And welcome back to the second chapter of "Mind"! We already got the ball rolling the last time with the latest dilemma in the EG universe: Sunset's friends have lost all good memories of her for some reason! With that, we've also set up the multiversal forces coming into play here.
The first chapter was a lot of fun to write, so let's see how you'll like the second one! I'll have Xiaomei take it away!
MIND
Welcome back, everyone. I trust that you're all intrigued by the mystery thus far?
Hm? True, we are only just a chapter in. But you do have to wonder what the forces recruited by the Kronos Alliance and the Omni Force are after in this timeline.
We can table that issue for another time. Right now, Sunset Shimmer has discovered a terrible truth… or a lie depending on your point of view. The memories of her friends have seemingly been altered in a way that they don't remember anything good about her. What could have caused this?
"Okay… am I the only one hearing that?" Pinkie wondered aloud, somewhat frightened as her eyes moved back and forth.
"Uh, Pinkie Pie?" Applejack chimed in, getting her attention, "We're… kinda in the middle of somethin' else here," she pointed out, gesturing toward Sunset with her left thumb. The red-and-yellow-haired girl was panicking. She knew those memories the cowgirl had weren't true. She was there during those times. All of them!
"This has to be a bad dream…!" she claimed to herself, "Wake up, Sunset! Wake up!" she pleaded, closing her eyes and shaking her head. All of a sudden, Pinkie reached over and pinched her arm with her fingers. "Ow!" she yelped, grabbing her arm and pulling it away.
"Nope," the puffy, pink-haired girl said as she stood upright, "You're awake!" she confirmed, pinching her own arm to make sure as Rainbow looked at her skeptically, "Ow!" she yelped in pain, giggling afterwards, "Me too!" she mentioned with another giggle.
"Hey, is everything good over here?" Ben inquired, getting their attentions as they looked to see him jogging over alongside Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch. Upon spotting the two Exceeds, Spike started growling. They both blinked in surprise.
"Uh, hey Spike!" Lector greeted as he stepped forward, much to the surprise of the girls, "You ready for a fun day at the beach?" he questioned curiously with a grin. The talking dog kept growling.
"L-Lector?" Frosch stuttered in fright, hiding behind his fellow Exceed.
"Um…" he uttered, holding his paws out in a placating manner, "Spike… what's the matter?" he asked of his canine friend. Without warning, he started barking, chasing after the two anthropomorphic cats as they screamed. Both Sting and Rogue watched on, completely bewildered.
"Did those cats just… talk?!" Twilight questioned in shock, "Like Spike?!" she inquired on, completely stunned.
"How is that even possible?" Rarity wondered aloud, "Unless… there's Equestrian Magic afoot!" she assumed with widened.
"What? No!" Sunset chimed in with a shake of her head, "They're just from another universe, like our friends!" she pointed out, gesturing towards her Omni Force teammates.
"Our friends?" Applejack repeated skeptically with a glare.
"And what the heck do you mean by 'another universe'?" Rainbow inquired, arching an eyebrow. Her boyfriend blinked, leaning over to Sunset.
"What the heck's going on?" he asked her in a whisper.
"I don't know…" she answered quietly with a shake of her head, "Let me just check something real quick…" she decided. She then reached over and grabbed Rainbow's arm, letting her eyes flash a bright white once more as she peered into her friend's memories. What she saw was the motocross race from the Friendship Games.
She had fallen off of her bike due to magical plant monsters that appeared during the whole ordeal, sliding to a stop on the dirt path. Rainbow had glanced back at where her friend had fallen, but then she just faded away like she had never existed. And with that, the rainbow-haired girl continued driving along her way to victory, shaking her head to alleviate any doubt she had that someone was there. Sunset's eyes flashed back to normal as she widened them in horror.
"No!" she exclaimed, "Rainbow Dash, you saved me in that race!" she desperately noted.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow inquired, yanking her arm away as she and her friends stared at the red-and-yellow-haired skeptically.
"I can see your memories… and I'm not in them!" she pointed out to the group, causing those of the Omni Force alongside her to blink in surprise.
"And exactly how is it you can see our memories, if you don't mind me askin'?" Applejack inquired, gesturing toward her before crossing her arms underneath her chest.
"With this!" Sunset replied, showing off her pendant upon the necklace around her neck.
"Oh, pfft!" Rarity scoffed dismissively with a wave of her right hand, "It's obviously a cheap knockoff of ours…" she muttered out.
"Okay…" Ben uttered quietly, "This is starting to get into freaky territory…" he noted to the Sabertooth guild members.
"Should we try to say something?" Rogue inquired in a whisper.
"Let's let mila— I mean, let Sunset deal with it right now…" Sting insisted, correcting himself, "If things don't get any better, we'll help," he decided.
"Good call," the Biomnitrix bearer agreed.
"We got these together…" Sunset pointed out to her classmates in a desperate tone while holding onto her pendant, hoping for some semblance of friendliness from them "You were there, remember?" she questioned, sounding almost heartbroken, "Luffy and Sting worked together to stop Gloriosa, and that's when the gems came to each of us!" she explained to them.
"Who and who stopped Gloriosa?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"I'm pretty sure it was Twilight who saved the day back then…" Rainbow remarked, unconvinced by Sunset's pleas.
"So is this little group with you your new posse, darling?" Rarity assumed, as she glanced over at Ben, Sting, and Rogue.
"No, they're our friends!" Sunset exclaimed, "Rarity, Rogue's even your boyfriend!" she mentioned while gesturing to the Shadow Dragon Slayer, who blinked in surprise. The fashionista looked over at him, blinking in surprise.
"Well… I certainly wish he was…" she slyly remarked, winking at him.
"Rarity…" he uttered out, both confused and annoyed.
"Agh…" Sunset groaned, putting a hand onto her head, "Guys, you can come over here for a sec?" she called out in question to the other boys standing off to the side, enticing them to head over. The girls all blinked in confusion, exchanging unsure glances with each other.
"Is… something wrong?" Alain asked out of concern.
"Fluttershy, do you remember the Kalos Pokémon League? When Alain beat me in the semifinals?" Sunset inquired to the shy girl, getting her attention as she perked up in surprise, "You got really mad at him after he left and…" she tried to say, stopping as she noticed how meek Fluttershy was being.
"We don't know what the heck y'all are talkin' 'bout, Pokémon or whatever…" Applejack noted, keeping her glare firm on the group.
"What?" Alain uttered in shock.
"Okay, seriously…" Kyoya chimed in as he stepped forward, "let's cut the red tape and get to the real issue here," he insisted, "That starts with you cutting out whatever… this whole thing is and actually talking to us," he advised.
"I'm sorry… we're the ones not talking sensibly?" Rarity inquired, sounding offended.
"So… they don't remember anything about you?" Ben asked Sunset quietly, enticing her to nod in confirmation.
"Or you guys either apparently…" she mentioned to his surprise, "We've all just been… erased…" she pointed out.
"Hey Twilight!" Luffy greeted as he went over and embraced the spectacled girl as she yelped in surprise, "I've got something really awesome to show ya!" he noted excitedly, "You remember my Fourth Gear?" he inquired, "Well, I figured out how to—!" All of a sudden, he found himself encased in a magenta, sparkling aura. It turned out that the scientist had her hands light up before telekinetically shoving him off of her, causing him to crash onto the sand.
"Luffy!" Sunset cried out, with Alain and Rogue jogging over to help sit him up.
"Seems like y'all have some screws loose…" Applejack remarked disdainfully.
"You're the ones acting crazy here!" Kyoya shouted, "What, you don't even recognize Ben?!" he inquired aloud, gesturing toward the Omni Force leader as he blinked in surprise, "Isn't he the guy that helped you stop Sunset the first time?!" he questioned on. It was at that moment the girls turned their attention onto the Biomnitrix bearer, and their expressions softened, save for Twilight's.
"Wait… Ben?" Rainbow uttered, quite surprised.
"Yeah, it's me!" the Omni Force leader responded with a nod.
"You look… different…" the rainbow-haired girl noted, blushing a little as she stared at his abs, pectorals, and other muscles.
"Dash, listen," Ben advised, "You gotta believe me when I say that Sunset isn't the same person you remember from the Fall Formal…" he insisted, putting a hand onto her shoulder.
"Hmmm…" Pinkie hummed as she got in between the two, causing them to separate as she narrowed her eyes onto the Omni Force leader, "How do we know you're not just being tricked by Sunset?" she inquired curiously.
"Because she's my best friend," Ben answered to her surprise, glancing back at the red-and-yellow-haired girl, "And she's a really great person, too," he added with a grin.
"Ben…" she uttered, smiling with gratitude as her eyes shimmered.
"Pfft," Rarity suddenly scoffed, "Now I've heard it all…" she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Hey—"
"I can't believe you're falling so hard for her act that you think she's your 'best friend'…" Rainbow muttered with an air quotes gesture, much to Ben's shock as his eyes widened.
"Dash…" he said, sounding hurt by her claims.
"It's not an act, I promise!" Sunset exclaimed as she stepped forward, "Everyone here with me is a friend of mine and yours!" she affirmed to the girls, "Some of you are even more than just friends!" she added, hoping her words would get through to them.
"Why is she still talking to us?" Fluttershy whispered in question meekly to Applejack, who kept her glare onto Sunset. She was just befuddled by this whole situation. How did her friends not know who she had become? What happened to them? And how come they didn't know the others either?
Those questions kept ringing in Sunset's head as she placed her hand upon it, trying to think of a way to convince them. She could hear Lector and Frosch screaming as Spike continued chasing after them, enticing Sting to go over and help. Thinking quickly, the red-and-yellow-haired girl decided to ask about a few specific instances of their friendships.
"Pinkie Pie, what about when I came to your sleepover before the Battle of the Bands?" she asked of the partier girl, who seemed very confused.
"Ha!" she laughed sarcastically, "The closest you've ever come to a party of mine is freshman year, when you pretended to be Applejack and texted me," she quickly told her, "'Your party is lamer than a hungry duck in snow boots'," she recanted, taking on a country accent.
"Like I'd ever say that…" Applejack grumbled, keeping her arms folded underneath her chest.
"It really hurt my feelings…" Pinkie sadly whimpered out.
"And it wasn't very nice to the ducks, either…" Fluttershy mentioned.
"That was a long time ago…" Sunset pointed out, now very desperate. She turned her attention onto Twilight, giving off a nervous smile. "Twilight, you remember me, right?" she inquired, causing her to perk up as she was checking her drone, "We've been through so much together," she noted in remembrance, "Please…" she pleaded as her eyes started welling up with tears.
"I only met you once," the spectacled girl recalled, glancing away, "when you yelled at me at the games…" she noted sadly.
"Doesn't anyone remember that I've changed?!" Sunset exclaimed in question. Unfortunately, all she got in response were shakes of heads or outright ignorance from the girls. She was hurt. Very much more than she had ever been.
"I don't understand…" Clemont quietly said from after, "How could they just… forget about all that Sunset's done?" he wondered aloud.
"Maybe it's not their fault…" Alain suggested, narrowing his eyes in thought.
"Yeah, good point…" Ben agreed upon overhearing. He trotted over to Sunset, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Hey, let's try not to escalate this whole thing…" he advised, getting her attention, "There could be another reason behind all this…" he pointed out in a whisper. Hearing that, Sunset blinked in realization.
"Yeah…" she responded, "Maybe there is someone who can help…" she inferred aloud, "Come on," she beckoned, waving him and the others to follow her as she jogged off.
"Don't hurry back, darling!" Rarity called out in a rather mocking manner as the girls watched her leave. Rogue rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Now I remember how unbearable she used to be before we became a thing…" he grumbled out. Moments later, the group went under the lifeguard tower, with Sunset immediately reaching into her satchel as she leaned against the post.
"Huh…" Lector sighed with relief as Sting put him and Frosch down, "I thought Spike was really gonna kill us…" he admitted, shuddering a little.
"So… Pinkie and the others just… forgot about us?" Bonnie questioned, starting to whimper a little.
"Bonnie, I'm sure there's an explanation for all this," her brother assured, crouching down to her eye level and putting a hand onto her shoulder.
"You think it could be magic-related?" Kyoya guessed, getting Ben's attention.
"That's what I'm guessing Sunset assumes…" he replied, seeing her pull out her journal and open it up to a blank page, taking out her pen as well. She seemed hesitant to write though, exhaling a worried sigh.
"What if she doesn't remember me either?" she questioned aloud, turning to her best friend.
"Whether or not she does, it wouldn't hurt to try," he affirmed in reply, "It's okay," he assured, putting a hand onto her shoulder, "We're still with you," he promised. Sunset took a deep breath and steeled herself, starting to write her message.
"Dear Princess Twilight," she began, "this is gonna sound crazy, but…" she continued, growing a bit anxious, "are we friends?" she wondered, "Am I… nice?" she questioned on, sliding down the post she leaned against until she was sitting on the sand, tapping the page with her pen, "Please answer…" she pleaded, burying her head into the book. Everyone looked at her worriedly. But then, Ben noticed the shimmering light coming from the journal.
"She's answering!" he pointed out, making Sunset immediately perk up as she leaned back to read what her friend had responded with.
"Of course we're friends!" she answered. Seeing that written, Sunset sighed with relief.
"So it's only the girls who got affected?" Kyoya inquired, folding his arms over his chest.
"And Spike…" Frosch meekly mentioned. Meanwhile, the red-and-yellow-haired girl could see more being written to her from the princess.
"Are you okay?" she asked, "What's going on?" she questioned curiously.
"Kinda hard to explain…" Sunset wrote back, glancing over to her six friends on the beach enjoying their time together without her, "Might be easier in person," she concluded, "Well, not 'person', so to speak…" she corrected sheepishly. The journal page shimmered as she turned to the next one to see her friend's reply.
"Sounds good!" she said, "I'll wait to hear what you have to say!" she decided. With that, Sunset stood up and exhaled a sigh of relief.
"I'm guessing this means you're gonna head to Equestria," Ben realized, seeing her put her journal away.
"You guys should head back," she advised of her friends, "I don't want things to feel weirder for everyone than they already are," she pointed out.
"Fine by me," Kyoya responded with a shrug, "Besides, I get the feeling this isn't the girls' fault…" he mentioned.
"But figuring out what happened isn't gonna be a walk in the park…" Ben pointed out, "I'm staying with you," he decided as he approached Sunset, much to her surprise.
"Ben, you don't need to—"
"Look, you already more than made up for the crap in the past," he interjected firmly, "Whatever happens next, I'm gonna help you," he affirmed, "whether you want me to or not," he added.
"…Huh…" Sunset exhaled with a grin, "You always do know to keep everyone's hopes up…" she pointed out while shaking her head a little.
"It's become a job at this point," her best friend remarked as a snarky reply.
"Wait a sec…" Alain chimed in, getting their attentions, "What about Rainbow and Applejack's MPGs?" he asked, causing them to blink in surprise, "If they don't remember that they're part of the Omni Force, then they don't know about their MPGs either," he pointed out.
"Shoot, you're right…" Ben realized with a frustrated expression.
"I can find 'em," Sting said, making everyone turn to him, "I'll track their scents and try to stay on the down-low," he vowed.
"Why not have Rogue help?" Lector wondered, tilting his head to the side.
"With the girls under the impression they don't know us, I'm not sure being here would help the situation," Alain noted in reply.
"Yeah," Rogue agreed, "They're already upset with Sunset because of everything she used to do…" he mentioned, causing the red-and-yellow-haired girl to frown sadly, "Uh… sorry…" he immediately apologized. Kyoya elbowed him.
"Way to read the room, genius…" he remarked. Meanwhile, Luffy looked back at his girlfriend, who was continuing to make adjustments to her drone.
"Whoever did this is gonna pay big time!" he declared, punching his left hand.
"We don't know if it was someone or something yet…" Sunset noted.
"But hopefully, we can narrow down both without a problem," Ben added assuredly.
"Okay, so Sting's going to make sure Rainbow and Applejack's MPGs don't get stolen…" Lector noted, "you two are gonna hit up this Equestria place to find out what the heck's going on," he continued while gesturing towards Ben and Sunset, "and the rest of us…" he kept going.
"We'll stay back home for now," Rogue concluded for him, "Call us if you need our help with anything," he advised.
"Will do," Sunset replied with a nod, now a little more assured of herself.
And thus began the hunt for clues to uncover why the girls lost all good memories of Sunset. But as this quest began, so too did another hunt that would coincide with theirs…
FORGOTTEN FRIENDSHIP PART IV
"Hfff…" Obsidian scoffed out of disgust after sniffing at the air from the alleyway he and the other Black Order members were in. They had just been transported by Eon to Canterlot City, observing their surroundings. Maw narrowed his eyes.
"This universe does not appear to pose a unique threat…" he noted aloud.
"But a stone is here," Corvus mentioned as he walked up to his telekinetic brother's side, "If someone were able to wield its power…" he started to infer.
"The only true wielder of the stones was our father," Proxima chimed in seriously, "But even he succumbed to their power together…" she noted in frustration.
"It matters not whether one here can wield the stone," Maw said, "Our mission is to retrieve it along with the others," he pointed out, "As such, we'll separate for the time being in our search," he decided. The rest of the Black Order members nodded in agreement, ready to see their mission through. Back at Canterlot High, Sunset made sure her satchel was securely upon her person as she and Ben were dressed in their regular clothes, about to head into the mirror portal to Equestria.
"How long do you think you guys are gonna be gone?" Sting inquired, getting their attentions as they looked to see him approach, dressed in his regular clothes as well.
"Probably a couple hours," the Omni Force leader replied, "If you get both MPGs before we're back, just wait over at Sunset's place for us," he advised. His best friend reached into her satchel, pulling out a set of keys on a keyring. She took one off and tossed it to Sting.
"That's my spare," she said, "Please don't lose it," she requested.
"Got it," the White Dragon Slayer replied with a nod, "I'll start looking for the MPGs here," he decided, "Wouldn't wanna wind up going over and breaking into AJ and Rainbow's houses…" he noted as he scratched at his right cheek.
"Yeah, good point…" Sunset agreed with a sheepish grin, "Just… try not to make too much of a scene," she insisted in a pleading tone.
"Promise," he replied as a vow, "Good luck," he remarked in farewell. Both the red-and-yellow-haired girl and the Omni Force leader nodded before turning and walking toward the mirror portal. They glanced back and forth to make sure nobody else was going to follow them.
They then entered in a warbling flash, causing Sting to reflexively shut his eyes. When he opened them, he saw that they were gone. He turned around, jogging towards the school's main entrance.
Inside her castle, Twilight paced back and forth worriedly in front of the portal. Ever since Sunset's messages had been relayed to her, she wondered what sort of problem was occurring. She had heard about the magical issues going on in the human world, but they had been quickly resolved.
So in this instance where her friend needed her aid, she was very concerned. Just then, the buzz of the mirror portal caught her attentions as she noticed sparks of magic coming from it, making her smile excitedly. Emerging in a flash of light were Sunset and Ben, who both had turned into horses, with the former back to being a unicorn, while the latter was a green-coated colt. They both were standing on their hind hooves.
"Twilight!" Sunset exclaimed in greeting, about to embrace the Princess of Friendship. But she lost her balance, falling forward. Thankfully, she managed to catch herself.
"Sunset?" Twilight uttered, seeing her friend laugh nervously.
"Whoops…" she said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with her front left hoof, "I was trying to hug you…" she pointed out, followed by granting a princess a quick embrace, which she returned.
"Hey Twilight," Ben greeted, getting her attention as he stood on all four of his hooves, "Been a long time, huh?" he noted aloud.
"Yeah," she agreed with a nod as she and Sunset separated, followed by giving off a concerned look, "So, what's been happening?" she asked of them. It took a few minutes for the Omni Force squadron leaders to explain the situation as best they could. Afterwards, they exited the library with the princess, who was evidently troubled. "This is bad, you two," she pointed out as she glanced off to the side of the hall they were trotting down, "It's way beyond anything I've ever heard of," she admitted to their concern, "Although…" she continued nervously.
"What?" Sunset inquired, somewhat confused as they stopped.
"I just had an idea," Twilight confirmed as a reply, "But you might not like it…" she mentioned.
"I'll do anything to get my friends back, Twilight," Sunset stated firmly, evidently determined.
"There is one pony who might be able to help," the princess noted to her, "but I don't know if you two want to see each other…" she added grimly. Hearing that made Ben blink in surprise.
"Who?" Sunset asked. However, she only needed a moment to deduce who her friend was referring to. "…Oh…" she uttered out, glancing away nervously.
"Huh…" her best friend exhaled, "Guess we're taking another trip…" he realized in frustration. Fortunately, it wasn't long before he, Sunset and Twilight arrived at the royal palace in Canterlot, heading down the hall to the throne room doors. As they opened up, the Princess of Friendship tried to give her friend a reassuring grin, but she was far too anxious about this incoming meeting. Sitting atop the throne and unfolding her large wings as she stood up was Princess Celestia, while her sister, Princess Luna, stood beside her.
Sunset was very nervous as she could feel her old mentor's eyes stare at her. The shame of all she had done as her apprentice washed over her. And Ben could tell how guilty she must've felt as he trotted beside her.
"Hey…" he said quietly, getting her attention, "You're gonna be okay…" he promised reassuringly. With that, Sunset took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. They finally came to a stop at the steps to the throne, with Twilight giving off a nervous smile as she saw how hunched over her friend was.
"Sooo, Princess Celestia…" she began, giving off a nervous laugh, "You'll never guess who's back…" she remarked while gesturing to Sunset, "Actually, maybe you can guess, 'cause she's right here…" she realized sheepishly, "But, um…" she continued, noticing how indifferent the Princess of the Sun appeared to be about the current situation. She gave off a wide smile. "Am I helping?" she whispered over to her unicorn friend. Ben smacked himself in the face with his front left hoof.
"No, you're not…" he grumbled out. Sunset decided it was finally time to speak up. She exhaled a sigh to calm herself again… and stepped forward.
"Princess Celestia…" she began, "the last time we saw each other, I was your snide little pupil who betrayed and abandoned you," she recanted ashamedly, causing Twilight to grimace.
"I wouldn't have said it that way…" she quietly noted aloud, clearing her throat with a cough, "What Sunset means to say is—"
"I mean that I come before you a changed pony," Sunset interjected, holding her front right hoof out to stop her friend from speaking for her, "humbly asking for forgiveness, guidance, and knowledge," she requested, placing her front left hoof over her heart. Celestia stared down at her still. She folded her wings against her sides and started trotting down from her throne.
There was a palpable tension in the air. The unicorn grimaced as she saw her mentor come down, stopping in front of her. After everything, it did seem she wasn't going to assist her.
"Or… I can just go…" she concluded, backing up a step, "and you never have to see me again…" she added ashamedly, shutting her eyes. However, Celestia put her front right hoof onto her former pupil's chin, tilting it up so that she would look at her. And to her surprise, she smiled.
"I've missed you, Sunset Shimmer," she confessed, sounding grateful to see her. Needless to say, the unicorn was stunned by the sudden forgiveness.
"I… I'm so sorry…" she breathed out, seemingly on the brink of crying. But she steeled herself, allowing her former mentor to lovingly embrace her, as she did the same. All the while, Ben breathed a sigh of relief, while Twilight squeaked happily, glad that things hadn't gone awry as her smile was very wide.
"Princess," the Omni Force leader chimed in, getting her attention, "Uh, Princesses," he corrected upon seeing Luna trot down, clearing his throat with a quick cough into his hoof, "we've got a big problem on our hands that we think you can help us with," he told them. A few minutes later, the five of them were wandering down one of the palace halls aligned with lavender flowers.
"I am not familiar with the exact spell that could have erased your friends' memories," Celestia admitted to Sunset, "But it sounds like Equestrian Magic is at work in your world," she noted curiously.
"Hmm, indeed…" her sister agreed with a hum, "The toilings of this nefarious enchantment could portend unimaginable catastrophe if left unchecked…" she pointed out, while Sunset was trying to stifle a giggle. Twilight noticed, smacking her with her left wing. Luna took notice, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Sorry…" Sunset apologized, "I'm just used to hearing you say no student parking in the faculty lot…" she recanted, "Heh-heh…" she chuckled nervously.
"This 'faculty lot' you speak of sounds like a place of great power…" the Princess of the Moon noted in response, taking matters rather seriously. That caused both Sunset and Twilight to stop in surprise. They both giggled though, amused by Luna's obliviousness.
"So in other words, we should find a way to reverse whatever happened soon," Ben pointed out, "Otherwise, bad things could get worse…" he mentioned while narrowing his eyes.
"A very astute observation, Ben," Luna confirmed in response.
"The answers you seek are in the Canterlot Library," Celestia told the group. And like that, they ventured to the location moments later. As they entered, Sunset, who was looking around curiously, widened her eyes as she caught sight of an armored colt who looked very familiar. She shook her head and looked back at him in disbelief, only for Ben to tap her head with his hoof to get her attention. She blushed sheepishly, following him and the others inside.
The library was vast, filled with books and scrolls on the two floors it had. Sunset found herself grimacing worriedly again. This was going to be another hurdle to overcome.
"There's over a million books in here…" she noted aloud, worried that trying to find something would take far too long.
"Ha, I wish!" Twilight laughed out, getting her attention, "But don't worry," she reassured, giving her friend a light bump, "You're looking at somepony who knows this place like the back of her hoof," she proclaimed proudly, enticing Sunset to roll her eyes with a smile.
"Yeah… I'm never gonna get used to using… pony-isms…" Ben admitted with a shake of his head. At that moment, they noticed that Celestia and Luna were heading down a specific pathway.
"Where are you going, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.
"To the restricted section," the Princess of the Sun replied as she and her sister trotted on.
"There's a…" Twilight uttered, "a reh… a reh… a reh…" she breathed out repeatedly, starting to hyperventilate as those beside her gave off small smiles.
"Breathe, Twilight," Sunset advised before skipping along after the other two princesses with Ben. The Princess of Friendship managed to gain some semblance of composure back, following her colleagues down to the end of the hallway. There, Celestia and Luna lit their horns up in their respective magical auras, making two books with sun and moon markings tilt back. A clank was heard before the section of the shelves moved aside, revealing a secret passageway.
The two sisters looked back at their colleagues, who were surprised. Twilight more so as her jaw had basically dropped. Fortunately, Sunset cheekily went ahead and closed her friend's mouth from below with her hoof. A moment later, the group of five ventured down the passage, which was alit with torches on the walls. They arrived at a door, which both Celestia and Luna opened with their magic.
"Whoa…" Ben uttered in amazement upon seeing what was inside.
"Huhhhhh…" Twilight gasped out, prolonging her awe at the sight of the books in this secret part of the Canterlot Library, "Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!" she exclaimed repeatedly, "So many books all unread!" she pointed out as her wings were opened, "Ancient historical artifacts!" she screamed, letting out a sharp gasp, "I just… I thought…!" she tried to say as she used her magic to levitate a few of the books over to herself, "I can't…!" she breathed out excitedly, wheezing afterwards.
"You sure you're up for helping me go through all this stuff?" Sunset inquired cheekily.
"DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!" Twilight pleaded desperately as she zipped up to her friend.
"Okay, we won't…" Ben assured in reply with a nervous chuckle.
"I should warn you, however," Celestia chimed in, getting their attentions as they looked over to see her standing beside a particular machine, "The archives' mechanical catalog has not been… well-maintained…" she admitted, pointing out the cobwebs that were formed upon it. Sunset trotted over to the machine curiously. She pushed the lever, and immediately, dust spewed out from the device as she stepped back with a cough. One of the pieces flew right off, hitting Ben in the face.
"Ow!" he yelped in pain.
"Oh, sorry!" his best friend apologized as she went over to check on him, "Are you okay?" she asked, seeing him rub his hurting head.
"I could go Jury Rigg and fix this whole thing…" he pointed out after a groan, seeing how busted the catalogue machine was, "But…" he continued.
"Guess we'll have to read everything~!" Twilight sang excitedly as she zipped over to their surprise, "C'mon!" she beckoned, flying up to the next floor of the restricted section.
"Yeah… I don't wanna get in the way of her fun…" Ben admitted with a shrug, seeing the Princess of Friendship excitedly pull books out from the shelves with her magic.
"No way!" she exclaimed upon noticing one hardcover in particular, "Can you believe they have Canterlot Cantabiles Volume Thirty-One?!" she questioned loudly, "You heard me! Thirty-One!" she repeated excitedly, "Sunset…" she breathed out, "that's when it gets goooooooood!" she exclaimed, evidently elated, "HUH!" she sharply gasped, "Over here!" she yelped as she dashed over to another part of the section, "An original Windigo Weather Warning from the pre-Equestrian era!" she pointed out as Sunset sat herself down and let off a shrug, exchanging a laugh with her former mentor and her best friend, "Oh, my goodness! I can't! I just can't!" Twilight exclaimed on as she kept looking through the books.
"Okay, time to find what we're looking for," Ben decided, having the left Biomnitrix gauntlet shine a bright green. An emerald light enveloped his body as he transformed in between Sunset and Celestia, who reflexively shielded their eyes. When they opened, they saw that the Omni Force leader had transformed into a velociraptor-like creature with black and blue skin. He had black orbs on his feet and bore a black conoid helmet with a blue face, green eyes, black lips, and stripes above and on the right side of his eyes. He wore the Biomnitrix symbol on his green chest and had five blue stripes on his tail.
"XLR-Eight?" Sunset uttered out, raising an eyebrow, "Wouldn't it make more sense to use Brainstorm or someone else that's smart?" she inquired of the Kineceleran.
"Hey, the sooner we find clues, the better," he retorted in reply, "So speed-reading's the game!" he decided, zipping over to a bookshelf and grabbing each book from it. He gathered them together in a pile before quickly flipping through each of them. Sunset just exhaled a sigh with a smile.
"Everyone's got their own pace…" she realized, rolling her eyes. Having a reddish, sparkling magic surround her horn, she telekinetically brought a book over to herself. A while passed as she and the others searched through the restricted section, reading whatever they found to try and find some clue.
Sunset watched the Kineceleran speed about, flipping through pages of books over and over, clearly not reading them as thoroughly as he should've. She sighed, continuing to read at her own pace. Unfortunately, it seemed as if every book and scroll they were checking didn't have any details they were looking for. At some point, the unicorn closed a ginormous book, letting out a tired yawn.
"Did you know Chancellor Puddinghead tried to pass a law mandating earth ponies drink carrot juice at every meal?" she questioned over to Twilight, "I do. Know that. Now…" she grumbled, leaning against the desk with her hooves crossed.
"I feel I've been reading through a million books for an hour…" XLR8 complained as he sat down on the floor, letting a green light envelop his body before transforming back into the earth pony version of Ben.
"Awww…" Twilight said with a nervous smile, knowing that the two of them were obviously upset at their lack of success, "Sounds like you got to read all the fun books," she noted, surrounded by hardcovers on the rug she lied upon. She let out a yawn of her own. "We should probably take a break from looking…" she advised to her friends, who both sighed sadly, with Sunset using her magic to move the books and scrolls upon the table back to where they belonged in the section. "Because I found something!" the Princess of Friendship suddenly exclaimed with a bright smile as she zipped over.
"What?!" Ben yelped in surprise, "I've been looking through every book and scroll in this place for the past… however long it's been!" he pointed out emphatically.
"You mean you were skimming," Sunset retorted with a smirk, much to his chagrin as he frowned.
"Point taken…" he grumbled out, trotting over to the table. Twilight was using her magic to levitate a small chest over.
"You're familiar with the Seven Trials of Clover the Clever?" she inquired of her friends, setting the chest down.
"Uh…" Ben uttered, completely befuddled.
"Obviously," Sunset responded, arching an eyebrow, "Why?" she asked.
"Well, first of all," Twilight began, opening the chest telekinetically as there were cobwebs in it, "these date back to before the founding of Equestria," she pointed out, magically pulling out a scroll from the chest, "Look at this," she said, unraveling the scroll to reveal a peculiar object with a turquoise, eye-shaped marking at its center, with other turquoise markings around it. There was also writing beside it.
"'The Memory Stone'…" Sunset read as Ben came over to get a better look, "That sounds promising," she noted, earning a nod of agreement from the alicorn.
"It belonged to an evil sorceress who was practically invincible," she told her friends, "With the Memory Stone, she could erase any memory from anypony," she explained on, "Even fragments of memories," she mentioned while looking through the rest of the depictions upon the scroll.
"Fragments like… memories of me being nice?!" Sunset guessed, sounding quite shocked.
"Mm-hmm," Twilight responded with a nod, "Clover the Clever knew the sorceress had to be stopped and the stone destroyed," she continued, "so he chased her across land and sea," she said, "But every time he got close, the sorceress would erase his memory and escape," she explained on, "But he kept finding her," he added.
"How?" Ben asked as both he and Sunset looked over to the Princess of Friendship.
"These scraps of parchment," she answered, "He secretly wrote everything down so he'd know what had happened and where to go next," she told them thoroughly, "Like a trail of bread crumbs," she simplified.
"Clever!" Sunset complimented, only to blink in surprise, "Ohhhh," she uttered in realization, "Clover the— Yeah, got it," she said, not wanting the conversation to delve into pointless banter.
"What happened on the other side of this portal?" Ben asked, gesturing towards the image where the sorceress was escaping from the cloaked Clover. Twilight used her magic to roll the scroll further, but it ended abruptly as it appeared to have been ripped off.
"The last page is missing!" she yelped in surprise, "Clover must've hid it to keep anypony else from finding the Memory Stone," she realized, starting to panic a little, "…Sunset, what if the Memory Stone ended up in your world?" she inferred, pointing at the portal on the scroll.
"And someone is using it to make everyone hate me again…" the unicorn realized.
"But who?" both she and Twilight wondered aloud.
"Whoever it is, we'll have to hope we can figure it out soon," Ben concluded, getting their attentions, "Right now, we've got the answers we need," he pointed out, "Now it's time to get results," he decided firmly.
"Huh…" Sunset sighed, "I sure hope Sting got everything done easier than we did…" she said aloud.
"Your boyfriend?" Twilight assumed. Immediately, the unicorn went red in the face.
"H-He's not my boyfriend!" she stammered out to the princess' surprise. She glanced over to Ben with a skeptical expression.
"Eh… touchy subject…" he noted dismissively. Though he did share Sunset's concern. They could only hope that the White Dragon Slayer could get the MPGs easily before someone could take them.
X
Sting was surprised at how easy things were for him. After Sunset and Ben had left, he went into the school to find Applejack and Rainbow's MPGs. It wasn't hard to deduce where the cowgirl's locker was, as he could smell the fragrance of apples from it.
He didn't want to make it look like he had been there by breaking the lock, so he knelt down and put his ear up to it. Three clicks later, he unlocked it, opening the door to see the contents inside. He looked around curiously at the folders, binders, and other knickknacks Applejack had inside. And then, he smiled to find the MPG he was looking for on the top shelf of the locker. He pulled it down, exhaling a breath of relief.
"That's one down," he noted, pocketing it into his vest, "Now for Rainbow's…" he said to himself, sniffing at the air. It was a little more difficult to deduce the athlete's scent, especially as it was likely to be muddled with sweat and other smells. But he was determined to see the job through for his friends' sakes.
He stopped for a moment to think, staring down at the floor. His crush on Sunset had lasted quite a while and didn't show any sign of disappearing. And it wouldn't be easy to just bottle those feelings away forever. Before he could think more about it, he heard something shuffle nearby. Cautiously, he peeked around the corner, assuming that it was probably just some students in school for club activities or some faculty. But to his shock, it was actually Proxima and Corvus wandering about the hall.
"I can't believe we're resorting to a mere search at this rate…" the former grumbled out as she came to a stop, "Are we sure that this is what we truly desire, beloved?" she asked of her husband, who stopped.
"If Maw is still willing to guide us, then we shall continue our quest," he affirmed in response, "For now, we find whatever stone has been lost in this pitiful realm…" he muttered out seriously, trekking on. Sting ducked back behind the corner, quite stunned. The two Black Order members definitely weren't from this universe based on looks alone. He pulled out his own MPG, ready to contact Ben and Sunset to inform them of the situation as he started to sneak away. But the squeak of his foot against the floor echoed through the hall.
"What was that?!" Proxima shouted in question, quickly running over.
"Oh, shoot…" the White Dragon Slayer grumbled, putting his device away as he started to run off. However, Proxima turned the corner and aimed her spear out, firing out a blue burst of light from it. Sting found himself struck in the back, falling over onto the floor in a grunt. "Ow…!" he groaned out, gritting his teeth together. He immediately pushed himself onto his feet and whipped around, cloaking his right fist in a bright white light just as his foe was attempting to strike him with her spear again. His counter knocked her back as she slid along the floor, coming to a stop just as her husband joined her.
"Ergh…" she growled out, "He's one of them, Corvus…" she noted with a glare towards the Sabertooth guildmaster.
"Huh?" he uttered in confusion, arching an eyebrow. The glaive-wielding alien tightened his grip on his weapon, sharing his wife's glare towards Sting.
"So it would seem…" he muttered out, approaching the White Dragon Slayer. Reflexively, he cloaked both of his fists in a white light, quickly countering the swipes that his opponent attempted. At one point, he barely managed to stop the blade from piercing his right eye. "Where is the stone?!" Corvus questioned loudly.
"What stone?!" Sting asked back, "And who the heck are you guys?!" he questioned on. Another blue blast of light shot from Proxima's spear struck him the stomach, sending him flying back until he crashed into a row of lockers. "Agh…" he groaned out in agony, rubbing the back of his head.
"He's not the same one we faced with the others upon Titan…" Proxima pointed out to her beloved as she went up to his side.
"Yes, of course…" he agreed, "He's from the past… and far weaker…" he noted.
"Past? Weaker?" Sting repeated, standing up in a grunt, "I'm guessing you're not from around here…" he concluded, "time and place, that is," he mentioned as a correction.
"Hmph," Proxima huffed, "It'll matter not when we kill you…" she added as she and Corvus approached the White Dragon Slayer, "But before we do," she continued, "you'll tell us where the Infinity Stone is…" she declared firmly, narrowing her eyes.
"What the heck in an Infinity Stone?" Sting inquired back. He then blinked, wondering if the object they were speaking of was in some way related to whatever caused the girls to lose their memories of the good times with Sunset. Unfortunately, the Black Order members noticed his expression.
"You know something…" Corvus realized, lunging out at him.
"Ah!" he gasped about to take the glaive's blade to his shoulder. However, it was suddenly stopped. The Sabertooth guildmaster looked in surprise to see a girl there dressed in a black-and-yellow costume with an owl-like mask as a cowl and a belt with an x upon the buckle, having brown hair that hung freely down to her back. But what was even stranger was the metal claws that were protruding from her knuckles on both hands, with her left having caught the blade.
She swung it away, growling angrily at the Black Order members. Meanwhile, Sting was just baffled by the situation. He had no idea what was even happening anymore…
And thus, this brings an end to the second chapter of our story on… well, not really a cliffhanger. You'll understand in due time as we venture further into this tale. But for now, I think it's time for us to take a little break.
This is Xiaomei, signing off for now!
END
Not much to say about this chapter other than I really liked Sunset's scenes with Celestia and Twilight, along with her pleading to her friends in the original canon. I hope I was able to at least emulate that here. Anyways, we're finally going to be getting back to "The Challenge of a Lifetime" next week, so I hope you're excited for the start of that mini-arc!
See you all later!