Canterlot City was almost always peaceful at night. For a small city, its crime rate was low with the most dastardly people being petty thieves and drunkards getting into brawls.
Nights were more likely to contain the colorful buildings with many a twinkling light that announced that the resident had not yet slept. The chilly air of the early-November autumn swirled miniature leaf tornadoes that formed from the tidy piles people had put them in. They'd sweep them again in the morning only for the wind to blow the leaves away again.
A few crickets remained, chirping and loud, though not near as numerous in the summer. The few people who were still out and about now consisted mostly of the night walkers, who took comfort in the relative silence and safety in the pale moonlight.
The other sort of people that might take long walks at night were the ones who took their dogs out at such a time. The two groups often met others, but never mingled for long- if at all- because that was not the purpose of such walks. Human contact shattered the serenity of the night with pointless noise.
Twilight Sparkle happened to be in both categories. While she loved going out and relaxing, maybe with a book and her phone's flashlight, she also enjoyed spending time with Spike. Spike, having been until recently her best and only friend, went everywhere she could take him.
Now their walk was a means for Twilight to have some alone time, albeit with a talking dog. It was almost overwhelming at times to have such positive and upbeat people near her. To be quite frank it was exhausting to spend that much time around others even if they wanted her to be around.
Oddly enough, the prospect of having friends somewhat scared her still. It is easy for a person to dive totally and completely into books and study when they have no other person around them. Academia was what her self-worth was built on; Twilight Sparkle was a genius and she knew it. But she also saw how others' grades slipped from spending time with their friends. She saw how most didn't even bother to crack open a book, eschewing them for other more inane thing.
If she made friends, would she still be the same person? Could the friended Twilight Sparkle dream to compete with the friendless loner? There was a possibility of her studiousness decreasing and her becoming less driven because of making friends and having other ways to spend her time. A worse Twilight Sparkle, not even good at what gave her value.
No, no that was completely untrue. A Twilight with friends would simply have to work harder to make up for any missed time. She wouldn't change all that much. A shudder worked its way up her spine anyways. What if she just forever felt regret at wasting all her potential? What if she ended up messing up the friendships and ruining her academics and social life?
Deciding to do her best to stop those thoughts, she sighed through her nose and looked up at the sky. The stars were clear and rather bright, at least, the ones visible through the light pollution were. Mid-city lights tend to not be conducive for seeing the sky.
Spike snapped Twilight out of her reverie by abrupt yanking on his leash when he stopped to sniff something and Twilight had kept walking, "Hey, watch it!"
"Wha- oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Spike!" Twilight rushed in to give Spike a hug and gently brushed under the collar where it would have pulled against his neck.
Spike licked Twilight's face, "Nah, it's fine, it's just that this place smells like this big other dog and I had to check it out!"
Twilight giggled as she wiped off saliva and said, "Really? Let me guess, you think you can take him?"
"Uh, yeah, of course I can," replied Spike who was strutting with his chest stuck out.
Twilight just smiled at that as they continued their walk. Their new route took them past Canterlot High School, where she would sometimes sit and stay as it was near where she would turn around. As they slowly approached the building, her eyes landed on the broken wondercolt statue. She felt her stomach twist into a knot as she saw it.
Despite seeing it almost every day, it still weighed on her when she was left to her own devices. Twilight already took her usual seat on the steps to the school as she gazed at the marble block and at the portal to another dimension. Like every time she sat here with Spike, she forced herself to squash down the longing to just pass through. It would just be so easy to go and study the magic. It would be so easy to go and glean easily what she had been trying to solve for the greater part of a year- far before the fiasco she had caused.
Honestly, what a mess. Between the pressure from her classmates and the stress from the games, she hadn't been in a proper state of mind. Twilight mentally kicked herself for being so careless with the magic and trying to unleash something she didn't understand... yet. For all she knew, that could have been the only time the strange energy could have been used. But it wasn't, and her recklessness almost hurt people.
Scientists have to be careful. They have to properly set up tests and hypothesize and do much more preparation than she had. Twilight frowned. They also had the benefit of being able to identify and predict most variables. This was the most in-the-field project she ever had. And since when did the field ever act as controlled as the labs?
Regardless, it was over and now she was somewhere different. She slowly got up and laid her hand on the portal. It was smooth and cool, though ripples spread out and broke up the stillness. It reminded her of touching oobleck. It was hard when she first touched it, but her hand was gradually slipping through. If she waited long enough, she would probably go all the way through. She had done that before. It was very empty past the barrier.
Not today though, Twilight and Spike still had to get home earlier than usual because it was a school night. Checking her phone, she realized that they had stayed here a little longer than she intended. Her breathe started to quicken before slowing again as she decided to just go straight home now. They wouldn't be late if they turned around.
"Ready Spike?"
Said dog had been napping mostly, but shouted the affirmative. So, the two began the walk back under the moon.
It was not much after they had left when something odd happened. The portal glowed with a strange purple-black light before fading once more. Now the night had changed. It was the subtle sort of change, where nothing was visible, but the off-ness exuded could be felt.
The night had always been dark, but now it felt oppressive. The moon seemed to lose its gleam and become dim. Shadows stretched long and loomed in corners. The air changed to seem thicker and more difficult to breathe, silence ruling where there was once a buzz of insects.
For a moment Twilight thought she caught sight of someone in the corner of her eye. When she glanced at the area, there was nobody there. A wave of unease passed through her, though it washed away quickly. Having not even walked more than a few feet, she thought that she saw something again. Twilight shook her head, now she knew she was seeing things.
Feeling rather on edge she got the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. She whipped her head around and looked back through the dim street. There was nobody, even when squinting through the gloom. It was probably nothing, she tried to reassure herself.
Still, her legs moved slightly faster and her ears strained at the slightest sound. Nothing. The scratch of every leaf blowing across the ground made her jump and the shadows seemed to loom at her, trying to jump out. It was just nerves really. Now she was just being silly and jumpy.
Holding a hand up to her chest, she tried to take in a deep breath before letting it out again. Now was not the time for anxiety. Still, she wasn't paranoid, which is why she checked over her shoulder again. The dark continued to be void of any life. Twilight turned back with a jolt when she realized that her knuckles had turned white from gripping the leash. She tried to relax her hand, to let blood flow return, but it was difficult.
A chilly wind blew across her skin, raising goosebumps as she shivered. They couldn't be too far at this rate. Twilight's breath hitched when she heard the sound of leaves rustling behind her. It had felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water onto her head.
She turned around.
There was a bush which was shaking, though she couldn't actually see anything. The shadow it cast seemed inkier than the surroundings, as if it was attempting to consume all light. Not waiting to see what it was, her brisk walk soon turned into a near jog as she tried to get home.
Twilight had seen something there. Well not seen, but she was pretty sure something had been there. Whatever it was, she didn't want to find out who or what it was and what it could do to Spike and her. They were almost home. All they had to do was get inside and lock the door. She dared not look back for fear of seeing an actual pursuer. Tomorrow, she might recount it to one of the Canterlot High girls. Twilight didn't want to think of there not being a tomorrow.
Spike himself seemed to be worried. His tail was no longer wagging nor did he meander. Instead he seemed to urgently want to go home. He let out a few whimpers which Twilight tried to calm, but that was mostly an exercise in futility. It's hard to be reassuring when your voice is wavering and itself is filled with anxiety.
Still, they trekked on as that is all they could do now. Turning back wasn't an option, and crossing the street would be silly. No, the only way was forward and the way forward was the way home.
Finally! The Sparkle manor was up ahead and they would finally be safe. Twilight almost sagged with relief but she then saw that they'd have to cross the darkened yard. The last light of the streetlamps was almost behind them and then she felt they were vulnerable. It was irrational, but standing underneath those orange lights gave her a slight sense of relief from the overwhelming darkness.
No matter, they had to get home. Twilight and Spike began crossing the field towards the doors of her home. First, they left the sidewalk and onto the stone path to their home. They crossed in a hurry, never looking back, only looking to the door. Twilight was as on edge as a razor blade, and her ears picked up every strange sound. Her eyes saw the shadows in the corner of her vision grow as if to attack or turn out to be a person, only to be warded off when her eyes flicked towards them.
Right as they approached the steps to where they would finally be home, Twilight felt a wild terror spark inside of her. They had to get inside now, or they would surely perish. Whatever was out there was right behind them, and would kill her if she didn't bolt at that very second.
Unthinking, she grabbed Spike and sprinted. It wouldn't be enough, the terror screamed that she wouldn't make it. Run. She had to run. She had to beat that thing to the door. She didn't know whatever the thing- person- was, but she did know that she had to escape.
She ran even faster as she felt the small of her back tingle. Surely whatever was chasing them would claw her right there and leave her bleeding and paralyzed. Her back arched as she tried to pull it in and keep running. Spike was very difficult to hold considering how she had grabbed him. Twilight grunted as her grip on him only tightened.
Finally, finally the door! Oh, but it was closed and it would surely kill her while she opened it. As she reached the door, she extended her arm to try to pull it open as she ran. Fumbling, she had to readjust her grip to try to open it. She almost closed her eyes expecting the worst.
Sweat beaded down her brow as she opened it and was able to dash into the house and promptly close and lock the door. Slumping against said door, she took deep breathes both to calm herself and to recover from her mad sprint. They had made it, both she and Spike. Never had she felt such terror; never had she run faster in her life.
Trembling and holding her dog close, she peered out the window. There was nothing, except for the pitch black of night. It was too dark to see anything, and still no noises of the night sounded.
The street lamp in front of the Sparkle house sputtered again and went out.
Author's Note
Well, here's me giving a shot at some fun horror messing with the girls. On a side note, I'm kinda back to fimfiction now, so that's cool.
Twilight Sparkle is best person/pony
