//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 - The End? // Story: Life Between Death // by cierragp //------------------------------// The war nothing with Sombra’s army of robots disappearing as if they had never been there at all. There were none of the broken springs and screws Scootaloo would see often during the fights, or those that were stashed away in Rainbow’s drawers. It was quite gruesome, for Scootaloo, to come across those while rooting for any proof, any at all, that her sister or mother or whoever was not lying. She was not a child, and had stopped being one long ago. There was always a little ache, a slight, narrow wound that remained no matter what she told herself. It was there at both her worst and best. It was the part of her that longed for a childhood, and not only, a place for long forgotten memories, or even a glimpse of who might’ve loved her before. It still hurt more than any other part. Sometimes she would wonder. Sometimes she would croon in a soft voice. Are you my darling? It was a mother’s voice, a voice filled with the kind of ceaseless joy of a mother looking at the one she loved the most. A voice whispered next to a small cradle, with a patchwork blanket covered in silver stars. And then she would blink back the tears. She would pinch her sides until the kind of ache that would come back with ferocity ceased, when her tears did not mean more than the bruise on her ribs, the swelling mass of black and blue that had the nurses shaking their heads and giving her a pack of ice. She could take being burnt again. She could take the humiliation of having her hair sliced off. She could take anything, everything, but not overpower the pathetic part that longed to be a child again. You are being stupid. You are pathetic with your parts for wanting what everyone else has had. Stop it, sweetheart. You don’t need them. Did she care? She wasn’t surprised to find the answer was a sound yes. For all she knew, she wasn’t as strong as she’d like to be. ~~~ It was too good to be real. If only. Rainbow knew that no matter how much she cared for a certain green eyed baby blue stallion, it would be gone. It would be another memory in the distant past. Perhaps when she was old and greying, she could tell the children of how once she had loved a Wonderbolt and how he had loved her back. Or how it was there and gone in an instant. She decided that the final part she would leave out. Always. In some selfish corner of her mind, she wished that the threat wouldn’t be gone. Have a soldier or two placed here and there, and scare them into staying. At least keep a few troops. If only. She would be another forgotten memory, a distant haze of words, maybe a color or two, and she would be gone. She wouldn’t resign herself to be another forgotten name, another faceless figure who might’ve or might’ve not shared a few conversations, a few jokes, and a few nights. And then she realized she was stopping. She wasn’t walking. There was still a huge commotion and ponies in dense crowds. No one noticed. That is, until someone did. “Rainbow? ” She heard a voice too familiar to ignore. “Yaaaaaaa…” The cracks in her voice wobbled with a sarcastic note. “What is happening?” He asks, and she finds herself staring again, at his eyes, the circles under them, and the mess of a mane that looked as if he cared only enough to run a hoof through a few times. Even then, she couldn’t trick herself from thinking that he was handsome. And that he blocked the sun. “Step out, I need my sun. Thank you, monsieur de la mort…” She drawled out the last syllables and switched to the other side of him. “Hey, I have a lower kill count than you. Probably.” It was a well known fact that Rainbow was an effective fighter, and Soarin too. “But I’m still better at screwing.” It was another well known fact that Rainbow never screwed anyone randomly. And she hadn’t screwed anyone, not that anyone else knew of. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” Soarin said, before picking her up. “PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN PUT ME DOWN YOU OAF!” Rainbow kicked him once and promptly regretted it when she landed on the ground on yet another patch of gravel. “I did what you asked.” He wished he could smile and reassure her, but he bent down and offered a hoof anyways. She batted it away playfully. “Well you shouldn’t have picked me up in the first place. Harrumph.” Rainbow snorted. “I might not be the biggest pony around but I do know how to make the biggest bruises.” ~~~ It was still far from anywhere in Equestria that was habitable, Soarin decided. He should be thinking about making the transition from soldier back to performer again. He should be thinking about going back and forgetting everything. But how could he? Not when what he was thinking was not the transition, but a certain mare with snark and attitude and a very colorful mane. Probably more so than the type of words that would come flying out of Spitfire’s mouth if she knew what he was thinking. He lay down and tried to sleep. It didn’t happen. He never had an easy time falling asleep. Whether it was night or day, he could not seem to spare his minds painful thoughts. A lot of memories flooded back. He blinked several times to cast them out, to avoid the little confrontations his mind would always force on him, but nothing ever worked. You know, Soarin, you’re not even supposed to do that. Don’t make her regret it. Don’t make yourself regret it more. Are you stupid or what？ She’ll disappear and good luck finding her. Someday. Maybe when you’re old and graying. Do you honestly need to care that much? Yes. He would answer every time. That wasn’t a part of him that doubted any of his devotion, but there was plenty to spare for her. For all he knew, she would probably forget him after a while. And he didn’t want to drag her into the world of paparazzi and listen to their cruel comments. The only regret he had in nearly thirty years was becoming a Wonderbolt too early. He wasn’t more than a child when he joined, near youngest and an immediate sensation with the media. Things did not turn out well. They dug up tidbits, little pieces strung together, from the mouths of those who wished him ill. More than just wishing. They granted their own wishes. More than once. He turned over and stopped thinking. He tried focusing his mind on the way Rainbow smiled. The way she would never bow down to any other. The way she never stopped staying herself. He found that it was what he always loved about her.