//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Seeing Double 
// by flawlessvictory20 
//------------------------------//

It was early morning in Ponyville, and the princess of friendship awoke to the smell of her number assistant’s legendary pancakes and hash browns. As the aroma filled her nostrils, she quickly rose to greet the day.

‘Breakfast smells wonderful,’ thought Twilight as she hopped out of bed. 

After she took her shower, she then got dressed for the day (which was a light blue collared short-sleeved shirt, light blue panties, and a violet skirt). Once done, she headed to the dining hall. Along the way, she ran into a familiar pink unicorn mare. The mare wore a mauve short sleeve shirt with dark mauve long-sleeved undershirt and dark violet pants. She quickly ran up to her.

“Oh, Starlight, good morning,” Twilight called out. 
Starlight Glimmer turned to her teacher and gave a warm smile. 
“Good morning to you as well, Twilight. Heading to the dining hall too?” she replied. 
“Eeyup. It smells like Spike cooked us up a delicious breakfast,” beamed Twilight.
“I hope so because I’m starving,” she chuckled.
The two mares made their way into the dining hall. There they found their plates set and filled with blueberry pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and three apple slices. The glasses next to them had both milk and orange juice. The two mares looked at their plates in amazement.
“This looks great!” exclaimed Starlight. 
“Glad you like it, because there’s plenty to eat!” Spike said as he entered the room.
He wore an orange V-neck shirt with a black long-sleeved undershirt, a black belt, dark gray pants, and white sneakers with black accents. 
“Looks like you outdid yourself this time Spike,” complimented Twilight.
“Eh, what can I say? I’m just awesome,” he grinned.
The three sat down at the table and proceeded to eat their meal. While eating, Twilight thought it would be best to discuss their plans for the day. 
“So Starlight, after breakfast we’ll be heading to the Cutie Map room to practice the spell you believe will help in the pursuit of friendship. Did you research one as I asked?”
“Yes, I did,” Starlight replied. “It’s a way to help one be able to make friends with any pony.”
“Is that so?” Twilight inquired.
“Yeah, while I was researching, I found out a local sage tested this one spell on a body of water. They called it the ‘Mirror Pool’,” she continued.
Twilight and Spike both spat out their pancakes.
“The Mirror Pool!?” choked Spike.
“Yes…is something wrong?” Starlight asked innocently. 
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that we’ve had…dealings with it,” spoke Twilight. 
“Oh…well it turns out the spell wasn’t fully completed. By my calculations, I should be able to make a magical double with any personality. By doing this, you can figure out which pony can be best friends with,” Starlight theorized.
“Hmm…that sounds good in theory. All right, let’s try it out,” smiled Twilight.
“Excellent!” she cheered.
Spike mumbled under his breath.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”



Later that day, the three gathered into the Cutie Map room to begin the magic lesson. Starlight focused her magic into her horn.
“You’re doing good Starlight! Now, cast the spell,” instructed Twilight.

Hearing her mentor’s words, Starlight began her spell. Her body glowed brightly as her aura began to fluctuate rapidly. The room soon filled with an intense glow, as she felt the spell near its completion. While this was going on, Twilight noticed that Starlight’s horn began to fluctuate out of control. As a precaution, Twilight quickly cast a barrier around her and Spike. In a bright explosion of light, the spell had completed, and Starlight fell to the ground exhausted. When the light faded, the three looked to see a group of stallions and a dragoness were in a pile on top of the cutie map. 

“What? Why are they stallions?” queried Starlight.
“That’s... a good question,” chimed in Twilight.
The three moved closer to the unconscious group. As she looked at them, Twilight tilted her head in confusion.
“Um…is it just me or do these guys look familiar?” she questioned.
As they looked at them, each stallion looked like one of the Elements of Harmony. 
“Whoa, they look like our friends…y’know, if they were guys,” noted Spike. 

The stallions began to stir. The first to rise was a tall, purple male alicorn. He wore a white crew-neck shirt with dark blue collar and sleeves, a black belt and blue pants. He looked around the room in a daze.
“Ugh…Barb…where are we?” he asked.
The slender purple dragoness looked around as well.  She wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a black jacket, a white belt, a short black skirt, white stockings, and black flats.
“It looks like we’re still in the palace, but–” she spoke before she saw Twilight and the others. “Uh, Dusk…I don’t think we’re in the same castle anymore.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. 
She pointed to Twilight and the others.
“Oh…hello there…” Twilight sheepishly grinned.
“GAH! Who are you?! Moreover, how did you get in my castle?!” shouted Dusk, with his horn lit.
“Your castle?! This is my castle!” bellowed Twilight as she mimicked his actions, prepared to defend her friends. 
“Whoa…Dusky calm down! It’s not that serious,” spoke a pink curly-maned stallion. 
“Berry, not now!” he groaned.
At the moment, the pink earth pony stallion moved in front of him and looked at him with a frown. The stallion was about average height and wore a maroon long sleeved lined sweater and black pants.
“That’s not a way for somepony like you to behave! Besides…” he said, as he looked to Twilight with a tilt of his head and an inquisitive eyebrow, “She doesn’t look like a mean mare to me.”
“Berry, you’re too trusting. What if she is a changeling in disguise?” countered Dusk.
“She might be…but my gut’s telling me she’s not,” explained Berry.
“Yer gut huh?” asked a stocky orange earth stallion, as he walked up toward the group. “Ah’ll reckon yer gut approves of everypony?”
The mountain of a stallion stood at least two heads above the male alicorn. He wore a white crew neck shirt with a brown horse collar, dark brown belt, and blue jeans.
“Not everypony! But I feel safe around her. It's the same way I feel when I’m around you, Dusk,” Berry answered.
“Dusk?” spoke Twilight.
“Yes, I’m Dusk Shine. The official prince of Friendship, decreed by his majesty, Prince Solaris, ruler of Equestria,” he proclaimed.
“What? What are you talking about?! Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria!” Twilight spat back.
“Who in the hoof is that?” he questioned.
As the two went back and forth in a heated argument, Spike whispered to Starlight.
“These clones you made are completely delusional,” he spoke.
“Um…I don’t think they’re clones,” she whispered back.
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Well for one, the spell was designed to create mare clones, not stallions. Second, there’s the fact that the clone is supposed to be a blank slate and the caster creates the personality. Lastly, they aren’t supposed to have their own memories. I think something went wrong with the spell,” Starlight rationalized.
“What are you two muttering about over there?” barked Dusk. 
“Hey, don’t talk to my friends like that!” glared Twilight. 
As their tempers flared, the pink stallion intervened once again by standing in between them. 
“Okay, you two grumpy pants. Let’s calm down and try to figure out what’s going on,” he smiled. 
She didn’t know why, but just seeing his carefree grin caused Twilight to smile as well. With a calming sigh, the two alicorns turned to each with a bemused gaze.
“Hmm…you’re right. I apologize for my less than cordial attitude,” said Twilight.
“And I as well for my hostile tone,” replied Dusk.
They both gave a respectful bow.
“Oh good, now that we’re all nice with each other maybe you can explain how we got here?!” spoke a blue pegasus stallion.
The lean prismatic maned pegasus hovered over them wearing a sleeveless blue and white sports vest and dark blue shorts.
“I’m not quite sure,” admitted Twilight. “My student here was trying to perform a spell that would produce a magical clone to help with friendship. However, for whatever reason, you all appeared.”
Dusk then tapped his chin as he recalled the events that lead him and his friends to this strange new world.



The day started like any other. He was asleep in his bed after he had been up the previous night entertaining foreign dignitaries. His sleep was disrupted when he heard the frantic knock of his number one assistant, Barb.
“Dusk! Dusk! Open up! We got a problem!” she cried out.
He’d typically ignore her and go back to the bed, but from the sound of her voice, he could tell that it must’ve been serious. Dusk quickly got out of bed and headed to the door (dressed in a white crewneck shirt and dark blue pajama pants). As he opened the door, he saw her concerned look.
“What is it, Barb? What’s wrong?” he yawned. 
“Something weird is going on with the Cutie Map,” she explained.
“The Cutie Map? What do you mean?”
“Just come on!”
She grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the Cutie Map room. Along the way Dusk found himself hitting his knee against one of the columns in the hall.
“Ow! Barb...slow down!” groaned Dusk. “I just woke up y’know!”
When they arrived, Barb pointed to the Cutie Map which had a weird light turquoise glow. Barb stood at the door, while Dusk headed inside.
‘What in Equestria?’ thought Dusk.
“It was like that when I came in here to do my daily cleaning,” she explained.
“It wasn’t like this last night. Because I think I would’ve noticed that,” he pointed out.
As he went up to touch the map, it expelled a pulsing shockwave that subtlely pushed them back a few feet away from the door.
“What in the hoof was that?” exclaimed Dusk.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Barb.
It was then he knew there was something amiss. 
“Barb, go get the others while I investigate this,” he ordered.
“Right!”

She then hurried to gather up the others, while Dusk examined the table. A few moments later, Dusk Shine paced in the Cutie Map room as he awaited the arrival of his friends. The map had been admitting the strange pulsating aura for a while now, and he had spent the last few minutes trying to figure out the source behind it. While deep in his thoughts, his friends emerged onto the scene with Barb. 

“We got here as fast as we could darling,” spoke the posh unicorn.

Dusk turned to the forerunner of the group, which was Elusive, a well-toned stallion who prided himself on always having a dapper decor. He sported a white shirt complemented with a white jacket with both black sleeves and purple lining, black belt, and black slacks. Behind him was Rainbow Blitz, Applejack, Bubble Berry, and bring in the rear was the timid pegasus, Butterscotch. He trotted slowly in his green turtleneck sweater and sienna pants. 

“Glad you could make it guys,” sighed Dusk. 
“Whew, we came as fast as we could,” spoke Butterscotch, a little winded from having to come so fast. 
“Well, what seems ta be the problem, Dusk?” asked Jack.
“That’s just it! I don’t really know. The map emitted a strange pulsating aura, and I can’t determine why,” admitted Dusk.
“Do you think it might be King Metamorphosis?” asked Berry.
“Could be...” replied Dusk.
“But we beat him over a year ago! Why would he show up now?” queried Blitz.
“You got me,” he answered. “Barb, send a letter to Prince Solaris. Maybe he might know what this is about.”
“Right,” she said, as she began writing.
At that moment, the Cutie Map began to glow brightly.
“What the hay?” uttered Jack.
“W-Why is it doing that?” asked Butterscotch.
“I... have no idea,” spoke a dumbfounded Dusk.
Just then, a large portal appeared above them.
“Uh...what’s that?” asked Berry.

Before he could respond, they all felt themselves being sucked into the portal. They quickly grabbed on to their chairs to keep from being pulled in. However, as much as they tried to resist it, the boys found themselves being snatch from the chairs and hurled toward the portal. In a flash, their world became dark as they were dragged into the gateway.



“...sk...usk...Dusk!” shouted Berry.
He shook his head to return to reality. He turned to Berry who looked at him with concern. 
“Where did you go?” Berry questioned.
“Sorry, I just recalled what happened before we got here,” he explained.
He turned to Twilight.
“So this spell your pupil performed, it was to create magical clones, correct?”
“Yes,” responded Twilight. “It was a modified spell of the one used on the Mirror Pool.” 
“The Mirror Pool? Hmm...” pondered Dusk. “Might I see that spell of yours?”
“Oh? Umm...sure,” said Starlight, as she handed him her spell book.
When he reviewed her notes, he noticed a variance in the spell.
“As I thought!” spoke Dusk.
“What? What is it?” asked Starlight.
“The original spell was designed to make magical doubles, however; it appears your spell doesn’t create doubles but rather takes them from alternate worlds,” he explained.
“WHAT?!” spoke both Twilight and Starlight.
“So, in summation, your spell took us from our world and dragged us to yours,” he theorized.
“But...I...that...but the spell I researched never said anything about that...” Starlight thought aloud. 
“Most ancient spells are vague in their descriptions,” chuckled Dusk. “But surely you prepared a counterspell?”
“Y-Yes...” she said.
“Then it’s no problem. Just cast the spell and send us back,” reasoned Blitz.

With a nod, she began to charge her horn once more. As she began to cast the counterspell, the room once again filled with an intense glow. So just as before, Starlight’s aura began to fluctuate rapidly. As the spell completed, another explosion of light filled the room. However, when the light faded, Dusk and the others were still there.

“Wait? It didn’t work?” Starlight said, in bewilderment.
“It would appear so...” Dusk said a bit annoyed.
“Lemme try again...” Starlight replied.
Once again, she cast the counterspell, and it ended up with the same results. After a few more attempts, she fell to the ground exhausted.
“What’s the deal lady? Can you perform the spell or not?” Blitz impatiently spoke.
“I’m trying...I don’t know why it’s not working...” huffed Starlight.
Dusk look through her spell book. When he looked over the counterspell, Dusk noticed something off.
“Um... Do you happen to have a different counter spell perhaps?” he asked.
“No...why?” 
“Because from what I’m reading, this is the counterspell for the original spell, not the modified one.”
He saw the look of confusion on her face.
“But I thought that it would still work even if I modified the original?” she queried.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If there are any changes made to an original spell a new counterspell is needed.”
“Oh...” she deadpanned.
“Surely you can make a counterspell for this, right my dear?” Elusive chimed in.
Starlight gave them a sheepish grin.
“Actually...I don’t know if I can...” she uttered.
The room then fell silent, as the group processed what was just said.
“WHAT?!” the stallions and Barb bellowed.
“I’ve never made my own counterspell before. I only use ones that are already in place!” she honestly spoke.
The group then began to vent their frustrations on Starlight, who quickly found shelter behind her mentor. Twilight then looked at Spike.
“Spike, please go and get the girls and bring them here right away,” she said, a bit distressed. 
“I’m on it!” he replied.
He quickly left to bring their friends. Twilight turned to a group of fuming stallions and an upset dragoness.
“We’ve got a big problem on our hands...”