“Coming!” Fluttershy called to whoever was knocking on her door from her bedroom. She had spent all day in bed, missing school in the process. She hadn't felt like going to school since her discovery at Sunset's apartment last week. Of course, Rainbow Dash didn't help matters three days ago in the band room with her tactless comment.
She looked through the peephole in the door to see who was there. Upon seeing the visitor, she let out a groan and reluctantly opened the door. The one person she wasn't keen on seeing right now was the one bothering her.
“Um, hi, Rainbow Dash,” she said, pretending to be happy to see her friend. “Can I help you?”
“Can I come in? I'd kinda like to talk to you about something.”
Letting out a sigh, Fluttershy closed the door to unlock the security latch so that she could accommodate Rainbow's request. The two girls walked to the den and, after moving a few animals, sat down on opposing chairs in an awkward silence.
“Well?” Fluttershy asked, trying to hide the annoyed tone in her voice.
“Oh, right. I noticed that you've been a little upset-”
“A little upset?” Fluttershy interrupted.
“Okay, very upset and probably angry with me over what I had said in the band room the other day,” Rainbow relented. “AJ and Pinkie read me the riot act yesterday after you left with Rarity. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said what I said and just blurted the first thing that came out of my mouth. I really am sorry, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy sat on the couch in silence while trying to process Rainbow’s apology. Rainbow began wringing her hands together nervously, waiting for her friend’s response. It wasn't what she expected.
A wave of emotions began to flow from Fluttershy’s heart. “Sorry? You think just a plain ‘sorry’ will cover it?” she said as her normal demure personality began dissolving. “Rainbow Dash, do have any clue what I've been through? I found Sunset dead. Okay? I found her in her bed covered in her own blood, then you had the nerve to ask what it looked like. And you know what else? It was my fault that she died.”
Rainbow moved to sit in front of Fluttershy on the floor. “How was it your fault, Shy?”
“Because I didn't stay with her that night.”
Rainbow reached out and grabbed Fluttershy’s hand. “Hey, hey, hey. Stop beating yourself up like that. None of us-”
Fluttershy yanked her hand back. “That's right. None of you know what I'm going through. None of you ever found a loved one covered in their blood, Rainbow.”
Rainbow kept silent as she began to realize that her comments the other day had hit her childhood friend harder than she had originally thought. She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes and saw the pain, guilt, and anger in them, as well as the tears that had begun to flow. “I… I had no idea.”
“Rainbow, my heart is hurting so much from this. In a month and a half, we've lost two of our closest friends. One of which I cared about in a very special way,” Fluttershy said as her burst of anger vanished as quickly as it appeared; replaced by the sadness brought on by her heartache.
Rainbow again tried taking Fluttershy’s hand in support. This time, however, she got more than just a hand. Fluttershy nearly melted off the chair and wrapped her arms around the stronger girl. “I’m so sorry, Dashie. I didn't mean all those things.”
“It's all good,” Rainbow whispered as she held her friend.
“No, it's not. I said a lot of hurtful things to you just now. I… I don't deserve to be your friend anymore.”
Rainbow pulled back and lifted Fluttershy's chin so they could look into each other's eyes. “Look, you're right. I have no idea what kind of hell you're going through right now. I don't blame you for going off on me. If I was in your shoes, I probably would've done the same thing. I love you like a sister and so do the rest of our friends. We'll be here for you.”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what,” Rainbow replied, pulling Fluttershy tightly against her body.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat in their usual corner booth at Sugarcube Corner; the mood, however, was different from normal. Instead of everyone laughing and joking around, a somber vibe filled the air. Two of their best friends had passed away within six weeks of each other; one to a car accident, the other to suicide. And now the third missing member of their tight group had holed herself up in her apartment, emerging only to go to school and grocery shopping.
Pinkie Pie was playing with the straw in her milkshake not really paying much attention to the conversation going on between the others. After a while, she noticed a silence as everyone just stared at their drinks. She collected her thoughts that had her distracted and broke the silence. “Sooo… is there anyone else worried about Fluttershy besides me?”
“I can't speak for everyone, Darling, but I've been worried since day one,” Rarity responded before taking a sip of her chocolate shake.
Applejack nodded. “Something’s wrong but the only one that's been able to get anywhere near her was Dash when she visited her two weeks ago.”
“Any ideas on something we can do to get her out of this super duper funk?” Pinkie asked.
“Not really, Pinkie. Cheering people up is usually yer thing,” Applejack replied. “Dash? Dash?” Rainbow slowly looked up at the other three. “Y'all okay?”
Rainbow just stared off into space as she quietly answered, “I'm just thinking about something Flutters told me when I apologized to her.”
“Whatever would that be, Darling?”
“When she ‘yelled’ at me,” Rainbow said, using her fingers to make air quotes, “one of the things she said was that I wouldn't understand what she was going through because I never found a loved one covered in their own blood.”
“Loved one?!” Rarity said, shocked. “You mean like a girlfriend?”
“I don't know. She never said anything beyond that,” Rainbow explained. “But-”
“It would make sense since she spent so much time with Sunset after the accident,” Pinkie interrupted.
“So, do Y'all think she's going through the same feelings as Sunset after Twilight was killed?”
Rarity rubbed her chin with her thumb and index finger. “It’s a high probability, Dearie. Sunset felt as though it was her fault that Twilight died and, from what Rainbow Dash told us a few weeks ago, Fluttershy thinks that Sunset dying was her fault.”
Pinkie subconsciously pulled the straw out of her shake and accidentally flung some of the liquid across the table, hitting Rarity in the face.
"Pinkie!"
“Oopsy. So what can we do? She's not really into parties and going out to the clubs terrifies the daylights out of her.”
Applejack let out a small chuckle at Rarity's mishap with Pinkie's shake and returned to the conversation. “Ah say we just offer to be there for her. Ya know? Keep an eye out and if she starts gettin’ to where Sunset was, then step in and make sure she doesn't do nothing that’ll take her from us.”
The other three girls nodded in agreement and extended their arms to make the pact to protect Fluttershy.
The next day at school, Fluttershy hid in the restroom between classes in an attempt to avoid as many people as possible. She had begun to let her appearance slip in the last couple days and other students had taken notice. So to avoid questioning, she just hid in one of the stalls until the warning bell would ring.
Her hiding didn't go unnoticed by her friends, however. Before her last class, Rarity stood outside the restroom to address her friend. She leaned against a locker facing the door as Fluttershy slowly stuck her head out of the door, checking if the coast was clear.
“Not feeling well, darling?” Rarity asked, causing the other girl to jump slightly.
“I, um, no… not particularly,” Fluttershy said, hiding behind her messy hair.
Rarity moved closer so that she could wrap her arm around her friend's shoulder. “Fluttershy, dear, I'm not going to pressure you but if you need someone to talk to, the other girls and I are here to listen. Okay?”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said as she tugged on her long pink locks. “I'm fine at the moment.”
“Alright then. May I ask a favor though?” Rarity asked with a warming smile.
“Sure.”
“Will you let me fix your hair after school? It looks absolutely dreadful,” Rarity said as took Fluttershy’s hand and led her to their last class.
“I guess so,” Fluttershy said as a small amount of warmth began to fill her heart.
Meanwhile, Rarity simultaneously felt a sense of accomplishment as she had managed to get through to her depressed friend. But her accomplishment was minor compared to how Fluttershy’s home life had become.