//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Neon Begins // Story: Bounty Hunters // by Jasper77W //------------------------------// There was no place to go but to wonder the streets. Life now was to merely survive, and accept the odd kind coin a passer-by would toss. They had nothing to shield against the rain, but somehow Dainty always kept Mr Rabbit clean and dry. Getting their cutie marks was a long way away now, as they could barely keep themselves alive. All they saw was grey Manehatten, never getting a chance to see the colorful side ever again. Dainty was the only thing left that really mattered in Melony's life, and she did all she could to take care of her. She gave her little sister extra of what they found, and was willing to starve herself so her sister could feel better, no matter how small the difference. Tears often fell with the rain as their past memories came back to haunt them, but they always had each other. Always. That is, until two years later. They were so skinny their skeletons showed, and they had grown used to the hunger. They had very little food, from what they could salvage on the streets. They had listened to mother's words, and run from home- run away, run far. Home was miles away, on the other side of the huge city. And they were long out of it. That day, it rained. Not surprising to Melony. Dainty let out a small cough, and hugged Mr Rabbit even closer. By this time he had cuts all over him, and was losing stuffing; but Dainty did her best to keep him together. Melony still carried her shoulder bag. They were under a bridge, away from the freezing rainwater. Dainty coughed again, and snuggled up against Melony, who put an arm around her sister's cold shoulders. "I think I'm sick." Dainty said weakly, and Melony looked down. She placed a hoof on her forehead, and was surprised at how hot it was, despite the cold rainwater. Her heart panicked a little- they didn't have the medicine needed for Dainty to get better. The hospital wasn't too far away, and they got there in under an hour, with Dainty on Melony's back- but by the time they reached the huge glass double doors, the filly on Melony's back was already weak and tired, her fever burning up and taking her strength away. Melony put some shoulder into the glass door while trying not to disturb the sleeping Dainty. The door creaked open, and she managed to squeeze through. Rain water dripped down her sides and made dirty puddles on the clean white tiled floor. A nurse approached her, followed by a doctor. "Kid, why are you here?" the doctor asked coldly. "Get out." "Wha-? But my sister, she's sick! You need to help her!" Melony looked up in disbelief. "Yeah yeah, stop messing around. Pay or get out." the doctor pressed forward, forcing Melony to back against the glass doors again. She didn't understand- weren't doctors good? Weren't they supposed to heal ponies? And... Why is he acting so mean? "Doctor! Please!" she squealed, and she could feel Dainty writhe on her back. She didn't understand why the magic word wasn't working. "Just look her up! What's the big deal?" a blue pegasus filly with a rainbow colored mane said. Her wing was at an odd angle, obviously broken. "She obviously doesn't have any money- I've seen her on the streets multiple times already. I can't help patients that can't pay me! This is a hospital, not a charity." the doctor said without emotion. "Nurse, get miss Dash back to her room. "But this isn't fair! Can't you tell they haven't eaten in what? Days? Weeks? Even months?" the blue filly said angrily. "The world isn't fair. Never was, miss Dash. You get back to your room." the doctor said, watching the nurse drag a protestant Rainbow Dash away from the reception room. "Now you two- don't come back here until you got enough money, understand? Leave!" Melony quickly fled the hospital, tears stinging her eyes. She ran away from the hospital as far as she could. Out of breath and with her weak body aching all over, she slowed to a stop and set Dainty down. The rain hadn't stopped, and in this area there was no shelter. So the rain poured down on the sisters, and they couldn't do anything about it but cuddle close together. Melony pulled Dainty close to her heart, hoping she would miraculously heal- but she could feel her little body burning, her life being slowly eaten away. She cried, hugging Dainty tighter than ever. Her little sister, her only sister, and the last family she had, slowly slipping away in her arms. "Come on, Daint. Stay alive. Please, for me. Please stay alive..." Melony sobbed at her sister's weak breathing. If Dainty died, she didn't know where to go from there. There would be nothing, there would be no pony to cuddle with while alone on the streets. No pony that would understand her. No pony that would care, she realized; but that one rainbow maned pegasus; who obviously wasn't from here. "Sis..." Dainty whispered weakly, nudging Melony slowly. Melony's heart melted at the sight of her sister. "Sis... Take care of Mr Rabbit for me... Please?" This was it then. Melony couldn't hold back any longer. Tears had been leaking through, but now she released the valve and they were pouring down, still obvious despite the rain. "Don't say that, Dainty! Please, don't say that... You'll be here to look after him yourself, alright? Please...." Melony struggled to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. "Don't say that..." "I love you..." "I love you too! Oh Dainty..." Melony sobbed uncontrollably, and kept Dainty close to her body. She grabbed on desperately to her sister, clinging on with all her heart- but it didn't stop Dainty's life from slipping away. Dainty took in her last breath in Melony's arms, a calm expression on her face. "Stay strong..." she quoted father, Mr Rabbit slowly fell from her hooves, and she left. Melony looked in disbelief at the little figure in her arms. Her body still warm, but her life gone. Her only thing left, taken away from her. "I will..." she whispered, gently laying down her sister's body and sobbing quietly. What more could she lose? She slumped down onto the cold tiled walkway, letting the rain bombard her. She shielded Mr Rabbit from the cold, and kept her shoulder bag close. Her heart felt torn in two, one with all her hatred, anger and sin while the other was innocent and naïve. And she was split in the middle. Sorry, Dainty. Sorry, mom, dad. Sorry I couldn't do anything. * Present day, Cloudsdale. "I'm not drunk damnit!" Rainbow said, with an arm around Octavia's shoulder, who was assisting her in the simple maneuver of walking, which seemed quite hard for the blue pegasus right now. "Yeah, I can tell." Octavia said glumly, as Rainbow tripped over herself and fell face-first into the clouds. She may have 'accidentally' let go. "Ow." Rainbow's voice was muffled by the clouds. "Is she always like this?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah. Usually." Octavia said. "Lies!" Rainbow cried from the ground. "We better get you back to the hotel." Octavia scooped her up again. "Well, nice meeting you, Scootaloo." "Yeah, you too." Scootaloo smiled. "Bye~~" Rainbow waved her half-empty wine bottle about, the contents spilling out the side and sloshing around, her voice unstable and wobbly like her legs. By the time they were at their hotel room, Rainbow was so drunk that the first thing she did was run to the bathroom and vomit. Octavia found some fluffy pink earmuffs and put them on to block out the horrific spewing noises. "Feeling better?" she asked when Rainbow came back out, wiping her mouth with a tissue. "Better... Wait, nope." she said, and ran back into the toilet. Octavia put the earmuffs back on. After half an hour of spewing and gagging noises, Rainbow was finally able to stop. Limping her way out of the bathroom(which Octavia refused to clean up), she fell backwards and slammed onto the bed. "I like what you did with the place." she said, looking at all the wires and equipment. "I like what you did to the bathroom." Octavia said, scanning at all the indicator lights on the devices then peering through the open door. "Want some water?" "Yes please." Rainbow croaked, her mouth and throat dry. Octavia went into the kitchen, and re-emerged later with a crystal clear glass of water which Rainbow gulped down gratefully. "Thanks. You're a good friend." Rainbow swallowed, sighing as her headache started creeping back in. "Mmm. I know." Octavia took the glass and was about to head to the kitchen to wash it, when Rainbow stopped her with something she rarely would ever say. "No, I mean it. Octavia, you're a really, really good friend." Octavia paused, not sure how to handle the situation. They were friends, good ones too, and they knew. But they never said it out loud. "You are too." was what she went with, and she also meant it. * Many years ago, unknown location. Melony had her eyes half closed, only just peeking through her eye lashes. The ponies that brought her here promised her the opportunity to bring Dainty back to life- so what more could she ask for? She'll pay any price, absolutely any price to take that opportunity. The ponies called themselves the science faction, something she heard of but couldn't quite remember. But then, there was the price. She was willing to pay it, of course, but it wasn't an easy one. She had to work for them. It may sound simple, but they said they had to perform surgery on her before she could carry out those tasks. And so she let them. Now after a long sleep, she was waking up again. "Ah, implants were successful. She's still alive." a stallion said, a gas mask covering his face. "Ain't it just beautiful?" a pony said, also wearing a gas mask. A bright light shone on Melony's face, and she couldn't make out any details other than that. She could feel her skin throbbing, but somehow it also felt natural- more natural than before. She felt energy in her she didn't feel in years, like she just gained all the weight she lost in the last two years. And she could feel something odd about her front hooves... There were things attached to it, she couldn't tell what, but they were a part of her. "I think we'll nick name her.... Neon, for now." the stallion said. "A suitable name." the pony nodded. "But why did they choose her again?" the stallion asked. "Her family is dead, and she's willing to pay the price- simple as that- a killer with no past or identity, this'll keep us off radar for sure, until the big day." the pony said. "The big day..." the stallion murmured, a wicked smile in his voice. "Get her ready for the endurance test. This'll be a first, if she passes." the pony said, turning a valve. All of a sudden darkness started engulfing Melony's vision, and slowly she blacked out, the sedatives keeping her asleep. When she woke up again, she was lying in a contained room, her face pressed hard against the cold concrete floor. Everything was concrete, grey with white scratch marks on the walls that she couldn't explain. A window was on one side, a very large one stretching across the room. Judging by the frame, it was more than a few inches thick. There were ponies in lab coats jotting down notes on the opposite side as she got up. Her skin felt normal again. Melony rubbed her eyes, not knowing where she was. She was scared, and quivered with cold. And then she remembered her parents and her sister, all dead. That made her angry, angry at nothing more than herself. Suddenly pain burst into her head, and she screamed. She fell to her knees, slamming the floor again and again as the pain in her head was unbearable. She didn't know what she was doing. Tears streamed out of her eyes as the pain intensified. Something cold touched her back, but she knew no one else was in here with her. The cold began to stretch and close around her body, and she could hear quiet beeps behind her. It felt like a liquid slowly overcoming her, but bit by bit, not smooth. The skin that the odd cold covered felt natural, the same weird natural feel she felt the last time she awoke. And then it covered her body, spreading down her legs and coming up to her shoulders. She forced herself to pull a hoof away from her head to see what it was, and all she saw were black pixels appearing on her hoof and joining together, forming a smooth black skin. There was a whirring noise as the back of her hoof suddenly felt shaky, and a white circle appeared there- bright and beautiful. It glowed in the dimly lit room, but didn't cease Melony's pain. From the circle lines of neon lights spread down the length of her hoof and onto other parts of her body, but her headache was keeping her from looking anywhere. She was still screaming when the black stuff went up to her neck, then to her face, then to her mouth. Her scream split into several different vocals, then settled to a robotic tone. She fell still as the sudden pain ceased, and stood up slowly. She could feel that her face was covered, but she could still see. Everything felt right- natural, to be honest. Except for her heart- there was no love there, just emptiness. Right now she was concentrated on one goal- to revive her dead sister. How she was to do that she didn't know, but she did know she will find a way by helping the science faction- by helping them do whatever they wanted her to do. She realized there was no pony to care about what she did, and she was alone. All she needed to do was dispose of these ridiculous ponies afterwards, and then she could be with her sister again. But that was only a goal. She felt nothing towards it. No burning anticipation that her sister will be back, just knowing that she'll accomplish her objective. Her hooves felt funny, so she looked down to find claws there instead of hooves. Claws, long sharp and dangerous claws. The razor edges shone in the light, a ghostly glow cast across the blades by the neon lights covering her body. "Neon." a heavily synthesized voice boomed from a megaphone. Melony turned around- she recognized the name Neon. It was hers. "I have an order for you." the voice continued. "Tell me what to do." Neon said in her robotic voice. "Tear apart those items. Do not hesitate." Neon looked up, and saw some belongings that belonged to someone she knew- Melony, was it? A shoulder bag, a watch, a photograph, a teddy bear, and a rabbit soft toy. She started slowly walking towards it, cocking her head to one side to study the items. They meant nothing to her. Maybe to Melony, but not to Neon. She scraped her claws against each other, sharpening the edges, and tore the belongings into shreds. A moment later, the synthesized voice boomed again: "Congratulations, Neon- you have passed the test." Then Mr. Rabbit's head fell to the floor, followed by drifting stuffing. * Present day, Cloudsdale. Rainbow woke up to the sweet odor of hot chocolate, and the sun light shining in was a bright orange with streaks of red. Her sheets were scrambled all about, and her hair messy and all over the place. Slowly opening her eyes, she eyed the clock by her bedside table. Five in the morning- nice and early for a day of disaster. "Ah, you're awake." Octavia said, lowering the binoculars from her eyes from where she stood in front of the glass wall. "I made hot cocoa." "Mmmmmm...?" Rainbow was slightly confused, her mind not yet sharp. She felt oddly free, and then noticed the pain in her wing had faded. Happy that there was hot cocoa and a good wing, she grinned inwardly. On the outside, she said thank you to Octavia and took a sip. Octavia resumed her watch out over Cloudsdale, her own cup of hot chocolate steaming on a table nearby. "Why'd you wake up so early?" Rainbow rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her relatively blurry vision. "I heard sunset here in Cloudsdale is legendary." Octavia smiled. "And so it is." Rainbow smiled. She herself didn't know how many times she had set eyes on the scene, but no matter how many, she always knew it would be beautiful, and always loved it. "What a beautiful day..." she yawned loudly, stretching her limbs and wings. Her joints cracked satisfyingly, and felt nice and loose. She stood up, and felt a little guilty as she saw Octavia's neatly folded sheets. She was never one for making beds, but she reckoned it was about time she learned. She tried the best she could to fold hers, but they looked nothing liked Octavia's. Guess there is a difference between a high-end Canterlot pony and a slightly low-class Ponyville pony- but she really didn't give a crap. "Come on- let's head to the roof top. I assure you, the view is much better there." Rainbow said, her mane still messed up and still dressed in her white pajama shirt and light blue pants. For such an important date, she was dressed in quite a casual manner. They didn't take the elevator for whatever reason, and walked up the several flights of stairs. Maybe it was because of the anticipation, waiting for the best view to burst into their sight. There was a rusted metal door ahead, and Rainbow opened it only by the slightest. A strand of golden light leaked through, and Octavia couldn't possibly have been prepared for what came behind it as Rainbow pushed the door all the way open. At first, all she could see were streaks of gold and orange, but then as her eyes adjusted from the darkness of the stairwell, she gasped in wonder. Rainbow grinned, scanning the view herself for the thousandth time- and the first in years. Below was the City of the Pegasi, its white buildings rimmed with golden light, tinted a slight shade of orange. Over the edge, the bright tangerine sun shone over the scene, casting streams of light over the city. The normal clouds that floated around were tinted gold, each and every one decorated with a glimmering lining- gold beats silver, after all. The sky was light orange and pink, the usual blue nowhere to be found. The shadows of the handrails that stood on the edge of the roof stretched over the white clouds they stood on, giving the view an unexpected depth that Octavia simply gaped at. But it was more than the view- the sensation, the wind raking through her mane, the breeze on her face, and the fresh morning air. Everything was lovely. Seeing Octavia enjoying the view, Rainbow led her to the handrails, and leaned onto them. It was truly beautiful, and Octavia was mesmerized. Rainbow stretched her wings, allowing the wind to ruffle her feathers. How she missed that feel. Octavia took off her hat, and truly let her mane flow. It had a natural feel to it she never imagined before. This was true peace. They were both relatively disappointed when they had to return to the apartment- the royals arrive this afternoon, and they didn't have much time to make their final preparations. Magnum was in a different hotel, closer to the school so she could take out any suspects if necessary. Iris and Shining Armor are at the reception, both having princesses as wives, but also because their magical capabilities can help defend the royals. As for Rainbow and Octavia, they'll just seek and destroy. Rainbow slipped on her coat and her normal dark clothes, then carelessly and briefly ran a brush through her mane. Putting a hat on, she made sure all her weapons and equipment were with her. Conducting one final mic check, she nodded to Octavia, who returned it. It was time.