//------------------------------// // And Here Comes The Plot Twist // Story: Simple Love // by Nickel Alloy //------------------------------// Rarity tossed feed to the chickens using her horn. She felt the teensiest bit guilty about using magic for such an undirty task when Big Mac was out plowing fields. Actually, not so much. Well, maybe a little. "Rarity! Rarity! Rarity!" Rarity was so glad she had only one filly to take care of. Normally. Now, she had two extremely hyper ones. She gritted her teeth and smiled down at Sweetie Belle. "Yes, dear?" "Can we use the wagon from the barn?" Sweetie Belle asked. Well, more like squealed. She was bouncing around on her hooves. "Well, you'll have to ask Big--" "It's reeeeeeeeally important!" Apple Bloom said. "Yeah, we need it to get our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle added. "Take it!" Rarity said, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. She was glad to have the fillies off her hooves while she moved on to her next task: the north orchard. Big Mac had said he would help out, but he was so busy plowing.....Rarity decided she would just do it herself. It was an extremely difficult task. Well, at least for Rarity. She had to get the baskets, then place them under the trees, then make sure they were in EXACTLY the right spot, and finally the apples. She wished she hadn't promised to not use her magic while apple-bucking. Well, here goes. Rarity squeezed her eyes shut, turned her back to the tree, and kicked out her back legs. They collided with the tree with a barely audible thunk and a couple of apples fell out of the tree. She attempted it again. Another couple. With twelve kicks, she got most of the apples out of the tree. One tree. And she was already sore. You're doing this for Applejack, Rarity told herself. If it weren't for her, you would have walked out already. But you're still here. She still found her mind wandering, wanting to get away from apple-bucking. Her eyes settled on Big Mac, muscles straining as he pulled the plow another stretch. How was one stallion that muscular? Must be from all his years working on the farm. Never mind. How was one stallion that...handsome? She hadn't noticed it a whole lot during her years on the Pony Tones. She was mostly preoccupied with his non-punctuality. She was so focused on Big Mac that she didn't see the wagon, loaded with three fillies, speeding through the orchard towards her. She was vaguely aware of "Sweetie Belle, stop the wagon!" and "I-I'm trying!" and then, just before it hit her, "Rarity! Look out!" Blinding pain up her back leg. It crumpled beneath her and she hit her head on the side of the crashed wagon. Hard. Through her flittering eyelids, Rarity saw...six faces? No, that...can't be right. Sweetie Belle doesn't have a twin...sister... Rarity woke up, dazed, in a hospital bed. She was extremely surprised to see Applejack, Big Mac, and the whole CMC standing over her. "A-Applejack?" she stammered. "Why are you here? How long have I been out?" "I jumped on the train back to Ponyville as soon as I heard. Twilight sent a letter. As for how long you've been out...well..." Applejack looked questioningly at Big Mac. "Eighteen hours," said Nurse Redheart bluntly. Rarity jumped and felt a searing pain in her head. She hadn't even known the nurse was there. "E-e-eighteen?" Rarity asked weakly. "Well, seven for the concussion you got. We waited for you to wake up from that before we started the operation. That was maybe four hours, give or take a few, and then about another seven for the painkillers to wear off." Rarity's head seemed to be buzzing. "What...happened to me?" "Your leg and hip were pretty well damaged. That's what you get for a cart, or whatever it was, smashing into them. We could have used magic to fix it, but I can guarantee that if we used only that something would go wrong, and we wanted to keep you safe. So we did it the more traditional way, but we still used some magic. You'll have to stay off that leg for four weeks. Oh, and you also got a pretty bad concussion. You're lucky you didn't have any brain damage. You may have some trouble with your horn for the next couple days," the nurse finished. "B-but-but I need to help out at the farm! I promised Applejack!" Rarity wailed. She couldn't go back on her promise, not now. "Sorry," Nurse Redheart said. "Four weeks. Wait a month, then you can go back to the farm. Oh yeah, one more thing. We had some kinks we still need to work through on your leg, so we need to keep you here for another week." She disappeared before Rarity could ask any more questions. Applejack sighed. "Ah'm real sorry, Rarity. Ah came back ta help Big Mac with the farm, as you couldn't do it. Granny's stayin' with Fuji Apple, and she said Ah could come back. Big Mac's also volunteered t' keep ya company, seein' Pinkie's away." Rarity sighed. "Okay. Where's Sweetie Belle?" Big Mac took a deep breath. "Hiding. The CMC were really worried that you might not wake up, and then they were worried that you would be mad at them when the nurse told them you would wake up." Rarity was impressed with all his talking. "Can I see her?" "Sure," Applejack said. "The nurse just said no more than three visitors." "Send them all in, them," Rarity said. Gosh, her head hurt. Why did it hurt so much? The two Apples nodded and left. A minute later, the whole CMC rushed in. "Rarity!" said Sweetie Belle. "We're really, really sorry," gasped Scootaloo. "The nurse said we couldn't all visit you while Mac and Applejack were in there," Apple Bloom squeaked. "And we were afraid you wouldn't be okay--" "So we didn't want to see you at first--" "And then we felt guilty--" "But we were worried you would be mad at us--" "So here we are!" "Are you mad at us?" Rarity blinked. For a second the fillies stared at her while it all sunk in. Then Rarity leaned back and smiled. "I'm not mad at you," she said weakly. "Really?" asked Sweetie Belle. "No," Rarity said. "I know it was an accident, and I know you're all really, really sorry. It's okay." They all smiled. "Can we hug you?" asked Apple Bloom. "Yeah, the nurse said we couldn't move or touch you without you being aware of it," said Scootaloo. "Okay, okay, but lightly," warned Rarity. Each filly stood on a small stool and squeezed Rarity lightly. Even though they were gentle, Rarity still let out a small gasp of pain at each one of them. "Thank you, girls," she got out. "Now I'd like to...rest...." The world swirled and blackness overtook.