> Colorful reflection > by Mr Ponymaniac > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 - Life as it is > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark was lying in his bed fully awake. The clock on the wall displayed a time of 8:17 am. He had been awake for a couple of hours by then, even though he didn't need to get up until 10 am. He was thinking about his life, his family, his girlfriend, and his job, or rather, lack thereof, and where he could find one. If I don’t go spending my money I should have roof over my head for about two months. If I don’t find a job by then I have to go pray for my sister to allow me to live with her and Harry, or for my parents to take me back in. God, I’m a loser, he thought to himself. The clock displayed a time of 8:23. Mark had been without a job for a quite a while by then. He had been living with what little savings he had and a small loan that he got from his sister, Emily. He was slowly running out of money and he couldn’t ask for more. “I only have limited amount of money, and I’m spending it on video games and booze.” The clock displayed a time of 8:26. “I really hope that antique mirror is worth of something,” Mark said to himself. Mark’s grandmother had recently passed away, and had left a large antique mirror to him as inheritance, whilst his sister got a beautiful and valuable painting. Mark was upset about this, but he was happy for the large cottage in the forest two hundred kilometres from the city, with a nice small lake that he also received, even if he had to share it with his sister. Mark and Emily had agreed to get the mirror and painting that day. They had been delaying it for far too long. The clock displayed a time of 8:30 “Okay enough with self-pity, time to get up.” Mark walked slowly towards the kitchen in his slightly dirty underwear whilst scratching his chin. “I really should shave.” Mark’s kitchen was small. It was so narrow that if the fridge door was open, he couldn’t walk past it. There was a small round shaped table with two chairs, a sink full of dishes, and an almost-empty fridge. He grabbed small bowl from the sink, quickly cleaned it from old food scraps, and filled it with corn flakes and milk. He dragged himself slowly to the living room and turned the TV on. The living room was filthy. The floor was littered with empty cans and bottles, DVDs, piles of old magazines, and fast food wrapping papers. On the small table in the middle of the room were remote controllers and game controllers. Mark was lying on his couch watching tv. At this hour, they were still mostly showing cartoons, but Mark really didn’t mind. He shoved the first spoonful of cereal in his mouth. It tasted dry and sour. “Why i didn’t made sandwich instead?” Mark began to scroll through the channels, while he tried to eat his breakfast. There wasn’t anything that would have interested Mark on TV. Only some newer cartoons that were pretty bad or boring. Suddenly his phone started beeping, Mark grunted and reached out to take it off the table. It was a text message from his friend, Dave. The text message said, “Hey i’m back in the city. Care to do something fun today?” Mark quickly replied, “I have to get that horrible mirror from my grandmother’s house with Emily. That will take up pretty much the whole day, so if you don't have anything planned for the evening, we could do something fun then.” Response came fast, “Sure. Just call me when you’re back at home.” Dave and Mark have been best friends for their entire lives, so when Dave left to visit to his cousins in Las Vegas for six months, Mark wasn’t happy. After six long months, they could see others again, but only after he and Emily had got the mirror. Morning quickly started to turn into afternoon. Mark walked back into the kitchen and threw his half-empty bowl in the sink. He entered the shower and threw his underwear on the floor. Warm water started to flow onto Mark’s head. “Damn, i don’t have any soap or shampoo, have to remember to buy those.” This was Mark’s favourite part of the day when he didn’t have to think any of his problems and he could just relax. After long warm shower he had enough energy to get dressed. He pulled on the same dark jeans that he had worn for the whole week, a basic black t-shirt, and dark blue hoodie. After that he checked his phone. “Almost eleven, she should be here soon.” While waiting to his sister to appear, Mark tried to clean his house. About ten minutes later he heard the doorbell ring. Mark went to open the door. Emily stood behind the door smiling. “Ready to go?” “Sure, I'll just grab my keys and phone.” Mark and Emily had to rent a small van for the mirror. They started to walk towards the car in cold and cloudy January Friday morning. “Any luck finding job?” Emily asked “Yes actually. I just have so many options that i can’t decide.” “Just what i thought.” “I kind of gave up, I mean I've tried to find a job for half a year now with no luck, there’s just no point trying anymore.” “I understand what you mean, and there is a difference between being determined and being stupid and if you'd still be trying after half a year, I would probably call you dumb. Actually, the fact that you tried to find a job for six months is pretty insane. I thought you'd be lazier than that.” Mark opened his car’s doors. “Well when there’s a possibility that you’ll be living in the streets eating garbage, you'll become pretty determined to find a job.” “Come on, you know you can come to our place if and when your landlord throws you out,” emily replied smiling while she entered the car. “I know. I just don’t feel comfortable begging from you guys.” “If there is no miracle and you have to move, you’re more than welcome to stay with me and Harry for couple of weeks.” “I would really appreciate that Em,” Mark said as he started the car. There was a couple hours ride to Mark and Emily's grandmother’s old house, and Mark hadn’t seen Emily for a while so there was time to talk about things. “How are you doing except the job part?” Emily asked worried. “Fine, just fine,” Mark replied absently. “Mark, I’m worried about you trying to hide your problems. It won’t solve anything.” “Do you realise how cheesy that sounded?” “Just tell me.” “Fine. I can’t sleep and I spend nights worrying about my life. If I actually get some sleep I only see nightmares. I have spent my days for a almost a month now watching TV, playing games, and drinking,” Mark said bluntly. “Mark, why didn’t you say anything earlier?” “Well what did you think i was doing? I’m without a job, almost poor, and will soon be homeless. Drinking and watching TV are pretty much only things to do.” “Have you talked to Sarah about this?” “Not yet. To be honest I’m pretty sure our thing is over so I’m not sure. Should I even bother her with my problems?” “Even if she dumps you, she’s still your friend and I know this will probably sound cheesy, but talking about your problems will help you.” “Yea yea I know all that crap about friendship being magic.” “Har har, but to be serious how much have you been drinking? Should I be even more worried?” “Only couple of glasses of scotch every now and then.” “Couple of glasses of scotch every now and then huh?” she asked, sceptical. “Okay pretty much every day.” “And how about today? Are you...” “WHAT? NO OF COURSE NOT! I knew I have to drive today. How irresponsible a drunk do you think I am?” “I just asked. No need to get angry” “Besides, a glass of scotch doesn’t affect my awesome driving skills.” “MARK!” The rest of the trip went by. It pretty uneventful. they spoke, listened to some music, and stopped to get some lunch to go. They soon arrived to their destination at approximately 01:15 pm. They opened the car’s back-doors and prepared to lift the mirror and painting into car. They entered their grandmother’s old house. Their grandfather had died a long time ago, so their grandmother had lived alone for some time, before passing away month two months ago. The whole house was practically empty. All the items of furniture were gone. The only things that were left was couple cardboard boxes, full of random things like books, clocks, CD’s, some old clothes, and other things like that. They walked slowly through the empty corridor. “This feels kinda… weird... and sad,” Mark mumbled while he walked through the corridor, and into the empty living room. “It has been so long since I was last here. I hardly recognise it is the same house where we used to play at back when we were children. God, it has been almost eighteen years.” Emily said while pacing around in empty living room. Mark left to investigate bedrooms, leaving Emily in the living room digging through one of the boxes. “I found our stuff,” he yelled from the empty library right next to living room. Emily walked next to him and touched the large oval mirror. “This is one ugly mirror, where she even get this from?” The mirror was large and oval shaped . At it’s tallest point, it was about meter and a half tall and half a metre wide at it's widest point. the mirror had a five centimetre thick silver frame with some writing on it that didn’t make any sense. At the top of the mirror there were three large glass gems that shone bright. “I remember hating this thing even when I was kid,” Mark noted, “I just hope I can get good price out of it.” “Wait. You’re planning on selling it? You can’t it has been in this family for centuries.” “If you like it, I will gladly trade my mirror for your painting.” “Nice try, but I’m not swapping.” “Tell me honestly, if grandma would have left this thing to you, would you have keep it to yourself?” “I may not like it, but yes, I would keep it myself, because, like I said, it’s a family treasure and grandma wouldn’t like it if we sold it.” Emily grabbed on the mirror’s left leg. “Well it isn’t exactly a masterpiece, so I don’t think I would get much even if I sold it, I mean honestly, who would pay for this?” “If you want to think that way. ready to lift on a three?” “As ready as i can be.” “One, two, three, LIFT!” “Crap. This weighs like sin,” Mark whined as he tried to keep his grip on a mirror. “Don’t be such a girl and whine about everything.” After a lot of cursing and almost crushing their toes, the mirror was in the van resting right next to the painting. They locked the van’s door and started their journey back home. The sky was cloudy and it had began to snow heavily. “I can drive if you don’t want to,” Emily offered. “It’s ok, I can start and we’ll see how long I’ll stay awake” They drove for a half an hour, when the snowfall was starting to increase and driving started to get pretty hard. “We need to stop as soon as we can. I can barely see anything.” “There’s probably some sort of diner around here.” “I could eat something. I really don’t consider a half a bowl of cereal with old milk a breakfast.” “I haven’t eat anything either.” Right after that they saw a purple glow in middle of blizzard that originated from a small sign board which read in purple neon letters: DINER. They parked at diner's parking lot and stepped in. The restaurant was really small. There were only three tables with two chairs each. There was only one other customer. Aside from said customer, the cashier, and the chef, Mark and Emily were alone. Mark sat at the table in the corner, right next to a small window, while Emily ordered some food. Mark took his phone and called Dave. “Hey Dave it’s me, Mark. We can’t get back as soon as we hoped. There’s a horrible blizzard.” “It’s okay man, don’t sweat. Just give me a call when you’re back at home.” “It may take a while. The blizzard isn't showing any signs of slowing down.” “How far are you from home?” “About an hour and a half trip.” At this point, Emily came in the table with with two large burgers. “Alright, I have to end. See you later.” “Bye.” While they ate, the blizzard started to slow down a bit. Just enough that Mark could drive safely, when suddenly Mark get a text message. “Who is it from?” Emily asked curiously while taking first bite. “Sarah. It says we should talk when we get back. She’s probably dumping me” “I meant to ask you about that. What makes you so sure she’s going to leave you?” “Well aside from the fact that I’m jobless loser, I haven't been the best possible boyfriend. As I told you, I haven't tried to find job since Christmas. Most of the time after that, I have only - if you haven’t noticed - whined how bad my life is, watched cartoons, played video games, and drunk. At some point, I noticed how we started to slowly drift apart, and I have been too lazy and depressed to do anything about it, so I kinda just let it happen, I don’t even have energy what to put into relationship right now.” “And you haven’t even said anything to Sarah about this?” “I know I should have, but maybe part of me wanted her to break up with me,” Mark said with mouth full of food. “What do you mean?” “We’ve been friends almost twenty five years, and she definitely deserve better guy than me.” “Well, who’s cheesy now?” Emily smirked. “Shut up I’m being serious here,” Mark said, without any kind of hint of irony. “Well then that’s pretty noble from you actually,” Emily replied slightly surprised. “I may be lazy but I'm not an asshole” Mark said half-jokingly, while wiping his hands. Emily stood up from the table and started walking toward exit with Mark. “Even if she breaks up with you, I think you should talk her about this.” “I may.” Mark opened car’s doors. “Promise to me.” “Fine, i promise” Mark murmured, as he started to brush snow from the car’s windows. *** They started to drive back to home. the trip had taken much more time what they had originally planned because of sudden change of the weather, but they were finally at home at 06:00 pm. “I’ll call Sarah to tell her that we have to change our meeting to tomorrow,” Mark stated while he parked the car in the parking lot. “Why? you've still got time for that.” “Oh I totally forgot to tell you, Dave is back in the city so I promised we would go to have some fun.” “Fine, you call her. I’ll go to open the doors, but remember that you promised me.” “I’ll go talk to her tomorrow as soon as I can, pinkie promise.” “Alright. Pinkie promise.” They stepped out of the car and Emily went to open the car’s doors to the backspace, and prepared to carry the mirror out of the car and into house while Mark called Sarah. Soon after they made changes to their plans, he returned to help Emily carry the mirror. “So, what time are you meeting tomorrow?” “We aren’t. Sarah’s busy for the whole weekend. We’re meeting in my place in monday.” “Well nothing should happen in two days.” “Exactly. Now let's get this hideous thing inside.” They lifted the mirror from the car. “For the love of God. Where can I even put this monstrosity?” “Ok Mark, that’s it. All day you haven’t done anything but complain. I understand that your life isn’t the best right now, but your attitude isn’t going to make your life any better. If you hate this God damned mirror so much, I will gladly take it.” That said Emily walked to the door. She stopped right outside the door “I’ll come over tomorrow evening to get it, and you will help me,” she said. Emily slammed the door, leaving Mark alone in his home. Mark stood there for several minutes. I really haven’t done anything but bitch to Emily all day long, despite all of her efforts to cheer me up, maybe I’m asshole after all. The sound of a text message interrupted Mark’s thoughts. Mark picked up his phone from his pocket. The message was from Dave. “You home?” “Yeah, get your butt over here.” Mark sighed “I better call to Emily tomorrow and apologise.” He went in his bedroom to change into new clothes. He kicked an empty soda can on his way. Well Mark thought that soda can would be empty, but in reality the can was still half full, so all the soda spilt across the floor, soaking piles of random magazines, DVDs, and piles of dirty clothes. “My life can’t get any worse.” Fifteen minutes later Dave rang the doorbell, interrupting Marks cleaning project. “Long time no see bro.” Mark and Dave met on a local playground when they were three years old. With them was Sarah and Emily. The four of them were neighbours back then, and used to play together all the time. Even in adulthood, they were best friends. “So, how it was living with your cousins for half a year?” “Not bad at all. I mean they’re insanely rich and have this super large house and everything you could ever want.” “I could really use that kind of vacation.” “I've heard you have some problems getting a job.” “Among other things.” “What do you mean?” “I don’t wanna bother you with my problems. Let’s go have some fun. Believe me, I need that.” “Tough times huh? Come on lets go. I was thinking we could go see a movie and then… whoa.” Dave stopped right next to the large mirror, which leaned on closet’s door. “So this is the infamous mirror I have heard so much about?” “Ugly isn’t it?” “Well it’s not a masterpiece I can tell you that. What are you going to do with that? There isn’t really space for this thing.” The mirror was leaning on a right wall after the front door, but Dave didn’t see it when he passed it for the first time. “Emily promised to take it.” “Well that’s kind of her.” “Yeah I should probably thank her for that.” “Where did your grandma even get this?” “You know, I never even asked her.” Nine hour earlier. “What did you want to show me exactly?” Twilight and Fluttershy were walking along a small muddy path, Sun was shining bright from cloudless sky, it's warmth reached Twilight and Fluttershy. through heavy vegetation of the Everfree Forest, it was a nice, warm summer day. “Just wait, we’ll be there soon,” Fluttershy chirped happily. “I don’t think I have ever been in this part of the Everfree Forest. Are you sure we’re going in the right way?” Twilight started to get suspicious that they were walking in circles, everything had been looking exactly the same for the last five minutes. “Nopony really visit these parts of the forest, that’s why this cave has stayed undiscovered.” “What cave?” “That cave.” Fluttershy gestured towards a hole that was just big enough for pony, set in a small rock between trees. Twilight and Fluttershy trotted to the cave, Twilight peeked inside, the cave seemed to descend sharply underground. “How, exactly, did you find this cave?” “Well as you probably know, there were a horrible storm last night and some of my bunnies were intimidated by thunder and they ran into the Everfree Forest. I followed them and after long search I found them right here, in this cave, and I also found something that might interest you. I mean, if you don’t have any other more important things to do.” “It’s ok Fluttershy. Just show me what you found.” They entered in the cave. It was sharp downhill all the way down and very narrow inside, they had to walk in a line. Twilight brought light from her horn in the - otherwise - dark cave. It was also very moist. the ground they walked on was wet and you could hear water dripping in distance. When they finally reached the back of the cave Twilight’s jaw dropped wide open. “What in the name of Celestia?” The cave was somewhat round shaped and about three meters high. It was clear that someone had lived in there a long time ago. There were a small, mold-covered bed, a couple of rotten bookshelves, and a lot of old candles against the wall. but what had struck Twilight was a large mirror placed in the middle of the cave. Twilight slowly walked over to the mirror and stretched out her hoof to touch the mirror’s thick, silver frame. “What is this thing? I haven’t seen anything like it before.” “I knew you would like to see it. There was just something strange in it, and I don’t mean how it looks.” “I sense it too, it practically oozes this weird magic that I haven’t felt before.” “I wonder how it ended here.” “By the looks of this place it has been here for a while. I presume this was a home of some kind of wizard or alchemist.” “Well, those books and scrolls can’t help us they’re all unreadable.” Fluttershy trotted in front of the bookshelves and picked up a scroll to show it Twilight. The scroll fell apart when Twilight opened it. “So there aren’t any clue who used to live here.” “Maybe Celestia or Luna know.” “That’s not a bad idea I will send a letter soon as we get back to Ponyville.” “What are you planning to with this mirror?” “We’ll take it with us, I have to study it.” “Do you need any help with carrying it?” “I don’t think so.” Twilight begun to levitate it with her horn, but as soon as she had taken it in in her magical grip, she let it go and the mirror dropped back into it’s original spot with a loud noise. “What happened?” Fluttershy trotted quickly to Twilight. “Are you alright?” “Those gems in the mirror absorbed my magic, I haven’t felt anything quite that before.” “are you hurt?” Fluttershy put her hoof on twilight’s shoulder. “No. It just felt weird.” “Can you carry it?” “That won’t stop me. I get more interested in it every minute. This is the most exciting thing that has happened in long time,” Twilight said while clapping her hooves happily together. “If you’re sure,” Fluttershy said, still slightly worried. “Don’t worry, let’s get back to Ponyville.” Twilight teleported them and the mirror outside of the cave. The Sun was high in the sky, and the weather had changed from nicely warm to scorching hot, it was going to be a long way back to home. “Spike. Spiiiiike where are you?” Twilight and Fluttershy had just entered into Ponyville Library with their four other friend who had joined them on their way back. “I’m right here no need to yell.” The purple dragon poked his head from the kitchen. “I need you to take a letter for Princess Celestia.” “Now? but I’m middle of eating sandwich.” “This letter is very urgent. I need you to write it now.” “Okay okay, I’ll write it.” “Don’t worry Spike. Your sandwich won’t go to waste.” Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen with a grin. “Rainbow!” Fluttershy yelled at her friend. “I was just joking.” Rainbow returned from kitchen with a glass of water in her hoof. “You ready Spike?” He nodded with paper and quill in his claws. “Dear princess Celestia, I have encountered something quite interesting that I need your help with. My friend, Fluttershy, has found this very extraordinary mirror in a small cave in the Everfree Forest, that contains some very strong magic. What is most interesting, is how it reacted to my magic. Do you know anything about this particular mirror? Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.” The whole room was illuminated in a green light briefly when Spike sent the letter. “So what’s all this talk about mirror?” Applejack asked. “Like I said, Fluttershy found this strange mirror in the Everfree Forest. It’s magic is so powerful that even Fluttershy - a pegasus - felt it.” “Where have you hid this doomsday mirror?” Rainbow snickered, putting the empty glass down on at the table. “This is kinda serious Rainbow. The magic in that mirror is scarily strong. I can’t imagine what it is used for.” “After all this build-up, would you be a dear and show it to us?” Rarity spoke up for the first time. “Sure. I left it behind the library. Follow me.” The six mares and one dragon walked over to the mirror. It rested at the shadow of the tree. There was long silence before Rarity spoke up, “Well… at least it’s big… and shiny.” “Yeah. That’s the most ugly mirror I have ever seen,” Rainbow stated. Applejack looked up at the Rainbow. “How many ugly mirrors you have actually seen before?” “Well, this may be first, but it doesn’t mean I lied.” “It’s not an actual mirror, it’s a powerful magical object. Just go near it and you can sense the power.” Twilight said, slightly annoyed. Pinkie walked straight up to the mirror and poked it with her pink hoof, she jumped air from the shock. “Wowie there’s definitely something freaky going on with that mirror.” The rest of the ponies went to inspect the mysterious mirror. “See. I told you.” Twilight said “Now there’s just the question of what it does,” Applejack said, thoughtfully. “And where it came from” Rarity added. “That’s why I sent a letter to Princess.” “Um… Twilight remember how the gems in the mirror reacted to your magic?” Fluttershy spoke up behind Twilight. “yeah,” Twilight replied to Fluttershy. “Maybe Rarity should try her magic on the mirror.” “Why didn’t I think of that? Rarity try to use your magic on the one of gems on the mirror.” “What exactly should happen?” Rarity asked little concerned. “You will know if it happens.” One of the three gems in the mirror got enveloped by Rarity’s blue glow. “Nothing is happening Twilight.” “That’s strange.” “Maybe it because she isn’t an alicorn,” Pinkie suggested. “That would make sense.” Rainbow flew up over the gems and kicked lightly one of them. “Well what should have happened?” “When I used my magic on it, the mirror, the gems in particular, reacted in strange way.” Twilight’s closed her eyes and focussed on one of the gems in the mirror, her horn started to glow and the gem in the mirror started to pulse violently. Rainbow quickly flew couple meters backwards from the mirror. “Whoa! Warn me next time you’re going to do that.” Twilight blushed and kicked the ground. “Heh... sorry Rainbow.” “That was strange. Do you think these strange marks would give any clue what this mirror does?” Applejack walked over to mirror and touched symbols at the mirrors thick silver frame. “I haven’t seen those kind of symbols in my life and I’ve read a couple of books in different kinds of languages in Equestria.” Rainbow flew over to Twilight. “So all those books you've got can’t help us?” “Not with this, I’m afraid. We will just have to wait for Princess Celestia's response.” “So there's nothing we can do?” Rarity asked. “Bummer, this is starting to get pretty exciting” Pinkie said disappointed. The mares left the magical mystery mirror outside and went back into library, where they ate small snacks and talked, mostly about the mirror. The ponies were scattered across the library floor, while Spike was cleaning the kitchen. Pinkie was middle of talking about cupcakes, when she was suddenly interrupted by burst of green light from the kitchen. Spike sprinted from the kitchen with a scroll in his claw. “Quickly now Spike, what does it say?” Twilight quickly rose from the floor and scooted over to Spike, without even trying to hide her enthusiasm. Spike opened the sealed scroll and started to read it out loud. “Dear Twilight. Unfortunately I don’t have any kind of knowledge on the particular magical object’s powers or origins. If the magic in this mirror is truly strong, I’m worried what that kind of magic could do. My sister, Princess Luna and I will be coming to Ponyville tomorrow morning to research this particular mirror and its magical power. Yours truly Princess Celestia.” Spike closed the letter and placed it on the near table. “So even princess Celestia doesn’t know anything about it!” Twilight yelled and threw her hooves in the air frustrated . Pinkie bounced over to Twilight and put her leg over Twilight's neck. “Cheer up twilight, I’m sure you will find out what mirror does sooner-or-later.” “I’m sure Princesses will figure out what the mirror does.” Rarity joined Pinkie to comfort Twilight. “It’s just so frustrating how there’s nothing about this mirror anywhere. It’s clear that the mirror is one of the most powerful objects I have ever seen and the only possible hints about what it does are those unreadable scrolls back in the cave.” “Well the only thing we can do now is to wait for the Princesses to get here.” “And what then Applejack? what if even the Princesses can’t figure out what it does?” “You just have to live with it.” “But Applejack, I can’t I HAVE to know what that kind of magic does.” “Twilight…” Twilight sat down and sighed “I’m sorry everypony, I’m being way too obsessed with that mirror.” “It’s quite understandable darling. I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I wouldn’t be interested in knowing what that mirror does too.” Rarity said trying to light the atmosphere. “Twilight you’re not alone in this, I bet we all want to know what secrets the mirror is hiding.” Rainbow exclaimed. “I'll try to help in any way possible,” Fluttershy said quietly. “That’s nice and all but guess what isn’t; I have to stay up all night and help Twilight do research.” Spike said with his arms folded. The ponies burst into laughter while the Sun was setting down outside of Ponyville on a warm summer evening. The slowly darkening sky started to reveal its beautiful stars one by one, accompanied by slowly rising moon. Soon the five ponies left Twilight alone with Spike and headed back to their own homes, exited what tomorrow will bring to them. Not even in their wildest dreams could they have know what kind of trouble the mirror would bring to them. > Chapter 2 - Smoke and mirrors part I > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “HELP ME SPIKE, HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Rarity screamed as a large, ugly, rust coloured dragon dragged her into a dark cave in his strong grip. “Don't worry, Rarity. I'll save you.” Spike pulled himself from the edge of the large mountain. Immediately before him was an entrance to the large cave, where Spike could hear Rarity's screams echoing. Spike took a deep breath and forced himself into the dark cave. After following the cave, Spike reached the older and larger dragon, who was sat in a small opening examining Rarity. “Let go of her, you ruffian!” Spike rushed towards the dragon. In retaliation, the larger dragon shot dark green flames in Spike's direction, which the drake easily avoided with one swift display of agility, landing right next to the dragon. Spike tensed every muscle in his large body before leaping on the back of the dragon. Confused, the larger dragon violently shook his body in an effort to try and force Spike to loose his grip. Unfortunately for Spike, the larger dragon's pure strength was far superior to his. Rarity watched in horror as the dragons tactic succeeded, and Spike collided with the ground below. The larger dragon receded further into the cave, still with Rarity is his strong grip. After lifting himself from the ground, Spike started giving chase to the larger dragon, running as fast as he could, but to no avail. The larger dragon was far faster. After a couple of minutes of pursuit, the cave split up into several different caverns. To make the situation worse, Spike was unsure which of the routes the larger dragon took. Breathless, Spike dropped to his knees. “NO! I have to save Rarity.” The young dragon knew he couldn't leave Rarity at the mercy of the dragon. Determined to help Rarity, Spike rose to his feet, before venturing deeper into the cave. Spike could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he caught sight of what her thought was the dragon's nest. The dragons nest was almost pitch black, with occasional piles of glinting gold and various gems of different sizes and colors. Spike proceeded further into the cave, every muscle in his body tensing, preparing him to fight. Soon after his reflexive muscle tensing, Spike spotted two poisonous green eyes staring into his soul. Once again, dark green flames came from the larger dragon's throat, which Spike, once again, easily avoided. Spike jumped onto the dragons large face, right by his green reptile like eyes. This confused the larger dragon, giving Spike enough to pull his right fist back, and drive it right between the larger dragon's eyes. With a loud roar, the dragon fell to the ground, releasing Rarity from his grip. “Rarity, are you okay?” Spike approached Rarity to help her up. “Yes, Spike. You're my hero.” Rarity moved her muzzle closer to Spikes mouth. “Oh, Rarity. I've waited so long for this.” Spike leaned forward, closing the gap between himself and Rarity. “Just one thing before we kiss,” Rarity said with a sultry voice. “Anything for you, Rarity,” Spike replied. “Wake up and get ready for breakfast. The princesses will be here any minute now.” Spike did a quick double take. “Wha...What?” “I said wake up.” “But Rarity, this isn't a dream.” Spike found himself confused by Rarity's request. “NOW, SPIKE!” Spike opened his heavy eyelids. A slightly neurotic looking Twilight Sparkle stood next to his bed, kicking it with her hoof. On immediate observation, Spike could tell she had been awake all night, most likely unable to sleep due to her incessant urge to study the mirror further. “Twilight, the sun isn't even up yet,” Spike moaned. “Princess Celestia said she will be here with Princess Luna in the morning, and it is the morning.” Twilight's left eye twitched as she spoke. “I think by the morning, she meant more like ten at the earliest. You need to relax, Twilight.” “I can't. Since you are up now, why don't we make breakfast?” Twilight's right eye twitched this time. “Are you alright?” “I'm fine. I've just been too excited to sleep.” “Well I suppose since I'm up, I'll get breakfast ready,” Spike mumbled, annoyed at being awoken so early. Despite his slight irritation, Spike couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for Twilight. He made his way downstairs to make breakfast for himself and a very tired but excited Twilight. The sun had begun to rise as Twilight tried to eat her breakfast. Spike had made her several slices of toast, a glass of orange juice, and a fresh apple. The breakfast that sat in front of her went almost untouched, apart from the nibbled corner on one of the slices of toast. The toast was fast cooling as Twilight remained deep in thought. "Are you even going to eat that?" An annoyed Spike folded his arms to convey his irritation. "What...Did you say something Spike?" “I asked if you are going to eat your breakfast.” “Sorry, Spike. My thoughts are somewhere else at the moment.” “I didn't notice,” Spike mumbled, sarcastically. “Did you say something, Spike?” “I said....uhhh." Spike quickly thought it better to change the subject. “I said when are the girls coming?” “Oh my gosh! How could I forget? I need to get them here right away.” Twilight rose from the table, closed her tired eyes and started to concentrate to the best of her ability. “Can't you at least finish your...” Spike was interrupted by a loud pop and a bright purple flash. “...Breakfast.” Spike let out a sigh before deciding it would be best not to let good food go to waste. He took Twilight's place at the table and started to eat her cold toast. Twilight's trip to round up her friends only took about half an hour. Twilight and each of her friends entered the library, tiredness showing in all six of them. “Why in the name of Celestia...” Rainbow Dash yawned loudly. “...Did you wake me up this early?” “I thought you wanted to be here when the princesses arrived,” Twilight replied. “You woke us up for that? Silly Twilight. They won't be here until mid day,” Pinkie Pie added, as she bounced happily. “Twilight, dear, you need to relax. I'm sure when Princess Celestia said herself and Princess Luna would be here this morning, they didn't mean as soon as the sun rises,” Rarity added, trying to calm Twilight. “That's what I said.” Pinkie Pie glared at Rarity. “But...but,” Twilight started. “No 'buts,' Twilight. Just take a deep breath and relax,” Rarity advised. “You're right, Rarity. I'm not thinking straight,” replied Twilight. “You alright, Twi?” Applejack moved closer to Twilight, concerned for her friend. “I'm fine, just sleepy,” replied Twilight. “Why don't you go to sleep? We will wake you up when the princesses get here,” suggested Applejack. “Thank you, girls, I really appreciate it.” “Oh come on! How come Twilight can sleep, but I can't?” Rainbow Dash hovered as best as her tired mind would allow her as she complained. “Quit whining, Rainbow Dash. It's not the end of the world just because you can't sleep for a few more hours,” Applejack snapped. “Fine,” replied Rainbow Dash. Twilight dragged herself back upstairs and climbed back into bed, closing her heavy eyelids. My friends are right. The princesses wont be here this early, I'm just being far too over excited...again. I just hope my friends aren't mad at me. Twilight drifted into a peaceful sleep. The sun was shining brightly, high in the sky, the birds chirped happily, giving Ponyville it's summer atmosphere. Rainbow Dash snored loudly on a cloud above Golden Oaks Library, Applejack was napping in the shade of the library, Rarity and Fluttershy were bother reading, and Pinkie Pie was busy drawing. Spike had made breakfast for Twilight's friends, savings several sandwiches for Twilight to eat when she woke up. Rainbow Dash's left ear twitched a little. She was sure she picked up a sound. Slowly, she lifted her head from the comfortable cloud, and stood on her hooves. She stretched her muscles and let out a loud yawn, before starting to examine the noise she picked up on. Due to her not waking up long ago, it took a while for her eyes to focus. She did, however, spot a small black dot moving across the sky. More specifically, quickly moving towards Ponyville. After a while, Rainbow Dash deduced that the object was, in fact, the princess's chariot. Rainbow Dash dived quickly off the cloud, and landed next to Applejack, who was snoring loudly with her hat covering her eyes. “AJ! AJ! Wake up!” Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack's shoulder. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here, we need to wake Twilight up.” Applejack slowly uncovered her eyes, squinting slightly due to the rapid change in light condition. “I'll wake Twi, you stay here and welcome the princesses.” Applejack trotted of inside the library. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy paused from their activities to look at Applejack. “The princesses will be here any minute. I'll wake Twi, you go outside with Rainbow Dash to welcome the princesses.” “Morning, Applejack. I was just coming,” Twilight said, coming down the stairs. “I was just coming to wake you up,” replied Applejack. “Well you don't have to.” Twilight confined to descend, then turned to face Applejack. “Applejack are...are you still angry at me for waking you up so early?” “Of course not, Twi. I was already awake to do the chores around the farm when you got there, and I'm sure the others aren't either, sugarcube. At least, not any more. I think we all went back to sleep.” “I'm sorry. I just got too excited.” The pair trotted towards the front door of the library. “I get you, Twi. I wouldn't want to bother the princesses, only for them to find me sleeping.” Applejack turned to face Twilight and smiled. Twilight returned the gesture. “Where is everypony? I thought...Is that the princess's chariot? When did they get here? Why didn't you wake me up? The princesses will surely mphhhhh...” Twilight was silenced by Applejack's hoof. “Twilight, don't freak out, they just got here. Now take a deep breath and go outside.” Applejack removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth. Twilight did as she was told and took a deep breath, She looked out the window where the chariot was landing just outside. Twilight and Applejack trotted outside where their four other friends were waiting for the chariot to land, and for the princesses to disembark. The chariot was a large white chariot decorated with golden ornaments, and pulled by four pegasi. As soon as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna got out of the chariot, Twilight and her friends immediately bowed before them. “No need for the formalities, my little ponies.” Princess Celestia had warm smile on her face, Princess Luna stood next to her. Twilight and her friend raised their heads to look directly at Celestia and Luna. “We understand you have found an object of great mystery Twilight. May we see it?” “It's behind the library,” replied Twilight. ”Just follow me.” Twilight trotted behind the tree, followed by her five friends, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, the royal guard were left harnessed on the chariot. The mirror stood leaning against the tree, covered in a white sheet. As it was, it stood about the same size as Princess Celestia. The sheet covering the mirror was encased in a purple aura as Twilight lifted it, exposing the mirror with it's thick silver frame. Celestia and Luna examined for a while as everypony else stood in wait. After a while, Celestia spoke. “There certainly is strong magic within this mirror.” “This kind of magic is very rare and hard to come across. I can only guess that this mirror is some kind of portal,” added Luna. “That's what we thought. With this kind of magic, it wouldn't be far-fetched to believe that this could be a portal.” Twilight trotted next to Celestia and touched the cold surface of the mirror with her hoof. “Portal? To where? Like, somewhere in Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Maybe,” replied Twilight. “But I was thinking it could be somewhere much further. With this kind of magic, it could possible even be a different dimension.” “Ya really think so?” Applejack raised a questioning eyebrow. “That sounds plausible. Twilight, you mentioned that you may have an idea how to activate it,” Celestia said. “The mirror reacted to my magic, but not Rarity's. My theory is that the mirror only reacts to alicorn magic. Since it didn't active by my magic alone and the three gems, I think it may need three alicorns to activate it,” explained Twilight. “I would telling a lie if I were to say I weren't interested in what it does,” said Luna. “Should we try and activate it?” Twilight turned her attention to her mentor. Celestia put a hoof on her own chin. “I'm not sure it's safe.” Pinkie Pie perked up immediately. “Yeah, what if this is a portal to another dimension, and when we open it, a giant pony-eating monster jumps out and eats us all?” Everypony quickly backed away from the mirror slightly. Twilight awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “Well....I guess it could happen, but the thing is, we don't know. If this mirror is a portal, and we activate it, it could be a giant monster....” “Giant pony-eating monster,” Pinkie Pie interrupted. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Thank you Pinkie...” The pink pony squeed and smiled at Twilight in response “...it could be a giant pony-eating monster, but it could also be something else. Anything else.” “I think we should take the risk. We can defend ourselves if we have to,” added Applejack. “I'm with AJ,” announced Rainbow Dash. “If something bad comes through, we're more than ready to kick it's butt.” Rainbow Dash's comment got several nods in agreement. “So Princess, shall we try it?” Twilight felt eager. Celestia sighed heavily. She looked towards Luna, the question clear in here eyes. Luna nodded slightly to answer the non verbal question. “Let's do it.” The three princesses stepped forward and pointed their horns at the three large oval-shaped gems at the top of the mirror. Their horns began to glow brightly before the gems began to violently pulse. A blinding flash was unleashed. When everypony got their eyesight back, their jaws simultaneously hit the ground. Instead of seeing their own reflections, the mirror showed a bright pink and purple smoke-screen that formed spirals on the surface of the mirror. Twilight slowly approached the mirror with her five friends, moving past Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to investigate the mirror. “What in the....” Twilight mumbled and reached towards the mirror to touch the smoke. Before she could react, an unseen force pulled on her hoof. The force was too strong to fight. “GAH.” Twilight grunted as she was pulled into the mirror. Rainbow Dash was first to react. “I got you, Twilight.” She put her hooves around Twilight's mid-section to pull her out, but the force was too strong. Twilight had now completely disappeared, and Rainbow Dash was quickly disappearing too. “Hold on.” Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's hind legs. Rarity quickly realised what was about to happen, and wrapped her hooves around Applejack. Rarity was then grabbed by Pinkie Pie, who was, in turn, grabbed by Fluttershy. The force was far too strong for the six of them. Twilight and her five friends had fully disappeared , and the mirror was slowly returning to it's normal state, leaving Celestia, Luna, and Spike on the ground being unable to do anything. > Chapter 3 - Smoke and mirrors part II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 7.1 Last night had been fun. Mark couldn't remember the last time he had as much fun. Mark and Dave had toured nearly every bar and club in their town. All the while they were catching up on the six months they were apart. Mark had told Dave how his life had been getting worse and worse every day, while Dave talked about how awesome his cousin had been and how much fun they had. At the end of his story, Dave realised that talking about how much fun he had wasn't the best thing for a deeply depressed Mark. Mark wasn't bothered at all, he was just happy to see his best friend again. The morning after a big night out was never fun for Mark. This morning was no exception. Mark awoke lying on his stomach, still fully dressed in the clothes he had worn the previous night. Mark’s brain activity started to return slowly, matched by the growing sense of pain he felt. The pain was unbearable. More-or-less his whole body was affected by aches and pains, but none worse than his head. The taste of alcohol and vomit burned down his throat, his mouth as dry as the desert, and his long brown hair was greasy and messy. He slowly began to open his eyes and immediately regretted it as the sun shone brightly through the window. He quickly shut his heavy eyelids again as he slowly tried to get up. It felt like his whole world was spinning. Mark suddenly felt a desire to go back to sleep and let the hangover fade away, but his bladder did not desire anything of the sort. His bladder forced him to continue the struggle of getting out of bed. After what felt like an eternity had passed, Mark found himself sitting on the edge of the bed. He slowly started to massage his temples in hope that it would ease the headache. He slowly started to regain bits and pieces of memories from the previous night. He found himself connecting different odds and ends in an effort to get a full picture of what happened. After several minutes he declared this to be an impossible task, and instead walked into the bathroom, and decided to take a shower. Oh right, he thought. No shampoo, soap, food, or anything at all. He let out a heavy sigh as he flushed the toilet. On his way out he stopped in front of a mirror and ran his hand over his chin i should probably shave… maybe later. Mark slowly made a move for the living room with heavy steps. Faint noises and a glimmer light could be heard and seen respectively from the living room. Mark opened the door to the living room to find Dave sitting comfortably on his couch watching TV. “Morning, buddy. How are you feeling?” Dave decreased the TV volume and turned to face Mark. “Like shit,” Mark replied dryly. “Well, you did drink a lot. Drink some water and have a good breakfast, and I'm sure you'll live,” Dave suggested. “One problem. I have no food in the fridge. I haven't had any food in the fridge for a couple of days now.” “In that case then...” Dave reached down to search for something in the pockets of his grey jeans. “We'll order something.” he pulled his phone out and presented it happily. “Fine by me. You have something on your mind?” “Well for you, I'd recommend something extremely greasy and unhealthy. How 'bout some pizza?” Another greasy slice of pepperoni pizza found it's way into Mark's mouth as he sat watching TV with Dave. “Hey, Mark. If you can't get a job, you could always try further education,” suggested Dave. “I had thought of that, but it would take up too much time, cost too much money, and it still wouldn't guarantee that I'll get a job.” Mark downed bits of pizza with a sip of his soda. “Yeah, I get your point,” Dave replied. “looks like you really are at a dead end.” “I'm pretty much burned out by this whole situation. I'm tired of thinking my head off, which leads me to drinking and playing games. This will probably happen until I get kicked out, then I guess I'll just die on the streets.” Mark smirked a little. “You're welcome to stay with me if you get kicked out.” “Mom and Emily have made the same offer, but thanks anyway.” “Hey no problemo, man.” Mark and Dave's talk was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Mark's phone ringing. Mark dug into his pocket, retrieved his phone, and saw that Emily was calling. “Morning,” Mark said, with a mouth full of pizza. “How bad a hangover do you have?” Emily's lack of amusement was clear in her voice. “Not too bad now. I don't feel like throwing up anymore, but the headache is still pretty bad.” “That's nice. I'm just calling to let you know I'm coming down to get the mirror after work. I'll be there about three o'clock. Is that okay with you?” “Yeah, I'll get the mirror ready for you. See you later. Bye.” Mark ended the call and put his phone on the table. He noticed that Dave had finished his share of the pizza and was preparing to leave. “I think I should leave. I didn't get to spend a lot of time at home yesterday. I'll call you so we can hang out sometime. How does tomorrow sound?” “Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do.” “I'll call you sometime in the afternoon.” “Sounds good. Let's not go drinking again though. My liver and wallet can't afford it.” “Agreed.” Mark threw the empty pizza boxes in the corner of the kitchen, and decided to change his clothes, even if he couldn't have a shower. Mark unzipped his pants and threw them his bed, followed by his shirt and his hoodie. He was just about to change his underpants when his phone started to ring. “Mom!?” Mark was genuinely surprised. A call off his mom was not on the list of things he was expecting. It wasn't that it was an unpleasant surprise per se, Mark just didn't want to worry his mom with his problems. Last time he talked to his parents was Christmas, when he went to visit them with Emily. Mark tried not to worry them. The results of his efforts, however, were poor thanks to Emily. “Morning, Mark. How are you doing?” Concern laced the voice of Mark's mother. “Worse than normal, because, in addition to my usual problems, I have quite terrible hangover. How 'bout you?” Mark's mother ignored the question, instead facing another issue. “Oh, Mark. If you need money, you know we can...” Mark already knew how this conversation would go, and he didn't like it. “Don't finish. I've heard this same speech a million times, and I'm going to say the same thing to you that I've said to Dave and Emily; I can't take any more of your money.” Irritation made itself known in Mark's voice. “It's no trouble, Mark. Really, we can afford it.” Mark knew this was a losing battle. He had to quickly change his strategy. He had to lie. An idea started to form in his head. “I know, it's not that I think you can't afford it, I just don't feel comfortable taking money from you. Besides, Dave said he might know where I can find a job.” Mark crossed his fingers and hoped upon hope that his mom would buy his quick lie. “Really? I thought you were one hundred percent sure that there aren't any jobs available.” “Well.....Dave might have found one. He said he might be able to use his connections to get me a job.” Mark started to get nervous as his lies became more and more obvious with each one he told. “What connections? What kind of job is this anyway?” “I can't tell you. It's...it's a secret. I'll tell you if I get it, okay?” “Mark, wait...” “Well, anyway, it's been nice talking to you, but I got things to do, so I gotta go, okay? Bye.” Mark quickly ended the call and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I don't think she brought that,” Mark said to himself. After the conversation with his mom, Mark returned to the living room, now fully clothed with kinda-fresh-and-almost-clean clothes. White shirt with small brown spots here and there, a dark red hoodie that was a size too big, and plain blue jeans. He decided to prepare the mirror to be picked up by Emily. All he needed to do was to move it closer to the front door, so it would be easier to lift into the car. “OH SHIT!” Mark noticed a large shoe print in the middle of the mirror. That, however, wasn't what cause Mark's freak-out. The mirror now sported a large crack where the shoe print was, indicating that Mark or Dave must have kicked it last night, but it wasn't like Mark could remember anything. Mark dropped down onto his knees to get a better look. “Shitshitshit! Emily isn't going to like this.” Mark ran his hand over the crack. “Must have been a hell of a kick to get something this thick to crack.” Mark stood up and ran his hand through his greasy brown hair, feeling panic get the better of him. “Repairing this will probably cost a shit load of money.” Mark threw himself on his couch and just stared at the mirror. “Like you haven't caused enough trouble already,” he said to the mirror sarcastically. “I should just smash you with a sledgehammer and throw you away.” Some time passes like this. Mark just lay there, did nothing, and thought about nothing. Just staring at his reflection in the cracked mirror. Suddenly, something caught his eye. “What in the name of...” Mark noticed a small dot in the middle of the mirror. He was sure it wasn't there a minute ago. He slowly stood and took a step closer to the mirror. What seemed to be a small black dot a minute ago, was now a fist-sized ball of purple smoke. Mark squinted his eyes slightly. “Is...is that thing getting bigger?” Soon, the whole mirror was hidden. Instead, a large screen of dark purple smoke was visible within the mirrors still-visible frame. Mark finally snapped out of his trance when the purple smoke started to ooze out from the mirror. “WHA...WHAT THE FU...” The large smoke-screen burst out of the mirror with the force of a speeding truck, smashing the mirror into small pieces with a loud crash, and covering Mark before he could finish his sentence. Even though it lasted only a few seconds, it felt to Mark like hours had passed inside the ball of smoke. First, it felt like his whole body was lightly tingling. All too soon, the tingling sensation was replaced with complete and utter pain. It felt to Mark like his whole body was on fire. Mark felt as if his entire body was changing. It felt like every bone and muscle in his body was transforming and changing place. It was the worst in his limbs, as he could feel his hands and feet become lumps of solid mass. The pain soon became unbearable, forcing Mark's eyes to close as he started to slip out of consciousness. When the body of smoke finally let off Mark, he collapsed onto the floor, now fully unconscious on top of the small shards of thick glass. Only small patches of cobalt blue and blue-grey fur struck out. The large body of smoke hit Mark's couch with a *FOMPH*, before slowly vanishing. The house fell silent for several moments before grunts of pain started echoing in the room.