Things had been quiet in the photo room for some time now, but, at the very least, she was well used to that sort of thing by now. Wallflower Blush sat at her usual chair, looking over the images that now scrolled in front of her on the computer screen. The bell had rung quite a while ago, and yet, like a handful of other students, she remained. Every once in a while, she'd look over her shoulder, seeing the faces of her fellow students walking by the door. Nobody looked in to really notice her, but again, that was a feeling she knew well by this point. A sigh escaped her, and she briefly glanced up at the clock upon the wall, the sound of its "tick" and "tock" the only real sounds within the room. After taking a few moments more to look at the computer screen, her shoulders slumped, and she began to get off her chair. Getting to one knee, she opened up the zip of her bag, ready to pull out her coat. It was getting cold outside by now, so she knew she'd need it. And that's when she heard her.
"Not leaving already, are you?"
Wallflower's head turned, and she took on a look of surprise as she saw Sunset now entering the room, with a smile upon her face. The ex-unicorn closed the door behind her, before then talking a few steps forward, all as Wallflower once more stood up.
"You...you came?"
Chuckling, Sunset placed her hands upon her hips.
"Yep. I said I would...so here I am."
Though still taken aback by this, Wallflower nevertheless smiled, and she soon sat back down. Sunset followed suit, taking hold of another chair and moving it beside her, before sitting down herself. After a few seconds of silence, Wallflower spoke first.
"You know...with the yearbook already handed out...there's not a lot for us to do here."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Never too early to start on next year's book, right?"
It was clearly just an excuse to be able to spend more time with her, and Wallflower knew it. Even so, it wasn't exactly the kind of thing she was going to turn down, so once more, she smiled. Together, the two girls looked to the newly switched-on computer, looking over photo after photo. Many were of Wallflower's garden, which she seemed to regard with pride, much to Sunset's delight. Actually seeing this girl take some measure of joy in something was a rare sight, which Sunset was all too aware of. But, after a time, the green-haired girl seems to look less than happy about something, though Sunset was able to pick up on it pretty much instantly, as evidenced by her soft and understanding tone.
"You know...you can talk to me about it, if you like."
Wallflower looked to her with confusion, prompting the Equestrian to elaborate.
"Trust me, I don't need mind-reading powers to see what's going on with you right now."
Wallflower looked away, looking understandably ashamed right now. For a long while, she said nothing, and there was an uncomfortable silence between the two girls, with Sunset giving her as much space as she needed to get her thoughts in order. When that silence ended, Wallflower spoke with a low and almost hushed tone.
"Sunset, I...I appreciate what you're trying to do, but...you shouldn't."
She shut her eyes tightly.
"What I did...to you and your friends...I..."
She turned, trying to avoid looking to her colleague.
"...I don't deserve to be forgiven! I hurt you! I hurt your friends! I...I'm a terrible person!"
Her voice wobbled with what she was saying, but again, Sunset waited until she'd said what she needed to. Then, when it was all over, she reached forward, gently placing her hand upon Wallflower's shoulder. The other girl flinched, and though she continued to look away for a time, she slowly started to look back to Sunset. She didn't see rage or anger or disappointment, but instead a warm smile on her face. It was a warmth that was very much represented in Sunset's next words.
"It's okay, Wallflower. I understand. Loneliness, it...it can do terrible things to a person. Moments of emotional distress and..."
But Wallflower, clearly rejecting this sentiment, shook her head to this.
"No, Sunset, you don’t understand! What I did, it...it was unforgiveable!"
She looked away again.
"I spent so long resenting how people had grown to like you, forgetting what you'd done to them, all the friendships you tore apart. They’d look to you with awe and respect...all while treating me like I was just...not even there! In that moment, I saw you as everything that was wrong in my life. But what did I do to fix that? I..."
A long sigh escaped her, and she reached into her pocket. Sunset watched as she soon pulled out a small stone, which Sunset recognised immediately as the remains of the memory stone which had caused this whole mess. Wallflower held it in the palm of her hand, staring at it with regret and contempt.
"I tore friendships apart, just like you used to...just to get back at you."
She laughed, but it was dry and without joy.
"Maybe I deserved to be alone for all that time. If I'm the kind of person who goes off and does...this...I don't deserve having you be nice to me."
But, as before, Sunset was not angry. Instead, she placed her hand upon the stone herself, before taking Wallflower's hands in earnest.
"Wallflower...you're talking to probably the only person in this school who knows what it's like."
Wallflower turned to her as she continued.
"We tell ourselves that what we're doing is right. That it's justified. That we’re doing it because the world was unfair to us. That we’re maybe even doing something good. But..."
Shame crossed her face.
"...but it never is."
She looked away briefly.
"The things we do? What we’ve done? They'll probably haunt us forever. No matter how far we've come along, there's always going to be those moments that reminds us just how low we used to be."
Slowly, she looked back to Wallflower.
"I'd grown so used to being friends with Twilight and the others...that I guess I just forgot the kind of pain I would have caused them once upon a time. But meeting you, learning more about you...I remembered."
She let go of the other girl's hands.
"I may have come far...but that will never mean that I didn't start off in a bad place."
Again, she returned to her smile, and again, she reached out, placing her hand on Wallflower's shoulder.
"You did wrong, Wallflower, and neither you nor I can deny that."
This time, it was Wallflower's turn to look ashamed, but she said nothing as Sunset continued.
"But if I’m anything to go by...you can be better. You can either choose to wallow in your past mistakes, or..."
Her smile grew, though only a little.
"...you can acknowledge that there's still work to be done. That the road ahead may be long, but...in the end...it's a journey worth taking."
As had happened many times before now, the girls were quiet. Wallflower, as one would expect, took a long time to take all of this in. And when she did speak, it was once more with that quiet tone.
"I...I want to make things right."
Sunset nodded.
"That's the first step. And I'm sure that if you spend enough time with Twilight and the others..."
But, Wallflower cut her off, shaking her head a great deal before looking up to her again.
"No! It's not just them I hurt! I told you before that I used the stone a few times before!"
Sunset paused, remembering that Wallflower had indeed said that. So, she let the girl carry on explaining.
"I used it for small things. Unimportant things. Every day embarrassments. I used the stone on about a dozen people before I moved onto you and your friends."
Sunset nodded.
“Like Twilight said, there are plenty of people out there who might have done as you did in those moments.”
Wallflower shook her head again.
“That doesn’t change anything! Taking people’s memories?! I had no right! Not with you...and not with them!”
Slowly, Sunset frowned slightly.
"...How long ago did you change their memories?"
Putting the stone back in her pocket, Wallflower raised both arms and held herself, looking like she wasn't able to look Sunset in the eye.
"...More than three days."
Sunset closed her eyes, sighing deeply. The limit had been passed. Whoever Wallflower had used that magic on, it was far too late for them now. This complicated matters, and there was no denying that. But, ever determined, Sunset opened her eyes again, looking up to Wallflower, who only now elected to look back to her, before speaking in a firmer tone.
"That's a mistake...that can't be washed away. You've changed those people in a way that, while small...can probably never be undone."
As before, Wallflower looked ashamed.
"They'll...never forgive me...will they?"
Again, Sunset sighed.
"Perhaps not. And if I've learned anything from you...it's that hurt can take longer to fix that we sometimes think."
A pause between them, but one of only a few moments.
"Wallflower...you need to tell them."
Wallflower grimaced.
"They'll hate me!"
Sunset nodded.
"They might. But you owe it...not just to them, but to yourself. If you truly want to commit to being a better person, to make up for the things you've done...you're first going to have to come clean about those things. To go to those you've wronged and face the consequences of those wrongs."
Sunset then got out of her chair, looking down at the other girl, who now looked even meeker than normal, before speaking up again.
"This won't be pretty...but redemption never is."
Like her, Wallflower too got out of her chair, speaking in a voice that was the very definition of vulnerable.
"Will...will you come with me?"
Though undoubtedly a serious situation, Sunset still felt compelled to smile, giving a short nod.
"Of course. There were others for me when I needed help...so if you need help...I’ll be there for you."
Wallflower looked to her, clearly appreciating what had been said to her. Sunset smiled back, before heading once more to the door of the room. Wallflower watched her, then quickly turned off the computer, before getting down to picking up her bag. Sunset waited for her at the door, looking to her carefully as she drew nearer. Once the two were together, however, Sunset spoke again, her voice one of both softness and seriousness.
"The path to being a better person always needs that first step, however harsh it may be."
She stood to one side, gesturing to the door.
"Will you take this one?"
Wallflower looked to the door, took in a deep breath, then stepped forward, exiting the room and entering the school hallway.
"Yes...I will."
