The Reflection (now in the physical world) opened the handheld mirror and presented it to Tirek. Discord gasped at the sight of the red villain while Starlight Glimmer rested Rarity into her capsule.
"Whoa, momma! Talk about a face only a mother could love! And even then..." Discord lifted his hand and made a 50-50 gesture.
"Pleased to meet you, Discord. My name is Professor Tirek. I'm the man responsible for this little adventure."
"I don't care if your Ol' McDonald, pal!" Discord shot back. "Tell my handsome body-snatcher here to let me out."
"Well, let's ask him." Tirek said. "Reflection, would you want to let him out?"
"I could let that happen, I suppose. But then, one of us would have to take your place. It's a law of equal trade."
"I see." Tirek said with a smile. Without any of them knowing, two miniature figures sneaked from the side door and peeked over the ledge. Spike and Fluffy were spying on the villains. "You see, Discord, we need your Reflection to finalize the retrievement process."
"Huh?" Discord asked.
"We're going to kidnap the rest of your friends." the Reflection translated.
"WHAT?!" Discord shouted in shock. "But that makes no sense. Why would you do that?"
"With the advancements in Tartarus Industries, I can fully control the energy the girls share during their bond." Tirek explained.
"Did you hit your head against a wall or something?" Discord asked. "There's absolutely no way anyone can control friendship! And besides, what do you plan with all that energy?"
"Precisely what I promised young Starlight here." Tirek answered. "Equality among everyone; big and small, young and old, etc."
"Starlight, is this true?" Discord asked glaring angrily at the girl watching Rarity's capsule light up.
"I... don't exactly approve of their methods," she said, "But they often remind me of the results this will end in. Tirek promised that in the end, everyone will be thinking and feeling the same."
"Indeed." Tirek said. "But in order to fulfill such a deed, I must have all 6 girls. And right now, we're on a short time limit before the school's system comes back online."
"You mean Devastator?" Discord asked. "What did you do to him?"
"Relax, wimp." the Reflection said. "He's just a shut down temporarily. You see, ever since he became plugged into the school, he also gave pagers to you and the girls. He gives out an alert to everyone when something happens to one of them. Naturally, we can't let him spoil the surprise just yet."
"But we still need to hurry this along." Tirek said. "That's where you come in, Reflection. You're going to use Discord's close friendship with Fluttershy to convince her to follow you here. Meanwhile, Starlight will do her part on Sunset Shimmer. We can hit two birds at the same time."
"What about him?" Starlight asked pointing at the mirror holding the real Discord.
"I know the perfect fate for him." the Reflection said. He opened the door beside him and flung his arm. He released the mirror and Discord was hurtling out with a Goofy scream.
"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Starlight asked. "I never wanted him dead! I just wanted him out of my life!"
"Beggars can't be choosers." the Reflection said. "Let's just get to work."
At that moment, the dog and the cat saw an opportunity and ran down the stairs with their footsteps drowned by the machine noises on the ground floor. They saw the door left open a crack and jumped through it. They looked around.
"Where is he?!" Spike asked in panic. "He should have fallen here!"
"REOW!" Fluffy yelped pointing at a nearby stream. Spike squinted his eyes and saw an open mirror drifting down the river.
"FLUFFY, WHAT'S-HIS-FACE!" Discord shouted in panic seeing the two pets. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"I'll save you!" Spike shouted. He jumped up and flew over the river. He splashed down and emerged to the surface. Suddenly, he couldn't stop spitting and kicking and yelling. "HELP! HELP! I CAN'T SWIM!"
"WHAT?!" Discord gasped. "But what about the doggie-paddle?! It has the word 'dog' in it!"
"That's a hurtful sterotype!" Spike shouted.
"If you knew you couldn't swim, why did you jump in anyway?!" Discord shouted.
"I don't know!" Spike replied trying not to sink. "I saw an opportunity to be a hero and acted on instinct! I wasn't thinking! Right now, HEEEEELP! SOMEBODY, HELP US!"
Suddenly, both Spike and the mirror were scooped up. They were carried by a large, white paw covered with fur. Fluffy was gigantic, Spike was surprised, and Discord was grateful. As soon as the cat set the two of them down on the grass, he shrunk down back to his original size.
"Did... that cat... just grow?" Spike asked.
"Yeah." Discord replied. "He used to belong to a group of sirens. Now, no more dilly-dally! We need to head back to town and warn the others! Let's go!"
Fluffy turned his head to Spike and blew a raspberry towards him. He then picked up the mirror by his mouth while Spike growled in anger.
"This is why I hate cats."
Sunset Shimmer dialed in the number on her cell phone and placed it against her ear. She stood in front of the café listening to the rings. She stopped pacing when she heard Pinkie Pie's voice.
"Hi. My name's Pinkie Pie. I'm either on another line or planning my five-months-after-my-birthday party! Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..."
Aggravated, Sunset Shimmer hit the hang-up button on the phone and placed it back in her pocket.
"I don't get it." she told herself. "Pinkie Pie hasn't been seen all weekend. Come to think of it, some of the other girls have been missing too. With everything going on, I guess I didn't even notice. Still, if something had happened to them, Devastator would alert us. Oh, I hope they're all right.
"I know you are my friends
Sticking with me to the bitter end
There's no one I'd rather trust
I wouldn't be complete without us
Even in the roughest weather
I know we can get through anything together
We share a bond no one can break
Whatever life will throw, we can take
So why are we so faaaaaaar
No matter how close we are
Even though you're my hooooooome
Why do I feel so alone
I started off alone and cold
Before those words that I was told
'The magic of friendship is everywhere'
Whatever obstacles will come, I'll be prepared
And I'll be prepared right with you
Old and new
Hand in hand, we'll always
See in the darkest days
So why are we so faaaaaaar
No matter how close we are
Even though you're my hooooooome
Why do I feel so alone"
Meanwhile, plenty of other kids have figured out the girls were missing. Even minor characters have joined into a search party.
"Why are we so close, yet far to me," Derpy sang.
"How can something with joy fill me with sorrow," Dr. Whooves sang.
"How come the joy around," Lily Valley sang,
"Only hangs my head down"
"How come I don't want to see tomorrow," Octavia sang.
"How come this dark cloud has no silver lining," Lyra sang.
"After all we have done, after all these years," Bon Bon sang.
"Is it happening right now," Steven Magnet sang.
"Meow, meow," Rarity's pet cat, Opal, sang.
"HOW COME WE HAVE NONE OF OUR CHEEEEEEEEEERS" everyone sang,
"WHY ARE WE SO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR
NO MATTER HOW CLOSE WE ARE"
"Even though you're my hooooooome," Sunset Shimmer sang,
"Why do I feel so... alone"
As soon as the song ended, Sunset Shimmer heard a familiar voice. "I can tell you why?" When the redhead looked, she saw the former school president approaching her and looking all around.
"What do you want?" Sunset asked.
"I'm not here, understand?" Starlight asked leaving Sunset confused. "The Reflection switched places with Discord during their fight. He's been kidnapping your friends."
"What?" Sunset asked. "How do you know?"
"Because..." Starlight said before sighing in regret. "Because I helped him. I talked Discord into entering the Reflection's world so he they can switch. And I took all your friends and hid them in Tartarus Industries. We've been working together."
"What?!" Sunset asked in an infuriated tone. "Well, why are you telling me?"
"I didn't believe it was possible, but the Reflection is actually worse than Discord." Starlight said. "He's doing things that we never agreed would have to happen. I just want the madness to stop."
"Why should I believe you?" Sunset asked aggressively.
"Because is the Reflection knew I was telling you this, he'll transform me into a fly and feed me to the spiders. Besides... I told you, I'd never lie to a friend."
After a moment of thinking, Sunset Shimmer smiled and looked back at her.
"Thanks, Starlight. I'm going to go to Tartarus Industries and get my friends back!" She shot down the street leaving Starlight in the corner. Starlight sighed remorsefully and turned away.
"I'm the worst friend that ever lived in history."
Starlight heard a foot tapping beside her and saw the Reflection slouching on the wall.
"Save the acceptance speech until after we kidnap Fluttershy." he said. "Come on."
Reluctantly and full of self-doubt, she still followed the Reflection down the black.
"There you go." Fluttershy said passing the parakeet to its respectable owner. "And take better care of him. Come back soon."
The pet owner exited the kennel just as soon as Twilight Sparkle entered.
"Hi, Twilight." Fluttershy said.
"Hey." Twilight responded. "Nice workplace."
"Yeah. I'm hoping to be a veterinarian one day. Animals wait for no one. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, I need your help." Twilight said. "I've been looking around town for Spike, but I haven't seen him for a few hours. I think, since you're good with animals, can you help me please?"
"That may have to wait." a familiar voice declared. The two girls looked at the front door and saw what looked like Discord (when in reality, it was actually the Reflection).
"Discord, what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked suspiciously.
"You would not believe what I have discovered! Apparently, some guy named Tirek has kidnapped Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and all the other girls!"
"Even Sunset Shimmer?" Fluttershy asked in shock.
"Especially Sunset Shimmer." Discord replied. "Look, I saw them being taken to an industrial factory called Tartarus Industries. If we can hurry, we can still save them."
"You're kidding... right?" Twilight asked. "Why don't you just use your powers to save them yourself?"
"...L-Let's not get talk about the details!" the Reflection replied with a bit of stammering. "All you need to know is that Fluttershy and I need to save them."
"I'm not sure." Fluttershy said. "Why didn't Devastator alert us if something happened to our friends?"
"He probably has a few glitches in his system." the Reflection said. "Come on, Flutters. How can you not trust this guy?" He pointed both his thumbs at himself.
Fluttershy waited for a minute while staring at Discord. She squinted her eyes for a moment until she widened them.
"Wait a minute!" she pointed at the Reflection's front pocket. "My good-luck flower! He's not wearing it! That's not Discord!"
"What?!" Twilight gasped. The Reflection just looked incredibly nervous and stunned.
"All right." the Reflection said in a deep breath. "I tried doing this the gentle way..." With a snap of his fingers, a human-sized butterfly net appeared in his hands. "...But the fun way works too!"
The Reflection hung the net over his head ready to strike, but Fluttershy and Twilight jumped backwards at the last minute. Fluttershy opened as many occupied pet cages as she could before the Reflection lifted the net again. Before he could throw it down, however, all the animals Fluttershy released swarmed over him and attacked in their own way. While he was getting attacked, Fluttershy and Twilight ran to the back door.
"THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING TO BE OUT-SMARTED BY A SNOW WHITE BARBIE-DOLL!"
The Reflection escaped the animal swarm and ran out the back door. All he found was an empty alleyway. All he could find was a dumpster can. He shouted angrily down the alley.
"YOU'RE ONLY MAKING THINGS WORSE FOR YOURSELVES!"
As soon as the Reflection left the alley, Fluttershy and Twilight opened the dumpster lid from above them and saw the coast was clear.
"This reeks!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I know." Fluttershy said. "This guy's impersonating Discord."
"No, I meant, it really stinks." Twilight said. "We're just lucky this dumpster was empty."
"We got to find somewhere to hide." Fluttershy said. "Somewhere that guy won't be able to find us."
"I think I know where to go." Twilight said rubbing her chin.
Tirek's office was empty except for the capsules with the girls there. Sunset Shimmer sneaked in and gasped when she saw what became of her friends. She approached Rainbow Dash and placed her fingers under the glass. She tried to pry it open, but she had no luck.
"Now, now, Ms. Shimmer." a snarky voice rasped from the desk and the chair with its back facing her. "Let's not ruin the surprise."
The chair spun revealing the twisted, bearded, red man grinning at her. At the sight of him, Sunset gasped.
"T-Tirek?" Sunset asked in shock. She looked like she was seeing a ghost.
"Yes." Tirek said standing up from his desk and staring back at the terrified Sunset Shimmer. "And I might say, it is wonderful to see you again."