Present Day

Confusion. Deceit. Repression. Canterlot High has suffered from these events for nearly a week. Memories lost, friendships shattered, and numerous injuries caused by some outside force during the CHS Cup; Sunset Shimmer was fully aware of who was behind the chaos. The Rainbooms, the very girls she considered her friends and family, had all but forgotten about her. Time after time and duel after duel, all of the memories, trials and tribulations that they had experienced had suddenly been wiped from their minds.

"I know now... I remember...Hold on girls..." Sunset whispers as she sprints down the silent halls of the empty school. "The Emerald Witch."

The Emerald Witch; one of the many participants of the duelist Cup that took place just a few days ago. No one knows who they are nor where they came from. The day they dueled their first opponent was the day the mystery began. Despite the quiet disposition of the Emerald Witch, there was an air of hatred and cruelty that hung over their head. Every duel they won resulted in their opponent being severely injured and with no memory of the duel or who they battled.

That day, that fateful day that Sunset found herself on the shores of the beach; shunned by her friends and hated by her peers yet again. If it wasn't for the guidance of Princess Twilight and the unlikely aid of Trixie, the memories of all of her friends and the memories of everyone at CHS would be lost forever. Of all of the students who were affected by the magic of the Memory Stone, it was Trixie of all students who would help Sunset. Fending off students, investigating the students and teachers, and even helping reveal the identity of the Emerald Witch, Trixie had truly helped Sunset through it all and had sacrificed her freedom from the locked Yearbook Committee room to allow Sunset to confront the Emerald Witch.

" Thank you, Trixie. I won't forget this, i promise. I'll stop this madness once and for all!"

Bursting through the backdoor of the High School, Sunset finds herself running into the faculty lot. As she runs across the lot towards the woods in the back, her near full sprint slows to an awkward crawl as she can feel the stinging, angered glare from her six friends. Even when lowering her gaze, she can feel the spiteful gaze from Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the annoyed looks from Rarity and Twilight, and the cowering gaze from the downtrodden Fluttershy. Even Pinkie Pie, a party loving goof and a girl who usually had a wide grin on her face, gave a stern gaze as Sunset shuffled past them. Many soft whispers were heard from the girls as Sunset wandered past; most of which were some profane remarks from Rainbow and Applejack.

" Hold on girls. I'll fix this." Sunset thinks as she looks back before parting through the bushes and wandering into the dense foliage.

Cutting through the dense bushes and low hanging branches, Sunset follows a beaten dirt path and a pair of footprints along it. She remained thankful, even to this day, that her magical geode allowed her to see into the minds of whoever she made contact with. With the help of Trixie, Sunset managed to narrow down the list of suspects down to the most inconspicuous student at CHS. Even now, as she tears through the foliage to the hidden clearing, all Sunset could do was repeat the name of the true name of the Emerald Witch. The more she repeated the name of the one behind it all, the more her blood boiled at what they had done. Through her enraged eyes, she saw the clearing ahead and a shadowy figure walking away from them. Parting through the dense bushes and stomping into the garden, Sunset stands behind the figure as she yells the name of the Emerald Witch.

"Wallflower Blush!"

Startled, Wallflower turns around to face Sunset. Draped over her body was a long, dark cloak with hood over her now spiked and flowing green hair. All but her left side was covertly covered in her tattered cloak. Attached to her left arm was a large custom Duel Disk in the form of a blooming, red rose. Whatever expression she may have had when Sunset spoke her name was all but hidden by a prominent porcelain mask that covered her normally calm and freckled face. The mask was completely blank of any and all expressions and detail, save for the small marks underneath the eyes.

" What?! How do you-" she says in a panicked tone.

" I remember everything. The events at the Cup, what happened today, how I treated you. Everything." she replys.

" What?! How?! I erased the whole afternoon!"

" What?!" A voice rang behind them

Parting through the bushes came the rest of the Rainbooms behind Twilight. Hoisted on Applejacks back was Rarity and Pinkie, with Rainbow and Fluttershy following close behind. After reaching the clearing, Applejack shrugs off the two girls as she rubs her shoulders.

" For petes sake Rarity, I dunno why I had to lift ya up just to get through this here forest." the southern gal says, tipping her wide brimmed hat.

" Well now, I'm not about to go gallivanting through these dirty woods while wearing my new outfit now am I?" she replys indignantly.

" Oooo! That was fun! Can we do it again?!" the pink haired girl says hopping up and down giddily. The rest of the girls simply give a sigh or and eye roll at the eccentric girls request.

"Girls...what are you doing here?" Sunset says.

" We saw you coming in here and thought you were up to something. So, we figured we'd see what you're up to!" Rainbow says rather bluntly.

" It was mostly Rainbows idea, but yes. Sunset, what did she mean by erasing the whole afternoon?" Twilight asks.

"ENOUGH!"

Before Sunset could get a chance to respond, Wallflower raises her left arm as a row of five, sharp petals extend from her disk. The center screen roars to life as a deep groan is heard throughout the clearing. Suddenly, a deep teal barrier expands from the center of the triangle rock formation and violently pushes out the rest of the Rainbooms. As the rest of the girls recover from the impact, Sunset turns to face Wallflower, who has now removed her mask and lowered her hood.

" I've had enough of you, Sunset Shimmer! All you've done is fool everyone into thinking that you've changed. That because of your 'friends' help, you've suddenly changed. Nothing's changed! You were popular and loved by everyone, and now you can feel what it's like to be me!"

" Wallflower, please! You don't understand. I used to be just like you. Sure, I was popular, but I was lonely. It was thanks to Twilight that I've changed. I've seen what the magic of friendship can do. Please, let me help yo-"

"SHUT UP!!!' Wallflower screams with a rage that seemed to shake even the trees." I've had enough of this. God, what did I ever see in you? Clearly, nothing i seem to do works! If erasing your memories and your friends memories wasn't enough, then what if I erased all of their memories of high school?"

Sunset steps back in terror. She was fully aware of the power of the Memory Stone ever since she returned to Equestria to learn more about the magic affecting her friends. The memories her friends held dear; the very memories that united them would be destroyed by the effects of dark magic held by an unstable, lonely girl.

" No! You can't!" Sunset yells in a panic. " You'd be erasing all of their memories of each other!"

" And what do you intend to do about it?!"

There was only one way Sunset knew how to confront the mad Witch. Even during her reign of terror before the Fall Formal, Sunset was considered to be the best duelist in all of CHS. Had it not been for the CHS Cup being cancelled due to the actions Wallflower took, she would have dueled her much earlier in the finals. Raising her left arm as well, she unfolds her mini duel pad and slides her deck into the pads slot. The set of cards Wallflower had hidden deep in her deck was the cause of all this chaos. If anything could stop Wallflowers cards, it would be Sunset.

" I've ruined their friendship before and I'm not about to let it happen again! If defeating you is what will end this madness, then I'll stop you here and now!"

" We'll see about that!" Wallflower declares as she places the mask back onto her face and pulls her hood back up.

Both of the girls quickly draw five cards from their respective deck trays as the screens on both of their Duel Disk emit a series of beeps and whirs. Displayed on both screens in the right-hand corner labeled "Life Points" was the number "4000." A monotone, robotic, female voice blared from both disks as well; saying the words "Duel, Start!" as both Life Point displays were projected as holograms in front of the two girls.

"DUEL!"

" I'll take the first turn. I draw!" the Emerald Witch declares as she draws her card. After intently eyeing her drawn card, she places it along with the rest of her starting hand as she reaches for another card.

" I'll start by summoning my Evil Thorn in attack position!" she declares as she places a card onto one of the extended petals of her disk. Bursting from the ground came a sickly green weed that twisted and bent itself to one side. The tiny pink and wilted flower that dangled at its side paled in comparison to the gigantic barbed seed that weighed it down. It stood before Wallflower with a pitiful 100 attack points.

" What? I don't get it? Why'd she summon such a weak monster in attack?" The rainbow haired teen asked in confusion.

" I activate my Evil Thorns effect! By sending it to my Graveyard, I can summon two more from my deck!" Wallflower continues as she summons two more copies of Evil Thorn from her deck. The two copies spurt out right next to the first copy as the original suddenly begins to twitch violently. " Furthermore, when my Thorn is sent to the Grave via this effect, I can inflict 300 points of damage to you! Go, Thorn Salvo!"

The first Evil Thorn suddenly detonates its giant seed as it sends a hail of barbs towards Sunset. Sunset braces herself as she raises her arms in front of her face. Then it hit her; a series of absurdly painful stings lining her arms that make her howl in pain as she fell back. The stinging was unbearable, as if several small knives had been flung into her arms. As she writes in pain, the life point counter whirs as Sunsets life points drop to 3700.

" Sweet Celestia, this hurts!" Sunset thinks as she painfully begins to yank out the barbs from her arms. A trickle of blood slowly seeped out from the newly formed puncture wounds on her arms. " She must have done something to make the damage real, just like she did before during the Cup. I can't be too careless in this duel. Not when so much is at stake!"

" Oh my.... Sunset.. are you-" Fluttershy whispers, but to no avail. Her gentle voice trailing off as Sunset rises to her feet.

" What in tarnation?!" Applejack exclaims. " So that there Wallflower is also behind all them injuries too?"

" And she managed to damage her on the first turn..." Rarity mutters.

" However, I can't use my Evil Thorns effects again until my next turn." Wallflower says.

" If that's all she has on her field, then I have a chance to counter attack. Her Thorns are weak and will fall easily." Sunset thinks as she stares at Wallflowers monsters.

" But, don"t think that you'll get the upper hand on me yet! Next, I'll activate my Spell, Closed Plant Gate! Since I control two plant monsters with the same name, this will prevent you from attacking until your next turn."

Sprouting from the ground came a long pair of translucent vines that encompassed both of Wallflowers monsters. Once the Thorns were fully surrounded by the vines, a radiant green barrier encloses both of them. Sunset seethes angrily as her plan was suddenly foiled by Wallflowers move.

"I'll set two cards and end my turn." Wallflowers says as she slaps two cards down onto her disk.

" Looks like It's my move then. I draw!" Sunset says as she draws from her disk. She eyes her hand as she wonders what to do.

" Well... with this hand, I can summon..no!" Sunset thinks as she shakes her head. " How can I say that I've changed if my past keeps up with me. No, I can do better. If Wallflower can burn me, I can do worse." Once her train of thought expires, Sunset reaches for a card in her hand and holds it up. "I activate my Spell, Extra Fusion! With this, I can Fusion Summon a fusion monster by sending monsters from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard!

" Incredible... she can Fusion Summon without wasting any resources from her hand." Twilight says as she stares in awe." But when did she add that card to her deck?"

" Now i'll send my Vermilion Dragon Mech and my Infernal Flame Vixen to the Graveyard!

Sunset reaches into her leather jacket and pulls out two cards. A massive, multi colored whirlpool suddenly appears above her as she tosses her two cards into it. As the cards swirl to the center, a ghostly image slowly fades into existence as a sudden blast of intense heat engulfs the clearing. The rest of the girls cover their eyes as a blinding light suddenly shines from the ever fading vortex. Peeking through their fingers , the Rainbooms saw a shadowy figure that was gigantic in size and dwarfed the clearing. Sunset stands tall as she raises her left hand skyward with a card placed in her fingers.

" Fusion Summon!" Sunset yells. " Descend! Level 8! Blaze Fenix, The Burning Bombardment Bird!"

The luminous whirlpool fades as the giant shadow becomes more visible as it descends from the sky. The monster was that of the torso of a metallic suit of armor with a pair of wide, wing-like appendages floating behind it. The entirety of its body was made up of a blazing fire that gave the monster a more avian appearance. Immense strands of fire that made up its "tail feathers' flowed behind it as it gave a metallic screech from its bird-shaped head. The intense heat only raged on as it lowered itself and its titanic 2800 attack points near Sunset.

" Woah... now that's a big birdie!" Pinkie said as she wiped the beads of sweat that had begun to flow from her brow.

" Man, that thing is gonna burn me to a crisp if it sticks around for too long." Rainbow sputters as she fans herself with her hand.

The rest of the Rainbooms could sympathize as they too suffered from the tremendous heat generated from the gigantic phoenix. Some, like Rarity and Applejack had the luxury of fanning themselves, be it with a wide-brimmed hat or a small fan. Others. like Twilight and the rest had to steer clear of the intense heat and fan themselves with just their hand or nothing in particular. The only ones who didn't mind the heat were Sunset and Wallflower. Sunset had grown up with a fascination of flames, ever since she was just a little filly back home in Equestria. The warmth of the flames reminded her of the fireplace she once slept in front of back home. Even now in the human world, most days of extreme heat were merely a light breeze to her. Wallflower, on the other hand, remained nearly unaffected by the heat. Most of the heat was centralized over by Sunset and the breeze to her back helped with keeping the heat at bay.

" What good will summoning that thing do? You can't attack me due to my Closed Plant Gate! Wallflower yells as she points indignantly at Sunsets new monster.

" I don't intend on attacking you, Wallflower." Sunset replys with a bitter look. " You made a grave mistake when you decided to strike me with your Evil Thorns, because I too can burn away your Life Points. Literally. I activate my Blaze Fenixs effect! Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can burn away 300 of your life points for every card on the field.

" What?!" Wallflower exclaims as she steps back nervously.

" An' with five cards out on the field..." Applejack mutters intently.

" That's 1500 points of damage!" Twilight gasps.

" Go! Giant Phoenix, Air Raid!" Sunset yells as she motions to her monster.

Sunsets monster lets our another screech as its spreads its molten wings and takes to the skies. It soars high up into the fray as it turns its torso downward towards Wallflower. Two large panels open up on its chest as a hail of fiery bombs embraced by even smaller, avian shaped flames rain down upon Wallflower. Despite her best efforts to run and steer clear of the blast, Wallflower was launched into the air as the explosion rocks the clearing. She violently crashes and tumbles onto her back as the rest of the girls take cover behind the surrounding trees and underbrush. Sunset stands unflinching as she hold her left arm in front of her face. A thick black smoke engulfs the clearing as the rest of the girls emerge from whatever cover they had taken. As the smoke begins to clear out, Wallflower groans in pain as she shambles to her feet. Turning back towards Sunset, she staggers back to her original position. A gasp is heard from one of the girls as they can see a long stream of blood trickle from a fracture above the left eye of her mask.

" Not... bad..." Wallflower squeaks as she wipes away the trickle of blood that trailed down the masks eye.

" Celestia... unless I can end this quickly, one of us is gonna die from this duel!" Sunset thinks to herself, still rubbing the wounds that lined her arms. " Thankfully, my Fenix should be able to end this duel long before... before it comes to that."

" I'll set two cards as well and end my turn." Sunset says aloud as she slides two cards into her duel pad.

Wallflower reaches to draw their card before stopping for a moment. The pain that was eating away at her face had subsided for the most part, but the throbbing continued to leave her somewhat stunned. Shaking her head, she draws her card before holding her head as the throbbing intensified.

' I.. draw!" Wallflower mutters.

" Wallflower, please. Just stop. You don't have to do this. No one else has to get hurt." Sunset worriedly says. Wallflower lowers her hand and ignores Sunset as she reaches for a card in her hand.

" I activate my Spell, Seed of Deception. This allows me to summon a level two or lower monster from my hand. I'll summon my level one Tuner monster, Glow-Up Bulb!

A large hologram of Wallflowers spell appears in front of her and it spits out a hefty seed. Once planted, the seed sprouts into a wide white and green flower. The flower suddenly uproots itself to reveal the underside of the flowers; revealing a single, beady eye at the base of the roots. It was once again another monster with a meandering 100 attack points.

" She's really going all in on the low attack point monsters, isn't she?" Rainbow says confused. " Why is she doing all of this?"

" Can't ya see what's goin' on? She just summoned a Tuner! " Applejack replys annoyed. " That means she can do a Synchro Summon."

" Next, I summon my Bird of Roses!"

Loud squawking began to reverberate through the trees. In a flash, a stocky green bird flew in through the trees and perched itself onto Wallflowers shoulder. Its thick body was leaf-like in appearance and it had long, whip-like wings that were segmented in a style not unlike a fern. Blooming on its head and in the tips of its wings were bulbous, crimson roses that swayed in the breeze. Unlike the rest of her monsters, the rose topped bird had a bulkier 1800 attack.

" Another monster... and a tuner..." Sunset wonders as she scans the field. She was well aware of what was coming ahead.

" I tune my level one Glow-Up Bulb with my level four Bird of Roses and my two level one Evil Thorns!"

The hefty bulb hops up into the air as the flowery monsters body becomes completely translucent, save for the neon green outline that now enveloped it. In a flash of light, the outline of Glow-Up Bulb scatters into a large, luminous, neon green ring that rotates rapidly. The Bird of Roses flaps its wings and picks up both of Wallflowers Evil Thorns with its talons as it carries them through the neon ring. Once through the ring, the bulky bird and the two thorns shatter into a series of six bright, white orbs that resembled twinkling stars. A column of light blasts through the ring as it expands. Wallflower then raises her hands upward in a beckoning motion as she begins to chant.

" Draconic deity with beautiful wings, scorch this world with your raging blue flames, and bloom into a new world of endless suffering! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level seven! Bloom in existence, Black Rose Dragon! "

The pillar of light scatters into shards of light and in its place was a gigantic crimson bulb, not unlike the ones that were present on Bird of Roses. Suddenly, two massive, wing-like appendages unfold from the bulb as a multitude of barbed vines extend and violently whip around. The wings had a similar appearance to that of Wallflowers Duel Disk, down to the dark grey that outlines the edges of the petals. The rest of the bud blooms as a long, slender dragon head rises from the center of the rose. Much of the creatures neck was segmented in a gloss, dark grey as more petals shook on its beady head. Three long extensions of rose petals flowed in the ensuing strong gale that came in this beasts wake. The dragon opened its sharp golden eyes and let out a deep, abnormal roar that rumbled throughout the trees. Its horrible howl caused a great discomfort to Sunset, and it even forced the Rainbooms to cover their ears and brace themselves from the shock wave it caused. The dragon nestles itself next to Wallflower as a hologram reveals its 2400 attack.

" What is this monster?"

Sunset says with wonder and sadness. " It looks... sad. Lonely. Its cry is... mournful.

" This is it Sunset. This is where it all begins. I'm tired of it all; solitude, abuse, neglect. With my dragon and the power of the Memory Stone, I'll make sure that you lose everything you know and love." Wallflower says bitterly as she places a hand onto her monsters petal. The dragon bows its head as it gently nuzzles her side.

Something about this monster rubbed Blaze Fenix the wrong way. Sunsets monster let out a threatening shrill roar that made the rose dragon raise its head and roar right back at it. Both of the titanic creatures took a standoffish position in front of their owners as they gave each other a series of roars and growls. Sunset remained startled at her own monster. Somehow, it had gained a mind of its own and was ready and willing to throw down with Wallflowers new behemoth. The rest of the girls stare at the ever-growing events of this duel and the strange occurrences that had transpired. Something told them that this duel had just changed into something far beyond their control. Whatever would happen next would all be on Sunset, and she knew this well. The true battle has just begun...

Author's Note

And with that, the duel begins! Quite a bit of exposition but don't worry, from here on out, it will be purely duel centric. Stay tuned for the next chapter my friends