Imaginary Friend
Were one to peer into Minuette’s room, they would find that, for the first time since she had gotten the mirror, she was using it for its intended purpose. She stood in front of it, examining her reflection with a narrow-eyed squint of scrutiny. A hairbrush floated in the air next to her, hovering just above her head, twitching every so often with anticipation at being used.
Her parents had made it clear — despite her many protests that it was unnecessary — that if she was inviting boys over, she would need to be presentable. That meant her room had to be tidied up, and her appearance had to be adjusted to. She had grumbled about how such extreme measures were what boys were supposed to do.
But, what would have otherwise been an onerous task was made almost trivial with the help of Fangs. He called out to her routinely as she set about cleaning up her room, picking up books or toys she had left lying around. And then, when that had all been done, he had done a remarkable job at helping her work out exactly what she wanted to do with her mane.
With a few final deft swishes of the brush, she beamed at her reflection. “Alright, I think that will just about do it!” she declared, casting the brush aside with nary a care in the world.
Her reflection followed it with its eyes and frowned. “Oh, great. Now you have to go pick that up. And you were doing so well,” it grumbled in mock disappointment.
Minuette rolled her eyes and rose to go after the brush. “Hardy har, Fangs. Hardy har.”
Her reflection in the mirror exploded into green flames, and Fangs smiled at her as she went. “In case you had forgotten, you enlisted my help with you and your room. You asked for this,” he pointed out.
Minuette stuck her tongue out at him as she passed, idly smacking the mirror frame with the brush. The two shared a good-natured laugh at that. She quickly deposited the brush back in the bathroom before coming back and closing the door behind her. She looked at the clock to see how much time she had left. Less than half an hour until her friends arrived.
Her smile faded, and Fangs was quick on the uptake. He frowned at her. “Ah, and there it is again.”
Minuette frowned back at him in confusion. “Huh? What? There’s what?” she asked, marching up to the mirror.
Fangs gestured at her face. “The frown. You’re worried. Anxious.”
Minuette paused. “I’m anxious?” she asked, having completely missed that fact herself.
Fangs nodded. “Subtly so, but yes.”
Minuette squinted her eyes at him, her ears folding back as doubt and skepticism came over her. “How do you know that? What, are you a mind reader or something?” she asked slowly.
Fangs chuckled and shook his head. “Ha! Nothing quite so fanciful. No, little one, I am not a mind reader. I am, however, an empath, after a fashion,” he corrected.
Minuette stared at him. Her muzzle scrunched up as she racked her brain for any knowledge she had on that word. Alas, she came up with nothing, and she huffed at him. “Wassat?”
Fangs snorted in amusement at her blunt request. He leaned back somewhat, his eyes drifting upwards. “It means, Minuette, that I can tell exactly what others around me are feeling. I can see their emotions in the air, radiating off of them like steam from a plate of hot food. Every emotion comes with its own unique color, and from those, I can discern a rough idea of what a pony is feeling. Although the reasons behind their emotions elude me.”
Minuette’s eyes widened. “Woah… you can see emotions?!”
Fangs blinked. “That is what I just said, yes.”
Minuette’s grin grew. “Oh, wow! That’s so cool! They all have different colors?! What color are mine right now?!” she asked, bouncing up and down in place with excitement.
Fangs leaned forward, squinting through the glass. He stared at her for several seconds before smiling and nodding. “Yellow and gold. You are excited, presumably by the revelation that I can see what you are feeling at any given time. There are trace amounts of pale blue, not unlike the edge of the horizon at noon. Contentment perhaps, or appreciation. I am assuming that is because you enjoy my company. And there, hugging close to your body, obscured by the others, is a thin film of dull purple. Anxiety, a more subtle form of fear. Something is gnawing at you. It has been since you woke up this morning.”
Minuette frowned at that, her excitement briefly abating. There was the mentioning of anxiety again. But what did she have to be anxious or afraid of? She had her friends coming over so they could work on the spell Celestia had assigned them to study, and she planned on introducing them to Fangs so they could have another friend, and so he could meet more ponies that could see him. They would all stop being so sad and upset all the time, Split and Bristle would ace their upcoming test, and everything would be just fine.
...Right?
Fangs’ expression softened somewhat. “The anxiety is growing.”
Minuette fidgeted in place, her ears drooping. “Er, yeah… I think I know what it is.”
Fangs sat back and gestured for her to speak. “Go on, then. Tell me. Perhaps I can help?”
Minuette took a deep breath and trotted closer to the mirror. “Well, it’s just that… I really, really want this to go well, you know?” she asked, sitting down in front of him. “But my friends have never seen you before, and I’ve never even talked about you to them. They’ve all seen a vague resemblance of you once in class when I made an illusion of you as part of that test I was so scared of, but they have no idea you’re here. And Split and Bristle have been really sad and mopey lately and I don’t wanna scare them or make them upset. And you are kinda scary looking.”
Fangs raised an eyebrow. “My feelings have been harmed.”
Minuette’s eyes sprang wide open, and she quickly put her hooves out in front of her. “I m-mean, you look scary at first, but then when I got to know you, I saw that you’re really nice and actually really cool looking! I mean, look at those teeth! They’re so long and- why are you laughing?”
Halfway through her panicked spiel, Fangs had begun laughing. He took a few deep breaths to compose himself when she stopped and soon smiled warmly at her. “Little one… these are your friends we are speaking of, are they not?” he asked slowly.
Minuette tilted her head at him. “Well, yeah… and I don’t wanna upset them or anything.”
“But they are your friends,” Fangs insisted, leaning forward slightly. “And good friends at that, from how much you have been worrying for them. Especially First Aid. Is that correct?”
Minuette nodded at him. “Uh-huh! She’s my oldest and best friend! Why?”
Fangs nodded at Minuette. “Because, if they are your friends, then I see no reason for this meeting to go poorly. They trust and respect you, they appreciate you, and they enjoy your company. You have told me your fair share of stories about times you made them laugh or smile at your… comedic antics.”
Minuette puffed up her chest. She had made them smile and laugh a lot, hadn’t she? Especially that time when she turned the tables right around on Split after she failed her test.
“At the end of the day, they are your friends,” Fangs went on. “And no matter what, I am positive things will be totally fine.”
As if on cue, the sound of a hoof knocking on a door resonated from downstairs. Pearly’s voice came up a second later, shouting to be heard through the walls. “Minuette! Your friends are here!”
“Ah, what perfect timing,” Fangs noted with a satisfied smile.
Minuette glanced back at her door, then turned to him again. They made eye contact for several seconds. She stared deep into those glowing orbs, taking what strength and comfort she could from not only his grounded gaze but also his words of assurance. Her heart swelled with confidence and resolve. He was right. They were her friends, and she was worrying for nothing. This was going to go great!
A grin split her muzzle. “Alrighty! Thanks, Fangs! I’ll bring them right up! Strike a pose, ‘cause we wanna make a good first impression!” she said before turning and scampering for the door.
“I think I’ll just hide out of sight until you call on me!” Fangs called after her. “That way they’ll expect something odd!”
“Boring, but okay!” Minuette agreed before throwing open her door and scampering down the steps. Her eyes flew to the door the moment she reached the bottom, landing on the sight of her three friends already stepping inside and wiping their hooves on the doormat.
First Aid saw her coming first, and her face lit up with a smile. “Minnie!” she called, galloping forward and throwing her forelegs around Minuette in a hug. “It’s good to see you!”
Minuette gave off a grunt from the sudden contact, but all the same, she returned the hug with gusto. “You, too!” she said before leaning back and waving enthusiastically at Split and Bristle as they closed the door behind them. “Hey, guys! Welcome to my house!”
Split looked it over, a thoughtful look on his face. “Hm… Kind of basic, but I like it.”
Bristle nodded in agreement as he took it in. “Yeah, it’s nice. Little small, though.”
First Aid rolled her eyes at them. “You guys are just used to big family estates,” she pointed out playfully.
Bristle shrugged his shoulders. “Eh. Fair enough.”
“You kids want anything before you get to work?” Pearly asked from the side, as the one who had opened the door. “Snacks? Water?”
Bristle turned to her with a simple shake of his head. “No, thanks. Maybe later, though,” he said respectfully.
Neither Split nor First Aid made any effort to disagree with that assessment. The filly between them turned back to Minuette and grinned. “So, where we going?” she asked eagerly.
Minuette turned and gestured up the stairs that she had just come barreling down. “Right upstairs in my room! Come on, lemme show ya!” she said, flashing her friends a wink before turning and running back up. Her legs were starting to complain a little by the time she reached the top, but at the moment, she could not really find it in herself to care. With her anxieties squashed by Fangs’ assurance, she was beyond eager to get this party started.
She burst into her room a moment later, her eyes flying to her mirror. Fangs poked his head out to confirm it was her. She made eye contact and waved at him. He nodded in turn before ducking back and out of sight. Minuette’s grin grew, and she had to actively stop herself from scampering excitedly in place. All was where it needed to be! Now, all that needed to be done was to get the introductions out of the way!
The others came filing in a few moments later. First Aid came first, bounding in with a big smile. She took in the room as she entered, slowly spinning in place. “Wow. You’ve got a nice room, Minnie!” she said.
“You haven’t been here before?” Split asked as he followed her in, eyeing the room in a more controlled fashion. His eyes found the small bookcase Minuette kept tucked against the wall at the foot of her bed and raised an eyebrow. Minuette didn’t know what the problem was. Most of the books were storybooks from when she was younger and one or two books on animals and teeth. Nothing odd about that, right?
“Nope,” First replied, turning back to Split and shaking her head. “Never really had a chance.”
“Odd for you,” Bristle nodded as he entered. He closed the door behind him and took a second to look around. “Hm. Small, but it works.”
“Heh. Glad you like it!” Minuette chirped before jumping back a little, careful to ensure she was close to the mirror. “So, you guys ready to get a start on this project?!”
“As ready as I am going to be,” Split added with a noncommittal shrug.
Bristle hummed, stepping forward until the group formed something of a loose circle. “I suppose so. Does anyone have any ideas to start with? I was thinking a landscape would be simple enough, but loose enough for plenty of creativity.”
“Sounds about as good as anything I came up with,” Split replied.
First Aid cut in before those two could get too far lost in their deliberations, lifting her hoof to get their attention. Once they were focused on her, she cleared her throat and pointed at Minuette. “So… Minuette? Before we get into this, didn’t you, ya know, have a surprise for us?”
Minuette’s heart skipped a beat. She had not expected First to jump on the subject like that. But she was quick to adapt and roll with the punches. She had invited her friends here for more than just their school project, after all, and this seemed as good a time as any to put the Fangs part of her plan into motion.
With a nod, she turned to Split and Bristle. “Yep! So, Split, Bristle. First and I have been noticing that you two have been kinda down in the dumps, lately,” she began, measuring her words carefully.
Bristle grimaced, glancing off to one side. “I… suppose you could put it that way, sure. I’d rather not think about it while we’re here, though.”
Minuette hesitated for a second, glancing over at First Aid for support. The other filly smiled and nodded for her to continue, though there was something in her gaze, warning Minuette to tread lightly.
Doubling down on her gentle tone, Minuette pressed on. “Well, I dunno what made you two get all sad and stuff, but I didn’t like it. So… I didn’t just ask you guys to come here so we could work on this group project and pass the big test together, but because there’s someone I want you to meet!”
That got everyone’s undivided attention. Split raised an eyebrow. “Someone you want us to meet? Who? I didn’t see anypony else coming in. Just your mom and your dad…”
Minuette shook her head. “You wouldn’t have seen him coming up, ‘cause he lives in my room!” she said before turning to the mirror. “He’s kinda spooky looking, but he’s really nice and smart! When I failed that first test, he helped give me the confidence I needed to ace the next one with flying colors!”
“The same one the two of us stumbled on,” Bristle noted with a hint of bitterness. “Okay… who is this mystery friend of yours, then?”
Minuette marched up to the mirror and turned to face the others. They were all watching her with curiosity and interest. She took a deep breath—moment of truth.
“I’d like you all to meet him so he can help all of us with this project, and so you can all have a new friend, and so he can have three new friends! So, allow me to introduce…”
She turned and threw her forelegs wide over the mirror as if to present something. “Fangs, the mirror bug!”
On cue, Fangs stepped into view, a hopeful smile on his face. He nodded his head at the trio as he came into sight. “Hello, little ones. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Minuette grinned, winking at Fangs before turning back to her friends, expecting them to give off exclamations of surprise and awe and wonder any second now.
She was met with confused stares and total silence.
Bristlestroke frowned. “Minuette… what are you talking about?”
Minuette’s grin shattered. She turned to Fangs for some sort of explanation. Had she positioned the mirror wrong? He stared back at her, the hope in his eyes bleeding away to be replaced with little more than disappointment.
Minuette turned back to her friends, forcing her smile to return. “Um… the bug pony in my mirror? The one standing right there?” she asked insistently, jabbing her hoof at Fangs repeatedly for emphasis.
Split and Bristle shared a look of confusion, while First never took her eyes off of Minuette. There was something in those eyes. A question, a plead. It was as if she was silently asking Minuette if she was being serious.
“Er… it’s a mirror,” Split pointed out a second later. “There’s nothing there.”
“But… But…”
“Little one,” Fangs muttered to her in defeat. “They can’t see me… They must be too old.”
“No,” Minuette denied, turning to him with her ears folding back in dismay. “No, that doesn’t make any sense! I can see you just fine, and they aren’t much older than I am! It… it must be some mistake-”
“Are you SERIOUS?!”
The entire room went quiet. Minuette jumped in her skin and spun around to face the one who had shouted, her heart skipping a beat. Bristlestroke was staring back at her with barely contained outrage.
First shrank back, her ears folding down. “Bristle… p-please-”
“No no, SHUT up, First Aid!” he snapped, stomping past her until he was looming threateningly over Minuette. “I can’t believe this! You dragged us all the way here when we didn’t want to come just to show us your mirror and show us you’re completely and utterly insane?! Have you gone insane, or did you ever even have a mind to lose?!”
Minuette cowered away from him, her belly pressing itself to the floor. “I… I… But he’s… he’s right there...” she whimpered, her eyes starting to water. She glanced at the mirror, to Fangs, her eyes pleading with him to do something. She lifted a hoof and pointed. “Right there. Please, look.”
Bristle snarled and shot a spiteful glance at the mirror. For several seconds he looked before growling and stepping back from Minuette. “I can’t believe this… I can not believe I got showed up by a common twerp with an imaginary friend!”
Minuette shriveled on the floor, tears breaching her eyes. Her heart felt as if it had just been shattered in her chest. “But… he’s real!” she protested in vain.
“Is he, now?!” Bristle snapped, turning to the mirror with a scowl of disgust. He scoffed at it before grabbing onto the frame. “Bah! This thing’s too nice for you!”
Minuette’s heart froze when Bristle turned and threw the mirror down to the ground. Her eyes landed on Fangs’, which had flown wide in fear and shock. The mirror slammed down on the ground with an echoing thud and crack, and for one heart-stopping instant, Minuette feared that the glass would shatter, and her friend would be gone.
Thankfully, that did not happen, and Split went into motion. He grabbed onto Bristle’s foreleg and yanked him away. “Bristle! Stop it, that’s enough!” he shouted.
Bristle tore his hoof away from Split’s and stepped back, glaring at him as if he had just been stabbed in the back. “Really, Split?! You’re not angry about this?!”
Split hesitated, glancing back at Minuette with an uncertain frown. “I mean… a little, but… you’re taking it too far!”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Bristle snorted sarcastically, his tail lashing behind him. “I’m taking it too far. She’s just the little kid whose sudden one-eighty performance in class made everyone else bully us and our parents get on our backs all the time!”
Minuette screwed her eyes shut as the shouting continued. “Please… s-stop…”
“Do you have any idea what your little light show has put me through?!” Bristle went on, stomping toward her again. “Do you have any idea how much the other foals keep ganging up on me and Split?! Or how my parents yelled at me when we got my test results back?! Why oh why, they asked, did I let some commoner do better than me in the most prestigious school in the entire kingdom that I worked my tail off to get into?!”
“I… I didn't…” Minuette whimpered. The shouting, the angry glares, the mirror on the ground… it all became too much. She covered her head with her hooves, screwed her eyes shut, and began to cry.
A heavy silence fell over the room, the only sound being Minuette’s pathetic wails. Several seconds passed before Bristle snorted, his coat bristling. “And now you’re crying?! Oh, this just gets better and better! Insane and a crybaby! How did you ever make it into Celestia’s school?!”
“BRISTLE!” First Aid finally cut in, moving to put herself between Bristle and Minuette. She glared up into his eyes with tears escaping her own. “That’s enough! Please, just stop yelling!”
Bristle stared her down for several long seconds.
Before anypony could say anything else, the door to the room suddenly slammed open, and two very angry parents stormed in.
“Leave my baby alone!” Pearly shouted, her horn lighting up with magic and grasping Bristle in a firm grip. He barely had time to give off a squawk of alarm before he was forcefully hauled from his hooves and jettisoned out the door. He landed on his rump in the hall with a grunt before glaring up at Pearly and Sunspot.
“Hey! You can’t just-”
“Shut up and get out of our home,” Sunspot cut him off, his own horn lighting up. “Nopony makes my daughter cry. Nopony.”
Bristle glared back at them for several seconds. Then, with a snort and a flick of his tail, he rose to his hooves and began to march for the stairs. “Tch. Fine. Whatever. Waste of my freaking Sunday,” he grumbled before fading from view.
Once the sound of the door opening and closing resonated through the home, Pearly turned and cantered into the room, her eyes glued on Minuette. “Minnie? Minnie, it’s okay. He’s gone,” she said.
Minuette looked up into her mother’s eyes. “Mom…” she whimpered in a broken croak of a voice. She allowed herself to be pulled up into a tight hug, burying her face into her mother’s chest and openly crying all over again. “He… h-he…”
“Sssh,” Pearly shushed her, patting her repeatedly on the back of the head to silence her miserable cries. “It’s okay, sweetie. He’s gone. He can’t hurt you. You’re okay. It’s all gonna be okay. Mommy’s got you.”
As Pearly did all she could to comfort her daughter, Minuette could hear Sunspot turning to the two other foals who remained in the room. There were several seconds where he did not say a word before he spoke in a low, commanding voice.
“You two have some explaining to do.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
1,034 users online
135,084 hits today, 2,818,023 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Aw, poor Minuette. Poor Fangs, too.
Hopefully Fangs is ok.
Aww...poor Minnie...and poor Fangs...
Well my theory on split or bristle being the colt at the beginning was wrong
There must be something special about Minuette that allows her to see Fangs. It must be something about her personality.
;-;
Ah cmon! Was looking forward to that....
But now she’ll just have to find some pony else...I’d be willing to bet a certain purple smart would be about the right age...she is a rather advanced pony after all...
Seems she was very close age-wise to the boundary where foals stop believing in things like bugs in mirrors. It isn't a set age though, but more a frame of mind that is easy to lose as one gets older. They were skeptical so they didn't see Fangs. It might have been more likely for Fangs to be seen if he were presented differently. If the mirror was just there and fangs was there and they didn't have any preconceived notion about it, but it is now too late.
If they were more patient, she could have PROVEN beyond a shadow of a doubt that Fangs exists.
1) She closes her eyes/is blindfolded -- she can hear Fangs.
2) Ask them to write a number on a sheet of paper
3) Hold the paper so it is reflected in the mirror.
4) Fangs answers with what is on the paper.
5) She answers what is on the paper.
Proof.
Well, that was predictably distressing.
10403103
Nope, he's just a little @#^hole child raised by @#^holes.
10427513 I think Twilight would be even less willing to believe it than the others. She's too nose deep in books to believe in bug ponies in mirrors.
I had a feeling that might happen. I'm not happy that I was right, but still.
...that somehow went even worse than I thought. I didn't think they'd be able to see Fangs, but I didn't think they'd blow up like this
10427580
Clearly you don’t remember the entire episode Twilight spent trying to understand the “pinkie sense” she’d be all over trying to find a logical explanation
*sharp inhale*
Ow...
Oof
Hey, I just wanted to point out that she could prove his existence by turning away/closing her eyes and having someone write or show something to Fangs, and then Fangs could tell Minuet what it was, effectively proving that there is someone in the mirror. Someone could also say something to Fangs while Mini isn’t in the room and then Fangs could tell Mini and she could relay it. This could actually make for a really cool scene, perhaps First Aid will give her the time to prove it.
10428037
Many people have pointed this ought, but I do need to make the counterpoint that Minuette is a little kid. She isn't as clever as you or I. I may address something like this in the future, but its not something I can feasibly do just now.
10428044
Of course, I meant like something to keep in mind for the future, not anytime now. Great chapter by the way, I must be a masochist or something because I like it when ponies get sad.
10428048
I mostly like writing sad stuff because then, if I decide to have a happy ending, it is so much sweeter and satisfying if the characters have to suffer to get there.
That was a D move. This kid too spoiled. Been insulting all the way, and even does this now. That's a way to lose all friends.
Especially with trying to break big mirror. They cost a lot.
I find it kinda stupid, that in the world of magic they don't even think he might be real. Even if that's just an elaborate illusion.
But "too old" excuse is kinda lame. She barely meet him weeks ago and she just started school. It cannot be that little time, right?
Anyway, there is a lot of ways to prove how existence.
But I'm mostly worried about the mirror right now.
Well that introduction rates a 1/10!
Damn I thought first aid could of seen him for sure
See, this is why you test this sort of thing with magical curses you don't understand that have invisible effects.
The smart thing to do would have been to just have Fang waltz into view with no fanfare and see if any of them noticed him.
But of course Minuette isn't as BRILLIANT and CUNNING as I am... none are. Which is why I shall become God-Emperor in 2032.
10427284 He died. She'll just see a squished bug from now on.
And the speech was going *so* well!!!
You just had to jinx it, didn't you…
Yeah Bristle. Go on. Take your frustrations out on the poor filly as if she had any control over your situation. Shout at her as if she hadn't been trying to cheer you up like a good friend. Berate her for crying as if it isn't reasonable to do so when a selfish friend shouts at you for no good reason.
Jerk.
But you know what? Minuette's a good pony. An even better friend. She'll forgive you, like ponies of her caliber do. She might even blame herself, as the best friends are oft to do.
Realize what you've done, and how lucky you are to have Minuette.
Perhaps, then, you can take a step towards making things right. If you don't… I'm afraid you'll become the type of pony everpony else dislikes…
Learn now, while you still can.
10428044
So why hasn't Fangs thought about it yet? He's plenty old enough.
Well, that's one friendship ended, possibly even an enemy made. It's too bad the Map doesn't exist yet, because this would DEFINITELY have set it off, if it hadn't been triggered already.
Great, now I’m sad AND angry. Fyaying entitled brat.
10428247
Heheheh.
The title of the chapter kinda gave out the spoiler. I kept reading, knowing what the outcome would become. It would have been more impactful if I hadn't known the true result instead of bracing for it.
Bristle is in the wrong, but he isn't bad. The bullying part I can understand how he feels. But having no one to seek comfort in, especially when your parents are just as bad as the bullies, must have been hard on his psyche.
It's too early in the story for Fangs to be shown to anyone else yet, but I wasn't expecting the mirror to get damaged like that.
poor little Minuette.
tho what if the dmg to the mirror paves the way for Fangs to be free from the mirror.
anyway Bristle broke/damaged the mirror so 7 years of bad luck for him
Darnnit....hugs minnie
Darn, and with a solid 31 percent chance they would have been able to see him, there was so much hope!
Sadly, it's not technically age that's the requirement, but trending does show that age affects it...
This is why you don't bottle you emotions. It's a difficult lesson to learn, hopefully the next round will let them reconcile...
Keep going! ;)
10427375
or the fact that she got the mirror on her birthday and the others are older then her. my guess is she was barely young enough to see fangs
Minuette got her mirror on her birthday, and her friends are barely older that her.
I’m thinking that when Minuette first saw Fangs, she was just a few hours or even minutes from not being able to see him at all. Therefore, she lucked out!
I saw this coming from a mile away and yet I still feel PAIN. ;_;
10428309
He's not used to being able to talk with people, I guess
Clearly Bristle is not a good friend and now he has to look for another group to work with. I'm surprised that Minuette's friends are too old to see Fangs but not that nopony else could see him.
11167916
Minuette's friends are all older than her, and she slipped through the 'see Fangs' window with literal minutes to spare when she first spotted him moving.