Story
The capital of the strongest nation that governs the world. Canterlot, of Equestria. Currently bustling with the growing populace and the complete lack of any criminal activities, at least intentionally. This city itself has been around longer than current known history, excluding one pony.
In this city, there exists a school. One that had instantly overtaken every other school due to its sheer ability to provide the absolute best learning environment and the highest grade of education. Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns.
The school had the highest grade of security, second only to the royal castle itself. Guards constantly patrolled the area, both in and out. The teachers themselves were experts, respected by almost any other unicorns as they stood at the very peak of spellcasting. Even if they were not enough, the radiant Goddess of The Sun herself, Princess Celestia, governed the place as both headmaster and the personal teacher of her own special class, only accessible by being exceptionally extraordinary.
So, it was unusual when high levels of magic was concentrated in a storage room, and not one pony noticed.
"Where am I?" A stallion quickly asked himself as he gasped for breath.
He had suddenly woken up to find himself in this place.
A few minutes pass as he collected himself, small sparks appeared at the ends of his horn, which had burn marks and plenty of cracks on it, before stopping. He grimaced in pain as he shut his eyes tight. His pale green fur collected dust, yet he didn't care as he stood up.
"Woah. Okay, steady." He mumbled to himself whilst his legs almost gave out from exhaustion.
He moved his golden mane out of the way, revealing deep black eyes, surrounded by green irises. His cutie mark was a cartoonish bomb, shaped like a ball with the fuse already lit.
He stood there as recognition slowly came to his eyes.
"Oh. I'm at the school." He spoke and walked out of the room.
The moon was at highest, boasting of the night filled with countless stars, and the bustling city was quiet in response. The only ones awake were the patrolling guards. With exceptional hearing and full vision, even in darkness, the batponies of the Royal Guard were making their rounds.
As soon as the stallion exited the room, he looked around the hallway. Finding nothing, he approached a window and opened it, half expecting something to happen. A tiny bit confused by this, he jumped out of the window and landed on the ground three stories below with a silent thump. His eyes were wide as he observed his surrounding. His ears were strained as he tried to hear every single sound in the area.
With a silent sigh, his tense body loosened up and he made his move. He knew what the guards were capable of, so he moved slowly. Carefully, he crawled through the prim garden of the schoolyard with practiced ease. Hiding on trees, under bushes, or behind the occasional trash can, he finally reached his destination.
The school gate, which, unfortunately for him, had two guards standing on both sides of the gate.
"Ponyfeathers." He cursed to himself as he observed from behind bushes, peeking through the gaps in the leaves.
With a quick look around himself, a plan was instantly formed as he acted upon it. Grabbing a rock in his mouth, he climbed up the nearest tree in half a second. He waited a few seconds as a flying guard passed by. After being sure that the guard hadn't spotted him, he dropped the rock in his hoof as he took a breath.
"Just like baseball." He mumbled and threw it at another tree.
*Thuck*
The guards seemed to barely acknowledge the sound, but their ears shot up at the direction on the sound. Sharing a look, one of the guards banged the gate twice weakly. Then he and his partner hovered in the air as they both held their spears in their grasps.
Taking this chance, the stallion dropped to the ground without even the wind making a sound as he prepared to sprint towards the gate.
"Wha-?" His body froze for a split second as he heard the confused voice of somepony behind him.
Acting on pure reflex, his body instantly turned as he launched a quick jab at the guard's throat. The guard wheezed as he felt immense pain right in his voice box. With heavy breathing, he shakily tried to raise his weapon, only for the stallion to slam his head into the grassy ground below.
"Sorry." The stallion muttered a weak apology, and struck him right behind his neck.
The guard's eyes slowly rolled backwards, indicating his unconsciousness.
"Whew." The stallion let out a relieved breath and sprinted towards the gate.
His steps were quiet, and the wind barely even noticed him. With a silent jump, he scaled the sides of the gate instantly, trying not to make a sound by shaking the gate itself.
Without wasting any time, he dropped on a guard with a downward kick, knocking him to the ground. Acting with haste, he jumped sideways to another guard, who quickly swung with his spear. Sliding under the swing, the stallion did an uppercut, quickly followed by a hook. The attack was successful as the second guard was knocked into the air, and crashed to the ground.
"Got you." The stallion heard those words before he started to choke from lack of air.
The first guard was holding him by the neck with the spear, chocking him out of air as the second guard stood up with his spear in his hooves.
With fierce eyes, the second guard initiated a stab with the spear. The stallion was watching all of this as another plan formed in his mind. Only problem was, all his efforts to stay silent would be wasted.
With a grunt, he quickly gathered magic in his broken horn and swung his head at the second guard. The second guard couldn't react in time as his body was blown away by lightning. Lightning coming from the stallion's horn.
He held a large grimace as he slammed his fetlock into the first guard's gut area. Feeling nothing but metal, he was slowly losing strength. And with one final hit, he swung over his shoulder, successfully hitting the guard in the eye.
"Gah!" The guard let out a pained sound.
The stallion grabbed his head, and slammed it in to the ground, breaking both the pavement and the helmet that stood on the guard's head.
"Oi! What's happening out there?!" He heard somepony speak before quickly making his getaway.
"Were guards always this fierce?" The stallion muttered to himself as he trotted through the shadows of Canterlot.
He strolled through the shady alleys, hiding behind boxes and trash cans, distracting other guards with a throwable object here and there, he'd successfully sneaked into the more commoner's side of the city.
*Click*
He was about to throw away a paperclip he'd found in a box of trash, before deciding to stick it in his mane by using strands of his mane to hold it. He opened the door he had just unlocked with the paperclip as he finally relaxed.
"Thank Celestia." He spoke to nopony as he spotted a fridge.
With a rumble in his stomach, he threw away his moral compass as he raided whatever it had inside. After feasting on cold leftovers and some bread, he opened a carton of orange juice and greedily drank it all, completely ignoring all basic decency.
"Finally. Full after Celestia knows how long." He spoke with a satisfied grin on his face.
He was slightly shocked as he suddenly heard a foal crying. Extinguishing his panic, he closed the fridge and threw everything he brought out into the trash can under the sink. After that, he stayed quite and laid low as he listened to the surroundings.
*Thump, thump*
When her heard hoofsteps above him, he calmed down slightly as he observed the house. A cozy place with an open kitchen and an open living room with large bookcases. A hallway that ended with a portrait of Princess Celestia. A set of stairs right in front of the door that he came in.
Which he left open.
Panicking slightly, he jumped over the kitchen counter and a couch in the living room to reach and quickly close the door. When he heard the hoofsteps coming closer, he silently stepped into the living room and laid down on the ground, right behind the couch.
He stayed silent as the hoofsteps slowly went past him. The foal was still crying loudly. The sound of the fridge opening was heard.
"Did Light eat the salad? This late?" The pony who walked past spoke to himself with a a tired voice before going for a cup of water. "Can't believe he even emptied the OJ." He complained before starting to walk through the hall with Princess Celestia's portrait.
"Light?" The stallion asked himself as he found the name familiar. "No. Must be a coincidence." He convinced himself and got up to his hooves.
Only to plop himself down to the ground as he spotted somepony else coming from the same hallway.
*Yawn*
A teenage colt came to the kitchen with a slumped body. Tiredness basically radiating off of him as he had bags under his eyes and was yawning almost every other second.
"Dad drank the OJ? Come on, it was at least half." He grumbled a bit before settling for a glass of water, and walked back towards the hallway.
Once out of sight, the stallion, with a disturbed look on his face, bolted straight towards the door.
"Why is she-WHO ARE YOU!" The stallion was stopped as he recognized the voice that was yelling at him.
With eyes wide in surprise, and in slight fear, he slowly turned back. The sight confirmed his theory. He recognized the familiar color scheme. He knew who she was.
"Honey! What happened!" The stallion heard the shout and ran out the door.
Luckily, he hadn't locked it.
With the winds in his face, and the moonlight on his back, he sprinted down the neighborhood. Turning on the first chance he got, he entered another alley as he skidded to a stop. Heavily breathing, his eyes had a frightened look in them as well as rage.
He knew, what he was here to do. He realized it after what had happened. As minutes passed, he slowly came to acceptance as he started to calm down. The logical side of his mind slowly overcame his inner turmoil.
And with a sigh, he slumped down.
"Seriously Twi, you can't just throw somepony into a portal with a single instruction." He muttered to the sky in a resigned tone.
He stared to the moon, deep in thought as he repeated the sentence multiple times in his mind.
'Make an irreversible change, not fixable even by the slimmest chance'
"What the hay am I even supposed to do with an order like that." He mumbled the words as he started to rest his eyes. "Especially in a world with magic of all things." He talked to himself a bit before he felt sudden pain from his horn.
He grumbled a complaint as he rubbed it slowly.
"One more spell, and I'll lose this thing." He said in a dejected tone and laid down against the wall.
"Are you alright?" He jumped as he heard a mare suddenly speak to him.
"What the!" He couldn't understand.
How had she gotten so close to him without him realizing it? He was sure he had been focusing on his surrounding.
"Sir. Calm down. I just, saw you laying down, do I thought you might've been injured." The mare spoke to him with a concerned face.
She was yellow, with a white mane. A pegasus, with purple eyes and a sun behind clouds as a cutie mark.
The stallion started to calm down, but he was still wary of the mysterious mare that had managed to sneak up on him.
"Who are you?" He asked with clear suspicion in his voice.
The mare's eyes widened slightly in concern before turning back to normal. "My name is Sunny Skies. Are you alright sir?" She carefully asked.
The stallion stared, glancing at every single aspect of her. His glare was sufficient enough to concern the mare.
Minutes slowly passed as the stallion couldn't figure out what he should do. He's gone for years without feeling this kindness and concern, all except for one pony. So, in the end, he let out a weary sigh as he let his guard down slightly.
Sunny Skies was also relieved as she realized that she wouldn't be attacked in any way.
"So, sir. Are you alright?" She slowly asked with a nervous smile.
The stallion stayed silent as he thought of his next words. "I don't know." He eventually relented.
"You, don't know?" She asked with slight confusion.
"Look." He said in a resigned tone and laid back down against the wall. "I don't know how well you could understand, but I've got a problem that doesn't have a simple fix to it." He said in a voice that didn't tell the full story.
"Why wouldn't I understand that well?" She said in a slightly casual tone and took a seat right next to him.
The stallion glared at her for a few moments before starting to speak. "You're a rich one." He simply stated, surprising the mare greatly. "Your stance is uptight, your voice is too refined, you have that full of smarts from birth look. You're also not actually sitting down. You'd rather tire your own magic resources by using a spell rather than getting any dirt on you to begin with." He explained with slight venom in his voice.
Not even he himself knew where it came from.
Sunny Skies just silently listened to him with a concerned look on her face. She subconsciously turned off the spell that surrounded her body, exposing her behind to the dirt on the ground. She looked away slightly at the mention of her looks, knowing that she was indeed educated from a young age, much more than most, she knew.
As the stallion's rant finally ended, he simply stared upwards as his eyes had a dejected look in it.
Sunny just sighed as she started to pat him on the head.
"What do you think you're doing?" He tiredly asked without actually doing anything about it.
"Giving you reassurance." She said it like it was the simplest thing. "Is it working?" She innocently asked.
The stallion sat still as weariness started to overtake him slightly.
"Yes." He gave a simple answer.
Sunny giggled a bit as she continued.
"So, do you have a name? Or should I just keep calling you 'The Stallion' in my mind?" She asked with a joking tone.
He chuckled a bit in response. "Final Fuse. My parents said it meant I was the contingency. The last hope once everything goes down." He didn't know why he was telling this to a random mare he had just met, but he felt like pouring it all out.
Sunny stopped giving him pats as she turned to him with a small smile. "That must mean you're pretty dependable." She commented.
Final Fuse, slightly disappointed upon no longer receiving head pats, finally turned to look at her. "Not really." He said in a tired tone. "I always seemed to ruin everything." He explained with a hollow smile.
"I'm sure you don't." Sunny said with confidence in her voice.
"Heh, what would you know?" He asked.
"Not much, just that you have a pretty complex problem. You gonna tell me what it is?" She asked casually, trying to keep the mood light.
Final Fuse simply sighed as he knew what he was going to do. He shouldn't, but he needed this.
"My problem, may require me to do something I'm morally inclined not to, but not doing it would result in, possibly disastrous outcomes." He explained while trying to hide as much as he could.
"Oh, well, hmm." Sunny thought deeply as she tried to remember her own lessons. "So. You already know what you need to do?" She eventually asked.
"Well, somewhat." He answered as he almost choked on his words. "What do you think, 'an irreversible change' means?" He suddenly asked.
"Well, I can think of a, few examples." Sunny replied with a saddened look.
"Then, if it's for the greater good, should I do it?" Fuse asked with a hopeful look.
Some part of him, wanted her to say no, but he knew what he should do. He just wanted it, nothing else.
"Depends." Sunny replied. "Have you really, and I do mean really, thought this through." She finished with a serious expression.
"Yes." Fuse replied with conviction. "It's been on my mind non stop"
"Then. Yes. No matter what consequences or regrets you may be left with, you must accomplish it if it means the risk of failing is greater." Sunny instructed as a deep and profound look appeared in her eyes, only to disappear a second later.
A period of silence passed between the two. Fuse gathered his thoughts and strengthened his resolve as he mentally counted the years.
A couple of hoofsteps started to ring out through the area. Armored hooves fell on the ground as Fuse barely seemed to acknowledge the sound. Sunny's ears stood up as she looked away.
"What street am I on?" He suddenly asked.
"Merlin's Beard. Why you ask?" Sunny turned back to look at Fuse, only to see nothing but empty air.
She stayed silent as she stared at the empty spot. She was sure she wasn't hallucinating, and she knew that the pony was real. He couldn't have cast the spell either, she knew that since she saw his broken horn.
"Ma'am. Are you alright?" One of the pair of guards that were patrolling the area walked up to her.
"I'm fine." Sunny replied and her horn glowed a brilliant gold for a few seconds. "Gather your forces, and tell them to comb the area. I want you all to find a unicorn stallion with a broken horn. Light green fur, yellow mane." She ordered as her very presence grew.
The guards were petrified for a few seconds as their brains processed the information. Eventually, they both snapped out of it.
"Understood, your majesty!" They saluted and rushed back to the castle.
Panting slightly, Fuse dashed between shadows and behind objects as he rapidly approached his destination.
"Alright, Silver Eagle street, and there's the market." He mumbled the words as he passed through familiar looking places. "They said it was around here." He talked to himself and peeked out of another alley.
Only to place himself behind a trash can as a few guards walked by. One stopped for a few seconds as they glared at the alley.
"Come on rookie! No slacking off!" An entitled, yet authoritative voice called out.
"Coming sir!" The rookie yelled out and ran off.
"Day guards?" Fuse confusedly asked as he spotted the golden armor they were wearing. "Doesn't matter." He told himself and took off once again.
Silently approaching a lone, two story building he recognized, he recalled his memory.
"As long as I don't got amnesia, this should be the place." He mumbled and dug through his mane, taking out the paperclip he had previously stored.
*Click*
Within a few tries, he opened the door, and closed it silently. With a quiet sigh, he threw away the broken paperclip as his eyes observed the area.
Stepping without a single sound, the place was eerily silent.
"Hey Nolah." He greeted the cat that stood in the lobby.
Nolan glared at Fuse, full of distrust, only to lose it all once Fuse started to give her scratches.
"So this is why he brought her home." Fuse mumbles to himself.
After being distracted for a minute, he walked around, like he knew wherever everything was as he casually strolled to the stairs.
"He said the hippo room, right?" He mumbled to himself as his hooves barely made a dent into the creaky floors.
As he walked, he saw the tiniest fraction of a light, prompting him to jump to the ceiling in a hurry. Forcing his legs onto the walls, he lodged himself on the hallway ceiling as an elderly mare walked by, holding a candle in her mouth.
Seconds ticked by as Fuse's legs started to slip slightly.
"By the sun. Please!" He yelled in his mind as his legs seemed slide lower every second.
And just as he reached his limit, he folded his body and carefully slid down the wall. The elderly mare stopped for a second as she brought a hoof to her ear. Fuse watched her intently as he was starting to panic on what to do.
Then the mare walked away.
Fuse almost collapsed onto the ground as he let out a silent breath of relief.
Propping himself up, he walked in the opposite direction, looking at the logos on the doors, until he finally found one with a hippo on it.
He pushed the handle down slowly, creating as little sound as possible before pulling it lightly. Just as he heard a small creaking sound, he swiftly opened it and entered before closing the door.
*Click*
With it fully closed, he stayed silent as he looked around a dark room. With an eyeroll, he carefully walked to the otherwise and opened up a window to let the moonlight in.
Giving the outside a glance to check for guards, he turned back swiftly as he heard some movement behind him.
"Who do you think you are?" A foal, holding something metallic to his throat asked him with a frown.
Fuse stayed silent as he slowly sat down, trying not to make any sudden moves as he placed his front hooves in the air. He observed the situation as calmly as he can.
There were about eight foals, all colts, staring at him with wary eyes.
"Answer the question, thief!" One of the colts yelled out.
Fuse stayed silent as his eyes darted around the colts.
"What're you doing here?!" The colt holding the metal object asked as he pressed it harder on his neck.
"I came here to see, Hill Top." He said with a blank tone.
A few of them stared downward, only for a slight second as Fuse raised an eyebrow.
"Feathers! Go tell Madame Foster." The colt holding the metal object to the stallion's throat yelled towards the others.
"Oh." Fuse let out a small sound as he saw the eyes of the one holding him hostage.
In an instant, he slammed his hooves downward onto the object. The colt couldn't fight against it as the object was thrown to the ground.
It was a wrench.
Having observed enough, Fuse jumped backwards, breaking the window in the process as he landed on the ground with a thud.
"He's in the first floor." He muttered and smashed through the window right in front of him.
Breathing slightly heavy from being injured, he shook his front legs to get rid of the pain as he looked around the room. Only a few foals were on this room, some had been wrapped in cloth, some others had broken out of their wrap.
"Thank Celestia it's all new I guess." He muttered as he inspected crib by crib. "Literally"
He heard loud hoofsteps above as they slowly went towards the direction of the stairs.
"There you are." Fuse spoke with a small smile as he picked up a colt.
The foal had light brown fur and a golden mane.
"Hey there." He whispered with a small chuckle.
*BAM*
The door was slammed open and Fuse ducked down as an arrow went over him.
"Careful ma'am, you can hurt the baby." He said while forcing a joking tone to his voice.
"Who are you! Why are you taking that child!" The elderly mare yelled the question and loaded another arrow into her crossbow.
Fuse looked for a few seconds, wondering on how he should lie, or how he should tell the truth.
"YOU THERE! PUT THE FOAL DOWN!" Fuse slowly turned his gaze back.
There, at the window, he saw six guards. That was too much for him.
With a sigh, he slowly raised his hoof and rubbed his horn. "Fine"
Everypony was surprised. They wondered why he would go through all this trouble, only to give up this easily.
Then, they raised their guards once again as the mare shot another arrow at Fuse. Fuse simply raised his head and swung it downwards as electricity danced around his glowing horn. His horn was practically shattered as countless cracks ran through it, the electricity danced between the cracks as it went out with a single burst of light.
All that was left was, a scorch mark on the ground, and an arrow that narrowly missed him.
"Ugh." With a groan, Fuse awoke to the chilly air enveloping his body, and something small smacking him in the face.
Right as he opened his eyes, he was hit with the worst headache he's had in his entire life as a heavy grimace enveloped his face. He passed the next few minutes slowly getting used to the pain as he felt his fur dampening a bit.
"Where?" He tiredly asked himself as he forced himself to sit up. "I shouldn't have gone too far." He muttered as he looked around.
"Bah." He looked down as he felt the small impact of a baby foal hitting him.
"Hey. Sleep good?" He asked with a bit of a casual tone.
The response was sudden and loud crying as Fuse hastily picked him up.
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Nopony's gonna hu-." He stopped his words as his eyes instantly took a hollow look. "Don't worry." He said with a forced smile and a nervous tone. "It won't last long." He said as he held the foal in his right hoof and took a few steps.
Letting out a long breath, he started to ignore the crying and his eyes were narrowed in exhaustion as he looked over the edge of the snow. There was a village here and there as his eyes held a recognizing look to them.
"Would this really change the outcome?" He asked himself as his eyes traveled to Canterlot, almost right below him.
His gaze sharpened as he strained his eyes and stared at a singular building. The Royal Castle.
He made many memories there. He learned so much, things that both helped, and didn't. Suffice to say, he was feeling a bit emotional.
A few hot tears started to run down his cheeks. He gritted his jaw as he looked down at the crying foal.
"Sorry." He uttered a single word, yet he felt like he had spoken the most in his entire life. "Don't worry, this doesn't last long." He spoke clearly as he sat down.
Spreading his hind legs forward, he used them as a little platform and placed the foal there.
He breathed sharply as he prepared himself mentally. With one final breath, he softly placed his hooves on both sides of the foal's head. His body was rigid as his tears fell to the snowy grounds.
"Come, on!" He said through gritted teeth.
As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't do it.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, he laid back on the snow, ignoring the frostbite.
"How was this expected of me?" He spoke to the sky with a dejected voice. "She should've gone herself, that idiot." He mumbled those words as he tried to curl himself into a ball.
But the weight on his legs told him not to. He still had a job to do.
"Hey. Dad?" He asked out loud. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
With another grunt, he picked himself up as he held the foal in his legs.
"Well, I don't expect to hear an answer from you when you're like this." He mumbled the words to the foal.
Letting out another sharp breath, he held the foal in one hoof as he wrapped his other hoof around the foal's head. His body tensed up once again as he felt it not listen to his commands. Breathing heavier now, his eyes were at their widest as a bit of spit drooled down his jaw. His focus was on this simple action, yet he couldn't do it. He knew he had to, but he couldn't.
In the end, his body loosened up as he almost lost all strength. Holding the foal in his hooves, his eyes went forward as he glanced at the landscape. The peaceful towns that will soon fall to chaos. The bustling city in the mountain that would be crushed by crystals. The lush life of nature that would soon be replaced with nothing but ashes. The beautiful sky that gave a harmonious blessing, that which would soon be tuned out by complete darkness.
And finally, the rising sun at the edge of the mountains.
The light reached all parts of Equestria, giving it life and bringing harmony. The holy light that the shadows obey, keeping the peace.
The very peace that would soon disappear if Fuse does not do his job.
His body gained some lost strength as he held the foal as softly, and firmly as he could. His one hoof slowly travelled upwards to the foal's neck, caressing it softly whilst wrapping around it. Fuse fought against his own body as he felt himself move just the tiniest bit.
With one scream, an absolutely guttural scream that came from his very soul, one single sound was heard.
*Crack*
He almost collapsed to the ground as he held the foal's body. His breathing weak, body without strength, and a muted mind, he uttered a single word.
"Sorry." He said with no emotions in his voice as tears streamed down his face once more.
"You." He acknowledged the voice filled with disbelief, but made no action. "What have you done." The words were not a question, nor did it have any uncertainty.
Fuse's perception of time seemed to change. He couldn't even get a coherent thought out before. So, when he heard those words, his mind shut down. He couldn't utter even the tiniest bit of an excuse, for he had blocked out every ounce of emotion as his hooves softly placed the foal's body on the ground.
So, he used a twisted sense of logic to save himself from this predicament.
"I can't do anything. If I don't exist." He spoke softly, but loud enough for Princess Celestia to hear.
Celestia wanted to shout, her eyebrows were furrowed in pure rage as her emotions went wild from witnessing this cruel act. Yet, before she could even think of the words, her mind blanked as she felt like she was losing something. And with particularly nasty headache, she shut her eyes in a silent groan before opening them back up.
Then, she was confused. She had just forgotten something. Something important, a matter of the highest degree. Something she absolutely had to deal with. But she couldn't think of it.
Not knowing why her mood seemed to be aggressive, her eyes widened as she spotted something.
"No." She said to herself and rushed forwards. "No, no no no no." She repeated those words, hoping for her perception of reality to be wrong.
Yet, she only stayed silent as she held the corpse of a newborn foal. Disgust was clearly shown on her face as she stared down at the area where the neck was twisted, far enough for the head to be facing backwards. Having already tried dozens, if not hundreds of every type of healing spells she knew, she only shut her eyes in pain as she held the corpse as gently as she could.
In the ever prestigious school of Celestia, unicorn foals poured into the building as others stepped out with both joy and despair. The day of the entrance exams had started.
And with this singular event, one special filly walked into the schoolgrounds. She was confused a bit as she felt familiar with every single aspect of this place.
"Please be patient and wait in the waiting room. We will call you when your turn is up." A unicorn with white mane and blue fur instructed them before moving on to others.
"Are you nervous sweetie?" Twilight Velvet asked her daughter.
"A little. I wish he was here." Twilight Sparkle replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Now, now my little filly. You know your dad is working as part of the guards for today. He graduated with quite the high grades when he studied here you know." Velvet spoke reassuringly.
"I know that. I meant somepony else." Twilight said with a trace of complaint in her voice.
"Shining? You know he has classes right now." Velvet spoke with the tiniest bit of confusion.
"No. Not him either!" She spoke a bit louder than intended.
"Then who?" Velvet asked with a teasing smirk.
Twilight didn't catch it as her mind blanked. She didn't know why, but she's always felt like something was missing from her life. Something important. Somepony important.
"I don't know." She said in a confused tone, perplexing Velvet as well.
"Sweetie, are you sure you're-"
"Twilight Sparkle?" Velvet was interrupted as the unicorn from before announced her daughter's name.
"Come on hunny, it's time for your test." Velvet spoke to Twilight as they both got up from their seats.
"Okay!" She quickly got up as her mind started to get filled with thoughts about the test.
"Good luck Twi!" She flinched as she heard a voice.
"Thanks, you too, Fuse." She stopped her words as she turned around to see nopony standing there.
"Sweetie? What's wrong?" Velvet asked as she approached Twilight.
Twilight took her time to come up with an answer before a single spike of pain shot through her head, then disappeared.
"Uh. Nothing." She said with a shake of her head before starting to walk towards the test room.
As she approached, she knew she had heard something, but she didn't know what. In the end, she looked back one more time.
At the exact same spot she had thought she'd heard the voice from, she saw a colt. He was staring at her with a friendly gaze and gave her a single, encouraging nod.
Twilight shook her head once more, and the colt was gone.
"Goodbye." She whispered the word to herself, not a single clue on why.
But she felt it was right.