//------------------------------//
// To the Life We Knew 
// Story: Crystal's Hopes 
// by Crystal Wishes 
//------------------------------//

"Just sign here, ma'am."

Crystal glanced between the sheet and the stallion sitting at the desk.  He wore a uniform, rather than armor, and a gentle smile, which she returned.  "Thank you."

Her magic guided the pen across the fields to fill in the information: her name, Silent's name and rank, where they lived, and the like.  It was a little strange—it felt like she was back at the Academy, about to take a final exam.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," the stallion said, gesturing to the door beside him.  "Go on inside."

Crystal's heart fluttered with nerves as she took a step forward.  What were support groups like?  Would this be group therapy, where they all sat in a circle and talked about their problems?  Or would somepony stand in front of them and give lectures about how to be strong and have some magic answers for surviving this war?

When she crossed the threshold, she found herself in an ordinary conference room.  A long wooden table dominated the space, lined with chairs pushed in as far as they could go.  An assortment of refreshments were set out on one end of it, the other overflowing with stacks of papers.  There were a few ponies waiting inside, and two mares stood by the door and at the ready with pamphlets.

"Welcome," one said, a crystal unicorn mare with a glimmering onyx coat.  "Thank you for coming."

"Crystal?" the other inquired in a surprised tone.

Crystal's brow furrowed as her attention shifted to the pink-coated, older mare standing to her right.  After a brief moment of mental searching, the lightbulb clicked: Radiant Orchid, Silent's first sergeant that had retired.

Orchid's weary eyes widened with realization.  "Oh, no."  She set her hoofful of pamphlets on the table and stepped toward her.  "He volunteered?"  She winced.  "Of course he did…"

Crystal ducked her head.  "Y-Yes, he did."

Orchid embraced her much like a mother would a foal, gave a tight squeeze, then held her at foreleg's length.  "I'm so glad you've come, then.  Good for you.  If you ever need anything, my door is always open."  She smiled.  "That's true for everypony attending, but doubly so for you."

Crystal just gazed up at her for a moment.  The mare's braided red mane had highlights of grey, and the creases at the corners of her eyes told of a lifetime spent with love.  They had never spent much time together, but she knew Orchid was important to Silent, which made her important to Crystal as well.

Finally, she returned the smile.  "Thank you, Orchid.  I appreciate it."

Orchid nodded and stepped back, retrieving her pamphlets and offering one to Crystal.  "Here is the general information about the services available to you.  Derelict and I will be covering everything in more detail and can answer any specific questions you might have, but this is a good start."

The crystal unicorn's ear flicked.  "Oh, you remembered me.  Thank you."  She offered a hoof to Crystal.  "Derelict Apathy.  I'm studying under Radiant Orchid.  I apologize for the lack of formality.  This situation is new and unfamiliar to all of us."

Orchid laughed softly.  "I'm still just a pony, you know.  A lack of formality can be forgiven once in a while."

"But where is the line drawn?"  Derelict turned her gaze to Orchid.  "If you're not formal with this mare, but you are with the next, what does that mean?  Favoritism leads to discrepancies and differences, which lead to separation.  The point of bringing these spouses and loved ones together is to build a community, is it not?"

Crystal quickly took the hoof that still hovered in the air before Orchid could respond.  "It's nice to meet you, Derelict.  Thank you for your time."

Derelict blinked at her.  "And thank you for your service."

Service?  She wasn't the guard; Silent was.  Nonetheless, she just kept smiling.  "I suppose I'll get out of the way and leave you two to greeting."  She waved the pamphlet in her magic.  "And I'll start looking through this, thank you."

Orchid nodded.  "We'll cover it once everypony is here.  Feel free to mingle with the other ponies.  Oh, and enjoy the refreshments."

As Crystal walked further into the room, she heard Orchid say to Derelict, "You really need to learn to lighten up, Derry."

"Derelict," she corrected.  "And I'm simply trying to do my job."

Crystal tried to smile to cover her nerves as she shifted her attention to the two stallions and mare huddled by the refreshments.  Nopony was talking, instead opting to stand near-but-not-too-near to one another and looking at anything but each other.  To be fair, sticking strangers in a room together during trying times didn't seem like the most comfortable situation to be in.

"Hello," Crystal offered as she approached.

One of the stallions smiled, though his blue eyes looked to be on the verge of tears.  "Hi."

"I'm Crystal Wishes," she said, stopping to stand where she could engage the three of them, even if the other two didn't seem keen on making eye contact.

"Toffee Strudel."  He shifted from one hoof to the other.

Crystal waited for the second stallion and the mare to chime in, but the former was staring off at nothing and the latter just looked down at her cup of juice.  An awkward tension filled the air like the buzzing of gnats.  "S-So…"

The other stallion jerked his head toward her and snapped, "Army, Navy, or Guard?"

Crystal blinked.  "Excuse me?"

"Are you Army, Navy, or Guard?"  His steel grey eyes bored into hers as if weighing her soul.  Perhaps he was.  But what for?

"G-Guard, I suppose."  She felt like wilting under the weight of his gaze but did her best to hold her ground.  "At least, my husband is."

"You suppose?"  He frowned.  "Either you're part of the military, or you're a civilian.  Which is it?"

Irritation sparked in her chest and she countered his frown by squaring her shoulders and standing tall.  "I married into the Guard, so I do believe that makes me a part of it."

Silence held the group of ponies until the stallion cracked a smile.  "Good."  He thrust his hoof out to her.  "Starlit Bastion.  You may call me Bastion.  Navy through my wife.  Nice to meet a spouse who's got a backbone, unlike these two."

"Hey," Toffee mumbled, but took a step back when Bastion stared him down.

Crystal glanced at the offered hoof, one brow raised.  "Backbone or not, we're all here for the same reason."  Her eyes narrowed.  "Sir."

Slowly, Bastion's hoof lowered back to the ground.  "Beg to differ, ma'am.  I'm here because we were requested to attend, and I follow orders.  They're here because the vows they made are too tough for them to uphold."  His eyes grew cold once again.  "Why are you here?"

"Because these are trying times nopony could have prepared for, and I'm not strong enough to handle them on my own."  Although she was much shorter than the large earth stallion, she angled her head in just the right way to give the impression of looking down her nose at him.  "But I am strong enough to admit that."

Though she was certain she meant the words, her heart was racing.  What exactly was she doing?  She was here to mingle, not to start a fight!

Toffee swelled with newfound courage.  "She's right.  I-I support my wife, sir, but that doesn't mean that it's not hard to."

Bastion snorted and looked over at the silent, light grey mare.  "And you?"

She winced and her ears flicked back, but her gaze remained focused on her juice cup.  Determined to stay out of the conversation, she just gave a small shrug in reply.

"I see."  He glanced between them all.  "Well.  Perhaps I misjudged some of you."  He shrugged, picked up a little triangle sandwich, and didn't seem inclined to say anything more.

Crystal stared at him a while longer before she turned her attention to Toffee, smiling.  "Don't worry.  I'm certain there will be more supportive spouses attending."

"I hope so," Toffee mumbled.  "This isn't what I expected."

"I don't think any of this is what any of us expected," a familiar voice said from behind Crystal.

Her heart racing again, she slowly turned to face the owner.  A large, stocky, yellow earth stallion stood there, his expression a mix of a half-hearted smile and nervous eyes.  She knew his face.  She knew him: Verdant Wellspring, husband of Painted Wave.

"Hi, Crystal," he said.

"Verd, what are you—"  She couldn't finish the question.  Her heart had already jumped into her throat and then sunk to the pit of her stomach.  She knew the answer.  "Why did she—"

Verdant rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.  "You know how she is," he replied in a soft voice.  "Once she makes up her mind…"

"There's no changing it."  A short, breathless laugh escaped her, but it died out like a snuffed flame.  Her ears folded back and she quickly said, "I'll get the crystal for you when I go back to the Empire.  She gave it to me, but—"

"There's no but."  He shook his head.  "She gave it to you, which means it's yours.  Besides… she wanted you to have it."

"But I—"  Tears jumped to Crystal's eyes and her chin trembled.  "But she—"

Verdant raised a hoof and set it on her shoulder.  "Don't worry about her."  He offered a light smile.  "That's what I'm here for.  You have your Silent to worry about, don't you?"

Crystal swallowed, smiled, and shook her head.  "We can worry about them together.  That's why we're all here, after all."

A hoof clapped against the floor, drawing all attention to Radiant Orchid.  "It looks like just about everypony we're expecting to have is here.  First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for coming.  I know taking a step like this couldn't have been easy."

It was right then when Crystal noticed how many ponies had arrived during her conversations with Bastion and Verdant.  Stallions and mares—old, young, and everywhere in between—were crammed into the space that wasn't occupied by the large table.  Even with all the chairs pushed in, it was still a tight fit.

"Derelict and I are here to go over the resources you have at your disposal.  For example, free foal and elderly care is available to military spouses."  Orchid tapped a hoof to a stack of papers sitting on the conference table.  "The forms for applying for that aid are right here.  There's one less caretaker in your household now, so don't be shy to ask for help if you need it."

After a pause, Orchid continued, "There are also cards on the table for counselors, including mine.  Sometimes it can just help to talk to somepony.  Sometimes you may need specific help.  We are here for you, so reach out to us if you need anything.  None of you have to schedule appointments; we will fit you in if you show up. We would appreciate it if it were scheduled, of course."

Orchid worked on down the row of papers, gesturing at the next few.  "Here are volunteer programs that are focused on military families, the most important of which is Helping Hooves.  Normally, they are a volunteer group for the elderly, but they've stepped up to offer their services to you."

She turned her head to look at a silver-coated unicorn mare standing to attention off to the side.  "Lieutenant Melodic Ward is here as the liaison for the local Helping Hooves chapter.  Lieutenant?"

Melodic Ward bobbed her head.  "Thank you, Warrant Officer."  She took a moment to make eye contact with all of the ponies that were huddled in the room.  Finally, she smiled.  "You are all brave ponies, braver than I think most will give you credit for.  Because of that, Helping Hooves is here to help you all stay on your hooves."

A light chuckle circulated the room.

With an appreciative nod, Melodic Ward continued, "What our volunteers typically do is yard work, household chores, grocery shopping, and things of that nature.  If your spouse or loved one was the one who fixed the leaky faucet, then a Helping Hooves volunteer will take care of it.  Let us do what we can for you so you don't get overwhelmed.  Don't be afraid to reach out to us for anything.  Thank you for your service."

There it was again.  Was that a normal thing to say?  Crystal tried not to make a face, but her nose did twitch.  What service was she being thanked for?

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Derelict Apathy said, her half-lidded eyes belying nothing of how she may have felt at that moment.  "The main reason we have arranged this time is for all of you to meet each other.  There are no other ponies in Equestria that will understand what you are going through better than the ponies in this room.

"While we cannot force you to do anything, research shows that building a community of peers in similar circumstances promotes a feeling of belonging and negates loneliness.  I highly recommend that you take this time to get to know your peers and work together to build a rotating schedule to have informal meetings at each others' homes."

After a few moments that were filled with confused murmurs, Orchid explained, "What Derelict is trying to say is that it's good to have a support group, and while we could establish facilitated meetings to gather you all together, it would feel more natural and comfortable if you were all in charge of when you met up."

Derelict blinked.  "That's one way to put it, I suppose."

Orchid patted her on the shoulder before smiling at the crowd of mares and stallions.  "Lastly, if you need help staying busy or putting your focus elsewhere, there are forms at the end for groups looking for more volunteers, including Helping Hooves."

"In the meantime," Derelict said, "please enjoy the free refreshments, mingle, and form your support group before you leave today."

Orchid nudged her in the side and corrected, "And consider forming a support group.  It's absolutely optional, but highly recommended."

Derelict's brow furrowed as she looked at Orchid.  "But research shows—"

Orchid clamped a hoof over the mare's mouth and smiled brightly at everypony else.  "Enjoy, mingle, and thank you for your service!"

The ponies in the room had varied reactions to all the information that had been thrown their way.  A few wandered over to the stacks of papers to find what seemed useful to them.  Some just continued to stand by themselves, glancing around awkwardly.  Others struck up idle conversations.  And the rest waited for somepony to get things going.

Crystal sucked in a breath.  Well, it was time to find some use for the training she'd been trying to escape her whole life.  When the room has no star, shine the brightest, her mother's voice said in the back of her mind.

"Well, I love the idea Derelict put forth about a rotating schedule for getting together," Crystal said, putting on her best smile as all eyes turned on her.  "Would anypony else like to join me?"

Verdant smiled.  "I would."

"I'd like to," Toffee said in a quiet voice that carried in the quiet room.

A reddish-purple mare approached Crystal.  Her face was somewhat contorted in a pucker, as though her eyes and her lips were all trying to reach her nose.  "L-Lemon," she stammered out.

Crystal blinked.  "Beg your pardon?"

The mare sucked in a breath.  "Bit a lemon."  She screwed up her nose, let out a heavy groan, then smiled once her face had relaxed.  "What I was going to say before I bit into a lemon was, that sounds like a good idea."

"Oh, great!"  Crystal looked around the room.  "Does anypony have some paper and a writing utensil so we can start coordinating?"

Orchid raised a hoof, then pointed at the table.  "There are some right there."

Crystal flashed her a smile.  "Oh... Thank you!"  Once she spotted them, her magic grabbed one of the pens and a few sheets of paper.  "So we have myself, Verdant Wellspring, and Toffee Strudel."  She wrote that down and looked up at the mare in front of her.  "And your name?"

"Passionfruit," she replied, bobbing her head.

Crystal wrote that down, then glanced at the nearby faces.  "Anypony else?"

One by one, ponies stepped up to have their names written down.  There were some hesitant and avoidant faces that kept quiet, but the list grew to a sizable length.  Crystal smiled as they started to work on coordinating addresses into a schedule.  This felt right.  It felt like she belonged.