//------------------------------//
// I finally feel alive again. 
// Story: I'm sorry, Twilight 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

For the first time in what feels like ages, I feel refreshed and ready to take on whatever the world has to throw at me. It took a good three or four hours, but Aloe and Lotus had completely managed to work out the stress I'd been building up for the last several days and now, as I exit the spa, I feel as though I can finally think clearly again. My eyes are bright and clear, my coat, mane, and tail all shine like the sun, exactly as Rarity had intended, and for the first time since this mess had begun, I feel like I'm ready to confront Spike.

Given how much time has passed since I entered the spa, I decide to pay a visit to Rarity's boutique first. I figure she must've finished her talk with Spike by now and some of my anxiety returns as I think about what they might've talked about or what might've happened during the conversation. It's nearly time for Luna to fully raise the moon by the time I leave the spa and I still have that letter to write, so I try to hurry to the boutique. As I cross the small bridge that leads to Carousel Boutique I freeze and my breath catches in my throat. At the same time, my heartbeat quickens and a cold shiver runs down my spine.

I can feel it... that unseen gaze raking its way across my entire body. 

I turn this way and that, searching for any sign that somepony is watching me, but I know nopony is there. Most ponies in town have already headed home for the evening and despite Town Hall being just a block away, this part of Ponyville doesn't get much traffic normally. I'm alone with my sudden panic and my newfound confidence and positivity crumble back into fear and uncertainty. Up until now, I'd only ever felt like this at night in my own home. To feel it now, all the way out here...

I push down my hesitation and the fear drives me forward towards the boutique. It doesn't take me long to reach the door of Rarity's abode and I waste no time in knocking on the door. My panic causes me to knock a little too forcefully, but I pay that no mind as I call out Rarity's name. A few seconds of silence pass by and I receive no response. I don't bother to knock again, as I finally remember that this is a public establishment during the day unless Rarity chooses to close early. Pushing open the door, I quickly step inside and immediately begin searching for Rarity. The distant and familiar sound of Rarity's sewing machine reaches my ears and I head in the direction of her workroom. 

"Rarity?" I worriedly call out, pushing the door to her workroom open.

Inside I see the mare at her desk, looking exactly the way she had when I'd left the boutique earlier. Her back is turned to me as she continues to silently feed fabric into her machine. She doesn't respond when I call her, nor does she turn when I step inside the room. I open my mouth to call her name again but stop when I see her flinch and raise a hoof to her head. She rubs one of her temples before returning to her work. All this is done in complete silence save for the whir of her sewing machine, and though she seems fine otherwise, my unease only grows.

"Rarity?" I repeat, making my way over to where she sits. When she still doesn't respond, I gently place a hoof on her withers, "hey... Rarity, are you—"

She jerks back in her chair with a startled cry, catching me off guard and causing me to step back with a surprised cry of my own. She snaps her head around to face me, her expression one of wide-eyed shock and... fear?

"Twilight!" she breathes, holding a hoof to her chest, "goodness, you scared the daylights out of me!" she takes a few calming breaths and shuts off her sewing machine before turning back to me with a disapproving frown, "I'm glad to see you, dear, but a little warning certainly wouldn't go amiss I should think."

"Sorry, Rarity," I reply with a slight frown of my own, "I didn't mean to startle you like that, but I did knock, and I called your name... several times."

"Oh," she replies, blinking slowly, "I'm sorry, darling, I—ah!" she winces and presses a hoof to her head again, "...I must've gotten lost in my work again. Tends to happen when I'm 'on a roll' as it were," she lowers her hoof and looks me up and down and a pleased smile breaks out across her face, "I must say, the spa twins do very good work. You look positively gorgeous, Twilight. A far cry from when you first stumbled into my boutique."

"Thanks, Rarity... but never mind me," I reply with a grimace of concern, "are you okay? You seem... out of it."

I decide not to tell her about the presence I felt just yards away from her boutique. I want to see what she has to say about Spike first, and then there's her strange reaction—or lack thereof.

"I do seem to have developed quite the headache since I returned from the library," she answers, still massaging her temples. She glances at the sewing machine with a slight frown, "just working a bit harder than I should, I imagine. Nothing a little rest and relaxation won't fix, darling."

I have my doubts about that, but rather than dwell on her words, I take the opportunity to find out more about what happened with Spike.

"I know this is a busy season for you, but try not to push yourself so much," I say in an admonishing tone that turns anxious with my next words,  "but speaking of the library though, how did things go with Spike?"

The moment I mention the baby dragon, something in the air shifts and I feel an invisible yet familiar weight press down on me. The breath is sucked from my lungs and my mouth goes dry, but Rarity doesn't seem to notice. Her eyes light up and a bright smile stretches her muzzle wide.

"Oh, he was just a darling, Twilight!" she gushes, "honestly I'm not sure why you were so worried about him. Sure he was rather surly at first, but just as I told you before, all it took were some caring words and a bit of understanding, and he was back to his old sweet self."

Something isn't right. 

Rarity's smile is too wide, her eyes too bright. 

She sounds like her normal overly dramatic self, but I can hear something else beneath the surface... something that's not her.

"He feels just terrible about the way he's acted and how he's treated you the last couple of weeks," Rarity continues, unaware of my shallow breaths and slight but uncontrollable shaking, "I recommend you two sit down and have a talk once you get home. I'm sure he wants to apologize for everything that's happened," her smile widens another inch, "at the end of the day he's your faithful assistant, Twilight, and out of all of us girls, he's probably your closest friend. Just talk to him and you'll see that he wants this bit of nastiness between you two to end just as much as you do. Just talk to him, Twilight."

I need to leave.

As I slowly begin to back away from Rarity, her smile drops into a bemused frown. At the same time, that awful weight lifts from my body and I feel as though I can breathe properly again, but my mind is already made up.

I need to leave. 

"Twilight?" Rarity asks, rising from her seat, "is something the matter? Twilight?"

I shake my head and continue to back away, not giving her an answer—unable to give her an answer.

"Twilight, dear you look like you've seen a ghost," Rarity says, a hint of nervousness creeping into her voice, "your face is horribly pale and you're shaking like a leaf."

"I... I'm sorry, Rarity. I have to go," I quickly stammer out, "thanks for everything, but..." 

"But what?" Rarity presses, taking a step towards me, "Twilight, what's wrong?"

I need to leave.

Rarity calls out my name again, but my horn is already lit and her cry is cut off as I briefly snap out of existence in a bright magenta colored flash of light.