//------------------------------//
// I Saw a Foal That Wasn't There... 
// Story: The Little Foal That Wasn't There 
// by Lise 
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	When I came this night at three, the mare was waiting there for me. But when she looked around the hall, she couldn't see me there at all...

An intense thirst woke Twilight up. Not again! She stirred in her bed. Even without opening her eyes, she could tell it was nowhere near morning. Turning to the other side she tried to go back to sleep. Too late. Despite her eyelids remaining shut, her brain was already awake, urging her to do something. 

Just great! I go to bed early, and still manage to wake up after five hours! What am I supposed to do now? Reading was an option, as was night flying. Twilight had tried both without result. At most she would exhaust herself by breakfast. She could try casting a sleep spell on herself, but that was unhealthy, and also, from what she had read, could lead to aether addiction.  

"Hello?" A voice startled Twilight, making her jump to her hooves. A few steps away, in front of an open window, stood the white and violet foal.

"What are you doing here?" whispered Twilight.

"Father said I had to apologize for this morning," the small unicorn said with such an innocent expression, that Twilight forgot she was worried or tired. She was still a bit angry, though.

"It's the middle of the night!" She rushed to the foal. "When I see your father, I'll give him a piece of my m..."

"Don't be mad at father!" The foal said sharply. "He just wants me to be nice."

"I'm sure he does, but no parent should let their child walk outside in the middle of the night," Twilight tried to explain, although she could see she wasn't getting through. "What about your mother? Did she have anything to say about this? I bet she's worried sick!"

"You're strange," the unicorn tilted its head sideways. 

"Wha... What?" Twilight barely managed to say. You come here in the middle of the night, levitate into my room, and I am strange?

"Let's read some stories," the foal said happily, and to Twilight's amazement, levitated one of the books towards her. "This one seems nice." It smiled happily, then curled up next to Twilight's forehooves. Her initial urge was to move away. Having an unknown foal go to sleep against her hooves was new. Actually, not quite. The little guy reminded her of Spike, when he was just a baby. She used to try to read to him too. A pity that Twilight's own reading skills, at the time, were almost nonexistent. 

"Alright." The alicorn smiled. "Just a few pages, but then I take you home."

"Uh-huh," came the quiet reply.

"Good!" She opened the book. Advanced Theory of Aether Distribution in Plants? He certainly has peculiar taste. "Are you sure you want this book?"

"Uh-huh."

"Absolutely sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you won't change your mind?"

"Uh-uh."

"Advanced Theory it is then," Twilight turned the page to chapter one. "Before I start, though, what is your name? I am Twilight, Twilight Sparkle."

"Fancy," the foal replied. 

Typical Canterlot name. Also explains the behaviour. Maybe he's related to Fancy Pants? Twilight wondered. He's accent is different, but he does act like everything revolves around him. Tomorrow, I'll definitely have a talk with his parents! Sweet or not, Fancy is in trouble and half the fault lies in them!

"Alright, Fancy, here we go," she said and started reading. The subject matter was way beyond what any foal could understand, but for some reason I'd didn't seem to bother Fancy. In fact he seemed to enjoy it, almost as if she were reading him a bedtime story. 

Poor thing, she thought. I'll let you stay tonight. You're exhausted, and no point waking your parents at this time, although I will have words with them! For now let's just read about aether dispersion, and leave the rest for tomorrow. 

A chapter passed, then another, and another. Page by page, Twilight read on, until her eyelids betrayed her, closing shut. Maybe it was time for her to stop. It probably was really really late and they both needed their sleep. They could always continue after breakfast. A sharp smack on the muzzle made Twilight forget her thought. The next thing she knew she was staring at the floor.

What in Tartarus? she jumped to her hooves. The room was empty, be it messier than she remembered. Books surrounded her on all sides, piled in stacks or scattered about the floor. That was weird. Suppressing a yawn,Twilight glanced at a few titles. The subject varied - Geography, Equestrian History, Pre-Classical Mages, even Obscure Historical Figures.

"Spike," she called, rushing out in the hallway. "Spiiike!"

No response. The little guy must still be mad. Either that or he had gone to Ponyville to do some shopping. One could only hope. A trip to the kitchen and dining room revealed the dragon was nowhere to be found. Instead there was a note, carefully placed next to a tray of waffles.


Twi,

I need to take care of something in Canterlot. Didn't want to wake you up. 
Here's breakfast, if you wake up before noon.

Be back tomorrow,

Spike


Canterlot business? Twilight didn't remember Princess Celestia saying anything of the sort. The again, maybe it was better this way. With the castle to herself she could yawn all she wanted and sleep whenever she wished, without having someone constantly worrying about her. Even better, she could finally rearrange her library, maybe even move a cabinet to her bedroom. Having stacks of books clutter the place was getting ridiculous.

Where did Fancy go? Twilight suddenly thought. She had totally forgotten about him! The colt wasn't there when she had woken up. Then again, she did sleep till noon. Any normal pony would have left. It was naive to think Fancy would wait for her to get up. That saddened her. Lately she had been giving more and more thought about having a foal of her own. The notion was absurd, of course. With everything going on, she didn't have time for dating, let alone forming a family. The most she could look forward to, in the foreseeable future, was becoming an aunt.

Twilight looked at the waffles again. They no longer seemed appetizing. Maybe another time, she thought and left the dining room. Right now she felt like a stroll. 

It was fresh outside. The air was crisp, and the weather ponies had set things up for a light drizzle. Any other day Twilight would have used this as an excuse to go back and read a book or two. This time, she used it as an excuse not to. 

"Yesterday upon the stair," she sang as she casually made her way towards Sugarcube Corner. "I saw a foal that wasn't there. He wasn't there again tonight. Oh how I wish he'd prove me right." 

The streets were mostly empty. The larger part of the ponies obviously didn't want to get their manes wet. Their loss. All the more space for her.

It was no different at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight couldn't remember the last time the place was so deserted. Even the Cakes weren't there, just Pinkie Pie standing eagerly at the counter.

"Twilight!" the earth pony shouted joyfully the instant Twilight entered. "I'm so glad to see you! With all the rain no pony could come, and since I have to care of the bakery, while the Cakes are out with the twins, I can't leave, and since I can't leave and nopony could enter I couldn't be with them and they couldn't be with me, and I really wanted to..."

"Nice to see you too, Pinkie," Twilight chucked. "No Gummy to talk with today?"

"Oh he's rehearsing his lines for the theatre play," Pinkie waved a hoof. "You know how artists can get." Twilight didn't, but this was definitely not the time or place to disagree. "So what are you here for? Don't you usually spend this time snoring on the table at your castle?"

Spike, when you get home from Canterlot, I'll... "Well Spike has apparently gone to Canterlot for some reason," she said instead. "So I thought..."

"That you'll have lunch here?" Pinkie finished the sentence. "Don't worry, I'm on it!" She put on her serious expression, then before Twilight could say add another word, dashed into the kitchen.

"...sure," the alicorn added on the off chance that Pinkie could hear her. "I'll definitely have lunch here. Not like I have anything else to do."

"Can I eat something as well?" A voice asked behind her. 

"Fancy?" Twilight turned around briskly. Surely enough the foal was there, his mane all wet. "You are soaking wet!" She summoned a towel and levitated it only him.

"Hey!" The foal protested, trying to move away. Twilight, however, was having none of that. Casting a second spell, she levitated Fancy into the air, why proceeding to rub his mane dry with the towel.

"Honestly! What were your parents thinking? Walking alone at night, trotting in the rain... I'm definitely having a word with them!"

"I'm dry, I'm dry!" Fancy continued kicking in the air, while attempting to use a levitation spell of his own to move the towel away. Sadly, his magic was no match to that of a determined alicorn princess. A few testing minutes later and he was bone dry, and seated at a table opposite Twilight.

"Can you bring some ice cream sandwiches, Pinkie?" Twilight shouted. The sound of falling pots in the kitchen, accompanied by the loudest gasp ever, indicated that her request was noted. "You'll like this," she said to Fancy. "Nothing beats Pinkie's ice cream."

Fancy continued to sulk. At the mention of ice cream, however, his ears flicked. Now I know your weakness! Twilight smiled, pleased with herself.

"You know, you shouldn't have just left this morning," she said, trying to sound as warm as possible. "You could have woken me up."

"I had go see father," the foal replied. "And he said he's sorry."

"Well, I'll still need to talk to him."

"Here come the icewiches!" Pinkie burst into the room, carrying a platter as large as herself. "I wasn't sure what flavor you liked, so I made everything I could think of." She placed the platter on the table. "One of them is wasabi," she added in semi whisper. "I just forgot which one."

"Err thanks, I guess?" Twilight blinked then glanced at the neatly arranged ice cream treats. They all looked extremely appetizing - a thick layer of ice cream between two thin layers of biscuit. A shame that Pinkie had a tendency of adding a "special surprise" to most of her creations. Then again, she was Pinkie Pie.

"And now I'll leave you to enjoy!" The earth pony smiled, hopping towards the kitchen. "Nighty night!" She shouted before disappearing.

"That lady is weird," Fancy concluded.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Twilight nodded.

The first sandwich sampled turned out safe, so Twilight levitated it to Fancy. Initially, he demonstratively refused the offer, but after a few brief moments of self restraint, grabbed it with both hooves and took a bite. 

"Well?" the alicorn asked with an expectant smile.

"It's ok, I guess," the foal looked to the side, still eating. "Father says I shouldn't eat this. He says I could get unwell."

"You can't eat sugar?" Twilight felt her heart skip. Instantly she levitated what was left of the pastry away. Oh dear, oh dear! Now I've made a mess of things! All the time complaining that his parents were neglecting him, and I never bothered to ask if it was ok to give him ice cream!

"Hey!" Fancy shouted as the treat floated away.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Instincts were stronger than logic. Before Twilight could realize, she was hugging Fancy tightly with forehooves and wings. "Everything will be alright..."

"Aww, hey!" The foal made a weak attempt to break free. "Stop it, mom!"

"Mom?" Twilight froze. He called me 'mom'? Where did that come from?

"Err, Twilight?" a hoof tapped her on the wing. "Are you alright?"

"Just...just a little shocked," Twilight replied. "I wasn't expecting..."

"Because you are hugging a towel," Pinkie Pie said, behind her.

What?! Twilight thought and looked. It was true. There was nothing but a slightly damp towel in her forehooves, the same she had summoned moments ago. No sign of Fancy at all.

"But, he was..." She began, still refusing to believe what her eyes were telling her.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Pinkie Pie tried to cheer her up. "Happens to me all the time! Once I spent a whole night arguing with a bucket of turnips. I can't remember what the argument was about." She looked at the ceiling, pondering, hoof on chin. "Or who won. Guess it must have been me because I never loose an argument and if I loose an argument I start another argument and..."

"He was here!" Twilight shouted. "We talked about yesterday, I gave him ice cream... He called me mom!" Why am I shouting? Why doesn't anything make sense? Why do I feel so sad?

"Err, no, you were alone all the time," Pinkie looked at her, confused. "You sat at the table, then dozed off. Oh, oh and you were talking in your sleep too. You know, you're the second pony I've seen sleep eating, though definitely the first to order while asleep. You know what? We should have a party to..."

"Sorry, Pinkie, I'm not in the mood," Twilight cut her short and abruptly teleported outside Sugarcube Corners. The drizzle had turned into rain, but she could barely register it. There was so much going on in her mind right now. Nothing made sense, as if her world was falling apart. 

Twilight wandered aimlessly under the rain. She had no idea where she was going. It didn't matter. All she knew was she had to keep walking. After a while she reached a bench - the same she had met Fancy for the first time. For several minutes she just stood there, hesitating what to do next. Finally she sat down. The cold wet surface made her shiver. 

"Why?" she whispered, hoping that Fancy would appear from somewhere and explain. No such luck. The logical part of her brain explained that all her experiences had been nothing more than a series of hallucinations caused by a lack of sleep. The emotional part, however, couldn't settle for that. She had liked talking with Fancy. For some unexplained reason she felt close to him. It was as if she were his mother. 

Why, Luna? If it were a dream, why did it have to be so real? Twilight closed her eyes. I would rather face a thousand nightmares, than lose this dream. Had she lost it? There always was the chance that the foal would appear next time she went to sleep. If so, though, why was something telling her she had lost him forever?

"I guess I better go home now, Fancy," Twilight said to the empty bench. "It's getting cold and I..." She grit her teeth. "... I don't want to be a bad example."

Slowly the alicorn stood up and started walking to her castle. The sensation of loss clung to her like    a sticky cloud. The walk became a trot, then a canter and finally a gallop. 

"As I ran throughout the rain," Twilight spit out the words, as if that would help her forget. "I met a foal that never came..."

Running was too slow. The rain was too forgiving. Focusing all her energy on her horn, Twilight teleported, then again and again. Dozens of teleportation spells, each changing the world around her, until at the end her surroundings became the cold marble walls of the castle. She was alone. Nopony could see her now, nopony could witness the breakdown of a princess. And so she started crying, the quiet bitter crying that came from the core.

"Mommy," a frightened voice suddenly said. It felt like time had frozen. Twilight briskly turned around, half fearing that her mind was playing tricks on her.

Fancy was just standing there, his mane dry and tidy, as it had been at their first meeting.

"Don't be sad," he said said softly. "I didn't want to upset you..."

"I'm not upset," Twilight managed a smile through the tears. "It's just... I don't know what's happening," she shut her eyes, scared to move, less the foal disappears again. "Why am I acting like this? You are just a figment of imagination." She tried to convince herself. "Just a dream."

"Father says he loves you," the foal said. Twilight felt her heart shatter. That was it! That was the source of her pain - something she had forgotten, but still resonated in her. 

"I have to go now." Fancy stepped forward.

"No! Don't go!" Twilight shouted. "Don't you leave me!"

"I can't stay here long," he shook his head. "Look under your bed. That's what father said. Bye, mommy."

A blink of the eye later he was gone, leaving Twilight to stare at a empty hall. Now she truly was alone...