Chapter 139

This FUCKING hospital…

Sighing, I rounded the corner and made my way down the hall, dodging a porter moving an empty stretcher as I went.

Wednesday, February the 22nd, roughly 7:30am.

Before long, I found the room I was looking for. It was like any other hospital room: small, square and white, with a picture window, a bed, monitoring equipment and a few chairs for guests to sit on. Upon entering, I found Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash standing close to the door; Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom surrounded the bed, which was occupied by Sonata Dusk. Her eyes were closed, her skin was pale, her hair was flat, and there was an IV threaded into her right wrist.

Fluttershy wrapped me in a tight hug on sight, professing her night-long yearning for me in soft whispers, failing to hide the urgency in her tone, as she was clearly worried about the siren. Rainbow Dash responded with little more than a dead glance.

At last, the shy girl released me and took my hand as we faced the bed.

“Wow,” I sighed, shaking my head. “So... they found her—or she found them, more accurately.” I glanced at the young girls. “Luckily.”

“No thanks to us,” Dash said flatly.

“Rainbow Dash, you stop!” Fluttershy scolded, with all the fury of a sleepy butterfly.

I sent a glance Dash’s way, along with an arched brow. Then I faced the shy girl, who was rolling her eyes. “What was that all about?” I whispered.

“She’s… a little peeved that everyone else saw some action last night, and me and her were just… um, sitting around at my place,” Fluttershy replied softly.

“Doing literally nothing,” Dash added.

I drew a breath and rubbed my brow. “Patience, Dashie. You’ll get your chance. And acting like this isn’t gonna get you into the action any sooner—just saying.”

She snorted and gave her head a little shake.

“How long you guys been here, anyway?” I asked.

“About an hour,” Fluttershy answered. “Um, is Rare with you?”

I nodded. “She is, but she drove her own car cuz I was gonna head straight home after this.” I glanced over my shoulder into the hallway. “She was right behind me; I don’t know where she went, though. Maybe she had a hard time finding a parking spot or something. I dunno.” I faced my girlfriend again. “So how’d you guys find out about this?”

“Well, um, we didn’t know until we heard about it on the police scanner just a little while ago.” She stopped to tap her fingers together timidly. “We… um, probably would have heard it sooner, but… it happened last night, around the same time you guys were at the hotel, so we were following that instead.”

I glanced at the young girls. “Didn’t they call anyone?”

“They don’t have their phones,” Fluttershy replied. “They left them in Applejack’s truck, which I think is still parked at the theatre —oh, and by the way, someone’s gonna have to give Applejack a ride there to get it— um, but still, I’m surprised they didn’t at least try to call from the police or hospital phone.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, but then I stopped. Remembering something from a few hours earlier, I tipped my head back and exhaled noisily. “Ahh… there was a call from a private number on Rare’s phone. How much you wanna bet that was them?”

Fluttershy agreed. “Yup. There you go.”

I folded my arms and put one hand over my mouth, observing the siren. After a sigh, I glanced over at the shy girl. “So does AJ know what happened?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure they’re still at Sunset’s with Pinkie Pie; I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for her to know just yet.”

“Pinks?” My eyes went to Sonata again. “Yeah… no, I think you made the right call there. She had a pretty rough night; the last thing she needs is to hear that her best friend got stabbed.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

I pulled my phone out to check the time. “She might be asleep by now, though. I’ll text Sunny in a bit to let her know what happened. AJ at the very least deserves to know that her little sister was attacked.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement as the rapid clopping of high heels echoed through the hall behind us.

“And that would be Rare,” I said with a smirk.

Sure enough, the fashionista herself burst in, eyes wide with panic. She was dressed rather smartly that morning, her thighs wrapped in a violet pencil skirt, topped by a fancy, sleeveless light blue top with faux gold trimming and jewels around the neckline. Overtop all of that was a thick, fuzzy white coat to combat the nasty drop in temperature that morning. Her hair and make-up were done to perfection, as usual: her face powdery and her eyelashes like whips.

She quickly scanned the room and then gasped when she located the lavender and pink ringlets of her sister. “Sweetie Belle!” She then proceeded to shuffle-clop around the bed with her arms outstretched, looking for a tight embrace.

Rolling her eyes, Sweetie Belle stood and braced for impact by raising a pair of limp hands. Rarity slammed into her and squeezed her tight, pinning her arms to her sides. “Thank goodness you’re alright!” she cried, releasing her sister to take her by the shoulders and peer into her eyes. She then placed her finger on her sister’s chin to turn her head side-to-side, inspecting her for injuries. “Are you OK? Did they hurt you!?”

“Yeah… I’m fine. It’s OK,” Sweetie Belle replied flatly, her words marred by her sister poking her face.

“Oh my, I simply cannot believe this happened!” Rarity continued as she pawed at her sister—who looked increasingly irritated already.

“It’s OK, I said I’m fi—“

“Do you need anything?” Rarity cut in, cupping her sister’s cheeks in her palms. “Are you hungry?”

“No, I don’t need—“

“Are you warm enough? I can get you a sweater if you—“

By this point, Sweetie Belle had had enough, and her arms burst into the air, batting Rarity’s hands away. “OH MY GOD, RARITY, I’M FINE! JESUS!”

Stunned, the fashionista backtracked a step, tapping her index fingers together and staring with a pair of tiny pupils while her little sister fixed her hair and then exhaled slowly, hands out, fingers splayed.

“My apologies, I… suppose I came on a bit strong there,” Rarity said, her face reddening. “It’s to be expected when someone learns a loved one was in danger.”

This made me think about the many families that lost a loved one at the hands of the fashionista herself the night before.

Sweetie Belle folded her arms and looked to the side, feeling bad for the outburst. “It’s OK. I get it. We’re fine though.” She turned to face the bed, observing Sonata as she slept. “Thanks to her.”

At this point, Rarity had little choice but to acknowledge the siren. She sighed, folded her arms, and faced the bed. “Yes.”

“Yes!?” Scootaloo exclaimed from the other side of the bed, gripping the rails tightly. “You shoulda saw her, Rarity! She was all like: HWAH! BAM! BAM!” She threw a pair of air-jabs when she said this.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed. “Sonata’s an amazin fighter! I couldn’t believe it!”

Rarity faced the pair for a moment before forcing a smile. “So I’ve heard.” When she turned to her sister once again, she found the young girl staring inquisitively —albeit somewhat nervously— at her.

“It is true?”

The fashionista cocked her head. “I’m sorry?”

Sweetie Belle leaned closer to speak softly, keeping her eyes locked on Rarity’s. ”Are you really the Dark Mistress?”

Rarity froze. Her skin begin to tingle. Of all things, this was the question she’d least expected. She glanced across the bed at the other two girls, who were also listening with baited breath. She turned to look over her shoulder at me next.

I just stared back, rubbing my forehead. Then I shrugged.

Sighing, Rarity faced Sweetie Belle. “Later, you and I will have a conversation.”

Scootaloo, gasping excitedly, placed her fist in front of her mouth. “Oh shit! It’s true! I can’t believe it!”

Rarity quickly raised a finger. “Now wait, darling, we mustn’t discuss this here; it is a rather sensitive topic.”

Scootaloo nodded, struggling to contain herself as Rarity’s attention returned to her sister, who appeared to be at somewhat of a loss, before turning to the siren. Then she glanced around at the rest of us. “Would it be alright if everyone excused themselves? I’d like a moment alone with Sonata, if I may.”

The girls glanced at one another, and then gave the fashionista a shrug.

“Sure… I guess,” Apple Bloom muttered as they shuffled away from the bed.

“Go with Fluttershy,” Rarity whispered to her sister, handing her a twenty dollar bill as she slipped past. “Get yourself something to eat, then she’ll take you home to get some sleep.”

“K,” Sweetie Belle sighed.

“And I shall see you later.”

As the girls exited, Rainbow Dash passed me on the way out while I stayed put, waiting for the shy girl to approach Rarity for a hug and a kiss. After an encouraging smile, Fluttershy returned to take my hand.

“Let’s go, mister. You can I need to discuss a certain picture I got last night,” she said as we exited the room, leaving Rarity alone with the siren.

The fashionista paused for a moment, sighing. Then she slid a chair next to the bed, removed her coat and sat. After laying the thick, fuzzy garment across her lap, she folded her arms and leaned on the bedrail, watching Sonata with a weary expression.

After a long, thoughtful pause, during which she ran her tongue along the inside of her lip, Rarity finally summoned the courage to speak.

“It seems I’ve… misjudged you,” she said quietly, exhaling through her nose and then swallowing. “Rather severely, in fact.”

Rarity paused briefly to reflect on the obviousness of that statement before rolling her eyes at herself. She tilted her head to the right, staring at the pale blue hand that laid on the bedspread, noting the tape covering the spot where the clear tube entered her skin.

After a deep breath, she reached down with one hand and, being careful not to disturb the IV, wrapped her hand around Sonata’s to give it a soft squeeze. “I have been… dismissive toward you, unkind, and rude. And I’ve been untrusting, most of all. And I was wrong.” She sighed and shook her head, looking down at the sheets. “Because of this, I am… ashamed—both of myself, and of my behaviour.”

Rarity shifted in her seat and glanced into the hall. “Hm.” A tiny smirk curled one side of her mouth. “It’s amazing really. Golds. The things he has seen, the things he has learned about life; it has given him this uncanny ability to call it like it is, even when no one else can see it coming. Sometimes, I swear that man can see the future—or at the very least, has a copy of life’s playbook on ‘how to be cruel.’”

She faced Sonata again. “He told us a story once —back in the fall, over breakfast around the campfire— about his time in the Old West; there was a family that he was trying to help. The ranch they lived on was not doing well, and they were starving, so he’d taken it upon himself to go on a trip across the desert to fetch a wagon full of food for them, but upon his return he found them all murdered.

“This saddened him, obviously. It left him feeling trapped. On one hand, he had to go… to find them food, or they would starve, of course, but in doing so, he left them unprotected. It seems, for whatever reason, that poor family was doomed, and Golds —bless his heart— was helpless to stop it.”

Rarity paused for a moment to stroke Sonata’s hand, watching her thumb skip over those bony, blue knuckles, which were rough and bruised from the fight.

“Ever since he told that story, I’ve noticed that same pattern myself. Take Pinkie Pie’s situation, for example: how on Earth does a family who is acquainted with a group of immortal warriors end up murdered? I mean, my goodness! It was her and Applejack’s movie night! Applejack could have been there to save them; it was literally a fifty-fifty choice that sentenced them to death—no fault of Applejack’s of course. The poor thing, I know she felt terrible about it, but how was she to know?”

The fashionsta drew a breath, watching the cold contrast of white fingers wrapped around blue ones, but feeling the surprising warmth that was actually present between them.

“And now there’s this,” she continued. “There we were, off in another city, committing mass murder to avenge Pinkie Pie’s family—which I think really just screwed her up even more.” She gave her head a shake. “And back home, our sisters found themselves in grave danger and had to be saved by a... regular person.”

Rarity sighed and shifted again, reaching down with her free hand to adjust her skirt. “Hm. Some superheroes we are. Perhaps Golds and Fluttershy were right not to join us.” She then folded her arms on the bedrail, resting her chin on them. “It would seem that making the world a better place is an impossible battle. It’s almost like you get penalized for trying.”

She tipped her head toward Sonata, leaning closer with a smirk on her face. “Which is exactly what Golds said, and we didn’t listen. He was right, like always.”

She paused for a moment, brows furrowed as she thought to herself. “Actually, this time... he wasn’t. Not quite. Even Golds —and he knows this himself— is not always right about these things, because this time, just as the stage was set and everyone was in place, and disaster was about to strike… along came a miracle.”

Rarity smiled and gave the siren’s hand another squeeze. “Along came you. You stepped in at the last minute, and not only did you save those girls, you upset the universe’s plan; you went against the status quo. You stood your ground to protect my Sweetie Belle, even though it meant permanently cutting your ties with your own sisters. You faced them with bravery and selflessness, you didn’t let them fool you, and no matter the cost, you didn’t let them win. You should be proud of what you did, because I certainly am. Compared to what we did last night, it was a magnificent accomplishment. You put your own life on the line to make sure that my baby sister was safe—even after the way I treated you.”

Rarity sighed deeply. Then she cleared her throat. “I have been a complete twat to you, and I’m right disgusted by my behaviour these past few months. It is unconscionable that I even considered the idea that you had anything to do with the Pies’ murder —especially without a shred of evidence— and it is truly sad that it took something like this for me to finally accept you.”

Rarity paused for a moment, then she drew a deep breath, her eyes cast down to the sheets. “And for that… I apologize. From the bottom of my heart, Sonata, I apologize for the way I’ve treated you, and I apologize for not encouraging your choice to join us. Such a fool I was. All this time I rejected you, I was actually putting Sweetie Belle in danger. If I’d gotten my way, if we’d gotten rid of you, then who knows what might have happened—and it would have been my fault. I’ve learned my lesson, Sonata, and I promise, starting right now, that things will be different between you and me.”

After giving one more squeeze, Rarity released Sonata’s hand and stood to lean over the bed. She wrapped her arms around the siren as best she could and held her firmly, pressing her cheek against Sonata’s forehead.

Closing her eyes, the fashionista stayed like this for about a minute, until a small burst of air came from Sonata’s nose, blowing some of Rarity’s hair from her face. The fashionista’s eyes popped open when she felt the ancient girl stir, and she loosened her grip, wondering what the siren would think if she found her like this.

“Pachniesz naprawdę dobrze...”

Rarity backed away slightly to look down at Sonata, brows furrowed. “I… I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Sonata’s eyes were open, but heavy; she didn’t look up at the fashionista just yet. “Pachniesz— … er, I mean…” She reached up to rub her face with her untapped hand. “You… smell really good.”

Rarity, unable to help herself, smiled as warm moisture filled her eyes. She leaned in again to hug Sonata, squeezing the groggy siren’s head into her bosom.

After a short moment —presumably to gather herself and absorb the situation— Sonata reached up and hooked her fingers over Rarity’s forearm, letting her own arm hang limp from it. This was the very best hug she could muster in that moment, but it was more than enough to get the point across.

“Thank you,” Rarity whispered, holding the siren tight. “And I am SO sorry, darling. For everything.”

“Mmmmhhh… ten outta ten... would destroy a millennium of sisterhood again.”

Rarity smiled, a burst of air coming from her nostrils. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I think we’ve had enough excitement for the time being.”