Things could not be worse. After the... events... that have taken place, it was up to Twilight and her friends to find out where things went wrong. One of their friends is gone forever, his sudden disappearance from their lives leaving a deep mark. Fluttershy volunteered to stay with Pinkie, who hasn't said so much as “Hello” and “Goodbye” since... it happened. Choking back lingering tears and sobs, Princess Twilight opened the door to Night's home.
“W-well girls... lets see if he.. left something.” she barely choked out. Her voice apparently broke Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash out of some sort of reverie, the three of them appearing quite jarred at the noise.
It was their first time seeing the stallion's home, and as they started to look around through blurry eyes for any kind of clue, his troubles became evidant. The kitchen's trashcan had a few un-touched meals crammed into it. The recycling bin, though, was full of empty bottles. Bills where piled up next to the door, where they remained untouched. It all sat, quietly, in the dark, the outside world cut off completely by thick curtains.
Rarity was the first to remark the sight, “My word... this space just... oozes sadness.”
Applejack could only nod numbly. It took all of her strength to finally find her voice, which barely came out above a whisper, “Ah don't... where do we start with somethin' like this?” As she looked to her friends, she noticed that Rainbow was no longer with them. “Where'd-”
“Oh Celestia...”
Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight looked at Rainbow who was standing next to a coffee table in the center of the room, a look of abject horror on her face as she looked down at a stack of papers. As the three of them rushed to Rainbow's side, Applejack and Rarity tending to their friend, Twilight snached up the papers and began to read. Tears streamed down her face as she finally confirmed, this was what they where looking for. With that, Twilight began to read the letter out loud.
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Hello reader,
I'm going to assume that, since you six where my only friends, that Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are reading this letter. I am so terribly sorry it has come to this, but I simply couldn't take the pain any longer. Seeing you six so happy as we hung out only forced me to come to the realization that I would never attain such happiness. Please re-assure Pinkie that this isn't her fault, as I know that's what she'll assume. In truth, while it might seem like any one pony could be at fault, the only one who's in the wrong is myself.
Twilight, I want to thank you for our "Hypothetical" conversations. It was truly the greatest challenge of my life to keep my issues in the dark from you. You're one of the smartest ponies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I sincerely hope that you will continue your magical research, as one day you might stumble upon a solution for ponies like myself... if they exist.
Applejack, thanks for the work. I honestly cannot thank you enough to have a place to work that I feel safe at. Your family, while maybe not understanding why an Unicorn would want to do Earth Pony work, was still one of the friendliest bunch of ponies I've met. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Rarity... I'm sorry. I'm the one that has been rummaging through the dumpster near your house. In my closet upstairs, you'll find the reject clothing designs you threw out over the last few months. While they weren't to your standards, they helped me hold on as long as I have.
Fluttershy, you are truly the kindest pony there is. While I'm sorry I never ate your surely delicious meals, I greatly enjoyed the tea. Your presence always had a calming effect on me. You have a tremendous strength in your kindness, one that does more good than you could ever know.
You owe me 20 bits Rainbow, but you're off the hook. Seriously, though, you've helped me be more active than I have been in my entire life. Watching you preform your stunts in your practice sessions really became one of my favorite things to do. I'll never understand how you can pull those moves off, you're certainly Wonderbolt material.
I can't apologize enough Pinkie, I've broken my Pinkie-Promise. It's was something I just couldn't hold up anymore. I hope, someday, you can forgive me for not sharing the load with you. Our talks where difficult, but I was glad to have someone as understanding as you to talk to. I'm sorry.
My life, as I have lived since my birth, has been one horrible lie. As my fate lies before me know, I would endevor to have you all understand who I truly am. I am not the mask I put on every day before I leave his den of depression, the mask I use to hide the truth of the soul-rending torture I'm put through every day. In all reality, my true self lies chained deep within, anguishing to be set free. I have looked for the keys to my release from this prison, but they are nowhere to be found. They do not exist.
This torture must end. I can't take it anymore. The sleepless nights, the constant pain when I see other ponies who are lucky not to be imprisoned like me, any of it. If you want to know why, how I could do this, keep reading. This is the story of my life, my torture, of what happened under this Night Sky.
The story of my eventual death... my suicide.
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Twilight looks up from the letter, tears running down her face in a torrent. Applejack had covered her face with her hat half way through, while Rainbow just stared at the floor, watching a pool of her tears form on the wood. Rarity meerly covered her face with her hooves, silently sobbing to herself.
“W-we...” Twilight sobs, sniffing loudly, “we all need to read this together.”
Rainbow's head just ducks lower. AJ presses her face deeper into her hat, like she could escape the whole situation if she could crawl into it. Rarity, however, looks at Twilight like she's crazy, “What?! Darling, I don't know if you remember, but Pinkie is an absolute mess! S-she won't really talk to anyone!”
Twilight shakes her head, sniffing again, “She needs to hear this! We all... need to hear this.”
Rainbow finally spoke, her voice cutting through the argument like a hot knife, “Do we?! Night pancaked himself off the town hall instead of coming to us! We should just forget it all!”
Rarity and Twilight looked at Rainbow in horror, the image of Night's broken body on the cobblestone flashing in their minds with great detail. As Rarity gags at the memory, Twilight admonishes Rainbow, “Really? Did you have to put it like that?!” Rainbow just scowls back at her as the tears continue to run down her face. “Fine, we'll meet up at my place tomorrow morning.” Twilight says, her anger pushing her grief aside for the moment, “I'll go tell Fluttershy and Pinkie. If you feel like getting any sort of closure at all, Dashie, I'll see you then.”
Applejack, who seemed to be waiting for an excuse to leave, haste-fully left through the still open front door without a word. Rainbow quickly followed, giving one last glare at Twilight over her shoulder. Rarity, though, stopped Twilight as she started to leave, “Twilight, I don't think we should force anypony to hear this, least of all Pinkie and Fluttershy!”
With a shaky sigh, Twilight looks at Rarity with puffy eyes, “You're right. Still, I think they should know so they can choose for themselves.”
With a thankful, and relieved, look, Rarity let go of Twilight. As the two left, they closed the door behind themselves. With nothing but shed tears to mark their passing, the empty home receded back into the darkness it's previous owner wrapped it in.
Author's Note
Well, here we go! I hope that sets the tone for this story. There will be some upbeat moments, but this is the primary tone I'm going for. Please let me know in the comments below if you have concerns or suggestions on/for the story.
Also, as a personal note I would like to mention that, yes, I do suffer the same issue as Night Sky. I, on the other hand, have confronted it and am now living quite the happy life.
