"NO! AJ HELP ME! I DON'T WANTA DIE!!. . . . ."
This is her most recent memory; being swarmed by thousands of bees and blacking out. Her last memory. Now, Apple Bloom finds herself floating through the perpetual darkness, everything she ever knew gone in the blink of an eye. "H-Hello?" she calls out futilely, "Is anypony out there? Can anypony hear me?" She receives no reply as she contemplates her whereabouts and how she can get back to her family.
"Well, I guess there's nothing I really can do," she says to herself as her hooves flail in the open air. Suddenly, a brilliant light shines directly in front of her, briefly illuminating the dark space around her. It eventually becomes a singular, concentrated beam of light that leads towards the source. She touches down with a soft landing, surprised to realize that it solidified into a walkway of sorts.
"What in tarnation?" she exclaims as she begins to walk towards the light. Her journey ends sooner than she expected, for she only trots for a little while before approaching a large set of golden gates that lead into a beautiful landscape. As she gets closer to the gates, they open, immediately banishing the rest of the darkness away. Standing in the middle of the entrance are two figures, one shorter than the other; Apple Bloom realizes that it is a stallion and mare couple. When she eventually gets close enough to identify them, Apple Bloom gasps as she notices the striking similarities between these ponies and the numerous pictures of one particular couple that clutter the Apple family household.
"Ma. . .Pa?" she calls out, tears in her eyes as she closes the distance in no time and springs into their outstretched hooves. "Ah can' believe it's really you!" she says as she looks up at them. Instead of seeing happiness, however, Apple Bloom notices looks of sadness in their eyes.
"No. . .i-it can't be," Pear Butter says, her voice trembling with agony, "Y-you shouldn't be here."
"Wait, what're ya talk. . ." Apple Bloom suddenly puts the pieces together, "Wait, am I. . .ah'm not dead, am I?" Pear Butter suddenly breaks down and sobs into her little filly's shoulder as Bright Mac pulls them together into a group hug, his eyes threatening to spill over, too. As the realization sets in, Apple Bloom cannot help but shed a few tears herself. After a little while, everypony eventually calms down enough to speak again.
"I'm sorry our reunion wasn't as joyous as you'd hoped for," Pear Butter says shakily, "We. . .well, we just never expected to see our youngest daughter so soon."
"She's right," Bright Mac adds, wiping away a few stray tears, "I can't believe my little Apple Bloom is here already. What in Equestria happened down there?"
"Well," Apple Bloom says, trying to recount the events before her arrival here, "Ah can't remember much, but ah'm pretty sure bees were involved."
"Oh, my poor baby!" Pear Butter says, holding her youngest filly tight, "Did you have your pen on you?"
"Yeah, but I couldn't get to it in time," she admits before weeping into her mother's chest, "I shoulda been more careful! Ah'm sorry!"
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Apple Bloom," her mother says soothingly, "It was an accident; there was nothing you could have possibly done wrong."
"In any case," her father speaks up, "We're so happy to see you again, after all these years," and he tousles Apple Bloom's mane playfully, lifting the filly's spirits slightly.
* * * *
In the days that follow, Apple Bloom cannot remember a time in her life when she felt as happy as she does now with spending time talking to her parents - a luxury which was taken from her before she could even remember it.
"No, AJ really did that?" Apple Bloom asks incredulously, breaking down into fits of laughter.
"Yes, it took us weeks to clean all the mud out of her mane, right honey?" Pear butter chuckles.
"Oh, I remember that, certainly," Bright Mac replies with laughter of his own, "And what about the time Big Mac found Goldie's dentures and thought aliens took her real teeth?"
" Oh my, y-yes-s," she says, giggling even harder, "I still don't know how he found Braeburn's stash of comic books underneath the mess in his room."
The next few days pass in a similar fashion, with the trio reliving old memories and sharing new ones as parents and daughter take turns telling stories from their own lives.
". . .and all of a sudden, we got our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom says, proudly re-telling the CMC's big milestone.
"Oh my, that's amazing, sweetheart!" Pear Butter exclaims tearfully, "I can't believe it finally happened!"
"Me neither," Bright Mac adds, "We're just so proud of all three of you and what you've accomplished," and they hug their filly for the umpteenth time since Apple Bloom first appeared.
Although they are just as happy to be spending time with her, Apple Bloom senses that something about her parents seems off. Whenever they have a truly heartfelt moment together, she notices her mother tearing up and her father wearing a look of despair, despite the light-hearted tone of the conversation. She cannot shake the feeling that they might be hiding something from her, but she eventually dismisses her caution; "I'm already dead" she thinks to herself, "What could they possibly have to hide?"
Unfortunately, she receives her answer sooner than she expected; one particular day, Apple Bloom and her parents are talking when she suddenly begins to glow. Her parents notice the phenomenon before she does, and her only clue to it is their mixed expressions of shock and sadness.
"Wh-What's happening to me?" she exclaims, looking down at herself.
"I think this means it's time for you to go back," her father responds.
"Back where?" Apple Bloom asks, "Wait, you mean I'm not really dead?"
"Afraid not," her mother explains, "This place is sort of like the waiting room in a hospital, where souls come to wait and see if their body will give out and pass the soul on, or if they call the soul back into existence."
"T-Then why're y'all here?" Apple Bloom continues, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"This is the only other place we can visit," Bright Mac says sadly, "Once you go back to the real world, we will go back to where we came from."
"Th-Then th-that's why ya seemed so sad all the time," Apple Bloom says, finally releasing the tears she had been holding back, "Y'all knew all along, and didn't tell me?!"
"We're sorry, honey," Pear Butter suddenly pulls her filly into a hug and squeezes tightly, "We were so afraid of losing you at any given moment; we just wanted you to enjoy your time here without worrying about anything."
"B-But what if ah don't wanna go back?" Apple Bloom cries into her mother's chest, "A-Ah have a choice, don't I?"
"Yes, but-" Bright Mac begins then hesitates, "We love you, and we appreciate you wanting to stay with us, but it's better if you cross back over."
"You're father's right, dear," Pear Butter says softly, stroking Apple Bloom's mane, "You deserve to live the life you were meant to live; you still have so many years to enjoy your life. Besides, how do you think Applejack will feel? Or Big Mac and Granny Smith?"
"But ah don't wanna leave you two!" Apple Bloom bawls harder, "Ah don't wanna miss any more time with you!"
"Oh, but honey," Pear Butter says, hugging her filly tighter, "We never left."
"She's right," Bright Mac continues, "Even if you can't see us anymore, we've always been beside you. And Applejack and Big Mac and even Granny."
"No matter what happens," Pear Butter says as Apple Bloom begins to calm down, "Promise us one thing, sweetie: don't live your life by what could have been; live life by asking "What if?"
"O-Okay," Apple Bloom says shakily.
"Now, just close your eyes," Pear Butter says as she lays down on her back, with Apple Bloom on top of her, "And don't worry; we'll be right here with you, when you wake up. . ."
* * * *
Apple Bloom wakes up and realizes that, instead of on her mother's chest, she is lying in a bed in a hospital room. She looks around the room and sees Applejack sitting in the chair beside the bed, sound asleep. Her mane is in rough shape, like she had been sitting in the same spot for days on end, waiting for her sister to wake up. Touched by her sister's act of compassion, Apple Bloom reaches out and boops Applejack softly on her muzzle; a moment later, Applejack begins to stir.
"Ap'l Bl'm?" she says groggily, wiping the fatigue from her eyes. When she realizes that Apple Bloom was back, she gasps and hugs her sister tightly, sobbing into her tiny shoulder. "A-Ah can't believe it!" she cries, "Ah've missed ya, sis!"
"I've missed you too, sis," Apple Bloom says, hugging back. Looking over Applejack's shoulder, she notices the ghosts of her parents, overjoyed by the heartfelt reunion. They nod in acknowledgment to Apple Bloom as they begin to fade away; she smiles contently and embraces her sister, never wanting to let go ever again.
