Best Left Forgotten

For the first time in ages, Sunset Shimmer had no idea how to help a friend.

She and Wallflower sat on the soft carpeted floor of Wallflower’s apartment. Every once in a while, she would hear a whimper or hiccup from Wallflower, but otherwise the girl was entirely silent. Sunset gazed across the room at nothing, trying to make sense of what she had seen in Wallflower’s mind, and what she could do about it.

She didn’t recognize the boy who had attacked Wallflower, although she had no idea what she’d do if she found him. He had mentioned a dance, and the Spring Fling had been the most recent one. If that’s when it happened, then it had only been a little over a month ago, just before Sunset’s friends had their memories of her erased.

She glanced over at Wallflower, who was staring half-lidded at the floor. Between her lashing out at Sunset and what she had said about nightmares, it seemed as though the trauma of that night had stayed with her, even after she had erased her memory of being...

Sunset shook her head. Even in her mind, she was uncomfortable saying the word. She couldn’t imagine how Wallflower was feeling right now.

With a heavy sigh, Sunset checked her the time on her phone. It was getting late and decisions needed to be made. There was no way she could leave Wallflower alone tonight, not after what she had just seen. Beyond the horrible things that must be going through her friend’s mind, Sunset needed to be sure Wallflower was safe, especially from herself.

“Hey,” Sunset said, her voice barely above a whisper. “How are you feeling?”

Wallflower didn’t respond. She didn’t even move. Sunset shifted around, turning to face her friend.

“I, uh...” Sunset paused. She wasn’t sure if there was a right thing to say, but she needed to choose her words carefully all the same. “Do you want me to stay over tonight?”

Wallflower barely turned her face. She shook her head.

Sunset sighed. “I can’t just leave,” she said. “I mean, if it were me, I’d want—” She caught herself and fell silent. She shouldn’t be assuming what Wallflower wanted. “I can’t even imagine how awful it must have been,” she said.

Wallflower’s reddened eyes glared at her. “Yes you can.”

Sunset blinked. “What? I mean—”

“You saw it,” Wallflower said, her voice coarse from crying. “You saw him fuck me.”

“W-Wallflower!”

Wallflower pulled her legs in, curling them to her chest. “Go home, Sunset.”

“What? I—No!” Sunset scooted so she was in front of Wallflower. “You really shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Wallflower looked away. “Why?”

“I need to know you’re safe.” Sunset lifted her hand, then pulled away.

“You think I’ll kill myself,” Wallflower said. Her bluntness left Sunset a little more than uneasy.

“The possibility occurred to me, yeah,” Sunset said.

“Go home, Sunset.”

Sunset felt her heart drop. “Wallflower...”

“Go home.”

“N-no!” Sunset stood up. Her mind was racing with images of Wallflower, pinned on the couch, crying and gasping. “There’s no way I’m just—just going to walk out after this!” Sunset’s voice caught in her throat, and she turned away.

Behind her, Wallflower spoke, her voice cold. “This is your fault.”

Sunset froze.

Wallflower stood up, leaning against the wall. “You made me remember.” Wallflower’s voice cracked, and she started shouting. “It’s your fault, Sunset! You put that th-thing back in my head, and now I c-can’t make it go away and—and it’s your fault!”

Sunset couldn’t bring herself to look at Wallflower. Tears blurred her vision as she stared at the couch, at the spot where Wallflower had been while he assaulted her. It was her fault, wasn’t it? She had released that memory. She had forced her friend to remember, to relive that horror all over again.

Sunset steadied her breathing. That wasn’t true. She may have released the memory from the stone, but she was not to blame for its existence. “I’m not leaving you here alone,” she said.

“W-would you just...” Wallflower gave Sunset a light shove. “Get out! Get out of my—out of my h-head...!” She stumbled back against the wall and slid down to the floor, her entire body heaving as she cried.

“Wallflower, I... I can’t.” Sunset knelt beside her. “I can’t make it go away, as much as I wish I could.” She sighed as she saw Wallflower’s tear-stained face. “And I can’t leave you.”

Wallflower didn’t respond. She sniffed, hiding her face behind her long hair.

“I’ll stay the night here, okay?” Sunset tried her best to smile.

“I-I don’t want to stay here,” Wallflower whispered, still looking away.

“Hmm?”

“It was r-right over there,” she said, glancing at the couch. “Where he... H-he...”

“Shhh.” Sunset sat against the wall beside her. “It’s alright. You can stay with me.”

Wallflower finally looked up, and her soft brown eyes were a mix of every emotion there was. Sunset held her hand out. “Okay?”

A whimper escaped Wallflower’s lips, and then another. After a moment, she touched her hand to Sunset’s, nodding. Her cries grew heavier, until she was sobbing again, and she leaned her head against Sunset’s shoulder.

They stayed there for a while, tucked against the wall as the sky grew darker and darker out the window. Sunset sighed, resting her head on Wallflower’s. She felt Wallflower squeeze her hand, and their fingers laced together.

“You can have the bed,” Sunset said as she opened the door to her apartment. “The couch is plenty comfy for me.”

Wallflower shuffled in behind her, keeping her head down. “Okay.”

Sunset closed the door behind them, locking it. Wallflower seemed to relax a bit as she looked around the room, but she didn’t say anything.

“Are you hungry?” Sunset asked.

“No, thank you.”

Sunset made her way to the fridge. “You haven’t had anything since the coffee shop,” she said. “I’ve got some carrots, if you want a light snack.”

Again, Wallflower shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“Alright, well...” Sunset pulled out the bag of baby carrots. “I’m gonna munch on these. Feel free to have some.”

“Mhm.”

The two of them sat on the couch, and Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “So the kitchen and bathroom are down here on the bottom floor, the bed’s up on the loft, and, uhhh...” She glanced over at Wallflower, who was lying back against the couch cushions, and immediately realized she wasn’t listening.

“Wallflower?” Sunset put her snack down. “Can you, uhm... Can you promise me something?”

Wallflower sat up a bit. She briefly made eye contact with Sunset, then she turned away without a word.

With a sigh, Sunset continued. “This is going to be really, really hard. And it’s going to be hard for a long time. There are going to be a lot of moments where you don’t want to keep going, and...”

Wallflower sat up again, and Sunset realized she had her attention. She took a deep breath. “Just, if you ever feel like that, like you want to... To hurt yourself, or to g-give up...” Sunset let out a shuddering exhale. “Promise that you’ll talk to me first, okay?”

Sunset watched her friend, looking for any sign of an answer in Wallflower’s empty eyes. She had seen her go from completely blank to screaming to nothing in just the short time since the memory returned. Sunset needed to be sure, despite those ups and downs, that Wallflower would refrain from doing something she couldn’t take back.

When Wallflower nodded, Sunset realized she had been holding her breath. She heaved a sigh. “Thank you,” she said. She reached for her carrots when she heard Wallflower tentatively speak up.

“Uhm...”

“Yes?”

Wallflower stared at the food in Sunset’s hand. “Can I have one?”

Sunset smiled. “Of course,” she said. “In fact, you can have more than one.”