Rainbow Dash walked out towards the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. For some reason, she had the need to speak to Susie Salmon again. She hadn't seen and heard from the human spirit since the day her corpse was discovered back in the world of the living. She had tried several times to speak to Bellamina but the little filly definitely knew how to get around. She would only appear when she wanted to and she would then disappear when she felt that she was no longer needed. Rainbow soon reached the very edge of Sweet Apple Acres and pressed her face against the cloud dome. It felt like the surface of a polished window pane.

"Are you there, Susie? It's Rainbow Dash," said Rainbow. There was no response and no shadow. Rainbow groaned and laid back on the ground.

"So what are you doing out here?" asked a familiar voice. Rainbow sat up and saw Gilda walking towards her.

"Gilda?! Did you follow me out here?!"

"Obviously."

"Why?"

"You've been acting strangely, Dash."

"It's only been about a month since I was murdered by one of my closest friends. I think I have the right to act a bit strange!"

"Okay! Okay! No need to get your feathers in a twist! I'm just here to talk!"

"I'm not in the mood to talk."

"To me."

"Huh?"

"You're not in the mood to talk to me. You're not in the mood to talk to anypony else...except Susie."

Rainbow gulped.

"Susie? I don't know any Susie," she lied.

"Bullshit! I just heard you asking for her a few seconds ago! Don't go and lie to me, Dash!" Gilda snapped.

"I...I'm telling the truth."

"Dash, you're a horrible liar."

"Heh...I guess you're right."

"Damn right I'm right! Now who the hell is this Susie?"

"To be honest, I don't know her very well. I've only met her once."

"She can't be from here. I know every single Pinkie Pie victim trapped here and not one of them is named Susie."

"Her full name is Susie Salmon. She's a human being."

"A what?"

"A human being. They're...difficult to describe."

"Try to describe her."

"Well...she has no fur or feathers, she stands on her hind legs, her skin is really white, she has sandy brown hair but it's only really on her head, and she wears a strange assortment of clothes."

"Where is she from?"

"She's from another dimension. She was murdered, just like us."

"Strange. How did you meet her?"

"Bellamina introduced me to her."

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why did she open up to you, of all ponies? Of every single pony and creature that ended up here after being murdered by Pinkie, why is it that you were the first pony to make verbal contact with her?"

"I...I honestly don't know. She's a...mysterious filly."

"How come this Susie Salmon has only talked to you and Bellamina?"

"I don't know that either. But, you know, you've actually seen her before."

"I have?"

"Remember that day, several weeks ago, when we were on top of the Overlook. While we were there, a mysterious shadow appeared on the other side of the dome."

"I remember."

"That was her. That was Susie. She was trying to break through."

"How come she didn't come all the way through?"

"The dome's difficult to break through. One simply cannot walk in and out at will."

"Obviously."

The two friends laughed and Rainbow stood up.

"You wanna go and get something to eat?" she asked.

"Sure. I could use something savory right about now," Gilda replied happily. They began making their way out of Sweet Apple Acres when Rainbow suddenly felt extremely weak. "Dash...are you okay?"

The world seemed to spin around her. Rainbow tried to grasp a hold on what was happening but she couldn't. She then fell to the ground. The ground collapsed beneath her and she fell into a void of endless darkness. Pinkie appeared in the darkness. She looked like the normal Pinkie Pie, except her face was showing nothing but extreme sorrow.

"I want this to end! I want this to end!" Pinkie cried. "I'm sorry Dashie! I'm sorry Ridley! I'm sorry Gilda! I'm sorry everypony!"

The sad Pinkie then disappeared and was soon replaced by Sunkick, who was laying down on an invisible surface.

"Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash. It's me, Sunkick. Are you there?" he asked. Rainbow clawed her way towards her brother but, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reach him.

"Sunkick! I'm here! I'm here!" she cried. Sunkick then disappeared and Rainbow fell further. The voice of Applejack then began echoing from far beneath Rainbow.

"This is where ah saw her," said the voice of Applejack.

"You're positive?" asked the voice of Aaron Crop.

"Yes! Ah remember it clearly!"

"So, do either of you...feel anything?"

"Well...there's definitely something," replied the voice of Twilight Sparkle. "But it's incredibly faint."

"But it's there! Ah know it is!" stated Applejack.

"Whatever you say," Aaron chuckled. Rainbow looked down and saw Applejack appear below her. She looked as if she were searching for something. "Do you feel anything stronger yet?"

"Ah think I feel somethin'. It feels like...like a train is about to come running past."

Rainbow found herself flying down towards Applejack like an out-of-control comet. The orange earth pony was approaching fast.

"Applejack. Twilight," Rainbow said as she prepared for the impact, closing her eyes in the process. There was a soft thud and a feeling of intense pressure fell over Rainbow's entire body. The air around her became extremely hot and a rocky surface appeared beneath her backside.

"Applejack! Applejack!" cried the voice of Twilight. Rainbow opened her eyes. The lavender unicorn was standing above her. Aaron Crop was standing a few feet away. The blue, somewhat cloudy skies of Ponyville were situated high above them.

"Twilight?" Rainbow asked. Rainbow looked into Twilight's eyes and saw, not herself, but Applejack staring back at her. Rainbow suddenly noticed the absence of her wings, her new cowboy hat, her orange coat, and her flowing blonde mane. She was Applejack, or rather inside Applejack.

"Is she okay?" Aaron asked.

"She seems fine," Twilight replied. "What happened, Applejack? You just suddenly collapsed."

"I...don't know," Rainbow replied. Rainbow suddenly noticed that Twilight was incredibly close to her. A series of earthly feelings flooded back into Rainbow all at once. They were mostly physical earthly feelings but one feeling seemed to overtake Rainbow like a disease, lust.

"You're talking funny. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."

Rainbow tried to stand up but she realized that she hardly had the strength to do so. She looked up at Twilight and began to analyze the unicorn in every way she could think of. She was intelligent, helpful, kind, snarky, and...attractive. As she slowly became weaker and weaker, she realized that she didn't have much time left in the body of her dear friend, Applejack. Rainbow grabbed Twilight's head and pulled it closer.

"Applejack?" Twilight asked. "Are you-"

"Just stop talking," Rainbow cooed.

"Applejack? What's-"

"What did I just say, egghead? Just stop talking."

Before Twilight could say anything else, Rainbow brought Twilight's face into hers and they locked lips. Aaron nearly dropped his apple as he realized what was happening. Twilight's eyes widened and then, suddenly, her vision changed. Applejack disappeared and was now replaced with a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. A tear rolled down Twilight's face and her eyes closed as she enjoyed this moment of bliss with the spirit of the friend that she loved so dearly.

"Oh my!" said Aaron teasingly as a wide smile formed on his face. Rainbow and Twilight separated their muzzles and stared into each other's eyes.

"I don't want to go," Rainbow whispered.

"I don't want you to go," Twilight whispered back. The last of Rainbow's strength faded away and she was quickly pulled back into the afterlife. Twilight saw her go. The cyan pegasus disappeared and the orange earth pony came back into her rightful place. Applejack shook her head and looked at Twilight.

"Uh...Twilight. Are you okay?" Applejack asked. Twilight slowly backed away and helped Applejack up.

"Yeah...I'm just fine."

"That was quite a surprise, Applejack," said Aaron.

"Huh?" Applejack asked.

"I mean with you kissing Twilight and all."

"What the hay are you talking about? I never kissed Twilight."

"Don't lie to me! I just saw you two kiss! If it had lasted a few more seconds you two probably would have started tonguing each other."

"What?! Twilight! What the hay is he talkin' about?!"

"Applejack didn't kiss me, Aaron," said Twilight, who currently appeared to be in shock.

"What are you talking about, Twilight?" Aaron asked.

"Rainbow did. Rainbow Dash kissed me. She was there. She was inside Applejack."

"That's impossible! Dead ponies don't come back and possess the living! That's just a bunch of shit from those pointless ghost stories!"

"Applejack, do you remember what happened?"

"Barely. Ah remember standing up and looking at the sun. Suddenly, ah felt really weak and ah collapsed. Ah remember feeling really cold and, for a second, ah think ah saw an eagle perched over me. Then everything warmed up again and, the next thing ah knew, you were standing over me. It was strange."

Twilight suddenly felt an intense pain rocket through her brain. Two separate images popped into her mind. One was an incredibly depressed Pinkie Pie. The other was a small mound of dirt somewhere in Sweet Apple Acres. The pain went away.

"We need to go back to Sweet Apple Acres!" Twilight announced.

"Why?" Aaron asked.

"Something's there! I know there is! I just know it!"

Meanwhile, in the afterlife, Rainbow opened her eyes to find Gilda standing over her.

"Dash! You're back!" she cried as she wrapped her arms around the still dazed pegasus. "What the hell just happened?!"

"I...I think I went back to the world of the living for a little bit," Rainbow replied. "What did you see?"

"Well you starting walking kind of weird and then you fainted. I tried waking you up and then, for a few seconds, you changed into an orange earth pony. Then you changed back to normal and woke up. Wait...did you just say that you went back into the world of the living?!"

"Yeah. I fell through a void of darkness until I found myself in my friend Applejack's body. It was weird. I didn't have enough strength to stay there long so I was quickly pulled back."

"This is the first time that I've ever heard about something like this happening!"

"Maybe Ridley was right. Maybe I am a very special pony."

Gilda gave Rainbow a hard shove and hugged her again.

"Okay! No getting full of yourself now!" she chuckled. Rainbow smiled and kindly shoved her friend back.

"Come on. I could really use the taste of something good right about now," said Rainbow.

"Yeah. Me too."

The two friends laughed and continued on their way. As Gilda thought about what to eat, Rainbow thought about Twilight Sparkle and that great moment of happiness that they had shared with each other.