Rarity held onto Rainbow, unable to let go.
Hours had passed, and she’d remained vigilant through all of them. It wasn’t like she could sleep, anyway, at least not yet. Her hoof still burned and throbbed, and she couldn’t put any weight on it until the swelling went down. Besides, she didn’t want to leave Rainbow while she was in such a precarious position. She didn’t know if the urchins’ poison was enough to kill Rainbow—she prayed it wasn’t—but Rainbow grew noticeably weaker as the minutes and hours dragged on. The pegasus hadn’t fallen asleep so much as she’d simply passed out from pain and exhaustion. Rarity wanted to let her rest and fight off the poison, but she was also afraid that Rainbow might die in her sleep. As a compromise, she forced herself to remain in the shelter, not leaving Rainbow alone for even a second. Her forelegs were still wrapped around her friend’s torso, holding her close.
‘Friend.’ Something about that felt off to Rarity, now. She’d replayed what she’d done over and over again in her mind. Surely there was an easier way, a better way, to get Rainbow to drink, right? She could’ve tried again to support Rainbow’s head and get her to sit up, more gently this time, but she’d been afraid of disturbing the tenuous balance that had so far kept Rainbow in the realm of the living. Was that really the only way she could get Rainbow to drink?
It didn’t take long for Rarity to realize that she wasn’t still thinking about what had happened because of the logistics and what she’d done. She kept thinking about it because of how it’d made her feel. She hadn’t felt disgusted at kissing a friend or even neutrally distant by justifying it as what she simply had to do. Every time she thought about it, she’d feel a pleasant heat in her cheeks as a blush settled across her face. She enjoyed it, and it embarrassed her. It wasn’t that Rainbow was a mare—Rarity played ball with either team, so to speak—but it was because Rainbow was Rainbow Dash, one of her closest friends. She’d known the Wonderbolt for so long and never felt anything toward her. Why now?
Rarity craned her neck back and looked down at Rainbow’s face, fitfully sleeping in her embrace. Rainbow wasn’t beautiful in the Canterlot elite sense, but she had a firm and fit body, honed and tuned from years of athletics and sports competitions almost since the day she was born. It certainly made her visually attractive in spite of how much Rainbow disregarded her appearance. But it was more than that, Rarity realized. Rainbow cared, and in a world where ponies would lie to her face and try to kiss up to her with insincere flattery in the hopes of earning favors, that meant so much to her. That was Rainbow’s true beauty, and Rarity loved and adored beauty in all its forms.
She nuzzled Rainbow’s forehead, feeling sweat and salt stick to her nose. Her and the girls had been drifting apart over the years, it was true, but now it seemed like her and Rainbow were beginning to draw back together through something more. She honestly didn’t know how Rainbow felt—her friend was terrible at conveying her emotions even when she was actually trying to do so—but even if her feelings were one-sided, she hoped it’d make them better friends when this nightmare was all said and done.
Rainbow trembled and whimpered in her sleep, and Rarity tried to give her a comforting squeeze. At this point, she merely hoped that Rainbow would survive until the end of the nightmare. She honestly didn’t know if she’d have the strength to go on if Rainbow died and left her all alone. Chirp wasn’t all that good company, and the bird was still feral, even if he did like following the two of them around; he didn’t really count.
Rarity shifted some and pressed her ear against Rainbow’s neck. She could hear Rainbow’s heart, but it was weak and fluttering. How much weaker could it get before it stopped entirely?
Squeezing her eyes shut, she buried her nose in Rainbow’s sandy mane. “I know you’re strong, Rainbow,” she whispered. “You’re the strongest pony I know. You’ve done so much, pushed so hard for your dreams, and you went and chased them and achieved them, darling. Once you set your mind on something, nothing short of Celestia herself can stop you—and I think you’d give our princess a good run for her money.”
She smiled faintly, but it was bittersweet, when she spoke again, it was almost as much to muffle Rainbow’s ragged, shallow breathing as it was to soothe herself. “Those nasty urchins aren’t stronger than you, Rainbow. I know that. You’ll beat them in the end. I’m just so sorry that you have to suffer like this.” She swallowed hard and blinked a few tears out of her eyelashes. “I wish I could do something. I really do. If I had any way of easing your suffering, you know I would do it. You shouldn’t have to hurt like this.”
A single sniffle was all that escaped Rarity’s muzzle. “You’re one of my best friends, Rainbow, and I love you just like I love the rest of the girls. Celestia only knows how they must be feeling right now. I know they’d never say it to each other, but they must all be thinking that we’re dead, lost at sea. Please, Rainbow, please pull through, if not only for me, then for them as well. Let’s go back to Equestria together and show them that we’re still alive. Don’t make me have to go back by myself. I can’t go back only by myself…”
Rainbow didn’t react, but Rarity hoped that she heard her words in her sleep anyway. Rainbow would live, she knew; she knew that Rainbow would live. Anything else simply couldn’t enter her mind. But Rainbow had to fight it out first. And as much as Rarity wanted to fight it out with her, she could only watch from the sidelines and try to cheer her on.
Finally, Rarity felt a calling that she couldn’t ignore. She disentangled her limbs from around Rainbow’s body as gently as she could, then stood up on sore legs. Not moving for so long, coupled with Rainbow’s weight on her legs, little as it was, had left her stiff. Still, she bent over and planted a kiss on Rainbow’s cheek, then stroked her mane.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” she whispered. “Just sleep, and when you wake up, we’ll get you something to eat and drink.”
Then she hurried away, hesitating at the door for a few seconds before she disappeared out of sight.