Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

by Jasper77W

Chapter 32: Lost Sights

"Rainbow! We need to leave!" Octavia said, quickly catching up to her friend.

"Tavi- listen, just this one last thing. I promise." Rainbow stopped and turned around, determination in her eyes.

"It's best for the both of us if you don't see what lies ahead!" Octavia was growing desperate now. "Please! Rainbow, stop."

Rainbow shook her head, then turned and walked on; her hoof steps making loud crunches as she walked through Ponyville. "Sorry... I can't."

"WE." Octavia grabbed Rainbow by the shoulder. "HAVE." she pulled her back around. "TO." she slammed her hard on the shoulders, in an attempt to wake her up. "LEAVE!"

They stared into each other's eyes, one purple and the other rose. Both determined in their own purpose, one concerned and the other tired.

Then Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

"What are you hiding, Tavi?" she breathed, an odd glint in her eyes.

Octavia froze, and Rainbow turned away and started walking towards the needle again.

"I-I'm not hiding anything! It's just that we don't have time!" she yelled after Rainbow, who was picking up the pace.

"I've been with you for over ten years now- and I know it when you're hiding something. You act all worried." Rainbow said, tilting her head slightly. A ray of sunlight shone through the dark clouds and reflected off of her bright rose irises.

Octavia shook her head, then started jogging after Rainbow. She walked with long strides alongside her friend, some-what in a panic.

"We don't have time!" she exclaimed, and grabbed Rainbow.

Rainbow batted her arms down, and grabbed her shoulder. She pressed an elbow against Octavia's chin.

"WHAT. ARE. YOU. HIDING!!??" she yelled, her face contorted in anger. Then she realized what she had done- she didn't mean to hurt Octavia. She quickly let go, and started storming in the direction of the needle again. Rows and rows of old destroyed hay houses slid past her as she walked on in long strides, slowly building up to something she didn't know. "You can't stop me from finding out."

"I can't- but WE can. STOP HER!!" she heard Octavia yell, and several sets of hooves ran towards her.

Rainbow whipped out her cleaver, activating it with a loud crack as all the pieces clanged into place. She turned around, and knocked Silver's cleaved away. She kicked Daring back, but then took a fist to the stomach as Octavia charged through.

The rain continued pouring, harder than ever. Puddles of it were forming on the ground, mud puddles being splashed around as the fight between friends continued.

Rainbow re-pocketed the cleaver, and swung a fist at Octavia. Octavia blocked it with an elbow, then kicked Rainbow in the shin.

Rainbow fell over, splashing into a mud puddle. Octavia came back again and was about to punch her, but she slammed a hoof into the puddle and sent mud water into Octavia's eyes. She instinctively stumbled back, giving Rainbow time to get up.

"Do you really want to do this!?" she yelled as Octavia cleared her eyes.

"I'll do whatever it takes." Octavia said, breathing hard. Puffs of steam came out of her nostrils in the cold air.

Rainbow clenched her jaw in defiance, then turned around and started running towards the needle.

There was a loud whoosh and sonic boom, and Silver tackled her across the road from the side. They went flying through the old rotten wall of a house, crashing through the furniture inside and out the other wall. Silver stretched out her wings and skid to a halt, while Rainbow tumbled across the rough stone ground and hit her back on the far wall of another house. It collapsed, and she fell through and lay in the piles of hay. There was a cut on her cheek, oozing crimson down her face as she stood up. The rain continued falling down and pelting them both, the blood on their wounds being slowly washed away and reduced to a dim pink.

"So you two are going to stand in my way too..?" Rainbow muttered, shaking her head as Daring walked up beside Silver.

"Just come with us now Rainbow- it's not like any of us want this. It's for your own good, and your own sanity." Daring said, pulling out her whip.

"I'm going to find out what you're hiding." Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and with a loud click drew her cleaver. "And none of you are going to stop me."

"If it must be this way, then." Silver said, a loud metallic clang echoing across the town as she deployed her own cleaver.

Rainbow steadied her cleaver, back flipped into the wall behind her and kicked off, her wings beating against the air.

Silver brought the cleaver up, ready to block the strike.

There was a loud boom as Rainbow entered sonic speed, but just as the cleavers were about to meet Rainbow retracted hers.

Silver felt Rainbow zoom right past her, the pressure suddenly changing around her as if a huge cannon ball had just shot past her.

Rainbow never had any intention of engaging them. She just needed to find out whatever it is they were hiding- and for whatever reason.

She zoomed through the house they smashed earlier, and flew up into the sky. Then she arched back down again and hit the ground, her hooves skidding on the slippery smooth stones. She came to a halt, the rainwater on her being flung out into the air and onto the floor.

"THERE SHE IS! SHE'S ALMOST THERE- STOP HER!!!!" Octavia yelled, and Rainbow started running.

She was running down the right street- she could see the needle up ahead, surrounded by an old metal fence. There was a sign above the gates that led into a small open area inside, but Rainbow was too concentrated on getting there to read it.

She kept sprinting, the rain water pelting her face and adrenaline pumping through her body. She had no idea what she might find- but it's probably something big if her friends are trying that hard to stop her.

She could hear the hoofsteps behind her, desperately trying to catch up. Her own hoofsteps echoed all over the dead silent town, a constant rhythm pounding against her heart as her hooves slammed against the stone ground again and again.

There was a splash as she stepped in a puddle, the water expanding outwards then breaking up into individual droplets.

The gates drew closer and closer. She could see more detail now. Then the sign was towering above her, a metal frame with nothing else to it but vines that creeped along the edges.

She stopped, looking up and peering through the rain.

It was quite hard to read the sign. She noticed that her friends had given up pursuing her, because she could no longer hear their hoofsteps. She stared at the sign, trying to read it.

Portions of it had rusted away, or been consumed by vines. Not much was left of it, probably all eaten away by the wind and rain and harsh weathers of a wasteland.

Rainbow's eyes widened when she finished reading it. Everything went silent as the meaning of the sign registered in her brain- she could no longer hear the rain pelting against the stone floors, and her vision started blurring on the edges. She entered a some-what dreamy state, unbelieving of reality and its secrets.

She knew what the sign meant. She just failed to believe it. She simply couldn't bring herself to believe it- because if it was what she thought it was, then all this fighting would've been for nothing. All her time in Manehatten, she would've been protecting nothing.

Slowly she felt things she had long forgotten collapse, friendships she had- her old best friends, bonds breaking and crumbling in her heart and falling to her hooves.

She looked down from the sign. The one sign that was breaking her, tearing her apart. Maybe words are more powerful in many ways. Still those words lingered in her brain as she walked past the ghostly sign, pushing open the gates. They creaked, but she barely heard it as she walked under the sign that said 'Grave of Harmony'.

"No... What the hell..." she slowly trotted towards the needle in the center of the weed-ridden clearing. The needle was more like a monument, and as she got closer she noticed it had carvings on its four surfaces. It was about a meter wide, growing narrower as it pointed to the stormy skies.

The clearing was made of the same stone, grey and indifferent. Small patches of faded yellow and green could be seen here and there as grass busted their way through the stone bricks.

Rainbow walked up to the monument, her heart cold and torn. "Please don't tell me... Please... No..." she stared at the carvings on the monument.

This wasn't a monument- it was just a big tombstone. Those weren't carvings, but rows upon rows of names.

And in the center, highlighted in iconic colors, were the names she had spent her life protecting all along. And yet here she was, defeated and drowned. It had all been for nothing.

"Twilight... Pinkie... Rarity..." Rainbow collapsed on the ground, her tears merging with the rain pouring down her face, she curled up into a small ball. She couldn't read on anymore. There were hundreds of other names on the tombstone, all of which she had never heard of.

She had lost her purpose. She no longer knew why she was here. To protect her friends? But they're already dead. Then why was she still here? Why was she the one who was alive?

She pounded the floor, crying her heart out. She pressed her face against the tombstone, tears drifting down her face.

"No... This can't be... It just can't..." she cried. "WHAT THE HELL!!" she screamed, slamming a hoof into the tombstone and chipping the edge.

She continued sobbing, for how long she didn't know. But for a very long time.

Octavia and the others stood by, watching Rainbow struggle in her own pain. They tried to stop her... They really did. But now it was too late- she had seen it.

"How... How long... Have you all known...?" Rainbow managed between breaths and sobs, tears still streaming down her face. "You... All... Knew... All along?"

Octavia had her eyes lowered, unable to meet Rainbow's pleading ones. It just wasn't possible for her.

"Please... Please tell me this isn't what I think it is... Please tell me they aren't dead... Please.." Rainbow's voice was but a rasp now. Breaths of a dying creature, crumbling and turning to dust.

Still Octavia didn't look up.

"ANSWER ME!!" Rainbow screamed, leaping at Octavia. It was a weak one though, and she ended up in a pile by her hooves. "Please... Tell me this isn't real..."

Octavia didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say- everything was right there. Discovered. The truth was before her eyes now- but that wasn't what she was worrying about. If Rainbow goes down now- it could change the entire war. They needed to win this- she thought she might be being a little selfish. She wasn't caring about Rainbow- she was caring about winning. Maybe she should put that down for a while, and really help Rainbow as helping a friend- not a war priority.

She knelt down and gave her a big hug. Rainbow whimpered, and squeezed her as tightly as she could. She didn't want to let go- ever. She lost word of her other friends for just a few days, and they end up dead.

She was shaking all over- and Octavia was sure it wasn't from just the cold. Sure, she was crying- but this was more violent. Octavia could sense something else, other than immense sadness. It was fear.

"Octavia... I-I... I'm so scared.... I..." Rainbow sobbed, burying her face in Octavia's shoulder. "They were all laughing, smiling... Happy.... And then the next moment...." she stopped, no longer able to continue. The only thing that interrupted her whimpers was the constant thud thud thud as raindrops hit the floor.

Octavia patted her gently on the back, then let go. She stood up, sighing as Rainbow looked aimlessly at the ground, tears still dropping as she clenched her hooves.

"Stand up." Octavia said softly, giving Rainbow's shoulder a gentle tap.

Rainbow looked up, eyes wild and tears clouding her vision. Octavia gave her a reassuring glance, and offered a hoof. Rainbow stared at it, still shaking. Uncertain. But then she took it.

Octavia smiled, and helped her up. Rainbow nodded, telling her that she could stand on her own. In silence, she turned around- hearing nothing but the pounding of rain. She stared at the tombstone, at all the other names. None of which she recognized.

"How long... How long have you known?" she asked again, her mouth dry.

"The moment we came to this reality." Octavia looked down in guilt.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Rainbow asked, a small bit of anger stirring inside her as she spun around. She raised her voice a little. "Why didn't ANY of you tell me?"

"We didn't want to hurt you." Octavia said, staring down at the ground and shaking her head.

Rainbow looked at them, her eyes moving from Daring, to Silver, back to Octavia. She let out a frustrated sigh, and turned back to the tombstone.

"All these other names... What are they?" she asked, her eyes tracing up the tower of names that reached the sky.

"Candidates." Octavia said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Of what?" Rainbow asked, staring up at the tip.

"Of the elements." Octavia looked up. "Val killed the original elements of harmony, and burned the harmony stones. But she learnt from other's mistakes- she knew the elements won't go down that easily. It was impossible to completely destroy them without a trace, so she kept killing other ponies that had the potential to become wielders of the elements. She kept them from coming back." Octavia sighed.

"My god... There must be thousands of souls here..." Rainbow stared in awe at the tower.

"Some managed to escape under our protection before they could get killed. You- you were one of them." Octavia said. "Others who escaped didn't know about us. They escaped into the wasteland, some found to be mutated- others vanished without a trace. We have sent out search parties all over the place to find them- but how little we found... It was quite pathetic, really."

Rainbow shook her head slowly. All these dead souls... Died for what reason? Because they MIGHT become a threat? They probably didn't even show signs of it. After all, how could you possibly tell? Did Val just kill anyone who seemed rebellious? Then something caught her eye. Back on her friend's names....

"Wait a second..." she muttered, her heart pounding against her chest. "Where's AJ's name?"

"Hm?" Octavia tilted her head to one side.

"My friend Applejack. Element of Honesty. Her name's not here." Rainbow said, suddenly excited again as she turned around. But it was only excitement- she wasn't smiling. Sure, the prospect of AJ being alive was a great one- but she didn't want to keep her hopes up.

"If she's not on the tombstone, she probably escaped." Octavia noted. "Although... We have no record of one of the original elements coming to any of our settlements."

"You think she managed to run to a survivor's group?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know. There aren't many out there that are left- they're all either recruited into the faction, or destroyed. Surviving ones are quite few." Octavia said. "But we could still keep an eye out. I'll notify the search teams."

"No need..." Rainbow sighed. "I'm sure Haven is already looking for her." she shook her head. This must be horrible for Applebloom- not knowing whether or not her sister will be alive. Day after day, only hoping.

"Sis..." Rainbow heard a voice behind her. They turned around- and Dainty was standing there, EDI's headlights glistening in the dark weather behind her.

"Dainty- what are you doing? Get back in the car- you're gonna catch a cold." Rainbow said quickly, rushing to her side and kneeling down.

"We... Waited and waited... And I got worried... So I thought..." Dainty mumbled, eyes down.

Rainbow gave her a worried smile and pulled her into a hug. Dainty seemed a little startled.

"Sis... Is something wrong?"

Rainbow kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah... But it's okay now." she said, giving her a short squeeze. Then she noticed the sad look on Dainty's face. "Why?" she asked, because Dainty seemed startled by the hug.

"It's just that... You seemed to care a lot less about everyone else now... It feels like... You almost don't care about us anymore. You never talk to us, you never actually had any conversations with us that didn't involve some strategy about our next move... I... I just-"

Rainbow felt something sting her heart as she heard those words. She looked at Dainty- how could she have been so careless?

"....I just thought... Maybe you didn't care anymore."

Rainbow shook her head, hugging Dainty tighter.

"Oh, Dainty- of course I care!" Rainbow said, needles being sent through her heart. "I'm sorry. I was just so concentrated on our goal... I forgot what was important." she said, thinking about the grave. She almost completely forgot about why she was fighting. She was accomplishing the objective, not thinking about why. And that, to the center of her guilt; was why she failed to protect her friends.

"I'm sorry too." Dainty mumbled. "I probably shouldn't have said that."

"No, no." Rainbow smiled. "You made me realize. I promise I'll pay more attention to you guys from now on. I forgot... But you made me remember." she said, holding Dainty at arm's length. "Love you sis."

"Love you too." Dainty said, and Rainbow ruffled her mane.

"Come on now. We should probably get back to the car." she said, taking Dainty's hoof in hers and leading her towards EDI.

Daring followed, and a moment later Silver did too.

"Silver." Octavia said, facing the tombstone.

Silver stopped dead. Now it was just them two in the rain- the others were already in the car. She sighed, but didn't look back. They stood, meters apart and their backs facing each other- but with Octavia looking up at the tombstone, and Silver down in regret.

"I know what really happened." Octavia said, and Silver didn't reply. She just continued staring down at the ground. "What you did utterly disgusts me. I should just kill you right now."

Silver still had her head lowered, looking down at the ground. The only thing of color in this weather were Octavia's eyes- otherwise, everything else was grey. Thunder ripped through the clouds, flashing across the sky and sending a loud crackle through the small destroyed town.

Octavia sighed. "I should just tell Rainbow. But I didn't. I hope you understand why." she looked up at the sky, the rain pelting her face.

"I didn't have a choice-" Silver started, and immediately Octavia swung around.

"Don't try to reason with me!" she yelled. "You knew what you were doing. Rainbow would've died before before she would make that choice!"

"You don't know that! She was never put in that situation before!" Silver yelled back, and Octavia grabbed her by the collar.

"I am disgusted by myself to have even thought of you as Rainbow's copy. You're nothing like her." Octavia growled menacingly, nose-to-nose with Silver. "If you dare pull off anything similar to what you did back then- if you lay a hoof on any of them- Rainbow, Dainty, Daring- ANY of them, I'll make sure you're dead myself." she snarled.

Silver's right hoof itched for her cleaver, but held tight. Octavia let go with a shove, sending Silver back a step. She walked past her and to the car, without giving her so much as a second glance.

Author's Note:

Mouse. Away. From the unfav button.

It's funny because interactive RD decided to say 'Best day ever!" when she was standing next to the part where Rainbow finds the grave. And you guys can activate interactive RD in the FiMFic settings page

Comments

[Sparky Plunge]