The Rainbow Spiral

by TheRainbowDashShow

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?"

Comments

[DbzOrDie]

I like what happened with Scootaloo but how it happened was kinda cheesy

[RainingDash]

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