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.