Wallflower barely resisted the urge to slam her car door in irritation at Twilight. The nerd was being utterly insufferable, insisting that Wallflower park like six blocks away from their destination—it had been a chore to convince her they could take the car in the first place. Twilight had wanted to take the city bus! The green haired girl suppressed a shudder. After she’d swiped several caches of “vacation money” from her parents and purchased the sporty little dark silver car, she’d sworn to never suffer through the cramped, smelly conditions of public transit ever again.

It was already ridiculous enough that Twilight had insisted they change into different clothes before they went, with some weak explanation of not wanting to inflame the school rivalry even more if they were seen. As if. If any of the Canterlot kids saw them, they’d probably think they were just getting high out of sight of adults.

Just who did Twilight think she was, ordering her around like that?

At least she would be able to scope out where her key to fame and independent wealth was planted. Whatever protests the younger girl had were weak—Wallflower knew what she had on her hands was the discovery of a lifetime, and with medicinal properties? The right pharmaceutical companies would be lining up for the privilege of buying it from her.

She doubted Twilight would let her get too close, but Wallflower could just sneak back at night. For all the talk of ‘security cameras’, she highly doubted that a public school could really afford many, especially not ones of a decent quality, and that Twilight could probably hack into it anyway but was deliberately choosing not to do so. What was there of value to be had at a run down eighty year old building that relied on state funding to operate anyway?

Her eyes searched the place Twilight had had her park. “Twilight…this is nowhere near the high school. What are we doing here?” They were on a sidewalk in an older middle class neighborhood, and they stuck out like sore thumbs next to Wallflower’s car.

Twilight, for her part, walked towards the end of the row of houses, where they gave way to a bunch of trees. “There’s a path,” she explained, pointing to a bit of exposed, bare earth that disappeared into the scrubby pine trees near the sidewalk’s end. “It goes all the way to Canterlot High, and through most of the woods around the one side of the school.”

That caught her by surprise. Just how many times had Twilight snuck around by the public school in order to discover a questionable shortcut like this? She followed the other girl into the woods, and spotted the telltale signs of teens and other people using this as a place to do things of a questionable nature: discarded beer bottles, cigarette butts, various types of trash. “You just happened to find this path? You?”

The glance sent her way was…ashamed? Embarrassed? A bit of both? “Sunset showed it to me, actually,” she confessed. Her shoulders tensed, and she turned away, walking quicker. “Last time I was here.”

Well. That didn't take long. Wallflower resisted the urge to scowl when Twilight brought up Sunset Shimmer less than five minutes after getting out of the car. And after such a pleasant couple of days where the younger teen hadn't mentioned the popular girl once. She had actually thought briefly that maybe Sunset had listened to her warning to leave Twilight alone, but it seemed like that had been too much to hope for.

“Why am I not surprised? I can only imagine how she came to know about this particular avenue of travel.” As she rolled her eyes, she spotted yet another discarded bag with the burned out remnants of what could only be marijuana in it, and Wallflower began to wonder…

At first glance, Twilight seemed like too much of a goody two-shoes rule follower to ever do something even potentially illegal, but Wallflower knew better. She was a rule follower, until a situation came up where her logic and rational thinking determined that bending the rules into a pretzel on a technicality would be the best course of action to further whatever end goal she had in mind. Then she’d get quite duplicitous and go about bending the rules in question until they begged for mercy to get the end result she wanted, all while maintaining the fact that she never actually broke the rules. Knowing that, and knowing that their friend group had discussed the pros and cons of medicinal marijuana use…she began to wonder if that was the answer to everything that had been off for months, and why Sunset Shimmer was interested in Twilight at all.

While smoking pot or making and eating edibles wasn't necessarily part of the popular girl image…Sunset looked more like a wannabe street thug or a punk rocker than a girly princess, and that was a demographic that did have a reputation for drugs and alcohol use. She hadn't noticed the smell of pot around the popular teen, but that didn't mean anything given it was a planned outing and she knew Sunset was supposedly cunning and clever.

As they traipsed through the woods that smelled strongly of earth and pine, the green haired teenager mused on the topic, wondering if it would even be worth the effort of bringing it up to her friend. For reasons that she was still trying to understand, Twilight was extremely sensitive and quick to defend the leather clad redhead…though if Twilight was involved in some attempt to self-medicate her anxiety, and Sunset was the source of her supply, either by dealing or sharing what she acquired, that would make sense. And it would even explain why Twilight asserted that Sunset was so ‘nice’—no one was mean when they were high on marijuana.

Wallflower wondered if Twilight’s parents knew about her association with Sunset. She didn’t actually know much at all about Twilight’s parents beyond what little the girl herself said. She’d met them, of course, once or twice, but that wasn't really enough to get any kind of read on them. Maybe they didn't, and if they were the super straight laced type—highly probable with Twilight’s own rule following nature—then they probably wouldn't be keen on the idea of their genius daughter getting a special prescription for medical marijuana. If that was the case then Twilight might be worried about losing her access to something that helped with her often crippling anxiety problem if people looked too deeply…or if she did anything to anger the notorious bully.

And if Sunset was selling it to her, or if Twilight’s rich-girl allowance was paying for her supply, then that would explain why Sunset Shimmer was keen to pander to Twilight’s more annoying neurotic tendencies. No need to upset the goose that laid golden eggs, after all, and a naive, socially inept introvert like Twilight was quite the score indeed for someone who probably got her spending cash by stealing lunch money.

Of course…this was all just speculation at this point, but it did fit, and it certainly was a more plausible explanation than Twilight’s insistence that she and Sunset Shimmer were somehow actually friends. Yet she couldn't just confront her with it, not with how agitated she’d been since Wallflower’s confrontation with Sunset, and how vehemently she defended the popular girl against perceived slights.

Maybe Wallflower needed to back off on being blunt about Sunset’s reputation and work at both finding out the truth of what was going on, and if the answer was weed, then…maybe…subtly opening Twilight’s eyes to some alternatives and that she didn't need Sunset Shimmer? She needed to play a much longer game against Sunset anyway—the way Sunset had glared at her…

A shudder went through her that had nothing to do with cold. It was as though just thinking about that look had dragged icy talons across her soul. Sunset Shimmer was no innocent school girl like Twilight believed. She was a dangerous predator, one that was fully capable of using violence to get what she wanted. And right now, for reasons only known to Sunset herself, she wanted Twilight Sparkle in her orbit.

No. A more subtle approach was the way to go.

For now, some probing to see if that was what was going on, and if she was right, then accept it for the moment. Look into alternatives she could suggest…hell, it couldn't possibly be that hard to actually grow the stuff. She had enough experience in her greenhouse to be able to grow three or four pot plants at home. It wasn't like her parents would notice or even look in her greenhouse..or barring that, she could add to the hydroponic system she’d had installed in one of the spare rooms. The maid service had long since learned which rooms were off limits.

Wallflower hunched deeper into her jacket as faint flurries managed to get through a break in the evergreen canopy, mentally nodding to herself. If Twilight needed whatever Sunset was offering, then all she needed to do to get her friend away from a toxic, fake ‘friendship’ was to provide a better, safer alternative. Something that didn't come with strings attached or some ulterior motive someone like Sunset Shimmer always had.

She was jerked from her thoughts by Twilight finally answering her earlier question, her tone stiff. “I believe she and some of her friends use the path through here on occasion. Like when she has no choice but to park her motorcycle further from school. She mentioned it's easier to park it in the neighborhood back there and then cut through the woods.” She shrugged. “I didn't really inquire further, since it is such a convenient way to avoid much of the potential unpleasantness that comes from the rivalry between our schools.”

Biting her tongue physically to remind herself to not say the first sarcastic comment that came to her mind, Wallflower carefully schooled her voice into one of practiced neutrality. “I imagine it is. You haven't considered alternatives though?”

Twilight tensed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Twilight, we’re friends. I've been your friend for years now, since that disastrous English class freshman year when Lyra did a paper on Bigfoot.” She pushed hair out of her face, took a breath, and continued, “Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice? I may not be a super genius to rival General Relativity, but I’m not stupid.”

The younger girl froze in place, and Wallflower could see her shaking slightly. “…you did?”

Wallflower rolled her eyes. “Twilight, of course I noticed. You’ve been like a completely different person for months. A blind man could see that you've been way less anxious and stressed, and that for you, you've been downright giddy more days than not.” Still the younger girl didnt move, but her breath seemed to catch, prompting Wallflower to speak faster. “And…it's great, really…” she said, though she didn't fully agree with her own words. “…and if this is something that makes you happy, then…I’m glad. For you. I know shit can be hard for you sometimes, especially at Crystal Prep, what with Suri’s petty crap. Anything that makes that easier to deal with is understandable—Suri’s a Grade A bitch.”

Slowly now, Twilight turned to face her, and Wallflower saw an expression of genuine terror give ground partially to the expression that meant she was puzzling her way through the words and trying to figure out the social context in which Wallflower meant them. The terror was a cause for a little bit of alarm—would Sunset now target Wallflower for finding out their secret? Or would Twilight be made to pay the price somehow? That thought settled unpleasantly in her stomach. “Relax. I’m not going to tell anyone—you’re my friend, and what you do with your free time is your choice, really. It's just…as your friend…I want to make sure you're…safe.”

Fear and puzzlement gave way to worried confusion. Confusion, like a puppy trying to understand a strange animal standing before it…she would have laughed at the comparison, but Twilight was eyeing her and her words came out in a nervous rush, “Safe?”

How to put this so Twilight wouldn't go back to being defensive? Perhaps some vein of the truth, carefully worded to be friendly and no confrontational—Wallflower was good at that. “Safe. Doing what you're doing because you want to. I know you keep saying how great you think Sunset Shimmer is, but…I mean, Lyra’s complained about her since she got to CHS, about how she lied, bullied, and blackmailed people into doing what she wants.”

“I’m well aware of Sunset’s past,” Twilight countered. “I know what she did not because of Lyra’s gossip or the way you’ve brought it up half a dozen times in the last week! I know because she told me! I know more about her than you or Lyra possibly could. She’s not that person anymore, and I don't understand why you just won't believe me when I say that.” Bitterness and frustration crept into her voice and she was scowling now.

Wallflower frowned back at her. This wasn’t going well. “Lyra has no reason to lie to us for over a year, Twilight. She was telling us all about Sunset Shimmer long before you apparently stumbled across her, and she was bitching about her like a month and a half ago.” ‘Was’ being the operative word, given the phone conversation over the weekend, but Wallflower didn't want to voice that, not in this discussion. “And I know Sunset’s been nothing but sunshine, rainbows and fairy unicorns with you, but you’re my friend, Twilight, and you aren't always the best judge of people and social situations, and you don't always know how to tell people no! The last thing I want is for you to end up hurt, or in serious trouble!”

Twilight was silent, and her friend wondered briefly if she’d started to get through to her. “I didn’t mean to make you worry so much,” the lavender skinned girl apologized, “but I don't know how to convince you that Sunset really has changed, has worked hard to be a better person. I know you don't trust her, but…can you at least trust me?”

She knew a losing fight when she saw one, and she reminded herself that she had to do this smart, not fast. Backing off could make Twilight relax, and maybe this could work to her advantage. “Okay…fine. I do.” She trusted that Twilight believed what she was saying, at the very least, and for the moment, maybe it was true.

“Thank you…” Twilight still looked far too nervous and agitated for this talk to be finished. Wallflower waited, and the other girl finally blurted out a question. “How….how long have you known?”

Known? She shrugged. “I’ve known for months that something had changed—you were acting so…different. It's why I asked about the rumors, the ones saying you had a boyfriend. That was me trying to figure out what was going on…” Wallflower leaned back against a nearby tree. “It's kind of a short list that makes a person relax like that when they are wound as tight as you are: alcohol, sex, and drugs…our trip here today just tipped me off.”

Twilight’s voice was pitched an octave higher as she responded incredulously, “That's why you implied I might have stolen Suri’s boyfriend?!”

“Not implied, asked if the rumor might be true. I was hoping you would tell me what was going on with you.”

Her friend just stared, her expression gaining attributes of what Wallflower could only label as disgust and nausea. Wallflower raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, look...I apologize for even considering you'd have the poor taste to take Suri's sloppy seconds. I thought it was hilariously unlikely, but in hindsight…the joke fell a bit flat.”

Hands moving restlessly, Twilight nodded, the motion stiff and her cheeks flushed. “Humor is something I continue to struggle with at times, Wallflower, particularly social humor. It is difficult at times to tell when you are trying to be funny.” She huffed a little, her breath steaming in the air and blowing a few snowflakes away in a swirling dance. “But really, even if I was considering someone at Crystal Prep as a potential…romantic interest…it most certainly wouldn't be anyone even remotely associated with Suri in any fashion, not after the last three years of near constant bullying and verbal abuse.”

Did Twilight even hear herself sometimes? How could she miss the obvious parallel? Wallflower rubbed her forehead, trying to keep her thoughts out of her voice. “I get it. I feel the same way, which is why it was a ridiculous rumor. People like Suri and her cronies…” And Sunset Shimmer, she added mentally, before continuing, “…they just…taint everything around them and they don't care about anyone but themselves. From what I’ve heard, Suri’s been a total bitch since like fourth grade, and her mother is just like her. People like that just…they don't change. The best you can do is avoid them until graduation and then never see them again.”

There was a sound that Twilight made that she recognized as meaning something like thoughtful, tentative agreement. “I will admit, I am hard-pressed to imagine Suri changing unless something significant forces her to reevaluate her life choices…”

Closing her eyes briefly, Wallflower breathed, trying to word her next statement carefully. “Which comes back to why I’ve been bringing it up repeatedly, Twilight, because I don't really get it. Sunset Shimmer, from everything I’ve heard, from Lyra, from rumor, from transfers…all of the stories about what that she does to others…Sunset Shimmer is Canterlot High’s own version of Suri, and yet somehow, according to you she’s…just decided to be magically nice? Can you see why I’m having a hard time buying it?”

“I—”

She gave into the urge to frown. “And I know you asked me to trust you, and I know you said you believe her, but youre secretive and cagey about her—even about something as simple as how you met and ‘became friends’ in the first place! It doesn't make sense, Twilight—look at it from my perspective, and tell me you wouldn't be worried that someone was making your friend do things against her will?”

“That’s—”

Wallflower cut her off. “Look me in the eyes and explain it to me, Twilight. Really explain to me why I should believe that Sunset Shimmer isn't using you for her own reasons with this, that you aren't just completely blinded by what she’s offering you and how that makes you feel!”

The younger girl stared down at her feet for a long time before raising her head to meet Wallflower’s gaze, hugging herself as she fidgeted, as though she was fighting the urge to pace. “I didn’t intend for it to happen this way,” she admitted. “We really did meet in the park, like I said…she…Sunset helped me out of a bad situation, and made sure I was okay. That I was safe and calm, before she took me home.” Her voice caught and she seemed to struggle with breathing. Whatever panic attack she was referring to, it must have been one of her really bad ones, Wallflower decided, and in some place as public as the park would have made it ten times worse with its lack of hiding places.

“She tried to warn me away, told me everything you've been saying about her. How she was this awful person and I should stay away, but I…I just thought she maybe needed a friend, so I decided to be that friend, and…”

The green haired girl bit back a groan of annoyance and frustration, fighting to keep her expression neutral. Maybe there had been a single moment of basic human decency, but she highly doubted that lasted long before Sunset Shimmer had realized the golden opportunity dropped into her lap, especially once Twilight got all starry eyed over the ‘magical power’ of friendship. It wasn't exactly hard to guess how Sunset had resorted to dealing with Twilight’s panic attack, and if Sunset was using too, then she very well might have been momentarily mellow enough to lull Twilight into a false sense of security, blissfully unaware of any potential ulterior motives.

Twilight had continued talking, and Wallflower tuned back into what she was saying as she wrung her hands and seemed to be pleading her case in an increasingly anxious and frantic voice. “…she’s harder on herself than anyone about what she used to be, and yes, I know a lot of it does sound just like what Suri does, but Sunny is just so full of hurt and regret for it all and she’s worked so hard for months to start putting things right and make amends to the people she hurt—she’s nothing like Suri, not deep down, and I just dont think she ever was, and for all she’s talked about the ‘old her,’ she’s never been anything but intelligent and nice, worrying about how I feel and making sure I’m okay, without acting like my anxiety is a huge problem she doesn't like dealing with…”

It was at times like this that Wallflower wished that her friend was at all capable of getting to the point before she died of old age. Right now, this just sounded like a pitch for the Sunset Shimmer fan club and not any kind of logical argument that she was used to hearing from Twilight Sparkle.

“…and we got to be friends, good friends, and I didnt mean to, but she was just so smart and pretty and fun to be around, that I couldn't help crushing on her—”

What?

“—didn't think it would amount to anything because what are the odds, you know? Here’s this person I really like, but there's no way, except, then it turned out it wasn't so one-sided after all, and I had no idea until she kissed me!”

The words echoed through the strangely heavy, still air of that winter wood, leaving both girls staring at each other as the sound faded far too slowly. Twilight’s eyes widened, as if the words that had come out of her mouth had not been a conscious choice, leaving her with a dawning panic that she had once again overshared.

For Wallflower the only sound she could hear now was the eerie not-sounds of the winter weather, that hollow but faint whooshing sound that only came with frozen water falling from the sky. Which was fine because she needed a minute herself. This…this was not where she thought this talk would go when it started, and at first, she wondered if it was some kind of joke or a last ditch effort to throw her off the scent of Twilight’s real activities with Sunset Shimmer. The look on Twilight’s face though, told her it was the truth, one the girl hadn't been intending to share so openly.

It made some measure of sense, she supposed, Twilight being gay. Looking back, the signs were there—she had taken them for a lack of interest in romance at all, like a lot of socially inept hyper-nerds were known to have, or at least the ignorance of that aspect of a social life. It was half the reason she’d poked fun at her with the topic, because she’d need to learn sooner or later…And if Twilight was gay, hiding it at CPA was the smartest thing she could do, because someone like Suri would use that for ammunition.

…but this…? She wanted to clarify, and so she broke the silence, not even trying to frame her words positively. “Are you telling me you’ve been sucking face with the queen of Canterlot High?”

Twilight stared at her, and went from anxious hand wringing to pure incredulity. “Really? That’s what you’re going to go with? Crude humor?”

“Look, Twilight, I wanted to make sure I heard right, and not everyone is as much of an uptight prude as you are—though I guess you really aren't as much of a prude as everyone thinks.” Wallflower rolled her eyes. “Now answer the question, because I was not expecting to find out Sunset Shimmer was a secret rug-muncher, or that you’re apparently telling me you’ve been inspecting her tonsils.”

The younger girl stiffened, managing to look offended even as she edged back into ‘freaked out’ territory. “Can you not use slang like that? It’s insensitive and extremely derogatory.” She searched Wallflower’s face, wringing her hands again. “And what do you mean you weren’t expecting it?! That's what we’ve been talking about for the past ten minutes!”

“I thought she was supplying you with weed!” Wallflower countered. “I thought you were getting high with her! Not feeling each other up in the woods or muff-diving on the sofa!”

She watched her friend’s face flush, a sure sign that the dig had more than a little truth to it—which Wallflower didn't particularly want to think to closely on, given that she couldn't see someone as domineering as the redheaded bully choosing to be the one going down on anyone. Twilight did manage to glare a little…not that it did much. “All this time, you were trying to tell me you thought I was on drugs?! That Sunset was…what, my dealer?! Why would you even consider such a ridiculous idea!?” Then all the color drained out of her face. “But you didn't really know…and I…oh no…no no no no no no…”

Twilight was starting to hyperventilate, mumbling things to herself that Wallflower only caught snatches of. All the same, what little she cared to make out amongst the nonsense made her angry and more than a little annoyed. “Twilight, would you just stop and calm down! What is wrong with you?” Her fists clenched tightly, nails biting into her palms. “We’ve known each other for years, been friends since freshman year—do you honestly think so little of me?”

Wallflower kicked a fallen branch through the leaf litter. “You've gone on and on about Sunset Shimmer being this wonderful friend, but you're willing to believe that I’m going to…what? Put up fliers and tell everyone I see that Twilight Sparkle kissed a girl and liked it?” Hurt crept into her voice despite her attempts to keep it to its normal flat neutrality. “After everything, despite the fact that I’m still friends with Lyra too, you think I’m going to be some kind of raging bigot? I thought you knew me better than that. I would never do that to a friend.”

Her rant seemed to have stopped whatever spaz attack Twilight was in the middle of, and Wallflower took the chance to drive the point home. “I don't care, Twilight. If you prefer sitting on some attractive girl’s face to riding some hot guy like a prize stallion, that's all you. It doesn’t hurt me, does not affect my life as long as you get that I like my eye-candy to be of the decidedly male persuasion, so I have no reason to judge what kind of person does it for you. What I care about is if you're getting involved with people who will hurt and use you, just like I said earlier, and I’m still not entirely convinced Sunset Shimmer isn't one of those people.”

Silence again, except for the sound of the winter storm that was slowly growing stronger, and the wind that was becoming decidedly bitter. Wallflower rubbed her arms through her sleeves to generate a little more warmth.

Finally Twilight seemed to come to some kind of decision. “I…I apologize for sounding as though I was implying you would out me to the world, Wallflower. But your comments, while perhaps not meant that way, were rife with language and demeaning slang used by bigots to shame and control people who are different, and even when you were directing your comments towards Sunset, every single one of them applied to me too. If they were another of your attempts at humor, they fell flat when you began…punching down, as the saying goes.” A shiver went through Twilight and it was hard to tell if it was from cold or from her leftover anxiety. “As for everything else, this…this is not the time or place to have this conversation, so I am requesting we put that on hold until we can have it in a place that is both private and climatically suited for a long discussion. Suffice it to say, I am not out to many people at present, and I would appreciate very much if it continued that way.”

“And I said I wouldn't do that to a friend, Twilight,” Wallflower bit back. “It's a lousy thing to do, especially to the only person who remembered my birthday.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Right…” Twilight tried for a weak and fairly pathetic smile that didn't really reach her eyes. “For now, let’s agree to disagree on your assessment of Sunset, while I acknowledge your right as my friend to be concerned and appreciation that you care about me, while stating respectfully that I am accepting responsibility for my choices and the fallout of those choices.”

Stubborn, obstinate—Wallflower grimaced, cutting off her thoughts to give Twilight a grunted, “Fine. We have work to do anyway, gathering samples. Let's get that done before this weather gets any worse.”

The pair continued on in uncomfortable silence, Wallflower grinding her teeth in irritation. The fact that this was some kind of creepy romance meant she would definitely have to reevaluate her approach…maybe she could talk to Moondancer for ideas. Or at least to preempt Twilight roping her into this ‘We Love Sunset, The Sun Shines Out Her Ass’ club. Lyra was already a lost cause, since she too had been singing Sunset’s praises on the phone on Saturday. Of course, if Sunset Shimmer was a dyke, that would explain it—the queers always seemed to stick up for each other, even if one of them was a total bitch.

Her darkening thoughts were interrupted when she took a step and realized the air was…warm. Blinking, Wallflower looked around and realized she had crossed some invisible threshold into spring. The trees around her had leaves, lush and green, on them, and the cold half frozen precipitation landed here as a light and refreshing misty rain. It was as if winter had…never come here.

“What in the world?”

Twilight glanced over. “It's really strange, isn't it? Now you get why I want to really do some deep investigation here. And why I wanted to be careful? This energy is affecting living things and the environment in unprecedented ways. Go ahead and start gathering plant samples? I’m going to test my new detector.”

Wallflower muttered something like an affirmative, already working at taking clippings and bits of bark from the trees, and even a few soil samples for her own study. Whatever was going on here, it was better than any fertilizer, and she wondered briefly if it was the result of some project by the CHS students…before dismissing that as fairly ridiculous. No one at this school would be smart enough to do something even Twilight Sparkle was having difficulty puzzling out.

She crept through the trees until she could see the grounds of the school, searching for the greenhouse with her future money maker growing outside. She could see a number of the public school kids loitering under overhangs and in doorways, waiting for a ride, and others, dashing across the parking lot through the wet weather. She even saw Sunset Shimmer , straddling a sleek, well maintained motorcycle, talking animatedly to a girl with long purple hair styled to within an inch of its life—one of her air headed sycophants, no doubt. She held back a snort at the sight—Sunset Shimmer really wasn't that subtle, was she? Between the leather, the boots, and now a motorcycle, all she was missing was the awful butch haircut and a pet cat to complete the stereotype.

Pulling away from watching the source of her current ire, Wallflower spotted the greenhouse, and the strange chest high bushes growing along one side. Even from her vantage point, she could see they were covered in the berries….and that there was a pink skinned girl happily picking them off the bush with several others, periodically popping one in her mouth and giggling.

Satisfied with her reconnaissance, she moved back into the woods to look for where Twilight had disappeared off to. She found the younger girl circling a small clearing slowly, focused on her device. “Find something?”

With a distracted hum, she nodded, before squatting down next to a good sized rock sticking up out of the ground. “Yes, actually. These three rocks…do they look deliberately placed to you?” She fished out her phone to take pictures.

The rocks in question seemed to form a rough triangle, though one was much larger and laid out on the ground, like it had been knocked over. It…reminded Wallflower of the pictures she’d seen of Stonehenge, now that she thought about it. Just…smaller, and with fewer rocks. She said as much.

“I noticed that too. It's curious as the natives in this region were not known for any kind of henges, which suggests this was something done much more recently. Perhaps a student project or prank at some point in the school’s history? They aren't new, by any means, if the one is indicative of the others and how deeply they’ve been buried over time…” Twilight finished taking pictures, before digging around in her bag and retrieving two small spades. “Shall we dig down and see whats setting off my detector?”

With that, the pair of girls began to slowly excavate the circle, the damp earth easily removed in a somewhat muddy affair. They were over two feet down before discovering that the whole thing was much bigger than they thought, as the stone on the surface was broken off a much larger stone.

“Twilight,” Wallflower muttered, “I swear if this is some kind of ancient Indian burial ground and we end up cursed, I’m going to be pissed.”

Her friend bit her lip. “I…don't think it's anything like that. It's more likely that—”

CHINK!

Wallflower’s spade hit stone, and they both looked down as she scraped away the dirt and mud to reveal a smooth, curved stone surface. “This is getting weird…I figured we’d find some kind of…I dunno…radioactive rock, or weird busted machine, Twilight.”

Twilight didn't look any happier than she felt. “That is clearly some kind of man-made object,” she said quietly after a minute, pointing her own tool at the rounded surface. “It's too smooth, and natural weathering doesn’t produce a rounded object that looks almost perfectly spherical, which this seems to be.”

Another eyeroll. “I could have told you it was man made by the fact that someone wrote on it. Even if I've never seen letters like this before.”

Her friend blinked. “Letters?” She looked closer when Wallflower pointed. “Oh! That…does seem to be a kind of writing…” her hand reached down and she brushed a finger along the curve of one of the strange markings.

Purple-pink light flashed from her fingertip, making her real back with a startled yelp, landing on her butt in the leaves and mud. “What was that!?”

“How am I supposed to know? Maybe it was your weird energy you can't manage to find?” Wallflower kept scraping, and discovered what looked like a crack. “Looks like whatever this is, its broken.” She fished out her own phone and took a few pictures of it—she bet Moondancer would be able to recognize the writing, since the girl was a massive nerd for lost civilizations and ancient ruins. Something told her this was not a prank from a previous generation of students.

Then she was back to work, wedging her spade into the crack to try and lever the thing open. If there was some kind of curse or whatever protecting it, she figured Twilight had already triggered it and that she’d be safe now.

Speaking of Twilight, she was already back on her feet, looking very agitated. “Wallflower, I think we need to stop. This…this isn't…something is very wrong here. My detector is going haywire, and whatever that was, it wasn't normal or logical.”

“Stop?” she questioned in disbelief. “When we’re this close to cracking it open and finding out what's in here and just what is going on at this school? You said this is the center of all your readings, right? What if this thing is the source? Not only would you ace your project, but then we could study it and figure out what makes it tick.”

The other girl shook her head. “I’m not saying it shouldn't be studied, but…I think there needs to be precautionary measures taken, and that we should be following a much more in depth procedure. Like you suggested, I didn't expect to be digging up an energy source—these tools were for botanical and geologic sample collection. This…energy source could be dangerous and handling it may not be the best idea.”

Wallflower made a sound of triumph as she finished breaking the seal on some kind of circular lid to the stone…container? It ended up splitting into several pieces, revealing a dark interior that seemed to have a faint, diffuse glow inside. “Got it!” she exclaimed, and tossed her spade aside to reach in. She couldn't explain it, but she needed to know what was in there, to see the glowing object in the light for herself.

A lavender hand reached to stop her. “Wallflower, wait, it could be dangerous!”

She shook it off. “That's been true of any discovery worth discovering,” the green haired girl countered. With that, she plunged her hand into the darkness and wrapped it around what felt like two objects: smooth stone that was far too warm to the touch for having been in the ground, and…a roll of paper? Fabric? Wallflower pulled them out. “See?”

The ground rumbled under them, and the stone container collapsed into gravel, as if thousands of years of erosion and aging happened in the blink of an eye. The standing stones and all the loose earth fell into the now collapsed space as gravity took hold, leaving both girls staring down at a somewhat messy, but much shallower hole than they'd had a moment before. “Convenient,” Wallflower muttered, absentmindedly shoving one of the remaining mounds of dirt and debris back into the hole, covering up the last vestiges of the big stones.

Twilight was staring. “This is officially dangerous and well above what we’re capable of handling…please Wallflower, I think you need to put that stuff down and we should reevaluate—”

Wallflower stopped listening, studying the fist sized, egg shaped rock in her hand. It was etched and grooved with lines and symbols she didn’t understand, all terminating in what looked like a staring eye on the face of it. All of the carvings were glowing with a faint, somewhat sickly green light, and a few drops of some kind of green-tinted fluid dripped to the damp earth beneath her. It was warm to the touch, almost hot, and it tickled something in the back of her mind as that warmth made her arm tingle all the way to her elbow.

The other item was a sealed and tied…scroll? Like the kind found in history museums or fantasy games. Something to be looked at later. The stone…it was more important…she could feel it.

“—I should have listened to Sunset and not researched any of this. She was trying to warn me, but I just thought she was being silly…”

Ugh. Sunset, again. Now Twilight was explaining that she wanted to abandon their find, rebury it, and scrap her project…because of Sunset Shimmer? “Would you just shut up about Sunset, Twilight!? I’m so sick of you constantly talking about her like she’s the greatest person in the world! She’s not, okay? She’s mean and ugly and no different than Suri, and you're so stupid about her because of some ridiculous crush that you can't tell you're being used for a cheap thrill by someone looking to experiment before she graduates! I am not letting you take this away from me because you've got your lips glued to Sunset Shimmer’s ass!”

Twilight stared at her, shock and hurt written on her face. “That’s not what this is about! That rock could be dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt because of me! You’re my friend, Wallflower, and I would feel terrible if I caused something to happen to you!”

It was hurt that was echoed, years of being forgotten and ignored, pushed aside in favor of something or someone more important—not as much by Twilight, who, admittedly, was better than most—and Wallflower just couldn't keep it in any more. Not when she could see what was coming, knew that Sunset would isolate Twilight from her real friends until all she had was Sunset. It had already started, after all…and she said as much.

“You’d feel terrible, Twilight? You? You barely remember you even have friends! When’s the last time you bothered to call or text Lyra? Did you even know her crazy mother nearly put her in the hospital with one of those ridiculous ‘juice cleanses’ of hers? I bet you don't even remember us talking about it last year! You certainly didn’t show up to see her with Moondancer and me! And speaking of Moondancer, when's the last time you wrote to her without me reminding you? Have you even bothered to read her latest letter?” Wallflower’s voice grew more angry and hurt with every word, but she was on too much of a roll to stop now. She was barely aware of discarding the scroll so she could grip the stone in both hands. “You forget my existence half the time when I’m in the room with you, because you're so caught up in your own delusions of winning some Nobel prize before you turn twenty five that nothing and no one else matters! And when you do manage to remember you only do things because you feel guilty! That's not friendship, Twilight! You don't care about me—you don’t even want me around most of the time! Like with this project! Cinch put me on as your assistant, whether I wanted to be or not, and you treat it like some big inconvenience!”

Twilight was still gaping at her, mouth moving in some futile effort to produce words, as Wallflower panted for breath. The stone clenched in her fists burned into her palms with painful heat, matching the pain in her heart and head. “So don't tell me that you’d feel terrible! You’ve done nothing but complain and criticize and boss me around for weeks, and the only thing you'd feel bad about would be getting in trouble for breaking some imagined rules, or for putting you in a bad position with your so-called girlfriend!”

“That’s not—I—it could be—”

She cut her off. “This was your project, your idea, your excursion, and you were all ready to do this until the last second! Now, when we might have something potentially world changing in our hands, you want me to give that up? You can forget it, Twilight, the same way you forget your friends all the time!”

“But, Wallflower, your hand—”

“Just forget it, Twilight!” she snarled.

But it was the stone in her hand that answered. It lit up with a powerful green light that flashed bright, slamming into Twilight like a battering ram. Twilight crumpled, and a thin, faint wisp of something like luminescent liquid smoke drew itself off her skin, the same purple-pink as the light from before, threaded through with fainter hints of other colors, like red and pale blue and sharp hints of a sickly yellow green, like an old highlighter. The stone seemed to gobble up those smokey tendrils hungrily…

It was so shocking that Wallflower dropped the stone in shock, where it landed in the mud at her feet with a splat. The green light emanating from it flickered, then went out. She stood there for most of a minute, before she felt the stirrings of her own panic—Twilight hadn’t moved.

“Twilight?” Wallflower called in concern. “Crap…Don't be dead, please don't be dead…” If Twilight was actually hurt, Wallflower would feel bad. Not to mention how much trouble they’d be in for trespassing on CHS grounds…

Just as she’d resolved to run for help, Twilight groaned, sitting back up, leaf litter stuck to her hair. “What…what am I doing on the ground?” She fixed her glasses that had been knocked askew, and looked up at Wallflower. “What happened? Did you get the samples?” She frowned, rubbing her temples and leaving a dirty smudge. “I was…following a reading…?”

Shock almost broke her composure, but Wallflower squashed it down with more than a little of her earlier anger, keeping the worried expression on her face through sheer effort. Was Twilight seriously going to play like the last half hour had never happened, the way a middle schooler might do, out of pettiness? Was that the level Sunset had taught her to sink to?

No…she realized, as the younger girl took in her damp, somewhat muddy state with real confusion in her eyes. Twilight wasn't capable of that kind of subtlety—it was honestly too emotionally complex for someone who barely understood humor that wasn't bad puns, much less something subtle like sarcasm. Even someone like Sunset Shimmer couldn't teach Twilight duplicity, no matter how good she was.

Which meant this was genuine. Somehow, Twilight had…forgotten…a good twenty or thirty minutes. Should Wallflower tell her what they’d found, what had occurred? Wallflower though back to how Twilight had reacted over the Blushberries, how agitated and demanding she’d been just a few minutes ago about the stone…the likelihood of her going right back to demanding they abandon the whole thing or turn it over to someone else…she didn't want to go through that again, and she certainly didn't want to give up the stone they’d found. Not of it could do things like alter memories—what if it could do other things as well?

She’d be stupid to give up that kind of power to just anyone, to give them something they could use against her. No. The stone was hers now, and Twilight didn't need to know about it. No one did.

Shifting her stance, Wallflower crouched down to offer one hand to help Twilight up, using the action as a cover for her other hand to retrieve the strange rock and stuff it in her pocket, mud and all. “I was hoping you could tell me. I was collecting plant samples, and heard you cry out. You were already on the ground before I could get here…” It took some effort, but she kept her tone normal as she spun the lie.

“That’s…so strange. I don't remember yelling or falling…just talking to you and turning to follow my detector, then suddenly I’m on the ground, all muddy.” She frowned. “Are you sure you didn't see or hear anything odd?”

Wallflower shook her head firmly, searching for a way to divert Twilight’s attention. “Other than you, no.” She got the hint of an idea, and decided it would work as well as any on Twilight’s overactive mind. “You sure this isn't something else you haven't bothered to tell me?” she asked in return, putting just a little accusation in her voice. Purple eyes blinked behind thick lenses, and she could see the hesitation and uncertainty there. Time to drive the point home. “Just seems an awful lot like Dancing Petal’s spazzie fits last year, just without the gurgling and thrashing.”

That did it. Twilight pushed Wallflower’s hand away and got to her feet on her own, swaying briefly. “That's a horrible way to put it, but no, I’ve not impossibly and spontaneously developed epilepsy,” she told her tersely. “And before you jump to false conclusions, it's not the result of me being on some kind of illicit substance either.”

“Just telling you what it looked like,” she said with a shrug.

Twilight stared at her again, shaking her head before searching for her detector. “I’m going to get my readings now.”

Crap. No, she couldn't do that. What if it could see the stone in her pocket? “I think we should be done for the day, Twilight. Get out of here, get some Starbucks or something on the way home, and come back another day.”

Her friend frowned, and she recognized the stubborn set to her jaw. “I can't. I need my readings before I go for the day.”

“Twilight,” she ground out, “Its freezing, it's starting to sleet--despite being in this weird magic bubble that feels like summer, and we’re already cold and soaked. Maybe you don't care about catching pneumonia, but I’m not thrilled by the idea. I’m done. I’m going back to my car, going to get a hot coffee, and going home. And since I’m your ride, you don't have a choice. Pack it in and let’s go.” One way or another, she couldn't risk Twilight discovering what was in her pocket, even if that meant being a bit of a bitch to her.

Still, Twilight resisted, even though she was starting to shiver. “I can't go yet! Just give me ten minutes.”

Wallflower shook her head. “No, Twilight. We’ve done enough, you've collapsed once. We’re done. I’m leaving. You want a ride home, you’ll be done too, or you can find another way home. I’m sure Sunset Shimmer would be happy to give you a ride.”

The last sentence came out sour, and rather than risk another argument, Wallflower turned and made for the path through the woods, intending on putting as much distance between herself and Twilight’s device as possible before the girl recovered enough to start using it.

*smirks* I've been waiting for months to post this one. Writing it was a blast.

So yeah. Someone's got their hands on the evil memory rock now.

There's plenty of clues and hints and even easter eggs in this chapter. Interesting to see who finds what.

Also plenty of setup for later.

And of course, now Twilight has accidentally outed herself to Wallflower. Oops?

(I do hope some of Wallflower's snarky and unpleasant remarks got a few laughs--the one about the sofa made my friend laugh so hard they almost choked on their soda, and my girlfriend almost did a spit take when she read it.)