//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: As the Music Fades // Story: Bounty Hunters // by Jasper77W //------------------------------// Many years ago, Canterlot hospital. Vinyl Scratch opened her eyes, the pain in her shoulder still present. "She's awake- nurse!" Octavia was sitting next to her, a worried expression on her face. "Ah. Vinyl, my dear- my, you were one of the lucky ones to survive that attack." the nurse said, opening a small canister labeled 'pain killers'. Vinyl turned away, closing her eyes again and frowning uncontrollably at the pain. She felt Octavia lay a gentle hoof on her good shoulder. "Thanks Octavia. You really stood with me till the end there." Vinyl said, not letting Octavia see her face as it might make her look insincere. The pain was really bad, with the treatment and all; and she really couldn't keep a straight face, let alone force a smile. "I did what I could. But it wasn't enough, was it?" Octavia said, her hoof retreating from Vinyl's good shoulder. "No. You did enough. I'm just glad you were there when I was bleeding the crap outta myself." Vinyl groaned as a sharp wave of pain spread down her arm. "Dear, take some of these pain killers. The first half an hour will be a little worse, but then you won't be able to feel a thing for the next few." the nurse said, handing Vinyl some pills that looked suspiciously like candy. She gulped them down without any water, grinding her teeth at the bitter taste. "What are you going to do?" Octavia asked Vinyl after a long period of silence, after the nurse went outside. "I'm leaving. Buck Equestria- this land is rotten. Never heard of any other countries having random gun ponies shooting the crap out of others." Vinyl growled, her anger rising with the pain. "Oh, come on, Vinyl... You can't leave!" Octavia was genuinely concerned now. The event may have traumatized her friend worse than it did to her- after all, Vinyl was the one who got shot and almost had her arm torn off as a result. "Octavia, I'm really going to miss this place. I know it. But I can't live here anymore without looking behind my back every second." Vinyl sighed. "But-" "Tell me- what are you going to do?" "I'm... I'm going to make things right. This type of thing should've never happened." Octavia said finally. "I'm not going to run away." "I'm not running away!" Vinyl raised her voice by the slightest. "You know, after much thinking- this world really isn't a perfect place. It never was, and we never realized it back then. The dark side was here all along, so why can't you accept it?" "I choose not to." Vinyl said. Octavia was silent for a few moments. "Fine. Leave. Enjoy your new life." Octavia stood up, wiping a tear from her face. "What about you? Are you just going to join the army, or something?" Vinyl didn't turn to face Octavia, but Octavia had her back to her anyway. "No. I'll go beyond that." Octavia said, pushing the door open. "Good luck." Vinyl said. "Save it for yourself, you'll need it." Octavia said to her old friend, and left- though she wasn't nearly as assertive and confident about the future as she made herself sound. * Present day, mining plant. Rainbow stared in shock as a darker patch spread over Octavia's chest. She turned her head to face the stallion holding her at gun point, staring down the barrel. Shock slowly turned into anger, and she kicked the gun aside, the fired bullet burying itself into the ground. She sprung up to her hooves and yanked the rifle away from the marine. Tripping him up, she slammed the wooden stock of the rifle down onto his head, cracking his skull and sending blood splattering across the floor. But she didn't stop there. She hit him again, despite him being dead. Again and again. Over and over. Until the stallion barely had a face left, the skull completely shattered and parts of his brain spilling out of his scalp. She looked up at the crimson red stallion that shot Octavia, her eyes wild and a small splatter of the stallion's blood sliding down her left cheek. The crimson red stallion seemed to have some sort of device attached to his neck- it was the stallion with the synthesized voice- the leader. He pointed the gun at her, and she flung the rifle at him. The two guns made contact, and the flying rifle knocked the pistol out of his hoof. Screw the cleaver, Rainbow thought; and darted forward before any of the guns even made contact with the ground. She swung a punch from the right into the stallion's side, making him double over. She grabbed hold of his mane, then yanked it so he fell onto the ground. She stomped on his knee, shattering the bone. She then lashed out with a kick into his throat, shattering the voice synthesizer and embedding the metal shards into his neck. He scrambled to his hooves, a shocked expression on his face. Rainbow ran behind him, grabbed his arm and thumped him onto the floor, his head cracking against the concrete. She continued twisting his arm, until the bone snapped and it flopped uselessly onto the ground. She grabbed the collar of his coat, and threw him across the room and into a wall. She stormed towards his fallen form on the other side of the room, continuing the rampage. Rainbow dug a hoof under his chin, and shoved him into the wall, his hooves leaving the ground. Cracks burst across the surface paint from the impact. She then propped him up against the cold metal, and landed a series of punches into his stomach; not even giving him a chance to breath. She then finished him off with a kick into his chest, her hoof puncturing his skin. She felt her hoof crunch against his ribcage and squash his vital organs. She backed away, letting his body fall to the floor, his eyes rolling back into his head. Rainbow was breathing hard, the cold night air displaying her breath in the form of steam as she huffed and puffed. She looked down at her clothes. They were soaked in blood, and so were her hooves. She wiped the blood from her face with a dirty sleeve, leaving a dark red smudge there. Her anger immediately dispersed as she remembered why she was angry. She quickly ran to Octavia's side, kneeling down. Rainbow was panicking, watching the dark patch of blood spread over Octavia's clothes. "Octavia..." Rainbow said, feeling a swell of emotions inside her, also pushing tears into her eyes. "Oh, hey Rainbow..." Octavia said weakly. Her hat had fallen off, lying on its side next to her. Her mane still had its flowing texture, spread across the floor. Her arms lay by her side, and her face was a pale shade of gray. Rainbow sniffed. "Come on... You can't die here. You still have so much to do! We still have so much to do..." Octavia knew what Rainbow meant. Becoming bounty hunters, they also became friends. But they never got the chance to do anything, have any fun, that normal friends would have. Circle the 'normal', it's important. "I'm so sorry..." Octavia said, her voice weak. "I'm such a terrible friend to have..." "Oh, come on. You're not. You're the best I've ever had." Rainbow said, forcing a smile onto her face, the tears contradicting her attempted expression. "I'm really sorry I had to put you through this, then..." Octavia said, remembering Vinyl, bleeding in her arms. The hopeless feeling was the worst feeling she could've felt, worse than dying here herself. "I know what it's like. I became a bounty hunter so nopony else would have to go through it..." Octavia chuckled, smiling. "Although, it would seem I only caused more of it." "It's Ok." Rainbow said. "I know you've been worrying about others this whole time. But please, Octavia- for once, worry about yourself." she moved a strand of hair from her face. "What more is there to worry about- after this, I'll just fade out... No more to worry about. That peace sounds really tempting right now." Octavia still kept her smile up. Rainbow was sobbing uncontrollably now. Her friend for so many years, been through so many life and death situations- dying on the floor in front of her. "I'm sorry- we didn't really have any time together. We were just pursuing our goals, losing sight of what it really meant to enjoy life. I'm sorry." Rainbow said, looking down. "Come on... It wasn't all bad." Octavia said, her voice fading some-what quickly. "Remember when we blew up the oven?" Rainbow nodded. "Who's idea was it again? C4 muffins?" Octavia asked rhetorically. "Me." Rainbow smiled at the memory(see? the 'normal' IS important). They had returned to the apartment that night to find a missing kitchen, and multiple complaints from angry neighbors. That's why that street became so quiet- everypony else moved out. "And the time you tried to dive straight into the water from the sky..." "...And ended up with a five-hundred meter belly-flop. Yes." Rainbow chuckled, although it only made her sadder as she watched Octavia. "Oh yeah... And when I got drunk..." Octavia said, although her voice was just above a whisper. "...Yeah... Did anyone ever try to ask you out again after that? I doubt they'd risk a few pulverized bones..." Rainbow said, the smile on her face genuine. And so were the tears. "See... It wasn't all bad." Octavia said. Rainbow didn't reply. She just gave Octavia something she as a friend had never yet given her- she moved up to Octavia and gave her a big hug. She avoiding Octavia's bullet wound, squeezing her shoulders tight. This time she felt Octavia's tears dampen her collar. "Rainbow... Please... Leave this- whatever the buck this is we're doing- when this is all over. We can't change anything- Equestria was like this the whole time. We just didn't notice. And if it faired fine all those years before we came, then it still can. Rainbow- live your life like you wanted to. Not like this. Please... Not like this." Octavia said, her voice slightly muffled as she buried her face in the blue pegasus's shoulder. "I will. Once this is over- I will. I promise." Rainbow said. "I'm so sorry you couldn't do the same." she hugged Octavia tighter than ever. "And I'm sorry you couldn't get the peace I will be getting." Octavia chuckled weakly, followed by a sob that she swallowed. Rainbow finally let go, resting Octavia's head onto her leg; looking at her friend's face alive for the last few moments. She remembered when they blew up the oven. She remembered when she belly-flopped at near sonic speed into the water(and almost made the headlines via attempted suicide). She remembered Octavia beating up the stallion. All the memories- they were a weird pair of friends, true, but that didn't make the friendship any less real, any less strong. And now they were forced to break that bond. More importantly, she remembered when they were watching the sunrise in Cloudsdale. At that point, they finally both admitted the friendship that they put aside for so many years. "Rest, my friend." Rainbow stopped a tear from hitting Octavia. Octavia gave one last slow wink, then closed her eyes, a tear of mixed feelings leaking through her eyelids and a peaceful smile on her face. Rainbow realized- she did envy her peace. She held Octavia's hoof in hers, feeling her pulse, waiting as it slowed down; then finally stop. Now that Octavia left, Rainbow didn't feel the need to hold back any longer. She let the tears pour down her face, stream out of her eyes as she shook uncontrollably with each sob. Everything felt cold, despite her thick coat. Octavia had designed it. She pounded the floor again and again, eventually weakening into small taps on the concrete as she knelt beside her dead friend. She looked up from the ground, her vision blurry from crying. Octavia had that peaceful smile all the way till she died. "I'm glad you're happy." Rainbow fell back onto her flank, curling up. "I'm glad I didn't waste your life completely..." she whispered. She sobbed there for a few minutes, waiting for herself to regain control of her body as she hugged her knees. But every time she thought about Octavia, she couldn't help but have more tears come out. She tried to fight the surge of sadness, but failed. When she finally was able to stop, her eyes already hurt from crying so much and her face stung as the cold air brushed against her wet cheeks. And still she knew, she hadn't run out just yet. "I promise I'll leave after this mess." She whispered. Standing up, wiping one last tear from her face and forcing herself to look away from her fallen friend; she slowly walked to her cleaver and picked it up from the ground. It felt oddly heavy right now, but then so did her heart. Heck, make that everything. She looked down at its broad blade, the red crystal glimmering. It still glowed brightly- therefore so did her loyalty. As she watched the gem of the element of loyalty glimmer in its socket, she heard a loud crash somewhere outside the building. Suddenly a small crack appeared in the wall, moonlight leaking in. There was another metallic clang and the crack was torn some more. Rainbow briefly spotted a black claw as it tore through the metal wall. Whatever was outside kicked the wall, leaving a heavy dent. It lashed out again, growling and hissing this time, in a robotic manner. Then there were a series of attacks, the wall buckling and crumbling. Then with a final screeching noise, a black claw tore the metal apart. A tall dark silhouette of a pony stood in the moonlight outside, specific features shielded by shadows. It stood on its hind legs, its arms dangling by its side, long claws reaching the floor. Glowing lines of multiple colors ran here and there on its body, casting a ghostly glow onto the floor around it. Its mane looked like it hadn't been brushed in a few years, and had been blown all over the place by the wind. It dangled around its face, which had two glowing blue lines leading from the cheeks to where the eyes should be. And then it seemed to awaken. At first the eyes were just glowing slits on its face, but then widened into the largest eyes Rainbow had ever seen. They glowed white, without any specific features- just white. A blood-thirsty smile spread across its face as it spotted Rainbow, also glowing white. They stared at each other. Rainbow coldly and without fear- and the other, some-what hard to tell but undoubtedly psychotic. Rainbow remembered Octavia's words- quit once you finish this mess. And that was exactly what she was going to do- take down this abomination of the science faction, and retire. Neon spread out her claws for Rainbow to see, the sharp blades catching the moonlight outside. She moved her arms to the side, a gesture of challenge. She grinned even wider at the thought of combat, and the fun she would have against that huge cleaver. The red crystal also looked pretty yummy- she'll study that later on, after she tears the blue pegasus in the coat and hat into bloody ribbons. She dropped her arms down beside her, letting her claws scrape against the floor as she walked towards the pegasus. Rainbow's expression hardened, her purple eyes narrowing in determination. She also let her cleaver drag on the ground as she marched towards Neon, sending a myriad of sparks jumping and scattering over the floor. The sparks lit up a small area on the concrete, and cast a reflection in Rainbow's eyes that burned like her fury. The red crystal grew brighter as the two neared each other, both wanting to end this in their own ways. Neon lifted her right claw from the ground, and darted forward at an amazing speed, the blades ready to tear through Rainbow. Rainbow lifted her cleaver, raising it to her side and ready to swing it around at Neon. They ran at each other at top speed, leaving nothing but disrupted air and dust in their wake. Time to end this.