“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.”