Chapter 1: "After the Dust Settles"
Wallflower Blush had accepted Friendship.
That was what had just transpired in the parking lot of Canterlot High School. Wallflower Blush, a young student who had just attempted to erase the memories of Sunset Shimmer and her friends had now felt very ashamed of her actions. Seeing her get up and walk away from the parking lot, Sunset sighed heavily to herself. In her mind, there was more to this story than met the eye.
Much more.
When she returned home that night, all Sunset could do was stare up at the ceiling of her bedroom.
"Wallflower Blush, is this what it all came down to, isn't it?" Sunset thought to herself. "You wanted to make me feel what you felt? Well, I can assure you that I now feel bad for what I did to you. You were my number one targeted when we first started here. You coming from Crystal Prep and me from Equestria."
The former unicorn pony turned human sighed heavily as she laid in her bed, unable to sleep.
"As a matter of fact," Sunset continued as she looked at pictures of her human friends next to her nightstand. "I certainly have come a long way from when I ran away from home and arrived here. I was a different pony back then who would just trample over others like it was nothing. Wallflower was no exception and now that she almost did what she did…"
However, Sunset couldn't finish her thoughts and finally fell asleep. There was no denying the fact that she and Wallflower had a past, a past full of tension and dread. As she fell asleep, the sounds of her own voice and Wallflower's played out in her head.
"Give me your lunch money!" Sunset demanded in an angry voice followed by the sounds of being pushed against lockers. "All of it!"
"Please, why are you doing this?" she heard Wallflower Blush cry. "What did I ever do to you? Ow!"
"Shut up and give me your money! Heh, it's no wonder Crystal Prep never wanted you. You're nothing but pathetic, Blushy!"
"Stop calling me that!"
"I can call you whatever I want because I'm the most popular girl in school and you are just fresh meat! Trust me, you'll never amount to anything, Blushy."
This same sentence continued to play out over and over again like a broken record even as Sunset slept through the night.
…
The next morning, Sunset arrived at school feeling exhausted having been deprived of her sleep. Rainbow Dash was the first one to notice.
"Hey, Sunset," the school jock said at her locker. "How was…jeez, you didn't sleep well, didn't you?"
"Not really, Rainbow Dash," yawned Sunset, putting her backpack in her locker. "I just couldn't help but think about Wallflower Blush."
"What do you mean? It's not like she's going to change her ways and give herself another chance on taking our memories away."
Right away, Rainbow Dash began to guess that there was more to this story than met the eye. In her mind, there was something Sunset was hiding from her and the others. Fortunately, Sunset gave some context to the situation.
"Rainbow…" Sunset stammered, looking tiredly at Rainbow Dash. "Do you remember how I broke up you and the others before Princess Twilight came into our lives?"
"How could I forget? But its in the past now, Sunset. You've moved on from it."
"That's just it!" cried Sunset as they made their way to class. "I have moved on from my past, yes. However, it seems like Wallflower wanted to bring it up. And that's because…"
But Sunset couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"How shall I put this?" she asked herself, feeling nothing but reluctance at finishing her sentence. "I used to bully Wallflower when I first arrived."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened upon hearing this, but before Sunset could tell her anymore, they needed to get into class. When the day ended, Sunset and the others gathered in the computer lab like they always did.
"You used to bully Wallflower, Sunset?" cried Applejack in a shocked voice. "No wonder she wanted to do what she did. Then again, I'm not surprised."
"You shouldn't be surprised that I would bully someone else," remarked Sunset remorsefully. "It seems like Wallflower was perhaps the most traumatized by me and this was her way of getting back at me."
"Well, duh!" said Pinkie Pie. "How else do you think she got a hold of this to begin with?"
Reaching into her hair, Pinkie pulled out the two broken halves of the now destroyed Memory stone for them all to see.
"Either way, Sunset," suggested Sci-Twi. "If you had bullied Wallflower in the past, then you need to make amends with her. Tell her that you are truly sorry for what happened. Sure she accepted your friendship, but that's just not enough. There has to be more that needs to be done."
"And you are certainly right about that," remarked Sunset. "But…I just don't know how. How can I get Wallflower to see me other than that girl who used to pick on her because she was so weak? This is something I need to figure out for myself, that's for sure."
"Then why don't you just go to Equestria and seek out Princess Twilight?" suggested Applejack. "Get some advice from her!"
The others nodded in agreement at this suggestion. Sure enough, once they had all gone their separate ways, Sunset found herself in front of the portal to Equestria and stepped through finding herself back in Twilight's library.
"Sunset, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked, dashing into the library as Sunset fell on all four legs. "Is everything back to normal?"
"Yes, it is," Sunset answered awkwardly. "Well, not all of it. The girl who obtained the memory stone…how shall I put this? I used to pick on her when she was starting out at Canterlot High."
"Who is this girl? What's her name?"
"Can we talk somewhere private?" Sunset asked as she heard footsteps coming towards the library. "This is a very personal matter for me."
So Twilight shut the door and listened to what Sunset had to say about the situation between her and Wallflower Blush…
Chapter 2: "Sunset, the Former Bully"
"Go on, Sunset, I'm listening," Twilight said, curious as to what Sunset had to say about her situation.
"Well, how shall I put this?" Sunset replied, briefly looking down at the floor. "You know how I used to be Princess Celestia's snide little pupil?"
"You said it yourself."
"I did, yes. However, I was also a bully, Twilight and the girl who had the memory stone…"
"What's her name?" Twilight interrupted, hastily.
"Wallflower Blush," Sunset said. "A sort of green skinned girl who is big into plants. She…she seemed different, kind of like you were, Twilight. But instead of being into books, she was obsessive about plants. I took this as an opportunity to pick on her and…"
Twilight was not impressed with what she was hearing. After all, she did experience Sunset's bad side from the beginning.
"Why would you do that, Sunset? What did this Wallflower Blush ever do to you?"
The sounds of Twilight's voice made Sunset wince slightly.
"Look Twilight, I know that it seems childish that I would be bringing this up now, but Wallflower did nothing to me, nothing. You have to understand."
"I do understand, Sunset. But as far as I am concerned, you trampled over this girl because you felt like it, just like you did with the others after you left Equestria and when I first arrived. The only advice I could give you at this point is to…is to…"
"Is to what?"
A sudden thought came into Twilight's brain at that very moment. From what she was hearing, Twilight knew that there was something about this Wallflower Blush that Sunset didn't know. Dashing over to a shelf in the library, she looked up and used her magic to pull out a particular book with a red cover on it that said "Psychology 101."
"Twilight, what is it?" asked Sunset as Twilight took the book and began looking through the pages. "What can I do?"
"You can learn about why Wallflower is the way she is," answered Twilight, finally opening to a page in the book that had what she was looking for. "You say that she is fixated on plants, correct?"
Sunset began to feel confused at what Twilight was doing. Up until that moment, she was seeking advice but now things were different.
"Uh, yeah…that's what I said right?" Sunset remarked as Twilight beckoned her forward. "But that doesn't explain…"
"Look in here, Sunset," Twilight interrupted, directing Sunset to look into the section of the book Twilight had found. "I'm not much of a psychologist, but from what you are telling me, Wallflower might have what is called autism."
"Autism?" gasped Sunset, who suddenly began to feel very guilty. "Is it…is it like an illness?"
"Autism is best described as a social disorder that causes the individual to act more differently than a normal individual," explained Twilight. "Among the effects are fixation on certain things and events, such as plants. Unfortunately, sometimes the one who has autism can be vulnerable to being picked on."
The more Sunset heard about what this "autism" was, the more guilty she had become.
"I can't believe this," Sunset whispered to herself. "I…I didn't realize…"
"We all have to learn the hard way sometimes, Sunset," sighed Twilight, closing the book. "No matter how hard it is. Perhaps maybe now you can see Wallflower in a totally different light than what you were used to seeing her in."
Putting the book down, Twilight then went back to her bookshelf and got a hold of another book with a green cover on it that said, "Social Anxieties."
"Another factor is that Wallflower may just have general social anxiety," said Twilight. "Kind of like what Fluttershy is, someone who is simply hesitant about social situations. The only cure that can be given for this Wallflower is for you and the others to just be welcoming and understanding of her needs."
Taking in what Twilight was saying, Sunset knew what she needed to do. She and Wallflower Blush needed to start over again, but Sunset was unsure of how to do it.
"What kind of needs does Wallflower need?"
"Well, what are some things that you like to do aside from playing in the Rainbooms?"
"Um, well, I like to play video games."
"Video Games?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "What are…video games?"
"They are like the visual magic we produce, only that instead of using our horns, we use our hands."
Still, Twilight was confused at what Sunset was saying.
"It's a complicated matter," chuckled Sunset. "I'll show you how to play it sometime. Right now, I got to start over with Wallflower."
Just as she was about to head for the portal, Sunset suddenly stopped and turned back to Twilight.
"Twilight, can I borrow the two books you showed me?"
"Of course you can, Sunset," replied Twilight, passing the book over to Sunset. "Besides, I think that they will help you with Wallflower Blush."
Taking the books, Sunset embraced Twilight before stepping through the portal, returning to the human world.
"Psychology 101 and Social Anxieties," Sunset said as she got ready for bed that night. "I just hope that these are the ones that will help me to understand Wallflower. If only I wasn't such an idiot back in the day."
Spending the next few hours looking through the two books, Sunset tried to fully comprehend and understand the whole truth about Wallflower Blush with the idea that maybe things would be better between them.
…
Back in Equestria, Twilight was also hoping for the best as the door to her library opened, catching Twilight by surprise.
"Hey Twilight," asked Starlight Glimmer, her former student and now guidance counselor at the school of friendship. "I brought some of the retaken midterms for you to grade, but your door was closed."
"Sorry about that, Starlight," Twilight said, taking the midterms. "Sunset Shimmer was just here."
"Sunset? What was she doing here?"
"I guess she is trying to atone for her past misgivings with a girl named Wallflower Blush," answered Twilight, placing the midterms on her desk. "Do you know her, Starlight?"
"No, I only know of that Juniper Montage I told you about," wondered Starlight.
It was then that Twilight got another idea.
"Actually Starlight, can you do a favor for me?"
"What?"
"Can you go into the human world and keep an eye on Sunset?"
Starlight's eyes widened upon hearing this.
"Are…are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I need somepony to keep an eye on Sunset and help out if she needs it. Don't worry, I can have Trixie fill in for you while you are gone."
"Trixie? But, she's…"
But Starlight was instead pushed to the portal and sent through it before she could even finish her sentence. Soon, Starlight found herself once again in her human form under orders from Twilight to keep an eye on Sunset…at all costs.
