//------------------------------// // Chapter I: Better Place // Story: If These Scars Could Speak // by PanHead 537 //------------------------------// No student parking in the faculty lot. I've got a yearbook delivery for Best Gardener! A yearbook president never reveals her secrets! The sun was shining bright over Canterlot High. The birds were singing, a gentle breeze was blowing through the trees, and there was not a cloud in sight. But none of that mattered to Sunset Shimmer as she walked through the crowded halls of the school. A few weeks ago, she was met with nothing but sour faces due to everyone's memories of her getting erased by the Memory Stone. But now, she was once again greeted with a warm smile from everyone she passed. She was happy to put those few weeks in the back of her mind. There really is no better place than CHS. she thought, smiling to herself. "Hi, Sunset!" Lyra Heartstrings called. "Hey, Lyra!" Sunset replied, giving the green girl a wave. "Yo, Sunset! What's up?" Sandalwood said, smiling. "Oh, not much," she replied, giving him a wink. "Have a nice day!" Everyone's in a good mood today. she thought. Never anything wrong with that. Turning a corner, she made her way to her locker. Opening it, she checked a note she had taped on the inside of the door. "Oh, yeah," she said to herself. "I have Yearbook Club with the girls today. Almost forgot." She reached in and grabbed a blank photo album and a large package of printer paper, then closed the door. She turned to start the short walk to the club room but stopped short to avoid bumping into Trixie. "Oh! Hi, Trixie! Didn't see you there." "Why, hello there, Sunset," Trixie answered, giving her hair a little flip. "How are things with you?" "A whole lot better now that the Memory Stone is gone," Sunset replied. "Everyone remembers me, you got your poster in the yearbook, and everything's... well, just normal." Trixie smiled. "Well, that's always nice to hear. After all, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie had quite a hand in that!" she said, quickly striking a dramatic pose. "By the way, you still never told me exactly how my poster got in the yearbook." Sunset shook her head playfully. "I told you, Trixie... a yearbook president never reveals her secrets." "Very well, then," Trixie replied before walking away with swagger in her step. Sunset rolled her eyes and smirked. Classic Trixie. She never changes. she thought as she began walking again. As she walked, she looked around the halls at the other students getting their class materials from their lockers. Then out of nowhere, she felt a sudden feeling of confusion come over her. Hmm. Why am I feeling like this? Eh, probably nothing. Shrugging, she continued on. Eventually reaching the door to the club room, she turned the handle and stepped in. Closing the door behind her, her eyes fell upon the computer lab. A row of desktop computers lined the left and back walls. A blackboard was attached to the right wall and a copier sat in the far corner. A large desk and two tables lined the middle of the room. Seated around one of the tables were the rest of her friends. Hearing the door close, Twilight Sparkle turned towards her friend. "Sunset! There you are!" she said, standing up from her seat. "Hi, girls! Sorry I'm late. Class fell a bit behind." "Oh, pish posh, darling," Rarity answered, waving her hand. "You're not late at all." "Just fashionably late!" Pinkie Pie said, winking at Rarity. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Nice one, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash laughed. "Wow," Sunset said, smiling at her friends. "Is it just me or is it the weather? Because everyone's in a really good mood today." "Who cares?!" Pinkie said, giggling. "A smile brightens everyone's day!" "Pinkie, you'd be smiling even if there was a tornado about to plow through this place," Rainbow said, trying not to laugh. "Alright, y'all," Applejack said, rolling her eyes playfully. "We got work to do. Did ya get all the stuff we needed, Sunset?" "Yes, I did," Sunset answered, holding up the photo album and printer paper. "But can we get started now? This stuff is about to fall out of my hands." "Well, no time like the present," Twilight answered. The girls stood up from the table and took their seats in front of the computers. As they did, Fluttershy let out a long sigh. "Ya okay, sugar cube?" Applejack asked. "I- I'm fine," Fluttershy said. "It's just... I don't know why Principal Celestia told us to start making the yearbook for next year." "I know," Rainbow said, opening a photo editing program. "It seems like a waste of time. And summer break starts this Friday." "Well, it never hurts to be prepared, darling," Rarity said. "Besides, we're only deciding on what the book's cover is going to look like next year." "Yeah," Rainbow said. "But didn't Principal Celestia say to make a few pages as templates?" "She did," Twilight answered. "Sunset, did you bring your flash drive?" Sunset nodded and placed it in front of her keyboard. "I can work on the pages if you girls want me to," she said. Rainbow turned to Sunset with a glare. "Fine, but I swear, if you put our photo next to Bulk Biceps again, you'll regret it!" Sunset rolled her eyes. "Okay. If it makes you happy, I won't." "You better leave yourself a note in case you forget," Rainbow said under her breath. Turning back to her computer, Sunset clicked on the "Files" tab. The window popped open and revealed the folders of material made by previous students. Clicking on the "Student Photos" folder, she cycled through each photo, writing down each name as she went. Randomly selecting a handful of images, she transferred them to her USB drive. She closed the window and opened a yearbook outline program. She selected one photo at random and attached it to the page. Suddenly, the feeling of confusion she'd felt in the hallway came over her again. She slowly looked around the room, then back to her computer screen, then around the room again. "Hey," she said, getting up from her chair. "'Hey' what?" Twilight asked, looking up from her computer. Sunset looked at her friends. "Where's Wallflower Blush?" Fluttershy looked around the room and then up at her friend. "I don't know." "Isn't she in trigonometry with you, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, turning around in her chair. Fluttershy took a few moments to think before answering. "I... I think so," she said. "B- but I didn't see her today." "You know, darling, now that you mention it," Rarity said, turning to face Sunset. "I'm almost positive she's in the same lunch period as me." "Did you see her at lunch today?" Rainbow asked. "Come to think of it, I didn't see her," Rarity answered. Sunset sat back down in her chair. "Maybe she's doing the Gardening Club today." "It's Monday, silly! Gardening Club meets on Tuesday and Thursday," Pinkie replied. "Was she here last Monday and the Monday before that?" Sunset asked. "I wasn't here either of those days." "Ah definitely saw her last Monday," Applejack said. "But only in the hallway. She ain't in any classes Ah have." "That's really strange," Sunset answered. "The last time I texted her was before I went to the gym yesterday afternoon. I wanted to remind her that Yearbook Club was today." She took out her phone and opened her contacts. She tapped "Wallflower" in the list and checked her text messages. "Yeah, I sent that text at 1:30 yesterday. But for some reason, she never answered me." "Why would she not respond?" Rainbow asked, a hint of worry in her voice. Sunset was about to answer when her phone began vibrating in her hand. She opened her message list back up and saw a new text from Wallflower. "Wait. Scratch that," Sunset said. "She just answered me." "Okay, that is kind of odd," Twilight answered. Sunset quickly read Wallflower's text. 'Hi, Sunset! Sorry I took so long to respond. I'm not able to come to the club today. I've got some stuff going on. See you tomorrow.' The seven girls all exchanged quizzical looks with each other. "What does she mean by 'stuff going on?'" Fluttershy asked. "Maybe she got sick," Rarity replied. "Or she could be referring to something personal." Sunset rubbed her forehead. "You're probably right, Rarity," she said. "I don't want to bother her right now, but I'll ask if she's doing the Gardening Club tomorrow. I might hang around there and see how she's doing." She typed out an answer to Wallflower's previous message and hit "Send." 'Okay. By the way, are you doing the Gardening Club tomorrow? If so, do you mind if I join in for the day?' 45 seconds later, a reply popped up on her screen. 'Sure! You can hang with my club tomorrow! See you then!' "Well," Sunset said, turning to her friends. "That answers that. I guess I was getting worked up over nothing." "Hold your horses, sugar cube," Applejack said. "Ah ain't been around her that much, but Ah don't ever remember her gettin' overly excited about somethin' so easily." "She's probably just happy to see Sunset," Pinkie said. "I mean, if I missed school for a few days, I'd be happy to see you girls." "What's new?" Rainbow said quietly to herself. “Ah’m just sayin',” Applejack said. “She could be hidin' somethin'.” "Well, let's not dwell on that right now," Twilight answered. "We still have work to do." "Actually, I think I should head out," Sunset said, looking at the clock on her phone. "I have some calculus homework to catch up on. I'll just leave my flash drive here in case you need it for anything." "Alright. Bye, Sunset!" Rainbow said. "See ya!" Pinkie called. Closing the door behind her, Sunset started back down the hallway. This time, it was devoid of other students since most of them had gone home for the day. Sunset put her hand to her chin as she walked. "Applejack's got a point," she said to herself. "Wallflower's usually never that chipper. Even when she's in the gardening mood. I might be getting worried for no reason, though." She finally came to the double doors of the main foyer. Pushing the doors open, she felt the warm afternoon air across her face. The sun was now hanging lower in the sky, casting shadows on the ground. Sunset took a deep breath. I think I'll take a quick walk around town before I head home. she thought. Maybe that'll clear my mind a bit. As she began walking down the concrete steps, she felt her phone vibrating again. She took it out and saw another text from Wallflower. 'You're going to LOVE what we're doing in the club tomorrow, Sunset! I just know it!' Sunset raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Okay, this is sending up red flags," she said. "Maybe she is hiding something. Or she's excited to get back to working in the school garden. I'll ask her tomorrow. It's probably nothing, but it never hurts to be sure."