"...And that's a wrap!" Professor Cheerilee smiled, looking over the lecture hall, "Have a nice evening, everyone!"
At that, Twilight quickly got up from her seat. Maybe if she hurried, she wouldn't run into...
"Twilight! Hi!"
Twilight froze like a deer in the headlights as Suri Polomare approached her from behind. She had a big smile on her face, and was waving at Twilight cheerfully.
"Hi, Suri," Twilight said meekly, still trying not to look back at her.
"Hey there! It's so good to see you after class today!" Suri grinned, leaning forward and putting one hand on her hip. "You were in such a hurry, it was almost like you were trying to avoid me or something! But that could be it, right?"
Twilight gulped nervously, finally turning around to meet Suri. Or rather, Suri's shoes, as Twilight was too nervous to raise her head any higher. "Y-yeah..."
Suri nodded with satisfaction at Twilight's response. "That was such a long lecture, how did you do taking notes?"
"Umm... I took some?"
"Did you write down everything?"
"Well... Uhh..."
Suri stepped closer to Twilight, smiling even bigger than before. "Wow, you're so smart! Though I guess that makes since, considering the big scholarship you have!"
Twilight didn't know what to say; she had never once thought of being 'smart' in class. Especially not when it came to Suri. She just kept nodding sheepishly, not knowing what else to do.
"I'm not so smart, so I may have missed a couple things, I'm so busy, you know!" Suri said, " You think you could help out a friend? I really want to get an A in this class."
Twilight tried to keep her voice steady, but couldn't quite manage it. "O-oh, well..."
"It would mean a lot to me," Suri went on, smiling brightly. "My parents are super proud of my grades, and they'll be even prouder if I get an A in your class! Would you mind helping me out?"
Twilight found herself unable to say no, especially not with Suri staring up at her like that. "Um... I... I don't think I can... But maybe..." She trailed off, unsure what to do next.
"Great! I'll need your E-Mail by tonight!" Suri cheered, then turned away.
Her shoulders slumped at having lost her chance to escape, Twilight slowly made her way back to her room. She was still shaking from her encounter with Suri, and when she reached her door, she let out a small sigh.
She knew that, despite her hatred of standing out, it would be unavoidable to do so when she was accepted at one of the best colleges in the country on a scholarship. And because of this, it wasn't long until people like Suri, or Trixie, or The Dazzlings began to descend on her, extorting homework and notes out of her, spilling lunch trays into her backpack, spreading embarrassing rumors about her, and so on. She tried to be above it, to not react, but that did nothing to help. Apparently whoever came up with the phrase "don't feed the trolls" didn't realize that a bullies favorite thing is when a victim doesn't react or speak out about them, because it means there won't be consequences for them.
She got to her desk and sighed as she slumped back into her chair, waiting for the computer to start up. She wished she could be above it. That she could be so cool and collected that no one would be able to harm her. But she wasn't cool. She was short, and skinny, and awkward. She typed a transcript of her notes, adding photos of whatever relevant diagrams she'd copied down, sent them to Suri, and got up to leave when she stopped, spotting a strange looking banner ad.
The ad had the silhouette of an attractive woman, and so she had unconsciously written it off in her head as a horny MMO ad or something, but the text caught her attention. It read "NEW U! Rewrite Your Story!"
Although dubious, Twilight felt curious enough to click on it. And that's when she encountered another surprise: While she had expected some sort of strange product or crypto-scam, it was actually more of a personal website. A very Web 1.0 site at that, with dated sparkling gif backgrounds, multi-colored text, it even changed her cursor to a feminine hand with perfectly manicured nails.
It was a self-help website, that was for certain, as it had all sorts of dropdowns about helping it's readers improve their lives, but again Twilight was surprised to find that it wasn't selling anything. There wasn't even as much as a site donation button. While strange, the advice seemed genuine.
Eventually Twilight found herself at a list of spells. She laughed, knowing that there was no way this was real magic, probably just some wine-mom's hobby. She was about to close the page when she saw one spell that gave her pause.
In sparkling glitter font, the title read: "New U Ultimate! The most powerful spell of them all!"
Below, it elaborated.
"If the earlier spells aren't enough for you, then what you need is more than a small push toward betterment. This spell is for those looking for a drastic change, to rewrite who they are entirely and to become the person they have always wanted to be!
Warning: While it is easy to think one fully understands their own desires, in actuality there are things that not even we know about ourselves that this spell can bring to light. Do not proceed unless you are certain about every aspect of the person you wish to be."
Twilight scrolled down to the instructions. All she would need was a strand of her own hair, and a source of fire, and to chant a special incantation as she burned it. It was silly, and bound to be a failure, but... What did she have to lose?
And so, she brought out a book of matches and pulled a hair from her head. She lit the tip of the strand, and began to chant.
"Oh Mother Aphrodite, I am clay in your hands. Reshape me into something new. Make me into something better. Take my desires and make them reality, and I will spread your message and serve you for all of my life. I am yours!"
Twilight flinched as the flame reached the tip of her fingers, luckily going out just before burning her. She felt a little silly, she was certainly happy to not have any roommates, but she tried, and now she wouldn't wonder about it later on, she figured. With that done, Twilight put her things away and got to work studying. Tomorrow she shared a class with Trixie, so she knew she'd best learn as much as she can on her own. It was going to be a long day...
The next morning, Twilight awoke to find...
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