The night was still dominant on this day of the first of November. Halloween had just passed, the children had finished their candy harvest through the now calm and gentle city. Everyone was sleeping soundly, despite the few nightmares that some of the stories or adventures of the day before created in the minds of many ponies.
At the Pony Academia, everyone was resting after the afternoon scare. Soarin and Thunderlane had spent the day playing horror games in their rooms, their night had started with a few clutter, but sleep finally caught up with them and they fell as peacefully as the rest of the internees. Trixie had been practicing spells from his book all day. All she wanted to do with the party was to think of only one thing, to become the next greatest witch of all time.
The rest of the students in attendance had also celebrated Halloween in their own way, the costume parties were a big hit in the bars and nightclubs around. Now that the party was over, life would get back to normal, and it started at 5am for a pegasus that had scared everyone a little while ago.
While everyone was buried in a deep sleep, Light was dressed, as usual, in black pants with the effigy of Olympia and a grey hoodie that he loved. He took the keys and left his room quietly, leaving his black-coated friend in his visibly pleasant dreams, a smile on his face and his pillow huddled between his muscular arms. He closed the door and walked to the stairs, almost on tiptoe, as usual, not bothering anyone.
"What are you doing ?" Said a soft, weak voice coming from behind Light.
He turned around and saw Rainbow Dash against the wall of his room with the door ajar, scratching an eye with his hand. She had just woken up just now and still seemed half dreamy. Light said to her in a low voice.
"Dashie, are you awake ? Sorry it's my fault, go back to bed." he said as he made his way back up the stairs and let Rainbow go back to his room.
"I said, what are you doing ?" She says again, thinking Light will stop to answer him.
"Morning routine." he said, not even turning around and continuing on his way, not wanting to spend more time here and risk waking up more people.
Rainbow gave up and simply went back to her room. Light walked down the stairs hoping she would go back to bed soon, feeling sorry for waking her while he was still being careful not to make himself heard. Once he reached the ground floor, he went to the front desk, because right next door there was a small shed where the students parked their cars when they arrived at the school. Light had his own place with his mountain bike which he always used only for this fast and invigorating journey.
He removed the theft protection and went to open the gate. Light didn't have the key to open it automatically, which only the headmistress had, but that was no problem for him. Ever since he took that morning stroll, he had been used to opening it with his own hands, slipping his fingers into the usual slot to lift it without the slightest difficulty.
With the gate now up, he returned to his bike. Only, there was already someone on the saddle when he looked in his direction. A cyan pegasus with a brown cap and a coat sitting on the saddle of his bike, looking inexpressively and with his arms folded, waiting for a reaction from him.
"...I..."
"Since you won't tell me where you're going, I'll have to come with you." she said, cutting him off.
"I'm going to see my grandmother, okay ?" He answers, annoyed that Rainbow doesn't want to just let it go.
"At 5:00 a.m. in the morning ?"
"Yes at 5:00 a.m., that's my morning routine, you understand ?" He explained.
"Okay, I'm coming with you." she said directly, not even thinking about her words.
"As you wish." he said, giving up all hope of escaping this unexpected encounter.
Light took his bike and rode out of the shed, Rainbow following him. Light's bike was equipped with rods on the rear wheel that allowed Rainbow to place her feet on it, forcing her to lean on Light's shoulders as he began to ride.
The rivals were now companions for a ride, which was still fresh and lit by the moon. While Light didn't care for Rainbow at first, he was forced to notice her presence when she collapsed tirelessly on his back in an involuntary embrace. Light quickly stopped and offered Rainbow a ride home, to which she responded with a slight growl. After several seconds, she pulled herself back into place and they went on their way.
The ride was silent, as Light used to be, unlike Rainbow, who questioned her decision to accompany her through the dark and icy night. She asked if it was worth freezing to death just to spend a little more time with him and meet a family member. Her questioning and early answers were stopped when Light stopped on the sidewalk near a road sign.
"I'll be right back, stay there and watch my bike." he said without having to hang his bike on the sign for once.
"Wait, the bakery ?" She asked as Light went to open a glass door behind which was the comforting warmth of the bread coming out of the oven.
"Yeah, I always get a baguette and the daily paper for my grandmother." he nodded before cutting the conversation short and entering the bakery.
Rainbow was sitting on the saddle waiting for him, looking out the glass door at him and chatting with the baker, no doubt they knew each other well. After buying the baguette, the baker also gave her the newspaper, he must be used to Light's visits and the routine did them both good. Light came out of the bakery with a warm smile on his face, which also warmed the heart of his comrade cyan, but this he didn't know.
"Okay, we can go." he said, returning to his seat in the saddle, keeping the newspaper and baguette under his elbow.
"To your grandmother's this time ?" Asked for the cyan pegasus, only wanting to get into a warm place to keep his mane from freezing.
"Yes, let's go." he replied.
As he continued on his way, Light began to think that it wasn't so bad after all that Rainbow was meeting someone she cared about, it showed he was getting closer and closer to her. The next step was clear for him, the declaration of his feelings towards his rival whom he loved to face in all circumstances. Doubts that it might be too soon had been dispelled, he knew he could do it, just stay and choose the right moment...
-------------------------------------------------------
After a few minutes drive, they finally arrived at their destination, a small marble house with a purple roof and flowering bushes adorning the gravel path leading to the main gate. This old lady was very busy with her building, probably because she was rarely busy and must have had a lot of free time, Rainbow said to herself.
Light placed her bike lock and hung her bike from the white, perfectly painted gate. They crossed the path and stopped in front of the door, Light took some keys out of his pocket and inserted them into the oak door lock. He opened the door.
"Mrs. Menez, I'm here and I have a guest." he said as he entered.
There was no answer, the house remained as silent as death. Without waiting, Light asked again.
"Mrs. Menez? Hmmm... maybe she's still asleep, come on." he said, waving to invite Rainbow in.
Light took the first steps and went into what appeared to be the living room. Then it wasn't until Rainbow heard his last step that she realized something was wrong. The sound of her sole treading on the floor was dry and firm, Light had stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes became dull, her pupils racing inside. He had even dropped the bread and newspaper below his elbow, which alerted Rainbow. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she decided to find out for herself by standing just to his left. Once she reached the position, she could see with her own eyes what was making Light feel this way.
In front of them stood an unbelievable scene, someone was lying on the floor, with a hole in his sweater, in a pool of blood in a dark red and still flowing from his inert body. Neither Light nor Rainbow said anything, they both knew very well who it was, not even a shout or a sudden gesture was heard. As Rainbow wondered why such a horror would have been committed, she preferred to look at the face of the Pegasus who kept her eyes on this heartbreaking spectacle.
Light's face seemed empty, devoid of life, but it only took a few seconds for it to change. Light's breathing became faster and faster, his chest contracting with each breath of air he took. His mouth was making an incredibly stressful noise, the air rushing in and out of his lungs began to make him unstable. He continued his realization through his eyes, which were becoming more reddish, veins appearing inside the white. His teeth began to collide firmly, they clenched them so tightly against herself that he could have crushed even steel with his canines. He was going mad, there was no other expression to explain what he was becoming, except an emotionless beast, ready to tear the perpetrator to pieces. It was with a firm clenching of his fists that the first word was uttered.
"YOOUUUUUU !!!!" He shouted into the room, both in anger and despair.
He then looked at the cupboard that was laid out there, and kicked one of its two doors, breaking its camouflage. Without waiting any longer, the cupboard opened wide and an individual came out, wearing a hood and carrying a bloody butcher's knife.
"How did you find me ?" Asked the man, not being a good time for questions.
"IT WAS MY ONLY FAMILY !!!"
Without Rainbow even wondering how he knew someone was hiding here, Light screamed again throughout the building, shaking the walls. He rushed at the murderer like a rabid beast, trying to crush him under his brutal, heavy fists, not caring what weapon his opponent carried. Light had nothing left of the friendly and kind pegasus she knew, he was a monster, gnawed by hate and bitterness.
Despite Light's ferocity, the assassin was able to dodge his thoughtless blows and keep him at bay by waving his weapon. In this position, Rainbow did not know what to do, she was still in uncontrollable shock from seeing a dead body for the first time, and the sight of the knife and the assassin's abilities terrified her. She was beginning to become as crazy as Light, her breathing quickening and her movements becoming hazardous.
Thus, she did not notice in her madness, that the assassin, seeing in her a prey, had decided to target her. He ran in her direction, the knife pointed forward, like a rider with his spear. She didn't even have time to think of a solution, no way out was open to her, except to be skewered against the lily flower wall. She closed her eyes so that she would not have a first-rate view of the massacre.
What happened next was unclear to Rainbow, who hated not being able to help her friends, she was powerless and unable to do anything rational. Then she felt a pressure on her right shoulder, but nothing sharp, it was more like... a push. What had hit her was violent, her body ending up on the ground, before she heard another disturbing noise. The sound was traumatic, it was the knife, it was stuck, the question was, in what?
Hoping that it was stuck in the wall, Rainbow opened her eyes with fear before seeing the truth of the events. The knife was stuck, but the sound didn't match the wall, no... more like something... alive.
Her head was against the floor, her eyes too, she could only see the murderer's feet, and in front of them... two other feet, against the wall. In addition to the lower legs that she could see in that position, there was something else that caught her attention, something passing along the black trousers that belonged to her friend. A light, brightly colored aroma permeated the garment, descending onto the white sneakers that the Pegasus used to wear until it reached the ground.
But before thinking of what this substance must have been, another liquid came down, this one was only a drop, quickly passing through the field of vision of the pegasus still lying on the ground. The impact with the ground was quick, and Rainbow finally decided to raise her head. As she moved her head, she moved the colored thread up like a river, which flowed over the left leg and arm of the pegasus, which was now surprisingly calm.
The magenta eyes finally landed on the lake that fed the river, where the knife was also located, placed in the middle, like a huge tree dominating the expanse of the living liquid. Rainbow came to her senses, and with them, the fear and anguish had returned, realizing what she now saw...
Light had his back to the wall, his left shoulder stuck by a knife already dripping with the blood of his host, which was passing all over his body from the outside. Rainbow's eyes widened at the sight of the horrible scene, Light was helpless in his turn, the murderer keeping the pressure firmly on his next victim.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm going to have to kill you." he said, addressing the weak pegasus already partly impaled on his blade.
In a flash, Rainbow found the strength in his heart and soul to fight, and to rise again. Despite her still growing fear, she buried it deep inside herself, before leaning against the table next to help her regain her balance. When she looked up at the table, a white vase with a blue flower design was placed on the table, and she could take it. Without waiting, and above all without hesitation, she made a rapid acceleration on the two men, the vase firmly in her two hands.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!" she shouted, even angrier than Light was earlier.
The murderer only had time to turn his head upside down before the vase was smashed against his face, which shattered and stuck pieces of glass into his skin. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, Rainbow didn't care any more, knowing where the emergency was.
"LIIIIIGHT !!!" she shouted as she dropped the rest of the broken vase and turned on the impaled one.
Immediately, Light took the blade stuck deep into her shoulder. He took it out with a sharp blow, letting an emphatic cry of pain come out of her mouth. He immediately let go of the blade and fell against the wall, finding himself in the beginning of a new pool of blood that had recently formed. Rainbow stooped down to see what she could do, not accepting to see her friend at the chasm of death. Light blocked her deep wound with his right hand, before screaming.
"RAINBOW, WE NEED SOMETHING TO STOP THE BLEEDING !!" He cried out in pegasus in front of him as he began to cry out in great pain.
Rainbow reacted quickly, and quickly found a dress on the living room couch that would do the trick. She hurried to wrap it around him and tighten it tightly. Light put her hand back on the emergency solution while tears were still streaming down her cheeks.
"I'M CALLING THE EMERGENCIES !" she said as she took her phone out of her pocket.
Her hands were still shaking from the disastrous situation they were in, she had to go through it three times to type the right number. She soon found someone to talk to.
"HELLO, EMERGENCIES ? MY FRIEND AT..."
She was far too emotionally overwhelmed, not being able to keep calm during the call. She still managed to give the situation and the address. Once the call was over, she noticed that Light had finished moaning in pain, and wore a smile on her face, her eyes still drowning in tears. Seeing this face, both beautiful and tragic, Rainbow began to control her breathing and slowly regained her composure.
"Why... why did you do this ?" she asked tearfully, her eyes touching hers.
"He took my grandmother from me... but he won't take... you." he said in reply, a smile satisfied with his sacrifice.
Tears kept flowing out of the magenta eyes of the tormented Pegasus, she was beginning to lose control again. Her tears were getting bigger and bigger and soon there would be as much water as blood around them. Light took her right hand out of the bandage to put her finger under Rainbow's chin, putting her head back in place, wanting to see her face one last time.
"I'm glad you're okay, too bad for me." he said, closing his eyes but keeping his smile on as blood began to run down his mouth in a straight line.
"FUCKING LIGHT YOUR MOUTH !!! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE !!!" She shouted after what he'd just said, placing her hands against the wall, around her head.
All she wanted at that moment was to hold him, to hug him with all her strength so he wouldn't leave her. The state of the Pegasus discouraged her from doing so to her great regret. She looked at Light's face, he did not let go a tear, his eyes were closed, he even stopped moving. The absence of answer quickly made her panic again, her incessant sobs resumed then.
"Light... LIGHT ! LIGHT ANSWER ME, I BEG YOU !!! I LOVE YOU LIGHT, I LOVE YOU LIGHT, STAY WITH ME !!!" She cried out for a long time.
In spite of all his calls, Light gave no answer, the blood was still flowing through the thin dress that served as a bandage. Rainbow stopped asking for answers, judged useless after the twentieth time. She sat down to his right, gently taking his head and placing it against her chest. She caressed it gently, as blood and tears were spilling more and more on the ground, waiting for help to arrive...
I knew you loved me Dashie, Drew had told me how obsessed you were with whether I was interested in Scarlette's request. I've always felt that way, but you were different... from the first time we met, I knew you had something others couldn't even pretend to give me. You became my rival, my lifelong opponent, spent our time bickering over which one of us was better. Then that day, the day I knew I loved you, that was the happiest day of my life. I finally felt what all the girls felt about me, a feeling so pure and deep that I felt guilty for saying no to so many of them. And in the end, I wanted you Dashie, but most of all I wanted to see you alive, carrying my feelings to my grave, so that I wouldn't hurt you any more and so that you wouldn't have to break down and imagine our life together. Dashie... thank you, Light thought before she died, one last tear falling on her now warm cheek from the comfort she had brought him...
--------------------------------------------------------
I'm still not up ? How come ? Mind you, this is the first time I've died so I don't know how it's going... I hope I go to heaven, I've been good all my life after all.
In fact, if I've broken the hearts of about 50 girls, doesn't that make me a monster ? Maybe I only deserve hell...
NO... I have a good heart, I still died sacrificing myself to let Dashie live, so I'm definitely going to heaven. Besides, do we remember our life on earth and forget everything? Now is not the time to ask yourself these questions, we'll see.
My finger, I feel my finger moving, yes it's me who's moving it. So I still have a body even when I'm dead, that's cool. If I can move my finger, maybe I can...
Slowly, Light opened his eyes, the light in front of him was dazzling him so he only opened them halfway. What was his surprise to see that the light was not the light of blessed heaven nor the light of hellfire... ...but that of a lamp hanging from the ceiling.
Averting his astonished eyes, he began to think.
Am I alive ? Are you serious ? How is it possible...
He didn't have time to answer his questions by himself since someone was coming into the room. Moving his eyes to the door, a green unicorn in a white coat entered. She was wearing a "Dr. MiracleHeart" badge.
"Ah, you are awake, our Lord be praised." she said as she watched Light's pupils open for the first time.
Checking the sides from where he was standing, Light realized he was in a hospital room, as comfortably settled on a bed as possible.
"It's a real miracle that you're alive, you know, you should thank your guardian angel." she said, pointing to her necklace that had a Christian cross on the end.
Light was still very weak, her arm was surrounded by a plaster cast and a hose also connected it to what appeared to be a blood bag.
"Uh... yeah, I guess."
"You've lost a lot of blood, without a generous donor, we couldn't have saved you." she said with a thin smile.
"A... donor ?" asked Light, shocked that someone gave her blood.
"Or should I say her." she said, followed by a light laugh.
As Light asked herself too many questions, the doctor answered several of them all at once. Just going to her right, a curtain hid another bed on which the generous donor was lying. MiracleHeart drew the curtain and Light discovered her savior in amazement.
"Say thank you to your guardian angel Light." she said as she turned to him again as Light looked at the person he found in the bed next door.
A cyan coat with a brilliant glow, a rainbow hair that makes you smile and invigorates you. And a face... a face that looked in my direction with its gorgeous magenta pupils, and lips that smiled.
"Dashie... it's..."
"You were lucky, you're both the same blood type, so we were able to get the transfusion done quickly." she always said with the same smile, happy her work was going this way.
"So Light..." she asked with a wink of her eye. "...says thank you to your guardian angel."
She strutted hard, I could almost have reminded her that I was the one who heroically put myself in the path of the knife. But what the hell do I care now, Dashie saved me, and on top of that she told me she loved me. Well, I was really in heaven.
Light couldn't control himself, Rainbow had given of herself to save him, it was the last straw. He began to cry warm tears that ran down his cheeks and landed on his pillow, he had to express his distress.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH ! DASHIE, IF MY ARM WILL NOT BE HANGED TO THE BED, I SURE I WILL JUMP OVER TO MAKE YOU LOVE YOU DASHIE." he shouted so loudly that the whole hospital must have heard, which made the principal concerned blush.
"Mr. Light, you mustn't say such things, stay calm !" Said the doctor as he tried to calm his patient, having obviously never had to deal with such cases before.
"Light, I like it better when you're competitive and manly, not whiny and fragile." she said with a smile on her face, unable to help but find it beautiful even in this state.
"MANHOOD IS ABOUT EXPRESSING EMOTION, SO CRYING IS MANLY, OKAY ?" Does he shout in defense, flooding his pillow with the warmth and moisture of his countless hot tears.
"Well, now we're even." she said, closing her eyes, preparing to rest as her blood loss had exhausted her.
"AAAAAHHHHH, I LOVE YOU DASHIE !" he shouted in a last groan of emotion before calming himself after the shot given him by Dr. MiracleHeart.
"I love you too, Light."