“I’m so sorry,” Nurse Tenderheart said as she escorted Rarity out of Sweetie’s room. “When you come back tomorrow morning, just let the nurse at the desk know and she’ll escort you back up here, okay?”
“Can’t I stay here with Mother and Father?” Rarity asked, the words burning her parched and strained throat.
“I’m sorry,” the nurse repeated. “They need to stay in case any decisions need to be made before morning, but we can’t let anypony else stay. It’s against protocol.”
Rarity struggled to come up some reason, any reason, to stay, but her sleep-deprived mind and frayed emotions just left her standing there, staring. The nurse nudged her, and Rarity’s hooves began to take her away. Plodding forward Rarity dreaded going home despite the siren call of her bed. Sleep would bring tomorrow, and tomorrow was the most frightening thing in Rarity’s world.
No, not tomorrow. Time.
And the one pony with the power to sway time refused to help. Her so-called friend refused to save Sweetie even as seconds ticked away like years on her life. In the back of her mind, Rarity knew Twilight wouldn’t refuse her so without a good reason. Without a great reason. But still, what reason could possibly exist that outweighed a life? Especially the ebullient life that belonged to Sweetie Belle.
Maybe if Rarity went to the castle, she could beg or bargain for Twilight to twist time and bring Sweetie back from the brink.
Rarity stopped her plodding to sigh. Twilight wouldn’t be swayed. Not in a situation like this. Worse, Twilight was nothing if not thorough. Starlight would’ve already been given strict instructions not to go back in time to save Sweetie, and she wouldn’t so easily disobey Twilight, either.
“Did you stop by to say goodnight to an old man in the twilight of his days?” a voice playfully called out.
Glancing over, Rarity herself standing just outside Short Circuit’s room. The stallion in question lay in his bed, several IVs hooked up to his foreleg. What little of his youth Rarity witnessed earlier vanished before this tired, old stallion. His welcoming smile looked more like a grimace.
Still, going home to wait for tomorrow wasn’t exactly high on Rarity’s to-do list. In fact, she’d do almost anything else, including staying well beyond her welcome in this sterile reminder of death and disease. “Visiting hours are over,” Rarity said as she walked in, head hung low. “They’re kicking me out.”
Short Circuit took the door in his magical aura, closing it behind Rarity. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” He glanced over at his IV rack. “I’d say we’ve got a good fifteen minutes before the nurse comes in to scold us,” he said, turning back to face Rarity with a wink.
Coming to a stop, Rarity kept her gaze away from Short Circuit. “What-what did you do when you knew… you knew there wasn’t any time left?”
He sighed. “I was a damned fool. Even though I knew… every fiber of my being knew that I’d never make it in time, I just kept trying to engineer a way to save her. Right up until they came knocking on my door, telling me she had passed.”
Tearing her gaze away from the floor, Rarity finally looked Short Circuit in the eye. “You weren’t even there at her side?”
A small smile on his lips, he shook his head. “Like I said: I was a damned fool.”
“H-how could you…? Did you even care about her at all?” Rarity spat.
Rarity watched as Circuit’s dull, gentle eyes shifted into a hateful glare. A sensation of frozen electricity raced down Rarity’s spine as a wave of abject fear crashed over her. An instinctive step back and the look had already passed, although the unpleasant emotion lingered in Rarity’s heart. “I-I’m sorry,” Rarity finally stated, abashed. Her gaze cast away. “I had no place…”
“It’s all right,” Short Circuit replied with a sigh. Though his gaze softened, the warmth and kindness Rarity once saw didn’t return—just that cold jolt. “I was a lot like you, you know.”
This time, it was Rarity’s turn to send a hateful glare. Though Short Circuit didn’t seem to be phased in the least. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “What’s with that face? You don’t agree, or do you not like the truth?”
“I’ll be there. At her side,” Rarity said with authority and conviction.
Circuit nodded. “As you should be. But that’s not what I was talking about.”
Rarity relaxed, only in that moment realizing that her jaw had been clenched tight. Her tone softened, “T-then what?”
“That bitter anger. The unyielding defiance of fate,” he said, his words piercing Rarity’s shell. “It blinded me, you know. I kept telling myself that if there is even the tiniest mote of a chance to save her, that I should keep going. That nothing else mattered, even when I knew time was running out.”
“Time.” The very word burned Rarity’s lips with all the fire of her searing rancor. “Time is something Sweetie Belle doesn’t have anymore.”
With a grimace, Short Circuit sat up. “What? The way you were talking, I thought… S-she’s not… is she?”
Rarity shook her head. “Not yet. But my parents are taking her off of the machines first thing in the morning.” Tears bit at her eyes as she clenched her teeth. “They never even asked me about it.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Short Circuit said as he relaxed back into his bed.
“I’d give anything to save her,” Rarity said as she sat there at the bedside, resting her weary head against the cool mattress. “If only there were a way…”
Rarity’s eyes fluttered as her fatigue overtook her. As Short Circuit watched Rarity softly doze, he couldn’t help but to remember the sight of that filly that reminded him so of his own daughter. In the end, he couldn’t save her, but Sweetie Belle was still alive, at least for the moment. Hesitating just a moment, he reached out and stroked Rarity’s mane.
Blinking, Rarity straightened back up. “Let me ask you something,” Short Circuit said, staring at her with those cold eyes. “Just how far would you go to save her?”
Rarity didn’t balk. “I told you already: I’d do anything.”
“Would you?” he asked, his gaze never faltering. “If it meant saving her mind, her personality, her very spirit, would you kill her?”
In an instant, Rarity shot to her hooves. “Wha—Sweetie dying is the last thing I want!”
Short Circuit snorted a chuckle, shaking his head just a bit. “Forget I said anything. Just an old fool rambling…” He relaxed back into his bed with a sigh. “Dying isn’t so bad, I guess.”
The initial shock ebbed away from Rarity’s body, leaving a thumping heart and gasping lungs behind. Her thoughts raced back and forth between Sweetie’s imminent fate and the recalcitrant ponies she had little hope of swaying. Surely Twilight would not change her mind, and Starlight wouldn’t dare defy her mentor. Without them, what hope did she have?
Her eyes rested again on the sickly stallion before her. Even if she could take a stand and get her parents to reconsider taking her off the machines, Death would still claim Sweetie in a matter of hours. Even if it were just a small part of Sweetie, shouldn’t she still try to save her?
“Can… can you save her, or not?” Rarity asked, her eyes searing into Short Circuit.
He made no effort to look over at Rarity, instead choosing to continue to stare at the white ceiling. “Fragile things, these bodies of ours,” he said, a small, sad smile gracing his muzzle. “I learned that secondhoof with my daughter. And now… you know, it’s not so bad when it’s yourself. Dying, I mean.”
Those words surprised Rarity. Sure, she knew he was old. She knew he was sick. But she never would have guessed a pony so full of spunk would be dying. Still, the news stirred little empathy from the emotionally-drained mare. “Sweetie Belle isn’t you.”
“I can’t promise you the moon,” Short Circuit said as he finally looked back to Rarity. A smug smile graced his lips. “But together, we just might be able to fool to the Reaper.”
“Tell me, with absolute certainty, that this will work.”
“No guarantees,” he coolly replied. “But it’s a pretty good shot. I’d bet on it.”
Rarity glanced away before turning back with a renewed resolve. “What do I need to do?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted, only to start coughing. She’d been standing here in the middle of the night, shouting up at Rainbow’s house for the better part of twenty minutes. Either she was fast asleep, or she wasn’t even there at all. Either way, Rarity found it best to resign. Rainbow Dash might’ve been her first choice, but it certainly wasn’t her only choice.
Turning, she started walking toward Sweet Apple Acres. In the dead of the night, those orchards were more than a little intimidating, but nothing would deter her. Short Circuit said that he could help, but all the equipment was at his house. So they would have to spirit Sweetie Belle away, and that would require at least a little more help. Rainbow Dash was the perfect candidate. She was strong, had a vested interest in saving Sweetie, and she could be trusted not to let word slip to a certain lilac Alicorn. Only one other pony met those requirements, and that was Applejack. Rarity just hoped that Applejack would be willing to go as far as she was.
This was the end of the line. The final resort. Short Circuit said it would be the end for Sweetie’s body, but it could save her mind and spirit. He refused to go into more detail, but he promised it would work. He swore he would save her. And, even if it was merely the word of a virtual stranger, Rarity didn’t have anything else left to believe in. Sweetie would perish by dawn and she was left with nothing else to change that outcome. Nothing but the promise of a dying stallion. To find that fleeting mote of hope, Rarity would stop at nothing. Even if it meant breaking the law. Even if it meant stealing away an ailing filly from a hospital. Even if it meant killing her sister herself… if there was a chance to save any part of her, she had to take it. And that’s what she kept telling herself. Her mantra.
Before long, Rarity had arrived at the Apple Homestead. The full moon’s light reflected off of the darkened windows, casting shadowed reflections of the blackened orchards back at Rarity’s weary eyes. Surely not a soul stirred within, and she needed but one. But which eerily gleaming window hid her? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember a time she’d actually been in Applejack’s room. Worse, she knew at the very least that all the bedrooms were on the upper floor. Peering through windows like some sort of deranged peeping tom would be perfectly pointless.
With little other choice, she grabbed a pebble in her aura and brought it to the nearest second-story window. Worst-case scenario, she would be forced to apologize to somepony other than Applejack and ask which window to rap on next. With a fair bit of force, she bought the stone to the glass to elicit a short series of high-pitched impacts.
A few seconds passed. It was entirely possible that this particular window rested in an empty hallway. A few more seconds, and still no answer came. Could the knocks have been too quiet? They certainly seemed more than loud enough to Rarity’s discerning ears. Again, Rarity bashed the stone on the glass, this time with enough force to sting her ears and bring the window perilously close to shattering.
Before Rarity had finished her series of strikes, the window thrust open with enough force to startle Rarity into dropping the pebble. A stetson-clad head appeared, and after glancing around for a few moments, settled its gaze on Rarity.
“Rare? What the hay are yah doin’ all the way out here this time of night?”
For a moment, Rarity found herself completely speechless. She’d come all this way and gone this far but had completely neglected how she might actually ask Applejack to do something so dire. So she said all she could muster with a terse, honest statement, “I need to speak with you, please.”
Applejack pulled back as her eyes flitted away. Then, she leaned back out and gave Rarity a firm nod before vanishing and shutting the window. The crisp sound of the window closing barely registered with Rarity as she scrambled with how to broach such a difficult conversation.
By the time Applejack emerged, easing the door shut in the quiet of the night, Rarity had only come to one concrete decision. She needed to make sure that, even if Applejack refused to help, that she would not stop her from what needed to be done.
“I need your help,” Rarity blurted out before Applejack could say anything.
“S-sure thing, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. She pulled on the brim of her hat. “I, uh, I take it this is about Sweetie. She… she’s still on this side of the river Styx, isn’t she?”
Rarity bit her lip, nodding just a bit. “She doesn’t have much time. That’s why I need your help.”
Holding up a hoof, Applejack replied, “I’ll help yah anyway I can, but I just don’t see what all I can really do.”
“Before I ask, I want you to make a promise,” Rarity said before taking a deliberate pause to gauge Applejack’s response. A raised eyebrow was all Rarity got in return. “I want you to promise me that, even if you refuse to help, even if you think what I’m doing is crazy or wrong, you won’t tell anypony what I’m going to do. Especially Twilight. Can you promise me that?”
Applejack hesitated. Her eyes flitted away before she came back with a firm stare. “You have my word.”
Rarity sighed in relief. “Good.”
“S-so what’s this all about?” Applejack asked, her voice betraying her doubts.
“Sweetie is dying,” Rarity said, a burning numbness jolting through her as she spoke the words aloud. “I met a stallion that says… he says that her body is too far gone to save, but he can save her. Her mind, her memories, her very spirit. He can save her.”
Applejack leaned over, placing a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “R-Rare, are yah even listenin’ to yourself? How is it savin’ her if she dies? And how much do you even know about this stallion?”
Rarity swatted the hoof away. “I know that he is the only pony who is both willing and able to help me save Sweetie Belle. And that’s all I need to know.”
Letting out a long sigh, Applejack pawed at the ground. “Look, even out here in the dark I can tell that you’re plumb tired, and I don’t even wanna think about what kind of sufferin’ yer goin’ through.” Tugging her hat, Applejack tugged her bottom lip with her teeth. “Say I agree to help. How exactly is this supposed to work? Why do yah need my help?”
Clearing her throat, Rarity turned her eyes back toward Ponyville. “He says he can save her, but he can’t move his equipment. It’s in his house—not far from the hospital.”
“Rarity, I saw Sweetie Belle earlier. You can’t just move her. She’s too sick.”
“That’s what the hospital would say, and my parents wouldn’t stand for it, either,” Rarity replied as she finally looked back to Applejack. “We… I cannot carry her there on my own. I need help to… to spirit her away from the hospital.”
Applejack’s mouth fell open. “Y-you can’t be serious! She’ll die!”
“Don’t you understand? She’s only got until tomorrow morning if she even makes it that long,” Rarity argued. “She’s going to die either way. At least this way… this way she has a chance.”
“Are yah even hearin’ yourself? You sound like a mad mare.”
“You think that I don’t know how this sounds?” Rarity bit back. “Can’t you understand? What if it were Apple Bloom’s life hanging by a frayed thread? Wouldn’t you do everything you could to save her? Wouldn’t you do anything?”
Applejack stared back at Rarity’s wide, bloodshot eyes. “No.”
“Liar!” Rarity screamed as she stamped a hoof.
Aside from her ears shifting back, Applejack made no move. “In your desperation, have you stopped even once to ask yourself: what would Sweetie Belle want?”
“She would want to live!” Rarity replied, all too quickly.
“Even if that meant you might bring yourself to ruin?” Applejack leaned in, poking Rarity with a hoof. “ What happens if this doesn’t work? What would the hospital say? What would your folks say?” Pulling a curt turn to Rarity, Applejack walked off a few steps before spinning around again. “No way Sweetie would want you to risk all that for her.”
Rarity’s ears drooped for but a moment before the fire returned to her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. This is what I want. I have to do this, Applejack. Surely you can understand.”
Applejack’s jaw sawed back and forth as she ground her teeth. “What if it were you in that bed?” she asked, her voice low, slow, and serious. “What then? Would you really want Sweetie Belle to risk everything for some small chance to save you? Wouldn’t you want for somepony to stop her?”
Rarity’s fierce glare captured Applejack’s eyes. “You promised,” she growled.
Instead of backing down, Applejack squared up to Rarity. “I promised not to tell Twilight, and I won’t.”
Stepping back, Rarity cast a glance to the side. Then, she sharply turned and bolted into the orchards!
It took Applejack a few seconds to register what just occurred. Then it hit her like a fully loaded train. Rarity just ran off to go steal Sweetie Belle from the hospital! Giving chase, it didn’t take long for Applejack to spy the ivory Unicorn galumphing through the darkened trails. While Rarity may have had a head start, she also just happened to be a nervous wreck that hadn’t had nearly enough sleep. Not to mention these orchards were Applejack’s backyard.
In no time, Applejack found herself just behind Rarity as she fled. “Rarity! Stop! Just take a minute and think about you’re tryin’ to do!”
Applejack’s words reached Rarity, as she glanced back over her shoulder. A flash of blue light lit up her face, as she glared back at Applejack. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it!” she spat.
A wave of blue crashed into Applejack from the side, sending her tumbling head over hoof to the ground. She had to chase after Rarity and stop her, so Applejack stumbled to her hooves to try to regain her momentum. Two steps and she found the ground again.
Groaning, Applejack took her eyes off of Rarity to find what had tripped her up. What she found were a sea of empty baskets and an overturned cart. Oh, the words she would have for Big Mac when all was said and done for leaving the wagon out again. But there were more pressing matters at hoof. After clearing all the baskets, Applejack cast her gaze about, trying to find Rarity. There was no sign of her.
“Rarity!” Applejack bellowed, her voice vanishing into the darkened orchards. Breathing out a few, deep breaths, she set her sights on the direction she last saw Rarity. With a newfound focus, she pulled her brim low and galloped into the darkness.
It didn’t take long before Applejack realized her folly. She chased after shadows and shouted to nothingness. Panting, she slowed to a stop as her mind continued to race. Rarity gave her the slip. That much was crystal clear. But Rarity still had to be stopped before she went and made the worst mistake.
Applejack’s eyes widened. While she didn’t have a clue where Rarity disappeared to, she knew exactly where she would go. She just had to beat her there.
Applejack had hoped to run Rarity down long before entering Ponyville, let alone reaching the hospital. But even as she approached the towering building, there was still no sign of Rarity. It didn’t stand to reason that she’d have passed Rarity up. Which meant that Rarity already headed inside, or worse, she’d already absconded with Sweetie Belle. In any case, Applejack had to go inside to check. She just prayed that Sweetie Belle was still inside.
Just as she reached the corner to turn to the front of the hospital, a flash of blue caught the corner of her eye. Applejack stopped dead in her tracks before turning about. Sure enough, a blob of glowing blue floated out of a second story window. “No,” Applejack muttered, as she found herself drawn to the soft glow as if it were a will-o-the-wisp, “no, no, no, no!”
She reached the bundle just as it gingerly touched down on the ground. Just as she feared, Applejack found Sweetie Belle before her. Sickly. Still.
Reaching out a hoof, she gently felt Sweetie’s chest. It was warm and slick with sweat. One second passed. Then two. And three. Still, Applejack felt no motion. No breathing.
“Step aside!”
Applejack recoiled at the sharp, hushed shout. Just as she did, Rarity swooped in, attaching a large, rubber bulb to a tube in Sweetie’s mouth. The blue glow squeezed the bulb, and Sweetie’s chest rose in response.
“Rarity! What have you done!” Applejack hissed.
Rarity glared back at Applejack with those icy blue eyes. “Help me, or step aside,” she said, her voice devoid of compassion. Lifting Sweetie in her aura, Rarity hoisted the filly up on her back, all the while working the bulb that facilitated Sweetie’s breathing. She tried to flee into the night, but the coordination required to keep Sweetie on her back and work the breathing apparatus forced her to step slowly.
A light above preceded a ruckus. What little Applejack could make of the distorted shouts told her that Sweetie’s abduction had already been discovered. Any chance of getting Sweetie back into her hospital bed without anypony knowing just went up in smoke. So too, was any hope of Rarity avoiding the ensuing consequences. In fact, the only way this wouldn’t end horribly for Rarity would be if, by some miracle, this stallion really could save Sweetie Belle.
“Consarnit! You were hoping it would turn out like this!” Applejack hissed as she ducked behind a tree to avoid being seen by the ponies now desperately searching for Sweetie. For her part, Rarity was still slowly working her way away from the hospital. She’d never make a getaway like that.
A quick glance about and Applejack found a cart sitting nearby. Rushing over, she hooked herself up before galloping over to Rarity. “Get in,” she said as she pulled the cart in front of Rarity. After hesitating for but a moment, Rarity levitated Sweetie in before hopping in herself.