I'll Never Let You Go...

"So, which d'you think you're gonna go for?" The two mares, Rarity and Rainbow, sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office.

Rarity perked a brow at her friend, before a grim sigh escaped her lips, "Thinking it over, I have decided to go for the chemotherapy."

Giving a little grimace, her muzzle crinkling up in obvious distaste, she continued, "Although I know it will be a long, and arduous endeavour, the risk of losing my fur, my mane... Everything..." Another sigh escaped her before finishing, "Losing those will be much better, in contrast to the vast possibility of beating this thing."

A comforting hoof was placed around her shoulder, and she found that she was taking more comfort in Rainbow's embrace than she thought she would, "You're gonna do fine, Rares," the Pegasus stated, with her trademark, cocky smirk, "How couldn't you? You've got the most awesome mare in Equestria here to support you. There's no way that this thing is gonna beat you."

A small smile graced Rarity's features in response to the encouraging statement. There was no way that this thing was going to beat her. Rainbow Dash said it, so it has to be true, right? She was taking a lot of comfort and solace in her friend's company, and was greatly appreciative of having her around for this difficult appointment, "Thank you, darling, I-"

A nurse spoke up just before Rarity could finish her statement, "Miss Rarity? Doctor Bridle will see you, now. Could I get you to sign something, here?" Standing, Rarity trudged over to the desk and nodded as she was slid a piece of paper, "It's nothing serious, just a formality... A check-in, sheet. We do it with all of our... Well, our patients of 'this type'."

Rarity suddenly felt more at ease with this nurse; she was kind, and rather sympathetic to other pony's trials, "Thank you... And, thank you again for not calling it... Well... The 'C' word." The nurse gave Rarity a polite nod, before returning to her work. Equally, Rarity trotted back over to Rainbow and nodded her head towards the doctor's office, "It's this way, Dash."

Nodding, the pegasus stood and walked alongside Rarity, a look of distaste on her features as they traversed the small hospital hallway, "Something the matter, darling?" Rainbow snapped from her distant daydreaming and chuckled nervously, "Heh... No, I just don't really like hospitals, y'know? Too many sick ponies, and-" She stopped, realizing that she was getting a rather well-known glare from Rarity, "Sorry..."

With a soft sigh, Rarity gave a nuzzle into Rainbow's cheek and shook her head, "It's okay, Rainbow... I know what you meant. Just remember, though, I'm sick now, too." This statement drew out a rather heavy sigh from Rainbow, but she nodded and nuzzled back into Rarity's mane. She smelled really nice after that shower, earlier... Like peaches and lavender. It almost sent a shiver down Rainbow's spine.

She was tapped on the shoulder which jolted her out of her next reverie, finding that she was practically muzzle-to-muzzle with the door of Doctor Bridle's office. Rarity decided not to question it... There were more important things to think about. Raising her hoof, she tapped on the door three times, before it opened.

An Earth pony-stallion stood in the doorway; wearing a doctor's coat, a stethoscope and a name badge that said: Doctor Bridle, Oncologist. He was relatively tall, with dark, chestnut fur and soft, emerald eyes. In any other circumstances, the mares standing before him would have considered him rather attractive... But now was not the time for that kind of silliness, "Miss Rarity?" He spoke with a slightly husked voice, deep and booming, "Please, come in."

Before Rarity did enter, however, she spoke up, "Oh, this is Rainbow Dash. She is a close friend of mine that wished to attend this appointment with me... I assume that this is okay?" There was no distasteful grimace from the doctor, he simply smiled, nodded, and stood to the side to allow the mares entry to his office.

Once inside, the initial impression was that the office was cool and comfortable. There were several medical certificates hanging on the walls around the desk at the back window, which were all framed, sporting Doctor Bridle's name as the holder of the qualifications. Two chairs were situated at the front of his desk, as well as one behind it for him to sit on, "Please, take a seat, and we'll get down to business."

Nodding, Rarity and Rainbow took a seat beside one another and Doctor Bridle did the same, sitting opposite them, "Now, this appointment is to confirm which method of treatment you will be seeking regarding your... Condition." A lot of ponies seemed sympathetic to calling it something, anything, other than what it was. It certainly softened the blow for Rarity, "Yes, I have decided, with much trepidation, that I shall be going for the chemotherapy."

Taking a pen between his teeth, the doctor produced a piece of paper, onto which he began to write. After a few moments of pen-scratching, he placed it down and attached the piece of paper to a clipboard with Rarity's name at the top, "I see. Well, that's fine, Miss Rarity. But I trust that you understand the conditions of this treatment? Even so, I shall run you through them again."

Rarity seemed to noticeably sag at that, and let out a soft sigh, "By all means, doctor..." She found herself wrapped in a familiar warmth, suddenly, and looked to see that it was Rainbow's wing. Looking over, the pegasus gave her a soft smile, and a wink, before looking back to the doctor and allowing him to continue.

"Right, well... During your chemotherapy, you will be put on a course of anti-carcinogenic drugs. Your first course will involve chlorambucil, vinblastine, procarbazine and prednisolone. Occasionally, we may be using drugs such as doxorubicin, and vincristine. These are to kill the cells in your body that are making you sick, but please bear in mind that chemotherapy is not an absolute treatment..." He sighed softly, before continuing.

"As we stated before, you will lose your fur and mane; you may suffer side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches and mild disorientation. But I assure you, these are temporary hardships that will lead up to recovery, should you respond well to treatment." Rarity's head perked up and she gave the doctor a rather stern look.

"What do you mean, 'should I respond well to treatment'? Are you saying that there is a possibility that this won't work at all?" Her voice was intimidatingly low and monotonous. Unaffected by Rarity's response, the doctor nodded, "It is a small chance that the chemotherapy could do more damage than anything else, as it attacks more than just the cancerous cells in your body. It will leave you very vulnerable to smaller illnesses, such as the common cold. Even that could prove too much for your body to handle."

He affixed his stethoscope before continuing, "That said, your visitors will have to pass a check to see if they are showing any symptoms of standard illnesses. Should they show signs of these, I am afraid that they will not be able to visit you until they are well. We cannot risk you getting more sick than you already are."

Rarity seemed to relax at this, and slumped back in her chair, leaning against Rainbow's wing for support, "Can anypony come in to visit her?" Rainbow's voice broke the silence with its unfamiliarity, and the doctor shifted his gaze over to her, "Yes, so long as she is not undergoing treatment, she will be allowed to have visitors during the designated hours." He moved a few papers around on his desk, before clearing his throat.

"Okay, now that we have gotten that out of the way, the only thing left to do is schedule your first, chemotherapy appointment. How does..." He began flipping through pages, reading things briefly before a date apparently clicked in his head, "This coming Tuesday, sound? We would like to start treatment as soon as possible." Rarity nodded, and stood from her chair, "Tuesday is fine, doctor. Thank you."

Turning, she walked from the office out into the hallway, leaving the door open behind her. Frowning a little, Rainbow looked back to the doctor and scratched her head, "Heh, so... What time on Tuesday?" He blinked, before smiling in embarrassment, "Apologies, I forgot to mention at time to her... Please, tell her that eleven in the morning is when we will start treatment. She should have a healthy breakfast and then come into us."

Giving a nod, Rainbow raised from her own seat, only to be stopped by the doctor again, "Oh, and please... Ask her to keep visitors to a minimum. I now how popular Miss Rarity is, having done all she has with her boutique, but it would not bode well for her treatment to have everypony in Ponyville coming to visit her." With another nod, Rainbow gave a mock salute and chuckled, "Got it, doc."

With that, she left the office, closing the door behind herself and trotting a little way down the hallway to find Rarity sitting in the same seat they were in whilst waiting for the appointment. She seemed distant, lost in her thoughts... It wasn't until a familiar wing slipped around her shoulder that she jolted a little and gave a small sigh, "This is a lot to take in, Rainbow... I don't know if I..."

She was silenced by a gentle squeeze of Rainbow's wing, followed by the pegasus' muzzle pressing against her cheek in a nuzzle, "Shh... It's fine. You're strong... You're so strong. You can do this, I know you can." She gave a small grin and gently nudged Rarity's cheek with her nose, "Besides, you've got the most awesome mare in Equestria supporting you. Cancer can suck it."

This brought a soft smile back to Rarity's features, as she leaned in against her friend and sighed softly, "It should be a crime, with how easily you can make a mare feel better." After a few moments of consensual silence, Rainbow was the first to speak up and break the silence again, "C'mon... We better get you back to the boutique. Day's not over yet, Rares... You still gotta tell Sweetie what's going on."

A grim sigh escaped Rarity's lungs, and she nodded, before slipping up from her seat and stretching out a little, "Yes... I suppose I should." There was no absence of weight in her voice, as she contemplated just how she would break the news to her younger sister... Then to her parents. This was not going to be easy, but it had to be done. It had to be done.

The two mares left the hospital, and trekked back to Ponyville. It wasn't a long journey, but with what awaited Rarity at the end, it felt like an eternity. She didn't have the first idea as to how she would break this news. Heck, she might even break down well before Sweetie Belle... What was she thinking, of course she would. This damn thing just had her so emotional.

"You will aid me through this, Rainbow, won't you? I don't know if I could break this news to Sweetie on my own... I fear I might break down before I get the message out to her." Rainbow perked a brow at the statement and gave a nod, "Anything for you, Rares..." Normally, she would have told a pony to buck up and get it over with... But Rarity was sensitive in her current state. She could use as much help as she could get.

Eventually, they reached the door to the Carousel Boutique. The light hustle and bustle inside indicated that Sweetie had company over... Possibly the other Crusaders. With a sigh, she opened the door to find just what she would have suspected. The boutique was still in the condition that she had left it in, aside from one or two rolls of fabric strewn across her workbench in a messy fashion.

Underneath the rolls of fabric were three, little lumps, bobbing and shifting with the occasional mumble or murmur. Rarity cleared her throat, which made the three fillies in question jump suddenly at the addition to the room, "Oh, Rarity! I, uhh... Didn't expect you back so soon! This isn't what it looks like!" Taking a breath, Rarity raised her hoof to silence Sweetie Belle in the middle of her attempt at explaining herself.

"Not now, we'll talk about what's gone on in here, later. It's not important... I need to speak to you." She turned her attention to the other fillies; Scootaloo and Applebloom, and gave them a small smile, "Little ones, would you mind going off and playing with one another outside? I need to speak to Sweetie Belle in private, if that is okay?"

Confused, the fillies simply nodded and complied with Rarity's request, "We'll see y'later, Sweetie." Applebloom nudged Scootaloo's side and skittered off towards the door, "Yeah, catch you later, Sweetie!" Her little wings buzzed, and she did a small gallop towards the door to follow Applebloom.

Once the other two fillies had left, Rarity took a breath and motioned over to the chaise off to the left side of the room, "We'll need to sit for this, little darling, I have some news to give you." She trotted over to the chaise and plopped down upon it, Rainbow shadowing her to give support whenever she may need it.

Once she and Sweetie were settled, Rarity bit her lower lip in thought, "First thing's first, Sweetie... Do you know what cancer is?" The filly blinked and furrowed her brow, giving a slow nod in response, "Yeah, I heard a few adult ponies talking about it before, but I guess I don't know anypony that has it... Why?" Being as young as she was, she was still naive when it came to reading between the lines.

"Well... You do, actually. Somepony very close to you has it." Rarity rubbed her own forehooves together, nervously, before continuing, "It's a very serious illness... And the treatment is quite harsh. It will be a long, difficult road... But I'm sure it will be okay." Sweetie still wasn't grasping this... She flicked an ear and tilted her head to the side, "Okay... So, you never told me the who the pony is."

Rarity couldn't help but smile softly at her little sister's naivety, and ran a hoof through the little filly's mane, affectionately, "I do, Sweetie... I have it. I'm starting treatment next week... So you may notice me being gone for a while at a time. You can visit me in the hospital, and I'll ask Applejack if you can stay with her and Applebloom for the next little while... Okay?"

It took a little while to register, but once it did, Sweetie immediately began to panic, "A-a-are you going to be okay?" A small sniffle indicated that tears were well on the way. She didn't, fully grasp the severity of having cancer, but she knew that having to spend any length of time in hospital is not a good thing, "Y-you're going to b-b-be okay, right?" Her lower lip quivered as the corners of her emerald eyes began to glisten with tears.

Giving her own, small sniffle, Rarity immediately pulled Sweetie into a hug and nuzzled down into the filly's sweet-scented mane, "I promise, I'll be fine, sweetheart... I have a wonderful, perfect little sister, and friends who would do anything for me... Don't you worry your sweet, little head, my darling..." Rarity could feel the fur of her chest becoming matted with Sweetie's tears. The little filly sobbed quietly into her older sister's chest, and Rarity did everything she could to stop herself from breaking down.

Rainbow watched the scene with tears bordering on the corners of her own eyes. She wiped them away, quickly, and simply sat on the floor beside the chaise to allow the two sisters time to comfort each other.

Everything would be fine... Wouldn't it?