“Minuette, honestly, waiting by the window isn’t going to make her come any faster.”
Minuette pointedly ignored her mother’s words. She was standing up on her hind legs by one of the windows at the front of the house, her hooves perched on the window sill and her eyes glued onto the street outside. Princess Celestia was due to come by any minute now, she was sure of it, and gosh dangit Minuette was going to be the first pony there to greet her!
It was a charming day outside, with warm morning sunlight filtering through the streets and breathing some much-needed life and energy into things. It did wonders to help quell Minuette’s frantically rebelling nerves. She had slept well enough following Fangs’ story, but that did little and less to keep her mind from spiraling into a mess of half-baked what-ifs and what-abouts.
But she was also beyond excited, and it took all of her willpower to keep from bouncing off of the walls to declare her victory prematurely. Soon enough, Fangs would be free, and she could hug him! And he could get to meet all of her friends, too, which came with the added bonus of proving just how wrong they were about him!
The concoction of feelings those two conflicting states brewed was enough to drive her insane. And so, to keep her mind occupied, she kept herself parked firmly by the door, watching the outside world for any sign of the princess.
“Oh, leave her alone, hon,” Sunspot spoke up in Minuette’s defense, much to her relief. “The princess is gonna be here for pony’s sake. It’s only natural she’d be a little excited.”
“Well, yes, but…”
Minuette frowned, but she didn’t look back. She recalled her parents’ discussion from the previous night, her brow furrowing in dismay. She wasn’t really scared about them throwing away the mirror anymore, but she was angry. Well, okay, angry was probably a bit of a strong word. Annoyed? No, too gentle.
Offended, that was it! She was offended.
Offended that they would talk about it behind her back. Offended that they didn’t trust her with the mirror. Offended that they still didn’t believe her. Out of all of the ponies, if ever there were going to be ones who were on her side in all of this, she had thought it would be them. But then again, how could she possibly expect that? They had no way of perceiving Fangs. He might as well be fictional to them… and she had to admit, from the outside looking it, she probably looked more than a little insane.
She groaned, burying her face in her hooves. “Why does this crud have to be so complicated?”
Several minutes passed, and she heard her parents withdraw back into the dining room. Then, after some time and the smells of breakfast reached her, the sound of clopping hooves and clattering wheels from outside drew her attention.
Minuette looked up, and her eyes lit up at the sight of an extravagant carriage being pulled up the street by two white-furred stallions in the golden ornamental armor of the royal guard. The carriage was open for all to see, and Princess Celestia was seated atop it with a gentle smile on her face. Minuette could see that just behind them, the ponies she had passed were only now coming up from their respectful bows.
Feeling a brand new surge of excitement, Minuette spun around, bouncing on her hooves like a little bunny on coffee. “Mom! Dad! She’s here!” she squealed, darting into the kitchen. She found them both there, chowing down on the last lingering remnants of their breakfast. “She’s here, she’s here, she’s here!”
“Already?!” Sunspot asked, his eyes flying wide. He turned to Pearly, who was already wolfing down the remains of her breakfast. “Ack, uh, help us get the dishes put away!”
Minuette rolled her eyes at the clear overreaction but nonetheless did as she was told. With a spark of light from her horn, the various dishes and bits of cutlery scattered across the table were snatched up in her yellow magical aura. She deposited them all the sink before either her mother or father could get a word in. Minuette flashed them both a wide grin.
“There. Now, let’s go say hi!” she decided before turning and scampering for the door. Sunspot and Pearly were right behind her, muttering amongst themselves. No doubt they were making last-second observations about each other’s appearance or ensuring the home was tidy and presentable, or any number of other things. Minuette tuned them out.
The family gathered in front of the front door and waited with bated breath. Minuette sat still, sandwiched between her mother and father. She could just make out the sound of Celestia speaking on the other side of the door, though the words escaped her. She must have been talking to her guards, giving them instructions.
As they waited, Minuette’s nerves slowly began to creep up on her, and she started to shift uneasily in place. What was taking so long? Was Celestia having second thoughts? Some weird part of Minuette’s brain idly imagined Celestia deciding to just skip all the complicated stuff and blow the house up.
But that would be dumb, so she ignored that.
Finally, finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting and building anxiety, there came three sharp knocks on the door. All three waiting ponies jumped in their skin in response. Pearly composed herself first and opened the door with her magic. There, framed majestically by the glow of the morning sun, was Celestia.
In Minuette’s house.
To free Fangs.
Minuette was not able to keep a tiny squee of delight from slipping out.
Celestia offered the ponies in front of her a warm smile. “Good morning, my little ponies,” she said.
Sunspot and Pearly immediately dipped into low bows, and Minuette only needed a moment to remember that she wasn’t in class right now and followed them down. She was so used to just waving and smiling when Celestia walked in. The formalities felt odd. Especially after all this time with Twilight.
“Rise,” Celestia gently ordered. “This is your home, and I am your guest. Be at ease.”
“O-of course. Thank you. Welcome to our home, your highness,” Sunspot said respectfully, rising back to his hooves. “We’re honored to have you here.”
Celestia tittered quietly. “Oh, thank you. The pleasure is all mine. May I come in?”
“Of course, of course!” Pearly replied with a nod, gesturing for the alicorn to enter.
Celestia did so, having to duck her head somewhat to enter through the normal pony-sized door. Minuette beamed up at her as she entered, and Celestia smiled back at her.
“So, can we get you anything?” Sunspot asked, glancing briefly toward the kitchen. “Some food, perhaps? Or maybe some water?”
Celestia turned to him and shook her head. “Thank you, but no. If it is all the same to you, I would rather not waste time. I am here for more than idle pleasantries,” she stated, her voice taking on a more serious tone.
The mood in the room shifted sharply, with both Sunspot and Pearly shrinking back. They glanced at one another for a moment before Sunspot spoke up. “Right. Of course.”
Celestia turned to Minuette, who had herself quickly sobered up and calmed down. “Is the mirror ready for the examination?” she asked directly.
Minuette nodded. “Yes, your highness, it’s in my room.”
Celestia glanced up the stairs. “Very well. Take me to it, please.”
Minuette glanced over at her parents for a moment. Both of them looked back with worry in their eyes. Pearly especially looked to be almost fearful, with one of her hooves tightly bound up in Sunspot’s grip. Sunspot, on the other hoof, for all of his own anxiety at having royalty in the house, gave Minuette a very different look.
It was almost… expectant. Like he was waiting for her to do something. He then dipped his head in a very slow, deliberate nod, encouraging her to move forward.
A moment passed before Minuette simply nodded back and made her way up the stairs. She heard three sets of hooves following close behind her. On the way up, she took several deep breaths to calm her nerves and gather her wits. As confident as she was that Celestia would set Fangs free today, she doubted it would be quite that easy. There would be questions, there would be convincing that needed to be done. And in the event Celestia prodded the mirror the same way Twilight had, there might be some actual danger involved in this examination.
She had to be ready for everything. And so she set her jaw and steeled herself before pushing open the door to her room.
Fangs was in the mirror already, sitting up and at attention as he waited for them. Minuette led Celestia into the room, followed shortly by Pearly and Sunspot. The door clicked shut behind them a moment later.
“So, is this it?” Celestia asked, approaching the mirror with a critical eye.
“It is, your majesty,” Sunspot said, hanging back by the door with Pearly.
“Yup. I haven’t moved it since I got home,” Minuette said, walking beside the princess. She then looked up at Celestia, a brief flicker of hope lighting up in her chest. In a low whisper, only loud enough for Celestia to hear, she whispered, “Do you see him?”
Celestia frowned and glanced down at her in confusion. “...See who?”
Minuette deflated, shaking her head. “...Nothing. Nevermind,” she said quietly before looking up to fangs. She met his gaze and mouthed the words “I tried” to him.
Fangs smiled that gentle smile he always gave her when she was on edge. “Thank you,” he said in a soothing tone.
A moment passed before Celestia turned her attention back to the mirror. Her horn lit up with golden light, but she didn’t reach out to the mirror yet. “Please stand back, Minuette. If there is another pulse from this item, I do not wish for it to harm you, and I need room to work.”
Minuette looked up at her, surprised. “Huh? B-but-”
“Don’t argue with the princess, Minnie,” Pearly chastised from the back of the room. She patted the floor a few times for emphasis. “Come over here and let her work.”
Minuette glanced back at her mother, then to Celestia, and finally to Fangs. He stared back at her for a moment before offering a slow nod. “You’re mother is right. Go.”
Minuette swallowed heavily but did as she was told. She reluctantly withdrew and joined her parents by the door. As she turned back to watch, she felt Pearly’s hoof draping over her withers, and she knew then that she was not going to be released for anything until they were given the all-clear.
With that, Celestia tilted her head back, channeling more power into her horn. To the awe of everypony present, a sphere of golden light appeared in the room, centered on the mirror and leaving just enough space for Celestia to examine it from all sides. Fangs jumped in surprise, making Minuette’s heart beat a little faster.
As if sensing her discomfort, he simply offered her a smile.
The next several minutes passed in an eerie quiet as Celestia began to methodically examine the mirror. She started by studying its physical form, her eyes roaming carefully over every single inch of its surface. Every so often she would place her hoof on the frame or the glass, humming to herself. Occasionally she would move it around in her magic to look at it from new angles, causing Fangs to have to reposition himself and making Minuette squirm out of sympathy for him.
“When did you get this?” Celestia asked after a while, placing the mirror against the wall again. “And how?”
“We bought it a few years ago for Minuette’s tenth birthday,” Sunspot said with a nod. “It was being sold for cheap at a yard sale of sorts up at some noble’s estate.”
“Do you remember which one?” Celestia asked curiously.
Sunspot shrug. “I… don’t. Sorry.”
Celestia hummed, her brow furrowing in thought before she turned back to the mirror. The light on her horn grew brighter and brighter as she began to probe at the actual enchantment. As before, a shimmering veil of crackling purple magic pulsed over the frame of the mirror, and Fangs grunted in pain in response, his hoof flying up to his temple.
And then, to Minuette’s surprise, Celestia suddenly stopped. The light on her horn winked out, her eyes flying wide open in shock and surprise. Even her barrier sputtered and faded with barely even a sound.
Minuette went rigid, watching the alicorn with bated breath. That… didn’t look good.
“It cannot be…” Celestia breathed, seemingly forgetting that she had an audience. Sunspot and Pearly shared an uneasy glance, while Fangs lifted his lowered head to focus on Minuette, assuring her he was fine.
“Your highness?” Pearly asked in an anxious whisper. “What is it?”
Celestia blinked, seemingly remembering the spectators. She turned back to Minuette. “...Minuette, you and your friends had been trying to map out the enchantment on this mirror, correct?” she asked carefully.
Minuette squirmed under the princesses’ scrutinizing glare. It suddenly felt as if she was being interrogated. After a moment, she licked her lips. “Er, yes?”
Celestia was quiet for a moment before turning back to the mirror. The barrier was restored a second later, brighter than before. “...You were doomed to fail from the start, I am afraid,” she said in a grim tone.
Minuette’s ears drooped. She had kinda figured, frankly, but to hear the confirmation from Princess Celestia of all ponies stung in a very different way.
“Is it dangerous?” Pearly asked, leaning forward and pulling Minuette just a little closer. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but close enough.
Celestia furrowed her brow as she began to probe the enchantment again. “The enchantment upon this mirror is… elaborate. I have never seen anything quite like it,” she said slowly.
Celestia’s brow furrowed even more, and she probed deeper. Minuette could see the rippling purple energy from the mirror’s defensive reaction, but a shimmer of golden light from Celestia’s horn held the burst at bay, allowing her to proceed undisrupted. The only problem now was that Minuette couldn’t see Fangs through all the light.
“I… cannot say,” Celestia eventually muttered, her ears drooping somewhat. “It is beyond complicated… and nonsensical. It is so mired in its own loops and contrivances that it would take me years to map it all out…”
“But is it dangerous?!” Pearly stressed, her voice rising slightly. She immediately withdrew with an apologetic ‘meep’ when Celestia shot her a stern look.
Celestia didn’t answer right away. She continued to probe at the mirror for several more minutes, leaving the only sound to be her occasional hums of thought, and the steady shimmering hum of her magic. All the while, Minuette watched her, waiting for the moment when the alicorn would find the weakest link and break it all apart, letting Fangs into the real world.
But no such event transpired. Celestia gave off a quiet sigh as, finally, the light on her horn blinked out. The barrier faded, and once the purple swells from the mirror died down, so too did the containment field. The room was as it had been before her examination began.
“I have reached my conclusion,” Celestia said, turning back to the family.
“W-what?” Minuette asked anxiously, her hooves fidgeting together over her chest.
Celestia glanced back at the mirror. “The enchantment upon this mirror is not itself dangerous. It will only become a problem in the event somepony aside from the original caster tries to investigate it too closely. Beyond that, however, it is a perfectly harmless, indestructible mirror.”
Sunspot breathed a sigh of relief, but Pearly did not seem convinced. “Are you sure?” she asked, taking a step forward. “Are you sure it isn’t affecting the minds of those near it, somehow?”
Celestia nodded. “I saw no evidence of mental manipulation. Such was one of the first things I looked for.”
“But… but…”
Before anypony could say anything else, however, Celestia glanced over at Sunspot and Pearly. “Forgive the imposition, but I would like to speak with your daughter in private.”
“H-huh?” Sunspot asked, tilting his head. “What for?”
“I have questions for her that are best asked and answered in confidence.”
The parents exchanged anxious, worried looks. But, a moment later, they began to withdraw, opening the door.
“Behave yourself,” Sunspot called over to Minuette. “Answer her questions completely honestly, you hear me?”
“That was the idea,” Minuette called after him with a wave. “See ya in a few!”
The door clicked closed, and Minuette was left alone with Celestia. She took a slow breath and turned to face the alicorn, who had adopted a far more casual, gentle smile. Before saying a word, however, a pulse of light emanated from her horn, washing over the entire room.
Minuette blinked, looking around in confusion. “Huh? What was that?”
“A soundproofing spell,” Celestia explained with a small nod. “Now we may speak freely with no risk of eavesdroppers.”
“Woooahh…” Minuette murmured, spinning in a slow circle. “That is so cool…”
“I have seen you watching me, Minuette,” Celestia began calmly a moment later. “Far more intently than your mother and father. And where they appeared afraid, you looked expectant. Eager. Like you were just waiting for something to happen.”
Minuette blinked. Had she been that obvious?
Before she could speak, Celestia continued. “And beyond that, when I first arrived, you asked me if I could ‘see him.’ I would very much like to know who ‘he’ is.”
Minuette was quiet for a moment, her brain stalling. This was it. The moment of truth. If she could convince Celestia of Fangs’ existence, she could get the alicorn to let him out. It was now or never!
And that terrified her.
She licked her lips and began to speak. “So… uh… d-did you ever hear about my, er, ‘imaginary friend?’” she asked hesitantly.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “...I do not believe I have, no,” she said slowly.
Minuette hummed. She rose to her hooves and approached the mirror, lightly tapping the side with her hoof. Fangs was still taking deep breaths, but he looked better now than he had a moment ago.
Satisfied that he’d be okay, Minuette turned back to Celestia. “Well… The thing is… he’s real. And he’s right here.”
Celestia quirked a brow. She looked into the surface of the mirror, squinting curiously. “...Go on.”
Minuette took that as a good sign. Finally! She wasn’t being dismissed right out the gate! With a small smile, she placed a hoof on the mirror’s frame. “His name is Fangs. He’s this funky lookin’ bug-pony with big blue glowy eyes. I made an illusion of him in class a few years ago, remember?”
Celestia hummed quietly, closing her eyes. “Yes… I think I remember that. I commented that you had quite the imagination.”
“Well, I don’t,” Minuette shot back. “Not back then, at least. I was just copying what I saw from him. But he’s been trapped inside the mirror for centuries… unable to talk to anypony but foals who see him when they’re little, unable to feel anything, or eat, or sleep, or use the bathroom, or anything.”
Fangs gave her a flat look. “I do not think I miss that second-to-last one, actually.”
“Shush.”
Celestia considered Minuette for several long seconds, her brow furrowed in thought. Minuette took this as her cue to continue.
“That’s why I was studying the mirror. That’s why I got Twi and Moonie to help me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to let him out on my own. I’m… not really that good at magic. Better than a lotta ponies, maybe, but… I’m no Starswirl. Point is, I needed them to help me figure out how the mirror worked so I could let him out.”
She then put on a big grin, pointing at Celestia. “But now you’re here! You’ve looked at it yourself! And if anypony can set him free, it will be you!”
Celestia did not say a word. Her expression was impossible to read, and silence dominated the room. Slowly, Minuettes grin began to fade away, dwindling into a disappointed frown.
“...You don’t believe me, do you?” she asked despondently.
Celestia, to her surprise, shook her head. “Actually, I do not doubt a single word you are saying.”
Minuette’s eyes went wide. “Huh?!”
Celestia rose to her hooves. “When I was studying the enchantment, while its full purpose eluded me, I was able to recognize that it was capable of storing… something, though I could not place my hoof on what, exactly. Furthermore, I know you, Minuette. You have been in my school for years, and have studied in several classes that I teach personally. I know how you think, how you act. You aren’t the sort to commit this much time and effort to a flight of fancy,” she stated as she strode up to the mirror. “You are… to put it gently, fickle. Flighty. You are easily distracted, and a terrible liar. And I know how to tell when somepony is lying.”
Minuette’s heart lit up like a Hearthswarming Tree. Her hooves lifted up to her chest, her eyes shining, and her soul singing with unrestrained joy. “You believe me?!” she asked in a high-pitched squeal of joy.
Celestia smiled. “I do.”
Minuette rose to her hooves as the joy in her heart spread to her hooves. She jumped up and down in place, cheering her delight, uncaring about how her parents might think of it. “YES! Finally! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for somepony to say that!” she exclaimed, darting it and giving Celestia a hug, not really caring that it probably wasn’t appropriate.
Celestia laughed, not minding in the slightest, and wrapped her hooves around Minuette to return it.
“So you’ll let him out?” Minuette asked hopefully, her heart beating faster and faster with excitement. “I bet he’ll wanna thank you, too!”
She was expecting Celestia to answer with a solid ‘yes’ and get to work immediately. She was already imagining the glow of light and picturing the glass rippling like water as Fangs stepped through and into the real world.
Instead, however, she was met with silence. She looked up into Celestia’s eyes, and her hope faltered at the apology she saw directed back down at her.
Celestia released Minuette and nudged her back before rising to her hooves. She turned to the mirror, her eyes distant and forlorn. Minuette watched her, confused.
“Princess?”
“...Forgive me,” Celestia said softly, shaking her head. “But I am afraid that it is beyond my power to free your friend.”
It was like Minuette’s heart had shattered.
She didn’t say a word. She stared at Celestia, uncomprehending, for what felt like forever. Slowly, stiffly, she turned to Fangs. His eyes were closed, and he had lowered his head in disappointment.
No. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. Minuette turned back to Celestia, licked her lips, and spoke. “W-what do you mean? You’re Princess Celestia! You can do anything!”
Celestia gave a weak, bitter laugh. A broken sound laced with a thousand years of regret, and immediately Minuette knew how wrong she was.
“Oh, how I wish that were true,” Celestia whispered, staring out the window for a moment. “Think of the enchantment holding your friend inside as a lock. A lock requires a key to open safely. And I do not possess the key… nor can I create it.”
“But why not?!” Minuette demanded, her vision starting to blur with tears. “What’s this ‘key?!’ Maybe we can find it!”
Celestia shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that is… quite impossible right now. The key for this spell is the original caster. If anypony else were to try and undo the enchantment, then they would get nowhere, just like trying to put the wrong key in the wrong lock.”
“But… but…” Minuette was fishing for ideas now. There was no way this was how her efforts came to an end! She wouldn’t let it! “W-what if you forced the lock open?” she suggested desperately. “I mean, you can break a padlock if you hit it hard enough! Maybe you can break this… one…”
Celestia had given her a solemn, sympathetic look as she spoke, causing the words to die in her throat as she said them. “...In theory, I could,” Celestia said a second later. “But to do so would not only require an unthinkable amount of energy, but it would also utterly destroy the enchantment… and everything it contains.”
Minuette felt sick. She fell to her haunches, her head spinning. “Then… if you tried, you…” she mumbled in barely even a whisper.
“I would not be setting him free,” Celestia confirmed gently. “I would be executing him…”
Minuette’s breaths were coming in heaving gasps now. She brought a hoof up to her chest, her eyes wide as she tried desperately to think of something, anything. She must have overlooked something! Maybe she just needed to think about this from another angle, or… or…
She screwed her eyes shut as the reality finally set in. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she slammed her hooves down into the floor with a scream of frustration and grief. The scream rapidly broke down into pathetic sobs, and she felt Celestia’s hoof on her back a moment later.
After all of her hard work, enlisting her friends, studying the enchantment, and even getting Celestia herself involved, this was her reward? To learn that it had all been for nothing?! She beat her hoof against the floor again, uncaring if anypony heard her. Why did Fangs have to suffer like this?! It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right!
She didn’t know how long she lay there, screaming and crying her heart out, but soon enough she ran out of energy to spend. All the while, Celestia quietly comforted her, a hoof on her back. Minuette’s wails gradually died down into mere shaky breaths and quiet whimpers. Finally, with a pathetic sniffle, she looked up at Fangs.
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, wiping a hoof over her eyes. “I’m s-so s-sorry, Fangs.”
Fangs placed a hoof against the mirror. “No, no, don’t be. Don’t you dare apologize, Minuette,” he said gently, trying to smile at her. “You did everything you could. You made it farther than anyone else ever has. You made it as far as it is possible to get. I cannot thank you enough for that, and I am so proud of you.”
“B-but you’re still trapped!” she protested, slipping out of Celestia’s hooves to press her hooves up against the glass. A surge of white-hot rage briefly surged through her veins at the obstacle.
“It’s not right!” She shouted, punching the glass with every statement. “You shouldn’t be in there! It’s wrong! I was going to give you a big hug! I was going to introduce you to my mom! And my dad! And my friends! I was gonna show you Canterlot! You were gonna get to see the world! And eat food! And… and… gah, DANGIT!”
She reared back and drove her hoof into the glass one more time. Pain flared up her leg to dance in her shoulder, drawing a cry of pain from her. She slumped to the ground, leaning against the mirror, gasping for breath as her rage died away, replaced with nothing more than a cold emptiness.
Several moments passed in silence. And all the while, Minuette silently cried.
Celestia, who had said nothing during Minuette’s breakdown, stepped forward, lowering herself onto her belly in front of the mirror.
“If you can hear me, then I beg your forgiveness,” Celestia said. But not to Minuette, this time. Her eyes were locked on the mirror. “I wish there was more I could do to help you.”
Fangs hesitated for a second. He turned to Minuette, giving her a meaningful look.
Minuette sniffled quietly, confused. But when Fangs tilted his head towards Celestia. "Be my voice, little one."
Minuette blinked, sniffled, and rose back to her haunches. After a breath to compose herself, she gave Fangs a shaky nod.
Satisfied, Fangs then turned to face Celestia directly. And when he spoke, Minuette echoed his words to the listening princess.
“There is nothing to forgive, your highness,” he stated simply. “You did everything you could… and so did Minuette. I had never held much hope that she could set my body free from this glassy prison… but nor do I need her to. In the time I have known her, she has given me something far more valuable than my freedom. So long as I am free to return that gift, then I do not want or need anything else.”
Once Minuette was done reciting what he said, she glanced at him in surprise. Her heart twisted in her chest at the reminder of just how much she meant to him, and tears began to prick at her eyes again.
Celestia nodded. “If that is what you wish.”
Fangs nodded, closing his eyes. “It is, your highness.”
Celestia rose to her hooves and took a step back. “Very well… Then I leave the mirror in your hooves, Minuette,” she instructed, focusing on the foal in question. “For so long as it remains in your possession, you are to take care of it and its sole resident and ensure that none, even yourself, attempt to unmake the enchantment. For your safety… and his.”
Minuette nodded, bowing her head. “R-right… I will. Thank y-you, your m-majesty.”
Celestia bowed her head in turn. Then, without a word, she turned, and the sound-proofing spell that had been placed over the room disappeared with a gentle golden shimmer.
“I shall take my leave of you, now,” Celestia said without looking back. “You may take the next few days off, Minuette… I still have questions for you and Fangs, but they can wait. Until then, I wish you well.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
Celestia gave Minuette one last smile over her shoulder and then stepped through the door, leaving Minuette alone with Fangs.
She turned to face him, her eyes tired. “...So that’s it,” she said softly.
Fangs nodded quietly. “...It is. Thank you for trying.”
Minuette sighed, brushing her hoof over her face again. “You’re welcome… I just wish… I w-wish it’d worked…”
“I know… but as I said to the princess, you have given me far more than my freedom could ever be worth,” he said in a soft whisper, drawing her eyes back to him. He was smiling at her, his own eyes shimmering with tears. “I have known many in my time in this mirror, little one… but none have touched my heart as much as you have. I don’t need to be free from my prison for that to be true.”
Minuette managed to offer Fangs a weak, trembling smile. There was a thought dancing at the edges of her mind, but it was not one she could put into words. Or perhaps she just didn’t need to. Without a sound, she lifted her hoof and placed it against the glass. Fangs reciprocated the gesture, resting his hoof right in front of hers.
And for one moment, one beautiful second, it almost felt as if their hooves were touching...