"Hey Rarity! Are you here?" Sweetie Belle's voice echoed throughout the boutique. "Where is that pony?" She wondered as she walked past Rarity's room. She had just found a pretty hefty Emerald broken on the floor downstairs and wanted to know if everything was alright. Just as she was walking past, she heard a soft moan. Thinking it was from her sister, she turned right around and jumped into Rarity's room.
Expecting to find Rarity, Sweetie Belle almost stepped on Opal, Rarity's cat, who was splayed out on the ground. She was confused when she didn't see her sister, but again she heard the moan. This time following the noise to it's source, she was surprised to find out that it was actually the white cat on the ground that was making the noise.
"Hey Opal. What's the matter?" She asked, bending down to look at the cat. Barely opening her eyes, she struggled to lift her head, but it fell back to the ground and she let out another soft meow. Sweetie Belle's eyes searched over the room, thinking that maybe she had gotten into the bag of treats again and had a stomach ache, but the treats were right where Rarity always left them. Turning back to Opal, she reached a hoof out and stroked her softly.
"What's wrong, pretty kitty? Does your stomach hurt? Are you hungry?" The cat only stared at her, as if trying to convey the problem. Sweetie Belle was unsure what to do. Rarity wasn't home and she had no idea when she would be home.
"Stay here, okay? I'm gonna find my old wagon and take you to Fluttershy's. She'll know what to do." Sweetie Belle raced off, darting into her room and throwing open the closet door. She dug through some of her old stuff and managed to find her old red wagon. Tugging it out of the compact mess that was her closet, she ran back to Rarity's room where, to no surprise, Opal had not moved.
"Okay, here we go." Sweetie Belle said, mentally preparing herself. She still was quite unsure of her magic, but she didn't want to hurt Opal by picking her up roughly. She carefully encased her magic around Opal and with a grunt, managed to lift her up and put her back down softly into the wagon. Giving herself a moment to catch her breath, she hooked up to the wagon and raced out the door.
No one stopped her as she ran through Ponyville. Unfortunately, Fluttershy lived on the opposite side as Sweetie Belle and Rarity did, so it was quite a journey. Some ponies gave her interested stares, but she was only concerned with getting Opal to Fluttershy. Soon, she could feel cramps in her sides from the dead sprint and was relieved to see Fluttershy's house come into view. She slowed down to a trot and stopped at the front door.
"Fluttershy? Are you home? I have a problem!" Sweetie Belle shouted, knocking furiously on the door. In a few moments, the door opened slowly and the yellow pegasus stood there, looking down at Sweetie Belle with confusion.
"What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?"
"It's Opal! There is something wrong with her and Rarity wasn't home and I didn't know what to do!" She pointed to the cat in the wagon behind her. Fluttershy gasped and immediately flew over to look at her.
"Let's get her inside." She said, gently picking the cat up and floating into her home. Sweetie Belle left the wagon outside and followed, making sure to shut the door behind her. Fluttershy took her to another room where she had a small table which upon she put Opal. Sweetie Belle paced around as Fluttershy examined Opal with various tools. Opal still remained virtually unresponsive, only occasionally letting out a meow of pain.
"Oh dear....this is not good." Fluttershy muttered. Sweetie Belle's head popped up, her eyes filling up with tears.
"Do you know what's wrong with her?"
"Not yet, but from some of the signs it....it doesn't look good. I will have to do a blood test, alright?" She tried to put on a smile, but Sweetie Belle knew it was a front. Fluttershy took a syringe and drew some blood from the cat's foreleg and went out of the room. Sweetie Belle went and continued to pet Opal, comforting her. Fluttershy was gone for quite sometime when Sweetie Belle heard a soft sob. That could not be good.
"S-Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy stammered, coming slowly back into the room. She was holding a piece of paper close to her as she went over to the table. "I-I think we need to get Rarity, okay?"
"What's wrong with Opal?" Sweetie Belle demanded. Fluttershy looked from side to side, not sure how to answer.
"Let's find Rarity first, then I will tell you." Sweetie Belle couldn't argue with the pegasus as she darted out of the room. Sweetie Belle followed her into town where they found Rarity just about to head back to the boutique. Fluttershy whispered several things to Rarity and she gasped and began galloping to Fluttershy's house.
"What is wrong with our cat?!" Sweetie Belle cried when they returned to the room where Opal laid. Rarity was crying, petting the animal and kissing her face. Fluttershy shut the door and went and stood by Rarity, the paper in her hoof shaking.
"The results of the test say that....her kidneys are....failing." Sweetie Belle was unsure what this meant.
"So make them not fail? Give her some medicine so we can go home." Rarity stopped petting Opal and went over to Sweetie Belle, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
"It's not that easy, darling. When cats get old, things like this happen. Irreversible things like this happen." It wasn't very had for Sweetie Belle to figure out what she meant by this.
"S-she's gonna die?" She whispered, tears once again filling her eyes. How could this happen? Opal had been there since before she was born! She was a pain sometimes, but Sweetie Belle loved her all the same. As the tears began running down her face, she shook her head. "Opal can't go! I'll miss her!" Rarity's own eyes watered and she had to turn away from the quivering Sweetie Belle.
"I know this is hard to hear, Sweetie, and I am so sorry." Fluttershy whispered, tears pricking her own eyes. Sweetie Belle burst into full on sobs, racing over to Opal and stroking her fur.
"Fluttershy says that it's probably best if we....put her down right now." Rarity said in between sobs. Fluttershy nodded.
"Will it hurt Opal?" Sweetie Belle finally managed to squeak out. She hated to admit it, but the cat look like she was in so much pain. That had to be why she wasn't moving.
"Opal won't feel a thing. You can hold her paw until.....it's over." Fluttershy suggested. Rarity nodded and Fluttershy left the room, probably to go get the things she needed.
"Why does this have to happen?" Sweetie Belle sobbed, still petting the cat. Rarity went to the other side and also began loving on Opal.
"Everything in time must go." She said, kissing Opal's nose. The cat let out an annoyed mew, causing Rarity to smile a little. "Life is so precious, Sweetie Belle, that's why we must cherish it while we can. Opal lived a happy life with you and I. I don't want to see her in pain and I'm sure you feel the same way." She was right. Sweetie Belle didn't ever want Opal to hurt.
Fluttershy came back into the room, rolling a small tray with two syringes. Sweetie Belle gulped, trying to stop her tears from continuing.
"You can hold her paw now, Sweetie Belle. I'm going to give her an anesthetic so she can't feel the pain before I..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off. Rarity moved to stand behind Sweetie Belle, stroking her sister's hair as she sobbed quietly. Sweetie Belle took a soft hold on Opal's left front paw. Fluttershy injected her with the first syringe and they all watched as the cat relaxed.
"It's gonna be okay now, Opal." Sweetie Belle said, trying to smile for the cat. Fluttershy picked up the second syringe and looked to Rarity for the go sign. Rarity nodded and Fluttershy carefully began injecting the liquid into Opal. The cat seemed to look and smile at Sweetie Belle and Rarity as the stuff filled her veins. It only took a couple moments before the light died from her eyes and her body jerked once, then was still. Sweetie Belle's cries echoed through Fluttershy's home as the pegasus closed the cat's eyes.
Sweetie Belle waited outside as Rarity and Fluttershy talked about what to do with Opal's body. She had gone from screaming in tears to complete silence, thinking about what had just gone on. Rarity and Fluttershy eventually exited the house, both looking glum. Rarity'd make-up was a mess and Fluttershy herself has red eyes from crying.
"Let's go home and get some rest, okay?" Rarity said, patting Sweetie Belle's shoulder. She looked up at her, her eyes filled with pain and sadness and nodded.
"Opal wouldn't want you both to be sad for her." Fluttershy whispered. Sweetie Belle sniffed and tried to put on a brave face. "But, it's okay to mourn for a little bit." With that, the sad face was back and her tail dragged in the dust as she grabbed her wagon and followed Rarity back home.
Goodbye Opal. I hope I get to see you again someday. I'll try and be brave, just for you. Don't you worry about me or Rarity.
Author's Note
So I had some devastating news given to me today that my grandma has to put her dog down, since they found an inoperable cancer tumor on his throat. It reminded me about the time I had to put down my favorite cat, Honeyflower, and I just had to vent write.
I was there when they put her down and I found out that cats die with their eyes open, which is unlike dogs. I tried to convey all the pain I felt when I had to make the tough decision to either let her die slowly at my home or to put her to sleep right then with no pain. No 18 year old should have to make that decision.
Actually no one should have to make that decision.