//------------------------------// // A Vision Number Minus Two // Story: The Enchanted Library: Amethyst Dreams // by makise-homura //------------------------------// The first thing Rarity felt was pain. It was like waking up from a heavy, deep sleep. The feeling of reality appeared unwillingly, very slowly. They say memories of the past day come rather quickly to the freshly awakened, but her mind was blank and silent. Just a few fragments of memories, and gray, impenetrable darkness between them. Rarity slowly swam out of this depth to the surface of reality, guided by the pain. She opened her eyes. The familiar greenish-white lights, dull white walls, and the absence of any cushy furniture Rarity had in her comfortable boutique, along with a barely audible buzz from some crystals on a stand near her bed; it looked like some kind of medical spell was active and keeping her alive while she was unconscious. It was clear: Rarity was in the hospital again. When she tried to get up, a strong pain shot through her chest, and she immediately decided it was a bad idea. She glanced down at her body: it looked like she was heavily bandaged. Very carefully, she tried moving her legs, and she was relieved to see that she could. Thank goodness, at least some bones weren’t broken. Senses slowly returned to her, and Rarity realized that she felt better this time, unlike her first meeting with timberwolves. Wait, timberwolves?! The thought came into her mind very abruptly, almost throwing away all others. Right, timberwolves. Of course, that was because Rarity had gone to the forest again, and as expected, she ran into these monsters “protecting” Twilight’s library and never letting her in since then. How dare they separate Rarity from Twilight, her Twilight! Then again, that’s probably why she’s here. Rarity clenched her teeth in silent rage; no matter what she did, the curse refused to be dispelled. On the other hoof, Rarity was too stubborn for some Discord shenanigans to dissuade her from trying to reunite with her beloved Princess. Yes, Rarity was going to be stronger than Discord’s curse. Fritter Cobbler had not given up until his very last days. So Rarity was not giving up either. She was going to find a way instead... Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint knock on the door. “May I come in, Rarity?” a familiar voice came from the hallway. “We just got a message that you woke up, and–” “Oh! come in, Fluttershy,” said Rarity. Actually, she almost wheezed: her vocal chords barely obeying her. How long has she been unconscious? The door opened, bit by bit. Fluttershy walked in slowly, her head bowed down, and her face hidden behind her mane. She approached Rarity’s bed, stopped, and, resting her front hooves on the edge of her mattress, lifted her gaze to the unicorn. “I…I’m glad you’re back, Rarity,” she said quietly. “Uh…” Rarity cleared her throat, fighting the pain in her chest, and continued, “I’m glad too, darling. It looks like it’s been quite a long time that, uh…” she examined the hospital room with a quick glance, “…I wasn’t around?” “Two weeks,” said Fluttershy. “Nurse Sweetheart said it could’ve been much longer, we didn’t even know if the doctors could bring you back to life after that.” “Excuse me, after what?” “You don’t remember? Well, I guess it’s for the best…” Fluttershy hesitated a bit, but Rarity’s gaze was still insisting, so after a short delay, she gave up. “A timberwolf almost crushed you. We barely managed to get you out of there.” Fluttershy’s voice trembled. “I’m glad you’re alive, at least” said she with an audible exhale. “And yet,” Rarity kept insisting, “That’s not all what happened, is it?” Fluttershy didn’t say a word. Rarity leaned forward, but the pegasus let go of the edge of her bed and trotted away, as if not wanting to be so close to the unicorn. “Somepony will tell you when you get better,” Fluttershy whispered after a long pause. And then she immediately left,without even saying goodbye. Rarity found that healing broken ribs was not a fast process. That may be because of some sort of Discord’s dark magic that timberwolves possessed, or whatever. Anyhow, Rarity was getting better day by day. Soon she was able to get up from the bed and walk. Her first steps after a prolonged bed rest were as hard as if Twilight somehow had placed one of her bookcases on Rarity’s back, but still she managed to walk more and more with each day. And her magic was slowly returning to her. Of course, she was still in quite poor condition, and she would not risk teleporting or otherwise straining her magic. But Rarity no longer experienced difficulties with something easy, such as levitation or a light spell. She was not alone in the hospital these days: Fluttershy came to visit her often and talk about her recovery. Sweetie Belle also kept her company sometimes, despite the myriad of chores she took on just to maintain her sister’s boutique. Well, Rarity was very proud of Sweetie, who really had been acting almost like a grown up mare. Of course other ponies helped, but she still did a lot.  She was no longer just a mere filly, like a year ago, when Rarity first met Twilight. Rarity began to think of giving up the boutique to her sister, and devoting her entire life just for the search of her Princess, just like Fritter Cobbler once did. And yes, Rarity would do better than Fritter, just because she will find Twilight in the end. She had promised after all, and promises must be kept. Rarity spent day after day in anticipation, and finally, the day she had been waiting for came. She left the Ponyville hospital and finally crossed the threshold of her home. “Rarity!” a cheerful greeting of her sister was the first she heard once she came inside the Carousel boutique. A moment later, Sweetie Belle ran down the stairs, galloped to Rarity and hugged her so tight. “Oh, be careful, Sweetie!” she tried to pull away a little. “Now you’ll break all my bones again, and who will continue the search for Twilight then?” Rarity smiled playfully. “You–” Sweetie suddenly broke off her embrace and stepped back a couple of steps. Rarity became silent, and Sweetie gazed at her sister, still with a smile, but a clearly pained one. “About that,” she said, “could we please shelve this for some time?” Rarity tilted her head, surprised. “Well we can, but why are you asking for it? You were glad to see Princess Twilight back then. As soon as I find her again, you’ll be able to see her, and–” “Is it worth it?” Sweetie suddenly sobbed. “I mean, isn’t all this enough? Until you come up with something else than desperate attempts ending in such…” Sweetie bowed her head, still sobbing. Something weird was going on, and since her sister was affected, Rarity had to get to the truth. What if Discord did something sinister here in Ponyville? How dare he hurt Rarity’s friends and loved ones? Well, the day will come when she finds him, and then he will answer for what he has done to Twilight, to Sweetie, and to everyone else. Rarity took a step forward and hugged Sweetie again. She felt the warmth of now tear-stained coat of her sister soon, as the filly returned the embrace and clung to Rarity.