Rainbow Dash opens her eyes to find herself in total blackness.
“Where I’m I?” she asks herself.
“I believe you ponies call it limbo, Miss Dash,” states a cheerful echoing voice behind her.
Rainbow Dash turns around to see a tall pony covered in a black hooded robe, carrying a long oddly curved wooden staff with a metal skull perched on top.
“And who are you?” asks Rainbow nervously.
“Oh, I have many names,” it says dismissively, “Although you would most likely know me as the Pale Pony or Death.”
“Death!” says Rainbow Dash backing off, “Does that mean I’m…”
“Dead? Yes you died, Miss Dash… well nearly.”
Rainbow Dash wants to back away more from this figure but found herself unable to move. “I can’t be dead… no this can’t be true,” she cries, tears threating to burst, “This must all be a really bad dream, yeah one really bad dream.”
Death sighs, “No, this is not a dream, I should know. The Sandstallion is my brother... well sort of.”
“Then where’s your scythe?” Rainbow Dash accuses, not caring about the Sandstallion part, “If you’re Death you must have scythe and all you have is a staff!”
Death sighs and with a simple movement there is the sound of metal scraping metal and a scythe blade slips out the end of its staff. “It is safer this way,” it states.
“Still doesn’t mean you are Death and I’m dead!” cries Rainbow Dash, denying this with all her might, “This might be some trick!”
“The proof is beside you, Miss Dash,” Death says pointing to something besides Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash looks over her shoulder. She screams. On the ground laying on its side with something stabbed into its chest… is another her. Blood covers the area surrounding the wound. Rainbow Dash tries to jump away, but a force stops her and pulls her back. She then notices a glowing blue strand of light, binding the two Rainbow Dashs together.
“WHAT THIS?” Rainbow Dash yells, holding the glowing stand and pointing at the other her.
“That is your mortal body and that’s is the last thing connecting you to it,” explains Death, walking up to her.
“So wait… I’m not dead yet…?” says Rainbow Dash hopefully, “And before you said I was nearly dead?” she adds remembering it.
“Oh no, you yourself are most certainly dead,” Death corrects, “Only the dead or the undead may meet Death.”
“But you said my body is dying, so doesn’t mean I’m still alive?” asks Rainbow Dash confused.
Death chuckles, “Yes I guess that is a bit confusing. While your damaged heart does still beat within your body it maybe conceived that you are sort of alive, but your soul has already left your body which means you are dead on the grand scale of things and your body is just an empty husk. The only reason you are still even connect to your body is because that heart is still beating… but that will stop soon.”
“Is there any way I can go back,” asks Rainbow Dash desperately, “I mean I might be saved. I could get to the hospital and…”
Death places an ice cold hoof on her mouth, “Shh. Even though you can’t see it, your body is in a hospital and is being operated on,” Death says quietly, “But your heart will still give up and stop, the proof is here.”
Rainbow Dash watches as Death pulls out a simple hourglass from its robe. On it is her cutie mark and her name “Rainbow Dash”… and there isn’t much sand left.
Rainbow Dash collapses onto her knees, “So I’m really going to die,” she cries, giving up fighting it and starting to cry.
“Yes… I’m sorry for your loss,” replies Death.
Rainbow Dash doesn’t hear, for her crying was covering up everything, tears streaming down her face and onto the floor. She will never complete her dream of being a Wonderbolt or get to see her friends and family again. All this comes crashing down onto her like a huge wave of grief, increasing her tears.
Death looks at the crying pony at her feet and then looks her hourglass. Death then places it in it robe and speaks with a thunderous voice, “STAND RAINBOW DASH!!”
Rainbow found herself starting to get up onto her hooves. Soon she is standing again. Death then raises its scythe above Rainbow Dash. She squeezes her teary eyes shut, fearing the end. But all she feels is a slight pressure on her forehead. She opens her eyes and see that Death has placed the butt of the scythe to her forehead.
“Stand still!” orders Death, in a strong commanding voice.
Rainbow Dash feels like she can’t move even if she wanted to. She watches in horror as the end of the scythe then slips into her forehead. It isn’t a painful feeling, more like her forehead opened up and the scythe then slips in. It is a very weird felling… suddenly lights jumps from her forehead and climb up the scythe and down to Death.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” yells Rainbow Dash, scared as light continues pour from her forehead.
“Shh, I’m just reading your mind,” Death says, shushing her. Suddenly Death yanks the scythe out and the light stops. “I see,” Death says softly, “You feel regret that you never got to say goodbye to your family or your friends either… you also regret you could not complete your dream as well,” Death stops and turns toward Rainbow Dash. She thinks she can imagine eyes look at right at hers from the darkness of the hood, “Also, you are an Avatar of Loyalty?”
Rainbow Dash doesn’t know what she means by an Avatar of Loyalty but she guesses it has to do with the fact that she used bear the Element of Loyalty. “Yeah… your point?” asks Rainbow Dash still confused.
Death seems to ignore Rainbow Dash and pulls out a little white book with what some might consider a cute skull on it from her robes and start looking through it. After a few seconds of flicking through the pages it closes the book and puts it away.
“Rainbow Dash,” says Death, forever cheerful.
“What?” replies Rainbow Dash, scared of what’s coming.
“Would you like to make a deal?” asks Death.
“What kind of deal?” asks Rainbow Dash, now confused.
“I will give you just enough time back on Equis to complete your dream and get around to saying goodbye, if you do me a favour,” explains Death.
“What! You can do that?” asks Rainbow now hopeful but still confused.
“Yes I can. Will you accept?” asks Death.
“Yes I will,” yells Rainbow Dash, not even thinking about it.
Death chuckles, “Oh right here we go.” Death pulls out Rainbow Dash’s hourglass and flips it upside down. “Remember this Rainbow Dash,” warns Death, “That I cannot change fate! You were still stabbed by the branch and are still lying hospital. But doing this will mean that the doctors managed to save you and you managed to pull though.”
Rainbow Dash nods, then nearly falls over. She looks down and see that one of her legs seems to be melting.
“WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?!?!” she screams as more of her body begin to melt. She felt herself being sucked into the stand of light that connects herself to the other Rainbow Dash.
“You soul is being prepared to re-enter your body,” Death explains, “When I flip this hourglass back up you will enter the world of the living, understand?”
Rainbow can’t say anything back even if she wanted to, for most of her face has melted off. Most of her body is already sucked up by the stand of light. Only part of her head remains now.
“Also I should warn you that when you wake up you with be temporally paralysed while your soul sorts itself out,” Death continues to warn, “…Oh, and you won’t remember this meeting when you wake up.” With that Death flips the hourglass over…
And Rainbow Dash is reborn.