Chapter 52: Battle of Horseshoe Bay (Part 2)
"How much can this bloody ship take!?"
Rainbow was helping control the sails as Rarity controlled the ship. The winds were picking up as the day went on. The sun was completely gone in the battle smoke and the waters ripped back and forth with all the disturbances. I was taking the small gap between cannon barrages to bandage up my wounds. Rarity had summoned some clean cloths for me and I was putting them to good use.
"How many splinters did ya get?" Vinyl asked me.
"Too many. It's better than what could have happened though." I told her.
"Hell yeah." She agreed.
More flaming shrapnel fell from the skies as the Valkyrie and the ECS Solaire pummeled each other further. Maud, Big Mac, and the Equestrian escorts were engaged all around us with the smaller Gryphon vessels. With the carnage that was Horseshoe Bay at the moment, I was terribly surprised any ships were floating at all.
"Rarity! We're ready for another round!" Rainbow called.
"Acknowledged, Captain!" Rarity saluted.
It was back to business. I finished wrapping the white fabric around my wounds and headed back to my position by the ship's railing. Rarity steered the vessel back to the battle. The Valkyrie was also turning around after she gave the Solaire a good bruising.
"We're keep pressin' until she sinks!" Rainbow ordered.
That was just what we did. The Ragnarok circled once more after the Man-O-War, taking small shots at every angle we could find. Although our ships was massively damaged, the speed difference was now coming into play.
"Fire until the barrels melt!"
I kept reloading the cannon and Vinyl kept firing. Ammunition was becoming scarce as we launched it all at the enemy. Gone were all the mortar shells already. Gone was also any clear air.
The Solaire was now flanked by two Gryphonian frigates, letting the Man-O-War escape freely. The monster fired her mortars at us, but the crew's aim was greatly off, landing harmlessly in the black water. I clamped my hands over my ears and let Vinyl fire once more.
Our latest volley struck right below the bow of the ship, a lucky hit indeed. I could tell this strike interrupted a counterattack. A fire broke out in one of the holes we made and the ship turned away to regroup.
"Don't let them have a second of peace!"
Rarity angled the ship straight towards the fleeing Man-O-War. The front cannons boomed with whatever ammunition was left. I started to see crew members stuff knives, forks, splinters, and chain down the barrels. I fortunately had one cannonball left by my side and proceeded to ram it down my own barrel.
"Give her everything left!"
The Ragnarok swung right next to the Valkyrie and all the cannons were unloaded upon her. I saw the Gryphon crew members fly and fall with the sharp projectiles ripping threw their bodies. It was a quick, bloody mess. No counterattack came and we passed them by without a new scratch.
The crew gave a loud cheer as one of the ship's masts fell off and into the bay. The Valkyrie was now immobile and stuck dead in the waters. We were already preparing another run, but it was not necessary. The Solaire had beaten the frigates and now brought fire upon the Man-O-War. Mortar fire rained down and tore the ship apart. Soon the Valkyrie was nothing but a large fire, sinking slowly into the depths. The flagship was done, and we achieved victory.
"We did it!" Vinyl shouted with joy.
"Of course we did!" Rainbow boasted. "This ship can't be sunk! This is the Ragnarok! We're meant to topple the gods!" She pointed at the sinking fire proudly.
"But I must say, Rainbow, dear, the ship is no longer in traveling condition. We must hurry to Baltimare." Rarity told her.
"Aye. We can celebrate later. Everyone, get to work! We're landin' in Baltimare!"
"Didn't ya see how I swooped in there and got you?" Rainbow asked me with excitement.
"How could I forget? You saved my life, Bearer." I answered.
Rainbow Dash laughed out loud and spilled some of the cider in the mug. Other crew members and captains surrounded the tables at the old Baltimare tavern. Laughs were plenty and merriment in no small amount. The Bearer of Loyalty and I sat at the same table with Vinyl, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. The first was hogging up all the conversation by telling the tales of that morning.
"It was not the first time you saved one like that." Rarity said. "I remember you did it for Neon Lights back before you became an Assassin."
"Oh yeah, can't forget that!" Rainbow laughed. "Great times back when Caramel was captain. I bet he would have owned that Man-O-War in half the time we took, and by himself too."
"I thought we did pretty well." Rarity folded her arms.
"Yeah, but ya can't compare to Caramel. That guy was something else."
Pinkie chugged down her cider before slamming the mug on the table. "Oh! I bet he could take down a hundred brigs with just a fishing boat! If he's better than Rainbow, he must be amazing!"
"Eh, I don't think he's that good." Rainbow chuckled.
"I wish I met him." Fluttershy sighed. "He sounds like a great guy.
"Maybe not for your taste, Flutters." Rainbow shrugged. "Last thing I'd call him is nice."
"He could be a gentleman here or there." Rarity commented with a dreamily gaze at the stars. "He's the only pirate I ever met who could create inspiring art and be polite to a woman."
"Too bad he was never polite to me..." Rainbow groaned quietly.
I felt odd being with a group speaking of someone they thought to be dead when I knew otherwise. Those months ago, Caramel told me to not inform Rainbow of his health and I was sticking to it. To make sure I did not slip, I remained quiet at the table.
"Have I ever told you guys of the previous Bearer of Kindness?" Rainbow started after the short silence. "That woman was a bitch."
"Oh Rainbow, this is not the place. I knew that woman too." Rarity protested.
"I knew her too!" Pinkie shouted. "Oh wait...I don't."
"How could a Bearer of Kindness be mean?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, I'm not mean, am I?"
"Alright, I guess she wasn't a total bitch, but close. One thing was, she would hardly heal people. I know, Flutters, it's not easy, but I mean she would rather watch you die slowly than even try to save you. I got on her bad side a few times, and most scars you see on me are from her."
"Darling, you attacked the Brotherhood, it was only necessary." Rarity interrupted. "I think you deserved some of those beat downs."
"Maybe I did deserve some. But how about when she stabbed me with her blade?" She rose dramatically. "Right into my side! She buried it deep and twisted it. How would like one of these in ya?"
She activated her hidden blade and showed us all its fine point. A devious grin was now on the Bearer's face. I could she was enjoying the dramatic tension and started the story with great detail.
"It hurts the most when ya don't expect it. It pierces ya skin and ya can feel the guts inside you wiggle. It don't hurt...yet. When I saw the blade in me, that's when the blood started gushing out like a fountain! The Bearer of Kindness was drenched in my own blood. The pain comes and my head aches instantly. It was the moment I thought I would die!"
Rarity rolled her eyes. Pinkie leaned in excitedly, but Fluttershy coward in her seat. Vinyl and I simply leaned back and listened. Trixie had apparently walked in on the story and was listening with only mild interest.
Rainbow continued. "But I wasn't gonna die, nope. I grab her arm and pulled the blade out. Some of my guts and flesh came out with it. I grab my knife and stab it right in her neck! Blood blinded me and-"
"Oh it's too much!" Fluttershy shouted. "How could any Bearer of Kindness be like that! Could I be like that? It's so awful!"
"Flutters?" Rainbow asked worriedly.
"Now I can only think if what I kind do! I'm Kindness but not Kind at all! How could this be?" Fluttershy sobbed and ran off down the street.
Rainbow grind her teeth and punched the table. "Dammit! Why'd I do that?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine, darling." Rarity panted the captain's shoulder.
"Yeah, but I knew it would happen." Rainbow growled. "And I did it anyway."
"Well, Fluttershy should not worry, she is not Kind. She stabbed an arrow through my leg once."
"You're not helping." I told her flatly.
"I don't want to seem rude, but did you kill that Bearer?" Vinyl piped up.
Rainbow sighed. "Nah, not like that. Caramel finished her. I did stab her neck though. And because of that, Fluttershy was chosen. She had to see all the violence of the world because of me."
"It's not your fault, darling. The Elements will choose who they choose. She would have been a Bearer no matter when Junebug perished." Rarity tried to comfort her.
"These Elements seem to plague your Brotherhood." Trixie huffed. "If Trixie were you, I would stop using them."
"Oh don't worry, we haven't thought of that at all." Rainbow replied sarcastically. "Cause, you know, we should just rip these things out of chests and die!"
"Well, at least I'm not alone in my thinking." I said lowly.
"Um, any of ya think we should go after her?" Pinkie asked after gazing down the road.
"She'll be fine." Vinyl said. "I bet she just needs time alone."
"That's what I'm afraid of." I remarked. "Baltimare is not a safe place. She may be an Assassin, but a distracted one at the moment."
"If anyone goes, it'll be me." Rainbow stood up.
We watched her get up, put her hood over her head, and walk away into the dimly lit streets. My hand started to tingle, making my wrist bump against the table. Something wasn't right. Valor was telling me to follow, so I stood up and began to walk in the Bearer's footsteps.
"Hey! Where ya off to?" Vinyl asked.
"Something isn't right." I told her.
"What?"
"Something isn't right!" I repeated louder.
The tingling became stronger. My heart started to race. I began to run with all my might. The Bearer of Loyalty was nowhere to be see, but I could faintly see her prints in the sand and dirt. The others started to chase after me.
Valor jumped out of my body. "Go!"
"Valor, what's going on?" I asked.
"I sense him! Valor sense him!"
Well, she had broadened her vocabulary, I thought. The spirit took the lead from me and guided me through the alleys and passages. Fluttershy had gone much farther than I would have expected.
"Tavi! Wait!" I heard my friend cry from behind.
I did not reply. Valor made a hard right turn and I swiftly followed. The sounds of metal clashing against metal could be heard echoing off the small buildings. It became louder and louder with every step.
Valor took another turn and there it was. In the dark street was Rainbow and dark figure fighting. A body in a pool of blood was sprawled in the sand next to them. My heart leaped when I saw the body's long pink hair. I had the option to help Rainbow or check on Fluttershy. In the rush of the moment, I chose the latter.
"I'll kill you or this!" Rainbow screamed at the figure.
"You better! Kill me like you killed my friends!" The attacker mocked.
I ran my hand threw Fluttershy's hair. Her face was in the dirt, so I rolled her over on her side. To my relief, she was alive, but barely. Her hand was clutching a small sword that entered her stomach and exited her back. Not only that, but she had at least five other stab wounds in her torso. I could see no hope of her escaping such wounds with her life.
"Don't worry, Bearer. You'll be fine." I coaxed her.
"No...I won't...." Fluttershy barely uttered.
The fight went on. The much larger man swung his blade madly about. Rainbow kept parrying the attacks with her own swords. I still hesitated on whether to help Rainbow or stick with Fluttershy.
"You killed them! It's only right for me to kill you!" The man shouted.
The voice was familiar and so were his movements. In the darkness, I could barely see him. He was wearing something along the lines of a brown or black tunic and he had a hood over his head.
"You killed Spitfire and Fleetfoot! The only action I can take is fulfilling their wishes. I'll end all the Assassins by myself!"
The man was Soarin. I presumed him dead after the hurricane. His voice cracked every other word and he breathed hard. He was mad with revenge. His fighting was reminiscent of an untrained fool. All his attacks were wide and easy to predict.
"Soarin?" I yelled. "He's dead!"
"Guess...not..." Fluttershy breathed.
Rainbow parried one of his strikes and kicked him rightly in the stomach, sending him towards the ground. She tried to slice him with a swing but he recovered and sidestepped away from the glowing blade. He countered with a jab and it only made bright sparks when it struck Rainbow's swords.
"Octy..." Fluttershy weakly grasped my robe.
"You'll be fine, Bearer." I repeated.
The others arrived on the scene. Pinkie Pie ran to her fellow Bearer in less than a second. Vinyl and Rarity drew their swords and ganged up on the Wonderbolt. Trixie folded her arms and stood by.
"Keep coming! I'll kill you all!" Soarin screamed.
With three versus one, it did not take long to end him. Vinyl pressed from the front and allowed Rainbow to skewer him with her two blades. The blazing swords caught his clothes on fire and he soon became an inferno. As his dying body burned to death, they all forgot him and rushed over to Fluttershy and I.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Rainbow panicked.
"Fluttershy, dear, you must hold on, let me summon something to hel-"
Fluttershy sighed. "It's too late...I can feel Kindness leaving me..."
"You bloody Element! Don't you dare leave her!" Rainbow yelled.
"Vinyl! Can you use Hope?" I asked her desperately.
"I'm not sure!" Vinyl yelped. "I mean, I think it would have activated by now...but it's not doin' anything."
"We need to heal her now!" Rarity cried.
"C'mon Flutters! Don't ya remember how ya laughed at this face?" Pinkie made a silly face.
Fluttershy weakly smiled as her chest started to glow. Now, I did not know what this meant, but to the heightened worry of Rainbow and Rarity, I could tell it was not good in the slightest.
"She has healing powers!" Trixie huffed. "Can't she heal herself?"
"No..." Fluttershy gasped. "It would only give me the same wounds..."
Rainbow's shoulders slumped. "That's not entirely true."
All eyes looked at her. Rarity was the first to speak. "Darling, what do you mean?"
"Bearers of Kindness can heal themselves by giving their wounds to another. I know this cause the old Bearer used to do it all the time, especially during fights. Fluttershy, ya gotta give someone else the wounds. Ya gotta give me the wounds."
"Rainbow...no..." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Listen Flutters, I was the one who killed the last Bearer. I made that Element choose you before your time. Heck, maybe ya coulda avoided all of this. Ya know, like a peaceful life. This is my fault. I really, really don't want ya to die right here. I'll change places with you. Please let me do this."
Rainbow took Fluttershy's hand and placed it on her side. Almost instantly, the wounds began to disappear on Fluttershy's body, only for them to spread upon Rainbow's. The cuts were not even in the same places as Fluttershy's. Cuts were popping up around the arms, back, legs, and even the face. Blood started to burst from the Bearer of Loyalty.
"Gahh!" Rainbow screamed in agony.
"Oh please stop!" Rarity separated them.
The magical connection was interrupted, but by the deathly stare on Rainbow's face, I knew it was too late. Fluttershy was completely heal, even the smaller gashes were gone. Rainbow was sliced up from head to toe and her robes were nothing but crimson. I could see the captain take a desperate swallow before uttering weak words.
"Take care...See ya in Hell..."
She then fell backwards on the sand, her eyes open and unblinking. Rarity cried and threw her face in the dirt without a care. Pinkie collapsed to the ground in silence. Fluttershy clambered over to the Bearer's body and tried to heal it, but nothing happened. Vinyl and I stood back in shock. Even Trixie was speechless.
"Kindness! Heal her!" Fluttershy pleaded. "Please! No, don't you dare say she's gone!"
Nothing happened still. Rainbow's chest began to glow. The cloth that covered her chest began to rip a part, showing a bright red crystal emerging from its hole. The Element was leaving its Bearer. In little time, the whole crystal sat on her chest, leaving a gaping hole where her natural heart would be. Fluttershy stopped trying to heal and simply picked it up.
"Oh no..."
I wish I could go into more detail, but even now my hand aches. We may have stayed in that street for hours, for the Bearers wept until the sun rose upon us. Never did my person tremble so much. Never did I feel so grieved since Vinyl's supposed death. I can say my views on the Bearers changed that night. They are still as human as I. Not only were my views changed, but Trixie's were as well.
I write this in the fortress beside Baltimare. I, Octavia Melody, shall write these words before shutting these entries away forever:
The Bearer of Loyalty and Captain of the Ragnarok is dead.
~
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No! Not Rainbow!
6619043
"Gotta say, I was quite the friend wasn't I?"
To be fair I didn't know that would happen yet.
Farewell Rainbow Dash may the wind be ever in your sails and the horizon ever clear. Now we witness the fall of the rest of the assassins.
Huh...I know she died young due to the whole she still denies that she die thingy during the Daring chapters but i didn't think she would die dis soon.
6619735
"Hey! Just because you die, doesn't mean ya accept death."
6619647
"Not like we had much to start with..."
6619636
"Well, at least you know I had nothing to do with Rainbow's death. I am innocent!"
Author, how could you. My feels have been triggered.
6620362
"But my heroics..."
6620413 Twi, y u so heartless.
6620428
"Well, I am heartless. Ever since the Element of Magic replaced it within my chest, I've had no real heart."
6620441 ... Oh yeah. Then y u have no soul?
6620519
"Now you're just being mean."
See! Lost at sea during a hurricane? Still possible to come back and screw you over. But, stick a few swords threw the chest and incinerate the body? Now we can be sure he's dead.
So with Rainbow going out like this, how will it contribute to Fluttershy's death. Now that'll be a sad one.
6620751
"Cleanse through fire!!"
"There is no greater love than that a man lay down his life for his friends."
She was a mean little bitch. Just as quick to kick your balls as hand out praise. However, you could not have asked for a better warrior by your side. Semper Fidelis Rainbow Dash, may you find peace in the afterlife.
Well if they are all dying I reckon one of them either fluttershy or pinkie pie will commit suicide, and twilight is likely to be the last one and is killed at her own request by octavia
6621239
"See? This guy gets it."
6621267
"Oh my.....I rather wished it happened like that..."
6621366 Grazi
6620274 Your off the hook for now Twilight till then s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ec/39/bf/ec39bfa356ea1ecdc46fe7c68a64427e.gif
6621366 For some reason....I think Edward Kenway had it harder still.
6622949 you ain't kidding. He had it pretty rough.
But I think I can make this one rough too.
Very rough....
6623027 That sounds dirty in my head for some reason.
and with this death we are alerted that the Beginning of the end has started
No....