//------------------------------//
// And the End 
// Story: Beyond Blind Eyes 
// by Lunaric 
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"Well, let me say, it's good to meet you, little one. Not often do I meet someone like you." In front of her, Shimmering Sky saw the smallest filly she ever met. Her time as a principal of the biggest school in Canterlot, perhaps all of Equestria, had allowed her to see a multitude of different body shapes. This unicorn filly looked closer to a thestral than a unicorn. Her fluffy coat, large ears, and surprisingly piercing eyes. Her eyes look like she's studying you... and she can't even see!

"Thanks?" Aqua replied.

Sky laughed, "It is a good thing, I assure you. It's rare to find one in as unfortunate a scenario as you. And even despite that, you're still so passionate. Makes me think back to a younger me." Aqua awkwardly laughed as all foals did. Sky always found it cute. "Anyway, I assume you want to take the aptitude test, yes?"

"Uh... yeah. Um... what exactly does this aptitude test consist of? Do I need to take a written test, do a collection of exercises or...?"

"It's a little easier than that, little one," She laughed. "There are three parts of it. In order, a capability test, a competence test, and a capacity test. Put simply, the first test shows if there is a specific school of magic you align with. The second displays your ability to make what you want to happen, happen. The third only tests how much mana capacity you have."

"Ah, okay. That makes sense. So... What do I do?" Aqua was looking up at Sky with a tiny smile.  Fits perfectly on her tiny self.

Giggling with a hoof covering her mouth, Sky got up. "Follow me. There's a different room for the testing." She opened a door on the far end of her room. Through the door was a virtually-empty large magically-resistant room. Most weren't able to tell how many enchantments have been put in it, but she could. Sky had taken a part in making it, after all. With Princess Celestia's help, the room had been fitted with two-hundred and thirty-eight different enchantments for damages of both physical and magical natures. Most of them are fail-safes to prevent disruptions towards the room even in the event of a serious magical surge. 

Sky cantered to the side of the room where three instruments sat. The first had a large clear magical gem in the middle of a wide bar. On both sides of the gem, there were eight smaller gems of varying colours. The second was a small dial with a ring sitting next to it. The third was simply a large clear gem atop a cylinder.

Picking up the first instrument and bringing it over to the filly, she set it down on the floor in front of her. She directed the filly to pour a small amount of mana into the gem in the center of it. 

The filly shuffled in place nervously. "Ummm... How do I do that?" Sky sighed. Oh, Celestia, why this one?