Wallflower Blush gave a gentle smile as she watered the last section of roses.
Plants were nice. They couldn't hurt you. They couldn't forget about you. But then again, they don't really remember anything either. Caring for them was a pleasant escape from the difficulties of life. However, it became evident enough that being around just plants wasn't healthy for one's mental or emotional state.
As she set down the watering can, a thoughtful frown worked its way onto her face.
In a rather short span of time, she'd managed to let her frustrations win out, nearly separated Sunset Shimmer from her friends permanently, experienced defeat in Rainboom style, and been forgiven by the once she tried to hurt the most. Forgiven surprisingly quick, now that she thought about it.
More than that, Sunset had actively tried to be kind and more attentive to her.
It was actually really sweet.
She sighed and sat up against a tree.
Above everything else, she wondered who she felt so badly almost immediately after the Memory Stone was destroyed. Was it that her frustration took control? Did the Memory Stone itself guide her? Maybe she just didn't have everything in perspective before.
But more than anything...
She hoped is wasn't just the defeat that made her feel badly about what she'd done.
If it was, she'd find a copious amount of disgust for herself.
Another sigh. The only positive she could take from all this was the fact she'd be disgusted with herself if it was true. So it could be worked on. It didn't do much to alleviate her downed spirit though.
Her mind promptly drifted back to Sunset Shimmer.
What on Earth possessed that girl to forgive her almost immediately and offer a hand?
Okay, yes. They could draw similarities to one another. But one was more of a wide reaching rule while the other was an act of animosity against one girl in particular. After said person had already been making amends and saving her classmates for a while now.
The garden girl had another concept that'd stuck around a while. Maybe she was just being too self-righteous and acting as the judge, jury, and executioner.
It was fairly obvious she was in the wrong.
Yet Sunset accepted part of the blame and offered a hand of friendship.
It just didn't make much sense.
Not that she didn't appreciate it. In fact, Sunset now made her feel wanted. Something she really hadn't felt the entire time she'd been attending CHS. It started to make school itself more enjoyable. She'd talked with her former enemy on several occasions. They were all about frivolous and casual topics though; she hadn't really had a chance to talk to the girl on a more personal level.
"Yeah, right. What do I even say to her?" Wallflower asked herself aloud.
"Say to who?"
Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.
Wallflower shot up from her seated position almost instantaneously.
Lo and behold, Sunset Shimmer herself had found her way to the garden.
"I was in a semi-monologue."
Sunset didn't look surprised and offered a small smile.
"You like to do those. Didn't hear a song this time though." Sunset said, chuckling a bit.
Wallflower playfully rolled her eyes, "Gonna charge for those now."
"Okay, little pop star."
There was a beat of silence before Sunset spoke again, "You didn't even stop by your locker at the end of the day, I was wondering where you went. Then, I realized the default answer."
She offered another lite smile to the gardener. It wasn't returned this time.
"You... were looking for me?"
"Well, duh. We're friends, and we haven't talked much lately."
Friends? Well, if she says so... We barely know each other. And I tried to ruin her life...
"I just don't get..." Wallflower whispered.
"Get what?"
"Why you're being so nice to me now!" Once her questions started, she could stop them, "I mean, it doesn't make any sense! I've been sitting on this. Like, why?! I get you're the super-forgiving type. Yeah, it's kind of your hallmark. Not a bad thing, by the way. But, why friends? I decided to take everything you care about. And it was just this month! This isn't some feel good story about the world, you know! So quit with the hero complex!"
Sunset seemed stunned into silence as the gardener blinked owlishly, realizing her outburst. That definitely wasn't how she eventually wanted to start this conversation.
Wow, way to throw a million things into her face. That was mean...
Eventually, a stunned Sunset found her voice, "Come on, I can finally give you this talk. We can call it a Friendship Lesson." Wallflower frowned. "Don't think about the name. Just walk with me."
With that, she began walking back towards the school.
After a moment of hesitation, Wallflower jogged to catch up.
The two fell in line, not speaking immediately. Sunset decided to start.
"So, I guess you've been holding on to that one?"
The other girl sighed, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to snap."
"It's fine. I can understand it."
The rest of the walking was silent, and it led them to the side of the school building. Sunset stepped over to directly lean up against the wall, and the two girls locked eyes again.
"So, let's start with that."
"I have no idea what you mean." Wallflower replied, crossing her arms.
Sunset mimicked the gesture, "Yes, you do."
"Why do we need to talk about it? We could totally ignore it."
"That's not healthy, and you know it."
Wallflower groaned, resting a hand over the entirety of her face, "Fine. I know you're not gonna let it go now, anyway. So, you know how I kinda erase-boarded your memories?"
"Hard to forget, yes. Wallflower, I told you, it's in the past."
"How can you say that so easily?"
"Is that what this is about?" Sunset sighed, "You should know, you were here. If you remember correctly, I tried to brainwash every student here and lead them on a march of bad intentions into Equestria. Princess Twilight defeated me, then forgave me like nothing. I tried to kill her and go on a war path, Wallflower. If I didn't forgive like she does, I'd be quite the hypocrite."
It was Wallflower's turn to sigh, "But you already kinda earned your good karma back. With our Twilight, the Sirens, and probably a lot more I don't even know about! Plus, I'm pretty sure I don't qualify the same as you guys. I wasn't being controlled by anything, and mine was personal against one person. Even yours wasn't."
"It's funny you say that," Sunset responded with a frown, "While it didn't look like mine was personal to you guys, it definitely was."
Wallflower raised her eyebrows, "I find that hard to believe. World conquest doesn't mean it was personal. Just a little bit of an ego trip."
She did manage to punctuate her sentence with a smirk.
Sunset found herself rolling her eyes, "Oh, very funny. You're not wrong on the ego thing, though. But you are wrong about it not being personal. Do you know who I was? Before I came here, I mean."
The gardener shook a negative, "Can't say I do. I just know you were from there."
"I was a student of the ruling monarch. A traitorous one, at that."
Now Wallflower looked surprised, "Huh."
The storyteller merely nodded, "Yeah, her personal student actually. I lived in the castle with her, got exclusive lessons from her, and spent almost all my time with her."
"Wow, top dog if I've ever heard one."
"Yeah, you're not wrong. But I got selfish and cocky. I especially wanted to know about a certain mirror portal. She said that I'd learn when I was ready. Eventually, I started snooping around and trying to find things on my own. I demanded that she tell me everything she knew, and that she make me a princess."
"Wait, how would that even work?" The green-haired girl asked.
"Royalty isn't quite the same over there," Sunset responded with a sad frown, "I was basically telling her that she had to make me immortal and all powerful. Just like she was." Wallflower gave her an incredulous look. "Yeah, I know. Not exactly something a spoiled brat should be demanding. Long story short, she banished me from the castle and I forced my way through the mirror."
"Wow, you had some issues."
"No kidding. Anyway, I started plotting almost immediately. I wanted to get my revenge on her and prove that she was wrong. All I wanted to do was beat her, to be honest. And then when I found out about Princess Twilight being her student after me, I marked her as an enemy too. If you remember, me stealing her crown was the reason she was even here."
Wallflower nodded, "Yeah, you guys had a big showdown and everything."
"Right," Sunset nodded, "And after trying to kill everyone and pretty much wage war against our teacher, she reached her hand out to me. Offered friendship, all the stuff we come to expect. So yes, mine was very personal."
"Yeah, fair enough." The gardener sighed, "Okay, so maybe you do know what I'm thinking. And I'll give that yours was worse. A lot worse, honestly."
"No kidding."
"But you were able to make up for it with friends and magical battles," Wallflower frowned, "I can't do magic without the stone. And outside of the two other gardeners, who I don't really hang out with, you're my only other friend. And we barely know each other..."
Sunset placed a hand on the downtrodden girl's shoulder, "I know it feels hopeless right now. I didn't think I deserved to be forgiven either. But Twilight and the girls embraced me. They helped me become who I am now. I can do that for you. I'm certain you're a good person and I know you can show that. I'm more than willing to help you. If you want, that is."
Sunset offered a gentle smile. Wallflower felt herself blush.
This girl... She's beyond amazing. She came back from all that, and basically became our school's protector. And she really is nice....
"... I'd really like that." The gardener whispered.
She was surprised to find herself pulled into an embrace, but didn't fight it. After a few seconds, she returned it fiercely, a small sob escaping from her mouth. The two stayed like that for a while, before they gently disengaged from each other.
"Thank you..." Wallflower muttered quietly, "And I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it really is." Sunset smiled, "Now, why don't we go grab smoothies and get to know each other better? Because I really do want to be your friend."
Wallflower smiled earnestly, "Sounds good."
Author's Note
Always feel like the redemption of former adversaries was always too easy. But these two, the way they are, would eventually find a way to become close to one another. That, I'm 100 percent certain on.
Now, some might be thinking, "Why would Wallflower need extra guidance from the amount usually given?" And the answer to that is her low self-esteem.
I'd like to point out a study from a collaborative effort by two different researchers from the University of Buffalo and State U of New York. To summarize, an individual's ability to seek out and earn both self-forgiveness and forgiveness from others directly correlates to one's self-esteem.
It's a good thing Sunset Shimmer is around to lend a hand.
