Chapter Two: Old Wallflower
On a normal day, school wasn’t painful. Dull, depressing and mind-numbing, yes. Nobody talked to me, nobody found me or looked at me. If someone did, I’d ruin it and they'd find a better person to talk to. Leave me behind. The day would go on, and I’d just wish for it to be over. It was bad, but never scary.
Today wasn’t a normal day. Today was like needles prickling across my skin. I knew that there were a pair of eyes on me, and for the first time in my life I had no idea how to deal with them. No magic stone, no air of invisibility, no friends to protect me. It was like being a mouse, aware that there was a cat prowling, following my every move. If I just stepped out of line…
A hand shot past me, and a leather-bound arm blocked my path. The clatter of thin, cheap locker-metal rattling caused the entire contents of the corridor to spin and turn to face me, alarmed by the sudden noise.
Eyes like ice glared at me through narrowed slits. A smirk, predatory and gleeful, danced on Sunset’s lips. I knew at once which Sunset I was cornered by, but the rest of the school didn’t. The rest of the school wouldn’t even think twice. When wasn’t Sunset pulling some strange stunt?
“Hey there, garden-girl,” Sunset said, her voice sliding between her teeth arranged in a toothy grin. “You did a nice job with that first aid. I owe you one.”
I clutched my books close to my stomach. “Um… thanks.”
“I’m serious!” Sunset went on loudly, as if putting on a play, dancing in front of the crowd. “I owe you, big time. If you ever have a favour to ask, don’t hesitate, because we’re friends!”
The other students saw Sunset’s smile, her cocky stance, her confident glare. My heart sank when I realised they weren’t just looking at Sunset. They were looking at me, at my pathetic cowering frame and unkempt, dishevelled look. My scared eyes melted in comparison to Sunset’s. Sunset had turned all the attention towards me, but I wasn’t ready. She was a goddess, and I was just some dumb mortal, and Sunset knew it.
“I, uh, have class, so…”
“Oh, right.” Sunset spun, her back sliding against the lockers. “You know, if you wanted you wouldn’t need to go to class. Who would stop you?.”
The rest of the students in the hall hung upon every word of our conversation. I grimaced. The entire school was used to Sunset being in unusual situations. If she was acting a bit weird, so what? Weird was Sunset's middle name. The difference this time was me. I was the focus of attention and was at a loss as to what to do.
“They’d notice,” I said, my voice falling into a whisper. “Because you’re sort of attracting attention…”
Sunset leaned in closer. Oh, she knew how her proximity made me afraid. She had to know. Everything about Sunset was designed to aggress and overwhelm, from her confident posture to her intoxicating aroma. I wanted out, but couldn’t move. I was shellshocked and Sunset was revelling in it. This time it wasn’t within the cosy comfort of my own home; it was here, at school, in front of everyone.
“Yeah, and imagine how jealous they’d be,” Sunset said. “Anyway, you did me a real solid last night. We should do this more often.”
A confused chatter rumbled through the body of students. I winced. “I’m not sure…” I began. I wasn’t even confident enough to tell Sunset to go away, to stop putting me on the spot. What were the others thinking? Would they think me and Sunset were friends? What did this mean for the other Sunset? What did they think I did for her? Did they think she was in trouble? That I was in trouble? Or that I was trouble?
If only I had some room to think, but Sunset was invading my space with gleeful abandon. I felt hot and sweaty and my brain wasn't working. I closed my eyes to try and focus.
"I..."
I opened them again, trying to retort something, anything to Sunset, but the she was already gone, empty space replacing the overwhelming presence that had pinned me against the lockers. Finally, I breathed, but I still felt the weight of dozens of pairs of eyes on me as well as the soft lingering smell of her hair.
The crowd began to disperse. The throng of people shuffled past me, and once again I disappeared...
“You okay?”
I jumped. Sunset appeared, as if by magic. This one had a soft look, a restrained look. She was the Sunset I knew. She wore the necklace and didn’t look like she was hovering between tormenting me or ranting about her own life.
“I’m… I’m fine,” I replied, scanning the hallway to see if I could catch any sign of her frightening double. “I… where did you come from?”
“From the bathroom.” Sunset tilted her head. “You look a bit shaken. Was something wrong last night? You hung up pretty quickly…”
My thoughts raced. I was used to keeping things to myself, but not lying. Not being questioned. “I… um…” I rubbed my temples, pausing to find an explanation and failing. “It’s complicated.”
How could I tell her that there was some clone of her wandering the halls? A clone, or… whatever she was. I began to panic again. What if she had been right? I had always known that Sunset was weird, involved with magic I knew little about. What if there was more to her than I knew? Than anyone knew? If I let slide that I knew she had replaced a student at Canterlot High, what would she do to me? Or would she just think I was crazy?
I had no idea what to do, and the crushing weight of everyone’s attention was making it hard to think.
“If you can’t talk about it, that’s okay, but if something’s not all right, you can talk to us. Us former bad guys have got to stick together.” She winked.
The bell rang, cutting through the awkward quiet between us. I turned away. I still had no idea where to begin with this, so I decided to run away.
“I need to think about it. I’ll… find you after class.”
I’d either find her, or be found by her… whichever version of her that might be.
I decided that, ultimately, I needed Sunset Shimmer’s help. At least, I needed her advice. I still didn’t want to tell her the details; I didn’t, for instance, want to let her know that there was a double of her on the prowl, or that I thought she might be an alien or a bodysnatcher or… any of the other things the new Sunset had said.
I didn’t need to explain that to let Sunset know I had a problem, though. Technically, it was memory stone related, so… she’d understand. Probably. Maybe.
I slunk between the students on our way out of the classroom. Sunset didn’t seem to notice me; she was still adjusting her bag as she exited through the door. I caught up to her, squeezing between two students larger than me, and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Sunset?” I asked.
Sunset turned and looked at me, her eyes flaring with recognition. “Right, we were in the middle of something.” She softened. “Do you want to head outside and talk privately?”
I nodded. After this morning, I didn’t want to be anywhere near a crowd.
I scanned Sunset’s face. It was amazing how identical she looked to the other Sunset. If either of them was a shapeshifter or an alien, they were too indistinguishable to tell. It was only their expressions that made it possible to tell them apart. There was no predatory smirk on this Sunset.
We walked outside and away from the throng of teenagers. In the shadow of the school, Sunset turned to me.
“So, what’s wrong?” she asked.
I took a deep breath. Don’t mention specifics… just the broad strokes of the problem.
“Last night I got into some trouble,” I began. “I was walking home and took a stupid turn, and got cornered by some thugs.”
“That’s terrible. Did they hurt you?” Sunset leaned in, scanning me to check if I was hurt. I recoiled from her, awkward and uncomfortable.
“No, that… that actually isn’t the problem, surprisingly. Well, it’s still pretty bad, but I was fine.” I went on. “I got rescued by this… person. I don’t want to say who, but they basically saved me, and that was really nice of them. The problem is that they’re also kind of… bad.” I frowned, and sighed. “I mean, I think they’re bad. They’re overbearing, rude, I’m pretty sure they like making me uncomfortable, and worse, now they’re following me and trying to put me on the spot, and I don’t know why.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “They’re bullying you? Here, at school?”
“They’re sort of doing that, yeah. It’s complicated, though.”
“It doesn’t sound complicated. You said they like making you feel uncomfortable?”
There was no other explanation in my mind for the other Sunset’s sinister look whenever she got close to me, or saw me shrink away or melt to pieces around her. She got a kick out of seeing me weak, I could tell. Then again… there was something off about her. Something I couldn’t yet place…
“They’re also in kind of a bad place,” I said, trying to rationalise my thoughts. “So I don’t know how much of it they mean and how much of it they just do by accident. They did help me, and sometimes they seem… kind of like me, I guess.” I looked to the side. “I wondered if you had any advice. Since… well, before I’d just use my memory stone, now I don’t really know what to do. I’m trying to change and to become better, but I’ve never… been better than what I am. But you have.”
Sunset folded her arms and tilted her head. She was silent for a moment. “Well, I guess it’s up to you if you think this person is hurting or helping you. If you want help, I’d need to know who they are.” Sunset held her hands up. “But if you don’t want to say, that’s okay for now. I guess.” Sunset scratched her head. “I suppose it’s possible they’re just trying to get your attention? Like how colts pull a— I mean, like how boys pull a girl’s hair in kindergarten or something.”
“I wish they wouldn’t.”
Sunset tilted her head upwards. “Well, if you think there’s a part of them that’s good, then you should try to at least set boundaries. Let them know that you’re upset and aren’t going to put up with that behaviour. I mean, I’m not sure I buy that they are trying to help, but if you’re convinced they are…”
I glanced away, deep in thought. “Truth is, garden-girl, that I’ve been the only one to ever really notice you, and the only one to ever remember you.” Maybe it was true that the other Sunset just wanted my attention. It was… ironic, in a way, that as I had been invisible to everyone else, she had been invisible to me. Now that I thought about it, if she couldn't talk to anyone without them thinking it was her... that could mess a person up... I knew that from experience. She might just be socially awkward.
“If anything escalates, you need to tell someone, though. It doesn’t even have to be me,” Sunset continued. “I’m sure you don’t need anything like this on your plate making things harder.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.” I breathed in. “Thanks. I guess I just needed to straighten things out in my head.” I rubbed my forehead. “I guess I’m just going through a lot.”
Sunset gave me a small pat on the shoulder and smiled broadly. “Well, you’ve made some big changes. I know what it’s like to change like that. Remember, you’re not alone!” She turned and moved away. “I’ll see you around. You have my number, so call me if you want to talk.”
I nodded. “Sure. Sounds good.”
My garden was quiet. It wasn’t always quiet. For a long time it had been silent. Like a grave or a basement. Now, there was an ambient sound that was characteristic of life. Other people hanging out, having lunch, talking quietly. It was never noisy, but at least it wasn’t silent.
I dug a hole in the earth-filled cast-iron pots I had prepared for the plundervine seeds. They were aggressive, and if I let them, they’d spread to the entire garden and kill most of the other plants. Which was bad, obviously. I knew what measures to take, though. Gardening was sort of my thing.
I mulled over what Sunset had told me. It felt eerie, getting helped so readily by her. I get that she hadn’t always been nice herself, so maybe she felt a sort of kinship with me, but… I was at a loss as to how I was supposed to feel about it. I wasn’t like Sunset. I hadn’t turned everything around and started helping other people with their issues. I just worked in the garden like I always had.
It had felt more right, I guess, when Sunset had been my enemy. Or at least, when I had thought she was my enemy.
Beep.
I looked around, and saw a hunched figure in a dark leather jacket punch a small machine. It was roughly the size of a microwave… actually, it might have even been a microwave, once.
“Shut up!” came Sunset’s voice. “What’s making you go off now?” The larger girl turned to eye me. “What? I mean, hey.”
This was the other Sunset. The one I was afraid of. I swallowed. “Hey.”
Sunset threw her strange contraption to the side, where it fell onto the grass in a dismal pile. Beep! She folded her arms. “Saw you talking with the other me today.” She glared at me out the corner of her eye. “What? Can’t tell which of us is real?”
“Not really. Does it matter?”
“Of course it does?” Sunset threw her hands in the air. “Wouldn’t you want to know which of us is an imposter? Think about it. She could be lying about everything she says just to stay popular. That doesn't scare you?”
“I don’t think she’s that bad. Actually, she’s nicer than you.”
“Pfft. Well, that’s not hard.” Sunset got to her feet and strode towards me. She stopped just short of colliding into me, and loomed over like a skyscraper. “I don’t pretend to be nice. What, you want me to bend over backwards to be friendly and loved? Like the other one?” She bent over me. “Do you want me to be nice to you?”
“It’d be a good start,” I replied glumly. “Do you even want to be friends with me? Or just try to scare me?”
“Not being nice and being bad aren’t the same thing.” Sunset sat down. “I can’t stand the idea of being like the other one. Look at it from my perspective. You get replaced by some clone and all of a sudden everyone likes you as soon as you do anything different. Then you, the real you, does anything normal and people act like you’re some sort of freak.” She glowered, not at me, but just in general. “Well? Do you think I’m a freak?”
I hesitated. “Why do you care what I think?”
Sunset sighed. “I guess we’re both freaks.” She got to her feet. “Just don’t tell her about me. I don’t want to have to deal with my imposter realising she left a pretty big loose end. You know what happens to loose ends, right?” Sunset made a scissoring motion with her fingers. “They get cut. Snip, snip.”
“Uh… sure.”
Sunset stared at me for a bit. There was a long pause. “I guess I shouldn’t be upset. I said I’d help you get noticed by others, right? Why should I be mad if you’re talking to the other me?” She folded her arms. “Do whatever you want. If you want to make me the bad guy just to cozy up to her, that’s fine by me.”
“It’s not like…” I began. I put down my trowel and sighed. “What’s your deal anyway?”
“I don’t have a ‘deal’,” Sunset growled. “Nice plundervines, by the way.”
Beep!
The strange contraption Sunset had been playing with continued to make noise. Sunset gave it a stern kick. “Shut up! Geez!” She glanced over at the plundervines and murmured to herself.
I glanced at my handiwork. The vines were, as expected, already taking root. I looked up at Sunset, surprised she had recognised them. She shrugged.
“What? I know things.” She rubbed her forehead. “Those what you were carrying around last night?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Thanks again for the help.”
“Yeah, well, whatever.” Sunset got to her feet. “You’re okay, I’m okay, that’s all that matters.” She picked up her contraption and examined it before turning back to me. “It’s real late. Why are we still here?”
“Because I’m planting these,” I replied.
“Yes, and you’re finished.” Sunset tilted on one leg impatiently. “Everyone else is going home.”
I looked at my plants. I had pretty much finished, it was true. If I kept working on the plundervines, they could get agitated, escape their cast-iron pots, and spill over onto the other plants. Sunset was also clearly… waiting for me? She was tapping her foot and checking her watch.
I stood up, slinging my backpack over my shoulders as I walked over to her. I hunched slightly, unsure. “Um… are we going then?”
“Sure,” Sunset said.
We left the garden past a pair of students, who both noticed us. I instinctively moved a little behind Sunset. “Isn’t it bad if you get seen with me?”
“Not really. They’ll just assume you’re with the other girl, right? Since you’re ‘friends’ now.”
I quickened my pace to walk alongside Sunset. The school was quickly emptying itself of students, but I still wasn’t certain about being seen with her. I wasn’t sure why. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a trap of sorts.
Together, we made our way outside. The streets were busy. It was rush hour. A gaggle of boys from the school magazine were chatting by the bus stop. I caught a flash of sly glee from Sunset. She turned to me.
“Hey, want to promote your garden a bit? Get it some publicity?”
I looked at her, then over at the boys from the school magazine. Realisation dawned. I held my hands up, shaking my head quickly. “Oh, no, I’m not—”
“Come on, I’ve got a plan. Just go with it and improvise.” Sunset’s hand snatched mine fast as a whip, and I was pulled towards the crowd. Before I was able to stop her, or stop my heart from racing, I was spun into a social situation I wasn’t prepared for.
“Wait—” I began, but it was too late. Sunset was already talking.
“Hey guys. Looking for something to write about?” Sunset’s smile was as sweet as honey, and as sly as a snake. “Wallflower here’s got a great new addition to her garden.”
I knew I wanted to be seen. To be acknowledged. To be given praise like everyone else. Who wouldn’t? That didn’t change the fact that this was unfamiliar. Uncomfortable. I opened my mouth. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone was waiting for me to say something and my mind was blank…
“Plundervines!” Sunset said, her eyes only rolling slightly at my inability to speak. “Really rare plants. There’s not many left around, and they’re pretty dangerous too!”
“Don’t tell them that!” I exclaimed.
“But don’t worry, Wallflower’s got it all under control because she’s the best.”
My pulse quickened. I felt dizzy, even. I was somewhere between panic and mounting anger, and I was struggling to control myself. “I don’t!” I exclaimed. “I mean, I do, but I can’t…”
“I’ve never heard of plundervines,” one of the boys, Pipsqueak, said. “They’re rare, huh? How did you get them?”
“Oh, we don’t need to dwell on that,” Sunset said with a nonchalant laugh. “Just be sure to go by the garden at some point soon to—”
I pushed Sunset away from the magazine club and against the bus stop sign, which she hit with a clatter. “Stop! I didn’t ask for this! If you want to make a scene so badly, why don’t you just tell them about how you rescued me from—”
I sensed something I had never felt before from this Sunset. I felt her hands, closer to claws, grip my shoulders. Squeeze. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her pupils were pitch black. I had seen the barrels of guns in movies and video-games, and they held a terrifying resemblance. Her scowl was not dismissive, or snarky. It was dangerous and desperate. She pulled me away from the boys in the magazine club, far away enough for them to not be able to listen in. They could still see us, though.
“That’s not funny,” Sunset snarled in a low voice.
I was so shocked that my panic and anger were blown away by momentary fright. What had I done? What had angered Sunset like that?
Sunset scanned my terrified expression, and her features softened. Her grip loosened, and she more gently pulled me away from the crowd. Pipsqueak backed away slightly.
“Um… I’ll… see you around then?”
Sunset and me moved away from the others. “You can’t tell them I rescued you and got in a fight. If you do, and they write about it, the other girl will find out and I’ll get cornered. She'll find me. I’m…” Her eyes widened abruptly, and she let go of me, as if burned. As if I hurt her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have scared you.”
Sunset was frozen, the hand that had grabbed me hovering in place, stiff and frozen.
The whiplash of emotions I experienced was enough to stun me into quiet silence. I forced myself to speak. Now, for the first time, it was like this Sunset was actually listening to me, not walking over me.
I took my chance to direct the conversation for the first time; to be in control over her.
I took a step away from her, glad to finally have some space to breathe. “I’m not ready for you to just… push me into situations like that. I can't deal with it all!” I folded my arms defensively around myself. “You might have only been dealing with not being given attention for a year or so, but I’ve been like this my whole life. I’m not… used to it.”
Sunset swallowed, her stiff posture relaxing. “I… right.” She looked at the pavement, downcast. “I guess we’re not so similar after all.”
Sunset turned to leave, but I held my hand up to stop her. “No, wait…”
I could tell her to leave and never come back, but there was something feral and frightened about her that made me not want to. She was like me. She was angry and bitter and confused, and whilst nobody would blame me if I asked to be left alone, at the same time, nobody would have blamed the other Sunset if she hadn’t forgiven me, but she did.
Not only that, but I felt… something. I couldn’t tell what yet, but I knew I wanted to find out. I couldn’t do that if she left…
“What?” Sunset asked. “Look, if this is because I tried to help you last night, just… forget it. Like I said, I probably didn’t even help anyway so it’s not like you actually owe me or anything. I just wanted… I don’t know.”
“It’s fine, it’s just that if you want for us to be friends, this is just something we need to, I don’t know, talk about. Right?”
Sunset hesitated, and for a moment regained her cocky, arrogant air. “Sure, I guess. It’s not like I have anyone else to talk to really.” She cleared her throat. “So, uh…”
“We can talk at my place again,” I said. “It’ll be nicer this time now that you won’t be horribly injured.”
“Please. I wasn’t even that bad. See, I’m already mostly healed up. I only needed lots and lots of makeup to cover up the fact that I’m mostly blue right now.” Sunset pointed at her face. It was true that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but anything other than a cursory look revealed that she was still pretty out of shape. Literally. She swallowed. “But, uh, sure. Yeah, we can meet up there.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Sunset left. I relaxed. I slumped against a light-post and closed my eyes for a moment, processing my exchange with Sunset.
“So… about those plundervines…” Pipsqueak began.
“I… I’ll tell you about them later,” I said. “I have a lot of thinking to do.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.014 seconds
Total duration
959 users online
300,722 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I think this was an exclamation rather than a question
Wait, was he right beside them the whole time? did he hear about what they were talk or did he just now walk up to Wallflower? Was he waiting?
(spoilers ahead)
Okay so. Two things.
One, I'm sensing some sort of comparison between this "human" Sunset and the plundervines, both being agressive, invasive and capable of destruction.
Two. Wallflower describes "Human" Sunset as larger than her, even when she isn't bearing down on her, and she hasn't described Sunset like this, so I assume she is also larger than Sunset.
That plus the little show of anger makes me belive we're not really dealing with a human here. Or at least not completly.
Let's see where chapter three goes.
10753119 Near enough to see them part ways, not near enough to eavesdrop. Interesting you mention it though, so I'll look about clarifying if I have the wordcount to spare (I'm running a bit close...). If it's unclear I have the time to adjust it before the contest deadline. : )
I just honestly find it hard to believe that every student at CHS would be totally oblivious to the fact there's two Sunsets roaming around the school. Unless human Sunset is intentionally trying to not get noticed. Maybe I'm missing something.
Great story and characterization though. You really make a convincing argument for
TsundereAggressive Human Sunset Shimmer X Wallflower10753946 Glad you enjoy it! To be honest writing Angery Shimmer is really fun. It's quite engaging writing a character that can just whiplash across a bunch of emotions really fast.
Cheers for reading! I hope the following chapters live up to expectations. : )
Ok, if I was wallflower I’d keep this sunset at a certain distance.
when the domme bullies you with friendship10961840
The domme is certainly trying.She'd be my worst nightmare.
...
Okay, that may or may not have been an exaggeration. Only a slight one, though.
For as good as this is so far - and believe me, it's really good -, there's one point where I have to suspend my disbelief a little. She mentioned that she's basically hiding from herself, which, alright, fine. But there's only so much you can do to achieve that continuously. And she can't really afford even a single mess up there. I mean, just imagine. She comes down a corridor, rounds the corner and aims towards a bathroom door. Meanwhile, someone - anyone - was a few dozen steps away talking to her. Sort of. And then turns around and sees her enter the bathroom. That's at this point basically just 'bad luck', but how do you avoid something like that for such a prolonged time?
And I feel like she's... well, deranged. I can see why. And how. But it's really worrisome.
We'll see how that ends...