//------------------------------// // Fears and Stories // Story: The Bug in The Mirror // by Skijarama //------------------------------// The rest of the day passed by peacefully enough. Minuette spent the majority of her time with her parents after her heart-to-heart with Fangs, just chatting and getting caught up on what she had missed. It was mercifully little thankfully, although there was the slight hiccup that the school had seen fit to send homework to her house! She had been more than a little peeved about that.  “I mean come on! I was in the hospital for Celestia’s sake! Celestia was there! It’s dumb! They’re dumb!” And so on and so forth until her family quelled her seething impotent rage with a cookie. But, alas, Minuette was still not back to one-hundred percent yet. Her muscles were still weak after the days spent without any use. As the day dragged on, her movements became slower as the energy left her body. When the time finally came to eat dinner, she barely said a word. She thanked her mother of course. Her cooking was always deserving of praise. But outside of that, Minuette didn’t really participate in the conversation. She just idly ate her food at a slow pace, allowing her thoughts to drift. “...Minnie?” Sunspot’s voice suddenly cut through the haze of her thoughts, bringing Minuette back to the here and now. She sat upright with a jolt and shook her head. “O-oh, uh! Sorry, huh? What?” she rambled, blinking a few times and shuffling in place to wake herself up some. Sunspot quirked a brow. “You okay?” he asked. Minuette nodded, already feeling her exhaustion creeping up on her again. She gave a little nod, looking back down at her food. “Uh-huh.” A second passed. Sunspot’s concerned frown turned into a gentle, knowing smile. “Tired?” For a brief, insane moment, Minuette contemplated saying ‘no’ to that. It was usually her modus operandi to proclaim her never-ending energy to the world and do something spastic to prove it. But, as fate would have it, she was just a little too tired to be bothered, and so she just offered up another small nod. “Uh-huh.” “Wow, you must be really tired,” Pearly remarked, hiding her smirk with a hoof. “You actually said ‘yes’!” “Nuh-uh,” Minuette weakly protested, pouting at her mother. “I said ‘uh-huh’! Totally…” She trailed off as she was overcome with the most poorly timed yawn possible. Once she was able to close her mouth, she pouted at the smugly satisfied grins of her parents. “...Shu’up.” The two parents shared an amused laugh at their daughter’s expense before Sunspot got up and gingerly picked Minuette up out of her seat. She blinked in confusion, having not quite noticed it until she was being carried away from the table on her dad’s back. “Let’s get you to bed, eh? You need your rest for when the princess comes tomorrow,” he said with a warm smile. “But food,” Minuette protested, turning to look at her plate. She had eaten most of her food, but there was still a little bit left. “Don’t worry, your mom made plenty. There will be leftovers,” Sunspot assured her as they ascended the stairs. “You can have more in the morning. Besides, you were looking about ready to pass out there. You need the rest.” “...But food.” Sunspot shook his head with a little laugh and nudged open Minuette’s door with his magic. He came to an unexpected stop a few steps in, though. When he didn’t continue, Minuette looked at him with confusion. His eyes were fixated on something to the side. With her brain still playing catch-up, Minuette followed his eyes to see what he was looking at. The mirror stared back at them. Fangs was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Minuette tilted her head, her groggy mind trying to piece together what was going on. Before she had a chance to ponder it, though, Sunspot went back into motion, heading for his daughter’s bed. Minuette gave off a quiet murmur as she felt herself lifted off of Sunspot’s back by magic, and then gave a satisfied groan when the familiar sensation of sinking into her mattress hit her back. Her muscles melted like butter, and she practically went limp then and there. She was honestly amazed she didn’t immediately fall asleep. Sunspot smiled down at her, using his magic to tuck her in. “You go ahead and go to sleep, okay sweetie?” he said in a quiet whisper. He leaned down and planted a gentle kiss right below Minuette’s horn, drawing a quiet giggle from her. “Heh… been a while since you carried me up here like this,” Minuette noted, snuggling into her blankets. “Well, you aren’t tiny anymore,” Sunspot pointed out with a smirk. “Or that young. You’re a growing filly. Why, in a few years, you’ll basically be a mare.” “Ugh. Growing up,” Minuette stuck out her tongue at the idea. “I don’t wanna…” Sunspot smiled down at her. He didn’t say anything, though. He brushed his hoof through her mane a few times, his smile going distant. Minuette looked up at him for a few seconds, a feeling of nostalgia for when she was really little coming to her. From before Fangs came into her life, even. “Hey, dad?” she eventually asked. Sunspot seemed to snap out of his reverie and looked down at her. “Hm?” “...Um, I know I’m a little old for this, but…” she shuffled in place before giving him her best puppy dog eyes. “...Can you tell me a story tonight?” Sunspot stared down at her for a second, his eyes blinking wide. A moment later, he smiled and gently shook his head. “Heh. Maybe someday, but not tonight. I don’t have any good ones off the top of my head. Besides, you need to sleep, and I don’t wanna keep you up.” With that, he stood up and made his way to the door. Minuette watched him go, pouting in disappointment. “...Okay. Maybe some other time?” she asked quietly. “Sure. Maybe,” Sunspot replied, stopping briefly in the doorway to smile back at her. “But ya know… I’ve always been the one telling you stories… Maybe you can think of one to tell me someday.” There was something in the way he said it that gave Minuette pause. Before she had a chance to question him, though, he quietly wished her pleasant dreams and slipped out, closing the door behind him and plunging the room into darkness. Unfortunately, sleep proved to be an elusive companion tonight. Minuette fell asleep for only an hour after her father left the room before her anxious thoughts overpowered her light, wispy dreams and restored her to the waking world. Her exhausted eyes stared blearily up at the ceiling, and a cold frustration began to worm its way into her system. Why was it always like this? She felt really tired, she wanted to sleep, but oh no, something important was happening tomorrow, and she was so anxious and eager for it that it sent her mind spiraling into a storm of what-ifs and exciting tangents that, ultimately, made no sense, like spider geese. And now she was imagining that unholy combination and groaned in frustration as her mind proved her point for her. She rolled over onto her side, eyeing the mirror. She could see Fangs through its surface, currently curled up on the ground in front of the glass with his eyes closed. He looked like he was sleeping, though as far as Minuette knew, he wasn’t physically capable of sleep in there. Probably just resting, letting his mind wander and conjure up a facsimile of a dream to pass the silence of the night. She just watched him for a few minutes, smiling softly at her friend. Come the morning, he’d finally be free, and she could give him that hug she had wanted to give him for years. She couldn’t wait. But she kinda had no choice, because she was still awake dangit! With a tired sigh, Minuette slipped out of bed and made her way for the door. She needed to use the restroom anyway. “Maybe a few minutes on my hooves will help me fall asleep?” Fangs blinked open an eye as she passed, but did not say anything for the moment. She briefly smiled at him before slipping out of the room and starting for the bathroom down the hall to her right. Some of the lights were still on, she noted. “Mom and dad must still be up,” she thought to herself. “I did go to bed really early. They’ll probably be going to bed soon, too.” She conducted her ‘business’ in the bathroom swiftly before turning to look at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help but snort in amusement. “Heh. I look dumb,” she said aloud, turning her head this way and that. Her mane was beyond messy after her restless tossing and turning, and the heavy bags under her eyes made clear just how exhausted she was. There was also a general dopiness to her expression that, even with her mind mired as it was, she found amusing. She didn’t spend long staring at her reflection in the bathroom, though. She had a much better mirror for that, anyway. She stepped back out into the hall and made for her room, letting out a loud yawn. Minuette came to an abrupt halt when she heard her mother’s voice coming quietly from downstairs. She tilted her head and looked down the steps. There was something off about her voice. A moment later, Sunspot’s voice answered Pearly’s, both of them whispered. A pit formed in Minuette’s stomach. Something was wrong. Keeping her head low and her steps quiet, she began to descend the stairs for the living room. With every step she took, the voices became louder and more distinct, until she could make out the words. “I’m scared, Spot.” Minuette stopped next to the entrance to the living room and pressed herself against the wall. It wasn’t right to eavesdrop, she knew that, but at the same time, something compelled her to keep hidden. There was an uneasy feeling surrounding her, like she suddenly didn’t belong here. And if there was somewhere she didn‘t belong, she wanted to know why. Sunspot answered Pearly’s statement with a soft sigh. “I know you are. I’m worried about her, too. But we can’t rush this, you know that. Celestia will be here tomorrow, so let’s just wait and hear what she has to say before we do anything rash.” Minuette furrowed her brow. “Worried about who? Me? Are they talking about me?” she thought, inching just a little closer. “But… I’m fine. Tired, sure, but I’m here and I’m fine…” Pearly gave off a quiet groan of frustration. “Sunspot, have you even been paying attention?! Have you seen just how obsessed she’s become with that thing?! Even if Celestia tells us it’s perfectly harmless, she’ll still obsess over it!” “I know that,” Sunspot answered carefully. “But again, we have to be careful. If we do this the wrong way… I don’t want our relationship with her to suffer because we were stupid.” “She’s thirteen years old, Sunspot. She’s too old to be so invested in an imaginary friend, and I know my daughter isn’t wrong in the head! She’s a smart, clever girl! She shouldn’t be so adamant about this anymore!” Minuette felt a pang of anger in her chest but was quick to force it down.  “Tomorrow. They’ll see when Celestia frees him.” Pearly went on without giving Sunspot a chance to speak. “And now this?! If Celestia’s student had pushed any harder, or if Minnie had been positioned any differently, I… I don’t…” Minuette’s ears drooped when she heard her mother sniffling. “Is… is she crying!?” She heard hooves moving across the carpeted floor, and Pearly’s quiet sobbing became muffled, and Minuette had the feeling she was burying her face into Sunspot’s chest. Sunspot took on a disarming tone, lowering his voice as if to coax Pearly’s into dropping with it. “I know, I know. You’re not wrong. But you know how attached to it she is. We have to be careful.” “But what if it hurts her again?!” Pearly demanded, her voice trembling. “What if it’s worse next time?! It’s doing something to her, Sunspot! We never should have gotten it… And the longer we keep it around, the more we’re letting this happen, the more we’re enabling her!” Minuette’s heart was starting to beat harder in her chest. A sickening, horrible feeling of dread welled up in her gut, spreading to the tips of her legs. She pulled her lips in, her ears facing forward. “Please don’t be saying what it sounds like…” A second passed before Pearly said exactly what Minuette hoped she never would. “W-we have to get rid of the mirror.” Her heart all but stopped in her chest, allowing a horrible feeling of cold to seep into her muscles. She sucked in a breath, unknowing if it was heard by her parents or not as the whole world went quiet around her. Her groggy thoughts spun into overdrive, a surge of dread, anger, and fear swallowing her whole. “T-they want to… get rid of it?” she thought, taking a shaky step back. “But… n-no, they can’t! If they get rid of the mirror, then…” She took another step back, her mind wandering to Fangs. In her mind’s eye, she saw an image of the mirror being hauled away in her mother’s magic while Sunspot held her back. She saw Fangs pressing himself against the glass, pounding against it with his hooves and calling out to her with tears in his eyes. She heard her own voice screaming after him, begging Pearly to bring him back. She couldn’t let that happen! But what could she do? She was just a foal, and she was still weak from her time in the hospital. She wouldn’t be able to stop her parents from getting rid of it with force no matter how hard she tried, and she wasn’t sure if she could talk her family into letting her keep the mirror. Not after everything that had happened. Barely keeping herself from breaking down into sobs, Minuette spun on her hooves and made her way back up the stairs, doing her best not to make any noise. She didn’t know if she had been heard or not. She couldn’t focus on the world around her through the tumult of her own thoughts. After a short, chaotic blur of motion, she staggered back into her room and closed the door behind her. Fangs was up in an instant, his eyes wide. “Minuette?” he asked, his voice laced with concern as he looked at her. He must have seen the whirlwind of negative emotions swirling around her, and he quickly rose to his full height. “What is it? What’s wrong?!” The moment Minuette heard that question, the dam broke. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she sprinted across the room, throwing herself against the mirror after a single bound. “F-Fangs!” she whimpered, pressing her face into the glass. “M-mom and dad! I heard them talking! They w-wanna throw you away!” “They what?” Fangs asked, taken aback. “Why?” Minuette looked up at him, sniffling and struggling to maintain her composure. “M-mom said t-that - sniff - that you’re d-dangerous! She th-thinks the Mirror’s doing something to me! That it’s making me act wrong! S-she’s afraid it’ll hurt me!” Fangs knelt down until he was at eye level, maintaining a shocking amount of composure. “Little One, calm down,” he said carefully, pressing a hoof to the glass. “Take a few deep breaths. Compose yourself.” “I w-won’t let them take you away!” Minuette denied, shaking her head. She hadn’t really heard what Fangs had said. She was too distraught to think or listen. She screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “I won’t! I don’t wanna lose you! I don’t want you to be alone again!” “Minuette!” Fangs barked, his voice rising just enough to stun Minuette into listening. She looked up into his eyes and briefly flinched back when she saw the raw fire in them. A moment passed before his expression softened considerably, and he pressed a hoof to the glass. “Breathe, little one. Breathe. I’m still here. We have time.” Minuette took his advice, taking a series of deep breaths. Little by little, her panic began to fade away, allowing her to think more clearly. Once Fangs was satisfied she was collected, he leaned back. “Now, tell me everything you heard. It’s possible you might be misunderstanding.” Minuette shook her head. “I don’t think so, but… okay,” she said. She launched into what she had heard, recounting everything her parents had said while she was listening in on them. Fangs listened quietly, his expression turning increasingly grim the more he heard. When Minuette finished recounting what she had overheard, a heavy silence fell over the room. Fangs remained planted in place, his expression sour. “They don’t believe you’re real,” Minuette said, shaking in place. She glanced back at her door, afraid her parents might barge in at any moment to take it away. Fangs nodded quietly. “Indeed… I cannot blame them for feeling the way they do. It was only earlier today that I expressed similar concerns for your health.” “But you’re the one in the mirror!” Minuette pressed, planting her forehooves against the glass. “You’re not an imaginary friend! You’re not responsible for what happened to me! You’re real! You’re right there! And you’re an even bigger victim than I am!” Fangs eyed her for a second, his lips tugging up into a somber smile. A second passed before Minuette sat back down, rubbing her face with her hooves. “Ugh… what do I do, Fangs?! I can’t let them take you away, but I can’t stop them if they really try… and… I d-don’t wanna argue with my parents.” Fangs nodded, humming in thought. “...Well, from what I have heard, it sounds to me like what we do is nothing.” Minuette looked up at Fangs, not very confused. “H-huh? But-” “Your father made it evident he is the more cautious of the two,” Fangs cut her off gently, his voice low and soothing. He met her gaze and smiled. “He has advocated that they wait until after Celestia has had a chance to investigate my prison herself - and, if your confidence in the princess is not misplaced, then she will do all of the heavy lifting for us.” Minuette blinked, taking a second to think it over. The more she thought about it, the more her fears began to relax, and a smile spread on her face. “Y-yeah… you’re right. Celestia will figure out the deal with the mirror and let you out! Then mom and dad can throw the mirror away all they want! You won’t be a prisoner anymore!” Fangs nodded. “Precisely. So for now, we do nothing, and let the princess do her work.” Minuette let out a heavy sigh of relief. She allowed herself to flop back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling with her grin growing wider. She had been panicking there for a minute, but her confidence was back to full strength. How could she have forgotten to take the princess into account? Probably how sleepy she was, but eh, details. Ultimately, her parents’ fears didn’t actually change anything. The most they would do is make the conversation after Fangs was free a little more emotionally charged, but she had dealt with emotional gunk before. This would be a piece of cake. Besides, Fangs was really good with words and Celestia was an excellent judge of character. Between the three of them, Minuette knew they’d convince her mom and dad that Fangs was a good guy.  Maybe he could even move in with them? It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go right now. And then she yawned. A massive, epic yawn that would have shaken mountains. Or, well, that’s what Minuette told herself, at least. In reality, it was more of a tiny squeak with a wide-open mouth. Fangs smiled down at her in amusement. “Now… I believe that is enough excitement for tonight. It is out of our hooves, so best not to fret. Get some sleep,” he encouraged her. Minuette grunted, her smile fading away as she was reminded of her bed. “Guh… I was trying to sleep, but I just couldn’t,” she grumbled in irritation. “My head’s too awake.” “Well, you should still be in bed,” Fangs urged her. “Even if you can’t sleep, you can rest, and you’ll need all you can get for tomorrow.” “Ugh, you sound like my dad,” Minuette groused, hauling herself back up to her hooves and flashing Fangs a smirk of her own. “I like to think I’d make a very good father, thank you,” Fangs shot back with a smile of his own. “I have had a lot of practice with foals over the years, after all.” Minuette rolled her eyes and hopped up onto the bed. “I guess you have, yeah. I wonder what a missus Fangs would look like…” “One can imagine,” Fangs said, lowering his voice. “Now get some rest.” “I’ll try,” Minuette sighed, flopping down onto her pillow and pulling the blankets up to her chin. ...And just like that, the tired went away. “What is wrong with me?” Fangs let off a quiet chortle, no doubt seeing the waves of indignant frustration rolling off of her. “Heh. Would it help if I told you a story, Little One?” he asked with a smile. Minuette rolled to face him, her eyes lighting up. “Oh, oh! Yes, please! You tell the best stories! And your voice is just amazing for it!” Fangs smiled and puffed up at the praise. “Ha. Very well. But just so you know, this story isn’t mine,” he said, sitting back down on his haunches. “It’s your father’s.” Minuette blinked, tilting her head. “...Huh?” Fangs nodded toward the door. “A couple of days back, he came walking in a little before you arrived at school. He sat down by the bed for a while and started telling the story as if you were in it.” Minuette frowned in confusion. “...But… why would he do that?” she asked quizzically. “Why tell a story to my bed if I’m not in it?” Fangs shrugged. “I do not know… perhaps nostalgia? You aren’t a tiny filly anymore. Maybe he was trying to relive the feelings of bygone times. After that, he picked up the hammer you left on the floor, stepped out, and shortly after your friends arrived to start studying.” Minuette tilted her head. A moment later, though, she shrugged and snuggled into her blankets, facing Fangs. “Well, that’s confusing, but a story’s a story! Lay it on me!” Fangs nodded and sat back, closing his eyes. “Very well… Once upon a time, there was a little unicorn filly named Lakesong who lived in an old house at the edge of the forest. She lived with her mother and her father, who loved her very much. Lakesong spent her days playing with her friends from the nearby village, frolicking through the fields and flowers. But she never played in the forest, for her parents warned her that it was dangerous, and filled with horrible monsters that would gobble her up. But foals are foals, impetuous and curious. And so it was that Lakesong took her friends with her into the forest one day, eager to see what they would find. The woods were thick, and soon the light of the sun had been blocked by the leaves. The children could see almost nothing in the darkness, and the light from Lakesong’s horn did nothing to push away the shadows. Now knowing fear, the foals bit down on one another’s tails so they would not lose one another. Long did they wander the woods, through the dark, surrounded on all sides by things they could not describe. The warmth of day fled, and the cold of the night chilled them to their bones. The foals feared that they might never find their way. But then they heard somepony singing in the distance, a mare’s voice: soft, and gentle, and beautiful. With nowhere else to go, Lakesong led her friends to the source of the voice. There they found a beautiful clearing, a single shaft of light from the moon shining down through the leaves upon a pond surrounded by flowers of pink and blue, and covered in water lilies. And above the gentle waves of the water, there flew the ghost of a mare, pale as snow. Yet Lakesong was not afraid, for how could she be scared of so sweet a song. The ghost saw them and smiled. “New ponies! It has been so long since I have met somepony new!” she said, excited and vigorous. “I am Misty, and this pond is my home. Who are you?” “I am Lakesong, and these are my friends,” Lakesong said. “We’re lost.” Misty reached out to hold Lakesong’s hoof in hers, her voice buttery and sweet. “Oh, you poor dears. You got curious and wandered into the woods, didn’t you?” Lakesong told her all, of how they had been wandering for hours upon hours, of how they had lost their way in their curiosity. Misty listened, then nodded to the bed of flowers. “I can help you return home, little ponies. But first, you should sleep. It is dangerous at night, and I do not wish for you to be hurt.” And so Lakesong and her friends slept in that clearing all night, under the light of the moon and Misty’s watchful eye. She proved to be fun and clever, a ray of sunshine in the frightening forest. A true friend. When the day came, Misty led the foals back through the woods, for the edge of the forest. Soon, they could see the light of the sun again, and they left the forest. “Come with us, Misty,” Lakesong said to Misty. “My parents would love to meet you, and thank you for saving us!” Misty shook her head. “I am afraid I cannot leave the forest. It is my home. And what if somepony else gets lost? I must be there to see them safely home.” Lakesong tried and tried to convince Misty to come back with her, but alas, the ghost was not to be persuaded. And so Lakesong had to bid her farewell. “Thank you again for saving us, Misty!” she called as they left. “I promise we’ll come and see you again!” “Please do! These woods are terribly lonely!” Misty called back. She then turned and vanished into the wood. When Lakesong got home, her mother and her father were angry with her, and they scolded her. “Do not go into the woods, we said! It’s dangerous, we said!” “But mom, dad, I’m okay!” Lakesong argued. “Misty The Ghost saved me!” “Misty The Ghost?” the father spat. “Nonsense! Everypony knows there is no such thing as ghosts! Ponytails and poppycock! You are never to go into those woods again, do you hear me?!” But Lakesong did not listen. She and her friends snuck away to the woods many times, playing with Misty in the waters of her pond. But as the years dragged on and on, Lakesong’s friends drifted apart, as work and life called them away. But not Lakesong. She continued to see Misty whenever she could, happily until the end of her days… Fangs opened his eyes when he finally finished recounting the story. He looked to Minuette and found that she had fallen asleep at some point, a peaceful smile on her face. His heart warmed at the sight, and he bowed his head low. “...Thank you, Little One,” he whispered quietly. “For your companionship, for your joy… for your love. Thank you for everything you have given me. I will cherish them always.” With that, he stepped back out of view, allowing Minuette to get her sleep.