//------------------------------//
// Prompt #115: Inversion 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

"It's the Chamber of...Shadows?" said Twilight, her horn lighting up the runes over the archway, as she consulted a book, "or maybe demons. The runes are a little fuzzy. Actually, on fourth read, it might even be demonic shadows."

"Okay," said Rainbow, "But what does that even mean, Twilight?"

"I think," said Twilight, flapping back down to floor level, "that it's a self-reflection thing. You know, face your own demons. That would make the most sense in context. Most of the other challenges have been something similar."

"So we go in, beat up ourselves, and we move on and get this weird codex thing away from those cultists," said Rainbow Dash, "Easy as pie."

"If it's all the same, I'd rather not face myself," said Fluttershy, "I can be scary sometimes."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. From the looks of these runes, this is very much a 'only one pony enters' thing. Then, when whoever we send in defeats the shadow and/or demons, the rest of us can all move on."

"OK, I'll be right back!" said Rainbow Dash, darting towards the entrance, only to be caught at last minute by Twilight's magic.

"Aw, come on. I wanted to beat up an evil version of me!"

"We need to consider this carefully, Rainbow," said Twilight, "This kind of challenge isn't about brute force. It's about knowing and accepting your own faults."

"Pssh! What faults? I'm awesome," smirked Rainbow Dash.

"And that's why you're not going in there," said Twilight, "and since Fluttershy doesn't want to, I guess it's up to me. See you girls on the other side."

Twilight strode forward, entering into the passageway. The wall instantly closed behind her, and after a few twists and turns, she ended up in a wide chamber, with only a stone statue of a pony in the center. The minute her hoof touched the carved floor, the entire thing lit up, and the statue slowly shifted to match Twilight.

Statue-Twilight blinked a few times, before fixing her doppelganger with a smile that did not sit well with Twilight.

"Hello, me."

"So, let me guess," said Twilight, "You're what I would be if I went less friends, more magic?"

"In part," said the statue as it and Twilight began circling each other, "I'm you without your fear. I'm the version of you that you could have been if you weren't a wimp about your magic and a little more ambitious."

The statue launched a fireball from its horn that nearly filled the room, as Twilight encased herself in a shield.

"I'm the version of you that instead of hiding behind theory, took that magical power that we displayed when we got our cutie mark and mastered it to its fullest extent, not use it to make moustaches on baby dragons."

Twilight fired her own magic beam back at the statue, which casually deflected it.

"Because you are afraid, Twilight," hissed the statue, as dust exploded out from where Twilight's beam hit the wall, "You're afraid of your own power, you're afraid to push the limit on what you can do, but we both know that you've barely touched the depths of your magic since you got your cutie mark."

"Because," grunted Twilight, as she levitated a piece of rock to block the statue's next spell, "I turned my parents and half the examiners into plants! Celestia had to intervene to turn them back."

"And now look at you," said the statue, as it tossed another overwhelming blast of magic at Twilight, "You're terrified to use any spell of real power yourself. The closest you got was Tirek, and even then, you didn't go nearly as far as you could have."

"Any further, and I would have destroyed the entire countryside!" said Twilight, wracking her brain on how she could defeat a more magically competent version of herself. An idea formed in her mind, and she smiled.

"But at least," continued Twilight, "I'm happy with the decisions I've made. I bet that you can't say the same."

"Of course I can," said the statue "I'm still friends with the Elements of Harmony. I'm just better at magic than you."

"Of course," said Twilight, smashing the peice of rock that she'd been using as a shield against the floor, causing a cloud of dust to rise, "and I bet that your friends are totally not terrified of you at all. Because, you know, when you start slinging around the really big spells, nopony ever runs screaming from you."

"Shut up," grumbled statue-Twilight, firing another beam of magic out, while Twilight teleported away from her settling dust cloud.

"And I know that your family must be completely supportive of you and your ability, too," said Twilight, her grin getting wider.

"Shut up!" said statue-Twilight, as Twilight teleported away from another beam.

"And the Princessess must be completely on your side, too. I mean, how could they not be? They'd have something close to a real magical equal for the first time in-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut UP!" screamed statue-Twilight, firing off a multitude of spells, each one failing to connect with Twilight.

"I'll show you who's better," said the statue, once her magical storm had ceased, "I know what you're doing, me. Making me angry, disrupting my focus. Well, it won't work anymore."

*****Time*****

"That's fine, I don't need to do that anymore," said Twilight, from her position behind her doppelganger. The statue whirled around just as Twilight kicked a half-disintegrated column, which caused the whole thing to fall on the statue.

"First lesson of magical duelling," said Twilight, as the colour bled out of the statue, "Knowing when not to cast a spell is just as important as knowing when to cast. I didn't need to do anything, because you were destroying the chamber just fine by yourself. And that's why I don't use any of the really big spells, so I can have more control over what I'm doing."

The statue didn't reply as it fell apart into rubble, and the doors to the chamber slid open, and Twilight could see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash waiting for her.

"Come on, girls," said Twilight, "Not much further to the Codex now."