Beep. Beep. Beep.
That familiar sound assaulted Rarity’s eardrums as she entered the hospital room. She sighed as she looked at the bed in the center of the room. That beeping never changed. Never. He was always so peaceful looking. If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought that he had just gotten tired and decided to lay down in a hospital bed and rest. She knew better though.
The doctor in the corner of the room snapped to attention as he heard the clopping of hooves behind him. He set down his clipboard on the table beside the bed.
“Miss Rarity, I presume?” He turned around and looked at her. He sighed and shook his head, noticing the fresh bouquet of roses that she held in her magical grasp. “Roses, Miss Rarity? You can go ahead and put them over there with the others.” The brown stallion pointed to a corner in the room and Rarity obeyed, gently laying the flowers down by her beloved’s bedside.
“Yes, doctor. How is he today? Any signs of progress? Do you have any idea when he’ll be waking up?” So many questions were running through Rarity’s mind as she shifted her gaze over to the tiny form in the bed. She couldn’t even remember anymore when she’d last seen him standing, smiling, or going on trips with her and the girls.
The doctor cleared his throat and shook his head. His brows drooped, and his voice was laced with a sorrowful pity. “Miss Rarity, he’s…” The stallion paused. He’d seen this same scene so many times. The denial. The denial was always the worst part of his job. He shuffled his weight anxiously on his hooves as he struggled to find the best way to ease her into it.
“Miss Rarity, it’s highly unlikely that Spike is going to wake up. The swelling in his brain has finally receded, but… At this point…” The doctor bit his bottom lip. He had to phrase this very carefully. “It’s almost certain that he’s suffered severe brain damage. It’s been months now, and even if he were to wake up from this somehow, he wouldn’t be the same dragon that you knew before. He probably wouldn’t even be capable of moving or speaking.”
The stallion cleared his throat as he watched Rarity’s expression go from hopeful and cheery to devastated in an instant. Everyday. Everyday it was the same thing. The same shocked expression. He only hoped that he could get through to her.
“B-but doctor, surely there has to be something you can do to fix this? Some kind of magic that you could use to fix him? There has to be something. Anything!” Rarity was begging at this point, gripping his neck with her forehooves.
“I’m afraid not, Miss Rarity. I’m sorry. I truly am. Spike was a good friend of mine, but… It wouldn’t be living anymore. We don’t even know if he’ll survive, and there are other patients that need the room.”
Rarity took her hooves off of the stallion and stepped back. Her face was full of disgust and loathing at his suggestion. “Surely you can’t be saying that you want me to… to kill him! You know that I can’t just do that to him. No. I won’t do it.” Rarity shook her head vigorously as she looked at the resting dragon in the center of the room. Various machines were hooked up to his body, beeping and whirring as they regulated his bodily functions and kept him alive.
“Rarity…” The doctor placed his hoof on her shoulder and patted her. “I know this is hard, but Miss Sparkle has already signed the papers. With you being his significant other, I only need your signature and we can—”
“No.” Rarity slapped the doctor and strode over to Spike’s beside. She maneuvered her forelegs around all of the wires and hugged his still body. “I will not give up on him. Now doctor, if you please, I’d like to perform the session now. I don’t have very much time to spend with him today. And I’d kindly appreciate if you didn’t bring up such taboo topics around him again.”
“Rarity, with the state of his brain, it’s just not safe for—” He stopped speaking as she glared at him. Her beautiful blue eyes were hollow inside, and the last spark of hope that he’d seen in them earlier had been snuffed off. Perhaps he was finally beginning to break through.
“Alright. You have one hour.” The stallion watched as Rarity nodded and pressed her head up to Spike’s. He felt the magic build in his horn and release, shooting outward into Rarity’s skull with a blue-green glow. Suddenly, she fell onto the bed beside him, unmoving.
Always the same. Everyday, it’s the same…
Rarity awoke with a start. She shook her head and looked at the room around her; it appeared to be an exact replica of the hospital room she’d just been in. Those same sterile-white walls and ceiling. That same grey floor. But the doctor was nowhere to be seen, nor were the roses, and the sun shone brightly through the window.
Something else was off though. The bed in the center of the room was empty. Instead, a tall young dragon stood at the window, gazing longingly at the sun outside. Rarity made her way over to him and grabbed him from behind by the waist.
“Rarity.” His voice was sharp and clear, cutting through the eerily silence of the empty room. As he turned from the window, Rarity noticed that he had a deep frown on his face. His eyes were sunken in from lack of rest, and his arms hung tiredly by his sides.
“Spikey Wikey! I’ve missed you so much!” Rarity reached up and gave him a firm kiss on the lips. Her head tilted as she passionately pressed her lips against his. It was almost as if she were afraid that if she let go of him, that he’d just become ethereal and float away. She stopped as she realized that her lover was not returning her passionate kiss.
“Rarity, stop. You just saw me yesterday. Just… please. Stop.” Spike turned and went back to staring at the window. His eyes traced the movements ofbutterflies fluttering through the air. He longed to open the window and let some fresh air into the stagnant room. Yet he knew that he could never see the outside again. Never again would he feel fresh air enter his lungs.
“S-Spikey? Is something wrong?” Rarity wrapped her hooves around his waist again in a more gentle embrace.
“Yes, Rarity. Just…” Spike sighed as he turned around and looked into Rarity’s beautiful blue eyes.
So much pain. So much sadness.
He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He sighed as he brushed a loose strand of hair from her purple mane. It no longer had its beautiful, eloquent curls. Instead, it was frazzled and dirty. Her once glowing coat was now a dull cream color, and her eyes were sunken in from sadness.
“Rarity, you can’t keep doing this. This? It isn’t real. None of this is real, Rarity. I can hear everything they say out there. The doctor said that I won’t be waking up, and… I think he’s right. I can’t even open the window anymore, Rarity.” Spike ran his hand through her mane, attempting to straighten out the strands of hair. “You know I love you, Rarity.”
Rarity pushed him away and stared into his eyes. Those bright blue orbs seemed to cut into his soul.
“Spike, what are you saying? This is real! We’re here together! I can touch you! I can see you! We can be together here again! Isn’t that what you want?” Her breath was shallow and fast, as if she were struggling to catch it.
“Rarity, you can’t keep doing this everyday. It’s dangerous, and you know it. I mean, syncing your brainwaves to mine? When I’m like this? What if you get stuck here and you can’t wake up? You have family. You have friends. You have Sweetie to think about. What would she do without you, Rarity?”
“B-but Spike, you have friends and f—”
“No. Rarity. I’m never going to wake up again. You have real people to care about. I just… I can’t live like this anymore.” Spike moved over to Rarity and cupped his hand under Rarity’s face. He looked straight into her eyes as he spoke. “I can’t stand watching you suffer. I love you, Rarity. I love you so much…”
He wiped his eyes as they began to get misty. “I can’t watch you keep coming every day like this. You don’t do anything with the girls anymore. All you do is come here and spend time with me in this imaginary world. I can't watch you suffer like this, Rarity. Your happiness is more important to me than anything. Even my own life. I’ve been speaking with Twilight. I know I didn’t bring it up yesterday, but… I want you to pull the plug, Rarity. There will be others out there for you.”
“B-but Spike… I love you! I can’t just give up on you! That wouldn’t be right! I can’t leave you alone. Not after all you’ve done for me. I can’t just… let you die…” Rarity was now back on her hooves, tears trickling in a steady stream down her face.
“I know you can’t. You blame yourself for what happened. I can see it in your eyes. But it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have seen that carriage, Rarity. Nopony could have guessed that me volunteering for you would end in like that. I don’t want you to blame yourself for it. I know you think you’re being generous by staying with me and loving me, but it’s only hurting you and everypony else. They want you to let go. They want you to move on. Think about those ponies that need this room, Rarity.”
Spike sighed and leaned down to meet Rarity at eye level. He stooped in and gave her a kiss. Gentle at first, but soon his tongue was gently probing her mouth. She gladly allowed him entrance as their tongues began to explore each others’ mouths. Then, just like that, the passionate moment was over. Spike leaned back, tears flowing down his face.
“That’s why I need to do this for you. We’re done, Rarity. This relationship is over. I want you to tell the doctor to pull the plug. If you don’t, I will when Twilight comes tomorrow.” Spike sighed and closed his eyes. The muscles in his head strained with effort, and suddenly Rarity felt herself floating away.
Rarity awoke with a start, gently raising her body off of Spike’s. The doctor shot up, startled by her sudden reappearance.
“Rarity, you’re almost thirty minutes early? He kicked you out? What happe—”
“Do it.” Rarity’s voice was shaky and uncertain through the tears. “Pull the plug. He doesn’t want this anymore.” She ran from the room before she could change her mind, leaving the doctor in a stupor. Before she left completely, she turned to get one last look at Spike. She noticed her bouquet of roses in the corner. That would be all that was left of her visits with him.
All that would remain was a pile of wilted roses in the corner of the room and memories of a love that never was.
