"Kailani Hoofspen."
The name reverberated through the large Coursian throne room and the sea-green pegasus, along with her companions, turned to face the speaker.
It was a mare; small in stature and the ugliest dark mustard color imaginable. Around her neck hung a gold chain with a heart locket, and on her face was an awful smirk. Standing next to her was a large blood red stallion holding a knife to an equally-large purple stallion. The latter's eyes caught the lavender eyes of the peg and pleaded with her.
"Treat!" Kail took a step forward and the knife started to cut into the purple stallion's throat. She stopped short and looked at the yellow one with disdain.
"Oh, not so fast little healer!" Tawny said giddily. "Not so fast. You see, we have tried killing you already… numerous times as I recall… but it seems you Just. Wont. Die." The yellow mare paused as half of her face came up in a grin. "You can't be hurt, at least not physically, but I think you can in other ways."
Kail's eyes wandered from the ugly yellow mare to the trickle of blood starting to run down Triple Treat's neck and mixing with his orange, yellow, and magenta hair. She quickly brought her eyes back to Tawny. "What do you want?"
"Other ways, yes." Tawny smiled, ignoring the question. "To top that off, I have what you are looking for." She held up the chain that sat around her neck, the locket hanging brightly in the air and twisting to and fro as if trying to get free. "And I know the one wound you need this to heal – the one wound you aren't fast enough to heal yourself."
Lavender eyes widened in horror and the other Champions gasped in shock behind her as they all recognized the locket in which the Rainbow of Light resided. It was around the neck of a dark stripe – one of the colors of the Dark Rainbow come to life. But how did they get free? A year ago – over a year ago now – the Champions and the Rainbow of Light had trapped the Dark Rainbow and sealed it someplace safe. Now it was the Rainbow of Light that was trapped, and the Dark Rainbow which held the key.
"What do you want?" Kail repeated through clenched teeth. She would give them anything, do anything, to keep Treat out of harm. Triple Treat, whom she had been falling in love with since they danced in the rain on the night he arrived in Ponyville. Treat, who she had nearly lost her good friendship with Razzarroo over. Razz stood just behind her now as she asked her question.
"What
do you want?"
"Revenge."
Right there in front of Kail's eyes was the ugly yellow leg with a jewel-encrusted dagger strapped to it. Tawny's attention was drawn elsewhere, thinking the green pegasus was dead, and Kail grabbed the dagger and quickly shoved it upward into the mustard belly. A cry of surprise and pain escaped the yellow mare and she doubled over, her eyes staring hatefully at the pegasus as the life left her body in the form of a matching yellow wisp of rainbow color. The body had been buried under the castle as it collapsed, and the stripe had later been trapped in ice and sent to the Darklands.
"Treat!" Kail came back to the present as the knife pressing against the purple neck was pulled across, a gush of blood following and dying the front of the purple stallion to match the crimson pony behind. He fell to the ground and Kail rushed to him as the other Champions jumped in to keep Tawny and Caliban away from the couple.
Pressing her hoof to his neck, Kail let her tears start. "No Treat, please. No."
His own cloudy eyes turned to her and he tried to smile. 'Love you' he mouthed before shutting them.
Kail pushed a little harder on his throat but the blood continued to seep through her hoof and run down to the puddle that had formed on the ground. She was kneeling in the blood and it stained her rich sea green coat from her knees down. "No! Rainbow! Help him!"
But the Rainbow was trapped away inside the locket around the yellow one's neck, and it couldn't free itself.
As Triple Treat took his last breath Kail started to hum, and then sing out loud. It was a song with no words, common when she was trying to heal someone, but this time it sounded much more like a song of sorrow and hopelessness. It sounded like giving up.
The song died in her throat as sobs overtook her, and she sat on the bloody floor, Treat's head in her hoofs, wings sagging at her sides, the ends drenched in blood. Her sky blue hair fell limp around her face, hiding her from the world as she let the tears run down her face, down her chin and nose, and splash down on his face, washing away the blood drop by drop.
The Champions were losing the fight against the red and yellow stripe of the Dark Rainbow. Caliban was too much for them, and with Tawny as well there was no chance to win.
Kail looked up, her gaze focusing on the ugly yellow mare, and her eyes narrowing. In one fluid movement she stood up, let Treat's head fall to the puddle on the floor, and unsheathed her sword. Without a pause she ran towards the fighting group, took to flight, and landed behind Tawny, slashing her across the back.
The yellow mare turned with a grimace, the pain showing on her face. She wasn't much of a fighter.
"I will KILL you!" Kail screamed at her. "I will kill you FOR GOOD." She lashed out wildly with the sword and the yellow mare jumped back.
"You can't." Tawny said with a smile. "You can trap us, and you can send us to the end of the world little healer, but you cannot kill a Rainbow, and you shouldn't be so presumptuous to think so."
"I WILL kill you!" Kail screamed and jumped forward at her.
She swung her sword again, but Tawny was easily able to jump away from the dangerous edge. Again, and again. Kail was fighting through too much emotion - she couldn't keep control of her weapon, and even though Tawny had no weapon other than the massive red stallion engaged with the other three Champions, she was easily keeping away from the enraged pegasus.
"You will never kill me healer."
"I already did!"
"Ah yes, shuffle off this mortal coil and all that. But what good did it do you? I'm back just as easily as that." Tawny gave a cold smile. "You can ruin the temple dear, but you can't ruin the magic within."
"Come back as much as you want - I will kill you every time."
"Why waste your time? You kill me, I kill someone you love. Who ends up the worse for wear?" Tawny jumped again from the sword-blade as it swooshed towards her. "And you will die eventually. It may take longer than normal, but you won't live forever, healer. And when you are finally dead and gone I will still remain, just as young and fresh as ever."
The swinging stopped and Kail's shoulders slumped in defeat. Tawny was right. Kail could live for 200 years, but still she would die eventually. And the Rainbows would live on, and they would struggle for power, both of them. Because that was really what it was about - it was just a power struggle between the dark and the light, and sometimes the light would win, and sometimes the dark. The only way to get rid of one was to get rid of both, and then something else would take its
place, because the struggle could not end.
Well fine then. Let the old gods come back; let new gods take the reins. Kail was going to get rid of the Rainbows.
She threw away her sword with a flick of her arm and it clattered across the room. The three Champions turned to see what had happened, why the sword of their comrade was suddenly closer to them than to her, and watched wide-eyed as Kailani stepped deliberately towards the mustard-colored mare, who stood laughing at the healer, and punched her in the face.
Tawny stopped laughing and swore as a hoof came up to her bleeding nose. She continued to grin, however. "Oh, that hurt healer. That hurt indeed. But really, did it make you feel any better? Did it bring your boyfriend back? Did punching me in the face heal any of your wounds? I think not."
"No. You're right. It didn't make me feel any better. But I think this might." Kail reared up and threw both forehoofs into the mustard yellow chest, knocking Tawny back onto the ground. The peg jumped on top of her and started punching her in the face. Over and over. Blood the color of tarnished gold was spurting with every hit until the yellow wisp left the body again, and still she continued on. Kail wasn't going to leave a body for the yellow stripe to inhabit this time.
As she pounded on the limp form the rest of the Champions stopped fighting. Caliban fled - without Tawny there was no reason to continue. He forgot about the locket around her neck.
The Champions watched Kail for a full minute before Razz finally walked over, sword held loosely in his hoof, and put a hand on her shoulder. Still she didn't stop. "Kail, it's done. She's gone." He threw his sword aside and wrapped his arms around her wings and forelegs, so she couldn't continue hitting the body before her. It no longer had any recognizable shape, just the mustard yellow color caked in tarnished blood.
Kail shrugged him off and stood up. She bent over, grabbed his sword, and cut off the mashed head. She grabbed the chain that held the Rainbow of Light's locket and tossed it at him. Let him take it to Queen Sunrunner. Kail didn't want to be a Champion anymore.