Sunset Shimmer wriggled her toes in the sand. She could feel them. She could hear the waves crashing on the shore. She could feel the sun on her face. Still, this had to be a nightmare. It was a nightmare. “Wake up, Sunset,” she told herself. “Wake up!”
Ouch! Pinkie Pie had pinched her!
“Nope,” said Pinkie. “You’re awake.” She pinched herself. “Ow! Me too!”
Sunset Shimmer had to figure out what was going on. Maybe it was just something the matter with Applejack. Maybe she was erased from only Applejack’s memory. She reached out to touch Rainbow Dash’s arm.
She peered into Rainbow Dash’s memories. There was the bike race at the Friendship Games when Sunset Shimmer had crashed and Rainbow Dash had rescued her… because they were friends. But that’s not what was happening in Rainbow Dash’s memory! Sunset Shimmer saw herself falling off her bike. She saw Rainbow Dash skidding to a halt and looking back at her. But instead, she saw Rainbow Dash shrug and get back into the race. How could that be?
“No!” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed. “Rainbow Dash, you saved me in that race!”
“What are you talking about?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I can see your memories,” Sunset Shimmer explained. “And I’m not in them.”
Hearing this, Applejack looked concerned. “And exactly how is it that you can see our memories, if you don’t mind me askin’?”
“With this!” Sunset Shimmer held up her geode necklace. Surely all the girls would remember their adventures together at Camp Everfree.
Rarity peered at the necklace. She shook her head. “It’s obviously a cheap knockoff of ours.”
“We got them together,” insisted Sunset Shimmer. “You were there, remember?”
Pinkie whispered something to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Why is she still talking to us?” wondered Fluttershy out loud
Sunset Shimmer ignored her and turned to Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie, what about when I came over to your sleepover before Battle of the Bands?”
“Ha!” exclaimed Pinkie, flabbergasted. “The closest you’ve ever come to a party of mine is freshman year, when you pretended to be Applejack and texted me: Your party is lamer than a hungry duck in snow boots.” Tears welled up in Pinkie’s eyes at the memory of how hurtful that had been.
“Like I’d ever say that.” Applejack reached out to Pinkie Pie reassuringly.
Pinkie’s lip quivered. “It really hurt my feelings.”
“And it wasn’t very nice to ducks, either,” added Fluttershy, glaring at Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer felt hollow inside. “That was a long time ago,” she whispered. She turned to Twilight. “You remember me, right?”
Twilight Sparkle shook her head.
“We’ve been through so much together,” pleaded Sunset Shimmer. “Please…”
“I only met you once, when you yelled at me at the Friendship Games,” Twilight answered.
“Doesn’t anyone remember that I have changed?” cried Sunset Shimmer.
All the girls looked at her blankly.
But there was one friend who might remember her! Princess Twilight back in Equestria! “I’ll be right back,” she told the girls as she dashed across the beach toward home.
“Hurry back, darling!” said Rarity politely.
Twilight Sparkle’s camera drone hovered in front of Rarity and snapped a photo.
“No, no, no!” protested Rarity. “This is my best side for my fake smile!”
The drone buzzed to her other side and clicked.
“Much better!” noted Rarity.