Twilight's Golden Age

by Bitpull

A Must-Have, Double-Bag Adventure

When the world stopped spinning, Twilight found herself in a hotel room.

Travel between dimensions doesn't get any easier, she thought, shaking her head to clear it. Or maybe it's just that I was taken unawares this time…

Finally getting her bearings, she took in the shabby but neat furnishings, the "Check Out By Noon" sign on the door, the other door off to the side – presumably the washroom, where someone was being very noisy – a bed (undisturbed, thank Celestia) and a small writing desk. No sign of anypony else, so who summoned her?

Or was it a summoning spell? She gave herself a quick magic scan, and discovered traces of a displacement spell. That explained why no magician was standing around, awaiting her arrival; the object wasn't to bring her here, it was to send someone else away; as to who that someone was, and why she, Twilight Sparkle, was chosen as counterweight, well, that's what she had to find out.

She examined the magic in this dimension next. Not nearly as pervasive as back in Equestria, but very diffuse, and with a certain -- atmosphere? aftertaste? – something that reminded her of a grandmother's attic, or a very well-stocked collectible shop. Well, if there's magic here, that explains why I'm still an alicorn, even if ponies aren't the dominant species. She eyeballed the bed and found it much too long for most ponies.

Her scan had turned up a source of magic on the writing desk, so she hurried over before whoever was in the bathroom could come out. Sounds like they're dying in there… With her hooves at the edge of the desk, she could just make out a sheet of paper with the single word:

BLOOD

Well, that's suitably portentous. But it wasn't the source she'd detected. That turned out to be a nearby matchbook. It wasn't intrinsically magic; rather, it had been "soaking" in a magic-infused atmosphere for some time. She levitated it to her eye level and read, "Juju's Bayou Beanery." It had a drawing of a swamp scene and an address that didn't look like anyplace near Ponyville. On the inside she found some scrawls, or perhaps doodles – they certainly looked like no writing she'd ever seen.

Placing the matchbook where she'd found it, she saw something near the bed, something she remembered seeing in Shining Armor's room. And if this duffel bag is anything like Shiny's, there should be a name tag right – there. "S - G - T… Sergeant Terry Gardner, USMC" she read aloud. No idea what "USMC" stood for, and again, an address that meant nothing to her. "Terry Gardner" sounds more like a griffon name than a pony's; hope my showing up here doesn't lead to an incident. Ponies and griffons had not always been on the best of terms.

Just then the toilet flushed and the sink ran. Whoever was in the bathroom was about to come out. Twilight steadied herself and waited to greet the newcomer.

Out stepped a small white dog with floppy black ears and a rather large nose. He was walking – staggering, rather – on his hind legs while waving his right front paw in front of his mouth and going, "Bleah!" in a rather squeaky voice.

Then he saw Twilight and jumped. "Huh?" he chirped.

"Hello. Sounds like you've had a rough time of it."

"…Uh-huh."

"I'm sorry, but I need to check something." And she enveloped him in her aura, much to his surprise. "Whaaaaa?"

"Another displacement spell. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nooo…."

It's like holding a conversation with a rubber duck. "Well, we need to start looking for answers. Let me introduce myself. I'm Twilight Sparkle from Equestria. And you are…?"

In answer the dog reached up to his neck and held his tag out. He's a pet? And he expects me to read that? Twilight obliged with a simple magnification spell; an enlarged image of the tag appeared before him.

Answers to

S N O O P Y

If found, please return to:

The Round-Headed Kid

"Sooo… your name is Snoopy?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I'm very pleased to meet you Snoopy," she said, extending her right front hoof for him to shake. Instead he grabbed it with both forepaws and smothered it in kisses.

"Uh.. heh-heh," said a flustered Twilight while Snoopy gave her what could only be called a leer. Shaking off her discomfort, Twilight laid out what she knew:

"Someone used us to get rid of their enemies by switching places with them. We don't know who or why, and no one knows we're here."

At that moment came a knock on the door. "Twilight? Twilight, are you in there?"

Twilight gulped at being proved wrong so quickly. "Looks like we're about to get some answers, Snoopy. Are you ready?"

In response, Snoopy collapsed in a dead faint.

"My hero," muttered Twilight. She braced herself and unlocked the door with her magic.

Author's Note:

Just a quick note. This is Snoopy from the animated movies and TV shows, not the comic strip.

Twilight belongs to Hasbro, Snoopy belongs to the Schulz estate.

Comments

[Regis-Th3-Lesser]

Not going any further