• Published 5th Jul 2018
  • 4,113 Views, 104 Comments

Wallflower's Bud - Shadowmane PX-41



After the events of Forgotten Friendship, Sunset tries to help Wallflower feel even more comfortable. So, she decides to help her find a friend who would never leave her; no matter what.

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When All's Said and Done

After a hectic day of lessons, filled with many different verbal storms from Smolder in each of her classes, the day came to an end for Wallflower at long last. Not only did it feel like her body was about to give out from all of the trouble that she had gone through with Smolder, but it wasn't even over yet. If she didn't build that pet corner with the Rainbooms in time, she was finished. Done. Kaput. Sent packing.

"Okay... Well, I can safely say that I'm gonna have to start hiring a dog sitter from now on." Wallflower muttered to herself as she walked down the steps towards the base of the still-ruined statue. "Seriously, Smolder. Those were some ballsy moves that you did today."

"Thanks. I do my best." Smolder put a paw to her chest, pushing it out with a sigh.

"IT WASN'T A COMPLIMENT, Y'KNOW!" Wallflower snapped, roaring like a demon into Smolder's face. "I'VE BEEN GETTING SHOUTED AT BY TEACHERS ALL DAY BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Because they don't like dogs at Canterlot High, it's a completely screwed up system you guys have, yadda yadda yadda." Smolder just rolled her eyes, unfazed by the shouts of her owner. "Look, kid. I know that you humans don't exactly do everything the dog way, but I think this time, you should. Your teachers should just learn that there's no such thing as a perfect animal and just learn to chillax a little."

"Smolder, just..." Wallflower tried to find the words to further her verbal assault, but she could only scratch her head and babble incoherently. "Rrgh! I don't even know why I try with you anymore. You've got a motormouth with enough horsepower to run the Whinnyapolis 500 and all of its' cars!"

"And that's a bad thing, why?" Smolder clambered out of the bag and sat on Wallflower's head. "Kid, you're just going around in circles. At this rate, you're gonna be a lost cause by the end of this little project thingy we're doing. I mean, come on! You do nothing but worry, worry, worry all day! You're a HUMAN! Humans don't worry!" She grabbed onto Wallflower's cheeks, hung her head over Wallflower's face, and glared into her eyes. "Humans just look happy, play with their dogs, be happy to be with their dogs and nothing else. Whatever happened to those days, huh?"

"Smolder. You've only seen the good parts of being a human. Trust me, if you had to spend even a day in my shoes, you'd know exactly why I've been restricting you, why I've been saying not to do things, why it's a bad idea to make the situation even worse. But do you listen? No you don't!" Wallflower grabbed Smolder and hastily planted her on the ground.

"No duh, I don't listen! Dogs don't exactly follow human rules, ya know!" Smolder slapped Wallflower's hands away with her paws. "Just because you own me doesn't exactly mean I have to follow every single beat of your drum, kid. I'm a DOG. We do DOG things. And DOG things are different to HUMAN things. So, WHO IN THE WORLD CARES? We're doing what we're MEANT to be doing!"

"I know you don't follow human rules, Smolder. But it wouldn't kill you to show some kind of restraint once in a while. In fact, I can't follow the rules myself because the rules require that I just get on with my work and not have a talking dog pop out literally every other second to talk her mind!" Wallflower's eye twitched.

"Then that's exactly why we've gotta change the system, Wallflower. We can't just let the rules tie us down like this. If you can't do what you do because I'm doing what I'm doing, then that's a horribly unbalanced and unfair system." Smolder folded her paws.

Wallflower growled as her face turned red as she bent her fingers sporadically. It got to the point where steam blew out of her ears. "I don't want you coming out of that bag until the project's over, Smolder. And that's an order!" Wallflower pushed Smolder's head into the bag and zipped it up tightly. "You've caused me far too much trouble today and I'm not gonna get any more flak for what's been happening today!"

"You know I'm totally right, though! The system's playing against both of us!" Smolder yelled from the bag's interior, the volume muffled, yet still audible. "You'd be a lot better off just not following any rules and being free, like me!"

Wallflower gave no reply and just sat against the base of the tower, kicking the back of it softly with the sole of her shoes. She watched as the Rainbooms finally came out of CHS with Sunset leading them. It didn't take long for the group of seven to find Wallflower, idly standing by the base of the statue, still with her brows lowered.

"Hey, Wallflower. How'd it go?" Sunset was the first to break in the conversation.

Wallflower just let out a long and weary sigh. "Well, let's just say that class after class has been a battle for me today. Every single one of them, Smolder just yipped on and on and one. Every teacher wanted my head on a plate for disrupting class and causing trouble, even though all of it came from her." She poked her thumb at the firmly-zipped up bag. "I don't think I've ever had a single day in Canterlot High where every single one of my classes has been an absolute disaster for me because of her."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear about that." Fluttershy stood next to Wallflower and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "And I'm especially sorry that Smolder's been making things harder for you. It shouldn't ever have to be like that. For any pet owner."

"Yeah? Well, it is. And quite frankly, I've decided that Smolder's grounded until we finish this project." Wallflower huffed, blowing her nose violently. "She's already said far too much and got me into far too much trouble. I'd rather not hear her voice until this stupid pet corner's finished and we can all be happy with ourselves again."

The Rainbooms all flinched at Wallflower's outburst. They hadn't had any idea that things had been so rough for her that day. Sunset out of all of them felt the most guilty for Wallflower's disastrous lessons. She was the one who had put forward the idea that she should have a pet as a way to help get over her loneliness and now it was beginning to take its' toll. If the rift between Wallflower and Smolder wasn't patched up, Sunset could only see things getting far worse.

"Hey. Wallflower?" Sunset finally mustered up the strength to walk forward, planting a hand on Wallflower's shoulder. "I know that today's been kinda rough on you, what with Smolder being able to talk. But at least it's over now. We can work on this little thing of yours without having to worry about someone barking at you for having a dog in school."

"Don't know whether that's really a blessing or a curse." Wallflower muttered. "But, at least we can finally get to work on this little pet corner thing. The project's been breathing down my neck ever since I spoke with Celestia."

"I've actually been thinking about that, Wallflower. And, I don't really think that a corner's a really good idea. I mean, what if the pets manage to get out and cause trouble for the students?" Fluttershy lifted a finger delicately. "I mean, there's a good reason why only service animals are allowed in schools like CHS."

"So... you're saying that everything's ruined before it's even begun?" Wallflower's brows lifted high into the air. Everything that she had endured, all of the angry words from teachers, the endless scolding that she had been given, all of it was for absolutely nothing. "Great. Yeah. Thanks, girls. Makes me feel real good about things, doesn't it?" Wallflower threw her backpack to the ground and walked away.

"Hey, Wallflower. Wait up!" called Sunset as she tried to keep up.

"Look, Sunset. I don't wanna know what kind of magic got itself into Smolder's systems, but right now, I need to stay as far away from it and her as possible until this silliness comes to an end." Wallflower stopped on the balls of her heels, turned around, and glared into Sunset's eyes ferociously. "I've learned my lesson on how to never mingle with magic. Because all it does is ruin lives!"

"Now that's just not true, Wallflower. Look. Maybe ya just need to calm down and think this over." Applejack took some steps forward.

"Think it over? I don't need to think it over. I don't even get to think anymore. That MUTT does all of the thinking and talking for me!" Wallflower howled at the bag, jabbing a finger at it. "The Smolder that I knew and loved is gone. She's been tainted by magic and I don't like it at all! I shouldn't have brought her to Canterlot High in the first place. I should have just left her with a pet sitter or somewhere safe for the day."

"Wallflower. A talking dog isn't all that bad. Please, just—"

"A TALKING DOG DUG ME INTO A HOLE THAT I'M NOT GETTING OUT OF, FLUTTERSHY! DON'T YOU REALISE AND UNDERSTAND THAT?!" Wallflower screamed so much that it blew Fluttershy's hair into a new style; one that looked like a series of thorns poking out behind her. She recoiled at Wallflower's explosion and tried to fix her hair up.

"Hey! That's no way to treat Smolder!" Rainbow Dash stomped up past Fluttershy and stared right back into Wallflower, unfazed by her seething fury. "Whatever happened happened. It's over! Move on!"

"That. Is. Not. My. Smolder!" Wallflower threw Rainbow Dash to the ground, turned tail, and ran as fast as she could away from the Rainbooms, leaving them and her equipment behind. None of the others could see her face after that, but she let some small droplets of tears trickle down past her, littering the ground and leaving tiny marks for short instances.

With the Rainbooms and the backpack abandoned by Wallflower, the girls could only regroup and unzip the bag, letting Smolder out of it. Within seconds, the dog took some deep breaths of fresh air, her belly growing and shrinking in size with every breath that she took.

"Okay. Rule of advice, Smolder. Don't ever let a human try and talk too much. They seriously hold themselves back half of the time." She muttered to herself as she climbed out of the bag. When she saw that Wallflower was gone and all that was left were the Rainbooms, she just craned her neck upward and tilted her head to the side. "Wait, where is Wallflower?"

"Smolder? I'm sorry to say this, but I think Wallflower might have run away on you." Twilight came over to Smolder, squatted down, and patted her on the head. "I think you might have really upset her today. And I'm being completely serious. To her, you've been a very bad dog."

"Bad dog? Me? Nah. That can't be true, right? I'm sure that any second now, Wallflower's gonna come running straight back to me and say how bad she was for just abandoning a dog like that in the middle of the school." Smolder looked out to the road and waited for Wallflower's return. Dozens upon dozens of people came and went. Going into houses and down the path. But not a single one of them was her. None of them, not even someone with an uncanny resemblance to Wallflower showed up. "Any second now... Any minute? Hour?" When Smolder saw the people come less and less, a hole began to form in her heart. It grew and grew, with the only solace coming from the petting that the Rainbooms were giving her. "Oh no... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not again! I can't be a stray dog again! I just can't!" Smolder's eyes shot open and she ran around in a frenzied state, head shaking in all directions. "I'm not going back to that shelter!" Destroyed by anguish, Smolder buried her head into Fluttershy's legs, waterfalls of tears shooting out of her eyes as she started to bawl.

"There, there, Smolder." Fluttershy sat down and pulled Smolder in close, giving the dog a hug as her legs grew damper and damper with each tear shed. "It's alright. I'm sure that Wallflower will take you back once she calms down a bit and we fix this mess."

"But what if she doesn't?" Smolder pulled herself up from Fluttershy's legs. "What if she doesn't ever want to take me back and leaves me here like this forever? I don't wanna have to go back to that dark, cramped, dirty animal shelter again! I don't wanna be locked up in a cage again! Please!" She then started to cry again, letting the tears once more wash Fluttershy's trousers.

"What's eating her?" Spike asked, leaping out of Twilight's bag. "I thought she was supposed to be this super-brave, no-nonsense dog who wanted to make out with me..."

"Well. The truth is, Smolder never really had an easy time before she came to the animal shelter." Fluttershy just patted Smolder on the head more and more, brushing her fur with every single stroke. "She never really had a good time on the streets, let alone where she was raised."

"Hold on. Let me tell them." Smolder pushed herself out of Fluttershy's legs again, still dripping with tears. She wiped some of them away with the back of her paw, but her eyes were still more liquid than solid with how much she had cried. "I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna wanna tell 'em and try and present a less painful version of things. But I NEED to get this off of my chest."

The Rainbooms all gathered around Smolder as she tried to clear her throat, putting her paws to it. For a few instances, Smolder debated on whether or not she should have even told the story in the first place, for fear that it would have made her seem more guilty for making Wallflower leave her for the way that she had acted. With everything weighing down on her, Smolder coughed and choked on the very air that she was trying to breathe for a while, before at least, she recomposed herself and took another deep breath.

"The thing is, girls. I came from Dragon Town. The roughest and harshest part of Canterlot." Smolder stepped forward, with every single step that she took feeling like a violent smash against the earth. "Out there, nobody cares for anyone and everyone's out to completely ruin everyone else's lives. Even if you think that life there could be swell, it really isn't. Because if the locals don't want your head on a plate, then perhaps the rampant crime would convince you to never set foot on it.

"I had another owner before Wallflower came and adopted me from the shelter. Her name was Ember. Pretty cool girl, not gonna lie. She's kinda like me. Rough and tumble, not afraid to use her mouth, real competitive gal." Smolder sighed, memories of her former owner coursing through her mind. She could perfectly envision her old apartment, as well as all of the sights and smells that came with it. "Her dad, on the other hand, Torch? Let's just say that he had ways of... motivating his daughter to do things. Not that she didn't like, but stuff that you wouldn't like. The point is, they were a tough dad and daughter. The kinda company that I felt comfortable around in such a place like Dragon Town.

"By the time that Ember and Torch decided that I was quote-unquote 'too weak' to be their pet, it was too late for me to stay any longer or present my case. Not that I could or even had any idea of it at the time. Y'know, dog mind and all? Anyways, I'm getting a bit off-topic here." Smolder shook her head, but could already see the Rainbooms gearing up to shed their own tears with how their faces were beginning to fall. "The last words that I heard from Ember were 'I'm sorry' before she threw me out of the house, turned her back and closed the door. I tried to get back in, naturally, but it wasn't happening. At all. Ever.

"I wandered the streets of Dragon Town. Alone. Afraid. Hungry. Vulnerable to others. That last one's especially big as to why I don't wanna go back to that shelter. Some bully dogs tried to take advantage of me and the fact that I was a worthless puppy who'd just been thrown away like that. Of course, when people took notice, they called the pound on the lot of us and got us all locked up." Smolder could see the bars forming in her head. "Let me tell you right here and right now, girls. The pound? It's not pretty. At all. At least with Fluttershy's animal shelter, I had some kind of freedom and joy. But here? None of it. I was just in a cage for the sake of being in a cage. No-one was gonna come and get me and I was never gonna see the light of day again."

And cue the waterworks in three... two... one. Smolder stopped momentarily to see the Rainbooms begin to cry. First, Rainbow Dash, then Pinkie, followed by Twilight, Rarity, and finally Applejack, though she tried not to show it with an elbow against her eyes. Fluttershy shed her own tears, but she wasn't physically wailing like the rest of the girls was. Smolder was given a small push by her to continue the story.

"After a few nights in the pound, I found a way to escape. Some local punks had crashed their truck straight through the pound. And in the chaos, my cage just happened to be opened up by it. I didn't wanna take any more chances in there so I just ran. I ran very fast away." Smolder swallowed, continuing her tragic tale. "I went on forever, almost to the point where I thought I was gonna have to leave the city. But then, a miracle happened. This girl. This girl right here, Fluttershy. She found me scampering on the streets when she was going home for the night."

"That's right, girls. I found the poor thing a couple of weeks ago, tuckered out and almost exhausted." Fluttershy picked Smolder up and rubbed her underbelly. "The shelter was closed, so I kept her home with me and some of my other pets. I didn't want to tell anyone about her since she told me that she came from Dragon Town and that someone might have tried to take her back to that awful pound."

"I'll admit that being left in a cell wasn't one of the best things about the shelter when she brought me back there the next day. But she allowed me to come out; she gave me proper baths and food; let me run around and play with a lot of the other pets there. It was a lot cosier than a pound. Way more fun as well." Smolder nodded, feeling a weight being lifted off of her back; and not just from being lifted by Fluttershy. "But even then, I felt lonely being stuck in there with no real owner to call my own. But then Wallflower came along and the rest is history." The relief quickly vanished when she remembered what had just transpired. "And now she's thrown me away. Just like Ember did. I need to fix this. I'm going to find Wallflower!" Smolder ran off down the streets in pursuit of Wallflower.

Fluttershy could only smile as she and the other Rainbooms gave chase to Smolder, running along with her down the streets. Together, they would all try their very hardest to repair the damage that had been done between her and Wallflower. Or if not, at the very least, they would let Smolder's tale be heard.