"Scootaloo!"
Rainbow Dash cried out again as she ran through the woods. The leaves crushed and crinkled beneath her hooves as she ran, and the wind whipped them around as it did her mane. She pushed the branches of a few small trees out of her face as she ran, but more ahead snapped back and hit her in the face.
"Scootaloo!"
She cried again as she fell to her knees at the edge of the river. It had been three hours since they were supposed to meet there, two of which had been used searching. She laid at the bank of the river, several small rocks stabbing into her as she did so. After a few moments, she pushed her upper body up and crawled close to the river. Standing fully upright, Rainbow Dash cried out one last time.
"Scootaloo!"
Rainbow Dash almost broke the glass at the speed she was going when she flew into the police station.
"Ma'am, what seems to be the problem?"
A mare asked, standing up from her desk by the door. She noted Rainbow Dash's obvious distress as she walked up to the desk, panting.
"Please, you need to help me. My friend, basically my little sister, she's missing, near the river."
"Do you have a reference photo?"
"Yes."
Rainbow Dash pulled the small, folded up picture she had of Scootaloo out of her coat pocket. It was the day after she had finally got her cutie mark, and she was as happy as can be. The officer looked at the photo for a while, then nodded and looked at Rainbow Dash.
"We'll start search parties. How long ago was she lost?"
"It's been about three hours, I've been searching for so long but, I just can't find her."
"It's alright Miss, just calm down, we'll find her."
The sun was just now starting to set, as several groups of ponies; police officers and not, started walking through the woods, calling and searching. Rainbow Dash was walking by herself, desperately calling out for the filly who was so dear, so meaningful to her.
"Scootaloo!"
Rainbow Dash shouted as she pushed her way through the trees, flashlight in one wing, using the other to part the various brush shrouding her path.
"Scootaloo!"
Rainbow Dash dropped to her knees, the flashlight falling to her side, as she once again found herself on the high up rock that jutted out into the river. After a few minutes of sobbing, Rainbow Dash heard voices coming toward her.
"Rainbow Dash! There you are!"
AppleJack ran over and helped her friend back up onto her hooves. Rainbow Dash looked over AppleJack's shoulder to see Rarity and Twilight standing there.
"Anything?"
Rarity hung her head, while Twilight walked forward and stood in front of Rainbow Dash.
"The weather is starting to pick up, they're calling off the search for tonight."
"What? But it's just bad weather! This is my sister we're talking about!"
"Don't worry, we'll find her, we just can't tonight if the weather goes the way it's predicted to."
"Then you go. I'm staying."
"Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash pushed past the three mares and ran into the woods, disregarding Twilight's call.
"How long do you suppose she'll be out here?"
"Too long I'm afraid."
The search parties showed up at just after noon the next day, after the weather was toned down. Twilight and Fluttershy both went looking more for Rainbow Dash than for Scootaloo. They needed to know that she hadn't hurt herself wandering off in the middle of the woods at night during the storm. Twilight's ears perked up when she heard a few distant grunts and the sound of a branch hitting the ground.
"That way."
As she started veering off to the side, through the thick trees and bushes, Fluttershy followed. When the sounds grew closer, Twilight broke through a small section of branches and gasped at what she saw. Rainbow Dash was standing on top of a tree stump, looking up to the sky, a branch tied around her right front leg as a type of splint or crutch.
"Rainbow Dash?"
"She...she isn't here."
Rainbow Dash hadn't moved, both when her friends came through the brush to meet her, nor when they spoke.
"She, what?"
Rainbow Dash slowly turned and looked at Fluttershy, who had timidly asked the question.
"I...can't find her."
Rainbow Dash hobbled down from the tree stump and looked around, almost looking right through her friends.
"She has to be here. It was dark, I-I just can't see her. There's light now, I can see her."
"Rainbow Dash, you need to take a break. The search parties are here, you need to go home and rest. Not to mention tend to whatever injury you have!"
"I'm fine Twi, I can take care of myself. I'll rest once I find her."
"No Dash, you need to rest now, you're only hurting yourself."
Rainbow Dash shot Twilight a look of rage as Twilight blocked the clear path out of the clearing.
"Get out of my way, Twilight."
"No. You don't understand how serious this injury could possibly be yet, and-"
"No, you don't understand. She's basically my sister Twilight, what would you do?"
"I, I would-"
"Well I'm doing all that I can, and you're trying to stop me!"
Rainbow Dash tried to push past Twilight and Fluttershy, but soon after, AppleJack and Rarity both made their ways into the clearing and interviened.
"Woah woah woah, what the hay is goin' on?"
"AppleJack!"
Rainbow Dash quickly broke away from Twilight and ran over to AppleJack.
"AJ, please tell me you found her, please tell me that somepony found her, please!"
"I-I'm sorry Rainbow, everything's come up nothin'."
Rainbow Dash slowly relased the hold she had on AppleJack, and fell to the ground as she felt her entire world shrivel up and die at the sound of those words. Tears started fallng rapidly as she curled up on the forest floor, her friends hanging their heads, unable to do anything but listen to the other mare's sobbing.
It was about seven-thirty the next morning, and Rainbow Dash was walking aimlessly in the woods, the pathways still not entirely lit by the suns rays. Her steps were wobbly due to her injury, and her pace would change at odd intervals. Her sanity was fraying, being torn apart by the madness she kept driving herself further into. She wasn't willing to give up, she wasn't going to give up. A path that she hadn't seen before caught her interest, and she quickly stepped for it. The path led almost straight down, on a bank against the river. When Rainbow Dash slid to the bottom, she found herself at a shallow bed of the river, where stones big and small were easily visible through the water. This was an area where the current wouldn't be dangerous, an area where one could cross to the other side of the river.
"That's it, that's where she is!
The frigid water splashed up onto Rainbow Dash's body as she ran through the gravel, sending shivers through her being. She tried to ignore how cold the water really was, how long exposure would surely lead to bodily harm, or worse. On the other side of the river, there was nothing much different then what she had just been in. Trees and other assorted foliage littered the area, the odd birds would fly from one tree to another as she drew close, and she could still hear the trickling water. As she ran deeper into the forest, she reached a small cliff that dropped into a valley, where she spotted a stick hut against the side of the ridge.
"Scootaloo, Scootaloo, I found you!"
Rainbow Dash quickly flew down to the hut and landed at the doorway. As she looked inside, her heart felt as if it had been smashed to peices. The hut was empty, save for a few baskets, chairs, and other miscellaneous items strew about.
"She, she isn't here. Scootaloo-"
The words barely made it out of Rainbow Dash's mouth as she fell to her knees, tears streaming steadily down her face. After a few moments of sobbing, the anguish turned to rage, and Rainbow Dash screamed as she picked up nearby chair and threw it at at the wall opposite to the door with all her might.
All too suddenly, a very cold draft entered the room that made Rainbow Dash look at where she had thrown the piece of furniture. There was a large indent in the wall of which she thought was pressed against the hill, and in the center was a small hole. Hope and curiosity taking control, Rainbow Dash crawled over to the hole and felt the cold air flowing out of it. Her first instinct was to take the chair the lay somehow still in one piece beside her and continue breaking the wall. After roughly four swings before the chair broke, and she threw the remaining pieces to the floor. The hole was now opened up much wider, and she was able to crawl through, the rough wooden wall shallowly scraping her sides as she did so. Rainbow Dash's eyes opened wide in amazement as she looked around. She found herself in a roomy cave, the walls lit up by shades of blue, the light seemingly coming from nowhere. As she followed the only way she could, the path widened as it filtered into a large open cavern. In the center of the circular room stood a lone tree, leaves gone and bark looking dead.
"Woah...Who would have thought that this existed?"
Rainbow Dash's first thought, for some reason, was to approach the tree. Some strange energy drew it to her. As she reached the base of it's trunk, she looked upwards at the strange ashes that fell from atop the tree. She held a hoof up to catch one, and the second it made contact, her eyes widened, and her mind was taken over. Her body was paralyzed, and all she could hear were voices repeating the same lines over and over.
There were once three friends
Who had discovered immortality
The knife killed the tree
And greed became one's fatality
As the lines were slowly assembled by the confused mare, her body started freeing up. She felt her limbs loosen as she moved closer to the tree. When she spotted what she was looking for, she raised a hoof and ran it over the layers of dust and debris coating the tree's surface, revealing a deep stab mark in the trunk of the tree, at about neck hight.
"There were once three friends, who discovered immortality. The knife killed the tree, and greed became one's fatality. Did, did this tree hold some kind of immortality? Three friends, is that, the crusaders? But, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are both home, they weren't even with Scootaloo when she went missing, were they? Ugh, this makes no sense!"
Rainbow Dash turned around in a huff and walked back through the hut to the forest. When she got outside, she looked around the forest.
"Wait, what?"
It had all changed. The bank she had come down was gone, and the thicker band of trees to the right were as well. There was almost nothing around the hut except for flat ground. Slowly spinning in circles, trying to find anything that was once there, Rainbow Dash cried out, eyes closed.
"Where are you?!?"
She fell to her knees, and upon her face hitting the forest floor, it suddenly turned into water, and she immediately drew her head back.
"What?"
Rainbow Dash meekly uttered in between coughs and sputtering. She was back at the bank where she had crossed. Dash held her hazy head as she tried to make any sense of what was happening around her. Something wasn't quite right though. The haze plaguing Rainbow Dash's mind wasn't just an undiscernible mist, but rather more of an image that wasn't fully in focus. However, the harder she tried to achieve full perception, the less sense it all made.
"Why....Why, why is this all happening?"
Tears were falling down Rainbow Dash's cheeks as she fell to he side at the riverbank and started to sob. Nothing made sense, reality itself was being ripped to shreds in front of her very eyes. She wished, she prayed for this all to be a dream, and that she'd wake up, and Scootaloo would be there to greet her. Her senses were dulled ever since the scripture on the tree, she could barely even feel the ground beneath her. All she felt was the water's cold, cold embrace. The water splashed onto her from the water falling from the foot-high ridge above to the shallow area of the river, and landed on Rainbow Dash's body. As more and more water coated her body, the haze in Rainbow Dash's mind started to clear so faintly. She pushed herself up, front hooves only, and moved her rear leg into the cold water. As she moved her leg deeper into the water, the haze cleared further, but was still very much just a haze.
"The water... it has the answer...that's how I'll find her!"
Rainbow Dash pushed herself up off the ground fully and started running to a deeper part of the river. When she arrived at a steeper bank at a deeper part of the river, she took in a deep breath.
I have to do this, for Scootaloo. Don't be afraid.
Rainbow Dash let out the breath and slowly started walking into the river. The current pulled and the water whipped around her legs, but she held herself steady and moved deeper into the cold, cold water. At this point, the water was just touching her stomach, having enveloped all four legs. The water sent chills all through her body, and shortened her breathing as a knot formed in her chest. She gulped down the lump in her throat and trekked even further into the water.
An unearthly force rose up in Rainbow Dash as the water reached her chin, and she took in a deep breath before plunging deep into the water. The inexplicable thing however, was that the river was now open far wider and deeper than before. Aside from that, it was now clear, clear enough that Rainbow Dash could see almost perfectly, as if there was no water at all. Looking far down, Rainbow Dash saw an illuminated stone with something seemingly carved into it, and swam down to look at it. When she got to the stone, she realized that a message had been crudely carved into it's smooth surface.
Go beyond pain
Feel what I feel
Once you've seen it
It shall be real
Rainbow Dash was given no time at all after reading the inscription before the breath she had was suddenly taken away, leaving her scrambling to swim upwards. The surface of the water seemed to get farther and farther away with each passing second, and just as Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and let all the air escape her, she found herself back on the rock that jutted out over the river. She coughed up a large amount of water before looking up in shock and disbelief.
"What? How did I get here? I was..."
Rainbow Dash stood up shakily and watched the rain that now fell strike the rock around her. After a few seconds, she dropped to the ground again, and began helplessly sobbing. Her mental faculties completely torn in two, Rainbow Dash crawled to the edge of the rock and coughed up more water.
"There...there was no saving you, was there?"
Rainbow Dash asked aloud as she stared into the water below her. When an image of Scootaloo sitting at the base of the tree with her head hung low appeared, but soon faded away, Rainbow Dash spit out a mouthful of water, and her eyes closed one more time.
"Rainbow Dash!"
"Rainbow Dash!"
Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and AppleJack pushed through the brush, calling out. They panted, tired and scared, as they ran. AppleJack, leading the group, broke through a thick collection of foliage, and covered her eyes as the sun stabbed at them. The trio emerged into the clearing beside the river and scanned it.
"Dashie!"
Pinkie Pie cried out as her eyes met the lifeless body that lay in the shallows of the river. Rainbow Dash was gone, taken from this world.
