"Finally," Applejack walked out of the hospital, the comforting weight of her bags in place. "I thought I'd never get to walk on my own again," She laughed, amusement and relief filling her voice in equal amounts.
"Just," Mom gave her a worried look "Just try to take it easy on the weight for now, would you? I and your father can carry a bit more"
"Don't worry, I can take it," She made a little hop to further her point, and had to hide the wince when needles of pain erupted in her hips. "It's not so heavy."
Don't l--
"Don't lie to me, dear. I can read you like a book." She paused "I am just trying- Oh, there he--" She stopped talking.
Applejack didn't pay it heed, instead walking to Dad. They met with the awkward hug of those carrying too much weight to move properly.
"Dear?" Asked Mom before any of them could say anything "Why are we here?"
"The bridge, Applejack..." Dad left it in the air "You know what happens when both get together." he joked.
"Oh, I-- wait, why are you..." She flinched, as if assaulted by a sudden headache "Why are you joking about our daughter nearly dying?"
I guess--
"I guess I was trying to lighten the mood," He laughed awkwardly, "You know, joke it aw..." He flinched too "Oh gods I was an asshole," His face turned to Applejack. "I am so, so sorry for doing that, especially after I..." His pupils dilated. "I... died? When did I-- we die"
Applejack backed away from them, trying to make sense of the situation.
The gla
"e glaciers," whispered Mom "It was so c--" She interrupted herself, and he and Dad shared A Look "Dear?" They looked at Applejacl.
"what!?" asked, shouted, applejack. "what in damnation is going on!?"
They walked to her and took her in a hug, Mom's wings covering her like a blanket.
"I am sorry," They kissed her in the center of the forehead. "Remember the scientific method one-oh-one?"
"i guess..." shrugged applejack "if you dont know how it works, add more until something explodes or you understand it?"
"Close enough, dear, close enough." She chuckled, "Souls and dreams are converging here, I don't know why, but they are. You'll have to find out, and try to fix it" They released their hug and pushed her.
There was a sound like that of tearing cloth when the ground broke under her, and she fell to a void.
"We are proud of you," they said "But we wish you hadn't taken on..." Their voices faded in the distance, too far for her to hear.
-º-
A shadow fell over Spike and Twilight and she winced when, like a needle, a twin screech penetrated her ears.
-º-
Hlaoo breathed heavily. His lungs ached, probably filled with crystal dust by now.
He didn't care. He only had enough cloth to cover a muzzle and he had managed, it seemed, to keep Mirria safe from any injury this far.
And, anyway, he didn't have much to live for. His reputation ruined, Rubicon gone, Reddo against him...
Mirria stirred, her head in his forelegs. Not that he still felt them, anyway-- he only felt the weight of her head shift under his hoof, in the darkness they were in.
His last failure, that one. Save her so she'd wake up in a small, crumpled, dark space with no hopes of escape, awaiting for asphyxiation...
He was thinking this when the world shook, the small space they had threatening with collapsing over them.
The glass parted, lifted by something he couldn't see, and the light of the dusk reached them, blinding.
A hand, easily large enough to have been of one of the builders of the city, grabbed him by the barrel and took him away, ignoring his screams.