//------------------------------// // Sparks of Hope // Story: Only a Blind Filly // by Skijarama //------------------------------//     For little Iris, the next several hours were spent only vaguely aware of what Spike was saying or doing. She had agreed to stay with him by his request. Seeing as how they were the only two individuals in Ponyville unaffected by whatever had swept through the town, it only made sense to stick together. By and large, Iris only paid him enough attention to stay with him and avoid bumping into things as he went from place to place.     Spike, for his part, mostly just made sure she was nearby while he focused on trying to get everypony’s pets assembled. There wasn’t much he could do right now about this situation, so he decided that, unless an opportunity presented itself, he would focus on keeping his friends’ pets safe until they got home. Thus far, he had managed to get Owlowiscious, Gummy, Angel and Tank. Opal had run off somewhere into town and now Winona was all that was left for him to get.     Spike cast a glance up to the owl fluttering lazily in the air near him as they made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Think you can go on ahead to see if Winona’s even there? Don’t wanna walk all that way if we won’t find her there.”     “Hoo.” Owlowiscious hooted in affirmative before taking to the sky and flying off swiftly for the farm in the distance. Spike looked back at Iris worriedly. She hadn’t said much for quite a while, now. He barely even knew her, but right now, all they had was each other. As a result, he couldn’t help the deeply concerned frown that crossed his face before he slowed his pace to fall into stride next to her.     “Do you wanna sit for a bit? Take the weight off that leg?” he asked her as gently as possible.     “Sure.” Was Iris’ only response to the question, allowing Spike to guide her to a nearby spot of soft grass with a tree casting some soft shade over it. As they sat in the silence, Iris sighed and opened her eyes. Spike couldn’t help the slight wince on his face at the sight of how faded and milky her eyes were under the lids. “Where are we?” she asked simply.     “Huh?”     “Where in town are we, Spike? Tell me about it. Describe it, please.” Iris elaborated, resting her chin on her forehooves and letting her unseeing eyes wander.     “Oh, uh… Well, we’re at the edges of the marketplace. Uh, front street is to our right and, uh, well…” Spike shrugged helplessly. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to say, Iris.”     “...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just asked that… it’s not like you’re my mom or dad or anything,” Iris finally mumbled sadly, closing her eyes and burying her face in her hooves.     “Do they tell you about the world around you often?” Spike asked softly, gently patting her on the shoulder in a comforting manner.     “Uh-huh. They describe it to me all the time,” Iris replied, though her words were muffled by her hooves. “They say I might be able to see again, someday, so they tell me all about it, sometimes.”     “Really? You might get your eyesight back? How so?” Spike asked, genuinely interested by this bit of info.     “I lost my sight before I can remember. The ponies at the clinic and hospitals think that, maybe, I can get my eyesight back with the right magical treatment or something like that,” Iris explained, a slight smile coming to her lips. “I would love that more than anything, I think. Seeing the world around me again.”     Spike nodded with a reassuring smile on his face. “Well, hold onto that. I’m sure you’ll see again, someday.”     “You think so?” Iris perked up, if only slightly, looking towards Spike’s general direction with a smile growing on her face.     “I do. I really do,” Spike said with a nod. He felt somewhat bad for saying that, as he himself was actually doubting his own assurances completely. What this filly needed was hope; if she lost all hope, she’d be easy pickings for whatever happened next.     Iris’ smile widened considerably and she visibly relaxed. “Thanks, Spike. I feel a lot better, now.”     “Don’t mention it,” Spike said before looking around a bit, his mind starting to wander. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, the leaves and grass gently swaying and rustling in the gentle, uncontrolled breeze. He glanced back at Iris after a while and blinked when he saw that she had opened her eyes again. Abruptly, a thought occurred to him. “Hey, Iris?”     “Huh?”     “Did anypony, uh… try to hurt you last night? Somepony that didn’t say anything or explain themselves?” Spike asked uncertainly, not wanting to ruin the filly’s lifted mood, but also wanting any and all information he could get.     “Um… Well, somepony did attack me last night. Over in the clinic. They pinned me down and… forced my eyes open. It was scary… I’m glad they decided to go away and leave me alone,” Iris shivered at the memory of that unnaturally strong pony assaulting her like that.     Spike went slack-jawed. “And you’re okay…” he said, barely more than a whisper.     “What?”     “Iris, whatever it was that got Ponyville, it looks like it spreads through eye contact. But you’re blind. You couldn’t meet the gaze of the pony attacking you, and then he or she just left? Iris, I think you’re blindness might have saved you!” Spike said with some hope and excitement building in his voice.     Iris’ eyes widened reflexively. “Really?”     “Yeah, really!”     Iris smiled slightly, though she quickly lost it. “But… does that really help us at all?”     “It means you’re safe. I don’t know why but I think I’m safe, too. I looked into plenty of the, er, ‘affecteds’ eyes last night and I’m none the worse for it, I think,” Spike explained, a small flicker of optimism igniting in his heart as he started thinking of possible courses of action they could take.     Iris smiled slightly at that thought. She lowered her head and rested her chin on her forelegs once more “Well, that’s good.” *    *    *    *    *    *     When at last Owlowiscious returned almost an hour later, it was with Winona running along under him, barking with joy at the sight of Spike and a normal pony. For Iris, it was quite a welcome wake-up call from her unplanned nap under the tree. Winona came up to her, snorting, panting and licking her face, just happy to see some friendly faces. Iris giggled and shuffled back slightly, trying to reach out and pet her new, very lovable assailant.     “Hey there, puppy!” Iris said with a grin, Winona yipping in greeting before allowing Iris to pet her along the back. “What did you say this dog’s name was, Spike?”     “That’s Winona, Applejack’s personal herding assistant. She also happens to be a surprisingly good guard dog,” Spike explained with a warm smile at the displays of unconditional affection going back and forth. “Heh. And, by the looks of it, quite happy to meet you.”     “I can tell!” Iris squealed as Winona kept up her rather enthusiastic greeting. “Aw, you’re sweet, aren’t you Winona?”     Spike chuckled before standing up. He shot owlowiscious a thumbs up and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to the bird overhead, who hooted agreeably. Spike then turned his eyes to the horizon, where the sun was slowly beginning its trip into the evening hours. Spike tilted his head slightly before an idea struck him. He turned to Iris. “Hey, I just had an idea!”     “What would that be?” Iris asked curiously, petting Winona, who had calmed down somewhat and was now lying curled up against the filly’s side.     “The sun’s still moving; that means that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are still okay. If I can get a message to them, maybe they can help us!” Spike explained, the spark of hope in his heart bursting into a full blown fire. He approached Iris and reached out to help her up.     “Really? That’s great! How do we do it?” Iris asked, her own voice reflecting the hope the two refugees now felt.     “We need to get somewhere with ink, quills and parchment. Somewhere where I can write a letter.” Spike explained before looking around. “Quills and Sofas isn’t far, and the arts and crafts store is just across the street. Come on.”     Iris wobbled slightly as she returned to her hooves, but otherwise seemed rather eager to follow Spike’s plan. Although she did show a bit of hesitance to the idea of going to the stores. “But… if you live with Princess Twilight, can’t you just use the parchment and stuff there?”     Spike sighed, slumping slightly. “Yeah, I can, but these shops are a lot closer and we need to save as much time as possible.”     “Oh…”     “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll pay the owners back as soon as things are back to normal,” Spike reassured her, though he grimaced as he inwardly amended that statement with if things get back to normal. *    *    *    *    *    *     When Spike finally had the last item he needed, the sky was beginning to dim into shades of orange and yellow as the sun dipped towards the horizon. Now he and Iris were sat down on a bench just outside of the local cafe, with Spike scribbling furiously into the parchment. Winona sat curled up with her head resting on Iris’ lap, who was starting to doze off herself. Owlowiscious was getting in a few winks of sleep himself so he could be effective at night. Gummy and Angel were at present not far away, eating some leftover food still in the fridge since everything happened.     Spike signed his letter and then looked over it to make sure it said exactly what he needed it to say.     Dear Princess Celestia or Princess Luna,     Last night, something came through Ponyville and ‘infected’ the entire population. The only ones to evade this were myself and a blind filly named Tulip Iris. I also have the pets of Twilight and our friends with me for the time being. I see the sun moving to the horizon, so I know that at least one of you is alright.     We really need your help. Answers would be nice, too. What’s going on? What happened to everypony? Please reply as soon as you possibly can.     Yours,     Spike.     It would have to do. With a nod, Spike rolled the parchment into a scroll and then breathed his trademarked green fire over it. The scroll transformed into smoke and swirled into the distance towards Canterlot. He looked to Iris, who was now facing him. “Letter’s on it’s way. Now we wait.”     “How long?”     “Dunno. Normally Celestia’s replies take a minute or two to come back. Luna can respond basically instantly, but, well, I haven’t coughed up a response and she isn’t here, so we can rule that out,” Spike replied uncertainly before slipping off of the bench. “Either way, it’s getting late and I don’t wanna be outside when it gets dark. We should get to some shelter.”     “Where are we going?” Iris asked, following him off the bench, careful not to irritate her hind leg.     “I was figuring the castle. Place is pretty big and there’s still plenty of food in the kitchen. We can feed ourselves and the pets while we’re at it,” Spike then got a longing look on his face.     Winona whined slightly in agreement, having not eaten anything substantial all day. Now that it was brought up, Iris had to agree. “Yeah, that sounds good to me.”     “Then let’s go- hurk!” Spike suddenly clutched at his belly, his cheeks puffing out. Iris shrunk back from the sudden sound, her ears flattening against her head.     “Spike? Are you okay?” She asked worriedly.     BELCH!     Spike groaned slightly as green flames tore their way from his lungs without his consent. The flames swirled together before materializing a scroll in mid-air, held together with the royal seal. Despite the immense complaints of his stomach, Spike felt the hope in his heart reach new heights.     “Spike, what happened?” Iris asked, taking a step back and lowering herself fearfully to the ground.     “It’s okay, Iris,” Spike said with a slight groan before reaching over and plucking the scroll from the air. “We just got our reply from one of the Princesses is all.”