Doubt
Applejack sat at the kitchen table with a cup of hot cocoa in her hand. She let out a sigh and took a sip of her drink. Usually, this would provide her comfort, but it only served to remind her of what she had lost.
And the root of it all was Anon-A-Miss.
When the posts appeared and secrets were spilled, she was sure that Sunset Shimmer was responsible. She did not doubt it even for a second. Even when Sunset tried to explain to them that she was not the one responsible, Applejack refused to listen to her lies.
Only, Sunset was not lying. She was not Anon-A-Miss. Instead, it was Applebloom, and her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
That flipped everything upside down. Everything she thought was true about Anon-A-Miss was just a lie! A lie she told herself so she would not feel guilty about throwing away a friendship! If Sunset did all those things, then she deserved to be abandoned. They had taken her in as their friend and she spat on that friendship.
Only, it was never Sunset Shimmer. It was all just a terrible mistake.
Applejack prided herself for her honesty. She hated lies and she hated being made to look like a liar. But now she was once again guilty of lying to herself.
Canterlot High was no longer full of cheer. Celestia’s announcement pretty much took the cheer right out of everyone. When they learned that Sunset Shimmer was not Anon-A-Miss, and that a group of students had nearly killed her, well there was a lot of guilt spread around among the student body who believed she was Anon-A-Miss.
But the Rainbooms were the most guilty. They were her friends. They were the ones who were supposed to stand by her. Instead, they turned their backs on her without a second thought. All because they believed she had gone back to her old ways.
And the students now knew who was responsible for Anon-A-Miss and what it cost them. Rainbow Dash had to quit all the sports team. Well, it was not like there were going to be a lot of sporting events or any other events for the rest of the year. Celestia had them all cancelled. Rainbow Dash just left all her sports club. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be kicked out anyway. What she did was terrible.
Gilda and her gang were now Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s reluctant bodyguards. Nobody dared to mess with the three girls in their presence. However, Gilda and her gang--the same ones that had sent Sunset Shimmer to the hospital--were unhappy about the whole situation. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. Their only other option was to be arrested and taken away for assault.
Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle would have been taken away for their crimes too. Posing as Anon-A-Miss, they had spread private information. They also used Sunset Shimmer as a scapegoat. They could go away for a long time.
It was only because of Sunset’s mercy that they were not taken away. Applejack was grateful for that, and she owed Sunset for giving Applebloom a second chance.
Too bad the rest of the student body were not as forgiving. The secret they posted were private, and a lot of students had their deepest, darkest secrets spread all over the school. A lot of students suffered humiliation. Applejack knew how it felt when the ‘Piggly Wiggly’ story got out. Her friends also suffered cruel laughter from others when those pictures turned up on MyStable.
But nobody was laughing now.
Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were now facing the same ostracization as Sunset when Anon-A-Miss started. They at least had each other, but the rest of the students would always be angry with them. They may not be able to attack the girls directly, with Gilda and the others guarding them, but they had other ways.
Applejack had found hate mail addressed to Applebloom. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were likely to receive the same kind of letters of angry words.
One time, Applejack had walked in on Applebloom consoling Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Bells’ boyfriend, Button Mash, had broken up with her. According to her, he did not want to continue a relationship with someone like Anon-A-Miss. That had hurt Rarity’s little sister deeply.
Applejack sighed. She had not spoken to Rainbow Dash since that day in the cafeteria, when Sunset decided to leave them for good. She could not bring herself to loom past what Rainbow had done.
It was because what Rainbow had done reminded her of what they had done.
They should’ve believed Sunset. They should’ve trusted her. They should’ve been there for her.
Lot of should haves, but they have done none of it.
“I really messed up...” murmured Applejack.
“Eeyup,” agreed Big Mac as he walked into the kitchen.
“Big Mac...” Applejack started.
“You turned your back on a friends,” he added.
“I know, I know,” Applejack sighed. “I just dunno what to do.”
“Move on,” he advised. “Move on and remember what you did so it does not happen again.”
“I...I just dunno if I can...”
“You have to. Coz if you wanna live, you can’t just keep looking back at how you messed up. You just gotta learn from them mistakes and be better.”
Applejack shook her head. She promised herself she would not make the same mistake again. She just hoped she could make amends with Sunset, but that was doubtful. Nothing would go back to the way it was ever again.
Why did she have to be so stupid!?
No point in dwelling on that. Like Big Mac said, she would just have to learn from her mistake and move forward. She had lost a friend, possibly for good, and she would have to live with that.
But that did not mean she would have to lose another.
She was going to give Rainbow Dash a call. Maybe, just maybe, they could more forward together.