Crystal's Hopes

by Crystal Wishes


Make Your Choice

"'Just be Golden'!" Iridescence waved the Cosmarepolitan magazine in her magic at Crystal, Winterspear, and Dot to ensure they all saw the cover that featured Golden's return to herself. "Everypony's talking about it! Do you think it's just a publicity stunt?"

Crystal smiled, idly twirling pasta around her fork. "I certainly hope not."

"I think she's prettier this way," Dot said in a voice that still had a bit of a foalish squeak to it.

Winterspear inclined her head to look at Golden's image on the cover. "Yeah, I can definitely agree with that," she purred more than said.

Iridescence gasped in mock offense, put her hoof on Winterspear's face, and gave it a light push. Winterspear huffed and tried to glare at her, but when their eyes met, both burst into giggling laughter.

They were a happy couple. No matter how busy they were, they made time to get together.

A small pang of envy shot through Crystal's chest and she dropped her gaze to the table. "Dot," she said, doing her best to keep her voice even, "could you pass the rolls?"

"Yeah!" Dot's ears wiggled as she picked up the bowl of rolls with her hooves. The filly refused to use her magic whenever her hooves would suffice, as it allowed her to show off her lanky legs that had grown out during her most recent growth spurt. Her body was still roughly the same size, however, so it was more comical than anything, but she was proud of her new legs. "Here you go!"

Crystal flashed her a light smile. "Thank you, sweetie."

"So, Crystal," Iridescence asked, lowering the magazine to the table, "how is the writing going? The double feature isn't stressing you out too much, is it?"

Crystal shook her head. "Not at all. Actually, I'm grateful for the work to keep me busy. The normalcy is nice."

"And the bits!" Dot chirped, swinging her hindlegs that still didn't reach the floor.

With a soft laugh, Crystal reached over to pat Dot on the head. "Yes, and the bits." She idly smeared butter onto a roll and looked around the table. "It's fun to write, though. Fatinah is living a carefree life in Saddle Arabia, so it's a nice escape from the war and everything."

Winterspear's ears drooped slightly. "Yeah..."

The uncomfortable silence only lasted a moment before a knock at the door interrupted the light tension. Dot stumbled over her own hooves in her scramble to get out of her seat. "I'll get it!" she shrieked, bounding toward the door. She reared back and flailed her forehooves to twist the knob. "I got it!" After a pause, she hollered, "It's a stranger!"

"N-No," the mare outside quickly said, "I'm not a stranger! I'm here for Mrs. Wishes!"

Crystal leaned forward to get to an angle where she could see. "Oh!" She slid out of her seat and trotted over. "Hello, Miss Ley Lines!"

Ley Lines glanced between Dot and Crystal. Dot held her ground, but once Crystal walked up behind her, she perked up, waved, and galloped back to the dinner table.

Crystal giggled, shaking her head. "Sorry, don't mind her." She shifted from one hoof to the other. "Did you find anything?"

"Weeell," Ley Lines started, glancing down at the folder of papers she clutched to her chest. She wrinkled her nose, pursed her lips, and sighed. "It's an absolute stalemate! I checked every book and research paper I could find in the library. For everything that said it was impossible to be a real ability, there are just as many ponies who cite that it's impossible to disprove. I can't find anything definitive!"

Slowly, Crystal's ears started to droop. "What? Are you certain?"

Ley Lines blew a puff of air to briefly move her mane out of her face. "Unfortunately, yes. I mean, short of studying a pony who claims to have this ability, I've exhausted myself trying to get a conclusive answer!"

"I see." Crystal lowered her gaze to the folder. Inconclusive. What was she supposed to do, then?

"Sorry." Ley Lines scrunched up her nose. "I've looked in every book I can find, but the best answer I have for you is that it may or may not be a thing."

With the best smile she could muster, Crystal straightened back up. "I understand. It's not your fault. Thank you so much for your diligent research. I hope it didn't waste too much of your time."

"Oh, not at all!" Ley Lines sighed. "I mean, I'm frustrated with the answer, but it is what it is. There is a lot about magic not even Star Swirl understood, so this isn't the only thing I've looked in to and came up with nothing. Anyway, do you want what I found?"

Crystal bobbed her head in a light nod. "Certainly. It'll give me something to read, at least. I wouldn't want your efforts to go to waste." She flashed an appreciative smile as her magic took the folder. "Thank you."

Ley Lines waved as she turned away. "Be sure to drop by if you have any other research requests! Hopefully something I can answer next time! Have a good day!"

"You, too..." Crystal sighed, pushing the door closed and tossing the folder on the coffee table. When she turned around, she found three pairs of eyes on her. "Yes?"

"What was that all about?" Iridescence blinked. "Is it research for something you're writing?"

Crystal waved a dismissive hoof, walking back to her seat. "Nothing, nothing at all. It was just an idle curiosity." As she sat down, she felt her gaze drawn to the folder.

Inconclusive... short of studying a pony who claimed to have the ability. Slowly, Crystal lifted her fork to take a bite of spaghetti. Well, then, perhaps it was time to do some research of her own after dinner.

Madame Ouija's shop was rather unassuming on the outside from what Crystal had expected. There was no writing on the windows to lure ponies inside, only a single image of a brass incense bowl sitting at the base of a crystal, oval wall mirror. Silver tendrils of smoke rose from the bowl, and where they overlapped the mirror, she felt the strange sensation that there were eyes looking back at her through the haze.

Crystal glanced around to ensure the feeling wasn't just somepony actually watching her, but everypony seemed content with going about their own business and paying her no mind. Her gaze returned to the building and a frown crossed her lips.

Madame Ouija must have found ponies in need, not the other way around. Her shop certainly didn't boast of her extraordinary abilities. The thought conjured an image in Crystal's mind of a predatory timberwolf stalking the darkness of the Everfree Forest, hungry eyes seeking out the lost and the afraid... It chilled her to the bone and boiled her blood all at the same time.

Determination fueling her every step, Crystal marched up to the door and crossed what seemed to be a threshold into another dimension.

The air was heavy with wispy smoke that smelled of frankincense and myrrh. The lighting was dim, just enough to illuminate each individual, smoky strand that wrapped around her and tried to envelope her in a sweet, intoxicating embrace.

Her head felt light while her hooves were suddenly made of lead. She tried to take a few more steps forward into the room, but she struggled just to remain upright. Dark, plush velvet was draped along the walls as though she had stumbled into the inside of a jewelry box.

Through the fog, the sharp scent of citrus hit her nose and cleared her senses all at once. She saw movement ahead of her as striking turquoise eyes caught in the light. Slowly, a unicorn mare formed out of the darkness and stepped forward.

"Welcome," Madame Ouija said in a voice as smooth as silk. "I've been expecting you."

Crystal could only stare at the ethereal beauty in front of her. Ouija wore gossamer fabric over her lithe, dark caramel form that looked more like a glowing aura than a dress. Her voluminous silver mane was pulled into an elegant, four-stranded braid that glittered with small crystals throughout. Trinkets adorned her from head to hoof, such dangling earrings and jingling bracelets. None of it, however, compared to her eyes, which drew Crystal in with unspoken promises.

"Won't you have a seat?" Ouija gestured at a large sitting pillow in front of the low, round table in the center of the room.

Crystal merely nodded and stumbled over and onto to the pillow. The incense seemed less dense around the table, but she still felt light-headed and dizzy.

Ouija delicately lowered herself onto the pillow across the table from Crystal and gave a gentle smile that didn't reach her eyes, which were instead sharp and keenly focused. "You are, no doubt, Crystal Wishes. I was wondering when you would grace me with your visit."

"How?" Crystal blinked, surprised at the sound of her own voice in comparison to Ouija's. Did she always sound so raspy? "How do you know who I am?"

Ouija chuckled and shook her head. "The better question, my dear, is how could I not?"

Crystal narrowed her eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"The little lamb I shepherd, Bonnie, breathes your name with reverence, Mrs. Wishes. You are the lighthouse and, as it would seem, I am the shore." Ouija spread her hooves wide. "You tell your lambs to seek help, and so she sought me. And help I have provided. Help I can provide to you."

"To me?" Crystal leaned back as if distance between them would protect her. "I'm terribly glad to say that I have no need of your services, Madame."

Ouija raised one eyebrow and looked at Crystal with a piercing gaze that seemed both focused and distant all at once. "Are you so certain of that?"

Crystal's blood ran cold. "Certain?" She almost jumped to her hooves, but her legs were frozen in place. "Yes! Of course I am! My husband's alive!"

"And because of this, you do not wish to see him? To see his face? You do not long for the vision of him, instead content with a slowly fading memory that grows dull with time?"

The image of Silent's vacant face from her dreams sent a shiver down her spine. "That's not the point. He's not dead, and you—you allegedly communicate with the dead."

Ouija waved a hoof, her silver bracelets ringing a melodic chime, and an oval mirror levitated from its spot on the wall over to the table. "I am capable of many things, my poor dear. I can show you your husband, dead or alive. If he were departed, I could bring his spirit here for you to say your goodbyes... But as his spirit is overseas, I can only show it to you."

Crystal reached out to push the mirror aside so she could stare into Ouija's hauntingly beautiful eyes. "No, that's quite all right. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to—"

"Take away the unfortunate Bonnie's happiness. I am aware." Ouija smiled and the mirror slid back between them. "Perhaps, however, you should seek to understand her better before you try to interfere. Gaze into the mirror, my dear... Gaze into the mirror and you shall seek out your beloved."

Crystal frowned at the mirror, then blinked in surprise when she noted something distinct: the surface was a subtle shifting of silvery hues that showed no reflection at all.

Thoughts of Silent suddenly crept into her mind. The war that escalated with each passing day, the danger he was in, the secret mission he was on... Longing seized her heart in a tight grip.

The mirror's surface rippled and, slowly, a blurry figure of white and blue started to form. Her heart raced and she leaned forward, squinting as if that would help. Then, all at once, everything came into focus.

His surroundings were an indeterminate swirl of varying turquoise hues, but the image of him was crisp and clear. There he was, walking forward and yet not moving at all, looking around at whatever was around him.

More importantly, however, his face was there: his silver eyes she loved, his stoic expression she missed. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw his head turn and his eyes meet hers, a smile briefly crossing his lips.

Tears started to fall down her cheeks and she reached out a hoof to touch him, but when all she found was cold, smooth glass, everything within the mirror vanished.

"No!" she cried out, nearly jumping onto the table. "Bring him back! Please!"

The mirror floated back to its spot on the wall and she was faced with Madame Ouija once again, a compassionate smile on the mare's face.

"You understand, then? You understand why it is that I do what I do?" Ouija rested her forehooves on the table and leaned in. "Your husband is alive, Crystal Wishes, and yet you are crying and pleading me to bring him back. Can you imagine, then, how Bonnie feels? That poor, unfortunate soul?"

Crystal recoiled and covered her eyes with both hooves, trying to drown out the racing thoughts in her mind. Silent was there. She had seen him. Hadn't she? Her head was heavy and full of confusion. It was an illusion. Just an illusion. How else could Ouija do it?

"No, no." She shook her head. "No, it's not real. It's not real. That wasn't real. It's just a trick. You're tricking me. You're tricking everypony!"

Ouija clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Am I?"

Slowly, Crystal lowered her hooves, glaring across the table. "Yes! You must be! It's too convenient. It's too easy! It's just an—just an illusion, a trick."

"Then you did not see your husband?"

"I—I saw an illusion." Crystal shook her head, silently praying for the tears to stop. "You're awful, doing this to ponies."

"Doing what?" Ouija's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Bringing them peace? Bringing them a sense of closure? Allowing them to say goodbye to the ones this war has stolen? Your Bonnie came to me a broken mare, and I have put her back together. Tell me, how is that so awful?"

"Because it's not real." Crystal wiped her eyes. "It's not real."

Ouija rose to her hooves and glided around the table, setting a hoof on Crystal's shoulder. "You poor thing," she cooed softly as she lowered onto the pillow, never breaking eye contact, not even for a moment. "You carry so much weight here, don't you? So much weight, and yet you won't allow anypony to help you with it. I can, Crystal Wishes. Stay with me a while and I can ease your troubled mind."

The cadence with which Ouija spoke was almost like a lullaby. Her voice drifted into Crystal's ears, and her intense gaze became all that Crystal could see and feel. She felt her eyelids getting heavy, her heart slowing down, and her nerves fading away.

"I..." Crystal swallowed as she tried to look away, but found herself frozen in place. "I..."

She wanted to see him again. His face so close to hers. His eyes, his lips, his ears, his mane... She would give anything to see him again.

The thought jolted her back to awareness and she shifted to put distance between herself and Ouija.

"No!" Crystal shook her head. "No, it's not right. It's not right. I can't do this. I have too much to do! This isn't right, it's—it's not right."

Ouija put a gentle hoof to Crystal's cheek and stroked it with a cool, soothing touch. Her hoof slipped down to cup Crystal's chin, locking their gazes again. "I certainly can't force you to stay, but I would like for you to."

Crystal shivered at the sensation of Ouija's breath on her face from their sudden closeness. "Why?"

"Because I want to help you, Mrs. Wishes... and I can. I can soothe the aches and worries that plague you. Imagine never having to worry another day for his safety. Every day, you can know he is safe and sound, because you can see that he is. Because I will be there, for you."

Ouija leaned in, an intrusion into personal space becoming an invasion of private space as their faces neared. Crystal felt all the breath leave her at once as she gasped and withdrew, rising to her hooves and backing away a few steps.

"I—" Crystal swallowed. "I have to go. I need to go." She clutched one hoof to her chest as if to comfort herself and the thoughts and emotions that raced through her. What had happened? Her mind was a haze.

A part of her wanted to run from a strange fear looming in the back of her mind, and yet a part of her wanted to stay because of the words she could remember. Ouija would let her see Silent. Whenever she wanted. Whenever she needed.

She could afford it. Whatever the price was, she had the means. Wouldn't it be better than waiting for his letters? Instead of worrying, she could spend her time helping others!

Ouija stood with one fluid motion, the auric gown shifting from the sudden movement. "Why don't you sit back down, Mrs. Wishes? You don't have to leave. After all, your husband is here. I can show him to you again. Wouldn't you like that, hmm?"

"No."

Crystal turned to run for the door, but the incense filled her nostrils and invaded her lungs. She stumbled over her own hooves, coughing for air.

Ouija tapped her hoof on the floor, her teeth flashing in a brief sneer. "Then, since you don't wish to see him, at least heed my words."

Crystal squinted through her tears to see Ouija's eyes half-lidded and distant. The tendrils of smoke in the air stirred to life, coiling and twisting like snakes rising up to strike.

"Your husband fights. He fights to protect his comrades. He fights, most of all, to return to you." Ouija's lips curled into a ghastly smile. "And he will, but beware, my dear: he will not return alone."

A chill sent Crystal's coat standing on end and she did the only thing she could think of through the incensed haze, through the questions that bubbled up, through the fear and the doubt... The only thing that made sense to a mare who came to fight and was so deftly disarmed.

She ran away.