Thōdan looked up at me. Though she had not brushed her shaggy forelocks aside, I knew she was paying attention by how her ears were pricked. The book I levitated in front of me were accounts of mercy from ponies who lived and died in the Tribal Era. Though those long centuries were one that produced many Tartarus-damned ponies, there were always blessed individuals to go against the herd-mind formed by the larger collective of ponies. Real ponies' lives now lay before me with images pulled straight from their lives to replace the illustrations that only the wealthy could have in their books. I had known none of these ponies, but the detailed accounts of a stagnant era I was so familiar with kindled a kinship as strong as hope. I had yet to wander out of the vast halls of the Paradise Estate castle, but I knew one day I would meet them.
My voice was stronger than it had ever been in life as I read steadily to the little one. Her mother had been gone for hours to judge souls. Time was still counted here, though it did not pass in any meaningful sense. Nopony grew older or sicker. All schedules were self-determined. I saw how the little filly smiled and clutched tightly at her stuffed bear. Not only was the toy more luxurious than any I had ever seen, but it was one that would be deemed frivolous for a foal with the age Thōdan's appearance suggested. In my life, foals at four winters old usually had all their toys stripped from them, if they had any to begin with. In my death, I was the mentor to a wonderful little filly who told me that the particular bear she had was something called an ursa which I had yet to find any book about. I am sure that the creatures were as small and sweet as she was, as the star-sewn appearance suggested something soft and kind. There was so much I had left to learn!
In my chest, an unstoppable feeling of hope had been burning for some time. One that swelled at the thought of seeing my friends again here one day. They still had so much life left to live!