Power

"HELP ME!!!"

My words ring out across the whole area as the light beside me intensifies. I summon whatever strength I have in me, pulling my arm out of the hungry mass of magic that now threatens to consume me, reaching out and hoping beyond hope that someone, anyone, will come to my rescue. But they do not. Instead, I see them all, just standing there. Principal Cinch, Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat and Sunny Flare. My classmates, all doing nothing but standing there, gaping at me with shock and fear. I reach out, silently begging them to come and take my hand.  But instead, no help comes to me. As this realisation strikes me, tears form in my eyes, and at long last, the magic I have unleashed grows yet stronger, pulling me in. In that moment, I let out a scream that rings out everywhere.

I see none of them now. None of my class, and none of the students or teachers of Canterlot high. Instead, all I see is that bright white magic, surrounding me in every direction. I am within it now, and fear grips my heart in a way I've never felt before. I am terrified, dreading what will happen to me now. And before long, something does happen. The magic begins to convulse, and I feel it reverberating right through me. It is intense, and it is painful. I don't want it, not like this, and I grab hold of my arms, still weeping at the searing pain this is causing me. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tight, practically praying that this will all end, that it's nothing but a bad dream and that I will wake up safe and sound back home. But I know this is a lie, and soon, I do not even have time for that. For now was the moment the change begins.

I feel the magic begin to pour into me from every direction, and I open my eyes at last, seeing the light all around as, all of a sudden, there is a sharp pain in my forehead. I struggle against this feeling, whatever it is, for it is almost as if something is emerging from that spot. And that is merely the start, as all over, I feel that same power taking hold over my body. My legs, my arms, all of it begins to feel that same burning sensation this power is causing to me. This is not the first time I have felt this new sensation though, as I've been getting fleeting glimpses of it every time I accidentally took the power from those girls, the Canterlot High students who were competing against us. This time though, I'm on the full receiving end of it, and it is unlike anything I have ever experience, or even wanted to experience.

Throughout these passing moments, which seem like an eternity thanks to the pain, I kept silently begging whoever would listen to make it end. Make it stop! And yet, as those moments passed, something began to change in me. The magic was no longer painful. I didn't understand why, or what was happening, only that, as I was changing, so too were new thoughts starting to emerge in my mind. I saw images, places far away that I didn't know. I saw people. No. Not people. I see ponies. This doesn't make sense. What's going on? Who are they and why is the magic making me see them? Then, as if to answer my question, the powers growing within me present new images, those of those girls, and the power they wielded. At first, I don't understand, but soon enough, I do. This is their power. And that place, that is where they got it.

It starts to become clearer and clearer to me now. This power I now have, that's now starting to bind with me, it was theirs, and it comes from that far-off place. My theories and studies weren't even close to figuring out what those energies were. But now, here, right at the centre of it all, I am becoming one with them. I close my eyes, the pain from before now fading away, replaced instead with new feelings. Confidence, strength, and most of all, power. I have never felt this way, in all my life! This magic is making me feel strong, like I can do anything! Contentment fills me with this new notion, as the magic both within and around me start to make me feel, for lack of a better word, relaxed. I am warmed by it, as if it were the tender embrace of a lover. Intimate. Soothing. Blissful. And all of it was mine.

This magic made me feel like I was a master of it. No, a Queen of it. No! A goddess!

But now was the time when my more immediate changes became far more apparent to me, as, at long last, the bright light around me began to dissipate, revealing the world beyond. They were all there, both from my school and from theirs, and they all looked up to me like they were afraid. Curious, I look down to myself, and it is here that I finally witness the change I have gone through. My skin, darker than before. My outfit, far more risqué than I would have ever considered donning before. And, most notable of all, a pair of imposing wings stretching out from my now-bare back, all topped off with a sharp horn that protruded from my forehead, like a crown. A smile creeps onto my face as I look from myself to everyone around me. In particular, I see her, Sunset Shimmer, looking to me with dread, and after letting out a loud chuckle, I know exactly what to say.

"You were right! I didn't understand magic before! But I do now!"

With that, my path is clear to me, as I raise a hand and, in a display of power I never would of thought possible of myself, send a bolt of magic straight for the famous horse statue of Canterlot High. It strikes the thing directly, and within moments, it shatters into a million pieces, leaving behind not rubble, but a tear, right in the air itself. The newly-formed hole in reality reveals the world beyond. The world that the magic within tells me is called "Equestria". I imagine the possibilities now. To make changes such as these with a mere wave of my hand like that. To affect not only my world but a whole other world too! It is a feeling that causes sheer elation in me, as I realise that now, for the first time in my life, that I am the one calling the shots! I am the one that others will look up to! And I am the one who will have the knowledge!

For a moment, my vision turns to my former companions, Indigo and the rest, and I smirk. They all looked down at me. They thought I was weak. The only good they ever thought I could give them was the unfair advantage of magic. But now, I'm glad they pushed me to do it. For I see now that their ambitions, as well as those of Cinch, are mere child's play. They are nothing. What importance could some dreary school sports contest have when an entire world has been opened up to me? I am above my old self. I am above the mere surface-level things I once wished to learn about. And I am above every living thing that now looks to me in fear. And so, I look away from those lower lives, and instead to the portal I created, whose mere presence starts to make cracks in the reality around it. Cracks I am more than willing to encourage.

It turn, sending out bolt after bolt of my great power, creating yet more portals, and with each one I create, I feel it. The confidence. The strength. There was a time when I would have spent my life bowing and scraping to those above me, just to get a fleeting taste of what life had to offer. But now, those days are gone, and instead, my life is one of power over all. The world is mine, to do with as I see fit. And what I desire of it is simple; knowledge. This transformation is only the beginning, for I will go to that other world, I will learn of that great magic they have, and I will show them all. I will show all who looked down on me that Twilight Sparkle, is no more! That meek, cowering girl they so often ignored and disrespected, she is gone, and instead, a new, stronger, better life has taken her place.

My name is Midnight Sparkle. And this...is my world now!