//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: You Know My Name // by MistressMadness //------------------------------// A few days passed as Tirek quickly regained his power, his plan to rule Equestria nearly complete. His only fault was underestimating six little ponies, and this brought forth his downfall. Equestria rejoiced as the news of the defeat of Lord Tirek spread throughout the lands, but has evil truly been vanquished, or is there something far more sinister on its way? Twilight sat on the balcony of her new castle and watched as her friends returned to their own homes, each of them calling out a farewell. “Are we still on for racing tomorrow?!” Rainbow Dash called out.  “Wouldn’t miss it!” Twilight called back as she turned to walk back into her castle. It had been two weeks since the defeat of Tirek. Things had pretty much gone back to the way they were before. Equestria was peaceful again, though it would take awhile to repair the damage Tirek had done. Twilight hummed to herself quietly as she walked down the corridor leading toward her bedroom. The castle had grown dark as the day was reaching its end. Small crystals that lined the wall began to give off a faint glow, illuminating the dark corridor. Twilight stopped outside of a large door that lead to her bedroom. She yawned slightly as she opened the door with her magic and quickly walked in. As soon as she entered the room, candles that were placed around the room instantly lit themselves, giving off a warm light. Twilight had grown used to the self-lighting candles in the time she had spent here, but she admitted that they did startle her the first time she had walked in the room. She quietly walked across the room, trying not to disturb Spike who was currently sleeping on a large, overstuffed chair that sat in the corner. She quickly, but quietly, made her way to the door that lead to her own bathroom. She eased open the door and slipped into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her. More candles sprang to life, lighting up the large bathroom. Twilight walked over to the large bathtub and began to run a warm bath. She grabbed a bottle of bubble bath and poured it into the water and waited for the tub to fill before turning off the water and slipping into the warm bath. Twilight closed her eyes and continued to enjoy the relaxing bath. “Hello~” Twilight yelped and quickly sat up, her eyes scanning the room to see if anyone had entered the room. “Spike, is that you?” There was no reply, only silence.   Twilight remained still and continued to listen. She could hear the faint sound of Spike snoring in the next room. She shrugged and slowly sank back into her bath. “I was probably hearing things,” Twilight said, trying to reassure herself that nothing was there. Twilight finished her bath and drained the water out of the tub before drying off. She tossed her now damp towel into the hamper and started to leave the room but stopped in front of the large mirror that hung above the sink. She stood there, staring at her own reflection. A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t know why, but she had the strangest feeling that something was staring right back at her. She leaned closer to the mirror, her eyes scanning over its surface. For a split second, it seemed like something had moved behind her. Unsure of her eyesight, she turned around to look behind her, but she saw nothing. She let out a sigh as she turned to leave the bathroom. “Come on get a grip Twilight. You probably had too much cider at dinner.”  She shook her head slightly and walked out of the bathroom, the candles slowly going out as she left. Twilight calmly crossed the room and climbed onto her bed. The candles that hung on the walls slowly began to go out as Twilight slid under her covers. The room was left in darkness as the candles extinguished. The pale light of the moon shown through the window, illuminating a small portion of the room. Twilight felt her eyelids grow heavy as she slowly drifted off to sleep. “Twilight!” Twilight’s eyes shot open and she quickly sat up in her bed. “What the?” She looked around, confused. She was still in her room, but it looked different. It seemed much darker. The unicorn’s horn began to give off a warm glow as she climbed out of bed. She yelped when she felt cold water touch her hooves. She glanced down to find that the floor was covered in a thin layer of water. “What’s going on?!” “Twilight~” A faint whisper could be heard echoing through the room. “Hello, is someone there?”   “Twilight” This time the whisper was a bit louder and seemed to be coming from outside her bedroom. Twilight gulped and slowly began to walk toward her bedroom door, the sound of her hooves splashing in the water echoing off the smooth, stone walls. She stopped in front of the door. Water was seeping out from under it. “Twilight!” The voice was louder this time and seemed to be more demanding. “Who’s there!?” “Open the door….Twilight open the door….let me in” “I don’t think I should,” Twilight replied. She was frightened and knew deep down that opening the door would not lead to anything good. “Open the door!” “No!” Twilight yelped as something began to slam into the door. “Let me in!!” “NO!!”  Twilight backed away and quickly slid her desk in front of the door before sitting down in the flooded room. She didn’t know why, but she was absolutely terrified. A dark feeling of dread had taken over her, sending her to the point of tears. More voices began to echo around her, each one dark and distorted, demanding to be let in. “Go away and leave me alone!!” Tears began to stream down Twilight’s face as she held her head in her hooves “What’s happening?” she repeatedly thought, “This doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight looked back to the door which now had large crack forming. “WHO ARE YOU!!!” *Smack!!* Twilight winced in pain as she opened her eyes. The sound of birds chirping could be heard outside the window. Twilight looked around the room, confused. It was daytime and there was no water in the floor. “Are you okay?” A familiar voice called. “S-Spike?” Twilight looked up to see the purple dragon staring back at her. “Yes, it’s me.” Twilight rubbed her now aching cheek. “W-what happened?” “I was about to ask you the same question,” Spike replied. “I woke up and you were over here squirming around and crying,” Spike said with a worried look. “It was all a dream…… just a bad dream...” Twilight sighed. “What was the dream about?” Spike asked curiously. “It was nothing, just a nightmare,” Twilight replied as she climbed out of bed. “Why don’t you go get breakfast started?” Twilight said, her voice a tad bit shaky. “You sure you’re okay?” Spike asked, a worried look in his eyes. “I’m fine.” A sheepish smile spread across Twilight’s face “Now go get breakfast started,” she said as she nudged him across the room and out the door. Twilight sighed as she once again crossed the room and entered the bathroom. The candles sprung to life as she entered the room, giving off a warm glow. Twilight stood in front of the sink and began to fill it with cold water. She dipped her hooves into the cold liquid and closed her eyes as she splashed it on her face. She smiled as the cool water left her feeling a bit refreshed. Twilight opened her eyes only to freeze from shock as she looked into the mirror that hung above the sink. The light given off from the candles began to dim and the room grew darker. Twilight didn’t know why, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the reflective surface. Suddenly, her reflection closed its eyes and smiled. Twilight flinched away from the mirror as the reflection continued to smile. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she began to inspect the mirror. “How is this possible?” Twilight leaned closer. Her reflection opened its eyes and continued to smile warmly as it raised its hoof and placed it against the glass before its hoof moved out of the surface of the mirror. Twilight yelped and jumped back as the reflection continued to reach out of the mirror. “This isn’t possible… it shouldn’t be possible!” Twilight stuttered as her reflection began to climb out of the mirror and reach for her, the warm smile still spread across its face. “Come with me,” the reflection said as it held held its hoof out for Twilight to take. “W-what are you?” Twilight asked as she began to tremble, her heart rate growing rapidly. “How are you doing that?” The reflection kept smiling and holding out its hoof. “I’m you silly. There is no need to be afraid of yourself.” Twilight slowly stepped toward her clone, a curious look on her face. “Where did you even come from?” The clone laughed softly and waved its hoof slightly. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” Twilight remained still for a few seconds before slowly reaching for her reflection’s hoof. “That’s it, don’t be afraid.” Twilight was now only a few inches away from the reflection. Slowly, she raised her hoof and began to reach out to the reflection. “That’s it, take my hoof. I have so much to show you.” “Don’t do It!!” a loud voice suddenly shouted from nowhere. A gray hoof shot out of the mirror and wrapped around the clone’s neck. Twilight yelped and fell to the floor. “Nooo!!” The reflection cried out as the gray hoof dragged it back into the mirror. The candles in the room grew bright again, ridding the room of shadows. Twilight continued to lay on the floor as she stared at the mirror in confusion. “What the buck just happened?” Twilight slowly stood up and looked into the mirror. Her reflection had the same confused look on its face as she did. Twilight slowly moved her head to the left and her reflection mimicked the movement. She stuck out her tongue and the reflection followed suit. Twilight performed a few more test to make sure that the mirror didn’t have more surprises for her before walking out of the bathroom. She made it through her bedroom as well before quickly heading down towards the dining room. “Spike!!” Twilight called out as she continued to make her way toward the dining room. “Something weird is going on and I think I’m going crazy!!”