Canter Creek was always a sight to behold in the wintertime. Even with the new meaning it held for the students of Canterlot High, the waters held a beauty and peace that couldn't be found anywhere else. Three girls walked on the coast as they discussed recent events. More specifically, last night's events.
"No way," Lightning gaped. "Are you serious?"
Fluttershy nodded, shame weighing heavy on her features as she stared at the ground while they walked.
"I could see it in her eyes," she whispered, lips trembling with unshed tears. "She was so scared."
"I don't blame her," Vinyl sighed, staring out into waters to their left. "If something happened to Tavi, I'd lose it too."
All Fluttershy could do was nod as she thought back to what happened last night.
***
"E-Easy now," Limestone stammered, hands up in a placating manner as she stepped between Maud and her seething opponent. "L-L-Let's not do something we'll all regret."
"Go near Sunset and I won't regret anything!" Fluttershy snarled, her claws literally bared and ready.
Marble yelped in terror as she ran behind Limestone.
"P-P-Please," she stammered, shivering like a leaf in a storm. "W-We just wa-want to find our sister."
Fluttershy's glare shifted from Maud to her sisters, her anger dimming slightly as she took in the looks on their faces. As she stared into their eyes she saw a lot of things, fear and confusion being chief among them. What she didn't see was hostility. Not anymore, at least.
"Fine," she sighed, letting her body relax. "Let's talk."
The Pie sisters let out sighs of relief as the living nightmare before them lowered her claws, but remained cautious in case that changed.
"Come on," Fluttershy sighed as she walked back into her house. "It's cold out here and I could use some tea right now."
Marble and Limestone staggered after her, neither eager to argue with the girl. Fluttershy noticed that she was one Pie short as she guided the two girls into the kitchen. A small stone of guilt settled in her stomach as she guessed what had happened. Reluctantly, she returned to the still open doorway to fetch the last of her uninvited guests. Maud stood as still as a statue, face blank aside from wide eyes as she stared at her trembling hands. The guilty stone in Fluttershy's stomach turned into a boulder as she once again took in her handy work.
I need to learn how to control this.
"Maud," Fluttershy called, snapping the girl out of her trance with a flinch.
"Y-Yes?" she said, a trace of a stammer evident in her now monotone voice.
"It's cold," Fluttershy sighed, a sheepish smile coloring her face. "Come inside."
Maud nodded, then stiffly let herself into the house.
After Fluttershy set a filled kettle onto the stove, the four girls took a seat at the kitchen counter. Limestone was tense as she sat while her youngest sister trembled at her side. Maud was unreadable save for her faintly trembling hands that sat on the table with their fingers weaved together. Fluttershy took deep calming breaths as she stared at the three girls. Her rage was mostly gone, but she was still on high alert.
"Now, what are you doing here? Why do you think we did something to Pinkie?"
The three girls were silent for a few seconds, then Limestone took a deep breath.
"Pinkie's missing," she frowned. "Been missing for eight days now."
Fluttershy gasped.
"Missing? How?"
"W-We don't know," Marble squeaked, clutching Limestone's jacket sleeve tightly. "W-We went to Maud's house f-for Christmas. W-When we got there..."
Before she could finish, the young girl burst into tears and buried her face into Limestone's side.
"Maud wasn't in the best shape," Limestone sighed, putting an arm around Marble as she sent a sad frown towards her faintly trembling sister. "The house was a mess and Maud was curled up in a corner hugging a picture of Pinkie. Didn't even look like she ate or slept in days. When we managed to force some food into her, she told us she hadn't seen Pinkie since the assembly last week."
"Something happened," Maud mumbled, staring at her trembling hands. "I can feel it. Something happened to her."
Slowly, she raised her head to face the vampiric teen. Fluttershy flinched as she watched tears slide down the normally unshakeable older woman's face.
"P-Please, I just want my sister back."
***
"Didn't they try the cops?" Lightning asked, kicking a pebble into the stream.
Fluttershy nodded, then said, "They said they could put out a missing persons report, but that was all they could do."
"So after awhile this Maud chick thought we did something? Figures," Vinyl sighed. "How'd you convince her we were innocent?"
"My girlfriend talked to her," Fluttershy smiled, a bit of a blush coloring her cheeks.
Both teens paused at that.
"Wait, she came over?" Lightning asked, flabbergasted .
She nodded, then said, "Just for a little bit. She brought Princess Luna and Twilight with her to prove that we were in Equestria for the last few days."
"Would't the whole magic thing make things harder for us?" Vinyl asked. "What's to stop her from thinking we took her there?"
"Limestone sense," Fluttershy giggled.
Both of her friends tilted their heads in confusion at that.
"Pinkie told me that everyone in her family has some sort of sense power. She can predict random things around her, Maud can find anything she's looking for, Marble can tell what people are feeling, and Limestone can tell when people are lying to her."
"Sounds like fun," Lightning chuckled. "Hope Maud's boyfriend never cheats on her."
"May god have mercy on his soul," Vinyl sighed. "At least Sunset doesn't need to worry about some lunatic trying to get her for awhile. Girl deserves a break from all that."
"Tell me about it," Lightning sighed. "But what are we going to do? If Maud couldn't find her, how the heck are we going to?"
"Maybe Sunset can-" Vinyl froze, eyes locked onto something in the distance.
Confused, her friends followed her line of sight. The second they saw the bridge, all the color drained from their faces.
"That's the place, right?" she asked, a hint of melancholy coloring her tone as she stared at the bridge.
"Not a lot of bridges over Canter Creek," Lightning frowned, crossing her arms.
Fluttershy silently glared at the structure, a bit of her magic flaring in response to her anger.
"It should be demolished," she hissed.
"Yeah," Vinyl sighed, staring at the ground. "Considering its track record."
"Huh?" Both girls said in unison as they turned their heads towards the DJ.
"Did some research when we got back. Turns out that bridge is a pretty common suicide bridge. At least one person throws themselves off it each month. Earned it the nickname Death Bridge about a year ago."
They gawked in horror at their friend then shifted their gaze back towards the bridge. As they did, a morbid thought passed between them.
"Y-You don't think-," Lightning gulped
"Nah," Vinyl said with a dry chuckle. "If she jumped it'd be on the news by now."
"That's good," Fluttershy sighed, placing a hand on her chest.
In spite of the trace of joy that thought gave her, she couldn't help giving the bridge an uneasy glare. There was just something about the structure that felt wrong to her. It was like she was staring at a hiding predator, like a trapdoor spider waiting for some unsuspecting mouse to wander by. The thought of so many people falling to their deaths put a chill down her spine, a fact that became even more horrible when she remembered that Sunset almost became the bridge's next victim. As she stared at the grim structure, a figure on its side platform caught her attention.
"Who's that?" Fluttershy asked, mostly to herself as she squinted at the figure.
"Who's who?" Lightning asked, trying to follow Fluttershy's line of sight.
"There," she said, pointing towards the figure.
"Don't know," Vinyl said grimly. "But if they're here alone that can't be a good sign."
"Hold on," Lightning said, reaching into her jacket pocket. "Might as well see how good these things are over here."
As she said that, she pulled out a pair of brass goggles and strapped them on. The second they were in place, she focused on the figure on the bridge. Her eyes widened when the spell on the goggles zoomed in on the figure.
"FUCK!" she roared and bolted as fast as the could towards the bridge.
She barely registered her friends startled cries as she ran, sheer terror tearing through her veins. She made it to the bridge's entry stairs in seconds and pushed herself to move faster, jumping up three steps at a time.
"Hell no! Not gonna happen!" she panted as she cleared the stares and rammed into the metal door at the top.
The second she made it onto the bridge's main pedestrian platform, she scanned her surroundings for the reason she was there. A figure with a messy head of rainbow hair looking over the bridge's guardrail grabbed her attention.
"DON'T YOU DARE!!!" she roared as she bolted towards the girl.
Rainbow had just enough time to turn her head towards the running girl before said girl tackled her to the ground. The sporty teen let out a groan as she pushed Lightning off of herself.
"What the hell Lightning?" she groaned, rubbing the back of her head.
"Don't give me that," Lightning growled as she stood back up. "If I hadn't been here someone would've been fishing you out of the creek."
"What?" Rainbow blinked.
"You were about to jump!" Lightning exclaimed.
"No I wasn't," Rainbow sighed, rising to her own feet. "I was just getting some air."
"I bet," Lightning grumbled. "Look Rainbow, I may not like you all that much right now, but I still don't want you to off yourself. That's not going to fix anything."
"I know," Rainbow said flatly. "That's why I wasn't going to do it."
Lightning's anger faded away when she gave her former friend and rival a good long look. The girl looked like she hadn't taken care of herself in a while, which was really saying something. While she wasn't as into her looks as most girls were, she always made sure to do the minimum bits of maintenance in regards to her appearance. The bags under her eyes showed just how much sleep she had been getting and the lack of energy she gave off reminded Lightning of a zombie.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Rainbow sighed, forcing a smile. "I'm just working through some things. No biggie."
"Bullshit," Lightning growled. "You look like hell. Spill it."
Rainbow stared blankly at her for a minute, then sighed as she stood limp before her former friend. Her head fell forward as a dead voice fell past her lips.
"I pushed her to this. I made her think this was an option Lightning. I hurt her so bad that she thought that she had to kill herself to make it stop. All of this was going to be the last things she saw before she died."
As she said that, she gestured to the sheet metal and steel girders that made up Canter Bridge with an arm before she let it fall limply to her side.
"And if that wasn't bad enough," she continued. "I nearly planed to sick a mob on her. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I really that screwed up?"
Slowly, she raised her head until she locked her dead eyes with Lightning.
"I-I'm scared Lightning. I don't know what is wrong with me and it scares the hell out of me."
Lightning's stared Rainbow down for a minute, her face unreadable as she tried to find the words she needed. This was a delicate situation and unfortunately for Lightning, delicate wasn't her thing most of the time.
She brought this upon herself, The Voice said, tone empty of emotion. She betrayed Sunset.
I know that, Lightning thought. But I can't leave things like this. I hope she can forgive me later.
"Hey," Lightning snapped. "I'm gonna ask you something and I want an honest answer. No bullshit. Got it?"
Rainbow nodded.
"I'm serious," she frowned.
"Yeah," Rainbow sighed. "Ask away."
"Have you thought about killing yourself lately?"
For several minutes Rainbow stayed deathly still, then gave a stiff nod.
"I thought about it a couple times, but my shrink's helping me keep that under control."
"You've got a counselor then? Good. That'll make things a bit easier."
Rainbow nodded stiffly.
"Look," Lightning sighed. "You still have my number, right?"
Again, Rainbow nodded.
"Then if things get a bit much for you, send me a text or call me. Like I said, I'm still mad at you, but I don't want to see a report about how someone found you rotting in a ditch somewhere or something."
"D-Do you mean that?" she stammered, traces of shock forming in the blue girl's dead features.
"Of course," Lightning said with a sad smile.
She flinched when Rainbow suddenly threw her arms around her and balled into her shoulder, but quickly shook off the shock as she held her former friend and rival.
"You're gonna get through this," Lightning smiled. "I promise."
A light squeaking from the metal door Lightning barreled through and a pair of panting breaths announced the presence of the two friends she left behind.
"A-Are we interrupting something?" Vinyl gasped.
"Kinda," Lightning shrugged, still hugging a crying Rainbow. "Let's just say Sunset and Derpy are gonna have a few choice words for me later."
"I-Is she going to be okay?" Fluttershy panted, fear heavy in her eyes given the bridge's apparent reputation.
"She will be," Lightning frowned. "I'm gonna make sure of it."
***
Octavia hummed a happy tune as she walked through the busy city streets, loaded shopping bags hanging loosely from her left arm while scrolling through her phone with her right. While she was more then happy with the gifts her parents gave her, she couldn't deny that they had a rather limited understanding when it came to the appeal of casual clothes. Fine dresses and formal wear were certainly worthy of her social status, but certain occasions called for a simple T-shirt and jeans.
She gave the bag an appreciative smile as she adjusted her designer faux-fur coat.
"Nothing like a little shopping to help one unwind for a bit," she murmured to herself as she put her phone away.
The familiar hum of city noise calmed her as she made her way through the loaded streets. Many took such a din for granted, but her brief stay in Equestria reminded her of how much that cluster of white noise was a part of her. While the quiet simplicity of Ponyville was refreshing, it felt almost alien to her after spending so much of her life in the bustle of Canterlot City. For many it was noise. For her, it was home.
As she walked she noticed a local park in the distance. Getting her bearings, she noted that it was roughly in the direction of her home. Granted, it would put her out of her way by a few minutes, but not by enough to really matter in the long run.
Oh, why not? she thought with a shrug.
As she stepped onto the park's grounds, the sounds of the city were muffled by the simple tranquility of nature. The sights and smells of snow and plants balanced well with the beeping of horns in the distance and the faint taste of exhaust in the air. It was a strange form of harmony, but one that Octavia found her zen in much the same way as when she was holding her cello.
Her good mood dimmed when she saw a familiar girl sitting in on nearby park bench. Though sitting was too general of a term. She was slumped forward in her seat, her normally well brushed purple curls a mangled mess hiding her face. Surrounding her were countless empty bottles with labels that made Octavia's heart drop. A deep frown carved its way across her face as she approached the girl.
"I thought you kicked this habit," she said coldly, staring down at the girl.
She flinched, then slowly raised her head to face Octavia.
Rarity's eyes were red and puffy from crying with none of her makeup to hide the growing bags under her eyes. The blue eyes that locked with Octavia's lavender ones were empty of all emotion beyond self-loathing. The musician's frown softened slightly as concern wormed its way into her heart.
"Talk," she intoned, taking a seat next to her former friend.
"What is there to talk about?" Rarity asked hollowly as her face turned back to the ground.
"What indeed," Octavia sighed. "Perhaps why you're out here getting drunk would be a good place to start."
"Why do you care?" Rarity hissed. "I thought we were done. That associating with me would damage your reputation."
"A lady is allowed to change her mind when the situation calls for it," Octavia sighed. "Such as when one sees their old friend destroying themselves in a park. Now talk."
Rarity stayed silent for a few minutes, then let out a shaky sigh as she broke the silence.
"I-I think a part of me wants to hurt my sister. Every time I have too much to drink, I damage something that reminds me of her. But the drink makes the pain stop. It makes the pain from hurting Sunset so deeply stop. I know it's selfish of me, but I can't take it Octavia. It's like I have ice in my veins and everything inside me is rotting from it!"
She turned to face her friend, tears running down her face as she broke down.
"I.....need this Octavia. Even if it's destroying me I need this to deal with the pain."
For a moment, Octavia stared in stunned shock at her friend, only for red hot anger to fill her like steam in a kettle.
"You're right. That is selfish."
She grabbed the weeping girl by the shoulders and glared into her eyes with the intensity of an air-bound falcon.
"What do you think this will accomplish? Will this make the pain stop? Will this make up for what happened between you and Sunset? Will your family be happy to see you like this? God damn it Rarity, WHAT WAS IT THAT GAVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO STOP THIS IN THE PAST?! TELL ME!!!"
Rarity's eyes widened in the face of Octavia's words, a bit of life seen flickering in the blue orbs as they took hold of what little fire she still held in her heart.
"M-My mother. M-My father. And my..."
Octavia sighed, then said, "You feel bad for what you did to Sunset? Imagine how Sweetie feels for a moment. She pushed a girl to attempt suicide and has to live with that for the rest of her life. She needs you to be strong. So please, stop this."
The small embers that Octavia saw turned into a roaring flame as her former friend gave her a determined, yet shaky smile.
"I-I will try."
"Not good enough," Octavia grimaced. "I don't want you to try. That isn't what stopped this in the past. Be better. Be the sister she needs. Will you do that?"
"Y-Yes," she said shakily.
"More conviction," Octavia demanded.
"Y-Yes," Rarity said, a bit less uncertainty in her tone.
"Are you trying to convince yourself or me? Show me that strong heart we both know you have!"
"Yes!" Rarity yelled, a raging inferno blazing in her eyes she locked eyes with the musician. "I will get through this! I will be better! Rarity Belle is no quitter!"
"Good to hear love," Octavia said, a faint smile gracing her lips. "And your sister?"
A sad smile formed on Rarity's lips as the fire within her dimmed slightly.
"I will do whatever I can to help her."
"Excellent," Octavia beamed. "Now, about this."
As she said that, she kicked a glass bottle to the side and Rarity blushed.
"I-I suppose I went a little overboard on my instead didn't I?"
"Your what?" she asked.
"Well, my therapist suggested that I find a substitute for my, uh, coping tool as it were. Since it worked last time, I bought a six pack of root beer for when the urge got a bit much."
Octavia counted the discarded bottles, then gave the girl a quirked brow.
"Love, there are thirty bottles on the ground."
"I made multiple trips," she said sheepishly as she wiped her tears away.
"Indeed," she said, a light chuckle escaping her. "Would you please hand me your phone?"
Nodding, Rarity handed over the device in question. After a few quick screen taps, she returned the phone to its owner. A brief investigation made Rarity's eyes widen with shock before shifting to the faintly smiling young woman before her.
"Be sure to use that when you run out of root beer. I will always make time for you, love."
"B-But what about Sunset?" Rarity stammered.
"I will make sure to let her know the circumstances when I tell her. Don't worry love. Things will get better from here."
***
Bonbon sighed as she stared at the massive display of blue Magic the Gathering cards in Card Stock's shop. Like she pointed out to Sunset, she wasn't as huge of a fan of the game as Lyra, but that didn't mean she didn't update her deck whenever she had the chance. The problem was that it had been so long since she last did this that the choices were too massive to sift through. Not helping was her growing concern with her friend's sudden interest in black cards, a set of magic cards that Lyra had avoided like the plague for as long as the two had known each other.
"Hey Bonbon, which do you think I should use?" Lyra asked, from one of the aisles.
Bonbon sighed, then walked in the direction she heard her friend's voice. When she got there she found her friend standing in front of an uncomfortably grim display of fever dreams on card stock.
"Which ones are you talking about?" she asked, grimacing at the umbral horrors for sale.
"This guy and this guy," Lyra said, pointing to two cards in particular.
Bonbon looked at the two cards and was relieved that they were at least humanoid. The artwork of most of the black cards always disturbed her. Generally, they ranged from Lovecraftian mutations to things strait out of gothic horror. At least the cards from her preferred color tended to lean more towards the technical side of things or were relatively easy on the eyes. Lyra seemed to be interested in a couple of black knights that were equal parts impressive and imposing, something Bonbon could handle.
Looking over both cards she pointed to one of them and said, "This one looks good. You should be able to get a few good plays going if you get the right support cards for it."
Lyra put a hand up to her chin and stared at the card, mulling over what her friend said as she did.
"Good point. Plus, Knight of Ebon Legion is pretty easy to summon and he doesn't cost that much."
"For once," Bonbon sighed. "Honestly, how can you afford some of the cards you buy sometimes?"
"Tournaments pay pretty well when you win," Lyra snickered.
"Looks that way," she said, rolling her eyes.
Lyra was about to respond to that, only for something behind her friend to make her pause. Curious, Bonbon turned to look at what had her friend's attention. What she saw made her grimace.
Standing a couple feet away from them in another aisle was none other then Applejack. The farmer seemed to be staring at a set of green cards, though it was difficult to tell if she was admiring them or deciding if she wanted to buy them. Not helping was how blank her eyes seemed to be as they shifted from card to card. Adding to their concern was how out of it the teen seemed to be. Bonbon was used to seeing the farm girl full of life and pride as she went about her days practically flooding with life. Now she looked like she was barely holding herself together as she scanned the aisle she was in like an animated scarecrow.
What Lyra saw made her heart fall into her stomach like a lead weight. For a short moment she saw the farm girl standing in an open plane surrounded by forests with pools of dark sludge covering her and her surroundings like cancerous boils. Several elves and elementals looked to be covered with the same toxic substance as they meandered through the damaged scenery. When the scene shifted back to the card shop, a determined frown formed on her face as Lyra approached the girl. Bonbon sighed as she followed.
"Yo," Lyra said, waving at her.
Applejack flinched, then leveled a stiff smile as she said, "H-Howdy. Been a while, hadn't it?"
"Yeah," Bonbon frowned. "Never pegged you as a card shark. Got a deck in mind?"
Applejack shied away from the pair at that and shook her head.
"Granny and Mac told me ta' find somethin' ta' do today. Said Ah'd been spendin' too much time in the orchard lately."
"Aren't the trees hibernating this time of year?" Bonbon asked.
Applejack nodded, the shadow of her bangs hiding her eyes from them.
"Then why are you in the orchard?" Bonbon probed.
Applejack didn't say anything at that. Instead, she turned her head towards the wall of forest cards and treefolk.
"Ah like trees," she said stiffly. "Always have. Being around them helps me think sometimes. Makes me feel safe. Lately, Ah've been wondering if Ah deserve that. Maybe Ah aint a true apple after all."
Bonbon took a step back at that. The sorry state of her former friend was one thing, but this was something else entirely. Lyra picked up on that, but instead of rearing back she moved forwards towards the hollow young woman.
"That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard," Lyra frowned, placing a hand on Applejack's shoulder. "Right Bons?"
Frown deepening, Bonbon nodded as she moved to her friend's side.
"You screwed up," Bonbon added, making Applejack flinch slightly. "But you want to make up for it. That's what really matters, right?"
Reluctantly, Applejack nodded.
Bonbon's brow twitched at that.
"That wasn't very convincing," she said flatly. "Where's the nerve you had last week when you came here? Where's that pride you Apples are always talking about?"
Applejack cringed back again at that, then muttered, "Bad apples don't deserve pride."
Bonbon's jaw clenched as a flurry of words ran to the tip of her tongue. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed them and instead grabbed the wayward farmer's hand.
"Come with me," she said, gently pulling the girl along.
Lyra exchanged a look with Bonbon as she dragged Applejack away. Lyra sighed and resumed her stroll through the shop, knowing full well that if her friend needed her she wouldn't hesitate to let her know. One way or another.
Please snap her out of this Bony, she thought, twisted images of a poisoned landscape flashing through her head. She needs it more then you think.
***
Applejack didn't resist as Bonbon lead her to the very same door Lyra lead her through the last time she was in the store.
"Do you mind if I borrow the room Card Stock?" Bonbon asked, casting a sad smile towards the shop's owner.
He nodded and with an appreciative smile, she pushed the door open and guided her former friend through the door.
"Alright, now talk," Bonbon frowned. "We've know each other for years and I've never seen you like this. Not even when you accidentally burnt down one of your family's barns."
"I-It's none yall's business Bonbon," Applejack frowned.
"To bad I'm making it my business," Bonbon growled. "Now talk."
Applejack glared at her for a few seconds, then sighed as she stared down at the ground.
"Yall've always been like this Bons. Never takin' no for an answer when ya'll wanted something done."
"It's why our familys always worked so well together," she said with a smile. "When one of us did something stupid or messed up, we'd light a fire under the other."
A sad chuckle slipped past Applejack's lips at that.
"Lately, mah hide's been burning somethin' fierce. It's mah own fault too."
"A little," Bonbon sighed. "You were't the one who framed someone. You just fell for a stupid trick just like half of the other idiots in class."
"But Ah should've known better," she growled, hands clenched into tight fists as the weight of her crimes fell onto her shoulders. "Ah've spend time with Sunset. We all did! We should've known that it was all just a load of crap! Hell, Ah even told her we were like family! Family Bons! How could Ah turn on her like that if she was my family?!"
For a moment, Bonbon let the farm girl stand there, tears of rage and self-loathing sliding down her face as she let what little armor she held on her heart finally fall. Then, the pink and blue hared girl did something that made Applejack gasp in shock; she pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"We all do stupid things when we're hurt," she sighed, gently rubbing Applejack's back. "At least, that's what my granny once told me. It doesn't mean we're bad so long as we are willing to fix things when the dust settles. Do you want to fix this?"
"More than anything," she sobbed, burying her face into Bonbon's shoulder.
"Then you're not a bad apple. Neither is your sister from what I've heard. You're just a pair of people who had a case of stupid for a little while."
Applejack chuckled wetly at that, then said, "Ya sound a lot like the shrink Ah've been seeing lately."
"Then you better take what I'm saying seriously," she frowned. "Or so help me, I'll tie you up and make you. Got me?"
"Yeah," Applejack smiled, finally feeling a little bit like her old self again. "Ah got yah Bons."
"Same here, cousin," she sighed, letting a bit more tenderness enter her tone. "Just call me when things get like this. I may be mad at you, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about you."
"Right," Applejack sighed. "Ah'll keep that in mind."
"You better," she smiled.