The central chamber in the dark stone tower was a dark, damp, and lonely place. Antiquated furniture from a bygone age were littered about the room, and shelves covered in spell books lined the walls. The sounds of hoof steps coming up the stairs broke the silence, as two mares carrying a pair of moving sacks set their burdens down upon the cold stone floor.
"UGH! Let me out of this bag, you ornery sidewinder!" Applejack snapped, ripping her gag off with her teeth, and struggling to break free. "Damn you, let me GO!"
The earth pony mare was promptly dumped onto the tower's stone floor, and Wind Whistler was quickly deposited beside her.
"You damn madmares! Howe dare you kidnap us!?"A.J. spat, looking up at the twins and scowling. "Who are you, and why the heck have you brought us here?!"
"We are sorry that we had to take you, but the master forced us to carry out his evil will." The two mares replied in unison. "We are Rapunzel and Goldilocks, and we are the mirror twins."
"Well, I can see why you're called the mirror twins, since ya both look exactly alike, except for slightly different coat tints and cutie marks." Applejack replied. "So is your 'master' using some kind of spell to control the both of ya?"
"No, you misunderstand." Rapunzel Explained. "We are the mirror twins, born of the enchanted mirror. We have no choice but to obey he who controls the mirror."
"The pony we were copied from, Fairy Tale, was a favorite of the master's, the only pony he ever befriended from a time when he hated most ponies." Goldilocks continued. "Fairy Tale expired from old age long ago, yet we remain here, to serve the master."
"Gee, that really sucks that you girls are stuck being his slaves!" Wind Whistler spoke up, as the twins removed the gag from her mouth. "I hope he doesn't plan on doing the same to us!"
"Oh, don't worry! I have no plans to enslave two worthless ponies such as yourselves!" Rugmatot declared, coming down the spiral staircase from above. "It's your essence that I desire, your forms as a basis to build my army!"
"Wizard Wantall, I didn't hear you slither up!" Applejack snapped, glaring at the wizard in anger. "So you grabbed us to use as pawns in your evil magical plans, hmm?"
The towering spell caster loomed over the two helpless ponies, pulling back his hood to reveal a bald head and cold-back eyes. Gaudy jewelry of different colors and sizes decorated his hands, head, and neck. The overweight wizard kept wringing his hands constantly, showing his obvious nervous demeanor to the two captive ponies.
"Gee, mister Wantall, you sure have a lot of big furniture -tweet!- in a tiny room." Wind Whistler noted, looking around at the bizarre decor. "You got size issues or something?"
"I know this place must seem a bit disconcerting, but that's simply because of it's construction." Wantall replied, gesturing around the room dramatically. "This tower was once a military base for the ancients, who were apparently only about two to three feet tall. My furniture was a little bit... large by comparison, when I moved in a few centuries ago."
"So is that what you brought us here for?" A.J. replied snarkily. "To show off your home decor to two ponies?"
"Ohhh, indeed! I've brought you to this chamber to show you a very special piece!" Rugmatot walked over to a tall object covered with a cloth covering it. "In fact, I have a strong feeling this particular little gem will have you two reflecting upon yourselves!"
Wantall pulled the cloth of the piece of furniture, revealing a tall circular mirror. As the mirror twins took their ropes off, the two ponies powerlessly gazed into the reflective surface for a few moments... until they noticed the ponies in the mirror were staring back.
"Eeee! Applejack!" Wind Whistler shrieked, jumping into the air in surprise. "I think our reflections are moving! On their own!"
"They ain't just moving!" A.J replied, too shocked to run away. "They're coming out off the mirror!"
The two duplicates stepped forward through the glass, trotting right out to face their original counterparts. Several moments of silence passed between the four ponies, before the Applejack reflection spoke up.
"Howdy, yall! It's really nice ta meet ya!" The fake earth pony smiled warmly, talking in a southern accent that haunted the back of A.j.'s mind. "I'm as pleased as punch that y'all could come by fer a spell!"
"This... this is not possible!" The original Applejack cried, taking a step back. "Who are you?"
"Why, I'm y'all." The A.J. copy replied. "I'm y'all before life too away all the happiness and innocence. Back when you knew how to love, instead of how ta hate."
"No, you can't be!" Applejack screamed back, collapsing to the ground and covering her face with her hooves. "This cant' be happening! It just can't!"
"Salutations, Wind Whistler." The Windy duplicate greeted her, trotting up to face her counterpart. "I trust my unexpected appearance is not too alarming to your person?"
"Wow, who are you, lady? -tweet!-" The original Wind Whistler asked in confusion. "You look like me, but you sure as heck don't sound like me!"
"Oh, but I am you... I am the mare you will one day become." The reflection replied, a cold and emotionless gaze in her eyes. "I am you, free of all those silly emotions and feelings, free to embrace the cold hard truth of logic and reason."
"Noooo! I don't wanna be like you!" Wind Whistler cried, tears streaming down her face. "I don't wanna be anything like you!"
The two original mares tried to escape, but were quickly set upon by their counterparts and the mirror twins. It didn't take long for the four reflections to subdue A.J. and Windy, before tying them in ropes once more.
"Excellent, girls! Take them to the dungeon!" Rugmatot Wantall roared with laughter. "Their reflections will return to the group, and help bring the remaining ponies under my power!"