//------------------------------//
// When You Dream Upon A Wish 
// Story: Spike the Squid Kid 
// by Darth Severus 
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It was another normal day for Spike. He'd gotten home from school and decided to play some video games. He had recently gotten a Switch and had fallen in love with Splatoon 2. The sequel was even better than the original, and that's saying something. He started up the game and quickly got into an online battle.

Twilight watched her little brother play his favorite game and said, "You know, there's an actual game called paintball."

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, but there's more strategy and stealth for this game. You never know what to expect in- son of a bitch! I should have known that guy had a Sting Ray! I really hate Chargers on this stage."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "I must admit, this game does have a certain strategical appeal to me. Maybe I should try it."

Spike chuckled and said, "What's with the sudden 180? Not that I'm complaining. I'd be willing to help you get used to the game. Some advice, don't use motion controls. They suck."

As Spike played the game longer, his mother said, "Spike! Put the game down, it's dinner time!"

Spike had just finished a battle when his mom called him and said, "Coming mom!"

As the family ate dinner, Spike's father said, "Don't you think you're getting a little obsessed with that new game of yours? You've stopped watching TV, playing soccer, it seems like that game is taking over your life."

Spike rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his steak and said, "It's just a really good game. It's not like I'm obsessed enough that my school work is suffering."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "I beg to differ, you've been asking me to help you study a lot, you almost never do that."

Spike sighed and said, "Yeah, I've been studying with you a lot, but I've still got a B average. A little extra help never hurts, and it's not like I'm cheating on my work."

Their mom said, "Ok, that's enough. It's Friday, so let Spike play his game for the weekend. He's been doing well enough in school that he's not in any trouble."

After dinner, Spike went up to his room with his Switch and continued to play his game. He was so invested in the game he didn't realize it was already dark. He put his Switch in the docking station so it could charge overnight. He looked out his window to look at the stars. When he was little, he would always sleep in a sleeping bag out on the back yard and fall asleep staring at the stars. He saw a shooting star go by and chuckled, "It's been a while since I've seen a shooting star." He looked at his Switch, and then back to the night sky and smiled. He closed his eyes and said, "I wish that the Splatoon world was real." he laughed to himself and said, "Man, what a cheesy wish. Whatever, it's not like magic's real." He laid down in his bed and fell asleep.

As Spike was sleeping, he dreamed about what it would be like to be an Inkling. He covered a lot of turf and splatted lots of people. He had a lot of fun. But he soon woke up to the sun shining through his bedroom window. He yawned and said, "Man, what a great dream." he got out of bed and went downstairs to get a soda to wake him up a bit. He opened the fridge and saw what looked like a can of Coke. He pulled it out and saw strange writing that looked familiar. He felt strange looking at it. It was his first time seeing writing like it, but he could clearly read the words "Tenta-Cola." He raised an eyebrow and said, "Must be some new soda mom got."

He sat down on the couch and turned on the news, and what he saw shocked him. He saw Pearl and Marina from his game on the TV. Pearl said, "Y'all know what time it is!"

It was if he was playing the game, but the Switch was up in his room, and Marina said, "It's Off the Hook coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!"

Every little detail that came from the game was happening on the TV, Pearl and Marina were introducing the stages in Ink Battles, and then a paid advertisement said that Grizzco was hiring. Spike shook his head and said, "Ok, there's got to be a logical explanation. I'm still dreaming! Yeah, that's it!" he walked up to the bathroom  and splashed some water on his face, but when he looked in the mirror, he saw that he looked like an Inkling! He splashed more and more water on his face and said "O-Okay... this isn't a dream... this is nuts though!"

Twilight knocked on the bathroom door and said, "Hurry up in there Spike! I'm meeting the girls at Deca Tower and I want to freshen up!"

Spike nearly screamed when Twilight said she was going to Deca Tower. It almost felt like everyone in town was pulling a prank on him, but Twilight was a horrible prankster. That's when he realized this was all real, he wasn't a human kid anymore, he was an Inkling. He walked out of the bathroom and saw his sister with tentacle hair in her signature ponytail with her iconic purple and magenta hair color. He said, "Sorry Twi, I'm just a bit off right now."

Twilight brushed past him and before closing the door she said, "By the way, mom said your Ink Battle License and Splattershot Jr. came in the mail. You want to have a battle with me and the girls? You'll need to get practice if you want good weapons."

Spike was still a bit freaked out, but he said, "Yeah, sounds fun. But if we're on different teams, I'm not going easy on you just because you're my sister."

Twilight giggled and said, "Right back at you little bro. But let's see if you can say the same thing about Rarity." and closed the door.

Spike rolled his eyes at her comment and walked downstairs to see an ID card with his name on it next to a Splattershot Jr. He said to himself, "What the hell is happening? If this isn't a dream, and it's not a prank, what is it...? Wait... that shooting star! Good lord... I guess I can't complain considering I'm the one who made that wish. Well, I guess I'l just try to have some fun and get as good at real Ink Battles as I am at online multiplayer." he picked up the Splattershot Jr. and the ID card, which was his Ink Battle License and said, "This is gonna be a lot of fun."