//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Cold 
// Story: Bounty Hunters 2: Awakening 
// by Jasper77W 
//------------------------------//

Dainty shivered as another blast of wind swept over her, the rain seemingly slicing through her skin. She shielded her face desperately with her bag, avoiding the high-speed rain drops.
She tried getting home before Rainbow did, to set up and give her a surprise- but now, she's lost. She has no idea where she is, and everything was cold and unfamiliar. She couldn't see more than ten meters ahead of her because of the heavy rain, making her even more confused than before.
Suddenly everything flashed a light blue, soon accompanied by the deafening rumbling of thunder. Dainty yelped and curled into a ball, shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't help but have tears swarm into her eyes, as she regretted her actions. Her intentions were right- she wanted a good surprise for Rainbow. But she only got herself into trouble. She couldn't help but think whether or not Rainbow'll ever find her again, and if she doesn't; will she be living on the streets again- just like years back in Manehatten?
She certainly hoped not, but the more she thought about it the more she cried, her tears mixing with the rain. 
Right now everything seemed so miserable to Dainty. The warm colored lights somehow looked cold, and sent further chills through her body. 
She had to at least go somewhere- so she picked herself up, shrugged on her bag, and started slowly walking forward- to where, she had no idea.
Melony... Rainbow Dash... Where are you....
There was music up ahead, and laughter, and talking. It sounded like a happy place, so Dainty followed the sound through the rain.
There was one building that stood out amongst the others- somehow this one's lights made Dainty feel warm. It was definitely loud inside, but everypony sounded happy. She looked up at the sign- she couldn't read it yet, but she could tell it was a public place. 
Anything to get out of the rain, she thought.
She approached the door, and gingerly pushed it open, stepping in slowly.
"...And sliced them buckers in half..." Rainbow was shouting, her speech slurred. She was standing on a table, wobbling around as if she didn't have a brain. The remains of an alcoholic beverage slushed around in its bottle, which was in Rainbow's right hoof. Judging by the amount of bottles on and shattered under the table that she stood on, she had been drinking- a lot. "Anyways... They didn't stand a cha-" she suddenly stopped, catching sight of Dainty, who stood in the doorway, not knowing how to react. The tears were still drying up on her face, but thankfully the rainwater hid that. 
Rainbow stopped talking, and the whole bar went silent, staring at either Rainbow or Dainty. Obviously Rainbow had told them about how Dainty went missing. She stumbled down from the table, spilling some of her drink as she did so. She had an angry expression on her face when she limped towards Dainty. 
Dainty braced. She knew what was coming- she's going to get told off and yelled at, and she knows she's going to deserve every bit of it. 
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have just left-" she began apologizing, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Rainbow then surprised her with a big hug.
Rainwater soaked onto Rainbow's clothes. But she didn't care- Dainty was back, miraculously turning up at the bar; and that's all she cared about. 
Dainty could smell the alcohol on Rainbow, but it didn't matter. She hugged her back as tightly as she possibly could, crying into her shoulder. Rainbow was crying too- out of total relief that her only little sis was still here with her. Dainty was surprised that Rainbow was crying too, but didn't let go. Rainbow's body heat began giving Dainty some of the warmth, and the cold slowly slipped away.
There was some cheering going on in the bar, led up by one stallion, and slowly growing into a jumbo of clapping and whooping. 
Rainbow let go, and smiled with wet eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she had dropped the bottle. It was rolling around on the floor.
"I-I-I'm s-s-so sor-r-ry..." Dainty sobbed.
"Let's get you home now." Rainbow hugged her again, wiping away the tears in her eyes. Dainty nodded. There couldn't possibly be more that she wanted.

*

Home was always the place that seemed warm, despite the heater not being on. Rainbow ordered dinner, while Dainty went to curl up in bed with Mr Rabbit.
By the time Rainbow was done, Dainty had already fallen asleep, exhausted from all the walking and mental stress. Rainbow couldn't say she felt any better physically, but she was happier than ever that she didn't lose the little filly. Right now she was leaning on the door frame of Dainty's bedroom, watching over her. 
Dainty's chest heaved gently with every breath- every movement she made was small. She had Mr Rabbit hugged tightly by her side, her face pressed against his and a gentle smile on her face. Rainbow couldn't help but smile at that- she almost forgot that Equestria's dark side wasn't the only side out there.

*

Dainty slowly woke up to the smell of food, and her stomach rumbled. She still felt tired though... This one seemed to be different. She couldn't quite place it... It felt like she was burning up inside, while she was freezing on the outside. She snuggled deeper under the blankets, hoping the odd sensation would go away.
The door to her bedroom creaked open, and Rainbow slowly peaked around the corner. Dainty opened one eye, indicating that she was awake.
"Dinner's here." Rainbow said softly.
Dainty tried getting up, but her head felt oddly heavy and her muscles ached with every move. She moaned, exhausted and frustrated.
"You alright?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow and trotted in.
Dainty shook her head slowly, tucking the blanket up to her chin.
Even from here, Rainbow could see the discomfort on Dainty's face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyebrows bent into a slight frown. She also seemed to be shivering, despite the heavy blankets. 
Rainbow tilted her head to one side, her expression softening. She approached, gently laying a hood on her head. She was surprised at the high temperature. More to her worries, Dainty looked exactly like when she first laid eyes on her- tired, weak and powerless.
"Wait here... Alright? I'll go get the food. We can eat here." Rainbow said, moving off. A minute later she returned with two steaming plastic boxes and a heater. She plugged the heater in, set the food aside, and helped Dainty up.
"S-sorry. I should've never just walked off on my own." the filly said, feeling extremely guilty.
"Sssshhh.... Eat, now... You need a full stomach if you want to sleep properly. You can tell me why you left tomorrow- for now, rest." Rainbow said gently, slowly feeding Dainty a spoonful of soup. 
Dainty gulped it down with a dry throat, and nodded gratefully as she felt the heat of the soup slide down into her stomach. Rainbow smiled, feeding her another spoon. 
Dainty was very grateful for the moment. She couldn't be happier- she thought she'd be on the streets again, with nopony to care about at all. And now here she is, in a warm bed, windows and solid walls blocking out the rain and cold, the soft glow from a lamp lighting up the room with a warm tint- and most importantly, a caring big sister that really does love her back.
Rainbow was about to feed Dainty another spoon when she noticed the little filly had begun snoring again. She sighed, relieved everything was back to normal. She'll just need to give Dainty some medicine, and wait for her recovery.

*

Rainbow jerked awake from a bad dream, cold sweat covering her body. She was in Dainty's bedroom, morning sunlight pouring through the window. Her face hurt from being pressed against the table. The soup and food was gone, the bed made, and Dainty wasn't there either. She raised an eyebrow. She must've fallen asleep last night at some point- but she didn't remember. 
The phone rang, and she stretched across the table to pick it up.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hi, Miss Dash. It's Cordy, Dainty's teacher. Have you found her yet?"
"Yep. She's got a cold, but she should be fine for next week." Rainbow said.
Cordy let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I'm glad then. Send her my regards, thanks." 
"I will." Rainbow said, and hung up.
She got up from the chair with an aching flank, as she must've been in that sitting position for the entire night. She slowly walked out of the bedroom, and was hit by the welcoming scent of apple pie, toast and jam. This only made her eyebrow rise even higher.
"Morning!" Dainty said cheerfully as Rainbow walked into the kitchen. Despite her happy attitude, Rainbow could still tell that Dainty was feeling unwell- she was just trying to hide it.
"Rest, Dainty." Rainbow said, patting the filly on the head. "And why are you making breakfast?"
"I found this recipe online..." Dainty said, gesturing at the computer screen. "I thought I might try it out..."
"Come on..." Rainbow kneeled down so she was the same height as her. "What's going on?"
"I... Just wanted to surprise you... I thought the necklace wasn't enough, so..." Dainty muttered sheepishly.
"Is that what you were trying? Did you try and get home before me, and make dinner?" 
Dainty nodded, looking down at the ground.
Rainbow smiled. "Thanks, Dainty." she hugged her. Dainty had gone pretty far to make her happy- and for that she was very grateful. 
Dainty hugged her back, glad she wasn't in any sort of trouble. From how Rainbow was acting, she actually seemed happy.
"Certainly did a good job." Rainbow grinned at the smell, letting go. 
Dainty grinned back, and went back to making the strawberry jam. 
"Let me help with that-" Rainbow said, reading the recipe.
And so that was how the morning went. There was a huge mess of jam and bits of food when they were done, but the results were astonishing. They lay laughing uncontrollably among the mess, giggling at each other's messes. 
"Thanks for the best birthday ever- even when it did come a bit late, hehe. Thanks, Dainty." Rainbow ruffled Dainty's mane.

*

The dark maned earth pony stood solitary amongst the white mist, watching the blue pegasus and the filly unicorn. A smile crept onto her face as she saw what a good time they were having. 
"She sure does keep her promises, does she not?" there was a gentle puff, and Octavia heard footsteps behind her. 
"She does." Octavia admitted as Melony joined her side. "But I do wish she could stop trying to revive me. The dead are the dead, and that's it." 
"Maybe. But look at Dainty- everypony seems happy." Melony said, watching the two laugh.
"Dainty's a different case. She didn't get a good chance at life yet." Octavia turned. "And neither did you." 
"Hmph." Melony lowered her head slightly, considering it. "No. I think I had enough of the living. I think I understand, after Neon and all. Maybe I didn't get to do all those things that I wanted to, but I did do the one thing that was more important than all the others." she smiled at Dainty, who was unaware of any of their presences. Of course, the living couldn't see the dead. "I saved my dearest little sister."
"Meaning of life, eh.... I think it's just what we choose to make out of it." Octavia said. "I don't believe in fate. We make our own fate- but sometimes there are the inevitable." 
"Tell me about it..." Melony rubbed a brow in frustration. 
"What the buck are we doing?" Octavia asked a moment later.
"Talking about the meaning of life? Isn't that like what dead ponies do?" Melony raised an eyebrow.
"You should know, you're dead." 
"Yeah, but so are you." 
Octavia chuckled. "Sometimes the two seem so similar I forget." 
"Sometimes...." Melony looked down. "I just wished I could've done more. It's fine where I left my life, but the science faction is still out there. Neon's research is probably going to put Dainty at risk- and that's partially my fault. Reviving the dead should never be possible." 
"Do you understand those formulas?" Octavia asked.
"No. Neon does though." Melony said. 
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're dead then...?" Octavia said.
"It's sad..." Melony faked a sob. "But anyway..." she shook it off. "What do you think about yourself dying?"
"It was way too uncool." Octavia complained. "I got bucking ambushed." 
"And Rainbow survived." Melony pointed out.
"Shut up." Octavia said. 
They stood in silence for a moment, watching Rainbow and Dainty sample some of their own apple pie. Rainbow leaped back as the fresh pie burned her tongue. Dainty was laughing, and soon when the pain faded Rainbow was too.
"Does this ever occur to you as stalking?" Melony asked.
Octavia took some time to consider it. "Sometimes. Kinda." she said.
"What annoys me the most, is when something is gonna happen and you can't do crap about it." Melony continued. "Especially now that we're dead." 
"Annoying, isn't it." Octavia said, turning away from the scene.
"Where are you going?" Melony asked, not taking her eyes off the pair.
"I don't know. Somewhere where I won't want to be alive." Octavia said, and vanished into white mist with a loud puff.
Melony stood still, then she closed her eyes and she was gone too, leaving the two with their happiness.

*

Octavia's tombstone cast a shadow onto the crisp green grass behind it, sparkling with drops of water in the morning sun. The white unicorn sitting in front of it had her head lowered, her eyes staring at the grass on the floor, the ruby red irises still. Her spiked blue mane wavered gently in the breeze. A small drop of water slid down her face and fell down into the grass. She had been sitting there for over an hour now, staring.
"Miss- are you ready to leave?" her assistant asked from behind her, holding her jacket. She didn't feel like having it on, despite the cold morning breeze.
"Just a moment." Vinyl Scratch said softly. She looked up at Octavia's tombstone, among many others in the cemetery. 'Perished honorably in battle', it read. 
"I'm going to make things right." Octavia's words still rung in her head, despite it being many yeas ago.
"I wish I hadn't been such a coward." Vinyl whispered. "I wish I could've helped. At least then I know I did something to help." 
"Miss?" her assistant asked.
"Yeah. Let's go." Vinyl put on her purple shades, standing up. "Find me a good engineer, too." she added, and her assistant took down a note.
Before she left, she turned around just as her assistant walked ahead for the car.
"I'll make sure they pay." she whispered, then turned around and walked on. 

*

The phone rang, and Rainbow quickly rinsed and dried off her hooves to pick it up. It was six in the afternoon, and she and Dainty just made another successful dish. They're getting better. 
"Hello?" she said.
"Cordy here. How's Dainty doing?"
Rainbow was surprised. The teacher certainly cared about the little filly a lot. "She's alright. Just then I gave her some medicine to suppress the fever, so she's jumping on the sofa. Why?"
"No, nothing. So she's doing well? Like, mentally?"
"Mmm-hmm." Rainbow replied. "Why do you ask, exactly?"
"Well..." Cordy said rather awkwardly. "She, eh... There are a group of fillies... Eh...."
"She's getting bullied, isn't she?" Rainbow said flatly.
"I... Really didn't want to phrase it that way." Cordy said.
"Don't worry- I'll talk to her. Thanks for looking after her, by the way." Rainbow said.
"No problem." Cordy said, then hung up.
"Dainty!" Rainbow called, setting the phone aside.
"Yes?" Dainty stopped bouncing on the sofa. 
"When's family appreciation day?" 
"Next Friday." Dainty said.
"When you go to school on Monday- I want you to volunteer, alright? Volunteer to bring me in on family appreciation day." a mischievous grin spread across Rainbow's face as she planned it out in her head. "I've got something to say to some of your classmates."