Wallflower's Bud

by Shadowmane PX-41

A New Dog State of Mind

Smolder stepped out of Wallflower's house, onto the pathway leading to the sidewalk. Panting eagerly to explore the world beyond, she stood in wait for her owner, as Wallflower came out shortly after, holding a small leash in her hands; the wire clipped onto Smolder's collar. Now, they were ready to go.

Smolder didn't think much about the outside world, given how she was nothing more than a little dog in a place that was half-town, half-city. Many sights caught her eye along the way, however, albeit with most of the colours skewed from her vision due to her canine genes. That didn't matter to her. All that mattered to her was being with Wallflower.

"You know, I still don't know how this is going to work, the two of us going to school together," Wallflower said, cutting up the silence. "Dogs aren't allowed on the premises, but Twilight's always carrying Spike around with her so..."

Smolder just gave her a short glance, before turning back to her route.

"Yeah. Not a whole lot to talk about when you've not got a voice." Wallflower sighed as she just led her down another street. "Well, at least you'll be in good company. If it's not Sunset and her friends, then at least you've got me. And I've got you too." She leaned down to pet Smolder, causing the dog to wriggle her body and bark giddily.

Outside of small talk with Smolder, the journey to Canterlot High was mostly uneventful for Wallflower. The same old route, day in, day out. She'd walked there so many times that she could do it all with her eyes closed in the windiest day imaginable. Even if she'd purged it from her memory, it would come back to her pretty easily. At least this time, she wasn't walking alone.

And just as she saw Canterlot High in the distance, she was greeted with another friendly face on her travels.

From just behind her, Spike darted up close to Wallflower and Smolder, with Twilight just behind them. Twilight was wearing her casual attire while Spike, as usual, had nothing but his fur and collar.

"Hey, Wallflower." Twilight gave Wallflower a wave as she came up to her side. "How'd it go last night?"

"Oh, same old, same old, really. Fuchsia was out all night last night with Trixie and Lavender, so I had to show her Smoldy in the morning." Wallflower shifted her eyes so that they locked with Twilight's. "She was still delighted to see her."

"Good to hear that." Twilight smiled, approaching the road between them at Canterlot High. "Y'know, some people can get a little bit shocked by new things."

"Speaking of new things, how has Smolder been doing?" Spike spoke up, sidling next to her. "It's a whole new environment she's in, getting out of the pound and all. It's totally fine for a dog like that to feel a bit... uneasy." His voice started to drag as he got a look at Smolder in a different way. The way her hair stood out in the majestic sunlight, her long and floppy ears almost resembling horns, the look in her eyes as she gave Spike a quick glance, and the shimmer coming from her eyes was a sight Spike hadn't seen in a dog before.

"Well, that's why she's got Wallflower. Someone to really help her break into this new life," Twilight responded. "Isn't that right, Wallflower?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." She gave a little nod. Wallflower had only received Smolder yesterday, so already it was an experience for her as well. Wallflower was entering the world of pet care while Smolder was entering the world of being loved by someone. A mutual pilgrimage between them both.

Smolder just stood there, wagging her tail as she gazed at Canterlot High for the first time. A towering temple for teenagers traversing the tantalising tightropes of knowledge and future careers. A part of her was as nervous as the other excited, she didn't know how this was going to play out but awaited the result regardless.

Twilight and Wallflower crossed the road, their dogs stayed by their side. It didn't take long to get to the other side for any of them. But Twilight was the only one to take some steps forward, as she lifted Spike up and put him in her backpack. Wallflower and Smolder hung back, looking like they were frozen in place.

"Hey, what's up?" Twilight asked, quickly noticing the two of them stricken with insecurity. Then, the truth dawned on her. "Oh, right. First time taking a dog to school. I got it." Twilight, with a smile, came over and wrapped her arm around Wallflower's shoulders. "I used to feel the same was going to Crystal Prep. If any of the students there found a dog on the campus, things wouldn't have been so pleasant, to say the least."

"So, does Principal Celestia have anything against dogs and other pets at Canterlot High?" Wallflower asked, curling up almost akin to how Fluttershy would react in a moment like that.

"Well, she doesn't have a personal agenda against them, but she's still got a no-pets-on-site rule." Twilight just twisted her wrist, rolling her eyes at the same time. "Kinda sounds like she's being a bit hypocritical don't ya think?"

"Don't worry. Me and Twilight have done this all the time." Spike swept his paw across the air. "I just hang out in Twilight's backpack the whole day and only really come out when the coast is clear. It's actually a lot comfier than you'd expect in there too." He gave a jab to the bag.

"What if Smolder does her... business in my bag, though?" Wallflower placed her hand to the side of her mouth as if trying not to let Smolder hear her.

"Business?" Spike cocked a brow. "Oh yeah... That business. Never found that much of an issue."

"Maybe you didn't, but I remember well, Spike." Twilight folded her arms, the severity in her voice shifting. "The first day we went to Crystal Prep, you dropped a nasty one in my bag. Thank goodness I took some bags and wipes with me. If it helps, I can give you some, Wallflower. Just in case." She reached into her bag and fished out a pack of smaller bags. "You can never be too careful, even if you've had a dog for a long time."

"Thanks, Twilight." Wallflower took the bags, putting them into one of the side pockets of her backpack. "Now, how do you think Smolder will behave once she's in the bag? In fact, how would she even breathe in there?"

"I breathe just fine in there, so... maybe Smolder would too?" Now it was Spike's turn to look dumbfounded. "But... if she's not comfortable, I suppose maybe the locker would work fine too?"

"I suppose, but maybe Smolder would get lonely or hungry. Not to mention, she could bang on the door, bark, make any kind of noise and get spotted if she's unlucky." Wallflower reached down, wrapped her arms around Smolder's belly and lifted her up from the ground. "I know I've had her for a day, but I don't want to separate her that quickly."

"You're right. Still... how can we get around this?" Twilight tapped her foot on the ground almost rhythmically as she tried to formulate a solution. Just as she got a train of thought going, the bell began to ring. "Uh-oh! No time to explain. Just put Smolder away!" Her arms spasmed at the noise.

"Wait, now?!" Wallflower almost lurched back. "B-but we haven't figured out how we're gonna do this!"

"If we don't go in there right now, we're gonna be late. And trust me, being late does not look good on your permanent record." Twilight took off the bag, opened it, and swung it in a crescent moon style, scooping Spike up instantaneously. "Look, if Smolder does get caught, we'll figure something out together, okay?"

"Alright then." Wallflower just muttered and planted Smolder within the backpack. She took one last look at her eyes as she lifted the edges up and pulled the zip until it closed, encapsulating the puppy inside. A small sensation formed in her chest in doing so. She didn't want to do it but had no choice in the matter. If Smolder was hurt because of this, it would be down to her and her alone. "Let's get moving, Twilight." Together, the two dog-owning girls went into Canterlot High together, ready to face the trials and tribulations that came with it.

---

The day was mostly the same for Twilight and Wallflower. The brutality of math class, the deep and intrinsic meanings that came with literature class and the history class where interest in the subject matter depended on a number of variables. Nothing really special for them, save for the odd bit of gossip during their breaks between periods, but as it stood, not a whole lot happened for them.

Smolder, for the most part, was tucked away in Wallflower's bag, surrounded in pure darkness. She whimpered, trying to figure out where she was or what anything was from pure touch alone. Smolder even tried to curl up in places, shivering from head to toe as she contemplated what could have been waiting for her in the black void of Wallflower's closed backpack. Just as her delusions begun to take form, a split formed in the darkness. Taking no chances, she burst her head through it, back to the world that she knew about, the world with Wallflower and her friends. Her sorrow instantaneously evaporated when she saw Wallflower's warm smile, and the moment she was set down on the grass, she barked gleefully once again.

"Hey. Sorry about that." Wallflower tousled the hair on Smolder's head. "I would've gotten you out sooner, but I got into a talk with some of my friends in the gardener's club and it seemed to go on forever." She went into her bag and retrieved some treats for Smolder, in the shape of bone-shaped biscuits. "Here. You want one?" Wallflower asked, holding one of the biscuits out for her.

Smolder examined the biscuit from top to bottom. First, she felt it with her paws, then she sniffed it with her nose. It didn't seem like much to her, but as she slipped it into her mouth and began to chew on it, she got a pleasant surprise in the form of a turkey flavour. She continued to savour her treat, letting the flavour hit every corner of her mouth, before swallowing it proudly.

"Ya like it? I got it from Fluttershy." Wallflower sat down and crossed her legs. "She said that it was one of the better dog treats on the market from her own experience."

"Well, that and Applejack was always asking me to look after Winona whenever she and her family went on vacation." Fluttershy chuckled to herself as she arrived with Twilight by her side. Both of them sat down and let their pets out as well.

"So, how'd it go, Wallflower?" Twilight asked as Spike went over to her side. "Did she feel any sense of unease?"

"Okay, I'm gonna be a bit honest with you, Twilight, I barely had any time to see Smolder between lessons," Wallflower blushed from cheek to cheek. "See, after I went through one of my classes, my friends in the gardener's club all had a talk about going to this flower festival in the park, then I ran into Silver Spoon who was considering joining up with us and, well, let's just say I only got Smolder out for a few moments before the bell went again." She looked down at Smolder, who was in the middle of a rather one-sided conversation with Spike. "Sorry, girl. I didn't mean to do that to you..."

"Oh, I'm sure that you didn't mean it, Wallflower." Fluttershy bent over into a crawling posture and gave Smolder a tender petting as well. "If you want, I can try and get a fundraiser going for Canterlot High to have a pet stop if you feel uncomfortable carrying her around."

"It's nice of you to be looking out for me, Fluttershy, but I don't think that the bag's the issue. I should've given Smolder some more time when I had it, not just leave her alone in that bag while I put my friends first." Wallflower hung her head, bringing Smolder into her lap.

"Your friends are important, but so are the things that matter to you. What happened happened, and now you've got plenty of time to give Smolder the love and attention you want to give her," said Twilight as she adjusted her glasses once again.

"Besides, now that you're here, I get to have another look at Smolder again," said Spike, swooning over her once again. "Y'know, this might be a bit sudden, but I think I might be in love. Think we can share a treat together?"

Smolder took a look at Spike this time, looking at all of his distinctive features. His unique colour palette was what caught her eyes. Despite the fact that she couldn't see all of the colours properly, she at least saw the pattern that they were making. One quick sniff of his butt later and she couldn't help but give him a grin in return, letting off another yip.

"Sounds like that's a yes, Spike." Twilight went for some of her own dog treats, gave one to Spike, then patted him on the back. "Go on, Casanova."

Spike chuckled to himself before blushing, handing Smolder another biscuit. Within seconds, she gobbled it up and resumed wagging her tail, panting excitedly. "Glad you liked it. So, no—"

Then, out of nowhere, in a move that no-one else saw coming, Smolder gave Spike a big, sloppy kiss on his lips, mouths interlocked with each other the whole time. Spike's eyes bulged as wide open as they could while Smolder's closed themselves shut as she delved into the embrace she was imparting to him. All the while, outside of everyone's field of view, small twinkling magical particles drifted from Spike's mouth into Smolder's mouth. As soon as the kiss ended and both dogs took a step back, the magic stopped.

"Wh-whoa! I wasn't expecting a kiss out of that!" said Spike, who backed up so much that he bumped into Twilight's knees. "I never have that much luck with other dogs!"

"I guess she must've been looking for a mating partner. Isn't it romantic?" Fluttershy just put on the biggest smile she could muster. "It is that time of the year, after all."

"B-b-but I'm not ready for puppies!" Spike whined.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd be a good dad, Spike," came a new voice. One that came out of Smolder's mouth. It was husky and gravelly, almost as if a teenager with a bad case of tonsilitis was speaking. After she finished talking, Smolder just gasped. "Wait, what just happened?"

"Smolder? Did you just..." Wallflower's eyebrows shot to the top of her head as her mouth hung open.

"I can... I just..." Smolder had just as little grasp on the scenario as Wallflower did. "I just TALKED!"

Everyone let out a scream that was so loud, it caused a flock of birds to fly off in the distance.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

...Considering the circumstances... I couldn't resist. Very cute though.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

So now Smolder can talk? Well, this should be interesting. Betcha she has a lot of questions.

[Xanderfox]

Ahh speech is a communicable disease!!!

[Dustcan]

Dogs don't really kiss though.

[DavisSentoV5]

Who knew that if a dog kissed a magical talking dog, it too would be able to talk

[OmniFox]

I so called it!!!!!!