Chapter Text
The history between Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle was well known up until the middle of junior year. The show-off during the Friendship Games, sharing a tent–and many secrets–at Camp Everfree, creating a music video together, winning a carnival toy (after many, many tries) hell, even helping each other become trusted friends again! During winter break of junior year, they shared a first kiss while working at their local movie theater, and when they returned for the spring semester, their dating rumors only multiplied.
“Hey, Twi, do you have a feeling we’re constantly being watched? Our every move recorded?”
“No?” Twilight answered her unsettled friend. “Why would you ever think that?”
Sunset shrugged, trying to let go of the ghostly sensation of dozens of eyes on her back. “I don’t know. Ever since we came back from break and we’re alone together, something in the back of my mind always sets off alarms.”
Twilight quickly looked around.
“The only people who are on the second floor of the library are us. Look, not even Microchip is up here, working on his robotics project. You have nothing to worry about,” Twilight assured, putting a comforting hand over Sunset’s fidgeting shoulder. With her other hand, Twilight covered Sunset’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Sunset returned an uneasy smile before sighing.
“You’re right, I was just probably feeling a chill.”
Pinkie Pie and Trixie Lulamoon shared a collective breath of relief. Hidden behind the dusty computers, the president and vice president of the Sunlight Fan Club stalked and journaled every Sunlight chance they witnessed. It was food to feed the lonely, like Rainbow Dash. Even though the sports fanatic hated the thought of romance, she still kept up with her daily dose of Sunlight, without any of her friends knowing, of course.
“Do you want my spare hoodie?” Twilight asked.
“Sure, thank you.”
Pinkie and Trixie almost revealed themselves as Twilight pulled out her hoodie from her backpack. They almost awwed when Sunset wore it and hugged herself.
“It’s comfortable, and smells like you,” Sunset said, leaning her face in.
“You look good in it.” Twilight evaded the kiss attempt by whispering in Sunset’s ear.
The Sunlight Fan Club officers almost revealed themselves again at the missed opportunity. Their second-day report would be sweet but sad.
No one really said anything out loud about the so-called couple, not even their closest friend group, because it was automatically assumed they were together. Except, a few people were left out of the circle.
Wallflower Blush wasn’t the type to care about gossip, not since Sunset Shimmer had befriended her. Although she had technically altered all of Sunset’s friends’ memories and then took away Sunset’s memories, Wallflower wasn’t pushed away and treated like an outcast. Instead, Sunset found it in her kind heart to accept that everyone, Wallflower included, must be treated with care.
“I may have stopped being mean, but a great and powerful friend helped me realize I still wasn’t very nice to you. Everyone matters, Wallflower, no matter how insignificant or invisible they feel.”
Sunset’s words hung in Wallflower’s mind for weeks after their encounter. It wasn’t a surprise when Sunset saw a glimpse of Wallflower at the PostCrush concert and also at Sunset’s solo performance. Technically, Wallflower had been stalking Sunset for a while, ever since Sunset was given a redemption chance. She noticed every tiny detail about Sunset, from the way the girl dressed to the way she picked at her fingers when bored or stressed. Somehow, despite hating Sunset, Wallflower found it in her cold, quiet heart to… like her? It was a strange feeling for introverts.
Unbeknownst to Sunset, Wallflower shared the exact same spring semester schedule with her, as carefully planned by Wallflower herself when she overheard the Mane 7 discussing classes. Twilight was also in all of Sunset’s classes–the two really matched wit in everything academics related–except for the last period of the day: journalism and yearbook.
At the end of week one, Sunset and Wallflower had mutually agreed to stick close in the class. The start of week two began with cameras and how to take good shots depending on composition.
“So, this setting is better for low light exposure shots, while this one is good for…food pictures?” Sunset asked.
“I guess,” Wallflower said. “Where did you find those buttons?”
“Here.” Sunset reached over and placed a finger on the dial of the camera Wallflower was holding. Seeing the closeness between her and her crush, Wallflower automatically blushed and swerved her head in the opposite direction.
“T-Thanks,” stammered Wallflower.
Sunset retracted her hand, accidentally brushing it against Wallflower’s outstretched arms. “No problem.”
By the beginning of week three, the two were staying after school to work on school news articles and take pictures of basketball games. Now, Sunset could sense that Wallflower had an inkling of a crush on her–she didn’t need her enchanted gem to tell–but Sunset knew that it wasn’t her place to say anything when Wallflower didn’t actively voice her romantic feelings out loud. Although Sunset kept up a clear boundary between the two (one that was consistently letting Twilight through), Sunset usually relied on her hands and physical touch to convey her words. She wasn’t trying to make Wallflower nervous; that was just her normal status with her friends.
The bell rang for seventh period to begin, and Sunset Shimmer made it through the doorway just in time, like clockwork. Wallflower waved at her and received a friendly hello as she did every day for the past month and a half. Sunset seated herself on the stool next to Wallflower, awaiting the teacher for instructions.
“Alright, class we are going to really focus on the school yearbook this semester,” Ms. Cheerilee said. “Everyone will be paired up to edit and revise each other to catch mistakes on the spreads. However, for these two weeks, you will be going out with your partner to take pictures of the student body in action, such as classes, athletics, clubs, and downtime. Work with your shoulder partner, grab a camera, and start taking candids! This will be your only ‘free’ days until we hit the end of year book marketing season.”
Wallflower could barely contain her excitement at the mention of “shoulder partner”.
“Hey, I guess we’re partners! That’s super cool,” Sunset said as she turned to face her friend. She stuck out a hand for Wallflower to shake.
With a weak grip, Wallflower grabbed Sunset’s hand and sloppily swung it up and down. “Y-Yeah. Great to work with you too!”
“Where to, partner, as our first place to shoot? That sounded awfully wrong in a school setting.”
Sunset grimaced and handed a fully-charged camera to Wallflower while grabbing one for herself.
“Uh, maybe the science department?” Wallflower suggested. “I heard they were doing introductory labs today.”
“Off to the science hall, then!” Sunset declared and pointed her finger out the door. She was particularly excited to go to the advanced biology class that Twilight was currently attending.
As the duo strolled through the hallways, capturing some pictures of friends and strangers alike, they came across Applejack and Rarity exiting a janitor's closet. Wallflower was oblivious to what had happened, and frankly, didn’t care. Sunset simply raised a teasing eyebrow.
“Don’t mind us, folks. Just, uh, returning cleaning supplies,” Applejack muttered.
Sunset playfully bumped hips with her blushing friend. “I bet those mops aren’t the only things wet–”
“Ahem!” Rarity coughed, interrupting Sunset’s thoughts. “Thank you, Sunset, for your very school-appropriate input, but we best be going to our class, darling. See you around! You too, Wallflower!”
Caught off guard by her name, Wallflower blinked back to reality and turned around just in time to glimpse a lock of purple hair round the corner.
“Who was that?” Wallflower asked.
“Oh, my friends, Rarity and Applejack.”
“Oh.” Scratching her arm, Wallflower’s eyes dropped down. “I didn’t know their names.”
No matter how much stalking Wallflower did, she still wasn’t very much aware of anything besides Sunset. To her, the people around Sunset were mere shadows, silhouettes of what could have been friends or classmates. Wallflower didn’t need–or want–to know about their presence, though. All she needed was Sunset’s adorable smile, fiery hair, and black leather jacket.
Upon entering the science hall, Sunset made a beeline for Twilight’s class, leaving Wallflower to slightly job to catch up to the excited girl.
“Why are we targeting this classroom first? Shouldn’t we go in order?” Wallflower asked.
“Sorry, Wallflower, I didn’t mean to suddenly run off. Someone I know is in this class, and I want to say hi.” Sunset peeked through the blinds, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Twilight. “Let’s go inside.”
“Aren’t we supposed to ask first?” Wallflower was left unanswered as her partner opened the door and slipped inside. Sighing, Wallflower followed.
Once inside, she could see Sunset waving hi to someone before taking a few photos to act professional. Then, she quietly tip-toed to the same girl she waved to and kneeled down. The girl whispered something to Sunset, making Sunset chuckle. Sunset whispered something in return before standing up. Intently observing the event unfolding, Wallflower could do nothing but stand in surprise. Who was this girl, and why was she so close to Sunset?
Sunset snapped one more photo of the teacher's demonstration of a double helix model. Wallflower still couldn’t move. Secretly, Sunset and the girl touched fingers and held hands. From across the room, Wallflower’s eyes widened at the realization. The picture became clear in her mind: who Sunset was with all the time, the blur hugging Sunset in between classes, the blob kissing Sunset on the cheek after school. It was Twilight Sparkle. Oh, just the mention of her name suddenly made Wallflower’s blood boil. Twilight needed to be cut from the picture.
Without looking back, Wallflower left the room, prompting Sunset to let go of Twilight’s hand and follow her yearbook partner outside.
“Hey, you alright?” Sunset asked once the door closed. She knew that something was wrong, but she didn’t know what.
“No, I’m–” Wallflower unleashed a frustrated cry. “Ugh! I’m fine. I think we should take pictures separately for today. It’ll be more efficient that way.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you upset again.”
“It’s nothing you can fix, Sunset. At least, not for now,” Wallflower said, walking away.
Sunset stopped to think about her words. Not for now?
Storming back to the yearbook classroom, Wallflower grumbled and put up her belongings into her backpack.
“Why does Twilight always have to get in the way?” Wallflower muttered to herself. “Even back then, when Sunset could’ve rebuilt her memories with me , she stepped in and took away the memory stone. She’s the righteous one, isn’t she? Little miss goody-two-shoes, saving our class at Camp Everfree. Ugh!”
Wallflower kicked her desk chair in a little bit too hard, causing it to fall over and trip Wallflower herself.
“Stupid! Chair,” Wallflower said just as Sunset returned.
“Here, let me help you.” Sunset stuck out a hand, which Wallflower swatted aside.
“I don’t need your help, thank you.”
Confused, Sunset stepped aside. Wallflower stood up and dusted herself off. She didn’t look Sunset in the eye for a long time after that day.
Back at home, Wallflower began researching any sightings of wild magic. Turns out, just recently, there was an outburst of energy that made an entire neighborhood block go out. Wallflower decided to bike to check it out. Once she made it to the place of the sighting, she could immediately feel a surge of power rush from the ground up her veins, causing her hair to float ever slightly.
“This, this is perfect,” Wallflower exclaimed.
She followed the trace of power to an ominous patch of grass. With her trust shovel, she began to unearth the magic. After a long hour of digging, she hit something hard. Wallflower could barely contain her excitement as she pulled out a small, dull orb. But under further inspection, inside, swirling patterns of dark blue clouds hiding white stars warped around a black background. Just holding the orb made her entire body tingle in an irritating way. Around the patch surrounded a ring of blackened grass, once green and full of life.
“Twilight Sparkle may have been able to rid the dark magic from her soul, but there are always traces of magic fragments left after such a life-changing moment. Well, let’s see how good she’ll look in front of Sunset and the entire school when she’s demonized again! Midnight Sparkle is back in full power!”
Wallflower Blush didn’t show up to class the next day. Sunset texted her a message pertaining to her whereabouts. It wasn't until the end of the school day that she received a dry “I’m fine” text. Wallflower continued to be absent for the next few days, then the entire week. In the absence of her partner, Sunset worked hard to take enough pictures for two people. Sometimes, she would collapse onto Twilight after school and take a well-deserved nap.
That Friday afternoon, after school had ended, Twilight met up with Sunset in the music practice rooms as usual. Twilight’s last class’s location was closer to the current room, so she always walked in before her friend. The dull roars of the busy hallways died down, and Sunset appeared in the doorway.
“Twilyyy,” Sunset complained. “I’m so tiredddd.”
Twilight patted the floor next to her. “Come, take a rest. Tell me how Wallflower is doing.”
Sunset dragged herself over to her friend, dropping her backpack to the ground before almost faceplanting to the ground. She let out a long groan.
“I really don’t know what she’s doing, but our teacher is thinking of dropping her from the yearbook class if she doesn’t show up soon. And I’ve been keeping her updated about school work. She reads all my messages, she just doesn’t respond.”
“Is she sick?” Twilight innocently asked.
“Maybe? She didn’t really respond to me. She just said ‘I’m fine’, which could mean she’s not actually fine, or she’s sick or something happened. I just… I miss her being in class.”
“Should we visit her? Bring her some flowers?”
“Hey, maybe! That’s a good idea, Twily.” Sunset sat up and put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. She knew her friend hated the nickname, but it was so fun to see Twilight get teased by such a small thing. By now, Twilight just gave up trying to stop Sunset.
“Tomorrow, then? We can check up on her together.”
“Sure, it’s a date,” Sunset said with a smirk. “I’ll pick you up around 11, we buy flowers, then we head to her house. Maybe invite her out to lunch or something.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Twilight rested her head on Sunset’s shoulder.
“Hey, have you ever noticed how much shorter you are than me?” asked Twilight.
“Heyyy, I’m only like two inches shorter.”
“More like four. You’re so tiny!”
The two bickered until they were kicked out by the janitor. As they walked out of the building, their hands intertwined in a way only lovers would hold their partners. And the two girls were completely fine with how it was.