Walking the Moonlit Path

A cool breeze greeted her beyond the archway leading out into the castle grounds. It was nightfall. The sun had long since made its departure with the promise of returning tomorrow.

Gods, she hoped not.

How she'd managed to make this far was a question she'd persistently asked herself as she passed the series of stationed guards leading out.

She was certain that they had to have been aware of what transpired, she'd made quite the fuss after all, but no. Somehow she'd failed to draw the attention of Celestia's most astute and well-trained guard.

She wanted to laugh.

If she'd succeeded, would they have not noticed her disappearance? Would it take Celestia's return to seek answers?

Hilarious.

So why did she feel like curling up into a ball and hoping the night would last forever?

She resisted the urge to sigh; a futile attempt to hold onto what dignity she may have left.

She should have been grateful she wasn't spending the night pacing in a cell, dreadfully waiting for the Princess' return. She'd seen her upset before, always with restraint, so what would she be like twenty meters underground, out of the presence of the public eye, and in the presence of a seven year experiment gone awry?

It wouldn't be pretty.

A scathing look would be the least of her problems, if that alone didn't turn her into ash. She'd be told how much of a failure she was, and how she'd be lucky to see the light of her former mentor's star ever again.

In a sick, twisted sort of way, she kind of wished that would still end up being the case. At least then she'd finally hear the truth.

But, no, here she was moving aimlessly through the fields of well-kept grass, a free mare.

It felt like a slap to the face.

Was she really so weak and powerless that the guard didn't need to bother keeping an eye on her now? Had Celestia simply waved off their concerns before her leave?

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head at the thought.

Trudging on, her eyes traced the landscape before her. She vaguely took in the overlapping trees, their leaves bristling in tune with the breeze. The flora, most of which she couldn't name, an assortment of blues, pinks and oranges, trailed along the well-kept path.

It set her teeth on edge, her jaw clenched hard enough to hurt.

Oh, but that wasn't all: statues—most of those she could name, but only because they seemed to symbolize some importance about harmony or something equally stupid Celestia had—

Her ears swiveled at the sound of laughter. She stood stock still for a moment, listening as it seemed to echo everywhere and nowhere all at once, before fading away.

Like a mirage.

She shook her head, rubbing her still aching temple. She must be going crazy. Overexerting oneself by stretching the limits of what they're capable of in thaumaturgy was liable to do that to anypony, even her.

She kept moving, but not before glancing back one more time just to be sure she wasn't being tracked.

She wasn't scared—she still had some magical reserves left after all. In any case, they'd be foolish to challenge her.

She took a steading breath, but no relief came.

The imposing height of the hedges passed her by in a myriad of twists and turns, beckoning her forward with a promise of losing her way in a vast maze. But as appealing as the thought sounded, she knew it wouldn’t last... Celestia would burn it to the ground in search of her for one reason or another, and even if she didn’t, well, Sunset wasn’t too keen on starving to death.

She kept moving.

Beyond the maze, in her daze, just down a simple ways, she found floral displays deserving of being razed—Gods she was tempted to set it all ablaze.

Dancing in the moonlight, mocking her with their display, it was all so infuriating. Her eyes lingered for a moment before settling on the clearing up ahead: a fountain at its center surrounded by tangled vines, with white lilies extending forward from them as if to further taunt her.

"Um, excuse me."

Sunset froze. Were the flowers speaking to her?

Maybe she had lost her mind. Also, was it possible they could sigh? Because she was pretty certain they had done just that—

A clatter to her right; Sunset practically jumped out of her coat. "Uh, are you alright?" the voice asked.

When her senses caught up to her, Sunset analyzed: a mare, green coat, darker green mane, freckles...

Was she wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat in the middle of the night?

Sunset took a wide defensive stance with her head lowered towards the odd pony. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The other mare gave her an owlish blink, her features unchanged, which only further served to irritate Sunset. She should be tripping on herself trying to spout out something, anything, but she just sat there, unbothered.

Sunset opened her mouth, about to give her a piece of her mind, when finally, the other mare responded. "Wallflower Blush," she said simply, rubbing her leg, before adding, "We've met before."

Sunset wracked her brain, all neurons screaming at her, but no memories came to mind. Was this another lie, a trick? How many more did she have to suffer through in a single day?!

"Do you take me for a fool?" Sunset scoffed, her scowl fierce. "Tell me who you are really, or I'll…" She paused. What could she do? Her magic was nearly spent.

The other mare didn't know that though.

"...Have you thrown into the dungeons, where you'll be interrogated, and I'll find out who you really are. By force if necessary." She allowed herself a devious smirk. That would get this mystery mare squirming, surely.

'Wallflower' just stared for a moment, her eyes settling below where Sunset stood. Her mouth creased ever so slightly. "You're standing on the stem of a marigold." She pointed behind Sunset, before adding, "Could you move, please?"

Sunset looked behind, lifting her leg as she did so. Sure enough, there was the marigold, half crushed by her careless hoofsteps.

Wait, why did she care? She was tempted to stomp on it; grind it into dust to put the apathetic mare in her place. Maybe she'd finally show some semblance of fear—or any emotion for that matter!

Sunset let out an agitated grunt, deciding it wasn't worth the effort. She stepped forward, her head still lowered, her eyes ablaze. "Answer. The. Question."

Wallflower brought her eyes back up to meet hers. She blew a stray hair away, her features remaining unchanged, before finally saying, "Again, um, hey, I'm Wallflower Blush."

Sunset's eyes twitched. She took a step forward, but Wallflower stood there unabashed and added, "I'm one of the gardeners here."

Another step.

"Princess Celestia introduced us once."

That broke Sunset out of her murderous trance. "What? I don't... No...?" Sunset scrunched her face. She wanted to argue, wanted to disprove her. The only problem was that Celestia did tend to try and nudge her to meet others, to befriend them, emphasis on the try.

She supposed it was plausible she'd simply forgotten her. There was nothing seemingly remarkable about her after all: a gardener. And... one that had a dead potted plant for a cutie mark?

Okay, maybe she had met her. Sunset only kept track of potential useful assets, or threats. Everyone else was disposable. She was wasting her time even talking to her—

Wait, was Wallflower ignoring her!?

Wallflower, apparently tired of Sunset’s antics, had chosen to pick up a trowel and was now working on digging up a plant off to her side.

She was ignoring her. How dare she?

Sunset's jaw locked in place, face beet red as she thought of every possible scenario she could get away with the unthinkable.

She knew murder wasn't legal, but did it count if the recipient was a nobody?

She was tempted to find out.

"Hey!"

Wallflower paused momentarily to give her a withering look before resuming her digging through the soil.

That's it.

Sunset felt a surge rising, her horn sizzling to life. She concentrated her magic into one point, her eyes closed, her teeth clenched. She'd turn that stupid little withering pothead into—

Cold water splashed all over her, her magic fizzing out with a whimper as she spluttered from the shock to her system.

"I didn't want to do that, but I can't have you going around destroying her garden," Wallflower said with a firm glare as she set the pail aside.

Sunset blinked rapidly, her mouth agape. Thoughts raced, all colliding with one another like a series of trains crashing into Canterlot station, utterly derailed...

Wallflower's disdainful glare faltered, before dissipating altogether. "Sorry," she said, glancing behind her before turning back to Sunset. "Look, Sunset, I don't know what your deal is, and why you seem to have it out for me—you don't even remember me..." She let out a sigh before continuing, "But I have a long night ahead of me. Several plants need transplanting, new ones need to take their place." She waved around them. "Most of what you see is getting relocated. Tonight," she emphasized by rubbing an eye, exhaustion apparent.

Suddenly, Sunset's hindlegs gave out, her strength feeling all but sapped from her as she fell on her rump.

Wallflower's brows furrowed; reluctantly, almond eyes met cyan, searching.

Sunset open maw closed after a brief pause, she blinked. Listlessly she stared back, thoughts starting to become coherent.

She wished they hadn't.

Failure.

A sickeningly predominant thought that outweighed all others. Anger stood no match and was washed out by the icy grip of the former, and only then did she realize how cold she really felt.

She shivered.

Wallflower took notice. "Um, hey, I got some towels in the greenhouse, let me go grab them—"

"I'm fine," Sunset interjected, but cringed at her own voice. Her intention to sound demanding came out more like a pathetic croak.

Wallflower bit her lip, hesitation apparent. "I'll be right back," she said, mind made up as she took off in a hurry.

"I'm fine—" Sunset tried once more with a bit more spite, but her voice petered out when she noticed her demands had once more been completely and utterly ignored.

Shet let out a breath of disbelief; a chuckle burbled out of her but she felt completely disconnected from it.

Great, she thought. Just fantastic. Wonderful.

She was starting to wonder if perhaps she was just having a nightmare. A very long lasting, vivid nightmare, one in which she could feel the bite of the night...

Another bitter laugh escaped her lips.

How had everything gone so completely wrong?

Before her mind could derail and relay everything that had happened in vivid detail for the sixtieth time, she felt something wrap around her shoulders, her eyes catching a glimpse of cotton overhanging her.

Wallflower stepped around and gave her a look over. She fidgeted in place for a moment, a hoof tracing the dirt absentmindedly. When Sunset looked up, her eyes meeting hers, Wallflower froze, her eyes immediately looking away before she said, “Okay, um, let me know… let me know if you need anything.” She winced, and after a bit of hesitation, moved back to the plot of dirt she’d been digging.

What was up with this mare?

"Thanks," Sunset said, her voice quiet.

Then she blanched, eyes popping out as she realized what she'd just said.

Why are you thanking her you idiot!?

Wallflower stared back in surprise, before shrugging. "Sure," she said simply, before grabbing the trowel and digging once more.

Sunset opened her mouth as she thought of how she could take back the empty gratitude she'd given—she clearly didn't mean it—but nothing substantial in how she could accomplish that came to mind.

She groaned.

Whatever, it's not like it matters anyway. After tonight, nothing does. My life is ruined.

She clicked her tongue, attempting to dismiss the thought, but it was pervasive and becoming more convincing by the moment.

With a sigh, she eyed the towel she'd been given, lit up her horn and got to work drying herself off. No point in being devastated and cold.

Funny that. Another dark chuckle. As she continued through the motions, she glanced upwards and she froze at the sight of the moon.

Huh, was it always this bright?

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Sunset's head shot over to the voice; Wallflower winced as their eyes met, and she fumbled with the potted plant she lifted into the wagon.

Sunset snickered. "Yeah, it's alright," she admitted with a wry grin. “Beats the sun anyway.”

Wallflower's ears perked up. She glanced up at the moon with Sunset, the beginnings of a smile graced her.

Sunset rolled her eyes. This peace and tranquility stuff was never really her cup of tea— but then, neither was tea. She started working on drying her tail to have something else to focus on.

"Have you ever thought, or... um..." Wallflower trailed off, her face scrunched up.

"Hmm, yeah, I think I've had thoughts," Sunset sarcastically remarked, pretending to be lost in them as she nodded along.

"No! I mean, ugh... I'm not used to this," Wallflower grumbled, her cheeks flushing.

"Used to what? Talking? Using your brain?" Sunset jabbed as she shook each hind leg, droplets of water flinging off.

Wallflower threw her a nasty look, but it quickly folded into more of a pitiful pout. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

"Probably, yeah," Sunset admitted with a shrug.

"I was just going to ask—you know what? Never mind," Wallflower sighed. "Don't know why I even bother..." Wallflower worked on the next plant, this time facing away from Sunset. Her trowel dug into the soil with more force than before.

Good, I didn't want to hear you babble on anyway... Sunset thought, rolling her eyes at the back of this annoying little drama queen.She turned away, deciding to no longer pay Wallflower any mind as she continued to dry herself.

The silence, although welcome at first, soon became her thought's accomplice, leading her down the same rabbit hole she kept finding herself shoehorned into.

Her mind's vision dealt its hand: a featureless fate. No destiny, no ascendence, no wings. Just the sun setting on her life, without warmth or peace. A meaningless end to a meaningless existence.

A failure.

Just Celestia's little puppet, dangling at the end of her strings for the rest of her life. If she were lucky.

And if she wasn't? Well, she supposed being locked in a cell wouldn't be too bad, there'd be no pretending in being a failure then.

There was that word again. Failure.

The thoughts kept rolling, keeping her stationary. She didn't realize she was starting to shake, her breathing starting to pick up pace.

Just a failure, forever and ever—no way out, no way forward.

It drove her mad, she couldn't stand it, anything was better than being stuck with her thoughts.

She wiped the accumulating sweat off as her gaze shot over to the other mare, but the petulant little gardener was still ignoring her.

Failure.

"Hey..." Sunset trailed off, her voice hitched.

What are you doing? Her mind asked. Just leave.

And go where!? she shot back, frustration and panic starting to take hold.

The gardener stood up and moved the next potted plant to the wagon, but otherwise paid her no mind.

A flash took hold of her mind; an endless upstream river, her at the bottom chained and drowning.

Shit, what was her name... Wa-Wall—LEAVE.

She wiped another bead of sweat, her eyes scanned the other mare, looking for anything, after a moment they landed on her hindquarters: that dead potted plant cutie mark.

No, it wasn’t just a plant. It was a flower.

"Wallflower," she tried again, now biting her lip. How'd I even forget that? She said it twice.

Because it doesn't matter!

Failure.

Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP. SHUT UP!

"What?" Wallflower grumbled, wincing as she dug a bit too deep, too quickly, striking the roots.

"I..."

Who's the idiot who can't talk now?

"Moon!" she shouted.

What?

That got Wallflower's full attention. She turned around and gave her a look of confusion. "Huh?"

Sunset blushed in annoyance, wanting to hit herself for her stupidity.

Got to commit now, Einsteed.

"I—ugh. Okay..." Sunset took a deep breath, dispelling her inner turmoil, if only for a moment. "You wanted to say something—" she waved her hoof around "—we were looking at the moon. What was it?" This is stupid...

Wallflower narrowed her eyes. "Alright, what gives? You show up out of nowhere, harass me for doing my job, call me stupid—"

"I never directly said that—"

"And then you try to destroy the plants in her garden for... for what? Giving you my name? Because you forgot me?"

Sunset grimaced. She wasn't planning on destroying the plants, but she couldn't deny the possibility as an indirect consequence of her plan to... hurt her.

Wow, I really am a jerk, huh?

"And now, after being the biggest jerk in the history of ever, you care about knowing what I was going to say?" Wallflower stomped the ground in frustration. "I don't buy it! I don't buy you. Just..." She sighed, her head dipped low. "Just leave me alone."

Sunset opened her mouth but couldn't find her voice. A small, defiant part of her was furious and rebelling. It wanted to hurt, it wanted to smite.

You're right, I don't care! You were probably going to say something stupid anyway.

She bit her lip, preventing her tongue from lashing out.

Fine! Enjoy your stupid little project that'll get you nowhere in life and leave you completely unfulfilled.

She shook her head in an attempt to dispel the thoughts—a pointless endeavor.

Aww, are you going to cry? Lil' cry baby mare's feelings got hurt?

Her vision went blurry, concealing an already obscured world as she found herself too lost in the onslaught.

What a failure. I don't even know what Celestia saw in you in the first place.

They wouldn't stop. They wouldn't stop. They wouldn't stop—

Failure. Failure! FAILURE!

There was a voice, was it hers? Was she screaming? Was it a plea? Was it all in her head? Had she finally lost it after losing everything? Did it matter?

She felt a stir, was it herself? Was her body moving on its own, an automatic flight response to herself?

Another push, a voice deafening and silent; she didn't answer, how could she? She didn't have the answer. What was there to say? She failed, she failed and there was nothing she could do.

The voice again, this time she was sure it was a plea, but it didn't sound like her own.

Leave me alone. Leave me alone!

"Sunset!"

The exclamation lanced through Sunset like a perfectly chucked spear. Her head shot up with a gasp; eyes wide, but all the colors blended together, green being the primary smudge in her worldview.

A sniffle—wait, was that her own? She rubbed her eyes, feeling moisture there. Tears

Something warm touched her shoulder, causing her to wince. She looked up, her view much more clear: Wallflower, face full of concern—no pity, was looking down at her.

As Sunset stared into those almond eyes, no response came to mind. Nothing did.

So she did the only reasonable thing she could.

She ran.