A Glimmer of Hope

by Gordon Pasha

The Chimes at Midnight

Starlight looked out from the balcony and surveyed the locale. Stirring had come through for her once again. They had a place to stay. While the digs were not the nicest — being in a part of town where the law would not come looking — they were reasonable comfortable. Which was optimal, given that three ponies would be sharing the room.

Starlight leaned against the railing and turned her sights to the moon above. Stirring stepped out and Joined her.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Starlight said.

“You must have been deep in thought,” Stirring remarked. “You’ve been here for hours.”

“Have I? I must be losing my edge. I’m never one to just waste time like this.”

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that, ma’am.”

“It’s alright, Stirring. You’ve been under a lot of stress. We all have.”

Starlight suddenly became aware of how intently Stirring was staring at her. He looked deeply concerned.

“You look like you’re still under a lot of stress, ma’am,” he opined. “Is it Hope?”

“She’s so obstinate, isn’t she?” Starlight said. “Came all this way with us, without ever actually coming to believe in our cause. With all she’s lost, I’d have thought she’d be the first to sign up. I certainly was, after I lost my father and my friend. She’s lost the same, yet she’s chosen a completely different path.”

“Not that different,” Stirring said. “You both want to help ponies.”

Starlight cast her eyes down toward her hooves.

“You do both want to help ponies, don’t you, ma’am?” Stirring asked.

“Things are more complicated than that,” Starlight responded. “Now she’s thinking about making a choice, a choice that will probably get her killed. Worse, it could be bad for all of us.”

“Why would she do that?” Stirring asked. “I know what she’s done in the past, but Hope doesn’t seem like that kind of pony anymore.”

“She wants something, and she wants it so badly, that she is willing to take a chance,” Starlight said. “And I understand that. I’d probably do the same thing if I were her.”

“But you’re not her,” Stirring responded. “You’re Starlight Glimmer, the Incorruptible. I know you, and I know you’d never do anything that would endanger all Equestria.”

“You don’t know me that well, Stirring,” Starlight said, speaking into her hooves so that Stirring couldn’t actually hear it. “Nopony has ever really known me except Sunburst… and Hope….”

“So, what are we going to do?” Stirring asked. “Should we go out and find her?”

“Of course, we should!” Dr. Fie proclaimed as he marched out onto the balcony. “It’s all very nice of the two of you to be standing there, looking up at the moon. All very romantic. Meanwhile, dear Hope is who knows where in that city, looking for those monsters. She might have already found them! She might even now be in mortal peril! Oh, the thought is just too terrible to contemplate!”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Starlight said. “Hope has to make her own choice.”

“How can you be so heartless, madam?” Dr. Fie said, rubbing his hooves together. “You never cared about dearest Hope. She was always just a tool to you!”

“It was always an arrangement, not a friendship!” Starlight hollered, turning on Dr. Fie. “But don’t think that doesn’t mean I’m not worried. I just know, if I was in her position, nopony coming and trying to talk me out of it would do any good.”

Dr. Fie sneered. “So, we just give up, do we? This is how Colonel Aster’s daughter gets things done, is it?”

“Don’t mention my father’s name!” Starlight snapped. “You didn’t even know him! That’s what you keep telling us, isn’t it? You never met him! So, what gives you the right to act like you did?”

“Oh, spare me the indignation,” Dr. Fie said, his voice dripping bile. “I could care less about your hurt feelings when dear Hope could be lying somewhere, heavily injured, calling out for help with no kind soul around to offer any. Or it could be even worse….”

He took a step back and raised his foreleg. “Oh, dear Hope! Dear lamented Hope! If only I was there to tend to your wounds!”

“As though you could tend to her wounds,” Starlight said darkly.

“What was that, dear lady?”

“From everything I’ve seen and heard since Seaddle, I don’t think you could bandage up a paper-cut!” Starlight snapped.

“Poppycock!” Dr. Fie said. “I’ll have you know that Hope isn’t the only one capable of healing spells. I’m considered quite an expert in that field. In fact, I have a paper to my name on the subject. One that’s been very well-received by the medical community.”

Dr. Fie suddenly became reserved, scratching his chin with his hoof. “No, wait, Hope wrote that paper for me.”

Starlight shook her head and turned away from the doctor. “What about that other thing, Stirring? Did you manage to check up on that?”

“The exhibition opens tonight,” Stirring said. “Though I really don’t know if we should be wasting our time on this when we have to do damage-control for earlier.”

“Earlier demonstrates perfectly why we need to do this,” Starlight said. “The slow and steady approach is not working. We need something with more punch if we’re going to take the fight to Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

“Why do you make everything about Twilight Sparkle?” Stirring said quietly.

“What was that?” Starlight asked.

Stirring tried to act innocent. “Nothing!”

“I think the dear boy has a point,” Dr. Fie said. “We don’t have time to be gallivanting after frivolities! We should be seeking after poor Hope. I shudder to think of where she might be right now, in what dreadful circumstances she’s found herself.”

“If you care so much about finding her, why don’t you do it, doctor?” Starlight shot back.

“Maybe I will!” Dr. Fie said. “As usual, it falls to the pony of action to get things done! And they say the younger generation has all the promise and potential. Hmph!”

Dr. Fie made a show of ambling back into the room. Starlight and Stirring didn’t pay much attention to him. That is, until there was a popping sound, a blue flash of light, and Dr. Fie’s frightened scream.

“It’s alright, doctor. It’s just me,” came Hope’s voice from inside.

Starlight and Stirring hurried inside to find Hope standing in the middle of the room and Dr. Fie huddled under the small desk at the other end.

Dr. Fie crawled out and stood up. “Of course it is, dear girl. I always knew it. But any occasion is appropriate for testing one’s recollection of earthquake safety procedure. In such an earthquake-prone city as this, a constant reappraisal of one’s knowledge on the matter is practically a necessity.”

“Hope, where have you been?” Starlight asked.

“I had a lot of thinking to do. Then I got lost. It’s taken me a while just to find my way back to this part of town,” Hope said.

“You were gone a whole day,” Starlight said. “I didn’t think you’d even remember where Stirring said he’s reserved a room for us.”

“I didn’t,” Hope said. “So I found my way back to the restaurant and then just focused on teleporting to you. I figured Stirring would not take you to someplace too far away.”

“And did you come to a decision?” Starlight asked.

Hope nodded.

“Do you care to let us in on what you’ve decided?”

“Oh, stop badgering the poor girl, madam!” Dr. Fie said. “Can’t you see that she’s been through an ordeal?”

“It’s okay, doctor,” Hope said. “You’ll all have to find out about it eventually.”

The other three waited. After a moment, Hope spoke.

“I wish I could accept the Umbrum’s offer. I want to accept it, if it means that everypony I care about will be happy and safe. But… I can’t. I know what they’re like now. I’ve seen what they do. I can’t let them hurt any more ponies. I need to stop them.”

“How are we going to do that?” Starlight said.

“Not ‘we.’ I need to stop them. This isn’t your battle. Not for any of you.”

“Oh, don’t be foolish, child,” Dr. Fie said. “We aren’t going to let you go after those things alone!”

“Oh, really?” Hope asked. “Why should any of you want to help me? All of you have just been in this for your own reasons. The Umbrum were always mine to fight. They were never a concern for any of you.”

The three exchanged silent glances. Those words cut deep.

“What are you planning to do?” Starlight asked. “How can you stop them? You and I are two of the most powerful unicorns out there, and even we couldn’t stop them.”

“I once heard of a spell, back when I was looking for Sombra,” Hope said. “A spell that Starswirl the Bearded was working on, but which he never used for fear of the destruction it would cause. It’s supposed to create a magical explosion so powerful that no known creature could survive it. I’m hoping that includes the Umbrum.”

“I’ve heard about the spell too,” Starlight said. “But Hope, that takes a tremendous amount of energy to create and maintain.”

“I can do it,” Hope responded.

“Yes, I’m sure you can. But that’s not my point. The energy required will drain you. It will completely drain you. Even if you’re still alive after that, you won’t have any energy left to teleport out of there.” Starlight’s face became grim. “Hope, you’ll get yourself killed.”

Starlight knew Hope probably thought she was putting on another act, but her concern was genuine.

“I know,” Hope said. “And that’s for the best.”

“Hope, how can you say that?” Dr. Fie asked. His voice wasn’t the whiny high-pitched tone Starlight had come to expect whenever he was even mildly inconvenienced. No, he was genuinely upset.

Hope looked down, at the blue pouch which still hung around her neck. Starlight remembered the pouch and she remembered its contents. Hope put her hoof to the pouch and rubbed it gently. Even seeing another pony touch it sent a shiver down Starlight’s spine.

“I’ve tried to put my past behind me,” Hope said. “And today, earlier today, I thought I could. But then I met someone, an old friend. He reminded me that I can never escape what I did. I will always be the pony who orchestrated the Siege, the pony who helped release the Umbrum. I'll always be the mare who lost everything. And I’ll always be the one who took 1,036 lives.”

“Hope, no,” Dr. Fie said. “It doesn’t matter. The Siege doesn’t matter anymore.”

“He’s right,” Starlight said, nodding in agreement. “What matters is who you are now. You don’t need to keep trying to make up for your past.”

Starlight felt a tinge of something. What was it? Guilt? That was new. Since when did she feel guilty? And why were her own words cutting so deep?

“I’m not trying,” Hope said. “I’m just doing what needs to be done. Now, if only I could find a copy of this spell. Maybe if somepony could go to Canterlot, to the Starswirl wing of the Royal Library, and try to find it. You’d have to hurry.”

Starlight looked to Stirring nervously. She knew he might just tell Hope where else she could find Starlswirl’s spells. And Starlight did not want that, not if it meant Hope blowing herself up.

Funny. Starlight reflected. All this time looking for one of Starswirl’s most potent spells, and now I just wish I’d left them well enough alone.

To preempt Stirring, she said, “You know, Hope, none of us are going to get into the Royal Library of Canterlot. Believe me, I’ve tried. We’re all known fugitives, remember. If they caught us, they’d probably think we were going to assassinate the princesses or some nonsense like that.”

Note to self, Starlight thought, look into the feasibility of assassinating Twilight Sparkle once this is all over.

“Stirring’s not a fugitive,” Hope said. “He could go.”

“Actually,” Stirring said. “I might be one now. It seems my old boss got a hold of some letters between Starlight and I. By now, all of Equestria should know of my involvement with you. I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to table this ‘blowing yourself up’ idea.”

Starlight flashed Stirring a chiding look. But, truth be told, she was glad he had brought up that instead of the other thing. Starlight hoped that he had fallen in line behind her example.

“However, there are a bunch of spells at the Empress of Equestria for the Starswirl Exhibit’s grand opening tonight,” Stirring said. “You could try looking there.”

Starlight facehoofed. “Not helping,” she snapped.

“I think she has a point, ma’am,” Stirring said. “She made this mess with the Umbrum. She should be the one to clean it up.”

“See, he understands,” Hope said.

“We owe her nothing,” Stirring said. You said it yourself, ma’am. This was always just an arrangement, not a friendship.”

“Like he said, it doesn’t matter to you, Starlight, what I do with my life,” Hope said. “You always were just trying to use me, after all.”

Starlight’s mouth opened, either to offer a protest or simply as a reaction. Even she couldn’t be sure which.

Hope raised her hoof. “No, no, it’s okay, I don’t blame you. I was using you too.”

“Yes, Hope, I was trying to use you,” Starlight said, trying to use her words carefully. “I have been this whole time. But that doesn’t mean I want you to blow yourself up!”

“But I know that I can,” Hope said. “Because I know I won’t be missed. You won’t miss me, Starlight. I was always just a vehicle for your Equalist message. I’m sure you’ll find some other way to spread it. Who knows, maybe the tragic death of Princess Hope at the hooves of the Royal Sisters’ assassins will do more for your cause than I ever could.”

“That’s a good one!” Stirring said. “I’m going to use that. I can already see the Liberation News’ next headline: Rightful Princess Dies In Explosion; But The Cause Lives On!”

“Quiet, Stirring!” Starlight practically shouted.

“You were right, Starlight,” Hope said. “Friends always do end up leaving you, one way or another. You are all my friends, the first friends I’ve had in a thousand year. And I know, once I’m no longer useful to me, you’ll go. You’ll leave me or betray me or let me down, like Sombra did. I can’t go through that again. I can’t lose all of you. Better for me to just end it like this.”

“What are you talking about, dear girl?” Dr. Fie said. “I’d never discard you. It’s you and me together, comrades-in-arms, through thick and thin!”

Hope let out a sad little laugh. “Same old Dr. Fie. I know you’d like to think that. But I know you. I know what you’re like, and the moment that’s it’s to your advantage, you’d happily get rid of me.”

“Hope, you can’t seriously think—”

Hope put her hoof on Dr. Fie’s cheek. “It’s okay, doctor. I’m not mad at you for it. I wasn’t mad after you did it up north and I’m not mad now. I accept that that is just who you are. I accept all of you. My mistake was not accepting who Sombra told me he was. I expected him to be better. I don’t expect anything from you.”

“Hope….” Dr. Fie said weakly. He could not even return her gaze.

Starlight, meanwhile, was deep in thought. She was feeling guilty again. It was an awful emotion. Starlight didn’t know how happy she was before she could feel it. But now she could, and she understood what it was telling her.

“She’s right,” Starlight said. “We all have been using her, just like she’s been using us. Who’s to say that any of us wouldn’t betray her if it came down to it?”

Hope nodded. “Thank you, Starlight. You understand.”

“I wish I didn’t,” Starlight said. “But I do. We’re a poor substitute for what you lost in the Crystal Empire. We can’t give you a reason to live. You say you accept us for what we are. I guess we have to accept you, which also means accepting your choice.”

The words were surprisingly hard to get out. Starlight nearly choked on them. And she had never choked on words before.

But Hope seemed relieved. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m not afraid. Really, I’m not. This is for the best. Maybe, this way, something good will finally come out of my life.”

Starlight wanted to argue still, but she knew the time for arguing was past.

“Besides the spell, what do you need?” she asked, her voice solemn.

“I need to find their lair,” Hope answered. “Invidia said they had gone somewhere full of dark energy.”

“Well, you and Dr. Fie can focus on working that out,” Starlight said. “Stirring and I will head over to the Empress of Equestria. We’ll get your spell. There’s a little something we need to pick up there anyway.”

Hope’s eyes widened with a mixture of understanding and dread. “Wait, Lailoken said that the Empress of Equestria was filled with dark energy! That must be where the Umbrum are! We need to get there now! Oh, I hope we’re not too late!”

“Who’s Lailoken?” Starlight asked. “Hope, who have you been talking to?”

Starlight did not get her answer. Before she knew it, she saw Hope’s horn began to glow. Starlight braced herself. This was happening now and she had to be ready for what she would face. But then, Colonel Aster’s daughter had been born ready.

Then why do I feel so afraid? Is this fear for me... or for Hope?”

In a flash, all four ponies were gone.

---

The next hour was a long series of flashes, first from Hope and then from Starlight, as the quartet tried to reach the Empress of Equestria on the waterfront at the other side of town. Had Hope and Starlight not both been skilled magic users, they never would have made it. But, fortunately, they were. And, fortunately, they did.

Or perhaps unfortunately, depending on your perspective.

The Empress was now towering above them. Her name was apt. The dark hull of the ship was an imposing and imperious presence, probably longer than most streets and taller than most buildings in this city. The lights coming from high above made it almost seem as though a golden halo crowning her as monarch of the ocean, and the red smokestacks that rose high upon her seemed like the spokes of her radiant crown. She was the very image of majesty and grandeur. Once, the Empress had ruled the waves. Now she lorded it over the city of Las Pegasus, holding court in the bay, receiving homage from her new subjects, the ponies who came to spend a few nights in this lap of luxury.

But, for Hope, the mighty ocean liner in the dead of night was less a high queen and more a grey ghost. Though there were those lights, they here high above and could hardly illuminate the entirety of the vessel’s bulk. It was a black silhouette upon a black sky and a black sea.

No wonder the Umbrum had chosen such a place for their lair.

“Okay, so we’ll teleport aboard,” Starlight said. “Stirring and I will go for the scrolls. What will you do, Hope?”

“I have to find Lailoken,” Hope said.

“Again, who’s Lailoken?”

“Remember the pony who was following us? The one who kept saying he was Starswirl?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s him. Turns out he’s an old friend of mine. I cured him today.”

Starlight gave Hope a ‘you have got to be kidding me’ sort of look. “He’s an old friend. And yet you never recognized him?”

“A pony can change a lot in a thousand years,” Hope said. “It ages you.”

Starlight looked Hope over. “So, what did you look like when you went into the Umbrum’s prison, a foal?”

“I was in the Prison of Shadows. It kept me young.”

“Too bad the Umbrum are still there,” Starlight said. “We could make it into a prime vacation spot. Lots of ponies would pay through the snout to stay as young as you have.”

“Some ponies don’t need money to look young, madam,” Dr. Fie said. “It comes naturally.”

“Those ponies aren’t you, doctor,” Starlight responded. “But Hope, if you could cure this pony you knew before, why didn't you ever try it. You knew he was mad.”

“My magic didn’t work on him before. I thought he must be faking it. Turns out, no, it was Umbric magic. I just wasn’t powerful enough to cure it then.”

“Then how do you think you’ll ever be able to stop the Umbrum now?”

“I said I wasn’t powerful enough then; I’ll have no problem now.”

As Hope saw it, she was just stating a fact. But the answer seemed to unnerve Starlight all the same.

“What’s that, up there?” Dr. Fie said, pointing to the bow of the ship.

There was a pony up there; that much was sure. But little else could be made out in the darkness. The pony seemed frantic, galloping here and there, almost as though he was in a panic. He seemed to be flailing his forelegs wildly. Was he upset? Or was he trying to fight something off?

“I can’t make out what’s going on!” Hope said.

“I think I can help with that,” Starlight said. Her horn glowed, projecting a square. The square worked like a looking glass, magnifying the scene happening far above.

“That’s Lailoken!” Hope said in dismay.

Indeed, it was. The old pony was at the bow now, waving and flailing his forelegs more rapidly and uncontrollably than before.

“I thought you said you cured him,” Starlight said.

“He’s not going mad,” Hope said. “Look!”

Just visible against the darkened sky were what looked like wisps of smoke. Wisps green, blue, and purple. Every now and then, a face became visible from among the smoke, and every so often a pair of hooves. The hooves clawed at Lailoken.

Dr. Fie squeaked. “They weren’t joking when they said this boat was haunted! No good ever comes from dealing with spirits! Oh, dear me, dear me!”

“Those aren’t ghosts, doctor,” Hope said. “Those are Umbrum.”

“Oh, like that makes it so very much better,” the doctor replied.

“We have to get up there and help him!” Hope said. “We can’t let them hurt him!”

Her horn began to glow.

---

Lailoken held up his forelegs in front of his face, vainly trying to ward off the Umbrum's blows. He knew it was in vain. He knew it would make no difference. He did not even know why he cared. He knew he would die today. He knew he should have been prepared for it. He should have been able to just accept it and die with dignity. It was his destiny, after all.

But the survival instinct never much seemed to care what destiny said.

The Umbrum, for their part, were not even really injuring him. They were poking at him, mostly. Just taunting him. Just having fun. Their fiendish squeals of amusement filled the still night air.

Misericordia was the only one not joining in. He just circled around above them. "Why are we doing this?" he said. "Leave the pony alone. He means nothing to us."

"But he has been following us since Seaddle," said Luxuria. She gave Lailoken a particularly sharp poke. "If he wants to play with us, we should play."

"Perhaps he has a point,” Invidia said. “This plaything will only be satisfying for so long. Maybe we should bring this game to a satisfying conclusion."

Invidia now clawed mightily at Lailoken, tearing into his forelegs and forcing him back further and further toward the bow.

"Empress Hope would not like what we are doing to him," Misericordia scolded.

"Empress Hope doesn't matter now, does she?" said Luxuria. "She's not our Empress now."

The Umbrum continued to prod Lailoken until his tail brushed the railing to one side of the bow.

"I still say we should stop," Misericordia said.

They did not stop.

"This pony isn't worth it," he said.

"Oh, you were always such a spoil-sport, Invidia!" Luxuria responded. “Being a shadow pony can be so boring. Why don’t you join in the fun?”

“We Umbrum always did have a strange idea of fun,” Misericordia reflected.

But something down below caught Invidia’s eye. He stopped with his attack for a moment. Lailoken, having been pushed against the railing, took a moment to grab hold of it and steady himself. He tried to catch his breath. Indeed, strange as it may seem, he felt a sense of relief, for when the purple shadow pony ceased, so too did his compatriot, and Lailoken began to hope, however irrationally, that he would escape this alive.

’Hope springs eternal’ and all that.

But the hope was gone as soon as Invidia led out a fiendish, howling cackle. His toothy smile, already a fright to behold, grew larger, toothier, and more frightful.

“Attention, loyal subjects,” he said in a mocking tone. “Our great and beloved Empress has arrived. And looks like she brought friends.”

“More fun for us, then,” Luxuria said. “I hope they’re cute. I love watching the cute ones die.”

“Well, I guess you have no more use for me,” Lailoken said. “You’re going to be awfully busy, so why don’t I show myself out?’

Invidia once more fixed his eyes on Lailoken, the small white eyes whose gaze alone filled him with dread. The smile widened to reveal even more teeth than Lailoken thought any creature should have. Invidia raised a hoof, the front of which seemed gnarled and misshapen enough to actually be sharp like a blade.

“Oh, no, you don’t know how useful you still are,” Invidia said. “We want to send a message to our dear Empress Hope. And you’re just the pony for the job.”

Lailoken felt his heart explode. The Umbrum had pierced his chest. In India’s sharped hoof had torn through Lailoken’s skin like it was tissue. And now, the darkness seemed to become even darker.

Invidia drew his hoof back. Lailoken tumbled backwards over the railing.

---

The four ponies struggled to see what was going on. Though the Umbrum high above did not engage them, they acted as though they were aware of their presence. The Umbrum kept flying up and down, circling and whirling this way and that, blocking the ponies' view of the upper decks of the ship.

Hope bobbed her head this way and that and squinted her eyes. But she could not see what was happening to Lailoken She was ready to teleport, but she could not even make out an area to shoot for, let alone what awaited her once she made the jump.

Guess I'm going in blind, she thought as her horn began to glow again.

And then she saw him. She saw Lailoken as he plummeted toward the icy waters below. It was too late.

“No!” Hope screamed.

"I can still save him," Starlight said. She gritted her teeth as turquoise light emerged from the horn on her head. It enveloped Lailoken and stopped his descent.

“Now, just to guide him gently over to—”

Starlight did not get to finish the sentence. Stirring pushed her to the ground. Dr. Fie, meanwhile, grabbed onto Hope and pulled her backward onto the pavement. In the nick of time, too, for one of the Umbrum, a purple one, had broken away from the others and had swooped down over them. A split second later, and they might have been sent flying across the parking lot.

Stirring’s action, noble as it was, caused Starlight to break concentration. Lailoken was released and fell headlong into the black ocean. Invidia chuckled at his handiwork.

Hope’s eyes were wide as she tried to run for the side of the pier. But Invidia landed in her path.

“It is an honor to welcome you to our home, Empress,” he said. “Kind of fitting, don’t you think? It was always our ambition that you would be Empress of Equestria, at Sombra’s side.”

“That wasn’t what you wanted,” Hope said. “That was what Sombra wanted. You would have gotten rid of me as soon as I released you if not for him.”

“We’d never do that to you, Hope, not after you sacrificed so much to set us free,” Invidia said. “What we wanted to do to you was worse by far. Mere death is no proper payback for having to listen to your mindless babbling for a thousand years almost nonstop!”

Hope teleported to the edge, but Invidia simply swooped down in front of her again.

“Now, Hope, that’s not very nice. An Empress should have better manners.”

Hope looked around for another way to get to Lailoken. Then she saw Starlight, sneaking behind Invidia. Starlight put a hoof to her mouth, a signal for silence. Hope understood. She looked straight at Invidia, giving no hint that another mare was behind him.

“You said if I agreed to your proposal, you wouldn’t hurt any of my friends,” Hope said.

“I didn’t think he was your friend,” Invidia responded with mock-innocence. “Not with the way he acted around you.”

“He was my friend,” Hope said. “You had no right to hurt him.”

Starlight’s horn glowed. From out of the ocean, Lailoken arose. But his body did not look like the body of a living pony. It looked broken, deformed, lifeless.

Starlight flashed Hope a sad look and then began to carefully carry Lailoken out of Invidia’s reach.

“He was annoying,” Invidia said. “And he jabbered about us too much. We would have let him live anyway, but he showed up here, and it was just too much of a temptation to resist. You must know what that’s like, Hope.”

“But our agreement—”

“We have no agreement,” Invidia said. “Not until you actually accept our terms. Which you haven’t yet.”

“Why do you think I’m here?” Hope asked.

“With these other ponies around, I thought you had some ridiculous notion that you could defeat us through the magic of friendship,” Invidia said with a sneer. It was probably a sneer. Hard to tell with the Umbrum.

Hope grit her teeth. “They’re just here to say goodbye. They’ll leave when I enter the ship.”

“How touching,” Invidia said. “Holding onto those personal relationships to the last. Even though you always pick ponies that are so unworthy of your trust.”

“It’s a bad habit, isn’t it?” Hope said. “Guess it was going to be the death of me eventually.”

“I’m glad you are able to face your impending doom with such good humor,” Invidia said. “It is a show of dignity befitting an Empress. When you are ready, come to the boiler room. There, your loyal subjects shall be awaiting your arrival."

Invidia paused to briefly look back at the decks of the ship, which were now clear.

"The others have already gone down," he observed. "They're just waiting on the two of us."

With a fiendish cackle, Invidia flew into the night air. In a moment, he had disappeared around the topmost deck of the ship. Hope did not wait to make sure he was gone. She ran over to where Lailoken was. Starlight, Stirring, and Dr. Fie were already crouching over him, looking for signs of life.

“How is he?” Hope asked.

“I’m sorry, dear girl, but I can’t resuscitate him,” Dr. Fie said.

“I could tell as soon as I fished him out of the water,” Starlight said.

“There’s something strange, though,” Dr. Fie said. “What the umbrum did to him was more than enough to spell his end. Just look at the size of the hole they tore in his chest!”

Hope's felt a pang of anguish as Dr. Fie waved his hoof over Lailoken's torn-up chest.

“Doctor, please,” Starlight said.

Dr. Fie nodded. “Yes, quite right. They didn’t need to push him over the side. But there is damage from the impact. Even with Starlight’s admittedly mediocre attempts to stop his fall, that should certainly have been enough to—”

“Doctor, we get the picture,” Starlight responded.

“But there’s also signs of drowning!” Dr. Fie said. “That’s the strange thing! In my professional opinion, he did not actually die until he was in the water.”

Realization came to Hope. Cold, comfortless realization. “He said he would die three times,” she said quietly. “This is what he meant.”

“Hope, I’m sorry,” Starlight said.

“I couldn’t save him,” Hope said. “I wanted to save him, but I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me.”

“Can you bring him back to life, maybe?” Stirring said.

“No,” Hope responded. “You know that.”

“But are you sure?” Starlight said. “You’ve told me that, but how do you know? Maybe if you just—”

“Because I’ve tried!” Hope yelled. "I've tried with everyone! It never worked!"

It was the first time any of the three other ponies had heard Radiant Hope yell. They had heard her get angry, sure, and they had heard her raise her voice to an extent. But they had never heard her yell.

Starlight spoke first. “Who… was it?”

“My parents, when I first got my powers.”

“How did it go?”

“How do you think it went,” Hope snapped.

“Best not get into that one, dear lady,” Dr. Fie said to Starlight. “Wait, I feel something.”

Dr. Fie put his hoof to Lailoken’s wrist. “There’s a pulse! There’s still a pulse! It’s a weak one, but it’s there. Hope, he’s alive! He's fading fast, but he's alive! We can still save him!”

Hope felt her namesake emotion welling up inside her. “Doctor, you perform CPR. It’ll take some of the pressure off me and make it easier to heal him.”

“Try not to enjoy it too much,” Starlight said to Dr. Fie.

“Ho-hum, madam!” Dr. Fie answered. He then looked down at Lailoken’s chest, covered in blood, and then to his own hooves. “But do I really have to? Will it really do any good?”

“Just do it,” Starlight commanded.

Dr. Fie began applying pressure, carefully trying to avoid as much blood as he could. Simultaneously, Hope began to send blue light into Lailoken’s body. The light engulfed the pony and made the blue of his coat seem extra-vivid. If this worked, it would be the second time in one day she had healed him. And it had to work.

It seemed almost as difficult as when Hope had cured his madness. Maybe more so. He should be dead thrice by now. Hope had never had to work on a pony so drained of life. He felt so empty inside. But, as Dr. Fie continued to administer CPR, Hope felt things becoming easier. Less energy was needed. But she did not dare decrease the flow. There was too wide a margin of error and this was too important.

“It’s not working!” Hope heard Stirring Words shout, only to be shushed by Starlight.

But she knew it was true. She could feel Lailoken slipping away. He was dying, and she could not stop it. Time was almost up.

Hope closed her eyes. She saw the faces of all the ponies she had lost, all the ponies who had lost their lives because of her. She grit her teeth. She would not lose another one. Not one more.

Dr. Fie jumped back. Both Starlight and Stirring’s jaws dropped. The blue light enveloping Lailoken had become green. And then purple. Then red, and finally a shade of yellowish-orange.

Hope felt the magic rippling through her body. Even Sombra’s dark magic, which still coursed through her due to her proximity to his horn, was nothing like it. It was like every inch of her body was sparking with electricity and fire. She kept her eyes closed, but the faces disappeared, as did the darkness they arose from. Now, Radiant Hope saw nothing but light.

Finally, Hope heard Dr. Fie say, “I think you can stop now, child. He’s reviving.”

Hope opened her eyes. The magic vanished.

She fell, exhausted, to the ground. Hope didn’t know how long she remained there, slowly recovering herself. Finally, Dr. Fie helped her into a sitting position. Lailoken was also sitting up, staring directly at her.

Somewhere, in the distance, a clock chimed twelve times.

“‘We have heard the chimes at midnight,’” Dr. Fie remarked.

“The day is over, and you didn’t die,” Hope said.

“You… you saved me. Again,” Lailoken said. “Why would you do that? After everything I said about you?”

“We were friends once,” Hope said. “I don’t give up on my friends. In case you haven’t heard, that’s sort-of gotten me into a lot of trouble.”

Lailoken rubbed his chest and the other parts of his body which had sustained injury. “For once, I’m glad you don’t give up on friends. Maybe I was wrong about you, Hope. Maybe destiny isn’t fixed. Maybe ponies can change.”

Looking back at the ocean liner, at that majestic, yet melancholy ship, Hope said, “Mine is.”

“I spent so long thinking I was going to die today,” Lailoken said. “I don’t even know what to do with my life now. I don’t even know how long I have left.”

“What does it even matter, dear boy?” Dr. Fie said. “‘Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and’….” Dr. Fie grimaced at the faux pas he had nearly made. “Well, something like that.”

“Why do you call me ‘dear boy’?” Lailoken asked. “I’m a thousand years older than you and I look it!”

“But I’m a thousand years wiser,” Dr. Fie responded with a cheeky smile.

“But seriously, what do I do now?” Lailoken said.

“Live,” Hope said. Both her gaze and her voice had become distant. “Live, for however long you have left. I don’t know how much that is, but you should make the most of it. It’s all you can do.”

“Somepony should take her own advice,” Starlight observed.

“Do it for all of us who can’t,” Hope said.

Lailoken’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, Hope?”

“Don’t you know? With that gift of prophecy?”

“It’s gone now, ever since you cured me. I can’t even remember most of the things I predicted.”

Hope looked down. “That’s a shame. Let’s just say that the Umbrum won’t be hurting anypony ever again.”

In a flash of blue light, she was gone.

“Hope!” Dr. Fie and Starlight called together.

"Wait, Hope!" Lailoken called out. "I have something to tell you!"

“We can’t let her go in there alone!” Dr. Fie said.

“She’s made her choice,” Starlight responded. “And I guess she doesn’t like goodbyes.”

Dr. Fie fidgeted and began stomping around. He was clearly very angry.

“No, no! I refuse to believe she’s gone!” he bellowed. “I will not leave her. Not like this! Not again!”

“Okay, doctor, okay,” Starlight said. “We still have to get on the ship. Stirring and I still have our spell to pick up.”

Dr. Fie looked surprisingly resolute. “Just take me there, madam. I will do the rest.”

Starlight nodded. She waved to Dr. Fie and Stirring, signaling them over. They each took a few steps forward to get as close to her as they need to be. Starlight’s horn glowed turquoise. In an instant, they too were gone.

Lailoken was left alone, just sitting there.

"Wait!" he called out in vain. “Should I stay here or should I leave? I don’t even know where to go!”

There was, predictably, no answer.

“Well, could somepony at least tell me how I’m supposed to begin a new life after a thousand years of madness? Like, is there an orientation meeting for modern Equestria or something?”

Lailoken got to his hooves. He took a worried look at his surroundings. “Then again, sitting in a dark and empty parking lot soaking wet is probably not the best place to start,” he said. He turned his gaze upward. Across from the dark, foreboding ship were the reassuring lights of the city of Las Pegasus.

Lailoken broke into a gallop. He knew where he was going first. After a thousand years of darkness, he wanted nothing more than to spend time among those lights.

---

What awaited our heroes inside the Empress of Equestria?

Read on.