The Abyssal Requiem

Having watched the incident from outside the castle, Apple Bloom decided to head towards the source of the commotion. She was already aware of Starlight’s psychotic episodes, so she felt a sense of worry as she walked.

“Please be okay…” Apple Bloom muttered as she grew more scared.

Entering the castle, she walked through various hallways in different directions until she made it to the castle infirmary where it was blocked off by two guards.

“I need to see Starlight.” Apple Bloom said while standing in front of the door.

“All access is prohibited until Starlight Glimmer has recovered.” one of the guards said.

“But she is my friend and I outrank you! Let me in or I’ll-!” Apple Bloom shouted before being tapped by the shoulder.

Apple Bloom turned around and it was none other than Sunset Shimmer. Starting to feel a bit of anger build up, Apple Bloom asked with a scowl,

“What do you want…?”

“I know how worried you are for Starlight. But she is in the middle of recovery and nopony is allowed to see her. Those were Princess Cadance’s direct orders.” Sunset answered.

“Thank you for clearing that up. I was worried that you were keeping another secret.” Apple Bloom said in a passive-aggressive tone as she started to walk away.

“This isn’t easy for me either, Apple Bloom. After every that Starlight has been through, she’s-” Sunset said before being cut off by the stubborn earth pony.

“Don’t pretend to understand. After all, we have been pretending for ten years.” Apple Bloom said in a now-snide tone.

“I do understand. Nothing can fix what has happened to us and nothing can undo the damage that has destroyed our lives. But you need to face the facts, Apple Bloom. Spike was turned evil, Equestria was nearly destroyed, and the Royal Sister as well as Twilight and her friends are dead. We need to give everypony hope. Without it, everything we did will have been for nothing. Can’t you see that?” Sunset reasoned, trying to get through to Apple Bloom.

“The only thing I do see is you trying to keep me from seeing my friend. I’m not angry because Spike was brainwashed, nor seeing our home nearly consumed by the Abyss, nor losing our loved ones. I’m angry because you refused to admit the truth. And you are condemning those who had no idea that they were being controlled.” Apple Bloom said, glaring at Sunset before walking away.

Frustrated with Apple Bloom’s callousness, Sunset said,

“Do you think Applejack would be proud of the mare that you’ve become?”

Apple Bloom stopped dead in her tracks the moment Sunset mentioned the name. Apple Bloom turned her head and gave Sunset a death glare before walking over to her. Even if the former was nothing more than an earth pony, the latter felt a sense of terror that she gave off. Moving in closer, Apple Bloom shoved Sunset into a wall before looking her in the eyes and said,

“Don’t. Ever. Mention. That. Name.”

But before anything could happen, Tempest intervened and pushed Apple Bloom off Sunset.

“What are you two doing? Starlight is in the infirmary and the two of you are fighting? What example will that set for New Equestria?” Tempest asked after breaking up the fight.

“I was just on my way out…” Apple Bloom sneered as she turned the other way to leave.

“Hey! Don’t walk away from us, Apple Bloom! What did you two do?” Tempest shouted as she turned to Sunset.

“She was trying to force her way into the infirmary. She didn’t get in.” Sunset answered.

Tempest let out a frustrated sigh upon hearing Sunset’s explanation. She understood that Starlight needed her rest, but she knew that Sunset went over the boundaries when she mentioned Applejack’s name to Apple Bloom.

“You know that you shouldn’t be using Applejack’s name around Apple Bloom. It’s an easy way to wind up on her bad side.” Tempest warned as she proceeded to exit the castle.

“Tempest, Starlight could have caused another incident if we didn’t intervene. Apple Bloom’s grudge should be the least of our worries.” Sunset said, trying to defend herself.

“Perhaps, but mentioning dead relatives is no way to open them up. Just like how we tried destroying Twilight’s will.” Tempest said before leaving Sunset to reflect on her mistakes.

. . .

Apple Bloom was walking outside by herself in an angry manner while minding everypony else around her. She couldn’t get her mind off what Sunset said to her. It was upsetting enough that she wasn’t allowed to see Starlight, but hearing Applejack’s name just reopened her wounds from ten years ago. She was so steamed that she could hardly hear Tempest shouting her name from behind her.

“Apple Bloom!” Tempest shouted, catching the earth pony off-guard.

Apple Bloom turned around and saw Tempest giving her a concerned look from afar. But instead of walking towards her, Apple Bloom faced forward and continued to walk away. Groaning in frustration, Tempest runs after Apple Bloom and stops her.

“Apple Bloom, we need to talk.” Tempest said.

“We talked enough.” Apple Bloom said, ignoring Tempest once more.

“That wasn’t a request, Apple Bloom.” Tempest said in a much firmer tone.

Apple Bloom stopped and turned around to see Tempest giving her a serious look. Seeing that she wasn't playing around this time, Apple Bloom faced Tempest and said,

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“I know how much you hate Cadance, Sunset, and everypony else linked to the Royal Family. But taking your anger out on them is unhealthy. And I have seen the way you acted towards Flurry Heart sometime ago.” Tempest said.

“What anger?” Apple Bloom said in a now-aloof tone.

“It’s in your body, Apple Bloom. I can feel it inside you. I understand that you lost everything ten years ago and you have every reason to be angry, but that’s no excuse to vent your frustrations on Flurry Heart. She is the daughter of Princess Cadance, but they are two different ponies. She has no idea what really happened ten years ago and she doesn’t deserve to live in what we went through. She is only a little girl and she is innocent. If we take that away from her, then we will be no different from the monster that took everything away from us ten years ago.” Tempest said as she looked towards the mountains.

Having heard all this, Apple Bloom just grew even more frustrated. She said in a cold tone,

“I don’t give a flying hoot whether she's innocent or not. She is naive and she has no idea what’s going on around her. We should have told the truth ten years back and all it has given us is a snowball that will be ready to crash any moment. And if there is anything I have picked up after leaving that horrible prison cell, it’s that you can never trust nopony. Especially not your family.”

Apple Bloom turned her back on Tempest and left to walk a little more, leaving the latter by herself. The former looks up to the sky and forlornly whispers with a sad expression,

“Where are you when we need you the most…?”

Seeing Apple Bloom change for the worse shook Tempest like an earthquake. She was so devastated that she couldn’t put into words how much she wished that the Equestria before the Abyssal Invasion still existed. And even still, nothing has changed for her after defeating the Shadow King. But all she could do was keep going and spend the rest of her life, protecting Flurry Heart and her smile. Having decided that it was getting late, she decided to leave Apple Bloom alone and head back to the castle, awaiting tomorrow.