It was as if the world stopped.
Rarity.
Lying there, her white coat without a speck of dirt, like usual, her mane its usual brilliant colour. Her eyes closed, her face free of expression.
In a sleep she would never wake from.
A brilliant, creative mind, crushed by something as hidden, as subtle, as a failure of her hooves. Just once. She tripped, fell, broke her spine.
Gone. Her brain shorted out and she fell into an endless sleep. Unaware of everything. Never again to smile, laugh, frown, design or create. Never again to hold Twilight close after a bad day. Never again to defend Twilight from the cruel jibes of the ponies who came into the library and asked for research on fillyfoolers and stayed to read the book, asking Twilight for her opinion every few minutes.
Twilight sighed and looked out of the window. Everypony was going about their happy little lives, with colours and petty disputes that amounted to hugs all round and apologies. No pony seemed to know what they had lost.
"Miss Sparkle?"
It was a doctor. "Yes?" Twilight found that her voice was oddly calm. She had expected it to crack. She wanted to cry. But she couldn't. She had to hold it together, for Rarity.
"Miss, you were her only contact. Is there anyone else we should fetch?"
Twilight shook her head sadly. Rarity's family had cut off all ties with her when they found out that she was in a relationship with a mare. Their friends had been told that they could come, but they hadn't wanted to see Rarity like that.
But maybe... "Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres." She said. Applejack used to date Rarity, but they'd broken it off after a few months when they decided that it wasn't working in the way they wanted it to. But they were still great friends and Applejack had still been important to Rarity.
"Okay, miss. I'm just going to let you know that Miss Rarity has until sunset, but by then our power will drop too low for us to keep her on life support."
Twilight nodded, feeling a lump rise in her throat. She had known that was coming, but it didn't make her feel any more prepared for it.
The doctor left.
"Rarity." Twilight said softly. "Oh, Rarity. I know you can't hear me but I'm going to say this anyway. You'll never hear me again and you only have a couple of hours left. I don't think I'll quite know what to do without you. You've been a constant for three years. You've brought me so much happiness with your generosity to me. I didn't deserve so much from you, you're probably right to take it all away. But I love you. I love you and I always will."
Applejack came in not long after that, and they held Rarity's hooves and talked about her and everything they'd done with her.
Neither of them cried when she died.
Neither of them cried when her body was taken away.
Neither of them cried at the funeral.
But both of them, and their friends, cried when they closed the shop down for the final time.