As the sun blazed outside, encircling Canterlot, one apparition in particular could not help but be agitated within her shared room as she felt the heat.
A lavender hoof came up from under the mound of a disorderly bed covered in numerous sheet blankets, dazedly trying to get everything on over her face, wanting to block out the sun.
While a small basket from the side of the bed rustled, came the view of a small purple baby dragon, looking well-rested.
"Waaaa....." Yawning, the baby dragon let out a tiny green flame in his mouth before jumping out of his basket with a smile. Stretching his back while making his spines look straight, the drake then whirled around to face the messy bed with a mischievous smile.
"Wake up, Twivine, it's time to get up, up, UP!" He yelled as he dashed towards the bed, removing the blankets with surprising ease, showing a mare with a silky lavender coat and a black untidy mane with purple and bright green streaks, including her tail.
The said mare curled up as the sun's rays hit her coat, groaning.
"Ugh.... Spike, can't you be any louder.." complained Twivine while rubbing her eyes with her right hoof to adjust to the sudden brightness.
"Nope!" Spike replied with a teasing grin before looking at the other bed next to Twivine.
Their shared bedroom in this lovely tower, courtesy of Princess Celestia herself, consists of two (or three) beds, while in the middle is Spike's basket.
On the right side of the room was Twivine's space, and currently, it was a total mess. Particularly, everything she owned was scattered around.
Books, vines, bedsheets, quills and ink, you name it. Everything on her side of the room was a huge disaster in comparison to Twilight's side across the room.
Twilight was a mare who symbolized the concept of organization to a T. Not only did her bed appear to be professionally made, but everything in her room was beautifully organized.
through her mountain of check lists (and her check list for her check list) to her chronologically ordered books at her bookcase.
Everything was in place. well, except for the mare herself.
"Where is Twilight?" Spike asked, his emerald eyes surveying the room.
Twivine could only shrug at the drake before turning over, filling her muzzle with her pillow, while attempting to sleep again, but her concentration was soon broken when both of them heard an irritating ding.
As Spike watched the muttering mare begin to rise, the chamber fell silent; her purple eyes were now encircled by a light green color, leaving a purple fog at the sides of both eyes. as a screen-like device appeared in mid-air.
".....so did Twilight unknowingly do another task again?" Spike asked.
"Urrrghhh... Yes.." came a muffled reply.
"How much point does Twi have now?"
Pondering for a bit, Twivine lit her horn with her usual teal magic as another screen appeared.
"... about 5,000,005 points." She replied, looking at the screen with longing as Spike whistled, impressed.
"Huh, we're already half way through getting you a body, Twivine!" He remarked happily, but then looked at Twivine meekly. "Hey, do you think... After you get a body and all that, can I buy something at the System Store..?"
But before Twivine could open her mouth, Spike hastily interrupted her. "Oh— before you could say no—I promise I'll only buy some gems. I mean, they aren't that expensive, right?"
Sighing, Twivine then lit her horn yet again as another screen appeared.
"The most expensive one here seems to be a giant Fire Ruby, and you already have one for our shared birthday, though it's a bit small compared to the Store. Hmmm and its price is about 500 points."
"W-wait only 500 points for a giant Fire Ruby!?" Spike stuttered as his eyes gleamed at the news before thinking about the aforementioned gem. But just as his fantasy self was ready to eat the gem, a hoof was shoved lightly in his face, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Come on, firehead, stop with the daydreaming, and let's get ready for the morning." Instead of having all of her hooves on the ground, Twivine instead floated, like a true apparition would. and floated towards the walls as she phased through.
"Oh, I think you should cook now for yourself, Spike. I caught a glimpse of a note that said that Twilight had already eaten." But before she could fully phase, she abruptly notified Spike and soon left the drake.
"H-hey! At least tell me some other prices for some gems before leaving! I wanna have a gem breakfast for today if there's something cheap, like 50 points cheap!" Quickly hollering out towards the ghost-like mare, Spike hastily dashes out of the room to catch up with Twivine.
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Some time later...
As Spike was done eating his breakfast (sadly, the cheapest gem they could find was a small sapphire, and that was about 100 points), he suddenly brought a box in on the table along with some arts and crafts materials to where Twivine was currently reading a book.
"What's with the box, Spike?" Curious, Twivine couldn't help but ask, closing her book in the process as she saw Spike looking a bit proud at his work.
"Well, it's for Moon Dancer's party for tomorrow! I bought this present with my own allowance." Then he shoved a toy right in Twivine's face. "See? Doesn't it look cute? Definitely something Moon Dancer would love, right?"
Having a complicated look as she gaze more throughly at the toy, the mare couldn't help but bite her lips at the moment. Suddenly, she remembered a piece of her forgotten memory.
An episode, in fact.
'So... it will start tomorrow... I hope I didn't ruin the—'
"Twivine?"
"Huh?" Suddenly, the drake was right beside her, and she felt his claw holding her hoof.
"Don't worry, Vine, when Twilight finally gathers many points for you to get your very own body, I bet you could interact with many ponies. So in that way, you won't get left out!" Perhaps Spike was remembering all the times he and Twilight would see Twivine feeling down and when ponies would walk through her or ignore her since many ponies couldn't see the apparition like they do.
And seeing her being devastated after one pony would trot through her like that was maybe the reason why Spike had misunderstood her expression.
But Twivine felt his concerns were unnecessary. But she did appreciate how much Spike had cared. So with Twilight also.
"I—I'm not all that bothered about it, Spike. Really, I mean, with Twilight's last purchase of making me feel and hold something, despite the fact that I'm not even supposed to have that, I'm really okay. Honest." She tried to look reassuring, a look she rarely uses.
"...mmm.." Spike only hummed, not really believing her, but ultimately decided to let it go as he worked on wrapping his present.
Only the tiny dragon could be heard snipping at the ribbon to make his present appear lovely as stillness fell over the table. Spike couldn't really help but look at the mare, who had returned to her book as if nothing had happened.
"Uhmm.. I know you told this a hundred times, but... could I hear the story where you appeared and when I first hatched?" Spike suddenly requested out of the blue, as Twivine lowered her book with a confused expression.
"Spike, I already told you that I'm—" "I know, I know... I mean, I'm just bored. And maybe if you tell the story, time might move faster? And since you're also waiting for Twilight to appear, I don't see why you couldn't, Pleeeaaaasse?" The drake interrupted with his own imitation of puppy eyes as Twivine sighed.
"Okay... Fine." Spike cheered at that while Twivine cleared her throat.
Taking on a reminiscing look, she took a long breath before speaking in a grand tone. "So.. the day of Twilight's exam...."
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Change Pov: Twivine.
I could only remember bits and pieces of my previous life.
It was so few that I even forgot my name and my own gender.
But the one thing I could remember adequately was how I was transported here to Equestria as a pony.
I knew I was reading something at my old home when I noticed an app on my phone. I knew that it wasn't there before, but instead of getting worried that my phone may have a virus, I instead investigated the matter.
I remembered it having a pony icon before clicking on it.
Then the screen blacked out, and eerie text appeared.
"Warning: The timeline is about to be ruined. Do you want to know more?"
And after that, from the bottom of the text appeared a rainbow button with the word [Proceed].
So, having no choice, I clicked on the button, honestly intrigued.
Then the black screen disappeared and was replaced by a video of young filly Twilight going through her test.
I could see her struggling with Spike's egg; it was honestly hard to watch when she kept failing... But just as Twilight was about to give up, a boom was suddenly heard, and miraculously, Twilight had a magical surge. It was so powerful that it caused many mishaps; for one thing, Spike's egg hatched and turned him into a fully grown dragon by Twilight's magical power alone and along with the other ponies inside. Of course, she also leveled the whole room with her magic.
It was so strong that the Princess herself needed to intervene...
But then something strange happened. I don't know why, but somehow I have this feeling that everything was about to spiral out of control the longer I watched the video.
Instead of controlling Twilight's surge, Celestia seems to be pushed back as she strengthens her own magic, desperately trying to have a hold on Twilight while clenching her teeth in concentration.
Then, before something bad happened, the video stopped and showed two pony images.
I almost dropped my phone at how abrupt it was. But my irritation slowly melted away into confusion when I saw these ponies..
One of the choices was my own face, which I now own, or Twilight's face with a different mane color and eyes.
Twivine Sparkle.
The other one was an alicorn version of Twilight, but like my own, it was very different from Twilight yet also the same.
Having brilliant turquoise eyes and dilated pupils. Her mane had the same purple with a pinkish streak as Twilight's, but unlike the rest, it floated upward. She also had a long, purple tail, and her coat, like her eyes, was purple. This Twilight has a turquoise horn that glows with a black magical aura. She has black, feathery wings that shine softly. In comparison to Twivine, she appears more despotic.
Having the name, Midnight Sparkle.
I remembered that I picked my own face, maybe that's why I'm Twivine now.
Honestly, I don't know what compelled me to choose at the time. But I guess it was because Midnight looks more villainous than Twivine.
But when I clicked on the image, the eerie text appeared.
"You have chosen your selected host's alter ego."
"Host...?" I mumbled in confusion. But it continued regardless of my puzzlement at the term being used.
"Would you like to help? You have only 5 seconds to choose before the timeline will be destroyed." It typed before counting down.
Suddenly being pressured and how uncomfortable I felt when I saw the word destroyed.
I hurriedly clicked on the word.
[I'll help] before my vision darkens.
But before I fainted completely,
I did hear a whisper of someone while letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"I'm glad. Thank you for your help, young one." was the last thing I heard before waking up to the world not my own.
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Change Pov
"Twivine!" Suddenly hearing a shout, Twivine snaps back towards reality as she looks down, meeting Spike's worried eyes.
"You were about to tell me how you appeared, but you were suddenly lost in thought. Are you sure you're okay?"
It took a moment for her to reply, but when she did, her eyes softened. Leaning over the table where Spike was, Twivine suddenly patted the drake's head.
"Yeah.. want me to continue?"
Giggling at the sudden contact, Spike nodded, completely forgetting his worried thoughts in favor of hearing her story.
"Well... When Twilight was suddenly out of control, she started spitting out magic left and right, with a *BAM! and *POW! Until Princess Celestia quickly dashes in on the scene herself. She stood at the door, regal and all that, then taking a battle stance, she blasted her magic at Twilight, trying to gain control over her surge!"
Listening with rapt attention, Spike awed again with sparkling eyes, and Twivine continued, trying to make the story more entertaining for the baby dragon. Unknowingly to both of them, the door suddenly opened up, revealing a figure with a book being levitated in a pink aura, looking exasperated at the scene.
"But even the strong Princess could not overcome Twilight's strong magical prowess! So, when all hope seemed to be lost, I was suddenly summoned by somepony to save the filly's surge, and with my plunder vines, along with Princess Celestia's efforts, we put a stop to Twilight's rampage."
"Woahh..." Spike was awed, even though he had heard the story many times.
"But when everything was over, you returned to your toddler size." Twivine poked Spike's snout as the drake swatted her hoof in retaliation with a smile. "Everything all worked out in the end, but while everypony was happy and celebrating Twilight's achievement, later that night, she suddenly talked to yours truly when everyone was fast asleep."
"The young Twilight, who saw her while nobody else did, asked in a suspicious tone: Who are you? Why were you in the room? Why do you look like me? And how did you summon all those vines?
And even though I was being faced with a multitude of questions, I heroically answered everything: "Young filly, what I am is your guide, your system to life. I was brought to you by destiny, and for why I look like you and can help you, I will let you find the answer for yourself!" —And that young drake is how you hatched and how I appeared." The mare did a small bow as Spike clapped enthusiastically.
"You always tell stories in a good way, Vine! Though if you want to, I could let you dub my limited addition of the Power Ponies comic book!"
But before she could reply to that, they suddenly heard a dry cough. Simultaneously looking at the source, both of them saw Twilight looking at them with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, hearing your abridged story on that matter, why do I feel like I was the villain of the story, hmm, Twivine?" Twilight suddenly asked her counterpart with a look that made Twivine look sheepish.
"Err... because it's entertaining?" Twivine offered, as Twilight looked unimpressed.
"Don't tell me you've been spreading stories like that to other ponies, Spike." Turning her head towards the drake, she glared when she saw Spike avoiding her gaze.
"Honestly, you two..." She shook her head exasperatingly but hid a fond smile towards the two.