Stranded, Ch. 9-
Applejack screamed at the top of her lungs. In an instant, everything went from total darkness to pure white. The sudden change made Applejack shut her eyes as she stumbled back. After a minute or so, she was finally able to ajust to the light around her. She looked off in every direction. Nothing. There was nothing. Snow white all around her. "Am... am ah dead?" Applejack wondered to herself.
"No." an oddly familiar voice called in the distance. "You're not dead Applejack, you're one of the lucky ones. Me... I didn't stand a chance." The voice had a very depressing sound to it. "Heh, even you knew that before I did." Applejack quickly recognized the voice.
"Rainbow... Dash...?"
The white around her started to take color. The world started to take form. She was slowly able to make out fuzzy details as everything started to come together. After some time though, everything was becoming clear as day. She was surprised to see herself standing at the gates of Ponyville Cemetery.
"Whe- where am ah?" asked Applejack.
"Walk forward Applejack and see the consequences of your selfish actions." the voice called. Applejack took a few steps forward. The gate to the entrance slammed shut behind her. 'Guess there's no turning back now.' she thought to herself. She slowly walked forward, observing gravestones as she walked by. She walked for several minutes before coming to the end of the graveyard. Nothing.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Applejack inquired.
The voice spoke. "Joke? I wish it were." The voice was much gloomier than last time.
"What's that supposed ta mean?" Applejack asked.
"Look to your left... Applejack." the voice softly commanded.
Applejack turned to see a small tombstone of marble, brand new, sitting on a freashly dug grave. She edged closer to read what the stone said. Her heart sank to the deepest pits as she read the following:
'Here lies Rainbow Dash. Friend of four, Enemy of one...'
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"C'mon Apple Bloom, wait up!" yelled Sweetie Bell, trying to catch up to her swift friend.
"There ain't no time, Sweetie Bell!" Apple Bloom responded. Suddenly, she stopped. She was having a bad feeling about things. "Maybe I should wait on Sweetie Bell." she whispered to herself.
She turned and saw the little white filly approaching at her top speed. She was about five hooves away before there was a loud scream in the distance. The scream froze them stiff, but there was something strange about this scream though, like that it wasn't a scream of pain... but one of dispair.
"It sounds like it's coming from the beach, Apple Bloom." Sweetie Bell implied.
"Applejack..."
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"NOOOO!" Applejack roared. She fell down to her knees and wept softly. 'How could you be so arrogant.' she lashed at herself. 'How could you do such a thing to your best friend?' She sat there, crying for the longest time. Then she noticed that she wasn't the only one weeping. Off in the distance, another pony could be heard crying just as softly as her if not softer. Applejack rose up, tear streams down her face, and walked to investigate who else was there with her. She came across a circle of bushes. She slowly edged closer until she was at the bushes edge. She lifted a hoof and parted a few branches, just enough to see who was inside weeping.
"Wh... what the..." she gasped as she saw before her the one friend she thought she would never see again. It was Rainbow Dash. Applejack choked up, her lips trembled, she shut her eyes tight as to try and hold back the tears. As hard as she tried, she was unable to hold back for long before she jumped through the bushes to hug her friend, to hold her tight and tell her how sorry she was. The moment ended as she seemed to just phase through the rainbow maned pony and tumbled past her.
"H...huh?" Applejack let out with a sad, confused look on her face as she turned to see the cyan pegasus still sitting there, crying. The voice called out again, no longer distorting itself,
"Watch and see what YOU have done to me!" the voice was no doubt Rainbow Dash's. Applejack watched in horror as her friend was cut down by an evil creature, seeing every detail as if it were happening for real right in front of her. She even saw her friends last moments with the group as she let out her apology with her last breath. Applejack could only stand there. Words could not express the amount of pain and guilt she felt. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think.
After the scene was over, everything faded back to white. Applejack stood there, alone, with no one to comfort her. She watched as a blue figure suddenly appeared in front of her, the figure of a once proud pegasus who was now thrashed from head to hoof. Scars were against her side and blood was all over. The figure stood there and spoke softly, "Why..." it asked. "Why did you do this to me Applejack?" She had no words. "Why would you put me through this kind of horrible pain?" The voice of the figure picked up in tone. Applejack finally spoke, her voice hoarse.
"Ah... didn't mean for..." she was stopped.
"Didn't mean for what, Applejack!" the figure yelled.
"Ah didn't mean for you to... to..." she didn't want to say it. "to... die..."
"Well... I would have loved to live, loved to see Ponyville again, loved to even spend one more day with you guys, even on the island... but you... you... you put me down... called me a liar... shunned me in my time of need..." the figure bowed it's head and dropped a tear from it's face.
"Sugarcube, ah... ah'm sorry..." Applejack let out, fighting her own tears.
The figure chuckled, "Heh... it's a little late for that don't you think..." The words broke Applejack down.
"OH RAINBOW DASH, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" she begged. The figure just simply turned its head. "Oh please, ah wasn't thinking clearly, ah let my pride get the best of me. Ah even lead my best friend to... to her doom..." The figure turned back and looked scornfully at Applejack, yet said nothing.
"Look Dash, ah know nothing ah say or do will change anything... and ah honestly don't expect you to forgive me... but know that, ah wasn't in the right mind when ah said those hurtful things, and that ah'm truly am sorry..." She hung her head down, letting some tears fall. The figure's expression when from scornful to to one of content.
"Applejack," the figure started, "of course I forgive you. I am the element of loyalty, after all." Applejack lifted her head to see the smiling face of her friend, who no longer seemed bloody or thrashed. "I know you were not in the right mind, Applejack." She smiled and wrapped her hooves around the cyan pegasus with all her might, clinging tightly. Tears poured out her face as she squeezed. "Applejack, what's done is done. I'm sorry to put you through all this. Don't let this ordeal hinder you. Promise me that, won't you Applejack?" Applejack looked up at the face of her dearest friend, knowing that this would probably be the last time that they would see each other.
"I promise..."