Apocolyptria

Spade woke up early the next morning. It was cool, the air fresh compared to the midday temperatures of the unforgiving desert. Spade crawled out of the tight cave and sprung up to her already sore legs. "Oh sweet Celestia!" Spade gasped as she stretch the aching limbs. Spade reached back into the small cave and grabbed her backpack. She opened it up and pulled out her  map and compass. About a good twenty miles north was Ponyville. How lovely. Nothing like walking twenty miles in the desert. Not to mention Spade was critically dehydrated. sleeping was a hassle as Spade found out it was hard to sleep when you're thirsty. Spade got up and packed away her map. She'd better get going if she wanted to get to Ponyville and have a nice glass of cider. Spade began the long walk to her hometown.

***

Spade was hardly walking anymore. Staggering is the perfect word to explain her steps. "No, no, no, no, no, no..." Spade kept repeating as the dehydration began to kick in. Spade staggered to one side very briefly, then staggered back. Something glimmered in the distance,  slowly taking shape. Spade stared, then blinked as the shape began to look like a stallion.

Spade shook her head. She stared at the stallion while she kept walking. As Spade got closer, the stallion began to develop characteristics. He was a pitch black stallion with ice blue eyes, his mane was as long as Spade's, but having a yellow color with white highlights. "No... it couldn't be!" Spade whispered. "You're supposed to be dead!" She yelled out. The stallion swung his head around and fixed her with an ice blue gaze. Spade swallowed back tears, biting her bottom lip until she tasted blood.

"I will not cry... I will not cry..." Spade whimpered. She never cried unless it was something bad. When the stallion smiled, Spade lost it. "You're supposed to be dead!" Spade yelled, sobbing. She ran to the stallion and embraced him in a large hug. The stallion didn't move, he just let Spade hug him as she cried into his chest. "D-don't ever leave me again like that." She sobbed. Sniffling she pulled herself up from his chest and looked up at his face.

The stallion wasn't looking at her. In fact, he was still staring straight ahead. "Jester..." Spade murmured. "Say something." The stallion was still staring straight ahead. "Jester." Spade said a little more louder this time, gently shaking him. "Say something." Still, he stared. "Jester!" Spade finally yelled. "Say something! Anything!" No prevail. "No! Jester! Please!" Spade screamed.

She collapsed back down and sobbed into her hooves. "Why Jester?" Spade's voice quivered. "Why...?" Spade felt anger surge through her.

She pushed herself back up and raised a hoof, ready to slap the stallion "Coltdammit, answer me you Celestiadamned stall-" she cut herself off. There was no stallion.

Just a rock.

Spade was hallucinating the whole time.

Spade's lip quivered.

She shut her eyes and screamed, hitting the rock. She took out all of her anger and sadness on the rock. Tears poured from her eyes as she did so.

Finally, when she was tired and her hooves were cracked and bleeding, she collapsed and buried her face into her bleeding hooves.

And she cried.

***

Spade shook herself awake. At one point, the exhaustion took over and she cried herself asleep. "Shit! It's sunset!" Spade exclaimed. Sure enough, the sun was setting behind the large mountain in the distance. Spade was going to have to travel by night. She pushed herself up from her sore hooves. They were still cracked, but they stopped bleeding. It still hurt, though. Spade's backpack was still on her back when she got up. Spade turned to leave and saw a rock in front of her.

Spade shut her eyes as they watered up at what happened that day. She shook her head and walked around it. "I'm so sorry, Jester." She whispered as she walked away, and she didn't look back.

***

Spade discovered that day that traveling at night was better than traveling during the day. Heat stroke was less likely, hallucination rates go down, and the tempature is nice and cool.

Spade was getting ready to find a place to sleep when something bright flashed from behind the mountains. It was the sunrise. "Sweet Celestia that is beautiful." Spade whispered to herself. That meant she traveled for ten hours the most. Suddenly, Spade felt the familiar wave of exhaustion wash over her. She looked around and settled for under a bush. Curling up under it, she held her backpack to her chest and dozed off into a nice dream.

***

Spade had learned something new. Sweet dreams don't come if your dehydrated. For about two hours, Spade thrashed around under the bush, stuck in between reality and the world of dreams. Spade felt something sharp poke at her, and she jerked awake fast, panting, damp with sweat. " 'Ello there, ma'am? Are you awright?" A heavy Britmane accent spoke. Somepony was poking at her with a stick. A mare by the sound of it, around Spade's age.

Man, the dehydration's a bitch. Spade felt lightheaded, slightly swaying. " 'Ello, miss?" The accented pony spoke again. Spade crawled out limply from the bush with one arm, the other strapped around backpack. The sunlight was blinding. Spade fluttered her eyes, and her eyes rolled back as she did so. The lightheadedness was taking a toll on Spade. "Miss..?" A flash of green blinded Spade. The Britmane mare prodded her again with whatever sharp objectshe had.

Spade pushed the stick away lazily, groaning. Finally, she lost her feelings in her arms. They limply dropped down, as well as her head. "Miss!? Hold on, I'll help!" The mare said, and Spade felt herself being levitated. "Yhuurgh gha hunicoen?" Spade slurred. She was still holding her backpack in her other arm.

"Gah hackphack! Hurh  jhush blem." Spade slurred again. She was slowly losing consciousness when she felt herself gently being layed down. "Hurgh?" She slurred. "Do you think you can 'elp 'er?"  The mare said to somepony Spade couldn't see. "What's wrong with her?" A deeper voiced stallion asked. "I dunno.  I was walking through the desert when I found 'er." Spade's rescuer said. "Alright. Bring her in." The stallion said. When Spade felt herself get, lifted up again, she felt even more lightheaded. Spade lost consciousness shortly after.