? ? ?
"Mrrmmmfff... gnnnkk..."
Sobs.
Sputtering coughs.
Nevertheless, the little filly pulled and tugged as hard as she could.
The ceiling beams groaned above. Her eyes darted up, seeing nothing but smoke. She inhaled too much... and had to bend over and wheeze.
Spitting up soot-stained bile, she regathered her strength. With tender little hooves, she grasped the stallion's forelimb and yanked and yanked again.
Sweat and fumes. The stallion's body scooted a few inches, only to get caught up on the rug. Stifling sobs, the filly smoothed the fabric out and grasped the limp figure's leg once more.
"Please... pl-please..."
There was a burst of heat. The nearby hallway of the apartment had collapsed, vomiting ash and smoke into the burning living room. The walls erupted in flame, filling that half of the chamber with rippling orange light.
"Daddy..." She whimpered. The ends of her mane were catching fire. Scalding red patches of skin bled through her tender green coat. "Daddy, please... you h-have to get up—!"
Just then, the ceiling directly above buckled. She gasped, flashing a frightened look towards the beams.
Cracks formed. Fractures—thicker and thicker. Then, with a monumental roar, the weight of the whole second story came crashing down over her and the stallion.
With a high-pitched shriek, she dove to the floor, cooking alive.
Train to Appleloosa – Sleeping Car – Now
"Mrmmfff—gaaah!" Lyra tossed and turned. "Aaah-aaugh!"
She tossed too much, and her fuzzy body went plunging straight off her mattress and clear over the edge of the cramped bunk.
"Aaaaaaie—" She rolled through the curtain, fell out of her berth, and collapsed on the floor of the dimly-lit sleeping car. "Mrmmmf!"
A dense ringing sound echoed through Lyra's skull. She winced, curled up on the floor in a fetal position. Up above, lanterns dangled from the ceiling, rocking with the gentle sway of the speeding train. A hushed roared filled the chamber—partially from the rails below and partially from the persistent snoring of passengers lying dead asleep inside the multiple curtained berths all around her.
After an agonizing eternity, Lyra eventually sat up. She shook the fringes of pain out of her skull, then squinted up at the bunk that she had fallen from.
The curtain hung slightly ajar, and she could make out stars beyond the glass window. The occasional tree and telegraph pole whizzed past the moonlight in blurring silhouettes.
Blinking, Lyra sighed... resting her head against the hard floor.
"... ... ...get out of your head," she ultimately muttered.
"Hrmmmf?" A familiar voice emanated from the curtained berth right next to her. "What was that...?"
Lyra's pupils shrunk to amber pinpricks. "Uhhhhhh!" She shot up to her hooves, squirming.
The curtains parted. Lemon Hearts peered out, squinting, her mane dangling with curling irons. "Lyra... what... are you doing up?"
"I... uhm..." Lyra gulped. "I was counting sheep! And... uhh... this one ram got super peeved and knocked me out of my slumber!"
"Really?" Lemon Hearts raised an eyebrow. "That sort of language at this time of night?"
Lyra fidgeted in place. "The sheep didn't seem to mind."
"Mrmmfff..." Frowning, Lemon Hearts rubbed her eyes and drifted back into her bunk. "Get some rest, Lyra." She flung the curtains shut. "Your friends and I need you bright and bushy-tailed when we arrive at Appleloosa in the morning."
Silence.
"Meh..." Lyra slumped in place. "...you can't force the dead to go to bed."
Nevertheless, she turned around and attempted to climb up into her elevated birth. After half-a-minute of adorable struggle, the pony sighed... yanked a saddlebag out from her bunk... and trotted out of the sleeping car entirely.