Equestria Origins: Fallout

| chapter IV |

hiraeth

noun

1. Hiraeth is a Welsh word which does not translate well into other languages; it is defined as a homesickness for a place to which one cannot return to, or that never was

2. The grief for the lost places of one's past, tinged with a deep feeling of incompleteness and an intense nostalgia; a deep emotional state of longing for what is absent.

Synonyms: Saudade

Applejack Apple's POV

When I awoke from my slumber on the cold, rigid, and orange ground, I found Rainbow Dash still sitting outside of the boulder crevice with her knees pulled up to her chest. She hadn't been able to sleep since what happened last night. She was strangely quiet, but could anyone honestly blame her?

I slowly pulled myself out of the crawlspace, pulling my backpack along behind me closely. When I neared Rainbow, she was unmoving - just staring forward into space. Faint dark circles lined the outside of her ruby eyes. Her multicolored hair was longer now - finally reaching two inches below her shoulders. Her eyes almost seemed lifeless, if anything, hopeless.

"Mornin'." I said to her in a hush. She didn't move or even break contact with whatever she was staring at.

"Morning," Rainbow replied barely audible. I sat down beside her and remained quiet. Rainbow finally broke out of her daze and began tying her hair up into a messy ponytail with a black band on her wrist. When she was finished, she looked over at me, her eyes now expressing curiosity. She wiped specks of orange dirt from her cheeks with her gloved hands. "Where to next, Apples?"

"Oh!" I responded, surprised. Where were we going to head to next? The only other city closest to us was Las Pegasus, so that about narrows it all down. "Uh... Well, where else do ya think?"

"Strippers, and gambling. My kind of place," Rainbow said with a laugh. I smiled and shook my head disappointedly. Of course, that girl had something funny to say. We both shrugged on our backpacks and began walking toward the train tracks to continue our journey. "Wait!"

"What?"

"Check your pockets. For the elements," Rainbow replied urgently. We searched and fortunately found them sitting in our pockets peacefully. I sighed out in relief. "All right... Now we can go."

We had finally reached the bustling city of Las Pegasus... But to our amazement, the city itself seemed to be empty. Although the tall structures and buildings remained in pristine condition, there were no sounds being created by noisy vehicles in the streets. Abandoned cars, trucks, and even eighteen wheelers were sitting still in the highway. The neon lights from the casinos were off.

Only an orange like fog was seen rolling into the streets of Las Pegasus. In the distance of the city, was the mini Eiffel Tower and the famous Sphinx hotel and casino that was decorated with pale yellows and aquamarine colors.

"Uh... I'm gonna take a wild guess here -"

"Me too," Rainbow responded. When I looked over at her, her face was twisted in confusion. Normally, there'd be at least a small group of people like the people we encountered in other towns near our hideout in the Everfree Forest. No... This time it really seemed to be deserted.

The massive entrance structure in between the highway and railroad tracks was the only thing lighting up ominously, despite it being daylight. Each of the small circular bulbs lit up and went out in pairs.

WELCOME TO FABULOUS LAS PEGASUS, EQUESTRIA

We slowly advanced toward the landmark until Rainbow Dash gasped in surprise. I quickly turned over to her only to see her gaping at the tracker on her arm. Her widened eyes provided a small reflection of the map of Equestria.