I didn’t know what to expect, but finding a girl passed out in what looked to be the school garden wasn’t something I’d planned to have on my schedule. I looked around the field, checking to see if anyone else around had noticed that someone was laying seemingly unconscious in an open field.
No one. There was absolutely no one.
I quickly walked toward the girl, looking to see if she was injured. As much as I wanted to go home to work on the backlog of homework I’d put off until the last minute and the current project with the yearbook committee, I couldn’t just leave without knowing if the girl was alright. I knelt down and placed my fingers on the girl’s wrist. Finding that there was a pulse, I looked over her body one more time, but there weren't any noticeable bruises or cuts.
She seemed perfectly fine. Something still felt off though, and given the number of times I’d dealt with Equestrian magic, it was better to be safe than sorry. So I rolled up the girl’s sleeves, only to be stunned by what I found.
Streaks and streaks of angry scars ran along the entirety of her forearms. Some of the cuts were pale green, barely matching with the girl’s overall complexion. Others ranged from an angry red to a hardened brown. All of them looked to be deep cuts, and some appeared fairly new. Either way, despite the disturbing nature of the amount of cuts on the girl’s wrists, none of them seemed recent enough to be the cause for the girl’s current state. A quick look around found that there weren’t any bleeding cuts, nor were there any pools of blood around her, of any size.
I moved further down, rolling up the girl’s jeans to see if there were any more scars. While there were some more on her calves, they also looked too old to be the cause to whatever happened here. Unable to figure out the problem, I rolled her sleeves and jean legs back into place. Something about the girl’s hands did catch my attention though: they were covered in dust, the palms of her hands looked to be reddened, swollen, and a bit blistered somewhat, moreso on her left hand than her right.
She needed some sort of care, any care, so without thinking I quickly dug through my backpack, found my spare PE top, soaked it in cold water from the nearby hose, then wrapped the top around the girl’s hands, together. It was the best I could do until I could get her to the nurse. I looked around to see if I could figure out the culprit of the burns, but found nothing. There didn’t seem to be any heat sources, at least one that would cause the kind of burns that were on the girl’s hands.
It had to be Equestrian magic. There couldn’t be any other explanation. It would certainly explain the burns, even why she wasn’t conscious. Younger unicorns were often taught not to push their limits too far; in addition to causing exhaustion from overexertion, a surge of magic could often give severe burns, maybe even break the user’s horn if they weren't adequately trained or accustomed to such power. It was the reason why it took years, maybe decades of dedicated study for unicorns to wield some of the stronger defensive and offensive spells.
Maybe something like that could have happened here?
Princess Twilight and her friends here in the human world briefly wielded such intense magic to defeat me, and I wielded similar power against the Sirens. But that was friendship magic. Trained or not, it wasn’t destructive on the wielder. This world’s Twilight, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. She broke her pendant, a vessel that although had collected a huge amount of friendship magic, had also held large amounts of more destructive raw Equestrian magic before then. Using it all at once on herself to fight against me had left her with similar second degree burns.
Thinking back on it all, it appeared the girl in front of me had found some form of Equestrian magic and tried to use it, only to have it backfire on her. It had to be.
That just left me with more questions: What was she doing with Equestrian magic? Why did she use it? More importantly: what exactly was she using? A quick look around the area turned up nothing, only that there was a garden not too far from where we were, surprisingly. From the look of it, it was well taken care of, flowers blooming in time for spring, soil a good shade of chocolate brown. It was well decorated too, adorned by some exotic rocks in the center. The seemingly remote nature of the garden gave it an exclusive, ethereal feel. The rocks were rather impressive, but they seemed just that, engraved decorations, maybe some form of cheesy lawn ornaments. Either way, they didn’t seem important.
In the meantime, I had more pressing things to do. Getting the girl proper treatment for one, and for another, finding out who she was. I picked up her bag, slung it around my back before I took the girl and wrapped her arm over my shoulder as we made our way back to the campus. I was relieved to find that Nurse Redheart was still there. I told her what happened, and what I did. As she made her way to the sink to get some cold water, I looked over the still unconscious girl.
She looked young enough to be a student at CHS, but I didn’t recognize her from any of the cliques I’d seen around school. Maybe she went to another school? No, that couldn’t be right, what would she have been doing in a nearby garden then? That left only one option, and since the nurse needed to know who she was anyway, I decided to look through the girl’s bag to see if I could find anything that could put a name on her. The usual things came out, textbooks, binders, notebooks, the usual stuff.
Eventually I was able to find her student I.D. in her purse. Her name was Wallflower Blush, and she was in the same grade as me. Well, at least I had a name for her now. I gave the I.D. over to the school nurse for her to write down in her records. She said I could stay as long as I wanted. While I had a lot of work to do, the possibility of Equestrian magic being involved here compelled me to stay, at least until I got some information from the girl about what she encountered. And so, I waited for her to come to while I worked on whatever assignments I could do. I was about to look over the yearbook draft when I heard a groan coming from the bed.
“Nngh, where am I?”
I stood up and quickly walked over to Wallflower. “In the nurse’s office. You had a severe accident or something, you were out cold when I brought you here.” I nodded to her bandaged hands. “Your hands were kinda messed up as well.”
“M-My hands?” She looked to where I was nodding to, and her eyes widened when she saw the bandages.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. But the nurse said it might hurt for a little bit, and I don’t think you’ll be able to use them for the time being. Until then, I can help you out if you want me to.”
“U-Umm yeah, sure.” She had the faint trace of a smile. “That would be good. Great, even.”
“That’s nice to hear.” I reached my hand out gently. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What’s your name?” I already read her student I.D. before then, but it seemed better not to creep her out even more, given that she’d just woken up.
“U-Uhh, I don’t know. Who am I?”
I froze. “I didn’t realize the injuries were that bad. You sure you don’t remember?” She shook her head, wincing as it seemed she had more than just burns. “Do you remember what school you’re in?”
“I’m in school?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Canterlot High?” She answered with another, more gentle shake.
I frowned. Something was wrong. This was looking less like an actual accident and further backed up the concerns I had about Equestrian magic being involved. When I’d looked her over for injuries, it didn’t seem like she had any noticeable head wounds. Nurse Redhart said something similar when she checked her over. Yet she still had some form of amnesia. Sure, I found her unconscious in the field, but what could cause her enough trauma to not only get knocked out, but also have memory loss, aside from burns, except for an explosion? If there was one, I saw no sign of it. There weren’t any fires near Wallflower when I found her. I’d have to go back to see if I missed anything.
Her eyes quickly darted around, mouth slightly agape as she tried to take in the room she was in. Her right hand gripped the sheets tightly as her chest rose and fell at an increasing pace. She began to tremble as she failed to recognize the room around her. She looked back to me, her eyes widened and her skin paled in terror. “Wh-Who am I!?” she asked. “Am I all alone!?” She shuddered as tears pooled around her eyelids. Watching her break down like that, so confused, so lost… She was just like me when I first came here… It struck a chord with me. There was more to this than Equestrian magic running wild. In its wake, it left a scared, lonely girl who didn’t know her own name, much less what happened. No one should feel like this.
Investigation could wait for later. Right now I had to focus on Wallflower’s memory loss. I tried to give the most comforting smile I could, and held her bandaged hands, stroking the backs with the pads of my thumbs. “I remembered having to look for your I.D. so I could hand it to the nurse, maybe that could help you with remembering who you are at least?”
She nodded, and so I helped dig through her backpack again. Since I had done it before, I was able to quickly find the purse. “Mind if I open it and take a look?” I asked. She shook her head again. I unzipped the purse, and out came her student I.D., which I handed over to her to look at.
“Wallflower... Blush… Is that my name?” she asked with soft curiosity.
“Looks that way. It’s a pretty name,” I replied.
She looked back up at me, eyes widened and cheeks a slight pink to contrast with the green of her skin. “You think so?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it suits you.” She seemed flustered with the way she shrunk and huddled in on herself. I smirked. “Definitely suits you. Are you alright?”
She nodded back. “J-Just a little warm in here, that’s all.”
Could be something to do with her injuries. Pain could cause shock. Wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Are you sure? I can open the window if you like.”
“N-No, I’m fine, honest.”
“If you say so. Take all the time you need.” I gave her an assuring smile. As she looked back towards her card and traced her I.D. photo over with her fingers, I looked back out the window, only to find that the sun was setting. “Might need to go home soon though. Got a place to stay?”
Another shake. “I’m not sure.”
I nodded towards her bag again. “Mind if I…?” She shook her head. And so we both dug through her backpack to see if we could find an address. Unfortunately, we weren’t as lucky as we were with finding out who she was. Another quick pass in one of the pockets gave us another clue though, a photo of a younger Wallflower, with an older, amber man and an indigo woman smiling behind her, their arms wrapped around each other in a group hug, plastic smiles on each of their faces. There was a garden and a grey panel house with a porch, windows, garage, and a white door in the background.
The photo was torn in half. Though a film of tape running down the tear made it clear that there was an attempt to put the two pieces back together. Maybe something wasn’t going well at home? I glanced at Wallflower. She was staring at the photo, transfixed, yet with a dazed look in her eyes. My gaze trailed down the sleeves that covered her scar-ridden arms. I bit my lip. It wasn’t like I could ask her, even if she did have memories of her family life. It was just another crumb for me to have to keep track of.
That left me with a problem though. A ripped photo was just that, a ripped photo, did it mean anything though? Nurse Redheart probably had her home address, but who knew what Wallflower was going home to? It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. Somehow, it just didn’t feel right to leave her to herself now. Besides, I didn’t want to pry into Wallflower’s records even further without her permission.
“How about this: why don’t you stay at my place? It’s not too far from the school. You could rest there in the meantime and then we can find where you live later.” I offered to Wallflower. It was a nice compromise. I could figure out what Wallflower’s home situation was like, and I would have enough time to ask about any possible Equestrian magic she encountered. It would also be short enough that it might not worry her parents too much if I was wrong.
If I was right though… I didn’t want to think about it.
She quickly looked up, eyes widened. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
I nodded. “It’s the best I could do. I found you in the first place after all.”
Wallflower looked down her feet, keeping quiet for a few minutes before she looked back up to me, a small smile on her face. “Alright, lead the way.”
We gathered her things, and I went looking for Nurse Redheart soon after, letting her know about her amnesia. Even if I was sure it was Equestrian magic that caused it, I couldn’t be too careful. Some further questions and looking by the school nurse confirmed my suspicions that Wallflower didn’t have any apparent signs of a concussion, nor any noticeable head injuries that could’ve caused her amnesia. Though, Nurse Redheart still suggested I have her examined at a hospital just to be sure. Other than that, I checked Wallflower out, telling Nurse Redheart I’d take her home.
It was already dark out when we reached the parking lot. “Wait, you drive to school Sunset? That’s so cool!” Wallflower exclaimed, looking excitedly up and down the lot through the darkness in an effort to find my supposed car. I couldn’t help but smile in the dark at her wholesome energy.
“Well, not quite. I drive, but not often, and not in a car…” I said as I led her to my ride, a simple, worn out black Harley.
Wallflower froze, looking at the bike with abject terror in her eyes. “Wh-what if we fall?”
I pat her back in reassurance. “Don’t worry, it’s all about balance. As long as you hold on and lean with me on the turns, it won’t be too bad.” She still stood there, hesitant as I walked up to one of the bike’s storage compartments, pulled out a plain white helmet and offered it to her. “Sounds simple enough?”
She slowly nodded, and step by step, cautiously walked up to the bike. She took the helmet and fixed it on her head. I playfully gave her helmet a little knock. “The helmet should keep you safe as well,” I said with a smirk as I put on my own helmet, and offered my hand out to her. Still trembling, she took it, and so I led her to the bike, sitting her comfortably against the back seat before I took my own seat behind the handlebars.
I turned and gave her a little grin. “Just hold on tight to me if it makes you feel better. Don’t worry, I’ve ridden on this bike many times.” She took in a deep breath and nodded, before hesitantly wrapping her arms around me. And soon enough we were off, as she held onto me for dear life.
A few blocks and some turns later, we were back at my apartment. Wallflower got off quickly, but stayed to watch me store the bike back in its place. As soon as I secured the bike, I held out my hand to her, and gingerly she took it, still cautious about her burns, and soon we made our way up to my room.
“Sorry it’s bare and a bit of a mess.” I smiled apologetically. “I wasn’t expecting company, and I’m not exactly too well off.”
She paused to look around the room, taking a closer look at some of the trinkets I had on the shelves. I wasn’t lying when I said there wasn’t much to show. There was a basic T.V. in front of a beat-up couch facing the door, on the right was a dresser and beyond that was a bunkbed of sorts, with a worn-out desk underneath and an equally battered laptop. A fridge and a microwave stood near the workspace I had.
“I kinda like it. It feels cozy.” she said with a smile, still reserved, but at least slightly bigger than the one she had back at the nurse’s office.
I wasn’t too sure at the time, but the way Wallflower looked around my room with curiosity brought me a sense of nostalgia. She was just as curious about everything as I was when I first came here.
It was cute, and I couldn’t help but smile a bit. “The bathroom’s next to the fridge if you want to take a shower. I think we’re around the same height as well, so feel free to check and see if anything fits.”
As Wallflower took up my offer for a shower, and dug through my dresser, I looked through the refrigerator to see if I had enough leftovers. It seemed a bit bare to my liking. It might’ve been enough if I came home alone, but not if I had friends over. Not that I was even expecting anyone in the first place. “I’m going to the convenience store to see if I can get some more food for dinner. Want anything?”
Wallflower stuck her head out from the bathroom door. “N-Nothing in particular.”
I nodded. “Okay, be back soon.” It was a rather quick trip, so I wasn’t too worried about leaving Wallflower alone in the shower. I decided to call one of my friends though while I was out.
It wasn’t the usual world-ending emergency that we usually faced, but it could help if someone within my circle knew. Out of all of them, I decided to call Applejack. She would’ve been one of the first to help out if I needed it, but also knew to keep some level of privacy. “Just as long as you know what you’re doin’ sugarcube,” she said, hanging up shortly after.
Dinner went on rather quietly, at least until Wallflower broke the silence. “U-Um, thank you… for everything so far… It must’ve taken a lot of time and money for you to take care of a complete stranger like me.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s what anyone would’ve done.” I fiddled with my food as I asked, “How’s your head? Any headaches, dizziness? Any memories?”
“It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, no… and unfortunately… no,” she said, sighing. “Sunset, what was I doing when you found me?”
I shrugged. “When I found you, you were knocked out on the floor in some garden. Didn’t catch what you were doing before that.”
She set her eating utensils aside, and looked down at her hands, unbandaged but still an angry red, with the occasional blister here and there on her palms. Her eyes trailed down her wrists.
“I saw scars on my body in the bath.”
I froze. Wallflower rolled up her sleeve, revealing the disturbing marks I had seen earlier. She kept staring at them, her breathing quickened as she asked with a small, broken voice, “Did I do this to myself? Why would I even do this to myself?” She looked up, trembling and tense. “What did I do before all of this?”
I reached out and held her hands in mine, gently squeezing them. “Wallflower, listen to me, I want you to breathe, okay?” She nodded, and took in deep breaths, before the trembling stopped, and she relaxed. “I’m sorry I don’t have the answers right now, but I’m willing to help you find them, together.” I traced her knuckles with my thumbs. “We might not be able to find all the answers, and Tartarus, we might not find any at all, probably not in one day, but I promise I’ll stay by your side until you do.”
It was then Wallflower began to tear up. I did what felt natural, and went over to her, my arms up for a hug. She wrapped her arms around me, crying on my shoulder. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you go through all of this trouble? You said it yourself, you barely know me.”
I kept steady as I held her tight and rubbed circles on her back. “Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s what a friend would do.”
She pulled back, looking at me with wide eyes again. Apparently today was a day full of surprises for her. “A friend?”
“Only if you want me to,” I said with a warm smile.
She stood still for a moment, lost in thought at what had unfolded, before she moved to hug me a second time. “I-I would, very, very much…” she said with deep breaths. “I-It feels like you’re the first real friend I’ve ever had.” She was still sobbing, but it was lighter now, and I stood there as I gave her my warmth, and my attention.
We went to sleep that night, Wallflower on my bed in a set of my pajamas, and me on the couch. I was certainly going to be sore in the morning, but I knew that the next day would bring new challenges, new friends, and new changes.
Little did I know it at the time, but the morning would also bring the most stressful three days of my life.