It went without saying that a lot of things had gone down during and after the Anon-A-Miss incident. Not only had Sunset Shimmer fled to Los Pegasus to escape unjustified persecution and the Crusaders had been outed as the true culprits, but Celestia resigning had brought in Chrysalis, the meanest, scariest principal CHS had ever seen, her being overthrown by Sunset Shimmer in a climactic battle during the Friendship Games, and now Vice Principal Luna had become the principal in Chrysalis's place.
So much upheaval had happened in the last six months of the school year that the collective student body of Canterlot High had let out a sigh of relief when it finally ended. The seniors had finally graduated, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack had received their diplomas, celebrating with classmates, family and finally meeting up with the human Twilight Sparkle for a party between friends.
Of course the underclassmen were celebrating as well, a whole three months off to pursue their interests and simply take a breather from their crazy school. This was especially true of three freshmen who had been big players in the Anon-A-Miss incident, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. There had been a lot of friction up until Chrysalis had taken over as principal, after that some of the pressure had been taken off of them as the student body had been forced to come to terms that while the three freshman had started it all, ultimately a lot of the blame rested on their shoulders as well. So while the Crusaders were not given a pass, they weren't vilified either.
For the most part.
"Watch where you're going, clutz!"
A soft groan escaped Scootaloo as she sat up, thankful for the helmet but her jeans were totally torn up at the knees from the spill. She shot a dirty look to Diamond Tiara but said nothing as she pushed herself up onto her feet as she collected her scooter and began to walk away. Unfortunately the rich girl would not leave it at that and roughly shoved the tomboy from behind, causing Scootaloo to stumble but the purple haired girl managed to keep her balance, back still turned to the infuriating snob.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Or are you as big a dumb jock as that dyke you look up to?"
That caused Scootaloo to stop dead in her tracks, knuckles turning white as she gripped the handles of her scooter tightly. Things hadn't been good between her and Rainbow Dash. Sure they were talking again, after the Anon-A-Miss incident, Scootaloo had been trying so hard to earn back the older girls' trust but it just wasn't the same. But she still looked up to Rainbow Dash and no one, no one was going to bad mouth her like that. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo slowly turned to face Diamond Tiara, shooting her the best withering glare she could muster.
"Diamond... I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't of spread those secrets. But you shouldn't of told Silver Spoon's secrets either, I told the secrets but it's not my fault you lost your friendship with Silver Spoon, you did that to yourself."
As angry as she was, she couldn't help but pity Diamond Tiara some. The girl had lost the only friend she had in the world and now she was alone, she was bound to be hurting. Unfortunately for Scootaloo that hurt was often expressed through anger and by the look on Diamond's face, she could tell she was in for a doozy.
"You miserable little-!"
"Knock it off Diamond Tiara!"
Diamond's head snapped around to the newcomer, sneering when she saw it was none other than Sweetie Belle. Normally it wouldn't of been any big deal, but after the whole mess with Anon-A-Miss, the girl had gotten tougher, standing up for herself and her friends instead of just doing her usual bit of being passive aggressive. After shooting Scootaloo one final dirty look, Diamond Tiara skulked off down the pathway, after she left the park Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief before approaching Scootaloo, concern in her eyes as she looked the other over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just a trip and a shove, could've been worse."
"Yeah. C'mon, we still gotta' wait for Applebloom."
Walking over to a bench, the two friends took a seat and waited for the third member of their group, watching other people go by as they enjoyed their sunny, summer afternoon. All three of course had been punished by their families for the Anon-A-Miss incident and even after they were still monitored closely, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle especially so by their older siblings. While it wasn't fun to have a downgraded phone that could only talk and text or have to use the computer in the living rooms at home, ultimately they accepted it. Besides, it wasn't the worst thing that had come from all of this.
"Is Rainbow Dash still kind of distant with you, Scoots?"
"Mm-hm. Rarity still watching your internet history and not opening up to you anymore?"
"Kinda. I think she's stopped checking where I go on the internet but she's still guarded whenever we talk."
Both had fallen into a sort of melancholy then as they thought about how radically things had changed. They knew it wouldn't last forever but it still hurt, and deep down they knew things would never be the same again. Applebloom knew this as well, their friend had told them about Applejack's change in attitude around her. The farmer still loved her little sister, no doubt about that, but that same little sister she had helped raise from infancy had also hurt her, and that betrayal cut very deep.
Thinking about how bad things were, both the girls' shoulders sagged, the weight of their terrible mistake heavy upon them now, as it often was when they let the gravity of the situation fall upon them. It would be quite awhile until things were fine again, and at this rate they'd never hear from Sunset again since it had been months since their letter was delivered to her. At this rate Scootaloo changed the subject before the negativity totally crushed them.
"So, Rarity still going to that fashion institute in Manehattan?"
"Yeah. I'm... still wondering if I should go with her or move back in with my parents."
Grimacing as they stepped into another unhappy topic, Scootaloo reached over and wrapped an arm around Sweetie Belle's shoulders, pulling her in for a light hug since the pretty girl's mood seemed to be dipping even further. She wished there was some third option so that Sweetie Belle could stay, but as much as she wracked her brain, nothing came to mind. Before she could say anything though, Sweetie Belle gave a short, hollow laugh.
"It'd probably be better with Rarity. Even if she doesn't trust me anymore, at least I wouldn't be living in an empty house most of the time."
Now Scootaloo had both arms around the girl, holding her as Sweetie Belle wiped at her eyes for a moment. Moving in with Rarity had been great for her, she'd loved living in a home where someone was around and gave her attention. It was another instant where hindsight was a bitch and she should of rethought having a hand in Anon-A-Miss. Once she had calmed down enough, Sweetie Belle offered a shakey smile to Scootaloo and tried to get the conversation rolling again.
"I hear Rainbow Dash got the scholarship for college. And she's... going for some aero-whatsit degree?"
"Bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering. Wants to be a test pilot."
"Doesn't she need like, to be good at science and stuff?"
"Yeah. I can tell she's already dreading it but she's awesome, she'll make it."
They shared a small chuckle over that, knowing she wasn't the most scholarly of people but she was, if anything, determined. Sweetie Belle pulled back some, causing Scootaloo to pull back as well, the two just sitting on the bench and gazing out over the park. Scootaloo would be the one to break the silence this time.
"It's crazy how fast this all sped by."
"Yeah. I'm going to miss you and Applebloom."
"... yeah."
Speaking of the devil, Applebloom was rushing down the path towards them, skidding to a halt before she reached the bench and completely breathless from her sprint. However, despite being double over and gasping for breath, she was excitedly trying to force out her words.
"Girls!... girls! L-Letter... Sunset wrote back!"
By now they had noticed the envelope clutched in her hand, both their eyes going wide as they sprang to their feet, Scootaloo immediately snatching it out of the other's hand and checking the return address. Sweetie Belle was completely nervous as she stared at it, hand to her mouth but fighting hard the urge to chew on her nails.
"W-What does it say?"
"D-Dunno.... wanted to... read it... together!"
Once Applebloom finally caught her breath, she and Sweetie Belle crowded next to Scootaloo, the tomboy's hands shaky as she opened one side of the envelope, blowing into it before tipping it over so that the letter fell into her hand. Just one page. The three held their breaths as Scootalo unfolded it, three pairs of eyes reading over the letter with a mixture of hope and dread.
Dear Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,
It took me awhile to finally read your letter and a lot longer to write this one. It wasn't easy composing my thoughts because when I think of you three, I had this immediate, gut reaction. When it came to you three, I got angry. So very angry. I know I tortured your sisters (and in Scootaloo's case her honorary sister) in high school, I can't take back how terrible a person I was then but after everything I had done and for the reasons why you did what you did. I can't express how enraged it made me to even think about it. About everything that happened because of your actions.
At this point all three felt their stomachs drop. But this was what they deserved and so they carried on for the rest of their chewing out.
But I forgive you.
.... what?
Don't get me wrong, what you did still hurts. It's still going to hurt and I'm still going to be angry for awhile longer. But I'm trying to get over it, I'm trying to put Anon-A-Miss behind me. And as I had time to think it over and think about what happened to you three after you were found out, I started thinking about myself after the Fall Formal. How badly I wanted to be forgiven for what I had done and how lonely I felt being ostracized like that. At some point it just has to stop and grudges have to be let go. So I won't hold this over your heads.
I want you three to learn from your mistakes. And I want you to know that even if it seems bad now, things will get better. Just keep your heads up.
Take care,
Sunset Shimmer
The three stared at the letter for the longest time, then read it over again before looking between the three of them, their smiles tentatively hopeful. Sunset was still angry with them, but she kind of accepted their apologies.
So it was a start.