//------------------------------//
// Looking Glass 
// Story: Lack Of A Reflection 
// by Sun Aura 
//------------------------------//

“So, wait, who are you?” the girl asked. “And why do you look like Sunny?”
“That’s an excellent question!” Sunset replied. “One that I’d like to discuss with ‘Sunny’.”
“Uh yeah,” the girl replied. “Oh, I’m Sonata by the way! Sonata Dusk!
“Do you, know us?” Princess Twilight asked, frowning at the girl.
“Not that I can remember?” Sonata said, tilting her head. “I mean, this girl looks like Sunny, but I don’t think I’ve seen you before!”
“But how-?” Applejack began, scratching her head. 
“Counterpart!” Pinkie shouted. 
“What?” most of the group chorused. 
“Counterpart to what?” Sonata wondered.
“She’s a Counterpart!” Pinkie repeated. “I mean, if she doesn’t remember us, she can’t the one we met because she’d definitely remember us! So if everyone has a Counterpart, they have ones too! So this is this world’s Sonata! Also, this one has a pink necklace, and the other one had a red necklace that got, like, completely shattered!”
There was a general murmuring of agreement from their group. Sonata just stared at them. Before anyone could even try to think of how to explain this to her, someone else came to the door.
“Hey, ‘Nata, what’s taking so long?” a familiar voice asked. 
The person who walked up behind Sonata was the kind of familiar they were looking for. While Sunset had been expecting to see the other her, she wasn’t exactly prepared for how similar they would look. At first, Sunset thought her counterpart was shorter, but she quickly realized it was because she had boots on while her Counterpart was barefoot. Even her outfit, while very different, was similarly colored. A three-quarter sleeved turquoise top and yellow shorts, probably pajamas. Their only physical difference, was that Sunset still had her ears and horn.
“Stars, that’s weird,” both Sunsets said. “Please tell me we’re not doing the ‘Unison Speak’ trope. Great, we are.”
“I’m still lost?” Sonata said.
“Okay, obviously we have a lot to talk about,” the other Sunset said. “Just- let’s talk in the living room instead of the hallway.”
“You sure?” Sunset asked. “We have a big group.”
“I noticed,” she sighed. “Most of you will be standing, but we can fit.”
Sunset and the girls followed the other Sunset and Sonata into the room. On the only couch was another Dazzling Counterpart. If Sunset remembered correctly, this one was ‘Aria’, and she was the only one who looked dressed to go out. Of course, if there were two, a third was likely close behind. 
As if on cue, the third Dazzling Counterpart, Adagio, walked out. Her hair was ridiculous, both from just how much there was and from it looking as if she’d just rolled out of bed. Her pajamas were almost a reverse of the Other Sunset’s; a yellow spaghetti-strap top with turquoise pants. 
“Are we having a party?” Adagio asked. “I don’t think the Landlord’s on board with that, but what else can we do?”
She stopped short upon seeing two Sunsets. She looked back and forth at both of them, before looking to Sonata from an explanation. Sonata just shrugged.
The other Sunset sighed and pulled Adagio to the couch, pretty much on her lap. After a moment, Sonata sat on the other end of the couch. None of them were sure where to start.
“So,” Aria began, “Are you some sort of ‘furry’?”
That sent most of the room laughing.
“What’s a ‘furry’?” Princess Twilight asked.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Rainbow joked.
“I-I’ll explain that in a minute,” Sunset laughed.”For now, let’s get to the ‘elephant in the room’. Hello, Sunset Shimmer, I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
“I can see that,” the other Sunset said. “But how do I have a clone?”
“Well, I’m not exactly a clone,” she half-chuckled. “I’m from an Alternate Dimension, and everyone has a Counterpart. Also, my Dimension is one full of magical talking ponies.”
“And that’s somehow more believable than a clone?” she asked. 
Fortunatly, Sunset had just the thing to prove she was telling the truth. She lit her horn, and grabbed anything not nailed down. Books, cups, remotes, game controllers, all sorts of things floated through the air in her orange magic. 
“Hey!” Sci-Twi shouted, grabbing her glasses out of the air.
“Sorry,” Sunset laughed, setting everything down.
“That’s crazy,” Adagio breathed.
“Trust me, the rest of us are still getting used to it,” Applejack said. 
“So, are you all from that dimension?” the other Sunset asked.
“No,” Princess Twilight answered. “Just me and Sunset.”
“So, how come you don’t have the ears like she does?” Sonata asked, pointing to Sunset. “And why does the pink one have them?”
“It’s a side effect of bringing magic into this world,” she replied. “Because of how the magic works, it causes a physical change in the person using it.”
“I mean, do you think I could hide this with a hat?” Sunset laughed, pointing to her horn. “It’ll go away eventually.”
“So Sunset,” Sonata began, stopping to look between Sunsets.  “Wait, that Sunset, not- this is going to get confusing real fast.”
“Yeah,” Sunset sighed. “We should probably do something to tell who’s who.”
“Well,” Pinkie said, bouncing at her idea. “Princess Twilight and Science Twilight were already different enough that we didn’t need a physical thing, and we could make silly nicknames! But you two are really close, like, if you two had the same outfit I couldn’t tell you apart, and I can’t think of any nicknames! So, what we’ll do is one of you can be ‘Sunset’ and the other one can be ‘Shimmer’!”
“But which is which?” Both Sunsets asked.
“Last time, we used the ‘this is your dimension so it’s your name’ rule,” she said. “So to make it fair with the Universe, we should switch it! So since the Pony is the ‘Guest’, she’s ‘Sunset’ while the Human is ‘Shimmer’!”
“Last time?” Twilight frowned. 
“Well, you don’t want to upset the Universe, do you Shim Shams?” Adagio laughed. 
“Fair enough,” Shimmer relented. 
“So what about physical cues?” Rarity asked. “I’m sure I could find something that would make you two look different on sight.”
“I’ve got this covered!” Pinkie said. “We can just follow the Twilights!”
Pinkie almost seemed to disappear and reappear next to Sonata, which made the four on the couch jump in surprise. They jumped again seeing that Shimmer’s hair was now in a high ponytail, tied with a ribbon. Sunset could feel her own hair tied in a low ponytail. 
“I keep ribbons on me for ‘differencing Interdimensional Counterparts’ emergencies!” Pinkie chirped. “So we have an orange ribbon for Sunset, a turquoise ribbon for Shimmer, and an adorable magenta ribbon with blue hearts for Sonata!”
“Why does Sonata need a ribbon?” Rainbow asked. 
“Because, silly,” she laughed. “Cute girls get cute ribbons! And that ribbon’s the only one with my phone number on it!”
Sonata turned redder and redder as she stared at the ribbon. Pinkie giggled when Sonata gave up and put her face in her hands. It was difficult to know if Pinkie’s face was any redder, but it might’ve looked a few shades darker. Aria snickered at the two of them, and Sonata replied by reaching over Shimmer and Adagio to bat her hand at her.
“So, why are you trying to find me?” Shimmer asked, ignoring the three of them. 
“If this was a book,” Adagio mused, “it’d be the beginning of some kind of Magical Adventure where we nearly get killed.”
“Eh, we just had a magical adventure where we nearly get killed,” Rainbow shrugged. 
“Shouldn’t have another one for at least a month,” Applejack added.
“Oh dear I hope not,” Rarity sighed. “I don’t want anything to ruin our class trip next month.”
“Didn’t think you’d be looking forward to a camping trip!” Rainbow laughed. 
“Camping, no,” she admitted. “A sort-of vacation with friends? Yes.”
“Girls, can we not discuss magical adventures where we nearly get killed right now?” Fluttershy asked, glancing between Sunset and Sci-Twi.
“Oh, right, sorry!” the three of them chorused. 
“To answer the question,” Sunset interrupted them before it could go more downhill. “We’re not here for any adventures or such.”
“So then why?” Shimmer asked. 
“Because I used to be a terrible person,” Sunset shrugged. “And because from what I know about our dimensions, a lot of things are the same. Unless, you know, someone from one dimension crosses over to change things. But I ran away, and I remember seeing a very familiar girl get on a bus out of town that night.”
“I thought that was a reflection,” she muttered. 
“Yeah, well, you didn’t know about magic,” she said. “But I wanted to help. So, what all happened in this world to get you here?”
“Do I have to go through it?” she asked. “I mean, you already said that they’re similar.”
Sunset felt a bit bad about that. Technically, she didn’t need to know all of Shimmer’s life, since she could guess the basics. She was curious. About what differences there were in how they came to be here. Curious to what had happened to her, since she’d expected to find a girl just like who she was before the Fall Formal, but instead found a girl with friends, probably a girlfriend, and a decent apartment.
“Alright,” Shimmer agreed. “I grew up with a happy family and all that, and I’m guessing you did too. I was one of those ‘gifted’ students, the ‘prodigy’ type. My academic skills were far above my age level, and I was bumped up to the high school courses. Stars, I could follow along with Dad rambling about science! But I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously. Teachers would talk down to me. They didn’t even think I was as smart as other kids my age. They said, to my face, that I probably wouldn’t have passed the third grade if my dad wasn’t ‘obviously’ doing my homework for me.”
“Harsh,” Sci-Twi said softly. 
“Yeah, well, Mom, Dad, and Lance tried to help,” she said. “But I pushed them away. I’d fight anyone who tried to say anything about me, and I pushed the rest away in case they did.  At some point, proving myself became more important than my family.  
“Then I made the dumb mistake of running away, thinking I could make it on my own,” she said. “I did, but there were a lot more nights of being cold and hungry than I thought. And I’m not going to bring up the various illegal things I managed to get into. That kind of thing humbles you pretty quick. But now I’ve got friends, a girlfriend, and a nice apartment. I used the internet to finish high school, and I managed to get a job at the local performing arts college doing their tech work.”
“Up to the running away, it’s pretty familiar,” Sunset said. 
“A little too familiar,” Sci-Twi whispered. 
“Let me guess, another ‘prodigy’?” Shimmer asked, to which Sci-Twi nodded. “Glad you stuck it out instead of running off. And hey, if any teachers or students bother you over that, send them my way.”
“That’d scare them for a whole different reason,” Applejack said with a nod to Sunset. 
“Besides,” Adagio said. “If that Sunset is anything like you, she has nothing to worry about. Especially with a big group of friends. Or we could always hand her enemies off to Aria.”
Aria only raised an eyebrow.
“Your turn now,” Shimmer said, pointing to her Counterpart. “Let’s hear your life story.”
“It’ll sound so boring with all that magic,” Sunset teased. “But yeah, family’s all the same. Right down to Grandma’s ugly lamp.”
Shimmer snorted with laughter, but waved a hand telling her to go on.
“I’m a Unicorn,” Sunset said. “One of the most magically gifted Unicorns to ever exist, and personal student to the ruler of the country, and sort-of-goddess that controls the Sun, Princess Celesta. Since I was her personal student, I only saw the teachers at school for standardized tests. So I don’t know what they thought of me. The kids I got to interact with though, were Nobles. You know, ‘mommy and daddy paid good money for me to be here’ types. They’d kiss up to me, hoping I’d give them some kind of ‘royal perk’, then say things behind closed doors. I got into more than one fight over some snob suggesting I only passed because I seduced the test taker.”
“Stars that’s gross,” Rarity shuddered. 
“If I get my hands on the guys who said that,” Rainbow growled. “Well, I guess it’d be ‘hooves’, since I’d have to go through the portal.”
“Right there with you,” Applejack frowned. 
“I could already prove my skill that way,” Sunset said, pretending she hadn’t heard them. “But the only one I wanted to impress was Celestia. There’s a line between ‘Princess’ and ‘Celestia’; ‘Princess’ is the all-powerful ruler, the invincible protector, and Celestia is a pony, just like everyone else. I saw cracks in the ‘mask’, on Nightmare Night, near Discord’s statue, around her niblings. I wanted her to be ‘Celestia’ around me, but all I got was ‘Princess’. I wanted to prove to her that I could do anything, that she could treat me like an equal. Eventually, that turned to a goal of becoming an Alicorn, a princess like she was, because it would be ‘equal’.
“I studied anything I could get my hooves on,” she continued. “She confronted me when I broke into the Dark Magic section of the library. I demanded she make me a princess on the spot, because I was ready and I deserved to be equal, or even better than she was. She denied me, of course, and I quit as her student, telling her that this was the biggest mistake she could make. She replied ‘one of many’. It was the closest I came to hearing ‘Celestia’, but she wasn’t thinking of me in that moment, but of past mistakes.”
“After that, I ran away,” she went on. “I ran into this dimension. Fortunately for me, the conversion rate is ridiculous, so I had plenty of money. I started over my life, but it's hard to make friends when you have to hide most of your life. So when I thought I had a chance to not only go home, but to get everything I'd ever wanted, I did whatever it took to go back. I hurt a lot of people on the way, and could've done a lot more permanent damage before these six knocked some sense into me.”
She gave them a moment to let that sink in. She’d told her friends about all that before, though she couldn't remember if there was anything new for them to hear. She knew Twilight had only heard pieces, so she wasn't surprised to see the gears in her head turning at this knowledge.
“Not sure if that’s better or worse” Shimmer said. 
“I think you’d have to do some sort of fusion or mind-meld to figure that out,” Sci-Twi said. 
“But you asked why I came to find you,” Sunset said. “These past few months, I’ve been making up for everything I did, making amends and all that. It’s been slow going, making it up to the students and staff at school. I’d been debating about going home, making up with the Ponies I left behind. After  we found Twilight’s Counterpart, I wanted to help you make whatever amends you needed to.”
“You want me to go back home, don’t you?” Shimmer asked, though it wasn’t really a question.
“I’m going home too,” she said. “I promised them, and myself, that once I found and helped you, I’d go home.”
“I know I should’ve,” she sighed. “I should’ve gone home a long time ago. Guess I’m just stubborn.”
“Don’t I know it,” she sighed. “If I wasn’t, I would’ve gone home three years ago.”
“Think they’ll be upset?” she asked, grabbing Adgio’s hand.
“It’s not like they can ground you,” she laughed. “Besides, I, uh, might’ve talked to Lance already?”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah, I wanted to know where to look for you,” she said. “He wants you to come back. I promised that even if you didn’t come back, I’d tell him what happened to you. But I still think you should see them yourself.”
“I-I think I might be ready to do that,” she agreed.
“We can go with you, you know,” Adagio said, squeezing Shimmer’s hand. “You’re not alone.”
“Yeah well, if you ever do the same,” she trailed off.
“Maybe,” Aria answered.
“Plus, Twilight here can go with you to meet Lance,” Sunset said, gesturing to Sci-Twi. “Do you remember Lance’s friend, Shining Armor?”
“Please tell me those two are dating now,” Shimmer laughed. “Lance always reminisced about the time they made out at a Halloween party.”
“You’d have to ask them if it ever happened,” she shrugged. “But they do live in the same apartment building, and Twilight here is Shining’s little sister.”
“Oh, yeah, I see it now,” she said, pointing to both Twilights. “The hair. Your hair’s the same dark blue that was in Shining’s hair.”
“I thought her hair was indigo?” Rainbow said.
“Rainbow Dash, for how colorful you are, you have a lot to learn about color,” Rarity scoffed. “Her hair looks purple because the rest of her is mostly purple, while Shining Armor had various blues. They’re both the same blue.”
“#3C4D85, to be exact!” Pinkie chirped, finally pulling away from an oddly quiet talk with Sonata.
“You know, I have a question,” Sonata said, her face still a little red. “I kinda forgot because two Sunsets and all that, but how did you girls get inside?”
“Well, you did let us in the door,” Applejack said, gesturing toward said door.
“I meant inside the building,” she countered. 
Shimmer, Adagio and Aria all shot to attention, nearly knocking Adagio off the couch. They looked between Sonata and Sunset’s group.
“The door was locked?” Shimmer said.
“I used my magic to teleport us into the lobby,” Sunset replied. 
“Yeah, the kid who told us about this place said it wouldn’t be,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“What kid?” Aria asked.
“Didn’t catch his name,” she replied. “He tried to steal my wallet, recognized Sunet, and pointed us here.”
“He said his cousin lives here,” Fluttershy offered. 
“Must be Sugar Belle’s cousin,” Adagio said. “But you’re right, the door isn’t usually locked, and the codes are always on the fritz.”
“So what’s different now?” Princess Twilight asked.
“Our landlord went nuts the other day, that’s what,” Shimmer said. “She locked all the doors, told us we’d get evicted if we left, and cut off all the wifi and landlines.”
“You do realize that’s basically kidnapping, right?” Sci-Twi said, rubbing the sides of her face. “Or maybe a hostage situation. I’d have to ask Shining.”
“We’re in a cellphone deadzone here,” Adagio said. “The landlord’s always been strict with her rules. You know, what times are inappropriate to go out, how loud is ‘loud’, that sort of thing. Still better than a school dorm, mind you, but strict. This is ridiculous.”
“Well, maybe we can help,” Sunset said. “Either talk to her, or get out to call someone who can. Like the cops. Where’s your landlord?”
“If you think it’ll help,” Aria said. “She’d probably be in her office on the first floor. It’s the one with her name on it, Starlight Glimmer.”
“Guess I was wrong about her not being important later!” Pinkie shrugged.
Princess Twilight, meanwhile, smacked a hand to her face and muttered a few very un-princess-like works under her breath.