It was an odd collection of ladies, that much was certain. Sitting in their usual booth at the local café, Sunset and Twilight, while clearly pleased to be spending time with one another, nevertheless felt a degree of unease today. The two were not alone though, as there were two other young women sitting beside them. Juniper Montage and Gloriosa Daisy. Both of these other friends of theirs were, for the time being, occupying themselves with drinking their respective beverages, tea for Gloriosa and a simple soda for Juniper. Minute after minute passed, and as this time went by, Sunset would look over to the door behind their booth, just waiting for their latest colleague to come through. When she looked back, she would turn to Twilight, seeing that same look of disquiet on her face. Smiling, she gave her friend a reassuring tone.
"Don't worry...she'll be here."
Then, as if on cue, the bell of the door rung, and all four sets of eyes turned to the one who now entered. Wallflower Blush, who now arrived looking quite tired, as though she'd just run a long way. She took a moment to catch her breath, looking around for those she'd come to see. Sunset, smiling, raised her hand, waving to her and getting her attention almost immediately. The green-haired girl smiled back when she finally noticed her, and so moved forward, ready to sit next to her. There was, however, a brief moment of pause, as the girl then noticed the other two here, whom she didn't recognise. But, both Juniper and Gloriosa gave a welcoming smile to her, giving her at least a small measure of comfort when she finally sat down. Once there, she turned to Sunset, sounding rather apologetic.
"Sorry I'm late. I...well...I just got out of detention."
Twilight turned to her, surprised.
"Detention? What for?"
Wallflower sighed, looking away with no small measure of shame in her expression.
"Well...you know those people whose memories I took?"
Instantly, Sunset understood.
"Ah...they told Principal Celestia?"
Wallflower nodded.
"Yeah. She's not all that fond of using magic that way. You know, after everything that’s happened at school in the past? So I got detention...and also for tomorrow...and the day after that...and the day after..."
She paused, then sighed again.
"Look...I'll be having detention for a while."
Sunset's expression softened, and she placed her hand on Wallflower's shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
But the other girl shook her head.
"Thank you for saying so, Sunset...but it's fine. I...I deserved this."
Slowly, she looked the ex-unicorn in the eye, giving a quick shrug of her shoulders.
"Like you said...facing consequences...right?"
Smirking slightly, Sunset let out a chuckle.
"Yeah...got it. I know the feeling."
Raising her hands, the Equestrian stared at her palms.
"I still remember how numb my hands felt after I finished clearing away all the rubble from the school after the Fall Formal."
Here, Juniper finally spoke up.
"Wait...that really happened?"
Sunset nodded.
"Yep. It was a pretty big mess."
Then, her eyes widened, and realisation came to her.
"Oh, that reminds me!"
She looked again to Wallflower, while taking her free hand and gesturing to the other ladies.
"Wallflower...this is Juniper Montage and Gloriosa Daisy."
Both of them smiled to her, and Wallflower, in turn, offered a weak smile of her own, as well as a small and quick wave.
"Um...hi?"
Gloriosa giggled slightly to this.
"Oh, it's alright, dear. We're all friends here. No need to be nervous."
Wallflower sunk into her side of the booth a little bit.
"I'm sorry, but...I'm not really that good at...well...talking to people."
Twilight gave a giggle of her own to that.
"Preaching to the choir on that one, Wallflower."
The young gardener gave her an appreciative look, only to then look to the two relative strangers, as Juniper spoke up next.
"If it's any consolation...we've all been where you've been."
At first, Wallflower seemed confused by that statement, but, as time went on, understanding came to her, and she turned, looking to Sunset for clarification. The older girl let out another chuckle, then began to explain.
"That's right...every single person around this table has dabbled in Equestrian magic...and done some pretty shade stuff as a result."
All of them, Twilight, Gloriosa and Juniper, seemed to take on brief looks of shame and embarrassment over this, all while Wallflower looked to them with interest.
"So...all of you?"
Gloriosa was the first to look to her, sighing and giving a short nod.
"It's true. I run Camp Everfree, and when it was approaching closure...I...I used powers that I shouldn't have. Things got...out of hand."
There was more to that story, Wallflower knew, but even so, it was also clear that Gloriosa wasn't keen on talking about it. But, in the silence that followed, she thought long and hard on what had been said to her.
"Camp Everfree? Yeah...I think I heard some of the other students talking about that during recess once."
Sunset looked to her.
"Some friends of yours?"
Wallflower shook her head, staring down at the table.
"No...I just...I was reading a book and I overheard them from around the corner."
Sunset nodded, understanding, then reached forward, gently placing a hand upon Wallflower's.
"Don't worry about it. Nobody here is going to judge you for keeping to your own company."
Slowly, Wallflower looked up to her.
"I want to be friends with others...it's just...really hard for me sometimes."
Again, Sunset nodded.
"I understand. Spending time with others used to be hard for me too. Different reasons, sure, but...yeah, I wasn't that great at friendships back in the day."
Her smile returned moments afterwards, however.
"If you like...we can help you with that. Maybe introduce you to a few other people...if you’re up for it...and once your detention time is over of course."
In spite of herself, Wallflower let out a giggle, nodding slowly afterwards.
"Yeah, I'd...I'd like that."
But, while this tender moment between the two was nice, it eventually led to Wallflower looking over to Juniper, and a curious expression came to her. And, while speaking up to people she'd only just met went against pretty much every single instinct in her body, she nevertheless found herself giving into that curiosity.
"So...what did you do with magic?"
Juniper leaned back into her side of the booth, looking pretty embarrassed right now.
"Well...after I failed to frame a well-known actress for a crime she didn't commit..."
"Wait...what?" Wallflower remarked.
Juniper continued, like she hadn't heard her.
"...I got angry at Sunset and her friends for having found me out. So I came across this magic mirror that let me trap them away in some...magical...place. I'm not sure what it was. Anyway, it also turned me into this giant celebrity lady-thing, and I basically terrorised everyone in the mall that day."
Wallflower blinked slowly, and then again, and after the third blink, she spoke up, albeit in a slow and thoughtful manner.
"Well...that's...um...terrible?"
Juniper buried her face into her hands and groaned.
"Ugh! Tell me about it! I mean, how petty can you get! I had some serious issues to work out!"
Twilight looked to her, speaking in a soft tone.
"It's okay, Juniper...you're working through it."
Juniper chuckled slightly, then leaned back again, before letting out a long sigh.
"Yeah...I messed up pretty bad. Lost the trust of my uncle...and...yeah...that still hurts."
She looked away, towards the window, staring at her reflection.
"At least Gloriosa did what she did for good reasons. Me? I had no excuse!"
Gloriosa turned to her, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"We were both in a bad place, Juniper. It didn't matter what my reasons were...I shouldn't have done it."
Slowly, Juniper looked back to her, giving an appreciative smile.
"Thanks, Glory. I...thanks."
Wallflower looked from one girl, then to the next, before once more staring down at the table.
"It's...really nice you two can talk to each other like that."
Sunset turned her gaze to her, smiling as she did so.
"Well, nothing helps break the ice better than having common ground of tampering with dark and terrible power beyond our understanding."
All of them laughed to that, even Wallflower, even though she'd tried to keep it in. When the laughter faded, however, she looked over to Sunset once more.
"I...I think I should tell you...I still hate what I did."
Sunset nodded, speaking in a more solemn tone than before.
"And you'll probably always feel that way. I know I do when I think back on my past. But, never forget..."
Raising her hand, she gestured to the other ladies around the table.
"...you're not the first to make magical mistakes."
Everyone there, Twilight, Juniper and Gloriosa, all smiled to her, giving her looks of reassurance and, while silent, nevertheless confirming what Sunset had said. Wallflower, a girl who could have been called the very definition of silence, stared down for a time, not responding to Sunset's words. But, as moment after moment passed, she once more glanced up to the former unicorn and, after a while, broke out into a smile, giving a blush worthy of her name, before finally speaking in a tone far more relaxed than she'd ever given in the time Sunset had known her.
"Th...thank you, Sunset."
Smiling, Sunset took a sip of a milkshake that had been sitting by her side of the booth this whole time, and after a few more moments of quiet, Gloriosa broke the silence.
"So...Wallflower...I hear you like gardening?"
Hearing of her favourite pastime, Wallflower's smile widened, and she turned to the older girl.
"Oh...yes! This year, I plan on planting some..."
As the two conversed, Twilight leaned over to Sunset, whispering in her ear.
"So...think she'll be okay?"
Sunset considered this, seeing the enthusiasm in which Wallflower was talking to Gloriosa, even to the point of giving off an occasional giggle as she did so, before once more turning to her spectacled friend.
"After some time? Yeah...I think she will."
