The Rainbow Spiral

by TheRainbowDashShow

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Sad, Romance, Original Character, Tragedy, Scootaloo, Adventure, Applejack, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 26806

Rainbow Dash goes searches for Applejack.

Part 5 in the 'Rainbow' series. Sequel to The Rainbow Arc
With Ponyville having been completely abandoned, Rainbow Dash finally loses hope that Applejack will return to her. Setting out to Canterlot she finally begins her search for the lost pony. During her search, an unnatural grief continues to plague her mind. Meanwhile Scootaloo makes an accidental discovery during her goodbyes that leads to her own journey to track down Rainbow Dash.

Published 2012-07-02 18:04:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-02 18:04:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Unknown to the rest of Equestria, one pony still dwelled within the crumbling walls of Ponyville. The pony consumed with guilt, she blamed herself for everything that had happened. The filly had hidden herself from the rest of the world, waiting until she had been long since forgotten.

The small orange filly poked her head through the door of an abandoned home. The cold air and rain almost driving her back inside immediately but she stopped herself. She had somewhere she needed to go and she couldn't postpone it any longer.

The filly pulled her scooter out and wheeled herself slowly through the muddy roads. The events running through her head for what must have been the thousandth time. She plagued herself by trying to pinpoint the exact moment in which she could have changed everything.

Scootaloo pushed herself past the dozens of graves and stopped at the large hole in the ground. The grave hadn't been reburied; the diggers had left before the funeral, they didn't want to risk not catching the final train out of Ponyville.

The orange pony stared down at the dark pit for a few moments and then climbed down the hole, it would be her last chance to see her friend and she wanted to talk with her face to face. She picked up the golden necklace on the coffin and with shaking hooves she pushed open the lid.

The black Pegasus inside looked peaceful, almost as if she were simply sleeping. The dozens of cuts that covered her body had been sewn and concealed. Her mane had been dyed back to its flaming obsidian color and brushed down flat on her side.

"Raven, this is my fault." She whispered solemnly, her eyes beginning to well up. She placed her hoof on Raven Flame's cheek, "I should have done something…" Inhaling deeply, she tore her eyes away from the lifeless pony, "I'm sorry…"

She stared at the golden pendant she still held in her hoof. The pendant Raven Flame had scarcely taken off since it had been given to her. Scootaloo pushed on the small button, releasing the latch and it popped open. Her heart stung as she looked at the picture of the ponies lives she felt she had destroyed.

Quickly she re-sealed the locket and blinked away the tears trying to fill her eyes. She looked back down at Raven Flame. She lifted the pony's head and slipped the pendant around her, "I'll never forget you…" she gently kissed Raven's forehead and set her back down.

The pendant began to shine and then exploded into millions of specks of golden lights. As the sparks ruptured the air became icy and the clouds blackened. A single cloud of dark mist seeped outward and vanished into the darkening sky. The brilliant specks began to surround Raven Flame one by one fading into her body. With each glowing particle vanishing so did the sutures that covered her body.

As the last of the lights submerged into her, Raven Flame's entire body began to glow the same shimmering lights. Her body started to tremble violently, her limbs and wings stretching outward and retracting rapidly when suddenly they halted. All at once the dazzling golden glow dissipated from her and only the black filly remained.

An agonized scream escaped Raven's lips as her every last nerve within her burned as they simultaneously burst back into life. Her lungs desperately gasped for air and her eyes now opened, filled with pure terror as to what was happening. Her mouth felt cracked and gritty as if she hadn't had anything to drink in months. Her hollow stomach ached dully with every new breath she took.

Scootaloo froze in both fear and disbelief disbelief, "R-R-Raven?" she stuttered.

Raven Flame tried to turn her head but her joints felt stiff and her muscles seemingly useless, "I… can't move…" she said weakly.

"H-how?" Scootaloo slapped herself on the head to make sure she wasn't dreaming, "H-how did you..."

"Why can't I move?" Raven asked, her voice growing more frightful.

Scootaloo discarded her questions, as confused as she was to what had just happened it didn't matter to her. She pulled the black filly up and placed her sitting in an upright position and hugged her, "I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too, but we saw each other like yesterday…" Raven Flame said awkwardly. She could feel tears trickling down from Scootaloo's eyes. "Why are you crying?"

Scootaloo sniffled, "I thought you were gone…"

Raven Flame blinked, "Did you hit your head or something?"

"Raven…" Scootaloo squeezed her tightly, "Nearly a month ago… you…"

"I what?" Raven screeched getting tired of her questions not being answered. She tried to shake away the orange filly but her body barely nudged. A memory of her lying in Rainbow Dash's hooves flashed through her mind. She finished piecing everything together and finally understood what was going had happened. Taking a deep breath she kept herself calm, "So I can't move because I…" she couldn't bring herself to say it, "W-where am I?"

Scootaloo ran her hoof against Raven's mane, "That doesn't matter, you… you're okay now."

Raven Flame tried to give Scootaloo a menacing stare but she couldn't even pull away from the pony's grasp, "Are we in…" she paused and looked around as best she could. All she could see were white laces sewn into polished wood and above that were walls of soggy dirt surrounding them.

Scootaloo slowly nod, "I'm so sorry Raven…"

Raven Flame's stomach groaned in hunger, she would save her hysterics for later when she her stomach wasn't eating herself to death, "Can we save the sentiments for later… Apparently I haven't eaten in a month."

Scootaloo laughed quietly but didn't move, she just sat there still holding her until finally she pressed her lips against Raven's cheek, "I'm so glad you're okay…"

A low and loud growling came from Raven Flame's stomach, "When's that soup going to be ready?" she whined impatiently.

"I'm working on it!" Scootaloo shouted as she scurried across the dark room. She placed a ladle into an iron pot that sat on a grill above a small fire. She stirred vigorously at the bubbling orange mixture then lifted the spoon and poured the liquid into the bowl. She carefully trotted up to the propped up Raven Flame with the bowl still in hoof and held out the bowl to the Pegasus who stared at it ravenously.

Raven Flame blinked, "Thanks… but I can't move, remember?" she said with an innocent smile covering her face.

"Oh right…" Scootaloo pressed the dish against Raven's lips and poured slowly. She waited for a signal to stop but the Pegasus continued to drink up every last ounce of soup.

Raven exhaled loudly when the dish was pulled away from her. Her eyes glazed joyously as the food travelled down into her empty stomach, "Can I have some more?"

Scootaloo returned to the pot and filled the bowl for a second time, then a third time and then a fourth time, "Are you full yet?" she asked astonished that any pony could eat that much food so quickly.

"I haven't eaten in a month!" Raven Flame cried defensively feeling a little embarrassed. She would have bonked the orange filly on the head if she could. Her limbs still worked, the muscles were just so far atrophied that they could barely perform even the slightest task.

"Well, we're out of soup…" Scootaloo said staring at the empty pot.

"That's okay."

"What was it like… being dead?" Scootaloo asked quietly.

Raven Flame raised an eyebrow, "There were long fields of lush green grass and fluffy bunnies."

Scootaloo trotted closer, "Really?" she asked sounding surprised.

Raven Flame laughed, "I have no idea!"

Scootaloo blushed, "Oh."

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Raven Flame had been putting off the question for some time now, expecting that she wouldn't have had to ask.

Scootaloo wished she had a better answer for her, "I don't know… I guess she left with every pony else."

"And Applejack?"

"No pony has seen or heard from her since the Rodeo…"

A frown covered Raven's face, "We're going to find them though, right?"

"Yeah, it's just…" Scootaloo sighed, "The last train left this morning. If we want to leave, we have to go by hoof."

"Okay. We'll leave tomorrow." Raven said enthusiastically.

"You can't even wiggle your hooves!"

"Right…" Raven Flame thought for a moment, "Can you pull me from your scooter?"

Scootaloo laughed sarcastically, "Through miles of forest and pony knows what else?"

Raven Flame tried to nod but couldn't, "Uh… yeah?"

"I guess."

"Great!" Raven Flame yawned, "I'm kind of tired…"

Scootaloo dragged the Pegasus across the room and pulled her up onto the bed. She hopped down and stopped at the door, "You need anything else?"

"No, and thank you."

"Alright, I'll be in the other room. Call out if you need me." Scootaloo hopped into the room where she was storing the supplies she had scavenged. She rummaged through them and taking mental notes of what she had and how much of it there was.

"Scootaloo!" Raven Flame called out, the orange filly poked her head from the doorway. "Will you stay with me?"

"Sure." Scootaloo pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down.

"Can you come closer?" Raven asked shyly.

"Kay…" Scootaloo hopped off of her chair and climbed onto the bed and faced Raven Flame towards her.

Raven shivered a little, "You know, it's kind of cold."

Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around Raven Flame and held her, "Was this your way of asking for a hug?"

"Sort of…" Raven blushed, "I kind of wanted a kiss…"

"I missed you so much…" Scootaloo pushed herself closer shutting her eyes the two locked their lips.

Once the kiss broke Raven strained her neck and slowly adjusted herself so she could stare into Scootaloo's eyes. "I think I love you." She squeaked nervously.

Scootaloo wanted to say it back, but she still felt responsible for everything that had happened to Raven. She then asked herself why she even blamed herself in the first place. If she should blame anyone for what happened she should be blaming her father.

"I… I think I love you too…" Scootaloo whispered back. Their lips met for a second time and then the two laid there quietly until they fell asleep in each other's hooves.

Raven Flame woke from an aching that covered her entire body. The painful burn made her nauseous and her joints brittle like glass. Despite doing almost nothing physical the previous day, her muscles had been so weak her that the process of them rebuilding had already begun.

Raven stared at the orange filly sleeping next to her, the pony's hooves still holding her. She decided to let Scootaloo sleep a bit longer and she would enjoy the warmth she provided from the steadily increasing cold air. Eventually the filly's snoring was getting a little exhausting on her ears.

"Scootaloo…" Raven Flame whispered quietly, but the filly didn't move. "SCOOTALOO!" she screamed.

Scootaloo bounced out of the bed and crashed onto the ground, "What is it, what's wrong?"

Raven turned her body slowly towards the filly, "Nothing!" she said innocently.

"Why were you screaming then?" Scootaloo asked still sounding concerned.

Raven's face covered with an obnoxious grin, "Because I wanted to annoy you and because you were snoring."

"I do not snore!"

Raven Flame rolled her eyes, "Yeah, okay sure." She tried to sit herself up, though she had slightly more mobility than before, but with the nauseating pain she gave up. She let out an irritated groan from her new found dependency on the orange filly. Reluctantly she asked, "Can you help me up?"

Scootaloo clambered back onto the bed and nudged her slowly over the edge. Raven Flame landed on her hooves, what seemed like thousands of needles stabbing into her from the impact and her legs soon collapsed. She whimpered and tried to curl up and rub the sores to soothe the pain but her limbs barely budged.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Raven replied irritably.

"Uh… no?"

"I can barely move and every time I do it feels like I'm being kicked in the face!" Raven screamed, her eyes starting to well up, "I don't know where my parents and they both think I'm dead, because I WAS dead." Everything that was happening finally started to overwhelm her and the tears came trickling down, "So no, I'm not okay!"

Scootaloo hugged the sobbing Pegasus and then disappeared into the room where she stored the supplies. A few seconds later she returned with a roll of white bandages. She lifted Raven's hooves and tightly wrapped the cloth around each of them.

At first the pressure of the bandages stung at her. They made her feel as if her bones were going to crack and shatter. After giving it sometime the pain began to subside and soon the frailness faded as well. She blinked away her tears and smiled, "Thank you…"

Scootaloo dried off Raven's tears, "If they get too tight just let me know, 'kay?"

Raven made a tiny nodding motion with her head that she guessed wouldn't be seen, "Okay…"

"Are you sure you still want to leave today?"

"Yes I'm sure. The longer we wait the smaller chance we have of finding Dashie, or Applejack."

"Okay." Scootaloo said still feeling a little uncomfortable with the idea, "Last night I went through what supplies I had managed to pull together and I think we should have enough to make it to Canterlot."

Raven Flame could tell that she had something more to add, "But?"

Scootaloo grinned, "EXCEPT we don't have a tent…"

Raven groaned at the word choice, "So what do we do about that?"

"Well, you sit here like a good little pony." Scootaloo patted her on the head, "And I'll go search pony's homes for a tent."

"If I could move I'd kick you all the way to Canterlot." Raven grumbled beneath her breath.

"I'll be back soon." Scootaloo hovered at the doorway, "But if I'm not back in a few hours, it means the zombie ponies got me." Raven scoffed and watched as she let out a spooky cackle and closed the door behind her.

Trotting through the streets Scootaloo wondered where to check first. She stared at the boarded up door of Sugar Cube Corner. Although Pinkie Pie was a crazy pony who kept a wide assortment of things, she doubted that a pony like Pinkie would have forgotten something.

"Where would I find a tent?" she asked herself aloud hoping it would spark an idea and it did. She remembered the sporting goods store at the edge of town where she had bought her scooter at years ago.

After a near ten minute journey, the cold and strong wind slowing her down drastically, she finally arrived at the boarded up shop. She tried wiggling the doorknob but not to her surprise though, it was locked. She slowly circled around the building until she found a partially boarded up window that had a space large enough for her to crawl through.

Scootaloo picked up a nearby rock and smashed it into the glass repeatedly until it finally broke. She cleared off the sharp edges that still remained and pushed herself through the hole. She hopped down, the sound of glass crunching beneath her hooves making her jump.

She laughed at herself for being so easily startled and returned to the task at hoof. Most of the store had been emptied out already, though a few pony coats and winter hats still lay on the shelves. With the increasing cold Scootaloo decided that they would need anything they could get their hooves on to keep warm.

Rummaging through the shelves of empty boxes, she found one still sealed. Chewing off the tape with her teeth she pulled it open to find a bundle of large sleeping bags. Not what she had hoped for but again useful and she removed that from the container as well.

Finally Scootaloo went through to the last aisle of the shop and to her astonishment found that it had remained mostly untouched. There were rows and rows of camping supplies, she giggled maniacally at her vast selection. She knew she shouldn't be picky but with so many choices she couldn't help it.

After nearly twenty minutes of weighing the pros and cons between her every option she finally decided on a tent. Realizing she was carrying too much to bring back by herself she pulled one of the carts that had been left behind and filled it with the tent, blanket, coats and a few other items she deemed were necessities.

Scootaloo unlocked the entrance of the shop and rolled the cart outside. With the cold wind blowing with her it sped her up and she reached the abandoned house in a few minutes. She pushed open the door "I'm back!" she said excitedly.

"Oh thank baby ponies!" Raven Flame shouted.

Scootaloo tilted her head and looked at the Pegasus who laid on her back with her hooves in the air, "What happened to you?"

"When you left…" Raven huffed, "The wind blew in and knocked me over! I've been stuck like this for nearly an hour."

Scootaloo burst into laughter, "Sorry." She giggled as she pushed the pony back upright.

"Is that a… boogie board?" Raven Flame asked staring curiously at the cart filled with all sorts of random and most likely useless things.

Scootaloo chuckled nervously, "I guess I got a little carried away."

"You don't say…" Raven pulled her eyes away from the new supplies, "Well I'm ready to go when you are!"

"Okay." Scootaloo rushed back and forth between the supply room and the shopping cart until everything had been moved. She then tied a red wagon to the cart and dragged the gray Pegasus into it.

Raven Flame frowned as she laid on her back in the wagon her hooves sticking in the air once more, "This is so demeaning…"

Scootaloo had planned on leaving her that way just to irritate her but the fear of what the pony might do when she could move again won over and she returned Raven to her side. She opened the door and looked back at Raven, "You sure you want to do this?"

Raven Flame hesitated this time, considering what could happen with her disability. Finally she answered, "Yes, I'm sure." Scootaloo nodded and began to wheel the wagon through the streets of Ponyville and into the wilderness towards Canterlot.

Unzipping the tent, the orange filly stepped out into the winter wind. She looked around to gauge the remaining distance between where she camped now and Canterlot. The supplies were running scarce and her legs grew sore from the strain of all the weight she had been dragging behind her. She guessed there was still a two day journey remaining, though she couldn't be entirely sure.

She and Raven Flame had travelled close to the railroad tracks as long as they could. What they had not anticipated was the first tunnel that the tracks ran through had recently collapsed and they had to make around the rocks.

This obstacle had lengthened their trip a day or so and required extra food and water that they already had a scarce amount of. A further set back, the surrounding land that they had to cross through was swampland, making it incredibly difficult to travel by hoof. It was even more so since she had to drag behind her not only the supplies but the wagon that the second filly had to be moved in.

"Scootaloo?" Raven called from inside the tent, lying helplessly on the blanketed ground.

Scootaloo threw the flaps of the tent aside and dragged the wagon inside. She lifted Raven Flame up and onto the icy cold metal. The filly had yet to recover any use of her limbs aside from her neck which now had full mobility once more.

"Comfy?" Scootaloo asked with a sly wink.

Raven Flame stuck her tongue out at the pony, "Mock me all you want, but you're the one who has to carry me."

Scootaloo tried to think of something clever but it seemed to her she had the short end of the stick, "You win this time." She said reluctantly as she re-hitched the wagon and the shopping cart back together behind her scooter. She un-pitched the tent and threw it into the back of the cart and tossed the dry side of the blanket onto Raven Flame as she would no doubt get cold later on.

"You hungry?" Scootaloo asked while she rummaged through the cart searching for something to satisfy her own growling stomach.

"No, thanks, I'm good." Raven Flame lied trying to ration what food she could just in case.

"A-ha!" Scootaloo cheered triumphantly as she pulled out a frozen pastry. She examined it, dusted it off and bit down into it. As the food came into contact with her tongue she let out obnoxiously loud sounds to insinuate its deliciousness despite its incredibly bland taste, "You sure you don't want some?" Scootaloo grinned, "Tastes just like ice cubes!"

"Oh, well when you put it that way…" Raven hummed to herself, "no." she said plainly.

"Suit yourself!" Scootaloo stuffed the remainder of the pastry into her mouth. When she finished chewing she put on her helmet and hopped onto her scooter she had parked against a tree.

"So how much further?" Raven Flame called out.

"About two days, maybe three."

"Okay." Raven Flame groaned and stared at the tiresome scenery around her. The trees were covered with a thick fuzzy layer of green moss. The partially frozen grass which they tread on was soggy, spongy and greenish blue in color.

Scootaloo dragged the carts along in silence and Raven Flame lay there quietly as well. Raven suspected the boredom she was experiencing was amplified by her inability to move. The immobility left all of her energy to sit there inside her just itching at her to be used.

The hours slowly crept on as did the quietness between the two. They had been talking the previous days but for the most part the two had exhausted every topic of conversation as they travelled onward. "So…" Raven said trying to think of a way to finish her sentence, "What happened to Applebloom?"

"Applebloom?" Scootaloo repeated turning her head to look at Raven Flame, "She and her brother Big Macintosh went to Appaloosa to stay with their cousin Braeburn."

"Oh, well what about Sweetie Belle?"

"I'm not really sure. I think she stayed with Rarity when the Boutique closed and she moved to Canterlot." Scootaloo said, though she didn't sound entirely sure. She hadn't exactly remained the most social of ponies in the days that had followed after the incident with her father.

A strange almost unnoticeable darkness shrouded the area of the two ponies as they continued onward. The temperature grew vastly more cold within seconds. Raven Flame was about to ask another question but a cracking sound interrupted her thoughts. She listened carefully and realized the sound was coming from behind her. She tilted her neck so she could see behind herself.

In the midst of the conversation Scootaloo had absentmindedly walked onto a pond that had frozen over. "Scootaloo!" Raven Flame shouted as the ice beneath the shopping cart began to break apart. The cart plummeted down into the frozen depths, its weight starting to pull both the wagon and the scooter in with it.

Scootaloo rushed towards Raven and tipped her out of the wagon. The rope that hitched the three objects together had managed to become tangled with Scootaloo's hooves when she had knocked it over and soon the struggling Pegasus was dragged in as well.

Raven Flame flopped herself towards the hole in the ice. Forcing out all of her breath she nudged herself into the mind numbingly cold water. With no oxygen inside her to keep her body afloat she sank down towards the pony.

Scootaloo grew hysterical as the piercing chill of the water stabbed at her while she struggled to free her hooves from the knotted rope that entangled her. With her increasing fear she quickly exhausted what little air that remained in her lungs, her limbs grew weak and her eyes started to shut on their own. As her consciousness began to fade, the tormenting memory of her mother flooded through her mind.

Raven Flame scanned through the mass of rope as quickly as she could until she found a spot with adequate space. With a single bite she tore straight through the rope freeing Scootaloo who didn't move. She grabbed at the pony's mane with her teeth, with gravity no longer being an obstacle inside she found much more use of her muscles.

Raven Flame slowly positioned her hooves onto the muddy ground and kicked off, dragging the unconscious pony with her. She diverted the rest of her energy to ensuring Scootaloo surfaced from the water.

Scootaloo gasped for air and looked around for Raven who still had not emerged. Taking in a breath she dived back down and grabbed at Raven's hoof and pulled her back up.

"Can you hold yourself up?" Scootaloo asked through her chattering teeth.

Raven nodded and bit firmly onto the ice, "Okay!" she shouted through her muffled mouth.

Scootaloo let go of her and climbed out of the arctic water then pulled Raven Flame out and dragged her off of the brittle ice. She wrapped her arms and wings around Raven Flame, the two desperately trying to recover their body heat, "Are you okay?" she shivered.

"Better th-than you'll ever be." Raven Flame said.

As the two's shivering slowed Scootaloo began to assess their losses. She still estimated approximately a two days journey to Canterlot. With no food, water or shelter and a handicapped pony that hardly seemed feasible.

"We're bucked…" Scootaloo said finally, "There is no way we are gonna make it now. We don't even-"

Raven Flame interrupted her with a kiss she didn't want to worry about just how likely it was they would now die out here. She stared into Scootaloo's eyes and as she did what looked like white bricks stuck out through the trees in the corner of her eye, "Is that… Canterlot?"

Chapter 2

A cold dark mist swarmed around Rainbow Dash and vanished revealing a black lifeless filly. The pony stared deeply at her with angry and hateful black eyes. Her ghostly white mane swaying ever so slightly in the frosty breeze, "Why Dashie?" she asked with a haunting voice that sent chills through her.

Rainbow Dash took a step back, "I…"

The filly stepped closer, "You could have saved me."

Rainbow's eyes began to fill up with tears, "There wasn't anything I could do…"

The pony continued trotting closer, "You didn't even try."

Rainbow Dash's legs collapsed beneath her, "Raven… I'm sorry."

"You didn't love me."

"Yes I did!" Rainbow cried back. "I still do!"

"You wanted me gone."

The tears began to fall from Rainbow Dash's cheeks, "That's not true!"

Blood began to trickle down the filly's body as she walked closer, "You hated me, didn't you?"

Rainbow Dash covered her eyes with her hooves, "No I didn't!"

The filly just inches away from the cowering blue Pegasus now, "You wanted to kill me. Yes, you killed me Dashie."

"SHUT UP!" Rainbow Dash screamed out, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" she breathed in heavily, opening her eyes, she sat up, finding herself back in the hotel room she was staying in.

The room felt unnaturally cold and far darker than it should have. Shaking off the small amount of sleep she had managed to scrounge up both the cold and dark seemed to fade away. A thick icy sweat had drenched her while she had been sleeping. Grabbing onto the pillow she buried her face into it and began to weep softly. She wished Applejack were here to comfort her, she had always known what to say.

The winter's sun began to gently pour in through the thin curtains that covered the window. Rainbow Dash exhausted her tears and finally emerged from the cover of her pillow. Glancing at the faint rays of light that bled into the room she reluctantly pulled herself off of the hotel bed. Trotting over to the window she pulled the curtains back and pushed open the thin glass.

The cold winter's wind blew in drying the hot tears from her face. She gazed out at the nearby park, yesterday's rain had flooded most of it and the water had frozen over in the midst of the night. Sharp Icicles stabbed downwards at the ground ever so slightly clinging onto the bare branches of the trees that slept peacefully for the long winter.

With a heavy sigh, Rainbow Dash shut the window and moved herself away from it and headed towards the mirror and sink by the door. She looked in the mirror and stared blankly at the parts of her mane that clung to the sticky dried tears on her cheeks.

A gust of cold rushed through the room as she parted the hair from her face she saw the reflection of a young black filly. She turned around to see no pony behind her, only the dark shadow of the pony coat-rack behind her. When she looked back the image of the pony was no longer there as well. Shaking her head, she turned on the faucet and splashed herself with water.

In the last month she had hardly been sleeping at all and whenever she had it was for only the briefest of moments before her dreams pushed her back awake. In the rare minutes of the day when she wasn't thinking about what had happened to Raven Flame there was always something there to keep her down. If it wasn't the growing bills that she wasn't able to pay then it was her increasing concern for what may have happened to Applejack.

Parts of her mane had begun to gray from the overwhelming stress that continued to weigh down on her. With every single blink her eyes burned as their lids peeled back up. Large tired bags beneath the dimming magenta glow of her eyes had formed, sagging heavily from the deprivation of sleep. Her legs had now grown weak, almost unbearably so. In addition to the difficulty of her exhausted muscles they had developed fierce tremors. At times the quivering became so violent she had barely been able to keep herself standing.

Rainbow Dash unlocked the latches of the door and pulled it open. Her stomach began to growl loudly as it gnawed away at her from inside out. She trotted gingerly to the café that conjoined with the same building as the hotel. "Muffin and a coffee, black." She mumbled to the pony and dropped a few bits onto the glass counter.

The pony scooped up the clattering golden coins, "You okay?" she asked while handing the Pegasus a small tray that held her order.

Rainbow Dash ignored the question, retrieved the tray and sat down at the nearest table. She ate quietly; she took no joy in the food she would eat, in the past month food had become increasingly bland with each day. Her coffee was bitter, though she suspected even if she had made an effort to sweeten it she wouldn't be able to recognize the difference anymore.

Once finished, Rainbow threw away the muffin's crumb riddled paper cup into the nearby trash bin and returned the porcelain mug to the pony stationed at the counter. The pony asked if there was anything else she could get her. Rainbow Dash declined and was once again asked if she was alright which she once again ignored and went back out through the door she had came from.

Rainbow Dash finally decided it was time that she should start her search. Canterlot being the capitol of Equestria, it was one of the largest cities in the world. After a month's passing she had serious doubts that any pony would even have remembered who Applejack was, let alone be able to give her some useful insight as to what happened to her.

Exhaling deeply, she nudged open the last glass door that protected her from the air outside. She pushed herself through and started trotting down the icy sidewalk. The streets were mostly deserted with the exception of the occasional earth pony or unicorn rushing past to get to work. As they trotted past she made a vain attempt to try to stop them and inquire about what they knew but they never answered.

Looking down towards the end of the street corner Rainbow Dash saw a small black filly. Yet again that strange cold filled the air and clung to her. She watched carefully and the pony began to trot out of sight. Filled with a sudden burst of energy she sprinted down the road. However, when she reached the spot, as she had suspected there was no pony was in sight.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her hoof against her forehead then ran it through her mane. She wasn't sure if that had been a real pony or just her imagination getting the best of her again. Blinking a few times to moisten her aching eyes she finally kept on moving. As she approached the next corner, she saw a familiar pony. This time she was positive whom she was looking at was not just her imagination.

Rainbow Dash stared down the road at the pony that was only a few hundred yards away. She started walking towards the pony, slowly at first as to not draw any attention to herself. She wanted to be absolutely sure it was exactly who she thought it was. Just a dozen yards away now and she could distinguish features that confirmed the identity of the pony.

The pony saw her from the corner of its eye. Staring wide eyed in terror for a moment before shaking back to reality, the pony took off running, taking cover behind the nearest street corner. "No, stop!" Rainbow Dash screamed giving chase to the fleeing pony. When she turned round the same corner she found herself in Canterlot's Market Square where the pony had disappeared into a flood of others.

Rainbow slammed her hoof against the pavement in frustration. Letting out a slur of curses she began to feel it was hopeless trying to track down a single pony in a city of this size after so much time had passed. Her whole body began to shiver violently but not from the chilly air. The caffeine she had been using to fuel her for the last few weeks was finally starting to wear at her.

She knew her body wouldn't be able to take much more of this abuse and what she desperately needed was a single night of uninterrupted rest. But every time she closed her eyes Raven's face would show itself to her, staring at her with those blaming eyes. She constantly tried to remind herself that there wasn't anything she could have done, but with the continuous haunting of the memories she was beginning to believe that maybe she really was responsible.

As an icy draft rushed past her and the clouds moved across the pale yellow sun her vision became unfocused and her legs started to wobble weakly. She stumbled towards the nearest wall and shifted her weight onto it giving her body a quick rest. While she recovered herself the image of the gray filly returned to her again. The filly tilted her head dejectedly and looked at Rainbow with sad eyes, "Why didn't you save me Dashie?"

"Leave me alone!" Rainbow Dash cried, pounding a hoof into the brick wall she leaned against. A passing couple was now staring at her just a few feet away. "What?" she shouted at them and they soon scurried away. Her head began to throb and her temper had long since vanished now. She needed to get back to her hotel room before she did anything she would regret.

Ponies glared at her with either concerned or repulsed eyes as Rainbow Dash trudged blindly through the streets. Her legs were barely managing to carry her through the trip back to her hotel. Her body growing heavier with each passing second she finally reached her room. Unlocking the door and pulling it open she quickly shut it again and flipped the hinges of its locks.

Her entire face began to flush with painful heat. Turning on the sink's faucet she placed her head beneath it and let the cool water rush over her. The burning in her cheeks slowly drowned away and when she felt it no longer necessary she shut off the water and dried herself off. She returned back to the window and peered out it once again.

In the iced park there was a family of three playing gleefully in the cold. For a brief moment the scene made her smile but the emotion quickly faded. Soon all she could feel was jealousy and anger storming through her. She should have been playing in the grass with her filly and wife, not spending her days filled with remorse and guilt as she searched for answers she felt she would never get.

Since she had broke free from the orphanage as a filly she had just craved to be a part of a family. To have ponies she loved and who loved her back. For a few days she had what she had desired her whole life only for it to be ripped away from her. Just as if to taunt her, mocking her of what she could have but never would.

Darkness swept across the room and her anger began to intensify. Soon the growing rage inside her started to boil in her blood as she stared at the three ponies. A vain effort to control herself, she pried her eyes away from the window but it was far too late and the fury overwhelmed her.

Letting out a scream she stomped her way to the small table in the corner of the room and battered it with her hooves repeatedly until it shattered beneath the crushing blows. Afterwards she moved onto the chair, grabbing it with her teeth she swung it at the wall and hurled it at the window. Marching over towards the bed she ripped off its sheets and began to gnaw fiercely at its seams and shredded them apart with her hooves. Swiping at the small delicate bedside lamp it crashed onto the floor, its fragile porcelain littering the pale blue carpet.

Finally the anger subsided, breathing heavily she looked around the room. The sight of the destruction she had caused stabbed at her. Crawling into the corner of the room she collapsed onto the floor. Wrapping her hooves around her knees she rocked herself gently back and forth as sorrow and regret took hold of her.

The tears started to pour from her eyes again, drenching her once again burning face as she rocked. Her body shuddered from the emotions, the lack of sleep and the oversaturation of caffeine that rushed through her body. Soon she began to feel queasy and her muscles more and more tired. Flopping onto her side she sobbed heavily into her forelegs. For the second time in a single day she found herself silently wishing that Applejack were here beside her.

There was a distressingly loud pounding emanating from the door of Rainbow Dash's hotel room. Rainbow Dash laid there on the rough carpet, hoping the banging would just stop and she would be left to herself. Unfortunately she had no such luck and the noise only grew louder and louder. Realizing she didn't have any choice she dragged her exhausted body off the floor, towards the door and opened it.

"Hotel security, we received an anonymous-"

The pony in utter shock stopped in the midst of his sentence. The two glared at each other for a few moments. Both were completely frozen in disbelief at who they were seeing. One had been trying to chase the other whom had had been trying to escape. Rainbow Dash still couldn't believe that she would have such luck. The pony who had managed to elude her had just walked straight up to her door.

The orange Pegasus shook himself back to reality. With a small thread of hope he tried to force his fat body down the hallway as fast as it could. Rainbow Dash now revitalized with a burning hatred for the pony she quickly grabbed at him before he could make his escape and pulled him into the room by his ear.

Slamming the door behind her she threw the Pegasus to the ground and delivered a single kick into his wing. The bone crunched loudly from the heavy impact of her hoof. Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed a cushion from the bed nearby. Just as the fat Pegasus was about to scream out in pain he found a pillow smothering his mouth to muffle the noise.

"Please…" he whimpered when the cushion was removed from his face.

"Shut up!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she landed another powerful kick into his chest, "A useless sack of bones like you doesn't deserve to take another breath." She walked over to the broken remains of the lamp and picked up a jagged piece of the porcelain, holding it against his throat.

"Don't kill me…"

Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Why shouldn't I?"

The fat Pegasus thought for a moment, his slow and stupid brain raced to come up with the best reason he could possibly think of that may have a small chance to save his life. "Because… because it'll ruin you." He said weakly.

Rainbow Dash pressed the edge harder against his flesh, "Ruin me?" she asked almost laughing, "I lose my home because I can't pay for it. My hometown has been abandoned and my friends have all moved away. Applejack is gone and dead and because of a fat useless drunk like you so is Raven Flame." Pushing the blade down even deeper a small trickle of blood emerged from his neck, "So what exactly have I got left to lose that could ever possibly ruin me?"

The fat Pegasus sucked in his pudgy neck in an effort to try and escape the sharp edge held against him. His brain caught onto something Rainbow Dash had said, something that gave him a small glimmer of hope he still had a chance, "Applejack… isn't …dead." He mumbled in between gasps of pain.

Rainbow Dash pulled the lamp shard away from his neck so he could speak more clearly, "What did you say?"

"I said Applejack is not dead."

Rainbow Dash returned the point to his throat, "How do I know you aren't lying just to save your own fat worthless flank."

The fat Pegasus spoke quickly, "I saw her two weeks ago. She was leaving the hospital. I swear." He hoped this would be enough to convince her that he was telling the truth.

Rainbow Dash looked into his frightened eyes trying to see if she could detect even the tiniest sign of whether he was deceiving her or not. As far as she could tell though, he was being completely honest with her. Finally "I believe you." She said not moving the porcelain edge from his throat.

Only one question remained for Rainbow Dash now, "What to do with him?" Her heart burned for vengeance of her young fallen filly. However at the same time she took pity on the lump and though justified in her mind, she wasn't sure she would be able to live with the guilt. Another sweeping cold ran through the room and the illusion of Raven Flame appeared once more, staring at her with those haunting hollow eyes.

The answer of what to do now became perfectly clear to Rainbow Dash now. She was surprised at herself for even considering there had been a second option in the first place. When she parted her eyes from it the image of the gray filly disappeared. She put her attention back on the helpless fat Pegasus she pinned to the ground.

"Please…" the Pegasus whimpered again, trying to slip his neck out from underneath Rainbow's front leg that held him in place. "I don't want to die…" he cried out quietly as the tears started to fill his eyes.

"Raven Flame is dead because of you…" Rainbow Dash's voice quaked. "Because of you, she'll never laugh again. She'll never cry or smile or sing. She had so much potential and so many dreams. She never even celebrated a birthday. She hadn't even learned to fly yet."

Rainbow Dash's eyes began to well up, "She still had so much to experience and so much to learn. Her life had just barely started. Everything she could have done, all taken away because of a fat useless Pegasus like you." She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes for what somewhere deep down in the corner of her mind she couldn't believe she was about to do.

"But killing you won't bring her back." She said releasing her grip and drawing the edge away from his neck. "If I ever see you again, you'll end up with a lot worse than a broken wing though." The fat Pegasus nodded, stumbled back onto his hooves and scampered off through the door like a bunny just as he had before.

When the pony was out of sight, the boiling in her blood and the screaming in her brain to force out his last breath subsided and what he had told her finally sunk in. Somewhere in Equestria was the mare she loved dearly, still breathing, smiling and maybe even laughing. Everything in the room seemed to brighten as if a shadow had been lifted from within it.

Although she wondered why her pony had not returned to her, at that precise moment she couldn't care. She had just learned the one she thought had passed away from the world leaving her behind completely alone was still somewhere out there. Finally for the first time in a month she let herself believe that not everything in her life was lost; she could still salvage something beautiful in her life from all of the chaos that surrounded her. Though Rainbow Dash could barely believe it she allowed her heart to fill with hope that maybe Applejack was still alive.

Rainbow Dash stood outside the door of Canterlot's hospital. The building was massive at least twice the size of Ponyville's. Blue signs were plastered on its walls pointing in various directions to help ponies find the different wings. Assuming that something had happened to Applejack at the rodeo, Rainbow Dash decided the best place to start would be Neurology Wing.

Walking slowly she peeked through the dozens of windows and glanced at all the passing ponies on the off chance that she might be fortunate enough to run into Applejack. A small line was formed at a desk near the door of the neurology wing. Rainbow Dash took her place in line behind a fidgeting pony whose ears continuously twitched.

The pony in front of her finally had his chance in line and spent the next five minutes speaking at such a pace that Rainbow Dash couldn't understand. Eventually he was directed towards a seat after repeating what sounded like the same phrase a dozen times or so. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but stare as he trotted away.

"Can I help you?" The clerk pony asked still sounding aggravated from the previous pony.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward, "Uh, yeah, I'm actually looking for some pony."

"Name, coat color, mane color and cutie mark."

"Her name is Applejack. She has an orange coat, blonde mane and three red apples for her cutie mark." Rainbow Dash replied tapping her hoof on the desk.

The pony walked away towards a tall orange filing cabinet in the midst of rows of different colors. He then pulled open its yellow drawer. He pulled back hundreds of folders until she found one with three apples stamped on it and returned to the desk.

Pulling open the folder, he read aloud, "Dr. Trotsky, he's in room 118." He placed the folder down, "Anything else?"

Rainbow Dash looked around at the three hallways in this room alone, "Yeah… where is room 118?"

"Hallway on the right, just head straight down, take the first right and it'll be the fourth door on the left." He said blankly.

"Thanks!" Rainbow Dash waved and trotted off. Her body's jittering started to return and her eyes starting to ache once again as the last of the caffeine slowly worked its way out of her body. She tried to hold herself steady as she turned down the next hallway. Appearing like a crazy pony whilst walking down the neurology section of a hospital didn't quite sound ideal to her.

Rainbow Dash reached the door and knocked her shaking hoof against it, "Come in!" a male voice called from inside. She pushed down the knob and walked in the pony's office a little surprised as she had expected it to be an examination room.

"Hi, Dr. Trotsky?" Rainbow Dash asked and the pony nodded, "I was looking for some pony and the file said you were the last to treat her." She said although her attention couldn't help but me more focused on the steaming pot of coffee in the corner of the room.

"What was her name?" Dr. Trotsky asked just before noticing her quivering hooves, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Rainbow Dash stared at the coffee, "Can I have a cup?" she asked pointing at the black liquid.

"Of course." Dr. Trotsky pulled out a small paper cup and filled it, "So, what was the patient's name?"

"Thanks." Rainbow Dash chugged every last ounce of the coffee, her body's shaking starting to slow and her attention returning back to normal, "Sorry, her name was Applejack. She came in around two weeks ago."

"Oh, Applejack." Dr. Trotsky started to eye Rainbow Dash suspiciously, "I'm sorry, who did you say you were again?"

Rainbow Dash pointed to the silver jewel encrusted anklet on her foreleg, "My name is Rainbow Dash, I'm her wife."

Dr. Trotsky pulled out a folder and looked at it, "It doesn't say she is married…"

"What!" Rainbow Dash shouted her eyes growing wide.

"Relax." Dr. Trotsky set down the folder on his desk, "I believe you, but it isn't surprising that it doesn't say anything. Unfortunately since you aren't on her record I can't discuss anything medical with you."

Rainbow Dash groaned, "But she's alright?"

"She's fine." He reassured her.

A wave of relief washed over Rainbow Dash, "Can you tell me where she's staying?"

Dr. Trotsky placed his hoof on his chin as he recollected his last visit, "Oh yes, I suggested her to a colleague in Manehatten, he specializes in more specific neurological disorders."

"Neurological disorders?" Rainbow Dash asked her eyes widening for a second time.

"As I said before I can't discuss her medical records with you." Dr. Trotsky pulled open a drawer of his desk and removed a tiny white card, "This is my colleague's card. I'll send him a letter and let him know you're coming."

Rainbow Dash took the small card and slipped it in between her leg and anklet as a holding place, "Thanks for all your help." She said waving her hoof as she trotted out the door.

Hundreds of questions began to race through Rainbow Dash's mind as she walked through the white halls. The most important question to her at the time was when the next train for Manehatten would be leaving. She exited the hospital and through the stone streets towards the station. She would have preferred to fly to Manehatten but the weather had grown much too cold to travel such a distance.

Reaching the crowded station she launched off the ground and flew above the swarm of earth ponies that filled it. She hovered by the large cork board that listed the trains times and then glanced over at the clock hanging from one of the pillars. The next train would be leaving in fifteen minutes and she knew just what she'd do with this time.

Grabbing her ticket from the ticket salespony she glided over to the small café. She could already feel the jitters in her body starting to come back. Staring at the quickly shortening line she moved forward. As she came closer to the front of the line she heard a small voice carry itself across the platform.

"Rainbow Dash!" the voice called out.

Rainbow Dash looked around to see who was calling out to her. Though she couldn't find the source of the voice what she did see made her feel sick; a small black filly laying flat on its side. Rainbow scraped her hoof against her forehead and shut her eyes hoping the image would go away.

She opened her eyes to see the pony had moved a few feet closer. Collapsing onto the ground Rainbow Dash covered her eyes with her hooves, "Just leave me alone…" she cried, wishing the memories would stop haunting her.

"Uh, Rainbow Dash you okay?" Scootaloo asked standing just a couple feet away from her.

Rainbow Dash peeked through her hooves and glanced up at the orange Pegasus, her attention shifting back towards the black filly next to Scootaloo. "Please…" Rainbow whimpered as her eyes flooded with tears.

Raven Flame gathered as much strength as she could and pulled herself off the ground. She stepped slowly, her knees dipping with each step at the weight it could barely carry. She nudged Rainbow Dash's hooves apart and hugged her, "I missed you Dashie."

Rainbow Dash sat there frozen in place with conflicting emotions and thoughts all screaming different things all at once at her about what was happening. One started shouting louder than the rest and the paralysis melted away. Though her mind didn't believe it was true her heart did. Rainbow Dash lifted the filly and squeezed her tightly. Her chin was quivering and her voice trembling, "I missed you too."

Chapter 3

The train hummed noisily as the wheels began to grind against the rusted iron tracks. The steam whistled in a high pitched tone, the last of the ponies clambered into its cars as it slowly pulled away from the station. The passengers pushed and shoved their way through until they reached their private booths assigned to their tickets.

Rainbow Dash slid open a sticky wooden door with a small pane of glass. She peered inside the small rectangular box. The wooden benches built into the walls had been lined with what appeared to be a new layer of green velvet cloth. On the opposite side from the door was an open window that let in the chilly gushing air from outside.

Pushing down on the half-oval handle and closed it, Rainbow Dash watched as they moved further and further away from Canterlot. The small filly lying on her back yawned and rolled herself off onto the plush green seats, "Where are we going Dashie?" Raven asked.

Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes back at the black filly, her mind still trying to adjust to the idea that Raven was actually here, "We're going to Manehatten." She responded.

Scootaloo took a spot on the bench, "Is Applejack there?"

"I hope so." Rainbow Dash said, still watching Raven Flame as her mind tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"What happened to her?" Raven Flame asked.

"I wish I knew. The doctor at the hospital said he wasn't allowed to 'discuss' any medical information." Rainbow Dash sat down next to the filly and ran her hoof through the filly's mane. The warmth of the pony sent shivers through her. Her mind had only managed to manifest memories of the filly being cold and hollow.

Raven noticed Rainbow's subtle change in appearance, "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing is wrong it's just…" Rainbow Dash ran her hoof through the filly's mane a second time, "I guess I just keep expecting I'm going to wake up…" she lifted Raven Flame and held her, "and I don't want that to happen."

"Well you aren't sleeping, I can promise that." Raven said.

"I hope not…" Rainbow Dash said sounding a little dismayed, feeling it more likely that she really was dreaming than this being real.

Raven grinned and bit at the rainbow mane and tugged hard on it.

"Ow!" Rainbow Dash cried, "What was that for?"

"Huh, guess you aren't asleep!" Raven giggled.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and grinned a little, "I guess not."

"Dashie, can we get something to eat?" Raven asked staring up at Rainbow with her pouting blue eyes.

"Sure" Rainbow Dash lifted up Raven Flame and placed her securely on her back again, "I think they have a dining car." She said sliding the door back open and trotting out, Scootaloo following close behind. After passing through two of the train's cars they reached one that was dimly lit.

In place of private booths aligning the walls there were tables with rectangular menus placed over the red linen sheets. Rainbow Dash pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat Raven upright against it, then took a spot next to her.

The waitress pony walked by floating a small notepad and quill with her horn, "Can I get you anything?" she asked.

Raven stared at the choices and finally decided, "Can I get the daisy salad and a side of apple slices?"

The unicorn jotted down the order and turned to Scootaloo who mimicked the previous order. She then turned to Rainbow Dash who shrugged and duplicated the order as well.

"So, how did you two make it to Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash asked when the waitress walked away, "They shut down the trains and it's nearly freezing at night now…"

"It wasn't that hard really." Scootaloo said sounding overly confident.

Raven Flame scoffed, "Says the Pegasus who almost died on the way over."

Scootaloo waved her hoof, "I had everything under control."

"Yeah maybe…" Raven Flame stuck out her tongue, "Did your plan involve being an icicle at the bottom of a pond?"

Rainbow Dash stared as the two went back and forth and found she was regretting that she had even asked the question, "So, Raven, you know what we still need to do?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"What's that?" Raven asked, ignoring Scootaloo who was still rambling on in an attempt to defend her own honor.

"Well, when you are feeling up to it…" Rainbow Dash extended her wings and ruffled her feathers a little, "Flying lessons!" Raven Flame let out a small squeak of excitement.

The waitress unicorn returned with a floating tray that held three large plates and three small plates. The plates hovered themselves over onto the table two in front of each pony. The unicorn then placed the small white receipt on the table cloth and she left once again.

"How long is this train ride going to be?" Scootaloo asked as she prodded at the green leaves on her plate.

"It's an overnight train." Rainbow Dash said, "So we should arrive sometime in the morning tomorrow."

"Tomorrow morning?" Scootaloo let out an irritated groan, the idea of being cramped inside a train compartment for the night sounded incredibly boring to her.

"Just be glad it isn't a tent in the middle of nowhere in freezing weather." Raven said, trying to conceal her excitement. This being her first train raid she was rather enjoying the experience and the thought of sleeping somewhere warm for the first time in days was a much welcome change.

Rainbow Dash finished eating her salad and felt her body starting to crash once again. She looked over to see Raven Flame had also finished eating and Scootaloo was just stacking the lettuce into a small pyramid, "Scootaloo you finished?"

Scootaloo nodded and hopped out of her seat. Rainbow Dash looked at the paper withdrew the appropriate amount of bits and a few extra from her saddlebag and dropped it onto the table. Lifting up Raven Flame and placing her on her back for the third time they trotted back to their car and returned to their booth.

"Where are we going once we get to Manehatten?" Raven Flame asked.

"Applejack was sent to a doctor there, so we'll start by talking with him. Rainbow Dash answered as she pulled down the two roll-up sheets that covered the window on the wall and door of the booth. "If we're lucky he might even know where she is."

Raven Flame noticed the tremors in Rainbow Dash's body, "You okay Dashie?"

"I'm fine." Rainbow Dash placed Raven on the corner of the seat and laid down on the opposite side, "I just need some sleep."

Raven Flame crawled her weak body over to Rainbow Dash Laying down on one of Rainbow Dash's arms she rested her head on Rainbow's shoulders and nuzzled up closer, "Good night, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash smiled, placing one of her forearms on Raven Flame she hugged her softly, "Good night, Raven." She whispered as she shut her eyes and for the first time in a month she closed them without being visited by the horrid memories that had always invaded her thoughts when she had. Finally, she slipped into a much needed deep and peaceful sleep.

The train came to a sudden and screeching halt which caused Rainbow Dash to roll off of the velvet bench and crash into the floor. She opened her eyes to find her face being covered by Raven Flame's extended wings as she clung onto her neck to stop herself from flopping about. Spitting out a couple of dark feathers from her mouth she pulled the tightly gripping filly off of her throat allowing her to breathe again.

"Just a thought but, could you possibly… I dunno, not strangle me to death?" Rainbow Dash asked as her face returned from a shade of purple back to its cyan-blue.

Raven Flame yawned and ignored Rainbow Dash; her attention was completely set on the lack of aching or weakness that had been afflicting her. Stretching out her hooves and then her wings she gingerly tested them to gauge just how much stress they could handle.

Rainbow Dash too was quite focused on the vigor that was surging through her. She hadn't had a sleep this rejuvenating in the past month. She cracked her wings, giving them a few flaps to warm them up and rubbed her eyes to help adjust them back to the waking world.

"Come on, I wanna get out of this room!" Scootaloo whined impatiently as she watched the two indulging in their newfound energy.

Raven Flame hopped up, excited to see the city of Manehatten and overjoyed to have her independence back, "Yeah Dashie, hurry up!"

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof around frantically, "Keep your hooves on geez. Give a pony a chance to wake up." She said, starting to feel a little old; normally it would have been her trying to speed up everyone else, not the other way around.

Raven Flame slid open the door and bolted out of the train, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo blinked when all they saw was a black blur exiting the room. "Wait up!" They both called out chasing after her. Raven Flame stood just outside the station and stared in awe at the tall glimmering buildings tinted in a pale gray from the overcast that dimmed the city.

The three ponies' eyes wandered, examining the city. Thick clouds of heavy dark gray smoke filled the sky, allowing only the faintest amount of the already dwindled light of the winter sun. Most of what lit the city was the hundreds of electrical lights that shone through the windows of the colossal towers, or the lamps posted every dozen feet on the sidewalks that ran through Manehatten.

Apart from the ponies that trotted through the streets, there were no other signs of life through the city. The pollution had driven out the wildlife that once habituated the land. Any pre-existing foliage had been de-rooted to make way for the concrete roads and construction to better suit the lifestyle of the business ponies who made homes here.

"This is Manehatten?" Raven Flame asked in astonishment, her eyes widening while she imagined just how the towering structures had been made.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash said, "I almost hope Applejack isn't here, I think she'd climb the wall if she were."

"I think it's amazing." Raven Flame said.

"Well I think it smells!" Scootaloo blurted out.

Raven Flame gently kicked Scootaloo's leg for the comment then turned to Rainbow Dash, "So where to?"

Rainbow Dash read the small white card and pointed a hoof. "This way!" she said sounding a little excited and the three of them started walking. She let out a nervous chuckle when she noticed she was leading them the wrong way, "Sorry…" she turned around, "This way…"

"You do know where we are going… right?" Raven Flame asked worriedly.

"Of course!" Rainbow Dash said quickly with a hint of being offended, "I'm the best navigator in all of Equestria!"

Raven Flame tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "And in what universe is that?"

Rainbow Dash smirked, "In every universe Raven… in every universe."

"Then how come you just walked straight past the hospital?" Scootaloo shouted, Raven Flame giggling beside her.

"I was just testing you!" Rainbow Dash said defensively as she ran back to them. Looking down at the card she checked the street address to ensure this was the right place. It was baffling to her that this hospital was even larger than the one in Canterlot. She guessed it was at least eight stories tall, if there were more they weren't visible due to the thick smog blocking her vision.

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof, gesturing for the two fillies to follow her and they walked towards the only entrance of the building. The door opened for them on its own as they approached. They began to feel incredibly out of place with how much more advanced the city was in comparison to what they were used too.

Approaching the vacant front desk, Rainbow Dash pressed on the small bell and a brown pony in sea-green scrubs walked in from the swinging door behind the desk, "What do you want?" he asked tiredly, the heavy bags beneath his eyes seeming to bounce when he spoke.

Rainbow Dash used all her willpower to not focus on the attentive tired eyes that distracted her, "I'm looking for uh, Dr. Clover, the neurologist." She said her eyes shifting around to keep from making contact with the exhausted pony in front of her.

The brown pony yawned, "Her office is on the fourth floor, third door on the left just outside the elevator."

Rainbow Dash trotted away quickly saying nothing in fear she might not be able to control herself and say something rude. She looked at the metal doors and pushed the button shaped in an up arrow, which illuminated itself upon contact with her hoof. The doors split open each half sliding the opposite way and the three stepped inside.

Never actually having seen an elevator before, let alone use one, the three were quite hesitant to step inside. Eventually Raven Flame walked in first and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo followed. Pushing the button labeled 'four' the doors closed once again and the box lurched upward.

They stared uncomfortably at the door, holding tightly to the railings. A tickling sensation ran through their stomachs as they rapidly ascended up the building. There was another sudden jerk and the doors opened again.

"Next time we're taking the stairs." Rainbow Dash chuckled, finding herself terrified of being contained in the small room that moved up and down on its own. Raven Flame and Scootaloo just shrugged, the experience not bothering them nearly as much as it had Rainbow Dash.

A bright green unicorn dressed in a thin white lab coat stopped as the three ponies approached her, "Can I help you find something?" she asked.

"No thanks, just going to talk to Dr. Clover." Rainbow Dash pointed down the hallway, not noticing the pony's nametag on the coat.

Dr. Clover jingled the tag pinned to her jacket's collar, "Then I guess I can help you find something." She said, walking to her office's door, unlocked it and trotted inside beckoning for them to follow her. "So what can I do for you?" she asked with a smile as she placed herself on a wheeled chair.

"Well, my name is Rainbow Dash. Dr. Trotsky said he was going to let you know I was coming." Rainbow Dash said as she sank into a deep cushiony couch while Scootaloo and Raven Flame explored the book shelves set against the office walls.

"Oh, so you are Applejack's wife then?" Dr Clover asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded.

Spinning around on her chair she turned to a shelf behind her desk and withdrew a folder, "Now, I'm sure as Dr. Trotsky told you, I can't divulge any information regarding the patient's medical history."

Rainbow Dash not wanting to appear rude as this was her only lead she held back a groan of irritation, "What can you tell me?" she asked calmly.

Dr. Trotsky spun back around, "Not much." She said, leaning back in her chair. "But, given the circumstances of this patient's case, I am willing to go out on a hoof here and give you the address where she is currently living."

Rainbow Dash lit up, "R-really?"

Dr. Trotsky smiled and her horn started to glow. Soon a nearby quill began to levitate and dipped itself in an ink jar. It then began to scribble something on a small slip of pink paper, "This is her address." She said as the paper floated over to Rainbow Dash, "Is there anything else I can do while you are here?"

"Nope." Rainbow Dash read the address to herself repeatedly until it was locked away in her memory just in case she were to lose the paper, "Thank you so much." She said, digging herself out of the couch. Rainbow Dash pulled open the office door and called out to Raven Flame and Scootaloo.

"Hey Dashie, we should take the elevator again!" Raven teased as they walked down the hallway.

"Sure, whatever…" Rainbow Dash said distantly, her mind trying to work out why Applejack would have a place to live here. Manehatten had to be one of the last places an earth pony like her would ever want to be.

Raven Flame and Scootaloo led Rainbow Dash into the elevator and pushed the '1' button. The three of them were unsure whether they had already became used to the strange box or the way down just wasn't as bothersome.

Raven Flame studied at the cracks of the metal doors, trying to see the mechanisms behind it. "So, where are we going now?" Scootaloo asked through clenched teeth as she dragged Raven Flame away from the elevator.

"We're going to Applejack's apartment." Rainbow Dash said holding back a laugh at the thought of a nature loving pony like Applejack living in a polluted city in a tiny apartment.

"How far is it?" Raven Flame asked as they walked out the self-moving doors of the hospital. Her legs were finally starting to grow tired.

Rainbow Dash pointed across the street at another tall building made of red bricks, "Right there."

They crossed the road and started clambering up the black painted iron winding staircase. With each step their hooves made a loud clanking on the metal as they climbed. After the third story the noise began to wear at them. By the sixth and final floor Rainbow Dash found herself not only carrying Raven Flame, but Scootaloo as well.

Rainbow Dash allowed herself a moment to recover her breath before starting down the wooden hallway. A thought occurred to her that caused her heart to start racing and adrenaline to rush through her. For the first time in a month she would be seeing Applejack.

Rainbow Dash grinned excitedly and started running down the hall and halted at the door labeled '6F'. Taking a deep breath, she combed her mane with her hoof, checked her tail and then knocked on the door. Within a few seconds the door was pulled open, a familiar red unicorn with a fiery blue mane standing at the doorway.

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed, "Scootaloo, Raven Flame, go and wait by the stairs." The fillies nodded and trotted out of sight giving the other two ponies privacy.

Ice Ember's eyes widened, she quickly stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind her, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What am I…? What am I doing here?" Rainbow Dash stuttered, "What are YOU doing here?"

"I live here." Ice Ember said, "Look I'm kind of busy, can you come back some other time?" she turned and started to open the door.

"Hold on!" Rainbow Dash said swiping the unicorn's hoof away from the door handle, "The doctor said Applejack was here…"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ice Ember said nervously.

"Don't play games with me!" Rainbow Dash hissed, "Where is she?"

Ice Ember shifted her gaze at the apartment door and then back at Rainbow Dash, "You don't understand, I can explain…"

Rainbow Dash noticed the glance, "Is she inside?" she asked not waiting for an answer. She opened the door and walked inside the brightly lit room.

"Wait!" Ice Ember called out, grabbing at her tail to try and pull Rainbow Dash away.

Applejack sat in the corner of the living room on a plush round cushion reading a book. She peeled her eyes away from the pages and saw the two ponies enter. Setting down the book on the desk nearby she stood up, "Well howdy, the names Applejack!" she greeted, extending a hoof to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack, a small faded scar near the center of her forehead. Her attention changed to the pale emerald eyes looking back at her. They weren't filled with love or excitement to see her. Applejack's eyes seemed distant and foreign as though she didn't recognize her, "Hi…" Rainbow Dash said gripping at the hoof.

"Applejack, my friend Rainbow Dash and I are going to go outside to talk for a bit. We'll be back soon." Ice Ember said giving Applejack a quick kiss on the lips before pushing Rainbow Dash back through the door of her apartment.

"What… What's going on?" Rainbow Dash said when the door was shut behind them.

"Applejack doesn't know who you are anymore." Ice Ember said placing a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

Rainbow Dash shook the hoof off of her shoulder, "What!"

Ice Ember sighed, "Applejack doesn't remember anything at all."

"So what, you just decided to… keep her?" Rainbow Dash asked sounding disgusted.

"What? No!" Ice Ember cried out.

"Then why didn't you bring her home, back to Ponyville?"

Ice Ember turned away, "Because…"

"Because what?" Rainbow Dash shouted, "Ponyville is where she belongs, it's her home, she had friends and family there! She is my WIFE and you just hid her away from every pony else making every pony think she was dead!" Rainbow Dash pointed around her, "Look around you, do you honestly think Applejack is happy in a place like this? So what reason could you possibly have to not bring her back to the ponies and places she loves?"

"Because…" Ice Ember frowned, "I love her…"

Rainbow Dash nearly laughed, "You love her?" she asked, "You LOVE her and your idea of showing Applejack you love her was to bring her miles away from her friends and family. You took her to a polluted city where the most natural thing here is the wood your furniture is made of." Rainbow Dash shook her head in disappointment, "Do you honestly think she is happy here?"

Ice Ember took a step back, "I think she is happy here…" she said with little confidence.

Applejack opened the door and stepped out, "What's going on?" she asked wrapping a hoof around Ice Ember's shoulder, holding her close and giving the unicorn a kiss on her cheek.

The sight caused jealousy to stab through Rainbow Dash. She couldn't help but cringe and feel tears start to form in her eyes seeing the pony she loved now in the hooves of another. She shook her head and pushed back the tears, "Nothing!" she said angrily.

"Applejack, go back inside, Rainbow Dash was just leaving. I'll be inside soon." Ice Ember said nudging her forehead against the earth pony's neck. Applejack nodded and retreated back inside. "I told you, Applejack's happy here, you should just move on Rainbow."

"She is my WIFE and you let me go a month believing that she was dead!" Rainbow Dash filled with rage and shoved Ice Ember into the door, pressing the side of her leg against the unicorn's neck she whispered, "You're just as sick as your father was."

The comment burned at Ice Ember, "I'm nothing like my dad!" she shouted, pushing Rainbow Dash off of her. "I'm not letting her go." She said breathing deeply to keep herself calm.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she realized she had a major hoof up on Ice Ember, "You don't have to let her go. Applejack is going to let you go."

Ice Ember looked confused, "Why would she let me go, she loves me."

"You think she loves you? How could any pony love a twisted thing like you?" Rainbow Dash

"I know she loves me and I'm the only pony she knows anymore." Ice Ember said confidently.

"You're forgetting just one thing" Rainbow Dash's grin widened, "You might be the only pony she knows, but I'm the only pony that really knows her."

Ice Ember's confidence suddenly faded at the comment, "What makes you think I'll let you anywhere near her?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, enjoying that she was making the unicorn squirm so easily, "I won't go near her, but you can't watch her all the time and I can't promise she won't come to me."

"Get out of here!" Ice Ember screamed waving her hoof threateningly at Rainbow Dash.

"Did they ever tell you what exactly happened to your father?" Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. Ice Ember stared blankly indicating she had no idea. Rainbow Dash began to trot away back towards the steps, "Applejack killed him."

Ice Ember slammed her apartment door shut and kicked at it leaving small dents in the wood. Her mind burned with anger toward Applejack. Despite her deep loathing for her father, in some small corner of her heart she still cared for him. She turned to Applejack who stared at her with frightened eyes as she had never acted out in such away before.

"Are yah alright?" Applejack asked sheepishly.

Ice Ember continued to stare, her anger slowly melting away. Even if it were true, she could never stay mad at Applejack and given just who her father was it had to have been completely necessary. She trotted over towards the orange pony, "I'm fine…" she said. Sitting down next to Applejack she started to fear what Rainbow Dash had said. "Applejack, are you happy?"

Applejack let out a quiet laugh, "Am ah happy? Why wouldn't ah be?"

"So you don't want…" Ice Ember started to choke back the words and the tears burst from her eyes, "You don't want to leave me, do you?"

"Oh, sugarcube…" Applejack took the red unicorn in her hooves and cradled her, kissing the pony's forehead, "Why in tarnation would yah think such a thing?"

Ice Ember looked up at her, "I don't know." She dried off her tears from her eyes and laughed, "Guess I'm just having a bad day." She pressed her lips against Applejack's and silently told herself no pony would ever take her away from her.

"Why don't yah go make us somethin' tah eat while ah finish this chapter." Applejack said waving the book she still held in her hooves.

"Okay." Ice Ember said as she walked away into the kitchen.

Applejack's eyes returned to the pages of the book but she wasn't reading. She had purposefully avoided directly answering Ember's questions because the pony could easily tell when she lied, if she did lie. Her feelings towards Ice Ember, she did care for the pony but often times she felt it wasn't in the way Ice Ember wanted. She liked her and she was the closest pony in her life but she never did feel a spark between them when she was with her.

As for how she felt about this place, she didn't dislike it but she never felt that she actually belonged in a place like this. Her heart always longed for another place and as she tried to understand just what it was, spots would seemingly cover her thoughts and she would soon give up. It was maddening to her every time it occurred.

Applejack just wished she could put her hoof on what seemed to be missing in her life, even if only for a moment. Her life in this place with this pony filled her with a kind of emptiness as if she weren't really living. She sighed heavily and finally returned her mind to the pages of the Daring-Do novel. She didn't know why but they brought her comfort and reminded her of something hidden in the back of her mind just barely out of reach.

Turning the page with the tip of her hoof Applejack's eyes met with blank white paper that was bound to the backside of the book. She closed it and set it down, the small amount of comfort the story had provided to her quickly dissipating. Taking a seat at the table, Ice Ember trotted up with two sandwiches and sat next to her.

"You okay?" Ice Ember said noticing the orange pony's now slumpish mood.

"Ah'm fine." Applejack said with a smile taking a small bite of the sandwich, "Just finished the book is all. Yah mind if ah go get the next one tomorrow?"

"I'll get it for you!" Ice Ember said quickly, she was afraid Rainbow Dash might try something.

"Thanks but ah kind of want tah go mahself." Applejack took another bite to buy her time to think of an excuse of why, "Maybe ah'll find some other books ah want tah read while ah'm there."

"Alright." Ice Ember said reluctantly, she couldn't fight it or Applejack might get suspicious.

Applejack leaned over and kissed Ice Ember's cheek, "Thanks." She said sounding more cheerful.

Ice Ember placed a hoof behind Applejack's head and pushed her closer, pressing her lips against hers again. With everything Rainbow Dash had said she found herself feeling an overwhelming urge to show her affection. Their lips parted and she softly ran her hoof down Applejack's cheek, "I love you."

Applejack avoided repeating the phrase back to her in the same manner she always did. She pressed herself back onto Ice Ember with a passionate kiss. Although on occasions where she felt lonely she did find some comfort in Ember's hooves. The gesture was always enough to get her out of the situation, though she felt guilty for manipulating the pony in such a way.

"Ah'm kinda tired, ah didn't sleep much last night. Ah think ah'm gonna hit the hay." Applejack said with a quiet yawn.

"Okay, I have some work to do anyway." Ice Ember said pointing to her desk littered with papers.

Applejack trotted down the hallway and into the bedroom closing the door behind her. She looked at the cowboy hat hanging from the bedpost. She smacked her hoof into its brim causing it to spin off and land directly on her head. She didn't know where or when she had learned to do that, but the hat seemed special to her and it was the only thing that she still had before waking up that day in the hospital.

She tipped down the hat against her nose and inhaled, the smell of apples and dirt still lingered on it. The smell brought images of green fields and tall trees with orange and red leaves clinging to the baring branches.

Collapsing onto the bed, Applejack wrapped her hooves around the pillow and squeezed it. She closed her eyes and let herself imagine she was lying in a field of grass. She wanted so much to feel the warm sun against her face and the soft breeze of the summer air to flow through her mane as she wasted time just sitting there, enjoying everything that the world had to offer. Her mind began to grow tired and her thoughts slowed. She snored softly as her head filled with pleasant dreams of warm and far off places saturated with the beauty of nature that her heart longed for.

Chapter 5

"How'd it go?" Raven Flame asked when she heard the hotel door open.

Rainbow Dash didn't answer; she silently treaded to the bed and sat down with a heavy sigh. She looked at the anklet on her foreleg and slid it off for the first time since the day of her wedding. Placing her hoof gently on the apple shaped diamond her heart ached. Applejack wouldn't even give her a chance to explain, that is how little she meant to the pony.

With a heavy sigh she buried her head beneath her pillow and wept shamefully into the cushion. She hated so much to let any pony see her like this, yet it seemed to be happening again and again. She swung her hoof and released her grip on the anklet letting it smash into the wall across the room. Raven Flame and Scootaloo looked at each other nervously and trotted away from the crying Pegasus.

There was a loud knocking on the door, Raven Flame trotted over to it and looked through the peekhole, "It's Applejack!" she squeaked.

Rainbow Dash ripped herself from the bed covers and rushed over to the door, not even bothering to dry her tears or fix her mane. The knocking continued, she took a deep breath and pulled open the door, "Yeah?" she sniffled.

"Why didn't yah tell me who you were?" Applejack shouted still sounding furious.

Rainbow Dash backed away from the door, "I tried too…"

Applejack glared at her, "Ah meant why didn't yah tell me yesterday?"

"I thought you might have been happy here…" Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground, "I wanted you to decide for yourself."

Applejack blinked, she had the Pegasus would have done this for her own selfish reasons. The last thing she had expected was to hear that her reasons were solely based on what she wanted and nothing more. She calmed herself and tried to understand just how Rainbow Dash must have felt and just how unfair she was being.

Noticing the tear-lines that ran down Rainbow Dash's face she ran her hoof down her cheek "Sugarcube… have yah been crying?" she asked sweetly.

"No!" Rainbow Dash sniffled defensively, quickly drying her eyes and face with her foreleg, "How did you find me?" she asked both curious and wanting the subject to be taken off of her emotions.

"Yah have a rainbow mane, yah don't exactly blend in." Applejack smiled and pulled Rainbow Dash in for a hug, "Ah'm sorry…" she whispered.

"So you aren't mad?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly.

"How could ah be mad at yah sugar cube…" Applejack nuzzled her face against Rainbow Dash's cheek, "Yah just wanted me tah be happy."

Rainbow Dash's eyes filled with tears again and her voice broke apart, "I missed you so much." She said looking into the sparkling green eyes, "But what about Ice Ember?"

"That old pony?" Applejack scoffed, "She knew all along and she never breathed a word tah me." She felt a rage returning to her just thinking about the unicorn, "Ah hate her…" when she uttered the words she nearly laughed at how much better it made her feel to say it.

Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows and a smile spread across her face, "Awesome!" she shouted, feeling guilty that she was taking joy from what Applejack had just said, "I didn't mean awesome, I meant, uh-"

Applejack chuckled and pressed her lips against the stuttering Pegasus and ran a hoof through the multicolored mane. She stopped abruptly and pulled herself away from Rainbow Dash, "Uh, who are they?" Applejack asked pointing at the two fillies staring at them in adoration from the corner.

Rainbow Dash turned around, she had completely forgotten they weren't alone, "Well err…" she stammered. She had no idea as to how she was going to explain that one of the fillies in the corner was her adopted daughter.

Raven Flame ran over and leaped onto Applejack, hugging her, "I missed you too Applejack!"

"Me three!" Scootaloo shouted still watching in the corner, Rainbow Dash and Raven Flame turned and glared at her, "Just trying to be included…"

"She's your daughter." Rainbow Dash said bluntly, it didn't matter how she said it, the pony would probably react the same way no matter how she put it.

Applejack's head began to burn, an image of a place she didn't recognize popped into her head. There were dozens of fillies surrounding her. A blue Pegasus trotted up to her with a black and gray filly clinging to her neck. "We…" Applejack sat herself down on the bed, her mind felt as if it were on fire as it revealed the single lost memory, "We adopted her…" she said as she clutched her forehead and mane in between her hooves.

"What?" Rainbow Dash shouted in disbelief, "You can remember THAT but you can't remember anything about me?"

Applejack opened her mouth to say something but there was a loud knocking at the door that silenced her.

"Oh for the love of… Who is it now?" Rainbow Dash said trotting back over to the door, "It's Ice Ember…" she said pulling herself away from the peek hole.

"Applejack! I know you're in there!" Ice Ember's voice called out from behind the door, "I can explain!"

"How in the hay did you find us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You have a rainbow mane, it wasn't exactly hard." Ice Ember said, "Please let me in!"

Rainbow Dash muttered a set of incomprehensible words before grumbling "Stupid mane…"

Applejack joined Rainbow Dash by the door, "Go away!" she shouted.

Ice Ember couldn't take it anymore and she finally lost her temper. The door suddenly burst into a dazzling blue flame and after a few seconds only dust and ash was left of it. The red unicorn trotted through the scorched door way, most of her body engulfed with the same blue fire.

"Just let me explain." Ice Ember said her voice crackled and dark as she slipped further and further into a growing fury. Rainbow Dash blocked her path but with a flick of her neck the Pegasus was tossed across the room into the wall and she kept on toward Applejack.

"There aint nothin' tah explain!" Applejack hissed, "Yah knew ah had a family this whole time and yah didn't say anything!"

The flame that encased Ice Ember started to dwindle away, "I only did it because I love you…" she said her voice sounding more normal.

"What in the hay is wrong with yah?" Applejack asked in disgust, "How could yah possibly say yah love me after everything yah have done tah me? Ah hate yah…"

Her mind was blinded with white rage as her heart shattered hearing the words. The blue flame re-ignited itself as the words pierced into Ice Ember's ears. The entire room began to shake and the walls started to burn. She focused her horn, lifting every pony in the room and pressing them against the wall, squeezing against their throats. The ponies struggled, grasping at the nothingness that suspended them in air and blocked off the much needed air. The fires spread closer and closer toward them as they squirmed.

"I just wanted us to be happy…" Ice Ember said, "I just wanted you to love me."

Applejack gasped for air, "Ah'll never love yah…"

The flames grew brighter and the grip against their throats tighter and tighter. Ice Ember trotted closer and whispered into Applejack's ear, "No, I guess you won't."

Ice Ember focused her magic even more, squeezing the four ponies' necks tighter. The blue flames just inches from reaching them now. Raven Flame squeezed the word 'please' out of her mouth with a desperate gasp as she pried at her own neck. Ice Ember turned to look at the struggling filly, her eyes locking with the frightened purple eyes she was squeezing the life from.

The fear in the pony's sapphire eyes brought a single moment of clarity into her mind; everything her father had been. He was everything she had hated and never wanted to be, yet here she was lost in a flurry of anger, loneliness, and hatred as she destroyed everything around her. She wanted desperately to stop, but something else outside her felt as if it were pushing her to keep going.

There was a loud a loud smashing noise and the flames in the room started to dissipate and the grip on the four squirming ponies vanished. Ice Ember collapsed to her knees and dropped her head to the floor. Behind her was an orange Pegasus standing over her.

"Dad?" Scootaloo squeaked as she fell to the ground.

The fat Pegasus didn't answer; the charred walls around them were starting to crumble. He dragged the unconscious unicorn towards the window, opened it and pulled her through it. The other four ponies followed quickly the ceiling caving in just as they passed through it. The group of ponies sat there on the cold sidewalk allowing themselves some time to catch their breath.

Rainbow Dash turned towards the fat pony, "What are you doing here?" she asked, not sure whether to be grateful to see him or not.

"I saw you get on the train with Scootaloo…" he answered quietly as he wheezed for breath.

"How did you find us?" Scootaloo asked still squeaking.

"You're traveling with a Pegasus with a rainbow mane. It's not exactly hard to track down a pony like that." The fat Pegasus answered.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

Scootaloo blinked, "What are you doing here dad?"

"I was looking for you…" The fat Pegasus trotted over towards the orange filly, "I want my daughter back…" he said gently placing his hoof on her shoulder.

Scootaloo knocked the hoof off of her, "Don't touch me…"

The pony frowned, "I'm sorry."

"Well I guess that just makes everything fine then." Scootaloo snarled, "Just go away. I don't need you."

"If that's what you want…" The fat Pegasus began trotting away down the street, he stopped and turned, "Scootaloo, I love you…" he said before starting off again.

Scootaloo stared as the pony walked away. He had never once said to her that he loved her before. It didn't matter though; he was far too late to change how she felt about him. "I don't want to see you ever again!" she screamed out as he trotted away.

The sound of a pony weeping softly travelled through the air. The four shifted their glance to the red unicorn that lay on the cold roads. "I'm sorry…" Ice Ember whispered into her hooves, "I'm so sorry."

"You tried to kill us!" Applejack shouted.

"I didn't mean too…" Ice Ember whimpered looking up at the orange pony.

"What do we do with her?" Raven Flame asked as she stepped away from the red unicorn.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I don't know… there isn't any reason she won't turn into psycho pony and come after us again…"

"I swear I won't!" Ice Ember cried.

Applejack scoffed, "An' what good is yer word? Yah've been lying tah me fer a month now."

The air suddenly grew cold in the unnatural way Rainbow Dash had been continuing to experience for the past week. Despite the blaze of the burning hotel and the street lamps the roads blackened. Once again she felt as if a pair of lingering eyes were watching her yet she couldn't quite place where.The ground started to shake once more, the concrete cracking and pulling apart. A cloud of crimson smoke began to surround the group of ponies, swarming in closer and closer towards them.

"What are you doing now!" Rainbow Dash screamed backing into the center of the slowly shrinking circle of smoke.

"It isn't me!" Ice Ember shouted back sounding just as afraid as the others.

The cloud drew closer until it enveloped the five of them. There was a short sensation that they were falling before the red dust parted and their hooves touched back down softly. The cold stone roads and the crumbling hotel building vanished. The air remained frigid and stung the ponies but the stench it had carried was no longer present.

Rainbow Dash shook off the dizziness that had been induced from the strange smoke that had just approached them. She looked down to see she was now standing on snow-covered grass in a field filled with glimmering stones. One particular stone captured her attention.

"Where are we?" Applejack asked weakly, gripping at her sore head.

The same stone caught Scootaloo's attention as well, she trotted closer, "How did we…"

Raven Flame's stomach lurched at the sight, "Is that…"

"Your grave…" Rainbow Dash said eying at the marble stone behind the still unburied hole that held the wooden casket.

Ice Ember and Applejack stared confused at Rainbow Dash, "What in the hay do you mean 'your grave'?" they both cried out together.

"Do tell them, I love a good story!" a foreign voice echoed from inside the hole, "Well, go on Scootaloo tell them."

Scootaloo stepped closer towards the hole, "Wh-who are you?"

There was another eruption of red smoke that vanished just as quickly revealing a pure black unicorn. The light that beamed down in her direction seemed to bend itself just to avoid touching the pony. Her horn was jagged and filed to a point, a trail of red liquid flowing through its spiral. Her mane was a deep blood red that swayed softly in the wind.

The ground beneath her hooves froze and crackled beneath her weight. Her pitch black eyes shot fear through the filly as she stared at her, "Shadow Scorn if you must know, but this isn't about me, it's about you."

Scootaloo began to trot away from the pony, "I don't understand."

"I had been sealed away for years." Shadow Scorn spoke, her words grated against their ears like the scratching of glass, "until almost five days ago that is." She said slyly.

"That was the day of Raven's funeral." Rainbow Dash turned towards Scootaloo, "What did you do Scootaloo?"

"I didn't do anything!" Scootaloo cried out.

Shadow Scorn sighed, "Simple minded foals, always meddling with magic they don't understand."

"The pendant…" Raven Flame said softly. "You were sealed away in the pendant…"

Shadow Scorn turned to her and nodded. "There was a slight complication though. I didn't have my own body when I was re-awoken. I had to hide away in the shadows, feeding until I had strength to create my own."

Rainbow Dash let out a loud yawn, "Look, that's great and all but I think we all have better things to do then talk about your creepy face."

Shadow Scorn laughed, "I thought you'd be the most interested. Who better to try and drive into madness with visions and nightmares while I feed off them from the daughter of the very pony who sealed me back inside in the first place?"

Rainbow Dash blinked, the nightmares, the hallucinations of Raven Flame, the strange sensation she was being watched constantly. All of these things had all started shortly after the funeral. Anger flooded through her and she started to charge at the unicorn. A few feet away from Shadow Scorn her entire body froze in place and she was batted back with the others.

Applejack ran over to Rainbow Dash, "Why are yah doing this, what do yah want with us?" she asked as she tended the Pegasus."

"Rainbow Dash's emotions are so easy to manipulate.Her hatred, anger, fear and sorrow were almost enough to give me a physical form in just a few short days. Then things started to go her way and her life was pulling itself back together. Fortunately that was enough to send another pony over the edge." Shadow Scorn said with a smirk as she looked at Ice Ember, "Still, I can only imagine what Rainbow Dash would feel if I took everything from her, right in front of her eyes."

"So yer gonna kill us then?" Applejack said fearfully.

Shadow Scorn thought for a moment, "You don't have to make it sound so petty."

Shadow Scorn's horn illuminated into a blood red light. The sky let out a booming roar, the clouds starting to press together. The wind let out a piercing howl as it picked up its pace, dropping the temperature drastically. Thick roots of ice emerged from the ground and bound the ponies' hooves, completely immobilizing them.

Applejack struggled as another chain of ice pushed out of the ground, slowly wrapping itself around her body working its way towards her neck. She gasped and shivered as the frost scraped at her, slowly growing tighter. The ice had now completely encased her, a look of fear and pain in her eyes as the last of the air vanished from her icy tomb.

"Let her go!" Rainbow Dash screamed, trying to free her hooves from the bindings.

Shadow Scorn only laughed, she seemed to be experiencing a form of high the more the Pegasus struggled. She turned to the two fillies and waves of ice revealed themselves from the ground beneath them as well. Within seconds they too were concealed beneath a layer of frost.

Rainbow Dash's knees collapsed beneath her and she dropped to the ground. She tried gnawing at her chains, but they were far too strong and when she managed to make even a dent in them they reformed. She looked up towards the pitch black unicorn, "Please!" she begged but her cries were ignored.

Ice Ember stared helplessly, watching as Applejack slowly started to suffocate and freeze. She shifted her glance towards the defeated Rainbow Dash crying hysterically as she tried tearing her limbs from the ground. She stood there, just as incapacitated as the Pegasus was and at this rate she might as well have been encased in ice as well.

A realization came to Ice Ember as she looked down at her own hooves. She wasn't completely helpless and everything became perfectly clear to her. Everything seemed like her life had been leading up to this one moment. Even her special talent seemed to have been pointing towards this, the image of blue flame imprinted on her flank.

"Rainbow Dash!" Ice Ember shouted out, "I'm sorry!" Her entire body ignited itself in the dazzling blue fire as it had back in the hotel. The icy chains melted away, freeing her to move about once again. This was her moment, the one chance to do something right. She charged at the unsuspecting black unicorn.

Shadow Scorn saw her movement at just the last second, and twisted her neck impaling the flaming unicorn on her jagged sharp horn. Ice Ember gasped in pain as the horn pierced through her chest. Still stuck on the horn she turned and looked at Applejack. Everything wrong she had done to her. All the pain and suffering she caused to the pony, her friends and family. This would be for her, she had to set aside the pain, this was her last chance.

Pouring every bit of life she could muster into her own magic, Ice Ember's flames started to grow and grow. Soon the flames burned so vast they started to lick at Shadow Scorn but it barely even fazed her. She pushed herself harder; the flames erupted into a blinding explosion that spread throughout the field enveloping every pony except Rainbow Dash where the radius faded just prior to reaching her.

The winds slowed back to its previous speed. The thunder ceased and the gray storm clouds parted away. When the light cleared a floating sparkling golden pendant dropped down to a vast crater. The heat of the explosion had lasted just brief enough to melt the frozen prisons that held the ponies without harming them.

At the center of the crater lay the red unicorn panting heavily as blood seeped from the wound. Applejack ran towards her, taking the pony's head in her hoof and the other pressing on the gash. Rainbow Dash and the two fillies followed, staring at the mangled unicorn.

"Applejack…" Ice Ember said weakly, "I'm sorry for everything."

"Rainbow Dash, do something!" Applejack's eyes flooded with tears despite everything the pony had done. With all the time that she had spent with Ice Ember she couldn't deny she still cared for her as a friend. Regardless of all that she said to the unicorn this past day, she still had taken care of her, taken care of all of them in the end.

Rainbow Dash stared; the wound was far more severe than the ones Raven Flame had sustained that day a month ago. The blood was rushing out too fast and the nearest hospital was in Canterlot which was too far away for her to make it in time, "I can't."

"I…" Ice Ember let out another cry of pain, her voice growing quieter, "I'm everything I hated in my father…"

"No…" Applejack said nudging the unicorn's cheek, "You aren't anything like your father."

"I loved you so much… I wanted you all to myself; I didn't even care what you wanted." Ice Ember said with a shallow wheeze.

"It's okay…" Applejack said softly.

"I'm scared..." Ice Ember said shakily.

"It'll be okay sugar cube." Applejack said comfortingly.

"It hurts Applejack..." Ice Ember wrapped her hoof around Applejack's and squeezed it, "Will you stay with me?"

Applejack lifted the red hoof and gave it a quick kiss, "Sure ah'll stay with yah sweetie."

"Promise me you'll take me somewhere... beautiful." Ice Ember sniffled as she suppressed her own fearful tears, "Somewhere with trees... somewhere with apples. So I can always be close to you."

Applejack struggled to hold back her tears, "Ah promise sugarcube..."

"I hope you'll remember me as your friend…" Ice Ember whimpered, "And not as a monster…"

"Of course ah will." Applejack gave the unicorn a small kiss on the cheek and ran her hoof through the blue mane.

"I'm sorry… so sorry…" Ice Ember repeated.

Applejack looked into Ice Ember's fading eyes, knowing that she would be gone soon. She held the red hoof tightly and pressed it against her cheek, the tears starting to slip from her eyes and onto the unicorn, "Ah'm so proud of yah…"

"Don't cry for me…" Ice Ember smiled drying the tears from Applejack's face, "I'm finally going to see my friends…" She let out a loud cough, the cut on her chest splitting wider when she did. She tightened her muscles as the pain intensified until finally her eyes closed and her body relaxed itself.

Applejack hugged the red unicorn tightly, her sobs growing louder as she wept into the pony's neck. She began to rock Ice Ember's body back and forth. Her tears streamed down her cheeks and down the unicorn's neck and onto the ground of the blackened crater. She nuzzled her nose against Ice Ember's ear and whispered, "I hope you find your friends and that you'll be happy…"

Rainbow Dash stared in anguish at Applejack clinging to Ice Ember, tears still flooding from her eyes. Trotting up quietly to her, she gently pulled her away. The orange pony resisted at first, refusing to leave the unicorn's side. "Applejack…" Rainbow Dash said softly. Finally she tore herself away from the red unicorn and swung her hooves around the Pegasus squeezing her tightly as she sobbed into her shoulder.

It pained Rainbow Dash to see her so hurt and defeated, "It's okay…" she cooed into the orange pony's ear, softly stroking her mane.

Applejack breathed sharply, "All she wanted was tah hear me say that ah loved her…" she sniffled, "and ah couldn't even do that for her…"

"It's not your fault." Rainbow Dash assured her.

"Ah know but…" The sunlight glinted off the golden pendant nearby in the crater. She broke away from Rainbow Dash and ran towards it.

"Applejack don't!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"But…" Applejack trotted over to Ice Ember's body, "We could save her…"

"We can't." Rainbow Dash said pulling Applejack away.

Applejack burst into another wave of sobs, "Ah know…" she said softly dropping the necklace back to the ground, "Isn't there anything we can do for her?"

Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack back close to her and kissed her forehead, "We give her what she wanted."

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash's eyes, "What's that?" she sniffled.

"We bury her somewhere beautiful, a place where she can always be close to you." Rainbow Dash ran her hoof down Applejack's cheek, "We bring her to Sweet Apple Acres."

"Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack asked, the words echoing in her mind, bouncing at the walls. There was a slamming sensation in her skull as if something were trying to break free. She grabbed at her head, clenching her jaw and cringing her eyes shut to cope with the pain as dozens of images revealed themselves.

Rainbow Dash grabbed at the orange pony and steadied her, "Applejack, are you okay?"

Memories of a large field filled with hundreds of trees sparkling with ruby shaded fruit that clung to its branches. The orchard was filled with the sound of laughter as a yellow filly with red hair played with a larger red stallion. The trees curtained themselves with white silken laces and she found herself standing in front of a blue Pegasus wearing a white gown. Then the pictures and sounds stopped flooding her mind.

"Ah'm fine…"Applejack said softly.

"Are you sure?" Rainbow Dash asked looking worried.

"Ah remember." Applejack smiled, "Not everything ah think, but ah remember the farm…" She pulled Rainbow Dash in and kissed her, "Ah remember our wedding."

Rainbow Dash trotted towards the golden pendant resting on the charred ground and stared at it. She nudged it with her hoof and thought for a moment. She knew she couldn't risk leaving at around, not with what it was capable of. She positioned her hoof above it and smashed down on it with as much force as she could. The pendant broke beneath the weight of her hoof and as it did the pieces evaporated into the air.

Raven Flame began to feel strange, her eyes grew dizzy. Then a stabbing sensation plunged through her entire body. Her knees started to wobble and her stomach became nauseous, "Dashie…" she whimpered sounding frightened.

Rainbow Dash turned to Raven Flame, the dozens of cuts that she had received a month ago suddenly starting to re-emerge them self. The filly dropped to the ground as blood trickled out of body in the same fashion it had once before. "Help me…" she said weakly.

"No!" Rainbow Dash cried out rushing towards the filly, "Don't you dare." She scooped up the filly and launched off into the air. Not again, she had been given a second chance with the filly and she wouldn't dare stand back idly and lose her all over again.

Rainbow Dash bolted herself through the sky racing towards Canterlot as fast as her wings would let her. Raven Flame let out a cry of pain as the last of the cuts formed on her body, digging deeper inside of her. "I don't want to go back… not again." Raven Flame cried.

"Just hold on." Rainbow Dash pleaded, knowing there wasn't much time left. She wasn't going fast enough. Taking a deep breath she thrust herself faster, her bad wing screaming as it started beating with a blurring speed. "Please, not again…" Rainbow Dash cried. She forced herself faster and faster, her wing feeling as if it were going to shatter at any moment.

There was a sudden explosion of color, the faint sound of glass shattering off in the distance as the ring of light stretched out. A rainbow trail began to form behind the Pegasus as she sped onward. Raven Flame's eyes shut but she was still barely breathing.

The Canterlot hospital only seconds away, her wing finally gave out as she dived through the broken windows of the hospital. She spun herself placing her back towards the floor and covered the small filly she clutched. Her wings and spine smashed hard into the ground, absorbing most of the impact. Her leg crushed into one of the chairs as she slid against the floor.

"Don't leave me, not again." Rainbow Dash begged as she unwrapped her hooves from around Raven Flame, still breathing but only just, her tight grasp had sealed off most of the bleeding buying her just a little more time. The doctors and nurses rushed over to the Pegasus. Rainbow Dash pressed tightly against the filly, stopping as much of the bleeding as she could, "Please help her!"

Epilogue

The alarm clock went off far earlier than its usual time in the morning. A silver crystalline frost painted against the bedroom window. Rainbow Dash let out a heavy sigh as she rolled over carefully not to put any pressure on her injured wings or leg. She found waking up becoming more and more difficult with each day. Smashing her hoof heavily on the snooze button she returned her head back to the fluffy pillow and buried herself back beneath the sheets.

Applejack leaned over and kissed Rainbow Dash on the cheek, "Come on Sugarcube time tah get up."

"Just five more minutes…" Rainbow Dash grumbled.

Applejack rolled her eyes, "That's what yah said yesterday… and the day before that." She grabbed the blanket with her mouth and yanked it off the Pegasus it covered. The cold air of the bedroom soon bounced on the pony stinging her like a thousand pinpricks.

"Give that back!" Rainbow Dash cried with a violent shiver. Applejack shook her head and trotted away with the blanket still clenched between her teeth. Rainbow Dash looked around the room in hopes to retrieve something to warm herself with. However it appeared Applejack had removed all the spare blankets and any scarves from their bedroom as an extra precaution.

With another loud sigh, Rainbow Dash pulled herself up from the bed and limped over towards Applejack and wrapped a hoof around her for support, "I don't see why we have to get up so early…" Rainbow Dash mumbled tiredly.

Applejack frowned, "Yah didn't forget what today was, did yah?"

"How could I forget…" Rainbow Dash said hollowly.

The two trotted gingerly down the stairs near the front door, "Yah never did tell me how yah managed to get this place back."

With Ponyville's estate agency having been abandoned with the rest of the town Rainbow Dash had paid their filing room a visit. Shortly afterwards some files related to Sweet Apple Acres may have possibly gone missing. "Does it matter?" Rainbow Dash asked with a small grin hoping to avoid the topic.

Applejack glared suspiciously at the Pegasus for a few seconds, "No, ah guess not." She retrieved a scarf off of a rack and wrapped it around her neck and did the same for Rainbow Dash. Afterwards she picked up a small woven basket filled with green and yellow apples with an assortment of purple and red flowers. She turned to the Pegasus, "Yah ready?"

Rainbow Dash nodded and pulled open the door allowing in a frigid gust of snow carried wind. They pushed themselves through the doorway and out into the harsh cold world. They trotted slowly on a trail laced with heavily packed snow in between the hibernating apple orchards. The trail came to an end at a snow covered shining marble stone in between two large and bare apple trees.

Applejack knelt down and laid the basket of fruit and flowers in front of the stone and brushed off the snow that covered its etchings. "Ah wish ah had known her better…" she said sadly.

Rainbow Dash wrapped her hoof around Applejack and kissed her cheek, "Me too."

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes, "What do yah think she is doing now?"

Rainbow Dash let out a comforting smile, "She is up there, in the clouds with the warm wind in her mane and the soft sun beaming down on her. Doing everything she never had a chance to, living her life the way it should have been. I think she is completely free."

Applejack sniffled, "Ah hope so… it's the least she deserves." She ran her hoof against the engravings on the cold marble, "This would have been the first one she celebrated."

"I know." Rainbow Dash said nudging her head against Applejack's.

"RD, do yah ever think maybe Shadow Scorn isn't gone?" Applejack asked sounding a little frightful.

"That pony is gone, she's never going to torment us again." Rainbow Dash said though she couldn't deny she to shared the same feelings and on occasion even had haunting dreams of the pony. She shook her head, snapping herself out of the cold, nerve-wrenching feelings that washed over her as she thought of the pony, "Just forget about her."

"Yer right." Applejack said finally. Turning back to the stone, tears started to run down Applejack's eyes, "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve Ice Ember…"

The two ponies stood up and walked back to the warmth and comfort of the farmhouse. They brushed the snow off of themselves stepped back inside. Applejack removed an already lit candle from the mantle of the fireplace and lit the logs that rested inside it. Rainbow Dash trotted over towards the desk and dipped the quill into the ink jar and began to write. She finished scribbling down onto the parchment and placed down the quill, rolling up the note into a scroll and bound it with a small red ribbon.

"Whatcha doing?" Raven Flame asked peering curiously at Rainbow Dash with her large blue eyes. The scars that covered her body had almost completely faded now.

"Writing to the Princess." Rainbow Dash said, "You ready for your first Hearth's Warming Eve?" she asked with a grin.

Raven Flame bounced up and down excitedly, "Yes!" she squeaked.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Great. I'm going to go help Applejack get everything ready." She said standing up off the chair and limped away, "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve Raven Flame."

Raven Flame giggled, "You too, Dashie." She waved a hoof at Rainbow Dash, who vanished into the kitchen. Looking around to see the room was empty she picked up the scroll and unraveled the paper and began to read.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

I know it's been awhile since I've written but I wanted to share my thoughts with you. In the past few years I've learned the true impact a single pony can make on anything regardless of how small an action that may be. Though at times a pony may feel insignificant in such a vast world I discovered that anything and everything they do can ripple outwards touching the lives of thousands.

Though at times it is hard to see just what a pony can really bring to those around them, but if you take them out of the picture, even for just a short amount of time it becomes clear. From the moment we take our first step and until we draw our last gasp of air we are always changing everything and every pony around us whether we realize it or not.

Every pony can change the world and make it worse, or a better place depending on the choices we make. Even though from time to time we all make mistakes in our lives, I believe that every pony is given a second chance. Sometimes that chance may not appear in the way expected and we may not recognize it at the time it is presented. However, whether we choose to rectify our mistakes will ultimately still be up to us.

After everything that I have endured in these years I find myself asking, "What's going to happen now?" I wish I could answer myself that question but I can't, and although the possible answers frighten me I hope that whatever may happen it will ignite a spark that spirals outward brightening the lives of every pony the waves may come across.

Sincerely, Rainbow Dash

P.S Happy Hearth's Warming Eve"

Chapter 4

Rainbow Dash pushed the golden key into the lock of the door and twisted it. She stepped inside and brushed Raven Flame and Scootaloo off her back. Flipping the switch next to the door she peered around the hotel room just on the corner of the same street as Ice Ember's apartment.

A single bed covered in a thick diamond patterned maroon blanket. Next to it was a wooden nightstand with an alarm clock and a fresh newspaper placed squarely in the center. Trotting over to the bed Rainbow Dash picked up the paper. The front page titled in bold black letters, "Five days, five ponies missing." She flipped through the pages and read another heading, "Manehatten reaches lowest temperature in 10 years."

Rainbow Dash tossed the paper aside with disinterest. She couldn't get her mind off of Applejack and Ice Ember. The scene of them holding one another, it just kept playing over again inside her head. She started to have her doubts, "What if Applejack is happy here?" she thought to herself.

Raven Flame sat down on the bed in front of Rainbow Dash, "Dashie, what happened?" she asked. "You look kind of down."

"Applejack…" Rainbow Dash sighed, "Applejack doesn't remember who I am." She rubbed her hoof against her temple in small circular motions to help alleviate the headache that was starting to grow from the stress of everything that she had just discovered.

Raven Flame tilted her head, "What do you mean she doesn't remember you?"

"I don't know…" Rainbow Dash said, "I think she hurt herself at the rodeo. The doctors warned her repeatedly that an increase in blood pressure was dangerous." She lowered her head into her hooves and stared down at the ground, "None of this would have happened if I had insisted we go with her…"

"It isn't your fault, Dashie." Raven Flame hopped off the bed and hugged Rainbow Dash's leg.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said grabbing at the other leg, "You couldn't have known some crazy pony was practically going to ponynap Applejack."

Rainbow Dash blinked at the two fillies clinging at her leg, "Uh, thanks?" she said uncomfortably trying to gently shake them off of her.

"So what are you going to do now?" Raven Flame asked returning to the bed, Scootaloo following suit.

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed and she grinned almost mischievously, "I'm gonna do what I always do. I'm gonna win."

"Uh, win what?" Scootaloo and Raven Flame asked in unison.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "I'm going to win Applejack back of course."

"Oooh!" the two fillies said with their voices joined again.

A light bulb lit up in Rainbow Dash's mind, "I have something I need to go do…" she trotted towards the door and turned to them, "STAY HERE!" she said firmly. "The last thing I need is to come back here and find you two missing."

"Relax, we won't go anywhere Dashie!" Raven Flame said in a sweet and innocent voice.

As Rainbow Dash turned back to the door, she could have sworn she had seen some pony's face. Staring hard into the mirror a black blur quickly rushed through it. She checked on Raven Flame who was still sitting on the bed across the room. She returned her sight onto the mirror, blinked and rubbed her eyes but saw nothing. With a shrug she pulled open the door and closed it.

"Well great, what do we do now?" Scootaloo asked.

"No idea." Raven Flame looked around and spotted the newspaper. She picked it up and looked through it but nothing interesting jumped out and grabbed her attention.

"Wanna play 'Go Fish'?"

Raven lowered the news paper and looked at the orange filly that was now clutching a deck of cards in between her two hooves, "Where in the hay did you get those?"

"I got them from…" Scootaloo looked down and thought, "Actually that's a good question, I have no clue."

Raven Flame squinted one eye and widened the other studying Scootaloo suspiciously, "You suddenly have a deck of cards and you don't even know where you got them?"

"Yeah…" Scootaloo said evasively, she then started waving the cards around, "You want to play or not?"

"Sure, why not." Raven Flame said dismissing the strange behavior.

The two sat for hours awkwardly fumbling the cards as they played. They slowly grew more and more tired as time went on. Just as their exhaustion grew, so did Raven Flame's pile of cards as the day faded into night.

Raven Flame stared at her hoof of cards, "Have any three's?"

"Oh the hay with this!" Scootaloo cried out in frustration. She tossed her cards last four remaining cards into the air and trotted over to the bed and lay down on her back.

"What's wrong?" Raven Flame giggled.

"It was a stupid game anyway." Scootaloo said waving a hoof to dismiss Raven's question.

Raven Flame hopped up onto the bed next to Scootaloo, "You just don't like losing." She teased.

Scootaloo turned to Raven Flame, she had wanted nothing more than to hold her close for the past day but had felt uncomfortable expressing herself while Rainbow Dash was around, "I don't mind losing to you." She said softly with a grin.

Raven Flame blushed and stared into the amethyst eyes in front of her, "Better get used to it then." She joked.

Scootaloo grabbed at Raven Flame and pressed her lips onto her cheek, "Not a chance."

The two started wrestling around on the bed laughing loudly while they did. As they were playing the room suddenly grew icy cold. The lights began to dim and then a loud banging came from the floor beneath them. They stopped immediately and looked around, "What was that?" Raven asked fearfully, holding onto Scootaloo.

"We were probably just being too loud and the ponies downstairs got annoyed." Scootaloo said.

"Scootaloo…" Raven Flame said, her breathing growing quieter, "We're on the bottom floor…" she whispered.

"I'm sure it was nothing." Scootaloo said looking around nervously, her grip tightening around Raven.

"Rainbow Dash has been gone for a long time now…" Raven Flame said beneath her breath.

The two continued glancing around the room scarcely even blinking. Raven Flame stared wide eyed, and for a brief second she thought she had seen a pair of black eyes in the corner of the room. The strange chill vanished from the room and the lights returned to normal.Then there was another bang, this time from across the room. The banging became more rapid and it grew louder and louder. The two ponies squeezed each other tightly,

"What the hay guys! Are you ever going to let me in?" Rainbow Dash called out from behind the door.

The two fillies separated and chuckled at themselves for having not realized the knocking was coming from the door, "Sorry!" Raven Flame called out as she rushed over to the door to unlock it.

"Geez, what took you so long?" Rainbow Dash asked. She took notice of the ruffled bed covers, "Am I interrupting something?" she said jokingly with a laugh.

"Huh?" Raven Flame asked looking confused.

"I don't get it either…" Scootaloo said staring at the laughing Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, "Oh nevermind!"

"Hey, where did you go anyway?" Raven Flame asked deciding that Rainbow Dash might have gone just a bit loopy.

"I went to get supplies!" Rainbow Dash said, pulling a bag off of her back.

Scootaloo tried to make out what was inside the bag, "Supplies for what?"

"For tomorrow!" Rainbow Dash said, emptying out the single item from the bag onto the bed.

"Binoculars?" Scootaloo asked placing them against her eyes and looking around the room, "What do we need these for?

"Reconnaissance!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

Raven Flame blinked, "I don't follow…"

Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her face, "We're going to watch Ice Ember's apartment until one of them leaves alone."

"Oh, okay…" Raven Flame took the binoculars from Scootaloo, "Where did you get these anyway."

"Found them." Rainbow Dash smiled unconvincingly.

"You found them?" Scootaloo asked noticing Rainbow's sudden inability to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I found them…" Rainbow Dash repeated but caved in when the two fillies' raised their eyebrows, "on another pony's balcony." She finished with a grin.

"You stole them?"

"Of course not!" Rainbow Dash cried out defensively, "I'm just borrowing them; I'll give them back when we're done!"

Raven Flame giggled, "Dashie!"

"Anyway…" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, "Tomorrow we'll all take shifts watching the apartment. I'll take the first shift, Raven you'll get the second and Scootaloo…" she paused, "Scootaloo, you can get the donuts."

"Why do I have to get the donuts?" Scootaloo cried out. Raven Flame was laughing next to her.

Rainbow Dash smiled, "Because Raven would eat them all before she got back."

"HEY!" Raven shouted, now Scootaloo was laughing at her.

Rainbow Dash ignored her, "Get some sleep every pony; we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She trotted over the clock on the nightstand and set it. The fillies crawled into a bed and shut their tired eyes. Rainbow Dash climbed into her own bed and said in the most dramatic voice she could muster, "Tomorrow morning at six a.m., we strike!"

Rainbow Dash found herself in a barren field of dust and sand that stretched on for miles seeming endless. Though the blazing heat beamed down on her she could still feel an uneasy chill run down her spine. There was absolutely nothing with the exception of two ponies that stood nearby. The orange pony looked at her; there was a certain kind of sadness in her emerald eyes. They appeared distant and merely looking at the Pegasus caused them pain.

"Ah'm sorry…" Applejack whispered, trotting over towards the red unicorn. The two locked lips and there was a sudden brilliant pale blue smoke. When the fog faded they were nowhere in sight, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the vast empty wasteland.

"Applejack!" She called out, looking around in every direction. But Applejack was gone, and only the sound of her sobbing voice echoing through the valley could be heard. There was nothing, the loneliness pierced at her as she aimlessly trotted across the cracked earth.

She kept on walking for miles but it seemed to her she was getting nowhere. Her hooves ached with as they impacted heavily onto the dirt, the soft breeze erasing the hoof prints she left behind after every step. Finally she could take no more of the maddening and endless walk towards nothing and she collapsed onto the hot dirt beneath her hooves.

Weeping into her own arms she lay there defeated, hopeless and abandoned. The hot sun beat down on her causing her body to dehydrate at a much quicker rate. Her muscles weakened, the heat sapping away what little energy she still had left. As she lay there she couldn't help but feel something was watching her, something she couldn't see. The sound of hoofsteps approached her. The sound didn't feel to her that it was coming from the right direction to clear her of such thoughts.

Slowly turning her head, her eyes met with the soft smile of an orange pony and no red unicorn. "Why didn't you come for me?" Applejack asked, her smile quickly fading.

"I couldn't." Rainbow Dash said weakly, "I had to bury… Raven Flame."

"Liar!" Applejack hissed, "She isn't even dead. What kind of an excuse is that?"

"But-"

"Hush it!" Applejack commanded, "The most loyal of ponies in all of Equestria and yah abandoned me."

"I didn't abandon you Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Yah knew just how dangerous it was for me tah go tah that rodeo." Applejack kicked at the dirt, a small cloud of dust spraying into the Pegasus's eyes. "And yah let me go anyway." She said in a disgusted voice.

"I tried to stop you!" Rainbow Dash coughed scraping the dirt from her face.

"Yah hardly tried at all. Deep down ah know yah wanted me tah go."

"No!" Rainbow Dash cried, "I love you Applejack!"

Applejack knelt down, "Ah don't love yah. Ah've moved on." She stood back up and trotted away.

Rainbow Dash returned her gaze back to her arms and watched as the tears pattered onto the crackling dirt below. She felt as if a wedge had been driven into her heart, splitting it in two. "I love you…" she whispered for the second time. An unknown black pony trotted towards Rainbow Dash. Suddenly the earth beneath her began to crumble and it broke away completely and she started to fall into a black abyss. Rainbow Dash extended her wings and began to flap vigorously but it did nothing, she kept falling and falling and then she felt impact for a split second.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to find she had flown straight into the roof of the hotel room. She let herself drop back onto her bed and let out a relieved sigh. The room was cold and dark and the same scratching in her mind that something was watching her from the shadows remained in her head. She cast aside the thought and focused on other things. Another fear still lingered, what if Applejack had moved on and would no longer care for her.

Trotting around the room in deep thought she paused at the mirror and looked at herself through the darkness. She had been changed so much in the years since the fire back in the forest. Never before then would she have doubted herself. Everything that night had changed her though, though the memories had mostly left her she still could feel the ashen air filling her lungs. It had made her grow more and more cautious about anything she did.

Then there was the night when she followed Applejack to that bar. Watching as she locked lips with another pony, their hooves wrapped around one another as they embraced one another with deep passion. After that night she felt as if would never be enough for Applejack, and that she was always going to be second best.

Now again she found her lover in another pony's arms. This time she wouldn't be as strong as she was before. Everything that happened to her was finally taking its toll on her now. She was frightened. Scared that perhaps now, she wasn't the pony Applejack had fallen in love with all those years ago. Maybe Ice Ember was the right pony for Applejack after all.

Rainbow Dash stared at herself in the mirror with disdain. A memory of the day on the cliff came to her. The two of them falling, the freezing ice below creeping ever closer. Her love burned for Applejack giving her the courage to sacrifice everything just for one pony. With all that she had been through, she felt tired.

"Dashie?" Raven Flame whispered, trotting up to the Pegasus the moonlight reflecting on the stream of tears that slid down her blue cheeks, "What's wrong?"

"I just…" Rainbow Dash dropped herself to the floor, "I don't know anymore…" Turning her eyes away from the filly, "What if I'm not meant for Applejack…" she said sorrowfully.

"Don't talk like that Dashie!" Raven Flame lifted Rainbow Dash's chin and cast the damp magenta eyes back at the mirror, "Look at yourself and ask what you are willing to do for Applejack."

Rainbow Dash stared at. She knew the answer. She always knew the answer and would always know it because it would never change. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as she thought. "Anything…" she said finally.

"Exactly!" Raven Flame said cheerily, "Now ask yourself this. Just what Ice Ember was willing to give up for her?"

Rainbow Dash thought about this, Ice Ember wasn't willing to sacrifice anything for Applejack. She had taken the pony from her friends, her family and her home without even so much as a second thought, "Nothing…"

"Precisely!" Raven Flame said in her still enthusiastic voice, "Dashie, Scootaloo was right; you are one of the strongest ponies. You lost everything only in a few weeks but you didn't give up."

"But I'm not strong…" Rainbow Dash said, "If I were strong none of this would have happened. I can't protect any pony."

Raven Flame grabbed at Rainbow Dash's hoof and hugged it as she had earlier that day, "Protecting isn't the same thing, Dashie. You are brave and you are strong."

Rainbow Dash continued to stare at her own reflection in the mirror. Raven Flame was right, she was still strong and Applejack had always made her even more so. As had Applejack also always given her the courage to keep going. Now wasn't a time to give up and pity herself, not after how far she had come. Applejack would never have allowed her to stoop so low.

Rainbow Dash had promised herself that day on the cliff that she wouldn't waste her days and she had let that promise slip away from her. When she had been staring her last moments all she had wanted was more time with Applejack. The cold that seemed to sweep across the room vanished as did the feeling of watching eyes. The alarm clock began to beep loudly in a dull drone; Rainbow Dash turned to it and smiled. It was time for her to stop being afraid of what might be and start fighting for what she truly wanted.

Scootaloo returned from the hotel lobby with a box balanced on her back, "I can't believe you guys get to scope out for Applejack and you're making me get donuts." She grumbled.

Rainbow Dash handed the binoculars to Raven Flame, "This isn't really as exciting as you think it is Scootaloo, we've been staring at the apartment for hours now." She opened a box and stuffed her face with a pink frosted donut, "You should be glad, we might be stuck here all day!" she said, not even bothering to finish her bite first.

Raven Flame peered outside the window and stared at the sixth floor of the red bricked building, "Are you sure either of them is even going to leave?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I'm pretty sure Ice Ember has some lame job she'll have to go to soon..." she said withdrawing another donut from the box before heading back to the window and taking the binoculars from Raven again.

Looking through the lenses she took a bite of the donut she held in her other hoof. A red unicorn emerged and began to trot down the stairs. In surprise to see movement she swallowed a large bit of the donut and choked on it for a few seconds before forcing it the rest of the way down, "It's show time!" she said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash lifted up the window and flew out of sight and then returned, "Don't leave!" she ordered.

Raven Flame waved a hoof, "Yeah yeah, we'll stay put, now go and get Applejack back!"

"Sir yes ma'am!" Rainbow Dash said with a salute before flying away again. She waited for Ice Ember to reach the bottom of the stairs before she landed at the top. She headed to the door down the hall and gave it a knock.

Applejack stared at the door wondering who would show up this early in the day. She tightened the dark green scarf around her neck and secured her saddlebag then pulled open the door. She stared at the multicolored Pegasus she had seen the previous day, "Well howdy!" she said in a friendly manner.

Rainbow Dash looked at the attire Applejack was in, a clear sign she was already leaving the apartment making her plans far easier. "Hey, is uh Ice Ember here?" She asked trying to sound casual though she could hardly contain the giddiness in her voice.

"Aw shucks, yah just missed her. She just went to work." Applejack frowned, "She'll be back at around 5' if you want to stop by later."

"Nah. That's okay." Rainbow Dash turned around and trotted away, stopping at the stairs, "Hey are you going somewhere?"

"Oh, ah'm going to the bookstore." Applejack said stepping out the doorway and closing it behind her, "Got nothin' tah do most of the time cept fill mah head with books."

Rainbow Dash grinned, "I'm a big Daring-Do fan myself." She said, scraping her hoof at the floor bashfully.

"Yer kiddin'! Applejack gasped, "Ah'm going tah get the next book right now."

"No way!" Rainbow Dash squeaked, "Well, I guess I should let you get going then."

Applejack nodded politely and started down the stairs but she paused, "Hey… Yah wanna come with me?" she asked.

"Sure, why not." Rainbow Dash said trying to keep her cool on the outside. She began walking down the steps with Applejack, her heart pounding faster and faster, "So are you and Ice Ember… uh… you know?" she asked delicately hoping to gain some insight on the two's relationship.

"Ah guess." Applejack said not really thinking her answer through.

"You 'guess?" Rainbow Dash asked feeling a new flare of hope inside her, "What does that mean?"

Applejack chuckled nervously, "Did ah say guess, ah meant to say yes." She said quickly, her snout crinkling and her eyes shifting all over the place.

"Uh-huh." Rainbow Dash said in disbelief. She was all too familiar with Applejack's terrible poker face. Rainbow Dash trotted by the orange pony's side silently, plotting her next words carefully but came up with nothing. Things were starting to feel like they were going downhill as they arrived at the bookstore in absolute silence.

"So what were yah and Ice Ember talking 'bout yesterday?" Applejack asked finally breaking the silence as she browsed through the shelves.

"Oh, you know, just… stuff." Rainbow Dash smacked herself, she never had been good at making things up on the spot.

"Oh, what kind of stuff?" Applejack asked.

"Found it!" Rainbow Dash shouted from across the bookstore, in hopes Applejack would forget the question or at the very least delayed it until she came up with a story.

Applejack trotted over and pulled out the book with a silver binding, "Guess ah'll be back off tah the apartment." She said sounding a little disappointed as she started to walk away from the shelf towards the cashier.

"You don't really want to spend the rest of your life inside that place, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked blocking the orange pony's path.

"Well ah…" Applejack tried to maneuver herself around the Pegasus, "No… not really."

"Perfect!" Rainbow Dash cheered, "You can come with me!"

Applejack paid for the book and turned to the Pegasus, "And where would that be?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, "If I told you that'd just spoil the fun!" she said patting Applejack on the head.

"Ah 'spose it would." Applejack said, her heart making a sudden leap at the mere touch from the Pegasus. She thought about the offer for a moment, it seemed a little strange to her that a pony she had only just met was asking her to go somewhere with her and not even know where that place was. However, she didn't want to go home and she decided the pony was trustworthy enough, "Alright then, let's go!"

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squeaked again, trotting outside the door and holding it open for Applejack, "Want to get something to eat first?"

Applejack smiled, "Ah don't see why not."

"Great." Rainbow Dash hopped excitedly down the street, "I found this nice little restaurant just down the block."

Stopping at a pale white building, a faded wooden sign hanging above it's doorway, "This is it?" Applejack asked a little concerned at the sight.

"Trust me!" Rainbow Dash said brightly, "I know it doesn't look like much, but I promise you it will be worth your time."

Applejack trotted inside slowly, "Alright..."

Not wanting Applejack to know she planned the whole event, Rainbow Dash scurried ahead out of sight briefly to inform the host pony of her reservation. "Right this way." The pony said politely once Applejack had caught up. Leading through the dimly lit rooms they were seated at a dark booth in the far corner, away from any other ponies that might come. "I'll be back momentarily to take your orders." The pony said as he placed two menus on the table.

Applejack picked up the menu and scanned over it, "Sure are a lotta choices." she said casually.

"The caramelized apples and whipped cream is pretty good." Rainbow Dash replied.

The suggestion sounded perfect and out of all the things on the menu, only one of them used apples as an ingredient. The waft of earth and apples drafted down from the brim of her cowboy hat and made her desire for the suggestion all the more unbearable. "Ah think ah'll try that."

"I knew you would." Rainbow Dash mumbled quietly.

Applejack's ears perked up, "What was that?"

"I said I will too." Rainbow Dash lied.

The host pony soon returned and took their orders and vanished once again. Applejack glanced around the dim room. The entirety of the restaurant was lit by candles. On their own table was a single candle molded in the shape of a heart placed in the center. "This is... a very nice place." Applejack said feeling a little uncomfortable with the romantic setting.

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, "So, what do you do around here for fun?" She asked trying to get a conversation started.

Applejack shrugged, "Not much. I'm mostly inside all day just reading."

"Yeah, I guess it isn't very nice outside."

With a heavy sigh Applejack glanced down at the table, "Ah can't stand the smoke, the smell. Everything here is just so...

"Unnatural?" Rainbow Dash finished for her.

"Yeah, ah literally don't even remember the last time ah saw the sun."

"Why don't you just leave?"

"Ah couldn't do that tah Ice Ember..." Applejack frowned, "She's done so much fer me."

"Oh." Rainbow Dash said shaking off a cringe. Plucking out one of the light-pink flowers from vase on the table, she slid it's stem through the red mane tie that bound Applejack's hair, "There, now you can have a bit of nature wherever you go." She said with a grin.

Applejack held back a blush that tried seeping into her cheeks, "Heh, thanks."

"So where'd you get that scar?" Rainbow Dash asked a few minutes later trying to break the silence.

Applejack's eyes looked upward, "Oh that? That's from a surgery ah had a few weeks ago." She ran her hoof across her forehead, "Ah had a blood clot. The doctor got rid of it and fixed the damaged vein. Told me ah had tah take it easy for a few days but ah wouldn't have to worry about anything like that happening again."

The host pony returned with two trays of golden fried fruit covered with whipped cream. "Enjoy." He said placing them down and left. Quickly Rainbow Dash snatched away Applejack's tray before she could get to it.

Applejack stared wide-eyed at the steaming food, "Hey! Give that back!" Rainbow Dash giggled and took a scoopful of the food and held it out to Applejack. "Yer joking right?"

"Aw, come on!"

"Ah'm not having you spoon feed me!" Applejack cried.

"Fine!" Rainbow Dash put down the tray and slid it back over, "You could spoon feed me if you wanted." she said flirtatiously.

Applejack's cheeks turned bright red at the comment, "Uh, that's okay..."

"Could be fun." Rainbow Dash winked. Growing more bold she lightly nudged Applejack's hooves beneath the table.

In an effort to hide her reddening face, Applejack quickly turned her focus to her food. Whilst eating she couldn't notice her own hooves slowly travel back towards Rainbow Dash's. "So are yah gonna tell me where we're going after we finish eating?" Applejack asked still not realizing the physical contact the two were making.

"Nope!" Rainbow Dash said feeling the soft brushing of Applejack's hoof caressing up and down her leg.

"Ah'm sorry!" Applejack said sounding embarrassed. Pulling her legs back suddenly, "Ah didn't mean tah do that." she said quickly.

"Aw, that's okay!" Rainbow Dash said waving her hoof.

The two finished their meal quietly. Applejack giving the occasional unintended stare of infatuation as it went on. After Rainbow Dash paid for the meal, the two trotted back out the building, "Well that was, uh, nice." Applejack said.

"You're still coming right?" Rainbow Dash asked, it sounded as if the orange pony were ready to go home.

"Of course!" Applejack answered. Though she felt a little uncomfortable she couldn't remember the last time she had been having this much fun.

"Wait…" Rainbow Dash grinned, "So is it okay for you to run then?" she asked pointing at the scar.

Applejack smiled and nodded, "Yeah, ah guess it is."

"Well in that case…" Rainbow Dash lowered her head and prepared to run, "Let's have a race!" she called out as she took off.

"Hey!" Applejack shouted chasing after her, "Ah don't even know where we're going!" she said quickly catching up with the Pegasus.

"Guess you better move that flank of yours then!" Rainbow Dash said mischievously.

Applejack smirked, "Ah think yer the one who needs to move yers!" she said, pushing herself a few feet ahead. The two had galloped past the city roads of Manehatten and onto the dirt roads that lead out into the snowy fields.

"This way!" Rainbow Dash shouted taking a sudden turn into a cluster of trees. Applejack followed without a second thought, she weaved in between the trees with much greater ease than the Pegasus passing her she could see the clearing.

Rainbow Dash flew up into the sky and cleared away the clouds allowing the warm sun to shine down. She had spent most of the previous day searching for a spot just like this one. Once she had found it she spent the rest of her time bargaining with a florist unicorn trying to convince her to make the place seem alive with her magic.

Applejack stopped and stared at the sight. A small pond of crystal blue water lay in the center of a field of snowless green grass that was surrounded by white capped trees. Trotting slowly onto the green grass, she savored the sensation as the blades gently scraped against her legs. She stopped just a few feet away from the pond and lay down on the grass, basking in the sunlight. She inhaled the humid air, the faint smell of apples wafting into her nostrils.

Rainbow Dash landed next to her and looked around as well, though the only scenery she was really interested in at the moment was laying just a few feet away. "So…" she said scraping her hoof at the grass, "What do you think?"

"It's amazing…" Applejack said turning her head towards Rainbow Dash, "How did yah find this place?"

"Oh pfft." Rainbow Dash waved a hoof trying to act as if it weren't anything important, "Just sorta flew into it." She said.

Applejack let out a laugh, "Figures. Yah probably always have yer head stuck in the clouds." She said plucking out a piece of grass and placed it in between her teeth.

Rainbow Dash snatched the cowboy hat off of Applejack's head, "Yeah, well now I have my head stuck in your hat!" she teased as she tossed it onto her head.

"Oh no yah don't!" Applejack shouted tackling Rainbow Dash and pinning her to the grass. Her gaze suddenly became lost in the magenta eyes that stared back at her. She began to lower her head towards the brim of her hat, her eyes still locked with the Pegasus's.

Applejack's heart started to rush, her eyes unable to stray from the pinned pony. Her mouth slowly began to drift away from the hat and closer towards Rainbow Dash. Her breathing stopped as her head hovered just inches away from the Pegasus. A spark suddenly ignited inside her heart and without thinking she pushed her lips down onto Rainbow Dash's and kissed her with a passion she never had experienced before.

Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Applejack, their lips parting for just a moment to recover their breath. Her mind went completely blank as she lost herself in the embrace of the Pegasus. She wanted to stay lost in the moment, not ruining it with thoughts or words, just the warmth and comfort being given to her.

The feeling of cold metal brushed against Applejack's shoulder as they kissed, taking her out of the trance. She pulled away and grabbed at Rainbow Dash's foreleg and stared at the glimmering piece of jewelry, "Yer MARRIED?" she asked angrily climbing to her hooves.

"Yes- I mean no!" Rainbow Dash stammered, never in a million years had she thought she would be trying to explain to her own wife that she was married to her.

Applejack trotted in circles rubbing a hoof on her forehead, her eyes filled with worry and guilt, "Ah… what have ah done… Ah have to go…" she turned away and started running towards the tree clearing.

"Wait! I can explain!" Rainbow Dash called out chasing after her.

"Get away from me!" Applejack screamed though now she was far angrier at herself for what she had done than the Pegasus.

"Just let me explain!" Rainbow Dash said flying up and landing in front of her.

"Ah don't want tah hear it!" Applejack shouted, pushing Rainbow Dash aside and running off again.

Rainbow Dash got back to her feet and caught up once more, "What about what just happened back there?" she asked blocking Applejack's path again.

"It was a mistake!" Applejack shouted her voice growing even shakier.

Rainbow Dash sighed, the words hurt her far more than she had expected, "Do you honestly think that was a mistake? Didn't you feel something?"

"Ah don't know!" Applejack's eyes filled with tears, her mind and heart flooded with conflicting emotions. She had felt something; the Pegasus had made her feel safe, cared for and happy. But she hardly knew the pony and she already had a pony back at her apartment, one that she knew and felt she could trust. "Just leave me alone!" she shouted as she galloped away.

Rainbow Dash's heart sunk, everything had gone so perfectly and then it fell apart so quickly. This was nowhere near in any way how she thought this would end. At the very least she expected that Applejack simply wouldn't be interested, not have a complete meltdown over their wedding ring. "Fine then!" Rainbow Dash shouted back flying towards the city.

Applejack reached the concrete streets of Manehatten and slowed her pace. She didn't understand what she had just done; this is exactly what she had wanted, to feel a spark. But she had expected that in time she would feel the spark with Ice Ember, not a complete stranger after a few hours together.

"Ice Ember has been taking care of me since ah woke up in the hospital and this is how ah repay her?" Applejack muttered furiously at herself. She paused at the base of her apartment stairs. She looked around and spotted the blue Pegasus flying down near the hotel on the street corner.

Applejack turned away and marched up the stairs trying to push the thoughts of Rainbow Dash out of her mind. Pushing open the apartment door she walked inside and returned to the cushion she sat in whenever she read. Reaching in the saddlebag she pulled out the silver book and tilted open the cover staring at the first page.

Her mind and eyes couldn't focus on the words, the anger and disgust she directed at herself still lingered, forcing her attention on the events that had just occurred. She slammed the book shut and tossed it at the wall trotting towards her bedroom. She stared at the bed, all the nights she had spent in it with Ice Ember as the pony tried to comfort and make her feel loved.

Applejack brushed her hoof against the gloomy white painted wall trying to trigger even one memory of when she truly had felt happy in this place, but nothing came to her. With a heavy sigh she trotted over to the dresser and picked up the picture frame of her and the Red Unicorn standing together. She had forced a smile for the photo when it had been taken.

Setting down the frame gently she looked at the drawer that was slightly askew. She pulled it open and looked down at the neatly folded winter coats and scarves that lined its base. However, in the left back corner of the drawer, one of the scarves was wrinkled and the corners thrown back slightly.

Applejack pushed aside the scarf revealing a small outline in the dark brown wood. She nudged it and the tile of wood popped up. Moving the piece out of the way she found a silver anklet lying neatly in the hidden compartment. She removed the jewelry and looked at it; her first assumption was that Ice Ember was going to give it to her.

She quickly discarded the thought though when she examined the familiar shape of a diamond cut lightning bolt embedded into the metal. The image of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark flashed through her head and the anklet that wrapped around the Pegasus's hoof. She turned towards her own cutie mark, "Apples…" she whispered as her mind put the pieces together.

Applejack dropped the ring and turned around running for the door which she heard shut from down the hallway. Ice Ember smiled and trotted toward her, "Hey!" she said excitedly.

Applejack stared grotesquely at the unicorn for a few seconds but wiped the look from her face. "Hey sugarcube!" she said acting as if nothing was bothering her at all. "Ah was just about tah go get that book." She lied and for the first time she held a straight face, "Ah'll see you later, kay?"

"Oh, alright." Ice Ember said, giving Applejack a quick kiss on the cheek before the pony vanished outside the door.

Ice Ember unraveled the scarf from her neck, her eyes catching glimpse of the silver colored book by the wall. She shrugged it off and headed towards the room to put away her scarf. She flipped on the room's light switch and a sudden flood of panic filled her when she saw the open drawer. The rays of light reflected off of the shining anklet that sat on the floor. "No!" Ice Ember said quietly, turning around and running down the hallway out the door chasing after Applejack.