Bejeweled

The sun was settling inch by inch in the warm Saturday afternoon, yet it was far from piercing the mountains below. The outdoor spa closed earlier to have time returning the furniture to the building. While it would have been usually time-consuming alone, with Agate by their side the process was significantly easier. The unicorn could carry two beds, while the earth ponies carried one-one on their backs.

"How about the pool?" Agate asked, breaking sweat under the weigh of the furniture. It was by far not as easy as she made it look, even with her magical strength.

"It will be fine there." Lotus replied, struggling with the work as well.

The entire road there seemed to take forever, and Agate felt like just dropping the whole stuff there. She still remembered how it turned out the last time she did it, so she placed them where they belonged. Aloe and Lotus also rid themselves from their weigh, all that was left is just the fine-tuning, but it could wait. There were still a few things to bring back Vera was watching over, including the saddlebags, so the mares returned to the park one last time.

"So? Same stuff tomorrow too?" Agate asked the girls with a warm and friendly look. She surely have recovered from the heat stroke from before, no doubt about that.

"Actually..." Lotus told her, taking a look at her sister, than back "Aloe suggested we should try a cold bath therapy for once too." Though they say hot baths can help one stand more heat on the long run, the girls needed to try something new, and prepare for the chance of even more incidents like that.

"Alright then, makes sense to me in this awful heat." Agate giggled. She still was grateful for what the two ponies did to her, in her mind, she considered the possibility of them being her new so called "guardian angels" like Fleur... yet, something was missing. Regardless, she didn't play with the thought for too long, for her instincts will tell her when the time comes.

"Thank you for everything Miss Agate, we don't even know how could we repay your help." Aloe explained, as she walked up to the unicorn putting up the saddlebag.

"No need for that, really, I'm thankful for the first aid." Agate replied, waving her hoof with a delightful grin.

"See you tomorrow, girls."  she added, bidding farewell.

"Goodbye Miss Agate!" all three of them replied. It was just so adorable, the unicorn felt like squealing again in joy. Something that didn't last for too long, as she was ready of Rarity's wrath. A failure is a failure, and though her partner was understanding, she was strict as well, and she got more than enough of her the first day. The Boutique of Doom came closer and closer with each step, yet Agate didn't show any sign of stopping, not even when she twisted the doorknob. As she was expecting, it was open.

"Hey, Rarity! I'm back!" she shouted, but the answer came from someone else.

"Rarity is not home yet." Sweetie shouted back from upstairs. What a relief, though this didn't solve anything, just postponed the inevitable. She stepped in to pack down when the feeling of paper went through her right hoof.

It was a letter. She charged up her horn to pick it up and have a look at it, strolling towards the showroom to rid herself the bags. It was signed to Rarity, sent by Fleur. Finally, a word from Fleur.

Though it was not a too nice thing, opening up letters sent for others, she was quite sure Fleur sent this to her... and what Rarity didn't know, it didn't hurt her. Well, it could hurt no more than what she was getting anyway.

The unicorn took her way to the kitchen to get a bite, opening the letter with great care, not to rip the fragile paper cover. The method worked well, and the letter's content became reachable while the cover remained intact as she began shaking it, dropping the message on the wood. She picked up from the table with her hoof and began reading it right there, on the floor.

"Dear Rarity!

I hope you and Agate are doing well. I'm truly sorry I couldn't help you earlier, but I am to make this up later on whatever way I can.

I have heard the canterlotian judge, Royal Ribbon fell ill, and that Fancy is going to take her place. Things are quite unclear for now, but I'll make sure to inform you whatever changes might occur.

It might be for the better if you could not tell about this to Agate (unless you read it out, of course), I'm having a bad feeling about the matter.

Sincerelly

Fleur"

Agate sighed up. The pain in her heart was worse than anything she felt today. She kept reading it over and over, yet the more she read, the more tears gathered up in her eyes. She dropped the letter on the ground, staring at the fridge in front of her.

"It's over... everything is over." she cried. Eventually, her eyes couldn't hold back, and the flood broke through. She took a look at the letter again, leaning over it once more as the magic lifted it up, folded it just the way it were before and put it back where it belonged. She didn't want to see it ever again.

"Even if we get there, we won't be able to win for sure. He'll zero us down as soon as my name is called." she continued "And all that because of that stuck-up idiot." her inhales large, her salty tears even larger, rolling down on her cheeks like a river. All hopes crushed with a single letter for her. These times, there was only one thing that could help...

"Hey Agate, I brought up Rarity's bags upstairs, hope you don't-"... Sweetie however fell silent for long moments, as she saw the weeping mare.

"Are you alright?" she asked worried from what happened.

Agate cleared her face from the salty tears before replying with little nods "Yes... yes I'm fine.".

Though seeing her got the unicorn thinking, for it was not the best idea to drown her sadness into alcohol when a filly was around, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

"I just... I just need to take a little walk." she told the little one with a great exhale. She stood up, and headed towards the door again.

"I'll be right back." she added in the same uneven voice as the door opened, Sweetie watching her leave in silence.

"Sweetie Belle, I'm back." a voice was heard from the entrance later "Agate, I'm home.".

Rarity finally arrived after a long journey, holding to Agate's key and little gem even though she did not need it at all, but taking out the keys before going in was a habit she couldn't do anything against. The traveling certainly was not something her mind and body enjoyed, it felt like sucking the life out of her. She was pretty tired already, but still had enough energy left to put everything down by the door instead of dropping them.

"Sweetie, where is Agate?" she asked in a curious but strict upwards tone.

Sweetie shrugged "She said she went for a little walk, but she has been away for an hour already.".

Rarity's mind filled confusion, as the disbelief started to grow inside her mind like wildfire. "Did she say where she went or anything?"

"No, she has been away all day long." Sweetie shook her head.

That second, the confusion turned into a supernova of wrath.

"I knew it!" she shouted, smashing the stone on the ground in her frustration. The jewel cracked, a huge piece from the bottom breaking off completely from the impact, with several tiny pieces scattering across the floor.

"Sis?"

"I'll go look for her, wait here until I get back." the ivory coated roared, shutting the door behind her.

The sun reached for the horizon, the ponies starting to return home from their work or chill a bit outside since the weather was not that hot anymore, unlike Rarity. The seamstress, like a blazing ball of hay trotted down the streets, each step matching an earthquake under her hooves. She hoped, she trusted, yet despite all that, there was that little part of her mind that whispered the words of fear, doubt and disbelief, ones that also seemed to be the words of truth.

Agate made a fatal mistake being so intrigued about the Spa Weekend yesterday, considering the fact that she also forgot that she was looking for a housing agent just fueled this, with Armor's words on her drinking habit casing the joint. She knew exactly where she had to go.

The Longstep, the only pub around where you could get a nice alcoholic drink outside cider season. It was not extraordinary or anything, just a little house with a little terrace filled with two tables for the townsfolk to hang out. She didn't see Agate nor outside or inside, so she most likely left if she was here to begin with. As she passed by the building though, Rarity's mouth formed a wicked grin. She found her.

Agate was lying in a bush on the right side of the building. Rarity stepped closer, but the horrible smell of booze hit her face like a brick, forcing her to back away a little.

'Ugh, disgusting.' she though, as her horn began to glow once again, pulling the mare out the vegetation by her tail.

Absolute blackout, Agate was drunk dead, her cheeks red, mouth open, and smelling like a skunk from top to bottom. Even though Rarity could easily just leave her there, it could not have been a painful enough punishment, unlike having her face the consequences head-on.

There was no choice but... bringing her back home. Just the mere thought made the seamstress gulp hard. The stench created an invisible barrier that couldn't let her any closer. She looked left and right in hesitation, there sure was a way out of this that did not involve her getting any closer to that next-to toxic area, nor dragging her all the way back on the ground. But she found no solution no matter what.

She took a deep breath and with a charge of magic she lifted up the drunkard, placing it on her back with difficulties. Yet she knew there was no way to survive with a single breath until the boutique, and Rarity was soon forced to take a painful one. She began shredding tears from the curse on her back.

'What did I do to deserve this?' she cried in herself in agony. It seemed home was forever from that point, but after all struggling, there will be relief. She decided to think positively, that's it, only good things from now on. Oh, she couldn't wait for a good old bath and then going to sleep in her wonderful, comfortable, warm bed, maybe lighting some aromatic candles in the room too. It was so close. She already saw the boutique's door.

After what felt like forever, she reached home, opening the door she ran in like a freak, laying down the passed-out mare on the floor like a ragdoll.

"You found her!" Sweetie shouted. She was waiting for them downstairs, apparently, pretty anxious about the events.

"Yes I did." Rarity confirmed, sprinting up the stairs at the speed of light.

"Is she asleep?" Sweetie asked, taking a closer look at Agate.

Rarity immediately stopped and turned back her head "Yes, she is fine where she is, leave her there!" she shouted, continuing her way to the bathroom, and opening the water full on. Yet it still, it was not fast enough, she kept clopping her hooves on the ground in her impatience until the tub had enough water, no need to make it full, half as much was more then enough. She jumped in, took the soap and washed off all the germs, all the stink, all the dirt from herself. What a relieving sensation it was, words hardly could describe.

"Sis, why does Agate smell... weird?" the voice of the filly was heard from behind the door.

"Because she was stupid enough to get drunk dead." Rarity roared back as an answer.

"You mean she died?!" the filly screamed, with signs panic. Rarity should have seen this coming, her sister was bad when it came to these sort of idioms.

"No, dear, it's when you drink too much of what you're too young for and fall asleep, and Agate has a bad habit to drink like this." the other one replied, comforting her in a now much calmer tone.

"Is it like you eating ice cream when you're sad? Because she was crying a lot before going away." Sweetie asked once more.

This was completely new for Rarity. She became confused again, this put everything to a different perspective. If Agate was really crying there would have been a good reason for her to do so. Then suddenly, the words of Fleur echoed through her mind. It was a good possibility, but there was one way to make sure.

"Rarity?" asked Sweetie again, snapping the bathing unicorn from the mysterious state of her mind.

"Yes, it might be, dear." she replied. "Sweetie, have you seen her elsewhere today?" the seamstress asked. She needed every bit of information she could obtain.

"We seen her run by once when we went to the secret clubhouse at Applebloom's, but otherwise, no." the filly replied.

'Running by... why was she running?' Rarity thought. It just didn't add up. She emerged from the water, and with a charge of magic she brought over a towel to dry herself as soon as she could, she needed to check something fast. She threw the towel on the side of the tub she unplugged with a small mana burst, and trotted out, heading to her bedroom.

Her saddlebags were there, stuffed with things she could guess already, but needed to make sure they are what she thought they are. The clear white textile soiled by horrid brown dust in a few places still, but nothing she could not handle. The seamstress opened the treasure sack, and it was indeed full of treasures. Bells, studs, rims, glue, and other much needed materials, though only around half of the complete list they put together. Yet, the most essential things were there, and that was all that mattered to start off. Rarity started to understand the events now, yet there was one more thing left.

She walked downstairs, looking for her letter, but it was nowhere to be found near the door. Rarity took her way to the kitchen, instantly noticing the object in question on the table. It looked intact at first glance, but as the ivory mistress picked it up with the help of her magic she was quick to notice the top part flailing. The letter was already opened, so the only thing she had to do is to take out the paper.

As expected, the lower part of the paper was rugged, filled with spots of tears that left their mark behind. Rarity didn't even care to read the actual letter, for she knew the contents already, instead, she just put it away.

She was wrong in the end. From the corner of her eyes, a familiar object blinked at her, a small purple gemstone on a keyring, shattered and cracked. It was just terrible. She felt beyond awful. She thought she uncovered everything, but she failed to see the bigger picture by the end. She didn't even want to put her friend through the mill anymore, instead, she felt like jumping head on into it instead of her. She picked up the keyring as she made her way back to the hall, staring at the jewel for long seconds. The nice colors demolished by a devilish, black crack, the beautiful, perfectly smooth shape... ruined, something that could never be fixed. She glanced over to her passed-out friend, gazing at her for a second before she faded away her rims with a deep sigh.

"Oh Aggy, what should I do with you?"