Among the pristine hallways and lavish decor of Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, Little Chart stood waiting in line for the biggest test of his life. Every few minutes the door at the end of the hall would open, an applicant would enter, and it would be shut behind him. As he awaited his turn he was painfully aware of just how much he stood out from the crowd.

Most of these unicorns were dressed in their finest attire, while he wore as much as the moment he was born. Most of the other foals had their cutie marks, some were even smaller than he was, but as he looked at his own flank all he saw was empty green fur. Most apparent of all, every other foal was accompanied by one or both of their parents, but when he looked beside him his gaze only met empty air.

Little Chart tried to focus, but that was interrupted by a grumble as his stomach demanded his attention. He grimaced, reminded of what was at stake here. He didn’t know what the test would be but he had to succeed, he just had to. If he failed, he’d be letting down more than just himself. He felt his body jitter as his nerves rose, every passing pony bringing him another step closer to his turn.

“I don’t mean to put any more pressure on you, son, but we really hope you succeed. This could be more than just an opportunity for you, it could be a chance for us to finally have enough to go around. Good luck, we love you.”

“I won’t let you down, Dad. I’ll make you proud.” They’d shared an all too brief hug before Little Chart pulled away.

“I know you will, sweetie.”

“Sweetie?”

“Sweetie?” A louder voice jarred the foal from the morning’s goodbye, turning back to see its source was a concerned mare with her son. “Are you okay, sweetie? You’re shaking.”

Little Chart looked down to see she was right. He sat down and leaned up against the wall, the cool marble sending another involuntary shiver through him as he tensed his muscles and tried to quell the tremors running through his body. “I’m fine, just cold,” he quickly answered.

Stellar Flare frowned and pursed her lips. “It’s the middle of summer.”

"I’m not used to air conditioning." He forced himself to stand, but he could still feel the tremors in his legs as he walked forward, his turn rapidly approaching.

“Are you nervous about the exam?” she guessed.

“…A little.” He reluctantly admitted before another pang in his gut prodded him. “Yes, I’m very nervous. I woke up late and didn’t even have time for breakfast before my train. Everypony is counting on me and I’m scared I’ll let them down.”

“I can help with the first part!” The colt chirped, opening his mother’s saddlebag and standing on his back legs to dig through it. “Mom packed a lot of food for the trip, I’m sure we could spare some.”

Stellar Flare’s mouth was already opening in protest. She’d packed enough for them each to have lunch and a snack until the train ride home because the prices of Canterlot’s restaurants were as high as the mountain it sat upon. But seeing the hopeful look on this colt's face the words died in her throat as she allowed her son to offer a sandwich and a bag of grapes.

What happened next was almost too quick for the eye to see, but as soon as they were offered they were snatched out of his hooves. Little Chart ate like a starving manticore mauling its prey, and the struggle was soon over.

“Slow down, you’re going to-” Stellar Flare didn’t even have time to warn him about choking as she watched him practically inhale the last grape. “Never mind. Where are your parents, dear? I’d like to have a word with them about the importance of proper nutrition, especially before such a big event.”

Before he could answer the door opened and a stern-looking stallion was staring down at him. “Little Chart?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered, feeling the tremors in his legs starting to come back before he clenched his muscles.

“Come,” he said curtly, beginning to go back the way he came.

“Good luck!” Little Chart threw an appreciative smile over his shoulder before following the proctor. He fell in step behind the older stallion as they entered a lecture hall, totally empty except for two other ponies sitting before a table with a large bowl of water on it.

The proctor led him over before taking a seat beside his colleagues. “Your instructions are on the table, you may begin when you are ready.”

He walked around the table, picking up the instructions in his magic, seeing just a diagram with a bowl, an arrow pointing up, and a stopwatch with a 10 written on it. Out of the periphery of his vision he saw one of the proctors already writing something on their clipboard and dropped the instruction sheet. His horn was enveloped in a pale blue aura as he bit the inside of his cheek, focusing his magic as he fell into a practiced breathing exercise. He shut his eyes in concentration, his aura beginning to surround the bowl.

The proctors watched with anticipation, their eyes widening as the water started to float up. His face began turning red, breathing becoming a strenuous challenge.

The water was trying its best to seep through his magic, droplets escaping any little hole they could find. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, trying his hardest to hold the orb together. Counting how long had passed had left his mind with how much effort his task required. Suddenly a rising pressure at the base of his throat let itself be known, and the colt’s eyes shot open in a moment of horrified realization before-

HIC!

The magic flickered, just an instant of loss was all it took for the water to break free in every direction available to it with a loud popping sound, dousing all present like they’d been pelted with water balloons. The proctors made a vain effort to shield themselves with their clipboards while he brushed his mane out of his eyes, shaking himself to get as much water out of his fur as possible. His ears drooped as he looked at the three faces staring back at him.

“I think it is safe to say that you have failed your entrance exam!” One of the proctors practically growled, flipping her drenched mane out of her face and reaching into her purse for something to clean her running makeup.

“What?” His voice was as small as he felt, a wave of dread, despair, and nausea coming over him.

The proctor in the middle shot his colleague a disapproving look before turning back to the foal before them. “On a technical matter, yes, you did fail,” he saw his face drop further and held up a hoof to stop him. "The test was to levitate the bowl itself and hold it for ten seconds without spilling it. You levitated the water out of the bowl and managed to hold it for seven, something I personally consider to be more impressive. While you may have technically failed, I still give you my endorsement. It looks like the final decision is up to you, Neighsay,” he said, glancing at the proctor to his left.

Little Chart looked to the final proctor with bated breath, the unicorn who’d originally led him in, and the one who now held his future in his hooves.

Neighsay seemed to think on the matter, the room dead silent as the three other unicorns awaited his decision. The only sounds that pierced the silence were the tiny drops of water and the occasional hiccup from the young pony, his heart pounding in his ears until the instructor finally moved. He exhaled and leaned forward, shaking his head. “I’m afraid I must agree with her opinion. Levitating liquids at your age is impressive, but it’s not the test that was laid out, and you still didn’t hold it for the required time. It wouldn’t be fair to the other applicants to make an exception just for you for doing it differently, and not even for long enough. I’m sorry.”

As soon as those words left his lips, Little Chart could feel his hopes dying, tears brimming in his eyes. “No! Please! Let me try again, I can do it, I swear! It wasn’t my fault!” He frantically looked from the proctors to the now-empty bowl, the reality of his situation pressing down on him. All of a sudden he felt another pressure rising in his throat and quickly grabbed the bowl before disaster struck.

Normally, this would have been easy to avoid. When he felt a hiccup coming on he would take a deep breath and hold it for five seconds. It was so simple and effective that it had worked since he first learned to control his body. But the pressure was building too quickly. His body was betraying him and he could feel the contents of his stomach moving in the wrong direction. It was all over in an instant that felt like a small eternity, the noise emanating from his muzzle muffled by the bowl as he lifted his head back and out of it. Dizzy, he crashed back onto his haunches.

“It’s too late for that, I’m afraid,” the mare told him, pointing at the door on the other side of the room with a cold indifference. “It's time for you to leave.”

Little Chart stood with his head held low, slowly trudging out the door. A familiar pang in his gut reminded him of what he’d lost, and what he and his family had to look forward to. Despite the crushing feeling of emptiness he felt, tears refused to come. Crying wouldn’t fix this, and he didn’t know what could.

Author's Note

Hello all my lovely viewers! I really need a win lately so I'm making the ill-advised decision to start yet another project! I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think!

Till next time!