Hollow Hope

The room looked familiar--with a set of paintings on the wall, and pus-stains on the floor. The paintings sagged a little, as if they had been holding something back, but the pressure had gone away.

"What's up with this?" Cloudy muttered, poking at the portrait of Petunia.

"Some kind of puzzle, I bet," Sunny said, as he trotted up to the portrait of Gilda. "That's what it was the last couple of times. Try the door?"

Cloudy tugged on the door, and it didn't budge. "Yep, locked."

"Fantastic." Sunny started to pace, humming to himself.

"What I don't get is, why's there a picture of my mom? Nobody wants a picture of her. Especially not when she looks so strung-out."

Sunny frowned, and opened his mouth to speak--but he stopped himself as he recalled the last time he dealt with these paintings, and the gushing, foul-smelling slime that was coming out of the walls. The secretary's painting was special--specifically, it fell apart when he tried to use it...

...like a broken condom. Sunny winced as he remembered the 'prep work' he did for that night--stabbing the condom wrapper with a pin, ensuring that the condom would fail. He was going to get his way, no matter what...

"Cloudy, give me the knife."

"What? Why?" But she tossed the knife to him, and he caught it with a simple burst of magic. He walked up to the portrait of the secretary, and stabbed it.

"Wh-what the hell!?" Cloudy said--and then she stammered out another "what the fuck" as pus dribbled out from behind the portrait. A rusty key clinked as it hits the floor.

"There. We can leave now." Sunny grabbed the key, and quietly unlocked the door with it.

"But--how'd you know to--"

"Cloudy, how do you think your mom ended up with you?"

Cloudy fell silent as she tried to wrap her head around it. It only took her a few seconds to connect the dots; she looked...disappointed, for a moment, and angry, but she said nothing as she followed Sunny out the door.

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't be," Cloudy said, cutting him off. "I always wondered if mom really wanted me."

"She didn't expect you. But she doesn't--not want you."

"How do you know?"

"She stuck around," Sunny muttered. "And for what it's worth--I'm sorry I left."

"...apology accepted," Cloudy said, as she bumped his shoulder. "Now let's get outta here."

The next door they opened led to sunlight, or what was left of it. It was still filtered through the awful fog-clouds that had settled over the town, and it was still impossible to see more than twenty or twenty-five feet ahead, but the light still stung Sunny's eyes as he stepped into the street.

"It feels like sunlight," Sunny said, "but I don't know if it's real sunlight."

"Me neither," Cloudy muttered. "C'mon, let's keep moving."

But Sunny wouldn't move--his eyes were locked on something in the alley across from them.

She had a soft pink coat, and a lovely purple mane that curled and bounced whenever she moved her head. Her hooves were spattered with ugly black, and she had a two-by-four slung over her back, with the same oily substance dripping from one end. Sunny saw her, and with an awe-struck voice, breathed out a single word:

"Petunia?"

She turned her head, and locked eyes with him, and her smile burst with joy as she walked--then galloped--toward him. He met her in the middle of the street, throwing his hooves around her, kissing her cheek, crying and laughing.

"Oh, Petunia--I've been so worried about you--"

"Forget that, Sunny--your leg! What happened to it!?"

"The--the monsters, they--"

"You mean those machines?"

"Do they look like machines to you? I see zombies."

"How strange. I guess Ramooh was right, they really are different for everypony--"

"You've met Ramooh!?"

"Yes! If it weren't for him, I'd still be trapped down there!"

"Uh, guys?" Cloudy clears her throat, and the two of them turn to her.

"Oh! You've met Cloudy! I was wondering where she'd run off to. She hasn't given you too much trouble, has she?" Petunia smiled at him again--at once innocent and forgiving. Sunny swallowed his pride.

"She's..."

Sunny took a deep breath. There was no putting it off--he could lie to Gilda, and to his secretary, and to himself, but he couldn't lie to Petunia.

"...she's my daughter, Petunia."

"Huh? But you told me...you didn't..."

"I know. I...I have a lot to talk about. Let's go find somewhere to sit."

The Rainbow Mart could be best described as a convenience-store-meets-diner. Half of it was filled with odds, ends, snacks, and cold beverages, while the other half was a chrome-and-neon kitchen, complete with a set of barstools that were lubricated daily so the little foals could spin them as much as they wanted. On any other day, the whole store would be clean and sparkling, but today the filth and grime of the otherworldly horrors had snuck through the cracks, leaving stains on the countertop and making the food look questionable at best.

"...so, that's how it happened," Sunny said, rubbing the back of his neck with his good hoof. "You came along years later. I always told myself it wasn't important, but..."

"That was a lie," Petunia said simply.

"Yes," Sunny replied. "Yes it was."

"...I hope you understand why I'm upset," Petunia whispered, taking Sunny's hooves in hers. "This is--a lot to take in. And it's all things you should have told me when we were talking about the skeletons in our closets."

"I didn't want to chase you away," Sunny whimpered.

"I understand. I'm upset with you--I'm disappointed in you..."

Sunny winced.

"But it's all right," she said softly, stroking his hoof.

"Is it though?" He sighed, turning away. "I spent such a long time, just--pretending nothing was wrong. Everything was wrong. What I did was wrong, Petunia."

"It was! But you want to fix it, don't you?" Petunia reached out, gently brushing his cheek--guiding his eyes back to hers--and gave him another heart-melting smile. "I'll be there with you, Sunny. I'll help you make things right, no matter what that means. Even if I'm...not happy...with what happened." Her smile faltered, but only for a moment. "In sickness and in health, right?"

Sunny smiled back.

In the back of the kitchen, something went clunk. "Hey guys!" Cloudy yelled. "I found some hashbrowns! It looks like they're still good, too! Oh, and the grill works now."

"I'd better go and make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Petunia said, hopping up from the booth they were sharing. "She's...well, she's family, isn't she."

"Yes she is."

"That's the one good thing to come out of this, I think. You have the foal you always wanted." She trotted away, as Cloudy started twisting knobs on the griddle behind the counter.

Sunny sighed...and then tweaked an ear, as the front door opened.

"Having fun, Sunny?" Long Night said, as she took the seat opposite him, setting her red notebook on the table.

"...yes," Sunny replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I thought you liked my lessons," she said, tilting her head; her ears flicked back and forth. "By the by...did you know that fear and arousal are the same?"

"No, and I don't want to--"

"Sssh. Sunny. Don't raise your voice." Long Night gave him a cheshire grin. "You wouldn't want to upset them, right?"

He frowned, and nodded slowly.

"Good." She straightened up, licked her hoof, and slicked back her mane. "Now. A pony's fear response is the same as its arousal response. Ponies like to think they're different things, but their bodies don't see a difference."

Sunny glanced over Night's shoulder, as Cloudy and Petunia laughed with each other. The sizzle of diced potatoes on a griddle echoed through the silence.

"Yes, she was."

"Scared?" Sunny asked.

Long Night simply grinned wider. "Think about it, Sunny. When you want to take a pretty mare home, what kind of date do you bring her on?"

"...a scary movie," Sunny muttered.

"And how...scared...do you think Cloudy was? She's arachnophobic, you know. Spiders, oh, she hates spiders. They make her heart pound. Make her legs quiver."

"Get out."

"Aww. Don't you like knowing things? Wouldn't you want to know more?"

"I said get out."

"Don't you want to know if she wanted it?"

Sunny's breath caught in his throat. "What do you--"

"In the motel room, the night before. You remember, don't you?"

"How do you know about that?" Sunny growled.

"Better question: Why didn't you let it happen? Nopony would know. You would've been happy. She would've been happy."

"What would it cost, though? It's wrong--"

"What's so wrong about enjoying yourself, huh? Why is it that everypony else gets to have what they want, but you don't?" Night was leaning across the table, her face inching closer to Sunny's by the moment. "What's so wrong about taking what you want, Sunny? Everyone else does it."

"But--I wouldn't hurt her. She's my daughter."

"Oh, you don't wanna hurt her. Maybe you oughta take a page from Glider's book. Think about it--didn't Glider get what she wanted?"

Sunny scowled. "I'm not Glider. I'll never be Glider."

"Fine. I'll see you around, Sunny. Let me know when you're ready to be happy." Long Night snatched up her notebook and slinked out, flicking her tail as she trotted away.