//------------------------------//
// 11- i don’t have a clever name 
// Story: Cold 
// by NightCoreMoon 
//------------------------------//

/x/x/x/

“We never meant it to go this far, honest.”

“But...” Applejack runs a hand over her forehead. “But why did you do it?”

“Because...” Applebloom casts her head down. “Because of Sunset. I was jealous that you, my sister, were spending time with her and your friends instead of your family... Instead of me. I wanted to make her look bad, so I made up Anon-a-miss and posted the story about you and made it look like she'd done it.”

“Alright. I get that.” The older sister turns, and puts her back against the headboard of the bed. “But if you were feelin’ neglected by me, you shoulda just said so. I'm sure if I'd asked Sunset and the girls it woulda been okay to invite you too!”

“I know, I know, it was dumb, and if I could go back and undo it, I would.”

“So what about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?” She asks. “What made them get involved?”

“Well, I told them about what I did. Scoots was on board from day one, but Sweetie wasn't. Until y'all had your sleepover at Rarity’s. So she texted me and sent me the photos, and had me upload ‘em. Then she was a part of it. After that, Anon just got outta hand. People started sendin’ her other stuff, photos and messages and videos an’ everything. I didn't wanna keep goin’, I wanted to stop since you stopped bein’ friends with Sunset and I didn't wanna hurt anyone no more. But Scoots wasn't satisfied. She wanted Sunset to be destroyed. It was almost... scary. She kept sayin’ that Sunset deserved it, and I didn't agree but I kept my mouth shut because she was my friend, and I wanted to support her.”

“And what about Belle?”

“I...” Applebloom sighs. “I don't know. She don't talk to me one on one as much as she used to. It feels like she n’ Scoot are just one person now, ‘xept Scoot’s both the mouth and the ears. Ever since I got ‘em into this whole blog business in the first place, she just feels... I dunno. Distant, I guess. But that ain't important right now, is it...”

“Any other time I’d talk to you about that, but you're right. Sunset’s the important one here. So, if I'm hearin’ you right, you're sayin’ that Scoot is the one who's makin’ the decisions for the both of ‘em and Belle’s just goin’ along with it?”

“Pretty much. Belle don't come up with any of the ideas, except the, uh... Rarity thing. I didn't have no part o’ that one, they did it on their own after I gave ‘em the password. I didn't even see those pictures. I ain't keen to turn off the safesearch.”

“Belle came up with postin’ the lewds?” Applejack asks, incredulous. “That don't sound right.”

“Well... it wasn't that she came up with it. She’d took the costume photos and put ‘em in a dropbox the three of us use, so there wouldn't be a trace. Scoots had her snoopin’ in Rarity’s phone for dirt and she found the convo records that had the pics in ‘em. Way I heard, She’d brought it up to Scoots n’ she said it was a good idea to post ‘em. They did that together without runnin’ it by me first. It started off as a team effort, the three of us, but after enough time it was their baby, and I was just the one running’ account maintenance, clearin’ all of the notifications, replyin’ to all the messages, n’ sortin’ through all the submissions. It was just like homework.”

“So you're the one doin’ all the behind the scenes stuff, and they were the ones dealing with gossip?”

“Well all three of us took part in the gossipin’ stuff but once you stopped bein’ friends with Sunset it wasn't important to me anymore. Far as I knew I was done, and I only stayed in because, well. It was our thing. I did it cuz they were doin’ it. And nobody was gettin’ hurt, not seriously, that's why I never said nothin’ about it. It never got bad enough that it felt like before Twilight Sparkle came. Until yesterday. I swear, I never wanted no one to get hurt. I just wanted my big sister back.”

“Sis, ya still had me.”

“Not as much!” She protests. “Back when you’d stopped bein’ friends with Dash n’ Pinkie we spent so much time together. Then Twilight showed up and you got back friends with everyone else, you were catchin’ up. And since school had just started that was fine for a while. I figured after the Fall Formal everything was gonna get back to normal, and we could keep spendin’ time together. But then when it happened, and all that magic stuff happened, suddenly you were best friends with the bee eye tea sea aych queen. Before I knew it y'all had your week of sleepovers planned for winter break and... and I was here all alone. It was all just happenin’ so fast and I was so mad and lonely and scared I was losin’ my sister, that... that I made the blog. She was so mean to me, to all of us, to everyone. It felt like... like you were pickin’ her over me.”

Applejack leans over and pulls her sister into a hug.

“Ya know that love ain't like a cup o’ sugar that gets used up, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, there's enough to go around, an’ lovin’ her ain't gonna mean there's none left for me. I know. Mama said that to Mac about you, and to you about me a lot, didn't she?”

“Yep,” she chuckles, tipping her hat. “She’d say that to me every time I was mad that we bought somethin’ for baby Bloom but nothin’ for me. Your crib, your clothes, diapers an’ formula, toys. She...” her smile fades. “She loved you so much. When she got sick, I heard her talkin’ to Granny. Sayin’ how she was worried about you growin’ up without a mom. She didn't want you to feel like she had abandoned you. If she weren't cryin’ and I didn't know what cancer was I woulda been mad that you were the only one she was talkin’ about. Lookin’ back I think she knew that me n’ Mac woulda been okay- we’re still sad, but we’re okay- but you were still so tiny. Like a little doll. Near the end, when she couldn't even hold you anymore on account of her arms were just too weak, she still wanted one of us to hold you close to her. She died holdin’ your hand... we had to pull your iron grip away so the doctors could take care of the... body...”

“AJ?” She asks, as Applejack sits back up again.

“Bloom. What I said, about ma and pa. It wasn't right. I was angry, and hurt, and ashamed of myself. And I took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that. I regret it, and I wish I could take it all back. I just... I hope you can forgive me.”

“‘Course I can. What I did was rotten. Honestly you coulda said a whole lot worse and still not need to apologize, least in my eyes. If anything I’m the one who should beg Sunset forgiveness.”

“That’s fair,” Applejack replies, slowly nodding. “I just don't want our relationship to be broken too. I love you. Always have, always will, and I don't want bad blood about other stuff to come between us ever. I especially don't want our parents to come between us either.”

“I love you too, sis. And... I don't want that either.” She sits in silence for a few moments. “I just wish I’d got a chance to meet ‘em. What you said hurt, but it ain't for any reason besides I agree with you. I hurt Sunset bad. I'm disappointed in me too. But I ain't gonna just sit around and cry about it. I swear I'll make it right. I'll do whatever I can to make the girls stop. Fixin’ my mistake is the only way I can move forward from this. I figure doing the right thing from here on is all I can do to keep my honor n’ stuff intact. Oh. Oh, wait a second, that’s... oh, is this what Sunset’s been feelin’ like for the past couple months?”

“How do you figure?”

“Well... she did bad stuff too, and then decided to start doin’ good stuff instead. She’d been tryin’ to make a better name for herself ever since gettin’ shot up with all those rainbows. And I’m sure that as soon as school starts up again I’m gonna be doin’ the same thing. Aw, man...” she falls back onto the bed. “I'm gonna have to tell the whole school that I’m the one who’s been spillin’ their secrets to everyone else.”

“Eeyup.”

The girls’ eyes both dart to the new arrival, standing at the ajar door.

“Mac?” Applejack asks.

“Granny needs me to pick some stuff up from the store. I need the keys.”

“Got it,” she says, pulling them out of her pocket and tossing them over. “What all’s she need?”

“White flour, apple cider vinegar, portobellos, red onion, just toppin’ off stuff we’re low on. How’s, uh. How’s your talk goin’?”

The girls exchange a glance.

“Good,” they both say in unison.

“Glad to hear... I’ll be home later this afternoon. Y'all got any special ideas on dinner before then, shoot me a text and I’ll see about pickin’ it up.”

With that, he pulls the door fully closed.

“Any thoughts?” Applejack asks.

“I dunno, I ain't got much of an appetite. I still feel bad.” Bloom turns to face the window. “Probably will until I actually talk to the girls. I'd’a done it earlier today but I don't know what to even say, where to even start. They ain't said nothin’ to me since whatever gobbledygook Mac read out to y’all yesterday. I haven't looked at MyStable neither.”

“Mac told me your deal. I ain't got nothin’ to add to it. Now, I. Definitely. Need a shower. I ain't had a proper one in two days now, didn't get a chance to at Fluttershy’s. So I'm gonna go ahead and do that. In the meantime, I ain't gonna tell you how to spend your time, cuz’ I trust you'll figure out what to do and how to do it on your own, since it's your mess. But I do expect that this gets taken care of in a timely manner.”

“Yeah, I know... and yeah, you do smell bad.”

Applejack whaps the back of her head with her hat. “Varmint,” she quips, half-smiling. “Get to it.”

“I will... I love you.”

“I love you too.”

/x/x/x/

Rainbow’s eye twitches as she glares at the dead-asleep figure laying in her bed. She slowly turns towards the tv, displaying the menu for the movie she’d been hyping up all day now. She lets out a long slow sigh, reaches for the nearby remote, and powers it off.

“I was gone two minutes…” she mutters to herself before tossing the device across the room. She takes the popcorn bowl in hand and slowly pulls the door closed, leaving the room in utter darkness. She continues to grumble various inaudible grievances on her way to the living room. As she arrives, her dad turns his head.

“Forget something?” He asks.

“She is already asleep.” Rainbow slumps down onto the couch, spilling a few kernels. She gathers them and tosses them back into the bowl. “I got everything set up, and I went to pee, and came back, and…” she groans. “Man, I really wanted to watch it!”

“Sounds like she needs the rest.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Rainbow pops a handful into her mouth. “Wan’ any?”

“I’ll pass. Just ate dinner. My metabolism ain’t as spry as it used to be in my youth. Once came a time I could just eat and eat and eat, carboloading the whole day away. Nowadays, I’d just fart everyone outta the house.”

“Gross.” Munch. “Whatcha watchin’?”

“News.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s important to know about current events.”

“Which are…?”

“Well, it’s going to be sunny tomorrow, but then it’s gonna snow all day afterwards. Firefighters got a cat out of a tree. Oh, and, shocking nobody, my stocks are all still stagnant.”

“No wars, or celebrity sex scandals, or alien abductions?”

“I’m sure they’ll mention plenty after the commercial break.”

The two sit in silence for another minute as some talking dog says some witty quip before some forgettable product graces the screen before quickly cutting to a different ad. Munch.

“You know…” Bow adjusts his seat. “I, uh. I don’t mean to pry, or anything, but, you know that I have to ask, as a parent, that um… well…” he sighs. “So are you and Sunset… you know… involved?”

“No, dad, we are not having sex.”

He hesitates before nodding. “Alright. I just wanted to let you know that, if you are becoming… you know… sexually active-“

“Da~ad!” She cries out, covering her eyes.

“I know, I know, awkward conversation time, but I just want to make sure that if those things are happening, that you’re being safe and responsible about it, and that both you and your partner get screened for STIs and such. Because, since you’re under our health insurance, I’d be the one paying for the treatment if you did catch gonno-herpa-syphil-aids.”

“Why are you bringing this up now?” She moans, looking everywhere except for her embarrassing father.

“Because you’ve got a very pretty girl sleeping in your bed right now, and… you’ve been showing a lot of, how should I say this… tenderness, towards her, that I rarely see from you unless it’s towards Fluttershy. With most of your other friends you come off as aloof, and you tease them all. But I haven’t seen anything like that towards her. You’ve been attentive to her needs, and you were looking at her more often than you weren’t. And, I see now that this behavior isn’t because you are engaged, or plan to engage, in a relationship with her. So, I have no more awkward questions to ask you.”

“All right, yeah, I get it...” Munch. “Thanks for looking out, I guess.”

Bow bites his lip. “I feel I’ve upset you.”

“I’m not upset.”

“Are you sure?”

Rainbow chews for a few moments before swallowing. “Well, I mean, am I not allowed to care about my friends without wanting to have sex with them?”

“That’s not what I-“

“I know, dad, but… it’s just. I don’t… yesterday I threatened to beat the hell out of her. Before I knew it wasn’t her. But I was just so angry, to walk into Fluttershy’s apartment and find my enemy there, taking advantage of my best friends’ kindness, and then later on yelling at Scoot. I threatened to throw her out the window, and… I meant it. I wanted to hurt her, so bad.”

“That’s understandable, she did hurt your friends. Allegedly.”

“It’s more than that. It’s… look, do you remember when they found drugs in my locker at school?”

He nods. “Because Sunset used that one fat kid to plant it.”

“Yeah… when that happened, she had tricked me into thinking she was suicidal and needed some support, and so I went there since, you know, I had no reason to be suspicious yet because it was so early on in her reign of terror. She hadn’t hurt me yet. But then she did. And since this had happened already, I was so suspicious that she was doing the same thing again but to Fluttershy. And I saw red. But… but then Pinkie texted Micro and asked him to do some computer nerd stuff and found that the blog was connected to Applejack’s internet, or something. And I realized that Sunset didn’t do it this time. And I was such a bitch to her when she felt alone and betrayed and abandoned by her friends. Just like I was. So I have to make up for it. I have to be a better friend to her now, because I was so shitty before. I have to do better. And that means treating her the way I treat Fluttershy. Because she needs it right now. It’s not just because she’s hot. And I don’t appreciate feeling like you’re implying that I can only be nice to girls because I want to have sex with them, just because you know I’m gay now. It makes me feel like you think I don’t know how to be nice if I don’t have something to gain from it. Which, I know that isn’t true. But the way you said it made me feel that way.”

“I see.” Bow leans forward in his chair. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Rain. I just wanted to make sure my little girl was safe when… when she wasn’t my little girl anymore. And in the future I’ll try to do better with my wording, okay?”

Rainbow nods. “I’m sorry I got shitty with you. I’m just upset about Sunset, and Rarity, and Scootaloo. I don’t know. I guess I’m just being hypersensitive because everything’s so fucked right now. And I really wanted to watch the movie. And I feel gross and bloated anyway because I started my period the other day-“

“Okay okay, awkward lady stuff, say no more!”

“Oh, you can ask me about sex stuff but you can’t her me talk about periods?”

“…touché. Anyway, apology accepted?”

“Yeah, I know you didn’t try to hurt me on purpose. I just wanted to talk about it now before it turned into a fight later.”

“I’m glad for that. I’d hate to make it unpleasant, especially with Sunset in the house. That girl…” he shakes his head. “What the hell is wrong with Scootaloo? She posts awful things about you, and Fluttershy, and everyone else in the school, and tortures Sunset for weeks to the point of suicide. It’s absolutely despicable. I thought we were all better role models than that…”

“I dunno.” Munch. “I guess Sunset musta done something real bad to her, bad enough she never forgave her. And you’d think that hearing she tried to off herself would make her back off, but it’s like she wants Sunset to die. She never did anything bad enough to deserve to die. Get the shit kicked out of her, yeah, maybe jail for a month, get blasted with magic unicorn rainbows, work in retail for a day, sure, but not dead.”

“What could Sunset possibly have done to her that’s worse than the most traumatic thing that ever happened to her?” Bow supposes, adjusting his seat. “Everything you told me she ever did came off more as pranks by a sociopath, pulling puppet strings to force everyone to eat out of the palm of her hand, and punishing anyone who stepped out of line.”

“Who knows?” Munch. “All I know is, the Sunset who did those things isn’t the Sunset in my room. Oh, or standing in the hall. Hey sleepyhead.”

A bleary-eyed Sunset stands at the top of the stairs, her arms to her chest.

“Hey…” she murmurs, swaying slightly. “You… you’re out here.”

“I figured I’d let you get some shuteye solo,” Rainbow says with a shrug. “You okay? Gauze holding fast?”

“Yeah…” she sniffs twice. “I’m…” a sob rattles her frame.

Rainbow sets the bowl to her side and rushes to her friend. “Whoa, hey, are you upset?”

Sunset steps forward and puts her head in the crook of Rainbow’s shoulder.

“I just can’t wake up alone right now.”

Rainbow slowly pulls Sunset in. “Alright, I get that. It won’t happen again, okay?”

She just whimpers quietly in response, gently being swayed back and forth.

“Do you just wanna go to bed early tonight?”

“I don’t know what I want.” Sunset whispers, voice shaking. “If I go to sleep I’ll have nightmares. But I’m too tired to even do anything…”

“Nightmares, you say?” Bow asks, getting up out of his chair. “You know, I think we might have some drugs somewhere that cause dreamless sleep.”

“You mean like medicine drugs,” Rainbow jokes. “Or like fun drugs?”

“I am not giving my teenage daughter ‘fun’ drugs. Nor her teenage friend.”

“Technically,” Sunset interjects. “I… haven’t been a teenager for a few years now.”

“Bro, what?” Rainbow pulls her head back, incredulous. “I thought you were our age.”

“No…” Sunset pulls away, eyes still downcast but trying to force a half smile. “I was almost an adult when I escaped. I don’t know the exact exchange rate between our worlds but I think I’m probably… twenty one or twenty two or something. Do, uh… do you got any booze, Bow?”

“I don’t think alcohol is the best thing for you to have right now.”

“Dad it was just a jo-“

“I know. I know it was a joke. But I am not going to give alcohol to someone who’s feeling low. That could lead her down a path of substance abuse that I refuse to enable. Sunset, do you understand that?”

“Yeah, I… I do.” She crosses her arms, winces, and puts them back to her sides. “I wasn’t really thinking about that aspect. Oh, Creator, I… I really haven’t thought this through. Am I ever gonna be able to be normal again?”

“Hey, hey, you aren’t abnormal,” Bow gently chides, reaching out a hand to her shoulder. “This type of trauma happens on a semi frequent basis. Often enough that I’ve seen how it can go. There are healthy paths, and unhealthy paths. I am just making it crystal clear where I stand on the nature of those paths, and how far I am willing to go to keep you on a path that will lead you to recovery. Getting drunk can be fun, yes, but you don’t drink when you drive, when you’re sad, or when you have work in the morning. And right now, sad you are.”

Sunset looks up at him through her bangs. “Yes sir.” She sighs. “I understand where you’re coming from. I just hate… thinking so much. I just wish I could do something about it. At least for enough time to get a full nights sleep.”

“Well do I have some good news for you, because I do have drugs for exactly that. They’re just not mind or mood altering. They’re called Hypnocil; an experimental compound that temporarily disrupts the connection between the parts of your brain that dream. It’s not supported by the FDA yet, but I’ve participated in preliminary studies and it hasn’t done so much as give me a headache. Made my piss smell like onions but, hey, it doesn’t usually smell like flowers anyway.”

“Gross, dad.” Rainbow shoves another handful of popcorn into her mouth before resting the bowl on the side of her hip. “So uh. What kind of nightmares are we blocking?”

Sunset grimaces. “They’re not great. I, uh. I tried to kill myself in ways besides jumping off a bridge or in front of a car. And I sometimes remember how I felt, waking up after I… failed. I, uh. Found out that the bars on the wall to my loft can’t lift my body weight without snapping in half. So that’s good. When you, um. Try that. You wake up with one hell of a headache. Red spots all over your face. A dry patch in your throat where it squeezed out every drop of saliva. And you remember how it felt to suffocate. The loneliness and the regret, and the fear of what could have happened if you actually succeeded. And the apathy when you realize that it doesn’t do anything besides give you one more day because your friends still don’t… they still hate you.”

Bow smacks his lips. “Okay, yeah, that doesn’t sound like fun. Let’s get you some of those pills, okay sweetheart?”

“Okay… I appreciate it.”

“Of course. We keep the stock downstairs. Rain, uh, you gonna come too?”

“No, I’m fine.” She fidgets at the phone in her pocket for a few moments. “Go on and head downstairs. Suns, I’ll be in my room, okay?”

Sunset nods before she follows the man down the stairs. Rainbow waits until they were gone before pulling out her phone, and hitting one of the first contacts on the list. She held the device to her ear, waiting for the click and the perky hello on the other end of the line.

“Hey Pinks.”

“Hi Dashie! Is Sunset there!? If Sunset’s there tell her to say hi! Oh, what’s up Maud? Oh, okay, I’ll tell her. Dashie, Maud says that Boulder says hi!”

“Hi Boulder. So uh. Hey, listen, has Fluttershy called you yet?”

“No but she texted me about the Rarity thing. That’s really good, I hope that Rarebear comes to her senses and we can all go back to normal.”

“Yeah. So. Listen. How, uh… how are you?”

Pinkie is uncharacteristically silent for a few moments.

“You don’t call unless it’s important. Did something happen to Sunset?” She asks, all mirth absent from her voice.

“Sunset's fine. Or, well, about as fine as someone can be in this situation. No, I… I called because I wanted to hear your voice.”

“Really? My voice? Why?”

Rainbow exhales through her nose. “Look, it doesn’t matter why right now. Just know that… I’m glad that you answered. You’re really important to me. I know that most of the time it seems like I only really hang out with Fluttershy, or give most of my attention to AJ. But I also like having you as a friend too. And I don’t…” Rainbow rubs her free sleeve over her eyes. “I was just thinking about stuff, is all. Important stuff. Like. How I would be destroyed if one of my best friends… you know. K’d their S.”

Pinkie remains silent.

“Pink?”

“I’m okay, Dashie. I promise. I stopped feeling… like K’ing my S, a long time ago. I didn’t do it, and I was lucky that you were there when I needed you most. Even though we weren’t really friends at the time. I mean of course we were still friends, we just kinda forgot that because of how Sunny used to be. You saved me. That hasn’t changed.” She hesitates for a few moments. “Sorry for being vague earlier, Maud still doesn’t know about that whole thing. I had to get away from her for a second. At least I think she doesn’t know. I’m in the bathroom now. She probably knows since she’s really smart and it was HER belt I used and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out why it broke like that. The only one who knows about it still is you.”

“I’m glad you don’t feel like that anymore.” Rainbow leans back. “Are you ever gonna tell her?”

“I don’t see what the point is. Hey sis, in a different timeline a few years ago you found my dead body hanging from the ceiling fan? It would just upset her. I’m fine now, and that should be what matters.” She is quiet for another few moments. “So did Sunset… mention something about that?”

“Alright, look. You know I don’t gossip. And I’m only telling you this for Sunset’s well being for when she’s at your house tomorrow night. Do not let Sunset wake up by herself. At all. Make sure that she is constantly supervised when she’s asleep. She… she gets triggered or whatever by waking up alone because it reminds her of waking up alone after… uh… failed suicide attempts.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Dashie. I’ll watch her like a hawk, with a telescope. Is, uh, is she okay now?”

“Yeah, she just had a nightmare and woke up when I was in the next room over. Right now dad’s giving her those pills that make you not dream.”

“Oh, the Elm Street thing.”

“The… what?”

“It doesn’t matter Dashie ;) the audience will understand.”

Rainbow slowly blinks. “Weirdo,” she murmurs, smiling despite her confusion. “I gotta say I can never tell what you’re gonna say next. You’re definitely my least boring or predictable friend.”

“Woohoo, gold medal!”

“Yeah.” She glances over to see Bow and Sunset begin climbing up the stairs. “Hey, I gotta go. But it was nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, you too Dashie! I don’t get to talk on the phone with you often so when I do it’s a real treat. Like a cupcake. Ooh, or an oatmeal scotchie!” A sound like a freight train’s roar comes out from the small speaker. “Or an oatmeal scotchie flavored cupcake! Gummy, put down the scissors and grab the whisk, I just came up with the BEST! RECIPE! EVER!!! BYE DASHIE!” And with that, the click of the dial tone replaces the shouting.

Rainbow puts the phone down in time for the opposing pair to re-enter the living room proper.

“Pinkie called you, I take it?” Bow asks.

“Yeah, h… how’d you know?”

“I could hear her screaming about recipes from the stairs.”

“Ah.”

“How is Pinkie, by the way?” Sunset asks, reading the small writing on the side of the bottle in her hands. “She make it home all right and stuff?”

“Oh yeah, she’s fine.” Rainbow’s eyes absentmindedly drew to Sunset’s throat, then to the stairway banister, and she frowned slightly. “You… might be eating some butterscotch cupcakes tomorrow.”

“Oh, I love butterscotch.” She looks up. “I’m gonna go take two of these in the bathroom. I’ll meet you in the bedroom?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll make more popcorn.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll see you in a bit.”

After she leaves the room, Rainbow leans towards Bow and whispers. “How much weight does the banister hold?”

“Only forty kilos before breaking. It’s fine.”

“Okay. Good…”

Bow pulled her into a hug. “Pinkie… didn’t call you.”

“No.” Rainbow sighs. “Why do most of my friends all have these same exact problems… it isn’t me, is it?”

“Course not. Most likely, you being such a good friend draws those who are suffering closer to you. Because they know you ease their burdens, and you’re happy to do it. And in time they will be there for you if and when you need it. Plus, you’re all teenagers; angsty stuff happens to most of you every single day.”

“I guess so.” She hugs him back. “I just don’t know if I can handle all of the responsibility. I’ve got five people now, all depending on me to be strong for them when they need it. I’m really lucky that AJ and Rare and Spitfire don’t really have this problem too, but I am about at my limit for worrying about the people I love committing suicide. Especially when I… when I get to thinking about it myself.”

Bow pulls her tighter. “I know. Trust me, I know. I’ve been to more friends’ funerals than I care to count. Most of them are suicides. The war… took a piece of all of us. I just hope you never have to bury a brother. Or in this case a sister. It may not be landmines and punji sticks, but trauma is still trauma.”

The two stand embraced in silence for about a minute before pulling away.

“I love you, dad.”

“Love you too, kiddo.” He sits back down in his chair. “Have fun in there. But-“ he turns and points an accusatory finger at her. “Not too much fun.” He holds a serious face for a moment before winking.

“No. I’m gonna go be irresponsible and get pregnant now. And like twenty STDs. And an ass tattoo that says daddy issues. Good night.”

“Good night, punk.”

She leaves him to the news and disappears into the darkened hallway. He glances at the rack of medals on the wall, at all of the names of his comrades long since gone from this world. He gives them a melancholic smirk.

“Hope you found peace on the other side, fellas.”

/x/x/x/

Sweetie Belle sighs through her nose as she glares at her phone, furiously tapping away.

“Care to apprise me?” Chimes a nearby voice.

“Applebloom is being difficult, Rarity,” she says, not looking up. “Very difficult. She’s still sticking to saying that she saw Sunset jump. I’m trying to tell her that she’s safe because you know the truth, but I guess she’s just scared. More scared of Sunset than of being grounded for three months.”

This is, of course, a lie. The actual discussion consisted of Applebloom essentially holding Anon-a-Miss’ password hostage, and begging her conspirators to admit to their contributions to the debacle. But as if she could say that.

“Three months? My, Applejack really is sticking it to her.” Rarity sighs as she fast-forwards through yet another set of commercials. “What about Scootaloo? She’s been on that walk for a few hours now. Surely her head is clear about the triggering incident by now.”

“She’s on her way home now, she’ll be here before it gets dark.” She bites her lip and swaps apps to MyStable. She signs out of her own account, and into Bloom’s. “So, uh, hey, what time do you wanna go to the mall with us tomorrow? And what time do you want us to be back by?”

“Oh, possibly leaving in the late morning, near to noon. We could even make brunch beforehand. I have no set itinerary as far as our return.”

“Yeah, alright, sounds good,” she says, absentmindedly, as she changes the password. It sends a confirmation email, and she swaps to an email app. “What all brunch stuff do you wanna make?”

“Well, for once, I think I’m going to splurge on calories and oil. I feel circumstances allow me to have a full cheat weekend. I feel that some fried diced red potatoes would be just divine next to some prench toast, perhaps some oeufs en cocotte, oh! And some of those organic blackberries. In fact, I may make a reduction and we can use it as syrup.”

“Yeah, cool.” Belle logs into Applebloom’s email account, clicks the most recent message, and confirms that yes indeed she did want to change it. “But are you gonna make that gross yellow stuff and put it on the eggs?”

“Hollandaise is not gross! But no. Too much fat if we’re having bacon too. Too much oil. I want to cheat, not break out. Any more than I already have.”

“Okay. What’s cocotte Prench for?” She then goes back to MyStable and, while still on Bloom’s account, relinquishes access to the blog. She lets out a relieved sigh before a bittersweet grimace adorns her face.

“Ah.” Rarity pauses. “Well, in the context of eggs, it may mean something along the lines of baked. But alone, I do believe it means prostitute.”

In an instant the melancholy disappears as Belle chuckles at this. “We’re gonna make whore eggs?”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity gasps, struggling to keep a straight face. “Mind your language!”

“Sorry. Slutty eggs?”

“Oh, you-“ Rarity throws an appropriately named throw pillow at her sister. “I’ll not have you besmirch my favorite language.”

Belle laughs through the barrage of bewildered then furious texts assailing her phone. Eventually, however, they stop entirely. She takes a deep breath as the energy seems to wind down. And then she freezes as Rarity’s phone begins ringing.

She glances at the caller ID, then again, and she blanches in confusion before answering.

“Hello?” She asks. She is silent for nearly a full minute, her face unreadable. Only then does she respond.

“That is, by far, the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I am literally looking right at her. We are having a delightful time together, spoiled now due to your ludicrous accusations. My sister is not some computer hacker; the only person I know who can even come close to that level of skill is Micro, and he and I are not on speaking terms. I am literally looking at her phone screen as we speak and there is nothing of the sort occurring. Applejack. Applejack. I am not sending you photos of my sister’s phone screen. No. I am not sending you photos of Scootaloo’s either. Yes, she’s right here next to me. No, I am not going to force her to speak to you! That is- you are- this is insane. I am- Applejack. May I speak? May I finish my sentence? Okay, OKAY, I- Apple- goodbye.” She hangs up on her conversational partner midsentence. “Unbelievable.”

Rarity glances over at her sister, and flashes her a comforting smile.

“Things aren’t going well on your end, I take it?”

“What did she say?”

“She said you hacked into her sister’s account and removed her from Anon-a-Miss’ MyStable account. How convenient. What a ridiculous notion. As if it were so easy to hack into someone’s social media. The audacity- she told me to send her screenshots of your phone. She is so obsessed with this idea that the three of you are responsible for everything. But that’s ludicrous.” She looks down at her phone and begins drafting a message to Flash Sentry. “You would never dare to violate my privacy like that. I would kill you, bring you back to life, and then kill you again.” As she finishes typing she looks back up, and the smile fades. “Darling, that’s only a joke. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah…” Belle responds, dejected.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…” she frowns at the last solitary text she received from Bloom. “I’m just scared that AB and I are never gonna recover from this. She’s one of my best friends, and I’m- and Sunset is tearing us apart.”

This is a new low: you and I are done. 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Rarity says, leaning back. “I have someone investigating the situation. The truth will come out, one way or another. Our friendships are not broken irreparably: they can still be mended. And those responsible for this entire tragedy will be brought to light, and subsequently justice. Mark my words. You have nothing to fear.”

Belle nods, her newfound smile not quite reaching her eyes. “Yeah. Good. I just can’t wait for all of this to blow over.”

She looks up as the front door opens.

“Hey Rarity, Scoot’s home now.”

At this, the new arrival pauses from pulling a device up from out of her pocket, and shoves it back down. She kicks her boots off and shrugs off her jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack. She strolls into the living room and rests a shoulder on the wall.

“Hey Rare. Hey SB.”

“Hello dear,” Rarity greets, standing up and straightening her skirt. “I was just wondering when you were going to return. Has the fresh air done you some good?”

“Yeah. It was fine. I’m kinda tired. I think I wanna get up early tomorrow for our trip.” She sniffs twice. “So uh. When are we wanting to go?”

“Eleven or so. After brunch.” Belle stands up and crosses the room. “Rarity wants to make whore eggs.”

“Oh cool, with that yellow shit on top?” Scoot asks. “That was bomb.”

“Ew…”

“Sweetie Belle, I told you not to use that word.” Rarity sternly lectures.

“Alright fine, slutty eggs.”

“That is not any better!”

“Holiday sauce, right?” Scoot mutters to herself, looking down and to the left, furrowing her brow.

“How come I can’t say slutty but Scoot can say shitty?”

“I cannot correct her profanity because she was not birthed from out of our mother’s vagina.”

“Ew, Rarity! Gross…”

“Anyway, Scootaloo, to answer your question, no, I am not going to make hollandaise. I want to fry the potatoes in the grease from the bacon, and I don’t want to eat bacon grease and a butter-rich sauce in the same meal. If you so desire, perhaps I can teach you how to cook some in your own time.”

“Cool.” Scoot glances over and cocks her head to the side. “You okay B?”

Belle’s arms are crossed as she glares at the floor. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“Slutty isn’t even a bad word. I don’t know what the big deal is! It’s not even a cuss, you can say it on PG thirteen movies! And I’m thirteen now!”

“I hear the word often enough at school,” Rarity chides. “That I don’t want to hear it in my home either. This is the one place I can even be anymore without drawing leers from all passerby. The lustful glances from the men, the judgmental sneers from the women… Sunset spread my pictures everywhere, do you understand? Anywhere I go to in this town, people know who I am. They know that I’m the girl in those photographs. At worst, random strangers will come up to me and ask me to perform sexual favors for them. and at best they hurl those insults at me. Floozy. Harlot. Tramp. Slut. And Whore. I especially hate that one…” she sighs. “Especially that one.”

Belle stops chewing on her cheek. “Right… I forgot about that whole thing. I’m sorry Rarity, I didn’t mean to bring up the bad stuff.”

“There is no need for apologies, my love. I am merely explaining to you now, in clear detail, why exactly I am being so strict as far as your vocabulary is concerned. It bothers me on a personal level. When it comes to profanity like… bitch, or shit, or even the proverbial F bomb, that doesn’t matter too much to me. At least in small doses. Rainbow Dash has a fairly vulgar pattern of speech, and it can frequently get on my nerves, but that is just the way she speaks. I can abide by it. But there are just too many personal unpleasantries attached to… to those terms, for me to hear them. Especially when they’re coming out of my baby sister’s mouth.”

“Wait,” Scoot interjects. “Then why did Rainbow Dash call you one? Doesn’t she know how much it bothers you?”

Rarity sighs. “I attribute her outburst to a product of the moment’s heat in response to my own tongue lashing. I did insult her intelligence, knowing full well that it was something Sunset also made her self-conscious about. I rationalized it in the moment considering her betrayal, but I took my anger out on the wrong person. The only one I should have been rude to is the one who hacked my phone in the first place. And now she is no doubt gallivanting about with my friends. So to answer your question, she did it because she was using her emotions over her brain. I have forgiven her for it, as I had done the same in return. Regardless, I hope I have now made it abundantly clear where I stand as far as the usage of any word implying connotations of sexual promiscuity.”

“Yeah, you have,” Belle says, without making any direct eye contact with her sister. “It won’t happen again.”

“I know it won’t.” Rarity checks the time on her phone. “Well, I suppose I should shower and prepare a few things for brunch. The television is yours. Please be in bed by a reasonable hour, and I will see you both in the morning. Au revoir~”

With this she enters the back hallway, leaving the two younger girls alone in the living room. Scoot then slips the contraband out of her pocket and presents it.

“Ladies and gentlemen? We got ‘em.”

“Shouldn’t we talk about that in our bedroom?”

“Nah. It’s all good. Rare’s gonna take forever in the shower, your parents are asleep, and it’s not like they’re gonna be able to tell the difference between our phones anyway since we both have black cases. I mean, come on, Rarity’s gullible enough to think you hacked her phone instead of just, you know, opening it while she was asleep. She STILL doesn’t even have a passcode!”

“You mean to think Sunset hacked it.”

Scoot blinks. “I mean. I guess so. But you and I both know the truth so I don’t have to lie to you. Right?”

“I mean, yeah, I guess so, but I just don’t feel comfortable with you saying out loud in the open the things you made me do to my sister.”

“Dude, it’s fine!” Scoot pinches the bridge of her nose. “So, what, no nice job? No good work? No, wow you weren’t lying when you told me you know how to pick locks?”

“Good job.” Belle crosses her arms and sighs. “So then what’s the plan? What are we gonna do next?”

“I got good news and I got bad news. The good news is, I’m gonna do all the work from here on since I have the plan and you have too much heat. The bad news is, we still can’t get into the account.”

“Actually, I…” Belle cracks a small smile. “I got back into the account.”

“Dude, what? Seriously!?” Scoot rushes in for a hug. “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah…” her smile fades. “Well. The problem is, I did it by using Bloom’s email account to change the password. And now I think she hates me. Probably forever.”

“She’ll get over it. Not like she can hold getting caught against you. She shoulda been more careful.”

“It wasn’t an accident, she chose to do it-“

“Then she should’ve just kept her mouth shut and did what she was told. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. If anything,” A shadow passes her face. “It’s her fault Sunset’s still alive. If AJ hadn’t rescued her from that fucking pig sty, she probably would have killed herself today.”

Belle takes a slight step back.

“Pig sty?”

Scoot lets out a dark chuckle. “Yeah. Her apartment was disgusting. Freezing cold. Pitch black. Smelled like BO and spoiled milk and copper. It smelled like my dad’s house, all it needed was beer and cat shit and it’d be exactly the same. Felt it was only fitting since she’s the one who put me there.”

Belle grimaces, and fights back a wave of nausea.

“And even if she didn’t kill herself,” Scoot continues, growling; oblivious. “Apparently she ran out of rent money. I ran into the landlord and she’s got just a couple weeks until she gets evicted. All Bloom had to do was just shut the fuck up, and Sunset would have been on the streets. Maybe she would’ve even froze to death. But NO, Bloom had to get sentimental. Poor Sunset.” She wipes at her eyes. “What about me, huh?”

“Scoots-“

“What, is she jealous that I still have one parent left alive? Is that why she picked Sunset over me? Is Bloom angry that I’m, what, ungrateful or something? What the fuck right does she have to judge me? She was a baby when her mom got cancer, and she was a toddler when her dad died. Get the fuck over it. She wasn’t there to see it happen! She doesn’t know what real trauma is like! But Sunset jumps in front of a car and suddenly oh let’s all suddenly give a shit-“

“Scoots, stop it!” Belle sobs.

“Stop what!? Oh- oh shit. Why are you crying?”

“Because you’re scaring me!” She takes a deep shuddering breath. “You’re really freaking scaring me right now! I’ve never seen you like this before…”

“Like what?”

“Like… like this!” She puts her head in her hands. “You’re being so… so mean. So cruel. You’re punishing Sunset for things she didn’t do, so you can get some kind of revenge. But she isn’t the one who killed your mom! She wasn’t driving the truck. She didn’t do any of the things that you’re blaming her for, but you’re talking about her like she’s the one who did it.” She looks back up. “I don’t like doing this any more! All of Rarity’s friends hate her, and that already is too far. I don’t need a death on my conscience too! And worst of all, you’re making Bloom hate me! And it’s like you don’t even care that my feelings are hurt too…”

Scoot’s face stays unreadable for a few moments, before she bites her lip. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. The only person I meant to hurt was Sunset. And, I’m sure that from your perspective, it seems a little ridiculous. Like an obsession or something.” She slips the phone out of her pocket and starts fidgeting with it. “I admit I got a little carried away just now. There’s… there’s a lot of bad shit in my brain. I try to hide it the best I can but sometimes it all just spills out and…” she sighs.

“Look.” She hands the phone over to Belle. “I don’t wanna make excuses. I’m so sorry I scared you. I never wanted you to see that fucked up side of me, and I’m so sorry I showed it to you just now, from out of nowhere. I should have mentioned it before, but I just… to be honest I just was scared you’d think I was fucking crazy, and you wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore, and I’d be forced to go live with my dad again, or take my chances on the streets. I thought maybe I could hide it, but clearly I can’t. But getting closure is so close I can taste it. I just need her to get what she deserves, then I can finally move on with my life. Or, that’s where I was coming from. But you’re right. I’m being selfish, and I’m not paying attention to the people I love who are still alive and with me today. Take this. You should be the one who decides when and how to proceed. Please. I’m hurting you and I need to stop.”

Belle hesitantly reaches out, as if to grab a venomous snake. “What do you mean by closure?”

Scoot rubs the back of her head. “I think it’s time that I tell you about the day mom died.”

Belle draws her hand back.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“You don’t have to-“

“No, it’s time. And I should also tell you about what my dad did to me.”

“Your dad?” Belle closes the distance between the two. “You mean the time he hit you? You don’t have to talk about-“

“He…” Scoot takes Belle’s hand in her own. “It was after the funeral. It was a closed casket. He was drunk. He told me that I looked just like her. He told me that when he saw me, all he could think of was her. He said that it was my fault that she died. He told me that it should have been me who died. He said that because of me he’ll never love another woman again. He said that my dress was beautiful. He hadn’t brushed his teeth or showered in two weeks. He said he loved me. And then…”

Belle hugs her.

“Sunset ran a red light on the icy roads and cut off my mom. She distracted us while we were sitting halfway through the intersection. When the truck hit us into the lamp post, my door pinned my legs in place. And mom… was gone. And Sunset just fucking watched. She didn’t even try to help. She didn’t even check to make sure we were okay. She just watched. And then she drove away. She killed my mom and just drove away.” She returns the hug. “Some days I wish she killed me instead, just so I could have died before my dad raped me.”

Belle squeezes her tightly. “I understand now.”

“But most days? I wish that he was the one who was driving. Then maybe I could forgive Sunset while she was still alive.”

“You didn’t deserve that.”

“His fingers were so cold.”

Belle pulls back and rests a hand on the side of Scoot’s head. “Please promise me that you’ll go get therapy after we’re done with Anon a Miss.”

Scoot nods in response. “If I’m lashing out at the people I love, and hurting them, and scaring them, then yes. I promise.”

“Who else knows about this?”

“Bunch of people in the government, cops, and foster people. That’s about it. I don’t want it to be public knowledge. I mean, I’m only talking about it with you now so you understand why I want Sunset dead. Why I’ve invested so much time and effort and energy into this blog. I didn’t want to ever have to tell you that I… that… that the first person I had sex with isn’t you.”

“Scoot, I don’t care about that! I mean. Well. I care about you and I wanna support you through sexual assault recovery and stuff. I mean I don’t care who you’ve had sex with before, even if it was consensual. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t make me feel less loved or anything. And I’m not angry that you wanted to hide this from me either; I get why you didn’t ever talk to me about it. I’m just glad to know that you trust me enough to tell me something like that happened to you.”

The two are quiet for a few moments until Scoot breaks the silence.

“Hey, uh. I know this is a good moment for us and all. But I am so fucking hungry right now, and I can’t wait for brunch in the morning. You want me to make you anything?”

“No, I’m good for right now; Rarity and I ate a little bit ago.”

“Okay. Cool. I’m gonna eat and then probably crash. I’ll just shower in the morning before we go.”

“If you’re gonna do that I might as well tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in a few.”

Belle nods and heads back to the bedroom. Scoot stands still, alone, until she hears the door latch. Once the quiet little click reaches her ears, she heaves out a huge sigh of relief. She glances down at her hand, still holding Sunset’s phone. And a wicked grin crosses her face.

“Sweets, I love you, but god are you gullible.”

She then pulls out her own phone as she turns and walks to the kitchen. She swipes over to her notepad and scrolls down to an entry titled Leather Jacket. Within is a list of names, in alphabetical order, followed by bulleted lists. She scrolls down to her best friend’s name, and creates a new entry: “dad raped me after mom’s funeral”.

“What’s another Lie for the Journal,” she mutters to herself before scanning back through the rest of the entries. She paid particular attention to Rarity’s entry, as it was now the longest one of the bunch. “I mean, he beat me, so he deserves it. But fuck am I glad he never molested me or anything. Add more trauma to the pot, why don’t you?”

She shoves her phone back into her pocket before taking a seat at the kitchen island and scanning through Sunset’s text archives. She pauses for a second to rifle through the freezer and shove a hot pocket into the microwave. She resumes her dirt-digging as the radioactive hum saturates the air, along with the scents of cheap tomato, fake cheese, and garlic. She skims and scrolls, hunting for buzzwords. Eventually after only around two minutes of searching, her eyes light up.

“Holy shit,” she whispers, putting her free hand to her mouth. As the microwave dings, she sets the device down and puts both hands over her chest. “Sunset already knows Rainbow’s gay?”

She giggles as she gets to work on her masterwork of a plan. By the time she is finished and she grabs her food, it has grown cold yet again.

“Sorry Dash,” she says, hitting send. “But your closet’s getting evicted.”

/x/x/x/