//------------------------------// // Act 3 chapter 9 // Story: Diamonds are a girl's worst enemy // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// Celestia took a couple of steps backwards . Then her horn discharged itself and she shook her head a couple of times. Nothing in every single fiber of her body could have ever believed the facts as they were placed within the mind of Twilight. “No, but, but that’s impossible,” the princess whispered to herself. The final sparks of her arcane power faded out of existence. She had done something that nopony needed to knew from her. Something that needed to remain top and top secret.         For the thing that the mare had done, was something that stood right up against the very laws of Equestria. Even as a princess, she wasn't allowed to do it. Though she did it in order to figure out what happened. For the time to wait on Twilight and get to know what happened just wasn't there in her eyes. So the only thing that she could be done was to actually look straight into the memories of the unicorn and pick out the memories one by one.         It was a crime that went against even the most basic principles of privacy itself but there really wasn't any other option. And the fight that she was witnessing was everything she didn't had expected. The alicorn continued to shake her head a couple of times before a deep sigh was left through her nostrils.         “What have those two gotten themselves into now?” she spoke in a strange tone. One that sounded as if both Twilight and Rarity had managed to work themselves into troubles once again. The thoughts continued to linger within the mind of the mare as there was some sort of solution needed in order to resolve the problem.         Of course did Celestia knew exactly what kind of spell had been used, but she also knew that there wasn't any counter for it. Instead she needed to rely on something a bit more basic, a pretty face and a very, very good lie. She would have wanted to take a different route on the facts as they were but the events just didn't allow her.         “So it shall come to be then. That the course of our history changes once more at the eleventh hour. Why can’t things just go normally for once? Just for once?” she said in a questioning tone to herself. Then did the click of the door do its turn within her ear. The alicorn of the sun turned her body around and looked right into the eyes of Spike who gave her a smile.         “They are preparing her room now, shouldn't take too long before she will get the operation. Are we, allowed to watch?” the dragon asked her in a tone that reminded her of a little baby dragon. Even though he had grown up so much, could be just about the biggest douche there was, he still had his heart right where it always belonged. Even if it was on just a couple occasions. ---                       Hours came by and went. Spike was pacing up and down the door that was leading to the operation room. He had gotten his answer to the question in quite the harsh manner when the doctors had closed the door right before his nose. Celestia on the other end had taken a seating and was calmly sipping from her cup of tea.         On the outside did the alicorn look calm, like she was peace incarnated actually. But inside of her mind was the war being waged. A war that would continue on the matter of just what she could be possibly doing with both Twilight and Rarity. Thoughts about darker times did surface within her for certain. Those time were long forgotten and best left to be buried. No, she thought that there needed to have been an easier, more peaceful manner to make certain that the two wouldn't cause any more trouble together. The question just remained on the fact of what that happened to be.         Thoughts came and went before she eventually laid it to rest. The time to decide would be coming on another date as the operation was nearly finished. Which was something that actually came to a massive relief for Spike himself. His heart had been beating right in his throat through the entire procedure and only when the nurse told them that Twilight was able to get them for a visit, he released the deepest sigh of relief yet.         “Does he, usually smoke that much?” the nurse asked to the princess. They both looked to the massive amounts of calm, black smoke that left through his nostrils. It was even an amount that had gotten Celestia surprised. Not even the alicorn herself had ever seen such an amount to have come out of him.         “Well, not from what I am used to. But, we are talking about his adoptive mother here so… it might explain a thing left or right,” replied Celestia with a small smile. The nurse gave an understanding nod. Then she led both of the alicorn and the dragon to the recovery room where Twilight had been placed.         There she laid, in the bed with her body raised up a little bit to assume a more sitting position. One of her forelegs still laid still as the other gently stroked it. All three of the beings entered the room calmly and the nurse then left them again. “Hey Twilight, how are you feeling yourself?” asked Spike while the smile only seemed to have become bigger upon his face.         The unicorn herself couldn't believe the facts as they were and she kept on stroking her gem leg. Yet slowly but surely did the head raise itself upwards and looked over to the two of them. “I, feel oddly well. Even though this leg isn't supposed to be there, it feels like it does.” Twilight explained to the both of them.         To which Celestia had actually the near perfect response. “That’s because it is actually part of you. Due to the results of your, incident, they had to amputate your leg. No magic in the land would have been powerful enough to heal it back to its original state. This is what we call a gem prosthetic, it looks like your original leg and even acts the same.”         “That, that is all fine and such princess,” Twilight then continued as she looked over to her mentor, “but who gave the permission to do so? You, Spike?” Suddenly was her attention turned towards the dragon. The one who she had taken under her care since he was nothing else but an egg.         Yet the dragon pointed back over to Celestia and slowly did the puzzle pieces feel upon their rightful places. “Now it starts to make sense. Still, it should take me a few day to learn how to walk with this, right?” added Twilight.         “It’s powered by magic!” Spike then exclaimed. He dropped by Twilight’s side and continued to once again stroke her foreleg. Twilight released a small giggle in response before finally cracking a smile on the matter. Finally did her signature smile stand at her lips again. A relief for everypony.         “They actually are, my young student. Your magic has the ability to power your leg. It functions as the nerves and muscles to move the crystals around. Magic always flows through a unicorn even when the horn isn't charged, meaning that you don’t have to worry about it.”         “So, when can I, or may I, walk again?” Twilight then asked before she wrapped her fur covered foreleg around the shoulders of Spike and pulled him in closer.         It was a difficult question to answer for Celestia as most ponies took a month to learn everything. Yet Twilight had actually managed to amaze her more than once already. “I would dare to say perhaps a week.”         “But how did..?” Spike then spoke up before the gaze of Celestia turned into one of the most sour expressions she had ever given. She knew the truth on the matter and it wasn't one that needed to be shared. Twilight understood it right away while Spike actually felt uncomfortable because of it.         Lies had to be spoken when the one pair of friends, would slowly turn into both bitter and mortal enemies of one another.