//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Burning Skies // Story: Bounty Hunters // by Jasper77W //------------------------------// Rainbow stood there, staring at Neon in pure shock at what just happened. Neon's face was still grinning, and the armor had stopped retreating. The thing standing in front of Rainbow was half monster and half pony, the pony side with a pained expression on her face but none the less strong. Neon wriggled her claws, but then noticed something different. They didn't seem to be in Rainbow. They seemed to be in her. The grin instantly vanished from her face as she looked down at her own claw, ripped through Melony's ribcage and crushing the organs inside. Melony had used the last of her will to kill herself- and therefore, Neon. Melony's one eye looked to her left, at the cleaver, its red crystal glowing brightly. Her lips twitched, mouthing the words: do it. Rainbow wiped the blood from her face, and watched herself slowly limp towards the cleaver. She didn't even know what she was doing, nor what just happened. She didn't know that her rainbow mane had awoken the memory of her trying to stand up for Dainty inside Neon, triggering the awakening of Melony. When Dainty died, Melony's personality had already split herself into two different ponies- the one with all the anger and hatred, and the one with the peace and her normal self. The science faction merely emphasized her darker side, creating an entirely different pony- no, monster- Neon. Rainbow slowly picked up the cleaver, but quite fast compared to what little strength she had left in her body. She walked towards Melony, step by step. Melony smiled encouragingly, the Neon side frozen in place as she fought against it. "I... Have a little sister... In that building..." Melony said, using her hoof to point at a small metal structure with a sealed door on it, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. Neon's claw was still inside her chest. "Look... After her?" Then Rainbow remembered too. The hospital. One of the reasons that caused her to start the bounty hunters. Exactly why, other than boredom, she hated that one place so much. She remembered Melony, and Dainty; she just didn't recognize her. Because the filly she met at the hospital was a caring big sister, pleading for help. Not a killing monster. Every step she took towards Melony made her resent the Science faction even more. They turned something beautiful into something uglier than she'd ever seen during her life in the underworld. A pony robbed of self. But then again, maybe she was one too. 'Leave this- whatever the buck this is', Octavia had said. Did she see it? Was she trying to give back to Rainbow the part of her she chose to abandon? The Melony of Neon? "I will." Rainbow said, her face devoid of emotion, contradicting her thoughts and her pounding heart. Melony smiled. "Good. And do tell her... That I loved her. And remember all the good memories." "I will." Rainbow repeated, her eyes watering slightly. "Don't... Let her see me." Melony continued. "Sorry... But this is quite a lot to ask... Of a stranger... But please... Don't let her see me... Not like this." she gestured at her other half, Neon; still straining against her command. "What was your name again?" Rainbow asked. "Melony." "Don't worry." Rainbow kneeled down, laying a hoof on Melony's shoulder. "I'll take care of your sister. You've been a brave pony." she smiled reassuringly. Melony chuckled weakly. "Just make it quick." "Bite on my arm, if you want." Rainbow said, a tear rolling down her cheek and mixing with Melony's blood. "I'm sure it'll help." "Thanks." Melony said, gently clamping her jaw over Rainbow's arm. Rainbow hugged her close. "I'll look after your sister." she repeated. "And I'll let her know her sister was one of the bravest ponies I ever met." Melony nodded. "I'm sorry..." Rainbow whispered. "That I have to do this." she thrust the cleaver into Melony's chest, the blade tearing through her heart. She felt her teeth sink into her arm, but she didn't care. It was the least she could do for her now. A tear leaked from between Melony's eyelids, sliding onto Rainbow's sleeve. It was purely from the pain, Rainbow could tell, and it made her own heart ache. The red crystal grew brighter and brighter as it encountered Neon, fighting the evil in her heart. Then everything around them glowed white. Melony still had her jaw clamped tightly onto Rainbow's arm, and Rainbow was grinding her own teeth together. The white glow grew, red ribbons of light emitting from the Element of Loyalty and sinking into the black armor covering Melony's left half. The armor shattered into hundreds of white pixels, and drifted away with the breeze. The white glow faded, and the red crystal went back to its normal pulsing. Melony's grip loosened, and Rainbow dropped the cleaver so she could catch her. Her teeth had torn through Rainbow's coat and drawn blood from her arm, but what did it matter? The cleaver clattered noisily to the ground, and Rainbow gently laid Melony down. Unlike Octavia, Melony didn't have a smile on her face. But the expression was still at peace, like she was simply asleep. Folding and pocketing the cleaver, Rainbow had already forgotten about her own injuries. She tried to carry Melony's body away, but only collapsed on the floor as her ribs let out a wave of pain. And then the two royal marines were there, helping her up. They asked her questions, but she didn't pay any attention. She simply told them to take the body out of sight, then stumbled over to the metal structure, pushing the door open. Inside was a lab, filled with equipment she'd never before seen in her life; but it was furnished as well. There was a sofa, TV, table, bed- and on the bed, was that little filly. Rainbow remembered seeing her at the hospital, clutching her soft toy and lying weakly on Melony's back. Wondering why she didn't grow an inch, Rainbow quickly brushed off the blood on her face. "Hey, kid..." she said weakly, leaning against the side of the bed. Dainty flinched, retreating against the wall. "Who- who are you? Where is my sister? Where is Melony?" Rainbow froze on the spot. She didn't know how to tell the little filly. "What's your name?" she asked instead, trying to sound gentle but her pain forcing her to sound slightly threatening. "D-Dainty... A-And I want my sister!" Dainty cried, hugging Mr Rabbit even tighter. "I'm sorry.. But your sister..." Rainbow was at a loss for words. "...Left." she finished. She was certain Dainty didn't know the full meaning of that. "W-Where?" Dainty asked. "I don't know..." Rainbow gave the honest answer with a sigh. "But she told me to take good care of you, while she's gone." "Oh." Dainty lowered her head, a little sad. "Ok." "Come on..." Rainbow kneeled down, using her coat to cover her broken rib and flinching at the sharp pain. She used all her energy to keep a straight face. Gently lifting Dainty's head up with a hoof, she said: "We'll have plenty of fun together, and you'll be safe with me. I promise." And that promise wasn't made just to her, but to her sister as well. Dainty nodded, however uncertain. Rainbow could only try and smile reassuringly. She slowly turned around, catching the two royal marines smiling at them. "What?" she asked, although her own smile was beginning to show. "We're just happy to finally see something peaceful." Blaze said, grinning. "We still have bodies to clean up, though." Halcyon whispered, making sure Dainty was out of ear shot. Rainbow's vision was beginning to blend, but she didn't know why. Looking down at her chest, there was a huge dark patch there despite the black clothes. She must be losing a lot of blood. And without warning, she fell sideways, darkness already closing in around her vision. * Over ten years ago, Cloudsdale, Dash Residence. Fifteen year old Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes. Something was making a lot of noise, and had woken her up. She gently pushed the sheets aside and got out of bed, rubbing her eyes. "Dad? Is that you?" She mumbled, still half asleep in her minky blue pajamas as she stumbled towards her bedroom door. "Dad?" She called out, this time louder. Her eyes were still half closed. It was still dark, and a quick glance at the clock told her it was only a few minutes past midnight. Through the door she heard talking- no, whispering- too quite and soft to hear, despite the dead silence around her. Slowly, she turned the doorknob(with some difficulty as her body decided it was still asleep) and gently pushed the door open. Still the whispering continued. Rainbow gently stumbled over the warm clouds, stepping into the corridor outside. She shielded her eyes from the bright silvery moonlight pouring through the windows. All was silent but for the whispering. Her hoof stepped in something warm and liquid like on the puffy cloud floor, and looked down to see something crimson red. She traced its source, up to the open window. Had dad come home drunk again? This didn't look like wine, though... Slowly she followed the trail and walked towards dad's bedroom. The door was open, a red smear across the white paint. "Dad?" Rainbow called out, confused- and almost instantly the whispering from the bedroom died down. She peered around the corner, and was shocked at what she saw. Dad was lying on the floor face up, another pony kneeling beside him and holding his hoof. Dad slowly tilted his head to look at her, seeming to mouth the words 'not like this...' Over and over again. The other pony only held his hoof, but when she looked up Rainbow caught the color of her eyes. Magenta, shimmering with tears under the streak of moonlight that splashed over them. "What did you do?" Rainbow felt tears swarming into her eyes. That wasn't wine... That was.... "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" The pony gently let go of dad's hoof and stood up, a sad look in her eyes. She was dressed completely in black, her clothing shielding the color of her coat. Her mane was hidden under a hat with a white band around it. Rainbow charged at her, screaming and crying and ready to lash out. But then the pony dropped something on the floor with a cling, and with a loud bang the room was filled to the brim with smoke. Rainbow stumbled and fell, sliding to a halt next to dad's dead body. The expended smoke grenade rolled away, and all that remained behind of the escaped attacker was the hat with the white band around it. * Having been to virtually every hospital in Equestria, Rainbow recognized Cloudsdale city hospital straight away when she woke up. Her ribs felt normal, and the sheets were more comfortable than ever. All her aching bones felt soothed. But then there was still that feeling of loss in her heart. Octavia was right, Rainbow thought jokingly. She is a terrible friend, to put me through all that. She chuckled, thinking what Octavia's reaction might be and what retorts she might choose. But as she realized Octavia will never be retorting to anything she says ever again, she couldn't help but have tears swarm into her eyes and snuggle deeper under the blankets. She accidentally bumped her elbow on her ribs, and flinched. She turned away as she heard the door open and pretended she was asleep. "She woke up- seeing as she changed her position. But I advise that you don't disturb her." a nurse said softly. "Don't worry, we can wait." Rainbow froze, her heart beat slowing down. That voice... "Yeah. Was all horrible and all, I tell ya. Poor thin' must've seen a lot more than we have." Applejack said, and Rainbow heard a gentle shuffle as she took her hat off. Six different sets of hooves walked around the room, sitting down. "Let's just hope she wakes up soon." Shining Armor said. Rainbow couldn't help it anymore. She didn't know what to say to the rest of the mane six, and she didn't want to talk about her life after Ponyville. She faked a yawn, slowly getting up and pretending she didn't know her friends were there. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. "Stop it Rainbow." Twilight said flatly. "We knew you were pretending." "My acting is that bad, huh?" Rainbow said grimly, sitting up. Yes, she was happy to see her friends again. But the sadness in this case outweighed the happiness. Shining Armor was the first to break the silence. "I'll get straight to the point, Rainbow. You murdered multiple ponies, and I'm not going to give you the number because your friends will probably be too scared to be here." he said. "But Princess Celestia and I have agreed that you won't be convicted- one, because despite working for criminals, you still terminate only criminals. And two, you contributed significantly to the defeat of the Science faction. For those two reasons you will not be convicted. But don't expect to get away with it next time." Rainbow nodded, and the other five seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "And now... I know you probably don't want to do this... But property claims." Shining Armor read from a piece of parchment. "I know what's supposed to happen." Rainbow said. "But I'll leave Octavia's stuff alone." her words were followed by silence. "And... The little filly." Shining Armor said. "I'll look after her." Rainbow said without hesitation. Shining Armor looked at her, considering it. "You'll need to sign a contract with orphan care. But that wasn't what I was about to tell you..." he hesitated. "We've identified the filly as Dainty- her family was murdered, and her sister dead, too. We found her body in the streets of Manehatten years ago. She should be dead." Rainbow fell silent. She probably knew how Dainty died. "We sent a squad inside the building you found her in, and they found that the machines inside seem to be some sort of revival machine." That got Rainbow's attention. What if she could use it to revive Octavia... "Unfortunately, a bomb went off that blew the squad to bits- only one survivor. Private Starshine is still recovering from severe mental trauma. We couldn't further research the device." "What about the two- Blaze and Hal-something, was it? What about them?" Rainbow remembered the two royal marines that accompanied her on the mission. "They returned to aid Princess Celestia. They're actually the princess's best royal guards. That's why they survived the mission with you with relative ease." "Ah." Rainbow said. She was still disappointed that Octavia won't be coming back- but she could see a way. If Dainty was here, then it was possible. She'll find out how. "Other than that..." Shining Armor stood up to leave. "I have nothing else to say. Take care and recover soon." he said, and left. Maybe Shining Armor didn't say anything unofficial, but Rainbow could tell he must've been through several arguments and complaints before announcing that she won't be convicted. He cared, in his own way. That big softie. "So... Feeling... A little better, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked, her tiny voice barely audible. Rainbow nodded for the sake of it, but everypony could tell she hadn't gotten any better- at all. "The removal of the barricade is in half an hour. I'll help you to the roof top now if you want." Twilight said. "Well, I do need the wind." Rainbow said, her mood lifting by the slightest. So slight she couldn't even detect it herself. "Come on, then." Applejack gently carried Rainbow's left arm, while Twilight carried her right as she slowly got off the bed, her side aching. "Thanks girls." she muttered. "Least we can do." Applejack said. The sunshine hit Rainbow full in the face when Rarity opened the door, and if Twilight and Applejack hadn't been holding her she probably would've tumbled down the hospital stairs. They climbed out onto the roof top, and Pinkie Pie fired her party cannon, which Rainbow didn't even see her carry up the stairs. One day some crazy scientist will research Pinkie Pie and learn how to defy physics, Rainbow thought. Confetti exploded loudly out of the cannon, and six lawn chairs appeared on the roof, with a table of drinks and sweets. Not wasting her time and strength trying to figure out how Pinkie had fit all that in the cannon, she took a seat and sank into the chair. She quickly pulled out some sunglasses and put them on, shielding her watery eyes as she remembered watching the sunrise with Octavia. Wait, how the buck did I just do that? Rainbow asked herself- she didn't even bring sunglasses! There was a bright flash, and Shining Armor teleported onto the roof, the little light green filly standing next to him, Mr Rabbit tightly grasped in a hoof. "Little Dainty here insisted that she be with the 'rainbow maned pony', and wouldn't let anyone at orphanage get near her. So here we are." Shining Armor sighed, Dainty slowly approaching Rainbow. There was a bright flash, and he teleported away again. Rainbow quickly blinked away the tears, and threw her sunglasses away. Dainty seemed a little less wary, but soon she was yelping in surprise as the rest of the mane six surrounded her. "She's soooo cute~~~" Pinkie squealed. "There's a loose peice of string... Let me just snip that off... That's better. Tell me if you ever need a suit for him...." Rarity was taking it as a business opportunity, while Applejack may as well be shoving apples down Dainty's throat. "Eh... Girls..." Twilight said. Rainbow face-hoofed, then yelped in pain as Dainty escaped the ponies and tackled her in her chair. The lawn chair tilted backwards, and they both rolled back onto the floor, Dainty on top with Mr Rabbit. "Ow." Rainbow said after a long period of shocked silence. "You scared her." Twilight nudged Rarity. "No, you scared her!" "It was AJ!" "All of you just be quiet!" Rainbow yelled over the voices, hugging a quivering Dainty closely. "You OK?" she lowered the volume, looking at the filly, who nodded. Rainbow mustered her strength and got up, Dainty hopping off. She pulled the chair up and sat down, Dainty settling down on her legs. She stroked Dainty's mane lovingly. "Ooh! Oooh! The removal of the barricade is starting!" Pinkie bounced excitedly, knocking over some cups as she bumped the table. The first beam of magic had shot up from the ground in the ruined distance, speeding up towards the sky. The dark blue beam glowed brightly in the day, and it made contact with the barricade. It was Princess Luna, signaling to all the unicorns to use their power and lift the barricade into the sun. Earlier the barricade was protected by a special shield, preventing magic from affecting it- but as Octavia crippled the system, the only things left still online were the engines. Rarity nodded to Twilight, and they both stepped forward, their horns glowing. Dainty watched, fascinated while Rainbow gently patted her. The two unicorns sent beams of magic into the barricade, wavering and glimmering in the sunlight. Then there was the sight one pony does not see everyday. One by one, thousands, perhaps millions of beams of various colors and shades shot towards the sky, the barricade glowing in a rainbow sheen. It was always going to end in sunshine and rainbows. Rainbow Dash smiled. It was all going to be over soon. Dainty waved a hoof in the air, trying to catch the beams. Then, a huge pulse was sent up all the beams, traveling towards the barricade. They made contact, and Rainbow could see the barricade move an inch or so higher into the sky. Another pulse, another inch. As the unicorns pushed harder with their magic, the barricade began gaining momentum, at which point it was flying towards the sun. Now that the barricade was lifted higher, Rainbow could see the ends of it outside Equestria. The barricade exited the atmosphere of the magical land, out of harm's way. A golden beam, twice the size of the others; shot from the ground and into the sun. With a huge pulse of energy, the sun seemingly exploded as Princess Celestia summoned the largest solar flare she ever attempted, the raging inferno consuming the barricade. As the ponies watched the barricade burn up in the sun, the unicorns retracted their magic, beads of sweat dripping down their grinning faces. It was over.