//------------------------------//
// Midnight Strikes 
// Story: The Dark of Midnight 
// by TaiKetchem 
//------------------------------//

This time, our story starts somewhere different.  Here we are now on planet Earth. A place where there are no Pokemon and  only powerless creatures that made the world less mythical… For the most  part.

Here we begin in the town of Canterlot: a place where you  can go to get a job… and go to school… yeah, seems boring on the  outside, but on the inside, you'll find somewhere that'll blow your  mind. And that somewhere is known as Canterlot High School.

While  CHS looks like your typical high school with many teenagers attending  class, this school holds a secret that is unknown to most others. You  might find one student working on outfits for special events, another  ready to bring laughter whenever needed, or even one running through the  school at high speeds while leaving a rainbow trail behind… did I get  your attention now?

Upon her arrival, Twilight Sparkle, originally  at the time being a student at the rival school: Crystal Prep, and her  little dog: Spike were visiting to attend the special event known as the  Friendship Games. However, her inventions rather than winning against  the rival school were to investigate its mysteries of what kind of magic  it held.

Although, the magic did overwhelm her, causing her to  lose control which almost caused a tragedy to the world. Thankfully  though, she had her friends there to help save her and the world from  such an atrocity.

Unfortunately, after such an event, Twilight was  unfortunately removed from Crystal Prep. It wasn't really a loss as she  got to attend Canterlot High and was welcomed with open arms.

As  for Crystal Prep, I'm not spreading rumors or anything, but I heard that  the principal got fired and blacklisted from working at any school in  the area and the dean had become the new principal… I just heard.

But  anyway, after being given the right to attend CHS, Twilight never  suffered through any more tragedies that-Okay, this is getting long.  Let's get straight to the point.


Chapter 2: Midnight Strikes


We start the day with Twilight waking up in her bed groggily. She sat up and stretched before slumping over while groaning.

Her  dog: Spike arose from his doggy bed, stretching while yawning before  shaking from his head to his tail as his owner stood up. She rubbed her  eyes before putting on her glasses. With her sight now clear she made  her way to the bathroom.

"Morning, Spike." She says while petting the dog.

"Morning, Twilight." He responds as she froze in place.

"Oh man, I am not gonna get used to that, anytime soon." She says, uneasy.

Nonetheless,  the lavender-haired girl continued to the bathroom. Looking into the  mirror, she saw that her hair was a mess. Unkept and basically all over  the place. She sighed before removing her glasses and splashing water on  her face before putting them back on. Then she took her hair  straightener and started to fix her hair… only to remember she hadn't  let it heat up yet.

So, she decided to brush her teeth first, then  floss afterward, straighten her hair now that the straightener was  heated up, give it a little brush after, and finally put it in a  ponytail.

Then she went through her closet trying to find some new  clothes. Now that she wasn't attending Crystal Prep, there was no need  for her to wear her old uniform, though she never imagined she would be  allowed to wear, 'anything'.

While looking through, she just  closed her eyes and reached for whatever she could grasp, pulling two  out before opening her eyes. She walked to the mirror and held the two  outfits she picked in front of her. One was a cyan button-up dress shirt  with puffy sleeves, a pink bow, and a purple skirt with a sparkling  symbol. The other was basically the same, only it had a dress shirt of  the same color and pink stripes. She compared them over and over before  looking at her dog.

"Uh, on a personal note, which one do you think is better?" She asked.

Spike  looked at the two outfits, his face scrunching as he tried to think of  what to choose, only having one thing to say. "I dunno."

"UGGGHH!"  Twilight groaned at his response. "Hmmm…" She looked back at the  mirror, comparing outfits again. "Maybe this one." She picked the one  with the striped shirt while putting the other away before she changed  into it, looking back into the mirror. "Yeah, looks fine."

She  decided to get a view from a few angles, making sure it looked good.  Then as she turned to face the mirror, her eyes widened. She screamed as  she spun around, jumping back as she fell onto her butt and started  panting.

"Twilight!" Spike says as he jumped down, running to her side. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

She  looked around the room at every corner looking for something out of  place. So far, nothing appeared wrong. She felt relief as she rubbed her  face under her glasses.

"I'm sorry, I…" She says before groaning into her hands.

"Why'd you freak out like that?" The dog asked.

"I…"  She tried to think of how to put what she saw into words. "Y-you know  what, it's nothing." She says as she got up before grabbing her bag.

"Really?  I may be a dog, but I know that saying 'It's nothing' means it's  'something'." Spike says before picking up one of her books with his  mouth and giving it to her. "Come on, you can trust me you know."

Twilight  looked at him before checking the time. "Again, I'm sorry. I'll tell  you after school." She then continues to pack her things.

Spike  still seemed unsure but didn't know how to question it further. All he  could do was jump into her bag and travel with her to begin another day  at their new school. She didn't have to go far to reach said school, and  arrived a little time before it started.

"Hey, Twi." She jumped before turning, only to see her redhead friend: Sunset behind her. "Woah, jumpy much?"

"H-hi, Sunset, uh…" Twilight says before rubbing her arm. "Just… a little nervous is all."

"Still shaken up about… well, the thing that happened?" Her friend asked as Spike in her bag caught on to what she asked.

"Uh, well… y-yeah kinda." She says, still rubbing her arm.

"Don't  let it get to you." Sunset says while putting her hand on her shoulder  as she began to lead the girl into the school. "You won't have to worry  about any more of that… hopefully."

Twilight just simply nodded as they went through the halls. Though she couldn't help but feel uneasy as she looked around.

"I don't like the looks everyone is giving me." She says, referring to some of the glaring students.

"Oh,  that's that you that they're giving those looks at." Sunset reassured  her before they stopped in front of a classroom. "Like I said, don't  worry. I know how hard it is to adjust, but trust me, you're gonna love  it here."

"Eh, I don't know if I'll get used to a school full of magic."

"Not really full of magic just… ya know, us and all."

"Right, right, uh… so, I'll see you after lunch?"

"Yeah, see ya."

Sunset  waved as she left while Twilight waved back. She sighed and went into  class and sat in her seat as the bell rang, signaling classes would  begin. With one more look into the window, straightening out her bangs,  then turned back to face the teacher and listen.

Classes went on  as usual, nothing special happened. Math was nothing to her, English  seemed to be a breeze, and that only left a few other classes for the  day which she hoped would get through without worry after lunch.

"Hey,  Twilight!" She stopped right in front of the cafeteria doors before  turning and spotting a blue-haired boy run up to her. "Hey, it's uh,  been a while, huh? I haven't seen you around lately."

"Uh, h-hi… um…" She says as his smile drops. "Sorry. It's Flash, right?" She says, trying to remember.

"Y-yeah,  that's me. Ya know?" He then says regaining his smile in hope. "I was  just wondering if maybe we could hang out during lunch? Catch up on  what's going on lately since you were away."

She immediately got  weirded out by what he was saying and started to back up to the doors.  "W-well, uh… sorry, but I promised to hang out with my friends, so… I  should get going." She then went through the doors, leaving the boy  standing where he was.

"Oh, alright then." He sighed before covering his face as a blonde girl with wall eyes walked up and patted him on the back.

Twilight  shook her head before grabbing a tray and going down the line. With a  full tray, she looked around, not needing to look for long as she saw a  rose-color-haired bubbly girl: Pinkie Pie bouncing in the air while  waving. Well, that made things easy for her.

"Yo nerd, over here!" And her rainbow-haired friend: Rainbow Dash calling at her. "Come on, there's still a seat open."

She sighed and walked over, sitting between Sunset and Pinkie. "Doing better?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, starting to." Twilight then let Spike out of her bag and Fluttershy started cuddling with him while giving him a treat.

"Doing better for what?" Rainbow asked.

"Just still getting used to the new school." She says before taking a bite.

"Oh, gotcha."

"Are  you still feeling awkward knowing that everyone around the school acts  like you've been here before because you have but it wasn't you but  another you from another world who is a princess who came to this school  before you and spread magic all around the school?" Pinkie says all in  one breath.

The others all stared at her in shock.

"Yes…  kinda?" Twilight says while looking uncomfortable. "Actually, no not  kinda, that's exactly it. As much as I'm glad to feel welcome here, it  just feels so weird knowing people actually think that… well, Pinkie  already kinda pointed out what."

"Don't blame ya for that, I'd  probably be the same way if I were in your position." Her blonde friend:  Applejack says while adjusting her hat.

"Yeah, knowing there was a  lookalike of me around saying she was me does sound kinda creepy the  more I think about it." Rainbow says.

Twilight then turned and saw  Flash talking to his friends while looking sad. "What was the story  with him?" She then says gesturing to him.

Sunset looked in his  direction. "Oh, Flash?" She asked while getting a nod in return. "Eh,  funny story. You see, the other Twilight she uh… kinda had a thing for  him."

"Thing as in?"

"In short, he kinda… how do put it?  Swoon her? Something like that." The redhead says before scratching the  back of her head. "I think you get the idea."

"Great, nice to know." Twilight sighed.

"I  feel bad for the poor boy. It's not really his fault if doesn't know."  Her purple-haired friend: Rarity says while looking back at the  blue-haired boy.

Sunset then looked at him and looked sad herself. "Yeah, me too."

"Do you think you might be into him?" Her pink-haired friend: Fluttershy asked. "Maybe thinking of giving him a chance?"

"I mean, uh… I don't know to be honest." Twilight answered. "I mean, maybe I could, but to be honest, he doesn't seem my type."

"Well, so much for that." Rainbow says.

Twilight  gave the boy another glance. The topic of romance wasn't something that  she put any thought into, but she did have some thoughts on possibly  finding a soulmate of her own. Though, she wasn't lying when she said  about Flash not being her type. Plus, she didn't know about starting a  relationship with a guy that had a thing for 'another' her.

Now  she was in science class. She was following a formula, mixing some  serums together before she accidentally elbowed one of the bottles and  jumped back as the liquid in it splattered on the floor, just barely  missing her. She groaned in annoyance before grabbing a cloth and was  about to wipe it up.

As she bent down to clean it, a hand reached out and she jumped back screaming, falling onto her back.

"Woah, woah, woah! Back up!" The science teacher says while running up and getting in front of her.

The  liquid was smoking before it evaporated, leaving the floor it splat on  seared. The teacher sighed before offering a hand and helping the girl  up.

"Did any get on you?" He asked as she looked around, not  seeing any damage. "Good. Some of these chemicals can be extremely  deadly to the touch. I asked that you be more cautious next time." He  says before patting her on the shoulder and walking back to the front of  the class.

She looked back at the burnt floor and rubbed her  face, believing that she was seeing things, and stood back in front of  her table. She heard a crash that made her jump as she turned in the  direction of the noise. A blonde had dropped and broken one of her own  glass bottles and was getting a scolding from the teacher that she  didn't listen to, though was relieved to find it wasn't anything else.

After  the day was over, Twilight went home and was already getting started on  her homework. Spike had seemingly forgotten about what he heard that  day and hopped into his bed. She had gotten through her homework and  studying with no problem and had dinner, made sure Spike was well-fed  and walked, then headed to the bathroom to finish up for the night.

As  she passed the mirror, she stopped before stepping back and turning to  face the mirror. Her reflection looked normal, nothing seemed out of the  ordinary and all seemed fine. She turned on the sink and splashed water  on her face before looking back up at her reflection.

"Geez, come on, Twilight. Get yourself together!" She says while rubbing the sides of her head.

She sighed before taking her toothbrush and began brushing her teeth.

Now  she was lying in bed in her pajamas, not even bothering to go under her  covers. She looked at her phone and then dialed the number. She  listened to it ring for a few minutes before someone answered the phone.

"H-hello?" She heard the groggy voice of Sunset on the other side.

"Sorry, Sunset. I know it's late." She first says.

"No, it's fine. What do you need?"

She inhaled before she spoke again. "I just… I can't sleep."

"..." There was a yawn heard on the other end. "Sorry. What's bothering you?"

"Well… you know that other me? Not the princess but the one I turned into during the Friendship Games."

"You mean, Midnight."

"I still don't like that name, but yeah."

"What about her?"

"I…" Twilight turned to lie on her back. "I just feel worried that I might turn into her again."

"I doubt that'll ever be the case. She's not like a separate sentient being you know. She's not real or anything."

"You say that, but… I just… I don't know."

"Hey,  I know it's hard. I've felt the same way as you before. It'll pass and  sure enough, you'll be over it. Just try not to think too much about  it."

"I hope you're right."

"Don't worry. If  something like this does happen again, you've got us to help you.  Rainbow, Pinkie, AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, we'll all be there for you no  matter what."

"Thanks, Sunset."

"No problem. Get some rest now, unless you wanna get caught snoozing in class."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

She  hung up and set her phone down. Twilight felt better after hearing how  she had friends to look to for support. She got under the covers and  laid against her pillow, finally letting sleep take over, feeling better  than before.

… Is this really how your world works?

She  was awoken by the sound of a familiar voice. She proceeded to look  around the room for the source of the noise but couldn't. As much as she  wanted to go back to sleep she started to get paranoid and looked  around again, but there didn't seem to be anything out of place. With a  sigh and some light smacks on her face, she was about to sleep again.

Then  it hit here. It wasn't an object or anything that was missing. She  looked at the dog bed, finding it barren with no dog in it.

"Spike?"  She says as she looked around. "Spike!" She called while getting out of  bed. "Spike!" She calls as she wanders around the room, looking  worried. "Spike!" She called once more.

You won't find him here.

She  jumped and looked around the room, scared out of her mind. The sight of  her room still empty of anything only rose her paranoia further.

Behind you.

She  then turned around and froze in place when she saw who it was. What she  saw didn't disappear in an instant. All she felt was dread as she  stared at the lookalike, floating right in front of her. Midnight  Sparkle.

"Surprised to see me?" She says with a smile as wicked as the day she made her appearance.

Twilight  stammered unintelligible words as she started to step back, stumbling  over her feet before holding onto the bed frame for support.

"Y-you're…"  She says before shaking her head. "No, no you're not here. You're not  here right now, because you're not real. You don't-"

"Oh, but I do." Without missing a beat the doppelganger flew over and floated over her. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?"

"No,  no, no, no! You're not real!" Twilight continued to deny as she crawled  back to her pillow. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, please wake up!" She  tells herself.

"Wake up from what? Certainly seems like you need to wake up to reality dear." Midnight continued to taunt her while floating around as her room slowly started to fall apart into a black void. "I exist as a part of you and will always be a part of you."

"No…"

"Face it-"

"No…"

"You can't get rid of me."

"No!"

"And you can't get rid of me."

"No!"

"I will come back!"

"NOOOOOO!"

It  was at then Twilight shot up from her bed into a sitting position while  gasping for air. Her heart was racing as she clenched the bedsheets.  Her breathing started to steady before letting go of the blanket,  reaching for her chest, and feeling her beating heart.

She slowly  turned his head up and began examining his bedroom. Nothing seemed out  of place. She looked at the doggy bed and Spike was thankfully still  there. She got up from her bed and ran over to check on him, seeing he  was fine, sighing in relief afterward. However, she wasn't fully  relieved yet.

She rubbed her forehead finding the sweat that had  trickled down her face. At this point, she didn't feel like getting  sleep that night. Whatever was messing with her head, dream or not she  couldn't fall asleep after what she experienced. She looked at her phone  on the bed, then out the window, only thinking of one person that could  help her at that moment.

With her mind made up, Twilight put her  glasses on and got to change out of her pajamas and into the outfit she  wore that day with her hair done in a ponytail and a green sweater. The  shuffling of close woke Spike up from his sleep.

He seemed annoyed  at first, but then he noticed his owner putting on her sweater as she  headed for the bedroom door. He looked worried before he began to follow  her.

She left her house and started speedwalking down the street  into the night, the only source of light being the streetlights. As she  entered the city, she grabbed the strings of the sweater and pulled them  tightening the hood.

The air felt cold, cold enough to make her  regret wearing a skirt. Her hands and face felt the same chill in the  wind, but nonetheless, she continued forward. She was bumping into many  people, ignoring their stares as she went past them. Those stares  weren't important to her and she could care less what they thought of  her.

There was only one thing on her mind and it was to get to  Sunset to get help with whatever problem she had. She took her phone out  and went to her contacts, about to call her, though for some reason was  hesitating just to press the call button. She could swear she could  hear something calling out to her, calling her name.

Then she  suddenly felt her yanked back by the bottom of her sweater causing her  to stumble back, avoiding an oncoming car that came down the street. She  fell on her bottom, completely snapped out of her daze as she looked  up, recalling where she was in the city.

"Twilight!" She finally registered what she was hearing as she looked down, finding her dog right next to her.

"Spike?" She says as she stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"I  should be asking what you're doing." Spike says. "You left the house  this late, walking down the street without looking, and almost got hit  by a car just now."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't… I… I don't-"

"This isn't like you at all. What is going on?"

"I… I…" Twilight stammered, unable to think of an excuse.

"It's  because of what happened during the Friendship Games, right?" Spike  asked as she looked surprised. "I was in your bag when Sunset asked  that. You should forget about it."

"I know, but it's so hard." She explains.

It wouldn't be if you let me control you.

Twilight  suddenly grabbed her head, groaning in pain. It was only for a second,  but it caught her off guard and she hunched over a bit.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

She was about to say something before she suddenly saw Midnight's arm around her waist and her other hand resting on her own.

"You're not gonna fight it are you?" She heard her voice ask. "What am I saying? You don't have the strength to fight me." She laughed.

"Hey, Twilight! You there?" Spike called out to her.

"Allow me to take it from here."

"No… No… please." Twilight pleaded.

"Too late!"

Then  Twilight suddenly started stumbling about holding her head in pain.  Spike called out to her, but his calls were nothing more than silence as  she stumbled out into the street, her eyes starting to flash as sparks  emitted suddenly emitted from her body.

"No…" She muttered trying  to fight off the pain. "No!" She says, continuing to resist as much as  she could, but it proved to be futile as her eyes flashed light blue.  "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And just like that, a beacon of blue light  flashed where she stood, enveloping her. The wind flowing from it was  powerful enough to push Spike back and cause nearby cars to skid to a  halt as they saw it. Inside the light, Twilight's form began altering.

Her  hair flared up, and her outfit turned into a purple dress. Large  angel-like wings sprouted from her back, a long horse-like tail  sprouting from her back, a long glowing horn from her forehead, her  glasses turning into flames around her eyes, and finally bearing a  glowing blue sclera before the light enveloping her disappeared.

As  Spike recovered, he got to see her and he along with others looked  scared at the sight. The people didn't know who or what she was, but he  knew all too well that it was the evil side that his owner never wanted  to become again: Midnight Sparkle.

Midnight opened her eyes and  examined herself before snorting, being she began to laugh. Her laughter  slowly turned maniacal which only spread fear across the faces of all  those around her.

"Oh, it feels so good to be back!" She laughed as she hugged herself before looking down at the crowd. "And an audience? I think I might've picked the best timing." She giggled before showing her hand which emitted a blue flame. "Now, watch and be amazed, peasants, as I bring your planet to ruin!"

Then  without missing a beat she fired off a beam that stopped in the middle  of the sky before a burst was heard as a crack formed, revealing a  grassy field that showed some horses that freaked out when looking  through. Seeing such, the people screamed and ran or drove away before  she began cackling to herself, firing more beams and opening more tears  that revealed different parts of the other world.

Some of the  horses viewed through the tears could be seen flying through the skies,  stopping to look through in shock. Spike was looking back and forth,  watching as cracks in reality start to open on their own, and feared for  his owner's life.

"Twilight!" He called out. "Twilight, snap out  of it! Come on, you gotta fight it!" He called out again, trying to get  to her to no avail.

"What? No one here to stop me this time? No one to argue with me?" Midnight called out in a mocking tone as she looked around. "No? Oh, what a shame. Guess there won't be anyone to even give me a challenge." She laughed while shooting another beam, creating another crack in the sky. "Again, a shame." She says before shooting again and creating another crack in front of her.

She  turned away, ready to fire another blast. But she stopped as her smile  dropped and the flame in her hand disappeared. She turned to face the  crack that she had just created, feeling a serge of power radiating from  it. Through the crack, she saw an island filled with trees which didn't  look anything out of the ordinary, but she knew there was something  there giving off the power she felt. And she wanted it.

Spike had  avoided a crack forming in the sky, then looked back up at Midnight. His  eyes then widened as he saw her approaching the portal.

"Twilight,  no!" He called out but to no avail. "Don't go!" He called again.  "Twilight!" He called one last time, but it was too late, she had fully  entered. "No… No… no… no…" He says before looking around, then finding  her phone and looking at the screen, seeing who she tried to call,  looked at the glasses that belonged to his owner. "Sunset." Then he  picked them up with his mouth and took off down the street.

To be continued…