//------------------------------//
// Day 3 
// Story: Be All My Sins Forgotten 
// by TCC56 
//------------------------------//

By the next morning I realized I'd made some mistakes. All the time I'd spent focusing on understanding the stone, talking with Princess Twilight and trying to figure out who Anon-A-Miss could be had been necessary - but it meant I'd forgotten to handle other things. Number one on the list was a prime example of what blowing up someone's phone looked like: my voicemails were full and the text alert icon on my phone said 99+. A quick glance confirmed that if they knew where I lived, all five of my friends would have been at my door by sundown the day before at the latest. 

I felt pretty bad about that - I still wasn't sure how to handle the situation, but I never meant to worry them. I spent ten minutes with my morning coffee writing a pretty long apology in the group chat. I explained that I'd found some rogue Equestrian magic and needed to handle it - things were under control and I was safe, but I'd gotten distracted coordinating with the Princess and lost track of time. 

By the end of breakfast, four of the five had gotten back to me. (Rainbow was out on her morning run and wouldn't get my message for another half hour.) None of them were happy that I'd ditched them like that, but they grudgingly understood. Rarity had a little speech about how she sometimes gets caught up in her work too that helped my case. They did demand I finally tell them where I lived so they could check up on me next time I wasn't responding - I told them, because it was a fair compromise, I really wasn't hiding it, and hopefully they'd see it as a sign of trust once I got their memories back. Hopefully.

We also agreed to get the sleep-overs back on track and that we'd be picking up at Fluttershy's house that night. 

Which left me a good eight hours and change - we weren't going to even start showing up at Fluttershy's until around five-ish, just after sundown. And knowing me I'd probably be there a little late. I wanted to use the time to get some progress on things like hunting down Anon-A-Miss, and after thinking about it? I decided to try and talk to Wallflower again. If everyone's memories were gone, the real Anon-A-Miss wouldn't remember they did it. Questioning people without their memories wouldn't get anywhere. So Wallflower was the only one who could possibly know anything and she was my only real option unless I wanted to try to learn how to hack MyStable. 

It wasn't that tough to hunt down where Wallflower lived now that I knew her name. (And that she existed.) I also decided that if I met her someplace that felt safe to her she'd be less likely to panic and stonewall me - so her home was a good place to start. I packed up - including the stone because there was no way I was letting something that could make me forget it existed out of my sight - and headed across town. 

Wallflower's home was as nondescript as she was - a cookie cutter house painted in neutral colors in a planned suburb full of houses that varied only in which of the three patterns of the subdivision they were built with. The house gave me the same vibe as her sweater - and it weirdly made me smile. Her sister Fuschia directed me to the backyard, where I got caught by surprise. Rather than another identical patch of snow-dusted grass, half the yard was taken up by a greenhouse - somewhat makeshift with how so many of the glass and plastic panels didn't match each other, but still a decently-sized greenhouse. One she was obviously inside.

The shift from cold to quite warm felt good - and the opposite for Wallflower. The quick burst of chill air when I entered the greenhouse made her whip around, a complaint dying on her lips when she saw it was me rather than a family member disturbing her. And I could instantly tell that she was on the defensive - there was only one door after all, and I was standing in front of it.

Immediately, I put my hands up. "Hey! Hey, relax! I just wanted to talk!" That didn't defuse things much, but what would? It was about at that point I realized I'd screwed up again: this wasn't coming to talk to Wallflower in a place she'd be comfortable, it was me intruding into her safe sanctuary. Way to go, Shimmer. I did what I could to try and fix that dumb error - I took off my backpack and sat down on a wheelbarrow she'd left sitting on its side. There wasn't a ton of room, but I at least got out of the way of the door so she didn't feel quite so cornered. "I was kind of over-aggressive yesterday, so I thought I should apologize. And maybe we could try the conversation again?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, accidentally smearing some of the potting soil on her hands across her sweater. Wallflower probably wanted to ask how I found her house, but she must not have thought it worth the effort to bother. She had other thoughts on her mind. "Maybe. But I want you to prove something to me. What's my name?"

I smirked. It made sense. If I've forgotten her before, why should I remember her now? But my past is still not today. "Wallflower Blush," I firmly stated. And silently prayed that I hadn't somehow messed it up. 

Fortunately, I did remember correctly and she relaxed a little. Didn't come closer and didn't look any friendlier, but she didn't seem quite so ready to run like a rabbit.

We settled to silence for a few tenuous seconds before Wallflower lobbed her first shot. "I really don't know anything about Anon-A-Miss." Her tone edged on desperate - she thought I wasn't going to believe her.

I did. "Okay." I was frustrated about her lack of knowledge, but it wasn't fair to blame her for being as much in the dark as I was. "The stone - when it takes memories, is it just certain times or is it everything about something?"

Wallflower shrugged her shoulders, arms still tight around herself. "Could be both? I wanted it to take away everybody's memories of Anon-A-Miss and it did."

"So," I frowned as she confirmed my suspicions, "Even if I find whoever Anon-A-Miss is, they're not going to know they did it." She nodded. I sighed. "I guess there's really no point in trying to figure it out, then. Neither of us knows and anyone else wouldn't remember. Great."

"Sorry." Wallflower cringed as she said it.

I shook my head. "Not your fault. I was just hoping - if you knew it would make my life a lot easier." 

Both of us laughed a little - well, I laughed and she picked it up too. It was more uneasy than joyful, though. For both of us. 

Wallflower was quiet for about half a minute after the chuckles died away. Slowly she sat down on the greenhouse floor, legs pulled tight against her chest. "You never asked why," she pointed out after she settled.

"Hm?" 

"You never asked why I did it," she repeated. "Why I took away Anon-A-Miss. Why didn't you? I thought that would be your first question."

I snorted. "Because I'm so self-centered?" Before she could reply, I held up a hand. "Don't. You're not wrong. I know I'm trying to get better but it's only been three months since I was a literal demon. It's a process, and I was a pretty bad person."

Frowning, Wallflower thought about that. "I... kinda want to agree? But I kinda also don't." She knew I was going to object - or at least question - and continued quickly. "I mean, you were bad. Really bad. But that doesn't make it okay." 

"Wallflower, I--" And I didn't get anything more out before she cut me off. 

"It's not okay," she repeated. "I used to think that seeing you get treated how you treated everyone would make me feel better. But then this happened and... it didn't. I just felt worse. But this time there was something I could do about it. So I did." Wallflower's words were surprisingly clear - not tainted by anger or her reclusive shyness, but simple and certain. "Nobody should get treated like that. Maybe deep down you're still a terrible person, Sunset Shimmer, but that doesn't mean you deserve to get bullied and beaten up."

That caught me off-guard. Did she erase that too? "Nobody beat me up."

Her eyes looked at the floor. "Just because they aren't hitting you with their fist doesn't mean it hurts less," she miserably noted. 

That made me flinch. 

Wallflower took a long, deep breath to steady herself. "Maybe you are Anon-A-Miss. Maybe you're still the same mean bully you've been for years. But I saw you crying and I just... I know what it's like to feel that way. To be lonely and afraid and..." She trailed off, pulling in on herself tighter.

I stood up, moving slowly. Wallflower braced herself, body tensing up as I came over. I put a hand on her shoulder, leaned in - and then I hugged her. "Thank you." She breathed out, and so much of her tension went with it.

We lapsed into silence again, sitting on the packed dirt of the greenhouse. When I didn't let go of the hug, Wallflower hesitated - and then tentatively hugged me back. 

That got me to smile more as we pulled slightly - but only slightly - apart. "Don't worry. I'm pretty new at this, too." 

She laughed. It was half a snort, but still a real laugh. "This isn't how I thought this was going to go when you came into my garden."

"You thought I was going to start yelling again?" She nodded - I smiled. "Can't blame you. I thought I might do that too. But one of the lessons that I've been trying to remember lately is that friendship can blossom from just one moment of kindness." 

Wallflower was really quiet after I said that. And - in the most fragile voice I think I've ever heard - she asked just one question. "Am I your friend?"

Six months ago I'd have laughed in her face. Or maybe just seen how far I could string her along before she broke. But right in that moment, I couldn't imagine ever taking someone who had so much... so much fearful hope and betray it. "I'd like to be. If you want, Wallflower."

"I do." She was just as fast to say it as she'd been hesitant to ask. A blush touched her cheeks. "I, um. I mean, yes. I'd like that."

A little smirk crossed my lips. "Even if I'm Anon-A-Miss or the same mean bully I was for years?"

Wallflower's blush turned darker. "I... I don't really think you are. I mean, if you were--."

I put my hand over her mouth. "I'm kidding, Wallflower." 

When I pulled my hand away, she was pouting. 

"So," I ventured in the momentary silence, "Since we're friends. Why don't you help me get to know you better?"





We talked for hours in the dirt. It's ironically hard to remember everything we said to each other - once Wallflower started it was tough to make her stop. I was probably the first person in her life she'd ever opened up to and she had a million thoughts that needed to get out. Some of it was stuff I didn't understand - unsurprisingly, she knew a lot about plants that went right over my head - but a lot of it was just... thoughts and dreams and things she had to get off her chest. It was pretty cute, how she kept hopping from thought to thought that she could finally say out loud to someone who would listen. Someone who wanted to hear her and wouldn't judge.

I got a few words in edgewise of course, mostly to talk about Equestria. I guess I gave as good as she did on that - there's some stuff I've never told the girls because they'd see it as a friendship problem to solve and I haven't told Princess Twilight about because she's... she's too Princess. I don't think Wallflower really got a lot of it, but she was a sympathetic ear. And oversharing encourages more oversharing, I guess. 

Eventually, though, I had to stand up and stretch. My shoulder and at least three vertebrae popped loud enough for Wallflower to wince at. "I hate to be the one to say it, Wallflower, but I gotta go. The girls wanted me over at Fluttershy's for a sleepover and I need to get there before it's dark." I looked less up and more over at the setting sun through the greenhouse's panels. "I'd say you should come with me, but it's Fluttershy's house rather than mine and..." I shrugged. 

Wallflower nodded as she stood up, too. "Yeah. I understand." She still sounded sad - but that turned quickly when I put my hand on her arm. 

"Hey. Don't worry, they'll like you too." A thought occurred, and I revised my mental timeline. "Probably shouldn't introduce you yet, though. After I solve the Anon-A-Miss problem and put their memories back for sure, though. Before that you'll just get--" 

And I stopped. Wallflower was staring at me, eyes wide with shock. "You didn't give them them their memories back? But I thought that's why you took the stone!"

There was a little voice in the back of my head that started screaming. I was missing something. "Well yeah, I'm going to. But if I figure out who Anon-A-Miss is first, it'll fix everything. Win-win, right?" 

Wallflower lunged and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Sunset, it's the third day!" I must have looked like an idiot, because she kept going. "You said you had other sources! Didn't they tell you about the time limit?" Panic was rising in her voice and in her eyes. "Memories only last in the stone for a little while! After sundown of the third day, they're gone forever!"

My stomach lurched, and it was a good thing we'd missed lunch. A quick glance at my watch - sundown was less than fifteen minutes away. As it was, the sun was almost touching the horizon. That voice in my head was louder now, pointing out how close I was to losing those memories forever. If I'd talked with Wallflower for a few more minutes, or hadn't brought it up, or.. or anything! 

Wallflower was all panic and action when I needed her to be most. She gave me a little shake as my mind wildly churned. "Sunset! Sunset, come on! Where did you put the stone? You're running out of time!"

She was right - and that question snapped me out of it. I practically dove for my bag, clawing it open to get the stone out. Wallflower looked at it forlornly as it sat in my hands, the temptation of the magic still picking at her thoughts. There was a brief war in her eyes - but she saw how desperate I was. 

I looked away for a moment, and then Wallflower was standing next to me when my head turned back. She told me what needed to be done without words by holding out a shovel. I dropped the stone to the ground, grabbed the shovel, raised it and... 

And I stopped. 

You have to understand - I'm still human. Ish. After everything that's happened in my life, sometimes it seems like I'm a superhero. Or at least that I'm confident and strong and know what I'm doing. But I'm not invincible. And in that moment I realized I had a choice.

If I swung that shovel, everyone would have their memories back. Anon-A-Miss would keep posting and all my friends would hate me. Nobody at Canterlot High would ever trust me again. Besides Wallflower, I'd be alone. There would be some discrepancies in the last few days in people's memories, but I'd be right back to square one. 

But if I didn't? Yes, I'd keep my friends. Anon-A-Miss would go away. Everything would go back to what it was a week before. But I'd have that by abusing Equestrian magic. And there was no guarantee this wouldn't happen again. Anon-A-Miss would still be out there and might eventually come up with a different plan to get back at me. And the girls... I'd be stealing part of who they were to get there.

And that's when what Wallflower said the day before really hit me. I was hesitating because I was thinking of myself. I was looking at the choices and thinking about them not because a path was right or wrong, but for what it could do for me. I was considering hurting my friends just so I could make myself feel a little better for a while. Wallflower was right - I was making it about me, and I was still acting like the same disgusting person I was before Twilight saved me. 

I slammed the flat side of the shovel down as hard as I could.

Nothing happened. 

Lifting the shovel back up, I wasn't sure if I should cry or scream - the floor of the greenhouse was dirt, after all. I'd managed to push the stone in rather than break it. (Later, Wallflower would give me a brief lecture that it was a shovel not a sledgehammer, and you don't use them like that.)

I cast around, looking for something to solve the problem - the wheelbarrow caught my eye as a harder surface I could use as an anvil, but I didn't get the opportunity. Before I could do anything else Wallflower dove, wielding a trowel like a knife. Her first strike scraped metal against rock, barely scoring the surface of the stone. Her second found a small crevasse in the carvings. Well-worn carbon steel gouged a thin crack in rock.

There was a snap. And then there was light. 

I'm really not sure how to describe what happened. It's like the stone was an egg and her tiny chip grew as it cracked apart. All these streamers came flying out - red, purple and pink. They shot into the air, vanishing after just a few seconds. And when I looked back down at the stone it had broken apart into shards. 

Wallflower sat there for a couple of minutes as her breathing slowed to normal, trowel in one hand and the other absently playing with a broken piece of the stone. I hugged her from behind - I know what it's like to lose magic after it takes hold of you. Another thing we share.

Eventually, she managed to find words. "I had to. They were almost out of time and if I let it..." She pinched her eyes shut and shivered. "You made your choice. If you're my friend, I had to help you. B-but I--" 

I hugged her tighter. "You could have grabbed the stone and used it on me," I pointed out. "But you didn't. You chose to help me instead of yourself. There's no 'if', Wallflower. We are friends. And that means more to me right now than I can put into words."