Wallflower's Bud

by Shadowmane PX-41

When a Dog Meets a Principal

Wallflower and Smolder stood outside Principal Celestia's office, both staring at the closed door before them. Wallflower had never been to the office during class usually, but now that she had been put into this position by Smolder, a number of thoughts consumed her. Whether they were of Principal Celestia freaking out about her new companion, being harsh enough to tell her to take her home and leave her there, or being the opposite of both of them and being welcoming towards the talking dog. All the options stared her in the face, but neither one seemed certain to her just yet. Perhaps she had been thinking about it too much like Smolder had been saying? Or rather, was she thinking too little about it?

"You still thinking about the outcome?" Smolder asked, climbing out of the bag and down to Wallflower's feet. "You've just gotta think more dog, girl. Then you'll be totally fine."

"Wallflower, I am speaking to PRINCIPAL CELESTIA. She decides whether or not we're good boys and girls or bad boys and girls. Just like how people who own dogs call them good or bad, she decides whether or not we're in the right and what to do with us if we're not." Wallflower picked Smolder up and looked deep into her eyes, causing her to back up. "Didn't you ever get into trouble with the handlers back at the shelter before I adopted you?"

"Well, I did, but Fluttershy's generally not one to give out punishments to animals, so I really got let off without any treats that day." Smolder rolled her eyes. "But still, that doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you need to make yourself clear that you own a talking dog, are proud to own a talking dog, and that it makes both you and I feel good together. Then, I'm sure that she'll understand."

"It's not exactly that easy, Smolder. There's a bunch of rules here and—"

"Again with the rules! Blah, blah, blah. I'll be in trouble if I don't follow these exact rules. One of the beauties of being a dog, is that you don't always have to follow the rules to a T. They're just there for guidance more than anything." Smolder just shook her head, ears flapping like martial arts weapons in all directions. "Look. People love dogs. I've seen it a million times before. We just go in there, speak with the Principal, she falls in love with me, problem solved." Smolder leapt up to the handle, pulled it down and went into the office as the door swung open.

"Smolder, wait!" Wallflower darted in with the dog, then stopped on the tips of her feet as she stared at Principal Celestia, whose eyes had widened at the sudden intrusion. Wallflower stopped at a position so askew that she ended up falling onto her face in front of the principal, who looked over the desk to see her arms and legs splayed across the floor. "Uh... permission to come in?"

"Wallflower? Whatever are you doing here? Class is still in session." Celestia reached over the desk and pulled Wallflower back up onto her feet "Don't tell me that you got into trouble. You're one of the clearest students on record."

"Well, I was sent by a teacher, yes. But not because I'm in trouble or anything. At least, I don't think it's like that." Wallflower brushed her body down, then pulled a chair over to the desk and sat at it, picking Smolder up and putting her on the desk before taking her seat.

"Wallflower's here because apparently, I may or may not be breaking some kind of human rules because I'm here." Smolder paced back and forth in front of Principal Celestia. "And yes, you can touch me all you want. I'm a real dog. With real flesh, real fur, and a completely real voice. Ya never seen a talking dog before?"

"I..." Principal Celestia couldn't muster up any words to try and put her stake in the conversation. Eventually, she had to sit upright, blink for a few seconds, then try and clear her throat. "Well, Wallflower, I must say that I'm stumped beyond belief. I didn't even take you for a dog owner, let alone a talking dog owner."

"Yeah. I don't really know how to tell you this, but it turns out that Spike, y'know, Twilight's dog? My dog Smolder decided to kiss Spike, and somehow, she gained the power to talk." Wallflower rubbed the back of her head, letting out a weak chuckle as Celestia took a closer look at the talking dog. "I know that Canterlot High has a rule against pets being on campus, but I couldn't just leave her at home since both me and Fuchsia live in the same house together. I also don't know what you're going to think about this whole thing."

"In short, Wallflower says that she's gonna get in trouble because she brought me on, but rules are just silly things that aren't concrete law, especially for dogs like me. She was worried that you'd hate me; that you'd hate the idea of another talking dog on site." Smolder stretched her paw across the desk. "But I keep telling Wallflower that there's nothing to worry about. She still doesn't want to believe me, but it's the truth, isn't it?"

"Well, I'm not really a dog hater by any stretch of the word. In fact, me and my sister both own a pair of dogs back home." Celestia stood up. "That being said, rules are rules, you two. And like it or not, they are here to stay."

With those words, Wallflower's head hung once more. Because of Wallflower, she had just gotten into trouble. A surge of emotions bubbled in her chest as she stared at the dog who had inflicted her with the punishment that she was yet to receive. A mark on her permanent record that would forever be reflective for the rest of her life, she thought.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not how things work around here, is it? Because it if is, it's highly discriminatory. You're telling me that because we're friends, she's gonna get in trouble for it?" Smolder spoke up, cutting through the silence. "Nuh-uh. I ain't buying it. There's gotta be a flaw in the system somewhere."

"Smolder, don't make the situation worse than it already is..." Wallflower grumbled under her breath. "I've already had enough trouble out of you today..."

"Kid, I'm sorry to say it, but if friendship between dogs and humans is gonna be frowned upon here, then I don't think you should come back anymore." Smolder turned back to Wallflower. "I mean, all I did was talk to everyone, and suddenly, they're all coming down on the both of us like a group of ants at a picnic. Not happening on my watch."

"You didn't exactly let me finish, Wallflower's dog..." Celestia lifted a finger.

"I have a NAME you know. It's called Smolder. Learn it." She said, sticking her tail up at Celestia.

"R-right, Smolder. What I was GOING to say is that rules are rules, and they're here to stay. But who's to say that we can't alter the rules?" She looked up at Wallflower and gave her a wink, a small sparkle in her eye flashed as she did so. "You're right on one thing, Smolder. Rules aren't exactly the law of the land here. They're just things that students listen to in order to avoid any misdemeanours. If your hand was forced, then it isn't technically a violation of the rules. Rather, an unfortunate circumstance."

"Wait, what?" Wallflower's eyes lit up, as did her face. Pulling herself out of despair, every thought that she once harboured for Smolder about her almost getting into trouble evaporated into thin air.

"It's true. I can't condone any form of cruelty towards a student and their pet. The point of CHS is that it's a free place for students to be themselves. And if that means that they can have their animals on site, then I can't really say no to that, just so long as they're controlled, that is." Celestia knelt down to Wallflower, slipping her arm around her shoulders. "I hope that's the answer that you wanted to hear, Wallflower."

"Well, it was. But I'm still completely taken aback by all of this. The fact that my dog's talking, that it's got a mouth and isn't afraid to use it and that I nearly ended up feeling really sad that I'd gotten into trouble for the first time here at CHS." Wallflower deadpanned as she picked Smolder up from the table. "So, forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm. I'm glad, for sure, just... not able to let out the right emotions right now."

"Feel happy, Wallflower. You've just been let off the hook." Smolder jumped off of the desk and vaulted herself up Wallflower's legs. "For a moment there, I was pretty mad about things too. I was about to call Celestia a really nasty dog word as well. Thank the stars that I didn't."

"I'm honoured that you've let us off, but if we're gonna make this new rule that pets are allowed, then we need to make sure that there's a place that the students can keep them, with people willing to look after them." Wallflower tipped her hand to Celestia. "I mean, Fluttershy did suggest that we have some kind of pet corner, but I'm not entirely sure how onboard you and Vice-Principal Luna would be with the idea."

"I would have to speak it over in great length with Luna, but from what you're presenting to me, I'd be glad to lend a helping hand whenever I can." Celestia reached a hand out for Wallflower, who slowly reached forward and took it, standing up with her. "I think both of us were caught off-guard today. But it's highly against me to make students dislike being here."

"So... we can keep being together?" Smolder asked, looking Wallflower in the eyes with a smile before giving her a hug across the chest.

"Just as long as you can follow through with your idea of a pet corner for any students who want to bring their pets over that they can't take care of themselves." Celestia lifted a finger. "If it turns out that this entire meeting was all for nought, then, needless to say, I wouldn't be very pleased."

"Oh, don't you worry, Celestia. We've totally got things covered." Smolder pulled herself out of Wallflower's chest and her a nod. Anything to make sure that people and dogs were in each other's good books. "All we gotta do is round up Sunset Shimmer and her friends, bring them together, and build the place up. Simple as that. I'm sure that they'd be ready to lend us a hand."

"They may even want to sing a song about it like they usually do with stuff like this," said Wallflower, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, I take notice. Whenever something like this happens, they always sing in one form or another. Whether it's a little sing-song from Pinkie or Rarity or a full-blown musical act, there's gonna be some singing inbound if we're lucky."

"Or they could probably not sing for once?" Smolder asked, flitting her eyebrows. "I mean, if it's possible to sing about everything, then everything that we say could very well be put on a stage for all the world to hear, right?"

"Sure, if you want to put it that way." Celestia let out a small chuckle as she saw herself on stage, living out a day of her life entirely in song format. "I've always wanted to be an actress myself."

"So, what we're gonna do is that we're gonna speak with Sunset Shimmer and her friends after class is done. Then, we can hopefully try and get them to sort out this pet corner plan that we've got. Then, if you and Luna like it, then we open it up to the students. Sound good?" Smolder asked, returning to the topic at hand.

"Of course. I'll make sure to inform the other faculty members not to interfere with your work. Make sure that you and the girls can work on the corner without being disturbed." Celestia gave them a wave as the two of them went over to the door. "I'm counting on the two of you to follow through as best as you can, alright?"

"Sure thing, Principal Celestia. We won't let you down." Wallflower put a smile on her face as she opened the door, letting Smolder walk out first. "You have my word and the word of my dog Smolder that this pet corner is going to be a good thing for the school." As soon as she shut the door, the smile on Wallflower's face immediately melted away into another frown. "Oh, what were we thinking?!"

"What do you mean, Wallflower?" Smolder tilted her head to the side. She hadn't expected Wallflower to turn emotions that suddenly. "Don't tell me that you're worried again. You know that we can do this, right?"

"Smolder, I said that it was a consideration, not an actual idea that we actually had to pull off! And on such short notice with no clue how much time we've got to make it... I don't think I can handle all of the pressure..." With no more words to say, Wallflower just began hyperventilating on the spot. Her heavy and rapid breathing was immediately brought to a halt when Smolder shot up her body and delivered a paw slap to her cheek before landing on the ground once more.

"CALM DOWN, Wallflower! There's nothing to be worried about. All this worrying stuff isn't good for you." Smolder shouted, throwing her face forward at Wallflower. "Dogs have no concept of worry. You shouldn't have any of it either. We're gonna pull through with this. Why are you so worried that the possible is turning impossible?"

"It's the fact that I've got no idea how a pet corner would work, what we would need to make a successful pet corner, who would be willing to run the pet corner and how much they'd actually want to keep a place like that up. Not to mention the students who'd be worried for their pets now that they're on site and could escape if something goes wrong, therefore causing even worse things to happen to them and—"

"Kid. Stop. NOW." Smolder gave Wallflower a death stare that immediately caused her to lurch on the spot and stop her rambling. "You're gonna be just fine. We're gonna be just fine. You're just making a big deal over nothing now. How is that gonna resolve the issue?"

"I... I..." Wallflower tried to find something to latch onto in terms of a rebuttal, but the fire in Smolder's eyes was going to shoot her down immediately. She just knew it from the stare alone.

"See? There's nothing to be worried about. There never will be. The more that you worry, the more you hesitate. Now, let's get going. We've got a corner to set up." Smolder ran behind Wallflower, reaching up for the bag that had once held her in place

"Well, if you say so..." Wallflower scooped Smolder back into the bag once more, letting her rest, but as she walked off back to class to begin thinking about the pet corner that she had been encumbered with, she couldn't help but shake the thoughts off of the potential outcomes. Would it be something that she and she alone would use? Would the other students even like the idea of a pet corner in their school? And would she even be able to complete the task that had been thrust upon her and Smolder? Her brain throbbed with every single little thought, leaving a stinging sensation forming in both of her temples, one that she felt with the tips of both of her hands and rubbed to try and ease. One thing was sure though: She needed to do some work. And some good work at that.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

...Well, that went a lot better than I thought. ...Then again, Celestia is used to seeing weird shit by this point. This is just "...Yeah, low end of the scale stuff for me" I bet for her.

[SpikeSmolder fan]

lol that was quite the meeting between Celestia & Smolder, I loved every minute of it!

So a pet corner eh? Can't wait to see how this takes shape with Smolder involved!

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Who's leading whom?

[DavisSentoV5]

Wallflower & Smolder got happy with Celestia, but now let's see how they pull this pet corner off

[OmniFox]

You know Spike has his blog thing right? Perhaps he'll need a lovely co-host to add?