Best Left Forgotten

Canterlot State University wasn't the largest or best college around, but it was growing faster than almost any school in the country. It was also the only university out of fifteen that had accepted Sunset Shimmer into their fall class of the coming school year. Despite her exemplary test scores and… passable grades, her lack of official documentation limited her choices to either CSU or a local community college that shared a few buildings of the same campus. No amount of forged paperwork would stand up to the scrutiny of a more prestigious college's acceptance board, who would be actively looking for any reason to reject potential candidates.

The community college had actually been her first choice—mainly due to a lower tuition cost—but at the repeated insistence of both Twilight and Principal Celestia, Sunset had applied to something like three dozen scholarships. Something about "wasted potential" or whatever. While most of the scholarship programs flatly rejected her, she'd managed to scrape together enough funds to afford a couple semesters at CSU. With a little luck and a lot of effort, the plan was to build her academic résumé and snag whatever scholarships she could until she found more stable financial footing.

Now that Wallflower had moved in, that last part would take quite a bit longer. Sunset had to balance her class load with extra hours at work, possibly supplemented with hours working as a tutor if her grades were good enough after her first semester. No matter how she looked at it, the coming months were going to be even more hectic than summer had been. There would be no easy way around any of it—painfully long hours and a ton of hard work were the only way through.

That was okay though. Wally made it all worth it.

Wally was always worth it.

Sunset yawned as she trailed behind the tour group she'd been following all afternoon. The past few nights of restless half-sleep had taken their toll. As she passed by yet another line of tents advertising some on-campus clubs, she fiddled incessantly with the chain of her necklace.

Maybe she could leave it with one of the girls for a while, see if that would make them stop.

No… No, that was stupid. Sunset shook the selfish thought away and buried it beneath a rising tide of guilt. A little unexpected exhaustion was a small price to pay if it meant Wallflower was sleeping soundly for the first time in months. How horrible would Sunset be if she took that away from her?

Sunset could handle it, as well as any other surprises that came up.

This way, Wally was fine. If she was fine, Sunset was fine too.

As Sunset's tour group dawdled their way around the campus, she paid less attention to the guide and more to the clashing architecture around her. CSU had been making an effort to modernize in the past few years, tearing down old brick class buildings and replacing them with sleeker ones mostly made from glass and plaster. They were nice enough to look at, but Sunset's eyes were repeatedly drawn to the few remaining quaint structures that had so far survived the process.

Most were small, single-story halls used by primarily the community college, but a few stood out. One of the dorms was a lovely old building tucked away in the corner of the grounds, and clustered along the western edge of campus was a collection of bio-labs and greenhouses. If Sunset ever took Wallflower on a tour of the school, she'd have to remember to start there.

Sunset's personal favorite by far was the bell tower right in the middle of campus, the same one that had been on all the brochures she'd seen. It rose from what was otherwise the dinky old atrium building, seven stories high with an open spire at the top. A small balcony ran around the edges, and as Sunset understood it, the inside of the spire was actually accessible from within the building.

Sunset smiled to herself as her gaze traced up and down the knotted web of ivy that crawled its way up the brick tower. Wally would probably love it up there, at least if Sunset came with her. It'd make a nice romantic private spot for the two of them, assuming Wally ever start attending this campus herself.

Soon enough, Sunset ditched the tour group and made her way back towards the bus stop. She'd seen enough to know where her classes would be anyway, and picked out a few spots to show Wallflower if she ever wanted to come visit. No reason to stick around for the rest of it. Besides, Wallflower would be happy to see her home early anyway.

As Sunset passed by the bell tower, her phone buzzed. A quick look showed a message from Fluttershy.

Twilight told me you're touring CSU today. Are you still there now?

Sunset sent a simple confirmation and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. Less than a minute later it buzzed again.

Meet me in the coffee shop on the first floor of the library. I need to talk to you.

Great.

After confirming when the next bus would come by, Sunset started off towards the library on the other side of campus. Maybe if she led off with some junk about the bus schedule and needing to be home soon or whatever, Fluttershy wouldn't want to inconvenience her and Sunset could leave as quickly as she came.

As Sunset entered the library, she found it surprisingly loud, and lacking in books. Apparently those were all kept on the second floor, and the space down here was dedicated to pumping students full of caffeine.

After a brief glance around, Sunset spotted Fluttershy across the room. She sat stiffly at a little wooden table in the corner of the café, staring intently at nothing. As Sunset approached, Fluttershy looked up briefly and managed something like a half-hearted wave before returning her gaze to the tabletop.

Sunset had seen a lot of expressions on Fluttershy’s face over the years, most often caused by Sunset herself. Fear, anxiety, misery, joy, contentedness and everything in between. Whatever thoughts were going on behind that face now, though, she could only guess. If she had to, she guessed whatever Fluttershy wanted to speak with her about wasn’t going to be very pleasant.

Whatever. Might as well get it over with. If she turned and walked away now, the rest of her friends would never let her hear the end of it—not after she’d given them her word about “making time for them,” or whatever it was they wanted to hear.

Sunset plastered on a half-smile as she sat down. “I got your text. What’s up?”

Fluttershy’s brow twitched. She opened her mouth as if to speak, only to draw it shut into a thin line. A moment later she mumbled something under her breath.

Sunset sighed, frowning. “You know I can’t understand you when you mumble like that.”

“...I can’t believe you.”

Fluttershy’s voice, soft as it was, still took Sunset for a loop. What was this all about? Was this about Sunset avoiding them? She’d already straightened that out with the rest of the girls, had Fluttershy somehow not heard about it?

“I can’t believe you,” Fluttershy said again, her voice raising. “I cannot believe you, Sunset Shimmer!”

“Excuse me?” Yeah, no, Sunset was definitely not in the mood to get yelled at. Any strained sense of civility went tumbling out the window. “Tell me then, what did I do that’s so unbelievable?”

“Don't pretend you don't know! After what Wallflower went through, I can’t believe y-you...” Her face reddened as she practically hissed, “I can’t believe you're sleeping with her!”

For maybe the first time in her life, Sunset was so mad that she was actually speechless. What was she even supposed to say to that? No wonder Fluttershy wanted them to meet in a public place like this, so she could freely shame Sunset for... For what? She and Wallflower had never even—!

...Rarity. The next time Sunset saw that gossiping little brat, she was going to strangle her with her own stupid springy hair.

It took every ounce of self control Sunset had not to scream that out loud. Instead, in a low, seething voice, she asked, “What exactly did Rarity tell you?”

“She told me you and Wallflower were sleeping together! Honestly, of all the awful things you’ve done in your life, this is the worst! Taking advantage of a—!”

“Shut up.” Sunset snapped, louder than she meant to. It didn’t matter, she didn’t care who heard. “I’m going to say this only once, so pay attention you self-righteous idiot.” Fluttershy stayed silent beneath Sunset’s leering gaze. “Wally and I are literally sharing a bed. She has these horrible nightmares, a-and... And me sleeping in the bed with her helps with them sometimes. She wants me there. No one is taking advantage of anyone.” Red hot anger burned in Sunset’s chest. “Nice to know that’s what you think of me though.”

Whatever reaction Sunset was expecting, it wasn't the one she got. Fluttershy didn't so much as flinch. "So you're not together, then?" she asked.

"That's not—y'know what? Fuck it." Sunset scowled. "Yes, we're together, and it's not your place to get all pissy about it." With that, she stood and made for the door.

"Wait!" Fluttershy's hand was on her shoulder. "Don't you see how dangerous this is? Wallflower isn't ready for that!"

Sunset wheeled on her. "And who the hell are you to decide that? What, you had one conversation with her over a month ago and suddenly you know her better than she knows herself? It's her choice, stop trying to take it away from her!"

"She doesn't know what she's getting herself into! You're putting her at risk to get hurt even more, how can you not see that?"

"Because I trust her, Fluttershy!" Sunset shouted. "I trust her when she tells me she wants this, I trust her when she tells me she's okay! What would you have me do instead?" Sunset's voice twisted into a mocking tone as she walked out the door, Fluttershy close behind her. "'Oh gosh, so sorry Wallflower, but you're too broken to make your own decisions! You just don't know what you really want!'" With a sneer, she turned back to Fluttershy. "Wanna guess who the last person that told her that was?"

Ah, there it was—the slightest of cracks in Fluttershy's thin façade of confidence. "It's not the same thing and you know it," she said softly.

"I don't know that, actually," Sunset said. "All I know is that you'd rather I treat my girlfriend like damaged goods."

"That's not what I'm trying to say at all! I-I just… I want her to be safe!"

"And you think I don't?" Sunset said. "What, you think I never considered any of this? I agonized over this, Fluttershy! When she first told me she wanted to be with me, I was terrified of hurting her! I even insisted we take it slow, just for her sake!"

"Have you been?"

"Excuse me?"

Fluttershy frowned. "Have you been taking things slowly?

For a moment, Sunset was silent. After how far she and Wally had gone the other night, the honest answer was 'no.' That being said, an even more honest answer was 'it's none of your goddamn business.' She'd go with that.

"Well?" Fluttershy crossed her arms.

Sunset mimicked her. "The intimate details of my relationship are none of your fucking business."

"Sunset!" Fluttershy's expression was almost one of desperation. "What on earth has gotten into you? How could you possibly think this is what Wallflower needs right now?!"

"Because she told me! She told me she wants this, she told me needs me, she t-told me she loves me!" Sunset's voice cracked. "Are you saying she's lying?!"

"She was raped, Sunset! Rushing her into a relationship won't take that pain away, it'll just—"

Sunset slapped Fluttershy across the face as hard as she could.

Fluttershy stumbled back, clutching her cheek. Sunset stepped forward, looming over her with tears in her eyes.

"Don't you dare say that to me," Sunset said. "I know what she's been through. I know better than anyone what she's been through. I've seen it." Clutching her geode with a trembling hand, Sunset pushed the invasive flashes of suffocating terror to the back of her mind. "I-I've seen it."

Fluttershy couldn't meet her gaze, instead staring at the ground as she held her cheek. Sunset could make out the beginnings of a bruise spreading across it.

"...You're going to hurt her," Fluttershy said.

Sunset wiped her eyes and turned to leave. "I'd sooner die."