“Sunset! What the fuck?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, grabbing Sunset’s arms. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t look at Rainbow either.
“Rainbow Dash! Language!” Rarity scolded. Rainbow ignored her.
Rainbow pushed up the sleeves of Sunset’s leather jacket. All along her arms were raw, nasty cuts. Five on her left arm and four on her right were bleeding, and others were clearly fresh, while some were scabbed over and a few were just pale pink scars.
Nobody noticed as Fluttershy kneeled down to pick up Sunset’s notebook.
“Oh sugarcube, we’re so sorry,” Applejack said, taking off her hat and holding it to her chest. Pinkie’s hair deflated as Rarity reached over to help Rainbow pull Sunset’s jacket off. Rarity reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. She lifted Sunset’s chin, gently wiping away the tears and some of the blood on her cheek.
“Guys,” Fluttershy said quietly, sitting on the floor with Sunset’s journal open.
“Why Sunny? Why?” Pinkie asked, taking a step closer to Sunset.
“It’s not your fault, guys,” Sunset mumbled. She looked back to the ground. Rarity reached for her backpack, digging through it until she produced a small first-aid kit.
“It’s not much, but it’ll get her cleaned up,” Rarity said. Rainbow and Applejack each took Sunset by her shoulders and led her over to the sinks. Sunset leaned up against the wall between two sinks and let Rarity get to work cleaning her arms.
Normally, Rarity avoided blood at all costs, but for Sunset she was willing to dirty her hands.
“Guys,” Fluttershy said, a little louder this time. Still nobody paid her any attention.
“What’s goin’ on, sugarcube? Why are ya doin’ this to yerself?” Applejack slid into the small space left between Sunset and the sink.
Sunset shook her head.
“I-I just can’t stop,” she whispered.
“Is it us? Oh it must be us…” Pinkie spoke from Rarity’s left.
“It-it isn’t y-you.” Sunset said again, voice wobbling. She hissed as Rarity swiped a hydrogen-peroxide pad over her open cuts.
“Sorry darling,” Rarity apologized.
“It's okay.” Sunset laid her head back against the wall. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked more tired than any of the girls had ever seen her.
Rarity bandaged the open cuts after cleaning them. As soon as she was done, Sunset slid down the wall and slumped to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She buried her face into her knees as she tried to get the burning feeling to ease off her eyes.
“Guys,” Fluttershy said again. Pinkie looked at her but didn’t say anything.
Applejack kneeled down next to Sunset on the floor. “What can we do for ya, sugarcube? How can we help?” She placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder.
“I-I don’t know.” The tears started gushing down her face again. Applejack leaned forward to hug her.
“Guys!” Fluttershy said, even louder this time. Everyone turned to look at her.
“What is it, Fluttershy? Don’t you see that we have a problem here?” Rainbow said, annoyed. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy.
“Yes, Rainbow Dash, I do.” Fluttershy was almost angry, glaring at Rainbow. She held up Sunset’s journal. Sunset’s eyes widened.
“Now Fluttershy, darling. We don’t need to be going through Sunset’s personal business.” Rarity chimed in, packing away her first aid kit.
“Well, I already did.” Fluttershy turned to Sunset. “Sunset, why didn’t you say anything?” Tears sprung up in Fluttershy’s eyes. Sunset covered her face with her hands.
“I didn’t want you to worry. I’m- I’m working on getting a place, I promise! It’s just the paperwork and getting an identity in this world together and-” Sunset burst into tears again.
“Wait, Sunset? Are you saying that you’re homeless?!” Rainbow was fuming now. Sunset nodded solemnly.
“Oh Sunny, why didn’t you tell us?! You could have stayed with any of us!” Pinkie began crying waterfalls.
“That’s not all.” Fluttershy flipped to the second most recent entry. She handed the notebook to Rarity. The purple haired girl began to skim the pages. More tears sprang up in her eyes as she read.
Rarity slammed the notebook closed and dropped it into the sink beside her.
“That’s it, you’re staying with one of us and we’re getting you help.” Rarity wasn’t asking, she was demanding. The other girls had never heard her like that before.
“I-I think I’m depressed,” Sunset whispered, keeping her head down in her hands.
“It’s okay Sunset, we’re here for ya. Ah promise.” Applejack wrapped an arm around her waist in an attempt at comforting her.
“Should we ditch? Take Sunny back to one of our places?” Pinkie asked, picking up Sunset’s jacket off the floor. The inside of the sleeves were stained with blood and it was still severely beaten up from their fight at the Fall Formal. Fluttershy nodded.
“What other choice do we have? She can’t go to class like this.” Fluttershy picked herself up, dusting off her skirt as she did.
“Fluttershy’s right. She needs to get fluids in her system and to get some sleep in a real bed,” Rarity said. Everyone nodded in response.
“I don’t want to be a bother.” Sunset lifted her head and laid it back down on Applejack’s shoulder.
“Ya need help, sugarcube. Ya aren’t being a bother for needin’ help.” Applejack said. Rainbow nodded.
“Yeah! We don’t like seeing you in pain, Sunset.” Rainbow looked at the ground. “Even if seeing you cry at the Fall Formal felt extremely rewarding,” she added, mumbling.
“Rainbow Dash! That is such a terrible thing to say!” Rarity slapped Rainbow’s arm.
“No, she’s right. I was awful. I deserve all of this.” Sunset brought her hands back up to her face and tried to hide away from the other five girls.
“That’s not true, Sunny,” Pinkie said.
“Yeah, we all love you.” Fluttershy joined in.
“What ya did is in tha past now.” Applejack rubbed a hand up and down Sunset’s arm from where she had her left arm wrapped around the crying girl.
“You don’t deserve to be in pain, darling.” Rarity shook her head.
Rainbow stayed quiet. All four girls turned to glare at her. She laughed nervously before saying, “We want to help you, you just have to let us in.” She gave Rarity a look that said ‘happy?’.
“So, are we ditching?” Fluttershy asked again.
“When you put it like that it sounds terrible. We are simply helping a friend. If that includes leaving school then so be it!” Rarity held her head high, despite the situation.
“Come on sugarcube.” Applejack slowly helped Sunset get up off the floor.
“Pinkie, give me her jacket.” Rarity reached out for the beaten up leather she was still holding. Pinkie handed it off to her. Rarity held it up, inspecting it.
“We’ll take her to my place. My parents are out of town and we have a guest room.” The girls nodded in confirmation. Rarity walked over to where Sunset was now standing.
“Here, darling. Put his back on,” she said, helping Sunset into her jacket. Sunset pulled it tight around her body, holding it in place and hugging herself. She lowered her head and let her red and yellow hair fall around her face, shielding her from the world.
The other five all exchanged a worried glance. They had never seen Sunset like this, so broken and vulnerable, not even the night of the Fall Formal.
Fluttershy grabbed Sunset’s backpack from the stall she had been sitting in when they found her. Pinkie found the diary in the sink and handed it to the yellow girl, who slipped it into the backpack. She zipped it up and handed it to Rainbow Dash, who slung it over her shoulder accompanying her own.
Applejack and Rarity walked on either side of Sunset, Applejack with an arm around her waist and Rarity holding her hand. The other three walking in formation around them, keeping them away from prying eyes that might still be in the hallways. The bell would be ringing for fifth period soon and the girls hurried to get Sunset out of the building.
They walked up to Fluttershy’s car. As the oldest of the group, she was the only one with both a drivers license and a car. She pulled her keys from her skirt pocket and made sure everyone was inside safely. Pinkie in the passenger seat, with Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow sitting in the back, Sunset in Applejack’s lap with her head resting on her shoulder.
Fluttershy drove them to Rarity’s and Pinkie Pie kept looking back behind her to check on Sunset. Her hair still hadn’t returned to it’s regular poofy form again. She sat in her seat with her arms crossed, a worried look on her face.
When they pulled into Rarity’s driveway, Applejack carried Sunset out of the car and inside. Once everyone had entered the house, Rarity led Applejack with Sunset still in her arms upstairs so that the redhead could get some sleep.
Rarity opened the guest bedroom door and Applejack carried Sunset over to the bed, laying her down on it. Rainbow Dash walked in behind them and set her backpack at the foot of the bed.
“It’s our lucky day, because Sunset keeps all her clothes in her backpack,” Rainbow said, pulling out the only pair of pajamas the homeless girl had.
“Nonsense, I’ll get her some of mine. Those look horrid.” Rarity shook her head, taking the clothes from Rainbow and fishing around the backpack for any others, only finding one other set of clothes. Sunset looked like she wanted to object, but kept her mouth shut.
She left the room, clothes in hand, presumably to be washed. Applejack and Rainbow sat on the bed around Sunset.
“You could have just told us,” Rainbow mumbled, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.
“I know.” Sunset’s voice sounded so miserable and tired, the other two silently agreed to let her rest. She had just started to drift off when Rarity returned with an oversized graphic t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants.
“Applejack, lift her up and bring her into the bathroom.” Applejack nodded, moving to pick the redhead back up. Rainbow spotted a tape measure in Rarity's other hand and shook her head.
Applejack set Sunset down on the bathroom counter in the hall bathroom and left Rarity to help Sunset get changed. When they came out five minutes later, Rarity was shoving her tape measure back into her pocket. Applejack rolled her eyes before helping Sunset back to the bedroom.
Rainbow pulled back the covers, letting Sunset crawl under them and get comfortable.
“Is there anything else you need, darling?” Rarity asked from the doorway.
“You said she needed fluids.” Fluttershy suddenly appeared behind Rarity, holding a pink reusable water bottle.
“Ah yes, thank you dear.” Rarity smiled at Fluttershy and took the water bottle from her, bringing it over to Sunset. She opened the top which had a straw and carefully helped her drink some before the girl all together passed out.
“That should be okay. Get some rest, Sunset.” Rarity smiled down at Sunset as she closed the water bottle and set it on the side table, brushing a piece of hair out of Sunset’s face just as she drifted off to sleep as last.
“We should have someone stay with her at all times. Or like, go in a rotation,” Rainbow said, laying behind Sunset on top of the covers.
“Ah reckon you wanna take the first watch?” Applejack said. Rainbow nodded.
“Okay darling. We’ll send Pinkie in after an hour.”
Rarity and Applejack left the room, cracking the door so they could hear any commotion from downstairs.
“Ya took that poor girl's measurements, didn’t ya?” Applejack asked her as rarity made her way back to her bedroom, presumably to put away her tape measure. Rarity pulled out her phone, flashing her notepad with Sunset’s measurements written on it.
“Of course ya did.” Applejack rolled her eyes again as Rarity put away the tape measure.
“Go get the girls and bring them up here. I think we need to talk, and I need to get to work on fixing this jacket,” Rarity said, holding up Sunset’s battered leather jacket.
Applejack nodded, heading down the stairs and beckoning the other two girls to follow her back up to Rarity’s room.
Once they had all gotten settled in, Rarity began scrolling through the measurements on her phone.
“She’s terribly malnourished. I’m only two inches taller than her and her measurements are drastically smaller. It was awful girls, you should have seen her. It was like she was just skin and bones.” Rarity shook her head and put away her phone.
“How do we help her?” Fluttershy asked, knees pulled up to her chest.
“Her journal said she lived in an abandoned warehouse and struggled to eat everyday, on top of all the stress from school and possibly being depressed, she can’t be okay in any sense of the word.” Rarity pulled Sunset’s leather jacket into her lap to inspect it.
“Should we tell an adult? Get Sunny the help she needs?” Pinkie asked, her hair slowly poofing back up.
“Who would we tell?” Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie’s hair deflated again.
“Well, she can stay here for a few more days. My parents won’t be back until next weekend. I’ll make her some next clothes and fix up this jacket,” Rarity said, slipping on her red glasses to inspect it closer.
“If she was willin’ to help around the farm, ah’m sure Granny wouldn’t mind her stayin with us. Mah bed has a trundle she can sleep on,” Applejack suggested.
“That might work, AJ,” Fluttershy said. “And there’s always room for her at my place if she needs a little more time to recover before she can help out around the farm,” she added.
“Yay! We have places for Sunny to go!” Pinkie cheered, her hair bouncing back to its original form.
“Pinkie! Quiet! Sunset’s just in the next room over!” Rarity chided. Pinkie sat back down, pulling what appeared to be a chocolate chip cookie out of her hair. Flutterhsy gave her a disgusted look, but didn’t comment.
Back in the guest room, rainbow was gently stroking Sunset’s hair as she slept, the girl occasionally jerking to the side or away from her and letting out small whimpers and sobs. Rainbow just tried to keep her from falling off the side of the bed and tried to calm her down, although she didn’t know how well it was working.
Sunset suddenly started awake, immediately rolling away and trying to get out of Rainbow’s grasp with mumbles of “no” and “stop”.
“Sunset! It’s okay, it’s just me! Rainbow Dash! You’re safe,” she tried to reassure Sunset, pulling her back to be closer to her. Sunset looked up at her with those big teal eyes that just made her want to melt.
“You’re safe,” she said again, holding Sunset with one hand and stroking her hair with the other.
Sunset leaned forward, falling to rest her forehead on Rainbow’s collarbone. Rainbow accepted this as she tried to coax Sunset back to sleep. It had only been fifteen minutes after all.
Soon the other girls barged in, worried. Their eyes fell on Rainbow holding Sunset and playing with her hair and they instantly relaxed.
“Uh- I swear it’s not what it looks like! She was just having a nightmare!” Rainbow blushed, trying to defend herself.
“It’s fine, Rainbow,” Applejack said, leaning up against the door frame. The other girls crowded into the room, sitting around Sunset and Rainbow on the bed.
“I feel safer with you all here,” Sunset mumbled, moving her head slightly to look out at the rest of them. They all smiled.
“We’re glad, Sunset,” Fluttershy rested a hand on Sunset’s shoulder and rubbed gently.
“You’re not going to have to be alone anymore, we promise!” Pinkie went to hug her, but Fluttershy gently nudged her away, as the area around Sunset was already very crowded. She pouted, but soon went back to smiling
“We’ll get you help, it’s going to be just fine, darling.” Rarity smiled at Sunset, brushing a hand through her hair from where she sat next to Rainbow.
“We’re proud to call ya our friend, Sunset. Don’tcha ever forget that,” Applejack said, coming into the room and sitting down in the desk chair somebody had pulled up to the bedside.
Sunset smiled at all of them.
“And I really couldn’t ask for better friends.”