Redemtion of the Soul

Rarity was cutting carrots for the stew as Applejack came running in, paler than usual.

“We found her, but she isn’t in a good condition.” Applejack replied. “She’s at the hospital right now.”

Rarity galloped out of the mess hall and quickly covered the distance to the hospital and charged right through the door. She instantly saw Rainbow Dash crying and she hugged Rarity tightly before letting her go into the only room with the door closed. Alice was in the hospital bed hooked up to a million different machines and an I.V and blood bag in one leg. Fluttershy looked at her as she walked over to the other side of Alice. Her face was bruised and swollen, there was thousands of cut on her face that traveled down her body and one of her eyes was covered.

“Everyone tried their hardest but she’s haven’t woken up.” Fluttershy sobbed.

Rarity pulled Fluttershy into a tight hug but she was numbed already.

“I’ll leave you alone with her.” Fluttershy replied before leaving.

Rarity laid her head on Alice’s chest and started to cry again.

“I don’t want to lose you too.” Rarity told her. “You’re all I have left.”

She gently touched Alice’s cheek and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. A doctor came in and gently touched her shoulder.

“She’s stable at the moment, but she’s has already gone unstable twice.” The doctor told her. “I just want to make sure your prepared if she doesn’t make it. If she does she won’t be able to see out of her left eye and she’ll have occasional leg pain. Right now I need to check her vitals so I need you to step outside for a second.”

Rarity nodded as she exited the room and then she was hugged about everyone.

“We heard what he told ya, and we’ll be giving her our best wishes.” Big Mac told her.

Rarity only nodded as her best memories of Alice and Sweetie Belle came into her mind at full force and she started to cry like a filly who was afraid of the dark. This only made everyone hold onto her tighter as a bunch of doctors rushed into Alice’s room as the monitor started to blared. Rarity whimpered and Rainbow hugged her tightly as everyone went outside.

“She’s a tough one; she wouldn’t let something like this kill her.” Rainbow Dash replied.

At this Rainbow Dash left and Rarity sat against the wall and completely broke down. Soon she fell asleep to a restless sleep.

She jumped when she felt someone shake her and when she opened her eyes she saw the doctor who had gone into Alice’s room first.

“She’s stable again.” He told her. “The whole cycle is getting worse and more often.”

Rarity nodded to this and got to her feet.

“Can I go in?” She asked him.

“Have this, it’ll alert you for she goes unstable again.” The doctor replied as he placed a bracelet on Rarity’s wrist.

Afterwards she walked into the room and sat beside Alice’s right side. Now they had added an oxygen mask to everything helping Alice survive and seeing her like this broke Rarity’s heart. She ran a hoof through Alice’s mane and another burst of tears streamed down her face. Rarity knew Alice looked up to like she was this amazing mare but she was just doing her part in the war. Alice was always the one risking her life to end it all, even when she was the only going out to destroy encampments. When Sweetie Belle had died from one of the first raids Alice had comforted her as well as she could. Ever since then if Alice ever got injured Rarity had stitched her up, and now Rarity could do nothing to help her.

“Alice please I don’t want to lose you.” Rarity told her.

Rarity looked at the scar that had already started to form above and below the patch on Alice’s left eye; the rest of the cut that were on her face were shallow enough to heal without leaving anymore scars. She gently pulled back the cover and looked at the bandages at cover Alice’s whole body and the forming scars pushed against them. Rarity jumped again when she felt someone touch her shoulder.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Fluttershy told her as she sat down beside Rarity.

“Where was she?” Rarity asked her.

“Big Mac says that they found her strung up in a tree deep in the forest.” Fluttershy replied.

Rarity took a deep breath as the image of what Fluttershy told her formed in her mind.

“Who could do such a thing?” Rarity asked her.

“It was the Heptrarians; that we know as a certainty.” Fluttershy replied.

“How do we know for sure?” Rarity asked her.

“We actually went over to one of their encampments and it turns out that they have been having the same problem.” Fluttershy replied.

“So what do we plan to do?” Rarity asked them.

“Dr. Whooves and Alamet have proposed a longer truce but we need their leaders approval and Alice’s.” Fluttershy replied. “Since Alice is in a coma we think of you as her right hand pony.”

“Has their leader responded?” Rarity asked her.

“She thinks it a good idea until we find and take care of whoever is doing this.” Fluttershy responded.

Rarity closed her eyes and when she opened them she noticed everyone on the other side of the door.

She sighed before responding. “I agree, especially if they continue to take out our strongest fighters both sides will eventually get overran.”

Fluttershy nodded and Rainbow Dash galloped off. Rarity turned back to Alice and touched her cheek gently.

“Please wake up Alice.” Rarity told her.

Rarity sat at one side of a long oak table with Fluttershy to her right and Rainbow Dash to her left with three Heptrarians in front of them. The middle Heptrarian had a gray mane, a dark blue body, and green eyes. The one to the right had a black mane, a white body, and pink eyes. The last one had a green mane, a black body, and purple eyes.

“To tell you the truth, our leader was just taken out.” The main Heptrarian, Alamet, replied.

“Whoever is doing this knew their schedule even the irregularities.” Rarity replied.

“They took out Clover when she was on her morning jog.” The right hand Hertrarian, Janest, replied.

“They got Alice during the night.” Rainbow Dash replied while slamming her fist on the table. “Leave to this cowardly group to put her in a coma when she can properly see them.”

“It would be foolish to go after them right now since we haven’t been able to figure out any of their movements.” The last Heptrarian, Hanik, replied.

“I have a few friends trying to find a trace them.” Fluttershy replied.

The Heptrarians looked at her but she just blushed and looked down.

“If we aren’t able to track them how can we fight them?” Hanik asked them.

“We’ll find a way.” Rarity replied. “Remember what Alice told us last week. Never look sight of the light right in front of you for it will lead you to a better life.”

“She is really good at that, Clover just tells us not to die.” Alamet replied with a chuckle. “Could we go check on Alice, it something Clover wanted us to do before she passed out?”

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash huddled together for awhile before looking at them again.

“Fine but only for a little bit.” Rarity replied. “I have to grab a book first.”

After Rarity grabbed the book off of one of the shelves they quickly galloped to the hospital, but Rarity sped up as her bracelet started to beep.

“What is all of that?” Janest asked them.

“They care for each other yet they are like another two people around this place that we all know.” Rainbow Dash replied.

Rarity crashed through the hospital doors and the doctor walked up to her.

“As it goes along it’s harder to stabilize her condition.” The doctor replied as Rarity walked into the room.

Alice had gotten paler in the past few hours and Rarity took one of Alice’s hooves and gently kissed it. Rarity hugged her tightly and held her until someone cleared her throat.

“If you want, we can leave you alone.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“No, I just don’t understand who could do this to her.” Rarity replied as she wiped her eyes.

“Could you pull back the covers so that we can see the full range of damage?” Alamet asked her.

Rarity swallowed before Rainbow Dash stepped forward and patted all three of them down.

“They’re clean.” Rainbow Dash replied.

Rarity slowly gripped the edge of the sheet and pulled it back. Janest gasped and Hanik looked away as Alamet stepped forward to get a closer look. He sighed as he moved a hoof a few millimeters above her body and Rarity saw him actually tear up.

“This is bad.” Alamet told them. “I felt something from Clover her soul was still in her body barely but it was still there. I don’t feel anything from her she there mentally but with a soul she’s a vegetable.”

Rarity felt her heart get torn out of her chest and stomped on right in front her eyes.

“Is it reversible?” Rarity asked him.

“You’ll have to kill the person who took her soul, if there was even a little sliver left then we could find him that way because to power exspended wouldn’t be easy to hide.” Janest replied. “The waves from the person who did the same to Clover we can detect but they constantly move around.”

“Is there any other way to find the person?” Rarity asked them.

“Not that we know of, the ability to steal the soul of a living person is a different type of magic all together.” Janest replied. “Has she ever acted out of character?”

“Do you mean out of character of how she act before or after what you all did to her?” Rarity snapped. “All we know are the nightmares she has; with her breaking down or me having to wake her up from a screaming fit every single night.”

“We didn’t know that stabilizing her soul would do something so bad.” Alamet replied.

“Stabilize her soul?” Fluttershy asked them.

“She was born in some way we don’t really understand and her soul started to collapse in on itself.” Hanik replied. “We didn’t think it would do such a horrible thing to her.”

“Two stallions in suits came after her.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“They weren’t with us.” Janest told them.

Rarity huffed while brushing some hair out of Alice’s face and turned to the three Heptrarians.

“We’ll be in touch, but you guys should get back to your people.” Rarity told them.

“Okay, we’ll alert you if we find anything else.” Alamet replied.

Hanik reached to brush a strand of hair out of Rarity’s face but then he jerked his hoof away and cursed.

“What happened?” Janest asked him.

“When I got close to her a shock went through my body.” Hanik replied.

“That’s Alice for you even if you take her soul she will still protect her people.” Alamet replied before his eyes widened. “If she can still do magic then a part of her soul has to be in her body.”

As they left Rarity looked to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Well we’ll leave you alone with her I need to talk to the group.” Rainbow Dash replied.

The two mares hugged her before they left and Rarity pulled the covers back up to cover Alice’s body. She looked at the book she had grabbed from the library and looked at the plain leather cover.

“Valvmic Daronic.” Rarity read out loud. “I hope this has some answers.”

Rarity opened the book and a felt her spirit deflate as she tried to read the text. She put the book on the table beside Alice’s bed and gently rest her head on Alice’s chest.

“I want to help you Alice but I don’t know how to read the book, whatever it is.” Rarity told her.

Rarity gently took Alice face in her hooves and kissed her forehead. Rarity jumped again as she heard the door close.

“Hey Applejack, how’s it going?” Rarity asked her.

“It’s as good as it’ll ever get, everypony is on edge since there is someone who can beat Alice so badly.” Applejack replied.

“They didn’t attack her head on, if they had she would’ve killed them easily and she wouldn’t be in this bed.” Rarity replied.

“What’s with the book?” Applejack asked her.

“I don’t really know, I got this odd feeling and I just grabbed it.” Rarity replied.

Applejack opened it, looked at the text and then looked at Rarity.

“Exactly how I feel right add in helplessness.” Rarity replied as she glanced over at Alice.

“Actually I think I heard Twilight talking bout this book till ya know.” Applejack replied.

“I think I heard her talking to Spike about, two months of war makes people forget things.” Rarity replied.

“There might be some basic translations in her room, but I’ve actually been in there recently and I don’t know how she kept track of all that paper.” Applejack replied.

“Well we have to look through everything then.” Rarity replied.