Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes. She didn't feel weak, stiff, or even tired. She just knew that she had woken up from a well-needed snooze. She was laying down in a familiar bed. It was her bed. She was back in her house. Had it all been a dream? Was it possible? Rainbow slowly climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. She pulled open the curtains and was greeted with the welcoming glow of the morning sun.

"It was just a dream," she cooed. "I'm alive! Everything's fine! Pinkie's still my friend and I'm alive!"

"Nice to see that you're awake," said a familiar voice. Rainbow looked back and saw Gilda sitting on the edge of the bed. Rainbow's face instantly fell.

"It...wasn't a dream...was it?"

"I'm afraid not, Dash. Take another look."

Rainbow turned back to the window and looked outside. Once her eyes adjusted to the outside light, she noticed that a large cloudy dome seemed to envelope the whole town. The bright light coming through her window wasn't that of the sun but that of a medium-sized yellow-white orb dangling from the very top of the dome. There was nothing beyond the dome. She knew it. There was no Canterlot, no Appleloosa, no Manehattan, and no Cloudsdale. There was just Ponyville and its surrounding landmarks such as her own home, Sweet Apple Acres, part of the Everfree Forest, and several other different places. Tears began rolling down her cheeks and she began sniffling.

"I know it's hard, Dash. This whole thing is probably more tragic for you than it was for the rest of us. Pinkie was your friend, a close friend, and she betrayed you," Gilda continued. Rainbow wiped the tears from her eyes and turned away from the window to face her old friend.

"I...I thought I knew her so well. I never expected her, of all ponies, to be capable of such horrible acts," she choked.

"We all fell for it. All of us."

"How many has she killed?"

"You were her 101st victim."

"How...how long, exactly, has she been doing this?"

"From what I've heard from the others I can assume that she started doing this about...a little over a year ago."

"She's killed 101 ponies within that time span?!"

"She's a busy pony."

"Where...where are the others?"

"They're all here. Everypony who has been killed by Pinkie Pie ends up here."

Gilda stood up, walked over to the front door, and opened it.

"Welcome to the afterlife," she said. Rainbow walked over to the door and looked out. It was like Ponyville but much quieter and less populated. She could just make out the shadows of ponies and animals walking amongst the empty homes and buildings. "Welcome...to the rest of eternity."

Rainbow flapped her wings and lowered herself to the ground. Gilda followed her to the ground and stood next to her.

"I might as well explore this new world," Rainbow cooed. Gilda patted her on the back and the two friends walked on into the town of the dead.

It was weird, being dead. It didn't feel very different from being alive. Well, she couldn't feel any type of physical pain. But she felt a whole lot a emotional pain. The pain of being dead and knowing how she got there just ate away her insides with no mercy. The pegasus and the griffin eventually arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. The store looked bleak and lifeless in the foggy light of the never-ending morning.

"Come back to look at the scene of the crime?" asked a snarky voice. Rainbow turned around to see a dark blue earth pony standing next to her. He had a dark blue mane with indigo highlights and sharp, violet eyes. Rainbow then noticed his cutie mark. It was that of a bronze spatula, the same image Rainbow had seen on the spiked cupcakes that Pinkie gave her. "I see you recognize my cutie mark. Yeah. I was in those cupcakes that you ate."

If Rainbow were still alive then she probably would have thrown up right then and there. She felt sick but not in a physical sense.

"So...you were killed by Pinkie too?" Rainbow asked.

"Obviously. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"When were you killed?"

"Around two weeks before you were. I was victim number 100."

"I'm sorry. How long have you...uh...how long did you live in Ponyville?"

"About three years. I was always a background pony. We never met."

"I'm sorry about you dying."

"Yeah. I am too. The name's Ridley by the way."

"Ridley? That's a strange name."

"But it's definitely not as strange as Rainbow Dash."

The two ponies laughed and Rainbow felt her face. This was the first feeling of happiness she had experienced since her demise at the hands of Pinkie Pie. The ponies stopped laughing and looked up at the shop.

"It's hard to believe that so many cruel and unspeakable acts took place just underneath that innocent little shop," Ridley continued.

"Yeah," said Rainbow. Rainbow looked around the somewhat foggy town and sighed. "I thought the afterlife would look more beautiful than this."

"I understand. I was disappointed too," said Gilda. The griffin turned to Rainbow and gave her a friendly shove. "You know, Dash. There is something we spirits can do to make things around here more...eventful."

"And that is?"

"We can look and see what's happening back in the world of the living."

"Really?! How?!"

"You just think of a place you want to see and you'll see what's happening at that current moment."

Rainbow turned away from Gilda and looked up at Sugar Cube Corner. The pegasus then ran through the entrance of the shop. Gilda and Ridley followed her.

The inside of the shop was illuminated by a few endlessly-lit lights and had a somewhat calming aura . A few spirits, including Twist, were sitting silently in the shop. The ponies and animals inside the shop turned towards Rainbow and waved sadly.

"I want to see what's happening in this shop back in Equestria," said Rainbow to Gilda and Ridley. Suddenly the shop began to change around them. The lights became brighter, happier and more lively ponies appeared out of thin air, and the sound of laughter and talking reached their ears. It had worked. Rainbow turned around to see that Gilda and Ridley had followed her. She then tried to get the attention of the ponies in the shop, but nopony looked at her.

"They can't see you," said Gilda.

"Can't see you, can't feel you, and can't hear you. We're simply ghosts in this world," said Ridley. Rainbow looked around the shop and then she saw them. There was Twilight, Applejack, Scootaloo, and...Stormflower.

"Sis," Rainbow croaked as she slowly approached her sister. She reached out her hoof in an attempt to at least feel something from her sister. Her hoof went straight through Stormflower, and the older pegasus didn't feel a thing. "Damn it!"

Rainbow swung her hoof through the air and it proceeded to phase through Applejack's head. Then...Applejack reacted.