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By all accounts, Atmospheric lived what most would consider an ideal life. From the beginning, she was filled with curiosity. Born in the northeastern region of the continent, her formative years were spent between school and home. Her personality was unique in that it was impossible for the average Joe to decipher. When she spoke, her voice was gentle and kind, lacking even the smallest inkling of negativity. The other traits contained within her personality followed suit. As time went on, she grew into a mellow, self-contained child, finding contentment in solitude. This quality would be reinforced at the tender age of five.

The first time Atmospheric recalled sensing the figure she would later refer to by name, she was on the swing behind her house. It was sometime during the late autumn of 2005. The leaves had long since changed colors, and were falling to the ground in spades. It was the first time she'd actually stopped to pay attention to the shifting seasons. She was overcome by an unusual feeling, like...She was being watched.

"Hello?" she called out.

Of course, there was no response, or at least, so she thought. A heavy breeze blew another assortment of leaves from their branches.

"Hello?" she said again.

An unsettling silence loomed over the trees.

"Are you a ghost?"

A cold breath materialized before her.

"I'm not scared."

Another breeze blew past. The ground rustled beneath her. She locked on to the sound.

"Don't be."

The filly couldn't believe her eyes. Someone was talking to her.

"Are you a nice ghost?"

"You could say that. I try, at least."

"What's your name?"

"...Harmonic."

"What does it mean?"

"It's a musical name. It means unison."

"Onion-son?"

"Think about when two instruments play at the same time."

"Ohhh!"

"Wanna know a secret?"

"Uh-huh!"

"I know your name already."

"Really?"

"Yep. We know each other even though you haven't seen me yet."

"How?"

"It's hard to explain. You'll have to see when you're older."

"Why?"

"That's when we meet."

"Can I see you now?"

"Not yet. I'm really far away right now."

"How are we talking?"

"The law of transcendence. All I have to do is think about you and we can talk any time we want."

"Wow!"

"If you're ever lonely, remember my name. I'll be around whenever you need me."

"Do you have to go?"

"For now."

"Okay."

"...I love you..."

Atmospheric giggled.

Later that night, the filly asked her parents about the conversation.

"Daddy, what's trakendance?"

Her father shrugged,

"No idea, hon. That one's new to me."

"I think she means transcendence." her mother corrected.

"Oh. Well, in that case, it means to go above or beyond something. Oftentimes, it's something we can't see."

"Is that why I can't see him now?"

Both of her parents gave her inquisitive looks.

"Who, sweetie?" her mother asked.

"He was talking to me earlier, but I didn't see him. He was in the leaves."

"What did you talk about?"

"He said I knew him, but I can't see him until I'm grown up."

"It sounds like you're saying he came from the future." her father ascertained.

"Yes."

"Can we talk to him too?"

"I don't know."

"What else did he say?" the older mare questioned.

"He said he loved me."

"He did?"

Atmospheric nodded.

The child's father gave his spouse a look of concern. They communicated their intentions without a single word.

After tucking their daughter in for the evening, Atmospheric's parents began their investigation. Her father used a special scanner able to detect the presence of magic.

"Anything?"

He shook his head.

"I don't understand it," he replied, "She went into too much detail. We can't just brush it off as some imaginary friend."

"We've already exhausted the only other rational possibility."

"I'm trying to figure out what all that talk about transcendence was. I get the feeling once we figure that out, everything else will fall into place."

"We should head back inside. No point in thinking about it if we freeze to death out here."

"Yeah."

Had it not been for their heightened senses, they would have missed the message inscribed on the frosted window of the door.

"Hey..."

"Who's there!? Show yourself!" the stallion demanded.

His wife grabbed the foreleg of his coat, directing his attention back to the glass.

"I can't now."

"Who are you!? Why are you talking to my daughter!?"

"I'll explain everything."

Harmonic told his story from the beginning.

"I'm your son-in-law."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding..." the mare before him uttered.

"Sorry for scaring you. I was a bit overeager to see her earlier."

"Why should we trust you," Atmospheric's father grilled, "You show up acting like a ghost and expect us to take your word at face value. I don't buy it."

"I met your daughter in September of 2023."

"What!?"

"I can tell you the names of your grandchildren. You have three."

"Maybe we should hear him out, hon..."

"...Why are you here? How?"

"The law of transcendence. I can send a small portion of my energy to any point in time."

"Are you the only one?"

"Everyone can, but not a lot people know about it. I only recently discovered it myself."

"What about the consequences? You do realize you're tampering with space and time."

"Reality will likely fall apart one day when more people become aware of this ability. That's something I've had to come to terms with. I can't control anyone else's actions...Only my own..."

"It's good you know your limits, I suppose."

"I wanted to see Atmospheric's childhood because I don't really know much about her personal history. She never really opened up about it."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"I was already knocking on death's door when we met."

"What do you mean?"

"I was living in an existential nightmare. A lot of stuff I went through growing up left me questioning whether life was really worth the trouble."

"I see..."

"I met her at a local event held in your town. I was sick and emaciated at the time, but I did what I could to maintain my composure. I wanted to see what the world had to offer before I let myself waste away..."

"She saved your life..."

"I tried to make an excuse, but she saw right through me. It was my first bite of food in days."

"Now it all makes sense. You wanted to see for yourself what made her the person she was."

"She made me stronger than I ever was on my own."

"What happened after?" her mother inquired.

"I wrote my first book while I was in recovery. It was popular enough to put food in my stomach and pay rent for a cheap apartment. I messaged her to thank her for her kindness and asked if she wanted to talk more."

"And you hit it off from there."

"Straight up home run. I did have another reason for coming to this time, though. I wanted to know what might have changed had she grown up with my influence around."

"How come?"

"Based on what little she did tell me, she didn't really have any friends, and being an only child was rough on her mentally. I thought maybe I could help her break out of her shell a bit. I can't offer her much in the way of an interesting life, but maybe other people can."

"You understand you could lose her in the process, don't you?" her father reminded.

"She brought me back once. I believe she can do it again."

"If what you say is true, we'll be counting on you to keep her on the straight and narrow. Screw this up, there'll be hell to pay."

"I've lived through it already. Trust me. I won't let her down."

"Out of curiosity, why are you so willing to change her future?" her mother wished to know.

"Because she's always changing me. Maybe I can do the same..."

"A loving husband and father to the bitter end...It reminds me of someone..."