A Beautiful Heart  

                                                                               Death is nothing at all,

                                                                               I have only slipped away into the next room.

                                                                               Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

                                                                               Call me by my old familiar name.

                                                                               Speak to me in the easy way which you always used.

                                                                               Laugh as we always laughed

                                                                               at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

                                                                               Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.

                                                                               Let my name be the household word it always was.

                                                                               Let it be spoken without effort.

                                                                               Life means all that it ever meant.

                                                                               It is the same as it ever was;

                                                                               there is absolutely unbroken continuity.

                                                                               Why should I be out of your mind

                                                                               because I am out of your sight?

                                                                               I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

                                                                               somewhere very near just around the corner...

                                                                               All is well. Nothing is past, nothing is lost.

                                                                              One brief moment and all will be as it was before,

                                                                              only better, infinitely happier

                                                                              and forever we will be one together.

                                                                                                      -Henry Scott Holland

Rarity gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the insipid filly bouncing around the inspiration room. "Hey! Hey Rarity! I could get you some more fabrics!" The bubbly filly asked as she hopped excitedly behind Rarity.

The pearl white unicorn pushed two pieces of linen through the sewing machine whilst blowing a lock of hair out of her face. "No no, Sweetie. It's quite alright." She tried sounding as kind as possible, but came off as annoyed.

Her little sister didn't get the message. "What if I deliver some of those dresses? I could do that, and then you'd be done faster so we could play!" Her voice cracked. She galloped towards the cluster of mannequins garbed with varying dresses, looking up at them with enthusiasm glistening in her eyes..

Rarity stopped sewing and groaned aloud, "Sweetie please! I'm trying to work!" She levitated her red half-moon spectacles to the desk and glared at her little sister cowering behind a mannequin. "I know you want to play, I know you want to help, put I have to get this order done by tomorrow!" Rarity hated it when Sweetie always insisted on helping her work. She preferred to work anyway, not play in the mud like some brutish animal.

Sweetie Belle hung her head low. "Okay." She muttered sadly. Rarity sighed in relief.

The filly broke her somber trot at the doorway and took one last look at her hard-working sister before hopping down the stairs.

After several minutes of careful sewing, the unicorn completed a mint colored polyester dress. She levitated it towards a bare mannequin, beaming proudly at her handy work. "Lovely, simply marvelous." She set it on the plastic mold's back, straightening the hem. "Ms. Shores will absolutely adore these gowns, I just know it!" She let out a blissful shriek, feeling nothing but pure joy. Rarity felt like she was finally making something of her life, her career was finally going to get somewhere after working with the famous pop star.

"And only..." Her prior enthusiasm and joy was replaced by exhaustion. "...nine more dresses, ugh!" She stared at the ground in defeat, then shot a determined gaze at the sewing machine across the room.

She's gone too far to quit now, and she wasn't going to let sleep deprivation get the better of her! Rarity trotted towards the machine, then stopped half way across the room, an an unfathomable pain took over. She felt as though a knife was lodged in her lungs. Breathing turned into labored gasps. She fell to her haunches and placed a hoof over her heart, exerting pressure. Rarity's mind was cluttered with terror, What's going on!? What's happening!?

Each breath became increasingly more excruciating, as if the knife lodged itself deeper with every inhale. The feeling was unbearable, tears blinded Rarity's vision. She knew she wasn't choking, she could breath just fine. But there was a stabbing pain in her chest that never ceased. The unicorn collapsed on her side, shuddered exhales shook her body.

She gathered all the strength she could muster and screamed for help, "Swee-Sweetie Belle!" She cried out at the boundless pain inflicted from speaking. She hoped to Celestia that Sweetie wasn't outside with her friends.

Rarity felt nauseous and dizzy, her vision blackened. The last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness was somepony's frantic hoofsteps clambering up the stairs.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Rarity strenuously forced open her eyelids. She glanced around the room, taking in her surroundings. Cream colored walls surrounded her, the floor covered with glossy tiles, and the room reeked of disinfectant and floor cleaner. She wrinkled her nose at the strong scent. Her sapphire eyes shifted to the left to find a patient monitor beeping in a steady rhythm. Tubes fell from beneath the monitor and led to a wristband grappled around the seam above her left hoof.

Beside the patient monitor was an I.V. bag filled with a clear liquid strung up on a pole. The bag tapered at the bottom resulting in a tube that connected to another wristband on Rarity's right foreleg, around her elbow. The bag was half full, hinting at the period of time Rarity was asleep.

She just lied back in her bed, pulling the cotton blanket in closer. The fashionista cringed at her hospital gown. Ugh, green. She took note of how it matched the curtains.

Out of pure boredom, Rarity fluffed her purple curled mane, still retaining it's unwavering form. And out of nowhere, the horrific memories of her near death experience flooded back like a tidal wave. Her heart beat faster as she started panting heavily, wondering what happened with her. The patient monitor's beeping accelerated.

No, it's probably nothing! Just some silly little accident, the doctor will give me medicine, and I'll be on my way to finish those dresses by dinner time. No worries. Rarity knew she was probably kidding herself, but it gave false reassurance, which was welcomed. The monitor's melody declined.

Nurse Redheart walked in the room balancing a clipboard on her back. Her eyes widened a bit at the awakened patient. "Oh, Miss Rarity you're awake." She gave a smile, though her eyes shone with unease.

And to Rarity's observant eye, she immediately picked up on this. "What? What's the matter?"

Nurse Redheart sighed guiltily and walked beside Rarity's bed, gently placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "Miss. Rarity, you ugh, you had a heart attack."

Rarity gaped, "You're not saying I'm fat, are you?"

The nurse pony dropped her hoof and looked down. With a faint smirk she said, "No. No, you're not fat. Sometimes ponies get a heart attack if they're under allot of stress."

The unicorn let out a massive sigh, "Oh Nurse Redheart, you have no idea what a relief that is!" Rarity knew what the nurse was going to tell her, "I know, I'll stop being stressed out once I get this order completed tomorrow."

The saddened expression on the white medical pony didn't change. Her icy blue eyes remained locked on the ground, refusing to look up at Rarity.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, genuinely concerned and growing to be concerned.

Redheart closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, "Rarity, I'm not sure how else to say this, but-" She cleared her throat, "While you were asleep we did a medical examination and we found....something."

Rarity felt a knot tighten in her throat. She tried asking 'what' yet no sound came out.

Nurse Redheart continued, "I'm afraid..." She spoke every word as clearly as possible, trying to maintain her composure. "we found a tumor inside your brain." She took a deep breath, feeling tears burning her eyelids. "Brain cancer to be exact," she croaked.

Rarity felt her heart drop to the pits of her stomach.