Healing In-between

Mother Earth and Father Time

(Non-canon)

(A/n: ok ok one last angst one, I promise! Blame the song for giving me ideas!)
(What if Hopesong sacrificed herself to protect Catnap? In this Catnap gives Hopesong mercy, so she is a survivor instead of being trapped in the labs)

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Hopesong had always wanted to know what the four seasons were like. She only ever seen the changing weather and colors from TV shows and movies the children used to watch. She wondered what snow was like or why Autmun leaves died when it got too cold. Dogday would answer her questions patently, but it wasn't enough to quell her curiosity.

Though, when a blunt scientist told her that Winter represented death, she wasn't sure what to make of that. Like death was a foreign concept. What was death? Hopesong tried to ask Dogday or Catnap what it was, but they never told her.

That only made her even more curious. What was so bad about death that even Catnap refused to tell her? Before, she always wanted to know what it was her family didn't want to tell her. Looking back, she realized that they were protecting her. When the Hour of Joy came upon them, she wished she never pressed for answers cause all she could see was death around her.

Hopesong, for the first time, had to beg her beloved Uncle Catnap to give her mercy after he tore out her eye. Maybe it was regret maybe it was pity, but he let her go. She fled, dashing into Home Sweet Home so she could tend to her injuries. She barricaded herself inside, unable to leave. In fear that if she did, he would come for her and finish her off.

And so, she remained in Home Sweet Home only ever leaving to get food or help her little ones in the Playhouse who would wander out in worse shape than before. Though she held onto the hope that someday Dogday would find her or she would find him, and they'd find a way out of this hell together, maybe even convince Uncle Catnap to help them and join them, even if that seemed ridiculous it didn't hurt to hope.

Everything changed when (Y/n) returned to the factory after ten years. When they realized that Home Sweet Home was barricaded, they had to find another way in. They got in through one of the windows and managed to find the scared pegasus holding a bat ready to defend herself. After a while of explaining, Hopesong joined them in their quest, and when venturing into the Playhouse after evading the murderous Ms. Delight, they found Dogday.

Hopesong was overjoyed to finally be reunited with her long lost papa. Things finally seemed to be looking up for them.

Until things came crashing down.

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Hopesong watched in horror as Catnap busted into flames. He was screaming and flailing around to put out the fire while she, (Y/n), and Dogday were frozen into place. During all this chaos, a metal hand came out from the vent in the ceiling, offering a seemingly kind gesture of helping him up.

Catnap once the flames were put out staggered onto his knees. He took a pose of worship as the hand became straight pulling back. The prototype was going to kill him! "UNCLE CATNAP, NO!" With her wings, she rocketed upward between Catnap and the prototype before (Y/n) or even Dogday could stop her.

A sickening crunch echoed throughout the room, but strangely, Catnap felt no pain. When he looked to see what happened, he was horrified by the sight that greeted him. The prototype had pierced through Hopesongs' stomach, impaling her. A devastated cry came from Dogday. "SKYLAR!" An old name Hopesong no longer remembered, but Dogday remembered clearly as day just like when he first met the small child and felt he found another piece of his soul in those beautiful green eyes.

The prototype shook Hopesong off as if she were nothing, and Catnap scrambled to catch her quickly, taking her in his paws, shielding her from the world. And as if it didn't commit the unthinkable, it left without so much as a word. Hopesong looked up at Catnap proud that she had managed to save him to give him a second chance. She coughed up blood as the world slowly became dark.

Dogday rushed over, snatching Hopesong out of Catnaps arms. That THING didn't have the right to touch his little girl "S-Sweetie don't worry! We'll fix this! We'll take you to Poppy and she can fix this!" Dogday sobbed, and Hopesong could only watch him, not sure how to ease his pain. She looked over at (Y/n), who was sobbing and using their jacket to try and stop the profuse amount of bleeding. Then she looked at Catnap, who was silently sobbing.

His little angel just gave up her life to save his, after all the things he did she still saw the good in him. Now she was dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Catnap was pulled out of his self-loathing when Hopesong called out for him.

"H-Hey Uncle Catnap....I...I heard this really nice song I thought everyone would like...Do you want to hear it..?" Dogday went to quickly shush her to beg her to save her energy. But Catnap stopped him by replying, "Of course, my angel.. We would love to hear it.." Maybe it was selfish, but he wanted to hear voice one last time.

Hopesong took a shakey breath as the light slowly faded from her eyes.

"Th-The Autmun days grow short and cold..~

"It's Christmas time...A-Again..~"

"Then snows of winter...S-Slowly melt...~"

"The d-days grow short...And then..~"

Dogday sobbed, pulling his little girl close when she started to feel colder. Catnap gently rubbed her cheek with his paw as tears stained the fur on his face. (Y/n) cried helplessly as it seemed nothing they did was working to save Hopesong from the inevitable.

"He turns the...The seasons...Around..~"

"And so...She...She changes...Her gown..~

"Mother earth...And father time..~"

Hopesong smiled throughout this song as her voice got weaker, and she started feeling tired. She could see the other smiling critters waving and welcoming her with open arms. At least she wouldn't be alone and would feel content knowing Dogday and Catnap were no longer alone. She had completed her task.

"How very...Special..~"

"Are we...For just a moment..~

"To be...P-Part of lifes...Eternal...Rhyme...~"

With that, she closed her eye as the light faded away. Joining the others on the other side, unable to hear the devastated cries of her grieving father.

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(A/n: Ya, I will be expecting your pitch forks soon, but hey, I warned ya!)