Crystals Grow on Rainbows

"We found her lying in a rivulet near the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, down south." Two weeks, five days, 8 hours since Opal made a run for it from her fighting parents. It had taken over a day for Celestia to undo the thunderstorm spell, and even then, there was damage to Ponyville itself that needed attention. In that time, every pegasus had joined the search for the missing princess, and now she had finally been located.

Hearing she was lying unconscious at the hospital made both Rarity and Rainbow Dash feel terribly responsible. After the anger had settled, they blamed themselves for a while, and became close again out of fear for her fate. Seeing her with a broken wing, very underweight, and virtually fighting for life was enough to make even Dash cringe. "She'll be fine in the end, right? I mean alicorns are supposed to be able to live forever, and Celestia's had her share of bumps and bruises."

The doctor glanced at both parents for a moment while checking all sorts of charts. "That may be the case for an adult, but she's rather young. There is signs of recovery, and she's being given nutrients as we speak, but the process will leave her unconscious. I'm afraid that's unavoidable, she won't wake until she believes she's ready." A nod and thank you seemed to be the appropriate response, though Rarity felt she needed to do much more in return.

Rainbow Dash returned to comforting her mare, doing her best to keep her warm as they continued to sit at the bedside for the following hours. It was a critical time, doctors and nurses were always in and out to check up on Opal. So many things that they wanted to say, but couldn't. Almost all were apologies, save for one really key development that neither had expected.

Night fell, and left once more to a dawn that went mostly unnoticed. At long last, the doctors finally decided that Opal was out of critical condition. Tired and weary, both parents were finally convinced by Twilight to go home and rest. Each of their friends had agreed to take turns in watching over the recovering filly, and it gave each the chance to talk to her. The incident at Cloudsdale had become common knowledge, but none of them held that against her. And now, her mentor would be the first to take up the role.

"So, here we are. I was really worried about you Opal, then again everyone was. Dash told me about how you felt you were forced into magic, and I didn't help with that much huh." A small cough came before she felt like continuing. Everything she wanted to say seemed to turn to dust at that point. Without substance or structure to her words, she couldn't do much more than sit and watch. "Just get better soon, okay? We need you Opal, you're too important to Rarity and Rainbow Dash for them to lose. They'd never recover..."

By afternoon, she had fallen asleep again, only to be woken by Trixie. "Get some sleep Twilight; I'm just as responsible for her safety as you are, okay?" Twilight eventually followed her advice, allowing Trixie to take her place at Opal's side. She hadn't felt it wise to think of anything to tell the filly beforehand, in fear it would seem awkward at the moment. So, most of the silence she spent pondering on what to say, a reasonable distraction while the nurses continued to check up on her condition.

"I don't know if you realized this, but you were one of the few ponies who accepted me as a friend without question. Probably because you weren't around for my bad phase, definitely a good thing. And honestly, you've really helped me be more sociable, just by following your example. I realize this must sound weird considering the age difference, but what's the big deal really?" She breathed in again, there was something that she didn't feel was right to tell everypony, yet seemed to be appropriate for Opal to hear in her unconscious state. "I guess you might as well know that Twilight and I are somewhat more than friends now, you would probably understand better than the others."

She continued to stay with her throughout the night, rather grateful when Applejack stopped by. Taking the half day off when she could very well have been working on the farm was a rather big commitment. But it was one that she wanted to make, and nopony dared question that. "Kinda awkward, since we didn't really cross paths much, but I'm here all the same. I've got a really special apple saved for you back at the farm, so you'd better get moving on waking yourself Missy." She meant that in jest of course, humour was something she felt couldn't go wrong under the circumstances.

Snoozing for a little bit helped calm her nerves again. Now that she had time to think about Opal specifically, she felt rather bad for not trying to get to know the filly more. Twelve years had gone by so quickly, and now reality was catching up to all of them again. "Tell ya what, when you're out and kicking again, I'll give you the ins and outs of apple bucking, just you and me." When Pinkie Pie arrived later that day, Applejack was rather reluctant to leave. But each needed their time with Opal, and Opal needed them in turn.

Pinkie seemed to take her injury the hardest, the lack of laughter was impossible to not notice. And the fact that she left the twins in the care of Rarity for the time being made it far more obvious. She never left her twins, at least not willingly. "Icing misses you; she always liked you as a big sister. I uh, almost ran out of excuses for why you weren't there. But that's the fun of excuses; waiting until they get so silly that you can't help but laugh at all!" That brought a giggle back to the normally gleeful pony.

"I dunno what everyone else said they'd do when you wake up, but I've got a nice and simple party planned for when you do. I'm sure you'll like it, because you always like my parties, right Opal?" Lacking a verbal response didn't bother her too much; deep in her heart, she knew the answer. Opal had her moments, but she was always a really sweet filly, especially to the twins. And part of her understood why Rarity and Rainbow Dash didn't have a second foal, taking care of a princess was obviously hard work. Poor Opal didn't have a sister of her own to care for.

Pinkie couldn't stay the whole night, but by then, the princess had reached a stable condition. Her wing was proving to be a complex job for the healing of her body, and so she continued to remain in her sleepy state. Fluttershy arrived early that morning, she still felt a little uncomfortable given the rumours floating around Cloudsdale. But that couldn't get in the way of their close friendship.

"I brought you a vase of the Spectrum Orchids. And a special jumper, if you feel like you need it of course." The breed of orchid that she and Zecora made for her had become rather popular with the flower ponies. Now it grew in its own special area of her garden. "Well uh, I'll be here if you wake up, and want to talk. If I knew that there was more that you wanted, then I would've brought more. Uh, then again, maybe I'm being too overbearing..."

A loud gasp came from the bed as Opal jerked back into consciousness. Fluttershy leapt right out of the chair and clung to the top of the curtain rail at the suddenness of her awakening. "Celestia! She's... he's... They're... No!" The force at which she flew out of the bed pulled the diagnostic equipment clean from the wall. Doctors and nurses began to fill the room in response, while Fluttershy carefully made her way out. Two words managed to escape the filly's mouth in that time before she slipped into unconsciousness again. "Elements... broken..."