Twilight found spells for illusions, but despite her efforts, she was unable to pinpoint a specific one that might have been the one used for the clone Rarity had seen. Illusions usually were visible to everypony within visual distance, and this one had only been seen by Rarity herself. It was a puzzle, and Twilight could find nothing on it. They both stopped worrying about it eventually, only talking about it as a strange and unusual occurrence, and moved on with their lives. Things were normal for another month, until Rarity was awakened one night by a sound.
*CRASH!*
Rarity bolted awake. The sound of glass shattering somewhere downstairs jolted her upright. She hastily swept her night mask off and clambered to her hooves. “Opalescence? Sweetie Belle? Is that you?”
A chill went through her as she opened her door to the hall and heard another crash. “Sweetie Belle?”
There was suddenly the sound of hoofsteps pounding up the stairs, and in the light of Rarity’s horn, she saw… herself.
She was looking at a wide-eyed and excited version of herself at the far end of the hall. Her horn light cast ghastly shadows across the other her’s face, but there was no denying it. That was Rarity. The other her was grinning wide, and she was staring at Rarity, looking pleased as could be. She stood there, looking Rarity up and down, then spoke.
“.era uoy ereht ,hA .uoy dnif ot gnol oot raf nekat sah tI ?uoy nac em dnatsrednu t’nac uoy tub ,hO” Her voice was a mumbled blur, but was unmistakably her own, if warped. The other Rarity stared at her, blinking, then shook her head. “.rettam oN .klat ot ereh emoc t’ndid I” She lifted a hoof and took a step closer to Rarity, then tried to lift her other hoof. She looked to be struggling, and her hoof wouldn’t come off the ground.
Rarity stepped backward, and then the other Rarity took a second step forward. She smiled, but frowned again when she tried to take another step and couldn’t. The other Rarity looked at Rarity and scowled.
“.hguone ton s’ti ees nac I .siht dnatsrednu I nehw ,emit rehtona siht od ot evah ll’eW” She stopped trying to move closer, and just stared, as if waiting for something.
Rarity wanted to shut the door, but was worried about losing sight of her doppelganger. If she lost sight of her, where would she go? She had actually spoken this time, when the last time she had seen her, in Twilight’s castle, her doppelganger had been silent, and just followed her.
Rarity kept a hoof on the door, but didn’t shut it. She stayed inside her room and waited, watching. It was frightening, staring at herself, but losing sight of it would have been more terrifying.
Despite her fear, Rarity took stock of her clone. She had hoped the strange occurrences were over, but now that she knew it wasn’t, she wanted to be able to tell Twilight as much as possible about her when she had the opportunity again.
She was her. It was clearly another Rarity. Her perfect eyelashes and beautiful white coat matched exactly the image Rarity saw in the mirror every morning. Her mane was smooth and curled beautifully, and her eyes were the gorgeous blue Rarity knew oh, so well.
But the longer Rarity looked, the more out of place some of it seemed. The other Rarity was back to being excited, the secrets behind her existence keeping her just below the level of a delighted laugh. She flipped her mane at the same time Rarity did out of nervous habit, and that’s when Rarity saw it; She was backward.
Her mane parted the wrong direction, her tail curled the same incorrect way, and she favored the wrong hoof. She was literally a mirror-image of Rarity herself! Was that why she couldn’t come closer?
Rarity stepped forward, and the other Rarity took a step back. Rarity took a step backward and the other Rarity stepped forward. She turned and the other Rarity turned as well, mirroring her every move.
The other Rarity’s excited smile was gone now. She was scowling.
“.tuo ti derugif uoy ees I” said the copy of Rarity.
“I don’t know what you want, but I don’t appreciate your presence here.” Rarity responded. “Who sent you? Why have they sent you?” Rarity rubbed her eyes with a hoof, trying to clear the sleep and confusion, but then heard the clopping of hooves.
She looked quickly back up to see the other Rarity much closer to her, the excited grin and bright blue eyes of her own face now halfway down the hall!
As soon as she looked at her, the other Rarity stopped. Her grin faltered, but she was still staring wide-eyed at Rarity like a cat looks at a bird. Her pupils were dilated and her teeth were shining in the light cast from Rarity’s horn. She looked pleased with herself.
“Rarity? What’s going on?” Sweetie Belle’s voice broke the tense silence, and her bedroom door opened. The other Rarity hissed, and her smile faded, then she turned away from Rarity, jumped sideways, and shattered into shards which quickly faded like a cold breath.
Sweetie Belle stepped out of her room to see Rarity staring down the long and empty hallway. Rarity dared not look away from the hall for a moment, until Sweetie Belle waved a hooved in front of her eyes. “Equestria to Rarity! Are you okay? What were you doing stomping about upstairs, it’s the middle of the night. Are you okay?”
Rarity shook her head and looked down at her little sister. The white of her fur set Rarity on edge, but the soft violet of her mane was enough of a difference to cement that it was not a smaller version of herself she was looking at. She took a deep breath, let it out, then fell gracefully to the floor.
A few minutes later, Rarity felt something cold and wet slap her in the face. She reached up and felt a damp cloth, still dripping with water, covering her eyes.
Sweetie Belle’s voice floated to her from somewhere in the room. “I cleaned up the broken glasses in the kitchen. I don’t know what you were trying to do down there. If it was a midnight snack, you didn’t touch any of the food. Do you remember anything? Do you need me to call the doctor?”
Rarity pressed the cold cloth to her forehead and waved a hoof in Sweetie Belle’s direction. “I’m quite alright, but I don’t know if you would believe what happened. I’m not sure I quite believe it myself.”
“So, you’re not sick?”
“No, I’m fine. Whatever that thing was didn’t touch me or cast any spells at me.”
“Something was in the boutique?”
“Somepony. It looked just like me.”
“A changeling got in?!” Sweetie Belle suddenly looked much more concerned.
“No, it wasn’t a changeling. A changeling would have been much more subtle. This was something else entirely, but I don’t know what.” Rarity pulled the cloth off her forehead and quickly stood up. “I need to go see Twilight immediately!”
“Twilight? Why?”
“Some wicked magic is happening here.”
Rarity tried to follow her morning routine to prepare herself to go out, but when she went to her bedroom vanity and saw herself in the mirror, she flinched and pulled away. The Rarity she saw in the mirror wasn’t grinning at her, or staring at her with wide eyes, but the experience was too fresh to clear from her mind. Despite herself, she just gave her mane a once-over with the brush, and dashed out the door. She raced through Ponyville toward the castle and pounded on the castle door until Twilight opened them, her eyes just as tired as Rarity’s own.
“Rarity? It’s four in the morning. What’s going on?”
“I saw it again!”
“Saw wha—oh!” Twilight immediately perked up. “The other you?”
“Yes! This was much different than your castle.”
“Let me get some parchment, then you can explain!”
Rarity entered the castle and Twilight made some tea while she explained what happened. She included all the details she could remember, including the end of her encounter where she noticed it was a mirror-image of herself, and it shattered before Sweetie Belle could see.
“It’s frightening, Twilight. I don’t know what it wants. It’s speaking some language I don’t know and couldn’t even begin to describe. It wants something from me, but I can’t imagine what. I only know it’s definitely bad!”
“No, it seems to want you specifically. But why not appear in your room? Why go to the kitchen and wake you up? It could have just done whatever it wanted while you were sleeping.”
“Twilight, really?”
Twilight held her hooves up in defense. “To understand your enemy, you must think like your enemy. I’m just trying to understand why it did what it did instead of attacking you directly. Its motives are a mystery at present.”
“Do you know what it is?”
Twilight shook her head. “It’s not a changeling. Changelings don’t behave like that, and they wouldn’t have stopped when they got close. I’m sorry, Rarity. I still don’t know what this is. It’s sounding more and more like somepony is attacking you magically.”
Rarity sighed and lowered her head to the table, resting her chin on the cool crystal. “Why me, of all ponies?”
“That’s another question we don’t have the answer to. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more I can do or answer for you. It disappeared when Sweetie Belle was coming, so all I can say is that you should try not to be alone until I get more answers. I’ll send a letter to Celestia and we’ll see what she says.”
“Thank you, Twilight.”
“Would you care to stay here tonight?”
Rarity shook her head. “Mirrors put me on edge at the moment and your castle is one giant mirror. No offense, Twilight.”
“No, I understand. I’ll walk you home, though.”
“Thank you again.”
Twilight walked with Rarity back to the boutique. The morning was just beginning, and the early-risers were out and about, running errands and opening up shop to prepare for the rush. Sugar Cube Corner wafted out sweet smells of morning muffins and hot coffee. It smelled delightful, but all Rarity could focus on was the sleep she had missed.
When they arrived, Twilight followed her inside and up the stairs until they found Sweetie Belle lying in bed reading a book. The smaller unicorn looked up in surprise at the two ponies standing in her door. “Oh, good morning, Twilight. Rarity said she needed to see you urgently, but I didn’t think you’d both come back. What’s going on?”
“Sweetie Belle, I need you to do something for me. It’s very important that you understand and listen, okay?” said Twilight.
Sweetie Belle shut her book and sat up, nodding vigorously. “Mm-hmm! I can do it!” Any request from the princess was important, and she didn’t want to fail.
“Good. So, your sister Rarity has been—”
“I’ve been seeing things recently, Sweetie Darling. Another one of myself, to be precise,” Rarity interrupted with a sigh.
“She needs you to watch her. She can’t be alone, because we don’t yet know what damage these visions may cause, or if they’re even capable of causing harm to her. But we can’t take that chance with something we don’t fully understand.”
Sweetie Belle looked confused. “Another one of yourself? Is that the one who broke the dishes?”
Rarity nodded. “It was just following me at first, but now that it’s actually started interacting with objects and talking to me, things have become more dire.”
Twilight pulls out a scroll and floats it over to Sweetie Belle. “The last one she saw this morning disappeared when you arrived, so I need you to stay close to her. Now, it’s not that I don’t trust Rarity, but here is a set of instructions for you in case Rarity can’t communicate with you because of the ‘other’. Stay within viewing distance of your sister at all times, and don’t hesitate to call for help, okay?”
“Okay! You can count on me!” Sweetie Belle grabbed the list out of the air with her magic and began reading it over, furrowing her brow in concentration.
“Alright. I’ll leave you two alone, but I’ll repeat the important thing one last time: Don’t let Rarity be alone in a room. You two must stay in sight of each other at all times. Rarity, that means you have to be able to see your sister and she has to see you.”
“I understand, Twilight. Thank you for your help, and your concern,” Rarity said.
Twilight nodded and slowly walked away down the hall. She disappeared down the stairs and there was the sound of a door shutting, then Rarity and Sweetie Belle were alone.
Sweetie Belle bounded out of bed, holding the scroll Twilight had given her. She pressed herself to Rarity’s side and smiled up at her sister. “Now we have to spend the day together! Princess’s orders!”
Rarity nodded, exhaustion plain on her face. “I will eventually need to catch up on the rest I missed, which I fear will be terribly dull, but let us have breakfast first.” Sweetie Belle bounced happily, and the two wandered down to the kitchen.
The day passed normally for the most part. Rarity worked while Sweetie Belle read up on things the crusaders needed done. Ponies they needed to visit and questions they were trying to get answered about cutie marks. Rarity eventually took a nap while Sweetie Belle read nearby, but all throughout the day nothing untoward seemed to happen. Rarity didn’t see the other version of herself at all, and spending the day with Sweetie Belle wasn’t as bad as she had thought it might be. The trouble came when night fell, and Twilight dropped by to deliver the news she had received from the other princesses.
“Celestia and Luna don’t know what it might be, either. They’re conducting their own research, but there’s no concrete answers yet. We’ll just have to play this by ear and take as many precautions as we can.”
“So, I have a question,” Sweetie Belle asked. “What happens when I fall asleep? If I’m in the same room as Rarity, does that still count as ‘watching’ her?”
Twilight and Rarity looked at each other.
“That is an excellent thought, Sweetie Belle. I hadn’t considered it,” Twilight said.
“Either had I. I don’t relish the thought of that thing catching me while I sleep. I napped earlier, but Sweetie Belle was awake the entire time. If she goes to bed, then I’m not technically alone, but she’s no longer watching me. What do we do, Twilight?”
Twilight thought carefully, staring around the room idly while she pondered. “I can cast a spell of protection against magic, but that’s all I can do. I still don’t know what we’re dealing with, and until I do I can’t protect against it properly. A general spell will have to do.”
“Alright. We will have to trust that. Nopony can stay awake forever,” Rarity said.
“Will you be alright, Rarity?” Twilight asked.
“As alright as I can be, Twilight. Thank you for your help.”
Twilight’s horn lit up and she cast a spell on Rarity, then turned to Sweetie Belle and cast it on her as well. “Just in case. If something happens, come straight to me when you can, okay?”
“Okay, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle nodded.
“Goodnight, you two!”
They shut the door, and as the sky darkened, they prepared their supper and ate quietly. Rarity worked on some of her designs while Sweetie Belle read some more of the books on cutie marks she had borrowed from Twilight. When it came time for bed, they both retired to Rarity’s room and crawled under the covers.
“I’ll stay awake as long as I can, okay, Rarity?”
“Thank you, Sweetie, but there’s really no need. You’ll fall asleep eventually, so we will have to trust Twilight’s spell.”
“Okay… Sleep well, sis.”
“You too, Sweetie.”
The sisters slept.
As they slept the night deepened, and the darkness became thick and oppressive. The moon’s light was weak and was not enough to penetrate the curtains against the window. There was just a square of weak illumination on one side of the room, which only served to increase the darkness of the shadows around the bed.
Through these shadows, something moved.
Starting from Rarity’s vanity, the thing in the room padded around the room, seemingly unaffected by the darkness. It picked something up off the vanity with a hoof and skirted around the edges of the room in bursts of activity. The quick tapping of its hooves against the floor a staccato rhythm accompanying the slow tempo of the sister’s breathing.
When it reached the far side of the room, it dropped whatever it had picked up from the vanity, then breached the closet and began flipping through the clothes inside. It pushed them left, then right, then left again, then right. It swung them back and forth almost joyfully, but stopped when it heard Sweetie Belle snort.
It waited a moment for Sweetie Belle’s breathing to even out, then continued on its way after pulling something out of the closet. It dragged the article of clothing some distance around the room, then dropped it arbitrarily before picking up something off the dresser. It carried that item with it to Rarity’s bedside table, then placed it carefully on top. It shuffled it around, trying to find some equilibrium only it was aware it needed, then stopped.
The shadowy figure stared down at Rarity. It looked at her and tilted its head back and forth. Rarity’s night mask was over her eyes, and her breathing whistled quietly out of her cute white nose. The figure looked at the object it had carried over to the table. It tapped it one more time, setting it to rocking, then reached out and placed a hoof on Rarity’s forehead.