As Wallflower's question lingered, Sunset Shimmer simply stared at her.
And stared.
And… stared.
When the silence hung for far too long, Wallflower gave a nervous chuckle. "H-heh, this whole Skittles™ thing was pretty crazy? R-right, Sunny?"
Sunset kept staring.
"I-I mean, c'mon! I ate, like, almost twenty pounds of Skittles! Isn't that c-crazy?" Tangling her fingers in her long, green hair, Wallflower tried to avoid Sunset's unrelenting gaze. "H-heh, yup, I definitely have a problem! Ha, ha, ha…"
Silence.
Sitting up in her hospital bed, Wallflower reached for her girlfriend's hand. "Um, a-are you okay, Sunny?"
Sunset's hand fell limp in her grasp.
"Pl-please say something," Wallflower whispered, on the verge of tears.
As if on command, something flickered in Sunset's dull, lifeless eyes. Slowly, she pulled her hand away from Wallflower's…
And laughed.
And laughed.
And. Laughed.
Sunset doubled over, holding her stomach as she howled with laughter. Beside her, Wallflower was laughing, too. At first.
Soon, Wallflower's mirth dissipated into awkward chuckles. However, Sunset kept it up. She continued to laugh, laugh, laugh, so loud and so forcefully that Wallflower was genuinely concerned she might break something.
The phrase "cracking up" never made so much sense. Whatever Sunset found so funny must have been the best, most hilarious, epic—
Annnnnnnnnnnnd Sunset was crying.
Not tears of laughter. No, those had appeared almost fifteen minutes ago. These were different.
"Sunset?"
Still doubled over, Sunset staggered towards the bed. She bonked Wallflower in the head as she leaned down, trembling. Ear-piercing sobs replaced the splitting, shrieking laughter that had proceeded it. Within seconds, the sleeves of Wallflower's hospital gown were soaked in tears.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Hating how fearful she sounded, Wallflower took in a breath. As she held Sunset close, she added, "Talk to me, Sunny. You're scaring me."
Sunset wailed in response.
"Um… I-it's okay, Sunny. I'm here. J-just breathe..."
Stroking Sunset's hair with slow, gentle motions, Wallflower decided to let her words linger. It was beyond obvious by now that whatever troubled Sunset far surpassed the Skittles™ incident. She tried to think back over the past few weeks, wondering if there was something she had missed. Things had been a little hectic between the start of college classes and Wallflower moving in… but nothing that should have had Sunset upset like this.
The longer Sunset wept, the more anxious Wallflower became. Instead of falling apart alongside her, Wallflower willed herself to stay strong. She focused on the feel of her girlfriend's soft, wavy locks beneath her touch, as well as the pace of her own breathing.
After what felt like an eternity, Sunset stopped crying. When she looked up at Wallflower, it was all the latter could do to keep her heart from breaking. She'd never seen Sunset look like this before.
Between sniffles, Sunset croaked, "Wh-why, Wally?"
"Because Skittles™ are so great?" Wallflower replied with a half-smile.
As soon as she said it, Wallflower saw the most dejected, forlorn expression on Sunset's face. She hugged Sunset tighter and sighed. "Sorry. I respond to big, scary feelings with silly deflections sometimes."
"...I-it's okay," Sunset murmured.
"No, not really." Wallflower nuzzled the top of Sunset's head. "I guess I'm just… really confused?" She paused. "It's just… I know it would be scary to hear that your girlfriend's in the hospital, but I didn't think it would be this scary."
Sunset muttered something inaudible.
"What?"
"I-I…" Untucking her head from beneath Wallflower's arms, Sunset looked her in the eye at last. "I-I just don't understand why you k-keep trying to—"
As Sunset trailed off, Wallflower prompted, "To…?"
More mumbles.
"I'm—I'm sorry, Sunny, but I didn't—"
"Why do you want to kill yourself?" Sunset blurted.
Wallflower could barely believe what she'd just heard. She bit her tongue, trying not to feel defensive. Doing so was far easier said than done. Those words—even coming from someone she loved—set her on edge.
Why would Sunset even think of something like that? What was the point of everything she had done since the Memory Stone, if the person closest to her thought that she was—that she was still—
Just what had Sunset seen with her geode? Something other than the Skittles™ incident? Something from… before?
"W-Wally?"
Shaking away her thoughts, Wallflower glanced down into Sunset's widened eyes. "Sorry, sorry. Bad time to be lost in thought, heh…"
Both of them fell silent. The time for giggles had passed.
Choosing her words carefully, Wallflower asked, "What makes you think I feel that way?"
As if she'd been struck, Sunset flinched.
Wallflower recoiled at her response. Trying to remember what her therapist had taught her about initiating difficult conversations, she didn't immediately reply. Instead, she waited for Sunset to react. Clearly, she wanted to.
Wallflower didn't have to wait long.
"A-all the scars on your arms."
Wallflower tilted her head. "But you've met Mr. Snuggles. He did the same thing to you!"
"... Fair enough."
"Right, so—"
"You almost dropped your toaster in your bath," Sunset interjected.
Wallflower raised her hand… then let it fall. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea in retrospect." A slight giggle escaped her lips. "But toaster strudel is just that good, Sunset!"
The slight giggle was not returned. Sunset looked like she was made of stone.
Frowning, Wallflower looked away for a moment. Then, slowly turning back to Sunset, she asked, "Is there anything else that's—"
"You almost drowned yourself in the lake."
"I'm a really bad swimmer—"
Sunset's voice grew louder. "You jumped off a parking deck."
"I slipped on a banana peel! Rainbow Dash's banana peel! She's the one you should be— "
Sunset crossed her arms. "You stepped in front of a bus."
"I tripped!" Wallflower threw her hands up. "My shoelaces were untied!"
"I found you with a noose around your neck!"
Wallflower pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, I'm sorry! The instructions were really confusing, and I did the best I could setting up the Bowflex™!"
"You put a GUN in your MOUTH, Wallflower!" Sunset practically shouted.
Wallflower raised a finger to object.
… And thought about it.
Really thought about it.
Wallflower lowered her finger. And blinked. "Oh." She blinked again. "Ohhhhhh." And… a third blink. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
The sun itself would never face a dawn quite like the one that pressed on Wallflower Blush.
Wallflower was yanked from her reverie by Sunset's trembling whimper.
"I-I don't understand!" Sunset's eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "I-is it because of me? W-was it something I did?"
"No!" Wallflower took both of Sunset's hands in her own. "Of course not!"
"Th-then why—"
"Sunset, listen to me." Wallflower took a deep breath. "I haven't felt that way for a long time. Not since what happened with the Memory Stone." She looked down at their joined hands. "Ever since then, I've been seeing a therapist every week. My parents had no idea I felt that way, but as soon as they knew, they got me help, and I've been working on my problems. It's not easy, but... " She trailed off into a small smile. "It's better. Much better."
Wallflower paused to let her words sink in. As Sunset looked on, she continued, "I-I never wanted you to know I had those kinds of thoughts in the past. That's not a part of myself that's easy to share. Plus, I, uh…" A bitter chuckle. "Didn't want you to worry, heh. Guess that worked out well, didn't it?"
Sunset glanced down at their hands, but didn't say anything.
Wallflower sighed. "I know the things that have happened the past few weeks look pretty bad, but I promise they weren't intentional. And not only that, but…" She gently squeezed Sunset's hands. "I promise that if I ever do feel that way again—and I'm not just being clumsy or dumb—"
Sunset cut in, "You're not dumb."
"Ehhhh, I kinda am." Wallflower chuckled. "But that's okay. You love me anyway."
The hint of a smile crossed Sunset's face. "I do."
"And I love you." Wallflower pressed her forehead against Sunset's. "And I promise that if I ever do have thoughts like that, I will come to you first. Okay?"
When Sunset smiled, Wallflower knew that she truly believed her.
"...Okay."
Together, they shared a soft kiss, then held each other close.
Suddenly, the door to Wallflower's room burst open. In charged Pinkie Pie, carrying a modest plate of burritos. "Who wants burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrritos?! I put Skittles™ in yours, Wally!"
Sunset admonished, "No Skittles™ for Wallflower."
That's okay, Wallflower thought with a devious grin. I have more at home.