From a Sparkle to a Spark

by Infernity Zero

The Encounter

Magic.

No wonder logic and reason had failed her before. Magic defied those principals by its very nature. And at the same time, that opened up far more possibilities than before, more than even the cause of science could offer. Levitation and flight were just two of them. And what about the spells? What else could this magic do?

She had to find out more. But how? Observation and notes could only take her so far, and she couldn't exactly going around stalking students with a clipboard in the hopes that something would happen. She needed a better way to get results.

Let's see. I probably don't want to hypnotize anyone. Who knows how the magic within them would react?

That was the problem. She didn't know. A scientific mind such as hers was completely out of its depth when it came to the supernatural. Outside of this school, anyone she consulted would likely be as dumbfounded as she'd been. And snow would fall in the Sahara desert before she went back to Crystal Prep.

As she pondered what to do next, she scanned the room again. Re-consulting Vinyl was always an option. And seeing how the grey girl wolfed them down, cross-eyes could be coaxed to talk with some muffin bribery. That wouldn't enough for a full experiment, but it was a start. Especially, if it got her closer to finding...

Hey!

There they were again. Those five girls she'd seen earlier were staring at her and whispering among themselves.

Why do they keep doing that?

She felt her face clench.

They've been paying more attention to me than anyone else here. Why?

She snapped her head around and glared right back at them. Noticing this, they quickly turned aside, but it was too late. With quick, snappy stomps, she marched their way.

---

"That's her girls; I'm sure of it. Twilight's twin who lives in the city."

"You mean our world's Twilight, Darling. But what is she doing here?"

"The only other place I'd seen a uniform like that was at that fancy-schmancy private school a few miles away."

"You mean Crystal Prep?"

"Yeah. That one."

"Why would she go there? That place is dark, unfriendly, and the people there are so judgmental."

"How do you know that Dashie?"

"My old friend Lightning Dust goes there. They turned her from upbeat and helpful to cutthroat and cold-hearted in just one school year. It was like she was a completely different person."

"Uh girls?"

"One year there did all that? Do ya think magic was involved?"

"I don't know. She doesn't really talk much anymore. And what happens at Crystal Prep, stays at Crystal Prep."

"Girls."

"Then whatever she's doing here can't bode well for us. What should we do?"

"Well, if she's anything like our Twilight, trying to get her to leave will only make her more suspicious. "

"But we can't just leave her all alone. Twilight wouldn't like it if we just ignored Twilight like everyone did to Twilight."

"And what if she discovers the portal? Then the wrong Twilight could end up in Equestria and cause some sort of paradox."

"Well that's the last thing we need right now. What on Earth are we going to do with her?"

"Well, you better figure it out soon; because, she's coming this way!"

"WHAT?!"

---

As one, the five girls rose and retreated, hastily scrambling into the hallway.

"H-hey! What are you doing? St-stop!"

Sparks didn't wait for a response and charged after them.

"Come back here!"

They raced through the hallways, the gymnasium, and the foyer, nearly crashing into Vice-Principal Luna in the process.

"Cease this tomfoolery at once. Running in the hallways is strictly-"

But even while she was speaking, they had already burst through the door and ran off.

"-prohibited." She finished with a frustrated groan. "Ugh, first Sunset Shimmer runs amuck, and now everyone flagrantly disregards the rules? I told Celly our school policy was too lax. I will have to address this later."

And while she mused about that, the chase kept going. Her chest getting hot, Twilight forced herself to keep running, not wanting to let her answers get away.

I knew I should have taken Phys-Ed.

A nearby sign told her they were headed towards the school's amphitheater, and she noted with a note of satisfaction that the other girls were tiring too. They slowed from running, to jogging, and finally stopping once they climbed up on the stage.

"I (pant) got (pant) you (pant) now."

The white girl spoke up. "We (pant) weren't trying to (pant) escape."

"Then why did you (pant) run?"

"We wanted to be sure (pant) that no one was around when we talked to you."

"Why? So I wouldn't blab about your magic?"

Their eyes narrowed. "Tell us how much you know."

So many glares made her gulp. She started sweating. "Well, Vinyl showed me that everything that's happened here is because of this magic."

Rainbow smacked a hand to her head. "I knew we should have sworn her to secrecy."

"That wouldn't have changed anything, Dashie."

Sparks nodded. "She's right. I was already investigating even before I found out about that."

"Then why are you here?" The question came out a bit more forceful than Rarity intended; but after two attacks in a row, she wasn't taking any chances.

She winced. "I just wanted to find out what made this place so strange. Everything's different from Cry--er--my old school. The people, the plants, even the air feels different. Did magic really do all that?"

"It most certainly did. And it's still doing it now."

"Wow." Twilight tapped her chin, processing the information.

"So, uh, what are you going to do next? Um, if you don't mind me asking that is."

"I'm sorry; I don't quite understand."

"Well, you didn't come all this way just to ask questions, did you? Now that you know that Canterlot High has magic, what are you going to do with it?"

"'Do with it'?" Red began to flow into her cheeks. Sure, there were the potential applications she had thought of already, but those were just practical not personal. She hadn't really thought about using it herself.

"Yeah." Pinkie chimed in. "Do you want to learn how to use magic yourself? Or do you want to fly?"

"Do you want to improve your endurance so you won't get so winded when running?" Dash continued.

"Do you want to use it to improve your studies? Or your work ethic?" This came from Rarity.

"Or ya could just make yourself stronger." Applejack.

All of those ideas rushing around in her head made Twilight feel a bit faint. She had to sit down. Without even intending to, these girls had cut right through her. And once again, her mind come up blank.

"I...I...I don't know."

---

"And you're certain she's still there?"

"I talked to one of the staff members; she checked in a few days ago, Mr. Solaris. Plus, I set up a camera by the entrance. When she does leave, we'll know."

"Good job, Sweetie Drops."

"Do you think we should make our move now?"

"Not yet. She's not ready yet."

"But we need to make our move soon. What if they--"

"Calm down. If they had found us, we'd have been caught by now."

"So what do we do?"

"We wait. As long as we keep covering our tracks, they won't get suspicious. And once she's fully healed, we'll go for Twilight Sparkle."

Author's Note:

I really can't write Applejack. At all. Also, I used colors because I didn't want to waste time with "saids."

You know, the more I write this, the more I'm tempted to just wack one of the characters with the idiot stick just to get the conflict going. But I can't do that. That's the mark of a lazy writer, something I certainly am not.

So instead, I had the lack of conflict become an actual plot point. Twilight's spent so much time trying to figure out what it was that changed the school that she had no idea what she'd do with that knowledge.

Comments

[Infernity Zero]

6439490 Because I'm putting her through the emotional wringer?

[Infernity Zero]

6440988 Last time I followed the canon too closely, Cryosite tried to report me for plagiarism. So I'm sticking with my own story for now.

[calinjc]

I think I found a good theme for this fic:

just listen to the lyrics and tell me what you think.

[calinjc]

6441036
Eh, worth a shot

[Infernity Zero]

6444996 Okay, I listened to the song. But...how is this relevant exactly?

[calinjc]

6445071
Searing is trying to get Twilight, Springtrap is trying to get the night guard, and no matter what, they keep coming back

[calinjc]

6439845
Yeah, pretty much

[calinjc]

6441036
Ugh Cryosite ruins everything

[Emperor]

Sweetie Drops is an agent just like canon, eh?

But which team is she, er, batting for? The good guys or the bad guys?!

[Infernity Zero]

6493080 The first instinct I had with creating Solaris was just to have a competent adult in the story. But as I continued, I started to make him more prominent.

[calinjc]

6493152
Yyyyeeaaaah, Twilight you may have just doomed the entire universe with that.