Hunting Hope 7

>Hope gasped for breath as she lay, sprawled, at the edge of the desert.

>With the sun beating down on her, and no water or shade for respite, her energy had been sapped long before reaching safety.

>Even now, burning with heat and drier than it was possible to imagine for a satyr who had until now spent her entire life with easy access to shade and water, she crawled on.

She would not fall here.

She *could* not.

>Hope struggled back onto her hooves, muscular oddly-jointed legs shaking with exhaustion.

>The distance she had covered in the past two days was staggering, impossible.

>But the final ten miles, no matter how short or how necessary, were proving the most difficult by far.

She blamed it on her human half.

>How many times had anon spoken of the same human curse?

>The curse of Sisyphus, he had called it.

>Hope, her father, had fallen prey to it's dark magic.

>'We're dreamers,' anon had explained with a faraway stare, his chin wobbling and eyes watery.

>'It's human nature. To reach for something impossible, to pick the longest odds, and to give our all to achieve our dreams, even with no chances of success'

>Shortly after, all his dreams had come crashing down, and now here Hope was, trying the same.

>And failing, as her legs gave way one last time and she fell, gasping, back into the dirt.

Human nature, it seemed, always got the last laugh.

 

>In her exhausted stupor, Hope drifted in and out of consciousness.

There was nothing she could do.

>Emotions swirled through her head, memories fighting for dominance in her drowsy mind.

>Her first steps. Anon's smiling face as he carried a cake as high as her.

>A mint green pony, brilliant gold eyes staring, tearfully, straight into her soul.

And a song.

>A beautiful, lilting melody, simple at first, but slowly building in speed and complexity as it evoked the most wonderful mix of emotions within Hope's heart.

>She groaned, and pulled out the pipes again from under her tunic, brushing off bits of salt and dust from the day's exertions.

>Such a song, enchanting as it was, had to be made real, even for a moment.

>Hope pulled in a deep breath, but broke into a fit of coughing before a single note could be played.

>Too parched to even tear up, the half-furred abomination clutched the pipes to her chest and curled up into a ball.

>Determination sapped, there was nothing to do but rest.

>In the distance, Hope saw a bundle of moving shadows, outlined sharply against the deepest violet sky.

It's too late! She wanted to yell, You can't catch me now!

I've finally escaped...

Yes...

free...

>Hope smiled, as the world around her finally faded to black.

 

 

[spoiler]She's not dead. [spoiler]Shocking, I'm sure. [/spoiler][/spoiler]

Hope that wasn't too depressing, guys. [spoiler]puns. love 'em.[/spoiler]

It keeps drifting that way, especially since I want to continue to flesh out the backstory somehow, and sad memories seem like the best way to do so.

For certain, though, it won't stay gloomy like this forever.

Next chapter, probably coming some time tomorrow, will be both a good deal longer and much less depressing, so hang in there.