Cadance looked out her window with a sigh. Other foals had siblings. She did not. She ruffled her wings and lit her horn. She was a princess. She's earned that right, but it had brought her not a brother nor a sister.
"Hm." But which would be better, if she had a choice?
A brother would be loud and do boy things. Colts were a lot of trouble... No, a sister, for sure. Someone to share things she liked with. Cadance giggled at the thought. A little sister she could be the bigger sister of. That'd be nice!
A knock stirred her from her fanciful dreams. "Yes?" She hopped to the ground and scampered to the door with a clip-clop of her small hooves. "Is that a maid?" She grabbed the door's handle in her magic and got it open, on her second try.
Unicorn horns took practice, and she was still new at it.
What she didn't expect was a cowled pony dressed in dark tones. "Who are--" Cadance didn't get to finish the question, being grabbed and shoved somewhere cramped, where she could only smell her own fear and the fabric of the sack she'd been thrown into.
She could feel the bag bouncing around her as her assailant fled the scene, with her!
Cadance's heart pounded as she was jostled roughly inside the coarse sack. Fear and confusion overwhelmed the young filly. Where was this villain taking her? And why?
She struggled against the binds, horn glowing as she desperately tried every unlocking spell she knew, which wasn't many. But the magic suppressing rope only seemed to tighten more with each attempt.
Cadance blinked back tears, memories of her cozy castle bedroom already feeling distant. She thought of Celestia, of the guards and nobles that were surely searching for her by now. But even they couldn't track what magic couldn't touch.
The bouncing slowed to a stop. Cadance held her breath, listening intently as her captor's steps moved away. Were they finally letting her go? A tiny spark of hope flickered - then was snatched away as an ominous incantation echoed through the room. The blood drained from her face. That spell sounded dark and terrible, no joyful chorus of happy ponies.
"Please!" Cadance cried out. "Why are you doing this? I'll give you anything!" But her only answer was a bone-chilling laugh.
Strange magic soaked into her from every angle, peering, staring even. It felt like something was grossly violating her privacy in ways she didn't even understand. It was... like something was looking at her from every angle, even the inside. She was being examined in ways no pony even had words for.
With that information, a new body was forged, one for one, every little bit was copied over to this simulacrum, staring blankly out in the darkened place.
When the spell was complete, magic glowed on the sack around Cadance and ripped it free, allowing her to see the result.
Another Cadance was staring back at her, through her... No, they weren't looking at anything. They were just looking, straight ahead. There was no life there.
Around her stood six ponies with sneers. one clopped their hooves. "Stand." The copy of Cadance stood without noise. "Left." They turned left. "Right." They turned right.
The pony laughed darkly. "It worked... A perfect copy." They circled around the copy of Cadance, inspecting them. "Every last detail, perfect... Celestia will have no idea..."
Cadance shuddered, gaze locked on her lifeless twin. It was like staring into a twisted mirror - those blank eyes reflected nothing within. Just an empty vessel for this villain's schemes.
"You can't!" Cadance cried, struggling against her bonds once more. "I won't let you use her to get to Princess Celestia!"
The lead villain turned, a cruel glint in their eyes. "And who's going to stop us, little one?" They strode over to Cadance, tilting her chin up with a hoof. "You were merely the template. Now that your duplicate is complete, you have outlived your purpose."
They turned back to the hollow Cadance copy. "Dispose of her," they ordered casually.
The clone stepped forward, horn igniting. Cadance trembled, looking desperately into those cold eyes. Was there any trace of life to appeal to? Or was this shadow without a soul truly lost?
As the cursed magic built to a crescendo around her, Cadance squeezed her eyes shut, wishing with all her heart she didn't have to face this fate alone.
Elsewhere, in the vast nothing, nature abhorred a void. That other-Cadance was just that, an empty space. And into empty spaces, nature put things. It was just the natural order of things. Few could deny it for long.
There were infinite souls and minds flowing, each rushing to where they had to be. The suction of that void drew on the stream, yanking one free to hurtle through the void to a new destination.
Nothing planned it, and yet it had to happen. Was it fate?
The new Cadance blinked closed their eyes. On opening them, intelligence glowed behind them, a mind within. "What?" She spread her new wings. "Seriously, what?"
The ritual master scowled at the copy of Cadance. "You were destroying her. We have no use for her." He pointed at the original Cadance. "Go on. Show your loyalty, and your use."
The new Cadance blinked, gazing between her trembling original self and the sinister ponies surrounding them. Everything felt fuzzy, half-formed. But one thing was clear - she couldn't let them extinguish this scared filly's light.
"No," she stated firmly, much to the villains' surprise. She stepped in front of Cadance protectively. "I won't hurt her, or help you infiltrate Canterlot. Find someone else to do your dirty work."
The ritual master glowered. "You dare defy your maker?" He lit his horn menacingly. "I gave you form and function. You belong to me!"
New Cadance met his glare unflinchingly, even as shadows gathered around them. She had awoken disoriented, with no past or purpose. And yet now, she felt the first fledgling sense of self blooming within.
"I belong to no one," she retorted. "Now let us go, before I stop asking nicely..." She ignited her own horn, surprising herself with a protective fury that seemed to radiate from her very soul.
Whatever spell brought her here, she now had a say over her fate. And come what may, she would shield this innocent filly with her newfound life. "Back off." At the same instant as that second word, magic pulsed from her powerfully, knocking away the cultists nearest to her. "Not a request."
The original Cadance smiled with building hope. Her alter-self was a good pony! She was... maybe even better at magic than Cadance was? Not fair... But also it felt like a bad time to complain about that. "Untie me, please!" She wriggled in her bonds. "I'll help."
The new Cadance flared out her wings, taking flight above the unicorns in the cramped room. There was just enough space for her to soar over their heads. "We're leaving!" She grabbed the original in her magic, yanking them up to float with her. "Which way is out?!"
"I don't know!" Cadance wiggled her still bound hooves. "Anywhere is better than here."
"Anywhere it is." They vanished.
Cadance landed roughly in grass, rolling with the momentum with oofs and grunts. "Ow... Um... You still there?"
"Here," groaned out the new Cadance. "No creeps." The new Cadance rose to her hooves. "Now... Where am I? What am I? Who am I?" She walked over to the original Cadance and began untying them with a glowing horn. "While we're on it, what did I just do, and how did I just do it?"
Cadance shook her head, freed. "I don't know. I don't even know that spell. You can teleport?!"
Without panic, the new Cadance tried to do the spell again, but she had no idea how she did it the first time. "Um... not... working?"
Cadance hugged her copy. "Doesn't matter! Thank you. Thank you so much!"
The new Cadance frowned at first, but relief washed over her as a hesitant smile spread onto her face. Whatever mysterious power woke her into being seemed intent on protecting this innocent filly that was her source.
She rested her chin on young Cadance's head as they hugged. "Of course... I couldn't let anything happen to you." A warm, protective affection welled up inside. Was this what having a sister felt like?
Cadance eventually pulled back, looking up at her with watery eyes. "We have to get back to the castle! Princess Celestia has to know there are bad guys trying to copy ponies with evil magic!"
New Cadance nodded firmly. "Right!" She glanced around the misty forest surrounding them uncertainly. "...Which way is the castle?"
Cadance giggled in spite of everything. "This way, silly!" She grabbed New Cadance's hoof, leading the way down a worn path. "We're not far..."
New Cadance smiled affectionately as she followed her counterpart. She had many unanswered questions - chief among them, just who she was and why she'd been created. But for now, helping this spunky filly was purpose enough.
They came across Canterlot, both trotting up to the gatehouse.
The pony that worked there looked quite confused. "Um... Princess Cadance. Princess Cadance is standing next to you." He wasn't even sure which of the two he should be directing that at.
"I'm new." The new Cadance pointed at herself. "And a little lost, but we're together."
"And we have to get to the castle." They sounded exactly the same. This was natural, both having the same throats and everything else. "This is very important."
Cadance led the way inside, both winding through the streets, racing for the castle as one determined unit.
New Cadance slid in closer. "Ponies are pretty good at running fast..."
Cadance perked an ear at her new sister. "Yes they are. That's a funny question... What are you comparing them to?"
New Cadance frowned, just the clops of their hooves on cobblestones to keep them company for a time. "I had two legs and two feet, not hooves. I wasn't this fast. It's neat."
But there was a downside. A human could walk with purpose all day long. As a pony, Both Cadances were starting to pant for breath as they rushed up to the gate of the castle.
There were two guards there, equally amazed at there being two Cadances.
The guards glanced between each other in shock before one finally stepped forward. "Princess Cadance? Is that...also you?" He peered closer at New Cadance.
The original Cadance shuffled a hoof self-consciously. "It's complicated. But we need to speak to Princess Celestia right away!"
New Cadance nodded eagerly beside her. "There are evil ponies doing forbidden magic in the Everfree Forest!"
Original Cadance nudged her sister. "That wasn't there, I don't think. We were in the castle."
The guards shared an uneasy look. "Dark magic, you say?" One guard turned, signaling to the others. "Escort the princesses to the throne room at once!"
As they were swiftly led inside, New Cadance leaned in to whisper to Cadance. "Should we tell them I'm...not really the princess?" She still wasn't sure of her origins herself. Calling herself royalty felt strangely ill-fitting.
Cadance glanced back in surprise. "Of course you're a princess! You're me, silly!" She gave her a playful nudge. "And once Princess Celestia hears what happened, I just know she'll figure out how to help you..."
New Cadance smiled softly back. Cadance's innocent faith that things would work out was catching.
But there was Celestia, looming large over the entire throne room despite only occupying her throne in the middle of it. Her penetrating gaze upon both Cadance's. Her horn glowed softly as they approached, washing over them. Unlike the cultists, it was like the softest of feathers were brushing over them. Her magic was a kind magic.
"My little ponies." She leaned forward, somehow becoming even larger. "I can feel there is a... considerable story before us. Guards, bring drinks for these fillies. Then, please, tell me what happened."