Sunset exited the school's west entrance, and began crossing the parking lot, heading towards the CHS community gardens. She couldn't imagine Wallflower doing any gardening now that fall was more or less underway, but if she was anywhere on school grounds after hours, it'd be there.
Stepping off the pavement onto the dirt path, Sunset made her way into the trees. Past the first line of brush, sure enough, there Wallflower was, next to a wheelbarrow, pulling weeds. It also looked like small trenches had been dug where last season's plants had been planted.
"Hey there, Wallflower. Still gardening this late into the year? What are you planting?" Sunset asked, announcing her presence to the president and founder of the school's Gardening Club. Wallflower turned and greeted her with a smile.
"Nothing. Just getting things ready for next spring," the gardener answered, resuming her task of pulling up weeds that had cropped up during the growing season and tossing them in the wheelbarrow. "Clearing weeds and burying what's left from this season gives the soil a little head start through the winter, and makes it easier to get things going come spring. This'll be my last garden before I graduate and hand the reins of the Gardening Club to someone else, so I want to be one of my best yet."
"I'm sure it'll look fantastic." Sunset told her.
"So, I doubt you're here to look at the garden club's winter preparations, so what can I do for you?"
"Well, I saw you signed up on the Fall Formal Princess competition. Just... Wanted to wish you good luck with that."
"Oh? Thanks. It was kinda a spur of the moment thing, ya know? I have to go looking for a dress this evening when I'm finished up here today. So, are you signing up too?" Wallflower asked.
"Huh?"
"I mean, how else would you know I signed up? I did just sign it like, an hour ago."
The gardener had her there.
"Well, I wasn't really thinking about it, until Pinkie brought it up at lunch. I haven't really signed up for anything like this since sophomore year. She thought it'd be a good way to put an end to my time here. I guess I kind of agreed with her."
"So you signed up too?"
"Well, no. Not yet."
"Why not? It sounds like you have a good reason."
It only took a few moments for Wallflower to put the pieces together.
"You were going to sign up, and then you saw my name on there first, so you decided not to? Why?" She asked.
"I just think if you really want it, I don't want to stand in your way."
"And do you think that I want to win because you, or someone else, didn't enter out of pity?"
Sunset averted her gaze and rubbed her arms.
"Sunset, it's not a competition if others don't enter. So I hope you respect me enough to meet me equally in competition."
"What competition, Wallflower? It's a popularity contest, nothing more! Ugh, why did I listen to Pinkie. She told me it would be a great way to show the school how far I've come, but really, do I need to? Everyone knows how far I've come already. It's... It's just a stupid crown."
"Do you want it? One last time?" The green-haired girl asked her simply.
"...Yeah, I guess I do."
Wallflower gave her a determined smile.
"Then turn around, go back in there, sign up, and I'll see you up there on that stage."
Sunset returned the smile, gave a small nod, and turned to go back down the dirt path to the parking lot. She still felt that signing up would more or less seal Wallflower's defeat, but the gardener did have a point; not signing up due to pity would give her nothing more than a hollow victory. As she returned up the walk to the west entrance, she wondered if it was a mistake going out there to talk with her in the first place.
Returning to the bulletin board outside the gym, she once again set her backpack down and dug out her pen, clicking it open, and put the point to the sheet of paper, right below Wallflower's signature.
Sunset Shimmer