“She Didn’t Use the Memory Stone on You.”
About an hour later, two cars pulled up to Sunset Shimmer’s apartment building. Sunset and Indigo, who had been watching from Sunset’s window, ran down to greet the visitors. The first car carried four girls. Three of them jumped out of the car and ran up to Indigo Zap: a beauty with a lavender pixie cut, a stoic student with silver pigtails, and a rocker with hair that looked like it had been dyed with lemon and lime juice. The driver followed her friends, her pink ponytail dancing behind her as she ran up.
“We came because we were promised snacks!” Lemon Zest said as she squeezed Indigo in a hug.
“Lemon Zest!” The sole occupant of the other car called out as she joined the group. She was trying to act shocked and appalled, but she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her mouth. “Come on, be serious!” Juniper Montage continued as she gave Sunset Shimmer a small hug. “We’re not here for snacks...we’re here because of…” She lowered her voice. “The you know…”
“You can say it,” Sugarcoat droned. “Magic. We’re here about magic.”
“Let’s go inside,” Sunset said. “We can talk about it in there...and yes, I have some snacks,” she added with a playful punch to Lemon Zest’s shoulder. She led her guests to the side entrance of her apartment building, where they hopped in the elevator, moved four floors up, and walked to the seventh door on the right side of the hall, which they entered and were greeted by…
Spike wagged his tail a little at the sight of the Shadowbolts, but the girl with glasses and blue ponytails caused him to growl. “Juniper Montage? What’s she doing here?!”
Sunset held up her hands, calming him down. “Didn’t Twilight tell you? We’re friends with her now!” She snapped her fingers as she realized… “Wait...you weren’t there at the mall when it happened...well, it’s a long story. You can ask Twilight to tell you all about it later…” She glanced at the girls. “Just...make yourselves at home. I’ll get some snacks.” She headed towards her little kitchen area as the Shadowbolts and Juniper Montage sat down on the couch and chairs in front of Sunset’s TV.
“So...I know that the music video money that we won was used to fund our awesome Spring Break party,” Indigo Zap called to Sunset. “But what did you guys do with your share of the money?”
“They donated their portion to the staff at Camp Everfree for renovations. And they’re totally thankful for that!” Juniper added.
“Have you seen them recently?” Sunset called from the kitchen, surprise evident in her voice.
“Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce are my cousins,” Juniper Montage said with a small smile. “I see them a lot. Oh! They told me to say hi to you!”
“Then they know what’s going on?” Sunset set a tray carrying the promised snacks on her coffee table: glasses of lemonade, a bowl of popcorn, and salsa and chips.
“About as much as we know,” Juniper said as she gestured to herself and the four new Shadowbolts.
“Which is pretty much nothing,” Sour Sweet grumbled.
Indigo Zap and Sunset Shimmer looked at each other.
“You explain!” Indigo shouted as she lunged for the bowl of popcorn.
One explanation later…
The Shadowbolts (sans Indigo Zap) sat as still as statues, their pupils the size of pinpricks. Juniper Montage giggled, and Indigo glanced at her wristwatch.
“And their minds will no longer be blown in three...two...one...and…”
“Well...alright then,” Sunny Flare said as she cleared her throat. “There’s work to be done...where do we begin?”
“I mean, can you think of anyone who hates you enough to do this?” Lemon Zest asked.
“If you go back far enough...everyone,” Sunset sighed.
“But out everyone, who would be the most likely to have magic at their disposal?” Sunny Flare mused.
“I don’t know…”
“Wow, what a helpful answer!” Sour Sweet chirped. Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest had Sunset’s freshman yearbook opened. They flipped through the pages, their lips pursed in thought.
Juniper Montage twisted a lock of blue hair around her finger with one hand. Her other hand held her cell phone, which she had been using to text Gloriosa. “Gloriosa Daisy said that when she discovered the magic at Camp Everfree, it appeared as a colorful wisp in the sky. She followed it to a cave...and that’s where she found the geodes."
“Is that what happened to you?” Sugarcoat asked.
Juniper Montage shook her head. “No...well...all I know is, I picked up the mirror...and after a few seconds, I realized that there was something strange about it…”
“You two didn’t go looking for magic, like Twilight did,” Sugarcoat reasoned. “Magic found you.”
“And this helps us...how?” Sour Sweet asked.
“It doesn’t,” Lemon Zest scowled, and Indigo Zap slumped over.
“This is hopeless! We’ll never find out who it is!” Juniper Montage was peering over Lemon Zest’s shoulder at the pages of the yearbook...and suddenly, her eyes lit up.
“It’s her.” She pointed to a picture. “It’s got to be her.” Everyone crowded around the book and stared at the suspect: a green-haired girl with a face full of freckles. Her name, according to the yearbook, was Wallflower Blush.
“What makes you think it’s her?” Sugarcoat asked.
Juniper Montage looked down at the ground. “When I found the magic...I felt like my chance to shine had been stolen by Sunset and her friends. I felt...invisible, and I would have done anything to get noticed. When I found the magic mirror, I saw it as an opportunity for both...and Sunset Shimmer, you said that you brought magic into our world because you felt like you had been robbed of an opportunity, right?”
“Well...more or less,” Sunset shrugged.
Sugarcoat’s eyes lit up. “And Twilight Sparkle unleashed the magic after years of feeling like nothing…” The other Shadowbolts looked away, guilt and remorse present on their faces.
“Wallflower Blush?” Sunset looked at the other girls to get a reading on what they thought. “Do you really think it could be her? I mean, I never really picked on her when I was...well, a bully...”
"That's just it," Juniper continued. She gestured at the picture, titled "Gardening Club". Wallflower was the only one in the picture. And she looked so alone and sad... "She's the kind of person who I feel like would use this power to do the things I wanted to do...I see a lot of myself in her."
"She kind of reminds me of Twilight from when she was in our classes," Indigo said. "She was just really, really quiet and...lonely, I guess..." She sighed. "I feel like we didn't apologize enough for how we treated her."
Sugarcoat shrugged and cleared her throat, bringing the girls back to the more pressing matter. “Well, Wallflower IS a lead, and that’s better than nothing. I say we go for it.”
“Agreed,” Sunny Flare nodded, and the others murmured in agreement.
“Hey, random subject change, but…” Spike cleared his throat, and everyone turned their attention to the purple dog. “Can someone give me a ride back to my home? I’m sure Twilight’s going to want me home when she gets back…”
“I’ll do it,” Sugarcoat said with an exasperated sigh, but her stoic expression melted a little when she took Spike into her arms. Everyone knew she had a soft spot for animals.
“Hey, that book is glowing,” Sunny Flare said as she pointed at Sunset Shimmer’s magical journal. “Is that...the...Princess Twilight Sparkle…” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I’m still wrapping my head around this,” she said as Sunset opened her book.
“It seems so weird that everyone has a pony counterpart who is identical in every physical, mental, and emotional aspect...except for Twilight Sparkle. I mean, if she’s nearsighted and wears glasses, shouldn’t her counterpart be nearsighted and wear glasses?” Sugarcoat pointed out.
“It’s almost like the glasses are a tool used by some unknown force to distinguish the two because the unknown force thinks the rest of the world is too stupid to tell them apart unless they look different,” Sour Sweet muttered. Everyone (except for Sunset, who had her face buried in the book) stared at her. “I mean...I’m sure there’s a reason for why that is~” She said in a cordial tone. “Is everything okay, Sunset Sweetie~?”
Sunset Shimmer shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Lemon Zest and the others moved closer, concerned.
Sunset looked up. “We’ve got a problem…”
Fourth wall be bucking damned!
Also, first!
A minor and a major plot hole you might want to look at in this chapter.
The minor one is Wallflower's picture. In the special she stood out to Trixie and Sunset because she was the only one in the yearbook without a picture of her taken. Could be explained away if they saw her in a group photo or the page of the gardening club here, just wanted to point it out.
The major one is that... There's no real reason for them to single her out here, especially if it's not for the "no picture available" thing. I don't know if you had an explanation in your head and accidentally skipped over the paragraph when you wrote the chapter, or if it got lost somewhere else, but the way it looks right now Lemon Zest is pointing at a random girl none of them should even know by name, much less any possible motivation she might have. Only Sunset even goes to CHS, and up to the pre-final confrontation she didn't even remember her name or face, much like everyone else in the school.
Aside from that, the chapter was good. I liked the interaction with the Shadowbolts and that you brought in Juniper Montage.
...also, does that mean that Sunset's friends now think Starlight Glimmer alone saved them all from that mirror? Sacrilege!
8751992
No, Juniper Montage is the one who found the picture of Wallflower, not Lemon Zest (Lemon Zest was just holding the book). And yeah, I didn't specify what kind of picture it was...I might go back and fix that later. Thanks for your input! :D
Great use of Juniper Montage in this story. I really liked that quote from her, and the role that she's played so far in figuring out their best lead on the culprit.
Alternate explanation for the glasses - Equestria has magic "Lasik"-equivalent surgery that Princess Twi had when she was younger.
So the rest of the Shadowbolts & Juniper have now joined the Sunset's mission, this is gonna good now that Sunset got herself some backup!
8752029
Alternate alternate explanation: The Shortsighted Princess.
Now this is the kind of help Sunset should've had and not just Trixie
8751998
Fair enough, but my point was that there's no real explanation as to why they'd think Wallflower of all people is responsible (as far as I could see). None of them know her, so I'm wondering what made them suspect her in particular.
8752117
Crap, you're right, I didn't put in the stuff I wanted to put in! DX Great spot, I'm gonna fix this chapter later tonight...I've got two classes to get through first. XD
EDIT: Never mind, I fixed it now, I hope it makes more sense!
At least this ain’t Anon-A-Miss level trouble.
8752216
A lot better, yeah. Glad to be of help.
8752245
Thanks for your help!!!
I mean, Principal Celestia isn't immortal; Sci-Twi probably wouldn't survive having a piano dropped on her: ponies are just physically more 'well' than humans in general.
But you do you; the story's amusing anyway.
Thanks for writing :)
8752338
I'm okay with there being a mortal Celestia and a mortal Luna because "human world", but giving Twilight's human counterpart glasses felt insulting, because it felt like "the great unknown force" was saying, "People are going to be too stupid to tell Twilight Sparkle apart from Princess Twilight Sparkle. We better give one of them glasses so that they'll know which one is the human one and which one is the pony one! Because otherwise they'll be saying, 'Why is Princess Twilight Sparkle suddenly at Crystal Prep?' God, our audience is so stupid!"
...or I'm overreacting.
8752620
Or, she may just have astigmatism, and Princess Twilight can fix that in herself with a spell. (Someone even wrote a fic with that as the punchline.)
8753116
Not everyone with astigmatism wears glasses. My sister has it, but she doesn't wear glasses.
I kinda like that SciTwi wears glasses. It's a reminder that while both works are parallel, there are still subtle differences. For all we know, Princess Twilight may also need glasses, but her symptoms are not are not bad enough to warrant wearing them.
Of course, as a person who has been wearing glasses for nearly twenty years, I may be biased.
The blood-related thing threw me off.
Also in the event of stress, puppy therapy is recommended.
8753709
No offense, but what are you talking about?
now there are just to many people who remember sunset and it was to easy to find out who did it
also the human versions are different than there pony versions
good example rainbow days pony RD really dont care much about music while its human RDs biggest passion
8753907
Juniper Montage relation with Timber and Gloriosa.
Well this has been an interesting story so far. I fear Trixie's going to be reduced to straight-up jerk, however, but there's still story to be told.
Keep going. I want to see where this leads to.
8757672
I should probably be more clear on what I think XD. Okay, here's my head canon/theory:
The Wondercolts Statue Portal can only be accessed freely by Equestrians (unless banished to the human world, like the Sirens). If humans could access the portal, then EVERYONE would be trying to use it. (I mean, think about it: if you knew that there was a portal to a magical faraway world where you could see yourself as a pony, wouldn't you want to use it, if only for a few minutes?)
Other portals, like the dimensional rifts caused by Twilight's amulet and Midnight Sparkle, are a different story. Those LITERALLY were tearing the worlds apart and bringing them together, which is why Spike was able to travel through them and, during the end of "Friendship Games", some students were in danger of falling through them and landing in Equestria.
Again: I consider the "Friendship Games" bloopers to be non-canon, because the scene with human Rainbow Dash riding pony Rainbow Dash makes no sense. In addition, Pinkie Pie being able to stick her head through the portal was just a gag, because...it's Pinkie Pie!
Remember: this is just a "what-if" fanfiction. If you're wondering how the magic works and other fandom facts, then repeat to yourself, "It's just a fic, I should really just relax." (...if anyone understands what I was referencing with my last statement, congratulations, you are now my new boyfriend!)
Hmm, quite a bit of a logic leap for Wallflower to be spotted as the culprit so easily. Especially since her defining feature is that she's so easily overlooked.
Loving this!
I really like this ^^
...And her name is "Wallflower", a term used to describe someone (often a girl) who is shy or excluded at a party, dance or similar.
Really, does no-one in-universe even think to apply one's name to how they might be feeling or acting? Or is that some kinda weird taboo -ism, namism?
"Gloriosa Daisy" is of course the 'mythical' monster terrorising Everfree Camp. "Discord" is of course the master of chaos, inherent foe of harmony. "Blueblood" is of course a snooty noble arse. "Luna" is of course mistress of the moon, and of course she turned into a lunatic madmare. "Shining Armour" is of course a guard of a still somewhat-medieval diarchy, and thus could be referred to as a 'knight'.
Girls, you could've saved a bit of energy by investigating the girl named "Wallflower" first, based simply on her name and thus likely motive.
You accidentally a word.
That was an awfully quick leap to decide that it was Wallflower
I personally don't mind that Equestria Girls is what it is with the exception of, well Legend of Everfree and Rollercoaster of Friendship. Spring Breakdown was barely tolerable, I guess. However, you do have a right to your own opinion.
There is a reason why I like this story: IMHO, it shows not only the power of the friendship more, but it also shows how far Sunset has come since the Fall Formal.
Sunset was a horrible bully, and for a while, she felt she didn't deserve forgiveness or a second chance with almost everyone in school. But this story shows how she's become so loved and trusted, that there are people outside her circle of friends who want to help her out. I just find that so beautiful.
I love how you redeem Juniper's character, by giving her the ability to deduce the culprit.