[Everfree Forest, 'Mirror Pool'. 12:00 AM. 2 BBY, Galactic Sector D-6.]
"I'm the real captain!"
"No you aren't, I'm the real captain!"
"Then who put you in charge?"
"Lieutenant Colonel TF-3749!"
"Wrong, because the Lieutenant Colonel was the one to put me in charge too, so you're lying!"
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Because- You know what, fair point."
The scene that was un-folding before the droid squad currently was like something out of a science fiction holo-film, as the two versions of OOM-9164 had begun arguing which was the real one. 393 was still trying to comprehend what was even happening in front of him currently, before 282 decided it was time to get to the bottoms of this, as he approached the two captains and divided them apart.
"Alright alright, break it up you two, we need to settle this the right way!"
"And how exactly do we do that?"
"We simply need to ask questions that only the real droid would know the answer to. So alright, first question. What is my designation number?"
"282." Both captains answered at the exact same time, confusing the droid but deciding to continue regardless.
"Alright, what is the name of the ship in orbit?"
"The Blade of Serenity." Once again, both answered at the same time.
"Name of our current general?"
"Kalani."
"Favorite vehicle?"
"Armored Assault Tank."
"Dang it, you both know everything! Maybe... Maybe this pool somehow created a perfect clone of you, Captain."
"Fascinating, then we need to test it. 282, jump in the pool."
"Why me!?!"
"It's your theory the pool created the clone, thus you need to test it."
"Roger, roger." Hesitantly, 282 slowly approached the pool, before stretching, and doing a swan dive into the water, as the droid squad all raised signs with the number ten on them. Soon, 282 emerged from the water, shaking loose moisture out of his circuits. And as 282 turned around, his own face greeted him, as they accidentally knocked heads.
"YOW!"
"Hey, watch it bolt-head!"
"Sorry... Wait, are you me?"
"That depends, you B1-282?"
"Yes..."
"Then yes, were the same."
"Wow, this pool can replicate droids! The Colonel is gonna love this!" Speaking of the Colonel, the two captains noticed their comms devices were being hailed, as they activated them and spoke at the same time.
"Yes?"
"Captain, where- Captain, why did it just sound like there were two of you?"
"Well... It's a long story, but essentially we found some sort of magic pool that can duplicate perfect copies of droids. Heck, it duplicated me!"
"Can confirm." The Colonel was hit with whiplash, hearing the Captain's voice two separate times, and confirming his suspicion that there were indeed two of them.
"Fascinating... Mark this 'Mirror Pool' for later investigation. If you are correct, this could be vital to establishing a large scale re-construction force on this planet without even needing to construct any industrial manufacturing. Now, return to base at once."
"Roger roger." As the Tactical droid terminated the link, the two Captain droids looked at each other.
"So who's the one in charge?"
"How about we play rock, paper, blaster?"
"Sounds good to me."
[Sweet Apple Acres, 1:30 PM.]
THUMP.
The sound of Applejack's leg bucking against the tree echoed through the air, followed by the sound of every apple in the tree neatly falling into the basket as always. OOM-5264 stared in awe at both Applejack's strength and her efficiency.
"And that is how ya buck apples, sugarcube."
"Wow, that's actually very effective. But doesn't it hurt your legs?"
"Eh, sometimes they get sore, but after years of doin it, I got used to it." Applejack said as she hoisted the basket onto her shoulder and walked to the next tree, while 5264 helped to carry a full basket in his arms, which was thankfully easy due to his mechanical limbs. 5264 looked to his right to see Big Macintosh and 7262 counting the apples they had so far gathered.
"Alright, so we have... Around fifty apples, and our goal is to get one hundred, right?"
"Eeyup."
"Alright, and seeing how every tree has approximately... Ten apples if we round it to the nearest tenth, so thus we need five more trees to meet our goal."
"Eeyup." 5264 chuckled at the calculative nature of 7262, a trait that he was typically mocked for, but considering how rare his level of intelligence was for a B1 droid, 5264 respected it. As Applejack reached the next tree and set down her basket, she looked over to 5264 and got an idea.
"Hey 5264, wanna try buckin this tree?" Taken aback by the question, 5264 accidentally dropped the basket he was holding to the ground as he contempled.
"Uh... Sure I guess?" 5264 then slowly walked over to the tree, looking up to the several apples hanging from it's branches, before looking back to Applejack as she gave a nod of approval. 5264 then turned, reared up his right leg, and kicked back against the tree with full force.
As you would expect, it hurt.
A lot.
As 5264 gripped his foot in pain, hopping on one leg, the apples began to fall out of the tree, several conveniently landing on his head, each one bouncing off of his metallic skull and the last one sending him to the ground, with one more falling on his head in case it wasn't enough.
"Ow." Applejack couldn't help but burst out laughing, as she went to help the droid back up on his feet and stabilize him.
"Ya good partner?"
"Yeah... Man, that hurt."
"Ah don't worry, it happens to the best of us, you'll toughen up soon enough."
"If you say so." As 5264 dusted himself off and helped pick up the apples off the ground and put them in the basket, before seeing 2197 and Twilight walk past, both carrying full baskets of apples, as 2197 lightly chuckled.
"Watch out captain, don't want you getting a matrix concussion!" Twilight slightly giggled while 5264 grumbled, as he and Applejack followed them back to the house.
"Ah reckon we got enough apples, so let's head on back and put em in the barn."
"Wait, what do you even do with these apples?"
"Well, we make apple cider, hard apple cider, apple pie, basically anything that involves apples, we make with them."
"Ah, you ponies really like your apples don't you?"
"They don't call us the apple family for nothin'!"
"Yeah, they definitely don't."
[Blade of Serenity, Bridge Section.]
Kalani, for the first time in his synthetic life, was bored.
Turns out staring out the large window into the void of space and the planet below was not a very exciting experience, as he found himself tapping his right foot against the metal floor, propping up his head with his left arm. He noticed that some of the pilot droids on the bridge did the same, lounging back in their seats, watching holo films on their screens, and chattering to each other. Wanting to get in on some idle banter himself, Kalani looked to his two Chief Bridge Officers, and decided to chat with them.
"Officers, tell me, what do you think of this planet." Surprised by the question, the pilot droid sitting on the left of Kalani, B1-902, answered first as he turned around in his seat.
"Well sir, to be honest, I kinda like it. From what the probes and scanners show, it's got nice beaches, serene forests, beautiful mountains, I'd say this would make a great vacation destination." Kalani had to agree, this planet was rather beautiful, especially when compared to places like Agamar or Onderon. It even rivalled Naboo or Kashyyyk in their beauty.
"Agreed, this planet is a highly suitable location for us, especially when you take into account the abundance of resources and relatively controlled climate." It was then that the other pilot droid officer, B1-202, spoke up.
"In my opinion sir, I kinda preferred Agamar, because at least that planet was lifeless, but here there's a lot more weird creatures and beasts down there, who knows what we may find! That giant bear thing that Probe-Beta found was terrifying, it barely got out of there functional!"
"Your fear of this planet's indigenous life is understandable, 202. However, I am certain that we will be able to overcome any potential hazards utilizing our superior technology." As Kalani finished speaking, a holo screen appeared in front of him, displaying the notification of an incoming call, as he pressed the Answer button on his seat and TF-3749 appeared on screen. "Greetings Lieutenant-Colonel, I assume all is well?"
"Affirmative General, repairs and improvements to the castle's structure are well under way, with new lighting, automatic doors, and structural reinforcements being added, to ensure full operational integrity. However, we have recently discovered something... Strange."
"And what is this strange occurrence, Lieutenant?"
"OOM-9164 was dispatched into the forest with a small scout team to map out the area and locate any potential points of interest, before stumbling upon a small pool. 9164 proceeded to fall in, and as he emerged, an exact copy of him emerged with him." Now that, was something that Interested Kalani, as he visibly sat up in his seat.
"Tell me more..."
"To ensure it was not a fluke, B1-282 then entered the water, and the same occurrence repeated, with 282 being completely cloned. Both copies are currently undergoing diagnostics and inspections for safety reasons. We have dubbed this unknown pool, the 'Mirror Pool'. We have yet to fully understand it's properties, and will continue to test it's effects and attempt to utilize it for the re-construction of our army."
"Excellent work, Lieutenant. Continue with your work." The Tactical Droid saluted before the call terminated.
This planet just kept getting weirder and weirder...