A Glimmer of Hope

by Gordon Pasha

Incurable

The faces peered out once more from the darkness. Their features, once so beautiful and sweet, had been misshapen until every one of them had taken on a gaunt, ghoul-like visage. They reached out to her, their limbs seeming to end not in hooves, but in daggers. Were they reaching out for help? Or did they want to drag her down with them?

Hope opened her eyes. She stood before the doors of the psychiatric ward. She had not managed to steel herself for going inside. But she knew she had to, and that the longer she waited, the more difficult it would actually be.

Hope lit up the touchpad on the impressive-looking electronic lock beside the doors. Recognizing her magic signature, it beeped. The doors slowly opened. Hope stepped inside.

It wasn’t the atmosphere of the place that bothered Hope. How could it, when this was probably the nicest part of Seaddle Specialist? It was even more clean and well-lit than the rest of the hospital. Each “patient” enjoyed a private room — not something the patients with physical injuries could boast — and these rooms were probably larger than any other place in the hospital, save Dr. Fie’s study.

Nor was it the thought of being among the insane. For, even if she could still care about that, Hope had never to her knowledge come across anypony who was actually insane down here.

Hope was certain her magic could cure any insanity, but she never had much recourse to use it. The ponies that lived in these cells were obviously not insane. And that was what bothered her. As she walked by the cells, Hope could feel eyes on her from some of the little windows left open on the doors. She heard catcalls and rude remarks as she passed by. And even when she did not, there was a certain air of smugness that pervaded the whole area.

The ponies in these cells had reason to be smug. They had beaten a system that should have put them in a very different place. Most of them were criminals. Criminals with money. Money that could be used to bribe a mental health professional into returning a verdict of insanity that would guarantee an easy existence in a fine establishment such as Seaddle Specialist.

Dr. Fie often liked to point out the mental health Ph.D. on the wall of his study….

This was what gave the place its nickname of the “incurables’ ward.” The vast majority of the ponies in here would never be cured because they did not want to be. It was just as well that Seaddle Specialist had nothing in the way of psychiatric treatments, because nopony down here actually needed to be treated. None of them may have particularly wanted to live out their lives here, but they all knew it was the best kind of prison they could hope for. Because that is what it was, with its locks and guards and the censors who read all the mail. But it was the nicest prison you could find in all of Equestria.

Which is why it was so strange that a pony would check herself in for treatment here. It was usually Dr. Fie who recommended that ponies be transferred to his care. A pony with actual mental health issues would get nothing out of his “treatment.” So why come voluntarily? Hope did not know, but she figured that, if this pony was suffering from some mental illness, she could always make it better and save them a lifetime in solitary confinement.

Hope paused at one of the cells. She was not entirely sure why, but she always seemed to stop at this same cell and the same patient on the rare occasions she came down here.

Hope could not help herself. She opened the little window and looked through it at the unicorn beyond. He was a blue stallion, probably handsome enough in his day, but now considerably aged. His eyes were purple, his cutie mark was a staff, and his mane was all white. His white beard had grown long enough that it wrapped itself several times around his body and each of his limbs. It should have been cut by now, but apparently none of the regular orderlies had ever undertaken to do it. She had mentioned it to Dr. Fie, but still no action had been taken. And the patient certainly wasn’t going to do it himself. It played in too well to his claim that he was Starswirl the Bearded.

Of course, Hope didn’t believe this pony to be Starswirl. Starswirl was already a legend in her time. There was no way he’d end up at a place like the psychiatric ward of Seaddle Specialist a thousand years later. But something about him made her keep coming back. Something strange and yet somehow familiar.

Hope almost felt like she knew him. Or maybe it was just the fact that, of all the ponies in this place, he was the only one who seemed truly insane. Hope had tried her healing spell on his several times, without results, so he could not actually be insane. But he certainly played the part well.

Hope had hoped to get away before she was noticed, but it was not to be. The blue stallion had continued to stare off into space for a while, but his purple eyes suddenly locked onto Hope’s, sending a shiver down her spine.

She knew what would come next.

“Hope, Hope, Radiant Hope!” he said in a singsong voice. “No hope for us, whatever she’s called. Why she’s not in here with us, I’ll never know, and I’m Starswirl! Ha ha! Hope, such a poor name. All she does is let us down. But the day will come, yes, when the bird flies from the tree, when darkness engulfs light, when ships break apart at sea. On that day, ponies will have much to fear. Hope! No hope where there is fear. And there is always fear around Hope.”

Hope slammed the visor shut. She still could not explain to herself why she had opened it in the first place. All she had gained was a pronounced case of the shivers.

Hope tried to collect herself, only to hear frantic cries from the cell of, “Hope! Hope! Hope! Beware the fire, Hope! No pony should ever hope!”

Hope couldn’t stay here. She almost broke into a gallop as she sped down the corridor, trying to get the shouting as far behind her as she could. She knew the other orderlies would not pay it much mind – “Starswirl” was known to go into screaming fits of gibberish quite often – but she still could not bear it. She felt wounded deep inside.

Maybe there was some truth to what he said? Hope did not need to remind herself how painful it was to say things like “I’m Radiant Hope,” when she felt neither particularly radiant nor seemed capable of giving hope to anypony.

But Hope did not have much chance to dwell on these thoughts. For here was the cell where the new arrival would be staying. Hope entered it and sat down on a chair far too comfy to belong in a mental ward. In fact, the whole room looked more like what you’d find in a five-star hotel than in a hospital.

Hope tried to collect herself. She closed her eyes. The faces returned, but now they seemed almost benign in comparison to what she had just gone through. Hope took several deep breaths and began to feel herself becoming calm, calmer than she had felt all day.

I am ready to do this, she thought.

She did not have to wait long for the new patient to arrive. A set of orderlies guided the patient into the room and left Hope to her work. Hope had been getting the papers together on the clipboard and did not look until the door closed on the new arrival. When she did, she gasped.

“You’re not Aurora Gleam!” she said.

Hope’s first thought had been that this pony looked rather similar to herself, in so far as they were both lavender unicorns. The second had been that this pony was not who she said she was. Hope had never seen Aurora Gleam, but she was certain Aurora Gleam looked nothing like this. Not like this unicorn with that well-styled purple mane and tail which both had violent and turquoise streaks running the length of them. That bouffant hairdo had been old-fashioned in Hope’s day. There was that cutie mark, with its violet starburst and turquoise swirls. And then there were those indigo eyes, and the absolute smugness that pervaded them. Hope was used to smug looks down here, but these eyes took smugness and made it into an artform. No, this was not Aurora Gleam.

“You’re Starlight Glimmer,” Hope said.

Starlight Glimmer made herself comfortable on a chair directly opposite Hope. She didn’t endeavor to say anything, but just stared at Hope with those smug eyes and that sickeningly-contented grin.

“Welcome to Seaddle Specialist Hospital, Ms. Starlight Glimmer,” Hope said, trying to sound as professional as possible. “I’ve just got a few questions to go over with you so that we can determine how best to help you in the coming weeks and months.”

From Hope’s previous experience, this was the point where the new inmate would say something. As often as not, it would be insulting and would likely be meant to make the new arrival look tough. Inevitably, it was mostly hot air and just had to be plowed through. It never worried Hope much.

After all, all incurables had to be stripped of all but the most basic magic upon arrival and, even though her own specialty was healing, Hope’s magic was powerful enough that she could hold her own if the situation called for it.

But Starlight Glimmer did not respond. She did not say anything. She did not do anything other than fold her hooves in her lap.

“Okay,” Hope said. “Let’s start with the questions. Like why did you check yourself in here using an assumed name?”

Starlight did not answer.

“Right….” Hope said as she looked back down at the clipboard, her voice getting sharper. “I can probably figure that out on my own. You’re worried about the princesses finding you. But why come to a psychiatric ward? Dr. Fie’s notes say you’re suffering from severe anxiety and depression. That doesn’t sound like what I’ve heard of you. So what are you really doing here?”

Starlight did not answer. Hope stared at her, and she seemed fully content to stare back. All with that grin, as though she was aware of a joke that Hope was not and that awareness was what made it all so funny.

“Well, then,” Hope said quietly, “what about–”

“I never got my invitation,” Starlight said suddenly.

“What?” Hope said.

“Never got it, though I am sure it was merely a mix up. I’m sure you meant to send it to me all along but, well, things happen. You know who I am well enough, so you clearly must have done your research and had me in mind when you were putting it all together.”

“I don’t know what you’re–”

“That was you, wasn’t it? Gathering all those ne’er-do-wells to assault the Crystal Empire? Releasing the Umbrum? Blowing up the Crystal Palace? They did say a crystal pony was the architect of the Siege.”

Hope felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. The severe shivers returned, now accompanied by sweat. Hope tried to look at some of the notes Dr. Fie had written for her, but her vision had gone blurry.

She began to stutter out “I…. I’m….” But that was all she could manage.

“You’re Radiant Hope, aren’t you?” Starlight said, her voice sickeningly-sweet. All the more sickening considering that Hope could sense that it was a false sweetness.

“How do you know my name?” Hope responded. And then she realized that she should not have said that.

“I have my sources,” Starlight said. “I still would not have believed a crystal pony would turn against her own homeland like that. But here you are.”

Hope did not respond.

“I’m not judging you,” Starlight said. “I’ve always found the crystal ponies to be a little too… ostentatious. How are we ever supposed to achieve true equality when their pretty crystal bodies so clearly set them apart and inspire jealousy? So you can go ahead and betray them all your heart desires.”

Hope still did not response. She would not let herself respond. But she must have given something away, because Starlight’s smile grew wider.

“Nice work on that, by the way. Too bad it fell through in the end, but don’t they always?”

Hope turned her head. She could not look Starlight in the eyes.

“So, what was it you were trying to achieve, anyway?” Starlight said. “Nopony’s ever been able to quite explain that to me. My guess is you must have had some noble purpose or other, something righteous and grand. You look too innocent for it to have been anything else. Am I right, or are you just one of those wealth-and-power sort of girls?”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Hope finally managed to choke out.

Starlight shook her head. “My, my, is that any way for a nurse at this fine hospital to speak to a poor, deluded, patient?” Every word was purposefully exaggerated and dripping with irony.

Hope did not see fit to dignify these words with an answer. Starlight seemed to sense she had hit a brick wall, because when she spoke again, her voice was softer. Almost like she was offering sympathy. But the words themselves were still cutting.

“You’re getting awfully worked up about this. Haven’t you had to answer these sorts of questions before? Oh, unless…. Nobody knows, do they? You’ve really managed to stay here all this time without somepony once recognizing you?”

Hope twitched a little. An uncomfortable little movement – or maybe more than that. Enough, she feared, to let Starlight know she was getting to her.

“Then again, the news never did mention who orchestrated the Siege,” Starlight continued. “They seemed to think Sombra restored himself and brought the Crystal Empire to its knees on his own. I suppose, unless you’re from the Crystal Empire, you would never know the true story. But you’re probably wondering how I know who you are.”

Hope was, but she had no intention of showing it.

“Well, after Princess Twilight launched her little coup and forced me out of my town and community, I had some time to go… traveling. I ended up in the Crystal Empire at one point, and everypony there was talking about the Siege and the crystal pony who had caused so much mayhem, the crystal pony who had betrayed them all.”

Hope could not help herself. At the thought of what she had done, she let out a sob. And then another. And then, it was like a dam had burst.

Starlight looked around the room. There was a box of tissues on the little mantle at the far end. She levitated them toward her. One tissue came out of the box and floated toward Hope.

“Oh, please stop that,” Starlight said. “I don’t think that much water is used to irrigate the hanging gardens of Nagylon. And I’ve seen them.”

Hope did not take the tissue.

Starlight put down the box and the tissue and stood up. “Well, if this is going to take a while, I might as well put on some tea. Tea will cheer you up. It always works for me, and we’re so much alike. I’m sure we’re going to be fast friends.”

Hope’s eyes, wet with crystalline tears, locked with Starlight’s.

“I am nothing like you….” Hope said.

Starlight leaned on her chair so that her face was level with Hope’s. “Oh, really? Then, tell me, Hope — if I may call you Hope. I’m sure I can; we’re already practically best buddies. Tell me, how many ponies died in the Siege?”

Hope buried her head in her hooves.

Starlight nodded and stood back up. She went over and began to look through the few cupboards that had been provided her.

“You and me, we’re not that different,” she said. “Clever, calculating — some ponies might say ‘scheming’ but that has such a nasty ring, doesn’t it? Yes, ‘calculating’ sounds much better. We’re the ponies that know what needs to be done and we do it. We don’t quibble about moral niceties and the little things like honesty and kindness. We see the big picture. And this world needs more ponies like us, ponies that see the big picture. Who else is going to save the other ponies from themselves?”

“Ponies like us don’t save anyone,” Hope said, wiping her tears with her hoof.

“Why do you say that? What is it that you’re fighting for?” Starlight asked. “You already know what I fight for. But I suppose we’re both fighting for the same thing. We’re fighting for the greater good. Where in Equestria is that teapot?”

“You have to page the orderlies to bring you tea,” Hope said. “They don’t put any sort of cooking implements in the rooms. They’re afraid some of the patients might use them to start fires.”

“Well, nice to see that this hospital takes the threat of teapots seriously,” Starlight said with a grimace. “With the money I had to pay for this place, I should at least get to make my own tea!”

“How did you afford it?” Hope asked. “Your family doesn’t have money any more. It hasn’t been wealthy for a few generations.”

Starlight spun around, her smile incredibly wide and almost serpentine. “My, you did do your research.”

Hope bit her lip.

Starlight approached, almost like a timberwolf stalking prey. She sat down once more.

“My mother’s family has no wealth, it’s true. I still have what I inherited from my father. Oh, and I found out that great-great-uncle of mine was something of an eccentric. He didn’t trust banks and hid his share of the family fortune in a wall in the basement of his old mansion. The place has been a ruin since before I was born, but while I was traveling, I felt a certain desire — nostalgia or homesickness, I guess — to see what was left. I found the basement untouched and, after tearing through a few walls, I found his wealth. That’s how I was able to pay the… the ‘donation’ that got me into this place.”

A blue glow surrounded Hope’s pen as it began to write.

“You’re not writing that down, are you?” Starlight said.

“I have to write something, or Dr. Fie will want to know why I didn’t.”

Actually, Hope was quickly jotting down a summary of who Starlight Glimmer was for Dr. Fie’s benefit. If he knew the type of pony he was harboring, he might inform the authorities.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t do any harm. I’m sure your doctor has already figured out that I must have money stored away. He was the one I had to pay, after all. And he doesn’t know where I’ve hidden it now. But I might be willing to share some with some other pony, one I considered a friend….”

“I don’t want any of your money,” Hope said..

“No, of course not,” Starlight said, sounding a little disappointed. “I didn’t mean to suggest it. I was merely saying how generous I can be to those who stand with me. But now, I’ve shared some deeply personal information with you. Why don’t you do the same with me?”

Hope bolted up. “I think I got everything I need,” she said.

“Well, if you need anything else,” Starlight said, “feel free to stop by. I’m not going anywhere.”

As Hope opened the door, Starlight added, “Even if you just need to talk. I’m a very good listener.”

Hope slammed the door on her way out.

---

Starlight nodded to herself. It hadn’t been a smooth experience, but all in all, not bad. Starlight felt a twinge of worry about Hope guessing her true identity so quickly. But she reassured herself that Hope would not share it with anypony and risk outing herself in turn. And if Starlight’s summation of Dr. Fie was correct, he wouldn’t say or do anything as long as he was still getting paid.

Starlight rose from her chair.

“But seriously,” she said to herself, “no teapots? I hate when somepony else tries to make me tea. They never do it right. I suppose they’ve at least left me a quill and paper, unless they expect me to origami the sheets into a knife or something.”

There was a quill on the small writing desk near the bed, and Starlight could found some paper in one of the cupboards. She sat down and began to write:

“Dearest brother,

“Your most recent letter has not been lost. I was going to reply, but then too much happened. You’ll please believe your own dear sister, who apologizes for the pain I’ve caused since we’ve last met. I have acted poorly, the fact is clear as crystal. “Now be a better pony,” you say. Truth is radiant. I shall try. I hope only that you shall not lose your faith in my reformation.”

Starlight looked up and rubbed her eyes. “This drivel gets harder to write each time,” she said.

---

The last rays of sun were disappearing behind the mountains. There was a hazy pink band above them that separated Celestia’s day and Luna’s night. And the view of it through the large windows in Doctor Fie’s study was marvelous.

But Doctor Fie was not enjoying it. He wasn’t even witnessing it. Rather, in a large arm-chair beside a roaring fire, he was fast asleep. A bottle of wine on the little table beside him, now half-finished, had no doubt been the culprit.

And then the door slammed open.

“Dr. Fie! Dr. Fie!” came the panicked voice.

Dr. Fie jumped up, nearly spilling the glass of wine sitting on the arm of his chair. “No, sir, I have no idea how the zebras got prototypes of our new weaponry! Please believe me, General!”

“Dr. Fie, it’s me!” Hope said as she came up beside him.

Dr. Fie stared blankly at her for a moment before shaking his head. “Oh, yes, Hope. Forgive me. I had been resting my eyes from the paperwork when the wings of slumber carried me off. But only for a moment.”

“Umm-hmm,” Hope said, eyeing the glass of wine and the half-empty bottle nearby. “I thought you didn’t approve of drinking while on duty.”

“Ah, but this wine is strictly medicinal, I assure you,” said the doctor. “I take it for my bad back. But never more than the smallest amount necessary. Fiddly Fie is the very soul of moderation.”

Hope did not press the point. Instead, she hovered the clipboard over to Dr. Fie’s desk and dropped it. It made quite a noise.

“Did you finish processing the new arrival? Of course you did. Why else would you be here?”

Dr. Fie walked over to the desk and looked at the clipboard. “Hmm. What’s all this?”

“Do you know who she is?” Hope asked.

“Aurora Gleam, I think she said her name was,” Dr. Fie answered while reading through Hope’s hastily-scrawled note.

“That’s not her name,” Hope said. “Her real name is—“

“Starlight Glimmer?” Dr. Fie asked.

Hope nodded frantically. “Starlight Glimmer. That’s her. Do you know who that is?”

“Sounds like one of those pop stars the kids are so obsessed with these days. They're always going on about Sapphire Shores and Countess Coloratura and ponies like that.” Dr. Fie rolled his eyes. “Oh, how I long for the days when ponies knew what real music was!”

“Starlight Glimmer is a criminal!”

“No, no, she’s not. She’s not one of the ones I ruled criminally insane. She checked herself in, remember?”

Hope was only growing more upset. “That’s not what I meant! Listen, do you remember a while ago, when Princess Twilight and her friends went to a small town at the edge of Equestria and lost their cutie marks?”

“Oh, that,” Dr. Fie said with an amused smile. “That was a mere rumor! Too utterly fantastic to be true!”

“But it was true! That was Starlight Glimmer. She was never apprehended. And now she’s here!”

Dr. Fie shook leaned against his desk and folded his forelegs. “How would you know any of this, dear girl? You weren’t even there.”

Hope looked down at her hooves. She did not want Dr. Fie to see the shame in her eyes. “I’ve... I’ve done some research on her before. Besides, she didn’t deny it. She even tried to bribe me. She said she had a fortune hidden somewhere and that she would share it with her friends.”

“A fortune, you say? Well, I knew she had money, but I didn’t dream it was that much.”

“I refused, doctor.”

“Why, yes, of course you did, dear child. I would expect nothing less.”

Dr. Fie turned away, but Hope thought she could still see the edges of his mouth curl upward slightly and his eyes light up with something like glee.

“Tell me, did she happen to mention where this fortune was hidden?”

“I wouldn’t let her.”

“Pity. Perhaps you could go back down there and get her to divulge the location? Purely for scientific purposes, of course. We can learn so much about what ails these poor lunatics from the type of places where they hide their trinkets, hmm.”

“But doctor, you should inform the authorities. The princesses will be looking for her!”

Dr. Fie waved his hoof. “Yes, yes. I’m sure there’ll be time for all that later. Anypony who does the sorts of things to our princesses as you claim this Starlight Glimmer has will be punished in due course, mark my words on that.”

Hope felt her eyes grow itchy, perhaps from crying earlier, perhaps from the long and difficult day. She did not know, but she levitated a tissue from the nearby tissue box and began to wipe them. Apparently, Dr. Fie saw her do so.

“Hope, dear girl, is anything the matter?” he asked, his voice once more filled with concern. “You’ve been acting strangely all day. Have a chocolate. Maybe it will make you feel better.”

Hope threw away the tissue. On a drawer, near the tissue box, was an incredibly large assortment of sweets, of all sorts, shapes, and colors. Probably of all tastes and textures as well. Hope looked them over and then picked out a round one. It glowed blue as it rose from its platter.

“Thank you, doctor,” she said. She did not really want one, but best to humor Dr. Fie while he was in one of his kinder moods, she thought.

“Oh no, dear girl, not those. I have those imported directly from Trottingham. They cost an extravagant amount, but I can’t seem to give them up. Take one from the end. Those come from the shop down the street and the whole lot is only a bit.”

Hope put down the chocolate and took one from the end. Biting into it, she could see why all of them had only cost a bit. They tasted like they could have been made from one.

“I confess that having a sweet tooth is one of my very few vices,” the doctor said as he came up beside her. “Probably the most serious of them, as well.”

“Why, doctor?” Hope asked quietly.

“Why? I wouldn’t know. Who can say why such things go into the make-up of a pony’s personality? Some ponies like music. Others play sports. And some, perhaps of a more refined, a more heavenly nature, prefer the finer things in life. It’s as if—”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then, what did you mean, dear child?”

Hope lifted up her head to look Dr. Fie square in the eye. He was not much taller than her, but she looked as though she was trying to size-up a giant.

“Why do you do it?” she said. “I know you take money to put all those ponies down there, when… when they don’t deserve it. But why? Don’t you make enough money already? Doesn’t being the top doctor in Equestria pay well? Why do you need to do it?”

Dr. Fie took some steps back and put his hooves to his chest. “Hope, your words wound me. Why would you come in here with such hurtful accusations?”

“You didn’t need me to tell you about Starlight Glimmer, did you?” Hope asked. “You already knew.”

Dr. Fie clasped his hooves together. “Well, yes, I had my suspicions. One doesn’t get to the top of the medical profession without keeping one’s ear to the ground with these sorts of things, you know.”

“Then you know what she’s done,” Hope said. “But I can tell you don’t want to report her. You know she’s not crazy. She’s probably saner than you and I are. She’s dangerous, doctor. But you don’t care. She nearly deprived Equestria of a princess, but you don’t care. Is she really paying you enough money to overlook all that?

"Actually, it was a much smaller amount than I usually charge for my...." Dr. Fie caught himself. He shook his head. “It’s not about the money. Well, not entirely. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Besides, from my perspective, nearly depriving Equestria of one princess is not nearly as great a sin as nearly depriving her of all four by, say, letting your boyfriend turn them all to stone. Wouldn’t you agree, Hope?”

Hope’s jaw dropped. “Doctor….” was all she managed to get out.

He sighed. “How long do you want to keep up this charade, dear child?”

“Doctor, don’t tell me that—”

The doctor shook his head again. “I cannot begin to fathom it. After all I’ve done for you. After what you did, you just showed up on my doorstep and expected me to take you in. And I did, Hope. I made sure nopony who could identify you ever made it here. I turned down all applications from other crystal ponies, refused to accept crystal pony patients, I even made sure that there were no crystal ponies enrolled in any course the professor who brought her dear students to us today teaches before I accepted her request to come. I have monitored the news tirelessly to make sure your name never came up. Excuse me.”

Dr. Fie lifted up his wine glass, brought it over to him, and downed the wine in one go before sending the glass to his desk.

“Declaiming does make me so thirsty. Now, as I was saying. I have done everything for you, Radiant Hope. I gave you a second chance, purely out of the goodness of my heart. And when, out of that same goodness, I would have pity on another poor soul who has merely lost her way as you did, you come in here and start throwing around these barbed words, assassinating my character. Oh, the ingratitude! Oh, the indignity!”

Hope barely managed to move herself to the doctor’s armchair. She collapsed into it.

“You knew,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.

“Of course, I knew, dear girl,” Dr. Fie said. “The Siege of the Crystal Empire was such a frightful business. What, upwards of a hundred souls perished when the changelings swarmed the city? Another two hundred during the rampaging they went on after Sombra turned the Royal Sisters to stone? And then, when the Umbrum were released…. How many perished in total? That’s not even getting into the wanton act of violence perpetrated against one of the finest pieces of architecture in all of Equestria, the Crystal Palace. And even worse, you could have killed us all — you could have killed me — with those monsters had Princess Twilight not cut the rails leading out of the city. So, really, if you want to go around deciding who ends up in prison and who does not, you should start by sending yourself there. You’ve done far worse than any other pony in this building ever has.”

Hope, for the third time today, felt tears falling down her cheeks. She buried her head in the armrest to hide them from Dr. Fie.

“Dear girl, can you please not do that on my armchair,” Dr. Fie said. “You might soil it. I purchased it from a highly-respected furniture store in Manehatten, you know. I don’t believe that kind of fabric is even manufactured anymore.”

Hope ceased crying but she did not leave the armchair. She stared up at Dr. Fie. For a very long while, neither of them spoke. Occasionally, Hope would let out another involuntary sob and another tear. Dr. Fie would start squirming, clasping his hooves tightly together, his mouth contorted in fear and his eyes anxiously watching every teardrop fall.

This lasted until Dr. Fie walked over and put his hoof on Hope’s shoulder.

“There, there, child,” he said. “It’s obvious you’ve had a trying day. I forgive you for the things you said. Let’s not speak of this anymore and we’ll forget all about it.”

Hope looked deeply into Dr. Fie’s eyes. Dr. Fie visibly squirmed once again.

“1, 306,” she said.

Dr. Fie was, for a brief moment, speechless. Hope thought she must be the first pony in his life to render him so, and she would have appreciated the triumph under other circumstances. But at last, he swallowed hard and croaked out. “Beg pardon?”

“That’s how many died during the Siege. One thousand, three hundred, and six.”

Dr. Fie began to shiver. “Yes, well, be that as it may, time heals all wounds, as they say. Life goes on. We must rush to meet it. 'The moving finger writes; and having writ, moves on.'”

“It was my fault.”

Hope lowered her head and looked out the window. Or rather, stared blankly in the window’s general direction. “Long ago, I lost my best friend, I lost the pony I looked up to most in the world, I lost my home, and I lost my people. All at once. And then, trying to fix it all, I lost my soul.”

The doctor drew his hoof back swiftly, as though it had been bitten.

Hope rose just as suddenly and swiftly. She hurried for the door.

“Hope, wait!” Dr. Fie called.

Hope stopped as the door was opening. She turned to face Dr. Fie. The look in her eyes must have alarmed him, for he stepped back several paces.

“You’re right, doctor, I should be the first one in prison,” she said. “But the thing is, I already am.”

The door closed behind her.

---

Dr. Fie was left alone as the night crept into the study. He walked over, lifted up a poker with his magic, and absent-mindedly stoked the fire. He then set down the poker before it had even had a chance to do its work. The wine bottle lifted up and the doctor took a giant swig from it before falling into his armchair.

He could not stop thinking of Hope. He had thought it best to avoid mentioning the events of her life before her arrival until absolutely necessary, but he had still not been prepared for how she had reacted. That look in her eyes, what was it? Dr. Fie could not recall having seen it before. Was it sadness? No, no. It wasn’t sadness. It was....

Despair

“Hope….” Dr. Fie mumbled as his eyes fixed on the darkness. Otherwise, he made no sound and made no move.

But then, Dr. Fie realized that his right foreleg felt suddenly very wet. He lifted it up and ran his other hoof over the arm of the armchair. It was completely soaked. He shook his hoof, trying to get the feeling of Hope’s tears off of him. It just made him feel even worse.

“Oh, ho-hum!” he exclaimed.

---

Who was Starlight writing to?

Read on.

Comments

[StarlightisVERYcute]

The doctor drew his hand back swiftly, as though it had been bitten.

Hoof, right?