"How have things been?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"At home?" Apple Bloom asked back. "They're not too bad. I've been helping out a bit more since Applejack left, but Mac still does most of the work. It's not too bad."
"Have you heard anything from her?"
Apple Bloom shrugged, then took a slow sip of her hot cocoa. "Not really. She writes to say she's alright and doing well, but not much besides that. She's never been much of a phone person."
Sweetie pulled out her own phone to have a look at the time, and at any incoming messages she might have failed to notice. "How long do you think it'll take for Scootaloo to be here? She's already late."
"It's not like her to be too late, I don't think it'll take too much." Apple Bloom drank some more chocolate. "Rarity isn't doing too bad, is she?"
Sweetie Belle looked to the side, wishing she could just ignore the question entirely. "She's doesn't look like she's doing too well, but you know how she gets. She's always way more dramatic than you need to be with these things." She could even realistically claim it wasn't a lie, even though it felt like one.
Apple Bloom nodded, still sipping her chocolate. The less she asked about it right then the better, as far as Sweetie was concerned.