Radiant walked through the foggy night, thinking. She wasn’t quite herself tonight. Actually, she thought, I’m more myself tonight than I’ve been in a very long time.

Radiant kept walking, her mind as foggy as the night before her, yet as clear as it had been in a very long time. She wasn’t quite sure where she was going, but that soon became clear as she came across a lake. Looking across, she couldn’t see the other side through the fog. The bottom was also out of sight. Deep, dark and dangerous. Like yourself these past years… “Well,” she said softly. “Here I am.”

Softly, she dipped a hoof into the water. She watched how the water rippled, hearing it sway against itself. Once, she had found hope in ripples. A single touch could change so much, rippling through the entirety of her life. She sighed, thinking, one hoof in the water. The ripples soon stopped, leaving the water still around her hoof. “There’s no point in what you’re doing, Radiant… So why are you trying?...” She shut her eyes, realizing what she had to do to stop whatever being had claimed her heart.

The only way to stop all this pain would be to kill myself. No matter what, each time he sees me, he will remember what I have done. He will remember what I plan to do. And it will hurt us both more than my death ever would.She took a deep breath, ready to dive into the depths and never return.

“Trying to do what, miss?”

Radiant jumped away from the water, eyes wide. She spun around, seeing a pony there who had seemingly appeared out of the mist. He was an alicorn, she noticed. He looked very serious, almost as though he never smiled. “W-who are you,” she managed to stutter out, her heart beating a mile a minute. She hadn’t expected anypony to be here to witness her death.

“My name is Chrome Wind.”

“… I-I’m Radiant,” she responded back, not using her last name. She wasn’t quite sure what it is anymore anyways. “Why are you here?”

“Why are you?”

She stopped for a minute, unsure how to answer. She decided to be honest. “I came here to drown myself.”

“Why would you do that?”

“It’s the only way to end this pain…” She sighed, shutting her eyes. Which pain? The pain I cause Page, or the pain I’m causing myself?

“Really now?” She nodded. “I had better go along with you, then.” She opened her eyes wide, staring at him, bewildered. Still, he had that serious face. “I’d be a witness. I could be accused of being your murderer if they found your body. I don’t need any more shame than I already have.”

Radiant shook her head, confused. She tried to sort out in her mind everything he had just said, but found it foggy once again. She couldn’t quite register everything that was happening, as though time was moving faster than she was. “I-It wouldn’t matter… No one would care if I died anyways… Quite the contrary, they’d be pleased.”

“Nonsense.” She glanced at him again. “Every life is worth something. Sometimes, we have to fight for our worth.”

She thought about what he had said. Fighting for our worth… Perhaps… “Perhaps I can fight against this… thing that has taken hold of me. Perhaps I can end this without ending myself.”

“Yes. And, perhaps… I can help, somehow.”

Again, Radiant looked at the man, bewildered, though with a small smile on her face now. “You wish to help me?”

“If I can.”

“That is…” She tangled with her mind, grasping for the word she wanted. “… Surprising.”

“How so?”

She thought for a moment. “You’re… well, the first.” The first I believe, at least. The first whom I believe won’t betray me. Why would you betray a complete stranger?

“Someone has to be the first,” Chrome said, looking at her with a grim face.  

“Why do you want to help me?”

“Good question. Maybe… Maybe because I see a bit of myself in you.”

Radiant once again was sent into a mental battle, trying to decipher what he meant by that. Was he sad? Was he suicidal? She shook her head. “I suppose it does not matter, in the end of all things. Thank you, Chrome.”

“No need to thank me, miss Radiant.”

She smiled, realizing now who she really was. Who she needed to fight to be. “My full name is Radiant Shine.” The man nodded and watched as she glanced at the still lake. “I chose to fight. Not this.” She turned her back to the water, smiling at the man. Somehow, her mind felt less dense, less at a loss. He nodded, approving of her answer. She glanced at the sky, watching the moon. “I should be returning to my home soon.”

“Where is your home?”

“The Inn.”

Chrome glanced at her curiously. “I live at an inn as well. Sugar Cube Corner?”

Radiant smiled at him. “Yes, that’s where I stay. Perhaps we will see each other again.” He nodded, simply acknowledging what she had said. “I wish you a good night, Chrome Wind.”

“And I you, Radiant Shine.”

With a small smile, Radiant began to walk home. I just need to fight back… I’m sure I can do that…

Chrome glanced at the stars, remaining where he stood at the lake. He would not be returning to the inn for quite awhile, he realized. There was much he had to think about, and much more to physically do. He took much of the conversation to heart, realizing that it could help in his own life. I just have to fight back… I need to bring her home… That might make father proud… He sighed. But how to drag my own sister away from the place she loves?

As Chrome sat by the lake on a nearby rock, another figure watched him from the distance. Though blind, this pony saw far more than anypony ever realized. He saw the turmoil brewing in the Inn, and he knew that somepony had to connect all the dots. If not, catastrophe would hit the Inn, and (quite literally,) all Hell would break lose. He sighed. “Seems my job is never done.” With a small, wistful smile, Card Trick trotted back home, shadows curling from his hooves as he disappeared into the mist.

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