Closing The Door
“Are you sure you have everything packed, Little One?” Fangs asked with a quirked eyebrow, his eyes darting from Minuette to look at the pair of saddlebags leaning against her bed.
Minuette let out an exasperated sigh. “Ugh. Yes, Fangs, I have everything I need! Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Just making sure,” Fangs defended, lifting a hoof with a small smirk. “I wouldn’t want you to go on this trip of yours and forget something important.”
Minuette blew a raspberry at him, drawing an amused chortle from the imprisoned mirror bug. She then shook her head and frowned. “Well, we are forgetting something important…”
The history exam had come and gone with no fanfare, and Celestia had called her in once or twice to question her on the mirror. Those meetings had been clinical and to the point, but Minuette had told the solar alicorn all she could about the mirror. She had also brought back a series of written questions to get Fangs' answers on them without having to remove the mirror from her home.
But now it was the first day of Summer Vacation, and Minuette’s family had made arrangements to head out of Canterlot for the week to get away from everything. If Minuette recalled correctly, they were going to be headed down to that village at the base of the mountain - Ponyville, she thought it was called. A wholly different place from Canterlot, but close enough that, in the event that something came up, they would be able to come home swiftly.
There was just one problem. The mirror stayed here.
And Minuette didn’t like that.
Fangs gave her a warm smile. “Minuette…”
“You should get to come along, too! You’ve been in Canterlot for so long, now. It must be boring!”
“Just getting to spread my wings and soar the skies outside on occasion is more than enough for me after the tarp,” Fangs shot back with a coy grin. “Really, it isn’t a big deal.”
“But why can’t they let me take you with me?!”
Fangs rolled his eyes. “Well, for one thing, I am your friend, but I am not your family, and this is a family trip. Secondly, you’re still the only pony who can perceive my existence. Therefore, bringing me along would only serve to throw a monkey wrench into your family time.”
Minuette went to offer up some protest, but Fangs held up a hoof, silencing her before she could begin. He leaned in, a far more amused smirk spreading across his fanged muzzle. “You and I both know that, if you took me along, you’d spend more time ogling my teeth and chattering at me than seeing the sights and being with your family. Which, in my humble opinion, rather defeats the purpose.”
Minuette spluttered incoherently for several seconds, searching desperately for some witty comeback, but none were forthcoming. In the end, she just settled for puffing up her cheeks and sticking her tongue out at the bug. She hated it when he was right and it inconvenienced her!
Before the two could continue, there was a sudden knocking at the door. Minuette almost jumped out of her skin before turning around. “What is it?” she called out.
The door popped open a second later, revealing Sunspot on the other side. He smiled at her. “Hey, kiddo. We’re gonna be rolling out of here in about an hour. You got everything?”
Minuette nodded, pointing to her saddlebags on the bed. “Yup, I do.”
“Good. In that case…” Sunspot stepped to one side and pushed the door all the way open to reveal there was somepony else standing just outside the bedroom.
Minuette sprang up to her hooves with an excited gasp, her eyes igniting with delight. “First Aid!” she exclaimed, bounding over as the filly trotted into the room and enveloping her in a warm embrace.
“Oof!”
First grunted in surprise from the sudden impact, falling back onto her haunches. She giggled a moment later, once her breath returned to her, and returned the embrace. “Hah! Hey, Minnie!”
“What are you doing here?!” Minuette asked with a huge grin, pulling back to look into First’s face.
First Aid rolled her eyes, playfully pressing her hoof to Minuette’s nose. “What do you think, silly filly? I wanted to come and hang out with you.”
Minuette’s grin widened at the prospect of hanging out with her oldest friend. But then her eyes wandered past First Aid’s big grin and settled on her father, and her burst of enthusiasm died on the spot. She deflated, turning back to First. “Heh. Well… I mean, we’re kinda…”
“Yeah, I heard,” First Aid admitted, her ears drooping as she glanced back at Sunspot. “Your dad told me what’s going on.”
There was a brief pause. Sunspot cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the two foals. “Like I said, we’re leaving in about an hour. I figured you could spend that time hanging out, if you wanted,” he explained with a shrug.
Minuette blinked in surprise. That was surprisingly lenient on her, given their time constraints. But there was probably some sort of secret ulterior motive behind it all. Probably distracting her so that she wouldn’t bother them while they got their own last-minute preparations out of the way or something like that.
But oh well. Who cares? And who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth?
But then again, there was the time she had studied Fangs’ teeth for hours on end, and he had come as a part of a birthday present, so that made him a gift…
…Minuette quickly shook her head and dispelled such notions. She put on a huge grin and nodded like an excited puppy. “If I wanted? Dad, c’mon, you know me!”
Sunspot chuckled while stepping out of the room. “Yeh, I do. Have fun. Pearly will come to get you when it’s time to go. Don’t have too much fun, you two!” he said before the door closed shut with an audible click.
The two fillies sat together in silence for a few seconds before disentangling from their hug and wandering into the middle of the room.
“So. Ponyville, huh?” First asked after a short silence, sitting on her haunches. “I think Lyra mentioned that her family’s going to be moving down there next year.”
“Mhmm,” Minuette replied, sitting across from her. “I’ve never been there. Dad says it’s really small and quiet, though.”
First Aid’s smile turned predatory. “Quiet? And your folks are taking you there? Oh, Celestia have mercy on those poor ponies…”
“May Celestia have mercy indeed,” Fangs added from the back of the room with a grin.
Minuette rolled her eyes at the twin jabs before joining in. “Ha! Oh yeah, those country ponies won’t know what hit ‘em! Look out, Ponyville, the beast is coming for ya! Rawr!”
She struck a pose as she said this. For some reason.
First Aid giggled again. “Ha ha! Ah. Ya know, my train stopped there for a little bit when I was on my way to Manehattan.”
Minuette perked up, leaning forward slightly. “Oh yeah? What’s it like?”
“It’s small, quiet, and rustic. It’s actually really nice to look at. I didn’t get to see much of it before the train got moving again, but what little I saw was really nice. I could see a lot of hills and trees, and there was so much grass. There’s also this big spooky forest right next to it, too. Canterlot is beautiful, but it kinda lacks in the nature department sometimes.”
Minuette took in the information with equal parts excitement and dismay. It sounded like a nice change of pace. She’d never even seen a forest in person before, for pony’s sake! It sounded new and exciting, and she couldn’t wait to go and see it for herself.
Her eyes wandered over to Fangs, and her smile faded as she reminded herself that he wouldn’t be seeing it.
Fangs met her gaze. He smiled. That same, reassuring smile he always gave her whenever she got stressed out. Somehow, this time, it felt unfair.
“Minnie?”
Minuette snapped back to First Aid as the other filly’s voice sliced through her momentary reverie. First’s smile was gone, replaced with a curious frown. “What is it?”
Minuette hesitated for a second, before heaving a quiet sigh. “Gah. It’s nothing…”
A pause.
“...You don’t get to take Fangs, do you?”
Minuette blinked, looking up to First Aid in shock. “Wha- huh? How did you know?!” she asked, confused.
First Aid’s smile returned, softer this time, and far more distant. “What can I say? I know you a little too well,” she said in a lower voice.
Minuette just stared at her for a moment. After a few seconds, she realized that her mouth was hanging open, and she clamped it shut with an audible snap. She leaned tentatively forward. “But… I thought you didn’t believe in Fangs.”
First Aid didn’t say anything at first. She stood to walk toward the mirror, her smile fading away. She sat down in front of it, and from Minuette’s position, Fangs appeared to be towering over her, looking down at her with curiosity.
Several seconds passed before First Aid spoke. “I… I don’t know,” she confessed, lowering her head. “I want to believe. I really do…”
Minuette was quiet for a few seconds, her mind racing. After a moment, she rose to her hooves and walked over to sit beside her oldest friend. She draped a foreleg over First’s shoulders, drawing a curious glance from her. Minuette smiled.
“Well, why don’t you?” she asked.
First Aid heaved a sigh, shrugging her shoulders. “Because I can’t see or hear him? Because he sounds like something straight out of a little filly’s story? Because a magical bug pony trapped in your mirror that only you can see just doesn’t make any sense to me?”
Minuette might have winced at those remarks, once upon a time. Not this time, though. This time, she just sat there and listened, letting her friend get her thoughts and her feelings out into the open.
First Aid continued, running a hoof over her face. “But, at the same time, you’ve just been so… adamant about it. I know you, Minnie, and you’ve got the attention span of a wet noodle. I know that you aren’t the type to fake something for such a long time. Especially not these days. We aren’t tiny fillies anymore, we’re teenagers.”
Minuette opened her mouth to protest the bit about her attention span, realized First had touched on the exact point Celestia had, and promptly closed her mouth.
First’s lips tugged up into a tiny smile at seeing that reaction. “Heh… But besides all of that, we all know that your mirror is magical, now. Twilight and Moondancer spent all that time with you to research it. It put you in the hospital for pony’s sake! Hay, even Princess Celestia herself took an interest in the stupid thing! After all of that, how could I deny that there’s something magical about it?”
First then looked away, her ears drooping. “And, if there’s magic on it… magic that strong, then… Maybe Fangs is real, too.”
Minuette smiled softly at that, once again reminded that, for all of their joint antics, First Aid had always had a sharp mind. She patted First on the back before standing up and positioning herself next to the mirror. “Well… if it helps, Celestia believes in him.”
First Aid blinked in confusion, sitting upright. “Huh?”
Minuette just grinned and glanced at Fangs. He offered her a smile. “If ever there was a time for you to convince her, little one, it would be now.”
That was all the confirmation Minuette needed. With little fanfare, she began to recap the story of Celestia’s visit, from her initial examination to the finer points of their protracted discussion about the ‘lock and key’ aspect of things. But she didn’t stop there. She went on, explaining the confrontation with her own parents that had followed, before, at long last, revealing the clever little gambit employed by her father to prove Fangs' existence.
When at last the story came to its end, First Aid was silent. Her wide eyes turned to look into the mirror before narrowing as if trying to divine something obscured by a heavy fog. She was clearly trying to find Fangs somewhere amidst the reflection.
There was a clear war raging behind First’s eyes. Minuette could see it plainly in her friend’s face. She was so close to believing, so close to finally being able to enter the fold! She just needed one more push. One last little nudge, and at long last, Fangs would have another friend in the circle.
Finally, First Aid turned back to Minuette. Her lips pulled up into a small, sad smile. “I guess that settles it, then, doesn’t it?”
Minuette’s heart all but skipped a beat. She leaned in eagerly, her grin widening even farther. “So you believe me? You believe in him?!” she asked eagerly, ready to throw herself against First in a tight hug.
First looked back into the mirror, her smile growing. “...I can’t see him. I can’t hear him… But if Celestia herself believes in him… who am I to say she’s wrong?” she finally said with a shrug. “I can’t argue with that… so… yes, Minuette…”
First Aid turned back to Minuette and spoke the three little words she had so longed to hear. “I believe you.”
When Celestia had told Minuette that she believed her about Fangs, she had been overjoyed. The gratification, the validation of years of persistence and silence, all of it had been overwhelming in just how happy it had made her feel. But this was different, somehow. It wasn’t as violent of a surge of joy, but it was so much stronger.
She didn’t squeal, she didn’t laugh or jump or do anything like that. For the first time in her admittedly short life so far, her joy was expressed only by the tearful embrace she gave to her oldest friend. First Aid returned the hug without a word.
“Thank you,” Minuette whispered, giving First Aid a squeeze. “Thank you so much. Y-you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that…”
“You’re welcome,” First replied, her voice also a low whisper. She gave Minuette a pat on the back before leaning away to give her a warm smile. It was then that First noticed the tears in Minuette’s eyes, and her smile became a concerned frown. “Are you crying?”
“No!” Minuette denied in a pathetic whimper, rubbing a hoof over her face. “J-just liquid happiness! O-or something. That thing Twilight’s brother says.”
“Liquid pride?”
“Y-yeah! That thing! Sniff.”
First Aid giggled softly before hugging Minuette again. Neither of them said anything for a long while, just holding each other close. Minuette took the opportunity to truly process the full gravity of what just happened. It almost felt too easy. After years of playing off the existence of her best friend as little more than a figment of her imagination, finally, she was getting to share him with the ponies she cared about.
It was almost surreal. The only thing that could make it better would be freeing him from the mirror.
…But that wasn’t going to happen. It was impossible. Not even Celestia could pull it off. And if the princess couldn’t do it, then who could?
Minuette shook her head, dismissing such thoughts. There was nothing more she could do about it now. All she could do for Fangs was exactly what she had been doing for him from the very beginning, and with Celestia as her literal and figurative witness, she was going to do just that.
“Well?” First asked after what felt like forever, pulling out of the hug to give Minuette a big smile. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Minuette took a deep breath, then turned back to the mirror. “Uh huh. Fangs? You ready?”
Fangs just smiled. “...I am.”
With that confirmation, Minuette took her place next to the mirror and nodded to First. “Alright. First Aid, meet Fangs the mirror bug!”
First hesitated for a moment. There was a final vestige of doubt lingering in her eyes, but she only needed a few seconds to overcome it and speak. “Uh… h-hi, Fangs. My name is First Aid… but, uh, you knew that already, didn’t you?”
Fangs merely smiled. “I do, yes… it is a pleasure to finally speak with you, First Aid. And, though I confess such a sentiment is long overdue, I wanted to thank you for standing up for Minuette when she first tried to reveal me to you and your old friends.”
Minuette relayed his words, and First Aid blinked in surprise as they came up. She shifted on her haunches, clearly trying to adjust to this new situation, but before long she spoke again.
“You’re welcome.”
“Minuette! Come on, it’s almost time to go!”
Minuette shot an irritated glance over her shoulder at her bedroom door. “In a minute!” she hollered back before returning her attention to First and Fangs. The two had been engrossed in their discussion for a while now. First Aid had been extremely awkward and reluctant at first, but in time, she began to adjust to the situation. And before long, the two had been animatedly talking about a whole assortment of things.
Many of which revolved around poking fun at Minuette, which was categorically unfair!
Now, though, Fangs and First were both giving her a small smirk. She felt like she was being picked on again, and pouted appropriately. “What are you smiling at?”
Fangs snickered, shaking his head. “Oh, nothing, but you really should be getting a move on. You don’t want to keep them all waiting for too long.”
“Yeah, and I should probably be heading home anyway,” First agreed with a reluctant nod once Minuette conveyed his words. “I don’t wanna hold you guys up.”
Minuette sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I know, I know. I just… ugh. You guys just met. But now I gotta go, and you can’t talk to each other if I’m not around…”
Fangs simply smiled at her, that same, confident, comforting, reassuring, and altogether unfair smile he always gave her. He nodded towards the door. “Go on, little one. There will be time enough for us to get to know one another when you come back. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know you’re not, and that’s part of the problem!” Minuette lamented, smacking her face into the glass with a comical thud.
It was at this time that the door swung open with a click, and Pearly poked her head in. She looked about ready to give off some dramatic, exasperated huff, as was the norm when dealing with Minuette being stubborn. But instead, all she did was blink and offer up a warm smile. She turned to First Aid. “First, it’s time for you to head home. Minnie has to get ready to go.”
First rose to her hooves. “Okay. Lemme say goodbye real quick!” she turned back to Minuette and gave her a large smile. She then stepped forward and wrapped Minuette up in a warm hug. “Have fun in Ponyville, Minnie.”
Minuette wanted to protest, but the words died in her throat. So she just smiled, rolled her eyes, and returned the hug. “I will.”
First pulled away a second later, then looked back to the mirror. She nodded at Fangs before turning and heading for the door. She gave Minuette a little wave as she went. “Bye, Minnie!”
Minuette waved, calling her own farewells after her until First Aid disappeared through the door. A few seconds later, the tell-tale sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the home. Pearly gave a sage nod, her attention returning to Minuette.
“...She knows, doesn’t she?”
Minuette gave an enormous grin. “Yup! One more friend for Fangs!”
Pearly laughed softly at the declaration. She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her. She came up to Minuette’s side and sat down, draping a foreleg over her shoulders. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Minuette didn’t say anything. She just took a moment to smile and leaned into her mother’s embrace. The two sat in silence for a few short moments, enjoying one another’s company. Then Pearly patted Minuette’s shoulder. “But really, grab your things. It’s almost time to go.”
Minuette’s eyes lingered on the mirror. “Are you sure we can’t take him?” she asked pleadingly, putting on her best puppy dog face as she looked up at her mother.
“Did I not say earlier that taking me with you would defeat the entire purpose?” Fangs commented with a chuckle.
Minuette ignored him.
Pearly gave Minuette a soft smile before stepping forward. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but yes, I’m sure. Your father and I discussed it a lot, and we think it’d be for the best if Fangs stayed here.”
Minuette blew out a raspberry in disappointment. “Bleh. Okay…”
Pearly chuckled and ruffled Minuette’s mane. “Hey, look at it this way. You’ll have all kinds of stories to tell him when you get back. And besides, what would we say to the ponies at the hotel if we walked into the lobby carrying an entire vanity mirror when we’ll have one in our room?”
“Um… I don’t know?” Minuette answered, looking down.
“Exactly. So we leave him here,” Pearly said with a sage nod. “Er, no offense to you.”
“None taken,” Fangs replied, giving Minuette a meaningful look. “I don’t mind staying here.”
Minuette hesitated for a moment before fulfilling her role as Fangs’ messenger, relaying his words back to Pearly, who nodded gratefully.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Minuette groaned in frustration, scuffing the floor with a hoof. “Ugh. This is dumb…”
Pearly giggled at her daughter’s all-but catchphrase before rising to her hooves. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind once we get there… Go ahead and say goodbye, then meet us downstairs.”
“Ugh. Okay,” Minuette relented. She couldn’t help but smile and giggled when Pearly leaned in to lay a quick, needlessly sloppy kiss into her mane. She squirmed away, parent and daughter sharing a short laugh before Pearly took her leave and headed back downstairs.
Minuette watched her go, before turning back to Fangs. “Well… I guess I gotta go, huh?” she asked dejectedly.
Fangs nodded. “That you do. I look forward to hearing all about it.”
Minuette looked down, closing her eyes. “It’s just that… You’re gonna be all alone again, you know?” she asked, imagining him left all alone in this room with nopony to talk to for the next week. “Even if First could come by while we were gone, she still can’t talk to you unless I’m here.”
“I know,” Fangs replied with a sage nod. “But I cannot hog you forever, nor should I. Don’t worry. I will make do. One week will hardly be the blink of an eye to me. You’ll all be back before I even have a chance to think about the fact you’re gone.”
“Yeah, I guess…” Minuette muttered before rising back to her hooves. She looked at Fangs again, her eyes roving up and down his form. A moment later, she stepped forward and wrapped her legs around the frame in the closest approximation to a hug she could give him. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Of course you will,” Fangs replied with a sage nod. “Take care, Minuette. And have fun!”
Minuette pulled back from the mirror and offered him a big smile. Then, with only a slight bit of hesitation, she turned from the mirror and stepped out of the room. She paused in the doorway, looking back at Fangs one more time.
He just smiled at her, and somehow, she knew everything would be alright.
With that, she stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Azure Notion · 169k words · 572 9 · 5.7k views
- Skijarama · 78k words · 699 8 · 9k views
- Starscribe · 101k words · 512 21 · 4.8k views
- MattTOB · 50k words · 255 18 · 5.2k views
- CitreneSkys · 52k words · 394 12 · 6.8k views
- Wingnut · 496k words · 328 5 · 4k views
- Starscribe · 108k words · 526 25 · 7k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.221 seconds
Total duration
879 users online
1,153,422 hits today, 2,004,447 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.®
I'm surprised she didn't turn the mirror to face the window before leaving.
Minnie should have know by now one sure fire way to have people believe in fangs is tell them they can tell the mirror a secret when shes out of the room . And have minnie repeat the secret when she comes back in.
11148355
Maybe it was already facing it?
I'm really curious to see what happens when the wedding invasion takes place. Maybe by then a way to free Fanga from the mirror is found.
Minuette! The Pony! *Everypony cheers as Minuette promptly gets sent to Madagascar*
Fangs has a point.
First Aid accepting Fangs' existence was a nice wrap-up to the second act.
Regarding the hiatus, it's all good.
I can't help but wonder if all the myriad of spell tapestry woven into this thing is just meant as a cruel distraction from an outlandishly simple means of opening the trap. Hiding something in plain sight by dangling a whole bunch of shinies off in another direction.
Like hiding a key under a rock while having all sorts of security signs and stuff all over the place to distract from it.
11148436
It would be a bit more involved than that. She is a student of Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. Most ponies would probably assume she just magically bugged (pun unintended) the mirror. Proving to a laypony that doesn’t know much about magic that she hasn’t could prove difficult.
On another note. Celestia knows about Fangs and knows he and the mirror are safe as long as you don’t magically poke it, and that he’s good with children. Even if Fangs is never freed she could set up the Mirror in the castle daycare or something and guarantee that he never goes without company that can see him again.
Umm. Did she just respond to something she can’t hear? I have a theory now that she can kinda sense him. But not really. That. Or it’s a mistake.
Anyway. This is in fact a good stop. Take your time and come back around here when you have less on your plate.
11148837
That was in fact a mistake.
So that's why Act 2's end involved a temporary goodbye. Nice use of the story to get us in a good stopping place!
Sad to see Fangs and Minnie go away for a while, but I hope they'll be back soon! I'll miss them.
But as for completing your other stories, I wish you Flying Colors!
Still think she could come up with a spell (with the aid of Twilight) to produce a magical projection of him (like she did with that first exam), add in a ventriloquist spell , and finally a scrying cast item to port the mirror to wherever she is. With some tricky optics it might even be possible to make the scrying portal smaller than the mirror proper...
a amazing chapter for a awesome story.
11148355
i was thinking the vary same thing.
I have a strange feeling that the mirror is gonna get stolen somehow…
I'm guessing that Minuette will be causing a lot of mischief and chaos in Ponyville. The kind it hasn't seen since Pinkie Pie arrived who will join in on the fun nad would probably immediately believe Minuette about Fangs since Pinkie is that kind of pony.
11162297
Shhh, not so loud. The author might get ideas.
11148499
Thus begins an adventure of shenanigans. Self discovery, and penguins with tactical gear.
...
... Actually, Fangs existence is really easy to prove.
Just take a small foal and ask it to describe "a monster in the mirror".
They should give similar descriptions without prior knowledge.
aaaaa I'll look forward to seeing more of this when you start again, this is a lovely story
but until then, I'll just have to be content with all of your other stories i haven't read yet x3
Was thinking about this story recently and had a thought - what if this story carries through to the royal wedding and the "love bomb" frees Fang from the mirror?
11289690
That would be fun, wouldn't it?
Now if only the author would add a chapter to the story so we could find out
11289790
I have to wrap up work on at least ONE of my other stories first. And with my editor currently off in the Himalayas or something, my progress is slow.
11289883
So, send a sherpa to go get him
No rush on the next chapter - some of my favorite authors have suffered from burnout, it's okay to prioritize other works or real life over this.
That said, just wanted to also say I love this fic, and am glad you wrote it.
11335483
I’m aware
This Was Marvelous and I LOVED THY WORK SO MUCH!!!!! AND I BID THEE WELL!!!
11343471
yeah. and i'd take eternal torture over being dead any day. at least i still have myself. it's all I've ever needed,
Yet again, you have knocked this out of the park. Excellent work.
11213547
Hello there admiral! I see that you have fine taste in stories. This one is on par with your arrow series in terms of creativity and effort, and I cannot wait for more of either story (I am, in fact, able to wait for more).
11437922 I just used the BIG one!
11431538 Oh I don't mind living in a dismal void... (Alondro is from New Jersey... there really isn't a difference)
11451946
Oh, please. Who is taking about them?
Celestia herself just gave up. NO ONE in here has any critical thinking.
11452130
Then let me ask you, since you, apparently, better than Celestia.
1) Can YOU unlock a door of someone, who is better than YOU? Celestia AND Luna were chased around by Discord.
or
2) Can you unlock a door, that throws the power back at YOU? Twilight tried to SCAN the thing. The mirror f*cking EXPLODED. From SCANNING, just LOOKING into it. Now, imagine how would mirror explode if Celestia tried to scan it. I imagine that MIRROR would shatter in fine dust, as well as make a 10 mile radius of explosion.
Celestia SAID that she doesn't KNOW HOW to unlock the mirror. She said that if she tried to BRUTEFORCE it - it might have killed Fangs.
All your suggestions are targeted to someone, who is a "straight thinker". Discord is a wild card. The wards were CHANGING. Who knows what effects and defences he put on that damned mirror? We know of THREE. Only those under 10 can see Fangs. If you scan the mirror - it explodes. The wards change positions. Who knows what happens when you actually try to LOCKPICK.
Fangs was having headaches when someone tried to SCAN a mirror. He might have DIED if someone actually tried to apply an effect to that thing.
If you want - I can come up with a counter to every single method you wanted to use. Keep in mind, I am straight thinker, so my defences are also simple, straight ones.
11452130
Without the Elements neither Celestia, nor Luna, nor BOTH of them can handle Discord. Now imagine trying to handle an object of someone, who is that much more powerful.
11452234
1.How being weaker then Discord makes Princesses unable to deal with the mirror?
Do you think if boxing champion can kill you in one punch, you can't untie a knot tied by that champion?
You seen convinced that Discord is just undefeatable and all around better.
2. I did not say "straight thinker", you are not reading with any amount of attention. I said critical thinker, and that is a different thing.
3. Mirror didn't EXPLODE, as your said, after scanning. It exploded after Twilight forced the scan when all the others could not keep up with the spell and tripped the trap. They could tell something is about to happen.
4. You don't know WHAT Celestia did, other then she didn't try to forcefully attack it. But she certainly didn't try most if any method I've suggested, and you didn't read them either. If she couldn't come up with idea, she could have asked someone else for the idea. She did not even try.
Most of yours have nothing to do with the mirror itself, and instead go around interacting with it. Finding loopholes in it's magic. It's changing itself, sure, but against MAGICAL control. Discord might be God, but he is not a smart person, and very illogical. It's bound to have some glaring issue, and even if it didn't, it still would have oversights.
It seems your only option is using brute force, and only argument is that mirror will react violently to it. Or that because someone stronger then you made it, so you are helpless. While true, I wasn't even talking about it from the start.
Instead of trying to convince me of that, you should first of all try yourself to come up with any way to change Fang's status without tripping mirror's defense. I certainly provided plenty.
11452257
1) Because reasons? Don't you think that regardless if it's direct or not, a powerful wizard will leave artefacts, that can NOT be dealt with by amatures? Not to mention that Discord has Chaos School, meaning he just stands above Sun and Moon. Just as even Discord couldn't handle changeling throne, as it sucked ANY nonchangeling magic?
2) No, YOU didn't. However, we are DEALING with Fangs, the changeling in the mirror. THE MIRROR. And it is very clear by now, WHO did this. Discord. His thoughts are corckscrew, and by definition, his magic, and leftover items will be difficult to deal with by straight thinkers. His lock changes every so often, you can't open it with a normal key, or a NORMAL LOCKPICK.
3) Yes, and we are talking about figuring out the mirror. How do you figure a magic item withOUT magic scan? I would love to know.
4) I know what Celestia SAID. She SAID
Celestia scanned the Mirror with low power, or I don't know. Brushed over it. She didn't try to SCAN it, like Twilight did. She looked it over. And said that this is beyond her. She cannot do that.
Except that Discord set up MILLENIAL chess in ADVANCE. The black vines? More than a thousand years ago, back when Luna wasn't banished YET. Celestia and Luna worked together to turn Discord to stone, while he ate black seeds, and PLANTED them, to attack the Tree of Harmony. His plan worked AFTER he was "REFORMED", that's how long it took him. And he is master and KNOWING things. "Back where you began". Discord was in stone at the time, when Twilight and others figured out the Element's of Harmony and went to Everfree forest to free Luna.
Well, let's see, your options from previous comment, and how I, a STRAIGHT thinker(MORTAL, by the way, I am not a GOD, or even a SPIRIT), would deal with them.
Let's start with how MAGIC works. It's not TECHNOLOGY. It has it's own logic, and sometimes does NOT require TOOLS to achive it.
First you need to find what magic is being used. Lets ASS-U-ME that we connected it to Chaos magic, because Fang mentioned him.
Now, Chaos Magic trumps others. How do we disable Chaos school magic, if we can't touch the Chaos Magic? I have no clue, please anwser, how do you cancel it. NO ELEMENTS. Twilight hasn't even been to Ponyville yet. Solar Magic is not effective. Celestia said she is buffled by it.
Again, for morons, how sure are you that you will be able to SAVE Fangs if simple SCAN has given him HEADACHES. If we tamper with the Chaos magic, and FAIL to find anwser in TIME - we risk to turn him into a VEGETABLE. His brains, or maybe soul, well be either trapped in shattered mirror, or we risk dead unicorns(from recoil/scan - shove, action - hit), who tried to disable the magic, and the guy will be driven insane from the pain.
YOU are thinking straight. What about if he is trapped on sort of mebius strip? Door is connected to the mirror, but walls move away from reality and an angle. Discord is DIMENSION hopper. How good are YOU with your dimension folding? Can you figure out how the mirror works without SCANNING it?!?! How do you find where the walls ARE? It's MAGIC mirror, not portal from science fiction.
Oh, yes, Discord left some of HIS artefacts(NONE), that can interact with HIS magic and each other.
Yeah, little Daring Do, which is not even out of school yet, likely. Need I remind you how they(Minuette/Twilight/others) are barely over TEN(10) years old?
Machine get's blown up by shockwave from mirror, because mirror doesn't like being deep scanned.
Celestia said she couldn't DECODE the thing, and brute force would leave everyone in pain or dead. Yeah, because DDOS is something ponies KNOW, they have computers. Oh, wait, they don't.
Even if they did - How far will YOU go if it's causing pain to the PRISONER. A SCAN gave him headaches. Constant attack on the window magic, how long would it take? Have YOU ever had a headache? Now, take it, take it all. Minute, 5 minutes, 10, 20, 30. An hour, 2, 5... A day of headache. Are you a sadist, by chance, do you want to end Fangs? Because I'm starting to think you do.
Do I need to continue? Or are we done picking apart on why it's a stupid idea to try to outsmart the guy, who plans things for THOUSANDS of years in ADVANCE?!?!
11452257
I think I came up with a good analogy. Rock beats scissors, scissors cut paper, paper covers rock. And now, I want you, with your paper to deal with scissors. You know, the thing that just beats you all day, any day. Take a bat, and deal with a bandit with a pistol. Meelee vs ranged. Yeah. Good chances, right?
Have you even been watching the show? Chaos just beats all types of magic, except for any sort of storage devises/abilities. Grogar Bell, changeling throne, Tirek magic steal. Everything else - Chaos just cancels it. We don't take friendship, because Elements are not active yet, and they come from harmony of several, not single individual.
11452372
11452257
Oookay, guys, dial it back or take it to DMs. You are both getting hypercritical on this sucker when the finer points of the mirror's function are genuinely not the point of the story. Minuette's relationship with Fangs is.
Plus you blew up my notifications.
11452671
Sorry about that. But it seems dumdum reflects his name. He doesn't want to see how he is wrong. I have the response in my text documents, if you want it, I can send to your PM., as well as his PM to me.
11452919
To be perfectly blunt, I could not care less about your justifications for this debate. As far as I am concerned, you are both wrong for going off on such a pointless tangent. And now you are both done.
Man has it really been ten months since the last update?
11462546
FNCKING HAS IT?!
AH FNCK! SHLT! GIBBITY GOSH GREEN GOD DARN IT!
11462571
Not to prod, but have you done anything with this story since the last chapter? Even like just kicking ideas around in your brain?
11465979
Well, I already know how the entire rest of the story goes. Act 1 was outlined before I started, and some frustrating things forced me to improvise act 2 without an outline, but everything else has a clear and fairly concise outline that should keep me from going off on wild tangents. So I know what's going to happen, I'm just prioritizing my other works before I come back to this one.
11465984
I know the feels. Juggling several stories right now. Fortunately my main story has like a dozen and a half first drafts done right now. I'm just working on art to include in the story. All the other ones are pretty straightforward.
Well that was very sweet and wholesome. Intriguing plot, advanced world building, and good grammar to boot! I look forward to seeing when you return to this one.
11465984 100 trillion years from now, the last word of the story is finally written.
But no one can read it cuz all the stars went out long ago... so tragic.
Just got caught up. Great story.
I've been reading this one every night before bed, and it's sure made me look forward to bedtimes! Can't wait for Act III!