Welcome to the first of the Infinity Stone stories, everyone! JoJo knd and I are super excited to have you see what we're coming up with for this 10-chapter story!
For starters, this story is going to be an adaptation of Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship and Rollercoaster of Friendship, featuring some brand new concepts and interesting character moments along the way. I'm also going to flex a lot of my creativity here when it comes to character development and interactions. It'll be fun to see how it comes together!
I shouldn't delay things much longer now, should I? So without further ado, here's the first chapter of "Mind"!
MIND
UNIVERSE-?
In a starry void, the bare feet of a young woman took step after step, causing the space to ripple like water. She was a slender young woman with red eyes and black hair with diagonally cut bangs. She had two pairs of longer bangs, each on the front and back of her head, respectively. She wore a red qipao with a cherry blossom pattern that exposed much of her back, and a lily flower on the right side of her head.
Hello, everyone. You may remember me as Xiaomei. I'll be your guide as we venture into this story.
It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, maybe not too long depending on when you're reading this… Hm. Perhaps I shouldn't go and break the fourth wall, considering there's another fan favorite in this tale who goes and does that better than I do. Anyways, I believe it's time for a quick recap of events.
Recently, the Omni Force banded together with the forces of good in Universe-Six-One-Six to vanquish the Mad Titan Thanos, who wielded the six Infinity Stones. Though they were successful in defeating him, the stones themselves were sent hurdling through time and space. Some ended up lost through the vast multiverse… while others have managed to find themselves in the clutches of evil.
Currently, the Omni Force's newest mission is find and secure these stones until they can be completely destroyed. I myself have been tasked with helping locate them throughout the vast multiverse. And fortunately, one didn't wind up going too far into the past.
However, this retrieval mission will not be easy for our heroes. It's quite a delicate operation, filled with emotion, memories, and turmoil. And aside from that, there are villainous forces lurking in the shadows still…
UNIVERSE-616
TITAN
"We're almost out of provisions…" Proxima Midnight pointed out from the small vessel she, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian were within. She checked through other compartments of their ship, sighing deeply. "Cosmic storms will come soon," she mentioned, "Either we leave Titan and hope for salvation…" she continued, "or we stay and die," she warned of her adopted brothers.
"Hff…" Obsidian huffed as he remained seated. Corvus lowered his head in shame. Meanwhile, Maw tented his hands in front of his face, exhaling a shaky sigh.
"We… died in another time…" he noted, causing his adopted brethren to perk up and glance over to him, "I'm assuming you've had nightmares yourselves," he inferred to them.
"Yes…" Corvus responded, "I fell at the hands of a woman who wielded a blade of flames…" he recalled, trembling a little.
"A woman of great strength had turned me into nothing but ashes…" Proxima remembered as she gritted her teeth together. Obsidian said nothing, but by how he clutched his scaly arms with his frustrated scowl, he too found himself with dreams of his demise.
"Hmm…" Maw hummed, "We all perished in the wake of trying to protect our father, who fulfilled his grand design…" he recalled, "But at the same time, he ignored the threat of those who sought to undo it…" he mentioned.
"That was until it was too late…" his adopted sister added, exhaling a frustrated breath, "Even so, I still wish to exact vengeance on those forces our father fell to…" she muttered, clenching her trembling fists tightly.
"He is not our father, Proxima," Corvus chimed in, getting her attention, "The only one he truly cared for and loved was Gamora," he pointed out as he stood up, starting to walk away.
"That may be…" the telekinetic of the Black Order concurred, causing him to stop as he and the others looked over to him, "but I believe we should reclaim this world…" he decided, "no, this multiverse…" he corrected, "and reduce it to ashes…" he declared.
"And how exactly are we to do that?" Corvus asked, "The Infinity Stones are gone, Maw…" he noted as he approached his adopted brother, "It would take eons for us to forge an army," he mentioned, "Even if we could, would it even matter in the face of what power our enemy holds?" he inquired on.
"It would if you had the proper tools," another voice chimed in, catching their attentions as they perked up in surprise, whipping around to see a pair of figures walking into the room. Proxima quickly grabbed a sword lying beside her.
"Who's there?!" she shouted in question.
"Ah, don't be alarmed," the mysterious voice insisted as he approached. Those of the Black Order blinked in surprise to see who had arrived. It was a man who had a black helmet with a purple visor upon his head, making his face visible through it as it appeared repulsive, being long and thin with a wide mouth, greyish skin, a flattened nose, dark lines underneath his eyes, and thin black lips. He wore silver gauntlets, boots, and shoulder pads on his black jacket. With that, he was sporting a black bodysuit, which had some purple lines and a silver collar that covered his entire neck.
Beside him was a woman whose skin was deathly pallor, covered with deep red and purple veins that ran up her arms and face. The sclera of her eyes were jet black and her irises glowed red. She had a black, diamond-shaped marking in the center of her forehead, wearing a very long black robe with red designs resembling eyes. She also wore a ring resembling an insect on her right index finger. Her white hair was formed into a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments were suspended.
"Who are you?" Maw inquired, narrowing his eyes.
"Your allies for the battles ahead," the pallor woman responded with a smirk, "You may refer me to me as Salem," she introduced to the aliens.
"And I, Eon," her beloved chimed in, "It's a pleasure to meet the very people who fought alongside the Mad Titan in the attempt to kill half of the multiverse," he pointed out with a chuckle.
"How did you find us?" Maw questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"When did we find you," Eon corrected as a response, "Time traveling has its uses," he pointed out. All of a sudden, he snapped his fingers. In an instant, the Black Order members found themselves no longer inside their vessel. Instead, they were in a large room that featured a crystal table surrounded by six wooden chairs, one of which Salem sat down upon at the end of the table.
"Please," she requested of the aliens, "sit," she said. Amazed by the sudden transition of locations, they all took their seats at the table, with Corvus and Proxima holding hands underneath it nervously. Maw tented his hands.
"What do you want with us?" he inquired.
"Straight to the point," Eon remarked, "You have a knack for that, it seems…" he noted curiously. He took on a more serious expression. "We're looking to enlist your services," he told the group.
"For what?" Proxima asked.
"For starters, the Infinity Stones," Salem responded, "You assumed that from what happened with Thanos, they were destroyed, correct?" she inferred with a raise of her eyebrow. Those of the Black Order shared unsure glances with each other. "As a matter of fact, they weren't," the Master of Grimm said to their collective shock.
"They've been scattered throughout time and space of this vast multiverse," Eon explained as he started to walk around the table, "And as such, some have yet to be unveiled… wherever they may be," he mentioned.
"You're asking us to help you find them all?" Corvus inferred.
"We're asking you to retrieve them," Salem corrected in response, "My beloved will be narrowing down the locations for each of the stones," she added, gesturing towards the time walker with a grin.
"And what do we get out of it?" Proxima asked.
"A chance at redemption," Eon replied, "Though we have uses for the Infinity Stones, they're of your universe," he pointed out, "When they're all gathered, we'll allow you to take them yourselves," he promised.
"Hff…" Obsidian scoffed.
"Forgive us for being skeptical, but…" Maw began as he lifted his head, "why not retrieve them yourselves?" he inquired of the time walker and his beloved. She stood up from her seat and took a deep breath.
"We prefer not to extend our reach to a point where interference is required," she answered, "If my beloved or I were to partake in this endeavor, we'd be alerting our enemies to our presence," she explained to the mercenary group.
"But your group is different," Eon noted, "With a variety of skills, abilities, and weaponry," he listed off as he came to a stop, resting his left hand onto Maw's shoulder, "I'm sure you're more than capable of seeing this out," he affirmed with a grin. The telekinetic narrowed his eyes onto the time walker. He was still skeptical of the situation. But this was a prime opportunity to get the stones if they still existed. So… he was willing to take a gamble.
"Where are the stones?" he asked, causing the others of the Black Order to blink in surprise.
"Unfortunately, I've only been able to locate one for the moment," Eon answered as he walked over to stand beside Salem, "This particular one is in Universe-Five-Two-Two," he told the mercenary group. With a wave of his hand, the specific weapons of Proxima, Corvus, and Obsidian appeared in their grasps, much to their surprise. "Even though this will take you to the past, there are still powerful forces in that universe," the time walker noted, "So you'd be best to stay on guard…" he advised.
"Hfff…" Obsidian huffed, rubbing his hand across his multi-tooled hammer.
"No matter who it may be, we will still crush anyone who stands in the way of our glorious conquest…" Corvus vowed as he spun his glaive around, gripping it tightly.
"Indeed," Maw agreed, standing up from his seat, "We accept your terms, Eon," he decided, "Please send us to this universe where we're to retrieve the first of the stones," he requested humbly, holding his hands together behind his back. Smirking, the time walker pulled out his MPG, which glowed an ominous violet. He activated it by pressing its center icon with his thumb, making a holographic screen appear. After scrolling through the list of universes momentarily, he selected one, causing a portal to appear just behind him.
He stuck his right hand out at it, firing a beam of light that struck it. The rift reverberated before calming down, continuing to slowly swirl. Those of the Black Order were somewhat perplexed.
"I just made sure you're heading to the correct period in time," Eon told them, "Now off you go," he offered, standing aside for the mercenary aliens to pass by and head into the portal. Proxima stopped for a moment, glancing over at Salem curiously. More specifically, she was focused on the red gemstone upon her forehead.
"Is something wrong?" she assumed, causing the Black Order member to flinch.
"…No," she responded, being the last one to go through the portal before it disappeared. The Master of Grimm chuckled afterwards.
"You are quite cunning, beloved," she complimented, "Playing on their emotions from such a grueling battle…" she pointed out with a chuckle.
"We'll let them believe that we want to help," Eon noted as he approached her, "when really, we're looking to use the stones ourselves to rewrite this multiverse… and grant ourselves second chances," he explained.
"Yes…" Salem said, glancing down for a moment with a sad expression upon her face, "I would want nothing more than a second chance…" she confessed, shaking her head.
"You will have that, Salem," her beloved vowed, kissing her forehead, "But for now, we'll keep our faith in our… disposable allies…" he decided as he smirked.
Oh dear… It seems the Kronos Alliance is aware of the scattered stones. With such a force like the Black Order working under them, things look bleak…
Perhaps… it's time another team is put together.
UNIVERSE-991
U.A. HIGH SCHOOL
"You sure you're feeling okay after yesterday, Deku?" Ochaco Uraraka inquired worriedly of her best friend, Izuku Midoriya, who was walking beside her as they were getting ready to head to class for the day.
"Yeah, I'm good," he assured in reply, "I'm still not sure how to handle that dark energy just yet," he admitted, recalling the joint-training match in which his power suddenly went haywire, "but I'll figure it out soon," he promised, "If there's anyone I'm worried about, it's Monoma…" he pointed out with a nervous grin, "Natalie really gave it to him, huh?" he noted in remembrance.
"He shouldn't have made fun of our concert…" the Zero Gravity Quirk user remarked in reply, sharing a chuckle with her friend as they approached the front doors to the dorm building, "I'm betting there's gonna be replays of the matches for us to go over today," she inferred, glancing up in thought.
"Yeah, good point," Izuku agreed, glancing down in thought. The joint training between Class A and Class B hadn't gone smoothly, even if the former class was ultimately victorious. He had a feeling that there'd be a lot of criticism today. "Uraraka, you think that—?" He stopped his question upon seeing that Ochaco was practically frozen in place. "U-Uraraka?" he stuttered out. Looking around, he saw that his classmates in the common area were all frozen in place as well. The whole world around him had been greyed out. "E-E-Everyone?!" he stammered, starting to panic. And then, a blue portal appeared behind him. "AH!" he yelped, startled before seeing a figure come out with a cane in one hand, and a suitcase in the other.
"Ah, Izuku Midoriya!" Paradox greeted with a chuckle, "Glad I could catch you at the perfect time!" he remarked.
"Wha…? P-Professor Paradox?" the freckled teen stuttered out, "What… are you doing here?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it is of a crucial matter that I do speak with the ninth wielder of One For All about the fate of the multiverse," the time walker explained in reply.
"Th-The fate of the multiverse?" Izuku stammered out, "Wait… that's my costume!" he realized upon spotting the suitcase in Paradox's grasp. He exhaled a sigh.
"I believe we should discuss this situation elsewhere," he decided, snapping his metal fingers. In an instant, the One For All inheritor found himself in another area entirely, being a small, grassy field. He looked around, quite stunned.
"Wh-Where are we?!" he stuttered in question, quite panicked.
"You need to learn to relax more, my good man," Paradox insisted, handing him his suitcase, which had the number 18 emblazoned upon it, "As I said, this is a crucial matter I wanted you here for," he pointed out seriously. Looking up, Izuku found that were others amongst them. They included James Rogers, Azari T'Challa, Torunn Thorsdóttir, Henry Pym Jr., Francis Barton, and Laura Kinney. Upon spotting the latter of the group, the One For All inheritor smiled with relief.
"Oh, Eucliffe—!" He immediately stopped his greeting as she drew her sharp and shining adamantium claws from her right hand, making him flinch as he reflexively put up his hands. "Uh… sorry!" he quickly apologized, "Laura, right?" he guessed.
"Hmph," she scoffed, withdrawing her claws.
"Good to see you again, man," James greeted, getting Izuku's attention as he saw him approach.
"Yeah, you too…" he responded, holding out his hand for the red-haired teen to accept with a handshake, "Why'd you all get brought here?" he asked, looking around at the other Next Gen Avengers.
"That's what we'd all like to know," Francis muttered out while seated on the grass.
"And I'll be glad to explain, Mister Barton," Paradox assured as a response, "For starters, I brought the seven of you together to assist me in taking care of a delicate matter," he told them, "Are you aware of the Infinity Stones?" he inquired curiously, causing some of the teenagers to blink in surprise.
"Uh… sort of?" Henry responded with an unsure gesture of his hand.
"They are the six singularities that helped to create all of existence in the universe from which they were borne," Torunn explained to everyone's surprise.
"And that is correct… mostly," Paradox replied, "You see, the Infinity Stones are responsible for the creation of this multiverse," he explained, "Normally, it's been said that they can only work within their own universe," he pointed out, "But as it's been seen, they have the ability to work in other worlds," he noted grimly, "In some cases, they've been used for unspeakable things…" he mentioned. Everyone looked over at each other in stunned silence, processing what they just learned. Then James stepped forward.
"What do you need us to do?" he asked of the time walker, getting his attention.
"The Infinity Stones were scattered throughout space and time due to a certain event that took place in your younger years," he told the group of teenagers, "As such, it's been difficult for even me to locate them," he admitted, "But… I've found one," he confirmed.
"Where?" Henry asked, tilting his head to the side.
"In the past of Universe-Five-Two-Two," Paradox answered, "I brought Izuku along since he's more familiar with that world as well as the time period," he mentioned while gesturing over to the One For All inheritor.
"I am?" he inquired as he pointed to himself. He glanced down in thought for a moment before blinking with realization. "That world?" he questioned, sounding quite surprised.
"Has the Infinity Stone caused trouble for anyone in this particular universe?" Torunn asked, changing the subject.
"For some, yes," the time walker confirmed, "I'd advise for you to take great care," he insisted of the teenagers, "Though the timeline will be reset to its proper state after you've retrieved the stone, I insist that you don't involve yourselves unless absolutely necessary," he requested firmly.
"Hey, sounds fair to me," Francis replied as he stood up.
"But uh…" Izuku chimed in, getting their attentions, "What about me and Laura?" he inquired curiously, "If we end up gone for a while, then—"
"By the time you return, it will be like you had never left," Paradox assured, interrupting him, "Now I would get your costume on if I were you," he advised, "You never know who or what else might be after that stone…" he pointed out.
"R-Right!" Izuku stuttered, opening his suitcase to make sure everything was there.
"What stone exactly are we after right now?" James inquired curiously as he approached the time walker.
"The Mind Stone," he answered, "Please be mindful of your situation," he advised of the group, "This is a very serious matter I am trusting you with," he pointed out.
"You can count on us, sir," Izuku assured as a response as he stood up with his gas mask in hand.
And so, all of the players in this endeavor are in place. Though it may be a while before we get to truly see them in action. Now it's time to bring ourselves to the main setting. I'm sure you'll love what's up ahead…
MOST LIKELY TO BE FORGOTTEN
UNIVERSE-522
CANTERLOT HIGH SCHOOL
Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah~!
Ah, ah-ahhh~!
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ahhh~!
Taking pictures in the foyer with her camera was a smiling Sunset Shimmer, who was greeted by everyone around her. She was wearing an orange top underneath a black leather vest with yellow spikes on the collar, a magenta skirt with a black, studded belt, and black, high heel boots with studs as well. Her camera flashed with each click as she waved to the people who once hated her.
Back in the day, I used to walk these halls~…
Acting tough, but all alone~…
I needed a friend to lend me a helping hand~…
I couldn't do it on my own~…!
As she continued through the halls, wondering who to take a picture of next, she peered around a corner and smiled. There were her friends: Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike. They waved in greeting to her as she came over. After a moment, they bunched together for a group picture, letting Sunset click the camera button for a perfect snapshot.
We've come so far together~!
Got memories to treasure~!
I look at you, stories come back to life~…
And if I need reminding~…
I know where I can find you~…
In these pages, you'll last forever~…!
Whether it was catching Twilight and Spike reading together in the library, Pinkie ambushing Rainbow as she was about to kick a soccer ball, Rarity embroidering Applejack's hat, or Fluttershy letting Sunset nuzzle her head lovingly against that of a bunny rabbit's, those moments were all snapshotted. The friendship between the group wasn't one to be trifled with, especially with how far they had come. They ventured down the hall into another room with computers and printers strewn about. The red-and-yellow-haired girl sat down at one herself as the others gathered around her. She moved the cursor to click the file on the center of the screen.
Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah~!
Ah, ah-ah~!
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ahhhh~!
A lot had happened in Sunset's life at CHS. Once a bully now reformed, she had since become the cornerstone of her friend group, learning a lot more about herself and friendship. Some friendships had furthered beyond just her normal clique at school. Those were the ones she treasured the most after her own.
Remember when I~… I lost the crown~…
You didn't leave me… out in the rain~…
We still had songs to sing~… Magic transforming~…
Special in every way~…!
The gems chose us by name~…!
Twilight had a sparkling aura shroud her left arm as she telekinetically removed the memory card from the camera Sunset had used. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was trying to reach up to some boxes atop a tall drawer, only to fail with her height. Fortunately, Applejack used her strength with just her right arm to lift her up, much to her gratitude as she could finally reach the boxes. At the printers, Rarity pulled out a sheet of paper in confusion, only to find out that it was Pinkie's face smooshed against the scanner with her tongue out. She laughed into her hand in amusement. At that moment, Rainbow sped by with a multicolored trail behind her, skidding to a stop with the memory card in her hand. She handed it off to Sunset, who plugged it in.
We've come so far together~!
Got memories to treasure~!
I look at you, stories come back to life~…
And if I need reminding~…
I know where I can find you~…
In these pages, you'll last forever~…!
Forever, forever~…!
Looking at some of the printed pages, Rarity smiled at what she and her friends had accomplished. Fluttershy was glancing over an old yearbook, smiling at the distant memories depicted. Sunset was carrying one of her own, exchanging a thumbs up with Twilight. Being together with all of her friends made her feel so warm inside. She had such a thankful smile on her face.
In these pages, you'll last forever~…
As she was distracted with watching her friends fiddle around the room and participate in their tasks, Sunset found herself bumping into someone by accident. They both yelped as they fell over, with papers flapping they floated down to the ground. The person the red-and-yellow-haired girl had bumped into was a greenish-skinned girl with messy aquamarine hair and tangelo eyes. She wore a brown-striped sweater and a pair of jeans with grey slippers.
"Excuse me…" she said apologetically, rubbing the back of her head while glancing away.
"I'm sorry," Sunset apologized, "I didn't see you come in…" she mentioned sheepishly.
"I've been here for a while…" the aquamarine-haired girl pointed out, gesturing towards the rest of the room. Sunset blinked in surprise.
"I… didn't realize…" she admitted, somewhat embarrassed as she picked up the papers from off of the floor along with the yearbook copy.
"I've been trying to get your attention for, like, half the song…" the aquamarine-haired girl mentioned. With that knowledge, Sunset gave off a sheepish grimace as she blushed.
"Ain't she a quiet one?" Applejack softly remarked by the computers.
"Yeah," Rainbow agreed in a hushed tone, "And we know some pretty shy people," she pointed out, folding her arms underneath her chest, "Am I right?" she inquired over to Fluttershy, who was standing beside her.
"We do?" she questioned curiously, "Who?" she asked, quite surprised. Both of her friends just grinned, knowing that she was being oblivious.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer," Sunset introduced to the aquamarine-haired girl while setting the yearbook copy and some papers down against the chalkboard, "President of the Yearbook Committee and editor-in-chief," she mentioned as the quiet girl stood up, "Do you want to join?" she offered, "We could always use extra help," she pointed out, gesturing to her friends.
"I'm Wallflower Blush…" the quiet girl introduced, quite befuddled as she had a really confused look on her face.
"Nice to meet you," Sunset greeted warmly.
"I've been on the Yearbook Committee all year…" Wallflower pointed out.
"Oh… um…" Sunset uttered, realizing just how awkward this conversation was getting as her blush of embarrassment returned.
"We met in ninth-grade English…" Wallflower bluntly mentioned, unamused by how forgetful the red-and-yellow-haired girl was being.
"And…" she started to say nervously, "I was... saying it was nice to meet you then," she claimed quickly, "You didn't let me finish…" she sheepishly said with a shake of her head. Completely unconvinced, Wallflower rolled her eyes. At that moment, the door opened.
"What's up, everybody?!" a voice called out, getting the attentions of the girls as they looked to see Lector wander into the room.
"Lector!" Spike exclaimed as he ran over to greet the anthropomorphic cat. He stood up on his hind legs, starting a handshake with his friend that consisted of a high five, a fist bump with an explosion, patty cake, and a quick hug. "How've you been, dude?" the talking dog asked.
"Pretty good!" the Exceed proudly replied, "We figured since you and the girls are getting close to the end of the year, we'd drop by and hang out with everyone!" he pointed out excitedly.
"Hence why we're showing up at the end of the day," another voice chimed in, belonging to Ben Tennyson as he walked into the room, followed by Alain Regulus, Kyoya Tategami, Monkey D. Luffy, Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, and Frosch.
"Babe!" Rainbow exclaimed, zipping over to her boyfriend in an instant to grant him a quick and sweet kiss to his lips.
"Huh…" he sighed afterwards, "Gonna take a minute for me to get used to you having super speed without the wings…" he admitted, making her chuckle.
"It's good to see you," Alain chimed in as he walked over to Fluttershy, embracing her in a warm hug.
"You too," she responded happily. Meanwhile, Kyoya approached Applejack, folding his arms over his chest.
"…Hey," he greeted simply. His girlfriend chuckled.
"Hey yourself…" she replied with a grin.
"Frosch!" Rarity exclaimed as the frog-costumed Exceed leapt up into her arms.
"Hi Rarity!" he greeted, "Rogue was really excited to get to see you again!" he pointed out as the Shadow Dragon Slayer approached, blinking in surprise.
"Well…" he began, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I wouldn't say I'm… that excited…" he confessed as he blushed. Giggling, the fashionista approached her boyfriend and pecked his cheek with her lips.
"Well, I know I am," she admitted, causing him to crack a small grin.
"Twilight!" Luffy exclaimed as he hopped over and embraced his girlfriend tightly, lifting her up off of her chair as she yelped in surprise, "It feels like it's been forever!" he pointed out excitedly.
"H-Hi, Luffy…!" the spectacled girl greeted with a stutter, struggling to breathe a little. Sunset looked around to see her friends mingling, followed by seeing Sting trot up to her.
"Hey milady," he greeted, "How've you been?" he asked of her.
"Good," she replied with a nod, "Just finishing up some yearbook things before the weekend," she told him, "Got a lot of pictures to sort through for the superlatives…" she pointed out, not noticing Wallflower trying to get her attention as she raised her right hand.
"Superlatives?" Lector repeated, giving off a confused look as he approached.
"Like 'Best Dressed' or 'Most Likely to be a Superhero'," Ben chimed in as examples, "I'm guessing you and the girls won a few of those," he noted to Sunset, who giggled.
"Well, we'll see when the votes come in," she replied with a shrug.
"Um… I counted up all the votes for the yearbook superlatives…" Wallflower said, getting their attentions as they looked to see her hand off some sheets of paper to Sunset. She and her friends clamored excitedly, looking over the results as the others looked on from afar.
"You know, I never really did get the whole yearbook thing back in high school…" Ben admitted with a shake of his head.
"I don't get it now…" Wallflower grumbled out, causing the Omni Force leader to chuckle. She blushed a little, brushing her hair back with her fingers. Meanwhile, Sunset and the girls read off more of the results.
"'Most Likely to Succeed', 'Best Smile', 'Class Clown'…" she read off, going to the next page and letting out a sharp, excited gasp, "Ooh! We won 'Best Friends'!" she exclaimed happily, "Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and me!" she listed off.
"I always knew I liked you all, but now it's official!" Pinkie proclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her six high school friends, "In yearbook form!" she added happily, "The people have spoken!" she declared, standing atop a table. Meanwhile, Twilight grabbed the results from Sunset, reading over one superlative in particular.
"Oh, good for Micro Chips…" she said, "'Most Likely to Invent Cold Fusion'…" she read off, "Not a reason to be jealous…" she remarked with a roll of her eyes as Fluttershy and Alain gave off indifferent smiles, "Pfft! I'm not!" she claimed with a scoff, laughing a little as she looked rather hurt inside.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Fluttershy assured as she took the results out from her friend's hands, placing one of her own onto her shoulder, "We know you're a genius," she noted.
"Besides, it's just the yearbook…" Rainbow mentioned nonchalantly. The elicited a gasp from each of her six friends, who all sounded shocked. The boys in the room all blinked twice.
"Uh… are we missing something?" Lector inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Just the yearbook?!" Sunset repeated emphatically to Rainbow, sounding rather hurt. Pinkie smacked herself in the face, while Applejack groaned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Now ya gone and done it…" she muttered out, putting her left elbow onto the tabletop, staring blankly at Sunset.
"The student body has entrusted me with the responsibility of gathering their memories into the pages of this book," she told everyone in a rather dramatic fashion, with her friends seemingly being unimpressed, "In thirty years, we might not remember everything," she continued as she looked at the results of the superlative votes in her hands, "but we will remember what's in the yearbook," she declared proudly. Frosch clapped to applaud her speech. Meanwhile, Rainbow rolled her eyes, standing up straight.
"Well, I'm entrusting you not to put us next to 'Best Muscles'…" she muttered out, reaching back to pull over a copy of an earlier yearbook, opening and closing its pages, "Every time you close the book, it'll be like we're kissing Bulk Biceps…" she noted with disgust as Applejack cringed, while Pinkie had a curious expression upon her face.
"Oh…" Rarity shivered out as she ventured over and picked the yearbook out of her friends hands, not wanting the image of the potential page to be ingrained in her mind, setting it aside, "Uh, why don't we take our picture at the beach on Saturday?" she suggested to the group, "Everyone's bound to look adorable," she pointed out.
"Beach day!" Pinkie exclaimed as she stood up upon the table, "I'll make my world-famous fun-in-the-sun cupcakes!" she announced, zipping over to Fluttershy, Alain, Twilight, and Luffy, "The secret ingredient is edible sunscreen!" she mentioned to her shy friend in a whisper, causing her to cringe a little, "It's SPF fun-hundred!" she squeaked.
"Yech…" Fluttershy uttered in disgust, sticking her tongue out a little.
"We gonna bring the boys along?" Applejack inquired curiously.
"Might as well," Sunset replied with a shrug, "I mean, we haven't seen 'em in a while," she pointed out, "And we oughta' share the fun with them," she mentioned with a grin towards Ben, which he returned.
"I'm down," he said, "even if Rainbow's gonna be self-conscious," he mentioned with a smirk toward his girlfriend, who scoffed.
"Babe, you underestimate me…" she noted proudly with her hands on her hips, "I got nothin' to hide for a beach day…" she boasted.
"Except it's not you that you're probably gonna fuss over…" the Omni Force leader retorted, causing her to blink in confusion. After a few moments, she widened her eyes in realization. And the blush that broke out upon her face was huge.
"…I hate you…" she muttered out softly, trying to hide her blush with the collar of her jacket as her friends laughed.
"That reminds me, who won 'Best Couple'?" Pinkie asked curiously as she zipped over to Sunset, "Was it one of us?" she wondered aloud.
"Uh, I haven't checked…" the red-and-yellow-haired girl admitted as she started sorting through the sheets, reading for the specific superlative.
"I totally bet it was me and my babe," Rainbow boasted, seemingly recovered from her embarrassment earlier.
"Really?" Ben inquired, arching an eyebrow, "Even though I don't actually go to CHS?" he questioned on. His girlfriend glared at him. "What?" he said, "I'm just saying…" he noted with a shrug. Sunset sorted through the pages of the superlatives, reading through for a sign of the particular one.
"Oh, here it is!" she said upon finally spotting what she was looking for, "The 'Best Couple' is…" she started reading, widening her eyes and blushing, "me and Sting?!" she exclaimed in shock.
"WHAT?!" her six friends all yelped in surprise.
"Huh?!" the Sabertooth guildmaster gasped, followed by slipping off of the table he had been leaning against, falling onto a stack of papers that scattered about the room. Sunset blushed a bright red in embarrassment.
"Wait…" Wallflower uttered, raising an eyebrow as she caught everyone's attention, "you and he aren't a couple?" she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.
"N-No!" Sunset stammered, "He's not my boyfriend!" she yelled with a shake of her head, "The one I have is totally different!" she pointed out emphatically, "I mean, why would anyone think any different?!" she inquired aloud, chuckling nervously.
"Well… he hung around you a lot at Camp Everfree," Wallflower noted to her surprise, "I'm pretty sure I remember that he carried you in his arms and that you danced together," she mentioned on. The blush on Sunset's face grew. She looked back to see Sting standing up, rubbing his hurting head.
"Eheheheheh…" she laughed sheepishly, "Huh…" she sighed afterwards, "We're… not a couple…" she confirmed, "so we can just have the winner be whoever got second," she told Wallflower.
"Alright…" she replied, looking through some sheets of papers with extra notes on the superlatives, "Looks like the runner-up couple was… Twilight Sparkle and Luffy," she read off.
"Wait, what?!" the spectacled girl yelped in shock.
"YAHOO!" the Gum-Gum user exclaimed excitedly, "We won something!" he yelled, embracing his girlfriend again, "I don't get it, but that's awesome!" he pointed out.
"Uh… I guess so…?" his girlfriend unsurely agreed, blushing a little out of flattery. In the meantime, Ben glanced over to Sting, who was helping gather up all the papers he accidentally scattered with Pinkie, Lector, and Spike. The Omni Force leader held no ill will toward the guildmaster of Sabertooth.
But after seeing this latest instance of him and Sunset getting involved together in some affair, he felt that it was time for him to at least say something. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get the chance as the door was swung open, getting his attention. Entering was none other than Trixie Lulamoon, who seemed quite cross.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands to speak to the yearbook editor immediately!" she emphatically exclaimed in a dramatic fashion.
"Oh boy…" Ben grumbled out.
"Unfortunately for me, that's me…" Sunset muttered, raising her right hand, "What do you want, Trixie?" she asked, walking over to her. At that moment, she snatched the superlative results out of the editor's hands. She quickly read over it.
"Ha!" she huffed out, "Just as I suspected!" she proclaimed, "I was not voted 'Greatest and Most Powerfullest'!" she concluded, smacking the paper with her right hand, "Explain yourself…" she demanded of Sunset.
"I'm sorry, what?" Ben uttered in confusion, arching an eyebrow.
"How should I put this?" Sunset wondered aloud rhetorically as she had her left hand upon her chin, "You didn't win 'Greatest and Most Powerful' because it wasn't one of the superlatives…" she explained with a shrug.
"Hmm," Trixie hummed curiously, glancing over and noticing an old yearbook with a red hardcover, "Neither was 'Biggest Meanie'," she pointed out while grabbing the book, opening it up and flipping through a few pages, "but that didn't stop you from winning it our freshman year," she pointed out, handing the book over to Sunset, who frowned as she saw that it was a picture of herself trying to block the camera with her hand. She had an angered expression with her left fist clenched, while Snips and Snails were seemingly snickering in the background.
"Ooh, yikes…" Lector uttered, hopping onto Sunset's shoulder to get a better look at the picture.
"That was different," Applejack chimed in, "The whole school voted for her…" she noted, causing Sunset to flinch from remembering.
"She was soooooooo mean…" Pinkie added, making her frown sadly and turn away.
"Uh, maybe not the best idea to bring up old wounds, girls…" Ben advised, causing both Applejack and Pinkie to wince in realization.
"And we all know you've earned the right not to be remembered that way," Twilight mentioned assuredly, taking the yearbook out of Sunset's hands and chucking it away while putting a hand onto her shoulder.
"Definitely," Ben agreed, coming over and placing his hand onto his best friend's left shoulder.
"Thanks," she said in gratitude, not noticing Wallflower picking up the old yearbook, "We're not having a "Greatest and Powerfullest" superlative," she told Trixie, "Sorry," she apologized, folding her arms underneath her chest.
"Besides, I bet I'm the greatest and most powerfullest one here!" Luffy mentioned, cheekily chuckling.
"Is powerfullest a word, Rogue?" Frosch wondered curiously, looking over to his partner.
"I… don't think so…" the Shadow Dragon Slayer responded as he scratched at his right cheek.
"You're the one who'll be sorry, Sunset Shimmer!" Trixie proclaimed while pointing at the yearbook editor, "When you least expect it, I'll have my revenge!" she vowed fiercely, "And then I'll disappear!" she exclaimed, "Like this!" she yelled, taking out a smoke bomb and holding it up in her left hand, "Behold! The Magician's Exit!" she announced, throwing it down. Smoke erupted upon its impact with the floor, coming over everyone. It took a few moments for it to dissipate as they coughed.
Sunset heard a door handle jiggling. As it turned out, Trixie's escape attempt would've worked… had the door not been locked. Alain blinked twice.
"Uh… why would someone have the door lock from this side?" he wondered aloud.
"Eh…" Kyoya uttered with a shrug, "I give her points for trying at least…" he remarked. Sunset just smiled.
"Allow me," she offered, holding up the keys for the room, "We were actually on our way out…" she noted, going up to the door and unlocking it with a click. Trixie rolled her eyes as her archenemy opened the door for her, gesturing for her to exit first.
"Hmph!" she huffed, marching off without another word.
"Huh…" Ben sighed, "Of all the people to never change…" he grumbled, shaking his head.
"No kidding…" Sunset agreed with a roll of her eyes. However, she blinked in surprise upon noticing something. "Hey… where's the Omnitrix?" she asked curiously, seeing that her best friend's wrist was barren.
"Wait, what?" Rainbow uttered in surprise as she and the others ventured over to check her boyfriend, "Where is it?" she inquired in concern, raising an eyebrow.
"In development actually," the Omni Force leader replied, "I'm working on something pretty big with it right now and should get the chance to show you all tomorrow," he explained to the group.
"What's the big thing?" Pinkie wondered curiously.
"You'll have to wait and see…" Ben replied teasingly, much to the chagrin of some of his friends. Sunset just chuckled.
"Come on," she beckoned, "We should set up a time for the beach and try to get everyone together," she advised. The others voiced sounds of agreement, heading out of the room with her moments later. The only one that stayed behind was Wallflower.
"I'll just finish up…" she called out to the group.
"Ooh," Sunset uttered as she leaned into the doorway, "Forgot to turn off the lights," she realized, hitting the light switch. The whole room went dark as she left. The quiet girl slumped her shoulders slightly.
"…in the dark…" she muttered out.
My, what a wonderful little scene. Friendships borne of enemies can be the ones people most treasure, you know.
Pinkie came to an immediate halt, looking around in confusion.
"Uh… did anybody just hear that?" she asked of her friends.
"Hear what?" Rainbow questioned back, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought I heard someone talking about us…" Pinkie replied, narrowing her eyes, "Hmm…" she hummed out, "Well, it was probably nothing…" she assumed as she shrugged, continuing to skip along the hallway with her friends.
Oh dear… I'm going to have to be extra careful about narrating from now on… That Pinkie Pie sure is a special one…
X
Later that evening, Sunset was dressed in her pajamas, lying upon her bed in her apartment. Many of her nights back home were spent finishing up homework, playing video games, or just resting. But most importantly, each night would end with an entry in her new journal, which was essentially a messaging apparatus to contact her friend in Equestria.
"Dear Princess Twilight," she began writing, "I thought you'd be happy to hear that the girls and I were voted 'Best Friends' in the yearbook today," she noted. She gave off a sad frown for a moment, reaching up to a shelf to pull down a freshman yearbook she had, "After all, if you hadn't forgiven me," she continued as she opened the yearbook to look at the page where she was voted as the 'Biggest Meanie' like Trixie had mentioned, "I'd still be the arrogant student I was when I left Equestria…" she admitted, closing the book and setting it aside, "You gave me the second chance I didn't deserve…" she continued, "and I'll never forget it," she vowed, "Your friend, Sunset Shimmer," she finished, closing the journal with a small smile on her face. Her life had plenty of bumps in the road. But she found friendships that she'd treasure forever. And she was very grateful.
The knock at the door interrupted Sunset's thoughts as she perked up. She set her journal aside and hopped off of her bed, heading downstairs. She opened the door and smiled brightly to find Ben there with Sting and Lector.
"Hey Sunset," her best friend greeted with a wave, "Already set for tomorrow?" he inquired of her, walking inside.
"Pretty much," she answered, "Made sure the girls and their significant others are coming, too," she mentioned, crossing her arms over her chest, "I think Alain's gonna try and get Clemont and Bonnie to come along," she added as she glanced to the side in thought, "Heh," she chuckled, "That'll make Pinkie really happy for sure," she remarked, sharing a laugh with the Omni Force leader.
"Uh... were you about to turn in for the day?" Sting guessed, noticing her pajamas, "'Cause... we wouldn't wanna keep you up if—"
"No worries, Sting," she interjected assuredly with a shake of her head, "I was actually gonna play some video games before going to bed," she told him, "You're all welcome to join me," she offered to her friends.
"Awesome!" Lector exclaimed as he hopped up.
"Yeah, I'm down for that," Ben affirmed, "But can I show you something first?" he requested, causing the Equestrian Magic user to blink in surprise. She watched him unzip his hoodie, taking it off and setting it onto the coatrack. Sunset's eyes shimmered for a moment.
"Whoa..." she uttered out. Her best friend now had a pair of Omnitrices upon his arms. They were less like the watch design previously, and more of armbands. "Did... Azmuth give you an upgrade like you talked about?" the Equestrian Magic user guessed, raising an eyebrow.
"Heh," Ben chuckled, "I gave myself an upgrade," he confirmed to her surprise, showing off the Omnitrices, "This... is the Biomnitrix," he said, "An achievement only done thanks to my own aliens and their smarts," he mentioned somewhat boastfully.
"Well... what does it do?" Sting asked curiously.
"Back in the day when I had the old Omnitrix prototype, I accidentally messed with it a couple times," the Omni Force leader replied, "One of those times, I wound up turning into random fusions of my aliens," he noted in remembrance.
"Wait..." Sunset uttered out, "This was inspired from... an accident?" she inquired, quite befuddled.
"Crazy, I know," Ben replied with a chuckle, "But now I figured out a way to work it in a way that can give me whatever combos I want," he told her.
"By having two watches you have full control over without having to worry about the wrong transformation," she realized with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And having Master Control, yeah," her best friend mentioned, sharing another laugh with her.
"So does it work?" Lector wondered aloud.
"Uh, I haven't tested it yet..." Ben admitted in response, "But I did wanna try and show you how cool it'd be," he pointed out.
"Hey, so long as you don't wind up destroying my apartment..." Sunset remarked with a shrug.
"Okay..." the Omni Force leader said, stepping into the living room as his friends all watched on curiously, "We'll start with something simple..." he decided, "Four Arms... and Stinkfly..." he uttered, readying his arms, "Stinkarms!" he yelled, smacking the gauntlets together. However, nothing happened. "Uh... what?" he uttered in confusion.
"Guess it's a dud..." Sting noted aloud. All of a sudden, green sparks flew off of the Biomntrix gauntlets, causing their bearer to widen his eyes.
"Uh oh," he uttered in realization. A shockwave burst out, blowing him and the others back. He slammed into the wall behind the TV, falling down and knocking it over. Fortunately, the Sabertooth guildmaster was quick to catch it, while Sunset immediately ponied up and stuck her hands out, encasing them in a sparkling red aura that shrouded her friend before he could hit the floor.
"Huh..." she sighed with relief, "Okay, maybe save the testing for an actual lab and not my apartment..." she suggested, floating the Omni Force leader over and setting him gently down upon the floor on his feet.
"Heh..." he sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "Good call..." he agreed, "TV okay?" he asked, glancing over to Sting and Lector as the former helped stand it back up.
"Looks fine to me!" the Exceed assured with a thumbs up.
"Then I guess it's time for a game night," Sunset confirmed as she deactivated her magic. For the next hour, the four of them partook in fun video games, having snacks and sharing laughs all the while. Though in the process, Sting couldn't help but think back to what happened earlier at CHS with the superlative announcements. He wanted to apologize to Sunset, but he didn't know how. A while passed before he, Lector and Ben were about to head out. The latter of the group exchanged a hug with his best friend.
"Hey," he said, "I'm gonna try hard to get Rook out early tomorrow," he promised to her surprise, "Hopefully, he's not too busy with Plumber stuff," he mentioned aloud.
"Hopefully..." Sunset repeated with a roll of her eyes, sharing one last laugh with the Omni Force leader, "Well, good night," she remarked in farewell, giving off a wave goodbye before shutting the door. Nearby, Sting took out his MPG, about to head back to his world for the night.
"Hey, Sting," Ben said, getting his attention along with Lector's, "Mind if we walk and talk for a bit?" he requested of the Sabertooth guildmaster.
"Uh... sure..." he replied, wondering what the Omni Force leader wanted to talk about as they started trotting alongside the sidewalk, "So... what's up?" he asked curiously.
"Well... it's about Sunset," Ben replied, making him blink in surprise, "That whole superlative thing today was super awkward, you know?" he noted to the Sabertooth guildmaster, who grimaced.
"Yeah..." he admitted in response, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I know you've got a big crush on her," the Omni Force leader mentioned as he blushed, "In fact, I bet she knows you like her, too," he added to his embarrassment, "But don't forget, she's got a boyfriend," he pointed out seriously, "A boyfriend who happens to be my partner," he mentioned on. Ashamedly, Sting looked away.
"She's... probably one of the coolest people I've ever met... in any universe..." he noted aloud, "We've always worked so well together as teammates..." he added with a shrug.
"But that's just it," Ben said, "You're only teammates," he stated firmly, "I don't want anyone confusing you for her boyfriend," he told him with a shake of his head, "She's already had enough to deal with in this life..." he pointed out, looking back at her apartment.
"You mean before she made up for everything like that Trixie girl said?" Lector inquired.
"Exactly," the Omni Force leader replied, "Sunset's always done everything she could to make up for what happened in the past," he explained, "And in turn, she got a fresh start to be the person she is now," he noted on, "And I don't want that to get tough for her," he insisted additionally. Understanding where he was going with this, Sting exhaled a sigh of resignation.
"Okay..." he uttered out, "I'll... try not to be around her so much..." he promised.
"Or at least not unless she needs us to come," Lector mentioned cheekily for his partner, causing him to blush a bright red.
"Hey, that's more than fine," Ben assured with a grin. But what they didn't realize was that Sunset would need their help very soon… As she had gone back up to her bed and shut of the lights, red wisps of energy shaped like film strips flew about, heading towards CHS. They ventured to the forest behind the school, resulting in a sparkling burst of light upon coming together.
X
It was a lovely, sunny Saturday at the beach as everyone present roamed about, sunbathing, playing volleyball, swimming, or just hanging out. Twilight walked across the sand, dressed in a navy blue swimsuit with a white-and-blue-striped upper half, while the lower half was mainly a dark purple with hot pink stars upon it. She turned around, flashing a peace sign with a smile. A camera flash went off from a nearby drone, which beeped as it flew over to her.
"Group picture, practice run number thirty-six-A, attempt seven," she noted while holding the drone in her hands, "success!" she excitedly concluded. At that moment though, the drone itself started to float down "Oh no!" its inventor yelped, grabbing it. Applejack, who was donning her own light blue swimwear with a red apple upon the front, turned to watch her spectacled friend struggling to keep the drone from flying away as she grunted. She finally succeeded, falling over backwards onto the sand. "Your eyes do not deceive you," she noted as she got back up, "I finally invented a selfie-sensing camera," she pointed out, "It hovers into position whenever it detects a selfie opportunity," she explained as the drone tried to fly away again, only for her to pull it back in a grunt.
"I prefer to take selfies myself… ie…" Applejack remarked, glancing over to Rainbow and Rarity. The former was wearing a hot pink cap with a sun and a cloud upon it, having a dark top with a yellow, neon green, and hot pink lightning bolt, pink swim trunks, and yellow sandals. The latter had a black sunhat with an ocean blue stripe, donning a violet two-piece bikini studded with diamond-like accessories. Her lower half was also covered by an ocean blue sash. She was knelt down on the sand, looking at various towels laid out before her.
"Which beach blanket should we use for the photograph?" she asked of Rainbow as she turned her head to look over to her.
"You mean the white one?" she assumed, "Or… the white one?" she inquired again, raising an eyebrow as all the towels were essentially the same color. Rarity gasped in offense, putting her hands onto her hips.
"This is toasted oat and linen lamb's wool," she told her athletic friend, picking up a few of the towels, "Eggshell, warm frost, pale nimbus, and…" she started listing off, pointing at each of the towels before finally arriving at the one furthest to her right, "Well, that one is white, I suppose…" she admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah," Rainbow responded, "That's the one I was talking about," she claimed. All of a sudden, a rush of wind blew by, blowing the white towel away. It flew by Spike, who was digging into the sand before noticing.
"Don't worry, Rarity!" he called out assuredly, "I got it!" he yelled, running after the towel.
"No, I got it! I got it!" Pinkie exclaimed, catching up to the talking dog as was wearing a magenta pink-and-white swimsuit with gold accessories and pink-and-amber flippers on her feet.
"Nuh-uh!" Spike retorted, "I got it! I got it!" he yelled repeatedly as the towel was starting to fall towards the water. In the midst of their running, both Pinkie and Spike tripped over each other, falling onto the sand in yelps. They looked out to see that they failed to reach the towel in time as it floated in the water with seaweed upon it.
"I don't got it…" they both muttered out. Just then, they saw the water bubble around where the towel had landed, followed by it rising up with the seaweed upon it. Pinkie and Spike could hear the filtered breathing coming from whomever was underneath the towel.
"Ah…!" the former of the two gasped, "Ocean monster! Ocean monster!" she screamed, quickly getting to her feet and scurrying off as the talking dog ran beside her, yelling all the while as the mysterious figure came out of the water. Fortunately, it turned out to be none other than Fluttershy, who removed the dirty towel that was covering her. She was wearing a wetsuit that was mainly black with a magenta whale on the front, having neon blue and green sections on her arms and legs. She wore flippers on her feet and a snorkel mask, the latter of which she removed.
"Quincy the sea turtle says the tide's coming in," she told her friends as she ventured over to them, "We should take the picture soon or risk having damp ankles," she advised as she glanced back at the water, not noticing that Pinkie and Spike were cowering by a beach chair, only to realize that their friend wasn't a monster like they thought, "Oh, he's so thoughtful," she pointed out happily, handing the dirtied towel over to Rarity as she had just folded them all up onto a beach chair. She took notice of what her shy friend was handing her and grimaced.
"Ick…" she uttered with disgust. Meanwhile, another group had just arrived, about to venture out onto the beach as they were in the parking lot.
"Yay! Beach day!" Bonnie exclaimed excitedly with her arms stretched up into the air and dressed in her Slowbro-themed swimwear before she ran out towards the beachfront.
"Bonnie, wait a second!" Clemont called out while dressed in a red-and-white-striped swimsuit, letting off a sigh as he chased after her and pulled her back upon grabbing her by her shoulders, "Let's wait until everyone else gets here, okay?" he insisted in question, causing her to puff out her cheeks as she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I can't blame Bonnie for being excited..." Alain noted from afar, dressed in black swim trunks, "It feels like it's been too long since we've gotten to hang out with the girls like this," he admitted.
"Yeah, I hear ya," Kyoya agreed while wearing a pair of forest green swim trunks, "AJ and I haven't met up for a date or whatever in about a week..." he pointed out while rubbing the back of his head.
"And it feels like forever since I've gotten to hang with Twilight and Spike!" Luffy mentioned with outstretched arms, donning his normal outfit, "I can't wait to show 'em the Snake-Man form!" he added excitedly.
"Okay, let's settle down..." Rogue insisted in a placating manner as he trotted over with Frosch beside him, "We're all happy to see the girls again for sure," he noted, "but let's not forget, they're still in class," he advised to them, "We can't be too distracting to them, especially since finals are coming up," he mentioned seriously.
"Rarity's already gonna be distracted when she knows you're here!" his Exceed chimed in, causing him to grimace in realization.
"F-Frosch..." he stuttered out, releasing a deep sigh from his mouth. As the group of boys mingled and chatted about hanging out with their girlfriends again, Sting looked on from afar with a frustrated expression upon his face. Lector took notice.
"You okay, Sting?" he inquired worriedly.
"Huh..." the Sabertooth guildmaster sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black swim trunks, "It's just... Ben had a really good point last night, you know?" he admitted as he glanced down ashamedly at the pavement beneath his feet, "I've been hanging around milady so much..." he noted, "And then that whole superlative thing happened..." he muttered as a blush formed on his cheeks, "I mean, people in her school actually think I'm her boyfriend!" he pointed out emphatically.
"Don't worry! It was a misunderstanding!" his Exceed claimed reassuringly, "Besides, they're gonna make Luffy and Twilight the Best Couple instead now!" he pointed out. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to alleviate the White Dragon Slayer's worries. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I wish... I wish I could just forget about liking her the way I do..." he confessed, much to Lector's surprise.
"Sting..." he uttered worriedly.
"Hey, no need to just forget about her," a familiar voice chimed in, catching their attentions as they turned to see Ben approach, wearing a pair of green swim trunks while carrying a duffel bag over his right shoulder.
"Ben!" the Sabertooth guildmaster yelped in surprise, widening his eyes as he saw the bulky form of the Biomnitrix bearer, "Jeez, dude!" he exclaimed, "Since when did you get so buff?!" he questioned out of shock.
"Took me a while, honestly..." the Omni Force leader replied with a tilt of his head, "But more importantly, I don't want you to force yourself to stop liking Sunset the way you do," he told him as he blinked in surprise, "Just try not to stay too close to her all the time..." he insisted, "She's my best friend and my partner's girlfriend," he pointed out, "You don't need to cling onto her so much," he finished.
"...R-Right..." Sting stuttered in agreement. But he knew it'd be easier said than done. He had become smitten with Sunset over the past few months. From Camp Everfree to missions around the multiverse, she was on his mind a lot. And it was frustrating. He knew she was already in a relationship. What made it worse...
"Sorry I'm late!" a familiar voice called out in apology. Sting looked back and widened his eyes as a blush streaked across his cheeks. The red-and-yellow-haired girl was wearing a black, two-piece bikini with gold studs on the lining of both pieces. A sun emblem decorated the top part. The bottom part was covered by an orange-and-red sash similar in design to flames. The Sabertooth guildmaster hadn't realized that blood was coming out of his nostrils.
"Lookin' good, milady!" Lector complimented in greeting as she approached.
"Thanks, Lector," she replied in gratitude, crouching down to pet his head gently, "I kinda lost track of time..." she admitted with a roll of her eyes as she stood back up, holding onto the strap of her satchel.
"No worries," Ben assured with a shake of his head, "I think the girls are getting ready for the photoshoot," he mentioned, gesturing towards the beach in the background.
"Hey, isn't that one of the same swimsuit she wore in her debut for Sorcerer's Weekly?" Lector whispered in question to Sting, who turned redder. He quickly wiped his bloody nose and shook his head, trying to purge his mind of any impure thoughts. Meanwhile, his crush glanced around to see everyone who had arrived. But there was one person in particular who wasn't amongst the group.
"So Blonko couldn't make it again, huh?" Sunset guessed to Ben, who merely nodded, "Huh..." she sighed in frustration, "Well, I'm glad you're all here," she pointed out with a smile, deciding not to make the issue too troubling for anyone, "Come on," she beckoned. Moments later, she and the others were walking upon the sand towards the west side of the beach. As they trekked on, Sting found himself walking right beside the red-and-yellow-haired girl. Deciding that it'd be best to make things right with her after yesterday, he turned to her.
"Hey, uh... Sunset—?"
"Sting, don't worry about it," she suddenly interjected to his surprise, "It was just a silly mistake in the yearbook," she pointed out with a shake of her head, "Besides, I'm more shocked that Twi and Luffy beat out Ben and Rainbow..." she mentioned with a laugh. At that, the Sabertooth guildmaster smiled. It seemed like she knew about the ordeal he was going through. Just then, they finally spotted the group of girls in the distance. The student scientist's drone was hovering into position to take pictures of her and her friends together. Sunset smiled at the interaction, eager to join.
"You go first," Ben insisted, "We'll all have fun together after your shoot," he promised. Sunset smiled at her best friend in gratitude, running over to the girls. The drone was flying about, taking screenshots of Applejack and Fluttershy together, a shot of Rarity blowing a kiss, and one of Pinkie drying Spike off with a towel. It then flew over and almost hit Sunset, but she managed to reflexively put her right hand up to stop it, pushing it back as it beeped.
"Oh, Twilight!" she called out to her spectacled friend, "You got the selfie sensor working?" she guessed, taking on a pose with a smile to test the drone's feature. It didn't take a picture though, flying back around and hiding behind Twilight like a scared little puppy.
"Huh?" Ben uttered in confusion from afar. Though that wasn't as shocking as the looks on each of the girls' faces. They seemed perplexed, scared, and somewhat skeptical.
"Oookayyy..." Sunset said, surprised by the drone's reaction to her, "So... who's ready to take a Best Friends' picture?" she asked of the group. Again, the reactions of the group varied from scared to skeptical. Even annoyed. "Uh oh, what did I do?" Sunset inquired rhetorically with a roll of her eyes, folding her arms underneath her chest. Pinkie and Applejack shared a look, with the former shrugging in complete confusion. "So... we do it now? Or did you wanna swim first?" the red-and-yellow-haired girl guessed, now becoming a little concerned with how silent and skeptical her friends were. From afar, the boys were just as confused. "How's the water?" she asked with a smile.
"Sunset Shimmer..." Applejack uttered out, "askin' to be a part of our Best Friends' picture?" she inquired rhetorically, "Now I've heard it all..." she muttered out with her hands at her hips while frowning.
"Am I missing the joke here...?" the red-and-yellow-haired girl asked, feeling like she was having a conversation with someone she didn't know.
"The only joke it whatever this is you're playing at..." Rarity remarked with a snobby wave of her hand, much to Sunset's shock, "Acting all nice like you're our friend..." she added.
"And it's not funny..." Fluttershy mentioned as she stood up from cowering behind Applejack.
"Because you aren't nice!" Rainbow yelled, which Ben overheard as he blinked in shock.
"And we ain't friends!" the cowgirl added firmly.
"Wait... what?!" Sunset gasped out as her eyes widened.
"You got applesauce in your ears?!" Applejack questioned, pointing an accusatory finger towards the red-and-yellow-haired girl, "Ah said we ain't fr-WHOA!" she yelped as Sunset suddenly reached out to grasp her wrist with her left hand, making her eyes flash a bright white. Looking into the various memories of the cowgirl, she could see herself completely disappearing from each good one. Transforming during the events of Camp Everfree, the Friendship Games, and even the Battle of the Bands. In each one... she was gone!
"HUH!" she gasped as she pulled herself away from Applejack, with her eyes going back to normal. She looked to see the offended and confused looks on each of her friends' faces. "It's like I've been... erased!" she realized in horror.
In the midst of her wonderful days amongst her friends, Sunset had yet to realize… that not everything is what it truly seems. So until next time, this is Xiaomei, signing—
"Wait, there it is again!" Pinkie yelped out.
"There's… what?" Applejack inquired, looking over at her in confusion as her attention was off Sunset for a moment.
"Uh… never mind…" Pinkie responded, seemingly befuddled.
Huh… I'm not exactly fond of this universe when there's people as strange as her… Goodbye for now, everyone. We'll be back soon!
END
And that concludes the opening chapter of "Mind"! As you can tell, I'm very excited about getting everyone involved in this. Bringing together characters like those of the Black Order, the Next Gen Avengers, and even Izuku Midoriya, I'm just stoked for you to all see what I've got planned with JoJo knd.
Big shoutout to JoJo for helping me edit this chapter and provide me with some pointers. It's been super nice to get his help for this first of the six Infinity Stone stories. As we get further into the story, I'm sure we'll get even more gritty for the series.
And I'm still loving involving Xiaomei in all this. I had a thought that only Pinkie would be able to hear her narrations during the course of the story, and it stuck for me. So we'll see where that leads.
Catch you all later!