In the pitch black, the only thing to keep me company was a faint beeping. The kind of beeping that could drive one crazy after a while. I could also vaguely hear the sound of someone sobbing quietly in the background, every now and then the sobbing was broken by whispered apologies.
“*Sob* I’m so sorry, *sob* Sunset.” the voice would whisper. The whispering voice had a very recognisable rasp to it.
“Dash?” I said in my head. The voice gasped. I had inadvertently whispered it.
“Sunset! Oh my gosh: you’re okay!” Rainbow Dash said, her tone of voice betraying the relief she probably felt. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over to where she was sitting. I couldn”t quite place my surroundings. Off white walls, floor coverings and a dull grey ceiling. Uncomfortable pillow. Then realisation hit me. I had actually committed suicide. Well, attempted to, anyway.
‘Can’t even do that right.’ I thought to myself. “How did I get here?” I asked Dash, trying to hide the disappointment at failing to off myself.
“I saw you jump off the bridge, so I managed to pony up and dive in after you. The impact knocked you out and very nearly did the same to me. I got you back up to the surface, but you were barely breathing. I wrapped you up in my jacket and called 911. That’s how you got here.” Dash started explaining, but started breaking down to tears. This was a side of her I had never seen. “It’s all my fault.” She said, fresh tears running down the tracks that were there from her previous bout of crying.
“You were out for a week. You had me worried.” she said, turning to me and wrapping me in an embrace.
“Why would you be worried about a fuck up like me?” I asked with very little emotion, causing Dash to flinch.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my friend, Sunset Shimmer, even if I didn’t show it before now.” Dash replied, tears still falling down her cheeks onto my shoulder.
__________________________________________
I couldn’t believe my ears. After a week, Sunset was finally awake. But there was something wrong. Her eyes no longer held any joy, or any emotion at all. All there was, was a dead expression. A void, lacking a spark of life. I couldn’t help but cry as she embraced me back, hesitantly at first.
“It’s not your fault Dash,” she said breathilly, voice devoid of emotion. “My past actions left little to be desired.”
“It still doesn’t excuse my lack of loyalty. You needed us all during this whole fiasco, but we all abandoned you the second it looked like you were returning to your old ways. I abandoned you. There wasn’t even a shred of evidence proving that it was you who was posting secrets online.” I said, tightening the embrace I had her in. “I never would have forgiven myself if you had actually succeeded in…” I didn’t finish. I just squeezed my eyes shut, fresh tears falling down my face, and landing on her shoulder.
“There was no evidence proving it wasn’t me either.” she said, her body shuddering.
“Still though, where was my loyalty? The Element of Harmony I’m supposed to represent?”I asked no-one in particular. The question made Sunset break down completely, causing her to hug me tighter. “I swear, Sunset. I’ll find Anon-A-Miss, and I’ll make them pay.”
“Have you told the others yet?” Sunset asked after we broke the embrace.
“No. I wanted to make sure you were okay first. So far, Applejack is waiting for news because I called her that morning to find out if she had received the same text from you that I did.” I replied.
“Well, there’s no use in putting it off any longer.” Sunset said, her voice containing slightly more emotion, but mostly betraying the tiredness she felt. I nodded, took out my phone, and proceeded to call Fluttershy.
“Hey, Flutters, I have some bad news.” I said when she picked up after the fourth ring.
__________________________________________
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, the CMC Clubhouse:
“Ah don’t think we should continue with the blog, you guys.” I said into the microphone of my cell phone. I was currently on a conference call with the rest of the CMC. “Someone could get really hurt.”
“Yeah, well, Sunset should have thought of that before she tried to steal our sisters from us.” the raspy, boyish voice of Scootaloo replied.
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “And weren’t you the one who created the blog in the first place?”
“Yeah, Ah was. And now Ah’m sayin’ we should stop. I got a feelin’ that someone is already badly hurt because of it.” I replied to Sweetie Belle's question.
“Who cares if someone got hurt? Especially if it’s that demon bitch.” Scootaloo said, a hint of scorn in her voice.
“Ah do.” I replied. “Ah’m givin’ y’all ‘til the end of the week. Basically, two days before Christmas, to get on board. If y’all ain’t with me, Ah’m gonna delete the account and go to our sisters with the truth.”
“And if we do get on board with your plan?” Sweetie Belle inquired, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“We still delete the account, and go to our sisters with the truth.” I replied.
“That’s all well and good, but you guys are actually blood relatives of your sisters. Rainbow and I aren’t. I’m just her adoptive sister.” Scootaloo said, traces of sadness in her voice. “She’ll kill me.”
“Sorry, Scootaloo, But whether you’re in or not, you still get burned.” Sweetie Belle said, her tone of voice telling me that she was in.
“Fine, but if I get killed, it’s your fault.” Scootaloo said just before she ended the call.
“We’ll talk about a plan of action tomorrow at our regular meeting, okay Sweetie Belle.” I said.
“Sure, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sweetie Belle said. “No matter what happens, I will always love you.” That statement caused me to blush.
“Ah love ya too, Sweetie Belle.” I said and ended the call.
__________________________________________
A week later, at Fluttershy’s House:
I was lying in my bed, stuck somewhere between sleep and consciousness. It had been like this for the last week. Never ending loops of staring at the cold, grey, unforgiving ceiling. Ever since that fateful call from Rainbow Dash…
A few days earlier…
I was at the animal shelter, just starting my shift, when my cell phone suddenly started ringing. I checked the caller I.D. and saw that it was Rainbow Dash calling.
“Hey, Dashie. What’s up?” I said after accepting the call.
“Hey Flutters. I have some bad news.” Rainbow Dash said. My heart stopped for a second.
“What sort of bad news?” I asked once I had managed to get my heartrate under control.
“It’s about Sunset,” she said, sadness thickly laced in her voice. “She… She tried to…” I heard the phone shift around and Sunset’s voice in the background.
“Just tell her. There’s no use trying to sugarcoat it.”
“Okay.” I heard Rainbow Dash reply in defeat. “She tried to kill herself on Monday.” I gasped, nearly dropping my phone in the process of covering my mouth, tears forming in my eyes.
“I-is she… Okay?” I asked, trying to get my voice to cooperate with me through the sobs.
“She’s fine now. They’re gonna keep her for a few more days for observation.” Rainbow Dash said. “She suffered a slight concussion and has multiple cuts on both of her arms, both of her legs, her abdomen and had a bit of hypothermia from the water.”
“O-okay. J-just let me know W-when Sh-she gets out.” I said, tears falling uncontrollably down my cheeks.
“I will, Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash said. “Take care.”
“I will, bye.” I replied before Rainbow Dash ended the call. After the call had ended, I pressed up against the wall, and slid down until I was sitting down with my legs brought up close. I buried my face in my knees, and wept uncontrollably until Dr. Rescue came in and saw me, giving me the day off.
Present day…
I didn’t have the will to return to work. How can I show kindness toward animals when the one person who needed it, got nothing but meanness instead? Sunset had been released last week Sunday, but I couldn’t get the fact that my lack of kindness had almost caused someone, one of my best friends, no less, to almost commit suicide. Some Element of Kindness I turned out to be.
__________________________________________
The Castle of Friendship:
The journal that shared a connection with the one that Sunset had in the other world was vibrating when I got back after the recent Princess Summit. I opened it and read the latest entry, expecting the problems Sunset had had recently been solved, but was surprised at what I saw instead. I hastily grabbed a quill in my raspberry aura and scribbled out a hasty, panic filled reply.
Sunset Shimmer
Please, don’t do what I think you’re going to do. I hope I’m not too late, but you are loved. You are my friend and I would sorely miss you. You can come back to Equestria. Princess Celestia is quite worried about you. Please, reply to me as soon as possible.
Your friend
Twilight Sparkle.