(3 days earlier) 15 days to Twiligeddon...
The Ponyville hospital was abuzz with ponies. Dash's ground impact rainboom had caused all manner of injuries from concussive shock and cuts to bruises and temporary deafness.
Nurse Redheart flitted around the crowds, bringing leadership to the jumbled mass as she shouted out orders to a hoof-full of volunteers. She spared a moment to glance out a window at Twilight, her brow furrowed worriedly.
She won't last much longer. That's the third casting this morning... She turned swiftly and headed for a closet. She's going to pass out again.
"Set up the princess' room. Get the magic trauma kit charged! I want a stretcher out there now!" She barked out the orders and the volunteers reacted instantly.
She trotted swiftly down the hall and ducked into a supply closet. She grabbed an I.V. from a shelf, a prefilled syringe of painkiller from a medbox, a pack of saline from a little fridge, and a smaller pack with a purple liquid and a makeshift white strip of tape labeled 'Unicorn Mana Medpack.' She tossed the items onto a sterile tray in Twilight's room and swiftly turned to head outside, the capped syringe tucked snug behind an ear.
Twilight stood in the center of organized chaos. Close to fifty beds had been moved from nearby homes out onto the hospital lawn. Every bed held at least one injured pony, though most of the minor injuries had been taken care of the previous day. Twilight had worked out an emergency spell from an old tome of healing.
She took a deep breath, focusing on her new healing spell as it formed in her mind, a thick magenta aura roiling around her horn. Unicorn volunteers were stationed at planned intervals throughout the crowd of beds.
Rays of magenta gently arced from Twilight out to these unicorns, striking their horns, causing the air around them to radiate with a high frequency vibration.
The spell was all too simple. To heal the injured, Twilight just had to increase their body frequencies high enough to engage their own natural speed healing abilities. Injuries cause a pony's vibrational frequencies to drop dramatically. By increasing the vibrational frequencies of the area around everypony, and bringing their current vibrational states up to a healthy level, the injuries will heal naturally in response! Simple. She mentally reassured herself.
Except the vibrations would only work so far out from her body until they faded and become impotent. At first a few reluctant unicorns had answered her call to relay her magic. Mostly due to a lot of them having injuries, but after Rarity had joined in and applied her social skills, unicorns were lining up to help.
Today, there were twenty such volunteers, and Twilight was custom shaping the spell to each and every one of them. Not so simple...
Twilight, having passed the difficult point of starting the spell began pushing herself to channel every bit of magic through her to meet the demand of the other unicorns in her network.
Rarity, being one of the hubs, accepted the magical energy as it struck her horn, and marveled at the intricate weave and care that Twilight had so expertly crafted into it. Twilight, darling, this spell is beautiful. So simple yet so wonderfully crafted! She let the spell feed off her own energy as she passed it along, splintering it into five new directions to five other waiting unicorns.
She gasped at the ease and flow of the spell. This wasn’t her first run, but Twilight’s skill never ceased to amaze her. I'm just a conduit, the spell itself recognized me and acted of it's own accord... She spared a glance over at her friend, a worried frown creasing her delicate features. Twilight's legs were shaking, and even from a distance Rarity could see the strain in her friends posture.
“Oh, hold on Twilight... ” She called out softly. “It won't be much longer, dear.”
A numbing tingle ran down Rarity's horn, her eyes dilated with the intoxicating sensation as it spread past her ears, down her neck, and in a wave of euphoria it enveloped her entire body. She shivered a little, her legs feeling week as she was nearly overpowered by the urge to lay down and bask in the dizzying warmth.
The sniffles of foals and disgruntled moans of the injured however kept her well grounded in reality. With stubborn determination she stood her ground, willing the magic to flow and vibrate through her as she tuned it outwards in silent light blue waves that flowed over the surrounding beds of injured ponies.
Many ponies fell asleep on the beds, their bodies shutting down as the soothing waves flowed around and into their aching wounds. It relieved their pain, and relaxed the high strung tension from their nerves. Slowly, numbly, their bodies' vibrations rose to match the frequencies of Twilight’s magic.
Twilight strained through it all, sucking in the energy around her. Then, with one last gasp, her legs gave out with finality, bringing her to her knees. The glow in her horn flickered, the arches of magic faded, and Twilight collapsed to the ground.
Rarity trotted over swiftly to her fallen friend, ignoring the numbness in her legs. She noted the stretcher that had been waiting near Twilight, and that nurse Redheart was already injecting a pain killer into Twilight's shoulder in preparation for the oncoming massive headache.
Rarity enveloped Twilight in a soft magical glow as she helped lift her onto the stretcher. Nurse Redheart turned with a meager smile and a nod, worry etched into every feature.
Rarity met her gaze with a sad shake of her head. "If she wasn't helping so many injured and needy ponies." She blinked and diverted her eyes. "I would never let her abuse herself so horridly."
Nurse Redheart nodded, her aching overworked muscles screaming at her from lack of sleep. "I know... " She looked back at the crew carrying Twilight's stretcher as they cleared a path into the hospital. "Rarity, dear, she won't listen to me, but perhaps you can convince her to slow down a bit. At this rate she could really do some damage to herself. We are almost caught up too. The vast majority of injured are well on their way to recovery. We are almost ready to start moving beds back to their owners homes."
Rarity nodded. "I'll try convincing her again... " With a yawn Rarity plodded forward, looking fabulous in her exhaustion. "How is Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and her mother faring?"
Nurse Redheart gritted her teeth. "Well enough, though I doubt they would have pulled through at all without Princess Sparkle's night sessions with them. Dedicating herself to maintaining that spell for three to four hours per night... " She trailed off with a shake of her mane. "She has to slow down. Donnybrook and Rainbow Dash are stabilizing swiftly. That sweet little filly is also past the worst of it. The broken bones in all of them are already knitting well. The swelling in Scootaloo's brain is also subsiding... " Nurse Redheart let out a long exasperated sigh of relief. "... finally."
"So much for patient confidentiality." Rarity giggled light heartedly as she teased nurse Redheart, who she had swiftly grown fond of over the past few days of chaos.
"Rarity, dear, at this moment in time you are as good as hospital staff." She grinned over at Rarity. "I could get you a nurses cap if you'd like."
Rarity giggled. "Oh, that does sound fun!" They trotted towards the hospital, together, grasping at any sliver of mirth they could find despite the somber and sad atmosphere in the wake of the Rainbow Calamity.
Twilight blinked away the fuzz in her brain. Her hospital room came into focus swiftly, which she was grateful for, but more than a little irritated that she was getting used to this kind of situation.
“If I had more stamina, I wouldn't have to deal with this!” She growled and berated herself. “I could still be out there helping ponies right now!” She slammed a hoof onto the bed in frustration which quickly ebbed out through a long sigh.
"You aren't to blame, Twilight dear, and you know that." Scootaloo intoned from the bedside in somber sadness, her wings horribly bent, crusty blood matting her fur from head to toe.
Twilight startled, her eyes dilated, her breath caught in her throat, and her muzzle drew open to say something only to emanate a startled squeak of terror.
"Twilight!" Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. Scootaloo was suddenly replaced by a very concerned Rarity. "Oh, Twilight, can you hear me? Please, tell me you’re okay?"
“Okay? Nothing is okay!” Twilight exhaled in exasperation as a flood of emotions burst forth, her self control having been shattered by her shock over the sudden hallucination. “Rarity, I failed Dash as a friend, it's all my fault! I couldn't even help her with her problems, and then I went and made things worse. She attacked Donnybrook, and… Scootaloo got caught up in it all. I'm so sorry!" She trailed off, shivering and sniffling as she fought back tears.
Rarity moved to speak, her lips curled down worriedly as her hoof hovered hesitantly inches from Twilight's shoulder. “The swelling around her brain subsided. I just received the news from nurse Redheart.” She smiled with timid excitement. “She’s going to live, Twilight.”
Twilight’s jaw played up and down, her eyes wavering as tears streamed down her cheeks. “But... but yesterday, they said… she might not make it... ”
Rarity slipped her forelegs around Twilight, hugging her tight as she whispered. “The only answer is you, dear.”
Twilight sniffled, gritting her teeth. "The problem was me too! If only I had been able to solve Dash's problems that night, or at least not made them worse. I failed as a friend!"
"Twilight!" Rarity commanded her attention. "Twilight... " She began again, in a softer more subdued tone. "... at least you tried. I didn't even raise a hoof to help my friend in her hour of need. There's just no excuse for it. I'm a horrid friend." She shook her head cutting off Twilight's arguments. "The least I can do to make up for it is to help you in healing the ponies who were injured by all of our shortcomings. However, right now there is one pony who needs me the most, dear." Rarity pouted at Twilight.
It took a second for it to kick in. "Wait... what? You mean me?" Twilight looked around in confusion, wiping her everflowing tears away with the sheet. "I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me. We all escaped the blast when I cast the shield remember?"
"Not that, dear. Your heart." Rarity put a hoof to Twilight's chest in emphasis. "It's devastated, Twilight, and you are abusing yourself to escape the pain." She put up her hoof again to cut off any arguments. "Nonono, no arguing, I want you to accompany me for a bit of an outing this afternoon. It will simply be marvelous with just the two of us. First off, little Ms. 'I haven't had a bath in three days... '" She indicated Twilight's disheveled-ness with a waggle of her hoof. "... is going to the spa. My treat." Her eyes reflected the futility of attempting any contrary arguments.
Twilight, feeling that the whole conversation was teetering one sided, decided not to force the scales. She's right... I am a mess. She ran a hoof down her dirty matted coat. Rainbo... She sighed, batting away a fly, as she forcefully cut off her thoughts, and flopped back into her pillow, tuning onto her back. Her hooves hung pacified across her chest, and she snuggled down under the sheet. "I really could use a good spa visit... "
Rarity nabbed the sheet, and flung it off her friend. "Right! Come on Twilight, dear. I will not have my precious friend moping around in some dingy hospital bed. You are royalty for ponies sake, and as such your presentational standards befitting your station have top priority!"
Twilight let out a groan borderline filly whine. Her legs flopped out to the sides. "Can't it wait a bit longer?"
"Absolutely not! If we wait any longer then we won't make it in time for your special surprise!" Rarity flashed Twilight her tender 'love me' smile with a bat of her eyelashes. Twilight perked up, but Rarity hushed her with a hoof. "Tututut... first, let us indulge in the finer delights of life."
Twilight smiled, grateful for Rarity's concern and welcoming the change in pace. "No, first we need to visit Scootaloo's room. Then, we can leave."
Something in Twilight's voice brooked no argument. Rarity smiled warmly, nodding in consent.
Twilight soaked down into the bath, letting the nourishing scented oils permeate her coat, and soothe away the stress of the week. Rarity, sitting across from her, had opted for a full facial. Twilight giggled inwardly as she glanced over to make eye contact but was met by the blank stares of two cucumber slices. "Thank you Rarity. I didn't realize how much I needed this."
Rarity waved a nonchalant hoof. "Don't mention it, dear." She melted into the water with a sigh. "I really needed this myself."
Ok, time to work out that secret. So... first some small talk. "Isn't your usual spa day with Fluttershy tomorrow though?" Twilight moved her hooves in an attempt to engage Rarity's interest in the conversation. Oh... right, cucumbers. She rolled her eyes at the futility instead and let them flop to the water.
Rarity smiled. "Really now? Can a pony have too many pampering spa days?" She paused with dramatic flare, her eyebrows raising in sincerity, but leaving the comical effect of expressive vegetables in Twilight's mind. "Besides, dear, in my line of work looking one's best is half the battle. Nopony would be able to appreciate the designs of a slovenly vagabond."
Twilight frowned in thought. "Hmm... noted. Though I can't imagine that description ever applying to you."
Rarity squealed in giggly delight. "Oh Twilight," she blindly pawed a hoof at her friend playfully, "you're so sweet."
Twilight smiled back, a little confused. "I kinda thought that was obvious. Can something so obvious be construed as a compliment? I thought it counted more as a statement of fact, which, in retrospect really didn't warrant any need to be stated if it is so blatantly obvious. Given that you are the most polished pony in Ponyville. No, it really doesn't make sense as a compliment... "
Twilight, deep in thought over her current self inflicted distraction, missed the removal of the cucumbers. Rarity wrapped her forelegs around Twilight's neck, and pulled her into a big giggly hug.
"Never change Twilight, dear. Forever stay the wonderful pony you are." She backed off ever so slightly and pursed her lips. "Now, I need you to tell me all about your troubles, and no secrets." Rarity's persona switched as she looked down at her nose into Twilight's eyes, a trained jewelers eye picking out the slightest hesitation and marres in crafting a jewel of perfection. "I know you've been bottling up some stress in there and I have a good idea what's been bothering you, but it's more therapeutic if you say it. Soo... " Rarity proffered an upturned hoof as if to hand the conversation over to Twilight.
Eeep! Divert! "I have no idea what you could be talking about! I'm just worried about our friends." Twilight grinned a little too wide, her ears falling back flat against her head as she dodged Rarity's discerning gaze. "Soo, what's next on the list?"
"I was waiting for that question. I believe I will defer to the definition of 'surprise', Twilight." Rarity grinned mischievously. "And, you are hiding something!" Rarity leaned back triumphantly as she snuggled further into a comfortably warm position in the bath.
"Right, understood." Twilight, sighed and fidgeted with a few passing bubbles that were swirling around the water flow. Fail... maybe my timing was off? I definitely kept a straight face... Rarity is just that good... Twilight sighed, giving in to the inevitable.
"Whenever you are ready, Twilight. Take your time." Rarity waited with all the natural patience of one who deals with picky and critical customers.
Twilight got to the point, beating around the bush never having suited her disposition. Still, she picked the lesser of the two problems on her mind. "I'm summoning the ghost of Star Swirl the Bearded tonight... "
The sound that left Rarity's mouth was neither ladylike nor socially acceptable in any way, however she decided it was appropriate for the situation. "Eyighyasy-you-w-whaat?" She stared dumbfounded at her friend.
Twilight continued. "I'm a little nervous about it." She fidgeted, rubbing the tips of her hooves together, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks.
"Twilight! You aren't eloping with this ghost are you?" Rarity meant it as a light hearted joke to break the awkwardness… kind of.
"What? No! Nonono, of course not! I didn’t even… come on, no! That never actually… Really, Rarity? I'm just summoning my idol to ask a few… t-t-to thank him for all his hard work and teachings. Then maybe I’ll ask him a few questions and compare theories. Maybe, he will even teach me something that didn’t make it into his books."
She looked away sheepishly. "I hope he likes me." A slight panic crept into her eyes as they locked back onto Rarity. "What if he thinks I'm not smart enough? What if he doesn't answer when I call? What if I’m a huge disappointment?" She chewed at her hooves. "Rarity, I wouldn't know what to do! I'd never be able to cast magic again!"
"Twilight, darling, I think that's the least of your worries."
"Oh, it's definitely top of the list. I hope he approves of my theories... " She trailed off staring at the swirls of soapy water, trying to shrink a little deeper down into hiding.
Rarity's mind roiled with a plethora of ways to handle the situation, but comforting a socially awkward friend over a meeting with a ghost was defying all of her experience.
Her brain screamed at her. It's ludicrous! She's nervous for all the wrong reasons. Where do I even start?
"Twilight, uhm, I’m worried about this meeting... " She ventured forth with extreme care. "... I trust you have planned to keep this, uhh... interaction safe?"
“Rarity!” Twilight's ears perked up, her face flushing beat red. "I'm just summoning him to thank him for all he's done for me… errr, everypony who has benefited from his works, and perhaps mull into a few discussions over some of his older books. Of course I’ve planned the proper spells to prevent residual plasmatic contamination. Nothing should be able to impregnate the barriers. I would die of embarrassment if I forgot such fundamental requirements for extra planar interactions." Her ears fell flat against her head, eyes diverted over a shy fleeting smile. I hope he’ll be impressed with the details in my preparations.
For the second time that night Rarity was struck speechless. "Uhh... " Her jaw dropped, her head tilted to the side so the information overload could pool into the corner of her brain for easier sorting. An eye twitched ever so slightly. I was well aware there are social situations that have no proper response... I believe this is the second one I've ever come across. Calling my friend Twilight crazy is not going to help the situation here!
Unfortunately for Rarity, her mouth disagreed. "Are you feeling alright, dear?"
Twilight pouted indignantly, as she was stung by the look in Rarity's disconcerting gaze. Trying to regain her composure, she drew up defensively to her full height. "I am not crazy!"
"No! I didn't mean to imply you were!" Rarity panicked.
Yes you did, that was absolutely horrid! Her brain chided.
"I'm just worried about you Twilight. I fear, this may not... end well for you." Rarity grinned lopsidedly, trying to soften the impact of her words. "I really don't want to see my precious friend hurt by possibly dangerous... "
Her brain screamed in warning. Don't say fantasies... find another word!
"... fantasies... " She face hoofed even before she tried straining the word to a stop in her mouth.
What is wrong with you! Rarity, how could you!
Twilight drew in a long winded breath followed by a heavy sigh. Rarity blanched, buckling down for a well deserved flank chewing. "I... " Twilight diverted her eyes as she slumped over. "... know."
Twilight's sudden downcast turn sent needles through Rarity's heart. "Please don't think too far into my response dear. I fear I’m reacting on surprise. One does not gracefully respond to the announcement of their friend inviting ghosts into their home for a late night soiree. However, my reaction was still rude. I am so, so sorry, Twilight. Please, forgive me."
"Don't worry about it. You are right anyway, Rarity. I wasn't sure what response I was hoping for, but I guess the whole idea is kind of ridiculous when you back up and look at the facts." Twilight sighed defeatedly. “It’s just, Celestia said he’s been more important in my life than I could ever imagine. Like a mentor from the shadows. If Celestia has been my second mother, Star Swirl has been my second father.”
"Ooohhh,” Rarity’s eyes widened with sudden understanding. “Well don’t I feel silly…” She mumbled under her breath. “Oh, don't stress over it Twilight. This bath was to cheer you up." Rarity’s brow furrowed as she chewed her lip slightly in thought. Oh, I'm losing her! I can't let this go on. Think Rarity!
Her brain snapped back. Don’t ask me! You haven’t listened to me all night. Just go with your feelings, and leave me out of this…
“Of course!” She whispered to herself as she scooched across the tub, and pulled herself up onto the edge. "The surprise! It's almost time." She stepped daintily out of the tub, proffering a helping hoof to Twilight. "Care to join me?"
Twilight accepted the help, rolling a little less daintily out of the tub as she scrambled for purchase on the slippery tiles. "So... "
"Definition, my dear, Twilight. Refer to the definition of surprise... "
"Right, of course. Not a surprise if you tell me... "
"Cor-rect! Now towel off quickly. We don't want to be late!" Rarity wrapped a towel into her hair. "We still have the hooficure, and the mane stylist before we can leave."
"I thought we were going to be late?"
"Well of course I am allotting enough time to fully enjoy the rest of the spa visit. Wouldn't want to ruin such a fabulous pampering by rushing through it now would we?" Rarity beamed over at Twilight, feeling well in control of the situation again.
Twilight giggled back, feeling comfortable knowing Rarity had meticulously planned out her afternoon for her, finding it relaxing knowing she didn't have a long demanding list in hoof to worry about. Specifically because I am not thinking clearly today. So it's a nice change of pace, not having a list of my own... well, at least for one afternoon. Twilight impulsively reached back to produce a lump of crumpled white glob.
"Eww... Twilight, whatever is that horrid thing?" Rarity blanched at the sopping pile of weird in Twilight's hoof.
Twilight sighed. "I must be distracted… this list used to be my day plan."