Twilight Sparkle and the Cursed Tome

When Twilight opened her eyes, she wasn't in Ponyville anymore. That much she knew. What she didn't know, however, was where she was. Or why she was no longer a pony.

With a moan, she sat up slowly, rubbing her head with her new, very human, hands. Her hair was frizzed and smoldering at the tips, and with a squeal, she quickly smothered the budding flames. She placed her hands on the ground and pushed herself up to her feet, stumbled on her new human legs, and fell straight back down onto her rear again.

“Whoa, there,” a deep voice said from behind her, and before she knew it, she was being lifted to her feet by a massive hand. She whipped her head around at the man who helped her, and almost screamed.

He was a giant, with the biggest, frizziest beard she had ever seen. Despite his massive size, and his tattered trench coat, his eyes were kind, as well as his smile. With the hand he helped her up with, he steadied her until she could somewhat stand on her own, then proceeded to dust off the dirt on the robes she wore.

“There ya are,” he said politely, lifting up his other hand, which held a lantern, to her face. She blinked in the light, and looked up at the great man, and wondered what was going on.

“Well, I'm Hagrid,” the man told her, then grinned and pointed at a gathering of other humans, some male, some female, all wearing the same black robes as her, all looking just as frightened as she. “Git with th' rest o' the first years, eh? We'll be goin' over to Hogwarts soon enough.”

Before she could ask for clarification on what a Hogwarts was, he left her to join the rest of the group of children and lumbered off into the darkness, forcing her and the other 'first years' to follow him. She looked around as she went, and saw plenty of other humans, dressed in robes with ties of all colours, chatting animatedly about what they did over their summers. There was an old steam engine train, idling on the tracks, and owls swooping in and out of the people around them, hooting at one another. It made her heart ache for her own beloved owl, Owlicious, left behind in Ponyville. With a gulp, she looked forward again, stumbling along the path that led to a pitch black lake. Whether it was naturally black or tinted so because of the darkness around her, she didn't know.

She was guided into one of the many little wooden boats along the water's edge, squeezed in with about four other students. They looked at her curiously, especially at her hair, and she stared right back at them. Two averted their gazes, one tried to smile, and the other just went hmph and turned right around.

“Don't mind him,” the smiling human whispered to her, his voice stuttering just a touch. “I don't think he likes anyone.” When Twilight blinked in surprise, the boy's face turned red, seen even in the weak light of the lamp hanging at the front of the boat. “Um.. M-My name is Albus Potter.”

“I'm Twilight Sparkle,” she told the boy, and it was his turn to look confused. His blue eyes widened in curiosity, and he tilted his head, dark hair falling to the side.

“That's a funny name,” he told her. The boat lurched underneath them, and Twilight and Albus Potter were both forced to grab the edge to keep from falling over.

“It's a, uh, common name, where I'm from,” she told him, slowly letting go of the edge of the boat. It seemed to be propelled over the water by some sort of invisible force and, letting herself feel around with her mind, she came to the conclusion that the force was magic. Magic with no colour.

“Where are you from?” Albus Potter asked her, his hands still clinging to the boat. She thought about telling him the truth, but decided he wouldn't believe her. If he had shown up in Ponyville and told her that he got sucked into a tear in time and space, she wouldn't have believed him, either.

“A little town in a little country, you wouldn't know it,” she told him, and he nodded, as if he knew she was right.

They sat in silence the rest of the way there, Twilight's gazed fixed on the gorgeous stone castle in the distance, growing larger and larger as their boats approached. Firelight flickered from the windows, making the whole structure glow with life, and she found herself smiling, reminded of the castle in Canterlot where Celestia and Luna lived. She missed them already. Them, and all her friends in Ponyville.

The boats arrived at the other side of the lake, and they were all led up a path by the giant man named Hagrid, his lamp swinging in his hand, throwing shadows left and right. She walked next to Albus Potter the entire way there, somewhat comforted by his presence. He seemed like a friendly human, unlike the other blond one that had scoffed at her earlier, as if she were nothing but pond scum.

They arrived at the castle, and were lead inside and through the hallway until they reached a small side room. They all crammed inside, waiting for something. What, they didn't know, but there they waited.

Another human, an adult this time, walked into the room with them. She was an elderly human woman, with small round spectacles perched on her nose, her grayed hair tied in a bun, and her face set in a stern expression. Her gaze passed slowly over each and every one of them, before it stopped on Twilight. They gazed at each other a moment, and Twilight felt herself looking away from the cold expression. The woman looked at the remaining students, then cleared her throat.

“You will all be following me into the Great Hall for your Sorting,” she told the trembling students in front of her, pulling a scroll out from a pocket inside her robes. “You'll all be called up to the stool by name, where you'll have the Sorting Hat placed upon your head, and-”

“I'm going to be in Slytherin, of course,” the blond boy from the boat muttered to his friends with a smirk. “Just like my father, and my grandfather.” The elderly woman glared his way, and he fell silent.

“As I was saying,” she continued, her tone irritated, “ You'll have the Sorting Hat placed upon your head, and it will place you in one of the four Hogwarts houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.”

A second person came in, another adult, and whispered to the first. The woman nodded once, then turned to the children. “They're ready for you now, so if you'll all follow me, please.”