//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: The New Foal Institution 
// by Penguifyer 
//------------------------------//

Job peeked into the room at Blue’s suggestion. Starlight sat at her desk, scribbling on a notebook. He looked at a calendar on the door and drew a large “6” on the current date. The rest of the current month and the last were filled with Xs.
He walked into the room and stood next to Starlight. “How long have you been up?”
“Since nine this morning. I couldn’t fall back asleep.” She glanced outside, noticing the green grass and budding trees. “Yesterday, I remember seeing snow on the ground.”
“‘Yesterday’ was almost two months ago.”
Her pencil stopped. “Has it really been that long?”
“Unfortunately. May I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she mumbled.
“Who is this spell gonna help exactly?”
“Well…” She levitated a glass of water to her mouth and took a sip. “For sure me. Maybe even Fluttershy here.”
“She hasn’t had a good day in four months.”
Starlight set her water down. “But there’s always a chance any new foal might come back for a day. It’s one of the reasons they don’t just euthanize all of them.”
“Euthanize? That sounds a tad harsh.”
“Or outright inhumane, as Sam would say. Then again, the fact they can act like animals gives people ideas.” She flipped her pencil over and erased a section of work. “I suspect the spell might make Awares more in touch with their bodies, too. But I’ll figure that out later.”
Job nodded and walked to the door. “I’ll tell Blu… Dash about you.”
“Why do you do that?’
“Hey, it’s what everyone calls her around here. By the way, need anything?”
She smiled. “Coffee, lots of coffee.”


— — — 


Job brought Starlight coffee and snacks on an hourly basis. As the day turned to night, she pulled out a large poster board and carefully etched out a circle full of lines and letters. Blue (Job couldn’t break his habit and call her Dash around Starlight) visited Starlight a couple of times but stayed mostly silent, having learned her lesson from Starlight’s previous good days. Afterward, she walked up to Job.
“I just… I can’t take it anymore,” she cried, squeezing Job’s leg. “Watch her for me, okay?”
Job nodded. “I got it.”
Job placed a chair outside of Starlight and Fluttershy’s room and waited the day out, peeking in on Starlight every now and then. He made sure no one entered the room or disturbed her, keeping the door cracked. By 1:00 am, she completed the circle on the poster board and began to cross-check it with her notes. By 4:00 am, Job could barely keep his eyes open as he heard a loud thump on the desk.
“It’s now or never,” Starlight conceded, letting out a deep sigh.
Job stood up and rubbed his eyes, stepping into the room.
Her ear twitched at the sound, turning toward him. “You’re still up?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to go to bed.”
She pointed to the poster board. “Actually, tonight I’m gonna do it.”
Job looked at the design on the board, in awe at its complexity. “The spell? I thought you said you’d need another day.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of crunch time,” she winked. “Although I would usually proofread a spell like this over the course of a week. Dash it right, though. I don’t know if I’ll have another good day.”
Job turned toward her. “You sure about this?”
“As I said, it’s now or never.”
Job backed up as she levitated the poster board to the floor. Sliding off the chair, she sat in the center of the circle and steadied her breathing. Her horn glowed with a turquoise aura, causing the lines of the circle to glow as a similar aura enveloped her whole body. The sound intensified as the aura agitated and burst in front of him, forcing him to block his face. A few seconds later and he lowered his arms, seeing Starlight panting on the board.
“Did it work?”
“I don’t know.” She looked around the room confused. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” She brushed the poster board aside with her hoof and crawled in bed. Before pulling the covers over herself, she sat up and looked at Job. “By the way, even if the spell doesn’t work, thanks for helping. You don’t know how helpful it is to have someone take care of all of the little things when you’re preoccupied with a project like that.”
He waved back. “It’s what I’m here for.”
“I’m just letting you know, it mattered. It mattered a lot.”
Job nodded as he walked out of the room. Walking down the hallway and opening the door to his own room, he saw Dash sprawled out on his bed and asleep. She probably wanted to cuddle up with him prior to going to bed but fell asleep while waiting. Realizing he didn’t have the key to her room, he nudged her to the other side of the bed and laid down.
“Guess you joining me tonight,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.


— — — 


Job woke up alone at 11:00 am, still tired from the night before. Remembering the night prior, a burst of adrenaline shot through his body and helped him jump out of bed. Jogging down the hall, he stopped at Starlight and Fluttershy’s room and creaked the door open. Fluttershy was gone while Starlight laid sprawled out on her bed.
Job sighed, walking into the room and to the window. He opened up the blinds causing light to pour onto Starlight and make her squirm.
“Why do you do this to me?” she mumbled.
Job, not knowing if that was the new foal speaking, responded as neutral as he could. “Because it’s my job.”
“You know…” she said, lifting her head up and speaking more clearly. Job turned in surprised. “I haven’t slept like that in years.”
“St-starlight?” he mumbled.
She smiled back. “I could really use some coffee right now.”