunset. “It seems like whoever has that stone has affected everyone at CHS as well,” Twilight reflected lightly. “And I thought we were the only ones affected,” Applejack leveled. “Well, it was kinda obvious that you five weren’t the only ones affected by it. Though I wished it was only you girls and not everyone else at CHS. It just makes it more frustrating,” Sunset replied as she closed her locker. As the three girls made their way to the music room, Sunset ran into Micro Chips, who soon collapsed onto the floor, scared to see her in front of him. Sunset was surprised when she ran into him and decided to help him. But after she let her hand out to help him he gave her his lunch money instead. Sunset was confused why he gave her his lunch money and was gonna tell him she doesn’t want it before screaming out loud she wasn’t mean. But she had a different idea in mind to not make her thoughts become a reality. Sunset laid the money down next to the frightened Micro Chips before stepping up and saying to him “Keep it. It's not mine. You need it more than I do.” Micro Chips was surprised to see Sunset Shimmer do that, as well as the other students who watched it before Sunset and her two friends continued their way to the music room. “That was good of you Sunset.” Replied Twilight. “Not to mention you didn’t overreact when Micro Chips handed you his lunch money, '' Applejack said. “I was gonna yell at him, tell him I didn’t want it. But a part of myself was telling me if I did it, I’d be making a scene in front of everyone. Maybe if I try not to be so angry, or act like my old self today, people will know I’ve changed and that I’m not that person anymor-” But just as Sunset thought she was in the clear, she ran into the last person she wanted to see. “Well well well, look who’s back for more.” “I’m not in the mood to fight with you, Trixie. I already got a lot on my plate with what’s going on.” “Huh, figured that’s what you’d say for the bully you are.” This soon caused Sunset to turn red with anger. She wanted to punch Trixie so badly to get revenge on her for what she did to Fluttershy the other day. But she instead walked away, leaving a somewhat confused Trixie behind her, while Twilight and Applejack hurried to catch up with her. “That was weird? Whatever, the great and powerful Trixie has more important stuff to deal with,” Trixie said as she left her locker for her first class of the day. When the three of them arrived at the music room, the door was already open with the rest of their friends awaiting them. They could tell something had happened with the look on Sunset’s face but decided to ask her something else that was on their minds. “Any word from Princess Twilight?” Asked Fluttershy. “No, she still hasn’t replied,” Sunset answered, which soon made the rest of them go quiet once again. “This is worrying me, I don’t know how much time we have left to find that stone. Just coming back here with people afraid and hating me again is making me feel like it's the aftermath of the Fall Formal and Anon-A-Miss all over again!” Sunset dejectedly said. “Don’t worry Darling, we may not remember you entirely, but we're here to help you, no matter what happens!” Rarity said. “She’s right sugarcube. Even if we’ve lost our memories of you, we still know that even if we forget you there’s much proof around us to prove you aren’t mean anymore.” “Applejack is right, you don’t need to worry, Sunset. I’ve managed to think of a way how we can find who erased your memories. With that, we can finish in under a day!” “What’s that Twilight?” “If we split up and talk to just about everyone at CHS, asking if they’ve seen the Memory Stone or something like it, we might have a good chance at finding the one responsible for this mess!” “But how? There’s got to be close to three hundred students that attend CHS. Even if we try to split up, we still have classes to attend. And they last close to two hours!” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “Luckily, I’ve got that covered. I asked Principal Celestia we need extra time to work on the yearbook, so while she thinks we're working on the yearbook, we're trying to find the one who has the Memory Stone.” “That might just work, Twilight!” Sunset beamed, smiling at the prospect. “Thanks, Sunset. I thought it would make things less challenging as we try to find the stone. So let's all split up and meet back up at lunch to discuss if we found anything. Got it?” “Got it!” They all said in unison. Soon the seven girls split up to begin the search for the Memory Stone. They had a lot of ground to cover and figure out who had it. But that was when the problems started piling up. Just about everyone they talked to either didn’t know what they were talking about, thought it was a waste of time, or just didn’t want to talk to Sunset Shimmer. And when lunch arrived they had nothing to report. "This doesn’t make sense? A majority of people who dislike Sunset attend CHS,” Applejack said, confused. “But everyone we’ve talked to doesn’t have a clue what we're talking about,” Rarity commented. “Err, I swear, whoever is behind this is gonna pay!” Said, Rainbow Dash. “Revenge isn’t the best thing to do Rainbow Dash. If we want to find our memory stealer we have to think harder. Doing violone won't get us anywhere.” “What about Maud? She might know about it,” questioned Pinkie Pie. “Well, we asked her about it,” replied Twilight. “But it didn’t go as well as we thought,” finished Sunset. “What happened?” Asked Fluttershy before the two girls explained what happened. Flashback “Is there anything you can tell us about this? Anything at all?” “If you do Maud, we’d really appreciate it,” replied Twilight. Maud continued to examine the picture of the Memory Stone, trying to remember if she’d seen something like it. “I can’t tell much from this drawing,” Maud replied. “Well thanks anyway Maud, guess we’ll-” “Only that’s it's felsic-intrusive igneous, granular in texture, most likely arranged in an equigranular matrix, with scattered biotite mica and amphibole, at least sixty-five percent alkali feldspar by volume, with a melting point of twelve-fifty centigrade, plus or minus ten degrees. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.” Present “Huh? Could've sworn she at least knew something/ She knows more about rocks than anyone else I know,” shared Pinkie Pie. “But it's brought us back to where we started! I can’t even decide what to do next! "I need to go and do some thinking, I’ve lost my appetite,” Sunset replied as she left the cafeteria with several students giving her looks as she left. “Should one of us go after her?” Asked Fluttershy. “I’ll go talk to her,” Twilight replied as she left to go find Sunset. “And we’ll get back to searching, that’s what Sunset would want us to do,” Rainbow said as she continued to finish her lunch. As Twilight continued wandering the halls of CHS she couldn’t find Sunset till she ended up in the computer lab. She was staring at a yearbook with her bag and journal peaking out right next to her. “Sunset?” Sunset got startled by Twilight’s response but was glad to see her. “Sorry, I just came to talk, that’s all.” “I know you want to cheer me up Twilight, but I don’t see how I can be happy right now. Maybe we shouldn’t find the stone and I just deal with this myself,” Sunset replied, as she continued staring at herself from the old yearbook of her old self on one of the pages. “What you need to do is stop thinking about that. We won’t find the stone with you thinking about your old self. You're just going to upset yourself the more you tell yourself who you once were. You know you can't think if you're wound up Sunset,'' replied her worried friend. “It's fine Twilight, I get it.” “Was there any reason why you came here, of all places?” Asked Twilight. “I wanted to come in here to see if we missed anyone but we've talked to, A to Z.” “But what about this girl here who doesn’t have a picture of herself? 'Wallflower Blush'. Who's that?” Wondered Twilight. “I’m right here, you know,” replied a girl, startling Sunset and Twilight, who didn’t see her in the room. “Can I help you with something?” Wallflower asked. Sunset was about to ask Wallflower herself before Twilight beat her to it. “Yes actually,” replied Twilight as she made her way over to Wallflower. While that was happening Sunset went back to looking at the list of students, seeing if she forgot anyone she might've missed. That was until she noticed her journal glowing! Princess Twilight had found something so she opened it right away to see what the princess had found. Sunset, we think the Memory Stone was buried under this rock formation. And you must hurry! If you don't destroy the Memory Stone by the time the sun sets today, all those memories will be gone forever! You need to find the stone because if you don't, everyone you know and love will forget the person you are now. There will be nothing left to stop this! Sunset was shocked! She only had a few hours left to find the stone and that rock formation or else the memories would be gone forever. But she had never seen the rock formation before and wasn’t sure where she’d find it in time. That was til she noticed the screensaver on Wallflower’s computer. And shockingly, it was the same rock formation seen in her journal. Just at that moment, the rest of the girls arrived at the scene. Twilight noticed their arrival and hoped they found something. “Find anything?” Asked Twilight. “Nothing,” replied Applejack. “What about you Sunset, any news from Princess Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Yes, but it's not good. She found out that if we don’t find the stone and destroy it before the sun sets today, all the memories it collected of me will be erased forever!” This causes the girls to worry even more. “But I think I might know who might have it. And where we can find the rock formation seen here,” Sunset said, pointing at the picture in her journal. “Who?” Her friends all asked before Sunset pointed over to Wallflower explaining that the rock formation was the same one seen on her computer, meaning Wallflower might have the stone. So she asked them to follow her lead as she went over to Wallflower so they could talk to her. Try and see if her theory was true, she is responsible for the mess. “Can I ask a silly question, Wallflower? Where did you take that lovely photograph that’s your computer wallpaper?” Sunset asked. “Oh? That's my garden. Well, the school's garden, technically. I'm the president of the Gardening Club. I founded it, too. I'm also the only member of it. And the only one who's ever been to the garden. And seen it. And no one ever asks about it.” “You don’t have many friends do you?” Twilight asked. “I was maybe going to add this picture somewhere in the yearbook, but honestly, I'm not sure if I should. What do you all think?” This brought a quiet atmosphere to the room before Rainbow replied with a not-great answer to Wallflower. “Sorry, but Sunset doesn't let anyone put things in the yearbook without her permission. She is the president of the yearbook committee and whether you're a member or not if they deserve it.” This upsets Wallflower before she decides to get back to her work, ignoring the seven of them as best as possible. They all huddled to discuss if Wallflower was behind this mess. If she was, what they were gonna do to get the stone away from her? “Sunset darling, are you certain you think this girl is the one responsible for this? That rock formation might not even be the same one seen in the journal,” asked Rarity. “Plus why her out of everyone else we’ve talked to?” Wondered Applejack. “Maybe she’s just been ignored a lot and hasn't given much attention,” said Pinkie Pie. “Plus we hardly know her. I doubt many people here do as well?” Replied Rainbow. “I know but I need answers. And since she doesn’t want to answer us I’ll have to do this the hard way.” “But how, she won’t force it on us?” Wondered Twilight. “I’m gonna go into her mind and read her memories. I know I’m gonna be going into her privacy but follow my lead. I need answers now! Time is of the essence.” The rest of them didn’t know what to say but knew they at least hoped what Sunset sees, could lead them a step closer to finding the stone. Sunset walked over to Wallflower and touched her arm to read her memories, startling Wallflower as Sunset grabbed her arm. “What are you-” But Sunset didn’t get to hear her question, as she dove in to see Wallflower’s memories, and what she saw shocked her! She saw many memories of Wallflower being ignored during her time at CHS. From the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands where she was ignored, almost like she was invisible. She soon finds out that Wallflower indeed was the one who erased the memories. She indeed found the stone and the rock formation buried in the forest behind CHS. She then sees Wallflower using the stone late at night as all of Sunset’s memories went into the stone as it glowed bright red before Wallflower makes an evil-like smile as she got ahold of the memories. Sunset soon steps away from Wallflower, shocked by what she saw, but surprised that the person she thought was new at CHS had been a student for years and ignored. But they had found the culprit. Wallflower Blush was the one responsible for this mess! “I-I can’t believe it, you're the one who erased all of my memories from everyone!” “What!” Her friends shared in unison. “I knew it, you own me five bucks Applejack,” replied Rainbow Dash “Wallflower, is this true? Are you the one who erased Sunset’s memories?” Asked Twilight. Wallflower didn’t know how Sunset was able to see her memories but she knew that her cover was blown. “What, how did you… Yes, I’m the one who did it! Happy now!” “But why, we hardly know you!” Yelled Sunset. But before another one of them could answer, Wallflower started to sing a song about how she feels being ignored, being invisible to everyone at CHS. The girls were very confused as to why she was singing but knew it would buy them some time to find the stone. As Wallflower continued to sing the girls started to search the room from top to bottom in search of the stone. While doing so Twilight decided it would be best that she started recording this on her drone just in case. She figured that if Wallflower tried to use the stone on them, she’d escape and they’d all forget what happened. She also gave all her friends notes to put in their pockets in case it happens. They weren’t sure if they should but did so in case Wallflower uses stone on them so that they’d be prepared for what came next. Soon, the only place that hadn’t been checked was Wallflower’s backpack. While it was an invasion of privacy, Sunset knew she had to risk it. She dug straight into it to find the stone and when she spotted it, Wallflower saw what she was doing. “Hey! What are you doing? That’s my personal belongings you're digging into!” Before she knew it, Sunset and Wallflower were tugging on the backpack so they could get the stone. Twilight and the rest of their friends helped Sunset to get Wallflower’s backpack, but one of the backpack’s straps snapped and Wallflower had gotten her backpack back. She grinned until realizing the seven of them had cornered her so she wouldn’t escape. “You're cornered, Wallflower. You have nowhere to go!” Replied Rainbow Dash. “Give us the stone now!” Replied Rarity. “Or we’ll show you our true power!” Replied Pinkie Pie. “We don’t want to hurt you. Just give us the stone, and we can all go our separate ways. It's too dangerous, it doesn’t belong to you!” replied Applejack. “Why are you even doing this Wallflower? Why?” Asked Twilight. “Yeah, what did I ever do to you? I don’t even know you!” Replied an angry Sunset. “Unlike you, I’m always alone! No friends, not anything. I’m tired of you getting attention at this school as well as your so-called friends! I wanted to see how you’d feel when everyone hated you back when you were CHS’s Biggest Meanie! But somehow, you were able to convince them you aren’t mean, even though you still are!” “Well, you're gonna regret this! You're about to see how mean I am if you don’t give us that stone!” “You know what, I have a better idea. Why don’t we forget this happened? And you all forget this afternoon had ever happened!” “Wallflower doesn’t!” The seven of them replied, but it was too late! Wallflower used to stone them as she erased the last few hours from their minds. She then snagged the key to the computer lab as she made her escape. She locked the door in the process so they wouldn’t follow her. She threw the key into the trash before heading off to her garden. “There’s no way they can stop me now. They won't even remember anything that they just went through. But first, I need some more memories before my plans are finalized!” As Wallflower made her way out of CHS many students were staring at her in fear as she walked by. Her eyes were turning black before she used the stone again on several students causing several to run away in fear. Even one of the teachers saw what was going on, and was confused as to what was happening before her eyes! “Once those memories are erased, no one will be able to stop me now! Not even the Rainbooms!” Back at the computer lab the girls soon awoke, all wondering what had happened. “Is everyone ok?” Sunset asked. “Wait, does anyone know what we're doing in the computer lab?” Asked Twilight. “And how did we get here?” Wondered Rainbow Dash. “But the question remains, what happened?” “Oh no, girls we have a problem!” Replied a worried Rarity. “The door, it's locked!” Replied Pinkie Pie. “Don’t worry I’ll get us out in no ti-” But when Sunset looked back to where she put the key, it was gone! “Oh no, the key, it's gone!” “So we're trapped in here?” Said a frightened Fluttershy “We have to get out of here!” Replied Rainbow “But who did this to us? What do we do now!” Questioned Twilight. “And how do we get out of here!” Replied a frightened Sunset. Wallflower’s plan had gone perfectly. The girls had forgotten what had happened the entire afternoon and now they were trapped in the computer lab with no way of getting out. With time running out, none of them were even sure how they'd find the stone at this point or if they’d be able to get the memories back in time and stop the memory stealer before the sun sets and the memories are gone forever. To be continued… > The Memory Stealing Demon (Edited by 13 Shades of Sunset) (Updated 1/31/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wallflower’s plan had succeeded! The Mane seven’s memories of the whole afternoon had been erased and her plans were coming together. No one was gonna be in her way of stopping her evil plan.                      Back at the computer lab, Sunset and her friends were trying to call for help as they banged on the door, shouting at the top of their lungs for help. But it was no use, most of the students of CHS had left for the day, and the clock was ticking with not much time left before the sun would begin setting and the memories would be gone forever! “Help, someone, anybody help us!” Shouted Rainbow Dash.   “Is anybody out there? Please, somebody, anybody, please open the door!” Shouted Sunset.  But no one replied. “This is not good! If we don't get outta here and figure out who has the stone in the next few hours, it'll be too late to restore everyone's memories before they’re gone forever!” Sunset was in full panic mode as she was trapped in the computer lab alongside her friends with no way of getting out and no memory of what happened to them the past afternoon. “How are we supposed to catch the person with that stone now? They'll just erase our memories every time we get close to catching them?” Worried Fluttershy. But suddenly Sunset felt something in her pocket, revealing it to be a note. “Wait, what’s this?” “Wait a minute…. Of course! I must have given you all the notes just in case something like this happened!” Said an excited Twilight. After the rest of the girls found the notes stashed in their pockets they read what the note said. It was gonna help them figure out who was the memory stealer. Check the video. “Video? What video?” Wondered Applejack. "My drone! That must be it!” Shouted Twilight. Soon, they all gathered around Twilight's drone to discover that it was recording what had happened. “Wait hold up, did you decide to let your drone record what was happening before our memories were erased, Twilight?” Questioned Pinkie Pie. “I don’t remember doing it, but I must have realized our memories would get erased. Thinking about what we might be up against it could help us figure out who took our memories. I must have pressed record on it earlier before we faced whoever erased our memories!” “Smart move there Twilight,” replied Sunset. Twilight soon rewinded the video to minutes before what happened to their memories being erased by the memory stealer. Once Twilight pressed play they saw Wallflower Blush explaining to them what her screensaver was on her computer. “Who’s that?” Questioned Fluttershy. “Wallflower Blush! She must have been here before our memories were erased. But why?” Sunset wondered. “I’ll fast forward to see what happened after this,” explained Twilight.  When fast-forwarding the video they soon see Wallflower singing her song 'Invisible', on how she feels being ignored and what it’s been like being in the shadows for years at CHS. “How did the drone even get all of this, it makes no sense?” Wondered Rainbow Dash. “It’s not our problem at the moment Rainbow Dash,” replied Rarity.  After finishing the video the girls were all shocked to learn that Wallflower Blush was behind this and was the one responsible for locking them up in the computer lab. “She’s the one responsible for this whole mess!” Said, Rainbow Dash. “But-but why?” Wondered Fluttershy. “We hardly know her,” answered Applejack. “She only wanted revenge on me because she hated I got a lot of attention after I became nice and was no longer a bully,” replied Sunset. “We need to stop her now! Time is at its essence!” Replied Rainbow Dash. “But how do we get out of here? We don’t have the key to open the door,” answered Pinkie Pie. “Maybe Applejack can use her super-strength to open the door,” Rainbow Dash suggested. “No way! Last time I damaged school property I had to fix it and pay for it with my own money. I don’t want to upset Granny Smith again over this. I was grounded for a week because of the damage I did with my powers,” replied Applejack. “So then how do we get out of here?” Wondered Rainbow Dash. Then an idea came to Sunset’s mind. “Wait Twilight, remember during our visit to the Daring Do film set you used your powers to open that door to that supply closet Rainbow was locked in right?” “Yeah what abou- oh, why did I think about that.” This soon caused the rest of them to glare at her in disappointment that it took her this long to think that. “Hey, I wasn’t expecting this would happen nor I’d do this again. But I’ll try.” Twilight activated her geode as she used her powers on the door handle to open it. The rest of the girls soon helped her pull the door open as it was locked shut so they could get out of the computer lab. Until suddenly, the door opened and the girls soon collapsed into a pile, but were relieved to see the door was finally open! “You did it Twilight. It’s open!” “It was me who opened it for you.” The girls soon noticed someone step into the room and were all shocked to see who had rescued them. “Trixie!” “But-but why did you help us?” Asked Twilight. “I thought you still hate me?” Wondered Sunset. “Trixie still does. But when I heard you all needed help after seeing you all getting your memories erased from that girl, I didn’t want to ignore this and decided to help you.” “Never thought I’d see the day you’d do something like this. Guess you’re not that bad of a person after all,” said Applejack. “Thank you Trixie for freeing us, we wouldn’t have gotten out if it wasn’t for you,” replied Sunset. “No problem. But now isn’t the time for celebrating. You all better go and stop that girl before more memories are erased!” “Right, come on girls, we got some memories to save!” Said Twilight. As the seven girls rushed to the nearest exit Sunset shouted one last reply back to Trixie. “Thanks, Trixie, I own you one!” And soon enough Trixie was all alone in the hallway feeling happy for herself she helped Sunset and her friends out. Maybe this was a sign they had forgiven her for what she did to Fluttershy at the beach the other day. But for now, she made her way to her locker before going home for the day, hoping the girls would stop Wallflower in time, and putting everything back to normal. The moment the girls exited CHS they began their search for Wallflower. They looked through the empty parking lot from where they stood, seeing many students and Flash Sentry's car in the parking lot. “Any sign of her?” Asked Rarity.  “There she is!” Rainbow Dash replied as she spotted Wallflower walking towards the school's garden. “After her!” Shouted Pinkie Pie as they ran to check up on Wallflower. The girls passed Flash’s car on the way, making him wonder what was going on. He was about to ask Sunset as he stepped out of his car before she beat him to it. “Sorry Flash, I’ll explain later.” “Um, ok?” When the seven of them got closer to Wallflower, Sunset was the first one to get her attention. “Wallflower stop!” When Wallflower heard her name being called out she turned around to see who it was, surprised to be face to face with none other than Sunset Shimmer and her friends. “What! How do you remember me? How were you able to get out of the computer lab? I locked it!” “We know everything you did to us,” Sunset sternly replied. “What? How!” That’s impossible!” Wallflower replied. “My drone recorded everything before you erased our memories,” Twilight explained. “What! You mean, you remember everything! But I erased the whole afternoon from all of you!” “We're smarter than you think,” replied Fluttershy. Sunset then got closer to Wallflower to reason with her about something important she needed to share. “Listen Wallflower, I used to be just like you before I was shown friendship. Sure when I was a bully I was popular, but I was also alone just like you.” “She’s telling the truth, Wallflower. I was like that too back when I went to Crystal Prep. Sure, I was a straight-A student, but that made many people jealous and hate me,” replied Twilight. “We’ve been where you are now. I get it now. I know what it’s like to be forgotten for the person I am now. Alone. It hurts.” Wallflower wanted to believe them but knew they were just trying to get under her skin so they’d get the stone from her. So Wallflower decided to share something of her own with them, especially with Sunset. “No, you’re not! You’re both just saying that to prove that you're all nice, even though you're not, especially Sunset Demon Shimmer!” Wallflower’s eyes soon turned dark black once again, the stone's dark magic was beginning to take over her. Sunset knew she needed to calm Wallflower down before she upset her even more. “Wallflower please, I’m not ly-” “You're nothing like me, and I'm not lonely, because I-I have…” “You have what darling?” Asked Rarity. “I have my plants!” This soon made everyone feel very awkward now that Wallflower revealed to them that she indeed had no friends and that her only friends were the plants in her garden. "Wow," said Rainbow Dash. "Touch crowd," finished Fluttershy. “That sounded less lonely in my head,” whispered Wallflower. “Look, I’m sorry for whatever I did to you, Wallflower. I am. I know it’s hard being alone, but we can show you a better way.” “She’s right. We all would be happy to show you,” replied Twilight. Sunset soon offered her hand to Wallflower, hoping she'd accept it. She’d finally no longer be alone and finally, have a real friend. But she didn’t. “No, I don’t need your help, because you're the one who needs help! Your friends don’t deserve to call you a friend, and because I…I HATE YOU!” Wallflower’s scream soon brought the attention of many other students near them and Wallflower felt embarrassed as her face blushed bright red. “Jeez, that was quite harsh,” said Applejack. “And pretty awkward too,” finished Rarity. With the sun beginning to set the girls knew they didn’t have much time before the memories would cease to exist. They had to get the stone away from Wallflower as well as destroy it before she tried to use it again to escape. “Wallflower, just listen to us please!” said Sunset. “We want to help you,” replied Twilight. “We all do,” said the rest of their group. But even with their offer of friendship, Wallflower didn’t want any of it. “I don’t need your stupid friendship! All you need to do is to leave me alone!” Wallflower soon started to search for the stone in her backpack as Sunset tried to reason with her once again. “Wallflower please, what your doing isn’t right, this isn’t the wa-” “I wanted to teach you a lesson by erasing your friends' good memories of you. But obviously, that didn't work, since you were able to prove to them you aren’t somehow!” But then Wallflower got an evil idea that she knew would work, judging by the grinch-like smile on her face. “Wait a minute, why didn’t I think of this sooner? Why didn’t I just erase all your memories of everything you all shared in high school, so you didn’t know you all were friends!” “You can’t! You'd be stealing their memories of each other!” “No, this is what you all deserve! They'll think of each other the way you think of me! Which is not at all!” Wallflower began charging up the Memory Stone before a beam of magic fired straight toward Sunset’s friends knowing there was no way to stop it in time! Sunset realized that if she didn’t stop the magic from hitting her friends in time, it would erase their friendship and cease to exist. But then. she made the ultimate decision from preventing herself from losing the ones she truly cared for. “Noo!” Sunset soon jumped straight front into the charging magic until it surrounded her body. She fell on her side several feet away from her friends, after being hit by the impact of the stone's magic. “Sunset!” The six girls shouted in unison! Twilight then realized what Sunset had done. She was protecting them, sacrificing her own memories so they wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. Twilight ran over toward Sunset to try and help her friend. But Sunset put her hand in front of her to stop. She had one last thing to say to Wallflower, that would remind her what she was doing, would be something she'd forever regret! “I've ruined their friendship once before, but I'd rather give up and sacrifice my memories then let it happen again!” Both Wallflower and the rest of the girls were shocked by Sunset's words. But the worst had yet to come. Before Sunset knew it, all her memories of everyone she had ever met at CHS were being pulled out of her mind! Soon enough, the first memories of her friends were being erased from her mind, after all the magic surrounding her body entered her forehead as the memories started to leave her mind. “Fluttershy no! Applejack! Rarity! Aah!” The girls knew they had to think of something to help Sunset fast, but weren’t sure how! Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried to grab Sunset’s memories with their bare hands but they went straight through them! The girls now realized the only way they could save Sunset’s memories was to destroy the Memory Stone before the sun set for the day and they’d be gone forever! “Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!” The girls were utterly frightened of what they were seeing as they watched Sunset suffer more of her memories. Sunset looked towards her best friend, now girlfriend Twilight Sparkle, to tell her last words before she’d forgotten her entirely. “Twilight, listen to me! You have to stop Wallflower and whatever plan she has! It’s up to you and our friends now.”  Twilight could see the tears in Sunset’s eyes, which brought some own to her eyes. “And please, don’t forget me and that I-I “I LOVE YOU!” And before they it the last of Sunset’s memories were now inside the Memory Stone. The moment after Twilight’s memories were erased from Sunset’s mind she collapsed right onto the ground. Sunset now lost all the memories of everyone she knew of everyone she met at CHS. “Nooo!” The five girls cried. Twilight went over to her friend, trying to wake her up. She brought Sunset up close to her in her arms but it was no use. Sunset was out like a light, and all they could do was wait.  More tears were now flowing down Twilight's face, knowing she lost the girl she truly loved, all thanks to Wallflower’s doings. As for the rest of the girls, they couldn’t believe what they had witnessed upon them.  Sunset Shimmer, the one who brought them back together after proving she had changed and was the one who sacrificed all of her memories to save them from Wallflower jeopardizing their friendship. Rainbow Dash tightened her knuckles, feeling disappointed with herself that she failed to try to save her friend’s memories. She decided to tell Wallflower how she felt about what she did to her friend as well as Applejack aside from her. “Well Wallflower, you happy now! You wanted to go down that path and be alone even after we offered our friendship! What is wrong with you!” Yelled Rainbow Dash. “How do you feel now after what you just witnessed? HOW DO YOU FEEL!!!!” Yelled an angry Applejack.  Wallflower didn’t hear or listen to them both at first but knew what to say back to them. “I was not expecting that. But I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn’t count.” This soon brought an awkward atmosphere to everyone until Wallflower decided to make it better, as her eyes turned black once again. “But now that I have her memories. I now have all the power I need! And nothing can stop me now!” Before the girls knew it Wallflower placed the Memory Stone on her chest when the unthinkable happened! The stone transformed her and the girls soon saw the stone had taken over Wallflower’s body. It's dark magic following through her body. It was just like what their geodes did to Gloriosa Daisy at Camp Everfree. But this time, it was ten times worse! All the memories the stone had inside collected were now a part of Demon Wallflower! “Yes, yes! All this power flowing through me! This magic feels so good! But now I need more! MORE!” Wallflower began using her powers on several nearby students, taking their memories from them, leaving behind scarred and frightened teenagers, who couldn’t seem to remember a thing about what happened to them. As for the rest of the girls, they knew that they couldn’t stop Wallflower without Sunset. But weren’t sure how, all the while Twilight tried waking her up. “Sunset wake up! We need you! We can’t stop, Wallflower… not without you! Please!” “It’s no use Twilight. Sunset lost a lot of her strength when she sacrificed her memories to save us. Who knows how long til she wakes up again!” Replied Rarity. Fortunately, Sunset began opening her eyes, all the while trying to figure out what happened. She noticed Twilight looking down at her, who began feeling relieved she was awake. “Oh, Sunset you had us so worri-” “Where am I? Who are you? What is this place?” “Sunset darling, please just listen to u-” “This isn’t Canterlot? Where’s the castle? Princess Celestia, where are you!” Sunset was now in full panic mode as she was the most frightened she had ever been since coming to this world. The girls weren’t sure what to do to help her even though they wanted. But had no idea how to explain it to Sunset, who had lost all of her memories of her time at CHS. When Sunset tried to run she realized her body had changed and she was no longer a pony. “What happened to me? What happened to my hooves? Where’s my horn? And what am I wearing? Somepony, please help me!” Before Sunset knew it Twilight walked back over to her frightened friend to try and reason who she was. “Who are you?” “Sunset Shimmer, you may not remember me, but I’m your best friend Twilight Sparkle,” replied Twilight as she kneeled in front of Sunset. “Friend? But, I don’t have any friends?” Said a confused Sunset. “Yes, you do sugarcube.” Sunset turned to see Applejack along with the rest of her friends gathering around her. “You may not remember us, but we're your friends. Have and always will be.” “Re-really?” “Yes, darling.” “You may not remember, but you brought them back together to fix a memory problem that made them forget you were their friend,” replied Twilight. “I-I did?” “Yes, you also showed us proof you indeed aren’t mean anymore,” answered Fluttershy. “You even sacrificed yourself to protest us from Wallflower getting our memories,” answered Rainbow Dash before Wallflower noticed what they were doing. “Wait, what are you doing?” Questioned the demonic Wallflower.  “So wait, what are you all trying to tell me?” “We're telling you Sunset that you're our friend, and what I’m telling you is the truth.” Before she knew it, Twilight grabbed a hold of Sunset’s hand seeing many of Twilight’s memories of everything they had gone through together, going as far back as when they first met at the Friendship Games. Once her memory flash ended Sunset could not believe it. “Yo- you are my friend.” “Yes Sunset, we all are. Because-” “You're our best friend and we all love you very much,” said her six friends in unison. This soon made Sunset feel so happy she started to tear up until the next thing she knew was being brought into a group hug. Demon Wallflower could not believe her eyes what was happening before her. After stumbling a bit, not having been used to having two legs Sunset looked up at Demon Wallflower hovering about them. “Face it Wallflower, you may have erased my memories but we got one thing that can never be erased from us! Our friendship!”  Suddenly, the mane seven’s geodes were all starting to glow, meaning that they were about to pony up!  Soon their cutie marks appeared on the right side of their faces before they each transformed and were hovering in the air facing Demon Wallflower. “How is this possible, you girls aren’t supposed to be like this! I erased all of her memories! She shouldn't remember you all nor have your help!” Answered Demon Wallflower. “Well, you don’t know what it's like to have the power of friendship!” “That’s right Twi, now prepare to face the power of-” “Yeah, yeah we get it Sunset, LIGHT HER UP LADIES!”  The next thing Wallflower knew, she was being surrounded by a rainbow-like tornado before five out of the seven girls grabbed a hold of her. Twilight and Sunset soon appeared and removed the stone from her chest. “We’ll be taking this.” “NO! MY PRECIOUS MEMORY STONE!” With the Memory Stone separated from Wallflower, she turned back to her normal self. But soon, they noticed the sun had nearly set meaning there were only a few minutes left to fix this. But fortunately Sunset and Twilight knew what to do. “Together, Twilight. You and me!” The two friends combined their powers as they aimed them toward the Memory Stone. When it came in contact it began cracking, before all the memories the stone had collected were free! “No!!!!!!!!” Shouted Wallflower. And the memories returned to their rightful owners.  However, since Sunset was the one who had lost the most memories she couldn’t handle all of them reentering her mind. The next thing she knew, she was falling, having lost her capability to fly with her friends. “Sunset!” Twilight caught her before she could hit the ground and instantly could have been hurt or worst killed. Now on solid ground, Sunset was trying to stabilize herself as the rest of her friends awaited the news that she was back to normal. “Did it work?” Asked Fluttershy.  “Let’s hope so,” replied Rainbow Dash. As Twilight prayed that her friend was back to her normal self she soon got her to wish. “Twilight? Is that you?” “Sunset!” Soon the six of them were hugging Sunset so tight it almost felt like one of Pinkie Pie’s hugs knowing that Sunset had all her memories back! “I remember everything, The Fall Formal, The Battle of the Bands, The Friendship Games, Camp Everfree, everything! And most of all, my six best friends.” “We’re just glad to have you back, Sunset,” Twilight replied, giving her another hug. “Sunset dear, we’re all very sorry for everything that happened when we didn’t believe you were our friend,” replied Rarity who felt ashamed of herself like the rest of her friends. “It wasn’t your fault Rarity. You didn’t remember I had changed and thought I was still a bully. But, I’m just glad to have you all back.” This brought a smile onto all of their faces. “And I couldn’t have done it without you Twilight.” “It was my honor Sunset.” “Sorry to interrupt everything but why do our ponied-up attires look different from the last few times we’ve transformed?” Applejack wondered. “I don’t know, but it probably is due to our friendship growing.” “Yep, it probably is Sunset. We still have lots to learn when it comes to friendship.” The rest of them thought it was probably the best answer as they agreed with Twilight’s theory. “So what are we gonna do with her?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing at Wallflower.   “Leave this one to Twilight and I.” As the two friends slowly approached Wallflower they found her in a sorry state. She was quite scared to see them after her defeat and losing the Memory Stone. She had a few cuts and bruises on her skin and clothes, but she was overall in good shape. “Wallflower?” “Just leave me alone. I feel so ashamed for what I’ve done to you all. When I first found the Memory Stone, I only erased little bits with it. Awkward hellos, saying the wrong thing, literally any public speaking,” said Wallflower who now felt very embarrassed she was sharing this out loud. “I know how you feel, Wallflower. I've had plenty of awkward moments I wish I could erase, too. But we have to deal with these memories, whether we like them or not. It’s something we all have to deal with in our lives. It's what makes us human.” “I know, but it doesn’t fix this problem of mine. I was so used to erasing memories that I got completely carried away with it. I'm very sorry for everything I did to you all.” “It’s ok. I'm sorry too. I may have stopped being mean, but a few good friends of mine helped me realize I still wasn't very nice to you,” Sunset replied before winking at her friends. “But we can show you a better way that will help you in every way possible. So you can either continue to be alone or we can show you a better way, Wallflower,” replied Twilight, as she offered her hand to the frightened girl. “She’s right. Everyone matters, Wallflower. No matter how insignificant or invisible they feel. If you allow us to be your friend, we can help you become a better person.” Wallflower was a little scared at first, seeing the two girls hoping she’d accept their offer. And fortunately, she did. The three of them soon came in for a group hug, knowing that this was the start of a new future ahead for Wallflower Blush and her new friends. After saying goodbye to Wallflower and the rest of their friends, Twilight and Sunset were left alone at the CHS parking lot, where just over a half-hour prior they fought Demon Wallflower. It was now nighttime as the two girls looked up at the beautiful night sky, as few stars shone brightly down upon them. “Well, we did it, Twilight. Everything is back to normal now.” “Yeah, it sure is Sunset.”   Twilight looked up at the sky above and felt like she needed to tell Sunset something important she had to get over with. “Well, I should probably be getting home now. It’s getting very late. You better do the same before your parents worry where you are Twi-” But before Sunset knew it, Twilight was hugging her, not wanting to not let go. “What’s wrong Twilight?” “I was so scared when I saw you lose your memories. If we weren’t able to get them back, I wasn’t sure what choice I could've made.” Sunset was surprised seeing Twilight act like this when minutes earlier she was happy they had gotten things back to normal. “I know Twilight I know, but be fortunate we managed to stop this and get things back to normal, alright?” “I know, I was scared when I saw you sacrificing your memories. But I’m really glad to have you back, Sunset.” “And I’m glad to have our friends back Twilight.” ... “I love you, Sunset Shimmer.” “I love you too, Twilight Sparkle.” Before Twilight knew it Sunset brought her for a deep kiss. She was surprised Sunset did it before she went back in for another one after their rough weekend dealing with the memory crisis. After they finished their kiss they started their walk home under the beautiful night sky. “I know it’s still technically a school night, but can I stay with you for just one more night, please? I don’t feel like leaving you just yet.” Sunset looked at her friend before Twilight gave her puppy eyes. Sunset smiled back at her and accepted her defeat. “Of course Twilight. Anytime you’d like to, my door is open for you.” This soon made Twilight very happy. After going through the memory loss Sunset went through, she didn’t want to leave her just yet. As the two friends walked to Sunset’s apartment with joined hands they were glad they were able to stop Wallflower in time before the memories were erased. And now they had a new friend that they’d be helping out with showing her what friendship is like. Sunset and Twilight were also a couple now, which made them both very happy. It was gonna be hard to keep it a secret for a while but the two girls knew that they could handle it. But for now, they were just relieved that everything was back to normal and that the Memory Stone was gone forever.   To be continued...  > Epilogue (Edited by 13 Shades of Sunset) (Updated 1/31/2023) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few days have passed since the end of the Memory Stone crisis and everything had finally gone back to normal.                             As for the Main seven, they decided to spend another Saturday down at the beach. But this time, with their new friend Wallflower Blush who would be joining them. After they helped Wallflower showing her a better way than being alone and how good friendship is. It helped her a lot, especially with the change in her attitude she gave to people.  She started to get more attention from many students at CHS, managed to get some new members for her gardening club, and with her extra help, the yearbook was completed on time and was expected to be shipped to CHS in the coming days.    When Sunset arrived at the beach that morning sporting the same swimsuit she wore the previous weekend, she spotted her friends all enjoying themselves while applying sunscreen to not get sunburnt. The weather was gonna be in the mid-eighties and no one liked getting sunburnt. She felt a bit of anxiety crawl down her spine over what happened a week prior but reminded herself nothing bad was gonna happen this time around.  “They aren’t under a spell anymore Sunset, they remember you. You're gonna be alright.” And the very first thing that Sunset was greeted with the moment she laid her towel down next to Twilight and Rarity was a hug out of nowhere from Pinkie Pie. “Oh, I’m so happy you're here Sunny! This beach day wouldn’t be the bestest day ever without you!” “Yeah, thanks Pinkie. Can you please let me go now, I can’t breathe!” Pinkie Pie sometimes forgot how hard her hugs would be but let go of her friend who felt glad to see her on this beautiful day at the beach. After applying some sunscreen and Twilight explaining to her some modifications she made to her drone Wallflower arrived. “Uh, hey girls I’m here.” “Wallflower, glad to see you here,” replied Sunset. “Yeah, I am too.” The girls soon realized that Wallflower didn’t seem very happy to be with them at the beach. “Is there a problem darling?” “Sorry, I’m not used to being out in public a lot. Especially on the beach. Plus, the only swimsuit I had was this one.” Wallflower soon revealed the swimsuit she was wearing which was a simple gray and black one-piece that she didn’t seem to enjoy wearing. She began to feel embarrassed as she tried to hide under the big beach hat she was wearing.  “Nonsense darling. That looks gorgeous on you.”  “Thank you,” said Wallflower, who blushed at Rarity’s nice comment. “Now then, why don’t we start our day of fun at the beach? And this time we have nothing to worry abo-” “What’s she doing here!” The moment Sunset heard it she thought Rainbow Dash was saying that to her until she turned to see Trixie Lulamoon dressed in her swimsuit right in front of them all. “Um hello, is Trixie interrupting something?” “The only thing you're interrupting is our fun beach day. We were about to have our new friend Wallflower Blush join us and make it up to Sunset for what we did to her last weekend during the memory crisis,” replied Applejack. “And why are you even here in the first place!” Yelled Pinkie Pie. “Listen, I know we all haven’t had the best moments in the past, but I came here to apologize. And for getting Fluttershy hurt.” “This isn’t a trick isn’t it Trixie? And I’m not allowing you to get your page in the yearbook. It’s already completed and out for delivery,” said Rarity. “No, I’m being completely honest. Trixie knows she sometimes isn’t the best at being nice, but after seeing what Sunset Shimmer did, I thought to myself, maybe I should be shown how good friendship is, like Wallflower over there.” “You want to learn friendship?” Asked Twilight. “Yes. Trixie doesn’t have many friends, and I was hoping we can be friends?” The rest of them weren’t sure what to say to this but Sunset did. “We’d be happy to show you, Trixie. And besides, we owe you a favor for getting us out of the computer lab. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten my friend’s memories back.” “And it seems like you care about Sunset,” replied Twilight. “Thank you Twilight, so you mind if I join you all?” “We’d be happy to. And I forgive you for what you did to me. I know I was fine after you threw Twilight’s drone at me. But if you ever do something like that to me again, YOU’LL REGRET EVERY MINUTE OF IT!” Replied an angry Fluttershy, which surprised everyone to see the shy girl act like this. But they knew that she was just showing them that she wasn’t always a shy girl and cared very much for her friends. “Didn’t see that one coming,” replied Applejack. “Come on girls, why don’t we all go for a swim? I hear the water is perfect today,” replied Rarity as she removed her blue sarong. “Race ya there Applejack.” “Oh, you're on Rainbow!” As the two girls raced over to the water along with their friends, Trixie and Wallflower, Sunset watched feeling relieved that she was able to get them back. And she managed to finish the yearbook in time with their help and got two new friends in return. “You ok Sunset?” “Yeah, I’m fine Twilight. Why do you ask?” “I’m just glad to see you’re happy.” “Yeah, after spending three days trying to deal with this memory crisis, I’m glad to relax at the beach with the friends I care about. Even if I was once mean and alone.” “It’s all in the past now Sunset. You're different now. You have people who care for you to help you when needed. Don’t you ever forget that? And please, don’t let your demons win against you. We’ve already beaten ours once, we can do it again. I’ll always be here for you when you need me, Sunset. It’s one of many reasons I love you very much.” This made Sunset make the biggest smile she made all morning.  “Thanks, Twilight. Thank you for everything, and this relationship too. I hope we’ll get to know more about each other with time.” “It was nothing Sunset. And I’m excited to see where this relationship of ours will go.” “Do you wonder by any chance how your family is gonna react once they learn that we’re dating? Or the fact I’m not from this world?” “We’ll worry about it another time, for now, let’s go and join our friends.” Sunset and Twilight soon blushed at each other before Spike called out to them. “Come on let’s go, the others are waiting for us!” Before the two knew it they were holding their hands together as they ran off to the water to enjoy their fun beach day with their friends knowing that whatever their future had in store for them, they’d be solving it together! The following Monday, the new yearbooks arrived at CHS and many students were very excited about it. Sunset was very proud of her work as the yearbook president. She was able to get it done with the help of her friends and the other members of the yearbook committee. As Sunset reentered CHS to head off to Wallflower’s garden to deliver a yearbook she ran into Trixie. “I demand to speak to the yearbook president! How did this get in here?” Trixie then shows Sunset a page in the yearbook that had her on it, saying 'The Most Greatest and Powerfulest, Trixie Lunamoon.' “As a thank you.” “For the help, I gave you and your friends?” “Yep. I know I said I didn’t want to, but after seeing what you did to help me and my friends, and your new friend I thought you deserved it. A reward for showing us that you always don’t like showing yourself off and saying you’re the best.” “Thank you Sunset. I don’t know how I can repay you for this.” “As long as you try not to use smoke bombs near us or say how great you are a lot, then I think we’re even.” “Trixie will do her best.” After the two of them said their goodbyes Sunset arrived at Wallflower’s garden to deliver her yearbook to her. Since the rock formation was found in Wallflower’s garden where she found the Memory Stone, Wallflower ended up not destroying it and ended up letting it stay there as it was in the school's garden. She did want to destroy it at first knowing that it still might be a problem. But after thinking about it she knew that without the Memory Stone, the rock formation was simply just a harmless piece of stone that only served as a regular rock formation now. Plus, she thought it was a nice touch to the garden. When Sunset arrived she spotted Wallflower planting some plants with the help of the two newest members of her gardening club, Rose Heart and Derpy Hooves. “I got a yearbook delivery for Best Gardner!” Sunset called out, getting Wallflower’s attention. Once Sunset handed Wallflower her yearbook she started looking through its pages at all the hard work they did. And when she saw her page for being voted for 'Best Gardner' Wallflower noticed it was signed by Sunset and the rest of her friends. This made Wallflower very happy knowing that Sunset and her friends had fully forgiven her for what she did to them, showing how important friendship can be. After another long day at CHS, all the girls had left for the day except for Sunset and Twilight. They were still at CHS at the statue aka portal to Equestria talking about some plans for their first date.  As they were getting ready to go home they noticed that the portal was activating, and out came Princess Twilight! “Ah my head, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” “Princess Twilight? What are you doing here?”  “Hello, Sunset. I’m sorry I didn’t message you I was coming, but I had something very important I wanted to tell you. I managed to find out the reason why my counterpart and Spike’s counterpart weren’t affected by the Memory Stone.” “Really, how?” Sci Twi asked. “After Sunset sent me that message the stone was destroyed I did a bit of searching in the secret section of the Canterlot library. I found something that might answer why the other me and Spike weren’t affected by the stone. I’m glad Clover the Clever made sure to mention it in one of his scrolls.” “And that is?” Asked Sunset. “This might shock you both but, the main reason why she wasn’t affected was the strong bond you two share.” “What do you mean?” Wondered Sunset. “According to what the scroll said if the stone is used on someone who has a strong bond with a friend or someone they care for deeply, erasing a memory from them won’t work at all. They won’t be affected or even be able to take a memory from them. Ever since you two became close friends I’ve noticed a bond was developing between you girls. And when you told me that you started developing feelings for her Sunset, I managed to figure out that it was her love that made my counterpart not forget you when the Memory Stone was used on your friends.” “Now that you mention it, that’s also what I came up with. Sunset has become a big part of my life since she showed me a better life than being alone all the time with how important friendship is. I’ve felt like a completely different person because of Sunset and that’s how I started to develop these feelings for her,” replied Sci Twi as she blushed happily away. “Yep. That’s what I was able to figure out thanks to Clover the Clever,” replied Princess Twilight.  “But what about Spike, why wasn’t he affected?” Asked Sunset. “I wasn’t able to find a logical reason why he wasn’t affected, but my guess is probably since equestrian magic made him talk and that Wallflower only used the stone on Sunset’s friends and students that attend CHS,” Princess Twilight answered. “Well, it does make sense when you put it like that. I mean, I doubt Wallflower knew I had a dog until she spent the day with us at the beach this past Saturday,” Sci Twi mentioned. “Yeah, but it’s all in the past now. It’s best to look forward to the future,” replied Princess Twilight.  “Yeah. I’m glad I was able to stop her and the stone is no more. And I have you, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and my Twilight to thank for the help. And Spike. I couldn’t have done it without you all helping me every step of the way.” “It's my job as the Princess of Friendship. I know your relationship with my counterpart will get better and better as time goes on. I’m very proud of you for how much you’ve grown since the Fall Formal Sunset, and to call you my friend.” Sunset was very amazed Princess Twilight was happy to see how much she had changed and knew there was more to come for her and their friends in the future. “It was all thanks to you Twilight for giving me that second chance back at the Fall Formal. I appreciated it you gave me that. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Thank you.” The three girls came into a group hug and thanked Princess Twilight once again for her continuous help. It was soon time for them all to go their separate ways as they said their goodbyes to Princess Twilight as she reentered the portal heading back to Equestria. While Sunset and Sci Twi left CHS, making their way home for the night, excited for summer vacation that was just days away. It had now been two weeks since Sunset and her friends destroyed the Memory Stone and befriended Wallflower Blush and Trixie Lulamoon. It was Friday and Sunset was getting ready for a date she was having with Twilight. She was finishing up her makeup in her bathroom before looking back in the mirror at how she looked in the outfit she chose for her date. She had changed her shirt and swapped her leather vest for her favorite jacket. Rarity gave it to her with her other favorite outfit and thought it would be nice to wear it for her first date with Twilight.  Sunset then headed over to her desk to put her shoes on and then pulled out her diary and a pen. She hadn’t written in her diary that often since coming to this world but since she had some time to spare before Twilight arrived she thought it would be a nice thing to do while waiting for her girlfriend to arrive.  Dear Diary, It’s been a while since I’ve written something here, but I thought this would be nice to do this since it’s been quite a while since I’ve written in here. Anyway, not too long ago, I experienced what I thought was a total nightmare where my friends had forgotten who I am. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash as well as many students at CHS had forgotten I had changed and thought I was still that bully who once ruled CHS. Luckily Twilight, Spike, and Princess Twilight didn’t forget I had changed and I managed to figure out with their help that my memories of the good me were erased by an equestrian artifact called the Memory Stone that a girl named Wallflower Blush got her hands on. After we stopped her and destroyed the stone we showed her what friendship is like and how important it can change your life. But now, two weeks later with the Memory Stone gone, I’m feeling relieved to know that it’s in the past now and everything is back to normal. I have my friends back thanks to the help from Princess Twilight and her counterpart. Well, not everything is back to normal. Other than Wallflower and Trixie are now good friends of mine I’m now dating Twilight’s human counterpart. I’m starting a new future together with her with this relationship of ours we’ve developed since meeting each other at the Friendship Games. I’m not one hundred percent sure how well this relationship will go but like my dad once told me, 'never give up on what you care about in life.' I don’t know what tomorrow holds, nor this coming summer or even my final semester at CHS this fall, all I know is that whatever Equestrian Magic or artifacts that have ended up here and someone stumbles upon one, my friends and I will stop them with the power of our friendship! And that when Twilight’s family learns my secret they’ll still accept me dating Twilight and hopefully get married one day. But for now, I have a date that I’m very happy about to see how it goes. Sincerely,               Sunset Shimmer. After Sunset put her diary away she heard a knock at the front door. She went over and opened the door to see her girlfriend Twilight Sparkle. She looked beautiful in the dress she chose for their date as well as having her hair down instead of a ponytail or bun. Sunset thought she looked great despite not noticing her hair down. Just seeing Twilight here was all that mattered to her. “Hey, Sunset. Ready for our date?” “You bet I am Twilight.” They decided to take Sunset’s car that night instead of her motorcycle. As much as Sunset loved it, she preferred her red Camaro over the motorcycle at times. And since Twilight didn’t enjoy riding behind it. As the two of them got into the car Sunset finally noticed something about Twilight’s appearance that had caught her attention. “I see your hair isn’t in a ponytail or a bun. This is not like what you normally do, Twilight. Did you not feel like it tonight?” “Kinda. I’m thinking of doing it more often. You know, trying something new for a change?” Replied Twilight as she twirled a bit of her hair with her finger. “I see.”  “As much as I prefer having my hair in a ponytail, I do like having it down more often. I just have it in a ponytail so no one gets me confused for my counterpart.” “Sorry about that Twilight.” “It’s no biggie Sunset. I’ve gotten used to it by now. But since she hardly comes here anymore I can at least style my hair the way I like it. Is that fine with you?” Twilight asked as she once more twirled a piece of her hair with her finger. “As long as you're ok with it, that’s fine with me Twilight. And besides, it also makes you look even more beautiful.”  “Thank you,” Twilight replied as her cheeks blushed bright red before Sunset gave her a small kiss on her nose, getting a giggle out of Twilight in the process. After they had fastened their seatbelts and the car came to life they made their way to where they were dining and then headed to the mall to see a movie afterward. “Are you ready for our fun date tonight Twilight?” “I’m ready for anything Sunset! As long as I have you by my side,” Twilight replied as she placed her hand on Sunset’s right leg. Sunset was glad she was now in a relationship with Twilight and that the future she is going to with her was gonna be a fun adventure. They were both hyped about it and wondered what could come next after high school in the coming year. There was more to come for the two of them and their friends with college and a possible marriage as well. But that's a story for another time.                                                                                           The End