Homesick Garden
by The Sleepless Beholder
First published
Sunset approaches Wallflower with an curious request that may spark something in both girls
A few weeks after the Memory Stone was destroyed, Wallflower felt like her life had settled into something approaching normalcy for a time, but right when this new lifestyle seemed to be coming to an end, Sunset Shimmer approaches her with a request that may change a lot of things.
The question would be if Wallflower will allow her to get closer.
Written for \o/ Scampy's SunFlower Shipping Contest \o/ and a sort of love letter to what the ship has brought into my life. Hope you enjoy!
PS: Almost everyone who writes Sunflower has made this joke, I just wrote a story around it. This is your fault.
Borages and Candytufts
Sunlight shone through the small clearing in the forest where Wallflower Blush had started her previously secret garden, illuminating her collection of different flowers and plants, helping them gain their needed sustenance.
The gardener herself was observing the usual phenomenon from one of the stone benches the new members of the gardening club had helped her build along with a small shed and a workbench. It took a couple of days of hard work, but it made their activities far easier, and accommodated the new members.
Wallflower was so happy to have someone else to share her passion with, but as it was usual by now, it faded rather quickly. Exam-season had started, and the new members of the club couldn’t find the time to keep coming to work on the garden, leaving her alone once more.
They promised to return once exam-season ended, but she knew they would probably find some new activity that would be more appealing than gardening. She absolutely loved working on the earth with the flora that the world provided, and most people loved seeing the colorful end result, but gardening was dirty, sweaty, fertilize-stenched hard work. It was a difficult sell, and one of the reasons Wallflower sympathized with Fluttershy’s similar dilemma with her animal shelter.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, gathering the scent of her favorite place in the world, Wallflower felt her pains and laments melt away as she relaxed. Even if alone, she could find a bit of peace and respite from the world here.
But it quickly faded when she heard a familiar voice approaching.
“Hello? Wallflower?”
The gardener opened her eyes, wishing that her brain was wrong about who had arrived, but her vision confirmed it.
Standing at the entrance of her garden, was Sunset Shimmer.
“Hi Sunset,” Wallflower said as she stood up from the stone bench, her voice not having even a hint of bitterness. Her days of hating Shimmer were behind her, and the flame-haired girl had offered her hand in friendship, but her presence was far from calming to her, and the friendship currency was overinflated by now. “How can I help you?”
Sunset fidgeted a little before responding. “Well, I do need a favor, but first, how have you been doing?”
Wallflower cocked her head slightly, noticing the unusual stance the fiery girl had. “I’m… okay. I was just relaxing a bit. You?”
“Oh, the same as always. Dealing with exams, going to band practice, having interdimensional-chats with pony princesses,” Sunset answered a bit more relaxed.
“Honestly, even after all that happened, that still sounds a bit weird,” Wallflower confessed with a small smile.
“I could say the same about these.” Sunset showed her hands and flexed her fingers. “I’m still getting surprised by how many uses they have.”
Wallflower let out a small chuckle, also relaxing into the conversation. “Yeah, they’re very practical. I bet magic beats them tough.”
Sunset made a ‘meh’ gesture with her hand. “It’s more practical in some ways, but you also can’t feel what you’re doing. Doing precise things is harder with magic without the muscle memory, and you need to be specific with what you order your magic to do or you could end up ruining your work or getting some unnecessary strain.”
Wallflower nodded, feigning knowing what she was talking about. “What favor did you need?”
Sunset started fidgeting again. “Well, if it isn’t too much to ask, I wanted you to… grow some flowers for me?”
Wallflower’s eyebrow started to rise. “I… could do that. But I could also point you to some flower shops I can recommend.”
“No, I would prefer if you grew them yourself.” Sunset tapped her fingers against her thighs. “Is that a weird thing to ask?”
Wallflower crossed her arms. “It takes like seven weeks for a flower to bloom from seed. If you really want them from me, I can give you some from my garden. Did you have a specific kind in mind?”
“Well, if it’s possible.” Sunset tapped the tips of her fingers. “Borage, Candytuft, Abatina, Marjoram, Hydrangea, and please tell me you have Honeysuckle.”
Wallflower stared at Sunset for a few seconds. “I… don’t, but I do have Borage and Candytuft.” She shook her head. “Sorry, but, again, why not get them at a flower shop?”
Sunset looked away, scratching the back of her neck, and spoke almost too quickly. “I just want to know how to grow them.”
Wallflower blinked twice. “Wait, you want me to teach you?”
Sunset did the same. “Yeah... You teach all the members of the club, right?”
Wallflower raised her hands. “Okay, so, you want to join the gardening club?” Sunset nodded with the articulation of a rusty hinge. “Why didn’t you start with that?” The gardener placed the tip of her fingers against her temples. Sunset Shimmer did not act like this, at least as far as she knew.
Her brain started to make microwave noises as she tried to figure out what was really happening, until there was a ding.
She looked at Sunset straight in the eyes, which were darting around nervously. “Sunset, are you asking me to grow flowers for you, so you can eat them?”
Sunset said nothing, and just stood frozen in place for a few long seconds, until she finally answered.
“Yes.”
Wallflower drummed her fingers against her thighs, looking away from Sunset, and then backpedaled back to her bench. “Please sit, this’ll take me a minute.”
Sunset did as she was told, keeping some distance from the gardener, and patiently waited for an answer.
“Okay, horse-girl wants to eat flowers. That's understandable, but, why me?” Wallflower turned her head towards Sunset. “What’s the real reason you can’t order them in a flower shop?”
Sunset played with her thumbs. “I tried at first, but… how to explain it?... It’s like the difference between the food served at a restaurant and the one that’s delivered to your house from the same place.”
“I haven’t been to a restaurant in years,” Wallflower confessed.
“Oh...” Sunset stopped playing with her thumbs. “Well, there’s a difference in taste. It’s better if they come directly from the ground.”
Wallflower thought for a second. “What about potted plants?”
“Those are good too, but they’re a bit expensive over time, and I get a lot of questions from the shop owners.” Sunset remembered the happy faces of the florists morphing into concern as she slowly depleted their stock of flowers. At first they assumed she was really bad at keeping flowers alive, and tried to give her advice before her next purchase. Sunset felt awful for wasting all their efforts. Later they became suspicious about her intentions, and some refused to sell her any more.
“And Equestria?” Wallflower proposed in a vain hope that she could squeeze out of the offer.
Sunset chuckled. “Flowers are valued in gold over there. And I don’t have the face to ask Twilight for them.”
“So you asked me,” the gardener thought internally. She was running out of options to deny Shimmers’s request. Seeing each other at school and even some small talk here and there was fine, but Sunset was far down the list of people she wanted to join her club.
Of course, she could just invent some excuse to deny her request, or even just say no, but Wallflower felt in debt to Sunset. She had tried, and temporarily succeeded, to ruin her life.
Sunset had forgiven her, but the action lost meaning when she considered how often it happened.
“Okay, since you would join the club, I’ll do it. ” Wallflower turned to face Sunset. “How much do you eat?”
The redhead's cheeks reddened with embarrassment as she raised her hands. “It’s just like a snack. I’m not expecting a full course meal!”
Wallflower couldn't hold back a chuckle. This secret side of Sunset was more comfortable for her. “Maybe this won’t be so bad.” The gardener stood up from the bench. “What do you know about gardening?”
“Uh… nothing really,” Sunset admitted as she stood up.
“Well, I’ll teach you the basics. Payment comes after it.”
With that said, Wallflower gave Sunset a quick tour of the garden, mentioning what had been planted and what care the plants needed during this season. She noticed the leather-wearing girl eyeing the Borages a bit more intently than the rest, but other than that, Sunset paid attention and absorbed everything she said.
Wallflower found a bit of relief in how diligent Sunset was being, even her new members had a bit of a learning curve to go through, but the redhead learned rather quickly.
“I guess it makes sense since she had to adapt to our world in a few days.” the gardeneer thought as she finished her tour. “The main jobs you’ll need to do will be trimming, taking out weeds, and helping me plan and prepare future expansions to the garden. Those will include your snacks.”
Sunset nodded with a smile. “Got it.”
Wallflower looked at the sky, checking the position of the sun. “It’s a bit late for today, but we can continue tomorrow after classes.”
“Okay. I’ll bring some clothes that can get dirty.”
“Exam-season won’t get in the way?”
Sunset placed a hand on Wallflowers shoulder, taking her by surprise. “I’ll be here,” she assured her, her voice carrying the same tone she had used when she forgave her.
The gardener watched her leave, feeling a familiar sensation return to her. An old question she asked herself constantly, even before getting the Memory Stone.
“Will they keep their promise?”
“You’re back,” Wallflower exclaimed when she saw Sunset arrive, wearing an old leather jacket ─because of course she was─ that had a few stains of paint, and old jeans which showed some wear and tear.
Sunset chuckled a bit nervously as she entered the garden. “You don’t need to sound so surprised.”
Wallflower shook her head. “Sorry, force of habit.” She took a deep breath and looked around the garden. “I bought the seeds for the plants you wanted. Though not all of them.”
“You couldn't get Honeysuckle.” Sunset stated more than asked.
Wallflower raised an eyebrow. “No... Was it hard for you to find before?”
“Yeah, I don’t know why but no one has it!” the redhead complained before sighing. “Thank you for doing this. I know it's pretty weird.”
Wallflower chuckled. “If weird really bothered me, I would’ve changed schools long ago.”
Sunset laughed. “We would’ve missed you.” Wallflower’s gaze turned towards the ground, and an uncomfortable silence grew between them. “Sorry… I-”
“It’s okay. Let's prepare the soil for your flowers.”
Sunset just nodded and walked behind her, following her instructions in silence, checking that the dirt didn’t have any weeds growing and making sure the plants would get proper spacing before digging the holes.
Wallflower welcomed both the extra hands and the peaceful silence. The less she talked with Sunset the better for both of them. There was no reason to scratch healing wounds.
But Sunset rarely listened to reason. Probably a side effect of being friends with Pinkie and Rainbow.
“Hey...”
“Please don’t say sorry again,” Wallflower begged in her head.
“Where’re the other members of the club?”
“Okay, a bit better.” The gardener kept working as she answered. “They’re studying for the next exams.”
“Oh. I guess they need the extra time.”
Wallflower turned to Sunset. “And you?”
“Exams are easy,” she answered with a casual shrug and a little smirk. “What about you? Need some help?”
Wallflower resumed her work, looking away from Sunset. “No, I already studied most of the subjects of my exams.”
Sunset was surprised by the answer. “Really? Are you a secret genius?”
Wallflower sighed. “No, I just have a lot of free time.”
Sunset’s brain came up with a response, but she didn’t say anything. She felt like she had screwed up enough.
But then she thought “Third time’s the charm”.
“If you have free time, maybe I can invite you to one of those restaurants you never went to. As a thank you for all this.”
Wallflower froze for a moment. “Isn’t that a date?”
Sunset chuckled. “Not necessarily. It would be just us hanging out. What do you say?”
“No.” The gardener answered almost instantly. “I’ll be busy with your flowers and I’ve other stuff to do. Sorry.”
Sunset wanted to press on, but she knew it would be pointless. “Don’t worry, we can leave it for later.” The sigh of relief Wallflower let out after that only confirmed it.
They continued to work on the garden until it was starting to get late, so the gardener called it a day and went over to the Borages and Candytufts. “Wanna eat here or take away?”
Sunset tried to hide a bit of a blush with a small cough. It wasn’t very effective. “Just pluck them out and I’ll eat them on my way home.”
Wallflower was genuinely surprised by the response. “Oh. I guess it would be a bit embarrassing with someone looking at you.”
“Something like that.” Sunset laughed awkwardly as her friend gave her a small cluster of her desired flowers.
“Bon Appetit, I guess.”
Sunset’s blush deepened. “See you tomorrow.”
With that, the redhead fled the garden, and Wallflower waited till she was gone to let out a groan and throw herself down on the ground. “Maybe I should start meditating again.”
That night, Sunset was laying on her bed with her magical diary in hand.
“Hey Twilight, can I bother you for some advice?”
She waited a few minutes until a response came back.
“Sure, what do you need?”
“Well, I’m having difficulty reaching out to a friend.”
“Is it one of the girls?”
“No, it’s Wallflower.”
It took a bit of time for Twilight to respond.
“Who was that?”
Sunset frowned.
“The girl with the Memory Stone.”
“Oh, yeah. What’s the issue specifically?”
Sunset bit her pen as she gathered the words.
“I’m trying to be friends with her, but she seems guarded of me. Also, I’m messing up. Frequently. I think I’m just pushing her away even more each time I try to be friendly.”
“Well, I guess it’s to be expected.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow at that.
“Care to elaborate?”
“I’m guessing you expected it to be like when you befriended my human version, but this would be different. You and human-me already had a bit of a relationship, if what you told me is accurate, and her being like myself probably helped too.”
“You won’t be able to do the same with Whiteflower. You two had a bad start even before you truly knew her, so it’s to be expected that you don’t know how to act around her without triggering something in her that automatically makes her push you away.”
Sunset’s teeth had dented the back of the pen by the time she finished reading.
“How should I approach her then?”
“I don’t think I should just give you the answer. You should discover it yourself.”
Sunset’s frown was accompanied by a small, irritated grumble.
“That’s some real sage advice, Twiggy.”
“I learned it from Celestia.”
Sunset rolled her eyes.
“One of the very few things she teaches.”
There was a small pause before the next response.
“Are you okay, Sunset?”
“Just tired. I’ll tell you how it goes tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good luck Sunset!”
Sunset closed the diary, ignoringTwilight’s response, and went to sleep.
Abatinas
The next day Wallflower let Sunset work on her own over one half of the garden while she busied herself with the other half. She hoped that the distance between each other would help avoid unnecessary interactions, but she never was so lucky.
“Can I ask you a question?” Sunset called out as she worked.
“Shoot.”
“Do you have other hobbies besides gardening?”
Wallflower sighed. “Sorry if it’s boring.”
“I didn't mean it like that!” Sunset quickly clarified. “I was just curious about what else you did in your spare time.”
Wallflower took a few seconds to think, deciding what she would share with her. “She’s artistic, so maybe...” She cleared her throat. “Well… I sometimes like... writing.”
Sunset smiled. “Really? What do you write?”
Wallflower shook her head before delving back into her work. “Just dumb stuff.”
Sunset felt her starting to wall up, so she changed tactics. “I draw superhero comics.”
Wallflower stopped working, and slowly turned around to face her. “You do?”
“Yeah. Little adventures with my friends saving the day with our magic powers,” Sunset explained with a small blush, and heard the green girl giggling. “Hey, don’t laugh!” She shouted with a smile.
“Sorry, it’s just-” Wallflower managed to compose herself. “-I didn't imagine you doing something like that. I always thought you would be painting some masterpiece in your spare time.”
Sunset sat upright, leaving her work aside. “I mean, sometimes, yeah. But I also like inventing little adventures with my friends.”
Wallflower also left her work behind. “I would’ve thought you got enough with real life adventures.”
“Comic book villains are easier to handle, and I can have some fun with scenarios we’re not normally in,” Sunset smiled, looking at Wallflower across the small field of Angelicas between them. “So, what do you write about?”
“I...” The gardener seemed to struggle choosing what to share first. “A bit of everything, I guess. I just get an idea stuck in my head and I write it down.”
“I totally get that. I have a detailed painting of an empty soda can I found near the bus stop. I don’t know why, but it nageed inside my head until I painted it!”
Wallflower covered her mouth as she laughed, drowning out the sound. “Can’t say I haven’t been in that same situation before.” She took a moment to compose herself before talking again. “I could bring some stories tomorrow if you want.”
“I would love to!” Sunset exclaimed, her smile beaming.
Wallflower chuckled again. “Okay, but if we’re going to spend time critiquing my writing, we need to do some of tomorrow's work right now.”
Almost instantly, Sunset went back to the dirt, pulling out weeds with speed and precision.
“She has a good eye for details,” Wallflower thought as she went back to work, a smile still on her lips.
The next day was a bit of a break for the two.
Sunset didn’t expect for Wallflower to appear with a box full of notebooks with various stories, and she also didn’t expect just how varied they were.
There was a story very ridiculous but funny story involving clowns and bonsai trees, a heartwarming holiday tale, one about magical girls and a weird cat-thing, one about two shy girls becoming friends, one about two giants in nature, an adorable first kiss story, a funny story about love at first sight, one about sky pirates, one that Sunset was completely sure she had written based on Equestria, one that Sunset found painfully relatable, one that felt a bit meta for some reason, one that almost brought her to tears, a comedic western, one that had Sunset laughing non-stop, one about the support friends can give, a tragic sci-fi story, one about a concert, one about a girl adopting a potentially dangerous pet, and many, many more stories, some incredibly beautiful.
Of course, there were other kinds of stories, darker ones, but Wallflower wasn’t ready to share those yet.
Sooner than they expected, the sun was starting to disappear over the horizon, but before they called it a day, Wallflower had a gift for Sunset.
“I think you said it would still be tasty if it was potted,” the gardener said as she pulled out the Abatina from a small hiding spot.
Sunset gasped. “You bought it for me?”
Wallflower snorted a bit at her reaction. “Yes, you asked me to get them for you.” The potted flower quickly changed hands. “And also as a thank you for your help.”
Sunset smiled, looking down at the flower like if it were a christmas gift, feeling its aroma tickling her nose. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Wallflower was starting to blush a little. She didn’t expect for Sunset to get this emotional about it. “Again, you asked me to.”
“It’s still a gesture of friendship.” Sunset thought before plucking the flower into her mouth, smiling as the flavor exploded on her tongue. It reminded her of home, of quiet mornings in the castle where she enjoyed a nice, quiet picnic in the gardens.
“It’s really something special for you, isn’t it?”
Sunset came back from her memories, looking at Wallflower with a bit of embarrassment before averting her gaze. “Yeah. It’s… something that reminds me of home.”
Wallflower placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. “I’ll see to get the rest on the list then.”
Sunset smiled, feeling more comfortable with the green girl. “Thank you.”
Soon after that, they both returned home in a better mood than previous times.
“Hey Twilight, your advice worked in the end.”
The response appeared in the diary after a few minutes.
“I’m happy to hear that! Did you patch things up with Whiteflare?”
“It’s Wallflower, and I think that yes, we’re in a better place now.”
Sunset tapped her pen against the side of the diary before adding.
“By the way, sorry if I was rude to you last time. I talked wrote without thinking straight.”
“It’s okay Sunset. I was just worried about if you were having more serious problems with her.”
“No, it was just me getting worried about nothing.”
“If you say so, but talk to me if it happens again, okay?”
“Thanks Twilight. Goodnight!”
“Goodnight Sunset.”
The redhead closed the book and left it at the side of her bed before going to sleep.
The next few days fell into a routine that extended a bit over two weeks. Sunset had started bringing her comics to the garden, sharing them along with a few more stories from Wallflower’s extensive library, and both of their hobbies started blending into each other when Sunset adapted a short story into a comic, and Wallflower wrote backstories for some of Sunset’s characters.
The flowers they planted had sprouted from the soil and now showed some healthy leaves, making Sunset all giggly, which Wallflower found adorable.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
Sunset set down the bag of soil she was carrying and turned to her friend. “Sure, what is it?”
Wallflower fidgeted a little. “Well, I always wondered… Do you practice your speeches?”
Sunset’s brain canceled all other non-vital functions as it processed the question. “What do you mean with speeches?”
Wallflower played with a ball of dirt like if it was a stressball. “You know. Friendship speeches. Sometimes you even do it in a song. You teach lessons so easily.” The dirt ball crumbled in her hand. “You always seem to know exactly what to say.”
Wallflower didn’t hear a response, but when she was about to take it all back, Sunset sat down at her side. “Well, it’s not like I learned those lessons the easy way. I don’t practice them, but I’ve lived through them.” Sunset hugged her legs, looking at the Gladiolus’ in front of her. “To be honest, I was terrified when I stood against the Sirens, or when Twilight started to tear reality apart, but I couldn’t just stand there, I needed to do something.”
Wallflower placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder, talking to her with a calming smile. “You were very brave in those moments.”
Sunset chuckled. “I guess I had to, but it doesn’t make it easy.”
“I can only imagine.”
They stayed together for a while, enjoying the light breeze that blew through the garden, making all the flowers dance in front of them.
Wallflower slowly retracted her hand from Sunset’s shoulder. “How does it feel to… pony up? Is that what you call it?”
Sunset looked up in thought. “It’s… like a rush of adrenaline, but calm. You don’t feel powerful exactly, the connection with your friends makes you feel a sort of… safeness. It brings a sense of tranquility, like whatever confronts you can’t truly hurt you. All your worries disappear for those brief minutes.”
Wallflower was looking at Sunset like she had just shared the secrets of the universe. “Wow… that… that sounds really special.” Her right hand unconsciously reached for the middle of her chest, like if she wanted to pull something out. Or maybe keep it in.
She suddenly felt her other hand being grasped by Sunset’s, making her freeze in place. It took her a moment to realize that Sunset was probably trying to read her mind, which made her panic even more and turn towards her, but the redhead was looking at her hand with a frown, like she was concentrating on something.
“Sunset?”
Sunset raised her head at the question, and when she saw Wallflower’s flustered face, she let go of her hand immediately. “Sorry! I was trying to see if I could share it with you.” She stammered quickly.
Wallflower turned away from her, holding her hand. “It’s okay, I just thought that… doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, think nothing of it,” Sunset agreed.
After some uncomfortable seconds of silence, they both slowly went back to their tasks, sharing no words until it was time to part ways.
Marjorams
Sooner than they expected, the exams arrived, and both Wallflower and Sunset had to leave their work at the garden to focus on them. It would be a little over a week, but Wallflower was worried that it could be the end of it. Even when she sat in front of her math test, her mind drifted back to the idea of Sunset never coming back.
“What am I thinking? Of course she’ll come back, she wants my flowers. Why am I so worried to begin with? Even if she doesn’t come back, things would only go back to normal.”
Wallflower let her pencil down on her desk as she completely zoned out from the rest of the world.
“Back to normal… why does that sound so sad all of a sudden?” Wallflower didn’t consider her normal life as joyful, but she had a lifestyle she had become accustomed to. It was comfortable enough, and her garden gave her peace when things got too difficult.
However, now that she had allowed Sunset to get closer, a part of her didn’t want to see her leave.
“Hey Wallflour, what's the answer to number nine?” someone asked her from behind.
“Minus sixty five-point thirty four,” Wallflower answered immediately, her mind snapping back to reality.
“She’ll come back. I just need to wait.” She focused on her test, doing some quick math before writing seventy three-point five as the answer to the ninth question.
Day by day, Wallflower waited to see Sunset again.
Well, that was a half-lie, she obviously saw Sunset in school many times, but it wasn’t the same as when they were in the garden, free of everything except for what they both enjoyed.
It was something special Wallflower didn’t feel she shared with anyone else, not even the other members of the club.
When the day finally arrived, Wallflower was sitting on one of the stone benches, fighting to remain conscious. She had barely slept last night, wrecked by the nerves of Sunset not coming to see her, no matter how illogical her fear was.
Checking her phone, she realized that she still had twenty minutes till Sunset’s last class ended, and despite her best efforts, she fell asleep nearly five minutes later.
When Sunset arrived at the garden and found Wallflower asleep on the stone bench, she found it impossible not to find the image anything but adorable.
“She looks so peaceful,” Sunset was about to wake her up, but a devious idea was whispered into her head by two voices that sounded very similar to Rainbow and Pinkie.
Looking around, she found some wild yellow Yarrows ─she would never damage Wallflower’s garden─ and plucked them out. Very slowly and carefully, she placed them on the sleeping gardener’s head, forming a small crown of golden, and spreading the extras randomly around it. Giggling to herself, Sunset pulled out her phone, ready to snatch a picture of the sleeping girl.
However, by the action of probably God himself, the clouds above them parted just enough for the sun to shine right on Wallflower’s eyes, waking her from her slumber.
The green girl squinted her eyes as she sat straight, and despite her clouded vision, she could never mistake the blazing hair in front of her. “Sunset, so happy to see you,” she exclaimed with a smile.
Sunset’s eyes rose from her phone, and when she saw Wallflower’s expression, the device fell from her hand.
She froze completely, her gaze focused only on the face of her friend. Her heart started beating faster, and something fluttered in her stomach. But the cause wasn’t the ‘cuteness’ she saw earlier, nor the way she looked with the crown of flowers on her head that made it seem like she was meant to wear it from the start.
It was the pure, bright, and sincere joy her smile beamed like the sun itself. And the knowledge that it was because of her that she felt that way.
“Are you okay?” Wallflower asked, snapping her of her stupor.
“Yes! Sorry, I...” Sunset moved her jaw uselessly, the words caught in her throat, so she awkwardly bent down to grab her phone and hide her dumbfounded expression.
“Okay...?” Wallflower said, confused by her friend’s reaction. “Sorry for falling asleep.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. You look-” Sunset suppressed the words she really wanted to use. “-tired.”
Wallflower coughed awkwardly. “Anyways, before we begin, I want-”
“Actually, can we raincheck today? I need to meet with Rarity and you look like you could use some rest.”
“Oh… okay.” Wallflower looked away, trying to hide her disappointment.
“I’ll skip my last class tomorrow and come earlier to make it up to you,” Sunset proposed, trying to bandage the wound she caused.
Wallflower shook her head. “You don’t need to.”
“I want to,” the redhead declared firmly, and Wallflower couldn’t help but smile again, multiplying the butterflies in Sunset’s stomach.
“Okay, but before you go, I have a present for you.” The gardener trotted to the shed and came back a few minutes later with a new potted flower in her hands. “I got some Marjoram for you.”
Sunset’s eyes brightened immediately, and made an effort to not let out any noise other than a gasp. “Thank you! You’re the best!” She grabbed the pot, holding it against her chest, and when she looked back at Wallflower, her smile threatened to melt something inside her. “Sorry for leaving, I swear tomorrow will be special.”
Wallflower saw the redhead retreat out of the garden, and despite seeing her leave, she couldn't help but feel happy that she showed up again, and even promised to come back.
She placed a hand against her chest, noticing how fast her heart was beating. “What did she mean by special?”
Suddenly, a yellow flower fell from her head, and she moved her hand to her hair, feeling the soft crown. “Uh? How did that get there?”
Rarity had received an urgent text from Sunset, practically begging her to meet at her house, so she had prepared some tea to calm the girl's nerves once she arrived, and twenty minutes later, she heard nervous knocks on her front door. When she opened it, Sunset let herself in, spotted the tea on the small table, and immediately drank her cup before crashing on one of the sofas.
Rarity, ever elegant, sat on the sofa opposite of Sunset’s, and simply asked. “Girl problems?”
Sunset noded, then shook her head, then nodded again. “It’s complicated.”
“Well, I’m all ears, darling.”
Sunset poured herself another cup of tea and drank it all before sighing. “Okay… remember when I dated Flash?” Rarity nodded. “Well, I... never felt anything for him.”
“I know that, you used him for popularity.”
“No. Wel,l yes, but.” Sunset drank more tea. “Apart from that, I didn’t feel anything for him, or anyone else at school. I just didn’t feel that...” Sunset’s left hand covered her face. “I don’t want to sound racist.”
Rarity cleared her throat to get her attention. “Sunset, take a deep breath. Count to ten. And let it out.” The redhead did as told, her body relaxing as she expelled the air from her lungs. “Now, get to the point, and we’ll go from there.”
Sunset took a sip of tea, more calmly this time, and talked slowly, careful with her choice of words. “I never felt any attraction, romantic or otherwise, from humans… until today.”
Rarity remained silent for a few seconds, and finally asked in a serious tone. “With who?”
“Wallflower.”
“...with who?” Rarity repeated, with more confusion this time.
“The president of the gardening club.” Rarity’s expression didn’t change. “The girl that took our memories!”
The fashionista raised a finger, pulled out her phone, sent one quick message, pocketed it, and returned to the conversation. “So, you fell in love with this girl?”
Sunset’s hand brushed her hair. “I guess? I’m not sure, I never felt like this before.”
Rarity leaned her head to the side. “Really?”
“Remember how I was before Twilight came over? It was worse in Equestria. The only bit of love I ever had came from Celestia, and even that ended horribly. Till recently.”
Rarity finally took a sip of her now slightly-cold tea as she thought. “Well, love is a complicated and messy affair, but it’s definitely worth pursuing if you think this girl can make you happy.”
“You think? A few weeks ago I could barely talk to her without making her mad! What if I screw it up again?” Sunset exclaimed, her arms flailing around in an attempt to make her message more clear.
“Sunset, you and all our friends work under the principle of giving second chances. If this girl didn’t push you away the first time you ‘screwed it up’, she won’t abandon you if you make silly mistakes.”
Sunset tapped her finger against her thighs but said nothing, drinking more tea instead.
“Darling, sorry to ask, but… do you really don’t see any of us as attractive?” Rarity questioned, hiding her expression behind her teacup. The redhead shook her head. “Not even Applejack?”
Sunset let out an annoyed sigh. “I’ve seen Rainbow and Pinkie naked enough times that I can tell you how each of them shave from the waist down. Nothing.”
Rarity put her tea down. “Well, you can call me at any time if you need help or just to talk about Willpower. I recommend just taking it slow, and see if she feels the same way about you.”
“It’s Wallflower,” Sunset corrected with a bit of annoyance.
“Apologies.”
The redhead let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, and thank you for the help.” She finished the last of her tea and tapped her fingers. “How can I tell if she likes me?”
Rarity simply smiled. “Trust me darling, you’ll know.”
They both continued talking for a while, quickly abandoning the subject and settling for their regular topics until Sunset left the house with a smile and another thank you.
When she was alone once more, Rarity quickly ran to her workshop and set up a little stage with lights, a long rack full of dresses, and a camera suspended on a tripod. By the time she finished, her doorbell ranged.
She fixed her hair, dusted her clothes, and opened the door, letting a fuming Rainbow Dash stomp inside.
“Told you~” Rarity sang, trying not to smirk too much.
“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow huffed as she threw away her clothes and grabbed one of the dresses from the rack, looking angrily at it. “Let’s get this over with.”
Hydrangeas
“Fucking irony,” Wallflower thought angrily, hiding inside the garden’s shed as rain poured from the sky. Sighing, she decided she might as well do what little work she could with the potted plants she had saved inside her shed, either because they needed to be protected from the elements, or because their spot in the garden wasn’t finished yet.
She grabbed a sprayer filled with water and got to work, but suddenly the door of the shed was kicked open, and Sunset Shimmer, with her leather jacket held above her head to remain as dry as possible, entered quickly before closing the door shut.
“Fucking irony don’t y-” Sunset’s words died in her throat when, while turning around to see the gardener, she spotted a pair of Hydrangeas Wallflower intended to gift her sitting on a table, and her mouth started to water.
Wallflower frowned at the blatant ignoring of her presence, and sprayed the redhead in the face with water before she could claim her prize. “At least say hi first!”
Her annoyance instantly disappeared when Sunset shook her head while retreating from the spray, snorting like a horse in a very realistic-sounding manner.
Wallflower’s cheeks bulged, desperately trying to hold it in, but it was futile. She started laughing really hard at the adorable action.
Sunset blushed with embarrassment as her friend laughed her ass off, but right when she was about to tell her to stop, Wallflower halted her laughter for a second, letting out a sound that could only be described as a socially awkward dolphin’s poor attempt at a mating call.
Sunset was immediately sent to her own fit of crazed laughter, doubling down and holding her belly. “What was that?!”
“I laugh weird!” Wallflower answered in the few moments she allowed herself to breathe. “What’s your excuse?!”
“I-” Sunset couldn’t stop laughing long enough to explain, so she decided to take it out of her system first, which was really hard since Wallflower kept wheezing like a dolphin.
After what felt like hours, they managed to calm down enough to talk. “I think I grew a six pack,” Sunset exclaimed, leaning against a table.
Wallflower sat down on the floor. “My sides hurt.”
Sunset took a deep breath to finish calming down, and looked at her friend. “Okay, so… What you heard is something that happens, luckily, very rarely. The, uh...”
“Realistic horse noises?” Wallflower offered with an amused smile.
Sunset chuckled. “Well, for you it would be realistic, in Equestria we call it ‘going primitive, or feral’. It’s like a genetic vestige of our ancestors.”
“Like us with apes?” Wallflower questioned. “Is there a pony equivalent of ‘the missing link’ between you and a Eohippus?”
“I don’t know what half of what you just said mean, but I’ll guess that you mean some genetic precursor to ponies. In that case, yes. So, ponies, and by extension I, start acting like that when some primal part of our brain activates by some sort of stimuli or situation. In my case...” Sunset’s profesional lecture started to fall apart as embarrassment took over. “It’s flowers… which even by Equestrian standards would be a bit weird.”
“I think it’s adorable!” Wallflower’s smile beamed, reddening Sunset’s cheeks. “I… I don’t have a cool reason for my laugh. My sister tried to beat it out of me when I was young and it didn’t work, so I guess I’m stuck with it.”
“Well, I think it’s adorable too.” Wallflower raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “I do!” Sunset exclaimed before pouting, managing to get a giggle out of the green girl.
Wallflower sighed and shook her head. “Fine, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re being honest. Please don’t go around telling others again.”
Sunset laughed. “I would never… oh...”
Wallflower covered her face with her hand when she realized what she said. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
Sunset sighed. “It’s okay, it’ll always be part of my past. I’m sorry for making fun of you.”
“You don’t need to apologize for that,” Wallflower assured her, ignoring the angry voice in her head offering alternatives for her to apologize over.
They both remained in silence for a few seconds, until Sunset offered her hand to Wallflower. “What should we do today? The rain’s still falling .”
The gardener took her hand and was lifted from the ground. “There isn’t much to do really. You can take your flowers and leave if you want.”
Sunset looked at the Hydrangeas, feeling their scent tickling her nose, and ignored them. “They can wait, and I didn’t run under the rain to just go back home. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
Wallflower gave her a flat look, and sprayed her face with water again.
“¡Hey!” Sunset protested, letting out an angry horse-snort, and heard her friend laughing again. “You’re gonna pay for that!” She reached for the sprayer, but Wallflower ducked below her and sprayed her again, making her laugh. “I’m gonna shove that up your nose!” Wallflower exited the cabin, into the rain, and Sunset followed.
They spent the rest of the day running around the garden, slipping on the mud, spraying each other uselessly with more water, and laughing before settling under the relative safety of a tree, even though both of their clothes were covered in mud and grass.
As they rested against the tree trunk, watching the garden under the gentle rain, Sunset got an idea. “Hey, can I bring a canvas and some painting supplies tomorrow?”
Wallflower snapped out of her thoughts, noticing that she was slowly leaning closer to her. “Uhm, yeah, no problem. What do you want to paint?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “What could it be?”
Wallflower tried to spray her again, but the sprayer was empty. And missing its container.
They both laughed and continued looking at the rain, until it finally stopped and they could go back home.
By the next day, the garden had managed to absorb the extra water and seemed more vibrant than ever, or at least that was what Sunset thought as she set up the canvas right beside the workbench.
“Do you need any help?” Wallflower asked as she retrieved her tools from the shed.
Sunset turned to her and smiled. “Don’t worry, just do your normal rounds while I paint. Sorry for not helping today.”
“Not a problem. I can handle it,” Wallflower assured her before starting to work, and Sunset did the same.
Sunset started with a rough sketch of the garden, leaving a part of it blank, and once she felt confident she could copy the look of the flowers later, she set her eyes on her true objective: The green girl currently sitting on her knees in front of the Carnations.
Quick glances and good memory aided in her efforts of immortalizing the gardener working on her passion, and Sunset started to ask questions inside her mind. “Will she like it? Should I add that crown of flowers? Maybe I should add some detail to her clothes? ‘A little flare’ as Rarity puts it.” Then, Wallflower wiped her brow with her forearm, and Sunset’s questions became vocal. “What is that?”
Wallflower immediately pulled down her sleeve, hiding her barely exposed forearm. “Nothing.”
“I’m sure I saw something,” Sunset countered.
“It’s nothing.” Wallflower insisted, turning away from her. “Just an old mistake.”
Sunset’s concern was palpable, but she knew better than just try and pry open a problem. “Okay, if you say it’s nothing, I’ll believe you. But I want you to know that you can talk with me if something happens. That’s what friends are for.” Wallflower didn’t respond, pretending to not have heard her while she worked, but Sunset could guess what was in her mind. “I care about you. You know it’s true.”
Wallflower stopped, remaining silent for a few seconds before ditching her tools and letting out a sigh. “Just don’t tell anyone else, okay?”
“Pinkie Promise,” Sunset declared, leaving her canvas as she walked up to the sitting gardener.
Wallflower, still with her back to Sunset, rolled up both sleeves and, very slowly, turned around.
Susnet’s eyes widened. “No way...”
Starting from around the beginning of her wrists, an inky green stem gradually uncoiled up her forearms till it reached her elbows, and beautiful Lotus Flowers bloomed along them, covering almost all of her skin with vibrant purples, blues and whites.
“You have tattoos?!” Sunset exclaimed, flabbergasted.
“Because of a mistake,” Wallflower clarified, pulling her sleeves back down, but Susnet stopped her.
“Why a mistake? They’re beautiful!” The redhead was genuinely confused by her friend's aversion to the ink in her arms. “Tell me how you got them.”
“They… I...” Wallflower let out an exasperated sigh. “It was my sister.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You’ve a sister?”
“I do. We don’t talk about her.” Wallflower managed to pull her arms away from Sunset’s grasp. “She pressured me into getting them so I could…” She pulled down sleeves as far as she could. “You know... Stand out. She thought that if I had something that attracted attention and broke the ice, I would be forced to talk to people and get rid of my social awkwardness or however you want to call it.”
Sunset pulled the sleeves back up. “But why are you hiding them now? Your friends would be amazed by them.”
Wallflower shook her head. “They don’t fit me. I’m just wearing it like a second sleeve.” She sighed. “And my mother will kill me when she finds out I have them.”
Sunset frowned. “You’re old enough to make your own decisions. Why should you be afraid of her?”
“It’s not her that I’m afraid of.” Wallflower buried her face on her hands. “It’s complicated. Please, just, forget about it.”
Sunset pulled her hands away so she could see her in the eyes. “Listen, despite how unfair it feels that you got tattoos before me, the supposed bad girl revel-” That managed to get a chuckle out of Wallflower. “-I not only think that they’re beautiful, but they do fit you perfectly. Just look around you. All of this exists because of you. Because of your hard working hands. So of course flowers would grow out of them.”
Wallflower giggled a bit more humorously. “Are you going to cheeze me into liking them?”
Sunset grinned. “I’m gonna cheeze the truth into you.”
Wallflower started laughing. “That barely makes any sense!”
Sunset laughed with her. “But I mean it! You shouldn’t hide them, they’re part of you. If you showed them, people would find you even more beautiful.”
Wallflower’s negative retort was stopped by the blush on her cheeks. “You think so?”
Sunset nodded. “Absolutely.”
Wallflower’s face was completely red. “You think… maybe I could...” She stammered nervously. “Get a girlfriend?”
Sunset’s opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came from it. She froze completely at the realization of where the conversation had turned to. “Is she suggesting…?” She thought with internal panic. ”“I… of course you… I...”
“Wallflower!” a familiar voice shouted from the garden’s entrance, and the green girl immediately pulled down her sleeves. They turned around, and saw the grey figure of Muffins walking up to them. “Sorry for coming in late, we had to go pick up one of the new members.”
“New members?” Wallflower questioned, and looking behind Muffins, she saw Rose coming with her two sisters.
Sunset chuckled and closed the green girl’s jaw. “Looks like your club is gaining popularity.”
“Hey Sunset, I’m surprised to see you here,” one of Rose’s sisters said as they catched up to them.
The redhead smiled. “I-”
“She came to work on an art project.” Wallflower interjected.
Muffins cocked her head to the side. “Oh, I thought she had joined the club.”
Again, Wallflower spoke before Sunset could explain. “I was just teaching her the basics, she was going to take some potted Hydrangeas I have in the shed.”
Sunset was beyond confused. “What’s happening?” She was about to question Wallflower about it, but decided that doing it in front of the others would only make things worse. “I’ll take my things and come back tomorrow. I don’t want to be a bother while you work.”
Wallflower was close to hyperventilating, the gears in her head spinning at full speed, trying to come up with a way to explain herself as Sunset walked to her canvas.
She stood up and went to the shed, grabbing the flowers before returning to the garden and catching Sunset right before she crossed the exit. “I… I can explain...” She muttered, but the explanation never came, just choked words that didn’t amount to anything.
Sunset grabbed the pot from her hands, balancing it with her other stuff. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Wallflower nodded, and watched her leave with a pain in her heart.
“Are you okay?” Muffins asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“You always get on edge when she’s around,” Rose added, equally concerned.
“It’s okay,” Wallflower lied. “I just need a moment. There’s a new patch I planted recently. Could you see if it needs anything?”
Her friends nodded, and the gardner retreated inside the shed, biting hard on her thumb to contain a scream.
“Why did I do that?!” she cried holding her head with her other hand, nails digging into her scalp. She had pushed Sunset away just like she would’ve done all those weeks ago before she came to her garden, like if all their weeks together never happened.
Wallflower tapped her pants, checking that she didn’t somehow repair the Memory Stone and made herself forget again. “No. It was destroyed. I don’t have that option anymore. I don’t want that option anymore!”
Wallflower understood that she couldn’t hide this time. She needed to fix her mistake properly. She hurt Sunset once again, but it wasn’t going to be her who would apologize this time.
Wallflower stood up, clenching her fists, and thought. “I can’t push her away again. I can’t hide her from my friends. If I want her to...” Her heart was beating faster in her chest, so she took a deep breath to calm herself. “I can’t trap her here with me. We can’t remain confined to little moments of privacy.” She placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart calming down, letting her think clearly. “If I want something real with her, I need to be with her. Not run away, or hide, or just be a small corner of her life. I need to be part of it.” Despite the turmoil of emotions, she smiled. “And there’s one more thing I can do.”
Honeysuckle
“So, things didn’t work out with Wetshower yesterday?” Applejack asked, looking at the peeved redhead across the table.
“It’s Wallflower.” Sunset groaned, stabbing her muffin with a fork. “And I don’t know.”
“Well, what exactly happened, darling?”
Sunset buried half of the fork inside the pastry. “Right when I thought we were… she just pretended that I wasn’t part of it.”
“Part of what, exactly?” Twilight questioned.
“I don’t know anymore!” Sunset brought the muffing to her mouth and took an angry bite out of it. “And I don’t know why I’m so angry about it.”
Rainbow shrugged, “I say it’s her loss then. You’ll find someone else.”
“But I don’t-!” Sunset stopped herself for a moment. “I don’t want to give up yet.” She turned her eyes towards Fluttershy, the one she thought would understand Wallflower the best. “What do you think?”
“Uhm… I...” the shy girl stammered, really wanting to help but not knowing how. “You should talk about it with her. See why she did what she did.”
Sunset sighed, giving up on her lunch. “I guess I’ll go see her when the other club members leave.”
Pinkie scrunched up her face. “That doesn’t feel right. You-”
“Can I sit here?”
The six girls turned their heads towards the origin of the voice, and Susnet’s eyes widened.
Wallflower was standing next to the table, a blue tupperware filled with salad held between her hands.
“Of course!” Sunset exclaimed, pushing Twilight aside in a not very gentle manner to make space for the green girl.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. What’s your name?” Rainbow asked, curious about why Sunset had reacted like that.
“I’m Wallflower Blush,” she presented herself, avoiding all eye contact except for Sunset’s. “You probably haven’t seen me because I normally eat in the garden.”
“Wait, aren’t you the girl that had the Memory Stone?” Twilight asked.
“Y-yes, that was me… you were there...” Wallflower’s hands were sweating, and she was having trouble resisting the urge to just run away, but then she felt Sunset’s hand on her shoulder, calming some of her nerves as she remembered why she was doing this.
“She’s also the girl I talked to you about,” Sunset clarified, and it took a few seconds for the other five girls to catch up.
“Well, that’s all in the past, darling. You’re welcomed at our table.”
Wallflower smiled, even when Sunset’s hand left her shoulder. “Thank you.”
Everyone resumed their lunch, keeping a casual silence as the new girl acclimated to everyone’s presence. Rainbow was about to be the first to ask Wallflower something, but a glare from Sunset discouraged her.
“Why am I being so protective? Wasn’t I angry at her a few seconds ago?” Sunset wondered, confused about her own feelings.
Her moment of ponder was capitalized by Rarity. “Tell me, darling, how’s the gardening club? I heard it doubled its members.”
Wallflower smiled, happy that at least her garden wasn’t being forgotten. “It’s doing great, all the extra hands are appreciated, and everyone seems to be having a good time tending to the flowers and plants. Muffins proposed asking Luna permission to cut some of the trees and expand the garden a bit further so we can plant-” Wallflower stopped herself, realizing she was talking nonsense. “Sorry, I-”
“Why sorry?” Rarity questioned. “Please, continue.”
“It’s just boring stuff,” Wallflower said, staring intently at her salad.
“Not when you tell it like that,” Pinkie objected.
Wallflower looked at the pink girl with confusion. “What do you mean?”
Rainbow chuckled. “You were talking just like how Applejack talks about apples for half an hour.”
“¡Hey!” the farmer protested.
Rainbow laughed at the response. “We also spend hours hearing Rarity talk about fashion, or Pinkie about cakes and parties, or Twilight about how McDonkeys’ hamburgers shorten your lifespan. We all have some boring hobbies, except me, but we hear about them anyway because we care about what we do.” She pointed at the farmer. “By the way, if you want to fell some trees, Applejack knows how to do it.”
Wallflower fiddled with her fingers. “Well, having someone with experience could make it easier to convince Luna. If it isn’t a problem.”
“Not at all sugarcube. Just give me a date and I’ll bring some rope and tools. Did you guys have a plan?”
“Well...” Wallflower searched for a way to explain it, and Pinkie offered pen and paper.
As the gardener drew the plans for Applejack and continued chatting with the other girls, Sunset watched her with a smile, feeling a weird sense of pride at how Wallflower was getting comfortable with her friends. She was surprised by how much she could talk about gardening, realizing she had barely scratched the surface of who Wallflower really is.
“But I certainly want to find out.”
“Sunset?” asked Wallflower, getting her attention. “About yesterday…”
“It’s okay,” Sunset assured her with a smile. “You can explain it to me later.”
Wallflower returned the smile with one of her own. “That’s what I was going to ask you. Can you come to the garden tomorrow? Before the rest of the club members arrive.”
Sunset was, again, surprised by the girl’s actions. She expected a simple exchange of apologies before everything went back to normal, but it looked like she had some plan brewing. “Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Goodbye!” Wallflower took her empty tupperware and left the table, skipping to the exit.
Once she was alone, she leaned against the wall, letting out a long tired sigh. “That was exhausting!” she thought, but she reminded herself why she had done it. “I hope everything goes well tomorrow.”
When Sunset arrived at the garden, she found Wallflower in a similar situation to when she discovered her feelings, but she wasn’t asleep this time. “Are you meditating?”
Wallflower opened her eyes. “Yes, it’s an old habit I’m trying to pick up again.” She shimmied to the side to give her space to sit. “How’s your day?”
Sunset chuckled and sat down next to her.“Good, wondering what you were planning for today.”
Wallflower took a deep breath before looking at her in the eyes. “I’m sorry about pushing you away when my friends came back.” Sunset was about to say something, but she suddenly grabbed her hand, making her stop. “I never expected things to become like this. You could probably tell from the beginning, but once we started hanging out, and just...” She chuckled. “Enjoying it, I barely realized how much time had passed. And when I saw Muffins and the others, it felt like the moment before a dream ends.” She let go of Sunset’s hand, now sure that she was truly listening. “When I pushed you away... I did it out of selfishness.”
Sunset was confused. “What do you mean?”
“I wanted to keep it between us. Our secrets and quirks and all of those things that… that made me...” Wallflower stammered, her cheeks tinting pink.
Sunset shook her head. “But we don’t have to make it public. We all have secrets or embarrassing things that we only share with friends.”
Wallflower smiled. “Yes, but one of those things was you. What we had here. What all those secrets and quirks allowed me to see.” She turned her head, looking at the growing flowers she had planted for Sunset. “You… made a change in me. A change I just...”
Sunset remembered her talk with Rarity. “Didn’t think was possible, even if logically it should?”
“Yes...” Wallflower’s eyes met Sunset’s again. “And after pushing you away and realizing I would have regretted it all my life if you never came back, I understood that... if I wanted to keep all that… I...” Wallflower started stammering. Even after repeating the words in her head many times before this moment, her voice refused to say it. So she went for her back up plan.
She reached behind the stone bench and pulled out a potted Honeysuckle, looking at its colorful petals for comfort. “You know… flowers have meanings behind them… and this-” She raised her head, and noticed that Sunset wasn’t listening anymore.
Her pupils were almost fully dilated, focused on the flower in her hands.
She suddenly lurched forwards, trying to bite the plant, but Wallflower moved it out of reach.
Sunset snorted angrily, pawing the stone with her fist like if it were a hoof, and Wallflower couldn’t stop herself from laughing like an idiot. She wheezed like a dolphin before calming down a bit and plucking the Honeysuckle from the pot and presenting it to Sunset.
The redhead smelled the flower in her hand before biting into it, and Wallflower could almost hear her purr as she munched on it with a happy face.
Suddenly, Sunset pounced on Wallflower, tackling her to the ground, and started rubbing her head against her neck while definitely purring happily. Her victim laughed, hugging her and joining in the snuggles till her mind cleared once more.
“Uh…. did I go full horse?” Sunset asked, her face turning red as she realized where she ended up.
Wallflower was still laughing. “Yes. You rejected humanity and returned to horse.”
Sunset let out an amused snort at the terrible joke and tried to lift herself up, but Wallflower’s arms suddenly tensed, keeping her in place.
“S-sorry!” the gardener apologized, opening her arms to let her go.
Sunset looked at her, smiled, and layed back on top, getting comfortable before hugging her.
Wallflower froze for a few seconds, and slowly returned the hug, feeling the warmth it brought to her body and heart.
“I know what the flowers mean.”
Wallflower’s eyes widened. “You do?!”
Sunset nodded. “They also have meaning in Equestria.”
“I… I didn’t accidentally propose marriage or something like that. Right?”
Sunset laughed. “No. But growing certain flowers for a loved one is something some couples do for good luck.”
Wallflower smiled, hugging Sunset a little closer. “I do feel lucky.”
Sunset closed her eyes, enjoying the soft embrace. “Me too.”
Author's Notes:
If you're wondering "Where's the kiss? This has to end with them kissing! I want my money back!" the reason is that this is actually the first in a line of stories I have planned in my head, which will explore the relationship of these two from start to undefined finish, from the good times to the tragic, from the sweet to the mature (If I manage to pull it off).
All this will be besides all the other Sunflower stories I've planned (Because I love these two and some people keep giving me ideas with their stories so I'll probably never stop).
I hope you enjoyed, go see the other great works in the contest, love Sunflower and have a nice day.
I'll be watching you.