//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: The Rainbow Spiral 
// by TheRainbowDashShow 
//------------------------------//

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."