A Jewel Laid to Rest
It had started out like any other day recently. Rarity would wake up, make herself breakfast, and then it was immediately off to work. However, missing from her daily routine was the presence of her cat, Opal. As Rarity made her way from the kitchen to her work area she noticed Opal slowly making her way to her food bowl. She smiled, relieved to finally see her moving around again. Anypony who knew Opal could have noticed that as of late, she hadn’t been as sassy as she usually was. Rarity had also taken notice that she was eating a lot less too. Knowing that cats love their privacy, Rarity made her way around the corner then peeked around to watch Opal eat a tiny bit out of her bowl.
While it hurt her seeing Opal have trouble eating the smallest amount of food, Rarity deemed this an improvement from her previous state. However, not too long after that, she heard her precious feline gagging and rushed to see her vomit it up on the carpet. After taking some cleaner and a rag to prevent a stain, she put a sign on her door reading “Closed” and decided that there was no more putting this off. Opal needed medical attention. She tenderly set her cat down in a travel basket and made her way off to Fluttershy’s cottage. Certainly her animal knowledge would provide an answer for what was wrong with her.
Rarity bit her lip as she watched Fluttershy walk around the table, she tried hard not to interfere or question any of the prodding and poking Fluttershy was doing. Fluttershy ran a hoof along Opal’s back, and felt each bone along her spine poke out.
“She hasn’t been eating, has she?” Fluttershy asked, as she felt Opal’s underbelly.
“Not a lot. But whenever she does she doesn’t keep it down long.” Rarity answered sadly.
“Hmm.” Fluttershy returned her attention to Opal, feeling along her sides.
“Fluttershy, please tell me you can figure out what’s wrong with my precious, Opal.” The fashion guru desperately requested.
“I can try. But you have to remember, Rarity, I’m just for the most part, an animal caretaker. I only have minimal experience when it comes to giving them medical attention.”
“What do you suggest I do then?” Rarity pleaded.
“Well,” Fluttershy paused before continuing. “From what I can tell, this isn’t something that will go away on it’s own. If you want a more clear cut answer, I’m afraid you’re going to have to take Opal to see the town vet.” Fluttershy looked down sadly at Opal. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help any more than I already have.”
Rarity stepped forward and gave the pegasus a soft hug.
“Don’t you dare apologize. And thank you. I’ll take her there, straightaway.”
Once more, Rarity placed Opal back into her travel basket and nestled a blanket over her. As she walked into town she kept glancing at the basket, begging Celestia that she would be okay.
“If only I had done something sooner,” she chastised herself.
It took longer than she would have wanted to get there, but she didn’t want to run and possibly make Opal feel worse. When she walked inside, she was relieved to see that there was nopony else was in the waiting room. She walked straight up to the front desk where a young looking mare was organizing files and cleared her throat.
The young mare looked up and smiled, “Good morning, m’am. What can I do for you?”
Swallowing back the tightness in her throat she explained, “My Opal hasn’t been herself lately. She hasn’t been eating and whenever she does it’s not long before it’s on my floor.”
The mare looked sympathetically at Rarity, “I’m sorry to hear that m’am. We just need you to fill out this paperwork so we can have you on file and Dr. Cureall will be right with you.” She passed Rarity a clipboard and quill and pointed her towards the waiting room.
Rarity took the clipboard and sat down, filling in each question.
“‘How old is your pet?’” She read aloud. “Why, it’s been over thirteen years. Fourteen this coming Hearth’s Warming Eve.” She looked down at the basket Opal was sleeping in and a small smile made it’s way onto her face. Rarity stroked her back before filling in the rest of the paperwork.
After Rarity gave her paperwork to the receptionist Dr. Cureall walked out and called her into the first room. Picking up Opal’s travel basket, Rarity followed her into the examination room, and as softly as her magic would allow her, took the cat out of the basket and set her on the examination table in the room. Opal didn’t make any noise or fuss. And that made Rarity only all the more sad.
“From what you’re telling me, and since she’s not eating, I recommend we take an x-ray to see exactly what’s going on inside the kitty.” The vet asked as she took a close look at Opal.
Rarity merely nodded, and looked down as Dr. Cureall took Opal to the back.She bit her lip and paced around the examination room, anxiety gnawing at her stomach. What would the vet find, would the vet be able to cure her Opal? The minutes passed by with agonizing slowness. For what felt like the hundredth time she glanced at the clock.
“An x-ray shouldn’t take this long.” She thought, “How much longer will this last?”
When the vet reentered the room, Rarity shot straight up to her hooves, about to demand an answer. Dr. Cureall’s grim expression, however, stopped her dead in her tracks.
“The examination took a bit longer than usual but we had to be sure.” She paused before giving Rarity the verdict. “We found several tumors inside her body and they’ve grown quite a bit.”
Rarity could barely contain the sob that made it’s way out of her mouth. Tumors? Inside her Opal? How could she have let this go on ignored for all this time? How could she have not known?
“Is there anything that can be done?” She begged.
Dr. Cureall sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. Then again, when is giving somepony this kind of news ever easy?
“There are two options.” She began. “The first one is surgery. We could attempt to remove the tumors from her body, but it would cost quite a bit. And the second option is-”
“I don’t care how much it costs!” Rarity shouted.
“Ma’am, please let me finish. That was just one option.” Dr. Cureall requested before going on. “The second option, which is the one I’m sadly leaning towards, is euthanasia.”
Again, a gasp escaped Rarity’s mouth before a hoof was slapped over it.
“You… you want to put my Opal down?” Her eyes were filling with tears and her voice was beginning to crack. “Out of the question! I will not let that happen to her! Now tell me how much the surgery will cost!”
Dr. Cureall sighed again and rubbed her temple. As much as she hated having this talk with pet owners, it had to be talked about. As politely as she could, she asked Rarity to take a seat. The mare of generosity complied and the vet sat down with her.
“Miss Rarity, I have no doubt in my mind that you would be able to pay any sum for Opal. And of course being a business owner myself, I do enjoy being paid for the bigger operations. But…” Her voice softened up a little bit, “I have to think about the animals first. So before you go dropping a bag of bits in front of me, I have to warn you about the repercussions this surgery might have.”
Rarity’s mind pounded with sadness and fear. Somehow she managed to find some part of her to listen to the vet’s logic. She has to hear this out all the way before making any sort of decision. Calming herself down as best she could, but still trembling, she gestured for Dr. Cureall to continue on.
“I know this is a difficult decision, but you need to think beyond your want to keep your pet alive and consider how Opal feels. Taking her age into account, surgery would be very stressful and the outcome would not be a guaranteed fix.”
“Wh-what do you mean, ‘not a guaranteed fix’, then what would be the point of even doing surgery?”
“That is exactly the point I am trying to get to, m’am. I can open her up and take out as many tumors as I’m able, but there would be many more left behind that I just can’t reach. Post surgery recovery would also be difficult. She’d have trouble eating, and keeping food down would be difficult.”
“In other words… back where we started.” Rarity’s pupils dilated as tears threatened to overflow from her eyes. A gentle hoof made its way up to rub Rarity on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
“I’m sorry. But that’s how it is. The Opal you took home, wouldn’t be the same one you came in here with.” Dr. Cureall took one more breath. “Now that you have heard that, would you like some time to think about it?”
Rarity couldn’t muster any words out of her as a reply. She nodded her head. With a nod of her own, Dr. Cureall stood up and walked towards the door, giving Rarity some privacy.
“Take as much time as you need.”
The door clicked shut and the ivory unicorn turned out to look at her precious pet lying there on the examination table. Very rarely she was able to approach the cat when she was lying down without getting scratched. Knowing that she was too weak to do so felt like a claw rake across her heart. The words Dr. Cureall had just told her kept ringing in her head. Ponies lose their pets all the time. But with this being the first time Rarity has been faced with a dilemma like this, the feelings were all so foreign to her. The choice seemed impossible. Either fork out the bits for surgery and run the high risk of it only being a temporary fix and delaying the inevitable, or just get it over with right now?
As she pondered, her gaze on Opal never faltered and she found herself flashing back to the day she first got her as a filly. A Hearth’s Warming Eve gift from her parents before Sweetie Belle was born. She remembered how happy she was that day to have a pet of her very own. She couldn’t think of what to name her for a few days though. It was right after she got her cutie mark that she thought of the perfect name. Opal. For the precious gemstone she knew her kitty would be. It was true that as both she and Opal were maturing, the feline started to grow more sassy in her attitude. But Rarity knew she and Opal always had that special bond every pet owner has with theirs.
In most circumstances, Rarity had always put the wellbeing of her friends and family before hers. Opal was no different. This cat was her family. And she had to think about what was best for her. If she went through with this surgery, Opal would be alive, but she would still be in pain and barely able to function. There was only one choice that would benefit Opal.
With her heart now more heavy than a block of lead, she called Dr. Cureall back into the room.
“I love Opal with all my heart.” She said, tears sliding down her face. “I don’t want to prolong her suffering…...i-if it’s the only way…”
Dr. Cureall looked at the weeping mare with nothing but sympathy.
“You’re doing the right thing, Miss Rarity.” She spoke almost softer than Fluttershy. “I’ll make the preparations.”
Rarity nodded and gently reached out to Opal taking her into her hooves holding her close to her heart. She sat down on a nearby chair and rocked her back and forth like Opal was her child. In a way, she was.
“Oh Opal.” She couldn’t believe this was happening. “I… I’m so sorry… If I had only done something sooner… taken more notice of you… I could have saved you. I was just so busy with work to pay attention...”
She looked around and spotted a tissue box. A blue glow surrounded the box and a tissue was pulled out and brought to her eyes. She dabbed at her face, dyeing the tissue black with her runny mascara in the process.
“I know you weren’t the most friendly of creatures around other ponies. But I know you-- to me-- you were the best pet anypony could ask for. I swear I’ll do something to properly honor you… a new line of garments. Co-completely dedicated to you… I’m going to miss you s-s-so-” Her breath hitched. “So much…… Mama loves you Opal. I always have…” She sniffled. “And I always will.”
Her composure was breaking bit by bit with every gentle stroke she took to Opal’s coat. Muffled sobs caused her body to rock despite her best efforts to be as still as possible. Opal mewed weakly and then softly began to purr into Rarity’s chest. Two more clean tissues were pulled out of the box by her magical grasp and like the previous one, dirtied by her tears and now ruined mascara.
A light knock was heard at the door, and Dr. Cureall peeked her head in.
“We’re ready when you are.” She told the white unicorn. “If you want to stay by her side during the procedure, you’re more than welcome to.”
A messy sniffle was the vet pony’s first response from Rarity before she turned to look her in the eyes.
“I… I don’t want to sound heartless… Saying goodbye… That’s hard enough. To be there and watch her- watch her... ” Her body shivered as she held Opal close.
The vet’s hoof made its way up to Rarity’s shoulder again like before.
“It’s perfectly alright. You aren’t the first pony to be in that mindset and I’m sure you won’t be the last.”
A few more tissues were pulled and a few wet and loud honks sounded through the office as Rarity blew her nose. Her gaze was then again directed down to the thin feline in her hooves. She wanted to pass her off to the vet, to end her suffering. But another part was screaming at her to never let her go. That part was soon silenced. She knew there was nothing anypony could do for Opal now. Even Twilight with her magical knowhow probably couldn’t do anything.
Her hooves felt like they had big blocks of iron attached to them, her steps to Dr. Cureall so heavy. So slow, yet it felt like in no time at all she was passing her beloved Opal to Dr. Cureall.
Her bottom lip quivered as her hoof lingered on Opal’s fur. “Goodbye, Opalescence…”
The feeling of her fur left Rarity’s touch as Opal was taken fully into the vet’s hold. She was placed back on the exam table and Dr. Cureall brought out a syringe. Rarity’s eyes lingered on Opal as she walked out of the room, not willing to watch her cat die right in front of her eyes, but not yet willing to let her out of her sight just yet. Once the door clicked shut behind her, Rarity stepped back into the front office taking a seat on the bench. It wasn’t long before Dr. Cureall joined her. The procedure was finished.
There was still one more order of business to be taken care of before Rarity could leave. A decision was to be made regarding what to be done with Opal’s body. Rarity didn’t even need a second to decide. She was going to take Opal home herself to give her a proper burial and memorial service. That cat deserved nothing less than the best treatment. Even in death.
Because she was choosing to handle the body herself, no paperwork was needed to be filled out. Dr. Cureall simply walked back into the room and came back out with the basket Rarity came in with, carrying Opal. In the basket, there was a bundle completely covered in a blanket. Shivering, Rarity took hold of the basket with her magic and said nothing more as she made her way out of the vet’s office and began to walk back home.
With every step she took, she felt her hooves were putting cracks in the ground. Her steps were heavy again, heavier than they ever have been before. Not many ponies noticed her in the street, something she was thankful for. She was in no sort of mindset to talk to anypony right now, save for a special few once she had some time to calm down. She wanted to get home faster. As fast as she could. But her walking speed would not increase no matter how much she begged it too. All she felt was the dirt under her hooves, the basket in her magical grip now carrying her deceased pet, and a small chunk of her heart breaking off and dissolving.
Eventually however, she did reach her home and walked inside. She left the “Closed” sign where she left it. She climbed up the stairs and brought the basket to her room, laying it down beside her bed and the blue aura around it faded away. Making her way to her bed she fell to her belly and cried her eyes out, every sob unstifled.
She finally got up and moved when she heard the front door to her house opening up again. For a moment she thought there was an intruder before she remembered that today was a school day. Sweetie Belle must have been dismissed from class.
“Rarity? Are you home?” The filly called out.
Hearing her voice made her pause. Not wanting to to look like such a mess in front of her sister, Rarity walked to her bathroom to straighten her appearance. Grabbing a box of tissues she roughly blew her nose then dabbed at her eyes, wiping off all of the ruined makeup from her face. After throwing all of the dirty tissues away, she walked downstairs to greet her sister. Sweetie Belle upon first seeing her older sibling could immediately tell that something was wrong.
“Rarity?” She approached her with caution. “What’s wrong?”
As much as Rarity just wanted to lie and put off telling her the story, assure her that everything was fine, tell her she was just tired, she couldn’t find it in her to do so. She sat down with Sweetie Belle and told her everything that had transpired in the past hours of the day. Of course Sweetie Belle was shocked to hear that Opal was gone but understandably she wasn’t quite as upset as Rarity was mostly because it wasn’t her pet. Opal was always Rarity’s cat above anypony else’s in the family.
When asked what she planned to do with Opal’s body, Rarity answered that she would bury her in the backyard, properly of course. Then Sweetie suggested the idea of making it a small ceremony instead of just a private thing. The fashionista had to admit Sweetie Belle’s idea was better. A small funeral would allow her close friends to say their goodbyes as well. She knew Fluttershy would of course want to bid the cat farewell. As for the others, well she knew that they weren’t too fond of the cat themselves but trusted they would still be there.
She did her best to collect herself and with help from Sweetie Belle, made a date and time for the ceremony to be held. Not in any sort of mood to go back out, Rarity then asked her younger sibling if she would be so kind as to inform her friends of the plans. Sweetie Belle understandingly obliged and went out one by one informing Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, all of whom were of course saddened by the news. Since Sweetie Belle was unable to reach Rainbow’s house, she asked Fluttershy if she could fly up herself and tell her. The butterscotch pegasus of course said yes and flew off to give Rainbow Dash the details. Her task done, Sweetie Belle returned to Rarity’s house only to find the mare in question asleep on the couch. She must have been more than exhausted from what happened today. After she covered her sister with a nearby blanket, she gathered her school things and left Rarity alone, heading home to her parents’ house.
The day Rarity decided to have the ceremony was Saturday morning. Everypony had time off from their normal jobs to come by and say their goodbyes to the pet that they admittedly weren’t very fond of. This however wasn’t about their feelings towards the cat. This was about being there for Rarity when she needed support while grieving. And all of them were more than happy to put their lives on hold to do that.
Some would probably say to get a full headstone for a pet cat whose grave is in the backyard of somepony’s house isn’t a very wise expenditure of bits. Rarity didn’t care about those ponies. She fronted out the money for a pet sized granite headstone and the epitaph read:
Opalescence
1996 - 2010
“A jewel who will shine forever”
Tied to the headstone was an item recognized as Opal’s favorite toy. All of them remembered when Rainbow Dash used both it and Opal herself as a trial to determine who would be Rainbow’s pet. That was quite a day. Even after all the trials were over, Tank still managed to be the winner of that particular trial and snuck it into his shell while Opal was busy clawing at his shell.
One by one, each of them spoke a short speech in memory of Opal. Each one moved Rarity more and more hearing them talk about their experiences with her. When she was asked if she wanted to say something, she nodded and wiped her eyes for the umpteenth before she spoke.
“I know Opal wasn’t exactly friendly to all of you. She wasn’t very fond of me on some days too. But for fourteen wonderful years, she was so much more to me than just a pet. She was family. I could go on and on but I think I can simplify just how much she meant to me with just one fact.”
Just like that, she could remember it like it was just yesterday.
“I was just a filly. I hadn’t had Opal for no more than a year at the time. But I had come home from school crying because some rude little colt had the gall to call my outfit ugly. I had locked myself away in my bedroom and wept into my pillow for what seemed like hours. What I didn’t know is that I had locked Opal in there with me. She hopped up on the bed and cuddled herself against my chest and just purred. Like she had known why I was upset. And every single bad day I had from that point on, she knew. After the whole Hoity Toity fiasco with those awful dresses….she knew. She always helped me get back up and inspired me to create even more amazing designs….I never even once imagined a life without her. But that won’t stop me from living it the best I can. And I will do so with her memory forever in my heart.”
A new flow of tears began to stream down her face as she placed a soft hoof to the headstone.
“Mama loves you so much, Opal.” She sniffled. “Rest in peace.”
Five hooves and a dragon’s claw rest on her back in comfort as she turned around and headed into her home. Her friends stayed for about an hour or so before they all decided to take off and leave Rarity alone with her thoughts. All she could think of was how many wonderful times she had with her cat and what to do now that she was petless. Living on her own brought her a lot of peace and time to craft her garments but having Opal around for company just made the place home. That little pristine white fur coat and purple collar would never been seen strolling around this house ever ag-
Her head snapped up. White fur. Purple collar. Like magic, Opal had once again inspired Rarity. Without even thinking, she tore off her funeral outfit and went up to her drawing board sketching out a new line of coats. Winter was coming around the corner and this this new line of Opalescence faux fur coats, would not only keep ponies warm and gorgeous at once, but it would also be a brilliant way to honor everything that feline did for the designer. As she finished the sketch, she smiled proud of herself. Then she looked to her nightstand where a framed photo stood of her and Rarity together on the first day she got her. Fourteen wonderful years were had with her. Now she would enjoy many more with those fond memories never leaving her.
Author's Note
I started this story four years ago not long after my previous cat, Millie, passed away. I'm dedicating it to everyone out there who has gone through the pain of losing a pet of any kind. Pets leave an impression on your hearts for as long as they are with you and even after they are gone they still remain. If you have recently just gone through a loss such as this then I send you my deepest condolences. Cry, be sad, do you what need to do but just know you gave your pet a great home and they are in a much better place now. It isn't goodbye either. It's just "see ya later".
(I own no characters in this story and they are property of DHX, Hasbro, and Lauren Faust)
