Chapters Twilight Sparkle and the School of Magic
Prologue
Celestia was, by all means, a morning person. Every day she woke up to raise the sun, which in turn, woke the rest of Equestria. This routine had not changed for many millennia, and would stay the same for many more. So when the great alicorn princess rolled out of bed one morning in June, she did not notice anything out of the ordinary.
Luna had just flown in from lowering the moon, ready for a good night—Er, day’s rest, when her older sister got up to raise the sun. Celestia smiled as she watched her sunrise; in fact, it was her favorite part of the day. Seeing the sky turn from the dark, deep indigo of her sibling’s night, to the bright blue that greeted the morning, it all seemed like the perfect picture to wake up to, and Celestia had never seen the same sunrise in all the centuries she’d lived. For every single day was as unique as the first, and held the promise of new things and new adventures.
"And every adventure is as exciting and unique as the last," Celestia murmured, thinking aloud. "Don’t you think so, Philomena?"
The white alicorn tiled her head in the direction of her pet phoenix. She was surprised to see not one, but two phoenixes sitting next to each other. The taller fire bird held a scroll in his beak, which was marked with a school crest bearing four different animals and the words "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus." For once in her life, Celestia was utterly surprised. She was not surprised in a bad way, for the phoenix belonged to an old and dear friend.
"Good morning, Fawkes," the princess said, greeting her guest. "I assume that you aren’t here simply just to visit."
Fawkes, for that was the phoenix’s name, nodded politely before dropping the scroll into her waiting magic.
Celestia’s eyes darted back and forth as she read the message. The three parchment papers hovered in front of her nose, held in place with the alicorn’s golden magic.
"Oh, Dumbledore," Celestia sighed. "What in Equestria are you planning?"
Meanwhile, in another castle, two beings faced each other. They were not ponies, nor were they griffons, dragons, or any other creatures of the like. These two were humans; tall, erect ‘beasts’ that, well, you know what humans are. The two humans stood on either side of a desk in the headmaster’s office in the school, for that was what the castle was.
"Albus, are you absolutely sure that inviting Celestia’s student was a good idea?" one of the two asked the other. "How in the name of Merlin is she going to arrive in our world, much less fit in?"
The man stroked his exceptionally long, white beard. This man was none other than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"I would expect that she would arrive through the same way that Fawkes left," Dumbledore said after a pause. He gestured to the large mirror that stood behind his companion. It was at that exact moment that the phoenix decided to fly out of the mirror as if it were an open doorway. Fawkes soared over Dumbledore’s head before landing on his perch across the room.
Minerva McGonagall shook her head, "You know that I don’t trust using the Mirror of Erised as a gateway. How can we truly trust it when all it shows is wishes and dreams?"
Dumbledore simply smiled. "We may not trust it, nor know how it works, but we still have to believe that Miss Twilight Sparkle will arrive and that she will fit in with the other students, whether it be by magic or by fate."
"Today, Spike," a certain lavender alicorn said to the baby dragon seated next to her. 'I know that everything is certainly fine."
Spike snorted, wisps of green dragon flame becoming visible for a split second. "Don’t you remember the last time you said that? All of your friends’ cutie marks got swapped and that nearly sent all of Ponyville into a panic!"
Twilight laughed, "So? It ended up just fine for everyone in the end."
"You’re hopelessly optimistic, you know." This only managed to send Twilight into another fit of the giggles.
The little dragon shook his head disapprovingly while his friend laughed. She's absolutely lost it, Spike thought. No, I've seen her when she's lost it. This isn't even close .
Soon, however, Spike too fell victim to the contagious laughter. The two friends laughed until their sides hurt, a record beat only by the Element of Laughter, Pinkemena "Pinkie" Pie.
As with all good things, their laughter had to end. Some things end quietly, simply fading away from existence. Other things go out with a bang and flash of lights. This ended along the lines of the later, stopping with a bright burst of green fire and smoke that simultaneously dropped a scroll onto Twilight's head.
Spike blushed and muttered an apology as Twilight grabbed the scroll off of her head and brought it down to eye level. It was an ordinary bit of parchment; a dull, uninteresting tan color that made the letter look absolutely...ordinary. A plain red ribbon held the paper in a tight roll. Celestia's personal seal was marked on the front along with a strange crest that dared to make the ordinary-looking parchment seem somewhat interesting.
Twilight shrugged these thoughts off as she broke the seal. Surely whatever Celestia thought needed to be marked with her personal seal had to be important. Twilight only hoped that it wasn't anything disastrous or dangerous. She had saved Equestria enough times that an end-of-the-world situation was simply annoying .
"Dear Twilight," said alicorn read. "As you know, the world we live in is not the only one out there. This was proven when you followed Sunset Shimmer through a magical mirror into another world. I have moved that mirror from the Crystal Empire to the palace, here in Canterlot. Since then, I have received a visit, along with a message, from an old friend who resides in yet another world. His name is Albus Dumbledore. I pass on his message; an invitation rather, to you. If you accept, I shall see you, Spike, and Owlowiscious before September. I will give further instruction then. Celestia."
Twilight glanced up at Spike, who in turn shrugged.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Sparkle,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. She re-read and re-re-read the two letters. The third piece of parchment was a list of school supplies that included several things she had never heard of. Spike smiled as the papers floated away from Twilight's face.
"Looks like we're going to Hogwarts, Spike."
Author's Note
This bit 'o work was inspired by The Unicorn at Hogwarts. It happens before the Sorcerer's Stone and after Equestria Girls.
Twilight Sparkle and the School of Magic
This chapter, in honor of being the first, shall start with a bang. A bang that will not only grab your attention, but also spur this story into existence. I'd guarantee that your socks will be blown off, but then it would sound as if I were selling something. So, without further ado, the bang.
It came with the sight of Canterlot Castle's huge wooden doors being slammed open with the force of one single, powerful, alicorn's magic. The bang was a tremendous sight, indeed, for not one of the ponies standing in the courtroom failed to look up at the lavender figure in the doorway.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Luna chuckled softly as she identified the cause of the startling bang. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."
Twilight blushed as she trotted up to the princess of the night, "Sorry. Is your sister around? Celestia said that she would be here to give me further instruction before I left."
"Ah, yes. She's up on the balcony of the Solar Tower. Will you do me a favor once you get to Hogwarts and tell dear old Dumbledore I said 'hi'?"
"Of course." Twilight cantered to the stairs that led to the hallway that wound around to the Solar Tower.
The Solar Tower was named so because it was the tower that housed Princess Celestia's bedroom. The room was large enough to accommodate the regal alicorn that resided within, while still being small enough to be classified as "cozy." The floor, which held the room's feature attraction: a sun mosaic that matched Celestia's cutie mark, sparkled with the sunlight coming in from the balcony doors. Twilight, however, had no time to waste looking at the ground beneath her hooves, for she was already late.
"I'm so sorry, Princess Celestia!" Twilight apologized the second she saw her mentor. "Pinkie Pie threw a last-minute going-away party, and I got so caught up with that and almost forgot to even 'go away', which would have made the entire party completely pointless! Once I did remember, I was all like 'I don't want to leave now and hurt my friends' feelings', but I also didn't want to keep you waiting, so I decided to take the train but they were running late and it took a whole ten extra minutes for them to change the flat tire, so I jumped out of the window and flew the rest of the way here. Sorry."
When she stopped to take a breath, Celestia just smiled and said, "Arriving five minutes early is not ever late, Twilight. Remember that."
Twilight nodded while Spike slid down her back where he had been seated next to Owlowiscious.
"If I may be so bold as to ask," Spike started. "But what did you mean, Princess, when you said you would give 'further instruction', back in your letter in June?"
Celestia levitated Twilight's embroidered saddle bags over, where they hovered in a field of the princess' golden magic. "This includes the money you will need to purchase your school supplies and uniform before the semester starts on the first of September. There is a map of Hogwarts, along with one of a place named 'Diagon Alley'. I believe that the latter is a shopping district in the wizarding world where you can buy your school books. Dumbledore has reserved a room for you in a pub called the Leaky Cauldron where you will stay until the semester begins."
Twilight grabbed the bags with her own magenta magic. "So, are we ready? To leave, that is." Spike's head bobbed up and down eagerly as Owlowiscious hooted in agreement.
Celestia smiled as she gestured to the mirror behind her. "Then what are you waiting for?"
The lavender alicorn returned her smile as she stepped forwards. Her hooves made light clinking noises on the glass-tiled floor as Twilight walked up to the mirror. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't."
Vibrant rainbow colors flashed past Twilight as she, Spike, and Owlowiscious traveled through the wormhole that cut across space, time, and into an alternate dimension of reality. The three seemed to stretch across the expanse in impossible contortions, twisting beyond imagination. Time was but a thought and space just a dream. There was nothing and there was everything .
Twilight tumbled onto the floor in the other end of the wormhole, her companions quickly following suit. She shook her head to clear her mind of the fog that blurred her vision and the dizziness that made the world seem as if it were spinning. Straight across from her sat Spike, whose claws clicked on the wooden floor as he attempted to walk in a straight line.
The baby dragon looked relatively the same as he always did, but with a pair of purple bat-like wings held tight to his ribs. Spike chuckled as he said something along the lines of "let's not do that again" before he collapsed on the floor. Twilight grinned at him before looking at her own body.
Hands. That was the first thing she noticed. They were not the lavender hands that she once had; these hands were a tan coloration that she had not seen before in a pony. This meant only one thing: "Oh joy. We're in a human world again, Spike." This statement was said with a generous amount of sarcasm.
"At least we aren't in a world of sentient ostriches," Spike muttered back.
Twilight turned back towards the mirror that she had just tumbled out from. She could see her own reflection, and it gave her a bit of a shock. To put it into terms that she could grasp, Twilight was a filly again, and her jaw dropped.
A voice behind her caused the now young Twilight to spin around. "Ah, Miss Twilight Sparkle, I presume. Welcome to Hogwarts."
Author's Note
I made Twilight the age of a first year, so that she would fit in better to my story.
Twilight Sparkle and the School of Magic
"Ah, Miss Twilight Sparkle, I presume. Welcome to Hogwarts."
Twilight spun around at the voice, which was really a bad idea seeing as it caused the world to flip upside-down (or, at least that's how Twilight felt). "Whoa!"
The man who had spoken, Professor Albus Dumbledore, helped the dizzy girl to her feet. "I had not expected dear old Celestia's student to be so young, but I trust that the alicorn's wisdom is still unfailing. Don't you?"
Twilight nodded her head as she looked at the elderly man. She placed him around a hundred years of age, although she was still unsure about human ages. "Oh, yes. But I'm not usually this young, not in my world at least. I think the mirror has something to do with it, or possibly there's a time difference between our two worlds. I have heard of such a thing. Also, Luna told me to tell you 'hi'."
Dumbledore smiled. "But of course." He glanced at Spike, who was studying his own wings with great interest. "Although, I was not aware that you had a draconic companion."
"You mean Spike? He's my number one assistant." With Twilight's words, the dragon puffed his chest out proudly.
One sadly forgotten pet owl hooted before landing on Twilight's shoulder. She giggled. "And this is my number two assistant and pet, Owlowiscious."
"I see. I trust that you will be fine shopping for school supplies on your own? I'm afraid that most of the teachers are busy preparing for the fall semester, and cannot accompany you to Diagon Alley." Dumbledore smiled sadly.
Twilight looked up in surprise, "That's alright. I just have one request."
"And that is?"
"How do I get to Diagon Alley from here?"
Twilight stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron after she, Spike, and Owlowiscious had traveled there by floo. Needless to say, after traveling across universes by mirror, it was no worse than an unpleasent form of teleportation (although Twilight was sure that the magical theory behind floo was not teleportation).
The threesome walked out into the pub, where they noticed that an eleven year old girl and a dragon stuck out in even the strangest of places. Twilight ignored the stares, glares, and odd looks as she fished out her map of Diagon Alley. Walking to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, Twilight, Spike, and Owlowiscious were faced with a walled-in courtyard in which the only thing was a metal trash can that sat in the corner.
"Let's see." Twilight ran her finger across the bricks as she counted. "Three up from the trash can, and two across." Her finger lifted from the brick for a second, before tapping on it with her knuckle. The bricks rolled away to reveal the sight that was Diagon Alley before them.
"Whoa!" Twilight could barely take it all in. There were shops that held all sorts of magical devices, from telescopes and wizarding robes, to crystal balls and broomsticks. There were tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon, and all kinds of strange and exotic foods. Spike's eyes widened beyond what seemed physically possible, and Owlowiscious' head spun around and around looking at the different things.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Twilight murmered to herself. She pulled out her list of school supplies to see where she needed to go first.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
COURSE BOOKS
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
A History of Magic
Magical Theory
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
Magical Drafts and Potions
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
OTHER EQUIPMENT
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
Yours sincerely,
Twilight frowned as she tried to think of where each item could be found. She remembered passing a wand shop a little ways back, and a book store was visible from where she was standing. The only problem was, all of Twilight's money was in bits, the currency in Equestria. Who knew what kind of coin this universe had.
Unless...no, that was silly. But what if her money had been converted by the mirror's magic as well? Twilight pulled out her small sack of coins as she peeked inside. Instead of a bag of uniformly round gold bits, there was an assortment of large gold coins, smaller silver ones, and even smaller bronze coins. Atop the money, there was a note from Princess Celestia.
Twilight, if you are reading this, then you know that all of your money has been transformed into the native wizard's currency.
The gold coins are Galleons, the silver are Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts. There are seventeen Sickles in a Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle.
Good luck, and have a fun school year, Princess Twilight.
Celestia
Twilight smiled at her note. Even in this other world, Celestia continued to look after her wellbeing. She whispered two words before walking towards the nearest store. These words were "Thank you."
Author's Note
Oh, please do point out any and every spelling/grammar mistake you see. I'll get them fixed a whole lot faster if you do. Thanks!
Twilight Sparkle and the School of Magic
Twilight Sparkle soon found herself in a special book store named "Flourish and Blotts." Surrounding her an all sides were shelves of books, mountains of books! Forests of books! Cascades...of books! Swamps of books! More books than one would ever be able to read in a lifetime! Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper...!
Her jaw dropped as she looked at all of the novels, manuscripts, and tomes. All of that text, just waiting to be read! But before she could start drooling, and embarrass herself further, Spike hissed in her ear.
"We've got to buy only what's on the list, Sparkle."
"But Spiiiiiiiiiikkkeeeee!" Twilight whinned. "Uhg, fine!" She looked at the list in her hand. It was all too easy to find the books, and Bathilda Bagshot's A History of Magic looked like it would be an interesting read (at least, for an egghead like Twilight). So, when they left the book store, Twilight made a mental note to return before she left for Equestria at the end of the school year.
As they walked to a cloak-maker's shop, Twilight marked off the books that she had bought on her checklist. The store's name was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and Twilight couldn't help but think that Rarity would either love seeing this world's fashion, or gasp at how dull the robes' colors had to be. Apparently, uniforms had to be black, white, and grey.
On the way to the robe store, Twilight passed by a candy store that was next to a broomstick shop. She was reminded of Pinkie Pie, seeing the sugar-hyped wizard kids marveling at the newest broom that sat in the store window. Twilight shook her head. Pinkie? On a flying broomstick? That was just a disaster waiting to happen.
Upon walking into the store, Twilight was greeted by a squat woman who was dressed in a floral robe. "Hello, dearie. What are you looking for? I'm sure I've got your size."
"Are you Madam Malkin?" Twilight smiled.
The lady nodded. "Oh, yes. Are you looking for a Hogwarts uniform?"
"Yes, I am."
Twilight held still for her fitting while Spike and Owlowiscious sat to the side and watched. Soon, another child walked into the store.
"Oh, mother! This store is far beneath the Great and Powerful Trixie's standards! The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a great and powerful uniform to match her great and powerfulness."
Twilight's eyes widened as she heard the familiar voice. She looked at Spike, who in turn shrugged. Was it possible that there were others that she knew in her world here?
"Uh, hello? The Great and Powerful Trixie needs service!"
Madam Malkin sighed as she went to see what Trixie wanted. The two returned a little while later.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has graced her shop with her preasence, now try not to poke the Great and Powerful Trixie with any pins this time, will you?" The girl, Trixie, stood still, her white-blond hair laying loosely on her shoulders as she tried not to twitch without her purple cloak and hat on.
"Hi," Twilight waved stiffly, as to not bump any pins into her own skin.
Trixie nodded, as if she had just now taken notice of the other girl. "Greetings." Her eyes then scanned Twilight Sparkle, and she felt the odd sensation of being judged. "The Great and Powerful Trixie doubts you'd last a week."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Trixie scoffed. "At Hogwarts, duh! The Great and Powerful Trixe has no doubts that she will be a great Slitherin like her father before her, but you , you will probably be sorted into somewhere dumb, like Hufflepuff."
"What are you talking about, 'sorted'?"
Her's head spun around sharply, and she winced as the action caused a pin to poke her. "You don't know about the Hogwarts houses?! Oh, you are so Hufflepuff. Probably a muggle-born, too."
Twilight rolled her eyes and opted for staying silent throughout the rest of her fitting. Once she, Spike, and Owlowiscious were out the door, she sighed in relief and scratched off "uniforms" from her list. She was able to finish off most of the other items on her list at a store named "Slug & Jiggers Apothecary," as well as at a few of the many street carts that filled the alley.
"Last stop, Spike," Twilight grinned. "Ollivander's Wand Shop."
"Why do you need a wand?" Spike muttered sleepily. Shopping wore him out, and some of the stores were stranger than the Sofas and Quills back at Ponyville.
Twilight sighed. "Since I no longer have a horn, I cannot focus my magic. With a wand, I can." She turned her head towards the baby dragon. "Besides, it's on the list ."
Spike snorted before drifting off to sleep. Twilight shook her head, making a mental note to buy him ice cream for being a trooper. She turned to walk indoors.
"Ah, Miss Twilight Sparkle!" A strange man spoke up from behind the counter. "I never thought I'd see the day when Celestia's protoge would come to visit." He winked at Twilight before continuing. "Ah, but you aren't just here visiting. You need a wand."
Twilight nodded mutely. How did this man know her name?
"I am Garrick Ollivander, and...oh! Here it is." Ollivander held out a wand. "Try this. It's holly, 11", with a phoenix feather core."
Twilight picked up the wand. "What do I do with it?"
"Give it a wave! If you don't try, then how will you know if it's the right one? The wand chooses the wizard, you know."
Twilight wave the wand gently. It promptly did nothing.
"No, no, no. Try this one."
That wand did nothing, either. Nor did any of the dozen-or-so other wands that Twilight tried. Finally one of the wands shot out sparks in a shade of magenta that matched Twilight's normal magical aura. This wand was a 10 1/4", yew wand with a unicorn hair core. The last part was somewhat predictable considering everything.
The three left Ollivander's and headed straight for the ice cream shop. Twilight figured they deserved it.
