Twilight's P.O.V.
There was nothing but fog and darkness surrounding me. I tried walking, but I could simply not see anything else. I crouched to touch the ground. It was solid, but aside from that, nothing.
“Hello?” My voice echoed, but there was no response.
I stood up and continued to walk slowly through the fog, still unable to see what was in front of me. Reaching out with my hands I kept going for some time, trying to get my bearings when I stepped on something. I looked down and took a step back to try and see the object, but I couldn’t see what exactly the obstacle was in the fog. I was about to lean down to take a closer look but paused feeling a sense of dread overcome me. Cautiously, I used my hand and tried to remove the fog by swinging it back and forth just over the strange object.
*Beep* *Beep *Beep*
I know it was here. It was small, just big enough to fit under my foot, but I still couldn’t see it.
*Beep* *Beep*
After a few seconds of blind searching I began to strain my eyes trying to make out the object in the darkness. Through the fog I could have sworn I saw something, an outline of a tiny object smaller than my foot among the mist.
Suddenly I had a strange sense of vertigo despite being on the ground. I tried to ignore the sensation and focus on finding the object. I reached for it, trying to fight the sensation, but the sense of vertigo became stronger and I felt my head spin. Suddenly I fell over and darkness swept over me leaving my mind on the object as I was overcome by the sensation of falling into the darkness.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
I sat up abruptly by the sound of my alarm clock. I turned off the alarm and yawned before rubbing an eye. What was that strange dream? It was… weird. Very weird. The fog, the darkness, the endless nothingness… I don’t know what it was, but I have a bad feeling about it. I remained sitting, trying to remember more about the dream to analyze it. But then…
“Good morning, Twilight! How’d you sleep?”
“Gah!” Startled, I jumped off the bed and fell on the floor. My blankets covered me after my collapse.
“Twilight? Oh, I’m so sorry for scaring you. I didn’t mean to…”
The voice was right in front of me. I removed the blanket from my face, but my sight was blurry. I took my glasses from my night stand and put them on. Spike was looking at me. So, he was the one to speak.
“Spike…?” I fluttered my eyes, confused.
Then, my brain started to process everything that transpired. My memories began to return one by one. My device, the magic, my transformation… all that happened just yesterday and I had a hard time reminding myself it wasn’t a dream. It was so unscientific, but it was all real. All of it. I then heard Spike next to me and I quickly apologized to him.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Spike. I forgot that you… but I’m fully awake now.” I smiled to assure him that I was fine. My dog started to shake his tail and ran towards me to lick me all over my face.
“S-Spike!” I giggled. It tickled! “Good morning, boy.”
“What are we going to do today, Twilight?” Spike moved away, still shaking his tail.
“The same thing we do every morning, Spike. I’ll check the calendar!” I giggled at our little gag before walking towards the wall in which I had my calendar and checked on today, which was Saturday. “Oh, that’s right! The new book I was waiting for is being released today! Young Sorceress Academia!”
Spike wagged his tail. “You have been talking about it for months!”
“Yes, but it’s still too early. I’ll have to kill time before going to the bookstore.” I sighed and sat on my bed.
Spike walked towards me and laid on my lap. “I wish I could go to my lab, but since Cadence said she would arrange the paperwork for my transfer, I’m no longer a Crystal Prep student. I’ll need a new place for my tech. I’m glad Cadence is keeping my stuff safe until I find a new location for my equipment.”
“She’s very kind.” My dog rested his head on my body and I started to pet him.
“Yeah. She’s my only real friend.”
“What about the nice girls you met during the Friendship Games?” Spike looked at me, tilting his head. “What about me?”
“Oh… You’re right Spike, you’re my best dog friend. As for the other girls,” I moved my sight from my pet. “I-I don’t know. I doubt the girls consider me a friend. After all, why would they? They will surely find me boring. All my life I have been mistreated because of that. Besides, I turned into a demon and nearly destroyed their school. If they hadn’t stopped me, the destruction would have been worse.”
“I don’t remember them being angry at you when you returned to normal. They didn’t hurt you. I don’t know, Twilight. I think they really care about you.”
I petted Spike on his head and smiled at him. “Thank you, Spike, but even so, I don’t have their numbers nor their address. I’ll have to wait until I transfer to see if you’re right.” I stood up, holding Spike within my arms and walked towards the window. “It’s a nice day. Do you want to go for a walk?”
“Yes, please!”
I giggled and was about to remove my pajama shirt when I noticed that Spike was still staring at me, waving his tail with joy. “Umm, Spike…”
“I’m all ears, Twilight!”
“W-Would you mind giving me some… privacy?”
“Huh, why?” My dog tilted his head in confusion again.
“I want to get changed, and… well…”
“But you have changed in front of me before. What’s the problem?”
Spike had a point, he is just my dog. Yet, now that he talks it feels so weird having him watch me even though he’s seen me change since he was a puppy.
I looked down at him with a sad face. “Since you can talk and we have conversations, I feel weird getting undressed in front of you now. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love you, Spike. You’re my best friend.”
“Oh.” Spike started to wave his tail in joy again. “I understand, Twilight.”
I smiled at him and quickly gave him a chin rub. We then remained looking at each other for several moments until he spoke again, looking at the door. “Can you open the door for me, please?”
“Oops, sorry!” I giggled, embarrassed. “My bad,” I said as I walked towards the door and opened it.
“It’s okay. I’ll be by the door!”
My dog left my room and I closed the door. Once alone, I sighed. While I got dressed up with my usual skirt, dress shoes and a plaid shirt, my thoughts focused on the dream I had. It must have a meaning. I never experienced it before. Will I have it again? I both wanted and wished not to have that dream again. Something about it just didn’t feel right.
I decided to take Spike to the park and play with him. I even brought his favorite tennis ball. I always loved seeing his joy when he chased after it. It was a good distraction.
But this time, it wasn’t enough.
I wasn’t able to play with him for long before my thoughts went back to my dream. Why did I have it? Is it possible that it’s connected to what happened yesterday? I never had a dream like that before until then, after all. I’m not sure. There isn’t much of my dream to analyze. All I remember is fog and darkness. There was something I stepped on, but I woke up before seeing what it was. There was something familiar about that object… but, what?
“Twilight? Twilight!” Why can’t I remember what that item was? I’m certain that I recognized it, but my mind is blank right now. Think, Twilight, think! “Twilight! Woof, woof!”
“Uhh, what?” I shook my head and looked down at Spike, who had his front paws on my legs.
“You seem distracted. What were you thinking about?”
“Oh… n-nothing important, Spike. Don’t worry about me.” I faked a smile at my pet, but I don’t know if it convinced him.
He remained with his paws on my legs, looking at me. I tried to ignore him by looking somewhere else. I saw some kids playing, a couple on a date, and I think that a familiar face. A girl with a cape and a magician hat that had stars in them. She wasn’t far from me. The girl appeared to be practicing magic tricks since she pulled out a deck of cards and started to mix them in a weird way. I watched her practice while I tried to remember where I’d seen her. Everything was going well, until she accidentally dropped her cards.
She ducked to pick them up, and I thought it would be a good idea to help her. I wasn’t good at making friends, but I knew helping others was a good starting point to make a connection with them. I ran over to give the girl a hand with Spike at my side. I crouched by her and reached for a few cards, picking them up and offering them to the girl.
“Please, let me help you.” I said as I approached the magician.
“Trixie’s got this, but she appreciates… wait a moment…” The girl glared at me. “It’s you! The student from the Crystal Prep who looks like Twilight! Even your dog is similar!” Did she really just name herself?
“U-Umm… look like Twilight? But, that’s my name…”
"Ugh! Trixie knows that. She meant the other Twilight, the one from ponyland!" She wasn’t being friendly at all. I suppose I should be used to it by now. But, wait... she has seen me before?
“You recognize me? So, you’re a student from Canterlot High?”
Trixie gasped in an overdramatic fashion. “How can you possibly forget about The Great and Powerful Trixie?!”
Clearly there was some confusion here, I’m pretty sure I’d remember someone as outspoken and flamboyant as her if we met.
“I’m… sorry?” This girl’s attitude is… strange, to say the least.
The girl named Trixie sighed and looked away. “I suppose you weren’t around much to remember me. So, you were interested in my magic tricks?”
“I, uhh… yeah. Do you practice often here?” She might not be kind, but at least she’s less hostile than my former classmates.
“Well, if you really want to know, this is a place which Trixie frequents. Being a magician requires much rehearsal.”
“I’m taking a break from magic myself. After everything that happened yesterday…”
“Oh, yes. Such an event is quite hard to forget. But…” Trixie started to walk around me, like if she was examining me. I stood still, but I also felt slightly uncomfortable. “You look normal right now. At least on the outside.”
“Twilight is not a bad person! That weird magic was messing with her head!” Spike spoke all of the sudden. I panicked, but still managed to cover his mouth.
“S-Spike!” I started to sweat. He should be more careful when speaking in front of strangers. Who knows how people will react? I glanced at Trixie, whose face showed no fear nor surprise. She looked… irritated?
“Trixie wasn’t suggesting otherwise! She was just saying that she didn’t see anything out of normal in plain sight.”
“Wait…” I raised a hand to catch Trixie’s attention. “You’re not weirded out that Spike can talk?”
The girl smirked. “He’s not the first talking dog Trixie has seen. The other Twilight had one too.”
“Oh, I see…” I gazed from Trixie to my pet. “Spike, I’m thankful that you want to protect me, but please, be more careful when speaking.”
“Yes, Twilight. I’m sorry…” Spike got upset, but he recovered his good mood after I petted him.
“You’re such a good boy.” I smiled at him before turning to Trixie again. “I’m sorry, but I must go. There’s somewhere I really want to be.”
“Sure, I’ll see you around, I guess.” It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not.
“We’ll see each other sooner than you think. I’m transferring to Canterlot High soon, but I don’t know when.”
“Really? That’s… good to know. Well, it was nice meeting you other Twilight. See you later.” With that, Trixie sauntered off with all her magical props waving her hand causally back at me.
“Bye!” I waved at her as I walked away. Our encounter was odd, but we had a good talk… I think. At least she didn’t insult me, did she?
“That Trixie girl is… strange, isn’t she?” Spike said when we were near the exit of the park.
“I would say peculiar. She didn't seem to be too bad.” Shortly after finishing the sentence, my phone started to ring. I checked the caller. It was Cadence. “Hello, Dean Cadence!”
“Hello, Twilight!” She was in a good mood. “You don’t have to call me that anymore. I have good news. Paperwork is done. Principal Celestia will be expecting you at Canterlot High next Monday!”
“Really?” A big smile appeared on my face. This is the best news I received in a long time. “Thank you so much, Cadence! But… I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, Twilight. It will be strange not seeing you in the corridors anymore, but it’s for the best. It doesn’t mean that we won’t see each other again. I’ll be looking forward to hearing how you adapt in your new school.”
“I’ll definitely call you next weekend to tell you all about my week, Cadence. I promise.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I would love to talk more, but I have to go.”
“Alright. Goodbye! Have a nice weekend.”
“You too.” I hung up after she did. I was still smiling from side to side. I glanced at Spike, who started to shake his tail when he saw my good mood.
“Canterlot High, here we go!”
“You didn’t even let me tell you the news, Spike!” I giggled and scratched the back of his ear.
“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I have a good hearing. The bookstore is open now, right?”
“Yes. I would love to take you there, but they don’t allow pets inside.”
“It’s okay, I understand. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“You have your toys so you don’t get bored. I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.” With Spike between my arms, I walked back home to get ready to buy my new book. I was already happy to get the book, but with the great news I just received, I’m overjoyed!
After leaving Spike and taking my purse, I headed towards my favorite bookstore. It wasn’t much to look at, just a small corner building at the end of a street, but they had an amazing selection of books! In an hour, I’ll be home reading on my bed with Spike by my side. I’m so excited!
“Hello, Mr. Bricks!”
“Oh, good day to you, Twilight.” The shop attendant greeted me with a big smile. “How can I help you today?”
“I’m here to take the book I reserved a couple of months ago. Young Sorceress Academia!”
“Yes, right away!” Mr. Brick walked towards the back of the store. I remained browsing books until he returned a few minutes later. His mood was completely different. He wasn’t cheerful anymore. “Twilight… are you sure that you reserved it?”
“Y-Yes, I did. I didn’t want to miss it.” I don’t like where this is going.
“I-I’m deeply sorry. There must have been a miscommunication. There isn’t a single copy of, Young Sorceress Academia saved. We sold them all.” He said in a glum tone.
“What?! A-Are you serious?” My heart just shattered into a million pieces.
H-How could this be? Why me?! Why did this have to happen? I was looking forward to this for so long now! I can’t possibly wait any longer!
“I’m afraid so. I was certain that I saved one for you, but it's gone. I wrote your name on a piece of paper and placed it on the book, but it might have gotten lost. I can still save you one as soon as more copies arrive, if you want.”
I wanted the book now. I don’t want to wait for the next edition. I have been waiting for months for it. There has to be a copy somewhere. “Thank you for your offer, but… I’ll try to find it somewhere else. If I don’t have luck, I’ll come back.”
“I understand. I promise to take more precautions next time. I don’t like letting our best customer down.”
I smiled to cease his worries. “Don’t worry. This remains to be my favorite bookstore. I have been a regular here since I could read, and this is the first time something like this happened. I’m not fond of the idea of buying my book somewhere else, but I cannot wait any longer. I’m sorry, Mr. Bricks.”
“Like I said, I understand.” Mr. Bricks smiled. “I hope you can get your book. Good luck, Twilight.”
“Thank you. Goodbye!” I turned around and walked out. I had to make haste. If my favorite book store ran out of stock so fast, then it’s possible that Young Sorceress Academia will be sold out in other stores as well!
I ran as fast as my lungs and shoes allowed me. I went to all the bookstores I knew, and even to the ones at the mall. No copies left. I used my phone to guide me to one more bookstore. If it’s sold out there as well, I’ll return home with Spike. I won’t make him wait for me much longer. Not to mention that my feet were starting to kill me.
My last stop was further away from where I usually go, but desperate times require desperate measures. I arrived in a neighborhood I have never been in before. The bookstore was around the next corner. I put away my phone and looked around. This place didn’t look so bad. It looks like a nice place to live. Some houses weren’t in the best shape, but I saw people talking in their yards and other people walking their dogs.
I walked in the bookstore and read the signs above the bookshelves until I found the category I was looking for. I headed straight there and browsed the books. “Let’s see… oh, please, there has to be at least one… wait… here it is!”
My eyes sparkled as I grinned. I took what seemed to be the last copy of the book I have been looking for, but as soon as I took hold of it, a second hand grabbed the book. I gasped and looked at the owner of this extra hand, but their face was covered by a green hoodie.
I tugged before I realized that she was holding the same book as me. “E-Excuse me… I have been looking for this book all the time. Could I please buy it…?”
The person turned and glared at me. I gasped louder this time. She was a girl. She was frowning. Her purple eyes were menacing. Sh-She scared me with her piercing hateful glare. I felt small and fearful, like looking into the eyes of a predator on the hunt.
“No way! I got here first! You let go! Hold on…” The girl removed her hoodie, revealing two long purple twin tails with green highlights as her hair. Her expression still showed signs of doom. “Twilight Sparkle?! What are you doing here?!”
Not this again. Whenever I go, people act as if they know me and already hate me without me ever doing anything to them…