I walk beside a group of my friends, heading home from one of our Tuesday morning Brunches. I stared at the ground slightly, distracted by my thoughts.
Our Tuesday morning Brunch just wasn't the same anymore without Rose Diamond. She would always cut out silly shapes in her food, tell us funny jokes, and always managed to make one of us laugh. I never realized how much I was going to miss that.
“Script?”
“Huh?” I looked up at my friend Lilly who looked at me slightly concerned. “Yeah, what is it?”
“Are you doing okay?” She asked. “You have been kinda zoned out a bit today.”
“Yeah, I’m fine, just… got a lot on my mind, I guess.”
“Okay, well you can talk to us if you need to, yeah?”
I nodded my head in response as I continued staring at the ground. Lilly turned to my friends, telling them to go on without us as she pulled me aside.
“It’s about Rose, isn’t it…?” She asked.
I let out a sigh as I shut my eyes, holding back my tears. “Yeah…”
Lilly pulled me into a hug and held me for a moment. I held her tightly as tears fell down my cheeks.
“Thanks…” I whispered. "You always know when I need a hug…"
“Anytime, Script.”
We caught up with the group after our embrace and continued walking. I finally decided to try to be more positive and engaged in the conversation with my friends. After a few minutes, we passed the local playground. I stopped for a moment staring at the tunnel slide as a memory popped into my head.
---
“You can’t catch me!” Rose Diamond giggled as her friend chased after her.
“Rose, no fair!” Script panted. “You know I can’t run that fast!”
Rose continued to giggle as they continued running. She climbed up the tunnel slide as she hid inside giggling to herself.
‘She’ll never find me in here!’ Rose thought to herself.
“Gotcha!” Script said at the end of the slide. “I could hear your giggles a mile away, you goofball!”
“You still gotta catch me!” Rose ignited her horn and teleported out of the slide back onto the ground.
“Hey, no fair!”
---
“Script, you coming?”
I shook my head as I came back to reality. “Yeah, wait up!”
“Rose, wait up!”
I could still hear the faint giggles of my friend in my head, causing me to tear up a bit more. I quickly wiped my face before my friends could notice.
“What were you looking at, Script?” Ellie asked.
“Nothing just saw a bird or something,” I muttered in response.
We continued walking, passing toward my friend's house. I looked, staring at my friend's bedroom window.
---
Rose sat on her bed brading Script's mane as she sat on the floor brushing her doll's hair.
The two of them were spending the night together at Rose's house for the first time.
"There you go, all done!" Rose said.
Script turned to her friend and smiled at her. "You're lucky, you know." Script uttered.
"What do you mean?"
"You're lucky that you know so much about manes. I don't even know how to put my hair up, any other filly my age can do it, but I can't…"
Rose nudged her with her hoof slightly. "Oh come on. That doesn't matter. I mean, think of what you can do that other foals can't do, like…"
Rose tapped her chin slightly trying to think of something. Script hung her head as her ears dropped back.
"Like your writing! You have such an imagination, I don't think anypony could top that. And, you have a really pretty voice."
Script blushed slightly. "I'm not 'that' good…" she giggled.
"Oh, come on! I bet everypony is jealous of you."
"You think I'm that good?"
"You're better than I am."
"Girl's?" Rose's mother walked into the room. "I hate to interrupt your fun, but it's getting late. You should go to sleep."
"Okay mom," Rose said with a yawn. "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight, girl's."
Rose's mother watched them get into bed, turn off the light, and shut the door.
---
I turned away from my friend's house unable to bear another moment of my pain and kept walking with my friends, approaching my house.
“Thanks for walking me home, girls,” I said.
“No problem, anytime Script.”
My friends turned around to leave as I hesitated a moment.
“Hey, Ellie,” I muttered. “You got a sec…?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
I hung my head slightly as my walls came crashing down, unable to hold it in any longer. Ellie quickly rushed over to my side comforting me.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know anymore…” I sobbed. “I just feel so much pain…”
“From what?”
“Everything…”
"Does this have to do with Rose Diamond?" She asked solemnly.
I nodded my head unable to answer. Ellie pulled me close with her wing and stroked my mane.
"I know it wasn't my fault… but… I just can't help but blame myself…" I sobbed. "I mean… I hurt her so badly… I never meant to, but it happened...I could have stopped it… I could have done something to help her… instead, I just let her suffer..."
Ellie hugged me tight as she tried to comfort me. "I know it's hard, but you need to learn to move on. I think it's the only way to let yourself heal."
"How…?"
"I think you need to learn that on your own."
I stared at the ground for a moment as my mind tried to make sense of what she said.
"I guess I'll try…" I muttered.