The day of the funeral was drawing nearer, and though she was an ambitious mare. Rarity was struggling to complete her gift to her lost friend. It was hard enough to get up each day, but the reality that she was having the hardest time finishing a dress was jarring. She was always swift and efficient. Why was it harder this time? She asked herself that many times when suddenly she heard a voice speak from behind her.
"Rarity?" The small, childish voice said. When she looked Rarity saw her younger sister's face. Sweetie Belle was just as distressed as Rarity felt. Because recently her friends were impacted by the loss. Twilight was close to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Who had their ties to Scootaloo and Applebloom.
"Y-Yes, Sweetie Belle?" She tried to sound calm, but there was a quiver to her voice. Sweetie Belle shyly dug at the carpet.
"S-Spike needs a place to stay...since...well, Twilight is um..." Before Sweetie Belle could complete her sentence, Rarity shook her head, "I cannot take him in, Sweetie."Name
"Why not?" Sweetie Belle asked, her big green eyes pleading with her sister to let her friend stay. But she didn't get an answer from Rarity. She simply looked down at the unfinished dress and ignored further questioning. Sweetie Belle gave a small sob and ran out of the room. Slamming the door, jolting Rarity slightly. Downstairs the front doors of the boutique opened and shut.
"Trust me, Rarity. It's just a short trip. I'll be fine." A small reassuring smile, that was Twilight's best feature. Her priceless smile.
"Darling, you know I'll worry either way. Saddle Arabia is so far away, and you know that it's going to be a tense interaction. Why does Celestia even need you to go with her?" Rarity was concerned.
"To teach me a lesson about the difference between diplomacy and friendship, not that I didn't know the difference." Her laugh rang in Rarity's ears, easing her.
"Perhaps I'm just a worrywart, I apologize." Rarity said, smiling sweetly.
The first trip out of Equestria Twilight took. Rarity remembered worrying when she told her, but when she came back, the relief was overwhelming. Twilight was a smart girl. Or was she really? She did die, attempting something daring and unpredictable. 'How dare you insinuate she was a fool,' Rarity thought to herself, 'She was a brilliant mare.
She stood up, and walked into the hallway, abandoning her project for a mere moment. She needed to do something. Anything to ease the anguish in her head. A walk maybe. No...too easy. She suddenly thought about something, and darted out of the boutique, rushing past a young mare. The mare, Octavia, was confused and startled, but Rarity had no time for an apology as she booked it to the desecrated remains of the library.
Passing through town, several things caught her eye. Rainbow Dash, Princess Cadence, and Twilight's Brother were all talking to each other. Fluttershy was walking from a quill and sofa shop, and yet nobody addressed the running mare. Rarity remembered that there was one thing that Twilight had a significant attachment to. Her element of harmony. Magic. And with her eyes locked on the ruins, she went into the charred and partly collapsed library.
She immediately thought of where it would be. And began her search through the piles of memories. The book about slumber parties. A reminder that Rarity and Applejack could get along if necessary. A ball that seemed to be one of Pinkie's many. There were so many things here, and yet. Rarity needed none of them. They all served no purpose but to harm her. She finally climbed the fragile stairs to the loft where Twilight used to sleep, before her eternal slumber began. The nightstand was knocked sideways, the bed was charred and the sheet was thrown aside. Presumably by the blast that ended Twilight's life.
She was lucky to not be vaporized by her experiment. Though that made Rarity realize it. Her friend was experimenting with magic in the library basement. She spun around, running down the weak stairs without caring. Flinging aside a broken door. But before she could move further her mind stopped, and imagined what happened. The explosion started in the basement, launching Twilight at the wall. Devastating her equipment, and burning up the stairs, blasting the door open and expanding throughout the building, the front door blowing open as books suffered the fate of historical libraries in ancient kingdoms.
The sculpture in the middle of the room cooked as is sailed up, bombing out windows and ignited branches of the Golden Oak exterior. Twilight was assumed to have died instantly from the burns and force. But had she lasted, she would hear the near death of Spike. Who had to escape out to the deck, the explosion detonating the glass and wood door and launching Twilight's telescope over the railing. The bed space that Twilight and the dragon shared being ruined. Leaving the explosion to barge out the last window, the one with the view of the moon.
But Rarity was only guessing. She was in Canterlot the night of. To a degree, she wished she was there to see what happened, maybe to save her friend's life. How she didn't save herself when things were going wrong was unknown. Was it an intentional act to hurt herself. Rarity pondered as she stepped into the darkness of the basement. She illuminated her horn, to see the space she was in. But her eyes widened as she realized how much shattered glass was decorating the stone floor. But her eyes fell upon a thing in the midst of the glass.
The gleaming pieces of the crown that once held Twilight's element.
It hurt to see it destroyed. But still shimmering in the dismal light of her horn. Rarity used her magic to clear a path through the glass, and walked to the broken crown. A waste basket that looked as though a beast chewed it lay in the corner. The table that once held the equipment was partly destroyed. The table's legs the only remaining parts. She couldn't believe it.
This was once the lab that Twilight used to analyze Pinkie Sense, to record her magic research, to see the difference between magic and chemicals. She was a true researcher, despite being a bit off and still having her friends. Rarity wanted to cry, and beg the world for her friend back, but it would solve nothing. She found herself looking closely for any sign of written word, but paper was quick to ignite. There was no way any papers survived.
With the knowledge she had she left the room and on the ground floor of the library, Rarity stared at the room. Her broken heart was strangely motivated to get back to the boutique and finish the dress. She knew what she needed to make it look like, she had a plan. With that she gave a tearful smile at the ruins and ran out to go home. A new goal was set in mind. A beautiful but simple gown in a dark blue with pink lace trim and a violet ribbon round the midsection. Yes, that's what she must make.
No more wasting time, no more lagging on memories. It's time.