Twilight Sparkle couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so nervous.
She darted to and fro in her basement lab making arrangements and adjustments to her many machines, both mechanical and magical, all fighting for her attention. She double and triple-checked her calculations, mentally reviewing her extensive preparations and all-important checklist one more time…
For what had to be the twentieth time. She knew it was overkill even for her, but she was terrified of making a mistake, knowing that even if everything went as planned, there was no guarantee of success… no guarantee that she’d be able to see him in the short time she’d have, or even that he’d even be happy to see her. What if he isn’t even home? Or worse, what if he is but DOESN’T want to see me? she asked over and over again, part of her wondering if the only reason she was being so meticulous was to avoid the dreaded moment of truth. With the sole exception of Rarity, she hadn’t even told her friends that she was going now, fearful of their reaction…or of having to face them if her efforts ended in failure.
She just couldn’t help it. Even fighting for Rainbow’s Dash’s life in court had been nowhere as nerve-wracking as… this!
“Okay… let’s do this again, Spike,” she ordered, poring over the long checklist yet again.
The baby dragon groaned. “Come on, Twilight! We’ve been over this two dozen times already, and if we wait any longer, you’re going to miss your window!” he reminded her with no small amount of exasperation.
Twilight’s ears went flat. “You’re right, Spike. It’s just… everything has to be perfect!” She magically unrolled the scroll again. For me, and for HIM...
Spike visibly deflated. “Fine…” his shoulders slumped. “But this is the last time!”
“The last time…” Twilight agreed with no little trepidation, mentally steeling herself and trying to put her many worries aside.
“Teleportation circle…” the scribe called out the first item on the list.
Twilight stepped inside the painstakingly drawn arcane diagram on the floor of her basement lab. “Check.”
“Inter-dimensional alignment…” he said next.
In response, Twilight closed her eyes and magically searched the ether, confirming again the predicted convergence of ley lines from her world… to another. They’re still there! she recognized in relief, even though she knew full well they’d be in alignment for another several hours at least. “Check!”
“Clothes…” he followed up, giving her odd attire a dubious look.
In response, Twilight tugged at the unfamiliar and improvised garments draped loosely over her equine form. “Check!” Good thing I remembered these, or Phoenix would give me a roasting… Heh. Puns. I just hope Rarity did a somewhat decent job on my outfit...
“Return spell…” he called out the second-to-last item.
She flared her horn briefly, activating the prepared enchantment, giving it a couple quick magical tugs to confirm it was in place and acting properly. “Check!”
“And letters…” Spike reached the end of the list yet again.
Twilight checked her oddly-shaped saddlebag, now draped over one shoulder, finding several scrolls inside. “Check!”
“That’s it, then,” Spike announced, rolling up the checklist and crossing the arms to make it clear they were done. “So all that’s left…” he waited expectantly.
Twilight nodded, deciding the moment was finally at hoof (or should that now be ‘at hand’? she wondered with a nervous chuckle). She took a deep breath and cast the most important incantation in the sequence, feeling the significant drain on her power it took, only opening her eyes when the spell’s work was done. “How do I look?” she asked, rearing up awkwardly, trying to balance herself on just her lengthened hind legs, magically tugging her clothes into position over her new form.
All Spike could think was that she looked decidedly strange. “Uh… okay, I guess…”
She gave him an odd look. “Okay, you guess? It can’t just be a guess!” She flared her now-ethereal horn to float herself a mirror, but realized after a few seconds of looking at her own reflection she realized she had no more idea of what constituted ‘okay’ for her new form than Spike did. Just hope it’s okay enough for HIM, then… “Okay. I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Get back, Spike, I’m casting the spell…” she announced, waiting until the baby dragon was three times as far away as he technically needed to be before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and activating her magic for the final time.
Arcane energies swirled up around her, enclosing her a bubble whose edges reached the outer ring of the teleportation circle. For a moment she could still be seen inside, but the bubble soon went fully opaque, glowing white for a few seconds until it began to fade.
Spike watched carefully, biting his lip in nervousness despite himself, knowing there was no way he would know whether she had succeeded or not… until and unless she returned.
“Good luck, Twilight…” he finally voiced his fears, but the bubble faded to reveal that she was no longer there to hear him.