It's Okay Baby Girl
By Ayla
"Please Opal, just eat one little bite?" Rarity begged her cat. Her other cat that she'd recently taken in, Ruby, looked on from a distance. After a moment Opal finally took a few bites of food from the spoon that was held out to her, but Rarity could tell that she only ate it to please her, and that she didn't really want it.
Rarity couldn't believe how fast Opalescence had gone down hill. It all seemed to happen so suddenly. She stopped eating, and started losing weight rapidly. In seemed that in just a few days she had become skin and bones. Even Fluttershy hadn't been able to figure out what was wrong with her, so she had made an appointment with the vet.
Deep down in her heart however, Rarity somehow knew that tomorrow would be her last day with her beloved persian. Opal had gotten old, and she'd seen a few cancer patients before, and that's what Opal looked like right now. She had the terrible feeling that tomorrow she was going to have to say goodbye.
After getting her to eat a few more bites, Rarity gently cuddled Opal, though she could hardly bear to feel just how thin she'd gotten. She could feel the hardness of bones underneath the softness of her fur.
The beautiful white unicorn wanted to cry as her pet meowed and looked at her with eyes that begged her to help her.
"Everything will be okay Opal. I promise. Mama promises."
"It's liver cancer." The vet, who she'd already forgotten the name of in her distress, looked at her solemnly. "I'm afraid that even with treatment, especially considering her age, that she most likely wouldn't make it."
Even though she'd been expecting something like this, Rarity felt as if her heart had cracked in two. "Is she in pain?" She asked softly.
"No."
Maybe she's not in actual pain, but I know she doesn't feel well, she thought. All the anxious cries Opal kept making along with those pitiful looks had made that perfectly clear.
"Do you think that... she should be put down?" Rarity managed to ask with a slight quiver in her voice.
"Honestly yes, I do." The vet nodded.
"Then... then that's what we'll do."
The vet gave Rarity some time alone with Opal to say her final goodbyes. Rarity gently removed her collar, wanting to keep it in her memory.
"I told you that everything would be okay, and it will be." Rarity cradled her, trying not to cry and failing. "Your suffering will end, and you'll never be in discomfort again. You'll go to the great beyond."
When the vet came back in, she gave Opal a shot to calm her down, as she seemed agitated and restless. Opal had never liked going to the vet. After she was quiet, Rarity sat down and held her on her lap while the vet gave her another shot. The last shot the feline would ever have in her life.
"Her heart is still beating." The vet sounded surprised as she pressed the stethoscope against her chest.
Rarity knew that Opal was worried about her. Worried about leaving her. She gently stroked her back. As cranky as the cat could be at times. She was indeed a wonderful and loyal friend. "It's okay baby girl. You can go. I'll be okay." She reassured her even as the tears poured down her cheeks. As much as it hurt her to let Opal go, she knew it was the best thing she could do for her. She could never sentence her to suffer and linger until she finally died from this on her own. This was the most generous thing that she could ever do for her, and the most heart wrenchingly painful.
"It's stopped," the vet announced.
The vet once again gave Rarity some time alone with Opal. No... with the body. Rarity could feel that this limp form wasn't Opal anymore. Opal was gone.
When the vet returned Rarity managed to ask... "What do you do with the bodies?"
"We use their ashes on gardens."
"I like that idea." Rarity knew she could get those ashes in an urn if she wanted, or bury her but the thought that her ashes could go on to nourish flowers, and in a way become those flowers, was more comforting. Besides this body wasn't Opal. Opal's memory was in her heart and mind.
After paying the bill, and Rarity wondered rather vaguely why the bill was so high when they hadn't even managed to save Opal in the first place, she slowly walked home alone. She was almost there when she bumped into Twilight.
"Oh hi Rarity! Rarity... what's wrong?" Twilight looked concerned when she saw the tears in Rarity's eyes.
"Opal's gone." Rarity explained what happened at the vet's office and Twilight looked shocked and sad for her, giving her a big hug.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Rarity shook her head. "Not right now. I just need some time."
"Of course. You know I'll be here if you need to talk."
Rarity nodded and slowly walked on. Once inside the boutique she saw Ruby and the tears started falling again. She collapsed and held Ruby close, sobbing her heart out. "She's gone Ruby! Opal's gone!"
Rarity was glad now that she'd decided to take in that red colored persian that Fluttershy had gotten because her owner had moved away to a place that didn't allow pets. Ruby wasn't Opal, but it was nice to still have an animal friend to hold and love. It made the pain of losing Opal a little bit less.
A few hours later there was a knock on the door and when Rarity answered it, Fluttershy was there holding a rose that she held out to her. "I just heard about Opal. I'm so sorry Rarity."
Rarity took the rose and smelled it's sweet scent. "Thank you Fluttershy." She hugged her and the sunshine yellow pegasus hugged back.
After Fluttershy left Rarity looked at some pictures she had of Opal and picked out one of her yawning in such a way that it almost made her look like she was laughing. That picture had always made her smile, and she put it on her refrigerator with a magnet frame. It would help remind her of the happy memories she'd had with Opalescence. Rarity was sad she'd gotten sick, and losing her hurt terribly, but at the same time she knew that her cat had lived a long full life.
I know you're in paradise now, Rarity thought. I know that you're waiting for me. I'll see you again some day. I love you Opal.
Author's Note
Thank you to everyone who gave this a thumbs up and added this fic to your favorites! 
Thanks to the people who followed me after reading this story as well!
I've been trying to thank everyone individually too, so sorry if I missed anyone!
