It was a bright and sunny day at Canterlot High, but the grounds were silent. There were no students milling around and chatting, no announcements being made or impromptu games being played, not even Vice Principal Luna’s perennial warning of ‘no student parking in the faculty lot’.
It was summer vacation, and every student was taking full advantage of this by being anywhere but at school.
Well, almost every student.
Wallflower Blush made her way down the path to the school’s garden. As she ducked between the bushes, she saw two others already here.
“Hey, Wallflower,” Rose said brightly, looking up from her watering.
Muffins waved.
Wallflower cracked a smile and waved back. It was still weird to her, being noticed at all, and now she was running her own little gardening club. “Hey, girls,” she said. She glanced around, realizing there was one more person she was expecting to see. “Is Sunset around?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Rose said. Her smile turned playful. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Wallflower said a bit too quickly.
Rose smirked.
Wallflower lived up to her last name as she sat down and began weeding, facing away from the others to avoid any incidental eye contact. Apparently, her little crush on Sunset Shimmer wasn’t quite as hidden as she would have liked, something Wallflower found profoundly mortifying. Were she to be completely honest, she would have used the Memory Stone, if she’d still had it, to keep it a secret.
In her defense, Sunset was really cool.
Wallflower wasn’t sure when it had started. Honestly, it may have been part of the reason she was so upset with Sunset after she’d changed. She really didn’t know.
And once she’d figured this out, she had no idea how to progress further. That was one of the other things that bugged her about losing the Memory Stone: she had no redos. If she botched any of this (which was very likely, knowing her), then it would be game over—permanently.
She lifted one of the flower petals and pursed her lips. Plants didn’t have this problem. Plants just had to look pretty and some passing bee or moth or hummingbird would come by and pollinate them.
That wouldn’t have worked. Before, Sunset barely noticed her, let alone wanted to pollinate her.
Her ears burned at that thought, and she quickly refocused on her work and tried to put it out of her mind.
Wallflower waved goodbye and then shoved her hands into her pockets, trying to not feel dejected.
Sunset hadn’t come.
It’s not like she’d expected her to come. But she usually would, which was really nice, especially since it seemed everyone else in their group had a camp or a retreat to go to already.
Ok, Wallflower had expected her to come.
Maybe she should text her? She pulled her phone out (she really should put a lock on it, now that she actually had numbers in her Contacts list) and got to the Messages app before pausing.
This could be a bad idea. What if it came across as too needy? That could push her away.
Or what if it didn’t? What if Sunset actually wanted to hear from her?
Frustrated with her internal arguing, she put her hands on her forehead—and unintentionally hit herself in the head with the corner of her phone. “Ouch,” she grumbled, rubbing it. Smooth. The only way that could have been worse is if-
“Hey, Wallflower!”
-if Sunset had seen it.
Startled, she dropped her phone, and quickly scrambled to pick it up, well aware of how silly she must have looked.
“Sorry about that,” Sunset said, her eyes wider than usual in concern. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No problem,” Wallflower said, trying to find something not-awkward to do with her arms. She went from folding her arms then putting them down then grabbing her own wrist before giving up and just sticking her hands in her pockets. “We missed you today.”
“Ah, I know,” Sunset said, reaching up to scratch at her neck. “I should have told you. I’ve actually got something new I’m doing this summer.”
“Oh, yeah?” Wallflower asked. Her first instinct was to feel left out, but she knew that wasn’t fair. Sunset had her own life, and it wasn’t like she knew about her feelings.
Maybe she does and just doesn’t care
Wallflower shook her head to clear that intrusive thought. “Sorry, pollen,” she lied, rubbing at her nose. “Go on.”
In response, Sunset turned, gesturing behind her. Wallflower looked to see a younger girl, wearing a pink dress with frills and her blue hair done in ringlets, framed by a white bow.
“Wallflower, this is Cozy Glow.”
“Hi, Cozy,” Wallflower said uncertainly.
“Hey, Wallflower!” Cozy said with a big smile, bouncing once neatly in place. “Golly, it sure is swell meeting you!”
Wallflower gave her a shaky smile, hoping it would pass as genuine. Cozy was certainly energetic. She already felt a little tired just looking at her.
“I’ve joined this mentoring program for kids on their own who need a little extra help,” Sunset explained, “and Cozy’s going to be my mentee for the summer.”
“Oh,” Wallflower said, still a little confused about all this but not wanting to come across as ignorant.
Thankfully, Sunset clarified. “It sounds fancier than it is. It’s mostly just an excuse for them to get out of the group home, spend time with an older sister-figure, and just have fun on the town.”
“Oh,” Wallflower said again. She looked between them, suddenly wishing she had something cool to suggest they all do together. She almost suggested a visit to the garden, but not in that dress, she couldn’t. “That sounds fun,” she said, hoping she sounded convincing.
“It sure does!” Cozy squeed. “We’re gonna have a blast together.”
So less time to spend with Sunset. Maybe she could third-wheel. She didn’t take up much space.
But then again, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share Sunset; and for an introvert like her, the excitable Cozy might as well have been a patch of poison ivy.
Wallflower shook her head rapidly to clear it. “So what kind of things are you going to do?”
“Still kinda figuring that out,” Sunset admitted. “But I figured having her meet all my friends was a start and we’d just go on from there. You know, all the ones not at camp, anyway.”
Wallflower cracked a half-smile.
“We’d better get going, actually,” Sunset continued. “We’re going to meet up for lunch with some other pairs. But we’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, sure,” Wallflower said, waving goodbye.
It must have been just a trick of the light, but it looked like Cozy had almost… smirked at her?
Wallflower looked down at her phone in shock. She pinched her eyes closed, waited a moment, then opened them again, but the text message hadn’t changed.
>Want to come over for a bit?
Come over? Like, come over come over?
Could it be the opportunity she was waiting for? This could be where it all started! Should she wear something nice? She looked over at her closet, filled with various sweaters that…
She squinted, her eyes flicking over the stripes. Were all her sweaters identical? How had…?
She shook her head and looked back at the text. If Sunset wanted her to come over, maybe she’d be touching her under her sweater, anyway.
Like she’d want to touch you
She shook off that intrusive thought, but then realized that that opened a whole new thought process. Should she wear nice underwear?
Trick question, she didn’t have any. She didn’t even have anything she’d call ‘cute’. All her panties were either ‘comfortable’ or ‘shark week’, and the line was blurred. And that wasn’t even getting into-
>Cozy Glow wanted to bake something for our meetup today, and I figured it’d be more fun with friends. Can’t turn down free food, right?
Wallflower let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. That made more sense, though she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed.
>>Sure. When should I come by?
Wallflower knocked on the door. Sunset’s house was small, but two stories, so it hadn’t been hard to find. She gently brushed a finger against the leaves of the plant on the railing. It seemed to be doing fine, which was strangely comforting.
Sunset opened the door. “Hey, Wallflower! You’re here early.”
“I like free food,” Wallflower said, before realizing that that probably sounded stupid.
But Sunset just smiled. “Come on in. Cozy’s just getting set up.”
Sure enough, Cozy was in the kitchenette, wearing another frilly dress but this time with an apron on top. “Hey, Wally!” she greeted her over a mixing bowl filled with ingredient containers. “Come to try some of my famous cupcakes?”
“Sure,” Wallflower said. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that nickname, but was even less sure how to bring it up, so she didn’t say anything.
“I’ll get a batch of ‘em whipped up in no time,” she said. She looked at the tiny electric oven and giggled. “Half batch, maybe,” she amended, brushing some dust off the top. “Looks like I’ll be thinking small for this one.”
“Yeah,” Sunset said with a wry grin. “Living alone, I don’t need much.”
“Well, I hope you’re hungry, because Cozy’s on the job,” Cozy said confidently, and she shooed them from the kitchen.
The two sat down on the couch, and had a brief moment of silence.
“She seems… nice,” Wallflower said, mostly because she felt like she had to say something and this was the first thing to come to mind that wasn’t blatantly a lie.
“Yeah,” Sunset agreed. “I guess she had trouble matching with someone, but she and I just clicked, and she requested me specifically. I couldn’t turn that down.”
Wallflower nodded. She didn’t really want to talk about Cozy this whole time. She knew she could figure out a way to switch the conversation.
Stupid
She hadn’t figured out how to switch the conversation, and after a couple other questions, they had lapsed into yet another awkward silence, and now both girls were on their phones.
There was a slight chance Wallflower was overthinking this and it probably wasn’t that awkward. But it certainly felt that way to her.
Wallflower’s heart jumped at the sound of the timer, and Cozy soon emerged, carrying a platter of cupcakes.
“I’m not used to electric ovens,” Cozy said with a hint of regret in her voice. “At my old house, we used to have a big natural gas oven, so everything cooked more evenly. I hope these taste good.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Sunset said comfortingly, reaching out and taking one. She took a bite, and her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. That is good.”
Intrigued, Wallflower took one. She slowly unwrapped it and took a tiny bite.
All her doubts instantly vanished in the sweet explosion of flavor. She quickly took another, and let out a soft, subconscious moan of pleasure.
“It’s just a cupcake,” Cozy said, amused. “No need to cream your panties.”
Wallflower shook her head. She must have misheard. Maybe being this close to her crush was affecting her brain. “Nothing,” she said quickly, and she took another bite. “It’s good.”
Cozy beamed. She sat down and began to eat one of her own. She was eating daintily, pinky raised and everything.
Maybe it was just her inherent distrust of people. Maybe it was just that Cozy was an extrovert, and Wallflower wasn’t. Honestly, it was probably nothing.
But Wallflower couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just a little bit off about Cozy Glow.
Wallflower was a gardener, not a farmer. Even the largest plant she grew was small enough for her to carry.
But when Sunset invited her to Applejack’s today, Wallflower figured that was close enough. Hands jammed in her pockets, she wandered up to where Applejack was carrying a stack of baskets far too large for a typical high schooler. Wallflower pursed her lips. She still wasn’t comfortable with how blasely they used that geode magic.
And then Applejack turned quickly, knocking Wallflower onto the ground with one of the baskets. She hit the ground hard.
Now she just wasn’t comfortable in general.
“Ah, shoot. Sorry, Wallflower,” Applejack said, quickly setting them down and reaching down to help her up. “Didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine,” Wallflower said, letting Applejack help her up. She brushed dirt off her pants. “Is Sunset here?”
“She’s inside, helping Granny peel some apples,” Applejack said. She raised an eyebrow and one side of her mouth pulled up. “Why?”
Wallflower winced. “No reason,” she said a little too quickly. Did everyone but Sunset know?
Wait.
Did Sunset know?
“But Cozy’s out here,” Applejack offered.
Talk about a whammy prize.
“Cozy wants to expand her baking re-por-i-tore,” Applejack said with pride, “so we’re gonna bake some apple pies today. And the best part of baking pies is sharing ‘em with friends, so I hope you’re hungry!” She grabbed Wallflower in a tight side hug.
Wallflower found this both oddly comforting and a little excessive, so she smiled and hoped it passed for genuine. “So, anyone else coming? Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash?” she guessed, trying to remember who was back yet and who wasn’t.
Applejack dropped her hands. “Rainbow Dash doesn’t like pie,” she said in a dark voice that implied a lot of backstory that Wallflower didn’t dare dig into. Already, she was intense enough that she took a slight step back.
Thankfully, Cozy provided a (semi-)welcome distraction by skipping across the orchard, a basket full of apples on one arm, looking somewhat like an out-of-place flower girl. She paused, then leaned over, cutely tapping her chin, before selecting another large apple just barely within her reach and skipping back. “How do these look, Applejack?” Cozy asked, holding the basket out with both hands.
“These look great,” Applejack said. “You’re a natural.”
Cozy beamed.
Before long, Wallflower found herself inside, wearing an apron, holding an apple peeler. It was heavy, looked about as old as Granny Smith, and felt unwieldy in her hand. Honestly, she would have preferred using a spade, because at least that felt good in her hands.
Maybe this had been a mistake.
Sunset noticed her concern and grinned as she approached. “This one’s tricky, but it’s better-balanced than it looks. Here, hold it still.”
And to Wallflower’s shock, she reached around, wrapping her arms around her, guiding her hands. Her heart had stopped. Sunset was so close to her.
“It’s just smooth motions,” Sunset said, demonstrating.
But Wallflower’s thoughts were definitely not on the apple, so when Sunset returned to her own peeling, none of her attempts were as nice as Sunset’s were. Thankfully, they had plenty of apples, and the rest of the pie process went pretty well (as well as it can go for someone who’d never baked a pie before, anyway). The whole sifting the flour thing was odd, though. She couldn’t see how this would make any difference, but everyone else seemed to just accept this as necessary so she went along with it.
Before long, each girl had an apple pie. Wallflower grimaced looking at her crust. It was lopsided, uneven, and bunchy. Applejack had made four in the time it had taken her to make one, and all of hers looked picture perfect. Sunset’s looked passable, and Cozy had done a little sun design on top of hers!
Sunset seemed really pleased at that. She pulled the pie and Cozy Glow in for a picture.
Wallflower and her amateur photography hobby suddenly seemed very unimpressive.
Wallflower staggered into her room and shut the door behind her. She unbuttoned her pants and let out a low groan as she laid down on her bed. She’d eaten way too much pie. Applejack, Granny Smith, even Cozy Glow with those wide eyes and slight pout had combined with her unwillingness to make a scene to equal one stuffed Wallflower.
But still, she’d gotten to spend a lot of time with Sunset Shimmer. So it was totally worth it.
Wallflower rubbed the leaves through the bag as she approached the animal shelter. Part of her felt a little bit used, but part of her felt needed, and that was nice.
Another part of her was wondering if she was being used and enjoying it, and what that could mean. Probably nothing good.
So it was a welcome diversion to see Fluttershy come out, carrying a couple bags of trash. “Hey, Fluttershy,” Wallflower started.
“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked, dropping the bags.
Wallflower forced a smile.
Fluttershy quickly recovered, her cheeks tinging pink. “I’m so sorry, Wallflower. I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine,” Wallflower said instinctively, helping her pick them up and carry them to the dumpster.
“You’re here a little early,” Fluttershy said. “Sunset isn’t here yet.”
Wallflower choked. Did everyone know? “I didn’t-” she started. “I mean… I have the nepeta cataria you wanted,” she said quickly, holding out the bag.
“Oh, wonderful,” Fluttershy said, taking it. “The cats are going to love this.” She looked over Wallflower’s shoulder. “Oh!” she said pleasantly.
Wallflower turned to see Sunset riding her motorcycle, with a smaller girl holding on tight, her arms wrapped around her waist.
Wallflower found herself suddenly wishing she needed a ride somewhere.
Cozy Glow pulled off her helmet, her curls somehow still looking immaculate even after the trip. “Golly,” she said appreciatively. “That was some ride!”
Sunset chuckled.
“So glad you two could make it,” Fluttershy said. “Come on in.”
They made their way into the back room. Various animals were scattered around, and a cat meowed.
Cozy recoiled at the sound. “Oh, I don’t like cats,” she said, her lip twitching up.
“You don’t?” Fluttershy asked, surprised.
“I’m allergic,” she explained.
Sunset frowned. “Cozy, why didn’t you say something earlier?”
Cozy’s lower lip jutted out as she tried to pull on a shaky smile. “I mean, you wanted to come here, and I didn’t want to say no…”
“It’s fine,” Sunset said quickly. “I’m sure we can find something else for you to do.”
“How good are you at sewing?” Fluttershy offered.
“I’m pretty good,” Cozy said, brightening slightly. She pulled at her dress. “I made this.”
“Then I think a cat toy will be no problem,” Fluttershy said.
Before long, they were hard at work, with the older girls cleaning and socializing with the animals while Cozy sewed small cat toys with catnip inside.
And then Fluttershy’s phone vibrated. “Oh, that’s important,” she said, biting her lower lip. “Sunset, could you help me with a food pickup?”
“Sure. Wallflower, you good here?”
“Yep,” Wallflower said instinctively.
And with that, she was left alone with Cozy Glow.
She watched her leave and bit her lower lip. Not exactly what she’d planned for today. She glanced over at Cozy.
Cozy gave her a winning smile.
As Wallflower cleaned the various cages, she found herself talking to the animals. It was no worse than talking to her plants. “I mean, I get that she’s friends with Fluttershy, but why didn’t she invite me to go along, too?” she murmured.
“Probably because you’re such a loser.”
Wallflower spun around. “What?”
Cozy looked startled. She held up the cat toy she was working on. “The hole’s because a stitch is loose here?” she said confusedly. “I was just thinking out loud, I didn’t mean to bother you.”
Wallflower shook her head. “I’m sorry. I thought… never mind.”
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Cozy asked, shifting to concern.
Have you ever been?
“Yeah,” Wallflower said. “I’m going to... grab some water.” With that, she spun around and quickly walked out.
Once outside, she leaned against the wall and pressed her fists against her forehead. Come on, Wallflower, get it together.
Thankfully, the rest of the day went smoothly; Fluttershy and Sunset soon returned with the bags of food and drinks for Wallflower and Cozy. Sunset had brightened the room just by being there, and Wallflower was quickly feeling better.
That faded slightly when they had to leave. Cozy slid the helmet on and wrapped her arms tightly around Sunset’s waist and-
It almost looked like she was smirking again?
Wallflower shook her head. She was definitely overthinking things, but if she had her way, she’d be the one wrapped around Sunset.
The walk home seemed to take a little longer than the walk there.
Rose came up beside her. “Hey, you doing ok? You’re looking down… -er than usual.”
Wallflower gave her a sideways look, only to see Muffins nodding in agreement. She frowned. “Do I usually look…?”
Rose and Muffins shared a look, like they didn’t want to answer that question.
Wallflower let that sentence die. “Fine,” she admitted, slumping to the ground. “It’s been a couple weeks, almost everyone else is back from their camps, and I haven’t heard much of anything from Sunset.”
“Oh,” Rose said. “What have you texted her?”
Wallflower hesitated. Shoot. “Uh…”
Rose sat down next to her. “It sounds like you’re being too passive about all this,” she said gently. “She can’t know anything you don’t tell her. Any relationship is a two-way street. Go on. Text her first.”
Muffins nodded encouragingly.
Buoyed by their support, Wallflower pulled out her phone. She tapped Sunset’s name…
And frowned.
What should she say?
Five minutes later, she still hadn’t figured out how to word it. She reread the message. “‘Hey Sunset, want to hang out today?’ Or does that not sound right?”
Too needy, she’ll drop you for sure
Rose massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers. “If she likes you, it won’t matter what you say; but you know what? You have to say something. It’s like having a seed and never planting it. It could grow into the most beautiful rose, but you’ll never know if you don’t plant it.” She pointed at her phone. “Plant it!”
“I just… don’t want to say something wrong,” Wallflower defended herself lamely. “What if she thinks I’m stupid?”
Rose snatched Wallflower’s phone out of her hands, hit the ‘send’ icon, then gave it back.
Wallflower choked. She looked over at Muffins, as if for backup, but she just gave her a flat look and crossed her arms. Wallflower slumped. Outnumbered. This better work out.
“Stop looking like a zinc deficient corn stalk,” Rose said. “You’ve got to give Sunset a chance to give you a chance. Tell her, Muffins.”
Muffins took her by the shoulder, turned Wallflower to face her, and gave her a determined nod.
“You said it, girl,” Rose agreed.
Wallflower squinted. Said wh-?
Her phone vibrated, instantly drawing her attention. In her shock, she nearly flung it out of her hands, and made a mad scramble to catch it. It bounced off each hand, then Rose’s hand as she attempted to help, then Muffins’ chest before finally landing on Wallflower’s face.
>>Definitely! I’ve got a visit with Cozy Glow today, be happy to have you along.
Wallflower winced.
“What?”
Oh, yeah, tell them you don’t like a little girl. That’ll go over well “I mean… I would rather spend time with just her.”
“This is still a win,” Rose insisted. “Go. Have a great time.”
Muffins nodded and smiled encouragingly.
“You’re right,” Wallflower said, standing up and feeling confidence rush through her (having friends was kinda cool!). “I’m going to go, and I’m going to have a great time.”
Wallflower was not having a great time.
She felt ridiculous! Today’s ‘visit’ was apparently a tea party, so here she was, in Cozy’s room, wearing a large hat, crammed under a tiny table.
The only saving grace was Sunset was here, too. She somehow managed to make her enormous hat look good.
Cozy held up a teapot, her pinkie extended. “Miss Shimmer, would you care for more tea?”
“Why, certainly, Miss Glow,” Sunset said, holding up her cup.
“And you, Miss Blush?” Cozy offered next.
“Me? Uh, sure,” Wallflower said.
“‘Sure’... what?” Cozy prompted coolly, her eyes narrowing.
Wallflower winced. “Sure, Miss Glow?” she tried.
And Cozy was all smiles again as she poured Wallflower more.
Wallflower took a small sip and reflected on her life. Full of unrequited love and being pushed around by a little girl.
The sound of a timer going off made her jump.
“Ope, my cookies!” Cozy set the teapot down and flounced off to go get them.
Wallflower wished she wasn’t sitting so she could grab her phone easier. But maybe this was a good thing. She could talk to Sunset. She could say something clever.
“So, you do this a lot?” she asked.
She could say something.
“Every so often,” Sunset said with an easy shrug. “I mean, I’m not a huge fan of the dress code,” she conceded, “but Cozy likes it. Besides, her cookies? Totally worth it.”
“If you say so,” Wallflower said, adjusting her hat.
Sunset’s brow furrowed with concern, and she reached over and gently brushed her hand against Wallflower’s arm. “Are you doing ok?”
Something about Sunset just made her feel safe enough to share. “I don’t know,” Wallflower admitted. “Something about Cozy just seems a little…” Freaky “-off, I guess.”
Maybe not that safe.
Sunset chuckled good-naturedly. “Honestly, everyone’s a little bit weird,” she said, holding her fingers close together. She paused, then separated her fingers further.
Wallflower cracked a smile, thinking of Pinkie or Trixie.
Cozy burst back in, holding a tray of cookies. “Ready!” she sang.
“Excellent,” Sunset said, her fingers wiggling excitedly. As soon as she set the tray down, she selected one, rolling it around her fingers so it could cool.
Wallflower wanted to try, but she got the feeling she would only drop it in her lap, and as she had no desire to drop a hot cookie in her lap, she just watched.
Before long, it cooled enough that Sunset could take a bite. Wallflower watched, her eyes somehow drawn to the crumbs on her lips and the way her tongue moved around the cookie.
You wish you were that cookie
That thought was weird enough that she quickly tried to find a distraction, and chose picking up a cookie. She took a bite. Her eyes widened.
“Told you, Miss Blush,” Sunset said with a smile.
Wallflower took another bite. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.
Wallflower glanced up at the clock. “I should probably get going,” she said, starting to push herself up. She’d definitely hit her socializing limit, regardless of the delicious cookies.
“Oh, I can take you home,” Sunset said. “I always carry a spare helmet now.”
Wallflower quickly sat back down. That would be worth it.
Before long, they were wrapping up. Sunset was currently in the bathroom, which left Wallflower Blush alone with Cozy Glow.
She hadn’t felt this awkward since the first time Sunset brought her to sit with her friends at lunch. But something told her Cozy wasn’t going to break the awkward silence by sticking two straws in her mouth and pretending to be a walrus.
Apparently, Cozy picked up on her discomfort. “What’s the matter, Wally?”
“Nothing,” Wallflower said a bit too quickly.
But far from being offended, Cozy seemed to smile. She scooted closer. “Did you have a good time?” she prompted.
“Yes?”
She slid a bit closer. “And how were the cookies?”
“Also good?” Wallflower tried.
And then Cozy was right next to her. “And the tea?”
You could probably take her in a fight
“Good, too?”
Cozy rested her head on Wallflower’s shoulder. “Oh, good,” she said. “I added lemon because I didn’t have bergamot. I think Sunset noticed, but she didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower said, grateful for the diversion. “She’s pretty cool. She’s been spending a lot of time with you.” It wasn’t quite an accusation, but it almost came out that way.
Luckily, Cozy didn’t seem to notice. “Well, I am pretty cute and adorable,” she said cheerfully.
And humble, too, on top of all that. Wallflower shook her head.
“Why?” Cozy asked curiously. She set her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her curled wrists. “Thinking of joining this program?”
Wallflower couldn’t suppress a quick grimace. That would not be fun. She could just see herself sitting in a room, boring some poor kid out of their skull. “I kinda do plants better than people.”
Recognition shone in Cozy’s eyes. “Oh, you’re a dendrophiliac?”
Wallflower didn’t recognize that word, but it didn’t sound flattering. “Say what?”
“Oh, you’re just not feeling that?”
Wallflower’s brow furrowed. That hadn’t-
But at that moment, Sunset returned. “Ready to go?”
“Yep,” Wallflower said, shooting to her feet.
Soon, she was outside, buckling her helmet on. She waited for Sunset to get on, then swung her leg over the motorcycle. She stayed back, not wanting to get too close, just in case.
“You’ll have to get closer,” Sunset said.
“What?”
“Closer,” Sunset repeated. “If you’re too far back, you’ll unbalance me and we’ll both be eating gravel sandwiches.”
Her heart pounding, Wallflower scooted closer, and gently wrapped her arms around Sunset’s waist.
Shame she’s wearing clothes
Wallflower shook her head, bonking her helmet against Sunset’s.
“You ok?”
“Yep,” Wallflower lied.
Even though they were speeding through the city on a motorcycle, Wallflower felt herself relax. This felt right.
“Enjoying the ride?” Sunset asked.
“Yes,” Wallflower answered honestly. This is everything I thought it would be. I wish I lived further away so this could last longer.
“I get it.”
Wallflower’s heart stopped. She-?
“Something about being on a motorcycle just feels freeing, you know?” Sunset continued.
Oh. Right. “Sure does,” she said.
“It’d be hard to move plants with one, though.”
“Mm-hm,” Wallflower agreed. She had the thought of herself riding a motorcycle and carrying a plant on her lap. It didn’t end well for her, or the plant.
Or the motorcycle.
“Fluttershy has this old van her brother was going to fix up, and he never got around to it—shocker—so she borrows it when she needs to move animals. He calls it his Man Van. More like the Lazy Bum Van. I’m surprised it still runs, honestly.”
Wallflower found this conversation much easier to follow. She settled down and enjoyed the ride.
Summer was over, school had started. Students returned to their classes, Vice Principal Luna resumed her usual warning of ‘no student parking in the faculty lot’.
And Wallflower was just as single as ever.
But you know what? She was determined to change that. Wallflower marched out to the garden, eyes narrowed, fists clenched. No more delays, no more putting it off. She was going to ask Sunset out, and she was going to do it today.
She kept it in her mind like a mantra as she weeded. “I’m going to ask her. I’m going to do it.”
Too late, she realized she was speaking out loud. She looked nervously over her shoulder to see if the others were listening.
They had, and they were wearing knowing smiles.
“You got this!” Rose affirmed.
Muffins gave her a thumbs up and an encouraging smile.
“Muffins is right,” Rose said. “We believe in you.”
Had she said anyth-? Wallflower shook her head, deciding to not think about it. It was good to know they had her back, but her cheeks still burned with embarrassment as she turned back to her work.
Before long, Sunset jogged up, looking a little harried.
She knows
She knows and she doesn’t want you to
“Hey, Wallflower,” she started.
“Sunset, I…”
“Look, I know I said I could stay today, but someone called out at the restaurant and they asked me to work and I could really use the cash.”
“No problem,” Wallflower found herself saying.
“Thanks. You’re a great friend.” Sunset turned and ran off.
Wallflower deflated. She didn’t get the girl and got called a ‘friend’. That was a kick in the confidence.
Muffins came over and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“You’ll get her next time,” Rose said.
Wallflower wilted. She turned to look over her shoulder. “What if I can’t?” she asked. “What if it never happens? What if I die alone and single and surrounded by plants?”
Yeah, that did sound really lame when she put it into words.
“Muffins?” Rose said liltingly. “Give her some encouragement.”
Muffins narrowed her eyes and hit her fist into her open palm.
Wallflower froze. She didn’t really know Muffins all that well, but honestly she couldn’t put it past her.
“She didn’t say that,” Rose said exasperatedly. “She’s saying that you’re a lot stronger than you think you are. You’ll get it next time.”
They’re just saying that
Wallflower shook her head to clear that thought. “Thanks,” she said.
The next day, Wallflower walked outside, her hands in her pockets and her lunchbox looped around her wrist. Sunset’s friends liked meeting up outside before lunch so they could all eat together.
She was early. The only other person there was Rainbow Dash, who was juggling a soccer ball and making it look easy.
And then Wallflower got a much closer look at the ball than she wanted.
“Oh my gosh!” Rainbow nearly shrieked. “I’m so sorry, Wallflower. I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine,” Wallflower said, rubbing her nose. “Have you seen Sunset?”
“Not recently,” Rainbow said with a knowing smirk.
Wallflower blushed. She hated this.
“I think she’s helping VP Luna with something,” Rainbow said, resuming her juggling. “Cozy’s around, though.”
Wallflower may have flinched.
Rainbow noticed. “What, don’t like her?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Wallflower said, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. “Something about her seems… off to me.”
“Off like how?” Rainbow asked suspiciously.
Wallflower remembered how many ‘off’ things they’d had. Magical problems. Which recently had included her. It wasn't like that, and now she felt awkward even bringing it up.
But thankfully, Cozy chose that time to start clapping excitedly at one of Trixie’s tricks, and Trixie was clearly eating up her attention.
“Well, now that you say that,” Rainbow mused.
Wallflower cracked a half-smile.
That smile had faded, though. Turns out Sunset was talking to Luna to get permission to leave campus.
To take Cozy to lunch.
So Wallflower trudged down to the lunchroom, lagging behind the others, who didn’t seem to notice her disappearance. She felt oddly… down. Did she want Sunset to take her to lunch?
Well, of course. That would be dating. Which is what she wanted. That was her goal.
But the longer Sunset was gone, the less likely Wallflower would be able to ask. She could feel her nerve sapping away already. By the time Sunset got back, she’d be lucky to get any further than eye contact.
Twilight was already at the edge of the table, so she sat down next to her and started pulling out her lunch. She opened the container with a pop.
This made Twilight jump. “Oh, Wallflower. Didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine,” Wallflower said, stabbing at her baked potato.
Twilight noticed. “You doing ok?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You said that kinda quickly.”
Wallflower gave her a sideways look. This was lunch, not an interrogation!
Twilight hesitated. “Was that one of those things where I was just supposed to believe you?” she asked. “I’m still working out this whole ‘personal interaction’ thing.”
Ah, a fellow walking bundle of awkward
She’s not that bad, Wallflower thought defensively. She shook her head. “No, it’s not you. It’s Cozy. I mean, those dresses, the hairstyle; that’s a little weird, right?” she asked hopefully.
Twilight gave her a wry look. “I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about fashion. I’m pretty sure I would still be wearing my old Crystal Prep uniform right now if it weren’t for Rarity.”
“Who’re we talking about again?” Rarity asked, sliding delicately into her seat.
“You,” Twilight said, before realizing how awkward that might have sounded and quickly amending, “Well, not you you, just, fashion-you.”
“Well, I have been known to dabble,” Rarity said lightly. “And you know who has been most helpful recently?”
Don’t say Cozy, Wallflower pleaded internally.
“Miss Cozy Glow.”
Figures.
“She’s such a perfect little lady,” Rarity fawned.
Wallflower felt her shoulders sag. Seems like Cozy was everywhere.
“I mean, Sweetie Belle is a dear, but her sewing abilities and her attention span could use a little work.” She paused. “Also her organizational skills,” she added. “I don’t know how that much spandex could just disappear.”
Twilight coughed.
Rarity gave her a sideways look.
“Not the, um, losing stuff… I mean… Cozy was helping me out earlier this week, too,” she said.
“Oh, fun.”
And just like that, the conversation wrapped around Cozy Glow.
She’s not even here and she’s ruining your lunch
As a general rule, Wallflower tried to ignore those intrusive thoughts, but that one did have a point. She continued eating.
“Wallflower, you haven’t said much.”
Wallflower looked up, startled, her mouth full of baked potato. Finding herself the unintentional center of attention, she swallowed, winced in pain and briefly regretted not having chewed first, then spoke.
“Me?”
Brilliant. Really
“I don’t see any other Wallflowers,” Twilight teased.
“I don’t know. Something just seems… off about her to me.”
“Her dress?”
“Her speech patterns?”
“That cute little gap in her front teeth?”
“About her… everything,” Wallflower admitted.
“Why? You think it’s an act?” Rainbow asked.
“If it is, she’s certainly putting in quite the effort,” Rarity commented. “Those ringlets are not easy to put in, and she does them every day.”
“It’s possible it’s a coping method,” Twilight suggested. “She’s been through a lot. Maybe it’s just familiar to her, or something she can control.”
“Or she just likes wearing dresses,” Rarity offered. “There’s certainly nothing wrong with embracing traditional femininity… even if it is rather, er, traditional.”
That was probably a nice way of saying ‘old’. Wallflower, whose entire makeup supply consisted of a stick of dollar store mascara that had long since sealed itself shut from disuse, cracked a half-smile. She didn’t often want lunch to be over quickly, but today was an exception.
Wallflower pulled her phone out and checked the message once again. Sunset was going to help out at the Animal Rescue Shelter with Fluttershy, and since Cozy was allergic, it was just going to be them, so of course she could go.
It was going to be nice, she told herself. Just a little time with Sunset.
And then she saw someone wearing a dark hoodie pulled down low and a mask, spray-painting a brick wall, in front of a decrepit van parked with its lights on.
Wallflower stopped. Vandals!
The painter looked at her and did a double-take.
Oh, now she was noticed! She turned around and started walking quickly away, hoping to avoid any confrontation, but she could hear the van behind her getting closer.
Abandoning any pretext of subtlety, she started to run. Up ahead there was an alley, she would be able to duck inside!
But before she made it, a strong hand grabbed her sweater and pulled her into the van, dropping her unceremoniously inside. The painter slammed the door shut and turned to the front. “Drive! Drive!” came the call, and the engine sped up.
Wallflower lay on the ground in shock. She’d just been kidnapped! Definitely not how she expected this day to go.
Hey, look, you’re wanted for once
But that intrusive thought vanished as terror quickly set in. Kidnapped! Movies she’d watched flicked through her mind. No one would pay her ransom--most people probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone. And no ransom meant-
And then the painter pulled her mask and hood off, revealing cyan eyes and letting scarlet-and-gold hair tumble out.
“Sunset Shimmer?” Wallflower asked, stunned.
“Hey, Wallflower,” Sunset said cheerfully. “Didn’t expect to run into you out here.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower said, mostly because she wasn’t sure what else to say. At least her kidneys were safe now? “What’s going on?”
“Oh, you know, just a little art project,” Sunset said lightly.
“You’re vandalizing buildings and calling it an art project?” Wallflower asked.
Still nothing but a bad girl
“Technically,” the driver interjected, revealing herself as Fluttershy, “it’s only vandalizing if the owner doesn’t want it. And a real Flanksy is a good draw for any business.”
“Yeah,” Sunset agreed. “Most cops are cool about it, but there’s at least one who apparently hates art. Hence the whole mask song and dance.”
Wallflower put two and two together. “Wait. You’re Flanksy?!”
Sunset shrugged modestly. “Ehh,” she said airily.
“What do you mean ‘ehh’?” Wallflower demanded. “Flanksy- art- even I’ve heard of you!”
“Well, it’s not like I’m doing it for the recognition,” Sunset defended herself. “I just really like art.”
“And she’s good at it,” Fluttershy added.
Wallflower paused to process this. She was creating art for the sheer joy of it—and for the challenge.
That was actually really hot.
Maybe you’d be appreciated if your hobbies weren’t lame
She shook her head to clear it. Her Gardening Club wouldn’t have happened if her hobby wasn’t appreciated.
And besides, Sunset had helped with that, too.
“So,” she said, looking around. “This is the Man Van?”
“More like the Lazy Bum Van,” Fluttershy corrected darkly, glowering over the steering wheel.
It was probably a combination of kind Fluttershy saying that, along with feeling like she was actually part of an inside joke, but Wallflower couldn’t help but giggle. It was a good feeling.
“Yeah,” Wallflower mused as she scraped out yet another litter box, “good feeling gone.”
Wallflower ran down the street, keeping herself moving. She just had to do it. And if she couldn’t do it at school, she’d do it at Sunset’s house.
She burst through the door, eyes scrunched tight, half from the exertion and half from fear. “I love you, Sunset! I don’t know why, and I know I said I hate you but I take it back, and I’ve never had a girlfriend before, and I know this could ruin our friendship but I have to just come out and say it, so please go out with me!”
There was a brief pause.
Wallflower’s cheeks burned red, suddenly incredibly ashamed at her awkward word choice. That had sounded awful, even to her.
This was only made worse by the fact that there had been no response.
Slowly, painfully, she forced one eye open.
Sunset wasn’t there.
But to her horror, Cozy Glow was. She was sitting at the table, an energy drink can halfway to her lips with her pinky extended.
And she was definitely smirking this time.
“Gee whillikers, Wally,” she said with a little giggle. “You’ve got it bad.”
“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” Wallflower said, mostly because she wasn’t sure what else to say.
“No fooling,” Cozy agreed with a little giggle. Clearly amused, she took a dainty sip.
“That can’t be good for your heart.”
Cozy gave her a simpering look. “Wally, after that little performance, I don’t think you’re qualified to talk about anyone’s heart.”
“Hey,” Wallflower protested, but found herself unable to defend herself further.
Cozy finished her drink, turned to face Wallflower, and pressed her palms together. “I’m going to say this as nicely as I can,” she said delicately before saying flatly, “You’re hopeless. That was hopeless. I haven’t even hit puberty yet and I can tell that you’ve got a better chance of seducing a brick wall than Sunset Shimmer.”
Wallflower winced. Cozy may have been a little girl, but Wallflower felt like she’d just been aerated by words.
Cozy continued blithely. “Lucky for you, Sunset was not here to watch you crash and burn, so you get a second chance. And I’m willing to help you.”
“You are?” Wallflower asked, taken aback.
“Sure am!” Cozy said brightly as she slid off the chair. She crossed in front and held out her hand for shaking. “All I’m asking in return is a promise that I can be a flower girl at your wedding.”
“Wedding?” Wallflower repeated dumbly. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, to be honest. Sunset still seemed out of her league. She’d half expected to be summarily shot down, whereupon she’d remain single until she died, alone among her plants.
She’d had that thought a lot recently.
“Oh, I know you’re nervous,” Cozy simpered. “And for good reason. But even though 98% of high school sweetheart marriages end in divorce doesn’t mean-”
“Say what?” Wallflower choked.
“Oh, you can beat the odds,” Cozy said comfortingly. “You are part of the two percent who are going to make it. I believe in you!”
Wallflower didn’t like any of this. And she really didn’t like that statistic. Or the fact that Cozy knew it off the top of her head.
But honestly, she was desperate enough to try.
And with the odd sensation that she was actually selling her soul, she shook Cozy’s hand. “Ok,” she said. “What do I do?”
Wallflower couldn’t suppress a little frown. She was desperate enough to be open for anything, sure.
But this?
She pulled the brush through Cozy’s hair.
“Gently,” Cozy said warningly.
“Sorry,” Wallflower said, though she wasn’t exactly sure what she was apologizing for. She continued brushing. “So, not that I’m complaining or anything,” she said hesitantly, “but how does this help me, exactly?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re done,” Cozy said pointedly. “Just keep brushing my hair.”
“What about my hair?” Wallflower wondered.
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Cozy said. “Your hair is fine. Besides, your personality is your best feature.”
That made sense. Sunset wanted to be her friend because of who she was, not because of-
Wait. Her brow furrowed as she parsed this. Was Cozy saying she was… unattractive?
She peeked over Cozy’s shoulder to get another look at herself, and pursed her lips. She wouldn’t say ‘unattractive’.
But it wouldn’t be wrong
She shook her head to clear that thought. ‘Plain’, maybe.
Generous
She found this thought harder to push away. Maybe that was too generous. Someone attractive wouldn’t have been pushed aside, invisible to the world like she had been.
Cozy gave her a nudge, and Wallflower quickly continued brushing.
Wallflower didn’t mind not knowing the plan, but it had been a long day, and she was still very much out of the loop. Cozy’s maddeningly cryptic answers had gotten her nowhere.
She caught sight of a familiar hairstyle and turned to Cozy. “Here she comes,” Wallflower said urgently. “What do I say? What do I do?”
“Just follow my lead,” Cozy said confidently.
Wallflower did not find this comforting.
Sunset passed by, not noticing the two huddled there. Wallflower wondered if this was somehow part of the plan.
And then she felt two small hands pressed against the small of her back.
Before she could fully process this, Cozy shoved her right into Sunset.
Both girls let out a startled yelp as they collided. Arms, legs, and schoolwork went flying, and they went down.
Eyes still closed from the impact, Wallflower gritted her teeth. That was it. If she’d still had the Memory Stone, she would have erased all memories of that girl from everyone.
One eye flickered open. She saw Sunset, looking at her, a bemused little smile on her face. She tried to smile back. This was all wrong, her sitting her, on top of Sunset, her hand on Sunset’s breast, trying to-
Her hand was where?!
Eyes widening, she snatched her hand away and held it tightly against her chest, terrified of Sunset’s reaction.
“Whoa, there, Wallflower,” Sunset said with an amused grin. “At least buy me dinner first.”
That had to be an opening! “Yes!” she blurted.
Sunset’s brow furrowed.
Behind her, she could hear a soft slap as Cozy facepalmed.
“I mean… no?” No, that was worse!
Just stop talking! Run!
“I mean… yes, I’ll buy you dinner. I want to take you to dinner, I mean. But it’s not like I’m obligating you to go, or anything, I don’t even have any plans… not that you’re an afterthought or anything like that, I mean-”
She was suddenly startled into silence as Sunset pressed a fingertip on her lips.
Sunset gave her a gentle smile, and though Wallflower was painfully aware that she’d been rambling, she felt suddenly at ease. “Sure. Dinner it is. Just text me the details.” Her eyes flicked to one side, and her smile widened slightly. “But you should probably let me up. Mr. Doodle would be all too happy to give me another tardy.”
“Oh, right.” Wallflower pushed herself up, stumbling and slipping on a piece of paper. But she managed to get on her feet. She held out her hand, Sunset took it, and she helped her up.
“See you then,” Sunset said, and she headed to class.
Wallflower sank back against the wall, in shock. That had worked?!
Cozy came up beside her and patted her cheek. “And you didn’t trust me,” she said condescendingly.
But Cozy could have said anything and Wallflower still wouldn’t have cared. She had a dinner date with Sunset.
She had a dinner date… with Sunset.
Oh, no.
She had a dinner date withSunset!
She whirled around to face Cozy. “You’re going to help me with that, too, right?” she asked desperately.
“I’m nervous!” Wallflower squeaked. “There are so many ways this could go wrong!”
“There really are,” Cozy agreed.
Wallflower squeaked again. Not helping!
Not wrong
“But it’ll be fine! Just remember, masturbate.”
“What?!”
“It’s just a date,” Cozy said slowly. “Why, what did you hear?”
“Nothing,” Wallflower said. “But see, I want it to be more than just a date.”
“That’s fine! You just have to be straightforward with what you want. Say, ‘I love you, Sunset, so watch me pee’.”
“I’m not saying that,” Wallflower said, aghast.
“What? ‘Go out with me’ is simple and can’t be misunderstood. And you have to be clear. No more beating around the bush.”
“I thought you said… never mind.”
“Oh, goodness.” Cozy sighed and patted Wallflower’s head. “You’re so stressed, you’re mishearing things,” she simpered. “I know it’s scary, and there’s a non-zero chance that you’ll have your heart ripped out and stomped on-”
Wallflower choked.
“-but don’t worry. You’ll be just fine.” She slid off her seat. “And just to prove I believe in you, I got these.” She walked over to her closet and pulled out a vase of roses.
Wallflower blinked. She gently brushed a fingertip against the petals. These were nice roses.
Like, really nice.
“That’s pricey for a young girl,” she said, too late realizing that that was aloud.
“I save all my pennies,” she said cutely, clasping her hands together and rocking her body.
“Thanks,” Wallflower said, feeling a little overwhelmed.
Wallflower cut her last class and went straight to the garden. She needed something stable, someplace safe, and here she was.
But she was still so distracted!
She jumped as she heard Rose’s voice behind her. “Whoa, Wallflower, what are you planting?”
Wallflower looked down and realized that she’d been distractedly digging a deep hole with her spade. She sat back on her heels. “It’s nothing,” she lied.
Rose gave her a sideways look, and Muffins folded her arms.
Feeling outnumbered, Wallflower caved. She explained what Cozy had said (leaving out what she’d thought she’d said).
Rose scoffed. “I don’t know why you’re taking romantic advice from a girl who dresses like she’s from a sitcom my grandma would watch.”
Well, when she put it like that.
“Look. You’re a nice girl. But you’re just not my type. And Muffins likes guys, so you’re missing a little something she wants.” She held her thumb and pointer apart.
Wallflower blushed.
And then Muffins held her hands up, but spaced further apart.
Wallflower choked, and it sounded like Rose did, too.
Muffins’ cheeks turned slightly pink, but she didn’t lower her hands.
“I did not ask-” Rose sputtered before shaking her head. “Moving on! The point is: we wouldn’t have agreed to go to dinner with you.”
They hate you
“But Sunset did. The hard part is already over. She already agreed to go. She has to like you. At the very least, it’s on the table. You’re in your own head too much. Just be yourself.”
“I don’t like myself,” Wallflower blurted before she could stop herself.
“Well, Sunset does,” Rose returned. “And unless you think Sunset is a fool for agreeing to dinner with you-”
Wallflower’s eyes widened as this thought occurred to her. She was right! She must have been an idiot to think-
She let out a cry as water hit her face, shocking her back into coherence. Muffins had scooped a handful out of a watering can and tossed it at her.
“Muffins is right. You are overthinking this.”
“I think I’m thinking it just the right amount,” Wallflower protested. “There are so many ways this could go wrong-”
“And so many ways it could go right,” Rose countered.
Wallflower sighed. Then, a new idea occurred to her. “What if I wrote out what I was going to say beforehand? That should be safe, right?”
Rose and Muffins shared a look. Muffins gave her a noncommittal shrug and looked away.
Rose turned back to Wallflower. “We’ll allow it,” she hedged, “but only because it’s your first time. Next time, just speak from the heart. I still think you should try it now. I think you’ll get further than you think.”
Wallflower thought she was wrong, but she didn’t say that aloud. Instead, she nodded, her mind already starting to work out what to say.
Wallflower read over her handwritten list again. It didn’t seem very romantic. Or long. Or much of anything.
Maybe Sunset is into lame-os
And she really wished she could shut that voice up.
She sighed and stuck it into the pocket of her blouse. She’d eschewed her sweater for tonight, and something about having her arms exposed seemed weird to her.
Better than more of you. No one wants to see that
She shook her head. It was just dinner.
But it could end up becoming more.
And that thrilled and terrified her.
She ran down her plan once more. They would go to a casual dining restaurant, one step above fast food (a small step; high schooler budgets didn’t offer many options). Sometime before dessert, she would pull this paper out and ask Sunset to go out with her.
It seemed simple, but her mind kept coming up with things that could go wrong. Everything from Sunset breaking off their friendship to having an allergic reaction to Sunset just not coming to pick her up.
That’s right. Sunset was coming to pick her up. It was lame, but just walking there would have been worse. It would have taken way too long, and it would have been an awkward silence the whole time. All around a bad idea.
This whole thing is a bad idea
The sound of an approaching motorcycle made her jump. She quickly ran out the door.
Sunset chuckled. “I would have come to the door,” she said.
“Sorry,” Wallflower said.
But Sunset seemed amused, not disappointed as she handed over the helmet.
They made small talk as they rode, but Wallflower couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting someth-
The roses!
She cringed. That was a great start.
They arrived at the restaurant without issue, though Wallflower felt so nervous she nearly dropped the menu. When would be a good time? She had no idea.
Their drinks came, and she was still internally panicking.
Sunset was saying something.
“What?”
“I was asking if you wanted an appetizer,” she said. “I like mozzarella sticks.”
“Sure,” Wallflower said, silently dreading the hit on her finances.
They ordered, but it still didn’t seem like the right time. She scooted closer and bumped the table. Her water glass tilted over. She grabbed for it, but her fingers slipped off the slick glass and it toppled over, spilling water onto her shirt.
And onto her list!
The water forgotten, she yanked out the paper and saw with horror that the ink had already started to run, rendering it unreadable. “Oh, no!”
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
“It’s alright,” Sunset said soothingly.
It’s really not!
“It’s just water,” Sunset continued.
“No, it’s… everything’s going wrong!”
“Nothing’s going wrong,” Sunset said, confused.
Wallflower shook her head. This wasn’t salvageable. Everything was ruined. Sunset got up, she was probably leaving-
But instead, Sunset slid onto the bench next to her, and gently pulled her down into a hug.
Wallflower froze, feeling a strange combination of terrified yet exhilarated.
“You’re not the only one of my friends to have a meltdown every once in a while,” she said softly. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. No rush.”
Wallflower took a shaky breath and settled into it. This wasn’t part of the plan, but she wasn’t complaining. Somehow, just being here felt safe.
And so her explanation came tumbling out. “I wrote down a bunch of stuff to say,” she admitted.
“To me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I was hoping to get you to go out with me.”
“Ok,” Sunset said.
Ok?!
That’s a rejection
“I mean-”
Loser
“I had considered it-”
Then dismissed it out of hand
“-when you asked me to dinner,” she said, ignorant of Wallflower’s internal dialogue.
“And?”
“I think you should ask.”
“What?”
“Ask me,” Sunset said with a little smile.
“Ok. Uh, Suns- Sunset Shimmer, would you go out with me?”
Nice. Bland and unoriginal, just like you
Wallflower squeaked as she felt a hand on her thigh.
“Definitely,” Sunset said with a smile.
There was a brief pause.
“Ok,” Wallflower said, still a little in shock.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Sunset chided. “You’re a lot cooler than you give yourself credit for.”
Wallflower blushed.
Even better, that voice in her head had no response for this.
“But for now, let’s eat. Wouldn’t want this to get too cold.”
Wallflower looked and realized that their orders had come and were sitting on the table. “How long-?”
Sunset shrugged. “Doesn’t matter,” she said.
Wallflower felt a small burst of affection inside, and she returned to her seat.
Guess I owe Rose an apology.
Her stomach full and her heart happy, Wallflower felt like she was floating instead of riding back.
She swung her leg over the motorcycle, pulled her helmet off, and paused as she was handing it back. “So, do I kiss you goodnight, or…?”
“Oh, on the first date? You are a bold one.”
Wallflower blushed again, but decided to double down. “I mean, I’ve already touched your boob.”
“That was an accident.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower admitted.
“But next time it won’t be, I’m sure.”
Wallflower turned bright red.
Sunset gestured her in close. “I’m a lot newer at this than I think you think. We can start things off slow.” Her smile widened. “But I do want to tell our friends at lunch tomorrow.”
Wallflower walked down the hall. This was a big day. Momentous. Today was her first day at school… with a girlfriend.
She found Sunset by her locker.
Wallflower hesitated. Part of her feared last night had been just a dream.
But Sunset smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting, making Wallflower live up to her last name. “You ready?”
“No,” Wallflower admitted, shrinking into herself.
Sunset’s smile faded. “We don’t have to-”
“We can,” Wallflower said hurriedly. “I just… am nervous, that’s all.”
“Why?” Sunset asked.
“I don’t know,” Wallflower admitted miserably.
Sunset pulled her into another hug. “It’s alright,” she said gently. “I’m sure our friends will be happy for us.”
Somehow, this worked. Just being here with her made her feel like anything was possible. “I’m ready now.”
Sunset smiled. She took hold of Wallflower’s hand, and together, they walked into the cafeteria.
Wallflower wasn’t sure what she expected.
What she got was Pinkie shooting to her feet. “Ha!” she crowed, pointing triumphantly. “Pay up, ladies!”
The table groaned. Rainbow irritably split her dessert in half and slid one over.
“Wait, wait,” Sunset said. “You were betting on us being a couple?”
“It was more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if’,” Rarity said comfortingly as she drew out a long spool of fancy ribbon and passed it to Pinkie.
“We could all see it,” Fluttershy said, passing over a picture.
“As obvious as a one-legged man at a can-kicking contest,” Applejack confirmed.
“Wait. You mean you all knew she had feelings for me?” Sunset asked, dumbfounded.
“You didn’t?” Twilight asked.
Sunset shook her head.
“Ha!” Pinkie shouted. “Pay up, ladies!”
Rainbow let out a low groan and pushed the rest of her dessert over.
“You really didn’t know?” Rarity asked, aghast.
“I had no idea,” Sunset admitted.
“How does the wielder of the Geode of Empathy not know these things?” Rainbow asked.
Applejack jabbed her in the ribs.
“She did figure it out eventually,” Rarity said. Then she paused. “You did ask her, right?”
Sunset hesitated.
“Ha!”
The others groaned loudly, nearly drowning out “Pay up, ladies!”
“I hate you both, just for the record,” Rainbow groused, scribbling out an IOU on a torn piece of lined paper.
Wallflower wasn’t quite sure how to feel about all of this. But then again, she’d subverted their expectations. That did feel pretty good. What’s more, they didn’t seem to be annoyed with her.
“Why do we bet against Pinkie?” Rainbow groused.
“In our defense, we all thought it was a longshot,” Twilight said. “The odds of this were, like, three thousand, two-”
“Don’t tell me the odds,” Rainbow grumbled.
This conversation continued, but Wallflower wasn’t listening too closely. This had gone… well.
Having a girlfriend was actually really nice. They’d texted all night, and the next day, Sunset came up behind Wallflower and gave her a tight hug, with one hand drifting a bit lower than it would have if Luna were nearby. Wallflower couldn’t help but smile.
Their smiles faded as they came across Rainbow Dash, digging through her locker and surrounded by old papers.
“Whoa, Rainbow,” Sunset said teasingly. “A tornado come through here, or-?”
“I can’t find my geode.”
“What?”
“I can’t. Find. My geode,” Rainbow repeated desperately. “I sometimes take it off for gym class. Don’t want to accidentally give myself an advantage. Probably just misplaced it,” she mumbled like she was trying to convince herself even as she kept digging through her locker. “Yeah. It’ll turn up.”
Sunset frowned.
Wallflower didn’t know how to feel. Rainbow was clearly torn up about this, but after her last experience with magic... She shook her head.
After school the next day, Wallflower found Sunset. She was leaning against her locker, looking at her phone with a worried expression. She frowned. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah,” Sunset said. “The coordinator for our program wants to meet with Cozy and me.”
Wallflower hesitated. Her personal feelings for Cozy aside, Sunset seemed really worried, and she wanted to be supportive. “Would you like me to come?”
“Yeah, actually. That’d be great. I mean, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Sunset said, though she almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself. “Cozy and I have had a lot of fun together.”
Wallflower almost felt bad. Sunset had been spending more time with her, and that was just what she wanted; but Sunset had a responsibility to Cozy, too. She didn’t want her kicked out of the program. In a fit of boldness, she reached out and touched Sunset’s hand.
This was the right choice. Sunset took it and squeezed.
Wallflower smiled, but her eyes flicked down Sunset’s body and-
“Hey, where’s your geode?”
“I think it fell behind the dresser. I was running late this morning,” she admitted.
Wallflower had never been one for homework. But apparently paperwork for this mentoring program was serious business.
“You’ve been fudging the documentation,” Sunset said, looking it over. “It says you’ve been for visits with me when you haven’t.”
Cozy smiled shakily and dug the tip of her shoe into the ground. “I didn’t want to interrupt. I mean, you’re such a cute couple, who wouldn’t want to give you a little more time together?”
“I appreciate that,” Sunset said, “but you can’t just bypass rules like that.”
Wallflower looked over. She recognized some of the dates. That was when Rarity had had her little fashion circle. That was band rehearsal. That was when they were helping Applejack.
All times that they’d been busy with her friends.
That was a little weird.
But Sunset, Cozy, and the coordinator seemed to come to an agreement, so she didn’t say anything.
Fresh out of the shower and wearing a long towel, Wallflower dug through her underwear drawer. She frowned. She could have sworn she had more ‘shark week’ panties than this. Didn’t she have that striped pair?
Maybe she was losing her mind.
She shook her head and pulled the top pair off the smaller stack. She’d need to get more soon, anyway.
Especially if she wanted to show Sunset.
Wallflower may have been cramping, but Fluttershy was clearly having a worse day. She looked downtrodden and had clearly been crying; her eyeshadow and mascara had smeared everywhere.
“What happened?” Rainbow asked.
“My geode is gone,” she said softly.
“Maybe a squirrel took it?”
“Why, because he thought it was a nut?” Applejack asked flatly.
“I did ask the squirrels,” Fluttershy said.
“What did they say?”
“I don’t know!” Fluttershy wailed, bursting into tears.
Sunset trotted up, looking similarly disheveled.
“What happened to you?” Rainbow asked, not known for her subtlety.
“My geode is gone. I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Mine, too!” Fluttershy said.
“Mine, three,” Rarity interjected, walking up.
“I think there’s a pattern here,” Fluttershy said, her concern growing.
“They’re not being returned, are they?” Rarity whimpered.
“A sneaky thief,” Pinkie said, producing a bubble pipe. “Someone unnoticeable. Someone you’d never expect. Someone who could hide in plain view and remain invisible.”
And then Wallflower suddenly noticed a few more eyes on her. Her eyes widened at the implication. “You don’t think…?” she started.
“No, of course not,” Fluttershy said quickly.
“Not you.”
“We would have noticed you,” Rarity agreed.
“Would you have?” Wallflower found herself asking. “Because there have been a lot of other times where I was there, and nobody here even gave me a second look.”
“In fairness, we did ignore each other for, like, a couple years straight,” Rainbow pointed out. “Best friends to strangers.”
Sunset scratched her neck uncomfortably.
Wallflower hesitantly reached out, unsure if contact would help.
But then the bell rang, and they scattered to their classes.
Wallflower was unsurprised but mildly disappointed when she arrived at Sunset’s house and found Cozy at the kitchenette table (though this time with a juice box). “Hey,” she said.
“Hi, Wally! We’re writing poetry,” Cozy started. “I’ve actually got one about you!”
“Me?” Wallflower asked hesitantly. Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe Cozy was just a little misunders-
“Roses are red, violets are black…” Cozy looked up, and her lip curled. “Why is your chest as flat as your back?”
Wallflower felt it like a punch to her stomach, and she had her hands up covering her breasts before she could stop herself. She’d never had that line directed at her before, but only because she’d always been that girl no one noticed. It certainly could have been; saying she was a ‘late bloomer’ would have been generous. Even now-
“Hey, girls,” Sunset said, coming out of the kitchenette and giving Wallflower a quick side-hug. “How’s the poem coming?”
“Great!” Cozy said, holding it out.
Sunset took it. “Aw, that’s sweet.”
“Sweet?!” Wallflower snatched it away. Her eyes flicked over it.
She sat back. Actually, that was sweet. It was effectively a love letter to their relationship and how perfect they were together.
It wasn’t like she imagined it, did she?
Was this all in her head?
“Sunset, can I talk to you?” Wallflower found herself asking.
“Sure.”
“Alone?”
“Sure,” Sunset said, a little more hesitantly this time. She led the way up into her loft.
Part of her was slightly amused that she was in her girlfriend’s bedroom, but that quickly faded. “I think something’s up with Cozy,” Wallflower blurted.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” Wallflower confessed. “It’s just… she says things and then says she didn’t, and…” Would Sunset look down on her for not being able to handle a little girl? “...it’s more of a gut feeling,” she finished lamely.
Sunset pursed her lips. “I think you might be feeling a little bit of jealousy towards Cozy-”
“I’m not jealous!” Wallflower said loudly, before realizing that this wasn’t helping her case.
“She’s had a hard life. There was a house fire one night and, well, her parents didn’t make it.”
Wallflower winced.
“If anything happens, she’s out of the group home and back in the system. I don’t want that.”
“Me either, but...” Wallflower exhaled.
“I think I know what’s going on,” Sunset said. “You’ve been getting down on yourself your whole life. And now that something’s finally going your way, you can’t process it. You think something’s going to go wrong.” She lifted her head. “But it’s not. You’ve got me.”
“I’ve got you,” Wallflower repeated hesitantly.
Sunset nodded. “Come on. You know how to snap, right? I think that’s a poetry thing.”
Wallflower nodded.
Wallflower sat in her garden and sighed. The poetry had been fine, but something still felt off.
She felt a friendly pat on the shoulder, and looked up to see-
“Muffins? How did you know I was here?”
Muffins shrugged.
Wallflower sighed, somehow feeling appreciated and pathetic at the same time.
Muffins tilted her head, as if asking for elaboration.
“It’s Cozy Glow,” she admitted. “Sunset seems to think she’s just a normal kid who needs a little help, but I think it’s all just a game to her. She just doesn’t see me as a person.” She paused, and slowly looked up. “She doesn’t… see me as a person,” she repeated slowly, a spark of hope springing up in her chest. “She’s not going to change her behavior, because she doesn’t see anything to change, which means…” She grabbed Muffins in a hug. “Thanks, Muffins!”
Muffins gave her a half-smile and an uncertain thumbs up, clearly convinced she hadn’t actually done anything to help.
Wallflower sat on the steps of the school, her fingers digging rows into her jeans. She didn’t like confrontation, and this was going to be just that, so her poor introvert heart was racing. She took a deep breath to try and steady herself.
She heard Cozy approaching before she saw her. She was singing in ‘la’s to herself as she arrived, riding a pink scooter.
She slid to a dainty stop. “Hi, Wallflower,” Cozy said cheerfully, stepping off and clasping her hands in front of her body. “Isn’t it a lovely day?”
“It’s… something,” Wallflower agreed.
Cozy twisted her hips, letting her dress swish around her like a little girl unaccustomed to standing still. “So, why did you want to see me?”
Wallflower took a steadying breath. “C- can we drop the act?” she asked. “Just talk, woman to… girl?”
“It’s not an act,” Cozy insisted. She spun around on her tiptoes and gave a little curtsey. “This is the real me.”
“Then why does the real you say all those things and then pretend you said something else?” Wallflower asked. “Why do you hate me?”
“Hate you?” Cozy said, resting a hand on her chest as if surprised at her words. “Wally, I don’t hate you.” Her smile turned twisted. “You’re the easiest of all of Sunset’s friends to tease. How could I hate you?”
“You are doing it on purpose,” Wallflower breathed.
“Of course I’m doing it on purpose,” Cozy returned irritably. “Whenever I remember you’re around, anyway. You have so many self-esteem issues and you’re very manipulatable, I barely even have to try. I got you to eat, like, four times as much pie as you should have, and all it took was-” here she put on a hopeful smile and slightly widened eyes, “-and bam. Putty in my hands. The pies weren’t even that good,” she added under her breath.
“Why me?” Wallflower asked. “What did I do to you?”
“It’s not what you did to me,” Cozy said with a hint of condescension, “it’s that you literally can’t push back. And that’s what makes it fun!”
Wallflower’s brow furrowed.
“You’re just so brittle,” Cozy continued. “You probably still have to convince yourself that Sunset isn’t just going out with you out of pity.”
Wallflower winced. That was exactly her feeling put into words. Was she really such an open book to her?
Cozy bobbed her head. “See? It’s just too easy. Sunset too, actually. You know why I chose her as my mentor? She looked like an idealistic goody-goody with something to prove, like she was trying to make up for something, someone so willing to see the good in someone she’d make it up, even if it wasn’t there. And guess what? She was. I straight up lied on those meeting forms and she helped smooth everything over. I didn’t even need to ask!”
“No one says ‘goody-goody’ anymore,” Wallflower said, because she wasn’t sure what else to say.
“I say it,” Cozy said coldly, seemingly annoyed that that’s what she had focused on. “And sure, I helped hook you up with her. But only to get her out of my hair. The more time she spends with you, the less time she’s breathing down my neck.” She smirked. “Honestly, I’m surprised she went for you like… that,” she said, pointing dismissively at Wallflower’s outfit. “I was thinking I’d have to do a whole makeover, new outfit, show some cleavage, maybe even a tattoo.”
“A tattoo?” Wallflower nearly choked.
Cozy smiled. “I’m a good artist,” she offered innocently. One side of her mouth curled up. “I could have convinced you. A nice little sun, right on your patootie.”
Wallflower’s mouth dropped open. The worst part is she believed her on all counts.
“You’ve got it so bad for her, it’s actually a little pathetic. Just like Sunset and all her other friends.” Her smile turned cute again. “You can tell her I said that, if you want. But she’ll never believe you.”
And then it was Wallflower’s turn to smile. “I know,” she conceded. “But, uh, she’d believe you.” She pointed over Cozy’s shoulder.
That was their cue. The school doors opened, and a group of seven girls exited the building, each pulling off a pair of headphones connected to small belt receivers.
Cozy’s mouth fell open.
Wallflower pulled down the neck of her sweater, revealing a small microphone clipped on underneath, and lifted her sweater hem to show her own transmitter belt pack.
“Say ‘good night’, Cozy,” Pinkie said darkly. “You’re on Hot Mic.”
Cozy looked between Wallflower and the girls. “Wh-? H-?” she stammered before rounding on Wallflower. “You tricked me!” she shrieked.
“She didn’t do anything,” Rainbow said dismissively. “That was all you.”
“Your actions were completely out of line,” Rarity sniffed.
“And you shouldn’t have said those mean things,” Fluttershy added.
“We really would have been your friends,” Twilight said.
“The sad part is, Wallflower would have been your friend, too.” Sunset wrapped an arm tightly around Wallflower’s waist. “All you had to do was give her a chance.”
Wallflower’s cheeks tinged pink at the tight contact. The thoughts going through her head were definitely not about Cozy.
“I don’t want to give her a chance,” Cozy spat, clenching her fists.
Sunset pursed her lips. “I was afraid you’d say that. Well, now you won’t have to.” She pulled out a tape recorder. “I’ll be sending this straight to the coordinator. We’re done.”
“Choosing her over me, eh?” Cozy glared. “You’re a loser. You’re all losers!” she shrieked. “Your friendship is pathetic!” She looked at them one by one, pointing angrily. “Your apples are mealy and not fit for a pig, all your animals stink and deserve to end up as roadkill, you are nowhere near good enough to get paid for any sport besides streaking, your fashion designs aren’t even fit for a funeral home let alone the fashion world, the only invention you’ll ever be known for is a lonely woman personal pleasure toy because you’re just so infuriating you’ll never get a boyfriend, calling you ‘insufferable’ would be an underserved compliment, and I’ll eat my bow if you end up throwing any parties bigger than turning tricks at the corner of Sixth and Ninth! You all suck!” she finished, her voice shifting into an animalistic roar that seemed to echo across the parking lot.
There was a brief pause.
And then she stopped.
She put a smile on.
“Well, fiddlesticks,” she said resignedly. “Guess I’ll just be moving my plans up a bit, then.”
Before anyone could blink, Cozy had run across the parking lot, snatched the recorder out of Sunset’s hand, and shoved her so hard she flew through the air and hit the side of a parked car. She dropped to the ground, winded.
The girls gasped.
“Oh,” Cozy said, looking at their shocked expressions with a smug little smile on her face. “I guess there’s something else I forgot to tell you.” She reached up to her collar with both hands, grabbed tight, and ripped off her dress.
The other girls let out cries of surprise and averted their eyes.
Thankfully, Cozy Glow had not just stripped naked in public; but that was where any good news ended. For underneath, she wore what looked like a tight vest over a simple white undershirt and tight runners’ shorts, all embellished with gold thread in intricate patterns.
“Is that my spandex?” Rarity demanded.
“Forget the spandex,” Rainbow breathed. “She’s got our geodes.”
Ensconced in a small hexagonal metal shield over her chest, six familiar geodes gleamed.
“Yeah, I stole your geodes,” Cozy confessed. “It wasn’t like you were using them, anyway.”
“Give those back,” Twilight said indignantly.
“Or what?” Cozy returned, fingering one threateningly.
“That… is a fair question,” Twilight conceded uncomfortably.
But Rainbow had an answer. Cozy yelped as a soccer ball nailed her in the face, and she flinched back, the recorder dropping from her hands.
Applejack caught it and hurled it like a frisbee. Pinkie Pie snatched it out of the air and started running into the forest.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Cozy snarled. She formed a rook-shaped shield, jumped on it, and gave chase.
Pinkie threw the tape recorder to Applejack like a game of hot potato, but Cozy was close behind. With enhanced strength, she punched down trees, sending wood splinters flying.
“You’re just students at a stupid high school! You were wasting your potential! With these, you could rule the city!” With telekinesis, she lifted an enormous rock where she thought Applejack was hiding, but came up blank. “Where are you?” she demanded.
“We’re not ponying up,” Rainbow said urgently. “Why aren’t we ponying up?”
“She’s not absorbing the magic,” Twilight realized. “We can’t cleanse her because it’s not corrupting her!”
“Using our geodes improperly does sound like corruption,” Rarity pointed out worriedly.
“So we can’t go laser rainbows on her?” Pinkie asked, getting more quickly to the point. She reached into her hair and pulled out a cupcake, which she immediately threw.
It nailed Cozy in the head, but it was just a cupcake. Cozy grabbed a chunk of frosting out of her hair. Eyes narrowed, she charged it up using Pinkie’s geode, and threw it back.
Pinkie dove out of the way, barely dodging the explosion behind her. “Because it really seems like now would be a really good laser rainbow time,” she finished urgently.
Wallflower winced. She was going to destroy her garden!
“Maybe we can talk her down,” Sunset tried.
Perhaps out of curiosity, Cozy stopped, and the geodes’ glow faded.
Sunset walked up. “Cozy,” she started gently. “I know that things haven’t been easy. But-”
Her heartfelt speech was interrupted as Cozy brought her hands up and pulled down. Sunset’s skirt fell to the ground, and she yelped in surprise.
Applejack tried to use this distraction to run deeper into the forest, but Cozy formed another rook-shaped shield and she ran into it, and hit the ground hard. The tape recorder lifted up in purple magic and Cozy caught it with a twisted smirk. She held up her other hand, and the seven girls began to glow and rise into the air.
“Sorry, girls,” she continued with faux regret. “It’s nothing personal.” Her smile turned dark. “You’re just in my way.”
And then she cried out in shock as Wallflower slammed a plastic flower pot over her head, breaking her concentration. Before Cozy could react, Wallflower tackled her, sending them both rolling down a small embankment. They tumbled down together and separated when they hit the ground.
Cozy shot up, her eyes blazing.
“Let me guess,” Wallflower said, hoping it sounded cooler than she felt, which was legitimately terrified. “You didn’t see me there.”
“No, I didn’t,” Cozy admitted coldly, “and now no one will ever see you again, you whiny sniveling sad-sack.” She flung her hand out, intending to launch her into the stratosphere.
Wallflower flinched. Honestly, she didn’t have a plan further than this, and she hoped Sunset would come to her funeral.
But she remained firmly on the ground.
Cozy tried again, but nothing happened. She glanced down and to her shock, realized that her metal bracket was gone, the straps holding it onto her vest torn off in the fall. She looked up to see seven girls with seven geodes gleaming. Twilight held hoses in her magic. Applejack hit her fists together. Fluttershy held an imposing-looking bird on her shoulder. Pinkie held another cupcake that was positively glowing with magic.
Rarity’s shields sparked into existence around her. “Next time, try a backstitch,” she suggested icily.
Pinkie had taken particular umbrage at what Cozy had had to say about Wallflower, and had decided to tilt the scales back the other way.
This is why Wallflower was currently attending her “Wallflower is and always will be 100% our friend andalsowe’resorrywedidn’tlistentoyourgutonCozyGlow!” party.
She knew this was the name because Pinkie had painted this on a sign. Wallflower’s head tilted. Pinkie’s writing was more legible than she’d expected.
Wallflower looked around, still a little surprised that she was actually here. From what she could tell, Pinkie had returned Vinyl’s Silent Disco equipment, planned, and then executed this party in the time Wallflower had taken to go home and just decompress.
Extroverts were something else entirely.
She dipped her spoon and took a bite of her dirt cup. Not actual dirt, of course. It was crushed chocolate sandwich cookies mixed with chocolate pudding, and a gummy worm to top it off. At first, she’d thought Pinkie was poking fun at her, but weirdly enough, it was delicious and just what she needed.
Pinkie had even invited her Gardening Club friends, so Rose was chatting with Fluttershy while Muffins was making Twilight laugh by slurping up a gummy worm. It was like a crossover episode, but good.
She could have done without Pinkie’s older sister sitting there, though. She was just sitting there. Menacingly.
Rainbow lined up next to Applejack, holding a dart and her own half-eaten dirt cup, trying to score on an earth-colored dartboard. She was getting frustrated—Applejack was winning.
The door opened, and everyone turned to see a haggard-looking Sunset in the doorway.
“Hey, Sunset!” Pinkie said.
“Game over I win!” Rainbow said, ignoring Applejack’s protests. She vaulted over the couch. “How did it go?”
Sunset slumped down on the couch and let out a long, low exhale.
Wallflower hesitantly reached out a hand, only to pull it back in, just in case she didn’t want to be touched right now.
“That bad, huh?” Applejack offered.
“Ehh… there’s just a lot to unpack,” Sunset said wearily. “Still processing it all, I guess.”
“No problem. Stand back! Give her some air!” Rainbow pointed. “And get this woman a dirt cup!”
Once Sunset had eaten almost half of it, she’d recovered enough to speak. “So Cozy got kicked out, obviously, but when we went to clean out her room... You know how she got all her cash? Selling panties online.”
“Eww,” Pinkie said, and the others agreed.
Sunset looked at her, her eyes and smile just a little bit too wide. “Oh, it gets better. She wasn’t selling hers.”
“So whose…?” Rainbow started.
Sunset’s smile turned haunted.
There was a brief pause.
And then the girls started clamoring as the penny dropped.
“She stole my spandex and my rhinestone-?!”
“Not cool!”
“-losing my mind-!”
“I knew I hadn’t-!”
“I guess I owe Zephyr an apology.”
“-took apart the dryer for nothing?”
Apparently, Wallflower hadn’t been the only one to notice a strange disappearance from her underwear drawer. Wallflower sank back on the couch, feeling a mix of horror, revulsion, and a slight bit of vindication that she hadn’t gone crazy.
Rainbow looked down. “I’m not going to want those back,” she said.
“Good call,” Sunset said wearily. “So that got her a full psychological evaluation. The hospital was slammed, and she did not like being stuck in a corner and ignored for two and a half hours. They finally brought her back, and she’s still a minor so everything’s going to be sealed, but I’m pretty sure that was her I heard screaming.” A half-smile flitted across her face. “Let’s just say she was saying stuff a little stronger than ‘gee whillikers’.”
That got a few giggles from the group.
“Anyway, before I had to leave, I saw an attendant filling out a couple blue forms, so I think she got involuntarily committed.” She heaved a sigh. “So I think that’s it,” she finished.
“A very weird end to a very weird day,” Rainbow summed it up.
“You said it,” Fluttershy agreed.
“Another dirt cup?” Pinkie offered, holding one out.
“Actually, there’s something else I want to do first.” Sunset stood up and extended her hand. “Wallflower, could you come with me?”
“Oh. Uh, ok,” Wallflower said, taken aback at being singled out. She followed Sunset out of the house and onto the porch.
Sunset leaned against the pillar, her arms crossed.
“What’s up?” Wallflower asked hesitantly.
“Cozy said some awful things to you. I mean, I know as well as anyone how hurtful words can be when used that way. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you more.”
“It’s fine,” Wallflower said.
“You’re not just saying that, are you?” Sunset asked gently.
Wallflower hesitated. She was used to brushing off others’ concern, especially because it was fleeting and she’d be forgotten and back to being invisible in the next second, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.
But now…
“No,” she said, realizing it was the truth as she was saying it. “Because I know you mean it. And… you care about me.” She paused. “That’s so weird to think about,” she admitted.
Sunset tenderly took both her hands. “I do mean it,” she said, softly but insistently, “but it’s not weird. Believe me. Nothing of what we have is out of pity or obligation or anything like that. You really are an amazing girl, Wallflower.” She smiled and cut off Wallflower’s protest with a shake of her head. “And I know someday, you’ll believe me. Until then…”
And then she leaned in.
Before Wallflower could fully process this, she felt a new sensation as Sunset kissed her on the lips.
Her heart stopped. Her eyes widened, and then slowly closed as she sank into the kiss.
She didn’t know how long it lasted, and really, she didn’t care. This felt right.
Too soon, Sunset gently pulled back. “…just go with it,” she finished, staying close enough that her warm breath tickled her lips.
Wallflower would have followed Sunset anywhere. But she should probably start breathing again.
Sunset grinned. “Well, we’d better get back before we’re gone for too long. I wouldn’t put it past Pinkie to throw us a ‘Best Girlfriends in the Tri-State area’ party or something.” She turned to go back inside, but noticed that Wallflower hadn’t moved. “Do you need a moment?” she asked, amused.
“I might,” Wallflower admitted weakly.
Sunset smirked, but it wasn’t malicious. It might have been… proud? “No worries. See you soon.” And with another quick kiss on her forehead, Sunset walked back inside.
And Wallflower could swear that she was rocking her hips a bit more than strictly necessary.
Now that’s a nice view
Wallflower paused. Actually, that was one intrusive thought that she actually agreed with.
She was unable to suppress a smile as she followed her girlfriend back inside.