And we're back for two straight chapters of "Mind"! I'm especially excited because the conclusion of this first half of the story is going to be quite something. Anyways, I'll admit that this section of the Forgotten Friendship story is my least favorite. So I hope that I can enhance it with what I'll bring to the table here with JoJo knd's help!
Please enjoy!
MIND
Welcome back, everyone. I'm sure you're all thrilled to know how this story goes from where we left off. Sunset and the others have formed a temporary allegiance with Trixie of all people in their hunt for the Memory Stone.
But just as they've gotten started, Princess Twilight uncovered a grave detail regarding the stone's power. In the meantime, it seems the Black Order is planning to make their move on Canterlot High soon. So many stories are getting closer to intertwining.
Though I do have to wonder… how are Izuku and his friends doing?
Perched atop a building and looking over Canterlot City, Izuku was dressed in his costume as he let the wind rush through his hair. The Next Avengers were alongside him as well, watching people on the streets below go about their days normally. Azari then walked up to the freckled teen's side.
"It's already been a few days, and we haven't found anything…" he pointed out in frustration, "You think Paradox could've been wrong about where we needed to go?" he inquired curiously.
"No," Izuku responded with a shake of his head, "I'm sure Laura's gonna get back to us soon with an idea as to where we should look," he noted confidently.
"Paradox did say we should try to not interfere with events of the past," James mentioned.
"Indeed," Torunn agreed, "Yet it begs the question as to why he chose to ask for our help…" she added curiously, putting her left hand onto her chin.
"Yeah, good point…" Azari replied as he folded his arms over his chest, "Why couldn't he have told the people in this time on the Omni Force about the stone here?" he asked.
"Probably because they can't know the truth about the Infinity Stones," Henry chimed in, "At least not yet…" he mentioned.
"Ugh…" Francis groaned, "He could just snap his fingers and end all this in a second, couldn't he?" he guessed.
"Not if outside forces are keeping him from doing anything," Izuku chimed in as an answer before he stood up fully, getting his attention along with those of the others, "Let's go meet up with Laura," he insisted of the group, "Hopefully, she's got an idea as to where the stone might be," he said, having red lines of energy form along his body before green sparks of electricity crackled around him.
"Fine by me," James responded with a grin.
"Same here," Azari added as he let his armor materialize over his body. Pym deployed his helmet, Francis grabbed his bow, and Torunn spun her sword around before gripping it tightly. The group was ready to take their search a step further. And theirs wasn't the only one being conducted…
It was noon at Canterlot High as students were gathered in the cafeteria for lunch, with Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow conversing at their table happily. Popping up beside them was Pinkie, resulting in a chorus of giggling amongst the girls. Watching them from another table afar was Sunset.
Hearing her friends laugh without her made a lonely and frustrating feeling bubble in her stomach. Her clenched fists trembled before she shoved her lunch tray forward. Insecurely, she folded her arms over her chest. It was like a part of her life had just been taken from her. And she was even more enraging to not know who was behind it. At least not yet.
"A cafeteria full of suspects, two detectives, and only one Memory Stone," Trixie listed off, getting her attention as she saw the amateur magician come over and sit down beside her with a salad bowl on her tray, "Seems impossible…" she dramatically noted, "but so does pulling a rabbit out of a hat," she pointed out, "and I do that all the time," she boasted, folding her arms behind her head.
"Right…" Ben's voice grumbled, getting their attentions as they saw him sit down across from them with Sting, "So, how are we gonna play this?" he inquired of those at the table.
"Well, I suppose the Great and Powerful Trixie can investigate much better with a man like yourself…" Trixie flirted as her eyelids fluttered, being evidently enamored with the Biomnitrix bearer. He merely rolled his eyes.
"You take her, and I take Sting?" he assumed of Sunset, who sighed.
"Deal," she said, causing the periwinkle-haired girl to gasp in shock.
"Ugh, fine…" she groaned out afterwards with a pouting expression, "Anyways, let's talk motive," she insisted, pulling out a notebook and flipping through its pages while having a pen ready to write with, "Who here hates you enough to erase everyone's good memories of you?" she asked of Sunset, raising an eyebrow as she looked around.
"If you go back far enough…" the Equestrian Magic user began as she could see the judging stares and hateful expressions on the faces of anyone who even looked at her, "everyone…" she finally answered, lowering her head with a sigh.
"'Known enemies… all…'" Trixie wrote in her notebook as she leaned against Sunset, who sighed again.
"Hey," Sting chimed in, reaching over to put a reassuring hand onto her shoulder to get her attention, "We're gonna figure this out and make it all right," he promised, "So don't worry," he insisted with a grin. The red-and-yellow-haired girl managed to smile back.
"Thanks, Sting," she said in gratitude. From the nearby table, Rainbow curiously glanced over to see them conversing.
"So we'll ask if anyone's seen the stone like the drawing here," Ben decided, having just received a copy of the Memory Stone's depiction from Sunset.
"How are we gonna split ourselves up through the school though?" the White Dragon Slayer asked, arching an eyebrow.
"You guys can stick to the halls," the Equestrian Magic user replied, "Honestly, you being guests is already looking weird enough…" she pointed out sheepishly, "We'll meet up in a few hours in the computer lab," she said, starting to eat her sandwich.
"Hm," Trixie huffed with a shrug, "Sounds fair, I suppose…" she mumbled out.
"Okay, guess we're all set…" Sting concluded.
"Yeah," Ben replied with a nod, "Let's find whoever did this," he insisted firmly. Meanwhile, Rainbow narrowed her eyes onto the Omni Force leader. For some reason, she had a strange feeling from Saturday's encounter with him when he basically threatened to attack her. It felt familiar for some reason. And she wanted to know why.
FORGOTTEN FRIENDSHIP PART IV
A thermometer was placed into the mouth of an ill Bulk Biceps from Nurse Redheart as he sat upon the table. The day had gone by normally enough when dealing with sickly students. But things were about to change as the door burst open. Standing there was Trixie with a confident look in her eyes, while Sunset stood behind her, evidently nervous about how they were starting their investigation.
"G-G-Good afternoon, ladies," the nurse stuttered in greeting, while Bulk fidgeted his fingers, "Y-You feeling okay?" she questioned out of concern with another stammer.
"That depends on how well you answer my questions…" Trixie responded as she came over to Redheart's surprise, followed by giving off an annoyed expression while putting her hands onto her hips, "Has anyone come in complaining of memory problems in the last few weeks?" she inquired to both the nurse and her patient, narrowing her eyes onto them as she was ready to take notes.
"Not that I can recall…" the former of the two responded while arching an eyebrow, confused as to what the amateur magician was referring to, while Bulk seemed rather meek.
"You can't recall?!" Trixie repeated dramatically with a gasp, heading back over to Sunset, "We're too late!" she whispered to her. The Equestrian Magic user merely rolled her eyes with her arms folded underneath her chest. She could only hope that Ben and Sting were having better luck on their end…
"If everyone's memories are getting hijacked by this stone," the White Dragon Slayer began as he and the Omni Force leader trekked down the hall with the drawing in the latter's right hand, "then isn't it kinda pointless to try and ask if they've seen it?" he questioned.
"We don't have any other ideas," Ben pointed out, shaking his head, "Besides, if we wind up finding the person responsible, we can get the stone and then figure out how to reverse all that it did," he explained on.
"Right…" Sting agreed, scratching at his right cheek as he looked off to the side for a moment, "Listen… Ben—"
"I know I lashed out, and that was uncalled for," the Omni Force leader interjected to his surprise, "So… I'm sorry," he apologized, coming to a stop as he took a deep breath, "But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna do whatever it takes to help get things back to normal for Sunset's sake," he affirmed determinedly, walking off. The Sabertooth guildmaster followed closely, wondering if his colleague was getting too close to the case. Even though he himself admitted that he had been too close to certain issues in the past that had nothing to do with him, he thought it was a little a hypocritical of Ben to seem so attached. They rounded a corner and…
"WHOA!" a voice yelped, catching their attentions as they saw Scootaloo coming towards them on her scooter, immediately screeching to a halt in front of them as she turned. However, she fell off, thankfully winding up caught by the Omni Force leader.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, setting her back onto her feet.
"Yeah, sorry…" she answered with an apology as she sheepishly grinned, taking off her helmet, "Maybe Miss Cheerilee had a point about scooting in the halls…" she mentioned in admittance as she chuckled.
"Well, at least you wore a helmet…" Ben remarked.
"Scootaloo!" a pair of voices called out, belonging to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as they jogged over, getting their attentions.
"Hey girls," she greeted with a wave.
"Are you okay?" Sweetie asked out of concern, "You were going pretty fast around that corner…" she noted in remembrance.
"I… almost crashed…" Scootaloo sheepishly confessed with a blush while fidgeting her fingers, "But he caught me," she pointed out, gesturing to Ben, who chuckled.
"Glad to help," he said as he crouched down to the eye level of the trio of girls, "Actually, we're hoping you can help us, too," he mentioned.
"Whatcha' need?" Apple Bloom asked, arching an eyebrow curiously. Reaching into his pocket, the Omni Force leader took out the sheet of paper that had the drawing of the Memory Stone upon it.
"Have any of you seen something that looks like this?" he inquired of the trio.
"Nuh-uh," all three of them answered with shakes of their heads.
"What's it supposed to be?" Sweetie questioned.
"It's some kind of magic item that can mess with memories," Sting answered, getting their attentions.
"And it's already being used by someone in this school to make everyone forget… certain things," Ben mentioned, not wanting to tell the girls about who they were helping just in case they had also been affected.
"Ya need some help lookin' for it?" Apple Bloom guessed, folding her arms over her chest.
"If it's not too much trouble, that'd be great…" the Omni Force leader replied, giving off a grateful smile.
"No problem!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "Anything for Rainbow Dash's awesome boyfriend!" she mentioned as a remark. Hearing that caused both Ben and Sting to blink in surprise.
"Wait… what did you just say?" the former inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… I said we'd be glad to help…" Scootaloo answered as she and the girls gave off confused looks.
"No, you said that I was Rainbow's boyfriend…" Ben recanted.
"Well… yeah," Scootaloo noted with a shrug, "And that's Sunset's boyfriend!" she mentioned while pointing at Sting, who immediately broke out into an embarrassed blush.
"Uh…" he uttered out, nervously rubbing the back of his head as he heard Ben sigh.
"Okay, so you haven't gotten your memories erased…" he realized, turning to the Crusaders.
"Uh… we haven't?" Sweetie inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait a sec…" Apple Bloom said, getting their attentions, "Did y'all see that Sunset wasn't sittin' with Applejack and the others at lunch?" she asked of her friends.
"Yeah…" Scootaloo replied, "She was sitting with Trixie of all people…" she recalled, quite perplexed.
"But isn't Sunset a good friend with Rarity, Rainbow, and the others?" Sweetie questioned on, quite confused.
"HUH!" Apple Bloom sharply gasped, "Unless whoever's got that magic item decided to erase everyone's good memories of Sunset, makin' her public enemy number one!" she concluded thoroughly. Ben and Sting were left flabbergasted with widened eyes. "Uh… am I in the ballpark or…?" Apple Bloom started to guess.
"No, you knocked it out of the park…" Ben quipped in reply with a chuckle, "And that also means we can trust you," he mentioned.
"Why would someone wanna erase everyone's good memories of Sunset Shimmer?" Scootaloo asked.
"That's what we're trying to find out," Sting affirmed in response, "And hopefully, we'll get this Memory Stone thing and get everyone's memories back," he mentioned, gesturing toward the drawing the Omni Force leader had.
"Then we'll ask around!" Sweetie decided, taking her phone out to snap a quick picture of the drawing for reference.
"We're gonna be wandering around the halls if you need us," Ben assured, "If you find anything, let us know, please," he requested of the trio.
"You got it!" Apple Bloom assured in response, "Come on, Crusaders!" she beckoned, "Let's find that darn Memory Stone thing!" she insisted as she jogged off.
"Yeah!" Sweetie exclaimed, hurrying after her. Scootaloo was about to follow them, but then stopped as she remembered something, blinking in realization.
"Wait…" she uttered, turning to Ben, "if good memories of Sunset were erased from everybody else," she continued, "does that mean Rainbow Dash doesn't know you're her boyfriend?" she guessed in concern.
"Huh…" the Omni Force leader sighed out, "We're gonna fix this," he vowed, "So don't worry," he assured with a smile. The little girl smiled back, turning around and grabbing her scooter as she ran to catch up with her friends. Sting took notice of how troubled the Biomnitrix bearer seemed as he stood back up.
"Hey, Ben—"
"I'll be fine," he affirmed, interrupting the White Dragon Slayer, "At least now we know that not everyone at the school got their memories erased," he pointed out, "Let's keep asking around," he insisted, walking off in the opposite direction.
"Huh…" the Sabertooth guildmaster sighed. Obviously, there were a lot of things that Ben wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. So he inwardly vowed to do whatever it took to find the magic artifact with him.
X
Later that day in the library, Micro was typing on a keyboard while looking at some charts and graphs he had up on the computer screen. However, he noticed a familiar pair of figures in the screen's reflection, belonging to Sunset and Trixie. He gasped, whipping around to see both girls coming. Immediately, he reached into his backpack, rummaging through it before pulling something out.
"Will you accept a half-chewed carrot stick?" he nervously asked as he held up the partly-eaten vegetable, fearing that the red-and-yellow-haired girl was going to attack him. She, on the other hand, was both perplexed and disgusted.
"What? Ew!" she said, "I told you I don't want your lunch money," she pointed out to the nerdy teen, "and I definitely don't want your lunch…" she mentioned, noticing Trixie eagerly take the carrot into her hand to give it a big bite.
"Speak for yourself. Mmm, thanks," she mumbled, munching on the vegetable as Sunset watched out of disgust, seeing her toss the last piece of the carrot into her mouth before chewing and swallowing, putting her hand onto the back of the nerdy teen's swivel chair, "Word around school is you know a lot about erasing memory…" she accused of Micro, pressing her right pointer finger against his chest.
"I erased a ton of memory just this morning," he confirmed, adjusting his glasses.
"You did?!" Sunset asked, surprised that a lead had suddenly been discovered, while Trixie grinned proudly. They watched as Micro turned around and pulled something else out from his backpack.
"Four terabytes of quantel-accelerflex memory to be precise," he told the girls, showing them his phone, smugly adjusting his glasses. Not even a second went by before both Sunset and Trixie gave off looks of disappointment. The former rolled her eyes before the latter gestured for them to leave, which they did as the red-and-yellow-haired girl nodded. "…How come no one's ever impressed by that?" Micro wondered, sounding hurt.
Back in the halls, Ben and Sting were still asking people if they had seen the Memory Stone, showing them the drawing they had. Unfortunately, everyone had the same answer, saying that they hadn't seen anything like it. The White Dragon Slayer could see the increasing frustration upon his colleague's face.
"Hey, none of us were expecting to find the guy doing this that easy…" he pointed out, "You gotta relax…" he insisted, putting his hand onto the Biomnitrix bearer's shoulder.
"How can I relax when my best friend's getting judged for things she already made up for?" he questioned back.
"Hey, she's my friend, too," Sting noted in a whisper, "You can't just expect me to stand by on this either," he mentioned with a shake of head.
"And you're not as worried because…?" Ben started to inquire.
"Because I trust that we'll get to the bottom of this," the Sabertooth guildmaster responded, "We always do," he added assuredly, "So try not to stress yourself out over it," he advised.
"Huh…" the Omni Force leader exhaled, "Okay… I'll try…" he affirmed, "I guess knowing that not everyone forgot about Sunset helps take away a little stress…" he admitted with a shrug.
"Wait, what about forgetting Sunset?" a voice chimed in, getting their attentions as they turned to see Flash Sentry there with his guitar case draped over his shoulder.
"Oh, hey Flash," Ben greeted, "Uh… I'll just cut to the chase," he decided, showing him the drawing of the Memory Stone, "Have you seen something that looks like this?" he inquired, "We're trying to find where it might be or who might have it," he pointed out.
"Uh, no, sorry," the rocker student responded with a shrug, "But… what was that about everyone forgetting Sunset?" he asked curiously.
"Wait…" Sting said as he approached, "what do you remember about her?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… I remember her giving me some tough love over liking Twilight," Flash recanted, "And that was something I really needed," he mentioned with a small smile, "She's… a better person now," he said to the surprise of both men in front of him, "Uh… you guys okay?" he inquired out of concern.
"Yeah…" Ben replied as he glanced down in thought, "This just means that you didn't get your memory wiped either…" he realized, putting his right hand onto his chin.
"Wait, my memory?" the rocker student repeated out of confusion, "Does that have something to do with what's on that paper?" he guessed, pointing toward the sheet that the Omni Force leader had.
"Yeah… it's a magic item that erases a person's memory or parts of it," Sting answered.
"And it's erased everyone's good memories of Sunset, save for ourselves and a few others," Ben mentioned in explanation.
"Oh man…" Flash uttered out, "Uh, what can I do to help?" he immediately asked. Ben and Sting shared a grin, now having another ally in their pursuit of finding the truth. Elsewhere, the Crusaders were wandering about the halls, showing anyone that passed them by the photo of the Memory Stone and asking if they had seen it. Apple Bloom and Sweetie regrouped after a few minutes.
"Any luck?" the latter of the two asked her friend.
"Nope…" she responded with a shake of her head as she stared at her phone, "Ya think we need to start askin' Applejack and the others?" she inquired.
"Ask us what?" a familiar voice chimed in, getting their attentions as they turned to see the cowgirl herself there with Rarity and Rainbow alongside her.
"Oh, hey Sis!" Apple Bloom greeted, "We were just askin' if people knew about some weird magic rock that wipes memories," she told the girls.
"Wipes memories?" Rainbow repeated, arching an eyebrow.
"Wasn't Sunset Shimmer telling us something about that at the beach the other day?" Rarity inquired, followed by letting out a sharp gasp of realization, "You aren't helping that… bully, are you?!" she inquired loudly, putting her hands onto her hips.
"She's not a bully!" Sweetie exclaimed, "Not anymore…" she corrected additionally.
"Okay, what'd she put you two up to?" Applejack asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Her friends said that this Memory Stone they're lookin' for erased everyone's good memories of her," her sister responded, showing her the picture of the drawing on her phone, "And we wanted to help!" she mentioned to the trio's surprise.
"Yeah!" Sweetie chimed in, "So right now, we're trying to look for anyone who knows about the stone," she explained.
"Wha…?" Rarity gasped, "Wh-Why in the world are you trying to help that… delinquent?!" she inquired emphatically with a stutter, sounding offended. Both Crusaders looked to each other in confusion.
"'Cause… she's s'posed to be your friend?" Apple Bloom answered unsurely.
"No way is that rotten apple a friend o' ours!" Applejack argued.
"But she's a good person!" Sweetie insisted, "Like that time she helped you stop the Sirens from taking over the school!" she pointed out in remembrance.
"Sh-She wasn't there for that!" Rarity stammered as a claim.
"Then who got you back on your feet after it looked like y'all were finished?" Apple Bloom inquired, folding her arms over her chest.
"Well, obviously it was…" the fashionista started to answer, only to start drawing blanks, "I mean, I'm fairly sure Twilight…" she tried to say, rubbing the back of her head.
"And what about when she saved the Twilight from this world at the end of the Friendship Games?" Apple Bloom asked on.
"No, that wasn't…" her sister began to argue, only to stop as she started thinking a little, "Uh…" she uttered out.
"See?!" Sweetie squeaked in exclamation, "You're obviously missing pieces of the puzzle and have no idea why!" she emphatically noted.
"Well… that may be the case…" Rarity concurred, "but that doesn't mean it was Sunset Shimmer who helped…" she mentioned firmly, folding her arms over her chest.
"Ugh…" both her sister and Apple Bloom groaned, realizing that it was going to be difficult to convince them that Sunset was actually a changed person.
"Girls!" Scootaloo's voice called out, getting their attentions as they turned to see their energetic friend run over excitedly.
"Scootaloo, what's up?" Sweetie asked, seeing the wide smile upon her face.
"I found someone who said they might've seen the stone!" she answered happily, "She told me we can meet her in the AV club room right now!" she pointed out, "Come on!" she beckoned, waving for her friends to follow her down the hall. Meanwhile, Rarity and Applejack were completely befuddled.
"I can't believe I'm drawing a blank…" the former admitted, sounding stunned.
"Yeah…" her cowgirl friend agreed, "I mean, the Battle of the Bands, the Friendship Games…" she listed off, "Heck, even Camp Everfree's got me wonderin' 'bout certain things…" she mentioned, shaking her head.
"Maybe… it was Sunset who helped?" Rarity suggested, somewhat shocked by the possibility that her sister and her friends were supporting of the red-and-yellow-haired girl.
"Let's not jump the apple barrel, Rarity…" Applejack insisted, holding her hands up, "We should prolly talk with Twilight and the others before tryin' somethin' crazy…" she advised seriously.
"What do you think of all this, Rainbow?" the fashionista asked of their athletic friend, who had been mostly silent during the ordeal.
"Uh…" she uttered out, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, "I'm gonna go find and have a chat with Sunset's… 'friends'…" she decided, jogging off without another word. Rarity and Applejack shared a concerned glance, wondering what they could do. Elsewhere in the school, Sunset and Trixie had approached someone else for answers about the Memory Stone.
"Is there anything you can tell us about it?" the former of the two asked, having given the drawing of the magical item to the person in front of her, "Anything at all?" she inquired on.
"I can't tell much from a drawing," Maud Pie answered in a deadpan tone, holding the piece of paper in her right hand. She gave it back to Sunset, who frowned sadly.
"Okay…" she said, about to walk away.
"Only that it's felsic-intrusive igneous, granular in texture," Maud noted, causing her to stop in surprise, "most likely arranged in an equigranular matrix, with scattered biotite mica and amphibole," she continued, taking a moment to breathe, "at least sixty-five percent alkali feldspar by volume," she kept going as Sunset and Trixie looked to each other in complete confusion, knowing that the details the rock-loving girl was telling them weren't what they needed, "with a melting point of twelve-fifty centigrade, plus or minus ten degrees," she finished as the two girls questioning her had backed away, "Sorry I couldn't be more helpful," she apologized.
"It's already two…" Ben noted, looking up at a clock alongside Sting, "At this rate, we're never gonna find who's behind this…" he grumbled out.
"At least Flash and those girls can widen our search in the classrooms," the Sabertooth guildmaster pointed out, "Maybe they've already found someone," he suggested with a smile. At that moment, the two of them saw the Crusaders race by, with Scootaloo riding her scooter down the hall.
"Uh, hey!" Ben called out, causing her to screech to a halt as she looked back at him, "Did you and the girls find anything about the stone?" he asked of her.
"Uh… what stone?" she questioned back, causing him and Sting to blink in surprise.
"Scootaloo, come on!" Sweetie yelled, "We're gonna be late!" she pointed out.
"Coming!" her energetic friend replied, "Sorry, mister," she apologized to Ben, "I gotta book!" she said, scooting off without another word.
"She… doesn't know about the stone?" Sting inquired in disbelief.
"She doesn't know about us…" Ben realized, clenching his fists as he growled out of frustration, "Whoever's got the stone must've realized they were after them and wiped their memories…" he noted aloud.
"Hey, easy…" Sting insisted, grabbing his colleague by his shoulder with his right hand, "We've still got Flash on our side," he pointed out.
"Yeah, and he's gonna get his memories taken the second whoever has the stone finds out he's looking for it!" the Omni Force leader retorted, pulling himself away, "We should've had some way to stay in touch or at least let Sunset know that we—!"
"So…" a familiar voice chimed in, interrupting the Biomnitrix bearer as he blinked in surprise.
"Great…" he muttered out, turning around to see Rainbow there with her arms folded over her chest.
"Huh, you don't seem happy to see me…" she noted curiously, tilting her head to the side, "And here I thought you were my 'boyfriend' or something…" she grumbled sarcastically. The Biomnitrix bearer growled, clenching his fists tightly. Sting grimaced.
"Ben…" he said quietly, trying to keep his colleague from doing something he'd regret.
"What are you doing here?" he asked of the rainbow-haired athlete, who glanced off to the side.
"Back at the beach, you did something that felt… familiar…" she pointed out in reply, causing him to arch an eyebrow in surprise, "I don't know why, but the way you were acting reminded me of something when Sunset ruined our performance during the semis of the band competition…" she told him.
"If you mean saved you from revealing her magic to the audience and the Sirens before using your musical counter-spell," he corrected in reply, crossing his arms over his chest, "then yeah," he affirmed.
"Ugh, sure, whatever…" Rainbow grumbled, rolling her eyes, "Point is, I remember feeling super awful after what happened… but I don't know why," she admitted to the Biomnitrix bearer, "So tell me, what do you remember?" she inquired.
"Huh…" Ben exhaled in exasperation, "I remember you acting like a stuck-up, arrogant brat who thought she could win as a solo act," he told her as she blinked in shock.
"Okay… that…" she began to reply, "was weirdly specific…" she noted, "and true…" she admitted, "You do know me…" she realized, causing the Omni Force leader's gaze to soften on her, "And… I know you're not a bad guy, so…" she continued, rubbing the back of her head, "why are you trying to help someone like Sunset?" she asked curiously.
"If you call her a bad girl again—"
"I won't, I promise," Rainbow interjected before Ben could finish his threat, allowing him to exhale another sigh.
"You ever stop to think that maybe she's telling the truth and is trying to change for the better?" he inquired of the athlete, "No one's a perfect person," he pointed out, "I'm not either," he mentioned, "That's why I wanna help anyone who's willing to take those steps to change," he affirmed seriously.
"So… you think Sunset's actually a good person?" the rainbow-haired girl assumed, quite surprised.
"She's a better person now," Ben answered with a nod, "And she's helped me be better, too," he mentioned as he let off a small grin.
"Huh," Rainbow uttered, "So… did she promise you money to tell me and my friends that or…?" she started to guess, causing the Omni Force leader to growl in frustration. With a huff, he turned around and walked away. "No, wait!" the athlete called out, "That was just a stupid joke!" she claimed, "I-I didn't mean to make it sound like you were just trading favors…" she stuttered out.
"Huh…" Sting sighed. Clearly, nothing was going right for him and Ben. And unfortunately, he assumed the same was the case for Sunset and Trixie.
X
A half hour later, the group reconvened in a classroom, going over what had happened. Sunset was happy to know that not everyone's memories had been altered, but she knew that sooner or later if the culprit knew they were being searched for, they'd erase anyone's memories they'd have to. She stood at one of the windows sadly, while Trixie was sitting a desk with Ben and Sting beside her.
"Sure… it seems like we've only come up with dead ends," she admitted solemnly, "But… I mean… it could be worse?" she suggested while trying to think. In the meantime, Sunset took notice of something out the window. Inwardly, her heart sank.
"Huh…" she sighed out, folding her arms underneath her chest as she leaned back against the wall, "It's worse…" she said. She was watching as Twilight's repaired drone was hovering outside, as she, her friends and Spike were about to take their group picture together.
"Good as new!" she exclaimed, pulling out a remote control for her device, "Best Friends yearbook group picture, take two, number thirty-six-A, attempt eight!" she described, sounding excited. However, her expression shifted into a worried one once she saw Sunset sadly staring through the window. She waved to her, but the spectacled girl turned away. She got into place with her friends as the drone hovered in front of them.
"Best friends!" they all cried out with delight, allowing the drone to take several candid shots. Meanwhile, a frustrated Sunset balled her fists and turned away from the window, walking off. Trixie and Sting looked on at her worriedly.
"Hey, Sunset—"
"AGH!" Ben suddenly yelled to interrupt the White Dragon Slayer, knocking a desk over in frustration as he breathed rapidly out of anger.
"Whoa, easy…" Trixie advised as she cautiously approached the Omni Force leader, "I don't understand why you're so stressed, but—"
"Not. Another. Word…" he growled as he whipped around to glare at the amateur magician, whose eyes widened.
"Eheheheh…" she chuckled nervously as she backed away, holding her hands up in a defensive manner.
"Huh…" Sting sighed again. It wasn't long before the group was in the yearbook committee club room, with Sunset looking at the picture of her friends that was uploaded. She was in the background, frowning sadly in contrast to the girls out on the grass. Trixie noticed that she was still staring at it.
"Oh, stop looking at that," she insisted as she walked over, much to the red-and-yellow-haired girl's annoyance, "You're just going to wind yourself up, and you can't think if you're wound up," she pointed out, causing Sunset to soften her expression, "Oh, think, Trixie!" she yelled to herself.
"Let's just take a minute to think about what we know," Sting insisted, getting everyone's attention, "Whoever's been using the stone hasn't erased all memories of Sunset from everybody," he pointed out, "And there's the fact that this person knows we're coming for them," he mentioned in explanation.
"So it's obvious that we couldn't find them," the Equestrian Magic user realized, balling her fists again, "I wanted to come in here and see who we're missing," she noted, holding up the sheets with school photographs lined upon them, all with red checkmarks, "Huh…" she sighed out, "But we've talked to everyone, A to Z…" she noted, showing off the sheets with the student photos. At that moment, both Sting and Trixie took notice of one in particular.
"Wait," the latter said, pointing at a blank photo space, "Not pictured… Wallflower Blush…" she read off, while Sunset put her hand onto her chin in thought, "Who's Wallflower?" the amateur magician wondered aloud, seeming just as perplexed.
"I'm right here, you know…" the girl in question muttered out, getting their attentions as they widened their eyes to see her there.
"Uh, hi…" Sting greeted with a wave and a small grin.
"Who are you?" Trixie asked as she chuckled a little.
"Wallflower," Wallflower answered after giving off an annoyed look, "I've known you since third grade…" she muttered additionally.
"Ah-hah…!" Trixie laughed out, "I remember third grade," she said, while Sunset rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Not you specifically, but what a grade it was!" she mentioned excitedly, "The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie debuted her disappearing frog trick," she recalled, trilling on her name.
"Does that have any relevancy to what we're trying to do right now?" Ben inquired, sounding irritated.
"Well, you know, a lot of people don't realize how much work goes into raising tadpoles…" Trixie pointed out, while Sunset took notice of her journal glowing and buzzing, "You really have to coddle them…" she continued, with her voice trailing off from the Equestrian Magic user's point of view as she opened her journal to see what Twilight was writing to her.
"Sunset, we think the Memory Stone was buried under this rock formation," the Princess of Friendship transcribed, drawing a depiction that showed three pillars in a triangular pattern upon a page,"And if you don't destroy the Memory Stone by the time the sun sets today," she continued as the red-and-yellow-haired girl gave off a panicked expression,"all those memories will be erased forever," she finished. Ben peered over her shoulder and grimaced.
"Great, now we got a time limit…" he grumbled quietly.
"How are we supposed to find a rock formation that looks… like…" Sunset started to question, only to lower her book to see the picture upon the computer that Wallflower was using, noticing the three rocks in a triangular formation within a bountiful garden, "That rock formation!" she whispered in exclamation, "That'll work…" she concluded as she closed her journal, stuffing it into her bag.
"Want me to snatch her bag?" Ben inquired.
"I wanna make sure it's her first…" Sunset replied quietly, "Just follow my lead," she insisted. She put her bag down and reached over to Twilight's drone, which was sitting on the tabletop. She pressed a button upon it, causing a red light to start blinking, indicating that it was now recording.
"So… where do the frogs go?" Sting questioned of Trixie, raising a curious eyebrow. The amateur magician glanced back and forth nervously, blushing a little.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie would rather not say…" she admitted, evidently embarrassed. Wallflower gave off a perplexed expression, while the Sabertooth guildmaster just shrugged.
"Can I ask a silly question, Wallflower?" Sunset chimed in, getting their attentions, "Where did you take that lovely photograph?" she inquired, pointing at the freckled girl's background on her computer screen.
"Oh," she uttered, surprised by the red-and-yellow-haired girl's intrigue, "That's my garden," she answered, sitting down on her stool and gesturing toward the picture, "Well, the school's garden, technically," she corrected, "I'm the president of the Gardening Club," she pointed out, "I founded it, too," she mentioned, "I'm also the only member. And the only one who's ever been to the garden…" she added solemnly as Sting gave off a concerned look, "Or seen it…" she kept going, "Or even asked about it…" she finished quietly under her breath.
"You're not really… into other people, huh?" Trixie assumed with her arms folded underneath her chest. On impulse, the White Dragon Slayer elbowed her. "Ow!" she yelped in pain, glaring at him. He paid her no mind, going over to get a closer look at Wallflower's picture.
"Wow…" he uttered in amazement, "It looks incredible," he complimented, causing the freckled girl to blink out of surprise, "You should be really proud of this," he told her, making her blush sheepishly.
"Thanks…" she said in gratitude, brushing a strand of her messy hair back, "I was maybe going to add this picture somewhere in the yearbook," she mentioned to the others, "What do you think?" she asked of Sunset.
"Sorry," Trixie apologized as she stuck her left hand out at Wallflower, "Sunset doesn't let anyone put things in her yearbook," she pointed out, causing the Equestrian Magic user to frown in annoyance, while the amateur magician trotted over to her side, "No matter how much they deserve them…" she mentioned with a glare, crossing her arms again.
"Oh brother…" Ben grumbled, smacking himself in the face.
"No!" Sunset said with a shake of her head, "You should do that, Wallflower," she insisted, much to Trixie's surprise as she uncrossed her arms and glared at the red-and-yellow-haired girl, "Uh, so don't let us keep you from working on it…" she advised.
"What?!" the amateur magician beside her exclaimed in disbelief, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is… annoyed!" she yelled as Sunset put her hands onto her hips and glanced over at her, "And insulted!" she added angrily.
"And clearly doesn't know how to read a room…" Ben mentioned, grabbing Trixie by her hood and dragging her away.
"Ah, hey!" she yelped, trying to wriggle herself free. Wallflower blinked in confusion at the sight of the scene, only to see Sunset's reassuring smile that she flashed. With that, the freckled girl went back work on getting her yearbook photo, typing on the keyboard. Sting noticed his squadron leader's look change to a serious one almost instantaneously. She walked over… and grabbed Wallflower's left hand, pulling it back.
"What are you—?" Her question was paused as Sunset's eyes shined a bright white, starting to go through the freckled girl's memories.
FLASHBACK
Wallflower was alone. Whether it was the Fall Formal, the Battle of the Bands, or even the Friendship Games, she was never really around anyone. She'd stand in the corner, isolated from everyone else. It came to the point where she wandered out into the forest behind the school, kicking a rock she came across on the dirt path.
However, that made her stop as she noticed something. There was a sparkling light peeking into what looked to be a clearing. She made her way through the bushes, brushing the leaves out of her hair before widening her eyes. The clearing she found was messy, but it made her smile at the possibility of being able to turn into something beautiful.
As she started cultivating the new garden, digging up holes and clearing away unneeded foliage, Wallflower noticed the trio of rocks around where she had started. She paid no mind to them though, instead focusing on digging up holes to plant her flowers. But as she did, she found something. It was a small sack tied together by a string.
Curiously, she undid it and found not only a peculiar stone, but also that the sack was actually a piece of parchment describing how it could be used. Looking at the rock in her hand, the freckled girl wasn't sure of what to make of it. For now, she'd just keep it a secret while cultivating her garden. But soon… she'd find herself tempted to use it.
"That was different," Applejack argued back on Friday when Trixie confronted Sunset over the yearbook and her past display on it, "The whole school voted for her," she pointed out in remembrance, referring to the red-and-yellow-haired girl as the Biggest Meanie on the superlatives in the year prior.
"She was soooooooo mean…" Pinkie mentioned in a whisper, causing her friend to turn away ashamedly.
"Of course, we all know you've earned the right not to be remembered that way…" Twilight noted reassuringly as she went over and took the old yearbook out of Sunset's hands, tossing it back. It plopped onto the floor, only for Wallflower to curiously pick it up. Later that evening, she traced the hardcover with her right hand.
"Huh…" she sighed out, sitting down and staring at the old yearbook, pressing her right fist against her cheek, "Why should you notice me?" she wondered aloud, opening the book, "After all, you're Sunset Shimmer… Everybody loves you now…" she muttered out resentfully. She threw the yearbook down as it was on the page where the red-and-yellow-haired girl was depicted as the 'Biggest Meanie'. Another sigh left her lips. "Why can't they see you haven't changed?" she grumbled in question, standing up from her seat.
And then, an idea popped into her head. She grabbed her backpack and hurried off out of the club room. Moments later, she was in her garden, which had become a more beautiful place thanks to her cultivation. She pulled out the stone she had found along with the parchment, which had what were essentially instructions.
She closed her eyes to concentrate, and a turquoise light glowed from the stone before it shot a ray up into the sky. A wave of energy reverberated around Wallflower at that same moment. The light shined through the windows of each of Sunset's high school friends. Coming out from their heads were film strip-like waves of memories. Being in their sleep, none of the girls noticed.
Soon after, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and others' memories of Sunset were all swirling about Canterlot High. They merged into the stone that the freckled girl held, causing it to shine a bright red for moment. Opening her eyes and seeing its glow, Wallflower grinned. What she did seemingly worked.
END FLASHBACK
Sunset's eyes flashed back to normal as she had seen everything she needed to. And needless to say, she was appalled… and angry.
"You erased everyone's memories?" she inquired of Wallflower accusingly as she let go of her. For a moment, it seemed like the freckled girl was going to deny whatever was being insinuated, looking rather timid.
"Uh…" she uttered out, starting to steel herself as she gave off a determined expression, "Yes," she answered finally. With that confirmation, Sunset glared at her, as did Ben.
"Wait," Trixie chimed in, "Who are you again?" she asked with an arched eyebrow, pointing toward Wallflower.
"Why would you do this?" Sting questioned, ignoring the amateur magician's forgetfulness, "If Sunset's done something to hurt you, then tell us what happened," he requested, "I don't want this to end in some dumb fight…" he mentioned seriously as he shook his head. The freckled girl just sighed, turning away. She reached over to the edge of the table and grabbed a photograph that featured Sunset and her friends together at the front steps to Canterlot High. That friendship was something she envied… but also loathed because of how the red-and-yellow-haired girl managed to get it.
You don't see me fitting in~…
I'm sitting here alone~…
Right beside my shadow~…
Always on my own~…!
"Uh…" Sting uttered out, unsure of what to make of Wallflower suddenly breaking out into song. The others seemed just as perplexed.
If I could share my wildest dreams~…
Maybe they would see~…
I'm more than just a wallflower~…
There's so much more to me~…!
I'm invisible~! Invisible~!
A droplet in the mist~!
Invisible~! Invisible~!
It's like I don't exist~…
Hearing her sing as she turned off her computer, the White Dragon Slayer's expression softened into one of concern. The freckled girl didn't seem to be someone who had a social group, let alone any friends. Was that part of the reason she did this? He watched as she went to look through the student photos, coming across the blank one where hers would've been.
Right beneath my picture~…
This is what you'll read~…
A laundry list of nothings~…
Not likely to succeed~…~
At that moment, Sunset took notice of Wallflower's backpack lying on the floor. Knowing that it was likely where the Memory Stone was, she carefully snuck over to grab it. Realizing what she was planning, Trixie covered for her as she stepped out in front of her, smiling as innocently as she could. The red-and-yellow-haired girl ducked behind the table, zipping the backpack open and reaching into it in search of the magical artifact.
A yearbook with blank pages~…
That no one wants to sign~…
A memory forgotten~…
Until the end of time~…
As she was about to continue her song while walking back over to the computer, the freckled girl took notice of Sunset rummaging through her bag.
"Hey!" she yelled out, getting her attention, "What are you doing?!" she questioned, immediately grabbing the backpack. The two of them stood up and grunted as they both yanked on the bag. Ben jogged over, but was too late to help as Wallflower reclaimed the backpack with a mighty pull of the straps, cradling it in her arms.
"What did I do to you?!" Sunset shouted in question, pointing an accusatory finger at the freckled girl, who meekly turned away, "Honestly, I don't even know you!" she pointed out emphatically with her arms outstretched.
"Exactly!" Wallflower suddenly retorted, causing the Equestrian Magic user to lean back in surprise, "You had everyone fooled," she said, "but now they know you're still… the Biggest Meanie!" she declared with a glare.
"You're about to see just how mean I can get!" Sunset threatened as she stomped up to her.
"Sunset, wait!" Sting insisted.
"Whoa!" Trixie yelped, getting in between her partner and the freckled girl before a fight could break out, "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa…" she repeated, trying to calm the two down, "Let's not antagonize the person with the all-powerful mystery rock…" she advised seriously, gesturing toward Wallflower.
"No, we're past that," Ben refused as he balled his hands into fists, "Either you give us the stone, or I go Wildvine and tear that garden of yours up…" he threatened, much to everyone's shock, especially Sunset and Sting's.
"Ben…" the Sabertooth guildmaster uttered out.
"I don't like confrontation…" Wallflower said with a shake of her head, getting their attentions "Let's just…" she continued as she reached into her backpack, "forget this ever happened…" she decided, pulling out the Memory Stone and making it glow.
"Don't erase—!" Sunset's shout was interrupted as a turquoise washed over her, Ben, Sting, and Trixie. When she opened her eyes, she looked around in confusion after shaking her head.
"Huh? What was I saying?" the amateur magician wondered aloud, blissfully unaware of what was going on, "I'm sure it was something brilliant," she boasted, "Also…" she continued, gasping upon noticing the clock in the room and the time upon it, "how is it already three o'clock?" she inquired, pointing to it.
"Wait… where are Ben and Sting?" Sunset wondered, having not seen either of them in immediate. She went around the corner… and gasped to find the two young men lying unconscious upon the floor. "Guys!" she screamed, quickly falling to her knees to check on them. Fortunately, she saw that they were just asleep, making her sigh in relief.
"Uh, how come they're… there?" Trixie asked upon noticing.
"I…" Sunset tried to say, thinking as to what could've happened. But nothing was coming to mind. Shrugging, the amateur magician went over to the door. However, she found that the knob wasn't turning, indicating that it had been locked.
"Why won't this door open?" she questioned, getting the red-and-yellow-haired girl's attention as she stood up, "And what are we even doing in here?" she inquired on out of annoyance.
"I… don't… remember…" Sunset finally answered, having completely drawn a blank.
Back to square one, it seems. And there's only so much time left before those memories are gone forever. But maybe some clever tricks will turn things around.
Everything's coming together soon. And everyone will have a part to play, big or small. This is Xiaomei, signing off. You're about to be for quite a treat next time…
END
And that's four chapters down! The next one's probably going to be my favorite to write, and I'm sure it'll be amazing once you get to see it. But until then, I'll see you guys later!