I'll Never Let You Go...

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I heard you right, did you say..." The voice was shaky. Near tears, even. Rarity sat on the chair in the physician's office, if she wasn't so pearl-white, one would say that the colour had drained out of her face.

"Cancer. Yes, Ms. Rarity. I apologize, I know that this might be a lot to take in, but your blood tests came back, and it seems as though your white blood cell count is higher than it should be. We tested this, and concluded that you have white cells that have lived much longer than they should have." The doctor stated; his voice was calm, which only seemed to worsen Rarity's sorrow.

The unicorn shuddered at the idea: Cancer. She had cancer. What in Celestia's name was she going to do, now?! She was panicking, sweating, trying to think of way too many things at once. The doctor raised a hoof, and tapped her shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"Like I said, I know this is a lot to take in.. But you haven't heard the rest of the news." He cleared his throat, and took another look over her medical chart. "Your condition is treatable, but only if you follow the guidelines that I lay out for you. Do you understand?" He was met with a feverish nod of Rarity's head, followed by a small sigh.

Tapping her hooves together, she looked down to the floor, and tried to regain her composure. "What guidelines..?" She mumbled, before looking back up at the doctor with tear-filled eyes.

"You have a choice: We can start you on a course of chemotherapy, that is the most commonly chosen method of treatment. Following this, we can issue you a course of radio-therapy. This is not as popular, as the effects of the radiation can, well.." He sighed, knowing how the next words could affect the mare. "Can cause your mane, or fur, to fall out." This hit Rarity like a ton of bricks. Nearly as bad as the initial news!

"M-m-my.. My mane? My fur? G-gone...?" Her voice became a lot shakier, as the tears that were brimming in her glistening, azure eyes finally burst forth.

Shaking his head, and letting out a sigh, the doctor placed a reassuring hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "These are not the only methods of treatment. Even though both may result in the loss of your fur and mane, you do have a third option." He explained, this caused Rarity's ears to perk up, in hope.

"The third option is a bone-marrow transplant. There's only one issue, though.." The unicorn's heart sank, once again. What was the bad news, this time? "There are no, available donors for you at this present time. You would have to wait for a few months before getting on the list. After that, well.. It's a matter of luck. That is very risky, however, as the longer your cancer remains untreated, the-" He was interrupted by the raising of a white hoof, followed by a small sniffle.

"Please.." She began, trying to control her breathing so that she could speak, clearly. "D-don't say that word.. Call it a-a 'condition'.. But f-for the love of Celestia, don't call it c-c-can.. Can..." She couldn't even finish the statement. She burst out into a fit of crying, once again, her tears staining the clean, blue tiles beneath her seat.

Nodding in understanding, the doctor continued on with his explanation. "The longer your.. 'Condition' remains untreated, the less the likelihood of survival becomes. I would not recommend you waiting on a bone-marrow transplant. Personally, I would like to start you on a course of chemo, or radio-therapy, immediately. The sooner we treat it, Ms. Rarity, the sooner you can resume your life."

"And.. And how long until my mane and fur grows back?" She asked, fearfully. It was as if this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Her mane and her fur.. Her looks, were some of the most important things to her. As vain as it sounded, she didn't think she could be seen in public like that.

"If it falls out. It's a big possibility, but there is still a chance that you won't lose anything. Maybe a little lustre, but no hair." He assured, he was used to dishing out this kind of news, so it seemed as though he was reciting all of this from a script. It made Rarity uneasy. "If it does fall out, however, you would be looking at around.. Three to six months, once your treatment has concluded."

Three to six months.. What a length of time to have to wait. She didn't want this to be happening in the first place, she wished that it was just a nightmare that she was going to wake up from any moment! Oh please, let this be a terrible prank that Princess Luna was playing on her. Please.. "I understand.." She muttered, softly, before standing from her seat. "If you wouldn't mind, doctor, I would like to return home and give the news to my friends and family. Would it be okay if I returned tomorrow, to discuss treatment?"

"Of course, I understand. Just promise that you won't over-exert yourself. You need as much energy as you can muster for whichever treatment you choose. I'll schedule you for another appointment to see me tomorrow afternoon.." He began to search through various papers and files before concluding a time. "How does.. 1PM sound?" He was given a small nod in response from the disheartened unicorn. "Okay, I'll see you then."

With that, Rarity left the office. Then she left the hospital.. And made her way back to the Carousel Boutique. She didn't get five steps from the door of the hospital, before breaking down into tears. Cancer... Rarity had cancer.

"I-I suppose I should g-go home, and tell everypony.." She sniffled, before taking a breath, and making her way back home.

"What am I going to tell Sweetie Bell? Her older sister has cancer.. She relies on me.. What ever will I do?" This, amongst other, dreaded thoughts littered the unicorn's mind, as she trekked back to Ponyville.