//------------------------------// // The Flower Of The Forest // Story: The Call Of The Forest // by The Sleepless Beholder //------------------------------// As both mares walked through the forest, Sunset couldn’t contain her excitement. “I can’t believe that in just a few hours of your first visit you helped solve one of Equestria’s greatest mysteries!” she exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes. “The Everfree has always been a mysterious and wild phenomenon, and no one knew why.” “I’m just happy someone will know of my counterpart’s existence,” Wallflower said a bit sad. “Hey, don’t be like that.” Sunset put a hoof over her friend’s shoulder. “We will get somepony to help her. We may even pull her out of that tree so you two can finally meet each other and hug and talk about nature for hours.” Wallflower smirked. “I hope you don’t get jealous.” Sunset laughed. “Oh, I totally will. Unless…” Wallflower raised a curious eyebrow. “I get you to join my gaming streams. That would get me a few hours with you at my side.” Wallflower smiled. “That would be fun. Could we stream a Nuzlocke?” Sunset smiled. “Interesting. Have you done one before?” Wallflower nodded. “Once in Platinum.” “Did you use a Turtwig?” Wallflower rolled her eyes. “Obviously.” They shared a laugh for a little while, but then Sunset’s expression turned a bit sad. “Hey, what you said before. About moving on from the past.” Wallflower looked at her worried. “Does it still haunt you?” Sunset sighed. “It thought it didn’t, but after seeing what I said to you. It made me wonder just how much I hurt the students at the time. If I went that far with you, how do I know I didn’t do it to someone else?” “Sunset, everyone but me forgave you after the Battle of The Bands. It would’ve come up.” “Would it though? If everyone kept their knowledge of the incident with the Memory Stone a secret from me and the girls, how do I know someone isn’t hiding what I did just because now I’m the magical girl that saved the school? Or what if someone left CHS because of me?” Wallflower stopped to look at her friend. “Sunset, regardless of what you did in the past, you’re a different person now. And I can assure you, if you did something equal or worse than what you did to me, they would’ve said something.” Sunset let out a long sigh. “I still can’t believe I went that far.” She turned to look at her friend. “Can you really forgive me?” Wallflower smiled. “Of course, I can. It may have been horrible at the time, but at the end, it led us to what we are now.” Sunset felt the weight on her shoulders being lifted. “You really need to hear it to feel better.” Wallflower chuckled. “It seems so.” Sunset gave her friend a curious but also slightly cocky look. “By the way, what did you mean by ‘What we are now’?” Wallflower froze. “What are we now?” Wallflower stammered incomprehensible, looking away as a blush appeared on her cheeks. Sunset chuckled, took a step forward, and kissed her on the lips. Wallflower was surprised, but then felt something as magical as her previous experiences in Equestria take over her body. She leaned into it, feeling Sunset’s warm lips, and closed her eyes to heighten that feeling she had wanted for so long but wasn’t sure she deserved. And she knew that now she wouldn’t be able to live without it. Eventually, Sunset pulled away, looking at Wallflower with a calm, warm smile. “Today has been the most exciting day of my life in many ways, but this moment is what I will treasure the most.” Tears of happiness were forming at the edges of Wallflower’s eyes, and her smile was beaming. Literally. All of Wallflower's body was starting to shine with a magical golden aura. “Uhm, Wally?” Sunset asked worried, taking a step back. Wallflower looked at her body with a bit of panic as the light coming from it intensified. “Is this normal in Equestria?” Sunset could only think of one case. “Wally, I love you, but if you turn into an alicorn I’m going to be a bit mad.” Suddenly, a magical shockwave was expelled from Wallflower’s body, taking all the light with it. The green mare looked at herself, but she hadn’t grown a horn nor wings. “That was weird.” Suddenly, they both started to hear the crackling of wood around them and noticed that the forest was changing. The sickly trees lost all their leaves, but they were quickly replaced with a newer, healthier foliage, and even their rotten bark fell off as they grew into a better posture, letting the rays of sunlight shine between them. Vibrant green grass started covering the ground, and even sprouted a few colorful flowers. Even the haunting silence of the forest was replaced with the chirping of birds that no longer had to hide in the shadows. Sunset and Wallflower looked in awe as the forest changed, but it wasn’t the only thing. The green mare’s flank glowed with the same golden aura, and her potted Forget-me-not was replaced with a beautiful sunflower. Sunset couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s like you said.” She turned to look at her confused friend. “A shining Sunset is what it needed.” Wallflower laughed happily. “It really sounds sappy.” Both mares stared at each other with bright smiles, slowly getting closer, until they shared their second kiss. Wallflower pulled away this time, but only so she could say the words she wanted, no, needed to say. “I love you.” Sunset smiled and caressed her girlfriend’s cheek. “I love you too, my sappy Wallflower.” Wallflower chuckled. “My shinning Sunset.” The third kiss was shared then, and many more where given on the way back to Twilight’s castle, and the forest continued to change around them, being cured by their love. After giving the news to Twilight about Wallflower’s counterpart, the new couple came back to the human world, feeling the initial dizziness of changing forms. “Do you ever get used to this?” Wallflower asked as she remembered how to walk on two legs. “Nope,” Sunset answered with a chuckle. “Sometimes I wake up thinking I’m still a pony.” Wallflower looked at her hands. “I missed having fingers,” Sunset took a deep breath and looked at the sun over the horizon. They still had a few hours of daylight to spend together. “Hey, Do you want to–” Soft hands grabbed Sunset’s cheeks with delicate care, and even softer lips pressed against her own. Sunset quickly realized that human kisses were completely different from Equestrian as she instinctually placed her hands over Wallflower’s hips, letting herself melt into the moment. She then felt something soft and wet press gently against her lips, requesting entrance which she immediately granted. Wallflower moved her arms until she was hugging Sunset by the shoulders, pulling her closer as their tongues danced together to the beat of their love. After what they thought were some eternal and blissful seconds, Wallflower pulled away, smiling at the blush Sunset had. The redhead was breathing heavily, trying to calm her drumming heart, and staring at her beautiful girlfriend with dreamy eyes. “Wow… that was… wow...” Wallflower chuckled, something that to Sunset looked even more adorable than usual for some reason. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” Wallflower blushed as her usual nervous demeanor returned, looking away with a bright smile on her lips. “I just wanted to see if that magical thing worked here.” Sunset pulled her into a side-hug. “That was definitely magical. I wish I got reformed this way rather than the friendship laser.” Wallflower gave a short laugh. “The shy invisible girl conquering the fiery she-demon with a kiss of true love. Isn’t that an epic romantic fairy tale?” “I would’ve totally fallen for you.” Sunset gave her quick peck on the cheek. “Before you interrupted me in the most wonderful and totally-welcomed-to-happen-again way, I was going to ask you if you wanted to do something with what’s left of the day.” Wallflower looked at the sunset in the horizon, and then to the Sunset at her side. “As long as it’s with you, I’m willing to try anything.” Sunset smiled. “Let’s start with some dinner then.” “Your place?” Wallflower asked as she grabbed Sunset’s hand. “Of course.” They both walked away, leaning into each other's shoulder, not noticing the flowers growing rapidly on the grass around the statue.