Applebloom looked up from her phone when she heard her door open and gulped. AppleJack was leaning casually against her door frame, hat low and hiding her face. Applebloom quickly lowered her phone and smiled nervously at her sister.
"H-Hiya, Sis. What's up?" she questioned, heart thudding. AppleJack sighed and walked slowly into the room and sat hard in the desk chair. The two sat in silence for a few moments before AppleJack looked up. Applebloom swallowed down a gasp when she saw her sister's face in detail. Her face was pale, hair matted and messy. Her eyes were dark and dull, tear trails marking clean spots in her dirty cheeks. Applebloom had seen her sister happy. Angry. Scared. But this? She had never seen her sister so sad. After a few more tense moments, AppleJack spoke.
"Do you even know how badly you've fucked up?"
She had never cursed. AppleJack, even when furious, had never, ever, cursed at anyone. Especially not her little sister. Applebloom made a small squawking noise of surprise, but didn't say anything. Slowly, she nodded.
"No, you don't. My god, Bloom. What did you three think you could gain from this? You understand that we could all be charged with attempted murder?"
Applebloom stood, scrambling to get her feet on the floor.
"B-But we never hurt anyone! We never touched anyone! No one got physically hurt!" She cried, trying desperately to justify herself. AppleJack just watched her through a daze.
"You don't know. Gods, how do you not know?" AppleJack lamented, placing her head in her hands. Applebloom paled slightly.
"K-Know what? Sis? What do I not know?"
AppleJack looked up, and she looked so tired.
"Sunset tried to kill herself"
Applebloom completely paled and staggered backwards, like she had been hit. Her back hit the door handle to her closet and she whimpered in pain and fell to the floor, drawing her knees close. Her breathing came in sharp, ragged breaths. What? No. AppleJack had to be wrong. She just had to! They just wanted to have fun, not to take it that far!
"B-But we never wrote nothin about her!" Applebloom managed to gasp out between breaths.
"Bloom, before we found out it was you three, who did everyone think was writing those awful things? We-we all thought she was goin' back to her old ways. The girls and I thought she was using us and we said some... we said awful things, Bloom."
Now AppleJack was crying too, hands covering her face in an attempt to muffle her sobs.
"Oh god... AppleJack.. and You and her.. I'm so sorry" Applebloom cried, tears streaming.
And so the two stayed like that, on opposite sides of the room, both crying for things they could not take back.
*******
Fluttershy and Pinkie sat on the floor of Rainbow Dash's bedroom in silence.
"I-I feel terrible" Fluttershy finally said, retreating further into her thick green sweater. Pinkie nodded her agreement.
"Every time I think about it, I feel like I've eaten too many cupcakes and the sugary frosting is making me sick" She said, arms wrapping around her stomach.
"The animals won't talk to me much anymore" Fluttersy mourned, tears already beginning to form in her large green eyes. "I-It's like they know what I did and now they just scurry away whenever I try to start a conversation"
"I know how you feel. Pound and Pumpkin barely play with me. They just glare at me and cry whenever I come close. I heard them telling Mrs. Cake once that they didn't like playing with me anymore. Do you think that the news has spread even down to the grade schoolers?" Pinkie asked, also feeling tears building. Fluttershy didn't answer, as she was now sobbing quietly into the collar of her sweater. Pinkie leaned over and pulled her close, the two crying into each others shoulders. They heard the shower in the next room turn off and the familiar noise of Rainbow Dash stepping out. They stayed as they were, unable to leave the comfort they were receiving. Finally, the bathroom door opened and Dash stepped out wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweat pants while pressing a towel to her hair.
Her eyes landed on the two girls.
"Woah, guys, what's wrong?" She questioned, tossing her towel aside and crouching next to them. She barely caught Fluttershy whimper "S-Sunset" and she stood, crossing away from them.
"Come on guys, you're still upset about that?" She asked as she looked in her mirror, careful to not let them see her face.
"How can you be so cruel?" Pinkie snarled. Dash whipped around, unused to such hatred coming from the girl.
"Yeah! We pushed her to suicide, Dash, and you act like it's nothing! You've already gotten over it!" Fluttershy cried. Rainbow Dash glowered.
"I'm not 'over it'! I just realize that there's nothing that we can do about it now, and that there's much better things we can use our energy on than crying about it!"
Fluttershy stood and Rainbow took a step back, unused to her forceful presence. Instead of saying anything though, she simply helped Pinkie up and walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door. They didn't come back.
"R-Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked from her bedroom door, nervous for her sister.
"Get out!" Rainbow Dash cried and slammed her door, breathing hard. Rage was pouring through her veins and she heard Scootalloo yelp and scamper away from her room and back to her own bedroom. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth and crossed to her desk, grabbing the small picture frame of her and the girls. She had thought it might help calm her down, but it just increased her rage. With a shout, she threw it at the ground and it shattered, glass and plastic skittering across her hard wood floor. She flung herself onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow, pounding her fists into the bedding and sobbing. She had messed up so bad. The one thing she really wanted and needed to do was the one thing she couldn't do. So, she let her emotions flow out of her and into her pillow, which muffled her screams and sobs alike until she finally fell asleep.
*******
Rarity lifted her head from her sketch book and blinked tiredly. Her blurry eyes took a moment to read the number on her alarm clock. 8:37 pm. She cursed and stood from her desk, taking a moment to stretch and take in her surroundings. Her usually clean and organized bedroom was filled with paper plates and crushed energy drink cans. She would usually never think of touching an energy drink, but she hadn't been sleeping well. And by that, she had been lucky to get an hour a day. She didn't like sleeping anymore. Every night, she saw the same thing. Sunset, cold and lifeless, lying on her bed with empty pill bottles around her. So, Rarity would work herself to exhaustion and crash, then do it all over again. There was a timid knocking at her door.
"R-Rarity? Mommy says dinner is ready" Sweetie Belle called out. Rarity just gave her the same response she gave her every other day.
"I'm not hungry, go away!"
She heard Sweetie sigh and walk away from her door before she picked up her cellphone and pressed the home button. There were
numerous texts, but she only responded to one.
The Girls
7:28 pm
AppleJack: Girls, we need to do something.
Fluttershy: I agree
Pinkie: Me too
AppleJack: Dash? Rarity?
8:42 pm
Rarity: I'm sorry, Girls. I was asleep. Yes, we need to do something.
She turned her phone off before walking slowly around her room a few times, stretching her legs, before taking her original seat again and burying herself in her school work until her alarm went off and she had to get ready for school.