//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Mending 
// Story: Broken 
// by Blue Cord Dragoon 
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Chapter 7: Mending


Rarity and Sweetie Belle nervously waited on the sales floor of Carousel Boutique. The shop was still in shambles. The younger of the sisters thought that they should try to help clean up the carnage from yesterday, but Rarity had already decided against it.
“I want to leave it like this for when our friends arrive. I need it to help me make a point to them.” Rarity explained in a firm yet gentle voice. While Sweetie Belle’s thoughts were troubled by the prospect of more vitriol being spewed among friends, her older sister’s confidence eased some of her uncertainty. 
A knock came from the shop’s front door, prompting Rarity to open it with her unicorn magic. Twilight Sparkle walked in with a worried look on her face.
“Hello, Rarity, Sweetie Belle.” She said with her voice full of anxiety. Her eyes widened in amazement at the destruction that had been unleashed within the walls of the dress shop. Twilight Sparkle decided to take her mind off of gawking by focusing on reason why she had come. “I’m not too late, am I?”
“No.” Rarity answered, shaking her head slowly. “You’re the first one to arrive so far, but I’m sure that the rest will be here before too long.”
“Do you think this will work?” Twilight Sparkle asked in reference to the plan that Rarity had thought up last night. The student librarian had heard of the fight between Applejack and Rainbow Dash and knew that Rarity must be in turmoil from the struggle. That was why when the ivory mare asked her to come to Carousel Boutique in the morning and perform a simple spell, Twilight Sparkle did not hesitate in agreeing to do so. Still, the periwinkle mare had her reservations about the plan. The magic involved would be easy, but the outcome that her fellow unicorn pony wanted was not guaranteed.
Sympathizing with Twilight Sparkle’s worries, Sweetie Belle looked up to Rarity for an answer.
“Of course it will.” Rarity said to Twilight Sparkle. She then lowered her soft and kind gaze to match her little sister’s. “It will work because it has to work.” Content for now by the alabaster mare’s words, the two other unicorn ponies waited for the rest of the invited ponies to arrive. 
They did not wait long. Fluttershy walked in a few moments later, ushering in Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash right behind them. The canary hued pegasus pony had not heard about the fight yesterday until Rarity had shown up on her door step and explained the entire situation to her. Once she was finished recounting the awful events of that day, the unicorn pony then asked the Ponyville animal caregiver if she could fly to Rainbow Dash’s cloud house and Scootaloo’s home and ask them to meet at Carousel Boutique with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and of course Fluttershy herself. While Fluttershy was normally a timid pony, she did not seem at all scared when she agreed to do so.
Shortly after the arrival of the pegasus ponies, The Apple sisters were escorted in by Pinkie Pie. The normally jubilant cotton candy colored earth pony was surprisingly somber and restrained this morning, just like last night when Rarity had visited her. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie had already heard about what had transpired between Rainbow Dash and Applejack that day, saving the unicorn pony the pain of once again trying to recite the horrid event. Rarity requested that Pinkie Pie deliver the same message to Applejack and her sister. The confectioner earth pony was not sure what the beleaguered unicorn pony had in mind, but Pinkie Pie knew she could not say no to her friend while she was in dire need of help.
The adversaries eyed one another with mutual distrust, as did their young wards. However, they would temper the malice they had for each other. They had decimated the home of the mare they both loved and she had been gracious to invite them back in spite of everything. They did not want a repeat of yesterday to occur, and besides, one of the conditions for coming today was that there was to be no fighting.
As for the rest of the group, they stared in awe at the damage that the dress shop had sustained because they had not seen it up close yet. They did not want to believe that two of their closest friends were capable of such ruination, especially in Rarity’s house where they had confessed their love to her. Applejack and Rainbow Dash hung their heads in shame as their friends looked on in astonishment as to what their unbridled anger had brought forth. Their hearts fell into their stomachs as they wondered why Rarity had used her other friends as proxies to summon them both here. 
“I want to thank you all for coming here today.” Rarity spoke with her voice only slightly quavering. Sweetie belle stood behind her with most of herself out of sight in case things started to get out of hoof. All the eyes in the room focused on the hostess, each pair glazed over in bewilderment and ambiguity. “You are wondering why I asked all of you to come here today and the answer will soon become apparent. All I ask is that you please allow me to speak uninterrupted as I explain.” 
No pony spoke up in objection to Rarity’s request, they were all eager for answers. The proprietor of Carousel Boutique continued with her monologue. 
“We are all here because of what had happened yesterday. It may be difficult for us to confront the matter, but we need to do so for the good of all of us. We stand in what was once my dress shop, but now, it is a collection of debris made from frustration and rage. As you can see, there are holes in the walls, precious stones littered all about, and many of the dresses that I have made are ruined.” 
Rarity’s horn glowed. A stylish and surprisingly undamaged dress appeared from a chest. The unicorn magic unfurled the garment in front of her friends to show it off in its full beauty. The dress was made from lightweight ochre fabric getting redder at the hem. It was adorned with rubies, and incorporated intricate lace and stitching. It made the ponies admiring it think of a warm summer’s sunset.
“This was one of the few dresses that managed to be spared form the violence of yesterday. I finished it the other day and I hadn’t had the chance to display it. It took me countless hours over many days to create the design, purchase the materials, cut the fabric to length, stitch it together, find the jewels, affix them, and put on the finishing touches. While I haven’t been able to price it, I think it would be safe to say that it could garner a hefty sum. I’m very attached to this dress because of all the effort that I have put into it.”
Without warning or hesitation, Rarity used her magic to manipulate the dress in a very rough way. She held one end of the collar up while she forcefully pulled the other part of the collar down. The fabric was stubborn for a moment, but it soon gave, causing the dress to split with a horrible tearing sound. Many of the gems on the dress came loose and fell to the floor, clinking as they landed amongst the rest of the clutter festooning Carousel Boutique. All of the ponies in the shop gasped at the act of Rarity purposely and unflinchingly destroying a dress that she had made, especially after speaking so affectionately of it. 
“But in the end, it is just a thing.” Rarity said with no sign of pain on her face as she looked at the tattered remnants of the garment. She lifted her eyes back to her friends and continued with the speech. “Things can be repaired or replaced if need be. Everything you see here that is damaged or destroyed will be fixed because they are just things. The money from lost sales and repairs can be recouped.  Such things are meaningless when it comes to ponies, particularly ponies that I care deeply for.” Rarity turned to face behind herself. “Sweetie Belle, could you please come out here?”
Sweetie Belle left the protection of being out of sight and came into full view of the group, She slowly lifted her head to see all of them. They were all shocked to see her with a band-aid on her cheek and one of her eyes black and blue. 
It was now Scootaloo and Apple Bloom who were ashamed of themselves. They knew they had hurt Sweetie Belle, but the reaction of all the other ponies made the fillies aware of the severity of their actions. Their shame turned to fear suddenly, because they might be found out as the culprits that had hurt the immature unicorn pony.
“This happened to my sister not long after the fight.” Rarity explained, causing The earth pony and pegasus pony fillies to stand still, paralyzed with dread. “She was injured by her friends as she tried to keep them from fighting, but she ended up getting hurt instead. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were fighting because Applejack and Rainbow Dash were fighting, and they were trying to act like their heroines.”
The children’s heroines turned to their young admirers with scowls on their faces and anger in their eyes. They started to yell at them at the same time.
“Apple Bloom! Just what in the hay were you thinking?”
“What were you trying to accomplish by beating up on Sweetie Belle squirt?”
“Please stop!” Rarity exclaimed with the ponies that were currently trying to discipline the young equines. “Please don’t be angry with them. There has been enough anger already and they’re merely a symptom of a larger problem, the feud between two of my best friends.” The ivory mare draped a leg around her younger sister to comfort her. “Yesterday, it was my sister who was caught in the crossfire. Who will it be today? Or tomorrow? Or next week? If things continue at this rate, it could easily annihilate all of the friendships that we hold so dear.” The unicorn pony stepped forward from her sister and towards the rest of her friends. She lightly tapped in front of herself in a beckoning manner. “Rainbow Dash, Applejack, could you both come here please?” 
The two quarreling friends had to muster all of their fortitude to stand before the mare they loved and had wronged, but as hard as it was for them, they did as she asked. They come today expecting to be berated for their violent acts, but seeing Rarity rip apart one of her own creations and the injuries to Sweetie Belle made Applejack and Rainbow Dash uncertain as to what would happen next. Their unease made them cautious and they were shivering from anxiety. Rarity walked up to both of them and gave each a long and seemingly impassive look, heightening the two’s panic. Suddenly, Rarity sat down, reached at both of her friends with her forelegs, and drew them into tight embrace.
“Thank you so much you two.” Rarity said to her stunned suitors, her voice full of sincerity. “I know that you both love me and its genuine love at that. When each of you confessed your feelings to me, it made me realize how much that I not only care for you as well, but also…but also that I’m in love with you two as well…” The unicorn pony’s voice cracked with heartache as her eyes began to well with tears, something she had tried to not permit herself to do. “Before you professed your love, I never thought that I could feel this way about either of you, but now, I don’t know of any other way to feel. I was so overjoyed until…until you two started to fight each other.” Rarity gulped her heart back into place, she needed to say this to end the suffering of everypony. 
“After the fight yesterday, I spent the whole day trying to decide whom I should choose. I kept thinking what a life would be like with either of you, and found the prospect to be so wonderful. You both are already so important to me, and being with you would make me the happiest mare in all of Ponyville. But if I chose Applejack over Rainbow Dash…or Rainbow Dash over Applejack…the suffering for the loser would be unbearable to the point that the joy in the relationship would deteriorate so quickly. How could we be happy knowing that our love…our love would be built on the pain of the one not chosen?” 
Rarity stopped trying to hold back her tears and instead focused all her concentration on what she needed to say next. “When I saw my sister hurt, it made me realize that not only…would there be more pain spread…but also that there was another choice that was before us. It’s the choice that I want to make…but I can’t speak for you…and I want to let each of you decide for yourself. I want us to remain friends…because I can’t bear the thought of hurting either of you so much. If we choose to stay as friends…it will hurt at first…but we can still be in each other’s lives…and our hearts will eventually heal…” Rarity had to pause because it was so hard for her to say this. She had already decided, but it was still difficult for her to hurt the mares that she loved. 
Two hooves came up to Rarity’s lips and gently hushed her. She looked up to see that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were crying more than she was. Their faces were full of pain and acceptance. They understood Rarity’s decision.
“Rarity…” Applejack started. “I can’t stand to see ya hurtin’ like this because of what we’ve done to ya. I’m so sorry fer yesterday and I wish I could take back what I did.”
“Me too…” Rainbow Dash interjected. “If this is what you want to do…to go back to being friends…I’ll do it for you, Rarity”
The unicorn pony was so touched by her friend’s agreement that she started to cry even more. “Thank you…Thank you both…” She was so full of heartbreak that she could not say anything else. She needed to thank Rainbow Dash and Applejack properly, but she was unable to speak past her sobs now. It left her with only one option to show them her appreciation. She reached in and kissed Applejack and then Rainbow Dash. They were apologetic kisses, ones that tried to make up for the life of love together that they had all agreed not to live.
With her friends consenting to her wishes, Rarity moved to the next part of her plan. She used her unicorn magic to summon the two bundles that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had brought her yesterday. Once brought, they were placed in the center of the room and unwrapped, revealing the contents that had vexed them all so much. The alabaster mare then turned to face Twilight Sparkle, who was crying along with every other pony in the room.
“Twilight…if you could please perform…” Rarity couldn’t finish her sentence, but Twilight Sparkle understood. The plum hued unicorn pony’s horn started to glow. Everypony watched as the fragments of glass from the two piles started to levitate. At first they hung in the air without motion, then, piece by piece, they started to form a shape. When they were in place, they began to fuse to with their adjoining neighbors. Once finished with its transformation, the object pulsed with light, blinding everypony in the room temporarily. When it was over, the perfect, beautiful, and flawless glass slipper had been reformed. It floated down gently into the hooves of Rarity.
“I want this slipper to serve as an emblem of our compact. When it was in pieces, it drove us to jealousy…Now, since it has been made new again…I want it to unite us together in the friendship that we treasure…We are more than shards of glass. Please, just for me, say that you can return to and respect the friendship that we all hold so dear to our hearts…” Rarity could not stand it anymore and finally caved to her heartbreak. She collapsed onto the floor of Carousel Boutique, inconsolably crying, as though the act would purge all the pain from her. 
Rainbow Dash and Applejack could not bear to watch Rarity like this and did the only thing they could to help. The two friends dropped to the floor and hugged Rarity as tight as they could, shedding their own tears to try and take as much of the anguish away as they could. 
It was not long before the Cutie Mark Crusaders joined the three ponies, crying more than the elder mares were, eking out their own apologies to each other between sobs. Soon, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle joined in emotional scene, to let all know that they would help support their friends in their endeavor to repair the damage done by the brief, but deep, quarrel. 
There, on the floor of the demolished dress shop, surrounded and uplifted by the affection and support of their friends and family, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash grieved at the loss of the love they had all chosen to deny themselves.


* * *




Dear Princess Celestia

Today I made a decision that I thought I would never have to make, and in doing so, I found out the true power that love can have on a pony. When another pony loves you, and you love them in return, it is the most fantastic feeling in the world. However, when two different ponies love you, and you have trouble deciding whom to choose, the results can be disastrous. Love cannot truly exist when it’s built on the pain of another, even more so when it’s a lifelong friend that you would be hurting. It would build resentment and hate to the point that the pain would spread to others that you care about.
I made the choice today to deny myself a life of fulfillment with another because it would have hurt not only another friend that I love, but the sister that I love as well. While the decision made my heart break, I know it was the right choice because it was the kind of heartache that will heal because all the ponies important in my life will still be friends in the end. Now, there will be no animosity between my friends, or the ponies that I love.
When love and friendship are in conflict, choosing friendship can be the biggest act of love you can make in your life.

Your Faithful Subject,

Rarity